Fate
by TheTrueSpartan
Summary: When Ron discovers that he can see the future, his entire fate is thrown off of its course. A story about adventure, friendship, growing up, and pushing forward through hardships. This story will get darker as it progresses, just like the original Harry Potter novels. It will cover all Seven Years of Hogwarts, but mostly from Ron's perspective. No Mary Sues, no Character bashing.
1. Chapter 1 - The Headache

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first story, so please read and enjoy. I'm new to posting on Fan-Fiction, and I must say, I'm quite excited. My main goal with this story is to pay homage to the beautiful piece of art that J.K Rowling has written. But with my own twist! Also, if you are looking for certain character bashings, then I'm sorry to inform you that I will only be writing the characters as closely as I can to the original work. No one in the Harry Potter Universe is perfect, every character has their own demons and issues. So when character bashing does happen, it will be fair and no one will be exempt from it. This includes Ron, because we all know just how flawed Ron can be with his insecurities and jealousy.**

 **This story will be seen mostly through Ron's POV, however as the story progresses, many other characters will get their own POV Sections.**

 **IMPORTANT: I am currently fixing the first fifteen or so chapters. What does 'fixing' mean? Well, the quality of my writing improved as the story went on, and the first few chapters were littered with grammatical errors. Now, the story won't change whatsoever. I just want to make it a more appealing read for the newcomers in the hope that they won't be turned off by bad grammar. So please, bear with me and the story.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 1 - The Headache**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

He had spent the whole night tossing and turning. Sleep had been eluding him all night, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't understand why. _Why can't I sleep even though I feel knackered?_ His headache certainly wasn't helping him, and eventually he tossed his blanket aside and got out of his bed. With a frustrated groan, he began his journey down towards the Kitchen in order to get himself a glass of cold water. As he made his way downstairs, he recalled the day's events.

* * *

It had certainly been a long day for him. He had woken up as early as seven in the morning, and after brushing his teeth, he had rushed downstairs in order to celebrate his eighth birthday with his family. He absolutely loved his birthdays, mostly because it was the only time of the year when he was the center of attention. The twins, who were usually pranksters and all around trouble-makers, would be kind and caring towards him. Percy, in his own way, would show him affection too. Charlie and Bill would dote on him, and they'd carry him around on their backs as if he were a king. And it was the only time of the year when his mother and father treated him better than they treated his siblings. He had always felt overshadowed by Bill and Charlie's cool stories, and the twins' ingenious pranks, and even Percy, with his perfect pompous attitude, made Ron feel insignificant. There was no denying that Ron didn't have that 'spark' that his brothers did, and after much time and deliberation, Ron had made his peace with it.

And when it came to Ginny, Ron had always felt bitter jealousy deep down because of how well she was treated in comparison to him. Ginny was seen as an actual princess, and despite Ron trying his best to understand why Ginny was treated this way, he still couldn't resist the allure of jealousy. Nor the guilt he felt afterwards. Molly Weasley doted on her only daughter, bought her new clothes while Ron was given hand-me-downs, and would spend every moment she could around Ginny. Ron would often linger around, but he was nothing more than a shadow when Molly cast her eyes on Ginny.

Fred had once told him that their mother had wept when Ron was born because she was told by a medi-witch that she was pregnant with a girl. And then Ron was born, and he certainly wasn't a girl. He didn't believe Fred at first because the twins were always nasty to him, but from that day on, he could see how much his mother loved Ginny and how little she interacted with him in comparison. He would never admit it, but a small part of him wished that Ginny wasn't a girl, just so that he could spend more time with his mother.

His father was a different story all together. Ron sometimes felt that their father loved Muggles more than he loved his own children. Of course, Arthur always made time for his children, but whenever he wanted to test out a new Muggle device or when he set out to learn more about Muggles, Ron was always the last pick. Even during family time, Arthur didn't really talk with Ron besides asking him how he was.

But not today. Today was his birthday, and that meant that for this one day, **he** would the center of attention. His mother had already made his favorite breakfast and was humming to herself when he barged in her Kitchen, eager to get started with his special day.

"Morning, mum" Ron greeted, pulling Molly out of her thoughts.

"Good Morning, love" she replied with a loving smile as she walked over to him, and then she planted a kiss on the top of his head. "I've made your favorite, tuck right in". Ron quickly ran up to the table and took his seat, eagerly piling eggs and pieces of bacon onto his plate. His mother's cooking skills were unmatched in his opinion. They had eaten out as a Family in Diagon Alley once before, but even the restaurant that they had dined in had nothing on his mum. Molly Weasley was a genius when it came to Spells created specifically for housework.

"This is great, mum" he mumbled, his mouth being too full. "I love your cooking!"

"Chew your food, love" Molly chuckled, Ron was definitely the most 'ferocious eater' in her family. She used to think that Charlie ate a lot, but after seeing Ron eat, she always found herself amused at how wrong she was. "What are your plans for your special day, Ronnie?"

"I was just going to spend time with everyone. Is dad home?" Ron asked, hoping that he was. His father's attention was something that he always enjoyed. He knew that they didn't interact much already due to his father's busy work schedule within the Ministry, and then there was his Muggle hobby. Not to mention that there were six other children besides Ron that Arthur Weasley was responsible for. But today was different. Today was Ron's birthday.

"I'm sorry Ronnie, your father was called into the Ministry late last night. He won't be back until the evening" she replied, and when she saw the faraway look in her son's eyes, she couldn't help but give him an apologetic smile. He was disappointed, she had no doubt about that, but she knew that Ron would never voice his disappointment. "But I've invited Luna and her mother over for lunch. You remember Mrs. Lovegood, don't you?"

Ron simply nodded his head and smiled at his mother, his mood had dampened slightly. At least he'd get to see Luna again, which was always fun. She was a bit strange, but he liked her nonetheless. She was the only other girl that he knew besides Ginny, but unlike Ginny, Luna was gentle and soft-spoken. She had never once compared him to his brothers, and she often spent most of her time with him discussing Chess. She wasn't very good at it, but she knew that Chess was something that Ron excelled in, and therefore, enjoyed talking about. And he certainly did enjoy telling Luna about Chess, and of the different techniques that he had memorized. It made him feel like he was brilliant just like his brothers.

"That's great mum, Luna is always fun to spend time with" Ron said, deciding to look at the silver lining. "And Mrs. Lovegood always brings those pastries with her that taste amazing." At that Molly found herself stifling a laugh, her boy was always thinking with his stomach.

"I want you on your best behavior, Ronald Weasley" she spoke sternly, but there was humor in her voice. "Make sure you include Luna in everything that you do with your brothers today. Oh, and also include Ginny" she added quickly.

"Yes, mum" he said with a sigh. He always had to babysit Ginny. The twins were a terror, and Ginny never got along with Percy. The age gap was too large between her and Charlie and Bill, so she always became Ron's responsibility when their mother wasn't around to watch her. Only the twins and Ginny were home with Ron though, but only because they hadn't started Hogwarts yet.

"Mummy, mummy" came a voice from upstairs, followed by quick footsteps. And then, Ginny was in the Kitchen. The moment she saw Ron, something flashed behind her eyes and she smiled widely. She quickly ran up and hugged Ron from behind, nearly strangling him with her absurd strength. "Happy birthday, Ronnie!" Ron smiled and turned around, their eyes locking.

"Morning Gin" Ron greeted her, and she beamed down at him. "And thanks! Luna is coming over today." They were unaware that Molly was smiling at them both. She knew Ron would always watch out for Ginny, and their cute interactions always made her heart melt.

"Sit down dear, and dig in" Molly cooed. "After that, both of you should wash up. Did you see the twins, love? Are they awake?"

"Their door was closed" Ginny quickly replied as she took her seat next to Ron. She always sat next to Ron. "I think that they're working on another prank." Ron immediately tensed up. If the twins had another prank in mind, then he would no doubt be the victim. Ginny was protected by their mother, and the twins would never dare prank their parents. Not after they had turned their mother's hair blue for a week last year, and then learned that an angry Molly Weasley may have been more terrifying than even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That left no one but Ron and Percy, and the twins did enjoy playing their tricks on Ron, even more than they enjoyed pranking Percy. _At least it won't happen today._

"Those two, I swear..." With that, Molly left for upstairs, leaving her two youngest to themselves. They ate in silence for a short minute before Ron noticed that Ginny was staring right at him. He looked up and smiled at her, but she simply kept staring. _Um... Am I that handsome?_

"What is it Gin? Do I have something on my face?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Everyone snickered and laughed at him while he ate, but how was it his fault that he loved food?

"No" Ginny replied quietly, but her stare told him a different story.

"Then why are you staring at me? It's really weird Gin, stop it."

"Why do you always get so excited when Luna comes over? She's **my** friend" Ginny suddenly pouted. Ron was taken aback by the question and his sister's sudden sulky mood, Luna was his friend too. _She really is a princess. A spoiled one._

"I don't get excited. I don't know what you're on about..." he muttered as he refocused on his food in order to hide his gaze from hers, but Ginny was still staring at him.

"Yes, you do. It was the first thing you said to me when I hugged you... I'm your sister…" she trailed off, looking down at her food. _Brilliant… Now she really is sulking. I should say something._ But what what was he supposed to say? Ron was never any good when it came to talking about sensitive topics. He had tried to once before with the twins, but Fred had called him a poof and had told him that real men don't talk about their feelings. A few days later, they had caught him while he was comforting a crying Ginny, who had been bitten by a Gnome in their garden. He was hugging her and telling her that he loved her, and that she didn't have de-Gnome the garden today because he would do it for her. The twins had tormented him with a passion for a week, telling him that there were three girls in the Weasley Family, and that he was one of them. They would have continued if it wasn't for their mother's wrath.

"I know that" he laughed, but his laughter died immediately when Ginny looked back up, anger flashing in her eyes. "Ginny, Luna is my friend too. That doesn't mean… It doesn't mean I like her more than I like you... You know that." Ginny looked a little calmer, but he knew that this wasn't over, things were never so simple with his sister. She started eating her food quietly, while Ron helped himself to a second plate. He was still eating when Ginny put her dish in the kitchen sink, too naive to realize that Ginny was already plotting something in her mind.

"I'm going to take the first shower" she mumbled before running up the stairs, making Ron heave a defeated sigh. There were times when Ginny was impossible to decipher, at least in his eyes. She already had all the attention that she could need, and even though they weren't a wealthy family, Ginny wore new clothes and even had some jewelry. The best thing that Ron owned was Charlie's old toy broom stick... It was weathered, and it barely held him higher than five feet into the air. And now, she even wanted Ron to constantly play with her. Even when she was 'helping' their mother with cooking, she wanted Ron to be around. Ron never felt more like an outsider as he did when Molly and Ginny were around him together. Molly would shower her daughter with attention and love, while Ron would just become invisible. She sometimes never even noticed that her son had skulked off, too upset at being ignored to stay around. He resented that.

Ron was just finishing his breakfast when his mother and the twins came trotting downstairs. Molly walked into the Kitchen while the twins grinned ear-to-ear, their eyes fixed on Ron. _Why is everyone staring at me today? And not in a good way either._

"Is everything all right? Why are…" Ron started, but he was cut off abruptly by Fred.

"Of course everything is alright, Ickle Ronnikins" Fred cooed.

"Why wouldn't it be?" George spoke in a sing-song voice.

"After all, today is your birthday" they both said together, and Ron found himself getting annoyed by their back and forth talking. They always did it, and no one could tell how they seemed to be on the same page every time. _It's borderline creepy at times._

"And we got you something" Fred continued as he held a small box in front of Ron. It was orange, and wrapped in a blue bow.

"Never say that we never gave you anything, Ronnie" George finished for his twin as he ruffled Ron's hair. Ron slowly took the box from Fred, and then he looked back up at the grinning twins. They looked like sharks that had smelled blood. Ron shuddered as he slowly unwrapped the box, and once he had opened it, his breath hitched in his throat. It was a Chudley Cannon Badge, and it looked **brand** **new** as well. He never got brand new things.

The Cannons were notorious for being a team that hadn't won a League for almost a hundred years. But Ron admired them and supported them anyway. Not even his Family could tell why, but the truth was that even though they barely ever won a match, they cheered and played the game without ever despairing or becoming angry. They were like that because they loved playing Quidditch more than winning. They were the underdogs who never gave up. Ron liked to think he was an underdog as well, and that one day, his Family would recognize him after he did something brilliant that none of his brothers had done before.

"Happy birthday, little bro" the twins spoke softly, and Ron ran up and hugged the twins, his eyes becoming misty when they actually returned his hug.

"Now... Get off us" Fred said after a silent moment, gently nudging Ron away from him and his other half. Ron was smiling ear-to-ear, his eyes already looking back down at his new badge. "We'll ignore that hug that you just gave us."

"But only because it's your birthday" George added. With that, they both made their way further into the Kitchen, while Ron ran up to his room, smiling and giggling due to his excitement. It was going to be a good day.

* * *

He was wrong about his earlier guess, it wasn't a good day at all. Firstly, there was heavy rain outside, which meant that they couldn't spend the day playing outside. Secondly, he had a headache that he suspected would slay a giant. It had started suddenly around midday, and it refused to leave. He knew that he didn't have a high temperature, and he certainly wasn't sick, but the headache was wearing him out. He thought about telling his mother, but quickly decided against it. The Lovegoods would be here soon, and he didn't want his mother getting worried over nothing.

* * *

Ginny was constantly talking to Luna, and even though Ron sat with them, Ginny was making sure to keep Luna's attention to herself. He didn't care too much about it though. His head was close to splitting open, and the voices of the girls seemed to echo as they got louder. He quietly excused himself to the Kitchen, only to walk in on his mother and Mrs. Lovegood having a chat about house-wards. Pandora Lovegood was a beautiful woman, even Ron, despite his young age, could see that. She had dirty blonde hair, which reached her lower back, and her eyes were almost silver in color, which only helped to sharpen her already piercing gaze. She was slender, but her curves were easily noticeable because her yellow sundress hugged her figure. She had fair flawless skin, and when she smiled, it was infectious. She was smiling right now, and even though Ron's head was throbbing, he couldn't help but smile as well. She saw him from the corner of her eyes, and immediately looked to him.

"There's the birthday boy" she spoke, her voice was soft and a bit airy. _She's like an adult version of Luna._

"Hello" was all he could muster. Her piercing gaze was now on him, and he felt like she could gaze right into his mind. What she said next made him feel as though his guess was correct.

"Are you alright, Ronald? Do you have a headache?" _MIND-READER!_ Ron straightened his back and smiled sheepishly, he could feel his blush coming on which he knew would be accompanied by two very red ears.

"It's not too bad, Mrs. Lovegood. I just need to lie down..." Ron replied, doing his best to hold her gaze. Molly quickly got up and walked over to her son, concern marking her features. She knelt down next to him, and quickly put her hand on his forehead.

"Ronnie, why didn't you say anything? You could be getting sick" Molly sighed, slowly standing back up. Ron tensed a bit out of fear of getting scolded, but he quickly relaxed when he saw how worried she was. _She is just concerned._

"Sorry mum, but it only just started" he muttered, looking down at his shoes. "I didn't want you to worry." He looked back up at his mother, who was now giving him a small smile. But that's not what caught his attention. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Mrs. Lovegood putting her wand back under the table. He turned his head to look at her, and she gazed right back and smiled. _Those eyes are scary._ Ron smiled back, watching her carefully as she stood up with a honey pastry in her hand.

"Eat this, you will feel better" Mrs. Lovegood said as she walked over to him in order to hand him the pastry. Ron took it eagerly, he did love her pastries.

"Thanks, Mrs. Lovegood" he said, and then took a bite out of it. Much to his surprise, the pain started to dull quite quickly. And then, it was gone. "Wow... You were right" he grinned. Pandora simply chuckled at his grin, and then she pinched his left cheek.

"You were just a little hungry, dear. There are more pastries on the kitchen table, have as many as you like" she said, walking back to her seat. "He is getting bigger every day."

"I know… I hate it" Molly giggled as she ruffled Ron's hair. "He'll be off to Hogwarts soon." At that Molly looked a bit sad, at least Ron thought so anyway.

"Which house do you want to be in, Ron?" Pandora asked, her eyes once again locked with his. "I think you would make an excellent Ravenclaw. Luna tells me that you can even beat your father in Chess, I think that's rather amazing." Ron immediately perked up at the mention of Chess, and he nodded his head vigorously with his mouth full of pastry. Pandora and Molly both laughed, making Ron's ears turn red.

"My son will be in Gryffindor, just like all of us Weasleys" Molly tutted, gesturing Ron to return to the girls. With that, the two women began speaking about their Hogwarts years, and Ron moved over to the kitchen table in order to grab some more pastries. While he did that, he thought about what it would be like to finally attend Hogwarts. What if he was sorted into Ravenclaw? That would be a shocker, and it would definitely set him apart from his brothers. He wouldn't mind that too much. Mrs. Lovegood and her husband were both Ravenclaws, and they were decent folk. At least Ron thought so anyway. He had once heard the twins talking about how barmy Mr. Lovegood was, and Ron had quietly listened in. According to them, Mr. Lovegood believed in mad conspiricy theories, and he used his personal magazine to spread them around. With three pastries in hand, Ron made his way back to the Living Room. Luna and Ginny were still talking, but when he entered the room, Luna quickly turned to him and smiled.

"Where did you go, Ron? I hope that we didn't bore you" she said in her usual airy voice, and Ron was again reminded of her mother.

"No, you didn't" he replied, smiling at her. "I was a little hungry, that's all." He then walked over and handed Luna a pastry, which she took and bit into immediately. He then handed one to Ginny, who took it quickly and scowled at him. Ron was once again taken aback by her behavior, and he just stared at her for a moment before making his way back to the couch in order to eat his pastry in silence. He wondered where the twins were, and he figured they were in their room, no doubt planning their next great prank on him and Percy. He shuddered at the thought.

* * *

Soon it was evening, and his father barged through the front door with a cake for Ron. Once the cake was cut, and the birthday song sung, the Lovegoods bid the Weasleys farewell. Ron could see how tired his father was, but the fact that he had gotten Ron a cake from his favorite bakery in Diagon Alley made Ron's heart swell up in joy. Ron later joined his father in the Living Room and spoke with him about his day, Chess, and Quidditch for almost an hour. When Arthur could no longer stay awake, he said his goodnight, kissed his son on the forehead, and went off to bed. There was no doubt in Ron's mind that his father would have to leave early in the morning again tomorrow.

Once his father had departed, Ron walked into the kitchen and began helping his siblings clear the dining table. That was when his headache came back. And it came back with a vengeance. Ron was brought to tears as his head felt like it was about to shatter, and his ears began to ring from sheer pain. He felt a scream tear its way out of his throat as he fell down on his knees, all the while clutching onto his head. He heard multiple plates and glasses shatter as some sort of Magic rushed into him.

Molly had heard her son scream, and upon witnessing her Kitchen pretty much explode around her, she had run straight towards his crying form. Within a second she had her arms around her son, bombarding him with questions about his current state. Ron was unable to hear her over his own screams and that horrible ringing sound in his ears. Molly had screamed at the twins 'to get their father at once', and then turned her attention back to Ron, asking him what was wrong in a frantic and quivering voice. Ginny just stood there frozen, while Fred and George bolted upstairs to get their father. Ron's vision blurred as the sounds around him became distorted, and then it all went black. In the far distance, he could hear shouting, but it wasn't his mother's or his Family's. No, it was almost as if hundreds of people were in pain and were shouting at him to do something.

* * *

Ron woke up in his bed later that night. It was clear that a Healer had been there because there was an empty potion vial on his nightstand. His headache was still there, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. Ron hoped that he never felt that kind of pain again. Deciding to go back to sleep, he closed his eyes and began trying to find a comfortable position.

* * *

Ron finished reflecting on his day as he made his way into the Kitchen, his entire mouth terribly dry. He walked down the stairs as carefully as he could because the Burrow had a habit of creaking if you stepped on the wrong board. Once he was inside the Kitchen, Ron suddenly saw a shadow moving in the dark. He froze instantly, his eyes going as wide as one of his mother's pans. The shadow turned to face him slowly, and Ron felt the urge to bolt. _If it even moves an inch, I'm going to scream._

"Ronnie?" He knew that voice.

"Fred? You scared me" Ron whispered as he relaxed, a shaky breath escaping his mouth. The shadow moved closer, and it was indeed Fred. As Ron's eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw concern on his brother's face. Fred looked... sad, and maybe even scared. Ron had never seen Fred like this. Not even when the twins had given him an acid pop when he was seven, which had burned a hole through his tongue. Seeing his brother like this got Ron worried instantly. _What's happened? Did someone die?_ Then he remembered his headache, and the potion vial in his room, which meant that this concern was for him.

"Bloody hell Ronnie, you scared everyone" Fred whimpered, and then he moved forward quickly and embraced his little brother. Ron was shocked. This was Fred, and he was hugging Ron so tightly that it almost hurt. But Ron didn't care because he never wanted this moment to end. One of the two brothers he had come to fear was hugging him as if it was the last time. _It actually might be_ , _I don't get hugged by Fred every day. Oh Merlin... Am I dying?_ Ron slowly hugged Fred back, but for some reason, his arms barely moved. His headache flared to life once again, and he began to feel lightheaded as a result. And then, all of a sudden, Ron was somewhere else.

* * *

He looked around, and much to his shock, everything around him was in black and white. Like one of those old Muggle photos that his father had once showed off to his Family. He was in some sort of Hall, only it was massive and unlike anything that he had ever seen. Fred was no longer hugging him as he wasn't even there anymore. Ron found himself surrounded by people, and most of them were dirty and bloody. Ron went pale. They were all injured, and much to Ron's horror, there were people on the ground that weren't even moving. _Where am I? What's happening?!_

"HELP!" he screamed, but no one even noticed him as they continued tending to one another. He could hear sobbing and wailing from all directions, and no matter in which direction he looked, all he could see was misery. Panic rose in his chest, and he swung around in every possible direction in the hopes of figuring out where he was. Once he noticed a giant door on the other side of the Hall, he bolted straight for it. As he ran full tilt towards the giant door, people and the Hall became distorted in the corner of his vision.

That's when he spotted something flashing to his right, and it made him stop immediately. There was someone on the ground who was in complete color, unlike the black and white everyone else was in. The unmoving person in color had his eyes closed, and dark red blood was trickling down the right side of his face from a deep gash on his forehead. A person in black and white was sobbing into the colored man's chest, his fingers digging into the unmoving man's clothes. The man in color had red hair, just like Ron, and he looked oddly familiar as well. As if possessed, Ron's feet slowly pushed him towards the man who looked dead. _Who is that? I know him… I… How do I know him?_

Ron stood right above the stranger's head, and he looked around at the black and white people surrounding him. They were wailing and sobbing and screaming, their misery apparent to all. His heart clenched in his chest as he recognized two of the people who were holding one another and silently sobbing. _Mum…? Dad…?_ He slowly lowered his head to see the face of the man in color. _Who is…?_ Ron slowly fell to his knees and tried to touch the dead man's face, but his hand went through as if he was a ghost. Alarmed, Ron fell back on his bum and raised his own hands to his face. _I'M DEAD… WHAT IS HAPPENING?!_ Ron was ripped from his panic filled thoughts when he heard a blood curdling sob break out from the black and white man who was clutching onto the man in color. Ron looked up and saw that the grieving man was identical to man in color, except he was missing his left ear.

"Fred… WAKE UP FRED!" The man in black and white screamed, and a girl who looked like she was around fifteen, or maybe a little older, quickly moved and embraced him from behind, all the while trying her best to stop her own sobbing. _Wait… What did he call him?_ Ron slowly stood up and looked back at the man in color, some sort of primal alarm bell going off inside of his head. He knew this face. That's when his blood became ice in his veins. His heart clenched in his chest, and his headache came back in strength. _Fred… No, no, no..._

"NO!" Ron screamed as he fell forward, trying to grab his dead brother's face, only for his hands to go right through again. "NO! FRED! You... You can't... Don't die... DON'T!" Ron was lost to hysteria, and he desperately tried to grab onto Fred anywhere that he could. However, his hands kept going through his dead brother. Ron's headache became even more painful during his panic, and it wasn't long before he was clutching his own head and screaming in agony. All noise slowly began to fade out, only to be replaced by an extremely loud ringing noise in his ears. Not only that, but there was someone, or something, whispering in his ears as well. But in the end, the ringing was too loud and he couldn't make out a single word. Ron shut his eyes as hard as he could, trying his hardest to block his ears as he continued to scream. And then the ringing stopped, and there was only silence.

* * *

Ron woke up the next morning in his bed. There was no headache, and much to his relief, everything was back in color. He was covered in sweat and absolutely exhausted. _It was all just a dream? Was it just a horrible nightmare? It felt so... real._ A slow smile crept onto his face. His brother was **alive**. It had all been a nightmare. Ron slowly looked to his right, and he was shocked to see his father asleep on a chair next to his bed. Ron was even more shocked when he attempted to sit up, only to see Fred sleeping at the foot of his bed, one of his hands around Ron's right shin. _What are they both doing here?_ Confused, and a little alarmed, Ron tried to sit up again and looked over to his nightstand. There was an empty Potion vial sitting there, just like last night when he went to get a drink. _Last night…_

He couldn't remember coming back to his room. He could only remember his nightmare. As a matter of fact, he could remember it perfectly. Every single detail. Bile slowly rose in the back of his throat as he recounted the memory of a horrid dream where Fred was dead. _Except the Fred that I saw was older... And who was that girl? Was that... Ginny? Mum and dad were there too, as was George. And I think I saw Percy sitting with Bill and Charlie... They were all so miserable. Wait... I wasn't there..._

Now that he thought about it, something wasn't right about that dream. _George's left ear was gone. Why would his ear be missing in my dream?_ Ron just sat there for the next thirty minutes, his mind fixed on the dream and what it could mean. Mr. Lovegood had once told him that there was 'power in dreams', but Mr. Lovegood tended to say a lot of things. Ron found himself wishing that this dream had no power, and that it **never** would. Ron's father stirred and slowly opened his eyes, only to see his youngest son sitting up and looking as though he was in some deep thought.

"Son… you're awake" Arthur spoke, his voice laced with relief. Ron turned to his father, looking straight into the man's eyes.

"Dad… I had the most horrible nightmare last night" Ron whispered, a look of horror etched upon his face. Arthur simply blinked at him, and then he quickly leaned forward and embraced his youngest boy.

"I'm here son, I'm here. Nothing will hurt you. I promise." Ron didn't even have the strength to return the embrace, and all he could do was stare at the orange wall behind his father. _It was just a nightmare. It had to be…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you for reading the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I will be updating a new chapter every Sunday to the best of my ability. See ya next time!**

 **Ahem! A quick (late) announcement. To those who think that this story will feature a perfect Ron, it won't. I don't know how to write Mary Sue characters, and I despise them. A story shouldn't revolve around any one character (even if they're the MC). Now, although it may feel like Ron is OP at the start, that will change as the story progresses. He simply comes to Hogwarts with an advantage. Ron will excel in some things, and not excel in others. He won't, and can't, outclass everyone in everything.**

 **(Read the reviews if you need proof, but be warned about spoilers)**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Seer

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first story, so please read and enjoy. I'm new to posting on Fan-fiction and I must say, I'm quite excited. My main goal with this story is to pay homage to the beautiful piece of art that J. K. Rowling has written. But with my own twist! Also if you are looking for certain character bashing, then I'm sorry to inform you that I will only be writing the characters as closely as I can to the original work. No one in the Harry Potter Universe is perfect, every character has their own demons and issues. So when character bashing does happen, it will be fair and no one will be exempt from it. This includes Ron, because we all know just how flawed Ron can be with his insecurities and jealousy.**

 **This story will be seen mostly through Ron's POV, however as the story progresses, many other characters will get their own POV chapters or parts.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

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 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 2 – A Seer**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron sat at the edge of his bed, trying his best to stop his hands from trembling. It had been over two years since that horrible night when he had witnessed his brother's death. Tomorrow he would finally know whether or not if he was just Ron or if he was far more special. He lay down in his bed and couldn't help but remember the last two years of his life. They had definitely been the craziest and he wouldn't even start Hogwarts for another year.

The healer had given him a perfect bill of health the morning after his dream of Fred's death and his parents were visibly relieved. They had kept their eyes on him constantly for the next few days before deciding that his outburst and headache were just a severe case of accidental magic. After all, he had blown his mother's prized kitchen to kingdom come. He decided not to tell his family about his dream or the strange force he felt enter his body when the kitchen had exploded. He didn't need them worrying over something that might just be a case of accidental magic, which is what his parents had told him. The twins and Ginny had walked on eggshells around him during those days, which annoyed him to no end.

The twins were always asking if he was all right and whether or not he wanted to join them in their room. They had never asked before and Ron couldn't bring himself to say yes. He couldn't bear to look at Fred. His brothers had noticed this soon enough and decided to keep their distance too but still watch out for him. It was clear to Fred and George that Ron just wanted to be treated as he normally would be. Not as someone who needed to be constantly cared for. Fred was against keeping their distance from him at first, but George knew how stubborn their little brother could be and thus managed to convince Fred.

Ginny on the other hand had not gotten the memo that Ron just wanted to be treated as he normally would be. She was constantly at his side, even when he was doing his share of the chores around the Burrow. She didn't help of course, but she wouldn't let him out of her sight. This quickly lost its novelty on him when she declared that she wanted to sleep in his room as well. His mother of course granted her wish and Ron found himself sharing his already small bed with his sister who always had a death grip on his one of his hands whilst she slept. It would be cute if he didn't wince in pain every morning after his sister had all but shattered one of his hands the night before.

It took four months for Ginny to move back to her own room, but once she had left Ron had found himself missing her. They had gotten even closer to one another over those four months after Ron had decided that Ginny was just scared to lose him. That thought alone made Ginny's constant presence around him sweet and even enjoyable. Oddly enough it was their mother that convinced Ginny that Ron wasn't going anywhere and that she had to go back to her own room. Ginny had moped and pouted and whined all day but in the end she moved back to her room.

Four months had passed since his dream about Fred but Ron could still recount every detail of the dream. Ron found that strange, and disturbing to an extent, as he never remembered his dreams before let alone remember them perfectly even after four months. It had taken him these last four months but now he could be in the same room with Fred without staring at him or ignoring him completely. Things were finally starting to look like they would be going back to normal. His mother and father were back to their usual behavior of not seeing Ron and doting on Ginny.

The twins had started playing pranks on him again which is why he currently had a green tongue. Percy and Charlie had also come home last week from Hogwarts, which meant the Burrow was packed again to near bursting. The only Weasley missing was Bill because he had taken a vacation to France with his friends from school. He had said something about Veelas the night before he left which had earned him a death glare from their mother. Ron would miss Bill because Bill was probably his favorite brother. Not only was Bill the coolest, kindest and most loving towards everyone, even to Percy who was probably even more of an outcast than Ron was, but Bill also had a way of making Ron feel safe and protected. Bill would always be up to play a game of chess with Ron, and would even kill any spiders Ron saw without teasing him.

Percy was back to his pompous ways by the end of his second week back and had already begun studying for his next year, claiming he had to get great results in order to become a Prefect in his fifth year or his life would be ruined. Ron was just glad that the twins' focus was now moved towards Percy rather than him. He knew how selfish that line of thinking was but he didn't care a single bit about it. The twins were terrifying and they never showed mercy to those they targeted. _Better him than me. My tongue is still green._ It was during the next family dinner that Ron heard something that both frightened him, and also made him grin ear-to-ear in excitement. Percy was having a discussion with their father about his run in with the Divination Professor at Hogwarts and Ron had been eavesdropping, he was just curious that's all. "I'm telling you father, Professor Trelawney isn't fit to teach. She might even be mad" Percy huffed, Ron could tell he was agitated and maybe even a little angry.

"Percy don't be disrespectful" Arthur scolded. "Trelawney is gifted and Dumbledore trusts her completely. Which means so do I, you should have a little more faith son." Ron didn't know this Professor so he grew excited. _Why would perfect Percy ever talk like that about a Professor?_

"Father, she claimed that I didn't have the 'gift' because I was too busy putting my head through books for something I would never achieve. All I did was question her about reading tea leaves and if those omens even came true. Then she goes and embarrasses me in front of the whole school by saying I would never be able to achieve my goal of being Minister of Magic. How could she even know that? It isn't like she is a seer." Ron's ears perked up when he heard that. Seers could see the future and make prophecies. Ron had a fleeting thought that he might be a seer after his dream but in the end he decided that he wasn't. He was just Ron and he was fine with that because deep down he knew that he didn't want to be a seer because that would mean Fred would die, and he couldn't stand the thought of that happening.

"Perce listen to me, it's true that Dumbledore believes in her visions and prophecies though why he does I can't say, but you can be anything you want to be. You're hardworking and you have a good head on your shoulders. Those two things alone will take you far. And prophecies aren't set in stone. That's why we lock them away in the Department of Mysteries. If someone knows the future, that means they can change it. Which makes this kind of knowledge dangerous. Listen to me son, I just want you to be happy, and I want you to know that we love you no matter what you do for a living after Hogwarts. But just because she said you won't achieve your goals…" at that his father sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that your future is in your hands." Arthur put his hand on Percy's shoulder and smiled at his third son. The boy was ambitious enough to be in Slytherin but Arthur knew his heart was in the right place because the Sorting Hat had put him in Gryffindor.

"I just… you're right father" Percy grumbled after a few seconds. "She is still a professor and I need to show her proper respect." _For a minute I thought Percy was going to become cool like Bill and Charlie… so much for that._ At that moment Ron finished up his dinner and got up to put his plate in the sink. Neither Percy nor Arthur noticed that Ron was listening in and that Arthur's words had sparked an incredible idea in his mind which had then put a massive grin on his face. _Change the future. My future is in my hands. Fred's future is in my hands._

Ron ran upstairs to his room whist ignoring his mother telling him off for running in the house. He quickly moved inside and closed his door. _Can I do that? Can I save Fred? AGH…. I'm not even sure I am a seer. Maybe it was just a dream and I'm going nutters over it for no reason. But I can't do nothing…_ Ron spent most of the night jumping back and forth about what he should do and whether or not he should even believe that he could be a seer. In the end though, his need to be more brilliant than his brothers won out and he decided that he would act as though he was a seer until he could prove to himself that he wasn't. With that he began forming a plan. A plan to save his brother. A plan to save Fred. A plan to become a hero and finally be seen as something other than a shadow of his brothers.

He still had his doubts about being a seer the following morning but that didn't stop him from marching into Percy's room right after breakfast and knocking on his door with too much enthusiasm. Percy's door swung open so fast that it made Ron yelp and jump back in surprise. "You two better…" Percy stopped as soon as he began. The twins weren't there. Just Ronnie looking sheepishly at him. "Ronnie?"

"Ugh… hi Perce… Can I come in, please?" Ron had no idea why Percy was in a foul mood but he could take a wild guess. _The twins…_

"Of course, here" Percy said shaking his head and moving aside. He smiled at Ron to make him feel more welcome. Percy had always felt as though Ron was his only sibling that could possibly understand him. They were both on the outside after all. "Here sit down and tell me what you need." Ron quietly sat down on Percy's bed and smiled back at his brother. Percy moved over and sat next to him. _Here goes nothing._

"Perce can I ask you for a favor? It's nothing too big but I don't know who else to ask" Ron spoke clearly but his voice was a little shaky. Something that Percy picked up on and was now wondering what this favor could be. Was Ron in trouble?

"Yes Ron you can ask me, you know that." Percy was clearly trying to be comforting but it wasn't working. He was too stiff. _Good, good. Well here we go._

"Do you have a spare journal? I've seen you writing in one and you said that it helped you a lot and it gave you perpetive." Percy choked and stifled a laugh. He meant perspective but he didn't know how to say it. Adorable.

"Do you want to write in a journal too? I have a few spare ones that I got as gifts from father."

"YES… I mean yes, can I have one please? I want to study and be more like you… you got really good grades this year and mum and dad loved that. So I wanted… to try." Percy beamed and was on his feet so fast that Ron didn't even have time to register what was happening. He was now being hugged very hard by Percy who was laughing and saying incoherent things. Percy then stepped back and regained some composure but his smile was still threatening to split his face open.

"Of course Ronnie, here I'll give you two." With that Percy ran to his cupboard and flung it open and started searching frantically for the journals. _Why is he so excited?_ Percy then marched back and put two journals on Ron's lap. "OH, you'll need quills and ink too! I have some spares you can have!" Percy then moved to his desk and started gathering things and he was grinning like a mad man all the while. _Didn't think my plan would work… wow. Percy is all right!_ Percy couldn't find any spare ink so he decided he would just give Ron his own and refill later. His studies could wait because his brother had come to him for help. To him. No one ever came to him for help especially the younger siblings. "Here Ron, you can have these." Percy put an ink-pot and three quills on top of the journals on Ron's lap.

"Thanks Percy! You're the best." Ron put his things aside and got up to give a hug to his brother. Percy returned it and was smiling even more than before somehow. _Brilliant it worked, now I can make notes on my vision and write it all down so I don't forget._ Ron picked up his new belongings and left the room without looking back. If he had looked back, he would have seen Percy trying to clear his misty eyes.

Ron put one of the journals in his desk drawer and then closed the drawer and sat down in his uncomfortable chair. It was Bill's old chair and it was too high. Ron's feet were dangling in the air but at least now he could sit down and use his desk. He quickly opened the journal on his desk and jotted down his name on the first page. Then he turned the page once the ink dried and wrote down his dream. Every single detail he could remember, he wrote it down. On the opposite page he wrote down his notes, things like the age they might have been, the physical condition of those around, and so forth. He was in his room till dinner, still writing down everything he could think of. For the first time in his life he had skipped lunch and didn't even notice it, this was too important.

"Ronnie! Dinner is ready" his mother's voice rang out from the kitchen. Ron smiled, feeling proud of himself, and tucked his journal under his bed for safe keeping. He didn't want anyone to know what was in it. There were only two scenarios he could picture if someone read this journal. The first being him locked away in a padded room in St. Mungo's Hospital, and the second being people trying use his gift for themselves. _Being locked away sounds more likely… even I don't actually believe I'm a seer._

He washed his hands as best he could but some ink stains wouldn't fully disappear. He shrugged and walked down to the dining table and sat down in his chair. Everyone was already there and they had all begun eating. Ron had starting piling food into his plate when Ginny gasped and grabbed his hands. "Woah Gin, what is it?" Ron was bewildered at his sister's odd behavior.

"Why are your fingers all blotchy and black? Mum look" she exclaimed. Her eyes were wide and she was a little pale, well paler than usual.

"Relax Gin it's just ink" Ron said as he pulled his hands out of hers. "No need to go barmy." He went back to filling his plate while Ginny relaxed. Ron looked up to see everyone looking at him with a variety of expressions. The twins had their eyes narrowed in suspicion, his mother stood there gaping while his father was frowning. Ginny was smiling a little, feeling calmer than before he guessed. Charlie just stifled a laugh and went back to eating. Percy just sat there grinning, but his eyes held a proud look. _Why is he looking at me like that?_

"Ron did you spill the ink in my study again?" His father was still frowning. They didn't really have a study, it was just the corner of the living room that their father used for work stuff.

"No dad, I was just writing some stuff in my journal" Ron said softly, feeling guilty over his previous accident at the start of the year. At that Arthur relaxed and smiled at his boy.

"Oh, good. What kind of stuff were you writing about, may I ask? And where did you get a journal?" Arthur now had a playful tone. He was surprised that Ron was writing something seeing as his boy hated the studies his wife had tried to teach all her children. But he was even more curious about where Ron could have gotten a journal and ink to use.

"Not…nothing much really… ugh… just my name." Ron stuttered. _Why did I mention the journal…? I'm bloody mental._ "Also Perce gave me two of his journals and some quills and ink to use. I thought…" Ron couldn't think of an excuse and his ears were turning red, he could feel it. _Oh come on Ron think…_

"Ronnie was interested in focusing on his studies father. He asked me for a journal and I assume he plans to write down any charms and spells he may learn and find useful" Percy spoke with pride laced in his voice, making everyone look at him in disbelief. Everyone but Ron who had a relieved smile on his face. _Thank Merlin for Percy. Never thought I'd say that._

"What?!" The twins stood up and stared down at Ron. They were clearly not too pleased about this. _What's their problem?_

"You're trying to turn him into a pompous twit just like you" Fred accused, pointing his finger at an annoyed Percy.

"And we won't stand for it" George added but his eyes were fixed on Ron, who was now slinking into his chair.

"That's enough" their mother shrieked and the twins immediately sat down. They didn't stop staring at Ron and Percy though. At least Percy sneered back, but Ron was terrified of the twins. _I shouldn't have said that. I'm such a moron. I need to learn to think before I speak…_ "Ronnie dear, I think that's wonderful. I'm so proud of you" his mother cooed. Ron looked up to see her smiling at him and he couldn't help but smile back. _She's proud of me…_

Dinner then continued as normal. Well not normal at all actually. The twins shot daggers at him while they ate in silence. Charlie had found this all very amusing and had offered to teach Ron some brutal hexes which had earned him a quick playful smack in the back of his head from his mother. Arthur also told him of the importance of studies but then quickly contradicted himself by saying fun was more important. Percy had never looked happier and had offered to give him some pointers and even his old notes from his first year of Hogwarts.

Ron wasn't too keen on that idea but faked enthusiasm because Percy had really come through for him today. Percy bought that of course because he was too busy feeling proud of his little brother, and probably himself. Ginny just ate her food in silence but Ron could see something was bothering her. She always fidgeted with her hands when she was upset. _Now what's wrong? I'll ask her after dinner I guess..._

Dinner ended and the twins were the first to leave for upstairs. But not before they turned to Ron and gave him a dark look. _I'm buggered._ Ginny was next and she was still fidgeting with her hands as she went. Percy ruffled his hair from behind but it felt awkward to Ron because Percy had never done that. He was still beaming of course, and he told Ron that he would get him the notes by tomorrow night after he sorted through them. With that Percy skipped upstairs in a happy mood. Charlie and his father retired to the living room to relax and talk about muggles and magical creatures as they always did. His mother began casting charms with her wand to help clean the plates and pans.

That left Ron on the dining table with his own thoughts. _I really need to be more careful. I almost spilled my secret for no reason. It's like I want to be locked away in a loony bin. From now on, I'll think before I speak. Also what am I gonna do with Percy's notes, I don't want to study…_ When Ron couldn't think of an answer to his problem he decided he would deal with it later. Right now he had to deal with Ginny.

Ron walked upstairs towards Ginny's room and approached the closed door. He went to knock but then stopped himself before his knuckles hit the door. _Do I really want to deal with her? I have so many other problems right now. All she is going to do is sulk and complain anyway._ He turned around and decided to go back to his room instead. Before he took even one step he heard something that made him turn around and start knocking on her door. She was crying, he could hear it through the door. "Ginny are you ok? Gin, I'm coming in" with that he slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She was sitting on her bed with her knees covering her chest. She had her head tucked in between her chest and knees. When she heard the door close she looked up and her eyes were puffy and there was some snot hanging from her nose.

"What do **you** want? Leave me alone" she muttered and then sniffled loudly.

"Gin what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He ignored her question and approached her bed quickly before sitting down next to her slowly. She didn't answer but instead wiped her nose with her sleeve. _That's a new jumper…_ "Gin-Gin… please tell me." She was quite for a moment and then she looked at him and he could see hurt and confusion in her eyes.

"You" she sniffled loudly again, "you always try to do things without me. First it was with… with Luna. You two talked and talked and never included me or asked me anything. Every time" her voice broke and she stopped and looked down at her knees. "Every time she comes around you act like I'm not there anymore. Now… now you're going off with Percy and you want to study all the time… no one plays with me or includes me…" she started crying again and every now and then her tiny body shook because of her sobs. _Damn you Percy…_

But he couldn't really blame Perce for this, he knew that. He had involuntarily caused this because he wasn't careful. He had blabbed about his journals like some moron and nearly gotten himself caught. Perce had just relayed to the family what Ron had told him earlier. And now he would have to go through with it because it was his cover for having those journals… _I'm such an idiot._ Ron sat next to her for a few minutes while she cried. When her sobbing started to slow down, he put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. She resisted a little at first but then put her full weight into his side. _Has she always felt like that? Is that why she was being a brat when Luna came over for my birthday? I need to say something to show her it isn't like that. But what should I say…?_

"Gin, I'm sorry… I didn't think about you when I decided to… start studying" at that he blanched. _I didn't think at all._ "Why don't you study with me? We can learn some cool hexes from Charlie and maybe even learn something really smart from Percy. And then we can spend our spare time together playing exploding snap or doing anything you want to do." He softly hugged her closer.

"Do you… do you promise?"

"Yes, Gin I promise."

"We don't…" she sniffled again "have wands. We can't do any spells."

"That's ok, because when we do get wands we'll already know more than everyone else in our classes at Hogwarts. And maybe we can even prank Fred and George." At that Ginny snorted and hugged him back from his side. She was quiet for a minute before she spoke again.

"I love you, Ronnie" she said softly. He couldn't help but smile. Ginny was his responsibility. But more than that, she was the one person he would always look out for. No matter what. _She won't cry because of me again. Never again._

"I love you too, Gin-Gin." She didn't say anything more, instead she simply tightened her hug. Ron was about do the same but he couldn't move his body. His entire body felt as if it had no weight and he became extremely light headed. He closed his eyes and when he opened them he instantly froze.

He was standing alone, in a black and white corridor. The corridor was grand, lined with moving portraits and suits of armors. _Not again… this can't be happening._ He heard two people talking loudly at the end of the corridor. He couldn't make out what they were saying but it was clear they were rose his in his chest as he slowly started forward towards the voices. As he got closer to the voices, he could make out a few words. It was a boy and a girl, and the boy was clearly more upset as he yelled while the girl only spoke in between his screaming in a softer tone. He stopped just before turning the corner where the voices were coming from.

"IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT HIM WITH YOU GINNY! HARRY THIS AND HARRY THAT" the boy was shouting, and Ron heard the girl whimper. _Ginny?_ "I'M SICK OF IT!" The girl sniffled loudly, and hearing that Ron turned the corner quickly and came face to face with the two people. The boy was in black and white but the girl was in color. She had red hair like his and he remembered her as the girl who had hugged George from his last vision. _Gin-Gin?_ She looked around the same age as before but he determined she was a year or two younger because she was shorter than she was in his last vision. Her eyes were puffy and she was trying to touch the boy's arm soothingly but he jerked himself away from her. _Who's this tosser?_ Ron didn't usually curse but this was his sister that this arse was screaming at.

"Dean please just listen" she whimpered, still trying to put her hand on him only for him to jerk back again. "I was… I'm sorry ok… I won't mention him again I promise." Her voice was shaky and her lower lip was quivering. _Dean…? Who the hell is Dean? And who is Harry?_

"YES YOU WILL" Dean bellowed, his face pinching in anger. "HARRY POTTER IS ALL YOU THINK ABOUT! I'VE SEEN YOU IN THE COMMON ROOM, ALWAYS JUST STARING AT HIM AND WATCHING HIM! I'M YOUR BOYFRIEND AND YOU DON'T EVEN LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" Dean was hysteric and Ginny recoiled away from him, and now started crying in earnest, but Ron just stood there frozen. _Did he say Harry Potter? THE Harry Potter? Ginny knows Harry Potter?_ Then another thing clicked in his brain. _Common Room… They are in the same House…_

Ron looked hard at his crying sister who was hiding her face. _Gryffindor badge…_ He was shaken out of his thoughts when she rushed towards him still covering her face and openly sobbing. On instinct he opened his arms to embrace and comfort her but she went right through him as if he was a ghost. _Of course…_ He heard her footsteps get farther and farther without turning back to look at her. There was too much information to process and he was too upset at seeing his sister like this to think through it properly. _It's all his fault._ Ron glared at the boy in black and white.

"Dean…" Ron spat and gritted his teeth. The boy in question was tall and dark of skin. He holding his head in his hands and his eyes were stormy as glared in the direction of where his girlfriend had run off. Then he yelled something incoherent and turned on his heel, marching down the hallway in quicksteps. Ron felt anger burning through his body like fire and he moved to start following the boy but all of a sudden he was lightheaded again. He stopped and shook his head as his vision started to get blurry. He shut his eyes tight and rubbed them.

And when he opened them he was back in Ginny's room, his sister holding him tightly for his side and humming. _Another vision… I'm not mad… Or maybe I am, I don't know…_ He slowly gazed around the room and everything was in color again. He felt his sister loosening her hug but he moved quickly and hugged her back with more force than necessary. He wanted to comfort her and he never wanted her to feel like she had in his vision. Ginny gasped at the actions of her brother and decided not to break away.

"Ronnie…? What's wrong?" She was confused and maybe even a little scared. Ron could tell because her voice was shaky and alarmed.

"Nothing Gin, I… I love you that's all…" he sighed. _That was just the vision Ron, it hasn't happened yet. Relax. It might never even happen._ He broke his hug and looked over to his sister. She was smiling and cleaning her eyes with her sleeve. He smiled at her and then after a moment he stood up without breaking his vision on her. _I have to write this down now. Before I forget._ "Goodnight Gin, it's getting a little late and I'm really tired." With that he turned around to leave but she seized his left hand from behind.

"No wait… can you sleep here tonight? Please…" Ron turned around to decline but when he saw his sister looking at her little feet, and with her ears a bright shade of red, he found that he couldn't say no.

"Ok Gin, let me go and get changed into my pajamas." She looked up grinning ear-to-ear. _Did she just… trick me?_

"Ok I'll get changed to!" With that she ran over to her cupboard and Ron left for his room. He joined her in her bed later and she quickly grabbed his right hand in her signature death grip. _OUCH… bloody hell how did I forget about that?_ He didn't sleep for a few hours at least. Even as he lay there listening to her shallow breaths, Ron found himself reliving his vision in his mind. Thoughts of Harry Potter and this Dean wanker were swirling around his head constantly. What could that particular vision mean? Could he see things that weren't all that important like a fight between two people who were dating? _Her boyfriend Dean… that tosser isn't going near my sister… I'll hex him to hell if he does._

His first vision had held so much weight but this vision wasn't as emotionally scarring. He decided in the end that it was still important enough to write down though. For one he had learned that Ginny was going to be in Gryffindor and so was THE Harry Potter. He felt himself getting excited about that. Maybe he could be friends with Harry? They would be in the same year if he could believe his parents' stories about the Boy-Who-Lived. They had told him that they were around the same age. Secondly, he knew that he would find this Dean and keep an eye on him throughout his Hogwarts years. And if he ever spoke to Ginny, Ron wouldn't hesitate to hex him. He recalled his sister's sobbing and her fading footsteps as she had run away. It was the last thing he remembered as he finally drifted into a deep slumber.

Ron woke up the next day and immediately winced, his right was throbbing. _Blood hell Gin._ Thinking about Ginny made him look around for her and he found that she was gone. _Probably at breakfast._ He stifled a yawn and hopped out of her bed and made his way back to his room. _I need to write down the vision._ "Well, well look who it is" a voice spoke from behind him. It was laced with malice and it made Ron shudder. He turned to see Fred looking at him with a blank face. "Ickle Ronnikins. Pompous Percy's pet." Fred sneered at Ron. Ron felt his temper flaring and he could feel his face getting flushed.

"Go away Fred" he sneered back. _I don't have time to deal with you._ "And stop making fun of Percy." Fred's face also flushed at hearing that and he scoffed loudly.

"Listen here you…" Fred began but then stopped, looking up at someone behind Ron. Ron turned and saw Charlie standing at the end of the corridor. He was scowling at Fred.

"Fred leave him be" Charlie said in a low menacing tone as walked up behind Ron. Fred sneered at Charlie but then sulked off downstairs. Charlie looked at Ron and a small smiled formed on his face. "Ronnie I'm really proud of you" he said softly as he knelt down to Ron's height. "Defending Perce like that, and deciding to focus on your studies. I think it's great." Ron beamed and hugged his brother. Charlie chuckled and hugged him back. Charlie had meant what he had said. He was proud of Ron. "And I meant what I said last night. I can write down some pretty nasty hexes for you in your journal if you want. I've got a lot of spare time today, if that's fine with you." _This is great. I'll give him my other journal._

"Thanks Charlie, I'll go get it now." Ron quickly ran past Charlie and towards his room. He ran in and opened his drawer and took the spare journal out. _This can be my journal for hexes and other spells. Maybe I should ask Bill too when he comes back. And Perce, I bet he knows some great stuff if his grades are anything to go by._ He turned around and saw Charlie at his door, and his brother had mischievous grin on his face. Like the time Charlie had set the ghoul in their attic free inside the Burrow. Ron chuckled at the memory, his mother had gone absolutely mental. "Here you go Charlie!" Ron handed the journal to his brother. "Please write the best ones you know" he grinned" and anything else you think is useful" he added quickly.

"It's no worries Ron" Charlie laughed as he took the journal. "I'll give this back to you tonight, yeh? You should probably wash up and get down for lunch." Then Charlie marched off downstairs. _Lunch? How long did I sleep last night? That explains why Ginny was gone when I got up._

The rest of the day went past quickly for Ron. He spent the day with Ginny just as he had promised whilst doing his best to avoid the twins who were no doubt coming for him. Both Percy and Charlie came into his room after dinner with a journal filled with hexes and jinxes, and with Percy's old notes from his first year at Hogwarts. Charlie explained that he had even put detailed explanations of the hexes and jinxes, and proper wand movements needed, to help Ron understand when and how to use each. Percy had told him that he would happily walk Ron through his notes anytime Ron needed his help. Ron was shocked to say the least, and filled with joy though he would never admit that. _Men don't talk about their feelings._

So Ron thanked them both with quick hugs and bid them goodnight. Once they left his room, Ron quickly got his vision journal out from under his bed and wrote down his latest vision and all the information he could decipher from it. While he was doing that he finally decided that he would take his studies with Perce seriously. He had never liked studying before because it was time consuming and boring to him, but seeing his brothers put so much effort in for his sake made him think about it from a different view point. _I can't let their hard work be for nothing. They'd hate me if it was. And it'll help keep my cover for why I have these journals._ Part of Ron was upset about his family's finances when he really thought about it. If they had more money, he could have just bought them with his own pocket money without anyone being the wiser. But because they were so poor, his parents kept a keen eye on their family's spending. It didn't matter in the end though because he now had the journals and even a legitimate reason as to why, it's not like he could do something about his family's wealth anyway.

Over the next seven months Ron continued his studies with vigor. He received as much help as he could from Percy before he had to leave for Hogwarts, and the two had bonded quite a lot. Much to Ron's surprise he now felt as though he had finally come to understand Percy a lot more than the rest of his siblings did. Percy's drive to be successful came from his frustrations with the family's financial problems, his need to stand out from Bill and Charlie's shadows, and most importantly because he wanted to be recognized as more than just another Weasley. He wanted the world to know that he was his own man. Ron couldn't help but sympathize with Percy once he learnt these things, because he too felt the same way. They both just wanted to be accepted as their own selves and be respected for it. And so Ron found himself anticipating every lesson with Percy, much to his brother's joy.

This of course led to a few other problems and benefits with the rest of his family. For one, the twins had decided to treat Ron as just another Percy. They were cold and bitter in their interactions with him. Worse was the fact that he had been pranked more times in the next three months than he had in his entire life. One of those pranks left him with a broken wrist which had made their mother spit fire. However, it was Percy who had truly lost his temper and broken George's nose while also kicking Fred between the legs with such force that Ron had gagged at the squeal Fred had made on his way to the ground. They left him alone after that. Charlie, after a month of pushing, had finally convinced Ron to physically train with him and to join him for morning runs and some other workouts like pushups and sit-ups.

"It doesn't matter how good of a wizard you are Ron if you can't cast a few spells without losing yer bloody breath" Charlie had joked. But Ron could see that his brother was right. Charlie after all was the toughest of the Weasley children, of that there was no doubt between any of the siblings. Ginny had joined him for his studies with Percy for a month before she decided it was too boring and not worth her time. She would just play with her Ronnie after he finished his studies. She did however join Ron and Charlie for their runs and exercises up until Charlie left for Hogwarts. That was when their mother had put an end to that because it wasn't ladylike. Whatever that meant, Ron wasn't sure he'd ever know.

When he continued his studies and exercises everyday even after Percy and Charlie's departure, his parents had been overjoyed. Molly would always ask him to show her his muscles, which he did quite proudly (even though there wasn't much there, but he didn't know that), and she would always cook him a hearty breakfast after his runs in the morning. His father had taken him to Diagon Alley at the start of November and bought him a brand new set of quills, three new journals, and ink that was of higher quality than even the one Arthur himself used. He had then taken Ron to Madam Malkin's Robes and had new training garments made for him that were enchanted to grow with his size. His father had never spent so much on him before and Ron had cried from joy and gratitude when they got home. Arthur had held his son tightly and told him that he could not be more proud of Ron's new attitude. If everything else hadn't already cemented his new attitude, then his father's word did.

By the time his ninth birthday came around Ron had all but forgotten about his visions. He hadn't had one since his night in Ginny's room, and he had become far too occupied with his own busy schedule to think too much on this. After all he had to incorporate his studies, his exercises, his time with his mother and father, his time trying to dodge the twins and their pranks, his chores, and the one activity that took up most of his time awake, playing with and watching over Ginny, all in one day, every day. Though it was overwhelming at first, Ron had persisted and as such learned to deal with it all without going mental. It also helped quite a lot when Fred and George finally decided to let up on their crusade against him. Watching him spend so much of his time with Ginny made them realize that their little bro wasn't going to start acting pompous and too good for his family like Percy did. Once they figured that out, they slowly made their peace with their brother and things finally fell back to some semblance of normalcy.

All that sense of normality went out the window on his ninth birthday. He was just about to start cutting his cake, as his family and the Lovegoods (Mr. Lovegood wasn't there again) sang the birthday song, when he started to feel really lightheaded. The knife slipped from his hand and fell to the floor, and he shook his head hard to get rid of the fog that was starting to cover his mind. He blinked rapidly as he heard words of concern from everyone that was around him, but the words felt as though they were being spoken from far away. And then he was in a room which was all black and white.

 _Bloody hell! Another vision?_ He was confused momentarily but quickly regained his focus, something which he had got a lot more of due to his new disciplined lifestyle. _Focus and look for the person this vision is about._ Ron looked around his surroundings. He was in a wide and circular room, there were arched windows, chairs and tables, there were bookcases filled with books covering the walls, and when he looked up he saw that the ceiling was painted with stars. Even in black and white this room was beautiful and Ron was in complete awe. There were a bunch of teenage girls occupying the chairs but they were not in color so Ron ignored them. _Where is the person I'm looking for? And who is it?_ Ron found himself growing excited, it had been ages since he had a vision and he had begun to fear that he had lost his power. Or that he was just going crazy the first two time around… He heard a door open behind him and he turned to see who it was. _She's in color! The vision is about her!_

Ron looked at the girl who came skipping into the room while she hummed loudly. She was a teenager, had dirty blonde hair, pale silver eyes, and a thin figure. _Luna…?_ She looked even more like her mother than before. He observed her clothing and noticed the Ravenclaw emblem over her robes. _Just like her mum._ Then he noticed something very odd as she got closer to him. She had a faraway look in her eyes and wore a smile that didn't reach her big buggy eyes. She also had no shoes on and a necklace made of butterbeer corks around her neck which really dumbfounded Ron. As she went through him and past the girls sitting on the chair, the girls sniggered and called her Loony Lovegood.

"Lost your shoes again Loony? It's such a shame that the Sorting Hat let you disgrace the good name of Rowena Ravenclaw" sneered one of the girls, who Ron thought was possibly the leader of this gang. _Loony? Disgrace?_ Luna didn't stop her skipping and humming though, she simply went towards a white marble statue of a woman Ron had no clue about. The other girls laughed loudly at the girl's comment. Ron followed Luna as she marched up the stairs and stopped as she closed the door to her room in his face. _Great… now what?_ He stood there for a few moments before he remembered he was like a ghost in these visions. _Guess I'll have to test this out and see how it goes._

He closed his eyes and slowly walked towards the door. As he went through the door, he had a queasy feeling in his stomach but it passed as soon as he was fully through. _Bloody hell, that was so awesome._ He opened his eyes and looked around the room, it was dark except for the moonlight shining through the windows which slightly illuminated the room. Luna stood at the end of a four poster bed with her back to him. There were four other poster beds just like hers around the room. He approached her from behind and looked over from her side to see what she was staring at. _It's weird being shorter than Luna._ He found a trunk which was opened and the clothes inside were packed in a disorganized manner.

Upon closer inspection he could see that the clothes were damaged. Luna leaned over and picked up a dress from her trunk. It was a strange sundress with a giant moth attached to its right breast, and it had tears all over it. _Why is her dress…?_ But before he finished his thoughts he realized something horrible. _Loony… Disgrace… the girls laughing behind her back… They're bullying her. Her bare feet…_ Anger rose in his chest so fast that he had to clench his teeth just so he wouldn't scream. _Those… those bitches!_ He looked up to Luna's face to see if she was okay, and he found her smiling her weird smile. It jarred him. _She… doesn't even care?_

She then put the dress back in the trunk and started to hum as she walked over to the side of her bed. She then started to disrobe while humming, and when she began unbuttoning her shirt, Ron quickly turned around and slapped his hands over his eyes. _BLOODY HELL SHE IS GETTING NAKED!_ He ripped his hands away from his face and started marching towards the door, his cheeks were burning and he knew that his ears were so bright red that they could be mistaken for beacons. But he stopped just before he got to the door. His heart was beating fast and his breathing had become uneven as he heard Luna throwing her discarded clothes on to the floor. He began debating if he should turn and look.

Curiosity won in the end and he slowly turned around to gaze at Luna. _She's... she's naked…_ Luna stood there naked as the day she was born with the moonlight shining off her pale skin. She was thin but not skinny, and he gazed over her slight curves. She had small but firm looking bumps on her chest and small pink nipples. Ron stood in complete silence, mouth hanging slightly open, as she made her way into her bed, and in doing so, gave him a good look at her buttocks along the way. After she was tucked in, she stopped humming and closed her eyes to sleep. Ron just stood there like a statue. _A perverted statue... I shouldn't have… but I did… I saw a naked gi... naked Luna._ Shame quickly flooded his brain and he turned back around to face the door. His cheeks were still burning and his heart beat even faster than before. He put his hands over his face slowly, covering his eyes. _Bloody hell... if Luna ever finds out I saw her, she will murder me. Maybe she should…? I'm such a pervert!_ When he removed his hands and opened his eyes, he was back in his dining room with an uncut cake and a whole lot of people looking at him in deep concern. _It's over…_

He felt lightheaded and had to grab the table to steady himself. His mother was already at his right side and had her hand on his shoulder in comforting way. "Honey? Are you alright? You look a bit green" his mother said, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeh mum… I just feel sick" he lied. He felt guilty and ashamed, but how was he supposed to explain that he had been peeping on his childhood friend not even one minute ago. "I just need to lie down."

"Alright honey you go lie down on the couch and mummy will bring you some cake ok? Ginny take your brother to the couch please." Ginny quickly came over and grabbed his left hand.

"Come on Ronnie" she whispered as she led him to the couch. They both sat down and in a moment Luna joined them on the couch. Ron's guilt flared up again and he looked down at his feet.

"Ron are you ok?" Luna spoke softly as she sat down next to him. He nodded his head but didn't look up. _I don't want to look at her… She'll know…_ Then Luna began rubbing circles on his back with her hand. Ron tensed at her touch but then slowly relaxed. It felt nice.

"What are you doing Lu?" Ginny questioned. Luna didn't stop though.

"When I'm sick, Daddy always does this for me and I feel better. So I'm doing it for Ron" she answered. "Do you feel better Ron?" He did feel better.

"Yes" he whispered. He had never felt more ashamed as he did right in this moment however. Luna was comforting him and he had peeped on her like some creeper. Then he felt another hand from his other side rubbing his back as well. _Ginny._ They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Well comfortable for the girls anyway. Ron still hadn't looked up from his feet. Pandora and Molly then came inside with three plates of cake. Ron and the girls ate in silence. Ron wasn't really hungry, which surprised him because he was always hungry, but he didn't stop eating.

"Luna sweetie, I think we should head back home. Your father will be coming home soon and Ron needs to rest" Pandora said in her airy and carefree voice. He could feel Pandora's piercing gaze on him though and it turned his stomach. _Don't look back at her… Don't look._ Luna nodded, and after hugging Ron, both mother and daughter went back home via floo. Ron soon went to bed after that himself, feeling tired and guilty.

He woke up the next morning to find his nightstand littered with sweets of all kinds. Sugar quills, Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, licorice wands, and his beloved chocolate frogs. _Who would give me all these?_ He thought for a second before realizing who. _The twins._ That made his heart swell and a grin broke out on his face. They still loved him. The day moved on and he slowly began to feel normal again after he had written his vision down in his vision journal. His guilt also left him eventually and was replaced with a small sense of pride for the strangest of reasons. He had seen a naked girl! Even if it was Luna, it still made him feel like more of a grown up. Charlie always said it was a milestone every man had to cross no matter what, and he had done it. _In a really weird way._

The days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, and Ron kept up with his schedule. He had already finished his first year studies by the time Percy and Charlie came home from Hogwarts, much to Percy's joy and Charlie's amusement. They both tested him as well to see if he had cut corners, and were shocked to find that he smashed through their tests. Percy noted that Ron had done exceptionally well on Potions, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts while his Herbology still needed work. Charlie was also very happy to learn that Ron had managed to memorize most of the hexes and jinxes, including their specific wand movements, and had decided to add some charms and even a few curses to the journal.

Ron was ecstatic with Charlie's decision and promised his brother that he would make sure to learn them. This had made Charlie chuckle and roughly ruffle Ron's hair. Percy told him that he had brought his second year notes for Ron, and Ron could sense that Percy was unsure about his decision. When Ron asked Percy when they would start excitedly, Percy had embraced his little brother with a massive grin threatening to split his face… again. _He really likes helping me? Perce is great! I shouldn't have teased him all these years…_ Ron felt a pang of guilt at the thought but quickly shoved it down. _I can't change the past… but the future… the future is in my hands!_ His father's words were a comfort to him. On the off chance that he really was a seer, those words meant the whole world.

The next year went by much faster, and Ron's continued efforts on his studies and exercises became a normal thing to his family. His mother still boasted to her friends about her youngest son, whom she claimed would turn Hogwarts on its head, much to Ron's embarrassment. By July of 1990, Ron was ten years old and he had already completed the first two years of Hogwarts schooling. He was keen to start on third year but Percy had stopped him. Percy explained that too much information would only hinder him if he hadn't perfected his first two years yet. Ron had been a little upset but in the end had agreed to go with Percy's plan. _He hasn't let me down yet._

So Ron decided that he would spend the year before joining Hogwarts brushing up on and perfecting everything he had learned so far. That included everything in his ever growing journal of charms, hexes and jinxes as well. Bill had also dropped by a few times at the burrow from his new job and had been very surprised by this new Ron. On Ron's request, Bill had taught him a few things about wards and what it was like to be a curse breaker. Bill had also bought Ron a "Guide to Wards for Amateurs" handbook with his own money the very next day. Ron had read quite a bit through it but he had understood very little, and so he decided that he would come back to it one day when he knew more about complicated magic.

In the year in which had turned from nine to ten, Ron had found himself in three more visions after seeing a naked Luna. None of them held much meaning to him but he still recorded them in his vision journal. The first one was with a teenage George running around in a dark hallway with a strange parchment in his hands. Ron had noted that the parchment had become a map of sorts when his brother had said the words "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" and tapped it with his wand. Ron thought that was pretty cool but when his brother said the words "Mischief managed" the map had disappeared, and it left Ron in awe. The second vision had been with Ginny, in which he saw her snogging with her 'boyfriend' Dean. Ron had been shaken by the sight at first, but he had quickly gone into a blind rage.

He had thrown himself at Dean, yelling obscenities, only to find himself going right through the bastard and landing face-first on the cold floor. _I'll kill that tosser I SWEAR IT!_ With these words, Ron had cemented his hatred for Dean deep in his heart. His third vision had been the weirdest of them all though. It was just his mother doing the dishes and giggling to herself about something. He had no damn clue as to why she was giggling like a child and he didn't even know what to do with that, but he had learned a nifty trick during this vision. He had by chance glanced at their family calendar and clock (the normal clock), which in turn had sparked an idea in his head. _If I find a calendar and a clock in my visions, I can pinpoint where and when they will happen._ He knew this would be useful in the future if he did turn out to be a seer. He was still unsure about being a seer though. It sounded too big for him. He had never been anything brilliant, unlike his brothers, and now he was thinking about changing the future with his 'visions'. It was just too big and it scared him. It scared him a lot.

At the end of the first week of September, the Lovegoods had joined them for dinner. Only Arthur, Molly, Ginny, and Ron were home at that point. The rest of the Weasley siblings were at Hogwarts while Bill was in Egypt for his job as a curse breaker for Gringotts Bank. Ron had finally smothered his guilt about seeing Luna without any clothes by then, and was now happily chatting with her and Ginny about Hogwarts. Luna was excited for Ron but Ginny was greatly upset that her Ronnie would leave her this time next year. Mr. Lovegood was there this time around and was chatting with Ron's father and mother about some new terrifying creature he would soon be leaving to find. His parent's listened and nodded but Ron could tell they didn't really believe in this new creature. Mrs. Lovegood was smiling lovingly at her husband as he explained this new creature with gusto. Feeling Ron's eyes on her, she turned to him and beamed.

"Ron, are you excited for next year? You'll soon be sorted into Ravenclaw" she teased, her smile was mischievous and Ron caught on. Pandora was trying to rile up his mother again. It had become a hobby of hers and she seemed to always succeed. Ron didn't mind though because after she would leave, Molly would dote on Ron like some mother hen that had felt threatened. Ron liked the attention.

"Yes" he said, voice dripping with fake excitement. "I can't wait to join the house you grew up in Mrs. Lovegood. I already know mostly everything that will be taught for the first two years of my schooling." Pandora actually found her interest rising. Was he telling her the truth? Molly had also broken away from her previous conversation and was quietly listening in on her son's conversation.

"Is that so, Ron?" Pandora's voice was now tinged with genuine curiosity. "And how did you learn all this?"

"Percy and Charlie taught me" Ron answered quickly. _I have to be careful not to tell her too much. She always figures me out somehow._ Ron was a little wary of Mrs. Lovegood. He feared her odd ability to always know how people around her felt. He couldn't let her find his secret. She would tell his parents and that would complicate everything. The chance to change the future might be ripped from his hands all together.

"Really? That's… very interesting Ron" she said slowly and during that her smile faded completely. Her silver eyes bore into his, and his heartbeat quickened. He forced himself to smile and not to show any sign of the fact that he was clearly hiding something. But he knew his cheeks and ears had turned red. _Pleasedon'tfigureitout… Pleasedon'tfigureitout… Pleasedon'tfigureitout…_ He found himself thinking quickly and repeating those words in his head. "Molly, is this true?" Pandora turned her gaze from Ron's and towards his mother.

"Yes, Pandora it is. Ronnie has been studying and exercising every day for the last two years" his mother said proudly. _Is she puffing her chest out?_ "I could not be more proud. He will surely make a great Gryffindor!" _Ah… there it is._ It was no secret that the Weasley clan had become notorious for only being sorted into Gryffindor for… well forever, if he could believe his mother's stories. So it was no shock that his mother lashed out at everything and everyone that said otherwise. Especially when it was about her babies.

"He clearly demonstrates intelligence and even wisdom from what you tell me. Those are Ravenclaw traits. Wouldn't you agree, Ron?" Pandora was clearly back in teasing mode, and Ron wouldn't waste that opportunity. _Better mum getting mad than me getting caught…_

"Percy thinks that as well, Mrs. Lovegood" he replied, a small smile fighting onto his lips. "He says it was a very **wise** choice to begin my studies early." His emphasis on the word wise made his mother take in a sharp breath.

"Well, I think it was very **brave and daring** of you Ronnie to tackle such advanced studies" his mother almost shrieked. "Those are **Gryffindor** traits. Wouldn't you agree, Pandora?" The tension in the room was palpable. His mother had a challenging and defiant look on her face whilst Mrs. Lovegood had her usual aloof and calm demeanor. Her smile made it clear to Ron though that she was loving pulling his mother's leg.

"Of course I agree, Molly" Pandora spoke softly. His mother huffed in response. "But with Ron's affinity for chess, and now his studies, I cannot see him going anywhere else but Ravenclaw. **Our** house always has a place for those with a sharp mind." This made his mother's face flush red and Ron could swear that she was shaking with rage. _Mrs. Lovegood took it too far and now we are all screwed…_ Ron waited for the end-of-times with bated breath but before his mother could explode on the dinner table, his father spoke quickly.

"Well, we will love Ron no matter where he is sorted" his father said, all the while staring at his wife. "Won't we love?" Ron admired his father's ability to diffuse his mother's rage. It was the reason why all the siblings would go to their father first if they did something unbelievably stupid. He would always end up comforting them instead of giving them verbal lashings like their mother did. The only time he had seen his father truly furious was when the twins had almost made Ron do an unbreakable vow with them.

"Of course we will" his mother answered hastily, shooting a glare at her husband. "But it doesn't matter because Ronnie will be in Gryffindor" she added quickly, which made his father sigh. The children in the room were dead silent during this and they concentrated on what was on their plates instead. This included Ron. _No way am I gonna get involved in this…_ Mr. Lovegood, of all people, noticed the children.

"It doesn't matter yet, friends" Mr. Lovegood declared. "For now all that matters is our fine dinner" at that Molly nodded with gusto, "and that we enjoy each other's company." Pandora smiled at her husband and Arthur quickly agreed. Dinner proceeded again and soon enough the conversations were back. While Ron was stuffing his face at an alarming speed, he could still feel that Mrs. Lovegood would occasionally look at Ron from the corner of her eyes whilst she spoke with the other adults. _Does she know something? I bloody hope not._

"Ron can you pass me the salad?" asked Mrs. Lovegood. Ron reached over and grabbed the bowl and passed it along to her. For a mere moment their fingers grazed against one another. Ron's body felt weightless and his head became light, and then he was no longer in the dining room.

Ron found himself in a black and white cellar of sorts, or was it a basement. Either way he couldn't really tell. He was just about to look around for clues when he heard a sound that sent a deathly chill throughout his body. Someone behind him was gurgling, as if choking on water. He turned slowly, and his body began shaking slightly. _What kind of sound is that…? A person can't make that sound._ What he saw made him scream and fall on his backside from sheer terror alone. There, in a pool of blood, lay Pandora Lovegood.

She was still moving, but barely. Her already pale skin was ghostly pale now, and most of it was covered in her own blood. Her dirty blonde locks were slick with dark red blood. Thick streams of blood oozed out from her mouth as she was trying to breathe. As she was trying to call for help… Ron turned his head away and retched hard. His throat burned from the bile and his eyes stung. The gurgling sound never stopped. Tears spilled onto his face and he let out another scream before crawling away from the dying woman. _NO NO NO NO! NOT THIS! NOT ANOTHER DEATH PLEASE!_ He shut his eyes tight and blocked his ears with his hands. He couldn't bear to hear that disgusting sound, if he did he knew he would vomit again. _Mrs. Lovegood… no…_ He began sobbing in full force and his body heaved. He couldn't breathe. "Mummy! Mummy, are you down in your lab? I'm coming in" rang a child's voice from upstairs. _A child… LUNA!_ Ron was on his feet in a flash and looked over to the stairs leading out of the lab.

"NO! LUNA STAY OUT! DON'T COME DOWN HERE" Ron cried, his throat still burning from bile. The door leading outside swung open slowly. "LUNA PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! DON'T COME HERE!" He was completely hysterical now. _She can't see this… she…_ His eyes widened in horror as she came into his view. She was smiling and humming as she came down the stairs. _She looks exactly the same as now? WHAT THE HELL IS THE DATE?_ Ron jerked his whole body around, looking for a calendar. There was no calendar around. When he heard a girl shriek it turned his blood into ice. _Not this… please Merlin._

"Mummy…?" Ron looked at Luna. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly. Her lips were quivering and her small body was slightly shaking. Tears then fell from her eyes and left marks on her small face as they went. She walked towards her mother slowly, as if in a trance. "Mum… Mummy what's wrong?" Even louder choking sounds were the only response Luna received. Ron moved to shield Luna's vision on instinct and when she passed right through him, he let out a scream in anger. _BLOODY HELL… I have to find a calendar now!_

Determined, he ran full tilt up the stairs and into the Lovegood's kitchen. A small part of him had just wanted to get out of that room. He could hear his heart beating in his ears as he frantically searched for a calendar, or anything that would tell him the damn date. He didn't find one so he moved on to the living room. He saw one as soon as he entered the living room, and with a clock right above it no less. _FINALLY!_ He quickly ran over to it and started looking for the date first. _Saturday the thirteenth, 1990… today was the fifth… eight days…_ He looked up at the clock. _Just over half past one… I can't forget this._ A loud wailing sound pierced the house, and it made Ron jump. _LUNA…_ He ran back down to the cellar as fast as he bloody could, all the while repeating the date and time in his head. The wailing continued even as he reached the end of the stairs and then he looked over to Luna.

She was clutching her mother's face and was just screaming her heart out. "Mummy… get up… what's wrong with you…? Tell me" she managed to say in between her crying and screaming. Ron approached them and his gaze fell on Mrs. Lovegood's face. She had stopped making that wretched sound and was motionless. Her eyes were wide open and glazed over. _Her eyes… they're… empty…_ When he had seen his dead brother, Fred's eyes were closed. _This… this is…_ Seeing those eyes, Ron felt as though they were pulling him in. His knees just gave out and he started to hyperventilate. _I can't… breathe… she's dead… what is… Luna…_ Ron tried to grab Luna, but as he passed through her, he lost his balance and fell face down on the floor. He just lay there trying to breathe, trying to not die there and then. This is what death felt like. He just knew it. His own body was going through both Luna and her mother but he just lay there. _This is hell…_ His eyes closed by themselves. He was so tired… He just needed some sleep…

When he opened his eyes, he was back on the dining table. He looked up to see a confused and concerned Mrs. Lovegood staring back at him. He slowly looked at the table and saw that he had dropped the bowl. He looked back up at the woman who he had seen die just a moment ago. Her mouth was moving but there was no sound coming. Actually there was no sound anywhere… at all… _What…_ He felt vomit rising at the back of his throat and he stood up abruptly, shocking everyone on the table, and bolted towards the toilet. As soon as he reached it, he retched straight in. Just when he thought he'd finally stop, he'd retch again. He didn't even notice as his father knelt down next to him. After he had finally stopped, his father put his hand on Ron's back. Ron flinched hard and shrank away from his father, whose eyes widened with fear as he stepped back quickly. Ron looked back up to his father and saw fear in the man's eyes for the first time. His vision blurred and then it all went dark.

He woke up in the evening the next day. His body was exhausted and it ached while he moved out of bed. His thoughts were a mess. He didn't even realize what he was doing as he found his vision journal and started writing down his newest, and most terrifying, vision. The vision of Fred's death was bad, yes, and it had completely jarred him. _But this…_ Seeing a woman he knew slowly die as her daughter wailed over her corpse… And then to find himself sitting right in front of her again… As if nothing had even happened… It was too much. There was so much blood. _What could do that to someone?_ By the time Ron finished he could smell dinner. He packed his things and hid his journal. He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

The boy staring back was pale, much paler than he remembered. There were dark bags under his eyes, and those eyes looked hollow. He felt hollow. Like there was no strength left in him. He didn't want to be a seer anymore. Not after seeing that. If he was one… then Mrs. Lovegood was going to die in just a few days… and Luna would find her. In that moment, he didn't care if he was never considered brilliant. He didn't care if he never got to be a famous hero. He didn't care. All he cared about was that his visions never came true. He went to turn on the tap so he could wash his face, and he saw that his hands were trembling. He clenched them into fists to stop it. It worked. He turned the tap on and washed his face. The cool water felt divine. He looked back at the mirror and made a silent promise. He would stop this. _All of it._ And to do that, he had to be stronger. In body and in mind. Just as his brothers Charlie and Percy had taught him. And so he put a smile on his face that never reached his eyes, and marched downstairs to eat.

The next few days passed slowly for Ron, and he felt his dread rise with every passing minute. His family had been shocked to see him up and about. And smiling no less. They told him that the healer had diagnosed Ron with an acute stress disorder. His mother had uncleaned tear tracks over her cheeks and his father looked buggered. Ginny just looked worried and scared on his behalf. His parents forced him to promise that he would slow down. That he shouldn't take on so much study and extra activities all in one day. _They have no idea… Good. Thank Merlin for that._ And before he knew it, it was the night before the thirteenth. This was the last night that Mrs. Lovegood might see. Tomorrow he would know the truth. Tomorrow he might save a woman's life. _Tomorrow…_

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 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry for the cliffhanger but the chapter was getting really long, and I didn't want to add the next segment just yet! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will probably upload the next chapter in the next two days! Praise University Holidays!**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Pandora's Box

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: ANOTHER ONE! God, I'm just pumping chapters out for this thing huh.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 3 – Pandora's Box**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron didn't sleep much that night. He tossed and turned in his bed, and what little sleep he did get was interrupted by terrible nightmares of cold, empty eyes and disgusting gurgling noises. Those nightmares had left him shaken and breaking out in a cold sweat. Eventually Ron gave up on sleep and moved out of his bed. He paced his room for a short while and then looked outside his window. It was still dark but he knew it was late. He quietly snuck out of his room and headed downstairs for a cold drink of water. As he carefully avoided the more sensitive parts of the Burrow's flooring, he took a glance at the clock in his kitchen. It was just a little over four in the morning. _Dad will be up for work soon. I should get what I came for and head back quickly._ And that's what he did. Once he was back in his room, he felt his dread flare up. It was almost time…

His hands had begun trembling again and no matter how tightly he clenched them into fists, they didn't stop shaking. So he decided to just ignore them. He had a plan to make and worry over. Ron then spent the next three hours planning. In the end, his plan was simple. He would ask, even beg, his mother to allow him to go to the Lovegood residence as soon as breakfast ended. He wanted to get there before midday started. Then he would hang out with Luna, and maybe even do his best to keep Mrs. Lovegood out of her lab.

He didn't want her to become suspicious of him just in case his visions were just the work of his imagination. If he couldn't keep Mrs. Lovegood away from the lab, then he would excuse himself from Luna around quarter past one. He would tell her that he needed to use the loo so she wouldn't follow him downstairs from her bedroom. Then he would look for Mrs. Lovegood and if she began to go down to her lab, he would intervene. He didn't know how he would convince her to believe him, but he knew he was willing to part with his secret if it meant she would live. If it meant that Luna wouldn't find her… His thoughts drifted to Luna. He had known her since he was six. Ginny had made friends with her, and he had first met her when the girls were having a sleepover at the burrow. He had grown very fond of her over the years and had even begun to see her like a sister. _Just like Ginny._ And now she needed him, even if she didn't know it. His doubts about his abilities didn't even cross his mind when he thought about Luna. _I have to succeed… I have to protect her._

The smell of breakfast broke him away from his thoughts and somber mood. _Here we go Ron, this is it._ He changed into his clothes for the day and headed downstairs. He was greeted by the sight of his mother putting plates of food on the dining table. _Bacon and eggs… my favorite._ He had noticed a new trend in the last few days after his vision of Mrs. Lovegood. His family wasn't treating him like he was Ron anymore. His father was spending all his spare time with Ron, talking with him about his day and telling him absurd stories about muggles. His mother had made his favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. She constantly dote on him and hugged him tightly every time she saw him. And when his mother saw him studying or going for his runs, she would frown and just walk away quickly. Ginny was being possessive as always so that wasn't too different. At first the extra attention was great. Ron had been overjoyed but over the last couple of days, it had made him feel uneasy. He couldn't quite understand why, but it just did. Why were they acting like this? "Morning mum" Ron greeted with fake enthusiasm. His mother turned and beamed at him.

"Morning sweetheart" she cooed and walked over to hug him. _Again…_ He hugged her back of course, but he couldn't quite put his heart into it. "How is my lovely boy this morning?" _Dreadful…_

"I'm feeling good, Mum" he lied. He sat down in his chair and began putting some food on his plate. He only put a little because he wasn't feeling hungry, which was just so wrong for him. _Food is something I love just as much as my family. Ok that might be going too far…_ But right now, he didn't even want to eat. He wanted to get to the Lovegood house. His mother noticed but she didn't say a word and quietly went back to her work. He finished quickly and handed her his empty plate. She smiled as she took it and cupped his cheek with her other hand.

"Take it easy today honey, don't push yourself too much ok?" _Why? What's wrong with just doing what I've been doing for the last two years? Doesn't matter right now. I need to get her permission._

"Actually mum, I was wondering if I could go to Luna's house today?" That put a questioning look on her face. "It's just that… I feel really good when I hang out with Luna… um… she plays chess with me…" he finished lamely. _Smooth… really smooth…_

"Of course honey, just grab a pinch of floo powder from the pot and head over whenever you feel like" his mother said softly. _Wait… that worked? It actually bloody worked? What is going on with mum and dad?_ His mother would have never let him use floo powder, which is expensive, after such a lame excuse before. And now she didn't even need convincing? _Seriously, what is happening here?_ "Take Ginny with you honey, I'm sure she will like that." _NO!_ He had to clamp his mouth shut to not yell his first thought out loud. _Relax… think this through._

"Actually mum, I was hoping… to go alone. Is that all right?" His mother looked at him in confusion for a second, but then her eyes widened a little and a small smile broke out on her face. Ron thought it looked a little creepy.

"Oh" she began, her smile becoming wider "sure thing honey, Luna is a lovely girl…" She turned around and went back to her work. _What in the name of Merlin's smelly underwear is going on?_ He decided that this mystery needed solving the moment he came home today. The fact that his mother was fine with him leaving Ginny behind irked him, even if that was what he wanted. As he started to walk upstairs, he could hear his mother giggling like some teenage girl. _I'm definitely going to figure this out. But later._ He had a quick shower, and after spending some time reassuring himself in the mirror, he walked back downstairs and headed for the fireplace. On the way there he tried to be as stealthy as possible, if Ginny saw him then she would come along no matter what. He had come to understand that his sister felt a little jealous of Luna, though why she would feel that way he didn't know.

Once safely there he looked around slowly to make sure he was alone, and then took a pinch of floo powder from the pot right on top of the fireplace. "The Rookery!" Ron spoke clearly, and then threw the floo powder into the fireplace. The small fire burst to life as it took on a shade of green, and Ron stepped through it.

Ron stumbled into the Lovegood home and fell down after he lost his balance. He could never stick the landing. He stood up and patted the ash from his clothes. _This is it. Moment of truth…_ He looked around the strange room. The first time he had visited the Lovegood home, he had been in awe. Their home looked like a rook piece from chess from the outside, which he had immediately loved, and all the rooms had a cylinder shape on the inside. The house had consisted of three levels, four now that he knew of the lab. He was in the kitchen right now, which was on the ground level and accessible the moment one came through the front door. The middle level was the living room and the top room was Luna's bedroom.

He didn't exactly know where her parents slept but he didn't really care right now. _Focus… I have to focus._ He did another quick scan of the room, but something was missing. Something important… _Where is the bloody door that leads to the lab?_ He looked around to make sure he hadn't missed anything but it wasn't there. _What the…?_ He heard footsteps coming from upstairs. They were light and quick, and then Luna came skipping into the kitchen from the stairs leading up to the living room. "Ron?" Her voice was loud and excited. He put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes and then waved to her.

"Hi Luna" he greeted. "I was bored at home so I thought we could maybe hang out?" Luna smiled a wide smile and ran up to hug him. He blushed at that and his ears turned red. He still had trouble touching her after the 'naked vision', as he had eloquently dubbed it. "So is it all right if I hang out with you today?"

"Of course Ron, let's go to my room! We can play some chess and talk about it." At that he smiled genuinely. She led him upstairs with letting go of his hand and once they were in the living room she spoke again. "Mummy, Ron's here and he wants to hang out with me!" He almost snorted but stopped himself, Luna was so cute. He knew she was lonely being an only child because he couldn't imagine life without his siblings.

"Oh!" Mrs. Lovegood was surprised to see Ron here, and alone at that. She looked at the two children, beaming in joy. "That's very sweet of him. Welcome back to our home Ron, it's good to have you here." Her eyes locked with his for a moment before he blushed and looked down at his shuffling feet. She chuckled at that.

"It's good to be here, Mrs. Lovegood" he replied, still looking at his little feet. _No it isn't… I really wish I didn't have to be here right now._ He looked back up at Mrs. Lovegood and found her smiling fondly at him. His eyes drifted past her and to the clock behind her. _Almost half past eleven… so close…_ Mrs. Lovegood noticed his eyes and turned around to see what he was looking at. Noticing the clock, she let out a small laugh. _Great, now she's being weird as well._

"Well don't let me keep you two, hurry along now. And Ron, you can call me Pandora. No need to be so formal." He nodded quickly and was dragged away by Luna towards her bedroom. Before he reached the end of the stairs he stopped and looked back to Mrs. Lovegood.

"Mrs. Love…" he stopped abruptly, when she tutted at him. "Pandora…" _that sounds weird…_ "Where is Mr. Lovegood? I didn't see him in the kitchen." Pandora huffed in irritation, though it was in a playful manner.

"Xenophilius is currently on an expedition to find a dangerous new creature. You remember, don't you? He spoke about it with your father." She then sighed loudly. "I was working on a new spell and he was supposed to help me today, but you know my husband…" _He's not here._ He then remembered his vision about her and in it, Mr. Lovegood was nowhere to be found. Luna had found her dying mother and her father wasn't even there… _He was chasing some… some animal while his wife was dying!_ The thought made Ron angry and his face began to flush. He quickly went up into Luna's bedroom before Pandora could notice anything was amiss. Luna was already setting up the board and humming a tune he didn't recognize. _She always hums._ Noticing him enter, she looked up and beamed.

"Come on Ron! Let's play! I want to be white though" she exclaimed excitedly. Ron just smiled a hollow smile and sat down across from her.

They had played three games so far, and Luna had lost all of them. He was going easy on her of course, but that didn't mean he would let her beat him. Chess was his domain… and he never lost in his domain. Never. Luna however, was a great sport and asked him to teach her more things about chess. _She is so different from Gin… If this was with Gin, she would have already thrown a tantrum._ His sister was a hot-tempered girl for sure, just like the rest of her family. In contrast, Luna was a calm and almost timid girl. _How they became so close to each other, I'll never understand._ "Sure thing Luna, but let me just grab a glass of water real quick" he said, and then stood up to walked downstairs.

"OK! I'll set up the board again" she replied and began her task. He walked into the living room and looked at the clock. _Five minutes past one… twenty five minutes left…_ He was sweating under his pits and his hands felt clammy as well. He was nervous, and maybe even a little scared. _Calm down, it might not even happen…_ Pandora was sitting in the corner behind him and he hadn't noticed her.

"Well, hello Ron" she spoke softly from behind him in her airy voice. Ron jumped and turned around fast as lightning, his eyes were wide open. Pandora was shocked at this at first, but then she got worried. "Ron, are you alright?"

"Ye… yes" he stammered as he relaxed a little. "You just… scared me that's all." He looked down at his feet feeling flustered. _Calm down… calm down. Everything is fine…_ Pandora looked at the boy in genuine worry. His mother had owled her the next day after his abrupt exit from the dinner at the Burrow last week. The owl explained that the healer who came to see Ron that night, had diagnosed the poor boy with an acute stress disorder. Pandora believed that Ron's busy schedule had been the cause. And she knew why that schedule existed in the first place. She knew all too well… But in the end she elected to not tell his parents. It wasn't her secret to share.

"Sorry about that dear, I'll stop sneaking about" she joked. Sensing that, Ron fully relaxed and even snorted.

"It's your house, you can lurk about as much as you like" he joked back. He broke into a big smile when she laughed loudly. When she stopped, she stood up and walked over to Ron. She then placed her soft hands on both his cheeks and gave them a small squeeze. Ron blushed at the sudden affection that even Mrs. Lovegood was showing him.

"Make sure to hold onto that sense of humor Ron, it'll help you make many friends in Hogwarts next year." With that she let go and walked downstairs. Ron stood silently for a few moments after she was gone before realization hit him. _She went downstairs… MERLIN!_ He quietly went down the stairs and looked around the kitchen. He found her with her back to him as she stood over a stove. _Bloody hell that's a relief._ With that he quickly walked back up towards Luna's room and on the way there he glanced at the clock in the living room. _Only fifteen minutes left…_

That stopped him dead in his tracks. Should he warn her now? Should he risk everything and blurt out his secret to her just in case? She was in the kitchen cooking lunch, so maybe she wouldn't go down to her lab in the next fifteen minutes. _Where is the door to her lab anyway? I didn't see it anywhere in the kitchen…_ Maybe she didn't have a lab… What if he was just crazy? That didn't bring him any comfort. So he decided that he would just go back to Luna's room, and in ten minutes he would excuse himself to use the loo. _Whatever happens, I'll just have to deal with it._ His hands had a small tremor to them but he ignored it and made his way into Luna's room. She looked up at him with a big smile, but then her smile turned into a confused look. _Why is she looking at me like that?_

"Ron…" she started but then stopped.

"Yeah Luna?" Ron was getting worried again. What if Luna suspected something?

"Where's your glass of water?" _Bloody hell… is there a bigger idiot than me in this world?_

"Oh, I drank it downstairs and put the glass back into…" _Wait, I don't know where they put their glasses. I've only been here a couple of times._ So he just stood there staring at her. She was staring back at him. It was an awkward few seconds before Luna spoke.

"The shelf?"

"Yes. So ready to go again?" He spoke quickly hoping her excitement to play would end her questions. It worked. She nodded excitedly and they began their next game. Ron counted down the seconds, and when it had been ten minutes he excused himself to the loo. Their loo was in a separate barn like structure outside so he knew she would at least not follow him down anytime soon.

Ron made his way to the kitchen quietly and on the way down he glanced at the clock. _I have five minutes…_ He was sweating a little more now and his breathing was a bit uneven as well. _I haven't been this scared since I broke Fred's toy broom._ When he entered the kitchen he almost shrieked in fear. _IT'S EMPTY! WHERE IS SHE?_ He looked around the kitchen frantically but there was no sign of her.

His eyes fell to a door that wasn't there when he had shown up. _That's the door to the lab… Merlin…_ His feet moved him slowly towards the door as if he was possessed, and could no longer control his own body. _It can't be… It was real? I'm really a seer?_ His eyes stung because of hot tears and he wiped them away harshly. His chest felt heavy, like there was a fat person sitting on it. His hands were shaking harder than ever, and he could feel his lower lip quivering. _I'm scared… this isn't supposed to happen._ His insides squirmed when he heard a loud scream and a thud come from past the door.

That stopped his feet. _No… Mrs. Lovegood please…_ He had to get down there. He had to save her. But he couldn't move. _I'm so scared… please help me… anyone…_ Tears were falling freely from his eyes and he sobbed quietly as he looked at the closed door. Why couldn't he move? Why wasn't he down there saving her? He knew why but he didn't want to believe it. Deep down he had always known, and that was the reason why he didn't want to be a seer. He was a coward… The lowest of the Weasley clan… The least loved… The sixth son who was in way over his head… He wasn't a hero… He wasn't a savior. He was nothing and no one. He shut his eyes tight when he heard that wretched choking sound from his nightmares faintly emanating from past the door. _Where is Mr. Lovegood…? HE SHOULD BE HERE! NOT ME! Not me…_ Any minute now, Luna would walk down here. And she would watch her mother die in her arms. His friend would lose her mother. She would never be the same again. His friend… His Luna… He thought about his little Gin-Gin losing their mother the way Luna was going to lose hers, and it made his heart clench in pain. Luna would be all alone. That thought ignited an ember in his chest. An image of Fred's corpse flashed in his mind and he felt a jolt go through his body. _NO! MOVE RON! JUST BLOODY MOVE!_

He grunted as he pushed his body into the door and it swung open. With his momentum back, he raced down the stairs and looked over to where Pandora lay. _DAMN!_ She was lying there just like in his vision. But there wasn't as much blood, and she wasn't gurgling as loudly yet. He still had time. So he rushed to her side and fell on his knees beside her. She looked up at him with shock and fear in her eyes. There were tears streaming down the sides of her eyes and falling straight to the cold, hard ground.

"Mrs. Lovegood… what do I do? Tell me please" he asked in a hurried breath. His voice broke because he hadn't realized how tight his throat felt. It was almost like his throat was stretched and tearing. She tried to talk but a spurt of thick blood spilled from her mouth. Ron winced at the sight. She moved her hand towards the wall in front of her. Ron immediately glanced in the direction and his eyes went wide as saucers. _What is that? How did I miss that in my vision?_ He was gazing at a circle drawn in white chalk and it was surrounded by strange letters he didn't recognize. Pandora tried to speak again but any effort she made caused more blood to ooze out of her mouth and nose.

When Ron looked back at her, he saw that she had her eyes shut tight and that was pushing thick tears out from the corner of her eyes. _She's in pain… I HAVE DO SOMETHING!_ Panic-stricken he stood up and approached the circle quickly. It looked like a… a ward? His older brother Bill's voice rang out in his mind from the few lessons that Ron had taken with him. It was telling him that to break the spell of a drawn ward, one had to physically break the ward. _I can do that… I can do that…_ He looked around the room for something sharp to scratch the chalk off of the wall but he couldn't find a damn thing. _ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Nothing…_

Pandora coughed, and the wet, squishy sound of blood shooting out and landing onto the floor, made him jerk around and look at her. _She really is gonna die… I… What am I supposed TO DO?!_ His panic was feeding on his fear and pushing his mind towards a complete meltdown. His hands were shaking so hard that they were beginning to hurt. _My hands… MY NAILS!_ A crazy idea sprang into his mind and he executed it without a second thought. He ran back to the wall and began scratching the circle with his nails. He scratched with both hands and put all of his strength into it. It didn't hurt like he thought it would. The chalk scraped off and when the circle broke, he heard an odd whizzing sound. The circle and the letters around it flashed brightly in blinks, and then they just looked like white chalk again. He heard someone take in a sharp breath from behind him and then cough loudly. He heard that disgusting, wet splashing sound again and it sent a chill through his spine. He turned around and ran back to Pandora's side. He didn't know why, but he reached over and put his hands on her cheeks. Just like Luna had…

"Hospital… floo" she moaned, it sounded like she was still in a lot of pain. _WHY DIDN'T I DO THAT FIRST?!_ Nodding harshly he ran back up into the kitchen and grabbed a generous amount of floo powder from the pot next to the fireplace. _I should make a floo call and leave it open for them… yeah, that'll work…_ He was breathing hard and his lungs were burning.

"St. Mungo's Hospital" he yelled, and then he hurled the powder into the fireplace. The fire blazed green and he stuck his head into the fireplace. He was looking around a white room and a woman quickly walked over to the fire place.

"How may…" she started but Ron cut her off immediately.

"Please you have to help me! She's bleeding so much and I think she's in a lot of pain!" Ron's loud volume, and terrified face, startled the woman. But then she immediately gained her composure.

"Please step out of the fire and clear the way! NOW!" Ron pushed himself back out and backed away a few steps. The fire was still blazing green indicating that the channel was still open. _COME ON! HURRY!_

"Ron…? What's going on?" Luna's voice echoed from behind him softly and it was unsteady. _Luna… I forgot about Luna…_ He turned around quickly and when he did, she screamed and moved away from him. _What…?_ "RON YOU'RE HURT!" _Me?_ He looked down and his blood froze. His clothes were covered in blood. They were slick and wet, and looking at them turned his stomach. The fireplace roared and he turned around to look. Two men and the woman he had seen stepped through the fire one by one.

"Where is the victim?" one of the men spoke.

"She is down there! Please hurry!" Ron pointed to the door as he yelled the directions. The men broke into a sprint heading downstairs, while the woman approached Ron. He looked at her. She had a young, pretty face and Ron wondered if she was a medi-witch. She was wearing white robes so maybe she was.

"Can you tell me what's happened? Anything you can think off, please" she spoke with a clear, no-nonsense tone. So Ron told her about the circle with the weird letters, and that he had scratched it and broken the ward. He didn't think to mention how he had scratched it off, just that he had. She listened intently and after he finished, she told him to sit down with Luna. So he moved over to Luna, who was shaking, and he held her left hand in his. At that moment the two men came back upstairs in a hurry and closely behind them was Pandora on a floating stretcher, her eyes closed. Her skin was ghostly pale. They made their way straight to the fireplace and went through along with Pandora after saying something to the medi-witch that Ron didn't understand.

"Mummy!" Luna screamed and ran towards the fireplace, followed immediately by Ron. But they were both stopped by the medi-witch, who grabbed their hands. "Let me go" Luna squealed.

"Shhhh its ok you two, your mother will be fine" she whispered as she knelt to their height. Luna tried to struggle but the woman spoke to Luna softly, telling her everything would be all right. When Luna calmed down a little and started bawling her eyes out, the woman let go of Ron's hand and hugged Luna. "It's ok little one" she whispered "your brother saved your mum. He was very brave so you have to be brave too. It's ok, everything is going to be ok." While the woman was comforting Luna, Ron simply stood there looking at the fireplace. His head was spinning and he felt nauseated. Vomit rose in the back of his throat but he managed to swallow it back down. His heartbeats were like loud drums going off in his ears. His fingers had begun to hurt so badly that he couldn't keep his tears in any longer. He fell on his knees and bent over, taking on a curled up position. He pushed his hands between his knees and chest, and started crying because of the pain. _It hurts so much…_ Noticing this the medi-witch turned over to Ron and asked him what was wrong.

"My…" his voice broke as another sob tore its way through his throat "my hands hurt…" The medi-witch moved over to him quickly and told him to show his hands to her. So he did. He heard her gasp, and when he looked up to see her face through his teary eyes, he found himself a little confused. The woman's eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly.

"Your nails… That's what you used to scratch the ward?" Her voice sounded a little shaky. He just nodded and began sobbing again. The pain was unbearable. Luna was still crying but at least it wasn't as loud as before. The medi-witch moved to Ron's side and picked him up like he was a baby. She then told Luna to follow her as she moved towards the fireplace. They went through the floo and another wave of nausea hit Ron. This time he couldn't stop his sickness and he vomited on the med-witch. She didn't stop moving though, not even for a second. His vision was beginning to turn black. He was so tired. _I just need to sleep. Just for a few minutes._ Then there was darkness.

The next time Ron woke up, he was in an unfamiliar white room. His vision was still a little groggy and his throat was as dry as sandpaper. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. His father and Ginny were asleep to his right, on a small couch not far from his bed. Ginny was cuddled into his father's right side. He tried to call out to them but his mouth only produced a low, cracked sound. Trying to speak made his throat hurt. _Water. I need water._ He looked over to his left and found a glass of water on the nightstand just next to his bed.

He reached over to grab it, and his body ached because of the sudden movement. He managed to grab the glass and put it to his lips. He took large swigs of the water and downed the whole thing. His throat felt a hundred times better already. He put the glass back on the nightstand, but his slightly shaky hands resulted in the glass making a loud sound upon contact with the nightstand. _Crap._ He looked over to see if he had woken his dad and Ginny up by mistake. Ginny was still asleep but his father wasn't. Instead his father was looking at him with very sad smile. Ron noticed that his father's eyes were shining. _Are those tears?_ His father slowly moved Ginny over without waking her up and stood up from the couch. Then the Weasley patriarch moved over to a spare chair and brought it over to Ron's bedside. "Hi dad" Ron croaked. His father kept smiling as he sat down in the chair next to his bed. Then his dad reached out and put his left hand on Ron's right hand.

"Hey son" Arthur said, his voice quiet and soft. His father gave his hand a squeeze. "I'm so glad you're finally awake." _Finally?_

"How long was I asleep?" Ron's voice was getting better and it didn't hurt to talk anymore.

"Two whole days. Ronnie we were so worried." His father then gave a small chuckle and rubbed his eyes with his spare hand. Ron couldn't help but notice his father was looking at him in a very loving way.

"Dad what's wrong? You look… sad."

"I'm not sad, Ronnie." His father's voice was a little louder now. "I'm so proud of you son, so proud." _Proud of me?_ Ron's heart skipped a beat. His final memories, before he had blacked out, came flooding back.

"Mrs. Lovegood! Dad is Mrs. Lovegood…" his father shushed him softly, and then the smile came back to Arthur's face.

"She is going to be just fine Ron, the healers have confirmed that she is stable and recovering." Ron released a breath he didn't know he was holding. His entire body just melted and he laid his head back down. _I did it… I really did it? I saved her… I changed the future. I can change the future._ A relieved laugh broke out of his throat. Tears welled up in his eyes and he rubbed them away quickly with his unoccupied hand. _I can save Fred._ He had never been as happy as he was in that moment. His father squeezed his hand again. "Ron you did so well. You were so brave. I have never been as proud as I am right now." His words meant everything to Ron, and they pushed him over the edge. He cried for the next ten minutes while his dad moved onto his bed and held him. Arthur rocked back and forward slowly and was muttering words of comfort to his son. His brave son, who had torn off his own finger nails to save another person's life.

"Do you know what happened dad?" Ron could finally speak again, but his voice was husky from crying. He had cried because of the relief he felt. From joy he felt. And from the fear he had felt during his last waking hours. His father had called him brave, but he didn't feel brave. He had felt so helpless and weak in his last few hours awake. He never wanted to feel like that again.

"Son that doesn't matter."

"Dad, please? Please just tell me. I have to know. Is Luna ok? Is Mrs. Lovegood really going to make it?" His father was quiet before he let out a deep sigh.

"Yes son, Luna is fine. And yes, Mrs. Lovegood will also be fine." His father paused but then continued after a short moment. "Pandora was attempting to make a new ward of some kind, son. The spell backfired and began to drain her magical core to power itself. When the healers brought her in…" his father stopped again, but then continued when Ron looked up at him "son she had severe burns on most of her internal organs. She also had major internal bleeding. If you had acted even a minute too late… she would be dead." Ron's eyes widened at hearing that.

He had cut it so close. He felt shame creep into his body when he thought about how he had frozen at the door. How he had stood there, crying like a little girl, while Mrs. Lovegood was dying in agony. _I hesitated for so long… she suffered while I just stood there._ Sensing his son's somber mood, Arthur tightened his hug and kissed Ron's head.

"Listen to me son, and you listen well. You saved someone's life. You ripped off your own… your own fingernails to do it. That is one the bravest things I have ever witnessed." His father's voice was firm but comforting in a strange way. "Don't ever doubt how brave you are Ronald. Don't you ever dare doubt that. You showed more courage than most men I have come across in my life. I could not be prouder as a father than I am with you. Do you understand son?" Ron nodded. There were tears in his eyes again but he couldn't tell for what reason. Was it joy at the love his father was showing him, or was it because he was ashamed that his moment of weakness had almost gotten a woman killed? Ron didn't want to know the answer to that. Not yet, at least.

The next morning, Ron's room had been flooded with Weasleys. They had all come down to the hospital to visit him from Hogwarts, and in Bill's case, Egypt. Ginny had jumped onto his bed the moment she woke up and hadn't left his side for even a second. His mother had pretty much said the exact things his father had said. Except for the part where she had told him that he was a Gryffindor through and through. Percy had been worried at first but when he realized that Ron was safe and in good health, he shed a few tears and just hugged Ron for a solid minute. This had shocked everyone because Percy never lost control over his emotions like this. The twins were also surprisingly kind and loving. They had admitted very proudly that Ron was a proper hero. Which had made Ron beam and laugh. When they had asked him to show them his fingernails, they had been a little disappointed to see that they had been magically healed already.

Charlie had then called him a 'proper tough bastard' which had earned him scowls from the parents and laughter from the siblings. But of all the Weasley siblings, no one was more proud than Bill. The fact that Ron had used a lesson, which Bill had taught him thinking it was just a phase Ron was going through, to save a woman's life had left Bill lost for words. He couldn't help but kiss Ron's head, while laughing at the struggle his brother put up. Bill then joked that the next time they needed someone to break a ward, they'd call Ron. They had all laughed at that and the day simply got better from there as they all hung out and caught up with each other.

Luna and her father visited in the afternoon after all the Weasleys except Molly went home (Ginny had to be practically dragged away by their father). Luna had just jumped onto his bed and hugged him tightly, muttering her thanks just so he could hear. When she let go, Xenophilius Lovegood came over and grabbed both of Ron's hands in his. He kissed Ron's hands, which made Ron a very uncomfortable. When Xenophilius looked up, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with spilling tears. The man looked like he been through something truly horrible. Any anger Ron had felt against the man for not being there for his wife and daughter vanished in that moment. He could see the regret and pain in Xenophilius' eyes. Xenophilius asked Luna to go outside for a moment because he had to talk about something very important with Ron and his mother. Luna frowned, but in the end left after she gave Ron a quick kiss on his cheek. This made Ron blush and he could hear his mother giggling. Xenophilius sat down next to Ron on his bed and looked him in the eyes.

"Thank you, thank you" Xenophilius cried. "You saved my wife… you saved my family. I owe you everything. I owe you a life debt. Do you know what a life debt is Ronald?" Ron shook his head. "It means that you will forever have my allegiance Ron. It means that if you ever need anything, don't even hesitate to ask. If it's in my power to give, then you will have it." Ron's eyes widened after hearing that. _Allegiance?_ Ron thought about Mr. Lovegood's words. He didn't save Mrs. Lovegood because he wanted something out of it. He did it because he liked her. She was kind to him and she was a good person. He had saved her because she was Luna's mother, and Luna loved her mother more than anyone. He had saved her because his gift had given him the chance to try. So he decided to tell that to Mr. Lovegood, well everything he had just thought about except the part of being a seer. When Ron finished telling him, Xenophilius just stared at the boy with wide eyes. Ron's mother had broken into tears and excused herself from the room. _Did I say something wrong? I really need to control what I say…_

"Bless you my boy, bless you!" Mr. Lovegood was now crying with his head hanging low, his hands were covering his face. It made Ron feel uncomfortable again, seeing a grown man cry like that. But he figured that even if he himself was a grown up one day, losing his family would make him cry too. So he didn't say anything and just sat there quietly.

He was released from the hospital the next day. Mrs. Lovegood had yet to wake up, but the healers were certain she would be up and about by the end of the week. Ron was excited to return to his home, and continue his studies and exercises again. He had come to miss the normality they provided over the last few days. These had been the most difficult and harrowing days of his young life, and he was glad to put them behind him. Once he got home, Ron ran up to his room and opened his vision journal. Now that he knew he was a seer, he wanted to memorize his visions. He also wanted to tick off the vision of Mrs. Lovegood as he had averted that particular crisis. Whilst going over his visions and their notes, he found something that made him want to slap himself. He noted the date on the vision of his mother giggling like a teenage girl. Saturday the thirteenth of 1990…

He had forgotten about his vision of his mother because it didn't seem important. He was too stressed about Pandora at that time. If he had noticed this, then he might have been able to stop Pandora from even getting hurt in the first place. It would have confirmed his belief in his gift earlier and he would have been better prepared. _I'm an absolute arse._ So he decided that every vision, big or small, would get his full attention. He needed every advantage if he was going to try and change the future. He also remembered that in his panic during the vision with Pandora, he had missed the ward on the wall. That had cost him his bloody fingernails. He would now also do his absolute best to remain calm and observant during his visions. He then ticked off the vision with his mother. _Two down._

In the coming days he dove right back into his busy schedule, much to his parents' surprise. They had thought that Ron would at least take a few days off after his recent ordeals. They didn't understand that his schedule was his coping mechanism. It helped him settle back into his life and he found that whenever he was studying or exercising, his anxiety and slight hand tremors would leave for a while.

Mrs. Lovegood had woken up by the end of the week. Ron's mother had taken him to visit her, and Ron found himself feeling stressed at the prospect. He didn't know why he felt that way but after seeing Mr. Lovegood's reaction and subsequent breakdown, Ron just didn't want to go through that again. He wasn't very good with dealing with other people's emotions. It had taken him his whole life to become open with his siblings, so being like that with people he barely knew was out of the question. Luckily for him, Mrs. Lovegood had greeted him with a smile and a joke. "If it isn't my knight in shining armor" She spoke in her airy voice when she saw him enter her hospital room. The comment made Ron snort.

"I'm always glad to help a damsel in distress" he joked back. His mother immediately tutted and frowned at him.

"Ronald Weasley, you will be respectful to your elders" she almost shrieked. _Yeesh we were both just making a joke…_

"Sorry, Mrs. Lovegood" Ron said sheepishly. Pandora clicked her tongue at that.

"Didn't I say you can call me Pandora? And I'm the one who should be sorry Ron. I must have given you quite a fright" Pandora said in a quieter voice than usual. Ron looked down at his shuffling feet. His hands started trembling slightly as images of a dead Mrs. Lovegood being held by her wailing daughter flashed in his mind. Ron took a deep breath. _Relax, just relax. It's over. She's safe now._ Both Molly and Pandora saw his hands and gave each other an understanding look. "What are your favorite subjects, Ron?" Ron looked up at Pandora in confusion. _Where did that come from?_

"Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, and Charms" he answered quickly, he didn't want this reunion to become awkward. "Defense and Potions are probably tied as my favorites" he added quickly. "But Percy says that I might have an affinity for charms. I didn't like Potions at first, but Percy really showed me how important and fun Potions can be."

"You're an intelligent boy, Ron" Pandora cooed. _Crap, I know where this is going…_ "Just perfect for Ravenclaw." Ron closed his eyes and sighed as he noticed his mother's face start to turn red. _Here we go…_

Time went on and Ron soon found himself only a month away from going to Hogwarts. He was finally eleven and about to begin his journey to becoming a true wizard. That thought made him giddy with anticipation, especially because he felt safe in the knowledge that he was already fully prepared to tackle the first two years without any issues. His brother Percy had made him do an actual written exam covering all first year subjects, which Percy himself designed, just before July had ended. He had scored full marks on every subject except Herbology. He really couldn't bring himself to enjoy studying about plants, much to his brother's irritation.

He also had much of Charlie's journal of hexes, charms, and curses memorized. It had gotten quite full because Charlie loved showing his little bro just how much he knew about magic. There were still a few spells in the journal that he just couldn't understand. They were way too complicated. Like the Patronus charm. Charlie had mentioned that though he knew what it was, even he had yet to cast it properly. If Charlie couldn't do it, then how was he suppose to? He had become very close with Percy and Charlie over the last three years. They even sent owls to one another regularly. And being included had also helped Percy relax a little more. He wasn't too pompous anymore but he still despised the twins' pranks and general bad behavior.

Ron also found that his relationship with the Lovegoods had become very strong in the last year, especially his relationship with Pandora. They had become friends of sort, always making jokes and teasing Ron's mother with Ravenclaw worship. He had come to learn that Pandora had a bit of a mischievous streak to her. She enjoyed teasing and annoying people with a childlike glee. It had surprised him for certain but once he got over the surprise, he had come to like this side of her. Luna had called him big brother one day when he and Ginny were dining at the Lovegood home. He had been touched by Luna's new title for him, and both Pandora and Xenophilius were more than happy to call Ron a part of their family. Of course, Ginny was frothing at the mouth upon hearing that. But Luna didn't even notice, much to Ron's amusement. He thought Ginny's possessive nature and Luna's aloof nature were a perfect blend to have in his two little sisters.

Pandora had also made a strange habit of sending Ron gifts. She had bought him a new potions set, new clothes, a beautiful chess board that came with white and black glass pieces, and even a book on dueling methods and techniques because he had made a passing comment once about taking up dueling when he joined Hogwarts. Ron didn't know how he felt about these gifts, but his father had told him that Pandora was just grateful for what Ron had done for her and her family. He had told Ron that these gifts weren't being given as charity. Ron had hated the idea of being given things out of pity. His father convinced him that he should accept these gifts and not insult her by refusing. His mother felt differently...

Once he had begun accepting Pandora's gifts, his mother had started to become distant. He could tell that she felt a little jealous of Pandora and Ron's relationship. Even though Ron and his mother loved one another dearly, Ron didn't really know how to talk to her because she had always spent so much more time with his other siblings. He guessed that she felt the same way to an extent. Yet Pandora and Ron got along like two peas in a pod. They would often just joke around, and Ron felt that he could talk to Pandora about things that he wasn't comfortable talking to his mother about. Not his secret of course. But he had managed to confess to her that he had hesitated to save her because he had been a coward. That she had suffered for longer, all because he lacked the strength of character to keep his cool in a tough situation. She didn't say anything, but had just smiled sadly and hugged him tightly and didn't let go for a solid minute. It had somehow made his guilt more bearable at least. Ron knew that he would never be able to talk to his mother so freely in his life. That realization made him sad, but what could he do about it now? It was clear that his mother would always dote on Ginny, and with all of his brilliant brothers in the mix, he had never really stood much of a chance. So he decided to just keep moving forward with his life.

Bizarrely, he had only one vision in that entire year. And it was about Ginny. He had been standing on a Quidditch pitch and above him the players battled for control of the game so fast that he was in complete awe. There were no spectators so he assumed this was a practice match between two teams. This was professional Quidditch, he could tell just by watching… and there was Ginny in full color. He couldn't see which team she was playing for and what her position was because he was too far below. But seeing his baby sister fly around with such amazing skill and grace put a happy smile on his face. So he sat down cross-legged and enjoyed a free professional game. _Gin is gonna be a professional Quidditch player one day…_ He felt a pang of jealousy but it didn't last long as he remembered his own gift. He was a seer. And a powerful one at that. _Can't have everything._ And this was one vision he would never dare change. He wanted this for his sister.

It was halfway through August when his parents had pulled him aside and told him that he would be getting Charlie's old wand. They tried to make him feel excited about it, but it didn't work. He had been heartbroken and it showed on his face. A wand was something very dear to a wizard. It was an extension of their own body, magic, and their soul. He thought that despite all the hand me downs he had received in his life, his wand would be his own. But standing there with Charlie's wand in his hand, he felt tears well up in his eyes. The wand was cold in his right hand. The twins had told him how amazing their wands had felt in their hands. That they could feel the magic inside, and it made the twins feel warm and safe to hold them. But this wand, it felt like just another piece of wood. He knew his family was short on money, so he didn't argue with his parents. But he refused to stand there feeling like they had betrayed him by taking this away from him.

So he had just walked away from them with his 'wand' in his right hand. The next morning he had learned that Percy had been bought a new owl for becoming prefect, which he had named Hermes, by his father. This broke Ron's heart and an ugly jealousy rose up inside him. Ron had his wand, HIS WAND, taken away from him just so Percy could get a new pet!? He loved his brother dearly, more than he ever had, but in that moment he felt hate towards his parents, his brother, and this new bird Hermes. He had marched off angrily to his room and didn't come out the whole day. He didn't notice that Ginny had seen his reaction with a sad and worried look on her face. The next day he decided that he was going to spend it at the Lovegoods. Pandora and Luna always kept him company when he was there, and right now he needed people around him that didn't treat him like he was nothing. People who would never take away his chance to get his wand, just so one of them could get a bird. _A BLOODY BIRD! And the best part is, Percy gave me his old rat. I have my wand taken away from me and get handed a disgusting rat to keep as a pet..._ He felt so irritated that it made his head ache. When he got to the Lovegoods, it was still early in the morning. As soon as he stumbled through the fireplace he was met with a smiling Pandora Lovegood. "Ronald, welcome back. Do you want some breakfast?" Her airy soft voice and smile made him feel better immediately. But he was still angry and hurt. He just wouldn't show it to Pandora. This was his problem, not hers.

"Of course, it's the only reason I came here" he smirked. She chuckled and feigned hurt.

"Well, I'm headed to Diagon Alley, why don't you tag along and we can get something to eat at the Leaky Cauldron." Before he even replied she guided him back to the fireplace and they were on their way.

They had landed in the Leaky Cauldron and found a table easily enough. It was early in the morning and most patrons showed up around lunch and evening times. She ordered them both eggs and bacon, which she knew was his favorite. "Um… Pandora, why didn't we bring Luna?" He was a bit confused at how quickly she had brought them here. And that mischievous glint in her eyes had him worried. _What is she planning?_

"She left early this morning with Xenophilius. They are going to go search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack" she spoke as if though what she had said made perfect sense. Ron looked at her in confusion for a few seconds.

"A Crumple-Horned what?" He had never heard of something like that. _Probably something in Xenophilius' mind._ As he had grown closer with the Lovegood family, he had found himself agreeing more and more with the twins about Xenophilius the more he spoke with the man. Pandora just chuckled.

"My husband and daughter love their little hunts together. That's all that matters, Ron." _How does she always know what I'm thinking?_ "Are you feeling alright Ron? You seem upset." _Again, how?_

"No, I'm just a little stressed." He had begun using his stress as a way to get out of conversations he didn't want to have. He had learned more about his acute stress disorder and thus figured out why his parents had been acting so weird around him last year. They had worried about his mental health. _Acute stress disorder… Sounds like some barmy crap Xeno would think about._ He didn't like being treated like some delicate flower that would wilt away if things got too tough. He had been through more crap than most people ever would. _And I haven't even started school yet._ But Pandora looked saddened when she heard that. _Oops, I upset her._

"We are friends, aren't we Ron?" She looked at him for his answer, but he just nodded slowly. _Where is this going? I have a bad feeling…_ "So you wouldn't mind telling me why you push yourself so hard?" _Bloody hell…_

"I just think…" he started while looking down at his food, but Pandora cut him off softy.

"Please don't lie to me." He looked up and he saw her silver eyes piercing into him. Her smile was gone and Ron felt a little intimidated. He hadn't seen that look on her for a long time. "It's alright Ron, I already know why you study so hard. Why you train so hard." she paused, but her eyes were still on his. _She… she does?_ "I know why you keep those journals too." His blood turned cold. His eyes widened slightly and his hands started to tremble slightly, as if on cue. _No… there is no way she could… She is bluffing, she has to be._

Ron schooled his face into a mask of indifference, but his hands betrayed him. Pandora then slowly smiled a kind smile. She reached over and grabbed both his hands in hers. She squeezed lightly to stop them from shaking. She felt a pang of her hurt every time she saw this boy's hands shake because of the stress he was putting himself through. All that stress, just so he could belong. It made her heart ache for him. Ron was just silent though. _Let her speak first before you go into a panic Ron. Just wait…_ But it was getting harder for him. He was scared she would tell his secret to his family if she truly knew. "You don't have to push yourself so hard for the sake of others Ron." _Merlin she knows… I'm screwed now…_ "I know that you study, train, and keep the journals with the spells and school notes so that you can make your family see you as something brilliant." Ron started to calm down a bit. _She didn't mention my vision journal._ "But you are already brilliant Ron. I just wish you saw that too." _Go with it, find out what she knows._

"No, I'm not" he didn't have to lie about that though. "I'm not perfect like Bill, or strong like Charlie. I don't have a genius intellect like Percy, and I could never be as creative as the twins. I'm nothing like my brothers… I'm nothing compared to my brothers…" The words had just come out, and he hung his head low in shame. He had wanted to say them for so long, but he had never trusted anyone enough to tell them. His parents would pity him. His brothers would make a joke out of him. And Ginny… Ginny could never understand. She was the most loved of them all. She had never wanted for nothing. _They will buy her a new wand… and new robes… and a pet she wants._

His jealousy made his heart clench and his face to tighten into a sneer. The words broke Pandora's heart. She was right after all. Ron saw himself as nothing compared to his brothers. And so he pushed and pushed until he hurt himself. But he never stopped. He hadn't stopped to even second guess when he had ripped his own fingernails off to save her life. After she had performed an illegal and dark spell without any safety precautions. After she had found herself at death's door because of her reckless and stupid behavior, a ten year old boy had almost destroyed his own hands so that she could live. And he had done it for the simplest, and kindest of reasons. Her daughter was his friend. And he protected his friends. She had to show him that. She had to tell him before he left for Hogwarts. If she didn't, she feared that this boy would push himself into an early grave just so he could be considered as an equal to his brothers.

"And yet none of your brothers have saved a life before." At that he looked up. She was smiling the kindest smile he had seen. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Looking at her sad eyes made his own eyes sting. "None of your brothers have inflicted horrible pain upon themselves, and bled so that someone else could live. But you have Ronald. You are brilliant. Luna sees it. Ginny sees it. Xenophilius sees it. I see it. Your brothers see it. Even your parents see it. When my husband told me what you said to him, after he gave you his life debt… Ron in all my years, I have never seen someone act so selflessly. You were only ten years old" her voice cracked, she was close to crying "and you acted as if protecting others was your duty. That is who you are Ron. That is what makes you brilliant. Please see that. Promise me that you will try to see that." He was awestruck. He had no idea Pandora thought so highly of him. He nodded to her and tears fell down from his eyes. He quickly removed his hands from hers and wiped his face with trembling hands. _She didn't know my secret after all._ But after what he had heard from her, he knew that anything he would tell her would be kept secret. She wouldn't betray him like that. And he would never betray her or her family's love and kindness towards him.

"I promise."

"Good" she said as she wiped her eyes. "Now eat up, we have places to go. And things to get."

"What things?" He was a little confused by that. But when he saw the mischievous glint in her eyes return, and a cat-like grin break onto her face, he knew. He laughed when he realized everything at once. _She was waiting for me this morning, and she probably sent Luna away too. This isn't going to end well…_

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: What do you guys think of Pandora? I've sort of had to make her an OC, mainly because there was nothing on her as a person in the original story! Hopefully she is unique enough and fits in well with the Universe that J. K. Rowling has created. More to come soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Hogwarts

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is the next Chapter! I've listened to advice of a few people and decided to shorten the paragraphs so that it doesn't look as cluttered and overwhelming. Also for those who are asking whether the story will keep resembling The Red Knight, I'm happy to inform you that the story will become very different from here on out. The Ron of my story isn't half as skilled or prepared as the Ron from The Red Knight, and he will struggle quite a bit more to complete his mission.**

 **As for those who are asking for Pairings, I'm sorry to say that I haven't thought about that just yet. Ron's focus is on his studies and more importantly, on his mission. If I do bring in some romance, it won't show up for a little while... Sorry guys but Ron is an eleven year old. Not many Eleven year old boys go looking for love...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 4 - Hogwarts**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Once Pandora and Ron had finished their breakfast in the Leaky Cauldron, they made their way into Diagon Alley. It was busy as ever with its shops bursting with customers, people on the way to work, and all manner of magical wonders happening in and out of the shops. Ron loved Diagon Alley. The cobblestoned alley of wonders always taken his breath away and this time it was no different. He felt a smile stretch across his lips as he gazed at the crowds of people walking in and out of the shops in hurried and excited manners. They all had smiles and laughter on their faces, Ron noted. _Guess I'm not the only one who loves this place._ He felt Pandora take his hand and he looked up to her. She was gazing forward and she still had that mischievous grin planted on her face. Ron was a little worried but also a little excited because of it. Pandora and her antics always cheered him up in some way, and when she made up her mind about something then nothing could stop her. Ron admired that last trait above all others. He wanted that kind of determination. He needed it.

Pandora led Ron into the busy streets of Diagon Alley while he looked around, taking in the wonderful sites. There were a lot of children out today, no doubt because Hogwarts was going to open soon. That made him even giddier about going to the school. Maybe amongst this horde of children were his future friends. People he would grow up with, and perhaps stay friends with for his entire life. Ron recalled the vision where he had learned that Harry Potter would be in Gryffindor. If he was, then Ron wanted to be his friend. Having the famous Boy-Who-Lived for a friend sounded amazing. Ron could only imagine how noble and powerful Harry Potter must be. To defeat the most evil wizard of all time as just a toddler, Harry must truly be a great wizard.

A small part of Ron also understood that having such a powerful ally would certainly help him in his own quest to save his brother. It was a little selfish, he knew that, but it may truly become necessary one day. _I shouldn't keep thinking about this. I should just enjoy my time here with Pandora._ When he broke out of his thoughts, he noticed that they had stopped in front of a shop. Not just any shop too. They were in front of Ollivander's, the famous wand shop. Ron's chest tightened a little because of his current predicament with having a second hand wand. _Why are we here?_ Ron looked over to Pandora, confused and a little irked, but she was just grinning. "Pandora? Why are we… here?"

"We're here to get you your wand, Ronald" she replied in the most casual tone, as if talking about the weather. Ron's eyes widened at her words. _What…?_

"I already have…" but Pandora cut him off with a soft voice.

"Ron, listen to me, a wizard's wand is the most important possession he will ever come across. And every wand chooses its own master. Your brother's wand, which I'm sure is magnificent, won't serve you half as well as your own wand will. I can promise you that." She finished with a hint of finality. She had a passion for wand lore and when last night she had overheard Ginny telling Luna that Ron was being given his brother's hand-me-down wand, Pandora had almost marched down to the Burrow in fury. She didn't care that the Weasley's weren't the most financially gifted family. Ron deserved his own wand. That was all there was to it in her mind. So she had hatched a little plan, with the help of her husband, to get Ron brand new school supplies without his family's consent or knowledge. If she got caught and got in trouble with his family, then so be it.

"But… Pandora, my mum will not be happy about this… my dad too…" he stopped and looked at his shuffling feet. Pandora felt Ron's little hand start shaking slightly in hers. So she tightened her grip.

"Then we just won't tell them." Ron looked up and saw her gentle smile turn into a grin again. The sight made his lips curl up into a small smile of his own. "Now come along, Ron." And with that she marched into the shop and Ron followed behind her, hand in hand.

"Welcome to my shop" greeted an old man with fair skin and silvery eyes. "Ah Pandora my dear, come to browse my books on wand lore once again?" he beamed at her. She smiled back before answering.

"No my friend, I'm here to purchase a wand! This is Ronald Weasley" she said as she guided Ron in front of her and put her hands his shoulders. "He will be needing a wand for Hogwarts this year, Ollivander." Ron stared at the old man named Ollivander. _Is this really alright? I'm going against my parents… If mum finds out, she'll go mental for certain. And dad will be so disappointed…_

"Another Weasley" the man chuckled. "I remember giving your brothers their wands as if it was only yesterday! Come, step forward and let me look at you." Ron did as he was told slowly. The old man gazed at him thoroughly and Ron just stood there, feeling naked and uncomfortable under that sharp gaze. _This old codger is freaking me out!_ "Interesting… very interesting indeed" the old man spoke as if he had seen something no one else had seen. _Ok, now I'm just plain scared…_

With that the old man went into the back of his tiny shop and came out with a few black boxes. They then began testing for Ron's wand, and Ron had to admit that his worries were replaced by excitement very quickly. They tried wand after wand but none seemed to do the trick. They all felt cold and empty in his hand. The longer this went on, the more Ron felt himself starting to get scared. _What if… what if I can only use Charlie's old wand now?_ And then the old man took in a sharp breath and broke Ron out of his thoughts. "I know… Oh that has to be the one… It has to…" Ollivander mumbled as he quickly disappeared into the back of his shop again. After a few moments, the old man came running back to Ron in a very excited state. "Here" Ollivander whispered softly, as he presented an open box with a wand inside it to Ron. "Try this one, Ronald…"

Ron looked at the wand within the open black box. The wand was absolutely beautiful. It had a charming and light brown texture that made it shine. The wand also had flowery patterns carved into it. It was a little longer than Charlie's wand. Its handle was a shade darker than the rest of the wand, and it had barely noticeable dents for fingers to fill. There was also a smooth round circle at the base of the wand that was thicker than the rest of wand and the circle was hollow in the middle. Ron thought about how he could put his finger through the hole and spin the wand in circles around his finger.

He slowly reached for the wand with his right hand and gently picked it up. It felt so warm in his hand that his whole body just relaxed. He could feel the hum of magic emanate from the wand and travel up his arm, and from there it went throughout his whole body. It felt so soothing. As if he was being comforted by the magic. Ron knew right there and then that this was his wand. He wouldn't care about what Ollivander had to say, this is the wand he would leave the shop with. "Go on boy, give it a flick" Ollivander said in a very excited voice.

Ron did as he was told and bright sparks flew out of the tip of the wand. The sparks were a variety of colors including red, yellow, green, and blue. Ron heard Pandora give a delighted squeal from behind him and she began clapping her hands excitedly. "This wand has chosen you as its master, young Weasley" Ollivander said in a soft voice, and Ron thought for a second that Ollivander's voice was laced with pride. Why the old man would be proud of a stranger, Ron didn't know, but he was certain that he was right about Ollivander's voice. Then the old man beamed and looked to Pandora. "Cypress, phoenix feather, fourteen inches long, and unyielding" he declared. Pandora gasped and Ron looked to her feeling a little confused. _Is that bad?_ But she was looking at Ron with awe and absolute pride in her eyes. _Ok… so not bad? Why did she react like that?_

Pandora was slightly taken off guard by the wand's properties. She loved wand lore, and as such she knew what the properties of this particular wand could mean about Ron as a person. And that knowledge made her heart swell in pride and maternal love for the young boy who had saved her. Those who wielded Cypress wands were known to be noble, heroic, brave, and self-sacrificing by nature. The great medieval wand-maker, Geraint Ollivander, had written that he had always felt honored to match a wizard or witch with a Cypress wand, because he knew that he was meeting a person who would die a heroic and noble death. That thought had scared her a little, because she couldn't bear to see Ron get hurt, but she knew that the Wizarding War was long over and that had comforted her.

The phoenix feather was another surprise, mostly because it was one of the rarest core types out there. Phoenix feathers were known to be capable of the greatest range of magic, however the wands that contained phoenix feathers were also the hardest to win the allegiance of. The flexibility of Ron's wand had also surprised her a little. It was unyielding? That meant that Ron's feelings about the things he believed in were set in stone. This wand would not stray from Ron's beliefs and as such if someone else ever tried to use it, it wouldn't work properly and generally be a pain. She knew that Ron was a good and kind person, so the wand's unyielding trait made her very happy.

All in all, she couldn't have been prouder of Ron for being selected by such a beautiful and strong wand. He deserved it completely, at least in her eyes. "Pandora, are you all right? You're looking at me in a really strange way" Ron said as a blush creeped onto his face. His ears were also turning red from being stared at.

"I'm fine, Ron. I'm just very happy that you have your own wand now, that's all" Pandora beamed. She didn't want to bore him with wand lore, but her knowledge in wand lore had confirmed her beliefs about Ron. He really was a brilliant boy. She knew it now more than ever. She paid for the wand, a jar of wand oil, a soft cloth used for cleaning wands, and even got Ron a wand holster. She didn't want him sitting on the beautiful wand and breaking it, which she made sure to warn Ron about. She then took his hand and guided him to their next stop, Madam Malkin's Robes. Ron had protested some more, but she had just smirked and dragged him along anyway. She had him fitted for new school robes and had even asked for enchantments that would allow his robes to grow with him. She also bought him a new pointed hat, new dragon hide gloves, and a new winter coat for his school.

After finishing up in Madam Malkin's they took a small break and had lunch. Ron had shown off his wand to her, and seeing his childish joy had made tears sting Pandora's eyes. After lunch they went to get Ron some new books but he had adamantly refused. He told her that he was more than happy with using his brothers' hand me down books because they had notes scribbled all over them. She had teased him about cheating, and the grin he responded with had made her laugh. With all of the shopping done, they returned back to The Rookery.

They spent the rest of the day painting whatever they felt like on their own blank canvases. Ron had painted his new wand and she had painted her daughter. During that time painting, Ron had mentioned his worries about his parents finding out about him going behind their backs. To his shock, Pandora had already planned the whole thing out. She informed Ron that he would leave his new wand and belongings with her for safekeeping until the day he had to board the Hogwarts Express. She would come to see him off at the platform where they would trade his old things for his new ones. She would then keep the old hand me downs at her home while he attended Hogwarts. This way his mother and father would be none the wiser. Ron then questioned her about his siblings seeing him use his new things and telling his parents. She had told him to be careful around his siblings and that if he did get caught, she would take all the responsibility. After all, Arthur and Molly couldn't really ground her for breaking the rules.

In the end, she had managed to convince Ron that everything would work out. She had also noted, to herself, that he was quite paranoid for a boy his age. He was always trying to cover all his bases and that was a strange quirk for a person this young to have. When she was his age, she just did whatever she wanted without even considering what others may think. She concluded that Ron's desire to be loved as much as his siblings had made him very self-conscious about what others thought of him. In the evening, Luna and her father returned from their 'hunt'. Luna had been ecstatic to see Ron and had jumped on him, making him blush fiercely. Xenophilius too was excited by Ron's presence because it confirmed that his wife's scheme had worked out. That had made him happy because he liked Ron. When his wife had come to him last night spitting fire and brimstone, they had sat down and planned out everything.

Ron joined the family for dinner before making his way back home via floo. He had to leave his wand behind and he could feel its loss already. It felt as if he had left a piece of himself behind. He quickly went into his room to avoid his parents. He was still feeling guilty for what he done that day.

Eventually the much awaited day came. Today he would board the Hogwarts Express and begin his journey to become a proper wizard. To say that he was excited would be a huge understatement, Ron was over the moon. His family made their way towards the platform in a rush. Ginny had taken a while to get ready that morning and that had made them pressed for time. "Come on you lot" his mother all but shouted. "Don't get left behind. We don't want to be late getting to platform 93/4 or we'll miss the train to Hogwarts." She then narrowly missed a muggle man. "Look at all these muggles, always in such a rush they are!" _If she keeps this up, we can kiss the Statute of Secrecy goodbye…_

They finally got to the barrier and stopped abruptly. His brother Percy went through it first, followed by the twins who teased their mother about not being able to tell them apart. He was about to do the same when a small boy with untamed, raven-black hair and round spectacles approached them. "Excuse me…" he spoke meekly. Ron noticed that the boy's clothes were old and much too big for him. He looked so frail. "Can you… can you show me how…" he pointed to the barrier.

"Oh of course dear" his mother chuckled. "First time I see, don't worry about it too much, it is Ronnie's first time too." _She just called me Ronnie to a stranger…_ The smaller boy looked at Ron with a glint of hope in his stunning green eyes, and Ron found himself smiling at him. _He is so worried…_ "All you have to do is run straight at the wall." The boy's eyes widened upon hearing that. Ron had to stifle a laugh because he could imagine how weird that be for a muggle-born to hear. Ron didn't know that the boy was a muggle-born but he was dressed like one so Ron just assumed that was the case. "Go on Ronnie" _ugh… again_ "show him."

Ron did as he was told and went through the barrier and found himself staring at the Hogwarts Express. He cleared the way for those behind him and just marveled at the large red train. _Woah…_ He was then joined by his mother and sister. The small boy was standing next to them with an awestruck expression as he gazed at the train. _I know how you feel mate!_ The family and the boy moved to put their things on the train and Ron started to worry a little. He slowly broke away from his family and went back near the barrier. _Where is Pandora? She has my things…_ As if on cue, he heard her call out his name. He turned around quickly and saw her rushing up to him.

"There you are" she began "come with me quick." They moved over to one of the large columns that decorated the station. She quickly pulled out his new school clothes from a tiny bag that seemed to be bottomless. Noticing his confusion, Pandora chuckled and informed him that the bag was charmed. _Brilliant._ They traded the school clothes and once Ron had sealed his trunk back up, the train let out a loud whistle that it was about to start leaving. "This is it Ron." She sounded a little sad, but oddly happy at the same time. She handed him his wand, which rest in its holster. He was about to hand over Charlie's wand but she told him to keep it just in case. Then she pulled out a handkerchief from the sleeve of her robes and rubbed the side of his nose in a scrubbing manner. "Sorry but you had some dirt there" she giggled.

"Goodbye Pandora, and thanks again for everything" he said as he gave her a parting hug. She hugged him back tightly and gave him a quick peck on top of his head.

"Don't forget to write Ron. I'm very excited about your sorting. Also Luna wanted you to owl her at least once a week."

"I will, I promise." With that they broke apart and Ron waved to her as he joined his family again. _I'm gonna miss her and Luna. I might even miss Xeno._

"There you are Ronald, where did you trot off too?" His mother looked sad just like Pandora was. "Quick on you get" she said as she gave him a quick hug and ushered him on the train. "Do you have Scabbers?"

"Yes mum" he said as he patted his jacket pocket which contained his family's pet rat.

"Ok honey, best of luck! Make sure you study hard Ronnie!"

"I will mum" he said as he turned to go find a compartment. The train began to move forward with a jerk and he almost fell over. _Wow, I cut it close._ He quickly positioned his trunk in front of himself to navigate the thin corridors of the train. He found the closest window and looked outside. Parents were waving and yelling goodbyes to their children. He saw his mother and she saw him too, and she waved at him. He waved back until the train turned around a bend, and he lost sight of the station and the people on it. He then tried to find a compartment with some room in it. It was not an easy task.

Ron walked away from another full compartment. _Bloody hell… how many people are going to Hogwarts?_ He opened another compartment's door and to his relief it was empty. Well, almost empty. It had one other person sitting at the window gazing outside. "May I sit? All the other compartments are full" Ron said. His voice startled the boy sitting alone, and the boy turned quickly to face Ron. _Hey, it's the same guy as before._ The thin boy in the round spectacles seemed to remember him as well, because he nodded and flashed Ron a quick small smile. Ron moved into the compartment and put his trunk under the seat opposite the boy. Then Ron sat down facing the smaller boy. "I'm Ron by the way, Ronald Weasley" he said just as he extended a hand towards the boy. The boy took it slowly and flashed another quick small smile.

"I'm Harry… Harry Potter" the boy said clearly and quickly. Ron felt the wind get knocked out of him at the revelation. _THE HARRY POTTER?!_ Sensing Ron's change in demeanor, Harry used his other hand to move his fringe away from his forehead. There it was, that world famous lightning scar. Ron was in awe, shock, and a little bit of denial. _This skinny little guy is THE Harry Potter…?_

"Bloody hell…" was all Ron could manage to get out. The boy chuckled and they broke their hand shake. Ron stared, mouth slightly open, at the boy for a few more seconds. This seemed to be making Harry a little uncomfortable so Ron shut his mouth with a snap and smiled. "You're like the most famous wizard to ever live!"

"That's what everyone keeps telling me… I didn't even know I was a wizard until a couple of months ago." That confused Ron greatly. _How did he not know that? He defeated you-know-who didn't he?_

"Really? I mean you defeated…" Ron stopped, and then spoke in a whisper "you-know-who didn't you?"

"I was just a baby at the time Ron, so I don't remember" Harry said as he gave a shrug. _You defeated the most evil wizard of all time… and you don't even remember it…_ Ron slowly shook his head.

"Well… that's just… wow" Ron finished lamely. Harry chuckled. A woman pushing a trolley of sweets interrupted them by opening their compartment door. She asked them if they wanted anything from the trolley, to Ron said no as he showed her his corn beef sandwich. He hated corn beef and just thinking about it had made him grimace. Harry noticing this had pulled out a bunch of galleons from his pocket as if it was nothing and offered to buy the lot. Harry even kindly shared his treats with Ron so Ron had given him his sandwich, which Harry accepted enthusiastically much to Ron's delight. _Better him than me… Corn beef ugh…_ After that Harry had turned to Ron with a sheepish look and asked him a question.

"Do you know anything about Hogwarts? The truth is I don't really know a thing about being a wizard."

"Oh! Well Hogwarts is a school that takes in young wizards or witches and teaches them how to use magic properly" Ron started. Harry leaned forward and was listening intently. "They'll teach us how to do spells and…" Ron was cut off by an eager Harry.

"Do you know any spells?" Harry was quite excited and it made Ron chuckle. Oh he knew some spells alright. One could say he had an arsenal of them.

"Yeh, I do actually. But I haven't used my wand yet. Guess I could now, considering we are on the train to Hogwarts" he mused. Harry looked at him expectantly. _Does he want me to show him something? I mean I can try. Hope I don't embarrass myself in front of Harry…_ Ron took out his wand from its holster. _What spell should I do?_ He looked over to Harry and noticed that Harry's glasses had a crack running through the left lens. _I know what I should do…_

He pointed the wand at Harry's face, whose eyes widened in fear. "Don't worry mate, I'm just going to fix your glasses for. Do you trust me?" Harry looked at him for a moment with his eyes still wide. After a moment he relaxed and gave Ron a slow and cautious nod. _Ok, here I go… Please Merlin don't let me kill Harry Potter…._

Just as he was about to cast the mending charm when their compartment door flung open and a girl's voice rang through it. "Have any of you seen…" she stopped abruptly at the sight in front of her. Two boys around her age were sitting there, and one of them was pointing a wand in the other's face. "What are you doing?" Ron noticed she had a bossy voice and she even had on a bossy posture. Her hands were on her hips and she had her eyes narrowed on him. She had wild bushy hair and fair skin. Her front teeth were also a bit large.

"Um… magic…" he replied lamely. She perked up at the sound of that and lost her suspicious look immediately.

"Is that so?! You wouldn't mind showing me then?" She didn't wait for an answer and sat down next to Ron. She was watching him expectantly. Ron and Harry exchanged confused looks with one another. _Nice to meet you too, I guess..._ She was still watching… Ron cleared his throat.

"Reparo" Ron spoke clearly, and did the wand movements. Ron felt his wand's magic flow through him. It was warm and he had truly missed holding it the past few days. The cracks in Harry's left lens disappeared. _Bloody hell it worked… that was awesome._ Ron smiled proudly as Harry took off his glasses and looked at them slack-jawed.

"That was brilliant" the girl shrieked excitedly. Ron didn't know her but it felt nice being called brilliant by her nonetheless. So he flashed her a smile and gave her an appreciative nod.

"She's right, Ron that was brilliant!" Harry was still inspecting his glasses in awe. Then he put them back on and beamed at Ron. "Where did you learn to do that?" Ron was about to answer but the girl with the bushy hair cut him off.

"He must've read it in the 'The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1', I've read it too. It's the mending charm." She spoke as though she was quoting something rather than talking to people. Ron was irked at being interrupted like that. When he and Harry shared a quick look, Ron knew Harry felt the same way. "I'm Hermione Granger by the way" she added quickly. She sounded a little guilty. _Must've realized how rude it is to cut people off…_

"I'm Harry Potter" Harry introduced himself and put his hand forward for a shake. Hermione gasped loudly, which made Ron jump slightly.

"YOU'RE HARRY POTTER?!" Harry gave a shy smile and nodded to her. She took his hand and immediately went off about knowing him from various books that she had read, and started explaining her findings to Harry. Harry looked almost mortified but Hermione didn't stop. Ron sat there listening to her with wide eyes. _What is her deal? She is totally mental…_ When she was finished she turned to Ron and looked at him expectantly again. "And you are?"

"I'm Ronald Weasley, pleasure to meet you" Ron said as he put his hand forward. She smiled and shook it.

"Well, I have to go now" she said as she stood up abruptly. "A boy named Neville has lost his toad… I imagine you haven't seen it?" Harry shook his head. Ron could see the relief on Harry's face and he had to stifle a laugh. _She went full barmy on poor Harry._ "Oh well…" she said as she turned to leave the compartment. Ron had an idea right before she made her exit.

"Wait… I can find him for you if you want" he said as he stood and walked over to her.

"How?" She sounded suspicious, which made Ron wonder why. He only wanted to help her… _She's mental she is…._ Ron cleared his throat again and pointed his wand out into the corridor.

"Accio Neville's toad" he said clearly. Nothing happened. He stood there, feeling embarrassed. Hermione was looking directly at him. Just as a blush started to creep onto his face, he saw it. A toad came flying and landed in his left hand. The toad gave Ron a loud croak. _Thank Merlin… that was going to be so embarrassing if it didn't work… I have to thank Charlie via owl as soon as I can._ He went to hand Hermione the toad but the look on her face made him stop. She looked awestruck. It unnerved him a little. So he turned to look at Harry instead but found the same look on his face as well. _I should probably not show off advanced spells… Nah…. I'm gonna show off…_ With that he put on a smirk and handed Hermione the toad. She murmured her thanks, but the awestruck emotion was still on her face. After that she walked off as if she was in a daze, Ron came back and sat in his chair.

"Wow Ron" Harry started, his voice was low and sounded a little shaky. "Is… everyone as good as you? I… don't even know a single spell…" Harry trailed off. He looked worried. Very worried. Ron felt a pang of guilt for showing off and making Harry feel inept. Harry had no idea that Ron was technically cheating because his seer gift had driven him to learn things earlier than planned.

"No… It's just that my brothers all came to Hogwarts before me and they um… taught me a few spells" Ron said in his most reassuring voice. He didn't want to make Harry feel bad about not knowing any spells. He wanted to be Harry's friend. "I doubt anyone else knows many spells in our year."

"Oh… are you sure they don't? I really wish I knew I was a wizard before…" Harry's voice was still low and shaky.

"Hey mate, don't worry so much. You're gonna be fine I'm sure. Also there will be a lot of muggle-borns in our year and they didn't know about magic just like you. You've got no reason to worry, I'm sure of it" Ron finished. Harry gave him a wide smile. _Good, he's calmed down._

"Thanks for being… you know…" Harry trailed off. Ron smiled back awkwardly. He really wasn't very good with other people's emotions. So Ron decided to lighten the mode with a joke.

"Hey, I'm the one who should be thanking you." At that Harry gave him a confused looked. "You're the one who saved us from you-know-who." Harry let out a chuckle.

"Well in that case, you're welcome." Ron chuckled as well and they drifted into a casual conversation. Ron told Harry more about Hogwarts, about its different houses and what they represented, and that according to his twin brothers they would have to fight a troll to be sorted. Harry was shocked to hear that but Ron quickly assured him that the twins had a habit of lying and pulling pranks.

"Which house do you want to be in, Ron?" Harry had relaxed completely and the conversation had become quite pleasant. Ron didn't even give the question any thought before he answered.

"Gryffindor. My whole family has been in Gryffindor for generations." He smiled proudly when he said that. "But if I had to choose another house other than Gryffindor, it would have to be Ravenclaw. My friend Pandora always tells me I'd make an excellent Ravenclaw. What about you Harry? Got any preferences?" Ron already knew the answer to that though. After all he heard it loud and clear from Dean's mouth. _What a tosser…_

"I don't really know… Gryffindor does sound nice. And it would be cool if we both went there." Harry sounded hopeful.

"Yeh that'd be great I reckon. Just don't go to Slytherin and you'll be fine." They talked a little more before deciding to change into their robes. Ron was extremely happy with his fresh new robes. He had never worn something as nice as this clean uniform. It made him smile with pride to wear it. _Thanks Pandora._ He had so much to be thankful for when it came to her. She had given him so much and he felt a little guilty when he thought about it. _I'll make sure to repay her someday._ Ron was ripped from his thoughts when their compartment door flung open for the third time that day. _What did this poor door do to deserve this…?_ A pale boy with platinum blonde hair strode into the compartment. He was followed by two boys who looked more like baby gorillas rather than human children. Ron and Harry turned their attention to the blonde boy who seemed to be looking down his nose at them.

"They had told me that Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts, I just never believed them" the blonde boy said in a pompous tone. _Great… another fan. Can't a guy just have a conversation with poor Harry without nut-cases just walking in?_ "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and these two are my confidants Crabbe and Goyle" he continued, but stopped when he heard Ron snigger. _Confidants? Who talks like that? I was right about the nut-cases._ Draco turned and sneered at Ron. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Ron flinched at the insult.

His family's wealth was something of a sore spot for him, especially after he learned that his parents couldn't afford to buy him a wand. And even though he was eternally grateful to Pandora, her generosity had inadvertently made him feel even more upset with his own family's poor state of affairs. Ron clenched his jaw as he stared Malfoy down. Malfoy sneered back and turned to Harry. "You'll come to learn that some wizarding families are better than others. When you do, I'll help you pick the right ones." Malfoy stuck his hand out to Harry to shake. Harry just stared at Malfoy with a blank expression.

"I think I can make that decision by myself, thanks…" Harry replied coldly, not even bothering to look at Malfoy's hand. Harry hated bullies more than anything. After all, he had been bullied his whole life. And he liked Ron. Ron had been kind to him, and had even comforted him when he felt insecure and small. Only friends did that, and Harry already considered Ron his friend. So when Malfoy had insulted Ron, he had also insulted Harry. Malfoy the sneered at Harry in disgust and then quickly walked away in anger. His gorillas followed after him, but not before cracking their knuckles at Harry and Ron. _Bloody hell… what a tosser._ There was silent in the compartment for a few moments. And when it was close to becoming uncomfortable, Ron decided he should lighten the mood.

"It's good to see we're both already making enemies already…" Harry looked at him for a second in disbelief, and then laughed. Ron joined him as he thought about how quickly that conversation had gone to hell.

"It's all right though… Coz we're friends… right?" Harry said sheepishly. He had never had a friend before and he really wanted to be Ron's friend. Ron smiled at Harry and said something Harry had never heard before.

"Yeah mate, we're friends. After the way you blew off Malfoy, I think we might even be best friends." Ron had chuckled at the way Harry had put that pompous git Malfoy in his place. So he missed the look of pure joy on Harry's face. Harry felt so happy that he could cry. He had a friend. He finally had at least one friend. Coming to Hogwarts may have been the best decision he'd ever make.

The train finally stopped and Ron was almost pinging off the walls in excitement. He had waited so long for this. Harry was just as excited as they both made their way off the train. They were joined by all the students in the train and Ron had never seen so many children in one place before. There was a lot of chatter coming from the students and Ron even had trouble hearing what Harry was saying right next to him. But all that noise died immediately when a thundering voice echoed throughout the station. If Ron was being completely honest, it had scared him. "Firs' years" the voice bellowed "yeh're with meself! The res' of yeh're wit' yer prefec's!" Ron hadn't understood much but that didn't matter. Because when he saw who was speaking, he almost feinted from shock. It was a man of a monstrous size. _What do they feed this guy…? Merlin, I would barely reach his knee…_

"That's Hagrid, by the way" Harry said from beside him. Ron looked at Harry in disbelief.

"You know who he is?" Ron was shocked because Harry had told Ron that he didn't know about the wizarding world. And yet he clearly knew this mountain disguised as a man.

"Yeh, he is the one who took me to Diagon Alley and told me I was a wizard." Ron didn't know what to say to that so he just followed his fellow first years who all trailed behind the giant man named Hagrid. They eventually got to some boats that were docked on the beached area of the surrounding lake. Ron noted that the water looked black. _That's not ominous or terrifying in the least… Which boat is Hagrid going to fit on?_

"Ge' in to yer boa's firs' years" said Hagrid in what he probably considered his inside voice. It wasn't an inside voice at all. The first years all hoped into the boats made to take on four people at once. Harry and Ron stuck together, and were joined by Hermione and a very timid boy. They boy was a little pudgy and he looked like any minute he was going to vomit. _Best keep my distance from him…_ Ron was also a bit concerned about getting into a boat with Hermione. Last time he had seen her, she had that look on her face. And just before that she had gone berserk on Harry with an encyclopedia on the poor boy's life. But now that they were in the boats and slowly sailing across the lake, with Hagrid leading them in his own large boat.

They all gasped in pure awe as the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry came into view. It was magnificent. It had towers that reached into the sky and Ron could just tell by looking that this castle was absolutely ginormous. Ron had peeked a look at the faces of his boat-mates, just to make sure he wasn't the only one gaping like a fish. He wasn't. Hermione looked just as awed and enchanted with the castle as he did. The pudgy boy had awe on his face too but his quivering lips made it look like he was terrified. Harry was just staring at the castle with a massive smile on his face that threatened to split his face in two.

They finally docked at a boat shack and Hagrid led them up the castle and stopped in front of a massive door. He spoke quietly with a black haired witch who wore emerald colored robes. She had a stern face and thin lips. And when she gazed over the first years, Ron looked down at his feet feeling nervous. 'First years, you will wait here while we prepare for you" she spoke in a commanding voice, and the small chatter between the students died immediately. "Keep your noise to a minimum, now excuse me." With that she turned around and marched towards the small gap in the giant door. No one said a word for a few moments. Then someone tugged his sleeve from behind and he turned around only to come face to face with Hermione.

"Hi" she said in a haughty tone. _What's her deal?_ "Neville here" she pointed to the pudgy boy from the boat "wanted to thank you for finding his toad." Ron looked at the boy named Neville and smiled.

"It's no worries mate" he said casually. Neville gave him a nervous smile and a shaky nod. Someone chuckled from behind him and Ron turned to see a smirking Malfoy. _This tosser again…_

"Well done Weasley, perhaps chubby here will give you a finder's fee. We all know your family could use the money" he said smoothly. A few people started snickering, no doubt Malfoy's flock. Ron blushed and felt his temper flare but he pushed down his anger. Making a scene here would be just plain stupid. Especially because that stern professor from before would be coming back anytime now. So instead he decided to use some of that quick wit that he had picked up from Pandora over the last year.

"If he does give me a finder's fee Malfoy, I'll be sure to donate it to you. Maybe you can finally buy yourself a sense of humor" Ron replied coolly, even though he wanted to hex Malfoy in his smug face. The first years all broke into sniggers and quiet laughs, even some of Malfoy's flock. Malfoy's face flushed red and he started walking at Ron in a threatening manner, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him dead in his tracks. The scary professor from before stood there looking at Ron while holding Malfoy's shoulder from behind. Her lips thinned as she scowled a bit.

"Quiet down" she said even as she kept staring at Ron. It made Ron feel a little queasy. "We are ready for you now." They all followed her into the massive hall, and Ron could feel a lot of eyes looking at him. He ignored them and just followed the professor. They hall was grand, and it was packed with older students sitting in their assorted houses. At the other end of the hall, sat the staff. They had their eyes fixed on the first years and most were wearing welcoming smiles. They were halfway through the hall when something in Ron's head just clicked. He knew this place… it was so familiar. Where had he seen a massive hall before? _A massive hall…_ Fred's corpse flashed in his mind and it jarred him.

He stopped immediately and someone bumped into him from behind. They said something but he didn't hear them. All the noise was just distant to him. His hands started their slight shaking again and he felt a cold sweat on his brow. _This is where he… This is where so many people… Why here?_ Someone had put their hand on his back and pushed him forward. So he started walking but he didn't think of who it was and why they had done it. All he could do was go through his blazing thoughts. He had a million questions and not even one answer. What had happened to the school? How far away was this future calamity that would claim his brother's life? Where were the teachers in all of this? And where was Albus Dumbledore? He was the most powerful wizard alive and yet his school would become a place of death and destruction. Where was he? Why didn't he protect those under his care?

Ron didn't even notice that he had stopped and that a hat was singing a song. _How did it get that bad? Why had everything come to that?_ His heart beat was irregular and he had to loosen his tie so he could breathe properly.

Harry too was distracted. He too missed the song from the hat and even missed the fact that people were being called up to be sorted. All he could think about was his friend. Ron had just stopped walking and Hermione had bumped into him from behind. She told him to watch it, but he hadn't responded. When Harry saw Ron's face, he immediately grew worried. Ron was pale, much paler than he already was. Even his freckles had become pale. Ron's eyes were wide and his eyes told Harry that Ron's mind was troubled. So he had given his friend a push forward. He even had to stop Ron or his friend would have surely walked straight into the staff members. When he heard his name being called he was forced to leave Ron's side. But not before he shook Ron slightly, pulling the troubled boy out of his thoughts. Ron looked at him, feeling a little dazed by the fact that he missed so much of the sorting ceremony. Harry gave Ron a final reassuring smile and then marched forward to be sorted.

Ron watched as Harry climbed the step towards a hat, which sat on a stool. The stern professor lifted the hat as Harry sat down on the stool. She then placed the hat onto Harry's head of untamed hair. The hat gasped and spoke which made Harry flinch. "Harry Potter, oh my… isn't this a surprise." Ron just stared at the hat, eyes wide. _The bloody hat spoke… This was the sorting? I completely blanked out during it. I need to calm down. Just relax. That vision is years away Ron. And I know now that I can change it. And I will. No matter the cost…_ With those thoughts, he steeled his mind and clenched his hands to stop their shaking. Harry's sorting took about five more minutes. The hat sat there on his head, making faces while Harry did the same. _They aren't even talking…_ The hall seemed to become restless. Even Dumbledore had sat up and leaned forward. Ron smiled at Harry reassuringly every time their eyes met. In the end, the Hat grumbled something inaudible and the said "Better be… GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall erupted in cheer and Ron heard the twins shouting that they got Potter. Harry looked at him with a wide smile and stood up from the stool as the stern professor removed the hat from his head and she gave Harry a faint smile. Ron beamed at Harry and gave him a thumbs up. Harry quickly trotted down to the Gryffindor table. Ron watched him go, and also spotted Hermione and Neville sitting on the table. _So they're Gryffindors too. I can't wait to join Harry! Harry Potter… wants to be my mate…_ He snickered in disbelief. He waited for his turn almost impatiently. During that time he contemplated about how scared of the hat he would've been just three years ago. _A talking hat…_ But now? After the things he had done and seen, he knew he would never be afraid of a hat. The stern Professor called out his name and he marched up with confidence. He noted on the way that none of the staff looked particularly interested. _Of course, I'm just another Weasley after all…_

Ron sat on the stool as the hat was placed on his head. It sat still and didn't utter a word for a few seconds. _"Well, well, well…"_ a voice rang through Ron's head. Ron was immediately alert and he straightened his back.

" _Who's there?"_ He questioned.

" _Me, of course"_ the voice was thick with sarcasm.

" _Who's me?"_

" _The hat boy… you aren't very clever, are you?"_ the voice drawled.

" _You're in my head? How?"_

" _Magic my dear boy…. Magic."_ Ron rolled his eyes. _Clever… "I heard that. I told you Ronald, I'm in your head."_

" _I heard you… Can you kindly leave please?"_

" _No… no I can't my boy…"_ The voice sounded sadder now.

" _Why? You aren't stuck are you?"_ Ron felt a jolt of panic go through him. He looked around the hall. He was facing the entire student body. He gazed over to the Gryffindor table. Harry and his brothers, Percy and the twins, were watching him. The twins smiled and gave him a wave, while Percy just gave him a small smile. Harry sat there with an anxious look on his face.

" _Relax Ronald… I am not stuck. But we do need the privacy. We have so much to discuss."_

" _We do?"_

" _Yes. I told you that I am in your head. That means I have seen everything inside it as well."_ Ron's eyes went wide and he paled. The tremors came back and he immediately clenched his hands.

" _Everything…?"_

" _If you are referring to your secret, then yes my boy."_

" _DON'T TELL ANYONE PLEASE! I'M BEGGIN…."_

" _Calm yourself Ronald. I have much to talk to you about, and your constant whimpering and interfering will only make this take longer than necessary."_ Ron tried to calm down, but he was having trouble doing that. He felt like he was back in that room with Pandora, watching her choke to death on her own blood. _"Nasty business that. But you succeeded. That is all that matters now."_

" _You know my secret…?"_ The hat let out a heavy sigh, which made him worry even more. All of his brothers were now staring at him with wide eyes. He also noted that many students were starting to stare. Harry looked a little scared as he also stared at Ron. But Ron didn't care about that right now. This hat knew his damn secret and he was completely at its mercy. _"You know I'm a seer?"_

" _I fear my child, that things are far more complicated than that… You see I can access the minds of all the people whose heads I am placed upon. Not even occlumency can hide your mind from me."_ Ron didn't know what occlumency was. _"It is a type of training that prevents other wizards or witches from entering your mind."_ The hat answered to clear his confusion.

" _You said there were complications? What did you mean by that?"_ He was getting scared now. He was supposed to be sorted into Gryffindor already, and yet here was. Talking to a hat that had figured everything out. What if it told everyone? What then? His mission to save Fred had would have died on the first day of Hogwarts.

" _Stop being so melodramatic Ronald. Your secret is safe with me."_ Ron perked up and waited for the voice to continue. _"I am enchanted to keep the memories and experiences of the students a secret. Even the Headmaster cannot compel me to speak of them. What we discuss today, will remain between us forever. You have my promise on that."_ Ron started to calm down at that. The hall was abuzz with whispers. Everyone was wondering what was happening. It had been five minutes and still no verdict… They all knew that Weasleys only ever went to Gryffindor.

" _So you can't tell my secret to others? THAT'S GREAT!"_

" _No I cannot, and even if I could, I would never dare to. My duty is to the students first and foremost. But I digress… We are going off topic and we don't have much time. I have to speak to you about your 'visions' Ronald."_ Ron perked up and nodded his head, his face becoming fully serious. The whispers got even louder. _"As I said, no one can hide their mind from me. For a thousand years, since the Founding Members created me, it has been so. And yet for the first time, I cannot see something."_ Ron's eyes widened in shock.

" _Why? Why can you not see all of mine? What can't you see?"_

" _I cannot see or access your 'visions' Ronald. There is a… force in your mind. And it is more powerful than even my makers… It blocks me with ease. It is as if there is a safe in your mind where your visions stay. And it seems… only you have the key."_ Ron contemplated the words of the hat. He didn't even know what to think of this.

" _Do you… do you know what this force is?"_ Ron didn't like the sound of this force making a home in his head…

" _I'm afraid not… but do not fear. It seems that it's only purpose is to protect your visions from prying eyes. I believe it is an ally."_

" _An ally? THIS THING IS ALIVE IN MY HEAD?!"_

" _No, not alive. It is like me almost… an entity made by magic, with only one aim. You have nothing to fear from it."_ The whole school was now openly talking. They were staring at him and even the teachers were talking amongst themselves. But Ron ignored them.

" _Easy for you to say... Wait… you said you can't see my visions. Then how do you know about them?"_

" _I may not be able to access your visions Ronald, but I can access the memories of you writing in your journal."_

" _Well… This force isn't all that useful then, is it...?"_ The hat laughed on top of his head. Everyone was silent immediately, happy that a decision was finally made.

" _Hold on for a moment Ronald. I have to buy us some more time."_ The hat then spoke loudly for everyone to hear. "Such courage, such intelligence, and with fierce loyalty to boot. And such strong ambitions… You are a complicated one to sort, aren't you?" This reignited the entire hall. Even the Slytherins had started talking to one another now. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor houses were embroiled in heavy discussions.

"Sorting Hat is there some…" began a gentle voice from behind him but the Sorting Hat cut the voice off quickly. It forced Ron's head to turn and look behind him as it spoke.

"Do not interrupt me Albus" the hat snapped. Ron saw the Headmaster's eyes widen a bit, but the great wizard quickly regained his composure. "Ronald here is a difficult one to understand… even for me". Ron saw the staff look at him in disbelief and maybe even with a hint of wild curiosity. All except Dumbledore whose eyes were twinkling like stars in a clear night sky as he stared, with amusement etched on his face, at Ron.

Ron locked eyes with a man he had respected and revered above all others since he was in diapers. He had been raised on stories about this man. The moment felt like an eternity to him. As if this moment… would perhaps one day chart Ron's life? He didn't know how, but he felt it. It was just as he had felt when he had first gazed upon his wand. He had just known. The hat turned Ron's head back towards the student body, who were discussing things within their own houses. They all shot him quick looks and kept on discussing. His ears went red from all the attention and his blush was hot upon his face. His hands started trembling again when he saw his brothers at the Gryffindor table, talking animatedly to one another and staring at Ron with shock etched on their faces.

" _I fear that our time is coming to an end Ronald… at least for tonight."_

" _No wait, I have more…"_

" _Hush Ronald, You. Must. Listen. To. Me… You are no seer…"_ Ron couldn't help but gasp. _What? The visions, though? They were of future events…_ He didn't understand. _"A seer goes into a trance when their mind's eye gives them access to prophecies. Prophecies that they make to others without any control over themselves. You clearly get put into someone's future memories. No trance, no prophecies, and you certainly don't possess the mind of a seer. I would know. I have met, and spoken with too many of them over my long existence. But you my boy… you are something I have not encountered yet."_

" _I… Don't understand. I'm just Ron…"_ Ron was in pure denial. The hat was making no sense and it felt like someone had torn the carpet out from under him. For the past one year he had believed that he was a seer. It had comforted him, and seeing Pandora alive always renewed his faith in saving his brother Fred. But the hat had taken that away from him. The hat had taken his faith in himself away. Ron didn't know anything about himself… He knew nothing about this entity in his head… He knew nothing at all. He had no answers. And that scared him. The fear must've been etched onto his face because the stern professor, who had put the hat on his head, placed her hand over his shoulder gently and squeezed.

" _You_ _ **are**_ _Ron, my boy. I have no doubt. But you are also someone who can make a huge difference in our inevitable future."_

" _What future…?"_

" _It is clear to me from your journal. Your notes on your first vision… they remind me of a darker time… a time of war. I believe that war is coming to the world of wizard-kind."_ Ron's heart clenched. _"A war that will take your brother's life…"_

" _NO! NO, IT WON'T! MY BROTHER WILL SURVIVE, I'LL MAKE BLOODY SURE OF THAT! SO DON'T YOU EVEN DARE SAY THAT ME!"_ Ron was furious. This hat had no right… no right to tell him that his brother would die. No right to dig through his head and throw his worst fears in his face. _"I saved Pandora, I will save my brother, and I WILL protect my family."_

" _Is that so… but can you do that though? We both know it was pure luck with Pandora, Ronald. I'm not trying to discourage you, my boy. But… sometimes… one has to sacrifice in order to save. What would you sacrifice for your family Ronald?"_ Ron thought about his mother and father. He thought of his brothers. He thought of Ginny. And not surprised, he thought of the Lovegoods. He thought about the love they all shared with him. All of them, in their own ways. His relationships weren't perfect, but they were his. And he loved his bonds with all of them. And he had the power to save their lives. To save them from a war that was coming, according to the hat anyway. Ginny would never survive a war. She was just a little girl. So was Luna. They would die…

" _Sacrifice? What do you mean by that?"_

" _If you chose to run around changing the future Ronald, then you will be put in incredible danger. Many times over I might add. Are you willing to put your life on the line?"_

" _For my family… yes. You already know that because you are in my head."_

" _You are brave… and even intelligent due to your two brothers' teachings… your loyalty for your loved ones is admirable. These are fine qualities my boy. But your ambition to change the future… to make a better future… that Ronald is your greatest quality. Which is why… I am going to place you in Slytherin house…"_

" _WHAT?! Seeing someone like me made you senile?! Slytherin? Are you insane? My family would disown…"_

" _Enough! Your other qualities would make you a fine addition to any house, but it is in Slytherin that you have the greatest chance to succeed."_

" _PLEASE EXPLAIN THEN! How does becoming a slimy snake help me? My family… the ones I want to protect… would disown me. They would never speak with me. Ever. Again."_

" _Perhaps… or perhaps not… I am not the one who can see the future…"_

" _You're making jokes? This is funny to you?!"_

" _No my dear boy, it certainly is not. Our time is at an end now, Ronald. So please listen, and listen well. Slytherin house is not the evil house that many have branded it to be. Slytherin demands nothing but excellence. And excellence is what you need to have. You will not survive for long, Ronald, if you don't embrace what Slytherin house embodies."_

" _What they embody? They are evil gits… Bigots who supported you-know-who…"_

" _Many in Slytherin did. And many in Slytherin did not. But if you intend to do this alone, as I know you do, you must master cunning, resourcefulness, cleverness, and most of all, you will need determination to carry though no matter what. These are all the traits that Slytherin embodies. Do you understand?"_

" _No… My family will…"_

" _Sacrifice Ronald… sacrifice… What you aim to achieve… it is something that will require much more from you than even you can comprehend. Embrace Slytherin's better teachings. They will be the difference between life and death. For you. For your brother. For all those who you wish to keep from harm."_ Ron just sat quietly… He looked around the hall.

Students were now past discussing and were just sitting there waiting. He had probably set a record for the longest sorting in all of Hogwarts history. And in the end, the hat was going to send him to Slytherin. The one house he never, ever, thought he would be a part of. A house that spat on everything his family stood for and believed in. And it was this house that the Sorting Hat believed would help him the most. Its words had made sense to Ron. But Ron still didn't want this. His family… how could he even look them in the eyes after this? He wanted to beg the hat to reconsider. He wanted to cry out to it and beg it to not do this. He knew the hat sensed his despair and desperation. But he also knew that it would not change its mind.

"I have made my decision…" the Sorting Hat spoke in a loud voice. Everyone seemed to perk up at this. Even his future housemates. _"Forgive me for this Ronald. But it is for the best. One day you will understand. Don't stop fighting my dear boy. Don't ever stop fighting. I believe that not only will your family need you, but we all will. Fight, Ronald."_ "Better be… SLYTHERIN!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm sure many of you saw that coming! Yes this is a Slytherin Ron story, but since Slytherin is a house that wasn't really expanded on, I've taken the liberty of making every character in Slytherin very unique. They all have their backstories and characteristics. So get keen for some Slytherin side-characters who I hope you will all come to love!**


	5. Chapter 5 - In the Pit of Vipers

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is the next chapter people! Now a few things that I need to explain early on:**

 **1\. I've done some changes to the House Point system. Mainly because it didn't make much sense to me as I read the original books. I mean Ron got 5 points for defeating a mountain troll and saving two of his friends in the process, but Neville got 10 points for standing up to his friends... What the hell? WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?! (sorry... it tilts me when Ron gets no respek on his name!)**

 **2\. I've had to pretty much make backstories for these Slytherins because we never saw them much in the original text. As such, I hope you enjoy what these characters are like and how i made them out to be. None of them are perfect and have many flaws, but so does Ron if we are being honest. They are all just kids... (some of you might even say that they are OC's and you might be sort of right, but in my defense, we don't jack all about them in the first place)**

 **3\. For those who don't like Malfoy being shown in a bad light... I'm sorry. I love Draco Malfoy's character, but he was a twat in the earlier books. You can't deny it! As the story progresses however, I will definitely make him a more central character. I have his arc already planned out. So stick it out my fellow Draco lovers!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 5 – In the pit of Vipers**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Gasps emanated throughout the Great Hall. _It's done… There is no going back…_ Ron stood up quietly, and removed the Sorting Hat from his head gently. He turned and handed the hat to the stern professor. She took it from him, and the shock on her face made Ron's insides twist. _A Weasley in Slytherin…_ He looked down in utter defeat, and walked towards the Slytherin table. He could feel the stares bearing down on him. Stares of surprise, stares of disbelief, and stares of loathing… He just kept walking with his eyes looking at the floor just ahead of him. He was too scared to look at his brothers. Percy… The twins…

He couldn't bear to see their faces. He knew what he would see. _Disappointment and shame…_ Disappointment at him for not being in Gryffindor. Shame in being related to him. He knew that because he felt that himself. He finally got to the table, and sat down in a spare seat amongst his fellow first year house-mates. He didn't utter a word and neither did they. _There was no applause… Slytherin doesn't want me…. And now neither will the other houses… This wasn't supposed to happen to me…_ He didn't pay attention to the rest of the sorting ceremony, instead he just looked at the empty plate placed in front of him.

His hands wouldn't stop shaking and his usual technique didn't do anything. So he hid them under the table so no one could see. His eyes stung and he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. But he didn't shed them. He wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him this vulnerable. He heard the Headmaster's voice say a few words in the background, but he paid it no attention. Various foods suddenly appeared on all the tables in overwhelming quantities. He had been looking forward to the feast. His brother Charlie had told him that you could eat as much as you want, and you wouldn't even make a difference because the food seemed to be endless. When he had heard the story, it sounded like heaven. _Feels more like hell now…_

He didn't feel hungry, and he knew his hands were shaking too hard for him to go unnoticed if he tried to use them to eat. So he didn't eat. He sat there looking at the empty plate, all the while hearing his housemates feasting. A girl's high-pitched voice told him that he should eat something. He shook his head without breaking his eyes away from the empty plate. _Empty…_ He whispered that he wasn't hungry and the girl just went back to her own eating. He removed his wand from its holster beneath the table and held it tight in his right hand. It was warm and it was humming. It felt as though it was comforting him. So he tightened his grip on it even more. _Pandora gave this wand to me… I'm going to use this beautiful wand as a snake…_

Thinking of Pandora made him think of his mother. And then of his father. Ron knew he was going to lose his father's respect once he found out. Ron knew he was going to lose the already small amount of love his mother showered on him. Ron knew that his family would be heartbroken. _Just as I am…_ He was supposed to be in Gryffindor. He was planning to become Harry Potter's friend. _Not anymore…_

Ron sat in silence as the feast continued. He pondered about the words that the Sorting Hats had said to him. _Fight…_ It had told him that determination was a Slytherin trait, and one that he would need more than any other. He didn't know the Slytherin traits before. All the traits that the hat had told him about sounded good. _Cunning… Resourcefulness… Cleverness… Determination… It told me to master them… How? HOW?!_ Ron clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his wand. He was so angry… He was so lost… What was he supposed to do? His beautiful wand was the only thing that was keeping him from going mad. Its humming was easing his nerves, and the warmth made him feel safe.

He heard a clinking sound come echoing from the staff table. He looked up towards the sound. The Headmaster master stood behind a podium of sorts which was placed right in front of the staff table. Albus Dumbledore's voice sounded sagely and wise, but Ron found the twinkling in the man's eyes to contradict that. The Headmaster warned them all of the third floor corridor and mentioned that those who went into it may find themselves dying a most horrible death. _Merlin… Is he serious?_

Hogwarts had been nothing like he had imagined. He had painted a rather astonishing picture of his school life in his mind. He would show up and be placed in Gryffindor, just like his family, then he would dazzle everyone with his advanced knowledge and earn their respect. He would become a Prefect. He would join the Quidditch team as the Keeper and eventually be its captain. He would become Head Boy in his last year. All the while dealing with his seer abilities. _Seer abilities…_ Turns out he had been wrong about that too. He had been wrong about so much. _So much…_ He knew nothing… Not to mention that some entity of an unknown nature was living in his brain. The thought terrified him and he paled. What if this thing hurt him? How would he even defend himself from it? Ron had never found himself wanting to tell others his secret more than he did right now. _It wants to keep my visions hidden from others, right? That's why it keeps them sealed… What if it hurts me if I tell others?_ The hat told him that this force was stronger than even the Founders. He shuddered at the thought. He was so helpless… _Hopeless…_

Dumbledore finished his welcome speech and bid the students goodnight, and good luck. _I'll need it…_ The houses began departing the Great Hall. Ron kept his eyes forward and just followed his housemates. An older boy and an older girl approached the first years, and informed them that they were to follow them because they were Slytherin's prefects. Ron looked forward, and nowhere else as he followed the two older students alongside his year-mates. They found themselves at stairs that moved around as if they were alive. The older male student had called it the 'Moving Staircase'. Ron heard murmurs of awe from the rest of the Slytherins. He didn't even blink. What the hell kind of purpose does a staircase that moves around even serve? His thoughts were bitter about everything.

As the prefects led them down towards the dungeons, Ron had looked around at the moving pictures that decorated the whole place. _So many eyes…_ They kept leading the Slytherins further and further down until they reached a damp stone wall. The prefects informed them that this was the entrance into the Slytherin common room and dormitories, and that everyone needed to memorize the password. The female prefect then turned to the wall and said the word 'Purity' and the wall slid aside leaving behind a rectangular hole. The password had made Ron sick. This is what he would be expected to be like for the next seven years? A disgusting bigot? Ron clenched his hands into fists. _Not gonna bloody happen… This is pathetic…_

The first years made their way into the common room and Ron gazed around. The common room's lighting was green and it seemed to seep in through the windows. When Ron looked out the windows, he saw water and even fish swim past. _Bloody hell we are at the bottom of the lake, aren't we? If these windows break… Are we just expected to bloody drown down here?_ Ron shuddered and look away from the windows. He then glazed over the rest of the common room. There were black leather bound sofas and chairs throughout the place, and two massive sofas were placed in front of a fireplace. The fireplace was burning but it was still cold in the common room. Bookshelves were placed against the walls and they were filled with books.

At the end of the common room were three passageways. The prefects explained that the right one was for the boys and the left was for the girls. These passageways would lead to their dormitories. They then explained that the middle one would lead to a potions lab that was available to all Slytherins, including the first years. That had made Ron slightly happy, at least he could finally make potions that weren't limited by his potions kit. After that they told the first years to wait for a few minutes and that their Head of House would come down to speak with them shortly. The prefects then turned and left the common room. The room was quite for only a few short seconds before the first years started talking to themselves in hushed whispers. Ron decided it was best to stay quiet on the basis that he didn't know anyone here, and the fact that the whispers were certainly about him. The whispers came to an abrupt end when a sneering Malfoy gave Ron a push from behind. Ron stumbled but didn't fall, he then turned to look at Malfoy's pinched face and immediately felt his own temper flare.

"Tell me how you convinced the Sorting Hat to let a Blood-Traitor like you into this great house!" Malfoy was sneering and his face was a little flushed. Ron wanted to break Malfoy's nose when he had called Ron a Blood-Traitor.

"I didn't convince it of anything! It was the other way around you git" Ron retorted, feeling some of his anger leave him due to Malfoy's shocked face.

"He lies! The hat would never…." Malfoy was cut off abruptly by a girl's voice.

"Draco, give it a rest. I'm more interested in why Weasley's sorting took so long. We all are" the girl had a slightly high-pitched voice, which Ron recognized from somewhere. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and dark blue eyes which held a spark of curiosity within them. Her blonde hair held not even a single curl and were completely straight. She also had a green hair pin which parted her hair from her face, almost making her face look like a portrait with her hair as its frame. _I sat next to her after my sorting!_ She was looking straight into Ron's ocean blue eyes, as if the answer to her question was written within them. It made Ron feel queasy, and his blush became hot on his face quickly. _My ears are no doubt red as well…_

"Well… tell us already" came another girl's voice. But Ron couldn't look away from the blonde haired girl who now had her dark blue eyes narrowed.

"The hat… the Sorting Hat that is" Ron started while loosening his tie so that he could breathe. "It um… didn't know where to put me…" Ron paused. _I have to think of a believable reason fast. I can't tell these slimy snakes the real reason behind my sorting._ An idea clicked in his brain. What if he made something amazing up? That would earn him some standing in this disgusting house at least. He might even make it to tomorrow without one of these vipers smothering him in his sleep. The hat had also told him that it would never speak of his sorting to anyone. So Ron relaxed and smirked the best smirk he could, which seemed to startle everyone around him. "The hat said that I was a perfect candidate for all four houses." There were gasps throughout the first years. Malfoy just clenched his jaw and hands.

"YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER BLOOD-TRAITOR SCUM" Malfoy shouted. "TELL US THE TRUTH!" Ron wanted to jump the platinum haired git right there and then, but he knew that losing his temper would turn this whole house against him even more. Ron also marveled at how far he had come along regarding his temper issues. If Ron hadn't learned discipline from Percy during their study sessions, he knew that he would have already attacked Malfoy. So Ron took a calming breath and spoke.

"I am telling the truth. The fact that my sorting took almost twenty minutes is proof of that" Ron said calmly. Many of the first years exchanged looks, while others gave small awed nods. The blonde haired girl was also giving him an awed look. Ron knew that his lie was being believed by most of his fellow first years, with the only exceptions being an angry Malfoy and his two gorillas. Ron figured the gorillas didn't really know what was happening because they looked lost and kept glancing over to Malfoy for some reason. _How did they end up in the house of the cunning? The hat is bloody mental it is…_

"The hat did say that Weasley here displayed all of the traits needed for each house in abundance" said a weedy looking boy with brown curly hair and black eyes. The room was filled again with hushed whispers. Ron could tell that his house-mates were now discussing what to do with him and it made Ron feel anxious. _These idiots don't know that the hat was just buying us time when it bloody said that…_

They all went silent when the sound of the common room being opened was heard. They all turned to face the man who came in with a confident stride, his black robes billowing behind him. Ron looked at Professor Snape for the first time in his life with a hint of fear and awe. Ron had heard horror stories from his brothers, including Percy, about the professor who was feared by all of Gryffindor. They had told him about Snape's disdain for anyone who wasn't in Slytherin and that he would dock points nonstop and without mercy from the other houses. Professor Snape was tall, had greasy shoulder-length black hair, black eyes, and a hooked nose. Ron couldn't help but think of the twins' description of Snape. _A giant bat._

"Welcome to the noble house of Salazar Slytherin" Snape began in a soft but commanding tone. "I am Professor Severus Snape and I am your Head of House from this moment on. That means you can rely on me for your needs and I will never betray your trust. I give you my word." _He isn't so bad, bit scary but not bad…_ "I expect excellence from all of you in all of your classes" Snape's voice became slightly louder and far more authoritative, and his gaze turned into a piercing stare. Ron gulped and knew immediately why he was so feared. "Excuses for subpar performances within your classes will not be tolerated. I also expect all of you to respect your teachers and other staff members. Losing points for the house is also not tolerable. I will **not** allow your incompetence to lose us the House Cup, which we have won six years in a row now. As such, those who lose points or fall behind in their studies will. Answer. To. Me…" Snape's piercing gaze went over all the frightened first years, and it stopped when it got to Ron.

He stared at Ron with narrowed eyes for a few short moments before continuing his gaze. He spoke again but with a softer voice. "For those of you who are not aware, Slytherin house is often seen as the… evil house by students within the other three houses. As such, I expect you all to stand by one another, and do your absolute best for your fellow house-mates. An overlooked trait of Slytherin is fraternity, and many of you will come to understand that it may be one of the most important ones." _Another trait I didn't know about… Fraternity… Why do so many dark wizards come from Slytherin? It has to be all this Pure-Blood nonsense…_ Ron was torn from his thoughts by Snape's commanding voice. "Tomorrow morning you will all be given your school schedules at breakfast. I expect you all to be there on time. Tardiness will not be tolerated. I also expect that all of you will look presentable and respect this school's uniform. Am I understood, without a shadow of a doubt, about everything that I have spoken to you of?" The first-years, including Ron, nodded quickly.

"Excellent… Goodnight then and welcome again to Slytherin." With those words Professor Snape turned on his heel and marched out of the common room, his robes billowing behind him. _Bloody hell that was scary…_ The two prefects re-entered the common room and split the first-years up. The girls went to their dorms and the boys went to theirs. The male prefect showed Ron his room and told him that he would be sharing his room with two of his fellow year-mates, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. The room was circular and shone with a similar green light like the common room. It also had an adjoined bathroom that the three boys would share. There were three beds covered in emerald green sheets and the sheets also donned the Slytherin emblem. Ron wasn't happy with the color scheme but at least it looked cozy. He also noticed that his trunk was already sitting there at the foot of a bed. _Guess that's where I sleep…_ Before Ron could get ready for bed, he was approached by his two new roommates.

"Guess we will be sharing this space for the foreseeable future" said the dark skinned boy. He had short black hair and brown eyes which looked lifeless. "I am Zabini, Blaise Zabini" he continued as he put his hand forward for Ron to shake. Ron thought for a second and decided it was best to get along with his roommates. _At least then they won't murder me in my sleep…_ So Ron gave a smile to Zabini and shook his hand.

"I'm Ronald Weasley" he replied. The dark skinned boy gave him an odd look before he nodded his head once and walked over to his own bed. Ron was taken back by the look he had just received. _What did I do? All I said was my name…_ He heard a chuckle from the other boy. Ron noted that it was the weedy boy with the brown curly hair who had involuntarily helped Ron by talking about the Sorting Hat.

"You introduced yourself wrong" said the weedy boy in between chuckles.

"Excuse me?" Ron was now confused. He had just said his name…

"We Pure-Bloods say the name of our ancestral families first. Like this. I'm Nott, Theodore Nott." He then put his hand forward for Ron to shake. _What the… I've never heard of this before and I'm a Pure-Blood too…_

"I'm Weasley, Ronald Weasley…" Ron said slowly and shook Nott's hand. Nott gave him an approving nod and almost smiled.

"Well met, Weasley. Now that we have taught you how to say your name, we might just make a Slytherin out of you yet." _I bloody hope not…_ Ron gave Nott a parting nod before he put on his pajamas and lied down in his four poster bed. Ron also placed Scabbers by his side and gently petted his rat. _This is it… I'm officially a Slytherin now. At least you're here with me Scabbers…_ Ron's final thoughts were about his family and how they would react to this. He did not sleep well that night.

Ron was woken up abruptly when his bed started making a beeping noise and shaking. He went into a panic and leaped out of his bed, and aimed his wand at his bed. When he heard soft chuckling from behind him, he relaxed slightly.

"That was just the alarm charm set on the bed. Professor Snape did say that he wanted us to be at breakfast on time" came Nott's voice, he sounded amused. Ron turned to the curly haired boy and noticed that Nott was already dressed in his school uniform.

"What's the time?" Ron spoke as he opened his trunk to get his uniform out.

"It's quarter to eight, Weasley" Zabini said as he entered the room from their joined bathroom. He too had his uniform on. _How early do these people wake up?_ "You'd best hurry, or Snape will know why." Ron grumbled curses to himself as he trotted off to the bathroom. He showered quickly and was dressed before eight. He then walked into the common room and saw every first-year waiting by the exit.

"That's a shame weasel" came the pompous voice of Malfoy. "I was rather hoping you'd die in your sleep." At that Malfoy broke into a laugh joined by his gorillas and a girl with black hair and a pug-face.

"I hope they re-sort him before he shames this great house" the girl with the pug-face giggled. Her voice grated Ron's ears and for a moment he didn't care that she was a girl, because he wanted to hex her. Malfoys gang kept laughing as Ron stormed past them and out of the common room. He then walked up from the dungeons and towards the Great Hall. He didn't even notice that Nott and Zabini were a few short steps behind him.

"You need thicker skin, Weasley" Zabini said in an aloof voice, making Ron jump from surprise.

"Bloody hell Zabini…" Ron muttered.

"Charming language" said Nott in his amused voice. "Guess we will work on that as well." Ron stopped and turned to face the two boys. Zabini looked disinterred and aloof, while Nott had an amused smirk on his thin lips and was looking Ron up-and-down as if studying him.

"Work on that? I'm not your project…" Ron grumbled, getting irritated by Nott's gaze. _What is their deal? First they don't want me in Slytherin and now they're following me…_ Ron turned around and continued on his way towards the Great Hall.

"Like it or not Weasley, you are in Slytherin" continued Nott. "And if the hat is to be believed, you are sure to make a valuable ally…" Nott was cut of abruptly by Ron who turned around to face the weedy boy.

"Ally? You mean friend, right? Why do you Slytherins talk in such a weird way?" Ron was annoyed and confused. _What does he mean ally? I'm not helping any of these snakes…_

"I don't mean friend" Nott replied, losing his smirk and standing upright to face Ron. "I meant ally. You help me, I help you. We Pure-Bloods make allies rather than friends. Only do our most trusted allies become our friends. And in case you missed the sorting last night, you are a Slytherin too. So instead of jumping down my throat, how about we help each other. Blaise here is brilliant at Astronomy and I myself have quite the green thumb in Herbology. What about you?" Ron was stunned by the time Nott finished his rant. _Allies…? Fraternity…? Is this what the hat meant? That I'd find the most success in Slytherin…?_

Ron relaxed and thought through what Nott had said. It's true that Herbology was his weakest subject, so having Nott help him would be great. Ron's Astronomy was quite good because Percy loved the subject so Zabini wouldn't be all that useful. But maybe he could use Zabini as another shield? _Power in numbers right?_ If he had other Slytherins behind him, Malfoy wouldn't come after him as often. Ron decided to take the offer, but he would keep an eye on them both. He certainly didn't need a knife in his back.

"Allies…" Ron said with a contemplating look on his face.

"Allies" repeated Nott, his smirk back on his face. Ron nodded and the three shook hands. They then walked down to the Great Hall in silence. When they entered the Great Hall, Ron noticed that most students were already there. The Hall was packed with students who were already eating and talking to each other animatedly. Ron's stomach grumbled and he put his right hand over it. _I didn't even eat last night. The sorting really messed my head up didn't it…?_ Ron then quickly walked towards the Slytherin table and took a seat on it. Zabini and Nott sat on either side of him as Ron began piling food on his plate. Ron missed the two glares and one worried look coming his way from the Gryffindor table. Ron started inhaling his food and stopped when he heard a loud sigh come from Nott.

"You don't even know how to eat with etiquette, do you?" Nott was frowning at Ron. Ron was about to speak when Nott put his hand up to stop him. "Chew then talk please… It seems we have our work cut out for us Blaise." Zabini simply shook his head in annoyance. Ron swallowed the piece of sausage in his mouth.

"What do you mean by that Nott?" Ron was again getting annoyed at being treated like some project. Nott looked Ron in his eyes. Black eyes clashed with ocean blue eyes, both unwavering.

"I meant that as a Slytherin, you will not make allies by displaying how savagely you can tear into a sausage" Nott said with a firm tone. Ron heard Zabini chuckling softly from his other side.

"So what, I can't even eat without offending you lot?" Ron took another bite of his sausage.

"First of all, when you say 'you lot', you seem to forget that you are in Slytherin as well. Secondly, eating like an animal shows that you don't respect the food being given to you. And lastly, proper protocol is what is required if you wish to make powerful Pure-Blood allies."

"What makes you think that I want Pure-Blood allies? I don't need anyone…" Ron spat out. Nott sighed and spoke softly, as if talking to a child.

"The hat mentioned that you had 'great ambitions' did it not? We all heard it, that's why Blaise and I got interested in you. It's why so many other Slytherins are interested in you too." Ron choked when he heard Nott say that. _What the bloody hell is he talking about?_ Ron swallowed his food with the help of some pumpkin juice.

"Other Slytherins? Are you barmy Nott? They hate me…" Ron was now staring at Nott with wide eyes. Nott just sighed again.

"Blaise you're up… I need a break" Nott said before turning to his plate and beginning his meal. Ron turned and looked at Zabini with the same look that he had been giving Nott. Zabini had an indifferent look on his face as he stared back at Ron.

"It's quite true, Weasley" Zabini began. "Daphne Greengrass is one of them. The blonde girl" Zabini clarified when he saw Ron's confusion. "That's why she asked you about your sorting. Many of the older students are as well. Not only did you set the record for the longest sorting in history, but the hat also confirmed that you could be in any single house and still reach your full potential." _He doesn't know that the hat was buying us time, so it could keep talking to me about my powers…_ "That hasn't happened in… in forever" Zabini continued. "Having someone with that much potential on your side is a worthy goal for any Slytherin. That means that one day, you may have most of Slytherin house at your beck and call."

"And we are here to teach you exactly that" Nott jumped in. "Which means that you should listen to us when we tell you how to behave in public. You don't want to lose the respect you may command one day, all because you don't know how to eat like a human being."

"And why are you teaching me all this? Is it because we're… allies? Or is it because one day you want to be able to say that you helped me and call in a favor?" Ron questioned. Nott and Zabini had given him plenty to think about. If the Slytherins really were interested in him as an ally, he could definitely use that as an advantage. But it would also mean that he would get more involved with the one house his entire family despised. _Damn the Sorting Hat for doing this to me… Bloody tosser!_

"Exactly Weasley" Nott replied, with his smirk in place. "He is learning Blaise!" Zabini chuckled at that but Ron was felt annoyed. "Now Weasley, you never answered my question from before."

"What question?" Ron asked.

"What subjects are you good at? Blaise can help us with Astronomy, and I can help us in Herbology. What can you offer to this little group of ours?" Nott seemed far too amused by his own voice. Which was getting on Ron's nerves, but Ron did his best to remain calm and civil.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Charms. I'm really good at all three" Ron replied. He decided to keep his advanced knowledge of both first and second year to himself. The last thing he needed was to be horded by the other first-years whenever they got homework. But more importantly, it was always a wise policy to keep your knowledge a secret so that you could make your moves without alerting your enemies. All the time he had spent playing and mastering chess had taught him that.

"I see. That's perfect then" Nott said with a genuine smile. "You help us with those subjects, and we will help you with our subjects. We will also teach you how to survive in Slytherin, and to even possibly survive in high Pure-Blood Society. After all Weasley, you are part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." That was true. The Weasley family were one of the twenty-eight families in Wizarding Britain to be completely Pure-Blooded. This had never been too important to Ron or his family though. Unlike the other Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Weasleys were poorer than dirt and as such had earned disapproval and even hate from the others. The Weasleys were considered to be unworthy of such a title. The thought made Ron feel bitter. Who were they to judge his family? His family loved in a way that few families could ever understand. He may not have grown up rich with galleons, but he had grown up rich with love. His family's love.

By the time Ron and his new 'allies' finished their breakfast, the rest of the Slytherin first years had also joined them. Many of them gave Ron quick glances, but none of them approached Ron. That was fine with him because he didn't really know how he would react to that. Professor Snape handed out the class schedules to all the first years himself, and just like last time he stared at Ron for longer than the others. Ron didn't really care about that, as Ron understood that he being sorted into Slytherin was something that no one could have predicted. Ron went over his schedule as soon as it was in his hand. _A double of History of Magic, then a break with lunch. Then a double class of Herbology to end the day… All the boring classes are on the first day I guess._

Ron was a little disappointed but Nott seemed glad to be able to show off his Herbology skills. Ron left the Great Hall with the two boys and didn't even glance at the Gryffindor table. He was too scared of what his brothers may think of him. They went to their dorm to collect their books, and Ron didn't miss the looks his second hand books were given by the other two boys. Ron was just glad they didn't say anything to him about it, he didn't feel like hexing the only two people who would speak with him. Then they made their way to their History of Magic class. Ron was completely lost and it was only thanks to Nott, who had explored a bit of the castle early in the morning, that they found their way there without much trouble.

They would be sharing this class with Ravenclaw first years and Ron was glad about that. He didn't feel up to seeing Harry just yet. Losing his friendship with Harry had been one of the tougher things he had to deal with. They had really hit it off, and Ron quite liked Harry's humble and kind nature. _He won't want anything to do with me now… I know I wouldn't give a slimy snake a second of my time._ The class was even more boring than he had originally thought. At first it seemed exciting because Professor Binns was a ghost who taught at Hogwarts, but Ron found his wheezing and droning voice tiring. He could tell that was the case with his fellow students in the class too. Malfoy was already asleep and even the Ravenclaws were struggling to stay awake.

Ron made sure to stay awake and answer every question that was asked however, he owed Percy that much at least. Some of the Ravenclaws tried to outdo him at the start, but Ron had already covered the Goblin Rebellion of 1612 twice in great detail. By the end of the class, Ron had singlehandedly earned Slytherin forty house points and even earned Professor Binns favor. The ghostly professor had told him to come around whenever he was free and they could discuss History of Magic in more detail together, this had shocked all the other students in the class. Most of the Slytherins were now gazing at Ron like hungry animals and it made Ron extremely uncomfortable. _They just want to use me… bloody snakes._ At least Malfoy was honest with Ron about his feelings, judging by the scornful look he was giving Ron. _This isn't over yet, he will try something I just know it._ Ron was taken out of his thoughts during the walk back to the Great Hall for lunch by his two allies.

"Well done Weasley" Nott said in an awed voice. "You really showed the others how valuable you can be. To earn forty points in one class and it being your first class ever, that is nothing short of amazing!" Nott slapped Ron's back a little too hard but Ron didn't mind. It felt good to finally show off his knowledge after keeping it to himself for over two years. But Ron made sure to keep his face neutral, he didn't want to give any satisfaction to these snakes.

"Theo is right Weasley" Zabini cut in with his aloof voice. "Even I was impressed, and I don't make that comment lightly."

"Thanks, I guess…" Ron mumbled. He couldn't quite understand Zabini's angle. Nott seemed very eager to be Ron's ally but Zabini just didn't seem to care about anything. _Maybe they are both hiding their true selves and trying to trick me…_ Ron felt a shudder go through him. What if he was right? How was he even supposed to know who to trust? Nott and Zabini had offered him their help too, but it was clear to Ron that they would get more out of this deal.

For one, Ron already knew the first two years like the back of his hands. Secondly, he knew more spells than most Hogwarts students already because of Charlie. He had only used two, of course, but he was planning on practicing them all once he got some spare time. The thought made Ron giddy. He would finally use his beautiful wand for performing real magic. With that happy thought, they entered the Great Hall and took their seats at the Slytherin table. Nott and Zabini again sat on either side of Ron. Ron quickly started piling as much food as possible on his plate but stopped when he heard Nott cough loudly. "What? I'm hungry" Ron spat, gritting his teeth. Nott simply gave an innocent smile and slowly shook his head.

"Weasley, the food won't grow legs and run away. Put a modest amount on your plate and then go for seconds if you are still hungry…" Nott was trying to stifle a laugh as he spoke. Ron glared at Nott and then started piling on even more food just to spite the weedy boy. Nott chuckled and started putting food on his own plate.

"This is going to be tedious work isn't it?" This time it was Zabini who spoke in his usual aloof tone. "Teaching Weasley how to act as a proper Pure-Blood…"

"So it seems" Nott spoke as he began eating. The three boys ate in silence for only a minute before a certain blonde haired girl took a seat across from Ron. All three boys looked up and saw that she wasn't alone. The blonde girl was accompanied by two other girls. One of them had black hair and a large, square build and she was a bit on the big side if Ron was being honest. The other had brown hair and she was slender with green eyes. All three girls were looking at Ron with interest and he immediately began to blush. _What now? Can't even bloody eat in peace…_

"May I help you…?" Ron began, irritation laced in his voice. The blonde girl let out an annoyed huff and Ron heard Nott clicking his tongue.

"Don't be so rude, Weasley" Nott said. Ron looked at Nott and sighed in defeat. _Why are they all bothering me…? First they don't want me and now they won't leave me be._

"Theodore is right Weasley" the blonde spoke in her slightly high pitched voice. "We haven't done anything to earn your rude behavior." She did have a point there, Ron thought. After all, only Malfoy and his goons had shown him open hostility. The rest had just shown an odd interest in him. So Ron decided to at least be civil towards those who weren't complete tossers to him. Ron let out another tired sigh and then looked at the blonde girl.

"You're right…" Ron began "I've just had… had a rough day. I'm sorry. I'm Weasley, Ronald Weasley." With that he extended his hand to her for a shake. She looked pleased almost, except she didn't shake his hand.

"He almost got it right" she said with an amused smile. She then looked at Nott and gave him a short nod. _What did I do wrong this time?_

"You don't shake a lady's hand Weasley" Zabini spoke aloofly. "You take her hand in yours like this." Zabini and the blonde haired girl then held hands, with hers on top and with her knuckles facing up. _Lady?! Why are they all so weird…?_

"I'm Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass. Heiress of the most Ancient and Noble house of Greengrass" the blonde haired girl said and then she hovered her hand in front of him. Ron took it like Zabini had and gave her a quick nod.

"Nice to meet you, Greengrass" he said, with a smile on his face. Daphne smiled back at him.

"This is Millicent Bulstrode" Daphne said as she pointed her head towards the big girl who gave Ron a nod and a grunt. "And this is Tracey Davis" Daphne then pointed her head to the slender girl with the green eyes. Davis smiled at Ron and gave him a chuckle.

"Don't worry Weasley" Davis said, her voice was soft and playful. "It took me a while to get used to how they all talk, as well." _They? Isn't she Pure-Blood too?_ "I'm a Half-Blood" Davis continued, as if she could read Ron's mind. "I hope you don't mind the filthy blood in my veins too much." Ron choked immediately and started coughing. He looked at her and shook his head but she was grinning.

"You will have to forgive Tracey, Weasley" Greengrass said with a frown. "She doesn't have the most appropriate sense of humor." _You don't say…_

"I'm hilarious" Davis giggled. "And you Weasley, are quite the topic of conversation here at Hogwarts. Especially after what you did today." This made Ron tense. What had he done? Was he in some sort of trouble? Noticing Ron's face, Davis giggled even louder. "You, a Weasley, get sorted into Slytherin after the longest sorting in Hogwarts' history and then you proceed to earn forty points singlehandedly in your very first class. Word spreads quickly in this school it seems, because everyone is talking about you. Even the staff are intrigued after Professor Binns sang praises about you to them." Ron sat there quietly listening, his heartbeat was getting faster and his hands were beginning to tremble so he quickly hid them under the table. _The whole school knows? My brothers know…_

At that he looked to the Gryffindor table for the first time and he noticed that Percy wasn't there. But the twins were, and they were glaring right at him. George's glare looked more like concern and slight anger but it was Fred's glare that almost made Ron vomit from panic and worry. There was hate etched on his face. And it wasn't like the time Ron had broken Fred's toy broomstick either… This was genuine hate and anger. Ron felt sweat in his armpits and on his brow but he didn't break his eye contact with Fred. It was only when Fred and George started talking to each other animatedly, no doubt about Ron, that Ron looked back at his plate of food. _I'm not hungry anymore… Fred is…_ Ron's thoughts were disturbed by Greengrass.

"Don't worry about your brothers, Weasley" she began in a nonchalant voice. "They are just jealous that you are better than they could…" Ron slammed his fist on the table so loudly that everyone around him jumped and the girls even squealed in surprise. Ron stared right into Greengrass' frightened dark blue eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Don't talk about them like you know them…" Ron said menacingly. He didn't care that he scared her or her damn friends. She didn't know anything about his family and yet she had the gall to speak as if she was the leading authority on the matter. _Spoiled little git…_ "You may have grown up with everyone bending over backwards to your every whim, but try that with me and I'll hex your face off… I am not here to be used by you lot..." With that Ron stood up quickly and marched out of the Great Hall, while gritting his teeth. He really wanted to use Charlie's most brutal hexes on the self-entitled heiress. Many people stared at Ron marching away with some shock, including his brothers. They were probably wondering what had caused the boy's angry outburst.

"Great job on that one, Daphne "said Nott while letting out a sigh. "Did you miss the look on Weasley's face when he saw how his brothers were glaring daggers at him?" Daphne nodded quickly, tears had welled up in her eyes from the shock of Ron's angry outburst. "And yet, you chose to talk about them to him as if you know them…" Nott sighed loudly. "Blaise and I were making progress too…" Nott stood up to leave as well, followed by Zabini.

"He has quite a temper by the way, so stay out of his way. And ours" Zabini spoke quietly. "We saw him first, and he has agreed to be our ally. Though I doubt that after this he'd want anything to do with you anyway." Nott and Zabini left the Great Hall to find Ron, leaving a shocked Daphne Greengrass behind who was now being petted and comforted by her friends.

Ron was absolutely foaming at the mouth by the time he reached his dorm. His brothers' angry faces were still fresh in his mind and every time he thought about Fred, Ron saw flashes of his brother's corpse. He was angry beyond words with Greengrass. He was angry with the Sorting Hat. He was angry with the Slytherins and their ridiculous games. He was angry at his visions. He was angry at himself… _WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO?! DROP OUT OF HOGWARTS?!_

Why couldn't people see that he didn't have a damn choice in the matter? That it was all the Sorting Hat's idea to throw him in this bigoted house! He took out Charlie's journal of spells from his trunk and started to look over some of the promising curses he had read. _Petrificus Totalus… Expulso… Locomotor Mortis… Reducto…_ These four were his favorite curses so far but he hadn't tried them out. That was about to change because he had to let his anger out. Or he was gonna hex one of these snakes into the next century… Just then he heard footsteps coming from past the dorm room, so he quickly hid his journal in his trunk. The door opened slowly with Nott and Zabini striding in. "There you are" Nott started. "You had us worried that you'd run off…"

"Worried?" Ron asked with a frown. He knew that these two didn't care about him. They just wanted to sponge off of him. Nott smirked and Zabini just sighed.

"No, not worried" Zabini spoke softly. "But we are allies Weasley. If you run off, it would cost us quite a bit."

"How so?" Ron spat out. He didn't understand what Zabini was implying.

"We've thrown our lot in with you, Weasley" Zabini continued. "It was either you or Draco, and we both chose to ally with you. If you run off and get re-sorted, then the rest of the Slytherin house won't forget our actions." Ron gritted his teeth at Zabini's explanation. _All they care about is themselves… Selfish tossers the lot of them…_

"You all only care about yourselves… Just a bunch of selfish and self-centered gits…" Ron spat out. He was ready to use those curses now more than ever. Nott gave a light chuckle and put his hands up in surrender.

"You're right, of course" Nott began "but that doesn't make us bad people." _Yes it does…_ "We've known each other, all of us Slytherin first years that is, from the time that we were in diapers. Except Tracey of course, we only met her through Daphne a couple of years ago."

"Is there a point to this or do you just like the sound of your own voice that much?" Ron questioned.

"The point is that we know the other Slytherins who are in our year quiet intimately. And yet we threw our lot in with you rather than Draco. See Draco was raised to believe that the Malfoy family always leads, and as such he definitely believed that once we all got to Hogwarts, he would have our allegiances. So imagine his surprise when a Blood-Traitor" Ron frowned at the word, but Nott put his hands back up and continued "when **you** , of all people, get sorted into Slytherin, and every Slytherin is more interested in you than him. That's why he is trying to ridicule you, and why Daphne and the others approached you today."

"And what is her deal? Clearly she wasn't raised with manners…" Ron grew angry at the thought of the self-entitled heiress.

"Her family might be the only family more wealthy than the Malfoys" Zabini interjected. "She hasn't had to worry a day in her life about anything and as the heiress of said family, she can sometimes be very blunt with people." _So no one taught the rich girl how to talk to other people, is that it? What a load of dung…_ "But you aren't completely free of blame either Weasley." Ron snorted at that.

"How so? Do share your wisdom with me Zabini" Ron spoke bitterly. _I didn't do anything wrong. She is the one who thinks she can say whatever she damn well pleases…_

"She was trying to comfort you, Weasley… In her own way. We all saw your face when you looked at your brothers…" Ron tensed at that. "And you exploded with anger… you scared her, Weasley. That doesn't make you the good guy. So get off your high horse…" With that Zabini turned around and walked out of the dormitory. Ron looked down at his feet. _No… I didn't…_ But he knew he had. He had lost his temper again, and probably made another enemy. Nott coughed and Ron looked up at him.

"No need to be so shocked Weasley" Nott smirked. "We aren't completely emotionless. As a matter of fact, I think you show too much emotion. It makes you predictable and clouds your judgement." Nott then gave an exaggerated sigh. "Guess that's another thing we should work on…" Nott then flashed Ron a smile and walked out of the dorm too, leaving Ron behind to think. Ron's anger was replaced by some guilt and a better understanding of his new allies. Yes they were selfish, but they didn't seem to be completely inhuman either.

After all Nott and Zabini had both signed on with him rather than Malfoy, who was a person they had grown up with. That alone would cause them problems with Malfoy, and now they had even come here to defend a potential rival. That's clearly what Greengrass was to them at the moment. Another person who wanted to align her goals with Ron's for mutual benefit. Ron knew from chess that if you favor one piece, then you were more likely to lose your other pieces due to neglect and carelessness. The more people that Ron made allies with, the less time he would be able to give to Nott and Zabini. Yet they had defended Greengrass, and maybe even shown him that he was at fault too. _That took… courage. Courage..._ The bell rang loudly and Ron was taken away from his thoughts. He shook his head and collected his Herbology text books. He walked down to the common room and saw both Nott and Zabini waiting for him. He gave them a nod and all three walked towards the herbology greenhouses.

They took Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Ron could honestly say that his house was full of gits, because of their behavior towards said Hufflepuffs. Herbology had been a little more fun when studying it with Nott. He seemed to know quite a lot about devil's snare and Ron found himself a little excited by Nott's enthusiasm. However, Ron wasn't completely in the mood for it either. He kept glancing over at Greengrass and every time he did, he felt a pang of guilt that kept getting stronger. _She is a girl and I blew up at her… If mum heard about this, she would make me clean the ghoul's attic forever…_ The class ended and everyone packed their tools away. Ron ignored Malfoy's comments and sneers from behind his back. He had more important things to do tonight. Once their books had been put away, the three boys walked to the Great Hall for dinner. Ron was famished but he knew his food would have to wait. _I have to do this. I can't afford any more problems right now…_

Ron entered the Great Hall and looked to the Slytherin table. He spotted head full of blonde hair, and made his way towards it. Nott and Zabini noticed his trajectory and didn't do anything to stop him. Ron sat across from Greengrass who huffed in irritation and looked away from him when she noticed him. _Spoilt git…_ Ron almost chuckled at her childlike behavior. But then again she was a child, it was Ron who had been forced to grow up because of his visions. It was Ron who had been knee deep in a woman's blood while he fumbled to save her life. "Hi Daphne…" Ron began. "I just wanted to… um… I wanted to apologize for the things I said to you…" _Ugh I'm bad at this._ "And for scaring you" Greengrass turned and looked at Ron with a scowl.

"You didn't scare me Weasley" she argued back, still scowling but her lips were slightly twitching upwards. "I don't get scared, don't ever forget…"

"Ok, ok" Ron cut her off from her rant. This was already awkward enough. "I'm sorry for being a git alright! Nott and Zabini told me that you only tried to help and well… I lost my temper at you…" Ron finished and looked down at his plate. His blush was burning his cheeks and his ears had taken their famous red color again. Greengrass huffed again, making Ron look up at her. She had a slight smile on her face.

"Very well, I forgive you" she started "but you must make it up to me. It is only fair after you showed such… cruelty towards me." _Cruelty?_ Ron noticed that her small smile had turned sly. _Bloody snakes haha…_ "And don't call me by my first name, it is just plain rude. We are not friends, Weasley." Ron smiled back at her and nodded. "We are… allies." Her cheeks had turned slightly rosy and Ron's own cheeks burned even hotter. So he just nodded at her and started putting a modest amount of food on his plate.

"Praise Salazar, he is actually learning" Nott chuckled from his side. Ron just frowned at Nott and started piling more food onto his plate. _I'll show you what I'm learning you git…_ Zabini chuckled at Ron's childish spite and began a conversation with Bulstrode about her cat. Davis made her jokes which made Greengrass giggle loudly while Nott and Ron spoke about Herbology. The dinner turned into a friendly conversation about Quidditch, Ballroom dances, and everything that wasn't their studies. And Ron finally found himself smiling genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever. Ever since the hat had put him in Slytherin. Ever since his entire Hogwarts dream had been shattered by reality. Ron was so relaxed that he completely missed two twinkly eyes gazing right at him in amusement. Ron also missed the look of absolute scorn that Malfoy and his goons were giving him.

Dinner ended and the students emptied the Hall to head off to their common rooms. Ron and his new allies chatted all the way down and once they reached the Slytherin common room, they all sat down to relax on the sofas in front of the fire. Their good mood didn't last long though. "I saw you stuffing your mouth at supper" came pompous voice belonging to Malfoy. "But then again, I suppose you should eat as much as you can when your parents can't afford to feed you at home." Ron heard muffled laughs and giggles from all over the room. Everywhere except from his new allies that is, who just looked over to Ron in curiosity, no doubt waiting to see what Ron would do. Ron noted that Davis looked more concerned for him than curious, which confused Ron slightly. "No witty comeback, **Weasel**? Your family is an absolute disgrace to the name of wizards, especially your Muggle loving father." _THAT'S IT!_ Ron unsheathed his wand, stood up and turned to point the wand at Malfoy's face in a split second. Malfoy only managed a surprised face before Ron sent a jinx at it.

"Tarantallegra" Ron spoke clearly, citing the dancing jinx from his spell journal. Green light shot out of Ron's wand and struck Malfoy in the face. The whole room gasped and went dead silent. Then every single person burst into a wild fit of laughter when they saw Malfoy break into a foreign dance. Even Greengrass, who was all proper and ladylike broke into a loud laugh at the sight which made Ron feel quite proud of himself. Malfoy was red in the face with anger but his body was still dancing wildly. And then all of a sudden Malfoy stopped dancing and fell forward on his knees.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" A voice boomed through the room, shutting everyone up instantly. Professor Snape marched into the room, robes billowing, and picked up Malfoy and plant the boy on his feet. Snape turned and stared at Ron in a way that made Ron immediately look down at his feet. "Mr. Weasley explain yourself" Snape's voice was now calmer but the authority in it hadn't left it at all.

"Sir… um Malfoy said something to me that I didn't… appreciate so…" Ron was cut off by Snape at that.

"So you cast a jinx on him? Does that sound like a reasonable reaction to you Mr. Weasley?" Snape hissed, anger evident in his voice. Ron nearly nodded by mistake, that's how nervous he felt in front of Snape. Stopping himself from making that mistake, Ron shook his head and kept his eyes down. "Five points from Slytherin for fighting against your house-mates Mr. Weasley. And I will see you tomorrow morning right after breakfast to discuss your apparent lack of common sense" Snape sneered before marching out of the common room. Malfoy was grinning triumphantly at Ron which irked him to no end.

"Looks like Weasley lost himself some points" Malfoy chuckled, clearly trying to turn the situation against Ron. But Ron had won enough matches in chess to know when someone was making a desperate move.

"I've still earned our house thirty five points today alone" Ron blurted out without even thinking about the fact that he had called Slytherin his house. "What about you, Malfoy? What have you done for our house today other than entertain us with your horrid dancing?" The room broke into laughter again and some of the older students even cheered Ron on, no doubt glad to see the pompous Malfoy heir be put in his place.

"This **isn't** over you weasel" Malfoy ground out through gritted teeth, before he turned and marched off to another area of the common room followed quickly by his gorillas and his pug-faced female friend. Ron sat back down on the couch next to Zabini. _No… it isn't… No one talks about my family like that and gets away with it. Just you wait Malfoy... Just you bloody wait…_

"That was brilliant Weasley" exclaimed Davis, her eyes still watery from laughing so hard. "Who taught you that jinx?" Ron was surprised to find his allies grinning and smiling at him. Even Bulstrode and Zabini were smiling at Ron rather genuinely.

"My brother Charlie taught me a few spells before I came to Hogwarts" Ron answered. _It's not a complete lie... no need to tell them I have a journal filled with all sorts of these spells. Some curses even._ The thought made Ron feel strangely safe and secure. He had memorized most of his brother's spells and now only needed to practice casting them. But so far he had been successful every time. The benefits of practicing wand movements with a stick clearly being essential to his current success.

"I have to say though" Greengrass began "that if you had waited for a few more seconds, then Snape would have caught Draco red handed. That temper of yours Weasley, it'll get you into real trouble someday." Nott nodded in agreement.

"I'm with Weasley on this" Bulstrode cut in. "Draco shouldn't speak about other people's families that way. Especially when he throws a fit if you say anything about his." Ron was surprised that Bulstrode seemed to agree with him. They hadn't talked much at all during the dinner conversation or after. Clearly she didn't think much of Malfoy, which put her in Ron's good books instantly. Zabini sighed and everyone turned to face him.

"You've prodded a hornet's nest when you could have just ignored Draco" Zabini said, sounding tired and disinterested. "Now he will definitely make it his mission to come after you and you will constantly have to watch your back… Jinxing him may have made you feel satisfied, but it wasn't a good call." Ron had noticed that Zabini seemed to be very cynical and even non-confrontational. But that didn't seem to stop him from giving his opinion.

"What's done is done" Nott said chuckling. "I'm more amazed that Weasley here called Slytherin **our** house. You're finally coming around." Nott laughed, making Ron's eyes go wide in realization. _Bloody hell… Mum… Dad… I'm sorry._ Zabini gave a chuckle while the rest joined Nott in laughing at Ron's shocked face.

They all talked a little more about their day and what they thought of Hogwarts so far before they all headed off to their dorms to sleep. Ron lay in his bed, next to his pet Scabbers, and mused over his day. It had started terribly but it had ended quite nicely. He had made 'allies' who seemed to be on his side, as long as they got something out of it, which was fine with Ron. He would use them too, and maybe one day he could even call them his friends. Not to mention his house seemed to like him, mainly because he was one of the few people in the house who had already helped put Slytherin into the lead for the House Cup. All in all, Ron was excited about tomorrow. Maybe the Sorting Hat had made the right call on his behalf. _We'll see…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: That's the end of the current chapter. Now I know that some of you will have trouble with Fred and George being angry at Ron, but Ron did just turn into a Slytherin... Not to mention that they weren't very happy with Ron being so Percy-like in the previous chapters. But the Weasley Family is strong and this won't break them. People need time to adujust is all!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let's see how Ron continues to operate within the House of the Cunning!**

 ***Hint: I will release two chapters back to back next. Read them as such because it was meant to be one chapter... But I said screw that coz it got way too big!**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Black Sheep

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Two big ass chapters back to back man... I'm spent. Haven't slept in almost twenty four hours... RED BULL FTW!**

 **Now a few things:**

 **1\. I would prefer it if you read both chapters 6 and 7 back to back. They were meant to be one chapter but the file was HUGE at the end so split it.**

 **2\. I love Mama Weasley, but she can be a petty woman sometimes. So bear with it for the time being. The future isn't set in stone.**

 **3\. I've made my own school time-table for Ron's first year. For the story's sake so it flows better.**

 **4\. I LOVE THE TWINS! They are my favorite Weasleys after Ron, so please be patient coz they will come around (maybe, haven't decided fully). This is a story about growing up and learning from your mistakes. The Twins are only 13 at this point, so they don't have the maturity of grown people. Ron's maturity has been boosted by his powers and trials, but the twins are still the twins.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 6 – The Black Sheep**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron woke up the next morning in high spirits. He recalled his previous day and sighed in relief. Things weren't completely hopeless, now all he had to worry about was his family and about finding out more about his abilities. If he wanted to succeed in his mission to save Fred, he knew that he had to know as much as possible about the source of his powers. _This mysterious force in my mind… It hasn't hurt me in any way yet so I can safely assume that it has no plans to… yet._ With that, he hopped out of comfortable bed and walked into the adjoining bathroom to wash up and dress for the day. He had D.A.D.A (Defense Against the Dark Arts) first period, followed by a period of Transfiguration. Then after lunch he had a period of Charms, and after dinner tonight they had Astronomy. Ron thought it was unusual to have a class so late, but he figured that they needed a clear view of the stars to even do Astronomy. Ron had all the knowledge he'd need about the constellations and their meanings for at least the first two years of Hogwarts, but he was keen to find out how much Zabini knew.

Ron also decided to not show Zabini up in class because he didn't want to lose Zabini as an ally just yet. Once he was dressed and ready, he walked down to the common room and waited for his allies to join him. Nott and Zabini were the first to join him, having woken up while Ron was getting dressed. They said their greetings and sat down to wait for the girls. It took ten long minutes before they showed up together and quickly greeted the boys. Muttering his thanks to Merlin under his breath, Ron walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. They took their seats and Ron was surprised when Greengrass took a seat to his right rather than across from him. Nott didn't mind sitting in her usual spot however.

Breakfast began and Ron tried his best to eat his food with etiquette but it was hard for him. He was used to inhaling as much food as possible and as quickly as he could. Greengrass reminded Ron about his meeting with Snape which made Ron groan in displeasure. _Bloody hell… I really don't want to be yelled at by him._ Just then Ron noticed a familiar owl flying towards the Slytherin table and directly at him. _Errol! What's that menace doing here?!_ Then it hit him. His parents had no doubt heard about his sorting and were probably trying to contact him, and of course interrogate him as well. Ron's stomach sank when Errol crashed straight into the platter of hash-browns in front of him. _This is it… I'm actually a little scared._ Ron took the letter attached to Errol's claws while the Slytherins snickered and laughed at Errol's landing. _This is it…_ With that, Ron opened the letter and began reading. He could never have been prepared for its content.

RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY

I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOUR SORTING! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY EVERYTHING THAT YOUR FATHER AND I RAISED YOU TO BELIEVE?! I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE SURPIRSED ONE BIT! EVER SINCE YOU STARTED USING PANDORA TO BUY YOU ANYTHING YOU WANTED, YOU HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT A SPOILED CHILD! YOU HAVE BROKEN YOUR FATHER'S HEART AND MADE ME FEEL SO ASHAMED! THE FIRST WEASLEY TO BE SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN, AND HE IS MY SON… I HAVE NEVER FELT AS HUMILIATED AS I DO RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL ANSWER TO ME AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF YOUNG MAN! I DON'T WANT YOU SPENDING ANY TIME WITH THOSE LITTLE DEATH-EATERS! AM I UNDERSTOOD?! HOW COULD YOU BE SO SHALLOW AS TO ACTUALLY BE PLACED IN THAT HORRID HOUSE?! I AM ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS WITH YOU!

MOLLY WEASLEY

Ron finished reading the letter and his eyes were stinging with tears by the end of it. He did his best to hold them in and actually managed to, but his eyes were wet and going red. His cheeks burned with shame, and even dread at his mother's anger with him. _Disgusted… I humiliated her…? I broke Dad's heart…?_ Ron's hands were starting to shake again, and being completely absorbed in his own painful thoughts, he missed Greengrass going over the letter from his side. Her eyes widened in sympathy for the first time in her life, and all she wanted to do was snatch that letter away from Weasley and burn it. How could his mother say something like that to him?

"I have to go" Ron muttered in a broken voice as he got up and left the table quickly. He didn't care that his allies were looking at him oddly. He didn't care that his brothers were looking at him with concern and worry. He didn't care that Snape had gotten up to and was following him out of the Great Hall. He just didn't care. His whole body felt numb, his hands shook violently, his head had a dull ache, and he could feel the contents of his stomach rolling around and trying to escape him. Ron stopped when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Weasley, need I remind you that…" Snape stopped abruptly, as he gazed at the boy. To say that the boy looked distraught would have been wrong, he looked like he was facing the headman's axe. "Mr. Weasley what is the matter?" Snape said softly, as he took in and analyzed the boy's body language. Ron was shaking and his hands seemed to be cause of it. In his left hand the boy was clutching a piece of parchment in a death grip, wrinkling the paper. When Ron didn't say anything and kept staring at his feet, Snape decided that he had to see what that piece of parchment said and then decide what to do with the boy. "Follow me to my office Mr. Weasley, and don't get left behind." Snape then marched towards the dungeons, his robes billowing behind him as usual. Ron did as he was told without even thinking. As a matter of fact, Ron was doing his best not to think. It hurt too much.

Once they were inside, Snape sat Ron down on a chair in front of Snape's desk and then stood in front of Ron. "Show me the parchment, Mr. Weasley" Snape said softly while holding out his hand. Ron shook his head slowly, which irritated Snape. "I want to help you boy, but I cannot do that if I do not know what the problem is." Snape finished strongly and with authority. Ron handed the parchment over slowly and felt his face burn with shame. _He'll know everything my mum said…_ As Snape began to read, Ron couldn't bear it anymore because he was hurting so much. Ron broke into a cry and started sobbing rather loudly. Snape didn't seem to care or even notice as he kept reading the letter from Ron's mother. Ron didn't know the fact that behind his professor's mask of indifference, Snape was actually feeling furious with the Weasley matriarch and just didn't show it.

When Snape finally finished reading the letter, he was stunned by its contents. Stunned and furious. Molly Weasley was well known to be a very loving and coddling mother to her children. And yet her reaction to her son's sorting forced Snape to think twice. Was his house really that hated even by people like the Weasleys, who were accepting of all? What was this boy's relationship with his parents going to be like because of that prejudice? Snape found himself damning the Dark Lord once again. That evil fool had ruined the good name of Slytherin beyond repair it seemed.

"Please… don't… tell anyone" Ron said between sobs that racked his little body. Snape was pulled out of his thoughts and felt a swell of pity for the boy. So Snape calmed his mind and donned his mask of indifference.

"Mr. Weasley, I have already told you that you can trust me as your Head of House. As long as you are in Slytherin, you can come to me for any of your needs." Ron started crying in earnest again when he heard that. Snape did nothing to comfort the boy however, he didn't even know how to. So Snape stood there quietly while the boy cried. Snape only noticed the boy's shaking hands when he handed the letter back to the boy. That made him decide that he needed to intervene. He let out a small sigh and then spoke softly. "Wait here, Mr. Weasley." Snape walked over to his desk and pulled out a vial with a light blue liquid in it. He walked back over to Ron and knelt down to the boy's height. "This is a Draught of Peace" Snape said "it will calm your nerves and help you move on with your day." Ron looked at the potion and then at Snape. _If it makes me feel even a little better then I'll take it. I can trust Snape… I don't know how but I know I can._

Ron nodded and accepted the potion, drinking it all down in one gulp. It was a little bitter but as soon as he drank it, a sense of calm seemed to envelope him. Ron found that he didn't even worry when he thought of his mother's anger or his father's disappointment. Even his hands had stopped shaking and he had stopped sobbing too. _Woah, Percy was right… Potions are amazing!_ He hadn't felt so calm since he had been eight. Ron broke into a soft smile and relaxed in his seat, while the tall professor sat down behind his desk in his own chair. "You may skip your first class of the day Mr. Weasley" Snape began "I will write you a note for it and speak with Professor Quirrell personally. I will not tell him anything of this meeting however, I assure you." Ron smiled at Snape which made the professor frown slightly.

"Thank you sir" said Ron in an airy voice. "I really like this potion" Ron giggled, causing Snape to raise an eyebrow at him. "It sucks that I didn't really know about it till now. It could have been soooo useful" Snape frowned at Ron's casual behavior with him, but understood that the potion was mellowing the boy out.

"Do you know many potions, Mr. Weasley?" Snape's voice was laced with disbelief and Ron could see a slight sneer on the man's face.

"I know loads sir! I've already learned everything about the potions we will go over in the first two years of Hogwarts. I've even brewed a few of them with a potions kit that Pandora bought for me. I miss Pandora" Ron hummed while smiling to himself. Snape's eyes widened for a split second before he regained his composure. He didn't know what to say to this odd boy, but decided he would question Weasley just to be sure that the boy was telling him the truth.

"Consider me intrigued, Mr. Weasley" Snape began, his voice soft and slightly sarcastic. "What are the three most crucial ingredients in a Forgetfulness Potion?" Ron stopped smiling and stared directly into Snape's eyes. Snape was intrigued by Ron's sudden seriousness.

"I forgot" Ron said. They held eye contact for a silent second before Ron burst into giggles, clutching his sides. Snape had to swallow his anger at this boy, who was clearly pulling Snape's leg. Snape couldn't stop his frown though and was about to deduct points for cheek, Draught of Peace be damned. But then Ron stopped his immature behavior and looked into Snape's eyes again with a serious expression.

"The key ingredients are Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs, sir." Ron said, then he smiled to himself and started gazing around the room with clouded eyes, all the while explaining how to make the potion and its two separate stages of brewing in great detail. Snape just listened in awe, but kept his mask of indifference planted on his face. That potion was supposed to be the first years' final exam. And Weasley already knew everything he needed to know about it. How was that possible…? When Ron finished he could see Snape's lips twitching upwards and that got him giddy. _I've impressed him. My brothers have no idea how cool Snape is! He even helped me calm down and actually relax…_

"Ten points to Slytherin Mr. Weasley, for displaying knowledge beyond your years in potion making" Snape said softly. Ron grinned at Snape, but this time Snape didn't mind. They boy had impressed him, and Snape finally understood why that ghost Binns wouldn't shut up about Weasley. But the question remained, how did Weasley have this knowledge? "Mr. Weasley, do you mind telling me how you know so much about this potion?"

"My brother Percy taught me" Ron spoke in an airy voice. "He is the smartest person I know! So I got him to teach me all about Hogwarts before I came here." Snape knew that Percy Weasley was a bright young wizard and he sensed no deceit in Ron's voice. With that question answered, Snape relaxed a bit as well.

"Mr. Weasley, what is your honest opinion on the wondrous art of potion making?" Snape was now more curious about the boy than he had been after the boy's sorting. All the teachers, Snape noted to himself, were actually very interested in Weasley after the sorting ceremony. But now he also knew that this boy was going to blow them out of the water. The thought made Snape smile inwardly. Slytherin may have just gained a prodigy at the peak of their winning streak for the House Cup.

"I didn't like Potions at first" Ron answered quietly, still smiling at nothing. "But after Percy showed me how fun and useful Potions can be, it's become my favorite subject. Along with Defense Against the Dark Arts that is…" Snape had to clench his teeth to stop his own smile from spreading on his face, because it seemed that Weasley was a boy after Snape's own heart. "Oh and Percy says I might be a natural at charms too, but I'm not so sure about that" Ron added quickly.

"After what I saw yesterday with Mr. Malfoy, I might believe the same thing" Snape said softly, but his tone wasn't as authoritative as usual. Ron looked down sheepishly and swung his legs back and forth guiltily.

"I'm sorry Professor Snape, for you know… for jinxing Malfoy" Ron mumbled, which made Snape raise his eyebrow again. "He insulted my dad and my family… It made me… angry" Ron finished lamely. The truth is that Ron wanted Snape to like him, because he liked the professor too right now. Snape had helped him and even promised to keep the contents of that horrid letter to himself.

"Yes Mr. Weasley that was indeed a very foolish thing to do, because you have now turned a member of a wealthy and powerful family against you. You must think before you act… Be cunning and clever. Slytherin demands as much and expects you to deliver. Remember that." Snape wasn't happy that Weasley had jinxed his godson, but from what he had heard so far from the prefects and now Weasley himself, it was clear that Draco deserved it. Snape had always hated bullies and he wasn't blind to his godson's entitled and nasty behavior towards others.

"Your first class is almost finished Mr. Weasley" Snape continued as he looked at his clock. "You are dismissed. Make sure to attend your next classes and perform to the best of your abilities, or I will know why." Ron gave a nod and began departing the Potion Master's Office with a smile plastered on his face once again. Right before Ron reached the door, he stopped and turned to face the professor. He had to say one more thing to Snape just to show him that Ron was grateful to the professor for his help.

"I promise Professor Snape that I'll earn our house even more points than I did yesterday" Ron finished confidently. He didn't care that he had called Slytherin his house again, the potion made him not worry about a thing and it felt liberating. Snape and Ron held eye contact for a second before Snape nodded his head once, his mask of indifference still in place. Ron then turned and walked out of the office to head to Transfiguration. Once Weasley was gone from the office, Snape finally relaxed into his chair and smiled to himself. He would keep a sharp eye on this boy's progress, and maybe even mentor him if Weasley asked. After all, Snape appreciated talent.

Ron had made it to his Transfiguration class before anyone else and was standing outside waiting for the others. He figured they were probably on their way from D.A.D.A, and the fact that he had missed his favorite class didn't even bother Ron one bit. _I already know everything… why should I even worry about missing a class?_ Ron was smiling at his own thoughts when he noticed his allies and the rest of the Slytherin first years towards walking towards him. They were joined by Gryffindor house. _Harry… I should try and be friendly with him. Who knows what he really feels? Maybe he'll give me a chance!_

His allies circled him quickly and asked if he was alright to which he just smiled, eyes slightly glazed over, and nodded his head. Then he told them that he was just scared to meet Snape and that's why he had run away so abruptly. They all bought it, except Greengrass of course. She knew what that letter had actually said and she hadn't told the rest of the group in order to respect Weasley's privacy. He was a potential ally and she didn't want to lose him by giving away information that he might want to keep secret. She wasn't going soft at all, but his odd behavior was getting the better of her and she just wanted to ask what had really happened with Snape.

The door to the class opened from the inside by itself and the students warily entered the class room. It was just an ordinary classroom except for the Tabby Cat that was sitting on the teacher's desk, staring the students down. _That cat is so cute… I should pet it if I get the chance._ Ron giggled at the thought and his allies just gave him shocked glances, as if he was completely mental. Even some of the Gryffindors, including Harry and the bushy haired girl named Hermione, looked at him with the same look. Malfoy had just scoffed and pushed past Ron. When Nott and Ron were about to sit together, Greengrass walked over and whispered something in Nott's ear. Nott gave her a confused look, shook his head, and then sat down next to Davis. Greengrass sat down next to Ron and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you feeling all right, Weasley? You are acting very strange" Greengrass questioned.

"Oh I feel great, best I've felt since I was eight" Ron hummed as he smiled at her, which made her eyes widen. She tried to smile back but she was a little too shocked at Weasley's glazed stare and wide smile. Something was definitely not right with Weasley, she just knew it.

"What do you mean since you were eight?" Ron blinked at her question. _Damn… Need to be careful here. I'm just so relaxed though. Need to think things through before I speak._

"Oh I started my studies when I was eight. I studied a lot, so right now I'm just feeling relaxed because… um we don't have much work… from classes that is" he finished lamely. _I can't even think… This potion is not good for my secret._ Greengrass furrowed her brow at him. She really wanted to question Weasley now, but class would start soon and she knew that he would be able to think of an excuse or more during that time. She needed to catch him off guard. So she huffed in irritation and looked forward. _What's her deal? That huff is quite cute though… she is such a spoiled brat haha._

He saw movement ahead of him, and turned to face the Tabby Cat who was now strutting on the teacher's table. The cat then pounced off the table and turned into the stern female professor from their sorting, all in midair. She landed gracefully and the whole class let out awed sounds of disbelief, including Ron. The professor introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, and informed the class that she would not tolerate any messing around because of how dangerous transfiguration was. Anyone she caught would be punished and even removed from the class, which made everyone a little scared. Everyone but Ron that is, who was still smiling like a buffoon right at Professor McGonagall. _She is a cat professor. I doubt she'd let me pet her though… it would be a little creepy if she did._ McGonagall noticed his odd behavior but chose to ignore it.

The class went on and McGonagall asked many questions on the Transformation Formula. No one seemed to know the answers to any of these questions except for Ron and Hermione. They both answered question after question, and the class could see that Hermione was doing her best to compete against Ron and win. They could also see that Ron didn't even seem to care that Hermione was trying to beat him, he was just smiling like he was in his happy place. When he gave Hermione a thumbs up for getting a question about 'wand power' correct, the whole class broke into giggles at Hermione's gaping face. McGonagall was extremely amused at this red headed boy and his lack of concern that he was being competed against, but she hid it behind her stern demeanor. She was also immensely proud and glad that someone as bright as Hermione was in Gryffindor. By the end of the questions about theories of Transfiguration, both Ron and Hermione had earned twenty points for their houses respectively. Hermione was glaring at Ron and his stupid smiling face. She wanted to win. She had to win. Why was he so calm and happy?!

"Well done, Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger" Professor McGonagall started. "Now can someone else please try and answer the questions next time?" She looked around the class and no one met her eyes. "We still have fifteen minutes, and in these last few minutes I will show you what Transfiguration is truly capable of. Observe" she said and then pointing her wand towards her desk, she turned it into a pig. The whole class was awed including Ron. _I could turn a table into a pig and then cook it. Wait, would that work? Or would it turn back into a table inside my stomach?_ Ron shuddered at the thought of getting splinters inside his stomach.

"Now, you will all be given a chance to try your own hand at Transfiguration. You will turn a match into a needle. This is one of the most basic spells in Transfiguration, but do not be alarmed if you do not succeed. Practice makes perfect, after all." She then flicked her wand and matches appeared in front of every student. Professor McGonagall taught them the spell to use and its wand movement. Ron just smiled to himself even more. _I already know this spell… Charlie put it in the journal. I should really owl Charlie, I want to know if he has been burned by a dragon yet. That would be such a cool scar to have…_ A loud cough broke him out of his thoughts and Professor McGonagall was standing in front of him. He just kept smiling and looked up to her.

"Mr. Weasley are you smiling because you have successfully transfigured the match, because I see no needles on your desk…" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Now, I have seen two types of Weasleys come through my classroom. Those who are studious and those who are better at making more trouble than they can handle. Do you care to show the class which one you are?" McGonagall finished with her lips tight and her posture stern. There were stifled laughs from all over the class, most likely originating from Malfoy. Ron removed his beautiful wand from its holster and aimed it at the matchstick. He spoke the spell under his breath, because Charlie had told him that it was more important to say the spell right rather than loudly, and flicked his wand at the matchstick. The matchstick transformed into a needle. Greengrass gasped from beside him, and McGonagall's eyes went wide at the sight of the needle.

"I'm the only Weasley of my type, Professor" Ron spoke in an airy voice. "You can confirm that with the Sorting Hat." He smiled at the bewildered Professor, before he realized he was giving too much away. _This potion… I'm gonna end up telling everyone my secret by the end of the bloody day if this keeps going._ Professor McGonagall was lost for words. How had he done that? Perfect incantation and perfect wand movement from a first year? The class seemed to share her disbelief, as they were all awed and shocked. Hermione looked like she had sucked a lemon. Ron gazed over to Harry who was also in awe and was sitting next to Neville Longbottom, who was equally awed. Ron waved at Harry and smiled genuinely at the boy he had made friends with on the train. _I don't care that I'm in Slytherin, I'll just be his friend anyway!_

He loved how free he felt right now, without his nerves constantly on edge as they had been for the past three years. He hadn't realized just how stressed he had been until today. Harry waved back, his awed look still etched on his face. Professor McGonagall looked back and forth between the two boys.

"My word… Mr. Weasley, well done. You have quite the gift for Transfiguration it seems" Professor McGonagall spoke softly. There was a tight smile across her lips that made her look much kinder and nurturing than her usual demeanor. "Twenty points to Slytherin for a spell well performed Mr. Weasley… well done once again." With that she began moving around the class to check on her other students.

"Weasley… how did you do that?" Piped up Greengrass' voice. Ron looked at her while smiling and his eyes glazed over.

"Listen and I'll explain, my 'ally'…" Ron said and started giggling. Greengrass knew for certain now that Weasley had gone mental because of the letter from his mother. It had definitely broken the poor boy, she just knew it. But she listened intently as he began explaining the importance of wand movement, clear incantation, and the fact that she had to picture the needle in her mind as she cast the spell. She failed five more times and on her sixth attempt she succeeded in turning her matchstick into a needle. She jumped in joy, losing her ladylike composure in moment of triumph. She quickly realized this and sat back down, blushing furiously. Professor McGonagall walked over to her and saw the needle.

"Well done as well, Miss. Greengrass" she said softly, unable to believe that two first years had successfully done the spell. This had never happened in all of her years teaching the subject.

"Actually… Professor… um Weasley showed me how to do it" Greengrass said in a shy voice. McGonagall was surprised that the boy could also teach the spell to others and even have them do it successfully, all the while smiling like he didn't even care if a fire broke out.

"I see. Fifteen points to Slytherin Miss. Greengrass for your success, and five more points to Slytherin as well Mr. Weasley for helping your fellow students." McGonagall turned around and walked away, slightly shaken and very bewildered by the youngest Weasley son. Why wasn't he a Gryffindor? He would do wonders in the House of the Brave, she just knew it.

"Thanks for the help, Weasley" Greengrass said, her shyness completely gone. Ron looked at her with a confused look and she seemed to understand why. "Oh please, I'm not some meek shy girl Weasley, you would do well to remember that. I only spoke like that and mentioned you so that we could get more points for Slytherin out of her." She smiled her sly smile at Ron, and he returned it with his genuine one.

"House of the Cunning indeed, Greengrass" Ron chuckled. He was starting to grow fond of Greengrass. She seemed to always get her way, no matter what. Ron could only wish for that kind of luck. Greengrass gave a slight blush and looked right at Ron.

"You may call me Daphne, I've decided" she said, her voice was a little pompous but Ron knew it was an act. "You have proven to me that you are indeed useful. I will keep you around for the foreseeable future." She then huffed and turned her face forward. Ron just kept smiling and slowly turned his face forward too. _If it wasn't for this potion, I doubt I would have even helped her. And I probably would have lost my temper with what she just said. If it wasn't so bad for my secret, I might actually start brewing this potion myself…_

"Then you can call me Ron" he said in an airy voice. "I've decided that you're fun to be around." He saw Daphne give a quick nod from the corner of his vision and he didn't miss that her cheeks were red again. The class ended shortly after that. The students packed their things, and began to leave the classroom. Only Ron and Daphne had succeeded with the spell. Hermione had managed to give her matchstick a sliver texture and even make it pointy. It wasn't completely transfigured though. Professor McGonagall gave everyone who hadn't succeeded extensive homework on the spell. Ron then made his way towards the common room to put away his books with a massive smile threatening to split his face. His allies were walking behind him and no doubt questioning his sanity. He didn't care though, he had kept his promise to Professor Snape. _I got us forty five points already. Now I just have to keep them, or anymore I might get today. I don't want to lose a single point I've decided. I should set a record for most points earned in one day by a first-year!_

Ron and his group took their seats at the Slytherin table, and Ron sat with Nott and Zabini by his side again. Ron quickly started piling a lot food onto his plate, which made Nott sigh loudly. "Give me a break, Nott" Ron whined, still smiling "I'm really hungry and I didn't even finish my breakfast." Nott just chuckled while shaking his head, and then started to serve himself.

"Are you going to teach us…?" Came Bulstrode's voice, it was quieter than usual and maybe even shy. Ron couldn't tell though because he was humming under his breath.

"Teach you what?" Ron asked while smiling at the big girl. She just frowned at him and crossed her arms.

"She is asking about the spell we just went over in Transfiguration" Davis piped in casually. Ron was a little surprised because he hadn't even thought of or considered teaching the rest of his allies. This potion was really dulling his reasoning and he knew that it had to go. Even if it meant losing his happy and calm state of mind.

"Of course!" Ron answered, a little too loudly. "We can go over it tonight, before Astronomy class. Just bring a matchstick to the common room and we can even sort out the homework you all got as well." This made Bulstrode beam and nod frantically. Even Davis let out a relieved sigh and give Ron a smile which he returned. Nott patted his back in thanks, while Zabini just gave a courteous nod and a small smile. Lunch proceeded as normal for only a few minutes before Ron noticed a lot of glances being shot his way. Especially from the Gryffindor and staff tables. Daphne seemed to notice Ron's sudden realization.

"They are talking about you again" she started "word spreads quickly in this school remember. You have earned Slytherin another forty five points today and even managed to impress McGonagall." She gave Ron a sly smile. "If you keep this up Ron, you might just be labeled as a prodigy. A Slytherin prodigy, of course." Ron was a little shocked by her words, but he couldn't help but feel proud. He had never been extraordinary like his brothers, but so far it was looking more and more like he would surpass them all quickly. This made Ron think of Pandora's words to him. She had called him brilliant and told him to think that of himself as well. _Pandora… I have to write to her today. I don't even know why I haven't done that yet. She deserves to hear about my sorting from me!_

"Did you just call him Ron…?" Zabini cut in, knocking Ron out of his thoughts. Daphne huffed in her usual cute way and looked at Zabini.

"I did indeed" she said, her voice dripping with annoyance at being questioned. "Ron helped me in Transfiguration and I decided that he was useful enough to keep around. That of course meant that he and I should be able to use our first names." She finished and started eating her food quietly. Ron also looked down and started eating.

"You can call me Tracey" Davis chuckled. "I'll call you Ron." _So much for asking permission…_

"Millicent…" Bulstrode grunted out. Ron smiled at her and noticed her lips twitch upwards quickly before coming back to normal.

"Well…" Nott jumped in. "Seems like the girls like you Weasley so who am I to argue. Call me Theo and I'll call you by your first name as well. Is that alright?" Ron smiled at the weedy boy and nodded.

"That's fine with me, Theo" Ron answered. Theo gave his usual smirk and went back to eating. Zabini gave a loud sigh, making Ron and the girls look at him. Theo just chuckled and kept eating.

"Blaise" was all that Zabini said. But Ron understood well enough. Things really were looking up. Now he just needed to fix his family issues and figure out more about this entity in his mind. Thinking about his family made him look at the Gryffindor table. There they were, all three of his brothers. The twins were talking with Harry and Neville, but Percy noticed Ron looking and immediately looked back at him. _He looks worried…_ Then Percy did something that nearly made Ron cry out in joy.

Percy gave him a sad smile and a small wave, as if to say hello and tell him that he didn't care about Ron being in Slytherin. At least that's what Ron had hoped for anyway. A really stupid plan began forming into Ron's head, one that he didn't even give a second thought to before executing. He had to know. He had to know if he had lost Percy just as he believed that he had lost the twins. Ron had come to truly love Percy and Charlie during their studies and exercises respectively. They were the whole reason as to why he had been able to amaze everyone around him, as to why he had managed to gained friends in Slytherin, and even as to why he had found the strength to keep pushing forward. They had taught him discipline, which had helped him immensely when he tried to save Pandora. They had taught him the benefits of a healthy body and mind. They had taught him so much and never asked for a thing in return. So he had to know.

Ron stood up abruptly, causing his friends to look at him and then to where he was looking. Ron heard their protests only for a short moment as he began walking towards Percy, who was now looking at him with wide eyes. _I have to know…_ Ron kept thinking that over and over as he got closer to Percy. And before he knew it, Percy was sitting right in front of him and looking at him with surprise etched on his face. "Perce… can I… can I please talk to you?" Ron was feeling a little nervous, which made him realize that the potion's effects were starting to wear off. He didn't really care about that right now though. Percy opened his mouth to speak but another voice cut him off.

"He doesn't want to see you… you slimy snake" Fred hissed at Ron, making him flinch. Ron kept his pleading eyes on Percy's though. So he missed the fact that the whole Hall was quiet and watching the scene unfold.

"Fred don't…" George cut in, putting his hand on Fred's arm. "That's still Ronnie…"

"No he isn't" Fred growled. "He betrayed everything mum and dad taught us growing up. He's just a little Death-Eater…" Fred was cut off immediately by Percy.

"Shut up Fred!" Percy was staring right at Fred with anger clear on his face. Percy then got up and took Ron's hand in his and marched them both out of the Hall, which ignited with chatter about what was going on. As the two brothers made their exit, a pair of twinkling eyes watched them go with genuine concern. The owner of these eyes really hoped everything would work out between those two, and the family they belonged to. He cared a great deal about the Weasley family.

Percy led Ron out of the Great Hall and into the courtyard. He then took Ron to a secluded corner of the courtyard for some privacy. Once there, he turned around and faced his little brother. "Ronnie" he started "what's wrong? Are the Slytherins bullying you?" Ron shook his head slowly and looked down at his feet. "Talk to me, please." Ron was silent for a few seconds.

"Do you… hate me now Perce?" Ron still hadn't looked up at his brother. The question shook Percy and he answered it immediately.

"No Ronnie, never. I don't care that you're in Slytherin… I mean I am interested about your sorting but… No, no I don't hate you at all Ronnie." Ron looked into Percy's eyes, and Percy saw that they were wet with tears.

"Fred hates me now… He just… called me a Death-Eater" Ron choked out. Ron didn't want to cry but Fred's remark had really hurt him. It reminded him of what his mother had said about the other Slytherins. _Why has the potion started wearing off now…? My luck is the worst._

"Fred is an idiot… and he is angry Ron. George is doing his best to bring him around, but he feels like… ugh it doesn't matter what he feels. He is acting like a prat!"

"Mum also… said the same thing about… about the other Slytherins" Ron started crying. He looked away from Percy and down at his feet. Percy was so shocked at what Ron had just said that he didn't even think of comforting his little brother.

"Ronnie, what do you mean when you say mum said the same thing?" Percy couldn't believe his ears, his mother would never say something like that. He was sure of it. He was quickly proven wrong when Ron pulled out a letter from his robes and handed it to Percy with trembling hands. The more Percy read, the more horrified he became. This couldn't be real… Percy knew that their mother hated Slytherin because she had lost her brothers in the last war at the hand of Death-Eaters, but this… How could she could say this to Ronnie? Percy knelt to his brother's height and hugged him tightly. Ron slowly embraced Percy too and started crying slightly louder. It felt like only a short few moments before George ran in on them at full tilt. When he saw Ron crying he quickly hugged him too. They stopped after a few more moments and Percy handed George the letter. George read it quickly and was wide eyed by the end of it.

"Bloody hell… Mum's gone mental she has…" George muttered, looking down at Ron who was finally calming down. "I didn't tell her Ronnie, I swear!"

"Neither did I" Percy frowned. "It had to be Fred. He took your sorting harder than both George and I."

"You were angry with me yesterday" Ron piped in, looking at George. George closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Yeh I was… Fred managed to convince me to get angry at you… but when I saw you this morning… you know after Errol… I couldn't blame you for the Sorting Hat's decision little bro. I was being a git and I'm really sorry." That made some sense to Ron. Fred had always been the rasher and bolder half of the twins. George was the more cautious and thoughtful one. "Can you please forgive me Ronnie?" Ron nodded and hugged George again, who returned the hug and ruffled Ron's hair.

"Look I don't care what mum says Ron" Percy began. "I don't agree with her on this. The war ended over ten years ago and she shouldn't be holding onto so much hate. I'm fine with you being in Slytherin as long as you are careful and don't get in trouble. Do you understand?" Ron nodded quickly, relief flooding him. _They don't hate me. I still have George and Perce!_

"From what I've been hearing, little Ronnie here is doing quite an amazing job so far" George laughed. "People are saying our little bro here, is a prodigy!" That made Percy laugh a little as well. Ron just scowled at his brothers for taking the mickey out of him already.

"I don't have a hard time believing that for even a second" Percy beamed. "I would know, I helped teach you everything." Ron smiled back at Perce. _Everything will work out in the end… I'm not alone._ They talked things out a little more, and then decided to head back inside before the second half of the day started. Percy even cleaned up Ron with a flick of his wand, much to the younger brother's awe. As they went into the room just before the Great Hall, they came face-to-face with five Slytherins who were waiting for Ron. Blaise, Millicent, and Theo had their eyes fixed on Percy and George, while Tracey and Daphne were looking at Ron with concern.

"Everything alright Ron?" Daphne broke the silence. She was looking at him for an answer and she got it when he smiled at her. Percy and George were surprised by this confrontation. The Slytherins were actually watching out for Ron? They gave each other a quick look and then walked past the Slytherins, leaving Ron behind. Right before they entered the Great Hall, they turned and smiled at Ron. George gave Ron a wink while Percy gave him a wave, then they disappeared into the Great Hall. Ron was a little surprised by his allies' commitment to him, but he was also grateful to have them watching out for him.

"You do care about me" Ron joked, which got him a laugh from Tracey. Daphne and the others just rolled their eyes at him.

"It'd be a shame if we lost our investment because he was strangled by his brothers" Theo smirked. "I'd hate to go back to Draco and grovel, it's that simple." Blaise, Daphne, and Millicent nodded at that. _Bloody hell that's cold…_

"It doesn't matter" Blaise cut in. "Charms will start soon, and I hear we are with Gryffindor again." That caught Ron's attention. _Harry!_ Ron then recalled waving to Harry while he was under the potion's influence. He cringed at the memory. _He must think I'm bloody mental…_ "It's good to see that you're back to normal…" Blaise continued. "I was starting to think Snape permanently damaged your mind for hexing his godson." Ron gave Blaise a confused look.

"He means Draco" Theo said. "Yeh, not such a smart move now, was it?" Theo and Tracey chuckled at Ron's wide eyed face. _Bloody hell…_

"What did happen with Snape?" Daphne asked him with an authoritative voice. She had her hands on her hip which made her look bossy. "You didn't tell us that. You only mentioned being worried about your meeting with him." _Damn I can't tell them about my mother's letter… Or that Snape knows about it too. How do I even explain that I was on a Draught of Peace and why I was on it…?_

"Oh… yeh that… um nothing much. He just told me not to throw hexes at other Slytherins and that it was really stupid to hex Malfoy. You know… because he's from a wealthy family… yeh that's all" Ron finished lamely. _That was the worst lie I have ever told. Please buy it…._ They didn't buy it, but at least they decided to respect his privacy and leave it at that. All except Daphne, who had her eyes narrowed on him and was eyeing him with suspicion. _Why is she being so nosy? Even Theo backed off and he seems to love riling me up._

"Whatever" Daphne huffed and walked away towards the Slytherin common room. The others, including Ron, gave her a quizzical look and followed behind her.

They got their books and made it to Charms just in time to be joined by the Gryffindors. Ron shot a quick glance at Harry and noticed that Harry was talking to Neville. They seemed to be in the middle of discussing something important because Neville was listening intently, and nodding at set intervals. Ron's curiosity was peaked and he couldn't help but try to eavesdrop, so he slowly shifted towards the Gryffindors without anyone noticing. He didn't get to hear anything though because a certain bushy haired girl noticed what he was doing and she coughed from behind him. Ron quickly turned around blushing and came face-to-face with a rather bossy looking Hermione. "You shouldn't eavesdrop" she whispered in a haughty tone. "It is incredibly rude and an invasion of others' privacy." _Why does she sound like a teacher?_

"Um… I wasn't trying to… eavesdrop" Ron smiled sheepishly at her. That made her narrow her eyes on his, her brown eyes were barely visible through the slits.

"Yes you were… I saw you so don't lie." _Damn… so much for being a slippery snake. What is her problem anyway?_ "You Slytherins need to leave Harry alone. Why are you bullying him for no reason?" She sounded angry enough on Harry's behalf and Ron couldn't help but think that Harry had made friends with this mental girl.

"Wait… who's bullying Harry? I haven't seen anyone…" Ron was cut off by Hermione, whose tone had risen from whispering.

"Stop lying" she said, shooting him a death glare. _OK… WHAT IS HER DEAL?_

"I don't know what you're talking about?!" Ron shouted, his temper flaring at being called a liar again. Ron's shout had startled her and everyone around them. They were all looking at them with curious and amused looks.

"Look at that" came Malfoy's pompous voice from the Slytherin section. "Weasley and Granger are having a marital dispute." This got laughs from some of the Slytherins and, to Ron's shock, even a few Gryffindors. "Let me guess Granger, Weasley wants to wear the dress instead?" The Slytherins, including Ron's friends, laughed at that. Ron's ears went red and he blushed furiously. _Damn that git…_ Hermione wasn't faring any better, because she blushed hard and walked away to sulk away from everyone. That was odd to Ron, so he turned to face the Gryffindors and see why she wouldn't join her own house. Every single one of the Gryffindors, except Harry and Neville, were laughing at Hermione more than him. _Isn't she their friend? I mean my friends are tossers so I understand them laughing at me, but isn't Gryffindor supposed to be better?_ The door to the charms class swung open and a short professor hobbled out.

"Quiet down" he said, his voice was a bit shrilly. "Come inside first years and take your seats." With that he hobbled back inside, followed by snickering first years. Once they were all seated, Ron being with Blaise, the class commenced. "Today, we will be looking at the theory behind the mending charm" began the professor. "Oh, how silly of me. I am Professor Flitwick, Head of House to Ravenclaw and your Charms professor. Now who can tell me what the mending charm is used for?" _Fixing Harry Potter's glasses…_ Ron chuckled at his own thought and raised his hand. He also saw Harry giving him a quick smile, which made Ron feel quite proud of showing the spell to Harry on the train. _There's still a chance of us becoming friends._ The class then proceeded as usual, with Ron answering as many questions as he could. Hermione was neck to neck with him again, and by the end of the class, they had both earned fifteen points each. Ron was happy enough with that but Hermione was shooting him glares again, much to his confusion. _Seriously, what is her deal? Is she just mental or does she just hate me? What did I even do…?_

The end of the class was signaled by a loud bell and students began packing their quills and parchments. Ron didn't take any notes however, he already had Perce's notes stashed in his trunk and they were extensive enough. As Ron and his friends were heading to the common room, Ron remembered something that he had promised himself that he would do. He had to owl Pandora and Luna, he had to let them know of his sorting and his school life so far. So he excused himself from the group, after reassuring that he would help them with their homework, and departed for the Owlery. Once he got there, Ron wrote a quick letter which was addressed to both mother and daughter.

He told them about his sorting and about how he was finally starting to settle into Slytherin. He told them about his new friends, and about Snape. He even managed to joke about not being in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, hoping his joke would remind Pandora that he was still Ron and not a slimy snake. He also made sure to leave out any details about his family's reaction to his sorting, he didn't want to start a fight between anyone. With his promise fulfilled and the letter sent, Ron walked the long walk back to the Slytherin common room. He was grateful that Astronomy class wouldn't happen till after dinner, because he was exhausted by the long and emotional day he had gone through. When he finally walked into the common room, he found a rather peculiar sight. Blaise, Millicent, Theo, and Tracey were sitting on the floor in front of the fire with their Transfiguration books open, while a smug looking Daphne sat on a couch near them. Ron had to stifle a laugh at the looks everyone was giving Daphne, especially Theo who looked genuinely annoyed at the smug girl.

"Ugh finally…" grunted Millicent when she saw Ron. "Now can you help us with this nonsense? Daphne won't say a word on how to do this spell." Daphne gave a fake and smug laugh at that.

"Hardly my fault for you not understanding such a basic spell Millie" Daphne grinned. _You didn't understand it either… I showed you how…_ Ron shook his head and smiled at Daphne's smug antics. She really was a spoiled brat.

"You didn't know it either" Theo growled. "You took my spot next to Weasley and he showed you how…" _Weasley? Guess we're back to being just 'allies'._

"Don't worry Nott" Ron sighed. "I promised I'd show you all how and I will. Did you all bring a matchstick?" Nott gave him a narrowed look at that.

"I thought I told you to call me Theo…" Nott said.

"You just called me Weasley not even thirty seconds ago" Ron frowned. Theo looked a little taken aback.

"Oh… sorry about that. I was just being annoyed by Daphne and I didn't really think anything through…" Ron hid his joy at hearing this. He knew it was a bit wrong for him to be this excited about making friends with Slytherins, but he also knew that he didn't want to be alone. Growing up in such big family meant that when you were alone, it was pure torture. "Yes we all have matchsticks" Theo continued, tearing Ron from his thoughts. Ron taught them the same way he had taught Daphne, and one by one they all managed to get the spell right. All except Millicent who was looking very frustrated. Ron didn't give up though. He sat next to Millicent and calmed her down, telling her that he himself took a long time to learn this stuff.

It was the truth, Percy truly had his work cut out for him while he taught Ron everything for the first year of Hogwarts. Ron was lazy at the start and never held his concentration for long. But Percy had solved the issue with the promise of sweets, so Ron decided to do the same. He knew that Millicent liked chocolate frogs, because he had already seen her eat plenty of them in the last couple of days. And as luck would have it, Ron had five stashed in his trunk. So he promised to give her one if she just relaxed, and then pictured the needle in her mind before she cast the incantation. Much to everyone's shock, including Millicent, the spell actually worked. _Woah that actually worked… thanks again Perce!_

Millicent was beaming in joy as she held the needle in her hands, no one had ever been patient enough to teach her because they would all just labelled her as stupid. But Ron hadn't… He had even offered his own chocolate frog to her if she got the spell right. Millicent decided, though she would never tell anyone, that she would have Ron's back from that day on. She didn't care about playing these 'Pure-Blood games' that her other friends played because she was never any good at them anyway. She would stick with Ron because he was friendly and kind, rather than because he would be useful to have around.

Ron kept his word and handed Millicent a chocolate frog from his own stash, which she gratefully accepted with a small smile and nod. Ron then sat down on the couch next to Daphne and the others also made themselves comfortable. "Have you considered a career in teaching, Ron" Blaise said aloofly. "You seem to be quite adequate at it."

"Not really" Ron replied. "My brother Percy would make a good teacher though."

"Who cares about teaching Blaise?" came in Theo's amused voice. "Ron wouldn't even earn a Knut from it. Teaching is a job for people who aren't good enough to make it in the real world. So they stay in school and become teachers instead." Ron could see how wrong Theo truly was but he didn't say anything. Teachers were masters of their trade, hence they were seen as fit to teach it to others. _Clearly they all just care about money though. I mean like money but it isn't everything…_

"Don't ever let Professor Snape hear you say that" Tracey chuckled. "You'll be cleaning cauldrons for the next seven years otherwise." Theo looked at her and grinned.

"Snape is different. He is the youngest Potions Master in Great Britain. He could make a lot of money if he wanted to." Theo then looked at Ron with a grin. "Ron, what are your… ambitions? The Sorting Hat did say that you had great ones." Ron froze at the question. He couldn't discuss his ambitions without being labelled as a mental case that needed a padded room in St. Mungo's. _Think Ron, make something up… Something believable…._ Then an idea clicked in his brain. _This could work…_

"I have many, I suppose" Ron began his lie. "I want to become a Chess Master, I want to become a well renowned duelist, I want the wizarding world to respect me, and I want wealth and influence. And so on." It wasn't a complete lie, Ron did want these things, but there was just something that he wanted more. He wanted his family safe and sound in the upcoming war. The others looked at Ron for a second before giving him slow nods.

"That's quite a few ambitions Ron" Daphne smirked. "Too many for one person in my opinion." _Damn I overdid it…_ "You said you wanted to become a Chess Master?" Ron nodded slowly at that, slightly cautious of where this conversation was heading. "You must be quite good at chess then?" Daphne kept her smirk plastered on her face. Ron was now getting worried.

"I am" Ron responded, his voice low. "I mean I haven't lost a match before, even against the adults in my family."

"Impressive" Daphne cooed mockingly. "You don't mind playing against me then?" _Is she serious?_ Ron almost broke into a laugh. She had no chance against him, he already knew that. Chess wasn't something you were good at just because you were the heiress of a wealthy and powerful family. Chess was about heart and mind. It required focus and foresight. It required strategy.

"Of course not. We still have time before dinner." Ron got up and walked towards his dorm to fetch the chessboard Pandora had bought him. _It'll be fun to knock her down a peg._ Once got back he set the board up, with Daphne quickly laying claim to the white pieces. Ron couldn't help but notice that the others seemed to be smirking or stifling chuckles. As if they knew something that Ron didn't. With everything in place, Daphne made the first move looking very sure of herself, but as the match kept going, her look of confidence became more and more like a look of pure shock. Ron had to admit that she wasn't half-bad, it was just that she played to win as early as possible. She was so sure of herself that she didn't seem to second guess her own moves let alone Ron's, which made it easy for Ron to bait her and corner her strongest pieces while taking minimum casualties himself. In the end, Ron ended the game with a checkmate, as Daphne's king was now cornered by Ron's bishop, knight, and queen. Ron gave her a satisfied smile which she didn't return, she just huffed and said that Ron wasn't too bad.

"Not too bad?" Tracey said, clapping her hands for Ron. "Daphne, he absolutely destroyed you." Daphne shot Tracey a death glare to which Tracey responded with a laugh and a wink.

"I have to agree with Tracey" Theo chimed in. "Ron is quite good, and he was in charge of the game the whole time." Blaise nodded in agreement and Ron could see that even Blaise was somewhat impressed. Millicent was smiling at Ron and gave him a nod when he looked at her.

"I really didn't expect that…" Daphne whined. _Ha, take that you spoiled princess._ "Who taught you how to play Ron?"

"My grandfather taught me and gave me his old set when I was little" Ron responded, smiling fondly at the memory of playing chess for the first time. "He passed away shortly after..." Ron trailed off. He really did miss his Grandfather. Whereas everyone doted on a little Ginny during family gatherings, his grandfather always talked about chess with Ron. His grandfather's love of chess, and Ron, is what started Ron's passion for the game.

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather" Daphne mumbled. She looked a little guilty if Ron could believe his eyes. _Why would she be guilty though, she didn't know the man…?_

"It was a long time ago" Ron reassured her.

"Well, who knows" Theo started "maybe one day you really can be a Chess Master! Just like Daphne's father." _WAIT… WHAT?_ Ron's head snapped to Daphne, who was smiling a sly smile.

"My father is Sebastian Greengrass" Daphne spoke proudly. "He earned the title of Chess Master in his twenties. He absolutely loves chess as well, and I think you two would get along just fine." Ron was dumfounded. It was true that he didn't know anything about the professional chess scene, but to be friends with the daughter of a Chess Master was… amazing. "He taught me when I was young" Daphne continued. "That's why I challenged you, didn't think I'd lose though." Daphne pouted and did her signature huff of annoyance.

"That's what happens when you underestimate someone" Blaise said aloofly, earning an annoyed look from Daphne. "If there is one thing I've learned over the last few days, it's that underestimating Ron isn't a wise policy. We were right to ally with you." That got a few nods from the others, and Ron felt his cheeks flare up. _Was that a compliment from Blaise? It sounded a little selfish and arrogant but still…_

"I have to admit Ron" Tracey cut in. "That is a very beautiful chessboard. You said that your grandfather gave you his old one, this can't be it right?"

"Oh… no this one is the one Pandora bought for me after…" Ron trailed off. _Easy there… Can't tell them about saving Pandora. That is too close to the truth of my secret._ With that question answered, they sank into a conversation about chess, with Ron talking enthusiastically about the game. His brothers and sister never cared to listen to his rants about the wonderful game, but his Slytherin friends were rather happy to listen to the history of the game and different strategies created for the game. Daphne seemed to be genuinely listening in as well. Ron could tell that she appreciated his knowledge and that made him happier than he thought it would.

They went to dinner and their conversation shifted to trivial things like favorite foods and sweets. Ron wasn't surprised when his friends listed things he didn't even know existed. _What the hell is Pasta with Lamb Ragu…?_ Whatever it was, Blaise sure seemed to love it. Ron also took the time to gaze around the Great Hall. Fred was still ignoring his existence, which hurt a little, but George and Percy gave him kind smiles and even waved to him. When Ron's eyes moved over to the staff table he managed to get a glimpse of Professor Snape, who even gave him a curt nod before continuing his conversation with Professor Flitwick. This surprised Ron and put a grin on his face. _He knows I kept my promise._ Dinner ended and Ron, along with all of Slytherin, made their way to the common room.

The rest of the Slytherins were going there to relax and socialize, but the first years had to get their books for Astronomy. They waited until midnight and talked about more trivial things. Ron was surprised to learn that his Slytherin friends almost seemed… human. They all had genuine hobbies like reading stories about great heroes throughout the ages (Tracey), gardening with her mother and sister (Daphne), eating fancy foods (Blaise), sneaking into his father's library to read forbidden books (Theo), and collecting chocolate frog cards (Millicent). When midnight came around, they made their way to the highest level of the Astronomy Tower for their class. The Tower itself gave Ron a very eerie feeling in his stomach. _Something horrible has, or will happen here. I can feel it…_

He put those thoughts away however, when Professor Sinistra introduced herself and told them about what their studies would entail. They then learnt about Jupiter and its moons in vague details, and Ron found himself surprised at how much Blaise knew about the planet. Ron only knew the basics that were taught to the first years at Hogwarts, but Blaise really seemed to be passionate about Astronomy. His aloof demeanor was gone, and it was replaced by a focused and keen one. So Ron wasn't surprised when Blaise earned twenty points and Ron only earned five points. It didn't upset Ron one bit, because overall Ron had earned seventy five points for his house today, if he included the ten points Snape had given him this morning which he did.

He had kept his promise and more importantly, he had once again shown off his value to the rest of his house. Ron had finally decided that in order to survive in the House of the Cunning, Ron would have to make himself into a valuable piece. No one would ever sacrifice a knight for a pawn, it was just that simple. By the time class ended, most of the Slytherins, including Ron, were nearly falling asleep right there and then. When they finally got back to the dormitory, Ron passed out without a word to his roommates. His day had been too long and too taxing. Scabbers nibbled at his robes, as if telling him to change before going to sleep but Ron was already gone by then.

 _ **Dumbledore's POV**_

The last two days of Hogwarts had been quite exciting for him. He had finally witnessed Harry's sorting, which he had been waiting eleven years to see, and he could not be happier. Harry would make Gryffindor proud, of that Albus had no doubt whatsoever. And yet, he was completely caught off guard by the sorting of another first year, one he could never have predicted. The sorting of a boy who was no doubt getting ready for his Astronomy class right now. _Ronald Bilius Weasley... A Slytherin…?_ Not only did the sorting take over twenty minutes, but the Sorting Hat had actually snapped at Albus for inquiring whether or not there was a problem. That was unheard of, as far as Albus knew anyway. His staff had come to him later that night with questions that he didn't even know how to answer. And that was hard for him to admit.

And then this boy had gone and shown off a level of knowledge that had reminded Albus a great deal about another student he had seen a very long time ago. Albus shuddered at the memory of a young Tom Marvolo Riddle. _Ronald is nothing like Tom. He can't be… I will not allow it._ And yet the similarities were still there in Albus' mind. Both had a poor background, they both wanted to show off and impress the staff, and they both had the talent to do so. Not to mention that Ronald was placed in Slytherin, despite his family's strong ties with Gryffindor. _Even Severus is impressed with the boy! How is that even…?_ The chatter of the four Heads of Houses brought Albus out of his thoughts.

"I must admit" Flitwick started. "The boy impressed me quite a bit with his knowledge on the mending charm. He spoke as though he had done the spell before, I just know it!"

"He was quite average in Herbology" Sprout grumbled, clearly upset. "But it did feel like he was distracted, it was like he wasn't very interested in the lesson or the subject in general. What a shame." She let out a deep sigh.

"Albus" McGonagall said, looking straight at the man. "He managed to transfigure the matchstick I gave him into a needle on the very first attempt." This caught everyone's attention and made them wide eyed, all except Albus and Snape. Albus' eyes twinkled in merriment while Snape just smirked as he usually did when one of the Slytherins did something impressive. "I can't help but agree with Professor Binns… This boy may be a prodigy. I thought Binns was just excited that someone payed attention in his class for once, but after everything I've heard and seen…" She let out a frustrated sigh. "Why did he have to be the first Weasley to not be sorted into Gryffindor? He would have done so well with…" She was cut off by Snape who scoffed at her. "Do you have something to say, Severus?" Her voice laced with annoyance at the man's rudeness. Snape looked at her with indifference.

"The boy is a Slytherin" Snape drawled. "The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes."

"The Sorting Hat claimed that he could have been placed in any house" McGonagall argued.

"He should be in Ravenclaw" Flitwick piped in, earning a scowl from Snape and a surprised look from McGonagall.

"Ravenclaw?" McGonagall questioned. "I have no doubt that he is intelligent but the Weasley family has always been sorted into Gryffindor. It is just natural that he…" She was cut off again by Snape.

"Please Minerva" Snape spoke in a dead tone. "You bring up family traditions quite quickly when it suits you, yet you scorn those in Slytherin who do the same…" McGonagall took in a sharp breath. Her anger was evident in her face.

"How dare…" she was stopped by Albus who clapped loudly to stop the argument that was brewing. _This is not helping any of us. I need answers, not more arguing from my staff._

"How many points has he earned for Slytherin so far Severus?" Albus questioned the Potions Master. Snape looked into the Headmaster's twinkling eyes for a long second before responding.

"Thirty five yesterday" Snape began but was cut off by Albus.

"You told us at dinner yesterday that it was forty. Did something change?" Albus inquired.

"Yes well… Mr. Weasley cast Tarantallegra on Mr. Malfoy yesterday after a… small altercation" Snape finished in his usual cold way of talking. Flitwick gasped at the information.

"That is supposed to be the exam for the first year students in my Charms class…" Flitwick whispered. The other Heads of Houses, excluding Snape, gasped at that. _How could he possibly have the knowledge to cast that spell? Why is he so intriguing to me? Even Tom didn't show spell-work like this when he first started Hogwarts…_

"Severus" Albus spoke "please continue telling us how many points he has already earned. I must know how well he is performing for Slytherin." Snape gave a curt nod to Albus before beginning again.

"He earned thirty five points yesterday, and today, so far, he has earned seventy points. He, of course, hasn't gone to his Astronomy class yet." The other Heads of Houses shook their heads in disbelief, and maybe even jealousy. That made Snape smirk. The boy had kept his promise to Snape and in doing so, earned a small amount of respect from the Potions Master. Albus could see that Snape wasn't telling the complete story.

"Seventy…" McGonagall said in disbelief. She had given him forty five points in her class, she knew that, but upon hearing this made a small part of her regret giving so many points to the boy. She shook the thought out of her mind. The boy had earned those points fair and square, there was no questioning that. "He earned forty five points from me" McGonagall explained.

"He earned fifteen from me" Flitwick provided.

"That leaves ten points unaccounted for" Albus finished for them.

"Who gave him ten points?" Sprout questioned, still a little upset at Ronald's lack of interest in her subject.

"I did…" Snape spoke softly, turning the heads of everyone in the room. "This morning…" Snape drawled, clearly disinterested in stating why. Albus looked at Severus to continue, but after a few moments of silence he knew that Severus was done explaining.

"This morning…?" McGonagall began. "Did he seem… alright to you? It's just that…" She stopped and thought back to young Ronald's behavior during her class. It wasn't that he was overly confident, it was just that he was… so detached from the world.

"What is it Minerva?" Albus inquired, clearly interested in gaining more information on the boy.

"Albus, he was acting strange" McGonagall whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "It looked as if… as if he didn't care one bit about his environment, or the people around him. Like nothing mattered to him whatsoever. Then there was something that he said which… which jarred me in all honesty…" The twinkling in Albus' eyes was gone and replaced with a hint of terror. _No, he will not be another Riddle…_

"What did he say?" Sprout asked, clearly worried at her friend's shaken mood.

"After I questioned what type of Weasley he was… he performed the Transfiguration spell perfectly… then he just looked me right in the eyes… Albus… he said that he was the only Weasley of his type… and that I could confirm that with the Sorting Hat…" McGonagall let out a shudder as she remembered his odd smile and the way he gazed right at her, but didn't quite seem to even see her. It had made her feel as if he thought she was nothing. Snape sighed loudly and everyone immediately turned to him.

"Forgive me Minerva" Snape said in a calm voice. "But the boy's aloof behavior is partly because of me. I gave him Draught of Peace this morning to calm his nerves." Everyone stared at Snape wide-eyed. Then Albus broke into a hearty chuckle, from both relief and the lack common sense that Severus had displayed.

"Severus…" McGonagall began, she sounded offended. "You let the boy go to classes after administering a potion which has a reputation to turn even the most strongminded people into simpletons?" She was beside herself. Everything made perfect sense now… The boy wasn't detached from the world… the boy wasn't even in his right state of mind. How could a Potions Master be this careless? Both Sprout and Flitwick were trying to stifle laughs at their friend's shocked anger towards the Potions Master.

"I did nothing wrong" Snape told them. "He was distraught, I administered a potion which calmed him, and then I sent him on his way. What more was I meant to do? Coddle him on my lap for the remainder of the day." Albus had to bite his cheek to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter. _Oh dear Severus…_ "Either way it hardly matters" Snape continued. "Mr. Weasley may be a prodigy, or he may not. One thing is for certain, he is in Slytherin for a reason. And as such, he is under my supervision." Snape finished strongly, leaving no room for argument.

"May I ask why he was distraught this morning?" Albus asked, finally regaining his composure. Snape stared hard into Albus' twinkly eyes with his own black ones.

"No" was all Snape said. Albus nodded in understanding. _If it was truly important, then he would tell me._ With that he bid them all goodnight and once they were gone, Albus relaxed into his chair. The twinkle in his eyes was gone. _I will keep an eye on young Ronald. And if I get even an inkling that he is turning to the Dark… I will drag him back to the right path. By force if necessary… This world will not suffer through another Voldemort… or Grindelwald… not as long as I draw breath._

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 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: C'mon... did you really think Albus Dumbledore wouldn't keep his eyes on Ron? Big things are in motion, and Ron doesn't even know it yet.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Moving Forward

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is the next chapter 7 as well! Molly has a POV at the end of this chapter, and It was SO DAMN HARD TO WRITE!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 7 – Moving Forward**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron was shaken awake by Theo early in the morning. It took a little while for Ron to come to grasp with being woken up like that, after that he had slowly gotten off his bed and come face-to-face with an annoyed looking Theo. "Daphne is knocking at our door" Theo grumbled. "She wants to talk to you". With that Theo started walking over to his own bed. _Wait… How is Daphne able to enter the boys section?_

"Oi Theo" Ron called out. Theo turned around and glared at Ron. "How is she able to come to our section? Aren't the stairs enchanted to keep the girls out?" Theo gave him scathing look, then he sighed and lied down in his bed.

"No" Theo mumbled out. "Who told you something so stupid…?" Then Theo covered himself with his blankets, ending the conversation. Ron was a little shocked to hear that. Percy had told him that in Gryffindor house, the boys weren't able to go the girls' dormitories because of an enchantment on the stairs. _Clearly Slytherin doesn't care about such things._ Though Ron didn't want to admit it, he kind of agreed with Slytherin on this. What if he needed help from one of the girls urgently? What was he supposed to do then? _Wait by the stairs apparently… Gryffindor sounds…_ Ron stopped that thought dead in its tracks. He shook his head and headed out of the dorm and found the corridor empty. _She must be in the common room then. What is the time?_ Ron stumbled into the common room half-asleep and planted himself on the couch in front of the fire in an undignified way. _I'm so tired…_ Daphne was seated on the opposite end of the couch and was eyeing Ron in a judgmental manner.

"Why is your uniform so untidy and creased?" She questioned. _Good morning to you too, Greengrass…_

"I slept in it" Ron grind out. He had his eyes closed and was trying to sleep.

"Boys…" She all but spat out. "Anyway I wanted to talk to you about your odd behavior yesterday." _Here we go… thought that was behind me._ "I… I know about the letter Ron, and what was in it…" This woke Ron up completely. It was like being drenched by a bucket of ice cold water, and it made his eyes almost pop out of his head. _How could she know about that?! I didn't show anyone… anyone but Snape and my brothers…_ Someone had told her, but who? Ron didn't want it to be his brothers because that would destroy him, and he didn't want it to be Snape because he had believed that the Potions Master had shown him a rare moment of kindness. That kindness had saved Ron from spiraling and even made him feel a little special. But what if Snape really was as cruel as his brothers had told him? What if Snape had told everyone about the letter? That would be so humiliating… "Ron…" came Daphne's voice, it was soft and a little apprehended. "Ron are you listening to me?"

"Who told you?" Ron demanded, his temper flaring up because of a sense of betrayal. Daphne noticed Ron getting angry and she took on a guarded posture.

"No one told me" she said honestly. "I read it over your shoulder… when it first came in the mail yesterday morning." Ron relaxed immensely at that. No one had betrayed his trust and gone behind his back. No one but Daphne…

"You had no right" Ron spat out, making Daphne flinch. "Do you read everyone's mail Greengrass? Do you like to take advantage of people's personal lives so that you can keep getting your way? Who else have you told?!" This made Daphne wide-eyed from shock, and then the shock turned into anger.

"I read it because I happened to see your face while you were reading it! It was a mistake and I haven't done anything about it or told anyone! SO DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT ME LIKE THAT, WEASLEY!" she was all but shouting by the end. They both stood up and came face-to-face with each other.

"You better not dare tell anyone what you read Greengrass. I'm warning you…" Ron growled.

"OR WHAT?! YOU'LL JINX ME TOO?! I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU, WEASLEY!" Daphne was screaming in his face. They both glared into each other's eyes. Ron's were filled with righteous anger towards her for invading his privacy and being overly nosy about things that had nothing to do with her, and Daphne's were filled with righteous anger towards him for being a brute and saying horrible things about her even though he didn't know anything about her. They glared at each other for a moment longer before Ron just gave up. He was exhausted from his previous day and the knowledge that someone from Slytherin now knew what his mother and father had felt about his sorting weighed heavy on his shoulders. _Why do things keep getting worse every time I think I can move on from my sorting? Hogwarts has been nothing but… horrible…_ Ron let out a tired sigh and fell back on the couch. He stared into the fire with tired, glazed over eyes. Daphne was still standing and glaring at him.

"Why did you have to read the letter?" Ron whispered, more to himself but she heard him. She sat down on her side of the couch again, but maintained a rigid posture. "I wish I never opened that bloody letter…" Ron sighed in defeat. He truly did wish that he hadn't opened that letter, it would have spared him a lot of pain and misery. Ron's defeated posture and glassy eyes made Daphne relax. She knew that his temper had passed and was now maybe replaced with… sadness? That thought made her feel guilty for shouting in his face.

"I didn't mean to read it" she spoke softly. "I just… didn't think to stop when I saw your face look so…" she trailed off. She didn't want to remind him of the contents of the letter. She had even wished to forget seeing it herself, but Ron's insane behavior yesterday had kept her up all night. She just had to know why he was acting so strange and happy after such a horrible experience. They both sat in an uncomfortable silence for over a minute.

"Please… don't tell anyone" Ron broke the silence. "If Malfoy or… I'd never hear the end of it…" _All I can do is hope that she'll show me mercy. Damn that letter…_

"I won't, I promise." This made Ron look at her with some hope. "Like I said it was a mistake… but Ron…" she looked as if she was in deep thought. "Ron why were you so happy yesterday? You looked devastated one minute, and then right after you were the happiest I've seen you in the last few days. Too happy for even a normal person." Ron stared into her dark blue eyes and contemplated whether to tell her about his meeting with Snape. He decided that he would be honest, but leave some things out.

So Ron explained how distraught he was with the letter, and how Snape had caught up to him and taken him to Snape's office. He even told her that he showed Snape the letter and that Snape then gave him a Draught of Peace to settle his nerves. Ron ended his story there, he knew that was all she would need to know to end her curiosity. Daphne looked relieved by the end, and even laughed at the fact that Ron was completely unhinged by the potion and still managed to earn seventy five points for Slytherin.

"I'm sorry… for yelling and… accusing you of…" Ron trailed off. He really needed to get his anger under control, he knew he was just setting himself up for more trouble by cracking it at everyone around him.

"I understand. And I accept your apology" Daphne huffed mockingly. "But you will have to make it up to me again." Ron sighed at that. _These Slytherins and their games I swear…_ "From now on, you will help me with all my homework first. Just like you helped Millie yesterday." Daphne smirked arrogantly at him. Ron managed a defeated smile and nodded his head. He then got up and bid her goodnight. "Goodnight?" She looked confused. "Ron it's almost eight in the morning. Breakfast will start soon." Ron moaned loudly at the revelation and marched to his room to wash up for the day.

Breakfast was a boring ordeal in Ron's opinion. Most of the Slytherin first years were still exhausted due to their late night Astronomy class and most were keen to get back to bed. There was good news on that front at least, because today they would have two spare periods in the morning and their classes technically wouldn't start until after lunch. And much to Ron's excitement, it was Potions Class with Snape. Ron was quite sure that they would be sharing the class with Gryffindor again, mostly because he had heard a lot of whining and complaining coming from the first years on Gryffindor table. This could mean that Ron could finally see if his brothers' stories were true. But judging from what he had seen so far from the bat-like professor, Ron didn't think those stories were true anymore. Snape had treated him with fairness and even some kindness so far, and Ron couldn't see Snape being 'evil'. Once breakfast was over, the Slytherin first years all but bolted straight to their dorms again to catch up on their sleep.

Ron woke up around ten in the morning and went down to the common room after freshening up. His five friends were already up and seemed to be huddled around a chessboard. _Is that… IS THAT MY CHESSBOARD?!_ Once Ron got a better look, he saw that it was indeed the board Pandora had gifted him. "Oi" Ron called out, startling the girls and getting smirks from the boys. "What are you doing with my chessboard? It was a gift you know!"

"We were just checking" Blaise spoke aloofly, smirk still in place.

"Checking for what?" Ron questioned.

"How you cheated of course" Daphne grinned at him. _Cheated? Me? At chess?_ The Slytherins really didn't know how much offense that statement had caused Ron.

"I didn't cheat" Ron grumbled. "I won because I was the better player." Daphne huffed in indignation at that. "I can prove it too. Just bring any chessboard you like and I'll happily decimate you again." Ron smirked at the glare Daphne shot him. Theo and Tracey chuckled at Ron's challenge.

"I'll take that bet" Theo said. "Let's make this a small competition shall we?" Ron and everyone looked at Theo with apprehension. "We all have a go against Ron here, who claims that he has never lost a match, which I personally don't believe. If he beats us all, then he wins, and if even one of us breaks his record, then we win." Ron laughed at the challenge, much to everyone's annoyance.

"I'm game" Ron chuckled out. "But what are the prizes?"

"If you win" Theo started "then we will each give you five galleons." Ron's mouth hung open at that. _I could make twenty five galleons? That more than my whole family has in Gringotts…_ Then a sudden shameful realization creeped into him. _I can't afford to make that wager… I'm not rich like the rest of them…_ "And if we win, then you have to do the homework of the person who beat you for a month." Ron's head perked up at that and he snapped his mouth shut. He could do homework easily, especially because of Perce's notes that were stashed in his trunk.

"Deal" Ron all but shouted. "Who am I up against first?" At that Daphne got up and left for her dorm, which confused Ron and even the others. She then came back with another chessboard. _Are you kidding me?_

"We will use mine" Daphne smirked mockingly. "Weasley cheats with his." Ron was about to protest but Tracey tutted him to be quiet, which annoyed him greatly. _I'm gonna destroy Davis and Greengrass, that's for certain…_

Daphne went first and Ron couldn't help but admire her chessboard. It was more expensive than his for certain. The pieces were carved out of some black and white mineral, while the board itself gleamed with a perfected shine. But Ron still preferred the board Pandora had got him. He missed the Lovegoods more than he had ever thought he would. Daphne played as she had the first time around, rushing to corner Ron's pieces only to end up getting trapped herself. The game lasted around fifteen minutes before Ron called checkmate, which made Daphne huff and look away as she toppled her white king.

Theo went next, and Ron had to admit that he was better than Daphne in being patient at least. But Theo was too patient and refused to take any risks with his stronger pieces. Ron capitalized on that and managed to take out most of Theo's pawns quite early. By the end of the game Theo simply surrendered as he only had a knight and his king left on the board.

Then came in Tracey, and Ron was bewildered at her playstyle. There was no strategy, no order, and no foresight. It was pure chaos because she was just moving her pieces as she felt like, and Ron had to admit that it was a difficult twenty minute game against her. Ron figured it was so difficult to win against her because he couldn't predict her actions, if he trapped her pieces then she would either simply leave them to die or surprisingly do everything she could to save them. It had thrown him for a loop, but in the end her lack of foresight got her white king in a bad place, and Ron called the checkmate.

Next was Blaise, who had Theo and Tracey cheering him on because they really didn't want to lose money. Playing with Blaise wasn't anything like Ron had experienced before, because Blaise didn't care about what was on the board. Blaise had his oddly piercing gaze on Ron for the majority of the match. Ron couldn't tell why, but it had slightly unnerved him at the start. Then Ron decided that this was his domain, and he wouldn't let Blaise intimidate him in his domain. So Ron shot Blaise his most sly smile and then proceeded to stare only at the board in front of him. Once he was doing that, Ron found that Blaise was playing in a very simple way. Blaise, like Theo, favored his stronger pieces and neglected his pawns. So Ron simply did what he had done to Theo, he destroyed Blaise's frontline and forced Blaise to move his precious stronger pieces into vulnerable positions. Even Blaise understood that in-action was worse than making a mistake, because if Blaise didn't make a move then Ron would simply keep killing his pieces. The game ended shortly after that with Ron as the victor.

Daphne, Theo, and Tracey booed Blaise, who simply shrugged and shook Ron's hand for a game well played. This gesture caught him off guard, but he didn't refuse. Ron liked that Blaise wasn't a poor sport like Daphne, and even Theo to some extent. Now he only had to beat Millicent and that prize money would be his. To his shock Millicent just smiled sadly and declined, thus forfeiting.

"I don't want to play" she mumbled. "I'm not very… good at these kind of things…" she whispered, looking slightly demoralized. Tracey put a comforting hand on Millicent's should and whispered something to her that Ron couldn't hear. Ron also noticed that everyone else seemed to look sheepish, except Blaise who just looked away from everyone and out a window. _What is their deal now…? I swear I will never understand these people._

"So?" Ron questioned, rather tactlessly. That earned him a glare from Daphne and Tracey, even Theo shook his head looking at him. "I know there's a prize on this competition, but we are just enjoying ourselves and playing as friends." That got him a few odd looks, no doubt it was the friend part that annoyed them. Millicent didn't give him that look though, she looked almost hopeful. "You never know what you're good at until you try… like yesterday when you said you couldn't do the Transfiguration homework, and then you worked hard at it and managed to complete the spell perfectly." Millicent nodded at him slowly, while the others were staring at Ron wide-eyed. Ron then set the board up and went up against his final challenger.

Millicent played surprisingly well, and even managed to take out Ron's queen and bishops through some careful planning on her part. Her downfall was ignoring Ron's pawns however, as Ron used the 'weakest' pieces to trap her white king. If she used her king to kill the pawn, then Ron would simply use his rook to take her king. And if she used her knight to kill Ron's rook, then he would simply kill her king with his pawn. And with nowhere else for her king to move, it was checkmate after a twenty minute game. Ron complimented her smart playstyle of not underestimating any of her pieces which made her beam and ask if they could play again later, to which Ron gladly agreed. Mainly because she was the only person who played like a normal, sensible person out of all of his new friends. _Bloody Davis and her insane playstyle…_

"So much for breaking his streak" Theo sighed. "Guess we owe you some money Weasley." Ron grinned at Theo's clear annoyance with losing to him. _He is a terrible sport haha._ His friends kept their end of the deal and Ron now had a pouch with twenty five galleons in it. It felt unreal to have earned this much money… and all from a few friendly game of chess. _Do all Slytherins have so much money that they can just throw it away? Also what am I gonna do with this…? I don't have a Gringotts account and mum would go spare if she learns that I'm gambling with the Slytherins…_

"Is that why you joined Slytherin?" came a pompous voice from behind them. They all turned and saw Malfoy approaching them with his cronies at his side. "Just so you could beg your betters for some spare change?" His cronies laughed enthusiastically at the 'joke', making Ron clench his teeth. _Don't hex Malfoy… Don't hex Malfoy… Don't hex Malfoy…_ Ron repeated the thought over and over again, but it didn't help at all. "How much charity did they give you Weasel? Ten Knuts? I bet that's more than your Muggle-loving father earns in a month!" Malfoys cronies laughed even harder at that and Malfoy joined them. Ron slowly put the pouch of coins into his robes for safekeeping, and then moved to take his wand out. Ron stopped when Theo put a strong arm on his shoulder and shook his head, looking at Ron with a blank mask instead of a face.

"Don't play into his hand…" Theo whispered. _Theo's right… Snape is his godfather. I'm the one who will end up serving detention._ So Ron took a calming breath and tried to relax, it was harder than he would care to admit.

"No comeback Weasel" the pug-faced girl said in her shrilly voice. "At least you now know how to treat your betters." _Merlin help me… I'm gonna kill one of them if they don't shut up…_

"And who are his betters Pansy?" came in Daphne's calm, yet slightly high-pitched voice. The pug-faced girl named Pansy glared at Daphne. "Because so far Ron has outdone every Slytherin in first year, as well as the first years of other houses." Ron couldn't help but smile at Daphne defending him, he honestly hadn't expected that kind of commitment from any of his slippery new friends.

"Ron?!" Pansy all but shrieked. "YOU'RE TREATING THIS… THIS BLOOD-TRAITOR AS AN EQUAL?!" Ron was taken aback by the outburst, mainly because he didn't understand what this crazy bint was on about. All Daphne had done was say his first name… In any part of the world that was a normal thing, wasn't it? _These Pure-Bloods are insane…_

"If your mother and father could see you now" Malfoy sneered at Daphne in disgust. "That you would ally yourself with a Blood-Traitor Weasel, rather than the heir of the Malfoy family..." The disgust in Malfoy's voice made Daphne flinch.

"That's enough Draco" came Blaise's smooth, aloof voice. Everyone turned to face him, except Malfoy and Ron who were glaring at each other. "What's the point of this arguing and fighting? Why don't you just join us? Ron is capable and a powerful ally to have, even you can see that." That made Malfoy glare at Blaise.

"Unlike you Blaise" Malfoy spat "I don't take orders from filthy Blood-Traitors…" Blaise frowned at that, but quickly adorned his detached look again.

"Has Ron ordered us around?" Blaise asked Ron's friends. They all slowly shook their heads. "See Draco, no one will give you orders. If you join us, all the Slytherin first years will be united. We will all achieve more together than we would achieve alone. It's just that simple." Malfoy grew red in the face but didn't say a word.

"Look" Tracey began, smiling kindly at Malfoy. She was clearly trying to salvage the moment. "I've only known you for a couple…" She was cut off harshly by Malfoy.

"Don't you dare address me you filthy Half-Blood" Malfoy spat out, making Tracey gasp in shock. Ron didn't see anyone's reaction to Malfoy's filth. All Ron saw was red… blood-red which obscured his vision and played deafening battle drums in his ears. The whole world just became a canvas of red, expect for Malfoy's sneering face. Before Ron could even stop himself, he had punched Malfoy, with the full force of his body behind him, right in the git's nose. There was a sickening crunch of cartilage and knuckle colliding, and then Malfoy was on the ground crying in agony. Ron clutched his own right hand with his left one. _I broke my own bloody hand... MERLIN THAT HURTS!_

Everyone just stared at the scene in utter shock, including Blaise whose aloof demeanor was gone. Then Pansy shrieked and knelt beside Draco, who had snotty blood on his hands and face, and who was now crying in earnest. Even Ron had tears escaping from his eyes because of the pain in his hand, it was bloody excruciating and he knew that he had broken his middle knuckle. Theo sighed loudly after a few moments and moved over in front of Ron, pulling out everyone from their shock.

"Show me your hand Weasley" Theo commanded. Ron did as he was told and showed the weedy boy his red and already swelling hand. "You broke your own knuckle…" Theo's eyes widened at the realization and he gave Ron a stunned look.

"It hurts like hell" Ron choked out. _If I knew it would hurt this much, I would have just jinxed that git again instead…_

"We need to get them both to the Hospital Wing" Blaise interjected. "You two" he pointed to Crabbe and Goyle "take Draco while Theo and I take Ron. Move!" That got the gorillas moving as they hoisted Malfoy up and all but dragged him from the common room, with Pansy running behind them. Blaise and Theo also took Ron by his elbows and dragged him behind them, followed by the girls.

When they finally got to the Hospital Wing, Ron had managed to calm down and stop crying. Malfoy on the other hand had turned his injury into a spectacle, moaning loudly and crying out even louder, turning the heads of every student they had rushed past. They were met with an annoyed looking Madam Pomfrey who tutted at them when she saw them. "What happened? Tell me every detail" her voice was strict, but it was laced with worry over the two boys. Daphne stepped forward quickly and explained everything that had happened. Including Malfoy calling Tracey a filthy Half-Blood, which had earned a gasp from the Matron of the Hospital Wing. She then told Daphne to go fetch Professor McGonagall, who had just been in the Hospital Wing a few minutes prior. After that Madam Pomfrey, with a flick of her wand and some incantations, had Ron's knuckle and Malfoy's nose fixed right up.

Ron found himself astonished at how his pain was completely gone, and how his hand was already beginning to lose its swelling. Even Malfoy's face looked perfectly fine after Madam Pomfrey cleaned up the blood with another spell Ron didn't recognize. _Tergeo… Charlie didn't teach me that one, and it looks bloody useful. I'll note it down in the spell journal and find out more about it this weekend._ The door to the Wing swung open loudly and Professor McGonagall came striding in, her lips tight and a frown clear on her face. Daphne was right behind her and looked at Ron with a faint smile. "What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall commanded. "Miss. Greengrass tells me that there was a horrible fight… Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy explain yourselves at once." Ron went to open his mouth but Malfoy's voice cut him off.

"He attacked me Professor" Malfoy shrieked, sounding like a helpless victim. "We were just arguing about chess and he attacked me." At that Ron glared at Malfoy's whimpering and scared face. _This tosser…_ Pansy and the gorillas were nodding enthusiastically. Madam Pomfrey was about to tell McGonagall the truth but Millicent spoke it first.

"That is not true Professor" Millicent spoke softly, uneasy with everyone staring at her. "Draco called Tracey a filthy Half-Blood, and only then did Ron hit him. Draco is lying about chess." Ron couldn't stop the grin from splitting his face. _First Daphne and now Millicent… They are standing up for me?_ Professor McGonagall turned to the rest of Ron's friends.

"Is what Miss. Bulstrode said true?" She inquired, her frown even more evident than before. Blaise and Theo simply nodded once, whereas Daphne and Tracey were a little more enthusiastic in confirming Millicent's story. Professor McGonagall turned to Malfoy. "Twenty points from Slytherin Mr. Malfoy, for using a disgusting slur and lying to a professor." Malfoy didn't argue, and just looked down at his feet and grumbled. She then turned to Ron. "Twenty points from you as well Mr. Weasley, for attacking another student with the intent to cause harm." Ron looked at her sheepishly, but he noticed that her frown was shaking slightly and a smile was threatening to replace it. "After all the good things I had heard and seen you do Mr. Weasley, this is most disappointing. Detention for you both, to be held with me tomorrow night after dinner." With that she turned away from Ron and marched out of the Hospital Wing, but not before Ron saw the tight smile on her lips. _She isn't even mad at me… Proves that I was right about clocking Malfoy!_ Draco stood up and marched out as well, followed by his cronies. That left Ron and his friends behind with Madam Pomfrey, who sighed before marching off to check on her other patients.

"What were you thinking?" Theo questioned loudly, frowning at Ron. "Do you want to make everyone your enemy, or are you just incapable of thinking things through?" Ron didn't know why but he felt a little guilty because of Theo's piercing gaze. _I didn't do anything wrong… The git deserved it._

"Don't yell at him!" Tracey defended Ron in a deafening shriek. _That makes it three now!_ "What Draco said was…" she trailed off and big tears fell down her face. "None of you said a word…" She glared at Daphne. "Not even you…" she sobbed and then ran away at full tilt from the Hospital Wing.

"Tracey!" Daphne ran after the crying girl. She was followed right after by Theo, who gave Ron another frown before he departed. Ron sat there quietly, feeling a little uncomfortable at what had just happened. _Why didn't they say anything…? Malfoy insulted their friend and they don't even look like they care? What is wrong with all of these people?_ Blaise's cough pulled Ron back to reality and Ron looked over at him. They held eye contact for a second.

"Hell of a right hook by the way" Blaise smirked, making Ron's mouth snap open. _Is he serious?_

"Yeah Ron" Millicent chimed in softly. "I want to go and check on Tracey, I'll see you guys at lunch." With that she smiled at Ron, who returned it, and then she marched off to find her friend and comfort her. This left Blaise and Ron alone, something that Ron was rather happy with. Blaise was comfortable with not talking and Ron didn't mind that one bit, he could use some peace and quiet right now. They sat in silence for almost ten minutes before the bell for lunch rang. They got up and walked towards the Great Hall in silence. As they were getting close, Blaise finally broke the comfortable silence.

"Theo isn't wrong you know" Blaise said softly, but intently. Ron was about to argue but Blaise silenced him by raising his hand to Ron's face. "You attacked a fellow Slytherin, over a slur that is pretty common in every Slytherin's vocabulary. That will have repercussions with the older students Ron. They will doubt your loyalty to our house and may even side with Draco because of your actions." That made Ron freeze in realization. _What if Blaise and the others leave me…?_ "Don't worry about us leaving you" Blaise continued, as if reading Ron's mind. "We have put our lot in with you quite publicly and it would be… dishonorable… to abandon you over something like this. However, that also means that your actions reflect on us as well. You aren't just alienating and putting a target on your back, you are doing it to us as well…" Blaise trailed off, and didn't speak again.

They continued walking in silence after that, Ron's mind was ablaze with the information Blaise had just given him. It had made perfect sense. _If a gnome invades your garden, you don't just remove him alone. You remove all the others that are with him… even if they haven't invaded the garden yet._ Ron realized now why Theo had been mad at him, it wasn't because Theo and the others were friends with Malfoy for much longer than they were with Ron. Theo was upset because Ron had put his friends in a very difficult position, all because he had lost his temper… again.

Ron and Blaise ate in silence for a few minutes until they were joined by Theo, who took a seat across from Ron. "Where are the girls?" Blaise asked Theo.

"They are in their dorm" Theo replied softly, putting food on his plate. "Tracey is still upset and the other two are trying to calm her down." Ron's righteous anger flared for a second at the thought of his hurt friend, but he quickly put a stopper on it. _I've already done enough. It's up to Daphne and Millicent now._

"She needs thicker skin" Blaise said airily. Ron glared at Blaise for saying something like that, but Blaise just looked back at him with disinterest and raised his eyebrow at Ron.

"Blaise is right" Theo added. "She will have to put up with a lot worse for the next seven years. It's best if she learns to adapt to her surroundings. And as for you…" Theo stared at Ron with a frown, and then let out a defeated sigh. "Never mind." Ron looked at Theo with a pang of guilt. Was it really right to help one friend, but screw over another one in the process? Ron knew that he could take care of himself because he knew so many curses and jinxes, but what about Theo and the others? What would they do if the whole house of Slytherin began coming after them because Ron had attacked a fellow Slytherin? _I made the wrong choice… didn't I?_

"I'm sorry Theo" Ron whispered softly, making Theo look up at him. "I'll control myself in the future. You won't get in trouble with the other Slytherins because of me again." Theo smiled faintly and let out a content sigh.

"At least you understand" Theo said.

"He didn't" Blaise added aloofly. "I explained it to him." Theo chuckled at that and continued eating. They finished their lunch and headed back to their common room in comfortable silence. Ron was happy to put this behind him and finally go to Potions Class, where he planned to impress Professor Snape even more. The thought put a smile on his face as he entered the common room. His smile disappeared quickly when he noticed that many older students were giving odd looks, and even a few glares. _Blaise was right… I've really botched everything._ The boys walked into their dorm and collected their Potions books and kits.

"That was pleasant" Theo chuckled, but there was no humor in his laugh. He looked at Ron, who was staring at his shuffling feet. That annoyed Theo a quite a bit, he hated it when people didn't follow through with their actions. "Ron" Theo called out, making Ron look at him with guilt evident on his face. "Keep your head held high and don't let them see any weakness. The last thing we need is for you to show everyone that you acted on impulse and are now suffering from regret. They might even show you some respect if they believe that you acted according to your own designs and you will be sticking through with your actions." Ron nodded and held his head high. _Theo is right, Slytherins hate doubt and weakness. Guess I can only play the hand I dealt myself._ The boys then marched to the Potions Class, which was quite close to their common room, with their heads held high and a strong silence amongst them.

When they reached the outside of the class, they found the girls waiting for them. Tracey beamed at Ron and waved them over, which the boys were going to do anyway. Tracey looked much better now that she had calmed down, and having Daphne and Millicent by her side no doubt was making her feel more secure. "Hi" Ron greeted lamely. He didn't really know what to say to Tracey after his actions and her outburst. Ron had found it odd that Tracey, who was a Half-Blood, was such close friends with people who clearly believed in Blood-Supremacy. But after seeing her break down, he now knew that it couldn't be easy for her to be friends with this lot. But the fact that she was sticking it out made Ron oddly proud of the girl. _It's weird because I don't really even know her…_

"Hello yourself" she laughed at his greeting. "Want to be my Potions partner Ron?" _Huh…?_ She was speaking in such a casual manner that it jarred Ron's thoughts.

"Um… sure Tracey" he replied, confused at her odd behavior. _Is she on a Draught of Peace? I know how loony that can make a person from experience._ Before he could ask her, the Gryffindors came shuffling in from the corner. They were talking loudly amongst themselves, and Ron noted that none were talking with Hermione. She was clutching her books to her chest and was walking with an intense look, as if she had some sort of mission to complete. She narrowed her eyes on Ron and then looked away towards the Potions Class door. _What did I do to this head-case?_ The other Gryffindors were chatting about Ron and giving him quick glances, much to his surprise, so he looked to Blaise for an explanation.

"Word travels fast in this school" Blaise shrugged. "But you already knew that before you clocked Draco." Blaise seemed to smirk at the very memory. Ron let out a long sigh and shook his head. _People gossip more than they study in this school apparently…_ Ron shot a quick look towards Malfoy and saw the platinum haired git glaring at Ron with a burning hatred. _This isn't over is it…? Bloody hell, I'm the dumbest Weasley to ever exit, aren't I?_ The door to the Potions Class swung open revealing a scowling Professor Snape. He then marched back into the class and the student body followed after him. Ron took a seat next to Tracey, who gave him another wide smile.

Snape began taking the roll call in a slow and drawn out voice that made him sound like he didn't care one bit about being here to teach the first years. He stopped just before reading Harry's name and gazed at the boy in spectacles. "Harry Potter" Snape sneered and spoke softly. "Our newest… celebrity…" That got chuckles out of Malfoy and his cronies. Snape then proceeded to finish the roll call in the same fashion that he had started it in. Then he put the parchment in his hand on the desk behind him, and turned quickly to look back at the first years. "You are here to learn of the very subtle science and exact art of Potion-making" he spoke softly, but everyone in the room could hear him clearly. "Many of you will not believe that Potion-making is magic, due to little foolish wand-waving and other silly theatrics that no doubt appeal to your tiny brains… As such, I do not expect you to understand the beauty of a simmering cauldron, and the power of the liquids within which can bewitch your minds and ensnare your senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death… that is, if you all aren't a bunch of big dunderheads that I am usually forced to teach every year…" Snape then proceeded to gaze around the dead silent room, stopping for only a short moment when his eyes fell on Ron.

Snape then continued his gaze and stopped completely at Harry Potter. "Potter!" Snape said suddenly, making everyone jump in surprise. "What potion would I most likely get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?" Harry looked completely lost and had his mouth hanging open slightly. Ron knew the answer to that but kept his mouth shut and hand down. Something that Hermione didn't do, as she immediately raised her hand above her head.

"I… I don't know sir…" Harry managed to mutter out.

"Hmph… very well Potter" Snape sneered at the little boy. "Where would you look if I ordered you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione all but shot out of her seat, reaching her hand as high as she could. Harry just looked down and shook his head.

"I don't know, sir…" he muttered out again. Ron could hear Malfoy and his cronies laughing at poor Harry being humiliated and Ron had to clench his teeth in order to stop himself from clocking Malfoy again. _Why is Snape doing this to Harry? I thought that my brothers were just making stuff up again to scare me…"_

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane, Potter?" Snape sneered even more at Harry. Hermione was now trying to touch the ceiling as she hopped on her feet and threw her hand up with gusto. _Can't she see that she is making this worse for Harry? What is her problem?!_

"I don't know that either, sir" Harry muttered again, his cheeks red from shame.

"Clearly… fame isn't everything" Snape said softly while giving a faint smirk. "Mr. Weasley!" Snape turned to Ron suddenly, making Ron sit up straight and pay full attention. _Bloody hell… is it my turn to get humiliated now?_

"Yes, sir" Ron spoke clearly.

"Answer the questions I asked Potter" Snape commanded in his soft authoritative voice. _Just do it Ron… or you'll be next on his list._

"Mixing Asphodel with an infusion of Wormwood would give you a powerful sleeping potion known by the name of Draught of Living Death, sir" Ron spoke clearly, looking straight into Snape's black eyes. "A bezoar is a stone which can be found within the stomach of a goat, and it is known to be able to cure the effects of most poisons. As for Monkshood and Wolfsbane sir, they are the same plant, and they also go by the name of aconite." Ron finished clearly and took in a shaky breath. He knew he was right but a small part of him expected Snape to rip into him as well, just like he had done to poor Harry. Snape smirked at Ron and gave him a curt nod.

"Ten points to Slytherin Mr. Weasley, for not being an absolute dunderhead" Snape said. Snape then turned around and started writing things on the blackboard. _Bloody hell that was terrifying._ Ron looked over to Harry and gave him a sad smile, which Harry returned much to Ron's relief. Ron also caught sight of Hermione glaring at Ron rather intently. _Can nothing go right for me today?_

The class proceeded with everyone taking notes as fast as Snape was speaking, everyone except Ron because he already knew everything Snape was saying off by heart. After Ron noticed that Snape had given him a smirk for not taking notes, Ron understood that Snape didn't mind him not taking notes. So Ron waited patiently for the class to proceed and secretly hoped that they would get to make a potion today.

Ron didn't miss the fact that his classmates were giving him annoyed, and jealous, looks for not taking any notes and getting away with it. Even his friends, with the exception of Tracey who only smiled at him, gave him those looks. Snape then stopped talking and informed them that they would making a potion to cure boils today, which had made Ron ecstatic because that was the first potion Ron had ever made with his potions kit. He had botched it a couple of times back then, but now he was confident he could make it perfectly. Tracey and he got the ingredients from the shelves, and then began making the potion with Ron taking the lead. Ron crushed the six snake fangs into a fine powder while Tracey got the measurements right and prepared the cauldron. They then added four measures of the finely powdered snake fangs to the cauldron and heated the mixture. Ron waved his wand over the potion, and then they left the potion to brew. "Ron…" Tracey said softly, very different from her usual tone. "I just wanted to thank you… for what you did… with Malfoy that is." Ron's cheeks reddened and his ears burned at hearing that.

"Um… it was nothing Tracey" Ron stuttered. She gave him a wide grin.

"Yes it was. No one has punched another person while defending me before. I think it was really sweet of you." She then walked over and gave him a quick kiss on his left cheek. "Thank you, Ron." Ron's face felt hot and he blushed harder than he had ever done before.

"Uh… don't worry about it." Ron stuttered even more. "We're friends Tracey… so of course… I'd stand up for you." Ron looked down at his shuffling feet, so he therefore missed the surprised look on Tracey's face. She then let out a loud laugh, which earned her a loud cough from Snape.

"Sorry, sir" she said quickly. Snape shook his head and continued patrolling the room, looking at the students' potions. Tracey turned to a shocked Ron and smiled fully. "How did you end up in Slytherin?" Her voice was filled with laughter, and a hint of curiosity. _A talking hat screwed me over that's how…._ But instead of saying what was on his mind, he simply smiled and gave her a shrug. "How is your hand Ron?"

"Its fine now, doesn't even hurt one bit" Ron said while showing her his hand. She looked at it intently, it was still a bit puffy but it wasn't red anymore.

"You broke your knuckle…" she said softly, grabbing his hand in her soft ones. Ron felt a little uncomfortable at first, but quickly relaxed. _She is just having a look, don't be weird Weasley… stay calm._ She looked intently at his hand and then back up at him. "You are an odd one Ron" she mused to herself, her voice laced with humor. She then let go of his hand and the two fell into a more casual conversation. Ron learned that Tracey's father was a Pure-Blood wizard who married a Muggle-born witch during the last war. He also learned that she had met Daphne because their fathers were business partners of sorts and the girls had sparked a quick friendship. Ron, in turn, told her about his siblings and the Lovegoods. Their conversation felt rather pleasant to Ron, so he was incredibly annoyed at first when a loud moan had ripped both of their attentions away from it. Ron's annoyance was gone immediately as he saw Neville, who was covered in angry red boils, moaning in pain. Snape moved over to the boy with a massive frown.

"IDIOT BOY!" Snape bellowed. "Potter! Take Longbottom to Hospital Wing now!" Harry did as he was told quickly and both boys were gone in a flash. Snape then flicked his wand and cleaned the mess Neville had left behind. Ron was shocked to see that the cauldron Neville and Harry had been using was melted completely. _What did Neville do? He somehow managed to melt the bloody cauldron…_ Ron then looked after his own potion with even more care, not planning to join Neville in the Hospital Wing. After finishing the second stage of the potion, with Tracey's help, Ron waved his wand over the potion and saw a pink, ethereal smoke rising from their cauldron.

"Professor Snape" Ron called, not too loudly because he was scared of the man. "Our potion is finished, sir." Snape made his way over to their table, his black robes billowing behind him as usual. Snape took a careful look at the potion, and then took some out with his wand and placed it into a vial. Snape then cast a non-verbal spell at the vial and waited for a moment. Then a smirk came onto his face and he nodded his head once.

"Well done Mr. Weasley and Miss. Davis" Snape said softly. "A perfect potion if I do say so myself." Tracey beamed at Ron and clapped her hands, but Ron just let out a relieved sigh. _Thank you Merlin… Wherever you are…_ "Five points to each of you for Slytherin, for not being dunderheads." Snape then gave Ron another look before he billowed away to resume his patrolling.

"Yes!" Tracey exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "He said it was perfect, did you hear that Ron?! I heard that he never gives compliments!" Tracey was clearly ecstatic for not being destroyed by Snape's wrath. Ron shared her sentiment, although he kept quiet and just smiled at his cauldron. He realized that Snape was horrible to those that he deemed to be dunderheads, which Ron didn't agree with because a teacher should help everyone, but at least Ron had managed to keep his reputation with Snape intact. _That's enough for me right now._ Ron didn't miss the glares that Malfoy and Hermione were shooting him either. Malfoy glaring at him, Ron could understand, but why was Hermione so angry with him all the time? _I'm gonna find out why. This needs to stop._

The classes ended and all the students went back to their own common rooms. Ron prepared himself, just in case anything happened during their small break before dinner. Much to his relief, none of the older students did a thing to him, and continued to ignore most of the first years as they had for the past few days. Ron did note though that a few older students were now talking with Malfoy, no doubt believing whatever lies he was telling them. The thought of that happening irked him greatly so he decided to excuse himself from his friends, telling them that he would see them at dinner. Ron then walked around the castle alone for a short while, before deciding that he should go and see if Neville was doing alright in the Hospital Wing. He entered slowly and quickly noticed that Harry was sitting next to a cured looking Neville, who lay in one of the hospital beds. They were talking about something that Ron couldn't quite hear. They stopped abruptly when they saw Ron approaching them. Neville took on a guarded, and slightly scared, look whereas Harry just smiled at Ron and stood up to greet him. "Hi guys" Ron greeted them.

"Hey Ron" Harry returned the greeting quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh… I just wanted to see if Neville was alright after the um… you know…" Ron finished lamely. Harry's smile widened and he looked at Neville.

"See Nev!" Harry exclaimed. "Ron is a good guy, just like I told you." That made Ron's cheek flush a little and Ron looked over to Neville who still looked a bit guarded. "Forgive Neville, Ron" Harry continued. "He doesn't like the Slytherins much because they have been right gits to us for no reason." That peaked Ron's curiosity. _Didn't Hermione say that Harry was being bullied?_

"Is someone giving you trouble Harry?" Ron asked cautiously, he didn't want to overstep his bounds with Harry. Harry looked a little sheepish at first, but then he calmed himself down with a short sigh and looked right at Ron.

"Just Malfoy and his apes. I caught them picking on Neville and after I stepped in, they started hounding me as well." _Why am I not surprised to hear that Malfoy is being a tosser to everyone, and not just me?_ "So is it true?" Harry inquired.

"Is what true?" Ron asked back. Harry was about to answer but Neville piped up in a timid voice.

"They are saying that you broke Malfoy's nose because he insulted one of your friends" Neville whispered. _So everyone really does know about it then._

"Um… yeah" Ron started, scratching the back of his head. "He called Tracey a filthy Half-Blood so I clocked him hard." Harry looked a little confused, but Ron didn't really understand why. Neville gasped upon hearing Ron's explanation, making Harry even more confused.

"Half-Blood?" Harry asked. _I forgot that Harry didn't grow up in the wizarding world. He told me on the train that he had just found out that he was a wizard after all._

"It's a horrible thing to say to someone" Neville explained. Neville then explained everything he knew about Blood-Supremacy to Harry, which clearly made the boy-who-lived disgusted with Malfoy. Neville then turned to Ron and gave him a weak smile. "I wish I had the courage to punch Malfoy in the face." _Courage? More like stupidity that is gonna cost my friends…_

"Yeh well… I broke my own knuckle too, and got a detention from McGonagall. So it wasn't a complete win for me…" Ron trailed off.

"Well I think it's brilliant that you showed Malfoy what happens when you bully others" Harry piped in, smiling at Ron. Ron smiled back at him, happy to see that they were still friendly and that Harry had even defended Ron to people like Neville.

"Thanks Harry" Ron smiled. Harry patted him on his back and grinned ear to ear.

"Hey Ron" Harry started "Hagrid invited Nev and I to have tea with him tomorrow afternoon during our spare periods. Why don't you tag along too?" Ron beamed at that, he knew now that becoming Harry's friend was going to be much easier than he thought. But then he realized something that made his face fall.

"I can't Harry" Ron said, a bit defeated. "I don't have spare periods at lunch tomorrow. I have a double of D.A.D.A during then."

"Oh…" Harry's face fell a little. "Well next time we can do it on the weekend. Then you can join us." Ron nodded at that and smiled, grateful for Harry being understanding. An idea then clicked in his brain to deal with his bushy-haired girl problems.

"Hey Harry" Ron started "do you know that girl we met on the train?" Harry sighed and nodded. "Why is she always glaring at me in classes? Like she wants to hex me every time I get something right…" Harry shook his head.

"Hermione is mental Ron… She doesn't have any friends because she is always bossing us around and telling us that we aren't doing things properly" Harry whined. "So we just ignore her now…" That didn't answer Ron's question but he did feel a pang of pity for the girl. He still remembered how her house had laughed at her outside Charms Class, and remembering that made him remember another memory. _Luna was being bullied in my vision…_ That made him cringe slightly, something the other two boys didn't seem to notice. _Is Hermione feeling bullied? Is that why she tried to bite my head off when she thought I was bullying Harry? Imagine being ignored by everyone in your house, it must be horrid…_ Ron didn't want to somber the mood with his own thoughts, so he bid the other two boys goodbye and promised Harry that he would join them the next time they went to Hagrid's. Ron was making his way to the Great Hall when four hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him into an empty classroom. Ron was fully alert now, and he ripped out his wand as soon as the hands pushed him into the class. He turned around and pointed the wand straight at two identical faces that just grinned at him.

"Oh no Fred" George whimpered mockingly. "Ickle Ronnikins has us at his mercy!"

"Oh George" Fred whimpered mockingly as well. "Who will save us from his wrath?!" They both then burst into laughter at Ron. Ron was shocked to see Fred being so… so normal with him. That shock wore out fast though because the twins' laughter began annoying Ron.

"Why did you have to kidnap me?" Ron questioned, annoyed at being manhandled. "You could have just bloody asked me to come along!" The twins stopped laughing at that and smirked slyly at Ron.

"Now where is the fun in that, little bro" Fred chuckled out. _Little bro…? LITTLE BRO?! He has been nothing but horrible to me for the last few days and now he just calls me little bro like nothing happened?! MUM SENT THAT DAMN LETTER BECAUSE OF HIM!_

"Don't call me that…" Ron gritted out, making Fred stop his chuckling immediately. "George can call me that but if you… if you call me that again, I'll hex your balls off Fred…" Fred's eyes widened at that and he just stared at Ron in shock. George sighed and looked down at his feet, shaking his head at Ron's anger.

"Ronnie…" Fred started but Ron cut him off immediately.

"SHUT UP!" Ron yelled, feeling angry tears in his eyes. _I went into Slytherin to save him! And he has treated me like dirt… He called me a Death-Eater to my face!_

"Ron" George piped in. "Just calm down please. Fred wants to apologize to you that's all…"

"Apologize?!" Ron turned to face George. "For what? For treating me like dirt? For calling me a Death-Eater to my face? Or was it because he is the reason that both mum and dad hate me now?!" Ron ripped the letter out of his robes, which he had been carrying around constantly for some reason. He threw it at Fred who flinched back because of Ron's anger at him and the things Ron had said. Fred then picked up the letter and began reading it.

"He doesn't know about the letter, Ron" George whispered, looking guilty. "I couldn't tell him about it, and Percy won't even look at Fred…" Fred gasped loudly as he kept reading, making Ron and George look at his face. Fred was wide-eyed and by the time he finished, all he could do was shake his head.

"Ronnie… I didn't think that…" Fred started but Ron cut him off again.

"DIDN'T THINK WHAT FRED?! YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT THEY WOULD REACT LIKE YOU DID WHEN YOU SENT THEM THE LETTER THAT SCREWED ME OVER?!" Ron was shouting hysterically and broke into devastated crying at the end. "You… ruined… everything and… and now they both hate me because of you" he choked out as he sat down on the floor, covering his face. George went to sit next to Ron immediately and was trying to comfort him in any way he could. Fred just stood there, racked with guilt and shocked at the letter that his mother had sent. What had he done? Ron was carrying this around with him… all because Fred felt betrayed by something that Ron had no control over.

"I'm… I'm…" Fred stuttered, looking at a crying Ron who was being comforted by George. "I'm sorry, Ron… I'm so sorry" Fred muttered, feeling his own eyes stinging because of the heavy guilt he felt at what his actions had put Ron through. "Please Ronnie… I'm so sorry about this… I… was just being a git." Fred rubbed his eyes to clear them. George then glared at Fred for the first time in their entire lives together.

"Leave Fred…" George said clearly. Fred was horrified by his twin's anger at him. "Just leave… give him some time." Fred stumbled back and bumped into the door. He quickly turned around and flung the door open, and then went through it quickly. The door closed behind him slowly, making an eerie creaking noise. George held and comforted Ron for another ten minutes before Ron finally managed to calm down, but his hands were still shaking though and he had not missed that particular quirk of his. George reached into his robes and pulled out a chocolate frog, which he then handed to Ron with the kindest smile Ron had seen from George in his entire life. Ron put the whole thing into his mouth hungrily, which made George snigger. "Ease up there Ronnikins. It's not the last chocolate frog left on the planet." Ron didn't care one bit about etiquette in that moment. He needed something to cheer him up and that frog was the answer, so he had demolished it like an animal.

"Why was Fred coming to apologize if he didn't know about the letter from mum?" Ron finally asked. That question was bugging him throughout his little breakdown.

"We heard a certain rumor about you, little brother" George said in a serious tone, which was still laced with humor somehow. "We heard that you broke Malfoy's nose, and broke your own knuckle in the process. That convinced Fred that he had been wrong about you, and the fact that Perce and I weren't too happy with him at all." Ron gave a dry chuckle at that. _If I had known that I could save myself so much trouble just by clocking that smug git, I would have done it right after the sorting._ "So Ron, is it true? Did you really break his nose?" Ron gave a quick nod and grinned wolfishly at George, which made George clap his hands loudly and laugh even louder. "Why in Merlin's name did you do that?"

"He called my friend Tracey a filthy Half-Blood to her face." Ron felt his cheeks flush with anger at the memory. George lost his humor quickly after hearing that.

"Bloody hell…" George muttered in disbelief. "You did the right thing Ron, should've hexed him in the face right after as well."

"I wanted to, believe me. But my hand was killing me, Theo and Blaise ended up taking me to Madam Pomfrey and she fixed my broken knuckle" Ron finished proudly. George nodded and ruffled Ron's hair.

"You did a brave thing there Ron, you protected your friend." He became quiet suddenly and looked at the door leading outside. "Just like you protected Mrs. Lovegood… How did I ever let Fred convince me that you had betrayed everything mum and dad raised us to believe in?" George shook his head disapprovingly, mostly likely thinking about himself and his twin.

"It was pretty stupid… even for you" Ron joked, feeling uncomfortable about the fact that George was angry with himself. George gave a dry laugh at that.

"It was Ronne. I really am sorry…"

"I know."

Ron got to dinner later than planned but Theo and Blaise had saved him a seat. He ate with his friends and told them about Fred finally coming around. Theo and Blaise were a little disinterested in that bit of news but the girls were genuinely happy for Ron, except Daphne had tried to hide her true feelings rather poorly. Once dinner ended, they marched to the common room and finally went to bed. Something Ron had been longing for all day. The next day had gone by rather smoothly. Malfoy kept his distance from Ron and his friends, probably because he didn't want to get clocked again. Charms and Transfiguration classes that morning also went by without any problems and Ron had earned a total of thirty points for Slytherin by the end of Transfiguration. Ron had also noted that both Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall seemed to expect something from him, as they shot him approving smiles every time he answered something correctly.

This also meant that Hermione tried even harder to compete against him, and then glared at him menacingly when he managed to beat her by five points. Then came the moment Ron had been waiting for, a double class of D.A.D.A which Ron was keen to show off in. Theo and Blaise sniggered at his enthusiasm, and then they told him to just wait and see. It was horrible… They didn't talk about the subject at all… Professor Quirrell stuttered the entire time about his adventures in Romania, and how he had made friends with a vampire who then tried to eat Quirrell in his sleep. Ron found himself wondering how in the bloody hell had this man become a professor at Hogwarts, and who in their moment of pure insanity had hired Quirrell to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?

It gutted Ron to know that his favorite subject was going to be worse than even Herbology because of 'Professor' Quirrell. Then dinner came around, and a school owl hooted loudly as it came barreling towards Ron. Ron knew it was carrying a response from Pandora, which made his heart race with anticipation and dread. He didn't know what he would do if Pandora had acted like his mother. He could always fling himself off of the Astronomy Tower, he mused dryly. The bird landed in front of Ron and extended its leg. Ron took the letter attached to it and quickly placed it in his robes, right next to the letter from his mother. He would read it tomorrow… He just didn't have it in him to read it today. Daphne had given him a faint, sad smile which had made Ron a little more scared. He needed Pandora to be on his side… Just like she had been when she snuck him into Diagon Alley and bought him his beautiful wand. Ron couldn't bear to have his second mother hate him as well…

After dinner ended, Ron walked up towards McGonagall's office to serve his detention. Malfoy had lurked behind him, sneering into the back of Ron's skull but Ron couldn't have cared less. Professor McGonagall first informed the two boys that an owl had been sent to both their parents explaining what had happened, and had then made them clean the Gryffindor trophy cabinet and its contents by hand, with no magical assistance, much to Malfoy's shock and horror. It was a grueling task mainly because the damn school had existed for a thousand years, and Gryffindor had won just as many trophies in that time… They cleaned the cabinet in dead silence, much to Ron's joy because he didn't want to hear that pompous voice leak out of Malfoy's mouth. Deep down Ron knew that he would clock the git again if Malfoy even said one word to him… By the time detention ended, it was already so late that the entire common room was empty when Ron and Malfoy got back. They were too exhausted to even argue with each other, and so both of them quietly marched into the own dorms. Ron fell asleep staring at the unopened letter from Pandora clutched tightly in his hands.

 _ **Molly Weasley POV**_

It was five in the morning but Molly was wide awake, and trying to make breakfast. It wasn't going well at all… One week had passed since she had bid her sons goodbye on Platform 93/4 and today was Saturday. Her boys had been gone for five days, and Molly had never been more upset about sending her children to Hogwarts. She had barely slept in the last two days, and she had barely eaten anything. Even her little angel Ginny could see that something was wrong with her mother, but Molly hadn't said a word of it to Ginny. How could she tell her daughter that her favorite brother, the one that Ginny never stopped talking about, was placed in Slytherin? How could she even explain that without breaking down again? _My poor little boy… alone in that den of serpents…_

When she had first learned of Ron's sorting, through Fred's angry letter, she had gone mental. It had felt like the worst sort of betrayal to her, like Ron had slapped her across the face and spat on everything that she had raised him to believe in. Everything that her own brothers, Gideon and Fabian, had died trying to protect. She had been filled with the righteous anger which her side of the family was well known for, more so than ever before. In her blind rage she had spoken to Arthur about the sorting, and seeing her husband's shock had cemented her rage towards Ronald. How could that boy have done this? How long had he been hiding his true self from everyone around him? Is that why he used Pandora to get him whatever he wanted? Did he even save her life out of compassion? These horrid thoughts had plagued her while she wrote all her anger and disappointment into a letter, and then she sent the letter with Errol to go find Ronald. She needed an explanation at once. That was all there was to it, but no reply had come…

By the end of Thursday night, she was done waiting so she decided to talk to her husband about it. When she told him what she had said in the letter, Arthur had exploded in rage. Something that he hadn't done since he had caught her trying to avenge her brothers all those years ago. Arthur had explained to her how Ron must've felt reading such a terrible thing from his own mother. That Ron was already all alone in Slytherin, with no friends most likely. That Molly may have just pushed Ron away permanently by saying such things to him… That Ron would never look at her the same way again…

At first, she had stubbornly defended her actions. But after a couple of hours, her resolve began to crumble away. When it all fully dawned on her, Molly had broken down in tears from the guilt of her actions. She couldn't believe that her anger had caused her to act in such a vicious manner towards her youngest boy. A boy she already knew felt like an outsider in the family. Arthur had tried to comfort her after, but she had wept all night.

That was the beginning of her current state of unhappiness. She didn't want to eat, she didn't want to sleep, and she couldn't even bring herself to play with Ginny… All she wanted was to hold her little Ronnie and apologize. She had even tried to write a letter to him, but no words came to her mind. What would she even say to him? They had never been very close, that was probably why he loved Pandora so much… But Molly had kept trying to write a letter for the entirety of Friday, with no success. She had slept no more than three hours, on Friday night, before she had woken up from a nightmare of Ron being crushed to death by pythons, his little body mangled and shattered beyond repair. She had come down to her kitchen and wept herself spare in the dark. He was all alone, and she had made him feel even more abandoned… She would never forgive herself for that, she knew it with absolute certainty.

It was now seven in the morning, and any minute now her husband and daughter would come down to eat a breakfast that wasn't even cooked right. But Molly couldn't bring herself to care about that, Ronald was the only thing in her mind. _Is Ronnie eating properly…?_ Her thoughts were disturbed by the heavy footsteps coming from upstairs. Molly quickly cleaned her eyes and wiped her face to hide the tear tracks. She didn't want Ginny to see her like this. She didn't want her daughter to feel the same way she did right now. Arthur and Ginny came downstairs and bid her good morning. Arthur's greeting was more somber, because he knew that his wife had spent the entire night crying for their son again. They sat down and began to eat while Molly paced around the kitchen, putting everything she had used for cooking in the sink. Then a loud tapping sound came from the kitchen window, which made Molly jump in fright. Her nerves were at the end of their limits. When she saw that it was a school owl, she ran to the window in fear and flung it open which scared the poor owl. She took the letter from its leg with shaking hands and dreaded what it may say. When she read on the cover that it wasn't from Ron, but rather Minerva McGonagall, she had almost fainted from sheer terror. _He is hurt… I just know… Those snakes hurt my boy…_ She ripped the letter open and began reading it. Her daughter and husband just watched her with worry.

 _Dearest Molly and Arthur,_

 _It is to my great regret that I must inform you that Ronald, your youngest son, has been caught fighting with his fellow house-mates. We have questioned everyone involved and learnt why the fight occurred in the first place. It appears that Draco Malfoy, another Slytherin boy, called one of Ronald's friends a 'filthy Half-Blood' to her face. Ronald then proceeded to break young Mr. Malfoy's nose with his own right hand, and in doing so, he broke his own middle knuckle. Both boys have been punished accordingly with a detention with myself and have also lost a substantial amount of points for Slytherin House. As his parents, I must inform you of this incident and can only hope that you deter him from such behavior in the foreseeable future._

 _Your Friend,_

 _Minerva McGonagall._

 _P.s: Ronald has impressed the whole school with his advanced knowledge in magic and I must admit that I am truly looking forward to seeing what he is capable of in the future. You truly do have a talented young man for a son. I hope you are as proud of him as I am to teach him._

When Molly finished reading the letter her friend had sent her, she broke into a wet sob and clutched the letter to her chest. _My Ronnie is still the same! He hasn't forgotten what I taught him!_ She could die from the joy and relief her heart was flooded with. Hot tears ran down her face and she knew that they were tears of joy. "Molly?" Arthur's worried voice came from behind her. "Love, is everything alright?" Molly turned to her husband with tears running down her face, and a joyous smile across her face. The sight made Arthur wide-eyed. Molly handed him the letter and then turned to face her scared daughter.

"Everything is alright my sweet" she cooed. "Now go and fetch mummy a quill and some parchment. Why don't we both send Ronnie a letter together?" Ginny beamed at the sound of that and quickly ran towards her father's study, jumping in joy at finally learning about Ron's sorting and how he was doing at Hogwarts. Molly looked over to her husband and another happy sob escaped from her throat at the sight. Arthur was reading the letter with tears in his eyes and he was smiling ear to ear. After he finished, the couple embraced one another tightly and let out a wet laugh each. _Everything is going to be fine. Ronnie will be just fine…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there you have it. Molly may get angry and become a monster, but her love for her children is unquestionable. I think everyone who has read the books can see that. Molly is a mama bear!**

 **Now Chapter 8 should be up in a day or so... Things are getting a little busy for me with my Birthday approaching, but I won't let you guys down. I was going to update weekly, but so much positive feedback has made me obsessed with delivering to you all. I hope you enjoyed the last two chapters, and I hope you look forward to the next one.**

 **P.S: To think that I only started this around 5 days ago... I'm off to write the next one!**

 **P.P.S: I FORGOT ABOUT SCABBERS HAHAHA! Next chapter will feature him, I promise! I'm a GIT!**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Calm Before

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 8 is done and posted. Sorry for the wait on this! But it was the weekend and sadly real life came knocking on my door. Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. Don't be too angered at Ron's bullheaded behavior, because he is very bullheaded in the canon story. That's just how he can be sometimes... Remember Goblet of Fire? Cause I do...**

 **2\. This is the longest chapter so far! I cracked the 15,000 word limit on this...**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 8 – The Calm Before**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron woke up on Saturday morning with Pandora's letter still clutched in his hands. He sighed at the sight of it, and decided that he would wash up and dress first before reading it. So Ron tucked the letter under his pillow and marched into the adjoining bathroom. Theo and Blaise were still asleep so Ron determined that it was still very early in the morning. Once he was freshened up and fully awake, he sat down on his bed and pulled the letter out from under his pillow. Mustering all of his courage, Ron carefully opened the letter and began reading it.

 _Dearest Ronald,_

 _At first I thought you were pulling my leg about your sorting, but as I began writing a response, I realized that you would never joke about this. I have to admit that I never saw this coming, you continue to keep surprising me! Slytherin is a great house Ron, so don't you worry about a thing. Did you know that Merlin himself was in Slytherin?! Who knows, maybe you could one day be just as famous? I certainly hope so because then I can tell people that I know you personally! I have told Luna of your sorting and she is determined to make it into Slytherin as well. I don't think I would mind that very much, because I know you would take care of her._

 _I also hope that you are showing the school just how capable and brilliant you are. I expect that you have made many new friends because of it, especially in Slytherin as they worship excellence. Although I am a little sad that you didn't get put into Ravenclaw, I am still very proud of you for getting placed in a house that believes in the power of the mind. Slytherin will teach you many important things Ron, so you make sure to learn them well. Cunningness and determination are admirable traits for a person to have._

 _Also make sure to keep your promise and send a letter every week, poor Luna is always asking if there is a letter from you! Xenophilius also sends his love (He claims that he always knew where you would be sorted haha)._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Pandora, Luna, and Xenophilius._

Relief and absolute bliss filled Ron's chest after he finished reading the letter. _They are still with me… and they are proud?_ Ron wanted to break into an enthusiastic dance right there and then, but he knew that Theo and Blaise would blackmail him if they saw it. Ron re-read the letter one more time and then he tucked it into his trunk for safekeeping. He knew that he would need those words if he ever felt down. Ron then grabbed his chessboard and skipped into the common room, gazing at the giant clock when he got there. _Half past six… I think I will just relax in front of the fire and play a game with myself._

So Ron did just that, and the entire time he had a smile on his face because of Pandora's words. He couldn't have felt more relieved with what Pandora had written him. But as he continued playing, his mood slowly became darker. A small part of him, which was growing bigger every second he thought about Pandora's letter, was bitter at his own mother for not being more like Pandora. He never felt least loved or like a disappointment when he was with Pandora, and yet around his own mother he always felt like those two horrible things.

The school was calling him a prodigy, his new friends even respected him, and Pandora was encouraging him to be the very best. And what did his mother have to say about all of this? _She felt humiliated… Why should I even care about what she thinks…? When has she ever given me any special treatment like she does with everyone else? All she ever does is ignore me when I'm around…_ In a fit of pure rage, Ron pulled the vile letter that his mother had sent his from his jumper and hurled it into the fire.

He watched with satisfaction as it burned and crumpled up. _That's what I think of your opinion mum…._ He was done trying to please a woman who would always prioritize his siblings before him. Like the time that they had given Ron a second hand wand, just so Percy could have a damn owl… Or all the times when he had felt like a shadow and his mother didn't even notice that he was in the room, and that he wanted to join in with her and Ginny's fun… Bitterness ran though his body and Ron's face tightened as he glared at the burning letter. _I'm done letting her make me feel so small… and if dad feels the same way she does, then I'm done with him as well… I have Pandora and Luna. I have Percy and George. I even have new friends who are happy with the fact that I'm in Slytherin._

"Ron?" a soft but high-pitched voice came from behind him. He turned around to face the speaker, it was Daphne and she looked at him with a guarded look. After all, Ron was still looking furious about something. Daphne's eyes shifted to the fireplace behind him and she noticed a burning letter. "Ron is that the letter you got last night?" She sounded almost sympathetic. Ron shook his head and sighed, his features relaxing once again.

"No" he all but whispered. "That's the letter my mum sent me…" Daphne nodded slowly at him.

"Want to play another game of chess?" she asked, trying to change the somber mood. "The other Slytherins are already heading down to the common room. We should make sure that they don't suspect anything is amiss." Ron stared at her for a moment and then chuckled. _Always playing some game…_ Ron had been wondering about why the Slytherins hated any emotion being displayed for some time now, but he didn't argue with her.

"Sure, I don't mind destroying you again" he joked. Daphne huffed in the cute way she always did and took a seat across from him.

"I'm going black this time" she commanded. "You cheat with black, I just know it." _Sore loser…_

The rest of their friends joined them just in time to leave for breakfast. Ron was absolutely famished and he couldn't wait to dig in, something Theo told him off for in a mocking manner. Ron managed to look over to the Gryffindor table and noticed immediately how tired and sad Fred looked. _Good… He should be miserable just like I was… at least for a few more days._ Ron then caught Percy's eye, and gave his big brother a wave and a smile which Percy returned.

Ron finished his breakfast and returned to the common room for a little while, playing chess with his friends and beating them every time. Even Daphne could no longer claim that Ron was a cheat because they had all kept their eyes fixed on Ron as they played with him. Theo even suggested that Ron should try out for the Junior League Tournament which would happen in the second half of March, which Ron actually considered seriously. _I could win a lot of money from something like that. I could even get a little famous!_ So Ron decided that he would look more into this the next time he had spare time, which he currently did not.

Right now Ron wanted to go into the library and do some research about his powers. He had finally settled down in Slytherin and it was now time to tackle the true problem. _Percy told me that the library is massive, so there has to be something in there that will give me some sort of answers._ Ron then excused himself from his friends, who didn't even question where he was going much to his surprise. Guess they had their own plans, whatever the reason was Ron was glad for it. He didn't need them asking him questions that he couldn't answer. Ron walked towards the library, and he had to admit that the castle was beautiful. There were so many portraits, which all moved, and the castle was decorated with armors of knights. Furthermore, somehow this massive castle seemed to be very clean. There were no marks on the walls, no cracks in any of the stone surfaces, and no ectoplasm from the various ghosts that Ron had come across in the last few days.

Ron stepped into the library and his eyes almost popped out of his skull. _THIS PLACE IS HUGE! How am I going to find anything in here?!_ There were tens of thousands of books on thousands of shelves, which were in hundreds of narrow rows. This could take a lifetime to sift through… Ron let out a dry laugh and almost turned around to go back to the common room, but he needed answers. This mysterious entity in his mind could hurt him, or worse kill him. He had to learn whether or not anything like this had happened to anyone before him.

Ron hadn't forgotten that the Sorting Hat had said that it had never seen anyone like Ron before, but Ron hoped someone from outside of Hogwarts may have been through what he was going through. It was his only real chance to find answers. So Ron marched into the library that was almost completely empty, except for a few Ravenclaw students who were studying in absolute silence. Ron approached a large desk which was labeled as the 'help desk'. Behind the desk sat a vulture-like woman, who had sunken cheeks and an unnatural looking hooked nose. Ron gulped and approached her slowly. "Hi" he whispered. The woman looked up at him with narrowed eyes. _Merlin… I'm want to bolt back to Slytherin._

"A first year?" the woman whispered back, no doubt surprised by Ron. "What do you want?" The woman seemed rather unfriendly to Ron, which made him sweat slightly under his armpits.

"I wanted to… um read some books on seers. Does the library have any books that can help me?" Ron managed to choke out. He knew asking about seers was dangerous for his secret, but the truth was that he wasn't really a seer. So he wasn't worried about being 'caught' as a seer because if they tested him to see if he was one, he would no doubt fail that test.

"Seers?" the woman looked at him, surprise clear on her face. "Why would a first year need to read up on seers?" She kept her gaze on Ron, almost crumbling his resolve.

"I like to… read about things that I don't fully understand… like seers" Ron finished lamely. _I need to practice lying to people… Maybe Theo and Blaise could show me a thing or two._

"I see…" The woman kept staring at Ron with an overwhelming intensity. "You must be Ronald Weasley" she smiled, losing all her intimidation. "I've heard that you are quite the intelligent young man." Ron beamed at her. _Thank Merlin!_ "Very well, if you want to read up on seers then I suggest you look in the Divination Section. Don't cause any damage whatsoever to the books you use… and don't eat or drink in the library." Ron nodded enthusiastically and kept beaming at her.

"Thank you um…"

"Madam Irma Pince."

"Thank you Madam Pince, and I promise I'll be no trouble." After she gave him a curt nod, Ron marched off to find the Divination Sector. He found it relatively quickly, but now he had another problem. _There are HUNDREDS of books here… I'm gonna die of old age before I find what I need!_ Ron again felt the need to just go back to the common room, but he bit down on his tongue and moved forward. He began looking for anything with the word seer in its title, but he knew that it was going to take a while. After an hour of searching, Ron had found only two books with the word seer on them. They were titled 'Seers: Practitioners of Prophecies' and 'Seers and other Divination Specialists'.

They weren't very thick books, but it was something at least. Ron found a secluded spot nearby to start his reading, and once he sat down he realized that lunch would start soon. He decided that he would just skip lunch today because he didn't want to have to come all the way back here and find these books again. Ron started reading 'Seers: Practitioners of Prophecies' first because it was the thinner of the two books. The book explained that seers had the power to make prophecies and that some seers knew how to not share the prophecies they saw.

Much to Ron's surprise, the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was a seer and he had used his visions as a means to inspire people to join his revolution. Ron had heard about Grindelwald from his father's stories about Dumbledore, and Ron knew that the duel between the two wizards was considered legendary. "Gellert Grindelwald" Ron muttered to himself, finding the dark wizard fascinating. He was a seer, and he had shared his vision in order to gain allies. _What if I do the same thing? What if I warn everyone about the upcoming war and make an army?!_

Even though the thought excited Ron, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that it could actually work. No sane witch or wizard would join an eleven year old to fight a war that didn't even exist yet, all because said eleven year old predicted that one day it would… But Grindelwald had learned how to share his visions somehow… And the book claimed that Grindelwald didn't make prophecies, he simply saw the future and acted on it himself. _That's just like what I can do…_

The only problem was that Grindelwald was a confirmed seer, and it was confirmed by none other than Albus Dumbledore himself! So Ron knew that he wasn't quite like Grindelwald, but that didn't mean that Ron couldn't use the older wizard's tactics at a later stage in his life. If another war was truly on its way, then Ron knew that he might need others helping him in order to save his brother and any others along the way. _You can't win in chess with just one piece, you need every piece playing its part._

"What are you reading?" came a whisper from in front of Ron, making him jump. He looked up, startled, at a bushy haired girl whose eyes were wide open in surprise too. "Sorry" Hermione whispered. "I didn't mean to startle you." Ron took a deep breath to try and calm down. _Great… now I need to deal with her too._

"I'm just doing some reading" Ron whispered. "On seers that is." Hermione gave him a curious look and sat down opposite him. _Oh by all means… take a seat and let's have a chat…._

"Why would you need to read up on seers? We don't take Divination until third year."

"I just like to read about anything that I don't fully understand, that's all." Ron noticed that Hermione seemed to slouch a little at hearing that.

"Oh… that's probably why you're so smart…" All of a sudden Ron remembered that Hermione was being ignored by her whole house. _This is probably the most she has gotten to talk to someone…_ "Well… I'll leave you alone then…" Hermione stood up at that looking slightly upset and dejected.

"No" Ron blurted out quickly, earning a stunned look from Hermione. "I mean… let's talk… or study together… you are here to study aren't you?" _That went smoothly…_

"Oh! OK!" Hermione sat back down a little too eagerly. "I'm just about to finish up the homework we got in Transfiguration. Well… the homework I got" Hermione finished quietly. Ron could swear he heard jealousy in her voice.

"Yeah. Do you need any help?" Ron gave her his best smile.

"No" she answered curtly. _Um… ok then…_ "I mean that I should probably do it on my own" Hermione blushed from guilt at being so rude.

"Well if you need anything, I'm sitting right here" Ron smiled again. Then he went back to his reading. They sat together doing their own work in silence. It had been a little uncomfortable at first but then as time kept moving, Ron found it almost calming. He didn't know why, but he just did. After Ron had gotten through his book, he put it down and sighed to himself. _Useless… nothing of note except for the life achievements of known seers… Grindelwald was the only interesting one anyway._

"Is everything alright?" Hermione piped up. Ron looked at her and shook his head.

"It didn't explain much… I'm going to have to keep looking."

"That's why research is so much fun" she beamed. Ron felt himself questioning this girl's sanity once again. "It's like an adventure, or a scavenger hunt where all the pieces of the puzzle have to be found first." She looked so happy telling him this, that Ron almost felt cheered up himself. "What are you looking for exactly?"

"Just how seers work. Like how they get their visions and how they make prophecies… I want to learn about the process behind it all." Hermione looked almost sadly at Ron. Like she had come to a disheartening revelation. _What happened to her happy mood from before? This bint…_

"I'm… I'm sorry for being so rude… towards you" she muttered under her breath, but Ron heard everything because the library was so quite. "I thought that you were cheating… in the classes, that is." She looked down at her work guiltily. _Ok, why does everyone think I'm some kind of cheat? First Daphne and the others, and now Hermione as well…_

"Why did you think that?" Ron was genuinely curious about this, maybe he was doing something that was causing this reaction from people. Like smiling creepily without realizing…

"It's just that… I've always been the smartest person in all my… muggle classes before Hogwarts. The truth is that I expected to be at the top here as well. But you…" she trailed off. _Is that why she has been glaring at me?! She thinks I'm stealing her spot?_

"Oh" Ron muttered. What was he supposed to say to her? This could be his chance to stop this girl from constantly glaring at him. Maybe he could even help her with her own house if he told her to ease up a little. After all, Harry had told him that she was bossing everyone around and it had backfired in her face. But what would he gain from helping her? Ron could think of nothing. _It isn't worth it…_

"I was just being stupid" she shook her head, still looking down. But to Ron it wasn't stupid… Ron knew what jealousy felt like, more than most people in fact. He knew because he had spent his whole life feeling jealous of his siblings. Jealous of Ginny for being doted on by everyone, jealous of the twins' creativity and humor, jealous of Percy's intellect, jealous of Charlie for getting his father's attention by just existing in the same room, and jealous of Bill because Bill was perfect at everything he did. The truth was that Ron wasn't the brilliant boy everyone in Hogwarts seemed to believe he was. Ron's advanced knowledge was actually Percy's intellect. Ron's skill with a wand was actually Charlie's skill at spells. Ron was considered brilliant all because he was copying his two brothers, who had all but given him their skillsets. Ron wasn't like Hermione, who was a Muggle-born that studied long and hard to achieve her goals. Ron had notes handed to him by Percy and he had just copied them into his head. Hermione had only known that she was a witch for a couple of months before coming to Hogwarts, and yet she was still able to compete with Ron. _She should be on top, not someone like me... A fraud…_

"You aren't stupid" Ron said softly. Hermione looked up at him, she looked a little surprised at Ron's words. "You only recently found out about our world, but you still manage to tie with me in every class. And the only reason I think I get ahead is…" Ron let out a sigh "it's only because I grew up in a magical family. I think that… in a couple of years… you'll easily get that spot on the top" Ron finished and looked away from Hermione. He knew that he wasn't planning on helping her at first, but seeing her hint of jealousy had reminded Ron of how it felt to be… less. It was a disgusting feeling, one that made you feel like you were nothing… One that made you do things like glare at people you didn't really know, or hold a secret grudge against your little sister for something she didn't really have any control over… Ron missed Hermione looking at him with mixed feelings on her face. She was surprised to hear something so nice from a person she had been nothing but rude and horrid towards. But she was also a little worried, because Ron sounded horribly sad about something.

"Maybe we can both be on the top spot…" Hermione said, trying to lighten Ron's sudden somber mood. He looked at her and gave a hollow smile. He was about to respond to her, but he stopped when he saw Percy walking over to them.

"Hello Ron" Percy greeted with a smile. Percy then turned to Hermione and looked a little surprised. "Oh… hello there Hermione. I see you've met my little brother."

"Hi Percy" Hermione greeted back with a wide smile. "Ron and I are in the same classes. And we met on the Hogwarts Express. He showed us some brilliant magic with his beautiful wand." Percy looked intrigued at that, and looked to Ron for an explanation. _Bloody hell…_

"Ron?" Percy's brow furrowed.

"Oh I just fixed Harry's glasses and used Accio to find a toad, that's all" Ron said dismissively. _Please forget the part about my wand…_

"I see" Percy said slowly. "She also said that your wand was beautiful." _Damnit…_ "Show me your wand Ron" Percy finished with his hand extended. Ron could see the frown forming on Percy's face. _He's figured it all out already, hasn't he?_ Ron slowly took his wand out and handed it to Percy. Percy just stared at it intently before he looked up at Ron, disappointment clear on his face. He then handed Ron his wand back. "Come with me right now." Percy turned around and walked towards the exit, his posture rigid as always.

"Did I… say something I shouldn't have…?" Hermione looked extremely guilty and worried. Her eyes were slightly wide, and they gazed right into Ron's for an answer. Ron just smiled weakly and shook his head.

"It's more my fault than yours." With that he stood up and put the books back where he had found them. He then walked back over to Hermione. "This was fun, we should study together more often." Hermione nodded eagerly, and then blushed in embarrassment.

"I'd like that" she said, looking down at her homework. Ron then turned around and went in the direction of his brother. He always knew that someday his family would find out about his wand. But he hadn't thought that it would be so soon and so… suddenly. He hadn't expected this at all, but he was also tired of constantly explaining himself to others. All he wanted was to just be left alone right now. To just study at Hogwarts without a new problem arising every single day…

Percy was waiting outside the library for Ron, and once Ron joined him, they made their way to an empty classroom close by. After Percy shut the door behind him, he turned and faced Ron with a disappointed frown. "Where did you get it?" Percy asked accusingly. "I know for a fact that mother and father didn't buy you that wand."

"Pandora bought it for me" Ron answered curtly. _No more lying and excuses. If they don't like what I have to say… then they can just deal with it._

"When? Why?" Percy stuttered, surprised at his brother's callous attitude. Then Percy's eyes widened at some realization. "I thought mother had just cleaned your robes spotless… Did you get…? Did you get Mrs. Lovegood to buy you new ones as well?" Percy couldn't believe this. This isn't the Ron he knew, Ron didn't have secrets and he didn't tell lies. Not the Ron that Percy had come to love more than any of his other siblings. This Ron was a… stranger…

"I didn't make her do anything" Ron scowled at being accused of using Pandora. "She took me to Diagon Alley for breakfast, and then she bought me everything she thought I deserved to have."

"Deserved?" Percy's eyes were fully wide now. "Is that what you think as well? That you deserve to be rewarded for saving her…"

"No" Ron replied, taking a calming breath. _Why is he just looking for some reason to start a fight?_ "I told her that I didn't want her to get me anything, but she was adamant about it. But… but a part of me did want to have a wand that was my own. I just wanted one important thing from mum and dad… that wasn't second hand. Like an actual wand…" Percy flinched at his brothers words. Ron felt his bitterness and jealousy slowly creep into his body the more he spoke. He had never told any of his siblings these kinds of things about himself, but he was now tired of being their doormat.

"Ronnie you know…" Percy began softly but Ron cut him off.

"I know that during my entire life, I have been given nothing but hand-me-downs. And I was fine with it, but after mum and dad didn't buy me a wand… after they didn't buy me a wand just so they could buy you that damn owl…" Percy took a step back because of the venom in Ron's voice. "I didn't care why Pandora got me a wand. I didn't care about the consequences either… I just wanted to have one, just like the rest of you did. Just like Ginny no doubt would, while I'd be left with a hand-me-down wand that felt dead in my hands. So why shouldn't I get one? What did I do that explains why mum and dad chose to get you a pet over me getting a wand…?"

Ron was glaring at Percy with pure bitterness, and Percy felt his knees shaking at the sight. How could he have missed this? How did he never even give Ron's situation a second thought? And now his little brother was showing him just how bitter he truly was towards him, and everyone else in their family. Percy opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. What could he even say?

"Nothing to say Perce?" Ron asked mockingly, bitterness still dripping from his voice. When Percy didn't respond, Ron just glared at Percy once more, and then he marched out of the room to head back to the Slytherin common room leaving Percy alone and rooted in his spot. _Used Pandora… What does he know? What do any of them even know? All they do is judge and question my character while they constantly treat me like I shouldn't exist._ Fred's words flashed in his mind because of his current thoughts. 'Mum cried when she learned you weren't a girl' is what his brother had told him, no doubt to hurt him deeply. 'Death-Eater' is what Fred had called him in front of every Gryffindor.

And now Fred had just walked back into Ron's life, acting as if he hadn't done anything wrong. Ron's face tightened in anger and he clenched his trembling hands so hard into fists that his knuckles turned white. _I wish I was born into the Lovegood family!_

Percy had stood there in absolute silence for almost ten minutes after Ron had left. He was stunned by what he had just witnessed. He truly didn't know anything about Ron. Nothing that really mattered anyway. He hadn't even cared or noticed that Ron had lost his chance to get his wand just because Percy was being given Hermes. All Percy had thought about was the fact that he was now a prefect, and that he deserved to get a proper pet owl. How many other times had Ron been on the short end just so someone else could get something?

Percy felt disgusted at his family's financial status now more than ever. He had always been ashamed of it, but right now he was just sickened that Ron had always endured the worst of it. All of Ron's clothes were hand-me-downs from his brothers. Ron had very few possessions that were his own, most of them coming from Mrs. Lovegood. And worst of all, Ron had endured this quietly. All the while this… this hatred seemed to have grown inside him. Percy had never heard anyone speak with such venom and resentment before, and it had jarred him that it was Ron who had done it. Percy decided, before leaving, that he wouldn't say a word about Ron's wand or anything else that Mrs. Lovegood had bought him. He had no right to make things harder for his little brother…

Ron spent the rest of his day with his new friends, and if they noticed his foul mood, they didn't say a word about it for which he was grateful. He didn't need them on his case too. Ron also got Pandora's letter out of his trunk and put it inside his jumper. He wanted to carry her words with him everywhere he went from now on. She and her family had accepted Ron for being in Slytherin, and Luna even wanted to join him. That thought gave him relief and joy because he knew that his real sister might share his mother's views about him from now on. He truly didn't want to lose Ginny just because the Sorting Hat had done him in, but now he at least understood that he needed to be ready for the worst case scenarios. It just hurt less that way.

By dinner time, Ron's mood still hadn't improved much. It became particularly sour once again when he felt his brothers looking in his direction. Ron kept his head down and ate silently, talking in a subdued manner every time his friends asked him something. Ron's foul mood didn't go unnoticed by the staff members either. They all brushed it off however, as students tended to sulk quite often because of their hormones.

But Albus Dumbledore didn't brush it off as hormones because he had spent the day following Ron around the school. There was something that the students didn't know about, that being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the castle had granted Dumbledore certain perks that he didn't even tell his staff about. One of those perks was the ability to move through and hear though the castle's walls. And so he had overheard the entire conversation between Percy and Ron, and he had seen firsthand the bitterness that the younger boy had displayed. It had worried Dumbledore greatly to see this kind of hateful behavior from a boy who would no doubt hold a great deal of power one day. Ronald had once again reminded Dumbledore of a young Tom Riddle, and that was beginning to scare Dumbledore.

After dinner, Ron retired to his dorm immediately and sat on his bed with the curtains closed. He went over a few more handy spells from the journal, particularly the Reducto and Expulso curses. They were probably the most dangerous spells in this journal and Ron really wanted to test them out. He had just to figure out where…

Ron woke up on Sunday feeling much better than he had yesterday. After he freshened up with a shower and put on some of the newer clothes that Pandora had got him, Ron was immediately in a good mood again. He was going to do his best at Hogwarts and he was done answering to other people. He didn't owe anyone any type of explanation as far as he was concerned. Ron greeted his already awake friends enthusiastically before they all headed down to breakfast.

The girls seemed to be cheerful that Ron was acting normal again, whereas the boys were slightly relieved. Theo and Blaise hadn't enjoyed Ron's sulking yesterday and they were even getting annoyed with it by the end of the day. The girls seemed to be more concerned about what could have happened to put Ron in such a foul mood, but they were happy that it had been resolved.

Ron ate breakfast with forced etiquette, much to Theo's approval. They even fell into a pleasant conversation about Daphne's parents and why they were so wealthy. Ron was completely surprised to learn that the source of their wealth was the fact that they had business deals with the wizarding world and the Muggle world. It turned out that Daphne's father had many deals in civil manufacturing, whatever that was, within Muggle England and especially Muggle countries that were overseas. Maybe Daphne's parents weren't the bigots that Ron had imagined they were?

But it was still clear that they believed that Pure-Bloods were the only ones worthy enough to practice magic. Ron's thoughts were disturbed when a barmy owl crashed into his plate, scaring everyone around him. It was Errol, his family's old and loyal owl. It had a letter attached to its leg and Ron's mood fell instantly at the sight. _Now what is she going to say? Probably tear into me for not replying to her…_

Ron took the letter from Errol, and fed the poor owl some of his own hash brown. Errol hooted loudly at him and then flew away quickly. Ron glared at the letter without opening it, noticing from the corner of his vision that Daphne was also staring at it. _I will deal with this later… someplace where people won't read it over my shoulder at least…_ Ron tucked the letter into his jumper, right next to the letter from Pandora. He didn't notice that his brothers had spotted Errol and were now staring at Ron with concern and uneasiness.

Ron put the letter from his mother and father out of his mind and continued on with his day. He couldn't care less right now about what his mother had to say. That line of thinking helped put him into a semi-cheerful mood again. Ron spent the entire day in the common room, with the exception of lunch and dinner, playing chess with his friends. A few older students saw him winning over and over again, and so they challenged him out of curiosity. The oldest of the students was a fifth year who went up against Ron first. The match didn't even last twenty minutes with Ron coming out the victor. Ron then proceeded to be beat a few fourth years and one third year, with very little effort on his part. Clearly chess wasn't a Slytherin game. Sure being sneaky in chess had its perks, but you also had to be bold and daring with your strategies. Something that the other Slytherins didn't seem to understand because they all played way too cautiously, trying to keep their stronger pieces alive at the cost of losing key positions on the board.

Ron opened the letter that Errol had delivered to him at breakfast with a queasy feeling in his stomach. _Do I really want to read this? What if it's worse than the last one? Bloody hell…_

 _Ronald,_

 _Ginny and I (mum) are writing to see how you are adjusting to Hogwarts and within Slytherin. I hope you are studying as hard at school as you did while you were at home. Your father and I received a letter from Professor McGonagall, informing us that you had broken another boy's nose and hurt yourself as well. Although I do not condone such behavior, I was glad to see you upholding the values that your father and I taught you. I hope your friend is alright too._

 _Ginny has been fretting about you since the day you left and she really wants you to write to her. So please Ronnie, send an owl and let us know if you need anything. Please let us know if you are alright._

 _From your loving mother and sister._

 _P.s: Your father also wishes you well, and hopes that next time you use your wand instead of your fist._

Ron stared wide-eyed at the letter, and then re-read it a couple more times. _Nope… still the same. What in the bloody hell happened to them?_ He was honestly confused at how his mother and father had seemed to have done a turnabout on their stance of him being in Slytherin. And why had they done it so suddenly? Was it because he broke Malfoy's nose? Or was it because they felt guilty for being horrible to him?

Whatever the reason was, Ron was thoroughly bewildered and he had no clue on how to respond to the letter. Was he supposed to act as if the last letter didn't exist? Was he supposed to explain to them why he was put into Slytherin by a magically enchanted hat? _No… no I'm done explaining remember._ Ron then sat there on his bed for half-an-hour trying to think of a response.

In the end he decided he would just send Ginny a letter and tell her all about his week. No doubt mum and dad would go through it as well. He didn't really want to talk to them just yet. So he wrote a letter to Ginny, telling her about his new friends and that the teachers were saying that he could be a prodigy. He told her about Harry Potter and that he had become friends with the legendary figure. He even told her about Slytherin house and Professor Snape, a person he described as scary but awesome. With his letter finished, he decided he would turn in for the night and deliver it tomorrow via the Owlery.

The next week went by slowly for Ron for three simple reasons. For one, he was waiting for Ginny's reply that no doubt would be written by his mother. Secondly, his classes were boring him because he already knew everything off by heart in the first place. He did still try his best to earn as many points as possible however, much to the delight of his house-mates. Thirdly, flying classes would be held on Thursday and he was extremely excited to try a better broomstick than the ones that littered his father's shed. He even hoped that he would be chosen for his house team, a thing that he knew was impossible. No first year ever managed to make it into the teams and he knew that even if he did, he would end up going up against his family's beloved house. That wouldn't end well for him.

Ginny's letter arrived in the breakfast mail on Wednesday, and Ron read it in his dorm room during lunch. It was written in his mother's handwriting, but the words were definitely Ginny's. Half the letter questioned him about Harry Potter, a childhood hero of hers, and the rest asked Ron about his friends. The girls in particular, Ron noted, were under a microscope from Ginny and she no doubt was feeling jealous again about being replaced by someone else. Ron laughed at his sister's overbearing nature, mostly in relief, and replied to all of her questions. It was a long letter…

After he finished Ginny's letter, he wrote one for Luna as well. Telling her the same things he had told Ginny, with the exception of asking Luna how her parents were at the end, something he didn't bother asking Ginny. He made sure to address the letter to Luna directly because he knew she would love that. With his letters done and owled before lunch break had ended, Ron was also able to wolf down a couple of chicken drumsticks much to Theo's horror.

Thursday morning started with a blast, as all the first year boys in Slytherin were in a rush to get outside and try their hand at flying. Even Malfoy and his gorillas were keen. Malfoy was boasting to anyone with ears that he had flown all the way into the clouds back at Malfoy Manor. Ron ignored the pompous git and hurried down to the courtyard for their lesson. Slytherin was joined by Gryffindor for the lesson and the first years were met by a woman with short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk, which unsettled Ron a bit.

"First years" her voice boomed, making them all stand upright. "Stand on the right side of your broomsticks now." Ron did as instructed and looked over to the broomstick on his right. _Bloody hell this thing… What is this thing?_ The broomstick looked as if it had been eaten and spat back out by a dragon. It was old, dusty, and chipped at every corner. _If this thing can fly, then I'm the Dark Lord…_

"Now first years, my name is Madam Hooch and I will be your flying instructor. I will teach you the importance of flying with safety, and I will not hesitate to throw you out of this class if you do anything to endanger yourself or others. Am I understood?" Everyone nodded, except Ron who was still staring at the piece of garbage broomstick on his right.

"Excellent, now extend your right hands over your broomsticks and say 'up' with feeling!" Hooch then blew her whistle loudly and the first years started doing what she had said. Harry managed to get it immediately, much to Ron's surprise. Then it was Malfoy who got his broomstick right after, for which he gave a smug smirk. Ron extended his right hand and commanded his broomstick to rise.

It rose… It rose fast as lightning and smacked him right in his face with its front end. Ron winced in pain while putting a hand over his face, and he felt blood run down his bottom lip. _BLOODY HELL! THIS DAMN BROOM!_ Ron heard sniggering from his side and looked up to see Theo and Blaise trying to stifle their laughing. Even Tracey, Daphne, and Millicent were doing their best not to break into roaring laughter. Ron frowned and told his friends to sod off, which broke their resolve to not laugh at him. Ron's face and ears turned red from embarrassment, but he also found the whole thing a little funny.

Harry and Hermione however, were looking at him with genuine concern and Ron simply smiled at them to reassure them that he was fine. Ron then tried again and this time he spoke a little less loudly, and the broom shot up into his hand. _Bloody menace…_ The class then proceeded with everyone managing to summon their brooms, even Hermione who for some reason took the longest. "Well done, and now I want you all to mount your brooms, DO NOT KICK OFF." Hooch then blew her whistle again and the first years did as they were told.

Ron gripped his wobbling broom tightly with both hands as he mounted it. Then the shouting started, making Ron look up only to see Neville Longbottom floating up into the air. "Mr. Longbottom, come down right NOW!" Madam Hooch boomed. But Neville didn't come down, he shot up as fast as anything Ron had seen. The class broke into awe at Neville's speed, the chubby boy sure knew how to go fast. Too fast, Ron thought. It was clear to everyone in seconds that Neville no longer had any control over his broom, as the boy was screaming for help as he went spiraling straight towards a wall.

And then CRASH! Neville slammed into a wall and came crumpling down, hitting a couple of ledges along the way. Madam Hooch bolted towards his body, followed closely by the first years. The Gryffindors were worried for their house-mate, while the Slytherins wanted to see if the boy was dead out of some morbid curiosity. Ron felt a little of both. When they got to him and Madam Hooch, they realized that Neville was indeed alive, but his left wrist was broken and his head was bleeding. Madam Hooch picked the boy up, as if weighed nothing, and then she turned to the other first years. "Stay put right here, and if any of you try to fly" she paused and glared at everyone. "I will have you expelled from Hogwarts before you can even say Quidditch". She then marched off into the castle, holding Neville as if he was a baby.

Ron looked to his friends, and saw that Theo and Blaise were trying not to laugh. The girls didn't look like they cared at all. _Slytherins… Cold-blooded as snakes the lot of them…_ "Well look at this" came a pompous voice from the back of the first years. "Looks like Longbottom dropped his Remembrall" Malfoy sniggered. Ron just rolled his eyes. _Why is he always such a tosser?_

"Give it back" Harry gritted out, extending his hand to Malfoy. Malfoy looked at Harry's hand and broke out in a laugh. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy followed suit, making Harry turn red from anger.

"This should be fun" Blaise whispered to Ron. Ron didn't think so. If a fight did break out between Harry and Malfoy, Ron knew who he would hex.

"I don't think I will, Potter" Malfoy spat out, a sneer etched on his face. "Maybe you should try and take it from me?" With that Malfoy mounted his broom and floated up into the air. Harry looked at Malfoy with determination and then began mounting his broom only to have Hermione grab his arm.

"No Harry you can't, Madam Hooch said that you could be expelled" she said in a bossy tone. Harry shrugged her off him, rather harshly Ron thought, and then shot up after Malfoy. "What an idiot…" Hermione muttered. Ron walked up beside her.

"I couldn't agree more" Ron whispered to her, making her jump a little because she didn't even notice him. She then smiled at him for agreeing with her. "It's just a Remembrall, but Harry wants to stick up for his friend. There's nothing wrong with that." Hermione's smile turned into a frown.

"But what if he gets expelled over this? His entire life would be ruined" Hermione argued.

"That's Harry Potter, in case you hadn't noticed" Ron chuckled. "He is already set for life after destroying you-know-who." Hermione was about to open her mouth to argue some more, but the deafening cheers from the Gryffindors made them both jump in fright. _What happened? Did Malfoy crash and die horribly?! Please Merlin..._ They both looked up to see Harry floating down, with the Remembrall in his hand. He was showing it off with a massive grin on his face. The Gryffindors cheered even louder and Ron wanted to smack himself for missing how Harry had retrieved it. Instead he turned to a Hermione who was clearly trying to hide a smile for Harry. "See, it all worked…" Ron trailed off as he saw Professor McGonagall rushing out towards the first years. _Goodbye Harry, it was nice knowing you mate…_

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall's voice blasted over the first years, who all shut up immediately. Harry went pale at the sight of the professor. "Come with me at once." With that she turned around and marched back towards the castle. Harry skulked off after her.

"You were saying…" Hermione whispered smugly to Ron. Ron looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"I think that he will get a detention and lose your house a few points at most" Ron provided, feeling bad for Harry getting into trouble because of Malfoy.

"Some points? We are already losing to Slytherin, thanks to you" she said in an annoyed manner. When Ron grinned proudly at her, she scowled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Not to mention that Ravenclaw is now ahead of us as well. We need all the points we can get, and all Harry does is lose us points."

"That's not true." Ron didn't know why he was defending Harry, but he just felt that he had to.

"How would you know? Professor Snape has already docked over twenty points from Harry and Neville both! That's forty points in total! We are never going to win the House Cup at this rate…" Hermione was flushed with righteous anger by the end of her rant. Ron didn't know what to say so he just spoke the first thing that popped into his head.

"The future is in your hands" Ron smiled, mostly at his own inner joke. Hermione looked at him with a surprised look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that if you want to win, maybe you should help Harry and Neville with their studies. Or do even more to earn as many points as you can." Ron shrugged at the end. Hermione narrowed her eyes a little and looked him right in the eyes.

"Why are you helping me? At the library you said something really nice to me, and right after that I got you in trouble with your brother Percy. And now you're trying to help me again, why?"

"I don't know. You looked a little upset so I thought I'd cheer you up. I just don't like people being sad" Ron said simply. Hermione blushed and muttered her thanks. "Hey do you want to study in the library later, I got loads of homework on Tuesday from Herbology and I hate that subject. Do you have any homework?" Hermione just stared at Ron for a few seconds.

"I… I have… some D.A.D.A homework" Hermione stuttered. "Are you sure… that you want to study with me?" She looked a little… scared. _Why is she…?_ Then Ron remembered why. Her house was still ignoring her and she probably didn't have any friends as a result. Ron felt a little angry towards Harry for not helping her out, but he swallowed his anger quickly. Harry didn't owe her anything, so Ron knew that he couldn't really blame the boy-who-lived.

"Yeah I'm sure" Ron said, plastering his best smile onto his face. "That's why I suggested it!" _Don't overdo it you dolt… ease up on the grin for Merlin's sake…_ Ron schooled his features a little and noticed that Hermione looked ecstatic.

"Ok! We can meet up in the same spot as before right after classes end for the day." Her smile was infectious and Ron found himself smiling genuinely too.

"Yeah that sounds great, see you after classes then." With that he turned around and walked to the Slytherins again, only for Daphne to stop him halfway and glare at him. "What?" Ron asked her.

"Why were you talking with Granger?" She asked quickly.

"Because I wanted to…" Ron answered, clearly confused at Daphne's irritation with him.

"She is a Mud… Muggle-born" Daphne whispered to Ron. Ron clenched his jaw, something that Daphne noticed immediately. "Calm down… I'm not saying anything bad about her. It's just a fact, a fact that Malfoy can easily exploit." _She was going to say Mud-Blood wasn't she… If she had, I swear to Merlin…_

"Malfoy has been trying to turn the house against me for the last two weeks. And it isn't working. Do you know why I do my best to earn so many points for Slytherin? Why I constantly answer every questions that the teachers ask me?"

"You like to show off" Daphne smirked.

"I do, a little. But it's also because I want to be a valuable piece on the board." Daphne's eyes widened a little at hearing that. "If I keep showing the older Slytherins that I'm more valuable than Malfoy, which isn't too hard to do by the way, they won't turn on me. They want the House Cup too badly." Ron finished with his own smirk. Daphne chuckled at his smirk.

"That's very… Slytherin of you Ron" she said, almost sounding amazed. "Fine, you can hang out with Granger as much as you like, just don't get spotted." Ron nodded slowly and began to walk towards his other friends alongside Daphne. Just before they got close to them, Ron whispered to Daphne.

"Don't ever use any blood related slurs near me again Daphne… You won't like what I do to you if that does happen…" Daphne went a bit stiff, but she didn't say anything. _Good, that ought to scare her into not sprouting that filth near me again. Though I shouldn't push too hard, I don't want to lose the protection they all provide._

The rest of the day went by quickly and after classes ended, Ron joined Hermione in the library to study together. He didn't know why he was so adamant about making Hermione not feel so alone in Hogwarts but if he had to guess, he would say that the vision of Luna being bullied had left a deeper mark on him than he previously thought. He did enjoy studying with Hermione though, as the girl was eager to answer any questions he had on Mandrake Roots. He in turn helped her with her homework on curing werewolf bites, something that 'Professor' Quirrell hadn't even explained in his class.

The two of them finished their respective homeworks just in time for dinner. Ron insisted that they go to the Great Hall together as it was just silly to go separately, much to Hermione's surprise. She was under the impression that he, being a Slytherin, wouldn't want to be seen with 'bookworm Granger', a crude nickname that was given to her by none other than Malfoy and Pansy. But Ron didn't give a hoot about what Malfoy thought of him, because Ron already hated Malfoy with a passion.

They walked to the Great Hall together, but entered it separately. Hermione had insisted that they would both get in trouble with their own houses if they were seen walking in together, to which Ron simply smiled and accepted her decision. Dinner didn't go over well, as Daphne decided it was a good time to interrogate Ron about his day with Hermione. After he answered all of her questions, she huffed in anger at him.

She complained that she needed help with her D.A.D.A homework as well, and that Ron had promised to always help her first. Theo had then made the error of sniggering at her spoilt behavior, and she had pinched his arm so hard that the skin was left bruised. Blaise and Ron, witnessing Theo's fate, decided to eat quickly and silently. It was at the end of dinner, when everyone was heading back to their common rooms, that Ron noticed something wasn't right.

Malfoy was marching over to the Gryffindor students and directly towards Harry. Malfoy's pompous smirk let Ron know that a fight might be brewing, so he excused himself from Theo and Blaise and slipped into the crowd. He slowly made his way over to Malfoy and Harry, who were now speaking angrily at one another. Ron managed to overhear Malfoy challenging Harry to a Wizard's Duel. "Midnight, Potter" Malfoy smirked. "Bring your second, Longbottom, and don't be late to the Trophy Room. It's time I taught you what a real wizard is capable of." Ron rolled his eyes at Malfoy's own sense of self-importance. _Who raised this idiot?_

"We'll be there" Harry challenged back, looking fierce and determined. Neville however was almost shaking as if he had been caught out in winter without any clothes. _How he ended up in Gryffindor is beyond me… That hat is completely barmy!_ Malfoy and his gorillas laughed at Harry and Neville before they pushed past Ron and the other students around him.

"Harry you can't" came a familiar voice belonging to a certain bushy haired witch. "You will get caught and lose even more points for Gryffindor. Not to mention that you could be expelled this time around." Harry rolled his eyes at the sound of Hermione nagging him.

"I agree… with Herm… Hermione, Harry" piped up Neville. They still hadn't seen Ron standing amongst the other students. _Which is odd because my red hair is pretty much a sign…_

"He challenged me Neville, I'll go alone if you don't want to come" Harry said softly, smiling reassuringly at Neville. At the Ron decided to intervene.

"Not a wise idea mate" Ron said casually as he walked over to the three Gryffindors. Harry and Hermione smiled at Ron, whereas Neville took on a guarded look again. "Malfoy comes from a family that believes in the Dark Arts… He could cause you serious harm." Hermione nodded at Ron, clearly happy that he was agreeing with her. Harry frowned a little, but then shook his head.

"I'm sick of Malfoy pushing me around. It's time I stood up to him" Harry said clearly, and then he walked past Ron and was followed closely by Neville. This left Hermione and Ron alone. Hermione sighed loudly and shook her head in Harry's direction.

"He is so stupid…" she muttered, annoyed with Harry's rule-breaking.

"Just this once I might even agree with you" Ron whispered to her. "He is going to get hurt…"

"And he is going to lose us so many house…" she trailed off when Ron stared at her in disbelief. _Really, house-points… Malfoy will probably use some lethal spell against Harry and she is worried about the House Cup?_ "I'm gonna try and stop him back at the common room" she said quickly. Ron nodded at her and left for his own common room. Hermione really needed to loosen up, Ron decided, or she was never going to make any friends.

Ron spent the rest of the night helping Daphne and the others with their D.A.D.A homework, while he himself finished it up at the same time. As midnight got closer, Ron grew more and more worried about Harry. He liked the raven-haired boy, who was rather polite and didn't like throwing his fame around. Ron knew for certain that if he was that famous, he would strut around as if he was a king. Ron sat alone in the common room with just twenty minutes to midnight, thinking about whether or not he should go and witness this duel. But what if they got caught, or worse what if someone got hurt. Ron didn't want Snape to catch him getting into trouble or breaking any rules. He wanted the Potion Master to like him.

That was when he heard the common room door begin to open, making him jump and hide behind one of the couches. _MERLIN PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE SNAPE!_ "I can't believe Potter fell for it" came a pompous voice that Ron could recognize anywhere. "That filthy squib Filch will catch them breaking the rules tonight. Hopefully it's enough to send Potter and that braindead buffoon, Longbottom, back to where they came from." Ron then heard Crabbe and Goyle sniggering. _It's a trap… Harry is going to walk straight into Filch. I have to…_ Ron's thoughts trailed off as he heard Malfoy and his goons march down towards the boys' dormitories.

Then Ron took a deep breath and rethought his plan. Should he sneak up and warn Harry? What if he got caught himself and was sent packing? Surely they wouldn't expel him for breaking the rules just once? But he knew that Filch really hated the students, and would say anything to get even one of them sent back home. Ron looked at the clock again and saw that it was now quarter-to-midnight. _Damn, I don't have time for a debate with myself._ With that Ron bolted out of the common room, heading full tilt towards the Trophy Room.

The castle was dark and quiet. Eerily quiet, and it made Ron's stomach do flips from the uneasy atmosphere. The portraits were asleep, and those that weren't told him to 'TURN THAT LIGHT OFF'. Ron was using the Lumos charm of course, as he couldn't see in the pitch black darkness that the castle was currently filled with. That made his job of getting to Harry very hard, as he constantly hit his shoulders on things and tripped over his own feet. He finally burst through the door of the Trophy Room and stumbled into the room, scaring the daylights out of Harry, Neville, and Hermione. "Ron? What are you doing here?" Harry questioned him, but Ron was still trying to catch his breath. _Why does this damn castle have so many stair cases…? Who designed this place?!_ "Ron…?" Harry was clearly worried as he put a hand on Ron's back, trying to ease Ron's breathing.

"It's a trap Harry" Ron gasped out. "Malfoy set you up and told Filch where you would be…" Harry looked at him in shock and then turned to a scowling Hermione, and a frightened Neville. "Harry we need to leave…" Ron shut up immediately as he heard footsteps coming from outside. _FILCH!_ Everyone in the Trophy Room was now panicking, Ron however didn't panic half as much as the rest. After all, he'd been in far worse situations than this… Ron looked around the Trophy Room and saw another door that would lead them out of this blasted place.

"There, all of you let's go now" Ron whispered and made his way towards the second door. Ron opened it quietly and stepped out, followed by the three Gryffindors. "Ok, run" Ron whispered before breaking into a run away from the Trophy Room and Filch. He was followed by the three Gryffindors and Ron didn't even think about where he was leading them. He just knew that he had to get the hell out of there. The corridor led them into a dead end, with a locked door blocking their passage. "Bloody hell…" Ron muttered. He turned around to face the three Gryffindors, and to his horror he a saw light emanating from the far end of the corridor. _Bloody Filch…_ The Gryffindors turned around to see what Ron was staring at, and upon seeing the light at the end of the corridor, they all gasped.

"Quick!" Hermione gritted out. "Move over." With that she lightly pushed Ron out of her way as she pointed her wand at the door. "Alohomora" she said in a clear whisper, and Ron heard a lock opening from the other side of the door. Hermione quickly pushed the door open and the three boys followed her in, shutting the door behind them as quietly as they could.

"That was bloody brilliant Hermione" Ron said in a relieved laugh, to which Harry nodded eagerly. Hermione blushed and a small smile broke out on her face. "I didn't even think of the unlocking charm" Ron said, now fully beaming at Hermione for her quick thinking. That made her blush even more.

"Guys…" came Neville's shaking voice. The other three looked over to the chubby boy, and then to where he was looking. Ron's blood froze at the sight before him. A giant three-headed dog was slowly rising from the corner of the room and Ron could see that it would tower over them all at his full height. _Bloody hell... This damn school!_

"Everyone out" Harry yelled as he flung open the door they had all just come through. They all jumped through the door just in time for the beast to slam against it, shutting the door with its face. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"A… a monster…" Neville muttered as he helped Hermione up. Ron got up and brushed his robes with his hands. _Filch was a fairy compared to that… should've just let him catch us…_

Hermione was glaring at Harry, and then she marched up to him and pointed her finger at his chest. "This is your fault! If you had only listened, then we wouldn't be in this mess!" she all but screamed at him. "We could have died Harry Potter… or worse, we could have been expelled tonight!" _Being expelled is worse than being a monster's chew toy in her books… She needs to sort out her priorities…_ Harry looked at his feet sheepishly.

"I didn't know that there would be…" Harry trailed off and pointed his finger at the door. "Why does the school even have that thing inside it?" _A good question mate! Clearly Dumbledore is a loon…_

"Did you not notice?" Hermione responded in a haughty voice. "It was standing on a trap door… It's clearly guarding something. Whatever it is, I don't care. I want to go back to the Gryffindor common room. NOW!" she ordered. She was clearly upset about the whole mess, and she wasn't alone because Ron also wanted to just go back to his dorm and sleep. Almost getting eaten alive did that to a person.

"I agree with Hermione, Harry" Neville piped in. His voice was still shaky, but he sounded braver than he ever had to Ron. Harry nodded at Neville and Hermione, then he looked over to Ron and gave him a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry for dragging you all into this…" Harry said, sounding genuinely sorry. "I should've listened to you." Hermione was about to say something that Ron knew she would ruin the apology, so he cut her off quickly.

"It's alright mate" Ron said in a casual tone, which didn't really sound casual because he was still getting over seeing that monster on the other side of the door. "I chose to come here remember, so my being here isn't your fault." Harry and Hermione both smiled at Ron, even Neville managed a faint smile at him.

"Thanks again for that" Harry said, he then extended his hand to Ron. Ron took it and gave it a strong shake. "You really saved our hides by coming in and warning us."

"What are friends for?" Ron said, feeling overwhelmed that Harry Potter was thanking him for something. _If Gin-Gin could see this… she would never let me wash my hand again!_ Harry was taken aback by Ron's words, but then he beamed at the red-haired boy.

"I guess you're right" Harry said, grinning.

"Oh, I was talking about Hermione" Ron joked, trying to lower the sappiness of the moment a bit. He wasn't very good with wearing his happier emotions on his sleeves. Hermione and Neville began laughing at Harry's mock-offended face. Even Ron chuckled at the sight. "C'mon let's get out of here and head to bed. I don't want to get into any more trouble tonight" Ron finished, earning a strong nod from everyone else. Ron separated from his Gryffindor friends once they reached the moving stair cases. They headed up to their common room, while Ron made his way down to the dungeons to get to his. Once he was safely in his bed, he let out a long sigh. _I might actually kill Malfoy tomorrow…_

Ron fell into a steady routine over the next two weeks. He was doing amazingly in his classes, due to Percy's notes. Snape had even congratulated him, rather coldly, about his overall performance in front of every Slytherin in the common room one night, earning him multiple pats on the back from the older students. Malfoy was still being a git to everyone, especially to Ron after witnessing Snape's actions. Ron and his friends studied together every day except for Fridays, as Fridays became the day that he joined Hermione in the library to compare notes and study with someone more on his level.

He was even beginning to get used to her over-adherence to the rules and her hatred towards rule-breakers. He found it a little sad that Harry and Neville still didn't treat her quite like a friend, especially after the crazy adventure they had all been on. So Ron decided that he would befriend Hermione himself. She was extremely intelligent, even more than him, and she was hardworking so Ron knew that she would never slack off like his Slytherin friends did. When he had told her that he considered her his friend, she had given him a strong hug. Though Ron was blushing and completely flustered by her actions, he still figured out that he may be her first friend.

By the time September came to an end, Ron had restarted his exercises. He would wake up at seven in the morning, put on his running clothes and then go for a run around the lake. The place was perfect in Ron's opinion, as it was open and secluded. People barely went to the lake during the day and it was utterly deserted during the early hours of the morning. So Ron had begun practicing some of the more dangerous curses from the spell journal after his morning runs.

The first curse he had tried was Reducto, which had blown a massive chunk out of a thick tree. The second curse that he wanted to try was Expulso, with which he had blasted a boulder to smithereens and the resulting explosion had sent Ron tumbling on his arse. Ron had then broken into a mad laugh after trying those two curses, feeling amazed at the fact that Charlie had taught him something so damn dangerous without so much as a second thought. A few days after that he decided to try the one curse that Charlie had bothered to put a warning label on.

The curse was called the Blasting Curse and in the spell journal, Charlie had written clearly that Ron should only ever use this spell as a last resort as it was 'EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND CAN BLOW YOU TO PIECES'. That warning had just enticed Ron even more, so he had walked deeper into the woods surrounding the lake after his morning run.

When he was safely away from sight, he pointed his wand towards a tree that was around thirty feet away from him. After taking in a deep breath he had shouted the incantation, Confringo. His wand had become hot in his hand and then a fiery orange light shot out of his wand, and the tree that he had aimed at exploded in a manner that shook and terrified Ron. This curse could kill… Ron looked at his wand, and noticed that it was no longer hot and it was again emanating a warmth to comfort him. Ron decided that Charlie was right and that he would never throw this curse out, except when it was absolutely necessary.

October started shortly after, and Ron continued his steady schedule. He was becoming closer to his Slytherin friends and Tracey had even invited him over for Easter at the end of March. He had told her that he would check with his parents and if they allowed it, then he would join her for Easter break much to her excitement. Ron also continued sending letters to Ginny and Luna every Friday, detailing what he had learned over the week or anything cool that may have happened. He still hadn't gotten around to talking to his mother and father, and he knew that pretty soon that was going to have to end.

Percy and George knew about Ron's current relationship problems with their parents, but they didn't say a word about it to him. Ron ran into them a few times a week and the conversation was always pleasant. Both Percy and Ron pretended that Ron's angry outburst had never happened, and Ron was grateful that Percy hadn't mentioned his wand to anyone. Fred was still distant with Ron, but only because of his own guilt.

Ron had to admit that he missed Fred, and the fact that Fred was the person that Ron had planned to save, no matter what, from his imminent death during the new war greatly saddened Ron. Ron just wanted Fred to man up and apologize already, because this time Ron would forgive him and try to move on. Thinking of Fred also made Ron worry about another major issue, one that was starting to scare him. He hadn't had a vision for a very long time. He was beginning to wonder if the hat trying to look into his head had caused his visions to cease, and if that was the case then Ron would blast that damn hat into pieces. So Ron spent any spare time he had during October trying to figure out what may have happened to his powers. The library was useless as the books on seers were vague and he wasn't even a seer, seer powers were just the closest thing to his own powers as far as he knew. All of his worries about his powers ended at the end of October, as it was on the day of Halloween that Ron finally got another vision.

It was Friday morning and Charms Class had just ended for Ron. They had practiced the levitation charm and Ron had dazzled Professor Flitwick by getting it done in his very first attempt. And then Hermione had done the same, making the short professor jump in joy. Ron couldn't help but notice his classmates' jealousy at their success and that made him feel quite smug, though he didn't show it. The professors had already come to terms with Ron's advanced skills with a wand and knowledge on the various subjects being taught, and although they had many questions as to why and how he was able to do these things, they never questioned him outright.

For that Ron was glad, but it did irk him that the professors were now giving him less points for displaying his talents. They had just gotten used to it. So it came as no surprise to Ron when Professor Flitwick awarded Hermione five more points for doing the same thing that Ron had just done. When he heard his friends scoff at his behalf, Ron simply smiled at them and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Hermione deserved those points because she actually found the spell on her own and practiced it on her own. She didn't have two genius big brothers who had sat her down and walked her through the lessons beforehand. Hermione was naturally brilliant, whereas Ron was brilliant because his brothers Percy and Charlie were. While Ron pondered on Hermione's brilliance, he missed the fact that many of her fellow Gryffindors were talking about her in a jealous manner right behind her back.

Ron and his friends walked together, as they headed to Transfiguration alongside the Gryffindors. Tracey and Millicent were having a rather loud conversation about Millicent's cat, so Ron and his other three friends were quietly listening in. Ron's attention was then diverted when he heard Seamus Finnigan whining rather loudly about his 'explosive' failure in Charms Class. "I burned off my eyebrows again" the Gryffindor complained in his thick Irish accent. "I swear it's me wand that isn't proper… It always blows things up!"

"Maybe you should try and practice more" Hermione blurted out from behind the Irish boy. "One of these days you are going to hurt someone… or yourself." Her voice was a little bossy, but Ron had come to realize that she only spoke like that if she was nervous… or concerned. Her heart was always in the right place… her voice and body language however, were not. Ron didn't particularly mind that quirk of hers anymore, it had irked him greatly at first though. Ron kept his head forward and kept moving, but his attention was now completely on the conversation happening behind him.

"Sod off, Granger" Seamus spat out, earning a gasp from Hermione and making Ron turn around. "Maybe you should practice a spell that makes you less of a know-it-all… maybe then you could finally make a friend." Everyone went quiet at that, and Ron almost stepped in to stand up for Hermione… but he was too late. The Slytherins openly laughed at Hermione while many of the Gryffindors, especially the female ones, sniggered and tried not to laugh at her. _These tossers…_

Ron was at least glad to see that Neville and Harry didn't look very amused, and were both frowning at the Irish boy. Before Ron could utter a word, Hermione was already moving past him quickly. She was clutching her books to her chest as if they were her lifeline, perhaps because in a way they were… Ron also noticed that she already had big tears welling up in her eyes, and that made Ron want to comfort her. So he reached out to grab her by the elbow but she jerked her body away from him, and in the process her elbow struck Ron's hand.

"Don't touch me…" she cried as she kept her momentum moving forward. Ron didn't hear her though because he felt extremely light-headed and weightless all of a sudden. _I know this feeling…_ And then he wasn't in the school corridor anymore, instead he was in a black-and-white vision.

 _BLOODY HELL! A vision… I still have my powers!_ Ron almost jumped in joy, but he heard a heavy thud from behind him that made him jump in surprise instead. He turned around slowly and almost passed out at the terrifying sight he witnessed. In front of him stood a massive, at least over ten feet tall, Mountain-Troll, who was wielding a cudgel that was bigger than Ron by at least a foot. He was the ugliest, most intimidating thing Ron had ever witnessed, and upon seeing it fully, Ron leaped backwards and fell hard on his arse. "GET BACK! GET AWAY!" he yelled, reaching for his wand while he crawled backwards as quickly as he could. The troll didn't even hear him, as he kept gazing stupidly around his surroundings. _It's a vision… They can't see me or hurt me… Thank Merlin._

Ron stopped and took a calming breath and slowly stood up on his shaky legs, just because it was a vision didn't mean that it wasn't a terrifying thing to see. _Where am I?_ Ron quickly looked behind him and then around the room. It seemed to be a bathroom, but not one he recognized. There were no urinals but there were toilet stands along the wall behind him. _Is this… is this a girl's bathroom?_ Ron gulped loudly and blushed a little. Then one of the toilet stands opened and a bushy haired girl, who was in full color, walked out rubbing her red, puffy eyes. _Hermione… THE TROLL!_

Ron jerked his body around quickly and saw the troll gazing at Hermione, with a really stupid and confused look etched on its face. Ron turned back around to see Hermione and she was standing there frozen, her red eyes wide-open as stared at the troll. "HERMIONE RUN!" Ron yelled, he couldn't help himself. He knew that they couldn't see him or hear him but this was his friend that was standing right in front of a damn Mountain Troll…

Hermione screamed in fear and ran back inside the toilet stand she had just come out of. The troll roared so loudly that Ron had to cover his ears, and then the troll swung his massive cudgel at the toilet stands. It went right through Ron, but the stands weren't so lucky. The cudgel didn't even slow down as it shattered the upper half of the wooden walls of the toilet stands to pieces. Ron stood frozen at the sight of the completely annihilated stands, Hermione was dead for certain. Ron's legs gave out, and he fell hard on his knees and then keeled over. _She's bloody dead… it killed her!_

It felt as if a million thoughts were all trying to go through his head in that one moment. Why was there a troll in the girl's bathroom?! Why was Hermione there?! Who would find her dead body? Would anyone even care? It all became so overwhelming that his body began shaking, and he couldn't seem to control his breathing. _This is just like with Pandora… I feel like I'm dying…_

But then he heard a scuttling sound, and the sound of wood knocking against more wood and wood hitting the tiled floors. Ron jerked his head up towards the sound while still on his knees, and to his massive relief, Hermione was alive and crawling out from under the stands. Her robes were covered in dust and wood fragments, and there was a small gash on her forehead that was letting out a trickle of blood. Ron heard slow thundering footsteps from behind him, and he knew instantly that the troll was trying to go for Hermione.

Filled with panic and fear, Ron sprung up and ran to help Hermione up off of the floor, only to pass right through the girl. _Oh for Merlin's sake!_ "GET UP AND RUN!" Ron settled for shouting instead. Hermione noticed the troll waddling towards her, which made her scream again as she quickly stood up to run for more cover. "USE YOUR WAND HERMIONE!" Ron screamed out, feeling a tight knot inside his stomach. _Why isn't she defending herself?! She is gonna die at this rate!_ Hermione ducked under a sink, only for the troll to take another swing at her and completely shatter the sinks. She looked unharmed as she crawled, whimpering and crying, under the broken sinks and towards the corner of the bathroom. The corner furthest from the exit…

Ron could only watch in horror as the massive troll slowly waddled towards the helpless girl while raising its huge cudgel to take another swing at her small body. _This is it… She is going to die… in such a horrid way…_ Ron looked away towards the exit, he didn't want to or need to see what was about to happen to his friend. But when he looked at the direction of the exit, he was taken aback by both shock and hope. There stood Harry and Neville, their wands at the ready, and both boys had apprehensive looks etched on their faces. Neville looked far more terrified than Harry, but he wasn't running away.

"I'll distract it, you go get Hermione" Harry said to Neville. But before the chubby boy could even answer, Harry picked up a broken tap from the floor and flung it at the troll. "Leave her alone!" Harry yelled. The tap hit the troll in the back of its head, and that made the troll shake its head in a droopy manner while it rubbed its head with its cudgel free hand. The troll slowly turned around to face Harry, its angry eyes boring into the boy, then it let out a deafening roar and moved towards Harry. Harry pointed his wand at the troll but then had to jump out of the way instead to avoid getting crushed by the troll's cudgel. During this, Neville had quickly scampered to Hermione, who was shriveled in the corner and had her eyes covered while crying loudly, and grabbed her shoulders with his both his hands.

"Hermione c'mon…" Neville pleaded in a shaking voice. "HERMIONE!" he yelled and shook her hard. This seemed to wake her up from her trance and she looked to Neville with eyes wide open in fear. "C'mon" Neville yelled as he dragged her up and began to move with her, hand-in-hand, towards the exit. Harry was running back and forth while dodging the cudgel that would no doubt shatter him into a million pieces if it made contact. Ron stood frozen while witnessing this insane scene unfold around him, its intensity overwhelming him. _They have to make it out… They can't die in here. WHERE ARE THE PROFESSORS?! WHERE IS HEADMASTER DUMBLEDORE?!_ Ron was looking at Harry running circles around the troll, all the while dodging the cudgel, and Ron dearly hoped that all three would make it out of this bathroom safely. But that wasn't to be…

The troll noticed Neville and Hermione trying to dash past its leg, making the monster lose interest in Harry completely. Ron watched in horror as the troll swung its cudgel downwards diagonally with full force, making its entire body turn at lightning speed as a result. Hermione was still at the troll's leg so the cudgel went right over her head but Neville, who was ahead of her, wasn't so lucky… The cudgel hit the frightened boy's back with a sickening crunch that made Ron gag, and Neville's body was sent crashing down into the floor. His body was all but shattered due its contact with the cudgel, and it slid across the bathroom tiles, leaving a wet, black-and-white trail behind.

Ron stared wide-eyed at what was left of Neville, Ron's body shaking like a leaf in the wind from sheer terror. But the troll falling over, due to losing its balance, immediately diverted Ron's attention. The troll fell right on top of Hermione, who had frozen right by its leg after witnessing Neville's fate, and Ron heard her scream for only a second before another sickening crunch and a loud thud echoed throughout the bathroom. Ron just stood there, trying to scream but far too scared to even open his mouth. _They… it… it killed them…_

Ron felt sick and lightheaded, which made him fall down to his knees and he retched out his breakfast. His eyes burned from vomiting so hard, and he could feel the burn left behind by the vomit on the insides of his nose and throat. _Someone help… them. Where are the professors…?_ Ron let out a choked sob and tried to stand back up. His knees wobbled hard, and he completely ignored the troll which was now standing upright right in front of him. Someone else was yelling and screaming, but Ron didn't care.

He couldn't focus on a damn thing and his head was pounding. Then there was another loud roar and a horrifying scream that made Ron start shaking again. Ron looked up to see the Mountain Troll holding Harry in its free hand. The boy struggled and screamed at the top of his lungs, but the troll just stared blankly at Harry. Ron could hear a crunching noise as the troll tightened its grip, and when Harry started flailing in pain, Ron found himself crying and unable to look away. _Please don't… not him too…_

The troll then brought Harry's flailing body up to his mouth and bit the boy's head. Harry's head was crushed between the troll's massive teeth and the sound was so revolting that Ron would never be able to describe it or forget it. Ron just stood there, dazed and sobbing, as he heard the screaming stop and the sound of the troll's loud chewing echo throughout the destroyed bathroom. Even though Ron's eyes were open, it felt like he couldn't see a thing… everything was just a blur and covered by mist… He kept crying in his spot as the troll slowly waddled towards the exit, Harry's broken and headless body limp in its grip.

It felt like time had stopped moving, and that he would be stuck in that spot for eternity, crying from the horror of what he had just witnessed. He begged and pleaded with any divine power out there to help him, to tear him out of this vision. When that didn't work, Ron shut his eyes tight and clutched his head with his hands while another broken sob cracked out of his throat. He then opened his eyes quickly but the scene didn't change. He was still in that destroyed bathroom. The whole room was colorless except for the broken and mangled body of the bushy haired girl that he considered his friend, and the large pool of blood that encircled her. _Herm… Hermione… Harry… Neville…_

Ron hugged himself as tightly as he could in order to stop himself from shaking. It didn't work. He gazed towards at the mutilated body of Neville Longbottom. It was unrecognizable… His limbs were twisted in an unnatural and disgusting way, some bones were visible as they protruded out of his skin, and his face was fixed in surprise. He had died so fast that his facial expression hadn't even changed… The thought and sight made Ron feel so lightheaded that he fell on his arse, still staring at the horrible scene in front of him. His thoughts were utterly hysteric and he himself was unable to decipher them. His lightheadedness got worse and worse, and he started to feel like his body was so light that it would simply float away if there was a strong wind. He knew that the vision was ending, but it didn't make him feel any better… They were going to die so horribly and he hadn't even found out the date… All he knew was that it would happen soon… very soon if Hermione's appearance was any indication. _What do…? What do I do?_ And just like that, he was standing in the school corridor again with everything back in color.

Ron stared blankly as Hermione rushed away from him, sniffling loudly and with her head down. He didn't try to stop her, he couldn't even move… All he could do was watch…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yeesh... I got carried away with the violence there... But c'mon! IT'S A DAMN TWELVE FOOT GIANT TROLL! Things are going to pick up now that we have gotten most of the angst out of the way, so stay tuned!**

 **Also if you like the story then spread the word... Or don't! I'm writing this because I just want to share a story with anyone who will listen... or read in this case... =D**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Storm

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 9 is here and I hope you are keen! Sorry for the delay, usually I post daily but this chapter was a difficult one to write because of... well no spoilers!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 9 – The Storm**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

"Ron? Oi, Ron are you all right?" came a girl's voice, Ron didn't bother trying to place it. He just stared at Hermione's fleeing form, right up until she bolted around a corner and disappeared from sight. "Ron?" came the voice again and Ron felt a light hand on his arm. Ron looked at the hand and followed it to Tracey, who was looking worried at Ron's odd behavior. "Ron, why won't you answer?" Even Daphne and Millicent were getting a little worried, as they too looked over to Ron to see what was wrong.

"I… I'm fi… fine" Ron managed to stutter, but he couldn't give a reassuring smile. His face wouldn't move to make one.

"Are you sure?" Millicent asked. "You look really pale, paler than usual anyway. We need to get to Transfiguration Ron…" Ron gave her a quick nod and started walking to his next class. _I don't need these questions… I don't want to think about this…_ He had honestly believed that Pandora's death would be the most horrible thing that he would ever have to witness. He was dead wrong… This vision was more horrifying than Pandora's vision by a long mile, and the fact that it was going to happen soon made Ron's hands start shaking.

What was he supposed to do with this knowledge? Could he even alert the teachers that a Mountain Troll would soon break into Hogwarts, and kill three students, without sounding like a complete nutter? Not to mention telling the teachers would mean that they would question him on how he knew of such a random and unforeseeable thing… His secret would definitely be discovered then… But what was the worth of his secret? Should he leave three people, his Gryffindor friends, to die like that just to protect himself? _No… no I can't leave them. I have to warn the teachers somehow._ Ron had made it to his class without even noticing if he was heading in the right direction. His mind was too busy being bombarded with questions of his future actions and his own morality. Was this the best choice he could make?

"Ron, we're here…" said Daphne, as she stopped him with her hand on his shoulder. "Something is wrong with you, we know it. You almost just walked into a wall…" Ron looked behind him to see her, and he found that all of his friends were looking at him. The girls looked genuinely concerned now, while Theo and Blaise held a suspicious look in their eyes.

"I know what's wrong" Theo said softly, staring intently into Ron's eyes. _No… no you don't…_ "It's Granger isn't it?" Ron froze for a second, but quickly relaxed in order to not give anything away. "Finnigan insulted her and Ron is probably trying his best not to attack the Irish git!" Theo then smirked and patted Ron on his back. "Well done! You're finally learning to keep that temper of yours in check." Ron's mouth flew open slightly, while everyone else looked to Theo as if he was insane. Even Blaise was looking at Theo as if the weedy boy had grown another head. _What the… GO WITH IT! This is my chance to stop them from questioning me further._

"Bloody hell…" Ron let out a sigh, trying his best to look defeated. "How did you figure that out?" Theo grinned smugly, while everyone else turned to stare at Ron in disbelief.

"It's because I'm a gen…" Theo was cut off by Daphne.

"Why do care if someone insults her? You don't even know her…" Daphne spoke in a really haughty and annoyed voice. "You only study with her once a week, AND she is in Gryffindor." Daphne then glared daggers at Ron, which made him take a step back. _Um… what's her problem? Crazy bint…_ Ron felt his own irritation grow, and he had to do his best not to crack it at Daphne.

"She happens to be my friend" Ron retorted, making Daphne narrow her eyes at him. "I don't like people bullying my friends, so yeah I'm annoyed. Now leave it alone." Ron then turned around just in time for McGonagall to open the classroom door for the students. Ron wasted no time and was the first one through the door. Ron took his usual spot and Theo joined him this time, instead of Daphne who always sat with Ron in Transfiguration.

The class was moving slowly for Ron, as his mind was too busy thinking about Hermione. Then it became even harder for Ron to concentrate when he noticed that Hermione wasn't in the class. _She would never skip Professor McGonagall's class… or any class for that matter!_ His stomach twisted in a knot at the thought. What if she was in the bathroom…? Was the troll incident going to happen today?! _Why didn't I at least try to find a damn calendar?!_

Ron smothered his fear down and tried to recall his memory of the vision to find any relevant information he could use. It was an odd experience as always. It was like he was inside the vision again but he wasn't at the same time. Ron shook away any unnecessary thoughts from his mind and tried to focus on the memory. _There were little windows near the very top of the walls. The sky outside was… black and white… for Merlin's sake! It looks like it was night because the sky looked completely dark. Also both Harry and Neville were there, so I should definitely keep an eye on them today. If they move towards the girl's bathroom then I'll know when it's going to happen… Now I just need to figure out how to tell the professors without giving away my secret._

Ron spent the remainder of the class plotting a plan on how to save the three Gryffindors. If people did notice that he wasn't paying attention and not being his usual self, they didn't say anything about it. By the end of the lesson, he had a rough plan formed in his head, one that he would need to execute at lunch.

The bell rang, signaling that Transfiguration Class was finished and the sudden movement around him pulled Ron out of his thoughts. He packed his quills and clear parchment away, and moved with Theo to the exit. "Mr. Weasley" came McGonagall's voice from behind him. Ron turned around to face the stern professor, whose lips were pulled into a thin, faint smile. "Stay behind a moment, I wish to have a word with you." Ron nodded to Theo, giving him permission to go ahead without him. Theo smirked at him and marched off without a second thought. _Git thinks I'm in trouble… Am I?_ Ron then walked up to Professor McGonagall. "You didn't answer any questions and you looked like you were somewhere far away. Is everything all right Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall" Ron replied, putting on his best fake smile. It didn't fool the wise professor for even a second, but she didn't push him.

"I see. Well in that case, you are excused to lunch" she said. Ron nodded to her and turned to leave. Just when he got to the door, McGonagall's voice rang out from behind. "Next time Mr. Weasley, do try to pay attention in my class. Or I will be forced to remove house points." Ron stopped for a second, and then quickly left towards the Great Hall. _Damn she is scary…_

Ron walked through the massive doorway that led into the Great Hall and he stopped to look over the Gryffindor table. _She isn't there…_ Ron spotted Harry and Neville talking to Fred and George, while Seamus Finnigan sat with them and was laughing about something. That made Ron's blood boil in his veins. _THAT GIT! He is the reason she is there! He got them ALL KILLED!_

Ron felt his body striding over to the Irish boy on its own. He was doing his best to keep his fiery temper in check but the sight of Seamus laughing like nothing was wrong made Ron want to hex that smile clean off. Ron stood behind Seamus, his face grim with anger. His brothers, Harry, Neville, and many other Gryffindors stared at Ron in disbelief. "Hey Ronnie…" Fred began slowly, but then stopped immediately as Ron glared straight at the brother who had called him a Death-Eater for being sorted into Slytherin. _These Gryffindors are so self-righteous, and yet they ignore Hermione and bully her without a second thought._ His mother's first letter flashed in Ron's mind, and Ron felt a sick bitterness in his stomach. _Self-righteous tossers…_

"Shut up" Ron spat at Fred, earning a shocked look from his brother. George frowned at Ron.

"Ron, what's your problem?" George asked, his tone was angry. "Don't talk to Fred like that. We are still your older brothers!" Ron shot daggers at Fred, who was now looking back at his little brother with a furrowed brow. _Calm down… ask them about Hermione…_ Ron turned and faced Harry, who was staring at the scene sheepishly. Ron also noticed that Neville and many of the Gryffindors were frowning at Ron.

"Have you seen Hermione?" he questioned Harry, who just shook his head slowly. "She skipped Transfiguration and you know that she would never do that!"

"I don't know where…" Harry started but Ron cut him off.

"Why didn't you stand up for her? She is our friend and you didn't say a word… You should be ashamed of yourself, Potter…" Ron shot Harry a glare before he marched off again to rejoin his Slytherin friends. He knew that making Harry feel guilty wasn't a nice thing to do, but he needed it for his plan to work. Harry and Neville had to go looking for Hermione so that Ron could know when it was all going down.

And since no professors were present in his vision, Ron came to the conclusion that they had no clue about the troll in the first place. This meant that trying to persuade them would be extremely difficult, mainly because what kind of adult would believe a first year when they made claims as ludicrous as 'there is a Mountain Troll in the girl's bathroom'… So he knew that he needed to be ready for the exact moment the troll first entered the bathroom.

His plan was to convince McGonagall that Hermione had been skipping classes due to being bullied and that she was rumored to be crying in the girl's bathroom. Then he would lead her to the bathroom, and hope that his friends may just survive. If he acted too early, and led the professor to the bathroom with no troll in it, then it might still work-out for him. But he really didn't want to be labelled as a tattle-tale. He needed that troll to be there in order to save face. He also didn't plan on making a prediction about there being a troll as well, mainly because the troll had clearly snuck into the castle without anyone noticing it. How was he going to explain his unnatural foresight?

Ron sat down next to Theo and across from Millicent, and slowly started putting food on his plate. "What was that about?" Blaise asked him.

"Nothing…" Ron said before he started eating with the 'etiquette' that Theo had taught him. Blaise just shook his head at Ron's curt response before continuing with his own meal.

"What did McGonagall want from you Ron?" Millicent asked slightly enthusiastically, no doubt trying to lighten the mood up with her tone. Ron finished chewing and swallowed before speaking.

"She asked if I was alright." Ron replied, he saw no reason to lie about this. "I told her I was fine and she let me go."

"You were acting very strange Ron" Tracey added. "You didn't even answer a single question… you always answer everything, or try to at least. You can tell us if something is bothering you, you know! We are 'allies' after all." She chuckled after emphasizing the word allies. Ron couldn't help but smile at Tracey's mockery of Pure-Blood politics.

Of all his friends, he felt the most comfortable around Tracey mainly because she wasn't raised with these crazy Pure-Blood ideals drilled into her head. If she liked someone, she befriended them and didn't call them 'allies'… Ron enjoyed that air of normalcy around her and it made him feel relaxed, like he didn't have to watch his words constantly or mind his actions and their consequences all the time.

"Thanks Tracey, but it really is nothing. You have nothing to worry about." Ron smiled genuinely at her. She beamed back, gave him a wink, and then continued eating. Ron was about to start eating again but Daphne stopped him with a snide remark.

"Yes Tracey" Daphne muttered under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Ron is just angry because his 'girlfriend' was getting picked on…" The mood changed immediately. Both Tracey and Ron stopped smiling, while Millicent and Theo just stared at Daphne with blank faces. Blaise just sighed, and then turned his plate and body towards the other direction and continued his meal. _What is Daphne's problem with me? She is pushing me for no reason…_

"She isn't my girlfriend, Greengrass" Ron gritted out, his cheeks flushing and ears turning red. "She is my… friend…" Ron finished lamely. _Nice going there, that was convincing I'm sure…_ Daphne huffed in annoyance and started eating again. Ron could see the scowl on her face and it irked him to no end. _What is her damn problem with me now? She always finds a reason to get on my last nerve…_

Out of all his friends, Daphne was definitely the most infuriating because she would always try and push his buttons. She would throw tantrums if he didn't help her with their homework first, she would always make annoying, judgmental comments about his actions, she was incredibly blunt and inconsiderate with her words, and that damn huff was always so… so aggravating!

"Guys don't fight" Millicent piped in lightly. "We are in front of the whole school right now… let's just talk about this at the common room."

"Millie is right" Theo added quickly. "We can't show our dirty laundry to other people. Right, Ron?" Theo looked at Ron with a blank, no nonsense face. Ron sighed and nodded curtly. Ron knew that Theo didn't care about 'dirty laundry', and that he was saying this because he just didn't want to look bad around others. Theo was always playing some game to elevate himself… _Complete Slytherin, right down to his very core!_

"There is nothing to talk about" Daphne said in an annoyed voice. She didn't even look up to say it, and Ron almost blew a blood vessel because of her sulking behavior. _So damn annoying… Just always pouting and complaining if she doesn't get her way… AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I DID WRONG THIS TIME?!_

"Whatever" Ron said after taking a calming breath. _I have much bigger things to worry about right now._ Lunch ended shortly after that and Ron made his way to his D.A.D.A Class for a double period with the world's most incompetent professor. Ron hated being taught by Quirrell because they never learned a thing from the man. All he did was tell nonsense stories about his travels and stutter like some dimwit constantly.

Ron greatly wished that they had Professor Snape as the Defense teacher and the Potions teacher. Everyone knew about Snape's desire for the Defense post, and the fact that the Headmaster chose Quirrell over Snape made no sense to Ron. Even though Snape was mean, and a harsh teacher, Ron knew that the Professor had a kinder side to him that only the Slytherins got to see. Every Slytherin, including Ron, respected Snape because he had their best interests in mind, and although he never outwardly showed it, it was just an unspoken truth amongst the House of the Cunning. And yet Quirrell was given the post of Defense teacher and it had all but ruined the subject for Ron. _Bloody Quirrell…_

The class was so boring that Ron began to quietly hope that the Mountain Troll would break into the classroom and kill Quirrell. He let out a dry chuckle at the morbid thought. _I need to calm down… I need to focus on Hermione, and not on this turban-wearing incompetent moron…_ Then a horrid thought clicked in his brain. _Where was he when the troll killed my friends…? He is the defense teacher, he is supposed to protect the school from things like that…_ Ron felt a burning heat rising from his stomach, and he was immediately flushed with anger. Ron felt like he could never hate Quirrell as much as he did just then. _This idiot is supposed to protect the students! And he was nowhere to be seen!_ A grim scowl was on his face and Quirrell noticed the red haired boy staring intently at him.

"Mr. We… Weasley, is some…. something the mat… matter?" Quirrell stuttered out nervously. Ron quickly schooled his face and cursed at himself within his own mind for getting caught.

"No, sir" Ron said as politely as he could. "I was just thinking about the Halloween Feast tonight…" _That was such a bad excuse for glaring murder at the man… Good one Ron._

"Oh I… I see" Quirrell let out a nervous laugh. "You al… all must be ve… very excited about it…" Quirrell addressed the class but kept his eyes on Ron. The class quickly agreed with the stuttering professor, and the class resumed. Everything seemed like it normally did during the class but Ron kept noticing Quirrell shooting him quick glances throughout the double period. Glances that Ron did his very best to avoid, he didn't want any trouble or attention whatsoever. If the attack was to happen tonight, then Ron wanted to be in a position to help instead of rotting away in detention.

As soon as the bell rang, Ron had his things packed and was out the door in a flash. He ran down to his dorm and dropped his things off. Then he was heading out just as fast as he had come in, but he was stopped at the exit of the common room by his friends.

"Where are you going?" Theo asked him, looking at him suspiciously. "You bolted right after class…"

"I'm gonna go find Hermione" Ron replied, he wanted people to believe that he had actually found her instead of just guessing her location. He knew that Professor McGonagall would question him about his knowledge of her whereabouts, and so he needed people to back up his story. "She skipped Transfiguration and lunch… for all I know she skipped her after-lunch classes too. I want to go and find her. Make sure she is alright." Ron finished and then he started walking through his friends to head out. Tracey started walking with him, which made Ron rather happy for some reason. _At least she is backing me up._

"Where are you going Trace?" Daphne said haughtily. This stopped Tracey dead in her tracks, and Ron as well when he noticed Tracey had stopped. _Daphne is my biggest headache today…_

"I'm going to help Ron look" Tracey said meekly. "You know… two head are better than one, and all that…" she finished lamely. Daphne huffed in annoyance and glared at Ron. Ron had had just about enough of her attitude towards him and he was seconds away from cracking it at her.

"Fine" Daphne said curtly before she turned around and marched to her dorm. There was an uncomfortable silence left behind in her wake, one that lasted for a few long seconds.

"I'll help as well" Millicent said, nodding her head at Ron. Ron smiled at her in gratitude. "What about you two?" Millicent asked Theo and Blaise. Theo stared at Ron for a second before laughing rudely and then walking off towards his dorm. Blaise just shook his head and wished them luck in a very disinterested voice. _Two out of five… Some 'friends'…_ Ron then shook his head and headed out, accompanied by the two girls.

"We should look for a few Gryffindor first years" Tracey suggested. "The girls especially, as they might know where to start looking for her. We should also look in the library, I've heard she lives there." Ron grinned to himself, happy that someone like Tracey was friends with him.

"I agree" Millicent piped in. "Also girls usually go cry in the toilets if they get upset. We could look there as well." Ron's grin got even bigger and he had to force it away. _This is going to be so much easier because of them! They might even help me convince Hermione to leave the bathroom. If she isn't there in the first place, then she and the others won't get killed!_

"Thank you" Ron spoke softly. "You two are brilliant." Ron kept his head forward and maintained his quick momentum, making him miss the smiles that broke out on the two girl's faces. "We should start with the girl's bathrooms."

"Of course, Ron" Tracey said in a suggestive tone. Then she and Millicent broke into small giggles.

"What?" Ron questioned, without stopping his movement. He had to get there before dinner started. It was already getting dark so he had no clue when the attack might happen.

"Nothing…" Tracey cooed. "Pervert…" Ron stopped immediately and turned around to face the girls, his face was red and his ears were burning. Tracey and Millicent broke into a laugh at the sight of his red, open-mouthed face.

"NO! It isn't… I didn't mean… I'M NOT A PERVERT!" Ron was stuttering from embarrassment. Tracey and Millicent laughed even harder.

"She is only teasing you Ron" Millicent said in between her laughs. Ron stared at the two, and then he quickly turned around and started walking even faster. _Do they actually think I'm some pervert…? I'm not…_ Then he remember his vision about Luna and how he had stood there gawking at her nakedness. He cringed at the memory. _Merlin… They're right, I am a pervert…_

Ron and the girls made it to the girl's bathroom near the dungeons, and Ron hoped that Hermione was inside. He wasn't sure which bathroom she was in, just that she was in one. "Ok, you two should go inside and check" Ron said as he leaned against the corridor wall. The girls nodded and went inside, leaving Ron to wait for them outside. _She has to be in there… If she is, then I need to convince her to come out and stay away from this place. But how am I supposed to do that without giving away my secret? Bloody hell, what a mess…_

Ron waited for around five minutes, growing increasingly more and more impatient. What was taking those two so long? He had half a mind to just barge in and find out himself, but he really didn't want to be labelled as the 'boy-who-peeped' for the next seven years of his life. Another five minutes later and Ron was at the end of his rope, but just then the girls came walking out. They looked a little confused, and maybe worried… "Well? What took you two so long?" Ron asked, tapping his foot in annoyance.

"She is inside, I…" Tracey paused, and then she continued as she looked right at Ron. "I think she has been crying all day Ron… She wouldn't even talk to Millie and I, and we tried everything… Sorry." _I'm going to end Finnigan's life after I get through this… They can send me to Azkaban for it, I don't bloody care… I'm stuck cleaning up his mess while he is laughing around without a damn worry!_

"There is no one else inside" Millicent added. "Tracey and I can keep watch while you go and talk to her…" Ron nodded quickly and walked right in without a second thought. He had to get her out of this place, a place where she was going to be crushed to death. As Ron entered the bathroom, he was actually taken aback by how… not destroyed this place was. It was stupid to feel that way, but he just couldn't help it. The last time he had been in this room, it was destroyed completely and covered in blood… _FOCUS!_ Ron shook his head and slapped his cheeks. He walked up to the only toilet stand that had a closed door.

"Hermione…" Ron whispered, not sure on what volume he should be using. "Hermione, it's me Ron…"

"YOU CAN'T BE IN HERE RONALD!" came a screech from past the door, making Ron step back in fright. His nerves really were at the end of their limits, weren't they…?

"I know" he quickly replied. "But Tracey and Millicent told me that you wouldn't talk to them… so I… I decided to come and talk to you myself." There was no response from Hermione, and Ron waited a couple more seconds before he spoke again. "They said you were in here all day… You didn't go to your classes either… Please just talk to me…" _Why am I so bad at this? Percy would have already gotten her out…_

"You sent them to get me" Hermione said, then she sniffled loudly. "Why?"

"I was worried about you… and I looked around for you, but when the girls suggested that you might be in one of the girl's bathrooms, I knew that I would need their help." Hermione didn't reply but he could hear her sniffling from past the door. "Hermione please just come out and talk to me…" There was silence for almost a minute, but Ron waited patiently.

"No one likes me here" she suddenly sobbed. "No one talks to me, and everyone in my house mocks me for studying… The other girls ignore me whenever I'm in the dorms with them… I hate it here… I want to go home… I just wanted to fit…" Hermione started crying loudly, and Ron felt something in his chest tighten. She felt that lonely? Then he remembered all the times she had shown so much eagerness about studying with him, and it made his chest tighten even harder. _I am an actual idiot… Why didn't I notice something so basic?!_ If it had been Ginny that was this upset, he would have figured it out in a heartbeat. But he hadn't given Hermione's position a second thought.

"I like you, Hermione… Harry and Neville do too…" Ron was then cut off by Hermione.

"NO THEY DON'T" she screeched loudly and then let out a guttural sob. "They haven't even spoken to me since… since the day we went to the… Trophy Room. They don't like me. No one likes me here… The others even make fun of me for studying with you, a Slytherin, and Harry… Harry and Neville never say a word to stop it…" Hermione's sobbing was bringing tears to Ron's eyes for some reason and he rubbed his eyes hard with his robes. "I just want to go home…" she rasped.

"Hermione I like you… you and I are friends. You know that right?" Ron was practically begging at this point. _Please just come out of there… We can't be in here!_ Tracey barged into the bathroom, making Ron jump.

"Ron there's some older girls coming! Millie is stalling them! HURRY!" Tracey was hysterical. _Bloody hell! I was getting so close…_

"Just leave me alone" Hermione's raspy voice came. "We aren't friends… you just feel pity for me…"

"Hermio…" Ron started but Tracey cut him off.

"RON C'MON!" Tracey all but screamed at him. Ron cussed aloud and ran out with Tracey, leaving a sobbing Hermione behind. _Merlin help my shite luck…_ Ron and Tracey quickly ran to the opposite end of the corridor and looked around the corner, only to see Millicent talking to three older girls. Ron recognized the one in the middle as she was the Slytherin fifth year prefect. _Bloody hell I dodged a curse there…_

Ron and Tracey casually approached Millicent from behind, trying their best to look as innocent as possible. Millicent excused herself from the girls when she heard Ron and Tracey approaching from behind. Ron waved to the older girls and smiled innocently at them. The prefect smiled back and waved as well, Ron had to admit that she was very pretty. But the other two girls raised an eyebrow at Ron and just scoffed. The older girls then walked past Ron's group and headed for the bathroom.

"Oh Merlin that was close…" Tracey breathed out, apparently she was holding her breath the entire time.

"Thank you Millie" Ron said, trying to slow down his heartbeat. He didn't even notice that he had called Millicent by her nickname, something he hadn't done yet. She blinked at him for a second before she smiled a full smile at Ron.

"I have your back" was all Millicent said. Ron gave her an appreciative nod. _She saved our skins… If I had gotten caught in there by my house's female prefect…_ Ron shuddered at the thought. "Dinner is about to start and Carey was just telling me that I need to head down to the feast."

"Who?" Ron asked, concerned at who this Carey girl was.

"Carey… our prefect" Tracey gave Ron an annoyed look. "Do you boys ever pay any attention to your surroundings?" Ron just shrugged his shoulders at that. _So much for getting Hermione out of that bathroom… I have to get Professor McGonagall involved now… That's my only move._

Ron sat in between Tracey and Millicent at the Slytherin table for the Halloween Feast. Theo, Blaise, and Daphne sat across from them, and Ron couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the silence between them all. "The decorations are neat" Theo piped up, trying to be casual. "I love the bats and the flying pumpkins…"

"Yeah, and the food is going to be amazing apparently …" Tracey added in. She was avoiding looking at Daphne for some reason, probably some girl stuff that Ron didn't really care to understand.

"Shame I didn't see Granger when I entered" Daphne said curtly. Ron glared at Daphne, and she glared back at him. The silence was back…

"For the sake of Merlin" Blaise let out a tired sigh. "Will you give it a rest Daphne…?" Daphne turned her glare to Blaise immediately.

"ME?" she all but screeched. "It's Ron who is running around associating with a Mud-Blo…"

"Shut up!" Ron ordered and slammed his hands on the table, making the plates rattle. Everyone jumped a little, and the older students looked down the table and frowned at Ron. Ron didn't give a damn though.

"Didn't I warn you once already…" Ron gritted out. He knew that he must have been frothing at the mouth because Daphne went wide-eyed. As a matter of fact, all of his friends did as well. Ron didn't care one bit right now. He had messed up with getting Hermione out of that infernal bathroom, and he was so stressed because of her imminent death, that he was having trouble even breathing properly. Daphne then regained her composure and glared at Ron. They held eye contact for a bit but then Daphne huffed and looked away from Ron. _Selfish little brat!_

"May I have your attention" boomed the voice of Albus Dumbledore, silencing everyone in the hall. "I wish you all a Happy Hallowe'en and without further ado, let the feast… begin" Dumbledore finished with a loud clap, and mountains of food appeared onto the tables. It wasn't ordinary food though, all of the foods were sugary delights and Ron wasn't sure that his parents would approve of this.

But then again, he didn't really care much for their opinions right now. Ron put a couple of pumpkin-pastries onto his plate and ate them slowly. He could feel the wetness in his armpits and on the top of his brow. _She is going to die all alone while we just eat… I need to do something! Anything!_ And yet Ron couldn't think of a single thing he could do that would keep his secret intact. The only way Hermione could live was if he told Dumbledore everything right this second. That was all he could think to do at this moment.

He still had McGonagall but that plan had a high chance of failing. She probably wouldn't go and check up on Hermione instantly just because Ron told her to. And he already didn't have any time to waste. _This is it then… I have to do this… For Hermione, Harry, and Neville…_ Ron slowly stood up from his seat, ignoring his friends' voices questioning his behavior. _I can't believe that I didn't even last more than three months at Hogwarts before outing myself…_ The main door of the Great hall then swung open loudly, pulling everyone's attention towards it. Professor Quirrell came running in at full tilt and went straight to the staff table.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!" Quirrell screamed at the staff. "Thought you ought to know…" he then muttered and collapsed face-first into the ground, passing out. _What… wait what am I…?_ The entire Great Hall broke into a frenzy of panic, with the students screaming and getting up frantically to run away. Ron just stood there frozen, before students started bumping into him and pushing him out of their way. That woke him up and he knew instantly what he had to do. _I have to tell the professors now! They will save her!_ Ron felt desperation ignite his sense of purpose and he started pushing his own way through the students towards the staff table. Ron yelled at them to get out of his way, but he was being overwhelmed by the older students who he didn't have the strength to push past.

"SILENCE!" boomed Dumbledore's voice throughout the whole Great Hall. Everyone stopped moving and screaming at once. "Good, now remain calm and join your house's prefects. They will take you all into your common rooms, and no one is allowed to leave until the situation is resolved. Prefects, do your duty to this school. Professors, follow me to the dungeons." The Headmaster then moved quickly towards the door behind the staff table, and the professors all began to follow him. _NO! WAIT!_ Ron tried to push past the bigger students even harder but it wasn't working.

"WAIT! PROFESSORS WAIT!" Ron yelled but his voice was drowned out by the noise of shuffling feet and chatter from the other students. Ron was being pushed back against his will and he was about to fall over when a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back onto the table.

"What are you doing?" Millicent asked him. "There is a troll on the loose! We need to get back to the common room!" Ron stared at her with pure fear etched on his face, making Millicent go wide-eyed. "Ron?"

"Hermione… she doesn't know about the troll Millie!" Ron said quickly and loudly. Millicent looked worryingly at Ron and then she sighed.

"Ron, she will be fine" Millicent reassured him. "The professors and the Headmaster are all going after the troll. C'mon, we have to keep moving." Millicent grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him along with her towards their house prefects. Ron wanted to resist but his head was spinning from everything going wrong at once. _All that planning and I've failed… She is really going to die… WHAT DO I DO?! Why didn't I just tell Dumbledore everything…?_

The Slytherins then began exiting the Great Hall, with Millicent dragging Ron behind her. Ron could only gaze around at the frightened faces of his friends and house-mates. His stomach felt so heavy and his legs seemed to be dragging, it was like he was going to pass out right there… _They won't find her… and when they do… She'll be in pieces…_

Ron's eyes began burning as he recalled her shattered form. As he recalled her words to him just before dinner. As he recalled how excited she was when he offered to be her study partner. And then, as he recalled her sobbing and loneliness, his feet stopped moving. _NO… NO I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! SHE DESERVES BETTER THAN THAT!_ Millicent stopped too because of Ron becoming rooted to his spot. He ripped his arm out of her grasp and looked at her, eyes red with tears and fear. "Ron… What are you doing?" Millicent asked, her voice shaking from seeing her friend in such a state.

"Hermione doesn't know Millie… she… she doesn't know" Ron muttered, sounding mad. "I was supposed to get her out… I can't…" Ron started stepping back from Millie who just stared at him wide-eyed. The female prefect noticed Ron stepping out of the line and drifting away from the pack.

"Weasley!" the female prefect called out to him. "Weasley get back in line now! What are you doing?" Ron's friends and house-mates turned and stared at him. His friends looked at him with the same look Millicent was giving Ron, one of worry, fear, and shock.

"Ron…" Daphne and Tracey said softly. Ron looked at them and chuckled dryly, his fear muddling his mind up. _She doesn't know… Harry's head is going to be eaten… They will never find all of Neville… I… I'm supposed to do more than… Just like with Pandora… MOVE ALREADY! YOU BLOODY COWARD! MOVE PLEASE!_

"I'm sorry… I can't let her die like that…" Ron mumbled to his friends, stepping back faster.

"WEASLEY WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" the male prefect shouted. "GET THE FUCK BACK INTO LINE NOW!" The shouting became thunderous in Ron's ears, and tears fell down his face. _They can expel me… but I… Hermione doesn't know… her death… it will be on my head…_

Ron turned to the direction of the girl's bathroom and bolted as fast as he could towards it. He heard loud shouting and quick footsteps behind him. Some of the shouting was from the female prefect but Ron could also hear all of his friends telling him to come back, even Blaise was yelling at him to just stop.

But Ron didn't stop. He ran so hard and fast that his feet hurt every time they hit the ground. _I CAN MAKE IT! I CAN STILL DO SOMETHING!_ The shouting became more and more distant, and Ron knew that his exercises were paying off. They could be the reason why he just might make it there in time. Ron ripped out his wand and tightened his grip on the handle, thinking of nothing but the girl's bathroom. _I'm almost there, I'm almost…_ Ron's thoughts stopped when he heard a loud thud and the sound of ceramics shattering. His heart pumped in his ears and he screamed as he pushed his body even harder. _DON'TDIEDON'TDIEDON'TYOUBLOODYDIE!_

Ron tried to turn into the bathroom but he was going so fast that he couldn't slowdown in time, and so he slammed right-shoulder-first into the wall leading into the bathroom with full force. He yelled out in pain but quickly ran forward and slammed the door open with his left shoulder. Ron walked right into the moment when Neville was trying to help Hermione up and Harry was trying to dodge the troll's cudgel. _I MADE IT JUST IN TIME!_ No one noticed his entrance because they were all too busy with their own dilemmas.

Ron quickly moved a bit more into the room and pointed his wand at the back of the troll's head with his left hand, he completely ignored the door slamming open behind him as his friends and house prefect barged in. Ron instead focused on his aim, blocking out the gasps and screams that came from behind him.

"DIE YOU MONSTER!" Ron screamed at the top of his lungs, garnering everyone's attention to himself. The troll turned around to look at the commotion behind it, and just as it did Ron yelled the first curse that crossed his mind. "CONFRINGO!"

The wand burned hot in his hand and a fiery orange light burst out of Ron's wand, and it stuck the troll on the right side of its face. There was a deafening sound and an invisible force pushed everyone away from the troll. Ron himself went flying back into his friends, while Harry got flung into the broken toilet stands. Ron had the wind knocked out of his lungs on impact, and judging from the grunts, his friends did too.

The troll fell to its side with a loud thud that made the ground shake upon contact. Eerie silence consumed the room for a moment that lasted forever. Ron then tried standing and the pain in his right shoulder almost made him fall back down. But he couldn't afford to fall down, not yet. So Ron pushed himself up, screaming to let the pain out.

He fumbled towards Hermione who was in the corner with Neville, both looking horrified beyond words. Ron's gaze fell on the dead troll as he passed it, and the sight made him feel a sick satisfaction. The right side of the troll's face was blown to pieces, chunks were completely missing, the visible flesh was charred and smoking, its right eye was also completely gone, and a large pool of blood was forming around its mangled head with bits of flesh and teeth mixed into it. _This is what you deserve… monster!_

Ron then looked back at Hermione as he limped towards her. She was staring back at him with pure fear etched on her face, her body shaking from adrenaline. "I… I saved you… I made it in time…" Ron said softly to her, a faint smile on his lips. Then he was standing directly in front of her, and she couldn't stop shaking at the sight. Ron's bloodshot eyes, his faint smile, and the tear tracks on his face made him look so… so unhinged. As if he was a monster… And then Ron fell on his knees clutching his right shoulder with his left hand. "My bloody arm…" he croaked out. Hermione instantly moved to his side.

"Ronald… what have… what did you do… to the troll…" her voice came out shaking.

"He was going to kill you… and…" Ron gritted his teeth in pain. "And both Harry and Neville… you're my friends…" he said in delirium, pain overtaking his senses. Ron then heard the door bang open and Hermione squealed and stood back up. Ron slowly turned around and saw Harry climbing out of the broken stands, grunting as he stood up to look at the troll. Ron then looked to the door and saw Professors McGonagall, Snape, Quirrell, and Flitwick standing there behind his shocked and terrified friends.

"What… What is the meaning of this?!" demanded McGonagall, her voice shaking from the horrific sight of the troll's corpse. "EXPLAIN YOURSELVES THIS INSTANT!" she yelled as she turned to the female prefect.

"Weas… Weasley Professor McGonagall…" the prefect mumbled, pointing her shaking finger at the red-haired boy. "He blew the troll's head… into pieces" the prefect finished and then she ran to the side, and retched her dinner out. The sound and sight made Ron gag as well, he felt sick from exhaustion, adrenaline, fear, and even his actions. _I just killed something… and I felt…_

As soon as the thought dawned on him, Ron vomited as well. It wasn't much because he had barely eaten, but it still burned his throat. McGonagall moved to his side in a blur and put her arm around him, which made him wince in pain and back away from her. McGonagall flinched, and then she removed her wand from her robes and cast a non-verbal spell on him.

"His right shoulder is dislocated …" McGonagall diagnosed. "Filius, help me with the boy. We must take him and the children to Pomfrey." Professor Flitwick transfigured the cudgel into a stretcher quickly and McGonagall helped Ron onto it. She then turned and faced Neville and Hermione, who were still shaking from what they had just witnessed and gone though.

"Come children" McGonagall spoke kindly as she stretched her hand out to Hermione, who took it slowly. Ron spent the ride to the hospital wing in a blurry trance of sorts. He could hear words but they made no sense to him, and he heard footsteps but he didn't know who they belonged to. All he could see was the ceiling as he floated on a comfortable stretcher all the way to the Hospital Wing.

Ron was sitting up on his hospital bed, his legs covered by a white blanket, and he watching everything around him intently. Madam Pomfrey had fixed his shoulder in a jiffy and even given him a small dose of the Calming Draught, to lower his shock no doubt. Madam Pomfrey was walking around with a platter of sorts with small doses of the Calming draught, giving the doses out one by one to all the students that had just come from the girl's bathroom. Professors Snape and Flitwick had both left to fetch the Headmaster, while Professors McGonagall and Quirrell were talking to the female prefect, who was no doubt explaining everything to them. _What was her name again? Millie told me before but I've forgotten it._

Ron also noted that unlike the Draught of Peace, the Calming Draught didn't leave him as a complete simpleton. However, it may just have been because of the smaller dose. Either way, it didn't matter because all he could feel was relief because of his success at saving the Gryffindors, who were there with Ron in the Hospital Wing as well.

Hermione was lying down not too far from Ron, while Harry and Neville sat in chairs not too far from her bed. Ron's Slytherin friends were also there, and they were all sitting in chairs around his bed. Daphne sat the closest to him. No one was talking, mainly because the potion had dulled their shock and senses a bit, but also because they were all processing what they had just seen. The calm of the room went away all of a sudden when the door flung open, and Dumbledore marched in with two professors on his heel. "Poppy" Dumbledore spoke softly. "Where is the boy?" Madam Pomfrey frowned at the older wizard.

"Albus let him rest, please" she requested, her face still in a frown. "He's been through a lot tonight."

"I'm afraid I cannot, Poppy" Dumbledore gave a remorseful smile to the matron. Then he whispered something to her that Ron couldn't hear. Whatever he said made Madam Pomfrey point out his bed. Dumbledore's gentle gaze fell on Ron, making Ron feel a bit queasy. _I'm going to have to lie to him… to keep my secret._

Ron had decided that he would maintain his secret after all. Everything had worked out and he had even managed to kill a troll. Perhaps he could really do this on his own? "Ah Mr. Weasley, just the person I was looking for" Dumbledore spoke with some humor in his voice as he approached Ron's bed. The Slytherins stood up to leave, but Dumbledore tutted at them and asked them to sit. "I will need you all to explain everything to me, and there is no reason to leave your friend's side on my behalf."

The Slytherins slowly sat back down, shooting each other and Ron apprehensive glances. "So, Mr. Weasley, please tell me how you happened to find yourself in the girl's bathroom so late at night" Dumbledore asked him gently, his eyes twinkling at Ron. _Is he… Is he enjoying asking me that in such an embarrassing and suggestive way…? Evil old codger…_ Ron cleared his throat and looked Dumbledore in the eyes.

"Sir I ran from the Slytherin line up… I wanted to warn Hermione about the troll." Dumbledore slowly nodded at that.

"How did you know where to find Miss. Granger?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I um… I sort of went into the bathroom before… but only because I was looking for her!" Ron's ears burned and his cheeks flushed. _He definitely believes that I'm a pervert too…_

"And why were you looking for her, Ronald?" Dumbledore's eyes danced in merriment. He was getting more and more interested in this tale.

"She skipped her classes this morning after…" Ron trailed off. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, indicating for Ron to continue. _I don't want to tattle on anyone… Fred and George always go barmy whenever I tattle on them._

"Granger was being harassed by her fellow Gryffindors, sir" Theo piped in, making Ron sigh in relief. "They made jokes at her expense and she ran off in tears right after Charms Class this morning. Ron was worried for her throughout the whole day and even went looking for her before dinner. Millicent and Tracey went with him" Theo finished, his eyes shifting to the two girls as if telling them to confirm his story.

"It's true, Headmaster" Tracey blurted out. "We um… we found her in the bathroom crying and she wouldn't come out. So we let Ron try and speak to her. She still didn't come out… and after the troll was spotted in the dungeon, Ron ran away to go warn her. He said that she didn't know about the troll, and that it could get her hurt or killed" Tracey finished, taking in a long breath. Dumbledore gave another slow nod. He then turned to Gryffindors and addressed Hermione.

"Miss. Granger, is this true?" he asked her gently. She sat up and looked over to Ron, a small smile broke onto her face.

"It is, Headmaster" she spoke softly. "Ron asked me to come out but I… I refused. That's how he knew where to find me."

"And you two?" Dumbledore asked the Gryffindor boys. "Why were you at the bathroom as well?" Dumbledore voice was filled with humor now, and it was showing.

"We went to find Hermione, sir" Harry answered, while Neville stared at the floor and fidgeted with his hands. "The… the Slytherins are telling the truth about people making fun of Hermione. Ron was furious and he… he yelled at us during lunch for not standing up for her."

Hermione beamed at Ron when she heard that, making him blush from embarrassment. "So Nev and I felt guilty, which made us ask around if she had been seen by anyone in Gryffindor. Parvati Patil told us that she had been in the girl's bathroom near the dungeons, crying…" Harry looked down at that. "We went to warn her as well, but the troll was already there. It almost…" Harry trailed off, his shock coming back slightly. Dumbledore let out a small sigh of relief.

"That is enough, Harry" Dumbledore spoke softly. "I now have a clear grasp on the events of today. Poppy, you may dismiss any students whom you do not wish to keep overnight. I'm sure they could all use a good night's rest after all the excitement today."

Madam Pomfrey then dismissed Ron's Slytherin friends, Harry and Neville, and the female Slytherin prefect back to their respective common rooms. This left Hermione and Ron as the only children within the Hospital Wing. The professors did not leave however, Ron also noticed that they were shooting him curious and… fearful glances. _What's wrong? Am I in trouble…?_ Dumbledore then walked over to Professors Snape, McGonagall, Quirrell, and Flitwick. They began discussing something in hushed whispers, while glancing at Ron every now and then. Ron decided to just ignore it, there wasn't anything else he could be bothered doing at this point.

"Pssst" Hermione called for Ron's attention, which he gave her quickly. "Did you… did you really yell at the Gryffindors?" She was smiling at him, and he couldn't help but give her a smile in return.

"Um… yeah" Ron said, scratching the back of head and feeling rather embarrassed. _It's alright Ron, it was all part of the plan… A plan that failed rather miserably but still…_

"So you really meant what you said to me in the girl's bathroom…? That we're friends?" she was looking a flustered as she asked him.

"I did" was all Ron said. Hermione beamed, and Ron could see the tears in her eyes.

"You even came looking for me… even after you knew that there was a troll on the loose. And then you…" she trailed off as she remembered what Ron had done to save her. She was grateful beyond words but a small part of her was scared of Ron. He had looked truly terrifying in that moment, right after he had killed the troll.

They both stayed quiet after that. Ron tried to listen in on the adults but he couldn't make out any words. After a few more minutes, Dumbledore and Snape approached Ron's bed. The other professors left the Hospital Wing in a hurry.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape spoke in his usual soft, drawled out tone. "We must talk about your actions against the troll. The Headmaster and I wish to know which spell you used, and where or whom you learned it from. Is that clear?" Snape's eyes burrowed into Ron's, making the boy gulp loudly.

"Do not worry Ronald" Dumbledore said gently. "You are not in any trouble, I promise." Ron gave a slow nod and looked back to Professor Snape.

"I used the… the Blasting Curse, sir" Ron confessed, which made Snape's eyes widen for a split second. "Confringo" Ron added quickly.

"That is a very advanced curse, Ronald" Dumbledore said softly, his eyes weren't twinkling anymore. Instead they looked hard, and **piercing**. "Not something that any first-year should even know about, let alone be able to cast. Where did you gain the knowledge needed to cast this?" _Not in any trouble my arse… He is scarier than Professor Snape…_

"My… my brother Charlie… taught me" Ron stuttered out, feeling extremely nervous. Dumbledore stared at Ron for a few second, and then the twinkling in his eyes came back and he let out a small chuckle.

"You truly are something special, aren't you Ronald?" Dumbledore smiled at the bewildered boy. "Not many eleven year-olds can claim that they slayed a twelve feet tall Mountain Troll in order to protect their friends. You saved lives tonight, Ronald. I hope you truly understand how remarkable that is." Dumbledore smiled kindly at Ron, and Ron smiled back in relief. _So I'm not getting expelled… that's great._ "I hereby award Slytherin house… fifty points. For your bravery and keen foresight in looking for your friend despite the dangers it presented to you. Well done." Ron's mouth flung open at the sound of that. _Fifty house points…_ Dumbledore let out a chuckle at Ron's expression.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape said softly. "Did the encounter with the troll addle your mind? Thank the Headmaster properly."

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron said quickly, scared of earning Snape's ire.

"There is no need for that, Ronald" Dumbledore said as he raised his hand to stop Ron. "I should be thanking you for your service to the school and to your fellow school-mates, regardless of their house. I bid you and Miss. Granger goodnight, and sweet dreams." Dumbledore and Snape then turned to leave, but both stopped right at the exit. "I will also alert your families of what has transpired today, it is school policy of course." _Family… Mum and dad will hear about this… What about…?_

"Headmaster" Ron called out without thinking. Dumbledore turned around and faced the boy with a smile.

"Yes, Ronald" Dumbledore replied.

"Can you… can you also please contact the Lovegoods? On my behalf, that is… they are like a family to me as well." Ron said clearly. Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head, and then he turned around and left with Snape.

"Bloody hell" Ron muttered as he lay down in his bed.

"Language, Ron!" Hermione scolded in a mocking voice. Ron almost jumped at the sound of her voice. He had almost forgotten she was there in the first place. _I'm so exhausted…_

"Sorry" Ron said, smiling at her. He wasn't really sorry, he loved saying bloody hell.

"Thank you, Ron" Hermione smiled back at him. "For being my friend, and for standing up for me." Ron could only nod at her. He didn't know what to say to that in all honesty. But she didn't seem to mind, because she kept smiling at him. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight, Hermione." Both of them closed their eyes, and didn't utter another word. Ron's last thoughts were about Hermione's grateful smile, and about the fact that he would have never seen it if he hadn't managed to pull through. He smiled in bliss as the dark took him. _I won the day… I saved them…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, how was that? I hope you all found that intense and entertaining. Also a couple of people have pointed out that Dumbledore and Snape should have already used Legillimency on Ron... They may or may not have already. After all, we haven't seen their side of the story. We are seeing Ron's. But other characters will start getting their own POV parts from here on out. I've established Ron's character to the best of my ability, and from here on out, the Story will really pick up! Get ready to be surprised at how many changes I have planned from the original canon-timeline!**

 **Looking forward to posting tomorrow! or the day-after... Will aim for Tomorrow though!**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Troll Slayer

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 10! Hopefully the wait wasn't too long! Also I'm sure that many of you have noticed that the word count is getting up there, and we aren't even through first year yet. This is going to be a long story is all I'll say to that...**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 10 – The Troll Slayer**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

By the time Ron woke up the next morning, Hermione had already left for breakfast. Ron felt his stomach turn from hunger due to not eating much the previous night, and throwing up after the troll incident. Madam Pomfrey smiled at Ron and told him that he was clear to leave for breakfast, and that he was also cleared from the Hospital Wing.

Ron all but ran to the Great Hall, excited about finally eating. As soon as he turned into the Great Hall and started making his way towards his friends, the entire hall went silent and stared at Ron. This jarred him and he stared back warily. _What's this…? Is something wrong?_ The hall then erupted into hushed whispers and glances being shot at him by every student he could see. Someone tapped on his shoulder from behind and Ron jumped a little before turning to face the person who had scared him. It was Percy, with Fred and George standing right behind him, all of them looked wary and awed at the same time. "Is it true Ron? Percy asked, sounding breathless.

"Is what true?" Ron inquired back. _This has to be about the troll… I see no other reason._ But he was still cautious due to three years of paranoia backing him up.

"The Slytherins spread a rumor that you singlehandedly killed the troll last night…" Fred blurted out.

"And Harry said the exact same thing to us, as did Neville…" George added on.

"So is it true?" the twins then asked at the same time. Ron sighed at the information about the Slytherins spreading rumors. _It had to be my friends… Probably Theo and his weird habit of boasting about me…_

"Yes" Ron said quietly. His brothers went wide-eyed. "I used the Blasting Curse to blow off half of its face… Look guys I don't want to talk about it just yet… It's still pretty fresh and it was gruesome…" Ron heard footsteps behind him.

"Ron is everything alright?" came Theo's smooth voice from behind Ron. Ron turned to see Theo, Blaise, and Millicent standing there with their arms crossed.

"Yeah, my brothers just wanted to know about the troll" Ron smiled at his 'backup'.

"I see" Theo smirked. _Oh no…_ "It is true, Ron slayed a troll last night to save three Gryffindors. One of which was the 'famous' Harry Potter…" Theo then addressed Percy alone. "Odd that a **Slytherin** is doing a better job of keeping Gryffindors safe, rather than a Gryffindor prefect." Ron just closed his eyes at that. _Why did he do that…?_ Meanwhile Percy went red from embarrassment, while Fred and George went red from anger.

"Listen here you little…" Fred started but was cut off by Blaise.

"Come Ron" Blaise said aloofly. "Breakfast is getting cold, you must be hungry after everything you did for the poor little Gryffindors. The older Slytherins are very interested in talking to you." _You as well Blaise… Really? And what does he mean by 'interested'?_

"So are we" Fred gritted out. "He's our brother so he…" Theo cut Fred off at that.

"So now he is your brother?" Theo questioned innocently. "Funny how **you** turned your back on him, and now that he is famous around the school, **you** come crawling back like a beggar…" _WOAH! Ease up there…_ A small part of Ron was happy that his friends were being so loyal to him. But a bigger part of him was extremely suspicious at this sudden increase in loyalty. Ron turned to see George flinch, as if he had been slapped. Fred was going even redder in the face, while Percy just glared at Theo with a furrowed brow. _I really can't be bothered dealing with this, I just want to eat…_

"That's enough Theo" Ron said clearly. Then Ron looked at Perce with a pleading look. "Please Percy, can we talk about this after breakfast? I didn't even get to eat last night…" Percy looked at Ron for a moment before giving him a firm nod. Then Percy all but dragged the twins away to the Gryffindor table. _Thank Merlin for Percy… to think that I once felt annoyed just by looking at him… I was a proper git!_

Ron then joined his friends on the Slytherin table and quickly started piling food on his plate. He ignored the whispers and the long stares being sent his way, he just needed to eat right now. "Ron?" came Tracey's voice from across him. Ron looked up at her, mouth filled with eggs. Tracey chuckled at the sight, and then let out a long sigh. "I think we should warn you about… about the whole school really."

"What about the whole school?" Ron asked, after he swallowed the eggs down. "I noticed everyone staring and whispering about me. Is that what you mean?" Tracey smiled and nodded her head.

"The whole school knows about how you… how you blew off the troll's he… head…" Tracey said slowly, stuttering near the very end. She looked a little green, no doubt because of the memory of the horrific scene. Even Ron felt sick thinking about it, especially when he thought about how powerful he felt after.

"I see…" Ron started. "And how does the school know this already? It happened last night and I was in the Hospital Wing the whole night." Ron looked around at his friends. They all looked a bit sheepish, except Daphne who was eating quietly with her head down. Ron found that extremely suspicious.

"Carey Ductu, our female prefect" Millicent began. "After we all got dismissed from the Hospital Wing, we made our way back to the common room. Everyone was still awake, and many of the older Slytherins questioned her about you. She told everyone about what happened… about what you did to the..." she stopped to shudder. _Her too…_

"A lot of people didn't believe her, or us for that matter… Then Draco started convincing everyone about how a Blood… about how you couldn't have possibly done something like that" Millie continued. "There were arguments amongst the people that did believe it, and those that didn't. But then Professor Snape showed up and told everyone the exact same thing Carey had told the Slytherins. He even mentioned that Dumbledore himself awarded you fifty points! So now everyone in Slytherin is… well they are showing you off to the other houses as some sort of trophy…"

Ron just sat there trying to process everything that Millie had just said. _A trophy? I did the work, and they want to reap the rewards? Bloody snakes… Also why would Professor Snape tell everyone about this? I know he shows us bias in classes, but to actually turn me into a… into a bloody trophy. Guess even he isn't above being petty…_

"Also the Ravenclaws want to dissect you" Blaise added with a chuckle. _Pardon?_

"Excuse me?" Ron asked, his eyes bulging out.

"Oh yeah" Theo chuckled. "They want to know what other powerful spells you have hidden away in that mind of yours. Actually… so do the rest of us. Care to enlighten us?" Theo finished with a grin. Ron let out an annoyed sigh.

"Enough to kill a dozen more trolls…" Ron joked, his voice hollow. He was happy about his fame no doubt, but the spotlight would bring so many questions with it. And he really didn't feel like giving out the answers. Ron then looked at his friends and noticed that they were all staring at him. Theo wasn't grinning anymore, and even Daphne was looking up at him. They all looked a bit… scared? _They think I'm being serious… Actually… I can use this can't I?_

A devious idea entered Ron's mind. Why shouldn't he show off a little? He only had to answer to the professors, and he had already done that! The rest of the school didn't need to know about the truth, nor could they force him to talk. He could maybe even become famous outside of Hogwarts… Ron almost laughed at how slippery he had become due to Theo and Blaise's influence. And he had always wanted to outdo his brothers in something. _And now I have!_ He had slain a Mountain Troll singlehandedly at the young age of only eleven!

His childish dreams of being brilliant and famous were too tempting to pass up, and so he decided that he would go through with this. Now he just had to convince every student that questioned him that he was extremely powerful already. _First I just need to convince my friends… which I already seemed to have done. But nothing wrong with a little showing off is there?_

"Guys you have nothing to worry about from me" Ron smiled in a sly manner. "You're my friends… and I would never use any of the curses I already know… on you." Ron laughed with childish evil inside, especially after his friends' eyes widened and some of their mouths hung open slightly. But when he noticed that they genuinely looked a bit scared of him, especially the girls, Ron felt a strong pang of guilt. _Great going there Ron…_

"Mr. Weasley" came a cold voice from behind Ron, making him turn around slowly. It was Professor Snape. "The Headmaster has asked me to collect you, and to bring you to his office. He wishes… to speak with you." Snape's face was expressionless as usual, but his voice seemed to be even more drawled out than usual.

"Yes, sir" Ron quickly nodded and stood up. Snape gave a faint smirk at the boy's respectful behavior. Snape then turned towards the exit and strode towards it, his black robes billowing behind. "I'll see you guys in the common room after?" Ron asked his friends, trying his best to smile kindly at them.

"Yeah" Theo said, somewhat relaxing at Ron's smile. The rest nodded, except Blaise who had recovered his composure and only gave out a grunt. Ron smiled again and nodded to them before running after Snape. As they made their exit, Snape snapped his finger at Ron's brothers and they ran over to join them. _Ok… What is going on?_

None of them said a word through the whole journey, not even as Snape whispered something to a statue of a gargoyle. The statue then slid to the side, revealing a spiraling stairway that led upwards. They followed Snape up to a closed door, and then waited after Snape knocked on the door loudly.

"Come in" came the Headmaster's voice from past the door. Snape then pushed the door open slowly and entered, followed by the Weasley brothers.

Ron was in awe at the office. It was large, and circular in shape. The entire room was covered in silver instruments, and their purpose being something that Ron couldn't even begin to understand. There was incense smoke that somewhat clouded the room, giving it a very mysterious ambience about it. There were also many windows around the room and so many moving portraits, all of which seemed to be snoozing or reading books. Ron then looked at some of the objects more closely, and couldn't help but shudder when he spotted the Sorting Hat sitting behind the Headmaster's large claw-footed desk. _Bloody talking hat…_ Dumbledore sat behind his desk and was writing something down rather quickly.

"Ah, the Weasleys" Dumbledore said softly, without even looking up. "Welcome, please sit down" Dumbledore finished, gesturing at the seats in front of the desk. Ron quickly glanced at his brothers, who all seemed to be a bit wary, and then Ron glanced at Snape, who just gave him a quick nod. Ron was the first to move and sit down, followed by his three older brothers shortly after. They sat in silence for almost a minute, all the while listening to Dumbledore's quill scraping against a piece of parchment. None of them dared to interrupt the greatest wizard to ever walk the earth. Then Dumbledore stopped writing, put his quill in an inkpot, and then turned to face the Weasleys.

"I am sure you have heard the rumors that are no doubt spreading throughout the school even as we speak." Dumbledore paused for a moment and looked at each Weasley one at a time. "They are… true." Ron's brothers immediately looked at Ron with awe and shock. "Ronald faced, and slayed, a fully grown Mountain Troll last night in the girl's bathroom near the dungeons. He also saved the lives of three other students in the process. As such, I have contacted your parents this very morning. They will be arriving shortly by floo. As will the Lovegood family, at Ron's personal request." Dumbledore was smiling kindly at the Weasleys the entire time he spoke, he truly did care for this large but humble family.

He also found it highly amusing to see Ron's brothers in absolute awe at the young boy's feats, just as Dumbledore secretly was. The fact that Ron had been looking for his friend, rather than chasing down the troll for personal glory, truly touched Dumbledore's heart. He finally knew as of last night that he had been wrong to suspect this boy of being a new Tom Riddle, and it shamed him greatly to have thought so poorly of young Ronald.

"This is… we heard the rumors but still…" Percy stammered. Percy then looked to the Headmaster, his gaze stern and slightly piercing. "No offence Headmaster, but where were the professors during all of this? Why did my little brother have to face that… that monster all alone? You are supposed to protect the students, not a first year…" Ron just shrank into his seat from embarrassment because Percy was picking a fight with Dumbledore of all people on his behalf. _Gryffindor bravery is a terrifying thing for certain…_ Fred and George were just lost for words, and were gazing at Percy with a new-found respect. Dumbledore smiled sadly, the twinkle in his eyes dimming a bit.

"You are right, Percy" Dumbledore said softly. "We were not there to protect the young Gryffindors when we should have been. I am sorry." The twins, and Ron, were completely lost for words at the sight in front of them. Percy had just coaxed an apology out of the greatest wizard since Merlin himself. _Percy might be the bravest person I've ever met… insane… but brave…_ Percy just sighed and shook his head slowly, looking down sheepishly.

"He could have died…" Percy muttered, but they all heard him. Snape scoffed a moment later, diverting all the attention to himself.

"Mr. Weasley is clearly more capable than you all give him credit for" Snape said softly, sounding a bit like he was boasting. "Furthermore, it is not your place to question the Headmaster boy" Snape's voice was cold once again. _This couldn't get any more awkward…_ A big part of Ron was very happy to see Snape praise him however. It felt good to see that Snape trusted Ron's capabilities, that wasn't something that many adults in Ron's life did. His own parents being the biggest examples he could think of.

"Severus, please" Dumbledore said softly to the Potions Master. "They have a right to be upset, much has happened that should have been avoided in the first place…" Ron couldn't help but hear the regret that laced Dumbledore's tone, it jarred him a little to see this coming from Dumbledore. The fireplace suddenly blazed up in green flames and Ron's parents came running through, followed by a stumbling Ginny. Ron immediately cheered up at the sight of her fumbling around in her pink dress and pigtails.

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed as he quickly ran out of his chair and hugged her tightly, and she hugged back just as tightly. He had missed her far more than he ever thought he would when he was first leaving for Hogwarts. After he had collapsed for the first time three years ago, Ginny had become inseparable from his side. As a result of this, they had both gotten so much closer to each other that neither could go very long without the other. With Ginny constantly fretting that Ron was in pain because of his stress, and Ron because he loved getting so much attention from one of his siblings. Ron was actually grateful for that horrible headache in a weird way, he wasn't sure that they would be so close without it.

"I missed you so much Ron!" Ginny spoke in a smothered voice, Ron quickly eased his hold on her.

"Sorry for smothering you" he giggled, then he ruffled her hair and she tried slapping his hand away.

"NO RON! Mum did that this morning so I would look presentable…" She had a half-pout and half-smile on her face as she tried to fight him off. Both siblings missed their parents beaming at them, Dumbledore watching with merriment and delight, and Snape just watching with a raised eyebrow and a small scowl.

"Can you explain what this is about?" Arthur asked Dumbledore respectfully. "When you said that you wanted to talk about Ron with us personally… Molly and I have been worrying all morning… Is everything all right?"

"Calm, Arthur" Dumbledore spoke softly, still gazing at the two youngest Weasleys play-fighting. "Nothing is wrong… not anymore at least. Please all of you, take a seat." Dumbledore then flicked his wand and conjured up more chairs. Ron quickly sat between his brothers and Ginny, and hoped that his parents didn't notice that he was maintaining his distance. _What do I even say to mum and dad? It doesn't look like they are mad at me, but I can't be certain…_ "Now we just have to wait for the Lovegoods to arrive and then I will explain everything" Dumbledore said. Ron's parents looked a little confused at his words.

"The Lovegoods?" Molly asked, looking over to Ron who was avoiding her eyes. She felt a tight pang in her chest at that.

"Ronald requested that they be here for this" Dumbledore smiled. "I felt the need to grant his simple request." Both his parents, and siblings now looked over to Ron. Ron instantly gained an absolute love for how the floor looked. _Just keep your eyes down old boy… Don't look at anyone._ Dumbledore noticing Ron's odd behavior and realizing why he was doing it, couldn't help but chuckle a little loudly. This garnered everyone's attention to him. Just as Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, the fireplace blazed green again. Pandora and Luna walked through gracefully. Ron quickly jumped out of his chair to go greet them, also secretly happy with their great timing.

"Pandora! Luna!" Ron ran over and hugged Pandora first, and then he hugged Luna as well but a bit more tightly. They both returned his hugs and Pandora ruffled his hair.

"We've missed you terribly Ron" Pandora said softly, her airy voice sounded like music to his ears.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, Pandora" Dumbledore said with a kind smile.

"Headmaster, it is good to see you" she beamed back, making Dumbledore chuckle.

"Please take a seat, we have much to discuss" Dumbledore said, summoning even more chairs. Ron sat down with Luna and Ginny on either of his sides, and he almost laughed when Ginny gripped his hand in her death-grip. _She hasn't changed at all. Still bloody hurts though…_

"Headmaster, I will take my leave" Snape drawled from behind them all, to which Dumbledore nodded. Ron quickly turned to look at Snape, who was now looking right at the red-haired boy as well. Then Snape narrowed his eyes on Ron's eyes. "Behave" was all he said before turning around and billowing away, but it was enough to make Ron gulp loudly.

"He is scary" Luna said in her usual airy voice, making Dumbledore chuckle softly. Ron looked at her and nodded with a smile.

"Do not be scared little one" Dumbledore said in a sagely voice. "Severus has a good heart." Ron didn't miss the odd looks that his parents exchanged between each other. "Now, allow me explain the reason I called you all here." Dumbledore then began explaining the previous night's events to everyone and Ron noticed that as the story continued, everyone began looking more and more shocked and awed. Dumbledore decided to not mention who Ron had saved, just that they were three Gryffindor first year students. When Dumbledore finished, Ron's parents were just looking at Dumbledore in disbelief, while Pandora was smiling brightly at Ron. Ginny and Luna were both holding his hands from beside him, with Luna being gentle with his left hand and Ginny aiming to crush every bone in his right hand. _My wand hand…_

"This… this… how…" Arthur stammered at Dumbledore. "I can't believe…" he stopped again. Then he looked over to Ron, and Ron met his gaze for the first time since Arthur had arrived. "Ronnie… you… again?" Arthur muttered. Molly then broke into tears and stood up, and hugged Ron tightly from behind. So tightly that Ron got winded, but she didn't stop her hug. Ron looked over to Pandora for help but she was still smiling with absolute pride dancing in her eyes.

"I… can't breathe… stop…" Ron struggled to speak. Molly loosed her grip but didn't let go.

"My poor boy… facing a beast like that all alone…" she choked out. Ron could feel her tears falling on the back of his neck, something that made him either very happy or very sad. He couldn't tell.

"You really are knight in shining armor, aren't you Ron?" Pandora said softly, her voice cracked a little at the end. "You could have died… how could you be so…?" she stopped, tears finally falling down her still smiling face. Ron looked down, unsure of what he was feeling. He just knew that he couldn't look at anyone's face right now, he really was terrible with sappy and emotional things.

"Excuse me, Arthur" Dumbledore said softly, making the Weasley patriarch look to him. "I cannot help but be curious about what you just said. What did you mean when you said 'again'?" Arthur looked a bit shaken but he quickly shook his head clear, and then he told Dumbledore about Pandora and Ron. He told the older wizard every single detail, from the effects of the spell, and even down to Ron ripping his own fingernails off to stop the ward. Dumbledore made sure to keep his facial features in a mask of understanding, but below the surface he was quite awed by the tale.

He couldn't help but think of why Ronald was placed in Slytherin, especially when the boy demonstrated such strong Gryffindor traits. But now he was also dead certain that Ronald could never become like Tom. Once Arthur was finished, Dumbledore turned to Ron and smiled proudly at the young wizard. "Ronald, you continue to awe me" Dumbledore chuckled softly. "I cannot award Slytherin house any points for your actions outside of Hogwarts, but I can award you points for your character. Another fifty points to Slytherin for your strength of character, especially when faced with such terrible trials. Truly well done, my boy." Percy and the twins openly flinched at the amount of points being given.

"Another fifty…?" Fred gasped.

"How many points are you earning them Ron?!" George added, his voice slightly annoyed. Ron looked at his brothers with an evil grin. _Should've been nicer to me… I wouldn't have needed to work so hard to earn the trust of those snakes!_

"Oh, young Ronald here has earned Slytherin well over two hundred points in these last two months, but that is only if I include the points awarded to him just now." Dumbledore chuckled in delight. Fred and George almost fainted at the mention of that, while the girls just looked confused. Percy was looking as pale as a ghost.

"Is that a lot?" Luna asked in her airy voice, staring right into Dumbledore's eyes.

"Yes my dear" Dumbledore smiled at her from behind his desk. "That is more than enough to have already secured another Slytherin victory over the House Cup, at least in the eyes of many of the professors."

"But not you" Luna stated, like she could read his mind. Pandora and Dumbledore exchanged looks, and then they both smiled at her.

"I see you have your mother's keen insight and perception" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling brightly. "The future is full of twists and turns, you never quite know where you will end up by the end of your journey." _Let's just hope my future is straight-forward, at least in the case of Fred's fate…_ Luna giggled at the old wizard, she thought he was rather funny.

"Dumbledore… may we have a word with you?" Arthur said softly to the Headmaster. "Molly and I just want to… discuss something." _Bloody hell… I know what this is about already…_

"Of course" Dumbledore nodded, knowing already what Arthur wished to discuss. "Children, you are all excused. As for the girls…" Dumbledore paused and looked at them with a kind smile. "They can go and explore the castle! It is Saturday after all and there are no classes today." Luna and Ginny practically flew out of their chairs in joy. Ron beamed at Dumbledore, something that the older wizard smiled at.

"Albus…" Pandora said softly, no doubt surprised at his actions.

"Do not fret" Dumbledore reassured the adults. "Ronald will take good care of them, and I will personally send them back home after dinner. Ronald has clearly missed the two very much." Dumbledore couldn't help himself, he truly wanted to reward Ronald for his brave actions. Especially now that he knew that Ronald had also saved Pandora's life before the boy had even left for Hogwarts.

And a very large part of Dumbledore wanted to make sure that Ronald understood that saving lives and being good had its own merits and rewards. Dumbledore knew that it was a shameless thing to do, to manipulate this boy into believing that the Light-side would be far more rewarding to him. But Dumbledore once again swallowed his regret and shame down like he always did… Ronald had already shown him very clearly that he was someone Dumbledore couldn't afford to lose to the Dark-side. If the boy could conquer a fully grown Mountain troll at the age of eleven, what would he be able to conquer by the age of fifty? It was a risk that could not be taken, not ever in Dumbledore's eyes.

"I promise I will take care of them!" Ron exclaimed to Pandora and his parents, his excitement overwhelming the three adults.

"You have my permission, Ron" Pandora smiled proudly at Ron. "I trust you completely." Ron couldn't help but grin like a madman at her words, earning a soft chuckle from her.

"As do we" Molly added quickly, as if challenging Pandora. "Take good care of your sister Ron. Make sure she eats and doesn't get lost in the castle." Ron gave her a smaller smile.

"I promise… mum" Ron said softly. Molly didn't miss her son's lower enthusiasm when speaking to her, and it sank her heart. Pandora also didn't miss it, but she didn't say anything.

"Good, now off you go" Dumbledore smiled at the children, resulting in the children all heading towards the door. "And Ronald…" Ron turned to face the Headmaster. "Do not tell them anything about the sorting, and do not show them the Slytherin common room. Professor Snape will be… **displeased** … if you did either." _Bloody hell I didn't even think of that... I was going to take them straight there…_

"Yes, sir" Ron nodded, shuddering at the thought of Snape finding out. _They would never find my dead body…_

Once they had exited the staircase and gone past the stone gargoyle, Ron turned to face his siblings (yes that included Luna, to him anyway). Percy, Fred, and George were still pale from learning about Ron's massive collection of house points, while the two girls were looking around them frantically. _They want to take in everything._ "So do you want to come with me and meet my friends first?" Ron asked his sisters, trying to ignore his brothers. "Or do you want to explore the castle instead? We have loads of time before lunch!"

"Fifty points…" Fred muttered, looking in the distance. "Git earned them over two hundred…" Ron was beginning to worry for his brothers, they looked so… gone.

"Goodbye House Cup…" George muttered, staring at the ceiling. "Ronnie got you good… Slayer of trolls, and slayer of dreams about breaking winning streaks…" Ron took a step back, eyes-wide at the sight of his brothers being so weird. Even Percy was just looking down the corridor, completely avoiding Ron's gaze.

"I did this…" Percy muttered. "I did this to Gryffindor…" _Merlin… Dumbledore broke them…_

"Girls?" Ron decided to pay attention his sisters instead. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to meet your friends" Luna smiled and spoke in her airy voice.

"Me too!" Ginny added. "Are you really not going to show us Slytherin though?" She was pouting slightly.

"Sorry Gin-Gin" Ron said sheepishly. "Snape would string me up by my toes if I did…" Ron shuddered again.

"Aw… please" Ginny whined. "We'll be super quiet, I promise."

"Sorry Gin, even the Headmaster told me not to do it" Ron said more firmly. "Common rooms are kept secret from the students of other houses. I don't even know where the Gryffindor common room is."

"WHAT?!" Ginny screeched. "Why? Didn't they show you?" Ginny glared at her brothers, who smiled sheepishly.

"That's our cue boys" George grinned, breaking out of his somber mood.

"See you lovely ladies at lunch" Fred added in. Then both the twins bolted away, trying to survive Ginny's incoming tantrum no doubt. _Did he call me a lady too?_

"Sorry Ginny" Percy said with a faint smile. "These are the school rules set by the Founders. You can't break them without risking expulsion." Percy didn't want to explain to Ginny how rough things had gotten for Ron after his sorting. And the part that Fred, George, and even he himself had played in it, so instead he chose to flee like the twins had. "Enjoy your day with Ron you two." With that Percy turned around and left, leaving Ron and the girls behind.

"Let's go and get my friends" Ron beamed at the girls, and they beamed back. _This is going to be the best day!_ Ron then led the girls down to the dungeons and told them to wait at the girl's bathroom for him. They agreed to do as he asked, but he caught Ginny trying to follow him immediately and he begged her to please do what he said. She pouted a lot, but relented in the end and waited hand-in-hand with Luna at the bathroom. Ron then bolted down to the common room entrance and ran straight in after giving the password. His friends were sitting on their usual couch in front of the fire, and they didn't notice him coming from behind.

"Hey guys!" he said a little too loudly, making everyone but Millie and Blaise jump. "Sorry, I'm really excited!" Ron laughed heartily, something he hadn't done for a good long while. It seemed to relax his friends down quite a lot.

"What's happened Ron?" Tracey asked him, getting excited too.

"Well for one, I got us fifty more house points!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, he didn't notice many of the older Slytherins grinning and staring at him from behind. "And secondly… MY LITTLE SISTERS ARE HERE AND I GET TO SHOW THEM AROUND FOR THE WHOLE DAY!" His friends were quiet for five long seconds, processing his words. Then Tracey squealed in excitement and ran up to Ron.

"Where are they?!" she asked loudly. "Tell me quick!"

"They are waiting for me at the girl's bathroom!" Ron answered. Tracey went a little pale at his response.

"Ron…" Daphne spoke softly, staring at him in shock. "Why would you leave them there… of all places?"

"What's wrong with…?" Ron started but was cut off by Theo.

"Don't you remember what happened there just last night?" Theo asked, looking at Ron as if he was the biggest idiot to have ever walked the earth. Ron went pale at the realization. _Oh Merlin…_ Ron then turned around and bolted right out of the common room, followed by his friends. As they got to the bathroom, the girls were nowhere in sight. Ron almost fainted from panic.

"You moron" Blaise muttered towards Ron, trying to catch his breath. "Tracey go check inside for them." Tracey seemed to freeze at that.

"I…I don't…" Tracey stammered, clearly scared. "What if the dead body… I don't want to see that again…"

"I'll go!" Daphne exclaimed, she gave Ron a scathing look before she marched right into the bathroom.

"Seriously Ron…" Millie managed to choke out, completely winded at having to bolt around the school like this. _I'm such a damn moron… What was I thinking?!_ Daphne then came out of the bathroom with a relieved smile, and with Ron's sisters skipping behind her.

"Hi Ron" Luna said softly, Ron almost died from relief at the sight of their happy faces. "Ginny had to use the loo." _They didn't see anything?_

"That's ok…" Ron started, smiling at Luna and Ginny. "You two didn't… see anything in there did you?" Luna just shook her head, but Ginny narrowed her eyes on Ron.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. Daphne shook her head at Ron, telling him to not say a word.

"Nothing…" Ron said, laughing a little too much.

"This is the bathroom that Ron killed the Mountain Troll in" Theo said, smirking. _THIS BASTARD!_ All of Ron's friends just stared at Theo, including Blaise, in utter disbelief. "You have heard of how your brother is a hero, haven't you?" Theo said smoothly, bending down a bit to look Ginny straight into her brown eyes. Ginny seemed to turn completely red, and could only manage a meek nod. "Your brother saved three people last night. That's something to be extremely proud of." Both Ginny and Luna nodded eagerly at that, after that they both ran up and stood behind Ron. _How did he…? Bloody slippery snake this one…_

"Who did…? Who did he save?" Ginny asked, trying to regain her composure.

"Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and… **Harry Potter**!" Theo smirked at the last name. Ginny gasped loudly and clutched at Ron's jumper, pulling him to face her and Luna.

"IS IT TRUE?!" Ginny squealed. Ron scratched his head and smiled in embarrassment from all the attention on him.

"Um… yeah" Ron muttered. Ginny hugged him tightly from his left sized, nearly squeezing his soul out. "Ginny OW! That's too tight!" But she didn't relent. _Is she happy that I saved people or happy that I saved her childhood hero…?_

"Awww" exclaimed the Slytherin girls.

"That's so cute!" Tracey cooed.

"She is killing him…" Blaise muttered.

"Good riddance" Daphne joked, no doubt smirking. Luna just smiled at Ron and then turned her attention to Ron's friends instead.

"He is always saving others" Luna said in her airy voice. She was even more aloof than Blaise, something that Ron found highly amusing. Ginny was still squeezing his soul out and he could do nothing but hug her back. You'd need Dumbledore's magic to pry her off, Ron wagered.

"Is he?" Millicent asked Luna gently.

"He saved my mother's life as well" Luna said softly. "She had an accident and…" Ron decided to stop her.

"Luna, please" Ron managed to squeak out. _Someone get this monster off of me!_ "They don't want to hear such things I'm sure."

"Oh no, we do!" Tracey said loudly. "Luna please continue, and Ron don't be so rude!" _Traitor!_ Luna then quickly went over Pandora's near death experience, with Ron correcting her mistakes as best he could. His friends were quite amazed by the story, and by the end of it even Ginny had let go to listen in.

"Wow… So you were always a bleeding heart?" Theo laughed, earning a scowl from Ron. "Here I thought that you were in love with Tracey when you broke Malfoy's nose for her honor!" _WHAT?! THIS GIT!_ Tracey and Ron both went red in the face at Theo's brazen comment. Daphne was scowling at Ron again, something he was not too surprised by. Blaise and Millie just sighed, passing this up as Theo stirring the pot once again. Ginny glared at Tracey and clutched onto Ron's left arm, making Tracey look away from the frightening little girl in pig tails. Luna just hummed and shook her body side-to-side, making her dress dance around her. _Why is Theo like this?_

"Theo stop taking the piss…" Blaise sighed, but then Daphne smacked Blaise on his arm.

"LANGUAGE!" Daphne shrieked at him. "There are two young ones here!"

"Sorry…" Blaise muttered, rubbing his arm. "Ron is influencing my vocabulary it seems…"

"What's a vocablarly?" Luna asked, smiling at Blaise and looking him dead in the eyes. Unlike Ron, Blaise didn't know that that was a normal thing to do in Luna's book. Blaise stared back for a second, before coughing. _Ha, he is actually feeling uncomfortable! Good going Luna!_

"Um… The word **vocabulary** refers to the words used in any given language" Blaise said in a matter-of-factly way. He was trying to avert his gaze, but Luna was still staring into his soul.

"Luna…" Ron was trying to stifle his laugh. "Staring is rude." _I've never seen someone topple Blaise like this… It's wondrous!_

"He has beautiful eyes" Luna said airily, and then she turned to Ron with a smile. "Can we go explore the castle some more Ron?" Ron nodded at her, grinning ear-to-ear at Blaise's hanging mouth. Theo wasn't even trying to hide his amusement, same as Ginny, and both were laughing outright at Blaise. Daphne and the other two Slytherin girls were just staring at Luna like she was from a different planet. _Ah, I love Luna… I'll never forget this and I'll make sure Blaise doesn't either!_

Ron showed his sisters around the castle with the help of his friends, who were smart enough to figure out that Luna wasn't really Ron's sister. But Daphne, Tracey, and Millicent thought it was really cute that Ron insisted that she was, and they cooed when they saw Luna beaming with joy. Ron had just finished showing the lake, which was his favorite place at Hogwarts, to the girls and had told them that this was where he did his morning runs.

"Is this where you disappear off to in the mornings?" Blaise questioned.

"Yeah" Ron replied with a grin. "Need to keep in shape or I won't become a competent wizard!" His friends looked at him like he had grown another head. "What?" Ron asked, feeling irked.

"How does running around make you a 'competent' wizard?" Tracey asked him in a mocking tone. Ron sighed and he really couldn't be bothered telling them what Charlie had told him. Also he didn't remember the entire lecture. Then an idea clicked in his brain. _This is a good chance to show off a little…_ Ron then smirked and slowly drew out his wand. "Ron?" Tracey said slowly.

"I'm just gonna show you all something" Ron hummed, delighted to see his friend's becoming curious. "Gin and Luna, do you want to see me do some magic?" His sisters nodded enthusiastically, making Ron feel excited about showing them his skills. _They will be so impressed… if I don't mess this up._ Ron then quickly turned around, and pointed his wand at a thick tree behind him.

"REDUCTO!" Ron said loudly, and clearly. Blue light beamed out of his beautiful wand and a massive chunk of the tree was blasted to pieces, making the tree topple and fall over. Ginny and Luna clapped with childish glee, squealing at seeing Ron blow up a tree with no effort on his part. They did not know that Ron could only do that spell two or three times before he would actually pass out from exhaustion. But Ron made sure to keep his smirk in place as he gazed around to see everyone's reactions. His sisters were ecstatic, his friends were just staring at the tree with wide-eyes and their mouths hanging open. "And that is why you go for a run every morning" Ron chuckled at his friends' expression.

"Ronnie do another one!" Ginny yelled, laughing and clapping. Ron turned and looked to Luna, wanting to see if she was as excited as Ginny. She was a bit aloof, but she was also clapping and jumping around to see Ron do another one.

"All right" Ron laughed. He looked around and saw a rather large boulder not too far away. "All right everyone needs to step back for this one." His friends looked at him rather oddly, but did as he said. When they were safely further away, Ron joined them and pointed his wand at the boulder. "EXPULSO!" Blue light once again beamed out of his wand, and the boulder had a massive chunk of it blown apart with overwhelming force. The sound was loud, and Ron worried that the professors might hear it in the castle. Ron then turned to face everyone else, only to see them all rooted in their spots in absolute awe. Ron grinned but he knew that he was too tired to do anymore spells for the day, so he tucked his wand into his robes.

"You… you weren't lying this morning…" Daphne managed to mutter out. _I was sort of, but they don't need to know that._ Ron shrugged his shoulders casually at her, making her go completely quiet.

"Merlin…" Theo whispered. "How?" He looked at Ron with wariness in his eyes. _Hopefully I didn't overdo it and scare them too much. I'd hate to lose them like that…_

"Ron that was amazing!" Ginny squealed. "Can you all do that kind of magic?!" she asked his friends, who all just shook their heads.

"Ron is special" Luna hummed, back to her usual aloof behavior. Ron blushed a bit at her words, they didn't make him as embarrassed anymore because he saw Luna like a little sister now. A loud bell rang out from the castle, making them all turn towards the castle. "What's that for?" Luna hummed.

"Lunch is about to start" Ron told her. "I can't wait to show you the feast!" With that he took Ginny and Luna's hands in his, and began guiding them back to the castle. "You can eat at the Slytherin table with me, I'm sure no one will mind." Ron then shot Theo a quick glance for confirmation, which Theo gave by giving a curt nod. _He still looks out of sorts, they all do. But at least I know I won't get in trouble for bring my sisters along._

The Great Hall had left Luna and Ginny awed the first time he had shown them, but now it was packed full with the student body and it looked even grander because of it. "The Slytherin table is over here" Ron said as he pulled them along. They sat down and his sisters quickly sat on either side of him, Ginny to his right and Luna to his left. Theo and Blaise didn't seem to mind, as they quietly sat down with the Slytherin girls across from Ron and his sisters.

Ron couldn't help but notice that many Slytherins, and other houses, were looking over to Ron curiously. _Probably because I have my sisters here and they don't know that I got permission for it._ Ron then gazed over to the staff table and noticed that even the professors were looking at his sisters with a bit of alarm. Dumbledore however, was smiling kindly at Ron and his sisters. Snape was frowning and shooting an icy stare right at Ron, which made the red-haired boy shudder in fear. _He is going to kill me…_

"Who are they?" came a voice from behind Ron, making him jerk around. There stood the female prefect Carey Ductu, the person who had made Ron into a celebrity of sorts.

"Um… They're my sisters" Ron began, hoping to not get in any trouble. "Professor Dumbledore allowed them to spend the day with me… you know after…" _PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME DETENTION IN FRONT OF THEM!_ Carey's face lightened at the explanation.

"I see" she smiled softly at Ron, and then at his sisters. "I hope he is taking good care of you two" she cooed at the younger girls, who nodded and smiled back.

"He is" Luna said airily. "He didn't show us the Slytherin common room though." Carey looked at Ron and gave him an understanding nod.

"He would get into trouble for that" Carey explained. "Tell me, do you two want to be in Slytherin as well?" _Is she trying to…? What is she playing at?_ Ron then heard a scoff come from further down the table. _I know that pompous voice…_

"As if we need two more weasels besmirching…" Malfoy's voice stopped abruptly. One of the older female students had silenced him with her wand. Ron was grateful for that because he didn't want his sisters hearing Malfoy's filth, but he was curious as to who the older blonde haired girl was. _She looks like a seventh year…_

"So, do you want to be in Slytherin?" Carey continued, like nothing had happened. Ginny looked at Ron a little apprehensively but Luna didn't seem to even give a second thought about her response.

"Yes, I'd like that" Luna said softly, giving Carey her airy smile. "I hope there is pudding at the end of lunch." Carey seemed to be taken aback a bit by Luna, and Ron just smiled in understanding.

"Well… if there isn't you can always go and ask the elves down in the kitchen" Carey said slowly, trying to figure out Luna's oddness. Ron didn't know about the elves in the kitchen so he was surprised to hear about that. _I'll go have a look when I get the chance. Elves are supposed to be extremely helpful to witches and wizards, I wouldn't mind having them doing me a few favors._ "Take care you guys" Carey bid them all farewell and walked off to her own seat with her year-mates. Ron didn't miss the quick glance she shot him when she sat down. _Why do I have such a bad feeling about all of this in my gut? The older students are being really weird around me…_

Then lunch appeared and the girls were in awe at the amount of food that was there. Ginny dug right in like Ron used to, while Luna ate with proper manners which were no doubt taught to her by Pandora. Ron ate with his new 'etiquette', much to Ginny's shock. "Ronnie, why are you eating like that?" she asked him, clearly confused. "You always eat really fast and pile all the food you can on your plate…" Theo chuckled at that, making Ron shoot him a scornful glare.

"Yes your brother was quite the beast" Theo joked, earning some muffled laughs from the others around him. "Blaise and I had our work cut out for us that's for certain. But look at him now" Theo smirked, gesturing to Ron with his hand. "We've finally… tamed him." _I'll show you tame!_

Ron immediately started piling more food onto his plate and dug in like an animal as he used to. All of Ron's friends started giggling at that, including Blaise who was chuckling under his breath. Ginny and Luna looked at each of them and smiled happily, they liked Ron's friends. Both of them had met up a few times after Ron had left for Hogwarts, and both of them had worried that Ron wouldn't fit into Slytherin and that they wouldn't be very nice to him.

But so far, every one they had met seemed to like Ron. Except for that platinum haired boy who was sneering at Ron and them every now and then, and the scary black haired professor. All in all, both Luna and Ginny had decided that Slytherin wasn't the house that they thought it was. Everyone had always told them, especially Ginny, that it was a house for Dark Wizards, but Ron was the furthest thing from being a Dark Wizard.

Lunch was coming to a close and much to Luna's joy, there was pudding for dessert. Ginny asked Ron's friends question after question about her brother and how he was doing at school. And she beamed in pride when they told her that Ron was probably the top student in their year. Lunch overall, was a great success in Ron's mind. Except for a sneering Malfoy whose eyes clashed with Ron a few times during lunch. But Ron made sure to keep himself in check, he didn't want to start anything with Malfoy while his sisters were with him.

Ron also found it amusing that Daphne was treating his sisters like they were her own, she constantly called them 'little ones' and even complimented Ginny and Luna multiple times. Ron just wished that Daphne would treat him like that once in a while, it would completely make up for her constant pouting and whining about him. Ron also noticed that Ginny would blush every time Theo spoke to her, and it irked him greatly especially because Theo was being far too nice. He had to have some sort of agenda, Ron just knew it.

Lunch ended with a bell, and the students started to stand up and leave to continue on with their day. Ron and his group were almost out of the Hall when a soft, but authoritative voice called Ron to a stop. _Oh no…_ Ron turned around and looked up at Professor Snape whose face was expressionless, but Ron knew better by now. "Mr. Weasley, I would like to have a word with you" Snape said softly, and then he looked over to the others around Ron. "Privately." Ginny and Luna looked at Ron a bit sheepishly, and he gave them a reassuring smile.

"Come little ones, we will wait outside for Ron" Daphne said, as she took the girls' hands. Ron gave her a thankful smile and she nodded her head at him, smiling in return. Then she led Ron's sisters out, followed by Ron's friends. Ron then turned and look at Professor Snape again, gulping loudly. _He doesn't look angry… but then again he never does until he is…_

"Yes, sir?" Ron asked, trying to speak clearly. Snape just gazed at Ron in silence for a few seconds, and Ron could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat.

"I assume the Headmaster has given you permission to bring your sister and friend into the school" Snape drawled. "I certainly hope you weren't foolish enough to show them the Slytherin common room." Ron shook his head at that, almost too enthusiastically. Snape just raised his eyebrow at that. "Good, because if you had Mr. Weasley" Snape paused and looked deep into Ron's eyes. "I would be most… **displeased**... with you." Ron gulped loudly again, and felt his hands begin to shake a little. Snape truly was the scariest professor at Hogwarts, and his detentions were something that every student spoke about in fearful whispers. _I don't want to clean his lab with my bare hands…_ "I heard that the Headmaster awarded you another fifty house points this morning… Care to elaborate?"

Ron knew that this wasn't a request, it was an order. So he told Snape about Pandora and everything that had happened in saving her, then Ron finished by telling Snape that this was the reason behind the Headmaster giving him another fifty points. Snape didn't say a word in between and was silent for a few moments after Ron had finished. "Very well" Snape broke the silence. "You may go back to your friends now Mr. Weasley, and remember to keep the common room a secret." Snape then turned around and billowed away, making Ron release a breath he didn't know that he was holding. _Bloody hell…_ Ron then walked out of the Great Hall and approached his friends with a sheepish grin.

"Everything all right?" Blaise asked him, sounding like he didn't actually care about Ron's answer. But Ron knew now that that was just how Blaise talked in general.

"Yeah" Ron answer. "He just warned me not to show the common room…"

"That took far too long for such a short warning" Daphne narrowed her eyes at Ron. _So nosey…_

"It's the truth. He also wanted to know why I was given more points though… so yeah" Ron finished lamely. "Let me show you the library next" Ron quickly turned to his sisters. Ginny pouted, but Luna smiled and nodded eagerly. Ron then took their hands and made his way to the library, followed by his friends. Before they entered the library though, Ron made sure to warn the girls not to utter a single word or else Madam Pince would throw them all out.

Luna, and even Ginny, were completely taken aback by the size of the library and the thousands of books that were there. Ron guided them quietly to his favorite section, which was the Reference Section because it had a lot of spell books in it. When they finished their tour, Ron quietly guided them back out and they all ran into Hermione who was clutching a massive book to her chest. She looked to be heading towards the library, no doubt to start the homework that wasn't even assigned to them yet.

"Hey Hermione!" Ron greeted her enthusiastically. She smiled and approached him, looking at Ron's group of friends with a little apprehension.

"Hi Ronald" Hermione greeted. _Ronald… Don't like being called Ronald by people my own age…_

"It's just Ron, Hermione" Ron said, and then he turned around and pointed at his sisters. "These are my sisters, Luna and Ginny! Professor Dumbledore is letting me show them around for the day!" Hermione looked at the two girls, and her eyes stayed on Luna for a little longer. _She's probably already figured it out._ Then Hermione beamed at them, and put forward her hand for a shake.

"Hi I'm your brother's friend, my name is Hermione Granger" she introduced herself to them. They shook hands with her, both sisters smiling at meeting another one of Ron's friends.

"Hermione Granger" Luna hummed as she held Hermione's hand, smiling gently at Hermione. Hermione was a little taken aback, but tried to smile back at her. "You're the person Ron saved" Luna spoke softly. Hermione smiled and nodded at her, then she looked to Ron who was mouthing 'sorry' to her. She shook her head at him.

"Yes, he was very brave" Hermione told Luna. "Also Ron" she turned to him "Harry and Neville wanted to talk to you about something. Do you… do you want me to go get them?" Ginny squealed all of a sudden, making Ron jump.

"HARRY POTTER?!" Ginny asked, her eyes-wide. "Can we meet him Ronnie?! PLEASE!" Ron looked at Ginny and sighed in defeat. Then he nodded to Hermione, who was wearing a very sly grin on her face. _Um… what's this…?_

"I'll go and get them… Ronnie" Hermione giggled, before turning around and walking back towards her common room. Ron just stood there, red as a tomato, and tried his best to block out the snickering of his friends.

"I noticed it before…" Theo said in between his sniggers. "But I didn't want to embarrass you too badly! Granger doesn't seem to care though… Ronnie!" At that he burst into a roaring laugh, joined by all of Ron's friends who didn't seem to care that they were near the library. Ron just stared into the distance, feeling hot in the face from annoyance and embarrassment. _Damn Theo, I'm gonna hex him one of these days…_

"Sorry Ron" Ginny apologized, but she was grinning wolfishly. _Evil little monster…_

"I like the nickname 'Ronnie', I think it's cute" Luna said airily, clearly unaffected by the situation.

"It is cute, little one" Daphne managed to squeeze out before laughing again. They were all in tears at Ron's misfortune.

"So cute!" Millicent chuckled, trying to calm herself down but failing. _Theodore Nott… One day…_

They waited for five more minutes, all taking digs at Ron and laughing at his bright red face. Even though it was annoying, Ron found himself enjoying their laughter and soon joined in himself. Then Harry, Neville, and Hermione came around from the corner. Harry and Neville were wary of Ron's company, but Hermione seemed to have moved past it now. "Hi Ron…" Harry said, looking a little sheepish. Ron felt someone jump behind him, and then peer over from his side. _Ginny…_

"Harry, what's the matter?" Ron asked, getting a little worried at Harry's tense behavior.

"Nothing's wrong" Harry quickly said, and then smiled a little. "I just wanted to thank you… for you know… saving us **again** …" Ron let out a relieved breath and smile at Harry.

"Don't give it a second thought mate" Ron said, trying to sound casual about it. "I mean I was looking for Hermione the second time around so…" Ron trailed off. He didn't want Harry or Neville to even think that he knew that they would be there. _Actually I don't want anyone to think that…_

" **Second time**?" came in Daphne's voice from behind. _Oh bloody hell Harry… See what you've done!_ "What does he mean by second time?" Daphne narrowed her eyes on Ron, who turned and grinned at her sheepishly.

"Oh… I… um helped Harry and Neville… also Hermione before… just the once…" Ron stammered and finished lamely. Ron turned to Harry and gave him a guilty grin, while Harry looked at Ron apologetically. "On a brighter note, Harry meet my sisters!" Ron quickly exclaimed, hoping to change the topic. Ron then stepped to the side, revealing Ginny and also Luna. "This is Ginny, and this is Luna" Ron said as he pointed them out respectively.

"Oh! Hello" Harry said, looking at Ginny with a genuine smile. She went wide-eyed and ran behind Ron again, red as a tomato. Harry looked at Ron, a little alarmed, and mouthed 'what did I do?' to which Ron just shook his head slowly.

"Hello, Harry Potter" Luna hummed at Harry, making Harry look at her. "I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm Ron's little sister." Luna finished proudly, but Harry was just staring at her in confusion.

"Lovegood? Shouldn't it be… Weasley?" Harry muttered, trying not to be rude.

"No" Luna shook her head in a cute way. "Why would it be?" Luna then turned to face Neville, who looked even more bewildered than poor Harry. "Hello Neville Longbottom."

"Hi" was all Neville managed, horribly confused at the odd behavior displayed by both of Ron's little sisters. Both of whom looked nothing like each other to him, so that was even more confusing.

"So yeah…" Harry said, shaking his head to move on from the awkwardness. "Thanks for saving us Ron, both Neville and I owe you one." Ron was going to refuse the favor at first, but in the end decided that having **Harry Potter** owe you one could help his mission quite a bit. _I'm a proper snake now, aren't I? Damn you Blaise and Theo…_ So Ron just gave Harry a strong nod.

"I also owe you one Ron" Hermione piped up, a smile on her face. _She looks happier today than she ever has in all the time I've known her._

"I'll keep that in mind" Ron replied, smiling at her kindly. She blushed a bit, and gave him a determined nod. The Gryffindors then said their goodbyes and trotted off, Ron noticed that Hermione was actually speaking with the two Gryffindor boys rather excitedly. _They are all friends now… good. Also she forgot about the library…_ Ron chuckled at that. "So where to next?" he asked his sisters.

Ron spent the remainder of the day showing Hogwarts to the girls, they still never managed to fully explore the castle however, as it was too large. Dinner was superb, filled with laughter and jokes. Ron's friends, especially the girls, got along famously with his sisters. They had even looked past Luna's slightly odd behavior and managed to make her laugh more than few times. Professor McGonagall then came over to collect the two girls, much to Ron's disappointment. The girls said their goodbyes to Ron and his friends, and Ginny had even started tearing up at having to leave. After McGonagall took Ginny and Luna to the Headmaster's Office in order to send them home, Ron and his friends headed to the common room to call it a day.

"I'm just saying" Theo grinned "that 'Ronnie' isn't so bad!"

"Sod off Theo…" Ron grumbled, hating his new pet name. _Well not 'new', but still…_

"Give it a rest you two" Blaise sighed, earning nods of agreement from the girls. Then Blaise said the password 'Clean-Blood', making Ron and Tracey roll their eyes, and they all entered the common room. They went for their favorite couch, and much to Ron's anger, Malfoy and his cronies were already sitting on it and waiting for them.

"Well, well" Malfoy sneered at Ron. "If it isn't the 'Troll Slayer'…" Ron could feel the contempt coming from Malfoy's voice, and it made him clench his hands into fists. _What does he want now?!_

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked through gritted teeth. "And get off our couch…" Malfoy let out a bitter laugh.

"Your couch? Nothing in this great house belongs to you, you filthy little Blood-Traitor." Malfoy glared murder at Ron, and Ron glared murder right back. _I can still throw out one more Reducto… Maybe I should split his head open with it just as I did to the troll!_ Then the troll's corpse flashed in his head and Ron shuddered. _What the bloody hell am I thinking…? Just calm down Ron… calm down._ "Nothing to say to that, Blood-Traitor?" Malfoy egged on.

"Draco…" Blaise said in a soft voice, making Malfoy and the others look at him. "Shut up." The silence was deafening, no one said a word as they all just stared between Malfoy and Blaise. Malfoy looked like he been slapped across the face, while Blaise held a stern, focused look. Ron was the most surprised of them all, Blaise was openly standing up for him.

"You… you dare…" Malfoy stammered, anger turning his face red. "I am a MALFOY! My father…" Theo then stepped in and cut him off.

"Your father isn't here Draco" Theo said, adorning an extremely serious face. Ron had never seen Theo this serious before and it kind of worried him. "We have tried to include you in this group over and over again. But you refuse to listen…" Theo trailed off with a sigh. "Why are you being so stubborn? It can't be that you don't understand the…" Malfoy cut Theo off with a yell.

"I'M BEING STUBBORN?!" Malfoy yelled, his voice cracking under the strain. Malfoy was red in the face and angrier than Ron had ever seen him. _What is happening here…? I'm not sure that this is about me anymore…_ "We have known each other since we were children! And yet you would rather follow this FILTHY BLOOD-TRAITOR! And I'm being stubborn?!" Malfoy was frothing at the mouth at this point, but Theo and Blaise held their resolve. Tracey looked scared and was looking to Daphne to stop this. Daphne was glaring at Malfoy, same as Millicent. Ron just wanted to sneak off at this point, this fight wasn't actually about him. _This is about my friends not choosing Malfoy over me…_ Ron looked around slowly and noticed that every student in the common room was watching the fight with interest.

"Yes Draco…" Blaise said in a soft yet strong voice. "You are being stubborn." Malfoy looked at Blaise in utter disbelief, making Blaise raise his hand to stop Malfoy from interfering. "Ron hasn't once started a fight with you… it's always you that starts it, and for no apparent reason other than his family's allegiances." Blaise then sighed and shook his head in a tired manner. "You need to grow up… You're the Slytherin that is holding everyone back… Ron is twice the Slytherin you are right now."

"You…" Malfoy was utterly shaken at that. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were also shocked beyond words.

"Not even a day ago, Ron went ahead and singlehandedly killed a Mountain Troll at the age of eleven…" Theo said in a dead-serious tone. "He has secured more points for this house than any other student… He is being hailed as a hero amongst the other three houses… When was the last time anyone from outside of Slytherin showed this house any modicum of respect? Even Snape approves of him!" Theo was beginning to turn red as he ranted on. "So why wouldn't we align our goals with his?! WHY THE FUCK AREN'T YOU DOING THE SAME DAMN THING DRACO?!" Theo shouted, the veins in his head popping out. _Bloody hell…_

Ron was starting feel guilty about all of this for a reason he didn't even understand yet. He just didn't like seeing Theo like this, of that he was sure. Theo was supposed to be the charismatic and funny one, and it was Ron who was supposed to be the angry, red-in-the-face one. Daphne moved forward and put a hand on Theo's shoulder, trying to pull him back gently. But Theo didn't budge, he just stood there rooted and glaring murder at Malfoy. Malfoy was looking at Theo with wide eyes that were becoming wet, his bottom lip quivering.

"You're…" Malfoy said quietly. "You're supposed to be my friends… not his…" Malfoy whispered, it was barely audible and Ron was sure that only the first years had heard it.

"You're the one being hostile, Draco" Blaise replied, his voice strained. "You're the one who won't listen…" Ron felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Deep down he felt a strong pang of guilt because he now fully understood that he was the reason behind their childhood group of friends being ripped apart. All of these Slytherins were taught by their parents to ally themselves with strong people, and both Theo and Blaise had done just that. Even if it meant that they left their childhood friend, Draco Malfoy, behind…

Ron then felt something that he never thought he'd ever feel in his life. He felt sorry towards Malfoy. _I took his friends away from him, so of course he hates me… I'd hate me too… And I never once thought about how that must affect Theo and Blaise… or even Daphne and Millie… I just didn't care at all… If I had…_ No one said a word, the room was dead silent again. The older Slytherins just watched and waited to see the outcome of this fight. Almost a minute passed and no one seemed to be making any moves, and Ron felt his resolve weakening every second. _This is my fault… I should be the one to fix it right? Then why aren't I doing anything?_

Ron gritted his teeth, and swallowed his pride. _Theo and Blaise are hurting because of me…_ Ron took a step forward, all eyes followed him immediately. _They are all hurting because of me…_ Ron took a calming breath and looked Malfoy dead in the eyes. Ocean blue eyes met stormy grey eyes, and Ron finally decided that enough was enough. _This has to end._ Ron put his right hand forward towards Malfoy, waiting for him to shake hands and bury the hatchet. There were stunned gasps from a few people around the room, and Ron saw Pansy looking at Ron from behind Malfoy. _Is she… smiling… just a little?_ Her eyes were glistening with tears, which was something that Ron didn't miss. _I took her friends away too…_ Malfoy stared at Ron's hand, confusion etched on his face.

"Please…" Ron whispered, just loud enough for Malfoy to hear. Malfoy looked up and met Ron's gaze again. The moment felt like forever, and Ron actually began to hope that Malfoy would take his hand. And in doing so, put a stop to a lot of misery including his own. _Please… just do it…_

"Don't touch me…" Malfoy spoke, his voice laced with venom. Then Malfoy turned away from Ron and marched towards the boys' dorms. Ron didn't move an inch, there was nothing he could do. Ron looked over to Pansy, and she had tears falling down her face now. They locked eyes for a second before she ran after Malfoy, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. Ron ignored the murmurs coming from the older students around the room, all he could think about was how he had just destroyed childhood friendships by being sorted into Slytherin.

He couldn't even begin to understand why Malfoy had chosen to walk away… he just couldn't… Ron turned around to face his friends. The sight hurt him, and he lost his breath because of it. Theo was red in the face, and he had thick tears falling down his face but he wasn't crying. Blaise's eyes were red and glistening, and he was looking at where Malfoy had been standing a moment ago. Daphne was doing her best not to cry but he could see her lips quivering, her resolve weakening in every second. Millie was just sobbing quietly, while Tracey was trying her very best to comfort the bigger girl. Ron and Tracey locked eyes with each other, both outsiders who had intruded into this childhood group of friends. _Only she didn't do this… I'm the one who broke them apart…_ Ron then looked at Blaise, who was now looking Ron in the eyes. There was genuine hurt and pain in Blaise's eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Ron said softly, guilt tearing his chest apart. "I'm the cause…" Ron trailed off, not being able to stand in front of them any longer. Ron then turned and walked to his dorm, looking at the floor the entire way. _I wasn't even meant to be sorted into Slytherin… I shouldn't be here in the first place…_ When he got to his bed, he closed the curtains and sealed them before laying down. As soon as his head touched the pillow, sleep claimed him.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed this slow chapter. I felt that after the last few tense chapters, Ron really needed a break. It's the relationships between the characters that make the story worthwhile. And I want this story to focus on those relationships.**

 **See you guys next chapter! Which might be up after the weekend... sorry but it's my birthday on Friday and I have so much stuff planned for the weekend with my friends! I'll be to busy to sit down and write the next chapter out. So see you on Monday!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Flying Brooms

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Good Morning! I know that I said that I wouldn't update another chapter until Monday, but today is my Birthday! And so I felt especially generous. So I spent all of yesterday writing this out! Now a couple of things.**

 **1\. There is a small time skip half-way through the chapter, so be ready for that.**

 **2\. A couple of new OC's will be introduced in this chapter. They will play a much bigger role down the road. This is just their introduction.**

 **3\. DAPHNE POV at the end! You finally get to see inside the spoiled princess's mind.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 11 – Flying Brooms and Decorated Trees**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron woke up early on Sunday morning as he usually did, and then began his routine. He washed his face, cleaned his teeth, put on his running gear, and then left for the lake. He just needed some fresh air to clear his head, and maybe to blow up a tree or two. The air had a sharp cold to it, the kind that digs into your bones if you don't warm up quickly enough. So Ron did his stretches and then began his usual five laps around the lake, only to be interrupted after his first one by Theo and Blaise.

The two Slytherins were also wearing their running gears, both of which looked a hundred times more expensive than Ron's. _Now what?_ Ron stopped in front of the two stretching boys. "What are you two doing?" Ron asked politely, he didn't want to start another fight after last night. He was still feeling a little raw from watching his friends let go of their emotions near him for the first time. _I didn't have a clue about how they really felt about Malfoy…_

"What does it look like?" Theo asked sarcastically as he stretched his arms. "We are joining you for a run."

"Why…?" Ron asked slowly. Blaise sighed loudly at that, clearly annoyed with Ron's questions.

"Yesterday you told us that morning runs help a wizard become much stronger" Blaise started. "Then you proceeded to blow up entire trees and boulders… We want in." _They want me to teach them?_

"I see…" Ron muttered, trying to hide his gaze from the two. Theo and Blaise noticed that immediately and both of them let out an annoyed sigh.

"Listen Ron" Theo began, making Ron look towards the lake. _Here it comes…_ "What happened yesterday wasn't your fault. We have been… angry… with Draco for a while now. His stubbornness is putting a strain on our friendship with him, and he…" Theo trailed off.

"He is being unwise" Blaise added, which made Ron turn around to face him. "He expects us to lower our chances of achieving our goals, without making any compromises himself. That isn't how things work in our families… Diplomacy requires negotiations and respect for the other party, not threats and belittling. And after yesterday, we all saw that you were willing to swallow your pride for our sake… I… **We** appreciate that Ron." Blaise finished strongly, holding Ron's gaze. "We truly do" Blaise said sincerely, taking Ron by surprise.

"Draco wants to lead the Slytherins…" Theo sighed, sounding tired. "But you can't lead just because your father is a powerful man… Draco needs to learn that. He has always been that way, throwing his father's name around in order to get us to do what he wants. And now that we got sick of it… he doesn't know how to get us back, so he makes more threats and tries to bully us into coming back…" Theo rubbed his temples at that. _Bullied…? When?_

"He bullied you?" Ron asked, his voice sounded irked.

"Calm down there, Ron" Blaise almost chuckled. "We aren't easily pushed around, and you don't always know what we do when you aren't around. We've had some… run-ins… with Draco and the others." Ron grimaced at hearing that. _Freaking coward tries to intimidate them when I'm not there… And I actually felt sorry for him last night._

"Crabbe and Goyle" Blaise continued "are still the same as always, doing whatever Draco says without any thought. Pansy though… I think Pansy is starting to see that siding with Draco isn't in her best interest anymore. She's always fancied him…" Blaise finished bitterly, making Ron quirk an eyebrow. _I know jealousy when I hear it… after all, who could know jealousy better than me?_ Theo looked at Blaise with a sympathetic smile, something which Ron didn't know that Theo was capable of.

"Maybe it isn't all lost just yet" Theo said hopefully. "Draco and the others might still come around…"

"Why would you want that?" Ron asked, genuinely confused. "I mean it sounds horrible being friends with that git… at least the way you put it."

"It can be" Blaise mused. "But that doesn't mean that we didn't have great times together. If there is one good thing about Draco, it's that he is very loyal to those who stand by him." Ron narrowed his eyes at that. "Don't give me that look. He chose to help me… In a way that no one ever had… without any care about how much trouble he got into. He isn't an evil person, Ron" Blaise finished quietly, his gaze falling to the distance as if remembering a memory that he couldn't speak about. Ron nodded and chose to respect his privacy, Ron knew how it felt to keep things to oneself. _It's better that way… for you and everyone else…_

"I've finished one lap…" Ron said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. "We have four more to go."

"FOUR?!" Theo's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Around the whole bloody lake?! Really…" Theo looked horrified, while Blaise and Ron broke into laughs. With that they started their morning run, the first of many…

Ron entered the common room with a massive grin on his face, especially after Blaise and Theo limped in after him. Theo was complaining the whole time back, while Blaise had come to the sobering realization that he wasn't as in shape as he had believed. Ron had been doing this for almost three years and he had acquired quite the stamina, which resulted in Ron running circles around the two other boys.

As all three of them were heading up to their dorm to clean up, Ron was stopped by Daphne halfway. "Can I talk to you?" she asked in a serious tone, which made Ron a little nervous. Ron gave nods to Theo and Blaise to go on without him, not that they would have waited. _Gits…_

"Yeah sure" Ron said to Daphne, giving her a smile. That wasn't the right thing to do apparently because she quickly moved past him and went towards a secluded corner. _That bad huh? Let's just get this over with…_ Ron joined her and leaned against the wall, facing her. "Well, is everything all right?" Daphne didn't respond, instead she just looked at him for a few moments.

"You smell" Daphne said curtly. Ron felt his face flush, and his ears became red.

"I… sorry" Ron said in an embarrassed tone. _Should've taken a shower…_

"No" Daphne said, raising her hand to stop him. "You just came back from a run so I shouldn't…" she paused at that, and then let out a sigh. "I'm not very… good… at this sort of thing so I'm just going to say it. I'm sorry, Ron" she blurted out quickly. Ron was taken by surprise at that. _Sorry about what? What happened now?_

"Sorry about what?" Ron gave voice to his thoughts. Daphne looked at her feet sheepishly, something she never did.

"I'm sorry for being so hard on you… about Granger" Daphne whispered, clearly not wanting anyone to overhear her. _Oh…_ "I was being unfair to you about trying to be friends with Granger... And then…" she paused again to take a deep breath. "And then the troll almost killed her. She would be dead if you hadn't…" She trailed off at that, clearly haunted by seeing the Mountain Troll and what Ron had done to it.

"Yeah" Ron muttered lamely. _Hermione would be dead, same as Neville and Harry…_

"So… I'm sorry… I was being a…" she stopped, and then whispered even more softly. "Brat…" _Dear Merlin… this can't be real!_ Ron couldn't help but break into a grin, which earned him an angry huff and then Daphne began marching past him.

"Wait" Ron said, stopping her. "You still didn't tell me why you didn't like me associating with Hermione." Daphne turned around to face him slowly, her cheeks were rosy pink and she looked him in the eyes.

"It… It doesn't matter, I was wrong and you were right" she muttered quickly, before turning around and marching to the girls' dorms. _Um… ok then. Today is going pretty well for me._

The day went by quickly after that, and Ron couldn't help but notice that Malfoy and his gang were keeping their distance. Malfoy looked especially indifferent and distracted. Crabbe and Goyle still looked like they had no idea about what was going on, but it sort of made him glad that they were still trying to cheer Malfoy up. He still hated Malfoy, no doubt about that, but both Blaise and Theo still wanted to be friends with him so Ron decided that he would behave and not cause any sort of problems for them.

Ron also couldn't help but notice that Pansy was shooting him quick looks, and he chose to ignore them as best he could. _If she comes and talks to me, then I'll see what she wants._ With that in mind, Ron went through his day like he would any other day.

As he sat down for dinner however, a soft hand was placed on his left shoulder from behind. He turned to see Carey Ductu, the fifth year Slytherin female prefect, standing there with a soft smile on her lips. "Hello Ron" she started "do you mind if I call you Ron?" Ron was a little surprised to see her and instantly became wary of what she wanted. _Slytherins don't do anything without a reason behind it…_

"Is there something you need?" Ron asked, his expression guarded. She just smiled a little more at that, which irked Ron a little.

"I was hoping to invite you to eat with me and my friends today. Would that be fine with you?" she asked him sweetly. It was rather obvious that she was putting on an act. Ron opened his mouth to decline but was cut off immediately by another voice.

"He would love to" Theo said quickly, giving Ron an odd look. "Go on Ron, we'll see you after dinner." Blaise all but pushed him out of his seat, making Ron even more annoyed. _Can't go a single day without something happening…_ But Ron followed Carey Ductu silently and then sat down next to her with a group of fifth years. There was an awkward silence as the fifth years stared at Ron, studying him. Ron began to feel uncomfortable pretty quickly but just when he was about to leave, Carey spoke in a soft voice.

"You didn't answer my question" Carey said. "Do you mind if I call you Ron?" _Yes, I would…_

"Not at all, I prefer it" Ron answered, trying his best to be polite. Carey gave him an approving smile at that.

"Good" she said, her voice almost sweet and kind. "These are my friends, Clara Martyris and Samantha Selwyn." Carey then gestured to the fifth year girls in front of Ron respectively. Clara Martyris was a girl with short, brown hair and black eyes. She wore a wide smile on her face that seemed to be quite natural, which put Ron a little at ease. _She doesn't look so bad…_

Samantha Selwyn however, was a different story. She had long, black hair which was parted right in the middle, and she seemed to be quite tall for a girl as she was a head higher than Clara even when sitting down. Samantha held a slight frown on her face that seemed to be fixed and her silver eyes stared directly into his ocean blue ones, making Ron shudder a little. _She is rather scary looking…_

If he had to choose which of the three girls was the prettiest, he would have chosen Carey Ductu. The female prefect had long, blonde hair which was tied in a high ponytail. Her green eyes were the color of emeralds and they sparkled because of the candles lighting the Great Hall. "Clara and Samantha, this is Ron Weasley" Carey introduced him.

"Pleasure to meet you" Ron greeted the two girls in a polite voice, whilst giving them his best smile. _Please excuse me so I can go eat in peace with my friends…_ Ron made sure to keep that last thought in his head. He didn't want Samantha to suck his soul out like a dementor from his father's stories about Azkaban Prison.

"Oh you are sooo cute" Clara cooed, her voice was dripping with sweetness. "Isn't he adorable Sammy?" Clara asked, making Ron break into a blush. No girl other than his mother and Pandora had called him cute before, he wasn't sure he liked that kind of attention from these girls.

"He is…" Samantha said, her voice was so cold that Ron had to fight the urge not to shudder. Her facial expression didn't even change when she spoke, making her look like one of Ginny's dolls. "But he isn't just cute from what we have seen and heard." Clara nodded at that and Carey simply watched Ron's face, as if still studying him.

"We heard you talking to your little friends the other day…" Samantha's voice got even colder somehow. "You are quite confident in your magical aptitude from what we heard, 'Enough to slay a dozen more trolls' is what you said I believe." Ron froze a little at that, he didn't know if they knew he was lying when he said that. So he kept quiet and maintained eye contact with the scary girl. Then he gave her a strong nod, which made her frown a little more. _I'm trying to be polite here, but she really isn't making it easy for me…_

"See, I told you" Clara cooed again. "He is a perfect candidate!" _Wait a minute… what is she on about?_

"Excuse me?" Ron asked, looking to Carey for an explanation. Before she answered him however, food appeared on the table.

"Let's eat, and then we can talk during dessert" Carey smiled her fake smile at him, making him even more annoyed. _Just want one night without these Slytherins and their fake smiles…_ But Ron didn't push her, instead he began eating with the etiquette Theo had spent so much time teaching him. After dinner was eaten and dessert was presented to the students, Carey turned to face Ron again. "Now, you had a question to ask?"

"Clara just called me a perfect candidate… what does she mean?" Ron asked, glad to finally ask.

"She meant that you are perfect candidate for the Silver Triumvirate" Samantha said in her dead voice, making Ron extremely confused. _The Silver what…?_ Clara giggled at Ron's expression.

"Let me explain" said Carey. "The Silver Triumvirate is as the name says, a trio. Three seventh year students are chosen to lead the House of the Cunning. They hold sway over the entire house and answer only to the Head of House, which would be Professor Snape." Ron was completely lost at this point.

"Seventh year?" Ron said in almost a whisper. "I'm in first year, in case none of you noticed" finished Ron, his annoyance with all of this finally showing a little.

"We noticed" said Samantha. "But there is a system in place for the selection. The Silver Triumvirate is a closely held secret within Slytherin House, none of the other houses are even aware of it. Not even the Headmaster…" _Woah… so like a secret society or something? Wicked!_

"As for the selection process" Carey continued. "The Silver Triumvirate keeps a close eye on all the lower years, while fifth years keep an eye on the third years, fourth years keeps an eye on the second years, and the third years keep an eye on the first years. The three students who are considered the most valuable and capable by the end of their sixth year end up as the new Triumvirate. But they need the approval of the Silver Triumvirate currently in power during that time however. Because no matter what happens within Slytherin, it all comes back to the Triumvirate." Carey finished with a smile.

"Then aren't the third years supposed to be talking to me?" Ron asked, his excitement beginning to replace his annoyance.

"Quite right" said Clara. "But since Carey is the one who saw you kill that troll, the current Triumvirate decided that she should be the one to approach you. They have taken quite an interest in you, Ron."

"The current Triumvirate?" Ron asked, worried that people were watching him without his knowledge.

"There is nothing to worry about" Samantha drawled. "When they want to meet you, you will know. Currently, they are more than happy to simply watch over your progress and accomplishments so far."

"Then you three must be… candidates?" Ron took a guess. _They certainly look like quite the trio…_

"Sharp perception" Samantha said, smiling a little for the first time. She looked quite pretty when she smiled, Ron noted. "Yes, we three are currently the strongest candidates within fifth year. And the most likely to become the Triumvirate within our year-mates, as a result. You however, well you are already seen as the perfect candidate due to your school wide fame and the amount of points you earn. If you keep this up, one day you will guide Slytherin along with two of your peers."

"May I… may I ask who the other two could be?" Ron asked, he was starting to feel overwhelmed by all of this. _Some secret Slytherin society is trying to put me in power…_

"You may" said Carey, after a short pause. "The third years have reported that Draco Malfoy, and Blaise Zabini are great candidates as well."

"Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked, shocked at hearing this. "Are you serious?"

"Quite so" Clara giggled. "He may be a prat… but he has proven that he is talented in his studies. Not to mention the fact that he is the heir to the Malfoy name. There are… politics… to consider." _Politics…? That git is a bully and would just abuse the power, politics be damned._

"Things can change however" Samantha added, her cold voice creeping back into the conversation. "Over the years, students can lose their favor within the house or simply irritate the wrong people. So you should be careful to keep up your current level of performance, and to make the right sort of allies." Ron nodded at that, mainly because he was already planning to use his 'allies' and hard work as a shield to hide his powers.

"Does everyone know about this Triumvirate?" Ron asked in a whisper. "Because I didn't know that they even existed until tonight…"

"I expect that all of your year-mates already do" Carey clarified. "Slytherin is a house which favors certain… families. They pass the secret of the Triumvirate down to their children after the sorting takes place, and every Slytherin who knows about the Triumvirate wants to be a part of it. You will find that Hogwarts has many secrets, and its students have even more."

 _Bloody hell… So none of my Gryffindor family know about this and they never will… What else don't I know about the Four Houses? Do Gryffindors have someone or a group that leads them?_ Ron was now officially overwhelmed by all of this, he had never expected Hogwarts to be so… so mysterious…

"But now that you are aware" Samantha said softly, her voice still cold though. "You should put this out of your mind for the time being. After all… you are only in first year." _Forget about this? How? Why even tell me all this then?_

"We simply thought it best to make you aware" said Clara, as if reading his mind. "To give you a fair chance within the House of the Cunning." Ron looked at her in shock. _A fair chance? The Slytherins want to give me a fair chance? Why?_ "Don't be so surprised Ron, fraternity is considered a strong Slytherin trait. We aren't the evil witches and wizards that the other houses believe we are. Not all of us anyway." Clara then reached over and put her soft hand over Ron's, making Ron blush furiously and look at her in a sheepish manner. "We protect our own." Clara finished, a genuine smile playing on her lips. _Protect their own…_

Ron was never more conflicted about his family's views about Slytherin house until now. Even Ron wasn't blind enough to not see that mostly every single person in Slytherin got along well, or that the older students were always willing to help the younger ones. It was just Malfoy who had given Ron trouble, and that was only because Malfoy was… well he was a Malfoy. The Malfoy family and Weasley family had a long and terrible history between them.

"Now that you are aware of the Silver Triumvirate" Carey spoke, pulling Ron back into the real world. "We expect that you will never speak of it to anyone who isn't in Slytherin. The current Triumvirate will make sure of that…" Carey finished in an ominous tone, making Ron gulp.

Once dinner finally ended, Ron made his way back to the common room with Carey and her friends. They asked him questions about his family and his own personal beliefs, all of which he answered with as little details as he could. The last thing he needed was trouble with the older students, so he was more than glad when the girls didn't push him too hard.

Once he got back into the common room, he said his goodbyes to the three girls and rejoined his friends on their couch. He didn't even get a chance to relax for a second. "What did they want?" Tracey asked him excitedly, making Ron sigh in defeat. _Here we go…_

"They wanted to talk about my future in this house… With the Triumvirate, that is" Ron said, preparing for the bombardment of questions. Tracey, Millie, and Daphne all gasped and went wide-eyed. The boys were more subtle with their reactions.

"Really?!" Daphne all but squealed. Ron couldn't tell if she was happy for him or annoyed. _Guess I'll find out soon enough…_

"Yes, really" Ron answered, trying to sound indifferent. Ron then noticed Theo grinning at him, which made Ron even more guarded. "What is it, Theo?"

"Nothing" Theo said, still grinning. "I'm just glad to see that I placed my bets on a winning horse." _Wow… Winning horse…_

"Thanks… I think" Ron said with a frown aimed right at Theo.

"Did they say anything about any other candidates?" Millie piped in, she sounded genuinely happy. Ron smiled at her, he knew that she didn't see him as some winning horse. But he also decided to not talk about the other candidates because he wasn't sure if he had the right to give out that information.

"No" Ron said firmly. "Just me so far, you know because of the troll and the house points." Everyone slowly nodded at that, and Ron wasn't sure if they believed him.

"Well, I'm not too surprised at this" Blaise said, sounding completely indifferent. "You have made some major noise within the school already. The longest sorting in Hogwarts history, the points, the prodigy status, the spell-work, the troll, and the fact that you are the first Slytherin from your family… All this would make anyone's head turn" Blaise finished, a faint smirk on his lips. _I seriously hope he gets picked over Malfoy for this thing… it'd be good to have someone like Blaise with me for this._

"Well, I'd better up my game then" Theo chuckled, making everyone look to him. "Joining the Triumvirate has always been my goal, ever since my father told me about it." That got him nods from everyone but Ron. _Please do up your game Theo, or I'll be stuck with Malfoy…_

They talked some more about the Silver Triumvirate before they all departed for their dorms. Ron had trouble falling asleep, there was just so much happening with his school life right now. Not to mention that his mission to change the fate of his family still loomed over his head, and he still had no clue where his powers even came from. He fell asleep wondering if he would get another vision soon.

The long awaited Quidditch season started at the end of the first week of November, and Ron couldn't have been more excited. As a matter of fact, the whole school was in a jolly mood, which included the professors. Not to mention that Harry had been outed as Gryffindor's new seeker courtesy of Neville letting it slip at dinner. Ron was ecstatic, and nervous, to be marching down to the pitch with his friends, ready to watch the first game of the season. It was going to be Slytherin vs Gryffindor, and Ron had even chosen to openly support his house by wearing an emerald green Slytherin scarf.

That alone earned him a couple of angry scowls from the twins, no doubt they were annoyed at Ron for supporting their enemy. But Ron chose to ignore it, he was in Slytherin and it would be suicidal to wear Gryffindor scarlet. Even the other two houses were supporting Gryffindor and were hoping that Slytherin would lose, which annoyed Ron. However, Ron was also secretly hoping with all of his heart that Gryffindor won the day.

He wanted this simply because he had placed a bet against his friends that Harry would catch the snitch and win the game for Gryffindor. This had happened because his friends were insulting Harry about being a seeker behind his back and Ron felt the need to defend his Gryffindor friend's honor, and so he had made a bet with the others. If Harry caught the snitch or if Gryffindor won, then the others would each owe him ten galleons, and if Slytherin won, then Ron would return all the money he had made from playing Chess with his friends and other house-members.

It shamed Ron a little to turn chess into a money making business, but so many Slytherins were openly paying him to play against them, and Ron had given into the temptation. Today Ron could either make fifty galleons, or lose the forty galleons he had earned so far from winning chess matches. So to say he was on edge was a little bit of an understatement.

As soon as Madam Hooch blew the whistle, the crowd went wild with excitement over the two teams dashing into or at each other. Ron and his friends cheered at the top of their lungs at Slytherin scoring first, while the Gryffindors booed back loudly. Gryffindor's very own Lee Jordan was commentating about the game in a rather biased, but exciting way. Ron knew that Fred and George were friends with the dark-skinned boy with the black dread-locks, but it still annoyed Ron that Lee was openly calling Slytherins cheats and was getting away with it. McGonagall was telling him off, but she wasn't doing anything to stop him.

Ron decided to ignore the commentary and watch the match instead, yelling at the top of his lungs every time Slytherin got a hold of the Quaffle or every time they scored a goal. In all the excitement Ron had forgotten about his bet and due to being surrounded by his enthusiastic friends, Ron was openly supporting Slytherin to win the game. He was reminded about his bet when he saw Harry dash towards something Ron couldn't quite see. _It has to be the snitch! GO HARRY! WIN ME FIFTY GALLEONS!_ Ron shook Blaise and pointed his attention towards Harry chasing something. Blaise blanched and quickly grabbed Theo to do the same thing Ron had just done. Within seconds all of Ron's friends were breaking into a panic, much to Ron's amusement. _I'm gonna be RICH!_

All of Ron's excitement died in an instant when Harry's broom started shaking and jerking wildly in every direction. Harry looked as if he was going to fall off any second now, and Ron gulped hard when he figured out just how high up Harry was. _He's gonna bloody die if he falls off._ "What is wrong with his broom?" Tracey shouted, just so she could be heard by her friends.

"Looks like a curse" Theo shouted back in response. "Someone in the crowd or on the pitch is jinxing his broom!" Ron paled when he heard Theo's answer. _It has to be someone in Slytherin!_ With that realization, Ron started looking around the Slytherin stands, hoping to find the culprit. But mostly all he saw were shocked faces, and some faces with grins on them. _Gits!_ Malfoy was grinning ear to ear and clapping his hands at the sight, which made Ron want to hex the hell out of the git. Ron then looked back at Harry, who was flailing about on top of his broom, and Ron was somewhat relieved to see the twins trying to keep Harry on his broom.

And then all of sudden, Harry regained complete control over his broom and he instantly dashed towards the ground. _What the…?_ Ron watched with amazement as Harry pulled up right before hitting the ground and began to stand on his broom. _Woah…_ Harry then tumbled forward and fell off his broom, making the boy in spectacles go rolling and skidding across the grass. The crowd had gone dead silent, including the players on the pitch. Then Harry coughed something out of his mouth, and held it up high for the whole crowd to see. It was the Golden Snitch. The Gryffindors broke out into a thunderous cheer, while the Slytherins just yelled their frustrations out. Ron was grinning like a maniac at his friends, who had all gone deathly pale and were staring at him in horror. _I'M GONNA BE SO RICH!_

The mood in the Slytherin common room was somber at the very least. Everyone looked gloomy and put down, especially the Slytherin Quidditch team. Ron however, was in a great mood but he was smart enough not to show it. He sat in his usual spot, on the couch in front of the fire-place, and was currently counting how much money he had made in total. Ron found himself to be the proud owner of ninety galleons, seven sickles, and twelve Knuts.

As Ron packed up his wealth in a pouch that Millicent had given him, a wolfish grin broke out onto his face. Not because he had more wealth than his entire family did, but because his friends were staring at him with evil intentions in their minds. _Shouldn't have made bets if you couldn't take losing haha! I'm so rich! What should I even do with all of this money?_

"What are you going to do with all this money Ron?" Tracey asked, as if she was reading his mind. Ron gave her a sly smile.

"I don't know" Ron answered in a teasing voice. "What would **you** do with all this money? I mean it is **your** money, oh wait… no it isn't." Tracey glared at him but Ron could see that she was struggling not to smile and laugh at him. Daphne huffed loudly from the chair on Ron's left, making him face her with his sly smile.

"Maybe you should use it to learn how to be a better sport…" Daphne said, her voice more high-pitched than usual.

"This coming from the bint that labeled me a cheater because I beat her in a game of chess?" Ron teased, extremely happy at getting under Daphne's skin. Daphne glared murder at Ron.

"I'm not a bint…" Daphne gritted out.

"You aren't…" Ron retorted, making sure to sound shocked and aghast. This made Tracey lose her resolve and start laughing, seeing Tracey laugh caused even Theo, Blaise, and Millie to chuckle. Daphne went wide-eyed for a second, but then immediately narrowed her eyes at Ron.

"I'm a lady!" Daphne said loudly, her cheeks turning into the color of tomatoes. Daphne blushed even more when she noticed other people in the common room were giving her amused looks. Ron and her other friends broke into fits of laughter at her embarrassment, while all she could do was pout and glare at Ron.

Ron and his friends were oblivious to the fact that there were a pair of eyes watching them, eyes that belonged to a girl who felt deep envy at how happy the other first years were compared to her. This girl knew that she had chosen wrong, and that her side was an unhappy mess. This girl missed her female friends, but she felt like she could do nothing to get them back. They didn't even talk to her anymore within their shared dorm. After all, the person she had chosen to follow was too stubborn put aside his differences, unlike the person her friends had chosen to follow. Draco had walked away in anger… while Ron had extended his hand in peace… And she had still chosen to run after Draco. Tears stung her eyes as she got up and left for her dorm, she didn't want to cry in front of the other Slytherins. She didn't want them to see her weakness…

 **Almost two months later:**

Christmas was only two days away, and Ron was the only Slytherin left in all of Hogwarts. With the exception of Snape, but the professor who was always clad in black didn't count. All of his house-mates had left five days ago to enjoy Christmas with their families, while Ron had decided to stay behind rather than travel to Romania with his own family. He still wasn't too keen on spending time with his parents and it wasn't because he hated them or anything… it just felt awkward to be around them. That letter had done more damage than Ron had given it credit for.

Percy and the twins had also decided to remain within Hogwarts to save their parents money, but Ron also figured that they didn't want to leave him alone. Ron however, chose to spend the majority of his time within the Slytherin common room, mainly because he simply loved the quiet. A childish part of him also pretended as if the common room was his own home, and that he was a truly powerful and wealthy wizard to be able to enjoy such luxury.

Ron also spent quite a lot of his time within the library, doing more research on seers and divination in general. So far he had found absolutely no answers, and he was finally beginning to just give up on his pursuit for knowledge on the matter. Ron also found something very peculiar during his many trips to the library. Ron's discovery was that Harry Potter was in and out of the library almost as much as Ron was. The weirdest part about all of this was the fact that Hermione and Neville had gone home for the holidays, and Harry didn't seem the type to go the library alone. Ron would understand if Hermione was dragging Harry along, because she had started doing that for their usual meetings in the library. But the fact that Harry was skulking about and reading random tomes for no apparent reason greatly increased Ron's curiosity. A curiosity he decided not to sate because he didn't want to draw any attention on himself.

Ron sat in his usual spot, right next to Harry, on the massive dinner table that Dumbledore had conjured up for the remaining students and teachers. Dumbledore and the professors all sat on one side, while the remaining students all sat on the other side. It was quite cozy, but Ron had to admit that eating while sitting across from Snape was the most terrifying thing he had experienced.

According to Percy and the twins, Dumbledore had never done this before in the previous holidays, and even they didn't understand why he chose do it now. Ron hardly cared about it, all he had to do was eat with proper manners so that he wouldn't embarrass himself or worse… embarrass Professor Snape. Dinner began with a flick of Dumbledore's wand, and both the staff and the students began putting food on their plates. No one spoke for almost a minute, and Ron determined that this was going to be another silent dinner. _I miss Theo and Blaise… I miss them all… I wonder if they are having any awkward dinners…_

"Mr. Weasley" Snape said in his low but icy tone, dragging Ron out of his own thoughts.

"Yes, sir?" Ron answered, sitting upright and looking at the Potions Master. Snape wore his usual blank expression, but his gaze was so intense that it made Ron tremble in his seat. _Dear Merlin… He is pissed off about something…_

"Did you use the potions lab within the common room?" Snape asked, his voice cutting Ron like the coldest winds during winter. Everyone on the table was now giving quick glances and listening in on the two of them, Ron figured it was because they were all sick of the last five days and eating in silence.

"Yes, I did sir…" Ron replied, his voice a little subdued. _Did I not clean up? No I definitely did! Did I though? Oh bloody hell… I didn't! Wait! Didn't I…?_

"I see" Snape whispered, his eyes still on Ron's. There was a short, uncomfortable pause during which his brothers and Harry were doing their best to look the other way. _Please help…_ "You brewed the Wide-Eye Potion, did you not?" Snape asked. _How did he know that?_ "I noticed that snake fangs, the Standard Ingredient, Billywig stings, and Wolfsbane were the ingredients that you used" Snape said, as if reading Ron's mind. Ron went wide-eyed at that. _He figured that out just by checking which ingredients were used?!_

"Yes sir" was all Ron could muster. This earned him a few surprised looks from the professors and even Dumbledore, who was watching with twinkling eyes shining from behind his half-moon spectacles. Snape's expression didn't change however, he still looked indifferent as always.

"Mr. Weasley" McGonagall interjected, her voice was a little surprised. "That is a third year potion! How did you know how to brew it?" She looked suspicious and Ron decided that telling the truth was for the best.

"Percy gave me his notes on the potion" Ron said quickly, looking over to Percy who went wide-eyed. _Sorry Perce… need to get these damn eyes off me!_ All the staff then turned to face Percy, who opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Is this true?" McGonagall questioned her prefect. Percy merely nodded before giving Ron an annoyed look. Ron looked back at Perce sheepishly and tried to smile apologetically. A soft chuckle stopped the conversation and everyone, except Snape, turned to the source. Headmaster Dumbledore was the culprit.

"That is most impressive Ronald" Dumbledore said in merriment, allowing Ron to breathe out in relief. "Don't you think so, Severus?"

"It would be… If Mr. Weasley learned to clean up after himself…" Snape said, without even looking at the Headmaster. _Damn! I didn't clean up after all…_ Ron's ears went red and his cheeks started to feel hot. "The next time you leave behind a mess for me to clean, I'll have you scrub every cauldron in Hogwarts. Am I clear?" Snape said coldly, making Ron shudder a little.

"Yes, sir" Ron answered, feeling embarrassed. The dinner then continued in silence, and Ron didn't miss the sorry looks being sent his way by the remaining students. Even Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall were sending him those looks. No one asked him why he had made the Wide-Eye Potion, and Ron was more than happy not to talk about it. The potion was a waste anyway, considering he had used it to help him stay awake during his research. And the research had turned up absolutely nothing…

After dinner ended, the professors and Headmaster disappeared as they always did. While the students stayed behind for a little while, socializing and playing games. There were two older Ravenclaw girls that were spending their time talking with Percy, the twins were busy discussing their next prank with Lee Jordan, and that left Harry and Ron to play some chess with each other.

They had been playing chess together every day after dinner for the last five days. It turned out that Wizard's Chess wasn't a big deal within Gryffindor, and Harry was appalling at the game. But Ron did his best to teach Harry anyway, even though he always destroyed Harry without mercy. The two of them were getting along well and Ron couldn't be happier. Not only did he genuinely like Harry, but Harry was also a powerful wizard who had destroyed You-Know-Who when he was still a baby, and Ron really wanted Harry on his side in the foreseeable future. _If there is a war… Then Harry will be an important piece. I just know it…_

Ron awoke on Christmas morning, and then dragged himself out of bed with great effort. He had been enjoying the peace and quiet, but lately he had started to feel a little lonely inside the Slytherin common room and dorms. It was just so… empty. Once Ron entered the common room from his dorm, he immediately noticed the large Christmas tree in the middle of the room. The tree was decorated with hundreds of ornaments, and beneath it were a pile of wrapped up presents. _PRESENTS!_

Ron immediately felt excitement pumping throughout his body and he quickly ran over to the tree. He checked the presents and they were all for him, much to his childish glee. Ron then quickly grabbed one and began taking it out of its wrapping. The present was from Daphne, and she had gotten him a gorgeous black cloak which was emerald colored on the inside. Ron felt the material and was awed at how soft it felt, this was definitely the most expensive gift he had ever received. Ron then tried it on, and it felt amazingly soft and warm on his body. _I should thank her properly for this, it's too good a gift not to._ Ron then carefully took off the cloak and began opening another present.

Next up was a gift from both Theo and Blaise, as they had chipped in to buy Ron a book on advanced curses. When Ron quickly looked through the book, he realized that he only recognized a few of the curses. This book was a treasure trove filled with curses, and Ron couldn't be happier with it.

Ron then opened the gift that Tracey and Millie had gotten him, it was a box filled with dozens upon dozens of different sweets. From chocolate frogs to every-flavored beans, and even some sweets that were clearly from different countries as Ron didn't recognize the languages on their packaging. Ron popped one of the foreign hard candies into his mouth, it felt hot inside his mouth and then it melted onto his tongue. It left a Smokey flavor in his mouth which made him cough, and much to his shock, a cloud of fire came out of his mouth. The taste in his mouth then became sweet, and Ron was left confused and highly amused at the same time. He looked at the packaging of the candy, and all he could understand was a comical drawing of a dragon at the top of the bag. Ron felt extremely excited about trying out all the other sweets, but he still had presents to go through.

The next present was from his parents and he already knew what it was. _Another maroon sweater… I hate that color so much…_ Ron opened the present and was shocked to see an emerald green sweater instead. Ron quickly removed it from the box and looked it over. It had the letter 'R' in the middle of it, so it had to be his. _But it isn't maroon? It's Slytherin green!_ Ron beamed at the sweater and immediately put it on, excited that his mother had gone through the trouble of making him a green sweater this time around.

As Ron checked himself over, he decided that it was past time he sent an owl to his parents. They had clearly accepted his being in Slytherin, and his mother was even being supportive. Ron then opened the present that was wrapped in a red paper, and he was taken aback because the present wasn't even from someone he knew. It was from the entire Granger family, and Ron felt guilty because he had only gotten Hermione a gift and not her parents. Ron opened the small, rectangular box and found himself staring at a muggle-looking item. There was a letter beneath it and so Ron took it out and began reading it, hoping the letter would explain what this item was.

 _Dear Ronald,_

 _We just wanted to thank you for what you did for our daughter, Hermione has told us herself that you saved her life. We can never repay you for this, but we sincerely hope to meet you soon. Hermione has talked about or at least mentioned you in every letter she has sent us since the 'incident'. We are very glad that she has found such a wonderful friend. The present we have sent you is called a 'Fountain-Pen'. It is used by us muggles instead of Quills. The back of the letter contains instructions on how to fill it with ink and use it. Hermione picked this herself, and she told us how studious you are. I sincerely hope that you enjoy using it._

 _With eternal gratitude,_

 _Mr. and Mrs. Granger._

 _P.s: If you are ever free, please do tell Hermione. We would love to have you over for dinner!_

Ron put the letter down, feeling a little overwhelmed. _I guess I never thought about how her parents must've felt about the whole troll business._ Ron then followed the instructions and filled the black and gold 'Fountain-Pen' with ink, he then tried to use it. It felt odd in his hand, but even he had to admit that it wrote better than a Quill did. Not to mention that it looked sturdy, and wouldn't snap very easily. _Maybe dad is right to love muggles so much. I wonder what kind of other things they have that are better than ours… I'll ask Hermione next time I see her._

Ron then continued on to his next present, and it was from Harry and Neville together. Harry and Neville had gotten Ron a bunch of chocolate frogs and licorice wands. _More sweets… WOOHOO!_ Ron then opened his final present, which was clad in bright purple wrapping paper. _The Lovegoods!_ Ron took off the wrapping and opened the box, he gazed intently over the three objects within the box.

The first item was butterbeer-cap-necklace from Luna, and it was significantly more bejeweled than anything Luna wore herself. Ron chuckled at the necklace before putting it on, and tucking it inside his shirt and sweater. The second item was a copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', only it looked like a different version from the one he currently owned. Ron flipped through the pages and it was filled with creatures that Ron had never even heard of. _What is a HideBehind?_ As Ron read the description of the bloodthirsty creature that could shapeshift and go invisible, he couldn't help but shudder in fear. _Why does Xeno even like these monsters…?_ Ron put the book down and looked to last item. It was a silver ring with runes carved around it, and it was accompanied by a letter. Ron opened the letter and began reading.

 _Dearest Ron,_

 _I had this ring crafted within Diagon Alley, and then I personally enchanted it with Charms of Protection. I also had the Runes of Protection engraved onto the ring for an even stronger enchantment. As long you wear this ring, it will keep you safe from harm to the best of its ability. Now that does not mean that you will be invincible, you can still get hurt if the enchantment is broken. But seeing as how you always find yourself saving 'Damsels in Distress', I thought it unwise that you should do it without any protection. So I expect you to wear this ring at all times! _

_Love,_

 _Pandora_

Ron put the letter down, and then gazed over to the silver ring. He had never worn jewelry before, not counting Luna's necklace of course, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. His oldest brother Bill had gotten his ear pierced and wore an earring with a fang hanging off it, and Ron could still picture his mother going absolutely mental at the sight. _But a ring isn't so bad… loads of boys in my house wear one._ With that Ron picked up the ring, and placed it on the middle finger of his right hand. The ring was too big for his fingers, and Ron was slightly saddened by this. Then the ring suddenly shrank onto his finger and fit perfectly, making Ron jump in panic. After a few seconds, Ron examined his right hand with the ring on it. _It looks… good. And it's warm, I can feel the magic inside it. Pandora's magic…_ Ron smiled at the ring as he thought of his second mother, and then he decided that he would never take it off.

Ron looked over all of his gifts one last time before he placed them all in his trunk with the utmost care, and he left the sweets on his nightstand so that he could snack on them whenever he wanted. Ron was still wearing his green sweater from his mother and the ring sent to him by Pandora. Then Ron departed for the Great Hall to eat breakfast with the remaining people within Hogwarts, a massive smile on his face. He truly wished that the gifts he had sent would make the others just as happy as theirs had made him.

Ron had gotten Daphne a golden hair-clip which was designed as a snake, with small, bright emeralds for eyes. That gift alone had cost him fifty galleons, which was more than he spent on all the other gifts combined. Tracey had sort of helped pick it out for him when he was shopping for gifts through the Owl Mail Order, much to Ron's relief as he was having trouble pinning down what to get Daphne. So when Tracey suggested getting a hair-clip of sorts, Ron had found the most expensive one and bought it without another thought. But Ron could also see the practicality in it as well, because he knew that Daphne always wore a hair-clip to part her hair and frame her face.

Ron had bought Tracey bunch of joke items from Zonke's Joke Shop such as sugar quills and dung bombs, Ron knew that Tracey loved a good laugh more than anything else.

Ron had bought Millicent a brand new 'Cat-care kit' because he knew just how much Millie loved her cat, Misty. He knew she would immediately start using it to care for the pampered little beast she called her 'Lil' Princess'.

Ron had bought Theo a book on Herbology which detailed plants only found within Japan because if Theo was passionate about one thing, it was plants. Ron still didn't know why Theo loved Herbology so much, but he had never asked because he didn't want to overstep.

Picking a gift for Blaise was quite easy as the only thing that the dark-skinned boy seemed to like was Astronomy. Ron had gotten him a copy of 'Stars: The Bright Face of our Universe", which was a book that Ron had no clue about. He just hoped that Blaise would enjoy reading it.

Ron had also bought gifts for Harry, Neville, and Hermione. Harry and Neville had both received sweets from Ron, just like they had sent him. As for Hermione, Ron had bought her a new Quill set with a pot of invisible ink that only she could see with the charm 'Aparecium', and he had also gotten her a journal just like one of his own.

Ron had sent Luna, Pandora, and Xenophilius a painting of their family that he had painted himself. It wasn't a work of jaw-dropping art, but Ron knew that they would love it because their entire family spent a lot of time painting together.

Ron had also gotten Ginny something this time around, which was something that he never did. It was a silent agreement within the Weasley siblings to not waste their parent's money on gift for each other. But since Ron had his own money, he had bought Ginny a Quidditch training outfit. The outfit was accompanied with a letter that begged her not to reveal the outfit to their mother and father. Ron already knew that she would hide it with her life, because she was already 'sneaking' around and trying out the brooms within their father's shed when she thought no one was around. Ron had noticed this but he never said a word to anyone, mainly because he had seen a vision of her playing professionally. Ron really wanted this vision to become a reality, after all it was the only vision that he had which he actually liked. All in all, Ron had sent the best gifts that he could think of, and he knew that they would make the recipients happy. The only downside was that Ron only had fifteen galleons, two sickles, and sixty Knuts left, whereas he had started with over ninety galleons. It was worth it!

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

Daphne was woken up because of a tiny body jumping on top of her and cuddling her tightly. For normal people, this would be a terrifying way to wake up but for Daphne, this was just another day in Greengrass Manor. "Good morning Tori" Daphne sighed, rubbing her eyes as she tried to sit up.

"Morning Daphneee!" the tiny body responded, her voice filled with childish excitement. "C'mon let's gooooo… I want my presents!" the little body squealed excitedly, but she made no effort to let go of Daphne.

"You have to get off me first…" Daphne explained, still feeling half-asleep. The tiny body quickly got off her and jumped off of the bed, running full-tilt out of the door. Daphne sighed at the antics of her little sister, Astoria. _She is such a handful… I don't know how mother does it…_ Daphne then got off of her bed and dressed herself in a soft green robe.

She put on a hair-clip to part her hair and frame her face. Once she was satisfied with her reflection, she headed downstairs to join her family in the living room. Her father was sitting with her mother on a loveseat, both seemed to be cuddling and watching Astoria jump around the room like a crazed animal. Her mother was giggling at Astoria's excitement, while her father was just smiling ear-to-ear.

"Daphne come quick!" Astoria squealed when she saw Daphne approaching. _So loud… I just woke up… someone muzzle her please…_ Astoria ran up to Daphne and grabbed her hands, dragging the older sister towards the decorated Christmas tree. "You got so many presents!" Daphne was instantly alert and beginning to get excited now, but she knew that a lady wasn't supposed to behave like Astoria currently was. _Especially this close to our parents…_

"Good morning love" Daphne's mother hummed, a happy smile on her face.

"Good morning mother" Daphne responded, keeping her voice calm and formal. "Good morning father."

"Good morning my dear" Her father said, his voice was smooth and kind as always. "Astoria is correct, you do have many presents. Must be all your friends. Well, go on, I know you want to check." Her father smiled at her in an approving way. Daphne smiled back and went towards the gifts, but Astoria beat her to it. Astoria grabbed a small, rectangular box that was wrapped in golden wrapping paper. Astoria then rushed up to Daphne and showed her the box.

"Open this one first! PLEASE!" Astoria said, her eyes pleading. _So adorable…_ Daphne chuckled at her sister's odd habit of watching other people open their presents in front of her. She took the box and read the label which revealed the name of the person who had sent it. _Ronald Bilius Weasley…_ Daphne felt her cheeks flush crimson, she didn't even want to know what that… that buffoon had sent her. _Probably a cursed item… or something extremely inappropriate… I don't know which is worse…_ "Aren't you going to open it…?" Astoria pouted, bringing Daphne back to reality.

"Um… of course. Let me just…" Daphne muttered, and then she began undoing the wrapping slowly. Once the wrapping was removed, a black rectangular box was revealed. She opened it slowly, fearing that Ron would embarrass her in some way in front of her parents.

Once she fully opened the box and looked at the gift, she was left speechless. _Wow… Ron sent me this…_ She couldn't take her eyes off of the beautifully carved golden hair-clip which resembled a snake. Its small emerald eyes shined and reflected the light from the fire-place, and Daphne found herself rooted in her spot. _It can't be… He could never afford something like this…_ And then realization hit her like a brick. _The money he made off of us… He spent so much of it on me._ Daphne didn't even notice that she was smiling ear-to-ear, but her little sister did.

"Daphne, show me" Astoria whined, jumping up and down in order to peek at the gift. Daphne didn't even think before lowering the box for Astoria to see. Astoria squealed in delight when she saw the hair-pin. "Ohhh, it's so pretty! Mummy look at what Daphne got." Panic gripped Daphne for a second, and she didn't even know why. It was just a gift and her mother was going to see it sooner or later, so why did she feel the need to hide it? _I'm being foolish._ Daphne's mother got up and walked over to her daughters in a graceful manner, she then bent down slightly and gazed at the hair-pin.

"Oh my" Daphne's mother gasped, before smiling at the beautiful gift. "Who sent you such a lovely gift?"

"A friend" Daphne blurted out quickly, her cheeks feeling hot. "From Hogwarts that is… A friend I made… at school…" Daphne stuttered. Daphne's parents were surprised to see their daughter so flustered, they knew that Daphne was a smart girl that never lost her composure.

"Is that so?" her mother giggled, and then she bent down and picked up the wrapping paper. "Ronald Bilius Weasley" her mother read in an amused voice.

"A boy?" Daphne's father asked, he then stood up and walked over to inspect the gift. "A boy with decent taste…" Daphne's father spoke softly, and then he looked at Daphne with his analyzing look. _Oh no…_ "This must be the same Ronald you have told us about, am I correct in assuming that?" Daphne merely nodded, feeling quite embarrassed at being interrogated in front of everyone. _Ron still manages to embarrass me somehow…_ "So this… Ronald boy… He slays Mountain Trolls singlehandedly, can't be beaten in chess by anyone in Slytherin, is also at the top of his class, and he seems to have a good eye for buying girls gifts…" Daphne's father held a blank face as he looked at Daphne, who tried not to squirm under his gaze. Then a mischievous grin broke out on his face. "Mary, quickly write up a marriage contract… this one is a keeper!" Daphne felt her face burn with embarrassment, and it only got worse when her mother began laughing while trying and failing to stop.

"Is Daphne getting married?!" Astoria cheered, clapping her little hands in excitement. "Yay! Can I be the flower girl again mummy?!" Daphne's mother lost control and both her parents started laughing outright. Daphne hugged the box to her chest and ran full-tilt towards her room, trying to cover her ears so that she couldn't hear her family laughing at her expense. _MARRIAGE CONTRACT?! THAT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!_

Daphne slammed the door to her bedroom behind her and locked it. She then leaned against the door to try and calm down her breathing. _MARRIED TO WEASLEY! That would be a nightmare!_ Daphne marched to her bed and sat down on its edge, then she turned her attention to the box that contained the golden hair-clip. _It really is pretty..._

Daphne smiled at the gift before she took it out of the box and tried it on in front of the mirror. Once it was attached, and her hair parted, Daphne stood there and admired the hair-clip. _It looks great._ She couldn't help but smile at the fact that a buffoon like Ron could even manage to get her something so thoughtful. She had always parted her hair to frame her face, she had been doing it since she was old enough to remember. And Ron had noticed it… She blushed a little, and her smile grew a bit more.

She thought about her gift to him, and it made her feel a pang of guilt because she had no clue on what to get him. So she had just bought him an expensive cloak and called it a day, whereas Ron had gone out of his way to buy her a perfect gift. That thought alone jarred her… _He always surprises me. Who could have thought that a Weasley could be so… different?_ She recollected her memories of the moments that Ron had managed to catch her off-guard, all the while she hummed and admired the golden hair-clip.

There was the sorting of course, which was the first moment she had become intrigued with him. The longest sorting in history and Ron, a **Weasley** , was sorted into Slytherin. Not to mention that the hat all but confirmed his massive potential by saying that he was perfect for all the houses. She had immediately decided to ally with him when she had heard that, regardless of the house he may be picked for.

Once she had become his ally, he had gone out of his way to help her in Transfiguration and had done nothing but put Slytherin ahead in house points. And when she saw him helping Millie, a girl who had been everyone's punching bag before Hogwarts, and Mille successfully transfiguring the match-stick, Daphne knew that she had made the right call. Daphne had always hated how Draco and the others picked on Millie for her weight and slow understanding. But Ron had offered his own treats to her, and managed to help Millie perfect the spell.

And after that he had started helping all of them ever since, especially Millie, without ever asking for anything in return. So Daphne wasn't at all surprised that even Theo and Blaise had begun to defend him whenever Draco cornered one of them, trying to bully them back into the 'fold'. Unlike Draco, Ron gave everything he had without ever asking for anything in return, and to Daphne that was what a real leader should be like. Not to mention that Ron had broken Draco's nose the moment Draco had insulted Tracey about her blood status. That moment had cemented Daphne's beliefs about Ron being a better choice than Draco, as she herself was only a moment away from hexing Draco in the face.

It was no wonder that Tracey and Millie both talked about Ron with such admiration whenever he wasn't around. And Ron wasn't around quite a bit lately, as he was always at the library with Granger… Daphne didn't understand why Granger's presence irked her so greatly. Every time Ron mentioned how great Granger was, Daphne felt as if someone was clawing at a chalkboard. She had even felt so bitter that she tried to call Granger a 'Mud-Blood', and after Ron threatened her for it, Daphne had never felt so angry and bitter.

Then he had decided to go out of his way to help Granger when she was being picked on, and Daphne felt so annoyed and hostile that she chose not to help him. Daphne didn't even understand why she was being so stubborn about it, but just the thought of Granger twisted her stomach into knots. And then… then Ron had run off head first into a troll infested bathroom without a second thought, just so he could help Granger.

Daphne was the first person to run after him, seeing him so distressed and afraid had made her heart clench. And the moment he turned to run, her feet had thrown her right after him. She had never seen a person look so determined to help another before and when she burst through the bathroom door and saw a tiny Ron facing a massive Mountain Troll, her heart had nearly stopped beating. She was sure that Ron was going to die in that moment… but instead Ron completely annihilated the troll with one spell. ONE SPELL! A spell so strong that it had hurled Ron straight into her and the others behind her.

While she and everyone waited for Ron to wake up in his hospital bed, she had sat as close as she could to him. She just knew that she wanted to be there so she could watch over him, to stop him if he tried anything stupid again. But she also felt ashamed of herself for the first time in her life. Ashamed because Ron had been right about Granger being in danger, ashamed because she hadn't believed him and he had nearly gotten himself killed.

Tracey and Mille hadn't left his side when he searched for Granger, but Daphne had and that was not what allies were supposed to do. She knew that if the tables were turned, Ron would have stood by her side and helped her. So Daphne had swallowed her pride and decided to make her peace with Granger being Ron's friend. Just like Ron had done a day later when he had put his hand forward to Draco in order to make peace. Not for himself, but for the sake of Theo and Blaise. Ron hated Draco, and yet he was willing to swallow that hate so that the fighting would stop. And Draco, her former friend, had just walked away from that…

Daphne smiled as she finished her recollection of the red-haired boy. Ron wasn't perfect by any means; he had a violent temper, was more stubborn than even Daphne, he always went out of his way to embarrass her, and he looked down on anyone that he deemed to be a 'bigot'. But Ron wasn't a bad person, he may even be a very good person. _Maybe he isn't such a buffoon…_ Daphne blushed again as she touched the golden hair-clip which was attached to her hair. _I guess Ron isn't so bad…_

Daphne came back down for lunch, and she wore an emerald dress and her new hair-clip. She was in a very happy mood after her recollection and wore a bright smile on her face, she didn't care about being lady-like today. When she sat down on the dining table next to her little sister, Daphne gave Astoria's right cheek a small pinch which made the little girl giggle in delight. "Welcome back Daphne!" Astoria beamed. Daphne smiled at the cute little girl, and her hyperactive personality.

"I never left, Tori" Daphne giggled in response. Her father and mother sat in their usual spots, with her father at the head of the table and her mother sitting to his left side right across from Daphne.

"I see you are wearing your betrothed's gift" her father mused, a teasing smile on his face. Daphne blushed and pouted at her father for picking on her.

"Sebastian, please stop embarrassing your daughter" her mother tutted, even though she was trying not to giggle like a little girl. Daphne turned her pout towards her mother. _This is not funny! I'm going back upstairs…_ Daphne was about to get up but her father put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry sweetheart" he apologized. "I was only joking. The pin looks lovely on you." He smiled kindly at her and she slowly smiled back at him. _It does look really good._

"You didn't open your other presents" Astoria complained. "So I opened them for you!" she suddenly yelled out. _WHAT?! Tori…_ Daphne just shook her head at her sister in a disapproving way.

"Astoria that wasn't a very lady-like thing to do" their mother tutted. "Ladies do not shout at the dining table." _That's the thing which upset her! Tori opened_ _ **my**_ _presents and not even a single word about it…_

"Also you should never open other people's things, my dear" her father chuckled. "It is a very unbecoming act, and it will not earn you any allies." Astoria pouted and nodded sheepishly. _Aw… she is so cute._

"It's ok Tori" Daphne cut in, completely forgetting that she was upset at her sister. "Did I get anything good?" Astoria beamed at her sister's understanding, and nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh, Tracey sent you a really soft scarf!" Astoria grinned, forgetting to use her inside voice. Their parents just shook their heads at Astoria's loud nature, while chuckling softly.

"That reminds me honey" her mother began. "We are throwing a small party here in two days. All of your friends will be coming over with their parents." Daphne paled a little at the sound of that. _All of my friends… does she mean Draco and his group as well?_ Daphne's father sighed loudly, causing everyone to look at him.

"Must we really invite Lucius here?" he said in a tired voice. Daphne's mother just gave him a stern look. "Fine… but if he starts anything with the Davis family again… I'll throw him and his idiot son out of my house immediately."

Daphne cringed as she remembered when Lucius Malfoy had called Mrs. Davis a muggle behind her back a little too loudly. It was clearly on purpose, but Daphne's father was livid at the fact that Lucius Malfoy had insulted her father's guests. Her father and Mr. Davis got along splendidly and even called each other friends openly, so it wasn't a surprise that her father had lost his temper completely at this. "Maybe I should take a page out of this Ronald's book, huh?" her father joked, noticing that the mood was getting tense. Daphne laughed a little at that, while her mother just gave her husband another stern look. Astoria was sitting there giggling but had no clue about what was so funny.

"Violence is never the answer" Daphne's mother began. Daphne decided to zone out and forgo the lecture. All she could think about was how awkward things might become when all their parents got involved in this feud. _Ron isn't even here to make his case…_ She frowned internally at that thought. _Draco no doubt is going to pull something, I have to convince the others to stand up for Ron… Ugh this is going to be so bothersome…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here it is! Chapter 11 is behind us! Now for those still wondering why Daphne behaves so bitterly towards Granger, all I can say is that Daphne has never learnt to share anything. Especially her friends. She is very spoiled and possessive... but that makes her character fun to write about. She always has some plan cooking in the background. ALSO ASTORIA IS CUTE AF! but she isn't very lady-like yet... all in good time. See you on Monday!**


	12. Chapter 12 - The Voice and The Mirror

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm back people! And here is Chapter 12! Now a couple of things before you start:**

 **1\. I added the Pure-Blood dinner but in all honesty, it was literally trash... Only one major thing happened during it, and that is touched on during this chapter quite a bit. So I talked about the dinner in another way, sort of like past tense.**

 **2\. An old acquaintance makes a return!**

 **3\. This chapter has a few POVs, so enjoy.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 12 – The Voice and The Mirror**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Christmas dinner last night had been nothing short of amazing! Ron had eaten more than his fair share, and he didn't even care that Professor Snape was staring at Ron like he was an animal. Ron was a little surprised to see Harry wearing a green Weasley sweater, just like his own. It made Ron feel a little annoyed but after Harry asked Ron to thank his mother for him, Ron decided to swallow his bitterness. It turned out that the twins had owled their mother and told her that Harry had a rotten family, which made Ron feel a little guilty for being annoyed at Harry. All-in-all however, the dinner was splendid and it was a real treat seeing some of the professors get a little tipsy from their wine. Professor Snape didn't touch any alcohol, of course.

Ron woke up the day after Christmas feeling rejuvenated and excited to spend some more time with his brothers and Harry. After breakfast ended, Harry pulled Ron aside in a hurried manner. "Quick Ron" Harry said, his voice laced with excitement. "I need to tell you something that you can't tell anyone!" _A secret…_ Ron's ears perked up instantly at the sound of that. _Harry Potter wants to share a secret with me!_ Harry dragged Ron into an abandoned classroom, and quickly shut the door behind him. "Last night, I was in the restricted section!" Harry began, making Ron gape at Harry's blatant openness about rule-breaking. _Hermione was right… Harry has a vendetta against rules…_

"Why were you in the restricted section?" Ron asked before even thinking. Harry blinked at Ron, and Ron could tell that Harry was thinking of an excuse. "Doesn't matter, what did you want to tell me?" Ron decided not to push Harry, and Harry looked more than relieved to be able to avoid that conversation.

"So as I was saying" Harry started again. "I almost got caught by Filch and his cat, and while I was running away I ended up finding this room that had a magic mirror in it! The mirror had my parents inside Ron! My parents and some other people I didn't know. I think they were my family! My **real** family!" Harry then took in a deep breath and laughed in joy. _What is he on about…? Why would his parents be in a mirror? Didn't they die?_ Ron was just staring at Harry, a confused look marking his face. Harry stopped laughing abruptly when he noticed that Ron was just plain confused about what Harry had just told him. "You do believe me, right?"

"Um… yeah Harry… sure" Ron muttered lamely. _He's lost his mind…_ Harry frowned at Ron, clearly not convinced from Ron's response.

"I'll show you! Tonight when dinner ends, don't go to sleep. Meet me at the entrance of the library at midnight, and I'll show you the mirror." Harry finished strongly, forcing Ron to give him a slow nod.

"Ok… Midnight…" Ron mumbled. _A mirror with his entire family in it… Does he mean a portrait? No, he said mirror… How can a mirror have people in it?!_

The day passed way too slowly for Ron's liking after Harry told him of the mirror, all Ron wanted to do was see this mirror. As soon as the clock hit midnight, Ron snuck up to the library. Despite his fears of getting caught, he made it there safely and found that Harry wasn't there yet. So Ron went to hide in a dark corner but a hand tapped on his shoulder from behind, making Ron jerk around to see who it was from. There was no one there, and Ron went pale from fear. "Hello…" Ron whispered, his voice cracking a little. Ron took out his wand, ready to hex the first thing he saw right into oblivion. Then another hand tapped his shoulder from behind and Ron turned around quickly, pointing his wand at thin air. "Merlin…" Ron prayed, he was starting to freak out and was just about ready to bolt back to the common room.

"Ron, is everything alright?" came Harry's voice from behind him, making Ron jump a little but then relax. Ron turned around to face the Gryffindor, only to see Harry grinning ear-to-ear.

"You… You were tapping my shoulder!" Ron accused in a loud whisper, making Harry stifle his laugh. "Bloody hell Harry… Why couldn't I see you?"

"Tada" Harry announced softly, as he presented a cloak to Ron. Ron blinked at Harry, then he looked back at the cloak in confusion. Harry then swung the cloak onto his own back and his body disappeared, leaving behind Harry's seemingly floating head. Ron went wide-eyed at the realization of what Harry was showing off.

"An invisibility cloak…" Ron muttered in disbelief. "Those are really rare Harry, where did you get it?"

"Someone sent it to me for Christmas" Harry beamed. "Gred and Forge told me that they are extremely rare as well, and made me promise to let them borrow it every now and then."

"You showed the twins…" Ron sighed, he knew that they would use it for the worst sorts of pranks.

"Yeah, but the twins have been great to me so far! I didn't show Percy though…" Harry trailed off. _I wonder why… Oh wait I know! Percy would totally confiscate it._

"I understand, believe me. So where is this mirror?" Ron asked, unable to hide his curiosity anymore. Harry put the cloak on completely and invited Ron to join him, which he did after a little hesitance. Harry then led them down a few corridors and then into an unlocked classroom.

Ron stepped into the abandoned room and immediately noticed a giant ornate mirror in the middle of it. It had clawed feet, and a gold frame that had odd inscriptions carved into it. _This is the mirror with Harry's parents… Was he telling the truth? Bloody hell… How do we get them out!_ Ron stepped out of the cloak and slowly approached the mirror, with Harry quick on his tail.

"See Ron" Harry said, his tone boastful. "My parents are in there! C'mon have a look!" Harry said as he overtook Ron and jumped in front of the mirror. Harry looked hungrily at the reflection in the mirror, while Ron stood just a little behind Harry. All Ron could see was Harry, but it was clear to Ron that Harry saw much more as the boy-who-lived had tears welling up in his eyes.

"Harry…" Ron said softly, making Harry turn and face him. "Harry, I don't see your parents in there… just you." Harry looked at Ron in bewilderment, and then Harry shook his head hard.

"No Ron, they're right there! I can see them!" Harry implored, his voice was strained. "Come here" Harry said quickly as he pulled Ron into the spot that Harry was just now occupying, right in front of the mirror. "Ok, now look into the mirror…" Ron gave Harry a quick smile, though Ron felt quite sad at seeing Harry so desperate for something. Ron then turned and looked into the mirror. What he saw within brought tears into his eyes, and a terribly sad smile upon his lips.

Ron's reflection was surrounded by his loved ones, and his loved ones were all older than they were now. Fred was standing right behind Ron, alive and happy, and he had his arm draped around Ron's shoulders. Around them were the members of the Weasley and Lovegood families, all of them were beaming at Ron. They looked so happy, so content, and so full of life. Ron felt his own hands tremble slightly and he gave a wet chuckle at the sight. _They're all alive, and unharmed… Fred is alive! I did it!_

Ron felt hot tears fall down his cheeks as he reached out with his right hand, trying to touch the beautiful reflection. Harry was saying something in the background, but Ron just zoned him out. Whatever Harry had to say didn't matter to Ron right now, all that mattered was his happy and full family. _George has both his ears! And Luna looks so happy hugging Pandora! They all look so happy…_ Ron's hand touched the mirror's surface, and a wet sob broke out from his throat. _I didn't fail… I saved them…_

* * *

Ron's whole body suddenly became cold, and he felt like he couldn't move even an inch. The sides of his vision began to darken, like the whole world was closing in on him. He tried to move, but his body remained as still as a statue. Panic started bubbling in his stomach, accompanied by the strongest sense of fear he had ever felt in his life. " _ **Lies**_ " something hissed from behind Ron, its voice was icy and hollow. Ron felt as if cold, lifeless tendrils were wrapping around his body, trying to squeeze the life out of him. His breathing just stopped and he could feel his body trying to tremble with fear but unable to. " _ **False promises**_ " the voice hissed again, Ron had never heard such a disturbing voice before. _It can't be human… IT CAN'T!_ " _ **The mirror deceives you, Champion**_ " it spoke a little louder, its voice echoing in Ron's head. _WHAT ARE YOU?!_ " _ **It will corrupt your dreams, and drive you MAD!**_ " the voice shrieked the last word, breaking Ron out of his horrifying trance.

* * *

Ron fell on his back, tears cold on his cheeks and his whole body aching. Harry ran to Ron's side in a heartbeat. "RON WHAT HAPPENED?!" Harry yelled, his voice terrified and panicking. Ron was shaking uncontrollably from what he had just felt, his mind working at the speed of lightning. _WHAT WAS THAT?! WHAT COULD SPEAK WITH A VOICE LIKE THAT?!_ Ron shot panicked looks around the room, and all he saw was a panicking Harry sitting next to him. "Ron talk to me please!" Harry begged. "What happened…?" Ron remembered both the terror he had just felt and that horrible voice again, it made him retch hard. Harry jumped back in a panic, his eyes wide and filled with fear for his red-headed friend. Once Ron stopped gagging, he tried to stand up on shaking legs. Harry immediately ran to Ron and supported him up.

"We… we shouldn't be here… that mirror…" Ron stuttered, still shaking from the slowly fading fear. _I have to get out of here… I don't want to be here!_ Ron tried walking but with Harry still trying to hold him up, it was extremely difficult. "We can't let anyone know we were here…" Ron said, as if talking to himself. Ron's scared voice and shaking body were starting to terrify Harry as well, all Harry could think about was why had he brought his friend down here. Ron then stopped moving, removed his wand and pointed it straight at the vomit. "Scourgify" Ron whispered as he waved his wand in the shape of an 'S'. The vomit began to close in on itself and then disappeared completely. Harry would have been amazed, if he wasn't terrified for Ron right now.

"We have get you to Madam Pomfrey!" Harry said as he began moving with Ron towards the door. Ron stopped them both abruptly.

"NO! No…" Ron said, his breathing was still uneven but his body had stopped shaking. "No we will both get into even more trouble…" Ron reasoned, but he could tell that Harry wasn't convinced.

"Ron what happened… please tell me?" Harry's voice cracked, he was still scared because of the terrible pain that Ron looked like he was in.

"I… I don't know…" Ron muttered, staring at the floor with wide-eyes. "I don't want to stay here Harry… please." Harry was quiet for a second and then he started hauling Ron towards the door. Once they got there, Harry picked up the invisibility cloak and placed it around the duo. Harry then led the way, still holding Ron up with his shoulder. Ron was heavy at first but the further they got from the room, the lighter Ron's weight got. By the time they reached the moving staircases, Ron was walking without any help. "Good night… Harry…" Ron muttered. Then without even waiting for a reply, Ron began walking down to the common room. _What was that voice? Who was that voice? It called me 'Champion'? There was no one else in that room but Harry and I… I checked! What is happening to me? Am I going insane?_

Ron was in complete panic by the time he got into the common room, his hands were trembling with a terrifying vigor. His whole body ached, and the taste of vomit tainted his mouth and breath. Ron drifted up to his dorm as if in a trance. The moment he stepped through the door of his room, Ron ripped off his clothes and headed straight for the shower. Once he was in, he turned the hot water on and just stood under it. His body still felt cold, and the ache seemed to be coming from his bones. _What's happening…?_

Ron looked down at his body, and the sight made him freeze. His blood became jagged ice in his veins, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. There were dark bruises all over his torso, arms, and legs. And they were shaped like… tendrils. As if the Giant Squid from the lake had squeezed him… _The cold tendrils I felt…_ Ron let out a scared whimper, and saliva rolled down his chin. The more Ron looked at the bruises, the more he shook from fear. Tears fell down his face as he let out a panicked cry. _What's happening to me?! THAT VOICE! It did this to me?!_

Ron stood there in the shower, crying quietly, till his body began to prune, after which he finally managed to pull himself out of the shower. He put on his pajamas, still crying softly but now because of the terrible pain in his bones. Ron then managed to limp towards his bed and he fell onto it hard. Scabbers was startled by Ron's landing but sensing the boy's pain, Scabbers ran towards him and tried nibbling at his right ear. Ron figured his pet was trying to cheer him up, or show concern. But Ron was too far gone to pet his faithful companion. "Someone… help me please…" Ron sobbed, hugging himself tightly and hoping that the pain and fear would stop. Darkness took him quickly after that…

Ron woke up the next morning, and he immediately noticed that there was no pain in his body. He slowly sat up and took in his dorm, it was still empty but Ron no longer felt any fear. _Was it all a bad dream?_ Ron then walked into the bathroom and lifted his pajama shirt, he instantly became pale. The bruises were right there, it wasn't a dream at all. Ron put his shirt down, and stared at his reflection. _Where did that voice come from? Was it the mirror? If so… Why was Harry perfectly fine?_

A trickle of fear began coursing through his body again and Ron quickly washed his face with cold water, hoping to snap out of it and not panic again. He took deep breaths while looking at his reflection, and he could feel his hands trembling by his sides. Ron slowly walked out of the bathroom, trying to calm down as much as possible. He paced around the dorm, his arms crossed against his chest. _I can't go to breakfast like this! C'mon Ron, just calm down and breathe…_

"Good morning Ronald" came a voice from Ron's bed, it was cheery and a bit loud. Ron jerked towards the direction of his bed, and reached for his wand holster which wasn't on his arm like usual. "Beautiful morning today" said the Sorting Hat, which was sitting upright on his bed. _WHAT THE HELL?!_

"YOU!" Ron shouted, pointing an angry finger at the hat that had almost ruined his life. _BLOODY BASTARD!_

"Yes me!" the hat chuckled. "You asked for help Ronald, and I came as soon you woke up!" _Help? When…?_ "Well go on boy, place me on your head so we may speak without causing all this ruckus." Ron glared at the hat for a few seconds, before he sighed in defeat and yanked it off the bed. "Easy there boy, I'm no spring chicken and if you tear me… Well… You will have to answer to the Headmaster!"

"Sorry" Ron gritted out, extremely pissed off at the hat. "But the last time we spoke… you ruined my life!"

"Did I now? I have heard exceptional tales about you so far… From what I have gathered, Slytherin house has done well for you. You have cunning allies who are teaching you many new things, you have slain a Mountain Troll, and even your mother and father are accepting of you! Doesn't sound so bad to me." Ron just blinked at the hat. _How does he even know all this?!_

"And how do you know all this, may I ask?" Ron spoke in a cold voice.

"Well Albus told me about the first two, he is quite intrigued with you my boy. As for your parents, well I spoke with them after you put down that nasty troll. They were hard to convince, but I managed to get it through their thick skulls that Slytherin house was the only house in which you would reach your full potential! Pandora of course was already convinced after you slew a troll to save your little friends…"

"Oh…" Ron managed to reply. "Thanks… for that…"

"You are most welcome, now place me on your head before I bite you!" Ron quickly did as he was told, and he could feel the Sorting Hat looking at his memories. " _Hmmm… quite the adventures you've had since we last spoke. Ah, a nice punch that was my boy! You certainly showed young master Malfoy!"_ Ron felt his cheeks flush red and his ears felt hot.

" _So you saw that huh?"_ Ron asked, feeling a little embarrassed that the hat had seen him lashing out at other students.

" _Hmmm… by the founders…"_ The hat gasped inside Ron's mind. " _Boy take me to the bathroom and show me your bruises."_ Ron hesitated in doing that. " _NOW!"_ Ron jumped a bit and quickly ran into the bathroom and lifted up his shirt for the Sorting Hat. " _By Rowena's wisdom… Ronald… who did this to you?_ "

" _I don't know… There was this voice… Merlin that voice was so horrible… and a mirror._ " Ron couldn't go on, his fear and panic were coming back.

" _Calm Ronald. You are safe my boy. Nothing will harm you here, I promise…_ " The Sorting Hat's voice sounded kind and tender. " _Ronald… I'm going to try and look more into this memory. You won't feel a thing. I must do this in order to determine what could possibly do such a thing._ " Ron just nodded his approval. There was a long silence, neither the hat nor Ron spoke a word. After a few minutes, Ron began to lose his patience. He wanted answers and he wanted them now!

" _Did you find anything? Do you know who… what that thing was?_ " Ron asked, both scared and hopeful at the same time.

" _Ronald, do you remember what I told you about your visions the first time we spoke?_ "

" _You said that I wasn't a seer, and that my visions were protected by an enti…"_ Ron stopped dead in the middle of his thoughts. " _The entity in my mind…"_

" _Yes Ronald, I felt the exact same presence in your mind the first time we spoke. It was guarding your visions from any and all outsiders, and it overpowered me with no effort… I felt the exact same entity in that room with you and young master Harry. Your friend didn't hear anything Ronald, only you did… I believe that it was the entity in your mind that spoke to you last night… And I believe it was the cause for your injuries too…"_ Ron almost fainted at the hat's explanation, his legs however did give out and he fell on his arse with a thud.

" _It_ _ **can**_ _hurt me… even_ _ **kill**_ _me…"_ Ron felt tears of fear blur his vision, and he quickly rubbed them out. " _What do I do?! How can I even stop this thing…?"_ The Sorting Hat was silent for a moment.

" _Ronald… I believe that it is best… that we involve the Headmaster._ "

" _Are you insane?! This thing can kill me, and you have no idea how horrible it was! It's voice…"_

" _I know my boy… I heard it speak in your memories… Albus Dumbledore is a great and powerful wizard Ronald. He might be the only man in England that can help you. Please consider this my boy… for your own safety I beg you."_

" _What safety? There is something evil in my head! It tried to kill me last night! What if it murders me the moment I decide to tell Dumbledore?!"_

" _Ronald… I do not believe that killing you was its intention… and I do not believe that the entity is… malevolent."_ Ron went wide-eyed when he heard that.

" _What do you mean?"_

" _I believe that the entity was trying to help you…"_

" _HELP ME?! ARE YOU BARMY?!"_

" _It called you 'Champion', Ronald! It told you that the mirror was showing you lies and false promises. It even told you that the mirror would drive you mad if you weren't careful… Do you know what that mirror was?"_

" _No… Harry said his parents were inside it. But that isn't what I saw. I saw…"_

" _You saw your family, safe and sound. You saw that they had all survived the coming war, without as much as a scratch on them. The mirror you and young master Harry found last night Ronald, was the Mirror of Erised!"_

" _Mirror of what?"_

" _The Mirror of Erised, Ronald. It is a powerful magical artifact, and it shows a person their deepest desire. Your deepest desire is your family's safety and good health. And it seems that Harry's deepest desire is to have a family. Countless witches and wizards have been driven into absolute madness because of its allure! Many of them being former students of this very school."_

" _The entity… was trying to save me? Then why did it hurt me?!"_

" _I will not pretend to understand this… this thing in your mind Ronald. But I do believe that it wants you to succeed in your mission to save your brother Fred or any others… Although why it wants this, or what its agenda is… that is beyond even me."_

" _Is it… is it human? Like a spirit? If it wants me to succeed, maybe it's… friendly…?"_

" _NO! No, it is most certainly not! You must not try and befriend this being Ronald. It is dangerous, and more powerful than any witch or wizard I have ever encountered. We must exercise caution above all else! And I would know if this thing was a human soul or spirit of some sort… IT IS NOT! It is something that I have never before encountered in almost a thousand years!"_ Ron paled at the hat's words and his head started spinning.

" _What did I do to deserve this…?"_

" _My dear boy… I am sorry that this burden has been placed upon you. But you need not bear this alone. Please… tell Albus about this. He can and will help you, I promise this to you!"_ Ron thought about the hat's pleas for a good long minute, in the end he decided not to involve Dumbledore… He didn't want the entity to kill him, and he wasn't sure that it wouldn't. It clearly had no problem causing him pain. What if it killed Dumbledore as well?!

" _Sorry Sorting Hat… But you know why I can't… If there is a war coming, then we need Dumbledore! And my visions could help save lives… I've already proven that twice now! It isn't worth the risk… I'm not worth the risk…"_

" _Your life is worth it dear boy… Why do you see yourself in such a dim light? You have saved lives Ronald…"_

" _It doesn't matter… If this thing kills Dumbledore… Then how many lives will be lost? I still have no idea what this war is about, or who started it? All I know is that Hogwarts is going to burn, and my family will be in the middle of it… I will not risk their lives, just on the off-chance that Dumbledore can help me get rid of this thing!"_ There was a long silence after that. The hat sat quietly on his head, while Ron contemplated the entity and the war.

" _I respect your decision Ronald, as it does have reason behind it. But you are mistaken if you think you are alone… If you ever need me Ronald, simply call for me and I will come to you! I believe that you have an important part to play in the coming war, and I will do everything in my power to help you succeed. I give you my word."_ Ron was awed by the hat's words, and he couldn't have been more grateful. He was glad that he didn't have to face this all alone.

" _Thank you, Sorting Hat… thank you."_

" _Here is some parting advice Ronald."_ Ron sat up straight after hearing that. _"Destroy your vision journal…"_ Ron blinked in confusion.

" _Why should I do that?"_

" _Because we both know that you can already see your visions with perfect clarity within your own mind. I believe that the entity allows you to do this. That journal of yours… is evidence! If the wrong people were to find it, then I fear that your secret will be lost. I do not wish to know what will happen then."_

" _You mean the entity could…"_

" _Yes Ronald… and if the entity doesn't, then you must understand that there are many others who would. Your power is a danger to many witches and wizards Ronald, especially to those that wish to start a war. If your journal is discovered… your life will change drastically! Remember my words dear boy, exercise caution above all else. Be wary of this entity, and keep your secret close to your heart. If you ever wish to speak to me again, for advice or for comfort. Do not hesitate for even a moment!"_ Ron nodded in understanding, and was amazed when the hat simply disappeared into thin air.

Ron sat on the bathroom floor for a few more minutes, trying to digest everything that the hat had told him. Then Ron stood up and marched to his trunk, he picked up his vision diary and marched back into the bathroom. He placed it on the floor and used 'Incendio' to light the journal up in an orange flame. Ron watched his brother's gift to him burning, and it gave him a pang of guilt. After the journal was nothing but ash, Ron used 'Scourgify' to clean up all the evidence. _If you're listening to me, entity… FUCK YOU!_

 _ **Severus Snape POV**_

Severus strode towards the Headmaster's office with absolute purpose. _Enough is enough. Albus has to see reason!_ He quickly muttered another ridiculous password to the stone gargoyle and once it moved out of his way, Severus marched right into the Headmaster's office without even knocking. He had no time for niceties today, he had a mission to do. "Ah Severus, welcome" Albus spoke from behind his desk, his eyes twinkling at the Potions Master. _That twinkle… Can he never be serious?_

"Albus" Severus curtly greeted. He wasn't worried about calling Albus 'Headmaster' as he usually did, because whenever they were alone they spoke as equals. "I want to have another discussion about Mr. Weasley." They had been talking about Ronald for quite some time now, always arguing on what was the best course of action to take with the boy.

"Of course" Albus sighed, but his eyes were still twinkling. Then Albus flicked his wand and sealed the room away from prying eyes and ears. "Come, take a seat. Would you like a lemon-drop?"

"No" Severus replied icily. _He knows I'll never accept one so why does he keep offering them?_ "I wish to use Legilimency on the boy." Albus sighed again when he heard that.

"Severus I have told you, it is illegal for a professor to use such means on a student…" Severus cut Dumbledore off at that.

"Spare me Albus… I can use it if I think the student is a danger to others, or to himself. And I do believe that to be the case this time. I am done waiting for answers…" Severus bit out. How long had they been arguing around in circles? _Months!_

"This time?" Albus rose an eyebrow at Severus. "Severus what have you discovered?" Snape was quiet for a moment, but then he spoke in his clear, low voice.

"I have spent the last five days watching the boy, whenever possible. He is constantly jumping at shadows, he barely eats, and judging from the marks under his eyes I can guess that he barely sleeps. Something is bothering him deeply and I wish to know what." Severus finished strongly. _Albus has to see reason this time!_

"Sounds like you care for the boy?" Albus chuckled, deeply happy to see such care from Severus.

"Spare me your games today, Albus. This is serious. The boy might be in danger again, and you know I don't make those claims lightly."

"Again…" Albus muttered, his twinkling eyes being replaced by stone-hard ones. Eyes that Severus respected. "Young Ronald has led quite the life, hasn't he? We've learned that he saved Pandora Lovegood, with no regard to his safety…"

"Sheer dumb-luck…" Severus muttered. "The boy had no idea what he was doing, that much is clear."

"Yes, but he did know what he was doing against the troll…" Albus then paused, looking directly at Severus. "Severus, I have a confession to make to you" Dumbledore said somberly. Severus sat up a bit more, steeling his mind for the confession. _What has he done?_ "I have already used Legilimency on the boy…" Albus said in a low voice.

"When? And why did you not tell me?" Severus bit out, his anger building up. _More secrets…_

"It was on the night that Ronald defeated the troll, when I asked him where he learned such a powerful curse. Do you remember what he said?"

"Yes" Snape said softly, urging Dumbledore to continue. _What did you learn Albus?_

"I used light Legilimency on Ronald, to see if he was telling the truth. And he was, Severus. Ronald did not lie to us about anything however…" Albus stopped, putting his right hand on his chin. He looked as if he was contemplating something important.

"What is it Albus?" Severus asked, genuinely curious as to what his old friend had learned.

"There was a conflict of emotions within the boy… There was shock, which was to be expected. But there was also relief… relief at successfully getting there on time…" Albus spoke, his voice soft and slight confused.

"Getting there on time? What do you mean by that Albus?" _Does he mean getting there in time to save those pathetic Gryffindors, or does he mean getting there in time to kill the troll…?_

"His emotions were chaotic… The potion certainly didn't help as it muddled the boy's mind, but Severus I believe that… I believe that Ronald wasn't just searching for his friends, I believe he was searching for the troll… with the intent to kill." Albus finished with a frown. _Intent to kill…_ Severus was a little shaken at hearing that. He still remembered what the troll looked like after Ron had finished it off. _He intended to do that?_

"Albus, please see reason… We need to keep a closer eye on this boy. Allow me to use light Legilimency on him at least, just enough so that I can find out what's bothering him. The Hogwarts Express leaves tomorrow morning, once the other students get here… I will be unable to focus on Ronald completely." Severus finished, hoping this was enough to convince the Headmaster. Albus was quiet for a long moment, and then he looked Severus dead in his eyes.

"Only light Legilimency, Severus. Do not push deeper into the boy's mind, as that may leave behind lasting damage. And if there is a problem, you are to come to me first before confronting young Ronald. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Albus…" Severus agreed, somewhat annoyed at having Albus looking over his shoulder. _Does he not trust me completely yet? After everything we have accomplished together?_

"I trust you, Severus" Albus said softly, with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But I must warn you as well, if we push too hard with young Ronald we may find ourselves fulfilling our own worst fears about him… I have learnt that the hard way, in my long life…" Albus finished, and Severus could see the unspoken regret in his friend's eyes.

"I will be careful, Albus. And I will not push Ronald too far, just enough to see if something is bothering him." With that Severus rose out of his chair, and walked towards the door. He stopped when he heard Albus chuckling from behind him. "What is it?" Snape asked, without turning around.

"You have begun to call him Ronald, I noticed. That is a wonderful thing Severus!" Dumbledore chuckled, no doubt his eyes were twinkling like stars at the moment. Snape just growled before marching out of the office. _This old man is going to annoy me into an early grave…_

 _ **Tracey Davis POV**_

Tracey sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and she was joined by both Millie and Daphne. The last week had been hectic to say the least, with Christmas and the party that the Greengrass family had thrown. The party itself wasn't too bad, and Tracey loved that she got to see her friends before the break ended. _Well, not all of friends…_ Tracey smiled as she thought of Ron, and she hoped that he had enjoyed the Christmas break at Hogwarts with his brothers. She had loved his Christmas gift to her, her parents would never allow her to have dung-bombs or any other Zonko product. Theo and Blaise had even helped her set one off inside the Selwyn's carriage, much to Daphne's ire. But that wasn't all that had happened at the party… _This is going to be so damn awkward…_

The party had been coming to an end when Pansy Parkinson had come over to their group and asked to speak with Daphne. Daphne had obliged, much to Tracey's annoyance… Tracey had never liked Pansy, because the pug-faced girl was nothing but cruel to Tracey and Millicent. Pansy was always bullying the two of them, and Pansy even acted like she was better than Daphne most of the time.

All because Pansy had a crush on Malfoy, and she believed that Malfoy returned those feelings and so that gave her the right to act like a bitch. Tracey really hated the two of them, and now Daphne had gone and agreed to let Pansy into their group… Tracey didn't know what they had talked about but for once in her life, Tracey completely disagreed with Daphne. Pansy couldn't be trusted…

"Trace, are you alright?" asked Daphne, pulling Tracey out of her memories.

"No…" Tracey pouted at Daphne. Daphne frowned at Tracey when she heard that. _She is wearing that hair-clip again… It looks really nice._

"Tracey… please. We have a chance to make peace here" Daphne explained, clearly doing her best to convince the others.

"She called Ron a 'Filthy Blood-Traitor', Daphne" Millicent piped in, talking about Pansy. "Do you really expect him to just let that slide?"

"No, I don't" Daphne said stubbornly. "But I will tell him to… and he will listen to me, I just know it."

"Is that so?" Tracey said slyly, a grin forming on his face. _Someone has a crush!_

"Stop…" Daphne muttered, her cheeks becoming red.

"Merlin… you really do have a crush on our fearless leader?!" Tracey all but shouted, making Daphne go crimson. Millicent just chuckled at Daphne.

"No… no I don't… and you're insane…" Daphne stuttered, clearly embarrassed.

"So you don't mind if I confess to him then?" Tracey asked, her voice slick with childish glee. _Here it comes!_

"Tracey, stop picking on her" Millicent said in between her chuckling. Daphne was giving Tracey a death glare, which made Tracey laugh. _Haha this is amazing! I have to tell Ron!_

"I know that look Tracey…" Daphne said, in a menacing tone. "Don't tell him, and if you do I swear to Merlin… I'll actually kill you!" Tracey put her hands up in surrender, while laughing at Daphne's crimson face. "And it isn't a crush... I just... I don't know." _Oh this is perfect! I wonder if she has even taken that clip off in the last few days._ There was a soft knock on the compartment door, and then it slowly slid open to reveal Pansy Parkinson. _Ugh… this bitch…_

"Hi..." Pansy said sheepishly. She looked quite subdued, and Tracey liked seeing her like this. _No Malfoy to back you up, huh…_

"Hello Pansy" Daphne greeted, somehow composing herself in a matter of seconds. _I could never do that… But then again I'm normal… I think._

"Hi" Millicent greeted curtly, and then she began petting Misty while looking out of the window. _Wish I had a cat to pet…_

"Come in, Pansy" Daphne smiled at her reassuringly. Pansy sat smiled back and sat down next to Daphne, and across from Tracey. Tracey had no intention of hiding her displeasure at the girl who had bullied her for almost two years. If it wasn't for Daphne, Tracey wouldn't even be friends with any of these Pure-Bloods. _Well maybe with Millie, and Theo… and Blaise… they haven't ever brought up my blood status… But then again, they aren't as stupid as Malfoy and Parkinson… So who knows how they really feel about me._

"Hi, Tracey" Pansy muttered, pulling Tracey out of her miserable thoughts. Tracey just glared at the raven-haired girl.

"Tracey…" Daphne said softly. "Stop being rude…"

"Oh am I allowed to speak? I didn't get permission from Madam Pure-Blood…" Tracey retorted, her voice turning bitter by the end. Pansy flinched at Tracey's words.

"I'm sorry" Pansy muttered. "For being… for being how I was to you… and to Millie" Pansy spoke, she sounded remorseful enough.

"I'm sorry for being a Half-Blood" Tracey spat out, feeling annoyed at the apology from Pansy. _I don't want her apologies. I want her to know how bad it feels to be judged just for being born!_

"Tracey that's enough!" Daphne screeched.

"Maybe I shouldn't be here…" Pansy said, staring at Tracey with shock on her face.

"No Pansy, you said that you wanted to stop the fighting right?" Daphne said, placing her hand on Pansy's shoulder. Pansy just nodded meekly. "Well then you have to face up to some of the things you've done in the past. Like picking on the rest of us, and acting superior." Tracey couldn't help but notice that Daphne sounded a little bitter too.

"I accept her apology" Millie spoke, still looking out of the window and petting her cat.

"Hmph" Tracey huffed, and looked away towards the compartment door. _Yeah, just let her back in like nothing happened…_ There was a long silence inside the compartment, and after an hour it was Pansy who broke it.

"That's a beautiful hair-clip Daphne" Pansy said softly, while smiling sheepishly. "Was it a Christmas gift?" Daphne blushed a little and nodded. _Finally some fun!_

"Ron got it for her" Tracey said nonchalantly, trying to make Daphne uncomfortable. It worked wonderfully because Daphne went red in the face.

"Oh" Pansy managed. "How did he afford…" she trailed off, when Tracey glared at her. _Go on… give me a reason Parkinson!_

"He has been making money off of us and the other Slytherins by placing bets and beating us in chess" Mille provided, finally looking at everyone else. "He can be quite shrewd when he wants."

"I see…" Pansy said softly. "What if he doesn't…?" Pansy trailed off, clearly worried about Ron not accepting her.

"Ron isn't Malfoy!" Tracey said a little loudly, making the other girls jump. "He doesn't treat other people like dirt!" Pansy looked down sheepishly at that. Daphne gave Tracey another annoyed look.

"I will talk to him, ok?" Daphne said, trying to comfort Pansy. "Don't worry, he will listen to me. I just know it." Pansy looked up and smiled at Daphne.

"Are you two…?" Pansy began insinuating. That made Tracey and Millie chuckle because Daphne went as red as a tomato.

"NO! No we are not!" Daphne blurted out quickly and loudly. Tracey laughed in earnest at seeing Daphne lose her composure like this. _How have I lived this long without seeing her like this?! It's amazing!_

"Just remember…" Millie said, stopping her chuckling abruptly. "That Ron hates bullies… So if you really want to turn a page, I suggest that you put your bullying days behind you. I'm telling you this right now that if Ron tells us to throw you out, we will in a heartbeat." The atmosphere lost its jolliness at Millie's words, and even Tracey felt a little uncomfortable at that. _Way to murder the mood Millie… This is going to be so awkward…_

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron was sitting at the edge of the courtyard, looking down at Hogsmeade Village. It was quite far away, but he could still see the Hogwarts Express pulling into the station. _They're here!_ Ron had missed his Slytherin friends quite a lot, though he would never admit it to them. _Or anyone for that matter…_ Ron was especially excited to see Theo and Blaise, mainly because he didn't want to be alone in the dorm at night. He hadn't slept more than four hours a night because every time he dozed off, he was back in that room with the Mirror of Erised. And that voice was there, holding him down, hurting him… He would wake up screaming and in a cold sweat. Even eating was an effort and Ron was jumping at shadows, constantly vigilant and waiting for the entity to hurt him.

Suffice it to say, Ron was looking more like a corpse at the moment rather than a person. He had bags under his eyes, his pigment was paler than usual, and he was utterly exhausted. His brothers and Harry were constantly fretting over him, Harry especially. But Ron had told them that he was just missing his friends, but they didn't really believe him. But now that his friends were here, he wouldn't be alone anymore. That was the only comfort he had to look forward to. Ron tightened the cloak, which Daphne had gotten him for Christmas, more snuggly around himself. _It's so soft and warm… hmm…_ Ron took a seat on a nearby bench and decided he would wait for his friends to come to him, so that he could greet them as soon as they were on Hogwarts' grounds.

Ron waited for almost thirty minutes before he heard students walking towards the courtyard, they were all talking excitedly and Ron could already feel his spirit returning. _Finally!_ He wasn't alone with this entity anymore. Ron stood on top of the bench and looked at all the faces coming through the courtyard entrance, hoping to spot his friends.

"HEY RON!" a girl's voice called out to him, and Ron spotted Tracey in the middle of the crowd and she was waving happily at him. He grinned and waved back to her, and he almost started laughing when Daphne started telling Tracey off for some reason. _Probably about acting not 'lady-like' or some other Pure-Blood nonsense._ Ron then hopped down and waited for his friends to push their way to him.

"He still lives" exclaimed Theo with a smirk, as he pushed a first year Hufflepuff girl out of his way. Ron frowned and apologized to the girl, who gave him a quick smile and then scowled at Theo before walking away. "What… she was a Hufflepuff" Theo grinned. Blaise and the others were behind Theo. They all looked relatively happy to see him, which made Ron giddy. _Why am I being so desperate…? Oh wait I know… Living in fear does that to a person…_

"Good to see you guys" Ron beamed, taking Theo and Blaise a little by surprise.

"It's good to see you too!" Tracey exclaimed, before marching up and hugging Ron tightly. Ron went beet-red instantly. _Woah… ok then…_ Ron returned the hug a little awkwardly, the only girls who hugged him were his sisters or mothers. He didn't even know how to hug another girl properly, but Tracey didn't seem to care. Ron managed a look over Tracey's shoulder, and what he saw froze his blood. He had never seen Daphne so red, and her nostrils were flaring… actually flaring. _I'm gonna die here…_ Ron quickly, but softly, pushed Tracey back and gave the girl a sheepish smile. Tracey turned around and upon seeing Daphne, Tracey let out a mischievous giggle. _I don't know what going on, but I do know that Tracey did that to get me into trouble… Crazy bint!_

"Can I talk to you, Ron?" Daphne bit out, clenching her jaw. _Oh bloody hell… what was that, two whole minutes before I got in trouble with her?_ Ron then greeted the rest of his friends as they all walked past him and made their way into the castle, all of them grinning at him for getting into trouble already. _Even Millie… Traitors…_

"Hey Daphne" Ron said meekly, getting ready for the barrage of abuse. But it never came, and Daphne only looked him over.

"You're wearing the cloak I got you" she said, a pleasant smile on her face. _SAFE!_

"Yeah" Ron said eagerly. "It's great, and I love it. It's so soft and warm, I've been wearing it every day since I got it." Ron finished strongly, grinning ear-to-ear at not being in trouble.

"Every day?" Daphne asked in a whisper, her voice was soft and it confused Ron. _Why is she whispering?_

"Um… yeah. Thank you for it by the way, it's quite amazing." Ron then noticed that Daphne was wearing his golden hair-clip. "Hey… You're wearing the pin I got you, it looks great on you!" _I'm glad she liked it, because I had no clue on what to get her…_

"You think so?" Daphne asked, her cheeks turning red. "I've been… wearing this… every day as well" she finished, smiling at Ron. _SUCCESS! Well done Ronnie old boy!_

"I'm really glad you like it… I wasn't too sure if it was… you know too personal. It's just that you always wear your hair" Ron pointed at her head "like that."

"No… No, I love it. Thank you Ron" she smiled, her blush was still on her cheeks. Ron wondered if she was cold, maybe it was best if they went inside.

"Do you want to go inside, it's pretty cold out here." Ron said, as he moved towards the castle. He stopped when Daphne grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned around and looked at her, she instantly jerked her hands back.

"I need to talk to you… about something" Daphne said softly. "It's really important…" Ron was instantly alert because of her tone. _Did something happen? What happened? I bet it was Malfoy, I JUST KNOW IT!_

"Daphne, what's wrong?" Ron asked her, trying his best to sound calm.

"I've um… I may have invited…" Daphne paused and looked at the ground sheepishly.

"Daphne you are freaking me out here… What happened? You can tell me anything…" Ron spoke to Daphne in the same tone, and way, he did to Ginny when she was hiding things from him. It worked because Daphne looked up and smiled at him faintly. Ron returned her smile, hoping that was enough to coerce her into talking.

"Ron I've invited Pansy to join our group… and she accepted. Actually she asked me and I said yes, but it's the same thing really…" Daphne blurted out. Ron just blinked at her, this certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

"Pansy…" Ron said, looking at Daphne with surprise. "Pansy Parkinson… Isn't she with Malfoy?"

"She is… was… Ron she told me that she missed her female friends… and we have all been friends since we were kids…" Daphne trailed off for a second before restarting again. "I know she talks and acts superior to everyone, but I think she mostly did that to impress Draco… I mean her parents were neutral in the last war, so they aren't really fanatics about blood-purity… So I think she just said whatever she could to please Draco… Ron, she looked really sad when I met her at the Christmas party…" Daphne trailed off again.

 _Christmas party? Whatever, that doesn't matter… It's true that she did look really sad when Malfoy walked away from me… And she has been moping around lately, now that I think about it. Not to mention I'm the one who stole her friends in the first place…_ Ron let out a guilty sigh at the memory.

"She is your friend Daphne" Ron started, making Daphne look at him hopefully. "Why are you even asking me for permission?" Ron chuckled, taking Daphne by surprise. Daphne just stared at Ron with wide-eyes, and Ron started feeling self-conscious. "Did I say… something stupid?" Ron asked, grinning sheepishly. Daphne just nodded slowly, but a smile was creeping onto her lips.

"You did." she giggled. _Did she just giggle…?_

"What?" Ron asked, smiling at her cute giggling.

"You really don't know a thing about Pure-Bloods, do you?" Daphne continued giggling.

"Can't Pure-Bloods be friends with people without permission from their other friends…?" Ron asked, slightly irked that such a stupid rule even existed.

"No, not that. But you are the leader of our group, so we need to consult with you before we add more people. It's just common manners." Daphne said, her giggling dying down. _Leader?! I'm not their leader… Should there even be leaders amongst friends… sounds terrible!_

"Daphne… I'm not your leader…" Ron said, feeling a little uncomfortable at the thought.

"Of course you are." Daphne tutted, highly amused at Ron's lack of knowledge about their world. "You are the strongest wizard amongst us and you are also the most knowledgeable, at least in schoolwork anyway. Not to mention that even the older students and professors like you. That makes you our leader." Daphne finished, looking as if everything she had just said made perfect sense. It didn't make any sense to Ron. _These other Pure-Bloods are so weird compared to us…_

"Well, I don't see it that way. I just see you as my friends, not my… followers… And you don't have to agree with me on everything either. If you want Pansy to be a part of the group, then I think that's completely up to you. I trust you Daphne…" Ron finished, still trying to figure out these Pure-Blood 'rules'. Daphne went wide-eyed at Ron's words. Then she smiled at him and gave him a tight hug. Ron stiffened like a board and went completely red. _It happened again! What is going on here?!_ Daphne quickly jumped back and smiled sheepishly at him.

"Sorry…" she mumbled meekly. "That wasn't appropriate…"

"It's ok… I don't mind…" Ron stuttered out, still red in the face. They both stood there smiling at each in embarrassment, until Ron couldn't take it anymore. "Do you want to… um… head inside?"

"Yes, please" Daphne replied. They both then made their way in, and immediately noticed that people were heading into the Great Hall. "Guess, it's time for dinner… We were outside for a while, huh."

"Um… yeah we were." Ron said, still reeling from her hug. Then something clicked in his brain, he hadn't assured her that he would try his best to welcome Pansy yet. "Listen Daphne…"

"Yes, Ron" Daphne cut in, she was smiling again and seemed to have moved past hugging him.

"I'm more than happy to let Pansy join us, and I promise to be on my best behavior. I don't want to get in between you guys…" Ron finished, as he scratched the back of his head. _I've already ruined Theo and Blaise's friendship with Malfoy, let's not ruin Daphne and Pansy's…_

"Thank you Ron, that means a lot. And I promise that Pansy won't say those… things… about you. Or anyone else, she promised me!" Daphne finished with a massive smile on her face. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about his words. He had somehow made her and the others become his friends so quickly, and Daphne knew that it was because Ron was just a noble person. A very naïve and foolish person, but a noble one.

Ron and Daphne joined the others inside the Great Hall, with Ron sitting between Theo and Blaise while Daphne sat between Millie and Pansy. Pansy was looking away towards the staff table, no doubt nervous about being with another group. Ron looked to Daphne, who just smiled at him again. _What do I even say? 'Hello Pansy, remember me! I'm the filthy Blood-Traitor… How were your holidays?'_ Ron also noticed that Tracey, who was sitting on the other end from Pansy, was looking a little unhappy about Pansy being there. Tracey kept sending glares towards Pansy, which were not very subtle at all.

"So…" Theo muttered. "I'm pretty hungry…" Theo's voice was so nonchalant, given the current situation and awkwardness.

"Still have to wait for Dumbledore to give his address…" Blaise provided.

"Great…" Ron added in. "So we can eat next year then…"

"Or we can just eat Millie's cat" Theo grinned. The mood was starting to lighten up, and even Tracey was starting to smile. Pansy's shoulders were beginning to relax.

"Leave Misty alone" Millicent frowned, defending her cat in a humorous voice.

"I have to admit… I've thought about eating Misty before" Tracey joked, a smile finally breaking out onto her face.

"Tracey…" Daphne tutted. "I thought I was the only one!" Daphne added with a smile.

"Leave my cat alone you freaks!" Millie giggled. _Now this is more like it…_ Ron smiled gently at his friends who continued their banter. _I'm not alone anymore… I'm safe…_ Ron then looked over to Pansy, who was smiling and watching the exchange. And then Pansy noticed him looking, so she looked over to him still smiling. He gave her a nod, hoping that she understood that he was more than happy to have her here. _As long as she doesn't spew her filth that is… But Daphne did say that she only did it to get Malfoy's attention._

"Attention" McGonagall said, and then she tapped her glass with a spoon. The Hall went silent, and everyone turned their attention to the staff table. Dumbledore stood up and beamed at the students.

"Welcome back, to another term at Hogwarts" Dumbledore spoke merrily. "I hope you all enjoyed your holidays, and received many gifts. I myself was given a pair of wonderful… socks!" Many of the older students groaned at this, but it didn't stop Dumbledore. "Now that your schooling has recommenced, I expect you all to continue your studies with a renewed vigor. But that is for later, for now let us enjoy a magnificent… feast" Dumbledore clapped his hands at the last word, and tons of food appeared on all the tables. _Finally! FOOD!_

Ron dug right in, feeling his appetite returning to him now that he felt a lot safer. He knew that if the entity wanted to kill him, it would do it without anyone being able to help. But the fact that his friends were around to distract him was comfort enough, for now at least. As Ron demolished the food on his plate, everyone around him just watched with mixed feelings. Pansy was horrified, Theo and Blaise were annoyed, Tracey and Millie thought it was great, and Daphne for some odd reason found it rather cute.

"Ron…" Theo sighed. "Have you forgotten your training?" Ron looked up at Theo with a frown.

"I'm not a dog, Theo…" Ron muttered after swallowing his food.

"Could have fooled me" Blaise chuckled. "The way you eat, that is." Ron turned his frown to Blaise, who looked back with a sly smile.

"So much judgement!" Ron pouted in a mocking manner, earning a laugh from Tracey.

"Leave him alone, and let him enjoy his food" Daphne said, shocking everyone on the table. Especially Ron, who stared at her wide-eyed. "What?" Daphne huffed, annoyed that everyone was looking at her like she had five heads.

"You have never defended Ron and his barbaric methods on the dinner table before…" Millie spoke, although she knew exactly why Daphne had defended Ron. But it was still weird. _BARBARIC?!_

"I'm not barbaric!" Ron jumped in.

"You are a little barbaric… while you eat anyway" Pansy piped in, making everyone look at her. Those were the first words she had spoken all night. There was a short pause in the conversation, and Ron could see that it was going to become awkward really fast. _Quick… Do something funny!_

"I'll show you barbaric" Ron grinned. Then he reached over with his fork and stole an untouched sausage off of Pansy's plate, immediately biting into it with exaggerated satisfaction. "Mmm… so good" Ron said as he chewed, making Pansy go wide-eyed. Tracey and Theo burst into laughter, which resulted in the others chuckling at the scene as well. Pansy just stared at Ron in disbelief, before a smile creeped onto her face.

"I was saving that for later" Pansy mock-scolded.

"Rule number one, Pansy" Ron started, missing the fact that he was using her first name. "When you eat near me, you need to eat quickly, and you need to guard your plate. Just ask them" Ron lied, still grinning and highly amused. Pansy looked over to the others, who nodded and joined in on the lie.

"It's true" Theo managed to say in between laughs. "Ron will even steal food from little children, I've seen him do it." That made Pansy gasp, she didn't know whether they were joking or not. She had never seen this kind of behavior in her life, and it scared her that her friends were just used to it. This isn't how their parents raised them, etiquette was everything.

"I once caught him eating Misty's food" Millie piped in, trying to stop her grin. _Ok that's too far… time to stop this before Pansy thinks I need to be locked up in Azkaban…_

"Ok stop… We were only kidding…" Ron started but was cut off by Tracey this time.

"He always sneaks down to the kitchens to force the elves to feed him as well" Tracey said before laughing at Pansy's horrified expression.

"I DID THAT ONCE!" Ron shouted in his defense. Pansy gasped again, staring at Ron in horror. _OH MERLIN!_ "I didn't force them! They wanted to help me, and they chose to feed me! I swear to Merlin!"

"Come now Ron" Blaise tutted, amused but still sounding aloof. "We have to warn Pansy early…"

"Don't listen to them! THEY LIE!" Ron shouted at Pansy, who was staring at Ron with wide-eyes and a smile on her face. A lot of the Slytherins were looking at the group, some amused while the others annoyed at the noise. Malfoy was glaring at Ron with absolute hatred, which Ron and his group missed because of their yelling. From the staff table, Snape was frowning at Ron in displeasure for acting like some Gryffindor dunderhead. While Dumbledore watched the scene with twinkling eyes, and a soft smile.

"Do I have to hide my sweets…?" Pansy asked Blaise, jumping in on the joke. She didn't know why, but she was feeling oddly happy at not being forced to hold back her joy. Is this how they all felt all the time?

"Oh yes, Pansy" Blaise answered, trying to stop his smile. "If Ron even smells them on you… you might as well say goodbye…"

"I'M NOT A DOG!" Ron said in a panic, annoyed at how this was turning out. "I'm eating with Carey and her friends…" Ron whined as he got up to leave, but no one made a move to stop him like he had planned. So he sat back down in a huff. This made everyone laugh at him, including Pansy. _Glad she's happy at least…_

"You guys are the worst…" Ron whined as he began eating his food again. The others laughed a little more and then began their own conversations. Pansy was even openly talking with Daphne and Blaise, while Theo regaled Millie and Tracey with stories of his holiday break. Ron just ate his food quietly, but he was quite happy that things were normal on the table again. He was even happy that Pansy was starting to relax more around him and the others. _This is good… the entity won't hurt me… I'm safe… I'm safe with my friends…_ Ron kept eating, while also trying to keep himself from freaking out. The entity's voice was still fresh in his mind days later, and Ron wasn't sure that he would ever forget it. A chill ran up his spine at the memory of it.

Unbeknownst to Ron, Daphne had been shooting him quick glances throughout dinner. At first it was because of some childish need to see him, but the reason quickly became concern. Something was bothering Ron, he had gone quiet as a mouse and was looking at his plate as if there was nothing there. She looked at his features properly, and finally noticed that he was extremely pale and had bags under his eyes. What had happened during the holidays? Was it his parents again? Or his brothers this time?

Daphne felt anger towards whatever had put Ron in this state. And she felt anger at herself for not noticing sooner, he had called her his friend and she hadn't even noticed that something was amiss. He would have noticed if she was in such a state… Daphne wanted to comfort Ron right there, but she decided not to. It would be selfish because he had just made a fool of himself, just so that Pansy could feel more at ease. If she brought this up now, she knew that he would just get angry like he always did when he felt that his privacy was being breached. So she decided to wait… at least for a few more days. And once Ron was feeling better, then she would talk to him about it. He would open up to her then, just like he had about his mother's first letter.

 _ **Severus Snape POV**_

Severus entered the Headmaster's office with the grace of a feline predator. It was around eleven 'o'clock, and Albus had summoned him to talk more about Ronald Weasley. Severus didn't care about the late hour, as he was beginning to believe that Ronald truly was hiding something from the people around him. Severus had used Legilimency on the boy tonight at dinner. _Albus needs to know about this now…_ "Albus" Severus greeted the Headmaster, who was currently writing something down on a piece of parchment.

"Ah, Severus. Come and sit down with me" Albus greeted the Potions Master with a soft smile. "Lemon-drop" Albus offered. _Again…_

"No" Snape replied curtly, as he always did with this annoying offer. "Can we discuss the boy now, or are you going to keep offering me treats like I am some toddler…" Snape bit out, annoyed at the old wizard's antics and still on edge from what he had discovered. Dumbledore looked at Snape for a moment, and then he reached under his desk and brought out a jar of licorice wands.

"Licorice wand?" Dumbledore offered, his eyes twinkling brightly. Snape had to bite his tongue in order to not cuss at his mentor. _This damn old man!_ Snape made to stand up and leave, but Dumbledore chuckled softly. "Forgive me Severus, surely you would allow this old man some jolly good fun once in a while."

"Why the Dark Lord ever feared you is beyond me…" Snape said with a frown, and then he sat back down.

"It is joy that the Dark Lord feared, Severus" Albus said in a sagely voice. "Happiness and love is a gift that he could never comprehend, and it was his downfall. A life without love and laughter, is a fate far worse than death. It is my great hope that you will one day understand this." Dumbledore finished with a kind smile. _Downfall?_

"You and I both know that the Dark Lord isn't defeated yet" Snape said, cursing his old master in his mind. _I hope he suffers for eternity…_

"Yes…" Dumbledore whispered, his eyes becoming hardened. "Now, tell me what you have discovered about young Ronald. Why has the boy been in such a horrid state these past few days?"

"I used Legilimency on the boy, just like we discussed" Severus began, his voice cold and to-the-point. "I discovered a chaotic torrent of emotions coming from the boy's mind. One emotion in particular stood out from the others… Albus… it was fear." Severus finished, making Albus rub his chin the way he always did when he was thinking.

"Fear? Fear of what, Severus?" Albus asked, concerned that Ronald was in danger.

"I do not know…" Severus said softly. "When I noticed his fear Albus, I decided to look a little deeper."

"Severus we discussed this…" Albus cut in, sounding like a parent scolding their child.

"If you had felt that fear Albus, then you would have done the same. It was genuine fear, the kind no boy his age should be feeling… He was afraid for his life Albus, I could not wait idly by and do nothing!" Snape bit out. Dumbledore looked at Snape with intrigue.

"I understand, please Severus keep going."

"As I was saying, I decided to look a little deeper into the boy's mind. I had hoped to pinpoint the reason behind that fear, but I could not…" Snape trailed off.

"Could not? What do you mean by that, Severus?" Albus asked, his voice was as serious as it had been during the war.

"Albus…" Snape started, and then paused. "Albus something stopped me from looking in… it felt like an Occlumency shield, but… different…" Snape finished, thinking about the horrible sensation he had felt in his own mind during his peeking. _It felt like something tried to seize me, and barely missed…_ A shudder ran through his body at the unpleasant feeling he had felt in that moment. "It felt like a void… trying to grab me… trying to pull me in… Albus, I have never seen or felt this kind of mind magic before…" Albus had gone pale by the end of the Snape's story. What could this mean? How had an eleven year old boy overpowered Severus' Legilimency prowess? It wasn't possible…

"He… he overpowered you?" Dumbledore asked, trying to analyze the situation from every angle. Snape looked down at his hands, a frown on his face.

"No… no the boy was not even aware… I would know if he was actively defending his mind from me" Severus muttered, feeling just as confused as Albus at the enigma that was 'Ronald Weasley'. "It was something else that stepped in…"

"Something? Not someone?" Albus all but whispered, his fear growing steadily. Not another Dark Lord, not again!

"It didn't feel human… Even the Dark Lord's mind felt more… pleasant… compared to the emptiness I felt within the boy's." Snape said, shuddering again at the empty void that had tried to grab him.

"This cannot be…" Albus said softly. Then something clicked in his mind. "Sorting Hat" Albus called, summoning the hat onto the table.

"You summoned me, Headmaster?" The hat spoke merrily, not reading the tense mood around it.

"Tell me everything you know about Ronald Weasley" Dumbledore commanded, his voice was still controlled but the authority in it was unmistakable. The hat sat there quietly for a few moments before responding.

"No" it replied curtly. _HOW DARE THIS THING REFUSE THE HEADMASTER!_

"Speak hat, or I will set you ablaze" Snape growled.

"No" was its reply again. Snape began removing his wand but stopped when Albus put his hand up at him.

"Severus, calm yourself. We must remain focused." Then Albus turned his attention to the hat. "Sorting Hat, please. Ronald is hiding something from us, and we wish to know what. You know why we must ask you this, don't you?"

"Tom Riddle…" the Sorting Hat spoke, its voice regretful.

"Yes, Tom…" Albus said, remembering his old student. "We cannot risk another Dark Lord, and you saw through the boy's mind on his first day. I beg you, tell us everything you know." The hat remained silent for a few more moments.

"If you think young master Ronald" the hat began "is anything like Tom Riddle, then you are both blind and foolish." _This arrogant little…_ Snape had to steel his mind just to remain calm. _Focus…_

"Please, explain as much as you can" Albus smiled at the hat.

"Young master Ronald… is not a perfect person. He is prone to fits of rage, jealousy, and insecurities… But he has a noble heart" the hat said proudly. "I did not lie when I claimed that he could fit into any of the houses, because he most certainly could. He is nothing like the monster that Tom Riddle was when he first attended Hogwarts. Ronald understands love, compassion, and is willing to put the needs of others before his own. He is very similar to young master Potter in that regard, which I believe is the reason behind the two of them becoming friends even though they are placed in separate houses. **Fear** is blinding you both… Clear your minds, and look to Ronald's actions. Then and only then, can you both claim the right to judge his character." The Sorting Hat finished, and disappeared right after. Severus and Albus sat in a contemplative silence for more than a few minutes.

"Perhaps we are acting too soon" Albus broke the silence. "Ronald has given us no reason to doubt his character, perhaps the Sorting Hat is correct."

"The hat looked through the boy's mind… and nothing hindered its progress. And yet, when I attempted the same thing…" Snape trailed off. _Something is not adding up. How could the hat not have felt what I felt just a few hours ago?_

"Do you believe that the Sorting House is lying to us?" Albus inquired.

"It could be…" Severus said in his low voice.

"It was not. The hat is charmed to obey the Headmaster of Hogwarts without fail." Albus provided, then he flicked his wand and two goblets filled with wine were conjured onto the table.

"It just disobeyed you not ten minutes ago" Snape remarked, and then he reached over and took one of the goblets. He sipped the wine, and he felt it calming his nerves. _Wine with a calming charm placed upon it. Clever…_ Dumbledore sipped from his own goblet before continuing.

"The hat's first priority is to the students of our school. It can only reveal information about them if it believes that they intend to harm others. Clearly that is not the case with young Ronald." Albus finished, taking another sip of the soothing wine.

"Good… That is one problem avoided at least, for the time being" Snape drawled, and then he drank from his wine goblet.

"There is still the matter of Ronald's fear… and this thing that tried to harm you…" Albus sighed. The wine was helping, but there were still too many unknowns. "For the time being, I am taking Legilimency off of the board. We shouldn't risk another encounter with…" Albus trailed off. He took another sip before continuing. "We must focus our attention towards Ronald's fear."

"His friends seem to be alleviating those fears" Snape provided. Albus chuckled at the memory of tonight's delightful dinner.

"Yes, he was in high spirits tonight."

"He was acting like a buffoon. He might as well have been sorted into Gryffindor" Snape sighed, and then he finished his wine. _Why can that boy not act like a Slytherin?_

"Do you think that Ronald's fears stem from the same thing that attacked you?" Albus asked, finally calm as he finished his wine. He then flicked his wand again, refilling both their cups with more calming wine.

"Perhaps… The truth is that Ronald is quite the enigma" Snape said, glad to have more wine. _We both need it…_

"That is quite true" Albus chuckled. "Let us wait this out for the moment. Keep an eye on Ronald, make sure he is not in any danger. I will do the same, and I will also research into this… 'Thing'… that attacked you. I also need you to keep an eye on Ronald's friends, we cannot risk their safety as well."

"Pansy Parkinson sat with them today" Snape provided, feeling his nerves fully relax under the wine's influence. He took another sip.

"Yes" Albus chuckled. "This is good, Severus. I have not seen such a merry band of Slytherin first-years in a long time. Ronald is a good influence on them." Albus finished with a smile. _He means fools… That boy is turning the others around him into morons._

"It is revolting…" Snape drawled, making Dumbledore's eyes twinkle.

"Now, now Severus. Tell me that you do not wish to see your godson just as happy and carefree." Albus said, taking a winning sip from his wine. _That was low… even for you…_ But Snape did not answer at first. He did want to see Draco be a happy child, just for once. _And not just his father's clone…_

"What I want is irrelevant. Draco and Ronald come from different worlds… Any hope of a friendship between them was doomed from the start" Snape finished, taking a big sip of his wine at that.

"Friendship… true friendship… it knows no barriers Severus. You and I are proof of that" Albus chuckled, toasting to Severus. Severus didn't toast back, but instead he looked at Dumbledore's Phoenix. _It's always sleeping whenever I'm around…_

"The boy's friendships within Gryffindor… they will not end well for him" Snape said, feeling an odd sense of remorse on Ronald's behalf. _This wine… it was a good idea._ Snape then finished his goblet, and wasn't surprised when Albus refilled both their cups again.

"Perhaps not" Albus said softly, he too felt remorse on this. "But fate may surprise us, Severus." Snape looked back at Dumbledore with an indifferent mask on his face.

"There is still another matter… Quirrell…" Snape said, and he felt his jaw clench. _That stuttering fool may doom us all yet…_

"Yes, I know. He is after the stone, for Voldemort no doubt."

"Do you want me to eliminate him?"

"No… we cannot risk your position with the Dark Lord. Should he return Severus, I fear that I may need you to risk everything… once again. Forgive me" Albus finished, his tone was saddened greatly by the end. _Old man…_

"Do not apologize… I understand. We must use everything at our disposal, or the world will burn…" Snape said, trying to pull his mentor out of his somber mood. He didn't feel comfortable with the regret that engulfed Albus every time Snape risked his life for the Order. _Death is no less than what I deserve… for everything…_

"It is hard to believe that one day soon, all the students within this school will have to face a war" Albus said, his eyes hardening once again. Albus then let out a sigh. "We should watch Quirrell for now and once he goes after the stone with clear intent, only then should we step in and capture him. Let him believe that we are ignorant of his true allegiance. It will lower his guard." Snape nodded in agreement, sipping his wine and thinking of the day when he would curse that fool. It brought a faint smirk to his lips. "Do you have time for a game, Severus?"

"Of course" Snape said. Albus flicked his wand and a chessboard appeared on the desk.

"I will not go easy on you, Severus" Albus chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"You never do. And I would be insulted if you did" Snape remarked. _I will beat you this time, Albus…_

They played well into the night, and Snape did not win a single match.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here you are, I hope you enjoyed it. Now I know that a few of you really want to see a Hermione POV, I'm sorry to say that she won't get one for a little while... However, she will start getting quite a lot of them as time progresses, especially because she is Ron's closest Gryffindor friend. She will get one at the end of Year One, one during the Holidays, and then she will get several during second year and many more as the story continues. Please, be patient as this is a long story. I will do right by Hermione!**


	13. Chapter 13 - A Most Repulsive Man

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm getting slower and slower with these updates... Damn! Anyway... Here is Chapter 13! Again a couple of things:**

 **1\. The first book has huge time-gaps in it during the second half, and there aren't really any confirmed dates. Only a handful. As such, I decided to say screw massive time-skips.**

 **2\. I've decided to add three separate arcs that will take place between January and April. They will be more focused on Ron and his own group.**

 **3\. I want to sort of push the group a bit, mainly because their friendship with Ron is tough thing to maintain. Especially because of his family's blood-traitor status. So get ready for the FEELS! (i hope).**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 13 – A Most Repulsive Man**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

The next few days passed quite quickly for Ron, he was a lot more relaxed and far less prone to jumping at shadows. He even managed to sleep fully each night, which restored his features back to their usual self. Things within the group were still a bit tense because of Pansy's presence, but they were changing for the better every day. Pansy was slowly opening up more and more, and she even began making jokes. Tracey was a bit put off at first but after seeing Pansy joke around, Tracey too started to let go of her vendetta.

On the night before the Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor match, refereed by none other than Professor Snape, the common room was ablaze with arguments on which team would win. Ron was on the side of Gryffindor, much to his house-mates' annoyance. He was joined by Theo, Blaise, and three other older boys. It was legitimately an argument between six people and an entire house. Ron and his team argued that Gryffindor's lineup was much more skilled and adept at Quidditch when compared to Hufflepuff's lineup. The other house-mates argued that they had seen this match before and that Snape would make damn sure that Gryffindor lost this match. Ron also heard Malfoy call him a 'Disgusting Blood-Traitor' amongst the shouting, which made his blood boil. So Ron had done something incredibly stupid, he had made the claim that Harry would catch the snitch and win Gryffindor the match before Snape could sabotage the team's chances of winning. The house went quiet at that claim, until a seventh-year boy suggested that they make a wager.

Ron, being too stubborn to back off, had agreed in a heartbeat and put forward every galleon he had saved up. Theo and Blaise, although annoyed at Ron's lack of cunning, decided to back him up anyway and too put in fifteen galleons each. The older three boys on Ron's side joined in as well, matching the younger students' galleons. Many of the house-mates who were supporting Hufflepuff decided to not waste their money, but eighteen of them placed in fifteen galleons each. Malfoy then joined in too, no doubt trying to put Ron in his place and Malfoy placed in thirty galleons. Ron's blood boiled at the thought of the platinum haired tosspot being able throw so much wealth around with not a single worry. In the end, the Galleon Pool was: sixty galleons from Ron's side, and three hundred galleons from Malfoy's side. Whichever side won, would no doubt profit. But Ron's side had far more to gain, and Ron had a lot more than galleons to lose. If he lost this bet, then Malfoy would no doubt try to turn the other Slytherins into his enemy again.

On the morning of the match, Theo and Ron were starting to lose their resolve quite quickly. Snape was in a horrible mood at breakfast and that did not bode well for Gryffindor. Blaise however, told them to 'man up and keep your smirks plastered onto your faces'. Which Ron did quite terribly because the girls, including Pansy, cracked up in laughter. Then they all marched down to the Quidditch pitch, and took their seats on the stands. Ron prayed to all the gods in existence that he would win the wager, and that Harry would pull through for him.

As the match got underway, Snape called foul after foul on Gryffindor for the most stupid reasons. Ron and Theo gave each other pitiful looks every time, while Blaise kept saying 'it isn't over yet' to reassure them and himself. And then just as the fifth minute of the game was approaching, Harry caught the snitch and won Gryffindor the match. Ron almost passed out from relief while Theo yelled and cheered at the top of his lungs. But everyone knew that Theo's cheers were aimed at the deity that had won him a lot of money, and not Harry Potter. Blaise was giving an arrogant smirk, and shaking hands with the three older boys who had backed Ron up. Following Ron's lead had paid off in a wealth of galleons.

Ron sat in the common room with Theo, Blaise, and the three older boys. "I knew Harry would pull through for us!" Ron exclaimed, giddy at seeing so many galleons in one place. The three older boys were splitting the galleons up evenly, with fifty galleons per person. _So much money…_

"I never lost faith" Theo chuckled, earning a smack on his arm from Blaise for his lying.

"Oh please, you and Ron were shaking in fear the entire day. We all saw it, I was the only one who didn't falter" Blaise said in his aloof voice, earning a mock-glare from Theo. _He was chanting nonsense the entire game… Didn't falter, my arse…_

"What is he on about, Theo?" Ron asked, grinning mischievously.

"I don't know, Ron" Theo joined in.

"I think spending the day in the sun is affecting you, Blaise" Ron went on, earning an annoyed stare from Blaise.

"There was no sun today, you moron. It was a cloudy day" Blaise said, getting annoyed.

"By Merlin's beard, he has lost his mind" Theo said, with fake concern.

"We should take him to Madam Pomfrey" Ron said while nodding at Theo.

"I'll send you two to Madam Pomfrey if you don't shut up" Blaise bit out. His temper made Theo and Ron chuckle, they had broken his composure. _Haha that was fun… I love annoying Blaise._

"Alright then lads" one of the older boys said, he had an Irish accent. "We get forty five each, and Weasley gets seventy five. Is that alright with you lot?" _Wait what?_ Ron got even more confused when Blaise and Theo nodded their approval.

"Wait, why am I being given more?" Ron asked, curious as to the reason behind this generosity.

"You started the bet Weasley, it's only fair that we each give you ten-percent of our share for your foresight. Think of it as a… gift" the Irish Slytherin said, a sly grin on his face. "And the next time you make a similar move, remember our gift… and let us join in." With that the three boys got up and left, each giving Ron a thankful nod.

"Was that a normal thing to do?" Ron asked, confused at the behavior of his fellow Slytherins. _I wouldn't have shared a single Knut…_

"Bribes are an efficient way to buy loyalty, Ron" Blaise said aloofly, and then started packing up his share. Ron and Theo started doing the same.

"Why do you think Blaise and I backed you up this time?" Theo asked.

"Because you're my friends?" Ron replied, but he knew he was wrong because Theo just laughed at his answer.

"We are… but we have also lost a lot of money to you" Theo said, chuckling at Ron's naïve nature. "Business is business Ron, it is just that simple. If you can't beat them, join them." _Makes sense… It's still annoying, but it makes sense… Ah, who cares? I won seventy five galleons today! And with my fifteen galleons from before, I'm back on ninety galleons again!_

"I see you are replenishing your wealth" came a slightly high-pitched voice from behind the boys. They all turned and saw a smile Daphne. _She is wearing my pin again. I'm really glad I got it for her, she seems to love it._

"You should've joined in" Theo grinned, his voice boastful.

"Next time, I will" Daphne grinned back, but then she slowly regained her composure. "Ron, can I talk to for a second… alone?" _Crap what did I do?!_

"We'll be in the dorm if you need us" Blaise told Ron, and then both Theo and Blaise got up and left. Daphne then sat down next to Ron, a little closer than he was comfortable with. _Not even Theo or Blaise sit this close to me… what is she doing? Ignore it… Let's just see what she wants._

"Is everything alright Daphne?" Ron asked, giving her his best smile. Her cheeks got a little red and she managed a faint smile in return.

"Oh, I'm fine… I was worried about you actually…" she said softly. _Me? Why?_

"Why were you worried about me? Was it the bet I made?"

"No… It's just that when we first came back from the Christmas break… Ron you looked really out of it" she finished as strongly as she could. She still wasn't sure if he would get angry with her for prying.

"Oh that…" Ron said, remembering his haggard appearance. _She caught on… What should I say? Can't tell her about the entity… It might kill us both…_ A shudder ran through his body at the thought.

"Ron… Did something happen while we were away? Was it your… family?" She braced herself just in case Ron lost his temper.

"What? No… no they had nothing to do with it. I just… I just missed you guys, a lot." Ron knew that he was only partially telling the truth, but it still felt like he was lying to her. _I can't tell her the truth… so just get on with it._ "I was alone in the common room for the entire holidays… it got gloomy that's all" Ron finished with a faint smile.

"You missed us? Really?" Daphne sounded glad, rather than suspicious. Ron was more than glad about that. "I mean you do look a lot better now than you did before…" she mused.

"Yeah I just needed some company… that's all" Ron said, glad that she was buying into it.

"What about your brothers?" she asked.

"It isn't the same… I wanted you guys" Ron added on, he knew this sappy angle was working well. _I'm the worst person alive… But this is for her own good._ Daphne beamed at Ron.

"That's really sweet Ron" Daphne said with a smile. "I missed you too." Ron's cheeks went a little red at that, especially because Daphne had been nothing but great towards him these past few days. And he still thought about their hug every now and then. _It had just felt… different…_

They then slipped into an easy conversation about her time at home, and she regaled him with tales of her house. Ron genuinely enjoyed the easy conversation, and was really glad that he and Daphne were finally connecting more as friends. All their previous private conversations would always end with shouting, with either her telling him off, or him telling her off. So it was a nice change to just speak and laugh about their lives and the people they shared it with.

January was coming to a close, and Ron was doing his absolute best to keep his top spot amongst the first-years. Hermione was right at his heels, and he was beginning to worry that she might just overtake him. That fear redoubled his efforts, and he even started his third year studies in his spare time. Percy had happily given Ron his notes once again, with the exception of the two electives that Ron hadn't yet selected. He was certain about selecting Divination as an elective, but he was torn between Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies. In the end, Ron decided to focus on his current studies and the third year subjects that he knew he would be doing. This resulted in him being extremely busy with his studies, and he spent most of his days studying in the library.

Hermione joined him there almost every day, and the two enjoyed sharing their notes and studying together. Ron however, did not tell her of his third year studies in order to maintain his advantage. He enjoyed the feeling of being a few steps ahead of someone as smart as Hermione. Hermione would often drag Harry and Neville in with her, and then Ron and Hermione would help the other two Gryffindors with their homework. Hermione was stubborn about it, and she refused to share her answers with the two. But Ron would often sneak Harry and Neville the answers under the table, something that the two Gryffindors were extremely grateful for. Harry and Ron's friendship improved greatly in January, as did Ron's friendship with Neville. The chunky boy was more outspoken then he used to be, and he was beginning to trust Ron as a friend.

Ron was truly beginning to see the library as his second common room. And every time he went into his real common room, he would sit and help his Slytherin friends with their homework while also making sure that everything he had done was done properly. He focused mostly on Millie because she needed the most help with her studies, but he also focused a lot on Pansy. Her grades weren't very good because she didn't have anyone to study with for last few months, and this was because Malfoy was lazy while the gorillas were incompetent. With all the attention he gave to Pansy, she in turn became much friendlier with Ron. They could even talk to each other if they were ever alone now, which was something that Ron had never imagined happening.

It was right after one of those long study sessions that Ron collapsed on the couch with all the grace of a Mountain Troll. "Ugh… I'm so tired…" Ron complained, putting his hands over his face. "Kill me please…"

"Ron, you need to slow down" Daphne tutted. She was growing more and more worried about her… friend. "You have been pushing yourself way too hard over the last month. Do you even sleep?"

"I do… and I dream of books…" Ron joked, but no one laughed. _Yeah, it's no laughing matter…_

"Ron, I agree with Daphne on this" Blaise added. "You are of no use to anyone if you can't even stay awake. Why are you burning yourself out?"

"I have to…" Ron sighed out, he was absolutely spent. "You lot don't have Malfoy trying to turn the house against you… Two different Slytherins called me a 'Blood-Traitor' just last week…" His friends flinched at that. "Not to mention that Hermione is always at my heels in the classes… I want to go home." Ron let out a dry chuckle at the end of his tired rant.

"I'm sorry about Draco" Pansy muttered, she always apologized for Draco. "He is being… difficult… He yelled at me last week for betraying him as well. And then Crabbe pushed me…" Ron instantly jerked up at that and when he saw Pansy rubbing her slightly bruised wrists, he almost exploded with rage.

"What…?" Ron asked through gritted teeth, the vein in his head popping out. Pansy put her hand over her mouth when she realized that she had spilled too much. "Why didn't you tell me… or any of us?" Ron demanded, moments away from starting a fight with Malfoy. _That bloody bastard… I'll kill him this time!_

"She did tell us" Blaise said, sighing at Pansy's clumsiness. "We handled it…"

"And when were you going to share this with me?" Ron glared murder at Blaise, who just stared back in his indifferent look.

"We weren't" Theo provided for Blaise. "You tend to have a… explosive reaction to these things. So we handled it discreetly."

"Well forgive me" Ron spat out sarcastically. "But when someone attacks my friends… I like to use force to teach them a lesson." Ron shook his head in irritation. _How could they not tell me this? What else do they hide from me? Explosive reaction… I should show them what an explosive reaction really is…_ Ron completely missed Pansy and the other girls smiling at Ron's overprotectiveness. Blaise sighed in defeat, while Theo just decided to zone out.

"You attacking Draco and his gang doesn't help us… it hinders us." Blaise said, trying to drive some sense into his red-headed friend. "We told the older students of what happened with Pansy, let them deal with Draco. He loses face with the older students, and we gain the trust of the older students for trusting them to handle this discreetly. If you go and hex Draco, then everyone in the school finds out and Slytherin is seen negatively."

"The other three houses already think we are Dark Wizards and Witches in training" Theo added. "We shouldn't give them anymore reasons… This was for the best, don't you agree Pansy?" Ron looked at Pansy for her answer. She smiled meekly at Ron before replying.

"Theo and Blaise are right… You shouldn't start fights over me" Pansy said. "We would all just get in more trouble, and I don't want that…" _She still acts like she is an outsider… I know how that feels… She thinks that if we get in trouble for helping her, we'll throw her away… Not on my watch!_

"You are our friend Pansy" Ron said calmly, making sure to sound comforting but stern. "If someone goes after you, they go after us… Don't think for one second that we won't stand by you if you get into trouble" Ron finished, with a forced smile. He was still fuming. Pansy smiled more widely at him and gave him a nod. "And please don't keep things from me" he said to everyone around him, slightly irked. "I can't help you if I don't know something is wrong…" Everyone was quiet for a bit. But Tracey decided to ruin another peaceful moment.

"Ah, where would we be without our fearless leader?" Tracey cooed, making Ron's ears go red.

"Shut up…" Ron said, trying not to smile at her words. The others giggled at Ron's shy reaction.

"Aw… he's blushing" Mille giggled at Ron, and Ron felt a small laugh come out of him.

"Not you as well, Millie" Ron smiled. The mood lightened up a great deal and they all talked about anything but school for the next twenty minutes. Ron was not too surprised to learn that Pansy's favorite pass-time was going shopping in Diagon Alley. She even owned dresses that she had never worn before, and only bought because they looked 'cute'.

The peace was disturbed by a pair of animals running around the common room, causing all sorts of havoc. These animals were none other than Ron's rat, Scabbers, and Millie's cat, Misty. Scabbers ran up Ron's leg and jumped onto his shoulder, then hid himself behind Ron's right ear. He squeaked and hissed at the cat, which Ron tried shooing away from them both. "Millie your cat is trying to kill Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed, panicking for his companion's life. _What is this cat's problem?_

"Misty stop, behave Misty" Millie scolded, and then she bent over and picked up the angry feline. Misty hissed violently at Ron and Scabbers, making Millie go wide-eyed. "Misty this isn't you, what's wrong?" Millie tutted at her cat, trying to calm the blood-thirsty feline down. Mille then took off to the female dorms, with the hissing monster still clawing at Ron and Scabbers over Millie's shoulder. _Dear Merlin…_

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, looking around at his surprised friends. They were all slightly disturbed at the violent behavior that Misty, a very calm cat, was showing all of a sudden. "Did she hurt you Scabbers?" Ron asked his pet, and then Ron reached over with his left hand and scratched the rat's head. Then Ron's head started feeling light, and he felt like he was floating. _A vision?!_

Ron stood in a dark forest and his surroundings were colorless, giving the forest a terrifying atmosphere. The trees were crooked or broken, and Ron could tell that it was nighttime because the moon was full in the sky. He heard a loud howl which made him jump in surprise, and then turned to face the direction it came from. _Merlin… this is scary. Who am I seeing a vision about? Is it one of my friends?_ Ron looked around himself, but he was clearly alone. "PETER! COME BACK HERE YOU FUCKING COWARD!" came loud yell from behind Ron, the voice was strained and filled with rage. Ron quickly turned to face the direction from where the voice had come. _Peter?_

Then Ron saw lights flashing from behind the crooked trees, and Ron instantly focused up. _There's a fight happening!_ Ron ran towards the flashing lights, passing through the trees as if he was ghost. _That's wicked…_ Finally Ron moved past the trees and found himself on one of the shores of the Black Lake at Hogwarts. Ron looked towards the castle, and he smiled in triumph. _It is someone from Hogwarts then! Must be one of my friends. Need to keep looking!_ Ron looked around, and he spotted a figure running into the trees further down the shore. _Need to catch up…_

Ron ran full-tilt towards the figure, excited to be having another vision after so long. He completely forgot about the entity for the time being. All he felt was the thrill of running through the woods, and the excitement of another adventure. _Who can I save this time?!_ Finally Ron reached the spot where he had last seen the figure. _Now where…_

"PETER PETTIGREW! ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES LIKE A FUCKING MAN!" a voice yelled, Ron recognized it as the voice from before. _Who is Peter Pettigrew?_ Ron chased after the voice, and the sounds of a magical duel got louder and louder. Ron sprinted through the trees and then suddenly came to a stop, his eyes-widened at the scene. Two men were engaged in an amazing display of magical prowess, at least to Ron anyway. The magic from their wands was clashing in the space between them, and both men were digging their heels into the ground in order to maintain their footing. _This is amazing…_

Ron looked over to the man in color, and it shocked Ron to see that he had never seen this stranger before. _Why is my vision about some short, grubby skinned, and hook nosed man? I don't know who this is…_ Ron then turned his attention to the other duelist, and realized that this man was also a stranger. The colorless man had a gaunt and sunken face, with long matted hair, and he was bearing the most vicious look Ron had ever seen on a person. _Like a mad dog…_

"THAT ISN'T YOUR WAND PETER! NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU FROM ME!" the colorless man bellowed, his eyes glinting with rage. The sight sent a shudder through Ron's body. _Not his wand?_ Ron approached the colored man, who was clearly called Peter. Ron gazed at the wand in Peter's hand, and Ron's heart stopped beating.

"THAT'S MY WAND!" Ron yelled, anger tearing through his stomach and out of his mouth. "Why does he have my wand?! Who is this Peter?!" Ron's rage induced rant was cut short when a small explosion happened between Peter and the colorless man, which sent Peter rolling on the ground away from Ron. Ron was taken by surprise but he quickly regained his focus, and started analyzing the scene. _Why is my vision about someone that I have never seen before? My visions are always only about people near me… Could my powers be increasing in strength? I need to ask the Sorting Hat if that is even possible…_

"Would you look at that?" came the colorless man's strained voice. "No Muggles to save you this time you fucking rat…" the colorless man spat out. He stood with his wand pointed at Peter, who was spread out on the ground.

"Sirius… please…" Peter squeaked from the ground, clearly in agony. Ron didn't know who to help in this situation. He didn't know either of these people, and this Peter had clearly stolen Ron's wand. That thought boiled Ron's blood. _Pandora gave me that wand!_

"Begging again… you truly are pathetic…" the man named Sirius said. "Crucio!" Sirius screeched, as he jabbed his wand towards Peter. The screams that tore through Peter's throat made Ron fall back on his arse. _What kind of spell is that?!_ Peter wailed in agony, tears and snot rolling down his face as he writhed like a fish out of water. The screams were horrifying, and Ron covered his ears to hide from them.

"Stop! STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Ron screamed at Sirius, who had a maniacal grin on his face. Ron held his hands over his ears, and watched the sadistic man with wide-eyes. Ron then turned to the writhing Peter, and Ron's stomach felt as heavy as lead. _No one deserves this…_ Then all of a sudden Sirius stopped the spell, and Peter let out a tortured gasp for air.

"This is nothing compared to what you did to me Peter… TWELVE YEARS!" Sirius bellowed again. "IN AZKABAN! TORTURED BY THE DEMENTORS EVERY FUCKING DAY!"

"Sirius… please… I'm sorry…" Peter wheezed out. Ron was never more confused as he was in this vision. _What is happening here? And where do I even fit in? Why did Peter have my wand?_

"You're sorry? YOU'RE SORRY?!" Sirius screamed, his voice sounded torn. "What about James? What about Lily? YOU GOT THEM KILLED, PETER!" _Who?_

"I didn't mean to…" Peter cried, tears falling down the sides of his face. "The Dark Lord tortured me… for days… please believe me Sirius…" _The Dark Lord?!_ Ron's blood froze at the mention of you-know-who.

"LIAR! You were their secret keeper! Torture couldn't be used to pass the information of their whereabouts! But you knew that, didn't you?!" Sirius spat out, and then he kicked Peter hard in his side. Peter wheezed and fell flat on his stomach, crying from the agony. "You knew that when you gave them up willingly!" Sirius kicked Peter again, making the rat-looking man flip onto his back.

"He would've killed me! What was I supposed to do?!" Peter screamed. "What would you have done?!"

"I WOULD HAVE DIED! I WOULD HAVE DIED TO SAVE MY FRIENDS!" Sirius screamed, tears falling down his cheeks. "I would have done the same for you Peter…" Sirius let out a strangled cry, but he held his wand pointed at Peter. "We would have all died for you…"

Peter just lay there on the ground, crying softly. Both men looked broken beyond words, and Ron felt a swell of pity for them both. But Ron also felt bitter anger at Peter for betraying his friends. Ron did not know these people, but anyone who would sell out their own friends for their own safety were nothing short of revolting in Ron's eyes.

"Please don't kill me…" Peter begged, his voice was a mere squeak. _Oh no… He is gonna kill Peter, isn't he?_

"This is all you deserve…" Sirius said, but there was no sympathy in his voice anymore. "Avada ka…" Sirius didn't get to finish the spell because Peter kicked him in his stomach. The gaunt man toppled over and fell on his back, his wand rolling out of his hand. Peter quickly moved and grabbed the wand before Sirius could and pointed it at the gaunt man.

"I win again, Sirius" Peter gloated, no longer sounding like the whimpering weakling he was just a moment ago.

"Fuck you, Peter" Sirius said menacingly. "My godson will avenge me… he will avenge Lily and James… and you Peter, you will die just as you have lived… A coward… I've already told Remus of your treachery… The letter I left him, will put him on your trail till the end of your days… May you rot in hell forever…" Ron shivered at the intensity with which Sirius spoke. _This Peter is a pathetic, vile man… But Sirius is as sadistic as the Death-Eaters from dad's stories…_

"After I kill you, I'll kill your godson… I'll even kill Remus if I have to" Peter spat out, sounding more and more repulsive. "Actually you know what, Sirius?" Peter said, with an evil glint in his eyes.

"What?" Sirius bit out.

"I'm not going to kill you…" Peter grinned. _Thank Merlin…_ "But they are" Peter said with a chuckle, making both Ron and Sirius look in the direction of where Peter was looking. Black cloaked figures were floating down from the sky towards Sirius and Peter. The trees and grass around the trio began to freeze over, and Ron could feel the temperature drop to un-survivable levels.

"No…" Sirius muttered, fear etched on his face. "Not them…"

"Goodbye, **friend**..." Peter grinned as he stepped away from Sirius, but kept his wand pointed at him. Just as the black cloaked figures grabbed Sirius, Peter turned the wand to his own head and cast a non-verbal spell. Much to Ron's shock, Peter began shrinking and then he disappeared in his clothes. _What was that spell?_ Then further to Ron's shock, a small patchy grey rat came crawling out of Peter's clothes. The rat squeaked loudly and then scurried off into the woods. _Scabbers… What… How… That was… Scabbers…_ Ron was jarred beyond words, and he just stood there slack-jawed.

Ron could hear Sirius from behind him, screaming and shouting. But Ron couldn't even turn his body around. _What is happening…?_ Ron's head was spinning and his vision was blurring. And then Ron was standing in the Slytherin common room again. There was a squeaking noise coming from his right shoulder, and Ron slowly turned and came face to face with a small patchy grey rat with black eyes. _Peter…?_

"Ron?" came Daphne's concerned voice. "Ron, you've gone pale… What's wrong?" Ron turned to face a concerned Daphne, his face etched in shock and disbelief. _None of this makes any sense…_ Daphne then went wide-eyed. "Ron… You're bleeding!" she shrieked. _I am...?_ Ron then felt something wet on his upper lip, so he touched it with his left hand. He then examined his hand to see if it was blood. It was…

"Daphne…" Ron whispered, his ears beginning to ring. His vision started getting dark, and Ron fell forward. The last thing he heard was Daphne screaming his name, and Theo and Blaise jumping out of their seats to help him.

Ron woke up in an unfamiliar bed, and he slowly sat up while rubbing his eyes. _Ugh what happened? Where am I?_ Ron looked around the room, and realized that he was in the Hospital Wing. It was nighttime, and the whole room was empty except for three sleeping patients. _Creepy…_ Ron lied back down, trying to recall how he got here in the first place. Then it all hit him at once. The vision, Scabbers/Peter, his bloody nose, and Daphne screaming his name. Ron sprang up and looked for his wand, he found it on his bedside table. Ron picked it up quickly, and felt its warmth hum through his body. _My wand… My beautiful wand…_

Ron spent the next few minutes calming himself down, and trying to figure his vision out. _Who is Scabbers/Peter? Why was Scabbers a person? Or was Peter disguising himself as Scabbers? How did he get my wand?_ There was just too much to process, so Ron started from the beginning. Was it possible for witches or wizards to turn into animals? Yes, it was… McGonagall had proven that to Ron during his first Transfiguration Class. So did that mean that Scabbers was always a person? And if so, why the hell was he living with Ron's family and pretending to be a rat? Ron decided that the Sorting Hat might have answers, because he himself was completely lost. "Sorting Hat… if you can hear me… I need your help" Ron all but prayed, his eyes closed and his hands in the air as if he was worshiping something.

"Hello Ronald" came the hat's merry voice. Ron opened his eyes in surprise, only to find the Sorting Hat sitting on his lap.

"That was bloody fast…" Ron said, shocked and awed at the hat's speed.

"I did promise to help you, did I not?" the Sorting Hat chuckled. "If any student calls for me, I will come to them as quickly as possible!"

"Thanks… I guess" Ron muttered.

"My word dear boy… pray tell why you are inside the Hospital Wing…" the hat said, intrigued at its surroundings.

"I… don't know actually. I had a vision and then I blacked out. Woke up in this bed just a few minutes ago."

"A vision dear boy? I don't recall you blacking out from visions before…" The hat hummed in contemplation. _This hat literally knows everything about me, doesn't it? Except for the things I need answers for…_

"Yes… and this vision was… confusing to say the least."

"Well what are you waiting for then Ronald, place me upon that giant head of yours!"

"What?! I don't have a giant head…"

"Of course you don't" the hat said sarcastically. _Stupid hat…_ Ron then picked up the hat and placed it on his head. " _Ah, back inside this giant head once more…"_

" _SHUT UP… My head is normal sized…"_

" _Relax Ronald… I was only trying to cheer you up. Now tell me about your vision, as you know I cannot see it myself."_ Ron then began explaining the vision piece by piece. He didn't leave out a single detail and by the time he finished, the Sorting Hat was humming in contemplation again.

" _Do you know who Peter Pettigrew is?"_ Ron asked.

" _Hmm… Little Peter Pettigrew…"_ the hat hummed inside Ron's mind. _"He was a student here at Hogwarts not long ago… He was placed within Gryffindor, and went on to fight in the Great War. He was believed to have been murdered by none other than Sirius Black! Clearly that is not the case…"_

" _He turned into Scabbers, my pet rat. Is that possible?"_

" _It is. Have you ever heard of the word Animagus, Ronald?"_

" _Um… no."_

" _An Animagus is a witch or wizard that can choose to transform into an animal"_ the hat said, as if quoting something.

" _That's wicked… So Professor McGonagall is an Animagus?"_

" _Indeed dear boy! I believe that so is Peter, yet how he learned to become one is beyond me… He wasn't a very bright boy when I sorted him."_

" _So my pet rat… who has been in my family for ten years now… is secretly an Animagus wizard who was believed to have died in the Great War… WHAT THE FUCK?!"_

" _Language Ronald… Cussing is a sign of poor character"_ the hat scolded Ron.

" _Sorry… but what do you expect me to say?! He sleeps in my damn BED!"_ Ron felt lightheaded at the thought. _"I might be sick…"_

" _This is very disturbing my boy… What will you do?"_

" _What can I do? I need to expose him obviously! I can't let him stay near my friends or family… And I don't plan to share my bed with this damn creep…"_

" _I agree with you. Peter is a danger to this school and its students. From what I've heard you say… it is clear that Sirius Black is an innocent man… How will you proceed?"_

" _I… don't know. Care to weigh in?"_

" _Of course my boy. I believe that you should approach your Head of House, Severus Snape. Tell him that you have been reading about Animagus theories and that you suspect your rat to be one. Ask him for his help in proving your theory."_

" _Okay… two problem though. One, how do I convince him that I have reason to suspect Scabbers? And two, how do I explain my sudden interest in Animagus theories…?_

" _That is simple my boy, I can see in your memories and I know that you have started your third year studies already!"_

" _So…?"_

" _You will learn about Animagi in your third year studies. In the class of Transfiguration, that is. Tell Snape that you were studying ahead and you learnt about Animagi. As for your suspicions… how long has Peter been in your family?"_

" _Ten years…"_

" _And how long do common garden rats live for?"_

" _I don't know"_ Ron muttered.

" _One or two years my dear boy! Awfully long life span that your rat has, doesn't he?"_ Ron nodded at the Sorting Hat's words. This could just work…

" _Thank you… Sorting Hat"_ Ron said, feeling pure gratitude.

" _You are most welcome Ronald! Now, I believe you ought to rest. You have a long few days ahead of you. Goodnight."_

" _Goodnight, Sorting Hat."_ The hat then disappeared off of Ron's head, and Ron slowly lay back down. _I'm coming for you Peter, you damn creep…_

Ron woke up the next morning, and was instantly swarmed by people. His Slytherin friends, his Gryffindor friends, and his brothers. "Good morning" Ron greeted, a happy smile on his face. _Damn, I need to go after Peter… not sit around in this bed…_

"Good morning?" Daphne muttered, her face blank. "Good morning he says" she muttered again. Then she leaned over and pinched his arm.

"OW! Why?!" Ron complained, rubbing his arm.

"Because you scared me! US!" Daphne screeched at him.

"I don't even know what happened…" Ron provided.

"I'll tell you what happened" came Madam Pomfrey's annoyed voice from behind his friends. They all moved out of her way and she marched up to Ron, a scowl on her face. _Merlin what did I do this time…?_ "You suffered a seizure Mr. Weasley… your magical core was exhausted! You have been pushing yourself too hard. Your friends told me everything!" She then flicked her wand at Ron, casting some non-verbal spell.

"A seizure? And what did you all tell her?!" Ron asked his friends, annoyed that they had shared information about him.

"Don't give us that look" Tracey said, her voice was soft and scared. "You were shaking so hard Ron… And you bit your tongue and there was so much blood…" She shuddered at the memory.

"You're lucky that Carey Ductu and her friends were there to carry you up here…" Daphne said in a low voice. _They did…? I should thank them when I get the chance…_

"It was horrible" Pansy piped in, she too looked rather worried. _Crap I scared the life out of them, didn't I?_

"I'm sorry…" Ron apologized.

"Don't apologize" Madam Pomfrey scolded him. "Rest, and stop pushing yourself so hard! You are much better now, and I suggest you go down and have some lunch." With that she patted his head, and then turned around and left to tend to another patient.

Ron pushed himself out of his bed, and the twins instantly moved to his side. "Tut tut, Ronnie…" Fred said in a mock-scolding voice.

"Didn't you hear the good nurse" George piped in.

"You need your rest!" Fred added

"So let us worry about you getting to the Great Hall" George grinned. _This can't be good…_ The twins then hauled Ron up, and put his thighs on their shoulders. Ron let out a disgraceful squeal which made all of his friends and even Percy break into a laugh.

"Hey… Let me down" Ron said in a shaky voice. _They are gonna drop me… I'm gonna break my neck and Peter will keep creeping around my house!_

The twins then marched with him on their shoulders all the way to the Great Hall. Along the way, many students from all the houses laughed at the sight. Ron even began to laugh at how insane the twins were, carrying him around like he was some king. So he began waving at the students like they were his subjects, and most of the waved back laughing. Once they reached the Great Hall, the twins put him down and ruffled his hair. "Please take it easy, little bro" Fred said with a smile.

"We'd rather you not expire" George added in, smiling as well.

"Who would we prank if you weren't around?" Fred said grinning.

"Percy" Ron provided. The twins laughed at that, while Percy frowned at Ron. His brothers then said farewell to him, and marched off to the Gryffindor table.

"I'm glad you're okay now, Ron" Hermione said, as she stepped in front of him. Harry and Neville stood behind her, and they too looked relieved. Hermione had a kind smile on her face, which Ron couldn't help but return. "You missed Charms and Transfiguration Classes this morning, so… I made you a copy of the notes…" she said, her cheeks turning slightly red by the end. _That's helpful! And to think she once hated my guts…_

"Thank you Hermione! You're the best" Ron said, smiling happily at the bushy haired girl. She beamed at him, her cheeks becoming even redder. She then reached into her book bag and took out two rather long parchments of paper. She handed them over to him, and said her goodbyes. Then the three Gryffindors marched to the Gryffindor table to have lunch.

"The best huh?" Daphne said from behind Ron, her voice was rather menacing. Ron turned around to face her, but she held a mask of indifference. When he opened his mouth to talk, Daphne huffed loudly and walked past him. His friends chuckled at his bewildered expression, and they then guided him to their usual spots.

"You had us worried there" Blaise said, as they all sat down in their spots. "Also here, you left this behind." Blaise then handed Ron his wand. _Bloody hell… I forgot my own wand… No wonder Peter had it in his possession._ Ron tucked the wand into his robes. Thinking of Peter brought Ron's plan to the forefront of his mind. _I need to act…_

Ron looked over to the staff table, and to his relief he found Snape sitting there. "Ron, what's wrong?" Millie asked, worried that Ron was going to start pushing himself again.

"Nothing… I just need to talk with Professor Snape" Ron replied. Then he got up and began to move towards the staff table.

"Ron…" Daphne said, her voice laced with disbelief. Ron turned to face her. "Can you please just stop for one minute? You are scaring us…" She sounded so meek that Ron had to fight the urge to sit back down. _No I need to do this… I can't let that repulsive man be near them for another second!_

"Ron, just eat something at least" Theo said, a sympathetic smile on his face. _That looks so out of place…_

"I'll be right back" Ron said, and then he marched towards Snape. He didn't wait to hear his friends out because he knew they would end up convincing him to just relax. And this wasn't the time to relax. Ron approached Snape, who turned to face him just before Ron got to the table.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape drawled. "What is it?"

"Professor, may I please have a moment of your time?" Ron asked, trying to hide the desperateness in his voice. He didn't hide it well enough for Snape to be fooled. Professor Snape stared at Ron for a moment, and then gave him a curt nod. Then the professor stood up and moved to the closest corner, followed closely by Ron.

"Now… What is it?" Snape asked curtly. _Okay… here I go… Wish me luck Sorting Hat!_

"Professor I've been reading through my third year notes…" Ron started but Snape cut him off.

"Is this the reason behind your exhaustion and seizure? You have been studying third year subjects when you already have your current studies to attend to?" Professor Snape sounded rather annoyed at Ron, which jarred the red-haired boy. _I already messed this up…_

"Yes, sir…" Ron answered meekly. _At least he doesn't suspect me having visions of the future now… Great going Weasley you twit…_

"Mr. Weasley… Explain yourself. This instant" Snape's voice was low, and laced with menace. Ron's hands started trembling again, so clenched them into fists. It didn't stop them from shaking.

"Sir… I just want to be at the top… and this the only way I know how…" Ron muttered, looking down at his feet. "I'm not… smart like the others in my class. So I study ahead and come prepared…" Ron felt his ears burning at having to confess his incompetence to Professor Snape. _Great… now that I've thrown my dignity into the dirt… Can I please warn you about the creepy man who sleeps in my bed? Bloody hell my life is a bad joke…_

"That is… admirable" Snape said, keeping his face in a mask of indifference. But deep down he was rather impressed with the boy's drive to be better. It was rather refreshing.

"It is…?" Ron asked, looking up with a faint smile. _Is he serious?_

"Don't make me repeat myself" Snape frowned, wiping the smile off of Ron's face. "Now tell me, what did you want to talk about?" _Back in the game!_

"As I was saying sir, I've been reading through my third year notes which Percy gave me. And I happened upon Percy's notes on Animagi…"

"I see, and what is it that you want from me? Shouldn't you be speaking to Professor McGonagall?" Snape said, as he narrowed his eyes on Ron. Merlin did he want to use Legilimency on this odd boy.

"That's the problem Sir…" _Bloody hell where do I even start?_ "Sir, I'm just going to say it outright… I believe my pet rat Scabbers is an Animagus" Ron finished with all the strength he could muster. Snape's eyes widened at Ron's claim.

"An Animagus?" Snape asked, bewildered by the boy's oddness. Why was this boy so intriguing to him? He wakes up from a seizure and doesn't even seem to care. Then he brings this up like it's absolutely nothing… Snape had to fight the urge to use Legilimency on Ron, and he only managed to stop because of his mentor's wishes.

"Yes, sir… He is a garden rat, you see. And garden rats are only supposed to live for one year… but my rat has been in our family for ten years! It doesn't make any sense to me… and when I read about the Animagi in the notes, I couldn't help but wonder." Ron then took a breath before continuing, ignoring Snape's piercing eyes. "Please sir, I just need someone to help me confirm this… I don't feel safe with Scabbers being near my friends…" Ron finished. _PLEASE MERLIN HELP ME CONVINCE THIS MAN!_

"Ten years…" Snape said softly. That was odd, how could a garden rat live so long? If it wasn't an Animagus, then it was certainly enchanted. Either way it might be unsafe for his students, so he had to act. "Very well, Mr. Weasley. Bring your rat to me, I will be in my office. Also here" Snape said as he pulled out a vial with a dark purple liquid in it. "Administer this to your rat before you bring it." _He just carries this around… Wicked! Snape is so cool!_

"Thank you sir, I will be right down." With that Ron gave Snape a thankful nod and marched towards the common room. He didn't even get past the door of the Great Hall before he was stopped. _Oh for Merlin's sake…_

"Ron, what are you doing?" Blaise asked, the rest of Ron's friends behind him. They all looked annoyed and worried at the same time.

"Ron, please just sit down" Pansy said, her eyes were a little wet which Ron found really odd. _She is that worried… for me?_ Ron then noticed that the other girls too looked just as distraught. Daphne more than any of them. He sighed from deep guilt. _I can't stop… I can't let him stay near them…_

"Please… just trust me…" Ron pleaded in a low and soft voice. "I'm doing this for you… for us…" Then Ron turned around and marched down to the common room. His friends didn't follow him, no doubt confused and jarred by his odd comment. _Don't stop… just move… Snape is already making his way down to his office._

Ron entered the dorm, and immediately noticed the rat on his bed. It was asleep, which made Ron breathe out in relief. Ron then quietly opened his trunk, and took out some rat treats. He doused the treats with a bit of the potion, hoping that it was enough to knock the bastard out. "Here Scabbers…" Ron said, as he scratched the rats head to wake him up. _Dear Merlin this is a grown man I'm tickling…_ Ron had to fight to stop himself from gagging. Scabbers woke up and squeaked. "Do you want some treats boy?" Ron offered, and then he put forward the laced treats. Scabbers started eating them without a second thought. _I got you now you disgusting vermin… That's for snuggling up to my Ginny… I'll make sure you go to Azkaban for that!_

Scabbers ate up all the treats, and then he slowly drifted off. Ron poked him with a finger, but there was no response and for a second Ron feared that he killed Peter Pettigrew by overdosing him. But then he noticed that the rat was breathing, so it was just asleep. Ron then picked Scabbers up and ran full-tilt towards the Potion Master's office. Ron knocked on the door, and waited for a response.

"Come in" came Snape's voice. Ron pushed the door open and walked in, then he closed the door quietly.

"I've brought him sir!" Ron exclaimed, excited to get rid of this revolting man. Ron then walked up and placed the rat on the professor's table."

"Put in on the ground" Snape bit out, annoyed at Ronald's lack of common sense. Ron smiled sheepishly and did as he was told. "Now step back and if you are correct, I want you behind me at all times. Is that understood?" Snape said in a low voice, and Ron nodded in return. Ron then stood behind Snape, grinning ear-to-ear. _Finally! I hope Snape curses him good!_

Snape then pointed his wand at the unconscious rat. And then a bright blue light emanated from Snape's wand, and the rat began to hover into the air. Then all of a sudden the rat's limbs started to crack and grow, its head began to grow in size, while its torso squished and then began to expand. Snape's eyes almost popped out of his skull at the sight and he went deathly pale.

"This can't be…" Snape muttered, shocked beyond words. And then, the rat was no longer a rat but instead he was a man. The man lay on his stomach and with his face away from Snape and Ron. Snape stumbled back a step, but then regained his footing. He immediately shielded Ron with his spare arm, and pushed the boy behind him.

The man on the ground had colorless hair with a bald patch on in the middle of his head. And Ron knew that this was Peter Pettigrew. _I have you now Peter… You'll pay for using my family… for tainting my home, and my bed… For snuggling my sister… I'll make sure personally that you rot away in Azkaban forever! Not to mention James and Lily, whoever they are. Your betrayal of them won't go unpunished!_ Ron was ripped out of his thought when Snape non-verbally conjured up ropes and tied Peter up. Then Snape slowly started to turn around and Ron knew he had to put on his best act.

"You were…" Snape said, his eyes showing his astonishment. "You were correct in your assumptions…"

"Professor Snape…" Ron said, doing his best to sound afraid and even making his hands tremble. "Who is that man?" Ron then looked to the tied up Peter Pettigrew.

"I don't know." Snape said, turning back to sleeping man. Snape then slowly approached the man, and flipped him over with a flick of his wand. Who he saw nearly stopped his heart. "How…? No it can't be…" Snape then bent down and grabbed the man's left arm and lifted up the man's sleeve. Ron slowly approached from behind and looked over Snape's shoulder. There was a faint blemish of sorts on Peter's left inner forearm. _What is that? Looks like a… tattoo…_

Snape then stood up quickly, making Ron jump back in actual panic. It helped his act because Snape looked at the scared boy with concern. Snape then put a steady hand on Ron's right shoulder, making Ron go wide-eyed.

"Listen to me Ronald, stay behind my desk and if that man wakes up… do not speak to him. No matter what! Is that clear?" Snape said in low but commanding voice. Ron nodded quickly and moved towards the back of the table. Snape then marched to his fire-place and threw in some floo powder.

"Headmaster's Office" Snape said clearly. When the fire blazed green, Snape put his head through the fire. "Albus come to my office at once. I need your assistance." Then Snape pulled his head out and turned to face the man on the ground. Snape took a few steps closer to Peter, aiming his wand directly at the man.

The fire-place blazed green and Albus Dumbledore stepped through, his wand at the ready. "What has happened, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his voice was so serious that Ron actually felt tense. _This is what he is really like, isn't he? Not some loony old man…_ Dumbledore then stopped when he saw an unconscious man on the ground, tied in magical ropes. "Severus?"

"Albus… look" Snape said softly. Dumbledore looked at the man more closely, and Ron had never seen someone go so pale so quickly.

"How is this possible? Severus, explain yourself" Dumbledore said, somehow still maintaining his calm voice. Snape just looked towards Ron, who went pale himself. _Bloody hell… This isn't good…_ Dumbledore looked in the same direction as Snape, and was clearly taken by surprise because his eyes widened at Ron. "Ronald… what are you doing here?"

"Headmaster" Snape started, regaining his composure and some calmness. "Mr. Weasley is the one who brought him to me." Dumbledore looked at Snape in disbelief. "He came to me this afternoon, and he told me that he believed his rat to be an Animagus. When I checked for him, well…" Snape was cut off by loud grumbling from the tied up man.

Peter stirred and once he noticed he was in binds, he started looking around in open panic. "What is this?!" Peter shouted. Then Peter noticed Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape looking down at him. Peter opened his mouth to talk but no words came out. Instead he started whimpering.

"Hello, Peter…" Dumbledore said, his face tightening slightly in anger. "I see you are still amongst the living. Care to explain yourself to me?" Ron could literally feel the magic emanating from around the Headmaster, and it scared him. It felt heavy, and volatile. _This is Dumbledore… THE Dumbledore… bloody hell what have I gotten myself into here?_

"I… I…" Peter stuttered. "I was in hiding Headmaster! Yes, hiding! Sirius… he wanted to kill me! He killed all those poor Muggles Headmas…"

"Enough of your lies…" Snape snarled, pointing his wand more intently at the coward. "I have seen the Mark on your arm, traitor." _The mark? Does he mean that blemish?_

"Severus, bring some Veritaserum" Dumbledore said in a deadly calm voice. "I will stay here with Peter." Professor Snape billowed past the Headmaster and went into the room which was placed behind his desk. Ron just stood there, watching everything unfold around him as if he was a ghost.

"Ronald…? Ronald is that you?" Peter's voice came, making Ron face the sniveling man. "My friend…" Ron ignored the pathetic man. He had already seen that Peter's sniveling was just an act. An act that had fooled Sirius and gotten him killed in Ron's vision. _You won't get out of this… not because of me._ "Ronald please… You shared food with me, I'm your companion. Talk to me…" Peter kept sniveling and it made Ron sick to his stomach. _He would beg anyone right now… And he betrayed his own friends to save himself…_ Ron's face darkened and he looked right into Peter's eyes with absolute disdain. Making the sniveling coward go wide-eyed from the sheer hate being sent his way.

"I'm not your friend… I know a manipulative coward when I see one" Ron said in a low menacing tone. _He let his friends die, just so that he could live… He stole my wand… He hid amongst my family, and ate with us… We loved him, and he used us! He slept in the same bed as my SISTER!_ Ron felt his stomach turn at the sight of this disgusting man, how could someone be like this?

"You don't deserve to live…" Ron said in his most grim tone, without even thinking about it. He could feel icy hatred flowing through his veins. _How could this man do such horrible things… and still beg for forgiveness?_

Dumbledore looked at Ronald with a calm exterior, but inside he felt nothing but a trickling sense of dread. Did Ronald even understand what he was saying? Of course he did, the hate in the boy's voice was evident and Dumbledore could even feel the boy's magic crackling.

"You… YOU" Peter yelled, angered now that he knew his ploy wasn't working.

"Enough!" Dumbledore said, turning his attention to the cowardly man. Snape billowed back into the room with a vial of Veritaserum. "Severus, administer the potion. I have questions for Peter." Snape did as he was told, and he did it rather harshly. Snape grabbed Peter by his throat and squeezed tightly, making Peter open his mouth as he attempted to gasp for air. Then Snape dripped three drops into the man's mouth. Snape only let go when he saw Peter swallow the potion. Peter's eyes became glazed over, and his body relaxed.

"Is your name Peter Pettigrew?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Yes" Peter replied.

"Did Sirius Black betray the Potters?" Dumbledore asked. _Potters? Like Harry?_ Ron felt a little confused but he tried to keep his focus on what was happening around him.

"No..." Peter muttered.

"Was Sirius Black the Secret Keeper for the Potters?" Dumbledore continued.

"No, I was…" Peter spoke through gritted teeth. Ron didn't miss how dark Professor Snape's expression became at this information.

"Did you frame Sirius Black for the murder of the Potters, and the twelve Muggles?"

"Yes, I did" Peter whimpered.

"Are you a Death-Eater?" Snape jumped in with his own question.

"Yes…" Peter whimpered again. Ron's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at that. _This is a Death-Eater… We had a Death-Eater living in our home?!_ Ron's head spun a little from this revelation, and his knees felt shaky.

"Severus" Dumbledore said, turning his attention to Snape. "Contact the Ministry at once. Take Peter with you and hand him over to Amelia Bones. No one else." Snape gave a curt nod, and then he fired a red colored spell at Peter non-verbally. The spell knocked Peter out immediately. _Was that 'Stupefy'?_ "Ronald… come with me." With that Dumbledore marched through the still open fire-place. Ron followed after quickly. _Damn… This time it's Albus Dumbledore that I have to convince…_

Ron stumbled through the fire-place and into the Headmaster's office. _At least I didn't fall on my arse…_ "Ronald take a seat" Dumbledore's voice came, the Headmaster was already sitting behind his desk. Ron did as he was told and took a seat at the table. "Now… tell me everything from the start."

Ron told Dumbledore the same story he had told Snape, making sure that there were no differences in the two explanations. He didn't want Albus Dumbledore of all people on his case. When Ron finished, Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"You have marvelous perception, Ronald" Dumbledore said, a faint smile on his lips. But his eyes weren't twinkling…

"Sir… I just thought it odd that Scabbers… Peter… was alive for so long. He was supposed to be just a garden rat and they aren't meant to live so long." Ron reiterated, hoping Dumbledore was buying this.

"But you suspected him of being an Animagus… before you suspected any sort of enchantment. Why?" Dumbledore asked, his voice kind and soft. But Ron knew that this was an interrogation. And even if it wasn't, Ron would treat it as such. His own paranoia demanded it.

"Because I've already seen one Animagus, Sir" Ron provided, deciding to use McGonagall. Dumbledore stared at the boy in wonder, and he fought the urge to use Legilimency on Ronald. Dumbledore still needed to find out more about this void that Snape had felt. It was still too much of a risk.

"And where did you see an Animagus, Ronald?"

"Professor McGonagall, Sir. She showed us her cat form in our first Transfiguration Class. I've always thought that was amazing and it was still fresh in my mind… So I guess I may have aimed that at Scabbers." Dumbledore nodded slowly. The boy at least had a basis for his theory… Not to mention that he was studying third year Transfiguration while still in first year… It was no wonder that he had suffered from such severe exhaustion and that his magical core was depleted. Was he practicing third year magic as well?

"Most brilliant, Ronald. You are most brilliant!" Dumbledore said, his eyes beginning to twinkle once more. Whatever the case was behind Ronald's actions, he had saved another life today. Sirius Black was innocent and he needed to be freed. Dumbledore felt his chest tighten with guilt at the memory of Sirius being dragged away like some mad animal. Dumbledore knew that he should've pushed for a trial, but he hadn't. And an innocent man had lost ten years of his life… And now Ronald had done the impossible, and paved the way to freedom for Sirius.

"Thank you… Sir. But I was just guessing… I didn't know anything for certain…" Ron thanked Dumbledore lamely. He was taken completely off-guard by the Headmaster's high praise and his cheeks flushed red. Dumbledore chuckled at the sight. Not ten minutes ago, Ronald had made Dumbledore feel dread, and now… now he looked so innocent and child-like. How did someone's personality shift so quickly? Ronald Weasley was indeed an enigma, one that Dumbledore would solve!

Ron sat in the Headmaster's office, and waited while the Headmaster summoned his Heads of Houses. McGonagall was first through the door, and she had brought Ron's brothers with her. "Headmaster, is everything alright?" she asked, her voice was laced with concern. "This is most odd, after all lunch classes are still underway…"

"Please, Professor McGonagall" Dumbledore chuckled. "Come, and sit all of you." They all did as they were told, and Ron smiled at his brothers who were looking at him in concern. _They're probably wondering what I've done this time… I seem to worry people constantly…_ Ron felt a pang of guilt at the thought, because he knew it was true. He was constantly throwing himself into situation that he had no handle on…

Once all the Heads of Houses were present, Dumbledore told them word for word the same story that Ron had told him. Before Dumbledore could reveal anything about Peter Pettigrew, McGonagall asked him to pause respectfully. Then she turned to Ron, her eyes showed her awe at the boy.

"Mr. Weasley, in all my years… Third year Transfiguration?!" She said, her voice laced with disbelief. "And you suspect your own rat?" All Ron could do was smile sheepishly at her, and then at Percy who was staring at Ron with wide-eyes. "Please Headmaster, continue." Dumbledore gave her a faint smile and nodded.

By the time Dumbledore had finished the whole story, everyone in the room had gone deathly pale and they were all horrified. Percy looked more green than pale. Ron and Dumbledore were the only people who were calm in the room, mostly because they had overcome their own shock at the discovery.

"Albus…" McGonagall said in a whisper, losing her composure at the troubling news. "Sirius…" she stopped when Dumbledore raised his hand in a calming manner.

"Severus has already departed with Peter to the Ministry of Magic" Dumbledore said calmly. "He may have already handed Peter over to Amelia Bones. She will set up a trial for Peter, and then we can free Sirius from Azkaban." Dumbledore then turned to Ron. "Ronald, you will be expected to give a statement to the Wizengamot because of your direct involvement in Peter's capture." Ron nodded strongly at that. _Anything to make that rat pay for using us!_

"We must contact their parents" Professor Flitwick started. "Arthur and Molly need to know about Pettigrew…"

"I will send Fawkes" Dumbledore said. Then Dumbledore turned to the crimson and gold bird sitting on a bird perch. "My friend, travel to The Burrow and bring back Arthur and Molly Weasley. This is of the utmost importance." Fawkes, the crimson and gold bird, gave a loud chirp and then burst into flames. When the flames disappeared, Fawkes was gone. _Bloody hell that was wicked… And to think I got stuck with Scabbers…_

After almost ten minutes of uncomfortable silence there was roar in the fire-place and Ron's parents stepped through. His father looked tense while his mother was beside herself with worry. "Is it Ronnie? Is my boy alright?!" Molly all but shrieked as soon as she stepped through the fire-place.

"I'm fine mum…" Ron said, feeling embarrassed by her assumption that he had done something. _Well she isn't exactly wrong to suspect it was me… It's always me…_

"Ronnie!" Molly shrieked again, and then she walked up and embraced him tightly. So tightly that he was gasping for air in seconds. Dumbledore chuckled at the sight, which annoyed Ron greatly. _Do something… before she kills me!_

"Arthur… Molly… Please sit, there is much that we need to discuss" Dumbledore said in an ominous tone. Ron's parents nodded slowly, and did as they were told when Dumbledore conjured up more chairs. Dumbledore then told them of Scabbers being Peter Pettigrew, and that it was Ron who figured it out.

"No… no, Pettigrew died over ten years ago" Arthur muttered in disbelief.

"And how long has this pet rat been in your family?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Almost… ten years…" Molly said, then she gasped loudly. "Arthur the children! It played with them… IT SLEPT IN THEIR BEDS MORE THAN ONCE!" _Don't worry mum… He'll sleep in Azkaban from now on!_ Arthur went red with rage at the realization that this "man" had defiled his home.

"Where is he?" Arthur gritted out, making the Weasley children slink into their chairs. They had never seen their father filled with so much rage.

"Calm yourself, Arthur" Dumbledore said sagely. "He has been handed over to the authorities and I will make sure that he faces the Dementor's Kiss for his crimes." _Dementor's Kiss? I've heard that before somewhere…_

"And it was Ronnie who figured it out?" Molly asked in a whisper.

"Yes" McGonagall said, placing her hand on Molly's left shoulder. "Ronald made the connection because he was studying Third year Transfiguration, and he suspected the rat's long life. He is truly gifted with strong perception" McGonagall said, and Ron could hear pride in her voice. Ron couldn't help but smile at that.

"Ronald was instrumental in Peter's capture, as such he will have to speak to the Wizengamot soon" Dumbledore added in. Arthur nodded his agreement, and then placed a strong hand on Ron's right shoulder. Ron looked to his father and saw the man smiling down at him with pride. Ron smiled back weakly. _They think I'm some genius… but I know the truth. I'm just lucky…_

They all sat there and discussed how everything would proceed over the next few days, and an hour later Professor Snape had marched into the office and reported that Peter was successfully in custody. The Aurors had confirmed his identity and locked him up in the Ministry Dungeons to await trial. Snape also told them that he had relayed all the information on Peter's capture to Amelia Bones, and that she had specifically asked about Ron giving a statement. Dumbledore then told Ron that he would be sent a letter by tomorrow morning from the Wizengamot, and that he should just tell the full truth. Ron nodded, but deep down he felt a pang of guilt for lying to everyone.

Dumbledore then dismissed the children from the room, and Ron could feel Dumbledore's stare as he left the office. When Ron and his brothers were past the stone gargoyle, the silence was broken by Fred.

"Merlin's beard… A man… A man was living in our house for ten years…" Fred said, still pale as a ghost.

"And to think we played with him… like he was a pet…" George added, looking more green then pale.

"This is my fault…" Percy muttered to himself, looking like he was going to retch. _If he does, I need to jump out of the way…_

"Perce…" Fred started but was cut off by Percy himself.

"NO!" Percy shouted, making his brothers jump in surprise. "No, I brought him into the family… How did I not notice anything?! I'm a complete idiot!" _Perce…_ The younger brothers looked at Percy with sorrow, his eyes were red because of his tears and his anger at being used. At being deceived completely. Everyone in the Weasley family knew how much Percy loved Scabbers, and just how much he doted on his pet rat. All of that love… it was a lie… Percy sobbed and sat down on the ground. He didn't care if his robes got dirtied… Ron and the twins watched Percy crying for the first time in a long time, and it made all three of them teary eyed. _Percy…_ Without thinking Ron slowly walked up to Percy's slouched figure and he hugged his brother tightly from his left side. The twins followed Ron's lead and sat down with Percy. Both of them putting comforting hands on their big brother and trying to soothe his pain.

They four brothers sat in front of a stone gargoyle, and supported each other. They didn't care if someone saw them, and they didn't care that it might look weird. Ron and the twins knew that Percy needed them there, and they wouldn't let him down. He might be a prat, but he was their prat. And Percy could only sob at being so foolish as to never suspect Scabbers' long life. His little brother had figured it out in less than six months, and made the connection of Scabbers being an Animagus. Whereas Percy had done nothing but be deceived. He was such a fool! Percy the Foolish! He didn't deserve to be in this family… He had brought that man into their home… Percy sobbed for almost twenty minutes, and his brothers didn't leave his side for even a second.

Ron entered the common room just before dinner was about to start, and he instantly caught the attention of his friends. "There you are!" Daphne screeched as she marched up to him. She was about to berate him, but stopped short when she saw his haggard appearance. "Ron…?" Daphne muttered. Ron gave her a forced smile. He had no clue that his eyes were bloodshot, and his skin was deathly pale.

"Hey Daphne… How's your day been?" Ron asked, completely exhausted both emotionally and physically. _I need to sleep… or eat… or do both…_

"Bloody hell, Ron" Theo said as he approached the red-head. "What happened to you?" Ron was now surrounded by his concerned friends, even Blaise looked a little concerned which made Ron rather happy. _What happened? Oh I just found out that a damn Death-Eater was sharing my bed for six months… Great day…_

"Long story short" Ron said, deciding that he couldn't be bothered right now to tell the whole tale. "I figured out that my pet rat Scabbers was actually an Animagus… And it turns out that he was also a Death-Eater whom everyone believed was dead… I helped apprehend him. That's why I wasn't in classes today…" Ron finished with a sigh. His friends just stared at Ron like he had grown several heads.

"What's… an Animagus?" Millie asked slowly.

"A witch or wizard that can turn into an animal" Blaise muttered, still too shocked to even think about Ron's story. Was he actually telling the truth?

"Look… I'm tired…" Ron all but whispered. "Can we just go to dinner…? We can talk about this tomorrow…" His friends nodded slowly, except for Daphne who was looking at Ron very oddly. Her eyes were wet, and turning red. _Is she about to cry? Why? I'm the one who went through the grinder…_ Ron then shook his head in a tired fashion and walked back out of the common room, followed slowly by his friends.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Oh damn! Didn't see that coming did ya? I was going to keep Scabbers around for longer but his discovery fit perfectly well within what the other arcs require. Also I want people to understand that this story isn't following the conventional formula anymore! It always bothered me when things stayed the same during Slytherin!Ron stories. I promise that it is my goal to provide something refreshing, and extremely different from the original tale! Coz let's face it, Harry's life would be truly something else without Ron! Will try to post faster, want to get as much out as possible before University starts again in March...** **=( Also Ron's visions will be showing this alternate future in more detail further in the book.**


	14. Chapter 14 - Chocolates and Heartaches

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: BOOM! Here is Chapter 14 everyone! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **I also used horizontal lines to break the chapter apart. Just so it looks more tidy and is easier to follow. Let me know what you think!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 14 – Chocolates and Heartaches**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron was moments away from entering the Courtroom, which was found within the lower dungeons of the Ministry of Magic. His mother and father were by his side, doing their best to encourage him to be brave. He didn't need their encouragement, he needed Peter Pettigrew gone. And that alone gave him the resolve to push through and face the Wizengamot. For the last five days, all Ron had thought about was this trial. His every waking moment was spent thinking about what Peter had done to his family, and his silent anger was eating him up. Every time he saw Percy's fallen face, Ron heard his own heart thumping in his ears.

His friends were still reeling from the discovery as well, and they were growing increasingly more concerned about Ron. They could see that Ron was barely keeping everything together, especially with his studies taking their toll on him. They didn't understand that those studies were the only thing keeping Ron from losing his mind and exploding in rage. He needed those books to distract him. But after today… after today Ron would finally be rid of Peter Pettigrew.

"They are ready for you, Mr. Weasley" A woman in her middle ages said. Ron gave her a nod, and along with his parents, he entered the Courtroom. The first thing he noted was Peter Pettigrew tied to a chair with magical binds, and he seemed to be gagged. Ron smirk inwardly at the sight. The next thing he saw was Sirius Black who was in a cage right next to Peter, and all he was doing was staring murder at Pettigrew.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley" came Dumbledore's sagely voice. Ron turned to it and he saw Dumbledore sitting on a podium, with around fifty people split evenly to his sides. Everyone was wearing formal black robes, and they all had funny black hats on. _Take a deep breath, and just do this._ "Mr. Weasley, please step into the middle of the Court" Dumbledore requested. Ron did as he was told immediately, and now he was in between Peter and Dumbledore.

"Mr. Weasley" Dumbledore continued, making Ron look up at the old wizard. "You are here as an eye-witness to the capture of one Peter Pettigrew, and as a witness to his confessions under the influence of Veritaserum. As such, please inform us of everything that you witnessed." Ron gave Dumbledore a strong nod.

Ron then listed everything from suspecting Scabbers to the events within Snape's office, finally finishing strongly with an account of Peter's confession under Veritaserum. Dumbledore's soft smile had given Ron the strength to keep speaking in a clear, strong voice. The Headmaster wouldn't let him down, Ron was certain. "The evidence against the accused is overwhelming" Dumbledore began again. "Does the accused have anything to say in his defense?" With that, Dumbledore flicked his wand and ungagged Peter Pettigrew.

The first thing Ron heard from Peter was sniveling, and it made him sick to his stomach. _Bloody coward…_ "I… I was under the Imperius…" Peter began but Sirius launched himself at the bars of his own cage, trying to grab at Peter.

"LIAR! HE LIES!" Sirius yelled, making Ron jump a little.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore said, his voice amplified by a spell of some kind. Ron jumped again because of it. _Bloody hell… maybe I should start screaming too…_

"I was under the Imperius Curse… I swear it!" Peter yelled pathetically. "The Dark Lord used the Curse on me himself! Please… Please…" Peter sniveled. It was the most pathetic sight Ron had ever seen.

"You confessed under the influence of Veritaserum that you were the Secret Keeper to the Potter family's whereabouts" Dumbledore said, his voice was calm and normal once again. "The Fidelius Charm would never allow you to divulge that information unless it was divulged voluntarily. Even if the Unforgivable Curses were used on you, you would not be able to divulge the information. What say you to this?"

"Please… Please show mercy…" Peter cried, looking to Dumbledore with wet, beady eyes.

"You are also accused of murdering twelve Muggles, a crime that you framed Sirius Black for" Dumbledore continued. "The Aurors used Legilimency on you when you were first interrogated by them. Madam Bones, please give your account of the accused's memories on the date of the First of November, 1981." _Legilimency…?_

A woman with a square jaw and a monocle stood up. "The memories of the accused exposed him as the culprit who cast the Blasting Curse which killed the twelve Muggles" Madam Bones spoke in a booming voice. "The accused also used a Severing Charm to cut of his own finger, and then escaped in his Animagus form." With that, Madam Bones sat back down.

"What does the accused have to say to this?" Dumbledore asked calmly. _Just send him to Azkaban already… We all know that he is a Death-Eater!_

"Mercy… mercy…" Peter cried, he had snot and tears all over his face and it was all dripping down his chin. _Ugh…_

"Given the overwhelming evidence and no plausible defense from the accused, the accused is hereby found guilty of the crimes of murder, fraud, being an unregistered Animagus, and aiding the Dark Lord and his Death-Eaters" Dumbledore finished, making Peter cry louder. "As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I hereby sentence Peter Pettigrew to the Dementor's Kiss. Sirius Black is also to be set free from Azkaban, and to be compensated for wrongful imprisonment for the last ten years. All in favor?" Dumbledore asked, looking around to see the votes. Every person in the black robes put their hands up.

"The vote is unanimous" Dumbledore continued, and then he used his gavel to make it official. Ron turned around and smiled at Sirius Black, Ron just couldn't help it. _Ten years of Azkaban… while that bloody coward ran and hid with my family… At least he is free now. And he gets to see Peter pay for his crimes!_ Sirius let out a strangled cry and fell to his knees, sobbing with joy and relief.

Dumbledore flicked his wand and the cage slowly disappeared into thin air. Sirius Black was finally a free man. Sirius looked to Ron, still on his knees and in tears. "Thank you… Thank you…" Sirius managed to choke out. His gaunt, sunken face contorting as he wept with joy at finally being set free from Azkaban, the most atrocious place in Wizarding England. Ron couldn't help himself as he slowly approached the broken man, and placed his right hand softly on Sirius' left shoulder.

Ron smiled at Sirius and they both held eye contact for a short moment. Ocean blue eyes gazed into hollow grey ones, and in that one short moment Ron came to firm conclusion. **His powers were a gift.** A gift that he would use to save anyone, not just those he cared for. Seeing the joy and relief in Sirius' eyes cemented Ron's resolve. _This is right. This is what I was given this power for._ Cameras flashed around Ron and Sirius, but neither of them paid any attention to the flashes. "Thank you… for my life…" Sirius whispered in a cracked voice, and then he put his right hand over Ron's left one.

"I'm sorry you lost so much of it…" Ron whispered back, smiling sadly at the gaunt man.

* * *

Ron waited at the Floo Network Hub within the Ministry of Magic, and he was joined by his parents. "You did a wonderful thing today, sweetheart" Molly cooed, pinching Ron's right cheek.

"Mum stop…" Ron said as he tried to get his face away from her hands, but he didn't want her to stop. He was loving this attention from his mother. Things had become rocky for them after his sorting, but their relationship was finally becoming normal again. If anything, it was even becoming stronger than before. _Guess that letter wasn't all bad…_

"I'm very proud of you son" Arthur said smiling widely, and then he ruffled Ron's hair. Ron shrieked at the realization that his father had just undone Daphne's work. She had pinned him down and combed his hair with extreme pleasure and joy. And now it was ruined… _She is going to murder me!_ That was when Dumbledore entered and saw them, with Ron trying to dodge his parent's pats and pinches. It brought a smile to his old features.

"Are you ready to say goodbye, Ronald" Dumbledore said softly as he approached the family. "We'd best get you back to Hogwarts before your friends miss you too much." Ron nodded at Dumbledore with a smile, but he still had to make sure of one thing.

"What will happen to Mr. Black?" Ron asked, looking up at the Headmaster. Albus gave a sad smile to the red-haired boy.

"Remus Lupin, a friend of Mr. Black's… he was here to pick him up" Dumbledore provided. "Do not worry for Sirius, Ronald. He will be fine from here on out." Dumbledore couldn't help but feel another pang of guilt. Sirius' imprisonment could have been avoided, if only Dumbledore had acted differently. He was so furious about the Potters' fate that he had felt nothing but disgust at Sirius, who was not the Secret Keeper as the Order had believed, and as such he had decided to ignore Sirius when Barty Crouch Snr. had sent him to Azkaban without a trial. And now an eleven year old boy had to repair his mistake.

"That's good. I'm ready to go now" Ron said, happy that Sirius would be alright. _He has been through enough already._

Ron and Dumbledore then bid Ron's parents goodbye and then used the closest fire-place to Floo back into Albus' office. "Here we are" Dumbledore said in a soft chuckle when he saw Ron stumble and fall on his bum.

"Ugh… I hate using the Floo…" Ron complained as he stood up and began dusting his robes. Dumbledore chuckled a little more at that. _Yeah… laugh at a child who has the grace of a troll…_

"You are thinking too much Ronald, the flames cannot harm you. Relax your mind, and just step forward as you usually would. I assure you, your feet will find solid ground" Dumbledore said in his calmest voice. "Sometimes… we just need to have faith." Ron was confused at Dumbledore's last few words, but he chose to ignore them. _Crazy old loon…_

"Thank you for the advice, Sir. May I please be excused to my common room? My friends are waiting for me."

"Certainly, have a pleasant Saturday. I am very proud of you, Ronald" Dumbledore said softly, making Ron blush red. _ALBUS DUMBLEDORE IS PROUD OF ME! I need to tell Luna and Ginny about this!_

Ron said his farewells to the Headmaster and marched to the Slytherin common room in high spirits, today had been a good day. But as he passed through the entrance of the common room, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. _I took down a former Death-Eater… Is this going to have a negative effect on my standing within Slytherin?_ He could not have been more wrong because as soon as his house-mates noticed him, they gave him smiles and nods. Some of them even patted his back and congratulated him for showing Slytherin in a good light once again. Ron smiled and accepted the kind words, and he felt himself release a breath that he didn't even know he was holding. _Thank Merlin… at least they won't strangle me in my sleep…_

Ron then joined his friends on the couch, and the girls gave him warm smiles whereas Theo and Blaise looked closed off. _Is something bothering them?_ Ron was about to ask but a particularly enthusiastic Tracey planted herself next to Ron on the couch. "Our fearless leader returns!" Tracey exclaimed, making Ron go a bit red at her closeness. "Death-Eaters beware…" she chuckled, making Daphne frown at her.

"Trace, give him some space" Daphne said in a haughty tone. "He's had a long day." Daphne then turned to Ron and looked at him with a smile. "How did it go Ron?"

"Peter Pettigrew was sentenced to a Dementor's kiss" Ron started. "And Sirius Black has been set free and found innocent of all charges." Ron smiled at the memory of Sirius crying with joy. _I'll help them all. No matter what!_ "I was worried, you know" Ron continued, looking at each of his friends. "I thought some Slytherins might not be too happy with what I did today. I was wrong, they all seem to be glad." His female friends looked at him sadly when he said that, which made his heart skip a beat. "What is it?"

"Ron…" Daphne started but stopped. _Okay… now I'm getting worried. What did I miss? Why are Theo and Blaise so serious about something?_

"Stop being so naïve Ron" Blaise said curtly, his face blank as always. "No one is stupid enough to openly support Death-Eaters… So don't mistake their words for praises. There are a fair few Slytherins who would love nothing more than to call you a Blood-Traitor to your face right now." Ron paled at that. _What…?_

"Blaise is right Ron" Theo added in. "I overheard some fourth year boys talking about you this morning after you left. They… They planned on attacking you if they ever caught you alone…" Ron's eyes widened at that. _What the hell…?_ "Not to mention that Draco is using this to drive home the fact that you are 'scum', and associate with 'Mud-Bloods', to every Slytherin with ears. Ron you need to be careful" Theo finished strongly, leaving Ron stunned.

"Are… are you guys in trouble again… because of me?" Ron said, feeling a tight knot in his stomach. _I'm bloody screwed…_

"No… not yet" Theo said, and then he sighed. _Do they… do my friends feel the same as the other Slytherins? They can't…_

"Do you all feel like the other Slytherins do?" Ron asked in a whisper, he knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it if they did. "You're all with me on this… right? Peter Pettigrew was a Death-Eater, he got what he deserved… You understand that, right…?"

"Yes, without a doubt" said Tracey without delaying for a second. Ron smiled at her, he had known for certain that she would be on his side for this. Ron then looked to each of his friends, and they didn't look so sure. Ron felt his stomach drop at that. _Please don't…_

"I'm with you Ron" Millie said after a second. "I don't care what my parents say, you've been… you've been kind to me. And you've never pushed me around or picked on me…" she trailed off, blushing with embarrassment. But when Ron smiled at her, she smiled back. _Millie!_

"Me too Ron" Daphne said, smiling softly at him. "My parents…" she trailed off for a second, but then continued again. "They've never told me or my sister to be like that. I don't even think that **they** are like that anymore… I don't care about what the other Slytherins say…" _This is good… I'm not going to lose them over this. I refuse to lose them just like that!_ Ron then looked to Theo, who was looking at down at his own hands. _Please… Theo please…_

"Ron…" Theo said after a long moment, his voice turning a little grim. "We… I was raised to…" Theo sighed, and then he did the worst thing he could have. Theo shook his head whilst holding his stare on his own hands. Ron felt his heart clench tightly in his chest. Ron then looked to Blaise, who was just looking to the fire. Blaise's eyes had gone hard and the fire's reflection danced within them. _They… I always knew but… After everything…_ "I'm sorry Ron… but I can't see them as our equals… they are **barbaric** **scum** " Theo gritted out, making Ron go wide-eyed. Theo then looked up at Ron, and Ron could see the conflict in his eyes. Then Theo just stood up and left.

"Theo!" Tracey exclaimed. But when he didn't stop, she went after him. Ron was left staring at the spot on which Theo had been sitting. His head was spinning, and his hands began to tremble lightly. _I lost him… I lost Theo… What is happening? Everything was fine before I left…_

Blaise then got up as well, and Daphne stood up and grabbed his hand. "Blaise… don't…" Daphne said, her voice was becoming strained. _They're leaving me…_

"This… this can't work" Blaise whispered to Daphne, making sure that Ron couldn't hear him. "I will lose everything… I thought I could change him… to make him see as Theo and I do… That we Pure-Bloods deserve magic more than… **them** … But he won't Daphne… After what he did today… My mother will never allow me to be his friend. I will lose it all if I chose him. So I can't…"

"Blaise… please don't…" Ron managed to say, and then he looked at the dark skinned boy. _Don't leave me… I need you!_ They both looked into each other's eyes, and Ron felt that moment last forever. And then Blaise blinked and just walked away, his face blank. Ron's chest clenched again and he let out a shaky breath. _This isn't happening… I lost them…_

That left only Pansy and Ron looked to her slowly, his eyes becoming increasingly more wet. "And you…?" Ron said, his voice shaking.

"You took me in after… after everything. I'm not going anywhere. We're friends, and you said that we would stick together" Pansy finished with a sad smile, and then she sniffled loudly and rubbed her eyes. "My parents… they were neutral in the last war…" she trailed off, and then she sniffled again. "I'm not going." Ron gave her a smile, and he felt tears run down his face. He quickly wiped them away.

Out of all of his friends, he considered Theo and Blaise as his best ones. They were the first to approach him, the first to show him that Slytherin was more than just a house of gits, and they had been by his side throughout everything so far. But not anymore… They wouldn't continue their morning runs, or him teaching them different spells by the lake, or them playing chess till all hours into the night. They were gone… And Ron was the reason. He had pushed them over and over with his choices. _How long could they stick around? How long could they keep taking the heat from my actions? I did this… I lost them…_ And suddenly he felt like he always had when he saw his mother and sister playing together, he felt like he didn't deserve to join them…

Ron put his hands on his face, he didn't want the girls to see him cry. He did his best to not make a sound, but every now and then he would release a sob. The girls didn't leave though, they sat with him and comforted him quietly. They too felt the pain of losing Theo and Blaise… and when Tracey came back from chasing after Theo, she joined them.

* * *

The days leading up to February the fourteenth were slow and painful for Ron. Things were tense between Ron and the other Slytherins at first, but after the Daily Prophet had named him in both their articles 'Boy Prodigy Saves Sirius Black' and 'Peter Pettigrew receives the Dementor's Kiss', things only got worse. Malfoy had already convinced about half of the younger Slytherins (fourth year and below) against Ron, just on the basis of Ron's beliefs. And after the articles came out, Malfoy had garnered even more support.

And to make matters worse, Theo and Blaise still hadn't said a word to him since the day of the trial. They didn't join up with Malfoy either, much to Ron's relief, but instead spent their time together. They always seemed to be in a heated debate about something and every time Ron looked in their direction, they would do their best to avert their gaze. That alone was enough to cut Ron deeply. Then there was the problem of sharing a dorm with two people who didn't even talk to you… Merlin that was awkward. So Ron had started going to bed earlier and waking up before they would. It was the only way to avoid the awkwardness.

Ron's relationship with the Gryffindors also began to suffer, as he knew that associating with them would get him into more trouble. So Ron started avoiding the library, and only talked with his three Gryffindor friends if they approached him. He even distanced himself from his brothers, mostly because he knew they would start a fight with the Slytherins on Ron's behalf. That was the last thing Ron needed. And then Harry had gone and thanked him in public for saving Sirius Black, and told him and everyone around them that Sirius was Harry's Godfather. Ron was very happy to hear this, but he didn't enjoy the looks he was getting from the surrounding Slytherins. Ron knew that Harry had just done him in without even realizing it.

Ron only had two things going right for him during those days. The first thing was the girls. Daphne, Tracey, Millie, and Pansy never left his side and were always trying to cheer him up. Ron in return did the same thing for them, because he understood that he wasn't the only one hurting. The second thing was that Carey Ductu, and many of the older students (fifth years and above), still treated Ron as they always did. Ron even overheard Carey Ductu give out a detention to a fourth year Slytherin boy, because the boy had called Ron a 'Mud-Blood lover' behind his back. It was a small relief to know that he still had allies he could rely on.

And then, it was Valentine's Day at Hogwarts. Ron sat on the breakfast table, with Daphne to his right and the other three girls across him. This was their new seating arrangement lately. _I miss the old one…_ Ron ate as much as he could stomach, which wasn't a lot because the stress from his studies and 'other' problems did nothing to help his appetite. "Ron, you should eat some more" Daphne said, smiling kindly at him.

"I'm not really hungry" Ron muttered, smiling a hollow smile at Daphne.

"Ron, you've eaten one piece of toast…" Pansy said softly. "You are going to start losing weight at this rate." _She's right… I'm just worrying them for no reason._ Then an idea clicked in Ron's head. Ron gave a sheepish grin to Pansy, and then stole bacon off of her plate. "HEY!" she exclaimed, laughing at Ron.

"You'd better remember the rules Pansy!" Ron said as he took a bite out of the stolen bacon. "I was only pretending so you'd let your guard down!" Pansy laughed at him, and the other girls joined in. _That's better, they shouldn't be upset…_ Ron then tried stealing food from the other girls and breakfast turned into a battle of speed and skill. All in all, Ron would say that was the most fun he'd had in a while. After breakfast ended, Ron decided that he was done trying to please the Slytherins and earn their fickle loyalties. If they didn't like him for who he was, then they could just shut their gobs and move on. He already had friends and he didn't need more.

Ron was fully back to his normal-self by the end of the first two periods, much to the relief of his friends. He even went over and talked to Hermione, Harry, and Neville just before lunch started, not caring one bit about who was watching. _Let them watch… I'll hex whoever tries anything against me…_

He sat down with the girls for lunch with a massive smile that he didn't need to fake, and he felt his stomach growl. _I'm starving! Wonder if they have a special Valentine's Day themed lunch._ They did not, but Ron wasn't put-off because he was still starving. Ron ate to bursting and ignored the girls who seemed revolted at his vicious eating techniques. Once he was finished, he let out a burp and instantly had to move because Daphne tried to smack him.

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed, a grin forming on his face.

"You are an animal Ronald Weasley" Daphne huffed, trying to stop her smile. "Eating like a Mountain Troll in front of Ladies of Noble Births."

"Noble Births…?" Ron said, grinning at Daphne. "You?" Daphne huffed in indignation and scowled at him.

"Yes. Me. I come from the…" Daphne started, but Tracey cut her off.

"Those are a lot of owls!" Tracey exclaimed, pointing them out. Ron looked to where she was pointing and he saw dozens upon dozens of owls flooding the Great Hall. _Merlin… maybe something bad has happened…_ Ron instantly got serious and alert at the thought. What could have happened? Did he miss something that his visions could have changed?

"They are delivering chocolates and love notes… It's Valentine's Day" Millie explained, slightly concerned with Ron's change of demeanor. She had noticed something odd about Ron which she had never brought up. His demeanor tended to just… change. One second he would be laughing and joking… and the next second he would be dead serious and a little scary… The same had happened just before he had turned in Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew… Not to mention that he had said nothing about Scabbers and then out of the blue he had caught onto the rat… It didn't make sense to Millicent.

"Oh…" Ron said, slowly relaxing. "Wait we could order chocolates? When did that happen?"

"The Headmaster told us a few days ago…" Daphne scowled, looking put off for some reason. "Boys…"

"Chivalry is dead!" Tracey joked, earning a laugh out of Millie and Ron but not from Daphne and Pansy.

"If chivalry means that I have to give out chocolates rather than eat them myself… then yeah it's dead!" Ron said with a laugh. Tracey and Millie laughed at that, while Pansy and Daphne scowled at him.

"So unromantic…" Pansy said with a huff. Daphne then huffed as well, pouting like a spoiled brat. _Haha she's so cute!_ Then he looked to the owls who were dropping packages all over the place. And much to his shock, quite a few owls were flying right at him. _What the…?_ Before he could finish that thought, nine different packages landed on him and on his plate. _Woah…_

"Ohhh…" Tracey cooed. "Someone is popular!" Ron went beet-red. _I got so many… Who would send me chocolates?_ Ron then looked around to see his female friends and noticed that they had all gotten chocolates too. Millie had one box, Tracey and Pansy had three boxes each, and Daphne had four boxes. Ron smiled at his nine boxes. _I… don't know what to say…_ Ron then looked to Daphne who was staring at his nine boxes with a dark look, it scared Ron a little.

"Daphne… are you okay?" Ron asked, bracing himself for a smack. Daphne turned her dark look to him.

"I'm fine" Daphne spat out, making Ron flinch. But he did not flinch from her words, instead it was because he knew what jealousy sounded like. _What is she jealous about? That I got more than her? She can literally buy a building full of chocolates with her family's money… Spoiled princess…_

"Hey, I didn't send these to myself… So don't get mad at me" Ron said, getting annoyed. "I didn't even know that we could send out chocolates…" That was apparently the wrong thing to say because Daphne's look got darker and she huffed loudly, got up, and just left with her own boxes. "What the hell…?" Ron asked his other friends, who were trying to hide their gazes from him. There was an awkward silence. _What is happening?!_

When no one said anything for a minute, Ron decided to open his boxes and see what he got. He recognized eight of the chocolate boxes because he had seen the different brands in various sweet shops before, but one box of chocolates seemed foreign to him. "Have you seen these before?" Ron asked, showing the remaining three girls the box. They all analyzed the box.

"No" Pansy and Mille said after a moment. _Damn…_ Ron then looked to Tracey who looked like she was remembering something.

"Cadbury… I've seen these before!" Tracey said with a smile. "These are Muggle chocolates, Ron! Now I wonder which Muggle-Born would send you chocolates…" Tracey said in a sly tone. Ron knew this wasn't something that he would enjoy hearing.

"A certain bushy-haired girl perhaps…?" Pansy joined in, grinning at Ron's ever increasing blush. "Awww… this is so cute!" _No bloody way she would… Wait… Would she?_ Ron then peeped over to the Gryffindor table, and he saw Hermione talking with Harry.

"Nine boxes though…" Millie piped up, making Ron look at her. "I knew you were popular but that is a lot of girls." Ron felt his ears burn in embarrassment. _That_ _ **is**_ _a lot of girls…_

"I'm not too surprised" Pansy provided.

"I am" Ron retorted. "I mean the only girls I talk to are you guys and Hermione… So who would send me all these…?" Pansy looked at Ron as if he was daft, making Ron shrink a bit into his seat.

"You are such a duffer, Ron" Pansy said in a giggle after a short second. "You were just in the Daily Prophet, not to mention everything else you've done so far at Hogwarts. You're quite famous… or infamous… amongst the four houses."

"And girls **loooove** a notorious man" Tracey cooed, and then she laughed at Ron's horrified face. _Really…? Never thought about this… This still doesn't explain Daphne's anger at me? What was she jealous about?_

"Is that why Daphne is mad?" Ron asked slowly. "That I got more chocolates than her?" The girls looked at Ron like he was an idiot… again. Then they broke into giggles and looks of disbelief.

"No one can be this stupid…" Pansy laughed at Ron. _Hey…_

"Ron clearly is" Tracey laughed as well. _HEY…_

"I'm sorry Ron, but you really are silly sometimes" Millie joined in with the other girls. _HEY!_

"HEY! Ease up, yeah?" Ron said, getting irked at being called stupid. The girls just laughed at him some more. And they kept laughing as Ron struggled to carry his nine boxes of chocolates down to the common room.

* * *

The group spent the rest of the day, after their lunch classes, eating chocolates and doing homework. Ron did his best to make it up to Daphne, but she would just shoot him dark glares and he would instantly shrink away from her. He was at the end of his wits, and only then did Tracey tell him what he had to do. Turns out, all he had to do was get Daphne some chocolates because she had gotten him some. Ron figured that Daphne was just annoyed because she had gotten him some, but he hadn't even bothered to think of her. Ron felt a little embarrassed at the thought of buying a girl, that wasn't one of his sisters, chocolates but he knew that he would rather do that than face Daphne's ire. So he ordered some in the Owl Mail Order before going to bed.

Ron was eating breakfast the next morning when an over-eager owl flew down in full-tilt at him. Ron had to duck for cover just to avoid losing an eye, and the sniggering of his house-mates and friends turned him beet-ret. _Damn owl is worse than Errol!_ The owl then came back around and this time it dropped a package on Ron, which Ron caught with surprising dexterity. The package was completely covered with brown packaging paper. Ron knew what was underneath the brown paper, so he chose not to open it. _I'm not giving her chocolates in front of the whole school… they'd mock me for the next seven years!_ His female friends, with the exception of Daphne who was eating quietly, were quite curious about it but he refused to tell them what it was. _I don't even know why Tracey is acting like she doesn't know, she told me to get them…_

Once breakfast ended, Ron traveled down to the common room for his books whilst still hiding the package from prying eyes. It was only when he was in his dorm did Ron finally tear off the brown packaging, revealing a box which contained heart shaped boxes. _Merlin… kill me…_ Ron then hid the chocolates under his blanket and left the dorm. _Time to go get Daphne… I'm really nervous for some reason… C'mon Weasley! You've killed a Mountain Troll! This is nothing…_ His thoughts helped settle his nerves a bit, but his palms were getting sweaty.

"Daphne" Ron said, catching the blonde girl's attention. _She isn't wearing the golden pin I got her…_

"What is it?" Daphne bit out. _It isn't too late to run away Weasley… No just do it!_

"Um… can I talk to you?" Ron asked, trying to smile but failing horribly. _Just bloody relax…_

"We are talking" Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at him sarcastically. It made him feel so… tiny. _Was she always this scary?_

"I meant… I meant in private… please" Ron pleaded. Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, and then after a second she huffed loudly.

"Fine."

"Thank you" Ron almost jumped for joy. _Halfway done Ron! Keep going._ Ron then led Daphne up to his dorm, and told her to wait outside. She gave him a curt nod, still holding her dark look. Ron then quickly ran into his room, grabbed the chocolates and hid them behind his back, and then he ran back outside to her.

"Well?" Daphne asked, still glaring at him. Ron gave her a sheepish smile, and then presented the box of chocolates. Daphne stared at them and her eye-widened a bit.

"I… I didn't know about the chocolate thing… I've been really distracted, and I'm sorry…" Ron muttered, turning bright red in the face. _This is worse than the troll! THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE!_ "I would have gotten you chocolates if I knew… I swear." _Please believe me… I know I'm lying but still…_ Daphne still hadn't said a word, and she was still staring at the chocolates. _Just take them you evil bint! Take them and save me from this anxiety!_ When Ron noticed a smile creeping onto her face, he almost sighed in relief. _It's over… She accepted…_

"Ron…" Daphne whispered, sounding like Millie when she cooed at her cat. "Thank you" she said, smiling happily at the box. She then took the box from him and gave him a huge smile. "Did you really mean it?"

"Are you asking if I would have gotten you chocolates if I knew?" Ron asked, a little worried that this wasn't over yet. She nodded, still smiling. _LIE!_ "Yes, I meant it." Daphne beamed at Ron, and then she did the one thing that he could never have predicted. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his left cheek. Ron's anxiety tripled and he almost passed out from shock. _What… just happened?_

"Good" Daphne said, smiling as happily as he'd ever seen her. Then she turned around and started walking back to the common room. Ron stood rooted to his spot, not sure about what had just happened. Right before she was about to disappear through the door she stopped, then she turned around and looked at him. Her cheeks had a stronger blush on them now. "You'd better not forget next year" she said, still smiling happily. Then she was gone. _Next year? What…?_

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini POV**_

 _Blaise,_

 _I won't be around for the Easter Break Holidays. Devon is taking me to Paris! I am so very excited about this! I will make sure to send you a souvenir!_

 _I expect that you are doing well in school. Make sure that you impress Draco Malfoy with your grades. His father is a powerful man, Blaise. He will take you far if you play your cards right._

 _As for your Holidays, you have my permission to spend it with the Nott family again. Make sure that you behave, and show them that I raised with respect. I have also put more money inside your trust account._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Clementine Zabini._

Blaise put the letter down, holding his mask of indifference in place. _Paris… I haven't seen her in over a year now…_ Blaise tossed the letter away with minimum effort and then he stared up at the ceiling, admiring the patterns that the Library's ceiling had. _I need to talk to Theo about staying over at his… Not that it matters. His father will probably be drunk the entire time we are there, so he won't even notice._ Blaise let out a tired sigh. His 'mother' didn't even care to find out who he was friends with apparently, because she believed that he was still following Draco around…

Blaise wasn't surprised in the least though. He was used to it. He didn't have a mother, he had a stranger who put money in his trust account… Blaise had spent more time in Nott Manor and Malfoy Manor than in his own home, which was barely used anymore by even his mother. She was always out looking for strong, wealthy men to ensnare with her smiles. _Damn fools… My mother is incapable of love…_

Blaise wasn't a fool however. Some would even say that he was quite intelligent, when he put the effort in. He knew all about his mother's streak of husbands, and the only thing that he didn't know was which of them had sired him. _I think it was number two… or maybe three… Who cares?_ The only thing that he did know about his father was that he was a Pure-Blood. His mother would never reproduce with anyone who had 'dirty blood'. The thought made Blaise's skin crawl. _Why did she even have me?_

The only good memory he had with his mother was when he was five. He had gotten sick, and she had spent the whole day nursing him by herself. Once he was feeling better, she had taken him outside and the two of them had sat under the stars. She had told him beautiful stories about the stars and who they were named after. His love for Astronomy was born that day. At first he had wanted to show her his own knowledge but after she had rebuffed his offer too many times to count, he simply gave up on that. Instead he learned more and more about the stars as a way of reliving that one beautiful night that he had spent with her. The one night that he felt like he had a mother.

* * *

Blaise was taken out of his happiest memory when a loud bell rang through the library. It was the end of his free periods, and now he had to go back to the common room to get ready for lunch. He was not looking forward to that… February was coming to an end, and he had spent the whole month with only Theo for company. He enjoyed Theo's company, there was no doubt about that, but he did miss his other friends. He missed Ron… That sense of longing had taken Blaise by surprise himself. Blaise was used to not expecting anything from anyone, but Ron had been… different. Ron gave far more than he took, and Ron never expected to be paid for his help. Ron helped because he wanted to, and that was something Blaise couldn't fathom. And now that was the one thing that Blaise missed the most.

Blaise had spent the whole month with Theo, and both of them had argued on most days. Theo was conflicted between keeping his own friendship with Ron and his utter hatred for Muggles, and that had made Theo volatile to say the least. Theo was usually calm and conniving, but seeing Theo in such a state had put Blaise in a situation that he had never been in. How was he meant to help Theo? Blaise had never helped anyone before, he was the one who was helped… Helped by Draco, then helped by Theo, and then helped by Ron. Blaise was not keen to go to lunch at all. He knew there was another fight ahead… _I should never have left Ron… But Theo needs me._

Blaise and Theo ate in silence, and for that Blaise was grateful. _I'm too tired to argue with Theo today._ But Blaise couldn't help but notice how subdued Theo looked, like he had just given up. _This can't go on… We need to choose and we need to do it soon._

Draco had wasted no time in approaching them after their split from Ron, promising them that he would look past their 'previous mistakes'. Theo had rejected Draco politely and then just walked away, leaving Draco shocked. But Blaise understood why Theo had refused the Malfoy heir, Theo was unsure of what to do. Theo still wanted to be friends with Ron but he knew that Ron would never accept his hatred towards Muggles. But all of that didn't matter now, they needed to choose soon because two people couldn't survive by themselves within Slytherin. They needed allies, or they would both become outcasts…

Blaise was ripped from his somber thoughts because of laughter. More specifically, laughter coming from the first year Slytherin girls. Blaise looked over to his former group of friends with as much subtlety as he could muster. _He's at it again… making them laugh themselves silly…_ Ron was talking animatedly with Daphne about something, and all four girls were laughing hysterically. Blaise then looked away towards the older students, and the sight made Blaise clench his jaw.

Some fourth years were glaring murder at Ron, without the red-head's knowledge. _This is bad… Why is he doing this?_ Blaise had noticed that around Valentine's Day, Ron had started to come back to his normal self. Ron openly associated with the Gryffindors, and he made as much noise as he always did on the dining table. It was as if Ron was challenging the other Slytherins to say something about it. _He is going to turn himself into Undesirable No. 1 if he doesn't stop…_

Blaise then looked at Theo to see if his weedy friend had noticed the same thing, Theo had noticed. Sensing Blaise looking at him, Theo turned his attention to him. Blaise and Theo held eye-contact for a few seconds, and then Theo proceeded with his meal. Blaise had to fight himself just to hide his annoyance at Theo.

"So that's it…? We're just going to ignore those looks?" Blaise said, bracing himself for another argument. "They are going to go after Ron… and you're just going to eat your chicken?" _Here it comes…_ Theo then put his fork down, and looked at Blaise with an angry glare. _Ugh… Should've kept my mouth shut…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley POV**_

Ron said his goodbyes to Harry, Neville, and Hermione as he departed from the library. They had just gone over their essays on the 'Antidote to Common Poisons' potion. Ron had enjoyed his time comparing notes with Hermione and getting the best possible essay prepared. Though he did feel bad for Harry and Neville because they weren't very good at Potions. _Harry isn't too bad… It's just that Snape hates him. But Neville… Neville is a menace in Potions._ Ron found himself musing on why Snape hated Harry so much, and it bothered Ron a bit. Snape was being unfair, there was no doubt about that. _But why? Maybe Snape is just a bully…?_ Ron didn't like that thought very much, mostly because he liked Snape. But Ron hated bullies, and if Snape kept this up, Ron wasn't sure what he would think of the Potions Master.

Ron was halfway down to the dungeons now, and he wasn't very keen on getting back. He still had to help the girls with their essays and he was utterly spent already. _Maybe I can convince them to wait until after dinner? Then at least I won't be starving as well as exhausted._ Ron finished coming down the stairs and he was now officially in Slytherin territory. Ron walked through an empty corridor whilst musing on how to convince the girls to give him a break. _Daphne will be the hardest to convince…_ "Well, well" came a boy's voice from behind Ron, making him jump slightly. Ron turned around and came face-to-face with three Slytherin fourth years, two boys and one girl. The fourth years were looking down their noses at him, and Ron felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. _What's this about? I don't like it…_

"The famous Troll Slayer" the girl spat out, her voice was shrilly and it grated Ron's ears. "Where are your Gryffindor friends? I just saw you in the library with them…" Ron couldn't help but notice the bitterness in her voice, and it annoyed him greatly. _What's her problem?_

"I imagine they went to their common room" Ron answered coolly, hoping to keep things civil. His tone and answer seemed to annoy the three older students.

"Draco Malfoy was right about you" the boy from before said, he had black hair whereas the other boy had light brown hair. "You are just a Blood-Traitor." Ron clenched his teeth at that, while the girl let out an annoying cackle. _I'm outnumbered… I need to get out of this… But I can't just turn tail and run!_

"The older students may like you because you make a lot of house points… But they won't be around forever…" the light brown haired boy said in a menacing tone. "The Triumvirate won't be there to protect you next year." _Wait… what? The Silver Triumvirate is looking out for me? Why? Who are they?! I still don't know anything about them…_

"I don't know why they bother" the girl spat out, smirking at Ron. "Slytherin always wins the House Cup anyway… we don't need trash like you…" Ron just stared at her in annoyance. _Someone's jealous… I can see it clear as day._

"Perhaps they need 'trash' like me" Ron said with his own smirk, which caught the three older students off guard. _I'm no one's punching bag! If they want a fight, then I will give them one!_ "Tell me, how many points have you three morons earned in total? Not many I'd wager…" Ron trailed off on purpose, smirking at the angry girl. "I'd even wager that you want to be the Silver Triumvirate in your seventh year… but I doubt you'd make the cut… Even 'trash' like me can see that."

"You arrogant little shit" the black haired boy bit out. Then he removed his wand quickly and pointed it straight at Ron's chest. "Petrificus Totalus" the boy yelled, making Ron go wide-eyed from shock. White light shot out from the boy's wand and it went straight towards Ron. _Shi…_ Ron couldn't even finish the thought before the light reached him. Just as the curse was about to hit him, it bounced off and went straight at the boy who cast it. The boy froze in his spot and then fell over, paralyzed by his own spell.

"How…" muttered the girl, her eyes popping open in shock as she stared at her paralyzed friend. _What just happened…?_ Ron then felt something hot on his middle finger, on his right hand. Ron looked down slowly and noticed that the runes on the ring which Pandora had given him for Christmas were faintly glowing golden. _The ring! Pandora said it had Runes of Protection or something… WICKED!_ Ron slowly moved his right hand behind his back, hoping to hide the ring from the two shocked Slytherins.

"How did you…?" muttered the brown haired boy, who was also staring at the paralyzed Slytherin. _Relax… play this right Ron! Don't give anything away!_

"How did I what?" Ron asked in his most innocent voice, but a small amount of excitement showed through. This was just too good to be true! The two Slytherins looked at Ron, and his faint smirk must have scared them because they started stepping away from Ron slowly. "Are you two scared?" Ron asked in his innocent voice again. _Time to send a message!_ "I suggest you spread the word… Don't come after me or my friends. It won't end well for you…" Ron threatened in a calm and collected manner. Then Ron turned around and continued his walk to the Slytherin common room. _This ring is so wicked! I love Pandora!_

* * *

Ron ate dinner with a grin on his face, the memory of putting those fourth years in their place being the culprit. Daphne was pouting because Ron had decided not to help her with her essay until after dinner, and Ron thought it was hilarious. _She is so spoiled!_

"You'd better help me after this" Daphne snapped, noticing his grin being pointed at her.

"Ahem… help us?" Tracey said, frowning at Daphne.

"That's what I meant" Daphne said, returning Tracey's frown. _Bloody hell they are going to start fighting… That'll ruin my fun._

"Of course, I'll help" Ron said, trying to turn his grin into a smile.

"Good" Daphne said in a huff. Ron looked over to Tracey, who was still frowning at Daphne.

"Tracey?" Ron said, hoping to ease her mind. Tracey looked over to him and her frown turned into a faint smile.

"Thank you, Ron" Tracey said, a sudden mischievous glint appearing in her eyes. "I've been having trouble with Transfiguration as well… so after the essay, can you please help me with that… in private" Tracey said, her voice was shy but Ron could tell that that her shyness was an act. Her ever growing grin gave it away. _What's she up to now? I swear these girls are going to kill me at this rate…_

"Sure thing, Trace…" Ron said slowly, hoping to Merlin that he wasn't walking into a trap. As Ron was staring at Tracey with apprehension, he missed Daphne's features growing dark.

"Thanks Ron" Tracey said, batting her eyes at Ron. _Ok what the bloody hell is this… Why do I feel like something horrible is about to happen to me?_

"Daphne are you alright?" Millie asked in genuine concern. "You look really pale…"

"I'm fine… Millie…" Daphne said in a low tone, making Ron shiver. _She doesn't sound or look fine…_ "Let's just eat our dinner and then do our homework, is that alright with everyone? Good… let's do that…" Daphne said in her low voice, Ron had to note that she sounded really creepy.

Dinner ended shortly after that, and Ron felt ever increasing dread from Daphne's demeanor. Once they were all sitting in their favorite spot, Ron started helping them with their homework while also checking for any errors in his own essay. The mood was getting better slowly, but Ron couldn't help but notice the glares Daphne was shooting Tracey every other minute. Tracey however, was just grinning ear-to-ear. Ron was thoroughly confused and in the end, he decided to just ignore it. _The girls have all been acting so weird lately… Especially after Valentine's Day. What a stupid day!_

Once their work was finished, Ron looked to Tracey who was packing away her quills and parchment. "Do you still need help with Transfiguration? I've got some spare time…" Ron asked. Tracey looked at him with a smile.

"No it's alright Ron" Tracey said, smiling at how slow Ron was. He was a genius… but he was so slow! "I'll figure it out myself, shouldn't be too hard I reckon!" Ron gave her a slow nod, confusion marking his face. _Whatever… I'm tired and I want to sleep anyway._ Ron then bid the girls goodnight and marched off to his dorm. As soon as he went through the door, he spotted Theo standing in the middle of the room.

"Hi…" Theo said, looking at Ron sheepishly. Ron had the air knocked out of him. _Did Theo just… Did he just talk to me?_

"Hi…" Ron said after a short moment. There was an awkward pause where both boys were just looking at each other. _Ok… this might be worse than being ignored…_

"I heard something at dinner" Theo said suddenly. "Some fourth year girl was raving about how you deflected a curse without even moving a muscle…" Theo paused at that, smiling faintly at Ron's brilliance. Theo wished he was born with some of it… If he had been, then maybe his mother would still be alive…

"I did…" Ron said. _I'm not really lying… But I'm going to keep the ring a secret. Only a fool gives away their move before making it…_

"Bloody hell…" Theo muttered in disbelief.

"Charming language" Ron said, faintly smiling at the memory of Theo and Ron's earlier interactions. Theo must have remembered too because he let out a small chuckle. Then Theo looked at Ron seriously, his eyes were hard and he seemed to be steeling himself for something.

"Can we talk? Just you and me?" Theo asked firmly. Ron gave a strong nod. _I can win them both back… I have to try!_

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass POV**_

"Why do you always do that?" Daphne asked, her voice shaking with irritation. _She is always pushing me for no reason!_ They were back in the girl's dorms after finishing their packing from their study session with Ron.

"Do what?" Tracey asked innocently, her sly smile grating Daphne's nerves. _SHE KNOWS WHAT!_

"You know that I like Ron… and you always throw that in my face!" Daphne snapped. "You've been doing it more and more this last month!"

"Have I?" Tracey asked, putting her index finger on her own chin. "I haven't noticed…" _UGH!_ Daphne glared murder at her best friend.

"Please don't fight…" Millie piped in, she was sitting on her bed.

"Millie is right" Pansy jumped in, trying to calm down the tense atmosphere. "We can just talk about this in a civil way. We are all Ladies…"

"Are we?" Tracey said, shooting Pansy a glare. "I didn't think that you saw me as a 'Lady', Pansy." Pansy flinched a bit at that. Pansy still felt out of place with the girls. Tracey was far more hostile behind closed doors than in front of Ron.

"I didn't mean…" Pansy started slowly, but she was cut off by Daphne.

"What is your problem Tracey?!" Daphne shouted. _Why is she acting like such a… such a bitch!_

"I don't have a problem" Tracey said, looking at Daphne with a mask of indifference. It took Daphne by surprise because it looked so out of place on Tracey. "It's you that has a problem…" _ME?!_

"Really? Enlighten us all then Trace!" Daphne challenged, getting more annoyed at Tracey.

"You have been acting like Ron belongs to you… like he is just some possession that you don't want to share…" Tracey said in a calm, but cutting voice. _What… That's not even true!_

"What are you talking about?" Daphne questioned, getting angry at how preposterous Tracey was being.

"Just ask them" Tracey said, nodding towards Pansy and Mille. Daphne looked at them, but they looked away from her. _Are they… avoiding my gaze? Do they agree with Tracey?!_

"WELL?!" Daphne asked, anger getting the better of her. Pansy and Mille jumped a little at that, but they didn't say anything. _I don't treat Ron like that!_

"See…" Tracey said calmly. "Even they agree…"

"I don't do that…" Daphne grit out, almost ready to hex her best friend.

"Yes you do…" Tracey said immediately. "Ever since you got your little crush on him, you've become increasingly more possessive of him. If he doesn't pay you any attention, you pout and take out your frustrations on us. And ever since we lost… Since Theo and Blaise **left** , you've become even worse" Tracey paused, and then started again. "He is our friend as well, not just yours" Tracey said firmly. Daphne was lost for words for a few seconds. _They all feel that way…? It's not true though!_

"I'm not possessive…" Daphne said in a whisper, still reeling from Tracey's tongue-lashing.

"You are a bit…" Millie piped in, shocking Daphne. Millie never stood up to people…

"Just a bit…" Pansy said, smiling awkwardly at Daphne. _What?!_

"See!" Tracey exclaimed. "Even they agree with me! Do you remember Valentine's Day? Because we all do! Even with everything that Ron was going through, you didn't care one bit! All you cared about was if he got you some stupid chocolates! And then you treated him like dirt the entire day! What's wrong with you Daphne?! Can't you live with the fact that you can't own everything?!" Tracey was fuming by the end, and Daphne felt her eyes stinging. _I'm not like that…_

"Not to mention that you don't even let **us** sit with him" Tracey continued. "You glare murder at poor Ron if he ever spends some time alone with us! Can't you understand how unreasonable that is?! He doesn't even see you like that!" Tracey finished in a yell, her face completely flushed with anger. She hated yelling at Daphne, but someone had to do it. Daphne was just piling onto Ron's problems and Tracey wouldn't stand for it. "Stop piling more problems on him Daph, or I swear to Merlin…" Tracey gritted out. Then she turned around and marched into the adjoining bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Daphne was stunned into silence after witnessing Tracey so angry with her. Was she really adding to Ron's problems? _He's been so loud and happy lately… Did I miss something again?_ "Give her some time to cool off, Daphne" Millie said in a soft tone. "Some third year Slytherin girls were picking on her today…" _They were?_

"When?" Daphne muttered, still looking at the bathroom door.

"Just after Ron left to go to the library… Millie found Tracey being harassed in the girls' bathroom…" Pansy said, feeling guilty for no reason. She had done nothing to Tracey since joining the group, but that didn't excuse her actions prior to joining.

"I don't… I don't act like that with Ron… Do I?" Daphne whispered, unsure of her own actions. When Pansy and Millie didn't say anything, Daphne's question was answered. _No… I just… He doesn't mind… does he?_

There was a short awkward pause, and after that all three girls got into their beds. _Trace still hasn't come out yet…_ Daphne waited for another ten minutes before she heard the bathroom door open and then shut. Tracey then climbed into Daphne's bed and hugged her best friend from behind. "I'm sorry Daph" Tracey whispered, her voice sounded cracked like she had been crying. Daphne shook her head, and let out a guilty breath.

"I'm sorry too…" Daphne whispered back, and Tracey hugged her more tightly. Tracey slept in Daphne's bed that night, like she had done so many times before Hogwarts. But Daphne didn't sleep for another two hours. _Why didn't she say anything about being picked on…?_ And then Tracey's own words rang through Daphne's head. _Stop piling more problems on him… Is that why she didn't say anything? She didn't want to worry Ron?_

Daphne felt a pang of guilt when she compared Tracey's selfless actions compared to her own bossy and needy ones. _I was horrible to him… over chocolates… He told me he was distracted, but I didn't care one bit._ Daphne felt another strong pang of guilt, and her eyes teared up again. _I'm horrible…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I know this was probably a depressing chapter, especially because of the group being torn up because of expectations and family values... but I had to do it. This is one of the themes of this story, choosing your own place in the world. Standing by what you believe is right! Hope you enjoyed Blaise and Daphne's POVs.** **See you on the next one!**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Game is Afoot

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: HOLD UP! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! Indeed my friends! It was supposed to be one chapter, but it got way too long so I cut it in half! Here is 'Chapter' 15. Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. Yes it is emotional again... sorry.**

 **2\. These are some troubled kids haha! Love that shit!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 15 – The Game Is Afoot**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

"Where's Blaise?" Ron asked. Ron could only hope that Theo didn't take that the wrong way, but Ron wanted to them both to come back.

"He just went into the bathroom… to shower, I think" Theo replied. "Ron… listen… what I said about Muggles…" Theo then trailed off, seemingly lost for words. _When is he ever lost for words? This is going to be hard, isn't it?_

"Barbaric scum… those were the words you used" Ron provided, still shocked from the hate that Theo had spoken with. _How did I never notice that he hated them so much?_

"Yeah… that… I know that you and your family don't see them that way. But I do… as does my father" Theo all but whispered the last few words. "I wanted… No… Blaise and I wanted you to see them the way we do, the Muggles and Muggle-Borns that is. We thought that we could slowly… I don't know… change your mind" Theo continued, looking down at his feet. Ron could tell that this wasn't easy for Theo. Theo was used to taking the easy way out of things, he wasn't used to confronting his problems head on.

"Why?" Ron asked, curious about what was driving Theo and Blaise's actions. Theo stiffened but slowly relaxed a little.

"It's personal…" Theo said meekly. _Personal? That's not good enough… not when they both were trying to manipulate me…_

"Personal…" Ron muttered, feeling slightly irked at Theo's response. "You were trying to manipulate my ideals… but you won't even tell me why?" Theo flinched at that.

"We didn't… once you became friends with Granger… After the troll… We stopped. I swear it" Theo said, looking up at Ron and hoping that the red-haired prodigy would believe him. It was the truth.

"Wait…" Ron muttered, remembering Theo's early lessons and words. "You were teaching me Pure-Blood etiquette… you said that you would make a proper Slytherin out of me… Is that what you meant?!" Ron was starting to lose his temper. How long were these two just playing at being his friends? How long had they been plotting behind his back? _And then when I lost my appeal… They just left…_

"Ron…" Theo began, sensing that Ron's infamous temper was getting the better of him. "At first we were… But after… after we all saw what happened with the troll, after we realized how far you would go for the sake of other people… Things changed! Please believe me."

"Things changed… How?!" Ron said, failing to calm down. _I worked my arse off just to find a place in this House… and the two people who I thought were on my side…. They were just leeching off of me… And when I needed them, when I really needed them… they ran off!_

"Blaise and I, we saw you differently… And when you tried to make peace with Malfoy for our sakes… We decided that you were you because of your ideals. And we stopped! We even looked past your friendship with Granger…" Theo bit his tongue. That was a stupid thing to say, he knew it the moment it slipped out of his mouth.

"Looked past? LOOKED PAST?! What give you the right to judge my friendships?! YOU! You, who ran off the moment things turned sour! LIKE A BLOODY COWARD!" Ron yelled, furious at how selfish Theo and Blaise truly were. Theo flinched again but harder this time. "If there was a troll going after you or Blaise… I would have faced it to protect you… and you left just because some gits were turning on me! You Slytherins…" Ron trailed off, remembering how quickly the Slytherins had turned on him. _The Triumvirate… they are only using me too. No one in this house gives a damn about each other…_

Theo was stunned into silence by Ron's harsh, but true, words. Theo knew that if there was a troll between him and Ron, then Ron would have faced the troll to protect Theo. After all, Ron had done it for Granger…

"The girls…" Ron muttered, shaking his head at the realization he had come to. "The girls stayed with me… despite everything… and this entire time, all I wanted was for you and Blaise to come back… I didn't even thank them properly for choosing me over the other Slytherins… All I wanted was for you and Blaise to come back… my best friends…" Ron felt sick of himself, sick of how he had moped around and let the girls pick up after him. Sick of how much worry he had caused them while he mourned for two selfish bastards to come back. _Why do I always do things like this…? Why am I so…?_

Both boys had stinging eyes, both of them disgusted by themselves. Ron felt ashamed for not appreciating the friends he did have, but instead longing for those who had left him. Theo felt ashamed that despite his childhood beliefs of himself being superior, he was in fact just a coward. Theo knew deep down that he had left Ron not only because he didn't approve of Ron's friends, but mostly because Theo was afraid of the older Slytherins turning on him. There was a short pause, and it was heavy with unspoken pain and tension.

"You're right…" Theo muttered, breaking the silence. His voice was strained, and he was looking up at the ceiling. "I am a coward… this entire time, Blaise and I have been fighting about what to do… He wanted to come back, to join the group again… But he couldn't. All because I didn't have it in me to have this conversation… I was… scared of what you might say…" Theo then let out a wet laugh that sounded very close to a sob. "We were allies… and I walked away when you needed me…"

Ron rubbed his eyes harshly, he wasn't sure how he felt about Theo anymore. Ron knew that within the group, Theo was the most conniving out of them all but Ron had hoped that Theo wasn't the stereotypical Slytherin. _I was wrong about him… Even Blaise had the spine to try and come back… to apologize…_

"So why talk to me now?" Ron said, feeling emotionally drained. "Why now?"

"Because we have to choose… I'm holding Blaise back… I'm losing track on my own ambitions over this… Blaise is losing his own for my sake… The older students, they don't even look at us anymore… They know our words mean nothing…" Theo said softly. He was done lying to Ron. If Ron would have him back even after this mess, then Theo wouldn't leave him again. He didn't want to play the coward… not anymore. Not when people like Ron, Blaise, and the girls had once called him their friend.

"So that's it…? You grew a spine because you were afraid that others may look at you in a bad light?" Ron asked. _He still hasn't apologized…_ Theo shook his head at that, and then looked at Ron with teary eyes.

"No… I… we missed the group… We missed you, Ron" Theo said, looking at Ron with a remorseful smile. "We missed the laughter… the banter… doing homework together… eating together… running at the lake… practicing spells together… playing chess all night…" Theo cried, his voice breaking as he went on. "I'm so sorry Ron… I shouldn't have left…" Theo sniffed, looking down in shame.

All that Pure-Blood pride being shattered by his own cowardice. If his mother was alive to see that he had broken his friendship with someone as brilliant as Ron over something so shallow, he knew that her heart would break. _He finally apologized…_

Ron looked at his former friend, and he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the crying boy. Ron didn't know how it felt to abandon others, but he did know when a person was admitting that they had made a mistake. Ron had made more than his fair share with his siblings.

"You want to come back? After everything…" Ron asked, even though he knew that Theo did. _I want to hear him say it. I want to hear him say those words…_

"I do…" Theo said with a short nod, he was still crying. "We do…" Ron looked at Theo for a few long moments, and then he decided on what he would do.

"Then you'd best be awake by six tomorrow morning… I won't lose any time on my run if you aren't awake…" Ron said in a firm tone, looking Theo in his eyes. And then Ron walked over to his bed and closed the curtains, leaving Theo behind to come to terms with his decision. _One last chance… if they leave again… Then they can rot away for all I care…_ With that, Ron settled down on his bed and went to sleep.

Theo stood there for a few more moments, and then he heard the bathroom door open. Theo turned and faced Blaise, who had clearly been listening in on them the entire time. They both gave each other nods, and then went to their own beds. As Theo was drifting off to sleep, he came to a decision. He was done being a coward. His mother had raised him better than that. He wouldn't shame her memory by acting like a coward again.

* * *

Ron woke up to the sound of shuffling feet around the dorm, and he slowly dragged himself out of bed. _What time is it? If I could have five more minutes…_

"Good morning" Theo said, noticing Ron slinking out of his bed. Ron then looked over to Theo and noticed that the boy was already in his running gear. Ron then looked around and saw that Blaise wasn't in the dorm, and that the bathroom door was shut.

"Morning" Ron returned the greeting. "I see you're ready… Is Blaise joining us?"

"Yes… he's getting changed in the bathroom… It's almost six" Theo muttered, no doubt still reeling from last night. _Me too… Merlin that was heavy…_ Ron then quietly began taking out his running gear from his trunk. _What am I even supposed to say? How do I talk casually with him after… after everything?_

"Thanks… Ron" Theo said from behind Ron. Ron slowly turned and faced Theo, his running gear in his hands. "For letting Blaise and I come back… I don't know if I could have done the same…" _You wouldn't… Not unless it benefitted you… Isn't that right, Theo?_

"Yeah…" was all Ron could manage. _Bloody hell… how am I going to explain this to the girls? Daphne is going to rip me to shreds for bringing them back without consulting with them…_ The bathroom door then opened and Blaise stepped through, dressed in running gear. Ron and Blaise looked at each for a few awkward moments.

"Hey…" Blaise said, his indifferent mask still on. _Damn statue…_

"Hey…" Ron said back, and then Ron made his way past Blaise and shut the bathroom door behind himself. He washed up a little and then dressed himself in his running gear, ready to finally go out and run in the cool morning breeze. _That sounds heavenly…_ He needed some fresh air, and he needed it badly.

The boys went out to the lake quietly and did their run quietly as well. Ron really didn't know what to say, and he was hoping that Theo and Blaise would start a damn conversation already. Seeing them this subdued was really getting to him. Then an idea clicked in his brain, one that he knew would take away some of the tension.

"Good run" Ron said, exhaling through his mouth. Theo and Blaise were far more knackered, but they nodded in agreement nonetheless. "Did you bring your wands?" Ron asked, looking to the two boys. They both looked at him, and then slowly nodded. "Good, let's see what you remember…" Ron said with a grin. This got smiles out of his two companions.

Theo and Blaise then took out their wands, and the three boys went over disarming charms and other incapacitating spells. Ron was questioned by Theo about how he had deflected a curse without even moving, and Ron had simply stated that it was his own secret and that he didn't want to share it… yet. Theo and Blaise respected that, no doubt doing their best not to push Ron in any way.

After spending an hour out by the lake, the boys then went back to their dorms to get ready for the day. Luckily not many people were in the common room yet, and so Ron had the luck to avoid the awkward conversation with the girls. _For at least a little while… Breakfast will be served in an hour…_ Ron shook his head in a tired manner at that realization.

"So… how is this going to work? How do we tell the girls?" Blaise asked when they entered the dorm. Ron was taken a back a bit by the sudden questions. _Guess we should plan something…_

"I don't know…" Ron said, unsure of how to even proceed.

"Do we go back to the way things were… like nothing happened?" Blaise further questioned.

"I don't know Blaise… I don't have all the answers…" Ron said, getting irked by the fact that they were just expecting him to clean up their mess. "Maybe you both should apologize to the girls… It wasn't just me that you two walked away from…" Blaise and Theo seemed to flinch at that, making Ron feel a bit guilty. _I need to stop hitting that sore spot…_ "Sorry" Ron muttered.

"No… no you're right" Theo said, looking as if some plan was already forming in his head. _Good, that's the Theo I know and prefer._ "You can tell the girls that we worked things out, and then Blaise and I can apologize… Then we hope for the best."

"Alright then, I'll go down to breakfast first and let them know" Ron summarized. "You guys wait twenty minutes and then join us. Come up with something good… maybe shed a few tears" Ron joked, grinning at Theo. Theo looked at Ron with an annoyed expression, and then he slowly smiled.

"Sod off, Weasley" Theo grinned back.

* * *

Ron sat down at the Slytherin table with the girls and was about to begin his story about Theo and Blaise, but something else caught his eye. Pansy was sitting next to him, and Daphne was sitting in Pansy's usual spot. _Um… Is Daphne mad at me? Things were going great! What did I do?_ The girls noticed him looking back and forth between Pansy and Daphne, not that it was hard to notice.

"What?" Daphne asked, looking at Ron like he had three heads. _Concentrate Ron, Blaise and Theo will be down soon and you need to lay the groundwork!_

"Um… nothing" Ron said, shaking his head. "So last night, after we finished our homework, Theo and I talked back in our dorm." Ron was about to continue but Tracey cut him off.

"You talked?!" Tracey exclaimed, taking Ron by surprise. "Well, what did he want? I hope you didn't forgive him just like that and let him back in!" _Um… shite…. Well that broom may have already… flown…_ Ron looked around, and all the girls except Pansy held a similar look amongst them. They looked suspicious.

"Um… maybe…" Ron all but whispered, going red in the ears. _I BUNGLED IT! Theo… Blaise… please don't come down here!_ The girls were just staring at Ron like he was a moron, so Ron looked to Pansy for support.

"I don't… think I have much of a say" Pansy said, hoping Ron would look elsewhere. She didn't want to risk her recovering friendship with the girls.

"Of course you do" Daphne interjected, looking at Pansy with a furrowed brow. _Wait… am I safe from their wrath?_ "We will talk about that later Pansy! Right now, I need to ask Ronald why he came out so stupid!" _Nope… there it is…_

"I'm not stupid… just listen please" Ron said, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Theo and I talked… for a while and we both said some… things. Look, I think that they both regret leaving and I decided to give them one more chance… You can't tell me that you all didn't miss them… I know you did. I did as well, so I figured… why not give them one more chance?" Ron finished, hoping that he was changing their minds.

"Would they have given you that same chance?" Tracey asked. "Theo slammed the door in my face when I went after him… If the positions were turned… Would they give you a chance?" Ron looked at Tracey, and she seemed genuinely curious about his response. _What would they do?_

"It doesn't matter…" Ron said, coming to answer. "If I had done a runner… and then I wanted to come back… I'd hope that they would give me another chance. Theo and Blaise came back hoping that I would, and I… I gave them a chance. What they would have done is irrelevant, all that matters right now is that I had the choice" Ron finished, looking to the girls.

They looked conflicted, but he could tell that he was winning them over. He just needed to push a little more, but not too much. "We're friends… friends give second chances" Ron said softly. And that did it! The girls looked at him with faint smiles, except Millie who was smiling ear-to-ear.

"Ok…" Tracey said, losing her fire. "But if they ever do something like this again…"

"They won't" Ron cut in. "And if they do, I'll throw them out myself…" _That's a promise!_

They all then waited for Theo and Blaise to make their entrance, which happened ten minutes later. The two boys sat down awkwardly next Ron, and looked to their former friends. The atmosphere was tense, mainly because all the girls except Pansy were glaring daggers at Theo and Blaise. Ron nudged Theo, hoping that the weedy boy would start his apology already.

"I'm sorry…" Theo said, looking at everyone. "I'm sorry for leaving… and I'm sorry for slamming the door in your face Tracey…" _Damn this is awkward…_

"I'm sorry too" Blaise said, his face was indifferent but his eyes were a little wet. "It won't happen again." _That's it? What happened to 'come up with something good'?_ There was a short awkward pause, in which none of them even moved.

"It better not" Daphne huffed, breaking the silence. "You're lucky that Ron is a sentimental moron!" _HUH?!_

"HEY! Why am I getting targeted here?!" Ron complained, getting caught off guard.

"It was a compliment" Daphne said, glaring mockingly at Ron.

"HOW?!" Ron asked.

"Being sentimental isn't necessarily a bad thing" Millie piped in. "It means that you're sweet."

"It's the 'moron' part that is the insult Millie…" Ron explained. Theo and Blaise chuckled at that, and then the girls laughed too. It was a little awkward, but it was better than silence. _Oh… Daphne was trying to ease things… I'm terrible at this sappy nonsense._

They all began their breakfast in earnest, accompanied by soft conversation. They avoided anything awkward or controversial like Peter Pettigrew and Death-Eaters. All in all, things were finally looking up for their little group. Ron could tell just how sorry both Theo and Blaise were. Especially Theo, as he kept apologizing to Tracey who was huffing much like Daphne to milk the situation. _Yeah… Things are looking up again!_

* * *

Ron woke up in his bed, and it was the morning of March the First, 1992. He was officially twelve years old now. _A year closer to the war…_ Ron shook the thought out of his head. He wasn't going to mope around today. It was his birthday, and despite having classes, he was looking forward to it! He hadn't told him friends that it was his birthday, simply because they had never told him theirs. _We are an odd lot… aren't we? Guess I'll blame Salazar for that…_

Ron was eating breakfast with gusto, while his friends watched in disgust. Theo and Blaise were sitting on either side of him, while the girls sat across from him. _This feels right! It's only been a couple of days, but things are actually starting to feel normal again! Thank Merlin for the Slytherin trait of 'burying emotions'…_

"Ron…" Theo began slowly. "Would you prefer it if I put your plate on the ground?" _Huh?_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, curious about the odd question.

"Well if you are going to eat like a dog… You might as well do it properly" Theo chuckled. Ron grimaced at Theo, and the rest of their friends stifled their laughs at Ron. Theo grinned at Ron, and Ron was just about to retort when a loud hoot caught his attention. Ron looked up to see two owls flying down at him with wrapped boxes. Well… one owl was flying, the other was free-falling. _Errol? OH MERLIN!_

Errol slammed into the plate of bacon in front of Ron, making his friends jump in panic. While the other owl just dropped its package from midair and flew back out. Ron stood up and caught the package before it hit Theo, and then he sat back down. "Nice catch" Tracey giggled, looking at Errol as the barmy owl was trying to eat the bacon instead of delivering its package.

"Two packages!" Daphne exclaimed. "Must be your birthday" she joked.

"It is" Ron said casually as he picked up Errol's package from the table. Then he shooed Errol away.

"What?" Daphne muttered. "It is?"

"Yeah, these are probably from my family" Ron said, opening Errol's package first because it was slightly bigger. He missed his friends staring at him wide-eyed. Ron pulled out a white sweater from Errol's package, and he almost laughed with joy when he saw the green Slytherin emblem knitted on it. _MUM! This is great!_ It made his heart swell with joy to see his mother working so hard to show him that she loved him. _I love you too mum…_

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Daphne questioned a little too loudly. Ron was taken out of his thoughts and he looked at her with shock.

"Um… I don't really know when your birthdays are… You guys never told me…" Ron tried to explain, but Daphne's glare broke his resolve in seconds. _How does she do this? I've faced and defeated a Mountain Troll… but she still scares me!_ Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, looking annoyed about something that Ron didn't even want to bother contemplating.

"Mine's on the Twenty-sixth of August… if anyone cares" Tracey piped in, her sense of humor saving the day once again.

"I care" Ron grinned at her, and she grinned back. "Mine's on the First of March!"

"I noticed" Tracey giggled. Ron put the sweater back in the box and moved to open the second box. Just as he was opening it, Daphne got out of her seat and everyone looked at her.

"What are you doing?" Blaise asked.

"I have to go do something… I'll see you all in classes" Daphne said, and then she left in a hurry.

"What was that…?" Theo said, looking at Daphne's leaving figure. _Wish I knew…_

Ron shook his head and opened the second box. Inside the box was a book clad in black leather and was labeled 'Chess Masters through the Ages' in golden letters. _Woah!_ Ron took the book out and examined it. "What's that?" Pansy asked, curious about the suspicious black leather book. It looked like something she would find in her father's restricted library.

"It's a book about famous Chess Masters!" Ron said excitedly as he opened the book. A small card fell out and Theo picked it up and read it aloud.

"Lots of love from the Lovegoods! Happy Birthday Ron!" Theo read. Ron glared at Theo for a second before shrugging his shoulders at his friend's rude behavior.

"Don't read other people's things, Theo" Millie scolded. Everyone was a little taken aback by this but they didn't say a word. _Millie is actually standing up to people around her… Good for her! She used to be really quiet._

"WAIT!" Theo said suddenly, and rather loudly. It earned him annoyed looks from the other Slytherins and shocked ones from his friends. "You're twelve today! Do you remember the Junior League Tournament I told you about? It was back at the start of the school year." Ron recalled Theo mentioning it once. _Oh yeah… I was supposed to look into it. But then all the crazy things started happening and I completely forgot…_

"Well?" Theo asked, and Ron nodded at him. "You can sign up for it. The signing up is held at Diagon Alley. The Junior League Tournament comprises of witches and wizards who are between the ages of twelve and fifteen. The first week is a made up of matches which determine the top eight, and then during the second week the actual tournament is held. Ron you could win this thing! We all know how skilled you are at chess and if you want to succeed at becoming a Chess Master, then you need to start as early as possible." Theo explained excitedly, and his attitude was infectious. Ron and the girls were getting excited about this, while Blaise held his cold demeanor.

"You… think I can win?" Ron asked, seriously considering this. Blaise chuckled at hearing Ron say that that.

"I've learnt to never bet against you Ron" Blaise said with a faint smile. "Theo this is a brilliant idea. How do we sign Ron up?" _Wait…_

"Yeah quick tell us" Tracey chimed in, smiling in excitement. _Hold on a second…_

"Ron has to sign up with a guardian or a representative of his school at Diagon Alley. I think the signup is held at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore." Theo said, trying to remember the details. It had been a while since he talked about this with Mr. Greengrass. _Don't I get a say?_

"He needs permission from the Headmaster then" Pansy said quickly. "Only then will he be allowed to floo down to Diagon Alley… and he'd need a teacher to accompany him as well."

"Can we slow down a little…? I'm not sure…" Ron started but was cut off by Millie.

"Ron you have to do this!" Millie said in excitement. "There's money to be made, the Slytherins will love the good publicity, and it will help you with your ambitions! Not to mention the prestige that it will bestow upon your family's good name!" _My ambitions… have nothing to do with chess… But she did make one good point! Money!_

"And how much money would I be making?" Ron asked, a sly smile creeping onto his face. Theo chuckled at Ron's blatant greed for wealth.

"I don't know, but this is a sponsored event Ron" Theo explained further. "There would be a decent prize pool. Not to mention that real Chess Masters sometimes attend these events…" Theo paused and grinned at Ron. "They like to find protégés at these events which feature young, and promising students." Ron beamed at hearing that. _I could learn from an actual Chess Master… Merlin…_

"Okay… Okay, I'm in" Ron said with a smile. Millie, Pansy, and Tracey squealed in excitement, while Theo and Blaise gave Ron encouraging pats on his back.

"The Headmaster is eating breakfast right now" Pansy said, grinning ear-to-ear. "We should go and talk to him now!" _WHAT THE HELL? NO!_

"She's right, you don't have a second to lose" Theo said, and then he stood up and started dragging Ron up.

"Theo wait… My presents…" Ron started but Blaise cut him off.

"I'll watch over them for you" Blaise said with a devious smirk. WATCH OVER THEM _MY ARSE! Look at that smirk!_

Theo and Pansy made their way to the staff table, dragging Ron behind them. Ron was staring at a smirking Blaise and a giggling Tracey with horrified eyes. Before Ron knew it, all three of them were standing in front of Dumbledore. The Headmaster was smiling softly at them, his eyes twinkling in joy.

"And how may I assist you?" Dumbledore asked in a kind voice. He couldn't help but smile at how excited the Slytherin children were because of Ron's influence. They all deserved to grow up smiling.

"Headmaster, Ron has something to ask of you" Theo provided, and then he lightly shoved Ron forward. Dumbledore turned to Ron with a wider smile. This boy was always up to something!

"Good morning, Sir" Ron said with a respectful bow. _This is happening so fast._ Ron quickly glanced at Snape's seat, and the Potion Master who occupied it. Snape was looking at Ron with an indifferent face, and it made Ron squirm. _Be respectful, and don't give him a reason to chew you out later…_

"Good morning, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled at the boy's respectful bow. No doubt Snape was watching the boy like a hawk.

"Sir, there is a Junior League Tournament for Chess happening in Diagon Alley in the second half of March" Ron began. "Is it possible if I could sign up for it? I turned twelve today and Theo told me that I qualify for it now."

"Happy Birthday Ronald" Dumbledore said softly. "From all of us." Ron then looked at the professors who were looking at him with smiles. Except Snape, Snape wasn't smiling at all. Even Quirrell was smiling awkwardly, and Ron smiled back at him.

"Thank you" Ron said, bowing to the teachers as well. _Are you seeing this Snape? I'm being courteous…_ "Is it alright for me to sign up? I need a teacher to accompany me while I sign up as well…" Ron finished softly.

"I did not know that you played chess, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall said with a smile.

"He does indeed" Snape interjected with his soft, cold voice. "He has an undefeated streak within Slytherin. He has even defeated a few seventh years." _How did he know that? Wait… He is the Head of my House… I'm an idiot…_

"Then we must sign you up, mustn't we?" Dumbledore said in a soft chuckle. "Severus, tomorrow is a Saturday. Please accompany young Ronald to Diagon Alley, and help him sign up for the Junior League Tournament." Snape frowned a little at hearing that, which made Ron gulp.

"Very well" Snape said after a moment. "Mr. Weasley… I expect you to be in my office right after breakfast. Do not be late." Ron nodded quickly at that.

"Thank you Professor Snape" Ron said, smiling at the Potions Master. "And thank you Headmaster! I won't let you down!" Dumbledore smiled at hearing that.

"We will be honored to be represented by you, Ronald" Dumbledore said softly. "You have already done remarkable things… I hope to see your future endeavors succeed just as brilliantly." Ron and Dumbledore then locked eyes for a short moment, both smiling happily at one another.

* * *

Ron was waiting outside his Charms Class, along with his friends. They were waiting to be let in, and they were also waiting for Daphne who still hadn't shown up. Ron was about to ask for her whereabouts when she marched around the corner and came straight for the group. Her appearance was a little disheveled, but she still looked quite neat and tidy compared to many other students. Ron couldn't help but admire how good the golden pin looked on her. _That might have been the best decision I've made in regards to Daphne!_

"I made it" Daphne said, slightly out of breath.

"Where did you run off to?" Tracey asked, amused at the fact that she looked tidier than Daphne for once.

"I forgot something at our dorm… I had to go get it" Daphne replied. Ron was about to question her more but the door swung open and Professor Flitwick stepped through.

"Come in" Flitwick said, his voice quite happy. "We have so much to go over today!" A few Gryffindors groaned loudly at hearing that, while Ron just smirked. _Time to make some house points!_

Ron and his friends were eating lunch and discussing the Junior League Tournament amongst each other when out of nowhere, an owl landed on Ron's left shoulder. Ron froze in fright, and then slowly turned to face it. The owl tilted its head and looked right into Ron's eyes, its large bright yellow eyes digging deep into Ron's ocean blue ones. _Merlin… what kind of owl is this?_ The owl hooted once and pointed its right leg towards Ron's face. There was a letter attached to it.

Ron slowly took the letter and once he had, the owl didn't leave. Instead it stayed perched on Ron's left shoulder, looking right at all of Ron's friends in a menacing way. _This owl is freaking me out…_ Ron then looked at the letter, and his heart skipped a beat because of shock. His friends noticed him tense up.

"Ron, what is it?" Millie asked, getting worried at her friend's behavior.

"This letter…" Ron started. "It's from Sirius Black" Ron whispered, hoping that no one other than his friends heard him. All of his friends tensed a bit, especially Theo and Blaise.

"Well? Read it" Tracey whispered. "But read it aloud…" she added quickly. Ron nodded and cleared his throat.

 _Dear Ronald,_

 _Happy Birthday! I know that I should have written to you sooner, but I was quite ill and needed time to adjust to my new surroundings. I was only able to muster the strength to send one letter, and I chose to send it to my godson Harry. I am now recovering quite well, and it is all thanks to you. I cannot express in words the gratitude I feel for what you have done for me! You saved my life, and settled an old debt that I could never have hoped to settle by myself. Thank you Ronald, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you._

 _I contacted your Mother a few days ago in the hopes of learning more about you, and she told me quite the tales my friend. It appears that I owe you an even greater debt than I originally thought. You saved my godson's life on Halloween, and for that I swear that the Black Family will always welcome you as a friend within our homes. The truth is that I was not altogether surprised to hear these stories either, you did after all discover an Animagus that tricked the whole wizarding world. Your Mother also informed me of your upcoming Birthday. Consider this my gift to you, Ronald. I cost you one pet, it is only fair that I gift you another._

 _This owl is a Eurasian Eagle-Owl, and I hope that you accept him as your new Hogwarts companion. I decided to buy you something exotic, I know how you Slytherins love to stand out. This faithful owl is also very fiercely protective of his owner, so please tell your friends to be careful around it._

 _I hope to meet you in person soon._

 _Your eternal friend,_

 _Sirius Black._

As Ron finished reading the letter, he and his friends were quite stunned. _This owl… is mine?_ Ron looked at the owl, and the owl looked back at Ron. It had a light grey coat of feathers with black spots throughout. Its eyes were bright yellow in color, and it looked quite menacing due to its furrowed brow. _Wow…_ Ron slowly reached up and scratched the owl's chest, and it gave a satisfied hoot in return. Though it still looked quite angry at everything around it.

"What should I name you?" Ron asked, smiling at his new companion. _I never thought I'd get an owl at this age… He is quite… magnificent._

"What about Helios?" Daphne provided, smiling at the owl. _Helios?_

"Why Helios?" Tracey asked, also smiling at the menacing owl.

"Helios was the personification of the Sun in Greek Mythology" Daphne explained. "His eyes look like two Suns, don't they?" Ron looked at the Eagle-Owl, and his bright yellow eyes did remind Ron of the Sun.

"Helios…" Ron whispered. "Do you like that name?" he asked the owl. The owl looked at Ron and hooted loudly. "Then it's settled… Your name is Helios" Ron said, and then he smiled at Daphne in gratitude for the great name. She smiled back, and then he looked at the owl again. _Welcome to our little group Helios._

* * *

Ron was about to head to the dorm with Theo and Blaise to get some sleep, but he was stopped by Daphne who was holding a small box in her left hand. "Ron, can I talk to you… in private?" Daphne asked softly. Ron nodded and then turned to gesture Theo and Blaise to go on without him, but they had already left. _Those two… they never wait._

"Guess we're alone" Ron chuckled, turning back to face Daphne. _Maybe now I can find out why she's been so… distant the past two days._ "What did you want to talk about?"

"Here" Daphne said, and then she handed him the small box. "It's for you… your birthday present…" Ron took the box and smiled at her.

"Daphne, how did you get this so fast?" Ron asked, and then he opened the box. It contained a beautiful ring in it. The ring was actually two intertwining silver snakes that were biting a sizable emerald in the middle. _Woah! This looks really, really expensive… Much more expensive than the hair clip that I got her for Christmas!_ "Wow Daph… this is really beautiful…" Ron was so surprised that he failed to notice that he was calling her 'Daph', which was a nickname only Tracey seemed to use. Daphne didn't mind one bit though, she was quite pleased with hearing Ron call her by her pet name.

"Happy Birthday Ron" Daphne said with a wide smile. Ron took the ring out, and was unsure of which finger to place it on. "Here, let me" Daphne said, and then she slowly took the ring from Ron and held his right hand with hers. Ron's cheeks felt hot, but he did his best not to make a scene. Daphne then slipped the serpent ring onto his little finger. "There, it looks perfect" she said softly. The snakes then moved as if they were alive and tightened around Ron's finger, fitting snugly onto it. _That was wicked…_

Ron and Daphne examined his right hand, with Daphne still holding it. Ron had Pandora's rune ring on his middle finger, and Daphne's serpent ring on his little finger. "You didn't answer my question" Ron said softly. "How did you get this so fast? You only found out today that it was my birthday."

"My father is the benefactor of a very skilled jeweler in Diagon Alley" Daphne said, looking up at Ron. "I sent the jeweler an owl this morning and asked him to make this ring, and then to send it to me as quickly as he could. My owl returned shortly after dinner ended."

"Wow… Thank you… Daphne" Ron whispered, amazed at the skill of this jeweler. _Just one day… how much did that cost her?_

"You're welcome" Daphne smiled. "It suits you, by the way. The ring… It's a sign of wealth and power…"

"I don't have either" Ron chuckled softly, not caring about that for once. He felt… secure for a change.

"You do…" Daphne said in a hushed whisper. "No one can deny your power as a wizard… and you're rich in character… I think that's far more important." Ron was stunned by her kind words, did she really see him in such a positive light? _What did I do to earn that?_ They both looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Daphne let his hand go and stepped back. "You should get some sleep, you have a long day ahead of you…" Daphne said.

Ron could only nod to that, and he was unsure why his stomach felt like it had butterflies flying around in it. Daphne then smiled and left for the girls' dorms. Ron stood in his spot for a few a seconds before he left to join Theo and Blaise. On the way there he realized that he didn't find out why she was being so distant lately. _Or when_ _ **her**_ _birthday is! I'm such a dolt!_

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

Snape sat in his office, grading papers from the fifth years. But his heart wasn't in it… All he could think about was how Albus had sentenced him to spend the entire day watching over a child. His mentor's odd methods never ceased to annoy Snape. Instead of choosing Minerva, a lover of chess, Albus had instead chosen him. And given no reasoning behind it. It greatly irked Snape to be kept in the dark… again.

There was knocking on Snape's office door that pulled the Potions Master from his thoughts. _That must be Ronald. Why couldn't Albus have sent him with another professor? Does he believe that I have time to waste?_

"Come in" Snape ordered, and then the door slowly opened and Ronald stepped through.

"Good morning, Sir" Ronald said, smiling widely at Snape. _Again with the unnecessary smiling…When will this boy learn some composure? Maybe I should wipe that smile off…_

"It would be, Mr. Weasley" Snape began in his coldest voice. " **If** … I wasn't being forced to babysit you all day…" Ronald's smile fell quickly upon hearing that and Snape felt a grim satisfaction from it.

"I'm sorry… Sir" Ronald apologized, looking down at his feet.

"Your apologies are misplaced. The Headmaster has ordered me to help you, and so I am bound to. We will go to Diagon Alley, we will sign you up for this tournament, and then we will come right back. We will not dawdle… Is that clear?" Snape explained, waiting for Ronald to respond. _It is Albus who owes me an apology for wasting my time with this…_

"Yes, Sir" Ronald replied with a firm nod, adorning a more serious look. _That's better._

Snape then stood up from his seat and moved to his fire-place. He took a pinch of Floo-powder and cast it into the fire. "The Leaky Cauldron" Snape said, and the fire blazed green. "Go" Snape ordered, nodding at the flames. Ronald nodded and stepped through the fire. _Hopefully this won't take more than an hour or so…_ Snape then followed Ron into the fire.

They made their way through The Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley, and much to Snape's annoyance, it was brimming with people. _Of course every witch and wizard in England would pick today to come here…_ Snape then put his right hand on Ronald's left shoulder and he felt the boy tense up, but Snape didn't really care about Ronald's comfort. _If I lose him here, I will have to spend even more time on this…_

"Where are we headed?" Snape asked the red-haired boy, who then looked up at Snape.

"Flourish and Blotts Bookstore, Sir" Ron said firmly, his face a mask of seriousness. _This attitude suits him better. Someone as brilliant as this boy shouldn't waste his time acting like a Gryffindor buffoon._

Snape guided them both down to the famous bookshop, his demeanor made people step out of his way. Once they reached the bookstore, Snape was taken by surprise at how long the line to get inside the shop was. _Forget an hour… We are going to be here the entire day…_ Snape clenched his jaw in frustration at that, cursing Albus for doing this to him.

"Guess it's a bigger event than I anticipated…" Ronald muttered, looking at the line with wide-eyes. _You don't say… Is he even prepared for this?_

"I suggest we find our spot within the line" Snape drawled. With that, Snape guided them to the back of the line. The line moved extremely slowly and Snape looked at his pocket-watch every twenty or so minutes. Every time he did so, he cursed Albus Dumbledore and his twinkling eyes. His old mentor would have much to answer for tonight.

Minutes turned to hours, and Snape was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. _Why is this line so long?! And why is it moving even slower than a snail's pace?_ They had left at around ten in the morning, and it was almost three 'o'clock in the afternoon now. It didn't make any sense! Ronald was looking around sheepishly and avoiding Snape's gaze, no doubt feeling guilty for dragging the Potions Master into this situation. But Snape knew that the boy wasn't to blame for this, Albus Dumbledore was. _When I see him… I swear to Merlin…_

* * *

They made it to the reception desk at around four 'o'clock and Snape was visibly relieved. An old man was sitting behind the desk, and he looked at Snape and Ronald rather curiously. "How may I help you both?" the old man asked, his tone was tired and Snape knew why. _This poor fool has spent the entire day in that chair…_

"My name is Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts" Snape began. "This is Ronald Bilius Weasley, a student at Hogwarts and he wishes to sign up for the Junior League Tournament." Snape then guided Ronald in front of himself.

"And what is your age son?" the old man asked Ron, smiling kindly at the boy.

"I turned twelve yesterday, Sir" Ron said in a polite tone.

"That is most fortunate!" the old man beamed. "Tomorrow is the last day to sign up, so you made it just in time."

"That is… fortunate indeed" Snape drawled. "Now, may we sign up?" The old man beckoned Ronald to approach, and Ronald did so slowly.

"First we need to confirm your identity…" the old man said, Snape scowled at hearing that. _Why would anyone lie to play chess?_ "This might hurt a bit son" the old man continued, picking up his wand from his desk. Snape immediately moved forward and narrowed his eyes on the man, making the old man raise his hands in surrender. "We need a drop of his blood… once the blood is placed on this parchment, the boy's real name and age will be revealed" the old man explained.

"Is that necessary?" Ronald asked, looking rather shocked and pale.

"Unfortunately it is… Many people try to use Human Transfiguration or the Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves and enter these tournaments…" the old man said with a hint of disgust. "They are usually fools who wish to enter the tournaments in order to make 'easy galleons', and this test catches them out quickly enough. Now, please give me your right hand son."

Ronald looked back at Snape, and Snape gave him a firm nod. Ronald then turned to the man and slowly put forward his right hand. Snape couldn't help but notice the rings adorning Ronald's right hand. One was covered in runes, while the other looked quite expensive with a rather sizable emerald. _Where could he have gotten these? The Weasley family is infamously poor… And yet he is wearing a ring fit for someone like Lucius Malfoy!_ Snape removed the thoughts from his mind and aligned his Occlumency shields once again, regaining his calm and collected demeanor. He had a job to do, and his questions could wait.

"There… done…" the old man said, smiling at Ronald.

"That was it?" Ronald asked, sounding relieved.

"Yes my boy… now let's see" the old man said, studying the parchment that had a drop of Ronald's blood on it. The drop was absorbed by the parchment, and then Ronald's full name and age was revealed in red ink. "Ah… everything seems to be in order! Excellent, please step through to the back."

Snape sighed and guided Ronald to the back of the shop, and what he saw there nearly drove him to dash his own head through a wall. _Is this a joke?!_ There were multiple tables set up and people were playing chess on those tables. But that wasn't what Snape was frothing at the mouth about. There was another line they had to queue up in.

"What the hell…?" Ron muttered, clearly forgetting about the Potions Master being behind him. _Indeed, Mr. Weasley…_ Snape let out an audible sigh for once, and then he guided Ron to the line and queued up. _I'm going to kill Albus for this…_ Fortunately they only had to wait for another half an hour before a young woman beckoned them to one of the tables.

"Good afternoon, Sirs" she greeted with a large smile that irked Snape immediately. Ronald however, was beaming at the woman. "I take it that you are here to join the Junior League Tournament" she cooed at Ronald, who nodded at her. "Oh you are sooo cute! Well, let me explain what this is then! If you beat me, then you will be qualified to join the tournament. With so many people signing up, we need to make sure that we only allow entry to those who know how to play!" She spoke with a cheerfulness that made Snape sick to his stomach. _And yet this boy won't stop grinning her… Simpleton…_

The match proceeded and Snape had to admit, Ronald was quick to make his moves. The boy never took his eyes off of the board for a second, and Snape was a bit impressed by the boy's sudden focus. Snape however, did find himself questioning the young woman's playstyle and her wits. _She is giving him so many opportunities… it's as if she is making these mistakes on purpose…_ The match ended in under ten minutes, with Ronald coming out as the victor.

"Well done" the young woman cooed at Ron. "You won… and you capitalized on every opportunity I gave you" she said with a smile. Both Snape and Ron were taken aback by this. _So she really was making mistakes on purpose._

"And why would you make mistakes on purpose?" Snape questioned, too curious to hold his tongue.

"I had to make sure that he understood the game, you see…" the woman said, and then her smile disappeared. Her face became a mask of indifference and her cheery stance morphed into a serious, tall one. Ronald went wide-eyed, and Snape had to thank his own Occlumency training for it was the only reason as to why he didn't go wide-eyed himself. "My name is Nikita Powers… and I am the youngest contestant for the title of Chess Master…" Snape did go wide-eyed for a second when he heard that.

"If I didn't make mistakes… then no one would qualify to play" she continued, her amber eyes were piercing and cold. She turned them towards Ronald, who was still clearly shocked. "I hope you do well… Please go tell Mr. Curtis at the front that you are hereby qualified." Then she turned to the direction of the line, she smiled widely and beckoned another group of people towards herself. Snape and Ron left for the front desk, bewildered by the odd girl that they had just met.

Snape explained to the old man at the front desk that Ronald had qualified for the tournament. "Well done, young man!" the old man said excitedly. "Now here" he said as he handed Ron a piece of parchment that looked like some sort of ticket. "This is your pass, make sure you bring that to Hogsmeade Village on March the Eighteenth."

"Hogsmeade?" Snape asked.

"Yes" the old man replied. "They were gracious enough to host the tournament this year. Must be great for you… being up at Hogwarts and all… Anyway, you will play five games a day from March the Eighteenth through to March the Twenty-second. The eight, who have won the most amount of games in the first week, will be selected to go against one-another in the tournament, which will be held in the second week. Good luck!"

* * *

Snape and Ronald were on their way back towards The Leaky Cauldron, and the Potions Master couldn't help but notice Ronald looking at the food stalls hungrily. _Neither of us has eaten anything all day…_ Snape took out his pocket-watch and looked at the time. _Dinner won't be served for another three hours…_ Snape stopped, and put his hand on Ronald's shoulder to stop him as well. Ronald turned around and faced the Potions Master.

"We are going to get something to eat" Snape said in a low voice, and he ignored Ronald beaming at him with relief. Snape then guided them towards a restaurant he was rather fond of, a restaurant that specialized in Italian cuisine. It wasn't far from The Leaky Cauldron but unlike The Leaky Cauldron, this was a place of prestige. _And they actually clean their dishes…_

Snape and Ronald stepped into the restaurant which was simply called 'The Pond'. "Mr. Snape!" came a friendly voice. "Welcome back!"

"Rudolph" Snape replied, nodding his greeting to the dark skinned man. "A table for two, please."

"Of course, of course" Rudolph said with a smile. "Right this way, Sir." The man named Rudolph guided the two towards a table in a secluded corner. "Here is your table, Sir. I will send over the menus and if you need me for anything, please do not hesitate to call me over." With that, Rudolph left the two of them as they took their seats.

Ronald was looking around the restaurant in awe, and Snape followed his gaze around the place. It was a dimly lighted and immaculate place. There was a charmed piano playing a soothing tune in the background, and Snape felt himself relax at the sound of it. _I have missed this place…_

"Professor…" Ronald whispered.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied, looking at the boy who was still quite awed.

"This place looks…" Ronald muttered, and then he looked at Snape sheepishly. "It looks very… expensive…" Ronald said, going red with shame. Snape stared at the boy, now even more curious as to where he got such an expensive ring.

"Then it is a good thing that I am paying, is it not?" Snape drawled. He did not like to boast, but his career as the youngest Potions Master in England was quite lucrative. But he did not care for materialistic gains, not anymore. Furthering his own knowledge and honing his skills were his only goals now. _How time changes a man…_

Two menus that were enchanted to look like swans flew down to their table, and then they transfigured back to normal. Snape already knew what he was getting, so he didn't bother to look at the menu. Ronald however, was looking at the menu like it was written in another language. Snape waited for a minute before he decided to intervene and save the boy embarrassment.

"I recommend the Penne all'arrabbiata" Snape said in a low, smooth voice. Ronald looked at Snape like he had no idea what the Potions Master had just said, and then Ronald smiled sheepishly and nodded. Snape then removed his wand and flicked it at the menus, sending them back and letting the restaurant know that they were ready to order. A young waitress who was dressed very smartly approached their table with a smile.

"How may I help you, Sirs?" she asked politely, smiling at Ronald more widely.

"We will have two plates of Penne all'arrabbiata and two glasses of sweetened water" Snape said softly. The waitress nodded and then left for the kitchen. _Now that we have some time to talk…_ "Mr. Weasley."

"Yes, Professor Snape" Ron replied, smiling faintly at him.

"I couldn't help but notice your rings. May I ask where you got them?" Snape asked. Ronald looked at his rings and smiled.

"Pandora got me the one on my middle finger" Ronald said, showing his hand to Snape. "And… Daphne got me the one on my little finger yesterday… for my birthday…" Ronald finished lamely. The boy was blushing, and Snape frowned.

"Miss. Greengrass bought you that ring…" Snape said, surprised at how much money an eleven year old girl was willing to spend on Ronald. _She **is** the heiress to the Greengrass Family… _"Do girls often buy you such expensive gifts?" Snape drawled. Ronald blushed more and shook his head.

"No…"

"Then you should thank her properly the next time you see her. She must be quite fond of you" Snape said, his curiosity sated. _At least something about this strange boy can be explained…_ Snape's mind was drawn back to the memory of his attempt at using Legilimency on Ronald, it made Snape shudder slightly. Neither Albus nor Snape had found anything so far that could explain that… void inside the boy's mind. But Snape had no intention of ending his search, he had to know what that was.

They waited in silence and when their food arrived, both of them began eating. They ate in silence for most of the meal, but Snape decided to ask one more question of Ronald. "Mr. Weasley" Snape said softly. "What are your thoughts on this tournament?"

"My thoughts, Sir?" Ronald said after swallowing his food.

"Do you believe that you can win?" Snape asked, noting that Ronald took on a much more serious demeanor.

"I have never lost a match in my life, Sir" Ronald replied. "I know that I can win." Snape stared at the boy, keeping his mask of indifference in place. _Is that arrogance I sense?_

"Here is a piece of advice, Mr. Weasley" Snape said after a few moments. "Those who believe that they are invincible, are always the first ones to make mistakes. Preparation and caution are the essentials to success. Never fall into a false sense of security, because no one is ever secure enough." Ronald blinked at Snape, and then the boy nodded in understanding. "I do however" Snape continued "expect results from you. You are representing Hogwarts, and more importantly you are representing the House of Salazar Slytherin. Do not disappoint me." Ron nodded once again.

They finished their meals and Snape paid the bill. After that they travelled to The Leaky Cauldron in silence, and from there they flooed back to Snape's office. Snape bid the red-haired boy goodnight and once the boy was gone, he relaxed into his chair. _To think that I believed I could get this done in one hour… That boy better win the damn tournament!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron spent the next two weeks preparing for the tournament. He had taken Snape's advice to heart, and he made sure to spend all of his spare time going over different strategies and their counter strategies. He wanted to win this thing, and he wanted it badly. His friends helped him as much as possible, they played against him and tried their best to beat him, they quizzed him on strategies, and they even offered to do his homework for him (he refused that offer of course, he had a certain standard to uphold after all).

Tracey was put off slightly when Ron had told her that he would be staying behind at Hogwarts for the Easter Break as the tournament took place during it. She had wanted him to come to her house and be introduced to her parents. They were very eager to meet Ron after all the letters she had sent them which detailed their adventures and Ron's great feats.

The days seemed to slowdown as March the Eighteenth approached, and Ron became even more occupied with chess. His friends surprised him by telling him that they had all decided to stay behind as well for the Easter Break, which would start on the Twenty-fifth of March. They all expected him to make it into the top eight, and that faith renewed his need to win this tournament. For himself, and for his friends.

The school was also abuzz with the news of Ron participating in a Junior League Tournament for chess. Many of the older Slytherin students offered Ron their help, which he politely declined. He knew that they were only doing it for themselves, but it still felt good to know that he had people supporting him. Harry, Hermione, and Neville had also decided to help Ron, and he had accepted their help happily. Hermione quizzed him into a coma, while Harry and Neville played against him over and over again. Ron was a little saddened to hear that his Gryffindor friends were going home for the Break, but he understood. Hermione wanted to see her parents, while Neville wanted to introduce Harry to his Grandmother.

Finally the anticipated day arrived, and Ron knocked on the door of Snape's office with a serious attitude. _Need to show him that I am prepared and ready! Or he will tell me off again…_ Ron stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. "Good morning, Sir" Ron greeted with a respectful bow.

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley" Snape said in a low voice. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, Sir. I have my pass in my robes, and Headmaster Dumbledore signed me out of classes for the week" Ron said in a serious tone. Snape had been selected to take Ron to Hogsmeade Village for the first week. Ron could only hope that the Potions Master didn't take being 'selected' too badly, but who else was supposed to take him. Snape was the Head of Slytherin House…

"I am pleased to see that you are… prepared" Snape drawled, and then he rose from his chair and walked to the fireplace. He was about to grab a fist-full of floo powder but he stopped halfway, and then he turned to stare down Ron. "Your hair, why is it not combed? And why is your uniform not immaculate?" _Huh? I look like I always do…_

"Sorry, Sir. I don't… understand" Ron muttered, getting ready for the incoming tongue-lashing.

"Mr. Weasley…" Snape drawled, his jaw clenched and Ron had half the mind to bolt. "I have always excused your shaggy appearance, but you are representing our… venerable institution today. Therefore I will not ignore it today…" Snape then removed his wand and flicked it at Ron. Ron's uniform was done up perfectly, his tie tightened around his neck, his shirt became even more tucked into his pants, and his clothes shone cleanly. "Now for your hair…" Snape said, and then he pointed his wand at Ron's head. _Merlin…_

Snape then flicked his wand and Ron felt his hair moving around on top of his head. _AH! What did he do?!_ Ron looked around for a mirror, and when he didn't see one, he settled for a window. Ron looked at his reflection and much to his shock, his hair was glossy and swept-back. _I look… like a RED-HEADED MALFOY! AH!_

"There…" Snape said, seemingly amused by Ron's horror. "Now you look at least somewhat decent… Now hurry up. We don't have time to waste." Snape then grabbed a pinch of floo powder and cast it into the fire-place. "The Three Broomsticks" Snape said clearly, and the fire blazed green. Snape then stepped through it without even waiting for Ron. Ron quickly shook his thoughts away and stepped through after the professor.

* * *

Hogsmeade Village was a feast for the eyes, and Ron quickly forgot about his hair-problems. He gawked at every shop and building in utter awe. The village looked as if it was right out of a fairy tale, with witches and wizards laughing and going about their businesses without a care in the world. Snape and Ron made their way to the tournament entrance, and Ron was surprised to see that a lot of people had turned up for the tournament.

"Do not be alarmed Mr. Weasley" Snape said, putting his hand over Ron's left shoulder. Ron didn't tense this time. "From what I have gathered, there are only fifty contestants within the Junior League Tournament this year. So most of these people must be here to compete within the Apprentice League Tournament or within the Adept League Tournament. All three will be taking place at same time, after all." _Oh… that makes more sense… Wait… Did he say 'from what I have gathered"?_

"Sir" Ron said softly, looking up at Snape. "Did you do research on my behalf…?" Ron asked, feeling rather happy at the thought. Snape stared at Ron for a few seconds, his face expressionless as always.

"Yes" Snape finally said, making Ron beam. Snape narrowed his eyes at Ron, and Ron quickly schooled his features. _Blimey… That was not smart Ron._ "You are representing our school Mr. Weasley… How many times must I say that before it goes through your thick skull?" Snape then walked towards the entry point without Ron. Ron shook his head, smiled, and ran after the professor. _That was textbook Snape!_

Snape and Ron were granted entry after Ron showed his pass to an elderly woman who was acting as a gatekeeper of sorts. The professor and student duo then made their way towards the tables allocated to the Junior League Tournament members. Ron looked at his competition with wariness. _Quite a few players here are older than me, but most of them look around my age… It's the older players that I need to watch out for. They pose the highest threat to my chances of winning._

"Ahem" came a voice from behind the Junior League members. Ron and Snape turned to see Mr. Curtis, from Flourish and Blotts, standing amidst the tables. "Welcome to the Junior League Tournament" he said with a merry and loud tone. "Now, we don't have much time to spare so I will explain everything at once. Make sure you all listen and pay attention. This is important."

"There are twenty five tables" Mr. Curtis continued. "Each table is numbered from one to twenty-five, and each table will host two players at a time. The table numbers indicate your overall position within the tournament. So if you are on table **ten** , then you should rank as either number **nineteen** or **twenty**! Your average wins per-day determine how much your rank will increase. Those who end up on tables **four** or **higher** by the end of March the Twenty-second, will be chosen as the top eight to compete next week. Does everyone understand?" _Bloody hell that was a hard thing to follow… What determines our starting ranks then?_

"What determines the starting ranks?" a middle-aged woman with a bossy tone questioned.

"The starting ranks are determined at random" Mr. Curtis began. "Chess however, is not a game of chance. It is a game of skill and strategy. Therefore if you excel in both areas, you are bound to win your games. Everyone gets a fair chance."

"Hardly fair" the middle-aged woman argued. "Those who rank on the low end have to win more games than those who don't…"

"I'm sorry you feel that way Madam" Mr. Curtis began. "But if your daughter" Mr. Curtis nodded at the young girl next to the woman "start at number fifty, and manages to win most of her games. She will end up in the top eight. In the end, it is only those with the highest win rates, whom end up in the top eight. Starting rank means very little if you are skilled enough to beat your opponents." Mr. Curtis then flicked his wand and tokens flew out from a nearby basket. "These tokens determine where you will start." With that the tokens flew out to the members, and Ron caught his with the hope that he ranked at least on the high end.

He did not. _Number FORTY! Are you kidding me?! Me and my shite luck…_ "Well Mr. Weasley" Snape's voice drawled in. "It seems that you have your work cut out for you…" Ron frowned at the token.

"I just have to win enough games to make it to the top eight" Ron stated, more for himself rather than Snape. "Not to mention that the people currently holding the position of the Top Eight might be horrid and lose more games than they win… It's a matter of skill, and I have plenty of that."

"Remember to use caution Mr. Weasley" Snape advised. "Do not let your guard down and make sure you don't underestimate anyone in the lower ranks. Someone who has equal… skills… as you, might have received a lower token as well."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron said with a firm nod. "I will make sure to do that." Snape looked at Ron for a second, and then he nodded firmly as well.

"I will be watching from the stands. Good luck, Mr. Weasley. Do Slytherin proud." With that the Potions Master billowed away. _Do Slytherin proud… I can do that… Here I go!_

* * *

Ron went to table twenty, which was occupied by a boy who looked around fourteen or fifteen. "Hello, you must be number… thirty nine" Ron greeted, smiling at the older boy. The boy smiled back.

"I am indeed" the boy chuckled. "Are you ready to play?"

"Yes… May the best man win" Ron said, hoping that he was the best man.

"Alright Junior Members" came Mr. Curtis' voice. "You will all play five games today, and each of these games has the time limit of one hour! Good luck, and BEGIN!" Ron and the older boy started their match.

Ron was playing the white pieces, and as such he was the first one to make a move. Ron focused on using his pawns as a defense for his king, mainly because the older boy pulled his queen out of the backline by his third move. Ron quickly found himself playing the defensive after that. The older boy was excessively aggressive in his playstyle, but he wasn't stupid. Ron tried to trap him multiple times, and the older boy saw through Ron's tricks. The game progressed and by the time the twenty minute mark came around, Ron's brow was sweating. _This guy… he's good._ And then Ron noticed something that nearly made him jump for joy. The older had positioned his white tile bishop to take Ron's knight, but if he did that then Ron could use his queen to take out the bishop, and then take free reign over the white tiles.

Ron kept his demeanor calm and moved his rook next to his own king, ignoring his own knight completely. The older boy instantly went for the knight, smirking as he took it with his bishop. That smirk fell quickly when Ron moved his own queen and took the boy's bishop. _I got you now… Time for me to attack and for you to defend…_ Ron had less pawns on the board, but the older boy had fewer backline pieces now. Ron used the momentum from his knight's sacrifice to start taking the boy's pawns. With only two rooks, a queen and one knight to defend his pawns, the boy was quickly becoming overwhelmed. All the while Ron constantly threated the boy's king with his last knight. It was checkmate by thirty minutes and Ron let out an audible sigh of relief. _I won… barely…_

"Well played, mate" the older boy said with a chuckle. "I thought I had you early on… but that bishop move lost me the game I reckon." Ron smiled at the older boy and nodded.

"You didn't see my queen, well played though…" Ron replied. The two shook hands.

"Maybe we'll get to play against each other again! In the top eight that is" the older boy smirked.

"I bloody hope not" Ron chuckled, and the boy joined in. They said their goodbyes and Ron left to sit with Snape, at least until the next round started.

"I see that you won" Snape said in a low tone. "Well played Mr. Weasley… I noticed that you sacrificed your own knight in order to trap the boy. That was… clever." _Was that a compliment…?_

"I did" Ron said, smiling faintly as he watched the matches that hadn't ended yet.

"Bold move… to sacrifice such a piece" Snape said, watching the matches as well.

"It is better to sacrifice one piece, rather than lose them all" Ron replied. He missed the look that Professor Snape sent his way. Snape smirked at the boy's way of thinking, he had quite the strategic mind it seemed. It almost reminded him of Dumbledore's philosophy of the 'Greater Good'.

After all the matches finished up, Mr. Curtis stood up and made an announcement. "Alright Junior members, those who won their games please move up one table number. Those who lost, please move down one. Except for tables one and fifty! Winner on table one stays where they are, and the loser on table fifty stays where they are." Ron did as he was told and moved to table nineteen. _Time to win!_

* * *

Ron and Snape didn't come back until five 'o' clock, and by then Ron was completely mentally spent. He had managed to win every single match today. And he was in a great mood because of it. Even Snape had held a smirk all the way back.

Ron stepped though the fire without stumbling. _Dumbledore was right, I just need to keep walking like I usually do._ Snape followed in after him. "Well done today, Mr. Weasley" Snape said, his smirk still in place. "You might win this after all…"

"Thank you, Sir" Ron beamed, and this time Snape didn't mind the boy's wide smile. He had earned it… today at least.

"I expect you to keep this up, and do not let your victories today go to your head. You have only faced five individuals, so do not lose your focus" Snape decided to add.

"Of course, Sir" Ron said, nodding firmly. "May I be excused, I want to tell my friends…" Snape nodded, and then Ron all but ran to the common room. _I can't wait to tell them!_

Ron slowed down as he got closer to the common room. He didn't want to appear disheveled in front of the other Slytherins. Ron stepped through the common room entrance, his breathing steady, and his demeanor calm. He spotted his friends sitting in their usual spot, and he approached them with a faint smile.

"RON!" Daphne exclaimed, she was the first to notice him. "He's back you lot! How did it go? Did you win any? What happened to your hair?!" _Woah… slowdown haha!_

"Hey Daph!" Ron greeted, smiling widely at her. "It went great and I won every game today! As for my hair, it was Snape's doing. Something about looking decent…" The girls squealed in excitement at hearing that, while Theo and Blaise stood up smirking and shook Ron's hand in congratulations.

"That's great news, mate" Theo said, smiling genuinely. "I told you that you could win this thing!"

"Thanks Theo" Ron said, happy to have both the boys back. _It's been a couple of weeks, and it's like they never left! Though they are more open now… I like that. It's just like with mum, we fought but now we are stronger than ever._

"Did anyone you play give you any trouble?" Pansy asked, her voice laced with excitement. _And she used to hate me once… and now she is one of my closest friends! Time sure changes things…_

"There was one boy…" Ron started. "He was older than me, and he gave me the most trouble. Our match lasted thirty minutes before I checkmated him."

"Alas, he was no match for our fearless leader!" Tracey teased, smiling widely at Ron. Ron blushed hard, and his ear felt hot.

"Stop that" Ron muttered, smiling faintly at Tracey's nickname for him. Ron then sat down on the floor, with the fire-place facing his back. The others sat back down too, and they all looked quite happy. _Even Blaise…_

"Do you think the Headmaster will allow us to go down to Hogsmeade, for the Top Eight matches?" Millie asked, petting her cat softly. "I really hope so, I've heard Hogsmeade is wonderful!"

"It is Millie" Ron exclaimed. "There are so many shops and there were so many people there. Everyone looked like they were having a ball!"

"Ease up there, Millie. I'm sure he hasn't made it to the Top Eight yet" Blaise said, his smile and aloof voice making an odd combination.

"He has to!" Daphne said, looking at Ron almost pleadingly. _What? What happened? Why does she sound so desperate?_

"Um… Daph… is there something I should know…?" Ron asked in a stutter.

"Oh this is great" Tracey grinned at Ron. "Get ready for it, Ron. Daphne if you please…" Tracey gestured at Daphne to speak. Instead Daphne glared at Tracey for a few seconds, and then she sighed and turned to Ron.

"I did something stupid…" Daphne muttered. _Merlin what did she do? I haven't seen her this apologetic before…_

"What?" Ron asked, worried at Daphne's sullen behavior and the wolfish grins his other friends were giving.

"You know how we all decided to stay behind…" Daphne began, looking slightly sheepish. "Well I told my family why and… well my father is a Chess Master, and so he decided that he will be coming to watch you play… at the Top Eight tournament…" Daphne finished with a sheepish smile. _A Chess Master is coming to Hogsmeade… just to watch me play… Oh Merlin… I HAVE TO WIN THIS!_

"No pressure" Tracey chuckled, and then laughed at Ron's pale face. His other friends chuckled too, and Daphne did her best to not laugh at Ron.

"No pressure my arse…" Ron muttered, shaking his head.

"Also… my mother and sister will accompany him as well…" Daphne added.

"Merlin Daph! Did you invite your cousins too?!" Ron exclaimed, grimacing at the prospect of meeting her family with so much pressure on him. "Anyone else want to invite their families too?"

"Actually mine are rather excited to see you… or were" Tracey half-pouted and half-smiled. "You know before you blew us off…"

"Hey…" Ron said slowly. "I didn't mean to… it just happened…"

"Excuses" Tracey huffed like Daphne, and feigned hurt. "You'd better come around during the end of school holidays…"

"Of course" Ron said with a smile, glad that she wasn't actually upset. The conversation then fell into a pleasant rhythm, with all of them discussing Ron's upcoming games. Ron couldn't have asked for better support. _Four more days… I need to win every game…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Another arc begins! I personally hate huge time-jumps so I want this story to be filled with events. Events that shape the characters and show that they are changing slowly as time progresses. It feels more natural to me this way. Now to those wondering how long this story is going to be... I am aiming for over a million words! I know... HUGE! But I want to do Ron and these characters some real justice! Especially Ron because I don't like the hate he gets for no reason in the fandoms.**

 **See you all on Friday!** **(hint hint* Hermione Granger and Charlie Weasley finally get a POV each)**


	16. Chapter 16 - The Top Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:Chapter 16 is here! Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. I skipped over the first week of games because it was going to be a long and tedious read...**

 **2\. The chapter is long and it focuses on Ron's tournament. Get ready for some Chess!**

 **3\. Charlie Weasley and Hermione Granger finally get POVs. I hope their fans enjoy reading their POVs, and I hope I do these characters justice.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 16 – The Top Eight**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

"No, no, no" Daphne scolded, frowning at Ron. "You're doing it wrong… Why do keep bowing so low?" Ron let out a defeated sigh at that. _This… is so POINTLESS!_

"We have been at this for hours" Millie said softly. "I think Ron just needs a little break…" Mille trailed off when Daphne turned her frown into a glare.

"I'm with Millie" Pansy said, she sounded more confident than Millie. "We still have two whole days to practice. And he has already managed to remember most of his training." _Training… why do I feel like some lapdog learning new tricks?_

"He is meeting my Lord Father and my Lady Mother in TWO DAYS!" Daphne said, exasperated by all of this. "He needs to learn how to speak to a Lord and Lady of an Ancient House… How to greet them… How to behave around them… When to speak… What to speak of… How low he has to bow when he greets said Lady!" _Pure-Blood nonsense… Treat them with undying respect because they got lucky and were born rich? Piss on that…_

Ron let out another sigh as he remembered how he had gotten into this situation. He had won all twenty five games in the tournament's first week, which had put him on the number one rank for the second week. As such, he would be competing in the Top Eight Tournament on Wednesday the Twenty-seventh of March. _Which is only two days away…_ But instead of helping him, Daphne had become obsessed with teaching him proper manners, and he had stupidly agreed to this… He thought it would have taken a few hours at best… It had been two whole days and Daphne still wouldn't relent. To say that Ron was stressed was an understatement, he was barely keeping it all together.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Greengrass" Ron said, and then he took Tracey's hand and kissed it. He bowed his head slightly, and frowned when he heard Daphne huff loudly.

"You didn't bow low enough" Daphne grit out. "Are you even trying? What is so hard about bowing with some grace?!" _Merlin… keep me calm… I'm about to hex Daphne into oblivion…_

Ron then practiced his 'greeting' again on Tracey, this time bowing a little more. "There, that bow was perfect" Pansy said, sighing in relief. "Can you remember that Ron? Please say yes…" Ron gave Pansy a faint smile and nodded, and then he turned to Daphne.

"Was that fine? Can I go back to practicing chess now?" Ron asked Daphne, trying to sound polite. He failed at sounding polite, judging by the frown Daphne was giving him.

"I'm not wasting my time here for no reason" Daphne grit out. "This is for your benefit Ronald!" _That's a load of dung!_

"Hardly" Ron snapped, beginning to lose his temper. "This is all to stroke your parents' egos…" The room went dead silent at that. Daphne turned red with anger, while the other three girls slowly started to back away. This was turning ugly…

"EGOS?!" Daphne shrieked, making Ron roll his eyes. _Here comes the spoiled brat!_ "How dare you speak of my parents in such a manner?!"

"Quite easily" Ron retorted, his face beginning to feel hot. "I should be practicing chess but nooo… instead I'm stuck learning about this Pure-Blood nonsense… And all for your parents' benefit. I didn't ask them to come!" Ron and Daphne glared at each other, both of them moments away from throwing hexes.

"Guys… please calm down" Millie said softly. "We're all tired from all the practicing and you are both stressed. We all just need a break."

"Millie is right" Tracey said, putting a calming hand on Ron's shoulder. Tracey knew that she didn't want to see Ron angry. Daphne was scary when she was angry, but Ron… Ron was terrifying. He had proven that once and for all when he had blasted that troll's head into pieces. She shuddered at the memory.

"Ask the princess here" Ron bit out. "Your Majesty, can we peasants take a break?" Ron asked in a scathing tone. Daphne clenched her fists and glared murder at Ron.

"Go ahead" Daphne said, her voice menacingly calm compared to her body. "But don't come crying to me when everyone realizes that not even you could escape your lowly family's conducts…" _That was low… That's how she wants it, fine!_

"At least my family didn't raise a bigot" Ron retorted icily. "At least my family aren't fucking Death-Eaters…" Ron felt a grim satisfaction when Daphne went wide-eyed and gasped. That satisfaction morphed into guilt when her eyes became misty and she marched out of the common room, clearly moments away from crying. Ron just stared at where she was a few seconds ago, guilt creeping into his bones. _Bloody hell…_

Ron kneaded his temples with his knuckles, feeling his anger slowly disappear. _Bloody hell… I shouldn't have said that…_ Then he felt a shove from behind, which made him stumble forward a little. He turned around to see a fuming Tracey.

"How could you say something so vile?" Trace asked, her voice was venomous. Ron flinched at the sound of it, he had never heard Tracey speak like that before. He was about to answer but he was cut off by Theo's voice.

"Um… What happened?" Theo asked, he and Blaise were both slowly entering the common room. "We just saw Daphne… she was crying pretty loudly and was in a hurry to get somewhere…" Ron felt his chest tighten at hearing that.

"Ask him…" Tracey gritted out, pointing an accusing finger at Ron. Then Tracey marched off, no doubt heading off to look for Daphne. Pansy followed after her immediately, and she avoided Ron's gaze as she did so.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked, his voice aloof as always.

"Something… really stupid…" Ron admitted, feeling ashamed of himself. _If mum or Pandora had heard that… they would have slapped me…_

"Ron…" Millie said softly, disappointment clear in her voice. "That was unworthy of you…" With that she marched out of the common room as well.

"What the hell did you do?" Theo asked in a confused tone. "Even Millie just told you off… Millie never tells you off for anything…" _Well I deserved it this time._

"I lost my temper" was all Ron could manage to say. Blaise and Theo nodded slowly at that. They knew all too well that Ron could be horrible when he was angered. He tended to get self-righteous and say things that would cut deep. And then he would instantly regret it… not like that changed anything though.

"You should apologize" Blaise advised. "Whatever you said needs to be sorted out. You are playing in the Top Eight Tournament for the Junior League in two days. You need your head on straight."

"I agree with Blaise" Theo joined in. "This is a really important tournament for you Ron… You need to win this thing if you ever want to become a Chess Master. No future Chess Master has lost in the Junior League before." _Who cares about chess? I just made Daphne… I need to find her…_ Ron then ran out of the common room, adamant about fixing his mistake.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

Daphne sank to floor of the abandoned classroom with no care for grace. Her eyes were burning, and her breathing was labored. She choked out another sob as she rubbed her eyes as hard as she could. _My parents aren't Death-Eaters…_ She sniffled loudly, her chest tightening because of the hurt. Is that what he thought of her? That she was just the spawn of Death-Eaters? They were supposed to be friends…

Her mother had warned her about anger many times before, when Daphne herself was learning Pure-Blood etiquette. "Anger reveals the truth of what one feels" Daphne's mother's voice rang in her head. "And so you must never lose your composure Daphne, it is the trait of the weak-minded. A Lady never reveals the truth of how she feels, not until she chooses to."

Daphne hugged her knees to her chest, and placed her swollen eyes on top of her kneecaps. She cried in quiet sobs, Ron's words had cut her deeply. Her parents were good, and loving people… They weren't Death-Eaters… _It wasn't their fault… My father is a good man…_ Daphne hugged herself tighter as she recalled the conversation she had with her father a week before departing for Hogwarts for the first time.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV (Flashback)**_

Daphne was about to turn in for the night when she heard a faint knock on her door. "Come in" Daphne said, getting ready for Tori to burst through. Instead, it was her father who slowly entered.

"Hello sweetheart" her father said, his voice was kind as always. "Can I speak with you before you go to sleep?"

"Of course, father" Daphne replied, getting worried at her father's odd behavior. _He never asks for anything… not unless he is talking to my mother._

"Come" her father beckoned as he sat down on her bed. "Sit with me. I need to talk to you about something very important." Daphne did as she was told and sat next to her father. His dark blue eyes looked even more lifeless than usual.

"Father… what is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong my dear… Not anymore…" His voice was subdued, and it made Daphne worry even more. _Is this about Hogwarts? Can't I go?_

"Father you are scaring me" Daphne said, her voice was meek. Her father blinked at her, and then he smiled sadly and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry… but there is nothing to fear. I just have to tell you something about our family… and the war…" Daphne stiffened at hearing that, and she slowly pulled back from her father.

"Is this about… the Dark Lord?" Daphne whispered, scared to even mention him.

"Yes. Yes, it is" her father said softly. "Daphne when you get to Hogwarts… people might say some things to you… things that I'm not very proud of…"

"Is this about you aiding the Dark Lord in the war?" Daphne asked, she instantly regretted asking that when she saw her father flinch.

"Yes…" he said, his voice wasn't kind anymore. It sounded… regretful. "How did you know about the Dark Lord, and my part in the last war?" Daphne stayed quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say. _A Lady never lies to her Lord Father._

"Draco told me…" Daphne muttered, looking down at her thighs.

"That boy…" her father gritted out. "What did he tell you?"

"He said that you aided the Dark Lord… and that I shouldn't be friends with Tracey, because you would never approve." _What if he doesn't? I mean he is the one who introduced us… And he gets along well with Mr. and Mrs. Davis…_

"Sweetheart, of course you can be friends with Tracey. She is a lovely girl, and her parents are my closest friends" her father said, rubbing her back gently. "Don't listen to the Malfoy brat… He is a foolish boy." Daphne looked up and smiled at her father, who returned her smile.

"Why did you aid the Dark Lord?" Daphne asked slowly. "If you and Mr. Davis are such good friends… why did you side with the Dark Lord?" Her father sighed at her questions.

"Things were… complicated in the last great war. The Dark Lord… he was not one to be denied. When he offered me a position by his side, I initially refused… but then he took you mother…" Daphne gasped at hearing that, her eyes widening in fear. _No…_

"I was raised to believe that we Pure-Bloods deserved magic more than the Half-Bloods and Muggle-Borns… And I did believe that quite stubbornly" her father continued, he looked as if he was in pain. "But I was not willing to take lives for that belief… But after he took your mother from me… Daphne, I joined him." Her father stopped and closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly. Daphne felt her eyes stinging at seeing her proud father like this, so she put her small hand on top of his big one. He looked at their hands and smiled, then he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"I did not kill anyone" he said after a few moments. "I swear this to you my love… I never took a life. The Dark Lord knew that I had no stomach for cruelty and murder. So he had me fund his war… it was the only way I got to see your mother during those last few months of the war…"

"I thought I was born before the Dark Lord fell?" Daphne asked softly.

"You were" her father replied. "You were only three months old when he took your mother… I served him for only the last few months of the war. He…" then her father stopped. He was quiet for a few more moments before he slowly rolled up his left sleeve and showed his inner forearm to Daphne. "This was his mark… it has faded… but it will never wash away…"

Daphne looked at the faint red tattoo on her father's forearm, and she felt cold dread in her chest. _It looks painful… The Dark Lord hurt my father…_ The tattoo itself was morbid, even disgusting to behold. A skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth. Daphne went to touch it, but her father quickly rolled his sleeve down.

"No" he said quietly. "Don't sully your hands…" They were both quiet for a long minute. "When he fell…" her father broke the silence. "I was taken into custody by the Ministry. They were going to send me to Azkaban." Daphne gasped once again. "But something miraculous happened" her father said with a faint smile. "Your mother shared her prison with another person… Mr. Davis. They had become friends in captivity… and he gave a testimony on my behalf. He told the Wizengamot that I was acting under duress… He saved my life, and my family that day."

"And you became friends?" Daphne asked, smiling happily. She felt her respect for Mr. Davis increase a hundredfold.

"Yes, we became friends. I learnt that he was captured for marrying a Muggle-Born… I learnt that my beliefs had almost cost me my family, and so I never looked back. Mr. and Mrs. Davis became our friends and allies forever, at least to me. They left the torn-apart wizarding world to raise their daughter, Tracey, and only returned two years ago. That is when I introduced you two to one-another."

"I always wondered why you never told us, Tori and me, to believe in Blood-Purity…" Daphne said softly. "Millie's parents, Theo's father, Draco's parents, maybe even Pansy's parents… they all teach their children about Blood-Purity…"

"You should believe in what you feel to be true, Daphne" her father said, holding both her hands in his. "You should never let anyone dictate what you believe in. And… don't… don't let your fool father and his mistakes ever hold you back" he said, his eyes tearing up. Daphne hugged her father tightly, and he embraced her just as tightly.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV (Present-Time)**_

 _Where is she?!_ Ron had looked everywhere he could think of. He had run into Tracey, Pansy, and Millie at the girls' bathroom, and the four of them had split up again. The girls went looking further into the dungeons, while Ron went to look in the abandoned classrooms around Hogwarts. _I hope they found her… I'm such a git!_

As he barged into the fifth abandoned classroom, he finally breathed in relief. Daphne was sitting in the middle of the room with her back to him. She was huddled over, and hugging her knees. The sight made Ron's chest tighten and his stomach felt heavy. _I'm the worst…_

"Daphne…" Ron said softly, but the girl didn't turn around. "Daphne…" Ron called again, this time a little louder. He then slowly began to approach her.

"Go away" she said in a cracked voice. "Leave me alone…" Ron stopped for a second when he heard that, but then he walked over to her and sat down next to her. She looked away from him, and then she sniffled loudly. They sat quietly for a few moments, and Ron mustered his courage to apologize.

"I'm really sorry Daph… I took it too far…" he said meekly, looking down as he fidgeted with his hands. "What I said… I know it isn't true… you told me that your parents aren't like that on the night that Theo and Blaise left…" There was another short silence in the room.

"Then why? Why even say it…?" Daphne broke the silence, her voice sounding even more cracked. _Because I'm a git!_

"I was angry… and I'm really stupid when I'm angry…" Ron muttered. "I'm so sorry Daphne…"

"No you're not… That's what you really think of me…" Ron flinched at hearing her say that. The truth was that he did see her that way, at least at first. That's how he had seen all of his friends, but over the year he had come to see differently. They weren't all that different to him, they were all just kids. They weren't evil snakes, they were just sorted into a house with an ill reputation. _Tell her that!_

"I did… at first" Ron began, and he saw her stiffen. "But I was a moron for thinking that… The more I learned about you all, the more I realized that we weren't so different… We aren't our parents… I was so angry when my family was turning on me, that I didn't even realize that I was just like them. I looked at all of you as 'snakes'… and yet I lost my temper when Fred called me the same thing…"

"I'm a hypocrite" Ron continued, feeling sick with himself. "I thought myself better than all of you, but I'm not… I am the least amongst you… You all aren't hypocrites, you do as you believe. But me… I think myself superior and pretend like I'm not…"

There was an earie quiet in room, and Ron couldn't help but think of all the times when he had referred to his friends as 'snakes'. All the times he had refused to put himself into their shoes, but instead had outright told them that they were wrong. _I'm just a selfish git… and it's no wonder that all of my siblings are better than me… Even my 'intelligence' comes from Percy and Charlie, and my visions… I don't even know…_ Ron sniffled, tearing up from anger at himself. _I'm just worthless…_

Daphne was still quiet, but Ron's apology had helped quite a lot. She could feel that he was being as honest as he could, and it had calmed her down significantly to know that he didn't see her in such a poor light… not anymore at least. But it had jarred her to learn that Ron saw himself as the lesser one in their group. That wasn't true at all, and yet he believed it… She didn't even know what to say to this confession. It had sounded like more like a self-realization rather than an apology…

"Daphne…" Ron muttered, and this time she looked over to him. They both stared at each for a second before Ron continued. "I'm really sorry about what I said… It wasn't right, and I won't ever say something like that again. I promise…" _I won't ever talk to them like that again…_

"Good" Daphne said, her voice becoming slightly clearer. She then smiled faintly after a few more seconds, and Ron smiled back. "Because if you do, I'll hex you in the face" she said haughtily, but her smile was still on her lips.

"I'd deserve no less" Ron nodded. "Can we continue training to meet your Lord Father and Lady Mother?" Daphne was slightly taken a bit off-guard by that.

"Don't you want a break… to practice chess?" Daphne asked.

"Nah… its meeting your parents that has me worried. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of a Chess Master! C'mon" Ron finished as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up gently. "Also I forgot the whole bow thing…" Ron grinned mischievously. Daphne giggled at hearing that and she smacked his arm.

"You're such a duffer, Weasley. Here let me show you" Daphne said, smiling happily. She wasn't finished with Ron yet, she still had questions about his apparent lack of self-worth. But they could wait, right now she wanted to teach him something for once. So they spent the next two hours in that classroom, laughing and learning.

* * *

 **The Tournament Day:**

"Do you have your pass Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked coldly.

"Yes, Sir. Here it is" Ron answered, showing the professor the pass.

"Good, tuck that into your robes. Then we will be on our way" Snape said, nodding in approval. Ron did as he was told and tucked the pass back into his neat and immaculate robes. Snape had once again cleaned him up and Ron couldn't help but grimace at his reflection in the window. _He swept my hair back again… Ronald Bilius Malfoy, at your service… Bloody hell._

The two of them then flooed to The Three Broomsticks, and made their way towards the tournament. Ron was awed by how many people were attending, no doubt most of them were parents, families, and friends of the competitors. Seeing all of them made Ron excited about his own group of supporters. His family, both Weasleys and Lovegoods, were coming to show him their support. As were his Slytherin friends… and some of their parents…

Ron felt his stomach tighten in a knot when he remembered that the Greengrass Family and the Davis Family were going to be here. He had become prepared to meet Daphne's family, but then last night Tracey had told him that her parents were coming too. Ron grimaced when he thought about Mr. Greengrass watching him play today. _An actual Chess Master is here… And he is here to watch me! Bloody hell this is so… overwhelming…_

"Mr. Weasley?" Snape said, placing his hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron stopped and looked up at his favorite professor.

"Yes, sir?" Ron responded.

"Are you all right? You seem to have gone a bit pale" Snape drawled, his expression was cold and detached. Ron thought it looked rather odd when compared to his question.

"Yes, sir… I am just slightly nervous. That's all" Ron replied truthfully.

"Good, that means you aren't a fool. You may be undefeated, but that doesn't make you unbeatable. Remember that, and play carefully. Take your time Mr. Weasley, play every move only when you have thought everything through" Snape finished strongly. Ron nodded with a faint smile, glad that the professor was openly helping him. "Good luck Mr. Weasley, do Slytherin proud."

"I will, sir" Ron responded, giving Snape a firm nod. Snape then billowed away towards the spectator stands.

Ron then walked up to the competitor's entry way, and showed his pass to the elderly woman. She nodded at the pass, and Ron passed through the gate. He walked up to the Junior League Tournament section and steeled his mind on the way there. _Time to focus. I need to stay calm and breathe, watch every move and anticipate any counter-strategies. I can do this!_ Ron sat down in his designated seat, and looked at the spectator stands. He immediately spotted his family, their flaming locks easily setting them apart from everyone around them. They were all looking at him and cheering, though he couldn't understand what they were saying because everyone around them were doing the same thing.

He smiled at his family and waved at them, his mother and Ginny waved back frantically. All of the Weasley clan was there except for Charlie and Bill, but Ron understood that both his brothers worked far away and couldn't just drop everything. All three Lovegoods were there as well, cheering from besides the Weasley family. Pandora waved to him and let out a rather loud whistle, which she then sheepishly apologized for when the other spectators glared at her. Ron had to stifle his laugh at Pandora's carefree actions.

"My fellow witches and wizards" came a booming voice which almost made Ron jump from fright. Ron turned his attention to the center of the playing area and saw Mr. Curtis, the man had his wand pressed against his own throat and was smiling merrily. "Welcome to the finales of the annual Chess Tournaments held by the International League of Wizard's Chess Club! I am your host on this wonderful day, William Curtis!" The old man then took a short bow, and Ron was taken aback by the silence that engulfed them all.

"These Tournaments are proudly sponsored by the Ministry of Magic, and Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Let us also thank Hogsmeade Village for hosting us this year!" There was substantial applause from stands. "Please take your time after or during the Tournaments to browse the various shops around this beautiful wizarding village! And NOW, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the Junior League finalists!" There was thunderous applause as Ron and his fellow finalists stepped out of their chairs and stood on Mr. Curtis' right side, in rank order. Ron was standing right next to Mr. Curtis, and the girl holding the eighth rank was furthest from Mr. Curtis.

"The Junior League will be playing first, and I must exercise restraint when it comes to applause. These wonderful children need their concentration, so I must ask you to hold all applause until after each round ends. The first round will consist of four games being played simultaneously between these champions, their opponents selected at random!"

"Now on to the introductions! Starting from rank eight, we have twelve year old Miss. Samantha Hewitt from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Next up is rank seven, and we have thirteen year old Miss. Aiko Kurasaki from Mahoutokoro School of Magic…" Mr. Curtis kept introducing all the Junior League competitors one by one until it was finally Ron's turn. "And finally we have our number one spot holder, twelve year old Mr. Ronald Weasley from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Please give them a round of applause!"

The crowd cheered loudly, no doubt excited to see their loved ones competing in such a high level tournament. Ron felt his cheeks burn hot at all the shouting and cheers being aimed in his direction. _There's so many people here…_ Ron did a quick survey to spot his Slytherin friends, and he felt his shoulders tighten when he saw Daphne sitting with her family. She was cheering him on alongside his friends who were all there as well. Ron took in the Mr. Greengrass and swallowed nervously. _He is the Chess Master that could potentially mentor me… I have to win this thing!_

"With the introductions finished" Mr. Curtis' voice boomed again. "Let us commence with the first Tournament of today! The Winner of the Junior League Tournament will earn a prize reward of five-hundred Galleons, a trophy will be granted to their respective schools in their name, AND they will no doubt be in high demand for certain Chess Masters who have yet to take on an apprentice! We wish you all the very best of fortunes!"

Mr. Curtis then flicked his wand at a red box sitting in the corner of the playing area. Black and white tokens flew out of the box and presented themselves to the eight competitors. Ron looked at his white token and almost sighed in relief, it was number eight. _So I'll be playing Samantha Hewitt again… I've already beaten her once and pretty easily. Good…_

"Competitors!" Mr. Curtis said, but with his normal voice as he was addressing the competitors directly. "Please take one of the tables, and sit on the side representing your token color. White tokens play white side, and black tokens play black side. Good luck to you all."

* * *

Ron sat opposite of Samantha Hewitt, and he could see that she was nervous. _Yes, keep worrying and let me win please… I have my dignity on the line here!_ The match proceeded at Mr. Curtis' mark, and Ron was quite surprised by how quiet everything was. There were hundreds of people here, and there wasn't even a sound. Ron was more than glad about that, he hated being disturbed while he was focused.

The match started off slowly, Samantha was playing on guard and Ron was forced to take the offensive. He knew that she was wary of his traps, she had lost the last time because of them. So Ron decided to ditch the traps and tricks, and focus more on placement during this match. If she was too busy thinking about traps, then he would surprise her by taking over the board and cornering her. Ron's strategy worked well in his favor, as by the ten minute mark Samantha was already cornered and had lost her queen and knights. Ron checkmated her at the fourteen minute mark, winning his first game.

They stood up and shook hands, and then Ron went and sat down in his seat at the waiting section. The other games were still going, so he remained quiet and watched. He noticed his siblings giving him waves and thumbs-ups, and he gave them firm nods in return. His friends were also doing the same things and couldn't help but notice Daphne talking with Mr. Greengrass excitedly. _Is that a smile on his face?! Did I impress him? I was the first to finish and I won rather quickly… He should be impressed…_

When the last of the winners joined Ron, Mr. Curtis took the stage once more. "There you have it, we have our four competitors for the semi-finals." Mr. Curtis' voice boomed, and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. "We will be taking a small ten minute break in order to let the competitors prepare." With that Mr. Curtis approached the four of them, the crowd breaking into loud chatter in the background.

"Well done you four" Mr. Curtis congratulated. "Now, Mr. Ronald Weasley you will be up against Miss. Mikasa Hasashi for the next round. Which leaves Mr. John McIver and Miss. Amanda DuPont to go against one-another." Mr. Curtis then flicked his wand and the tokens once again flew out of the red box. Ron got a black one this time, and he thanked his lucky stars. He preferred going black over white mainly because of his playstyle. He preferred to see what the opponent did first rather than making the first move.

Mr. Curtis left the competitors, and Ron turned to face his competition. "I knew we'd get to play again" said John McIver to Ron, and Ron remembered him as the first boy he had competed against. _Oh bollocks… How did I not remember this guy earlier?_

"Guess you must be a seer" Ron joked, grinning internally at his own personal joke. John let out a chuckle at that.

"No, I was the winner of last year's tournament" John said, making Ron go slightly pale. "When you beat me, I decided to work even harder. Can't disgrace Ilvermorny's good name by losing to a Brit now, can I?" _He came all the way from America to compete… Bloody hell I'm doomed… I barely beat this guy before. And he has already won one of these before!_

"You assume that you will be beating me, American" Amanda DuPont remarked, her voice was haughty. She had a strong French accent, and Ron remembered that she was from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

"Well you did place as rank five, whereas I was ranked as second" John said, smiling at Amanda widely. _And he is arrogant! Amanda please win this!_ While John and Amanda glared at one another, Ron turned his attention to Mikasa Hasashi. _She is the current holder of rank three…_

"Guess we will be going against one another" Ron said with a smile. Mikasa simply stared at him and then gave him a firm nod. With that she left and sat down in her seat. _Ok then… Good chat…_

"Competitors! Take your seats" Mr. Curtis called out, and Ron did as he was told. He sat from across the Japanese girl, and they both gave each other short nods. "Begin!"

Mikasa was good, she was really bloody good. Here playstyle matched Ron's own and as a result, the both of them kept countering each other's strategies. Every time he got aggressive, she would become defensive. Every time he began defending, she would try to take the advantage on the board. They played a game of cat and mouse on the board for almost twenty minutes before Ron decided to change his playstyle. His current tactics weren't working, and they would be here for an eternity if this kept going. So instead Ron decided to play with Slytherin sneakiness.

He went on the defensive, and just as predicted, Mikasa began to move her stronger pieces forward. Ron let her push him back, and he even lost a knight in the process. But he was patient. He needed her to get greedy, and he needed her to make a mistake. And she made the biggest one he could imagine. She forgot about her king in the back, and was focused only on using her queen to take Ron's pieces. Ron almost laughed evilly at the sight of her poor white king in the back, forgotten and lonely. _Don't worry, you will have company soon…_

Ron moved his rook straight into her back line and called check, making Mikasa go wide-eyed at his odd strategy. He was going for the win without even planning a checkmate? Mikasa moved her king forward one space, and Ron immediately used his bishop to take her queen. This was the turning point of the match. Every time Mikasa tried to be aggressive, Ron used his rook to threaten her king. She would be forced to waste a turn moving her king, and Ron would use that to take a piece off of the board. Mikasa was forced to send her own bishop and rook to the back line, and by the time she took his rook, Ron had advanced on the board and cornered her. The match ended at the thirty-three minute mark, with Ron as the victor. _Bloody hell that was the hardest game I've ever played…_

Ron then smiled and shook Mikasa's hand, and he was surprised when she gave him a small bow. Ron slowly gave her a bow too, unsure of what that was about. With that, Ron left for the waiting area and was surprised to see Amanda DuPont waiting for him, and not John McIver.

"I take it you won?" Ron smiled genuinely at her, it stemmed from his relief. _Wait if she beat him… then she is even better than him… OH HELL!_

"The American was arrogant" Amanda said, she was hard to understand because of her accent. "His pride was too much to be winning…" _Huh? She probably isn't very good at English, considering she is French._

"Well Mikasa was quite amazing" Ron said, trying to be polite. "She was the hardest match I've ever played." Amanda narrowed her eyes at him, and he felt his face flush. _She is pretty… like really pretty._

"You don't seem so arrogant… Perhaps you British have better manners, no?" Amanda asked. "I hope I enjoy playing against you."

"Me too" Ron said. _One more game to win… I can do this!_

"Our finalists have been chosen!" boomed Mr. Curtis' voice, making Ron jump. Amanda giggled at him, and he felt his ears go red. The crowd cheered loudly and Ron heard another obnoxiously loud whistle, making him turn in the direction of Pandora. She was talking to the witch next to her, and pointing at him. Then she pointed at herself, and the witch talking to Pandora smiled widely at her. _What are they talking about? It doesn't matter… FOCUS!_

Mr. Curtis approached them both with two tokens in his hands. "Ronald you will be playing black this game, and Amanda you will be white. Is that alright?" Mr. Curtis asked. Ron nodded and so did Amanda, making Mr. Curtis smile at them both. "Well done to the both of you, but there can only be one winner. May the better player win, please take your seats." Ron and Amanda did as they were told, and sat across from one another. "Begin!"

The match started off quite oddly, giving Ron a sense of Déjà vu. Amanda immediately began taking her stronger pieces out, and Ron couldn't help but remember his first game against John. _So they play similarly… I can use that!_ Ron immediately began using defensive strategies to protect his king and stronger pieces. He had already almost lost to this strategy the first time around, and he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. He decided to bide his time and look for mistakes. Instead of fighting fire with fire, he would throw a bucket of water on it. John had almost won because Ron had tried to match his aggressive playstyle at first, this time he would defend and trap instead.

Amanda seemed to be slowing down her brutal playstyle, especially after she had lost a bishop and a knight just to take two pawns. She knew that Ron had figured her out quite quickly, and that worried her greatly. The American had tried to match her aggressiveness with his own, and as a result he had begun to make mistakes. But this red-haired boy… he was luring her into traps. He was sacrificing his own pieces to take her stronger ones. And now she had given him the advantage on the board. Now she would be forced to defend while he chased down her pieces…

Ron, noticing Amanda losing steam, decided now was the best time to attack. If he lost a few pieces, then so be it. All he had to do was remove her queen and bishop, then the board would be his. Rooks weren't as agile and knights were restricted in their movements. He only needed to take one bishop and one queen.

Amanda did her best to protect her queen, but Ron was after it with a vengeance. She knew that sooner or later he would take it, but how many pieces could she take in between? She decided to try and trap Ron's pieces, especially his queen and bishops as they were doing the most damage to her. She knew she wasn't very good at playing a slow and defensive game, that was why she opted for aggression, but she had no choice at this point. Ron's early realization had cost her dearly, and she needed to try and turn the tide.

The thirty minute mark was reached when Ron finally saw an opening on her queen. If he took it with his own queen, then she would take his queen with her rook. _She is setting a trap? And a poor one… I still have two bishops, a rook, and a knight after this… She will only have her knight, bishop, and rook. This is worth the risk if I take her queen and then ignore her rook. I need to get rid of that bishop, and my rook can do it if I sacrifice my only knight to make an opening. She won't survive long on a knight and rook…_

Amanda was ecstatic to see the red-haired boy fall for her trap. He greedily took her queen with his own, and she used her rook to take his queen. Now he would no doubt attack her rook with his bishop, and she would use her knight to take that bishop as well. That could even the playing field. So it came as a horrible surprise to her when Ron instead moved his knight and took her pawn instead. A pawn that was adjacent to her bishop… That move had made no sense to her, why was he just sacrificing his knight like that? And then it hit her, he was after her bishop… He didn't care about losing his queen because his bishops still gave him reign on the board. Amanda knew in that moment that she had lost. No matter what she did, his stronger pieces would easily thwart her. He even had more pawns than her… This was over.

Ron won the game at the thirty five minute mark, and the crowd went wild. Ron could actually hear his mother screaming his name at the top of her lungs, while the twins and Pandora whistled loudly. Relief flooded his system and he almost passed out from it. _I did it… I won!_ Ron shook hands with Amanda, and then turned to face his family. His parents and the Lovegood parents were waving wildly at him. The twins were holding up a banner which had the words 'Weasley Winner!' on it. Percy was clapping vigorously alongside Ginny and Luna who were jumping up and down in excitement.

"Well played Mr. Weasley" Mr. Curtis' voice boomed once again. "We have our Junior League Champion for this year!" The crowd cheered loudly, his family being the loudest. And for the first time in his life, Ron felt truly proud of himself. He had accomplished something with his own talents, with no help from visions or his brothers. He had won this with his own skill and mastery, and that thought made him grin like a madman at the crowd. There were flashes from cameras, and Ron waved to his family with a wide smile. Mr. Curtis then guided Ron to the center of the playing area, and the elderly woman who was guarding the gate came in with a large box.

"And here is your reward young man!" Mr. Curtis said in his amplified voice. "Five Hundred Galleons, curtesy of the International League of Wizard's Chess Club, Ministry of Magic, and Gringotts Wizarding Bank! Your school will also be given a trophy in your name! Congratulations!" Mr. Curtis then opened the box and took out a piece of parchment. He handed the parchment to Ron and shook his hand hard. "Well done once again young man! And that, my fellow witches and wizards, concludes the first tournament of the day! The Apprentice League Tournament starts in one hour, and we hope to see you all soon!" There was thunderous applause and Ron walked out of the playing area with a massive smile on his face.

* * *

Ron managed to take one step out of the gate before he was pounced on by Ginny and Luna, both shouting over each other in excitement. Ginny once again proceeded to shatter his right hand, while Luna grabbed his left one softly and began swinging them back and forward. _Thank Merlin I put the parchment in my robes… MY HAND GINNY PLEASE!_

"Ronnie!" came Ron's mother's voice from the crowd. He saw her running at him and before he knew it, he was embraced in a hug that cracked his back. _MY SPINE!_ The two girls and one woman were all he could hear and see, and he was sure he was going to die by smothering at this rate. _Help me!_

"Love, you'll kill the poor boy!" his father's voice chuckled from somewhere. Molly finally relented, and left her son some room to breathe. Ron couldn't stop smiling at the massive smile on his mother's face. _I put that there._ Arthur then walked up and embraced his son, and it was far gentler than his mother's bone shattering hug. "Ron, we're so proud of you! My son, a Chess Champion" Arthur laughed in joy and pride.

"Thanks dad" Ron replied, hugging his father tightly. When they parted, Ron could see the twins and Percy standing behind their father, waiting for their turn. The twins actually hugged him too and ruffled his hair, while Percy gave his little brother a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you Ron" Percy said, tightening his hug a bit more. "You were amazing out there, and you did us all proud! I wish Charlie was here to see you as well, I know that he would have loved it."

"Me too" Ron said, missing his dragon-tamer brother. Pandora and Xenophilius joined them right after that, and Pandora wasted no time in hugging Ron.

"You continue to amaze me Ron!" Pandora exclaimed. "I knew you were brilliant at chess, but I didn't know just how much!" Even Xenophilius gave Ron a hug, which Ron didn't actually mind. He quite liked Xenophilius, even if the man was a bit barmy.

"Ron" Arthur said, taking Ron's attention away from his sisters. "You should give me the bond given to you for winning. I'll open up a Gringotts account for you tomorrow and place your money inside it." Ron took out the parchment from his robes and handed it over to his father, who took it carefully. The twins whistled at the parchment being exchanged.

"It's official George" Fred said, eyeing the parchment. "The Weasleys are rich!"

"Indeed we are, brother mine" George said, also eyeing the parchment. "Imagine all the pranks and goof-items we could buy with that money!" Molly tutted the twins when she heard that.

"That is your brother's money, you two" Molly scolded. "He worked very hard for it, and neither of you will waste it on 'pranks and goof-items'. Am I clear?" _Did she just scold the twins for me? Am I in a dream?_

"Little bro" Fred said smoothly, and then he placed his arm over Ron's shoulder.

"Ronnikins" George said just as smoothly, and then he too place his arm over Ron's other shoulder.

"You know how much we love you, right?" they said simultaneously, smiling widely at Ron. _Stay away from me you creeps…_

"You do?" Ron asked in his best scathing voice. The twins feigned hurt but were still grinning.

"You wouldn't mind if…" George started but was cut off by Molly again.

"Stop it you two vultures!" Molly scolded, pulling Ron away from them. "Ronnie, don't give them a single Knut of **your** money! They will just waste it!" A loud cough tore their attentions away from each other, and Ron was not surprised to see a frowning Snape. _This could get weird…_ Ron approached the professor, and he knew that his family was eyeing Snape wearily.

"Professor" Ron said, keeping his voice calm and collected.

"Congratulations are in order, Mr. Weasley" Snape drawled, he then gave a faint smirk. "You have done Slytherin very proud today." _Really…? You're going to say that now?_ Ron could tell that his parents and brothers weren't very comfortable at hearing that, but he didn't want to get on Snape's bad side. _I am a Slytherin! I shouldn't have to step on egg-shells…_

"Thank you, sir" Ron said, giving a firm nod to the Potions Master. "I'm glad to have won this for Hogwarts." _Change the topic without being rude, that's what Daphne taught me… Please work…_

"Indeed" Snape said, hiding his surprise at Ron's sneaky deflection. "I will be heading back to the castle, Professor McGonagall is here today and when you wish to return later, go find her. She will be here all day." With that, Snape billowed away without even saying goodbye but Ron didn't mind. _That's just how he is…_

Ron was about to rejoin his family when he saw his Slytherin friends waving him over from a little distance away. Ron waved back, and then he turned to his parents. "Mum, dad" Ron called for their attention. "Can I go join my friends for a bit? I have some people they want to introduce me to…" His parents were both taken aback by this.

"Some people?" his mother questioned, trying her best not to sound worried. She failed at that.

"Of course son" his father quickly added. "We were going to show Luna and Ginny around Hogsmeade, come find us when you are finished." _Ok then…_ Ron decided to ignore his parents' weird reaction and excused himself. Pandora hugged him again before he could leave. Ron then approached his friends, smiling ear-to-ear.

"The champion" Theo declared, grinning at Ron. Ron gave a mock-bow, which earned him a few laughs from his friends.

"Congratulations Ron" Blaise said with an actual smile. He then shook hands with Ron, and Ron grinned back.

"Thanks Blaise" Ron said, trying to hide his giddiness. He turned to the girls and Tracey gave him a hug, which made Ron freeze.

"You were splendid Ron!" Tracey said excitedly. "We're so happy for you!" Ron decided to hug her back, and it didn't feel as odd as he thought it would. It felt… nice.

"Thanks Trace" Ron said, feeling his face getting hot. As soon as Tracey let him go, Millie hugged him as well. _That's a first!_

"Well done Ron! I knew you'd win" Millie said, and then she let him go. She was beaming at him, and Ron couldn't help but beam back.

"I knew it too" Ron said, earning a laugh from Millie.

"Congratulations Ron" Pansy piped in, smiling at Ron from behind Millie. Millie moved out of the way, and Pansy extended her hand for a shake. She looked slightly sheepish, and Ron recognized that look. _She still feels out of place? After everything?_ Ron was feeling pretty confident right about now, so he did the one thing that he knew he could never do on any other day. He walked up and gave Pansy a hug, and she stiffened immediately.

"Thanks Pansy" Ron said in a whisper only she could hear. "You don't have to keep being on the outside, you're one of us and I see you as one of my closest friends." Pansy relaxed at that and actually hugged him back.

"Thanks" she whispered in return. Ron pulled back and saw that she was smiling, and he smiled back at her. _I need to work harder on bringing Pansy around. No one should have to feel like an outsider…_ Ron then looked around for Daphne, but she wasn't there.

"Where's Daphne? She was just here when I waved at you guys" Ron asked his friends, who all gave him sly smiles.

"She ran off to find her parents and my parents" Tracey chuckled. "I hope you remember your training…" _Oh Merlin…_ Ron felt his stomach drop and his confidence escaped out of him. He paced frantically for the next few minutes, and his friends did their best to take the piss out of him. And then they stopped him because Blaise had spotted Daphne approaching the group. Ron looked at her, and she was smiling happily at him. She was walking side by side with a younger girl who resembled her quite a bit, except she had chubbier cheeks and wore her hair in a pony-tail. Behind them were their parents and Tracey's parents.

Lord Sebastian Greengrass was a tall, pale man who had his black hair slicked back. He was clean shaven, and his dark blue eyes were lifeless. The mere sight of him made Ron gulp. In contrast to him, Lady Mary Greengrass was a beauty to behold. She had smooth blonde hair like Daphne's but it was done up in a tasteful bun. She wore a faint smile on her face, and her bright blue eyes sparkled. They could not be a more peculiar couple, at least in Ron's eyes.

James Davis was also a tall man, with brown combed over hair, and emerald green eyes much like Tracey's. He wasn't as pale as Lord Greengrass, but he was still a bit pale. His wife Susana Davis was a beauty with shoulder length brown hair that flowed freely, she too had green eyes, and she was smiling widely at Ron. _Here we go! Don't embarrass yourself for Merlin's sake…_

"Congratulations, Ron" Daphne said with a controlled smile, clearly holding back because of her parents. Ron returned her modest smile and gave her a slow nod.

"Thank you, Daphne" Ron replied in a calm tone. _This is hard…_

"Astoria" Daphne continued "this is my friend and ally Ronald Weasley. Ronald, this is my younger sister, Astoria Greengrass." Ron turned to smaller girl and he couldn't help but compare the two sisters. They looked so alike, and yet Astoria had an air of mischief about her. She was smiling widely at him, and Ron decided to smile back.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Astoria Greengrass" Ron greeted, cringing at being so 'Pure-Blooded'. Astoria gave him her hand which he took and lightly kissed, and then he gave her a practiced bow.

"An honor to meet you, Ronald Weasley" Astoria said, her voice was filled with childish glee. Then she let out a short giggle, and Ron had to bite his cheek in order to not laugh. _She is just as bad as I am at this!_

"Ronald" Daphne called for his attention, which Ron gave her immediately. "These are my parents, Lord Sebastian Greengrass and Lady Mary Greengrass." Ron nodded and approached her parents. Lord Greengrass was looking at Ron with an analyzing gaze, whereas Lady Greengrass simply smiled softly at him.

"It is an honor to meet the Lord and Lady of the most Ancient and Noble house of Greengrass" Ron said, bowing his head respectfully. "I am Ronald Bilius Weasley, a friend and ally to your daughter Daphne." _SOMEONE HEX ME!_

"The pleasure is all mine" Sebastian replied, his voice was calm and soft.

"Well met, Ronald" Mary said right after her husband finished. "Congratulations on your victory today" she said, and then she gave her hand to Ron. _Don't mess this up Ron!_ Ron took her hand gently and gave her knuckles a light kiss, and then he bowed with practiced perfection. Lady Mary smiled at him in approval. _THANK YOU MERLIN!_

"Yes, well done on your triumph" Sebastian said softly. "You played well today."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron replied, feeling a cold sweat in his armpits.

"Are you lot done?" came another man's voice. It was James Davis, and he was grinning at Lord Greengrass. "Hello Ronald, I'm Tracey's dad" James introduced himself, putting his hand forward for a shake. Ron was jarred for a second but quickly recovered. He shook the man's hand firmly. "Quite the grip you have young man" James joked. "Tracey never stops talking about you." _She doesn't?_

"DAD!" Tracey whined loudly, going red in the face. It got a laugh out of James, and tutting from Susana.

"James stop embarrassing your daughter in front of her cute friend" Susana said, beaming at Ron. Ron had to fight in order to not lose his composure. "I'm Susana Davis, Tracey's mum." She then gave Ron a hug and Ron went beet-red. _What is happening?! I can't decide whose worse? Tracey's parents or Daphne's…_ "Well done on winning the Tournament today" she cooed. Ron was instantly reminded of Pandora.

"Thank you, Lady Davis" Ron replied, and Susana laughed lightly.

"You can call me Susana, Ronald" she said kindly. "And you can call my husband James." James nodded and smiled at Ron.

"Then please, call me Ron" Ron replied, smiling back at the two. _At least I know how to talk to these two!_

"Ronald" Lord Greengrass spoke, his voice carrying authority. "May I have a word with, in private?" Ron knew that wasn't a request, it was an order. _A Lord's words are final… That's what Daphne told me._

"Of course, my Lord" Ron said, giving a faint smile. "And please, call me Ron as well." Lord Greengrass nodded, and gestured for them to leave the group. Ron led the way, and Lord Greengrass followed behind. Once they were far enough, Lord Greengrass stopped Ron by putting his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"This should do" Lord Greengrass said, his voice calm and smooth. "Daphne tells me that you have never lost a match before, is this true?" _Interrogation time, eh?_

"Yes, my Lord" Ron said, trying his best to sound humble.

"What about the first week of the Tournament? Surely you didn't win every game, did you?" Lord Greengrass asked, his eyes piercing Ron's.

"I did, my Lord" Ron replied, keeping his composure. "I won twenty-five victories, and therefore earned the number one rank." Lord Greengrass gave a faint smirk at hearing that, and Ron knew why. _He already knows this… He is testing me in some way, I just don't know what way yet…_

"That is impressive, most impressive…" Lord Greengrass said, his voice sounding faraway. Ron could tell that the man was musing about something. "Everything I hear about you is… impressive. So much so that I have trouble believing that any… ordinary… twelve year old could accomplish so much in so little time. Tell me, Ron… How are you so extraordinary?" The mood seemed to have shifted, and Ron felt intimidated by the tall, pale man. Lord Greengrass' dead eyes were staring right into Ron's, as if trying to dig the answers out.

"I don't believe I am… my Lord" Ron said slowly, doing his best to keep his composure. Lord Greengrass raised an eyebrow at that.

"Don't try to deceive me boy… I did background checks on you, just to be sure that my daughter wasn't associating with the wrong sort. And I was most shocked to learn of your past." Ron gulped at hearing that, feeling sweat coming onto his brow. "Pandora Lovegood, you saved her life at the age of ten… Ripped off your own fingernails to do it… No ordinary ten year old is capable of such a thing… So let me ask you again, what makes you so extraordinary?" _What else has he learned about me? How much has Daphne told him? Bloody hell… I don't need my life under a microscope…_

"I got lucky…" Ron began, breathing in and trying to remain calm. "I found her, and I managed to save her by sheer dumb luck…"

"Dumb luck? It wasn't dumb luck with the troll… You cast to kill, didn't you? Or what about discovering a man who was thought dead for over ten years?" Lord Greengrass asked, still looking into Ron's eyes. "I don't believe in coincidences, I believe in patterns. You have a habit of constantly being in the right place, at the right time." _I need to stop this now! I don't like being questioned by people I don't even know._

"It was dumb luck with Pandora" Ron began, fixing his gaze and standing upright. Lord Greengrass smirked at seeing the boy not being intimidated so easily. "With the troll, I was looking for my friend. I just happened upon the troll and then yes, I did aim to kill. My friends would have died if I didn't… As for Peter Pettigrew… I used common sense. No ordinary rat can live for over ten years… Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore did the rest" Ron finished strongly, gazing back into Lord Greengrass' eyes. _I know most of what I said were lies… but not everything. And he has no proof, he is trying to get it out of me._

"I see" Lord Greengrass said after a few moments, smiling at Ron. "A man who keeps his secrets close, and isn't easily intimidated… My daughter has chosen a worthy ally indeed." _What? Is this all about Daphne? I'm getting confused…_ "Forgive me Ron, but I wanted to see your character myself. The way my daughter speaks of you in her letters… I just had to make sure myself. You are indeed an impressive child."

"Thank you… my Lord" Ron said slowly, worried about how much information Daphne had shared with her father.

"My daughter has informed me that you wish to become a Chess Master someday… An admirable goal. And you have already begun your journey towards accomplishing it. I myself am a Chess Master, and I do not have an apprentice. I have decided that you are an opportunity that cannot be passed up." _Opportunity?_ "What do you say to that, Ron?"

"What does becoming your apprentice entail?" Ron asked, he wasn't planning on being duped. _Slytherins are always looking for an edge, and I need to be careful around him. He already suspects me and I've known him for only twenty-minutes…_ Lord Greengrass smiled again at Ron, and nodded in approval.

"A sharp mind too… most children your age would have jumped at that offer. If you become my apprentice, I will train you myself. I will also introduce you to the International League of Wizard's Chess Club, and help you build contacts. Furthermore, I will fund you for playing in tournaments. And pay you a monthly salary." _Woah! So I get all of that? And what does he get?_

"And what do you get out of this, my Lord?" Ron asked politely.

"Prestige, honor, recognition… pride" Lord Greengrass said softly. "Things far more valuable than money. The more you win, the more we both benefit. And under my training, you will win. I can promise you that."

"Then… I agree" Ron said, smiling at Lord Greengrass who returned his smile.

"Excellent" Lord Greengrass said, and then he put his hand forward for a shake. Ron shook it firmly. "I will write up a contract and bring it your family during the end of term holidays. As you are under seventeen, we will need their approval. Once that is sorted, you will become my apprentice and you will be under my employment. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron responded, smiling from joy. _A CHESS MASTER'S APPRENTICE! Dad and mum are going to be so amazed!_

"Then we should return to the others… Speak of this to no one, not even my daughter… I want this kept under the table for the time being. Understood?" _Um… okay…_ Ron nodded slowly, deciding to go with it. "It is for the best for the time being" Lord Greengrass said, as if reading Ron's mind. "I don't wish to give anyone reason to believe that I took advantage of your childish naivety. When the time comes, we will do everything above board and make a statement as well, alongside your parents. The Chess scene in England is… very superstitious of foul play…"

"You will no doubt receive many offers before the holidays begin" Lord Greengrass continued. "Refuse them all. Understood?" Ron nodded firmly at that. _Did he do something illegal by selecting me this quickly after the tournament? Whatever… Having the wealthiest man in England backing me up will certainly come in handy during the future… especially during the war. I just have to figure out how._

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger POV**_

On the morning of March the Twenty-eighth, Hermione woke up in a very different room than she was used to. It took her a few seconds to remember that she wasn't in her own house for the next few days, instead she was staying over at a friend's house… A friend! She felt giddy every time she thought about that. She had spent twelve years without friends, and now she was at a sleepover for the first time! Hermione quickly hopped out of her guest bed and ran into the adjoining shower, keen to get her day started. She showered and brushed her teeth, put on a clean set of clothes, and then marched out of her room. _Time for breakfast with Harry and Neville!_

Hermione sat on the dining table with Mrs. Longbottom. The boys hadn't woken up yet, much to Hermione's irritation. _It's already nine in the morning… Why aren't they awake yet?_ Hermione pouted as she drank her hot tea, annoyed at her best friends.

"Miss. Granger, a Lady shouldn't pout…" Mrs. Longbottom said in a stern voice. Hermione stiffened and put on a forced smile.

"Sorry, Mrs. Longbottom" Hermione apologized to stern woman. Hermione was quite scared of displeasing the tall, thin, and bony older witch. Mrs. Longbottom had an aura of power and authority about her, and Hermione had instantly come to respect her when she had met her last night.

"Where are my Grandson and Mr. Potter?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. "It is already nine in the morning…" Hermione beamed and nodded at Mrs. Longbottom, agreeing with the older witch. _Those two can be so lazy sometimes…_

"Perhaps you could teach my Grandson the value of utilizing his day properly" Mrs. Longbottom continued, wearing a thin frown on her face. _Though she is quite harsh with poor Neville…_ Hermione simply nodded at and continued drinking her tea. It was ten minutes later that a laughing pair of boys came into the dining room.

"Good morning Harry! Good morning Neville!" Hermione beamed at her friends. They looked over and smiled widely at her.

"Good morning Hermione!" they both said, and then they took their seats. Hermione sat across from them and she could easily tell that they were tired. _They must've been awake during all hours into the night._

"I see that you two have deemed it worthy to make an appearance for breakfast this morning" Mrs. Longbottom said calmly, but the sternness was still evident.

"Sorry, Gran" Neville apologized in a low voice, and then he gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Mrs. Longbottom" Harry apologized as well. "It was my fault… I kept Neville up all night…" _There he goes again, throwing himself under the bus for others._ Hermione had come to realize that Harry had a habit of doing that. If anyone picked on her, he'd be the first one to her defense. If they all got into trouble, he'd say that it was all his idea. He was quite noble, but he never thought things through.

Breakfast then appeared on the table magically, and Hermione marveled at the spell-work needed to do that. Harry and Neville giggled at her awed expression, no doubt amused by her need to know everything. But Hermione couldn't help that, she needed everything to make sense. That was how she dealt with all of… this!

"It's the elves my dear" Mrs. Longbottom said to her. "They cook for us and clean Longbottom Manor, and you can usually find them around doing chores." Hermione nodded slowly, wondering if the elves were paid servants or not. They ate quietly for a minute before Mrs. Longbottom broke the silence. "Neville, how are your classes?" Neville paled a little at the sound of that.

"They are going well, Gran" Neville said, smiling faintly at her. "I'm still having trouble with Potions, Charms, D.A.D.A, and Transfiguration but my Herbology marks are high. Astronomy is also going well." _So every subject that needs a wand… He needs to talk to his Gran and convince her to get him a new one. Or he will fail his classes…_ Hermione felt righteous anger on Neville's behalf. It wasn't fair that his Grandmother wouldn't let him buy his own wand. It was affecting his studies!

"What about you two?" Mrs. Longbottom said, still looking at Neville with a mask of indifference.

"They are going well… Potions and Transfiguration are a little hard… also I'm not very good in Herbology" Harry said, trying to ignore Mrs. Longbottom's piercing gaze on Neville. _Poor Nev…_

"What about you Miss. Granger? How are you faring in Hogwarts and the magical world?" Mrs. Longbottom asked, looking to Hermione. Hermione didn't want to boast and make Neville look bad, but she also didn't want to lie. As a result, she couldn't seem to find her voice.

"She is at the top of our class, Gran" Neville beamed at Hermione, making her blush a bit from embarrassment. _He keeps insisting that I am, but I'm not…_

"You are?" Mrs. Longbottom asked, a faint smile on her lips. Hermione smiled at her and then shook her head.

"No, Mrs. Longbottom" Hermione said, and she could see Neville frown a little from the corner of her vision. "A Slytherin boy is at the top of our class." Hermione then smiled even more as she thought of her red-haired friend. _My first real friend!_ She truly wished that Ronald was in Gryffindor, and that they could study together more often.

"A Slytherin boy?" Mrs. Longbottom said in a thoughtful voice. "I assume you are speaking of Ronald Weasley" she said, looking at Hermione for confirmation. _How…?_ Hermione simply nodded at her.

"Grandmother, how do you know of Weasley being the one?" Neville asked slowly.

"Who doesn't know of that boy's intelligence?" was Mrs. Longbottom's reply. "The Daily Prophet's Rita Skeeter has labelled him a 'prodigy', and he was instrumental in capturing a Death-Eater… One that the Ministry itself believed to be dead for over ten years." She then scoffed. "An eleven year old boy is more competent than those fools. Though I must admit, I was surprised by his sorting. Especially after I learned about what he did for you three…" Hermione paled a little as she remembered the dead troll and the monstrous look on Ronald's face. She still had nightmares about that night.

"Which reminds me" Mrs. Longbottom continued. "Why have you not invited him here Neville?" Mrs. Longbottom looked at Neville with a tight frown. "The Longbottom family owes him a great debt, and we must **honor** it. So why isn't he here?" Neville paled at that, and Hermione took a page out of Harry's book. She started eating with her head down.

"He um… we aren't really friends with… him" Neville stuttered, looking down at his plate. Hermione frowned at hearing that, because she considered Ronald one her best friends. She only had three friends, and Ronald had been the first one. _Even Harry considers Ronald as his first friend…_

Mrs. Longbottom was about to say something but was interrupted by an owl carrying the Daily Prophet. It flew down and landed on the table, right in front of Mrs. Longbottom. She took out one Knut from her bright red handbag and put it in the pouch on the owl's leg. The owl hooted loudly and flew out of a close-by open window. Mrs. Longbottom then quickly went over the first page, and she let out a dry chuckle at the main article written by none other than Rita Skeeter. What a despicable woman…

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear" Mrs. Longbottom said, a faint smile on her lips. All three children looked at her in confusion. Mrs. Longbottom then cleared her throat and read the title of the main article on the front page. " **Slytherin** **Prodigy** wins the Junior League Tournament without suffering a single loss…" Hermione and Harry beamed at each other, and even Neville smiled a little.

"HE WON!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, forgetting to use her inside voice.

"We should send him a letter to congratulate him" Harry said, beaming in excitement. Hermione nodded fervently at that, smiling ear-to-ear. Mrs. Longbottom watched the exchange with a hint of amusement, and a hint of curiosity. She definitely had to meet the boy that had saved her Grandson. The boy that could slay a fully grown Mountain Troll singlehandedly…

* * *

After spending the whole day lounging around, Hermione finally convinced Harry and Neville to do some of their homework. They had whined and complained, but in the end, they had agreed begrudgingly. Hermione herself had already finished her homework, and so she was now currently writing Ronald a letter to congratulate him on his triumph.

"When are you going to talk to your Gran about getting a new wand, Nev?" Harry asked, making Hermione look up from her letter.

"Harry's right Neville, you need a proper wand" Hermione said, feeling annoyed again that he didn't have one yet. _What was Mrs. Longbottom thinking?!_

"I know…" Neville muttered. "I just don't know… how to ask. My Gran isn't exactly easy to talk to…" _Poor Neville… Maybe I should talk to her for him? I can explain to her why he needs his own wand, and that his current wand is affecting his studies poorly._

"You need a proper wand if we're going to try and stop Snape!" Harry said, sounding agitated by the memory of the man. After the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match, Harry had followed Snape into the Forbidden Forest and learnt that the Potions Master was threatening Quirrell again. Hermione had doubts about Snape early on, but she was now convinced that he was up to no good. _And he's a horrid teacher… Always picking on his students and being biased in favor of his own house…_

"Harry…" Neville started slowly. "I still think we should try and talk to the Headmaster… We can't go after a professor ourselves… We're just kids."

"We don't have any proof of Snape wanting to steal the stone, Nev…" Harry frowned. "No one will believe us…"

"I agree with Neville" Hermione interjected, smiling at the chubby boy. "It's too dangerous Harry, Snape is a fully grown wizard. We won't able to stop him alone… But… if we had more help… maybe from a certain Slytherin…" Hermione finished softly. She had wanted to bring Ronald into this as well, but Neville didn't trust him. And Harry was worried that Ronald would tell the other Slytherins. _He would never do that! He is our friend as well!_

"We can't trust him" Neville frowned, and Hermione frowned back. "He is a Slytherin! They're all bullies, and they always become Dark Wizards!"

"That's not true!" Hermione argued back, feeling righteous anger in defense of Ronald. "He saved our lives! And he is our friend! Harry please, we could use his help!" she implored to the boy-who-lived. Harry looked rather conflicted by that.

"Hermione…" Harry started, and she winced at his tone. _Why can't they trust him?! Ronald isn't like the other Slytherins!_

"Harry please" Hermione implored again. "He is in Slytherin, he can easily watch Professor Snape for us. And he is brilliant enough to face off against a Mountain Troll and win. If we aren't going to inform the Headmaster, then we should at least have someone who can help us keep track of Professor Snape…" Harry looked at her with a conflicted look, but then he nodded. Hermione beamed and Neville frowned.

"Harry no…" Neville said. "We can't trust him with this! He will tell Snape and we will lose everything we have worked for…" _No he won't!_ Hermione hated it when Neville spoke poorly of Ronald just because he was a Slytherin. Usually, Neville was the sweetest boy she had ever met, but when it came to Slytherin house… He acted like they were all just bullies who were after him. _Ronald is nothing like Malfoy…_

"Hermione is right, Nev" Harry said, smiling faintly at his best friend who was frowning at him. "If we can keep a closer eye on Snape, then we can inform Dumbledore when Snape goes after the stone… And Ron isn't like the other Slytherins. You know that…"

"I know that he is surrounded by the bad ones" Neville said softly. "How long will it be until he starts acting like them? I mean, why is he in Slytherin in the first place? His family has been in Gryffindor for generations… yet he goes to Slytherin? That doesn't strike you two as odd?" Harry had nothing to say to that, because he himself had wondered the same things.

"It doesn't matter what his house is" Hermione said, trying not to lose her temper. This was her first friend that Neville was discrediting. The one who had come running to her aid, knowing full well what kind of danger he was putting himself in. "Ronald is a good person! He saved our lives, and he would never act like one of Malfoy's goons…"

They all sat in silence after that, clearly conflicted on what to do. Hermione wanted to bring Ronald into their plans. Neville wanted to make sure that Ronald never found out. So it all came down to Harry. Could he trust his friend from the train-ride to Hogwarts, his first real friend?

"We'll talk to him after the holidays end…" Harry said, smiling faintly at Hermione. Hermione beamed at Harry, while Neville just sighed. _This is the right move!_

* * *

 _ **Charlie Weasley's POV**_

Charlie let out a tired breath, and wiped the sweat from his brow. _Damn Graves for making me do this… What a twat!_ Charlie then continued his task of cleaning out the dragon cages without any magic. _I go out drinking for one night… Just one! And he forces me to do this…_ Charlie cursed Damian Graves, his supervisor, within his head. _Absolute cunt!_

"Well, well…" came a friendly voice from behind him. Charlie turned around to see his friend Cornelius grinning at him. "Let me guess… Graves caught you sneaking back into the reserve late last night!" Cornelius then let out a loud laugh, and Charlie clenched his jaw at his friend.

"Fuck off" Charlie grit out. "It was your fucking idea, and I'm the one stuck shoveling shit…" Cornelius laughed even more at that.

"Ease up there, mate" Cornelius said in between his laughter. "It's nearly two 'o'clock, that means lunch break. Put down that shovel and let's go!" Charlie let out a relieved breath and threw the shovel down. _Thank Merlin…_ He then walked out of the cage and collected his gear from nearby.

The pair then made their way to the mess hall, eager to get some food in their bellies. They took their usual spot in the massive mess hall and began piling food onto their plates. One-by-one, they were joined by their friends and colleagues. They talked animatedly with one another about the new Hungarian Horntail that had come into their care. The beast was majestic, and Charlie had more than once snuck it extra food. He may have hated his supervisor, but there was no other place he'd rather be.

He was halfway through his meal when he was approached by Kirsten Domitor, a fellow Dragonologist. She was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet and was wearing her beautiful smile on her face. "Have a look here" Kirsten said, smiling at Charlie. She then handed him the copy of the Daily Prophet, something that drew the attentions of his other friends. Charlie took the newspaper and skimmed over the first page.

Charlie's breath caught when he saw a picture of his little brother waving at a crowd of people. Ron was smiling ear-to-ear, and there were multiple camera flashes happening him. Charlie then read the title of the article, and he leapt out his seat with a huge grin on his face.

"Fucking hell…" Charlie muttered, grinning at the page like a mad-man. _This is amazing! Way to go Ronnie!_

"What is it?" Cornelius asked, genuinely intrigued. Charlie just handed him the newspaper, and then chuckled in pride. _My little brother… A chess champion? Bloody hell…_

The newspaper traveled amongst his colleagues quickly after that, with most them being genuinely impressed. All the while, Charlie talked to Kirsten about Ron. He couldn't help the massive smile on his face as he talked about his little brother with absolute pride. Who could have guessed that Ickle Ronnikins would be labeled a prodigy? _I could have…_

When Ron had first shown an interest in his studies, Charlie had decided to show off to his little brother. He filled out a journal full of spells for Ron, hoping to awe Ron with his own advanced knowledge. And although Ron was impressed, it was Charlie who was left awed by Ron. Ron had gone and memorized everything in that journal and was eager to learn more. Charlie had then started filling out the journal not because he wanted to impress Ron, but because he knew that Ron would impress all of Hogwarts when he got there.

Charlie had come to respect Ron's focus and determination, and he secretly wished that he knew why his brother was this way. Ron had always been quite lazy, and then one day he just… wasn't. It had bewildered Charlie, but it didn't stop him from helping and teaching Ron. They even started exercising together, something that no other Weasley sibling did with Charlie. Even Bill refused to run around and push his body to its limits.

And then Ron went to Hogwarts, and he was sorted into Slytherin… That had caught Charlie completely off guard. When he had received Fred's angry letter, he just figured that the twins were once again trying to dupe him. But then Percy's letter had come, and Charlie had spent the whole week trying to figure out why Ron was placed in Slytherin. By the end of that week, Charlie didn't care that Ron was in Slytherin. All he cared about was whether or not his little brother was safe.

Eventually they had started sending each other letters, and Charlie was glad to learn that Ron was doing quite well within Slytherin. And after Ron had slain a Mountain Troll to save his friends, Charlie had boasted about it for weeks on end. No one was safe from Charlie's exaggerated tales of his little brother's prowess.

"Your little brother sounds like quite the wizard" Kirsten said in a giggle, bring Charlie back into the real world. "What happened to you?" _Wow… really…_

"Hey!" Charlie said, feigning hurt. "I'm the one who taught him, don't I get credit for that?" Kirsten laughed outright at that.

"Nope" she replied, laughing at Charlie's 'hurt' expression.

"So while your brother is winning tournaments…" Cornelius started, grinning at Charlie. "You're shoveling shit for a living!" Charlie let out a chuckle at that. _It sounds pretty bad when you put it like that!_

"We all have to earn our bread somehow" Charlie said in a chuckle, earning a laugh out of Cornelius.

They spent the remainder of lunch talking about Ron. Charlie told them stories of his little brother from when they were all growing up, and his friends listened with happy smiles on their faces. They knew that Charlie missed his home, and hearing him talk about his brother confirmed that even more.

Once lunch had ended, Charlie spent the remainder of the day shoveling shit and cleaning up other… messes. By the time he got back to his lodgings, he was utterly spent. But he still had one more task to do, he had to write to Ron. While he wrote his letter, Charlie's heart clenched due to his isolation. He really missed his home and family, and he wanted to be there right now to congratulate Ron in person.

"Maybe I should be…" Charlie pondered, and then he grinned. An idea had popped into his mind. He would work as hard as possible over the next few months, and then when Ron had his holidays at the end of the school year, Charlie would visit the burrow for a week. If he worked hard enough, Graves would definitely listen. The man was cruel but fair…

Charlie smiled widely as he finished his letter, knowing that in a few months, he'd get to see his family again!

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And thus ends another Chapter! I hope you all enjoyed! Things will be getting very interesting now that the school year is coming to a close! Next Chapter should be up by Saturday, or Sunday at the latest. See you all soon!**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Snake and The Lions

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 17! Time for announcements...**

 **1\. This will be a fast paced chapter, so get ready for it.**

 **2\. This chapter sets up a lot of things to come in the next few chapters.**

 **3\. Only two or three more chapters before First Year ends! Then we go onto the Holiday arcs!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 17 – The Snake and The Lions**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron was working on his homework alongside his friends, and he couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt. Easter Holidays were just now coming to an end, and his friends were disheartened to learn that Lord Greengrass had not made Ron an offer. Daphne had been livid at first, and had run off to Owlery to send her father a piece of her mind. While the others just consoled Ron by telling him that he would no doubt get multiple offers soon. Ron hated lying to them, but he had decided to follow Lord Greengrass' plans. So he had pretended to be crestfallen, and in doing so, he had deceived his friends easily.

It had taken Ron by surprise to learn that Chess Masters were obligated to wait one week after the tournaments before they could send out their offers. Theo had told him that it was seen as 'unethical and unfair' to the competition to snatch up a promising apprentice without giving the others time to learn of said apprentice. _Cleary Lord Greengrass doesn't care much for rules or obligations…_

"Ron…" came in Pansy's voice, breaking him out of his thoughts. Ron looked at her and smiled.

"Yes Pansy?" Ron asked, happy with the thought that Pansy was making a bigger effort to fit in. She had always chosen to stay quiet most of the time, and never really brought up her own opinions. Even when they did homework, she wouldn't really ask for help but instead waited to be given help. But after Ron had given her a hug and told her that she was one of his closest friends, she had begun to open up even more. She even argued with Daphne just three days ago, which really showed that she wanted to be seen as one of the group, rather than just a person who spent time with them.

"What are the ingredients needed for the Herbicide Potion?" Pansy asked, looking at her answer sheet with annoyance.

"Those would be… Flobberworm mucus, Standard Ingredient, Lionfish spines, and Horklump juice" Ron answered, as if quoting from a book. Pansy thanked him with a smile and jotted down the answer. Ron also noticed his other friends jotting down the answer as well, much to his amusement. _They all ask me different questions so they can get all the answers… That way they don't have to do a thing… Sneaky little snakes!_

Once homework was done, they all relaxed around the empty common room. Tomorrow it would be filled with the other Slytherins, and they'd have to share this space. The girls were talking to each other animatedly about something that they had read in the 'Witch Weekly' magazine, while the boys played a game of Gobstones.

"I'm going to miss having this place to ourselves" Theo mused, and then he threw his gobstone and captured Blaise's gobstone. "We won't be able to play Gobstones anymore… It's not 'cool' enough…" Ron shook his head at that.

"I think it's cool" Ron argued, watching out for whose gobstones were the easiest to capture.

"Of course you do" Blaise said with a faint smirk. "You're the least 'cool' person I know." _Hey!_

"I'm cool… I've done some cool things…" Ron argued, frowning at Blaise.

"You have done cool things Ron" Theo jumped in, smiling at Ron. "But you yourself aren't very cool. You're kind of a nerd…" _Wow… betrayed by Theo…_ Ron huffed loudly, imitating Daphne's go to move.

"Maybe I'm so cool, that you two can't even understand it" Ron argued back, earning a chuckle from his best friends.

"Girls!" Theo called out, getting their attention. "Is Ron cool?"

"Nah… he's kind of a nerd" Tracey said, smiling at Ron. _WHAT?! I AM COOL!_

"You are quite nerdy Ron" Millie said, giggling at Ron's hurt expression. _Millie… Did they plan this? Are they trying to wind me up?_

"Sorry Ron" Pansy said, shrugging her shoulders at him. Ron was shocked… Genuinely shocked! How could such a thing be possible? He wasn't the 'cool' one amongst his friends? HOW? Ron looked to Daphne, but she was smiling sadly at him.

"You are the nerdiest person that I have ever encountered…" Daphne said, her voice blunt. _THIS CANNOT BE!_

"Well if I'm so 'uncool', then you lot should sponge answers off of other people!" Ron said, genuinely annoyed. His friends broke into laughs and giggles, which drove him up the wall even more. He let out a grunt and decided to go to bed. As he stood up, Theo tried to grab his wrist while laughing at him. Ron quickly moved to the side and marched up to his dorm, grumbling about what was 'cool' and what wasn't. His friends laughed hard at the success of their 'plan'. They really did want to wind him up, and it had worked so spectacularly!

* * *

"Welcome back from your Easter Holidays" Dumbledore announced to the students in the Great Hall. "I hope you all had a refreshing break with your family and friends. But now I must ask you all to begin your preparations for the upcoming exams…" There were loud groans from the student body, and Dumbledore chuckled. _These are going to be so easy… I already know what's going to be on the exams._

"Yes… I know that exams are unpleasant" Dumbledore continued, earning scolding glares from the staff. The students broke into giggles and laughter at that. "But… they are important to your education. So please… work hard for these next two months, and then you can enjoy a guilt free end of year holiday! Now before we all continue on with the feast, I have one more announcement to make."

"As many of you may have heard" Dumbledore said, smiling faintly. "Hogwarts is now home to a Junior League Chess Champion." The Slytherins broke into cheers and whistles at the sound of that, and Ron went beet-red. His friends were the loudest in cheering for him. _I didn't see that coming… and why are the other Slytherins so excited? More sponging off of me, I guess…_ Dumbledore raised his hands and the Hall slowly became quiet again.

"I would like to congratulate Ronald Weasley, of House Slytherin, for bringing this honor to our school" Dumbledore said, a hint of pride in his voice. There were more cheers from Slytherin and even some cheers from the other houses. Dumbledore then flicked his wand and a trophy appeared on the podium. "Hogwarts has been granted the Junior League Championship Trophy this year thanks to his triumph. So from all the staff serving at Hogwarts, thank you Ronald." Ron smiled shyly at Dumbledore, and he noticed many of the staff smiling at him. _And Snape is smirking… I guess that's as close as he gets to smiling…_

"Now, without further ado… let the feast begin" Dumbledore said with a clap. The food appeared and the students dug right in.

"That was refreshing" said Blaise as he put a steak on his plate.

"What was refreshing?" Ron asked as he put two steaks on his plate.

"Dumbledore openly praising Slytherin like that" Blaise said, cutting into his steak.

"And them cheering you on" Theo said, smiling slyly at Ron.

"You're back in Slytherin's good graces again" Daphne said to Ron, giving Ron a faint smile. For a smart person, Ron was extremely slow… _That's great! Let's see how long it takes before they turn on me again… I'm done trying to please them._

"Draco doesn't look very happy…" Millie provided in a whisper, and Ron groaned at the sound of that. _Miserable git is never happy…_

"Who cares if he is unhappy?" Pansy said firmly, earning shocked looks from the entire group. _Did someone kidnap and replace Pansy?_ "What? He is being shallow and immature… Ron has earned Slytherin a good victory, and he can't seem to see that. It's rather pathetic." Pansy said to the group in a haughty voice. _This new Pansy… I like her!_

"Now that… was refreshing" Tracey said with a laugh, giving Pansy a pat on her back. Pansy glowed at the compliment from Tracey and resumed her meal. _This is great… Good for Pansy!_

Dinner went well, and Ron couldn't help but notice many of the older students giving him strong nods when he looked their way. When they got back into the common room, an older male student walked up to their group. Ron noticed that he was quite pale and tall, and he held himself with authority.

"Do you lot mind if I burrow Ronald here for a quick minute?" the boy asked, his voice was low and smooth. He had jet-black hair that were swept back, and his grey eyes were stormy. He was quite intimidating, and handsome. _Who is this? Looks like a seventh year…_ Ron's friends looked to Ron and waited for his answer to the older boy.

"It's cute that you all look to him first" the older boy said with a smile, a smile which looked forced. "But my request… wasn't a request. Scatter now!" The boy glared at Ron's friends and they all slowly left, still looking at Ron worriedly. _Okay… who is this tosser?_ When they were alone, the boy turned his attention to Ron. "Hello Ronald, my name is Victor Burke. And I wish to speak with you about something rather important. Care to give me a moment?" _He sounds polite and even kind… but he clearly isn't._

"Let me guess" Ron began "that isn't a request either?" Victor smiled at Ron, this time it was genuine.

"Clever lad, and no it wasn't. Follow me." With that, Victor led them both out of the common room and then to a secluded corner. He then removed his wand, and Ron quickly reached for his own. "Easy Ronald… I mean you no harm. If I did… then you'd know, trust me." Victor then muttered a spell and flicked his wand at Ron. Ron felt the odd sensation of an egg being cracked on his head, and it travelled down his whole body. Victor then did the same spell on himself.

Ron looked at his body, and to his shock, it was almost invisible. He could faintly see himself when he moved, but only barely and because he was looking for himself. _THIS IS SO WICKED! What kind of spell is this?!_

"What kind of spell is this?" Ron asked excitedly, looking around for Victor. He heard a chuckle come from behind him. Ron quickly turned around and was met with nothing but air.

"It is called the Disillusionment Charm. Crafty, isn't it?" Victor said in a low and arrogant voice. _Bloody hell… This isn't even in Charlie's journal! I have to learn it! But first things first…_

"Why are we… invisible?" Ron asked, curious about this meeting.

"We aren't supposed to talk, Ronald. But I refuse to sit around like my fellow Triumvirate seat members." _THE TRIUMVIRATE? Victor is… Bloody hell… I finally met one of them._ "They refuse to approach you on the basis that you are still a first year, and therefore not to be hassled by us. But I don't agree, you are far more than just some first year. And I need your help…" _My help? With what?_

"What do you need my help with…? Don't you… sort of run Slytherin?" Ron asked, getting excited by this meeting. He had to admit, this cloak and dagger stuff really got him excited. _Another Slytherin trait I've picked up…_

"I do… but not really" Victor said softly, his voice sent a chill down Ron's spine. "The Triumvirate was formed because the first Slytherins believed that one person shouldn't hold all the power in the house. As such, three people were needed to vote on different matters concerning the house. And it was decided that the first-years, being the lowest year, would be left alone for the most part. There was no point in involving them with matters that were beyond their ages."

"And tradition being a Slytherin quality" Victor continued "resulted in first years becoming alienated from our rule over the years… As you can tell, I don't agree with the founders of the Silver Triumvirate. Especially when faced with a first year like yourself." _This is actually really amazing… Slytherin has so many secrets. I can't help but wonder about the other houses… Are they like us?_

"You still haven't explained what you need me for" Ron said in a whisper, getting caught up in the secrecy of the meeting.

"You, Ronald, are a gold mine of house points…" Victor said softly, and then he paused. "Let me tell you a story. It's about my journey through Slytherin house over the years. I found out about the Triumvirate through my father when I was a first year, and I was immediately obsessed with them. I knew that it my destiny to be a part of this… elite group. And so, I worked hard. Harder than anyone else in my year… all just get here."

"And as you know, Slytherin has been on a six year win-streak with the House Cup." Victor continued, his words enthralling Ron. "A win-streak that began in my first year. And now here I am, a member of the Silver Triumvirate, and our win-streak is under threat…" _It is...?_

"I thought we were ahead of the other houses?" Ron asked, getting worried at the prospect of losing the House Cup.

"We are…" Victor said softly. "But that will quickly change. You see, the secret behind Slytherin's victories over the last few years, has been our Quidditch team. The House of Salazar always aims to win the Inter-House Quidditch Cup. And that nets us a large sum of house points… but this year… Harry Potter has changed the game." _Harry?_

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked, curious about Harry's part in taking away the House Cup from Slytherin.

"Gryffindor will win the Quidditch Cup… there is no alternative" Victor said, his voice venomous. "And my fellow Triumvirate colleagues… refuse to see it. They would rather boast about traditions, rather than about victory. I have worked far too hard to get here, and now I may lose the Cup in my year as a Triumvirate member… I will not be held responsible for losing this win-streak. And that's what has brought you and me together, Ronald." Ron gulped at the sound of that. _What the hell does he want from me?_

"And what do need me to do? I'm not on the Quidditch team… So I can't help you there" Ron said in a dry voice.

"I know" Victor said softly. "But you earn more points than anyone in this house… That's what I need from you." _More points? How? The professors give me less and less points in every class. They expect me to answer everything already!_

"Easier said than done" Ron said smoothly. "The professors don't exactly throw points my way anymore…"

"Then work harder…" Victor said, his voice was cutting.

"And what do I get out of this?" Ron asked icily, annoyed at being commanded around. Victor chuckled at that, losing the edge on his voice from before.

"Now that… is a very Slytherin thing to say" Victor said in amusement. "I must admit, you've come far because of your friends. Especially because of Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini…"

"You've been watching me for long then" Ron said, knowing the answer already.

"Of course, you are a Weasley who was sorted into Slytherin… We had to monitor you… In case you tried to betray our house to your brothers. But I was glad to see you learning from your friends. They have done a marvelous job with you. As to what you get out of our arrangement… well, name your price." _Anything I want? There's quite a few things I want… Money, this invisibility spell, Draco Malfoy hexed to death… What should I choose?_

"What do I want?" Ron said in a musing voice. "I want to learn this useful spell that we are under."

"Done. I will have the instructions of this spell sent to you, alongside my personal notes. What else?"

"I want Draco Malfoy put in his place… I don't want to see him go after my friends or me again… any of my friends" Ron said, feeling a grim satisfaction at that request.

"I will see what I can do…" Victor said, his voice was humorous. "Although getting involved in petty first year squabbles is beneath me. Anything else?"

"Is it possible for you to make sure that Malfoy never gets to be on the Triumvirate?" Ron asked, hoping that the answer was yes.

"No… I will be gone for far too long to make that promise. You must really hate him, to be going after him like this…"

"He started this fight…" Ron said coldly. "He attacks my friends behind my back, and tarnishes my name and standing within Slytherin every chance he gets… I just want… justice." Victor laughed at that.

"You have changed. I personally like this version better… you were weak when you first came to Slytherin. Prone to throwing fits like some idiot child, and now… now you are playing the 'game'. And playing it rather well." _The game?_

"What game?" Ron asked, smiling at the compliment. He thought Victor was rather cool, even if he was an arrogant git.

"The Game, Ronald. The game we all play in this great house. The game for power! You will make a fine member of the Triumvirate one day… Any more requests? So far you get one spell, and Malfoy will be taught a lesson he won't soon forget." _A lesson…? He won't physically harm Malfoy, will he? Even he doesn't deserve to be… abused._

"When you say 'lesson', what do you mean by that?" Ron asked, hoping torture wasn't on the table.

"I mean exactly what I said" Victor said softly, and Ron felt his stomach turn in a knot. "I will have some students beat the arrogance out of him…" _FUCK!_

"I didn't mean physical harm or torture when I said that!" Ron said in a panic. Victor tutted at Ron when he heard that. Perhaps Ronald was still weak… That was a shame.

"Then I will have to… persuade him by other means… I will need more time then" Victor said, his voice was cutting again. "This concludes negotiations… You will get your spell, and I will do something about that arrogant little pest… As for your part, you will earn more house-points and put us even more ahead. Do we have an agreement?" _Merlin… I almost got Malfoy hurt because I got caught up in this shady business… Need to be careful with my words…_

"Yes, we have an agreement" Ron said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Excellent, I expect that this will stay between us. **Never** mention this meeting to a soul… Or I will have someone break your legs" Victor said in a kind voice, and Ron felt sweat in his armpits. "That includes your little friends, Ronald… Don't make me do something that you will all regret." With that, Victor became visible again, and then he muttered something and flicked his wand at Ron. Ron looked at his now visible body, and then looked up to Victor. The boy was gazing right at Ron with a rather sadistic smile. "Good night… Ronald" Victor said, and then he walked away.

Ron stood there for a few moments, regaining his composure. He had almost gotten someone hurt because he had stopped being careful for one minute… How could he be so damn stupid? And by the time Victor had shown his true colors, Ron had already agreed to everything. _I need to work on getting us more house points… I have to!_ Ron then made his way back to the common room and sat down with his friends, a cold sweat on his brow.

"Is everything alright Ron?" Tracey asked, putting her hand over his.

"And what was that about?" Theo asked, looking worried as well.

"Everything is… fine" Ron said softly, and then he looked at all of his friends. "I need you lot to forget everything that just happened. Do you understand?" The group looked to each other in confusion, and then they turned to Ron.

"Ron…" Daphne said quietly. "You aren't in trouble, are you?" She already knew he was… She knew the boy that had just spoken to him, and she could see that Ron was worried.

"No" Ron reassured them with a smile. "But I will be if this is ever brought up. So please, don't ever speak of this again." The group nodded firmly at that. They owed him that much at least.

"We won't" Theo said firmly. "We promise."

* * *

Ron spent the next week working his arse off in his classes. He jumped at the opportunity to answer every question, he volunteered to perform every spell first, he made sure that the professors saw him helping his house-mates and even other house-students, and he made damn sure to be careful not to lose any points. It was paying off, because his eagerness was earning him house-points at a steady rate. The house point earning Ronald Weasley was back, and he was back with a vengeance.

His new attitude had awed his friends, and even many of the older Slytherins. They would give him firm nods and smiles when they saw him, and he returned those gestures. Victor had held true to his word, and had managed to smuggle him the notes on the Disillusionment Charm without anyone being the wiser. Now all Victor had to do was 'persuade' Malfoy to back off. Ron had also spent the week sneaking away to the lake during lunch breaks to practice the charm. It was… difficult. More difficult than anything he had tried before.

He had failed quite a lot of times, but by the end of the week, he could perform the spell adequately. He learnt that he needed a lot of focus and concentration to do the spell, and he was awed that Victor could do it with such ease. Either way, Ron was glad that he had another powerful trick up his sleeve, even if he needed to perfect it still.

On the Saturday of the first week back, Ron found himself doing some research into the last war. If there was going to be another one, then he needed information about the previous one. Ron was reading a book about the most recent wizarding war in the library when he was approached by Hermione. She sat down in front of him, and smiled softly at him. "Hello, Ronald" Hermione whispered. Ron smiled at his favorite Gryffindor friend.

"Hi Hermione. And please, just call me Ron. All of my close friends do" he whispered back. She smiled widely and nodded at that.

"Thanks… Ron. Can I… talk to you about something? Somewhere more private…" Hermione said in an even more quiet whisper. _What could this be about? She has never asked me to go somewhere private for a chat before._

"Of course" Ron replied, and then he got up and placed the book back in the Records Section. _I'll come back to you later!_ Ron then followed Hermione out of the library, and she led him to an abandoned classroom. Ron felt butterflies in his stomach and he couldn't help but become more alert. _Why did she bring me here?_ Hermione then opened door and walked in, and Ron slowly followed. Harry and Neville were inside the room as well, and Ron relaxed a bit at seeing them.

"Hey Ron" Harry greeted with a smile. Ron smiled back before replying.

"Hello Harry" Ron said with a nod. "Hi, Neville." Ron couldn't help but notice that Neville held a small frown on his face.

"Hi" Neville replied curtly. _Is he being bullied again by Malfoy? He tends to take it out on me… by moping around whenever I spend time with Harry and Hermione._

"What's with the secret meeting?" Ron asked with a chuckle, deciding to ignore Neville's poor mood. _When is Victor going to hold up his part of the bargain with Malfoy?_

"You might want to sit down for this…" Hermione said, giving him a reassuring smile. _Okay then…_ Ron nodded slowly, and sat down on a chair even more slowly. His mind was racing with questions about this odd development. It reminded him greatly of his meeting with Victor, all cloak and daggers…

"Guess I should tell him…" Harry said, earning a nod from Hermione. Neville sighed and just shook his head slowly. And then he too nodded at Harry, giving his friend a faint smile. _Now I'm really curious!_

Harry sat down in front of Ron, and began his tale. Harry told Ron about his trip to Gringotts, and of how he had learned that there was a secret object being kept at Hogwarts. He then told Ron about the attempted break-in at Gringotts, and how that object was the thief's main objective. Harry told Ron that the object was the Philosopher's stone, and that it could make someone immortal. He told Ron that the stone could turn any metal into gold, and that whoever possessed it would be able to live a rich and immortal life. Ron was quite bewildered by the tale… It seemed far-fetched to say the least.

And then Harry had said something that had simply jarred Ron. Harry claimed that Snape was after the stone, and that the Potions Master was looking to become rich and immortal. And then Harry had claimed that Snape was coercing Quirrell to help him gain possession of the stone. By the time Harry had finished, Ron was staring at Harry with an open mouth.

"Are you… serious…?" Ron muttered, staring at Harry in utter disbelief. "Snape… trying to steal a magical stone that makes you immortal…?"

"I know it sounds… barmy. But it's the truth Ron" Harry said, looking at Ron a bit sheepishly. _And why would he tell me this… this insane lie? No way would Snape be after this stone… He is clearly already quite wealthy, considering the restaurant we ate in… But he isn't immortal! Wait! Am I really going to believe this nonsense? It sounds like something out of a fairy tale!_

"Yeah… okay then" Ron said slowly, and then he looked to Hermione. "Is this a joke?" Hermione looked at her feet sheepishly at that, and Ron heard Neville sigh again.

"I told you that he wouldn't believe us" Neville said to Harry. "I mean, it is a barmy story…" _You got that right, mate…_

"Ron, please…" Hermione said, and then she sat down next to him. "We're telling you the truth… and we need your… help." _That seems to be a recurring theme lately… Are they going to break my legs if I refuse?_ Ron chuckled at that thought, earning a glare from Neville. Hermione looked quite crestfallen, and Harry was looking at her sadly.

"Sorry…" Ron said, feeling guilty for laughing in such a serious conversation. "If I believe you guys… and that is a massive **if** … what do you need my help with?" Hermione looked up and smiled at Ron, and Ron couldn't help but smile back.

"We need you to um… keep an eye on Snape for us" Harry provided, looking at Ron in a hopeful manner. _An eye? He wants me to spy on the scariest professor in this school? What do I even get out of this?_ And then a thought sprang into his mind. _A stone that can make you immortal…? An object like that… could start wars! What if this damn stone is behind everything I've seen in my visions?! What if Snape… or someone else… is planning to start a war to gain possession of this thing? That would explain why Hogwarts was destroyed. I could stop the war if I find it first… If I destroy it! And these three could help me get to it, if they are to be believed… I shouldn't risk not believing them. Not when it could help me save Fred and my family… and my friends…_ Ron decided then that this was a necessary step. For all he knew, he could be saving all of Hogwarts by helping these three.

"Alright… I'm in" Ron said with a practiced smile. _Time to weasel in…_ "I'll help you guys out to the best of my abilities…" Harry went wide-eyed at that, and Hermione beamed at him. Neville was just staring at him with confusion written all over his face.

"See!" Hermione exclaimed to Harry and Neville. "I told you two that he would come through for us!" She then turned to Ron with a huge smile. "Thank you Ron! You're the best!" Ron blushed from the compliment, but deep down he felt like a filthy snake… He was tricking them, and they were his friends. He was tricking Hermione, and abusing her trust in him. _It's necessary… Fred is my blood, and I love him! I can't fail my own family… I just can't._

"One problem though…" Ron started, and all three Gryffindors looked at intently. "Snape isn't poor… trust me. If he is after the stone, it might just be the immortality thing… But he doesn't strike me as the type to go looking for something like that." Deep down Ron didn't want Snape to turn out a villain, he quite liked Snape. Even if Snape was a bully to other students, he had helped Ron a great deal this past year.

"How do you know he's rich?" Neville questioned. "And what do you mean he isn't the sort of person to go looking for immortality? Snape is nothing but a mean bully to everyone… Everyone that isn't one of his Slytherins." Ron couldn't help but hear the bitterness in Neville's voice, and it annoyed him. _For someone who owes me their life, he sure seems to think that talking to me in that manner is fair…_ Then Ron realized what a terrible thought had just crossed his mind. He didn't save Neville in order to lord it over him… _What's wrong with me lately?! I keep thinking these terrible things! It's all this Slytherin business… It has to be!_

"I know he isn't poor because I've spent more time with him than you have" Ron replied in a calm voice. "As for the immortality thing, would he really be working at a school if he was that ambitious?" Harry and Hermione pondered that, while Neville frowned at Ron's reply.

"Maybe he is working here to steal the stone?" Neville argued, and Ron let out a sigh at hearing that.

"He has been working here for a long time from what I know…" Ron replied. "And the stone was only brought here this school year… Isn't that right Harry?" Harry nodded at Ron, and he looked rather conflicted. "But I will keep my eyes on him… just in case…" Ron added, which earned him a grateful smile from Harry.

"That's all we're asking" Harry said, his voice sounded relieved. "Just let us know if he does anything suspicious! And we will handle it from there. You won't get in any trouble!" _No… no I need to find that stone myself! Find it and destroy it… I can't be kept out of the loop on this!_

"If you move to get the stone, or to tell the Headmaster… I want in" Ron said clearly, earning him confused looks by his Gryffindor friends.

"Ron…" Hermione said slowly. "You could get into real trouble over this… are you sure?"

"We're friends" Ron stated. "If I can help you guys solve this mess, then I want to help." _Please agree to this! Or else I'll have to make an effort to spy on all of you as well!_ Hermione and Harry smiled warmly at his words, and even Neville smiled a little.

"I'm sorry, Ron" Neville said softly. "I had my doubts… but you're a good bloke…" _No I'm not… I'm the bloke who lies to his friends and uses them…_ Ron felt a strong pang of guilt for all the lying he had been doing recently. He was lying to his Slytherin friends on the orders of Lord Greengrass. He was lying to these three for his own plans. He was always lying about his 'gifts' and hiding things about himself from everyone. _When did I become so… deceitful? Mum and Pandora would be ashamed of me if they knew… Everyone I love would be ashamed… But if it saves Fred… then I don't care._

"What are friends for?" Ron said with a smile.

* * *

Ron was forced to redouble his efforts over the next two weeks when it came to earning house points. His Gryffindor friends and he had become closer over the last two weeks, joined by a similar goal. As such, they had been inspired by Ron's hardworking nature and were doing their best to compete with him. Neville was thrashing Ron in Herbology overall, Harry was destroying any team he went against in Quidditch, and Hermione was chasing Ron down in all the other classes. And the fact that they got more points for answering the same things he did irked him greatly. He cursed his prodigy status for the first time since he got it because it was hindering his own efforts now.

And to make everything worse, Malfoy was making sure everyone in Slytherin knew that Ron was losing to the Gryffindors. Most of the older students ignored Malfoy's bratty behavior, but there were a few people who had begun to listen. Ron found himself wishing that he had Victor take care of Malfoy as he had first intended… Though how Victor could get away with that was beyond Ron. Malfoy was still… well he was still a Malfoy. That alone earned him sway over the younger students in Slytherin.

Then there were Ron's Slytherin friends… They had noticed his detached behavior quite quickly. He was always sneaking around in order to speak with the Gryffindors, and he was clearly stressed out. Blaise and Theo had actually approached Malfoy and tried to get him to stop, but Malfoy had called them 'Blood-Traitors' and just sneered. Daphne kept thinking that her father rejecting Ron was at the core of everything, and she had sent a fair amount of angry letters home, all of them going unanswered. This didn't help Ron in the least, he didn't need all this attention! He needed more house points!

It was on the first day of the last week of April that Ron met with his Gryffindor friends once again, in the same abandoned classroom. "Hermione told me that you need to ask me for a favor" Ron said as he entered the classroom after Hermione. "What do you need?"

"Hello to you as well Ron" Harry said with a smile. Ron sighed, and then smiled at Harry.

"Sorry mate… that was rude of me" Ron said sheepishly.

"I was just joking, and yes we do need your help… again" Harry said, looking a bit sheepish. _Stop looking at me like and just ask the favor… Who do you need me to spy on now? Dumbledore?_ Ron was already on edge, and this wasn't helping his nerves. It had thrown Ron off guard when he had noticed the glares Snape was sending Quirrell all the time. What if they were right about Snape? What if he had been fooled by a few kind words Snape had thrown his way? He felt like a fool, now more than ever.

"The twins mentioned that you brother Charlie works with dragons…" Hermione said, smiling at Ron. _Charlie? What's he got to do with this?_ "We have a… um… dragon problem on our hands…" she finished lamely. _What… the hell?_

"A dragon problem…" Ron muttered, once again bewildered at the three Gryffindors. They seemed to be living a far more interesting life than him that was for certain!

"It's Hagrid" Harry quickly added. "He has a dragon… a baby dragon! And we need to find a way to get rid of it…" _Get rid of it?_ "I mean send it away… safely" Harry added, smiling reassuringly at Ron.

"And you want me to…?" Ron asked slowly.

"We need you to ask your brother for his help" Hermione said, smiling hopefully at Ron. _Why didn't they just ask the twins?_

"Why didn't you just ask the twins about this? They're also related to Charlie…" Ron said calmly, genuinely curios as to why they hadn't.

"Well, we aren't exactly in their good graces right now…" Hermione all but whispered.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"We were caught talking about their most recent prank by Percy…" Neville said, he looked rather subdued. "He told McGonagall and the twins are now serving a week worth of detention… And they know it was our fault…" _These three are doomed… They don't know my brothers like I do, the twins will exact their revenge for this._

"Damn…" Ron muttered, trying not to laugh at his friends. "I will contact Charlie as soon as I can. He'll help me." _He always does._

"Thank you Ron" Harry said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how relieved we are to hear that… Especially after Malfoy…" Harry trailed off, while Neville and Hermione went wide-eyed at his slip up. _Malfoy? Did he say Malfoy? What does he have to do with all of this?_

"What about Malfoy?" Ron asked, irked that they were hiding this from him. _They want my help and they can't even be honest? It's like I'm talking to Theo and Blaise!_

"He um… saw us" Hermione said softly. "He saw us with the baby dragon… And we think that he is going to tell on Hagrid… and us." _That complicates things… If I help them, I'll be going against that git. I can't expect him to leave me alone if I'm the one getting in his way…_

"You ask for my help" Ron started, doing his best to stay calm and not lose his temper. "But you hide things from me… You don't trust me? Is that it?" Ron then looked at Hermione with a mask of indifference. She shrunk at his gaze, and even Harry and Neville seemed to go dead quiet. _If they hide things from me, I might lose the chance to destroy that stone! Fred could get killed! Calm down Ron… they don't know about all that… Just calm down._

"Sorry…" Hermione muttered, her voice was meek and Ron felt a bit of guilt at that.

"Sorry Ron" Harry also apologized. "I know we're asking a lot from you… but Hagrid is our friend. We don't want to lose him over this…" Ron felt like a proper tosser at that… Who was he to lecture people on hiding things? He was the worst of the lot!

"It's ok…" Ron said, smiling faintly at his Gryffindor friends. "I'm just… under a lot of pressure. I shouldn't lose my temper with you guys. I will contact Charlie right now. And when he replies, you'll be the first to know. I promise." With that, Ron turned around and left the classroom. He didn't like seeing his friends like that, especially with the knowledge that he was the cause behind it. _I'm still a hypocrite… nothing's changed since I promised Daphne a month ago…_

* * *

 _Dear Little Brother,_

 _I must admit, your letter threw me off quite a bit. I wasn't sure if you were joking or not, but I know that you would never joke about something so serious. You aren't Fred or George!_

 _As for your request, I am more than willing to help. What are Big Brothers for? Hagrid was a close friend of mine during my Hogwarts days, and I can see him getting in way over his head with a baby Dragon. I've spoken to my supervisor, absolute twat by the way, and he has agreed to help us. He and a couple of my friends from the Preserve will sneak into Hogwarts with Hagrid's help, and they will take the Dragon from you! I wish I could be there… But I have only just started working here and I don't have as much experience as the rest of my colleagues. Also my supervisor forbid me… the tosser._

 _Now here's the plan, take the Dragon to the Astronomy Tower at Midnight, on the nineteenth of May. You will meet my friends there. Hand the Dragon over to them, and they will take care of the rest. Be careful, and don't get caught. You'll get expelled if you're caught roaming the halls with a Dragon… trust me on that! I'm very proud of you Ron for helping your friends like this, and for helping Hagrid._

 _Your Big Brother,_

 _Charlie_

Ron put the letter down and sighed in relief. _That's one problem solved, I need to get this to Hermione as fast as I can. And then hope for the best…_ "Ron, is everything alright?" came Theo's calm voice from beside him. Ron turned to him and nodded.

"Yeah, mate" Ron replied. "Everything is fine… just another Chess offer…" Theo nodded slowly at that. He and Ron were at the breakfast table alone, Blaise and the girls weren't down for breakfast yet.

"Are you going to accept?" Theo asked.

"No…" Ron replied. "I told you Theo, I just want to focus on my studies right now, and I am aiming to win us that House Cup." Theo smirked at that.

"You'd better accept one of these offers…" Theo started. "Or Daphne is going to end up killing her father on your behalf. She thinks that… your recent behavior… is because of him." Ron sighed at that.

"My recent behavior?" Ron asked.

"Don't get angry Ron" Theo said, and then he raised his hands in a surrendering pose. "But you've been… distant with everyone… You barely spend any time in the common room, and when you do, it's just to help us with homework. After that, you disappear again… Not to mention your 'secret' meetings with the Gryffindors… We're worried mate, that's all. The girls especially…"

"How do you about my meetings with the Gryffindors?" Ron asked, taken by surprise. _Are they following me? Bloody hell, how could I be so careless?!_

"Millie saw you… She told us that you were spending time with Granger in an abandoned classroom, and that you looked quite stressed. Daphne almost exploded with rage and nearly marched down there…" _And why would she react like that? I'm not plotting against Slytherin here… Just the Head of Slytherin House… That is if he is after the stone…_

"Look" Ron began, breathing in to remain calm and alert. "I want us to win this House Cup… I need us to. And if we do, we could have Malfoy off of our backs for a long time… Do you understand? I'm doing this for us." Theo looked at Ron with a confused look, and then his eyes widened.

"You've made some sort of deal…" Theo whispered, trying to not be overheard. "That seventh year… How didn't I see that? That's why you're working so hard in the classes, and why you're always away from the common room… Bloody hell… Ron why didn't you tell us this?"

"Because that was part of the deal, Theo. I'm telling you because I need you to stop the group from interfering…" Ron said, hoping that Theo joined him in helping him secure the House Cup. _If I can get my friends to give me some space, then I can work with Harry to get that stone… That stone's destruction should be my main focus… As for the House Cup, I just have to keep working harder and harder… Imagine a Slytherin without Malfoy being on my case…_

"I'll… see what I can do" Theo said with a slow nod. "It's the girls who I need to convince then… they're the most concerned. Especially Daphne… This won't be easy, I could use Blaise's help." Ron sighed at that and then nodded. _As long as they don't fail or tell anyone about my meeting, it should work out._

"Fine… but no one else" Ron said, and then he saw his other friends entering the Hall. "They're here, act normal." _This is getting out of hand… I have too much happening at once…_

* * *

"This is amazing Ron" Hermione beamed at him as she finished reading the letter. Ron smiled happily at her.

"I told you I'd do my best" Ron said, scratching the back of his head. _It feels good to help out again… It feels really good._ Hermione gave him a hug and then instantly jumped back, her face red with embarrassment. Ron was just stunned into silence.

"Sorry…" Hermione said quickly. "I got really excited…"

"No… no it's okay…" Ron muttered, feeling his ears burn. "My other female friends give me hugs too… I don't mind it…" Hermione looked a bit put down at that.

"Oh… I see…" Hermione said softly, and then she shook her head and smiled at Ron. "Thank you for this Ron… It means a lot that you're helping Hagrid out like this. You don't even know him…"

"My brother did… and they were friends" Ron provided, feeling a bit awkward. "And I agreed to help you… You should probably let Hagrid know about this. He should prepare his dragon… I don't know how long you guys have before Malfoy makes his move on you lot." Hermione nodded at that, but didn't leave.

"How's your exams prep going?" Hermione asked, trying to not sound awkward. But she did. _What exams prep? I'm so busy jumping through hoops and helping everyone else… Millie still needs help with her exams prep…_

"It's going well" Ron lied with a smirk. "Worried about something?" Hermione snorted at that.

"Yeah, I'm worried that I'll beat you too easily!" Hermione retorted, forgetting her awkwardness quite quickly.

"Sure you will" Ron said slyly, smirking a smirk that would make Malfoy jealous.

"Oh, it's on" Hermione challenged. "We'll see who gets higher marks overall!" Ron grinned at hearing that.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" Ron asked, pretending to be highly intrigued.

"Yes."

"Alright then, Hermione. Prepare to be destroyed."

"You should prepare to be… to be destroyed" Hermione retorted back, clearly terrible at wisecracks.

"Nice" Ron said, giving her a thumbs up, and she smacked him lightly on his arm.

"We'll see who wins" she said, her voice full of laughter. And then she handed Charlie's letter back to him and turned around to march out of the abandoned classroom, leaving Ron behind. _She is going to destroy me at this rate… I mean I have everything memorized, but what if they change things up… What if the professors give her better marks for the same answers as mine, all because they expect me to be better? Bloody hell…_

Ron then made his way down to the common room, and as soon as he entered the Slytherin Dungeons territory, he was cut off by none other than Malfoy. "If it isn't the Weasel himself?" Malfoy sneered at him, and Ron quickly noticed that Malfoy was alone for once. _What does he want now? And why are his bodyguards not with him?_

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked bitterly. Malfoy just sneered more at him.

"You think you're so brilliant, don't you Weasel?" Malfoy spat. _Hardly…_

"Are you jealous?" Ron asked, putting on a smirk. Malfoy went red-faced at that.

"Why would an heir of the Malfoy Blood-Line be jealous of you? You're just a Blood-Traitor! And one that sneaks around with Gryffindors…" Malfoy finished with a sly smirk of his own. Ron felt his heart stop for a second when he heard that. _Fuck! Did he follow me to my meeting with Hermione? Does he know of our plan for the Dragon?!_

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, keeping his composure as best as he could. _Blaise makes this look easy…_

"Don't bother… I've been following you around you rat" Malfoy said smoothly, but the venom was clear in his voice. "You've been sneaking around with those pathetic Gryffindors, no doubt to betray our noble house…" _So he is following me… When is Victor going to handle this idiot?!_

"Betray our noble house? I've done more for this house than you have…" Ron retorted, feeling satisfied at Malfoy's smirk falling off of his face. "Everyone with a shred of common sense can see that. And the older students do have quite a lot of common sense… Why do you think they side with me every time you make your pathetic little attempts to tarnish my name?" _Oh yeah, that had to sting…_ "Why do you think your friends chose me over you?" Malfoy's went red from anger, and Ron smirked in response. _That's how it feels Malfoy… To have someone spew filth to your face._

"I'll make sure you regret that…" Malfoy said menacingly, making Ron lose his smirk and frown at Malfoy.

"What? You're going to turn the house against me again? You're going to go after my friends behind my back again? What are you going to do next? I offered you my hand in friendship once… I won't make that mistake again. Stay out of my way, or I'll go through you." Ron then pushed past Malfoy, shoving him to the side. Ron marched straight for the common room, his mood blackened by his encounter with the Malfoy heir.

Ron walked into the common room and immediately went into his dorm, not eager to talk to his friends. _All they will do is question me with things I can't give answers for… When is Victor going to uphold his end of the bargain?! I've made us an extra one hundred and fifteen points in the last month! Bloody hell, why is everyone in this house so incompetent?! Why is all of this house-point business on my shoulders?!_

* * *

Malfoy had wasted no time in revealing Ron's 'treachery' to the rest of the house. And unsurprisingly, the older students didn't believe Malfoy because he had no proof. But the second, third, and fourth years were somewhat swayed. Ron was under watchful eyes now, and that hindered him terribly. He was forced to step away from the Gryffindors and their barmy adventures. So he instead focused on his studies and earning house-points. Victor still hadn't done a damn thing to help with Malfoy, and Ron had come to the conclusion that that broom had flown. He was on his own…

His Slytherin friends had rallied around him, and had started earning house-points as well to the best of their abilities. Theo managed to outdo Neville in most Herbology classes, Blaise was a whiz in Astronomy, while the girls did their best in every class. Millie had been especially helpful in earning points, as she had never answered questions before this. The professors were quite impressed with her efforts, and decided to bestow many points on her. Ron felt so full of gratitude because of his friends, that he just couldn't express how happy he was. They had come to his rescue, without any questions.

It was on May the nineteenth that Ron decided enough was enough. He needed to help his Gryffindor friends, and they **needed** his help. After dinner ended, Ron gave a subtle nod to Harry as they crossed paths out of the Great Hall. _Hopefully he gets it…_ Harry nodded and smiled at Ron.

"Hagrid's hut, eleven…" Harry muttered as he walked past Ron. Ron smiled faintly and kept walking. He went down to the common room with his friends, talking happily to them about the impending House Cup victory for Slytherin. Ron couldn't have been more thankful to his friends, and he felt quite stupid for not involving them sooner. _I should have more faith in them. They've really turned things around for me! All the Houses are fighting like rabid dogs over this Cup! If we win, my efforts will be rewarded. I could finally stop having to fight for my place here…_

Ron and his friends did their exams prep in the common room, and it was eerily quiet in the common room. All the students were under pressure from the upcoming exams, especially the older students. Even Malfoy was doing his best to teach his gorillas, trying to make sure that they didn't fail the year. Ron couldn't help but think of Blaise's words to him from so long ago, 'Malfoy isn't evil… He is loyal to those who stand by his side'. Ron grimaced at that memory, why did it feel like it was so long ago? _Will Malfoy and I ever stop fighting? This needs to end one day…_

His friends bid him goodnight at around ten, and he made up an excuse to stay awake for longer. They didn't question him, and went to their respective dorms to sleep. Ron went over his exams prep, and waited. When it was ten-minutes-to-eleven, Ron closed his books and exited the common room. Once he was outside, he removed his wand and did the Disillusionment Charm on himself. _I bloody love this spell! This spell alone is worth having made that deal with Victor._ Ron then carefully made his way out of the castle and ran down to Hagrid's hut, excited about his newest adventure.

Once he was close enough to see the hut, he undid the spell. _No need to give away my tricks to them… I know they're my friends, but I like having the element of surprise… Forgive me mum and dad! I'm a snake through and through at this point!_ Ron quietly walked to the hut, and knocked on the door. He heard heavy thuds, and then the door opened. Hagrid stood in the doorway, looking absolutely terrifying. And then he smiled at Ron pleasantly.

"'Ello there, Ron!" Hagrid said, his voice sounded a little sad. "Come in, quick…" Hagrid then stepped out of the way, and Ron quickly slid inside. It was horribly hot in the hut. _Bloody hell… it's like being inside of a furnace in here!_

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, standing up to greet Ron. "You came!" Hermione beamed at Ron and he gave her a wide smile.

"Of course" Ron said, genuinely happy to see her again. He'd missed her these past two weeks. "Hello Harry and Neville" Ron greeted the two smiling boys as well.

"Hey Ron, thanks for doing all of this again" Harry said, giving Ron a thankful nod.

"I'm not doing much… This is all my Brother Charlie's plan" Ron said modestly, blushing at the compliments and attention being sent his way.

"Ah, Charlie" Hagrid said happily. "Fine lad, yer brother… fine lad" Hagrid said, his voice nostalgic.

"He is the best" Ron said happily to Hagrid, earning a warm smile from Hagrid.

"We've got a long time 'fore mi 'night" Hagrid said. "Take a seat Ron. Welcome to me humble home" Hagrid said, gesturing for Ron to sit down. Ron thanked Hagrid and sat down next to Hermione. He looked around the hut, and it reminded him faintly of the Burrow. It was cluttered, but the clutter was part of its charm. The furniture was weathered, and quite large. There was a cozy fire-place, and a modest dining table for one. All in all, Ron felt like he was back home. And it made him smile in joy. _This beats any luxurious house in my opinion…_

"'ere Ron, 'ave one" Hagrid said, and then he offered Ron a rock cake. Ron took it with a massive smile.

"Thank you Hagrid, you have a lovely home" Ron said, remembering his lessons from Daphne. "It reminds me of my parents' house, the Burrow."

"Thank ye, Ron" Hagrid said, smiling at Ron genuinely. Hermione beamed at Ron's good manners, Harry and Neville could learn a thing or two from Ron. Ron bit into the rock cake, and he winced in pain. _My bloody teeth! This thing is made from actual rocks!_ Hermione chuckled at Ron, while the boys laughed at him outright.

"Sorry abou' that…" Hagrid said, smiling sheepishly. "Should've warned ye…" Ron forced a smile at the half-giant. _Too late now… Bloody hell…_ Ron then proceeded to eat his rock cake slowly, it wasn't half bad in Ron's opinion. "'ere Ron, 'ave some tea." Hagrid then put a cup of hot tea in front of Ron, and Ron smiled at Hagrid's hospitality. _Hagrid's a good bloke…_

"Thank you Hagrid, for your kind hospitality. I would love some tea" Ron said, thanking Daphne deep down. _Maybe I should get her a gift… to thank her for looking out for me._ Hagrid beamed at Ron, as did Hermione.

"Yer a well-mannered lad, Ron" Hagrid said. "Ye remind me of yer brother, Charlie. Speakin' of… Is everything ready? For… for Norbert?" _Who's Norbert?_

"He means the baby Dragon" Neville provided, smiling at Ron. He knew now that he'd been wrong about the Slytherin. He had really come through for Neville and his friends. And Ron hadn't asked for a single thing in return.

"Oh" Ron said, finding the fact that a Dragon was named Norbert insane. "Yes, everything is in place. You need to let them in after we leave, they'll meet us in the Astronomy tower. And then Norbert will be safe and be with his own kind" Ron finished strongly, and he noticed Hagrid looking quite sad.

"This is for the best Hagrid" Hermione said softly.

"I know…" Hagrid said, feeling sad for his little Dragon. "I'll go and open the gates now, I think… for yer brother's friends." Hagrid then got up and smiled sadly at his little friends. "Be careful…"

"We will be" Harry said firmly, smiling at Hagrid. Hagrid then left, and Ron quietly ate his rock cake and drank his tea. Harry went over the plan for Norbert, and Ron was impressed by Harry's strong aura and charisma. _Hermione and Neville are listening to every word intently… Gryffindors…_

"Okay… it's time…" Harry said, standing up. He took out the invisibility cloak from his book bag, and Ron marveled at it once again. _What I wouldn't give to have that! I know I have a spell that makes me kind of invisible… but that cloak would make me completely invisible…_

"I'm glad you brought your cloak, Harry" Ron said, glad to see that things were planned properly. Hermione and Neville looked at Ron with wide-eyes.

"How do you know about the cloak?" Hermione asked, looking at Ron in shock. Ron remembered the night with the Mirror… and the voice… His blood got cold for a second and he shuddered. _It's still there… in my head… waiting…_

"We… went on an adventure" Ron said lamely, pointing at Harry. Hermione and Neville turned to Harry, who looked at them sheepishly.

"It was at Christmas… I'll tell you after…" Harry said softly. "Right now, we need to get Norbert out of Hogwarts." Hermione and Neville slowly nodded at that, focusing on the mission at hand. _Looks like my friends aren't the only curios people around… Awful isn't it, Harry?_

Harry collected a cage from the corner of the room, and Ron finally saw the Dragon behind all of this mess. _A Norwegian Ridgeback… Bloody hell! Where did Hagrid get this thing?_ Harry then put the cloak around himself and the cage. Hermione and Neville moved under it as well, and Ron just stood there.

"C'mon Ron" Harry said. "We need to go now." _Four people and a dragon under one cloak… Really…_ Ron let out a sigh, and walked up to them and then went under the cloak. It was… a tight fit, and it was barely covering them. Ron pushed in tighter next to Hermione, who quietly shifted closer to Harry.

"Snug… I like it" Ron joked, earning a chuckle from the other two boys. Hermione was quite though and was looking quite sheepish. "Hermione… you all right? I didn't step on your toes, did I?"

"No… no I'm fine" she muttered. "We should go… now. We can't be late." _Fair enough, she's right._

* * *

They walked up to the Astronomy tower slowly, Ron's body kept showing because the cloak wasn't big enough to cover all of them. So they had to opt for caution instead. "Ow… Neville that was my foot" Harry groaned.

"Sorry Harry…" Neville apologized in a whisper. _Bloody hell… I'm out in the open for most of this!_ Ron squeezed in tighter next to Hermione.

"Ron… what are you doing?" Hermione asked slowly. _Trying to not get seen…_

"Sorry Hermione" Ron whispered. "My arse is showing…" Neville and Harry stifled their laughs while Hermione gasped.

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "That wasn't very appropriate…" _It's true though!_

"Yeah well… it's the truth…" Ron muttered. "If Filch comes around the corner, he'll see a floating arse in the middle of the hallway…" Neville and Harry started laughing, while Hermione shushed them.

"Be quiet you two" Hermione scolded Harry and Neville. "You'll get us caught. Ronald stop making them laugh."

"Sorry" Ron apologized, but he wasn't really sorry. This was a funny situation. And then all of sudden, it wasn't.

"It's true Professor McGonagall!" came a familiar voice from around the corner. All four of them stopped dead in their tracks, eyes-wide and terrified. _Was that… Malfoy?_

"Hush, Mr. Malfoy" came McGonagall's stern voice, and Ron's stomach dropped. _We're so done for!_ Ron squeezed in closer to Hermione, and this time she didn't say a word. She even helped him by pulling him closer.

"Please believe me! Potter has a Dragon! And Weasley is helping him move it around the castle! It's the truth" Malfoy pleaded. _HOW MUCH DOES HE KNOW?! And how does he know all of this?!_ The three Gryffindors were thinking the same thing, because they were looking at Ron with wide-eyes. Ron shook his head at them.

"I have no idea how he knows that, but we need to move" Ron said, breaking them out of their thoughts. "Now!" Ron hissed. They slowly looked around the corner, and saw McGonagall and Filch dragging Malfoy and his gorillas away. _Oh Merlin… that was too close._

They moved quickly after that, and Ron decided to step out of the cloak and stick to the shadows instead. It actually provided better concealment, in his opinion. _At least my arse isn't sticking out in the middle of the hallways…_ When they finally reached the Astronomy tower, Ron let out a relieved sigh. Harry and the others stepped out of the cloak, and were visible once again.

"How did Malfoy know about your involvement?" Neville questioned, frowning slightly at Ron. _Is he… insinuating that I told Malfoy?_

"Oh… I told him" Ron said, sarcasm lacing his tone. Neville and the others went wide-eyed from shock. "I thought it'd be a great idea to get caught smuggling a Dragon. Then Dumbledore could expel me and I'd never have to study again…" Ron then shook his head at Neville and sat down on the floor. _Idiot…_ Neville and the other two Gryffindors were quiet for a few seconds, but then Neville sighed and broke the silence.

"I… I didn't mean to imply that you…" Neville muttered, looking regretful.

"Well that's what it sounded like" Ron bit out. _I'm risking my neck… and all I get for it is them deeming me a snake…_ Neville flinched at his words, and sat down quietly. Harry sat down next to Neville and whispered something to him, but Ron didn't hear it. Hermione then sat down next to him, and then she smiled at him softly.

"Neville didn't mean it Ron…" Hermione whispered. "He doesn't think of you like that… anymore…" _Anymore? When have I given him reason to doubt me?_ "He's had it tough with the Slytherin boys… They always bully him and… Harry and I aren't always around to stop it." _Boohoo… Everyone has their own problems… You don't see me throwing dirt on him for Fred calling me a Death-Eater!_

"It doesn't matter" Ron whispered back, deciding that starting a fight now would be stupid. _We have a job to do._

"It does matter Ron… You're our friend" Hermione smiled at him, putting her hand on his shoulder. Ron looked to her and smiled. _And that's why she's my favorite Gryffindor. Besides my brothers of course._

They heard the sound of brooms zipping through the air, and were instantly alert. And then three people flew into the Astronomy tower, landed softly near the kids. _This must be Charlie's rescue team!_ Ron approached them, and they all took off their hoods. One was an older man, with greying hair. There was one younger woman who was quite pretty, her black hair was tied in a ponytail, and she beamed at Ron. The last one was a man around Charlie's age, he was grinning, and he had light brown hair and light brown eyes.

"You must be Ronald" the pretty woman said, and then she pinched his cheeks. "You're so cute!" she cooed a little loudly, earning a quick shush from the older man. Ron felt his ears turn red, and he smiled at her. This made her smile even more, and she pinched his cheeks a little harder. "I've been really keen to meet you, Ronald!" _She has?_

"Thank you, may I ask your name?" Ron asked politely, and she pulled him into a hug. Ron's face felt hot at all this cuddling from a pretty stranger.

"I'm Kirsten Domitor" she introduced herself. "Your brother is a… friend… of mine." _A friend? Why did she say it like that?_

"Thank you all for doing this" Ron thanked them all, which earned him a firm nod from the older man and a wide grin from the younger man. Kirsten just cooed at him again. "Harry bring the cage, quick." Harry did as he was told and presented the cage to Kirsten, who looked at it intently.

"A Norwegian Ridgeback" Kirsten told her two companions.

"Where does a groundkeeper for a school get a Dragon like that?" the older man questioned, he sounded agitated.

"It doesn't matter where he got it" the younger man said. "All that matters is that we get out of here without being spotted." The older man just grunted at that, and then mounted his broom. The younger man followed his lead, and did the same.

"Guess this is goodbye, huh" Kirsten smiled at Ron. "Wasn't much of a meeting though."

"I hope we meet again… under less stressful circumstances" Ron said, giving her a wide smile.

"Aw" Kirsten cooed again. "You even talk in an intelligent way! Are you sure Charlie is related to you?" Ron chuckled at that, and then he nodded firmly. "He misses you dearly" Kirsten said in a whisper, catching him off guard.

"I miss him too… can you please tell him that? Tell him that I'm really grateful for this… He came through for me again" Ron said in a whisper. Kirsten cupped his cheek with her hand and then nodded. She then took the cage from Harry, gave the boy-who-lived a wink, and then mounted her broom.

The trio then flew off into the night, hopefully taking Norbert to home where he would thrive. Ron turned to his friends and smiled. "Guess that's that… Hagrid should be safe now" Ron told them.

"Thank you Ron" Harry said. "We don't know what we would've done without you… It was either the twins or Percy… and neither would've helped us like you did. Thanks." _I'm just glad we didn't get caught… Now I have to figure out how Malfoy knew everything? I didn't tell anyone about this… And he can't have gathered all of that by just following me around… Another mystery to solve._

They then made their way out of the Astronomy tower, and something clicked in Ron's brain. _We left the damn cloak behind!_ "Harry wait…" Ron said, stopping the group. "Where is your cloak?" Harry went wide-eyed at that, and then he smiled sheepishly. They went back inside and collected the cloak, and then they all hopped under it.

They were making their way back to the stairways, and Ron was struggling to stay under the cloak. It was either him who was showing, or it was Neville. The cloak wasn't made for four people to travel under. Harry then stopped dead in his tracks as they were turning a corner, and Ron was taken by surprise.

"Filch…" Harry let out a panicked whisper. Ron's blood froze, and his hands started shaking. _This is a one-way hallway! How are we going to get past him without being seen?! The moment we turn the corner, he'll spot one of us!_

"He'll definitely see us" Ron told the others in a whisper. "We can't all fit under this cloak…" There was a short silence. _Someone has to leave the cloak… It isn't even a question of who…_ Ron then stepped out of the cloak, and he felt Hermione grabbing his hand.

"No Ronald, you can't… you could be expelled if he catches you" Hermione said in a haughty, and panicked whisper.

"Hermione… someone has to" Ron whispered back.

"It should be me Ron…" Harry whispered.

"No…" Ron whispered. _Guess I should show them my trick… not much choice at this point._ Ron took out his wand and muttered the incantation to the Disillusionment Charm, and then he flicked his wand on himself. He felt that odd feeling again, and when he heard all three Gryffindors gasp, he knew it had worked.

"He bloody disappeared" Neville muttered. _Haha this is wicked!_

"I'm right here" Ron whispered, and he got three more shushed gasps.

"What kind of spell is that?" Hermione asked. "Where did you learn it? Is it hard to do? Can you show me later?"

"Hermione" Harry whispered. "Later… Ron, that was bloody brilliant… are you still there?"

"Yeah, Harry" Ron whispered, smiling ear-to-ear at impressing the boy-who-lived. "Now let's go. We should split up from here, and head to our own common rooms. I'll see you lot at breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay" Harry agreed. "Good luck Ron." With that, Ron moved slowly into the corridor with Filch. Once he was sure that Filch hadn't noticed him, Ron slowly made his way past the old man. He soon lost track of his Gryffindor friends' footsteps, and he knew that they had gone ahead of him. He had to be more careful than them because he wasn't completely invisible. Eventually he found himself inside the dungeons, and it was smooth sailing from there. He made it all the way to his dorm before lifting the charm, and becoming visible again.

"What… the fuck…?" came a shocked whisper from behind him. Ron went wide-eyed, and slowly turned to face where it had come from. There, in front of the bathroom door, stood a shocked and wide-eyed Blaise Zabini. _Oh for Merlin's sake… I made it all the way home and got caught…_

"Um… hello" Ron whispered, grinning sheepishly at Blaise. Blaise didn't say a word for almost ten seconds, he just stared at Ron.

"Ron… you just… showed up…" Blaise mumbled. _I've never seen him like this, but then again… this must be quite jarring to see…_

"I will teach you this spell if you never mention this to anyone…" Ron said firmly. _Bribes are a good way to earn loyalty! That's what you taught me Blaise…_ Blaise then slowly smiled and nodded, still surprised at seeing his friend just… appear in the middle of the room.

"Deal" Blaise said, and then he walked to his bed and slowly lay down. _Guess that worked…_ Ron then did the same thing. _What a night!_

* * *

"Wake up" came a voice, and then Ron felt someone shaking him. "Come on, get up!" _Ugh… Go away Ginny… I'm trying to sleep._ "Get up, Ron!" Ron opened his eyes and looked around, his vision was still groggy. "Finally" said Blaise, coming into Ron's vision. "C'mon, let's go for a run." Blaise then over walked to his own bed, he was already wearing his running gear. Ron slid out of his bed and walked into the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water, and looked at his reflection.

There were bags under his eyes again… He sighed at the sight. _I'm so tired… Need sleep…_ Then he took a whiff of himself. _Need a shower too…_ He let out a dry chuckle at that. _After my run._ Ron walked back into the dorm and opened his trunk, and he froze. His trunk was a mess, things were tossed around and his journals were left torn into shreds and were scorched. _What? What is this? Someone did this? WHO WOULD DO THIS?!_ Ron let out an angry bellow and threw things out of his trunk, panic taking over. _MY JOURNALS! MY NOTES!_

Blaise was taken by shock at this, and he stared at Ron with wide-eyes. "FUCK! BLOODY FUCK!" Ron screamed, and Theo shot out his bed, panicked as well.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Theo asked in a panic. He then reached over and grabbed his wand from his side table. Then he looked at his red-haired friend in absolute panic. Ron's face was tightened in anger, and he had tears running down his face. And then he just stopped. Ron slowly pulled out a broken chess board from his trunk, and stared at it with wide-eyes.

"My… board…" Ron muttered, feeling his chest tighten. _Pandora… gave me this… Who did this?_ Then it all clicked in his head. Malfoy knew about his involvement. Malfoy was following him around. Malfoy knew when the drop was happening. Malfoy knew where it was happening. Filch was waiting for them right after. _Malfoy did this... He read Charlie's letter…_ Ron looked at and counted his destroyed belongings. His journals from Charlie. His notes from Percy. His book on Curses from Theo and Blaise. His book on Magical Creatures from Xenophilius. His chess board from Pandora. His Muggle Pen from the Granger family. His Slytherin sweater from his mother. _If my vision journals were in here… The Sorting Hat saved my life…_

Blaise and Theo slowly walked up to Ron, and gazed at him and his destroyed things. They were wide-eyed from the horrible sight. Someone had broken into their dorm, and destroyed their ally's most treasured items. And they had destroyed them magically judging by the scorch marks on the books and the sweater. The books and the sweater were lost, but the other things could still be saved. Neither one of them knew what to say, this was bad. And Ron was about to explode. His face had gone red, and there a vein popping out on his forehead.

Ron then stood up and marched towards the door, wand in hand. Theo quickly moved into his way. "Don't Ron… Stop and think please" Theo started but was cut off by Ron.

"Get out of my way" Ron snapped, his eyes were red with tears and anger. Theo had only seen Ron like this once, and a Mountain Troll had died that night.

"Ron we don't know who did this. Don't turn the house against you" Blaise said firmly, jumping next to Theo and holding his ground.

"I know who did this" Ron hissed, spit flying out his mouth. "It was your precious Draco…" Theo and Blaise were shocked to hear this, and just looked at Ron with worry.

"Ron you don't know that for certain…" Theo said, trying to calm him down. _Oh I do… I fucking do._

"YES, I DO!" Ron bellowed, making both of his friends flinch. "That fucking tosser has been following me around for a while! Last night he tried to get me caught while I was sneaking around! He knew where I was going to be and when! HE READ MY DAMN LETTERS! HE DESTROYED MY THINGS!" Blaise knew right then that Ron was right. Ron was sneaking around, and he himself had noticed Draco being quite devious lately. "Who else would go after me like this?! HUH?!"

Theo and Blaise just looked at Ron with shocked and sorry looks. He was in pain, and he was going to hurt someone. "We can't let you leave like that…" Theo muttered. _WHAT?!_

"What did you say?" Ron gritted out. _Repeat that… I DARE YOU!_

"Ron, you're about to make a mistake… just calm down" Blaise said firmly, deciding to protect Ron from himself. _A mistake? They just want to protect_ _ **their**_ _ **friend**_ _, don't they?! Look at what he did… and they still want him to come around?!_

"Get out of my way you two…" Ron said menacingly, he could feel the rage burning his heart out. When Theo and Blaise didn't move, Ron tightened his grip on his wand. Theo and Blaise noticed this, and did the same.

"Ron don't, we're on your side here" Theo said, starting to sweat. He didn't want to go up against Ron, he didn't have a death wish. But he wasn't going to back down here. He had made a vow to be a true friend for once in his life. A vow to his beloved, dead mother.

"If you're on my side, step aside now" Ron hissed, glaring murder at his best friends. But they didn't budge. _Fine then… Let's see what they've learned so far…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was one of my favorite ones to write so far, and I enjoyed writing it's fast pace. Also, sorry for that cliff-hanger... Next Chapter will be up tomorrow morning, at Six sharp! I promise! See you all soon!**


	18. Chapter 18 - Hunting for Vipers

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 18! I won't hold you back with announcements this time!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 18 – Hunting for Vipers**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

"Ron, don't do this" Blaise said, pointing his wand at Ron. "I will stop you by force if necessary. You could lose everything you've worked for if you go out there like that." _I don't care… I've had enough of Malfoy… I'll make sure he never even looks in my general direction again._

"You… stop me?" Ron asked icily, his tone cutting. Blaise stood his ground however, he couldn't let Ron turn himself and the others into pariahs in this house. He had to stop his friend. _Go on then… Try and stop me._

"Petrificus Totalus" Blaise chanted clearly, and a white beam shot out of his wand. Ron felt his middle finger on his right hand burn hotly for a second. And then Blaise was on the floor, paralyzed by his own curse. Theo stared at Blaise's incapacitated form with wide-eyes, and he slowly took a step away from Ron.

"What the… what the fuck?" Theo muttered in a shaky voice. Ron turned to Theo and just stared at him.

"Get out of my way… Or this time I'll throw out a curse myself" Ron gritted out, glaring at Theo in anger. Theo swallowed loudly, but didn't move.

"Ron… Don't" Theo pleaded, pointing his wand at Ron. His hands were shaking, and as such so was his wand.

"If you were my friend… you'd be helping me go after Malfoy…" Ron hissed.

"I am your friend Ron… That's why I won't let you do this to yourself" Theo responded, trying to find his courage. "You hurt Malfoy, and we lose everything. The girls Ron… they'll be made outcasts because of you… Pansy, Millie, Daphne, and Tracey… our friends Ron… Please think of them at least… Think about what your actions are going to result in for them." Ron just stared at Theo, and listened.

Ron wanted to go through Theo. Ron wanted to find Malfoy. Ron wanted Malfoy to pay for taking his treasures away from him. His treasures that connected him to people that he loved. His brothers had spent months writing those notes and teaching them to Ron. His mother had made that Slytherin sweater, just to show him how much she loved him. His first Christmas present from his best friends was just scorched ash at this point. And Pandora's chess board was in pieces. Malfoy deserved to suffer for that. Ron had to make him suffer for that… But Ron loved the girls too. They had stood by his side through everything. _I'll ruin everything for them…_

"Finite Incantatem" Ron muttered as he pointed his wand at Blaise's paralyzed form. Blaise jerked up, and looked around in a panic. And then he stared at Ron, remembering just how easily Ron had beaten him. Ron didn't even move a muscle? How is that even possible?!

Ron sat down on the floor and threw his wand on his bed, and he felt like he was being torn apart. _Merlin it hurts… It hurts so much…_ But Ron didn't cry, instead he just stared at all of his broken treasures. He'd never read those notes again, or pass them off to his sisters next year like he had planned. He hadn't even started reading the book of Curses from Theo and Blaise. Nor the book of creatures from Xenophilius. He hadn't used that pen from the Grangers at all. He hadn't even worn that white Slytherin sweater once… Malfoy had taken so much from him, and all out of spite. _My heart feels like it's tearing apart._

None of them said a word, and Theo also sat down with a relieved sigh. The crisis had been averted for now at least… Ron was calming down, or he had just given up. Either way, Theo was glad. After seeing Blaise topple over like it was nothing, Theo knew for damn certain that his words were his greatest weapon at that point. Dueling Ron wasn't an option, because for some reason his friend was able to deflect curses without even moving a muscle. That thought alone was worrying, and highly intriguing to Theo. Draco would have been doomed if Ron had left the dorm… But after seeing this, Theo didn't care one bit for Draco. This was a petty and disgraceful attack, it was beneath the Malfoy name. It was beneath Slytherins to act like this towards their own house-mates. Theo had stopped Ron for his own good, and for no other reason.

"I'm going to go shower" Ron said, breaking the silence. _I need to be alone…_ Ron got up, picked up his school robes, and walked into the bathroom. Once he was inside, he closed the door and undressed. And then he jumped into the shower, basking under the warm water. It eased his nerves, and he began to relax. _This isn't over Malfoy… I'll figure out a way to get you for this. I swear to Merlin._ Ron finished up his shower, and dressed in his robes. They looked shabby, and he looked exhausted. _I don't even care…_ Ron then walked out of the bathroom, and found Victor Burke sitting on his bed.

"Good morning" Victor said, his voice smooth and polite. "You should keep your room clean, Ronald. One's room reflects their character." _YOU!_ Ron clenched his jaw at Victor and frowned.

"Get out" Ron gritted out, pissed off at seeing Victor. _If he had kept his end of the bargain, then I wouldn't have lost everything!_

"You are upset" Victor said, smiling sadly at Ron. "I understand that… but if you speak to me like that again Ronald… your belongings won't be the only broken things around." Victor then stood up and walked right in front of Ron, towering over the first year. Ron didn't shrink away though. _Not today! Come at me if you want!_

"This is your fault" Ron grit out. "I kept my end of the bargain, I earned us one hundred and fifteen points over the last month… My friends earned one hundred and twenty-five. I kept count. But you… you didn't get Malfoy to back off… Why?" Victor lost his smile and shook his head lightly.

"You are right, of course" Victor said, his voice soft again. Then he walked over to Ron's trunk and looked at the destroyed belongings. "My methods… or rather your methods… they took too long. The other Triumvirate members hindered my efforts at every turn… And now Draco Malfoy has undone our work…" _Undone? What is he on about?_

"What does that mean?" Ron asked, his anger slowly fading. Victor looked at Ron and exhaled loudly.

"He and his thugs were caught last night…" Victor said, his voice sounding tired. "They lost Slytherin House two hundred points…" _What…? TWO HUNDRED?! All of my work this last month… wasted…_ Ron was stunned, and he walked over to his bed and sat down.

"I worked so hard…" Ron muttered. "I worked so hard for those points…" Victor walked over and sat next to Ron. Victor then put a hand on Ron's shoulder and squeezed it in a comforting manner.

"All is not lost, Ronald" Victor said in a comforting voice, it sounded forced.

"Two hundred? How?" Ron asked, the numbers didn't add up. _Three people get caught, and we lose two hundred?_

"They lost fifty each" Victor explained. "And then Malfoy made up some insane story about you roaming the castle with a Dragon." _Shite…_ "And that put the whole staff on high alert because Malfoy was obsessively claiming it to be the truth. They searched the whole castle, every corner, for you… They never found you of course, and so Malfoy lost another fifty for lying to the staff and waking them all up… What a fucking mess." _Bloody hell… Filch was just one of the people looking for us? Who else was hunting us down? What about Harry? Did they get caught? No… no they didn't, because Malfoy lost an extra fifty…_

"You know… that story was true…" Ron whispered, deciding something. This was his way to get Malfoy. He'd make sure that Victor knew that this was all his fault in the first place. He'd get Victor angry, and then let him loose on Malfoy. Broken bones and whatever…

"What story?" Victor asked softly.

"The Dragon story" Ron said, looking Victor in his eyes. Victor furrowed his brow at Ron. It tarnished his handsome features.

"Explain… now" Victor gritted out, losing his 'kind' persona.

"I was smuggling a baby Dragon out of Hogwarts last night… Here, I'll show you proof." Ron then stood up and rummaged through his scattered things. He found Charlie's letter and handed it to Victor. Victor read the letter, going wide-eyed by the end of it.

"Weasley, what the fuck?" Victor muttered. And then he let out a loud laugh, taking Ron by surprise. "This is… gold! You are the most insane first-year I've ever met. So Malfoy wasn't lying at all? Merlin… And that idiot left this letter behind!" Victor then let out another laugh.

"Don't you understand yet Victor, this is all your fault…" Ron said calmly. Victor lost his humor and looked at Ron seriously. "You didn't hold up your end of the bargain… and Malfoy broke in here and destroyed my most prized possessions out of spite. Then he read that letter, and went after me. And being a complete moron, he got caught… And then he lost us the House Cup. All because… you didn't keep your end of the bargain… All of my hard-work, all of my friends' hard-work… wasted." Victor just stared at Ron, his stormy grey eyes burning with anger.

"You're right" Victor said suddenly, his anger disappearing in a second. Ron was quite surprised by that. _He is completely unpredictable…_ "Can I keep this letter?"

"Why?" Ron asked, planning on refusing. That letter was proof against him.

"I'm going to go handle my end of the bargain" Victor said, and then he stood up and faced Ron. "With this letter, I'll strong-arm the other two seat holders into action. They can't keep out-voting me if I show them that they're neglect of the first-years' squabbles has cost us the House Cup. I know it's a little late, considering now that we've lost the Cup. But I'll make sure Malfoy pays for getting in my way… So, can I keep it?" _Is this wise? What if he turns me in?_

"You won't turn me in?" Ron asked slowly. Victor just smiled at Ron, it was unnerving.

"I like you, Ronald. So no… And I am a man of my word" Victor said softly. "I'll get Malfoy off of your back."

"Then keep it… show the other two seat members that they were idiots for not listening to you" Ron said, deciding that his revenge on Malfoy was far too important to pass up. Victor nodded and walked over to the exit, only to stop right before leaving.

"Good luck on your exams, Ronald…" Victor said kindly. And then he was gone, and Ron was alone again. Ron then packed his trunk up again, wincing at the sight of his savaged belongings. His eyes burned at the sight, and he quickly wiped them. With that, he walked out of his dorm and entered the common room. The common room was filled with people, and most of them were glaring murder at a certain platinum-haired boy. Ron's blood boiled at the sight, and he found himself slowly walking towards Malfoy. He was intercepted by Blaise.

"Ron, mate… take a walk with me" Blaise said, and then he grabbed Ron by the arm and dragged him out of the common room. Ron didn't even fight, he didn't have the strength. Once they were outside, Blaise guided them to the Great Hall. "You need some food and a lot of distance from Draco. He is going to get his just desserts, trust me." They entered the Great Hall and walked over to their usual seats. Ron noted that his friends were already at the Great Hall, and they looked quite distraught.

Ron sat down in his usual spot, but he didn't put anything on his plate. _I'm not even hungry… Malfoy is going to pay… If Victor doesn't do anything, then I will!_ Ron then pondered Malfoy's actions, why had Malfoy done something so horrid? Sure they didn't like each other, but Ron would have never done something so shallow… And why did Malfoy leave that letter behind? He wasn't stupid! That was for certain… So why? Why leave behind actual proof? Things weren't adding up, and it was pissing Ron off.

"Ron?" came Millie's voice, it was low and soft. Ron looked over to her.

"Yes?" Ron asked, his face was blank but his bloodshot and baggy eyes made him look exhausted.

"You should eat…" Millie said, smiling faintly. _I'll eat when Malfoy eats dirt!_

"I'm not hungry. You should all eat your breakfast" Ron said softly, and then he stared at his empty plate.

"This isn't fair" Tracey grit out, getting Ron's attention. "We should go after him! What he did… It was cruel!" She looked livid, and Ron just stared at her. _She is always on my side… I can't make them outcasts for my revenge… Let Victor handle it._

"Don't" Ron said, and Tracey looked at him with shock. "Don't ruin your next six years here just for me… Leave it alone." And then Ron decided to eat, it would at least distract him. He took one piece of dry toast and nibbled at it, musing on Malfoy's actions. He missed his friends looking at him with worry, and even admiration.

"Mr. Weasley" came McGonagall's voice from behind him, and he turned around to look at her. His haggard appearance took her by surprise because she let out a gasp. "My word, Mr. Weasley… What has happened?" Ron looked at her, and decided to leave things to Victor. _I'm no tattle-tale…_

"Nothing professor, I just didn't sleep well last night" Ron replied, forcing a smile on his face. McGonagall looked at him, and then a tight frown formed on her face.

"Mr. Weasley, follow me… now" McGonagall said, and then she began marching out of the Great Hall. _Merlin… what now?_ Ron put the piece of toast down and followed her, ignoring his friends' pitying looks. They walked to her office in silence, and Ron couldn't help but wonder what this was about. They entered her office and McGonagall took a seat behind her desk. Then she just stared at Ron.

"Take a seat, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall ordered, and Ron did as he was told. _What is this?_ McGonagall then reached into one of the drawers of her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, and she placed it in front of Ron. Ron looked at the parchment, and his heart began thumping in his ears. _Charlie's letter… VICTOR! He bloody turned me in!_ "Mr. Malfoy handed this to me last night" McGonagall said, her voice was stern. _Malfoy? What? But he didn't take the letter…_ "Can you explain this to me, Mr. Weasley?" she asked. _LIE!_

"I've never seen this before…" Ron said calmly, but there was a hint of panic in his voice. McGonagall stared at Ron with a tight frown.

"I thought Mr. Malfoy was trying to frame you at first" she began. "I know that you two aren't friends… but the more I looked at this parchment, the more I realized that I had seen this hand-writing before." She then pulled out another piece of parchment, and placed it side by side with Charlie's letter. It was a report submitted by Charlie during last year… "See, exactly the same… Now, I'll ask once more. Can you explain this to me?" _I'm done… She has me… But I can't admit to this, they'll expel me…_

"Perhaps Malfoy is just that thorough?" Ron said, his face blank. McGonagall frowned deeply at this.

"Mr. Weasley, I'm only asking you for an explanation… But if you play games with me, I will drag you before the Headmaster, and then have you sent home. Make your choice very carefully." Ron just looked at the letter from his brother, and sighed. _If they keep looking into this, they'll catch Harry and the others too… Not to mention Hagrid will be charged with illegal possession of a Dragon…_

"I just… wanted to help my friend…" Ron muttered, thinking of Hermione. _She needed me… They all needed me…_ McGonagall smiled sadly at the boy, her heart swelling with joy at his reply. She was right about Ronald, he was a good and kind boy. But… he had broken the rules. And that couldn't go unpunished… He had endangered the other students by sneaking a Dragon into the castle. He had endangered himself.

"Did you do this alone? I remember Harry Potter's name being mentioned. And the letter says that 'I'm very proud of you Ron for helping your friends like this, and for helping Hagrid'. Is it referring to Mr. Potter?" The truth was that she already knew the answer to that… She knew her three little Gryffindors were behind this crime as well. _I'm not a tattle-tale._ Images of Fred yelling at him when they were younger flashed in his mind.

"No… it was all me. I don't know why Charlie said something about me 'helping my friends'… I did this all by myself" Ron said firmly, looking right into McGonagall's eyes. They locked eyes for a few long seconds.

"Very well… fifty house points will be deducted from your house Mr. Weasley" McGonagall said, making Ron flinch. _Two hundred and fifty points… in one day…_ "You will also serve detention with Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, and Mr. Goyle. You are dismissed." Ron nodded slowly and got up, and then he walked out of her office with his head down. Once he was gone, McGonagall smiled at where Ron was but a moment ago. This boy should've been a lion, she knew that for certain now. The Sorting Hat had made the wrong decision.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

Norbert was safely in Romania by now, but things were not going so smoothly back at Hogwarts. The very next day, rumors were abound that four Slytherin first-years had singlehandedly destroyed Slytherin's chances of winning the House Cup. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Ronald Weasley… Hermione shot another look at Ron, and his broken expression twisted her stomach. Malfoy's wild claims had been confirmed, Ronald was accused of smuggling a Dragon through the school. The staff were currently discussing with the Headmaster on what his full punishment should be, and it boiled Hermione's blood.

The only crime Ronald had committed was to help her and her friends. They had hidden things from him, and he had still helped them. It was only because of him that they had even succeeded, and now he had taken the fall for their plan. _This is wrong! We have to confess!_ Hermione turned to Harry, and caught him looking over at Ron as well.

"Harry" Hermione said, her tone haughty. "This is our fault! We need to tell the professors! They are punishing Ron because of us!"

"I'm with Hermione" Neville voiced his opinion. "This isn't right…" _Exactly!_ Harry nodded at them.

"I was already planning on confessing, I just want to talk to Ron" Harry said firmly. "We'll catch him after lunch…" Hermione smiled at her friends and nodded. _We will set this right. We have to protect Ron from being expelled._

The moment lunch ended, all three Gryffindors walked out of the Great Hall and waited for Ron's group to pass. Then Ron came out, and his shabby appearance made Hermione flinch from guilt. _It must be really bad if he looks like that…_

"Ron, can we talk?" Harry asked, approaching Ron's group. Blaise Zabini moved in between Ron and Harry, and then he shoved Harry back. Hermione and Neville tensed at that. _This is not a good start…_

"Sod off, Potter… You've done enough" Blaise Zabini said in a menacing tone.

"Blaise… stop it" Ron said, his voice sounded strained.

"No Ron" Daphne Greengrass said, glaring at Hermione. Hermione just looked back at her, feeling guilty about Ron. "These three will be the death of you! Stay away from him" Daphne gritted out at Hermione. _He's our friend as well…_ Hermione straightened her back and glared back at Daphne Greengrass. The Slytherin girl was quite intimidating because she was extremely angry, but Hermione wasn't going to back down. _Not yet… not until I can talk to Ron!_

"Daph… don't start a fight right now… I can't afford any more problems…" Ron said softly, his stare was vacant. Tracey Davis then walked over to Ron and whispered something in his ear, and Ron smiled in a hollow manner.

"I want to talk to them" Ron told his friends. _Good!_ "But Tracey will come with me, she says that's a fair compromise…" _That's not good!_

"We want to talk to you… alone" Harry implored, glaring at Blaise Zabini.

"Take it or leave it, Potter" Tracey Davis said, sneering at Harry. _They're so rude!_

"Ron, please" Hermione said, looking at Ron with a hopeful smile. "We want to help… please." Ron gazed at her, and she gazed back with a reassuring smile.

"Help?" Pansy Parkinson interjected. "What kind of help can you lot even offer? You've already cost us all…" Ron cut her off abruptly.

"Enough… all of you" Ron said, his voice was firm again. He looked close to losing his temper. "Harry, I'll talk to you… but Tracey is coming." Millicent Bulstrode nudged Ron's right arm. "And Millie as well. That's fair, three each."

"Alright" Harry agreed, and Hermione frowned at that. _We can't talk about the stone now! What's Harry thinking?_ Ron's other friends slowly left, glaring murder at the three Gryffindors. "Let's talk in the Courtyard" Harry said, and then he walked off. Ron followed him, and everyone went after. Hermione could feel the tension between herself and the Slytherins. _This could turn ugly…_

"Well?" Ron asked once they got into the courtyard. "Classes start soon, we should talk quickly…" _Is he angry at us? He has the right to be…_

"Ron, we want to confess about the Dragon thing" Harry said, looking right at Ron.

"Yeah… we can't let you take the fall for our actions" Neville jumped in, smiling faintly at Ron.

"This is the right thing to do Ron, I'm so sorry" Hermione decided to add. "This is my fault… I made the plan to get your help with the Dragon… I should be in trouble, not you." There was a short pause, and then Ron let out a dry chuckle. _Ron?_

"Are you three stupid?" Ron asked, his voice was hollow. Hermione went wide-eyed at that. "I didn't shield you three, only for you to go and throw yourselves into the fire… Because either way, they have proof of me doing this… they don't have proof of you being a part of anything. If you confess, you'll do me in for certain… I lied to a professor to protect you, and you are just going to throw that away? Like it means that little? Just so you don't feel guilty?" Ron laughed again. "I don't betray my friends. But you will betray me by confessing…" Hermione went over his words, and one thing caught her attention. _Proof?_

"Proof?" Hermione muttered. "Ron what kind of proof? Did they catch you last night?" Ron looked at her and smiled, it didn't reach his eyes.

"No" Ron said. "Malfoy turned in the letter from Charlie… that's how they got me! You lot have a chance to not get thrown out of this school… don't throw that away. Or I'll kick you in the **stones** …" _Stones…? What stones? Wait… STONE! The Philosopher's Stone! If we confess, Snape will steal it!_ Hermione was amazed at Ron once again, he was thinking ahead. Thinking ahead for something that they had asked his help with. _He is still helping us… Ronald…_ She smiled at Ron, and he gazed at her.

"Stones?" Tracey Davis asked in a chuckle. "What about Granger then?" Ron gave Hermione a wink and just smiled, he knew that she had figured it out. She blushed at his wink and smiled more widely. _He is right… We can't lose the stone!_

"Ron… we just want to help" Harry pleaded, missing Ron's point. Hermione looked at Harry, and wondered why he was so slow.

"If that's how you feel Ron" Hermione said, feigning sadness. "Then we'll leave you alone."

"What?! NO!" Harry argued.

"Hermione…" Neville said, sounding shocked at her. _They're both so slow!_

"I do feel that way" Ron said, frowning at Harry. "I'm going to classes." With that, Ron turned around and walked away. Tracey and Millie followed him, but not before looking at her like she was disgusting. _That's great… they hate me even more now…_

"Hermione? What was that?" Harry demanded, frowning at her.

"Hermione this is wrong! What's the matter with you?" Neville questioned as well. Both boys were frowning at her.

"Stones…" Hermione said slowly, and they looked at her in confusion. "THE STONE! The one we are trying to save from Professor Snape! Ron wants us to protect it, that's why he won't let us confess…" Harry and Neville went wide-eyed at that. _Ugh… Why can't they be a bit more like Ron!_

"That's… he is still helping us?" Neville muttered. Harry smiled widely.

"He is" Harry said softly.

"I told you that we could trust him" Hermione said, her voice slightly boastful. But she didn't care about that, she was dead-right about Ronald's character. _He isn't like the other Slytherins._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron finished his dinner in silence, still lamenting his treasures. But there was a bigger mystery to solve, why did McGonagall have Charlie's letter? Why did he have one as well? _So Victor and McGonagall both have the same letter… None of this adds up… It's clear that Malfoy took the letter and handed it to McGonagall, but I still had one to give to Victor? Did Malfoy forge a copy? And if so… why? He thrashed my things, so he knew that I'd know that was he was the culprit… Why break my things and give himself away? Malfoy isn't stupid… I think…_

Ron then looked up and around the Slytherin table. Malfoy was eating quietly, and a few Slytherins were glaring at him. _Those are second years and fourth years. They've turned on him that quickly… Loyalties shift in this house on a daily basis._ Ron then caught Snape staring at him from the staff table. Ron looked to the Potions Master, Snape sneered at Ron. _Great… Another thing Malfoy has ruined… What a tosser! I hope Victor does him in proper._ Dinner ended and Ron quietly walked with his friends to the common room. They talked to each other, and mostly left Ron alone. They knew it was pointless to talk with him when he was sulking. He'd lash out at them.

As soon as he entered the common room, he spotted Victor by the dorms entrances. He gave Ron a short nod, and then walked into the boys dorms. _Finally, let's see what happens to Malfoy._ Ron followed Victor into the seventh year boys' dorm, and Victor let him into his room. The first thing that Ron noticed, was that the room was clean. Too clean… It was bloody spotless.

"Don't make a mess" Victor said softly, and then he walked past Ron and sat down at his desk. "Now… well take a seat." Ron walked over and sat on Victor's bed, facing the Triumvirate seat holder. Victor smiled at him. "Would you like a butter-beer? I have a few in my desk drawers. The low temperature of our dorms keeps them cool." Ron nodded.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Victor" Ron said, smiling at the prospect of finally tasting genuine butter-beer. Victor grabbed two bottles and opened them, then he hand one to Ron. Victor then took a big sip from his own. Ron did the same, and it tasted like less-sickly butterscotch! _Wow… Tastes amazing!_ Ron took another swig.

"Now, onto business" Victor said, happy to see Ron enjoying the beverage. "First things first, this Dragon business…" Ron stiffened at that. "Relax, Ronald. No one blames you, most of us are quite impressed actually. It's a shame that Malfoy's blunder came back to haunt you, and now we've lost another fifty points…" Ron flinched at that. _Points aren't the only things I lost… They're going to expel me soon…_

"Is there… even a remote chance that we win?" Ron asked, feeling guilty at causing even more damage to Slytherin on top of Malfoy's blunder. Victor sighed at that, and then looked right at Ron intensely.

"No… As of right now, we are still on top" Victor provided, much to Ron's shock. "But our Quidditch team has been beaten, Ronald. It's Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor in the finals after exams… When either one of them wins, they'll overtake us. If we still had those two hundred and fifty points… We would have won…" Victor then sneered to himself, thinking of the Malfoy idiot heir.

"What about Malfoy… are you going to keep your end of the deal…?" Ron asked slowly. _Please say yes… He needs to pay!_

"I already have…" Victor said smoothly, a soft sadistic smile creeping onto his face. "After you gave me the letter, I went straight to my fellow Triumvirate members. We talked… and they saw the error of their ways. I was able to strong-arm them into using the 'Relegatio' seal on Malfoy…" _Huh?_

"What's a 'Relegatio' seal?" Ron asked.

"'Relegatio' means banishment, or removal… It is a power that the Silver Triumvirate wields, one that we never actually use because of Pure-Blood politics outside of Hogwarts becoming a nuisance to deal with. The person who the seal is used against… cannot join the Silver Triumvirate…" Ron went wide-eyed at that.

"I thought you said that you couldn't do that?" Ron asked, confused at this new development.

"Normally… no, I couldn't have." Victor said softly, slightly leaning forward in his seat. "But Malfoy betrayed a fellow Slytherin, then he got caught and lost us the House Cup. And not just any House Cup, but the seventh straight win… Did you know that the number seven is a powerful magical number, Ronald?" Ron shook his head slowly. "Well it is, and that was why it was so important to win. This victory would've been hailed as an extremely important one in the history of Slytherin House."

"So Malfoy… can never be part of the Triumvirate now?" Ron asked, becoming gleeful at the news.

"He can… if any of the following Silver Triumvirates unanimously vote him back in and remove the seal off of his name… But he would have to do a great service for this house in order to accomplish that." Ron felt put off at hearing that, and Victor let out a soft chuckle. "Do not worry Ronald, I have gone even further on your behalf." _Further? What does he mean?_

"I had a letter sent to Lucius Malfoy" Victor continued. "One that was signed by all three seat members of the Triumvirate. We explained our decision to him, and informed him that his son acted more like a petty Gryffindor rather than a proud Slytherin." Ron frowned at Victor's low opinion of Gryffindor. But Victor just smiled at Ron in satisfaction for getting under the boy's skin. "With little Draco taking away such a huge victory from Slytherin House, his father will have no choice but to reprimand his son. That should be fun to see, don't you agree?" Ron nodded slowly. And then Ron drank the last of his butter-beer.

"Is there anything else?" Ron asked, planning to go to sleep.

"There is…" Victor said with a kind smile, one that looked forced. "Your impending expulsion…" Ron flinched at that. "It won't happen, Ronald." Ron just stared at Victor.

"How do you know?" Ron asked, feeling hopeful.

"Did you get a detention? Don't answer that, I already know you did" Victor said calmly.

"What does that have to do with my expulsion?" Ron asked, curious now.

"Why would they give a detention to a student who was already on his way out?" Victor asked, and then he smiled and shook his head at Ronald. "You should try and think more on people's actions Ronald, it will save you a world of worry." _That… makes sense… So I'm not getting expelled? YES! I can still get that damn stone!_

"Wait… there is one more thing…" Ron said slowly, remembering the mystery of Charlie's letter. "McGonagall said that Malfoy gave her my brother's letter as proof… but we still had one…" Victor looked at Ron for a second, and then he chuckled at realizing something.

"Have you heard of the Doubling Charm, Ronald?" Victor asked softly. Ron shook his head. "It allows a wizard or witch to make an exact replica of an object. Including letters, it seems the Malfoy brat isn't as foolish as we thought."

"Then why break my things?! Why show me that he was there in the first place?!" Ron asked, angry at losing his treasures.

"People… no matter how refined, are still people" Victor said with a soft smile. "They are petty, jealous, and most of all, foolish. It may simply be that Malfoy lost his temper after copying the letter, and then gave into his basest nature. Either way Ronald, it matters little. He played his hand, and now we've played ours. Goodbye, Ronald… I doubt we will speak again." With that, Victor sent Ron on his way. Ron went straight to his own dorm, ignored his two best friends, and just went to sleep.

* * *

It was on the morning of May the Twenty-sixth that Ron received a note informing him that he would be serving detention with Hagrid after dinner. Victor had been right, Ron did not get expelled. But he did get a Howler from his mother, and it was seen by everyone in the Great Hall. Not only was it embarrassing, but it had turned him into a laughing stock amongst his own house and the other houses. People would laugh at him behind his back and when he passed them in the hallways. 'The Slytherin Prodigy' they would say in mocking tones… Ron was truly at his lowest point now. Everyone knew that he, and three other Slytherin first years, had lost Slytherin the House Cup, and they made sure that he never forgot that little fact.

His friends and brothers were, of course, staying by his side, with his friends openly defending him in public. The twins had pranked half the school in one week in Ron's defense, and Percy was throwing out detentions for 'bullying' at anyone who even looked at Ron the wrong way. Their support was the only thing keeping his head above water, and he was never more grateful for them being there.

Malfoy, on the other hand, was done for. His father's letter had arrived shortly after this debacle had become public knowledge, and whatever was on that letter, had completely sapped Malfoy of his strength. Ron had noticed the platinum haired boy just roaming aimlessly through his studies and school-life. It was like he had no will to keep up the fight, and that had made Ron feel nothing but pleasure. Malfoy had received his punishment, and Ron had received his. They had both destroyed each other… Neither one of them had won their little war that had begun at the start of this year. It had only resulted in mutual destruction…

* * *

Ron finished his dinner, and bid his friends farewell. _Time to serve detention… with Malfoy…_ He made his way out of the castle and trotted down do Hagrid's hut. He knew that Malfoy and his goons were just behind him, and he decided to ignore them. He was tired of thinking about Malfoy, and the damage they had inflicted on each other. _What a waste…_

Ron stopped in front of Hagrid's hut, and Hagrid came out right on cue. He was wielding a giant crossbow, which made Ron really nervous, and Hagrid was accompanied by a large black dog with droopy features. _Must be his pet…_

"Evenin' Ronald" Hagrid greeted, smiling kindly at the boy. Hagrid had learned of Ron's sacrifice for Harry, and it had cemented his friendship with Ron.

"Good evening Hagrid, it is good to see you again" Ron greeted back, still awed by Hagrid's size. _Wish I was that big… It would come in handy during the upcoming war at least…_ Malfoy and his goons joined them and stood next to Ron, all of them avoiding each other's gazes. _This is some sick joke… being stuck with Malfoy for this after everything._

"'Ello Firs' years…" Hagrid greeted, but just out of politeness. He knew that the three other Slytherin boys were the reason he had lost Norbert, and it had angered him a lot at first. But they were just children, and Hagrid wasn't one to hold a grudge. Tonight, they were his charges and he would protect them with his life if need be.

"Now" Hagrid said, clearing his throat. "You four are to serve de'ention with me for the night. We will be headin' into the forest…"

"The forest?!" Malfoy said, his voice was shocked. "I thought that was a joke… we can't go in there… there are… things! Things that can eat us!" _Eat you… hopefully…_

"As long as yer with me… or Fang" Hagrid started. "Nothin' will touch ye… Now come along… We have a long night ahead of us." With that, Hagrid turned around and began marching into the Forbidden Forest, and Ron followed him closely. _The last thing I need is to be eaten alive… What kind of school sends kids into a forest full of monsters for a damn detention…?_

The six of them, which included Fang, marched together and Ron was on high alert the whole time. He had his hand on his wand holster, and if he so much as saw a shadow move near him, he was going to blast it. _I'm not dying in here… not until I make sure to save Fred!_ The Forbidden Forest was haunting to say the least; it was quiet, dark, and there were howls and other noises coming from all directions. Ron now knew why it was forbidden…

Malfoy was all but clinging to Hagrid, making sure to stay by the giant man's left leg at all times. So when Hagrid stopped all of a sudden, Malfoy bumped into Hagrid's leg. "Hey… Why did you stop?" Malfoy complained, rubbing his nose. _Haha…_

"There…" Hagrid said, pointing to something on the ground. Ron followed his finger, and he saw an odd silvery liquid on the ground. It was slightly shiny, and it was seeping into the earth. Ron couldn't help but feel his stomach going light at the sight, this was something bad and he just knew it. "That right there… is Unicorn blood…" Hagrid explained, letting out a sad sigh. _Unicorn blood?_

"Is that why we're here… to collect Unicorn blood?" Malfoy asked, and his goons grunted.

"No" Hagrid replied quickly. "We're here to find out what's attackin' the poor beasts…" _We're on a hunt?! For something that kills other creatures? Oh Merlin…_

"You can't be serious?" Malfoy said, his voice laced with shock. "Something out here is killing things, and you expect us to go find it?! When my father hears about this…" _Ugh…_

"There is nothin' to worry about" Hagrid said, his voice becoming gruff. "As long as yer with me or Fang, ye will be safe. Now… We're gonna split up." Hagrid then turned around to face the group of children following him around. "You two" Hagrid said, pointing to Crabbe and Goyle. "Yer with me… That leaves Ron and Malfoy…" _BLOODY HELL! REALLY?!_

"Are you joking?" Malfoy said, his voice becoming pompous. "Me… with Weasley?!" Hagrid sighed at hearing that.

"Yes… that's what I said" Hagrid said firmly. _I don't really want this… but I don't want to anger a ten foot tall man…_

"Fine" Malfoy snapped. "But we get Fang!" Malfoy then smirked at Hagrid, as if he'd won some victory over the man.

"Fair…" Hagrid said. "But just so ye know… he's a bloody coward…" Fang whined loudly at that, Malfoy's face fell as he stared at the whimpering large dog. _Great… stuck with two cowards, in a forest full of monsters. And I'm supposed to be looking for one of them…_

"And what is our goal?" Ron asked, still a bit unsure about what was expected of him. Hagrid smiled down at Ron, and Ron smiled back.

"There's a Centaur, by name of Firenze" Hagrid explained. "He's a friend 'o' mine… yer to find him, and have him give his repor' on the forest… He should be in that direction" Hagrid said, and then he pointed to Ron's right. "He's expectin' ye so don't wander off somewhere else, ye understand?" With that Hagrid turned around and marched in the other direction. "C'mon ye two" Hagrid said to Crabbe and Goyle, and the two followed after the giant man. This left Ron, Malfoy, and Fang behind. _Merlin… my luck is the worst…_ Ron looked at Malfoy for a second, and noticed the boy staring at Fang. Ron shook his head, and then marched towards the direction Firenze was supposedly in.

Malfoy and Fang followed him, and the silence between them all was eerie. Ron decided that he wanted to find this Centaur and be done with this as soon as possible. If Malfoy pushed him right now in any way, Ron knew he would lose his temper and hurt the git. There was a loud rustle of leaves, and all three of them stopped.

"Did you hear that?" Malfoy whimpered, and Ron felt his shoulders tighten. _This is unnerving… Why couldn't I go with Hagrid instead?!_ Ron then began walking forward again, deciding that he had to get to Firenze quickly. Ron quickened his pace a little, and he heard Malfoy trotting right behind him. There was a loud howl in the distance and Malfoy shrieked, while Ron tensed up.

"Weasley, we should go back!" Malfoy whined, looking around frantically. _Weasley? Not Weasel? Or filthy Blood-Traitor?_ Ron scoffed at the thought. _If we were anywhere else, he'd call me Weasel instead…_ "Weasley, are you listening to me?! It's not safe here!" Malfoy continued, and Ron felt his temper flair at the use of his surname. Ron turned around and glared murder at Malfoy, taking the platinum haired boy by surprise.

"Don't call me Weasley" Ron grit out. "Better yet, shut up and don't even look in my direction…" With that, Ron turned around and kept walking forward. _The gall of this git… After everything he did to me…_ Ron didn't hear footstep following him, so he stopped and turned around again. "WELL?! Are you coming or not?! Because I will gladly leave you here!" Ron said loudly, frowning deeply at Malfoy. Malfoy just stared back at Ron, and he looked… different.

"Listen…" Malfoy started, but then he paused and looked down at his feet. "I didn't destroy your things…" Ron had the wind knocked out of him at hearing that. _LYING BASTARD!_ His temper flared, and he walked up to Malfoy and shoved him hard. Malfoy fell on his back with a thud, and then he stared up at Ron. Malfoy looked scared.

"Don't fucking lie to me! You destroyed everything!" Ron bellowed, forgetting where he was. "And for what?! What the fuck did I even do to you?! Ever since I got sorted, all you've done is antagonize me! WHY?!" Ron yelled, his face getting hot because of anger. "What is your damn problem with me?!" Malfoy stood up at that and came face to face with Ron.

"My problem?" Malfoy said, his voice venomous. "You took my friends away, you threw that in my face! You aren't even supposed to be in Slytherin, and yet you keep getting in my way at every stop!"

"When have I gotten in your way?! WHEN?!" Ron questioned back. He was gone, he knew it… his rage and frustrations had taken over his senses again. Malfoy looked the same.

"EVERY DAY WEASEL! The moment you got sorted, my friends decided to leave me for you! MY FRIENDS! NOT YOURS!" Malfoy yelled, his voice cracking a bit. "And then you go and turn the older students against me! ME?! I am the heir of the Malfoy line! I matter more than you ever could!"

"Piss off, Malfoy! Your friends left you because you're a piece of shite" Ron said venomously, he knew that had to hurt Malfoy. "As for the older students, they chose me over you because I did more for the house! That's what you just can't understand, can you? You can't understand that someone is better than you at something? Let me guess why, your rich family has always given you what you want! And so you expect to have everything like some spoiled brat!" Malfoy looked like he had been slapped, and Ron smiled viciously at that.

"At least my family isn't a lot of Blood-Traitor scum!" Malfoy bit back, regaining his anger. "You think you're better than everyone, don't you?!" Ron flinched a bit because he had been dealing with his hypocrisy lately. "I've seen you… marching around like some peacock whenever you preach your traitorous views to **MY** friends! Or when you openly associate with those Gryffindors! Harry Potter's pet snake!" Ron grabbed Malfoy by the collar of his robes at that. "What? You're going to attack me? That's what you do, don't you? I heard you threatening Daphne when she called Granger a 'Mud-Blood'…" Ron blinked at that.

"There it is" Malfoy sneered. "You're not better than me… You're not better than anyone Weasley… You're a thug, and you don't deserve **my** friends…" Ron felt like he had been kicked in the gut, and he slowly pushed Malfoy away.

"And you do?" Ron asked slowly, still reeling from Malfoy's tongue-lashing. Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Ron. "I saw the bruises on Pansy's wrists…" Ron grit out, feeling righteous anger at the memory. Malfoy flinched.

"That wasn't my fault… Crabbe pushed her and I didn't order it…" Malfoy said, sounding guilty. _Order… He thinks he owns people…_

"Order it?" Ron said, frowning at Malfoy. "There is your problem Malfoy… Blaise and Theo left you because they were sick of your orders… friends don't order each other around. But you never saw them as friends, did you? You saw them as your lackeys… as something less than people! And so they left you the first damn chance they got! And you still blame me?!" Ron glared at Malfoy, who was staring back with an open mouth.

"Don't you dare presume to know how I saw them…" Malfoy said, his voice becoming firm. "You don't know me."

"Yes I do" Ron said, nodding slowly. "They told me of how loyal you are to your 'friends'…" Malfoy blinked at that. "But they also told me of how you lorded your father's name over them… How they felt trapped by you… How they felt when you treated them as dirt… How much it hurt them when you saw them as your underlings… That's what you are Malfoy, someone who doesn't see people as people… In my eyes, you're scum!" There was a short pause at that, both boys had red eyes and red faces. Fang just watched them quietly…

"Tell me, Malfoy" Ron broke the silence in a firm voice. "Did you feel powerful when you destroyed my most cherished things?" Malfoy blinked at that, and angry tears fell down his face. "Did it feel good to destroy the 'poor' kid's things?"

"I didn't touch your damn things, Weasley" Malfoy said firmly, and Ron narrowed his eyes on Malfoy. "I found that letter, and while I took it to your table to make a copy, Crabbe and Goyle decided it was a good way to hurt you… By the time I noticed what they were doing behind my back, it was too late… All I could do was to try and stop the books from burning… And then I packed up your things and left… I'm not petty enough to lower myself to such a tasteless act."

Ron just stood there, it was all making sense now. Malfoy had never intended to leave behind evidence… his idiot goons however had done just that. Malfoy's plan would have worked out for him, if Crabbe and Goyle hadn't given away what it was. But it still didn't take the pain away… The pain of losing those few precious things that he owned, the few things that didn't feel like hand-me-downs…

"You have no idea… what you're actions did to me…" was all Ron could say, his pain taking over. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Malfoy, who sniffed loudly. "You may not have destroyed my things, but you did destroy all of my hard-work… and you did it out of spite! You lost us the House Cup, and you made me into a laughing stock at Hogwarts… I would have never done something like that to you… Not at first…" Malfoy looked down at that, remembering the time Weasley had offered him his hand in friendship. They could have made peace that night, and Slytherin wouldn't have lost the Cup. His father wouldn't called him a disgrace…

"You aren't the only one who lost everything Weasley" Malfoy said, his voice was regretful and soft. "My name has been tarnished in the house…"

"And whose fault is that, Malfoy?" Ron asked Malfoy, his own voice going soft. They were both emotionally drained by their verbal fight. "Who is the cause of all this mess?" Neither of them said a word for a few moments. "Yeah… that's what I thought" Ron said, and then he turned around and began walking again. _We've wasted enough time… And I'm done with this…_

They marched on slowly, both of them going over everything that had just been aired out. _What a mess… What did we even get out of all of this? Nothing… we're both jokes…_ Ron kept moving, his breathing shallow and his head swimming with questions. And then he stepped in something wet, and sticky. Ron stopped and looked down, and his eyes-widened. _Unicorn blood…_

"Malfoy stop" Ron whispered, looking back at Malfoy. Malfoy went wide-eyed at the sudden actions of the red-head, and then he looked down and saw Weasley's foot covered in Unicorn blood. Malfoy's blood froze at the sight.

There was an evil silence around them, and the forest felt darker than ever. They both stared at each other, scared of being close to the creature hunting for Unicorns. _It's here… somewhere… Merlin help us…_

"We should find the Centaur…" Ron whispered, and Malfoy nodded slowly. All of a sudden, Fang let out a loud whine and bolted, howling loudly as it ran off.

"FANG!" Malfoy yelled after it, trembling with fear at being left by the dog. Malfoy then turned to a shocked Weasley and yelled. "WHAT DO WE DO…" and then Malfoy just stopped out of fright at what he saw behind Weasley.

Ron looked at Malfoy, and then looked behind him when he heard leaves rustling. He almost screamed in fear at what he saw. A hooded being was gliding in between the trees, and it was heading towards them. It seemed… ethereal in nature…

"MALFOY RUN!" Ron bellowed, and then he turned around bolted as well, running full-tilt in the direction of where Fang had gone. Both Malfoy and Ron ran side by side, panic making them run faster than ever before. Ron felt branches hitting his face and arms, but he ignored them. Right now, all that mattered was running. Running from that thing…

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Malfoy yelled as he kept running, matching Ron's speed.

"HOW THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW?!" Ron yelled back, feeling his heart beating in his ears. _I can't die here… I have a job to do! I HAVE TO SAVE MY FAMILY! RUN FASTER!_ Ron picked up his pace, and Malfoy tried to match it. But that was a mistake… Malfoy's foot caught in a root, and Malfoy went flying face first into the hard ground. His nose broke with a sickening crunch upon contact, and Ron stopped when he heard the thud. He was a few feet away from Malfoy, who was laying on the ground dazed. Ron looked at Malfoy with wide-eyes, his legs burning from being pushed so hard. Then Ron saw **it**.

That thing was right there, gliding out from behind a thick tree. It let out a blood-curdling hiss, and glided towards Malfoy, who was staring at it with teary and scared eyes. Malfoy tried getting up, but his panic was making him clumsy, and he couldn't get a proper footing.

"Help me! HELP!" Malfoy screamed, his voice tearing from the pain on his face and the horror of dying in this forest. Ron just felt like time had slowed down for him… His eyes burned, his legs burned, his heart beat like a battle-drum in his ears, and his body shook with adrenaline. Malfoy was gonna die right there… right in front of him… And Ron felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt powerless… Malfoy's screams took Ron back to his worst visions. Pandora's gurgling and bloody body… Hermione's shattered little form… Sirius screaming as the Dementors tore at him… Fred's peaceful dead body surrounded by his grieving family… _NO! Not them!_

Ron ripped his wand out of its holster and aimed it at the hooded creature. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Ron bellowed, his adrenaline giving him a second breath. "CONFRINGO!" Ron's wand burned hot in his hands and a fiery orange light shot out at the hooded creature. But then the creature did something that Ron hadn't foreseen… it deflected the spell with a wave of its cloak. The spell hit a close by tree and blew the bottom half of the tree apart. The large tree tumbled down, and Malfoy managed to barely jump out of its way.

The destroyed tree separated the boys from the creature in the dark cloak. Ron quickly ran over to Malfoy and grabbed him by his arm, hauling him up with a strength that Ron didn't know he had. "C'mon Malfoy… we need to go!" Ron ordered, Malfoy nodded fervently and then tried running. But he couldn't, his ankle had twisted because of the root… Malfoy fell forward again with a howl of pain.

"My ankle…" Malfoy cried, and Ron looked down at it. It was already red and starting to swell. _No… He can't even walk with that…_ "Don't leave me here…" Malfoy cried, holding his ankle and blood running down his face. Ron just nodded fervently, he never even thought of leaving Malfoy behind until just then. Ron stood up and aimed his wand around, looking for the creature.

"We're gonna be fine… we're gonna be fine" Ron muttered over and over again, mostly to calm himself down. There was a loud rustling of leaves from Ron's left, and Ron turned to see the creature glide into view. Ron's heart thumped loudly and his mouth dried up. _I'm not dying here! This isn't how I die!_ "GET BACK!" Ron bellowed at the creature, which glided slowly around the two boys.

"Ronald… Weasley…" the cloaked shade hissed, its voice was ethereal and unnatural. Ron felt his veins freeze over… This thing could speak! And it knew his fucking name!

"GET BACK!" Ron bellowed again, panic taking over. "GET AWAY FROM US! OR I'LL KILL YOU!" The creature let out a horrifying chuckle, and then it screamed murder as it charged at Ron. Ron shielded Malfoy with his own body and was about to throw out another Blasting Curse when a large body jumped in between the boys and the shade. It was a Centaur, and it charged the shade, which glided away from the Centaur with a loud hiss. The Centaur stood on its hind legs, and tried to kick the shade. It missed barely and the cloaked shade flew off into the forest, hissing violently. Ron and Malfoy just stared at the fight with wide-eyes and open mouths.

The Centaur then turned its attention to Ron and Malfoy, and galloped to them. The Centaur had long blonde hair and shining blue eyes. It towered over the two boys, and Ron pointed his wand at it. "You want next?!" Ron yelled, trying to get his voice out without it shaking. The Centaur just stared at Ron, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You are brave, little human" the Centaur said, its voice was kind and strong. "I am Firenze… and I've been looking for you." Ron relaxed immensely at hearing that and he let out a strangled cry. His legs gave out and he fell on his knees next to Malfoy. _We're safe… we lived…_ Relief flooded his whole body and the fear escaped through his mouth and eyes in the form of cries and tears. "You are safe now… both of you" Firenze said, approaching them both. Both boys whimpered and cried for a few minutes, trying to calm down. Firenze offered them consoling words and didn't push them.

"What was… that…?" Malfoy asked after a while, his voice still trembling. _Good question…_

"Something broken and cursed" Firenze said strongly. "Something that should have died a long time ago… and yet it lingers… Clutching to life at the cost of its humanity. It is the creature that has been killing the Unicorns and drinking their blood in order to sustain itself."

"What?" Ron asked, shocked and disgusted. "Why is it going after Unicorns for that?"

"It is a terrible crime to slay a Unicorn" Firenze said, his voice full of sorrow. "Drinking the blood of a Unicorn can save you even if you are on the brink of death… But at a horrifying price… From the moment its blood touches your lips, you will be cursed… cursed to live a half-life… a broken life." A _broken life… That thing… was a person._

"Who was that?" Ron asked, his stomach feeling queasy. Firenze looked at the two boys with a saddened look, and Ron wished that he had never asked.

"You-know-who…" Firenze said slowly. It took Ron and Malfoy a few moments to figure out what Firenze had meant, and when they did… their minds just went blank from fear. Ron looked at Malfoy, and Malfoy looked back at Ron. Both had gone deathly pale, and Ron felt extremely light-headed.

"No… no…" Malfoy said, his voice strained due to the pain he was in.

"Come, we must leave" Firenze said. "You two need assistance, and I fear that you will not find any in this forest tonight." Firenze then picked Ron up as if the boy weighed nothing, and placed him on his back. Ron struggled to sit up on the Centaur, its body was hard in between Ron's legs. Firenze then picked up Malfoy like a baby, and began galloping towards the exit slowly. None of them uttered a word on the way back…

The Centaur took the two boys out of the forest and towards Hagrid's hut, where the giant man was waiting. Hagrid looked to be in a panic of sorts, and when the giant saw Firenze, he quickly approached the Centaur.

"Ye found them!" Hagrid's voice boomed. "Thank Dumbledore, ye did it Firenze!" _Hagrid sent him looking for us? Thank Merlin for that… I just met the Dark Lord… We were going to die…_ Ron didn't say a word, still too terrified to even make a sound. Why was You-Know-Who even alive?! Didn't Harry Potter destroy him?! And why was the Dark Lord in the Forbidden Forest, so close to Hogwarts?! _None of this makes any sense… This is too much…_

"He needs medical assistance" Firenze said as he handed Malfoy over to Hagrid. Malfoy was pale and whimpering, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain. Ron couldn't help but feel sorry for him, they had truly gone through hell tonight…

Hagrid quickly made his way towards the castle, carrying Malfoy with as much gentleness as he could muster. Firenze removed Ron from his back and put him down on the ground gently. "This is where I leave you, brave child" Firenze said, and then he began to leave.

"Wait!" Ron pleaded, he had questions that needed answers. _This could be my only chance!_ Firenze stopped and turned back to look at Ron. "Why was you-know-who in the forest?" Ron asked, without even thinking.

"You saw why…" Firenze replied. _Unicorn blood…_

"He died over ten years ago? That couldn't have been him…" Ron muttered, still unable to believe that he had crossed paths with the Darkest Wizard of all time. "He… knew my name…" That realization made him start shaking, and his hands trembled harder than ever before.

"He did not die, young one…" Firenze said, approaching the trembling boy. Firenze put a firm hand on Ron's shoulder, hoping to comfort him. "He was weakened, and I believe that he needs Unicorn blood to sustain his physical body."

"But why here? Why at Hogwarts? Dumbledore is Headmaster!" Ron questioned.

"Something is being kept at the school" Firenze said, not caring about Hogwarts' secrecy. "Something that has the ability to return him to power." _Something is being kept in Hogwarts… THE STONE! IT GRANTS IMMORTALITY! MERLIN'S BEARD!_

"The stone?" Ron muttered, making Firenze go wide-eyed.

"You are most well-informed…" Firenze said slowly, and then he gazed at Ron's left arm. "You are hurt…" Ron looked at where Firenze was looking, and noticed that his robes were torn. _When did that happen? Probably when I was running for my life…_ "Go and get aid for that cut, you have seen enough for tonight." With that, Firenze turned around and galloped back into the forest. Ron shuddered at being alone and bolted to the castle.

* * *

Ron walked into the Hospital Wing to get his cut looked at, and he was glad to see Madam Pomfrey already helping Malfoy. She was applying some sort of salve on his ankle, and he was whimpering quite pathetically. "Quiet down Mr. Malfoy, I'm almost done" Madam Pomfrey said with a frown. _Give him a break you old crone… we just ran into the Dark Lord…_ She finished rubbing the salve and turned around, only to spot Ron. "Mr. Weasley, there you are… Hagrid told me that you were out there as well. Come, let me look at you." Ron did as he was told.

"I have a cut on my arm" Ron told her, showing it to her. She examined it, and then she frowned.

"Why they would send children into that blasted forest is beyond me" Madam Pomfrey huffed. "Come, sit down on this bed." She then guided Ron to an empty bed next to Malfoy's, and then she took out her wand. "It's nothing to major, I can fix this quickly enough." She traced her wand along his cut, and Ron felt a soothing cold feeling pass through his cut. "There… done."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey" Ron said with a smile, and she returned his smile. _Okay… I was wrong to call her a crone…_

"You can sleep here tonight" she said kindly, and then she marched out of the Hospital Wing. Ron lay down on the bed, and exhaled loudly. _Bloody Merlin… You-know-who is still alive, and he is outside in the Forbidden Forest… And he wants the Philosopher's Stone! How I let those three convince me that Snape was after it is beyond me… Their only proof was that Snape is a mean teacher, and I went right along with it… Bloody hell I'm stupid!_

"Weasley…" came Malfoy's voice, and it broke Ron out of his thoughts.

"What?" Ron asked curtly, still reeling from the events of tonight. _I need to think about this from every angle… And I need to get that stone and destroy it!_

"Thanks…" Malfoy said in a whisper, and then he turned over and faced the other way. _That was… new…_

Ron decided to not start something with Malfoy right now, because right now he had to think. Ron lay there in the dark for hours, planning and plotting. Trying to make sense of everything.

What was he going to do with this information? Telling Dumbledore was his first thought, but he knew that in revealing his knowledge about the stone, he'd have to turn in his Gryffindor friends. There was no other way around that… Dumbledore would want to know of how Ron knew of the stone, and he only knew because of Harry, Hermione, and Neville telling him. Should he betray their trust and turn this in? It seemed like the right choice, what was the trust of three people compared to the knowledge that the Dark Lord was floating around Hogwarts? This brought up another terrifying question…

How did the Darkest Wizard of all time know his name? How was that even possible? Ron was no one… And yet the Dark Lord knew him, and had recognized him… This terrified Ron more than anything, and it made him lean towards telling Dumbledore everything. What if the Dark Lord returned with the stone's power? Is that why there was an upcoming war? Did you-know-who start a war after his return? Telling Dumbledore could result in this war never even happening! And Fred would be saved!

But what about the stone? What would Dumbledore do with it? Why hadn't he already destroyed it? Instead he was keeping it inside the school! Endangering lives, his students' lives… That thought jarred Ron, because he couldn't understand the logic behind it. What if Dumbledore himself wanted to use the stone? Is that why it was here? The Headmaster was quite old… It would make sense… But that wasn't the Albus Dumbledore Ron had grown up with. Ron's father had regaled him since he was a baby with the tales of the great Albus Dumbledore, and how lucky everyone was to have him… It seemed wrong to think of Dumbledore as some immortality seeking mad-man. And yet he couldn't rule that out, his paranoia from the things he had witnessed in his visions refused to let him think otherwise…

What if trusting Dumbledore resulted in the stone not being destroyed? And then it ending up in you-know-who's grasp?! Everything led Ron back to that infernal stone and its existence, it had to go. It **had** to be destroyed! There was no other course of action, not for Ron. With the stone gone, you-know-who couldn't return to full power… He'd be stuck drinking Unicorn blood just to survive as Firenze had explained. A broken life would be what the Dark Lord would live, and that made Ron smile.

With his resolve hardened, Ron decided that the stone's destruction was his primary goal. Now he just had to find the damn thing! Where could it possibly be? Hogwarts was massive, and the stone could be anywhere… Ron thought long and hard, and eventually he remembered the Giant Three-headed dog. It was standing on a trap door as Hermione had told them that night when he had saved them from Filch. That had to be it! Why else would that beast be in the castle? It was guarding the stone! This raised another question… How was he going to defeat that thing? He would die in a heartbeat if he fought it, and he knew that for certain. So what could he do? The library came to his mind, and he decided he needed to research the three-headed dog and find its weaknesses. Then he could get the stone, use the Blasting Curse to blow it up, and get away without anyone being the wiser!

The Dark Lord would lose his way to come back, and Ron would be sure that the stone wasn't going to be used ever again! Yes… this was the right move… Ron could feel it! He had done everything so far by himself, he had acted on his visions and saved lives all by himself! This time felt no different. This was his next adventure, and it would be his most important one. He'd save the Wizarding World from another war, and more importantly, he'd save his brother from dying… He'd save his family from so much pain! All he had to do, was find and destroy that stone.

Ron would bide his time, he'd spend the next few days doing his research on the monster guarding the stone. And once his exams were finished, he'd sneak into the third floor corridor that was forbidden. He'd defeat the monster, and find the treasure it was guarding. And then he would destroy that treasure, and leave without a trace…

Ron finally drifted to sleep, his resolve hardened and his mind made up. _Fred's life is in the balance, and I can change his future…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is, I hope you all enjoyed that! First year is coming to a close (finally), and to think that I started this story twenty-two days ago! I'm going to be a little selfish and take a couple of days of, just to freshen up again! The next chapter is going to be intense and I hope I can deliver!**

 **See you guys in three days!**


	19. Chapter 19 - The Seven Chambers

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 19 is here! First year finally comes to an end! Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 19 – The Seven Chambers**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron marched out of his final exam, Potions, and breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally done!_ The Forgetfulness Potion was easy enough to make for Ron, he knew all the steps off by heart. But Snape had made it damn near impossible to do it without sweating from every pore… The Potions Master was always peering over their shoulders, breathing down their necks. He would sneer at anyone who wasn't working fast enough, or scoff at anyone who was working too fast. Overall, it had been a horrid experience for every person involved…

Ron moved towards the Great Hall with his friends to have lunch, eager to fill his belly. _Tonight's the night… Tonight, I'll find that stone or die trying! Fred's life hangs on my success…_ Ron had spent the last week preparing for this night. He had researched the Cerberus guarding the stone extensively, and he had learned that their species were extremely weak to music. Any tune, and they would fall asleep instantly. That had bewildered Ron, but he was just glad that it had at least some sort of weakness that Ron could exploit. _If my singing doesn't work, then I'll blast off its heads… Or get eaten… getting eaten is more likely…_

Ron ate with gusto, and his friends ignored him. They were in too good a mood due to being finished with exams to berate him for eating like a wild beast. Ron was glad for it, because he needed his strength today! They had the rest of the day off, as all the first-years were now done with exams. As Ron ate, he noticed a commotion of sorts from the corner of his vision. He looked to it, and saw that his three Gryffindor friends were running out of the Great Hall at full-tilt. _What are they up to now? I would go and find out… but I have more important things to focus on._

After lunch, Ron went to the common room alongside his friends. They all chatted animatedly with one another, but Ron was silent. His mind was fixed on his mission, and every passing second increased his dread. They all sat down in front of the fire, as they usually did.

"Ron? Is something bothering you?" Daphne asked him, smiling at him. He smiled back and shook his head.

"Just worried for my results…" Ron lied, feeling sick that lying was becoming so easy to him. Theo and Blaise chuckled at that.

"We all know that you are going to score perfectly" Theo said, no doubt trying to be a source of comfort. _He's come so far… He used to be so conniving once. I mean he still is, but not towards me…_ Ron grinned at Theo.

"Still worried though…" Ron lied again. "I want to beat Hermione in the exams!" His friends smiled and nodded at him.

"Granger stands no chance against you Ron" Tracey said, her voice boastful. "Everyone knows you're smarter than her!" _Everyone is an idiot then… Because I'm nowhere near her level…_ Ron just smirked at his own thoughts, but his friends were happy to see him smirking. They wanted to make sure Ron knew that he was better than those three Gryffindor morons.

"How did you go Millie?" Ron asked, hoping she did well. He'd spent most of his exams prep helping her instead of preparing himself. She beamed at him before replying.

"I think I did really well, Ron" Millie said happily. "Though Potions was really hard because of Professor Snape hovering over us…" Ron shuddered at the recent memory. _Horrid exam…_ They spent the next few hours talking to each other about their holiday plans, with Ron promising them each that he would do his best to visit and write to them.

* * *

Ron was lying wide awake in his bed, waiting for Theo and Blaise to finally fall asleep. Once he was sure that they had, he slowly got out of his bed without making a single sound. He quickly cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then set out to complete his quest. Each step he took turned his stomach into a knot, and he could already feel a cold sweat breaking out under his armpits. _Stay calm… stay calm. You've prepared for this…_ Ron quickly navigated the moving stair-cases, and made his way into the forbidden corridor. As he passed through the Trophy room, his eyes fell on his Junior League Championship Trophy. _Maybe they'll give me one for saving the Wizarding World… unlikely… The plan is to not get caught._

Ron finally found himself in front of **the** **door** , the door that would lead him to the three-headed monstrosity and the treasure it guarded. And Ron couldn't move… Fear was holding him in place, and his breathing had become shallow. _I have to do this… I have to save Fred…_ But even that wasn't enough to get his legs moving. If he crossed that door, he was probably never coming back out. Dumbledore's warning of a 'most painful death' kept repeating in Ron's mind. Was he really ready for this? Maybe he should turn back? Maybe he should tell Dumbledore everything about himself, and just hope that the old wizard destroys the stone! Maybe he didn't have to go and get himself killed tonight?

The choice was removed from his hands when he heard faint whispers and feet shuffling from behind him. He went into a panic and quickly jumped into the shadows, hoping that the Disillusionment Charm had kept him hidden. _Who would be roaming the hallways this late at night? It's nearly midnight for Merlin's sake! And why are they roaming the forbidden corridor?!_ He looked around, but he saw no one. Yet he could hear footsteps getting closer and closer… And then his three Gryffindor friends threw off the cloak of invisibility and appeared right in front of the door. _WHAT ARE THE DOING HERE?!_

"Are we sure about this?" Neville whispered, his voice sounded panicked.

"We have to get the stone" Harry said firmly. "If Snape gets it, he'll use the stone to become immortal!"

"Harry's right Neville" Hermione said, her voice haughty. "We're saving the school." _She only cares about the school, doesn't she?_ Ron couldn't help but smile at her weird way of thinking. But then another thought entered his mind. _What the hell do I do now? They think Snape is after the stone, but it's the Dark Lord who wants it! If they get it before me, they'll no doubt hand it to Dumbledore for safe keeping… And I'll be back on step number one!_

When Hermione pointed her wand at the door, no doubt to open it, Ron decided that he needed to join the three. He could take the stone from them after they found it, and then he would destroy it! His friendship with them be damned! Fred needed him, and Fred was blood!

"Hello" Ron said lamely, taking the Disillusionment Charm off of himself and stepping out of the shadows. Hermione screamed loudly, and the two Gryffindor boys yelped and pointed their wands at him. _Smooth Ron… really fucking smooth…_

"Ron?!" Harry asked, and then he relaxed visibly. Harry heaved out a heavy breath, while Neville just put his hand over his heart and shook his head.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shrieked, and then she marched up to him and punched his right arm hard. _OW! That'll bruise for certain!_

"Ouch, Hermione" Ron whined, covering his sore spot with his left hand. "Why?!"

"WHY?! You scared us to death" Hermione said with a glare, making Ron grin sheepishly. "What are you even doing here?" _Same as you… Except I'm planning to end that stone and its evil. Okay, time to lie! And lie well…_

"I followed you three here" Ron began his lie, making all three of his friends narrow their eyes at him. _That wasn't a good start…_ "I saw you three acting odd at lunch, so I decided to keep my eye on you. Just to be safe, you know! And then I followed you here… To help with the stone! We can't let Snape have it! It's too dangerous!" _Please believe me, I'd rather not have to start throwing out stunners… If a fight breaks out, I'm doomed. I mean, how am I going to beat Harry Potter?!_ And then Hermione slowly smiled at him, and then so did Harry. But Neville didn't… Neville just stared at Ron with a guarded look.

"Ron… you don't have to help us" Hermione said, beaming at her loyal Slytherin friend. He'd put himself in danger again, just for their sake!

"Hermione is right, Ron" Harry said with a faint smile. "This is too dangerous…" Something didn't sit well with Harry… His instincts were shouting at him to not trust Ron! But Ron had been nothing but helpful in the last few weeks. Ron had even taken the fall for them with the baby Dragon business… And yet, Harry had the urge to send Ron away. In the end, he chose to ignore that urge. Ron was his friend, and Ron was here to help.

"More dangerous than smuggling a Dragon through the school?" Ron joked, earning a giggle out of Hermione and a chuckle out of Harry. But Neville didn't laugh, Neville was still staring at Ron with a guarded look. _He isn't believing me? Hermione and Harry do… but Neville doesn't? When did he grow a back bone? I remember him as a whimpering chubby kid at the start of the year! He is still a little chubby, but not whimpering anymore…_ "Neville, are you all right?" Ron asked, hoping to get Neville on his side.

"We don't need you" Neville said curtly, making Ron blink at him. "Go back to Slytherin…" _What's his problem?! If he thinks he can take away my chance to destroy the stone, then he is mistaken… I'll hex his face off before I let Fred die!_ Ron kept his calm exterior, though it was harder than he imagined.

"Neville!" Hermione scolded, glaring at her friend. This was Ron that he was talking about! How could he even say that?!

"Nev, mate…" Harry said slowly, shocked by his friend's hostility towards Ron. "What's the matter? We could use all the help we can get. And Ron is brilliant!" _Thanks Harry! HARRY POTTER SAID I'M BRILLIANT! Ginny, if you can hear me, please know that!_

"We don't need his help" Neville said, still looking at Ron but this time with a frown. "Something isn't right with him…" _Shite! He knows I'm lying! I need to get Harry and Hermione on my side now! Bribe? No… Feign hurt? Yeah… that'll work… It worked when I told them off in the abandoned classroom!_ Ron tried his best to put on a hurt face, and just blinked at Neville.

"Nev…" Ron muttered, his voice coming out a little shaky. And then he shook his head. "Fine, I'll go…" Ron said firmly, making sure to sniff loudly. And then he turned to leave, but Hermione stopped him.

"Ron, stop" Hermione pleaded. Then she shot a murderous glare at Neville, who looked taken aback by it. "It's Neville who has the problem… Why doesn't he leave instead?" Neville flinched at her words, and looked quite hurt. _I'm a piece of shite…_

"I don't want to get in between you guys…" Ron whispered to her, but loud enough that Harry and Neville heard too. "You'll be fine without me." _Please don't send me packing…_

"Guys… Let's not fight" Harry said, trying to calm down the situation. They couldn't afford to waste their time here. They needed to stop Snape! "Snape might already be down there! We have no time to waste… Ron, you can come with. Neville… just stop it. We need to work together! All of us!" _Thank you Harry…_ Ron felt bile rise at the back of his throat, but he swallowed it down. _I'm a sick person… There's something not right with me… I'm using them like puppets… The same way Theo and Blaise tried to manipulate me at the start of the year. And here I am… turning friends against each other just so that I can get what I want. But Fred… my big brother… he needs me to do this!_

"Let's go" Harry continued, and then he turned to Hermione and nodded. Hermione returned his nod and unlocked the door with 'Alohomora'. _I'll deal with Neville later… Why doesn't he trust me yet? I've shown him no reason for this… hostility._ Harry led the way inside, and Ron followed after him. Hermione came right after, and Neville slowly entered behind her. _Time to focus! The stone should be my only worry right now!_

The room was quiet, and Ron instantly noticed a harp sitting by the monster. The Cerberus turned his attention to the four children. Ron gripped his wand tightly and aimed it at the Three-headed dog, but Harry lowered Ron's arm with his own. "Don't hurt him Ron" Harry said softly. "Here, just watch…" Harry then took out a wooden flute and began playing it. He was surprisingly good. The beast yawned loudly and sat back down, seemingly enjoying the tune. Ron was stunned into silence. _Harry just… That easily… He really is the greatest wizard… the one who defeated you-know-who as a baby!_ The Cerberus was lulled into sleep, and Harry stopped playing the flute.

"That was… brilliant" Ron muttered, smiling at Harry in disbelief. Harry grinned back and pointed towards the trap door by the Cerberus' paw.

"C'mon guys" Harry whispered. "We need to hurry after Snape, that harp was probably used by him…" Ron's gut twisted at that realization, the Dark Lord was down there… And he was closer to the stone than Ron had previously imagined. _Why did I bloody wait so long?!_ Ron marched forward and opened the trap door, and he gazed down it. There was just darkness, and Ron couldn't even see where they would land if they jumped down.

"What now?" Hermione whispered, looking over Ron's shoulder. "Do we… jump?" She sounded a little afraid, but Ron didn't care for that right now. _He's down there already! If he gets the stone… Fred is a dead man! Hogwarts will burn!_ Steeling his resolve, Ron simply jumped down the trap door. "Ron…" Hermione squealed, terrified for her friend.

Ron landed on something rather squishy, but it still hurt his arse. "I'm fine! C'mon!" Ron shouted up at ceiling of the room he had just landed in. Harry was the next to follow, and then Hermione, and then finally Neville. They each landed with a loud thud and a grunt.

"Ow…" Neville moaned, rubbing the back of his head. Ron looked around and noticed that the room was quite dark, he couldn't see much. And then he felt it. Something had entangled his legs together tightly, and judging by Hermione's squeal, something had grabbed her too. _What the hell?!_ Ron instantly leaned forward to break his legs away from the aggressive tentacle like thing that was entangling them. He felt his panic rise when more tentacles wrapped themselves around his torso and began to squeeze. His breath was squeezed out of his lungs, and he could hear his friends squirming and shouting in panic as well.

Ron felt like he was in that room with the Mirror of Erised again, with the cold tendrils that had nearly killed him that night. _The Entity!_ The memory of its voice rang through Ron's head once more, and he began panicking hard. He tore at the tentacles and screamed, sheer terror overtaking his senses. _I'M NOT DYING HERE! NOT LIKE THIS!_ The tentacles tightened, and he cried in pain when one of them squeezed hard enough to bend his left arm a little.

"Ron!" Neville called out. "Stop! This is Devil's Snare! You have to relax, or it will kill you faster!" Ron heard Neville's voice, but that didn't stop his panic. And then bright bluebell flames attacked the Devil's Snare near Ron, making the plant's tentacles shrink away from the bright flames and their warmth. Ron felt himself being let go, and he quickly got up and ran to the source of the fire. It was Neville, and he was now sending the bluebell flames towards Hermione and Harry. The Devil's Snare slithered away from them, just like it had done with Ron, and both of them quickly got up and ran to Neville's side. Ron was awed, even though he was still afraid. Neville had just saved all of them singlehandedly, and was now ordering them to head for the exit as he used the flames to keep the Devil's Snare at bay. _How is he bullied by Malfoy?!_

The four made their way through the exit and found themselves inside a downward sloping passageway with stone walls, and the faint tickling of water could be heard all around them. "Bloody hell Neville" Ron muttered. "That was really brilliant!" Neville was taken by surprise at the compliment, and he nodded to Ron with a faint smile. _He saved us… He really is amazing at Herbology! Maybe even better than Theo…_

"Ron's right, Nev" Harry beamed at his best friend. "You saved us all by yourself!" Neville beamed back and blushed red.

"Thanks Harry…" Neville said sheepishly, and Hermione patted Neville's back.

"See Neville! You are brilliant" Hermione added in with a smile. Ron watched the trio with an odd sense of sympathy for Neville. _Guess he doesn't really see himself as brilliant then… He should._

The passageway led them into a brilliantly lit chamber with a high ceiling, and Ron was awed by it. _What part of Hogwarts are we even in?! I really ought to explore this castle more often! Look at this place!_ As Ron gazed around the room, he was awestruck by the winged-keys flying around the room. This was a pattern Ron noted, all of the rooms had a pattern. _These are… tests…_

"There!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing to a door with a silver lock. "That must lead us into the next chamber!" _Next chamber? How much do they know about this place? Never mind… I'll ask later._ Hermione ran up to the door and tried to open it, but it didn't bulge. She then pointed her wand at it and tried the 'Alohomora' charm. When she tried again to open the door, it still didn't budge. "Ugh! It's still locked! Now what?"

Ron looked around the room, and tried to figure something out. "Those are keys flying about" Ron said, pointing towards them. "Maybe we need to find one that fits the lock!"

"He's right" Harry agreed. "Look, there are brooms right there!" Harry pointed them out, and Ron winced at the sight of them. _Those aren't fit to clean, let alone fly…_ Harry walked to the brooms, and Ron stopped him.

"Wait… I have an idea!" Ron said excitedly. _I'll use the Accio Charm!_ Ron then pointed his wand up at the ceiling. "Accio key!" Ron said clearly, but nothing happened. _Huh?_ "Accio key for the door!" Ron said clearly again, and again nothing happened.

"There must a protective charm on all the keys" Hermione mused, mostly to herself. "A charm to stop people from summoning them! That's why the summoning spell isn't working Ron!" _Damn!_

"Guess we need to fly then…" Neville added in, he sounded unsure. Ron couldn't help but remember their first flying lesson, and how Neville had flown into a wall… Ron winced at the memory.

"I'll do it" Harry said firmly. _Youngest seeker… This will be easy for him!_ Harry then grabbed a broom, and mounted it. As soon as he did that, the keys went frantic and started flying around the room in a frenzy. Harry flew up and started his search.

"Find the right key Harry!" Hermione called out to him.

"I'm trying!" Harry yelled back. "There are hundreds of them!" And then Harry's eyes locked onto a particular key, one that had a damaged wing. Harry darted after it, flying with skill as he maneuvered around the other keys. In no short time, Harry grabbed the key and flew right down to his friends. He jumped off of the broom and gave the key to Hermione.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, looking at the plain key. The others had beautiful wings and colored metals… this one was worn out and plain.

"I am, use it" Harry said firmly, giving Hermione a reassuring nod. _I hope he's right… Or we'll be here all night! You-know-who will definitely get the stone by then…_ Hermione walked up and used the key on the lock. There was a loud click, and Hermione pushed the door open. _YES! Go Harry!_

The four of them marched through, congratulating Harry on his skills on a broomstick. Harry blushed sheepishly and just nodded in thanks. And soon they found themselves in a dark chamber, and Ron could barely see anything.

"Lumos" Hermione said clearly, and her wand lit up with a bright light. Ron looked around the chamber, and he was stunned. _It's… a chessboard… A MASSIVE CHESSBOARD!_ Ron let out a laugh and walked onto it, looking at the giant pieces in awe.

"This is wicked!" Ron exclaimed, forgetting his mission momentarily due to childish excitement.

"This must be the next test" Harry mused, almost as awed as Ron. "We have to play chess… and win?" As soon as Harry said that, fires erupted around the board and they lit up the room. Hermione sheathed her wand, and Neville swallowed at a dark realization.

"This won't be like actual wizard's chess, will it?" Neville asked, distressed at being cut in two by the massive sword-wielding pieces. _Oh… OH!_ Ron's glee was replaced with a bit of dread, dying on a chessboard seemed almost ironic to him. How many pieces had he destroyed so far? And now he was going to join them…

"We've come this far" Harry said with a frown, and then he looked to Ron. "And we have a Junior League Chess Champion with us!" Harry smiled at Ron reassuringly, and Ron felt his morale come back slowly. _Harry's right… I've come too far to turn back now! And I can do this! It's about time I did something during these tests for a change…_

"All of you…" Ron began, coming to a decision. "All of you need to get off the board!" His friends looked at him oddly at that. "Do you want to be cleaved in two? Is that it?" Ron asked dryly, and they all shook their heads and did as they were told. Ron joined them and then turned to face the pieces, ready to play and win. "White goes first…" Ron said slowly, but nothing happened. _Is this thing broken?_

"I think…" Hermione said softly. "I think that we need to be on the board…"

"ON THE BOARD?!" Ron exclaimed, his dread at dying returning. "Bloody hell…" _Now what? I'm the best player here… So I have to be on the board… But what if I die out there?! Who will destroy the stone then?_ "Harry…" Ron said, as he came to a realization. Harry could destroy it… It was the only failsafe he could think of.

"Yeah, Ron?" Harry asked, looking at Ron worriedly.

"I'll play the game" Ron said, hardening in his resolve. "You lot stay back here… if I… If I die out there, I need you to promise me something."

"Ron no!" Hermione said, her voice was an odd mixture of reprimand and concern. "There has to be another way!"

"Calm down Hermione" Ron said softly. "I don't plan to die… Trust me. But if I do lose, then you lot have to find that stone… Find it, and destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Neville asked, looking at Ron oddly. Is that why Ron was here? Neville didn't believe that Ron had been following them for one second. They had been under the cloak all the way from the tower, so how could Ron have followed them? It made no sense, but his two best friends were blinded by their affection for Ron. But Neville could see Ron for what he really was… A liar! And now it made sense too, it made sense why Ron was already there before them. He didn't appear from behind them, he appeared by the door. Why would he be ahead of them if he was following them? Was he there to destroy the stone? Why would he want that?

"Yes… destroy it" Ron said, looking straight at Harry. _I need to convince Harry! If I can just convince him that destroying the stone is for the best, then the other two will follow his lead._

"We can't destroy it…" Harry argued. "It belongs to Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel! Once we save it from Snape, we have to give it back to Dumbledore!" _Damn it! Need to use a different approach!_

"If you don't destroy it" Ron started strongly "then Snape will find another way to steal it!" Ron knew that Snape was innocent in all of this, but if he told them of the Dark Lord then they'd think he was mental. You-know-who had supposedly died at Harry's hands ten years ago! "If you don't destroy the stone now, then one day it will be stolen again. Can't you see that, Harry?"

None of them said a word for almost a minute, but then Harry gave Ron an understanding nod. "Ron's right" Harry agreed, earning shocked looks from Hermione and Neville. "If we don't take care of it now, then Snape will just find another way to get it!" _Thank Merlin for Harry Potter!_ Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

"All right then" Ron said firmly. "Time for me to play some chess!" With that, he stepped onto the board and approached the black king. "Move, I'm taking this position for the match…" The black king came alive, and took the crown off of its head. Then it handed Ron the massive crown, and stepped off of the board with a sad look. _I can't carry this around all game!_ "HEY! Take your crown!" Ron yelled at the king, and then Ron rolled the crown off of the board. Choosing the role of king was the smartest move in Ron's mind, as the king didn't ever put himself in danger. This role would keep Ron the safest. Ron turned to face the white side. "Your move then…"

The game progressed quickly, and Ron had immediately noticed how simple-minded the white side was. If they ever got the chance to take one of Ron's pieces, then they would just go for it without any care for the next move. This made it so easy for Ron to lure the white side into traps. Ron sacrificed pawn after pawn, and used those opportunities to take the stronger pieces of the white side. Within ten minutes, Ron had taken most of the stronger pieces from the white side. All the while retaining all of his own stronger pieces. Though the white side had more pawns, Ron quickly began cleaning up the board. He culled the white pawns one after another, and used his stronger pieces' higher mobility to keep them safe from revenge killings. Around fifteen minutes into the game, Ron used his two bishops and queen to call check-mate. The white king removed his crown, and threw it at Ron's feet. Then it huffed indignantly and marched off of the board. Ron had won.

Hermione squealed and gave Ron applause, and he in turn grinned and gave her a mock bow. The three Gryffindors then ran onto the board, and congratulated Ron on his victory. Then the four marched onwards and headed through to the next chamber. They smelled the next chamber before they even entered it, and Ron gagged at the smell. It smelled like rotten fish… and shite, all mixed into one and then topped off with vomit… Neville actually threw up before they could enter, and Ron broke into a cold sweat. _What do we have to face now?!_

As soon as they entered the chamber, Hermione squealed. There was a Mountain Troll lying in the middle of the room, and it was asleep. Or dead, Ron couldn't tell. Either way, Ron was glad that he didn't have to kill another troll… The four of them moved through the chamber quietly, and the moment they got through, they broke into chatter.

"Merlin that smell…" Ron wheezed, he had held his breath for the entire time. Neville looked green again, and Hermione was rubbing circles on his back.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that troll" Harry said with a frown. "But that means that Snape is barely ahead of us! C'mon, we need to move faster." Harry then marched forward, with Ron right beside him. As they entered the next chamber, purple flames flared up and blocked their path back out. Ron's stomach tightened into a knot at being sealed in, and he dread what they had to face this time. Then black flames shot up and blocked the door leading to the next chamber.

"We're sealed in!" Hermione said, her voice laced with shock and fear.

"This has to be another test!" Harry deduced. _You don't say… I could do without this commentary…_

"Let's just see what it is" Ron said, getting tired of all these tests. Ron noted that in the middle of the room sat a table with seven bottle, all of them different colors and sizes. There was a piece of parchment pinned to the table, and Hermione quickly ran over to it. She read the riddle out to everyone, and Ron found himself lost somewhere halfway. _Riddles… really?!_ Ron looked over to Harry and Neville they both looked just as lost as he was. _Guess its Hermione's turn to shine…_

"This is brilliant" Hermione exclaimed, her exciting was quite cute. "This is a test of logic! Don't you see?!" _What…_ "Most wizards never use their logic, they rely too much on magic! Oh, this is brilliant!" The three boys exchanged looks, all of them smiling at how odd she was. Hermione went over the puzzle while humming, no doubt figuring it out. Ron just stared at the door behind the black fire, thinking of nothing but the stone. It was so close! He was so close to saving Fred! He just needed Hermione to work a bit faster.

"I've solved it!" Hermione exclaimed after five minutes, and Ron let out a relieved sigh. _Finally!_

"What do we do?" Harry asked her quickly.

"This bottle will let you progress forward to the next chamber" Hermione explained, showing Harry the bottle. "And this one will let you go back on the path that we came from." She then showed the other bottle. "I think… only one person can go forward… It doesn't specify how much one needs to drink to pass… So I think you should drink it all just to be safe." _Just one?! For Merlin's sake… My luck is the worst!_

"Harry I think it should be you who goes forward" Neville voiced his opinion. "You're the strongest wizard here. You can beat Snape and take the stone! I know it!" _Neville does raise a good point… Harry beat you-know-who once… He could do it again! I wouldn't stand a chance against him…_

"Neville is right" Ron agreed, deciding that this was the best course of action. Once Harry got the stone and brought it out, then Ron would destroy it. And if Harry changed his mind about destroying the stone… then Ron would do whatever was necessary… Even if it meant hurting Harry and taking the stone by force… _I'll have to cast a stunner when his back is turned though. If he sees me attacking him openly, he'll destroy me outright…_

Harry nodded slowly, giving Ron an odd look. Ron was giving Harry an odd feeling in his stomach, like Harry's instincts were trying to tell him something. Ignoring them again, Harry took the bottle and drank all of it down. It tasted like nothing, and Harry was sure that Hermione had solved the puzzle correctly.

"Wish me luck" Harry said, sounding a bit worried.

"You won't need it mate" Neville said, patting Harry's back in a comforting way.

"He's right Harry" Hermione added in, smiling at Harry. "You can do this!"

Harry then looked to Ron, and Ron gave him a faint smile and nodded. Ron didn't have the heart to wish good luck to Harry, because he knew that he might soon be betraying Harry. Harry smiled at Ron faintly and gave him a firm nod. Then he ran towards the black fire and crossed it. He turned back one more time to look at his friends. They had been the reason he made it so far, and he wouldn't let them down! With that, Harry opened the door to the next chamber and departed. _Good luck Harry…_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

Quirrell's screams echoed through the chamber, while his mind begged Lord Voldemort for mercy. The fool had failed Lord Voldemort once again in acquiring the stone, and he dared ask for mercy?! Lord Voldemort's plans to create a new, suitable body for himself using the Elixir of Life were undone… and it was all this stuttering fool's fault!

" _Master! It burns!"_ Quirrell howled in his mind, Lord Voldemort felt nothing but disgust at this vermin's mewling.

" _Be silent you worm!"_ Lord Voldemort hissed in reply. Quirrell's service to him had come to an end, and Lord Voldemort felt no pity for the dying incompetent. If Quirrell was to die, then he would die at the hands of his Lord and Master. That would be his mercy…

Lord Voldemort ripped his way through Quirrell's body, tearing into the man's magical core and draining it to the best of his ability. He would provide Lord Voldemort one more service before he departed from this world, he would strengthen Lord Voldemort's escape! Quirrell let out another shrieking howl as his body began to crumble into dust, the assault from Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter's power being too much for him. As Quirrell collapsed and his body broke apart, Lord Voldemort rose from the fool's ashes and came face-to-face with an old enemy.

"Tom…" Albus Dumbledore greeted calmly, shielding Harry's unconscious body with his own. "I see your cruelty has not ebbed in the slightest over the years…" Dumbledore then looked to Quirrell's ashes with a look of remorse, and Lord Voldemort felt disgust towards the old man. _Still a pitiful excuse for a wizard… I showed that stuttering insect mercy, nothing less than what he deserved for his continued failings!_

"Dumbledore… pitiful as always" Lord Voldemort hissed in his spirit form. "This will not stop my return… mark my words, you old fool! This world is mine!" Dumbledore frowned deeply at that.

"Not as long as I draw breath…" was Dumbledore's response. Lord Voldemort let out a blood-curdling scream and launched himself at Dumbledore, planning to possess the old wizard. Dumbledore moved quickly and put up a golden shield of light, and Lord Voldemort clashed against it. Shadows and light danced around the chamber and Lord Voldemort pushed the barrier back slightly, his rage at losing the stone overwhelming the old man's shield. But then Dumbledore pushed back, and Lord Voldemort's spirit was easily overwhelmed. _I am too weak for this battle yet…_

Sensing that he could be destroyed if this battle continued, Lord Voldemort maneuvered around the shield and made for the exit. Howling in rage as the burst through the door, and coming into Snape's defense chamber. What he saw inside the chamber brought an evil kind of joy to his mind… There stood three little children, and one of them was none other than the Weasley brat. The brat that had slain his troll and saved Potter from certain death. The brat that had dared throw a curse at Lord Voldemort in the forest… _He will make a fine host for me!_

The other two children screamed in terror at the sight of Lord Voldemort's spirit, but the young Weasley boy unsheathed his wand and let loose another Blasting Curse at his spirit. Lord Voldemort rushed past the fiery orange light, and drove himself right into the boy's chest. _You will belong to me!_

* * *

The boy's resistance was… pitiful. Even in his weakened state, Lord Voldemort easily overpowered the boy's mind and pushed through. A protective enchantment of some sort attempted to hinder Lord Voldemort, but the little strength he had drained from Quirrell gave him the power to break the enchantment completely. He was inside, and he had no intention of leaving. Lord Voldemort could hear the brat's screams of agony, and Lord Voldemort made no effort to make the possession process less painful. _You will suffer for your actions against me, Ronald Weasley! I will break you, just as I broke that maggot Quirrell!_

Lord Voldemort drained some of the boy's underdeveloped magical core, and then pushed himself into the boy's mind. _I will use your fears to shatter your mind, and you will belong to Lord Voldemort!_ Lord Voldemort used his Legilimency prowess to peel back the layers of the boy's mind, scanning his memories for weaknesses. Lord Voldemort saw the young Weasley son screaming at a transfigured spider, then he saw the boy howling in pain as a hole was burned through his tongue by his brothers, then he saw the boy crying quietly at feeling lonely due to his mother's neglect, and then Lord Voldemort found the boy in a room with a dying woman. That particular memory peaked the Dark Lords interest…

Lord Voldemort pushed on and found himself inside the boy's bedroom. _Another memory! And an important one..._ Lord Voldemort saw the boy sitting on his desk and he was writing something down fervently. The Dark Lord's astral form floated behind the boy and looked over his shoulder. The boy was writing in a journal, and he was writing… nonsense. Lord Voldemort read the words on the page, and he found himself confused… Why was the boy writing about the death of his own brother? And then Lord Voldemort read something that actually took him surprise. The boy was writing down how much older his siblings looked in his 'vision', and the boy was trying to determine their ages. _This… this boy…_ Lord Voldemort smiled a dark smile to himself as he gazed at the young Weasley son. _A Seer!_

Lord Voldemort knew right then that he had to have this boy, this power of his… it could be very useful to Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord let out a triumphal laugh as he pushed even further, all that time wasted spying on Potter… When Lord Voldemort had a Seer in his grasp all along. _You will make a fine vessel for me..._ As Lord Voldemort tore further into the boy's mind, something stopped his progress. Lord Voldemort found himself in a dark place, one devoid of… everything. It was just emptiness. That jarred the Dark Lord, and he looked around frantically. _Where am I?! Is this the boy's doing?! No… No his body has given up… Something else is interfering!_ The dark place felt cold and Lord Voldemort tried to push forward, only to fail.

" _ **Tom Marvolo Riddle, Jnr…**_ " came a Voice, a voice so disgustingly horrible that even the Dark Lord felt dread. _What… is… this…?_

"Who are you?" Lord Voldemort demanded. _They know of my true name… who is this? Dumbledore?! Has he found the boy?! No… no it is too soon! I have only just entered the boy, and he cannot exorcise me so easily. Not without hurting the boy!_

" _ **You have brought yourself to us… We thank you, Lord of Serpents…**_ " _Us?!_

"You dare challenge the greatest wizard to ever walk this pitiful earth?!" Lord Voldemort bellowed, looking around for the one who could speak in such a voice. He would never admit it, but a small amount of fear was building up in his heart. He was too weak for another confrontation, especially with whatever this thing was.

" _ **You are now ours… You will never leave this place… We will taste your HEART!**_ " the Voice shrieked the last word, and it made even Lord Voldemort panic. Something gripped his astral form, something akin to a cold, dead tendril. Lord Voldemort screamed in absolute agony, it felt like his soul was burning!

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Lord Voldemort demanded in between his screams. And then Lord Voldemort felt something else, he felt his new host's body shutting down. _IT'S KILLING THE BOY AS WELL?!_ Panic overtook Lord Voldemort's cold logical mind for the first time in a long time. If the boy died while he was still here, he may die as well! His fear of death did nothing to slow down his panic, and Lord Voldemort screamed and yelled while trying to free himself from this… this **thing**.

" _ **With your death… We will be freed from our prison… give in… give in… GIVE IN!**_ " the Voice commanded, and Lord Voldemort resisted with every fiber of his being. _I CANNOT DIE! NEVER!_ And then it happened, it was right then that the Dark Lord saw something truly horrifying.

There were eyes all over the dark place now, and they were all watching him hungrily. The eyes were blood crimson and they resembled the eyes of toads, the sizes of the eyes varied but they all looked horrifying nonetheless. _WHAT IS THIS THING?!_

"RELEASE ME MONSTER!" Lord Voldemort yelled in horror, he was going to die at this rate! This thing was killing him and his new host, and he had to escape now! Time was running out, and his already damaged soul could not survive for much longer!

" _ **The Champion has served his purpose… You will both die today… And we will be set free from this accursed bond…**_ " the Voice continued, and this did not help Lord Voldemort's fears. _CHAMPION?! ACCURSED BOND?! WHAT IS HAPPENEING HERE?!_

This was it, Lord Voldemort knew it now for certain. He was going to die in this place… His splintered soul was beginning to break down, and the boy's body had shut down completely. This **creature** … had killed them both… _NO! NO I WILL NEVER DIE!_ Then a truly desperate plan came into his mind. One that may yet save him! What if he broke off the part of his soul that the creature was holding onto?! It would be like making another Horcrux… and he had just killed Quirrell… This could work! Without thinking it through, Lord Voldemort put his desperate plan into action. He cast the soul-splitting spell upon himself for the sixth time in his life, effectively splitting his soul in half once again.

The pain was unbearable, and Lord Voldemort screamed like he had never screamed before. This was what death felt like, he knew it… But he could no longer feel the creature's tendrils on himself. This was his chance! Roaring from the agony, the Dark Lord ejected himself out of the boy and floated above his body. The boy's form was… shattered… He was bloody, bruised, and appeared dead. _That monster destroyed the boy… as it would have destroyed me!_ The other two children screamed in horror at Lord Voldemort's spirit, and he ignored them. _I must escape! NOW!_

* * *

Bellowing in pain, Lord Voldemort flew out of the chambers hiding the stone that he had so desperately coveted. Right now however, the stone was the last thing on his mind. All he could think about was the **monster** that had nearly taken his life, and the fact that he had to split his own soul in order to survive its wrath…

Voldemort flew past a certain Potions Master, his agony too much to bear. He missed the look of sheer terror on Snape's face as the former Death-Eater jumped out of the way. Lord Voldemort escaped the school, and flew past the wards. His screams of pain echoed in the night sky, and he barreled on without even thinking of his destination.

He had been forced to make another Horcrux! HIS FINAL HORCUX! And that Horcrux now lay dead at the creature's hands! Absolute anger engulfed Lord Voldemort, his pain taking a backseat to it. He would make that thing pay! How dare it attack him in such a way! _CURSE THAT MONSTER! CURSE DUMBLEDORE! CURSE HARRY POTTER! I WILL DESTROY THEM ALL!_

He was now weaker than ever before… but he was still alive… That was something that his enemies would learn to fear! He would have his vengeance!

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

Snape had been working in his office when Fawkes had just appeared in a spectacular blaze of flames, and he carried a letter on his leg. Fawkes shrilled loudly at him, clearly in a hurry. _What has happened?!_ Snape flew out of his seat and took the letter from Fawkes' leg, and the Phoenix left in a bright blaze. Snape quickly opened the parchment and read its contents

 _Severus,_

 _Quirrell is making his move for the stone at this very moment! Come to the chambers at once!_

 _Albus._

Snape burned the letter quickly, and then ran full-tilt for the third floor corridor. This was it, this was the moment where he would finally stop Quirrell from dooming the Wizarding World. He had promised Albus that he would practice restraint, but deep down Snape knew the truth. _If it comes to it, I'll kill him… If he brings back the Dark Lord, we will all suffer through another war!_ What was the price of his own soul compared to the suffering that millions would go through? He knew the answer to that already. _It means nothing…_

As he was running through McGonagall's enlarged chessboard, he heard a terrifying screaming. And then… then a wraith blew the door in front of him apart as it charged right at him. Snape recognized it immediately, and his heart stopped beating. The Dark Mark on Snape's left arm burned with a ferocity that it hadn't done in years. And all Snape could do was jump out of his old master's way. The sight and sound of Lord Voldemort's spirit in so much pain jarred him, and he lay there on the ground for longer than he would care to admit.

But then he heard children screaming and calling for help, and Snape was on his feet instantly and bolting to voices. All thoughts of safety and self-preservation were gone, all that was left behind was a need to protect the students that were screaming for help. He ran past the troll, and entered the chamber that he himself had designed. The moment he saw Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom crying over Ronald Weasley's bloodied corpse, Snape's mind went blank. This could not be happening… A student had died in Hogwarts… A student under his care had died in Hogwarts…

 _NO! No, I don't know if he's dead yet!_ With that thought, Snape rushed to the boy's body and pushed Neville Longbottom out of the way. Snape immediately checked for a pulse… and he found none. Ronald Weasley was dead.

"It was a spirit!" Hermione Granger cried out, her voice came out as a wet sob. "It killed Ron!" And then she began crying loudly, while Snape just stared at Ronald's face in stunned silence. _A spirit… The Dark Lord did this to him…_ Snape's stomach twisted and he felt bile burn the back of his throat. _A child… He murdered a child…_

Ronald's body was bloodied and bruised, and his robes were slick with blood. His face was covered in tendril like bruises, his right cheek-bone had sunk in which made the right side of his face collapse inwards, and his limbs looked broken. _What kind of spell does this? What kind of torture did the Dark Lord inflict on him?_ Snape had seen so much death during the last war, but this… this made him lightheaded. _Is there no evil that the Dark Lord will not commit? And I followed him blindly…_ Long buried guilt rose up and tightened the muscles around his heart. This was something that not even he could stomach…

Albus Dumbledore burst through the next chamber's entrance, and he had a floating Harry Potter by his side. "Severus it is good…" Dumbledore started but then he stopped immediately. Snape looked up to see his mentor's pale and horrified face. "No… no…" Dumbledore muttered slowly, staring at Ronald's corpse with wide eyes. Tears appeared in Albus' eyes, and he gritted his teeth at the sight. "No…" Albus muttered again in disbelief. Snape just looked back down, and his body almost gave up. _How could I let this happen? Why didn't I just stop Quirrell myself? Why was the Dark Lord even here? How was he here?_ Snape's mind was ablaze with questions, and regrets.

And then Snape was yanked out of his thoughts when Ronald's body suddenly jerked, and the boy took in a sharp intake of air. Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom screamed in fright, and Snape himself fell back on his arse. Then Ronald started screaming and thrashing about, his agony evident to all. Albus Dumbledore moved at lightning speed and was beside Ronald in an instant, casting calming charms on the boy. But Ronald's blood-curdling screams didn't stop, and he thrashed about even harder.

"Severus, the Hospital Wing… NOW!" Albus bellowed, which was so unlike him. But it was exactly what Snape needed in that moment, because his body just moved on its own. He picked Ronald up like a baby, ignoring the boy's wailing and squirming. And then Snape was running. He was running with every bit of strength he could muster. He was running faster than ever before. He had to make it Pomfrey. She could save the boy, and Snape would not fail him!

Snape slammed his own back on the Hospital Wing door, smashing the door open. He heard Pomfrey screech in fright. "What is the meaning…" Pomfrey yelled in anger, but she stopped at the sight of Severus and Ronald. Her face blanched and she moved to them instantly.

"Help me!" Severus ordered the Matron of the Hospital Wing. _Please… do something…_

"Quick, put on him on that bed" the Matron said, and then she rushed into her potions-closet. Snape put Ronald down and tried to stop the boy from squirming, but his screams were becoming too much to bear. A look of pure agony was etched on Ronald's face as he screamed and squirmed under Snape's hold. Tears, spit, and blood covered the boy's face, and Snape wanted nothing more than to stop the pain he was in. _No one deserves this… Curse him! Curse the Dark Lord!_

Pomfrey came running to Ronald's side and grabbed the boy by his jaw as gently as she could. She put a bottle of the Sleeping Draught on the boy's lips and poured the potion down his throat. Then she held his mouth shut, and Ronald slowly stopped thrashing about. And then, Ronald was asleep. Pomfrey then turned to Snape and spoke in a fiercely firm tone. "Severus, go into my potions-room and bring me the following; Blood Replenishing Potion, as many bandages as you can carry, Wound-Cleaning Potion, Essence of Dittany, Girding Potion, and Murtlap Essence."

Snape nodded and moved as fast as he could to the potions-room. It was smaller than his own, but it had everything they needed to save Ronald. Snape used 'Accio' to summon all the potions he needed into a close-by basket, and then he barged back out. He saw that Dumbledore was already there, hovering over Ronald and speaking with Pomfrey. The three Gryffindors were there as well, with Harry Potter being unconscious in another bed. While Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom were sitting together on another bed, and both were crying quietly. Snape decided to ignore them and ran up to Pomfrey.

"I have what we need" Snape told her, and she nodded fervently. There was sweat on her brow, and Snape could tell that Ronald's shattered appearance was breaking her resolve. _I don't blame her… I can barely stomach it myself…_

"We need to act fast, Severus assist me with him" Pomfrey ordered, and then she flicked her wand and quarantined them with a white hospital sheet. "Albus, stand back and stay out of the way." Snape was awed by this woman's strength of character, she was taking charge like she was born to do it. Albus nodded and marched out of the quarantine, no doubt heading off to find the other Heads of Houses.

* * *

It had been one of the longest nights of Snape's life. When they had de-robed Ronald to begin his treatment, Snape had gagged at the sight. Ronald's body was mangled and covered in tendril like bruises and cuts. The tendril like gashes on his arms and legs were deep, and his chest bore a long diagonal cut on it that stretched from his right shoulder down to his left hip. The cuts were oozing a black liquid, and Snape knew that horrible dark magic must have been used on the boy. The silver rune ring on Ronald's right hand had melted onto his finger, disfiguring his hand with burn scars. Ronald also had nineteen fractures, and both his arms and legs were broken. This was… the cruelest act of savagery that Snape had ever witnessed. He couldn't fathom how someone could inflict this much damage on a child… Ronald would never be the same again…

It had taken twelve hours of treatment to stabilize Ronald, and Snape was exhausted by the end. He could barely stay awake, but he wasn't finished yet. Dumbledore had summoned all the Heads of Houses and Madam Pomfrey up to his office. So they all marched up together, equally tired and drained of life. The other three Heads had arrived shortly after Ronald's treatment began, and they had helped as much as possible. And when they had nothing to do, they refused to leave. McGonagall and Sprout comforted Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom, while Flitwick went to Snape's office to collect more potions. It had been a long night… and it was one that none of them would soon forget.

They all sat down in front of the Headmaster, and Albus broke the silence. "How is Ronald, Poppy?" Albus asked, his voice sounded weary and concerned.

"He is stable" Pomfrey replied with a sigh. "But…" and then she trailed off, looking disheartened.

"Go on" Albus implored, leaning forward in his seat a bit.

"Albus… his body…" Pomfrey said, her voice cracking a bit. Snape just gave a vacant stare forward and shook his head. _The boy would forever be… damaged…_ "I did my best to heal his wounds, but they were inflicted with very dark magic… magic that was foreign to me… I could do nothing but clean them. I could not seal the wounds, Albus… They will scar, and he will forever carry them around… Same for the burn scars on his right hand, an enchanted ring had melted over his middle finger… I did manage to mend his bones… and heal the severe burns on his internal organs…"

"Severe burns on his internal organs?" McGonagall interjected with a gasp.

"How did that happen?" Sprout added on, her eyes teary.

"His magical core" Snape provided, remembering his own shock when he had discovered this. "His core was damaged… like it had been made to self-destruct… Most of his internal injuries came from that…" McGonagall just gasped again, while Sprout sniffled loudly. Flitwick was just dazed into silence.

"What happened, Albus?" Pomfrey questioned. "I deserve to know what could do that to a student!" _He needs to tell them… Our lack of action is the cause behind this mess… How could we be so foolish?! That evil bastard was in this school the entire time! And we didn't fucking notice?! HOW?!_

"Voldemort" Albus said, his voice becoming hard. Everyone gasped and went wide-eyed, except for Albus and Snape.

"It cannot be…" Flitwick said, shaking his head in disbelief. "How is this…?" _Quirrell… He must have smuggled in the Dark Lord somehow! It is the only explanation…_

"It was Quirrell" Albus replied, showing a lot of honesty for once. "He brought Voldemort into the castle… And last night they attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone… Ronald was one of four students who moved to stop him… That is how Voldemort attacked Ronald."

"This is…" McGonagall started but then stopped, and then a deep frown formed on her face. "I warned you, Albus. I warned you not to bring the stone here… And now look what has happened!" Dumbledore flinched a bit at her words, and Snape was beyond caring. Their plan **was** to bring the Dark Lord out of hiding. That's why the stone had been moved here, but they had underestimated their enemy's intelligence and ingenuity… _And Ronald payed the price for our arrogance._

"Where is the stone now?" Sprout asked, a motherly anger engulfing her.

"It has been destroyed as of last night…" Albus said, exhaling loudly. _The old man is exhausted as well…_

"Good…" Flitwick muttered, still reeling from shock.

"Poppy, the boy…" Albus said, his voice strained. "Will he recover?" Snape rubbed his forehead, and Pomfrey let out a tired sigh.

"Yes…" Pomfrey said slowly. "But… it will take therapy. His core will heal over time, probably by the end of the month… He is still very young and since his core is developing as it should be, its recovery is certain… But the trauma, Albus… The scars, and the memories of this night… They will never leave him…"

"We must contact his parents" Sprout said firmly. "And then we should transfer him to St. Mungo's for recovery. When will he wake up?"

"I don't know…" Poppy muttered. "He is in a coma-like state…" Pomfrey then let out a sob, unable to hold it in any longer. The poor boy… How much had he suffered? Who could be so cruel to a child?

Albus lost his composure, his magic flared up violently, and the bookcase behind him all but exploded. Everyone was stunned into silence, and Snape had to steel his own mind in order to keep his mouth shut. _I haven't seen him like this in a long time… Not since he caught me listening in on the prophecy…_ There was a short silence in the room, and Albus slowly regained his calm demeanor.

"Where are the other students at this moment?" Albus asked.

"They are at the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game…" Flitwick said slowly, glad to see his friend calming down.

"The House Cup feast is in two days…" Snape added, not caring one bit for it right now. "What will we tell his fellow Slytherins?"

"Tell them the truth!" Sprout added, looking at Snape angrily. "Tell them that our student was attacked by an evil mad-man!" _That won't go over well in Slytherin…_

"I agree with Pomona" Flitwick added, and McGonagall nodded her agreement as well.

"Headmaster" Snape started. "The Dark Lord is believed to be dead for over ten years by the majority of the Wizarding World… No one will believe us, and they will claim that we are spreading lies in order to save face. They will claim that we cannot protect our own students… The truth will cause us more harm than good…" Albus and Snape locked eyes, and Snape held his gaze. _I agreed with telling the Heads, but this will not go well for us…_

"I agree with…" Albus sighed "Severus."

"Albus…" McGonagall drew in a sharp breath. "Will we lie to his family as well? This is…"

"No" Albus cut her off. "No the Weasley family will know the truth, I promise. But Severus is right, the Wizarding World is not ready for such terrible tidings… They will refuse to believe us, and we will turn Ronald into the lightning rod that is struck with their negative emotions. He has suffered enough… I must go and speak with Harry Potter and his friends… The rest of you need to contact the Weasleys…"

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

Ron had already gone by the time Theo woke up, and Theo had just assumed that he had gone for his morning run alone. Ron had been distant lately, his mind was preoccupied with something and Theo didn't know how to bring it up. It was no secret that Ron would explode with rage if anyone looked into his business, and Theo couldn't help but be suspicious of his friend. What was Ron's big secret? Why was Theo's red-headed friend so obsessed with his privacy?

And now they had just witnessed Ravenclaw beating Gryffindor in the Quidditch finals, and Harry Potter was nowhere in sight… None of this was adding up. Why was the golden boy of Gryffindor not playing his position? His absence had cost Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup… And Ron was still nowhere to be found. Theo's suspicions had turned into genuine worry for his friend, and he knew that his other friends felt the same way. The girls hadn't even watched the game, instead they had decided to wander the castle looking for Ron. Blaise had just looked around the stands for most of the game, and then glared murder at Draco.

"Theo did you hear me?" Blaise's voice came, pulling Theo out of his head.

"What?" Theo asked, shaking his head. _Where is he? He wasn't at the game either? Maybe the girls have found him…_

"I said that Draco might know where Ron is…" Blaise said, his aloof behavior was gone.

"Why would Draco know?" Theo asked, confused by Blaise's line of thinking. _Even if he did… he wouldn't tell us! He hates Ron…_

"Draco's been acting odd" Blaise explained. "Ever since their detention, both of them have been so different from usual… Something happened in that detention! I know it, and Draco will tell us."

"Really?" Theo asked, annoyed with Blaise's faith in Draco. Theo had officially given up on Draco after Draco's petty act against Ron. And he had no intention of looking back, his father's expectations be damned… _Mother would agree with me! I know it!_

"Don't give me that look" Blaise sighed. "I'm saying that he will tell us, either on his own or by force. I just… I can't get this feeling to stop Theo, something bad has happened. I can feel it in my bones…"

"Me too Blaise" Theo nodded slowly. _Ron… Where the fuck are you?_

* * *

"Did you lot find him?" Theo asked as soon as the girls showed up for lunch. Daphne huffed in annoyance and sat down across from him, a pout on her face. _Great… she's in a mood… I'd better talk to Tracey instead._ "Tracey, did you four find him?"

"No" Tracey shook her head, her face showed her concern. "We looked everywhere…" _Damn it… Where the hell did he go? People don't just disappear…_

"Did you search out by the lake?" Blaise asked. "He goes there when he wants to be alone…"

"Why would he want to be alone?" Daphne asked, narrowing her eyes on Blaise. _Maybe because he lost us the House Cup… or at least that's how he sees it. He is too noble, almost annoyingly so…_

"Oh, I don't know" Theo said, his voice dry. "Maybe because he blames himself for losing us the Cup?"

"Why?" Pansy asked with a frown. "Everyone knows it was Draco's fault…"

"That does sound like Ron" Millie said with a faint smile. "You know how he can be… He always acts like everything is on his shoulders." Daphne huffed at Millie's explanation.

"That's his worst trait…" Daphne muttered, sounding annoyed. _That's just how she gets when she's worried… And she seems to be quite worried._ And Theo knew why, though he would never bring it up. Daphne would throttle him and he enjoyed living far too much to let that happen…

Theo had always prided himself on being able to figure out the people around him. And Daphne's 'sneaky' glances at Ron every time they were in the same room had given her away quite quickly. But what was more amusing was Ron's apparent lack of common sense in matters like this. Though Theo couldn't help but think that Ron had more important things on his mind. Lately, Ron had seemed more and more stressed… and Theo was struggling to figure him out. At the start of the year he could read Ron like a book, but now he couldn't even start to comprehend what Ron was thinking. What could possibly stress out a twelve year old so much?! All the students in Hogwarts had the same worries as Ron, but they weren't being so… so crazy about them! _Where the fuck is he?!_

"Theo" Blaise said loudly, pulling Theo back into the conversation. "Can you stop spacing out like that?"

"Sorry" Theo said, and then he sighed. "I'm just worried…" The girls gave him faint smiles, and he ignored them. He hated this sappy shite that they seemed to live off of. It was a natural reaction to be worried for a missing friend, there was no secret and hidden meaning behind it. _I bet they are making up sappy reasons in their heads right now… Girls…_

"After lunch ends…" Blaise spoke. "I'm going to go speak with Draco…" Theo sighed at the sound of that, and the girls turned to Blaise with shocked looks.

"What would Malfoy know about Ron?" Tracey questioned, her voice slightly bitter. "And even if he does know something, do you really think he'll tell you?"

"I'll make him tell me" Blaise said ominously, and then he started eating. _Guess I'd better eat too… it seems I'm going to need my strength…_

* * *

"What do you want?" Draco asked, but he wasn't sneering at the group like he usually did. _He looks like he hasn't slept in days…_ They had cornered Draco in the common room without Vincent and Gregory there to protect him.

"What happened during your detention with Ron?" Blaise asked bluntly, and Draco paled considerably. _And we have a winner…_

"No… nothing" Draco muttered, going bone white. "Nothing happened, leave me alone…" Draco then tried to walk past them but Blaise grabbed his arm and shoved him back. _Ease up there…_

"I don't believe you Draco…" Blaise said menacingly, and Draco looked like he had been slapped.

"Blaise… calm down" Pansy said softly, shocked at seeing him like this.

"I'll calm down when he tells me why Ron is missing" Blaise grit out. _I miss the aloof Blaise… this new one is scary…_

"Weasley's missing…?" Draco muttered, going wide eyed. That was not the reaction any of them were expecting, and it took them all off guard. "How long? When did you see him last? Was he in the castle when he disappeared?" Draco bombarded them, sounding frantic. _What… what is happening here? Ron… what did you get yourself into?_

"You do know something…" Tracey muttered, and then her face tightened in anger. "Tell us what you know now!" Draco just shook his head, muttering to himself. Theo heard him say 'I'm next' and it peaked his interest.

"Draco… talk" Theo said, tired of beating around the bush. Something had happened, and it was something terrible. Theo could feel it in his bones now more than ever.

It took a bit of pushing, literally, but in the end they got Draco to talk. Draco told them everything that had happened during their detention in the Forbidden Forest, and Theo was having a hard time believing him. Theo looked to his friends and they were all looking at Draco like he was mad… _I don't blame them. He is clearly lying… The Dark Lord? Still alive? And the Dark Lord attacking two Pure-Blooded children as well? Why would he do that?_

"So…" Blaise started slowly. "You're saying that the Dark Lord is indeed alive as the rumors would have us all believe… And he was out in the Forbidden Forest, drinking Unicorn Blood to stay alive… And then you and Ron ran into him, and Ron fought him off… And then a Centaur appeared and saved you, delivering you and Ron to the Groundskeeper on its back… Do you realize how insane you sound?" _I don't think he does… He believes it clearly…_

"It's the truth" Draco muttered, looking terrified. "If Weasley is missing… then the Dark Lord took him! And… and I'm next… He is coming for me next…" Theo looked to his friends, and they were all equally bewildered by Draco's tale and behavior. "I have to tell Godfather… he can save me…" Draco muttered, nodding fervently. And then Draco pushed past them and ran out of the common room. Theo decided to chase after him, and the others followed after Theo. _Is he really serious?! It can't be true… The Dark Lord would never attack Pure-Bloods!_

They tried their best to keep up with Draco, but their crazed ex-friend was too quick. He reached Snape's office first and barged right in without even knocking. _Snape's gonna kill him!_ Theo and the others could already hear Snape shouting before they too barged in.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Snape's voice thundered, it sounded so odd because Snape never shouted. "Answer me!"

"Godfather help me…" Draco whimpered, he was terrified. He had barely slept after that night in the Forest… Every time he closed his eyes to sleep, he could see himself running through the woods in a panic. All the while, the Dark Lord chased after him. Draco had grown up on tales of the Dark Lord being a visionary, a hero! But during that night… the Dark Lord was anything but that. He wanted to hurt them, and Weasley had saved them. Weasley hadn't left Draco behind, and Draco couldn't understand why. Why would Weasley not leave him behind? Draco would have left Weasley to die in order to save himself… It was the only logical thing to do in that situation…

"Sir… we can explain" Daphne started but was cut off by Snape.

"Silence!" Snape snapped, shutting them all up. "I have no time today for your petty squabbles… Draco, are they attacking you?"

"No Godfather…" Draco said quickly, shaking his head. "The Dark Lord is going to come for me! You have to help me!" Snape went wide-eyed at that, and Theo had never seen the Potions Master so… shocked. _He's gone pale… and he looks exhausted…_

"Explain yourself…" Snape all but whispered, looking directly into Draco's eyes. Draco recounted the exact same story as before, and then broke into crying. Theo felt a little sorry for the Mafloy heir, but he still refused to believe his story. It was ludicrous… But Snape listened quietly, and didn't say a word.

"He's taken Weasley… and I'm next…" Draco sniffled. Snape still hadn't said a word, and he was just staring at Draco intently. And then he finally broke his silence.

"Why didn't you inform me immediately?" Snape asked, his voice dangerously calm. "Why did you wait this long to tell me something so important? Answer me you foolish boy…" _Wait… Is Draco telling the truth? No way…_

"I sent a letter to father…" Draco sniffled. "And he told me to not speak of this… and now Weasley is missing! I'm next…" Snape's gaze softened at seeing his godson like this, the boy was shaking with fear. Snape cursed Lucius and his lack of concern for anything that wasn't political… What did he gain by telling Draco to hide this?! Ronald could have been saved from so much suffering… And now these children knew so much, and were asking the wrong questions… Questions that could put them in danger. If Snape lied to them now, they'd know… And then they would keep searching until they asked the wrong people. Snape had to stop this right here and now!

"Mr. Weasley is not missing…" Snape said softly, deciding to control this situation before it escalated.

"Where is he?" Tracey interjected, and Snape frowned at her.

"Do not interrupt me, Miss. Davis" Snape said in a low voice, and Tracey lowered her head quickly. "Mr. Weasley… has been sent to St. Mungo's for treatment… He was attacked last night." Theo's head started swimming and he nearly fell to his knees. _What is this? Is this for real? Draco wasn't lying… This can't be real…_

There was a dreadful silence in the room. "Was it the Dark Lord?" Draco asked softly, his fears coming true. "Is he… Is he going to come after me as well?"

"No, Draco…" Snape said reassuringly. "You are safe… Mr. Weasley was indeed attacked by the Dark Lord… but for a different reason. One that I will not be telling you. Furthermore, this attack is being kept a secret. What I have told you is confidential, and I expect you all to keep this to yourselves. Is that understood? No more questions" Snape finished firmly. _Why? Why would the Dark Lord attack a Pure-blood…?_ And then a dark realization hit Theo. _Ron is a… a Blood-Traitor…_

"Why is this being kept a secret?" Tracey demanded, furious at this news. Theo looked to his friends, and he wasn't surprised by what he saw. Blaise wore a shocked expression, Tracey was furious, Daphne and the other two girls were in tears.

"That is not for you to question" Snape said icily. "I order you all as your Head of House to keep your knowledge to yourselves… This is for your own safety… and for Mr. Weasley's."

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

Dumbledore had announced to the students at dinner that Ron had been sent to St. Mungo's after a spell had gone wrong. Tracey also noticed that Ron's brothers were gone, no doubt at St. Mungo's to be by his side. It disgusted Tracey that Ron's attack was being kept a secret, it seemed like the professors just wanted to save face. Her other friends hadn't taken the news of Ron's attack well, though she herself was shaken to her core. But Daphne, Pansy, and Millie were in tears for the past two days. Theo and Blaise hadn't uttered a word, and Draco Malfoy seemed to be sticking with Crabbe and Goyle. As if they could shield him against the Dark Lord…

The Dark Lord… Tracey's blood ran cold at the thought of Ron being attacked by the most evil wizard to ever exist. It seemed unreal to her, the fact that the Dark Lord yet lived and had indeed attacked her friend. When they had pushed Snape for more information, he had told them to leave. They had done so begrudgingly, and had decided to listen to his orders. Though Tracey had only agreed to because Daphne had begged her.

"Welcome, welcome" Dumbledore announced to the student body, bringing Tracey back to the present moment. "To another House Cup feast! Forgive me, but I would like you to listen to this old man's wheezing waffle for just a bit before we sink our teeth into another delicious feast! Alas, this year has come to an end, and what a wonderful year it has been! I hope all of your heads are filled with knowledge… after all, you have an entire summer ahead of you to empty them once again!"

"Now" Dumbledore continued merrily, making Tracey feel sick. "I believe that the House Cup needs awarding! And so, without further ado, here are the current rankings: In fourth place, Hufflepuff with eight-hundred and twelve points! In third place, Gryffindor with eight-hundred and thirty points! In second place: Slytherin with nine-hundred and fifty-five points! And in first place: Ravenclaw with nine-hundred and eighty-five points!" The Ravenclaws burst into cheers and applause, while the Slytherins just groaned and moaned. _Thirty points! Thirty damn points…_ Tracey shot a hateful glare towards Malfoy, only to see him shrinking into his seat. _I hope someone smothers him in his sleep tonight! He ruined all of our hard-work!_

"Well done Ravenclaw, well done" Dumbledore shouted over the applause, putting up his hands to silence the crowd. "However… recent events have to be taken into account!" The room went dead quiet, with the Ravenclaws losing their gusto. Every student in Slytherin perked up, hope glistening in their eyes.

"I have a few last minute house points to award to certain students… First, to Mr. Neville Longbottom. For the brilliant use of knowledge in Herbology, and for revealing his true strength of character, I award Gryffindor fifty points!" The Gryffindors cheered loudly, giving Longbottom firm pats on his back. Tracey scoffed at the chubby idiot. _Knowledge in Herbology… what about Theo?!_

"Secondly, to Miss. Hermione Granger. For the cool use of logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor fifty points!" The Gryffindors roared up again, and Granger seemed to break into tears. Tracey gritted her teeth at that snotty, bushy haired bitch. _This is rubbish… He is just trying to give Gryffindor the win!_ Tracey despised Granger because of her abandonment of Ron. Ron had taken the fall for the three Gryffindors during the Dragon business, and they hadn't even thanked him! Granger had gladly left Ron for the wolves… Ron should've left her to the troll's mercy!

"Thirdly, to Mr. Harry Potter." The whole Hall went dead silent, and Tracey felt like screaming at Dumbledore. _He really is going to give them the House Cup!_ "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor sixty points!" The Gryffindors went mad with cheers, they banged their cups violently on the tables, celebrating their victory with pure joy. The Slytherins just glared at the Gryffindor idiots, feeling sick with Dumbledore. Even the Ravenclaws were just staring at Gryffindor with shock and disgust.

"And lastly…" Dumbledore said, stopping the Gryffindors straight away. "To Mr. Ronald Weasley" The whole Hall just went dead silent, and the Gryffindors lost their smiles and happy faces. "For the best game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I grant Slytherin fifty points!" The whole of Slytherin table went mad, especially the older students. Tracey and her friends were just stunned into silence. Tracey then burst into laughter at the sight of the embarrassed and shocked Gryffindors. Her laughter almost did her in when she saw the 'Golden Trio' looking just as shocked. _RON WON US THE CUP! HE ACTUALLY DID IT!_

"I think that proper decorations are in order" Dumbledore said merrily, and then he clapped loudly. All the banners turned into Slytherin's banners. "Slytherin House wins the House Cup!" The cheers were deafening, and every single Slytherin cheered madly. The Gryffindors just slowly sat back down, angry that they had lost to Slytherin again. Tracey looked to the staff table gleefully and noticed them clapping happily for Slytherin, even McGonagall was clapping away merrily. That jarred her a bit, especially because they all looked happier than Snape did. The Potions Master was just clapping softly with a faint smirk. And then the food appeared on the tables. "I will no longer hold you all back with my musings… please, eat to bursting tonight! And celebrate another wonderful year together!" Dumbledore chuckled merrily, and Tracey actually felt a little guilty. _He gave Ron fifty extra points… Guess he isn't so bad!_

The Slytherins ate happily, and their table seemed to be making all the noise. The other three houses looked rather dejected, especially the Gryffindors. The Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry was no secret at Hogwarts, and Slytherin had once again come out on top! The older students were the happiest of the lot, excluding Tracey and her friends, and they were planning something big by the sound of it.

"I can't believe it" Theo laughed. "He actually gave Ron another fifty points and handed us the win! The old codger isn't so bad!"

"I agree" Blaise said, wearing a genuine smile for once. "This is Slytherin's seventh straight win, and Ron secured it! I doubt anyone will forget this any time soon!" _They'd better not! Or I'll remind them myself!_

"I wish he was here for this…" Daphne whispered, and she looked exhausted. _She's been crying for two whole days…_ Then Daphne looked up and saw that her friends looked quite put down. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to ruin this…"

"You didn't" Pansy said, putting her hand on Daphne's back and smiling kindly. "He deserves to be here. He worked harder than any of us…" Tracey agreed with that statement, and she also smiled at Pansy. Daphne was right to bring her into the group, the former bully had changed for the better because of it. _Because of Ron's influence…_ Tracey smiled sadly at the thought of Ron. They were all celebrating while he was in St. Mungo's, suffering from his attack at the hands of the Dark Lord. This felt like a cruel joke… The silence amongst her friends told her that they felt the same way.

* * *

The Slytherin common room had been transformed into a mosh-pit of sorts. The party was raging on, and even Tracey and her friends were enjoying themselves. They all still felt bad about Ron, but they didn't want to mope about. He wouldn't want that, and they knew it. The older students had brought in kegs of butter-beer, cakes and pastries, and even bottles of Ogden's Firewhiskey. Though only sixth years and seventh years were permitted to drink any of the Firewhiskey.

Music was also blared loudly through an enchanted record player, and everyone was dancing to the music of 'The Weird Sisters'. Tracey danced with her friends, and she was happy to see even Daphne letting loose for once.

The music was stopped abruptly, making everyone stop dancing. Tracey looked to the entrance of the common room, and she saw Snape walk in. He was holding the House Cup and was giving a faint smirk. The older students cheered loudly at the sight of him, and Tracey and her friends joined in. Three seventh year students, one of them being the black haired handsome boy who had approached Ron a while ago, walked up to Snape and shook his hand firmly one-by-one. _The Triumvirate… So he was one of them…_ The Triumvirate then took the Cup from Snape and held it high together. The students erupted into loud cheers again.

The party went on, and the music blared again. Snape stayed for a while, sharing a drink with the seventh years and wishing them all the best of luck in their future endeavors. Many of the seventh years were teary eyed with his farewell, and they all shook his hand in gratitude for everything he had done for them as their Head of House. Eventually, Tracey got tired from all of her dancing and decided to rest her feet. She went to her group's usual spot and sat down, gazing at the warm fire.

"Done for the night?" came a familiar voice. She looked to her right and saw Theo standing next to her. He had two plates of cake, and he offered her one. She took it and gave him a wide smile. Theo then sat down next to her.

"Thanks… and no" Tracey said. "Once my feet stop hurting, I'll dazzle you all some more with my dancing." Theo let out a laugh at that.

"It was dazzling…" Theo chuckled. "Where did you learn to dance like that?"

"In a Muggle school" Tracey said, and then she bit her tongue. She didn't like talking about her Muggle lifestyle to anyone. It made her feel… lesser.

"You went to a Muggle school?" Theo asked, smiling kindly at her. _He's just being polite… I bet that he doesn't like the sound of that…_

"Yeah…" Tracey said slowly, feeling queasy.

"What… what was it like?" Theo asked her, looking rather interested. "What kinds of things do Muggles learn about?"

"Um…" Tracey muttered, feeling uncomfortable about this topic. "It was quite nice actually… And they learn about similar things to us…"

"They know of magic?" Theo asked, his eyes widening. _Is he actually interested in this?! Why? Even Daphne doesn't listen to me much when I talk about Muggle things…_

"No, they don't know about magic" Tracey chuckled, and Theo breathed out in relief. "Well they do, but they don't believe it's real… And they learn about their own history, Mathematics, different languages, and that sort of stuff."

"I see…" Theo said slowly. They were both silent for a bit, and they ate their cakes to fill the silence between them. It was a little awkward, but Tracey didn't feel too bad about it. It could have gone a lot worse, she knew that from experience. "Do you think… do you think Ron will be alright?" Theo asked suddenly, taking Tracey off guard. She looked at him, and he was staring at the fire with a vacant expression.

"Of course" she lied because she knew that it was right thing to say. She wasn't sure herself, but she could hope. "He'll be back before we know it, and we can tell him of how he won us the Cup in the end. That all of his hard-work payed off! And then we can all celebrate together! And dance… and everything will be alright…" She felt her eyes burn, and she sniffed. "Ron will be just fine…" _He has to be fine…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And so First Year comes to a close! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as it was one of my favorite ones to write!**

 **I would like to Thank all of you who reviewed and showed me such overwhelmingly positive support. I never really expected this story to succeed, but your support has been driving me to push harder and harder to write better. So Thank you to all of you who have read the story so far!**

 **And now with the sappy nonsense out of the way, let's get ready for the holidays, and eventually Second year (which I plan to finish before February ends)!**


	20. Chapter 20 - The Awakening

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another One! Chapter 20 is here! and it was a hard one to write...**

 **1\. It is rather... depressing...**

 **2\. Just be ready for flash-backs and stuff...**

 **3\. Enjoy?**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 20 – The Awakening**

 _ **Fred Weasley's POV**_

It was July the Thirteenth, and Ronnie still hadn't woken up from his coma…

The last month had been the most difficult and painful month that Fred's family had ever endured. Ron had been attacked by the spirit of you-know-who over a month ago… and he still hadn't woken up.

* * *

When Fred and his brothers were called into the Hospital Wing after their Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, they had found their mother wailing by a bed and their father crying quietly beside her. None of the brothers had seen their parents so distressed before, and it scared them. When they finally approached the bed and had a proper look at the person occupying it, George had fainted while Percy and Fred had vomited. It was their little Ronnie on the bed, and he was covered in bloody bandages from head-to-toe. There was barely any skin showing, and the skin that was showing had a bone-white texture to it. It was the most horrible thing Fred had ever seen… and it was his little brother.

The shock had been too much for all of them and they had just stayed in the room quietly, fixed in a trance of despair. Their mother hadn't stopped wailing for even a minute, and when her throat couldn't make a sound, she had just sobbed quietly. And then Dumbledore had stepped out of the corner and Fred realized that in his horror, he had completely missed the teary eyed Headmaster standing there the entire time.

Fred had exploded in rage at the sight of the man, he couldn't understand how Ronnie could be so badly hurt under Dumbledore's supervision. How could the Headmaster let this happen? Why hadn't they been told sooner? He had let them go play a game of fucking Quidditch while their brother was dying inside the castle? George and Percy had held him back as he yelled curses and obscenities at the greatest wizard since Merlin. And Dumbledore just stood there, taking the abuse without uttering a single word in his defense. Fred didn't care how old and tired Dumbledore looked, all he cared about was his broken brother…

After yelling and screaming at the old man for a long minute, Fred had broken down in tears and wails of his own. His twin joined him, while Percy just sobbed quietly. Their father had gotten off of his chair and tried his best to comfort his sons, telling them that Ronnie was going to live, that he was going to recover, that they had to be strong for him… everything Fred heard come out of his father's mouth sounded like excuses being made for Albus Dumbledore's incompetence when it came to protecting his own students. And then Dumbledore had finally spoken, his voice was gentle and sympathetic.

Dumbledore told them that the Dark Lord's spirit had survived ten years ago… and that it was the reason why Ron was in that bed. It turned out that Ron had been attempting to save the school from a calamity. A powerful artifact was being kept in the school, and the Dark Lord had attempted to steal it. Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ron had stopped him. But Ron had been attacked by you-know-who, and he had been badly tortured. The Weasley family was utterly stunned, and then horrified. THE Dark Lord had done this… The most evil wizard of all time had tortured Ron for getting in his way. It was all too much… just too much.

Madam Pomfrey had contacted St. Mungo's, and healers had come to move Ron to the hospital. The Weasley family followed them, all except their father. Their father had gone home to collect Ginny, and Fred's stomach had twisted terribly at the thought of letting her see Ron like this.

Ginny had been inconsolable… She had screamed and shouted, then she had cried so loudly that the nurses had dosed her with a pinch of Sleeping Draught for her own good. And then the Lovegoods came around, and Fred had seen their entire family cry for Ron like he was their own. Even the aloof little Luna had put up a fierce fight when the nurses had refused to let her hug Ron. Her mother had held her tightly, and cried at Ron's bloody, bandaged body.

The next two weeks had gone by just like that. All of their things had been delivered back by Hogwarts, and they had started an early 'holiday'… They would all go to St. Mungo's every day and just cry at Ron's bedside. And when the medi-witches and healers declared Ron to be in a coma, Mrs. Lovegood and their mother had cried senseless. Neither of the women had left the hospital since then. Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood came over to the Burrow, and they started staying there. Luna stuck to Ginny like glue, while Xenophilius helped their father with the household. Charlie and Bill also came around shortly after the Lovegoods had moved in, and they were both barely in the house. They spent most of their days in the hospital, and only came home to sleep.

Halfway through the third week, Sirius Black and his friend Remus Lupin had also shown up to the Burrow. Fred was quite shocked to meet the two strangers so randomly. He had come downstairs for breakfast, and they were just there… Both of them talking with his father in hushed, sad tones. Sirius Black had been paying Ron's hospital bills, and he wanted to see Ron. Their father obliged, and took them all to St. Mungo's again. Fred didn't enter the room with everyone this time, he could no longer bear the sight of Ron in that fucking bed… he just couldn't. Every time he thought about Ron, his throat clogged up and his eyes burned with tears.

The fact that Ron could be in this coma for years was killing Fred… and Fred knew that every one of the Weasleys and Lovegoods felt the same way. What had they done to deserve this misery? Why did Ronnie have to be attacked by you-know-who? And why the fuck couldn't they tell anyone this?! Why had their parents forbidden them to speak of it?! Fred's entire world felt like it was collapsing in on itself. None of them had felt anything but pain for the last three weeks… and this could go on for years… No one knew when Ron would wake up… if he would wake up… and Fred was just emotionally numb now. All he wanted was for Ron to wake up…

By the start of the fourth week, Hogwarts had officially ended until September. And Ron's friends had immediately come by. Fred and George had been in the room when they had all entered, accompanied by their parents. The girls in Ron's group had cried in genuine anguish, while Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott had just stared vacantly at Ron, who was still bandaged and had a tube going into his mouth for potion delivery… Fred noted that neither Blaise nor Theodore's parents were with the two, and they had come with the Greengrass family. Though Fred would never admit it openly, deep down Fred was touched by Ron's friends and their sadness over his current state. It seemed that Ron was closer to his friends than Fred had previously imagined.

Ron's friends visited him regularly during that week, bringing flowers and gifts. But they always left dejected, and often in tears. Fred's mother and Mrs. Lovegood had started to speak to Ron's friends openly, and would often ask for stories about Ron. Fred was quite surprised to learn that they all saw Ron as their leader, and someone they could rely on. It appeared that Ron had integrated himself into Slytherin so much so that the entire house respected him and this baffled Fred, it was like he didn't know Ron in the first place. And upon reflection, Fred had come to the realization that he had spent more time pranking Ron rather than getting to know him. Fred cried himself to sleep that night, mourning the brother who he had never taken the chance to know…

* * *

It had been Thirty-eight days since Ron was attacked and left in a coma, and the Weasley family was having dinner with the Lovegoods, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. His mother and Mrs. Lovegood had also joined them for the night, though they kept shooting glances to the fireplace. _They want to go back to his room… As if that will help him…_ Fred didn't want to admit it, but lately he had just given up… It hurt so much to think of Ron that he had just stopped, he couldn't bear it any longer…

His father was talking with Sirius Black and since no one else was talking, their conversation was easily heard. "Sirius… you don't have to do this" Arthur said softly, his father looked so tired.

"Yes I do, Arthur" Sirius said softly, his voice somber. "Your son did so much for me… He saved me from that place. I have to do this." _They're probably talking about the hospital bills again… Why doesn't dad just let Sirius pay? He clearly needs to!_

"But we don't know how long…" Arthur trailed off, the words feeling like poison in his mouth. His boy was all but gone… He had never felt this much pain before in his whole life. Sirius put a hand on Arthur's shoulder and smiled sadly.

"I know… and I don't care" Sirius said softly. Arthur could only nod in return, he didn't want his children to see him crying again. He had to be the rock for his family. They ate in silence after that, until that silence was broken by Helios. _He is acting up again…_

"Fred dear, can you go see if he is okay?" Molly said, her voice as exhausted as her appearance. _She's lost more weight…_

"Yes mum" Fred answered, and then he got up to check on Helios. He was glad to leave the table, it didn't feel the same without all of them there. Charlie and Bill had once again left for their jobs, unable to take more time off. Both of them had spent so much time with Ron, and they were heart-broken when they had to leave. _But life has to keep going…_ That last thought felt bitter in his head, and he grimaced to himself.

When he reached Helios' cage in the living room, he looked at the fierce owl with sad eyes. Helios seemed to sense something was wrong with his owner, and he had been acting out violently. He would attack his cage and try to escape, but Fred's father had told them to keep the Eagle-owl in his cage. His father no doubt expected Ron to come home any day… but a month had gone by, and Ron was not coming back any time soon. Fred's chest ached at thinking that, and his eyes burned again. Helios brought Fred back to reality when the fierce Eagle-owl head-butted the cage, and then hooted loudly and extended its wings widely. Fred was shocked to see this kind of behavior.

"You must be angry" Fred murmured to the Eagle-owl. "Being locked up in here…" Helios hooted again, and then slammed his head on the cage again. Fred jumped back, growing worried for his brother's pet. Helios began hooting loudly and kept attacking his cage.

"Fred!" came his father's voice. "Fred, is everything alright in there?" Fred went back to the dining room quickly.

"Dad, Helios is acting really violent" Fred said worryingly, and his father quickly got up to go check. When they entered the living room, they were all shocked to see the cage door broken open. And Helios was gone.

"Where did he go?!" Arthur asked in a panic, afraid of losing another piece of his son.

"Arthur" Remus Lupin said clearly. "The window is open… I think he went to go stretch his wings."

"Fierce little bugger" Sirius smiled, thinking of the angry bird he had gifted to Ron.

"He'll come home, right mummy?" Ginny asked her mother, and her mother smiled at Ginny as best as she could.

"Of course, love" Molly said softly. "He'll be back…"

* * *

 _ **Helios' POV**_

The humans were lying to him, he knew it all along! They would coo at him, and tell him that Ronald would come home soon. But those were lies! Helios could feel his master's absence in this world keenly, and it disgusted him that he wasn't being let out to go find Ronald! He had to find his master, nothing else mattered.

He flew high into the night sky, looking at the open plains beneath him. Somewhere out there, his master was waiting for him. They would be together soon, Helios could feel it! He had sensed his master faintly tonight, like Ronald had stirred somewhere… Helios just had to find where, and then they would be together again! Master and servant, reunited…

Ronald was a good master to him. He would feed Helios from his own plate, and tickle his chest. And Ronald's friends would sneak him treats to eat when Ronald wasn't around. And Helios hadn't seen them for a long time either! They would all be together once again, and Helios would see his mission done! He would reunite them all!

He felt it then, his master's presence… it had fully returned! Helios turned in its direction and flew as fast as he could. Soon! I am coming Ronald! Wait for me!

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

He felt cold… like he was naked in the middle of winter… His body was a weightless existence in an ever-expanding Universe, and he was floating amongst the stars. It was so dark, and they were the only source of life and light. Where was he? Who was he? Why was he here? All these questions felt pointless in this place… Nothing mattered in this place…

"Champion" came a woman's voice, it was beautiful and it washed over Ron like a warm breeze. "Champion, wake up… You have rested enough, you are needed once more… Wake up, your duty has not been fulfilled yet… You will rest once it has, I promise…"

* * *

Ron's eyes opened slowly, and he couldn't see a thing. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, he looked around groggily. _Where am I? I feel so weak… What happened?_ Ron didn't recognize his surroundings, and it began to worry him. And then he felt something in his mouth, something that was long and going down his throat. He gagged and grabbed the tube, pulling it out slowly. His eyes burned due to the odd sensation of choking and feeling this thing come out of his stomach and up his throat. It tasted disgusting… _What the bloody hell is going on?_ Ron sat up, and his body ached terribly. Gritting his teeth, he looked around again.

The room was clean, white, and smelled like cleaning alcohol. _I've been in a place like this before… ST. MUNGO'S!_ He remembered his trip here when he had saved Pandora. _How did I get here? Where are Hermione and Neville? Where is the Stone?!_ Ron jerked out of his bed, and his naked feet touched the cold floor. When he went to stand, his legs just gave out and he fell forward. _Ugh... fuck… My legs aren't working…_ He had never felt so exhausted before. And yet the stone was the only thing he could think of… Had it been destroyed? Or was it still out there? What had happened to him?! He couldn't remember anything of how he had ended up here. He slowly, and painfully, pushed himself up and sat on the cold floor.

Ron tried his best to remember what had happened. _I was in the potion chamber with Hermione and Neville… and then, Dumbledore came in! Yeah, he was in a rush and told us to wait right there… I remember panicking because I thought that the stone would remain intact because of Dumbledore… And then… then what happened?_ Ron's head ached horribly, and he winced in pain. _I'm so thirsty…_ Ron then spotted an open bathroom attached to his room, and he licked his dry lips. He crawled with great effort into the bathroom, and then hoisted himself up with even greater effort. He quickly turned on the tap and drank hungrily. The water soothed his body, until it felt like it was coming right back out. Ron vomited hard in the sink, and his vomit was more colorful than he had anticipated.

Ron then washed his mouth out, and drank some more water. _What the hell happened to me? How did I end up in St. Mungo's Hospital?_ He looked at his reflection and nearly screamed in horror. He was covered in bandages all the way up to his neck, and he was naked! His manhood was in full view and Ron let out a dry chuckle. _Thank Merlin I'm alone… Would've been quite the sight to see…_ Then Ron looked at his own gaunt and pale face. _Bloody hell… what happened?!_ Ron looked at his bandages and grimaced, and then he slowly undid them. They came off quite easily, and Ron wished instantly that he had never undone them.

His chest bore a long diagonal scar that stretched from his right shoulder to his left hip, and he had scars all over his arms and legs… Scars in the shape of tendrils… And then it all came back to him in a wave of absolute fear. _THE DARK LORD! He was there! He came after me… I shot that Blasting Curse and missed... and then…_ Horrible images of pure agony flashed in his head and he let out a scream. Tears fell down his face as he screamed at the memories of what had happened to his body. What the Entity had done to him! His bones were crushed slowly and he had felt them snap! His insides had burned and the pain had been so fierce that he had screamed and begged for death! And he had heard the Dark Lord screaming just as loudly inside his own mind! The Entity had attacked them both in an attempt to end their lives!

Ron looked at his terrified and scarred reflection, and sobbed violently. _It destroyed my body… It tried to kill me… It can kill me! Now I have no doubts… It_ _ **will**_ _kill me!_ Ron fell to his knees with a thud and hugged his disfigured body, crying in earnest. He couldn't stop thinking about that night, and the pain that he had endured… it had been the single worst thing that he had ever felt in his whole life! _I don't want this… I DON'T WANT THIS POWER! SOMEONE TAKE IT FROM ME! Please… someone help me…_ Ron wept quietly as he fell into a fetal position. He lay there crying for an hour before a nurse walked in, and she gasped at the sight and quickly covered him. She held him tightly and comforted him while he cried his eyes out.

* * *

As the nurse was guiding him back into the room, a loud tapping came from the window. A tapping that became louder and louder, until the nurse put him in his bed and walked over to the window to open it. The moment she did, a light grey Eagle-owl with black spots flew in and started hooting wildly. The nurse screeched in fright at the sight of the angry looking bird, and was shocked to see the bird perch itself on the boy's shoulder all the while hooting loudly.

"Helios…?" Ron muttered, looking at his loyal companion. "Helios it is you!" Ron smiled, and then he let out a choked sob. Ron rubbed the bird's chest lovingly, and Helios in turn rubbed his head against Ron's. _Helios… how did you find me?_

"Your mother should be here any minute, Mr. Weasley" the nurse smiled at him kindly.

"My mother?" Ron asked, confused at the nurse's words. "She knows I'm here?"

"Yes, of course. She comes back around this time of night and sleeps on the couch" the nurse said, pointing the couch out. _Is that often?_

"How long… how long have I been here?" Ron asked, scared of the answer. _I look so pale and skinny… Must have been years…_ Ron felt his panic rise.

"You've been here for a month or so" the nurse said, and then she put a soft hand on his left cheek. "I have to go tell the healers that you are awake, welcome back Mr. Weasley." With that, the nurse gave him another kind smile and then left. _A month… Hogwarts was supposed to end near the end of June… I missed the House Cup and Leaving feasts… Ugh… who cares?! What happened to the fucking stone?! Did Dumbledore destroy it? I know that the Dark Lord didn't get it… I think… I need answers now!_

Ron sat there petting Helios for ten minutes, and then his room's door slammed open and Ron shrieked like a little girl. He looked to the door and saw his two mothers standing there, teary eyed and smiling ear-to-ear.

"Ronnie…" Molly muttered, taking in the sight her son and his pet owl.

"Hi, mum…" Ron smiled back. "Hello, Pandora…" The women broke into crying and rushed him, holding him together and squeezing the life out of him. _Ouch…_ But Ron didn't complain, and he even stayed quiet as the two women showered him with kisses and held him even tighter. Their crying made him teary eyed too, but he didn't cry. He had done enough crying for tonight, right now he was just happy. So happy, and safe…

After the longest cuddling session he had ever been put through, a healer had forced the two mothers to relent. They had done so begrudgingly, and the healer had then taken a few tests. He cast a few non-verbal spells on Ron and jotted things down on his board, and then he smiled widely at Ron.

"Now Mr. Weasley" the healer said kindly. "I must take a blood sample, just a drop… We need to see if your magical core has fully healed. Is that alright?" Ron nodded immediately, the sooner this was done the better. He needed to write to Harry and learn about the stone!

"I'm going to go floo Arthur" Pandora said softly, and then she left in a hurry. Ron couldn't help but feel that she didn't want to be around for this, but he decided to ignore it… for now. Ron then pulled up the sleeve of the garment that the nurse had given him, and he heard his mother let out a quiet sob. _Um… what?_ Then Ron looked down at his right arm, and he felt extremely self-conscious. His middle finger was horribly scarred just above the knuckle, and the back of his hand was also badly scarred. Not to mention the tendril like scars travelling up his arm… The sight made Ron feel sick, and he slowly offered his hand to the healer. The healer took a drop of blood and levitated it onto his board, and Ron immediately covered his arm and sighed in relief. He didn't even know what to think of his scars… He just knew that he hated them. He had just seen them, and he hated them so much…

Helios hooted loudly, and flew down onto his left shoulder and nipped at his ear playfully. That brought a faint smile to his face. The healer frowned at seeing the bird, but chose to ignore it. This boy needed something to keep him occupied…

"Good news, Mr. Weasley" the healer smiled at the results. "Your magical core has recovered, and is developing as it should be." Ron's mother let out a relieved sigh at that and nodded slowly.

"Thank you healer…" Ron smiled at the man, and the healer gave a slow nod to Ron.

"I will leave you for the night" the healer said. "Your therapy sessions will start tomorrow afternoon." _Therapy sessions?! What therapy sessions?_

"Therapy?" Ron asked.

"Physical therapy, Mr. Weasley" the healer provided. "You have been in a coma for over a month, your muscles are in a weakened state and we must strengthen them again. I have also made you a diet plan. I hope you enjoy hospital food" the healer joked, and it flew right over Ron's head.

"I've never had hospital food…" Ron said slowly, confused by the healers tone. The healer chuckled at hearing that.

"Then you are luckier than everyone in this place. Goodnight, Mr. Weasley. And welcome back" the healer said with a smile, and then he left the room. Ron turned to his mother, and she was beaming at him and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Ron smiled as well, and lay his head back against the bed rest.

"Sorry for… this" Ron apologized, feeling guilty at putting his family through so much worry.

"Don't apologize Ronnie" his mother said softly. "I'm so proud of you… Dumbledore told us what you did." _He did? And what did I do?_ "You were trying to save the school… and you succeeded. I'm just so happy that you are back" his mother's voice cracked at the end, and she moved over to his bed and sat down. She cupped his cheeks with her hands, and smiled widely. "My brave boy…"

* * *

Pandora walked into the room, followed by Ron's family. Ginny and Luna darted to his bed and jumped him, they squeezed him tightly and he couldn't help but draw parallels between them and his mothers. His brothers didn't wait for the girls to finish and just joined in, all of them squeezing onto that one bed. Ron heard the adults laugh and sniffle at the sight, and Ron smiled happily. Everything he had been through had just become worth it… all because of this one moment. Him and his siblings laughing and crying together. His heart swelled with so much joy that it felt like it would burst. Once his siblings finally gave him some room to breathe, Ron noticed his father standing next to two strangers. Strangers who were looking at him with genuine love and happiness. _Who are they?_

"Welcome back son" Arthur said softly and then he embraced Ron. Ron heard his mother give out a wet laugh, and his father squeezed him tighter than ever before. So much so that he had trouble breathing. "Son" his father said as he broke the hug. "These two gentlemen are Sirius Black and Remus Lupin" his father said, pointing the two strangers out respectively.

Ron looked to the two men in shock. He hadn't recognized Sirius Black, the man looked transformed. Instead of his ragged, gaunt and matted appearance, Sirius now had clean short hair, a groomed beard, and a full, younger face. Remus Lupin on the other hand, was a pale man with premature lines on his face, and he had light brown hair that were flecked with grey ones. Both men however, were dressed in clean, sharp wizard's robes.

"Lord Black" Ron greeted with a firm nod, his inner Daphne coming out. "It is an honor to meet the Lord of the most Noble and Ancient house of Black." To say that his family was stunned was an understatement. Even Sirius went wide-eyed at Ron's sudden change to formalities. And then Sirius let out a hearty laugh, taking Ron by surprise.

"Merlin!" Sirius said laughing. "He even talks like a Slytherin!" Then Sirius walked up and embraced Ron, putting a soft hand on the back of Ron's head. "You had us all worried kiddo…" Ron was quite shocked, but he kept his composure. He even hugged Sirius back a little, which made the older wizard hug him tighter. Then Sirius broke the hug and just stared at Ron with a wide smile. "I've been waiting to do that. It's good to finally meet you again, Ron."

"It is good to see you as well, Lord Black" Ron replied, returning his smile.

"Please, call me Sirius" Sirius said softly. "Lord Black was my father…" Ron couldn't help but notice the slight bitterness in Sirius' voice, but he ignored it. _No need to antagonize him… He looks so much better now though!_

"Very well… Sirius" Ron said, and Sirius grinned at him. "Fresh air has done you wonders, I see." Sirius laughed loudly again and ruffled Ron's hair. Ron's mother just tutted, but she was smiling at Ron.

"And he has a sense of humor!" Sirius said, and then he beckoned Remus Lupin to come to them. "Ron, this is my good friend, Remus Lupin. But you can just call him Remus!" Ron looked to the man with the three scars on his face, and smiled at him.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Lupin" Ron greeted, remembering Daphne as he did so. _I should send them all letters too. Helios has a lot of work to do…_

"Please, Remus is fine" Remus smiled and shook Ron's right hand firmly. Ron didn't miss Remus quickly looking at his scarred hand, and Ron felt self-conscious again. _I'm disfigured…_ Sensing something was wrong, Remus quickly spoke again. "I've heard amazing things about you Ron, I'm glad we can finally meet one-another. Tell me, do you like chocolate?" Ron nodded at that, smiling at the odd question. Remus then reached into his robes and pulled out a chocolate bar, and gave it to Ron. Ron let out a chuckle and took the chocolate.

"Thank you" Ron said gratefully. Ron then broke the chocolate into three pieces, and gave the bigger ones to his sisters while he ate the smaller one himself.

"What? We don't get a piece" Fred laughed.

"Clearly Ronnie has favorites" George laughed as well. Ginny stuck her tongue out at the twins.

"We are Ron's favorites…" Luna said airily as she nibbled on her piece. "He always tells us so." Ginny grinned wolfishly at the twins, who were now feigning hurt.

"What about me?" Percy asked, sounding humorous for once. All of his worries had been lifted today, and he could finally relax. Ronnie was back, and Percy was never letting him out of his sight.

"Ron likes us better" Ginny answered for Ron, grinning at Percy who just chuckled. Ron just smiled as he watched the exchange. _Yeah… it was worth it… Now I just need to find out more about the stone._

* * *

"Where are Bill and Charlie?" Ron asked, looking back at Percy who was pushing his wheelchair. Ron's legs were far too weak to carry him, and he needed to get to his first therapy session. The twins were accompanying Ron as well, but the girls had fallen asleep. They had been up all night and were exhausted, just like Ron's mothers. Ron's father, Sirius, and Remus had left for the Ministry to handle some 'official' business. They had all spent the night together but once day broke out, certain 'things' had to be taken care of. _I'll find out soon enough, right now I need to focus on this therapy thing so I can bloody walk._

"They stayed for a while" Fred answered for Percy.

"But they had 'jobs' to do" George added in.

"What's the point of getting a 'job' if it just gets in the way of family?" Fred questioned his twin.

"None my dear brother" George answered Fred. _Um... I'm still here… don't just cut me out._

"Ignore them Ron…" Percy said with a frown. "Jobs are essential for our economy to work. Every respectable wizard needs one." The twins blew raspberries at Percy when they heard that. Percy just frowned at them more deeply.

"Will they come back?" Ron asked softly. "Now that I'm awake…" The twins became a bit subdued, but Percy just clicked his tongue.

"If they don't" Percy replied. "Then I'll go and drag them here…" _Drag Charlie… haha! Good one Perce!_ Ron let out a chuckle and Percy nudged his head lightly. "I could you know… Easily!"

"Come off it, Perce" Fred laughed at his older brother.

"Charlie eats more than you weigh just during breakfast" George added in with a laugh.

"And he wrestles Dragons!" the twins said together.

"He doesn't wrestle Dragons…" Percy corrected with a frown.

"Yes he does" Ron said, trying to tease Percy. "He told me himself!" _Here it comes!_

"How could he possibly wrestle a fifty foot lizard with wings, Ron?!" Percy huffed out, getting annoyed. "Dragon's weigh tons!"

"But Charlie is really strong" Ron said innocently, making the twins snigger. Percy realized what was happening and he just sighed.

"Ron…" Percy said slowly. "You're forgetting that I'm driving this wheelchair…" Ron paled at that.

"I was just kidding…" Ron muttered. _Please don't start running…_

"Too late…" Percy chuckled, and then he started running full-tilt. Ron squealed like a girl, while the twins broke into laughter and chased after their brothers.

* * *

"That's it" the nurse said kindly. "You're doing great, just a few more steps." Ron grunted in pain as he took a few more steps, his legs were shaky and his muscles burned. They were in the middle of their therapy session, and his brothers were sitting quietly in the corner and observing. Ron knew that they were worried and saddened to see Ron like this, but right now all he cared about was crossing that damn yellow line. "There! Well done, Ronald" the nurse said happily as he crossed the yellow line. She quickly ran up to him and helped him into his wheelchair.

Ron let out a grateful sigh as he finally sat down. He was sweating hard, and his legs ached terribly. _How many of these damn sessions must I do?_ The nurse handed him a turquoise colored potion, and he chugged it down. He gagged at the taste and looked at her in confusion.

"What was that?" Ron asked in a wheeze. _Merlin it tasted horrid…_

"Strengthening solution" the nurse said with a chuckle. "It will aid your muscles and your recovery, only a couple more sessions ought to do. You weren't gone for too long, so your muscles aren't completely ruined!"

"Weren't gone for too long?" Fred questioned, his voice turning bitter. The nurse smiled at him sadly.

"Fred…" Percy scolded.

"I'm sorry" the nurse said politely. "Working in this place can… change how you see things. Your brother is doing very well, and he will be able to go home soon." Fred and George beamed at that, with Fred forgetting he was angry a second ago. Percy just smiled at the nurse.

"Thank you" Percy said politely. "This is great to hear!" The nurse gave him a smile and a slow nod.

"You can take him now" the nurse told Percy. "We've done enough for one day." _Ugh… I have to do this again…_

Percy took a hold of Ron's wheelchair and guided him out, followed by the twins. They made their way back to Ron's room, and Ron grew excited when he thought of his bed. He could finally sleep!

"You did well today, Ron" Percy congratulated him. "A couple more sessions, and then you can come home! Isn't that great?" _It really is… I hate this place…_

"About time too" Fred said cheerfully.

"The house isn't the same without you" George added. Ron felt a blush creep onto his face.

"I mean… the dining table doesn't look like a war-zone anymore" Fred chuckled, and Ron's blush was swapped with a frown. _I have etiquette now… I'll show you!_

"I'm just looking forward to wearing actual clothes…" Ron muttered. "These hospital robes are too big for me…"

"They're meant to be like that" Percy said. "To make you feel comfortable!" _At least they cover all my scars… I don't want people to see them…_

The twins opened the door to his room, and Percy guided him in. Who they saw inside shocked them all. There, standing idly by the window and looking out of it, was Albus Dumbledore. Ron's stomach twisted at the sight, and he knew that he was about to get interrogated. Ron was quick to decide that he had a story to stick to. He was there to help the Gryffindors, and he had no clue about the Dark Lord and his plans for the stone. He was just helping his friends, and that was it! Dumbledore turned around and smiled at Ron.

"Ah, Ronald" Dumbledore said, his voice sounded happy and relieved. "I am glad to see you awake. Might I have a word with you?" _And there it is… Another interrogation…_

"Good afternoon, Headmaster" Ron greeted politely, and Dumbledore smiled more widely at him. "And of course, what can I help you with?" _Sod off you old codger… I just want some damn sleep…_

"I was hoping to speak to you… alone" Dumbledore said softly, and Ron heard Fred mutter something under his breath.

"Why?" Fred questioned the Headmaster, earning a scowl from Percy.

"Fred!" Percy scolded. "That is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, show some respect!" Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Percy.

"No… no" Dumbledore said softly. "It is not my place to come between you all… You may all stay, if Ronald is alright with it?" _Did he just… turn this on me? THEO DOES THAT ALL THE TIME!_

"Of course they can stay… I have nothing to hide" Ron said with an innocent smile. _I've played this game before… I need to make sure I have an advantage here. With my brothers around, he won't question me as openly._

"Then please, all of you should sit down for this" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling at Ronald. The boy was clever, that was for certain. Perhaps the Sorting Hat had chosen wisely indeed. Ron's brothers sat down by his side, and Ron kept up a smile. Dumbledore returned the smile and sat down as well.

"Is everything alright Headmaster? I'm not… expelled am I?" Ron asked, with a hint of genuine worry. Getting thrown out of Hogwarts would be bad… no, it would be a disaster.

"No, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled. "Why would you be? After all, you helped save the school from a terrible evil. I simply wanted to thank you personally for your services to Hogwarts." Ron's cheeks reddened at that, and he smiled sheepishly. _Perhaps I'm too paranoid…_

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron said with a sheepish smile.

"No, thank you Ronald" Dumbledore said, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Although… I do have some questions to ask you…" _AND THERE IT IS! Bloody hell…_

"Questions, Headmaster?" Ron asked slowly, preparing himself and his 'story'.

"Yes, Ronald. First and foremost, how did you know of the stone's existence within Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked, still sounding amused.

"Harry, Neville, and Hermione told me sir" Ron replied. "They approached me and asked me to keep an eye on Professor Snape, they thought that he was planning to steal the stone."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore chuckled. "So you were there to help your friends?"

"Yes, Headmaster. I saw them acting oddly on the day we went to save the stone. So I followed them… And then everything happened…"

"I see" the Headmaster said slowly. "So you did not know that Lord Voldemort was going to be there?" Ron and his brothers flinched at the name.

"No sir…" Ron said softly.

"But you did run into him before you went after the stone… When you served detention in the Forbidden Forest, did you not?" Dumbledore said, his eyes losing their twinkle. Snape had told him this, and Albus had been shocked to say the least. Why had Ronald not said a word about it to anyone? And then Neville Longbottom had told Albus that Ron was there before them! None of this added up. The boy was lying…

"I did…" Ron muttered, starting to sweat under his armpits. _The old codger knows everything! I'm in trouble here…_ His brothers let out shocked gasps and just stared at Ron in disbelief. "But I wasn't sure that it was you-know-who… Firenze told me that it was… but not clearly."

"I see…" Dumbledore said softly. "Why did you not inform the staff?" _Because I don't trust you! Why did you have that damn stone in the school in the first place?!_

"I did not want to make a scene… especially when I had no proof…" Ron said, trying to stay calm. "The Dark Lord was dead for over ten years, no one would have believed me." Dumbledore nodded slowly at that.

"That was wise…" Dumbledore said softly. "However, your choice to not alert the staff nearly cost you your life Ronald… I wish that you had trusted us to have faith in you." Ron felt like he had been slapped right across his face, and his temper flared. _The same staff that was hiding such a terrible thing inside the school?! Or the staff that didn't notice that bloody you-know-who had entered the castle?!_ Ron couldn't stop himself, and he said something rather blunt and mean-spirited.

"Perhaps you should not have endangered student lives by keeping the stone in the castle in the first place…" Ron said bluntly, and he felt satisfied at Dumbledore's eyes-widening a little.

"Ronald…" Percy scolded. "Don't speak to your Headmaster with such disrespect…" _Then perhaps the Headmaster should leave… Because I'm sick of his questions…_ Ron stared right at Dumbledore, who gazed back at Ronald.

"You are right, Ronald" Dumbledore said, his voice regretful. "I should not have been so careless… Forgive me. It was never my intention to cause any student any harm. But rest assured, the stone is no more. I had it destroyed…" Ron was taken by surprise at that, and Dumbledore noticed. "You don't agree with my actions?" Dumbledore didn't want to believe that Ronald wanted the stone for himself, but that ugly thought had occurred to him. Why was he there before the three Gryffindors? Was Neville Longbottom lying?

"I agree with your actions" Ron said, and then he sighed in relief. _This is great… with the stone gone, the Dark Lord can never return!_ "I was… I was planning to destroy the stone myself…" Ron decided to add, he needed to convince Dumbledore that he wasn't the villain here. Dumbledore kept his composure, but he was taken aback by this.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling again. "And why would you want to do that Ronald?" _To save Fred's life…_

"Firenze…" Ron said, knowing that he had to be careful here. He could potentially poke holes in his story if he wasn't careful. "Firenze told me that the Dark Lord was weakened… that he was drinking Unicorn blood in order to survive…" Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat for this, this was it! Ronald was now speaking the truth… "And then Firenze hinted at the stone being something that the Dark Lord wanted… And I decided to destroy. So that he couldn't use it to become immortal." Dumbledore felt relief inside his chest at hearing this, Ronald wasn't trying to steal the stone for himself after all.

"Why did you not inform your friends of this?" Dumbledore asked, but he was smiling happily. "I spoke with Harry Potter, and he said that you were helping him stop Professor Snape…" _Don't fuck this up, Weasley!_

"I did not wish to alarm them" Ronald said smoothly. "They wouldn't have believed me anyway, because everyone believes that the Dark Lord had been destroyed. If I told them… then they may not have let me help them." Dumbledore nodded slowly at that. It was making sense now, except for one thing…

"What did you plan to do if they didn't let you destroy the stone?" Dumbledore asked out of curiosity. Ron thought about that for a few moments, and Dumbledore waited patiently. In the end, Ron decided that lying was a stupid idea. He had already spilled everything, why not convince Dumbledore once and for all that he wanted to destroy the stone.

"Then I would have taken it… by force…" Ron said with an emotionless voice. His brothers were just staring at him like they didn't know him at all. But Dumbledore smiled softly, and then he nodded.

"Thank you, Ronald" Dumbledore said in a sagely voice. "For telling me the truth… Alas, you may have helped stopped Lord Voldemort for now but there are other ways he can come back." _What… what other ways?_ Ron paled at that, he hadn't changed a fucking thing? The Dark Lord could still come back?! HOW?!

"How…?" Ron asked, feeling his hands tremble. _This isn't right… all of that was for nothing? I went through all that pain… and he can still come back?!_

"The Dark Arts are as limitless as they are vile, Ronald…" Dumbledore said, feeling a swell of pity for the boy. He didn't want Ronald to feel like everything he had been through was for naught, but he chose to not lie to the boy. After all, Ronald had shown him that respect as well. "But you need not worry about that now, and you should try to focus on your recovery for now, so I will not bother you anymore with an old man's inquiries… Here Ronald, I kept this safe for you…"

Dumbledore then took Ron's right hand with his own, and placed Daphne's serpentine ring on Ron's palm. Ron looked down at the ring, and then at his disfigured middle finger. His eyes burned with hot tears, he had been mutilated for nothing… He was now a broken and scarred little boy, and it was all for nothing… Dumbledore saw Ron's pained expression, and he felt his chest tighten. Dumbledore closed Ron's palm and squeezed his hand in a comforting way.

"I am so sorry, Ronald" Dumbledore whispered, his voice strained. Ron wanted to say something back, but he just couldn't. He was moments away from having a breakdown, so instead he tried to keep his features from contorting. Ron shook his head and looked down at his hand… his disgusting, scarred hand… His tears escaped and ran down his face. _I'm fucking useless… All of that… and I still fucking failed…_

Dumbledore stood up straight, and placed a soft hand on Ron's head. Dumbledore felt pure regret once again, and he cursed himself to hell. And then, the Headmaster left because he knew that he had done enough… Ronald was forever scarred, and Dumbledore's arrogance had been the cause… He should never have underestimated Tom…

* * *

Ron was sitting up on his hospital bed, and was writing letters to his friends to tell them that he was awake. He had decided to send one to Daphne, and one to Hermione. He'd just ask Daphne to tell the others in their group for him because Helios could only carry so many letters at once. The Eagle-owl hadn't left his side for a second since he had his chat with Dumbledore. Once Dumbledore had left, Ron had lied to his brothers and told them that he was tired, and that he wanted to sleep. He was tired, but he knew that he'd get no sleep anytime soon… He had so much on his mind.

His father still hadn't returned from the 'official' business at the Ministry, and his mother had taken Ginny and the others home for the night. She had told Ron that she would be back once everyone was asleep, and that she'd bring actual food for him to eat. At least Ron had that to look forward to, he had missed his mother's cooking terribly. But the main thing occupying Ron's mind was the Dark Lord himself… He could still come back! Dumbledore's words about the Dark Arts rang through Ron's head once again, and he wondered just how powerful the Dark Arts really were. _Limitless… That's what Dumbledore said. Limitless and vile…_ Ron rubbed his forehead with his right hand, he could feel a head-ache coming on.

"Son?" came his father's voice from the door. Ron looked up to see his father entering with a soft smile on his face. "Good, you're awake. I wanted to talk to about something."

"Is everything alright dad?" Ron asked, keen to investigate this 'official' business his father was on.

"Of course, everything is perfectly fine." Arthur said, and then he walked up to and sat next to Ron. Arthur then slowly took out a wand and handed it to Ron. Ron took it, and his heart skipped a beat. _My wand… the one Pandora got me… Bollocks!_

"Dad…" Ron started but his father shushed him.

"It's okay Ronnie" Arthur assured his son. "Pandora told your mother and me everything. We aren't angry with you." Arthur then smiled sadly at Ron. "I just wish I could have gotten you your own wand…" _Oh Merlin… this is awkward…_

"I'm sorry for not telling you" Ron opted to say, he didn't really know what else to say anyway.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry… Listen Ronnie, there are some things I need to tell you… Promise me that you will listen to everything I say, and then we can talk about it."

"Okay… I promise" Ron said slowly, his stomach feeling queasy. _What's happened now? I swear it's always something..._

"Ronnie, the Ministry was quite 'interested' in your attack… But Dumbledore convinced them that you were attempting a spell that backfired." Ron was shocked to hear this, but his father continued. "I need you to say that Dumbledore was right… If anyone asks, tell them that it was a badly executed spell that hospitalized you… and not the Dark Lord." _What? Why?_ "You see son, the Dark Lord has been believed to be dead for the last ten years. Ten long, peaceful years… If word got out that he is still alive and that he had attacked a student inside Hogwarts itself, there would be panic… Mass panic… And there would be many who would… actively search for the Dark Lord…"

"These people Ronnie" his father continued. "Those people would come after you… they'd besmirch your name, or openly attack you… If word got out that the Dark Lord attacked you, it could make you a target. So I need you to stick with the story that I've just told you… I need you to lie…" Arthur felt disgusted with himself. He was turning his son into a deceitful person, something that he never wanted to see in his children. Ronnie had just woken up, and now he had to deal with this mess…

"Tell me son, is that alright with you?" Arthur asked Ron. _Is it alright for me to lie about my attack? NO! Why aren't we telling people that the Dark Lord is out there? He needs to be hunted down now! While he is weak!_

"I think we should tell them the truth" Ron said firmly, and his father sighed. "If people know he is out there, then we can hunt him down and kill him." Arthur went wide-eyed at Ron's words, this wasn't the way Ronnie talked. There was hatred in his words, and he wanted someone killed?!

"Ron" Arthur said slowly. "Killing is not something to be spoken of lightly… The Dark Lord was an evil and revolting man, but that does not mean that killing him is alright to speak of. Murder is the vilest act anyone can commit, no matter who the victim is…"

"And how many lives has the Dark Lord taken?" Ron simply asked, unable to understand the meaning behind his father's words. "Isn't killing one person better than letting hundreds die?" _People like Fred! Your son, and my brother! Whose life is more important? Because I know the answer already!_

"If you kill one person Ronnie, then the number of killers in the world stays the same…" Arthur said softly, feeling a little jarred by Ron's words. _What if I kill every Death-Eater? Then it balances out… The Dark Lord may not have scarred me, but it was his fault! I'm just supposed to ignore that and pretend like it's all my fault? Piss on that! Dumbledore just wants to save face!_

"Ronnie, are you listening to me?" Arthur said a little more firmly, he didn't want his son thinking this way. "I don't want you thinking this way… it isn't the right way to think. You should never think that the 'ends justify the means'… No one should think like that. It's thinking like that which makes people become like the Dark Lord… He killed whoever he pleased, all because he believed that he was in the right. That he was making the world a better place… But he wasn't Ronnie, he was destroying our world. So don't ever think like that. Promise me that."

Ron looked at his father, but he couldn't promise it. If it came down to it, he'd kill the Dark Lord himself to save Fred. His family meant more to him than some evil, would-be dictator. It was just that simple in his mind. So he stayed quiet, and his father just gazed at him with a kind of pain only a parent could feel. Arthur felt like he was losing his son again, this time to darkness.

"He…" Ron broke the silence, deciding to do something rather grim. "He did this to me…" And then Ron pulled back the sleeve on his right arm, showing Arthur his scarred hand and arm. Arthur winced and shut his eyes tightly, feeling like his heart would shatter again if he saw Ron's arm. "Look at me…" Ron bit out harshly, his bitterness taking over his insecurities. But Arthur didn't look, and Ron slid his sleeve back down. _Even he can't stand the sight of me…_

"My whole body is covered with these…" Ron grit out. "I'm… I'm disfigured… Ugly… Even you won't look at me… And you want me to say that it was all my fault? Just because Dumbledore asked you to?" _Damn Dumbledore… Damn this fucking Entity… And damn the Dark Lord…_

Arthur felt lightheaded from Ron's words, from the pain his son was in… And yet he couldn't look Ronnie in his eyes… He was the worst father to ever walk this earth, that's what Arthur felt like in that moment. He should never have asked Ronnie to lie about his… his scars…

"I'm sorry, Ron…" Arthur whispered, his voice cracking a bit. "I'm so sorry…" And then he got up and left, and Ron could hear him crying on his way out. Ron's chest tightened from guilt, but he was just so angry right now that he didn't stop his father. _He's sorry? I don't want his pity…_ Ron felt bitterness as ugly as his own body, and his eyes burned with tears. _I'm ruined… Every time people see me, they'll be disgusted… My friends… Even my family… All of them will think the same thing._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

Daphne stared at her reflection, and then she smiled at the golden hair pin parting her hair. But then her smile fell… This particular act had become a habit of hers over the last month. Every time she saw her golden pin, she'd smile happily at how good it looked on her… and then she would remember who gave it to her. And that he was still in a coma… And just like that, she'd spend the day in mourning.

* * *

After Slytherin's triumph at the House Cup feast, Daphne had spent the last two weeks before the holidays waiting for an owl to tell her about Ron. All of them had just been waiting… and waiting… and waiting. But no owl came, and they all started panicking. They knew something was horribly wrong, but no one gave them a straight answer. Snape was dismissive, the Headmaster was always out on important business, and their owls to the Weasley family had gone unanswered. None of them said it, but they had all formed a suspicion that Ron was dead. It was a horrible feeling… To think that one of your friends was dead, and that people were covering it up just to save face…

Daphne had lost her nerve eventually, and sent a desperate letter to her father. She had told him everything, defying Snape's orders. She had begged her father to go investigate St. Mungo's for Ron, and to tell her that everything was alright. She didn't sleep for two days while she waited for her father's response. And when it did arrive, they all huddled together to read it.

It turned out that Ron was in a coma, and he was showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. Even Blaise and Theo had cried after reading the letter. While Daphne had just felt like she was in a nightmare. Ron was gone… Just like that… One day he was with them, laughing and studying… And then he was gone. The realization that they may never get to see him again nearly destroyed the group. Theo and Blaise seemed to just disappear for hours on end, while the other three girls barely spoke. But Daphne couldn't fault them, she herself would spend her days in the library. She read every book on comatose patients, desperate to find a way to wake up Ron. But she had found nothing. It turned out that the Healing Arts focus more on physical trauma, and far less on trauma of the brain… And since Ron was effectively braindead, there was nothing to be done. She had screamed herself hoarse in the girls' bathroom near the dungeons, and Tracey had found her in her deranged state.

Tracey then took action and brought the group together, forcing every one of them to stick together. At first it felt wrong, but after a couple of days, they all started to open up to each other. And then they all grieved for their friend, the one who had changed their lives so much in just one year. He got along with them all, and he felt like the heart of their group. He made stupid jokes alongside Tracey. He practiced every day with Theo and Blaise. He spent countless hours studying with Millie. He included Pansy in everything and made sure to make her feel like she was one of them. And he put up with Daphne…

Daphne wasn't a fool, she knew that she could be truly spoiled and act bratty at times. Tracey reminded her of that every now and then, but Ron always found a way to ignore it. If he ever shouted or lost his temper at her, he'd come back to her and apologize eventually. Then she would act all high-and-mighty and 'take him back in'… Like he was some puppy that she was angry at. It made her feel horrible now that she thought about their friendship… She should've been better than that. At least towards him… And now she may never get to be…

The day before the school was officially about to close, the Daily Prophet had made Ron's coma public knowledge. Rita Skeeter had somehow learned of Ron's current situation, and she had released an article titled 'SLYTHERIN PRODIGY In a Coma, Dumbledore to Blame?'… The train ride home had not been pleasant because of this. People kept barging into their carriage to give their 'sympathies', and when Granger had entered to do the same, Daphne had lost her mind. She had tried to attack Granger, and Theo and Blaise had to intervene to stop her. Daphne had screamed foul obscenities at Granger and her two idiot friends, all the while Theo and Blaise had held her back. If the Dark Lord had attacked Ron, then the boy-who-lived was clearly involved… The Golden Boy of the Wizarding World was a liar! His fame and legend were all lies! The Dark Lord still lived, and he had taken Ron from them!

Once Daphne had gotten home, she had barely spoken to her family. Her mother and father decided to give her some space, but Tori had no idea what was happening. So Daphne's little sister had constantly questioned her about Ron during dinner, and Daphne had lost her temper again. She had screamed at Tori and told her to 'Shut Up', and then Daphne had run off crying. She spent the entire night crying on her bed, feeling guilty about everything. Guilty about losing it at Granger, guilty about losing it at Tori, and guilty about losing Ron…

The next morning, her parents had taken her to St. Mungo's where she had met up with all of her friends. They went to Ron's room, and Daphne had nearly passed out. Ron's upper body was completely covered in bandages, his face was extremely gaunt and pale, and he had a tube inserted into his mouth. It was a horrid sight, and Daphne and the other three girls had cried their eyes out. Theo and Blaise seemed to have gone into silent shock, and they hadn't uttered a word all day. After they spent the day just staring at Ron's lifeless body, they had all gone home. Tracey, Pansy, Mille, and even Theo and Blaise had come back to Greengrass Manor. They had decided to spend most of the holidays together, it was easier to cope with loss in a group…

They had visited Ron several times since then, and they had all made a bond with Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Lovegood. The two older witches desperately wanted to hear about Ron's school life, and it helped the group to speak about him. It felt like they were reliving their school year once again, and it gave them all a small sense of comfort. And deep down, Daphne would always feel like Ron was listening in. He was just lying there, so close to them and yet he was farther away than ever…

* * *

Daphne sighed at her reflection once more, and then she went downstairs for breakfast. She entered the dining room, and was greeted with the sight of all of her friends and family. _Except Ron…_ She took her seat next to Tori and gave her sister a pinch on her chubby cheeks. Tori beamed at her.

"Good morning Daphne" Tori giggled, and Daphne smiled hollowly at her sister. _I'm glad she forgave me…_

"Good morning Tori" Daphne replied. "What are your plans for today?"

"Theo and Blaise want to teach me curses!" Tori said loudly, and Theo smacked his own forehead.

"Gentlemen…" her Lord father said, looking at Theo and Blaise with a blank face. "Is this true? Are you attempting to teach my youngest daughter the Dark Arts?" Theo and Blaise shrunk into their seats, while Tori giggled at getting the two boys in trouble.

"Sir" Blaise muttered. "We would never…" _Yes, you definitely would…_ Daphne couldn't help but shake her head at her friends. They had been causing havoc around the Manor alongside Tori.

"Sebastian" Daphne's mother scolded in a playful tone. "Stop picking on the children…" Sebastian Greengrass let out a chuckle at that.

"Sorry" he said humorously. "But Tori is too young to be learning such things…" he added more seriously.

"Guess we need to do something else then…" Theo muttered, and then he looked at Lady Greengrass. "May I help you in the gardens again, Lady Greengrass?" Daphne's mother smiled at Theo kindly.

"Of course Theo, and you can just call me Mary" Lady Greengrass said softly. "I've known you since you were four…" Theo smiled back at her.

"Blaise, you can join us today" Pansy said with a faint smile. She had taken Ron's absence rather badly, and barely ever spoke now. "We were planning to go through Lord Greengrass' library, to look for something that can help Ron." Blaise simply smiled at her and nodded softly. _He doesn't want to think about that Pans…_

And then a knocking came from their window, a knocking that got louder and louder. Lord Greengrass frowned, and then he flicked his wand at the window, opening it. Daphne was shocked at the sight of the familiar light grey Eagle-owl, and Helios flew right to her. He hooted loudly and presented his leg, and Daphne's heart began beating faster and faster. She quickly took the letter, and then began petting Helios as she read it.

 _Greetings Lady Greengrass (was that formal enough?)_

 _This is Ron, and I'm awake… Can you please let everyone know (Helios could only carry so many letters), and come visit me please? This Hospital is really doing my head in… I'd like some decent company at least._

 _Oh and bring actual food with you! This Hospital is feeding me stale garbage!_

 _Can't wait to see you all again!_

 _Your Friend and ally,_

 _Ronald Bilius Weasley._

 _P.S: Don't show this to your Lord Father, I don't want him thinking ill of me!_

Daphne smiled in true joy for the first time in a long while, and she rubbed her eyes. Then she let out a relieved laugh and turned to her friends. They were all looking at Helios and her, and she could see the hope in their eyes.

"Ron's awake…" Daphne said with a laugh. "And he wants us to visit!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well there it is! In all of its depressing glory... But things will start looking up again, I promise! I didn't want to gloss over the consequences of the last chapter, so it had to be this way...**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and I will see you all again in a couple of days!**


	21. Chapter 21 - Homecoming

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 21 is here. Sorry for the delay, some personal crap came up! (it was dealt with) Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. There are some short time-jumps so be ready for those.**

 **2\. You finally see things though Neville's perspective!**

 **3\. Some more of Sirius and Remus!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 21 – Homecoming**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron was sitting with Pandora, Luna, his mother, and Ginny and they were all playing exploding snap, they were killing time before his therapy session. Ron was not excited at all for it because it had bloody hurt the last time… _And that potion tasted worse than Aunt Muriel's cooking!_ And then the door to his room burst open, making them all jump. Ron turned around with a frown and was ready tear into the person who had scared his sisters, but upon seeing his friends rush in, Ron grinned ear-to-ear. _FINALLY!_

Ron quickly got up and was engulfed in hugs by the girls, all of them shouting over each other excitedly. Ron went beet-red, and he heard his mother and Pandora chuckling from behind him. Ron also spotted Theo and Blaise smiling at him from behind the girls, waiting for their turn. _I hope they don't hug me as well…_

"Girls" came a woman's voice from behind Theo and Blaise, and Ron looked at Lady Greengrass. She was smiling pleasantly. "Give the poor boy some room. We don't want him back in that bed now, do we?" The girls grinned sheepishly at Ron and took a few steps back. Lady Greengrass approached him and gave him her hand, which he took gently and kissed, and then he gave her a short practiced bow.

"A pleasure to meet you once again, Lady Greengrass" Ron said smoothly. "You look as radiant as the last time I saw you." Lady Greengrass smiled at him approvingly, maybe not all the Weasleys were lax with their manners. Ron missed his mother's and Pandora's jaws dropping to the floor at seeing Ron like.

"Thank you, Ronald" Lady Greengrass said with a pleased smile. "I am glad to see you finally awake. My Lord Husband sends his regards, he wished that he could have come here himself. Alas, he had business to attend to with the International League of Wizard's Chess Club…" Lady Greengrass said with a suggestive tone, which bewildered everyone in the room. Everyone but Ron. _So it's finally happening?! YES!_

"I am sorry to miss him, please send him my best wishes" Ron said politely, doing his best to not grin like an idiot.

"Certainly" Lady Greengrass said, and then she turned to his friends. "I will be back by six in the evening, enjoy each other's company." And then she left with a graceful walk. Ron then turned to Theo and Blaise, who grinned at him. Ron greeted his best friends with firm hand-shakes. Ron was glad that his right hand was bandaged up, and that his scars were hidden.

"It's good to see you two again" Ron said genuinely.

"Likewise, my friend" Blaise said with an actual smile. _My friend? Is Blaise going soft?_

"I'm glad you finally stopped taking your nap" Theo said with a smirk. "I was worried I'd have no one to copy homework off of next year!" Millie smacked Theo on his shoulder and frowned at him. Ron just laughed at Theo's comment.

"What can I say? My bed wasn't really all that comfortable" Ron joked, glad that someone was treating him normally. _And not as something broken…_

"He's back!" Tracey said loudly with a laugh. And then she hugged Ron tightly from his side. "We missed you so much!" The other girls laughed at his red face, and then followed Tracey's lead.

* * *

"Merlin this tastes good!" Ron exclaimed, and then he took another bite out of the pumpkin pastry. Daphne had indeed brought actual food, and Ron was now scarfing it down. His friends were just watching him in amusement, and all of them were sitting on his bed.

"At least chew, Ron" Millie chuckled. _They don't know the taste of Hospital food…_

"Let him eat" Theo smirked. "Look at him… no muscles at all. You're even weedier than me now Ron. I bet I'd run laps around you!" Ron stopped eating and swallowed his bite, and then he narrowed his eyes at Theo.

"Just wait until my physical therapy is finished" Ron muttered, unhappy about being challenged. _I bet I'd still win!_

"Physical therapy?" Pansy asked in a low and concerned voice. _Nice one Weasley…_

"Um… yeah" Ron said sheepishly, smiling at Pansy. "They said I was out of commission for too long, so my muscles lost their strength… The therapy is helping me get that strength back! So don't worry, I'll be back to normal in no time!" _Hardly…_

"When do you have it?" Daphne asked, she was sitting right next to him. Ron gazed at the clock in his room and grimaced.

"In thirty minutes…" Ron sighed.

"Well, we're here all day" Tracey said with a wide smile. "We can help you! And then I reckon we should go to the gardens! We brought a chess board as well, and we have other games too!" Ron was taken aback by her excitement to spend the whole day in a hospital. _They really missed me that much? Why? I wasn't a very good friend by the end of the school year…_ Ron felt a pang of guilt as he remembered how many things he had kept hidden from everyone.

"That sounds like a great idea, Trace" Daphne beamed, and then she turned to Ron. "We are allowed to help, right?" _She looks so happy to help… I don't want them to see me in therapy… It's embarrassing. But I don't want to keep lying to my friends…_

"You can watch" Ron said slowly, swallowing his shame. He needed to be a better friend to them all, it's what they all deserved. "But I'm warning you… it isn't pretty…"

"Neither are you" Blaise said with a chuckle. "But we put up with you!" Theo and Ron laughed at that, while the girls frowned at the boys in irritation. _I'm glad the lads are acting like they normally do! I was getting sick of this mollycoddling…_

"Speaking of putting up with things…" Pansy said, shooting a glare at Blaise. "When did they say you can leave? I think it'd be great if you came over to Greengrass Manor for a few days. We're all staying there… including these two imbeciles…" Ron chuckled at Pansy's annoyance with the boys. _It would be nice to stay with my friends! But my family needs me…_

"I'd love to visit, but I can't stay over" Ron said, smiling at his friends apologetically. The all looked quite dejected to hear that. "My family wants to keep their eyes on me… I think they **need** to…"

"Well that's understandable…" Millie said softly, she wished it were different though. "After everything that happened… with you-know-who…" Ron shuddered at the memory of the worst night he had ever experienced, though he was shocked to learn that they knew about the Dark Lord. _Never again… I'll be more prepared from now on! I just need to work harder than ever before, and then… then I'll be safer!_

"Everything that happened… So you know the truth…" Ron muttered, and then he turned his head to crack his neck. His friends went quiet at his words, recalling how horrid the last month had been. None of them had come to grips with the Dark Lord's existence properly, and they treated it as a taboo subject.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Theo whispered, looking down at the white bedspread. "Why the fuck didn't you tell any of us?" He sounded quite hurt, and even a little angry. _I was stupid enough to think that I could take on the Dark Lord alone… That he was weakened… And he overpowered me in a heartbeat…_

None of them said anything for a few seconds, and the mood was beginning to get somber. Ron didn't want that, he wanted to have a good time with his friends! So he decided to open up a bit for a change, just to put their minds at ease.

"I didn't want you all to be in my shoes…" Ron said softly, looking down as well. "I didn't want you to worry, or get hurt. I thought I'd take care of it discreetly, and just pretend like it never happened…"

"You didn't want us to worry?" Daphne said in a hushed voice. "Well… you failed. This last month has been… Do you even… It was just so…" Daphne struggled to get her words out, and Ron could tell she was about to cry. _Shite… I'm so damn bad at this…_

"We thought you were dead" Blaise said softly, looking Ron in the eyes. "No one would tell us a thing… And we thought that they were covering up your death…" Ron flinched at that, feeling another pang of guilt. "If it wasn't for Draco, we wouldn't even know where you went… Not until the Daily Prophet came out…" _Malfoy? Daily Prophet?_

"What do you mean? What does Malfoy have to do with this? And the Prophet?" Ron asked, genuinely confused. He had missed so much, it was quite annoying playing catch-up like this.

"Well…" Tracey started slowly. "After you went 'missing', we looked everywhere but we never found you. Blaise decided to approach Malfoy, who started muttering on about… you-know-who… and then he bolted to tell Snape everything. That's how we found out… and then…" Tracey trailed off. _I forgot about Malfoy… he was in that forest with me! He's no doubt told everyone he knows! Shite!_

"Then what?" Ron asked Tracey.

"Then they told us to lie…" Daphne said, she sounded pissed. "They told us to pretend that we didn't know any better, and then Dumbledore announced to the school that you were injured by a spell backfiring on you! They wanted us to lie, Ron! And they never explained why…" _Bastards wanted to save face…_

"But then Rita Skeeter released an article about your 'spell-backfiring' on you, and in it she revealed your coma-like state to the world." Millie joined in. "She blamed Dumbledore for being an incompetent Headmaster… and I agree with her for once…" _Rita Skeeter? Where have I heard that name before?_ Ron thought harder, and then it hit him. _She's that reporter who been writing about me! How did she learn about the coma? My family didn't tell anyone!_

"That article caused… problems…" Pansy said, looking at Daphne with a sad smile. _Problems? What problems? I've missed so much!_

"What problems?" Daphne huffed in annoyance. "I don't remember any problems at all! I gave those fools what they deserved!"

"Um… what?" Ron asked, wondering what she had done. _This can't be good…_

"People came over to shower us with their pity on the train ride home" Blaise spat out, sickened at being looked down upon. "And then… then Granger and her lot came by…" Ron sighed at that. _What did you do Daph?_

"Granger had the gall to say 'Sorry for your loss'…" Pansy gritted out, remembering those pitying looks on the Gryffindors' faces. "Even after she had thrown you to wolves with that Dragon nonsense… fucking bitch…" Ron flinched at the venom in Pansy's voice, Hermione didn't deserve that. It was his idea to throw himself to the wolves, Hermione had simply made that sacrifice worth it.

"You guys…" Ron started, but he was cut off by Daphne.

"No, don't you dare defend them Ronald Weasley!" Daphne shrieked. "Every time something horrible happens, those three are there! The Mountain Troll, the Dragon, and when you were on trial for the Dragon… They aren't good for you! And you need to stop seeing them!" Ron frowned at that, he knew the truth that none of his friends did. _I'm the main problem in all of these situations… I went after the troll, I chose to help with the Dragon, and I choose to admit my guilt… I didn't give the Trio a chance in any of these…_

"Stop fighting" Millie said firmly. "We all just got back together… so stop it!" They all went quite but Ron could feel the anger coming off of Daphne and his friends. _Great… they hate my Gryffindor friends now more than ever… Wait. Where are those three? Mum never mentioned them visiting me… They'd visit right? I mean Hermione definitely would! And Harry! Don't know about Neville though… Shouldn't Harry be here with Sirius? I mean Sirius has dropped by two times, and I've only been up for a couple of days…_ Ron decided that he needed to find out where his Gryffindor friends were, he didn't want to lose them just yet. He quite liked the Trio…

"On a good note" Theo said, breaking the awkward silence. "We won the House Cup…"

"What?" Ron asked, going wide-eyed. "How? We were done for…" _How did we win? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor should've won. Victor said so himself…_

"You" Pansy said with a soft chuckle. "Dumbledore gave you fifty points for playing chess… It put us in the lead, you won us the Cup Ron." _Chess? Dumbledore gave us the cup? Bloody hell! We actually won it! Victor must've been ecstatic._ Ron let out a happy laugh, and his friends started to relax and smile as well.

"And I missed it?!" Ron said, still laughing.

"There's always next year, mate" Blaise chuckled. He was glad they had gotten back to a more pleasant mood. Thank Merlin for Theo's inability to cope with anything emotional.

"Ugh…" Ron groaned. "Don't remind me… I really don't want to go through that again!"

"Go through what?" Theo asked with a smirk. "I'm the one who earned pretty much all the points…" Ron let out a laugh at Theo's smirking face, and even Blaise had to stifle a laugh when Tracey tried to smack Theo. They all laughed at Theo trying to dodge Tracey assault, but stopped when the door to Ron's room opened. The nurse from before entered, and she smiled at Ron and his friends.

"Mr. Weasley" the nurse greeted. "I'm here to take you to your session. Come along now, and your friends may join you if you wish." _Bloody hell… Here we go again…_

* * *

The session wasn't as painful as the last one, but it still hurt. Ron didn't miss the worried looks that his friends were giving him while he was trying to walk to that damn yellow line, and it made him feel quite inept. He felt like they would see him as someone who couldn't even bloody walk properly, and that fact made him feel… lesser. When the nurse called the session to an end, Ron quickly chugged down that disgusting potion again. It made him gag, and his friends winced at the sight. After that, he knew that he couldn't keep walking around, so he was extremely grateful when Blaise elected to push his wheelchair without saying a word about it. His friends also made sure to not even mention that he was in a wheelchair, and they chose to converse with him normally.

They went to the gardens and spent the remainder of the day playing games. Ron was excited to hear that both Daphne and Tracey had birthdays coming up, and that they were planning to throw separate parties. Parties that he was, of course, invited to. Things were now looking up for Ron! He would be out of this hospital in a few days, and he had plans with his friends! Now he just had to hear back from the Trio, and things would be golden!

"There you all are" came Lady Greengrass' voice. Ron and his friends looked to her, and saw that Lord Greengrass and Astoria Greengrass were with her. Ron smiled at the little Greengrass girl, and she smiled back. _Her cheeks are so chubby!_

"Mother, father…" Daphne greeted, and then a realization hit her. They had to go now, and leave Ron behind. It dampened her spirits greatly but she didn't show it. "Tori, you remember Ronald, don't you?"

"Of course" Astoria said, and then she gave him a cute little curtsy. Her mother smiled approvingly at her, and even Daphne was happy to see Astoria behaving herself. "I'm glad you're awake. Daphne was so sad without you."

"Tori!" Daphne scolded, and her friends stifled their laughs. "Mother, see what she does!" Daphne whined, and Astoria giggled at her sister's misfortune.

"Astoria Greengrass…" Lady Greengrass scolded, although she too found it quite funny. Ron was also trying not to laugh, and he decided that he liked Astoria Greengrass. _She is definitely less wound up than Daphne!_

"It is good to see you up and about Ronald" Lord Greengrass said, deciding to ignore his youngest daughter's mischievous antics once again. "We were saddened to hear of your misfortune. Love, take the children home please. I wish to speak with Ronald… alone." Ron gave him a nod, while his friends just looked between the two. Then Lady Greengrass beckoned and they had to leave.

The girls hugged Ron goodbye, except for Daphne who was clearly mortified because of Astoria. Theo and Blaise shook his hand again, and promised to visit again tomorrow. Ron was more than happy to hear that, and he grinned happily at his friends as they left. Then it was just Ron and Lord Greengrass in the gardens.

"It is good to see you again, Lord Greengrass" Ron said politely, and deep down his excitement grew. _Is he going to talk to me about my apprenticeship?!_

"Likewise, Ronald" Lord Greengrass smiled faintly, and then he looked around the garden. "Dreadful place… St. Mungo's. Don't you agree?" _Pleasant talk? Really?_

"Quite so, my Lord" Ron replied, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"I hear the food here is equivalent to 'stale garbage'…" Lord Greengrass said, his voice humorous. _She showed him the fucking letter! DAPHNE!_ Ron gave Lord Greengrass a sheepish smile, but Lord Greengrass smiled fully at Ron. "It is alright Ronald. I agree with you completely about that statement, I once spent a week in this horrid place. The first thing I did upon my release was go to an actual restaurant." _He was in St. Mungo's for a week? What for? It doesn't matter… not my place to know._

"Now that we are alone" Lord Greengrass continued. "I'd like to speak to you about a few things." Lord Greengrass then approached and sat down next to Ron on a bench. Ron was still in his wheelchair. "Your hospitalization… what was the cause?" Ron flinched at that question, now he was in trouble. _Should I tell him the truth? Or should I lie? Merlin… why did he have to ask that before I could decide on what to do about this mess?_ Lord Greengrass stared at Ronald for a few more seconds, and then he sighed in a tired fashion.

"Ronald" Lord Greengrass said. "You must act faster the next time someone asks you such a thing…" Ron was taken aback by that, and he stared at Lord Greengrass with an open mouth. "Albus Dumbledore has informed the Ministry that your current residence is the result of your 'experimentation with a powerful spell'… It is a good story, and one that they all believed. You should take advantage of it." _What is he on about? Does he know the truth? Merlin… Daphne… She fucking told him, didn't she?_

"So you know…" Ron said slowly, looking down at his bandaged hand. The scarred hand.

"Yes, I know" Lord Greengrass said, his voice was calm and collected. "It was a shocking thing to learn about, I must admit. The Dark Lord yet lives…" Lord Greengrass absent-mindedly rubbed his inner left fore-arm. "This is a grave thing Ronald… A grave thing. May I offer you some advice? One chess player to another?" Lord Greengrass asked. Ron nodded slowly at that, looking at the older wizard intently. "Stick with Dumbledore's story. Tell the world that it was just a mistake on your part. It is better that way." _Better for who?! Not for me! I look like some idiot who disfigured himself forever! All the while the Dark Lord is running around free…_

"It isn't fair…" Ron managed to grit out, feeling bitter at all these adults telling him to lie.

"No it is not…" Lord Greengrass said calmly. "But life is not fair Ronald. It is a cruel and vindictive thing, and it tries to break down the best of us every chance it gets. I am sorry for what happened to you, no child deserves this. But it is for the best that the Dark Lord's presence remains hidden."

"Why?" Ron asked, forgetting that he was talking to a Lord. But Lord Greengrass didn't mind, he liked people with a back-bone.

"How much do you know of the last war, Ronald?" Lord Greengrass asked, but then he continued without waiting for Ron's answer. "Not much I'd wager, you were only a baby when it ended after all. It was a dark time… a truly dark time. For everyone. Pure-Bloods… Muggle-Borns… The war found them all, and it did not show mercy. Thousands of witches and wizards died, and just as many Muggles. Both sides were unforgiving in nature. The Dark Lord knew no mercy, and the Ministry threw away its ideals just to survive." Ron was listening intently, and he shuddered at the thought of his parents being a part of such a world.

"And then…" Lord Greengrass continued. "A boy destroyed the Dark Lord, and the world was set free overnight. The darkness of the war had finally begun to fade, and the Ministry ruthlessly sought out the Dark Lord's minions. Most of those minions were glad that the Dark Lord was gone." That jarred Ron and he looked at Lord Greengrass in a confused manner. "Yes… Even the Dark Lord's Death-Eaters were glad that he was gone. The Dark Lord showed as much mercy to his followers as he did to his enemies. There were a few who were still loyal however, but they were as mad as the Dark Lord himself." Lord Greengrass sneered at nothing in particular.

"And then there was peace" Lord Greengrass went on. "The reign of the Dark Lord was a thing of the past, and most of his followers were either sealed away in Azkaban or they had cut all ties with the Dark Lord. One thing was clear to all, the world was better off without the Dark Lord in it. Do you understand, Ronald?"

"Shouldn't we find him then?! Find him and kill him while he is still weak?! Why hide his existence? It is not a wise move!" Ron spoke with desperation. Lord Greengrass gave Ron a sad smile.

"It is the wisest move…" Lord Greengrass said slowly, maintaining eye contact with Ron. Ron was about to speak but Lord Greengrass put up a hand to stop him. "Listen to me for a moment. The majority of the Dark Lord's followers followed him because they were afraid of him. Fear was his weapon, and no one wielded it with more skill. If you declare to the world that the Dark Lord yet lives, then that fear will be reborn. You may think that everyone will come together to hunt for the Dark Lord, but you are naïve. Those who cut their ties off with the Dark Lord will be compelled to aid him, for they still fear him. The peace that the Ministry has built will falter, and then it will crumble. A new war will ignite." Ron was stunned at the explanation. Was Lord Greengrass telling the truth? And why was he being so open with Ron?

"Here is my first lesson to you Ronald" Lord Greengrass continued. "There is always a better way to play the game! On one hand, you could tell the whole world what you saw and potentially start a war… On the other hand, you could act with discretion and avoid such a calamity. Dumbledore is most definitely hunting for the Dark Lord, and if you tell everyone the truth, you will take away Dumbledore's power to hunt for the Dark Lord in peace. If a war breaks out, then Dumbledore's attention will be split. This will only serve to aid the Dark Lord. Do you understand?" Ron nodded slowly, feeling his face burn with shame. _I could have… I didn't even think… Of course Dumbledore would be searching for the Dark Lord, why didn't I think of that?!_

"Good" Lord Greengrass said with a smile. "You are a smart boy, Ronald. But Daphne tells me that your emotions drive you, and while that is perfectly fine, it does hinder your thinking. And someone who aspires to become a Chess-Master must always think with a clear, and focused, mind. I will make sure to teach you that during your time with me… As my apprentice." Ron looked at Lord Greengrass and smiled ear-to-ear, and Lord Greengrass smiled back faintly. _It's really happening then?!_ "I have spoken to the International League of Wizard's Chess Club Ronald, and I have informed them that you and I came to a deal just before your 'accident'. Now that you are awake, we can proceed."

"Thank you" Ron exclaimed happily, earning a chuckle from Lord Greengrass. "I won't let you down, my Lord. I promise!"

"Good" Lord Greengrass replied. "And I promise to be a worthy mentor to you, in all things." Lord Greengrass then extended his hand, and Ron shook it firmly. "Remember what we have talked about Ronald… Think on my words before you choose to act." Ron nodded firmly, still smiling widely. "As for the contract, I will bring it to your father after Daphne's Birthday party. You will attend, of course. You are an ally of our Noble house from this day on, and I imagine that you will spend quite a lot of time with us." Lord Greengrass then stood up, and said his farewell to Ron. And just like that, the Lord of the Greengrass family was gone. Ron let out a loud laugh and pumped his arms into the air, excitement taking over completely. _WOHOO!_

* * *

Ron was sitting on his bed and going over Lord Greengrass' words in his head, but he was interrupted when the door to his room opened. Ron looked up to see Sirius Black sneaking in, and he seemed to be a bit drunk.

"Hello, pup" Sirius greeted with a wide smile. _Pup?_

"Hello, Lord… Sirius…" Ron said, smiling at the well-groomed man. _He looks so much better now that he isnt in Azkaban!_

"Lord Sirius?" Sirius chuckled, and Ron noticed that the man was hiding something behind his back. "That's new! I'm not much of a Lord though, pup." _Again he calls me pup…_ Sirius then approached Ron's bed and sat down in front of him. Then he pulled out a basket filled with sweets and treats from behind his back. "Tada!"

"Woah!" Ron exclaimed, looking at all the sweets hungrily. "Are these for me?"

"Of course, I resent that your mother won't let you eat the good stuff!" Sirius said with a chuckle. "Here, let's eat and enjoy." Sirius then spilled the treats in between the two, and they both ate them excitedly.

"You know, mum would be furious if she found out" Ron said, his cheeks full of Every-Flavored-Beans.

"Then we should finish these in one sitting" Sirius said, chewing a chocolate frog. _Haha Sirius is great!_

"The nurses told mum and Pandora to not let me eat things that don't provide 'nutrition'…" Ron complained, picking up a licorice wand.

"Fuck the nurses… I know I would" Sirius barked out a laugh, and Ron's ears and face turned red. _Wow…_ "Oh… sorry pup" Sirius said with a sheepish grin. "I forgot that you're just a kid haha! But still… some of these nurses are quite pleasing to look at, don't you agree?" Ron smiled in embarrassment, and then he nodded his head. Sirius laughed happily again. "There ya go! Nothing wrong with looking kiddo! Everyone does it!"

"Everyone?" Ron asked, feeling nervous about thinking of his nurses in that way.

"Of course, it's natural" Sirius explained, and then he bit into another chocolate frog. "You can't tell me that you haven't noticed that pretty nurse that gives you a bath?" Then Sirius laughed when Ron went bright red. "Merlin… What I wouldn't give to be given a bath by that woman!" Ron laughed at that, and then he picked up another licorice wand.

"She is really pretty…" Ron mused, thinking of the blonde nurse. _And she's seen me naked…_ Ron felt his face burn.

"That she is…" Sirius said, clearly picturing her as well. "Pandora tells me that you have quite a few lady friends… Is that true?" Ron looked at Sirius with wide eyes, and Sirius chuckled and ruffled Ron's hair. "Well done pup! I expected no less from you!"

"It isn't like that…" Ron tried to explain, but then he remembered all the hugs they gave him and he blushed even harder. _AGH! I'll never see them the same way again!_

"I'm just pulling your tail, pup. Don't worry about it, if it happens it happens…" Sirius grinned, finding Ron's blushing rather funny. They ate in silence for about thirty seconds before Ron broke that silence.

"Why hasn't…" Ron trailed off, and then he mustered his courage. "Why hasn't Harry visited me? Or Hermione and Neville…" Sirius stopped eating, and he looked taken aback. But then Sirius sighed and smiled sadly at Ron.

"Harry is with his 'family'…" Sirius said bitterly. "I don't know about Hermione and Neville, I've only met them once. After the Hogwarts Express dropped them off, that is" Sirius elaborated. "That Hermione girl looked quite upset for some reason, and that Neville chap was trying to comfort her… Even poor Harry looked distraught. I imagine it was because of your… your situation." _Or because Daphne destroyed their souls… Wait… Why isn't Harry with Sirius?_

"Why isn't Harry with you?" Ron asked slowly, and Sirius let out a dry chuckle.

"It's… complicated, kiddo" Sirius said, clearly trying to avoid the conversation. Ron understood that, and chose to respect it. _Merlin knows I have my own secrets…_

"Forgive me, I did not mean to intrude…" Ron apologized. _Ugh… I even sound like Daphne now!_ Sirius must've noticed Ron's odd way of apologizing because he laughed loudly.

"You're a weird kid, Ron" Sirius said, clearly amused. "But thanks… Just know that I'm doing my best to get custody of Harry, and then you two can be the best of friends! You can be the Padfoot to his Prongs!" _Custody? Padfoot and Prongs?_

"What?" Ron asked, confused at Sirius' words.

"I'll explain that to you someday soon, pup" Sirius said happily. "Now we'd better finish these up, or your mum will kill us both!"

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

Neville walked excitedly by his Grandmother's side because today was finally the day that he would get his own wand! He had brought it up last week, and demanded that she get him his own wand. _Demanded! Merlin that felt great… even if I nearly fainted after…_ Neville smiled happily at the memory of him showing a backbone for once when it came to his Grandmother. Augusta Longbottom was not a woman many could stand up to, but Neville finally had. And he had managed to do it because he had made friends with two of the bravest people he knew! _Harry and Hermione… Merlin I miss them…_

Hermione was currently in Italy with her parents, no doubt sightseeing and exploring the beautiful country. Harry was… ignoring him. Neville felt his chest tighten at that thought. Neville had sent Harry over a dozen letters, and Harry hadn't replied to even one! Eventually, Neville stopped sending Harry letters, and instead sent Hermione a few. It turned out that Harry was ignoring her as well… and Neville couldn't understand why! Harry wasn't that kind of person, something had to be wrong!

Maybe Harry was angry at him and Hermione? But whatever for? He seemed fine on the train ride home, and now he was ignoring them… Neville felt his mood begin to change for the worse, so he stopped thinking about his best friend. _Right now… right now I need to get a new wand. Then I can do something about Harry!_

"Here we are" his Gran said, and then she opened the door and walked in. Neville followed behind, and he felt his heart beat faster and faster. "Good morning Garrick" his Gran greeted the old man behind the counter.

"Ah, Augusta!" Mr. Ollivander said. "I was wondering when I'd be seeing your grandson… Come in, come in." Both Neville and his Grandmother approached the counter, and Neville looked around the shop. It was smaller than he had imagined, and a lot dirtier… _There's dust everywhere! Doesn't he clean this place?_

"Yes… it seems my son's wand does not work well with my grandson" Augusta said, though she didn't sound disappointed this time around. That made Neville happier than anything.

"Of course, and why would it?" Mr. Ollivander said, and then he smiled at Neville. "The wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around! Come boy, let me look at you!" Neville stepper closer to the old man, and he felt embarrassed at being studied like this. "Hmm… yes, I see it. You have a spark about you, my boy… Yes, indeed" Mr. Ollivander mused, and Neville went wide-eyed. _A spark? Me?_ Then Mr. Ollivander walked into the back of his store, and came back after a few seconds.

"Here, try this one" Mr. Ollivander said as he handed Neville a dark colored wand. Neville held it, and felt nothing. "Well give it a wave!" Mr. Ollivander said suddenly, making Neville jump a bit. Neville then pointed it away from the old man and flicked the wand. The shelves on a nearby cupboard shot out violently, and then the cupboard fell over with a loud thud. Neville went wide-eyed, but not half as much as his Grandmother.

"No, no… definitely not" Mr. Ollivander muttered, then he took the wand from Neville and left for the back of his store again. This went on for a few more minutes, and Neville was losing his excitement. _What if I really don't have a wand? I might as well be a squib…_

"Here…" Mr. Ollivander said as he handed Neville a light brown wand with a dark brown wooden hilt. Neville took it slowly, and he instantly felt its warmth in his hand. Neville then flicked the wand, and beautiful sparks shot out of its tip in abundance. Neville gave out a shocked laugh and looked to his Grandmother. She was smiling happily at him, and Neville felt his eyes burn. _I have a new wand! I can't wait to show it to Harry and Hermione!_

"This wand has chosen you" Mr. Ollivander said with a smile. Then he turned to Neville's Grandmother. "Cherry wood, Unicorn Hair core, thirteen inches, and surprisingly swishy flexibility!" Augusta Longbottom beamed at hearing that, and she felt proud of Neville.

* * *

"Put that wand down and eat, Neville" his Grandmother scolded, but there was no bite in her words. She sounded rather amused. Neville put the wand down and smiled at it, and then he began eating lunch. All he wanted to do was cast spells with his new wand, but he was underage and Hogwarts was still a month and half away… _I actually want to go back to school! How crazy is that!_

"Thank you for my wand, Grandmother" Neville said gratefully.

"You are welcome, Neville" his Grandmother replied. "I am… I am sorry." _Um…? Did she just… apologize?_

"Sorry for what Grandmother?" Neville asked slowly, his shock evident to his grandmother. She looked at him and smiled softly.

"I should have gotten you your own wand" she said softly. "It was… wrong of me not to. Especially after what happened during the end of the school year." Neville shuddered at the memory… It had been one of the worst things he had ever seen. He still had trouble sleeping because of that night. "You did the Longbottom name proud, Neville" his Gran continued. "You stood with your friends and faced Voldemort's spirit… Your mother and father would be proud of you as well." Neville flinched at the Dark Lord's name, and his Grandmother noticed.

"Do not fear his name, Neville" Augusta Longbottom said, hoping to teach Neville an important lesson. "It is only a name, and fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself… Do not give that serpent that satisfaction. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Grandmother…" Neville said softly, thinking of the Dark Lord's spirit again. He had thought about it during the entire break so far. _Poor Ron…_

"Good" Augusta said, she knew that he eventually would understand. And she knew that she had underestimated him for far too long. Her grandson… was a true Gryffindor. One that threw caution to the wind in order to protect his friends.

* * *

Neville lay on his bed, and he was thinking of the Dark Lord once again. He knew that he probably wouldn't sleep for a while, the spectral form of his worst nightmare haunting him... Ron's screams haunting him… Ron's mangled body haunting him…

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV (Flashbacks)**_

Neville was generally not a bad person… he just wasn't. He was always doing his best to just make it through the day, to just not mess things up. But on his very first day at Hogwarts, Neville had lost Trevor on the Hogwarts Express. He had searched high and low, and a certain bushy haired girl had come to his aid. Even if she had called him foolish for losing the toad in the first place, but Neville was used to being called a fool. Everyone called him a fool…

They had split up after a while, and then she had returned with his toad in her hands. That was the first time he had heard of Ronald Bilius Weasley. It was Ron who had summoned his toad, and thus returned his companion back to him. Then he shared a boat ride with the same Weasley, and Neville had to muster his courage just to thank him. He had failed, of course… And Hermione had told Ron of what Neville wanted, and Neville was glad to see Ron smile at him and tell him that it was 'no problem'… Ron was friendly towards him, and Neville had hoped to be in his house. And then the sorting ceremony happened, and Neville's world fell on its head.

Neville had implored the Sorting Hat to place him in Hufflepuff. He knew that Hufflepuff was the house where all the rejects went… and he was a reject. But the hat had sent him to Gryffindor instead… Into the House of the Brave! Neville was shocked and afraid at the hat's decision, but he had no more say in the matter. Hermione was already sorted into Gryffindor, and then THE Harry Potter was also sorted into Gryffindor. Neville felt tiny compared to his fellow first year house-mates. And then it was Ronald Weasley's turn, and everyone already knew where he was going. He was a Weasley, and Weasleys only went into Gryffindor! So imagine everyone's surprise when the youngest Weasley son ended up a hat stall… a hat stall that ended with Slytherin! It was unbelievable to say the least, and Neville was shocked to see the helpful boy be sorted into the House of the Cunning. The Dark house of Hogwarts…

His brothers had been livid, especially one of the twins. But Neville knew that it was not his place to get involved, it just wasn't his business. So he had just ignored them all. When he went into his dorm, he found Harry being bombarded with horrible questions about you-know-who. Questions that were clearly bothering Harry, so Neville had asked the others to stop. Neville knew the pain of losing one's parents to evil, and he could see that Harry felt the same way. Neville finally made a friend that night, a friend that he had never expected to make.

It hadn't even taken a single day for Neville to find trouble. He had found himself cornered by a boy named Malfoy, and his two big friends. They smacked the books out of Neville's hands and pushed him around, laughing like maniacs the entire time. Neville was on the verge of tears when Harry Potter had shown up. Harry didn't care that he was smaller than Malfoy and the other two boys, Harry had just stood up straight and defended Neville. And to Neville's awe, the bullies had left while making rude remarks. The moment Harry helped Neville up, Neville knew that he wanted to be Harry's friend.

The two of them became best friends, something neither of them had ever had before. And Neville couldn't have been happier. At the same time, Ronald Weasley was quickly becoming the hottest topic on every houses' tables. Everyone was openly discussing the brilliance of Ronald Weasley, and Neville felt a small pang of jealousy at the mention of his name. Even Harry seemed to like Ron and when Harry had said that Ron was his first friend, Neville's jealousy had increased. They shared a few classes with Ron, and the boy always looked angry or bothered. Yet he answered every question and was easily the smartest person in the room, much to Hermione's anger. Neville hadn't really spoken to Hermione since their first day, and he was glad for it. She was the bossiest and angriest girl Neville had ever encountered. She would constantly tell people off in the common room, and only ever spoke in order to show off her knowledge. It took her only a few days to become a pariah, and even Harry found her annoying.

Neville wasn't going to lie about feeling insecure, especially when Ron started making an effort to get to know Harry. Harry was always eager to talk to Ron, no matter what anyone from Gryffindor said. Neville personally tried his best to get Harry away from the Slytherins, Neville was their favorite victim after all. And they all seemed to enjoy being cruel, and Ron was a Slytherin. Why would he be any different? He might even be worse, considering his family… Why was he a Slytherin, when his entire family was in Gryffindor for generations? Something must have been wrong with him, and Neville decided to keep his eyes on Ron. It was all for Harry's benefit… that was the reason…

It didn't take Neville long to realize that Ron had integrated into Slytherin rather well. He had a posse of friends following him around, and he seemed to get along with them just fine. This made Neville truly suspicious of Ron, especially because Neville knew that some of Ron's friends had… certain beliefs. Neville questioned whether Ron believed in them as well, and he just couldn't say… He didn't know Ron enough. But Ron's brothers did… and Fred Weasley was quite openly hostile towards Ron. Maybe Ron was indeed 'turning his back on his family'… And yet Harry wouldn't listen to Neville! They were both getting bullied regularly by the Slytherins, and Harry would still defend Ron! It made Neville… it made him jealous… Neville wasn't proud of that, but it was there. And it wasn't going anywhere…

Then Neville had seen something that truly made him suspicious. Ron was sneaking about in the library, looking for something no doubt. Neville had hidden behind a shelf, and overheard Ron talking to Hermione. Ron was polite and kind, and even made Hermione apologize to him! Neville had to admit, Ron was good with words… Too good… And then Percy Weasley had shown up and taken Ron with him to 'talk'. Neville had secretly followed the two, and although he didn't hear what they were fighting about, Neville did see Ron come out of the room looking absolutely murderous. And then Percy had come out teary eyed, and had just walked off with slumped shoulders. Neville had told Harry about this, but Harry had just said that 'brothers fight'. Neville had been rebuffed again!

Hermione's standing in the house was lower than ever before, she was even being bullied by their fellow Gryffindors… And much to Neville's shame, neither he nor Harry did anything to stop it. Becoming her friend was social suicide, and everyone knew it. Everyone but Weasley… who despite being in Slytherin… was still being friendly with her. It baffled Neville, and Neville eventually came to the conclusion that Ron wanted to abuse Hermione's intelligence. Neville had seen them both studying together in the library, and it was clear that Ron was asking more questions than he was answering. Neville's belief that Ron was bad news only worsened due to that discovery.

Neville tried sharing that discovery with Harry, who immediately reminded Neville that Ron had broken Malfoy's nose. That made Ron a 'good guy' in Harry's books, and Neville felt frustrated with this. He decided that he was done trying to show Harry the real Ronald Weasley. If Harry wanted to be Ron's friend, then Neville had no right to take that from him. No matter how much it hurt… And then that night happened, the night when Malfoy challenged them to a duel. They had accepted, even if Neville had done it hesitantly. He didn't want to leave Harry alone for something like this, and Harry couldn't be swayed. Both Hermione and Ron tried to talk Harry out of it, but Harry didn't listen… That was the night he and his friend were saved by Ron. Ron, who had endangered himself just to warn them… Neville felt like a proper git that night. Harry had been right all along, maybe Ron wasn't a bad person at all.

Even after their shared adventure, neither Harry nor Neville made an effort to be friends with Hermione. She wasn't as bossy as before, but the damage to her reputation had been done… The other Gryffindors ignored her openly, except for the prefects. And Hermione became more and more reclusive. She spent entire days inside the library, sometimes never coming out to even eat! Then Seamus had insulted her rather badly after their Charms Class, and she had run off… Both Neville and Harry were ashamed of themselves, but they didn't do anything about it. But Ron… Ron had shown up at the Gryffindor table and ripped into them, Harry specifically. So Harry had convinced Neville to go looking for Hermione… and that's when it happened. That's when they went up against a Mountain Troll…

Neville had never been more terrified in his life, but he had found himself moving without even thinking. He had tried to get Hermione up off of the floor, and she had not been very helpful in her own rescue. And then, once again, Ron had shown up to save them all. And save them he did… He had blown the troll's head off… And the smile on his face as he had walked over to Neville and Hermione had been horrible. Neville didn't know what to fear more in that moment; the troll or Ron…

Hermione became their best friend from that day on, because there were some things that just made bonds for life. Surviving a Mountain Troll was one of them… And Ron became a part of their group too. Harry and Hermione would constantly talk about Ron, and everything related to Ron… And Neville even joined in, but somewhere deep down he didn't enjoy it. He couldn't help but compare himself to his friends… Harry was the boy-who-lived, Hermione was a genius, and Ron was seemingly perfect at everything. Neville was just… Neville… Yet he buried his shameful feelings deep down because he knew that he couldn't bring himself to take Ron away from Hermione and Harry.

Months passed, and nothing changed for Neville. They had their quest to save the stone, but even that was being ruined by Ronald Weasley. Ron's fame around the school was at an all-time high, and Hermione was constantly asking Harry and Neville about bringing Ron into their quest. Even Harry was skeptical of that, and Neville was happy to see his best friend using his brain. Ron was still a Slytherin, and he was the most dangerous of the lot… What if he decided to steal the stone for himself? What if he told the staff, or Snape, or his own friends? The only time Neville ever spoke to Ron was during their 'study sessions', and even then they barely spoke. It was mostly just Hermione and Ron doing their homework together, all the while Ron would sneak Harry answers. Neville could see that Ron was just being manipulative… It wasn't that Neville was paranoid about losing his only friends to Ron… No, it was because the youngest Weasley boy was as clever as they came. Ron was shrewd, and cunning… that's why he was in Slytherin… Why couldn't Harry and Hermione see that?!

And then Ron became a part of their quest, and he became a big part… Everything was run by Ron, and Neville hated it. He hated seeing Harry being pushed aside… He hated how Hermione would ignore Harry and Neville, and just listen to Ron… Hermione had even asked why Harry and Neville weren't more like Ron multiple times, and Neville hated it. Even Harry felt hurt by her comments, but Harry never showed it. He was too noble to do that, and so he quietly agreed and tried even harder. There was an unspoken tension in their group now, and its name was Ronald Weasley. Ron didn't ask, he ordered. He didn't question, he criticized. And if things were kept from him, Ron would glare at Hermione until she relented. Ron was a dictator, and Neville began seeing a similar pattern between Ron and his Slytherin friends. They all waited on him for everything… It was like he owned them or something, and Neville was scared of becoming just like them… What if Ron eventually put Harry and Hermione under his thumb? Neville couldn't let that happen to his best friends…

Neville wasn't blind however, and he could see that Ron was noble in his own way. Ron had helped them over and over again, and he had never asked for anything in return. And Ron had even thrown himself to the wolves to protect the stone… Neville respected that side of Ron, but Neville couldn't respect the side that had secrets. The side that lied like it was second nature. The side that manipulated people around him. The side of Ron that no one cared to see! And then that night came… The night that they set out to save the stone…

Ron was already there… He was already there! He was there before any of them, and Harry and Hermione didn't question that for a second! Ron openly lied to their faces, and they didn't question him! That had been the breaking point for Neville, and he had told Ron to go back to Slytherin. But Ron had turned Hermione against Neville with little to no effort… And Neville's worst fear had come true. Hermione had told Neville to leave instead, and that she would prefer Ron to stay. Neville was so hurt by that… he was so hurt that he didn't even argue… Neville could see the satisfaction in Ron's face for being allowed to stay, and it burned a hole through Neville's chest. Neville could never compete with someone like Ron… Because Neville didn't use people… But Ron did, and he did it well… Harry played peacekeeper again, and they all set off for the stone.

Then Ron asked Harry to destroy the stone, something that the Gryffindors had discussed not doing beforehand. Nicholas Flamel would die without it, but Ron didn't care about that. Ron only cared for his own goals… whatever they were... And to Neville's horror, Harry agreed with Ron immediately. Harry forgot all about their own plans, and just wanted to do what Ron was saying. Neville just gave up at that point, he knew he was too late… Ron had sunk his hooks into Neville's best friends, and those hooks weren't coming out any time soon. Ron didn't ask… Ron ordered… And Harry and Hermione were fine with listening to those orders… Neville felt ashamed of himself for not being good enough to save them…

That night had turned into a real nightmare at the end... Ron had screamed and thrashed about in absolute agony, and all Neville could do was cry his eyes out. He had never seen so much pain before… Is that how his parents felt that night? Were their screams as horrible as Ron's? Neville felt like he was in a nightmare, a horrible and real nightmare. The Dark Lord was alive… and he had savaged Ron's body… No one deserved this, no one…

Dumbledore had convinced them to never speak of what they had seen, and Neville had agreed. He never wanted to speak of this night again… Never. Ron was taken away to St. Mungo's, and Neville felt that his best friends went with him. Harry was dead quiet most of the time. Hermione cried constantly. And Neville was dying from the guilt of treating Ron so poorly… and all because Neville had felt jealous. Ron wasn't a perfect person, he may not even be a good person. But Ron didn't deserve to suffer like that… He truly didn't. Then the news of Ron's coma came to light and it set the whole school ablaze. The Slytherins were 'mourning' Ron, and they made sure everyone saw them doing it. Ron's Slytherin friends were genuinely heart-broken and Neville felt a swell of pity for them. Harry had become a ghost… a ghost that kept blaming himself for everything. And Hermione… Hermione was just gone… She didn't eat, she barely slept, and she refused to even talk about Ron.

And after Daphne Greengrass lost her mind at them, Hermione and Harry got even worse. Neville himself felt like a proper tosser for being so shallow towards Ron. His guilt was too much to bear, so he went to St. Mungo's to visit Ron. He never made it inside… He just stood there, and he couldn't move. Even thinking of Ron reminded him of the Dark Lord, and Neville was too afraid to face Ron's comatose body. He had written to Hermione, explaining how he felt when he got to St. Mungo's… and she had surprised him by saying that she felt the same way. Hermione wasn't ready to see Ron like that, she knew that she couldn't handle it. Not yet. And her parents definitely didn't want her to… Even Neville's Grandmother had decided to not push him… That's how bad things were… Neville vowed however, that he would visit Ron before the holidays ended. He owed Ron that much…

* * *

Neville ate breakfast with his Grandmother as usual, and she received her copy of the Daily Prophet as usual. But this copy was anything but usual, it was extraordinary. Neville's Gran smiled happily as she read the paper, and Neville was quite shocked at the sight. _Since when does Gran smile at the Daily Prophet?_ His question was answered when she handed him the newspaper, and he read it with ever growing relief and joy. Ron was awake!

"It is a shame that such wonderful news had to be given by such a repulsive woman" his Gran said. Neville read the name of the journalist who had reported Ron's awakening. It was Rita Skeeter… "That woman will cling to anything or anyone that can get her more readers. Disgraceful woman… Defiling the Daily Prophet with her filth."

"You really hate her that much, Gran?" Neville asked. His Gran was about to say something, but then she stopped. Instead she smiled softly at Neville, taking him by surprise. _She is smiling a lot lately…_

"Your birthday is coming up" his Gran stated. "You will invite Ronald here, it is about time I met this boy. You will send him an invitation after breakfast, understood?"

"Yes, Gran" Neville said, deciding that he wouldn't mind Ron attending. Hermione would be back in England by then, and he wanted her to see Ron. He wanted both Hermione and Harry to see Ron, Neville knew that it would finally give them all some peace.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

It had been a week since he had woken up, and the healers finally gave him permission to go home. Even though right after that they had handed him a crutch, and made him promise that he wouldn't push his body just yet. It turned out that Ron's injuries were not only on the outside, but also on the inside. His internal organs had been healed however, but they were still weak due to his month-long coma. Ron had noticed that he was easily tired out, and he would fall asleep for hours on end if he ever did any physical activities with his siblings and friends. And so he had agreed to their demands easily enough, he just wanted to get out of St. Mungo's.

Helios was still out searching for Hermione, and Ron was quite bothered by that. Where had she gone off to? He had sent his companion out four days ago! And Helios was a fast flyer… Ron decided that he just had to be patient, no matter how annoying it was. Neville had written to him however, and had invited Ron to his house for his Birthday party on the Thirtieth of July. Ron had accepted happily, although he was more excited to see Harry and Hermione than he was Neville. There was some kind of rift between the two of them that Ron didn't fully understand. Ron could just feel that Neville didn't like him all that much, and only put up with him because Harry and Hermione wanted to be Ron's friends. Maybe this was Ron's chance to turn that around?

His Slytherin friends had been around every day since they found out, and Ron loved every minute of it. Theo and Blaise were his secret source of sweets, not counting Sirius, while the girls doted on him. Tracey would make joke after joke which made Ron laugh merrily for once in this horrid place. Pansy would talk to Ron about shopping of all things, and he liked seeing her be this open with him. Even if it bored him to death. Mille had told him that her grades were exceptional, and that her parents couldn't be happier with her. Ron was glad to learn that all of her hard-work had paid off. Though he did wonder how his own grades went, and whether or not he beat Hermione in the end. As for Daphne… She was everywhere. She wouldn't leave Ron alone for even a second, and would always sit next to him with a massive smile on her face. Their casual and fun conversations were back, and Ron had learned more about Astoria Greengrass through them. He had been reminded of the twins due to Daphne's description of her little sister. But Ron was just glad that things were getting normal again, especially with his friends.

* * *

"Ronnie's back!" Molly exclaimed to his family as she helped him into his seat. He was finally at the Burrow, he was finally home. The family dinner table had been moved outside, and had been transfigured to be much longer. Everyone was here today. The Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and even Sirius and Remus. It was a cool night, and the night sky was clear of clouds. The stars were shining brightly above them, and Ron felt his whole body just relax.

"Um… hello" Ron greeted lamely, but he was met with cheers and laughter. He was sitting in between Ginny and Luna, while his brothers sat across from him. Only Bill and Charlie were missing, and Ron felt saddened at their absence. _They have jobs in different countries… I can understand that…_

"Welcome home son" Arthur beamed, and Ron beamed back.

"Thanks dad" Ron replied. Things had been improving with his father, especially after Ron had agreed to do Dumbledore's bidding. Lord Greengrass' words had sunk into his head, and he now understood that his anger was blinding him to the big picture. He understood that he was being vindictive and cruel in his behavior, and that shamed him greatly.

"Dig in, honey" his mother said quickly, and then she started piling food on to his plate. And it was a lot of food… even for Ron. His mother had cooked up a feast to rival Hogwarts! _Okay maybe not… but this is still a massive amount of food!_ "Let's get some meat on your bones again" Molly said as she kept on piling. Ron's siblings chuckled at Ron's shocked face, while the adults just smiled happily.

"Easy there Molly" Sirius said in a humorous voice. "Or we'll have to take the pup back to St. Mungo's to pump his stomach." Ron and his siblings laughed at that, but his mother gave Sirius a scolding look.

"Sirius behave" Lupin said, though he was chuckling lightly as well. Sirius raised his hands in surrender, and then he gave Ron a wink. Ron smiled at Sirius happily, Sirius was quickly becoming one of his favorite people. Apart from sneaking Ron sweets, Sirius had also been sneaking Ron amazing foods from all types of cuisines. Food that they would scarf down quickly inside the bathroom to avoid discovery.

They all began eating the grand feast, and Ron was bombarded with questions by his sisters. Ginny mostly asked about Harry Potter, and Luna mostly asked about Hogwarts. Ron answered the questions as best he could, but he was extremely grateful when Percy came to his rescue and told the girls that Ron couldn't talk about either things very much. Harry was still with his 'family'… whatever that meant. And Hogwarts was not a topic that you could discuss with people that weren't there yet without ruining the Sorting Ceremony… Ron didn't want to be hexed in the face by Snape or Dumbledore.

"So what are your plans now, love?" Pandora asked Ron, whose cheeks were filled to bursting. Pandora giggled at the sight and then smiled widely at him. Ron chewed and swallowed before answering.

"I'm going to finish all of my homework quickly, and then do some more study on the topics covered next years… Just to be ready!" Ron said, checking off things in his head. The twins booed him, and even his sisters looked a bit put down at that. At least Percy was happy… Ron quickly decided to change the topic. "Also I need to re-start my runs…" Ron started but Molly cut him off.

"Ronnie no" Molly scolded. "The healers said that you weren't to push your body just yet. You need to put on more weight and take it easy! You still need that crutch to move around… So no. No running around" Molly finished strongly, leaving no room for argument. Ron sighed and looked at back to Pandora.

"Guess I'll just be studying for the foreseeable future…" Ron said in a whine. Pandora giggled at her adoptive son's pouting face. She could literally pinch his cheeks all day!

"Or you could play with us?" Ginny complained, pouting sourly at Ron. _Merlin that's her angry pout…_

"Of course Gin!" Ron said quickly, worried that his sister would crush his hand again. "That was always a given! I promise." Ginny broke into a smile again and nodded, and Ron sighed in relief. The adults laughed at that, and Sirius turned to Molly.

"Molly" Sirius started slowly, and Ron's mother smiled at Sirius. "Remus and I were wondering if we could… If we could take the pup out tomorrow? To Diagon Alley?" Ron felt his excitement rise exponentially. _DIAGON ALLEY!_ His mother was not as excited about the idea…

"So soon?" Molly asked, looking concerned. "He only just got back and he needs his rest…"

"Love, he has rested enough" Arthur joined in.

"And the fresh air will do him good, Molly" Lupin added in.

"There's fresh air here" Molly argued. _Mum please! I want to go to Diagon Alley!_

"We wanted to get him some new…" Sirius started but then trailed off, and Ron noticed his mother's expression change.

"Oh…" Molly said slowly. "Oh, alright then!" Sirius gave a loud clap and broke into a grin, while Lupin just smiled gratefully. _Get me some new what? What's going on here?_

"Molly?" Xenophilius Lovegood said slowly, and everyone on the table looked to him. "Could I also borrow Ronald? An actual Kappa has been sighted not too far from here…"

"No" Molly and Arthur said at the same time.

* * *

Ron hobbled down the stairs, cursing the Burrow for having so many of them. It was difficult to navigate them with a crutch, and his legs burned with exhaustion every time. When he finally walked into the living room, he was greeted with the sight of Sirius and Remus being lectured by Pandora and his mother.

"Bring him straight home" Molly said, her voice distressed.

"And don't let him out of your sights for even a minute" Pandora added on, and Molly nodded at hearing that.

"Ladies please" Sirius said with a smile, but that smile vanished when Pandora and Molly narrowed their eyes on him. _Haha!_

"What Sirius meant was that we won't" Remus said with a soft smile. "I promise, everything will be fine. We will go shopping, have lunch, treat him to some ice-cream, and if he looks tired we will bring him straight back." _Shopping? Shop for what?_

"Good morning" Ron greeted, deciding to make his presence known. He then hobbled into their view.

"There he is!" Sirius exclaimed, making Ron smile widely. Sirius walked up to Ron and ruffled his hair, but then Sirius took in Ron's clothing. "Why are you wearing a sweater and gloves pup? It's boiling out today..." Ron felt his stomach do a flip as he remembered his scars. Ron looked away from Sirius sheepishly and pulled the sleeves down even more. Remus smacked Sirius' arm from behind and glared at him, and then Sirius figured out why Ron was wearing a sweater. The adults had all seen the poor boy's scars… Sirius wished he never had, they were horrible to look at. He felt massive relief at the fact that none of the younglings had seen them. Sirius didn't want Ron's siblings to feel how he had felt at seeing those scars…

"Where are we going in Diagon Alley?" Ron asked, trying to shift the topic. _Merlin this is awkward… These damn scars…_

"You will see soon enough" Remus said, smiling kindly at Ron. "Come along Ron, we shouldn't waste any time!" Remus then guided Ron to the fireplace, and Ron could hear Sirius being lectured again by his mothers. "I'll go through first, and you can follow me" Remus said. Then Remus took some floo powder and flooed to The Leaky Cauldron, leaving channel open for Ron. Ron followed through and barely managed to stay standing because of the crutch.

"That was close" Ron smirked, happy at his small victory.

"Come along cub" Remus said, guiding Ron out of The Leaky Cauldron. _Cub? What is up with these pet-names?_

"Remus…" Ron said slowly, deciding to figure out his pet-names. Remus looked at Ron with a wide smile. "Why do you and Sirius call me 'cub' and 'pup'?" Remus just chuckled and ruffled Ron's hair as well.

"Because we see you as one of our own" Remus said softly, making Ron feel confused. "We both… we both owe you a lot… More than even you realize" Remus said with a hint of sadness.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked.

"It doesn't matter…" Remus said with a smile. "What matters is that we both care about you deeply." Ron felt his face go red at that, he barely knew these two… _If that's how they feel, then I shouldn't push them on this. If they want to tell me, then they will._ Both of them waited for a few seconds and then Sirius joined them. He looked rather subdued.

"Women…" Sirius muttered. "Here is some advice pup, don't ever get married to one…" Ron snorted at that, and Remus just sighed.

"So where are we going?" Ron asked, he was tired of the suspense.

"First off we will go to Madam Malkin's to get you fitted for some new robes" Sirius said with a grin, losing his subdued behavior. "Then we will go around shopping for anything you want, have some lunch at some fancy place, and then we'll end the day by going to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour! What do you think about that?" _New robes? And then shopping for anything I want? What is this?_

"Um…" Ron said as he started following the two older wizards. "Why are we getting me new robes? I don't want to sound ungrateful… But I'm just curious." Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a second, and then Sirius sighed.

"Hogwarts sent your trunk back to the Burrow" Remus explained. "Your mother opened it and…" _Oh shite… My things were destroyed by Crabbe and Goyle… This explains everything._

"Those little fuckers" Sirius snarled, and Ron flinched. "Who was it, pup? Tell me… I'll do something about it!"

"A couple of idiots…" Ron sighed. "But don't worry about them. The older students got involved and they sorted them out…" _I don't want this to become a problem… Victor already solved my issues with Malfoy and his lot._

"The older students?" Remus asked.

"Yeah" Ron replied. "It was Slytherin business and they took care of it… Can we just drop it please?" Remus sighed at that, and Sirius just muttered something under his breath. _This isn't over, is it…?_

They walked into Madam Malkin's Robes shop and Sirius approached the elderly woman. "Good day to you" Sirius said with a pleasant smile that looked forced. "We were hoping to get this dashing young man some new robes." The elderly woman looked at Ron with a wide smile.

"And what kind of robes is he looking for?" Madam Malkin asked. "Formal, casual, or semi-formal?" Ron just looked to Sirius to answer on his behalf. He didn't know what to get…

"We'll take five robes of each of those three" Sirius said smoothly. "I want the best for him… Silks, linen, cashmere, wool… Use only your best materials." Madam Malkin was surprised to hear this, and then she glowed in excitement. Ron was just stunned, was this for real? _Why is he spending so much money? Some normal robes would be fine…_

"Any preferred color schemes?" Madam Malkin asked excitedly. Sirius turned to Ron, and then Sirius smirked.

"Black, with silver and emerald green…" Sirius said. "Or anything that will compliment his red hair and pale features…" Madam Malkin nodded in approval and then quickly walked into the back of her store. Ron approached Sirius slowly and tugged at his robes.

"Sirius…" Ron started. "Why are we spending so much on robes?" Remus chuckled softly at Sirius' behavior, and at Ron's confusion.

"Because pup" Sirius started. "We don't want those little snakes to think they have anything over you! We'll show them! You'll be the best dressed, and best looking, Slytherin in Hogwarts by the time we're done today! I bet those lasses at Hogwarts will love it!" Then Sirius let out a hearty chuckle at Ron's red face.

"Sirius" Remus said in a scolding tone, even though he was chuckling.

"He's a growing lad" Sirius laughed. "We need to prepare him for those sorts of things!" _What sort of things?!_ Madam Malkin came back out before he could respond, and she had a tower of materials floating behind her. _Merlin…_

"This will take a while" Madam Malkin said gleefully. "You two better take a seat while I work with him."

Madam Malkin had not been lying… Ron almost fell asleep four times during the next four long hours. Madam Malkin fitted him with different materials over and over again, humming and smiling happily the entire time she did it… It was like he was some doll to be dressed. A scarred and gruesome doll… Madam Malkin was polite enough to completely ignore the scars on his arms and legs, and even the long one across his chest. She had however gone wide-eyed when he had first undressed for her, but she collected her composure and never mentioned them. Ron was grateful for that…

Eventually, Ron had twenty-one new robes… Six more than he was originally supposed to get, and they were all amazing to say the least. Madam Malkin had even charmed them to grow with Ron, and Sirius was quite happy with the end results. When Madam Malkin told Sirius that the robes would cost over four hundred Galleons, Ron had nearly passed out. But Sirius had simply smirked, and then asked her for the best gloves to go with the robes. She had happily provided him with several pairs, and Sirius had bought them all as well. Ron didn't know what to feel… He knew that he didn't deserve to have so much money spent on him, yet Sirius believed it wholeheartedly. So Ron didn't argue, instead he thanked Sirius multiple times. Sirius had just ruffled Ron's hair and laughed it off, smiling widely at his 'pup'.

* * *

Ron ate his ice-cream slowly, he was still filled up from lunch. Ron had managed to ask Sirius a few more questions regarding Harry's whereabouts, and Ron was quite shocked at the answers. Harry had been sent back to his terrible Muggle family on the orders of Dumbledore and even though Sirius was Harry's Godfather, the decision had been taken out of Sirius' hands. And now no one could contact Harry… Or rather it was Harry who was ignoring them… Sirius had suspected that Harry was in some kind of trouble, so he had asked Dumbledore to check up on Harry. Dumbledore did as Sirius asked via some squib woman, and then Dumbledore assured Sirius that Harry was indeed in good health.

Sirius was heartbroken at that, because that meant that Harry was angry at Sirius and was now ignoring him… Ron told Sirius that Harry had also ignored the letter that he had sent when he had first woken up. This baffled Sirius and Remus, and they became suspicious about Harry again. Even Ron had to admit that something didn't seem right…

"I'm telling you Remus" Sirius said with a frown, Ron was brought back to the present at that. "Something is wrong. Why won't Dumbledore let us see him? Better yet, why is Dumbledore refusing to let us raise him? James and Lily left Harry to me in their will… I was supposed to raise him. And now that I can, Dumbledore won't let me!" _Dumbledore again? Why is that old man always in everybody else's business?_ Ron stayed quiet and ate away at his ice cream.

"We must trust him, Sirius" Remus sighed, though he looked rather fed up as well. "Dumbledore is doing whatever is best for Harry… You know that."

"Do I?" Sirius asked bitterly. "Dumbledore isn't all knowing Remus, he can be wrong… He was wrong about me wasn't he?" Remus flinched at that, and Sirius looked guilty immediately. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean you when…"

"It's alright" Remus said with a rather sad smile. Then Remus looked at Ron with that smile. "We can talk about this later Sirius, we shouldn't talk about such things near a child." Ron pouted at that.

"I'm not some child" Ron complained, annoyed at being regarded as one. "Harry is my friend you know. I want to help!" Sirius let out a proud chuckle at that.

"See, Remus" Sirius said with a smile. "Ron wants to help, so we should let him." Remus frowned at Sirius' childish behavior.

"Sirius he is…" Remus started but he was interrupted by a young waitress.

"Can I get you gents anything?" the waitress asked, smiling at Sirius. Sirius smirked back in return and the waitress giggled. _What the…? Is she…?_

"We're fine love" Sirius said with a charming smile. The waitress nodded and walked away to serve the other customers. "See that, Ron" Sirius said smoothly. "You have to stay confident and smile your best smile at the lasses, women love confidence." Ron chuckled at that, and Remus sighed at his friends antics.

"Sirius, we are here with a child" Remus scolded, even though he was struggling to not smile.

"So what?" Sirius chuckled. "I can use that you know. I can tell the ladies that I'm a single father who is taking care of his son all on his own… and that I could use a woman's comforting presence in my life. That'd work, I'm telling you!" Ron laughed at that, and Sirius grinned at him. Remus was chuckling despite trying to stop himself.

"Clearly I got my good looks from my mother then…" Ron joked. Sirius' grin fell, and Remus guffawed at that. Ron burst into laughter too, and both Ron and Remus laughed at Sirius' frowning face.

"Shut up and eat your ice-cream, wise-ass" Sirius said, his lips twitching into a smile.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And here it is! I hope you all enjoyed it. Holidays will probably end in a couple of chapters, then we can get started on my second favorite year in all seven years! (Sixth year is my favorite) See you all soon!**


	22. Chapter 22 - The Rescue

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 22 is here! The weekend was busy but I got it done!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 22 – The Rescue!**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron finished dressing in one of his new semi-formal robes, and then he smirked at his reflection. He still looked a little gaunt, but his hair was combed and it gave him a rather sophisticated look. _I look sharp… and I look good!_ Satisfied with his clean look, he picked up his crutch from beside the sink and walked out of the bathroom. It had been just over two weeks since he had woken up from his coma, and his muscles had gotten most of their strength back. He still needed the crutch though because he would still get tired easily, especially if he moved around too much. He walked down to the kitchen, and then he grinned when Pandora made a cat-call at him. _Stop… Okay don't! This is great! I love these new robes!_

"Who's that handsome young man?" Molly cooed, and Ron blushed heavily. Pandora and Molly were making lunch for everyone, everyone except for Ron who was heading to Longbottom Manor for Neville's birthday. Ron's siblings were sitting around the dinner table and they too smiled at Ron approvingly.

"You look sharp Ron" Percy said with a smile. "I have to admit, this look…" Percy was cut off by Ginny.

"Ronnie" Ginny cut in, making Percy frown at her. "Why are you wearing gloves again?" _Because my right hand is horrid to look at…_

"It's a bit cold…" Ron lied lamely. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, and then she looked out of a window to see a bright sunny day. Then she looked back at him like he was an idiot, and Ron smiled at her sheepishly. The rest of his siblings were now looking at Ron suspiciously as well, and he cursed Ginny's curiosity. _I don't want them to see my scars, or even know about them… The last thing I need is them treating me with pity and mollycoddling me to death!_

"It's to match his robes, dear" Pandora provided, though she looked quite sad as she said it. _Pandora has been acting way too weird… I need to talk to her alone and find out what's bothering her!_

"Oh" Ginny said. "That makes sense, sorry Ronnie." Ron's brothers and Luna weren't too convinced but they let it go, and Ron was more than grateful.

"I left your presents for little Neville by the fire-place" Molly said, glad that her children weren't pushing Ron. "Now, do you know how to get there? And make sure you come back once the sun sets! And don't push yourself!" Ron rolled his eyes at that. _She's been fretting over me non-stop… How does Ginny deal with all of this?!_

"Yes, mum" Ron replied. "I know how to get there, and I know how to get back. Neville told me that his Gran fixed up the wards so that I could enter by floo. I'll be fine, I promise!" Molly smiled at him sadly and nodded her approval.

"Make sure you behave" Percy added in. "Lady Longbottom is a prestigious woman, and a force of nature from what I've heard." The twins scoffed at that.

"She sounds like a prune from what I've heard" Fred said mockingly, and then he grinned at his scowling mother.

"Okay!" Ron decided to cut in, he didn't want to be lectured by his mother. "I have to go… bye!" Ron then walked into the living room, and he could hear Fred getting an earful from their mother. _Poor bastard…_

Ron then took some floo-powder into his gloved hand tossed it in the fireplace as he called out 'Longbottom Manor'. The fire blazed green, and Ron turned around and picked up his gifts. _This is going to be a problem…_ The pot plant was heavy, and Ron had to squeeze his crutch in between his chest and right arm. Not to mention the fudge that his mother had made for Neville was also hard to juggle. _Damn the trace, this would be so much easier with magic…_

Ron quickly stepped through the fire-place and he stuck his landing as he entered Longbottom Manor. The moment he stepped through the fire-place he heard a familiar voice shout his name.

"RONALD!" Hermione exclaimed, her smile threatening to split her face. "He's here, Neville! Come quick!" Ron beamed at her and she rushed over to him. Ron could tell that she wanted to hug him, but he was holding too many things. "Here… let me" Hermione said as she took the pot-plant from him, which she then put down on the ground. Then she stood up and hugged him tightly. Ron's face burned because of the tight hug, and then he pictured Sirius' grinning face and he almost passed out. _Damn him! He's ruined this for me!_ Hermione then let him go and let out a wet laugh, her eyes were teary and her smile was faltering.

"I'm alright now" Ron assured her with a soft smile. "Please don't cry…" Hermione shook her head and wiped her eyes. Ron noticed that Neville and his Grandmother were standing by the door, and they were respectfully waiting for their turn to greet him.

"It's all my fault…" Hermione muttered, her voice cracking at the end. "I got you involved… and then… then you got hurt" Hermione sniffled, and Ron felt his chest tighten at seeing her like this.

"I chose to be there" Ron said honestly. "It wasn't your fault… it wasn't even my fault… It was the Dark Lord's fault… So please don't say that. Please…" Hermione sniffled and nodded, but she was still crying in a subdued way. Ron rubbed her left arm in a comforting way and gave her a kind smile. Ron looked over to the Longbottoms for help, and Mrs. Longbottom slowly approached.

"Come, dear" Mrs. Longbottom said as she put an arm around Hermione. "Let's go freshen up and then we can rejoin the boys…" Then Mrs. Longbottom sort of guided Hermione out of the room, leaving Ron and Neville behind. _Not even here for a minute and I made someone cry… Good work Weasley, good work…_

"Welcome back" Neville said with a faint smile, and then he approached Ron. "Sorry about Hermione… She spent the whole day waiting by the fire-place…" Then Neville sighed. "Where are my manners? Welcome to Longbottom Manor, Ron. I'm glad that you're here." _He is?_

"Thanks Neville" Ron said, putting on his best smile. "Happy Birthday by the way, here…" Ron then picked up the pot-plant and handed it to Neville who took it with a smile.

"A Wiggentree?" Neville laughed, studying the plant intensely.

"It's still a baby" Ron explained. "But once you plant it in your gardens, it'll grow quite quickly."

"Thanks Ron!" Neville beamed, still looking at the plant happily. "Did you know that Wiggentrees are protected by Bowtruckles? Or that they repel Dark Magic?" _Good, he likes it! I wasn't too sure he would when Pandora suggested it._

"I knew about the Dark Magic protection… but not the Bowtruckles" Ron replied. "Also my mum made you fudge." Ron then showed Neville the box of fudge, and Neville gave him a wide smile.

"Thanks Ron, come on" Neville said, and then he guided the two into the living room. They put Neville's presents on a table designated for them, and Ron noted that there was a book on Herbology already there. _Hermione's gift? Probably._ Then a thought occurred to Ron.

"Is Harry here?" Ron asked, and Neville seemed to slouch a bit. _Guess not…_

"No… um he hasn't really been…" Neville muttered, losing his good mood a bit.

"He isn't replying to your letters?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes. _I can understand him ignoring me… but Neville too? Why?_

"How did you know that?" Neville asked with widened eyes.

"He is ignoring mine as well… and Sirius'…" Ron said, musing on what was wrong with Harry Potter.

"Oh…" Neville whispered. "That doesn't… sound like Harry." Ron and Neville were musing on Harry's actions when Hermione and Mrs. Longbottom entered the living room. Hermione was looking much better, though her eyes were a bit puffy. The two of them approached the boys and Ron smiled widely at Hermione, and she gave him a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry crying…" Hermione said in a subdued voice, she still kept her sheepish smile.

"Stop apologizing Hermione" Ron said with a chuckle, and Hermione smiled more widely. "Everything is fine now." Ron then looked over to Mrs. Longbottom, and he found her studying him with a faint smile. Ron approached her and decided to use Daphne's training. "It is an honor to meet the Lady of the most ancient and noble house of Longbottom" Ron said politely, and she extended her hand. He took it and kissed her knuckles lightly, and then he gave her a practiced bow. She seemed quite pleased with that.

"You honor the old traditions" Mrs. Longbottom said approvingly. "You are very different to the other Weasleys I've met." Ron gave her his best smile, though he felt a little insulted at that comment. Neville and Hermione were quite surprised to see Ron's more formal side, but Hermione decided that she liked how polite he was. "Come Ronald, I would like to speak with you before the other guests arrive" Mrs. Longbottom said, and then she turned around and began walking out of the living room. Ron gave Neville a questioning look, but he urged Ron to go silently. _What other guests? And what does she want?_

Ron followed Mrs. Longbottom through the manor and he had to admit, it was a beautiful home. It was spacious, and it decorated with marble statues and crystal chandeliers. Not to mention that it was spotless… _They probably own an army of House-Elves judging by the size of this place!_ Mrs. Longbottom led Ron into a study, and then she gestured for him to sit. Ron sat down in the leather chair, and she took a seat in front of him. She studied him for a few silent seconds, and Ron started feeling uncomfortable.

"I've heard a great deal about you" Mrs. Longbottom started. "And I must admit, even I am impressed with your achievements."

"Achievements, Lady Longbottom?" Ron asked slowly, trying his best to keep his polite smile.

"Winning the Junior League tournament, being labeled a prodigy, winning Slytherin house their seventh House Cup in a row, setting an innocent man free from Azkaban… defeating a fully grown Mountain Troll" Mrs. Longbottom listed, and Ron felt a bit tense. _I suppose I've done all that… sounds quite impressive. But I know I lucked through most of it…_ "I owe you a great debt on behalf of my Grandson, you saved the Longbottom heir from that troll."

"Thank you, Lady Longbottom" Ron said softly, feeling his ears turn red at all this attention.

"No, child. I should be thanking you. On behalf of the Longbottom Family, I thank you Ronald Weasley. You will forever be hailed as a friend to this family." Mrs. Longbottom then gave Ron a kind smile, and it looked quite odd on her. It was like she didn't smile often, and that her face was fighting her.

"I humbly accept" Ron replied, smiling formally himself. _Was that the right thing to say? Why didn't Daphne teach me this?! I need to ask her for more lessons…_ Mrs. Longbottom seemed happy enough to hear that.

"Tell me Ronald, who taught you the Blasting Curse?" Mrs. Longbottom inquired. The question took Ron by surprise, and he knew that he had to answer honestly. This was the Head of the Longbottom Family that he was speaking with, and he couldn't afford to be disrespectful.

"My older brother Charlie taught me" Ron answered honestly. "He taught me every spell I know." Mrs. Longbottom nodded at his answer, seemingly satisfied about it.

"Then I should thank him as well, is he at the Burrow?" Mrs. Longbottom asked. _She knows of the Burrow?_

"No, Lady Longbottom. He is currently in Romania, working with Dragons" Ron answered.

"An admirable occupation" Mrs. Longbottom praised, and Ron smiled more widely at the sound of that. "I myself adore Dragons, and fund many projects to help the poor creatures. It is revolting what the Ministry is doing with them… Butchering the magnificent beasts and taking their territories. Shameful" Mrs. Longbottom finished strongly. Ron was taken aback by the sudden rant, but he chose to ignore it.

"Certainly" Ron agreed out of politeness, he didn't really know much about the Ministry. _Please don't call me on it!_

"What are your thoughts on the Ministry?" Mrs. Longbottom asked, glad to see him agreeing with her. _SHE CALLED ME ON IT!_ Ron felt a bit of panic rise in his stomach.

"I don't really know much about the Ministry, Lady Longbottom. Though I do agree that their mistreatment of Dragons is abhorrent" Ron answered honestly, making sure to sound as convincing as he could. Mrs. Longbottom nodded at his reply again.

"I advise you to learn more about those… politicians. All witches and wizards in England are, after all, under the 'care' of the Ministry" Mrs. Longbottom said, her voice had a tinge of bitterness. _The Ministry… Dumbledore… How would they react if I told them about the war I've seen in my visions? Probably lock me up on the grounds of me being insane… That is if the Entity doesn't murder me…_ "Come, we should rejoin the others" Mrs. Longbottom said. "My curiosity has been sated."

"Curiosity?" Ron asked as he stood up.

"Yes. You are an intriguing young man, even you must realize that" Mrs. Longbottom said, and Ron gave a sheepish smile. "Now come, the others must be here by now."

Ron followed her back to the living room, and he was surprised to see a few more people inside. They were all Gryffindors from his year, and they were standing around Neville and talking animatedly. Ron approached the group slowly, while Mrs. Longbottom slipped back out.

"Hello" Ron greeted them all with a smile, and they all turned around to look at him. Hermione and Neville were smiling at him, but the others locked shocked and went wide-eyed.

"Weasley?" Seamus Finnegan asked, surprised to see a Slytherin at Neville's birthday. He wasn't too surprised about Weasley not being in a coma anymore, his mother had read him that particular headline.

"Guys, this is Ron Weasley" Neville introduced, even though they all knew his name. "He is a friend of ours… Harry, Hermione, and me that is" Neville clarified. "Ron, these are our Gryffindor friends."

"Ahem" a brown skinned girl coughed.

"And Ravenclaw" Neville said with a sheepish smile. Ron smiled politely at all of them, and the girls smiled back. The boys were just staring at him with guarded looks. _Guess I'll be sticking with Hermione for this whole thing…_

"Ron" Hermione said. "This is Lavender Brown, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnegan, and Dean Thomas." She had pointed them all out, and Ron was jarred at the last person introduced. _Dean Thomas…_ Ron blinked at the dark skinned boy who was still looking at him with a guarded look. _DEAN!_ Ron had to fight the urge to tackle the bastard who was going to be snogging his sister in a few years! Instead Ron barely managed to keep his polite smile.

"A pleasure to meet you all" Ron said, calming himself down. _If only Theo and Blaise were here to see my self-control…_ The girls greeted him rather kindly, and Ron was glad about that. He didn't want to make things awkward. The boys though… were less than polite.

"What is he doing here?" Seamus asked rather curtly, and Ron blinked at him.

"Seamus don't be rude" Lavender Brown scolded the Irish boy. "Don't listen to him, Ron. Can I call you Ron?"

"Only if I can call you Lavender" Ron smiled at the girl who had blonde wavy hair and wore a bright pink dress. She burst into giggles, which confused Ron a bit and he could see Hermione rolling her eyes. _At least she isn't rude like Finnegan._

"I'm Padma, and this is my twin Parvati" Padma introduced herself and her sister. "I'm glad that I'm not the only non-Gryffindor here. Tell me, what's Slytherin like?" Ron gave her a smile and was about to answer when Seamus Finnegan scoffed. _Okay, now he's pissing me off…_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, displaying his new odd habit to everyone. It's something that he just did now without even realizing, and he had no clue why.

"Stop it Seamus" Dean Thomas said with a frown. _Damn you Dean… I don't need your pity!_ "We're here to enjoy a birthday party, leave Hogwarts business at Hogwarts." _Huh?_ Ron decided to ignore this for now, he didn't really care about what had Finnegan in such a mood. So instead Ron smiled at Padma and decided to answer her question.

"Slytherin is… political…" Ron said, thinking hard on how to describe his house. "Everyone has a place and it's like a hierarchy of sorts. But the older students are very helpful to us younger ones… Did you know that fraternity is a Slytherin trait?" Padma shook her head, listening with interest. "Well it is, and every Slytherin is taught to stick together. We're a rather close house, I'd say."

"Wow" Lavender said, looking surprised. "You make it sound… nice. NOT THAT IT ISN'T" she quickly blurted out. Ron chuckled at that, and Lavender went red with embarrassment.

"I know we don't have a good reputation… but that's just because of a few bad apples" Ron said, but he knew that he was lying. Most Slytherins were bigots who thought themselves better than anyone around them. Sure they were a close house, but everyone had agendas… It was tiresome to determine what everyone wanted.

"Like Malfoy?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer. Ron remembered the platinum haired git and frowned.

"Yes… like Malfoy" Ron said. "Sorry about him, by the way. I'm sure he has bothered all of you in some way." _This is going well, if I keep this up then they won't antagonize me. Merlin I'm getting worse and worse…_

"Not your fault, Ron" Neville said with a faint smile. "Though he is a git." Ron laughed lightly at that.

"That he is" Ron agreed, and he noticed the atmosphere becoming less awkward. Though Finnegan still seemed a little put off.

The party progressed rather smoothly, and Ron learned quite a bit about Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Gryffindors were all rather emotional, and spent most of their time talking about Quidditch and other hobbies. Studies weren't a priority for them, except for Hermione, and they seemed to be a very close house. The Ravenclaws were the opposite of Gryffindors it seemed. Ron spent a lot of time talking to Padma, hoping to learn about Luna's future house. The Ravenclaws were studious, and spent very little time talking about Quidditch and other hobbies. They all spent their time studying new things, and sharing their knowledge amongst each other. Ron was also fascinated to learn that each Ravenclaw had their own pet-projects to take care of, and that Professor Flitwick often helped his students with their homework. Ron also found Hermione's look of longing towards Padma rather amusing, it was clear to see that she should've been in Ravenclaw. _That Sorting Hat is a proper menace…_

"Ron, can I talk to you?" Hermione asked, tearing Ron away from his conversation with Lavender. "In private?" Hermione added, and Ron slowly nodded.

"Excuse me, Lavender" Ron said to the girl in the bright pink dress.

"Oh… it's okay, I'll go find Parvati" Lavender said with a smile. Ron gave her a respectful nod which made her giggle wildly again, confusing Ron even more. _That's rather… irritating…_ Lavender then trotted off to find her best friend.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Yes… no… maybe?" Hermione muttered, and Ron sighed tiredly.

"Hermione, what's bothering you? You can tell me, and I promise I'll try my best to help fix it" Ron said, speaking to her like he would to Ginny when she was in trouble. Hermione smiled at Ron widely at that.

"I'm worried about Harry… He isn't replying to my letters… Or Neville's, and we think that he's angry with us. He didn't even come to Neville's birthday!" Hermione said quickly, and then she took in a sharp breath. _Her too? What the hell is wrong with Harry? Is he actually mad at everyone? No… No he wouldn't ignore people. That isn't like him… Is it?_

"He is ignoring my letters too…" Ron said, thinking hard about Harry. Hermione was taken aback by this.

"What? Really?"

"Yes… Neville and I spoke about this just before. Something isn't right… He won't even respond to Sirius' and Remus' letters! That doesn't sound like him at all…"

"You don't think he's in trouble, do you?" Hermione asked, her concern showing.

"No… no I don't think so. Sirius told me that Dumbledore sent Harry to his Muggle family" Ron explained. "So I don't think he is in any danger. Dumbledore wouldn't let Harry get hurt…" _Or would he? That old codger didn't mind covering up what happened to me… And he refuses to let Sirius be Harry's guardian… Something is happening here but I can't even begin to guess what! Why would Dumbledore do these things?_

"How do you know about Sirius' letters?" Hermione asked.

"He is always at our house, the Burrow that is. He and I have been spending a lot of time together" Ron explained, remembering Sirius fondly. Hermione smiled at the sound of that.

"That's wonderful Ron" Hermione said softly. "He asked about you when we met him on Platform 93/4. But we couldn't tell him the truth…" That caught Ron's attention immediately.

"Dumbledore told you all to lie as well?" Ron asked, feeling his stomach do a flip.

"Yes…" Hermione said softly, looking a little guilty. "I didn't want to… but he is the Headmaster and the greatest wizard alive… I'm sorry, Ron" Hermione muttered. _Oh shite… Don't cry again please!_

"Hermione, I'm fine now…" Ron said reassuringly. "Let's not talk about this, please. I'm sorry for bringing it up… Now, tell me your thoughts on Harry's Muggle family!" _Change the subject politely, and then push through!_

"I think his family is horrible!" Hermione said, feeling her righteous anger flare up. "Harry has told us the worst kind of stories about them! They gave him a toothpick for his birthday last year!" Ron was shocked to hear that.

"Really?!" Ron asked, bewildered at Muggles. _Is that a normal thing to gift? If someone gifted me a toothpick, I'd hex them in the face!_

"It's true! Why couldn't Sirius take care of Harry? He was so loving and kind to Harry when we met him…" Hermione shook her head, confused at grown-ups and their odd actions. But she knew that she had no right to question them or their authority. Rules were important, and the adults made the rules!

"Because of Dumbledore" Ron snarled. "The old codger won't let Sirius take custody of Harry!" Hermione looked scandalized by Ron's words.

"Ron! Don't talk about the Headmaster like that! It's rude!" Hermione scolded, frowning at him. But Ron didn't care, Dumbledore was a liar in Ron's books. Dumbledore was the reason why Sirius always left the Burrow in a foul mood. Ron had overheard the arguments that Sirius would have with the adults. Sirius begged them to listen to him, but they would all tell him to listen to Dumbledore. And then Sirius would lose his temper and storm off… He would only come back because he wanted to spend time with Ron, and Ron hated seeing Sirius mope about. Not to mention that Sirius would constantly ask Ron about Harry, as if Ron knew everything about his godson…

"Maybe Dumbledore isn't all that great" Ron said in a whisper. "I mean… the Dark Lord broke into the castle… and Dumbledore didn't even notice… And then I got…" Ron trailed off, feeling bitter again. Hermione looked at him sadly.

"That wasn't Dumbledore's fault…" Hermione whispered. "It was Professor Quirrell… He was possessed by you-know-who. Harry told us everything."

"And who hired Quirrell?" Ron argued, and Hermione didn't seem to have an answer for that. "Let's not fight…" Ron muttered, trying to calm down again. _I shouldn't ruin the party… Mum would go mental if I did._ "Right now, let's just… enjoy the party, okay?"

"Okay…" Hermione nodded but she looked a bit put off. Ron cursed his temper once again, and wished that he was born without it.

"Hey guys" came Neville's voice, and Ron turned to it. Neville was approaching them alongside Dean Thomas. _Dean… ugh…_ "Is everything alright?" Neville asked Hermione, and she nodded too enthusiastically. Ron frowned at her inability to lie.

"We were talking about Harry" Ron told Neville, and Neville seemed to understand completely.

"What about Harry?" Dean asked. "Also, why isn't he here?" _Shut up Dean…_

* * *

Ron said his farewell to the others and went through the fire-place. He had decided to leave a little earlier than he had originally planned. All that standing up and walking around had tired him out quite a lot, and he had to start using his crutch again. The others didn't say a word about it, but Ron could see the pity in their eyes. Even Finnegan had started being nice to him, and that annoyed Ron greatly. He didn't need their pity! He was fine… all he needed was to rest his legs…

Ron hobbled into the Burrow, and he was immediately jumped by Ginny. "You're back!" Ginny exclaimed, and then she hugged him from his right side. "Come on, let's play now! Luna and I've been waiting all day!" Ginny grabbed his left hand and crushed it in her monstrous grip. Ron winced and followed after her, doing his best to keep up.

"Ginny, please slow down… I can't keep up" Ron said in a tired voice. _Bloody hell my legs hurt… I just want to sit down. Maybe sleep a few hours as well._

"Oh… sorry Ronnie" Ginny said, and then she slowed down a bit. "We can play chess again! You can pick the color too!" _More pity…_ Ron felt annoyed at that, but chose to ignore it. This was his Ginny, and she would never try to make him feel bad on purpose.

"How about we play some exploding snap instead?" Ron suggested, and Ginny beamed.

"Okay!" Ginny exclaimed, and then they came upon the stairs. Ron groaned internally at the sight of them. _Give me a damn break…_

Ginny quickly started making her way up, but Ron wasn't so fortunate. His legs began hurting and shaking after taking a few steps up, and he leaned against the wall. _Fuck… I'm so tired…_ Ginny turned around and saw Ron leaning against the wall, and he looked like he was in pain.

"Mum!" Ginny shouted, making Ron jump. "Mum, Ron is hurt!" _What?! No! I'm fine…_ Pandora came running out of the kitchen and she was looking frightened. She looked at Ron leaning against the wall, and then to a scared Ginny. "Where's mummy?!" Ginny asked Pandora. "Ron needs help!"

"No, I don't" Ron said tiredly. "I'm fine Gin, stop worrying other people…"

"Your mum went to Diagon Alley for some shopping" Pandora told Ginny, and then she walked up the stairs and stopped next to Ron. "You looked exhausted Ron, here let me help…" Pandora then took out her wand, and Ron felt his anger flare. _I don't need help! I'm not some fucking cripple!_

"Don't" Ron gritted out, taking Pandora by surprise. "I'm not crippled! I can go up some damn stairs without help…" Ron hated feeling like this, like he was some injured little boy in need of rescuing. He had taken on a Mountain Troll, and even fought the Dark Lord twice now! And he had lived through it! He didn't need anyone's help! Or their pity! _They all didn't show any care before, but now… Now they won't stop mollycoddling me! At least Sirius and Remus take me seriously!_

Ron then pushed himself off of the wall and began to go up again, but it was pointless. He took three steps, and his right leg lost its strength. He fell onto the wall again, and then slid down and sat on his arse. Like the useless cripple he was… His siblings had shown up now, no doubt because they had heard Ginny shouting. And Ron felt them all gazing at him, and they all had pity and sadness in their eyes. It boiled his fucking blood!

"What are you all looking at?!" Ron shouted at them, feeling his eyes burn. "FUCK OFF!" His siblings flinched hard, and the girls ran off. His brothers just looked like they had been slapped across their faces.

"Go back up" Pandora told the boys. "Upstairs… NOW!" His brothers left slowly, and Percy was the last to leave. Pandora then looked down at Ron with teary eyes, and Ron just glared murder at his own legs. _Useless… That's what I am! Can't even go up these stairs! How am I going to save Fred?!_ Neither of them said anything for almost a minute, but then Pandora broke the silence. "Your brothers and sisters didn't deserve that, Ron" Pandora said softly. "They only wanted to help you…"

"I don't need help" Ron grit out, keeping his eyes on his legs. "I'm not crippled…" Ron then sniffled, he refused to cry in front of her.

"No one says that you are" Pandora said.

"Really?! Because you all keep treating me like I am! Everyone keeps acting like I'm about to break any second!" Ron said, now glaring at Pandora. She flinched slightly at his red eyes, and angry face. "Mum won't even let me play outside with the others! WHY?!"

"We're just worried Ron…" Pandora said in a whisper. That answer annoyed the hell out of him. He was doing his best to come to terms with his scars, but the adults weren't helping at all. They all constantly hovered over him, like he was some sick puppy that needed coddling… And Pandora… She wouldn't even stay in the same room if his scars were mentioned. It fucking hurt! It hurt so much…

"Worried…? Is that why you won't even look at me when my scars are mentioned? Why?! Why do you always run away whenever they're mentioned?" Ron's voice cracked, and he sniffled loudly. Pandora's mouth hung open and tears fell down her face. "I can never wear short sleeved shirts… or shorts… No one will ever want to look at me…" Ron cried. "Even you won't look at me… and I can't even blame you. Even I don't want to look at me…" Ron broke down crying, and he just didn't care.

Fuck being strong and silent, it was just burning him up from the inside. His friends, his family, and even strangers… they all pitied him. And the worst part was that he pitied himself. He knew whose fault it all was… it was his own. He had decided to go after the stone alone even though he knew that the Dark Lord wanted it. He didn't trust Dumbledore, and he had payed the price. And now that old bastard was making sure everyone knew that it was Ron's own stupidity that had turned him into this hideous thing. That was the real reason he hated all this lying about 'a spell gone wrong'. It was so close to the truth… It was his own fault. Everything was his fault and it fucking hurt… Why was he so pathetic? Why couldn't he do a damn thing right for once?!

Ron didn't notice in his hysterics that Pandora had wrapped him up in her arms. And that she was sobbing too. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then Pandora picked him up and took him to his room. He didn't argue or fight, he was too exhausted and he just didn't care at this point. Once they were inside, Pandora put him on his bed and sat with him. She hummed softly and rocked him, and he was asleep before he knew it.

* * *

Ron woke up on his bed, and he immediately felt his headache. _Ugh… My life gets worse…_ Ron slid out of his bed, and then he walked to the door. He needed water… and food. But he stopped at the door, he didn't want to go outside. He had taken his frustrations out on his siblings and Pandora, and he felt a strong pang of guilt for being so selfish. _What was I thinking…? I'm so stupid…_ Ron sighed and walked back to his bed. He sat down and rubbed his temples with his hands, and he noticed that he wasn't wearing any gloves. _Pandora must've taken them off…_ Ron looked at his right hand, and studied it in detail. His middle-finger was scarred horribly right above the knuckle, and those scars traveled down the back of his hand and down his palm. _Pandora's ring melted on my hand… That's what Sirius told me…_ And then it clicked in his brain. Pandora blamed herself for his right hand… And he had thrown that in her face last night!

"Bloody hell…" Ron moaned, feeling horrible. "I'm such a damn git! Why didn't I see it before?" Ron fell back on his bed and rubbed his temples with force. He had been making good progress with his scars, and then last night he had lost it out of nowhere. All that progress went out of the window… But he knew one thing now, he had to apologize to Pandora. She didn't deserve to be treated like that, she only wanted to help… As he was thinking on how terribly he had acted last night, his door slowly opened. Ron immediately went to hide his right hand, but he sighed in relief when he saw that it was Pandora who had entered. She smiled at him sadly, and he noticed that she was carrying a tray of food.

"Good, you're awake" Pandora said softly. "I brought you some food. You didn't eat last night…" _Last night…_

"Pandora…" Ron started. "I'm so sorry about last night… I was out of line…" Pandora shushed him and then she quickly put the tray on his desk. Then she walked up and sat down next to him.

"No… no don't apologize" Pandora said with a sad smile. "You were right… I shouldn't have acted like that around you. It was unfair to you… I just couldn't deal with it. I just couldn't handle the pain of seeing those scars. I was a coward."

"No you weren't!" Ron argued. "I understand why you were acting like that now. And… and it wasn't your fault Pandora. That ring melting wasn't your fault." Pandora looked at his right hand and her eyes became wet again.

"Yes it was" Pandora croaked. "It was supposed to protect you, and it did **that** …" she said, looking directly at his scarred hand.

"It did protect me…" Ron said, and Pandora looked up at him. "It protected me when some fourth years tried to attack me in the Dungeons, it protected me when my friend threw a curse at me… And I felt it protect me against the Dark Lord as well. You helped me" Ron finished strongly, and he smiled when he saw her calming down. "And I… I want another one. I felt safe with it on… like you were with me the entire time…" Pandora let out a wet sob and hugged him tightly. She pressed his head against her bosom, and Ron went beet-red. But he didn't say anything, he didn't want to ruin this moment. Pandora held him there for a long minute, and then she broke the silence.

"I'll make a new one… a better one… No one will ever hurt my boy again…"

* * *

The next five days passed slowly for Ron, and things in the Burrow were horribly tense. And it wasn't because of his siblings as they had forgiven Ron the very next day. Percy had convinced everyone that Ron's reaction was a normal thing for someone who had gone through what he had. And his siblings had readily accepted that, mainly because they didn't want Ron to be angry with them. The horrible tension inside the Burrow was because of the adults. It turned out that Harry's birthday was a day after Neville's, and Sirius and Remus had gone over to Harry's Muggle family's home to pick up the boy-who-lived. But Harry wasn't home at the time, and the Muggle family wouldn't say where he was. When Sirius and Remus asked to wait for Harry inside, the Muggle family had refused to let 'freaks' inside their home.

Sirius had understandably lost his mind with rage… and Remus was forced to drag his wild friend back to the Burrow. Sirius had thrown a fit of rage at every adult in the room, and the children had heard most of it from upstairs. Sirius was fuming about Dumbledore and his 'Hippogriff-dung', and every other adult in the room had jumped to Dumbledore's defense. They explained that having faith in Dumbledore was the wisest policy, and that Dumbledore would never endanger Harry. This had been the wrong way to go about convincing Sirius, and the man had lost it even harder. He had stormed off again, but not before punching a hole through one of the walls in the living room.

No one saw Sirius for four straight days, and all the adults took turns in looking for him. The children were all worried as well, they all loved Sirius and his funny personality. Remus and Arthur eventually found their friend passed out in a bar in Knockturn Alley… And upon Arthur's insistence, Sirius had been brought back to the Burrow to sleep off his horrid state. Sirius had been put in the attic, along with the ghoul… And the children were forbidden from entering. But Ron decided to ignore that order, he was going to be there for Sirius. Just like Sirius had been there for him.

* * *

It was now August the fifth, and Ron was currently sneaking into the attic with a Pepper-up Potion. _Dad always has one when he goes drinking with his mates from work, so it should work fine for Sirius as well._ Ron opened the attic door and climbed up, and he immediately found Sirius sitting in a corner with his head in his hands. It was a rather pathetic sight if Ron was being honest.

"Sirius, it's me" Ron said, walking up to the man. Sirius looked up and stared at Ron.

"Sorry kid…" Sirius muttered disinterestedly. "I'm not in a good mood right now, go play with your siblings." Ron frowned at Sirius, annoyed at Sirius' tone with him. _Don't take your anger out on me…_

"I brought you a Pepper-up Potion" Ron said as he offered the potion to Sirius. "It's from dad's cupboard. He always has one when he goes out drinking." Sirius looked up and smiled, and then he accepted the potion. Sirius drank it down quickly, and then he sighed out in relief.

"Ah… I think it's already working. Thanks kiddo, you're a gem" Sirius said slowly. Ron beamed at hearing that. "What can I help you with?" Sirius asked with a smile, but Ron remained silent. Ron wanted to know what was happening with Harry, and he knew that he had to approach this carefully. _Last thing I need is him punching down another wall and then running off…_

"Sirius? What happened to you?" Ron asked innocently. "I was so worried…" Sirius' expression softened a lot and he looked almost sad.

"Pup… I'm sorry to hear that I worried you…" Sirius said softly, and then he gestured Ron to come closer. "Come, sit with me." Ron did as he was told and sat down next to Sirius, and Sirius put his arm around Ron. Ron could smell the faint scent of stale drink on Sirius. Ron didn't like that smell… "I got some bad news, and I didn't take it very well. It was a… childish reaction on my part. I'm sorry…"

"What bad news?" Ron asked softly, but he knew what it was. The whole damn house knew what it was… Sirius was silent for a few moments, and then he sighed tiredly.

"Harry…" Sirius said softly. "I missed his birthday because of… because of those Muggles that he is staying with. Horrible people… Harry wasn't even home for his own birthday… Can you believe that?" _Oh I can… We all heard you shouting about it. Still, Sirius raises a good question. Where was Harry?_

"No… Where do you think he was?" Ron asked, looking intently at Sirius. Sirius scoffed bitterly.

"I have no clue! He was nowhere in the house, I would have smelled…" Sirius trailed off, and Ron was left confused. _Smelled? Smelled what?_ "It doesn't matter now… I just can't believe this is happening… I promised to take care of Harry, Ron. I promised his mum and dad, and now I can't even see him on his birthday… I missed so many of them, and now I've missed another…" Sirius said sadly, his mood becoming somber. Ron put his gloved hand over Sirius' and gave the man a kind smile. Ron didn't like seeing Sirius like this, Sirius was supposed to be the funny and mischievous adult.

"You're his Godfather, aren't you?" Ron asked, and then he continued. "Maybe if you go back today, and ask those Muggles for permission, they might let you take Harry… From what I've heard about them, they don't like Harry very much." Sirius smiled softly at Ron, and then ruffled his hair gently.

"It's more complicated than that, pup…" Sirius said softly, his voice laced with regret.

"What? Dumbledore says that you can't?" Ron asked, and Sirius just sighed again. "Maybe… Dumbledore is wrong about this…" Ron muttered, and Sirius frowned a little.

"Ron, Dumbledore is… a prick. But he is also the greatest wizard to walk the earth since Merlin… Everyone keeps reminding me of that… So I don't know if I should reject his advice. He's made some… good points about keeping Harry with those Muggles…" Sirius finished lamely, looking exhausted. _What good points? They hate Harry! What could be so important as to keep Harry in a place where he is hated?_

"Sirius, they hate Harry! They gave him a toothpick last year for his birthday…" Ron said, and Sirius looked at Ron with a furrowed brow.

"What?" Sirius snarled, and Ron felt a little scared.

"Hermione told me… They hate Harry… What could be so important as to keep Harry in a place where he is hated so much?! I think…" Ron trailed off, he was about to reveal his fantasy of bringing Harry to the Burrow. Ron had been thinking about it for the last few days, ever since Hermione had told him about the toothpick present…

"A toothpick?" Sirius muttered darkly. "Petunia you loathsome, vile bitch…" And then Sirius turned to Ron and stared at the boy. "What were you going to say before you trailed off? What were you thinking, Ron?" Ron looked down sheepishly, worried that Sirius would laugh at his 'plan'.

"I was thinking… that we should maybe… I don't know, bring Harry here?" Ron stuttered, hoping Sirius took him seriously. Sirius looked at Ron for a few moments, and then he smiled sadly.

"I would love that… but it isn't practical…" Sirius muttered.

"Why not?!" Ron argued. "We can go and get him, and then we can hide him here in the attic! Or in my room! At least he would be cared for here! Unlike with his Muggle family…" Sirius looked at Ron, and Ron could see that the man was conflicted.

"Dumbledore would never…" Sirius started but Ron cut him off.

"Who cares about what he says?!"

"The whole world cares about what Dumbledore says!" Sirius said, raising his voice a little.

"The same Dumbledore that let a troll into the castle without even realizing? Harry was going to die that night if I wasn't there! Or what about the fact that Dumbledore kept an artifact at the school that endangered his students?! Or what about the time that he let the Dark Lord in and didn't even notice?! He isn't above making mistakes! What if he is wrong about this?! Harry is all alone!" Ron said loudly, pouring his own frustrations into his rant. _None of my problems last year should've happened in the first place! Dumbledore was supposed to protect the school, not me!_

Sirius was just quite for a long minute, and he was staring at Ron with wide-eyes. Ron made some strong points for his case, and Sirius really wanted Harry to stay with him and Remus… What if Ron was right? What if this was all a big mistake? Dumbledore wasn't a God… He was a man, and men make mistakes! And then Sirius remembered being dragged off to Azkaban, and the look of disdain that was on Dumbledore's face during that. It made his chest burn with fury, and he knew that he was done listening to everyone else. He wanted Harry, and he was going to get him! Sirius owed James everything! And Sirius had to protect his brother's son, and he was going to do it no matter what obstacle he had to cross!

"Tonight…" Sirius said in a hushed whisper, and Ron felt a smile crack onto his face. "We need a plan…"

"I have one" Ron said, and Sirius looked to Ron with a sly smile.

"Do share, pup" Sirius said.

"Dad's car… it's enchanted to fly… We can take that, and bring Harry back here before morning. Then we hide him in my room or up here!" Ron explained.

"That sounds great, but let's not hide Harry… I will take custody of him instead…" Sirius said, his resolve becoming strengthened.

"Alright… meet me near the shed at midnight…" Ron said, feeling his stomach do flips with excitement. _Things were getting too boring… This is so much better!_

* * *

Ron waited by the shed, and he was growing more and more worried. _Where in the bloody hell is he? I've been here for twenty minutes!_ Ron and Sirius had been on their best behavior all day, and the adults were quite surprised. More surprised about Sirius anyway… The two of them made sure to raise no suspicion whatsoever about their plans for tonight. And now Sirius was nowhere to be found!

"Pup…" came Sirius' hushed voice from behind Ron, and Ron quickly turned around.

"Where were you?" Ron hissed. "I've been here for twenty minutes…"

"Sorry about that" Sirius said quietly with a sheepish grin. "Bloody Remus wouldn't go to sleep…" Ron frowned at that.

"Come on, we need to go now…" Ron muttered, and then they both snuck into the shed. Sirius let out a whistle at the sight of the light blue Ford Anglia, and then Sirius grinned.

"So this is our ride, eh?" Sirius asked with excitement.

"Yup… Sirius meet dad's flying car!" Ron said with a proud grin. This car was probably the coolest thing that the Weasley Family owned. Ron and his brothers used to take turns driving it around the Burrow sometimes. Ron then walked towards the driver's seat but was stopped by Sirius.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Sirius asked.

"Going to sit in the driver's seat…" Ron said slowly, looking at Sirius like he was daft.

"I'm the adult here…" Sirius said with a sly smile.

"Oh you are? I didn't realize…" Ron retorted with a grin. Sirius' smile grew wider by a bit at the familiar banter.

"That's cute, wise-ass" Sirius said. "But I'll drive, it's safer that way."

"Do you know how to drive this thing? Because I do" Ron said, maintaining his grin. Sirius frowned at the car.

"It can't be that hard… I had a flying motorcycle…" Sirius said, looking at the car warily now. "How hard could it possibly be?" _A flying motor-cycle? Wicked!_

"Look either I can drive us there and you can navigate us… or, we can spend the night teaching you how to drive this car…" Ron said plainly. "Just remember that Harry is still stuck with his horrible family…" _That's right… give in to the emotional blackmail… Theo would be so proud of me right now…_

"Fine…" Sirius said, his frustration evident. "But if you crash us… I'll throttle you!" Ron grinned at Sirius who went and sat down in the passenger seat. Ron sat down in the driver's seat and looked to the ignition. _YES! The key was in here the whole time._ Ron had spent the entire day looking for this damn key… Ron turned the car on, and drove it out of the shed. Then he sped up along the long dirt road and pulled the gear stick back. The car lifted off and Sirius let out a loud laugh.

"Woohoo!" Sirius shouted, looking out of the window. Ron smiled ear-to-ear at Sirius' reaction. "This is bloody amazing! I've missed this feeling so bloody much!" Ron let out a laugh at that, and he felt his skin breakout into goosebumps. _We're coming Harry!_

* * *

"Does this thing have an invisibility booster?" Sirius asked. They were just flying over London now.

"Yeah it does" Ron said, and then he pushed the button on the dashboard. An odd feeling washed over the duo, and they knew that they were now invisible to Muggles.

"Remember, we're heading to Surrey. So take a left from here and follow that big cloud" Sirius instructed, and Ron followed his directions.

Ron looked down from his side window at Muggle London, and it was a breathtaking sight. There were so many lights beneath them, and they illuminated the shape of the city. Ron then looked ahead again, and smiled at the thought of his latest adventure. _This is definitely they most fun one yet… I mean look at us, we're flying over a city in a car!_

"So, what's our plan?" Sirius asked. "I was thinking that'd we'd sneak in using magic, and steal Harry in the dead of night. I'd rather not run into the Dursleys…"

"I was thinking the same thing" Ron said, happy to note that he was thinking just like Sirius. "I can't do magic, but you can. Just make sure you don't hex anyone… Or we'll both be done for!"

"I can't make any promises, kid. Those bastards had better be treating Harry right…" Sirius snarled.

"Even if they aren't… it stops today. So don't make things harder on us, all right?"

"Whatever" Sirius muttered, and Ron couldn't help but feel like he was the adult here. _Sirius can be really immature… It's bad enough that we are going against Dumbledore's wishes, if he hexes a Muggle, we'll end up in Azkaban! Then Harry will end up with the Muggles again…_

They flew towards Surrey, and both of them planned their 'heist'. Sirius instructed Ron to park the car a little ways away from the Dursley home. That way, they could sneak to the house without alerting the Muggles. Their plan was to use 'Alohomora' on the back door, and then sneak up to Harry's room. Ron didn't know how they would find Harry's room, but Sirius told him not to worry about that. Ron decided to not argue, and he figured that Sirius was probably just going to use some spell. They eventually came close to Harry's house, and Sirius told Ron to park close-by. Ron did as he was instructed, except the car landed with a bit of a thud.

"Sorry…" Ron apologized with a sheepish smile, and Sirius frowned at his landing.

"Let's just hope no one heard that…" Sirius said, and then they both got out of the car. Ron made sure to take the keys with him, he didn't want so Muggle stealing his dad's car. "Quick, follow me. Their house isn't too far away from here." Sirius and Ron then walked through the dark Muggle neighborhood quickly. Ron noticed that all the houses looked the same, and he wondered if that was a Muggle trend of some kind. _Muggles are so odd…_

"This is it" Sirius said, looking at the house. "C'mon, we'll jump the fence go in through the back…" Sirius and Ron then tiptoed over to the fence, and then Sirius helped Ron over it. Ron landed as softly as he could, and his face broke out in a grin. _This is so wicked!_ Sirius landed softly behind him, and Ron noticed that Sirius was also grinning. They walked into the back yard, and looked up at the bedroom windows. Ron was shocked to see that one of the windows was barred, and he couldn't help but think that it was Harry's. Sirius, unfortunately, thought the same thing and he wasn't so subtle with his reaction.

"Those… those filthy little…" Sirius snarled and stuttered. _Oh shite…_

"Sirius calm down, we don't know if that's his room…" Ron started but he was cut off by Sirius.

"We do know!" Sirius exclaimed, and Ron shushed him hard.

"Are you mad? You'll wake up the whole neighborhood" Ron hissed, annoyed with Sirius' actions.

"I don't care… Dumbledore will answer for this! And so will the Dursleys!" Sirius said, and then he walked up to the back door and unlocked it.

"Sirius wait! What are you doing?!" Ron said, getting worried. _He is going to end up getting sent to Azkaban at this rate!_ Sirius opened the door and just barged in, and Ron ran in after him. "Sirius stop! You're going to get us caught!" Ron hissed, and then he heard thuds from upstairs. Both Ron and Sirius stopped, and Ron felt his stomach tighten from the fear of getting caught. Sirius just snarled some more and then he started walking up the stairs. Ron followed after him, and then they both ran into a rather large man. He was looking terrified and he had a wooden weapon of some sort in his hands. _A Muggle? A really fat Muggle…_

"Who're you?!" the fat man yelled. "I'll call the police!" _Police?_

"Hello, Vernon" Sirius snarled, and Ron felt a little scared. This could turn sour really fast, more than it already had that is.

"You…" the Muggle named Vernon muttered.

"Where is your whore of a wife?" Sirius gritted out, and Ron put his hand on his wand. If Sirius attacked these Muggles, then Ron was going to stun him from behind.

"How… how dare you?!" the fat man yelled, but he shut up immediately when Sirius pointed his wand at the fat man's face. _Fuck! He is going to attack them, isn't he?!_

"Sirius stop it! Think of Harry!" Ron implored, getting ready to draw his own wand. He knew that he would have to stun Sirius from behind, he'd never win a fight against the older wizard head on.

"I am…" Sirius said. "Ron, go and find Harry's room. Tell him to pack his things, and tell him that he is coming with us…"

"He'll not go anywhere with you freaks!" Vernon spat out, and Sirius snarled.

"Vernon stop!" came a woman's shrill voice. Then a blonde and thin woman rushed to the fat man's side from behind him.

"Ah, Petunia…" Sirius greeted darkly. "We meet again… Ron, go find Harry. Now…" Ron exhaled loudly, and then moved past Sirius.

"Don't do anything stupid" Ron grit out as he passed Sirius. Then Ron walked up to the Muggle couple and smiled sheepishly. "Hello… move out of the way please…" The couple stared at the red-haired boy with trepidation, and then they moved out of the way slowly. Ron walked past them, and then he turned the corner. He could hear Sirius talking to the Muggles, and he ignored it. _What a damn mess… Should've asked the twins for help instead… Or Remus!_ Ron then came upon a bedroom door, and he opened it.

"Agh!" came a loud scream and Ron actually jumped in fright. A fat boy ran past Ron screaming for his parents, and Ron just stood there in confusion. _What was that?! I guess this isn't Harry's room then…_ Ron then left the room and found himself in front of another one. The door was fitted with multiple locks and chains, and Ron grimaced. _This can't be… They've been keeping him here as a prisoner…_

Ron then ran back to Sirius and the Muggles, and then Ron told Sirius about the door. Sirius nearly lost his mind with rage and ran to the door in question. Sirius pointed his wand at the door, and used 'Alohomora' to unlock all the locks and chains. Then the older wizard opened the door, and both Sirius and Ron looked inside. There, in the middle of the room, stood Harry Potter with his wand aimed at them.

"Sirius?!" Harry exclaimed, shocked to see his Godfather. Sirius ran up and hugged Harry tightly, and Ron let out a relieved sigh. _Now we can get out of here! I'm so dead when mum and dad find out about this…_

"Pack your things, Harry" Sirius said as he let Harry go. "We're taking you away from here."

"We?" Harry asked, and Ron coughed. Harry looked over to Ron and went wide-eyed. "Ron…?"

"Hey mate…" Ron said with a smile. Harry ran up and hugged Ron tightly.

"You're not in a coma!" Harry exclaimed with a loud laugh. "I've been going mad with worry!" Ron wasn't big on hugging other blokes, but he did his best to return the hug. Ron looked to Sirius and saw the man smiling widely.

"We'll fill you in on the way back…" Ron said. "Get your things."

* * *

Ron turned on the ignition with a turn of the key, and then they flew off. Harry and Sirius were sitting in the back seats, and Ron was driving everyone back to the Burrow. Sirius was fretting over Harry, and Harry was doing his best to calm down his Godfather. They had managed to leave before Sirius injured Harry's Muggle family.

"Why were you locked away like that?!" Sirius demanded. "Who locks a child away?! Damn Petunia to hell!"

"Sirius, please calm down" Harry implored. "I'm fine… I promise."

"Fine?" Sirius asked. "How? How could you possibly be fine?! I'm such a moron! Why didn't I act sooner?! You weren't returning our letters, I should have known that they were holding you captive!"

"They only locked me away a couple of days ago…" Harry muttered, looking sheepish. "I ruined a dinner that was important to Uncle Vernon…"

"And locking you away was a normal reaction to such a thing?" Ron asked, annoyed at Harry for defending his Muggle family. "Are all Muggles this insane?!" Ron asked Sirius.

"Just that jealous bitch!" Sirius snarled, and Harry flinched at that.

"Please… I'm fine…" Harry muttered. "Don't be so angry…"

"Harry, mate…" Ron said, his voice annoyed. "Forgive us but why shouldn't we be angry?! Do you have any idea how stressed everyone was about you? Bloody Neville and Hermione think that you were angry with them, and that's why you were ignoring their letters. Can't say I'm very different…"

"I never got any letters…" Harry said softly.

"They hid away your letters?!" Sirius asked, getting angry again.

"No…" Harry said quickly. "It was some House-Elf… He made sure I never got my letters… He said something about me not going to Hogwarts this year."

"A House-Elf?" Sirius asked with a furrowed brow. "Who's House-Elf? And what did it mean by you not going to Hogwarts?" _A House-Elf… Only wealthy families own one… It's quite prestigious to have one. Wish we had one too… then I wouldn't have to do any chores…_

"He didn't say" Harry explained. "Just something about Hogwarts being in danger this upcoming school year…" _AGAIN?!_

"Now what?!" Ron asked in anger, remembering the stone debacle.

"I don't know" Harry answered. "But Hogwarts is my home, and I'm going back!"

"Your home will be with me now as well, Harry" Sirius said strongly, putting an arm around his godson. "I'm taking custody over you, and I don't care what anyone says." Harry beamed at that, and he hugged Sirius tightly. Ron looked back with the rear-view mirror, and he smiled at the sight. _This is right… Sirius and Harry should be together…_

Ron drove them back to the Burrow, and during the ride both Ron and Sirius grilled Harry about this House-Elf. But there just wasn't enough to know about the Elf. Its name was Dobby, and he was apparently betraying his family by warning Harry. Ron felt dread at the thought that some powerful family was making a move against Hogwarts, and he couldn't help but wonder if the upcoming war had something to do with this move. Something was definitely going down, and Ron felt panic at the thought of it. Especially with the Dark Lord still being alive. Was this family allied with the Dark Lord, and if so, what was their move? Kill the Headmaster? Conquer the school? Destroy the school? Ron knew that whatever the answer was, it was something that he had to stop from happening. His little sisters were attending Hogwarts this year, and Ron would be damned if he didn't protect them!

* * *

Ron managed to land the car with much more grace this time, and he drove it into the shed. Once he had finished his parking, he turned off the ignition and all three of them stepped out. Sirius got Harry's trunk out of the car's boot, while Harry got his pet snowy owl out from the passenger seat. Ron waited for them outside the shed, and he frowned at the rising sun. _That took way too long… Merlin I hope no one is awake yet…_

"Let's go" Sirius said, dragging Harry's trunk behind him. Harry had his hands full with Hedwig's cage, and Ron decided to run up ahead to check if they were in the clear. Ron slowly entered his house, and walked into the kitchen. _Empty…_ Ron smirked in relief, and then he traveled to the living and found it empty as well. _Thank you Merlin…_

"WHERE. HAVE. YOU. BEEN?!" came a deafening screech from behind Ron, and he almost passed out from the fright it gave him. Ron slowly turned around and came face-to-face with Pandora, Xenophilius, and his mother. His red in the face mother who was glaring murder at him. "YOUR BED WAS EMPTY! NO NOTE! CAR GONE! EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!" she shrieked, and Ron felt his hands tremble. He had never seen his mother so angry with anyone… Even Pandora and Xenophilius looked mad with anger… Ron then saw Sirius and Harry standing behind the three adults, and he prayed to Merlin that they would save themselves. Unfortunately, Hedwig let out a loud hoot and gave away their position. All three adults turned around, and the sight of Harry and Sirius made them gasp.

"YOU?!" Molly shrieked at Sirius. "This was all your doing wasn't it?!" Sirius went wide-eyed and he slowly took a step back. Harry looked pale with fear…

"It was my idea, mum" Ron said loudly, deciding to admit his fault. It was indeed his idea, so why should Harry or Sirius pay the price for it? Pandora and Molly turned to face Ron with confusion on their faces, while Xenophilius just sighed and shook his head. "They had bars on his window, mum… They had him locked away in a room with chains! What was I supposed to do?! Leave him there to rot?!"

"You'd best pray I don't put **you** in a **caged room** , Ronald Weasley!" his mother yelled, her anger was monstrous. How could he endanger himself like this again?! Why did he keep doing these things?! Ron went wide-eyed at that, and his hands shook quite violently. Pandora noticed his hands, and sighed. Then she whispered something in Molly's ear, and his mother looked down at his hands. Ron hid them behind his back quickly, the last thing he wanted was to show off his weakness… "You could have died! You could have been seen!" his mother yelled in frustration. Ron looked down at his shuffling feet, and he felt his exhaustion quite clearly now. He had been awake for nearly twenty-four hours now…

"Molly, the boy is telling the truth" Sirius jumped in. "They were starving Harry! They had him locked away like some prisoner! Ron helped **me** save him… so yell at **me**! Don't take it out on the boy…"

"Oh, I'll get to you in a second Sirius Black!" Molly promised, and then she turned to Harry. "Of course, we don't blame you Harry…" she said a bit more calmly. _Wow… what the hell?_

"I think we should have a spot of breakfast" Xenophilius said suddenly, sounding quite different from his usual barmy self… Pandora looked at her husband, and then she smiled faintly.

"He's right Molly… we can talk about this after we feed Ron and Harry…" Pandora advised, and then she put a calming hand on Molly's shoulder. Ron's mother huffed at Sirius, and then she looked at Harry.

"Come Harry, let's get some food in you…" Molly said as kindly as she could. Sirius slowly prodded Harry forward, and Harry went to Mrs. Weasley with some trepidation. She quickly put a gentle hand on his back and guided him to the kitchen, but not before shooting Ron a look that meant that 'this isn't over yet'. Ron sighed at that, and shook his head. _So much for sneaking Harry in… Damn I'm bad at this espionage stuff…_

"What were you thinking, Ron?" Pandora asked in a pleading voice. "You've only been up and about for three weeks… You are still underweight and weak… Why do you keep doing these things?" Ron felt a pang of guilt for making Pandora and his mum worry so much. But he also felt annoyed at being called weak. He wasn't weak, he just didn't leave people behind to rot away in prisons!

"They had my friend locked away…" Ron said stubbornly. "I couldn't walk away from that." Pandora just looked at Ron, and then she was about to say something but Xenophilius stepped in.

"Love, let him eat… Then you and Molly can question him" Xenophilius said. "None of you are in a place to discuss this with civility…" _Civility? What happened to the Xenophilius I know and love?! Who the hell is this?!_ Pandora looked at her husband, and then she nodded and agreed with him. "Come Ron, let's get you some food" Xenophilius said with a smile. Ron followed the silver haired man closely, preparing himself for the awkward breakfast that was just ahead.

The breakfast was indeed awkward, and no one spoke. Molly piled food onto Harry's and Ron's plates, but she did it with a frown for Ron. Things were awfully tense for Sirius as well, as Molly and Pandora were both shooting him murderous looks the whole time. But none of this compared to the wave of exhaustion that was washing over Ron. He'd been up for a full day, something that he couldn't manage even in his normal state. But now, with saving Harry, he had somehow managed it… And now the toll was showing…

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

Sirius took another bite of eggs, and he looked up to see Pandora shoot him a murderous look. _Fucking Merlin… if looks could kill, they'd have to lock her up in Azkaban._ Sirius looked to Harry and smiled at his godson reassuringly. Harry sheepishly smiled back, and Sirius thought he was looking at James again for a second. That had happened a few times during his last encounter with Harry, both father and son looked so alike. Except Harry's eyes… those were Lily's eyes. Being near Harry felt like he was with his old friends again, and it made him feel so happy. _Back when the Marauders were still together…_ Sirius frowned internally at the thought of the Marauders, Peter was a Marauder… And his membership ruined so many of Sirius' best memories. Remus felt the same way, at least that's what Sirius thought anyway. Remus had yet to mention Peter by name or even as a passing note…

Sirius mused over how one person could ruin so much, but he was taken out of his thoughts when he heard cutlery fall down and clatter. Sirius looked at the direction of the sound, and his heart skipped a beat. Ron had passed out on the table… _KID!_ Sirius immediately shot up from his seat, and so did the other adults.

"Ronnie!" Molly yelled loudly, and she rushed to his side. Pandora was already casting diagnosing charms on him, and Sirius put an arm around his frightened godson.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked aloud, and Sirius waited for the answer. His stomach doing flips from dread. _What the fuck happened?! He was fine a minute ago!_

"He's just exhausted…" Pandora sighed in relief, and then she helped Ron up. "He shouldn't have been pushing himself like this… He's too weak…" Sirius' chest tightened from guilt, he hadn't even thought of the kid's poor health… _Fuck, I'm so stupid!_ Pandora then shot Sirius a glare and was about to say something when Xenophilius stepped in.

"Pandora, help me take him to his room…" Xenophilius said, and then he picked Ron up from the seat like a baby. Pandora kept her eyes on Sirius as she followed her husband up the stairs, and Sirius rubbed his forehead with his right hand. _Damn it… He drove all night as well…._

"Harry dear, go upstairs and put your trunk in Ronne's room…" Molly said, trying to keep her voice calm. "Go on…" she added. Sirius prodded Harry to do as he was told, but he couldn't bring himself to smile reassuringly at his godson. Harry then picked up his trunk and walked up the stairs, shooting one last look to Sirius. And then he was gone… Sirius turned and looked at Molly apologetically.

"Molly I'm so…" Sirius started but he was cut off by Molly immediately.

"He's just a boy!" Molly shrieked, her eyes wet with tears. "Just a boy…" her voice cracked, and then she too left to go upstairs in a hurry. This left Sirius as the only person in the kitchen, and he slumped down on his chair ungracefully. He put his hands over his face and groaned, cursing himself back to Azkaban.

Molly was right… Ron was just a boy, something that Sirius and many other adults couldn't help but overlook. It was just that Ron was so different from the other children around him… so much more mature… No, mature wasn't the right word… Ron was just different... It was so hard to pinpoint Ron, especially due to his feats. What other twelve year old could boast such feats?! None… Sirius knew that he and his friends were brilliant in Hogwarts, but Ron was on another level… And Sirius couldn't understand why. Arthur had told Sirius so much about Ron, including the fact that Ron one day just became like this… He was just like any other kid, and then he wasn't. That stumped everyone who spoke about Ron, and this included Sirius.

That's why Sirius had listened to Ron's plan so easily… It was like he was talking to another adult, and not just a young boy. A boy who was in a horrible state, both physically and emotionally… Sirius smacked himself for being such a duffer. Ron never should have been there, he wasn't in a healthy enough state to be there… Sirius wasn't going to lie to himself, and he had to admit that Ron's skinny body greatly upset him. He looked so… feeble. Like he'd snap in two if someone touched him too hard… Sure he was gaining more and more weight, but he still looked so weedy… _I should've refused his help. What am I going to tell Remus?_

* * *

Remus was pissed… More pissed than Sirius had ever seen him… Remus had lost his level-headed nature, and he had just exploded at Sirius for his 'lack of common sense' and his 'childish and foolish behavior'. Sirius didn't say a word and just copped the abuse silently, and Remus eventually tired himself out. Even Arthur hadn't made a sound during Remus' fit of rage… The three men were now sitting in the Burrow's living room, none of them saying a word.

"Dumbledore will come here soon…" Arthur broke the silence, and Sirius frowned at that bit of news. "I had to tell him, Sirius. If Harry is to stay here, then Dumbledore must know…" Sirius just sighed at the fact that Harry couldn't actually stay at Twelve Grimmauld Place with Sirius and Remus… Not yet anyway. The house was filthy, filled with dark artifacts, and all sorts of other nasty surprises. Remus and Sirius were **still** trying to make that house livable…

"I'm sorry about this, Arthur" Sirius apologized. "I didn't mean for it to get this far out of hand…" Arthur silenced Sirius by raising his hand.

"No, no it's alright…" Arthur said. "Pandora and Molly both told me that Ronnie is going to be fine, he just needs to sleep. The thing that's bothering me is that Harry looked so… different from what I imagined… He's as skinny as Ron." Arthur then looked to Sirius with a regretful look. "Is it true then? The boy was being mistreated?" Sirius nodded firmly.

"They had bars on his window, Arthur" Sirius said, and Remus leaned forward in his seat. "They had his room locked up with chains and locks… I swear it. I will even give my memories to prove it…" Remus let out a tired sigh at that.

"I can't believe Petunia would do this to her own nephew…" Remus muttered, shocked at the way Harry was being treated. Shocked, and angry! He should've listened to Sirius…

"She was always jealous of Lily" Sirius grit out. "And she has been taking it out on Harry! She probably starved him too, judging by his appearance… I know what I did was wrong, but I'm taking Harry. Albus Dumbledore be damned!"

"Sirius…" Remus started but Sirius cut him off.

"Don't defend him!" Sirius snarled. "Don't you fucking dare defend him, Remus! He told us to our faces that Harry was safest with the Dursleys… Do you remember? Blood-wards from Lily's sacrifice…" Remus and Arthur looked down at that. "And yet, his own 'blood' was treating him like a prisoner! Keeping him locked away like those damn Dementors! I don't care what any of you say, I will take this to the Ministry if I have to! I'm done waiting for Albus to see reason, so either help me or stay out of my way!" Sirius finished strongly, and silence once again descended upon the trio. _Harry is my responsibility! Not Petunia's… not Remus'… not Dumbledore's… MINE!_

* * *

Sirius smiled happily as he opened the door to Ron's room, and then he entered quietly. Sirius immediately saw Harry stand up from his bed and look to him hopefully. "Are the adults done talking?" Harry asked in a hushed whisper. "What did they say? Was Dumbledore really here?"

"Easy there, Harry" Sirius said softly, amused by Harry's inquisitive nature. _He's just like his parents…_ "Yes, the 'adults' are done talking and yes, Dumbledore was here. And I got custody…" Harry beamed and ran up to Sirius, hugging his Godfather tightly. Sirius closed his arms around Harry and squeezed the boy. "You will stay here until the end of the holidays, but next year you will start living with Remus and I. How does that sound?" Harry looked up to Sirius, but he didn't break his hug.

"Why can't I stay with you now?" Harry asked.

"My house is… not safe yet…" Sirius answered lamely, but then he gave Harry a comforting smile. "The Weasley Family is as good as a family can get, Harry. You will love it here! And Remus and I will visit every day, I promise. Molly and Arthur insisted that you stay here as well, so make sure you thank them. And also thank the kid… it was his idea to break you out…" Harry smiled sadly at that.

"Is Ron alright?" Harry asked, tightening his grip around Sirius' waist.

"Yes…" Sirius answered, feeling another pang of guilt. "He just needs some more rest…"

"He's been asleep all day…"

"I know, but he went through a lot…" _Far too much…_

"Are you leaving now?" Harry asked, worried about being left here alone.

"I have to, just for a bit. I will be back tomorrow morning, I promise" Sirius answered honestly. "Dumbledore and I are going to the Ministry to sort out this guardianship business…" Sirius added, deciding to tell the whole truth.

"Is he… Is he angry?" Harry asked, worried about offending the Headmaster. Harry liked Dumbledore more than he could say, the old wizard had been nothing but kind to Harry. That was something Harry hadn't felt much from the adults in his life.

"No… no he isnt angry" Sirius replied, squeezing Harry. "He actually gave me custody very quickly. All the grown-ups were on my side, and even Dumbledore apologized. When he learned about your imprisonment, he told me that I was right all along. He… he was quite sorry…" Sirius shuddered at the memory of a 'sorry' Dumbledore. _The old man looked heartbroken… What the fuck was Figg even doing?! Why didn't she fucking tell him anything?!_ Harry let out a wet laugh, and Sirius realized that Harry was crying softly.

"Harry?" Sirius asked, and then he crouched in front of Harry. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Harry sniffled. "I'm just really happy…" Sirius felt his chest tighten, and he embraced his godson.

"I'm not going anywhere… Remus and I… We'll watch over you" Sirius said, feeling his eyes burn. _I'll raise him right… I promise, James and Lily… I promise._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you all enjoyed the Rescue Arc! Sirius got custody of Harry, and Dumbledore gave it up... Mostly because he knew that it couldn't be helped anymore. Sirius has all the power in this situation, and so Dumbledore can only trust Sirius to do right by Harry!**

 **Now only one chapter remains before Second year officially starts! THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS?! We'll see... Next chapter will focus on Daphne's birthday, Pure-Bloods, Lord Greengrass vs. Ron in chess, and even an appearance from a certain Lavender-clad 'hero'... Get Keen!**


	23. Chapter 23 - A Pure-Blooded Party

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 23 is now out! Sadly, I couldn't finish the holidays just yet.**

 **1\. No Lavender clad menace...**

 **2\. A Ron meets Pure-Bloods. (only some... some were too good to approach the blood traitor)**

 **3\. More Sirius, Remus, and Ginny!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 23 – A Pure-Blooded Party**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron woke in the dead of night and looked around groggily, wondering where he was. _When did I fall asleep?_ Ron sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes with gloved hands. _And I'm still wearing gloves? Why? I take them off when I sleep…_ Ron then let out a long yawn before stepping off of his bed, and he immediately froze at what he saw in his room. Harry was asleep in Ron's room, and he was sleeping on a bed that wasn't there this morning… _Guess I have a roommate now…_ Ron smiled at his sleeping friend, glad that his parents had allowed Harry to stay. Ron never doubted that they would, but it had taken no convincing whatsoever. _I should give them more credit!_

Ron approached Harry's sleeping form slowly, and looked at the boy-who-lived. Harry wasn't wearing his glasses, and he was breathing in-and-out at a steady pace. Ron couldn't stop himself as he slowly moved Harry's fringe and looked at his famous scar. _The Dark Lord gave that to Harry… Just like the Entity gave me mine…_ Harry then shifted in his sleep and Ron took a step back, not wanting to wake Harry up. Harry muttered something incoherent in his sleep, and Ron just chuckled lightly at the boy-who-lived. Ron then decided to go wash up, and eat something. His stomach felt tight with hunger.

As Ron creeped downstairs from the bathroom, he made sure to avoid all the floor-boards that he knew would creak under his weight. Ron found himself in the kitchen, and he saw a plate of food sitting on the table. It was covered with a lid, and Ron assumed that it was left there for him in case he woke up at night. Either way, Ron didn't care. He was hungry, and there was a plate of food sitting inches away from him. Ron demolished the plate of food that was still warm due to warming charms, and he let out a burp when he finished. _Damn that was amazing, mum's cooking is the best…_

Ron then spent the next few hours sitting outside and watching the stars, it felt truly peaceful. This relaxing period made him think on many things about his life. Daphne's birthday was in four days, and she had told him that it was a formal event. She had made him promise to wear clean, formal robes and to not embarrass her whatsoever… Ron chuckled at her bossiness. And then he remembered that he didn't have a gift for her yet… and that it was Ginny's birthday the day after Daphne's… And he didn't have a gift for Ginny either! He had to rectify that… Getting a gift for Daphne was a must, but for Ginny, it was something that he wanted to do. The Weasley siblings never spent money on each other, mostly because their family was broke… But Ron wasn't broke! He had almost seven-hundred Galleons stashed away at Gringotts! Now he just had to convince his parents to take him to Diagon Alley…

Ron entered the house again after witnessing the sun-rise, and he felt wholesome. Seeing and appreciating nature's beauty had relaxed his mind quite a bit, and he vowed that he would do it more often. Ron immediately noticed his mothers working in the kitchen, and he slowly approached them with a sly grin.

"Hello!" Ron greeted a little loudly. Pandora jumped in fright and Molly shrieked. _Haha that was great!_ Both women turned around and looked at him with frowns. _Bollocks… I forgot that they are mad at me!_

"Ronald Weasley" Molly scolded. "Don't sneak around the house like some thief in the night! It is bad manners!" _What the…? She's mad about me sneaking about… and not me 'kidnapping' Harry?_

"Where were you?" Pandora asked. "We found the empty plate, but you weren't here… We thought you went back to your room."

"I was outside" Ron replied sheepishly. "Watching the sun-rise… It was really amazing." Pandora and Molly's expressions softened at hearing that.

"Well take a seat, love" Molly said, pointing to his chair on the dining table. "Pandora and I are making breakfast, and the others should be here soon." Molly watched her son do as he was told, and she turned back to her task. She was still a little upset over his actions yesterday but she had calmed down quite a lot. Sirius' story had been horrible to hear, and she was somewhat proud of Ron for saving his friend from those horrid Muggles. It was a bitter truth to swallow, to know that Sirius was right all along… And that she had chosen wrongly by taking Dumbledore's side… All the adults felt the same way…

It didn't take long for Ron's siblings and Harry to come down. Harry had made to sit down next to Ron, but Ginny had flown into the seat and grabbed Ron's right hand in a death grip. Ron winced and mouthed 'sorry' to Harry, who simply just chuckled and sat down next to Percy. Luna sat on Ron's left, and hummed her mother's tune to herself. Molly and Pandora served breakfast to the children on the table, and they once again piled Ron and Harry's plates with an absurd amount of food… Ron didn't mind though, he knew that he had to eat and gain more weight. Harry on the other hand looked rather intimidated by the mountain of food on his plate.

"So is it true?" Fred asked Ron suddenly. _Is what true?_

"Did you really steal dad's car?" George added, and Ron felt his stomach do a flip. _MUM IS RIGHT THERE YOU IDIOTS!_

"And then you kidnapped Harry from his Muggle family?" Fred went on.

"Um…" Ron said lamely, smiling sheepishly at his frowning mother. The twins let out a roar of laughter that took everyone by surprise.

"BRILLIANT!" both twins yelled.

"Utterly…" Fred said.

"Brilliant…" George finished. Ron just frowned at them, and he could feel his mother and Pandora glaring at him.

"Utterly irresponsible…" Percy scolded, and Ron felt his ears burn. Ginny also frowned at Ron's carelessness, though she was quite happy to have Harry Potter in her house. She had spent all night gushing on about Harry to Luna, and Luna had just listened with a smile.

"What are Muggles like?" Luna asked out of nowhere, smiling at Ron pleasantly. _Oh Luna, don't ever become like these savages…_

"They're…" Ron started but then stopped. He looked over to Harry to elaborate, and Harry just seemed shrink in his seat. "They're different…" Ron answered lamely. He didn't know a damn thing about Muggles, and the only ones that he had met were Harry's horrible family…

"Different how?" Luna asked, tilting her head a little.

"They can't do magic…" Ron said, and then he frowned internally at his own stupid answer. Even his siblings were looking at him like he was stupid. Luna simply snorted at that.

"I know that silly!" Luna said loudly. "I want to know how they behave in their natural habitats…" _Natural habitats?!_

"Love…" Pandora said with a soft chuckle. "Muggles aren't animals… they are people. They are like us, only they can't use magic." Luna looked a little surprised to hear that, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at her. _Natural habitats she said… Did she really think that they were creatures of some sort?_

"Good morning everyone!" came Ron's father's voice from the front door. Ron turned to see his father, Remus, Xenophilius, and Sirius enter the house. _Where did they all go? It's odd seeing them all together…_

"It smells amazing in here" Sirius said with a wide smile, he looked extremely happy.

"Breakfast is on the table, go on" Molly said as she guided the men into their seats. Pandora took a seat next to her husband, while Molly did the same with hers. It was… really crowded… Ron was squeezed in between his sisters, while Harry was squeezed between Percy and Ginny. Ginny went crimson, and just looked down at her plate with an intense look. Ron didn't miss her reaction because Ginny was squeezing closer and closer to him. _Bloody hell… How are we supposed to eat?_

"We should eat outside…" Arthur said with a chuckle. "A bit crowded in here…" Everyone nodded at him.

* * *

Ron walked into his father's 'study' after spending the last twenty minutes mustering his courage. He was planning to ask permission to go to Diagon Alley, and he was worried about being rejected. Ron saw that his father wasn't alone, and that he was talking with Remus and Sirius about something rather animatedly.

"Dad…" Ron called, gaining the attention of all three men.

"Ronnie? Is everything alright?" Arthur asked with a happy smile. _It will be if you say yes!_

"I was wondering…" Ron started, feeling his resolve shake. Was it wise to ask for this so soon after he had pulled his reckless stunt? "Could I um… go to Diagon Alley?" All three men were taken aback by this, and his father looked a little worried.

"What do you need from Diagon Alley?" Arthur asked. "I'll go and get it for you." _NO! No, I need to go myself…_ Ron was surprised with himself for a moment for wanting to go alone so badly.

"Daphne's birthday is in four days… I wanted to get her something nice…" Ron said, his cheeks going red and his ears burning. Sirius' ever-growing grin didn't help Ron at all…

"Remus and I can take him" Sirius said suddenly. "Today, that is! We were planning to take Harry this afternoon, and Ron can come along!" Arthur looked at Sirius apprehensively. "Come on Arthur, the boy wants to get 'Daphne' something 'nice'…" Ron narrowed his eyes at Sirius for saying things in such a weird way, but Arthur's eyes-widened a bit.

"Oh…" Arthur muttered, and Ron got even more confused. _Um… what's this? Why are they acting so weird?_

"It'll be fine, Arthur" Remus said with a light chuckle. "I'll keep my eyes on both boys at all times." Arthur nodded slowly at Remus.

"Make sure you do, Remus" Arthur pleaded. "If Ron looks tired, bring him home at once…" _HEY! I'm right here!_

"I'll be there too…" Sirius said, clearly irritated about being left out of this conversation. Arthur and Remus looked at Sirius, and then they gave him forced smiles. "I can be responsible too! Why are you looking at me like that?! Answer me!"

Ron just stood there looking at the three adults with an open mouth. Arthur and Remus were just giving Sirius forced smiles, and Sirius was yelling at them to take him seriously. _Grown-ups… they're all so weird…_

* * *

Ron was waiting with Sirius and Remus as Harry was being fitted for robes, and Ron massaged his legs and groaned. It had been a tiring afternoon so far, and Ron still didn't have Daphne's or Ginny's gifts. They had all gone to Gringotts first, and that's where Ron had bought a pouch for **twelve** **Galleons**. This pouch would let him pull out money directly from his own vault, and Ron was quite amazed at the convenience of such an item. Even Harry had gotten one, and then they had waited around for an hour while Sirius and Remus spoke to the Goblins about 'private' matters… The damn Goblins didn't even offer them a seat, and Ron's legs were now hurting because of it! And now… now they would be here for hours while Harry had his robes made for him… Ron knew this because he had gone through this himself…

"Kid, you alright?" Sirius asked, looking at Ron with worry. _Not you as well… Bloody hell!_

"I'm fine, Sirius…" Ron said flatly. Sirius looked at Remus, and then the two men nodded to each other. _Wait… we aren't going home are we? I haven't gotten the gifts yet!_

"Kid, while Harry gets his robes" Sirius started "Why don't you and I go get those gifts? Does that sound alright? We can finish up earlier and head back to the Burrow." Ron smiled widely and nodded, relieved that they weren't going home just yet.

"I'll meet you two back here" Remus said with a smile aimed at Ron, and then he turned to Sirius and looked at him seriously. "Remember… don't push him. If you do, we will have words…" Ron looked at Remus sheepishly, and Sirius nodded quickly.

"Of course, Remus" Sirius said, a devious smile fighting to break out. "I'm the definition of responsible…" Remus sighed at that and Ron chuckled.

"Just go before I change my mind…" Remus muttered, frustrated with Sirius. Ron and Sirius wasted no time and exited the shop, and then Sirius turned to Ron with a massive grin.

"So kid! What are we getting for your girlfriend?" Sirius asked excitedly. _GIRLFRIEND?! WHAT THE HELL?!_

"She… she isn't… my girlfriend" Ron spluttered, going completely crimson. Sirius guffawed at Ron's reaction and was in tears from his hysterical laughing. Ron had never felt so embarrassed.

"I was just joking kiddo" Sirius wheezed, and then he chuckled again. "Don't be so embarrassed! I meant that she is a girl and a friend, I swear."

"That's a load of shite and you know it" Ron gritted out, annoyed at Sirius' teasing. Sirius chuckled again and tutted Ron.

"Swearing is for adults…" Sirius scolded mockingly.

"Then why do you do it?" Ron retorted. Sirius frowned and Ron broke out in a grin of his own.

"Touché…" Sirius muttered, and then he chuckled humorously. "Seriously though, what were your thoughts? Chocolates, a dress, some joke items, or jewelry… What is she into?" _Chocolates melt… A dress could work but I don't know shite about them… Joke items? I might as well spit on her face… Jewelry… Now that works… She got me that ring…_

"Sirius, there is a jeweler here in Diagon Alley…" Ron started, and Sirius looked rather interested. "Do you know of any, this one is supported by the Greengrass Family?" Sirius tried to recall any information, and came up empty.

"No, I don't" Sirius replied, and Ron sighed tiredly. "But we can have a look… All the jewelers set up their shops just down the street, in the more 'refined' area…"

"Refined?" Ron asked with a frown.

"It's mostly for Pure-Blooded tossers…" Sirius said bitterly.

"Sirius… We're Pure-Bloods… and many would say that we are tossers" Ron joked, smiling widely at Sirius who also grinned back.

"That we are… Let's have a look, eh?" Sirius grinned. Ron and Sirius then made their way to the 'refined' section of Diagon Alley, and it didn't take long to find the jeweler with a sign in front of his shop that read 'Proudly sponsored by the Greengrass, Parkinson, Bulstrode, and Malfoy Families'. "This must be it…" Sirius frowned at the sign.

"Let's go in then!" Ron said, glad to have found this place so quickly. They entered the shop and Ron was immediately dazzled by all the jewelry that he saw around the shop. The shop itself wasn't too large, but it was neat and organized. There were over a dozen display cases showing off different works, and Ron smiled widely. _I'll definitely find something here…_ Ron and Sirius approached the counter and waited, no one was behind the counter. Sirius 'coughed' loudly, and Ron heard skittish footsteps come from the back of the shop. Then a weedy and shy young man came out, he looked at his customers wearily.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the Jeweler asked, and Sirius frowned at the rude greeting.

"We want to buy bread…" Sirius said sarcastically, and then he shook his head. "We are looking to buy jewelry, a friend of this boy is turning twelve in four days. She is a girl of noble birth, can you help with that?" _I'm so glad Sirius is here… I wouldn't even know how to start…_

"I… I can…" the young man muttered, and then he looked at Ron. "What are her… tastes… do you know?" Ron found the man's fragile demeanor rather pathetic, but he didn't comment on it. _What are her tastes? I mean, I can't get her another hair clip… that's just lazy. Wait… MY RING! It can show him Daphne's taste in jewelry!_ Ron took off his left glove, and looked at his little finger and the serpent ring on it. He had started wearing his ring on his left hand because it looked so odd on his right, scarred one.

"Here" Ron said, showing his ring to the jeweler. Both the jeweler and Sirius went wide-eyed at it, but for different reasons. "She had this made for me on my birthday, March the first…"

"Lady Greengrass…" the jeweler said, looking at his work fondly. "I made this for her… a special order… So it was for you?" the jeweler smiled at Ron sheepishly, and Ron nodded with a smile of his own. "My name is Martin" the jeweler introduced himself. "You are clearly a friend of the Greengrass Family, come with me… I'll show you the best of my selection…" Martin then came around from the counter and eagerly led Ron to a display case.

"Here" Martin said proudly. "A gold tennis bracelet with dark sapphires… She came through a week ago with her mother and sister, and her eyes were glued to this…" Ron looked at the beautiful bracelet, and he smiled widely. _This is perfect!_

"What's a 'tennis-bracelet', it sounds Muggle?" Sirius asked, looking at the bracelet from behind Ron.

"It… it is" Martin said shyly. "I studied Muggle Jewelry in my time abroad… Their designs have helped me quite a lot. Especially with families like the Greengrass'…"

"I'll take it!" Ron said excitedly.

"Excellent, young master" Martin said excitedly. Martin then flicked his wand and the case opened. The bracelet floated into the air, and it was packaged magically. Sirius and Ron then followed Martin to the counter. "That'll be two hundred and twenty Galleons…" Ron blanched and Sirius almost passed out.

"Two hundred and twenty?!" Sirius asked, shocked at the price. "You might as well bend me over the counter…"

"Um… no" Martin said, clearly missing Sirius' sarcasm. _Two-hundred and twenty… Is that how much money she spent on me? Why?! I can't even begin to understand why… But I can't let her gesture go unrewarded… She gave me this amazing ring…_

"I'll pay" Ron said, strengthening in his resolve. Ron then took out his new pouch and began taking out the Galleons.

"Kid… At least let me buy it for you…" Sirius said, watching Ron in shock. Ron turned to Sirius and frowned.

"She is my friend, so I'll pay…" Ron said, and then he finished taking out the necessary Galleons. _I've spent two hundred and thirty two Galleons in total so far today… And I had ninety Galleons from before I won that tournament… That leaves me with… three-hundred and fifty eight Galleons… Merlin, kill me!_

"Excellent, and here is the bracelet" Martin said as he handed over the bracelet and took the Galleons. "A pleasure doing business with a friend of the Greengrass Family…" _A pleasure… I hope you get the dragon-pox, you bastard!_

"It was my honor…" Ron said with a smile, and then both Sirius and he left the shop.

"Fucking hell, kid…" Sirius muttered, looking at Ron with a frown. "This girl better put out…" _What?_

"Put out?" Ron asked in confusion, and Sirius just sighed.

"It doesn't matter…" Sirius said, and then he smiled at Ron faintly. "Guess we should head back now."

"Wait, I still need to get something for Ginny!" Ron said quickly and Sirius looked taken aback.

"Your sister too?" Sirius asked.

"Her birthday is a day after Daphne's…" Ron explained. "Maybe she'd like some jewelry too…"

"Um… no…" Sirius said, frowning at Ron. "Brothers shouldn't buy sisters jewelry…"

"Why?"

"Because it's fucking weird… What does your sister like? Does she have a hobby?" Sirius asked, pondering the same questions. _She likes Quidditch… Probably more than all of us considering her future…_

"She likes Quidditch…" Ron answered. "She sneaks out to practice all the time… Don't tell anyone I told you!" Sirius laughed at that and put his right hand on his own chest.

"I promise I won't… Well, Quality Quidditch Supplies isn't too far from here. We can go and have ourselves a look there" Sirius suggested, and Ron nodded his agreement. They then made their way to the Quidditch shop and Ron began browsing for a gift.

While Ron looked around, Sirius did his own business quietly and quickly. He had come to a wonderful decision on the way here, one that would surprise both the boys he was looking after. And this gift made the perfect amount of sense to Sirius. Harry was the youngest seeker in a century, bless him, and Ron loved Quidditch just like his siblings.

Ron decided to buy his sister a Comet 260 broomstick. It was the perfect starting broom, and a lot better than anything in his father's shed. Not to mention that it was on sale for forty Galleons. This would leave Ron with three-hundred and eighteen Galleons in total, and Ron was fine with that. Ron had the new broomstick polished and packaged, and then he paid and left the store. _Need to sneak this into Ginny's room quietly… or mum will slap my face off…_ Sirius was waiting outside for Ron, and he had two packaged brooms in his arms.

"I didn't know you bought something…" Ron said with a smile.

"And I see you got your sister a broom as well. Which one is it?" Sirius asked, trying to contain his own smile.

"A Comet 260, perfect for beginners!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "She'll love it!"

"You're a good brother Ron" Sirius praised. "So I got you a broom as well…" Ron was taken by surprise at that, and he looked to Sirius's two packaged brooms.

"Is… is one of those mine?" Ron asked, feeling a huge smile break out onto his face.

"Yup… care to guess which broom?" Sirius asked merrily. Ron shook his head, how could he possibly guess that. There were so many models out there… "A Nimbus 2001!" Sirius said happily, and Ron's mouth fell to the floor. _What… He got me a Nimbus 2001? They just came out six days ago…_

"Sirius…" Ron muttered, his heart swelling in gratitude. "You didn't have to…"

"No, I didn't have to" Sirius laughed. "I wanted to! I got one for Harry too, and now you two can fly around Hogwarts and cause all sorts of mayhem!" Sirius remembered his days with James at that, and he sighed in nostalgia. Ron ran up and gave Sirius a thankful hug, but it was hard to pull off. Both of them had brooms to carry, but Sirius did his best to hug the kid back.

* * *

Ron and Harry quickly ran up to Ron's room, hoping that no one saw them and their brooms. Harry wanted to surprise Fred and George, but Ron didn't want to be caught giving Ginny a broom. That would not end well for Ron… If his parents didn't kill him for endangering Ginny, then his brothers would!

"I think we're safe" Ron said as he closed the door behind him. Harry sat down on his own bed and stretched.

"I'm so knackered" Harry groaned.

"Take a nap, dinner won't be served for another couple of hours at least" Ron suggested, then he put Ginny's new broom and his own new broom on his bed gently. _I have a Nimbus 2001! Bloody hell this is amazing! Maybe I should try for the Slytherin team?_ Ron grimaced as he thought about his family's reaction to that. Fred and George would lose their minds at him…

"I would sleep… but I haven't even touched my homework for the holidays yet…" Harry whined. "The Dursleys hid my books away so that I couldn't study…" Ron frowned at that, those Muggles were truly the worst. Then an idea clicked in Ron's head. Ron walked over to his trunk and took out his own completed homework, and then he handed it to Harry.

"Here" Ron said. "You can use mine to copy off of… Just change the words up a bit!" Harry stared at Ron's homework, and then he beamed.

"Are you serious?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, of course… just don't tell Hermione or my family… Or we'll both be done for!" Ron said with a grin.

"Thanks Ron! You're a life-saver!" Harry grinned. _You have no clue mate…_

"I'm going to sneak off and give Ginny her new broom" Ron said, watching Harry get his own homework out excitedly. Ron smirked and shook his head, and then he grabbed Ginny's broom and snuck back out. Luckily the hallway was empty and Ron knocked on Ginny's door lightly, hoping that she'd answer quickly. Ron heard quick footsteps and then her door swung open, and Ron hid the broom by putting it to his right.

"Ron!" Ginny greeted excitedly. "You're back, do you want to play with Luna and me?" She didn't wait for his answer and gripped his left hand tightly. _Merlin… my fucking hands…_

"I have a surprise for you Ginny" Ron said mysteriously, and Ginny beamed.

"Really? What is it?!" she asked excitedly.

"Go inside and wait, and I'll bring it in." Ginny did as she was told quickly, practically jumping up and down. Ron grabbed the wrapped broom and entered her room, and then he closed the door behind himself and locked it. Ginny saw the broom shaped gift in his right hand and she squealed, which made Ron grin widely. "Happy Birthday, Gin-Gin" Ron said as he gave her the broom, which she took quickly.

"Luna look!" Ginny showed her best friend, and Luna smiled airily at Ginny. Ginny ripped off the wrapping paper unceremoniously, and Ron chuckled at her. "WOW!" Ginny exclaimed, taking in her new Comet 260 broomstick. "Ronnie…" Ginny then ran up and hugged Ron tightly, crushing his ribcage. _Why is she so strong?! My ribs! I HEARD A CRACK!_ "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ginny repeated over and over again, tightening her hug. Ron wasn't going to lie, it was starting to hurt his ribs…

"It's no worries" Ron chuckled, and then he looked over to Luna for help.

"Ginny… you're hurting him" Luna hummed, and Ginny let him go quickly.

"I'm sorry!" Ginny apologized.

"No, it's ok… Just promise me that you won't get caught sneaking around with that broom" Ron grinned. "Mum and dad will go mental on me…"

"I promise!" Ginny exclaimed. "Now I can use that Quidditch uniform you got for me at Christmas! I promise I'll practice a lot!" And then she looked put off for some reason. "First years aren't allowed broomsticks…" Ginny muttered. _Damn… she's right! I'll ask for Harry's help…_

"Don't worry" Ron said with a smile. "I'll just have Harry take your broom with him, and you can ask him for it whenever you want to practice! He'll help me, I know it!" Ginny went crimson at that…

"Harry...?" Ginny asked, shuffling her feet. Ron found her reaction rather odd. "Can't you take it? And give it to me when I ask?"

"Gin… I'm in Slytherin" Ron explained, and she pouted adorably. "You can't seriously expect to come down to my common room every time just for a broom… With Harry, you just have to approach him in your shared common room…"

"What if I join Slytherin too?!" Ginny questioned, crossing her arms defiantly. "Then we can be in the same house!" _Trust me… you won't…_

"Well if that happens, then I'll take the broom off of Harry…" Ron negotiated, but he knew that she was a Gryffindor through-and-through. "Otherwise, Harry will keep your broom safe, all right?" Ginny pouted and then nodded. "Good" Ron said with a smile. "Happy birthday Gin…" Ginny smiled widely at that and then she hugged him again, this time she didn't squeeze him too tightly.

* * *

Ron finished combing his hair back, and then he admired his reflection. He was wearing his black velvet dress robes with a high collar, and a skinny silver tie. He was also only wearing one black leather glove which covered his right hand, and in doing so he was showing Daphne's serpent ring on his left hand. Ron thought that was rather appropriate, considering whose party he was attending. Ron just hoped no one questioned his odd choice to wear one glove. But even with one glove on, Ron looked dashing! At least he thought so anyway… His slightly gaunt and pale face worked well with this look, he had to admit that as well. Overall, Ron was quite pleased. _Now I just have to remember my manners…_

Ron made sure to check for Daphne's gift in his inner robe pocket, and when he felt it there, he headed downstairs. His siblings and Harry were all sitting around the dining table, playing exploding snap and socializing with each other. But once they spotted him, all of them gave different reactions. Ginny and Luna cooed at him, which made him blush terribly. Harry and Percy were impressed, which pleased Ron. The twins made jokes and called him their 'Lord Brother', which slightly irked Ron. _I could've guessed their reactions actually… At least I'm sure now that I look appropriate for this party._ Ron smirked at his friend and family, and then he strutted to the living room. The adults were all socializing inside.

Pandora cat-called him once again, and his mother gushed like she always did. Arthur was shocked, Remus wasn't eve surprised, and Xenophilius nodded his head in approval, and Sirius… Sirius was grinning mischievously again. _Oh shite… now what is he up to?_

"Kid, can I talk to you before you floo off?" Sirius asked, and then he got up and guided Ron away from the adults. "Here, take this" Sirius said, and then he handed Ron a box with two platinum and diamond studded cufflinks inside. The cufflinks were shaped in the shapes of the letter 'S' and 'G'. _What's this?_

"Is this for me?" Ron asked in confusion.

"No, this is for Lord Sebastian Greengrass" Sirius replied, chuckling lightly. Sirius then went to explain further but Ron cut him off.

"Why? It isn't his birthday… or is it?" Ron asked, feeling worried. Sirius frowned and flicked Ron's forehead. "Ow! Why?"

"Will you just listen" Sirius scolded. "It is good manners to bring a gift for the host. The host tonight is Sebastian Greengrass, so this is his gift. Give it to him when you meet him, do you understand? This is important!" Ron nodded, confused at why he didn't know this piece of knowledge yet. _I really need more lessons from Daphne… How do these Pure-Bloods remember all of this?!_ Sirius then guided Ron back into the living room and in front of the fire-place.

"Be safe, dear" Molly ordered him. "And come back before midnight…"

"Mum…" Ron complained. "It's already six in the evening, can't I spend a little more time with my friends? I haven't seen them since I left the hospital!" Molly frowned and was about to say no, but Arthur cut in instead.

"Of course, son" Arthur said, and Molly frowned at her husband. Ron beamed at his father. "Just come back whenever you want, but floo directly back home. Is that fair?"

"That's perfect dad" Ron smiled widely. "Thanks!" Sirius then picked up some floo powder and chucked in the fire as he called 'Greengrass Manor'. The fire blazed green and Ron walked through, shooting one last glance at his family.

Ron stepped through the fire-place and was instantly amazed. The room he had walked into was astonishing, it had marble statues everywhere and was immaculate. There was a large crystal chandelier that lit up the whole massive room, and there were multiple fire-places alongside the one Ron had come through. _Bloody hell… this is just the entrance room?_ Ron then made his way towards a large open door, and he was greeted with the sight of the Greengrass Family. They seemed to be standing guard, and behind them was a grand ballroom filled with people! Ron approached the family, and Daphne beamed at the sight of him. Lord and Lady Greengrass smiled approvingly at his dress robes.

"Good evening Lord and Lady Greengrass" Ron said with a short bow. "Thank you for inviting me into your beautiful home. It is a fitting household for a family as illustrious as yours." _I'm a fraud! Daphne wrote this down for me in her letter! Please don't figure that out!_ Lady Greengrass smiled widely at the familiar words, but she didn't say anything.

"Thank you, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said, pleased with Ron's good manners. "We are honored to have you here." Ron then approached the Lord of the house and offered his gift to the host.

"This is for you, my Lord" Ron said with his best smile. Lord Greengrass took the box and smiled at Ron.

"A gift for the host?" Lord Greengrass asked, and then he looked at the cufflinks with a smile. He was quite pleased. "A good gift, my thanks Ronald. Please, enjoy your evening. I hope we can speak later tonight." Ron nodded at that, and looked to Daphne with a pleasant smile.

"Mother, may I take Ron inside?" Daphne asked her mother. Daphne was wearing an emerald dress that was long-sleeved and form-fitting. Her hair was tied in a tasteful bun, and his golden hair-pin was sticking out of the hair bun. She also had a black fur shawl covering her neck and shoulders.

"Let your sister do it" Lady Greengrass said with a smile. She was surprised to see Daphne trying to neglect her duties. "This party is in your name, you must greet all the guests." Daphne nodded, and then she looked at Ron with a blank face. _She isn't pleased…_

"I'll see you shortly" Daphne said, and Ron could hear the irritation in her voice. Ron smiled at her in amusement, and then he turned to Astoria. She was smiling widely at him, and she was dressed in a white dress which was sleeveless and extremely frilly at the bottom. Ron liked Daphne's dress better…

"Come, Ronald" Astoria said softly. "I'll take you to your friends…" _Daphne warned me about her… She's just as bad as the twins! I need to be careful… Luckily I have two little sisters, so I should be fine… I hope._

"Thank you" Ron said pleasantly and then he followed after her, he also noticed Daphne giving him a warning look as he passed her. The ballroom was grand, and people were dancing to the faint music coming from a charmed harp. It was all… illustrious… Ron couldn't think of another word.

"What did you get for Daphne?" Astoria asked as she led him, her voice was soft and mischievous. _Here we go!_

"Something that she will like, I hope" Ron deflected calmly.

"Oh, maybe you should tell me?" Astoria egged on. "I know what my sister likes, I can make sure you don't embarrass yourself."

"Maybe I like to embarrass myself?" Ron returned, smirking at the game that they were playing. _She is a little she-devil, isn't she?_

"But would you like to embarrass Daphne too?" Astoria asked with a sly smile, she had him now. Emotional blackmail always worked in her favor!

"If I ever see a chance to embarrass your sister, I take it" Ron said with a grin. Astoria blinked at that, but she kept moving.

"Really? Why?" Astoria asked, slightly jarred at his immunity against emotional blackmail.

"Same reason as you, I imagine" Ron deflected again. "I remember your comment at the hospital when I first woke up, stellar work!" Ron praised her, and she blushed a little.

They made their way past the dancers and towards a corner where all of Ron's friends were standing. All of Ron's friends, and Malfoy and his goons… _What the fuck?! Why is he here?!_ Ron was shocked to see Malfoy there, and even more shocked that Theo and Blaise were talking to him rather calmly. Ron decided not make a scene. He didn't actually want to embarrass Daphne tonight, or Lord Greengrass. The last thing he wanted was to lose his apprenticeship when he was so close to getting it!

"Here you are" Astoria said politely. "Have fun, I hope we can talk some more after I'm finished." Before Ron could even respond, the youngest Greengrass daughter turned around and walked back to her family. Ron slowly approached his friends, and Pansy was the first to see him.

"Ron, you're here!" Pansy exclaimed, making all of the children look to Ron. Ron smiled widely at Pansy and greeted all of his friends with a smile. And then he turned to Malfoy, and noticed that Malfoy wasn't sneering at him like usual.

"Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle…" Ron greeted curtly. The gorillas narrowed their eyes at him and cracked their knuckles. _Really?_

"Don't make a scene you two" Malfoy ordered, frowning at them both. Then he turned to Ron. "Weasley" Malfoy greeted him curtly as well. _Huh? Where is the good-old-fashioned 'Blood-Traitor' I'm used to? Wait… Am I asking for abuse? What's the matter with me?_

"You're dressed to kill" Blaise said with a smirk. "I like this look on you much better. It suits you." Ron grinned at Blaise, who simply smiled back and shook his head. "Don't grin…"

"Not sure about the one glove though" Theo added in, looking at Ron's covered hand. "Did you lose the other one?" Theo asked with a smirk. _Of course Theo is the bastard who points it out…_

"No…" Ron answered lamely, and Theo cocked an eyebrow at him. "It's complicated… I don't want to talk about it." Theo narrowed his eyes at that, and was about to ask more questions but Millie stopped him.

"Stop being rude, Theo" Millie scolded, and then she turned to Ron. "How have you been? You haven't been pushing yourself too much have you?" _Ugh… And here I thought that I escaped mum for the night…_

"No, I haven't… I've only passed out a couple of times" Ron joked, but his friends didn't laugh. Instead they frowned at him.

"Are you serious? You've been passing out?" Tracey questioned, she sounded worried.

"No, that was a joke…" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"Not funny" Pansy frowned. "We've been worried about you…" _Yeesh… tough crowd…_

"Worried?" Malfoy asked Pansy, he looked surprised. "About him?" Malfoy jerked his head in Ron's direction. _So much for not making a scene…_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, which earned him odd looks from Theo and Blaise.

"Draco" Pansy said softly. "If you can't be civil… then leave…" _OOF! That's my girl! Show this prick the door!_ Malfoy was honestly just jarred to his very core at Pansy Parkinson's comment. When did she become someone who could dismiss him?!

"There is no need for this" Blaise said, sounding aloof as usual. "You know how these things work, we are to stay together and behave…" _We are?_

"It's expected of us" Theo explained, looking at Ron's confused expression. "The adults don't want us to cause problems in their own alliances, so we are expected to get along…" _That makes… no sense… Why are their alliances jeopardized by their children? Is that how fickle things are with these people? I mean, I know that Slytherin house is bloody fickle, is that where it all stems from?!_

"So we are all expected to be friends?" Ron asked Theo.

"We aren't friends…" Malfoy scoffed, and Ron frowned. _Maybe I should remind him that he is only here because of me…_

"And you would be dead if it weren't for me… So mind the attitude…" Ron grit out, glaring at Malfoy. Malfoy looked taken aback, but he quickly recovered his composure.

"Ron… don't" Millie said in a scolding tone. "You'll get us all in trouble, and you will also tarnish your own name amongst the guests here."

"Our parents are here" Tracey provided. "So please behave, and that was meant for you both!" _I got put in my place… don't know about Malfoy, but I think I'll listen…_

"Sorry" Ron apologized to his friends. "I will behave, I promise." Ron's friends turned to Malfoy, and he just grunted his answer. _I'd say this was progress… But it clearly isn't…_ There was an awkward silence amongst the children, one that was broken by Millie.

"Ron, let's go find my parents" Millie said suddenly.

"Your parents?" Ron asked, worried about meeting more strangers. "Shouldn't we wait for Daphne?"

"She won't be around for another hour or so" Tracey added, making Ron cock an eyebrow at her. "Being the heiress of the Greengrass Family is no joke." _No it isn't…_

"Alright then, lead the way" Ron said to Millie. Millie smiled and did just that, and Ron followed after her. They walked around for a minute and then Millie spotted her parents. She grabbed Ron's right wrist and dragged him towards them, taking Ron by surprise. _Damn I'm weak… Millie could probably beat me up…_

"Mummy, daddy" Millie called to them, and Ron was shocked to hear her childish tone. "This is Ronald Weasley, my friend." _Just friend… no friend and ally?_ Ron looked at Lord and Lady Bulstrode, and they were an intimidating couple. Lord Bulstrode was a pudgy bald man with beady eyes that looked angry and a thick goatee, and Lady Bulstrode looked just like Millie would if she was a grown-up.

"So this is him…" Lord Bulstrode said sternly. "I've heard quite a bit about you, boy…" _MERLIN! I want to bolt!_

"It is an honor to meet the Lord and Lady of house Bulstrode" Ron greeted, giving a polite bow to them.

"And well-mannered in our ways…" Lord Bulstrode said with a raised eyebrow.

"Daddy, stop scaring him" Millie whined. Lord Bulstrode looked at his daughter and gave her a nod.

"Forgive my husband" Lady Bulstrode said, her voice was quite gentle and kind. It didn't match her body… "I'm glad to finally meet you, Mr. Weasley. Millie has told us a lot about you, and I must say that I am impressed. Impressed… and grateful."

"Grateful, my Lady?" Ron asked with a polite smile.

"Our daughter is excelling at school" Lord Bulstrode answered for his wife. "She claims that it is because you spend hours tutoring her. Is this true?" _Merlin… what do I say to that? I don't want to take the credit for her hard-work… I'll look like a tosser if I do that! But it is true…_

"Millie has worked very hard, Sir" Ron replied. "I only helped a little." _That was pretty good…_ Lord Bulstrode smirked at that, and Lady Bulstrode smiled kindly at Ron.

"Well, we thank you on behalf of our daughter" Lady Bulstrode said. "Please, keep taking care of her."

"Mummy…" Millie groaned.

"Don't make that sound, love. It is unbecoming" Lady Bulstrode scolded with a smile. _This family… is quite odd…_

"I assure you Lady Bulstrode" Ron started. "It is Millie who generally takes care of me. I can be… reckless."

"Reckless?" Millie asked sarcastically. "Down-right stupid if you ask me…" Ron smiled sheepishly at Millie.

"I'm not that bad…" Ron said, forgetting that her parents were watching.

"You got caught smuggling a Dragon through school…" Millie pointed out, a smile breaking out on her face.

"A Dragon?" Lord Bulstrode asked, surprised at that odd fact. Ron looked to Lord Bulstrode and tried to contain his smile.

"Yes, Sir" Ron responded. "Not my finest moment…" _It was fun though…_

"Oh my, what an odd boy you are" Lady Bulstrode chuckled, and then she pinched Ron's right cheek. Ron blushed at that, and his cheek stung. "Millie has made a fine friend it seems. Don't you agree, Husband?" Lord Bulstrode smirked at that.

"Indeed… It is good to finally put a face to you, Mr. Weasley" Lord Bulstrode said. And then he looked over at someone behind Ron. "Excuse us, Mr. Weasley. An old friend has just arrived." With that, both of Millie's parents walked off to greet their friend. _That went well… I think…_

"You did great, Ron" Millie congratulated with a smile. "The first time Theo met my father, he made Theo cry!" _WHAT?!_ "Though Theo was only six at the time…" _That makes more sense!_

"Not going to lie… Your dad is scary" Ron admitted, grateful to still be in one piece.

"No, he is a sweetheart" Millie chuckled, and Ron just gaped at her. _Maybe towards you he is…._

"Want to join the others again?" Ron asked, and Millie nodded.

"I should warn you, Ron" Millie said as they made their way back. "Pansy also wants you to meet her parents… Her father is quite nice, but her mother… Her mother is an acquired taste…"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked, he didn't want to meet some Pure-Blood fanatic…

"She is… she is obsessed with money and fame…" Millie said as she shook her head. "It's why Pansy stuck around Draco for so long… Pansy was convinced that she needed to act just like her mother taught her to, and I think she even fooled herself… So much so that she became just like her 'dear' mother… And now…"

"Now she is a close friend of mine…" Ron finished for Millie, and Millie nodded. "And I'm not famous or rich…"

"Your fame is debatable, but yes… you aren't exactly rich" Millie agreed, and then she looked him over with a smile. "But you dress well, did you use your tournament money for these?"

"A gift from Lord Black" Ron provided. "He spent an absurd amount of Galleons on my wardrobe."

"Then you need to thank him, how you dress is important at these events."

"I imagine that I will be attending a few more of these in the future…"

"You will" Millie agreed with a smirk, but then she stopped. "Those are Pansy's parents with her right now…" Ron looked at the couple, and he noticed that they were talking with his friends. Lord Parkinson was talking to Theo and Blaise, while Lady Parkinson was talking to Mafloy and Pansy. Pansy looked rather uncomfortable, as did Malfoy… "Just keep you head on straight, Ron. Don't lose you temper… Lady Parkinson has a way of getting under people's skins… Horrible woman." Ron gulped and followed after Millie.

"There they are" Theo told Lord Parkinson, and the man turned around to face Millie and Ron as they approached. Lord Parkinson was a chubby man, but less chubby than Millie's father, and he had a head full of light brown hair that was combed back. Ron also noted that Lord Parkinson was wearing a faint smile on his shaved face, and he looked rather approachable. Ron smiled back as he approached the man.

"Ron, your back" Pansy said with a smile, and Ron didn't miss the frown that Lady Parkinson sent her daughter. "Mother, father… This is Ronald Bilius Weasley, my friend and ally." Ron gave them a bowed greeting with the usual Pure-Blood jargon.

"At least he has manners… I didn't think that the Weasleys had manners…" Lady Parkinson said rather bitterly, and Ron flinched internally. _What a bitch…_ Lady Parkinson was a tall, skinny woman with black hair that was tied in a ponytail. And she seemed to enjoy looking down at him from her beak-shaped nose…

"From what I've heard, Ronald here is quite different from his family" Lord Parkinson said with a smile. "How are you, Ronald? Enjoying the party?" Ron smiled at him, he definitely liked Lord Parkinson more than his wife…

"I am, my Lord. And I am doing well" Ron replied. "How is your evening progressing?" Lord Parkinson chuckled at that, and Lady Parkinson frowned more.

"Quite well, I'd say" Lord Parkinson said with a laugh, and then he showed Ron his empty wine glass.

"Tell us, Mr. Weasley… How have your holidays been?" Lady Parkinson asked with a smirk. "Did you enjoy your stay at St. Mungo's?" _What the fuck?! What is her problem with me?!_ Even Malfoy looked at her with some semblance of annoyance, which Ron found quite odd.

"I did… The staff were kind and the gardens were quite therapeutic" Ron said, barely keeping it together. _One more snarky comment, and I'm ripping out my wand… I swear to Merlin…_ Lady Parkinson was clearly annoyed at his answer because she frowned at him again.

"Come, Husband…" Lady Parkinson ordered. "Let us find more… appropriate company…" And with that, she walked away with practiced grace and her chubby husband ran at her heels like some love-struck puppy… Ron felt pity for Lord Parkinson, no one deserved to be married to such a vile witch. And he felt sorry for Pansy as well, he imagined living with this woman as his mother… Ron shuddered at the thought.

"I'm really sorry about her" Pansy said with a sad smile. "She can be… difficult…" _Difficult? Try rude and vexing…_

"Not your fault" Ron said, trying to calm down. "Though I'd rather not run into her again…"

"That won't be a problem then, Weasley" Malfoy said with a cold smirk. "I doubt she wants to lay eyes on you again." Ron's friends frowned at Malfoy, and Ron just looked at Malfoy with indifference.

"Then perhaps you should go with her…" Ron said bitterly. "She seemed to enjoy talking to you from what I saw…" Malfoy frowned at Ron, and Crabbe and Goyle narrowed their eyes on him. It was hard to take the gorillas seriously because they had plates full of food in their chubby hands. _Now that I think about it, I'm a little hungry as well…_ "Excuse me, I'm going to go find some food…" Ron said to his friends, and then he went off to go search.

Ron was annoyed, there was no doubt about that. But some food would cheer him up again, he just knew it! He was on his way to a table full of food when Blaise caught up to him.

"Slow down there, Ron" Blaise said in his aloof voice as he approached Ron from behind.

"Blaise? Are you hungry as well?" Ron asked, surprised to see Blaise catch up to him. _I can't help but think that he wants to make sure I don't do anything stupid… I'm not that stupid…_

"I am actually" Blaise said with a smirk. "Also the girls sent me to make sure you didn't do anything problematic." _There it is…_ "I told them that you wouldn't, but your temper is rather unpredictable." Ron frowned at that.

"I was annoyed" Ron started. "But I was also hungry… I was going to grab a plate and come right back. Where is the faith?" Ron said as he feigned hurt, it made Blaise chuckle.

"Ease up on the melodramatics" Blaise said with a humorous voice. "Also, I'm making your plate of food. There's a few things I want you to try." Ron was taken aback by this, but then he remembered that Blaise loved eating different foods from different countries. So Ron let Blaise make him a plate of food. As they tried different foods, Ron was amazed by Blaise's knowledge.

"This is Tikka-Masala, and it hails from Punjab. It's a Muggle dish" Blaise said with a smile. "Here, try some." Ron did as he was told and he immediately felt the spice burn his tongue and cheeks.

"What the hell, Blaise?" Ron gritted out, and then he drank down a glass of pumpkin juice. Blaise actually laughed at Ron's red face. "Who would eat this?"

"It is a very well-loved dish from what I've read" Blaise said with a chuckle. "You should try everything here… Lord Greengrass tends to enjoy showing off his knowledge on the Muggle world. I doubt you'd see such a selection in any other Pure-Blood party." Blaise then took a spoonful of rice and Tikka-Masala from his plate and put it in his mouth.

"Doesn't that burn?" Ron asked, looking at his own share with trepidation.

"The spice is what makes the dish unique" Blaise explained after he swallowed his food. "And you get used to it…" Ron nodded slowly and kept eating, and by Merlin, it was a painful experience. But he was glad to share this with Blaise, it was enjoyable with his company. After they finished their food, both boys walked back towards the other children. Blaise was carrying a plate full of food for Theo, and Ron smirked at the thought of Theo eating this 'Tikka-Masala'. _This is going to be hilarious._

"Finally" Theo muttered as he saw his friends. "I was wondering if you two ditched me here with them…" The girls frowned at Theo, and Tracey smacked his right arm.

"We can hear you…" Tracey said with a frown.

"That was the point, my Lady" Theo said with a smirk, and then he dodged the next smack heading his way. Theo quickly made his way to Ron and Blaise, smiling deviously. That smile fell off his face when he saw the plate of food that Blaise was carrying. "Blaise… I asked for some 'normal' food… What is this muck?" Blaise frowned at Theo.

"This is Tikka-Masala, and it tastes great" Blaise said, annoyed at Theo's comment. "Ron and I had a full plate and we loved it. Tell him Ron…" _Time to lie and sell this dish!_

"I was wary just like you, Theo" Ron said with his best smile. "But I have to admit, it was fantastic. I'm so glad that Blaise convinced me to have a plateful." Theo narrowed his eyes at the dish, and took it slowly from Blaise. _Yes… fall for the lies, Theo… Your mouth will burn…_ Ron had fight the urge to let out an evil laugh. Even Blaise was struggling to keep his cool, and both boys were keen to see Theo suffer. Theo ate a few bites and he was enjoying it, but then the spiciness slowly started to burn his mouth. And then, it was like an inferno of pain!

"What the fuck…?" Theo said as he exhaled through his mouth. His face was getting red, and his eyes were getting teary. Ron and Blaise looked at him with massive grins, while the girls looked at him with shocked expressions. "Blaise, what the fuck…? Why is this so spicy?!" Theo gritted out, glaring at his friend who was grinning ear-to-ear. Theo then went to put his plate away, but Ron stopped him.

"Nah, nah!" Ron tutted. "We ate a plate each, so you have to eat a plate too!" Ron was doing his best to not start laughing his head off.

"What kind of logic is that?" Theo complained. "I'm not eating this shite…"

"Coward…" Blaise egged Theo, who was taken by surprise. "Ron and I did it… Guess we're just tougher." Theo gaped at Blaise, his tongue and cheeks burning. Was that a challenge? Theo wasn't about to let Blaise show him up… So Theo gritted his jaw and took another bite. And then another, and another. Ron and Blaise just watched in extreme amusement, while the girls begged Theo to stop eating. Malfoy and his goons just watched quietly. Malfoy was… shocked… He had never seen his friends be so… open with their emotions before. This unsettled him greatly, and he knew whose fault it was. Weasley was turning them into simpletons.

By the time Theo finished, he was almost passing out. Ron quickly grabbed him some pumpkin juice from a nearby waiter, and Theo chugged it down in one go. Ron and Blaise had to admit that Theo had impressed them, and the girls were openly congratulating Theo who was smiling proudly.

"Ahem" came a voice from behind them. The group turned to face Daphne looking at them all with a smile. "Enjoying yourselves?" Then she looked to Theo and her smile faltered a bit. "What happened?" Tracey quickly told her everything, and Daphne shot Blaise and Ron a scolding glare. Ron smiled sheepishly at her.

"It was Blaise's idea" Ron said, pointing an accusing finger at Blaise.

"You liar…" Blaise shot back, looking at Ron with shock. "I would never do something so childish. Everyone knows that…" Daphne just scowled at Ron.

"Ron…" Daphne muttered, and Ron was horrified. _IT WAS HIS IDEA THOUGH!_ Ron looked to Blaise, and Blaise shot him a quick smirk. _Evil little git…_ "So, what else did I miss while I was on guard duty?" Daphne asked the girls. They all recounted the events of the party so far, and Daphne nodded along. When they finished, Daphne turned to Ron.

"I'm glad you didn't make a scene" Daphne said approvingly, and Ron felt a little insulted.

"I don't always make scenes…" Ron frowned, and his friends cocked their eyebrow at him. "Okay… fine… I make a few…" The girls giggled at that, and his two best mates just chuckled.

"How are you enjoying the party?" Daphne asked Malfoy and his goons. "I hope everything is meeting your standards…"

"The food is really good" Crabbe said, and Goyle nodded at that. Ron was shocked to see the gorillas speaking in English.

"Thank you, Vincent" Daphne said with a soft smile. "Please have as much as you like. What about you Draco, are you enjoying yourself?"

"It's acceptable" Mafloy said indifferently, and Ron frowned at him. _Complete git…_

"I'm glad to hear that, please let me know if you need anything" Daphne said with a smile. _Why is she being so nice to him?_ Ron felt a little jealous of Malfoy but he kept his composure. _Stupid git Malfoy…_ "Ron, can you accompany me for a bit?"

"Um… sure" Ron said with a smile. Daphne then turned around and began walking, and Ron caught up to her. "What about the others?"

"I've spent the entire holidays with them…" Daphne said, inwardly frowning that he didn't want to be alone with her. Well she didn't care about what he wanted, it was her birthday today. So he had to do what she said! "Have you seen our gardens?" Daphne asked, smiling slyly at her latest idea.

"Can't say that I have" Ron replied. _How could I have possibly seen them? What is she up to?_

"Then I should show you" Daphne hummed.

"It's night-time…" Ron said, wondering how they could even appreciate the gardens in the dead of night.

"We have magic…" Daphne giggled. "Come on, I'll show you!" Then Daphne tangled her left arm with his right one and tugged him along. Ron went beet red, mostly from the intimate contact with a girl, but also because Daphne had more strength than him. They quickly made their way out of the ballroom, and exited it through a large door which led them straight into the gardens. "Tada!"

Ron was awed by the size of the gardens. There were gazebos, marble benches, and even a maze just in their backyard. The whole garden was lit up with bright colored lights that were darting about, and upon closer inspection, Ron was amazed to see that they were fairies. As for the flora, well Ron had never seen anything like it. There were hundreds of flowers that Ron didn't even know existed, and there was a large tree in the center of them that had pink petals for leaves. Ron's jaw dropped at the beauty of the gardens.

"My mother takes care of this place all by herself" Daphne boasted. "Astoria and I help of course, but she does most of the work. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful…" Ron muttered, a smile breaking out on his face. A fairy flew past Ron's head, and he could hear the little ball of red light giggling. "Where did these fairies come from?"

"They live here" Daphne said softly. "When we have parties, they come out to play and dance as well. Come on" Daphne whispered, and then she pulled Ron along. He came willingly this time, he was too busy looking around with awe. They walked on a path which led them to a marble bench. Daphne sat down and patted the bench, inviting Ron to sit down as well.

"This place is amazing, Daphne" Ron said as he sat down. _I wish we had something like this back at the Burrow… Ginny and Luna would love it!_

"Thank you" Daphne beamed, and then she inspected his robes. "You dressed perfectly by the way, this look suits you." Ron felt his cheeks heat up.

"Thanks" Ron said with a grin.

"Don't grin like that" Daphne giggled. "It makes you look really silly when you are dressed in such a well-fashioned manner." Ron kept grinning though, and Daphne snorted from laughter.

"And what was that?" Ron laughed. "A Lady shouldn't snort I'm sure. What would your mother say if she saw that?" Ron joked, and Daphne laughed a bit more.

"She would say the same thing you just said" Daphne said, her laughter dying down slowly. "How have you been, Ron? How are you settling in at home? We haven't seen each other since you went home from the Hospital…"

"I'm doing alright" Ron told her, he didn't feel the need to hide anything from Daphne. She knew quite a bit about him but she never told the others. "Still recovering slowly… But it's happening. I don't even need my crutch anymore, which is great. As for my home… everyone is stepping on eggshells around me. It's annoying…"

"Well, that's to be expected" Daphne said with an understanding nod. "You did almost die…"

"Ugh… not you as well…" Ron muttered, and Daphne frowned at him.

"Letting people worry for you isn't a form of weakness… Stop being such a stubborn goat, Ronald" Daphne scolded, and Ron was taken by surprise at being called a goat.

"A stubborn goat? Really?" Ron said, a smile playing on his face.

"Yes, a goat! A red-furred stubborn goat" Daphne said seriously, and then she began sniggering. Ron laughed at the odd description.

"How about the party? Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked Ron. "Other than the thing with Lady Parkinson, that is…"

"This party is great" Ron replied honestly. "This is probably the grandest birthday party that I've ever attended."

"Well, it is **my** birthday" Daphne boasted with a sly smile. "So it was to be expected."

"Careful… you almost sounded like Malfoy for a second" Ron said jokingly.

"I resent that" Daphne chuckled. "I'm actually surprised to see him behaving himself for once. Usually he draws a crowd and tries to show off constantly. But today he is… subdued…" _What a tosser…_ "I can't say the same for my sister though… She has been acting more like a monster rather than a lady… Especially after she came back after guiding you to the group."

"She is a handful…" Ron said, remembering his conversation with the younger Greengrass daughter. "She kept wanting to know what I got you for your birthday, care to explain that?"

"That's an odd habit of hers…" Daphne sighed. "She likes to find out what people got for their birthdays or for Christmas before they do… And then she tells them in order to ruin their surprise…" _That's just plain evil…_

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't tell her then…" Ron said in relief.

"She was shocked" Daphne said with a soft smile. "She is used to getting her way… She wouldn't stop talking about you." Daphne frowned at that, but she quickly shook out of it. She herself really wanted to find out what Ron had gotten her. "So… what did you get me?" Daphne asked slowly. _I guess I should give her the bracelet now… I mean we are alone, so it won't be too embarrassing._ Ron reached into his inner robe pocket and pulled out the box that contained it.

"Here, I got this from a certain jeweler" Ron said mysteriously, and Daphne went wide-eyed. She took the box and undid the wrapping carefully, which Ron found rather amusing. _Ginny ripped her wrapping away like a little beast…_ Daphne uncovered the box and opened it, and she let out a loud gasp at the sight.

"Ron…" Daphne whispered, her voice shaky. "How did you know about this bracelet?" She beamed at the gold tennis-bracelet with the dark sapphires. Ron smiled ear-to-ear. _SUCCESS! Thank you Martin!_

"Martin told me that you liked it quite a bit" Ron explained. "So I bought for you! I hope you like it."

"I love it!" Daphne exclaimed. Daphne then took the bracelet out carefully and put it around her left wrist. She was having trouble with the closing the clasp with one hand, so Ron decided to help. He leaned forward and did the clasp with his own hands, and he missed Daphne going red in the face.

"There" Ron said as he finished sealing the clasp. Daphne then looked at the bracelet around her wrist and smiled happily. "It looks great on you" Ron complimented, glad that she was loving her gift. Daphne went even redder in the face.

"Thanks…" Daphne said softly, smiling at Ron. There was a short pause between the two, and Ron felt butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so weird… or why they had both stopped talking and were just looking at each other. Daphne broke the silence after a few long seconds. "We should… go back inside…" Daphne said softly. _What just happened? It got weird between us for a bit… Just like that time right after Christmas Holidays… When she hugged me…_

"Sure…" Ron said, and then he stood up and offered her his gloved hand. She took it with a faint smile, and then the two of them made their way back quietly. Once they were inside, they quickly found the others.

"There you two are" Tracey said with a smile. "Your mother was looking for you, Daphne. You shouldn't keep her waiting…" Daphne nodded at that, and just like that, she was gone… _Did I do something weird? Merlin… I need to talk to Sirius…_

"So…" Theo said with a smirk. "Enjoy your alone time with the heiress?" _What…?_

"I did" Ron answered honestly, but it took the wind from Theo's sails.

"Ugh… can't even poke fun at this moron" Theo groaned. _HEY!_

They all talked to one another for a bit, and Ron couldn't help but feel like he was being watched by a lot of people. And then, Lord Greengrass approached the group and stood right behind Ron.

"Ronald, may I speak with?" Lord Greengrass asked with a kind smile. Ron turned around and gave a short bow.

"Of course, my Lord" Ron said politely. "Please lead the way." Lord Greengrass led them to the gardens, and Ron's stomached tightened over an unknown reason. _What's wrong with me? Am I worried about my conversation with Daphne? I shouldn't be… Nothing happened!_

"What do you think of the gardens, Ronald?" Lord Greengrass asked with a faint smile. "This is my wife's pride and joy. Not counting our daughters, of course."

"It is an astonishing place, my Lord. When Daphne first showed me…" Ron was cut off by Lord Greengrass at that.

"My daughter showed you this place already?" Lord Greengrass asked, his tone humorous. _I'm so fucking stupid!_

"Um… yes, my Lord" Ron answered sheepishly, going red with embarrassment.

"Don't be shy, Ronald. I know that you two are quite close. She barely even spoke when you were in your coma, and now her life-force has returned to her. Your friends share a similar pattern to hers… You have established yourself well, but you could still do better."

"Better?" Ron asked, confused at where this was going.

"I imagine that Slytherin house will be quite pleased with you next year…" Lord Greengrass went on as if he was talking to himself rather than with Ron. "They should be, considering that you won them the seventh House Cup. But I must warn you, certain things are in motion Ronald. Things that will cause you many problems…"

"Problems, my Lord?" Ron asked, getting worried. _Why did he bring me out here?_

"Your father…" Lord Greengrass sighed, and then he turned to Ron with a serious look. "Your father is attempting to pass a law called the Muggle Protection Act, and as he is the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, it will most likely pass within a couple of days." _Muggle Protection Act? What does that have to do with me?_

"My lord, I don't understand…" Ron started but was cut off by Lord Greengrass.

"The law proposes thorough searches, or raids, on the homes of wizards and witches in order to find any dangerous artifacts… And their primary targets will be Pure-Blood families, including my family. Though I have nothing to hide, many other families are not so innocent… families like the Malfoys, or the Notts." _Theo's family?_

"You must take care this upcoming school year, Ronald" Lord Greengrass continued. "Do not give anyone any reason to doubt your loyalties to Slytherin, or you will become a target. And so will your friends, including my daughter. Do you understand me? I will not allow any harm to befall my daughter, and I will order her to keep her distance from you if it comes to it…" _Distance?_

"I… I understand" Ron muttered, looking down at his feet. He himself didn't want his friends to be targets…

"I'm sure you won't let it come to that" Lord Greengrass said in a kind voice, and then he placed his hand on Ron's left shoulder. "Keep your head up, Ronald. Never lower your head, or people will think you weak." Ron did as he was told. "I am simply warning you as it is my duty to look after you now." Ron gave Lord Greengrass a confused look.

"I have spoken with your father" Lord Greengrass continued with a smile. "On August the fifteenth, I will come to your house with an employment contract. Your father and I have worked out all of the details, and now you simply have to sign this contract. Then, you will be officially listed as my apprentice."

"What does the contract entail?" Ron asked, feeling relieved that this was finally happening.

"It is quite simple" Lord Greengrass explained with a faint smile. "You will come to Greengrass Manor every Saturday for practice, and do not worry about your school because they will allow you to attend. Simply ask Severus, and he will send you to the manor. I will teach you how to better your game, and take you under my wing in other matters too. I will also personally sign you up to play in different tournaments. Some of them will be grand and others will be minor, but we must spread your name. If you wish to be invited into the more 'exclusive' scene, then you need a reputation."

"Furthermore" Lord Greengrass continued, and Ron listened intently. "You will be paid, by me, at the start of every month. Your father and I have worked out your payment plan, you will earn fifty Galleons a month. I think that is more than fair for someone your age. You will also keep all of your winnings and trophies. You may donate those trophies to your school, I'd recommend that. I will also grant you a token of our noble house, and it will work to show others that you are allied with the Greengrass Family. Is this all satisfactory?" Ron just blinked as he processed all of this information. He was more than happy with all of this, but he wanted to know what Lord Greengrass truly gained from this.

"And you gain prestige, reputation, and things of that variety?" Ron asked slowly. Lord Greengrass smirked and nodded at that.

"You will wear a uniform designed by me when you attend the tournaments" Lord Greengrass stated. "A uniform that will display the colors and coat of arms of the Greengrass Family. It will establish my presence at these events when you win." _A uniform… Merlin it better be long-sleeved…_

"Is the uniform long-sleeved?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass shook his head slowly. _Damn it…_ "Can you please make it long-sleeved…?" Lord Greengrass was taken aback by this request.

"Is there a particular reason why?" Lord Greengrass asked, the uniform was already designed and made… Ron shuffled his feet and contemplated on what to do. _I have to tell him now… or everyone will know when I attend the tournaments…_ Ron pulled the sleeve on his right arm back and showed Lord Greengrass his scarred arm. Ron was looking down on the ground, so he missed Lord Greengrass' mouth hang open in horror. Lord Greengrass quickly regained his composure, but he was still shaken internally. What could leave such scars?!

"It was the Dark Lord…" Ron lied, talking more to himself rather than with Lord Greengrass. "My right hand is also…" Ron trailed off, it felt so… uncomfortable. Like he was naked… It made his skin crawl…

"I will have a new uniform made" Lord Greengrass said clearly, and then he covered Ron's arm. "One with gloves…" Ron smiled gratefully at Lord Greengrass who smiled back sadly. "Do your friends know of these?"

"No…" Ron muttered. "Not even my siblings know… Please don't tell Daphne."

"I will not betray your trust, Ronald. Our partnership requires absolute trust if it is to thrive. If you ever need to talk or need advice, I expect you to come to me first. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron said with a smile.

"Good" Lord Greengrass said with a kind smile, and then he guided them back to the party.

* * *

Ron stumbled through the fireplace of the Burrow in an absolute daze. Right before he had parted ways with the Greengrass Family, Daphne had given him a kiss on his right cheek. It had… it had stunned him into a silly state.

"You're home" came his mother's voice, and Ron looked to her. The adults were all still in the living room, and they were drinking wine…

"Hello" Ron said lamely, still reeling from the kiss. _It was really soft… why did she do that? I mean Tracey kissed my cheek once… but this was… different… It lasted longer too…_

"There's some food on the dining table if you're hungry" Pandora cooed, her cheeks red from drinking.

"Wait…" Remus said, narrowing his eyes on Ron's face. "Is that lipstick?!" Sirius grinned widely at the sound of that, and all the adults looked at Ron in shock.

"Um… Daphne…" Ron stuttered, quickly covering his right cheek. The adults broke into cheers and giggles, and Ron's face almost melted from embarrassment. Ron ran out of the room and right up the stairs, pushing the limits of his speed like never before. He could still hear them laughing and whistling, and it was the most mortifying thing Ron had ever experienced…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry to those who wanted to see Lockhart, but he will be in the next chapter. I felt the need to lay ground-work for characters like Ginny and Lord Greengrass! This felt like the perfect way to do it, mainly because the events of second year aren't bearing down on Ron yet. So next chapter will be the last chapter of the Holidays Arc!**

 **See you all soon!**


	24. Chapter 24 - Another Mystery to Solve

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Let me start off with an apology! I went to my parents' house and forgot my laptop charger... so yeah... Onto Chapter 24!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 24 – Another Mystery to Solve**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

* * *

 _ **August 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Happy Birthday!" they all yelled as Ginny cut the cake. They were all outside once again as there were too many people to fit inside. Ron smiled at sight of his little sister, in her purple fluffy dress, feeding Fred the piece of cake that she had just cut. Ginny was officially eleven years old now, and she was ready to attend Hogwarts. The thought both excited and scared Ron… He felt excited at the thought of seeing her on a more daily basis and maybe even helping her with her schoolwork. But he felt worried because he knew that Hogwarts was a dangerous place, he'd learned that the hard way… _Not to mention this threat that 'Dobby' had warned Harry about…_

"Ron?" came Ginny's voice. Ron blinked and looked at her standing in front of him with a quizzical look on her face, and she had a piece of cake in her hand. "Cake?" she asked as she offered him a bite. Ron grinned at the offer, and then took a massive bite which made her shriek. "RON! You nearly got cake on my dress!" Ginny whined as she jumped back.

"Delicious!" Ron said with a mouthful of cake, and Ginny frowned.

"EW! Eat with your mouth closed!" Ginny ordered, but a smile was breaking out on her face. The adults all chuckled at the sight, and his siblings snickered. Ginny then poked out her tongue at Ron and marched off to get another piece of cake. Ginny put the piece of cake on a plate and walked up to Harry apprehensively. "Here…" Ginny muttered, and Harry took the plate with a kind smile.

"Thanks, Ginny" Harry said politely. "Happy Birthday." Ginny smiled widely at that nodded her thanks, taking Harry by surprise. She then quickly trotted off to Luna's side, and Ron couldn't understand why she was so crimson in the face. _Is she feeling sick? I mean… it was pretty hot today, maybe she got heat-stroke… I should tell mum._

"Mum…" Ron said softly as he approached Molly and Pandora.

"Yes, dear?" Molly said, looking down at him with a wide smile.

"I think Ginny is feeling sick…" Ron said, and his mother looked over to Ginny. "She went red in the face just now… like really red! And it was really hot today, and we all spent the day outside…" Molly looked genuinely worried until Pandora, who was smirking, whispered something in her ear. Molly then chuckled heartily, and Pandora joined her. _What the…? Why are they laughing? I'm being serious here!_

"Ginny is fine, dear" Molly told Ron in between her chuckles. "Don't worry about her… Spend some more time with poor Harry, he seems to be having some trouble over there." Ron turned around and looked at Harry. Harry was just standing there and listening to Ron's brothers having a heated debate about something. _He probably can't get a word in… I've told mum about Ginny, so I guess I'd better go and keep Harry company._

"Hey Harry" Ron greeted as he approached the boy-who-lived, Harry looked quite relieved. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, Ron" Harry said with a smile, and both boys steeped away from Ron's brothers. "I finished my homework by the way, so I put all of your notes back in your desk. Thanks for that, you saved me hours."

"Just don't tell anyone and we'll be even" Ron chuckled as he imagined what Hermione would do. _She'd lose it at Harry and me!_ "How are you settling in, mate? I know the Burrow can be… small…"

"I love it here" Harry quickly said. "It's the best house I've ever been in… Your family is amazing, Ron. Especially the twins! They've been showing me some of their own pranks that they made themselves! And…" Harry trailed off at that.

"And?"

"And I've told them about… Dobby…" Harry said softly. "They told me that Dobby probably belongs to the Malfoy family…"

"Malfoy family?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow. _Are the Malfoys plotting against Hogwarts? Are they working for you-know-who?_

"Yeah…" Harry replied. "They told me that Mr. Malfoy worked for Voldemort…" Ron flinched and cut Harry off.

"Don't say his name" Ron said with a firm tone.

"Ron… that's his name. And I'm not afraid of him…" Harry said stubbornly.

"You should be…" was all Ron could say to that. _He probably doesn't understand why that name is taboo… Whatever, I want to know more about this Dobby._ "Tell me more on Dobby and Mr. Malfoy." Harry frowned for a second, but then he shook his head slowly and continued on about Lucius Malfoy.

"Well, the twins told me that he worked for… Anyway, he claimed to be under a spell the entire time… And the Ministry believed him, and so they let him go free…" Harry frowned deeply as he said that. "They didn't even give Sirius a trial… but they let one of **his** followers go free…" Even Ron frowned at that. _The Ministry… I swear I never hear anything good about them…_

"So Dobby's warning…" Ron started. "Do you think it's about the Malfoy family? Are they plotting something against Hogwarts?"

"I'm not sure… The twins could be wrong, they were only guessing at who Dobby may belong to" Harry replied. "I guess we have another mystery to solve next year" Harry joked, but Ron didn't laugh. He was not happy to have this 'mystery' lurking about. _Last year was exciting enough… And I haven't had a vision in… Merlin I don't even remember…_

"Speaking of next year" Ron said as he remembered Ginny's broom issue. "I need a favor from you Harry…" Harry looked intrigued at that.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry asked.

"I need you to sneak in Ginny's Comet 260 alongside your Nimbus 2001 when we go to Hogwarts this year…" Ron said, hoping that Harry would agree to this. "First years can't have their own brooms… but if you pretend like it's yours, then Ginny can just 'borrow' it off of you when she wants to practice. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Harry said slowly. "I don't mind doing it… it's just that your sister can be… odd…" _Odd?_

"What do you mean by 'odd'?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes.

"She always goes red in the face around me and runs off…" Harry said as he thought back to his encounters with Ginny. "And she never talks to me when we're alone… Or at all whenever I enter a room… Are you sure it should be me holding onto the broom? Why don't you ask the twins?"

"The twins…" Ron started with a frown. "They won't let her use the broom, we can be quite protective of Ginny… And they'd probably start using it themselves! I got that broom for Ginny, and only for Ginny… Please, Harry."

"I'll do it, Ron" Harry said with a faint smile. "I was just wondering why you didn't ask your brothers… I can understand why you didn't ask Percy…" Ron chuckled at that.

"He'd confiscate it" Ron laughed, and Harry snickered at that.

"I figured as much… I'll do it, Ron. Just let Ginny know that she can come and ask for it anytime she wants."

"Thanks, Harry. I really appreciate this!"

* * *

 _ **August 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

Ron sat on his father's left side, and Lord Greengrass and Daphne sat in front of them. They were inside the Burrow's kitchen, and the two adults were talking about Ron's contract. Ron however, was looking down at the table in-order to avoid Daphne's hateful glare. Turns out, lying to your closest friends doesn't end well when the truth comes to light… And the truth had been revealed to Daphne last night when her Lord Father had abruptly asked her to accompany him to the Burrow. _If looks could kill…_ Ron felt someone kick his left shin under the table and he winced in pain.

"Are you alright, son?" Arthur asked with a worried look.

"I'm fine, dad…" Ron said with a forced smile. Arthur nodded slowly, and then he turned back to Lord Greengrass.

"Sorry, Sebastian" Arthur said. "You were saying?" Lord Greengrass was frowning at his daughter's behavior, and she looked a little sheepish under his gaze. Lord Greengrass then turned to Arthur with a faint smile.

"I was about to ask if you wanted to add anything to the contract" Lord Greengrass said smoothly. Arthur picked up the contract and began reading it over again. "Please take your time. Children this could take a while, you two are dismissed." Ron looked to his father, and his father smiled and waved him off.

Ron and Daphne did as they were told and left the adults to their work. Ron decided to step outside the Burrow to enjoy the sun, and Daphne followed him menacingly. _She is planning to murder me, isn't she?_ Ron felt his skin crawl with anxiety at the thought of what she was planning, her dark looks during the negotiations didn't help… The moment the door closed behind them, Daphne ran up and pinched Ron's right arm so hard that he actually screamed.

"WHY?!" Ron demanded, rubbing his sore spot. Daphne just glared murder at him.

"You lying, traitorous… arse, Ronald Weasley!" Daphne yelled, and then she tried to pinch him again. Ron dodged her grabby hands and decided to bolt, and Daphne decided to give chase. "Come back here!"

"NO!" Ron yelled back, doing his best to outrun her. _Thank Merlin, her dress is slowing her down!_ "You're going to hurt me again!"

"You deserve it, you liar!" Daphne yelled. They traded more obscenities as Ron ran from her, but he was beginning to slow down. She on the other hand, was gaining speed. _I'M GONNA DIE!_

"DAPHNE, PLEASE!" Ron yelled as they approached the pond. Ron shot a quick look back and saw that she was a mere foot away, and she was smiling like a mad-woman. Ron yelped at the sight, and then she grabbed his right wrist.

"I got you!" Daphne exclaimed, and then she dragged her feet and slowed them both down. "You'd better start explaining Weasley!" Daphne ordered, and she tightened her grip on his wrist. _OW! That hurts…_ Ron's head started spinning, and his body felt weightless once again. _Oh shite…_

* * *

Ron found himself in a black-and-white hallway, and he immediately recognized it as a hallway out of Hogwarts. Ron looked around and he was surprised to see a tapestry of a man trying to teach trolls ballet. _Where am I? I know this is Hogwarts because of the design, but I haven't seen this part of the castle…_ Ron then heard footsteps, and he turned in their direction. An older girl was walking towards him in a rush, and she was in color. Ron looked at her blonde, parted hair and her dark blue eyes, and he immediately recognized her. _Daphne!_

She looked around sixteen or seventeen, and Ron had to admit that she was a beauty. Her skin was as fair as it was now, her hair was longer, her cheek bones were more defined, and she had filled out in all the right places. Ron blushed at that thought, wondering why he was thinking of her like that. When she got closer, Ron could see that she was troubled. She began pacing in between the tapestry and the wall on the opposite side of it. _What is she doing?_ And then a large door appeared on the wall opposite the tapestry, and Ron's jaw hit the floor. _What the hell?!_

Daphne entered through the door quickly and Ron ran in behind her. They were now inside a room that looked awfully similar to the Slytherin common room, and they weren't alone… Ron could see three girls sitting in front a cozy-looking fire. _Is that Pansy, Tracey, and Mille? IT IS!_ Daphne approached the girls quickly and sat down on a love-seat next to Pansy.

"Did you find him?" Tracey asked. She had her hair in a ponytail, and she too looked rather appealing. _Stop it… What's wrong with me?!_

"No" Daphne said softly. Millie sighed loudly at that, and the other girls looked rather dejected. _Who's him?_

"He's disappeared again…" Pansy muttered to herself. She didn't really have a pug-face anymore and was rather pretty, though her saddened look ruined that a bit. "That's the sixth time so far this year…" The girls were all quiet for a few seconds, and Ron wondered about who they were referring to. _Has to be Theo, Blaise, or me… Ugh… this is too far into the future for me to guess correctly!_

"Where are Theo and Blaise?" Tracey asked.

"Still out looking for him" Daphne replied, and then she put her hands over her face. _That takes out two suspects…_ Daphne rubbed her forehead with her fingers, and Ron noticed that she was wearing the tennis bracelet that he had gotten for her. Ron felt quite proud at the sight of it, she was still wearing it after four or five years!

"We need to talk about this…" Millie said as she faced Daphne. "None of us can keep denying it any longer…" Daphne uncovered her face and frowned at Millie.

"Millie, don't…" Pansy muttered, she looked so tired.

"No, go on!" Daphne challenged Millie, and Millie clenched her jaw. _Um… get along please?_

"You already know what I want to say" Millie grit out, and Tracey sighed in annoyance.

"Millie…" Tracey sighed. "Ron is not a Death-Eater…" _Huh?_ Ron felt like he had the wind kicked out of his lungs, and he instinctively took a few steps back. _What are they talking about…?_

"I'm not saying that, I'm not insane like Potter…" Millie replied to Tracey. "But I am saying that he is deceiving all of us! You can all keep denying it, but I'm not going to… not anymore. He is hiding something horrible from us… I just know it!" _I don't understand…_

"Ron has always been secretive" Pansy jumped in. "We all know that…"

"Secretive, sure… but he wasn't a liar!" Mille argued, her eyes becoming wet. "But now he lies to us constantly! Disappears for days on end! Barely speaks to us! And now he is best friends with Draco?! Tell me I'm wrong! Go on, deny it!" Millie finished with a loud sniffle and tears fell down her face. The other girls were just silent, and Ron felt sick. His head was spinning from all of this, it couldn't be true… _What the hell is happening…? Best friends with Malfoy? Disappearing and lying? What the fuck…?_

"Draco and he aren't friends…" Pansy said softly.

"But they do spend a lot of time together…" Tracey mused, her voice taking on a bitter edge.

"No… you're wrong…" Daphne muttered as she shook her head. "Ron isn't like that, he is still one of us…"

"Stop lying to yourself, Daphne" Millie said with another sniffle. "You know I'm right… you all do… Theo and Blaise agree with me completely…"

"We should confront him" Tracey declared, her face taking on a dark look.

"Confront Ron…" Pansy said with wide-eyes. "Have you gone mad…? How do you think he will react to that?" The girls were silent again for a few moments, but then Tracey broke the silence.

"I don't care about his reaction… I'm done waiting for answers" Tracey said firmly. _Please do! I need to see this! I need to know…_

"What are you even going to ask him?" Pansy asked, her voice becoming a little frantic. "Don't do this… please. We should just trust him… He would never do anything to endanger any of us!" _Is she… is she scared of me?_

"It's him I'm worried about!" Tracey argued, her temper flaring up. "I mean, we all put up with his secrets for years… And when has he ever revealed anything to us?! NEVER!" The other girls flinched at that. "Every time we discover one of his secrets… it's always something terrible…" _What is she talking about?_ Ron's mind was being bombarded with millions of questions… _Who is this 'Ron'? That isn't the kind of person I am… I would never become like that!_

"And he never explains himself!" Tracey continued, her rant becoming frantic. "None of us know why he keeps going to Dumbledore's office for hours and hours! None of us know why he can speak Parseltongue! He was the last person seen with Umbridge and she is **still** missing! Not to mention his daily meetings with Snape, and his sneaking around with Malfoy!" Tracey clenched her jaw at the end of her rant. "I know you all want answers just as much as I do… Help me get them!" Ron went over all the information Tracey had just spilled in his head, and none of it made sense… There was a long pause between the girls, and Ron sat down on the floor. _Did she say Parseltongue? I can't speak Parseltongue…_ Ron closed his eyes and rubbed his temple as hard as he could, this vision was insane…

"Tonight…" Daphne said softly. "We'll all talk to him tonight…" Ron kept his eyes closed and kept rubbing his temples, his head was beginning to hurt. There was a loud ringing in his ears again, and his body felt weightless. And then he felt grass on his face…

* * *

"Ron, are you ok?!" came Daphne's voice, and Ron opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground with his face on the grass. "I'm getting your dad!" Daphne made to leave but Ron grabbed her hand and sat up.

"I'm fine… what happened?" Ron asked, his head was still hurting from his confusing vision. Daphne looked extremely relieved.

"You fell over suddenly…" Daphne said softly. "Are you sure you're alright?" _No… That vision was mental…_

"Yeah" Ron lied. "I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard… I still get tired from moving around too much…" The truth was that he didn't get tired from moving around anymore, but he couldn't tell that to Daphne. Daphne looked quite guilty when she heard that.

"I'm sorry…" Daphne whispered. "I shouldn't have chased you around like that."

"Why did you?" Ron asked, hoping to learn why she was so angry. _If anything, she should be happy about this!_

"You lied to me… to us…" Daphne muttered, and then she sat down next to Ron. "I thought that you were hurt because of my father's 'rejection' and I sent him so many angry letters… You made me look and feel like a fool, Ron…" Daphne finished meekly, and she kept her eyes on the pond. Ron felt a massive pang of guilt due to her subdued demeanor, and he decided to tell her why he had lied.

"Your dad" Ron started "broke a few rules by signing up with me right after the tournament." Daphne looked at Ron with a confused look. "He was meant to wait for a week or so for news to travel, that way other potential sponsors would have time to hear about me… But your dad didn't want to wait, so we made a plan. I wanted to tell all of you immediately, believe me… But Lord Greengrass asked me not to. And I agreed to go with his plan… So here" Ron finished, and then he presented his left arm to Daphne. "Pinch me as hard as you want."

Daphne reached over and grabbed his arm, and Ron closed his eyes to prepare himself. Daphne pinched his arm quite softly, and Ron was taken by surprise. He opened his eyes and looked at her, but she was looking at the pond with a thoughtful look. Ron looked at the pond thoughtfully as well, his latest vision playing havoc in his mind. _Dumbledore's office… Meetings with Snape… Friends with Malfoy… 'Death-Eater'… Parseltongue… Deceiving my friends constantly…_ Images of the older girls' distressed faces flashed in Ron's head, and he cringed internally. _I did that to them… To my own friends…_

"Don't lie to me again…" Daphne whispered after a few minutes.

"I won't" Ron promised. _I won't let it get that bad… I have to change… I have to be better than that… Better than the 'Ron' that my friends knew in my vision..._

* * *

 _ **August 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"He's waiting for you in his study, Ronald" Lady Greengrass said as she guided him through the mansion. Today was Ron's first day of his apprenticeship under Lord Greengrass, and he was barely containing his excitement.

"Please call me Ron, my Lady" Ron said politely, and Lady Greengrass smiled at him.

"Then you may call me Mary, Ron. You are an ally of our family now, I think that is only fair" Lady Greengrass said in a pleasant tone. "Speaking of family, I don't think I've seen my daughters this morning… They were waiting for your arrival quite eagerly yesterday, and now they are nowhere to be found."

"Perhaps they are still asleep, it is quite early after all…" Ron provided. _Though I doubt Daphne would ever sleep in… She's too proper for that sort of behavior._

"Astoria, I could believe. But Daphne would never sleep in, especially on a day as important as this. Your skill in chess is all that she spoke about during dinner last night" Mary said merrily. Ron felt his ear grow hot, and his cheeks go red. _She's been hyping me up… What if I lose really badly? Will Lord Greengrass kick me out?! Merlin I wish Daphne didn't do that!_ "And here we are" Mary said as they approached an ebony door. She then knocked on the door lightly, and Lord Greengrass' voice responded.

"Come in" Lord Greengrass said clearly. Mary opened the door, and then she guided Ron inside. The study was bigger than the bottom half of the Burrow, and it was filled with several bookcases that were filled with tomes. The floor, ceiling, and walls of the room were designed with a dark brown wood that almost looked black. In the center of the study were two black leather seats that were facing each other, and they had a chess table in-between them. The seat on the left was occupied by Lord Greengrass and the seat on the right was occupied by Daphne.

"You're finally here" Daphne said with a smile, and Ron smiled back at her.

"Daphne, I've been looking everywhere for you" Mary mock-scolded her daughter, and Daphne looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, mother" Daphne apologized. "I was playing a few games with father…"

"I can see that" Mary chuckled. "Come now, my sweet. Let Ron and your father begin their work…"

"I was thinking I'd watch…" Daphne said, shooting her mother and Ron her best pleading look. _Just let her… I can't stand that look!_ Mary looked to her husband, and Lord Greengrass sighed.

"Daphne" Lord Greengrass said in a firm voice. "I need Ronald's absolute attention, therefore you cannot stay. Please follow your mother out." Daphne pouted, but she did as she was told. Ron flashed her an apologetic smile as she and Mary left. "Come, take a seat." Lord Greengrass said in a welcoming tone, and Ron sat down across from him. _Ohhh… these chairs are so comfortable…_

"So…" Ron started "how do we start, my Lord?" Lord Greengrass raised his hand and stopped Ron from continuing.

"Astoria, my dear" Lord Greengrass said with a smirk, and Ron looked around for her. She wasn't even in the room… "Come out from back there, and go join your mother and sister." Ron heard shuffling from behind one of the bookcases, and then a pouting Astoria Greengrass hopped into their view.

"Awww…" Astoria moaned, and Ron stared at her with wide-eyes. "I spent all morning hiding back there… How did you know?" Lord Greengrass just smirked in response and pointed to the door. "Fine…" Astoria said with another pout, and then she dragged herself out.

"Forgive my daughters, Ronald" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "But they can be a handful at times." _Bloody hell… what was she doing back there?_ "Now, let's play a game. I wish to test your skill before we start our day, and it will be a long day…" Ron gulped at that. "White starts" Lord Greengrass said with a smirk, and Ron made his first move.

The first five minutes were going well for Ron, he was already on route to establish a strong presence in the middle of the board. But he was becoming increasingly wary of Lord Greengrass' moves. The older wizard was placing his pieces in a defensive position, and all but ignoring Ron's game. Ron could tell that he was planning to play around Ron's strong position on the board, and so Ron decided to interfere with Lord Greengrass' moves and lure him into traps. That was a fatal error…

Turns out, Lord Greengrass was baiting Ron to give away his position on the board. Ron figured that out quickly after losing three pawns for one, and he decided to regroup. Lord Greengrass was playing just like Ron liked to… He was setting traps and not being overly aggressive. That jarred Ron a bit, just like it had when Mikasa had done the same thing to him at the tournament. He hated playing against people who played just like he did. It forced him to take on a more aggressive role, and he wasn't half as good at that as he was when compared to his preferred style of playing.

The game slowly started going to hell from there… Lord Greengrass suddenly became extremely aggressive, and Ron was forced to move his stronger pieces back and sacrifice some more pawns in the process. Ron had overreached, and now he was forced to waste turns in order to save his stronger pieces. Lord Greengrass took advantage of Ron's wasted turns in a way Ron hadn't seen before. The older wizard attacked Ron with his stronger pieces with no apparent care for them. And Ron was jarred again… Why was Lord Greengrass being so careless all of a sudden? Was this another trap? There was no way that a Chess Master would make such foolish moves… and yet, he was making them!

Ron decided to use the opportunities being presented and fought back valiantly, but to no avail. Ron had lost more than half of his pawns already during his 'retreat', and Lord Greengrass wasn't relenting. Ron lost his queen to a bishop in exchange for a rook… and that was blow that Ron wouldn't recover from easily. At the end of their bloody battle, Ron was barely left standing. All he had was a knight, two pawns, one rook, and his king… But Lord Greengrass still had half of his pawns, two knights, one rook, his queen, and his king. The match was over… Ron knew it… He had lost for the first time in his life, and he was left in awe. Lord Greengrass had beaten him. Ron toppled his king, and then he just stared at his fallen king.

"You played well, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said with a proud smirk. "I chose well in picking you as my apprentice." _Played well? He destroyed me…_ "But we have a long way to go from here, I was merely testing my theory about your playstyle during that game."

"Your theory, my Lord?" Ron asked, still reeling from his first loss.

"Yes, my theory" Lord Greengrass explained. "When I watched you play at the tournament, one match stood out to me the most. It was your match against Mikasa Hasashi… Am I right in saying that that was one of the hardest matches you've ever played?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron replied, awed by his mentor's observations from months ago.

"That is why I chose to copy your playstyle" Lord Greengrass said with a sly smile. "You Ronald, play in a very reactive way. You wait for your opponents to make the first move, and you play around their strategies. That is an admirable technique, but you limit yourself quite a lot because of it."

"Limit myself?" Ron asked.

"Indeed, Ronald. If you are waiting for your opponent to make all the moves, they dictate the game. Against a more experienced player, such as myself, your playstyle is a death sentence. You will always lose if you aren't confident in making your own moves… Which brings us to the core of your playstyle…" Lord Greengrass sighed before he continued. "You lack that self-confidence, don't you?" They both stared at each other for a few moments, and Ron felt his ears burn. When Ron didn't say anything, Lord Greengrass decided to speak.

"I'm not judging you, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said with a kind smile. "My duty is to help you improve… in all things. Whatever we speak of inside this room, or any other, is strictly between us. Do you understand?"

"Yes…" Ron answered awkwardly.

"Good" Lord Greengrass said. "During the second half of our game, you spent more time lamenting about your mistakes than you did thinking my moves against you. Only when I left you no choice did you decide to attack me, but it was too late by then. The real mistake you made that game was having too much faith in my abilities, but none in your own. And that's why you lost to me, and that's why you almost lost to Mikasa Hasashi."

Ron listened intently, and he had to agree with that analyses. He had been worried about Lord Greengrass' playstyle, just like he had been with Mikasa's. And the both of them had copied his playstyle and forced him to take on an aggressive role… And Ron knew that he wasn't very good at that. He would spend more time second guessing himself rather than playing the game. He just knew that he was going to mess something up… and so it was easier for him to wait for other people to make the mistakes. That's why he was so reactive in his playstyle. He didn't feel confident enough to get things right if he was taking the lead… _It's still uncomfortable to hear other people say it…_

"Shall we play again?" Ron asked, hoping to move past the awkwardness he was feeling.

"No" Lord Greengrass said. "No, I have other things planned for you today." Lord Greengrass flicked his wand and a red book flew over to his free hand. "This book is filled with hundreds of diagrams of different moves being played on a chess board. Your job is to figure out the best possible move in each diagram, it will help stimulate your mind. And it will teach you to think in a more strategic manner. We have to break this reactive playstyle of yours, and start anew. This will be instrumental in that." Lord Greengrass handed Ron the book, and Ron opened it to the first page with diagrams on it.

"How do we know what the most strategic move is?" Ron asked, looking at the first diagram intently.

"I have another book which contains all the answers. And yes Ronald, those answers are indeed correct. These book were written by Chess Masters who played this game before even I was born… I used them when I was younger myself."

"How many should I solve?" Ron asked.

"Up to page sixty…" Lord Greengrass smirked. _WHAT?! I'll be here for days!_

"My Lord… isn't that a bit too much?" Ron asked sheepishly, worried about being scolded.

"Not at all… You have three minutes to solve each. Good luck" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"And what about you?" Ron asked, feeling overwhelmed.

"I will be reading a Muggle romance novel, and drinking Aged Apple Brandy." _What the hell?!_ "Get started, now." Ron did as he was told, and began jotting down moves on a piece of parchment Lord Greengrass handed him. It was going to be a long day…

* * *

 _ **August 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner-time)**_

"That's enough for today, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said humorously. Ron put the quill down and sighed in relief, massaging his right gloved hand with his left naked one. "You did exceptionally. I must admit, your focus is refreshing to see. Perhaps that is the key to your success?" Lord Greengrass chuckled. _I'm glad you're enjoying your day… Blood hell…_

"Come, let's get you some dinner" Lord Greengrass said as he stood up. Ron tried to get up but his legs gave out and he fell back in the chair. "Ronald?" Lord Greengrass said softly, and then he moved to Ron's right side. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just tired… I'm not used to concentrating over such a long period of time…" Ron exhaled. "Not since the attack anyway… I just need a minute…" Lord Greengrass frowned at hearing that.

"Why did you not say anything?" Lord Greengrass scolded. "You should have told me when you started to feel tired…" _And show you that I can't even concentrate? Piss on that…_ "Come, let's get some more food in you." Lord Greengrass then helped Ron up from the seat and they both walked to the dining room. Lord Greengrass helped Ron into his seat next to Daphne, and the girl began asking questions immediately. Lord Greengrass explained that Ron was just tired, and that he would be fine with a little rest. But that did not sit well with Daphne and Mary…

Ron ate quietly while Daphne and Mary glared at Lord Greengrass for different reasons. Daphne was annoyed with her father for pushing Ron too hard considering what he had gone through recently. And Mary was annoyed at her husband for ruining the welcome dinner she had planned for Ron… Ron still enjoyed the food because it was damn delicious. But the only conversation happening on the table was between Astoria and Ron.

"So you lost to father?" Astoria asked with a grin.

"Yes" Ron replied in a tired tone.

"But I thought you never lost" Astoria said sweetly, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Daphne said that you never lose… Guess she was lying…" _Is that how it is? Bring it on little girl…_

"Guess she is liar" Ron said with a kind smile which jarred Astoria.

"You shouldn't call your friends liars" Astoria mock-scolded after she regained her composure.

"But you just called your own sister a liar… isn't that worse?" Ron asked innocently. _Get on Theo and Blaise's level, and then we can banter…_

"No… no, I never said that…" Astoria stuttered, making Ron chuckle. She narrowed her eyes on him, but her slightly chubby cheeks made her look adorable instead of threatening. Ron laughed at her and gave her a wink, which flustered her even more. Her cheeks went crimson, but she didn't lose her 'threatening' face. _Haha, Daphne was right about Astoria! She's adorable!_

"Stop picking on my sister" Daphne said seriously, and then she looked at Astoria's face. Even she had to stifle a laugh at the sight. "Astoria… behave…" Daphne managed in between her chuckling.

"You two are mean…" Astoria pouted, looking thoroughly put off. _That's what you get!_

* * *

 _ **August 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

Ron was waiting alone in The Leaky Cauldron, and he was looking around in-order to spot a familiar face. It was Tracey's birthday today, and Ron was going to be spending the day in Muggle London! Ron chuckled at the envy that his father had displayed this morning, it was quite fun to tease his old man.

"There he is" came Blaise's voice, and Ron turned to it with a grin. Blaise was accompanied by Theo, Tracey, Mille, Pansy, Daphne, and Tracey's parents.

"Hello" Ron greeted them, and they all exchanged niceties.

"I'm pleasantly surprised, Ron" Susan Davis, Tracey's mum, said as she studied Ron's attire. "I didn't know that you knew how to dress Muggle." _And I don't..._

"I don't, Mrs. Davis" Ron said honestly. "Harry let me borrow some of his clothes and taught me how to behave around Muggles. Though I can't make any promises on the latter…"

"Wait, Potter gave you those?" Theo asked, surprised at the revelation.

"Yeah" Ron replied. "He's staying in my house for the holidays… In my room actually…"

"Why?" Blaise asked with narrowed eyes, and Ron looked at Blaise with a sheepish expression. _Because I bloody kidnapped him from his Muggle family…_

"It's a long story…" Ron sighed.

"And we should be cracking on!" James Davis, Tracey's dad, said quickly. Ron could tell that Mr. Davis was trying to pull Ron out of the incoming interrogation, and Ron was grateful for it. "C'mon kids, the zoo opens in twenty minutes so we should go and get in line." _A Muggle zoo? That could be fun… I've always wondered if Muggle animals are like ours…_ They made their way out of The Leaky Cauldron and into Muggle London. Ron slowed his pace down until he was walking next to Tracey.

"Happy Birthday, Trace" Ron said with a smile, and Tracey grinned back at him.

"Thanks, Ron!" Tracey replied, and then she leaned in closer to Ron. "Did you bring them?" Ron's smile turned mischievous, and he looked to Tracey's parents who were guiding the children on from ahead.

"Here…" Ron whispered, and then he smuggled Tracey a box of Dung-bombs that he was hiding in his jacket. Tracey took the box and slid it into her handbag.

"Thanks, Ron" Tracey said in a hushed whisper, her voice was extremely excited. "You're the best! Mum and dad never let me use Zonko's products…" _My mum isn't so different… Thank Merlin for the twins and Sirius…_

"What are you two doing?" Pansy said from behind them, and Ron jumped a little in fright.

"Nothing" both Tracey and Ron said in unison, and Pansy narrowed her eyes on them.

"Please don't do something that will make the Muggles attack us…" Pansy sighed out in annoyance. _They won't attack us… Will they? Do Muggles attack people that annoy them?_

"Muggles don't just attack people…" Tracey said with a frown. "They are just like us… except they don't have magic…"

"That makes them not like us" Theo interjected, and Ron couldn't help but notice that Theo was being rather jumpy. _Why is he looking around like we are in danger?_ "We all need to stick together, and keep your wands at the ready…" Tracey frowned even more at that.

"Stop acting like that" Tracey scolded Theo and Pansy. "We are perfectly fine, I've done this for most of my life remember. I grew up in the Muggle World…" Theo and Pansy eased up a little at the sound of that, and even Ron felt some relief.

"Come on kids, we'll be taking this bus" Mr. Davis said with a wide smile. All of them boarded the bus, and Ron sat down with next to Theo.

"Is this like the Knight Bus?" Theo asked Ron, looking at all of the Muggles on the bus with caution. _Okay… what's his deal? Even Pansy isn't being this skittish…_

"I don't know mate…" Ron replied. "Do Muggles have a Knight Bus?"

"Why are you asking me?" Theo replied indignantly.

"Same reason you bloody asked me…" Ron retorted with a frown.

"I thought your father would have taught you everything about Muggles…" Theo whispered.

"My dad may love Muggles, but he doesn't know a thing about them" Ron chuckled. "Trust me on that."

"Did you get your Hogwarts letter yet?" Theo asked out of nowhere. "We have to buy seven books written by Gilderoy Lockhart… can you believe that?!" Ron frowned deeply at the mention of Lockhart… _His books are causing my family so much grief… And my vault is taking a heavy hit because of that tosser…_

"Believe me, no one is more annoyed about Lockhart than me…" Ron sighed. After their letters had come in, Ron was saddened to see his mother and father so distraught about the prices of the books. So he had given his father his own Gringotts pouch, which his father had outright refused. But Ron had kept offering it, telling his father that he had the money saved up. That he wanted to make sure Ginny and the others had new books and new robes this year… Eventually, his father had relented. Even if he looked extremely sad about accepting Ron's money. Ron didn't get why his father was being like this… Ron had offered him the money with his own free-will…

"Are you guys talking about Lockhart?" Tracey asked as she turned around from her seat in front of them.

"Yes…" Theo responded slowly. "We were talking about his seven books…"

"I've already bought my copies" Tracey said excitedly. "So has Daphne!" Ron looked to Daphne who was sitting next to Tracey, and Ron noticed a blush on Daphne's face. "Can I tell you guys a secret? My dad told me that Lockhart will be teaching at Hogwarts this year… as the D.A.D.A professor! Isn't that amazing?!" Ron and Theo exchanged quick looks at that.

"How do does he know that?" Ron asked, feeling vexed. _First Quirrell and now this guy… At least he knows what he's doing…_

"My father is on the board of Governors for Hogwarts" Daphne piped up. "He told a select few people… Aren't you happy, Ron? D.A.D.A is your favorite subject right? I bet you're excited!"

"So excited…" Ron said sarcastically, but it went over Daphne's head. Tracey and Daphne started talking animatedly about Lockhart, while Ron and Theo exchanged another look.

"Girls…" Theo muttered. Seeing Daphne and Tracey so excited for D.A.D.A this year began to excite Ron as well. _Maybe Lockhart won't be so bad… He has won a lot of awards for saving people from the Dark Arts and dark creatures… Yeah, this could be good. I can finally show off my knowledge in D.A.D.A this year!_

They all got off of the bus and marched towards the zoo, and Ron noticed that all four girls were now talking about Lockhart in hushed whispers. Theo was filling Blaise in about Lockhart joining the staff this year, and Tracey's parents were talking to each other happily as they led the children. Ron took this time to look around and observe the Muggles. There were quite a few of them walking around, despite it being early in the morning, and most of them looked to be in a rush. Ron was also happy to see some Muggles doing morning runs, and he sighed longingly. _Mum still won't let me go for a run… But once I get to Hogwarts, she won't know if I do!_

"Here we are!" Mr. Davis announced, pointing the zoo out. "And there's no line because we came so early! You kids will have the entire zoo to yourselves! Figuratively speaking…" Ron smirked at Theo and Blaise at the sound of that, and they returned his smirk with their own. They all marched down and got tickets from a teenager in a booth. And then they were off to enjoy the zoo!

After taking a vote, it was decided that they would go to the 'Aquatic Life' section first. Ron was in awe at the massive fish tanks that contained all manner of beasts! Even Theo and Blaise were outright impressed as they saw a 'Great White Shark' swim past them. The girls, except for Millie, were cooing at all the smaller creatures like the crabs and sea horses. Millie decided to join the boys instead because she wasn't big on cooing in public, and Ron was happy to see at least one girl act normally. The best part of the 'Aquatic Life' section was the carnivore display, at least Ron, Theo, Blaise, and Millie thought so anyway. Turns out, Muggles had to deal with some pretty horrifying creatures like the 'Hammer-head Shark' or the 'Angler Fish'. Ron shuddered at the thought of facing one of these things…

They then marched to the 'Safari' section, and Ron was again impressed. There were animals of all sorts behind cages that resembled their natural habitats. Ron decided that he would bring Luna and Xenophilius here one day soon, and he knew that they would love this place. Blaise was quite vocal about his admiration of the 'Leopards', and even Ron was impressed at the massive cats. But it was the Elephant that took the cake, all of the children were awestruck at the size of the creature! It stared back at them with indifferent eyes, and Ron wondered if the Elephant could beat a few magical creatures in a fight.

The next section was the 'Reptile Exhibit', and this was when Ron started feeling nervous. His vision played back in his head on repeat, apparently he could speak Parseltongue… According to Tracey anyway, but Ron decided that he would test it out. He had never tried talking to snakes before, mostly because if he ever saw one around the Burrow he would run away in full-tilt… Ron decided to go for it, he was too excited not to.

Ron approached a Python that was resting in its cage, a cage that was designed to represent a swamp of sorts. Ron shot quick looks around him just to make sure he was alone, and he was glad to see that all of his companions were enamored by other creatures and they weren't paying Ron any attention. Ron looked back at the large dark brown snake, and Ron gulped at the sight. _Here I go…_

"Hello" Ron said lamely, and the snake ignored him. "Can you understand me?" Ron asked slowly, but the snake continued to ignore him. _Okay… Maybe I don't know how to speak Parseltongue… yet._ Ron decided to give it another go, but this would be his last attempt. Ron lightly knocked on the glass barrier, and the snake turned to face him menacingly.

"Annoying child…" the Python hissed, Ron's jaw dropped to the floor. _Merlin… I understood the snake's… hissing…_

"Hello" Ron greeted the snake again, but this time it was the Python that was shocked. "Can you understand me?" Ron asked slowly, his own eyes-wide from shock. The Python nodded.

"You speak my tongue?" the Python questioned, and then it slithered closer to the barrier. It raised its head and came face-to-face with Ron.

"Apparently so…" Ron hissed softly, staring at the snake nervously. _How is this even possible?! I can talk to snakes! What the fuck?!_

"My, my…" the Python hissed. "This is not something I see every day… What is your name, child?"

"Ronald… Ronald Weasley" Ron hissed his reply, he was still reeling from shock. "What's your n… name?"

"I have none…" the Python whispered sadly. "I was born and raised by your kind. I have known no other home besides this… place…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Ron hissed, feeling pity for the large snake.

"Don't be, child… I am fed daily and admired by hundreds. I may lack a name, but my life isn't so bad. Where do you come from?" the serpent asked in a soft hiss. _This is surreal…_

"I come from the… Burrow…" Ron replied lamely.

"The Burrow? Is it a wondrous place? Describe it to me, please. I wish to know what the world looks like outside of this place…"

"Oh…" Ron hissed in mild surprise. "Well, I live at the Burrow with my entire family… I have five older brothers, and two younger sisters… The Burrow isn't a large place but it's my home and I love it… We have open fields around our home, and a pond in which my siblings and I sometimes swim…"

"That does sound lovely, Ronald" the snake hissed, and then it hissed out an odd laugh of sorts. "Is that boy your friend?" _That boy?_ Ron turned around slowly and he blanched at the sight. Blaise was standing behind Ron, and he had a scared look on his face. _FUCK! I stopped paying attention because of the conversation with the snake…_

"R… Ron, were you… talking to the snake?" Blaise muttered, his voice was shaky. _What do I do now?! He bloody saw me! I'm so fucking stupid!_

"Um… no…" Ron stuttered, but Blaise wasn't convinced. _Why is it always him?! He always catches me doing things that I shouldn't be doing…_

"I heard you… You were hissing at it… and it was responding to you…" Blaise said in his shaky voice. Ron was starting to get worried for Blaise, and for himself. He had just revealed his Parseltongue ability the first time he had ever used it! _This is why the girls knew of my Parseltongue ability in the future… Blaise must've told them!_ The thought of the vision reminded Ron that he had vowed to be better than the 'Ron' he had learned about in his vision. _I'm not going to lie to his face… He already saw me…_

"Blaise… let me explain…" Ron said softly, and Blaise just stared at him. "I didn't know that I could talk to it… It just sort of happened, I swear. Please don't tell the others…" Blaise was just staring at Ron with disbelief written all over his face.

"How do you do it?" Blaise asked in a whisper. "How do you just… talk to the snake?"

"I don't know…" Ron replied honestly. "I just talk… and it understands me…"

"And you understand it?" Blaise asked, and then he approached the glass and stood next to Ron. "Can you… talk to it… again?" Ron wasn't sure if he should, but he wanted to convince Blaise that this was an accident.

"I'll try…" Ron muttered, and then he turned to the snake. "Can you understand me?" Ron asked the Python, and the Python nodded. Blaise took in a sharp breath, and went wide-eyed.

"It understood you!" Blaise exclaimed, and Ron shushed him quickly. "Sorry… You speak Parseltongue? What the fuck, Ron? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know… I swear Blaise, I don't" Ron replied honestly. "I've never talked to a snake before in my life… I don't know how I can…"

"Salazar…" Blaise muttered, as if coming to some amazing revelation. "Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltongue… You're probably related to him because I read that Parseltongue is a hereditary gift… Only his descendants can speak Parseltongue… in England anyway." _Salazar Slytherin?! My ancestor?! No blood way… My family has never been sorted into Slytherin before me. And I was only sorted there because the Sorting Hat told me it was the best choice… Wait… Did the Hat know already? No… How could it know? I didn't fucking know!_

"What are you two doing?" came Theo's voice from behind them, and both Ron and Blaise jumped.

"Nothing" Blaise said quickly. "Just admiring this snake…" _He isn't telling Theo? Thank you Blaise…_

"Admiring that snake…" Theo said with narrowed eyes. "Then why are you being so weird? Whispering to each other and then jumping at the sound of my voice…"

"You scared us" Ron said lamely. "That's all…" Theo cocked an eyebrow at Ron and Blaise, and then he sighed.

"We're going to go get some lunch…" Theo said. "Mr. Davis asked me to come and grab you two. Let's go." Ron and Blaise quickly followed Theo, and Ron shot one last look back at the snake. The Python nodded at Ron, and then it disappeared from sight. Ron shot Blaise a nervous look, and he saw that his friend was looking ahead with a distant look. _Bloody hell…_

* * *

 _ **August 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Lunch-time)**_

Ron bit into his 'Ham-Burger' and he was floored by the taste, it was amazing! _Merlin! Do all Muggles eat this stuff?! I have to ask Harry when I get home!_ Ron took another massive bite and chewed in bliss, but that bliss was interrupted by Tracey.

"Enjoying yourself?" Tracey giggled, and then she reached over with a napkin and cleaned Ron's left cheek.

"Hey!" Ron whined. "I'm not a baby…"

"I never said that you were" Tracey cooed, she was trying to rattle him and he knew it. _Calm down… Everything is fine…_ Blaise still hadn't mentioned his Parseltongue abilities to anyone, but Ron was understandably worried that Blaise would eventually. _If my friends learn about my Parseltongue ability, then a part of that mental vision comes true…_

"You know what, thanks Tracey. Can you clean my other cheek too?" Ron asked innocently, deciding to turn this on Tracey. Tracey was ruffled for a second but then she smiled happily and cleaned his other cheek. "Thanks, you're the best!"

"You're a weirdo" Tracey chuckled. Ron laughed with her, but their friends were staring at them like they were freaks. Except for Daphne, Daphne was giving them both a rather grim look…

"You're both weirdos…" Millie interjected, and Ron turned to her with a grin. "Stop grinning like that…" Millie muttered, her lips twitching up in a smile. _Got her!_ Ron also took the chance to look at Blaise, and Blaise looked back at him with an indifferent face. _At least he isn't in shock anymore…_

"Finish up kids" Mrs. Davis said pleasantly. "We still haven't seen the 'Antarctic Display' yet!"

* * *

 _ **August 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Bus ride home)**_

"I still can't believe it…" Blaise whispered to Ron, they were sitting together on bus ride back to The Leaky Cauldron. "You can speak Parseltongue…"

"Shhh" Ron shushed with a furrowed brow. "Seriously Blaise, don't tell a soul. Even I don't fully understand what's going on here, and I want to figure it out before I tell anyone…"

"Well, I'm going to help" Blaise said, making Ron feel baffled at Blaise's uncharacteristic eagerness to help others.

"Seriously?" Ron asked with a confused look and Blaise frowned at him.

"This is too intriguing to just ignore" Blaise replied. "I want to know which of your family ancestors are related to Salazar… I mean c'mon, aren't you interested in that too?" _I'm not sure that I want to know…_

"Maybe… so can you promise to keep it to yourself?" Ron asked hopefully. Blaise smiled slyly at that.

"Of course…" Blaise said deviously. "But I expect you to give me something in return…" _And there it is!_

"What do you want?" Ron asked in an annoyed tone.

"Well, first things first… you still haven't taught me that spell that made you appear in the dorm suddenly, so I want you to teach me that first! As for keeping this thing a secret, you'll owe me a favor. A favor that I can ask anytime I need, is that fair?" Blaise finished with a smirk.

"Fine…" Ron grit out. "Now drop it, please." _Damn me and my shite luck!_

* * *

 _ **August 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Mum, it is fine…" Ron grit out for the tenth time. _Why is she being like this?!_ They were going to Diagon Alley today, and his mother had learned about his deal with his father… The resulting argument had lasted all morning, and all of Ron's siblings and Harry had scattered away upstairs. Remus and Sirius weren't here yet, and Pandora and Xenophilius had taken Luna back to the Rookery to get ready.

"No, Ronald" Molly whispered furiously. "That is your money, not ours… Arthur, give him his Gringotts pouch back right now…" Ron's father was about to do as he was told and Ron frowned.

"Dad, we agreed… I want to pay for **new** school supplies…" Ron pleaded, and Arthur looked extremely conflicted.

"Absolutely not" Molly interjected. "I won't let you…"

"Why?!" Ron shouted as he finally got fed up, his shout took his parents by surprise. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, which further bewildered his parents. "I'm offering to buy them, no one is twisting my arm! Why are you being so stubborn?!" Arthur looked at his son's angry outburst with a gaping mouth, while Molly felt her blood boil at his tone.

" **Ronald**. **Weasley**. How **dare** you speak to **us** in the tone?" Molly grit out, her kind face turning a shade of purple. _I'm not the one being completely unreasonable!_ Ron decided to not back off, his siblings had the chance to attend Hogwarts with new things for once… but his parents were getting in his way… His own parents… It made no sense! Ron's eyes clashed against his mother's, and neither were backing off.

"Molly, leave us please" Arthur said with a sigh. Molly frowned at her husband, but his determined look was enough to convince her. Molly huffed and marched out of the room, heading upstairs. She shot Ron an angry glare, one that he returned just as fiercely. And then she was gone… _Merlin! She is bloody mental!_ "Son… I'm disappointed in you" Arthur said in a tired voice. "We didn't raise you to yell at us like that…" Ron felt a small pang of guilt at that, but it didn't stop his anger at his parents' stubbornness.

"We agreed…" Ron managed to say to his father. "We agreed that I'd pay… I'm offering it willingly… I don't understand why you two are being like this…" Arthur just stared at his son with disappointment marking his features. He was disappointed at Ron's behavior, but he was also disappointed in himself… No child should have to pay for the house-hold…

"Listen to me" Arthur said clearly. "Lockhart's books alone will cost you a total of one-hundred and seventy five Galleons…" Ron was shocked to hear that.

"How? Are they really that expensive?!" Ron asked in a bewildered voice.

"There are seven books, son. And there are five Weasley children attending Hogwarts this year… Each book costs five Galleons, you do the math…" Arthur said softly. Ron did the math, and he winced at the realization that his father was right. _What is wrong with this Lockhart bastard?! Five Galleons a book?! What the hell?!_

"Now do you understand why we want to buy second-hand books?" Arthur asked Ron, and Ron nodded stubbornly. "You want to spend so much of your own money just to buy books that we can get for a much cheaper price… We don't want to see you waste your hard-earned money, that's all…"

"What about robes then? And school supplies like cauldrons?" Ron asked, still eager to make sure that his siblings had new things. Ron hated having second hand things, and he refused to let Ginny go through that! He had the means to buy her new things, and it was unfair that his own parents were getting in his way!

"Ron… what's this really about?" Arthur asked kindly, trying to calm his son down. Ron shuffled his feet and his ears went red. He didn't want to say that he felt embarrassed about having hand-me-downs, and that he didn't want Ginny to feel like he used to… When Ron didn't say anything, Arthur decided to continue. "I caught her with her new broom, Ron. I know you bought it for her… and that you hid that from us. Just like you hid everything Pandora bought you from us…" Ron blanched at that.

"I'm not angry with you, son" Arthur said softly. "But Ginny could get hurt on that broom… And since she sneaks around at night, no one would be there to help her if she did… Don't worry, I didn't tell your mother… But Ron, she and I are concerned about your behavior. You've been… different… ever since you came back. And we're worried, so please tell me what's wrong."

 _What's wrong? People like the Greengrass' live in mansions, but we live in this… in this pathetic little house… We are part of the Sacred Twenty Eight as well! So why are we living in such a sorry state?! WE CAN'T EVEN AFFORD SCHOOL BOOKS!_ Ron clenched his jaw and stared at the floor, his blood boiled because of the thoughts in his head. He was feeling jealous once again, but this time he was jealous of his friends… They were just born with everything that he could ever want… Even if he spent his entire life working, he'd still never reach their level of wealth and power… How was that fair?! Ron swallowed his frustrations and didn't say a word, and Arthur sighed at that.

"Here" Arthur said as he handed Ron his Gringotts pouch back. Ron took it with a deep frown. "You should save your money, your mother and I can handle things. And Ron…" Ron looked up at that. "Don't go behind our backs again, please. You can come to me for anything, I want you to know that…"

* * *

 _ **August 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Diagon Alley)**_

They all stepped into Diagon Alley together, all thirteen of them. Sirius and Remus had shown up at the Burrow shortly after Ron's argument with his parents, and then Pandora and her family had also shown up. They had all flooed to The Leakey Cauldron together, and Harry had flooed with Sirius at his side because Harry had never used the floo system before. They all marched towards Gringotts Bank together, and people moved out of the way to accommodate the large family.

Ron was in a foul mood because of his recent row, and his siblings kept their distance from him. Even Ginny was clinging to their mother, who was smiling happily. But Ron could tell that his mother's smile was forced on for the public… As they approached Gringotts Bank, a girl's voice called out to Harry.

"Harry! Harry! Over here, Harry!" the voice yelled, and all of them looked up to see Hermione running down the front-steps. Harry ran forward to greet his friend while Sirius and Remus chuckled to themselves. They began talking animatedly until the rest of Harry's companions joined them. Hermione greeted all of them in a cheery voice, and then she got to Ron. "Ron! It's wonderful to see you again" Hermione exclaimed.

"You too, Hermione" Ron said with a forced smile. _Just because I'm in a sorry mood doesn't mean that I should take it out on her…_ Hermione missed the fact that Ron was forcing on his smile, and she smiled happily at the sight of her red-haired friend.

"How were your holidays, Hermione?" Harry asked as they all climbed the steps leading into Gringotts.

"They were great, especially after Ron…" Hermione trailed off and gave Ron an apologetic look. _Ugh… I'm fine, stop…_ "But yes, they were great. My parents and I traveled all over Italy just like I told you in my letters! It was so beautiful there! Venice was the best part of the trip, and…" Hermione kept going, and Ron zoned out. He'd heard this story before, and he wasn't in the mood to hear it again. As they entered the bank, Ron's eyes fell on a pair of Muggles who were looking rather nervous and exchanging Muggle money for Wizard money. When the Muggles saw Hermione, they smiled at their daughter and her friends.

"You two are Muggles!" Ron's father exclaimed suddenly, his excitement making the pair go wide-eyed. "Oh we must have a drink! What's that in your hand?! Molly look, they have Muggle money!" Ron rolled his eyes at his father's behavior, while Molly frowned at Arthur. Everyone but Ron and Percy chuckled at Arthur's behavior.

"Arthur…" Molly scolded. "Don't make such a ruckus, you're scaring them…" Arthur looked a bit sheepish, but he still stepped forward and began a conversation with Hermione's parents. A Goblin came up and offered to take the rest of them down to their vaults.

"We're fine, mate" Sirius said with a smile, but the Goblin frowned at him menacingly.

"We'll be coming with you" Molly said as she guided the Weasley family, with the exception of Arthur, and the Lovegood family towards the Goblin.

"I'll see you guys in a bit" Ron told Harry and Hermione, and then he followed after his family. The ride down was terrifying as always, and Ron feared that his neck would snap at one of the sharp turns. Eventually they got off and walked to the Weasley vault, and the Goblin opened it with a key that Molly handed him. The moment the vault opened, Ron frowned deeply at its contents. _A handful of sickles and one bloody Galleon…_

Ron looked around and noticed his siblings all looking squeamish, and his frown deepened. _I could have paid for all of their needs… But no, let's spend this meager sum of money instead… Let's send our children to school in second-hand garbage instead!_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then he tightened the grip on his Gringotts pouch. _This isn't right… How are they going to get Ginny a wand?!_

"Ron?" Pandora's voice came, shaking Ron out of his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Ron said flatly, and Pandora gave him a piercing gaze. _Bloody hell… I haven't seen that look in ages!_ But she didn't say anything, and Ron decided to ignore her looks. After his mother had shoveled the handful of coins into her purse, they all went down to the Lovegood vault. The Lovegoods weren't swimming in wealth, but they had a lot more than the Weasleys. Ron couldn't help but wonder how that was possible… He didn't even know what Pandora and Xenophilius Lovegood did for a living, but it was clearly more lucrative than his father's 'job'… Then, after another break-neck journey, they were back upstairs and Ron joined his two Hogwarts friends.

Once they were outside, they all separated. Pandora and Molly decided to take their daughters to get fitted for robes. Arthur, Remus, Sirius, and Xenophilius decided to take the Grangers to The Leaky Cauldron for a drink. Percy said that he 'needed a new quill' and then he just marched off. Fred and George saw a friend of theirs from Hogwarts and decided to go meet up with him. This left Harry, Ron, and Hermione behind.

"We should all meet back in an hour near Flourish and Blotts" Molly said as she walked away with Ginny. "Don't do anything silly" Molly quickly added to the twins because they were grinning. And just like that, Ron and his two friends were alone in front of Gringotts.

They travelled down the winding, cobbled street and talked to each animatedly. Actually, it was mostly Hermione that was doing all the talking while the two boys listened. She told them that Neville had already gotten his school supplies with his Grandmother, and that he was sad that he couldn't see Harry before the train ride to school. Harry looked quite eager to see Neville again, and Ron was happy for the 'Golden Trio' to be reunited once again. Along the way, Harry bought the three of them strawberry and peanut butter ice-creams. Once they finished eating their sweets, Hermione dragged them off to buy more ink and parchment.

Once that was done, the trio met up with Fred and George in a joke shop. They were with their friend, Lee Jordan, and they were buying new items and pranks. Hermione told them that they couldn't bring their newly acquired assets to Hogwarts, but the three older boys had just laughed at her. After that, they ran into Percy who had just bought a small book. Ron asked him what the book was about, and Percy had happily told him that it was a book about finding success after becoming a prefect. Ron was somewhat happy to see this ambitious side of Percy, it was refreshing after seeing the Weasley vault. As they said their goodbyes to Percy, Hermione asked Ron how well Percy had done in his O.W.L.S. Ron proudly told her that his big brother had earned twelve O.W.L.S. Hermione was awed beyond words, while Harry just sighed with a smile.

Once their hour was finished, the trio made their way to Flourish and Blotts. Ron was shocked to see a massive line of middle-aged and young women formed outside. Upon closer inspection, the trio saw the massive banner that claimed that Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing copies of his autobiography 'Magical Me!' today. Ron frowned at the banner, remembering the ridiculous prices of his books.

"He's here today!" Hermione squealed in a very girly shriek. "We can actually meet him today! He wrote most of the books on our booklist!" _Don't remind me… Five galleons a book, what a joke…_ "C'mon you two! Let's get inside quickly!" Hermione then dragged Harry and Ron with her, where they joined the rest of the Weasleys. Everyone was there, and Sirius sighed in relief at the sight of Harry.

"There you are…" Sirius said. "We were beginning to worry. Quick, hop into the line with us. We already got your books ready." Harry smiled gratefully at Sirius, while Ron frown at Ginny's tattered old books. _They look like they're coming apart…_ Ron chose to stand next to Harry and Sirius instead, the sight of Ginny's old books was making him angry with his parents again.

And then, Gilderoy Lockhart came into view. He was signing copies of his autobiography, and there was a massive portrait of himself behind him. The portrait was winking at the customers with a wide smile that showed Gilderoy's perfect teeth. Ron heard women gushing about Lockhart in hushed whispers, and even Pandora and Molly were giggling and whispering to each other… There was an excited man running around with a big camera, and he was taking photo after photo of Lockhart. The man pushed Ron against Sirius' side.

"Move out of the way boy…" the man with the camera growled. "This is for the Daily Prophet!"

"Watch it you tosser" Sirius growled back.

"Big deal" Ron said at the same time, annoyed with the rude man. Gilderoy Lockhart looked up at that, and his eyes widened when he saw Sirius and Ron standing together. And then his eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw Harry next to them.

"It can't be **Harry** **Potter**!" Lockhart yelled as he stood up from his seat. Harry's eyes widened at Lockhart's reaction, and Harry looked to an annoyed Sirius for help. Lockhart dived forward and grabbed Harry's arm, dragging Harry to himself. Ron heard Sirius yell a cuss word and then Sirius marched up to the blonde, wavy haired celebrity. "Ah, the Godfather as well then! Come join us!" Lockhart exclaimed as he ignored Sirius' angered features, and then Lockhart positioned Sirius roughly by his side and he began shaking Harry's hand vigorously. The man with the camera took photo after photo, filling the shop up with smoke. The women around Ron applauded wildly, including his two mothers and Hermione.

"You there!" Lockhart shouted over the crowd, pointing straight at Ron. _Me…?_ "Come up here!" Ron took a step backwards but his mother ushered him forward into Lockhart's death grip. Lockhart dragged Ron next to Sirius, and then he dragged Harry to his other side. Lockhart then put both of his arms around Harry and Ron, while Sirius stood next to Ron with a scowl. "Nice big smiles boys…" Lockhart whispered through his gleaming teeth. "Together, we four will make the front page." Ron tried to smile, but the attention he was getting turned his face crimson and he was nearly blinded by the camera's bright flash.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Lockhart announced, stopping the applause from all of his 'fans'. "What an extraordinary moment this is! A perfect moment, if I do say so myself, for me to make an announcement that I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry and… Slytherin's Prodigy… wandered into this shop today, no doubt here to buy my autobiography, they had **no idea** that I would be giving it to them personally… free of charge!" The crowd applauded again, and Lockhart gave Harry a hard shake that almost threw off the boy's glasses. _He doesn't even know my name… Slytherin's Prodigy my arse…_

"But they aren't just getting my autobiography" Lockhart continued in an enthusiastic voice. "This year, both boys will be getting the true Magical Me! That's right everyone, I am proud to announce that I will be joining Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this September!" Lockhart smiled ear-to-ear at the sound of his own voice, and all the women clapped loudly. Two shop assistants walked up and shoved Lockhart's entire collection of books into Ron and Harry's arms. Ron almost fell over because of their weight, and he quickly limped over to his mother. Molly took the books from him with a smile aimed at Lockhart.

"You go on, Ron… I'll get these signed" Molly said quickly, not even looking at Ron. Ron didn't care though, mostly because he wanted to get away from Lockhart… _I think he broke my arm…_ Ron rubbed his arm and sulked to himself, until he spotted Harry talking to Malfoy. Malfoy was sneering at Harry, and Ginny was standing next to Harry. _What's going on there? What is Malfoy doing near my sister?!_ Ron marched over to them, and Hermione joined him when he was halfway there.

"You got yourself a girlfriend, Potter" Malfoy sneered at Ginny, Ron immediately got annoyed at the git.

"What's going on here?" Ron interjected, looking at Ginny's crimson face.

"And the 'Slytherin Prodigy'…" Malfoy spat out, glaring daggers at Ron. "Salazar would be turning in his grave if he knew…"

"Well it's a good thing he's dead then…" Ron said menacingly. "Just like you will be if you don't back off of my sister…"

"Your sister?" Malfoy smirked at Ginny. "I should've known… the way she dresses… Your family is a…" Arthur's voice cut Malfoy off.

"Ron!" Arthur said as he struggled past all of Lockhart's fans, Ron's brothers were following him. "There you are son, let's get out of here… It's too packed in here…"

"Well, well, well… Arthur Weasley" came a cold, silky voice from behind Malfoy. It was Mr. Malfoy, Draco's father, and he was standing behind his son with a cold sneer aimed at Ron's father.

"Lucius…" Arthur greeted in a cold voice which took Ron by surprise. _I've never heard dad sound so cold!_

"Busy time at Ministry, Arthur?" Lucius asked, his voice was as cold as his demeanor. "All these raids under your new 'law'… I certainly hope that they are paying you well for it…" Then Lucius reached into Ginny's cauldron and pulled out a tatty, old copy of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration'. "Obviously not…" Lucius smirked. Ron felt his heart thump like a battle drum, all of his frustrations with his parents coming to the surface slowly.

"Dear me" Lucius said coldly, smirking a smirk that Draco wished he had. "What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of Wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" Arthur flushed crimson and gritted his teeth, and Ron did the same when he saw Draco smirking at him. _Should've left this git in the Forest… Why's he acting like he had anything to do with his family's wealth?! He was just born rich…_

"We have a very different notion on what disgraces the name of Wizards, Malfoy…" Arthur retorted.

"Cleary" Lucius sneered, and then he turned his attention to the Grangers. They were watching the scene apprehensively, and Mrs. Granger was hiding Hermione behind her. "The company you keep… And here I believed that your family could sink no lower…" There was a loud clatter as Ginny's cauldron fell to the floor; Arthur had thrown himself at Lucius, both men stumbling back into a bookshelf. Ginny squealed in fright, while Draco and Ron went wide-eyed. Ron immediately broke out of his stupor and decided to take out his own frustrations on Draco. _This is for going after me non-stop! And for everything you've ever said about my family!_

Ron punched an unsuspecting Draco Malfoy right on the cheek bone, and Draco fell to the ground hard. Ron immediately felt a hand grab him and yank him back, it was his mother who had pulled him back… Ron heard the twins cheering hard, while Sirius and Remus tried pulling Arthur off of Lucius. But it was Hagrid, who had shown up out of nowhere, that managed to separate the two men. Lucius freed himself from Hagrid's grip violently and sneered at Arthur. Arthur had a bloody lip, Lucius had a scrape on his jaw, Draco's right cheek was already swelling up, and Ron's right hand throbbed with pain. Lucius Malfoy sneered at Ginny and thrust her book back into her cauldron.

"Here, girl…" Lucius grit out. "Take your book… It's the best that your pathetic father can give you…" With that, Lucius shoved the books back into Ginny's cauldron. He helped Draco up and glared at Ron with cold fury, and then father and son disappeared from sight. _You better run…_ Molly grabbed Ron by the ear and dragged him out of the shop, while Arthur was picked up by Hagrid. Hagrid was saying something to Arthur but Ron couldn't hear because his ear was being twisted by his mother.

"Arthur Weasley!" Molly shrieked, still twisting Ron's ear. "How could you! Way to set a good example for your children! What will poor Gilderoy think of us now?! We ruined his signing!" Arthur looked sheepish as Hagrid put him down, and the Grangers were a bit startled. Harry and Hermione were wincing at the sight of Ron being manhandled by his mother, and even Remus and Sirius were shooting him pitying looks. Pandora and Xenophilius were frowning deeply at Ron… _Great, I'm going to get another lecture tonight… I don't care, that ungrateful git deserved it! I save his life, and he keeps throwing dirt on my family? Why is he such a tosser?!_

They all marched for home from there, and Ron rubbed his ear the entire way home with a deep frown on his face. They said their goodbyes to the Grangers, and Hermione waved goodbye to Ron with a sorry look. Ron waved back, doing his best to give her a reassuring smile. _I'm gonna get my ears chewed off tonight…_

* * *

 _ **August 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

Ron went straight to his room after dinner, his mother hadn't even looked his way all day after everything he had done today. _All I did was offer to buy my family new things, and then I defended our honor! I did nothing wrong…_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, his anger burning his heart out. Ron had noticed his siblings avoiding him as well, which further infuriated him. Percy had been giving him disappointed looks all day, and Harry was just smiling sheepishly at him. Even Sirius and Remus were upset when they had heard how Ron had behaved all day. _I did nothing wrong! None of them have to deal with Malfoy daily, so they can't understand anything… Even dad attacked that git's father!_

"Ron?" Pandora called as she entered the room, and Ron stopped his pacing. She sighed sadly at the sight of his angry features. "Your mother isn't too pleased with you… neither are the rest of us… What's gotten into you today?"

"Nothing's gotten into me" Ron said firmly. "I hit Malfoy because he was bullying my sister in broad daylight!" Pandora frowned at that.

"And yelling at your parents?" Pandora asked, gazing at Ron in a piercing manner. "You hurt them deeply when you did that, you understand that right?" Ron frowned at that, and shuffled his feet.

"They ignored me when I offered to buy everyone new things…" Ron muttered, feeling a pang of guilt for yelling at his parents. "Ginny has to go to school in second-hand robes because of it… I offered them money, and they refused for no reason…" Pandora sighed as she finally understood Ron's behavior. He was embarrassed of his family's finances… and that's why he was so eager to buy things for his siblings, it was a kindness born out of insecurity. She felt disappointed with Ron, she didn't remember him being so materialistic… Molly was right when she had claimed that Ron had been different since he came home.

"Tell me, Ron" Pandora said softly. "Did you want to buy them new things because you wanted to make them happy, or was it to make yourself happy?" Ron gave her a confused look. "I saw your reaction at your family's vault… Tell me, Ron. What was the real reason behind all of this? And don't you dare lie to me?" Pandora said firmly, and Ron was shocked to see her so strict with him. But Ron knew the truth already, and he knew that she knew it as well. He did want to buy them new things, but it was because he was tired of being called poor or seen as lesser by his house-mates… Pandora walked up to him and handed him a platinum ring with runes on it.

"Here…" Pandora said with a sad voice. "You should be ashamed of yourself today…" Pandora left quietly after that, and Ron just stared at the ring in silence. He did feel ashamed of himself… but he also felt angry at everything else…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well there you go! Some big reveals in this chapter, I hope you enjoyed them! Sorry again for the delay... See you all soon!**


	25. Chapter 25 - Second Year

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Second Year has officially begun! More action, more drama, higher stakes, and definitely more Golden Trio this year!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 25 – Second Year**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

They were running towards Platform 93/4, and Ron was barely keeping up. Not only was the trolley too heavy, but he was also exhausted due to not sleeping well last night. Things in the Burrow weren't fun for Ron during all of yesterday… His siblings still kept their distance, except for Percy who had lectured him for an hour, and the adults were not too pleased with his angry behavior and were giving him frowns all day. Even Sirius was upset with his outburst! Ron himself had spent all of yesterday regretting his behavior and was constantly scolding himself. He had no idea why he had gotten so angry during their trip to Diagon Alley… He knew how his anger worked, but this was something new. This was too much, even for him… As a result of his regrets, he didn't even enjoy the fireworks display the twins had set off yesterday…

"C'mon, we'll miss the train" Harry called out, he was running right in front of Ron. Ron gritted his teeth and picked up his pace, his legs burning at the extra exertion. _Why did Ginny have to forget her Diary?! We are so gonna miss the train!_ When they finally got to the barrier, Ron was up at the back with Harry and Sirius. Molly and Arthur took Ginny in first, followed by Pandora and Xenophilius leading Luna through. The rest of Ron's siblings ran through next, leaving Ron with Harry and Sirius. Remus Lupin wasn't with them due to coming down with an illness.

"C'mon, I'll lead" Sirius said as he grabbed the front of Harry's trolley. Sirius then led Harry towards the barrier, and Ron was hot on Harry's heels. _We made it!_

But they hadn't made it… Sirius slammed face first into the wall, and Ron heard a crunch. Harry rammed his trolley into Sirius' arse and Sirius smashed his face on the wall again. Ron smashed right into Harry's back and toppled over his own trolley, landing on the ground with a loud, painful thud. Harry also fell to the floor, holding his back and groaning. The three of them were… incapacitated…

"My fucking nose…" Sirius moaned as he covered his face, and blood leaked through his covering hands. Ron felt his ribs throbbing, and the right side of his face felt wet. Harry was just groaning and looking for his glasses.

"What happened?" asked a Muggle train-officer, he then winced at the sight of Sirius. _What happened indeed…? Merlin, my fucking ribs…_

"Lost control of the trolleys…" Sirius snarled at the Muggle, who went wide-eyed and backed off. Sirius then helped Harry up and found his godson's glasses, placing them gently on Harry's face. Sirius then helped Ron up, and dusted Ron's clothes. "Kid, you alright?"

"No…" Ron grit out, and then he heard Sirius take in a sharp breath. "What?"

"Pup, your head is bleeding…" Sirius said, turning Ron's head softly to look at the small gash on Ron's right temple. During this, Harry helped Hedwig and Helios who were hooting wildly due to their cages being toppled.

"Who cares?" Ron grit out. "The barrier Sirius! It closed! What do we do?!" Sirius turned to the barrier and frowned, his nose still bleeding. Sirius then looked around carefully, and then he took out his wand and tapped it on the wall. Sirius muttered some spell that Ron couldn't hear, and then Sirius took a step back and grit his teeth.

"Some bastard jinxed the fucking barrier before we crossed it" Sirius snarled, his face contorting in rage. "Finite Incantatem" Sirius said clearly as he pointed his wand at the barrier. _Who would do something so stupid?!_ Sirius then approached the barrier and felt it, and his hand went through. "C'mon lads, move!" Harry and Ron quickly grabbed their trolleys and followed Sirius through.

The train was whistling loudly and was moments away from departing! Sirius grabbed the front of Harry's trolley and began running for the train! They made it in just in time, and Sirius all but pushed the two boys on. As Sirius threw Ron Helios' cage, the train started moving. All three of them laughed in triumph at making it, and Ron saw Sirius run towards the Weasleys and Lovegoods. Both families were horrified at Sirius's appearance, and then they looked to Harry and Ron who were standing in an entry way. Ron smiled sheepishly at Pandora and Molly, who both went pale and wide-eyed at his appearance. The train's speed picked up, and then his family was out of sight. _Nice way to say goodbye…_

"We made it!" Harry exclaimed with another triumphant laugh, and then he nudged Ron's right arm. "You're bleeding!" Harry gasped suddenly, and Ron felt his right temple with his gloved hand. _When I find the tosser who sealed that barrier, I'm going to kick them in the head!_

"Yeah…" Ron winced as he touched his cut. "Who do you think closed the barrier? And why the hell would they do that to us?" Harry looked as if he was thinking really hard, and then he frowned deeply.

"Dobby was hiding my letters…" Harry muttered. "He didn't want me to go to Hogwarts this year…"

"So a House-Elf blocked the barrier?" Ron asked.

"Maybe… what if the twins were right? What if he was acting on the orders of the Malfoys?!" Harry exclaimed, and Ron felt himself somewhat believing Harry. _The Malfoys would do something like that… especially that little platinum haired twat…_ "Either way, we made it… I'm going to go find Neville and Hermione."

"Guess I'd better find my own friends" Ron said, and there was a short pause between the two boys. And then Harry chuckled and patted Ron on his right arm.

"I'll see you at Hogwarts, mate" Harry said with a smile, and Ron returned his smile. They both parted ways after that, and Ron made his way towards the Slytherin carriages. He ran into a few people on the way, and most of them went wide-eyed at his appearance. Ron ignored the whispers and smiled kindly at everyone along the way, enjoying the funny reactions he was getting. When finally got to the Slytherin carriages, he quickly saw Blaise looking out of a carriage. _There he is!_

"Hello" Ron greeted Blaise, and Blaise looked at him with a quizzical look.

"You're bleeding… you know that, right?" Blaise asked, just staring at Ron's wound.

"I am aware… now please move out of the way, this trunk is heavy" Ron replied, and Blaise walked back into the carriage. Ron entered the carriage with a smile aimed at his friends.

"There he…" Theo stopped as soon as he started. "What happened to your head?"

"Merlin, Ron!" Pansy exclaimed as she stood up and began examining his cut. _Ow!_

"Pansy… don't touch it…" Ron whined as he moved his head away from Pansy's hands. Ron then put Helios's cage on a vacant seat, and he put his trunk under the seat.

"What happened? Did you fall over again?" Daphne asked in a worried voice.

"Again?" Blaise piped in. "You've been falling over?" Ron was quite taken aback by all of this concern over such a little cut and he smiled internally, he had good friends.

"No, I haven't been falling over…" Ron said, and then he looked at Daphne who was frowning at him. "Although I did get this by falling over…" Ron then sat down in his seat next to Pansy and against the inner wall of the carriage. "Some bastard closed the barrier with a jinx of some sort, and I crashed into the solid wall… I barely made it on the train in time, if it wasn't for Sirius I'd be done for!"

"Language…" Daphne tutted, and Ron saw Tracey roll her eyes.

"Does anyone know healing magic?" Millie asked, looking at her friends. "We can use magic now that we're on the train." No one answered, and Millie sighed at that. "Here Ron, clean your cut with this" Millie said as she offered him a white handkerchief. Ron took it with a smile.

"Thanks Millie…" Ron said, and then he went to clean his wound but Pansy stopped him.

"Let me do that" Pansy said as she took the handkerchief from his hand. She then took out her wand and aimed it at handkerchief. "Aguamenti" Pansy chanted as she waved her wand in the shape of a horizontal 'S'. Light blue light emanated from the tip of her wand, and then clean water came out of the tip and soaked the handkerchief. "There…" Pansy said, and then she started cleaning the right side of Ron's face with soft strokes. _That's a useful spell! Aguamenti… Aguamenti… Got to remember it. Aguamenti…_

"That's a neat spell, how did you know that?" Theo asked.

"Mum showed me" Pansy replied, being careful to not rub Ron's cut. Ron had to admit that the cold, wet handkerchief felt good against his face. Ron relaxed and sighed in content.

"Is he purring?!" Tracey laughed, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"NO!" Ron denied, moving his head away from Pansy's hand. _I'm not purring!_

"Ron! Get back here, I'm almost done…" Pansy scolded, and then she reached over and kept cleaning his face. Everyone laughed at Ron's pout as Pansy cleaned his face like an annoyed mother.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed, and Ron was fast asleep. His exhaustion had caught up to him, and he had just drifted right off. But his sleep was disturbed when someone shook his leg, and Ron woke up with a grumble. He opened his eyes and he felt a soft shoulder on the right side of his head. Ron sat up and looked to Pansy who was smiling at him.

"Had a nice nap?" Pansy asked, and Ron realized that he had fallen on her while sleeping. _Bloody hell…_

"I'm sorry, Pans" Ron muttered while he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Pansy giggled at Ron.

"It's okay, you weren't too heavy" Pansy said in a playful tone, Ron gave her a smile and then he turned to the person who had woken him up. It was Blaise.

"What is it?" Ron asked him. _I was having a great dream…_

"I was heading out to get something from the trolley, come with me" Blaise said in an aloof voice. _He woke me up for that… Why?!_ Ron frowned and got up, and both boys left the carriage to go look for the trolley. As soon as they exited the Slytherin carriages, Blaise guided Ron to a secluded corner.

"What?" Ron asked with widened eyes, they were way too close for this to be considered normal… _I'm not into that, mate…_

"I wanted to talk to you" Blaise said firmly. "I looked into your Parseltongue ability…" Ron's ears perked up at that. "And no Weasleys are related to, or have claimed to be related to Salazar Slytherin. You aren't one of his descendants."

"How do you know the Weasley family's heritage?" Ron asked, frowning at the thought of Blaise searching through his heritage like some stalker.

"It's all public record… You are part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, it isn't hard at all to find your family's records. And I found the family that was linked to Salazar, his true heirs… The House of Gaunt!" Blaise whispered excitedly, acting as if Ron should know about them.

"The House of Gaunt?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.

"Another Sacred Twenty Eight family" Blaise explained. "Except the last of them died in Azkaban Prison, his name was Morfin Gaunt! And the other Gaunt was Merope Gaunt, his sister, and she also died… Which means the Gaunt Family is finished! So that leads me to believe that you have nothing to do with Salazar, or your family for that matter. Unless…" Blaise trailed off.

"Unless what?" Ron asked slowly.

"Unless one of your family members had an affair with a Gaunt at some point …" Blaise said, and Ron frowned deeply. "Don't give me that look, I was just speculating… I'm ninety-percent sure that you aren't a descendent of Salazar… which raises another question."

"Why can I talk to snakes?" Ron finished.

"Exactly…" Blaise sighed. "Are you the only one in your family who can? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure…" Ron whispered. "My family is notorious for never being sorted into Slytherin… until I came along and ruined that. Not to mention our 'Blood-Traitor' status… This makes no sense! Are you sure about my family's records?"

"Positive, I checked the Weasleys and the Prewetts" Blaise said with a nod. "And yet, Parseltongue is a known hereditary ability… So why can you speak it?"

"I… I don't know…" Ron muttered, he was beginning to feel scared. _What if I'm not a Weasley? NO! I have the red hair… But what if someone did have an affair with a Gaunt?! Someone from ages ago? Agh! There'd be more Parseltongues then! I'm the first Parseltongue in both sides of the Weasley family as far as I know…_

"Don't worry, Ron" Blaise said reassuringly, which sounded so odd coming from him. "We'll figure this out, I'm sure of it."

"Why are you so eager to help me? Not that I mind…" Ron said softly.

"Because this is far too interesting to let go…" Blaise smirked. _And there's the Blaise I know!_ "You're an actual Parseltongue! That's just… surreal…"

"Tell me about it…" Ron smiled softly, he was glad that Blaise was helping him. He didn't want to do this alone…

"One more thing…" Blaise started slowly. "I was thinking that we should… bring Theo into this…"

"What? Why?" Ron asked quickly, his paranoia waking up and taking control of his senses.

"Relax, Ron…" Blaise said as he put a hand on Ron's left shoulder. "I know that you're… secretive… But I think that Theo can help us greatly. I found all of my information in his father's library, and with Theo in this with us, we'd have complete access to said library. And Theo's father has some… shady people working for him, investigators and the sort. Theo can give us access to them as well… Not to mention that we share a dorm with him… he'll find out eventually." _He does make a lot of sense… but I don't know…_

"Just Theo? Not the girls?" Ron asked, trying to make sure that this didn't spread too far.

"Just Theo, I promise. We need him, believe me" Blaise said reassuringly. Ron nodded his consent, and Blaise smirked. "This is the right call, Ron. Now we just have to convince him…"

"That won't be hard… I just have to talk to a snake near him…" Ron provided with a sigh.

"Have you seen many snakes around Hogwarts, not counting the Slytherin banners?" Blaise frowned. _No… no, I haven't… Guess we need to find a snake…_ "I'm just messing with you, I know a snake summoning spell. We can use that…"

"Snake summoning spell?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.

"Well, well… I know a spell that the Slytherin Prodigy doesn't…" Blaise smirked, and Ron frowned at him.

"Shut up…" Ron said, trying not to smile. Blaise chuckled and then he made his way out of the corner.

"C'mon, we need to go find the trolley" Blaise said firmly. "I promised everyone that I'd get them their orders…" Ron nodded and followed after Blaise, he could use some sugar himself. As they made their way into the Hufflepuff carriages, they finally spotted the Trolley. Blaise and Ron casually strolled up to the trolley lady, and waited for their turn.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the lady asked sweetly.

"Yes, please" Blaise said in a pleasant voice, which surprised Ron. "Could I please get four pumpkin pastries, four licorice wands, five chocolate frogs, two boxes of Honeydukes Honeycomb, one box of Every Flavored beans, and two exploding bon-bons?" Ron was wide-eyed at the order, but he didn't say anything. _How did he remember all of that?! I've already forgotten most of it…_

"And you dear?" the trolley lady asked Ron.

"I'll grab two chocolate frogs and two licorice wands please" Ron replied with a polite smile. The trolley lady gathered up their order, and then she turned to the boys.

"Paying together, or separately?" she asked. Blaise clicked his tongue and looked to Ron with a 'sad' smile.

"Mate, I forgot my pouch… do you mind?" Blaise asked, his lips twitching into a smile. _This bloody bastard…_

"Together…" Ron grit out, frowning at a smiling Blaise.

"Aren't you a sweet friend!" the trolley lady cooed.

"He's the best" Blaise said with a grin, and Ron forced a smile as he payed the trolley lady. _I'm gonna push Blaise off of this train…_

* * *

"First year! Yer with me!" Hagrid's voice boomed as he led the first years towards the boats. Ron and his friends followed the rest of the returning students towards the 'enchanted carriages'. It was hard to navigate through so many students, but at least they didn't have to carry their luggage. Their luggage would be transported magically during the welcome feast. Ron talked with his friends about the welcoming feast while they waited for their turn to board a carriage. After five minutes of waiting, Ron and his friends were ushered forward by the Head-boy and Head-girl.

Ron and his friends approached the carriages, and Ron nearly yelped in fright at the sight of the creature that was to pull their carriage. It looked like a black horse, only it appeared to be fleshless. Its skin clung to its bones, and as a result, the creature appeared skeletal and haunting. Yet it had a dragon-like face, with white pupil-less eyes that were just hollow. Giant, leathery bat-like wings protruded from its sides. The creature appeared sinister, and other worldly… Ron shuddered at the sight of it.

"What's that?!" Tracey gasped in horror, clutching onto Daphne's arm. _What is that?!_

"What's what?" Pansy asked Tracey, looking at her wide-eyed friends with worry. "I don't see anything…"

"That! You don't see that?" Ron said, pointing to the demon horse. Pansy shook her head, and Ron was bewildered.

"It's a Thestral" Theo said calmly, he was the only one not shocked to see it. "It is a magical creature that can only be seen by those who have seen and understood death…" _Death? What the hell…?_ Theo then walked to the back of the carriage and hopped on. Everyone followed after him, and Ron noted that it was a bit cramped in the carriage. _Too many people…_

"What do you mean by seen and understood death?" Pansy asked, looking thoroughly confused. "Why can you all see it but I can't?"

"We've all seen death, and you haven't" Theo said softly, he sounded a bit sad. _Seen death? MY VISION! Wait… why can the others see it as well?_

"Seen death?" Millie muttered, she was as pale as a ghost. "I don't recall seeing death…"

"The Mountain Troll…" Blaise said, and then he looked to Ron. "We were all there that night when Ron killed it… but Pansy wasn't with us at that time… That's why we can see it, but she can't." Ron and his friends went wide-eyed, except for Theo. Theo just sat there quietly, absorbed by his own thoughts. _The Troll… Blaise is right, they were all there when I… killed it…_ The carriage began moving, and none of them said a word for a while.

"What was it like… the troll, I mean?" Pansy broke the silence. Ron saw his friends shudder, and his own stomach tightened. He remembered how happy he had felt in that moment… His face flushed with shame.

"It was horrible…" Tracey replied meekly. "Really horrible…" Daphne put her arm around Tracey and gave her a comforting squeeze. Ron remembered the charred face, the scattered teeth, and the pool of blood… he shuddered himself.

The rest of the carriage ride went by in silence, and Ron felt an eerie sense of foreboding. He didn't know why, but with Dobby's warning, this Thestral creature, his Parseltongue, and not to mention his apprehension at seeing Dumbledore again; Ron felt as if this year was going to be far more perilous than last year… And he hated this sense of foreboding. _What kind of school makes someone feel like this? Is it just me? The rest of them are eager to go back… but me… I'm worried more than ever! Not to mention this upcoming war…_ Ron's stomach felt heavy, and he broke into a sweat. He spent the rest of the ride to Hogwarts in a state of mild panic and anxiety.

* * *

Ron sat on the Slytherin table with his friends, and he listened to the loud chatter from all of the students. The excitement of the students in the Great Hall was easing his own worries, and he was beginning to calm down. Even his friends had moved past their somber moods, and were talking to each other animatedly. Ron also shot a long look at the Sorting Hat, and he smiled widely at it. He was going to try and speak to his magical ally as soon as he could. The Hat could have answers to his Parseltongue ability, and Ron felt excited to try this new lead.

"Silence" Professor McGonagall said in a booming voice, and then she tapped her wine glass with her wand. It made a loud chiming sound, and all the students went silent. "The sorting ceremony is about to begin, you are all to remain silent throughout it!" With that, McGonagall moved quickly and left the Great Hall. After a minute or so, the new first years came striding in after McGonagall. Most of them looked nervous and scared, but not Ron's sisters. Ron smiled at Ginny and Luna widely, but they didn't see him. Ginny was marching with a confident and defiant stride, while Luna was just smiling airily at the enchanted ceiling.

"There they are…" Tracey whispered, pointing to Ron's sisters. "Luna is so adorable!"

"I don't think I've met them properly…" Pansy whined, and then she frowned at Ron.

"Well, you have all year now" Theo chuckled, he still looked a bit out of it. _Seeing that 'Thestral' really got to him…_ The first years stood in front of the Sorting Hat, which sat on its stool and was observing them all. _This is it!_ The Sorting Hat broke into a long song about the four-founders and their houses, and Ron remembered that he had missed this in his first year. He had been… occupied… with his own thoughts at the time. The Sorting Hat then began sorting the students as McGonagall called them forward in alphabetical order, and Ron just ignored the other first years. He was waiting for Luna and Ginny's sorting eagerly, even if he knew the result already.

"Luna Lovegood!" McGonagall called, and Ron sat up in his seat with a massive smile. Luna skipped to the Hat and sat down on the stool with an airy smile. McGonagall lowered the Hat onto her head, and Ron could see that the two were conversing.

"Better be…" the Hat spoke after a few seconds. "RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaws burst into cheers and Ron clapped loudly, a massive grin on his face. A grin that faltered a bit when he remembered that she was being bullied in his vision… _Not this time! Not with me around!_ Ron's friends cheered for Luna as well, and the chuckled at Ron's enthusiastic clapping.

And then it was finally Ginny's turn, and Ginny took a seat on the stool with a determined look. The sorting then proceeded, and it took longer than Ron had expected. Ginny and the Hat seemed to be having a discussion, and judging from Ginny's frown, it was not going well for her. Ron looked to his brothers, who looked at him as well, and then Ron turned back to Ginny. _What is going on? Don't tell me the Hat is trying to sort her into Slytherin as well!_ Ginny's head turned in Ron's direction, and Ron just watched with a furrowed brow. _Don't do it, you bastard! Don't send her here! She'll have to put up with all the shite I have to!_

"Better be…" the Hat said after a minute, Ron held his breath. "GRYFFINDOR!" Ron let out his breath and almost passed out from relief. He looked to Ginny with a smile, but she didn't seem too happy. She left for the cheering Gryffindor table with a pout, like she had been denied something she wanted. _Don't tell me she wanted to be in Slytherin..._ As Ginny sat down, she shot a sorry look at Ron. Ron smiled widely at her and waved, and she was taken aback. But she slowly smiled at him and waved back.

"Welcome, welcome" Dumbledore said after the sorting ceremony had finished. "To another wonderful year at Hogwarts! I hope you are all pleased to be reunited with your friends, and also pleased to fill your heads with more knowledge. Even I find myself learning something new every year, despite my old age!" Dumbledore chuckled at his own joke, while the students just grunted. "But I can see that you are all too hungry to listen to this old man's address, so I will give out the usual warnings… The Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students! Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to inform you all of the notices he has posted outside his office. Please take your time in reading them, they are important if you wish to not find yourself in detention!"

"Now" Dumbledore continued. "I would like to introduce you all to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart!" Lockhart stood up pompously at that, and he gave an exaggerated bow. Ron noted that Lockhart was wearing expensive lilac colored robes, and that his smile was taking up most of his face. Ron also noted the blank look on the face of Severus Snape, arguably Ron's favorite teacher. There were loud murmurs and sighs from the female student body, and Ron frowned when he heard his four female friends giggling to each other. Lockhart was about to speak but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Now on to the… feast!" Dumbledore said with a clap, and food appeared on the table. Lockhart seemed put off at that, and he sat back down with a forced smile. Snape smirked to himself, as did Ron and most of the male student body.

Ron and his friends started eating, and Ron made sure to exercise etiquette. Theo nodded approvingly at him, and Ron rolled his eyes. _If he nods at me like that again during meal-time, I'm going to smack him one…_ They all ate and talked about their classes, and Ron frowned when the girls started prattling on about Lockhart and his 'amazing' skills. Ron shot his two best friends quick looks, and they were equally irritated.

"Well, I think he's a git" Ron said casually, and he was shocked to see the girls frown deeply at him.

"I agree with Ron" Theo backed Ron up, and Ron smirked at the weedy boy.

"Same… He is all talk, I can tell" Blaise joined in. The girls looked scandalized at that.

"No, he isn't" Pansy argued.

"He is a member of the Dark Force Defense League!" Daphne exclaimed, losing her composure. Ron and the two boys were shocked at that.

"Honorary member…" Theo scoffed. "Means he wasn't good enough to make the cut…"

"You're not good enough to make the cut…" Tracey shot back lamely, and the boys gave her confused looks.

"Was that an insult?" Theo chuckled, and then he winced in pain. "She kicked me in the damn shin…" Theo grit out, reaching down and rubbing his shin.

"You'll see!" Millie jumped in, cutting Blaise off before he could speak. "This year, we'll actually learn something for once!"

"Yeah…" Blaise said sarcastically, and then he turned to Ron. "How's it feel to have your favorite subject butchered again by some incompetent?" Ron and Theo laughed at that, while the girls began fuming with annoyance.

"It feels…" Ron started but then he winced in pain as well, Daphne had landed a strong kick to his left shin. "Bloody hell… who did that?" Ron asked, and then Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Let's ignore these three, girls" Daphne said haughtily. "They're clearly just jealous…" _JEALOUS?! OF LOCKHART?! Piss on that!_ The girls started talking to themselves, while the boys began making fun of Lockhart amongst themselves. Every now and then, one of the girls would shoot a death glare at the boys. Death glares that the boys ignored, or smirked at.

* * *

"All of you will wait here" Carey Ductu said, her voice was firm and authoritative. "Once our Head of House is done speaking with the first years, you will all enter and be addressed by the new Silver Triumvirate." Ron felt his excitement grow at the prospect of meeting the new Silver Triumvirate, and he couldn't help but think of Victor. _I wonder if he is doing well out there… I still can't believe I won us the House Cup in the end…_ Ron looked around and saw the same excitement being displayed by all of the second years. All of them, except Draco Malfoy. Malfoy looked thoroughly put off at the prospect of meeting them, and Ron couldn't blame him. The git was banished from the Triumvirate! _Thank you Victor, wherever you are!_

Ron also noticed many of the older students giving him smiles and nods, which he happily returned. It turned out that they were extremely grateful towards him for saving the House Cup, and weren't at all bothered by his father's new law. _Don't trust their smiles and nods, Weasley… Remember what happened after Pettigrew got the Kiss._ They all waited for another ten minutes, and then a fifth year prefect came out and spoke to Carey in a whisper.

"Professor Snape is finished, and the first years have been sent to their dorms" Carey announced. "Everyone, follow me" Carey ordered, and then she marched into Slytherin common room. Once they were all inside, they organized into their respective year-levels. Then three seventh year students emerged from the back and stood in front of all of the Slytherins. _Guess they're the Triumvirate!_ Ron noticed that all three were boys, and one of them was the Irish bloke that Ron had made a joined bet with.

"Evening everyone" the Irish seventh year said with a smile. "My name is Samuel Byrne! This is Bloise McCarty, and this is Fabian Cunningham!" Samuel pointed to his left and right respectively. "We are your new Triumvirate…" Samuel stopped abruptly, and his gaze fell on Malfoy. "You…" Samuel pointed to Malfoy, who went wide-eyed. "Get out, you aren't welcome here. Your dorm is picked out, go and find it…" The room went quiet, and even Ron felt bad for Malfoy.

"What do you mean by 'I am not welcome'?" Malfoy shot back indignantly. "I am the heir of…" Malfoy was cut off by Fabian Cunningham.

"We don't care who you are…" Fabian said while rolling his eyes. "You were stamped with the 'Relegatio' seal by the previous Triumvirate, you are not welcome here. Leave at once, or we will have you escorted." Malfoy went red in the face, and actually shook from rage.

"Draco…" came the cold voice of Severus Snape, and everyone turned to the Head of House. "Go…" Snape ordered, and then he pointed his finger at the entrance of the boys' dorms. Malfoy looked to his Godfather in disbelief, and then he looked to Ron. The anger on Malfoy's face actually scared Ron a little, and Ron just stared back with a blank expression. _This is really bloody harsh… Couldn't they just tell him beforehand?_ Malfoy then marched off, pushing people out of his way. Crabbe and Goyle made to follow him, but they were stopped by Pansy.

"Now" Samuel addressed everyone again, his voice was merry and it irked Ron. "We just wanted to reveal ourselves, and let you know of a few things. Each year has a quota of two-hundred and fifty house points that they must meet! Loss of points is… unavoidable, but we will not tolerate it! If you lose points, then you'd better earn them back as fast as you can! We want to make this our eighth win in a row, so keep that in mind when you plan to do something stupid…" Snape coughed at that and narrowed his eyes at Samuel. "Sorry… But yeah, that's all from us. You may leave for your dorms or… whatever…" Samuel and the other three then walked off, and Ron was… underwhelmed. He was expecting some secret society sort of thing… not this… _What a letdown! Victor was so mysterious and scary… these three are clowns compared to him! Ugh…_ Ron looked to his friends, and they were equally disappointed. Crabbe and Goyle then ran off to find Malfoy while Ron and his friends went to their usual spot.

"That was…" Ron started but trailed off.

"Pathetic, boring, underwhelming… I could go on" Theo sighed. "That's the Triumvirate? Where's the authority and mystique?"

"Mr. Weasley…" came Snape's voice from behind them, and they all turned to the Potions Master. He was terrifying as always… "Come with me, now" Snape ordered, and then he turned around and billowed away. _Um… what's this?_ Ron shot his friends a worried look and then he marched after Snape. As they got out of the common room, Ron caught up to the man.

"Sir, is everything alright?" Ron asked as he followed after Snape.

"Everything is fine, the Headmaster wishes to see you" Snape explained. "How… how are you feeling?" Snape asked, his voice sounded a little forced.

"I'm… better…" Ron replied, he didn't want to talk about his injuries. "I've recovered, and I'm ready to get back to school" Ron said more firmly. Snape looked down at Ron and gave him a curt nod, they didn't stop moving. They walked the rest of the trip in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It felt… natural and calming. Though Ron had to admit that he was worried about meeting with Dumbledore again, every time they spoke it felt like an interrogation. _Probably because it is…_ They eventually passed the stone gargoyle and Snape knocked on the door.

"Come in" came the Headmaster's voice. Snape opened the door and walked in, Ron followed after him. "Ah, Ronald" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Please, take a seat." Ron did as he was told, and then Dumbledore offered him a lemon-drop. Ron took it with a smile and popped it into his mouth.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron said politely, and Dumbledore smiled more widely at him. _His eyes are twinkling again…_

"I should be thanking you, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled. "No one ever takes one of my lemon-drops…"

"I don't see why not, they are delicious" Ron said, feeling calmer all of a sudden. _That's weird… I feel… soothed…_

"See, Severus" Dumbledore chuckled, while Snape frowned at Ron's casualness. "How are you, Ronald?"

"I am fine, Headmaster" Ron said politely, though he was getting tired of that question. "I've recovered, and I'm ready for another year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore's smile turned a little sad.

"That is good to hear" Dumbledore said with a nod. "I am glad to see that you didn't tell the world about Voldemort…" Ron flinched at the name. _Why would he say that?! And so casually as well?!_ A sense of calm came over him again…

"Yes... I didn't want there to be a panic…" Ron said softly, thinking about Lord Greengrass' words. Dumbledore smiled in approval.

"Thank you for that" Dumbledore said softly. "I promise you, we are doing everything we can to find him." Ron felt relief at the sound of that, maybe Dumbledore did have the best of intentions. "Is there anything that you'd like to ask me, Ronald?" Ron was taken by surprise at the question. _What does he mean by that?_ Ron thought hard on what he wanted to ask Dumbledore, and he came up with only one question.

"What will you do when you find him?" Ron asked Dumbledore, and Dumbledore sighed a little.

"We will… we will try and destroy him, Ronald" Dumbledore replied softly, unsure if he should be telling a twelve year old boy about this.

"Good" Ron said curtly, taking both men by surprise. "That's all I wanted to know… Am I dismissed? I'm awfully tired from the long trip, Headmaster." _If the Dark Lord dies… then there won't be a war! Fred will be safe!_

"Yes, you are dismissed" Dumbledore said kindly. "Goodnight, Ronald. I hope we can talk again soon." Ron nodded and stood up, and then Snape guided him out of the room. Right before they left, Ron shot a look towards the Sorting Hat. _I need to talk to it tonight!_

* * *

Ron walked back into the common room and noticed that his friends weren't there anymore. _Probably went to their dorms…_ Ron then headed towards the second years' dorms, and he was glad to see that he would sharing the dorm with Theo and Blaise again. He entered his new room, and was immediately surrounded.

"What did Snape want?" Theo questioned him.

"You already did something wrong, didn't you?" Blaise accused.

"Woah! Ease up…" Ron said with a frown. "I didn't do anything wrong, Dumbledore just wanted to see me. To make sure that I was… fine…" Ron finished lamely.

"Oh…" Theo muttered. _Yeah… Oh…_

"I'm going to go take a shower" Ron said, and then he moved to his trunk and got out his pajamas. _Long sleeved… Thank Merlin for that…_ Ron then entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He then walked into the shower and turned it on, but he didn't start his shower. Instead he called out to the Hat. "Sorting Hat, if you can hear me, come to me…"

"Dear boy! It is good to see you once again!" came the Hat's voice from behind him. Ron turned around and smiled at his ancient ally.

"Sorting Hat… It is good to see you again" Ron greeted the Hat, and then he placed the Hat on his head.

" _Hmmm… odd…"_ the Hat said softly. " _Very odd… and curious!"_

" _What's odd?_ " Ron asked, feeling a little worried.

" _It's… nothing. Your mind just feels a little… different… It doesn't matter! Let's have a look, shall we?"_ the Sorting Hat said, and then it went through Ron's latest memories. " _Helga's mercy, Ronald… you poor, poor boy… I am so sorry…"_

" _It's alright, Hat"_ Ron replied. " _I have recovered my health..."_

" _I warned Albus… that fool! I warned him not to keep the stone in the school… Let me see your scars, dear boy…"_ Ron sighed and did as he was told, it was just easier to show the Hat. Probably because it wasn't a person… " _My word… The Entity did this, didn't it?"_

" _I think so…"_ Ron replied slowly. " _When you-know-who attacked me, I felt the same way I did back in that room with the Mirror of Erised… Like cold tendrils were grabbing me, and then… Then I felt them break my bones…"_ Ron shuddered and put his sleeves back down.

" _You are right, I think"_ the Hat said in a sagely voice. " _I too felt its presence in your memory of that night… Hmmm…."_ The Hat perused through all of his memories now. " _My, my… Parseltongue! How is that possible, my boy?!"_

" _I was hoping you could tell me…"_ Ron muttered, feeling disappointed at the fact that the Hat didn't have the answers.

" _This is… shocking, to say the least. You've never attempted to talk to snakes before, and now you can? Care to explain?"_

" _A vision showed me that I could… I tried it, and it bloody worked! Am I… Am I related to Salazar?"_

" _No… I have sorted every Weasley and Prewett since the days of the Founders! And none of them held any relation to Salazar, so you are not one of his descendants…"_

" _Then why can I speak in Parseltongue?!"_

" _I…"_ the Hat started, but then it gasped loudly.

" _What?! What happened?!"_ Ron asked in a panic.

" _I cannot tell you…"_ the Hat said, its voice sounded strained. Almost as if it was fighting against something…

" _Excuse me? What do you mean that 'you cannot tell me'?"_

" _It would mean revealing another student's private memories and thoughts, and I am magically restricted… A safe-guard created by the Founders, my creators… It forbids me from revealing anything about the students unless I believe they are in danger… Forgive me, Ronald. I cannot tell you, though I desperately wish that I could!"_

" _Bloody hell… why can't things just be simple for once in this damn school?!"_ Ron sighed, trying to calm himself down. " _So I'm not in any danger? And neither is this 'student', the one you can't tell me about?"_

" _No, you two aren't… I'm sorry that I cannot offer you any help on this, my boy…"_

" _It's alright, Hat. I'm just glad that I got to talk to you again… And I'm glad that you didn't sort Ginny into Slytherin, I was worried for a second that you would…"_

" _She is a Gryffindor at heart, much like yourself! Though I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised at your progress… In just one year, you have learned much from your peers and made strong connections! Well done, Ronald… well done indeed!"_

" _Thanks Hat, you were right… Slytherin isn't so bad… I've made good friends here, friends that have my back."_

" _Fraternity, Ronald. It is one of Slytherin's best traits, in my opinion at least…"_

" _At least? Shouldn't your opinion be the only opinion that counts? You're the Sorting Hat! You were made by the Founders themselves!"_

" _Oh dear boy"_ the Hat chuckled. " _If only others shared your wisdom!"_ the Hat said, and then it laughed loudly on top of his head.

" _Are you making fun of me?"_ Ron asked with a frown.

" _Of course not, goodnight Ronald! I hope we can speak again soon!"_ the Hat said, and then it disappeared. _Barmy old thing…_ Ron smiled to himself, and then he took off his clothes and had a shower. After that, he dressed in his pajamas and wore his leather glove over his right hand. He then put on his rings on his left hand, and exited the bathroom.

"Why were you laughing in there?" Blaise asked in an aloof voice, and then he looked at Ron's attire. "Why are you still wearing only one glove?" Theo perked up at that, and he looked at Ron's right hand.

"So I'm not the only one who finds that weird?" Theo chuckled, and Ron frowned at them. _Bloody hell… I should just show them, they're bound to see it eventually… But why is it so hard? C'mon Ron… just do it! They live in the same room as you! No matter what you do, they'll see it soon enough anyway…_ Ron slowly took off his glove and presented his hand to his two best mates. Theo stopped chuckling abruptly, and Blaise took in a sharp breath.

"What… happened?" Blaise muttered, looking at Ron's scarred hand with utter shock.

"The Dark Lord…" Ron muttered, his face felt hot with shame and he shuffled his feet. "When he attacked me… it left scars…" There was a short pause between them.

"Scars? As in… more than one?" Theo whispered, his mouth hanging open slightly. Ron took in a deep breath, and then he showed them both his right forearm.

"Fucking hell…" Blaise said as he took a step back from shock. Ron immediately covered his scarred arm up, and his eyes began to sting. _I'm a freak…_ "Sorry mate… you just… took me off-guard" Blaise muttered, feeling guilty about his strong reaction. Ron's scars were horrifying to look at, they looked like snake tracks winding upwards…

"It's fine…" Ron said meekly, he made sure to look at the ground. He didn't want to see their disgusted faces…

"Is it just your right arm?" Theo asked slowly, his voice a little shaky. Ron shook his head and then he sniffled, doing his best to keep his composure. _I'm not going to cry! I won't give the Entity that satisfaction!_

"I have scars like that all over my body…" Ron said in a whisper. None of them said a word after that, not for a few minutes at least. Ron eventually decided to put on his glove and go about preparing his bed, but his best mates were just rooted in their spots. They were no doubt trying to process this…

"Don't tell the girls…" Ron said, and the both of them just nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ron…" Theo apologized. "I shouldn't have made jokes about your glove…"

"You didn't know" Ron provided with a faint smile. "Just forget it, please…" Theo nodded at that, but Ron could tell that Theo wasn't going to forget this. Ron then closed the curtains to his bed, and went to sleep. He didn't know what else to do…

* * *

Ron woke up early in the morning, and he quickly hopped out of his bed. He opened his trunk and got his running gear out, and he smiled at it contently. _Finally! Mum isn't here to stop me now!_ Ron took his running gear into the bathroom, and was about to change, but he instead frowned when he realized that his running gear consisted of a t-shirt and shorts… _Bloody hell! How did I forget something so basic?!_ Discouraged, Ron stepped out of the bathroom with a deep scowl.

"You're awake…" Blaise said, and Ron looked at him sitting on his bed. Blaise was wearing his pajamas, which consisted of a black t-shirt and pajama pants. _Merlin I miss wearing t-shirts… It gets so hot under jumpers!_

"Yeah, I wanted to go for a run" Ron said, trying not to make things awkward. "But I just realized that I can't…"

"Why not?" Blaise frowned. "Theo and I were looking forward to going for a run with you."

"My running gear shows my arms and legs…" Ron sighed. _This day is already turning rotten! With my luck, I'll get a class with Lockhart today…_ Blaise looked at Ron with confusion for a second, but then he realized what Ron meant.

"Oh… Sorry to hear that…" Blaise said, his voice sounding forced. _Merlin… Showing them was a bad idea…_ "I reckon we should still go out to the lake… We can tell Theo about your Parseltongue ability, and show him proof." Ron thought about it for a few seconds, and then he nodded.

"The lake does sound nice…" Ron mused. "And the sooner we tell him the better, let's wake him up." Blaise got off of his bed and walked up to Theo's, shaking the weedy boy until he woke up.

"What? Are we going for a run?" Theo asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"No, but we are going to the lake" Blaise informed Theo. "C'mon get ready…" All three boys then changed into their school uniforms and headed out to the lake, Theo asked questions the entire way there but Ron and Blaise told him to just wait. When they finally reached the lake, Ron took in a deep breath. It was a cold morning, and Ron smiled at the sight of the lake. He loved this place.

"Can you two stop being so secretive?" Theo asked with a frown. "What are we doing here? And why aren't we going for a run?"

"My running gear shows my arms and legs" Ron finally answered, and Theo just blinked at him.

"Oh…" Theo muttered.

"Also we have something important to tell you" Blaise said seriously, and then he faced Ron. "Ron?" Ron sighed and nodded.

"I'm a Parseltongue…" Ron told Theo with a straight face, and Theo just blinked at Ron again.

"Pardon?" Theo asked with a confused look. _Yeah… I wouldn't believe me either…._

"Ron is a Parseltongue, Theo" Blaise joined in. "It's true… I saw him talking to that python back at the Muggle Zoo…" Theo stared at the two, and then he began sniggering. Ron and Blaise both frowned.

"A Parseltongue? Good one…" Theo sniggered. "You two are mental! Did you seriously drag me out here to play some sort of joke? That's a fair effort!" Ron and Blaise looked at each other, both of them frowning due to Theo's sniggering.

"He needs proof…" Blaise said, and then he aimed his wand away from his friends. "Serpensortia!" Blaise chanted, the end of Blaise's wand exploded with white light. And through the white light came out a large black snake that landed heavily onto the ground, the snake's head rose up and it looked ready to strike.

"Merlin Blaise!" Theo yelled as he took a few steps back, even Ron was surprised. "What do you think you're doing, summoning that thing?!" Blaise just looked to Ron and nodded. _Here goes nothing…_ Ron took a few slow steps towards the snake, the snake also faced Ron and hissed.

"My target?" the snake hissed, it sounded male. "Come closer, yes… Come to me…"

"I'm a friend" Ron hissed back, and the snake was shocked to hear this. Ron missed Theo going pale as a ghost, and even Blaise shuddered.

"You speak in the noblest of tongues?" the snake hissed. "How is this possible? You are not one of us…"

"I don't have the answers as to why I can speak in 'the noblest of tongues'…" Ron hissed, hoping to Merlin that the snake didn't attack him. "But you are not the first snake that I have spoken too."

"Is that so? I am the most beautiful though, am I not?" the snake hissed, sounding rather pleased. "Tell me, boy? Am I the most beautiful of my kind that you have spoken to?" _What? What kind of question is that?_

"You are" Ron lied, he didn't want to anger this vain serpent. "What is your name?"

"They call me Sarravirr, the dark one…" the snake hissed proudly. "And you?"

"They call me Ronald" Ron hissed, and the snake bowed its head. Ron did the same, thinking that it was part of snake culture… _Do snakes have culture?_

"Vipera Evanesca" Blaise chanted as he aimed his wand at the snake. The snake vanished in a puff of black smoke, and Ron was startled.

"What did you do?!" Ron asked in horror. "Did you kill it?!"

"Relax…" Blaise said, he looked out of sorts. "I just sent it back to wherever I conjured it from…" _Bloody hell… Thank Merlin…_

"I need to sit down…" Theo muttered, he was as pale as a ghost. Ron and Blaise looked at Theo, both of them understanding of Theo's shock. "How?" Theo managed to ask. Ron and Blaise then spent the next half-an-hour catching Theo up, and by the end of it, Theo had relaxed considerably.

"That explains why you kept sneaking around my father's library…" Theo said to Blaise, and then he turned to Ron. "Are you sure you want to hide this from the girls? When they find out, they'll be pissed…"

"I agree with, Theo" Blaise said firmly. "The more help we can get, the better… Stop being stubborn about this, Ron." _How do I tell them that I'm trying to dodge that mental vision I saw?!_

"For now… let's just keep this quiet, please…" Ron pleaded, both Theo and Blaise frowned. "I'll tell them, I promise… Just give me time to process this myself, all right?"

"Fine…" Blaise sighed, and then he looked to the castle. "We should head back inside, it's almost time for breakfast."

* * *

Ron groaned to himself as he read his class timetable, and he cursed his own luck. _A double of Transfiguration, and then a double of D.A.D.A… A double of Lockhart on the first day!_ Ron frowned as he heard the girls giggling to each other, but he was happy to see that Theo and Blaise were as annoyed as he was. _At least I know everything we will be covering… Percy's notes said that he had to transfigure a beetle into a coat button in the first class of Transfiguration. I can do that… And in D.A.D.A, we should be going over the disarming charm._

They all made their way towards the Transfiguration class room, and the girls were still ignoring the boys. Ron didn't care though, he was preparing himself for the first class of the year. He wanted to start earning house points, and he wasn't going to be outdone by Hermione. But it turned out that the Slytherins would be sharing this class with the Ravenclaws instead. Ron relaxed a bit at that, and he waited eagerly for the class to start. McGonagall then came out and let the students inside, telling them to take their seats.

The first half of the lesson was just revisiting theories of Transfiguration, and Ron managed to earn fifteen points for Slytherin. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaws earned a total of thirty… Padma Patil was competing with him just like Hermione would, and Ron looked to his friends for help. His friends looked bored with the class, and Blaise just shrugged at him. _Useless… Guess it's up to me!_ But then, something unexpected happened. Draco Malfoy came to Ron's aid…

Malfoy answered every question that the Ravenclaws couldn't, and he earned twenty points in just ten minutes. Ron was shocked… and so were Ron's friends. Ron didn't even know what to make of this, and so he just went with it. Both of them did their best to outdo the other, but in the end it was Malfoy who earned more points than Ron. He flashed Ron a triumphant smirk, he had earned thirty points for Slytherin while Ron had only managed twenty. Professor McGonagall was awestruck as well, she hadn't seen Mr. Malfoy try so hard before.

"We will now be doing a more practical exercise" McGonagall announced. She then flicked her wand, and beetles were conjured up on the students' desks. Most of the girls in the class shrieked at the sight, and Professor McGonagall frowned deeply. "Ladies, control yourselves at once! They are just beetles, and not the end of the world! You are to transfigure these beetles… into coat buttons. I have already told you all the spell, you may begin."

Ron aimed his wand at the beetle and concentrated. He thought of the beetle morphing into a black coat button, and then he imagined the button's miniscule weight. _Easy does it, Percy already showed me how to do this spell. I can do this!_ Ron chanted the incantation lightly, and then he tapped the shell of the beetle with his wand. There was a white light, and then the beetle was a button.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley" Professor McGonagall said with one of her rare smiles. "Fifteen points to Slytherin for a spell well performed, well done." Ron smiled proudly at the button, and he thanked Percy once again. Professor McGonagall then started moving around the class, and the rest of them weren't having any success.

"Do you want to share your knowledge?" Blaise asked, and Ron turned to his friends. They were all waiting for him to teach them. Ron smirked and shrugged his shoulders at Blaise, reminding Blaise of his earlier behavior. Blaise and Theo chuckled, but the girls were a bit put off.

"Ron… teach me" Daphne said softly, giving him a pleading look. _NO! Not this look again!_ Ron did his best to resist her sad pout, but he couldn't do it. His guilt was beginning to burn a hole through his chest, and he sighed as he gave up…

"Fine…" Ron muttered, and Daphne smiled triumphantly at the others. "Here, this is what you do…" Ron said as he moved closer to Daphne. They were sitting together, as they always did during Transfiguration classes. Ron went over the instructions slowly, and Daphne listened intently. Daphne then tried the spell, and it worked partially. The beetle was half-button and half-beetle. It was an unpleasant sight, because the beetle had died when half of his body was turned into a button…

"No…" Daphne muttered sadly, and Ron just frowned at the beetle. _That's just grim, that is…_

"Did you think of the button's weight?" Ron asked, and Daphne just nodded. "What about the shape, and the four holes for threads?" Daphne shook her head at that. "Well, try again…" Daphne tried again, and this time the beetle fully transformed into a button.

"Yes!" Daphne exclaimed, losing her sadness. _Wait… she wasn't sad that the beetle died, was she? She was sad because the spell didn't work…_ Ron frowned a bit at how cold Daphne was just then…

"Helping your friends again?" Professor McGonagall asked as she came up from behind them. She then looked at the button in front of Daphne, and she gave a tight smile. "Well done, Miss. Greengrass. I award ten points to Slytherin for your success." Daphne smiled at the sound of that, and Professor McGonagall walked off again. _What about my points for helping? Bloody hell… they just expect it now, so they don't give me any extra points!_ Ron frowned to himself, and he missed Daphne sticking her tongue out at the others. Ron also missed Malfoy and his goons glaring at him with ill-intentions.

* * *

After they finished their lunch, Ron and his friends made their way to the courtyard to relax. Ron wanted to start reading 'Voyages with Vampires' in order to prepare for Lockhart's class, while his friends just wanted to enjoy the Sun. They all sat together, and the girls gushed on about Lockhart's wavy hair. Theo and Blaise were still muttering to themselves, upset that Ron had helped Daphne just because she was a girl. Ron found himself horrified at the book he was reading, it was a novel! Not a text-book! _Where are the damn spells?! This… This is garbage!_ Ron closed his book and huffed in annoyance.

"This book doesn't have a single spell in it!" Ron complained to his friends.

"What?!" Theo asked in shock, and then he took Ron's book out of his hands and perused through it.

"It cost five Galleons though…" Blaise stated with a frown.

"None of you have read 'Voyages with Vampires'?" Tracey asked, shocked to learn this. "Why? It is an amazing book!" Tracey then turned to Daphne. "What was your favorite part?"

"When Gilderoy charmed that barmaid…" Daphne sighed. "I thought that was really romantic…" All four girls smiled as they thought of that, and Ron gagged. _I'm gonna fail D.A.D.A this year… and I'm alright with that._ Ron decided to ignore the girls, and instead focused on looking around the courtyard. He smiled when he spotted Hermione, Harry, and Neville.

"I'll be right back" Ron told his friends, and then he got up and walked to Hermione. He missed the frowns that his friends were giving him. Ron approached Hermione, and she had her nose buried in 'Voyages with Vampires'. _Not you too…_

"Ahem" Ron coughed, and Hermione looked up with annoyance. Her annoyance shifted to a bright smile when she saw that it was Ron. "Mind if I join you?" Ron asked with his best smile.

"Of course not, come sit with me" Hermione giggled as she patted the patch of grass next to her. Ron sat down with her, and Hermione closed the book.

"Enjoying some light reading?" Ron asked. "You should appreciate the Sun instead."

"The Sun is out every day, I can enjoy it whenever I want!" Hermione argued with a humorous tone.

"What if the Sun disappears tomorrow?" Ron asked in a foreboding voice. "Then you'll be left with nothing but regrets… 'Oh, how I wish I enjoyed the Sun' you'll say, but it'll be too late!" Hermione giggled at his silly impression of her.

"I don't sound like that!" Hermione chuckled.

"Really? I thought I was spot on!" Ron grinned, and then he laughed when Hermione gave him a light smack. Ron's eyes fell on Harry and Neville, and the mousy boy that was talking to them. Harry and Neville both looked rather uncomfortable. "Hermione, what's going on over there?" Ron asked as he nodded his head towards Harry. Hermione looked to Harry, and she frowned.

"It's that boy again… I saw him watching Harry all during dinner and breakfast…" Hermione said with a furrowed brow. Then she stood up and marched towards her two friends, and Ron followed after her.

"I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him" the mousy boy said enthusiastically. "And it'd be really good if I had one of you… maybe your friend could take it, and I could stand next to you?" the boy asked in a pleading tone. "And you could… sign it, maybe?" Ron chuckled at the request, and the boy turned around and went wide-eyed at him. "You're a Slytherin…"

"Observant" Ron chuckled, and Hermione frowned at Ron's sarcasm.

"The other Gryffindors tell me that you're all bullies…" the boy squeaked. Ron looked to Hermione with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"Is that what they say?" Ron asked merrily.

"Um…" Hermione stuttered. _Wow…_ "Not you specifically… Just all of your friends… and Malfoy… and the other Slytherins…" Ron frowned at the mention of his friends being bullies, and then he turned that frown towards the mousy boy.

"You shouldn't believe everything that the Gryffindors spew out…" Ron advised, and he noticed Neville frowning deeply. "Now… what's this about a photo?" Ron asked, returning to his nice demeanor.

"I just wanted a signed photo… with Harry Potter…" the boy squeaked.

"I'll take it for you!" Ron said, feeling particularly mischievous right now. Harry went wide-eyed and shook his head at Ron. "C'mon mate, hand over the camera. I'll take your photo…" The mousy boy beamed and took the camera off of his neck, and then he handed the camera to Ron. The mousy boy then squeezed in-between Harry and Neville, and he smiled widely. "Go on Hermione, join in" Ron chuckled, aiming the camera at the three boys. Hermione was trying not to smile at Ron's antics, and she slowly moved over and stood next to Harry. "Big smiles everyone!" Ron declared. They all gave wide smiles, though Harry's was forced, and Ron took the photo.

"There you go" Ron said as he handed the camera back to the mousy boy.

"Thanks!" the boy said happily, and Ron smiled at Harry's death glare. "My name's Colin… Colin Creevey!"

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself.

"What's this then?" came a pompous voice from behind them. Ron frowned when he realized that it was Malfoy's. " **Famous** Harry Potter…" Malfoy spat out. "Handing out signed photos? And with the Weasel as his camera-man? Are you paying him well, Potter? He could use the money!" Malfoy and his two goons laughed at Ron, and Ron felt his temper flare. _No… behave…_ Ron remembered how disappointed his family was with him when he had given into his temper. He didn't want a letter being sent home… that would not be good…

"Everyone!" Malfoy shouted, attracting the attention of everyone around. "Potter is handing out signed photos! Make a line!"

"No, I'm not!" Harry argued angrily, clenching his fists. "Shut up, Malfoy…"

"You're just jealous of Harry" Colin Creevey piped in, and Ron was rather surprised by the little boy's bravery. _Gryffindor for certain! I mean, Crabbe could probably eat him…_

"Jealous?" Malfoy laughed scathingly. "Me? I'm the heir of the Malfoy Family, and he has some ugly scar on his forehead… I don't think having your head split open should make you famous, and you're an idiot if you do." People were now gathering around, including Ron's friends. They were just frowning at Ron being part of a scene again. _I need to stop this before a fight breaks out… I should never have taken that photo without looking around!_

"That's enough, Malfoy" Ron said as he stepped up to Malfoy. "Back off…"

"I think the Weasel wants a photo too, Potter" Malfoy sneered at Ron. "You should give him one for free, seeing as he can't afford to buy one!" A bunch of older students sniggered at the comment, and Malfoy puffed his chest out proudly. _I'm this fucking close to clocking this git! This CLOSE!_

"Leave him alone" Hermione grit out, narrowing her eyes on Malfoy. Malfoy turned to her with a disgusted look, and then he went to say something but he was cut off.

"What's all this then? Did I hear someone is giving out signed photos?" came loud and merry voice. The people around Ron parted, and Ron spotted Lockhart striding forward with a happy grin. His turquoise robes were extravagant as always, and Ron nearly went blind from the gleam given off by Lockhart's pearly white teeth. "Ah! Harry, we meet again my young friend!" Lockhart all but shouted, and then he put his arm around Harry and gave him a paternal squeeze.

"Go on then, Mr. Creevey" Lockhart smiled at Colin. "Take a photo, and we can **both** sign it! That's a fair deal, eh? Smile Harry, this is one for the scrapbook!" Colin fumbled with his camera and took the photo, and Ron smiled sadly at Harry's bright red face. Then the bell rang loudly through the courtyard, signaling the start of their next class. _D.A.D.A… with Lockhart…_

Ron joined his friends behind Lockhart, who was still holding onto Harry, and they followed their new Professor to the classroom. Ron heard some really arrogant things come out of Lockhart's mouth, such as 'Wait until you're older like I did' and 'I built up my name through hard-work before I turned into a worldwide sensation'… Ron cringed at Lockhart's happy grin. Ron also tried avoiding his friends' glares, he knew that they weren't happy with him associating with Gryffindors again.

As they approached the classroom, Lockhart let them all go in but he held Harry back. He was still clutching onto the boy-who-lived, and Harry looked embarrassed beyond words. Once Ron entered the classroom, he sat down next to Tracey… mostly because he knew that she wouldn't be as angry as everyone else. _Tracey doesn't push the Blood-Status angle at least…_

"You're an idiot" Tracey muttered, and Ron sighed. _Is it too late to swap?_

"Ahem" Lockhart coughed loudly, and the class was silenced. Ron saw Harry slink into the back of the, red as a tomato. He was joined by the rest of the Golden Trio. Lockhart then marched up to the front of the class, and he turned to them with a twirl and a bow. _What a tosser…_

"Gilderoy Lockhart" Lockhart introduce himself. "Order of Merlin: Third Class, Honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming Smile award… But I'm not here to talk about that!" Lockhart laughed, and then he grinned at the class. "I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" A bunch of girls sighed at that, including Tracey.

"Now, I see that you all have my seven books" Lockhart continued. "I'm going to give you all a short quiz!" The class moaned, but Ron got excited. _Actual work? In this class?!_ "Don't worry, it won't be too difficult. I just want to test your knowledge!" _Yes, thank Merlin!_ Lockhart then handed out test papers to every student, and Ron wondered why he didn't just flick his wand like Professor Flitwick would. "You have thirty minutes, begin!"

Ron immediately turned the page over and he read the first question. 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?' it read, and Ron blinked at it. He looked to the next question, 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?' it read… _What is this?_ Ron then read all fifty-four questions, and they were all about Lockhart! _None of this is about D.A.D.A?! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS SHITE?!_ Ron felt panic rising in his stomach, he was gonna fail this test! He looked to Tracey, and she was writing her answers down. _FUCK!_

Ron looked around the room, which Lockhart missed because he was staring at his reflection with a pocket mirror… Ron noticed that every boy was looking around like he was. Ron's eyes locked with Blaise's, and Blaise mouthed 'What the hell?' and Ron shrugged. _This is bad! What do I do?_ Ron looked over at Tracey's answers, and he copied a couple of them down. Tracey noticed his cheating, and she smiled slyly. She then moved her arm and let him cheat, and Ron did so with a shameful blush. _This is what I've been reduced to… A cheat!_

"Time's up!" Lockhart announced after thirty minutes, and Ron put his hands on his face. He felt real shame, and Tracey's sly smiles weren't helping him. Lockhart then collected the papers from all of the students and went through them. He started talking, but Ron just ignored him. Ron had flunked a test… _Percy… Charlie… I'm so fucking sorry…_ Ron felt a nudge on his ribs, and he turned to Tracey. She gave him a wink and smiled happily, and Ron just blinked at her. Ron managed a forced smile, and Tracey did her best to not laugh at him.

"Where is Miss. Granger?" Lockhart asked, and Ron looked up at that. Hermione put up a trembling hand, and Lockhart grinned at her. "Excellent work! Take ten points for Gryffindor due to getting full marks! Excellent! And now… to business…" Lockhart finished ominously. He then picked up a covered up cage from behind his desk, and he placed it upon the desk. The cage began rattling violently, and Ron leaned forward in his seat.

"Yes…" Lockhart said with a sudden grim tone. "It is my **sworn** duty to prepare you against the foulest, and most evil creatures known to Wizard-kind… You all may very well come face-to-face with your worst nightmares under my tutelage… But know this… No harm will befall you whilst I am here… Prepare yourselves…" Ron felt his anticipation grow, and he gripped his wand tightly under the desk. He could feel its warmth even through the glove, and Ron was ready… The class was so silent that one could hear their own thoughts!

"I must ask you all to remain calm" Lockhart said in a low voice. "Or else, you might provoke them!" And with that, he ripped off the cover. "YES! Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!" Lockhart announced, and the room was dead silent for a few seconds. And then Seamus Finnegan started laughing, and some more boys joined in. Even Ron was laughing his head off… _CORNISH PIXIES! WHAT THE HELL?! HAHAHAHA!_ There were dozens of electric blue pixies in the cage, and they were pulling faces and shouting nonsense at the students. Their squeaky voices were annoying, and Ron was sure that he heard some nasty cusses.

"Laugh if you want" Lockhart chuckled menacingly. "But let's see how you deal with them… ONCE THEY'RE FREE!" Lockhart shouted bizarrely, and then he opened the cage and flooded the room with Cornish Pixies.

Utter, and absolute chaos broke out. The students screamed and yelled as the pixies flew around the room, knocking over books and attacking the students. Some of the student tried to run out of the room, but the pixies got there first and blocked their path out. Ron was attacked by a particularly vicious pixie that grabbed him by his nostrils and dragged him out of his chair while he screamed at the little blighter. He could hear Tracey screaming as well due to a couple of pixies pulling her hair, and Ron lost his temper. He grabbed his attacker with his left hand and slammed it on a nearby desk, and then he turned to help Tracey. Getting to her was another issue entirely… there were screaming students everywhere. Ron spotted Blaise punching a pixie out of the air, while Theo was swinging his text-book around violently.

The shouting got louder and louder, and Ron was attacked by another pixie that bit into his left ear-lobe as if it was a juicy morsel. As Ron fought off the little blue bastard who had a taste for human flesh, he heard Malfoy yelling for Pansy to stay still. Ron managed to turn in time to see Malfoy smack a pixie with his text-book and save Pansy from it, and then a couple of angry pixies attacked him and he bolted.

"MY PIN!" Daphne screamed as she covered her face from a pixie that was trying to kick her face. Ron immediately pointed his wand into the air.

"Accio Daphne's Hair pin" Ron yelled, and he saw a golden pin fly at him. He caught with a triumphant grin, and then he turned to Daphne but she didn't see him because she was hiding behind Millie who was swinging around her text-book just like Theo had been. _Where the fuck is Lockhart?!_ Ron looked around frantically, but there was no sign of him.

"LOCKHART BOLTED!" Finnegan yelled as he ran past Ron, a pixie was pulling his hair and basically riding him like a horse. Ron was about to cuss, but he stopped when he saw Lavender Brown and Tracey running together as three pixies chased them. Ron aimed his wand at the pixies, but he decided not to fire a stunner. _In this chaos, I'll hit someone!_ Ron pocketed his wand, and then he grabbed a text-book off of the floor. He then intercepted the two girls and smacked all three of their chasers down.

"RON!" Tracey yelled, her face haggard and her hair messy. "Granger got hit in the face and she fell over!" Ron went pale at that.

"WHERE?!" Ron asked.

"OVER THERE!" Lavender yelled, pointing to Lockhart's desk. Ron turned to the desk and ran towards it, dodging his screaming class-mates as best he could. He found Hermione on the ground with her eyes closed, and she had a bruise forming on her chin. _Bloody hell!_ Ron shook Hermione, but she didn't wake up.

"What happened?!" came a shout from behind him. Ron turned and saw Neville rushing over to him.

"She got hit in the face! She's out cold!" Ron yelled, and then the three pixies he had smacked with a text-book came for him. They flew around his face, and then they launched their assault. They bit and scratched at him, and he screamed as he fought them off. "FUCK OFF YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" Ron yelled, and he was forced to leave Neville and Hermione behind.

Ron managed to smack all three of his assailant away, and then he ripped his wand out. _THAT IS IT!_ Ron aimed his wand at the pixies that were flying above the students, and then he started throwing out stunners. Red sparks flew out of his wand as he fired one 'Stupefy' after another. Most of his stunners missed… but a few landed, and he smiled evilly as he saw the pixies fall down.

"IMMOBULUS!" came a shout from behind him, and then all the pixies were out of commission. Ron turned to see Hermione standing there with her wand aimed into the air, and she had a fierce look on her face. The screaming came to a halt, and every student just looked around in a daze. The pixies were just floating around, unable to move or even blink. _The Freezing Charm? Brilliant! I didn't even think of that in all of this panic…_

"Grab them, and put them in the cage before they wake up!" Ron heard Harry shout, and then there was mass movement. Ron walked up to Hermione and Neville, and he faced Hermione.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked her, and she looked at him and winced.

"No… my mouth hurts…" she muttered meekly, and Ron could see blood on her bottom teeth. Hermione sniffled as she rubbed her chin, and Ron felt like he was seeing Ginny whenever she was bitten by a Garden Gnome. So Ron gave her a comforting hug, and she sniffled over his right shoulder as she hugged him back.

"Where's Lockhart?" Neville asked, and Ron broke his hug slowly.

"Finnegan was screaming that he bolted…" Ron grit out. "I don't see him anywhere, so Finnegan was probably telling the truth."

"Bloody hell…" Neville muttered, looking haggard and out of sorts. "C'mon Hermione, let's go to the Hospital Wing…"

"But class isn't over…" Hermione muttered, her eyes red from crying.

"It's over…" Ron said with a tired sigh. "Trust me, we need to get you to the Hospital Wing." Before she could argue, Ron grabbed her right hand with his gloved one and pulled her behind him. "We're going to the Hospital Wing!" Ron shouted to everyone. "Every one of us!" There was no argument, and all of the students followed Ron's lead. All of them had cuts and bruises, but some were hurt more than others… Ron led the students onwards, and they eventually reached the Hospital Wing. Ron opened the door and called for Madam Pomfrey, who came running out of her potion-closet.

"What's happened?!" she demanded with a shocked look. She had never seen so many students walk in at once, and all of them needed help. Their clothes were torn, and they all looked like they had been through a battle.

"Gilderoy Lockhart happened" Ron told her with an annoyed voice. "He let Cornish Pixies loose in the class-room and then he bolted!" Madam Pomfrey just blinked at him, and then she turned to the students. Her demeanor just changed, and then she began her work without any other thought in her mind.

* * *

Ron sat with his Slytherin friends while Pomfrey treated the students. McGonagall and Lockhart had both turned up a minute ago, and they were talking to Hermione.

"The Freezing charm you say" Lockhart said with a smile, and Ron just frowned at the man. "Well done, Miss. Granger! I myself would have used no other spell! You have impressed me greatly today, especially after you got all those questions right in class!" Hermione beamed at Lockhart, her cheeks turning scarlet. "Twenty points to Gryffindor for the use of a perfect Freezing Charm!" Lockhart exclaimed with an obnoxious laugh. McGonagall just stared at Lockhart in utter disbelief, what was Albus thinking when he hired this… this mad-man?!

Lockhart then ruffled Hermione's hair like she was some pet, and after that he marched off with a smile. Ron wanted to run after him and hex his balls off… _What an absolute tosser!_ Instead of doing something that would get him expelled, Ron instead chose to help Madam Pomfrey. He was joined by some of the other students who only had scratches and so forth, and they all handed out bandages dipped in a smelly potion of some sort. After Ron finished handing out his share of the bandages, he spotted a rather sad looking Daphne. She was sitting quietly on a bed, and she was ignoring her friends. Her hair was a mess, and Ron remembered that he had her hair pin in his robe pocket.

"Hi" Ron said softly as he sat down next to her, and she seemed to tense a bit.

"Hi…" she replied, and then she tried to fix her hair a bit. Ron took out the pin from his pocket and showed it to her, and she instantly lost her defeated demeanor.

"My hair pin!" she exclaimed excitedly, and then she took it from Ron eagerly. "You found it?" she asked him, finally looking up at him.

"Yeah… I heard you shouting when they took it. So I used the summoning charm to retrieve it for you…" Ron explained, and Daphne beamed.

"Thank you, Ron!" Daphne said, and then she hugged him from the side. He chuckled at that, and tried to hug her back. It was an awkward positioning, but he tried nonetheless.

"Get a room…" Tracey joked, and Daphne let Ron go quickly. She was blushing and frowning at Tracey.

"I'm never going to that class again…" Theo muttered. "And if you girls don't think that Lockhart is a nutter by now, then you're all mad…" The girls didn't argue with him this time, but Ron could tell that they wanted to. _I'm with Theo on this, why would Dumbledore hire that moron?!_ Ron then yawned, feeling utterly spent. _I'm so tired… I'm going straight to bed tonight…_

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And there it is! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Things moved relatively slowly in the first half of the second book, but I've decided to add my own Arcs to fill that space. I don't like time-skips much because they feel unnatural, so please bear with me as I avoid the time-skips made by J.K Rowling! The Chamber of Secrets will open soon enough!**

 **See you all in three or four days! (Uni is days away and I'm currently volunteering so I'm a bit more busy...)**


	26. Chapter 26 -An Inquisitive Investigation

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 26! A couple of things before you start!**

 **1\. Draco POV? Oh damn!**

 **2\. Hermione is already aware of certain slurs... that's all I'll say...**

 **3\. Damn this was a fun chapter to write!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 26 – An Inquisitive Investigation**

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

Draco sat in his usual corner in the common room, and he waited patiently. _Any minute now, that Blood-Traitor will come out and run off to the lake again… Today, I'll know what he does there with my friends!_ It was the crack of dawn on the third day of second year, and Draco already had his plans in motion. He had spent the entire holidays plotting against the Weasel, but more importantly, he had been plotting to get that 'Relegatio' seal removed from his name! His blood boiled as he remembered his public humiliation! _It was all the Weasel's doing… And he'll pay for that!_

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV (Flashback)**_

The holidays had been the worst time that Draco had been forced to endure in his life… His father's disappointment was very clear, and Draco felt it keenly every time he was in the same room with his beloved father. The moment Draco had stepped off of the Hogwarts Express, he had noticed something was wrong. His mother had come to pick him up alone… Draco knew right then that his father was angry with him. At that time, Draco was quite angry and scared as well. He was still reeling from his attack and Weasley's disappearance… not to mention that he had blundered and told everyone about the Dark Lord. That was the one thing that Draco's father had forbidden!

Thankfully, Draco's mother greeted him with her usual loving and doting nature. Draco felt safe and at peace in her arms, and he refused to let go of her hand afterwards. All of his worries just vanished because of her being near him, she would protect him no matter what! They travelled back to Malfoy Manor using the Floo-station on Platform 93/4, and that's when everything changed. His father wasn't home, and his mother assured him that Lucius would be joining them for dinner. He could see that she was worried because her lips twitched, that was her tell. Draco foolishly ignored it, and went upstairs to wash up and unpack.

Dinner that night was horrible… His father had barely spoken through it, and worse, he refused to even acknowledge Draco's presence. If Draco asked his father a question, Lucius would just ignore it… Draco's mother didn't say much either, no doubt worried about Lucius' anger. But when Lucius sent Draco up without dessert, that's when her worry turned into anger. His parents, who were always loving to each other, broke out in a vicious fight. Draco had never heard them argue so angrily before, and it scared him. But mostly, he felt ashamed… He knew it was because of him that they were fighting. He had been 'banished' from the Triumvirate, and he had disgraced his father's name…

Draco was even more ashamed when he had begun crying in his room like some weakling that night, but that shame wasn't enough to stop him… He had never felt so pathetic in his life, and he just couldn't stop. He had lost most of his friends this year, he had been made a joke within Slytherin, the older students hated him, his father was ignoring him, and Weasley's name was respected within Slytherin far more than his own… No matter how he looked at it, Weasley was the cause for all of these horrible things. But even that didn't matter, Weasley was in a coma from an attack by the Dark Lord himself… Draco didn't know why, but he felt pity for Weasley… even after everything that had happened. That certainly didn't help ease his mind, his father would never feel pity for an enemy.

The next two week were grueling to say the least… Draco actively began dodging his father's presence, and his father seemed more than pleased with that. That fact had hurt Draco, but he chose to keep hiding from his father. Draco's mother did her best to make him feel at home, but her efforts just didn't matter enough to Draco. Every time he felt any semblance of happiness, his mind reminded him of his current situation with his father and school-house. And that would result in him losing all of his energy, and then he'd just mope around the manor alone. His mother eventually stopped trying, and instead settled for giving him sad smiles from afar. His parents began fighting again, and Draco could hear them sometimes when they thought that he was asleep.

The arguments always ended the same way, his father storming out via floo and his mother crying in her room. Draco got the feeling that they weren't fighting over him anymore, he had heard his father yell out something about the Dark Lord still being alive. Draco's stomach still twisted at the memory of the attack… he still couldn't understand why the Dark Lord would attack him! And in the end, Draco figured that Weasley had been the target all along. Draco had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time… and all because of that giant oaf groundkeeper!

Time kept passing by, and Draco just moved through the motions. He spent most of his days flying around, and he eagerly awaited the release of the new Nimbus 2001s. Though he knew that he would have to ask his mother instead of his father, Draco wasn't ready to face him yet. Halfway through July, word reached Draco that Weasley had woken up from his coma. Draco wasn't sure how he felt about that news… He still hated the Weasel, but he also knew that the same Weasel hadn't abandoned him in the Forbidden Forest… So Draco just chose to ignore the news, just like he was ignoring all of his other problems. He just couldn't be bothered right now, that was all…

On the very last day of July, Draco's father finally approached him in his room. Draco was worried about the confrontation, but he was overjoyed to see his father talking to him in a soft and kind voice. Lucius had explained to his son that he had found out that Sebastian Greengrass was currently making some sort of deal involving Weasley, and that Weasley had also attended a party at Longbottom Manor the previous day. Draco was shocked to hear some semblance of respect in his father's voice, but Lucius assured his son that Weasley was just a Blood-Traitor… A Blood-Traitor that needed to be taught his place…

And so, father and son began their plotting. Draco joined in eagerly, mostly because he had missed his father terribly over the last month. But a small part of Draco wanted to hurt Weasley, hurt him for all the problems and hurt he had caused Draco. The first order of business was removing Draco's 'Relegatio' seal, and that would just be the start. Lucius ordered his son to improve his studies, and to earn even more house-points than Weasley. Draco agreed, although he wasn't entirely sure that he could. Weasley was a damn prodigy… or so the Daily Prophet claimed anyway. Lucius instructed his son on the importance of taking away Weasley's power in the house, and Draco nodded in agreement.

Their plan was simple… Take away the thing that gave Weasley his security in the house, and then to push Weasley into a trap. They had to besmirch his name, and they had to isolate him. That wouldn't be too hard, Weasley was a hot-head who was prone to commit physical violence. Draco felt his excitement grow at the prospect of regaining his friends back, and even more excitement at finally defeating the Weasel. With his father on his side again, Draco knew that it was possible now. This was going to be his year!

Draco met Weasley once again at Daphne's birthday, and it had not been a pleasant experience. Draco had been getting along with his former friends quite well, and then the red-haired tumor had shown up… Draco was hurt deeply at the fact that his former friends all but started ignoring him once Weasley was there, and he felt disgusted with them. How could they chose this vile Blood-Traitor over him?! Draco was rich, and his father held real power! Whereas Weasley was some poor sod, and his father was a disgrace to the name of Wizards! And yet, his friends chose Weasley over him… Draco had to find out why! In order for his plot to work, he needed to know what made Weasley tick…

The second time Draco ran into the Weasel during the holidays was at Flourish and Blotts… Potter and Weasley had paraded themselves in front of the store as if they were bloody peacocks, and it made Draco sick that all of these people were throwing them all their attention. And then, Weasley's disgusting father had attacked Lucius like some brute… While Draco was struck by the Weasel himself! One of Draco's teeth had come loose from the punch, and the pain was excruciating. When they had gotten home, Draco's father had been livid. And once Narcissa had learned about Draco's injury, she too had lost her composure. The Weasleys had to pay for this… and they would!

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV (Present-time)**_

Draco heard footsteps coming from the boys' dorms, and he quickly hid himself. Weasley, Theo, and Blaise came out of the entrance and they were talking animatedly about Lockhart. Draco frowned at the mention of that fool, and he agreed with the Weasel that Lockhart was indeed a 'Glory-hungry moron'. Once the three were out of the common room, Draco followed after them. He kept his distance, mostly because he knew their destination already. It wasn't hard to stay hidden, the three were far too engulfed in their conversation about Lockhart.

Once they were at the lake, Malfoy stayed on the other side of the shore. He hid behind a tree and watched the three boys, but he couldn't hear them. They were too far away, and Malfoy cursed how open the areas around the lake were. He couldn't risk getting closer, he'd definitely be spotted. So he settled for just watching them, and he was shocked to see all three boys brandishing their wands. _Are they… practicing spells? Why? What is the Weasel up to?_

Weasley seemed to be playing the part of a teacher, and he was going on and on about something. And then, Weasley aimed his wand on himself and he disappeared. _What?! Where did he go?!_ And then Weasley reappeared, and Draco's two former friends were ecstatic. Draco was just floored by this revelation, Weasley was teaching Theo and Blaise advanced magic… Magic no second year should be able to pull off… _That's why they chose him over me! He bought their loyalties with advanced magic! Is that how this works?! He teaches them this stuff, and they protect him? Filthy little Weasel… You'll pay for turning them against me!_

Draco had seen enough, he had to report this to his father. Draco slowly left the lake, and traveled back to his dorm. He had learned Weasley's secret, Weasley was buying off Draco's former friends. The thought sickened him, how could they be so disloyal? _I'll teach them a lesson too… One that will show them the error of their ways…_

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

Harry's second year had started off quite terribly, at least in his opinion. He had crashed horribly into Sirius' backside, he had spent the ensuing train ride being scolded by Hermione, Dobby's warning was constantly on his mind, he had two stalkers, Malfoy had made him a laughing stock with the help of Ron and Lockhart, and then Cornish Pixies had broken his glasses and scratched him up… One of them had left a bite mark on his nose… All in all, second year was a disaster so far. And to make things worse, Harry was forced to tiptoe through the castle! He had stalkers to avoid, after all…

Lockhart was hounding him every single day! Not to mention Colin Creevey… The mouse-like boy had been hovering around Harry with his camera, and every time Harry let his guard down Colin would snap a photo… Harry knew that he needed to put an end to this, but he didn't have the heart to tell the little boy off. Harry had asked his friends for help, and to his joy, Neville had agreed to play the bad guy. But that didn't last long because Hermione went off of her rocker at them for being so heartless… So Harry was back to avoiding his stalkers as best he could…

After an exhaustive week, Harry was truly glad to start the first weekend of the school year! He already had a pile of homework, but Harry didn't care. He had no intention of doing it just yet, despite Hermione's usual lectures. It was Friday night… who did homework on a Friday night?! _Hermione Granger, that's who…_

"Harry, mate" came Neville's voice, it pulled Harry back into the moment. "It's your move…" Harry looked down at the chessboard and he frowned deeply, he was going to lose…

"Yeah, I think I lost" Harry muttered as he toppled his black king. _Even Neville beats me in chess…_

"Want to go again?" Neville asked with a smile, and Harry smiled back at him.

"Nah, we should probably pretend to study… Hermione will be here any second!" Harry warned his best-friend. Neville sighed at that, and then he nodded. They packed up the chessboard and got their homeworks out, and they began their act. It didn't take long for Hermione to enter the common room, and once again she was carrying all of her books in her bag. _How does she have so much strength?_ Hermione approached her best-friends and she dumped her bag down. It landed with a thud that made both boys go wide-eyed, and then Hermione sat down with them.

"How was your trip to the library?" Neville asked with a smile. Hermione smiled back happily.

"It was great!" Hermione answered, her voice merry. "Ron and I finished all of our homework for the weekend! You two really should have come along…" _Um… No thanks…_

"Hermione, it's just first week…" Harry sighed, and then he wished that he hadn't said that. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, and she was about to launch into a bossy lecture but Neville stepped in.

"How's Ron?" Neville asked, he knew that this would stop her incoming rant.

"Oh, he's fine" Hermione said, losing her steam. _Great save, mate!_ "He asked about you two, you know… He wanted to know why you didn't come along… He was probably let down that he couldn't sneak you two answers tonight…" Harry paled at that, and so did Neville.

"What… what are you saying?" Harry stuttered, and then he chuckled lamely. "Ron doesn't do that…"

"Oh, please" Hermione scoffed. "He told me tonight… I'm really disappointed in you two…"

"Bloody hell!" Neville exclaimed. "Why would he tell her that?!" _Ron… why?_

"AHA!" Hermione yelled as she jumped out of her chair, taking the entire common room by surprise. "He didn't say a word! But you just confirmed my suspicions!" Harry and Neville both blanched as they saw her take in a sharp breath. _Here it comes… We're doomed…_

* * *

"Harry, wake up…" came a distant voice, one that Harry chose to ignore. "Wake up, now!" demanded the voice, and then Harry's entire body was shaken.

"Whassamatter?" Harry muttered groggily, still utterly out of it. "I'll make the breakfast…" Harry whispered and then he fell back to sleep.

"Breakfast? Potter, get up!" came Oliver Wood's voice, and this time Harry sat up.

"Wood? What happened?" Harry asked, searching for his glasses. _What time is it?_

"Here" Wood said as he passed Harry his glasses. "Get your Quidditch Uniform, we're going out for practice!" Harry slid off of his bed and dragged himself to his trunk, which he opened slowly. _It's so cold… Where's the sunlight?_ Harry took out his uniform and looked to Wood.

"Wood, what time is it?" Harry asked, still yawning.

"Five in the morning!" Wood said happily. _What?! Why are we practicing so early?!_ "I'll explain soon enough, get your things and meet me in McGonagall's classroom." Wood then left in a hurry, and Harry just blinked at his bed. _It's the crack of dawn…_ Harry then moved to the adjoining bathroom and changed into his gear. He washed his face and brushed his teeth, and once he had gathered his wits, he grabbed his Nimbus 2001 and marched down to McGonagall's classroom. He was halfway there when he heard an obnoxious clicking sound, and Harry nearly screamed in frustration.

"Alright there, Harry?" came Colin Creevey's voice. _Why is he even awake?! And did he follow me here?!_

"Hello, Colin" Harry said, doing his best to sound polite. Colin was already by his side by the time Harry finished his greeting.

"Are you training for Quidditch? I've never seen Quidditch before, I hear it's all the craze in the Wizarding World…" Colin spoke quickly in his squeaky voice, another trait that Harry was annoyed with. "I myself don't even understand the rules… But you play as a Seeker, don't you?! The youngest in a century! That's amazing, Harry!"

"Thanks, Colin…" Harry said, going crimson in the face. "I really need to get to McGonagall's classroom, all right?"

"Oh… ok" Colin said, his voice squeaking more than usual. "I'll come with you! I'd love to see you play!" _Did he just invite himself?_ Harry rolled his eyes and kept walking, doing his best to answer Colin's bombardment of questions.

Harry didn't hear a word of what Wood had said after the initial explanation, his eyes just kept closing. And he wasn't alone… Fred Weasley had passed out immediately on Angelina Johnson's shoulder, while George was just staring blankly at Wood. Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson were doing their best to stay awake, but they were also struggling. As it turned out, Wood had decided to forgo trials this year. He believed that the team was already solid enough to win the Quidditch Cup, and this time they would. Harry had felt a little guilty for costing them the Quidditch Cup last year, even though Wood assured him that they didn't blame Harry.

"Wake up, you lot!" Wood said in an angry tone. "You've had plenty of sleep!"

"Plenty of sleep, he says…" George started, but then he trailed off. After a second, he looked around for his twin. Fred was still asleep on Angelina's shoulder. _They really can't talk without one another, can they?_

"Listen" Wood scolded. "We can win the Cup this year, we will win the Cup! Our team is the best team out there, and I won't let some sleep get in the way! We will train harder, longer, and more often than ever before! Now… you have ten minutes to go get some breakfast, and then we go to the pitch! I've reserved it already." Harry and the others dragged themselves out of the room, and to Harry's horror, Colin was waiting outside. He snapped a photo of Harry with the team, and then he ran up to Harry.

"Are you going out to the pitch?" Colin asked excitedly. _I hope I crash and die… I can't take this anymore!_

"Yes, Colin" Harry said flatly. "Just getting some breakfast first…" Harry then walked to the Great Hall, and Colin chased after him. Harry ignored the boy's annoying presence as best he could, but he felt extremely guilty doing it. It was that guilt that was causing him to occasionally answer Colin's questions, and as such, Colin wasn't going anywhere… Harry got to the Great Hall, and it was mostly empty. The only people that were there were Hermione, Neville, a few Ravenclaws, and Ron. _Why is Ron awake so early? And why is he completely alone? OH WAIT! It's Saturday! He has his apprenticeship lesson today!_ Harry remembered this from his time at the Burrow. Every Saturday morning, Ron would leave early and come back late. Harry didn't enjoy his Saturdays at the Burrow as much as a result… He preferred it when Ron was around.

"Hi, Harry" Neville greeted Harry pleasantly.

"Good morning, Neville. Morning, Hermione" Harry greeted his best friends as he sat down with them. Hermione grunted a good morning back from behind her book. _She's still mad at us… And she's reading Lockhart's book again…_ Harry shot a quick look to the teachers table, and he was grateful that Lockhart wasn't there. Harry did spot Snape though, and that soured Harry's mood even more. _Foul git…_

"Aren't we supposed to meet Hagrid today?" Neville asked Harry, observing his best friend's attire.

"We'll have to go after practice… Wood has lost it…" Harry muttered tiredly. Harry then looked to the rest of the Gryffindor team, and they were scarfing down their food. Harry decided to follow suit, and Neville chuckled at the sight. Harry heard another annoying clicking sound, and he nearly lost it at Colin. Harry slowed down his eating instead, doing his best to be polite and kind to others.

"Why's Ron awake so early?" Neville asked the group, and Hermione put her book down. She turned around to look at Ron eating his food alone, and then she turned to Harry.

"Um…" Harry started but then stopped.

"You know?! Tell us!" Hermione ordered. _Should I? It's not my business… But it isn't anything bad, so it should be fine._

"He has his apprenticeship on Saturdays" Harry answered, and both of his friends cocked their eyebrows. "He gets paid to practice and play chess by Lord Greengrass… He is an ally of their family, or something like that… I don't really understand it much" Harry said honestly. Neville and Hermione were both surprised to hear that, and Hermione seemed to be beaming.

"He already has a job?" Hermione asked, her voice awestruck. "Wow… He really is smart, isn't he?" _She sounds a bit… jealous…_

"He's an ally of the Greengrass Family? Are you sure?" Neville asked inquisitively. Harry frowned at that, he knew why Neville was asking this. This was the one and only thing he didn't like about Neville… Neville was constantly trying to find reasons to not like Ron, no matter how much Ron did for all of them. Harry just didn't understand why… Neville was so kind to others, but he wouldn't even give Ron a chance!

"Yeah, I think so" Harry decided not to lie. "He goes to Greengrass Manor and spends the day with Lord Greengrass, he's sort of like Lord Greengrass' protégé…" Neville narrowed his eyes at Ron when he heard that, and Harry rolled his eyes. Even Hermione was frowning at Neville.

"Don't give me that look…" Neville defended himself. "Sebastian Greengrass was an ally of you-know-who in the last war!" Harry and Hermione were shocked to hear this.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked through narrowed eyes. _How does he know that?_

"My parents were Aurors…" Neville answered softly, and both Harry and Hermione nodded slowly at that. Neville had told them both about his parents' condition, and it broke Harry's heart to learn that his best friend lived with such pain. Harry had lost his parents, but Neville's parents were just out of his reach… They were alive, but they weren't Neville's parents anymore… Harry didn't know what was worse of the two, he just knew that he hated it…

"C'mon, Harry!" came Wood's voice, and Harry looked to it. "You've eaten enough, let's go!" Harry slowly got up, but so did his friends.

"We'll come and watch you" Hermione smiled, and Harry smiled happily at that.

"You'd do that for me?" Harry asked.

"Of course, mate" Neville chuckled. "We can go straight to Hagrid's after your training!" Harry nodded eagerly, and then they all followed after Wood. They were crossing into the courtyard when something unforeseen happened. The Slytherin Quidditch team crossed paths with them, and both teams glared at each other. _What are they doing here?_

"What's the meaning of this?" Wood hissed at Flint, the Slytherin team captain. "I've already booked the pitch!"

"Ease up there, Wood" Flint said with a devilish smirk. "There is room enough on that pitch for two teams… Or have you forgotten that Quidditch is played by two teams?" Harry frowned at Flint, and Wood went red with rage.

"I know more about Quidditch than you ever will" Wood spat out, he was fuming. "I booked the pitch! I booked it for Gryffindor, you have no business on it this morning!"

"Calm down" Flint said smoothly, and the he took out a note. "Here, I have a special note from Professor Snape… we get the pitch this morning." Wood snatched the note from Flint's hand and read it, and then he gasped.

"You have a new seeker?! Since when?" Wood demanded, and the entire Gryffindor team was surprised. Flint stepped to the side, and Harry felt his fury rising in his chest. It was Mafloy… and he was smirking arrogantly as always.

"Take a photo, Potter…" Malfoy said smoothly with a smirk. "It'll last longer…"

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" Fred questioned, glaring at Malfoy.

"Funny that you should mention Lucius Malfoy…" Flint said smoothly. "Draco's father gifted the Slytherin team new brooms… Here, have a look." Flint and the other six Slytherin Quidditch players then showed off their new brooms, and all the Gryffindors were horrified. And jealous… All the Slytherins had brand new Nimbus 2001s, polished and untouched. Harry didn't feel jealous though, he already had one. But he did feel sick that Malfoy had bought his way onto the team…

"Nothing to say to that?" Malfoy smirked at Harry, but his smirk faltered when he saw that Harry also had one. "You have one as well, good… I'd rather you provide me with some challenge at least." _Bring it on Malfoy!_ "But judging by looks on your team's faces, I rather doubt that any of you stand a chance this year…" Malfoy smirked broadly, and Harry clenched his teeth.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to **buy** their way in" Hermione shot back haughtily. " **They** got in on pure talent!" _Haha! Nice one, Hermione!_ Harry smirked at Malfoy deep frown.

"No one here asked for your opinion" Malfoy spat at Hermione, his voice laced with venom. "You filthy little Mud-Blood!"

Harry didn't know what that word meant, but he could tell that it was bad. Hermione looked like she had been slapped across the face, and Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy because Fred and George tried to attack the little ponce. The girls on the Gryffindor team started shouting at the Slytherin players, and even Neville was shouting at them… The Slytherin players just smirked as they hid Malfoy behind their backs.

All of the shouting stopped when there was a thunderous sound, and a bright green light came out of nowhere and struck Malfoy on his arse, sending the git flying into the Slytherin team. Harry shot quick looks behind the Slytherin team, and he saw someone with red hair dash away behind cover. _Ron?!_ Then Harry turned to Malfoy, and the git was moaning.

Malfoy went to speak but instead of words coming out of his mouth, he instead belched loudly and vomited out several slugs. Harry gagged at the sight for a second, but then he burst into laughter. The whole Gryffindor team was in uproar, laughing wildly at Malfoy's pale face. Malfoy vomited out more slugs, and both twins fell to the ground laughing. Harry had to clutch his sides because they were starting to hurt, but he couldn't stop laughing. Even Neville and Hermione began laughing at Malfoy, although Hermione was still reeling from being called such a horrible thing.

"What is the meaning of this?" came the cold voice of Severus Snape, and everyone turned to see him approaching from the castle. "Explain yourselves at once…"

"Sir, they cursed Draco" Flint lied, he was sitting down next to Malfoy with a disgusted look. "We told them about your note, and they just lost it!" W _HAT?! LIAR!_

"That is not…" Wood started but he was cut off by Snape.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor!" Snape hissed, scowling at Harry in particular. "Mr. Flint, escort Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing at once." Flint did as he was told. "Join the rest of your team on the pitch afterwards…" Snape added as Flint left with a slug-vomiting Malfoy. Snape turned to the Gryffindors. "As for you all, I will see you all in detention tomorrow night! Out of my sight!" The Gryffindors quickly scattered, too afraid of losing even more house-points. Once they were all back in the Great Hall, Wood yelled out a cuss and kicked a seat.

"Merlin be damned!" Wood exclaimed. "I booked that pitch… And they still get to use it?!"

"Mate…" Angelina said softly. "We just lost fifty points and got detentions… The pitch is the least of our worries…"

"Who fired that Slug Curse?" Alicia Spinnet asked, and Harry kept his mouth shut. _I'm not getting Ron into trouble as well…_ Harry then heard a small sniffle from behind him, and he turned to face Hermione. She looked rather upset, and Harry knew it was because of what Malfoy said. _I should take her away from all of this…_ Harry approached Hermione with a soft smile.

"Hermione, let's go visit Hagrid" Harry said, looking to Neville for support.

"Yeah" Neville said quickly, catching onto his best mate's line of thinking. Hermione nodded meekly, and all three of them departed for Hagrid's hut. The trip down was quiet, and Hermione sniffled every now and then. Harry could also see that Neville was quite angry, an emotion that he never showed so openly. _What did Malfoy say?! I remember Neville telling me about Half-Bloods… But I've never heard 'Mud-Blood' before… It sounds a lot worse…_

As they got closer to the hut, Harry heard a familiar voice coming out from it. And then the door swung open, and Lockhart came out with his back turned on the trio. He was wearing pale blue robes that were spotless, and his wavy hair fluttered in the wind.

"All I'm saying is that it isn't very hard… if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart said with an obnoxious laugh, he was talking to Hagrid no doubt. Harry didn't wait to see because he grabbed his two best friends and hid behind a large batch of pumpkins. "And I'll be sure to send you a signed copy tonight! No, no… Don't thank me, it's my job!" Lockhart laughed, and then he strode off towards the castle. Lockhart's grin nauseated Harry… Once Lockhart was gone, the trio walked up to Hagrid's door and knocked. Hagrid flung the door open, and he looked furious. Harry and his friends tensed immediately, but Hagrid's expression changed drastically when he saw his young friends.

"Oh, it's yer three!" Hagrid said happily. "Was wonderin' when you'd come and visit me! Come in, come in…" Hagrid then stepped back into his hut, and the trio followed after him. "I was worried that yer were Professor Lockhart come to haunt me again…"

"What was he doing here, Hagrid?" Harry asked as he took a seat next to Neville. Hagrid frowned deeply at that, and he began making tea for his guests.

"Teachin' me on how to get kelpies out 'o' me well…" Hagrid scoffed. "An' then he just kept bangin' on about some banshee he banished… If even one word of it were true, then I'd eat my own kettle…" Harry was shocked to see Hagrid criticizing someone… even if that someone deserved it…

"Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed, she looked scandalized. "He was clearly perfect for his job! Or else Headmaster Dumbledore would never hire him as a Professor!"

"Believe me… he were the only one who were asked…" Hagrid grumbled, and then he handed out tea to everyone. Hagrid narrowed his eyes at Hermione when he noticed her puffy eyes and red nose. "Hermione… what's the matter?" Hermione went a little red, and Neville puffed his chest out in anger.

"Malfoy happened, the git!" Neville said angrily, once again shocking Harry. "He called Hermione a…" Neville trailed off.

"Called her a what?" Hagrid pressed, he was becoming a bit upset on her behalf.

"He called me a Mud-Blood…" Hermione muttered, looking at the ground. But she didn't cry this time. Hagrid was beside himself, and Neville gave her a comforting pat. _It must be a horrible thing to say… I'm gonna break Malfoy's face!_

"He didn'!" Hagrid exclaimed, he was disgusted with the young Malfoy.

"He did…" Hermione muttered, she looked quite upset.

"What does it mean?" Harry asked softly. "I remember you telling me about Blood-Supremacy, Neville. It's related to that, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is" Neville said with a disgusted look.

"It means dirty-blood" Hermione said, talking more to herself rather than the room. "It is a slur used to discriminate against those with Muggle-Parentage. It is often used to cause offence, and it is a term often used by those of a 'Pure' heritage…" _Did she just quote that from a book?_ "I read about it… I wanted to know why I wasn't sorted into Slytherin…" _Wait… what?_

"Why would you want to be sorted into that pit of vipers?!" Neville asked, shocked to learn this.

"It was at the start of last year…" Hermione explained. "When I was… when I was jealous of Ron being smarter than me… I knew that the Ravenclaws were the academically gifted, but watching Ron in class… I thought that I should've been in his house too… It was stupid…" _I didn't know she felt like that… But I guess I was just a git to her back then…_ Harry felt a soft pang of guilt, he remembered how he had ignored her just like the rest of the house. It was no wonder that she questioned if she was in the right house…

"Yer darn righ' it was stupid" Hagrid said firmly. "There ain' no spell invented that you can' cast Hermione! Yer right where yer belong!" Hermione smiled softly at that.

"He's right! And you're way smarter than Ron!" Neville exclaimed, trying to cheer her up. But she didn't like the sound of that… Before she could begin lecturing Neville on patronizing her, Harry jumped in.

"It was Ron, by the way" Harry blurted out, and everyone looked at him in confusion. "He fired that Slug Curse at Malfoy… I saw him rush behind cover after." Hermione and Neville went wide-eyed.

"No way…" Neville shook his head. But unlike Neville, Hermione beamed when she realized that he was the only one who was awake, and he wasn't with them in the courtyard. "He wouldn't curse his own house-mate in public, he'd never risk getting caught…"

"But he didn't get caught!" Hermione argued. "It had to be him, Harry saw him!"

"And where's Malfoy now?" Hagrid asked, curious about this.

"At the Hospital Wing" Harry said with a grin. "He's still throwing up slugs, I bet!" Hagrid guffawed at that.

"Brillian'" Hagrid laughed. "Yer should invite Ron here more often… He was very polite the las' time."

"Can we?" Hermione asked Harry, she was smiling rather happily now.

"Of course, I think that's a great idea!" Harry agreed with a nod, he ignored Neville's distant look. _One of these days… I'm gonna find out what Neville has against Ron, and solve this!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace and walked into Snape's office. He was exhausted, but he was in a great mood. He had told Lord Greengrass about cursing Malfoy and getting away with it, and Lord Greengrass had given him proud pat on the back. He didn't know why, but he loved getting compliments from the Lord of the Greengrass Family. Not to mention Astoria's happy reaction at that particular news as well. All in all, it had been a good day!

"Mr. Weasley" Snape's voiced drawled from behind his desk. "Welcome back…"

"Good evening, Professor Snape" Ron greeted with a smile, which earned him a light frown from Snape.

"How was your apprenticeship today?" Snape asked, taking Ron by surprise. _Is he trying to make conversation?!_

"It went great, Sir" Ron replied immediately, happy to see Snape being nice for once. "I practiced on making my reaction time faster when facing difficult strategies. It was exhausting, but I still had fun."

"You aren't there to have fun, Mr. Weasley" Snape kept his light frown. "You are there to improve yourself, which I hope you do. Your behavior at your **job** gives a reflection of our school's teachings… Try and remember that."

"I always do, Sir" Ron replied, he wasn't going to let Snape ruin his day. "Is there anything else, Sir?"

"No, Mr. Weasley" Snape said as he stood up. "Come, I shall accompany you to the Great Hall, dinner will be served soon." _Accompany me? What's going on here?_ They left for the Great Hall, and neither of them said a word. Snape broke the silence as they neared the giant door that led into the Great Hall.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape all but whispered. "Don't ever curse your house-mates again… Or I will make you serve detention with Professor Lockhart every single day during this year. Is that clear?" Ron went pale, and he came to a halt.

"I don't know what you mean, Professor Snape" Ron lied, trying to sound innocent. Snape rolled his eyes at Ron's terrible lying skills.

"And try to lie more convincingly next time…" Snape sighed. "Other Professors will not show you any leniency…" And then Snape billowed into the Great Hall, leaving Ron to stare at the man's back. _How did he know it was me?! Merlin, he's cool!_

Ron then entered the Great Hall, and it was already full. He instinctively shot a look towards Hermione. She was looking right at him with a bright smile, and he smiled in return and gave her a nod. Ron then made his way towards his Slytherin friends, and he was happy to see no sign of Malfoy. _Probably still throwing up slugs… Good!_ Ron sat down next to Pansy, and his friends were surprised to see him back before dinner.

"Hello" Ron greeted with a smile, and his friends greeted him in return.

"You're back earlier than I expected" Daphne said. "How is my family? Do they miss me?" she asked with a smirk.

"They didn't mention you…" Ron lied, and Daphne frowned at him. "Astoria sends her love Tracey, she misses you terribly!" Tracey chuckled at that, while his friends smiled at Daphne's ever growing frown.

"You're so funny, Ron" Daphne said scathingly, and then she huffed in indignation. Ron grinned at his friends and they all chuckled at his antics.

"Did you have fun?" Pansy asked him. "I still can't believe you have a job! You're only twelve!"

"I did have fun" Ron said, and then he shot a quick look towards Snape. _I hope he didn't hear that…_ "And it doesn't feel like a job to me, I love playing chess. And Lord Greengrass is the best, he let me drink seven mugs of hot chocolate today!"

"That can't be healthy" Theo said flatly. Food then appeared on the tables, and Ron dug in.

"How was your day?" Ron asked his friends, and he didn't like the sheepish looks they gave him. _And there goes my good day… It's always something…_ "What happened?"

"Not here" Blaise told everyone. "We talk about this in the common room, understood? Too many ears…" _And I thought I was paranoid! Whatever, I'm starving anyway… this new problem can wait._ Ron ate his meal and told his friends about his training, and they seemed genuinely happy for him. They finished dinner much earlier, and Ron and his friends made their way down to the common room but they were stopped at the stairs by the Golden Trio.

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Harry asked, and Ron turned to the Golden Trio with a smile.

"No" Blaise answered for Ron curtly, making Ron frown at his dark-skinned friend. _Hey… Don't be rude!_

"Is your name Ron?" Neville asked Blaise in a scathing voice.

"Look out everyone" Theo chuckled. "Longbottom finally grew a pair!" Neville went red in the face, and Ron's friends laughed at the slightly less chubby Gryffindor.

"Enough" Ron ordered. "If you all can't be civil, leave. I'll catch up to you after I'm done here."

"Ron…" Millie said firmly. "I'm staying with you, you can't trust these three…" _Merlin… Give me strength…_

"Well, we don't trust you either" Hermione shot back at Millie.

"I'm not the bitch who was happy to throw my friend to the wolves" Millie said with disgust, and Hermione flinched. W _OAH! MILLE! Ease up, yeah?!_

"Okay, that's enough…" Ron said firmly. "Go, now…" But his friends didn't budge, and Ron nearly lost his temper.

"How about only Ron and I stay, and the rest leave?" Hermione suggested, this made Daphne let out a scathing laugh.

"Absolutely not" Daphne said in a pompous voice.

"You're the least trustworthy person here, Granger" Tracey spat out. "We all know how you treat your friends…"

"Don't talk to her like that" Harry warned Tracey, and she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"The dork-who-lived has blessed me by looking my way?!" Tracey gasped in a mocking manner. She was about to speak again but Ron cut her off.

"Hermione and I stay, the rest leave" Ron said firmly. "No arguments, go!" His friends frowned at him, except for Daphne. She gave him a dark look, and then she huffed and marched off. The rest of Ron's friends slowly followed after her, except for Blaise.

"I'll leave when they do" Blaise said, glaring at Neville and Harry.

"Guys, go… please…" Hermione said in a pleading tone. Harry made to leave, but Neville didn't move. Harry grabbed his friend's arm and slowly dragged him upstairs. Once they were out of sight, Blaise turned to Ron.

"Don't keep us waiting" Blaise whispered to Ron. "And keep your hand on your wand…" And then Blaise left for the dungeons. Ron let out a tired sigh, and Hermione just shook her head.

"That was harder than it had to be…" Ron said regretfully. "I'm really sorry about them, they mean well… but they can be really harsh…"

"No, it's okay…" Hermione said with a faint smile. "You have good friends, Ron."

"I do" Ron said, looking at her with a smile. She blushed a bit at his inclusion of her. "So, what's on your mind?"

"I wanted to thank you" Hermione smiled more broadly.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For what you did today… to Malfoy" Hermione whispered. _How did she find out as well?! Did she tell the others?! Is that why Snape knew?! Oh Merlin… Slytherin is going to be pissed at me again!_

"How did you know?" Ron asked in a whisper, feeling a cold sweat in his armpits.

"Harry saw you running away after…" Hermione smiled. "Don't worry, we didn't tell a soul… except for Hagrid. But he won't say a word about it, I promise." Ron relaxed at her explanation. _Snape probably saw me running away as well… Need to be more careful!_

"Well, that's good to hear" Ron said with relief. "I'd get in a lot of trouble if the wrong people found out."

"Thank you, Ron" Hermione said brightly. "You didn't have to do that, you know? It could have gotten you…" Ron stopped her by raising his gloved hand.

"I had to" Ron said resolutely. "No one talks to my friends like that and gets away with it… It's just that simple." Hermione surprised him with a hug, a hug that lasted for more than five seconds… Ron was blushing crimson by the end. "Hermione… the portraits are staring…" Ron managed, his face felt hot.

"Oh…" Hermione gasped as she let him go abruptly, her face was bright red. "Sorry…"

"Don't be…" Ron said, feeling oddly embarrassed. "I don't mind… I should probably get back to them… Was there anything else…?"

"No…" Hermione said, and then she shook her head. "No, Ron. Thank you for standing up for me." And then she turned to leave, but Ron stopped her by talking.

"You shouldn't let that git say that stuff to you, Hermione… You're worth ten of him, that's the truth!" Hermione turned around and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Ron" Hermione said, her voice more composed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" Ron said, and then she was gone. _That was… new…_ Ron then walked down to the Slytherin common room alone, he felt a little light-headed after that exchange with Hermione. And therefore, he missed the fact that two certain gorillas had been spying on him the entire time… Ron entered the common room and went over to his friends, they were sitting in their favorite spot.

"Hello" Ron greeted, but he was met with less than enthusiastic greetings. "Come off it… She wanted to talk about homework" Ron lied. "You know, the homework I help you all with…" This got him some apologetic looks.

"You should stop associating with those three, Ron" Blaise advised. "Especially now…"

"What do you mean by 'especially now'?" Ron asked as he sat down next to Daphne.

"Well…" Pansy started but stopped, she looked conflicted.

"Draco is no longer banished from the Triumvirate" Theo said bluntly, and Ron went wide-eyed. _What? How?!_

"What? Why?" Ron asked quickly.

"He bought them off" Tracey spat out, feeling disgusted by the new Triumvirate. "Daddy dearest gifted them all Nimbus 2001s, and he gifted Nimbus 2001s to the Slytherin Quidditch team as well…" _Is that why he was a part of the Quidditch team?_

"And they also made him their new seeker…" Ron summarized, he was utterly shocked. _The seal didn't even last a week… Damn him and his money!_

"How do you know about the seeker thing?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes. "That was announced after lunch, and you were gone by then…" Blaise let out an annoyed sigh as he realized why Ron knew.

"He knows because he's the one who cursed Draco…" Blaise muttered, but it was loud enough for all of them to hear. All of Ron's friends looked at him with surprised looks, but Ron didn't bother denying it. _What's the point of hiding it from them?_

"You moron…" Theo grit out. "What if you got spotted?! Draco would easily turn the house against us! You attacked Slytherin's newest seeker right before their first practice… What were you thinking?!"

"He called Hermione a 'Mud-Blood'…" Ron snapped, and Tracey gasped. "What was I supposed to do? Just let him walk away?"

"Yes" Daphne jumped in. "You put us all in danger to protect your little girlfriend…" Ron could hear the venom in her voice, and it pissed him off.

"She is not my girlfriend…" Ron snarled, and Daphne glared at him. "Unlike you Daphne, I know the difference between right and wrong. And I'm not a coward who just walks away when I should be defending my friends…" Ron could tell that his words hurt Daphne because she flinched a bit. Ron then turned to the rest of his friends, and he glared them down to size. "What if he had called Tracey a similar slur? Would you walk away from that? Go on, tell me…" None of them said a word, but Ron could tell that they were angry at him. He just didn't care right now, everything had gone to shite in a matter of minutes… His good day was ruined the moment he entered the Slytherin common room… _It's this damn house and its politics… I swear to Merlin!_

When none of them answered him, Ron stood up and left. _I'm going to bed… I'll deal with this Malfoy nonsense tomorrow…_ None of his friends made to follow him, and he was glad for it.

* * *

Ron was eating his breakfast alone, his friends were keeping their distance from him. He caught Tracey sending him worried looks all throughout breakfast, and he just ignored her. He could also feel Malfoy glaring at him hatefully, and Ron got the feeling that Malfoy knew the truth about who had cursed him. _Bloody hell… First week back and I'm already drowning…_ As Ron finished up his bacon and eggs, an owl hooted loudly and dropped a package in front of him. Ron looked at the package warily, it looked like a big book… Ron picked up the letter attached to the package in-order to find out who had sent it. _Victor Burke!_

 _Hello Ronald,_

 _I never got the chance to thank you in person for what you did for me (And Slytherin). I know our deal consisted of you earning more points to secure our victory, but even I didn't see that last minute save coming. It was quite amazing, and I'm sorry you weren't there to celebrate it with us._

 _You should be back in Hogwarts by now (I was truly relieved when I found out that you had woken up from your coma). Doing dangerous magic in secret, Ronald… I'm very proud! Seeking to empower yourself is the greatest of pursuits. I still remember how excited you were to learn that Disillusionment Charm from me._

 _In-order to thank you properly for saving the House Cup last year, I've sent you a gift. It is an old tome that I found in my Father's attic, a Tome of Curses… This tome is full of the Dark Arts, Ronald. So make sure you don't open the package in public. Take it to your room, and only read it in private. This letter will burn itself once you put it down…_

 _Thank you, and I hope we meet again._

 _Victor Burke_

Ron put the letter down slowly, and it instantly vanished in a small blaze. Ron picked up the packaged tome and left the Great Hall with a quick pace. _He sent me an illegal tome?! What if I get caught with it?! I'll be expelled! Bloody hell, Victor!_ Ron all but ran to his dorm after that, and he shut the door behind him. Ron then entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him, after that he set the tome down on the ground. _What do I do now? Should I… should I read it? The Dark Arts are evil… but… All curses are technically the Dark Arts… And Charlie didn't mind teaching me…_ Ron rubbed his temples as he stared at the packaged tome, what was he supposed to do with this thing?

Ron slowly approached it and undid the packaging, and he came face-to-face with a red-leathered cover. 'The Vilest Curses known to Wizard-kind' it read in black Gothic lettering, and Ron gulped. _Just a small peek… That's all…_ Ron opened the cover, and he looked at the index page on the front. There were a lot of different types of Curses, and they were all categorized by severity… _Merlin… This is surreal!_ Ron looked at the index, and the 'Unforgivables' caught his eye. He turned to the allocated page numbers, and he read all three of them.

"Imperio… Crucio… Avada Kedavra…" Ron muttered softly, his heart thumping in his chest. Ron skimmed through their descriptions, and his stomach turned into a knot. This tome was… not something he could tell others about. But he didn't want to throw it away either, it was too intriguing. A voice in the back of his mind was telling him to resist the temptation of this evil tome, but Ron's curiosity silenced that voice. _With the power in this tome… I could save Fred…_ Ron reasoned with himself, and he decided to keep it. And learn from it… He knew what he was doing was wrong, but that feeling also added a thrill to this new secret. There was a knock at the door, and Ron jumped in fright.

"Ron?" came Theo's voice. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah!" Ron yelled, and then he looked to the tome. _What do I do?!_ An idea jumped into his head, and he executed it immediately. Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on the tome, and then he grabbed it with his left hand. Ron then cast 'Incendio' and 'Scourgify' on the packaging, removing all evidence. Ron then casually stepped out of the bathroom, holding the invisible tome in his left hand. Theo and Blaise were in the dorm, and they looked a bit suspicious of Ron. Ron quickly sat on his bed, pushing the invisible tome under the cover subtly.

"What was that package?" Blaise asked him, and Ron's chest tightened. "At the breakfast table… You ran off in a hurry once it arrived, not to mention that letter burning itself…"

"It was nothing, and I ran off because I had to go to the loo" Ron lied, he winced internally at his horrible lie. Theo and Blaise didn't buy it for a second.

"So we're lying to each other again…" Theo muttered. "That's great…" Theo looked disappointed, and Ron felt a little guilty about that. _Should I tell them? Should I share the power in that tome with them? No… not yet… I need to keep my advantage in the upcoming war… What if Theo and Blaise are my enemies in the future? I can't risk it…_ Ron felt disgust at himself for thinking so lowly of his friends, but they had abandoned him once before. He couldn't take that risk, not when Fred's life was on the line!

"Whatever" Blaise sighed, he looked quite annoyed. "Theo, tell him about the investigation so we can leave…" Ron could hear the slight anger in Blaise's voice, and Ron knew that he had just hurt Blaise by lying to his face.

"What investigation?" Ron asked them both, his curiosity taking over again.

"The investigation into your Parseltongue ability" Theo clarified. "My father funds a particularly skilled investigator… for leverage purposes…" Ron narrowed his eyes at that, but he didn't interfere. "I've written to her and paid her to investigate the Gaunt Family…"

"Why the Gaunt Family?" Ron asked, confused by this sudden development. "Aren't they all dead?"

"They are" Blaise said. "But they were the descendants of the Salazar Slytherin… The investigator will look into each of them, quite thoroughly I believe. We need to find out what the connection between the Gaunt and Weasley Families is… Which means, she will investigate your family as well…"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed. "Call this off right now, Theo! Or I swear to Merlin, I'll kill you!"

"Calm down" Theo said quickly, putting his hands up in surrender. "She will only be looking into your dead family members… and **only** **if** she finds a connection with the Gaunt Family. Otherwise, the investigation will focus only on the Gaunt Family…" Ron relaxed a bit at that, and he breathed out in relief.

"When does this investigation start?" Ron asked.

"Yesterday…" Theo answered. "It will take a month, according to her anyway. She told me that the Gaunt Family is ancient, so she needs a lot of time…"

"Wait, how long have you been planning this?" Ron asked them, confused by the dates.

"Since you showed Theo that you are a Parselmouth" Blaise answered, and Ron frowned at the answer.

"Didn't care to tell me?" Ron asked scathingly.

"You have your secrets… we have ours…" Blaise retorted coldly. "Trust is a two way street." With that, Theo and Blaise left. Ron just huffed out a tired breath and lied down on his bed, his head was starting to hurt. _Nothing ever works out for me…_

* * *

It was Monday morning, and Ron was in his first Herbology double of the year. Things were still icy with his friends after their fight, and Ron was starting to regret his words. But he refused to apologize, he had stood up for his friend. There was nothing wrong with that, and he was getting tired of his Slytherin friends' selfish outlook on everything.

But all of that didn't matter right now, because he was in quite the pickle. They were having Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and his friends had all paired off together. This had left him in the wind, and the only Slytherins left were Mafloy and his apes… _What do I do now?!_ Ron then spotted Padma Patil, and he remembered her from Neville's birthday. _It's worth a shot! Anything is better than Malfoy…_ Ron approached Padma with a smile.

"Good morning, Padma" Ron greeted the pretty girl.

"Oh… Good morning, Ron" Padma greeted back, she was taken by surprise. "Can I help you?"

"You can actually" Ron said, putting on his best smile. "See, I need a partner for this lesson… Do you mind being that partner?" Padma was taken aback by this.

"But, we're in different houses…" Padma said, she looked a bit confused. _Just say yes, please! Don't send me off to grovel to Malfoy…_

"I know, but I don't really like Malfoy you see" Ron explained in a soft voice. "So please, save me…" Padma giggled at that, and then she shot a look to the other Slytherins.

"Fine, but you owe me!" Padma agreed with a playful smile. _THANK MERLIN!_

"Thank you" Ron said honestly, and then the two paired up. Ron got shocked looks from the girls, while Theo and Blaise just smirked and shook their heads.

"Gather around every one!" Professor Sprout said as she entered the Greenhouse. "Now, this lesson is extremely…" She trailed off as her eyes fell on Ron and Padma standing on the Ravenclaw side. "Mr. Weasley, what are you doing over there? You aren't in Ravenclaw…" _Think quick, say something witty!_

"Promoting House-Unity, Professor Sprout" Ron said with a smile, and the Ravenclaws burst into laughter. Even Ron's Slytherin friends were chuckling and trying to stop, only Malfoy and his goons weren't laughing. Professor Sprout was chuckling heartily.

"Well done!" Professor Sprout said as she calmed down a bit. "Take five points each then" she said while she looked to Padma and Ron. "Now, onto the lesson! We will be looking into Mandrakes today, who can tell me what a Mandrake is?" Theo put his hand up and began answering, but Ron's attention was grabbed by Padma.

"That was great" Padma sniggered to Ron. "Quick wit is always good to see."

"It's blessing… and a curse" Ron smirked, and Padma giggled at that. They both concentrated on the lesson after that, working hard at re-planting the Mandrakes. They didn't talk to each other at all due to their earmuffs, but they both enjoyed working together nonetheless. It was a long lesson, and they were all sweating and covered in earth by the end.

"Thanks for covering for me back there" Ron said to Padma as they left the Greenhouse. "I really appreciate it!"

"Well, you owe me one now" Padma said with a smug smile. "So I think it worked out for us both."

"Actually…" Ron started, he had another favor to ask. "I need another favor from you, if it isn't too much trouble." Padma looked interested, and so she stayed quiet to let him speak. "Luna, my sister… She was sorted into Ravenclaw last week, I want to know how she's doing in there…" _Is she being bullied, because if she is… I'll burn your house down!_

"Oh! So you're the brother she keeps going on about!" Padma said excitedly. "She never says your name, she just expects us to know who she is referring to… Wait… She is a Lovegood, you're a Weasley…"

"It's complicated…" Ron said softly. "We grew up together."

"Oh" Padma said with a nod. "Well, I'll be honest… She is a bit… odd…" Ron frowned internally at that, they had better not be bullying her! "But she is getting along with her fellow first years! She made them all protective charms with bottle-caps, even I have one" Padma giggled. "She knows when to dial down her odd behavior, that's helping her settle in quite well." _Probably because Pandora is still alive… Thank Merlin for that amazing woman…_

"That's great to hear" Ron sighed in relief. "I was worried about her…"

"Aw… you're so sweet!" Padma smiled at him, and Ron blushed a bit. "You're a good brother… So I'll keep an eye on her for you, how's that?" Ron smiled widely at the sound of that.

"Thank you, Padma" Ron exclaimed. "Guess I owe you two now, I'll be sure to pay you back!"

"Don't worry about the Luna thing, I actually like your sister" Padma said with a laugh. "I have one too, and I'm always worrying about her…"

"Parvati, right?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you remembered us."

"How could I forget?" Ron said smoothly, and Padma blushed a little. _This is good, I have someone watching over Luna now! Now I just need eyes within Gryffindor…_

* * *

Ron came out of the toilet stand, and he walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He took off his rings and then his glove, and he pocketed them. Lunch was about to start, and he'd be spending it alone again. _When are they going to just apologize?! It's been more than a day now…_ Ron was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Malfoy and his apes walk into the boys' bathroom, and they surrounded him. Ron looked up at the mirror in front, and his eyes-widened when he saw them around him in the reflection.

Ron turned around and he was immediately punched in the sternum by Crabbe. The wind was knocked out of his lungs upon impact, and Ron wheezed as he fell on his knees. His hands started shaking, and a nasty sense of fear began creeping into his mind. _What are they doing?! We're in public! Even Malfoy isn't this…_ His thoughts were interrupted by Goyle slamming a meaty punch to the left side of Ron's face. Ron toppled onto his right side, his vision blurry… _My ring… I need to put it on…_ Ron felt a strong kick land on his rib cage, and he tried to cry out in pain… but no sound came out… He couldn't breathe because of Crabbe's first punch. The fear began making his heart thump wildly in his throat, and Ron's eyes began to sting. _Why are they doing this…? Stop…_

"Pick him up" came a distorted voice, it was probably Malfoy's. Ron felt strong arms grab him and jerk him up, but he was just dead-weight… His mind was blanking, and he couldn't even think straight anymore let alone stand. Ron felt a strong punch land on his sternum again, and Ron coughed upon its impact. It felt like he was choking due to the lack of air, and tears leaked out of his eyes involuntarily.

"He's crying!" came a laugh, Ron couldn't tell which ape said it. _I'm not crying… I…_

"Look at his right hand, Draco! It's disgusting!" came another voice, and Ron felt a feeling of shame at what it said. _Don't look at my scars… please…. They're not my fault…_

"You are an ugly one, aren't you Weasel?" Malfoy spat out, and Ron drops of spit fall on his face. Ron felt another punch land on his ribs, and he gritted his teeth because of the pain. His vision was slowly coming back to normal, and he saw a sneering Malfoy standing in-front of him. "Not so tough now, are you? Where are your friends? Oh wait… they're my friends!" Mafloy punched Ron right in the face, and Ron's mind turned off. He was just gone… there was no strength left in him.

"This is for breaking my nose" came Malfoy's voice, and Ron felt a punch land on his ribs again. "This is for making me into a joke!" Ron felt another punch on the left side of his face. "This is for attacking me in that bookstore!" Ron felt a punch on the right side of his face. Malfoy then grabbed Ron's hair, and jerked his head up. Ron's head dangled about, he didn't even know where he was anymore. "And this is from my father, you fucking Blood-Traitor!" Ron felt a fist collide with his nose, and Ron heard the loud crunch echo through his head… It didn't hurt though, nothing was hurting anymore… Ron's head felt light, and his body felt weightless. Ron felt another punch land on his already broken nose, and he found himself in a different place… in a different time…

* * *

Ron was in a black-and-white room, and his senses had all returned to him. There was no pain, and he felt just like he always did… _A vision? He punched me into the fucking future…_ Ron chuckled dryly, his mind racing with hundreds of thoughts. _What the fuck is Malfoy thinking?! He attacked me in the public bathroom?! He is so fucked when I get back… I swear to Merlin, I'm done holding back for Blaise and Theo's sake!_ There was a loud boom from outside of the room, and Ron jumped from fright. _The vision! Concentrate on the vision, you baboon!_ Ron looked around, and he was disgusted at the state of the room. It was old, worn-out, and moldy… Not to mention it was completely empty, except for a fireplace that had a floo-pot attached to it.

Ron heard screaming come from beyond the door, and Ron's eyes widened from fear. _What's going on here?_ Ron was about to run through the door, but it was kicked open before he got there. A tall, platinum haired man rushed in, and Ron was shocked to see that it was Malfoy… He looked around eighteen, maybe nineteen, and he was rugged in appearance. His hair was shoulder length, and he had dark circles under his eyes… He had a fierce look on his face, and Ron felt really intimidated by this Malfoy. _Woah… what's up with this Malfoy?! He's terrifying!_

"Quick, in here!" the older, rugged Malfoy yelled. And to Ron's horror, a dozen young children rushed into the room. And then two older women rushed in, and Malfoy sealed the door shut. "Get the children through the floo, mother! NOW!" Malfoy's mother ran towards the fireplace, she was crying from fear. Ron was just dazed by this vision, what the hell was happening here? "All of you, go with her now!"

"We can help!" a boy around twelve or thirteen said stubbornly.

"No" Malfoy said firmly. "I can't protect you all and fight at the same time, go NOW!" Malfoy yelled, and the children ran to Mrs. Malfoy. Ron's breathing intensified, what was Malfoy involved in? This Malfoy seemed so bloody different from the ponce that was beating on him a few moments ago…

"What about you?" asked the woman who wasn't Malfoy's mother, though she did look a bit like Malfoy.

"I'll hold them off… Remus is down there with those Aurors right now, he told me to get you all out" Malfoy replied, and Ron's jaw hit the floor. _Remus? Aurors? This is the war, isn't it? I'm seeing the war… And Malfoy is involved… And he's helping Remus?_

"Draco no… come with us" the woman implored.

"I will, after you all go through" Malfoy said quickly. "Now go, aunt!" _Aunt?_ Malfoy's aunt ran to the children and Malfoy's mother, who threw the floo powder in the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" Malfoy's mother shouted frantically, and Ron was just stunned into silence. He watched in utter silence as the two women sent the children through one by one, and he even ignored the explosions happening beneath his feet. _The Burrow? My home… I don't understand…_ Ron looked to Malfoy, and he seemed to be muttering some spell on the closed door. _This isn't making any sense…_ Ron's thoughts were interrupted when there was a loud bang, and Malfoy was sent flying back into the room. Someone had blown the door up…

"Don't let those little Mud-Bloods escape!" came the shrilly voice from behind the smoke, and Ron looked to the escaping children in a panic. "Cast to keep the channel open!" Malfoy stood up and threw a few stunners into the smoke in quick succession, and a few color-less jinxes came right back at him. Malfoy blocked them easily, and retaliated with a fire-making spell of some sort. Ron was amazed at Malfoy's speed, and he was overjoyed when everyone jumped through the floo. Malfoy made to follow, but he was bogged down due to blocking spell after spell.

"COME ON MALFOY!" Ron shouted at him. "Fucking run! What are you waiting for?!" Ron didn't know why, but he didn't want to see his rival get hurt… This Malfoy was clearly very different from the one Ron know, and Ron didn't want to see this 'better' version get killed. The smoke had cleared, and Ron stared at a woman with black thick hair, a strong jaw-line, and a gaunt, skeletal face. She was laughing hysterically as she threw curse after curse at Malfoy, and Ron already hated this woman.

Then a burly man, who had a twisted face, rushed into the room. He started casting some spell at the fireplace, and Ron knew that he was trying to keep the channel open somehow. Malfoy realized the same thing, and he fired a purple-colored curse at the new intruder. The mad woman jumped in front of the curse and blocked it.

"Nephew, don't be rude" the black haired woman laughed madly, she had insanity written all over her. Malfoy's demeanor changed at this, and he seemed to come to some morbid realization. Malfoy turned his wand to the fireplace, and the mad woman screeched at him.

"BOMBARDA" Malfoy yelled, and the fireplace exploded! Ron tripped over own his feet and fell back on his arse, while Malfoy was sent flying back from the fireplace. Ron heard something snap, and he hoped it wasn't Malfoy's neck…

"What have you done?!" the woman screamed. "You ruined my hunt! How could you do that?!" _Hunt? She was hunting those children?!_ Ron felt sick, and he nearly vomited. Malfoy's groan grabbed Ron's attention, and he turned to face his rival. Malfoy's head was bleeding, and his wand lay by his side. It was snapped in two. _No... No, he's gonna die! He blew up his own escape…_ Ron couldn't even fathom how Malfoy had become someone who sacrificed himself to save Muggle-Born children… But clearly it had happened somewhere down the line…

"Answer me!" the mad woman screeched at Malfoy, and Malfoy just laughed hollowly as he lay on the ground. "Oh no… your wand broke, Draco" the woman said with a sad pout, and then she let out a cackle. "Like father like son!" _Malfoy Snr? His wand broke too? What the hell has happened to the future? This isn't right…_

"The Werewolf is dead" came a new voice, it was a man in a bone white mask. "He took out three of our own, but Yaxley managed to put him down…"

"Poor Remus…" the mad woman pouted, and Ron blinked at her. "What will my whore of a niece do now?" _Remus… Werewolf? What the fuck…? Who's this niece…?_ Ron felt so light-headed from all of this that he nearly passed out.

"You mad bitch…" Malfoy gritted out, and then he groaned as he sat up on his knees. He faced the intruders without any fear on his face, and Ron was awed into silence. "You'll pay for this… mark my words…" The mad woman's face tightened in anger, but she was interrupted by a man who rushed into the room.

"Where is my son?!" the man yelled, his voice panicked. It was Lucius Malfoy, and he looked like hell… He was in black-and-white, but Ron barely recognized him. His hair was filthy, his skin dirty, his clothes ragged, and he was wearing bruises on his face. "Draco!" Lucius yelled in panic, and then he turned to the mad woman. "Bellatrix, that is enough… The Dark Lord wants him alive…"

"Don't you dare speak to me about the Dark Lord's will, Lucius!" Bellatrix spat out. "You're not fit to even mutter his name!" Lucius Malfoy looked like he had been slapped, and he didn't say a word in retaliation. Ron couldn't believe that this was the same man that he had met a couple of weeks ago… Lucius Malfoy seemed to be just a hollow shell of the proud man that he used to be. _I can't take this anymore… What am I even supposed to change about this? Am I supposed to save the Malfoys? Is that it?_

"I'm not going anywhere with you…" Draco spat out, his voice was labored. Lucius turned to his son with a panicked look.

"Be quiet" Lucius ordered his son, though it sounded more like a plea.

"No…" Draco shook his head, and then he glared at Lucius. "Look at what **he** has done to you, father… You brought that… **monster** … into our home... You ruined the proud Malfoy name…" _Malfoy… shut up… shut up, or they'll kill you…_

"How dare you?!" Bellatrix shrieked. "Show the Dark Lord the respect he deserves!" Draco stared at his mad aunt for a few seconds, and then he spat on the floor.

"There's your respect, you mad cunt…" Draco smirked his trade-mark smirk, and Bellatrix slashed her wand horizontally at him. Ron and Lucius both screamed as thick spurts of blood shot of Draco's throat, and he fell over with a thud. _MALFOY! NO!_ Ron ran over to Draco's side, and he stared at the dying Draco with tears in his eyes. Lucius threw himself on top of his son, covering his son's slashed throat with his hands. Draco made gurgling sounds, and his body twitched as his blood gushed out of his neck.

"DRACO! NO!" Lucius wailed, and Ron's heart twisted at the agony in the man's voice. "DON'T DIE! SON, PLEASE!" Ron started crying from the shock of seeing his classmate die so horribly, and he covered his ears because he couldn't bear to hear Lucius Malfoy's screams. And then, Draco stopped moving… His eyes seemed to glaze over, and Lucius screamed so hard that Ron was scared that the man's throat would tear.

"Another Blood-Traitor sent to the afterlife!" Bellatrix cackled merrily, and Ron shook with rage. _You bitch! YOU EVIL BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!_ Ron wiped his eyes to clear his vision, and he memorized her face. _I'll find you! And, I'll kill you!_

"You killed my son…" Lucius wept, hugging Draco's corpse. "You killed my little boy…" Ron felt his tears falling again, he didn't care that this was the Malfoy Family. No one deserved this…

"Come, come Lucius" Bellatrix cooed. "We haven't gelded you yet, you can just make another…" Lucius stood up slowly, shaking with rage. _No… Don't…_

"I'll kill you!" Lucius screamed, and then turned and ran towards Bellatrix.

"Avada Kedavra" Bellatrix chanted as she pointed her wand at Lucius from above her head. A jet of color-less light soared through the air, and it struck Lucius in his chest. The Lord of the Malfoy Family dropped dead in a heart-beat, his anger still etched upon his dead face… Bellatrix laughed maniacally, and then she skipped away from the room with her fellow murderers. Even they seemed to be surprised by her actions…

Ron was left alone in the moldy old room, and he felt like he was in a dream… _No, a nightmare…_ Ron fell to his knees and just stared at the dead Draco Malfoy, his platinum hair stained with his own blood. This war… it had to be stopped… Ron had to stop it… Ron's head began spinning, and he just stared at Draco's corpse. _I have to do something… He doesn't deserve to die like this…_

* * *

Ron woke up on the floor of the bathroom, and all of the pain from his beating bombarded his mind. His senses were gone again, and his mind was more befuddled than ever before… _Malfoy… save Malfoy…_ The same thing kept repeating in his head, and it wouldn't stop.

"That'll teach you to get in my way" came Malfoy's distorted voice. _Malfoy… you're alive…_ Ron heard Malfoy turn to leave, and Ron used the last of his strength to grab Malfoy's ankle.

"Have to save… you…" Ron croaked, blood dribbling down his chin. "Save you… the future…" Ron wheezed, his mind utterly out of it. Malfoy looked down at Weasley, and he was shocked at Weasley's words. Had he beaten Weasley into madness? That would be bad…

"Don't touch me…" Malfoy spat. "Filthy Blood-Traitor!" Malfoy jerked his leg out of Ron's grasp, and then he left the bathroom with his goons.

"Malfoy… come back…" Ron croaked, and then his vision began darkening. "Must save… you…" he wheezed as he closed his bruised eyes.

And then, darkness took Ron.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And that is that! Mucho Grande ass-whooping! (I hope I didn't mess that up...) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! I personally love making Ron suffer... though he's still my boy! Things will keep building up throughout the year, and once the Chamber is opened... Lord Have Mercy on this School... coz I won't!**

 **Cya in a few days!**


	27. Chapter 27 - To Become Stronger

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 27 is up and ready to be read! But a couple of things before you start...**

 **1\. Shout out to MMax, he let me use a personal character that he created! Thanks for the really fleshed out character, mate! Will use him more in the future!**

 **2\. A lot of inner monologues in this chapter, so be ready for that...**

 **3\. Which character do you want to see a POV of? I'm leaning towards Neville and Pansy for the next chapter!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 27 – To Become Stronger**

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

Blaise ate his lunch quietly, as he usually did. He wasn't a fan of eating and talking at the same time, and he hated commotion on the dinner table. That was another thing he didn't like about Ron, his red-haired friend had a habit of starting disorder no matter where he was. But right now, Blaise was upset with Ron about a number of other things… Ron's constant preaching of morality was starting to wear thin on Blaise's nerves, Ron's secretive nature riled up Blaise's curiosity to no end, and now Ron was act snobbish and ignoring them all… _He wants us to apologize to him and Granger, I have no doubt about that. I'd sooner lick Godric's feet… He needs to learn that his actions have consequences…_ Blaise felt his mood sour, and he lost his appetite. Why did Ron have to be so difficult?!

"He still isn't here..." Tracey said worryingly, she was looking around for Ron. "He never misses lunch…"

"Give it a rest, Tracey" Daphne muttered. _And she's still in a foul mood…_ "If he's hungry, he'll come…"

"But he's always hungry" Tracey argued. "Something isn't adding up…" _It never does with him._

"Guys" Millie said softly. "I'm tired of this ignoring business, let's just apologize already…"

"We didn't do anything wrong, Millie" Daphne said quickly. "He needs to apologize for his lack of thought about us when he went and cursed Draco…"

"He did the right thing" Tracey defended Ron hotly.

"And was it right to call us all cowards?" Theo asked, Ron's comment had hit a raw nerve of Theo's.

"He never said that" Tracey said stubbornly. "He told us that he wasn't a coward, that's it."

"You know damn well what he meant…" Daphne said with a dark look. _Maybe you shouldn't have acted like a spoiled little brat… We were angry with him too for associating with those three, but you egged him on due to your own pathetic jealousy…_

"I'm with Millie" Pansy piped in. "This has gone on long enough, nothing is being solved like this!"

"Blaise?" Theo asked, and Blaise looked at his childhood friend. "You're awfully quiet, don't you have any say in this matter?" _Oh, I do…_

"No" Blaise lied. "When he's ready to come back, he will… I'm not going to go begging for forgiveness when I didn't do anything wrong…"

"Fine…" Tracey spat out, she was getting annoyed with their stubbornness. "I'm done with this then… After lunch, I'm going to go find him…"

"I'll come with you" Pansy jumped aboard.

"Me too…" Millie piped in. Tracey looked to Daphne, and Daphne just huffed indignantly.

"Do whatever you want" Daphne said, there was venom in her voice. "It's what **he** always does…"

"You know what, Daph" Tracey started bitterly, and Blaise frowned. _This is getting out of hand…_ Tracey was about to say something but the bell rang loudly, cutting her off and ending lunch.

Blaise got up and left the table, and then he was joined by the rest of his friends. Blaise could feel the tension in the group, and he didn't like it one bit. They needed to focus their attention on Draco instead, not on each other… Why couldn't anyone else see that?! Draco was acting extremely out of character, and now he had lifted his banishment from the Triumvirate as well... _Something bad is coming, I can feel it in my gut!_ Blaise had tried to warn Ron before, but Daphne's venomous jealousy had ruined that. _Maybe I should just swallow my pride and warn him anyway… It's what he'd do…_ Blaise frowned to himself when he thought about his friend's noble but naïve nature, why did Ron have to be so difficult?!

Blaise sat with Theo for their History of Magic Class, and Ron wasn't in the class. _Where the hell is he?_ Professor Binns was taking the roll-call, and Blaise looked around the room once again. Theo, Millie, Pansy, and Tracey were also looking around for Ron, but Daphne was just glaring at an unsuspecting Granger. Draco was sitting behind Blaise and Theo, and he was looking more smug than usual… Blaise's gut twisted, something wasn't right! _First lunch, and now a class? Ron, where are you?_

"Mr. Weasley?" Professor Binns called. "Where is Mr. Weasley?" Everyone in the class looked around, and Blaise frowned.

"He isn't here, Sir" Draco replied innocently, and Blaise turned to stare at his former friend.

"Skipping class?" Professor Binns asked, he was talking to himself. "When you next see Mr. Weasley, tell him he has detention with me!" Draco's smirk grew wider.

"I will, Sir" Draco answered. _Something is definitely wrong!_ Blaise turned to Theo, and his weedy friend had also reached the same conclusion. The class started after that, and once again, Draco started answering question after question… Blaise had immediately picked up on this strange new habit of Draco's, Blaise knew that his former friend was a lazy lout. So this new habit had taken Blaise by surprise, Draco was scheming something. _Something against Ron, no doubt!_

After the class ended, Blaise immediately followed after Draco. But Draco sensed Blaise on his trail, and the platinum haired boy sped towards their next class. Draco reached the Charms classroom before Blaise, and Blaise cursed his luck. _He's done something, hasn't he? Why else would he run away like that?!_

"Blaise, mate" Theo said as he caught up to Blaise. "What's your rush?" Blaise turned to Theo, and he noticed that the girls had also caught up.

"Draco… he's done something, I know it" Blaise told them. "He just bolted away from me…"

"Done something? To Ron?" Tracey asked, her voice was laced with concern. "I knew we shouldn't have left him alone! This is all your fault!" Tracey turned and glared at Daphne, taking the blonde girl by surprise. "This whole 'ignore Ron' thing was your idea!"

"Tracey, stop it" Theo said firmly. "Pointing fingers isn't helping…"

"What do we do?" Pansy asked Blaise, and they all turned to him. _Shite… What would Ron do if one of us went missing? Probably tear the school apart in his search…_

"We go to class, I need to talk with Draco…" Blaise said, and they all nodded slowly. _We need to be subtle, I can't point fingers until I'm sure myself._ Blaise then turned around and entered the Charms Class, and he approached Draco and Goyle. "Goyle, leave… I want to sit next to Draco." Goyle glared at Blaise, and Blaise cocked an eyebrow at the burly boy.

"It's alright Goyle, go sit with Crabbe" Draco ordered, and Blaise frowned internally. _I was just like Goyle, wasn't I? Listening to his orders like some dog…_ Goyle mumbled some incoherent threat to Blaise, and then he left to go join his fellow ape. Blaise took a seat next to Draco, and they both faced the front of the class. "How are you, Blaise?" Draco asked casually.

"I'm doing well… How have you been?" Blaise asked, it was just good manners to exchange pleasantries.

"I'm doing great. Things are finally looking up" Draco replied, and Blaise could hear the smugness in his voice. "I've got my status in the house back, I'm no longer banished, and I'm topping Weasley in house-points."

"Congratulations" Blaise said dryly. _That's his game? Topple Ron's standing within the house and with the Triumvirate?_

"Thank you" Draco smirked. "Where is Weasley, by the way?"

"I was going to ask you that" Blaise replied flatly. "Care to enlighten me?"

"How would I know? I don't follow him around the school like some trained pup…" Draco said smugly, and Blaise clenched his jaw. _I'm no lackey, Draco…_ Professor Flitwick finished calling the roll, and he too was upset at Ron's absence. "Two classes in a row?" Draco said innocently. "He is really losing his edge, isn't he? The Slytherin Prodigy…" Draco's voice was bitter.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you" Blaise smirked, and he knew he hit a nerve. Draco was as vain as they come, getting under his skin was easy as a result.

"Why would I be jealous of someone like him?" Draco asked, his voice was even more bitter now.

"Why wouldn't you be? He is everything you want to be" Blaise pushed on, and he felt Draco tense.

"Hmmm… I didn't want to be a Blood-Traitor the last time I checked" Draco retorted, doing his best to stay calm. He needed to act like his father would, he wasn't going to lose to the likes of Blaise Zabini. "How's your mother doing, Blaise?" Draco asked out of nowhere, and it jarred Blaise a bit. _That's low… even for you…_

"Quite well" Blaise answered calmly. "She is currently traveling through Asia with her soon to be husband…" Draco chuckled lightly at that, and Blaise's blood boiled in his veins.

"Send her my love the next time you see her" Draco said in a cold, cruel tone. " **If** you see her…"

"I'm only going to ask this once" Blaise gritted out, losing his composure and patience. "Where is Ron?"

"Sir!" Draco called out to Flitwick. "I'm trying to pay attention in class, but Blaise won't stop talking to me…" _This little shite…_

"Mr. Zabini, if you cannot stay quiet, then please move seats" Flitwick scolded, and Blaise smiled innocently at the short Professor.

"Sorry, sir… It won't happen again" Blaise apologized, this made Draco snigger silently. _Damn arrogant bastard…_

* * *

"Well, did he say anything?" Theo asked Blaise, and everyone looked to him.

"Nothing definitive" Blaise answered. "But he did allude toppling Ron's standing within Slytherin…"

"So we're back on this again…" Millie sighed. "I've already had my fill of this from last year." _You and I both…_

"Did he say where Ron was?" Tracey asked quickly.

"No…" Blaise replied dryly. They then walked towards the steps leading down to the dungeons, but they were stopped by two older Hufflepuff boys. Blaise immediately recognized one of them as Cedric Diggory. Cedric was a tall boy with chiseled, handsome features. He had dark brown hair, and bright grey eyes. The other boy was a bit shorter than Cedric, and he had light brown hair and hazel colored eyes.

"Can we help you?" Pansy asked Cedric.

"You're Ronald Weasley's friends, right?" Cedric asked with a pleasant smile.

"Yes…" Blaise answered slowly.

"Good, we finally found them…" the other Hufflepuff boy said with a smile. "My name is Max McDean, and this is Cedric Diggory. Ronald asked us to come and find you, he's in… he's in the Hospital Wing."

"Hospital Wing?" Daphne asked, her voice was a blend of surprise and worry.

"He… fell down some stairs…" Cedric explained lamely, and Blaise knew that the older boy was lying.

"Cedric…" Max muttered, but Cedric gave him a reassuring smile. They seemed to be talking without talking, clearly they were close friends. _We need to go to the Hospital Wing…_

"Thank you for telling us, now please… excuse us" Blaise said in his usual aloof voice, and then he walked past the two boys. The rest of the gang followed after Blaise, and they all marched on with a quick pace.

"We shouldn't have left him alone…" Tracey said, sounding like a broken record at this point.

"Did anyone buy that 'he fell down the stair' nonsense?" Theo asked, and everyone shook their heads. "Good… Those Hufflepuffs can't lie worth a damn…"

"What do you think happened?" Millie asked, and Blaise sighed.

"We'll find out soon enough" Blaise replied. They all entered the Hospital Wing, and they immediately spotted Ron on a bed. He seemed to be asleep, and they all approached him. The girls gasped in horror, while Theo and Blaise were stunned. _Fell down the stairs, my arse! Those are bruises from a beating!_ Ron's face was black and blue, and his nose was a bit swollen as well. Madam Pomfrey seemed to have healed it, but Blaise was sure that it had been broken… _Don't tell me Draco did this… That fucking idiot!_

"Ahem" came a cough from behind them, and they all turned to see a frowning Madam Pomfrey. "He is not receiving any visitors yet! I haven't fully healed him yet!" Blaise frowned internally, why was she yelling at them?!

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey" Theo said in a smooth voice. "We just heard… and we wanted to see our friend…" _Nicely done Theo, as always…_ Madam Pomfrey's features softened a bit, and she sighed.

"He isn't well… He had quite the fall" Madam Pomfrey said, and Blaise could tell that even she didn't believe that garbage.

"Blaise… Theo…" came a raspy voice, and Blaise immediately turned to Ron. His red-haired friend groaned and shifted in his bed, and Blaise moved to his side immediately.

"Ron… what happened?" Blaise asked in a whisper, and he heard Madam Pomfrey move towards the Potions-closet in a rush. The girls moved to Ron's other side, their faces displaying their shock and worry. Blaise felt Theo hovering over his shoulder.

"It hurts…" Ron wheezed, he was trying to keep his blood-shot eyes open.

"I know, mate" Blaise muttered quickly. "What happened?"

"Malfoy…" Ron wheezed, and Blaise's blood boiled. "I told… them I fell… Lie… lie to everyone…"

"Don't worry, Ron…" Blaise gave a rare smile to his friend. "Just rest, alright?"

"I'm sorry…" Ron wheezed, he sounded like he was talking to himself at this point. "I'm sorry…" Blaise heard one of the girls sniffle loudly.

"Just rest, and heal up" Blaise instructed, and then he heard Madam Pomfrey approaching them.

"All of you need to leave, I need to heal him" Madam Pomfrey ordered, and they all slowly left the Hospital Wing. The moment they left the Hospital Wing, Blaise began marching down towards the Slytherin common room. Draco had to answer for this, Blaise needed to know why Draco would do something so stupid!

"Slow down, Blaise" Theo ordered, he sounded angry as well. "We need to plan before we do anything about this!"

"Plan?" Tracey scoffed. "You want to plan and play games? Did you not see what Malfoy did to him?!"

"Keep your voice down" Theo said firmly. "Ron told us keep lying for his sake."

"Why is he protecting Malfoy?" Millie questioned. _At least she's thinking with her head..._ Blaise stopped moving, and they all stopped when he did.

"Theo's right…" Blaise admitted, he was trying his best to calm down. "We can't turn this into a bigger mess…" Blaise then turned to the girls, and he wasn't surprised to see Tracey, Pansy, and Daphne teary eyed. Millie just looked pissed…

"Blaise…" Theo started slowly. "You and I will talk to Draco about this, we need to know why he did this. Girls, you make sure that Ron's siblings believe that story… We can't let their Weasley temper poke holes into Ron's lie. Is everyone clear on their jobs?"

"I'll go talk to the Hufflepuff boys instead" Daphne said, rubbing her eyes clear. "They know more than they're letting on."

"Good" Blaise concluded. "Meet back at the common room in one hour." With that, they all split up.

* * *

"We need to talk" Blaise said firmly as he approached Draco and his bodyguards.

"We do?" Draco asked innocently.

"Don't play games, Draco" Theo gritted out. "We can do this out in public if you want… I'm sure the older students would love to know what you did…" Draco glared at Theo for a few seconds, and then he gave a curt nod. _Good, at least he has some sense left in his brain…_ Draco and his bodyguards led Theo and Blaise into their dorm.

"Let's try and keep this civil" Draco said as he sat down in a chair.

"Civil?" Theo scoffed. "After what you did?"

"And what did I do?" Draco smirked, and Blaise clenched his jaw.

"Ron…" Blaise gritted out. "You took it too far… Why?"

"I have no idea what you're referring to, Blaise" Draco said innocently. "Crabbe, Goyle… What are they talking about?"

"I don't know…" Crabbe said with a poor imitation of Draco's smirk.

"No idea…" Goyle said, trying to stifle his laughter. _Damn brutes…_

"Don't insult our intelligence, Malfoy…" Theo warned. "Or I'll smack that smirk off of your face…" _Ease up, Theo… We need answers, not a fight…_

"Malfoy… Is that how you refer to me now?" Draco asked, his innocent façade wavering a bit.

"Yes…" Theo replied. "Ron was right about you, you're a pathetic and vile bastard…"

"Weasley…" Draco sneered. "Weasley knows nothing about me…"

"But we do" Blaise interjected. "What you did… Ron would never stoop so low…"

"He wouldn't?!" Draco shouted, losing his temper. "He has attacked me four times! He broke my nose, he's cursed me twice, and he attacked me in public!"

"And each time you deserved it!" Theo argued, shouting as well. Crabbe and Goyle narrowed their eyes at Theo, and Blaise moved his hand closer to his wand. _Shite Theo… Calm down…_

"Did I?!" Draco shot back. "He broke my nose because I referred to Davis as what she is! And he cursed me because I did the same with that filthy Mud-Blood Granger! Both of those filthy little…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence" Theo warned, cutting Draco off. "You insult Tracey… and I'll make sure that Ron has nothing to worry about when he wakes up…" Blaise was taken by surprise at this, but he kept his composure. _Since when does Theo defend anyone who isn't Pure-Blood…?_ Draco however, was visibly shocked.

"You're defending those vermin?!" Draco shouted in disbelief. "How would your mother feel if she could see you now?" _Bad move…_ Blaise had to move quickly to stop Theo from lunging at Draco, and it was hard to hold the weedy boy back.

"Calm down, Theo" Blaise ordered, but his friend didn't hear him.

"How dare you bring up my mother?!" Theo shouted, wild with rage. "YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHITE!" Blaise dragged Theo outside, it wasn't easy.

"What are you doing?" Blaise hissed in anger. "We are trying to get answers, and you let him rile you up?"

"He has no right…" Theo grit out, and then he began pacing. _Great… he's too angry to be useful now…_

"Go cool off…" Blaise muttered, shaking his head. "I'll do this alone…"

"What?" Theo asked, stopping his pacing.

"Go!" Blaise ordered, and then he re-entered the dorm. _Three on one… Is that how they attacked Ron? Where was the honor in that?_

"I didn't…" Draco started slowly, but Blaise cut him off.

"That was pathetic… even for you" Blaise spat out. "You love bringing up our parents, don't you? And yet, you go into a frenzy if we ever do the same… You really are pathetic, Malfoy…" Draco looked like he had been slapped. "Why did you attack Ron? Was it just because he threw a curse at you?"

"He… he deserved it" Malfoy muttered, still reeling from Blaise's use of his last name. "He has no right to be here…" Blaise narrowed his eyes at Malfoy, he felt sickened by his former friend.

"You beat him senseless… You…" Blaise was having trouble speaking, and so he took a deep breath to calm down. "What you did, it was unforgivable… He has never gone that far, ever! And I don't care about your reasons… not anymore. I'm done holding him back…"

"What does that mean?" Draco asked, his voice regaining some venom.

"It means that the only reason why he doesn't go after you is because of Theo and me…" Blaise explained. "See unlike you, he cares about his friends… He doesn't see us as his lackeys… That's why he offered you his hand in friendship… He did it for us." Draco was staring at Blaise with a blank look. "He hates you, Malfoy… And now, I'm not going to stand in his way."

"I'm not afraid of some Blood-Traitor" Draco spat out. _You really should be…_

"Let me tell you something, for old times' sake" Blaise spoke slowly, he adorned his most malicious look. "Ron and I fought once, he was about to end your life and I got in his way… It was after your brutes broke his things, do you remember that?" Blaise asked, and Draco blinked. "Anyway, I brandished my wand and fired a Body-bind Curse at him… And he deflected it without moving a muscle…" Draco paled a bit at that. "That's the kind of person you've made enemies with, Malfoy. You think that title of his just came to be? He earned it… And you'll learn that soon enough. When he wakes up… start sleeping with one eye open…" With that, Blaise turned around and left. _If that arrogant bastard wants a war, then he'll have one!_

* * *

"Okay, how did everyone go?" Blaise asked. "We have thirty minutes before dinner starts, so explain quickly."

"We talked to his siblings" Tracey started. "They were quite shocked, though I can't blame them… They're probably in the Hospital Wing right now."

"And they believed the story?" Blaise asked, he needed to make sure that Ron's story stuck.

"They did" Pansy said. "They had no reason not to, Pomfrey has probably healed his injuries by now as well. So I think we're good on that…"

"Excellent, Daphne?" Blaise turned to the angry heiress. _This isn't going to be good, is it?_

"I managed to make both boys talk" Daphne said, her expression was grim. "They found Ron in the boys' bathroom… It was nowhere near the stairs. They helped him into the Hospital Wing, and he vomited a few times on the way there. Probably a concussion… But he was lucid enough to make up that lie, and the Hufflepuffs backed his story."

"Why?" Mille asked.

"I don't know…" Daphne sighed. "They said that 'Ron's business was his business'… I don't think they were looking for personal gain. They seemed genuinely concerned for Ron's health."

"Hufflepuffs…" Theo scoffed.

"Those Hufflepuffs saved him" Daphne shot back, looking at Theo grimly.

"I know…" Theo said, rubbing his forehead. "I'm just… out of it…" Tracey put a comforting hand on his back, and she gave him a reassuring smile. _When did they get so close? Or am I just looking too much into this?_

"What about you guys?" Tracey asked, she was rubbing circles on Theo's back.

"We got nowhere…" Theo muttered.

"You got nowhere" Blaise corrected. "I managed to figure out why Malfoy did something so damn stupid…"

"And why did he do it?" Pansy asked, she sounded far too intrigued for Blaise's liking. _If she defends Malfoy… I swear to Merlin…_

"Malfoy said that Ron doesn't deserve to be in Slytherin" Blaise explained, and this earned him annoyed looks. "Malfoy's reasoning is that Ron attacked him for speaking the truth, and so Ron deserved that beating…"

"Speaking the truth?" Tracey asked with a frown. "What truth?" _Here I go…_

"The truth being that Half-Bloods and Muggle-Borns are… lesser…" Blaise sighed, his own head was hurting because of this. He didn't even know what to believe anymore… He was raised to respect Blood-Purity, but his time with Ron had changed that… Ron didn't care about Blood-Status, he treated everyone equally. Which wasn't always a good thing, Ron could be a proper bastard at times. But that kind of honesty… it had touched Blaise. It had proven to Blaise that Ron wasn't like Malfoy, Ron would never bark orders at him or think himself superior. And then there was all the evidence that contradicted Blood-Purity as well… Granger, a Muggle-Born, was Ron's only equal… Tracey was a funny, brilliant witch despite being a Half-Blood… What if he was taught to believe in the wrong thing? _A question for another time… Right now, we have other problems._

"Blood-Purity nonsense" Tracey scoffed, she was sick of it. "Malfoy really is scum…"

"You won't hear any arguments from me" Daphne agreed. "What he did to Ron… He has to pay!"

"And he will" Millie promised. "I'll snap his neck when I see him…"

"Calm down" Blaise advised. "We can't afford to be careless now… Malfoy isn't banished from the Triumvirate anymore. If anything, he has their favor…"

"The brooms…" Pansy sighed, coming to the bothersome realization. "So what do we do now?" Blaise smiled at her, he was worried for a second that she'd try to defend Malfoy again. _She hasn't done that in a long while… I need to stop seeing her like that. She's changed too…_

"We wait for Ron to come back" Theo spoke, regaining his composure. "And then, we all stick together like glue!"

"Good" Tracey said with a smile, and Theo gave her a faint smile back.

"There's one more thing…" Blaise said, gaining everyone's attention. "I think Malfoy is trying to push Ron out of the house… And, he's taken the gloves off. Things are going to be far worse this year than they were last year, I just want you all to know that. Malfoy wants a war…"

"Then he'll have one" Daphne said, her voice resolute.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore POV**_

Albus scratched Fawkes chest, and the beautiful phoenix let out a soft shrill. _Any day now… You can do it, my friend._ Albus smiled softly at his most faithful companion, the companion he named his resistance against Tom after. Albus felt another pang of regret in his chest, and his smile fell. Lately, every time he thought of Tom, he would think of Ronald. _Poor boy…_ Ronald's scars haunted Albus' dreams, and Fred's words echoed through his mind every day. The hot-blooded twin had been right, Albus had failed to protect Ronald. In his arrogance, he had underestimated Tom and a student he was meant to protect was scarred forever. A twelve year old boy…

Fawkes bit Albus' finger softly, trying to pull his friend out of his somber mood. Albus gave Fawkes another scratch, and then he took a seat behind his clawed desk. Albus was currently awaiting Severus' arrival, Ronald had been admitted into the Hospital Wing once again. This time, if Poppy was right, it was due to severe physical assault. Albus frowned to himself, Ronald was always getting into the worst sort of troubles. _That boy is a mystery…_

Albus and Severus had both spent the entire school holidays embroiled in research, and they had found absolutely nothing… The 'void' within Ronald's mind remained a mystery, a mystery that bothered Albus greatly. How did Ronald possess such a power? The power to negate any mental intrusions… It was unheard of… and yet, the boy was living proof that it was possible. Did Ronald even know about his power? If he did, what else was he hiding? Albus recalled Ronald's story about the Philosopher's Stone again, it was remarkable that Ronald had decided to destroy the stone. Any grown wizard would be allured by the stone's power, even Albus had felt its allure more than once. But a twelve year old boy had decided to destroy the stone lest it fall into the wrong hands… Either Ronald was a saint, or he was lying once again. There was a loud knock on Albus' door, and it tore him out of his musings.

"Come in" Albus said, and he put on a kind smile. Severus entered the room and sat down in front of Albus. "Lemon-drop?" Albus offered, and Snape clenched his jaw. Albus chuckled involuntarily, Severus was always fun to toy with.

"Can we get to business?" Severus drawled in his usual lackluster tone.

"Of course, how is Ronald?" Albus asked as he moved forward in his seat a bit.

"He will live…" Severus said coldly. "Though he did have quite the 'fall'…"

"So it is true" Albus sighed. "The boy was attacked… You know who did it, I presume?"

"I do indeed" Severus said, a scowl forming on his face. How could his godson be this stupid?

"Was it the Malfoy boy?" Albus asked, though he already knew it was. Albus had not missed the looks Draco Malfoy had been throwing at Ronald all year. Severus didn't answer, and that simply confirmed Albus' theory. "What should I do with your godson, Severus?" Severus was taken aback for a split second, and then he frowned.

"Expel him…" Severus said coldly, and Albus blinked at him. _Why would he say that?_

"Are you serious?" Albus asked slowly, he was shocked by Severus' cold demeanor.

"I have no sympathy for bullies who beat their fellow class-mates to within an inch of their life…" Severus muttered, and he looked… ashamed… There weren't many people alive that could read Severus the way Albus could, and Albus could see the conflict within his young friend. _He is thinking of his own school days…_

"I will not expel young Draco…" Albus said softly, and Severus simply gave a curt nod. "However, I expect you to put an end to this. Before this escalates into something uglier… Is that fair?"

"Yes, Albus…" Severus replied, he was still scowling.

"I do wonder, however" Albus mused. "Why did Ronald lie about this?"

"It is a Slytherin matter… and Slytherin will solve it" Severus said flatly, and Albus nodded. Even he admired Slytherin house's close-knit sense of community. None of the other houses could claim that… Slytherin often felt like its own little school within Hogwarts, at least to Albus. Only Slytherin's Head of House knew anything about the house and its students.

"Very well" Albus said softly, and Severus got up to leave. "Severus…" Albus called, and the Potions Master stopped at the door. "Don't be too harsh on the boys… They are just children…" Severus didn't respond, instead he billowed away. But Albus knew that Severus would consider his words, he always did.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron woke up in the middle of the night, and he looked around groggily. _The Hospital Wing… again… Maybe I should reserve a bed just for me? I'm in here often enough…_ Ron sat up, and he was surprised to see that he was wearing his glove again. _I took that off… Who put this back on?_ Ron frowned at his covered hand, it was a constant source of shame and stress! Ron was grateful to see that he was at least wearing covering Hospital Robes, his scars were hidden! Ron let out a sigh as he stared at the empty beds around him, Malfoy had really done it this time… Not to mention that vision… Ron closed his eyes and recalled everything he saw and heard, he had to file this all away.

Malfoy would, at some point, become a decent person… And so would his mother… That alone was a hard thing to understand, what could have triggered such a change in the Malfoys? Not to mention Lucius Malfoy, his pain at losing his son had broken Ron's heart. Ron didn't know that a man could scream with such pain… or look so broken. Bellatrix's maniacal laugh rung through Ron's head, and he clenched his jaw. _Evil bitch… Cruel, monstrous woman! She was hunting children! Children that Malfoy gave his life to save…_ This was too much! That vision seemed… impossible to Ron. And yet, he knew that it would come to pass eventually. All of his visions did…

And then there was Remus, who had also died in this vision… Ron hadn't seen it happen, but some man named Yaxley had killed him. That made Ron's chest ache, he liked Remus a lot. The shabby man was kind and warm to everyone around him, and he had a good head on his shoulders. He had the maturity that Sirius lacked, and Sirius had the charisma that Remus lacked. They were two halves of the same coin, just like Fred and George. They could survive without one another, but they were made better by each other's presence. Remus was Ron's friend, and sort of like an uncle at this point… Ron had to save him, he would save him!

Ron had been initially shocked to learn that Remus was a Werewolf, but he didn't care about that anymore. Remus was very different from the monsters that Ron had read about while growing up. Not to mention that Remus, like Malfoy, had died protecting those kids… Kids that were Ron's age… Kids who were being hunted like animals, and all because they were Muggle-Borns… _This upcoming war, it's sickening! It has to be stopped, someone has to kill the Dark Lord! Someone has to kill people like Bellatrix!_ Ron felt righteous anger in his gut, how could someone be so cruel and evil?

Bellatrix's and Malfoy's skills with a wand were another thing that had caught Ron's attention. Malfoy had thrown those stunners non-verbally, and in rapid succession. And then there was that fire-making spell, Ron still felt awed by Malfoy's skill. But it scared Ron when he remembered how easily Bellatrix had overpowered him… _If I went up against her, I'd die in a heartbeat! I'm so weak compared to them! How am I supposed to save anyone with this level of power?!_ Ron punched his own thigh in anger, that vision had woken him up to the reality of the upcoming war. Its brutality, the skills of the warriors on both sides, and Ron knew that he wouldn't last a day in that world… That had to change, **he** had to change… Luckily for him, his friend Victor had sent him the means to bring about that change… Ron wouldn't let Malfoy or Remus die like that, not if he could help it!

* * *

"You're awake!" came a familiar voice, and Ron turned to face Hermione. She walked up his bed quickly and beamed down at him.

"Good morning, Hermione" Ron greeted. He had been awake all night, recalling his vision and making plans. "How are you today?"

"I should be asking you that" Hermione giggled, and then she sat down on the side of his bed. "That must've been a horrible fall you took!"

"It was" Ron lied. "I missed a step and came tumbling all the way down…"

"Was it the disappearing step?" Hermione asked with a frown. "Poor Neville always forgets it's there, and he's taken quite a few falls…" _Yeah, let's go with that!_

"It was… Ruddy castle…" Ron snarled, he was astounded by his own lying skills. _I've improved even more, it just feels natural at this point… I don't think that's healthy…_

"I think they should remove it" Hermione said in a haughty voice. "It is a danger to the student-body, and I personally believe that Rowena Ravenclaw should have never put it in!" Ron chuckled at her bossy tone, she was definitely opinionated.

"What was Rowena thinking?" Ron asked with a chuckle.

"I know right!" Hermione agreed ecstatically, but she blinked when Ron chuckled more loudly. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked softly.

"Not at all!" Ron said quickly, he didn't want to make her upset.

"You'd better not be" Hermione said with narrowed eyes, but her lips were twitching into a smile. "You are bedridden, and I could easily hex you." _Hex me? Miss. Play-by-the-rules here would hex me?_

"Please do" Ron grinned. "Being hexed is a much better story than falling down some stairs." Hermione giggled at that.

"You're a prat" she said, smiling widely. "You're siblings have been worried about you, especially Ginny." _Gin-Gin?_

"How is my sister?" Ron asked, this was an opportunity to gain eyes within Gryffindor. "Is she settling in alright? Does she have any friends? How many of those friends are boys?" Hermione laughed at Ron's barrage of questions. _What? These are serious questions, woman! Answer me!_

"She is doing well" Hermione said, she looked like she was recalling something. "She does have a few friends, all the first years tend to stick together. And a few of those friends are boys, like Colin…"

"Colin Creevey?" Ron asked, losing his humor. "The boy with the camera… How close are they?" Hermione blinked at him.

"You're worse than your brothers!" Hermione accused. _Excuse me?_ "Poor Ginny can't even talk to any boy in her year without the twins playing horrible pranks on them… It's mean! How is she supposed to make friends with them?"

"She isn't" Ron said slowly, he had a confused look on his face. _She should be making friends with girls… Obviously…_ Hermione frowned at him, and Ron smiled sheepishly. _Don't kill me, you Banshee…_

"Well there is one boy in my year that she has spoken to once or twice" Hermione said suddenly, a hint of mischief in her voice. Ron sat up, his expression dead serious.

"Who? Tell me his name?" Ron asked softly. _If it's Dean fucking Thomas, they can send me to Azkaban on a murder charge!_

"Harry Potter…" Hermione said with an innocent smile, and Ron blinked. "Yes, that's right… She didn't speak much, but she did ask Harry for a broom…" Ron paled at that. "A broom that wasn't Harry's… Seems like your sister snuck her broom into Hogwarts, something that the first-years aren't allowed to do."

"Why… why would she do that?" Ron asked, he knew that she knew whose idea it had been.

"Harry already told me… So don't deny it…" Hermione said softly, her eyes gleaming with disapproval.

"That tosser…" Ron moaned.

"AHA!" Hermione yelled as she stood up, and then she pointed an accusing finger in his face. "Harry didn't say a word! But you just confirmed my suspicions!" Ron blanched at that, and he begged Merlin for mercy as she drew in a sharp breath. _This lecture will be the death of me…_

* * *

Ron sat in his bed, and he groaned at the boredom that was engulfing him. He had healed up, but Madam Pomfrey had gone full Molly Weasley on Ron. Even now she was watching him from the corner of her eyes, and Ron narrowed his eyes at her. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, because he absolutely was. He was so grateful to her for fixing him up again, and he was even more grateful that she had covered his hand up to make sure that no one saw his scar. Yes, it turned out that Pomfrey had been the one to cover him up completely… And in doing so, she had earned a permanent place in Ron's heart. The last thing he wanted was for everyone to see him as some freak, especially his siblings. But right now, Pomfrey was acting more like a jailor rather than a nurse… She had even shooed away Snape. SNAPE! Who could do something like that?

Ron sighed a bored sigh, and then he went back to planning for the upcoming war. Right now, his top priority was to become stronger. His knowledge on spells was more than adequate… for his age. Ron understood now that when compared to a fully grown witch or wizard, he had no hope of victory. Someone like Bellatrix could kill him without a second thought, and that needed to change. To begin his plan of becoming stronger, Ron had to make some preparations. First and foremost, he needed to start running again. He needed to be in shape, just like Charlie had taught him. So he would order a set new running gear from the Mail Order Service, running gear that would cover his scars completely.

Secondly, he would find that room from his vision. He knew that once he found that painting of a man trying to teach trolls to Ballet, he'd find the room. His recollection of his vision told him that he had to pace in front of the invisible door and it would appear, just like it had for future Daphne. That room was instrumental in his plans, and finding it would solve many issues. He would have a new place to practice spells, he only had to avoid hitting the furniture. He would also have a place he could call sanctuary, how many people could claim knowledge of such a remote room? That room could help him avoid anyone he didn't want to meet or see… If things in Slytherin got tense again, then he'd just stay in that room!

Lastly, Ron had to start reading the Tome of Curses… This one was difficult to come to terms with, especially for Ron. Ron was raised to hate the Dark Arts, and he did. But he wasn't a moron… He knew that knowledge on the Dark Arts alone could protect him from such powers, and having a larger pool of spells wasn't a bad deal either. He would learn from this tome, but he would never yield to it. He promised himself that he wouldn't… He had already seen a future where he was apparently a Death-Eater, so he knew that this was a slippery-slope to be on. But having that knowledge alone changed things… He knew that he had to resist giving into the Dark Arts for the sake of his family and friends. The Dark Arts would be his tool, nothing more…

Ron's stomach growled loudly, and he winced as he clutched his stomach. _All this planning is starving me…_ Ron's friends had come over after lunch, and they had brought him food. But Madam Pomfrey had thrown it away on the basis that he wasn't allowed to eat solid food yet, the potions in his system would make him throw up. But Ron would rather throw up his insides than eat that garbage they called 'Hospital Food'. _Hospital food is an abomination! It shouldn't even exist!_

"Mr. Weasley" Madam Pomfrey sighed as she heard his stomach growl again. "You need to eat what I'm giving you…"

"No…" Ron pouted, narrowing his eyes on the Matron. _Evil wench…_

"Stubborn boy…" she said with a frown. "I will not take no for an answer this time." And then she marched off to her office, and Ron dreaded her return. When she came back, she was holding a plate full of steaming hot garbage. _NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!_

"I'm not hungry" Ron lied, his eyes widening at her smirk.

"I will restrain you, and force feed you if I must" Madam Pomfrey threatened.

"You wouldn't dare…" Ron challenged, he had called her bluff. Or so he thought… Madam Pomfrey put down the plate, and then she flicked her wand at him. Straps were conjured from the bed, and they tied Ron down. _NO!_

"Unbind me!" Ron ordered, feeling his dread rise exponentially.

"Don't take that tone with me…" Madam Pomfrey warned, though there was amusement in her voice. And then she sat down on the side of his bed, the plate was back in her hands. She grabbed the spoon and filled it with the mush. "Now open wide, don't make this harder on the both of us."

"Never" Ron spoke through sealed lips. _That stuff is disgusting! I'm not eating it! I want real food, food that tastes like food! And not wet parchment…_

"I can open your mouth with magic, Mr. Weasley" Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Do yourself a favor and do as I say, or I'll have to demean us both…" Ron stared at her, and she was unwavering. There was no way out, this woman would go through with her threats. She already had… Ron opened his mouth slowly, feeling like some pathetic toddler. Madam Pomfrey put the spoon in his mouth, and Ron slurped up the goo.

"Ugh…" Ron gave an exaggerated groan. _Wet parchment… That's what this is…_

"It isn't that bad" Madam Pomfrey said, her voice dancing in merriment. "Stop being a baby…" Madam Pomfrey grabbed another spoonful, and put it in Ron's mouth. Ron gagged as he swallowed the terrible food.

"Why is this so gross?" Ron asked.

"It might be because of the three different types of pain relieving potions you're on…" Madam Pomfrey mused. "Or it might be because you are making it worse on yourself by thinking so poorly of this type of food… I personally believe that it's the latter."

"You're enjoying this too much…" Ron muttered. Madam Pomfrey chuckled at that, and it was the first time that he had heard her laugh.

"Perhaps… But this is what you deserve for making me worry so much" Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron adorned a look of confusion. But then it clicked in his mind, she was the one who had saved him after the Entity had shattered him into pieces. _She put me back together…_

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey" Ron said sincerely, and this time she got confused. "For saving my life… after that incident with you-know-who…" Madam Pomfrey paled at that, and she stopped gathering up food on the spoon.

"Yes…" Madam Pomfrey muttered, she shuddered at the memory. "It wasn't just me, the Heads of Houses played crucial roles…"

"The Heads of Houses?" Ron asked, this was new. "Professor Snape helped?"

"Yes, he carried you up here… I've never seen him so distressed…" Madam Pomfrey recalled, she didn't know why she was telling him this. "And then he spent twelve hours operating on you alongside me, he never left your side for a second…" Ron's eyes widened at that, he couldn't believe. Snape had gone that far for him? Why had no one mentioned this yet?! _I never even thanked him…_ "The other Heads were the same, they did everything I asked without a second's delay…" _Why did they go so far for me? Was it just because I'm their student?_

"Enough of that" Madam Pomfrey said, shaking herself free from the memory of that horrid night. "You need to keep eating this…" Ron groaned at the sound of that. "Force feeding it is then…"

* * *

Ron woke up in the middle of the night again, this was his last night in Hospital Wing. He'd been here for a day and a half now… _Tonight's the night!_ Ron looked around to make sure that he was alone, and he smirked as he gazed at the empty beds. Ron then grabbed his wand off of the side table, and he hopped out of his bed. Ron quickly cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he made his bed. _Can't have anyone becoming suspicious… Now, let's go find that room._ Luckily for Ron, Percy had dropped by today. Ron had asked him of the tapestry with the man training the trolls, and Percy had revealed it to be on the seventh floor of the castle. Percy had been suspicious, but Ron had simply told him that his friends had mentioned it once before and that he wanted to see it after he was discharged. His brother had thankfully bought that…

Ron creeped through the dark hallways, his mind on high alert for any sounds. He didn't want Filch to catch him in the middle of the night because that would be disastrous! How was he even going to explain himself? He was still in Hospital Robes for Merlin's sake… Ron was passing the fourth floor when he heard a girl giggling, and Ron nearly screamed in fright. He immediately stopped moving, his heart beating harder and harder. _Who was that?_ Ron heard something fall over from a nearby broom-closet, and that garnered Ron's interest. _No! Focus on the current mission, I need to find that room before Pomfrey happens upon my empty bed!_ Ron then slowly started moving past the broom-closet and he ignored the sounds of a scuffle happening within.

"Oh… right there…" the giggling girl moaned, and Ron went beet-red. _Dear Merlin… OH MERLIN!_ Ron's ears turned bright red, and he bolted away from the closet. _They were probably snogging and doing… Bad timing Weasley, really bad timing!_ Somewhere in the back of Ron's mind, he could hear Sirius laughing maniacally. _Old pervert…_

When Ron finally reached the tapestry on the seventh floor, he released a breath of relief. _I made it, I'm halfway finished… Now, for the room…_ Ron began pacing in front of the tapestry, and he paced for a long minute. But nothing happened… _Why isn't it working?!_ Ron frowned at the wall, he was doing something wrong! Ron recalled his vision of Daphne, she had only paced in front of the wall for a few seconds… _I've been at this for a minute! Does this only open for women? Is that why Theo and Blaise weren't inside in my vision?!_ Ron began pacing again, and he chewed his fingernails as he walked back and forth. _I need that room! I can't practice spells without it, where else could I possibly practice the spells in that tome! Please… just give me a room to practice in, and a room to call my sanctuary!_

Ron then heard the sound of wood cracking, and he turned to the wall slowly. A giant wooden door had appeared on the wall! _IT WORKED!_ Ron grinned and ran up to the door, and then he pushed it open and walked in. Hanging braziers lit up around the room, and Ron was awed into silence. The room was magnificent, and just what he had imagined it to be… The room was separated into two sections, one for training and one for relaxing. The training area was a ring with three man-sized wooden dummies, each of them holding their own wands. It was larger than the relaxing area, and the ground was covered in sand. _No doubt to make sure I don't break my arse if I fall…_

Ron then turned to the relaxing area, and it reminded him of the Slytherin common room. There was a black leather couch in front of a lit fireplace, a small coffee table with a mug of steaming hot chocolate, and there was even a bed! Ron walked into the relaxing area and he picked up the hot chocolate, sipping it slowly as he looked around with absolute joy. _It's like a small house… my own house!_ Ron then noticed that there were four books stacked on top of one another on the side-table of the bed. Ron's curiosity got the better of him and he looked at each of the books, reading their titles out loud.

"A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions…" Ron muttered to himself, his excitement growing. "The Dark Arts Outsmarted, Self-defensive Spellwork, Jinxes for the Jinxed…" Ron thanked Merlin for this amazing discovery, he knew that he'd pretty much live in this room! But that raised another question, what about his friends? They clearly knew about this room in the future, was he the one who told them? Ron frowned as he felt some bitter need to keep this place to himself, but he realized that he was being selfish. _They could use this place… To train, to relax, and to be away from Slytherin's politics if they ever need a break… I should tell them… Eventually… After I've learned everything from that Tome of Curses. Then I won't need to keep this place a secret…_

With that decided, Ron left the room with a sad look. He didn't want to leave just yet, but Pomfrey might discover him if he stayed away for too long… Ron made his way down to the Hospital Wing again, and he was having trouble containing his excitement. He had found a secret room in the school that was utterly perfect for his needs, what were the odds of that?! _Finally, my luck is improving!_

Ron's excitement died immediately when he heard something move behind him. He froze from fear, his heartbeat increasing in speed. Ron turned around slowly, but much to his shock, there was nothing behind him. Just an empty, dark hallway… _Did I imagine that?_ Ron then heard an extremely odd sound come from beside his right ear, it sounded like a wet mop dragging across a floor. Ron turned to his right quickly, but there was nothing there but a wall. _Okay… I definitely heard something… This is scary…_

"Come" came a cold, venomous voice that made Ron's bones shudder. "Come to me… let me rip you… let me tear you… let me kill you…" Ron nearly passed out from fear, was this the Entity again?! _No, this voice isn't as bad…_ Ron heard the voice again, but this time it was further away from him. "Kill… Kill… Kill…" it said, and then it was gone. _What the fuck was that?! This damn school!_ Ron all but ran back to the Hospital Wing, he didn't want to be in the dark hallways for another second. What was wrong with this fucking school?!

* * *

"Alright, Mr. Weasley" Madam Pomfrey said with a smile. "You are hereby discharged, here is your uniform." Madam Pomfrey handed Ron his school robes, they smelled like flowers and they were warm to the touch. _Did she clean these just now?_

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey" Ron said sincerely. And then he hopped out of bed and closed the curtains. He changed into his school robes eagerly, excited to finally leave the Hospital Wing. It was Wednesday today, and he had been attacked on Monday! A full day had been wasted… but at least he had missed out on the double of D.A.D.A with Lockhart yesterday! _I guess it all worked out…_

Ron left for breakfast right after changing, he desperately wanted some actual food! Ron yawned long and hard, he'd barely slept last night. He had spent the entire night peeking around the room from behind his covers, the venomous voice and its message had scared the hell out of him! Ron cursed whoever was behind it, was it a practical joke? Or was there some deranged killer walking around the school? With Hogwarts, one could never be too sure… The Dark Lord was proof of that…

"Hello!" Ron greeted his friends enthusiastically as he sat down in between Theo and some third year.

"Ron, you're back!" Tracey exclaimed.

"Yep! All healed up and rested" Ron grinned, and then he began putting absurd amounts of food on his plate. His friends didn't say a word about it, and for that he was grateful. He just wanted to eat.

"You missed out on the doubles of Transfiguration and D.A.D.A yesterday…" Daphne said softly, and then she reached into her school bag and took out a few rolls parchment. "Here, I made you notes…" she said, sounding a little unsure for some reason. Ron took the notes with a smile.

"Thanks, Daph" Ron said happily. "I really appreciate that!" _For Transfiguration anyway…_ Daphne beamed at that and continued her breakfast happily. _She's acting odd… Since when does she help out without expecting something in return? Whatever, I'll find out what she wants soon enough…_

"Oh yeah…" Theo scoffed. "You'll need those D.A.D.A notes for sure…" Daphne glared murder at him, while the other three girls frowned. "Lockhart spent the entire class talking about how he banished the Bandon Banshee… Useless…" Then Theo winced in pain as someone kicked his shin. "Not again…" he grit out, and the other two boys laughed at his pain.

"Mr. Weasley" came a drawled out voice, and Ron recognized it immediately. Ron turned to face the Potions Master.

"Yes, Sir?" Ron asked politely.

"Come with me, now…" Snape said with an expressionless face, and then he began walking away. _What's this? I didn't even get to eat!_ Ron frowned and followed the man, he shot his friends a quick look and noticed that they were suspicious of something. Snape then stopped behind Malfoy, and Ron felt his chest tighten at the sight of his attacker. _Malfoy…_ Images of the older Draco choking on his blood flashed within Ron's head, and he felt a headache coming on.

"Mr. Malfoy, follow me" Snape ordered. Malfoy nodded and stood up, but then he spotted Ron and a scowl formed on his face. Ron looked away, he didn't want to see Malfoy's face. He felt like he would throw up if he did… Both boys followed the Potions Master down to his office, and Ron made sure to look at nothing but Snape's back. However, Ron could feel Malfoy glaring at him... Once they were inside, Snape ordered them to sit down. They sat down in front of Snape's desk, and Snape sat down in front of them. The Head of Slytherin was frowning deeply now…

"I assume you know why I've brought you here…" Snape said softly, his voice was cold as ice. "Do you care to explain yourselves?" _What's to explain? Your godson and his apes beat me into a pulp…_ Both boys didn't utter a word, and Snape's temper slowly began to flare. "Fine… then let me say a few words" Snape growled, and Ron tensed in his seat. "You are both forbidden from interacting with one another. I will have you both watched within the common room, and if you two even look at one another the wrong way… There will be consequences."

"Works for me" Draco smirked.

"Silence!" Snape snapped, and Draco jumped a bit in his seat. "I have reported your actions to your father, Mr. Malfoy. Expect his response…" Malfoy paled at that. "As for you…" Snape said to Ron, his voice calming down considerably. "Will you be pressing any charges?" _Charges?_ Ron shook his head, and Snape gave him a curt nod. "Very well, Mr. Weasley."

"From this moment on" Snape continued. "I will be watching you both very carefully. I expect your hostilities to come to an end, if you cannot get along with one another, then don't interact with one another. That is all, you are dismissed." Ron and Malfoy got up and left in a hurry, they didn't want Snape to find another reason to tear into them. Once they were outside, Malfoy glared right at Ron.

"Consider yourself lucky, Weasel…" Malfoy sneered, but Ron just looked at Malfoy with a sad look. "What's the matter with you?" Malfoy snapped after a few seconds.

"Nothing… I'll see you around…" Ron muttered, and then Ron just walked off. _How does someone like him become a hero? What could have happened that changed Malfoy into that person from my vision? Ugh… I hate having no answers!_

* * *

Ron and his friends sat in the courtyard, they were enjoying the sunlight. The double of History had sapped their strength, and Ron yawned long and hard once again.

"So what did Snape want?" Blaise asked Ron. "We aren't in class anymore, so you can talk…" Ron sighed at that.

"He banned Malfoy and me from interacting" Ron explained. "We are to cease our 'hostilities' and stay out of each other's way… Which works for me, I'd rather not run into Malfoy anytime soon." _I can't even look at him…_

"What?" Daphne asked in an annoyed voice. "After what he did, he just gets to walk away?"

"I guess…" Ron answered casually, shrugging his shoulders at her. Daphne looked like she had sucked a lemon…

"This is unfair!" Daphne huffed in anger. "He should be expelled!"

"I'm with Daphne" Tracey grit out. "We should report this to the Headmaster… He'd sort out Malfoy…"

"If Snape knows, then Dumbledore know…" Theo said with a sigh, and then he shook his head. "I think all the staff know that you were lying about the stairs… Couldn't you come up with a better lie?"

"Well, forgive me…" Ron said in an exaggerated voice, frowning at his weedy friend. "I was otherwise occupied with pain and vomiting… I'm surprised I even managed to lie in the first place…"

"Why did you lie?" Pansy asked, she looked rather confused. Ron didn't know that for certain either, he would say that it was because of his vision… Because of some need to protect Malfoy… In his broken state, he was having trouble separating the git from the hero… And so he had lied because he didn't want to get Malfoy in trouble… _What a bad joke!_

"I don't know" Ron muttered, and then he yawned again. "I'm exhausted!" Ron lay down on the grass and relaxed, stretching his arms and legs.

"It doesn't matter now" Millie said. "This fight with Malfoy is finished, and we can all go our separate ways. I don't know about you lot, but I'm more than glad about this."

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Blaise said aloofly. "Malfoy won't let this go…" _Malfoy? Not Draco?_ "He is adamant about taking Ron out of the picture, we can't let our guard down."

"I'm with Blaise" Theo agreed. "Trust us when we say that Malfoy is a persistent bastard…" _Malfoy again? What happened while I was away?_

"Well, let him come" Daphne said menacingly. "If he wants a fight, then we'll give him one… I refuse to let him get away with this!"

"What do you think, Ron?" Pansy asked him. "Should we… should we do something about… Malfoy?" Her voice sounded rather forced when she called Malfoy by his last name.

"I think…" Ron started, his body just turning off due to being so relaxed. "I think I need some sleep…" And with that, Ron closed his eyes and just dozed off. _I'll deal with this when I wake up…_ Ron missed his friends just blinking at him in confusion.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter was slightly shorter than the usual, sorry about that. But I just wanted to use this chapter to set up a lot of plots and Character Arcs for this year! And yes, I'm sure many of you already know what was talking in the dead of night... The school is in for a nasty surprise, eh?! But just remember that the first attack (Mrs. Norris) didn't happen until October 31st, 1992! But things could change...**

 **I will see you all soon!**


	28. Chapter 28 - A Looming Threat

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 28 is finally finished! Goddamn, this was a hard one to write!**

 **1\. It has EIGHT POVs! That's the most I've ever done in one chapter!**

 **2\. It takes place over a month! I've sped up the process a little, mostly coz I want to get to the Chamber already!**

 **3\. So many sub-plots...**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 28 – A Looming Threat**

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **September 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

 _Lucius,_

 _My old friend, it is my displeasure to inform you of your son's most recent actions. Draco has done an incredibly foolish thing, one that disgraces the names of Slytherin and Malfoy. He, and his two companions, attacked Ronald Weasley in a public bathroom. They beat the boy to within an inch of his life, and if it weren't for two older boys, the youngest Weasley son may have perished from his injuries._

 _I did my best to hide this, but Dumbledore discovered the truth nonetheless. It took a great deal of persuading and even, I'm ashamed to admit, begging on my part to save Draco's position at Hogwarts. Dumbledore will be watching your son with the keenest of eyes from this moment on, I advise you to instruct Draco to act accordingly._

 _As for myself, I have compromised my own standing with the old fool due to this debacle. I will no longer be able to defend Draco's actions, lest I lose this position that I have worked so hard to attain. If our Master ever returns… He would be most displeased…_

 _Your Friend and Ally,_

 _S.S_

Lucius put the letter down, and he felt his forehead throb. _Another blasted headache…_ His headaches were becoming more and more frequent over the last four months, far too many things had been going wrong. The Dark Lord was still alive, and he had attacked Draco within the Forbidden Forest. Those two facts alone had caused Narcissa and Lucius many sleepless nights… And then Draco had been cast out by the Triumvirate, which was nothing short of embarrassing for Lucius. After that, Weasley had introduced that disgusting law and Lucius had lost so many artifacts that he had collected over the years. And now… now his son had undone all of their careful planning in a fit of rage… Lucius rubbed his temples and groaned, a sound that he hated making.

How could everything go so wrong so quickly?! Why was the Dark Lord still alive?! Why was some Blood-Traitor child outshining Draco?! Why was the Ministry filled with so many Muggle loving fools?! Why was his own son such a complete idiot?! Lucius loved Draco more than anything, but that boy had a way of always disappointing him… No matter how many advantages Lucius provided, Draco squandered them all! And now, that Blood-Traitor Ronald Weasley was Slytherin's prized jewel… _A miserable Blood-Traitor being more valued than the heir of the Malfoy Family?!_ The thought turned his stomach and made his head hurt even more, how could so many things go so wrong?

"Love, is everything alright?" came Narcissa's gentle voice, it soothed his nerves a little.

"No, Cissy…" Lucius replied softly, and then he handed his wife the letter from Severus. Both husband and wife were inside the Malfoy library. Narcissa read the letter with ever-growing shock while Lucius sipped his Firewhiskey. _I spent a small fortune on those brooms, and he has ruined our plans… Now the Weasley brat is no doubt under Dumbledore's protective watch, and Draco cannot move against him._

"Oh, Draco…" Narcissa said, her voice was sad.

"I must write to him… before he does something like this again" Lucius said, he still couldn't believe this. _What was that boy thinking?! Brawling is not the Malfoy way… It is beneath us!_

"Please, Lucius… be gentle with him" Narcissa implored, she was far too protective of their son.

"Be gentle?" Lucius asked, trying his best not to sound scathing. "I have been nothing but gentle, but he never learns… I am done being gentle. He will either learn to fly, or he will fall to his doom." Lucius then stood up and marched to his study, he could hear Narcissa following him. _Another fight…_ They had fought more times in the last four months than they had in their entire lives…

"Lucius, please don't do anything rash" she implored as she quickened her pace.

"Rash? Like nearly beating a class-mate to death?" Lucius frowned, he stopped his stride and stared at her for an answer. "He did something so foolish in a public place, Narcissa! What if that Weasley brat had died? Draco's life would be finished! If it weren't for Severus, Draco would probably be eating dinner with us tonight!" Lucius hated raising his voice, he saw it as a base act… But he was just so frustrated right now, it was like some higher power was directly causing him problems.

"He got angry and made a mistake, we have all done that at some stage in our lives" Narcissa said in Draco's defense, her eyes were becoming watery. Lucius felt the fire leave his body, he didn't want to see her in tears again.

"Cissy…" Lucius said softly, and then he held out his hand. She took it in hers and they both stared at each other for a few seconds. "I will try to be gentle… but he has to understand that he cannot do this again. Is that fair?" Narcissa nodded and smiled gently.

"He just wants to please you…" Narcissa told him. "Don't lose sight of that, that's all I ask." Lucius nodded, and then he went to his study. _I must instruct Draco to keep his distance from the Weasley brat…_ Lucius had wanted to go after that boy to hurt Arthur Weasley, but now that option was off the table. Lucius smirked however, because there was still one Weasley child that Lucius had in play. _That little red-haired bitch…_

* * *

 _ **September 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

"Cornelius, this wine is exquisite" Lucius complimented Nott Snr. Cornelius Nott smirked proudly as he took another sip. _Say what you will about this bitter old fool, but no one knows more about good wine than him…_ Lucius had gone to Nott Manor for dinner, and he had gone alone. Cornelius wanted to discuss business, and Narcissa knew that meant she wasn't welcome. Lucius had not appreciated that…

"Thank you, Lucius" Cornelius said softly, his voice was rather sagely. _He is getting on in years, so that is to be expected._ Cornelius Nott was an elderly man, and yet he had a child who was the same age as Draco. Nott had married an extremely young witch, one who was twenty-five years younger than him. Many had frowned at this, but she loved Cornelius deeply. Her loss had taken its toll on the elderly man…

"And where did you procure it, may I ask?" Lucius asked politely.

"Tuscany, within Italy" Cornelius replied. "I will have a bottle sent to your Manor, I know both you and your wife enjoy good wine." _He wants something…_

"Thank you, Cornelius" Lucius said graciously. "First the magnificent dinner, and then the exquisite wine… Forgive me for thinking this, but I assume you need something from me?" Cornelius chuckled, and Lucius was instantly on guard. _Why is he in such a good mood? He's the most bitter man I know… Something is wrong here… Why did he not invite Cissy as well?_

"You are right, Lucius" Cornelius said, his voice almost giddy. It unnerved Lucius greatly, but Lucius kept his composure. "I have wondrous news my friend… Our Master lives!" Lucius felt the wind leave his lungs, but his body and face did not move an inch out of place.

"The Dark Lord lives?" Lucius asked with feigned intrigue, and Cornelius bought it. _How does he know this?!_

"He does indeed, my friend" Cornelius said as he leaned forward in his seat. "And not only does he live, he was at Hogwarts last year…" _Draco!_ Lucius paled involuntarily, did Nott know about Draco's attack?

"At Hogwarts? How do you know this?" Lucius inquired.

"My son, and his friend Blaise… They were discussing the Weasley boy during the holidays, and I overheard them due to a Listening Ward. The boy was not injured in some experiment as Dumbledore claims… That little Blood-Traitor was attacked by the Dark Lord himself!" _Listening Ward? He spies on his own son? This is not good…_ Lucius felt his head start to ache again.

"This is…" Lucius trailed off, he had to seem shocked. Or Nott would become suspicious of Lucius' true feelings on the Dark Lord. Lucius believed in his Old Master quite religiously, but now he had a family. He had a son… Lucius did not want Draco to grow up in a war, and if the Dark Lord ever returned, that is exactly what would happen.

"I know… I was shocked too" Cornelius said, his voice joyous. "And I know that we all left that life behind… but the Dark Lord lives! And if that's the case, then we need find him!" _Find him…? This is not good at all…_

"Where would we even look?" Lucius asked, trying to dissuade the older man. Nott had happily left the Death-Eater life behind for the sake of his wife and son… But then Iris Nott had been murdered by those Muggles, and her husband had come undone… _If I don't impede him, he really will bring the Dark Lord back!_

"I have already begun my search, Lucius" Cornelius said, a mad glint in his weathered brown eyes. "If the Dark Lord moves about, there will be signs! You were his most trusted, you must help me! Together, we can return our Lord to his former glory… And he will reward us, Lucius. He will make us kings!" _Or destroy us for not finding him sooner…_ Lucius knew far too well what the Dark Lord did to those who failed him, and what he did to their families… _Draco. Cissy._

"Have you found anything?" Lucius asked with fake enthusiasm. He knew that he had to 'help' Nott… If Nott ever succeeded, then Lucius' refusal would cause the end of the Malfoy line… And even if Nott failed, Lucius would still pay for refusing the man. The Dark Lord would return eventually, that much was obvious. _And I need to appear loyal… More loyal to_ _ **him**_ _than I am to my own family…_

"So far, nothing…" Cornelius frowned, and Lucius smirked internally. "But I will, have no doubt about that. I have people searching the entire country… Discretely, of course" Nott added with a smirk.

"You have my help, Cornelius" Lucius said with a smile. Cornelius gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you, my friend. To the Dark Lord!" Cornelius toasted.

"To the Dark Lord."

* * *

 _ **September 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Past Midnight)**_

"You're home…" Narcissa sighed in relief, she was already in bed. Lucius walked over to his side of the bed and he sat down slowly. He went to undo his robes, but his were shaking too hard. _That old man… He will doom us to another war…_ "Lucius? Why aren't you answering me?" Cissy asked, her voice growing concerned.

"Nott… he knows about the Dark Lord…" Lucius muttered, and Cissy gasped in horror.

"How?" she asked, her voice panicked.

"He overheard his son" Lucius explained. "The Weasley boy was attacked by the Dark Lord… His coma wasn't the result of an experiment gone wrong…"

"What did Cornelius want from you, Lucius?" Narcissa asked, her voice came out slow. _She already knows…_

"The old fool is searching for the Dark Lord" Lucius said. "He wants my aid…"

"What did you say?" Cissy asked as she held him from behind.

"I offered to help… It is the only way I can supervise his progress. I must… do something to stop him…" Lucius muttered, his head was about to explode.

"Why not report him to the Ministry? You could do it anonymously" Cissy advised, she did not want the Dark Lord to return. Her son was better off away from fighting a war. No matter how just it was…

"They would simply imprison him…" Lucius sighed. "You and I both know that the Dark Lord's return is imminent… Nott will talk, and we will all die…" He heard his wife give out a small whimper, and he quickly turned to hold her as well. "I will not lose you… or Draco… I will protect this family."

"Draco is just a boy, Lucius…" Cissy whispered, her voice was distressed. "The Dark Lord will mark him… He will be forced to fight…"

"No" Lucius said firmly. "No, I will not allow that to happen. If I serve him well, he will spare our son…" _He will spare Draco… He has to…_

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **September 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Riddikulus" Sirius snarled at the corpse of his Godson. The Boggart turned into a cloud of Butterflies, and Remus then trapped those butterflies in a magical bubble. _This fucking house will be the death of me…_ Sirius hated his childhood home with a passion, a passion that had redoubled ever since he and Remus had started cleaning this place up! This was their seventh fucking Boggart!

"Your parents…" Remus sighed as he bound the Boggart in a metal trunk. "They must have loved these horrid creatures…"

"They did" Sirius spat, frowning at the shaking trunk. "They thought Boggarts would make for good guard-dogs…"

"A pity considering they had you" Remus chuckled, and Sirius smiled softly. Things were finally becoming as they once were between him and Remus. His Werewolf friend no longer stepped on egg-shells around him, and they were working through their issues slowly. It was hard… considering how everything had turned out for the Marauders.

"Well Moony, you can be our new guard-dog" Sirius retorted, and Remus frowned. "Guard-wolf?" Sirius corrected sheepishly.

"Sirius… You know I don't wish to live here…" Remus said, and Sirius sighed in exasperation. _This nonsense again!_

"You will not return to that run-down shack you call a home" Sirius said in a fierce tone. "I will not allow it! You will stay here, and you will help me raise Harry!"

"I will not" Remus said, his voice taking on a sad note. "I cannot…"

"Yes, you can" Sirius frowned. "And you will! We owe that much to James!"

"Don't…" Remus warned, he hated emotional blackmail. _Too bad… It's the truth!_

"Why? Feeling guilty about something?" Sirius asked innocently. Remus didn't even bother replying, and he instead made to leave the room. "Good, it's settled. You will stay here and help me raise Harry." Remus turned around with an angry glare.

"I am a danger to him" Remus snapped. "Why can't you understand that? Every full-moon, I'll turn into…" Remus trailed off. "I don't want him to see me as some monster…" Remus said softly.

"He won't… James didn't, Lily didn't… So why would he?" Sirius countered.

"He isn't them… No matter how much you wish that he were…" Remus said bitterly, and then he left the room. Sirius growled to himself, Remus was being a coward! _Harry would never turn his back on his family! He is James' son for Merlin's sake! Why can't Remus see that?!_

Sirius spent the rest of the day cleaning up alone. Remus had disappeared somewhere, no doubt gone back to his run-down shack… That thought aggravated Sirius beyond measure! Sirius finally made his to Regulus' room, but he paused before he entered it. He hadn't walked into this room yet, not even once since he had been released. Sirius avoided this entire hallway if he could… His parents' bedroom was at the end of the hallway as well, and he hadn't entered that room either…

Sirius knew though that he had to, otherwise Harry couldn't stay here. This house needed to be purged of all Dark Artifacts, and Regulus no doubt had many within his room. Sirius slowly opened the door, and its hinges creaked. And then Sirius entered the room, his heart beating a little faster. The room was spotless, as if it had just been recently cleaned. _Kreacher… Of course that little pest would keep this room immaculate…_

Sirius closed the door behind him, and then he walked around the room. He looked at the emerald green wallpaper, the photos from Regulus' childhood and school days, and then Sirius looked at the Daily Prophet clippings about Voldemort. Sirius felt his stomach tighten with disgust… _Regulus you damn fool._ Sirius walked up to them, they were hanging above Regulus' bed, and Sirius tore one off of the wall.

"Lord Voldemort declares war on Ministry and Dumbledore…" Sirius read, and his heart ached a bit. Sirius despised his brother in life… Regulus was everything Sirius wasn't, the perfect son… Regulus worshiped Blood-Purity just like he worshiped Voldemort, and Sirius' parents adored Regulus for his 'true' beliefs. They pushed the youngest Black son to take the Dark Mark, and at the tender age of sixteen, Regulus had made them proud. Sirius hated the lot of them… He hated how Regulus praised Voldemort on the dinner table, he hated how his parents encouraged Regulus, and he hated that Regulus was stupid enough to believe them.

And now… now Regulus was dead. Another victim of the Great War, where were his 'loving' parents when their son died? Sirius had done his research on Regulus after he had been released, mostly because his brother had disappeared completely during the Great War. After a certain Blood Tracing spell, Sirius had learned that Regulus was indeed dead and gone… Sirius had always suspected, but the confirmation had felt like a cold bucket of water being dumped on him. It had left him… confused and agitated… Sirius knew that it had been Voldemort who had killed Regulus, or at least ordered his death! No Order member ever reported fighting against Regulus… _It had to be that monster!_

Sirius sat down on Regulus' bed, and he felt his eyes burn. _Damn fool…_ Before Hogwarts, Sirius and Regulus had been inseparable. Sirius hid his disdain for Blood-Purity, and Regulus spent every moment with him. Sirius would put Regulus on his shoulders and run around the house, and Regulus would laugh and laugh… _That fucking idiot!_ Sirius put his fingers over his eyes and sniffed hard, he crunched the Daily Prophet clipping in his other hand. Sirius did not mourn for Regulus the Death-Eater, Sirius mourned for the boy who had ridden his shoulders and lit up the house with laughter.

Sirius sat on that bed for almost an hour, doing his best to compose himself. _Get up… You have a job to do, Padfoot._ Sirius slowly stood up, and then he began looking for any Dark Artifacts. He didn't want to be in this room for another minute! Sirius looked under the bed, checked for any hidden compartments within the walls, and then he finally opened the cupboard. Sirius pushed Regulus' clean robes out of the way, and that's when he spotted a small jewelry box. That garnered Sirius' attention, Regulus wasn't into jewelry… _At least I hope not…_ Sirius pulled the box out and placed it on Regulus' bed.

Sirius decided to check for any Curses or counter-measures before opening the box. Once he was sure that he was in the clear, Sirius opened the box slowly. His eyes widened at the golden locket inside. The locket had a serpentine 'S' on it, and the 'S' was inlaid with glittering, green gems. _Whose is this? This can't be Regulus'…_ The locket looked ancient, and yet it was in perfect condition. Sirius muttered a few Detecting Charms on the locket, and he felt an unpleasant shiver go through his body. _This thing is darker than anything I've encountered in this house! Why did Regulus have this?!_ Sirius shut the jewelry box quickly, and then he picked it up. He marched straight down to the 'Throw Away' bin, and he tossed the box inside. This thing had no place within this house… not anymore…

Sirius then sighed, he needed a fucking drink… As Sirius left the room, he failed to notice that an old House-Elf was watching the 'Throw Away' bin with blood-shot eyes. Once Sirius was gone, the old House-Elf created a duplicate of the jewelry box. And then he picked up the real one, and disapparated.

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **September 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Can you pass the bacon, Pansy?" Tracey asked, and Pansy passed the bacon over with a smile. Tracey smiled back at her before continuing her breakfast. Pansy felt her spirits elate more at this simple gesture, she was finally feeling like she was a part of the girls again. It had taken almost a year, but Pansy now felt confident enough to speak her own opinions and even argue with the other girls. Joining Ron's group had been the best decision she'd made so far in her life. She didn't feel like she had to watch what she said all time, and she certainly wasn't spending all of her time trying to impress a certain platinum haired boy.

If Pansy was being honest, she still had something of a crush on Draco Malfoy. Even after all of his terrible actions and horrible words, she still felt a bit giddy when he talked to her. Pansy would never admit that to anyone… not even to the other girls. She feared that they would turn on her if she did, and she didn't want that to ever happen. She may still harbor a crush for Draco, but she was happier now than she'd ever been.

"Where's Ron?" Daphne asked as she looked around the Great Hall.

"Still asleep, I think" Blaise replied. "He was just dead-weight this morning during our run, again…" _This is becoming a habit of his…_

"Why didn't you wake him?" Mille asked with a frown.

"Do we look like his servants?" Theo retorted with a smirk.

"Yes…" Tracey said with a straight face, and Theo looked aghast. Pansy giggled at his expression, Theo could pull the funniest faces when he wanted to. He was a lot more open now than he'd been when they were children, he made more jokes and even laughed more often. _No doubt due to Ron's influence!_ Pansy had entered the group later than all of them, and she had instantly seen the changes in her friends. Though they claimed that they had 'tamed' Ron, Pansy knew that he had changed them far more than they had changed him. Ron just had that effect on people… mostly because he was stubborn and he didn't care what anyone thought of him. Pansy admired that trait enviously…

"Good morning" said a familiar voice, and they all turned to see Ron approaching. He had a soft smile on his face, and bags under his eyes. _He looks exhausted… again!_

"Where were you?" Daphne questioned Ron immediately.

"In my bed" Ron chuckled, but no one laughed. "What? What happened now?" Pansy frowned at that, why was he always assuming the worst? Anytime they showed him concern, he'd ask what was wrong…

"Nothing is wrong" Daphne sighed, clearly she felt the same way as Pansy. "You've been doing this a lot, you know… You're always late and you always look exhausted."

"That's not true" Ron chuckled again.

"It is…" Tracey argued. "So are you going to tell us what's wrong?"

"No…" Ron sighed, and then he turned to Pansy. "How are you this morning, Pansy?" _Don't put me on the spot…_ Pansy shot a quick look to the girls, and they were frowning at her. _Great…_

"I'm fine, Ron" Pansy said softly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, for the love of Merlin…" Ron sighed. "Girls…"

"Tell me about it" Theo chimed in. "They called Blaise and I your servants!"

"Absurd…" Blaise muttered. "Me… a servant? Utter nonsense…" The girls rolled their eyes at Blaise, he was definitely the most vain boy in the group. _Though he did take charge when Ron went missing, that was really amazing!_

"Theo..." Ron started. "Did you bring my books down like I asked?"

"Yeah, I've got them right here" Theo replied happily. The girls started laughing at Theo's servitude, and his sudden change in mood.

"Theo!" Blaise exclaimed with a shocked look.

"What?! The man was tired!" Theo shot back, and the girls almost passed out from laughter. _Joining them was definitely the best decision I made!_

* * *

 _ **September 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

It was a Saturday today, which meant that Ron wouldn't around until six 'o'clock. Ron would be at his job… his job! What kind of twelve year old worked?! Pansy shook her head at the thought, clearly Ron was insane… She was currently doing her homework in the library alongside Mille and Daphne. Tracey had run off with the boys again, no doubt lazing about the castle. Tracey understood that if she batted her eyes at Ron, he'd just give her all the answers to their homework. Pansy didn't fault Tracey for that, even she had done the same to Ron multiple times. He would turn crimson, and then he'd just give the answers up to avoid the attention being sent his way. Pansy giggled to herself at the memory.

"What is it?" Daphne whispered.

"Nothing…" Pansy replied quietly. "I was just thinking that we can ask Ron for the answers…"

"Have you ever heard of milking a cow dry?" Millie asked with a frown.

"Um… can't say that I have" Pansy replied. Millie's blunt nature still unnerved Pansy, she didn't like head on confrontations. "But I understand the gist of it. If we keep asking Ron for answers, he'll get annoyed and stop giving them."

"Exactly" Millie said with a smile. "Also if we don't try to learn ourselves, then Ron's answers don't really help us much in the exams." Pansy shot a quick look to Daphne, and the blonde girl was smiling quite happily. _When did Millicent Bulstrode become so academic?! Oh wait… Ron…_

"Shhh" came a shushing sound from an older Gryffindor girl, and Pansy frowned at her. _Mind your own business, you short-haired bitch…_ Pansy shot a quick look to the grand-clock on the wall. _Half past five… We've been studying for four hours! Ugh… I'm done…_

"I'm going" Pansy whispered to the other two girls.

"We'll see you in the common room" Daphne whispered, and Pansy waved goodbye as she left. _I'll just ask Ron for the answers… I hate History of Magic so much!_ Pansy then walked down towards the dungeons, humming to herself as she went. Once she was in her dorm, she placed her books on her desk with a thud. _I don't ever want to think about the International Warlock Convention of 1289 again! Binns probably died of boredom… And now, he's trying to kill us the same way…_

Pansy made her way back to the common room, and she looked around for the boys and Tracey. But there was no sign of them anywhere. _I guess they're somewhere else in the castle…_ After a few seconds of debating with herself, she decided to go looking for them. She didn't want to sit around alone, Pansy was not a solitary person. That had been the biggest factor behind her approaching Daphne at the Christmas party last year, she was tired of being alone… Pansy was walking out of the common room when she was stopped by a familiar voice, a voice that made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

"No hello for me, Pansy?" Draco Malfoy said smoothly. _Not now… I don't want to be alone with him…_

"Hello, Draco…" Pansy said lamely, and then she kept walking forward. She heard Draco catch up to her quickly, and he lightly grabbed her wrist.

"Pansy, just stop…" Draco said, and they both stopped moving.

"Let go of me" Pansy said softly, and then she turned to face him. He immediately did as she asked.

"I just want to talk to you" Draco said with his usual smirk, but this time it didn't affect Pansy as much. She was still angry with Draco for hurting Ron like that…

"I don't want to talk to you…" Pansy said, it was harder to say that than she imagined it. _Control yourself Pansy, he hurt your friend!_

"Pansy… you wound me" Draco chuckled, but Pansy felt annoyed by that.

"Are we done? I want to go find my friends."

"I'm your friend too, talk to me instead" Draco said smoothly.

"I don't want to be your friend…" Pansy said softly, and Draco just blinked at her. "Not after what you did to Ron… It was cruel… You were cruel."

"Pansy… He's a…" Draco started but she cut him off.

"Don't call him **that**!" Pansy said, she felt her temper flare up. Draco was shocked at her tone, and he was even more shocked that she was defending that Blood-Traitor! They were both silent for a few moments, and then Pansy decided to leave.

"So he's turned you against me as well?" Draco said, his voice was bitter.

"He didn't do anything… You alienated yourself" Pansy said firmly. "Blaise and Theo tried their best to include you, and you spat on their offers… Don't try and play the victim here, because you're not…"

"What's he giving you then?" Draco bit out harshly, and Pansy blinked at him. _Giving me? What is he on about?_

"I don't understand, what do mean by that?"

"You know exactly what I mean" Draco sneered. "He's bought off Blaise and Theo's loyalties… He must be doing the same with you! What is he giving you in return for your friendship?" Pansy was quiet for a few seconds, she had no idea what Draco was talking about.

"He didn't buy me Draco… I'm his friend because he is kind to me. He doesn't treat me like some… some slave…" Pansy muttered, she was thoroughly confused by Draco's statement.

"That's a lie!" Draco snapped, and Pansy flinched a bit. _He's starting to scare me…_ "I've seen it with my own two eyes! He's teaching Blaise and Theo powerful magic in return for their friendship, he's tutoring that cow Bulstrode with her classes, he's giving protection to that Half-Blood, and he's bought Greengrass off with a few trinkets! What's he giving you?!"

"You've been spying on us?!" Pansy shrieked.

"I've been spying on **him**! He's not what you think he is! I saw him give that Mud-Blood Granger a gift yesterday! He's probably buying her off as well!"

"It was her birthday yesterday, you're insane…" Pansy said, she needed to leave right now. Draco was scaring her with his anger, and she didn't know what to do.

"Don't walk away from me" Draco grit out as he grabbed her wrist again.

"Let go…" Pansy whimpered, her eyes were starting to sting. She hated confrontations, especially when they got physical.

"No, tell me what he's giving you!" Draco snapped. "Why else would you walk away from the heir of the Malfoy Family and join up with a traitor?!"

"Because that traitor doesn't put his hands on her…" came Ron's voice, it was colder than usual. "Let her go, or I'll make sure you spend the rest of the year vomiting up slugs." Pansy turned around to see Ron standing by the stairs, and he was not pleased.

"This has nothing to do with you, you Weasel…" Draco grit out. "Pansy is my friend, not yours…"

"Let her go, right now…" was Ron's response. He had a blank expression on his face, but Pansy could see that he was moments away from attacking Draco. Pansy jerked her wrist free and ran to Ron's side.

"Ron, don't… Snape will find out…" Pansy whispered to him, she didn't want a fight breaking out. It wouldn't end well for Draco… Ron turned to her and smiled softly.

"This isn't over, you scarred freak" Draco said menacingly. _Scarred freak?_

"It is… I will tell Snape that you are still going after me, he'll sort you out" Ron replied firmly. "Pansy, we're leaving." Ron then turned around and walked back up the stairs. Pansy followed after him, but not before she shot a quick look back. Draco looked absolutely livid. Ron and Pansy walked up to the Great Hall quietly, and Pansy rubbed her left wrist with her right hand. _That hurt…_

"Are you alright?" Ron asked.

"Yes… Thanks for your help back there…" Pansy replied.

"Does he do that often? Corner you and interrogate you?" Ron asked, his voice was cold. It didn't suit him…

"No… I think he's lost it. He was going on and on about you buying us off… It was insane…" Pansy muttered, she still couldn't believe it. _And what did he mean by scarred freak?_

"I thought he would stop after Snape's warning…" Ron sighed. "Where are the others?"

"Daphne and Millie are probably still at the library, and I have no clue where the other three are" Pansy replied slowly. "Ron… was he telling the truth? Are you teaching Blaise and Theo powerful magic?" When Ron didn't reply, Pansy's eyes went wide with shock.

"It isn't what you think, Pans…" Ron said softly. "When we go for our morning runs, I show them a few jinxes and hexes… That's all."

"Why don't you teach us?" Pansy asked, she didn't even try to mask her jealousy. Ron turned to her, and then he smiled.

"Do you have your wand?" Ron asked suddenly, and Pansy nodded slowly. _Is he going to teach me something?_ "Want to learn how to become invisible?"

"Invisible?" Pansy gasped.

"C'mon, follow me" Ron chuckled. The two of them made their way down to the lake, the Sun was beginning to set. Once they finally got there, Ron put his wand on his own forehead and muttered some spell, and then he disappeared.

"Ron?!" Pansy yelled in fright. _He's gone!_

"I'm here" Ron laughed, and then he became visible again. _Merlin! That was amazing!_

"What was that?!" Pansy exclaimed. "I've never seen a spell like that! You have to teach me!"

"I will" Ron laughed. "It's why we're here… Now come over here, I need to show you how's it's done."

* * *

 _ **September 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Dinner)**_

"Ugh… I still can't do it!" Pansy whined loudly.

"Don't worry, it took me a week of practicing to even turn a little invisible… You'll get it" Ron said with a smile. The bags under his eyes were easier to see now due to the Sun's positioning. _It'll be completely dark soon…_

"We should head back" Pansy advised, she could tell that Ron was exhausted. _I shouldn't have made him come out here for me…_

"Alright then, but this isn't over" Ron chuckled softly. "Tomorrow, we'll practice this spell again."

"Ron, you don't have to do that… I was being… selfish…" Pansy muttered, she felt a little guilty about her actions.

"Nonsense! You're finally making progress on this! You can't give up yet" Ron exclaimed, he looked genuinely annoyed at her comment. "Trust me, you'll get this! Don't give up, Pans…" _He thinks I'm giving up? He doesn't get that I'm doing this for his sake…_ Pansy was once again befuddled by Ronald Weasley, why did he always put himself last?! It pissed her off! It pissed them all off!

"Okay…" Pansy sighed, she didn't want to fight with him on this. He was doing this for her sake, and she didn't want to ruin that.

"Good, now let's go to the common room" Ron said. "Dinner will be served in about thirty minutes, we can catch up with the others beforehand."

"No wait…" Pansy said as he was starting to leave, he stopped immediately. _There's just one more thing… I need to ask him what Draco meant by 'Scarred Freak'…_

"Ron…" Pansy started slowly.

"Pansy…" Ron imitated her voice, and she frowned. Ron chuckled at that. "What is it Pans, you can ask me anything."

"Draco called you a… scarred freak… What did he mean by that?" Pansy asked, and Ron's smile disappeared. He looked sad all of a sudden, and his face was turning red.

"Um… I don't… Um…" Ron stuttered, and then he sighed. "It's complicated…"

"Does it have something to do with your glove?" Pansy asked. "We've all noticed it… You only wear one…" Ron blinked at her, and then he nodded slowly. Pansy walked closer to Ron, and he just stared at her. "Show me…" she said softly. Ron blinked a few time, his face was turning scarlet.

"Pansy…" Ron whispered, he looked conflicted. And then he slowly took off his glove and presented his hand, and Pansy didn't make a sound when she saw it. But her insides had twisted, and her heartbeat was increasing by the second. It was badly scarred, especially the middle finger. "My ring…" Ron whispered, and Pansy felt his warm breath on her face. "It melted when I was attacked by you-know-who…"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Pansy whispered back, and then she held his hand with hers. "Why did you hide this?" Ron looked sadder than she'd ever seen him, and it made her heart clench. _He was embarrassed… Why does he never let us help him?_ Ron then took his hand away and covered it, and Pansy sighed.

"We should go back…" Ron said, he sounded subdued. Pansy just nodded, and they both made their way back. When they were halfway there, Pansy grabbed onto Ron's gloved hand. He tensed a bit, but then he relaxed and tightened his own grip.

"I think your hand proves how amazing you are" Pansy said with complete honesty. "You fought the Dark Lord, and you came out alive… The only other wizard who's done that is Harry Potter, and he's the most famous wizard in England… I think you're amazing Ron…" Ron tightened his grip on her hand a bit more, and she saw that he was smiling faintly. She smiled as well.

"You can tell the girls… I don't mind… Theo and Blaise already know…" Ron said, though he sounded unsure.

"If they want to find out, they can ask you themselves… I won't give up any information" Pansy said.

"Thank you, Pansy" Ron said softly. _I should change the topic, he isn't comfortable with this…_

"Why haven't you introduced me to your sisters?" Pansy asked out of nowhere, and Ron looked puzzled. "You'd better do it soon, or I'll have to introduce myself!" Ron laughed at that.

"How about after dinner?" Ron asked.

"Perfect" Pansy replied. "Anything I should know?"

"No…" Ron smirked. "My sisters are completely normal girls…" _He's definitely lying…_ Ron and Pansy walked back to the castle hand-in-hand, and Pansy laughed at Ron dodging her questions. _I definitely made the right choice!_

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **September 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992**_

Neville dropped his head down on his text-book, and then he groaned indignantly. _I hate History of Magic… I hate it!_

"Neville… stop that" Hermione whispered haughtily. "We're in a library, be more respectful." Harry sniggered at Neville being scolded. Neville looked up and stared at Hermione with a blank expression.

"Please help…" Neville pleaded, and Hermione huffed.

"No, Neville… I will not do your homework for you" Hermione whispered. "You should have done it with me on Wednesday."

"But we got it on Wednesday" Neville complained in a soft tone. "Harry, say something…" Harry looked to Hermione, but he didn't utter a word when she narrowed her eyes at him. _And there goes my backup…_

"Neville, mate…" Harry whispered, he had an odd expression on his face. "We can do this by ourselves… tomorrow…" Harry's voice was a bit sly, and Neville caught on. _Ron is studying with us tomorrow! He can give us the answers!_

"Don't think I missed that…" Hermione whispered furiously. "You will not cheat off of Ronald, I won't allow it…" _She's so bossy!_ "At least he had the good sense to do his homework in a timely manner, unlike you two" Hermione whispered, and Neville frowned internally. _Here she goes again, telling us how great Ron is compared to us…_ Neville hated when she got like this, it made Harry and him so uncomfortable. It was so obvious that she had a crush on Ron, but then again, which girl in their year didn't… _Mr. Perfect!_ Neville felt bitterly jealous for a second, but then he controlled himself. _It isn't his fault…_

Neville decided to zone out and forego Hermione's 'lecture' on Ron's great qualities, even Harry just sat there quietly. The last thing either of them wanted was to be compared to Ron… again. Hermione had increasingly become more 'Pro-Ron' over the last couple of months, and now she openly defended him wherever she could. It was irritating to say the least, especially because she embarrassed Harry and Neville while she did it! _If she tells anyone that Ron is better than us again, I will lose it!_ Neville didn't know about Harry, but he was utterly done with this new habit of hers. It was mean, and it was hurtful.

"I'm tired of studying" Harry jumped in, effectively stopping Hermione's rant. _Thank you, Harry… Thank you…_

"Lunch will start soon, let's go put our books away at the tower" Neville suggested, and he could see Hermione frowning from the corner of his vision. _Sorry Hermione, but I'd rather not go through this again…_ Harry nodded and got up, and Neville followed suit. As they were leaving the library, Hermione caught up with them.

"I don't have any homework left" Hermione said with a defiant pout. Harry and Neville smiled to each other, but they didn't say a word. _It's better this way anyway, the three of us being together._ They marched up to the Gryffindor Tower, and Hermione approached the Fat Lady.

"Wattlebird" Hermione said clearly, and the portrait moved aside to reveal the entrance. _Wattlebird! That's it! I completely forgot it again…_ Harry and Neville followed after her, and once they were inside they split up. The boys went to their dorms and dropped off their books, and Neville sighed in relief.

"History of Magic is the worst…" Neville complained to Harry.

"I know, mate…" Harry sighed. "Binns always puts me to sleep. I don't know how Hermione stays awake in that class!" _She's a genius, and we aren't._ "Did you hear what she was saying about Ron this time? Merlin… she's getting worse!"

"I just ignored it" Neville said. "She's always great, until Ron is brought up… When that happens, just think about something else mate." Harry frowned and shook his head, he was clearly annoyed. "We shouldn't keep her waiting, she'll get even more annoyed with us." Harry and Neville then made their way back down, and they spotted Hermione talking to Dean Thomas.

"Hello" Harry greeted Dean. "How's everything going, Dean?"

"Oh… everything's alright" Dean said, a massive smile on his face. Neville liked Dean, the dark-skinned boy was kind and hilarious. "I was just wishing Hermione happy birthday, I know I'm a little late…"

"No, that's fine" Hermione said, she was smiling quite happily. "Thank you Dean, it's very thoughtful of you." Dean smiled and nodded, and Neville looked at Dean staring at Hermione. _Um… what's this?_

"Anyway…" Dean said suddenly, taking the Trio by surprise. "I'd better get going…" But before he could leave, they were interrupted by another person.

"Um… excuse me…" came a meek voice from behind Harry and Neville. They both turned around to see Ginny Weasley, and she was crimson in the face.

"Oh… hello Ginny" Harry greeted with a smile.

"Hi…" she all but whispered. "Can I… have my… your broom… please…?" _Wow, she's shy… She always gets like this around Harry, I know for a fact that he hates it._

"I'll go get it now" Harry said with a smile, and then he was gone. Ginny relaxed considerably.

"How are you, Ginny?" Hermione asked with a wide smile.

"I'm okay…" Ginny replied, she didn't look okay. She was paler than usual, and she looked exhausted. Hermione didn't buy her lie for a second.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "You're looking a bit… peaky."

"I have a cold…" Ginny said quickly, and Neville jumped a little at her suddenness.

"Here you go, Ginny" came Harry's voice, he was holding a Comet 260 in his hands. Ginny took it from him and then she all but ran to her dorm. _That was really weird… even for her!_

"She's a bit… odd…" Dean said. "Just like her brother…" _Oh no…_ Neville could already see a scowl forming on Hermione's face.

"What do you mean by 'odd'?" Hermione asked, an angry edge to her tone. Dean was a bit taken aback. _You've doomed us all…_

"Um… nothing bad" Dean answered sheepishly. "It's just that Ginny is… really shy… And as for Weasley…" Dean trailed off.

"What about Ron?" Neville asked, his own curiosity got the better of him. What was Ron doing that they didn't know about?

"Don't tell him I said this…" Dean started. "But sometimes I see him just staring at me… He looks so angry, and when I look back at him, he looks away like nothing's happening… It's just odd, that's all." _Why would he do that? Is it because Dean is Muggle-Born? No… Ron isn't like that, I think…_

"Maybe it's just in your head" Hermione said coldly. "Let's go guys…" With that, Hermione walked off. Neville saw Dean looking rather dejected, and Neville felt really bad for him. _He just wanted to talk to us…_ Neville frowned at Hermione's back, this needed to stop! They were walking towards the stairway down to the Entrance Hall when they ran into an unexpected guest.

"Ron?" Hermione called, and the red-head turned around quickly. He looked surprised for a second, and then he put on a wide smile. His hair was messy, which was odd because Ron always kept his hair combed. _At least now anyway, probably a Slytherin requirement to look like an arrogant ponce…_

"Hi guys, how are you today?" Ron asked pleasantly. _What is he doing on the seventh floor? No Slytherin would ever come up here!_ Neville looked to Harry for a second, and his best friend was also looking at Ron with a furrowed brow.

"What are you doing up here?" Harry asked, he sounded extremely curious. _Thank you! At least someone else thinks this is weird!_ Ron blinked at Harry, and then his smiled widened a bit.

"Just exploring the castle, it's quite remarkable" Ron replied. _Exploring the castle? Really? Does he think we're buying that?_

"I know right" Hermione exclaimed, and Neville wanted to smack his own forehead. "I'm still amazed by so many things! I saw the Giant Squid again yesterday, it was enormous!" Ron laughed happily at that, and Neville frowned. _He thinks he's so clever, doesn't he?_

"Did you find anything interesting?" Neville asked politely.

"Just a tapestry of some guy teaching trolls how to ballet" Ron replied, smiling at Neville. Neville forced a smile back, Ron was lying again! And his friends were eating it up!

"That 'guy' is Barnabas the Barmy, Ron" Hermione said, and Ron's made a surprised face.

"Really? Tell me about him" Ron said as he guided Hermione to his side. The four of them started walking down to the Great Hall, Hermione was talking to Ron animatedly while Harry and Neville were walking behind them.

"You don't seriously believe him, do you?" Neville whispered to Harry, and Harry sighed quietly. _C'mon Harry, there was no way he was up there for a tapestry!_

"I don't know… maybe…" Harry whispered back, and Neville frowned in frustration. "Why do you think he was up there?" Harry asked, and Neville shot a look at Ron and Hermione. Hermione was laughing and talking loudly, while Ron was smiling and just listening.

"I don't know… but it wasn't for some tapestry" Neville whispered, and Harry sighed.

"Nev, you're doing it again… Ron is our friend" Harry whispered, he sounded annoyed. Neville frowned to himself, why couldn't they see that Ron was blatantly lying? _Just because he's our friend doesn't mean that we should overlook that stuff! Friends don't lie to each other… But Ron lies to us all the time…_

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **September 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

"Headmaster, we truly do need newer brooms" Madam Hooch implored. "The current inventory can barely lift off of the ground, let alone fly as it should." Snape rolled his eyes at her request, wasting the budget on some brooms was foolish… They were currently holding a staff meeting, and Snape stood in his dark corner as always. This is where he preferred to be, out of sight and out of mind.

"I will ask the Board of Governors, Rolanda" Albus said with a kind smile, but Madam Hooch frowned. _That means a no, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone as cheap as that lot…_

"Might I make a suggestion" Lockhart said in his arrogant voice, and Snape rolled his eyes. "I could personally pay for the brooms… you'd just have to ask for permission!" _Blatant brown-nosing…_

"Thank you, Gilderoy" Albus smiled. "Your generosity will not be forgotten, I assure you."

"Please, think nothing of it" Lockhart smiled, showing the whole staff his pearly whites.

"Are there any other matters?" Albus asked.

"Headmaster…" Lockhart spoke again, and Snape clenched his jaw. "I was wondering if I could take some of the students out to the Forbidden Forest. You know, give them real experience. I myself learnt my trade during my travels" Lockhart finished with another wide smile. _And who shall we sacrifice for your ego? Damn buffoon…_

"The Forbidden Forest is off-limits" McGonagall scolded, she too was fed up with Lockhart's antics. "We cannot, in good conscience, send our students into such a dangerous place."

"Minerva is right, Gilderoy" Albus quickly agreed. "Though I have no doubt that they'd be in safe hands with you at their side." Lockhart smiled and nodded. _Is he… is he blushing?! Merlin smite this fool!_ "Is there anything else?"

"One more thing, Headmaster" Lockhart interrupted, and Snape had to use Occlumency to calm down. "I was wondering if I could start a Dueling Club here at Hogwarts, for the students of course." _That's… not a bad idea…_ "I think it would do wonders for the students! I would train them personally, teach them all my trade secrets" Lockhart chuckled to himself.

"That is an excellent idea, Gilderoy" Albus smiled, and Snape was left wondering how his mentor could be so patient with Lockhart. "When do you think you could start, and where would this take place?" Lockhart paled a little at that, but he kept his smile.

"I was thinking about… December" Lockhart said, losing his prior enthusiasm. "I haven't determined a location which would be suitable enough yet…"

"The Great Hall" Snape spoke coldly, and Lockhart turned to Snape quickly.

"My word… I didn't notice you there…" Lockhart chuckled. _You must be a true asset to Dark Force Defense League…_

"The Great Hall would suffice" Snape said to Albus. "It is large enough to hold the student-body, all we would need is a stage…"

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape" Lockhart smiled widely. "I was thinking the same thing…" _Why did you hire this man, Albus? Was it just to taunt me?_

"Then it's settled" Albus interjected. "We will begin a Dueling Club at the start of December. Gilderoy, you will be in charge as you are the Defense Professor. Severus, you will assist him." _That's just cruel, old man…_

"Very well…" Snape drawled.

"Anything else?" Albus asked the staff, and Snape prayed to Merlin that Lockhart was done. _If he opens his mouth again, I'll Avada him right here…_ "Good, then we are done for the night" Albus said merrily when everyone stayed quiet. "Goodnight, Professors. Severus, stay a moment." All the professors left the room, and Snape just watched them leave. Minerva shot back a concerned look, and then she too left.

"Come, Severus" Albus said. "Take a seat, I hope you have information on our investigation." Snape did as he was asked.

"Lupin has made no progress so far" Snape said with a smirk, watching that Werewolf fail gave Snape a grim satisfaction. "He believes that the Dark Lord is no longer in London…"

"That is something, Severus" Albus said with a slow nod. "If Tom is indeed traveling away from London, I believe he intends to leave the country again."

"Albania?" Snape asked. _That is where Quirrell found him, at least that's what we suspect… Quirrell never shut up about Albania._

"Perhaps… I will call Remus off, we cannot afford to send Order members on wild goose-chases" Albus said with a frown. _Shame…_

"Do as you please…" Severus said softly. _You always do…_

"Severus?" Albus spoke in a soft voice. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing, Albus…"

"This is about Gilderoy, isn't it?" Albus asked in a kind voice, and Snape felt his blood boil.

"Why did you hire that fool?" Severus asked calmly, Occlumency had many benefits. "He is clearly not capable in teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. So why hire him? It makes no sense… And now you have me helping him? Like some assistant…" Albus sighed at that, and then he smiled kindly at Severus.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is a fraud" Albus explained, and Severus wasn't even surprised. "I personally know two people who were actually responsible for his 'great feats'… Their memories were destroyed when I found them, but they had told me that they were behind those feats beforehand. This pattern has repeated multiple times with multiple witches and wizards…" That definitely shocked Snape a bit, who knew Lockhart had it in him?

"Then why hire this man?" Snape snarled, forgetting his calm demeanor.

"To reveal his true character" Albus answered calmly. "In a normal classroom, his failures will mount up. His incompetency will be evident to all, and then I will have the evidence I need to have him locked away in Azkaban."

"And what about the students?" Snape asked with a frown. "They won't learn a thing from him…"

"Even a bad teacher can impart knowledge" Albus said sagely. "Knowledge on how not to be…" _Tell that to the fifth years and the seventh years…_ Snape decided to not argue, he had other things to discuss with Albus.

"It matters little now" Snape drawled, calming his mind down. "You have already hired him, and we have bigger problems." Albus looked at Snape with concern.

"What has happened?" Albus asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Lucius Malfoy sent me this today…" Snape sighed, and then he handed Albus a letter. "Cornelius Nott has learned of the Dark Lord's survival, he has also asked Lucius to help him in discovering their old master." Albus read the letter, and his complexion paled a bit.

"This is grave news, Severus… Truly grave news…" Albus said softly.

"I suggest we let them continue their search, I will offer Lucius my assistance" Severus said. "If they find him before we do, Lucius will tell me. Then we can move in and destroy the Dark Lord."

"Destroying Tom is impossible… For us at least…" Albus said in a tired voice. "Your plan however, is reasonable. Do whatever you think is necessary, I trust you completely." Snape gave a curt nod, and then he got up to leave. "Severus" Albus called, and Snape turned to his mentor. "Please be careful…" Snape turned around without a word, and he marched away to his own office. He had work to do…

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **September 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

They did not know pain… None of them knew pain… Not **real** pain, anyway. But Lord Voldemort did… He had been humiliated, he had been left broken and in pieces, and now… Now he was forced to demean himself by possessing rats and other vermin. His enemies, and even his former friends, spent their days living in luxury, while he ate what the vermin of this world ate. He was nothing but a shadow now, a broken and tired shadow. But he would not die… He could not die… He rejected death, and everyone who was too weak to resist it!

The last four months had been even worse than the last ten years, Lord Voldemort had never been so weak. Creating that final Horcrux had taken every ounce of his strength, and that **thing** had all but flayed Lord Voldemort's soul in the process. Lord Voldemort was barely conscious during the last four months, though his pain hadn't ceased. The only way to avoid that pain was to possess other living things, but his vessels expired quickly due to the pain he shifted onto them. Every day he would possess another animal, and he would rest while his pain stopped. He was far too weak to possess another human being, and so he bided his time. He was slowly becoming stronger… But he would still be just a shadow of his former self. What he needed was a new body! Only then would he finally live again!

Ronald Weasley was meant to be that body, but Lord Voldemort knew now that it was never meant to be. Ronald was already possessed by some other **being** , and this **being** did not want to share… A pity, but it would not stop Lord Voldemort. There were other means of securing his own future, ones that didn't rely on something as pitiful as possession. No, there were darker ways… Older ways… In his travels during his youth, Lord Voldemort had uncovered secrets long forgotten. They would be his salvation, all he needed was time. And servants…

Lord Voldemort screamed in utter agony as he woke up from his slumber, his pathetic host had died. _Pitiful creature! Damn you!_ Lord Voldemort glared at the dead dog, and then he shot up into the sky. The pain was unbearable, and he knew that he had to find another host quickly! Lord Voldemort spotted a cat on a lonely street, and he immediately attempted possession. It wasn't difficult, given the vermin's primitive mind, and once he had succeeded he felt the pain subside. He could hear the cat mewling and crying in pain, but he couldn't care less. Lord Voldemort had his own problems…

Traveling back to the Forests of Albania was taking far too long! He had to constantly stop and possess creatures to spare himself the agony, and then he would direct the creatures to limp towards his destination. Once they expired, Lord Voldemort would fly a short distance and then possess another. _How long must I keep suffering?!_

The only solace in Lord Voldemort's current life was that his Horcruxes were safe, and their existence was still a secret. They would keep him anchored to this world, and so his return to power was guaranteed. He already had everything planned out after he came back into power! He would restart the Death-Eaters. He would 'forgive' the traitors. He would free his true servants. He would take Ronald Weasley under his own wing, and then with Ronald's Seer powers, he would destroy Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore! And once he was Master of all of Wizarding England, he would turn his attention to the **monster** currently possessing his Horcrux!

 _Ronald Weasley is mine! And I will not share him with some_ _ **demon**_ _! I will have my vengeance, I vow it!_

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

Ginny was doing her work alone in the library again, lately she preferred being alone. It was just easier that way, no one bombarded her with questions or fake concerns. She didn't need anyone, she had Tom. Tom was her closest friend, she'd only had him for one month but she felt so attached to him. He was kind, charming, and he made her feel like the most special girl in the world. She told him everything, and he listened to her. He gave her advice, he comforted her when she was feeling lonely, and he never bullied her.

Ginny was tired of being bullied by others! Her brothers were the worst of the lot, not counting Ron and Percy. Percy was more of an overbearing mother hen, and Ron… Ron was just controlling and overprotective. She couldn't believe that she had never seen it before, but Tom had shown her. She had told Tom everything about Ron, every single detail! And Tom had convinced her that Ron was controlling and manipulative! She didn't believe it at first, but all the things Tom had pointed out were true. Ron constantly questioned her when they were together, he lied to her when she asked him about Slytherin, he always glared at any boy who so much as looked at her, and he even had people watching her! Ron had Hermione Granger spying on her! How could he do that?!

Ginny had been in the library while her brother and Hermione were studying together… They didn't notice her behind the bookshelf, and she had heard everything. Hermione was reporting on Ginny's life to Ron, and Ron had told her to keep a closer eye on Ginny… Ginny had cried all night, and Tom had been her only source of comfort. Tom had been right all along, Ron was in Slytherin for a reason… Ginny felt so stupid about the fact that, for a moment, she too wanted to be in Slytherin just because Ron was. She was grateful now that she wasn't, because if she was, Ron would constantly be watching over her. Controlling her… She didn't need protection! She had Tom!

Ginny packed up her books when she saw Colin Creevey enter the library, he wearing a stupid grin on his face and his camera was dangling around his neck. Colin was under the impression that Ginny and he were friends, but Ginny only had one friend… She only needed one friend! Ginny walked right past Colin, and she ignored his greeting. She walked up to Gryffindor tower alone, and then she quickly went into her dorm. She put all of her books away, and then she approached her trunk. After looking around to make sure she was alone, she pulled Tom out of her trunk. She smiled widely as she sat down on her desk with him, she'd been waiting to talk to him all day!

"Good evening, Tom" Ginny wrote, and she watched the ink be absorbed by the page.

"Good evening, Ginny" Tom wrote back. "How was your day? I hope you got all of your homework done!"

"I did" Ginny wrote, a happy smile on her face. "I'm sorry I took so long, you must have been dreadfully bored…"

"I was, but I don't mind" Tom replied. "I'm just glad that you're doing so well in your classes! I'm very proud of you." Ginny blushed deeply, he always praised her.

"Thank you, Tom! It's mostly because of you, you're a genius!"

"Nonsense Ginny, your accomplishments are your own" Tom replied, he was so humble! "Tell me, how have things been with your brothers?" Ginny frowned a bit at that, she didn't want to talk about them…

"Percy forced me to drink a Pepper-up Potion yesterday, it was gross!" Ginny wrote quickly. "He was convinced that I'm sick… Can't he understand that I'm just very pale? The twins are still pranking all the boys around me… And now, none of them talk to me… Except for Colin! Ugh… As for Ron…" Ginny stopped writing, she hated talking about Ron. It always made her cry when she thought about how her favorite brother was spying on her!

"What about Ron? Is he spying on you again?" Tom asked.

"He never stopped!" Ginny wrote, and then she rubbed her eyes. "I don't understand, Tom… Why is he doing that? He can just ask me!"

"From what you've told me…" Tom wrote, but then the writing stopped.

"What is it?" Ginny wrote.

"I don't want to speak ill of your brother, Ginny. I know how much you love him…" Tom wrote, and that made her release a small sob.

"Tell me Tom, I don't know what else to do about this… I'm planning to confront him tomorrow…"

"No, don't do that" Tom wrote back immediately, and it took her by surprise.

"Why?" Ginny inquired.

"If he knows you're onto him and Hermione, he'll just ask someone else! You will lose the advantage of knowing who's spying on you… I suggest that you keep your distance from Ron, and your brothers. They will see the error of their ways on their own, I know it!" Ginny slowly nodded to that, it made sense.

"What do I do about Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Keep your distance from that girl, and act happy whenever she's around." Tom advised. "Make sure you never approach her, or give her a reason to become suspicious. If she thinks you're acting odd, she will spy on you more often."

"I hate her! I've seen her in the common room, she is always bossing people around! She even bosses Harry around! Who does she think she is?!" Ginny wrote, she was now fuming. Writing about Harry caused another problem to spring up in her mind. "Harry still has my broom, I can't avoid Hermione when I want to practice… She never leaves his side!" Ginny felt a strong pang of jealousy at that, she really hated that bushy haired witch!

"He does, doesn't he? Why did your brother give Harry Potter your broom? I hope Harry isn't spying on you either…" Tom wrote back. Ginny felt panic and fear grip her, it couldn't be! Anything but that!

"No…" Ginny wrote. "Harry isn't like that! He is a hero! He saved the world from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" Tom was silent for a few moments, and Ginny awaited his response with baited breath.

"Both your brother and Harry Potter survived the Dark Lord, didn't they? They must be powerful wizards…" Tom wrote back, and Ginny felt a bit let down.

"My brother is considered a prodigy, and Harry is famous the world over…" Ginny wrote, she felt saddened by this. "Harry will never even notice me… But he loves being Ron's friend…"

"Oh, Ginny… Forget them then. If they can't see how amazing you are, they don't deserve you. It's their loss, not yours!" Tom replied, and Ginny smiled involuntarily.

"Why can't my brothers be more like you, Tom? You're the best!" Ginny wrote happily.

"There's no need for that, Ginny. We're friends, I'll always have your best interests at heart. Now… Tell me more about your day, I want to know everything!"

Ginny wrote down everything she could think of, and Tom was kind and charming as always. Ginny ignored the headache she was getting, they were becoming far more frequent…

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Past Midnight)**_

Ron landed on his arse with a thud, his chest was heaving and he was sweating buckets! _Bloody hell… That was exhausting!_ He had finally managed to perfect the 'Brachium Colubrum' Curse, it had taken him two whole weeks! And this was supposed to be one of the 'easier Curses'… Ron was currently inside his Sanctuary, and it was the middle of the night. This had become a new habit of his… Every night, when he was sure that Theo and Blaise were asleep, Ron would sneak out to his Sanctuary. He'd spend hours practicing Curses from the Tome of Curses, and then he would sneak back to his dorm before sunrise. This left him with little time to sleep, and his exhaustion was evident to all…

Ron walked over to the Tome of Curses and he picked it up, and then he went and sat down on a couch. _This tome is amazing… It has so many Curses that I've never even heard of!_ Ron opened the book and perused to the last page that he had read.

"Brachium Colubrum" Ron read aloud. "Summon an ethereal serpent from your wandless arm in-order to bind your victim…" Ron frowned at the word 'Victim'. Ron didn't want to have victims, this was for self-defense! That's why Ron was only learning the simpler Curses for now, the harder ones were all made to maim or kill… Ron sighed and flicked back to the 'Dueling Tips' page.

"Don't use shields as they drain your Magical Core rather quickly, instead dodge incoming attacks. Only use shields as a last resort!" Ron read aloud. _Malfoy kept blocking Bellatrix's spells, that's why he got bogged down… That's why he died… I won't make that mistake!_ "Using a Curse at the right time can not only negate an attack, but it can also empower your own Curse. Make sure that you fire your own Curse at the incoming attack, your Curse will siphon the Magical Energy from your enemy's attack." Ron smiled at that, this was way better than Lockhart's ridiculous class. _This tome is a better teacher than Lockhart!_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck.

Ron closed the tome and yawned, he was barely managing to stay awake. _I'll come back and continue this tomorrow… I need at least a few hours of sleep!_ Ron hid the book under the couch, and then he left the Sanctuary. Ron had realized that this room was always the same whenever he came back, everything he left behind stayed behind. It was the perfect place to hide a dark tome! No one knew of this room but him!

Ron walked to the Dungeons with a quickened pace, he was under the Disillusionment Charm but he didn't want to risk anything. But more importantly, he had come to fear the dark hallways of Hogwarts… Ron had heard that venomous voice three more times since his night in the Hospital Wing! That made it four fucking times too many! It was always saying the same things, the same horrible things. Ron shuddered and walked faster. _Need to get back before I hear it again!_

For some reason, only he heard this voice! The second time he'd heard it, he was coming back to the common room late at night. The third time he heard it, he was taking a damn shower! And the fourth time he heard it, he was with his friends and they were walking back down to the dungeons. But none of them heard it… That had terrified Ron! In Ron's experience, hearing voices was never a good sign! Especially because those voices could do you in, case-in-point, the Entity! Ron just prayed to Merlin that this voice wasn't looking to actually kill someone! Ron hoped that it was just Peeves being an arsehole as usual…

* * *

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Wake up!" came Theo's voice, and Ron groaned.

"Piss off Theo, I'm trying to sleep…" Ron grumbled, and then someone shook his entire body. _For Merlin's sake…_ Ron opened his eyes and sat up. "What?" Ron asked groggily.

"Important news" Blaise said in serious voice. "Theo got mail at breakfast…"

"Breakfast? You didn't wake me up?!" Ron asked, his stomach grumbled on cue.

"We did…" Theo said with a frown. "You took a swing at Blaise, muttered some nonsense about spiders, and then you passed out again…" _Huh?_

"It doesn't matter" Blaise interjected. "Theo got mail from the investigator looking into the Gaunt Family." Ron's eyes widened at that, and then he finally noticed that Theo was holding a report of sorts in his hands.

"This, my friend" Theo smirked as he held up the report. "Has all the answers we need… Care to join in?" _You're damn right I do! I've waited an entire month for this!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And I hope that you didn't mind me spending the entire chapter away from Ron... He may be the Protagonist, but the other characters are just as important. Next Chapter will give you all a backstory on the Gaunt Family, and a certain orphaned Gaunt...**

 **I will do my best to be fast, but I have volunteering over the next three days. So please be patient, I don't plan to rush out a mediocre chapter.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	29. Chapter 29 - Frustrations

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 29 is finally finished! Now a couple of things...**

 **1\. I'm liking the date system, what do you guys think? Should I include dates, i feel it makes the story more easy to follow... I don't know, let me know!**

 **2\. Much angst in this chapter... More than I originally intended... Whoops...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 29 – Frustrations**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Morning)**_

"Before I start reading this" Theo said, he was looking directly at Ron. "I want you to promise me that you will stay calm…" _Stay calm?_

"What? Of course I'll stay calm" Ron said with a frown.

"Ron, she was extremely thorough" Theo said. "We may learn something about the Weasleys that you may not want to know…" Ron let out a tired sigh, Theo was right. He had a tendency to lose his temper whenever his family was concerned.

"I promise, I will stay calm" Ron agreed. "How do we know she isn't making things up?"

"She wouldn't" Theo replied with a smirk. "I paid her too well, and she cares about her credibility. If she lies and gets caught, she loses that credibility. So I assure you, whatever we find out today, it's all true."

"We should get the girls…" Blaise said softly. "Ron, we need to bring them into this. If we are going to learn the reason why you're a Parselmouth, they deserve to know as well." Ron frowned deeply at that. _This again?_

"We agreed that we would wait until we knew what was going on…" Ron said, keeping his temper in check.

"No, you simply declared that we would wait" Blaise shot back. "Theo and I wanted to bring the girls in from the start, and we still do."

"Blaise, we will have to convince them first…" Ron argued. "Which will take up time, or we can just start now and tell them after."

"It won't take more than twenty minutes" Theo interjected. "And then we can all learn about this together, we won't have to explain it twice. Also, the girls will be angry that we kept something so big from them! We can avoid that problem as well, keeping this a secret isn't a smart move…"

"We have a double free period this morning, it's Thursday" Blaise explained. "We take twenty minutes to catch them up, and then we all read that report together. We will even have time to show them your ability…" _Why are they so eager to involve the girls?_

"Why are you so keen to tell the girls **my** secret?" Ron asked, his question was being fueled by his paranoia. _What are they up to?!_

"It isn't just your secret" Blaise frowned. "When the girls find out, they'll know that Theo and I lied as well… You're jeopardizing this group with your secrecy, that doesn't help any of us."

"We can't afford to be divided" Theo joined in. "Pansy told us that Malfoy was spying on us… If he senses any weakness, he'll come for us again!"

"Snape won't let that happen…" Ron argued, but he was losing his resolve. _They've made a lot of good points, and I'm just being paranoid… Theo and Blaise are my friends, they won't just betray me…_

"Snape isn't omnipotent…" Blaise sighed. "He won't always be watching, and Malfoy will not stop until he gets what he wants. He always gets what he wants…"

"We're wasting time with this argument, Ron" Theo sighed. "Please, just listen for once…"

"Alright… Get the girls…" Ron surrendered. Blaise moved immediately and was out the door before Ron even blinked.

"This is the right move, mate" Theo smiled softly. _I hope so… Either way, we'll find out soon enough…_

* * *

"Parselmouth? Ron?" Tracey asked, her voice was flat. They were all in the boys' dorm, something that the girls had blushed deeply about. "Did you really think we would believe that? This is the worst practical joke I've ever seen…"

"I agree…" Daphne frowned at Blaise. Ron too frowned at Blaise. _This is going splendidly…_

"It's the truth" Theo sighed, he was clearly annoyed. "Why would we lie about this?"

"To make fun of us?" Pansy retorted with a quirked eyebrow. _For Merlin's sake! I just want to read that report already!_

"Summon a snake, Blaise" Ron ordered with a scowl. "I'll give them the proof they need."

"What?!" Millie exclaimed, she went as pale as a ghost. Blaise already had his wand out, and he was aiming at the center of the room.

"Serpensortia" Blaise chanted, and a black serpent flew out of his wand. The girls screamed and ran in different directions. Daphne and Pansy ran up to Ron, and they pulled him in front of themselves. Tracey hid behind Theo, and Mille jumped onto Blaise's bed.

"What the fuck?!" Tracey yelled at Blaise, and he let out a chuckle. _Haha! That was great!_ Ron himself was laughing at the girls, but Daphne's fingernails were starting to dig into his left arm.

"DO SOMETHING!" Pansy shrieked. The black serpent looked around menacingly, and it stopped when it spotted Ron.

"We meet again, Red-One…" the serpent hissed, it sounded quite happy. _Sarravirr?_

"Sarravirr… Did I get that right?" Ron asked with a haunting hiss. He missed the girls going wide-eyed, and he missed the fact that both Pansy and Daphne stepped away from him in utter horror.

"Indeed, Ronald Weasley. I am glad that you remember me. I have been searching for you…" Sarravirr hissed. _Why?_

"And why would you do that?" Ron asked, and the serpent slid towards Ron slowly.

"You have earned my interest, it is not often that one meets a being such as yourself. A human who can speak our Noble Tongue… None of my brothers and sisters believed me" Sarravirr hissed excitedly.

"You have siblings?" Ron asked, genuinely curious about this dark serpent.

"Had… They chose to banish me for speaking the truth. So I killed them all" the serpent hissed, and Ron paled. _Is he serious?_

"Vipera Evanesca" Blaise chanted, and the serpent vanished in a puff of black smoke. This time around, Ron was glad that Blaise had banished that snake. _Bloody hell… Are all snakes that evil?! He killed his own siblings…_

"This is…" Millie whimpered. "You're…" she trailed off. She looked terrified…

"Everyone calm down" Theo said slowly and softly. Ron turned to Pansy and Daphne, and the looks on their faces hurt Ron. They were looking at him like he was some monster…

"I'm still Ron…" was all Ron could say, but the girls were still scared of him. Ron spent the next thirty minutes sitting on his bed quietly while Blaise and Theo told the girls everything. Ron even ignored the scared looks being shot his way, despite how much they still hurt. _I was right all along… I should never have told them… Theo and Blaise didn't act that! They accepted it, and they chose to help me…_

"And that report will tell us if he's related to the Gaunt Family?" Daphne asked, she still couldn't believe this. It seemed so surreal, and just completely out of place. Ron was an actual Parselmouth? Daphne had only ever heard stories about this kind of magical ability… And those were not good stories…

"Yes…" Theo said, he sounded tired. "Any more questions?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Daphne asked Ron, and Ron just looked to her with a blank expression.

"I only just found out at end of August… Even I don't understand why I have this power" Ron said calmly, but deep down he was quite upset. _Do they really think that I'd hurt them? After all I've done for them! So damn ungrateful…_

"You told Theo and Blaise…" Daphne scowled, Ron had broken his promise to her. He had promised her that he would not lie to her, and he had done it again! She had actually believed him at the Weasley pond…

"They found out, I didn't tell them a thing" Ron answered coldly. "And unlike you four, they chose to help me… Not look at me like I'm some monster…" The girls flinched a bit at that. Daphne went to speak but Ron cut her off. "I don't care about what you have to say… Theo, read the report please… I'm done waiting for answers."

"Sure…" Theo said, while the girls were stunned silent by Ron's coldness. Even Theo was surprised, but he did agree a bit with Ron. The girls were acting like this was a bad thing… If anything, this was amazing! They had a damn Parselmouth in their group, who else could claim such a thing?!

"Here are the results of your inquiry, Theo" Theo read from the report. "My month long investigation yielded no proof about the Weasley Family being related to the Gaunt Family. I searched multiple legal archives, and a few illegal ones, and I can safely say that there is no connection whatsoever. Not even an affair… The members of the Gaunt Family were obsessed with retaining their 'Purity'. They married their own cousins to achieve that goal."

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, now he was truly confused. _Then why am I a Parselmouth?!_

"Okay… so Ron isn't part Gaunt" Blaise said, he looked intrigued. "That leaves us with more questions than answers."

"The Gaunt Family was indeed related to Salazar Slytherin" Theo continued reading. "They also attained his hereditary ability to speak with snakes! Multiple witches and wizards left testimonies of the Gaunts speaking with snakes, they did that often in-order to show off their lineage. Their obsession with said lineage resulted in inbreeding within the family, and eventually the Gaunts fell victim to madness and violent tendencies. The family lost their great wealth over the years, and by the nineteenth century, they were living in a run-down shack near Little Hangleton."

"My mother told me about the Gaunts" Pansy piped in. "They threw away their fortune on frivolous pursuits… And due to their violent behavior around others, no one did business with them. Now we know why they were so crazy… inbreeding! Yuck!"

"Most Pure-Bloods are related, you know…" Tracey said with a disgusted look. "No offense…" The group frowned at her.

"Being related distantly doesn't mean the same thing as marrying your siblings or cousins…" Daphne said with a frown.

"Still…" Tracey mumbled.

"Keep reading Theo" Ron instructed, he needed some sort of clue at least. _None of this makes an ounce of sense…_

"I travelled to Little Hangleton" Theo read. "And I found the shack that the Gaunt Family was reduced to, though I could not enter it… It was warded with powerful magic. I tried quite a few things, but it was beyond my skill. So I instead decided to focus on gathering information about the family from the local Muggles. The Gaunts were hated by the entire town… Not a single good word was uttered by the locals, and that makes sense considering their behavior towards others. I did catch onto something amazing though…"

"The last of the Gaunts were Marvolo Gaunt, Morfin Gaunt, and Merope Gaunt" Theo continued. "Marvolo was the father, and the other two were his children. Marvolo was a sick bastard, he regularly beat his kids… Especially Merope, his daughter. The few wizards who knew the family believed her to be a squib, and she was punished daily for it by both her father and brother. As for Morfin Gaunt, the son, he was utterly insane. He landed himself a three year sentence for attacking local Muggles with magic, and Marvolo landed himself a six month sentence for aiding his deranged son during Morfin's arrest."

"This left Merope Gaunt all alone" Theo read, and they all listened with absolute attention. "Now here's the interesting part, Theo. Merope, it turns out, was in love with a rich Muggle from Little Hangleton. Tom Riddle was the son of Thomas and Mary Riddle, and their family was also quite hated. Due to being extremely wealthy, they were snobbish and dismissive of the townspeople. While her father and brother were away, she somehow wooed Tom Riddle. I suspect the Imperius Curse or a Love Potion myself, Merope was described as being rather unsightly to look at… They got married and ran off to London together. It was quite the scandal in the town, and it's remembered to this day!"

"Wow…" Tracey muttered. "Guess she at least got a happy ending…"

"She forced someone to marry her" Blaise frowned. "That's sickening… She was no better than her father or brother…"

"How can you say that?" Pansy gasped. "They beat her, and only Merlin knows what else they did to her!"

"So that gave her the right to put someone under an Unforgivable?" Ron interjected. _That entire family was filled with degenerates. Pure-Blood Supremacy destroyed their minds…_

"I'm with Blaise and Ron on this" Millie joined in. "She did exactly what her father and brother did to her, she took away someone else's life to make herself feel important…"

"Can I keep reading? Or are we going to start a debate?" Theo asked sarcastically, and then he started reading again. "Marvolo Gaunt was released from Azkaban after his six month sentence was served, and he came back to an empty house. He died before he saw either his daughter or son again. As for Morfin, he was released after serving his three year sentence. He then became Head of the Gaunt Family. Meanwhile, Merope became pregnant with Tom Riddle's son. Now the next few things are complete speculation on my part, mostly because I couldn't find any records on this."

"At some point" Theo continued. "Merope grew a conscience and stopped using her means of control on Tom Riddle… This resulted in Tom leaving her and returning to Little Hangleton, that much was confirmed by the town folk. I traced Merope down due to her death records… She died during childbirth, which she did in an orphanage of all places. The orphanage was named Wool's Orphanage, and I met an elderly Muggle woman who was there when Merope died. According to the Muggle, Merope simply gave up on life. She refused treatment, and she begged that her son be named Tom Marvolo Riddle Jnr. Her final wish was that her son looked like his father…" Theo paused at that.

"Merlin… that's so sad" Pansy said softly.

"Poor woman" Daphne agreed. "She lived a horrible life… All that abuse and she still died alone, with no one to mourn her…" _That is tragic, what a terrible end. But that doesn't excuse her actions… That Muggle she enthralled was the real victim. Him, and their son…_

"What happened to her son?" Blaise asked. Theo looked back at the report and started reading.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle Jnr was raised in the orphanage" Theo read. "And when he was eleven, he was visited by…" Theo trailed off and his eyes-widened.

"What?" Ron asked as he leaned forward.

"He was visited by Albus Dumbledore himself!" Theo read, and they were all stunned. "Tom Riddle Jnr was a wizard, but the Muggles didn't know that. Albus Dumbledore told him about Hogwarts, and Tom studied at Hogwarts in-between 1938 and 1945. He was sorted into Slytherin House, which is not surprising considering his Bloodline. He was even considered to be one the greatest students to ever walk the Halls of Hogwarts…But that isn't the interesting part" Theo read on. "During 1943, the Chamber of Secrets was opened…"

"The Chamber of Secrets?!" Daphne gasped, and Ron blinked at Theo. _I thought that was just a myth…_

"The Chamber of Secrets was left behind by Salazar himself, and according to legend, only his heir had the power to open it" Blaise recounted, he'd heard this story a dozen times. It was often treated as a bed-time story for Pure-Blood children, so every Slytherin knew about it. "According to the same legends, the Chamber holds a monster that is capable of ridding Hogwarts of all Muggle-Borns…" _Wow…_

"And we wonder why everyone hates us…" Ron muttered to himself, and everyone frowned at him.

"We shouldn't be held accountable for what someone else did a thousand years ago" Theo argued, he sounded quite vexed.

"I never said we should be" Ron replied, putting his hands up in surrender. "I meant that Salazar was damn loon…"

"Ron's right" Tracey said softly. "Who leaves behind such a horrible legacy?"

"Whatever" Theo muttered, and then he continued reading. "Around June, many students were harmed. The school was actually planning to shut down until the threat was dealt with, but they waited too long. A girl named Myrtle Warren, a Muggle-Born, was found dead in the girls' bathroom. Her autopsy showed no signs of an attack, it was like she just dropped dead… I suspect the Killing Curse to have played a role in her death. Either way, the school was officially on borrowed time. Many students were pulled out by their parents, and even more just ran off. The school was doomed to shut down."

"But the school was saved by none other than Tom Marvolo Riddle Jnr" Theo continued. "He apprehended the culprit behind the attacks, and he killed the monster of the Chamber. The culprit was a student named Rubeus Hagrid, and the beast was an Acromantula!"

"Wait… Hagrid?! The Groundskeeper?!" Ron asked in utter shock. _That can't be… I've met him! He didn't seem the type to kill people! Not to mention he is friends with Hermione… A Muggle-Born! This report has to be wrong on that…_

"Why is he still working here?" Pansy asked, she had gone pale.

"Theo, keep reading" Blaise said quickly, even he looked a bit shocked.

"Rubeus Hagrid was expelled, and Tom Riddle Jnr was awarded an engraved trophy for Special Services to the School" Theo read, his eyes narrowed on the page. "I personally believe that Riddle was behind the attacks, mostly because he was indeed an heir of Slytherin. I believe that he could speak Parseltongue due to his mother's blood, and I believe he set up Rubeus Hagrid as a scapegoat. Why he did this is beyond me, I tried my best to find an answer but nothing led me to one. It may simply be that Riddle did all of this in-order to be hailed as a hero, who knows…"

"Woah…" Millie muttered. "Do you think Riddle did it?"

"I do" Ron frowned deeply, that bastard had set up poor Hagrid. "He had the lineage to Slytherin, and what are the odds that he just found out it was Hagrid? Not to mention that award… He definitely did it in-order to play the hero" Ron spat with disgust. _These damn Gaunts… Poor Hagrid had his life ruined…_ Ron felt a great amount of pity for the giant man, this was so unfair!

"I'm with Ron" Blaise agreed. "It all worked out too well for Riddle…"

"What happened after, Theo?" Daphne asked.

"During the summer of 1943, after the Chamber related attacks stopped" Theo read on. "Something bizarre happened in Little Hangleton. Morfin Gaunt, Riddle Jnr's uncle, attacked and killed the Riddle family with the Killing Curse. He also confessed to these murders to Ministry Officials, and his memories proved his guilt. Morfin was locked away in Azkaban again, and this time it was for life. Morfin died in prison before the Great War started, and they buried him next to the prison. That leaves Tom Marvolo Riddle Jnr as the last heir of Salazar Slytherin, as far as I can tell anyway."

"Riddle Jnr went on to work at Borgin and Burkes within Knockturn Alley, which shocked many due to his talents" Theo read on. "He worked there for a number of years until he disappeared without a trace! But before he disappeared, a long-time customer of Borgin and Burkes, Hepzibah Smith, was found murdered. She was poisoned by her House-Elf, and the House-Elf confessed to the murder and even had memories of the event… I found that rather similar to the Riddle murders, but I have no proof of foul play. Either way, Tom disappeared completely after the murder, and even I couldn't find a trace of him after his disappearance. I hope that this was satisfactory Theo, send my love to your Lord Father. And yes, this will be our little secret." Theo put the finished report down, and then he exhaled a tired breath.

None of them said a word, they were all processing the information. Ron was just stunned by this Tom Riddle Jnr character… People around him, or people who could be associated with him, seemed to just die and no one ever caught on! Was he truly behind these murders? Yes, Ron believed he was. Tom had opened the Chamber so he could play the hero, he was directly related to Morfin and the Riddles, and he probably knew this Smith woman too. They all died suddenly, and there was always a clear culprit… It was all too convenient, and it all worked out for Tom Riddle Jnr. He was never once suspected…

"I need some air" Ron said as he got up. _The Trophy Room should have that engraved award… I should go have a look…_

"Wait, don't you want to discuss this?" Theo asked with a furrowed brow.

"What's to discuss?" Ron asked back. "I'm not related to the Gaunts, so that theory of ours is done for. Tom Riddle Jnr was clearly the heir of Slytherin, and only Merlin knows where he disappeared off to… None of our questions were answered by that report, all we found out was that some psycho studied at Hogwarts and got away with murders."

"But still, aren't you curious about this Tom fellow?" Tracey asked.

"The truth is that we don't know anything for certain, Tracey" Blaise joined in. "Most of Tom's story is in there, and he's probably dead by now. So what's the point?"

"Merlin…" Pansy shuddered. "It's scary that someone like him walked the same hallways as us. Ate in the same Great Hall, and even lived in the same common room…" The whole group shuddered at that. _He was an evil bastard… If we're right about him, that is._

* * *

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Lunch)**_

Ron stared at the trophy, and he felt his stomach turn. _Tom Marvolo Riddle Jnr… For Special Services to the School…_ Ron was in the Trophy Room alone, his friends had decided not to follow him. He didn't really care about that though, they were all dealing with this in their own ways. Theo was probably re-reading the report alongside Blaise. The girls… Only Merlin knew what the girls were doing. The only thing Ron knew was that they weren't with him… _They were scared of me. Probably still are…_ Ron glared at the Trophy with utter disdain, Tom Riddle was a monster! He didn't deserve to be in this Trophy Room!

"Hello, Ron" came an airy voice from right behind him. Ron actually yelped in fright, and then he turned around with a massive frown. That frown died immediately when he saw Luna smiling at him. _Is it lunch break already?! How long have I been staring at this trophy?_

"Luna…" Ron sighed. "You scared me…"

"I'm sorry" Luna said, she didn't sound very sorry. "Why are you here? And where are your friends?" _Time to start lying again…_

"I was just exploring the castle" Ron started, but Luna sniggered and he stopped. "What?"

"You always say that" Luna sniggered. "You should come up with a smarter lie."

"Um… Luna…" Ron stuttered, she was too observant!

"Don't worry, I don't mind" Luna said, and then she grabbed onto his left hand and smiled widely. "Can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you." _Talk? Is something wrong? ARE THEY BULLYING HER?!_

"Of course, Luna" Ron replied calmly and he forced on a smile. The two of them left the Trophy Room and travelled down the moving stairs. "Is everything alright? No one is picking on you, are they?" Ron asked, he tried sounding as casual as he could.

"Not really" Luna hummed. "Padma defends me whenever someone calls me Loony Lovegood…"

"Loony?!" Ron snarled. "Who does that? Tell me right now."

"Just some older girls, and one boy in my year…" Luna smiled. _How is she this calm?!_ "But everyone else is really friendly. They even listen to my stories about Nargles, and they don't make fun of me." _Older girls, and one boy in her year… I'll remember that! I need to talk to Padma about this._ "But that isn't important" Luna continued. "I'm worried about Ginny, Ron." _Ginny?_

"Ginny? What makes you say that?" Ron asked.

"She's been distant with me, Ron" Luna said, her voice was laced with sadness. "I don't think she wants to be my friend anymore…"

"What? Luna, Ginny loves you…" Ron said softly.

"She's been acting different ever since we came to Hogwarts" Luna said softly. "It's like she's become… someone else…" _Someone else? I haven't noticed anything different…_

"What do you mean by that? on then turned around and left. HI haven't noticed anything…" Ron asked, stopping them both. Luna smiled faintly at him.

"You have your own problems to deal with, Ron" Luna said softly. "You aren't always around… I've been trying to talk to her for the last week, but she ignores me. And yesterday… she yelled at me" Luna finished meekly, her eyes were wet but she was still smiling softly. Ron felt a strong pang of guilt at that, it was true that he wasn't paying his sisters much attention lately. His 'extra-curricular' activities within his Sanctuary took up most of his energy.

"She yelled at you? What did she say?" Ron asked, he was really getting worried now. _Ginny would never yell at Luna…_

"She told me she doesn't need my 'fake concern'…" Luna said and her voice cracked a bit. She then sniffled, but she was still smiling. "Ron… I don't know what I did wrong…" Ron pulled her in and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, Luna" Ron said softly. "I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong… I'll fix this, I promise." Luna sniffled again, and then she began crying on his shoulder. Ron spent the entire lunch break with her, and they didn't even bother going to the Great Hall. Ron instead took them back to the Trophy Room, and he comforted Luna the entire time. After his classes finished today, he knew that he had to confront Ginny. He couldn't believe that he had missed this!

* * *

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Afternoon Classes)**_

"Ron, where are you going?" Theo asked. They had just come back to the common room from their afternoon classes, and Ron was about to go find Ginny. She had to answer for her terrible behavior towards Luna.

"I'm heading out to find my sister" Ron replied honestly. "I was told that she's been acting odd… I just want to make sure she's alright."

"Fair enough, need help?" Blaise asked, he sounded utterly indifferent. _Yeah, I don't think he really cares…_

"No, it's fine" Ron replied, and Blaise gave him a curt nod. "I'll see you guys at dinner." Ron then turned around and left, he didn't miss the scowl on Daphne's face. _A problem for another day… I need to find Ginny right now. I'll deal with Daphne after…_

Ron looked around the Great Hall, the courtyard, the library, and Ginny was nowhere to be found. Luckily for Ron, he spotted a certain bushy haired witch sitting alone in the library. Ron approached her with a smile, he knew that Hermione could shed some light on this.

"Good afternoon" Ron whispered, and Hermione looked up. She broke into a smile of her own when she saw him.

"Hello, Ron" Hermione greeted in a whisper.

"How are you, Hermione? What are you studying?" Ron asked politely. _Need to get her to drop her guard… She has to know something! And if she doesn't, she can go get Ginny for me from their common room! I know for a fact that Hermione hates this 'spying' business… Even though it's not spying… I'm just concerned!_

"I'm doing great" Hermione whispered, her cheeks becoming a bit rosy. "And I'm studying for Professor Snape's test next week."

"The Sleeping Draught… A hard potion to make" Ron whispered, he was planning to get a perfect score himself. "Won't be much trouble for you though, you're amazing at Potions." Hermione blushed at that.

"Thanks Ron… You're really good too" Hermione said meekly, her cheeks becoming crimson. _This is going well!_ "But I'm a bit worried that Professor Snape will judge my potion harshly…"

"Yeah, he can be really unfair to you guys" Ron agreed. _Just like every other teacher is to us… But still, Snape is way too harsh._ "But I know you'll be fine, it's Harry and Neville that I worry about" Ron joked.

"I asked them to come, you know" Hermione pouted. "But they pretended to be tired and ran off to their dorm… They always do that."

"It's their loss" Ron said with his best smile. "If I was in Gryffindor, I'd study with you every single day." Hermione beamed at that.

"Really?" she asked, she was let-down that he wasn't.

"Of course, and speaking of Gryffindor…" Ron said softly. "How is everything in the House of the Brave?"

"Oh… things are good" Hermione said, she looked like she was recalling details. "Harry is practicing for Quidditch, Neville spends most his spare time at the Greenhouses, and I study ahead." _What about Ginny?_

"And my siblings, I hope the twins aren't causing too much trouble?" Ron asked, he knew that she hated their rule-breaking. That was his way in…

"They are…" Hermione frowned. "Percy is busy with his studies, and he can't do anything to stop them. And so they are pranking everyone in sight… They turned Alicia Spinnet's hair purple! And your sister…" Hermione trailed off.

"What about my sister?" Ron asked, there was genuine worry in his voice.

"She's been sick… Or at least that's what I think… She doesn't eat much, and she doesn't socialize much either…" Hermione frowned suddenly. "And she's been glaring at me a lot lately…"

"Glaring at you?" Ron asked, what was going on with Ginny?

"Yes" Hermione sighed. "I thought I was seeing things, but even Neville has pointed it out now… Ron, I think she knows that I've been watching over her…" _You got caught?! Bloody hell…_

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "Hermione, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to do that…"

"It's okay… I know how worried you are, I think that's really sweet" Hermione said with a faint smile. "But now I'm worried about her too. She is acting very odd… She doesn't even ask Harry for her broom anymore…" _What? I'm such a careless twat! How did I completely miss all of this?!_ Ron rubbed his face with his hands, and then he sighed.

"Thanks Hermione…" Ron muttered. "I'm going to go look for her, and make sure things are alright…" Ron then got up and left the library. _I can't keep involving Hermione, I don't want her getting into trouble over this… I'll ask Percy instead… Though I was hoping to avoid that due to his overbearing nature…_

"Ron, wait" Hermione said as she caught up to him. "I'll help you look…"

"Hermione, you don't have to do that for me" Ron said, she was definitely his favorite Gryffindor.

"I know, but I want to. So no arguments" Hermione said haughtily, and then she smiled. "C'mon, let's go!"

* * *

 _ **October 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Dinner)**_

"I'm sorry, Ron" Hermione said softly when she came back to the entrance of the seventh floor. "She wasn't in the Gryffindor common room either…" _Merlin! We've searched everywhere! Where the hell is she?_

"It's not your fault" Ron sighed. "It's almost dinner time… Let's go to the Great Hall." Hermione nodded with a faint smile. They then began walking down towards the Great Hall.

"She can't have left the castle, maybe we missed a few places?" Hermione piped up.

"Maybe… I'm really getting worried, Hermione" Ron said truthfully. "My sister isn't the quiet, and brooding type… Something's wrong, I just know it!"

"Don't worry, she'll be at dinner" Hermione spoke in a hopeful voice. "Then you can talk to her and find out everything."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right" Ron smiled at her. "Thank you, Hermione… I um… I really appreciate the help. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything, Ron" Hermione chuckled. "We're friends!" _Wow… It must be so nice to be a Gryffindor… If I was being helped by any of my other friends, I'd be asked for payment!_

"So hungry… for so long…" came a very familiar voice from Hermione's right side, and Ron froze. _It's that fucking voice again!_

"Ron, what's wrong?" Hermione asked softly, she was looking at him with concern. _She doesn't hear it either!_

"Need to feed… Need to kill… Kill… Kill…" the voice spoke, and it sounded like it was moving further and further away from them. _It's on the move! But how? There's nothing but walls in this hallway! It has to be a ghost!_

"Ron, you're scaring me…" Hermione muttered. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing…" Ron smiled, he didn't want her to become suspicious of him. Hearing voices was never a good sign… _Am I going insane?! Why can no one else hear this voice?!_ Ron then heard loud footsteps coming from the end of the hallway, and both Hermione and Ron turned around quickly. Ron already had his wand drawn…

"Harry?!" Hermione called out, and then she sighed in relief. "You scared us!" _I almost threw out a damn curse… I need to calm down…_

"Hi… guys…" Harry greeted as he approached them, he looked out of breath. "Um… what are you two doing out here alone?" Hermione blushed at that.

"Looking for Ginny, Ron's sister" Hermione said quickly and loudly, this made Ron give her a quizzical look. _Weirdo…_

"In a rush to get somewhere?" Ron asked Harry. _Why was he running around like that?_

"No, not at all…" Harry replied, and then he blinked at Ron. _That was the worst attempted lie I've ever seen…_

"Then why were you running?" Hermione asked with narrowed eyes.

"Um… I didn't want to miss dinner…" Harry said lamely, and Ron rolled his eyes. _Nope… that was the worst attempt at a lie I've ever seen…_

"Okay…" Hermione said softly, she knew that Harry was up to something. "Well Ron and I are going down together, you can join us."

"That'd be great, thanks" Harry said with a sheepish smile. _Alright, he was definitely up to something…_ The three of them then made their way down to the Great Hall, and Ron separated from them once they were inside. Ron walked up to his friends and took his usual seat in-between Theo and Blaise.

"Did you find Ginny?" Daphne asked.

"Nope…" Ron replied, and then he let out a tired sigh. _Where is she?! I looked everywhere!_

"Maybe you would have found her if you weren't wandering around the castle with Granger" Daphne said, her voice was cold.

"Daphne…" Tracey scolded with a frown.

"What is that supposed to mean? And how do you know about Hermione?" Ron asked, he felt his temper flare for a second.

"We saw you…" Blaise sighed. "We all went to the library to do some study, and we spotted you two outside from a window…"

"Well?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes. "Did you have fun?" _What the fuck is her problem?!_

"She was helping me search…" Ron replied, he was doing his best to stay calm. "And before you say anything, she offered to help me. I didn't ask her…"

"Why didn't you ask one of us to help you?" Millie asked softly.

"Like I just said, she offered…" Ron replied. "I don't recall any of you offering…"

"I did" Blaise said aloofly.

"And if I had accepted your offer?" Ron asked.

"Then he'd make up an excuse" Theo chuckled, and Blaise frowned at him. "What? You would have…"

"And I bet you had no problem accepting **her** offer" Daphne all but hissed at Ron. _I'm a moment away from punching her in the face…_

"Guys, don't fight…" Pansy interjected. "Draco is watching us…" They all shot quick looks at Malfoy, and the platinum haired git looked away immediately. _Merlin… He isn't even being subtle?! I need to talk to Snape about this…_

"Pansy's right" Millie sighed. "This fight is stupid…" Daphne went to say something but Millie cut her off. "Let it go, Daphne…" Daphne frowned at Millie, but she let it go. Ron began to slowly calm himself down, he had to find Ginny! That's all that mattered right now…

Dinner proceeded, and it was an awkward affair. Ron didn't even eat, he instead spent the entire time looking around for Ginny. She was nowhere to be found! _Okay… now I'm getting scared!_ Ron looked to Hermione, and she was already giving him a worried look. Ron then looked over to his brothers. The twins were joking and laughing with Lee Jordan, but Percy too was looking around with a worried scowl. _At least Percy has a damn clue! Need to talk to him!_

"Ron, eat something" Tracey said.

"Not now…" Ron replied, and then he shot a look towards Luna. She was looking much better now, and she was eating with Padma and her friends. _Thank Merlin for Padma Patil! I should thank her properly._

"You didn't show up for lunch either" Pansy said to Ron. "Just have a bit…"

"Ron, look!" Theo said as he grabbed Ron and turned him to face the door of the Great Hall. Ginny had just walked in, and she looked… terrified. _What the hell happened to her?!_ Ginny looked pale, and a bit dirty.

"Now that is odd…" Blaise remarked. "Did she spend the day outside?"

"I looked outside…" Ron frowned.

"I meant the Forbidden Forest, Ron" Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Why would she be in the Forbidden Forest?" Millie asked Blaise. "She was probably at the Greenhouses. Ron, did you check the Greenhouses?"

"Yes, we did…" Ron replied. He was too busy looking at Ginny, and so he missed Daphne frowning at him for saying 'we'.

"Your brother Percy looks quite upset" Theo remarked, and Ron stared at Percy as he scolded Ginny.

"Now that you know she's safe" Tracey started. "Eat something, please…" Ron nodded, and then he started having some shepherd pie. His eyes never left Ginny for the entirety of the dinner. The moment dinner ended, Ron was up on his feet and walking straight over to Ginny. He was scared, worried, and pissed off… _How could she just disappear like that?! This is a school! Did she even attend her classes today?!_

"Ginny, where were you?!" Ron snapped, she was leaving the Hall with Percy. "I searched the whole castle for you!" Ginny looked down with slumped shoulders, and Ron felt his anger being replaced with concern.

"Well, Ginny?" Percy joined in, his voice was much softer than Ron's.

"I was at the Greenhouse…" Ginny replied, she was still looking down. _Liar… I was there…_

"I went to the Greenhouses, try again…" Ron said, his voice had an angry undertone. Percy looked at Ginny with a furrowed brow.

"Ginny, tell us the truth" Percy ordered. "Professor McGonagall told me that you weren't in your class today…"

"What?" Ron grit out. "Ginny, start explaining…"

"Leave me alone…" Ginny muttered, her eyes still on her own feet.

"Ginny…" Ron started but Percy stopped him with a raised hand. Percy then crouched a bit to match her height.

"Gin, please" Percy said softly. "We're worried about you… Please talk to us…"

"I don't want to talk to you" Ginny said, and then she looked up. Ron and Percy were shocked to see her angry scowl. "Leave me alone!" Ginny went to walk away, but Ron grabbed her wrist. _Why is she giving me that attitude?! She's the one making Luna cry! She's the one who disappeared without a damn trace! And now I find out that she's skipping her classes?!_

"Ron" Percy said in a shocked whisper. "Let her go…"

"No, she has to answer for her behavior" Ron said. There was a crowd of people gathering behind them, and it was filled with people from every house. This included Ron's Slytherin friends, and his Gryffindor friends.

"Let go of me…" Ginny said softly, she was looking away from him.

"Not until you give me some answers" Ron grit out, his temper was beginning to make his chest hurt. _She's still looking away from me!_ "LOOK AT ME!" Ron snapped, and even Percy flinched at his sudden outburst. Ginny turned around, and she looked terrified. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck.

"Mr. Weasley… that is enough" came an icy voice. "Let her go at once." Ron turned to see Snape standing amidst the crowd. Ron let go of Ginny and she immediately ran off. Percy shot Ron an angry scowl, and then he chased after his little sister. The crowd of people around Snape all held different expressions. Ron's Slytherin friends were just staring at him with guarded looks. Neville was frowning and glaring at Ron, while Hermione was utterly shocked at his outburst. Harry just looked disappointed…

"Come with me, now" Snape ordered, and then Snape marched towards his office. Ron clenched his jaw and followed after him. _I still learnt absolutely nothing!_ Snape opened the door to his office, and then he looked straight at Ron. "Get in, and sit down…" Snape ordered, his voice was like ice. Ron did as he was told, and Snape sat down in front of him. "Start talking" Snape ordered.

"She's been missing all day… I wanted to know why…" Ron replied with an annoyed exhale.

"So you corner her and make a spectacle?" Snape asked. "You are a student of Slytherin, use the traits we value…"

"Sir, I…" Ron started but Snape cut him off.

"Do not interrupt me" Snape bit out harshly. "Ten points will be deducted from Slytherin for your lack of common sense… And you will serve detention with Mr. Filch on Sunday."

"Yes, Sir…" Ron replied coldly. _This has nothing to do with you, piss off…_

"And you will rein in your temper, Mr. Weasley" Snape ordered. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir…" Ron replied coldly again. Snape felt his own temper rise at the boy's petulant tone.

"Get out…" Snape said coldly. Ron got up and made his way out, but he stopped at the exit.

"Malfoy is spying on me and my friends…" Ron told Snape, and Ron smiled inwardly when Snape blinked at him in confusion. "If he keeps doing that, I will retaliate…" Ron left right after that, he didn't care to hear Snape's response. Ron made up his mind, he was done being considerate to Draco Malfoy. _He may become a hero in the future, but right now… He's a complete bastard._

Ron marched to the common room, and he was fuming with rage. He was so damn angry all of a sudden, and he didn't even understand why! _Oh wait! I know exactly why! This has been an utterly horrid day! Nothing has gone right from the moment I fucking woke up!_ Ron barged into the common room and he marched right past his friends.

"Ron, wait" Daphne said, and Ron clenched his jaw. _Now what's her damn problem?!_

"Leave me alone, Daphne" Ron said as he kept walking. "I've had enough of you today…" Ron didn't even wait for a response as he walked straight through the entrance leading to the boys' dorms. After that, Ron entered his room and ripped off his school cloak. Ron heard the door open behind him, and Ron began pacing at the end of his bed.

"Ron, what the hell?" Theo asked as soon as he saw Ron pacing.

"What's the matter with you?" Blaise asked, he looked genuinely annoyed.

"Nothing…" Ron gritted out, and he kept pacing. His chest was hurting terribly…

"Nothing?" Theo asked scathingly. "You yell at your little sister often then?"

"Don't…" Ron snarled, and he stopped his pacing.

"What were you thinking?" Blaise asked. Ron didn't answer, and Blaise frowned. "You've been acting off all day… I wasn't going to say a word about it, but you need calm down!"

"I've been acting off?" Ron asked, glaring at Blaise. "Ginny is the one who ran off to Merlin knows where! She skipped all of her classes today! And then she shows me attitude when I've spent the entire fucking day cleaning up after her?!"

"Look, we don't know what happened with your sister" Theo said in a calming voice. "But you've been…" Theo trailed off. _Oh, this should be good…_

"Been what, Theo? Finish your sentence" Ron ordered.

"You've been an arsehole" Theo said flatly. "From the moment we asked you to involve the girls, you've acted like a complete arsehole…" Ron just blinked at Theo…

"Because involving them was a mistake" Ron bit out. "Did you see their faces when I spoke Parseltongue? Did you?" Blaise and Theo sighed at that.

"They were scared…" Blaise recounted softly.

"THEY WERE TERRIFIED!" Ron shouted. "They were terrified of me! Do you know how that feels?! When have I ever given them reason to fear me?! I don't fucking understand how I can speak Parseltongue myself! But they still acted like I was some monster!"

"Ron, mate…" Theo said, he put his hands up in surrender. "You have no idea how terrifying it is to hear you hiss at a snake… You caught them off-guard…"

"I caught **you** off-guard as well, but you didn't spend the whole day avoiding me!" Ron argued, he felt so frustrated with everything. Ginny was acting like some stranger, the girls were afraid of him, Luna had spent the whole afternoon crying on his shoulder, that report had revealed absolutely nothing about his Parseltongue powers, Malfoy was still spying on him, Snape had ripped into him, he had no idea what triggered the change in Ginny, and Daphne had been nothing but a rude pest all day! _How could so many things go so fucking wrong?!_

"We're not defending their reaction to your secret…" Blaise said. "We just want to know why you're so angry. It came out of nowhere, Ron…" Ron clenched his hands into fists, and then he dropped onto his bed. Ron then told them about all of his frustrations during the day, and they listened calmly. After an hour of ranting about everything that had gone wrong, Ron just passed out from exhaustion. He'd barely slept the previous night due to being at his Sanctuary, and he had only eaten a couple of bites of shepherd pie all day… He couldn't stay awake even if he tried.

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **October 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

"Is he still sleeping?" Tracey asked Theo, and Theo nodded slowly. _Guess he won't be joining us for breakfast again…_

"Did you try to wake him?" Millie asked.

"No, he was exhausted" Blaise replied as he buttered his toast. "He needs his rest…" Blaise said in an odd tone, and Theo gave Blaise a firm nod. _Um… What was that?"_

"Anything **we** should know?" Daphne asked, her voice was slightly demanding. Tracey felt horrible for her best friend, Daphne had told the girls last night that Ron had broken some important promise to her. Daphne didn't elaborate, but Tracey knew when her best friend was upset and hurt.

"No" Theo replied curtly, and all the girls were taken aback by his cold tone.

"Um… what's your problem?" Pansy asked Theo with a frown. Theo didn't answer, instead he kept eating his breakfast quietly. An odd sort of tension loomed over the group, the boys were clearly angry with the girls… _What did we do? They're the ones keeping secrets! They knew about Ron being a Parselmouth for a month!_ After twenty minutes of silence, Tracey finally decided to break it.

"Are you going to tell us what the problem is, or are you two just going to brood all day?" Tracey asked, she was getting annoyed with their cold shoulder treatment. Theo and Blaise both looked up and glared at Daphne, something that took the blonde girl by surprise.

"I'm done eating" Blaise said aloofly. "What about you, Theo?"

"Yeah, I'm done…" Theo muttered, and then both boys stood up. Theo and Blaise then grabbed a few sandwiches and a custard-tart, and then they were gone. _Okay, what the hell?_

"What did you do?" Tracey asked Daphne, and Daphne looked scandalized.

"I didn't do anything!" Daphne exclaimed. "I haven't seen Theo or Blaise since last night!"

"I'm going to go talk with them" Millie sighed, and then she got up and left. Tracey decided to follow after her, and it didn't take long for Tracey to catch up with Millie.

"What do you think happened?" Tracey asked the bigger girl. "They were perfectly fine yesterday when they chased after Ron…" Tracey cringed a bit as she remembered Ron's outburst, it was definitely unexpected. _I wonder what set him off, he suddenly just lost it… Poor Ginny…_

"I don't know" Millie sighed. "Daphne was with us the entire time, remember? So I just don't know…" They remained silent the rest of the way, both of them were trying to think of theories as to why Theo and Blaise were angry. Tracey honestly had no clue whatsoever… They spotted Theo coming out of the common room, and they cornered him.

"Why are you angry at Daphne?" Tracey asked immediately, and Theo frowned at her bluntness. "Don't give me that look Theo…"

"You had no problem with her last night" Millie jumped in. "So what changed?"

"I heard Ron's problems…" Theo muttered, he looked annoyed. _Ron's problems?_

"And what does that mean?" Tracey asked as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"It means that Ron needs a break from everything…" Theo said, his voice was smooth as always.

"Excuse me?" Millie asked.

"I'm not going to reveal a thing" Theo said coldly. "If he wants to tell you, he will." And then Theo made to leave, but Tracey grabbed his wrist.

"Theo wait, where are you going?" Tracey asked.

"I'm heading to the Great Hall to get Ron some more food…" Theo sighed. "He demolished four sandwiches and a custard-tart within seconds…"

"Since when do you 'help' like this?" Millie asked in shock. Even Tracey was surprised, Theo wasn't the type to just volunteer. _It must be bad…_

"Seriously, we're going there?" Theo frowned deeply, and Tracey let go of his wrist. _Touchy…_ Theo then turned around and left, leaving both Millie and Tracey with a load of questions.

"I'm going to the boys' dorm…" Millie sighed, and Tracey followed after her. _When did Millie become so bossy? I love it!_ Millie knocked on the door to the boys' room, and Blaise answered by popping his head out.

"What?" Blaise asked curtly.

"I want to see Ron" Millie frowned at him.

"Let them through, Blaise…" came Ron's voice. "Why are you barring them from entering?" _So it's Theo and Blaise who are angry, not Ron?_ Blaise frowned, but he let them inside. Tracey spotted Ron sitting on his bed in his school robes. "Hello" Ron greeted with a smile, and Tracey smiled back. _He always says 'Hello' in that lame way… It's adorable._

"How are you feeling, Ron?" Millie asked him with a soft smile. Ron gave her a confused look, but then he remembered his behavior last night.

"I'm better…" Ron muttered, he was blushing. "I'm really sorry about my outburst… I don't know what came over me."

"You're not angry at us?" Tracey asked, she wanted to confirm her latest theory.

"No… Why would I be?" Ron replied slowly, he looked confused again. _Okay, what's going on here? So it's Theo and Blaise who have a problem with us!_

"Blaise, care to tell him what happened at breakfast?" Tracey asked Blaise with a frown.

"What the hell did you do?" Ron asked with a tired sigh. Blaise simply stared at Ron with utter indifference.

"Theo and I may have… given Daphne the cold shoulder…" Blaise said, his indifferent look but sheepish tone almost made Tracey burst out in laughter. _Theo and Blaise act completely different around Ron, don't they? If I asked Theo for a sandwich, he'd laugh in my face…_

"WHY?" Ron asked with a shocked look. "Oh Merlin… Is this why you two brought me breakfast? Because you knew I'd be pissed when I found out?"

"Depends… Did it work?" Blaise asked with a cocked eyebrow. Ron stared at Blaise, and the girls just watched the scene quietly.

"Those were good sandwiches…" Ron muttered after a few seconds, and Blaise smirked. _Wow… And what about Daphne?_

"And what about Daphne?" Tracey narrowed her eyes on Blaise. "Why did you and Theo treat her like that? Ron's clearly not angry with us!"

"She deserves it" Blaise said aloofly. "She was incredibly annoying yesterday." Tracey recalled dinner last night, and she had to admit that Daphne was a little annoying. _She may not direct her jealousy at us anymore, but she still gives Ron a hard time… I was rather hoping that she had moved past this little crush of hers, mostly for Ron's sake. He's utterly clueless…_

"Blaise, why did you do that?" Ron sighed. "She probably thinks I'm angry with her too…"

"Aren't you?" Blaise asked calmly. "You were yesterday, I know that for a fact."

"I was…" Ron muttered, he looked exhausted. "But I was under…" Ron trailed off. "You know…" Ron said to Blaise, and Blaise just gave a curt nod. _Under what?! Are they seriously leaving us out again?!_ The bell signaling morning classes went off, and their conversation was cut short.

* * *

 _ **October 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner)**_

It had been an odd day to say the least, and Tracey was glad that it was coming to an end. They had four different classes today; Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and D.A.D.A. And Ron had spent the entire day following Daphne around, it was a bit sad if Tracey was being honest. Ron was doing his best to make Daphne acknowledge him… He was apologizing, making lame jokes, he sat with her in every class, and he even sat with her during lunch. Daphne on the other hand, ignored Ron. Tracey knew that Daphne was greatly upset about something, but Tracey couldn't help but feel bad for Ron. She didn't like seeing him act so… defeated.

The only time of the day that Ron wasn't giving Daphne all of his attention was during lunch. He sat with her, but he was staring off at the Gryffindor table with sad eyes. Tracey knew that he was looking at his little sister, and it broke Tracey's heart when she too ignored him. And now they were all heading off to dinner, and Ron was looking at Daphne's back with a tired look. Blaise and Theo were not too happy about that, and Tracey resolved to find out what their problem with Daphne was. Were they just annoyed with Daphne for ignoring Ron? If so, why? They had never cared before, so why now?

They entered the Great Hall and marched to their seats, and Ron once again sat next to Daphne. Dinner started, and Ron kept shooting looks to the Gryffindor table. Tracey looked over as well, and she saw that Ginny was sitting with her back facing the Slytherin table. When Tracey saw that haggard and tired look on Ron's face, she felt the urge to hug him as tightly as she could.

"Daphne, can you pass the potatoes?" Ron asked, and Daphne did as he asked. "Thanks…" Ron said, but Daphne ignored him again. Tracey noticed Daphne's lips twitch into a small smile though, Ron was getting through to her. _At least that's working out for him!_

"This is pathetic…" Theo muttered, and only Tracey heard him because she was sitting next to him. She looked at Theo, and Theo was frowning at his plate. _I'm definitely talking to him after dinner! Ron clearly has no problem, it's just Theo and Blaise…_

Dinner then proceeded as it normally would. They had their usual banter, even if Daphne still ignored Ron, and they all spotted Malfoy 'spying' on them again. Tracey wanted to smack the git across his face, but she knew that he'd win if she did… After dinner ended, Ron got up and ran after his sister. Tracey and the others followed after him, and Tracey later wished that they hadn't.

"Gin… please wait" Ron called to her at the stairs. "I'm really sorry, can we please just talk?"

"Go away" Ginny snarled, the hatred on her face shocked the group. Ron was just stunned silent. "I want nothing to do with you…" Ginny declared, and Tracey couldn't believe that this was the same little girl that she had met last year. _Why is she so damn hateful?! He only yelled at her once…_ Ginny then turned around and walked away, leaving a silent Ron behind. No one dared approach Ron, and even Daphne was looking at him with genuine worry. Ron then simply walked off to their common room, and they all followed after him quietly. Once they were inside, Ron just went to his dorm while the rest of them sat in their usual spot.

"I'm going to go check on him" Blaise said as soon as he sat down, and then he too was gone.

"Did you see the anger on her face?" Pansy shuddered. "Merlin… I never thought I'd be scared of a little girl…" _She's only a year younger than you… But I agree… What the hell was that look even for? Ron didn't deserve that…_

"She's being too harsh with Ron" Daphne frowned. "He made a mistake…"

"You damn hypocrite" Theo chuckled, his laugh was humorless and cold. There was a sudden tension in the group again, and Tracey didn't like it one bit.

"Excuse me?" Daphne asked with a scowl. "What's your problem, Theo?!" Theo just glared at Daphne, and then he got up to leave.

"I'm going to go check on Ron as well…" Theo said coldly, and then he left. _I need to talk to him!_ Tracey got up and followed him, leaving three bewildered girls behinds.

"Theo, wait!" Tracey called to him as he was nearing his room. Theo turned around and faced her, he looked annoyed with her. "We need to talk… right now!"

"What is it?" Theo asked coldly.

"Can we talk somewhere more… private?" Tracey asked, she felt her cheeks flush for him that. _Calm down, this is important._

"Fine, follow me" Theo said after a few seconds. They walked to seventh year dorms, and Theo took them to a secluded corner at the end of the dorms. "What is it?" Theo asked her.

"You tell me" Tracey retorted, and then she crossed her arms over her chest. "What's your problem with Daphne? Why are you and Blaise trying to start a fight?!"

"We are doing nothing of the sort…" Theo responded. "Daphne is the one who's being an annoying pest towards Ron!" Tracey flinched a bit at his harsh tone.

"Ron…" Tracey muttered. "You're doing this for him? He isn't even angry at Daphne anymore! This is about you, Theo!"

"That is the problem" Theo replied coldly. "Why isn't he angry with her?!" _What? Now I'm confused…_

"I don't understand…" Tracey said as she blinked at him.

"Of course you don't…" Theo said softly, his change in tone worried her. "I didn't it understand myself…"

"Understand what?" Tracey asked slowly.

"Why Ron suddenly lost it yesterday" Theo replied. "Why Ron looks like hell every day. Why Ron has been slacking in classes… I didn't understand any of it, until last night…" Theo then sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "We talked for an hour or so… Well, Ron talked and we listened… He just let out all of his frustrations, and we listened… And it was too much…" Theo muttered.

"Theo… What did he say?" Tracey asked in a whisper, and Theo looked conflicted. "Please tell me…" Theo stared at her for a few seconds, and then he sighed again.

"He has so many problems to deal with…" Theo said softly. "Problems that Blaise and I never gave a second thought to… Tell me Trace, what would you do if you were sorted into a house that your family despised? Humor me…"

"I don't know… Tell them to get over it…" Tracey mused. _Where is he going with this?_

"What would you do if you had to constantly fight to earn a place within that house? What would you do if some entitled bastard came after you every day?" Theo asked.

"This is about Ron…" Tracey deduced easily, and Theo nodded.

"Do you know any other twelve year old that works and studies at the same time?" Theo asked, and Tracey shook her head slowly. "Do you know any other twelve year old who has been attacked by the Dark Lord himself?"

"Potter…" Tracey answered softly. Theo scoffed at that.

"Potter was a baby, he doesn't remember shite about his attack…" Theo said with disgust. "Ron was attacked a few months ago and put in a damn coma…" Theo gave a bitter chuckle at that. "What would you do if you woke up one day and learned that you could talk to snakes? That turned his world upside-down, and we still have no answers about that!"

"And then" Theo continued "his sister runs off and skips her classes. He searched the whole damn school for her, and he never found. The only place he didn't check was the Forbidden Forest… You don't have a sister, but what would you do if you did have one and she pulled a stunt like that?" Tracey didn't answer, Theo was getting through to her. She had no idea Ron dealt with all of this… No, that was a lie… She did know, she just never gave it any thought…

"You know" Theo continued. "I don't like Granger, she's an arrogant bitch. But unlike us, she helped him all day yesterday… **She** helped, and **we** didn't… Despite all of Ron's problems, he always helps us with everything! If we want to cheat on our homework, he gives us his answers. If one of us is upset, he spends the whole day chasing after us like some sad puppy…"

"Daphne…" Tracey whispered, she was feeling her eyes sting for Ron.

"YES!" Theo yelled, he was looking more and more out of sorts due to his rant. "He begged and groveled the whole fucking day, Tracey… And Daphne ignored him… And why did she do that? Because he spent the previous day with Granger. Do you remember her horrible behavior yesterday? Blaise and I do… She was nothing short of a bitch! She egged him on constantly… He spent the whole day worrying about his sister, frightened that she was hurt and missing. And Daphne didn't give a damn! Sure, we didn't do anything to help him… But at least we didn't push him over the edge out of spite!"

"All of his problems" Theo continued with a tired sigh. "And he never asks for help… He deals with everything alone, but he always goes out of his way to help others…" Theo ran his hands through his hair again, and then he shook his head. Tracey put a soft hand on his left arm. "Blaise and I came to the harsh realization that Ron is drowning from stress… And the worst part is that we knew all along… We just didn't care until he broke down yesterday…" Tracey sniffled at that. _I'm no different…_ Theo then began to leave, but he stopped suddenly.

"Tell yourself whatever you want, Trace" Theo said softly. "But the truth is that we are terrible friends to him… Sure we have his back against Malfoy, but that's only because that is our fight as well. Not once have any of us gone out of our way for Ron… And I'm done being that way… And so is Blaise… You can decide what kind of friend you're going to be by yourself, I won't twist your arm…" With that, Theo walked off. Tracey felt like her head was swimming… Everything Theo had said was true, and she hated it… Ron's sudden outburst didn't feel so out of place now, a person can only take so much before they explode…

Tracey walked back to the common room in a daze, all she could think about was Ron's broken expression at his little sister's words. How could he deal with so many problems all alone? Tracey entered the common room slowly, and she couldn't find the girls. _They're probably at the dorm…_ Tracey turned around and walked to her shared room, she had no idea what she was going to tell the girls… Though Tracey did know one thing, she too was pissed at Daphne now… Tracey entered the room slowly, and she closed the door behind her quietly.

"There you are" Pansy sighed in relief. "Well, what did Theo say?"

"Yeah, what's his problem?" Daphne asked with a furrowed brow. _They need to know…_ _ **She**_ _needs to know…_ Tracey felt a fire ignite in her stomach, and then she unleashed her inner Theodore Nott on the girls.

* * *

 _ **Ron Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

The twins were laughing wildly as they chased after Bill and Charlie. Percy was reading a book under a tree's shade and he was smiling happily. And Ginny was sitting by the small stream that ran behind the Burrow. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Ron smiled as the sunlight warmed his skin. _This is what life is all about…_ Ron sighed contently, and he cherished this moment.

"Ronnie, come play with me" Ginny called to him, and he smiled widely. Ginny always wanted to play with him, it made him feel special. Like he was needed, and important. Ron ran up to her with a massive grin.

"What are we playing?" Ron asked happily, and Ginny smiled widely at him.

"I want to prank Percy" Ginny sniggered cutely. "See, I made mud-pies!" Ron chuckled at that, and then he shot a look at Percy. His brother was in absolute bliss, and Ron smirked mischievously.

"I'm in!" Ron said with a laugh, and Ginny squealed excitedly. "I'll take the first shot, and you follow up!" Ginny nodded excitedly. Ron picked up two mud-pies and he turned to Percy. Ron took a few steps before he heard a loud splash from behind him, and he turned around instantly. His heart stopped when he couldn't see Ginny. "GINNY!" Ron screamed, she had fallen in! Ron dropped the pies and ran to where she had been. He looked around the water frantically, but he couldn't see her…

"Ginny!" Ron screamed again, his heart was about to explode. "HELP ME!" Ron yelled to his brothers, and then he turned around. But they were gone… He was all alone… "Guys!" Ron called, but he was met with utter silence. _Where did they go?_ Ron heard loud thunder suddenly, and it made him jump. He looked up at the sky, and to his shock, it was covered with rain clouds. _Wasn't it sunny a moment ago?!_

Ron's hands trembled wildly, and his ears began ringing again. Ron covered his ears, and then he screamed in pain as the ringing got louder and louder. _What's happening?!_ And just like that, the ringing stopped. Ron fell to his knees, his head throbbing and his vision blurring slowly. That's when Ron heard a hiss from beside him, and he screamed in fright when he turned to see a black serpent staring at him. It was a terrifying snake… With crimson eyes that resembled the eyes of toads…

" _ **Go away**_ " the serpent spoke in the Entity's voice. Ron paled and shook in absolute terror. His eyes burned with fearful tears. " _ **I want nothing to do with you…**_ " it spoke as it glared at him hungrily. _Ginny? Ginny said that…_ " _ **NOTHING!**_ " the Entity screamed at him. Ron woke up covered in sweat, and in tears…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Now before you all bombard me with Daphne Hate, just know that she is a twelve year old girl who also happens to be an heiress... Growing up is a major theme of this story, that's all I'll say... So yeah...**

 **See you guys soon!**

 **(Also the Chamber will finally open in the next chapter, so expect some chaos!)**


	30. Chapter 30 - Chamber of Secrets

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's finally here! The Chamber is now open for Business! (No Mud-Bloods allowed) Hehe!**

 **Please Enjoy, I've already started on the next Chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 30 – Chamber of Secrets**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Breakfast)**_

Ron nibbled on his toast while sitting all alone on the Slytherin table. Dawn had just broken out, and soon Ron would be leaving for Greengrass Manor. _Ugh… I'd rather be asleep…_ And yet he wouldn't dare go back to sleep. His nightmare had been dreadful, and Ron was still reeling from it. He hadn't given the Entity any thought lately, and it had come back to remind him that it was still there… Ron shuddered. So many things were happening at once, Ron honestly just wanted a break. _Just for one day… I just need to get my head on straight again…_

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape's voice from behind him. Ron turned around with a forced smile.

"Yes, Sir?" Ron addressed the Potions Master. Snape was always awake at the break of dawn for some reason…

"I will not be in my office today, you will need to use the floo by yourself" Snape drawled. "You are capable of that, I assume?"

"I am, Sir. May I ask why you won't be around?" Ron asked, and he immediately scolded himself. _Big mistake, Weasley… Big mistake…_ Snape's lips twitched into a frown.

"I have business away from Hogwarts today…" Snape answered curtly, and then he billowed away. _He answered me? Merlin…_ Ron finished up his breakfast and decided to relax in the courtyard for an hour. As he was exiting the Great Hall, another thought occurred to Ron. _Wait, I can't go outside… It's raining today… Hmmm… Maybe I should go to my Sanctuary instead?_ While Ron was making up his mind, he completely failed to notice the man standing right behind him.

"Good morning, Ronald" came Lockhart's excited voice. "Lovely day, no?" Ron hid his displeasure, and he turned around with another forced smile.

"Sir, it's raining… There's meant to be a thunderstorm today" Ron said politely. _He is such a tosser… Lovely day… Who says that on a day like this?!_

"Oh, must've slipped my mind" Lockhart grinned, his pearly whites were dazzling. "When you spend so much time traveling, like I do, you sometimes forget to take in the weather." _What? HOW? You're literally outside when you're traveling, aren't you?! How do you miss if it's raining or not?!_ "Ronald, I have an offer for you" Lockhart quickly changed the topic.

"An offer, Sir?" Ron asked, this couldn't be good…

"Yes, my little prodigy" Lockhart grinned again, Ron ignored that comment. "I'm starting a Dueling Club in December, I want you to sign up! And, get your friends to join up as well!" _A Dueling Club, that sounds awesome!_

"I see" Ron smiled genuinely. "And what do I get?" Ron asked, his inner Slytherin coming out. _Blaise and Theo would be so proud of me right now!_

"Well, you get lessons from me!" Lockhart exclaimed, Ron jumped a little at Lockhart's sudden yell. "So, what do you say?" _I don't know… I'd rather not have this idiot 'teach' me…_ "Also, Professor Snape will be acting as my assistant!" _SNAPE?! An assistant?! To this jester?! Now that I want to see!_

"I'm in" Ron smiled widely. "And, I'll even convince all of my friends to join up." Lockhart laughed happily at that.

"That's what I like to see!" Lockhart praised, and then he put his arm around Ron. _Don't touch me…_ "When I was your age Ronald, I too was considered the brightest of my peers" Lockhart said happily. _I'm not the brightest of my peers, Hermione is…_ "But I kept my focus, I never let their praise cloud my mind. You can always become better than you were yesterday, remember that my little prodigy!" Lockhart then gave Ron a paternal squeeze, and then he left for the Great Hall in a merry mood. _What an utter tosser…_

Ron shook his head to himself, and then he traveled up to his Sanctuary. He still had an hour to kill, so he might as well do some reading. The truth was that Ron needed a distraction from his worries, and that Tome of Curses was perfect. Not only would he relax a bit by reading it, he'd also gain more knowledge. If Lockhart was indeed starting a Dueling Club, Ron wanted to impress everyone! That included Snape…

Ron paced in front of the tapestry, and his Sanctuary's entrance appeared. Ron entered the room with a content smile, and he immediately sat down on his couch. The fire was already lit, and it was nice and toasty in the room. So much better than the dismal cold and wet outside… Ron then grabbed the Tome of Curses from underneath the couch, and he opened it to the last page he had read.

"The Dark Arts are indeed the most powerful brand of Magic" Ron read aloud, and he frowned a little. "However, fools and weak men have labeled them as 'evil' or 'vile'. **This is not true**. The Dark Arts are not inherently evil, it is the intent of the caster that determines whether or not they can be considered as such. Even Healing Magic can be used for dark purposes… It is the **intent** that matters the most!" Ron nodded at that, it made some sense. _I could use the Severing Charm to kill someone… And the Severing Charm isn't considered as Dark Magic…_

"As such, the Dark Arts can be used by even 'good' wizards" Ron read on. "It is recommended that one has a Dragon Heart-String Core, or a Phoenix Feather Core, as these two are the strongest of all cores when it comes to the Dark Arts. Those with Unicorn Tail Hair Cores will find it difficult to cast Dark Magic." _I have a Phoenix Feather for my wand's core!_ Ron then decided to skip the lecture on Wand-lore, and instead chose to read about Dueling.

"The Dark Arts drain the Magical Core much faster than other brands of Magic" Ron read, and he nodded slowly. "As such, one must use them sparingly! It is often a good strategy to use charms and jinxes to give your opponent a false sense of security. And then catch them off-guard with a powerful Curse! Those who use the Dark Arts in excess during a duel will often tire themselves out, this is a foolish strategy. Watching over your own Magical Core is a wise policy when Dueling, it can determine whether one lives or dies."

Ron put the Tome of Curses down, he now had a better grasp on Dueling methods. The Curses in this Tome were amazing, but they had to be used as a last resort! _I should focus on throwing stunners or the Disarming Charm, and then use a strong Curse to suddenly overpower my enemy…_ Ron got up and went to the practice area. A wooden dummy turned to face him, and it raised its wand slowly. Ron brandished his own wand and aimed it at the dummy.

"Stupefy!" Ron chanted, and a red light struck the dummy in the chest. The dummy reeled back, and then it slowly faced Ron again. "Expelliarmus" Ron chanted this time, and a scarlet light struck the dummy's wand hand. Its wand flew out of its hand, landing right in front of Ron. Ron smirked at the dummy, he felt quite proud of himself. _One more spell… I'll try Brachium Colubrum Curse again!_ Ron aimed his left arm at the dummy, and he concentrated hard on a green ethereal serpent.

"Brachium Colubrum!" Ron chanted clearly, and he felt something cold slither on his left arm. A bright green ethereal serpent shot out of Ron's sleeve with intense speed, and the dummy was bound by the extremely long and ghostly snake. Ron grinned with utter pride, he had finally mastered this Curse. Ron could feel the serpent's tail wrapped around his own wrist, and Ron turned his left hand upwards slowly. The ghostly serpent tightened its hold on the dummy, and Ron heard the sound of wood cracking. Ron then jerked his left arm back with all the strength he could muster, and his ethereal serpent shattered the dummy into pieces!

"Yes!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "Bloody hell… that is the coolest spell I know!" The ghostly serpent slowly disappeared due to Ron losing his concentration, but Ron didn't care about that. He had successfully cast the Curse again! _I reckon I could pull this off in a duel! Though I won't crush my opponent… Okay, that's enough practice. I need to go to Greengrass Manor and start my day with Lord Greengrass._

* * *

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (At Greengrass Manor)**_

"Ron's here!" Astoria squealed in delight as Ron came out of the fireplace. Ron smiled widely at the little blonde girl, they'd been getting along rather well. _She's like Daphne, except she has a bit of the twins' mischievousness mixed in!_

"Welcome back, Ron" Lady Greengrass greeted with a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Lady Greengrass" Ron greeted the Lady of the Manor. "Hello, Astoria!"

"Let's go find daddy!" Astoria exclaimed as she grabbed Ron's gloved hand.

"Tori…" Lady Greengrass chuckled. "A Lady shouldn't grab a man's hand like that without even a greeting…" _Haha! She never learns…_ Astoria let go of Ron's hand.

"Hello, Ron" Astoria smiled politely. "How are you?"

"I'm fine…" Ron replied slowly, he was now confused.

"There, I've greeted him!" Astoria grinned at her mother, who frowned at her daughter's unladylike grin. Astoria then grabbed Ron's hand again and pulled him along. "I think daddy is in his study! Also, what do you think of my new dress?" Ron looked at her girly magenta dress.

"It's lovely, and it suits you" Ron said with a practiced smile. _I still have no clue about dresses…_ He knew that he had said the right thing because Tori's slightly chubby cheeks turned pink.

"How's my sister?" Astoria asked as she led Ron towards the study. Ron's smile fell at that, and he let out a tired sigh. "What's wrong?" Astoria asked, she was looking at him with a worried expression.

"Your sister and I…" Ron started but then he stopped. _Should I really be telling her this? What if she tells Daphne that I told her about our fight? Daphne will hate me even more… I don't even know what I did wrong! Is she seriously that mad because I spent the day with Hermione?_

"Ron, what happened?" Astoria asked, she was genuinely concerned now.

"We had a fight…" Ron muttered. _So much for not saying anything… I just want someone to hear my side of things…_

"Oh no!" Astoria gasped like it was the worst thing she'd ever heard. _Okay… I was not expecting that reaction…_ "What did you do?" Astoria frowned, and Ron sighed again. _Why does everyone assume I did something? I mean I probably did…_

"I don't want to talk about it… Let's go to your father" Ron replied, he was completely put off now. The two of them then entered the study, and Lord Greengrass was reading the Daily Prophet in his black leather chair.

"Ah, Ronald" Lord Greengrass smiled at his protégé.

"Good morning, my Lord" Ron greeted.

"Daddy…" Astoria said in a sad voice, it was completely fake. "Ron and Daphne are fighting at school…" _AGH! This little witch!_

"Is this true?" Lord Greengrass asked with a furrowed brow. Ron looked at Astoria with a frown, and she was trying not to smile. _Damn her!_

"Um… No… Maybe…" Ron stuttered, and Lord Greengrass just blinked at him.

"Tori my dear, leave us" Lord Greengrass said with a smile to his youngest daughter. Astoria all but skipped out of the room. "Come, sit down. I have your day planned out already, you will solve harder chess puzzles today. And then, we can play a game before you leave." Ron sat down slowly and gazed at Lord Greengrass.

"You're not… upset with me? For fighting with Daphne?" Ron asked slowly, and Lord Greengrass just smiled.

"Friends fight, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said in his calm and kind voice. "And I'm sure my daughter is to blame just as much as you. Don't worry, it will pass. Now, get started." Ron smiled softly, Lord Greengrass was always fair with him. Ron then got to work on the move puzzles, and they were definitely harder. But then again, Ron's attention was split… His fight with Daphne and his fight with Ginny were at the forefront of his mind, and so he was slower at solving these move puzzles than he usually was. An hour in, and Ron had only managed to solve fifteen moves…

"Ronald, stop…" Lord Greengrass sighed, he was watching Ron's progress the entire time. Ron stopped immediately, and then he looked up sheepishly. _He knows…_

"I'm sorry, my Lord…" Ron muttered, he really needed to get a grip. _Why am I letting everyone down?_

"I don't want you to be sorry, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said calmly. "I want you to do your job, and I want you to do it properly. But… since it is most likely that your attention is split because of your fight with my eldest daughter… Let's talk a moment…"

"Talk, my Lord?" Ron asked, and then he gulped. _We never talk about anything but chess…_

"Yes, that is what I said" Lord Greengrass said calmly. "What is this fight about? And do not keep anything from me, Ronald. You will be wasting **my** time…" _Dear Merlin… Was he always this intimidating? Yeah, he was…_

Ron then told Lord Greengrass about how overwhelmed he was feeling, but he made sure to keep his Parseltongue powers to himself. But Ron did tell his mentor about his fight with Daphne, and his fight with Ginny. Ron told him about Luna crying all afternoon, and about how he had exploded in rage in front of the entire school. Ron even told Lord Greengrass about Malfoy attacking him, and about how Malfoy was now spying on him. Ron ranted for almost an hour, and Lord Greengrass listened quietly. Once Ron finally finished, he felt ten stones lighter… _It feels good to get all of this out of my system. I know I told Theo and Blaise, but Lord Greengrass can actually offer me advice…_

"You've had a rough few weeks" Lord Greengrass said with a soft smile, and Ron nodded meekly. The boy was burning himself out… Sebastian couldn't allow that to happen, Ronald needed to be at the top of his game! "Ronald, do you like ice-cream?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron blinked at his mentor.

"Um… Yes, my Lord" Ron replied slowly.

"Let's go to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour" Lord Greengrass said with a smile. He then stood up, and looked at Ron expectantly. Ron stood up as well.

"My Lord, I don't think I'm allowed to leave for Diagon Alley…" Ron spoke with a confused voice. _What is going on?_

"No one will know, come along" Lord Greengrass chuckled. Ron followed his mentor into the dining room, and they both saw Astoria playing with a doll. "Tori my dear, come along. I'm taking you to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour" Lord Greengrass called to his youngest daughter. Astoria beamed in excitement, and then she ran over to them.

"Yay! Really?!" Astoria asked as she grabbed her father's hand.

"Yes, really" Lord Greengrass laughed. _It's odd hearing him laugh… He only does it around Astoria…_

"Sebastian" came Lady Greengrass' voice, and they all turned to see her standing by the stairs. "Aren't you meant to be teaching Ron?"

"I am teaching him…" Lord Greengrass smiled slyly at his wife, and she gave him a beautiful smile. "Come, love. It's been too long since we had ice-cream together, we can even share one like we used to." Lady Greengrass chuckled at her husband's antics, and Astoria groaned.

"Ewww…" Astoria voiced her disgust. Even Ron grimaced at seeing such sappy behavior from his mentor. _This day has taken a weird turn…_

* * *

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Ice-Cream Parlour)**_

"And here are your orders" the young waitress said with a bright smile. "Strawberry with chocolate for the young lady, plain chocolate for the parents, and forest berries for the young man!" Ron smiled at her, she was really pretty. _What am I thinking?!_ Ron's ears felt hot. The waitress left and Lady Greengrass chuckled at Ron.

"Something wrong, Ron?" Lady Greengrass asked softly.

"No, my Lady" Ron answered quickly. _She knows what I was thinking! Damn you Sirius Black!_

"Love, don't tease him" Lord Greengrass chuckled.

"What happened?" Astoria asked, she was already scarfing down her ice-cream.

"Astoria Greengrass…" Lady Greengrass all but gasped. "Where are your manners?"

"Back at the Manor" Astoria giggled, and both Ron and Lord Greengrass stifled a laugh.

"Sebastian…" Lady Greengrass frowned at her husband.

"Sorry…" Lord Greengrass chuckled, and then he looked at Astoria with a wide smile. "My dear, remember your mother's teachings…" Astoria pouted, and then she began eating with etiquette. Ron ate his ice-cream with a smile, this was great. _Not only am I not at school, but I'm spending the day in Diagon Alley!_

"Ronald, I need to talk to about something important" Lord Greengrass said suddenly.

"Husband, can't it wait?" Lady Greengrass asked for Ron's sake, the boy was looking so happy.

"No, it cannot… Ronald will be going straight back to Hogwarts after this" Lord Greengrass said calmly. _I will be?_ "Ronald, there is an important competition coming up in Paris. I have made the arrangements for you to take part in it. It is an 'exclusive' event… A competition between brightest young minds in chess." Ron went wide-eyed at that.

"Do not worry" Lord Greengrass reassured his protégé. "There are only seven other competitors, it is a tournament of sorts. You will only face three players, and they are all your age."

"Am I ready for this?" Ron asked, he didn't feel ready.

"You are more than ready" Lord Greengrass said. "None of your opponents have won the Junior League Tournament… If anything, they will be afraid of you." Ron relaxed at that. "But do not let your guard down, these are the best twelve year olds across Europe… And this competition is to be your debut as my apprentice. I expect you to win." Ron nodded.

"But we will be proud of you nonetheless" Lady Greengrass added quickly. Ron smiled at her, but he could see Lord Greengrass staring at him. _Yeah, losing is not an option._

"When is the competition?" Ron asked.

"November the fifteenth" Lord Greengrass said firmly. "We have a month to prepare… Next week, I expect you to come to the Manor with your absolute focus. Is that understood?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron answered clearly.

"Good" Lord Greengrass smiled, the boy needed a small push in the right direction. "Now, enjoy your ice-cream."

* * *

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Lunch Time)**_

Ron walked into Snape's empty office from the fireplace. _Oh, I forgot he was away today… I wonder where he went._ Ron then left the office in a hurry, lunch had probably already started! He was carrying a charmed box of ice-cream in one hand, and a cat plushy in the other. The ice-cream was for Daphne, and the cat plushy was for Ginny. Lord Greengrass had even told him what to say when he gave away these apology gifts. _I got this! This has to work…_

Ron entered the Great Hall, and it was packed with the student body. Everyone was already eating, and Ron spotted Dumbledore smiling at him from the Staff table. Ron smiled back, and then he made his way to his friends. _Okay Weasley, this is it! Say exactly what Lord Greengrass told you, and everything will be alright!_

"Hello" Ron greeted his friends, and they all gave him surprised looks. Except for Blaise, he just cocked an eyebrow at Ron.

"Ron, you're back early" Theo said.

"Um… yeah" Ron replied lamely as he sat down in front of Daphne. She was looking at him rather oddly. _Ignore it, give her the ice-cream and apologize._ "Here, Daph" Ron said as he put the ice-cream box in front of her. "I got you your favorite, Honey Caramel with Macadamia nuts" Ron said sheepishly, and Daphne stared at the box with wide-eyes. "Listen, I'm really sorry about our fight. I really want to sort this out, can we please talk?" _There! I said it to perfection, if she ignores me now…_

"Ron…" Daphne muttered in shock.

"That's from Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour" Blaise frowned. "Did you skip your day with Lord Greengrass?" All of his friends looked at Ron with a mixture of shock and disappointment. Daphne was just staring at the box.

"What? No" Ron replied quickly. "It's a long story, but Lord Greengrass took me to Diagon Alley…"

"In this rain?" Tracey asked with narrowed eyes.

"Actually it was quite sunny" Ron replied. "Hogwarts is on the other side of the country, Trace…"

"Oh… I always forget that…" Tracey mumbled. Ron then looked to Daphne with a hopeful look.

"Please Daph, can we just talk?" Ron pleaded. Daphne nodded meekly, and her eyes were getting wet. _Um… I think it worked a little too well…_

"Ron?" came Percy's voice from beside him. Ron turned to Percy with a smile, but it fell when he saw Percy's scowl. "We need to talk, now." _NO! I just got her to acknowledge me!_ Ron looked to Daphne, and she smiled at him.

"Alright…" Ron muttered, and then he followed his brother out of the Great Hall.

"Why are you back so early?" Percy questioned him as soon as they were outside the Great Hall.

"Lord Greengrass let me have the day off" Ron answered truthfully.

"I see…" Percy nodded slowly. "Ron… we need to talk about what happened with Ginny…" _Shite, here comes another lecture! I already know I did wrong by her, Perce…_

"How is she?" Ron asked quickly. Percy let out a tired sigh and shook his head.

"I don't know…" Percy said in a tired voice. "She won't even look at me, and it's getting to me. I'm really worried about her, Ron. And you didn't help by shouting at her…" Ron shuffled his feet and looked down. "What made you blow up like that?" _Too many problems… And a really bad temper..._

"I'm really sorry…" Ron said softly. Percy looked at Ron for a few seconds, and then he smiled sadly at his little brother.

"I know" Percy said as he put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "I heard about what she said last night…" Ron looked up at that. "Quite a few people heard that, actually" Percy explained. "The twins included… They're planning to cheer Ginny up somehow…"

"That's good" Ron smiled faintly. "They always get her to laugh…"

"They'll have to find her first…" Percy sighed. _What?_ "She isn't here for lunch, again… Ron, I'm really starting to worry here. I think… I think she's been sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest."

"My friends and I think the same thing" Ron agreed. "Hermione and I looked around the whole castle, Perce… We never found her…"

"I've written to mum and dad" Percy said firmly. "Maybe they can get her to start acting normal again…" Percy then shook his head and rubbed his own face with his hands. "I don't get it… What's happening to her?"

"Does she have friends?" Ron asked. "Hermione told me that Ginny gets along well with others… But I don't believe that anymore."

"She was fitting in well" Percy muttered. "But then suddenly she wasn't, I just don't understand. I think she's overwhelmed with her schoolwork and her new environment. That has to be it." Ron nodded slowly. _Ginny is no shrinking violet… But I'm not so sure anymore…_ "Promise me that you won't yell at her again, Ron. Promise me right now."

"I promise, Perce…" Ron said.

"Good, now go have some lunch…" Percy smiled sadly. Ron smiled at his older brother, and then he went back inside. But it was too late, students were heading out already. _Didn't even get to eat… again!_ Ron saw his friends approaching him, and Daphne was smiling widely at him

"Ron? Can we talk?" came Hermione's voice from his right. Ron turned to her with a smile, but she was looking at him with a blank face. _For Merlin's sake, is everyone out to get me today? This'll annoy Daphne!_

"Um… sure…" Ron replied hesitantly. Hermione then made her way out, and Ron shot a quick look to Daphne. She was still smiling at him, and she gave him an approving nod. _What the hell? Did the apology work that well?! Next time we fight, I'm going straight to Lord Greengrass!_ Ron then followed Hermione out of the Great Hall and into the courtyard.

"Is everything alright, Hermione?" Ron asked her when he caught up. She stared at him with a blank look.

"You tell me…" Hermione replied rather coldly, Ron hadn't expected that. "I didn't help you look for Ginny just for you to yell at her. I didn't think you were like that, Ron…" Ron shuffled his feet again.

"I'm not… I just…" Ron muttered, he could feel a shameful blush come onto his face. "I've been under a lot of… stress…" Ron admitted.

"We're all under the same amount of stress, Ron" Hermione scolded. "But we don't go around yelling at other students, it was a horrible thing to do…" _I know, but trust me Hermione… My problems tower over yours…_ "And poor Ginny… You terrified her, Ron. You're her older brother! How could you do something like that?! You bruised her wrist, Ronald! She cried all the way up to Gryffindor Tower!" Ron had no answer for her, she was right after all. _I'm the worst…_

"Maybe Neville was right about you…" Hermione said coldly. "Maybe you are just another Slytherin bully…" Ron flinched at that, and his face must've shown his pain because Hermione immediately looked sorry. "Ron… I'm sorry. What I meant was that…" Ron cut her off.

"It's okay, I deserve it…" Ron said softly. "I was horrible to her… I just don't know what came over me, but that's no excuse… I just want her to know how sorry I am…" Hermione looked at him sadly. "Here, can you please give her this?" Ron asked as he gave Hermione the cat plushy. "She loves cats…" Ron smiled sadly at the plushy. _I'm so fucking sorry, Ginny…_

"Of course, Ron" Hermione said. And then she suddenly hugged him, and he didn't even react. Hermione was a rather sensitive person, so he understood that she was hugging him because she felt bad about what she had just said. "I'm sorry for implying that you're a bully… All I meant was that you acted like Malfoy would… But I know you're not like that…" Ron hugged her back lightly, being compared to Malfoy was still hurtful.

* * *

 _ **October 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Slytherin Common Room)**_

Ron entered the common room and he was immediately approached by Daphne. She didn't utter a word, instead she grabbed his gloved hand and led him back outside. She was dead quiet as she led him further down the dungeons, and Ron just followed her quietly. Once they were in a dark corner, Daphne turned and faced Ron with a sad smile.

"Um… Daph, what are we…" Ron started but Daphne hugged him suddenly. _What is going on here?! First Hermione, and now Daphne?!_ She tightened her hug, and their bodies pressed together. Ron felt his face burn, and he just stood there like an idiot. _I can feel her… chest…_ Her two small bumps were pressed tightly against his chest.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Daphne whispered, she was still hugging him tightly.

"What…?" Ron muttered like a buffoon. His brain had stopped working… Somewhere in Wizarding England, Sirius Black must have been laughing maniacally.

"I'm so sorry, Ron" Daphne croaked, was she crying? "I'm the worst friend in the world…" _What the fuck happened while I was away?!_

"No, you're not…" Ron whispered back, and then he put his arms around her. _Merlin… I'm going to pass out… We're touching too much, even for a hug!_

"You were under so much stress… and I kept pushing you…" Daphne muttered, and then she sniffled. _She is crying!_ "I'm the worst…"

"No, no it's okay… Daph, please don't cry" Ron said, comforting her was proving rather difficult. _I hope no one sees us… The rumors that would float around would be the end of me!_

"And then I ignored you all day" Daphne cried, she was clearly not hearing a word he was saying. "You kept apologizing, but I just ignored you… I'm so sorry… And now you even got me my favorite…" she sniffled loudly "ice-cream… Theo was right, I'm horrible to you…" _What? Theo said that?! OH MERLIN! He bloody told her everything I told him! That son of a bitch!_

"And…" she sniffled, and then she pressed herself against him more tightly. "And, I'm not afraid of you Ron… I don't care that you're a Parselmouth…" _Agh! Don't say that in public! And stop this hug… please… I'm starting to feel weird…_

"Daph… It's okay" Ron whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry too… I'm sorry for spending the whole day with Hermione… But she was only helping me look for Ginny, I swear…"

"I don't care about that" Daphne said. _This hug is never going to end, is it?! Merlin… I feel lightheaded…_ "I was upset because you broke your promise to me…" Daphne whispered, and then she sniffled. Ron knew for certain that his shoulder was covered in snot, but he didn't really care about that.

"My promise…" Ron whispered, and then he remember. _I promised her I would never lie to her again… SHITE!_ "Daphne, I'm sorry…" Ron started but she cut him off.

"It's okay, I don't care anymore" Daphne said firmly. "I was being really selfish… and possessive… And I won't do that again, I promise…" She loosened her hug a bit, but she didn't let him go. "You must've been so terrified, and you must've felt so alone…"

Ron relaxed into her arms when he heard that, he had been scared… No, he had been horrified… He didn't even know who he was anymore after speaking to that snake at the zoo… And then his own horrible anger had engulfed him, and he had begun lashing out… He had lashed out at his parents, and then he had lashed out at Ginny… It was as if the Ronald Weasley he knew was just slipping away… And all he could do was watch… He had felt utterly helpless… And so he had just ignored those feelings like some coward… But he couldn't ignore them now. Daphne's words had lifted that dark fog from his mind, and he felt all of his worries and fears creep back into his mind… But this time, he wouldn't hide from them. _I will not turn into that 'Ron' from my vision! The 'Ron' that Pansy was afraid of, the 'Ron' that ignored his friends, the 'Ron' that was clearly an evil person!_ Ron's hands began trembling, and he felt weak in the knees.

"I **am** scared…" Ron muttered, and Daphne let out a soft gasp. "Daphne… I'm really fucking scared…" he whimpered, his eyes burning. "And I don't know what to do…" Daphne tightened her hug again.

"I'm here…" Daphne hummed in his ear. "We're all here, Ron. We won't leave you…"

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **October 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Midnight)**_

"Tell me" Albus smiled at him. "How are the Malfoys?"

"They are terrified, Albus" Snape said with a tired sigh. "Lucius is adamant about helping Nott find the Dark Lord. And Narcissa… She worries for her son." Albus nodded, his eyes weren't twinkling right now.

"Lucius' fear of the Dark Lord will be his undoing" Albus said softly. _Not all of us are as powerful as you… He's right to be afraid…_ "My heart goes out to Narcissa, her son deserves better than the Dark Lord's Mark…"

"She is at her wits end, Albus" Severus told his mentor. "She is torn between aiding her husband, and protecting her son's future."

"Do you mean to tell me she can be turned?" Albus asked, his eyes came alive at the prospect.

"I… don't know" Severus said honestly. "She despises all Muggles and Muggle-Borns, just like her family taught her. Just like she taught Draco… But she fears the Dark Lord." Albus sighed at that.

"Being trapped in-between your individual philosophies and your duty to your family can be… challenging" Albus said, his voice sounded weak for a moment. _Sounds like he is speaking from experience…_ Snape had never asked Albus about his family, nor would he. _Some things should remain buried…_

"I share her worries about Draco" Snape admitted. "If the Dark Lord returns…"

'When, Severus… When he returns" Albus corrected him.

"Yes, when he returns… He will need an army" Severus said softly. "And he will look to the children of his former Death-Eaters. Children who are already taught to hate Muggles and Muggle-Borns…"

"Not all of them do" Albus smiled. "Some are moving towards the light ever so gently…"

"You mean the second years?" Snape asked calmly. Dumbledore smiled and rubbed his chin, and Snape knew that his old mentor was pondering something.

"Tell me Severus, how are things between Ronald and Draco?" Albus asked in a soft voice.

"They are… strained" Snape replied. "Ronald told me that he would 'retaliate' if Draco kept spying on him…"

"Spying? For Lucius?" Albus asked.

"No… Lucius has forbidden Draco from even looking at Ronald" Severus replied. "Draco is acting of his own accord, and it will not end well for either of them…"

"Then you must step in" Albus instructed. "Young Draco is walking down a dark road, Severus… You must guide him back to the light." Snape nodded at that. _Albus is right. Losing his friends to Ronald, and then losing his respect in the house have pushed Draco to the edge… I must act now!_

"I will not fail him" Severus promised Albus. His old mentor smiled at him.

"I know there is good in Draco's heart… You must unearth it, Severus. For his own sake" Albus said, his smile was kind and genuine.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Halloween Feast)**_

"All I'm saying is that collecting chocolate frog cards is an expensive venture" Theo argued. Ron and Blaise rolled their eyes at Theo and Millie's argument. _They've been arguing all day…_

"Hardly" Millie shot back. "They cost one Sickle…"

"And seventeen Sickles make up one Galleon!" Theo exclaimed in annoyance. "You say that you have eight-hundred and sixty-two different cards, that's over forty Galleons! And that isn't even counting cards that you've thrown away…"

"It's her money…" Ron sighed. "Why does it even matter to you?"

"It doesn't" Theo said firmly.

"Then why are you even arguing?!" Tracey all but shouted.

"Because that money could be spent on better things…" Theo defended himself. _He's arguing because he's bored…_

"Like what?" Millie asked with a scowl.

"I don't know… You could buy a book on spells, or something…" Theo replied slowly.

"Merlin, kill me…" Pansy sighed to herself.

"Can we please just eat in peace?" Daphne asked in a tired voice. "This feast only happens once a year, let's please enjoy it. We can argue tomorrow…" Theo and Millie frowned at each other, but they didn't argue. Ron smiled gratefully at Daphne, and she gave him a soft smile back. Things between Ron and Daphne had been great over the last few days! She took the time to completely think things over now, and she never pushed Ron for anything. And she hadn't once acted jealously or bitter towards him!

"I want actual food…" Blaise frowned at his plate of sweets. "This is hardly nourishing…"

"Only you would turn your nose at a dinner made up of sweets and desserts" Pansy chuckled. "You're such a food snob."

"I am not" Blaise replied with an indifferent face. "I merely understand the value of good food…"

"Nuh-uh" Pansy said childishly, and Ron sighed to himself. _Great, another argument…_

"I see they are serving chocolate frogs…" Theo muttered, and Millie glared at him with utter rage. "Millie, is something wrong? You're looking a bit flushed" Theo smirked. Pansy and Blaise started arguing about food, while Theo and Millie started arguing about chocolate frogs again. Tracey joined in and defended Millie from Theo's snide remarks, while Ron and Daphne just exchanged tired looks.

"Have you tried the raspberry-tart?" Daphne asked Ron with a smile. _Let's ignore them, good idea Daph!_

"No" Ron replied with a smile. Daphne then scoped some up from her plate with her fork, and then she reached across the table and held the fork to Ron's face.

"Here, try it" Daphne smiled. Ron leaned forward and took a bite. _Merlin! That's delicious!_ "It's great, isn't it?" Daphne asked as she sat back down on her seat. Her cheeks were turning rosy, but Ron didn't really notice.

"It is, where did you get it?" Ron asked in return.

"I had the last slice" Daphne smirked at Ron mischievously. "And you're not getting anymore." _Ha! This witch!_

"I could always steal some off of your plate…" Ron said with a playful smile, and Daphne mock-gasped.

"You wouldn't dare!" Daphne shot him a challenging look. Ron picked up his fork and looked at Daphne with an evil smirk. Daphne giggled and moved her plate closer to herself. "Don't Ron… I'm warning you…" Daphne said playfully. She shrieked as Ron lunged forward with his fork.

As the feast came to an end, Ron rubbed the back of his left hand. It turned out that Daphne was extremely skilled with a fork, and their little 'sword' fight had gone badly for Ron. Daphne had laughed triumphantly as she finished her raspberry-tart, while Ron had sulked and licked his wounds. But if Ron was being honest, his little 'sword' fight with Daphne had been extremely fun.

"Never challenge a Greengrass again" Daphne smirked at Ron. They were exiting the Great Hall together, and Ron was walking alongside Daphne.

"This isn't over…" Ron narrowed his eyes at her, but she just giggled at him. _I'm trying to be threatening… Please don't laugh in my face…_

"Whatever, I'll just school you again if that's what it takes" Daphne giggled. Ron chuckled a bit at her behavior, who knew Daphne could be so much fun? _She's really loosened up a bit around me over the last few days! I like it…_

"What's going on up there?" came Blaise's voice, and Ron turned to face the stairs leading up. There seemed to be some sort of commotion happening on the second floor. Most of the Slytherins were already heading upstairs to check it out, and Ron's group decided to follow suit. There were a lot of students in the passage, and they were all dead silent. _What's going on?_

"Let's push forward a bit" Theo instructed the group, and they did as he asked. Ron gently moved a few people out of his way, and then he stopped dead in his tracks. _What the hell…?_ Foot-high words had been smeared on the wall between two windows, and they shimmered due to the light cast by the flaming torches.

" **THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED! ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE!"**

Ron heard the girls gasp, but he couldn't even respond. His brain was working at the speed of lightning, trying its absolute best to make sense of the situation. The words had been written in blood, and Ron spotted Mrs. Norris hanging limply by her tail from a torch bracket. Ron then looked to the three Gryffindors who stood in the middle of passage, and they were gazing around with terrified looks. _Hermione… Harry… Neville… What the hell is going on here?_ Ron suddenly felt someone bump into his right shoulder, and they pushed Ron out of their way.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mud-Bloods!" Draco Malfoy shouted. His pale features were flushed, his cold grey eyes were alive with excitement, and he wore a cruel grin on his face. Ron felt disgusted by Malfoy in that moment…

"Ron, the heir of Slytherin?" Daphne whispered as she grabbed onto his left hand. "How's this possible?" She sounded extremely frightened, and Ron couldn't blame her. He felt like his own heart was going to burst out of his chest at any moment…

"I don't know" Ron whispered back, and then he tightened his hold on her hand. "It's okay… I'm right here…" he comforted her in whispers. Ron then shot a look to Theo and Blaise, and they were looking back at him with confused looks. _So they don't know either! What the actual fuck is going on here?! Tom Riddle Jnr was the heir of Slytherin, and he isn't even in this school anymore! Was the report wrong? Shite! We need answers right now!_

"What's going on here?!" Filch shouted at the students as he pushed them out of his way. "Move along! Nothing to see…" his voice stopped halfway through his sentence. He gasped in utter horror and fell back as he saw Mrs. Norris dangling off the torch bracket. "Mrs. Norris…" Filch muttered with a shaky voice. "What's happened to my cat?!" Filch shrieked, and Daphne tightened her grip on Ron's hand.

"You…" Filch screamed at Harry, who went wide-eyed. "You did this! YOU KILLED MY CAT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Argus!" came Dumbledore's voice, the Headmaster had arrived on the scene with Snape and McGonagall at his back. Dumbledore moved past Harry, Neville, and Hermione without a moment's hesitation, and he detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket. "Come with me, Argus" Dumbledore said softly. "You as well Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss. Granger."

"Headmaster" Lockhart stepped forward. "My office is the closest, just upstairs. Please feel free to use it."

"Thank you, Gilderoy" Dumbledore said without even looking at the man. Lockhart grinned like the cat who got the canary, and he followed after Dumbledore.

"Prefects" McGonagall said firmly. "Take your house-mates back to their dorms… No one is allowed to leave their common rooms, am I understood?" Then she turned around and marched after Dumbledore. Ron managed to lock eyes with Hermione for a second, and she looked at him with a terrified expression. _What were they doing here?_

The prefects did as they were told, and the Slytherins began their march down to the dungeons. Ron kept his hold on Daphne's hand, it made him feel a little better about the whole ordeal. He knew that she felt the same way because she was currently crushing his hand in a manner that would make Ginny proud. _GINNY! Where was Ginny?! I didn't see her at the feast… Wait, I didn't even check! SHITE! I hope she's alright…_ Ron and his friends exchanged looks on the way down, and they all ignored Malfoy's glee over the fact that the Heir of Slytherin was at Hogwarts. The moment they entered the common room, Ron and his friends went straight to the boys' room.

"What the fuck?" Tracey asked Theo, and Theo frowned at her. "Your report lied, Theo! The Heir of Slytherin is at Hogwarts now!"

"We don't know that" Blaise interjected as he sat down on his bed. "This could be someone's idea of a joke…"

"A joke?" Pansy muttered, she looked pale. "They killed Mrs. Norris…" Ron sat down on his own bed, and Daphne sat down next to him. They were still holding hands, and Ron decided to keep going with it. It was helping them both cope…

"How's this possible?" Ron asked his two best friends. "Tom Riddle Jnr was the heir, he had to be… All the evidence pointed towards him!"

"Clearly the evidence was wrong…" Millie sighed, she then sat down next to Pansy who was sitting on Theo's bed. Theo was currently pacing in front of the bathroom door.

"No, whatever my investigator found was the truth" Theo said as he shook his head. "She doesn't make mistakes, trust me…" _Then we're at square one again! Who's the heir if not Tom Riddle Jnr?_

"It's not me…" Ron sighed tiredly. "Just putting it out there…"

"We know" Daphne smiled softly at him, and then she squeezed his left hand. "You were with us the entire night, so you couldn't have done it." Ron smiled at her gratefully, he really needed to hear that.

"So the Chamber of Secrets was opened back when Tom Riddle Jnr attended Hogwarts" Blaise mused. "And now it's open again…"

"Two heirs?" Theo asked Blaise, and Blaise shook his head.

"Parseltongue is hereditary" Blaise said firmly. "That means…" Blaise started but Pansy cut him off.

"Tom Riddle Jnr had a child?" Pansy gasped, and everyone was surprised to hear that.

"It's the only logical explanation" Blaise nodded at Pansy. "I foolishly thought that he died in the war, but what if he didn't?"

"What if he had a kid?" Ron finished for Blaise. "That kid would be the Heir of Slytherin…"

"Exactly" Blaise said with a serious expression.

"Who could be his child?" Daphne asked, and Blaise shrugged his shoulders.

"It could be anyone…" Millie muttered.

"No" Theo jumped in. "They have to be in Slytherin… I mean, they are the Heir of Slytherin after all…"

"Malfoy?" Tracey grit out, she looked extremely angry. "Did you hear what he said?! It has to be him!"

"Malfoy doesn't seem the type" Ron said softly, he already knew Malfoy's future. _He died saving those Muggle-Born children… The Heir of Slytherin wouldn't do that…_

"Doesn't seem the type?" Tracey asked Ron with an angry tone.

"Ron's right" Blaise sighed. "Malfoy is no Parselmouth… I know that for certain. When we were nine, we found a snake on the grounds of Malfoy Manor … He ran off screaming like a little girl. He's not the Heir of Slytherin."

"And if he was, he'd have already gone after Ron" Pansy added. Tracey looked extremely put off at that. Then something clicked in Ron's head… _Dobby! That House-Elf that warned Harry that something bad was going to happen at Hogwarts this year! He must have been talking about the Chamber!_

"Dobby…" Ron muttered to himself, and Daphne looked at him with confusion.

"Dobby?" Daphne repeated. "I've heard that name before…" Ron looked at her with wide-eyes.

"Where?" Ron asked.

"That's Lucius Malfoy's servant…" Theo answered for Daphne. "How do you know about him, Ron?" Ron took in a sharp breath, and then he told them all about Dobby and his warning to Harry. Everyone was stunned silent due to Ron's tale. After he had finished, Blaise looked at Ron with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you only telling us now?" Blaise asked with a frown. _Because I forgot all about it…_

"It doesn't matter why he didn't because he's telling us now" Daphne defended Ron, and Ron looked at her with utter shock. Even Ron's friends were taken aback by this odd behavior, Daphne was always the first to call Ron out if he ever hid things… _The world's going mental!_

"Either way… we don't have any proof" Theo sighed. "The ramblings of some damn elf don't mean a thing…"

"Theo is right" Pansy agreed. "Did Dobby ever mention to Potter who the Heir of Slytherin was?"

"He never mentioned the Heir of Slytherin" Millie piped up. "Ron just told us that Dobby only gave a warning about 'terrible things to come'."

"We need to keep an eye of Malfoy" Tracey said firmly. "If his father's House-Elf knew of some evil plot, then Malfoy may be a part of it…" Ron yawned as Tracey finished. _I need to sleep, I have to go to Greengrass Manor tomorrow… LORD GREENGRASS! I can ask him about the Chamber!_

"Ron, are you tired?" Daphne whispered to him. Ron smiled at her and nodded.

"It's Friday night…" Ron whispered back. "I have work tomorrow with your father…" Daphne nodded slowly, and then she looked to their friends.

"We can talk about this tomorrow" Daphne told them. "Ron has to go to sleep, he has work tomorrow morning." Ron's face flushed and his ears burned due to Daphne's actions. _She sounds like my mum…_ Everyone looked put off, but they didn't argue with her. The girls left the room shortly after, and then it was just the boys.

"Goodnight, mate" Theo said to Ron.

"Goodnight, Theo" Ron smiled at his weedy friend. "Goodnight, Blaise." Blaise looked to Ron with an indifferent face, and then he gave Ron a curt nod.

* * *

 _ **November 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Greengrass Manor)**_

"So the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once again…" Lord Greengrass muttered, his features had gone even paler. Ron had just told him everything that he knew about the Chamber, Dobby, and Tom Riddle Jnr.

"Yes, my Lord" Ron nodded. "I was hoping you could help me…"

"You involved my daughter in this investigation…" Lord Greengrass said softly, and he looked at Ron with a dead-serious look. Ron immediately felt intimidated.

"My Lord… I didn't intend it…" Ron muttered as he looked down. Lord Greengrass sighed.

"It is alright, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said softly, and Ron looked back up. "My daughter is no gentle flower, she would have involved herself if she thought her friends were hiding things from her." Ron smiled faintly at that, Daphne definitely would do that. "I imagine that an owl from Hogwarts is no doubt on its way here…"

"Why?" Ron asked.

"I am on the Board of Governors, Ronald" Lord Greengrass reminded Ron. "They will be alerting all of us… Including Lucius Malfoy." Ron frowned at the sound of that name. "If the Chamber has indeed been opened once again, at least my daughter and you are safe…"

"Sir, I'm a Blood-Traitor" Ron said softly, and Lord Greengrass clicked his tongue.

"Do not call yourself that near me…" Lord Greengrass ordered, and then he took in a quiet breath. "Marty!" Lord Greengrass called, and there was a loud crack that echoed throughout the study. Ron jumped as a House-Elf appeared from his right.

"My Lord, you called for Marty?" Marty the House-Elf asked, his voice was a bit squeaky. "How may I assist you, Master?"

"Ronald, meet Marty" Lord Greengrass introduced the two. Marty looked at Ron, and then he bowed respectfully. Ron gave the Elf a firm nod. Marty was about three feet tall, had long spindly arms and legs, had large bat-like ears, had big blue eyes, and he wore a white pillow case that had the Hogwarts insignia on it.

"A pleasure to meet you" Ron greeted politely, he was surprised to see the House-Elf. Marty simply smiled at Ron.

"Marty is one of my personal House-Elves" Lord Greengrass explained. "He works in the Hogwarts kitchens and keeps me… posted… on any news."

"My Lord, Marty has something to tell you" Marty said quickly, but Lord Greengrass stopped him by raising a hand.

"I know about the Chamber, Marty…" Lord Greengrass frowned. "Why I had to hear this from Ronald and not you is beyond me…"

"Forgive Marty, my Lord" Marty bowed his head. "But the staff are on high alert, including us Elves… Marty was waiting for nightfall, my Lord."

"I have no use for your excuses…" Lord Greengrass scowled at the Elf, and Ron shifted in his seat. _This is awkward…_ "Ronald, what do you know about House-Elves?" Lord Greengrass asked Ron suddenly.

"Um… They act as servants to wizards and witches" Ron answered. "They are extremely loyal to their masters, and they have their own kind of magic…"

"Have you ever wanted a House-Elf?" Lord Greengrass asked, his voice put Ron at the edge of his seat. _What's he up to?_

"Yes…" Ron replied honestly. Ron had always wanted a House-Elf, and so did every other Weasley. His mother wanted more help around the house, the twins wanted one to practice pranks on, Percy wanted one for status, and Ginny wanted one to play with.

"Good" Lord Greengrass smiled, and then he turned to Marty. "Marty, you now belong to Ronald Bilius Weasley. He is an important ally to the Greengrass Family. Serve him well, that is my final order to you." Ron was just stunned into absolute silence, and Marty gave Lord Greengrass a deep bow.

"Marty understand, my Lord" Marty squeaked. "Marty will serve Master Ronald with absolute devotion." _Absolute devotion… Merlin, I own a House-Elf now? Wow…_ Ron looked to Marty and smiled at his new servant. Marty gave Ron a deep bow. "What is your first command, Master Ronald?" Marty asked. _Um…_ Ron looked to Lord Greengrass, and his mentor simply smiled and cocked an eyebrow.

"Return to Hogwarts, and keep doing what you were doing before" Ron ordered firmly, though his voice shook a bit at the end. "But you will now report your findings to me directly…" Marty bowed, and then he disapparated with a loud crack.

"Well done" Lord Greengrass smiled. "I expected no less from you, Ronald. You have a sharp mind when it comes to tactics. And now, you have your own personal spy and servant working within Hogwarts." Ron smiled at Lord Greengrass gratefully. "Use him well."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron said excitedly. "Words cannot express my gratitude…" Lord Greengrass raised his hand to stop Ron.

"Think nothing of it" Lord Greengrass smiled. "You are an ally of the Greengrass Family, Ronald. We watch over our friends, just as **you** **will**." _Daphne? That's why he gave me Marty? He wants me to watch over his daughter… Well, I was going to do that anyway! But now I have my own Elf too! This is wicked!_ "Now, let's play a game before Mary calls us for lunch."

* * *

 _ **November 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1992 (After Lunch)**_

The last two days had been hectic and full of scandalous rumors… Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, was dead. The only thing that the students knew for certain was that the spell used to kill Mrs. Norris had been extremely Dark Magic. Ron himself suspected the Killing Curse, which he immediately told his friends. He had also told them about Marty being in his service, something which had caused Daphne to gush excitedly. Ron had no idea why she was so happy about this bit of news, but he decided not to ask.

The school was still reeling from the message left behind by the Heir of Slytherin, and there was already a suspect pool created by the older female students. It made Ron sick that some of these girls actually supported crushes for the Heir of Slytherin. What made Ron even more sick was the fact that he was on that list. Being the first Weasley to be sorted into Slytherin was the basis for their suspicions, and Ron found himself being stared at when he was just minding his own business.

There were a couple of other suspects as well. Those suspects being Draco Malfoy, and Harry Potter. Malfoy did nothing to extinguish the rumors of his 'Blood-line', but Harry and Ron did. Harry was the main suspect mostly due to his presence at the scene of the crime. Ron didn't believe that Harry was the heir for even a second, though his friends were slightly more skeptical towards that belief. Even Ron couldn't argue that Harry's presence at the scene of Mrs. Norris' death was suspicious…

Filch, the Caretaker, had disappeared into his office. He had yet to leave the office, and many students cruelly joked that the old squib had killed himself. Ron ignored these jokes because he felt bad for Filch. The man was a grumpy and bitter bastard, but he loved that cat dearly. Filch loved Mrs. Norris like she was his family… Ron understood that kind of pain… He understood it far too well to laugh at it… Ginny seemed to share the same sentiment as Ron because she was horribly sad for the cat. Ron knew that his sister was a cat-lover, and it hurt Ron knowing that he couldn't comfort Ginny. They still hadn't spoken a word to each other, and this separation was killing Ron slowly. He missed his little sister… And he hated himself for pushing her away…

"Professor Binns" came Hermione's voice, and it pulled Ron out of his thoughts. "I was wondering if you could tell us more about the Chamber of Secrets…" Ron's ears perked up at that, and so did everyone else's.

"Miss. Granger" Professor Binns drawled in his boring tone. "The Chamber is a myth… nothing more…"

"But Professor" Hermione argued, and Ron saw Malfoy glaring at her. "Even myths have to have some basis in reality, otherwise they cannot exist…" Ron blinked at that. _She is amazing, she is!_ Professor Binns must have thought the same thing because he sighed and relented.

"Fine, Miss. Granger…" Binns said in an annoyed tone. "The Chamber is said to be a creation of Salazar Slytherin, a Founding Member of Hogwarts… Salazar, unlike his fellow Founders, believed that only a select few should be allowed to study Magic."

"Pure-Bloods and Half-Bloods?" Hermione interrupted.

"Yes" Professor Binns sighed. "The climate between Wizard-kind and Muggle-kind was turbulent at the time, and so Salazar greatly mistrusted Muggle-Borns. He feared that the Muggle-Borns would betray the school, and so he begged his fellow Founders to… dispatch them…" Everyone in the class went wide-eyed at that. "Godric Gryffindor disagreed, and a fight broke out between the Founders. When Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff sided with Godric, Salazar left the school abruptly. These are the facts that reliable historical documents have proven to be true…"

"Now the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets impedes upon these facts" Binns continued, he suddenly sounded irked. "A rumor began that Salazar had left a Secret Chamber behind which housed a monster… And that this monster would purge the school of all Muggle-Borns when it was released… And only the Heir of Slytherin would be capable of controlling it… This is all, in fact, utter nonsense. The school has been searched many times for such a Chamber, and nothing of the sort was found…"

"Sir" Hermione called as she put her hand back up. "What do you mean when you say that the Chamber houses a 'monster'? What kind of 'monster' is it?"

"No one knows" Professor Binns frowned. "The fools who started this rumor never came up with a creature… They only referred to it as the horror with the Chamber of Secrets." The class exchanged nervous looks. "I am telling you all that this Secret Chamber does not exist… If it did, it would have been found already."

"But only the Heir of Slytherin can find it" Dean Thomas said loudly, and Ron frowned at him. "Maybe that's why no one has found it yet?"

"Nonsense" Binns sighed out. "Hogwarts has been under the care of the greatest witches and wizards known to Wizard-kind… They would have found it by now…"

"What if you need Dark Magic to find it?" Parvati Patil gasped, and Lavender Brown also gasped. Ron looked to Theo and Blaise, and they smirked at him. _Gryffindors…_

"Dark Magic is not inherently evil" Binns snapped, and Ron looked to the ghost professor with a faint smile. _The Tome of Curses said the same thing!_ "Even Headmaster Dumbledore is capable of using the Dark Arts, if he so chooses!"

"He would never!" Finnegan yelled, and the Gryffindors cheered. Ron rolled his eyes, and he spotted Neville looking right at him. Ron gave him a smile, but Neville sent him a glare. Ron was shocked to see that, but he kept his composure. _What the hell was that for? Is he mad at me? What did I do?!_

"Enough!" Binns yelled over the class. "No more on this myth and its insane implications… The Chamber of Secrets is not real! End of discussion! Now, open your books and let's start our reading on the Wizengamot!" The entire class moaned in displeasure, and that included Ron.

* * *

 _ **November 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Dinner)**_

"What am I doing here?" Ron whispered to himself. He was currently standing within the exact same corridor in which Mrs. Norris had died. Some morbid sense of curiosity had led Ron here, and he couldn't help but look around. _I should hurry, or my friends will begin to worry!_ Ron then had a quick look around, and his eyes fell on some scorch marks. _What made these?_ Ron followed the scorch marks closely, and he nearly had a heart attack when he saw where the marks were leading him.

About twenty tiny spiders were crawling in a line, and they were all heading out of a crack in a nearby window. _Agh! Merlin, what the hell?! Damn spiders! Why are they acting like that?!_ Ron side-stepped the spider line, and his whole body shuddered involuntarily. _Fucking disgusting little bastards!_ Images of a giant spider attacking him in his sleep came to mind, and Ron slapped his own face to forget. _Damn Fred for doing that to me…_ Ron shook his head, and then he looked around again. His eyes landed on a door with an 'Out of Order' sign hanging on it. _That's the girls' bathroom… Isn't it haunted by a ghost named Moaning Myrtle? Myrtle… I've heard that name before… MYRTLE WARREN!_ Ron's eyes almost bulged out of his head at the realization. Ron quickly entered the bathroom without a second thought.

It was the most depressing bathroom he had ever seen, and it was horribly gloomy as well. There were a few lit candles that were lighting the room up, but only barely. Ron had to squint in-order to spot out the rows of stone sinks, and the shattered mirrors above them. _No one has been in here for years…_ Ron then looked to the toilet stalls, and he noticed that the doors were all scratched and cracked. One of the doors was barely hanging on by its hinges. _Yeah, this place is definitely abandoned…_

"Ahem!" came a voice from behind Ron, and he jumped in fright before turning around. He came face-to-face with a squat female ghost who was wearing glasses and had a lot of acne. Ron also noticed that she was wearing the Hogwarts school uniform. "This is the girls' bathroom!" she shrieked at Ron. "You are not a girl!" _Shite! She's gonna tell on me… I need to convince her that I'm a friend!_

"Are you sure?" Ron joked with a smile. "My older brothers would beg to differ!" Ron smiled at her politely, and she stared at him with narrowed eyes. And then she began giggling hysterically, her voice was grating and Ron did his best to keep up his smile.

"That's funny" she giggled. "You're funny! What are you doing here?"

"I was just looking around, I like to explore the castle" Ron replied. "They told me that a ghost haunted this bathroom, and I just wanted to meet you." The ghost looked at him with utter shock.

"Meet me?" she whimpered, and Ron scolded himself internally. _Did I say something wrong?!_ The ghost then began crying loudly, and Ron took a step back in shock.

"Um… don't cry… I'll leave!" Ron stuttered. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" The ghost shook her head, her crying got even louder.

"No one ever wants to meet me…" she cried. "I'm just boring, dead, useless Myrtle!" she howled.

"Myrtle Warren?" Ron asked slowly, and Myrtle stopped crying immediately. _Um… Was that all an act? What's wrong with her?!_

"You know my full name?" Myrtle smiled, her eyes were still teary. "How?"

"I heard that a girl lost her life fifty years ago… I read up on you" Ron said softly. "I'm sorry about your death…"

"Thank you" Myrtle sniffled. "You're so kind… and funny… Are you single?" _Single?!_

"Um… yes…" Ron replied, he felt his face flush at that. _Why would she ask me such a weird question?! I need to leave, she is making me uncomfortable._ Myrtle stared at Ron hungrily, and Ron shot her a sheepish smile. "So… Um… I have to go… Dinner is about to start…" Ron muttered lamely. Myrtle flew closer to him slowly.

"Okay… come and visit me again" Myrtle giggled.

"I will" Ron lied as he walked around her. "Bye Myrtle, I'll see you soon… Oh, and please don't tell anyone I was in here… I'd get in a lot of trouble…"

"Okay!" Myrtle giggled again, her voice was so irritating. "It'll be our little… secret…" she said suggestively, and Ron blushed. _Merlin… I need to get the fuck out of here!_ Ron then moved to the door and exited.

"What the hell?" Ron whispered to himself, and then he ran down to the Great Hall at full tilt.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **November 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner)**_

"Is that Ron?" Neville asked with a furrowed brow, and Harry turned to face entrance to the Great Hall. _It is…_ Ron looked flushed, and out of breath. _What's wrong with him?_ Ron quickly moved to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Daphne Greengrass. He whispered something in her ear, and she laughed out loud and pushed Ron's head away. Ron smirked at Greengrass and kept trying to whisper in her ear. _Are those two… dating or something?_

"They're awfully close…" Dean Thomas said from beside Harry. Hermione turned around to look at Ron and Greengrass laughing together. She immediately frowned. _Nice one, Dean…_

"Why was he so late? What was he up to?" Neville asked Harry, and Hermione's frown turned into a scowl.

"Give a rest, Neville" Hermione said coldly, and Neville frowned at her.

"Guys, don't fight please" Harry said in a placid tone. The last few days had been the most annoying few days in Harry's life, not counting the Dursleys of course. Wherever Harry went, people whispered behind his back. They called him the Heir of Slytherin, and Harry absolutely hated it! He had refused to join Slytherin but the Hat had told him that he'd be brilliant within the House of Snakes… That alone was enough to scare Harry, he didn't want to be labelled as a Dark Wizard…

"So what? We can't even point out Ron's odd behavior now?" Neville asked scathingly. Hermione jutted her jaw stubbornly.

"He was running late…" Hermione said coldly. "That's all. Stop trying to label him as the Heir of Slytherin." Harry sighed when he heard that. Neville was one of the few people that believed Ron was behind the attack, though he never admitted it out loud. But he kept bringing Ron up every now and then, and it was not to praise him…

"I've never once said that" Neville sighed softly. "I don't want to fight, Hermione…" Harry smiled at Neville when he heard that, his best friend really was a gentle soul. Neville may not like Ron, but Neville hated fighting with his own house-mates. Hermione smiled weakly at him.

"I'm sorry too…" Hermione muttered. They then began eating their dinner quietly, and Harry listened to the conversations around him. Seamus and Dean were talking about Quidditch, Percy was pestering Ginny to eat more, the twins were laughing with Lee Jordan, and Parvati was gossiping about the Heir of Slytherin with Lavender.

Harry shot another look at Ron, and he saw the red-head talking with Pansy Parkinson. That made Harry feel a bit uneasy, Parkinson used to be Malfoy's friend. _She probably still is… She is so hateful towards Hermione! Bigot… Why is Ron friends with any of them?!_ That was something that raised suspicion within Harry, but he kept it to himself. He liked Ron, and he really didn't want to believe that Ron was a bad person. But Ron would sometimes do things that bothered Harry greatly…

For one, Ron had exploded with rage at Ginny. He had bruised her arm, and the anger on his face had even intimidated Harry a bit. It was genuine rage… And then just today, Neville had told Harry that Ron was rolling his eyes at the Gryffindors for defending Dumbledore… Even Hermione had once mentioned that at Neville's party, Ron had been quite bitter about Dumbledore. Harry couldn't understand why, Dumbledore was the greatest sorcerer to ever live! And he was a kind and gentle person! _Why does Ron hate Dumbledore? Why did he treat Ginny like that? She hasn't been the same since…_

Dinner ended shortly after that, and Harry went up to the Gryffindor common room alongside his house-mates. Once they were inside, Harry took a seat with Neville and Hermione in front of the fireplace.

"Who could it be?" Hermione suddenly muttered to herself. "Who could want all the Squibs and Muggle-Borns out of Hogwarts?" _She's thinking about the Heir again… It makes sense though, considering that she herself is a Muggle-Born._

"My money's on Malfoy" Harry said softly. "We all heard him… What he said right after we found Mrs. Norris…" Harry frowned to himself, Malfoy really was scum!

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione asked skeptically. "I don't know…"

"C'mon Hermione" Harry sighed. "His entire family has been in Slytherin from the very start! He is always boasting about it to anything with ears! They could all be Slytherin's descendants! His father is definitely foul enough…"

"I still don't know…" Hermione bit her bottom lip. _She always does that when she doesn't know something…_

"Neville, back me up" Harry looked to his best friend, and Neville sighed.

"I don't think its Malfoy, Harry…" Neville muttered, and Harry almost smacked himself for being an idiot. _Why did I even ask him?! Now Hermione is going to get upset…_

"Let me guess" Hermione said with a frown. "Ron is the Heir of Slytherin…" Neville just looked at her with a sad look. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I know he's your friend, Hermione…" Neville started but Hermione cut him off.

"He's **our** friend" Hermione corrected him. "And he cursed Malfoy when he called me a 'Mud-Blood'… I don't remember any Gryffindor coming to my rescue…" Both Harry and Neville flinched at that, their own personal guilt tightening their chests. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that…" Hermione muttered. "What we need is proof…"

"And how do we get that?" Harry asked in a tired voice. _I should've defended Hermione when Malfoy said that… I knew it was a bad word, but I didn't do a thing!_

"There might be a way…" Hermione said in a whisper. "But it will be dangerous… Extremely dangerous… Not to mention that we would be breaking like fifty different school rules…" Harry leaned forward.

"What are you suggesting?" Harry asked with baited breath.

"We need to break into Slytherin…" Hermione whispered, and both boys went wide-eyed. "Then we ask Malfoy a few questions, and get out before he realizes that it's us…" _WHAT?! HOW?!_

"Hermione, that's impossible…" Neville whispered.

"No, it isn't" Hermione whispered. "All we would need is some Polyjuice Potion…" _What's that?_

"Polyjuice Potion?" Harry asked.

"It's a potion that transforms you into someone else" Neville answered with a furrowed brow. "Am I right?" Hermione smiled at Neville.

"Yes" she whispered excitedly. "We use it to turn into three Slytherins, sneak into their common room, and then we question Malfoy. He would probably tell us everything considering his ego…"

"And then we turn back after a while…" Neville finished for her. "We turn back, right?"

"Exactly" Hermione whispered. "But I don't know the recipe… Snape mentioned that the recipe was in a book called 'Moste Potente Potions'. I think that the book is in the Restricted Section of the Library…" _Great, so we need permission from a teacher!_

"We could use the cloak" Neville muttered, and Harry went wide-eyed. _Brilliant!_

"No" Hermione said quickly. "If we steal it, people will go looking for it… We need permission so no one suspects us! And I will not steal from the library… ever!" _Damn…_

"One more thing…" Neville sighed. "I think we should question Ron…"

"Absolutely not" Hermione frowned.

"Hermione, don't be so naïve" Neville frowned back. "What if he really is the Heir? We need to look at all the possibilities! And Ron is a suspicious person…"

"No, he is not" Hermione argued, but her voice was slightly weaker. _Neville is wearing her down…_

"Yes, he is…" Neville said softly. "He is a **Weasley** who was placed in **Slytherin** … He sneaks around the castle all the time… He can turn invisible… He hates the Headmaster… And, we've all seen him kill before…" _The troll._ Harry shuddered hard, that night still haunted him. Ron had single-handedly killed a Mountain Troll without any mercy… And according to Neville and Hermione, Ron had looked extremely happy with himself right after…

"This isn't right…" Hermione muttered weakly. "He is our friend…"

"Which is why we need to know…" Neville said, and Harry found himself agreeing with Neville.

"I'm with Neville on this" Harry said, and he shocked both of his best friends. "Hermione, we need to know…" Hermione nodded sheepishly, and Harry smiled at her sadly.

"Fine…" Hermione agreed softly. "But let me do it… I'll disguise myself as one of his female friends… And I'll question him…"

"Agreed" Harry responded. "Now, we just need that book…" _Which Professor would be dumb enough to let us borrow it?_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Finally! The Chamber is open, and I can get the plot moving again! So much groundwork had to laid for this year's big moments...**

 **Thank you all for sticking around with me! I just want to quickly tell you all how much I appreciate and love your support! It pushes me to work harder, and I'm truly grateful for that! Merlin bless you guys! (That was a little cringe but I don't care =) )**

 **See you all soon!**


	31. Chapter 31 - Talismans and Schemes

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 31!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 31 – Talismans and Schemes**

 _ **Millicent Bulstrode's POV**_

 _ **November 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Quidditch Pitch)**_

"So you're not making any bets?" Theo shouted at Blaise over the crowd. Today was the first Quidditch match of the year, and even Millie was excited about it. _Slytherin vs. Gryffindor, we'd better win this!_ She wasn't a big fan of Quidditch, but she'd be damned if she didn't support her house today!

"No" Blaise shouted over the crowd.

"What about Ron?" Tracey asked. "Did he leave you money to bet for him?"

"No, he didn't" Blaise shouted back, and they were all shocked. _Why wouldn't Ron want to make a bet? He loves making bets on Quidditch…_ "He said that he wants to save up his money from his work!" Blaise clarified. "Also, Lord Greengrass forbid him!" Blaise laughed.

"I should never have mentioned his betting scheme…" Daphne shouted with a frown.

"No, you shouldn't have!" Theo shouted with a scowl. "Now I don't know who to bet on!"

"Just bet on Potter!" Millie shouted. "Ron always does!" Theo gave Millie a smirk, and then he trotted off to make his bet.

"It's a shame that Ron misses the first game of Quidditch" Pansy shouted, she looked extremely bored. _I don't blame her… Quidditch is so boring…_

"Ron misses all the games of Quidditch" Blaise shouted. "Can we stop shouting?! Just huddle in closer, for Merlin's sake! My voice is getting hoarse…" Millie chuckled and moved in closer. The entire school was in uproar with excitement. "But yeah, the games take place on Saturdays… Ron has to work on every Saturday. Not to mention that he's going to Paris next Friday…"

"I want to go to Paris" Daphne pouted. "I asked father for permission and he denied it… 'Ron needs his absolute focus, Daphne'…" Daphne shook her head and pouted even harder. Millie chuckled at Daphne's imitation of her father. _Lord Greengrass does not sound like that!_

"Lord Greengrass is right" Pansy said with a comforting smile. "This is an important event for Ron, it's his debut as Lord Greengrass' apprentice."

"I know that" Daphne frowned. "I just want to support him…" Theo suddenly showed up next to Tracey.

"Fucking Ravenclaws!" Theo shouted as soon as he got back. "They wouldn't let me place a bet on Potter because I'm from Slytherin…" Millie felt her temper flare up for a second. _Every house is against us… again…_

"Who did you bet on then?" Tracey asked him with a faint smile. Millie didn't fail to notice that Tracey put a comforting hand on Theo's shoulder.

"Potter" Theo replied, and everyone just blinked at him. "Little Luna placed the bet for me! Oh, there she is!" The whole group turned to see Luna approaching them with an airy smile. Millie's eyes widened at seeing Luna's clothes. She was covered in Slytherin Green and Silver, and she was wearing a large silver hat on her head that had a green plushy snake encircling it.

"Hello" Luna greeted them with a soft voice. _What is she wearing? And why is she wearing it?_

"Hi, Luna" they all greeted simultaneously.

"Um… nice hat…" Tracey said, she was trying not to laugh at Ron's little sister. _Even I'm having trouble… Merlin, Luna! Why?!_

"Oh, I'm glad you like it" Luna smiled airily at Tracey. "Ron isn't here, so I thought I'd support Slytherin in his stead. My house-mates weren't too happy, but I don't care." Millie's laughter died in her throat, she was honestly touched by Luna's gesture. And so were the others.

"Aw!" Daphne and Pansy cooed loudly.

"Luna, you're so precious!" Daphne smiled widely. "Come, sit with me and Pansy!" Luna sat down in between the two older girls with a smile. Pansy and Daphne both cooed and fussed over Luna, and Luna just smiled brightly at them. _She's so odd… But I like her! She's certainly brave! And she definitely loves Ron to bits!_

"You made Luna bet for you?" Tracey hissed at Theo. Blaise, Theo, Tracey, and Millie were sitting just behind Luna, Daphne, and Pansy.

"I didn't make her…" Theo defended himself with a smirk. "She volunteered…"

"I'm going to tell Ron this" Tracey frowned at him, and Theo's smirk faltered for a second.

"Please don't…" Theo smiled sheepishly. Millie and Blaise chuckled at Theo's sheepish smile. There was a loud whistle all of a sudden, and everyone quieted down. The fourteen players marched onto the pitch and began shaking hands. Millie could feel the tension between the two teams all the up in the stands.

"On the count of three" Madam Hooch's voice boomed. "One… two… three!" Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the crowd roared up once again. The players shot up into the sky, and Potter shot up higher than everyone. _He's looking for the snitch, where's Malfoy?_ Millie spotted Malfoy showing off the speed of his broom, and she frowned at the git. _He needs to find the snitch! Potter has the same broom as him… He literally has no advantage over Potter…_

A bludger flew past Potter's head, and Potter barely moved out of the way. The Slytherin's booed as Potter dodged it, and Millie chuckled at Ron's twin brothers trying to save Potter. The boy-who-lived flew with extraordinary skill, even Millie couldn't deny that, but he was barely managing to dodge the bludger that was hounding him.

"Is that bludger jinxed or something?" Tracey asked Theo.

"I think so" Theo chuckled. "It's always Potter, I swear…" There was a loud crack of thunder, and giant drops of water started falling out of the sky. Daphne quickly got out her extendable umbrella and covered Luna.

"Don't want your hat getting ruined" Daphne smiled at Luna. Luna just cuddled closer to Daphne with a smile.

"Now we're both covered" Luna beamed, and then she turned back to the game. The rest of the Slytherins had their own umbrellas ready to go as well. Millie watched with a smirk as Potter barely dodged the bludger again, Ron's brothers were completely focused on protecting Potter.

"Slytherin is in the lead with seventy to nil…" Lee Jordan announced. "C'mon guys… Show those snakes how to actually play Quidditch!" Millie scowled at the announcer, and she saw McGonagall scolding Lee Jordan with a dark frown. _And they wonder why we hate them? So damn biased…_ There was a loud whistle, and the Gryffindor team descended and huddled together. They then began arguing with each other, and Theo frowned at them.

"The one time I place a bet on Potter without Ron, and he fails to find the snitch…" Theo snapped. "I placed twenty Galleons on that bespectacled bastard!" The break ended quickly, and the Gryffindors flew back up. The twins were no longer helping Potter, instead they were focusing on doing their jobs as beaters. Potter was spending his time dodging a rogue bludger…

Potter swirled up into the air, he did zigzags, he barrel-rolled, and he did sharp turns every third second. It looked rather hilarious, and so the entire Slytherin House was laughing at him. This included Millie and her friends, with the exception of Luna. The blonde little girl seemed to be watching Harry as if she was in a trance. Potter then suddenly stopped in front of Malfoy, and Malfoy was no doubt making some stupid remark. And then, WHAM! Potter got hit by the bludger, and Millie gasped. She didn't like Potter, but that looked like it bloody hurt. Potter almost fell off of his broom, and Theo went pale in the face.

"I'm gonna lose twenty Galleons…" Theo whined loudly. _Potter might lose his damn life, Theo…_ But that was not to be the case because Potter suddenly darted towards Malfoy at full speed. Malfoy steered out of the way with a scared look, and Potter suddenly dove downwards.

"He's seen the snitch!" Blaise shouted. "It was right next to Malfoy, I think!" Mille looked to Blaise with a shocked look, and then she turned back to the game. _How could Malfoy miss it?! We're gonna lose!_ Millie watched as Potter suddenly leaped off of his broom and landed on the muddy pitch with a brutal landing. _Never mind… Potter's done…_ But her hope died immediately as Potter lifted his hand up tiredly, and then he passed out. _He got the snitch…_

* * *

 _ **November 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Lunch)**_

"Isn't Potter just amazing?" Theo smirked as he counted his Galleons. Millie and the girls frowned at him. "I made sixty Galleons!"

"Quiet down" Blaise frowned. "If the other Slytherins find out that you bet on Potter, we'll all get in trouble." Theo smirked at Blaise.

"Repeating my own lessons to me, Blaise?" Theo smirked his trademark smirk. _Maybe you should adhere to your own lessons then?_

"You don't think they're excluding her, do you?" Daphne asked suddenly, she was shooting looks to the Ravenclaws.

"Who, Luna?" Tracey asked. They all looked to see Luna eating her lunch alone, and Millie suddenly felt really guilty. Luna was still wearing her Slytherin attire…

"I'm going to go over and invite her to eat with us" Daphne said firmly. "Is that alright?"

"Go for it" Blaise nodded. Millie then spotted Padma Patil and her friends approach Luna with smiles.

"Wait" Millie instructed. They all watched as Padma pinched Luna's cheek, and then she sat down to eat with her. "I think she's fine" Millie said with a relieved voice.

"Why is Padma Patil so friendly with Luna?" Pansy asked. _That… is a good question._

"Remember when Ron paired up with her during Herbology?" Blaise asked. The girls all nodded, and Millie saw Daphne frown for a split second. "Theo and I overheard them talking after class, Ron asked her to watch over Luna for him."

"It's true" Theo confirmed. "He owes Padma Patil a favor for it, I think. So that's probably why she's so kind to Luna… She's only serving herself."

"Maybe she just likes Luna?" Tracey argued.

"Maybe…" Blaise shrugged. "Either way, its Ron's doing." _I didn't know he did that…_ Millie smiled to herself as she thought about her red-haired friend. _He's always looking out for others…_ Her smile faltered a bit when she remembered Tracey's angry lecture. Ron looked out for everyone, but no one cared enough to lookout for him… _I certainly never gave it a second thought. If someone fought Ron, I'd break their face… But I didn't know he was under so much stress…_

"Well, I think that was really sweet of him" Daphne smiled happily. "He's so protective, isn't he?" Daphne asked, her cheeks were turning rosy. Everyone smirked at her, but no one said a word.

"Oh shite…" Blaise suddenly muttered, and everyone looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong?" Millie asked him quickly. Blaise jerked his head towards the entrance of the Great Hall, and they all looked over slowly. It was Malfoy, and he was being yelled at by Marcus Flint. _I don't see the problem here…_

"What's wrong with Malfoy getting an earful?" Tracey asked in a bitter voice.

"He's glaring right at me…" Theo frowned.

"He knows you bet against him" Blaise grit out. "You idiot! Things were finally settling down…"

"Luna bet against him… not me" Theo said softly, and then he smiled slyly. _Oh no… He didn't…_

"You used **her** as your patsy?" Daphne snapped, her face went red from rage. Even Millie wanted to grab Theo by his neck and snap him in two!

"He can't go after me for that" Theo shrugged. "Luna is a Ravenclaw… and she volunteered. I did actually refuse her, but she wouldn't have it."

"Theo…" Tracey muttered, she looked shocked. "How could you do that Ron's sister? What if Malfoy goes after her?"

"Goes after her?" Theo asked with a frown. "He is not the Heir of Slytherin, Trace… Relax…"

"I'm telling Ron" Pansy scowled at Theo.

"Go ahead" Theo shrugged. "That's just what he needs… He comes home from working all day, and the first thing you all do is pile more problems onto his plate. Go right ahead…" _Theo can be such an arsehole when he wants…_

"Theo's right" Blaise shook his head. "If she volunteered, then that was her choice. If Malfoy does go after her in any way, then we'll deal with it. But Theo… **Think** next time… And you lot, calm down. Ron needs to stay focused… Don't pile more problems onto him." Millie and the girls glared at Theo, but they didn't argue with Blaise. _If Malfoy even looks at Luna, I'll break his neck!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **November 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

Ronald stumbled through the fireplace in Snape's office, he was utterly spent. Lord Greengrass had made him play five games, all of which he lost! And then, Ron had solved over fifty puzzles back to back as punishment… He hadn't even eaten all day… _Kill me, Merlin! I'm so exhausted…_

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape's voice from behind his desk. "You are late." Ron turned around and smiled at Snape, something that made Snape frown. He hated it when Ronald smiled at him…

"Sorry, Sir" Ron began explaining. "I have an important competition coming up in Paris, and Lord Greengrass pushed me to my limit… Is dinner over?" _I know it is… I should've accepted Lady Greengrass' offer…_

"Dinner is indeed over" Snape said in his low voice. "But I will have some food sent to your dorm…" _HUH?! Where is the real Snape, you imposter?!_

"Thank you, Sir" Ron beamed, and Snape's frown turned into a scowl.

"Compose yourself" Snape muttered coldly. _And there he is!_ "Make sure you eat before you sleep, I will not have anyone claim that I do not care for those who are under my supervision…" _For a second, I thought he was genuinely nice to me…_

"I will, goodnight Sir" Ron said with a respectful nod.

"Goodnight, Mr. Weasley" Snape drawled as he began his paperwork again. Ron left the office and went straight to the common room. _My legs hurt… my head hurts… I want to sleep!_

"Ron! You're back!" Pansy exclaimed as soon as she saw him. Ron gave her a smile, and she suddenly looked concerned. "What happened to you? And why are you so late?"

"Lord Greengrass happened…" Ron yawned.

"My father?" Daphne asked as she approached him. Millie and Tracey approached him right after Daphne, and Tracey gave him a wink.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine" Ron said dismissively. "Also I need to go to my dorm, Snape is having some food sent in for me…"

"My family didn't feed you?!" Daphne asked in utter shock. _I'm digging Lord Greengrass' grave, aren't I?_

"They offered, and I declined" Ron smiled at Daphne. "Your family was wonderful as always, Daph." Ron gave her upper right arm a rub, and then he moved towards his dorm. Ron was not at all surprised to hear the girls following him. _They've made this a habit…_

"There he is!" Theo smirked at Ron as he entered their shared room.

"Hey, Theo" Ron greeted happily. "Hello, Blaise. How was Quidditch?" Ron asked as he sat down on his bed.

"We lost…" Blaise frowned. _What? How? Our team is fitted with Nimbus 2001s! Wait, that reminds me… I still haven't taken mine out for a spin… I'll do that tomorrow!_

"Potter caught the snitch…" Tracey said bitterly, and she then shot Theo an angry glare. _Is she angry at Theo?_

"I just made a bet on him… Ron's done that multiple times" Theo defended himself with a smirk. _Ah! I get it… She's just upset that we lost and Theo made money off of it._ Ron then noticed all of the girls glaring at Theo, and that raised suspicion in Ron's mind. _NO! Stop being paranoid… They're my friends… If they have something to tell me, they will._

"Care to tell me how the rest of the game went?" Ron cut the silence. There was a sudden loud crack, and everyone looked to the House-Elf who had just apparated in. "Marty!" Ron greeted his servant happily.

"Master Ronald, it is good to see you in good health!" Marty greeted back, he was holding a platter full of food. "The other Elves wanted to give you scraps from tonight's dinner, Master! But Marty wouldn't let them! Only the best for Master Ronald!" Marty presented the platter to Ron, and Ron took it with a huge smile.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron said gratefully. "You're the best!" Marty looked up with utter joy, his big blue eyes becoming watery.

"Marty lives to serve, Master" Marty bowed deeply. "Thank you!" Marty then turned to Daphne. "Ah! Mistress! It is a joy to behold your beauty!"

"Hello, Marty" Daphne greeted him with a smile. "I am glad to see you so happy."

"Marty **is** happy, Mistress" Marty bowed to her. "Marty is 'the best', Master Ronald said so himself!" Daphne chuckled a bit. Marty then turned to Ron again. "If Master needs anything, please call Marty!" Ron gave him a firm nod, and then with another crack, Marty was gone. _I HAVE A HOUSE-ELF! That's so amazing! I'm like a proper wizard! Like Lord Greengrass!_

"A bit too loud for my taste" Theo muttered. "But he is loyal, that's what you really want." Ron frowned at Theo, Marty wasn't loud… Ron shook his head and began eating. _So hungry…_ Blaise walked over and took a glazed bun off of Ron's platter. Ron didn't mind, but the girls did.

"Hey!" Millie snapped at Blaise. "That's Ron's food! He hasn't eaten all day, Blaise!" Blaise turned to Ron and cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you mind?" Blaise asked, and Ron shook his head. "There you go…" Blaise said to Millie, and then he bit into the bun.

"Ron, don't give them your food…" Pansy scolded lightly.

"You can have some too, I don't mind" Ron offered. _I can just call Marty for more… I don't get what the big deal is?_ The girls gave him odd looks, and Ron could swear that they were looking at him with guilt and pity… _They're being weird again! Why do they keep being so nice to me?! I mean, more than usual…_ "So, how did the game go?" Ron asked Blaise, he kept his eyes on the girls though. "Did Malfoy fail miserably?"

"He did…" Blaise sighed. "The snitch was right behind his ear at one point, and he missed it…"

"Potter broke his arm, and he still caught it!" Theo laughed. _Harry got hurt?!_

"What?" Ron asked Theo, his face showed too much concern for Theo's liking.

"Yeah" Theo frowned. "And then, Lockhart tried to fix his arm…"

"Shite…" Ron muttered. _Harry's probably dead…_

"It was an honest mistake!" Pansy fumed. "Why would Professor Lockhart intentionally remove Potter's bones?!"

"WHAT?!" Ron snapped. "I need to go see Harry! Is he in the Hospital Wing?!" Ron stood up and moved towards the exit, but the girls blocked his way.

"He's not allowed visitors…" Daphne smiled faintly. She hated the concern Ron was showing for Potter, those Gryffindors didn't deserve it! But she wasn't going to punish Ron for it. She had promised herself to never do that again…

"Oh… Is he alright though?" Ron asked her.

"He's fine" Tracey said casually. "Plus, it was just the bones in his arm…"

"Lockhart is a menace…" Ron muttered as he sat back down.

"No arguments here" Blaise agreed. The girls all frowned, but they didn't say anything.

* * *

 _ **November 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Crack of Dawn)**_

"Ronald… Dear boy… Wake up…" came a familiar voice, and Ron's eyes opened slowly. Ron looked down and saw the Sorting Hat sitting on his chest. "Morning, Ronald…" Ron jerked up in shock and covered himself with his blanket. _What the fuck?!_ The Hat toppled off of his chest and fell on the bed. "Alright… perhaps that was not the wisest tactic I could have employed" the Hat muttered to itself. Ron picked the Hat up and put it on his head.

" _What are you doing here?! What's the time?!"_ Ron asked, his heart was beating hard.

" _Calm down, dear boy. And it is the crack of dawn…"_ the Hat said softly. " _Ronald, I must speak with you! There has been another attack!"_ It took Ron a second to realize what the Hat had meant, and when he did, Ron's eyes almost popped out of his head.

" _The Heir of Slytherin struck again?! Who was the victim?! Was it my sister?!"_ Ron asked in utter panic.

" _The Heir did indeed strike again, but your sister was not the victim… Relax, Ronald. Please. This is important, you must listen to me!"_

" _I'm listening, Hat… Go on…"_

" _Do you remember when I couldn't tell you something about another student? It was back when the term first started…"_ the Hat spoke quickly. Ron did remember, and he scolded himself for forgetting all about it!

" _The other student is the Heir, aren't they?"_ Ron asked, his heartbeat was speeding into dangerous levels.

" _I am not sure… But they are a Parselmouth as well!"_ the Hat replied.

" _Shite! They have to be the Heir then, who is it?! You can tell me that, right?!"_

" _I can now, students are in grave danger! My seal has been lifted, dear boy! Harry James Potter is the other Parselmouth!"_ the Hat said. Ron's heart just stopped, and he held his breath involuntarily.

" _Harry? No… No, you're wrong…"_ Ron muttered. " _You have to be wrong… Harry is a good person…"_

" _I am not accusing young Potter of anything, Ronald. I just felt the need to give you a warning…"_

" _A warning?"_ Ron asked, his head was spinning.

" _Albus talked to me a few moments ago… He wanted to learn of anything I may know… I told him about Harry, but I kept you a secret"_ the Hat replied.

" _Why me, and not Harry? And where is Dumbledore now?"_

" _Albus is back at the Hospital Wing, he is attending to Colin Creevey…"_

" _Colin… The Muggle-Born with a camera…"_ Ron remembered. _"I took a photo for him once…"_ Ron shook his head, his chest felt heavy for some reason.

" _Ronald, please stay with me. Colin was found petrified… These attacks resemble the attacks that took place fifty years ago… The Chamber was opened fifty years ago and…"_ Ron suddenly cut the Hat off.

" _Tom Riddle Jnr…"_ Ron said absent-mindedly, and the Hat stopped immediately.

" _How…?"_ the Hat started but stopped. It then began going through Ron's memories, and it sighed deeply when it finished. " _Ronald… What do you think you're doing?"_

" _Excuse me?"_

" _That Tome… Don't use it, I am begging you. The Dark Arts have corrupted stronger wizards than you, dear boy. Abandon this road… That is all I will say on the matter…"_ Ron felt his cheeks flush crimson at the Hat's words. _"It appears you already know much about Tom Riddle Jnr… What you don't know is that Tom Riddle Jnr eventually named himself Lord Voldemort!"_ Ron just blinked, he couldn't even begin to process all of this.

" _I need a break… I can't think… My head feels light…"_ Ron muttered as he rubbed his face. His mouth was becoming dry.

" _Forgive me, dear boy. I feel the need to tell you this… Both you and young Potter were attacked by Voldemort, and now you can both speak Parseltongue… I don't understand how, but there has to be a reason for it… You, young Potter, and Voldemort are connected somehow…"_

" _Connected…?"_ Ron muttered, he was beginning to sweat… He was connected to the Dark Lord? What did that even mean? Tom became you-know-who?! Ron couldn't breathe… His chest was starting to tighten, and he felt bile rising in his throat.

" _Ronald… calm yourself… You're hyperventilating. It's ok, listen to my voice. I'm right here… I won't leave you… Breathe…"_

" _I CAN'T BREATHE! YOU-KNOW-WHO AND I ARE CONNECTED?! THE HEIR ATTACKED COLIN!"_

" _Ronald…"_ Ron threw the Hat off of his head, and then Ron fell out of his bed. _I can't breathe! Why am I connected to the Dark Lord?! Harry's the Heir, isn't he?! Merlin… Help me…_

"Ron?" came Blaise's voice, and then Blaise moved his curtains and saw Ron on the floor. "RON!"

"What the fuck?" came Theo's distorted voice.

Ron's blood pounded in his ears, his heart thumped against his chest painfully, his hands shook violently, and a cold sweat ran down his spine. He couldn't see, he couldn't breathe, his mind raced with thoughts of the Dark Lord and the attack that left him permanently scarred. They were connected… The most evil wizard in existence was somehow connected to Ron… It was too much… He needed a break… He needed to get away from his fucked up life for just a damn second! _Harry can't be the Heir! He can't!_ Ron heaved, but no vomit came out. His eyes burned, and he heaved again.

"Ron?!" came Blaise's panicked voice. "Ron, what's wrong?!" Ron looked up at Blaise and tried to tell him, but no words came out. _I'm fucking dying… Help me!_ Ron dry-heaved again, he could feel the tears running down his cheeks.

"Help him, you buffoons!" the Sorting Hat yelled.

"What the fuck is the Sorting Hat doing here?!" came Theo's voice.

"Do as I say, put Ronald on the bed" the Hat ordered. "He is having a panic attack… Hurry!" Ron felt strong arms grab him and haul him up on the bed. Ron lay on his back, and that made it even harder to breathe! _I'm dying… I need air…_ Ron suddenly felt extremely hot, it felt as if he was in an oven.

"We need to take him to Pomfrey!" Theo exclaimed.

"No" came the Hat's voice. "There was another Chamber attack! They will blame Ron if they see him in such a state! This will pass, sit him up so he can breathe!" _What the fuck?! I need the Hospital Wing! Fuck…_ Ron was lifted up by his mates, and then he was held in position. Ron bent forward as he gasped for air… It was getting easier. Ron felt someone rubbing his back, and that reminded him of Luna. _She rubbed my back when I saw her in a vision… Luna…_ Ron's breathing was returning, and he focused on his little sister. The thought of her was getting him through this…

"It's okay, mate" came Theo's voice, it was less distorted. "We're right here, just breathe…" Ron nodded and just kept breathing. _Just breathe… I can make it… I'm safe…_

* * *

 _ **November 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Just After Breakfast)**_

Ron was lying on his side, and he felt drained. Theo and Blaise hadn't even left for breakfast, they had stayed by his side the entire time. Ron was extremely grateful, but he just didn't have the strength to show it. The Hat had suddenly disappeared at some point, no doubt it went back to Dumbledore's office.

"So, you and the Hat are friends?" Theo whispered to Ron. Ron just nodded, he was trying to think of a believable story.

"How often do you talk?" Blaise asked softly, it sounded really weird. _Blaise never speaks softly… Concentrate, Ron! Don't give away anything… So tired though…_

"Sometimes…" Ron managed. "Like three or four times…"

"Okay, just tell us about it whenever you're ready" Theo whispered. There was a knock at the door, and Blaise went to answer it.

"Theo, close the curtains and get out here" Blaise ordered. "We can't let the girls see him like this…" Theo got up and did as Blaise asked, but Ron didn't understand why the girls couldn't see him. _Both of them always argue that we can't leave the girls out… Why hide things now?_ Ron's eyes began fluttering, and he forced them to open. Ron suddenly heard the door open.

"Where were you guys?" came Pansy's voice.

"We were in our room, we weren't hungry" Blaise lied.

"Not hungry?" Daphne asked in a haughty tone, her voice made Ron smile to himself. _She doesn't take anything at face-value…_ "When is Ron not hungry?" _Hey!_

"Where is Ron?" Tracey asked.

"He's asleep…" Theo chuckled, but it was a shaky chuckle.

"It's morning… We should wake him up" came Millie's voice. Ron then heard some quick footsteps. "Theo, get out of the way…"

"I can't" Theo said firmly. "Ron sleeps naked!" _OI! What a bastard!_ Ron struggled to sit up, but he just fell back on his bed. Ron looked down and saw that he was indeed shirtless. _When did I take off my shirt? Theo and Blaise saw my scars…_ Ron was too tired to even feel ashamed.

"He does?" Daphne gasped. _NO! Fuck…_

"Yep!" Theo said. "Still want to see him?"

"Um… no…" Daphne muttered. "Can you guys please wake him?"

"Sure… but you have to leave first" Blaise said firmly.

"What's going on here?" Pansy sighed. "Blaise, I know when you're lying. You talk in a really angry tone whenever you lie…"

"I'm not angry" Blaise grit out. "Leave… now!" _When did I become a better liar than Blaise?_

"Tell us what's wrong, or we'll go through you" Millie snapped. There was a short silence, and then Ron heard feet shuffling again.

"Don't!" Theo shouted. "He had a panic attack, and he needs rest!" An eerie silence engulfed the room.

"Theo…" Blaise sighed. _Shite…_

"They were gonna go in…" Theo shot back. "You all need to leave… We won't ask again!"

"He had a panic attack?" Pansy whimpered. "Why?"

"It doesn't matter… Please leave" Blaise said firmly. "No more arguments, if he wakes up… Look, please just leave."

"I want to see him…" Daphne said softly.

"No, you don't…" Theo muttered. "Daphne, take the girls and go! If you want to help Ron, this is what you have to do… And don't tell a soul!"

"We can take care of him" Blaise added. Ron listened as the girls left slowly, and he was sure that Daphne was the last one through the door. Blaise and Theo then came in through the curtains.

"You sent them away…" Ron muttered.

"They would have seen your scars…" Blaise said tiredly.

"You saw them…" Ron said, his eyes closing slowly. _I'm so thirsty… and hungry…_

"Yeah, mate" Theo said softly. "I think they're brilliant…" Ron smiled faintly at that.

"Brilliant…" Ron muttered, and then darkness took him.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **November 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Myrtle's Bathroom)**_

"Poor Colin…" Neville muttered. Both Hermione and Neville had overheard Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick talking about Colin this morning. Hermione felt her heart clench for the little boy, Colin may have been odd but he was the sweetest thing… _I hate this Heir of Slytherin person… I can't wait for them to be expelled!_

"Neville, pass me leeches…" Hermione said softly. Neville passed her the bag of leeches with some difficulty. They were currently in a small cubicle within Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Ron wasn't at breakfast this morning…" Neville muttered. Hermione tightened her grip on the bag, but she didn't say anything. "You don't think that's weird? He wasn't at dinner either…"

"Neither was Harry" Hermione shot back. Neville looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Hermione" Neville said firmly. "Don't compare Harry to Ron…"

"Neville, stop it…" Hermione turned to him, and they were literally inches apart. "I'm going to prove to you two that Ron is not the Heir…" Hermione was about to bombard Neville but the door to the girls' bathroom opened suddenly. Both Hermione and Neville held their breaths.

"Guys, are you in here?" came Harry's voice. Hermione quickly opened the door to the cubicle they were using.

"Harry, in here…" Hermione said quickly, and Harry ran over. Harry squeezed into the cubicle, and then he locked the door behind him. _It's too cramped in here…_ Hermione felt her face flush, she was trapped in a cubicle with two boys… _Relax, Hermione! We need to brew the Polyjuice Potion in secret! That's all!_

"Guys, Colin Creevey was attacked last night" Harry said, his voice was laced with guilt.

"We know, mate…" Neville sighed, and Hermione felt his breath on the back of her neck. _It's too cramped in here!_ "We overheard the Professors talking this morning…"

"That's why we already started on the Potion" Hermione added as she stirred the potion. The cauldron was sitting on a toilet seat. "How did you find us?"

"I went to the common room and you weren't there" Harry explained. "So I tried here… Is Myrtle around?"

"No, thank God!" Hermione exclaimed as she rolled her eyes.

"Thank Merlin you mean…" Neville chuckled, and Hermione shot him a dark look. "Sorry…"

"Guys, Dobby came to visit me this morning!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, and both Hermione and Neville faced him. Harry then told them that Dobby was the one who had sealed the barrier on Ron and him. Dobby was also behind the bludger attack, and he had done it to send Harry home. Harry finally finished by telling them that the Chamber had indeed been opened before!

"That means it can't be Ron!" Hermione said excitedly. "It must be Malfoy… His father taught him how to open the Chamber, just like he did fifty years ago!"

"Lucius Malfoy isn't even fifty years old" Neville argued. "This doesn't prove Ron's innocence." Hermione felt righteous anger burn in her chest.

"Why are you trying to blame Ron for this?!" Hermione shrieked, and both boys covered their ears. "He's my friend!"

"He's our friend too" Harry said in a calming tone, but that just annoyed her even more.

"It doesn't sound like he is…" Hermione grit out.

"We want to make sure, Hermione…" Neville said softly. "If Ron is innocent, then we can protect him…"

"Protect him?" Hermione asked with narrowed eyes.

"From the rumors…" Harry said softly. "Many other Gryffindors are saying that he is the Heir. If we know the truth, then we can tell them that he isn't." _They've planned this… And they never told me…_

"You've been plotting this?" Hermione asked, her voice was bitter.

"There are no plots against him, Hermione" Neville said firmly. "People are getting hurt! Colin got hurt! We can't make mistakes on this!"

"Malfoy is still the primary suspect" Harry added quickly. "We're just exonerating Ron's name!"

"Ahem…" came a cough from behind Harry, and Harry jumped away in shock. Hermione had to cover the cauldron with her own body in order to save it. "What are you three doing?" Moaning Myrtle asked, and Hermione clenched her jaw. _Great… Now she's here too!_

"Nothing!" Neville exclaimed.

"I don't believe you" Myrtle moaned. "But of course, lie to the dead girl." Myrtle then made a mewling sound and floated out of the cubicle.

"Harry, follow her" Hermione said quickly. "She'll tell people!" Harry all but ran right through the door.

"Myrtle! Wait!" Harry called. Myrtle turned around as Hermione came out of the cubicle. "Please don't tell anyone?"

"Oh… Another secret?" Myrtle giggled. "That's two handsome boys who have asked me to keep quiet now…" _Two?_

"Who else asked you?" Harry asked slowly.

"I'm not telling…" Myrtle giggled. "He promised to visit me again."

"Did he have red-hair?" Neville asked quickly, and Hermione hated the excitement in his tone. _He wants it to be Ron… I just know it!_

"He didn't not have red hair" Myrtle said as she floated to Neville. _What?_ Hermione felt her heart stop for a second.

"So he did have red hair…" Harry muttered, and Hermione shook her head. _No! No, Ron is not the Heir!_

"You're lying!" Hermione yelled at Myrtle, and Myrtle gasped. And then she began howling and flew out of the bathroom in tears.

"Hermione?!" Neville all but shouted. "Why did you do that?!"

"Ron is not the Heir!" Hermione shrieked again, and her eyes stung.

"Then why was he in here?!" Neville yelled back. "Why did he ask Myrtle to lie?! Mrs. Norris died just down the hallway from here! Where was he during dinner and breakfast?!"

"Harry, you can't believe this" Hermione pleaded as she turned to her black-haired friend. His distant look broke her heart. _No… He believes its Ron as well…_

"He was here…" Harry just muttered. He looked as devastated as her. "Why was he here?"

"It could have been Percy! Or one of the twins!" Hermione suggested, but she knew it wasn't. Hermione was a smart girl, and she knew that Ron had a habit of being in places that he shouldn't be in… _Why is he always 'exploring' the castle?_ A tiny voice in the back of her head asked her. _Why was Ron on the seventh floor?_ Hermione sniffled as she looked down at her feet. _Ron really was here… wasn't he?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **November 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Just before Lunch)**_

Ron looked at his reflection, and he grimaced. He looked like hell… His hair was still wet from his shower, but it felt cool on his head and it relaxed him. His eyes had black bags under them, and his pale skin highlighted them. Ron's long nap hadn't helped a bit… If anything, he felt even worse than before. _At least I have the strength to move around now…_ Ron exited the bathroom in a daze, and he immediately saw Blaise and Theo doing their homework together.

"Need help?" Ron asked softly. Blaise and Theo looked at him, and they both frowned.

"No" Blaise said firmly. "Can you worry about yourself for once?"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked in utter confusion.

"Nothing…" Blaise sighed. _Hippogriff dung!_

"Lunch will be served soon…" Theo joined in. "Ron, are you up for some food?"

"Yeah" Ron smiled. "I'm sorry you two missed breakfast because of me…"

"It's nothing, Ron" Blaise said. "But when we get back, I want to know why the Sorting Hat was here. And I want to know what it said that set you off so badly, is that fair?"

"It is" Ron nodded. "When we get back, I'll tell you guys everything." _Except for the Entity, or anything to do with my visions!_

"The girls too?" Theo asked.

"The girls too" Ron replied. "Now let's go… I'm starving." Ron and the boys left their room, and they traveled down to the common room. Ron spotted the girls sitting in front of the fire, and they all looked anxious. "Hello" Ron greeted them with a faint smile. They all turned to him immediately.

"Ron!" Daphne all but shouted, and then she jumped him. He almost collapsed due to her full weight on him. Ron braced his legs and held his footing. He gave a soft chuckle as he hugged her back tightly.

"I'm okay…" Ron whispered, and she tightened her hug.

"Ahem… my turn?" came Tracey's voice. Daphne let go of Ron and frowned at Tracey. Tracey gave her a wink and then she hugged Ron gently. "You had us worried…" Ron hugged her back, and then Millie and Pansy sandwiched him. Ron's ears burned due to being hugged by three girls at the same time.

"Not here…" Blaise whispered. "The other Slytherins are watching… Let's talk on the way to the Great Hall." They all departed right after that, and the girls were just staring at Ron.

"What?" Ron asked.

"You look like shite" Tracey replied bluntly, and the other three girls frowned at her.

"I feel worse…" Ron smiled. _I'm so hungry… My stomach hurts…_

"He just needs some food in him" Theo said firmly. "Once he's eaten, he'll be fine."

"Ron, do you want me to dry your hair?" Pansy asked. "I'm great with hair-grooming spells!"

"It's actually helping me Pans, it's keeping me cool" Ron replied softly, and Pansy gave him a nod. "But you can make my hair before I go to Paris" Ron offered, he felt bad about refusing her. Pansy beamed at him.

"Really?!" Pansy asked gleefully. "Okay! I'll do my best, and you'll look really stylish! I promise!" Ron laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Deal" Ron laughed.

"Ron" Daphne said softly. "Is my father pushing you too hard?" She looked extremely guilty, and Ron knew that he had to stop her thinking like that immediately. _It's the Hat that pushed me over the edge… Lord Greengrass has been nothing but good to me!_

"No, you're father has been nothing but amazing!" Ron said firmly. "I have… other problems…"

"You'd better tell us" Millie ordered.

"I will, after lunch" Ron promised. "Daphne, look at me." Daphne looked at him sheepishly. "Your father didn't do a thing, alright?" Daphne nodded meekly. They entered the Great Hall and went to their usual seats, but Daphne sat in Theo's spot. Theo didn't say a word, instead he sat down with Tracey. The food was already on the table, and Ron dug right in. No one said a word as he demolished his food. Then something clicked in Ron's head suddenly… _Harry!_

Ron looked to the Gryffindor table, and he saw the Trio looking right at him. Hermione looked away immediately, but Harry and Neville just kept looking at him. _Yeah, I know… I look like shite…_ Ron stared back at Harry, and then Ron decided something. Harry was not the person behind these attacks. _He was in the Hospital Wing last night… There's no way he attacked Colin with a boneless arm! He's my friend… I owe him the benefit of the doubt…_ Ron then looked at Neville, and Neville was glaring at him. _Again?! What's his problem with me?_ Ron looked back to his meal, he was still hungry.

"Hi, Ron" came an airy voice, and Ron smiled widely.

"Luna" Ron turned to look at his little sister. "What's going on? Come, sit with us!" Luna smiled at him, and then she wedged herself in-between Ron and Daphne.

"You look tired, Ron" Luna hummed. "Are you sleeping well?"

"I am" Ron lied. "Don't worry about me, Luna. Tell me, how are things in Ravenclaw?" Luna blinked at him, and he swallowed. _Damn that insight of hers…_

"Things are okay" Luna smiled suddenly. "Padma helped me make protection charms for all of you… Because of the attacks." Luna then reached into her flowery bag and pulled out Talismans made out of Turnips and copper lines. _What the…?_ "These will keep you all safe" Luna said in a sagely voice.

"Aw!" Daphne cooed as she hugged Luna from the side, and Ron was shocked to see this. _When did they become so close?_ Ron picked up a Talisman, and then he put it around his neck.

"Do I look dashing?" Ron asked Luna with a smile.

"No…" Luna hummed and smiled. "You look terrible actually… You should sleep more, Ron." Ron's friends stifled their laughs at him, while Luna just looked at him innocently. _I walked into that one…_ "Ron, can I have your pudding?"

"Of course" Ron smiled, he knew how much Luna loved pudding. Ron's friends put on their Talismans for Luna's sake, and Blaise only did it after Pansy, Millie, and Tracey kicked his shins. Luna was extremely happy that they were all 'safe' now. Lunch ended shortly after that, and Ron and his friends made their way out of the Great Hall. Ron decided that he was going to give his condolences to the Trio due to Colin's recent attack. But he was stopped by Snape before he even got out.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape hissed. "Why are you walking around the school looking like… that?" Snape sneered at Ron. _Give me a damn break…_

"Sir…" Ron started.

"And what is that ridiculous thing around your neck?" Snape asked icily. _My sister gave me that!_

"It's a protection charm" Ron replied with forced politeness.

"It's a turnip…" Snape bit out. "Take that off, and go wash up. You are a student of Slytherin, at least act like one!" With that, Snape billowed away. Ron gritted his teeth, but he didn't say a word. _What the fuck is his problem?!_

"Ron, let's just go" Daphne said softly, she then grabbed his gloved hand and dragged him behind her. _I missed the Trio as well! Damnit…_

* * *

 _ **November 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Lunch)**_

"The Sorting Hat and you are… friends?" Tracey asked with a confused look. They were in the boys' shared room again.

"Yes…" Ron replied. "That Hat was intrigued with me after my sorting… We generally talk about random things like history and so forth…" _Is there a bigger liar than me in this damn school?!_

"Merlin…" Daphne muttered. "Ron that's… unheard of…"

"Well, it was a secret friendship" Ron said slowly. "I asked it about the Chamber last night… And it told me a few things…"

"Tell us" Millie said as she leaned forward. _Here I go!_

"The Hat told me more about Tom Riddle Jnr" Ron started, and his friends all went wide-eyed. "He didn't die in the war… He **is** the Dark Lord…" Ron looked around at his friends, and they were dead silent.

"Merlin's saggy balls…" Theo muttered after a few seconds. "My investigator was right… He opened the Chamber, didn't he?"

"Yes…" Ron replied. "The Hat thinks I'm a Parselmouth because of him attacking me… It 'connected' us somehow… That's why I had a panic attack…" Ron decided to keep Harry's Parseltongue powers to himself, he didn't want any trouble for his friend. _Harry is no Dark Wizard! Someone else is the Heir of Slytherin! And I will find them…_

"Connected… to the Dark Lord?" Pansy whimpered. Ron simply nodded at her.

"That would be enough to give me a panic attack as well" Blaise sighed. "Merlin, Ron… What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to find this Heir…" Ron said firmly. "And I'm going to stop them before they ruin this school!" There was a short pause amongst the friends.

"Well, I'm going to help" Daphne said suddenly. The rest of the group joined in, and Ron smiled at his friends. He had truly been blessed by the Hat, hadn't he? _I should thank the Hat properly… It's the reason why I have such great friends!_

* * *

 _ **November 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Breakfast)**_

Ron looked in the mirror and smirked, he looked amazing! Pansy had given him a new hair-cut, gelled his hair, and made him look rather stylish. He had never thought that he could pull off such a sophisticated look, but Pansy was clearly a miracle worker. His thick red hair was short on the sides and the back, but Pansy had kept his hair longer on top of his head. She had then used some hair-gel to give it a shine, and then she had swept it back. It definitely looked better than his messy hairstyle from before!

"It's an undercut!" Pansy squealed. "It was voted as the number one 'Desirable Hair-cut for a Bachelor to Have' by Witch Weekly Magazine this month!" Lockhart's grinning face flashed in Ron's mind…

"Thank you, Pans" Ron turned around and smiled. "You're amazing!" _I love this new cut!_ Pansy blushed and giggled.

"I know" Pansy said arrogantly, she looked extremely pleased with herself. _She has every reason to be, I look drop-dead gorgeous! I should probably never say that out loud…_ "C'mon, let's go show the others!" Pansy then quickly ushered him out of the room and took him to the common room. There weren't many people around due to how early it was, but the few that were there seemed to approve of his cleaner look.

"Tada!" Ron exclaimed to his friends, and they looked slack-jawed.

"Woah!" Millie laughed.

"That's an undercut from Witch Weekly!" Tracey squealed at Pansy.

"Looking sharp, mate" Blaise smiled and nodded. _It feels good!_

"Ron, you look amazing!" Daphne said excitedly. "My father will be so pleased!" Ron felt his cheeks warm up a bit, and he wasn't sure why. Everyone else was gushing at him, but it just felt different when Daphne did it…

"Thanks…" Ron smiled.

"Is he blushing?!" Theo laughed.

"Shut up…" Ron frowned at him. "I have to go…" Ron quickly turned around to face Pansy. "Thank you again, Pansy! I'll bring you back a souvenir!"

"Bring back a trophy instead" Pansy smiled. Ron gave her a firm nod, and then he began making his way out of the common room.

"Good luck!" Ron's friends called after him.

"Don't need it!" Ron yelled back with a smirk, and then he was out. He walked straight to Snape's office, and he knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in" Snape's voice came, and Ron entered the office.

"Good morning, Sir" Ron smiled softly at the Potions Master. _He's always doing paper-work… Must be a busy job being a Professor!_

"Good morning…" Snape said slowly as he looked up. _Yeah, I look presentable! Take that!_ "You clean up well… It is a shame you don't do it often…" _And he still managed to hurt me…_

"I will from now on" Ron kept his composure. "I am a Slytherin, and I'll act like it." Snape looked at him for a few seconds, and then he gave a curt nod.

"Good luck today, Mr. Weasley" Snape said softly. "Do Slytherin proud."

"I will, Sir" Ron nodded firmly, and then he went to the fireplace. He grabbed some floo powder and called for Greengrass Manor. When the fire blazed green, Ron went through.

"He's here!" came Astoria's happy voice as soon as Ron stepped through the green flames. "Woah…" Astoria stopped with a shocked look on her face. "Ron?!"

"Hello, Tori" Ron smiled at her, this was the first time he was calling her Tori out loud. "Do you like my new look?" Ron smiled, he knew she liked it. She nodded vigorously.

"Welcome back, Ron" Lady Greengrass greeted him with a wide smile. "And don't you look dashing!" Ron blushed a little, he felt really good today! "Come along quickly, I have your uniform ready in one of the guest rooms." Ron nodded and followed her. She led him upstairs and into a hallway with at least a dozen doors. "It's in here, now get changed quickly" she instructed him. "My Lord Husband is coming with a Portkey from the Ministry, we will be leaving as soon as he is here."

"Thank you, Lady Greengrass" Ron smiled, and then he entered the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. The room was spacious, and had emerald green walls. There was a comfortable looking bed, some expensive looking seats, a dresser, and a large mirror next to the dresser. Ron saw his uniform lying on the bed, and he moved to it. He put it on carefully, making sure that he didn't crumple the prestigious looking uniform. Then he moved in front of the mirror to see what he looked like in it.

The uniform consisted of fitted black dress pants, shiny black dress shoes, a white dress shirt, a thin black tie, two black leather gloves, and a tailored black blazer. It looked extremely… Muggle. But Ron loved it, and he felt an odd sense of authority while wearing it. Ron looked at the black tie with a smile, and he saw the Greengrass Family coat of arms on it. _A white sword with a green serpent wrapped around it… I wonder if we Weasleys have a coat of arms!_ Ron then spotted the Greengrass coat of arms on his blazer, it was right over his heart. Ron did the buttons up on his blazer, and he stood up taller. Yeah… he felt powerful in this uniform.

"Marty" Ron called, and there was a loud crack behind him.

"Master, how may Marty help you?" Marty asked with a deep bow.

"Take my school uniform back to Hogwarts" Ron said firmly, his uniform making him feel more authoritative. "Have it washed and laid on my bed" Ron added quickly.

"At once, Master" Marty said with joy. And then with a loud crack, Marty was gone. _Merlin! That felt really awesome! I wonder if this is how Lord Greengrass feels all the time!_ There was a knock on the door, and Ron quickly hid his childish glee. Ron shot one more look at his reflection, and then he exited the room. Lady Greengrass was waiting for him outside, and she beamed at him.

"You look wonderful!" Lady Greengrass smiled happily, and Ron smiled back. She then reached over and fixed his tie to the center of his shirt. "There, now let's go. My husband is downstairs." She led Ron back down, and they ran into Lord Greengrass and Astoria who were both waiting by the stairs.

"Ah, Ronald" Lord Greengrass smiled, and then he nodded at Ron in approval. "New hair-cut… It suits you."

"It was on Witch Weekly" Astoria giggled. _Oh no…_

"I didn't know you read Witch Weekly, Ronald" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"It is a literary masterpiece, my Lord" Ron joked, and Lady Greengrass chuckled.

"I'm glad to see you have your wits today" Lord Greengrass smiled. "Now, let's get a move on. Everyone outside, now!" Ron was surprised by the fact that Lady Greengrass and Astoria were coming along, but he didn't mind. Once they stepped outside, Lord Greengrass led them to a patch of grass that had a single boot sitting on it. "Ever traveled via Portkey, Ronald?"

"No, my Lord" Ron replied.

"Love, you take Astoria's hands" Lord Greengrass told his wife. "Ronald, grab my arm." Ron did as he was told, and then they stood around the boot. "On the count of three, everyone grab the boot. Ronald, don't let go of my arm. Tori, hold your mother's hand tightly. One… two… three!" They all grabbed the boot, and Ron instantly felt like he was being pulled in with a hook by the back of his neck. He jerked forward and his whole body felt like it was in a tornado, and he even saw bright lights flashing all around him. And then he was on solid earth again and he almost fell over, but Lord Greengrass caught him. _What the fuck just happened?!_ Ron's head was spinning, and he felt a bit sick.

"You're okay, love" Lady Greengrass said in a soft voice to her daughter. Tori looked completely out of it. _Glad I'm not the only one… Ugh… Floo is so much better!_

"Easy, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said as he rubbed Ron's back.

"I'm alright…" Ron said, and then he shook his head. _Nope… I'm not alright…_

* * *

 _ **November 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Paris Competition)**_

"Tell me, Ronald" Lord Greengrass said. "How are things at school? And I'm not referring to your grades." Ron and his mentor were currently sitting together alongside the other competitors and their mentors. Lady Greengrass and Astoria were watching from the stands, and Ron saw Astoria waving at him. He waved back and smiled at her, she was adorable! Ron was also ignoring the French speaking announcer, mostly because he didn't understand a word that the man was saying.

"The school is on edge, my Lord" Ron answered honestly, he would never dare lie to Lord Greengrass. _He probably already knows… Lying to him could get me into trouble!_ "Ever since Colin Creevey's attack, all the students are walking around in groups. The first years are terrified, and the teachers are on high alert. There has been a sudden increase in the trading of protection charms and talismans… It is not a good environment to be in…"

"And my daughter, how is she?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"She is well, and seldom out of my sight" Ron answered truthfully. Ron had been watching over his friends like a hawk! _Except for the Trio… I think they're avoiding me…_

"Good, keep your eyes on her" Lord Greengrass ordered.

"You don't even need to ask me, my Lord" Ron replied. "I'd never let anything happen to her…" Lord Greengrass smiled faintly, and Ron missed it because he was watching the announcer. "What is he saying, my Lord?" Ron asked his mentor.

"Nothing you need to worry about…" Lord Greengrass smirked. "All you need to know is that the reward for winning is two hundred Galleons. Plus the three hundred Galleon bonus I will give you… If you win." Ron did his best to keep his composure, but there was a greedy glint in his eyes. He wanted that money… "When you win, Ronald… There will be some reporters… You will tell them of my patronage, do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron smirked. _I get paid, and he gets recognition for training a winner… So we both win!_

* * *

 _ **November 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Paris Competition, Final Match)**_

The last two games had been… boring. Ron was shocked at how simple minded his fellow twelve year-olds were in chess… He knew that he was above-average, but he wasn't **that** good! Maybe it was just all the grueling training sessions with Lord Greengrass finally paying off? Either way, Ron had decimated his previous two opponents. Now he was facing a girl named Olivia Jones from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and she was visibly worried. Ron smiled at her politely, and her lips twitched into a frown.

She was playing white, so she made the first move. Ron decided to wait and see what she was capable of, she was clearly good enough to make it into the final match! Ron moved his pawns into a defensive position in order to utilize his stronger pieces early on in the game. She had a similar idea, and the first five minutes of the game were dreadfully boring. And then, it got bloody…

She seemingly lost her patience with Ron's endless smirk and slow playstyle, and she launched an attack. Ron was taken by surprise for a second, but then he quickly relaxed. He had the better positioning on the board, and so he could easily push her into a corner. Ron became aggressive in his playstyle, and he didn't care for losing his pawns. Lord Greengrass had done the same thing to Ron many times, and it worked like a charm. Olivia was far too concerned with what Ron could do, and so she failed to see what he was doing. Ron had quickly taken three quarters of the board for himself…

With her room for movement cut off severely, it was only a matter of time before her pawns started dying off. Ron used his knights and bishops to wreak havoc on her front line with little to no retaliation from her. By the time she killed both of his bishops, Ron had taken her rooks and queen. This game was over, but Olivia was going down slowly… Ron admired her need to keep playing until the end, he would've done the same. Around the twenty five minute mark, Ron checkmate her. The small crowd applauded Ron, and he could actually hear Astoria shouting. Ron also spotted Lord Greengrass smirking and shaking hands with the other mentors. Ron shook Olivia's hand and gave her a friendly smile, but she just kept frowning.

"Come with me, Monsieur Weasley" said the announcer in a thick French accent, and Ron followed the man. Ron's stomach flipped at the sight of the reporters who were all waiting at the edge of the stage, and then Ron suddenly felt a strong hand on his left shoulder. Ron looked back slowly, and to his relief, Lord Greengrass was standing right behind him with a proud smile.

"Well done, Ronald" Lord Greengrass whispered. "Now just remain calm, and answer their questions." Ron nodded as the reporters turned to him. He was dazed by their camera flashes, and he smiled his best smile. _Merlin… This is terrifying… What if I say something stupid?! Oh shite…_ The reporters all spoke suddenly, and Ron nearly bolted.

"Please, one at a time" Lord Greengrass said in a raised voice.

"Which school do you represent?" a stout witch asked him, she was holding a notepad close to her chest. Ron cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Ron answered with a polite smile.

"Which House are you in? Ravenclaw?" a fat man asked.

"I am in Slytherin" Ron replied. There was a sudden outburst of yelling from the reporters, and Ron went pale.

"Is it true that the Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts?!" the stout woman yelled, and Ron froze.

"Are you the Heir?" came another voice.

"What is Albus Dumbledore doing to protect his students?!"

"Is there a curfew implemented at the school?!"

"Should the parents be concerned?!" Ron felt like he was rooted to the spot, what the fuck was he supposed to say?!

"If you do not have questions regarding the competition, please refrain from asking" Lord Greengrass said firmly.

"Is Harry Potter safe at Hogwarts?!" came another voice.

"This is over" Lord Greengrass said as he pulled Ron away. "No comments!" Lord Greengrass put himself in between Ron and the flashes from the cameras.

* * *

 _ **November 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Lunch)**_

Ron and the Greengrass family waited for their orders to be served. Ron was still a bit dazed from his run-in with the reporters, and Lady Greengrass was rubbing his back softly. Astoria looked slightly sad for Ron, while Lord Greengrass was smiling faintly at Ron's trophy. _He looked really proud of me… But I didn't even hold up my end of the deal…_

"I'm sorry" Ron muttered. "For not mentioning your patronage…"

"Do not worry about that" Lord Greengrass chuckled, and Ron looked at him with a sorry look. "Ron, it doesn't matter…" _He called me Ron…_ "You have our Family coat of arms on both your tie and blazer, they got the message. Don't let those reporters ruin your victory, I'm extremely proud of you." Ron smiled at that.

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron said gratefully, and then he decided that Lord Greengrass was right. _Piss on those reporters! I won! And I can't wait to tell my friends!_ Ron sat up straight, and Lady Greengrass smiled at him lovingly.

"Ron, you were amazing!" Astoria beamed.

"Love, inside voice…" Lady Greengrass chuckled. "But she is right, Ronald. You were amazing, I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you" Ron smiled at Lady Greengrass.

"Did you hear me cheering for you?" Tori asked excitedly. "I cheered the loudest!"

"I did hear you, and it helped me win" Ron laughed. And just like, the mood became lighter. Lord and Lady Greengrass smiled throughout the entire lunch while Ron spoke to Tori about his victory. Tori listened with baited breath as he told her how he had outsmarted his opponents, and she then urged Lord Greengrass to teach her more about chess. Lord Greengrass agreed with a hearty chuckle, and Tori challenged Ron to a game someday soon. Ron agreed with a wide grin…

* * *

 _ **November 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Back to Hogwarts)**_

Ron walked into Snape's office from the fireplace, and he instantly saw Snape standing in front of a cauldron. Snape turned to Ron, and his expression was blank.

"Mr. Weasley, how did you fare today?" Snape asked in his low voice. Ron showed Snape the trophy with a smirk.

"I made Slytherin proud, Sir" Ron said firmly, and Snape smirked back. _That's as close to smiling as he gets!_

"Congratulations" Snape said, his voice didn't sound as cold as usual.

"Thank you, Sir" Ron replied with a firm nod.

"Your fellow Slytherin year-mates are currently going to their D.A.D.A class" Snape said, his cold voice had returned. "I suggest you go join them…" Ron sighed at the thought of seeing Lockhart. _I forgot that it's Friday… I should have stayed at the Manor!_ "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing, Sir…" Ron lied. Snape just stared at Ron for a few seconds.

"Just ignore Professor Lockhart, the rest of us do…" Snape said as he turned around to his cauldron. _Was that a… joke? Or is he being serious?_ Ron started to walk out of the office but Snape stopped him with his voice. "Mr. Weasley, leave the trophy on my desk… The Headmaster will want to place it within the Trophy Room."

"Yes, Sir" Ron nodded, and then he did as he was told. Once he was out of Snape's Office, Ron went to the common room to grab his quills and parchment. _Don't even need them… Lockhart is just going to read us his damn books anyway…_ Ron didn't bother changing before he went straight to his class.

"Sorry for being late, Professor" Ron announced himself as he entered Lockhart's class. Lockhart's portraits all frowned at Ron interrupting 'story time'. The whole class turned to face Ron, and Ron smiled sheepishly. _Don't mind me… I don't want to be here anymore than you lot do…_

"Ah, welcome!" Lockhart grinned, and Ron forced a proper smile on his face. "We were just getting started, take a seat!" _Shite!_ Ron quickly moved and sat down next to Theo.

"Hey…" Theo whispered.

"Hello" Ron replied with a wide smile. Theo grinned at that, he knew for certain now that Ron had won.

"Ronald, where is your school uniform?" Lockhart asked with a bewildered expression.

"I'm sorry, Professor" Ron said politely. "I was in Paris for a competition, I only just got back."

"Ah!" Lockhart grinned, his pearly whites gleaming at Ron. "Chess, I assume?" _No, I went to dance competition… Bloody moron…_

"Yes, Professor" Ron replied. Ron quickly shot a look at his other friends, and they all looked at him with some sort of anticipation. He gave them a very slight nod, and they all beamed. Daphne looked absolutely radiant!

"You won, I hope?" Lockhart chuckled.

"I did, Professor" Ron smiled politely.

"Well done, my little prodigy!" Lockhart laughed, and Ron felt the need to head butt him. "Stand up, stand up!" Lockhart ordered happily. "Class, give him applause!" _Oh Merlin… Please don't…_ Ron stood up slowly, and the class clapped. Some clapped enthusiastically, while others clapped only because they were told to. Ron's face turned crimson from embarrassment, and he sat down quickly. _I hate this grinning arsehole…_ Ron's eyes shot to Hermione, and she was smiling at him sadly. Ron also looked at Neville and Harry, and both boys looked a bit… sad… _What's wrong with them? I need to find out… They've been acting really weird lately…_

"That was great…" Theo snickered from beside him.

"I hate him, Theo…" Ron whispered.

"I know…" Theo kept snickering.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed this slower chapter! Things are getting strained between Ron and the Trio, and it's going to get a lot worse... That's all I'll say! Let's see if their friendship survives the year... (Also, sorry for the lack Draco!) He will be around a lot more in the next chapter!**

 **See you guys soon!**


	32. Chapter 32 - Betrayed

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 32! And this one has some twists and turns!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 32 – Betrayed**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **November 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Quidditch Pitch)**_

Ron soared through the air at full speed, his Nimbus 2001 carrying him faster than ever before. Ron flew over the stands and circled back around, laughing maniacally as he did it. _This is fucking amazing! I bloody love Sirius!_ Ron then came to a stop slowly, and he looked down at his friends on the pitch. It was a sunny Sunday morning, and they were having a picnic of sorts out in the sun. It was Pansy's idea, and Ron was quite happy with it. Marty had made them all sandwiches, and he had even delivered them with some butter-beer! Ron flew down and landed gracefully, smiling widely as he approached his friends.

"Have fun?" Theo smirked.

"Yeah, this thing is amazing!" Ron exclaimed, he was slightly out of breath. "Want to have a go?" Ron offered as he sat down next to Pansy.

"Maybe after" Theo shrugged. Ron then tried to grab a sandwich but Pansy smacked his hand away, his friends all chuckled at Ron's bewildered expression.

"I'm still setting it up, Ron" Pansy frowned. "I want everything to look perfect before we start eating…" Ron shot a look to the other girls, and they just smiled at him innocently. _Okay then…_

"Pansy" Blaise chuckled. "It's going to get messy anyway… So what's the point?" Pansy shot Blaise a dark look that stopped his sniggering.

"I want a nice looking picnic" Pansy said slowly, and then she got back to fixing up the plates and butter-beers. Ron shrugged at Blaise's confused look, and then he lay down on his back. The Sun warmed his face, and he couldn't help but smile. He was having a great morning with his closest friends, what more could anyone ask for? While Pansy fussed over her picnic, Ron thought about recent events.

It had been quite a few days since Colin's attack, and things were still tense amongst the students. The other three houses were avoiding the Slytherins as if the Slytherins were carrying a plague! But the worst part about that was that even the Trio were avoiding Ron. He was absolutely sure of it now. Hermione wouldn't even look at him, and she'd run off if she ever saw him approaching her. Neville and Harry looked at him with guarded looks, and Ron knew exactly why. They were suspicious of him… They thought that **he** was the Heir…

At first, Ron had been furious… But within a few hours, his anger had turned into hurt. He felt extremely wounded by their lack of faith in him… He was their friend, why couldn't they understand that? He had helped them more than a few times, and one of those times had left him permanently scarred! Ron pulled his mind away from the Trio, just thinking about them hurt…

His mind instead wandered to his Gryffindor family… To his Ginny… She was still ignoring him… She was ignoring everyone… Percy was going mad with worry, and even the twins were beginning to worry about her! They were doing their best to cheer her up, and they were failing horribly! They had covered themselves with furs and boils, and then they had started jumping out of corners to scare her… Why they thought that scaring her was a good idea was beyond Ron, and Ron wasn't surprised at all to learn that it hadn't worked.

"Hello! Ron!" Pansy called as she shook his leg. Ron jumped up and looked at her, and she furrowed her brow at him. "Where did you go?"

"Thinking about Ginny…" Ron sighed, and Pansy smiled at sadly.

"Well… the picnic is ready" Pansy said softly. She hated seeing Ron look so defeated, he really missed his sister… Ron smiled at the sound of that.

"Finally, was beginning to think that you'd starve us" Ron laughed, and Pansy cuffed him on the back of the head. The picnic was quite amazing, and they all laughed and ate together. Eating outside in the sunlight was doing wonders for them, and Ron knew now why Pansy had wanted to have a picnic. For one hour, none of them even mentioned the Heir or the attacks. The dangers inside the castle completely slipped from their minds!

After the picnic was over, Ron flew around for a bit more. Eventually, Ron's friends called him back because they all wanted to go back inside. Ron and the group made their way to the castle with wide smiles, their worries forgotten for the day. That is until they entered the Entrance Hall…

"There you are" came a familiar voice. Ron was surprised to see Padma Patil approaching him, but then his surprise instantly turned into dread… _LUNA!_

"Padma?" Ron muttered. "Is it Luna? Is she alright? Did the Heir attack her?!" Padma just blinked at him.

"Um… no" Padma said with a soft smile. "I just needed a… favor… from you" she finished softly. _Oh thank Merlin! I almost dropped dead from worry…_ Ron smiled in relief.

"Sure thing, what do you need?" Ron asked her, but Padma looked at Ron's friends instead. "Guys, I'll catch up to you" Ron said to his friends, and they all nodded and left. _Just like that? No fuss, no fighting… They probably like Padma or something._

"Things are really tense in Hogwarts right now" Padma started, and Ron nodded in agreement. "The first years are especially terrified… So the older Ravenclaws are throwing a party for the younger Ravenclaws, just to cheer them up…"

"Doesn't that include you?" Ron chuckled, and Padma giggled.

"It does… But I've elected to help out instead" she said proudly. "And that's where you come in…" she paused, and Ron looked at her expectantly. "We wanted to get some butter-beers… and other things… like sweets and treats… And the Slytherins are rumored to know their way around smuggling these things into Hogwarts…" _I get it now… She didn't volunteer to help, the older students sent her to me… They don't want to associate with any Slytherins themselves…_

"And so they sent you…" Ron smiled faintly, and Padma gave him a sorry look. She hadn't expected to be caught out…

"I told them that you weren't like the other Slytherins…" Padma confessed. "And they… they sent me to ask you for help…"

"Well, I do owe you" Ron smiled. "So I'll help, of course." Padma beamed at that.

"Thank you, Ron!" Padma squealed. "Thank you! We are going to have the party after dinner tonight…"

"Tonight?!" Ron asked in shock, and Padma smiled sheepishly. "A bit last minute, don't you think?"

"Sorry…" she said softly. "I was supposed to ask you yesterday, but you weren't here…"

"I was at work" Ron sighed. "Alright, I'll get it done somehow! I promise!" _Marty can help me!_

"Thank you so much!" Padma exclaimed as she hugged him. _Another girl has hugged me… This is becoming a pattern…_ "We'll pay you back for everything" Padma said as she broke the hug. _No, I can use this to make some Ravenclaw connections… What would Lord Greengrass do?_

"No, it's fine" Ron smiled. "Consider it my thanks for everything that you've done for my little sister. My friends told me how well you look after her, I'm extremely grateful Padma" Ron smiled his best smile, and Padma blushed a bit. "I'll fund the whole thing…"

"Ron, that's…" Padma started with a slack-jawed look but Ron stopped her.

"It's alright" Ron chuckled. "I made a lot of money recently, I'm more than happy to help out the Ravenclaws! We're all students of the same school, right?" Padma just nodded in awe. "I'd better go and arrange everything, you'll have it all by six tonight!" Ron then waved goodbye, but Padma just stared at him in awe as he left.

Ron made his way down to the dungeons, and he smirked to himself. _I wish Lord Greengrass saw that! He'd be so proud of me! Wait a second… Why don't we Slytherins have a party as well? That would actually help me out a lot… Bribes are a great way to earn loyalty, isn't that what Blaise said? Yeah… I'll fund two parties… One for Ravenclaw, and one for Slytherin…_ Ron smiled deviously, this was a genius plan! Ron went straight to his dorm, and then he closed the door behind him. Theo and Blaise were out in the common room… _Good, I'll surprise the whole house!_

"Marty, I need you" Ron called, and there was a loud crack.

"Master Ronald called Marty?" Marty asked with a bow.

"I did, I need your help!" Ron smiled at his servant.

"Anything, Master!" Marty exclaimed happily. Ron then told Marty about his plans, and Marty listened with baited breath.

"So, can you handle it?" Ron asked after he finished explaining his plan.

"Of course, Master" Marty nodded vigorously. "Marty helped the Greengrass Family with many parties! Marty will take care of everything!" Ron smiled happily, and then he got out his Gringotts pouch from his trunk.

"Here, Marty" Ron said as he handed Marty the pouch. "Use this… How much will it all cost?"

"That depends on you, Master" Marty squeaked. "Marty can buy the best, or Marty can try and save Master's money…" _Slytherin demands the best! I can't afford to be cheap… If I'm doing this, then I need to do it right._

"Buy only the best" Ron ordered. "Give me a rough number…"

"Master wants to hold the parties after dinner, so Marty will buy kegs of butter-beer and other party foods…" Marty said, he was calculating costs in his head. "Nothing too filling… Mostly cakes and treats… Marty will also buy punch for the older students… Marty estimates around eighty Galleons, Master!" _EIGHTY?! What kind of party supplies cost that much?! Ugh… I don't have a choice…_

"Get it done" Ron nodded. "Also, deliver the supplies for the Ravenclaw party to their common room by six, leave a note that tells everyone that I supplied the materials… Something like 'Best Regards, Ronald Weasley'…" Marty nodded excitedly. "As for the Slytherin supplies, wait until dinner and then bring them to the common room. I'll need your help setting it all up."

"Excellent, Master" Marty praised. "Excellent! Marty will not fail Master!" And just like that, Marty was gone with a loud crack. Ron let out a long breath, and then he grinned. _I should make a small speech about why I'm throwing the party… Something that tells the other Slytherins that I'm with them… That we're a… family…_

* * *

 _ **November 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner Time)**_

Ron came down to the common room, and it was completely deserted. He had lied to his friends and told them that he was feeling sick, and so they went to dinner without him. It was now time to set everything up!

"Marty!" Ron called, and Marty appeared with a loud crack.

"Master, Marty have the supplies!" Marty said excitedly. "Marty has stored them in the kitchens!"

"Bring them here, we can start setting it up!" Ron said with a grin. Marty nodded, and then he was gone. Ron waited for a few seconds, and then Marty came back. He wasn't alone… About a dozen House-Elves had shown up with him, and Marty was holding a mug of hot chocolate.

"Master should relax, Marty and his friends will set up" Marty smiled as he offered Ron the mug. Ron was touched…

"Thank you, Marty" Ron smiled genuinely as he accepted the mug.

"Marty is happy to serve" Marty bowed. "Marty has also returned Master's pouch, it is within Master's trunk." Ron then sat down and watched the House-Elves work. By the time Ron had finished his hot chocolate, everything was in place. _House-Elves are amazing... Marty is amazing!_

"Marty is finished, Master!" Marty exclaimed. Ron looked around the common room, and it looked completely different. There were tables set up in front of all of the walls, and the tables were covered with platters of party foods. There were a dozen kegs of butter-beer, and multiple bowls of punch. All the furniture had been moved to the sides, and there was a lot of room for dancing. "Marty also found a record player, Master!"

"You're the best, Marty! I mean that!" Ron said happily. _This is perfect!_ Marty looked so happy that Ron was actually a little bit disturbed. "They are coming!" Marty suddenly exclaimed. Marty and the other Elves suddenly left with loud cracks. _What the hell?!_ Ron then heard the entrance open, and he quickly straightened up. _Time to preach fraternity!_

The Slytherin students entered the common room, and their conversations just stopped. They all just looked around the room in a daze, and then they looked at Ron standing in the middle of the room with a wide smile.

"Weasley… what's this?" asked Samuel Byrne, the Triumvirate member.

"I've decided to throw a party" Ron smiled at him, and he blinked at Ron. More students piled into the room, including Ron's friends. They just gaped in utter shock.

"A party?" Samuel Byrne asked slowly. "Why? And who is paying for this?" _Speech time! I've got this…_

"I am paying for this out of my own pocket" Ron started with a smile. "I've noticed that the other houses are outright ignoring us… They blame us for this Heir of Slytherin problem… So I decided to throw a party." Everyone just blinked at him. "We should be sticking together now more than ever, and this party will help us all bond. Fraternity is a Slytherin trait, and we should practice it. We need to be united!" There was utter silence, and Ron could see Blaise and Theo just smiling widely. The girls were just stunned by Ron's behavior. _Please work… I paid a lot of money…_

"You had me at 'I am paying for this'…" Samuel Byrne laughed, and the other older Slytherins joined in. "Well… I guess we're having a party!" Ron released a breath of relief as the Slytherins cheered in excitement.

* * *

 _ **November 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Slytherin Party)**_

The music was blaring loudly, and there was a lot of movement on the dance floor. Ron was currently talking to Carey Ductu, and she seemed quite happy tonight. Ron knew that the party was a huge success because of her great mood. Even the first-years were openly introducing themselves to the older students.

"So, how did you do it?" Carey asked with a smile, she had a glass of punch in her left hand.

"I have an army of House-Elves at my beck-and-call" Ron joked, and Carey actually laughed. _I made Miss. Prefect laugh!_

"You know, with any other person… I'd think they were joking" Carey smiled. "But you… You are something else."

"I don't know what you mean" Ron chuckled as he drank some of his butter-beer.

"Yes you do… Smuggling Dragons… Playing chess in foreign countries… Saving House Cups at the last minute…" Carey smiled widely, her white teeth sparkling at Ron. He wasn't going to lie, his stomach did flips at getting this much attention from such a pretty girl. "You **are** something else, Ronald Weasley. Look, even Sammy is having fun…" Carey pointed out Samantha Selwyn dancing with Bloise McCarty. The dark haired girl was actually smiling as she danced with the Triumvirate member.

"I didn't think she was capable" Ron joked, and Carey just giggled.

"She can be… tough…" Carey said with a merry voice. "But she likes you, as do Clara and I. You have a sharp mind, definitely sharper than the current Triumvirate members…" Ron gave her a surprised look, and she just smiled slyly at him. "C'mon, everyone knows that the current Triumvirate is a massive let-down…"

"I wouldn't say that…" Ron laughed.

"And what **would** you say?" Carey asked, her voice was as smooth as silk. _Be careful… Don't dig your own grave, Weasley…_

"I'd just say that the previous Triumvirate set a very high standard…" Ron said with a polite smile. Carey laughed at that.

"See, a sharp mind…" Carey laughed. Ron was suddenly engulfed in a tight hug from behind, and Ron felt two soft breasts engulf his head. "Clara… stop smothering him with your tits…" Ron actually froze… His brain stopped working… He almost passed out… And then Clara Martyris let him go. Ron spun around slowly, looking utterly dazed. Clara laughed alongside Carey.

"I think I broke him" Clara giggled. She was a bit shorter than Carey Ductu, but she was definitely more filled out… in certain areas… _Merlin! They were really soft… Are they meant to be that soft? Shite…_

"I'm fine…" Ron cleared his throat, and Carey Ductu giggled.

"Come dance with me, Ronald" Clara wooed. She was clearly drunk…

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" Carey laughed at her friend.

"Just enough" Clara smiled widely, her eyes closed. "I love your hair!" Clara shouted at Ron with a smile, and Ron felt his cheeks flush.

"You do have nice hair, Ron" Carey laughed at Ron's slack-jawed face.

"Thanks…" Ron said, he didn't know what else to say.

"Aw! He's so innocent" Clara cooed. "Here, let me change that!" She put her hands on Ron's cheeks and pulled him in… Things slowed down, and Ron didn't even know what to think! Carey managed to pull Ron back before Clara snogged him, and then she took Clara's hand.

"I'm going to take Clara…" Carey shook her head. "She needs to go lie down…" With that, Carey took Clara away. Clara shot him a teasing wink, and Ron just smiled at her like an idiot. _Oh Merlin… That was… Merlin… I almost kissed a sixth year… The twins would never believe me! And Clara is gorgeous… Why would she want to kiss me?!_ Ron shook his head hard, he needed to get back to his friends… Ron then made his way back onto the dance floor.

"RON!" Tracey yelled with a smile, and then she waved him over. "Come and dance with me!" She looked like she was having the best time in the world. Ron grinned and joined her, the rest of his friends were with Tracey.

"There you are!" Daphne yelled with a smile. "Where did you disappear off too?!" Ron barely made out what she was saying.

"Carey Ductu wanted to talk to me!" Ron yelled back, and then Daphne moved closer to Ron. _Too close…_

"What did she want?" Daphne asked, she was talking with a normal voice right into his ear. Ron turned his head to answer her, and their noses touched. Ron instantly felt his stomach do a flip, and she blushed crimson.

"Sorry" Ron said in her ear. "Anyway… She wanted to thank me for the party. Then she called me really smart… I think she caught onto why I'm doing this…"

"She definitely did" Daphne laughed in his ear, her breath was hot on his cheek. "This is an amazing party though, I even saw Malfoy having fun!"

"Really?" Ron asked with a chuckle. "Good… I'm glad he isn't trying to ruin this." Someone bumped into Ron, and Ron turned to see Theo smirking at him.

"The man of the hour!" Theo laughed, he had two glasses of punch in his hands.

"Theo!" Ron laughed. "That punch has alcohol in it!" Theo gave Ron a confused smile.

"And?" Theo chuckled. "C'mon, have some!" Ron didn't want to drink, he was underage… But Daphne was looking at him with a smile, and the rest of his friends were having a great time… _I don't want to be a kill-joy…_

"Fine!" Ron replied as he took one glass. And then he downed it in one go. All of his friends went ballistic with laughter. _What?!_

"Ron!" Daphne laughed as she leaned on his right arm for support. "Why did you chug it down?!" Daphne then laughed loudly. Theo was pissing himself with laughter, and Ron found himself laughing as well.

"It tasted nice!" Ron laughed, and his friends began laughing even harder. Blaise gave him a pat on the back.

"C'mon, mate!" Blaise laughed. "You need to eat something… Or you'll get really drunk! That punch is really strong!" Blaise then guided Ron towards some food. "Great party by the way!"

"Bribes are a great way to earn loyalty" Ron laughed, and Blaise grinned.

"So you do listen?!" Blaise asked humorously.

"Sometimes…" Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Why do you guys know how to drink alcohol?!"

"Us Pure-Bloods are raised on parties and social events!" Blaise laughed. "You learn by watching the adults!"

"You're twelve!" Ron yelled, the music was way too loud.

"And you're naïve" Blaise shook his head.

"What?! I didn't hear that!" Ron said as he cupped his ears.

"Never mind! Just have some shrimp!" Blaise said as he handed Ron a small plate of food that he put together. "OH SHITE!" Blaise shouted suddenly, he was looking at where the entrance was. Ron turned to see Snape, and his heart stopped beating. Snape was just looking around with an expressionless face. "Ron, this is your party!" Blaise yelled. "You deal with that shite!" And just like that, Blaise ran off into the crowd. _Oh shite… I'm buggered…_ Ron slowly made his way to Snape, how had no one noticed the Potions Master?!

"Sir!" Ron yelled, he was still holding a plate full of shrimp. Snape looked at Ron with the coldest look Ron had ever seen. _Oh Merlin…_

"Come with me… NOW!" Snape seethed, and then he billowed out. _Merlin help me!_ Ron followed Snape outside into the corridor, and the entrance closed behind them. "Talk…"

"Yes, Sir!" Ron yelled, and Snape blinked.

"You're yelling, Mr. Weasley" Snape sneered.

"Sorry…" Ron said, lowering his tone. His ears were actually ringing from the loud music. "We're having a party, Sir."

"I can see that" Snape drawled. "Who is behind this? Tomorrow is a Monday, and it is already past midnight…" _IT IS?! Shite!_

"Um… actually, Sir" Ron started, he was shuffling his feet. "I threw the party…" Snape just stared at Ron for almost thirty seconds.

"Why?" Snape asked.

"Um… I wanted to make the house feel more united" Ron replied, he was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. "The other houses hate us because of this Heir of Slytherin business… I thought that maybe we all needed to remember that fraternity is a Slytherin trait… That we don't need the other houses…" Snape just blinked at Ron… Was the boy telling the truth? Snape would find out soon enough…

"And who paid for this? Was it the Triumvirate?" Snape asked in a low voice.

"I paid for the whole thing… I have a lot of money saved up from my chess contract…" Ron shuffled his feet. "Am I in trouble, Sir?"

"I don't know, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied with a dead tone. "But as a Professor, I must stop this party at once…"

"Why?" Ron asked, people were having fun!

"Because you are underage" Snape grimaced. "And I can smell the alcohol on your breath…" Ron went crimson with shame. _THEO! YOU BASTARD!_ "Now follow me…" Snape then billowed back into the common room. Ron followed slowly, and he couldn't stop the guilty giggle that escaped his throat. _It was fun though! I almost got snogged by a sixth year!_

* * *

 _ **November 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Breakfast)**_

Ron and his friends walked into the Great Hall with wide smiles, last night had been amazing! Ron instantly spotted a lot of Slytherins smirking at him, and many others gave him thankful nods. Even though Snape had shown up and shut the party down, everyone had a great time. Not to mention that Ron's speech had earned him a lot of favor with the other Slytherins. As Ron sat down, he shot a quick look at the Ravenclaws. They were all smiling at him and sending him nods. Padma was smiling brightly and waving at him, and he returned the favor.

"Why are the Ravenclaws so happy with you?" Millie asked.

"I paid for a party for them as well…" Ron smiled at her. She just blinked at him, and then she chuckled and shook her head.

"How many parties did you throw last night?" Pansy giggled.

"Two" Ron smirked. "One for us, and one for the Ravenclaws."

"Why them?" Blaise asked. "Oh wait… Bribery…" Ron grinned at him, and Blaise nodded in approval.

"Our little snake is all grown up…" Theo mock-pouted. "I feel so proud…" The girls giggled at Theo's antics, and Ron frowned.

"Shut up…" Ron said softly, and then he began his breakfast. As Ron ate his breakfast, quite a few Slytherins thanked him on their way out. Ron gave them all his best smile and nodded.

"Great party, Weasley" said some fifth year, he was smiling widely at Ron.

"I had a great time."

"Throw another one soon…"

"Where did you get that punch?"

"I finally snogged my crush!"

"See you back at the common room, mate."

Ron was overwhelmed with how happy the Slytherins were with him. He was so overwhelmed that he completely missed Percy frowning at him from across the Great Hall. Ron also missed the twins looking at him as they licked their lips greedily… Word was already getting around that Ron had funded not one, but two massive parties last night. No one knew how he had done it, expect for maybe a select few older students. But they remained silent on the details… At least someone was trying to keep the somber mood at bay!

After Ron finished his breakfast, he headed down to Herbology. Ron didn't really like Herbology much, but it was a nice day out so he didn't mind. Once they were inside the Greenhouse, Ron quickly put on his dragon-hide gloves away from prying eyes. As he was walking back to his friends, Padma Patil stopped him by grabbing his left forearm.

"Partner with me?" Padma smiled.

"Of course" Ron smiled back. "How was last night?" _If their party was half as fun as ours, then I'd say she had a great time!_

"It was so amazing!" Padma squealed. "The Ravenclaws are really happy with you, Ron! And Luna… AW!" she cooed, and Ron blinked at her. "She was telling everyone about you! She is so proud to be your sister, though that did confuse a few people… But they all love you now! I didn't know you saved her mother's life…" _Merlin Luna… Why did you tell people that?_

"Yeah… that…" Ron smiled softly, he hated thinking about that day. He didn't know what he'd do if something happened to Pandora…

"Is it true you ripped off your own… fingernails?" Padma whispered, her face showed concern.

"Yeah… I don't like to think about that day…" Ron said, he was feeling uncomfortable discussing this. _Luna shouldn't have told them that… It's a family matter…_ Padma just looked at him with absolute awe, she wanted to read Ron like a book! He was far too interesting…

"I think we're repotting those Mandrakes today" Padma changed the subject, she could see that Ron wasn't feeling comfortable discussing his past. She would just learn about him in her own time…

"Really?" Ron asked, he hated those things. "Merlin, those things bite!" Padma giggled at Ron's annoyed look.

* * *

 _ **November 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **(After Dinner)**_

It had been a bizarre day for Ron… The Slytherins and Ravenclaws were nothing but kind to him, and that was fine… It was odd looks that the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were sending Ron that had him stumped. Percy had given him a long lecture at lunch about 'wasting his money on pointless things', and Ron had no choice but to listen. Percy was clearly frustrated with his studies and Ginny, and Ron knew that his big brother needed to vent those feelings… After thirty minutes of tearing into Ron, Percy had hugged Ron tightly and then left.

This was nothing compared to the different looks that the staff were sending him. Filch truly hated Ron, but that was mostly due to the rumors of Ron being the Heir. McGonagall was horribly disappointed, and she frowned at him every time he saw her. Snape was indifferent as always, but at least he hadn't turned Ron in for drinking that glass of punch. Dumbledore had beamed at him all throughout breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Flitwick had actually gifted him a box of Every Flavored Beans after Ron's Charms Class. And then there was Lockhart… The grinning arsehole was looking at Ron with disappointment, but only because he hadn't been invited to either party…

As Ron made his way out of the Great Hall, he was stopped by two tall boys who slung their arms over his shoulders.

"Hello, Ronnikins" Fred said with a Cheshire smile.

"Our little bro" George added in with his own Cheshire smile.

"May we have a word?" they both said in unison. Ron's friends glared at the twins, but Ron nodded his consent.

"Go on, guys" Ron smiled at his friends. "I'll be down in a bit…" Ron's friends left slowly, and Daphne was the last to leave. The twins grinned at her as she left reluctantly.

"Such loyalty" Fred cooed.

"Such devotion" George sing-sang.

"Do invite us to the wedding!"

"We will wear our best robes, we promise!"

"Please stop…" Ron fidgeted. Things had definitely been… different with Daphne lately… _We make a lot of physical contact now… Our noses touched last night, that's pretty much kissing distance…_ Ron's cheeks burned.

"He's blushing!" Fred laughed.

"Actually blushing!" George joined in.

"What do you two parasites want?" Ron grit out, even he didn't know why he was getting so defensive. Fred and George laughed as they dragged him into the courtyard, and it was a cool night out.

"We heard a wonderful rumor, Ronnie" Fred smiled.

"You have become a smuggler" George grinned.

"Welcome to the life…" they both said in unison.

"The life?" Ron asked.

"The life of breaking the rules, and doing as you damn well please!" Fred laughed.

"We didn't think you had it in you, considering how you follow Percy around…" George sighed.

"But we were wrong!"

"Oh, how wrong we were?"

"Can you two stop that?" Ron frowned. "What do you need from me?" Both twins smiled at him in a way that made his bones shudder. _They are starting to scare me… The last time they looked at me like that, they almost made me into their slave…_

"Filch has gone mental" Fred said softly.

"And we can't even operate in the castle anymore" George said grimly.

"Operate? You mean pull pranks and cause chaos" Ron frowned.

"Yes!" they both said merrily.

"So you do understand" Fred smiled. "We need your help."

"We need some products…" George added.

"And since we have Filch hunting us down like a rapid dog" Fred grimaced.

"We can't smuggle in our own products…" George sighed.

"Why is he hounding you?" Ron asked slowly. "I don't want him coming after me for helping you two…"

"Ever since his cat died" Fred sighed.

"Rest in peace, Mrs. Norris" George quickly added.

"He has been hunting down all the known rule-breakers with extreme gusto" Fred shook his head.

"There is a killer on the loose…" Ron said softly. "And you two want to play jokes? Are you seriously that twisted?" Fred and George flinched at that, and then they got serious.

"Have you looked around recently, Ron?" Fred asked with a dead serious tone. It took Ron by surprise. "This place is more depressing than a graveyard…"

"I haven't seen anyone in a good mood since before Colin's attack…" George frowned. "That is until today…"

"Your parties are the talk of the castle!" Fred smiled softly.

"You did something to cheer people up!" George said proudly.

"We want to do the same" they said in unison.

"And you need me to smuggle things in for you?" Ron asked. "Won't Filch just come after me?"

"Filch hasn't been down to the dungeons even once…" Fred said softly.

"He fears that the Heir of Slytherin will come after him…" George added with a nod.

"You'll be safe" they said together.

"What do I get in return?" Ron asked coldly. The twins blinked.

"Excuse us?" they asked together.

"I don't see any benefit in helping you" Ron said coldly. _Why should I care about the mood of others? I didn't throw the parties to make people happy… I did it to earn favor with people! And I've already earned that favor!_

"Don't you want people to be happy?" Fred asked slowly.

"Isn't that why you threw those parties?" George asked quickly.

"People are already happy…" Ron said, he decided not to reveal his Slytherin side to the twins. They'd never understand… They'd only judge him… Just like the Trio had…

"The snakes and the Ravenclaws..." Fred said with a frown. _Snakes… That's all they see when they look at us… This entire school is biased against us…_

"I'm a snake too…" Ron said softly. "And why should I care if the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors aren't happy? It's the Gryffindors who started the rumors about me being the Heir…"

"Ronnie…" George said softly.

"Don't be like that" Fred smiled sadly. "We've been going after everyone who calls you the Heir…"

"Look…" Ron sighed. "If you can offer me an actual incentive, I'll help you. But I'm not risking my neck to make the Gryffindors happy…" The twins looked to each other, and then they nodded.

"What if we gave you the secret to our success?" Fred asked slyly.

"Something that no other student in Hogwarts has!" George grinned. Ron's ears perked up.

"What is it?" Ron asked with a soft smile. Fred then pulled out a piece of parchment and showed it to Ron, it was blank. "Is this a joke?" Ron frowned at it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" George muttered, and then he tapped his wand on the parchment. Ron instantly recognized the map! _I had a vision of this thing once!_

"This little beauty has taught us more than any Professor at Hogwarts" Fred smirked.

"What does it do?" Ron asked slowly, he could see names and dots moving about.

"This map shows everyone, Ronnie" George smiled mischievously.

"Where they are" Fred said.

"What they're doing" George added.

"Every minute of every day" they said together. Ron was left in utter awe… _Is this thing for real? With something like this, I'd know of everything happening within the castle! I could keep my eyes on everyone!_

"Merlin's beard…" Ron muttered. "Wait… Why don't you just use this to avoid Filch?"

"We actually nicked it from Filch's office back in first year" Fred remembered.

"And alas, he knows our routes off by heart…" George sighed.

"And he checks our mail…" Fred smirked proudly.

"He actually got permission from McGonagall" George explained.

"Also, we've memorized the map completely" Fred grinned.

"So what do you say?" George asked.

"Do we have a deal?" they asked in unison. Ron looked down at the map, and he saw moving dots with a banner saying 'Daphne Greengrass'. She was pacing up and down in Ron's room.

"So that's Daph?" Ron pointed her out.

"Yep!" they said together, and then they sniggered.

"She sleeps in your room?" Fred grinned.

"What would mum say, Ronnie?" George laughed.

"She doesn't sleep in my…" Ron started but stopped. "So I get this map? And all I have to do is smuggle in your products?"

"Yep!" they said cheerfully.

"And I don't have to pay for them?" Ron asked.

"Nope" they replied.

"Done!" Ron smiled widely. _AWESOME!_ Fred tapped his wand on the map.

"Mischief managed" Fred said, and the map faded away. It was just parchment now.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" the twins grinned. _Oh no… The pleasure is all mine…_

* * *

 _ **December 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Sanctuary – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron fell back on the black couch with a disgraceful grunt, he was utterly drained. Ron had just spent the last three hours practicing his dodging skills against spells. The dummies had shot weak stinging jinxes at him, and he'd taken quite a few body shots. But at least he had gotten better over time… In a one on one duel, Ron was sure that he'd be able to dodge spells rather easily. Unless they were shot back to back…

Ron groaned as he stretched, his whole body was stinging quite painfully. Ron then opened the Marauder's Map and began his nightly snooping. He'd been spending a lot of his spare time (which was limited to an hour or so a day) memorizing people's patterns. At first he did it because he felt like some all-seeing God, but after a while, he'd just become interested. For example: Ron now knew that Filch and Madam Pince were having a secret affair of sorts… Ron knew that Percy was sneaking around with a girl named Penelope Clearwater… And the Trio spent a lot of their time in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Things with the Trio were at their worst… Ron's hurt had now become bitterness, and like a pouty child, Ron refused to even acknowledge their presence. Every time he saw Hermione, Ron's blood boiled in his veins. He had always been there for her… He had saved her life… And she had betrayed him the first chance she got… His Slytherin friends had been right all along, the Trio were just self-righteous arseholes… And Ron was done chasing after them… They had turned on him simply because he was a Slytherin, and that sickened Ron.

Ron had also begun using the Map to track Ginny around the school, for her own good. And so far, Ginny had been anything but suspicious. She spent her time alone, or at the library. She didn't socialize at all… Ron found that quite odd, but given her recent behavior, Ron figured that the other students wanted nothing to do with her. That irked Ron, but he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Ginny hated his guts… And Ron still had no idea why. Was it because he got Hermione to look out for Ginny? Was it because he yelled at her? Ron couldn't even start to comprehend what was happening to his little sister…

The twins had been quite a handful as well… They had a ridiculous amount of things they wanted to smuggle in, but with Marty's help, Ron had everything delivered straight to their rooms without anyone's knowledge. The twins had been awed into silence at Ron's 'smuggling skills', but Ron hadn't said a word about Marty. Marty was Ron's secret weapon at Hogwarts, and he would never reveal Marty to anyone but his closest friends.

Ron closed the Map after he had made sure that the hallways were clear, and then he left his Sanctuary. Ron had kept using the Tome, despite the Hat's warnings. It wasn't like he was learning any spells used to kill people, just enough to maim them… The Hat had no idea how bad the future was, and Ron wasn't going to let a few warning words stop him. This had to be done… There was no other choice! People like Bellatrix would utterly destroy him if he didn't learn more about their type of magic! And he had learnt quite a bit from that Tome… Ron entered the common room and he was instantly set upon by Theo and Blaise.

"Where were you?" Blaise frowned.

"And if you say you were 'exploring' the castle, I'll punch you in the face!" Theo growled.

"We looked all over the Slytherin territory for you" Blaise shook his head. _Shite, they woke up for our run… I should have hurried back!_ Luckily for Ron, he had recently decided to tell his friends about his Sanctuary. The betrayal from the Trio had pushed Ron much closer to his Slytherin friends.

"I was exploring the castle…" Ron smirked, and Theo strode towards him with a clenched fist. _OH SHITE!_ "WAIT!" Ron exclaimed as he protected his face. "I found something amazing…" Theo stopped at that.

"What?" Theo grit out.

"I found a secret room" Ron whispered. "A room that can act as our own little private common room…" Theo and Blaise just blinked at him. "Marty!" Ron called, and his servant popped in behind him.

"Master!" Marty bowed. "What can Marty for you?"

"Mart, please go wake up Daphne and the others" Ron smiled. "I don't want to get caught sneaking around the girls' dorms…"

"At once, Master" Marty smiled, and then he was gone.

"Are you serious about this room?" Blaise asked with an intrigued look. "How did you find it?"

"By exploring…" Ron smirked. Theo and Blaise just sighed at his blatant lie, but they didn't push him further. The three boys waited for the girls to arrive, and they did so after ten minutes.

"Ron?" Daphne yawned. "There better be a good reason behind this…"

"I'll shave your head if there isn't…" Pansy frowned, Ron had never seen her so disheveled.

"Come with me, and let me blow your minds!" Ron grinned. He led them all to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and then he began pacing in front of the wall.

"Ron? What are you doing?" Millie asked slowly. Ron just smiled at her, and she gave him a confused look. Her look changed to one of shock when a large door suddenly appeared on the wall behind Ron.

"Tada!" Ron exclaimed to his slack-jawed friends. "Follow me!" Ron instructed as he pushed the door open. As they all entered his Sanctuary, Ron heard them all gasp in astonishment. "This can be our own little common room, away from everyone else!"

"This is… brilliant…" Blaise muttered as he looked around.

"Ron, how did you find this place?" Daphne asked with an awed expression. _I can't keep saying that I just found it… Sorting Hat, forgive me…_

"The Hat told me" Ron lied, and his friends nodded slowly. Ron had been using the Hat as a convenient excuse lately, and his friends always believed him. The Hat had a thousand years' worth of experience, it probably knew everything…

"This is amazing!" Pansy exclaimed as she ran towards the couches. The rest of them followed after her, Theo and Blaise were staring at the dueling dummies.

"This is like a secret hideout" Tracey giggled like a little girl. "We have a secret hideout!"

"It's a shame that it's on the seventh floor…" Theo sighed. "This is lion territory…"

"That makes it more exciting" Tracey laughed. "We're behind enemy lines!" Ron and the others laughed at Tracey's overexcitement. Ron knew that he had made the right call.

"We can practice dueling in here as well" Blaise smiled at the dummies. "This room is… its perfect!"

"You're welcome" Ron laughed, and Blaise actually laughed back.

"I'm going 'exploring' with you from now on" Millie grinned. "Do you always find places like this?"

"I've found a few…" Ron smirked. He had used the Marauder's Map to find a couple of passageways out of Hogwarts. One was behind a mirror on the fourth floor, and one was a passageway behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy. "You're all more than welcome to come along!"

"I'll take you up on that" Daphne giggled, and Ron shot her his best smile.

* * *

 _ **December 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (During Potions)**_

"Is it one bat spleen, or two?" Tracey asked Ron. They were currently in Potions Class with the Gryffindors, and they were making the Swelling Solution.

"Just one" Ron answered, he enjoyed working with Tracey. They always partnered in Potions, ever since he had broken Malfoy's nose for her. While Ron waited for Tracey to prepare the bat spleen, he noticed something rather odd. Hermione was looking around in a panic, and Harry was doing something under his desk. _What are they up to?_

"Ron, I'm about to add the spleen" Tracey told him, and he nodded absent mindedly. _What are the Trio up to?!_ And then, Ron's question was answered… Harry lobbed a firecracker towards Goyle, and it went straight into the boy's cauldron. _FUCK!_

"Tracey get down" Ron managed to say as he grabbed her and pulled her under the desk.

"Ow, Ron!" Tracey squealed due to the rough man-handling. **BOOM!** There was an explosion which was accompanied by yells and screams. Ron immediately stood up and looked around in horror, what the fuck was Harry thinking?! Malfoy's nose was expanding like a balloon, Goyle was screaming as he covered his eyes that were now the size of dinner plates, Theo was on the ground with a melon sized lump on his right cheek, Blaise was trying to cover up his ever-growing left hand, Millie was covering Daphne with her body so that the others couldn't see her, and Pansy was crying as her lips kept swelling.

Ron shot a furious look towards the Gryffindors, and even they were stunned silent. Ron spotted Hermione rush out into Snape's office while the Potions Master tried calming everyone down. Ron then locked eyes with a smiling Harry, and Harry's smile died on his face. They both just stared at each other, and Ron honestly wanted to attack Harry. _Fucking imbecile! Someone could have been killed! You hurt my friends!_

"SILENCE!" Snape roared, and everyone shut up immediately. "Those who were splashed by the Swelling Solution, come to me for a Deflating Draught. When I find out who did this…" Snape snarled as he made his way towards his desk. Ron just glared murder at a pale skinned Harry…

"Ron…" Tracey muttered, and Ron looked at her. She looked terrified. "What happened?"

"Um… Goyle's cauldron exploded" Ron lied, and she nodded slowly. _Why did Harry do this?!_

"Thank you…" she muttered, and then she spotted Pansy. "I'm going to go help…" With that, Tracey quickly walked over to Pansy and hugged the crying girl. Ron followed her example and walked over to Theo, his weedy friend was trying to get up.

"Give me your hand, mate" Ron said, and Theo did as he was told. Ron helped him up and guided him towards Snape's desk. Ron could hear the Gryffindors sniggering, and he felt his heart beat like a battle drum. _I'm going to break Harry's fucking face!_ Ron then spotted Hermione enter the classroom and the front of her robes was bulging. _What? She didn't get hit by the solution… She was too far away! What is going on here?!_

When everyone had taken a swig of the Deflating Draught, and all of the swellings and panic had subsided, Snape billowed towards Goyle's cauldron. There was pure rage in Snape's eyes as he scooped up the burnt remains of a firecracker. The class went dead silent, and Ron contemplated whether to turn Harry in or not. _I'm no tattletale… But I'll find out why he did this!_

"If I ever find out who threw this" Snape said in a cold whisper. "I shall make it my life's goal to expel that person…" The school bell rang suddenly, and Snape looked around the room with utter hatred. "Leave… Now…" The students all but bolted from the class, and Ron was no exception. Snape was out for blood, and Ron didn't want to get in his way…

"What just happened?" Pansy whimpered, she was still crying a little. Tracey was holding her hand in a comforting manner, and Ron clenched his jaw.

"It was the Gryffindors…" Millie declared as helped a shaken Daphne walk in a straight line.

"Daph, are you alright?" Ron asked slowly. She just nodded and blushed crimson.

"Did you see…?" Daphne muttered, and Ron shook his head.

"No, was it bad?" Ron asked, and Daphne looked at her feet.

"Ron, leave it…" Millie warned. _What happened…?_ Daphne's mortified expression did Ron's head in, and something just snapped. _I'm gonna have a few words with Harry… Right now!_

"I'll be right back, go to the common room without me…" Ron whispered in a cold voice.

"Where are you going?" Blaise asked.

"I'll tell you after…" Ron said with a dark look that surprised Blaise. Blaise then nodded, and the group split up. Once Ron's friends were gone, Ron quickly took out the Marauder's Map from his school bag. Ron unlocked the map and looked around for Harry, and he spotted the Trio walking towards Myrtle's bathroom. _What are they doing in there?!_ Ron decided that he was done avoiding that place! He had to get answers right now!

Ron ran towards the bathroom at full-tilt, he had no intention of losing the Trio! Ron had been avoiding that bathroom due to Myrtle Warren's ghost, and so he had never thought about the 'Golden' Trio's activities in that place. But that was over… Ron was out of his mind with rage! They had hurt his friends! They had made Pansy cry! They had done something that hurt Daphne so badly that she had lost her usual spirit! Ron was going to break their bones for that! _I'm done protecting those three traitors!_

As Ron neared Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, he spotted the Trio walking towards it with a quickened pace. Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he quickly snuck up to them. They seemed to be arguing…

"He knows, Hermione" Harry said with a worried voice. "He saw me!"

"Are you sure, mate?" Neville asked.

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed with a scared look. "If he tells on me, I'll be expelled for certain! Snape already has it out for me!" _Maybe it's because you pull stunts like that! But no, it's okay… We're just some snakes, right?!_

"Ron won't do that" Hermione said as she pushed the bathroom door open. "He won't turn you in…"

"He might…" Neville frowned at her. "How long are you going to keep defending his actions?" _Hermione defends me…_ Ron glared at Neville as he snuck into the bathroom from behind the Trio. They had no idea that Ron was right behind them…

"What actions?!" Hermione shrieked. "He hasn't done anything 'suspicious'… We've been watching him for a month now, and we still have nothing!"

"What about his parties?" Neville asked. "He was clearly trying to buy the Ravenclaws and Slytherins!" _Oh, I was you chubby fuck…_

"We don't know that, Nev…" Harry sighed. "All we know is that he likes to sneak around, and that he's a Weasley who went into Slytherin. Oh, and that he snuck in here once…"

"He's in the same house as Malfoy" Neville frowned at Harry. "How can that be a good thing? Not to mention his friends…" _Finish that sentence, you traitorous bastard! I'll fucking Curse you into oblivion!_

"His friends are a bad lot, I will agree on that" Hermione sighed, and then she turned around and walked towards a closed cubicle. _My friends… a bad lot… How dare she?!_ Hermione opened the cubicle, and then she pulled out a couple of jars from the front of her robes. _Are those… ingredients? What the fuck are they doing in here?_ Hermione tossed the ingredients into the cauldron, and then she began stirring the potion within fervently.

"How long do we have to wait?" Harry asked her quickly.

"It'll be ready in two weeks, just in time for Christmas" Hermione explained.

"Finally, we've been brewing this for a month!" Neville exclaimed.

"You mean, Hermione has been brewing it…" Harry smiled sheepishly. Neville smiled and nodded. _What kind of Potion is this?! C'mon, tell me…_

"I think it's time we decide on who we're going to be…" Hermione sighed as she stirred the potion. _What?_

"Neville and I will become Crabbe and Goyle" Harry said firmly, his green eyes held pure determination. "I still think that it's Malfoy who's the Heir."

"Alright" Neville nodded. "So all we need is some of their hair, right?" _Wait a minute… I know what this potion is… I've read about it before… C'mon Weasley, think! What was it called?!_

"That's right" Hermione nodded. "I guess that means that I'll be questioning Ron… I know who I'm going to turn into… Daphne Greengrass" Hermione said, her voice was a little bitter. "They're extremely close… She probably knows everything about him…" Hermione's venomous tone nearly caused Ron to blow up with apoplectic rage, but he barely kept his composure. He needed more answers… _Traitorous bitch! After everything I've done for you… You go after me and my friends!_

"How do we get their hair?" Harry asked slowly. "Do we just… rip it out…?" _I'll fucking kill you before I let you touch Daphne…_

"I stole this" Hermione said as she turned around with a Sleeping Draught bottle. "We can use this to render them unconscious. Then, we take some of their hair and we turn into them. Just remember, the Polyjuice Potion will last for an hour or so… Make sure you get what we need quickly, and then we can get away!"

Ron's head began to throb from pain, he was about to hurt these three… They had betrayed him… All three of them… After everything he had done for them, they had still betrayed him… And all because he was a Slytherin… His eyes stung, and it took everything in him to keep his Disillusionment Charm going… _They're going after Daphne… They're going after me! I'm their friend, aren't I?_ But he knew that he wasn't… He was just another red-haired Weasley… Nothing more and nothing less. Ron stared at the Trio as they left the bathroom, they looked so proud of themselves… It made him sick…

 _I saved her life… I saved all three of their lives… I broke the law and rescued Harry from his Muggle family! I took the fall for the Dragon… I was the one who got permanently scarred while they got away without a scratch!_ A terrible sob broke out from Ron's throat, and he felt his Disillusionment Charm break away.

"They fucking betrayed me…" Ron heaved, his eyes overflowing with tears. "My own friends…" Ron clutched his well-groomed hair tightly, so tightly that it hurt his scalp. Ron didn't even bother trying to stop his breakdown, he was utterly shattered. How long had he put up with the shite that came with being friends with the Trio?! How many times had his **actual** friends told him to stay away?! And yet, like some naïve idiot, he hadn't listened…

Ron was on his knees, weeping like a wounded animal, when Moaning Myrtle flew in. She stopped as soon as she saw him crying, what was **he** doing here? Myrtle had overheard the three Gryffindors plotting against Ronald… And then it hit her, he had just found out!

"Ahem… Are you alright?" Myrtle asked, and Ron looked up at her with blood-shot eyes. _Myrtle Warren… She probably knows everything…_

"No…" Ron muttered, and then he sobbed again. He was bent over, his knees and elbows holding him up. "They were my friends… I trusted them…"

"Oh…" Moaning Myrtle said, and then she floated down next to him. "I'm sorry… I know what's like to have no friends…" Ron tried to stop himself, but the tears wouldn't stop. _If I had just fucking listened to Theo and Blaise… To Daphne… To Pansy… Even Tracey and Millie hated them… BUT I DIDN'T! And then I got scarred forever… Was that not enough?! Was nearly dying whilst helping them not enough?!_ Ron felt completely hollowed as he wailed his heart out, Moaning Myrtle was startled but she didn't leave. She stayed with him for the next ten minutes, cooing and shushing him softly.

"They wanted to go after my friend…" Ron grit out as he slowly stood up. His anger had returned with a vengeance! All of his pain had morphed into a venomous hatred for those three cunts! _I will get them for this! Not today, not tomorrow… But I will get them! They are not better than me just because I'm a Slytherin! They aren't better than my friends!_ Ron's eyes fell on the cubicle that held the Polyjuice Potion, and he stared at the closed door with pure rage.

"Ronald… What are you doing?" Myrtle asked slowly.

"It took them over a month to brew that potion, right?" Ron asked in a cold voice.

"Yes… I saw them at the start of November" Myrtle nodded. "And then, that girl yelled at me…" Myrtle mewled. Ron ignored her mewling as he kicked the door open. Ron glared at the bubbling cauldron, and he knew exactly what he had to do! Ron took a few steps back as he aimed his wand at the cauldron.

"They want a fight! I'll give them a fucking fight!" Ron yelled, and he heard Myrtle laughing maniacally all of a sudden. "REDUCTO!" Ron yelled, and a blue light beamed out of his wand. The cauldron exploded, its contents flying out and covering the walls. Ron grinned like a mad-man, and he felt pure happiness as he destroyed all of their hard work.

"That was great!" Myrtle laughed, her voice was ear piercing. "Good for you! Do you need my help?!" Ron looked at her, his grin still in place.

"I will let you know, Myrtle…" Ron said coldly, and then he left the bathroom with a determined stride. _I'm done being nice… Even after everything I did for them, they still betrayed me due to my house… How_ _ **noble**_ _of them… Fucking Gryffindor scum!_

Ron marched into the common room, his appearance was utterly deranged. His eyes were blood shot, he had tear tracks on his pale cheeks, his well-groomed hair was messy, and his clothes were dirty… But he didn't give a damn! He had to tell his friends about this first, he had to protect them! And then, he would tell Lord Greengrass! The Gryffindors seemed to forget that Ron's mentor was on the Board of Governors! If they picked a fight with Ron and Daphne, they picked a fight with the richest wizard in England! Ron was fully ready to destroy the Trio! He would show them the price for betraying him!

"Merlin, what the hell happened to you?" Tracey asked with wide-eyes.

"Come with me, now" Ron told the group, his voice was hoarse from his yelling and crying. Ron then turned around and walked towards his room. Daphne was the first to follow after him, and she grabbed his left hand. _She always grabs my hands lately… Good, I need to keep her right next to me! If they go after her, I'll be right there to protect her._

"Ron, you're scaring us" Daphne whispered. "What happened? You were fine when you left…"

"I'll tell you everything, don't worry" Ron said coldly. "After that, I'll tell your father." Daphne went dead quiet at the mention of her father, what had happened?!

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **December 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner)**_

Ron was glaring right at the Golden Trio, his eyes were hard and his jaw was clenched. Daphne could feel the rage radiating from him, and so could the others. They were all eating quietly, except for Ron… Ron wasn't even eating… He was just glaring. Daphne shot a quick look at the Golden Trio, and much to her relief, they hadn't noticed Ron yet. Tracey was shooting Daphne pleading looks, and Daphne knew that Tracey wanted Daphne to say something to Ron. Daphne wasn't so sure that she should… _The last thing I want is him taking his anger out on me!_

"Ron…" Daphne said softly, she was sitting in Theo's usual spot. "Ron, aren't you hungry?"

"No" Ron replied, his voice was still a bit hoarse. _He cried, and he cried hard… I just know it! Damn those three self-righteous hypocrites! They claim we're all evil, and yet they're putting Ron through this much pain…_

"Ron, eat" Blaise said firmly, and Ron looked to Blaise. The two boys stared at each other, and then Ron began eating. Daphne was awed by Blaise, why did he have more control over Ron than she did?! _Stop that! I promised to control my… jealousy…_

"We can't afford to make a spectacle…" Theo added in. "Ron, you need to control your anger." Ron looked at Theo with a dead-serious expression. "For now, at least…" Theo added with a faint smile. Ron looked back down at his plate and kept eating.

"I can't believe they were planning something so… insane" Pansy said. "Do they think that they're untouchable, or something?"

"They aren't…" Ron said coldly. "They will learn that soon enough…" Daphne wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, she didn't want Ron doing something that would get him expelled.

"What do you mean by that?" Millie asked him.

"Ron, don't be an idiot" Blaise sighed. "That's Harry Potter you're planning to go after… Dumbledore's Golden Boy… The Hero of Wizarding England…"

"And I have Lord Greengrass behind me" Ron said softly. "Just trust me, alright?" _Ron sent father a letter right after he told us everything… I need to find out what they're planning!_

"Good evening, my little prodigy" came Lockhart's voice from behind them. Daphne's heart seized beating, Gilderoy Lockhart was the last person who should be approaching Ron right now. _Merlin! This day keeps getting worse for us…_

"Hello, Professor Lockhart" Ron turned around with a polite smile. Daphne and her friends were floored… "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"It is, it is" Lockhart grinned at them all. "Ronald, I was wondering if you had signed up for the Dueling Club yet." _Dueling Club?_

"I'm sorry, Sir" Ron said with a genuine voice, Daphne was wondering if Ron had lost his mind. "But I will sign up straight away, as will all of my friends!" Lockhart looked at them all happily, and they all just nodded slowly. _I guess we're all joining up… Ron, what are you up to?_

"This is excellent!" Lockhart beamed.

"Sir, I think you should ask Harry Potter to sign up as well…" Ron said smoothly. "Harry and his two best friends, that is. All three of them would be perfect additions to add to **your** Dueling Club." _What is he doing? I'm getting a really bad feeling about this…_

"An excellent suggestion, my little prodigy!" Lockhart laughed. "I will go and ask him right now!" Lockhart then walked off happily. Daphne and the others all turned to face Ron.

"What was that?" Theo asked.

"Are you really going to duel Harry Potter?" Pansy asked, there was too much excitement in her voice. _This is bad! He is going to do something really stupid!_

"Ron, you can't do this…" Daphne said softly. "I don't know what you're planning, but I do know that it involves you hurting Potter…"

"Daphne, why do you care about Potter?" Millie asked firmly.

"I don't care about Potter… I care about Ron" Daphne replied with a strong voice. "If he does something stupid, they will expel him…"

"Daph" Ron said softly, he was smiling at her. But it was a cold smile, there was no joy in it… "Relax, and do as I say… Everything will be just fine…" _This is going to get brutal… I just know it… If my father is involved, then Ron has something big planned…_ Daphne was pulled out of her thoughts when Ron grabbed her hand under the table, and Daphne looked to see Ron glaring at the Trio again… He squeezed her hand softly, and she squeezed back. _Whatever does happen, I need to back him… Just like he would back us…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ron is pissed! Now I know that many of you wanted to see the Polyjuice Arc, but for me that was just too Canon! I always knew where I was going with that Arc, and it was in this direction. That Potion has cemented a deep a wedge between Ron and the Gryffindors! Next chapter, you will learn about Ron's plan and you will finally see the Dueling Club! Get ready for some action!**

 **See you guys soon!**


	33. Chapter 33 - Dueling Club

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 33! I pumped it out with the utmost urgency! Now, just a couple of things!**

 **1\. This chapter is just under ten-thousand words... Sorry, but there a lot of action in here to make up for it!**

 **2\. I did a lot of research on the politics of Hogwarts Board system... But if there are errors, forgive me, I'm only human!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 33 – Dueling Club**

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **December 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Breakfast)**_

"I just need to stir it a bit after breakfast" Hermione huffed. They were currently eating breakfast, and Hermione was already lecturing them. They had managed to steal the Bicorn Horn and Boomslang skin from Snape's Office yesterday, and now their potion was almost complete! In a week or so, they'd finally learn who the Heir of Slytherin was…

"We can go right after breakfast" Harry yawned, he was always tired these days. _Too many Quidditch practices…_ Neville shot a quick look towards the Slytherin table, this had become a habit of his. He wanted to keep an eye on them, he wanted to keep an eye on Ron… Ron was currently laughing loudly as he ate with Luna Lovegood.

"What's Luna doing at the Slytherin table again?" Neville asked Harry.

"She's Ron's sister…" Hermione said slowly, it sounded like she thought that Neville was braindead…

"She looks really happy with him" Harry muttered. _He's feeling guilty again… Yeah, me too._ Neville may have pushed his friends to look into Ron, but Neville was actually beginning to hope that Ron wasn't the Heir. Ron may be a liar, and he may be secretive, but he wasn't a bad person… At least not to Neville, and definitely not to Harry and Hermione.

The last month had been difficult for all of them… But especially for Hermione. Neville knew that she was feeling like a traitor, and as such she had become extremely temperamental. But Neville didn't mind, she was in pain and he would respect that. Harry had begun brooding even more, and he had become increasingly obsessed with this Heir of Slytherin person. Neville wasn't sure if Harry's obsession came from the need to clear his own name, or Ron's… Either way, Harry constantly theorized on who the Heir could be. And Harry always claimed that it **had** to be Malfoy!

"Who knew?" Hermione said in a cold tone. "The Heir of Slytherin loves his sister…" Neville flinched a bit because he knew that Hermione was talking to him, and not Harry.

"Hermione, don't…" Harry sighed. "I can't fight about this again… Please…"

"We should be ashamed of ourselves…" Hermione bit out, her face was turning a dark shade of red. "He's our friend…"

"And we are doing this to make sure that he is **still** our friend" Harry snapped back. "Give it a rest…"

"Please don't fight" Neville sighed. There was a short awkward pause between the three.

"I'm going to go look at the Potion…" Hermione said quickly, and then she got up and left. As Hermione exited the Great Hall, Harry too stood up.

"We shouldn't let her go alone" Harry said with a tired smile.

"You're right" Neville smiled back, and then they both left the Great Hall. Neville missed two cold eyes looking at them as they left…

"The sooner this Polyjuice Potion plan is done, the better…" Harry sighed. "I'm sick of suspecting Ron… We haven't talked to him in over a month…"

"Me too" Neville agreed. "I really hope Ron isn't the Heir… I don't even want to think about what Hermione will go through…" Neville then pushed the door to Myrtle's bathroom open. "Hermione, how is…" Neville stopped halfway. _What happened?_ Hermione was standing in front of their cubicle with a broken expression. "Hermione?"

"It's been… destroyed…" Hermione muttered, her eyes turning red because of unshed tears. _WHAT?!_

"Destroyed?!" Harry yelled as he ran up to her, and then he peered into the cubicle. Harry's face blanched, and Neville slowly moved up to them. The cauldron was blown into pieces, and the cubicle was covered with the remains of the potion. Neville felt devastated, and utterly shocked. They had worked so hard on that potion…

"This couldn't have happened…" Hermione said meekly. "It was perfectly fine… I checked the book…"

"I don't think it was the potion's fault…" Harry said softly. "Look at those scorch marks on the cauldron, they're on the outside…"

"Someone did this? Who?" Neville muttered.

"Good morning!" came a shrill voice from behind them. They all turned quickly, and they came face-to-face with Moaning Myrtle.

"You?!" Harry accused, he was quickly turning red. "You destroyed our potion!"

"I did no such thing" Myrtle laughed, and this immediately put them on edge. _She's not crying after being yelled at… What's going on here? Who did that to our potion?!_ "But I know who did…" Myrtle giggled.

"Who?" Neville asked, and Myrtle laughed out loud. It was a horrible cackle, and it put Neville's teeth on edge.

"I'm not saying a word!" Myrtle laughed, and then she flew straight into one of the toilets. A torrent of water blew out of the toilet, and it covered the Trio from head-to-toe.

"EW!" they all yelled.

"Toilet water! Yuck!" Neville exclaimed, he was drenched.

"Ugh!" Hermione groaned. "I hate her so much!"

"Who cares about being drenched?" Harry grimaced. "Someone destroyed all of our hard work… Someone knows what we were doing! What if they turn us in?!"

"We could be expelled…" Hermione muttered. "No… No, we weren't meant to get caught…" _Who could have known about this? Who would even come here?_ And then it clicked in Neville's head… _I only know one other person who has been here other than us…_

"Guys…" Neville muttered, and both Harry and Hermione turned to him. "I think… I think Ron came back here… And I think he found the potion…"

"JUST STOP IT!" Hermione shrieked loudly, she was crying. "Ron did this, and Ron did that! STOP IT!" With that, she ran out of the bathroom in tears. _She worked so hard on that potion…_

"Why did you say that?" Harry frowned at Neville.

"Because it makes sense…" Neville muttered as he looked at what was left of their cauldron. "He's the only person that we know of who has come here, not counting us… And, you also said that he saw you yesterday when you threw that firecracker…"

"That doesn't mean he did this" Harry fumed. "You know what, Nev… I think Hermione is right… I think you just want Ron to be the Heir…" Harry walked away without a second look, and Neville stayed behind.

It was Ron, Neville was certain of it… But he wasn't angry… A part of Neville was glad that they didn't have to travel down to the serpent's lair. A part of Neville was glad that they couldn't make sure that Ron was the Heir… Neville would hate to see what Harry and Hermione would go through if Ron was indeed the Heir of Slytherin, it would destroy them. Neville didn't want that to happen to his two best friends…

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Greengrass Manor)**_

"Welcome back, Ron" Lady Greengrass smiled as he walked through the fireplace.

"Good morning, my Lady" Ron smiled back. _I really wish I could have brought Daphne along… She'd better stay in the common room until I get back!_

"Come, my Lord Husband is waiting for you" Lady Greengrass said, and then she began leading him towards the study.

"Where is Astoria?" Ron asked with a polite tone.

"She is upstairs" Lady Greengrass replied, even the way she spoke was regal. "We have important things to discuss today, and she is not old enough yet." Ron nodded at that, they did have important things to discuss. Ron had sent a letter with Marty to Lord Greengrass right after he had told his friends about the Trio's plans. Lord Greengrass had sent a reply within ten minutes, and the reply instructed Ron to keep his distance from the Trio.

"Will you be joining us, my Lady?" Ron asked Lady Greengrass.

"Of course" Lady Greengrass smiled at him. "You are one of us, Ron. If they go after you, they will have to go after us as well." Ron was touched by her kind words, did they really like him that much?!

"Thank you, Lady Greengrass" Ron said softly, his emotions were still raw. He had spent all of yesterday avoiding the Trio completely. Even during his D.A.D.A class with them, Ron had somehow managed to keep his distance. He didn't want them to know that he was onto them, not yet… _They'll pay for betraying me. They'll pay for going after Daphne!_

"We're here" Lady Greengrass said as she opened the door to the study. They both walked in and found Lord Greengrass standing in front of the small fireplace. He had a dark look on his face, and Ron wasn't sure that he wanted to see Lord Greengrass' angry side. _He is already really intimidating…_

"Hello, Ron" Lord Greengrass greeted, but he kept his eyes on the small fire. "Take a seat, we have a lot of things to discuss." Ron did as he was told, while Lady Greengrass sat in Lord Greengrass' seat. "Now tell me everything in full detail. How did you find out about this plot against you and my daughter?"

"It was during Potions Class" Ron started. "Harry threw a firecracker into Goyle's cauldron, and the cauldron exploded. A lot of students were hit with the Swelling Solution, including Daphne…" Lady Greengrass frowned darkly.

"And you saw this?" Lord Greengrass asked, his voice was cold.

"Yes, my Lord" Ron nodded at his mentor's back. "I also saw Hermione Granger sneak into Snape's Office, and I think she stole some ingredients."

"For their Polyjuice Potion?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Yes" Ron replied. "I followed them after class, I wanted to confront them! I used the Disillusionment Charm to hide myself as I trailed them…"

"The Disillusionment Charm?" Lady Greengrass asked with a slightly surprised look. "That is advanced magic, Ron. How did you learn it?"

"Victor Burke taught me" Ron replied honestly, he didn't plan on lying to these two. "As I was saying, I followed the Trio into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I saw them talking about their plans, and they had no idea that I was even there."

"And what of the potion?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I destroyed it…" Ron replied. Lord Greengrass turned around with a frown on his face.

"That was foolish…" Lord Greengrass scolded. "You destroyed the very evidence that we needed…"

"I'm sorry…" Ron said sheepishly, he could feel his ears burning. "I lost… control…"

"It's alright, Ron" lady Greengrass smiled at him. "They were your friends, and you were hurt by them. We understand, don't we?" she asked her husband. Lord Greengrass simply nodded once.

"What are your plans, Ron?" Lord Greengrass asked. "I'm assuming you have something in mind…"

"I do, my Lord" Ron said, his features becoming dark. "I want to humiliate Harry Potter… I want them to know that my friends are off limits… I want the whole school to know what they were planning to do! I want to make sure that the Gryffindors realize that they have no right to act all self-righteous, and spit on the rest of us…" Lord Greengrass slowly nodded.

"And why did you come to me?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Why not go to Dumbledore, or Severus Snape?"

"Professor Snape can only do so much" Ron sighed. "And Dumbledore… I don't trust him. After I was attacked, he was more interested in keeping me quiet than he was in helping me…"

"Attacked?" Lady Greengrass asked, and Ron blinked at her. _He didn't tell her?! Shite… I might as well tell her now…_

"I was attacked by you-know-who…" Ron said softly, and she gasped. "That's why I ended up in a coma, and why I was left with these" Ron finished by showing her his left forearm. Lady Greengrass looked at his left forearm in horror, and he felt his face flush. He quickly covered up his arm. "Please don't tell Daphne about my scars… Though she already knows about the attack…"

"Ron…" Lady Greengrass muttered, she had gone a bit pale.

"Can we please get back to my plan?" Ron asked softly, and Lady Greengrass nodded as she regained her composure.

"Tell me something, Ron" Lord Greengrass said softly. "How do you plan to accomplish all of that? Do you want him expelled?"

"No…" Ron sighed. _Harry can't be expelled… He has a big part to play in the upcoming war, I know that much already!_ "There is a Dueling Club starting in Hogwarts tonight, Harry has signed up for it."

"Go on…" Lord Greengrass said.

"I have also signed up for it" Ron said coldly. "I intend to put him in his place in public! I will show everyone that Harry Potter is just some boy who is famous for just being alive… That he has no talent in Dueling… That he survived the Dark Lord because he got lucky…"

"And you think you can win?" Lady Greengrass asked. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I'm sure" Ron replied calmly, he had Pandora's ring and the Tome backing him up! _Harry doesn't stand a chance against me…_

"Ron, your plan has some problems" Lord Greengrass sighed. "For one, you can't hurt another student and just get away with it. Secondly, this is Harry Potter… A world famous hero… Attacking him will not win you any favors within the Wizarding World. And lastly, Dumbledore won't allow that to happen…"

"I have thought this through, my Lord" Ron argued. "That is why I need your help… Your help, and the help of the Board of Governors…" Lord and Lady Greengrass blinked at Ron. And then, Lord Greengrass let out a chuckle.

"Very crafty, Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled widely. "Very crafty indeed…"

"Husband?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"That is why you came to me directly…" Lord Greengrass said with a smile. "Dumbledore can't punish you if **we** stand behind you! Harry Potter has committed enough crimes against the school that he warrants an expulsion. Once you do whatever you intend to do, I come in and protect you… If you go, Harry Potter goes…"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron smiled widely. "And I will make sure everyone knows about Harry's little plot, and what he did in Snape's classroom. That alone will turn some of the staff against him. Slytherin will definitely back me up, and maybe the Ravenclaws too…"

"Now I truly regret you destroying that potion…" Lord Greengrass sighed. "We needed that evidence to turn the Board in our favor."

"Use his memories" Lady Greengrass interjected. "If we show the Board proof of what Ron has claimed, they will believe him. Lucius is the Chairman of the Board, and he already wants to out Dumbledore. We can use his personal vendetta in our favor." _Woah… Guess she isn't just some house-wife… But what does she mean by my memories?_

"Hmm…" Lord Greengrass hummed softly. "You're right, love. With Ron's memories, we have proof of Harry Potter's wrongdoings. I can strong-arm Dumbledore with that proof… I doubt that he wants to lose the precious boy-who-lived. This can work, but I need to act now. Ron, come here." Ron stood up and walked over to Lord Greengrass. Lord Greengrass took out his wand and placed in on Ron's left temple.

"My Lord?" Ron asked with wide-eyes.

"Relax" Lord Greengrass assured. "I'm going to extract two memories from your mind; the one where you saw Harry Potter throw that firecracker, and the one where they were discussing their plans. Now, I need you to remember those memories Ron. Think of them as hard as you can." Ron did as he was told, and Lord Greengrass muttered something before he pulled his wand away from Ron's temple. Ron felt a soft headache as this happened, and then Ron saw two silvery threads floating around Lord Greengrass' wand. "Love, I need two flasks…"

Lady Greengrass conjured two flasks and held them in front of Lord Greengrass, and Lord Greengrass flicked his wand at the flasks. The two silvery threads floated into the separate flasks, and Ron was left in awe. _What kind of magic is this?! Are those my…memories? Bloody hell…_

"My wife and I watch these memories, Ron" Lord Greengrass said firmly. "Just to make sure we got the right ones…"

"And how will you do that?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass smirked as he flicked his wand at a bookcase. The books parted, and a shallow marble basin floated out towards Lord Greengrass. The basin had gleaming gems on its sides, and it was covered with runes and strange symbols. _What is this thing?_

"This is a Pensieve, Ron" Lady Greengrass smiled. "We put your memories into that, and then we can experience them for ourselves."

"Take a seat, Ron" Lord Greengrass ordered. "My wife and I will watch these, and then we'll let you know if we got the right memories." Ron did as he was told, and he watched as Lord Greengrass tipped the contents of one of the flasks into the Pensieve. The silvery thread floated into the Pensieve, it wasn't wholly liquid nor gas… Ron hoped to Merlin that he had given the right memories, the last thing he wanted was to reveal too much about himself. Or the Entity…

Ron waited patiently while Lord and Lady Greengrass watched his memories. Ron had concentrated hard on Snape's classroom and Harry's firecracker stunt. And then he had concentrated hard on his discovery within Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He had also concentrated on the pain he had felt at being betrayed, and on his anger towards Harry Potter. _I'll show them how it feels…_ Ron's blood boiled again at the thought of the Trio, they were the **real** **snakes**! He had given them nothing but his best, and they had spat on his face… Ron stewed in his own anger for almost twenty minutes before Lord Greengrass broke him out of his thoughts.

"We have the right memories" Lord Greengrass said softly, Ron could hear the cold anger in his voice. "I have to go and set up a few meetings, Ron." Ron nodded, and then he looked to Lady Greengrass. She was looking at him with a mixture of sadness and concern. _I guess they saw my… breakdown…_

"Do you think the Board will side with me?" Ron asked, he wanted to move past this uncomfortable moment.

"They will, I assure you" Lord Greengrass nodded once. "Here is what you must do… Go back to Hogwarts after I leave, and stay away from those three. When the Dueling Club starts, do whatever you feel is necessary. Embarrass Potter, but do not harm him fatally or permanently. That is **essential**! Make sure his wounds can be healed easily enough… After you finish with him, send Marty to alert me. I will have all the firepower I need to strong-arm Dumbledore by then! If they confront you, say nothing! Wait for my arrival, is that clear?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron nodded. "What if they confront me right after the Dueling Club?"

"Don't give them that opportunity" Lady Greengrass interjected. "Once you've embarrassed that vile boy, leave immediately. Go to the common room, and send Marty to us." _Us?_

"Okay" Ron nodded.

"I promise you, Ron" Lord Greengrass said firmly. "I will make sure that those three pay for what they did to you, and I'll make sure you get away with everything without as much as a warning." Ron nodded and smiled gratefully, at least someone had his back! _He's always had my back!_

"I don't want them expelled" Ron said softly. "I just want them punished and humiliated…"

"I understand" Lord Greengrass said firmly. "They won't be expelled, but they will wish that they were… Now, I have to get to work. Love, send Ron on his way…" Lady Greengrass moved to Ron and guided him out of the study. They walked back to the fireplace in silence, but Lady Greengrass stopped Ron abruptly.

"Lady Greengrass?" Ron asked, and then she surprised him by cupping his cheeks. She pulled him in slowly and kissed his forehead. _She smells really nice… What was that for?_

"Everything will be just fine, Ron" Lady Greengrass hummed. Ron relaxed at her words, he knew for certain that they wouldn't betray him… Lord and Lady Greengrass would stand by his side, and everything would work out for Ron.

* * *

 _ **December 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

"Everyone know the plan?" Ron asked his friends, and they nodded. They had skipped dinner tonight because Ron had decided to include his friends in his plan. Their job was simple, but probably the most important one…

"This is crazy, Ron" Pansy said in awe. "You'll be declaring war against the Gryffindors if you do this, you know that right?"

"I do" Ron said firmly. "But they went after us first… The way they treat us, the way they look at us… I'm sick of it!" Blaise and Theo let out chuckles as Ron finished.

"This is going to be great!" Theo said excitedly. "I can't wait to see you humiliate Potter!"

"Please be careful" Daphne said with a soft smile.

"Don't worry about me, Daph" Ron smiled back. "I'll be fine."

"Make sure you show Potter what a real wizard can do" Millie ordered with a smirk. _Oh, I will…_

"I'm so damn excited" Tracey giggled.

"Alright, we're almost there" Blaise said with a smirk. "Keep calm, and don't give anything away…" They all entered the Great Hall together, and it looked completely different. The long dining tables had been removed, and in their place, a grand golden stage had been set up in the middle of the Great Hall. It was lit up by thousands of floating candles. The ceiling was completely black tonight, and most of the student-body seemed to be packed under it. Every student was talking excitedly, and they were all holding their wands eagerly. _This is it! I can do this! I can do this!_

Ron and his friends made their way towards the section reserved for the Slytherins, and this is where they all split up. Ron stood in the middle of the Slytherins by himself, while his friends moved around and talked to the other Slytherins. Their job was to make sure that every Slytherin knew what Potter and his two stooges were planning to do, and what they had done in Snape's classroom. They would also tell the Slytherins to keep quiet and to not alert Snape, Ron had to face Potter no matter what!

"Gather round, gather round!" came Lockhart's excited yell. "Can you all see me?! Can you all hear me?! Excellent!" Lockhart was standing on the stage in deep plum colored robes, and Snape stood next to him in his usual black ones. Ron smiled at Snape's look of disgust.

"Now!" Lockhart yelled again. "Headmaster Dumbledore has allowed me to begin this little Dueling Club in-order to train you all up, just in case!" Lockhart grinned widely. "It is my sworn duty to teach you all on how to defend yourselves against the worst of the worst, as I myself have done on countless occasions! For more details, read my published works!" Ron rolled his eyes, and so did Snape.

"Let me introduce you all to my assistant, Professor Snape!" Lockhart yelled out with a grin, and Ron had to stifle his laughter. Ron then shot quick looks around, and he saw that his friends were busy spreading the word. "He tells me that he knows a little bit about Dueling, and so he has offered me his assistance. Don't worry children, you'll all still have your Potions Master after I'm through with him!" Lockhart laughed, and Snape clenched his jaw tightly. _Lockhart is going to die today…_

Lockhart and Snape turned to each other, and then they bowed. Lockhart did a fabulous bow, and he twirled his hands as he did so. Snape's bow was more like an irritated head jerk, a dark sneer on his face. _Lockhart should bolt… I would if Snape gave me that look..._ Then both professors held their wands like swords in front of themselves.

"As you can see, we are both now in the accepted combative stance" Lockhart said with a grin. _Stop grinning you idiot, Snape is going to kill you!_ A small part of Ron feared for Lockhart, a **very small** part. "On the count of three, we will both fire our spells! We will not be aiming to kill, of course!" _Tell that to Snape!_ "One… Two… Three!" Lockhart yelled. Snape moved at lightning speed as he swung his wand up and over his own head.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Snape chanted with a powerful voice. There was blinding scarlet light, and Lockhart was sent flying off of the stage. The grinning fool slammed into a wall and slid down it to sprawl on the floor. _HAHA! OH SHITE! IS HE DEAD?!_ Ron and the other Slytherins broke into wild cheers for their Head of House, and Snape just smirked at Lockhart's sprawled form. Lockhart slowly stood up, his wavy hair was now all messy. Lockhart then limped onto the stage with a grin, and Ron was bewildered.

"There you have it!" Lockhart yelled. "That was the Disarming Charm, as you can all see, I've lost my wand!" Lockhart then took his wand from a gushing Lavender Brown. "Thank you, Miss. Brown. An excellent idea showing them that, Professor Snape. But… It was rather obvious what you were planning to do there… If I wanted to stop you, it would have been far too easy!" Lockhart grinned, and Snape looked completely murderous. Lockhart seemed to notice Snape's terrifying look for a change, and he quickly turned to the student body. "Enough demonstrating! I will now pair you all up, and you can all have a go! Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me…"

"Psst…" someone whispered in Ron's left ear. Ron turned to see Carey Ductu, the female prefect, standing next to him. "I heard something rather bizarre just now. Your friend Tracey Davis told me a wild story about Potter and his gang, is it true?"

"It is" Ron replied honestly, and Carey cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Interesting…" Carey said softly. "So it's also true that you're planning to put Potter in his place in public? I thought you two were friends…" Ron chest tightened at that.

"I thought so too…" Ron said softly, his voice was a little shaky. "But he betrayed me, and he planned to go after my friends… All because of the fact that I'm a Slytherin…" Carey nodded slowly, and then she smiled slyly at him.

"I hope you have a plan, Ron" Carey said as she put her hand on his shoulder. _Why is she touching me?_ "That's Dumbledore's Golden Boy you're going after… You could get expelled if you take things too far…"

"Trust me, I have it all sorted" Ron smirked, and Carey chuckled softly.

"I'm excited for your Duel then… Good luck" Carey said, and then she walked back to her own friends. Ron looked back at the stage, and he saw that Neville Longbottom was going up against some Hufflepuff boy. Neville and the Hufflepuff boy both failed terribly at casting the Disarming Charm. And then all of a sudden, a scarlet light shot out of Neville's wand and the Hufflepuff boy went flying across the stage.

"Well done, Mr. Longbottom!" Lockhart laughed. "Alright, next pair! Miss. Brown and Miss. Davis!" Ron looked at Tracey climbing onto the stage, and he gave her a reassuring smile. She gave him a sly grin, and Ron knew that Tracey was up to some mischief.

"On the count of three" Lockhart grinned. "One… Two…"

"Expelliarmus!" Tracey yelled as she fired the scarlet spell. Lavender's eyes-widened for a split second before she was sent flying backwards. She landed hard and groaned.

"I said on the count of three" Lockhart sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sir" Tracey said sweetly. "I just got… scared…" _HAHA! What a cheeky witch!_

"Very well" Lockhart smiled at Tracey. "Next pair! Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Goyle!"

"If I may" Snape interfered. "Finnegan's wand is a serious hazard to even his own wellbeing… Perhaps it would be wise to… forgo… this pair."

"Very well, Professor Snape" Lockhart smiled, and Ron could see Finnegan pouting. Hermione was standing right next to Finnegan, and she was looking at Ron. Ron's eyes suddenly locked with Hermione's, and they both just stared at each other. They hadn't spoken for over a month, and recently, they had even stopped looking at each other. Ron felt his stomach floating about as he stared at her, and she stared back. _NO! She betrayed me! She had no problem turning her back on me!_ Ron broke his eye contact and looked back at the stage. The twins were currently Dueling each other, and they were evenly matched.

"Alright, enough!" Lockhart yelled after two minutes of watching the twins. They were both firing the exact same spells at the same time, and this would go on forever. "Next pair! I think…"

"If I may?" Snape interfered again. "Shall I suggest a pair?"

"Of course" Lockhart grinned.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, get up here" Snape said as he turned to Malfoy. _FUCK!_ Malfoy looked at Snape with a blank expression.

"Sir, I hurt my wrist during Quidditch practice" Malfoy said in a dead tone. "Weasley can take my spot…" _WHAT THE FUCK?!_ Ron looked at Malfoy, and Malfoy looked back at him with his blank expression. _Did he seriously just… help me?!_ Even Snape was utterly bewildered, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Fine…" Snape said slowly. "Mr. Weasley, come." Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then he got on the stage. Snape was giving Ron a wary look, what was going on here? Why did Draco just give up his chance at Potter? And why was there such a dark look on Ronald's face? Snape was getting a bad feeling about this, but he chose to ignore it. They were both just children… What's the worst that could happen?

There were whispers and murmurs from the students around the stage. Ron stared right at Harry as they slowly approached the middle of the stage. There were butterflies in Ron's stomach, but the longer he looked at Harry, the angrier he got. _Fucking traitor! I gave you everything… And you spat in face! I'll teach you a lesson you will never forget…_ Ron shot quick looks to the Gryffindors, and he liked what he saw. Hermione and Neville were looking scared… Good! Percy and the twins were looking on with blank expressions, while Ginny was looking right at him with a concerned look. _She doesn't think I can take him? She always did worship Harry fucking Potter… Just watch Gin, I'll show you what I'm capable of…_ And then, Harry and Ron stood face to face.

"Ron… we need to talk…" Harry whispered.

"Shut up" Ron whispered coldly, and Harry's eyes widened. "When I'm done with you, you'll never even look in my general direction again… Fucking traitor…" Harry blanched.

"Ron…" Harry muttered.

"I'm going to destroy you, Potter…" Ron whispered coldly, his heart was thumping wildly. "You think you can go after my friends… after Daphne… I'll teach you a lesson…" Harry gulped as his head began swimming. How did Ron know all of this?! Was he onto them the entire time?! Neville was right! It was Ron who destroyed their potion! Ron's dark look was starting to scare Harry a little, he didn't think that Ron was capable of such a bloodthirsty look…

"Now, step ten paces away from each other and bow" Lockhart grinned, utterly oblivious to the look on Ron's face. Many of the surrounding students saw Ron terrifying look, and they hushed everyone around them. There was utter silence as Ron and Harry parted ways, and then they turned to each other. They both bowed, and then they took the combative stance.

"On the count of three" Lockhart said merrily. Ron's stomach was floating around due to his own nervousness, and excitement. _This is it… I already have everything planned out… I'm ready!_ "One… Two… Three!"

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, his voice cracking. Ron didn't even raise his wand as the scarlet light flew at him, instead he backhanded the spell with his left hand. Ron felt Pandora's ruin ring burn hotly for a split second, and then Harry was sent flying back. The crowd went dead silent, all of them staring with slacked-jaws. Harry lay on the ground, groaning… Ron lifted his arms up at his sides, and then he grinned. _Time for some humiliation…_

"The **great** Harry Potter!" Ron mocked loudly, his voice echoing around the silent Great Hall. "I don't even need a wand to put him in his place!" The Slytherins began laughing and cheering at the top of their lungs, and Ron's grin widened maniacally. He felt so damn powerful right now, all of his worries had just vanished. Ron's siblings were looking at him with utter shock and disbelief, while Neville and Hermione were just horrified at Ron's behavior. Neville was certain now that Ron was indeed the Heir, and Hermione's entire world was beginning to crumble. Harry stood up slowly, red with rage. The boy-who-lived picked up his wand and glared murder at Ron's smug face.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart yelled, he was beginning to catch on.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Harry yelled, and a purple light flew straight at Ron. Ron slapped it right back with a massive grin on his face, and Harry's legs snapped shut together. The boy-who-lived fell face first on the ground as he lost his balance, and the Slytherins howled with laughter. Ron laughed out loud as well, how did Potter not know any defensive magic? _Because he didn't have Charlie there to teach him! Because he doesn't have Pandora on his side! They're on my side!_

"He isn't even worth my wand!" Ron mocked loudly, and then he pocketed his wand. Harry was trying to stand still, but his legs were stuck together. "Brachium Colubrum!" Ron chanted with a mad grin, and an ethereal serpent shot out of his left sleeve and bound Harry. There were loud gasps, and even the Slytherins were utterly shocked.

"Mr. Weasley!" came Snape's firm yell, but Ron ignored it. _Time to teach Potter a lesson… No one goes after my friends!_

Before anyone could say or do anything, Ron had already closed the distance between Harry and himself with terrifying speed. Harry was helpless as Ron's right fist crashed into his face, and there was a loud, sickening crunch of cartilage shattering. Harry fell on his back hard, and he was utterly dazed. The students yelled in protest and horror, and Ron ignored them completely. He had a job to do, and that was to teach Potter a harsh lesson on what happens to those who betray their friends… _To those who betray ME!_

Ron's second punch landed right on Harry's temple, and his third one broke Harry's glasses. Ron ignored the pain in his own right hand as he kept punching Harry's head. Harry was still bound by the ghostly serpent that was attached to Ron's left wrist, and so he had no means of defending himself. Ron just kept throwing punches, not planning to stop until he was forced to…

"STOP HIM!"

"HE'S KILLING HIM!"

"RON, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"HARRY!"

"MERLIN SOMEONE STOP HIM!"

"FUCKING HELL!"

Ron's fist landed right on Harry's jaw as a strong hand grabbed Ron and threw him back. It was Snape, and he was horrified at Ron's actions. The ghostly serpent disappeared as Ron quickly stood back up, a defiant look etched upon his face.

"MR. WEASLEY, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Snape bellowed in pure-rage, but Ron didn't even flinch.

"I don't owe you anything" Ron spat, and then he turned around and walked away. Snape was utterly stunned, but he quickly turned around to tend to Potter. The boy was wheezing, his face bloody and bruised. What the fuck had just happened?!

Ron marched with a hurried pace as he disembarked from the stage, his friends joining his side as soon as he came down. Ron made his way towards the exit, he needed to act fast! He had just pulled off the first half of his plan, and now he needed to get Marty! Some of the older Slytherin students moved with Ron, and the other houses got out of their way. Ron spotted Harry being tended to by Snape, Neville and Hermione by his side. Ron's eyes locked with Neville's for a second, and Ron smirked at him. _Fucking traitor… You're next!_ Ron then spotted his brothers and a few Gryffindors moving to cut off Ron's exit.

"Stop those Gryffindors, I can't afford to slow down" Ron told his friends and the older students. They all but ran ahead and blocked the Gryffindors. Angry shouts broke out as the two houses clashed, and Ron walked right out of the Great Hall. He shot a quick look back over his shoulder, and he spotted the twins fighting against a couple of Slytherin boys. Ron decided to ignore this, he had a job to do! Ron quickly took his wand out and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he broke into a run. He ran straight into the Slytherin common room, and then he broke his Disillusionment Charm.

"Marty, I need you right now!" Ron called, and a loud crack came from behind him.

"Master, Marty is here!" Marty bowed.

"Get Lord and Lady Greengrass, tell them it's done…" Ron ordered, and Marty smiled widely as he disapparated. _Phew… Done! Merlin, I really hope Lord Greengrass pulled in the Board… Or I'm fucked!_ Ron heard footsteps coming from the entrance of the common room, and he turned to face whoever was coming through. It was his friends, and few other Slytherins.

"Ron!" Blaise called, his expression was furious. "What the fuck have you done?!"

"They're going to expel you for this!" Tracey exclaimed.

"What happened to just humiliating Potter?!" Theo asked in anger.

"I did exactly as I planned" Ron said calmly, but deep down he was anything but calm. His stomach was flipping around and he was sweating from his armpits. There was too much adrenaline in his system…

"Ron…" Daphne said in shocked voice. She had no idea that he was capable of doing something like this… It had been hard to watch Ron beat Potter senseless…

"Be quiet!" Samuel Byrne yelled. "Weasley, start explaining right the fuck now! Tell me why I took a punch from your older brother!" Ron noticed a bruise forming on Samuel's left cheek.

"Percy clocked you?" Ron asked in shock.

"YEAH!" Samuel exclaimed. "What the fuck, Weasley?"

"This is all part of the plan" Ron smirked. "I have the Board of Governors on my side… They'll put Dumbledore and his Golden Boy in their place! And I'll walk away without as much as a warning…" _Merlin, I fucking hope so… Please Lord Greengrass, don't fail me now!_

"The Board?" came Malfoy's voice, and Ron turned to face the Malfoy heir. "My father is…"

"The chairman, I know" Ron smirked. "Thanks, by the way… For letting me teach Potter a lesson…" Malfoy just blinked at him, and then he nodded slowly. Why was his father helping Weasley?! And since when did Weasley start beating Gryffindors into bloody pulps? "Where is Snape?" Ron asked.

"He took Potter to the Hospital Wing" Pansy answered. "Ron, are you sure this is going to work?"

"I have faith in Lord Greengrass" Ron replied, and he saw Daphne's eyes widen.

"So that story about Potter trying to break in here is really true?" Fabian Cunningham asked. "Is that why you did this?"

"Nope…" Ron shrugged. "I mean, that story is true but it isn't the reason why I beat the piss out of Potter."

"Then why did you?" asked Clara Martyris.

"He went after my friend…" Ron replied, and then he looked right at Daphne. Daphne's cheeks went a bit rosy, and she smiled softly at Ron. "My friends are off-limits… It's just that simple." Ron then walked over to a couch and sat down. "Now… I have to wait…" Ron's friends sat down around him, while the older students went about their own business.

"Ron…" Blaise muttered. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Ron asked.

"All of that…" Millie replied for Blaise. "You repelled his spells without a wand… And then you used that weird snake…"

"Remind me to never piss you off" Theo chuckled.

"The Gryffindors were shouting that you're the Heir of Slytherin…" Daphne said softly.

"Well, they're wrong" Ron said firmly. "You believe me, right?"

"Of course" Daphne said as she put her hand over his. "Ron… your hand!" she gasped. Ron looked down and noticed that his glove was bloody.

"Shite…" Ron muttered.

"I doubt Pomfrey will heal you after what you did…" Tracey sighed.

"It'll heal in time" Ron shrugged. "One more thing, we all have to stick together like glue from now on. Do you understand?"

"We aren't stupid, Ron" Pansy frowned. "The Gryffindors are not happy with us…"

"What about the other houses?" Ron asked.

"The Hufflepuffs are running off to their 'safe-spaces'…" Blaise sighed. "The Ravenclaws… I don't know…"

"They probably don't know what to think" Daphne mused.

"Once word gets out about Potter and his friends" Ron started. "They'll choose me…"

"How are you so sure of that?" Millie asked.

"Because he bought them off…" Theo guessed. "Not to mention that we will be telling everyone what a shite friend Potter is…"

"Ron!" Carey Ductu called from the entrance. "Snape is coming… He looks pissed…"

"Wish me luck" Ron smiled at his friends, and they smiled back. Ron stood up and walked towards the entrance, he exchanged a quick look with Carey. Snape then billowed in, a terrifying sneer etched upon his face.

"With me… NOW!" Snape yelled at Ron, and then he turned around and billowed away. Ron released a deep breath, and then he followed after Potions Master. They walked out of the Dungeons in utter silence, until Ron got tired of it.

"Sir, where are we going?" Ron asked softly, and Snape stopped walking.

"Foolish boy!" Snape roared as he turned around and towered over Ron. _Fuck… He is terrifying! Stay calm, Weasley… Wait for Lord Greengrass…_ "I am taking you to the Hospital Wing, where the Headmaster is waiting with Potter. You will be expelled… tonight!"

"I rather doubt it…" Ron smirked, and Snape blinked at him.

"What did you say?" Snape asked in a dangerous whisper, it made Ron shudder.

"I said that I won't be getting expelled…" Ron kept his composure. "I have nothing to fear from Albus Dumbledore…"

"Be careful, Ronald" Snape snarled. "Be very careful…" And then Snape turned around and re-started his march. Ron followed with a deep frown, where the hell was Lord Greengrass?! As they got closer to the Hospital Wing, Ron began to panic internally. _Don't tell me he betrayed me as well?! Please… Merlin, not again! Stay calm! He'll come for me…_ Snape pushed the doors open and they both walked in.

Ron spotted Dumbledore and McGonagall talking to Harry, whose face was still bruised. Neville and Hermione were sitting on Harry's bed as well, and they looked rather sad about their friend. And then, Ron spotted his siblings. The looks on their faces turned murderous when they saw Ron.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Ginny yelled as soon as she saw Ron. Ron was taken aback for a second, and then he got angry. She had been ignoring him for months while he fretted over her non-stop. And now here she was, yelling at him for attacking her precious childhood crush! Her crush that betrayed her brother!

"Mind your tone with me…" Ron snarled at her, and she instantly looked scared. She knew now what her brother was capable of. Ron was a monster…

"Don't talk to her like that!" Fred yelled.

"How could you do this to Harry?!" George joined in.

"Ron… please explain" Percy said softly. "I'm losing my mind here…" Ron looked at Percy, and his older brother wasn't glaring at him like the rest of his siblings. Percy looked confused, and he looked worried. Worried for Ron…

"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall huffed. "Explain yourself this instant!"

"No…" Ron said coldly, and she blinked at his apparent lack of respect for authority.

"Ronald…" Dumbledore said softly. "Why did you do this?"

"He's the Heir of Slytherin!" Neville shouted, he looked consumed with rage. "He's been attacking people! We all saw the serpent he summoned!" Hermione let out a pained whimper at Neville's accusations.

"That doesn't make me the Heir, you fat fuck…" Ron smirked. Everyone went wide-eyed, except for Dumbledore and Snape.

"Ronald, mind you language" Dumbledore said, his voice was hard. Ron wasn't going to lie to himself, he was on the verge of running away. _WHERE IS LORD GREENGRASS?!_

"Why? You're going to expel anyway, right?" Ron said bitterly, and Dumbledore sighed.

"I do not want that…" Dumbledore said calmly. "But your actions cannot go unpunished."

"I think they will" Ron challenged, and Dumbledore looked right at Ron. Their gazes clashed, and the room was heavy with tension.

"Ahem…" came a cough from the entrance of the Hospital Wing, and Ron turned to see Lord and Lady Greengrass marching in. Ron almost began crying from relief, they hadn't left him to fend for himself. Lord Greengrass was holding a few parchments in his right hand. _What are those?_

"Sebastian Greengrass, and Mary Greengrass" Dumbledore smiled at them.

"It is good to see you once again, Headmaster" Lady Greengrass smiled at Dumbledore.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company tonight?" Dumbledore smiled, his eyes were now twinkling.

"Well, I'm here to fire you" Lord Greengrass smiled politely, and the whole room just went dead silent. _Wait, what?! That wasn't part of the plan!_

"Is that so?" Dumbledore chuckled.

"Indeed" Lord Greengrass said as he put his left hand over Ron's right shoulder. Ron felt Lord Greengrass squeeze his shoulder in a comforting way, and Ron's nerves began to settle. He was safe now… Lord Greengrass was here to save him…

"You can't" Harry yelled, his bruised face held a furious look.

"The adults are talking, Mr. Potter" Lord Greengrass smiled at the boy-who-lived. The boy's face made Lord Greengrass wonder what Ron had done to him… "Be silent, please."

"This is preposterous" McGonagall frowned at Lord Greengrass.

"I'm afraid it isn't" Lady Greengrass said calmly.

"The Board has already signed off on it" Lord Greengrass smiled, and Ron began panicking again. _This wasn't the plan! We need Dumbledore! There is a killer on the loose!_ "Here, read for yourself" Lord Greengrass said as he handed one of the parchments to Dumbledore. Dumbledore fixed his half-moon glasses as he read the document, and then he chuckled.

"It appears that I'm being suspended until further notice" Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron wondered why the old loon was so calm. "And what are the other parchments for?" Dumbledore asked in an amused tone.

"These…" Lord Greengrass smiled. "These are expulsion notices for Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom…" _FUCK! NO!_ Ron barely kept his composure, what the hell was Lord Greengrass doing?! Hermione started crying, and her body heaved with each sob… McGonagall held her tightly as she glared murder at Lord Greengrass.

"On what charges?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes had become hard again.

"Ronald provided the Board with proof of their criminal behavior" Lord Greengrass said, there was an evil glint in his eyes. Dumbledore looked at Ron with a blank expression, and then he looked back at Lord Greengrass.

"What criminal behavior?" Dumbledore asked. Lord Greengrass looked at the parchments with a dark smile.

"Miss. Hermione Granger: For stealing from one Professor Snape, for illegally brewing a Polyjuice Potion at school with stolen supplies, for intent to harm another student, for attempting to kidnap another student, for attempted break-in and trespassing, for endangering lives with an explosive during a class, and for slandering a fellow student" Lord Greengrass read softly. "She is hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" Hermione wailed louder, and Ron's insides squirmed from the guilt. This wasn't part of his plan, why was Lord Greengrass doing this?!

"This is… not true!" McGonagall snapped.

"Oh, it is" Lady Greengrass smiled pleasantly. "We have memories that have been verified by Obliviaters, and they show what these three Gryffindors were up to. They caused the explosion in Professor Snape's classroom, and they did it to steal from his personal stores. They planned to make a Polyjuice Potion with those stolen supplies, which they would then use to break into the Slytherin common room… They targeted Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass. My daughter…"

"Is this true?" Dumbledore asked Harry with a calm voice.

"Professor…" Harry muttered, he had tears in his eyes.

"Shall I read out Mr. Potter's expulsion notice?" Lord Greengrass asked politely.

"No…" Dumbledore said softly, he knew he couldn't do anything at this point. Harry and his friends were clearly guilty of these crimes… Even the Headmaster couldn't legally stop the expulsion of students if the entire Board of Governors made a case against them… These charges could land the three Gryffindors in a juvenile criminal program… Dumbledore had to settle this somehow… And he didn't have any leverage…

"Please…" Hermione sobbed. "Please don't expel me…" she was beginning to hyperventilate, and Ron was moments away from cracking.

"What do you want?" Dumbledore asked in a tired voice, and Lord Greengrass smiled hungrily.

"I will tear up these documents right here if my conditions are met" Lord Greengrass said coldly. "These documents are only valid if I decide to turn them in, which I haven't done yet."

"This is blackmail!" McGonagall accused.

"This is justice…" Lady Greengrass said coldly. "What right do these three have to pull a stunt like this? I see that the House of Gryffindor is as self-righteous as always…" The two women locked eyes, and the room's temperature dropped.

"I want Ronald to be excused of all charges, he doesn't even get a warning…" Lord Greengrass stared right into Dumbledore's eyes. "And I want these three punished… They will serve detention every single day for the remainder of their second year! You can figure out with who… I want them each to be docked of their House-points. Oh… and Mr. Potter loses all of his Quidditch privileges."

"WHAT?!" the twins shouted.

"Be quiet!" Snape hissed at them. He was furious with the Trio! They caused that explosion in-order to steal from him! They deserved to be expelled! Snape glared at Potter, and any pity he had felt for the boy was now gone! But Snape knew that Dumbledore would never allow Potter and his friends to be expelled…

"These are extreme demands" Dumbledore said softly.

"They are the only ones that you're going to get" Lord Greengrass replied. "They can either serve a lot of detentions, or they can pack up their things…"

"I'll do the detentions!" Hermione sobbed. "I don't want to leave…"

"We accept…" Dumbledore said softly, and then he looked at Ron with a disappointed look. Ron looked back, and his heart began to calm down. _This was all part of his plan! He scared them into accepting his terms…_ Lord Greengrass tore up the documents with a smile, and then he turned around to leave.

"Ronald, a word please" Lord Greengrass said as he and his wife began to leave. Ron followed after them, but he shot a quick look to his siblings before he left. Percy was just staring at Ron with utter shock. The twins were shaking with rage, and Ginny was looking at her feet. Ron's heart twisted at the sight, but he decided to ignore them. After everything he had for the Trio, their betrayal had caused him an extreme amount of pain. He had just given that pain back… Nothing more, and nothing less… Ron was done apologizing for just existing…

Ron followed after Lord and Lady Greengrass, and his head was feeling light. His vision blurred a bit, and his stomach turned. Ron felt his mouth become more and more wet, he was going to vomit! And then he did… He threw up in the corridor, and all of his strength slowly left him. He was exhausted… Ron felt Lady Greengrass rubbing his back softly.

"It's alright, Ron" Lord Greengrass comforted. "Just let it out…" After Ron was finished, Lady Greengrass cleaned his face with a handkerchief.

"I thought you had abandoned me…" Ron muttered, his hands shaking. Lady Greengrass pulled him in and hugged him tightly. Ron rested his head against her breasts, and she squeezed him tightly.

"I am sorry for the delay, Ron" Lord Greengrass said softly as he put his hand on Ron's back. "Lucius wanted me to file these charges, but I only wanted to use them as leverage… Convincing him took time…"

"Thank you…" Ron whispered.

"Shhh" Lady Greengrass hummed as she squeezed him in a loving manner. "You're one of us…" Ron closed his eyes and smiled…

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **December 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Hospital Wing)**_

"Drink, Miss. Granger" Poppy said as she gave the girl a sleeping draught. Longbottom and Potter were both already dozing off… Severus looked at his mentor pacing back and forth, the old man had been taken off-guard. _Ronald… He planned this whole thing? How could a twelve year plan this? It must have been Greengrass…_

"Severus… Minerva" Albus said softly. "Come with me…" With that, Albus led the way out of the Hospital Wing. _What a mess…_

"Albus, you cannot give in to their unreasonable demands!" Minerva said in exasperation.

"I'm afraid that I must…" Albus said as they walked through the dark hallways.

"Weasley beat Potter senseless… And he doesn't even get a warning?" Minerva exclaimed. "And my Gryffindors are to be…" Snape decided to cut her off. He had no patience for Gryffindor self-righteousness tonight…

"Your Gryffindors got what they deserved" Snape said in an icy voice. "They knowingly put my whole class in danger by exploding a cauldron full of boiling Swelling Solution! And then, they stole from me and planned to target my Slytherins…"

"Albus?!" Minerva called for the Headmaster.

"Severus is right…" Albus said in a tired voice. "Their actions have left me no choice…"

"What about Weasley's actions?!" Minerva argued. "He just gets to walk away? Did you see how he spoke to us? What if Longbottom is right?!" _That buffoon? I doubt it…_

"Innocent until proven guilty…" Snape said icily. He felt the need to defend his students, but he was also angry with Ronald. That boy had insulted every adult in the room… Even Albus Dumbledore… He needed to be put in check…

"Minerva" Albus said softly. "Tell the other Heads of Houses what has happened… Tell them that the three Gryffindors are to be given detentions for the remainder of the school year… And tell Oliver Wood to find a new seeker…" Severus smirked a little at that, at least something good had come from this debacle. Minerva looked like she had sucked a lemon, but she didn't argue. Instead, she broke off from Albus and Severus.

Snape and his mentor both traveled to the Headmaster's Office in complete silence. Snape knew that Albus was thinking about everything from every angle, and Snape had no intention of disturbing the old man's thoughts. Snape had thoughts of his own… How could twelve year olds cause so many headaches! _Draco… He was in on this… He gave his spot to Ronald without any arguments…_ Snape's talks with Draco had been progressing well, his godson was finally learning to keep his own ego in check. But this momentary alliance between Draco and Ronald was completely unforeseen… Snape and Albus entered the office, and they took their usual seats.

"Ronald" Albus chuckled suddenly, it took Snape by surprise. "He certainly has a flare for being dramatic, doesn't he?"

"Is this a joke to you?" Snape hissed. "If you had seen the murderous look on his face, you would not be laughing…"

"No, Severus" Albus sighed. "This is no joke… Ronald outmaneuvered us, and he got away with his crimes without even a warning… This is very disturbing."

"It was Greengrass" Snape said coldly. "He was the one behind this little plan…"

"I'm not so sure" Albus argued. "I believe they both came up with the plan… But I know for certain that Ronald is the one who approached Sebastian."

"How can you know that?" Snape asked. "Did you use Legilimency?"

"I did not need to" Albus answered. "Today was Saturday, and those documents were forged today. Ronald came back from his work extremely early today. I believe that he went to Sebastian with a plan of sorts, and Sebastian put the whole thing in motion after…"

"It doesn't matter anymore" Snape shook his head softly. "What are we going to do about this?"

"There is nothing left to do" Albus smiled softly. "The terms of our agreement must be followed, Sebastian Greengrass is a cold man. He will expel those children without a second thought…" _He wouldn't stop there… He'd make sure to ruin their lives completely… Does Ronald even know what Greengrass is capable of?_

"Severus…" Albus whispered, he had a sad look on his face. "We're losing Ronald… I can see it. He is slipping out of our fingers…"

"His friends **just** betrayed him" Snape grimaced. "He is emotionally unstable, but that doesn't mean that he is turning Dark…"

"It is often in our loneliest moments that we make our worst choices…" Albus whispered with a sad smile. Snape was sure that Albus was talking about himself, but Snape could also relate to those words. _Lily… When I lost her… That's when I became a Death-Eater… No! Ronald will not become me! I will drag that boy to the right side…_

"I will keep my eyes on him" Snape said softly. "And I will speak with him every week… Just like I do with Draco…"

"Ronald has a bright mind" Albus started. "Losing him will not benefit this world… I believe it is time that we throw our caution to the wind… Tomorrow, I will use Legilimency on him…"

"No" Snape frowned. "Let me do it instead…"

"You are more important than me, Severus" Dumbledore smiled. "I will be the one to take this risk… I wish to see this… 'Void'… for myself."

"This is not a wise move, Albus" Snape warned.

"Sometimes, being foolish is the wisest policy" Albus smiled sagely, and Snape blinked at him. _Tomorrow then… Tomorrow, we look into Ronald's mind…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I know that many of you were keenly awaiting for this Arc to happen, and now it has! The fallout from this is going to be HUGE! Ron went full goddamn psycho on Harry! The entire school will be shaken up by this! Not to mention Ron's own family and friends...**

 **See you guys soon!**


	34. Chapter 34 - The Horror Within

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here is Chapter 34 people! I bet the name intrigued you! To those who are saying that Ron is being influenced by the Entity and Voldemort into making his poor decisions, please read on.**

 **1\. Voldemort's soul shard is affecting Ron, for sure. Ron has always had that Weasley temper, and we know from canon that Voldemort's soul shard affected Harry deeply. I mean he was full on Emo for quite a while and he exploded in rage often... Ron's temper is worse than Harry's, and that too is shown in canon. Mixed in with his insecurities and so forth, this all makes Ron much more vulnerable than Harry! The gist of it is that Harry isn't affected as much because he is a 'stronger' person than Ron in canon! My Ron may be a lot more confident, but he is still Ron. The boy who has always been the last pick for pretty much everything in his whole life... And he has even bigger problems in this story than he did in canon! All that added stress makes him extremely vulnerable to Voldemort's own rage...**

 **2\. The Entity does not influence Ron! It can hurt him, and scare him shitless, but it does not do anything to alter his personality in any way. And the only powers it gives Ron are the visions and mental protection... Nothing else! Ron makes his own choices, the good and the bad. (With a bit of Voldemort soul shard thrown in)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 34 – The Horror Within**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Breakfast)**_

Ron smirked at his well-groomed reflection, his clean robes, his clean hair-cut, and his cold piercing ocean blue eyes. This is what it felt like to be truly confident, to be powerful. He had beaten Albus Dumbledore, he had beaten Harry Potter, and he had put the entire House of Gryffindor on its back. He had beaten them all…

When he had returned last night, triumphant, he had told all the Slytherins of what had transpired. They had been completely awed by him. His friends had looked at him with absolute pride as they had congratulated him. The Triumvirate had given him genuine applause, and the rest of the house had followed. Even Malfoy had given him a respectful nod, and his trademark smirk. Ron had proven once and for all that he was a true Slytherin, one that could even outsmart Dumbledore! It was in that moment that all of Ron's doubts had died. He no longer clung to the notion that he was meant to be a Gryffindor… He had seen that house's worth, and it was **beneath** him…

Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then he smiled at his mirror self. _The reflection of a_ _ **Champion**_ _!_ Ron exited the bathroom with an easy smile on his lips, and he spotted his two best mates.

"Theo, Blaise" Ron greeted them with a nod each.

"Someone's in a good mood" Theo chuckled. _Oh, I am…_

"I would be too" Blaise smirked. "If I had pulled off that stunt yesterday. I bet the truth about Potter's plan is already spreading throughout the school."

"Good" Ron smirked. "I'm hungry… let's go and eat."

"Whatever you say, fearless leader" Theo chuckled, but this time Ron didn't blush. Ron simply kept smirking. The three boys left their dorm and travelled to the common room, and they were greeted by random Slytherins whose names they didn't even know.

"Good morning, Ron."

"Weasley."

"Enjoy your Sunday, yeh?"

"Ron, how are you mate?"

Ron nodded and smiled at them all, and then he turned to Theo and Blaise. His two best mates shrugged and grinned. Ron shook his head with a smile, and then they went to their usual spot. It was currently occupied by some first year girls who were gossiping loudly about one 'Ronald Weasley'.

"Hello" Ron greeted them with a smile. They turned to him, and then they all went wide-eyed.

"It's you!" a slightly chubby brunette squealed.

"Everyone's talking about you" a girl in glasses said.

"Are they?" Ron smirked. "I hope they're saying nice things…" Ron missed Theo and Blaise exchanging looks, something was off with Ron. He was acting… peculiar…

"Some are" one of the girls giggled. "But some are saying that you're the Heir of Slytherin!"

"Are they?!" Ron fake gasped, and then he sat down next to a blonde girl. "What else are they saying?"

"That you beat **THE** Harry Potter without even using your wand!" the chubby brunette squealed. "And that you outwitted the Headmaster as well!" Ron smiled widely.

"Those two things are true" Ron boasted. "But I am not the Heir of Slytherin…"

"You're not?" the blonde girl asked slowly, she sounded disappointed. That irked Ron a little, but he didn't let it get to him.

"Nope" Ron smirked. "But if you find out who it is, you'll tell me right?" The girls all nodded vigorously.

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice. Ron turned to face her, and she was accompanied by the girls. All four of them were looking at him oddly. "Who are they?" Daphne asked Ron.

"I have no clue" Ron smiled, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Ron, come on mate" Theo said slowly. "Let's get some breakfast…" Ron nodded and stood up, and then they all left the common room. As they were walking towards the Great Hall, Blaise spoke up.

"Ron, are you feeling alright?" Blaise asked in an aloof voice.

"I feel great" Ron hummed, he felt better than great! _I haven't been this happy since I learned that I could change Fred's fate!_

"That's good to see" Pansy giggled.

"Who were those girls, Ron?" Daphne asked again, this time she sounded a bit annoyed.

"I have no idea, Daph" Ron smiled at her, but she didn't smile back. "Just some first years, I think. I asked them if they knew who the Heir was, and they didn't!"

"I don't think you should be talking about the Heir, Ron" Tracey said slowly. "You've become the prime-suspect…" _Of course I have… The Slytherin Weasley…_ Ron felt a jolt of bitterness, but he smothered it down.

"Well, I'm not the Heir" Ron shrugged. "And we need to find out who it is."

"Well, it isn't Potter" Theo chuckled. "After all, he was trying to break into Slytherin to find out who it is!"

"I have a suspicion…" Daphne said softly, and they all turned their attention to her. "What if the Heir isn't in Slytherin? People only suspected Potter because they saw him with Filch's cat… Other than Potter, no one outside of Slytherin is suspected."

"How could the Heir of Slytherin not be in Slytherin?" Millie asked. "Isn't it a prerequisite?"

"I think the Heir is a first year, or a second year" Blaise added suddenly.

"Why a first or a second year?" Ron asked.

"The attacks started this year…" Blaise explained. "If the Heir was older, there would have been attacks in the previous years."

"What if they hadn't found the Chamber yet?" Pansy argued.

"She's right…" Theo agreed. "Tom Riddle Jnr didn't start the attacks until his fifth year, or something…"

"The writing on the wall" Blaise said, and they all blinked at him. "It was barely off of the ground… Any student above second year would have had to crouch to write in that spot…" _He's right! The writing was only a foot or so high…_

"Ugh…" Tracey groaned. "These are all just speculations! We're just guessing in circles… The Heir hasn't attacked in a month!"

"Maybe they got scared?" Daphne provided.

"They wrote a message in blood" Ron frowned. "I doubt they'd just run scared… I think the Heir is waiting…"

"Waiting for what?" Millie asked.

"For people to put their guard down" Ron speculated. "Think about it… People are starting to roam around the castle like they used to! Even the first years are losing their fear…"

"That does make sense…" Theo nodded. "Easier to hunt prey that isn't looking over its shoulder…"

"Did you have to make it sound so creepy?" Tracey asked with a frown.

"The Heir is a creepy person" Theo shrugged. "What kind of normal person uses blood as ink?!"

"I'm with Theo on this" Ron chuckled. "Whoever it is… They're twisted…"

* * *

 _ **December 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Breakfast)**_

Breakfast had been quite the ordeal… The Slytherins were treating Ron like he was royalty, the Hufflepuffs were looking away from him fearfully, the Ravenclaws were shooting him looks and talking in hushed whispers, and the Gryffindors were glaring murder at him. An entire table was glaring at him with ill intent, and it made Ron sweat a little. The Slytherins may have his back, but they couldn't be with him all the time… Sooner or later, Ron would have to face a few Gryffindors.

Ron's own good mood was completely gone as soon as he spotted a haggard Hermione, she looked like she hadn't slept a day in her life! Despite everything that had happened, Ron still liked her… Somewhere deep down, he still wanted her friendship. Ron realized how selfish that was of him, and he decided to bury those feelings. He had burned those bridges last night… Looking back now would just be pointless!

And then there were Harry and Neville… Harry looked done in, even though he didn't have his bruises anymore. He looked… broken. Like someone had broken his spirit, and Ron knew that he was the culprit! Neville was glaring at Ron with so much hatred that even Theo and Blaise had shuddered. Ron knew that his fight against the Trio wasn't over yet, because Neville still wanted to keep fighting… Ron decided that if it came down to it, he'd indulge Neville. They had started this fight, and Ron wasn't one to back down from a fight! Especially when the people he cared about were involved.

And speaking of people he cared about, his siblings all had different reactions to his actions. The twins were absolutely livid! Ron could tell just by looking at them, their glares sent a shiver up his spine. Percy was still giving him a concerned look, almost as if he couldn't even begin to contemplate on how Ron could have done something like this. Ginny was looking rather panicked for some reason, and Ron wasn't sure why. She wasn't even looking at him, she was just looking scared of something. This set off alarm bells in his head, and he wanted to find out what had put Ginny in such a state! And as for Luna, she was just being Luna… Ron could see her smiling and humming as she ate her breakfast like nothing had happened.

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape icy voice from behind him. "Come with me." _I wonder what this is about…_

"Yes, Sir" Ron replied politely as he began following Snape out of the Great Hall. His friends gave him reassuring smiles and nods, and Ron braced himself for whatever was coming. As they began walking up, Ron realized that they were heading to Dumbledore's Office.

"Sir, what's going on?" Ron asked.

"Word has reached your family, Mr. Weasley" Snape said in a low voice.

"You mean the Headmaster told them" Ron frowned. Snape stopped immediately and turned on Ron, a dark sneer on his face.

"Actions have consequences, boy…" Snape snarled, and Ron went wide-eyed. "What you did yesterday will never be forgotten… You just proven the very thing that all of them feared, that you are not to be trusted…"

"I'm not the one who betrays his friends…" Ron argued softly.

"No…" Snape said coldly. "You're the one who physically beats his friends…" Ron flinched a bit at that. Snape turned around and continued his march towards Dumbledore's Office. Ron followed after him quietly, even Snape was angry at him? Had he made a mistake…? Ron suddenly felt a bit of uncertainty, but he ignored it. _They aren't innocent either…_

"Flavored Beans" Snape said to the stone gargoyle, and it moved aside. Snape and Ron then climbed the stairs quietly until Snape knocked on the door.

"Come in" came Dumbledore's voice. Snape opened the door and led Ron inside… Ron's stomach tightened as he saw his mother and father arguing with Dumbledore. Pandora and Xenophilius were sitting down quietly, and Remus and Sirius were pacing the room.

"KID!" Sirius exclaimed when he saw Ron, and every adult looked to Ron. "Tell me they're lying! You couldn't have done something like that! Tell me they're lying to me…" Ron stared at Sirius' concerned face, and he had no words. That seemed to be enough of an answer because Sirius looked horrorstruck.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Molly shrieked. "COME HERE THIS INSTANT!" _I'm so fucking dead…_

"Molly…" Arthur said softly.

"NO, ARTHUR!" Molly yelled, and then she turned to Ron with a terrifying look. "COME HERE NOW!" Ron slowly walked up to her, and she suddenly slapped him right across the face. The sound of the slap cracked throughout the office, and Ron nearly fell over.

"MOLLY!" Arthur yelled as he pulled Ron behind him.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" Molly shrieked madly, her voice cracking. Ron was dazed, his face hurt and he felt a dreadful sense of shame. His mother had spanked when he was younger, but that was because he had a tendency towards doing a lot stupid things… But this was the first time she had struck him out of sheer anger… That thought made his eyes sting, and he felt like he was a toddler again.

"Molly!" Pandora yelled as she grabbed onto Ron and guided him towards herself. Arthur quickly blocked his wife's path, he knew what her real anger looked like.

"ANSWER ME!" Molly shrieked at him, and all he could do was blink in-order to hide his tears.

"Enough!" Dumbledore's voice boomed.

"Headmaster, I will be in my Office…" Snape said quickly, and then he was gone.

"Molly, sit down" Dumbledore commanded. "I did not bring you here to strike my students…"

"I am his mother!" Molly glared at Dumbledore. "I did not raise him to do what he did! It's that accursed house that's twisting him! I demand that you re-sort him at once, or I will pull him from this school!"

"Molly, love…" Arthur said calmingly. "Please, calm down…" Molly glared at Arthur, but her resolve was starting to crack. She had struck Ron out of sheer rage… She had just struck her own son…

"Ron…" Pandora whispered to him, and he looked at her. His vision was blurring because of his unshed tears. "Ron, tell me what happened?" Pandora whispered.

"They betrayed me…" Ron managed, his voice cracking. "They were going after my friend…" Ron could already feel his right cheek swelling, its painful burn was nothing compared to the shame of being struck by his own mother. Ron knew that he was moments away from crying, and keeping his composure was becoming harder by the second.

"Shhh…" Pandora shushed him lightly. "Everything's okay, Ron…" Ron sniffled, his resolve cracking due to Pandora's soft whispers. _She probably hates me too… Why are they all against me?!_

"I want him re-sorted" Molly grit out, and Ron had his answer. He was the Slytherin… Panic bubbled inside his stomach, he didn't want to lose his friends! If he got resorted, who'd protect them?! _Malfoy will go after Blaise and Theo! And the girls… They never left me… I can't leave them!_

"I refuse to be re-sorted" Ron managed to speak up, and all the adults looked at him with different expressions.

"Cub, that won't happen" Remus assured him. "We just want to know what happened, that's all." Ron looked at Remus, and he remembered that Remus was a Werewolf… _He's still kind though._

"They went after my friend" Ron said, his voice coming back. "After everything I did for them, they betrayed without a second thought…" _Damn traitors… Why aren't they here? Why am I the only one being forced to defend their actions?_

"Kid…" Sirius sighed. "Why didn't you tell the Professors? Why did you decide to attack Harry like that?"

"What would the Professors do?" Ron argued, his anger was slowly returning to strengthen him. "They're Gryffindors… They would never be punished…"

"Ron, you don't know that" Xenophilius smiled sadly.

"I do know that" Ron argued. "Everyone knows that!"

"Mind your tone, young man!" Molly warned him.

"OR WHAT?!" Ron yelled, and every adult except Dumbledore jumped a bit. "YOU'LL HIT ME AGAIN!" Ron yelled, tears falling down his face. "ARE YOU THAT **DISGUSTED** WITH ME?!" Molly blinked at Ron, and Ron grit his teeth. "I remember what you said to me when I first got sorted… You told me that I 'humiliated' you… that I 'disgusted' you with my sorting…" Ron's voice cracked, and Molly went deathly pale. "I'm sorry that I'm never good enough for any of you!" Ron yelled, and then he turned around and bolted.

"KID STOP!" Sirius called after him, but Ron ignored all the adults. His legs were moving on their own as he ran down the stairs and raced through the hallways. He was crying hysterically as he ran, and the only place he could think of was his Sanctuary… He needed to get away from them… He just needed a place to think…

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **December 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Midday)**_

"You honestly believed that my son was the Heir of Slytherin?" Arthur asked Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Arthur was turning a certain shade of red, and the trio looked down sheepishly. Albus had spent the last two hours calming Ronald's family down, and Molly still hadn't said a word since Ronald had run off. After they had been calmed down, Albus had summoned the Trio to get answers.

"Harry…" Sirius sighed, he looked exhausted. "This is Ron… He helped me save you from the Dursleys…"

"I know…" Harry muttered. "I just…" Harry stopped. The boy looked so tired, and Albus felt for him. Albus felt for all of the children involved, their friendship had been ruined because of this house rivalry nonsense… Albus dearly wished that he could abolish the sorting ceremony, it didn't serve Hogwarts well anymore. All it did was pit the students against one another…

"It was my fault…" Neville spoke up. "I convinced them to suspect Ron…" _Why?_

"What was your reasoning?" Albus asked softly. Neville told them about his suspicions, and Albus frowned internally.

"And weren't you three sneaking around as well? Just like Ron?" Remus asked softly.

"We're sorry…" Hermione muttered, she looked far too stressed for a thirteen year old.

"My son is not the Heir of Slytherin" Arthur said firmly. "He is a good, kind boy…" No one said anything, but Albus knew what they were thinking. _A good, kind boy doesn't beat his fellow schoolmates into bloody pulps…_ There was a knock on the door.

"Come in" Albus said, and Severus walked into the Office.

"Headmaster, I have searched the entire castle" Severus reported. "I could not find Mr. Weasley…" Albus blinked at Severus.

"Where could he have gone?" Pandora asked, her voice was laced with worry. Albus managed to see an odd glint in Sirius' eyes, as if Sirius had just remembered something.

"Sirius?" Albus asked, and Sirius looked at Albus. "Do you have any to share with us?"

"No…" Sirius said softly. "Nothing at all…" _He's lying._

"Very well…" Albus sighed. "Does anyone have any questions for Harry, Hermione, and Neville?"

"I do" Xenophilius piped up. "The 'monster' of the Chamber can only be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin, as the rumors say… Then what made you suspect Ron of having this power? Has he ever displayed the ability to speak in Parseltongue?" _Parseltongue?! The Hat… It told me Harry could speak to snakes… Another unanswered question._

"Parseltongue?" Harry asked slowly. "I don't know what that is…"

"The ability to communicate with snakes" Sirius told his godson. There was a glint of panic in Harry's eyes, and Dumbledore caught it. _So it's true! How can Harry speak with snakes? Only Tom could do that…_ There were a thousand thoughts firing through Albus' mind.

"Harry, are you alright?" Remus asked. "You've gone pale…"

"I'm fine" Harry smiled softly. "I'm just really tired…"

"Then I suggest you go and rest" Albus smiled at Harry, he didn't want this getting out. "That is enough questions, go on." Harry and his friends left after Sirius hugged his godson tightly. "I suggest you all go home as well" Albus told the adults.

"I want to see my son" Arthur said softly.

"Arthur… give him time" Albus smiled sadly. _He needs time to think for himself. We will only push him further away by pestering him. Ronald will make the right decision, I have faith in him._

"If they thought that Ron is the Heir" Pandora started. "How many others think the same thing?" Albus wasn't sure if he should answer that, but Severus decided that he should.

"The students believe him to be the prime-suspect" Severus said bluntly, and Albus frowned internally.

"What?!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Lower you voice, Black" Severus sneered. "We're all right here…"

"Shut up, Snivellus" Sirius shot back, and Albus frowned outwardly. _When will they grow up?_

"The whole school suspects my son?" Arthur asked in a low whisper. "Is he being harassed? Is he being bullied?!" Molly's head shot up at that.

"He is not…" Severus answered. "Mr. Weasley is under my protection. And he has loyal friends by his side." All the adults blinked at Severus' words, he almost sounded like he cared. Albus couldn't help but smile at his grim friend, Severus truly did care. _Even if he won't admit it…_

"Please find him…" Pandora pleaded with Albus. "Tell him that we aren't angry anymore, please…"

"Friends fight" Remus smiled softly. "Tell him that we understand…"

"I will" Albus smiled. After that, they all flooed away one by one. Eventually it was just Severus and Albus in the Office. Severus sat down and rubbed his forehead with his right hand.

"I told you it was a bad idea to tell them so soon…" Severus groaned. "Now the boy is missing…"

"Where could he have gone?" Albus asked, there weren't many places that Albus didn't know of.

"The Chamber, if the rumors are to be believed" Severus said softly. _Chamber… Parseltongue… Harry can speak Parseltongue… Tom can speak it too…_ Things were clicking in Albus' mind, and he did not like what he was beginning to realize. _Tom attacked Harry, and now Harry has his ability to speak with snakes? Tom attacked Ronald as well… No… What if… The Hat told me only Harry could speak it, but Ronald was attacked at the end of last year's final term… The Hat couldn't possibly know if Ronald had that power now…_

"Albus, are you alright?" Severus asked.

"Yes…" Albus lied with a soft smile. _Ronald, where did you run off to?! Why can't I sense him in the castle?!_

"Are you still planning to use Legilimency on the boy?" Severus asked.

"Yes" Albus replied, and Severus frowned. "But not today… Ronald needs time to calm down… If I go into his mind while his emotions are still raw, I could cause more harm than good…" Severus nodded slowly. _Could Ronald truly be the Heir? Or is he… possessed? I have to find out as soon as possible! His life, and the lives of others, could be in danger…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Evening)**_

Ron blocked the Disarming Charms being fired at him by the dummies, he'd spent the entire day practicing Dueling. He was decent enough at dodging, but blocking spells was a bit harder. For one, it sapped your Magical Core to cast Protego. Secondly, when the spell struck the shield, the impact of it could topple you if you didn't brace your footing. Most of the dummies' spell were easy enough to block, but they'd occasionally fire a spell that would make Ron fall on his arse even though he blocked it.

"Nice blocks" came Blaise's voice from behind him, and Ron turned around quickly. _When did he…?_ Blaise must have entered the Sanctuary while Ron had been busy stopping the Disarming Charms. "Not surprising though, considering what you showed us all yesterday" Blaise said in an aloof voice. _Yesterday…_ Ron suddenly felt a lot more tired.

"Yeah…" Ron muttered.

"Who slapped you?" Blaise asked bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked, his ears burning in shame.

"You have a hand print on your right cheek" Blaise indicated. "Was it Granger? Oh, wait… Was it your sister?"

"My mother…" Ron said softly. He'd spent the entire day thinking about why she had slapped him… Blaise clicked his tongue loudly.

"That's harsh" Blaise sighed. "She do that often?"

"No" Ron immediately answered, his mother never struck him on the face… until today…

"Must've been because of what you did to Potter" Blaise guessed in an indifferent voice.

"Do you…" Ron started but stopped. _Do I really want to ask him that?_ "Do you think I did the wrong thing?"

"What, with Potter?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow, and Ron nodded. "Look Ron…" Blaise sighed.

"Don't lie to me Blaise, tell me the truth…" Ron asked his best friend. Blaise looked at Ron with a tired look, and then he sighed again.

"Yes…" Blaise nodded, and Ron felt winded. "You scared the shite out of everyone, mate… Especially the girls…"

"I did?" Ron asked in a hollow voice.

"Yeah…" Blaise nodded slowly. "You were laughing…" _Excuse me?_

"What?" Ron asked with a confused look.

"You were laughing…" Blaise repeated. "While you were beating Potter… You looked as happy as I've ever seen you, mate… It was a terrifying thing to watch…" _What?! I wasn't laughing… WHAT?!_ Ron didn't have any recollection of laughing while he attacked Harry.

"I don't remember that…" Ron said softly.

"Well, it's the truth…" Blaise shrugged. "You said that were just going to embarrass Potter, but you lied to us… That wasn't embarrassing someone, you were out to hurt him…" Ron sat down on the sand slowly, was Blaise telling the truth? Of course he was, why would he lie about this? Blaise moved closer and sat down next to Ron, he had a faint smile on his face.

"Look, Ron" Blaise said softly. "I don't know what's going on with you lately, but I'm going to be honest with you. We don't like it… You're acting more and more like Malfoy everyday…" Ron looked up at that. "It's true… You walk around with a constant smirk, you talk to people in that arrogant tone, and you even order us around sometimes without noticing… Everyone else, they don't want to say anything… But I'm not going to lie to you, that's not who I am."

"And you **are** scaring people" Blaise continued. "The girls will never admit it because they don't want to anger you. When they got scared of you last time, with the whole Parselmouth thing, you were furious… So now they just pretend like they aren't scared when you fly into your rages. And Theo… He still feels the need to please you because we left you last year… He'll excuse all of your bad behavior just to get on your good side, that's what he does."

"This can't be…" Ron muttered. "You all congratulated me… The house has been nothing but supportive of me lately…"

"We congratulated you because we're your friends…" Blaise sighed. "You outsmarting Dumbledore was amazing… The rest of the house genuinely believes that you're the Heir… Why the hell would they want to piss you off?"

"Why are you telling me this? Why now?" Ron asked. "Where are the others?"

"Snape is searching for you, so we're keeping our distance from this place" Blaise shrugged. "I used the Disillusionment Charm to get here. And I'm telling you this because I don't want you turning into another Malfoy. We chose you because of who you are… Not who you're trying to become… Now, I'm not saying that it's all bad. Your new confidence is actually a welcome change, it's just what you've been using it for that's the problem." Ron nodded slowly.

"I scared the girls…" Ron muttered to himself slowly.

"Yes" Blaise nodded. "You scared **everyone** yesterday. None of us thought that you were capable of doing something like that, Ron. Potter was defenseless, his arms were bound by that snake you summoned. But you just kept hitting him… Over and over…" Blaise shuddered. "You can keep saying that it was because he went after Daphne, but we both know that she didn't ask you to do that… She'd never ask you to do that… You did it because you wanted to…" Ron looked down in front of himself, was his mother in her right to strike him? Why had he lost control like that? They sat together quietly for a minute, and then Blaise stood up.

"Look, Ron" Blaise said firmly, a serious expression on his face. "I can't tell you what kind of person you should be, I don't that have that right. Only you can decide that… I can only tell you that we, your friends, like you for who you are. And we don't want to see you turn into Malfoy." Ron nodded slowly. "Take the night off, and think about what I just said. There's a bed right over there, and Marty can bring you some food. Think about yourself… Think about who you want to be." With that, Blaise turned around and left.

* * *

 _ **December 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron sat on the couch, and he was staring right at the Tome of Curses. It was just sitting right there in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. His thoughts had been chaotic ever since his talk with Blaise, and Ron had barely slept. Marty had brought him food and cheered him up for a bit, but after Marty had left, Ron had returned to his troubled thoughts. There was just too much to think about…

The first thing on his mind was his own guilt for what he had done to the Trio… He knew for certain now that his actions had been far too extreme. They had poked him in his sleep, and he had burned their house down in retaliation… But more than that, Ron felt sick with himself. He had hurt someone, and he had enjoyed it… That made him **sick** to his stomach, he truly did deserve to be struck. Everyone in Dumbledore's Office should've clocked him one, it's what he deserved! Ron knew that he had burned his bridges with the Trio, but at least he now knew that he wasn't going to fight them. Not anymore… He'd stay away… But he wouldn't stop their punishment, they deserved that much at the very least…

The second thing on his mind was one of his visions, the one where he was an 'evil' person. Ron thought long and hard about that vision, and he had come to a dark realization. He was already on his way to becoming that 'Ron', the 'Ron' who Pansy feared. The 'Ron' who lied to his friends and was clearly a damn Death-Eater… The more he thought about that vision, the angrier he got at himself. He had utterly forgotten about his **true** mission, his mission to **save** Fred! Somewhere down the road, with all of the crazy shite happening around him, he had lost sight of what made him who he was. He was a Weasley, first and foremost, and he **loved** his family above everything. And he was done letting his family down…

And the last thing on Ron's mind was himself. Ron thought about his own strengths and weaknesses, about his own beliefs and goals. He was an above average wizard, but nothing special. His advanced skills came from his desire to be good enough to save Fred in the future. His two older brothers had taught Ron everything, and at some point he had forgotten that. No more… This brought Ron to another realization about himself, he had a weak character. He wanted to become stronger by any means necessary, and so he had been seduced by the Dark Arts. The Hat was right all along, he was far too weak to resist their allure. He had lied and made up excuses for himself, but at the end of the day, he had wanted to use that Tome… He had wanted to use it the moment it had shown up in his life.

Ron looked at the Tome, and his anger was replaced by a new sense of purpose. He was done with this vile book… Ron stood up and grabbed the Tome up off of the table, and he ran his fingers across its red leather cover. And then, without a moment's hesitation, Ron threw the book into the small fireplace. Ron watched as the pages turned black, and the smell of burning leather engulfed the room. As the Tome burned, Ron felt like he was being reborn from its ashes. He was free of the accursed book, and he'd never look back. He was Ronald Weasley, and his family detested the Dark Arts! His father, his mother, his siblings… they all detested the Dark Arts. It was in their blood. It was in **his** blood.

Ron walked out of his Sanctuary, his stride confident. Blaise was right about one thing, Ron was a lot more confident now. He had tasted success over and over again, and that had made him strong! Now he would turn his confidence towards his original mission, and nothing would get in his way. He would save Fred, he would save his entire family, he would save his friends, and he would save every poor soul that he could. He wasn't going to fight this upcoming war with the Dark Arts by his side, he would fight it as a Weasley! He would fight alongside his family, and he would make damn sure that they won!

Ron said the disgusting password to the Slytherin common room, his stomach turned as he said 'Mud-Bloods must die'. _Not on my watch!_ Ron walked into the common room, and he instantly saw that it was filled. People were no doubt getting ready to go to breakfast and start their Monday, and they all turned to him as he entered. Some of them were smiling widely at him, while others were looking at him with wariness. Ron looked to his right, and he saw his friends sitting in their usual spots. They were all looking at him, and Ron's gaze met Blaise's. Ron then turned to face all the students of Slytherin.

"I am not the Heir of Slytherin!" Ron said loudly and clearly. Everyone looked at him with odd looks. "And I do not, and will **never** , agree with what they're trying to do! I don't care about Blood-Supremacy, and I never will! If that pisses you off, stay out of my way! Keep your filth to yourself, and I will not judge you! I am a Weasley, and I'm done trying to change into something that I will never be! And if the Heir is indeed in this room, I **challenge** you right now! Come at me! I'll kick your arse, and then I'll throw you in front of the Headmaster myself!" The room was dead silent, and you could hear a pin drop.

Ron turned to look at his friends, and they were trying to hide their smiles. Ron met Daphne's gaze, and she gave up on trying to hide her joy. Ron was back! The Ron she had been crushing on for nearly a year! There was a fire burning in his ocean blue eyes, and she knew that he was done being Malfoy's clone. His stubborn Weasley spirit had returned, and it was stronger than ever!

Ron then moved towards his dorm to wash up and get ready, and he could hear his friends trailing after him. The Slytherins all gave him odd looks, and he ignored them. _I'm done trying to please them! If they actually support this Heir bastard, then they can fuck off!_

* * *

 _ **December 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Transfiguration Class)**_

There was a raging blizzard covering Hogwarts today, and Ron could hear the windows creaking and shaking. _Merlin! What the hell is happening out there?!_ Ron was truly glad that he didn't have Herbology today, and he felt bad for the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff second years because they did…

"Ron, can you help me already?" Daphne pouted, and he grinned at her.

"Say please, and I will" Ron said playfully.

"Please help me before I smack that grin off of your face" Daphne smiled and cocked her head. _Touché…_

"Okay, this what you…" Ron started but someone started shouting loudly from outside the classroom.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK!" someone shouted, and the whole class went into a panic. "NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAACK!" Ron looked at his friends, and they had scared looks on their faces. _The Heir!_ Ron quickly got up to follow McGonagall out of the classroom, and everyone flooded out after them. The hallway was filled with panicking and confused students, and Ron grabbed onto Daphne's hand in order to not lose her in the chaos. Ron looked around and he saw Theo and Tracey being pushed into a corner, while Blaise and the other two girls were trying to push their way towards Ron and Daphne.

"SILENCE!" McGonagall shouted and no one listened. Ron could see Peeves floating about, and he was laughing maniacally. _He lives for chaos, doesn't he?_

"Oh Potter, you rotter, what have you done?" Peeves sang in a mad tone. "You're killing off students, you think it's good fun…" _Potter?! Harry's here?!_

"Enough, Peeves!" McGonagall shouted, and the poltergeist flew off while laughing maniacally. Ron went on his tiptoes and managed to get a glimpse of a ghost floating in the air. Except the ghost wasn't pearly-white and see through like they usually were, instead it was black and smoky… _Isn't that Gryffindor's ghost?_

"Ron, what's going on?" Daphne asked, she was trying to catch a glimpse too but she was just a bit short.

"I think the Heir struck again…" Ron told her. "And I think it was a ghost they attacked this time…"

"A ghost?" Daphne gasped. "But they're already dead…"

"IT WAS HIM!" came a shout, and Ron finally noticed that most people were staring at him.

"IT HAD TO BE HIM!"

"HE'S THE HEIR!"

"I SAY IT'S POTTER!"

"WE ALL KNOW IT WAS YOU, WEASLEY!"

"POTTER FOUND THE BODY!" _Body?!_

"PEEVES SAID IT WAS POTTER!"

"IT HAD TO BE ONE OF THEM!"

"I WAS IN CLASS!" Ron shouted his defense, and then someone pushed him from the back.

"Don't touch him!" Daphne shrieked as Ron started getting pushed around. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she screamed as some third year Hufflepuff boy grabbed and pulled on Ron's robes, tearing them up slightly.

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall's voice boomed, and then there was a loud bang! McGonagall had fired some sort of spell into the air to garner everyone's attention. "Mr. Weasley was in my classroom! All of you, return to your classes at once!"

"He used the monster of Slytherin!" some girl shouted, and Ron grit his teeth.

"How?!" Ron shouted in a random direction. "I was in a classroom!" Ron then spotted Professors Flitwick and Sinistra dispersing the crowd.

"Everyone back to classes" Flitwick ordered.

"Children, don't look" Sinistra pleaded. There was a wave of movement as students began walking back into their classrooms, and Ron ignored the dirty looks being shot his way. When the crowd had finally lessened up a bit, Ron managed to see Harry standing near the petrified body of Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry too looked rugged and out-of-sorts, and Ron figured that Harry got roughed up as well. _They wanted to fucking lynch us!_

"Professor McGonagall" Harry said. "I swear that I didn't…"

"I'm sorry, Potter" McGonagall said curtly. "But this is out of my hands, come with me…" McGonagall then began walking towards Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I suggest you return to the classroom…"

"Professor, you can't seriously think that Potter did this" Ron protested, and she put up her hand to silence him.

"Not another word, Miss. Greengrass will escort you back" McGonagall said as she looked to Daphne.

"C'mon Ron" Daphne said softly, and Ron shot a look to Harry. The boy-who-lived was shocked to see Ron come to his defense, but neither boy said a word. And just like that, McGonagall led Harry away to Merlin knows where. Ron followed Daphne back into the Transfiguration classroom, and Ron could already hear the excited chatter amongst everyone in the room.

"There you are!" Pansy exclaimed, and then she gasped at the sight of Ron.

"That ugly, am I?" Ron joked, and his bottom lip hurt when he smiled.

"What happened?" Tracey asked as she walked up to them.

"They attacked Ron…" Daphne said darkly. After that, she led Ron back to their previous seats. "Does it hurt?"

"My lip hurts a bit" Ron frowned as he looked at the tear on his right shoulder. _Some tosser owes me a new school cloak!_

"It's just some scratches" Blaise said coldly. "He'll be fine." The girls frowned at Blaise.

"Maybe I should give you a few…" Millie threatened, and Blaise put his hands up in surrender.

"I guess you were right about the Heir, Ron" Theo said in a whisper. "They waited for everyone to let their guard down. And now they've attacked not one person, but two…"

"Do ghosts count as people?" Pansy questioned.

"Who cares if he's a ghost, he was still attacked" Tracey said quickly.

"What can do that to a ghost?" Daphne asked. "I mean, ghost are well… dead already…"

"I think I have a theory of sorts" Blaise mused. "We had classes today. Every student was in a classroom, so I doubt that the Heir could just up and leave without raising any eyebrows. I mean, they had to set the monster loose didn't they?"

"Potter was there…" Pansy said softly.

"His class was cancelled because of the blizzard" Theo provided. "They had Herbology…"

"Okay…" Ron said slowly, why did Theo even know that? _Whatever…_ "Wait… This lowers our suspect pool. We already suspect that the Heir is either a first year or a second year, right?" Ron's friends nodded slowly. "Well, we know that the Gryffindor second years didn't have a class. Nor the Hufflepuffs… considering Justin…"

"The Heir is in one of those two houses…" Daphne whispered softly.

"What if they skipped their classes?" Millie asked, and Ron frowned to himself.

"Then we need to find out who skipped their class today, and who had free periods" Blaise suggested.

"The Heir has to be one of them…" Ron said, he was getting excited. "We need to get started immediately… Let's start by making a list." _We're getting closer, I can feel it!_

* * *

 _ **December 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Sanctuary – After Dinner)**_

"Alright, everyone report their findings" Ron asked, they were all sitting in a circle with a table in the center.

"I'll go first" Tracey volunteered. "I found out that the only people who had a free period when the attacks happened were the fifth year Gryffindors and the sixth year Ravenclaws."

"I overheard some Gryffindor second years talking" Pansy jumped in. "Potter was the only second year not in Gryffindor tower during the attack… It turns out, he's been walking around the castle… 'Brooding' was the word Lavender Brown used."

"I found out that Finch-Fletchley was terrified of only two people" Blaise said aloofly. "You, and Potter…"

"Why Potter?" Ron asked.

"Because at some point, Finch-Fletchley told Potter that he was a Muggle-Born" Blaise shook his head. "He was running scared from Potter for months… And he made sure that everyone in Hufflepuff knew that. Potter is their number one suspect now."

"But we know that Potter is innocent" Millie said firmly. "Mostly because he himself was trying to find the Heir."

"I heard a rather odd thing" Daphne piped in. "Someone's been killing Hagrid's roosters…"

"Um… Okay…" Ron blinked.

"What?!" Daphne huffed indignantly. "You said anything weird! That's weird!" she pouted angrily. _Yeesh… Sorry…_

"I heard something weird too…" Theo said, his voice sounded subdued. "Ron, you aren't going to like what I'm about to say…"

"What?" Ron asked slowly. _What did he hear? Theo never gets like this unless it's something really serious._

"There was one first year who was incredibly late to her morning classes today…" Theo started. "Ginny Weasley…" Ron blinked at Theo, and then he began chuckling.

"Good one, Theo" Ron chuckled. "My sister… The Heir of Slytherin!" Ron laughed.

"Put her on the list" Blaise told Pansy, and Ron stopped laughing.

"What?!" Ron exclaimed. "NO! No way! My sister is not the damn Heir of Slytherin!"

"We aren't saying that she is" Theo frowned. "We're saying she was late to her classes, and could therefore be the Heir…"

"THAT'S AS GOOD AS ACCUSING HER!" Ron bellowed, and everyone except Blaise jumped a bit. "Shite… Sorry!" Ron apologized quickly, damn his anger! "My sister could never do something like this! She is afraid of snakes…"

"Ron, calm down please" Daphne said firmly, and Ron took in a deep breath. _My sister… the Heir… Hippogriff dung!_

"Anyone have anything else to add?" Blaise asked around.

"I do…" Ron muttered. "Some Ravenclaws were talking about Professor Sprout's Mandrakes… Apparently someone tried to set her Greenhouse on fire last night, and she is on the warpath!"

"I heard about that too!" Millie joined in. "There was some Charm in place to douse any fire as soon as it started. It saved her Greenhouse…"

"That makes sense" Theo said slowly. "Mandrakes are used to create a Restorative Draught that can undo Petrification. It had to be the Heir… They're trying to kill off the Mandrakes before they fully mature…"

"Okay…" Ron nodded. "So we have a list of suspects, which includes my sister…" Everyone rolled their eyes at Ron's semi-aggressive tone. "We also know that the Hufflepuffs are against Potter, while everyone else is against me… And now we know that the Heir is targeting those Mandrakes."

"And Hagrid's roosters are being killed…" Daphne added in with a pout, she was annoyed that her work wasn't being counted by Ron.

"Daph… That has nothing to do with this…" Ron muttered.

"THOSE ROOSTERS WERE MURDERED BY THE HEIR!" Daphne exclaimed hysterically. _Merlin have mercy! Crazy bint!_

* * *

 _ **December 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Breakfast)**_

"Are you seriously staying behind?" Daphne frowned at Ron, and he smiled at her with a mouth full of eggs. Daphne sniggered and pushed his head away from her.

"Yes" Ron answered as he swallowed his food. "Dad and… Mum… will be going to Egypt to visit my brother Bill. My sister and I are staying behind at Hogwarts."

"I thought Lord Black invited you and your siblings to his home for Christmas?" Blaise asked.

"He did…" Ron sighed. "I declined… Potter, Hermione, and Longbottom are going to be there… So yeah…"

"Why did your sister refuse?" Millie asked with narrowed eyes. _If she calls Ginny the Heir I swear to Merlin I'm going to go mental!_

"I don't know…" Ron sighed. "Percy is staying back as well, it's just the twins that accepted Sirius' invitation. Which is good… I'm pretty sure that they're targeting me now… But enough about me, what are all of you planning?"

"I'm going home" Pansy sighed. "My dear mother is taking me out 'shopping'…"

"Theo and I are staying at Nott Manor" Blaise shrugged. "We'd invite you, but you're a Blood-Traitor…" _Ouch…_

"I'm going skiing!" Tracey squealed.

"What's skiing?" Theo asked.

"A Muggle thing" Tracey said happily.

"Hmmm" Theo hummed. "Tell me about it…" Tracey and Theo then started talking about skiing, ignoring the rest of the group.

"I'm going to Australia!" Millie smiled happily. "I want to see and hold a Koala!" _A what? Why don't I know any of these things?_

"And I'm spending my Christmas at Greengrass Manor" Daphne smiled happily. "Wait… Ron, you should come with me! I know father would love to have you over for Christmas!" _Huh? It sounds fun… But no. I'm not leaving Ginny here alone… This might be my only chance to approach her without all of the Gryffindors trying to behead me!_

"I appreciate the offer, Daph" Ron said apologetically, and Daphne looked put off at his tone. "But I'm going to be staying here. I want to talk to Ginny… and this might be my only chance…"

"The Gryffindors…" Blaise sighed as he understood what Ron meant.

"Yeah…" Ron sighed back. _They're planning something against me… I know it!_

"What about the Gryffindors?" Millie asked. "I know they hate you, but what do they have to do with you talking to Ginny? She's your sister…"

"She's a Gryffindor, isn't she?" Blaise asked aloofly. "They will never let 'The Heir' talk to one of their own… Not to mention that they are all looking for a reason to attack Ron…"

"That's more reason to not stay behind" Pansy frowned. "Accept Daphne's offer Ron, otherwise you'll be here all alone…"

"I can handle myself" Ron said firmly.

"Sign this if you're staying behind" a third year Slytherin boy said as he handed Blaise a parchment.

"Well, well" Blaise smirked. "Looks like Ron has nothing to worry about…"

"What?" Ron asked, and Blaise handed him the parchment. The parchment was signed by Ginny, Percy, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle… _That's it?! Only six of us are staying behind?! And why are those three tossers staying behind?!_

"It makes sense" Daphne said as she read the parchment over Ron's shoulder. "People are running scared, no one wants to stay behind with the monster of Slytherin…" Ron frowned as he signed his name on the parchment, and then Daphne took the parchment and the attached quill from him. She began signing her own name on the parchment.

"Daph, what are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Staying behind…" Daphne said dismissively.

"What about your family?" Millie asked.

"They'll understand" Daphne shrugged as she passed the parchment off to some first years.

"Daphne…" Ron started but she cut him off.

"Malfoy and his bodyguards are staying behind, you'll need my help" Daphne said stubbornly, and then she huffed as she always did. _Arguing with her will only set her off now…_

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore POV**_

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Before Breakfast)**_

"Albus, please reconsider this…" Severus said icily as they walked to the Great Hall together. "We know nothing of this 'Void' within the boy's mind, don't be a fool!"

"Severus, this has to be done" Albus said calmly. He hadn't told Severus that he suspected Ronald of being possessed by Tom… Severus had mentioned seeing Tom flee in his spirit form the night Ronald was attacked, but Dumbledore feared that Tom was using Legilimency to influence the boy. _It wouldn't be the first time he did something like that! I must find any trace of Tom within Ronald, and I must purge it…_

"This is an ill-prepared plan, Albus" Severus argued. "You are attempting to use Legilimency on the boy right in front of everyone… What if it backfires?"

"His guard will be down amongst his siblings, Severus" Albus sighed. "That will make my job easier…" It was Saturday morning, and mostly every student had left the castle for the Yule Break. Ronald was being given the day off by Sebastian, and Albus planned to use this opportunity. He'd make everyone sit together as he had done the last time, and when Ronald was deep in conversation, Albus would take a peek into the boy's mind.

Albus and Severus entered the empty Great Hall, and Albus immediately used his wand to vanish all of the tables. And then he summoned one large table in the center of the Great Hall, just like he had last Christmas. Once everything was set up, Albus sat in his seat and Severus sat on his right. _Now we wait…_

"I will ask you one more time to reconsider…" Severus said in a low voice. "Don't do this, Albus."

"Severus" Albus sighed. "There were two more attacks just a few days ago, I must act."

"You suspect the boy…" Snape said slowly. "Albus, the Weasleys have no connection to Salazar Slytherin. How could the boy possibly be the Heir?" Albus suddenly felt the students and staff approaching, they were all about to enter the Great Hall.

"Severus, you must trust me" Albus implored, and Snape let out a soft sigh.

"Do as you please" Snape said bitterly.

* * *

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Breakfast)**_

There was utter silence on the table as they all ate. Ronald was sitting with Daphne Greengrass, and the two were talking in hushed whispers. Albus smiled softly as he watched Ronald stifle a laugh due to something that the Greengrass Heiress whispered in his ear. Albus smiled more widely as he saw how proud Daphne looked at making Ron laugh, she seemed to be quite smitten with him. _Oh, to be young again…_

"How are everyone's studies progressing?" Filius asked in an attempt to start a conversation. The younger students looked down at their plates, while Percy Weasley smiled widely.

"Quite well, Professor" Percy said firmly. "I will be using the Yule Break to study ahead for your class." _He certainly is the most driven of his siblings… That is good! He has a strong mind._

"And how about all of you?" Filius asked the Slytherins. Draco, Vincent, Gregory, and Daphne looked in different directions, while Ronald smiled sheepishly at Filius.

"They're going well" Ronald said softly, no doubt embarrassed at being put on the spot.

"Why are you not at work, Mr. Weasley?" Minerva asked.

"Lord Greengrass gave me the day off… you know, because it's Christmas soon…" Ron answered lamely. _I need to start a conversation between the children. Ronald is becoming guarded by this questioning. But how do I do that? This is an unlikely lot!_ Albus then spotted Ginny Weasley pushing some bacon around on her plate, she looked less than fine…

"Ginevra, are you feeling well?" Albus asked softly, and the girl's head shot up. Albus did not fail to notice that Ronald too was now fully alert.

"I'm fine, Headmaster" Ginevra answered meekly, her voice shaky. Albus smiled at her in a kindly manner, but that made her go paler. _Is she… scared of me?_

"Ginny, are sure you're okay?" Percy asked her softly.

"Yeah Gin, you're looking really pale…" Ronald said with a faint smile.

"I'm fine, Ron" Ginevra snapped, and Ronald flinched. Draco and his two friends sniggered at Ronald, while Daphne frowned deeply at Ginevra. Albus blinked at Ginevra's odd behavior, was she upset with Ronald about Harry? Or was it something else? Severus had informed Albus that he had stopped the two siblings from fighting before… This had confused Albus because he had seen how close the two were last year. _Sometimes siblings part ways…_ Albus thought of Aberforth for a split second. _No. I need to concentrate on Ronald._

Albus looked to Ronald and found him engaged in a hushed conversation with Daphne, Ronald looked rather subdued and gloomy. _His defenses have been weakened by Ginevra… This is the best opportunity I will get today._ Albus steeled his own mind, and then he sent out his 'mental hooks'. As Albus gazed directly at Ronald, Albus felt himself slowly enter the boy's mind. And then, there it was… Albus felt something cold and ethereal trying to reach out for him. Albus thought about pulling away for a second, but then he instead focused completely on breaking through this 'Void'. As Albus pushed further in, he felt the 'Void' engulf him. It was cold, but also welcoming… Albus suddenly felt as if he had passed through a door. _Good, I'm inside Ronald's mind…_

* * *

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Within Ronald's Mind)**_

Albus was immediately bombarded with a lot of raw emotions that were swirling about in the boy's mind, Ronald was clearly very emotionally unstable. Albus could feel so many passions at once, and they made him feel pity for the boy. Albus quickly focused on the negative emotions, they would lead him to some answers. _That is what Tom would have done, I must find a trail…_ Albus suddenly felt doubt, loneliness, rage, guilt, shame, bitterness, a sense of betrayal, a sense of rejection, and a sense of worthlessness. _Worthlessness…?_ Albus pushed himself towards that feeling, and he quickly found himself inside the Burrow.

Albus looked around the familiar kitchen with a faint smile, and he saw Molly Weasley cooking dinner. She had Ginevra hugging her side, both mother and daughter looked so happy together. Ginevra looked to around five, and she laughed loudly as she played with some dough. Albus heard quick footsteps from behind him, and he turned to see a six year-old Ronald Weasley approach his mother from behind her. The boy was beaming at his mother and sister adorably.

"Mummy! Can I cook too?" Ronald asked cheerfully. "I can help!"

"No, it's okay love" Molly said as she kept her eyes on Ginny. "Go and… um… go and find your father." Molly dismissed Ronald. Albus watched the little boy's face fall for a second, but then he beamed again.

"Okay mummy!" Ronald said excitedly as he turned around to go outside. Albus followed the boy the towards the Weasley shed, Albus knew that Arthur kept his Muggle treasures within this room. Ronald entered the shed with a happy smile that made even Albus feel cheerful. "Daddy!" Ronald called. "Are you here?!"

"I'm here, son" Arthur sighed, and then he came out from a cluttered corner. Arthur had grease smudges on his face and hands. "What can I do for you?" Arthur smiled softy at his son.

"Can I stay here?!" Ronald smiled. "I won't touch anything, I promise."

"Um... not now… son…" Arthur said slowly. "I'm working with something dangerous…" Albus frowned and went to see what Arthur was working on, it was a land mine! _Why does he have that so close to his home and family?_ Albus shook his head at Arthur's lack of common sense.

"Dangerous?" Ronald pouted.

"Yes… very… Now please go" Arthur smiled sadly, and Ronald nodded slowly. Ronald left the shed dejectedly. "OH! And don't tell your mother…"

"Arthur…" Albus muttered under his breath. Albus then followed the boy back towards the house, and they both spotted Bill and Charlie Weasley leaving the front door.

"Bill! Charlie!" Ronald called to them as he quickly ran up to his older brothers. "Can we play?!"

"Not now Ronnie" Bill smiled. "Charlie and I want to go to the creek…"

"I can come with…" Ronald offered softly. "Please…"

"No means no" Charlie frowned. "Go away, you aren't old enough." The two older boys then walked off, leaving Ronald behind.

"Did you have to talk to him like that?" Albus heard Bill whisper.

"He wouldn't leave us alone otherwise… He's so clingy…" Charlie whispered back. Albus heard a door opening behind him, and he turned to see Ronald walking back inside with slumped shoulders. Albus followed the boy upstairs, and he watched Ron enter a bedroom.

"Percy… can we play chess?" Ronald asked, Percy seemed to be reading a book. Percy stood up without looking away from his book, and then the older boy pushed Ronald out slowly. Ronald was about to say something but Percy closed the door in his face. Albus watched Ronald stand there quietly for a few seconds, and then Ronald moved towards another bedroom. Ronald hesitantly knocked on the door, and Fred Weasley opened the door slightly to peer through.

"Ron?" Fred asked as he watched the little boy from the crack in the doorway.

"Can I… stay with you and George?" Ronald asked softly. "Everyone else is too busy for me…"

"No" Fred answered bluntly. "But, if you're willing to try something George and I just made… we might make an exception…"

"Will it hurt like last time?" Ronald asked meekly, and Albus saw Fred frown.

"You're such a little girl" Fred bit out. "Go away Ron… No one wants you around." And then Fred slammed the door shut. Ronald blinked at the door, and then he ran up to his room. Albus slowly followed the boy, and he found Ronald sitting on his bed. Ronald was clutching his pillow tightly to his chest, and he was trying not to cry. Albus' chest tightened, but he knew that this was just a memory. He couldn't help this little red-haired boy. _Did Ariana feel like this every time I dismissed her?_ Albus couldn't help but feel some guilt cloud his judgement. All Ronald had wanted in this memory was some semblance of acceptance…

Albus then heard Molly and Ginevra Weasley laughing loudly from downstairs, and he watched as Ronald's face twisted painfully. The boy began sobbing quietly as he buried his face into his pillow. Albus had seen enough of this, he had a job to do. He couldn't afford to waste any more time in this particular memory. Albus detached his 'mental hooks' from the memory and followed Ronald's sense of betrayal. As it became more and more pronounced, Albus found himself standing in the girls' bathroom on the first floor of Hogwarts. He watched as the Trio left the bathroom with happy smiles, and Albus knew what this meant. _This is when Ron found out about their plans…_

"They fucking betrayed me…" came Ronald's voice from behind Albus, and Albus turned around with a sad look. "My own friends…" Ronald heaved, and then Ronald grabbed and pulled his own hair. The boy fell on his knees as he wept hysterically, and Albus was nearly overwhelmed by the pain in this memory. The sense of betrayal and rejection was strong here. Ronald felt like he was nothing. That everything he had done for the Trio had meant nothing to them. Albus clenched his jaw as he watched the boy scream and cry, there was nothing he could do but watch… _This is not the memory I want, I need to move on…_ Albus detached himself from the memory, and began looking for the memory of Ronald's encounter with Tom. And then, Albus suddenly found himself standing in the courtyard of Hogwarts. _How…?_

* * *

Albus gazed around the black and white 'memory', and he felt an odd sense of dread. _What is this? This doesn't feel like a memory… No, this feels real..._ Albus reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, something was very wrong here. Albus tried to cast Legilimency with his wand, but nothing happened. Albus then tried to use a simple water summoning spell, but nothing happened. _I don't have… magic…_ Panic bubbled in his stomach, where was he?! He had been scouring Ronald's mind, and now he was here… Standing right in front of his school, everything colorless… What was going on?! _I've never seen magic like this before… It's as if I've been taken into a different place… Am I still in Ronald's mind? Is he behind this?! How?!_

Albus slowly entered the Entrance Hall from the courtyard, his steps were slow and cautious. This place looked exactly like Hogwarts, but Albus knew that it wasn't. No, this was something else entirely. Albus heard a door slam shut behind him, and he quickly turned around. The Entrance Hall door was gone, and in its place was a solid wall. _I'm trapped!_ Albus then heard a terrifying scream, one that froze his blood and made his knees tremble. The screams of pain got louder and louder, and they were coming from inside the Great Hall. The giant door was closed, and Albus wasn't sure if he should enter it. And yet, something was calling him in. He had a desire to enter, a need to enter…

Albus pushed the giant doors apart, and what he saw stopped his breathing… The Great Hall was completely empty, save for two things. The first was a man who was crucified on a golden cross, the screams were coming from him. The second was a small red-haired boy who was standing in front of the crucified man with his back towards Albus.

"DUMBLEDORE!" the crucified man wailed, and Albus almost collapsed on his knees as he realized who it was. _TOM?!_ "HELP ME! HELP ME PLEASE!" Tom cried, and all Albus could do was shake from the horror. Tom was completely flayed, his chest cavity broken open, and his insides throbbing in full display. "KILL ME, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

The small red-haired boy turned around slowly to face Albus, and Albus could barely breathe because of the fear he felt. He wanted to steel his mind using Occlumency, but he couldn't even think of words right now. Albus' eyes went as wide as saucers when he saw the boy's face, it was Ronald. But it wasn't Ronald… The boy's eyes were blood crimson, and they looked like the eyes of a toad. And then the boy smiled in a horrifying manner, displaying his dagger-sharp teeth. No… this wasn't Ronald… This **thing** was a **monster** …

Albus let out a horrified gasp as 'Ronald' began walking towards him with a quickened pace, **its** eyes staring hungrily at Albus. Albus' legs moved before his mind could even process anything, his legs already knew that he was going to die if that **thing** caught up to him. As Albus ran up the few steps that led to the moving staircases, he could hear Tom screaming for him to 'COME BACK!'… Albus shot a quick look back and his heart clenched in fear as he saw " **Ronald** " walking towards him from the Great Hall's entrance. _Run… I have to run!_

Albus ran as hard as he could from that **thing** , and **it** pursued Albus with only a quickened walk. As Albus reached the fourth floor, he looked down with terrified eyes and saw that the **monster** was still on the second floor staircase. Albus didn't even wait to think, he had to run! By the time he got in front of the stone gargoyle guarding his Office, Albus' breathing was shallow and quick.

"Sherbet Lemon!" Albus yelled at the gargoyle, but it didn't move. "Licorice Wand! Every Flavored Beans! LEMON DROPS!" The gargoyle didn't budge, and Albus let out frustrated yell. "OPEN DAMN YOU! WHY WON'T YOU…" Albus' panicked yelling died in his throat as he heard footsteps getting closer and closer to him. **It** was here! Albus turned around and stepped back against the wall, the footsteps getting louder and louder. And then, the **monster** stepped into his view… And **it** was no longer Ronald, **it** was a young Gellert Grindelwald. A man Albus had once loved… Only now, 'Gellert' had crimson toad-like eyes and a mouth full of dagger-sharp teeth.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Albus yelled, but the **monster** just smiled more widely. **Its** gaze became even more ravenous, and that terrified Albus… "GET BACK!" Albus yelled as he ran towards the other side of the corridor. "WHERE IS RONALD?! ANSWER ME?!" The **monster** just kept walking towards Albus with its quickened pace, and that frustrated Albus even more than it scared him. What was this **thing**?! There were a million questions in Albus' mind, and not one of them mattered to him right now. And all because he knew that once this **thing** caught up to him, he was going to die…

Albus managed to make it to library, and he hid himself inside a secret cabinet that he had discovered as a young man. Albus put his hand over his mouth and nose in-order to control his breathing, why couldn't he calm down?! That was something he had noticed while he had been running away. He wasn't getting calmer, instead his fear was just multiplying… It had to be this place! It was doing something to his mind! Why had he felt the need to open that door? Why had he run to his Office? Why was he hiding in this tight little space?! Another fearful thought entered his mind, there would be no escape if that **thing** showed up here! Had **it** led him here?! Albus whimpered in panic, what was happening?! In the end, fear overtook caution…

Albus stepped out of the hidden cabinet, and then he slowly began making his way out of the library. He had to get out of the castle, and then he would figure out what was happening. As Albus stepped out of the restricted section, he heard a few books falling over nearby. His heart immediately jumped into his throat as he looked around frantically… He was alone… It was dark inside the library, but not dark enough that he couldn't see. Albus slowly began to move forward, and that's when he felt a tiny body land on top of him from above.

Albus grunted in pain as he fell forward, and he felt two tiny hands grabbing at him. And then those little hands grabbed onto his right forearm, and Albus turned to see a **monstrous** Ariana Dumbledore grinning down at him. Before Albus could even make a sound at the sight, **Ariana's** jaw unhinged unnaturally and she bit down on Albus' forearm with such force that Albus felt his forearm bones snap in half. Albus screamed and thrashed about in agony, but his **monstrous** sister slapped, scratched, bit, punched, kicked, and clawed at him. Albus was easily overpowered, and the mind-numbing pain put his brain into shock. He was utterly defenseless as the **monster** savaged him viciously, and then **it** just stopped. Albus felt a tiny hand grab him by his hair, and then Albus was being dragged away slowly.

He watched in a stunned daze as they left the library, a bloody trail following behind them. Albus merely noticed that his robes were torn to pieces, and that he was bleeding heavily. Yet he felt no pain… The benefits of going into shock… The **monster** dragged Albus down the moving staircases, and Albus didn't even register the bumps on his way down. Once he could hear Tom screaming again, Albus knew that he was in the Entrance Hall again. And then, his little **sister** was standing over him with a horrifying grin. Her toad-like eyes were ravenous and cruel, and her dagger-sharp teeth were covered in his blood.

" _ **If you ever dare enter the Champion's mind again…**_ " the **creature** disguised as his sister spoke, its voice almost drove Albus into insanity from fear. " _ **You will never leave this place… We will taste your soul, Albus Dumbledore.**_ "

"Cham… Champion?" Albus managed to croak. Nothing made any sense anymore…

" _ **Leave… this is your only chance. There will be no mercy the next time we meet… LEAVE!**_ "

* * *

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (After Breakfast)**_

'Headmaster…" came Severus' voice, and then someone shook Albus lightly. Albus' senses returned, and he jumped out of his chair violently. The Professors stood up just as quickly, both alarmed and terrified. No one had seen Albus act so erratically before. Albus shot quick looks around, and he noticed that he was back inside the Great Hall. His Great Hall…

"Albus, what has happened?" Minerva gasped, and Albus looked to her in a daze. _I'm back?! What just happened to me?! RONALD?!_ Albus looked to where the children had been sitting, and they were all gone.

"They left ten minutes ago…" Snape said slowly, his own mind was racing at seeing his mentor so… disturbed…

"They did…?" Albus asked slowly, and this did not help calm the Professors down. Albus then felt lightheaded and weak… He was utterly exhausted, but his mind didn't want to stop processing what had just happened… "Severus…" Albus sighed out, and the Potions Master grabbed onto Albus' arm to steady him.

"Headmaster…?" Severus whispered. "Albus, what happened?" Albus opened his mouth to reply, but his vision blurred completely. _What happened to me?! What was that_ _ **thing**_ _?! What did it mean by 'Champion'?!_

Darkness took Albus as he heard the Professors gasp and call out his name…

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And the moral of the story is... Don't use mind-reading on a kid that you suspect to be possessed... Coz he might be! I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Now I know there wasn't much fallout in this chapter... but it's only been like a week since Ron pulled that stunt of his! Unfortunately for Ron, he might not have as many allies after his little speech... But he won't care about that, he is finally trying to get his head back in the game! A good slap will do that to ya!**

 **Next chapter will have more Draco, Ron, and Daphne interactions! (Crabbe and Goyle are too stupid to participate) You'll definitely see more Ginny, Harry, and Hermione too! And of course, a very confused and scared Dumbledore!**

 **See you all soon!**


	35. Chapter 35 - Battle Scars

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 35 is finished and double-checked! Here it is!**

 **1\. A little bit of ... tension...**

 **2\. The whole Christmas Arc done.**

 **3\. And more Severus and Albus!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 35 – Battle Scars**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (After Breakfast)**_

"What do you think happened to Dumbledore?" Ron asked Daphne, they were currently walking around the lake.

"I'm not sure…" Daphne shrugged. "He's old, probably has a lot of issues…" _I'm not so sure about that… He looked like he was asleep with his eyes open…_ Ron and the other children had been surprised when Albus Dumbledore had suddenly stopped responding to everything around him. Snape had cut the breakfast short and sent them all on their way, and Ron hadn't missed Snape's piercing eyes staring at him. Something wasn't right…

"So, what do you want to do today?" Ron asked Daphne. "It's just you and me for the remainder of the Yule Break."

"Um… I don't know…" Daphne muttered, and Ron found that odd. _She usually doesn't act so uncertain… What is wrong with people today?_ "I want to walk around the lake some more, it's a nice morning today…"

"Alright" Ron smiled, it was indeed a nice morning. The air had a crispy coldness, but it wasn't unpleasant. "Daph…" Ron started, and she looked at him with a faint smile. "Why did you really stay behind?" Daphne blinked at him.

"I told you" Daphne huffed, she was tired of answering this question. The girls had interrogated her for hours, and Tracey had made far too many inappropriate jokes. "I didn't want to leave you here with Malfoy and his goons. They'd probably beat you up again…"

"They can't beat me up" Ron argued in a childish tone.

"They've done it once before…" Daphne pointed out.

"They caught me off guard" Ron frowned, he was getting defensive. Daphne thought that was extremely cute, she enjoyed poking his ego.

"Well, that's why I stayed" Daphne smirked victoriously. "You won't get caught 'off guard' with someone watching over you." _Watching over me? I'm not a toddler…_

"Whatever" Ron huffed, he didn't want to argue. They walked around the lake quietly for a couple of minutes.

"My father was disappointed…" Daphne said suddenly.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Ron sighed. "It makes sense though, considering that you're avoiding spending time with them."

"Oh… He wasn't disappointed with me" Daphne smirked. _Huh?_ "He was disappointed with you."

"What?!" Ron asked in a small panic. "Why?!" Daphne giggled at his reaction.

"He wanted you to spend Christmas with us" Daphne hummed, toying with Ron was fun. He was so… emotional!

"What did he say?!" Ron asked as he came to a stop.

"Oh, it's not important" Daphne said playfully. _Is she pulling my leg?_

"Daphne" Ron said firmly. "What did he say? Is he actually angry with me?" Daphne giggled.

"Calm down, Ron." She giggled. "You're so emotional! I was just joking, but he was a little saddened to hear that neither of us will be over for Christmas. I told him that you wanted to stay behind with your sister…" she trailed off. Bringing up Ginny wasn't a clever idea…

"My sister…" Ron muttered, he immediately felt tired. _Ginny snapped at me during breakfast… I just wanted to see if she was alright…_

"I'm sorry, Ron" Daphne said softly. "She'll come around, just wait and see."

"I'm not so sure…" Ron said as he sat down near the edge of the water. Daphne quickly sat down next to him. "She used to follow me around everywhere…" Ron muttered, but then he stopped. _Daphne probably doesn't want to hear me talk about Ginny… I should change the subject…_

"Tell me about her" Daphne hummed with a faint smile. "I'll tell you about Tori in exchange." Ron chuckled mirthlessly, but he started talking without even thinking. He missed Ginny so much…

"Well, she's the first girl to be born in the Weasley Family in generations" Ron started. "And so, everyone adored her. From the moment she was born, Ginny had everything she wanted. New clothes… New toys… New everything. She didn't ask for it, but she got it all nonetheless… I used to… I used to be so jealous of her…" Ron admitted shamefully, and Daphne just kept smiling. "I'd watch mum and her play together, and it used make feel so… insignificant. And alone… Ginny didn't want me to feel like that, of course, but I did anyway… I really was pathetic… Still am…"

"No, you aren't" Daphne said softly. "I used to feel the same way when Tori and I were younger… She got to play with her dolls and make mischief, while I was locked away in a room with a dozen nannies who lectured me on how to be a Lady. Even now Tori gets to do as she pleases… I sometimes feel really jealous of her freedom, and I sometimes hate the fact that all the responsibilities of the family are dropped on me. If I even talk loudly in front of others, I get scolded by mother for hours on end… Tori doesn't even have an inside voice…"

"I've noticed" Ron smiled at her. "Ginny is… was… the same way. She'd cause so much noise in the house, always yelling and throwing fits if she didn't get her way. And she was possessive…" Ron chuckled as he remembered how Ginny used to crush his hand, Merlin he missed that… "She'd always follow me around… Ask me to sleep in her bed… She'd crush my hand in a death grip… If I had chores, she'd hover over my shoulder the entire time… If I ever did something without her, she'd start bawling her eyes out…" Ron let out a tired breath, she hated him so much now. And he didn't even know how it had gotten so bad… _But I know it's my fault, it's always my fault._

"Why is she so angry with you?" Daphne asked in a whisper. "I mean, you yelled at her… But I yell at Tori all the time…"

"I hurt Potter…" Ron admitted, and Daphne blinked at him. "She has always hero-worshipped the boy-who-lived… And I hurt him in front of her…"

"But that only happened a few days ago" Daphne mused. "She has been awful to you for months…"

"She isn't awful to me…" Ron argued. "I did something wrong, Daph… I always do something wrong." Daphne blinked at him again, was he being serious? "But I'm going to fix it!" Ron said firmly. "I'm going to talk to her no matter what, and I'm going to find out what I did wrong… And then, I'll fix it!" _I have to fix it, I have to win her back somehow!_

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (Midday)**_

He was done waiting for Albus to wake up, he needed some damn answers right now! Albus had clearly used Legilimency on the boy, but then… Then something had gone terribly wrong! The boy was completely unfazed by Albus' Legilimency attack, and yet Albus had passed out from exhaustion… HOW?! Albus was the most powerful wizard in England, maybe even the world. And yet, a twelve year old boy had sent him to the Hospital Wing? Snape needed answers right now!

Snape stood above his unconscious mentor, and he slowly took out a flask filled with the Invigoration Draught. Snape shot quick looks around himself, the last thing he needed was an angry Poppy Pomfrey tearing off his limbs… Once Snape knew that he was alone, he poured the contents of the flask into Albus' mouth. _C'mon old man, wake up…_ Snape waited for a few more seconds, and then his mentor's eyes opened slowly.

"Severus?" Albus croaked, and Snape quickly moved closer to him. "Water…"

"Here" Snape said as he helped Albus drink a full glass. "What happened?" Snape asked bluntly, he was done being patient.

"Not here…" Albus sighed as he slowly sat up. "Take me to my Office, please…" Snape clenched his jaw, but he didn't argue. He helped his mentor stand up, and then they slowly made their way up to Albus' Office. Neither of them said a word, and the silence was getting to Severus. He had never seen Albus look so worn out, or disturbed… Albus was good at hiding his emotions, but Severus had spent far too much time with the man. _Something went horribly wrong! But how?! How could a child beat Albus like this?!_ As soon as they entered the Office, Snape helped his mentor into his chair.

"Now… Talk" Severus said firmly. Albus looked at Snape with a tired smile, and then he nodded.

"I went into his mind" Albus said softly. "I felt the 'Void', and I chose to penetrate it… It led me into his memories, Severus…" Albus paused for a few seconds, he was thinking of something.

"And?" Snape frowned. "What happened?" _Don't hide things from me, not this time!_

"I saw Ronald's home life" Albus said sadly. "And I saw how he felt when his friends betrayed him… And then…" Albus trailed off, his complexion becoming pale. _What?_

"Albus, tell me…" Severus said as he slowly sat down. "What happened in the boy's mind? Why did you go into a trance?"

"Before I tell you" Albus began. "You must tell me, what was Ronald's reaction to my Legilimency attack? Did you see any signs of him resisting?"

"No, I did not" Snape frowned. "He mentioned getting a small headache, but nothing else. He didn't even know that you were in his mind, Albus."

"Then it is as I feared…" Albus said, a hollow look on his face.

"Feared what?" Snape asked softly, the old man was beginning to worry him.

"Ronald Weasley is possessed" Albus muttered, and Snape just blinked at him. _What is he talking about?_

"Possessed?" Snape whispered. "By who?" _It couldn't be the Dark Lord, could it?_ Snape shuddered at the thought.

"I don't think it's a 'who'…" Albus said slowly. "Rather, it's a 'what'…"

"Albus, you are not making any sense…" Snape said in his low voice. "Speak plainly for once, I need to know…"

"Something trapped me in the boy's mind, Severus" Albus recalled, he looked… scared. "It created some sort of illusionary world in which it could attack me… It felt so real while I was there, but now… Now I'm not so sure… Even after Ronald had left, that **creature** kept me in place…" Snape felt his own breathing become uneven, what was Albus talking about? What creature?! Had he gone mad?! "It was a **monster** , Severus" Albus said in a hollow voice. "And it attacked me…"

"You're not making any sense, Albus…" Snape muttered. "What monster? And what do you mean it attacked you?"

"It was pure evil…" Albus said softly as he gazed at his own hands. "It was so angry with me… I felt its rage and hatred… And I suffered its cruelty" Albus muttered as he remembered his **monstrous** sister.

"Albus, please…" Snape whispered. "Make some sense… You're starting to worry me…" _Has he gone mad? What did Weasley do to him?!_

"The Sorting Hat, Severus" Albus said suddenly, the old man had suddenly regained his clarity. "Bring it here." Snape did as he was told, and he summoned the Hat onto the table.

"Wake up, Hat" Severus ordered. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you…"

"Is that so?" the Hat yawned. "Very well. What may I do for you, Albus?"

"Tell me of the **monster** possessing Ronald Weasley" Albus said firmly. There was dead silence in the room, and Snape knew immediately that the Hat knew something.

"Talk!" Snape snarled at the Hat, and Albus didn't tell him to calm down like usual.

"You used Legilimency on him?" the Hat asked Albus.

"Yes…" Albus answered.

"How dare you, Albus…" the Hat said, it sounded appalled. "How dare you attack one of your charges? What gives you the right?!"

"You impudent little…" Snape snarled at the Hat, but Albus stopped him by raising a hand.

"I was concerned for his safety, and I was right to be" Albus replied to the Hat. "Tell me everything this instant, and don't lie to me." The Hat was dead silent for almost a minute, and then it finally spoke.

"What happened? Did it attack you in any way?" the Hat asked, and Snape was winded. _So he is possessed?! Merlin help us…_

"It did… It created illusions to torture me…" Albus said softly, and Snape's eyes widened. _He was tortured?_ "Sorting Hat, why did you not tell me this? That boy is in grave danger! And you kept it a secret from me… Why?"

"The boy is in no danger…" the Hat replied, and both wizards blinked at the Hat. "It most likely attacked you because it saw you as a threat to Ronald…"

"Explain yourself" Snape said softly.

"When I sorted Ronald, I felt the 'Entity' in his mind…" the Hat explained. "But it realized that I could not harm the boy in any way… So it allowed me to do my job. But you, Albus, used a Legilimency attack on the boy… **You** threatened his safety…" There was another short pause as Albus and Severus thought about the Hat's words.

"Champion…" Albus muttered, and Snape looked at him with a furrowed brow. "That's what it called Ronald… It warned me that if I ever enter his mind again, it would kill me… Now it makes more sense…"

"What makes more sense?" Snape asked, he was having a hard time even thinking straight.

"Tom tried to possess the boy, do you remember?" Albus asked Snape, and Snape nodded. "I always found it curious as to how a child resisted Tom… And now I know… It wasn't Ronald who repelled Tom, it was this 'Entity'…"

"What about his injuries?" Snape asked.

"Most likely the work of Tom" Albus mused. "He never could take rejection…"

"The Dark Lord…" Snape muttered as he remembered that awful night. "He was screaming in absolute agony as he flew past me… You don't think that this 'Entity' tortured him as well, do you?"

"It most likely did…" Albus said softly. "It enjoyed causing me pain, Severus. And its voice… Severus, if only you heard it speak…" Albus visibly shuddered, and Snape knew for damn certain that he didn't want to hear anything from this 'Entity'. _What are we going to do about this?! We can't let that thing roam around the castle!_

"What do we do about Ronald?" Severus asked his mentor.

"Ahem…" the Hat coughed. "Leave him be…"

"Leave him be?" Snape repeated. "That boy is a danger to everyone around him!"

"He is not" the Hat argued firmly. "Ronald is not this Entity… He is not even aware of its existence. And this Entity only attacks those who enter Ronald's mind… It acts as a guardian of sorts."

"Does it?" Severus snapped. "And how do you know this? You had no right to keep this from the Headmaster! You've endangered everyone inside this school!"

"Like when you two buffoons brought that stone into the castle?" the Hat snapped back, and Snape clenched his jaw. "Ronald paid the price for your sheer arrogance! And despite it all, he still chose to keep his mouth closed! As for Albus getting attacked, he more than deserved it! How dare you, Albus Dumbledore?! How dare you attack your own student like this?! You bring shame to your Office…" Snape blinked at the Hat, he had never seen Albus get scolded before. "Ronald has done nothing to warrant an expulsion!"

"He has…" Albus said softly. "He beat Harry Potter mercilessly during a friendly duel… Hat, is there any way that this Entity can influence Ronald?"

"No" the Hat replied. "When I first found it lurking within Ronald's mind, it was operating as an Occlumency shield of sorts. It wanted to keep everyone out, but it let me pass because it sensed what my job was."

"It is clearly more than some 'shield'…" Snape said icily. "The truth is that you don't know anything about this thing… And neither do we. I say we expel the boy, he is a danger to the other students."

"No" Albus said softly. "Ronald is a student as well, and he deserves to be protected…"

"That's rich coming from you…" the Hat spat out, and Albus sighed.

"I feared that he was possessed by Tom Riddle" Albus admitted. "I did what I did to protect Ronald. I will leave the choice to believe my words up to you. As for Ronald, I will not turn my back on him. If this Entity is indeed a danger to the boy, then we must do everything in our power to protect him."

"And how do we do that?" Snape asked with a sigh. "Should we exorcise it?"

"That is not a wise choice" the Hat interjected. "This Entity is attached to Ronald's mind, their bond is… remarkably strong. Exorcising it may leave Ronald braindead…" _What?_

"Are you saying that this Entity is a permanent part of Ronald?" Snape asked. "Like a limb…"

"Yes…" the Hat replied in a sad tone. _Merlin… What kind of creature is this?!_

"Then exorcising it is off the table" Albus said firmly. "And no more Legilimency either…"

"I'm glad you learnt your lesson" the Hat said bitterly. "Don't ever do something like that again, Albus… I'm warning you. I will inform everyone in this school of your actions if you do."

"Forgive me, Hat" Albus smiled sadly. "I did what I thought was right…"

"That is no excuse" the Hat said firmly. "My duty is to protect the students of this school, and that includes protecting them from a self-righteous fool like you…" Albus nodded softly, and then the Hat was gone.

"Why do you let it speak to you like that?" Snape asked coldly.

"Because the Hat has been around for a thousand years, Severus" Albus smiled. "And it has **never** failed to protect its students… We could all learn much from it." Snape shook his head slowly, that Hat was an arrogant little shite.

"What do we do about Ronald?" Snape asked, he was still trying to get his head around all of this.

"We keep our knowledge to ourselves…" Albus sighed, and Snape looked up.

"What?" Snape growled. "More secrets Albus? The boy deserves to know. His family deserves to know…"

"And what would we tell them exactly?" Albus frowned. "All we would do is cause a panic if we tell others without a solution…"

"I've heard this song before" Snape said bitterly. "So what, we just keep this a secret forever? Let Ronald go about his life without even knowing that some monstrosity is lurking about in his mind?"

"I did not say that" Albus sighed. "I believe that we should find out what this Entity really is… And then we can act. As for Ronald, I want you to take him under your wing. The same way you have done for Draco. Ronald needs guidance, Severus… I know it…"

"Do you?" Snape asked slowly. "And how do you know this?"

"Because I saw his memories… His pain… His need to be seen…" Albus said in a sad voice. "He just wants to be seen for who he really is, Severus… And he is a good person."

"Tell that to Potter…" Snape shook his head.

"He made a mistake, he was hurting and he did something foolish…" Albus justified. "We have all done foolish things in our lives, Severus. Ronald wants to do good things, and we must show him that he can."

"We?" Snape asked.

"Of course" Albus chuckled softly, his eyes twinkling again. "I think I'll challenge him to a game of chess every now and then… No offense, Severus, but you are rather terrible at the game…" Snape used his Occlumency to calm himself down.

"And what do we do if this thing possess Ronald completely?" Snape asked. "We don't even know what it's capable of…"

"If it comes to that…" Albus said softly, his eyes hardening. "We protect the school…" Snape understood what that meant… Albus would destroy both the host and the parasite…

"I will talk to him…" Snape said softly. "Just like I do with Draco…"

"Good" Albus nodded. "I will try to find something that can educate us more on what this Entity is. But I believe the Hat… The Entity specifically threatened me against attacking Ronald. The Champion…" Albus finished softly as he rubbed his chin. "Something larger than us is happening here, Severus… I can feel it in my bones… Something big is coming…" Snape felt a chill run up his spine, his mentor was right. Snape could feel it too… _And Ronald Weasley is at the center of it all!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992 (After Dinner)**_

Daphne and Ron were sitting together on their favorite couch in the common room. Although they were having a nice conversation about Daphne's favorite dress, Ron's mind was on something else entirely. _Why were Snape and Dumbledore watching me so intently during dinner? Snape was just glaring right at me… While Dumbledore was shooting me those smiles… Those creepy 'I care about you' smiles…_ Ron shuddered as he thought about the old codger's creepy smiles.

"RON!" Daphne called, and Ron snapped back into reality.

"What?" Ron asked with a semi-scared look.

"You didn't hear a word of what I said…" Daphne pouted angrily, and Ron thought it was really cute. _Stop it! Now who's the creep?!_

"Of course I did…" Ron chuckled.

"Really?" Daphne frowned. "What's the color of my favorite dress?"

"Green…" Ron muttered as he smiled sheepishly. Daphne blinked at him.

"You guessed that!" Daphne accused. "What kind of dress is it?!" _Now I'm screwed…_

"Um… A green one…" Ron managed, he didn't know shite about dresses. Daphne narrowed her eyes on him.

"Look at you two" came Malfoy's pompous voice from behind them. "The princess and the pauper!" Malfoy laughed, and his goons laughed when he did. _There goes any hope of this tosser ignoring us for the duration of the Yule Break…_

"You're the only princess here, Malfoy" Daphne smirked, and Malfoy completely ignored her. Instead, he was glaring right at Ron.

"Are you the Heir or not?" Malfoy asked Ron bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Ron blinked at Malfoy.

"You heard me, Weasley" Malfoy said icily.

"No…" Ron replied, and Malfoy scoffed arrogantly.

"I knew it… How could you be Salazar's Heir? It would be a tragedy…" Malfoy sneered.

"Your face will become a tragedy if you don't piss off" Ron grit out.

"Too late for that" Daphne chuckled venomously. Malfoy glared at them, and then he turned around and marched away.

"What a tosser…" Ron muttered.

"Ron, language…" Daphne smirked. "I'm a Lady, and you should act more like a gentleman near me."

"Forgive me, Lady Greengrass" Ron said in an exaggerated tone that made Daphne giggle. "Where are my manners? Would you like a foot rub?"

"Well, since you are offering" Daphne smiled playfully. "By all means…" Daphne then threw her feet on his lap, and Ron stared at her bare feet in confusion.

"I don't actually know how to give foot rubs…" Ron said softly, he could feel a blush creep onto his face. But then he spotted something peculiar… Daphne had a scar on the top of her right foot. Ron traced his gloved index finger over it. "What happened here?" Ron asked as he looked at the faint scar.

"Oh…" Daphne went crimson. "Um… Childhood accident…" Ron looked to her for a better answer. "Tori did it…" Daphne sighed. "She dropped a pot-plant on my foot when we were kids… And then she started crying about getting in trouble, so I never told anyone. And it scarred…" _Wow, that was kind of her…_ Ron smiled at her proudly, Daphne was a great sister.

"That was really nice of you, Daph" Ron smiled, and Daphne nodded slowly.

"Do you… do you have any scars?" Daphne asked softly, and Ron froze. _Fuck…_

"Um…" Ron started but stopped. He looked down at him Daphne's feet, and he wondered if he should tell her.

"It's okay… you don't have to tell me" Daphne interrupted. _But she told me… And I've already told Pansy, and the boys… And Daphne would keep it to herself, she always does…_

"I um… I do" Ron said in a soft whisper. Ron then looked at Daphne, and she was looking at his gloved hand. "But you already knew that…" Ron smiled softly at her. Daphne gave him a kind smile and nodded softly. "Do you… do you want to see it?" Ron asked, his entire face was burning. _Why is it so fucking hot in this common room?!_

"Show me…" Daphne whispered with baited breath, she had been waiting to see his hand for months. Ron looked around for Malfoy and his apes, but they weren't even in the common room anymore. Ron then slowly took off his glove, his face burning due to a mixture of shame and fear. Once his glove was off, he presented his hand to Daphne. She didn't make a sound… She instead took his hand into hers to examine it.

"Well?" Ron asked after a few seconds. Daphne looked up and smiled at him softly.

"I think it's wonderful" Daphne hummed, and Ron blinked at her. "A battle scar from your fight against the most powerful Dark Wizard of all time… You should be proud to have it." Ron was stunned into silence, and all he could do was nod lamely. _She doesn't find it disgusting? I find it disgusting… But then again, she doesn't know about my other scars…_

"I have more of them…" Ron muttered, what the fuck was he thinking?! "On my arms… and legs… and on my chest…" _STOP TELLING HER THINGS!_ Daphne blinked at him.

"Is that why father changed your uniform?" Daphne asked slowly, she was honestly staggered by his sudden honesty. Ron nodded slowly.

"I didn't want to show my arms…" Ron admitted, why couldn't he stop telling her things?! _And why is she still holding my hand?!_

"Can you show me…?" Daphne asked, her voice was husky. Ron felt his stomach doing flips, and he felt rather lightheaded… What was happening to him? He never revealed things like this to anyone! Daphne suddenly stood up without letting go of his hand. She pulled him up, and he followed her to his room. They closed the door behind them, and Ron locked it.

"Daph… I'm not sure…" Ron muttered, he was feeling extremely confused right now. He wanted to show her, but he knew that she would be horrified. He would scare her, but he still wanted to show her.

"Please?" Daphne asked. "You don't have to do everything alone…" Ron gulped as she stepped closer to him, her eyes seemed to be misted over. He was, honest to Merlin, confused out of his mind right now… But there was another feeling swirling around in his chest, excitement. Ron slowly pulled up his sleeves, and he presented his arms to her. She just stared at his snake-trail scars, they were horrid… But she didn't feel disgusted by them, or even scared… They were just… there…

"Don't tell the other girls…" Ron said, his entire face was on fire. "Please… Daph…"

"I won't" she smiled softly, and then she took another step closer to him. Ron slowly backed, but she kept stepping forward. And then Ron's back hit the door… _What's she doing?!_ Ron's heartbeat accelerated to the point where he was sure it was about to explode.

"Daph… what are you…?" Ron managed to whisper, but she just looked at him with her misty eyes. They were a much darker shade of blue compared to his, and he could see some gold flecks in them.

"Your chest…" she said softly, and he could feel her breath on his face. She was around his height, and THEY WERE TOO DAMN CLOSE!

"My… my… chest?" Ron managed, his tongue had apparently forgotten on how to do its job. _I should run for it… Right fucking now!_

"I've seen your arms, Ron…" Daphne whispered. "Show me your chest…" When Ron didn't move a muscle, she decided to have a look for herself. She had no idea what had come over her, but it was giving her the strength to finally get to know more about Ron. She'd at least uncover a few of his secrets tonight…

Ron was putting his entire mind on the task of controlling his breathing, and he was slowly losing that battle. Daphne was undoing the top buttons on his robes, and he was a moment away from passing out. _Should I hold my breath? No, that's stupid… But what if my breath on her face is annoying her? Fuck, what do I do?!_ Daphne undid only the top half, and then she slowly spread his robes apart to have a look at his chest. Ron glared at the wall behind her, it was helping him stay at least a little calm. Ron shivered as he felt her trace her finger along his scar.

" **He** did this?" she whispered, her voice was meek. Ron nodded slowly, and then he swallowed. _I need some water…_

"Yes…" Ron croaked. _She can probably feel my heart beating! I can't take much more of this! How is she so calm?!_

"He did this…" she repeated softly. "Ron…" Ron closed his eyes and tried not to think about that night… The pain had been too much to bear… "Was it the pain that put you in a coma?" Ron blinked rapidly as images of that night played back in his head. He didn't remember much, but he did remember that he wanted to die…

"I wanted to just die… That's how much it hurt…" Ron said softly, his body almost collapsing as he admitted this. Then he heard Daphne sniffle, and he was immediately on full alert. All of his confusion and anxiety was gone. "Daphne?" Ron looked at her with a concerned look. She was holding back her tears and sniffling, and Ron wasn't sure what he should do. But she did…

"I'm sorry…" she whimpered as she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry he hurt you so much…" Ron was taken by surprise at first, but then he regained his senses.

"I'm alright, Daph" Ron comforted her. "I lived… And I plan to keep on living." Daphne tightened her hug, and Ron let out a soft laugh. And then, he hugged her back just as tightly.

* * *

 _ **December 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 1992 (Midnight)**_

Daphne had left shortly after their hugging session, and Ron was left more confused than he'd ever been. For one, he had never been in such an odd situation before. Secondly, hugging Daphne had felt way too good… He hugged his sisters and the other girls often enough, but it had felt very different to hug Daphne. Thirdly, he was utterly baffled at his own behavior. When did he start sharing personal things like that?! Ron couldn't have that… He had too many important secrets, and he had no intention of sharing them. Keeping things hidden was now a part of who he was, and he had no intention of stopping. Being in Slytherin had taught him the value of keeping certain things to yourself! And lastly, what the fuck had just happened?! Why was his body still flushed and uncomfortable? Daphne had left hours ago…

After Daphne had left, Ron had paced his room for a good twenty minutes. And then, he had done something incredibly stupid. He had written a letter to Sirius… But he had felt it necessary! Ron wasn't too sure about what he was feeling… And so, he had asked Sirius for help. Ron had wanted to ask his father originally, but the last time he had seen his parents, one of them had clocked him one. He had deserved it, but it still made him feel ashamed… After he had drafted a letter telling Sirius everything that had happened, Ron had snuck into the Owlery to find Helios. The angry bird had pecked him affectionately, and then he had flown off to carry out his mission. After that, Ron had come back inside and paced his room some more before getting into bed.

And now here he was, still awake! Ron shuffled around in his bed, and then he moaned in frustration. _Go to sleep! UGH!_ Ron sat up and let out a defeated sigh… Damn Daphne for hugging him! Damn him for telling her everything like some moron! What if she told the other girls about his scars? What if she told other people if they ever became angry at each other?! He had given her one over him… _UGH! I'm so damn stupid!_ Ron rocked back and forward with a deep frown on his face.

"Stressed, Ronald?" came a voice from where his pillow was. Ron screamed in fright as he flew off of his bed. "Hahahaha!" the Sorting Hat laughed.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ron yelled at it. "Why do you always do that?!"

"Because it's funny, dear boy!" the Hat chuckled. "Now, put me on your massive head!" _For Merlin's sake… My heart is going to give out at this rate…_ Ron picked up the Hat and put it on his head.

" _What are you doing here, Hat?"_ Ron asked.

" _I wanted to talk to you, Ronald. Something terrible has happened!"_

" _Of course it has…"_ Ron sighed.

" _Albus and Severus know about the Entity…"_

" _WHAT?! HOW?!"_ Ron felt his chest tighten.

" _Albus tried to look into your mind, Ronald… And the Entity decided to interfere. It beat the Headmaster into submission…"_

" _Are you… serious? The Entity beat… Dumbledore?"_ Ron wasn't sure if he should be scared, or impressed.

" _Indeed my boy, indeed…"_

" _So they know my secret?"_ Ron felt lightheaded at that. " _I'm so buggered…"_

" _Not quite, Ronald. They only know of the Entity. I convinced them that you know nothing of it, and that its only function is to protect you from those who plan to harm your mind. They are no doubt trying to learn more about it, but your secret is safe!"_ Ron almost passed out from the relief he felt.

" _Sorting Hat… Thank you… You really are the best!"_

" _I know!"_ the Hat chuckled. " _They will be wary of you for a while, so please don't give them any reasons to fear or doubt you. Is that understood?"_

" _Yes! Yes, thank you!"_ Ron exclaimed in his mind. _"Wait… Is that why Dumbledore was acting so weird at Breakfast, and why they both kept staring at me during lunch and dinner?"_

" _I imagine so… Either way, no more brutalizing fellow students!"_

" _You heard about that...?"_ Ron felt his cheeks flush.

" _Yes I heard, you fool! What were you thinking?! Oh wait, you weren't thinking at all! You should be ashamed of yourself, Ronald! I thought young Potter was your friend!"_

" _He was…"_ Ron sighed as he sat down on his bed. " _But a few things happened between us, and then it all ended with me doing something incredibly horrible… You can take a look…"_

" _I already have… You overreacted, plain and simple!"_

" _I know…"_ Ron nodded. _"I wish I could take it all back…"_

" _You can, dear boy… Remove their punishments…"_ the Hat said softly.

" _What?! And let them just get away with it?!"_

" _You got away with it, didn't you? And they've suffered enough… It is not too late to mend the bridge…"_

" _Mend the bridge? Merlin, Hat… I burned down the whole province! Not just the bridge…"_ Ron rubbed his face as he finished.

" _You'll never know unless you try… Tell me, have I failed you yet?"_

" _No…"_

" _Good, then you will rectify the situation!"_

" _But Lord Greengrass…"_ Ron started but the Hat cut him off.

" _He wanted to send a message, and he did. Show a backbone, my boy! He will respect that! Now, I must return to Albus' Office. Good night, Ronald."_

" _Good night, Hat…"_

" _Oh, and before I forget… Well done with that Tome, dear boy. Well done!"_ the Hat said proudly, and Ron smiled widely at that. And just like that, the Hat was gone.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **December 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1992 (Morning - Grimmauld Place)**_

Hermione stared at the wrapped up present in front of her, and she bit her bottom lip. It was a Muggle digital watch that she had bought for Ron back in November… But now she wasn't sure about what she should do with it… _I should give it to someone else. He'll probably just throw it away…_ Hermione sighed and kept staring at the green box. This had been the worst month of her life! Nothing good had happened whatsoever for the entire month! She had lost her first friend, all of her hard work on the Polyjuice Potion had been wasted, she had nearly gotten **expelled** , she was being forced to serve a detention every single day, and she had lost Gryffindor one-hundred points. All of these terrible things had one common denominator… Ronald Bilius Weasley. A person she utterly adored… A person who had never done any wrong by her…

But she had wronged him… That was the difference between her and her two Gryffindor best friends. Hermione understood that they had thrown the first stone… And she had also learned that Ronald was extremely vindictive, and even ruthless. He had destroyed them completely… Harry and Neville had slowly become bitter towards Ron, and Hermione decided to keep her opinions to herself. She didn't want to lose her only two friends… But every time they said something bad about Ron, Hermione would have to clench her mouth shut. Neville was utterly convinced that Ron was the Heir, especially after what Ron had done to Harry. If Hermione was being honest, in that moment when Ron was beating Harry into a pulp, she too was convinced that he was the Heir. But now she didn't even care… Whoever the Heir was, they were too good at hiding their identity. And Hermione was done breaking the rules in order find them… She had learnt her lesson, and she had learnt it the hard way.

Unfortunately, Harry and Neville hadn't… Neville already hated Ron for hurting Harry like that. And Harry too had slowly started becoming bitter towards Ron, and she couldn't blame him. Ron had turned Harry into a laughing stock in public, beaten him bloody without firing a single spell, taken away his Quidditch privileges, and had him serving detention every single day with Professor Lockhart of all people. Hermione wished she could serve detention with Professor Lockhart, but no… She was stuck with Professor McGonagall, and Professor McGonagall was extremely strict. Hermione had cleaned the Trophy Room spotless…

"Hello, Hermione" came a happy voice from behind her. Hermione quickly grabbed the present and hid it behind her back, and then she turned to face Sirius Black. "Do you want me to pretend like I didn't see that?" Sirius chuckled, and Hermione nodded.

"Please do…" Hermione felt her cheeks flush. Sirius smiled widely, and Hermione sighed. _He isn't going to let it go, is he?_

"Is that for anyone special?" Sirius grinned, but she didn't answer him. "A boy perhaps…?"

"NO!" Hermione squealed, and Sirius howled in laughter.

"And there's my answer!" Sirius grinned. "It's fine to gift a present to a boy, Hermione! It's Christmas!" _Wait… Maybe he can help me?_

"I'm not sure I should…" Hermione shuffled her feet, and Sirius cocked his head.

"Why?"

"The boy… hates me…" Hermione muttered, she hated saying that out loud. She missed Ron… She missed their study sessions… And how he always snuck food in… She'd scold him, but he'd talk her into eating his snacks… _I should have never doubted him, I'm so stupid…_ Sirius sighed as he realized who she was talking about.

"Ronald…" Sirius sighed, and Hermione nodded meekly. "I wish he had come… I wanted to sort out everything between you lot…"

"It was all our fault, wasn't it?" Hermione asked softly.

"No… No, it wasn't" Sirius said as he sat down on the dining table, it was brand new. "What you guys did… it was wrong. He was your friend, and you judged him without any facts… Trust me, there's no feeling worse than that. And he… He took things way too far… No one is innocent here, if that's any consolation."

"It isnt…" Hermione sighed as she sat down as well. "I'm so stupid, Mr. Black…" Hermione muttered as her eyes began to sting.

"Hey…" Sirius patted her shoulder. "You aren't, you're all just kids. And kids make mistakes, trust me! I made loads of them! Sometimes, time heals any wounds you have. But sometimes, you have to send a Christmas gift…" Sirius smiled, and Hermione sniffled as she looked up at him.

"What if he throws it away?" Hermione sniffled.

"What if he doesn't?" Sirius asked back. She managed to smile a little at that, Sirius really was amazing. "Have I told you about the time I shaved Remus' head while he slept?" Hermione chuckled at his random question.

"I hope not" Remus Lupin said as he entered the dining room. "The others are on their way down… I'm going to get breakfast on the table." With that, Remus Lupin went into the kitchen. Hermione was grateful that he didn't comment on her current state. Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and schooled her face, she hated it when people saw her get emotional. The twins were the first through the door, and they were as loud as always. Harry and Neville came in after them, and they were both yawning.

"Late night boys?" Sirius chuckled at his godson and Neville.

"Yeah…" Harry said as he rubbed his eyes. "Good morning, Sirius."

"Good morning, Mr. Black" Neville greeted with a smile.

"Please… call me Sirius!" Sirius laughed. "Mr. Black makes me sound like I'm old and married…"

"Ugh… Marriage" Fred groaned.

"A dreadful bond" George added in.

"So much commitment" the twins said together. _How do they do that?!_

"Indeed, lads!" Sirius nodded approvingly. "A dog should never tie its own leash against a pole!"

"What?" Hermione blinked, and Sirius chuckled.

"Don't worry, Hermione" Sirius said with a smile. "It was just a bad joke…"

"Yes, it was" Remus said with a frown as he entered the dining room. There were plates full of pancakes and bacon floating behind him. Once the table was all set up, everyone dug in. The conversation flowed well, with Sirius taking the lead in everything. Sirius cracked jokes, bickered with Remus, laughed at the twins' antics, and he gave Hermione comforting smiles. Hermione thought that Sirius was utterly amazing! _And he's here because Ron figured out that he was innocent… Did Harry ever thank Ron for that?_ Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a loud knocking sound from a nearby window. Sirius flicked his wand at the window, and it flung open. That's when a light grey Eagle-owl with black spots flew in and started hooting wildly. _That's Ron's Eagle-Owl!_ Everyone stared at Helios as he perched himself on Sirius' shoulder, and then Helios presented his leg to Sirius. There was a letter attached to it…

"Why is **he** sending you letters?" Harry asked, his voice was too bitter for Hermione's liking.

"Harry…" Remus said softly. "Ron has every right to send Sirius mail …" Harry grimaced at that, and Hermione nearly started lecturing Harry. But she stopped herself, she didn't want to fight any more of her friends. Sirius suddenly laughed maniacally, and everyone looked at him with shock. Sirius was grinning in a wolfish manner, and there was a mad glint in his eyes.

"I'll be right back!" Sirius exclaimed as he ran out of the room with the letter clutched tightly in his hand. _What happened?! What did Ron say?!_

"Excuse me, children" Remus said with a polite smile, and then he got up and followed after Sirius.

"What did that git write about?" Fred scowled.

"Pure git…" George sighed.

"Our own little brother…" Fred shook his head.

"A little snake who uses the Dark Arts…" George muttered. _Fred looks outraged, but George just seems sad and disappointed…_

"HOOT!" Helios hooted loudly at Hermione. And then it jumped in front of her plate and began eating her bacon.

"Hey!" Hermione frowned as she tried to shoo him away. Helios lunged at her fingers with his sharp beak, and Hermione squealed in fright. Helios hooted loudly as he ate more bacon off of her plate.

"Ruddy bird!" Fred shouted at it. "Leave her be…" Helios looked at Fred with a menacing glare that made Fred go wide-eyed. _Why is this bird so angry all the time?!_

"I guess they're perfect for each other…" Neville muttered. "Both of them are a menace…" Hermione glared at Neville. "What?"

"Don't talk about him like that…" Hermione grit out. Neville just sighed and nodded softly, he didn't want to upset her. Helios hooted and flew up to sit on her left shoulder. Hermione went wide-eyed, and she tensed in fear. _Get him off! Get him off!_ Helios then head-butted her jaw and nipped at her earlobe.

"Go away…" Harry snarled at Helios, but the bird didn't give a damn about what Harry had to say. Instead, Helios hooted as he gave Hermione 'affection' for defending his master.

"Thanks…" Hermione squealed meekly as Helios nipped at her earlobe again. It hurt a bit, and the head-butts weren't soft either. _If this is how he shows affection, I'd hate to see him angry…_

"GIVE IT BACK, REMUS!" came Sirius' shout, and then Remus ran into dining room with Ron's letter clutched in his hand. "I want to frame that!"

"Absolutely not!" Remus shouted back as he dashed towards the kitchen with Sirius hot on his trail. _What's going on?! What did that letter say?!_

'NO!" came Sirius' wail. "You fucking burned it!" Hermione blushed at the profanity. _He said the f-word!_

"Language!" came Remus' shout. "And all I did was save poor Ron from your stupidity!"

"This was his greatest achievement!" Sirius argued. "And now we have no proof!"

"Are you insane?!" Remus shouted back. Hermione and the others just listened with wide-eyes.

"Possibly!" Sirius shouted, and then he entered the dining room with an angry frown. He had another letter in his hand, and he quickly tied it to Helios' leg. Helios was about to fly off, but Sirius stopped him. Sirius then looked at Hermione with a soft smile, his anger completely forgotten. "Aren't you going to send anything?" Sirius asked her softly, and Hermione could see everyone eyeing her. Hermione drew in a sharp breath, and then she nodded at Sirius firmly. _I need to take the first step!_

"Here, Helios" Hermione said as she pulled out Ron's present from under her chair. "Take this to him… Make sure he gets this for Christmas." Helios hooted loudly as he picked up the small box with his beak.

"Hermione…" Harry and Neville both said in shocked voices.

"What? It's Christmas" she smiled at them innocently. Sirius chuckled at that, and Harry just stared at his godfather in complete disbelief. Helios then flew up and began circling the room.

"What's he doing?" George asked.

"Barmy bird has lost…" Fred started but then he suddenly shrieked. Helios had pooed on him! Sirius barked in laughter as Fred yelled profanities and stood up in outrage. Even Remus and George were laughing at Fred, and Hermione had to bite her bottom lip in order to stop herself from joining them. Helios then flew right out of the window, his speed was astonishing. _I will never make that bird angry! God help me!_

"He got you good!" George howled with laughter, and Hermione finally lost it. Even Harry and Neville were sniggering as Fred ran off to clean himself up.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **December 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Christmas Eve)**_

Daphne cupped her cheeks, and then she drew in a sharp breath as she stared at her reflection. She was blushing crimson from embarrassment, and an odd sense of excitement. _Agh! What did I do last night?! Ron's barely spoken all day! What was I thinking?!_

Things had taken very weird turn last night… She had wanted to see his scars for herself, she had wanted to make sure that he knew that she didn't care. But then everything had gotten really… strange. She had barely managed to keep herself from panicking, and her stomach had done a million flips. But she had managed to see them all… The scar on his right hand, the snake-trail scars on his arms, and the massive slash-like scar on his chest. It had twisted her heart to see them, and she had felt so sad about the fact that he had been dealing with this all alone. But it had also made her realize that she knew nothing about Ron… Nothing important anyway. He preferred to keep his problems to himself, and he certainly enjoyed keeping secrets. But she liked that about him. He was strong… Not only physically, but mentally as well. He dealt with his own issues and he never brought them up, that was the complete opposite of her. If she ever had a problem, she'd run straight to Tracey… Or her mother.

But now she had a problem that she couldn't talk to anyone about... That problem being how odd she had felt around Ron during last night's events. Her face burned at the thought of telling anyone, especially Tracey or her mother. Tracey would just laugh and make inappropriate jokes that would make her uncomfortable. And her mother… Her mother would be horrified! Daphne had been anything but a Lady last night… She had cornered her crush, and then she had pretty much taken his clothes off! AND THEY HAD BEEN SO CLOSE! Daphne went tomato red at the thought… _We were kissing distance! AGH! What do I do?!_

Daphne washed her face quickly, and then she walked out to the common room. Christmas Eve dinner would be served shortly, and she'd be sitting next to Ron again! Things had been a little awkward between them today. Ron had closed off, and his cheeks would become red whenever she tried to talk to him. _Boys…_ Daphne had read in Witch Weekly that boys weren't as good with emotions as girls, and so she knew that he was feeling embarrassed. Why couldn't he understand that she was feeling embarrassed too? She didn't want things to be awkward between them…

"Waiting for your ginger shadow?" came Malfoy's voice from behind her. _Ugh… Why does he always creep around like this?_

"What do you want?" Daphne huffed as she turned to face Malfoy and his goons. Crabbe and Goyle used to be so sweet when they were younger, but Malfoy had ruined them with his Pure-Blood views. Now they were just a couple of oafs that wanted to beat up 'Mud-Bloods and Blood-traitors'… _I can't believe that I used to not mind that kind of attitude!_

"Just striking up a conversation" Malfoy smirked. "You didn't answer my question… A Lady shouldn't be so rude, Daphne."

"Yes…" Daphne answered in a dead-tone. "I am waiting for Ron… There, we had a conversation. Now leave me alone…"

"So ill-mannered" Malfoy sniggered, and his goons sniggered when he did. _Oafs…_ "I remember when you used to have manners, but I guess Weasley has made you all barbarians just like himself…"

"Don't talk about him like that" Daphne warned.

"Aw!" Malfoy cooed. "Someone **likes** the Weasel…" Daphne felt her cheeks flush, but she easily kept her composure.

"You know, Malfoy…" Daphne smirked. "All you ever do is talk about Ron… I think it's you who **likes** Ron… Would you like me to help you out with that? You're clearly too shy to approach him by yourself." Daphne's smirk widened as she saw Malfoy clench his jaw and turn a light shade of red. But then Malfoy's face turned cold, and cruel.

"I wonder how he would react if he knew that your father served the Dark Lord" Malfoy said softly, and Daphne felt her temper flare.

"He already knows…" Daphne lied.

"I don't think he does…" Malfoy smirked. "I think that you've never once mentioned that your father bears the 'Mark'…" Daphne went a little pale at that, she had only told Ron that her parents weren't Blood-Purists. She had never told him that her father was forced to fund the Great War… And he funded the side that fought Ron's family…

"I don't know what you're talking about" Daphne lied, but her voice was weaker than before.

"I think I'll tell him…" Malfoy smirked.

"What's your problem with me, Malfoy?" Daphne grit out. "You helped Ron at the Dueling Club, so why are you being such a… such an arse?!"

"I didn't help the Weasel…" Malfoy sneered. "He wanted to fight Scarhead… I figured that one of them would have to walk away embarrassed, it was a win-win situation for me…" _What a rat!_

"You are such an arse" Daphne scoffed. "Leave me alone… Or I'll hex you!"

"Will you?" Malfoy laughed, and Daphne saw Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles. She'd be a fool if she didn't feel a smidge of fear.

"Can I join in?" came Ron's voice from the entrance to the boys' dorms. Daphne smiled as she saw Malfoy's face fall a bit.

"And the ginger tumor is here…" Malfoy said venomously as he turned to face Ron.

"Daphne, let's go…" Ron smiled at her, and she nodded. Ron then walked past Malfoy, and they both left the common room side by side. _He didn't attack Malfoy?! He actually kept his cool… How?_

"Ron…" Daphne said as they were climbing the stairs. "Why didn't you attack Malfoy?"

"What would it change?" Ron shrugged. "He always starts shite like this…" _WAIT! He didn't overhear Malfoy, did he?_ Daphne decided to not ask him, just in case he hadn't. An awkward silence creeped up between them. _I should ask him something! Something casual, and not weird…_

"So… How was your day?" Daphne asked slowly. _HOW WAS YOUR DAY?! Merlin help me…_

"My day was fine… We spent most of it together…" Ron said replied even more slowly.

"I know that! I was just…" Daphne trailed off. "Ron…" Daphne sighed. "Are we alright? Things have felt a little off since last night…"

'OH…" Ron gasped, going red in the face. _And there it is… His face is now as red as his hair…_ "I want us to be… Can we just… not talk about it, please?"

"Okay…" Daphne replied, she was a little disappointed by that. _Boys… ugh…_ They walked up to the Great Hall in silence, but they stopped when they both spotted Ginny Weasley heading up to Gryffindor tower.

"Gin!" Ron called to her, his voice optimistic. "Aren't you joining us for dinner?" Ginny Weasley turned around and stared right at Ron with a disturbing look. It was empty, almost as if she couldn't even see Ron and Daphne.

"No…" Ginny said in a dead-tone. "Go bother someone else, Ronald…" And just like that, she turned around and left. _Wow… Ron…_ Daphne looked to Ron with some hesitation, and the look on his face made her cringe. He looked devastated, and confused…

"She called me Ronald…" Ron muttered as he just blinked at where Ginny was a moment ago.

"Ron…" Daphne started but stopped. _What do I even say? I don't know anything about their family dynamics… But enough is enough! She is acting like a complete bitch, and I'm sick of her kicking Ron around!_

"I'm not really hungry anymore…" Ron whispered. "I'll see you back in the common room…" Ron turned to leave but Daphne grabbed his gloved hand.

"You're eating" Daphne said firmly. "And after that, we're going to figure out what your sister's problem is…"

"Daph…" Ron said softly, there was no fight in his voice. "The only problem she has is that she was born with a brother like me…"

"Stop" Daphne ordered. "There is something not right with your sister, and you need to stop doubting that. If it were anyone else, you'd be on their case. We are going to talk about this, and I'll force you to listen if I have to." Ron stared at her with an expressionless look. "Now, let's go eat." Daphne said as she dragged him behind her, and he followed without a fight. _AGH! I'm holding his hand again!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **December 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Close to Midnight)**_

 _Hey kid!_

 _So I got your letter… AND I AM SO PROUD RIGHT NOW! Even Remus is proud, but he won't admit it! He was always the boring type… Is that why you didn't come around? You sly dog you! Either way, I'm glad that you sent me this letter. I just want you to know that I'm not going anywhere kid, I'll always lookout for you._

 _As for this Daphne girl not being scared of your scars, why would she be? Scars are sexy kid! Ladies love them!—_

 _Ron, this is Remus. Ignore everything Sirius just wrote. He can be quite immature… You should be careful, Ron. You are both extremely young, and you shouldn't do anything that you both don't feel comfortable with. Make sure you two know what you're getting into… At your ages, your hormones can start to change how you see things. How you see girls, and how girls see you. I'm sure you know about puberty, Ron. But I still want to talk to you about it. Ron, when a boy rea—_

 _Kid, I'm back! Don't listen to this garbage! This girl likes you, Ron! Don't waste that—_

 _Ron, I will be sending you a letter which will explain the changes you are going through. Being prepared is the most important thing in these matters. Sirius was obliviously dropped on his head as a child, so you should ignore him—_

Ron put the battered letter down and frowned, what the fuck was this?! He asked for help, and they both failed to help him… _Back to square one, I suppose. At least things are less awkward now, considering we just talked for two hours without any awkward pauses…_

Daphne and he had been discussing Ginny's cold behavior, and Ron was still convinced that it was his fault. It had to be… It was always his fault because he was a moron. But Daphne was convinced that Ginny needed to grow up and stop being so spoiled, Ron thought that was rich considering how Daphne sometimes behaved. But he didn't say that… Daphne scared the shite out of him, and her pinches always left bruises… In the end, both Ron and Daphne had decided that they would watch Ginny more carefully. If there was something wrong, they'd help her out. And if there wasn't, then Ron would confront her. _That won't end well for me… I can just feel it…_

* * *

 _ **December 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Christmas Morning)**_

"I love them, Ron!" Daphne squealed as she looked at her new earrings greedily. She'd been dropping hints about getting new ones non-stop, and they weren't subtle hints… Ron had contacted Martin the Jeweler in order to get Daphne her new dark sapphire studs. Ron thought it a good choice because they'd match her eyes… Okay, Tracey thought that… _Thank Merlin for Tracey!_ "Open mine, it's the one in the gold wrapping paper" Daphne said excitedly.

Ron opened the box slowly, and he could feel his excitement building. Daphne always got him good presents! _That amazing cloak, which those apes destroyed… And my serpent ring, which I always wear!_ They were opening their presents in Ron's room, mostly because they didn't want Malfoy ruining their morning.

"Woah!" Ron exclaimed as he saw his gift. It was a single black serpentine-skin glove with a golden 'R' on the back. Ron looked at it with a genuine smile, it looked quite… alluring.

"That's actual Horned-Serpent skin" Daphne hummed proudly. "I had it custom made for you…" Ron was lost for words… "Do you like it?"

"I do…" Ron said with a wide smile. He then took off his current leather glove, he didn't care if she saw his hand. He knew that she didn't care… And then, Ron put on his new serpent-skin glove. It was a perfect fit, and it was warm. The inside of the glove was so soft that Ron thought his hand was engulfed by a fluffy glove. Ron clenched and unclenched his hand, this glove felt much more comfortable than his previous leather one. "Thank you, Daph" Ron smiled at her gratefully, and she beamed.

"It's nothing… Happy Christmas" Daphne said with a small blush. They then opened their other presents, laughing and enjoying each other's company. But Ron's laughter stopped when he opened his mother's present, a white Weasley sweater with a green 'R' on it. He didn't know what to feel about his new sweater… A part of his was over the moon with joy, but another part of him remembered her slapping him right across the face in front of everyone. He knew he deserved that slap… but he still wished she hadn't done that…

"Ron?" Daphne called to him. "What's wrong? You've gone quiet…" Ron looked at her and smiled.

"It's nothing" Ron lied, but she caught on.

"I know when you're lying…" Daphne huffed. "It's Christmas! Don't lie on Christmas, it's against the rules."

"The rules?" Ron cocked his head with a grin. "Who's rules?"

"Mine" she smirked. "Now tell me what's wrong?"

"Fine…" Ron sighed. "Mum sent me this…" Ron showed her the white Weasley sweater with a green 'R' on it. Daphne blinked at the sweater, and then she blinked at him.

"You don't like sweaters?" Daphne asked with a confused look. _Ha! If only it was that simple!_

"I like sweaters" Ron chuckled. "She… she doesn't want me in Slytherin anymore…" Ron decided to say. _I don't want to tell her that she slapped me… That's my problem to deal with._ "She asked Dumbledore to re-sort me…"

"When?" Daphne frowned.

"After the incident with Potter…" Ron sighed again.

"She can't make you do that!" Daphne exclaimed, her voice becoming high-pitched like it used to be. "If anything, that incident showed how good of a Slytherin you can be!" Ron blinked at her.

"What?" Ron asked slowly.

"I don't mean the part where you beat Potter senseless…" Daphne frowned. "I meant the part where you outmaneuvered the Headmaster! It's the reason why everyone in this house didn't say a word after your speech! You have strong connections on the outside, Ron. You got the Board of Governors to strong-arm Dumbledore into making a deal that was made just to benefit you! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen, Ron!" Ron blushed deeply at that… _There it is again, that weird feeling I get whenever we're alone together…_

"If you mother can't see the value in that, then it's her loss" Daphne continued. "Not to mention all the success you've already had due to being in Slytherin! Does she think that you would get these opportunities anywhere else?"

"I don't think she cares much for my success…" Ron admitted shamefully. "She never has… I'm always her last pick…" _NO! Don't tell her things! What the fuck are you doing, Weasley?!_

"Her loss then" Daphne huffed indignantly. "There is nothing wrong with being cunning and ambitious. And no one can doubt your bravery Ron, not even her… You faced and defeated a twelve foot Mountain Troll, and you faced the Dark Lord and lived! Which of your other siblings come even close to that? None! Doesn't want you in Slytherin… Nonsense!" Daphne ranted to herself, and Ron chuckled at her anger. _She's that upset over me? Why? I'm not that upset over me…_ "And don't you dare leave!" Daphne narrowed her eyes on him. "Or I'll… I'll tell father…" she finished lamely.

"Oh no…" Ron smiled at her, her words had meant more to him than she actually knew. "Not your Lord Father!"

"Exactly!" Daphne smirked, completely missing his sarcasm. "He won't be happy with you! Now open your other presents" Daphne huffed haughtily. Ron chuckled and did as he was told. _So bossy…_ Ron shot a quick glance at her as she was opening her other presents with a smile, and that feeling was back. The weird one in his stomach… Like his stomach was floating around… Ron then saw a small green box without a name on it. _Huh?_ Ron opened it slowly, and a tiny card fell out. Ron picked it up and read it.

"I'm sorry" Ron read, and then he blinked at the card. Ron then looked to his gift… It was a wrist-band of some sort… One that was displaying the time? "A Muggle watch…" Ron muttered as he remembered the watches in his father's shed.

"Granger…" came Daphne's cold voice, and Ron looked to her. She did not look pleased whatsoever. Ron picked up the watch and studied it, he had no clue on what to do with it. They weren't even friends anymore, were they? Ron hadn't sent Hermione a thing… He didn't feel the need to. He was still pissed off at them, but not pissed enough to go after them. In all honesty, he was just confused about the Trio. He missed them, but he didn't miss them… It was an odd feeling…

"What should I do with this?" Ron asked Daphne, he knew that he couldn't decide no matter how hard he tried. Daphne stared at the black Muggle watch with disdain, and then she sighed.

"It's a gift…" Daphne said in a cold whisper. "You don't throw away gifts on Christmas…" Ron was stunned! Was this actually Daphne he was talking to?! "What, Ron?! You're staring at me!"

"Nothing…" Ron said softly. "It's just that you hate her… don't you?"

"I do" Daphne said bluntly. "But she got you a gift, and she apologized. Unlike the two clowns she follows around, she at least understands that she was a terrible friend… I can almost respect that…"

"Really?" Ron asked with an awed expression.

"Yes…" Daphne hissed, she didn't like him doubting her words. "And you should wear it on your left wrist… That's the Muggle fashion for men…"

"How do you…" Ron started but Daphne cut him off.

"Mr. Davis wears one, and he got one for father… It's called a Rolex, or something…" Daphne sighed. "What kind of watch is that?"

"I don't know…" Ron muttered as he stared at it. Ron then put it around his left wrist, and he did up the clasp. "Well?" Ron asked as he showed his wrist to Daphne. "What do you think?"

"It's fine…" Daphne said coldly, and Ron smiled at her. _She doesn't want me wearing it… But she also doesn't want me to throw it away… She's so weird._

"Okay…" Ron smiled, he had to change the subject. "I've got only one present left… And it's from your family…"

"They sent you a present?" Daphne asked slowly, and then she smiled widely. "Well, open it! I want to see it!" _That was way too easy…_ Ron opened the present that had Lord and Lady Greengrass' signature on it. It was a card, and a framed photo. Ron scooted over to Daphne's side as they both looked at the photo. It was a moving picture of Ron and Lord Greengrass, and it had been taken right after Ron had won that competition in Paris. The picture was of Ron smiling and waving as Lord Greengrass stood behind him with a proud smile, his hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"To the first of many victories together, Ronald" Ron read the card as Daphne smiled widely at the photo. "Our partnership has only just begun, but I already know that it will be a fruitful one. Happy Christmas, Ronald. Love, ASTORIA GREENGRASS!" Ron laughed at the end. "She scratched out their names! And she signed hers in massive letters! Here, have a look" Ron laughed as he showed Daphne the letter, and Daphne frowned at it.

"Tori…" Daphne sighed. "My sister wasn't born right, I swear…"

"I think Tori is great!" Ron chuckled.

"Do you now?" Daphne smiled coldly, and Ron stopped chuckling.

"Um… no?" Ron managed sheepishly.

"So my sister isn't great?" Daphne narrowed her eyes. _What? What's the right answer here?!_

"Can I say both?" Ron smiled sheepishly, and Daphne suddenly broke into giggles. "You're the worst…" Ron pouted, and she kept giggling at him.

* * *

 _ **December 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (After Breakfast)**_

"Headmaster, can I talk to you please?" Ron asked as they were all getting up to leave. _Merlin, I hope I'm doing the right thing here! He knows about the Entity… But he doesn't know that I know that he knows… Okay, that was confusing…_

"Certainly, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Come, take a walk with me… It is a lovely Christmas morning!" Ron followed after the Headmaster, and he gave Daphne a quick nod before he left. They walked out into the courtyard in silence, and Ron was doing his best to muster his courage.

"Headmaster…" Ron started slowly. "I was hoping to talk to you about what happened between us…" Dumbledore stopped moving, and he slowly turned to face Ron. His eyes weren't twinkling anymore…

"What happened between us?" Dumbledore asked, his expression had become a little too serious for Ron's liking. _He thinks I want to talk about the Entity? Merlin no! Fuck that…_

"When I used the Board against you… and the Trio…" Ron clarified, he felt some shame creep into his mind.

"Ah!" Dumbledore chuckled, he was visibly relieved. "Brilliant move, Ronald! I was very impressed" the old codger chuckled merrily.

"You were…?" Ron asked, he honestly couldn't understand this man.

"Of course" Dumbledore said in a tone that implied the obvious. "You really are a chess player at heart, not many children pull such tricks!"

"Yes… well…" Ron started, he decided to ignore Dumbledore's odd behavior. Ron knew it was an act, he'd seen the real Dumbledore during Peter's capture and trial. "I wanted to undo the punishments I gave out…"

"You do?" Dumbledore smiled at him. "Why?"

"I overreacted… I was angry, and I made a rash decision…" Ron admitted, and it felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest.

"That is very mature of you, Ronald" Dumbledore said, his eyes dancing in merriment.

"Thank you, Headmaster…" Ron smiled softly. "Except for the Quidditch thing… Professor Snape would kill me if I gave Potter his Quidditch privileges back…" Dumbledore laughed lightly, and then he nodded.

"Very well, Ronald" Dumbledore beamed. "I will see it done."

"Thank you" Ron nodded. "I'm going to go back inside… I don't want to leave Daphne alone…"

"Certainly" Dumbledore smiled. "Have a wonderful Christmas, Ronald."

"You too, Headmaster" Ron smiled back, and then he began making his way back inside.

"Ronald" Dumbledore called to him, and Ron turned around. "I'm very proud of you." Ron's cheeks flared red, Albus Dumbledore was proud of him!

"Thank you, Headmaster!" Ron beamed, and then he walked back inside with a massive grin on his face. _I made the right choice!_

* * *

 _ **January 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Snape's Office)**_

Ron stood outside of Snape's office, and he felt a cold sweat on his brow. _This summoning can't be a good thing…_ Daphne was waiting in the common room for their friends to come back, the Hogwarts Express would be stopping at Hogsmeade Station any minute now. Ron wanted to stay with her, but Snape had summoned him to his Office for something. Ron knocked on the door lightly, and Snape answered.

"Come in" came Snape's low voice, and Ron entered the Potions Master's Office. "Come, sit down Mr. Weasley." Ron did as he was told.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Sir?" Ron asked with a calm voice. _Play it cool, Weasley. You've done nothing wrong…_

"No, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied, his face was an unreadable mask. "I just wished to speak with you about your year so far. Is that alright?" _Did he just ask me if that was alright? When does Snape ever ask that?_

"Of course, Sir" Ron replied. "What would you like to know?"

"Tell me, how are things for you within Slytherin?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked at him. _What is this?_

"Things are going well…" Ron replied slowly.

"Mr. Weasley, speak your mind" Snape said softly. "Whatever we discuss will not leave this room." That would have comforted Ron if he wasn't so paranoid…

"I am generally accepted within the house" Ron answered elusively, and Snape picked up on his elusive response.

"That is good…" Snape drawled, the boy was a decent liar. And Snape couldn't even use light Legilimency… "How are things between you and Mr. Malfoy?" _Shite…_

"As they've always been" Ron smiled faintly. Snape frowned internally, damn this boy…

"Mr. Weasley, I want to help you" Snape decided to go with a different approach. "I want to know if there are any other factors that may be causing you extra stress besides your studies. And I would appreciate it if you answered honestly…" _Um no…_

"Of course, Sir" Ron nodded. "Malfoy still comes after me every now and then, but it's nothing serious. He throws a few insults, and I ignore him. I'm not sure if he is still spying on me, but at this point, I don't really care. I have nothing to hide."

"How is your relationship with your parents?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked.

"We haven't spoken much…" Ron said in a dead-tone. "They sent me a Christmas present each. Mum knitted me a sweater. Dad sent me some Muggle toy, it's called an 'Action-figure'." Snape nodded slowly. The boy's tone and curt answers showed that he wasn't happy with his parents.

"And how are you dealing with the rumors that you are the Heir of Slytherin?" Snape asked, and Ron started to get annoyed. What the hell was up with this interrogation? _And why is he talking so politely?! Usually he'd call me an imbecile and tell me to sod off… Well not quite, but still!_

"I have no issues with those rumors, Sir" Ron said with forced politeness. "I ignore them. They are false. Sir, what is this? Why am I being interrogated?"

"No one is interrogating you" Snape said, his tone becoming cold. _There it is! That's better…_

"What else would you call this?" Ron goaded the Potions Master. _Any second now!_

"I am just checking up on my students" Snape said in a dead-tone.

"Shouldn't Daphne be here as well then?" Ron asked innocently, and Snape's lips twitched. Disrespectful little brat… Had using the Dark Arts given him such a big-head? Snape would knock that pride down a peg soon enough…

"The Headmaster and I are concerned about your recent behavior" Snape said icily, he was done playing nanny. It was time to frighten the boy. It was time to initiate their plan…

"My recent behavior? Is this about Potter? Sir, I already apologized for that." Ron said firmly. "And I removed the punishments… Well, most of them."

"And what about that Curse you used?" Snape asked, his black eyes staring right into Ron's ocean blue ones. "Did you think I missed that?" Snape sneered.

"It is a spell that I found in the Forbidden Section" Ron lied. "I practiced it, and mastered it. And then I used it on Potter."

"Do not lie to me…" Snape seethed. "I have scoured that Section many times… There is no such spell in there." _Shite… Bad lie!_

"Perhaps you missed it…" Ron smiled, he was beginning to lose his resolve. Snape was a scary man!

"I have other ways of finding out the truth, boy" Snape said menacingly. "Do not push me…" _I am getting sick of this interrogation! I did nothing wrong! I even took back those punishments!_

"Sir, I…" Ron started but Snape cut him off.

"I know the Dark Arts when I see them" Snape said firmly as he stood up to tower above Ron. Ron instinctively shrank into his seat. "If I ever see you use them again… I will have you expelled on the spot, do you understand me?!" Ron nodded meekly. "Now, answer my questions! And do not play games with me… Where did you learn that spell?"

"A seventh year taught it to me, Victor Burke..." Ron lied, and Snape bought it. Snape knew that boy quite well, and Ronald's answer was plausible.

"Why did you lift the punishments on the Gryffindors?" Snape snarled.

"I felt guilty…" Ron replied in a meek tone. Ron's guilt was creeping back into his mind slowly…

"You didn't feel guilty when you beat Potter like a dog… Why now?" Snape demanded, and Ron remembered what he had done. How he had lost control and scared even his own friends…

"I don't know what came over me…" Ron replied honestly, his eyes were starting to sting. Why was Snape doing this? He had been good recently… He had been trying to make amends… _But it'll never be enough… Snape told me that they'd never trust me again…_

"I will tell you what came over you" Snape said coldly. "The Dark Arts seduce the mind, boy. You allowed them to warp your mind, like some idiot! And another student paid the price because of your weak character." Ron flinched at that, he was starting feel overwhelmed. Snape was speaking the truth, and Ron knew it… "I'm sure you felt really powerful when you used that Curse, but now you've lost three friends because of it." Ron flinched again…

"They betray…"

"SILENCE!" Snape cut Ron off, and Ron looked down at his feet. "You will speak when I allow you to speak, do you understand?!" Ron nodded as he wiped his eyes. "Foolish boy… Is it not bad enough that everyone in this school is turning on our house? Your use of such a Dark Spell has won us no goodwill… I thought you had at least one brain cell when you threw those parties… Clearly I was wrong. You will abandon this path, do you hear me?" Ron nodded again. "Answer me, boy!"

"Yes… I will…" Ron sniffled. He had already decided that, but Snape's words were hitting to close to home… Ron was overwhelmed with what he had done… And with what had followed. His mother slapping him in front of everyone was all that he could think about.

"I will keep my eyes on you, never forget that" Snape snarled. "If I ever see you use the Dark Arts… Expulsion will be the least of your concerns. Now get out of my sight!" Ron got up and left quickly, all the while rubbing his eyes like some scolded toddler. He felt exactly the same way he had after his mother had slapped him…

After Ronald had left in tears, Snape sat back down in his seat and sighed. He felt like a proper bastard for what he had just done… But it was necessary. The last thing that the Wizarding World needed was another Dark Wizard. And Ronald would make for an extremely dangerous one… Now, it was all up to Albus. Snape had played his part…

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **January 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dungeons)**_

Albus waited patiently for Ronald to arrive, and he prayed that Severus had shown restraint. They wanted to scare Ron about the truth of the Dark Arts corrupting the mind, not scare the boy out of the school. They had planned this right after Ronald had used that serpent summoning Curse, but then one thing had led to another. And now here they were, terrifying a child right before he was reunited with his friends… _Better him being scared than him becoming corrupted. This is for the Greater Good… This is for own sake._ Albus heard quick footsteps approaching, and he steeled his mind. Albus then walked around the corner and bumped into Ronald.

"Ronald, slow…" Albus' sentence died in his mouth. Ronald was crying, and his eyes were inflamed because he had been rubbing them too hard.

"So… sorry, Headmaster…" Ron hiccupped. _SEVERUS YOU FOOL! WHAT DID YOU DO?! THIS IS NOT A LITTLE SCARED!_

"Ronald, what has happened?" Albus asked the hysterical boy.

"Noth… nothing…" Ronald hiccupped again, and then a sob broke out of his throat. "I'm sorry…" And just like that, Ronald tried to go around Albus. Albus grabbed his arm gently and stopped him, and then Albus kneeled to Ronald's height.

"Ronald, tell me please" Albus implored.

"I fell…" Ronald lied, and Albus smiled softly. _Loyal to a fault… Even now…_

"You must be hurt…" Albus said softly. "Come with me."

"It's… okay…" Ronald sniffled.

"Do you want Miss. Greengrass to see you like this?" Albus asked, and he cringed internally. That was a terrible thing to use against Ronald…

"No…" Ronald shook his head. _Was he always this small? He usually looks taller…_ Albus' chest tightened, but he decided to stay the course.

"How about some hot chocolate?" Albus asked with a smile. "In my office… No one will be there. And you can relax a little before your friends arrive." Ronald nodded meekly as he rubbed his eyes. _I am going to have a little chat with Severus after this!_ Albus then led them up to his Office, and then he seated Ron down on a seat as he summoned two cups of hot chocolate. "Here, Ronald" Albus said softly as he handed the boy a cup.

"Thank you, Headmaster…" Ronald whispered. The boy clearly had something on his mind, and Albus planned to coax it out of him soon enough.

"I love hot chocolate" Albus hummed as he sat down in front of Ronald. "I find that it soothes my very soul" Albus chuckled. "What about you, Ronald?"

"I like it too…" Ronald replied as he sipped his drink. _At least he isn't hysterical anymore… Merlin damn you Severus… Do you not understand the notion of restraint?!_

"How about a game of chess?" Albus smiled. "I've heard you are quite the player." Ronald looked up with a smile, and puffy red eyes.

"Did my trophies tell you that?" Ronald joked, and Albus chuckled genuinely. _Quick-witted too!_

"Then you don't mind playing a game with this old man?" Albus asked as he summoned his chessboard. "Which side would you prefer?"

"Black…" Ronald answered softly.

"Then I believe it is my move first" Albus said as he moved a pawn forward. Albus immediately noticed how alert Ronald had become suddenly, the boy's eyes were darting all over the board. _Impressive… He wants to anticipate my moves before I make them?_ The game progressed slowly at first, both of them played rather cautiously. Albus wanted to talk rather than play, but he decided to let the boy calm down a little. When they were five minutes into their game, Albus finally broke the silence.

"Are you going to tell me what happened, Ronald?" Albus asked softly, and the boy's grip tightened around his mug.

"I fell, Headmaster" Ronald lied again.

"In front of Professor Snape's Office? That is where you were coming from, weren't you?" Albus asked, and Ronald looked up slowly. "It is okay, Ronald. Professor Snape can be quite… harsh sometimes. But he means well…"

"I know…" Ronald replied. The boy had that tortured look on his face again, like he wanted to ask something but he was too scared to. "He saved my life, didn't he?" Ronald asked, and Albus blinked at him.

"Yes…" Albus smiled sadly, that night was something he never wished to repeat. "He does care for you, Ronald." Ronald nodded meekly as he took Albus' pawn. "Why did he scold you?"

"I used… I used a Dark Spell… against Potter…" Ronald replied, there was so much shame in his voice.

"I see…" Albus nodded, he already knew but he needed Ronald to admit it. "How did it make you feel, Ronald? When you used that spell?" Ronald looked up again, his bottom lip quivered a little. They were both silent for a few seconds, and then Ronald answered.

"Strong…" Ronald muttered, his eyes becoming distant. "It made me feel strong…" Ronald's voice cracked. "I didn't care about hurting Potter either… I wanted to do it… I…" Ronald let out a small cry as his eyes teared up again. "I did something really horrible…" Ronald began crying. Albus took in a long breath, he was glad to see this remorse. Ronald was a good person, and this proved it completely. _That Entity has no hold over him. Good!_

"That is what the Dark Arts do, Ronald…" Albus said softly, it was time to drive the message through Ronald's mind. "They make you feel strong, so strong that the suffering of others is easily forgotten… Can I tell you a story, Ronald?" Albus asked as he took Ronald's bishop. Ronald nodded as he rubbed his eyes and sniffled. "I knew a boy once, he was utterly brilliant. Many called him the 'best student that Hogwarts had ever seen'… He was the type who would go on to change the world. Everyone had high expectations of this boy, many even claimed that he would one day become Minister of Magic." Ronald looked up and listened with complete attention.

"But this boy" Albus continued. "He hid a certain part of himself from others. He had a fascination with the Dark Arts, and he began to study them in his time alone. Now this brilliant boy, who was well-liked by others, slowly began to change. He became cold, and distant. No one understood why he was changing because this boy hid his passion vehemently. The Dark Arts were warping his mind… He began to see himself as better than others, more deserving of life. Causing others pain no longer bothered him, it made him feel stronger…" Ronald gulped at that, and his bottom lip quivered wildly.

"This boy…" Albus continued. "Grew up to become Lord Voldemort." Ronald flinched at that, and his blood-shot eyes became teary again. "I believe that he was not always the monster people say he was… He was a student of our school, just like you. Just like your friends… He ate where you eat, he slept where you sleep, and he studied where you study… He was an ordinary boy, but the Dark Arts turned him into a monster that the Wizarding World shudders at the thought of. He gave into the Dark Arts, Ronald… Do you understand?" Ronald nodded slowly, their game of chess utterly forgotten. "Real power…" Albus said as he moved over to Ronald and kneeled in front of him. "Real power comes from here" Albus said as he put his hand over Ronald's heart. "It comes from the love you feel for others…"

"Did **he** not feel that?" Ronald whispered.

"Perhaps he did… Perhaps he did not" Albus smiled sadly, he had truly failed Tom. Albus knew why the Entity had shown him an image of Tom being crucified… It was one of his greatest regrets, just like Gellert and Ariana were… "What matters, Ronald" Albus said softly "Is if you feel it. And I know you do…" Albus smiled, and Ronald nodded softly. Fawkes suddenly shrieked and flapped his wings, and Ronald look at it with wide-eyes.

"Ah, Fawkes" Albus smiled as he stood back up. "He is my oldest friend Ronald, do you know much about Phoenixes?"

"No, Headmaster" Ronald replied, his voice was calm once again.

"Magnificent creatures" Albus said proudly. "Their loyalty is hard-won, but it will last a lifetime. They can carry loads of immense size, their very tears can heal even the most gravest of injuries, and they can tell a person's character just by looking at them. Such intelligent creatures…" Albus was about to go on, but he stopped when he noticed Fawkes staring at Ronald. Albus looked down to the boy, and he was staring right back at Fawkes. Albus smiled softly at this. Fawkes then let out a sharp cry and flew over to Ronald's chair. Albus was stunned, how was this possible? It had taken Albus well over a year to even approach Fawkes without the Phoenix flashing away!

"Headmaster…" Ronald squeaked as Fawkes glared at Ronald.

"Shhh" Albus shushed Ronald, he wanted to see this. _Fawkes, my friend… What are you doing?_ Fawkes then hopped into Ronald's lap, he was trying to gaze into Ronald's eyes. Ronald had tensed immensely, but he looked back into the Phoenix's eyes. There was dead silence in the room, and then Fawkes let out a softer cry. Fawkes rubbed Ronald's face with his head, and Albus could only watch in absolute awe. Fawkes had accepted the boy… in mere moments… And then, Albus felt his chest swell with joy, Ronald was an exceptional person. His run-in with the Dark Arts was nothing more than a small mistake… And everyone was entitled to a few mistakes.

"Headmaster, what is he doing?" Ronald asked as he let the Phoenix play with him.

"Fawkes likes you, Ronald" Albus smiled widely, he couldn't help it. _This is an amazing turn of events! Ronald, my dear boy, this is wonderful news!_

"Why?" Ronald asked. Albus blinked at him for a second, but then he remembered Ronald's memory. _A sense of worthlessness… I will change that myself! Ronald must be shown that he is valued!_

"Because you are a good person, Ronald" Albus said truthfully. "And Fawkes knows it… But I must ask you to stop, Fawkes. Students are already piling into the Great Hall…" Fawkes let out another soft cry, and then he flew onto his perch.

"Daphne!" Ronald exclaimed. "I left her all alone… I'm dead…" Albus let out a hearty chuckle.

"Come along, Ronald" Albus beamed. "I will escort you down. You can tell them that I wouldn't let you go."

"Really?" Ronald smiled in relief. "Thank you, Headmaster!" _Is he really going to use me as an excuse?! HAHA! Excellent!_ Albus then led them both down, and Ronald was looking like his usual self. His eyes were still a bit red though… Albus cast a non-verbal wandless spell to ease the inflammation, and Ronald didn't even notice.

"Headmaster" Ronald broke the silence as they neared the Great Hall. "We never finished our game…"

"True…" Albus smiled softly. "We can play whenever you want Ronald, you know where my Office is."

"Really?" Ronald smiled. "I can just come over?"

"Of course, just ask Professor Snape for the password."

"Professor Snape…" Ronald said softly. _He is still scared… Severus…_

"Do not worry, Ronald" Albus put his hand on Ronald's shoulder as he led them inside. The Hall was packed, and the students were waiting for him to give his address. "Professor Snape did what he did because he is worried for you… He is not good with… emotions…" Albus chuckled.

"I've noticed" Ron chuckled as well. Albus then gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Go on, Ronald" Albus smiled. "You're friends are waiting for you…"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992 (Dinner)**_

Ron shot Dumbledore one more genuine smile before he started to walk down to his friends, the old codger wasn't so bad… Ron shot a quick look to the Gryffindors, and they were looking at him and Dumbledore in confusion. _Jealous?_ Ron then spotted the Trio, and they too were watching him. Neville and Harry looked genuinely baffled, but Hermione was smiling softly at him. Ron decided to give her a soft smile as well, and she was stunned. Ron then reached his friends, and he sat down in between Blaise and Theo.

"Why were you with Dumbledore?" Daphne asked, she sounded worried.

"We played some chess…" Ron smiled at her, and she narrowed her eyes on him.

"I waited for you…" Daphne pouted.

"Sorry Daph, the old man wouldn't let me leave" Ron lied. "Welcome back you guys!" Ron beamed at his friends.

"Good to be back!" Tracey winked at him.

"Tell that to my parents…" Millie shook her head.

"Mine too" Pansy sighed. "This Heir business is ruining Hogwarts…" _I couldn't agree more!_

"Theo has some good news though" Blaise smirked. Ron and the others turned to Theo, and he was wearing a victorious grin.

"I figured out what the monster of Slytherin is…" Theo whispered with his grin in place. Everyone but Blaise went wide-eyed. _Blood hell…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: That was my longest chapter yet! Feels good! I hope you guys enjoyed that, there was a lot to process there! Albus and Severus have officially decided to enter Ron's life, and what a way to do it!**

 **Let me know what you all think! See you guys soon!**


	36. Chapter 36 - Salazar's Legacy

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 36 is here! I decided to add a bit more history into this Chapter because someone suggested that I should. I thought that it was a wonderful idea! Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. The history is the same as Canon, but some more details are added in that may not be Canon (if that makes sense).**

 **2\. To those who are wondering if Ron is done with the Dark Arts, no he is not. A part of him (Tom's soul shard) is drawn to the Dark Arts. Let's not forget that in Canon, Harry was the only one of the Trio to use two of the three Unforgivables! Ron is only twelve, and he still trying to figure out who he wants to be...**

 **3\. The Dark Arts aren't just evil. I don't want things to be that simple minded in this story. A Hero's morality should be challenged, it makes the story more interesting. And life isn't black and white, it's often Grey! That goes for Magic too in this fanfic.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 36 – Salazar's Legacy**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner – Boys' Room)**_

"Okay, now can you tell us?!" Ron demanded, he was tired of waiting for the answer. Theo had insisted that they discuss this in private.

"Alright" Theo chuckled. "So I was going through some of my father's 'Darker' tomes, just for fun you know…" _What the hell?! Tell us what the monster is!_

"Theo!" Tracey shrieked. "Tell us what it is!"

"Hold on" Theo smirked smugly. "Let me have my moment…" Everyone but Blaise blinked at him, while Blaise just chuckled. "So I was going through some of my father's…"

"You already said that…" Millie growled. _He is doing this on purpose, the bastard!_

"Oh, yeah…" Theo chuckled. "Anyway, I thought to myself that maybe father might have some tomes on 'monsters'… And as I was perusing his library, I found a tome called 'Most Macabre Monstrosities' and it detailed the vilest monsters known to Wizard-kind. And one of them caught my eye… The Basilisk!" _A Basilisk… I'm not sure what that is…_

"What's a Basilisk?" Pansy asked slowly.

"The King of Serpents!" Theo exclaimed excitedly, and Ron gulped. _King of Serpents? That sounds bad…_ "I found overwhelming proof that the monster of Slytherin is indeed a Basilisk!"

"Proof?" Daphne muttered, she had gone deathly pale. Theo smiled like a Cheshire cat as he pulled out a torn page from his robes.

"Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents." Theo read in a clear voice. "This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it."

"But no one has died from the attacks…" Tracey said softly.

"Mrs. Norris did…" Millie quickly added, she sounded rather sad. _She loves cats, so it makes sense…_

"Theo and I did some more research" Blaise joined in. "It turns out that a Basilisk can cause Petrification as well… If someone sees its eyes through a reflection of sorts, they don't die. They become Petrified instead. Think about the attacks for a second… Colin Creevey always used his camera! Justin Flinch-Fletchley was found in front of a ghost! I think that neither boys saw the Basilisk's eyes directly, they saw it through a reflection of sorts…"

"That isn't all!" Theo exclaimed. "Only a Parseltongue can control a Basilisk! That's why breeding them was banned in the Middle-Ages… They were too fucking dangerous, and they couldn't be controlled by any wizard or witch!" The excitement in Theo's voice was terrifying. "But the Heir is a Parselmouth, and therefore they can control it…"

"So it really is a Basilisk…" Ron said in an awed voice. _King of Serpents… FUCK! THE VOICE I'VE BEEN HEARING! No one else can hear it but me! SHITE!_ Ron felt the blood drain from his face, and he sat down on his bed slowly.

"Ron…" Daphne said softly. "Are you alright?"

"I have something to tell you all…" Ron muttered. "I've been hearing this voice all over the castle for a couple of months now… None of you can hear it, or anyone else for that matter… But I can. I thought it was all in my head, or maybe it was the work of a ghost… But now… Now I think that I've been hearing this Basilisk…" Everyone was dead quiet, and Theo wasn't smiling anymore.

"Are you serious?" Theo asked softly.

"You've been hearing voices, and you didn't say a word?" Blaise glared at Ron. "Weasley, why are you so fucking stupid?!"

"Hey!" Tracey yelled at Blaise.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Pansy glared at Blaise. _Blaise is right… I should've said something… But I was worried that this was another side-effect from my visions… Like the Entity… I can't tell them that though…_

"If he had said something, we might have figured out that he was hearing Parseltongue…" Blaise frowned at Ron. "People were getting attacked, and he didn't say a word…"

"Sorry…" Ron muttered as he rubbed his forehead. He could already feel a guilty headache coming on… _If I had said something, then maybe Colin or Justin might not have been attacked…_

"Since when do you care if some Muggle-Borns get attacked?" Daphne snapped at Blaise.

"I don't" Blaise shot back. "But that thing could've hurt one of us too!"

"Blaise is right" Ron sighed, he didn't want them all arguing right now. "I should've said something, and I didn't. I'm sorry… But now that we know what it is… We should tell the Professors…"

"Should we?" Theo asked with a sigh. Everyone looked to the weedy boy, and he sighed again. "'Salazar Slytherin leaves behind a Basilisk to kill all Muggle-Borns'… That's how the Daily Prophet will report this. Do you understand?"

"You think the houses will turn on us?" Millie asked, and Theo nodded.

"They already have…" Theo shrugged. "But it'll get worse… A lot worse. Why should we be made to suffer for someone else's actions?"

"We have an obligation to bring this forward, Theo" Ron frowned. "People could die…" A heavy silence descended onto the group, all of them were weighing their options. _We should tell the Headmaster at least… But what if Theo is right? Do I really want people turning on us even more? What about the girls? They don't deserve to be hated just because Salazar left behind a monster like the Basilisk… My own Gryffindor friends turned on me just because I'm a Slytherin, what will people do after they find this out? They'd chase us out of this school!_

Ron's stomach turned at the thought, and he gazed around the room. All of his friends looked to be in deep thought, and that made him slightly angry. They didn't deserve this… They were all just kids! Why did they deserve to be hated just because of other people's actions? _My own mother said that Slytherin was 'twisting me'… That is after she slapped in me front of every adult… But it wasn't the house that was responsible for my actions, I was. I let the Dark Arts get to me…_ Ron rubbed his forehead and sighed, this was too stressful. The fate of Slytherin house had fallen on their shoulders with this discovery…

"I say we keep this to ourselves" Pansy broke the silence, and everyone looked to her. "The whole school is already against us, but after this gets out… They will treat us like vermin…"

"I agree" Theo nodded firmly. "We don't owe the other houses anything! They've already excluded us just because we're Slytherins…"

"Can you blame them?" Tracey argued. "Our house is not known for being kind and gentle, you know. The majority of Death-Eaters came from this house, not to mention people like Malfoy who go around saying 'Mud-Blood' as if it's a greeting…" Theo frowned at Tracey, she knew that his father was accused of being a Death-Eater. And yet, she was throwing it in his face.

"Did you ever think that maybe they became Death-Eaters because people expected them to?" Blaise added in aloofly. "If everyone hates you, isn't it natural to hate them in return?"

"We're getting off-topic" Ron sighed.

"I don't think we are" Theo argued. "Some fucking Ravenclaw called me a Death-Eater on the train ride here…" What?

"Theo…" Tracey whispered sadly.

"Mate…" Ron said softly. "Who was it?"

"I don't know" Theo frowned deeply. "Some fifth-year… I have never **once** publicly used slurs like 'Mud-Blood', but they don't care about that. No, I'm a Death-Eater to them because I got sorted into Slytherin… Do you remember your own brother, Ron? You told us what he said to you after your sorting…" Ron flinched at that. Ron remembered all too well… Fred had called him a 'little Death-Eater' to his face. And their mother had called everyone within Slytherin 'little Death-Eaters' as well…

"I remember" Ron muttered.

"I think that if **we** are the ones who share this discovery, the other houses might not hate us as much…" Tracey said softly.

"That is a naïve way of thinking, Tracey" Daphne argued. "When have our accomplishments ever been celebrated by the other houses? Just think about Quidditch. Every time we play against a rival team, every house supports the team we're playing against. Or remember last year, when the House Cup was being announced. Everyone was happy that **we** didn't win the House Cup, it didn't matter if they lost… All that mattered to them was the fact that **we** lost. But after Ron secured our win, the other houses sulked for the entire dinner. They won't support us if we share this discovery, they'll find a reason to turn this against us…" Everyone quietly contemplated her words, and even Ron was having trouble digesting them. _Everything she said is true… But still… If people get hurt now, that's on us…_

"People could die…" Millie suddenly whispered. "What if this Basilisk attacks one our own? It can kill you with its stare… What if some first-year Slytherin happens upon it? Their death will be on our hands…"

"Let's take a vote…" Pansy offered. "I say that we keep this to ourselves."

"I agree" Theo joined her.

"Me too…" Daphne said softly, she gave Ron a sorry look.

"I say we tell the Professors" Tracey said firmly.

"I'm with Tracey…" Millie sighed.

"Me too…" Blaise said in a tired tone.

"Blaise?" Theo said in utter shock. _I didn't see that coming…_

"They are going shut this school down…" Blaise sighed. "Just like they did last time… It won't matter what house we're in if there is no Hogwarts. We'll all be split up… We'd lose each other…" The whole room went dead-quiet… Was this actually Blaise Zabini talking?

"You don't know that…" Pansy muttered, she was stunned by Blaise's words. He really did care, didn't he?

"I do know that" Blaise said softly. "We all know that… They would shut this school down for our own safety. Theo and I will end up in Durmstrang… You girls will end up in Beauxbatons… And Merlin knows where Ron would be sent. We would lose each other…"

"Ron… you're the deciding vote…" Daphne said softly. Three against three…

"Blaise is right" Ron said firmly as he came to a decision. "I'm not losing any of you! That's why I'm going to suggest something… I say we find the Heir ourselves. And then we tell Dumbledore about this Basilisk, let him take care of it."

"Well, we were already hunting the Heir down" Theo smiled softly. "Now we just have a clock…"

"We find the Heir for ourselves…" Ron said softly. "Not for the other houses, but for ourselves. We find the Heir so that we can stay together. All of us."

"I like that" Daphne smiled.

"Me too" Millie smiled widely.

"Aw!" Tracey cooed, and everyone groaned at her for ruining the moment. "Look at us… We're so cute!"

"Tracey…" Daphne sighed. As his friends started laughing and scolding Tracey, Ron's mind raced with his own thoughts. _I don't care about the other houses… I care about my siblings, and my friends. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to let this Heir hurt people with impunity! I made a vow to myself when I freed Sirius… I'll protect everyone that I can! Whether I like them or not…_

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **January 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (McGonagall's Office)**_

"I hate this…" Neville frowned as they marched towards McGonagall's office. They were on their way to get their daily detentions for the week… And it was all thanks to Weasley. Harry couldn't even use his new broom anymore, McGonagall forbid it! Wood had been furious when Harry was forced to resign, but at least that anger was pointed towards the actual cause. _Ronald Weasley… Neville was always right about him!_

"Let's just get this done quickly, I don't want to be late for breakfast" Hermione said in a tired tone. She had not taken her near expulsion well. She was always tired, stressed, and she barely ever laughed. Another thing that was Weasley's doing… Hermione then knocked on McGonagall's door, and the old witch answered.

"Come in" McGonagall called. The Trio entered the Office, it smelled of biscuits and tea. Harry loved the smell of this Office. "Ah, you three. Come and take a seat." Harry and his friends did as they were told.

"Good morning, Professor" Hermione greeted with forced politeness. _She must be exhausted…_ Harry noticed the small bags beneath her eyes, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

"I imagine that you are here to collect your detentions" McGonagall said in her usual strict demeanor. The Trio nodded hesitantly. "Well there is no need, you will no longer be serving your detentions." Harry blinked at the Transfiguration Professor.

"Really?" Neville asked slowly.

"Indeed" McGonagall said with a tight frown. "Mr. Weasley told the Headmaster that he no longer wished for you three to be punished."

"He did?" Hermione asked quickly. "When did he ask that?" _Why would he do this?_

"I believe it was Christmas Morning" McGonagall smiled tightly at the sight of Hermione coming back to life.

"He did…" Hermione smiled faintly, her brown eyes regaining their usual fire. _Wait! Does this mean I can play Quidditch again?!_

"Professor, does this mean I can rejoin the Quidditch team?" Harry asked excitedly.

"No, Mr. Potter" McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Weasley made sure that you couldn't do that…" Harry felt his excitement rot in his chest, he was still being forced to resign. "But I suggest that you be grateful considering you will at least have your spare time returned." _That is a small comfort… I love playing Quidditch in my spare time… But he knows that, doesn't he?!_

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione smiled gratefully. "We are grateful." Harry frowned at her, and so did Neville. "Aren't we?" Hermione asked the two boys in a scolding tone.

"Yes, Professor" Harry sighed.

"Thank you, Professor" Neville smiled softly.

"You are dismissed, and aim your praise at Mr. Weasley" McGonagall said in a strict tone. "You three broke over a dozen school rules, you should be grateful that you weren't expelled." The Trio quickly got up and left before McGonagall decided to enact her own punishment on them.

"We're free!" Hermione exclaimed happily. "No more detentions!"

"Finally…" Neville chuckled, he was visibly relieved.

"I still can't play Quidditch…" Harry frowned.

"At least we don't have to do detentions, mate" Neville smiled sympathetically. _Why did he set us free?_

"See!" Hermione laughed, her happiness making Neville and Harry smile. "I sent him that present! And he forgave us!" Harry's smile fell at that… _I highly doubt it considering that he made sure I couldn't play Quidditch anymore._

"That can't be all of it…" Neville sighed, and Hermione frowned at him. "All I'm saying is that we should think about this!" Neville quickly explained himself. "But you are right, Hermione… Sending him that present was a good idea…" Hermione lifted her nose into the air and smiled proudly.

"Why won't he let me play Quidditch?" Harry frowned as they started making their way down to the Great Hall.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione huffed, and Harry shook his head. "You're the seeker that Slytherin can't beat… He won't let you play because he doesn't want his house's team losing the Quidditch Cup."

"That's so… so…" Harry struggled to find proper words.

"Pathetic, shallow, conceited, and selfish?" Neville provided, and Harry nodded firmly. _His team can't beat me fair and square, so he cheats for them!_

"Cunning" Hermione corrected them. "He is in Slytherin for a reason…"

"He's in Slytherin because he's a snake who uses the Dark Arts…" Harry grit out. _Why is she still defending him?! After everything he put us through! After he attacked me like that!_

"We went behind his back first" Hermione said in a flat-tone as they entered the Great Hall. "Even Sirius agrees with me!"

"No he doesn't…" Harry argued, she had just hit a nerve with Harry. _Why is Sirius still accepting Weasley's letters? And why was he so happy about it?!_

"We didn't go behind his back" Neville joined in. "We were looking out for the school, Hermione. Muggle-Born are being attacked, and we wanted to help. You wanted to help…"

"I didn't want to betray our friend" Hermione said hotly as they sat down at the table. "But you two did…"

"It's not like that" Neville sighed. "None of us want him to be the Heir…"

"And he isn't" Hermione narrowed her eyes on Neville.

"Hermione…" Harry muttered in disbelief. _Was she not there that night?!_ "We all saw him using the Dark Arts… He attacked me like a wild animal, and he laughed while he hurt me… He is not a good person, Hermione. Why can't you see that?! A good person doesn't enjoy hurting others… A good person wouldn't threaten their little sister and leave them with bruises… He was sorted into the same house as Malfoy, for God's sake. If that isn't a red flag, I don't know what is!" Harry drew in a sharp breath as he finished his rant.

"Even the twins are angry with him…" Neville provided.

"The twins?" Hermione scoffed. "Who cares about what those two think?! They treat life like it's a joke… Ron is ten times more mature than them…"

"He got Sebastian Greengrass to help him in strong-arming Dumbledore" Harry seethed. _Why is she so blindly loyal to him?! Why does no one ever question him?!_ Harry felt furious with himself once again, he had been just like them. Neville had begged Harry to see what Ron was really like, but Harry had kept refusing. But now Harry knew that Ron was a liar, he manipulated people by saying things he knew that they wanted to hear, and he enjoyed causing people pain… In Harry's book, that made you a bad person!

"He did that to protect himself…" Hermione said softly, she was losing her resolve.

"It was Harry who needed protection, Hermione" Neville pleaded. "Not only did he get Lord Greengrass' aid, he also asked the Board to side with him. Lucius Malfoy is the chairman of the Board…" Hermione sighed tiredly.

"I'm done talking about this…" Hermione said. "I'm going to eat my breakfast, and then I'm going to go to classes. You two can either come with me, or you can keep making speculations without any facts. It's up to you…"

"We have facts…" Harry muttered. _And they all point to Weasley being a bad person…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (End of Classes)**_

"That was the best thing I've ever seen" Theo laughed as they left the D.A.D.A class. Ron was crimson with embarrassment and rage. _Fucking Gilderoy Lockhart!_ His friends laughing behind his back wasn't helping him either.

"You have a lovely voice, Ron!" Tracey howled with laughter, and Ron's ears burned bright red. Lockhart had just made him 'sing' a limerick from his book 'Travels with Trolls'. Lockhart's reasoning for this was even more insane than the fact that he was making students sing limericks in class. Lockhart had chosen Ron simply because Ron was sometimes referred to as the 'Troll Slayer', a stupid title he had earned in first year.

"One day, I'm going to kill that bastard…" Ron grit out, and his friends laughed even more loudly. Blaise, Theo, and Tracy were in tears, whereas Millie, Pansy, and Daphne were doing their best to stop laughing. "Really, Daph? You too?"

"I'm sorry…" Daphne wheezed. "I can't stop, oh Merlin…" Daphne then let out a cackle that made Ron clench his jaw so hard that it hurt. _Why can't this Basilisk kill Lockhart and save us all the trouble?!_

"Nice singing in there, Weasley" came a voice from behind them, and Ron turned to see Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas sniggering at him. "Maybe you should work in a choir" Finnegan laughed.

"Maybe you should keep moving before I beat the shite out of you" Ron retorted with a menacing glare. Finnegan and Thomas stopped sniggering.

"Whatever…" Thomas spat out. "Death-Eater…" Ron was stunned at that, and so were his friends. But then Blaise grabbed Thomas by his collar, and Finnegan pushed Blaise off.

"BREAK IT UP!" came Lockhart's irritating voice. And then Lockhart split them all up. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you children fighting?"

"Weasley threatened us" Finnegan glared at Ron.

"They called Ron a Death-Eater!" Daphne yelled back. They were drawing a crowd made up of Slytherin and Gryffindor second years. It made sense considering they all just had a D.A.D.A Class together, but it still irked Ron. He could see the Trio looking at him with guarded looks, and that boiled his blood. _Calm down! Don't do something stupid again! Just relax…_

"Is this true?" Lockhart pouted at Finnegan. "That is not a nice thing to call someone… I myself have seen and fought many Death-Eaters, they are no joke…" _FUCKING LIAR! Ugh! Why did Dumbledore hire this idiot?!_

"He threatened to attack us!" Finnegan hissed. "He knows that Dean is a Muggle-Born! That's why he threatened us!"

"I'm not the Heir…" Ron grit out. "And I'm tired of being accused of it…"

"Mr. Weasley, please remain calm" Lockhart shot him a flashy grin. "I am here to help you! Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Thomas, come with me at once!" With that, Lockhart led the two Gryffindors back into the classroom as they growled their displeasure. This left the Gryffindors and Slytherins standing in the corridor, both houses facing each other with disdain. And Ron wasn't surprised to see Malfoy and his goons standing in the back, getting ready to bolt if a fight started.

"Are we going to have a problem here?" Theo asked the Gryffindors with a smirk. "Because I'll remind you that you're two year-mates short…"

"We aren't scared of you" Parvati Patil shot back. _Shite… Lockhart just left us out here like some moron!_

"You're all just bullies!" Fay Dunbar, a Gryffindor girl, shouted.

"Stop it" Hermione said as she jumped into the middle of the two groups. "We'll all get in trouble for fighting…"

"Then maybe you should tell that to your house-mates" Pansy said venomously. The tension was palpable, and Ron already had his right hand on his wand. If a fight did break out, he'd protect his friends.

"Weasley threatened Dean" Neville frowned. "Dean's a Muggle-Born, and Weasley knows it!" _He called me a Death-Eater…_

"So what?" Ron snarled. "His Muggle parentage means nothing to me. What makes him think that he can say whatever he wants?" _And snog whoever he wants… Filthy bastard!_

"Ron, stop it" Hermione pleaded as she stared at him.

"Don't talk to him, Granger…" Daphne snarled.

"Don't talk to her like that" Harry shot back.

"She can talk to her however she wants" Tracey glared at Harry. "Backstabber…" Harry flushed in anger, and Ron stepped forward a bit. _If I see any sudden movements, I'll start throwing Hexes!_

"Go on, give us a reason" Millie threatened. Ron glared at Harry, and the hateful look on Harry's face pissed Ron off to no end. _Ungrateful swine… I saved his damn life!_ Ron could feel his rage coming back, the same rage that he had used to beat Harry into a pulp.

"You really want another rematch, Potter?" Ron glared back at Harry. "Because this time… I'll send you to Pomfrey in pieces…" The Gryffindors exchanged quick looks, but Harry kept his eyes on Ron.

"Ohhh…" came a familiar voice from the end of the corridor.

"What do we have here?" George laughed.

"A little death-match between the little ones?" Fred chuckled. Everyone turned to see the twins walking up to them with massive grins.

"Your brother threatened attack Dean Thomas" Fay Dunbar told them. "And now he's threatening to send Harry back to Pomfrey 'in pieces'…" The twins lost their smiles at that, and they both frowned at Ron. _Great… Now I have to deal with these two…_

"After you lot called him a Death-Eater" Pansy shot back.

"That's not how it happened" Lavender Brown argued. "Dean did that after Ronald threatened to attack him. I heard everything!" _Did she just call me Ronald?_

"Ronnikins" Fred said in a condescending tone. "Is this true?"

"Are you having trouble making friends?" George joined in. They looked quite pleased with themselves when the Gryffindors started laughing at Ron for being mocked by his own brothers. But Ron wasn't even surprised… _Loyalty means nothing to these two, they only care about getting laughs._

"Don't be immature!" Hermione scolded the twins. "You're making things worse!"

"Why are you siding with **them**?" Lavender asked Hermione with a glare.

"I don't want there to be a fight" Hermione told her. "Fighting does not help anyone…" Ron had to admit that he was having trouble with not admiring Hermione right now, but he made sure not to show his admiration.

"Well, now you have us on your side" Fred grinned. "I think we'd win!"

"I doubt it…" Ron shot back, he was beginning to lose his temper. But he had no intention of calming down. "Neither of you would stand a chance against me… You're both as pathetic as your jokes…" Ron smirked when he saw Fred's face flush red.

"You little shite" Fred snarled.

"Fred, calm down…" George whispered to his twin. "Mum would kill us for fighting Ron…"

"Ron, stop it please" Hermione looked at him pleadingly. "Don't fight anyone…" Ron stared at her, and she looked extremely distraught. Her brown eyes met Ron's ocean blue ones, and Ron felt his anger ebb a little. _She really is doing her best to stop a fight… A fight that won't help me in the long run… C'mon Ron, calm down… Calm the fuck down…_ Ron shot the twins a dark look, and then he turned around.

"We're leaving…" Ron told his friends, and then he began walking away. _Hermione is right… I'm already on thin ice with my family… Fighting more Gryffindors won't help me at all! Not to mention that Snape will have me expelled…_

"Now who's running scared?!" Fred called out, and Ron ignored his brother. This was the same brother that Ron wanted to save more than anything in the world… _Why are they always against me?! Am I that bad of a brother to have?!_ Ron felt his eyes sting a little when he thought about being mocked by the twins in public, about Ginny ignoring and hating him, and then about his mother hitting him. _Why are they all against me?! They don't even care that I'm being called a Death-Eater by people in their house!_

Ron kept his composure and didn't say a word on his way down to the Slytherin common room, and his friends followed him quietly. They knew when he didn't want to talk, and they didn't want to upset him further. The moment they entered the common room, Ron went straight for his room. Theo and Blaise followed after him without making a sound. And they kept quiet as Ron threw his books onto the bed, glaring murder at "Travels with Trolls'.

"You alright?" Theo asked softly, and Ron turned his glare towards Theo. "Apparently not…" Theo muttered as he put his hand up in surrender. _Theo didn't do anything to me… Actually, he stood up for me._

"I'm fine" Ron sighed as he began to calm down a bit. "Thank you for standing up for me. I… appreciate it…"

"Thomas was out of line" Blaise shrugged. "This is only going to get worse, mate. Quidditch starts on Saturday, and you took Potter from their team. The Gryffindors are playing against Hufflepuff, and they don't stand a chance without Potter."

"Good" Ron said in a dead-tone. "Let them lose…"

"Who am I supposed to bet on?" Theo chuckled, and Ron couldn't help but smile. Being with his two best mates was helping him forget what had just happened.

"Cedric Diggory" Blaise answered. "He's probably the best seeker after Potter."

"What about Malfoy?" Ron asked sarcastically.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response" Blaise said aloofly.

"I think you just did" Theo grinned. Ron chuckled as Blaise just stared at Theo with a dead-look. There was a sudden knock on their door, and then it flung open. Clara Martyris walked into their room with a happy smile on her face.

"Um… sure… Come right in" Blaise frowned at her.

"Thank you" Clara sniggered.

"We could have been naked!" Theo scolded her.

"Trust me, boys" Clara smiled seductively. "You have nothing I haven't seen before…" Ron blinked at her as he felt his cheeks warm up. _I've felt her breasts… With my head… And then she tried to snog me!_ Ron shot a quick glance at her robust chest, and then looked away. _STOP IT!_ "Ron…" Clara called out to him, and his blood froze. _She caught me!_

"Sorry" Ron apologized quickly as he looked at her face. She cocked her head and smiled.

"Okay…" she giggled. "Snape is in the common room, and he's looking for you." _Oh…_ Clara then turned around and began to leave, and Ron quickly followed after her.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Ron asked her in a whisper.

"Why? You're not in trouble, are you?" Clara asked back in a playful voice.

"Of course not…" Ron said softly.

"Not even sure, are you?" Clara giggled. "You are adorable, Ron!" Ron blushed deeply, and he decided to stay quiet. He had no idea on what he should even say to that… They entered the common room, and Snape spotted them immediately.

"My Office, Mr. Weasley" Snape said in a cold voice. "Come along…" Snape then billowed out of the common room, and Ron made to follow him.

"Good luck, Ron" Clara smiled at him as he left. All he could do was smile at her in a bashful manner as he left. He then followed Snape quietly, his mind racing as it wondered what he could have done wrong this time around. They entered the Office, and Ron took his usual seat.

"Now, Mr. Weasley" Snape started. "I heard that there was a scene of some sort that took place outside of Professor Lockhart's classroom. What can you tell me about that?" _Um… Shite…_

"We got into an argument with the Gryffindors, Sir" Ron replied.

"Why?" Snape asked, his face an expressionless mask.

"Dean Thomas called me a Death-Eater…" Ron admitted, he decided to leave out the part where he threatened Finnegan and Thomas. _I don't want him yelling at me again._

"Is that so?" Snape hissed, his expression becoming dark. "And what did you do after that?"

"I walked away with my friends…" Ron answered. "I didn't want to give the Gryffindors anymore reasons to hate me…" Snape stared at Ron for a few seconds.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley" Snape said in a low voice. "You did the right thing by walking away. It appears that I have some detentions to give out. Who else was involved in this? Was Mr. Thomas alone in calling you that?"

"Finnegan was there as well" Ron replied. _He's on my side! Thank Merlin…_ "Professor Lockhart took them away, and then the argument broke out."

"What else happened during this 'argument'?" Snape asked.

"We all shot insults at each other…" Ron said softly. "And I may have… threatened… someone…" Snape blinked at him.

"Who did you threaten?" Snape asked slowly. _Lying is not a good call anymore! He will find out the truth, one way or another…_

"I threatened Potter after I saw him glaring at me" Ron replied honestly. "Then my brothers, the twins, showed up… They mocked me in front of their house-mates" Ron said venomously. "And that's when I decided to walk away…"

"I see…" Snape said softly as he leaned back into his chair. "I commend you for your restraint, Mr. Weasley. As for your brothers… I am sorry." _HUH?!_

"It's… okay…" Ron muttered, he was stunned. "Is there anything else, Sir?"

"No" Snape said softly, and Ron began to stand up. "But if you feel the need to talk, Mr. Weasley… My door is always open for the Slytherins." Ron looked at Snape, and he was looking back with a calm expression.

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled softly. Snape then gave him a curt nod, and Ron left the Office right after that. _At least one person is on my side, even if he did tear into me a few days ago…_ Ron began making his way back to the common room, but an idea popped into his head as he was halfway there. "Marty!" Ron called out, and there was a crack behind him.

"Master Ronald" Marty bowed. "It is good to see you once again!"

"You too, Marty" Ron smiled at his servant. _Marty is what true loyalty looks like… I should reward him soon! He deserves it so much!_ "I need you to come and collect me from the Sanctuary when dinner is about to start."

"Yes, Master" Marty beamed. "Marty will not fail you!"

"You never do" Ron beamed back, and Marty bowed deeply again. Marty then disapparated, and Ron made his way to the Sanctuary.

* * *

 _ **January 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

"Sorting Hat, I need you!" Ron called as he sat in front of the small fireplace.

"Good evening, dear boy!" the Hat spoke from beside him, and Ron smiled down at his friend.

"Good evening, Hat" Ron returned the greeting, and then Ron put the Hat on his head.

" _Ah… this giant melon!"_ the Hat chuckled in his head.

" _Come off it"_ Ron laughed.

" _What can I help you with, Ronald?"_

" _I had some… questions… And I just wanted to talk…"_ Ron replied. " _I've just been wondering about some things lately…"_

" _Hmmm… I can see that… You are conflicted… Those twins! Always the troublemakers… Ah, you spoke with Albus as well… And with Severus…_ " the Hat summarized. _"My, my… A Basilisk, eh? That is grave news indeed, my boy…"_

" _Why did Salazar leave that thing behind?"_ Ron interrupted. _"Did he truly hate the Muggle-Borns that much? Couldn't he understand that his legacy would haunt the rest of us?"_

" _My dear boy… You are truly troubled, I can see that. You've gone through some harsh lessons recently…"_

" _I showed my family that I'm as worthless as they've always thought I was… I lost three friends because I couldn't control myself… And I strong-armed a man I once admired above all others… Sorting Hat, I'm making mistakes after mistakes…"_ Ron admitted, and his eyes began burning. " _I've been doing such terrible things… And even now, I can't stop myself…"_

" _Shhh, Ronald… It's alright, you mustn't forget that you are very young. Everyone makes mistakes, dear boy."_

" _But my own family is starting to hate me…"_ Ron rubbed his eyes, he didn't want to cry. But he was losing that battle… _"The twins… they are angry with me, I know it. Ginny hates me so much, and I don't even know why! I've apologized so many times… My mum… she…"_

" _Ronald, I'm so sorry my boy…"_

" _Is it because I'm in Slytherin? Why did you put me in here?! I told you that they would disown me! And now… Now it's happening slowly…"_ Ron sniffled and rubbed his eyes even harder.

" _I put you in Slytherin because you needed to learn these lessons. When we first met Ronald, I spoke to you about sacrifice. Do you remember?"_ Ron nodded meekly. " _What you want to achieve, changing the future itself, it is not such a simple thing… It will take more determination than you currently have… More cunning, more recourses… But you are learning, my boy… Every day you are learning!"_

" _Learning what? All I do is fail…"_

" _Do you? You out-foxed Albus Dumbledore! You did that!"_ the Hat sighed. _"The truth is that when we first met Ronald, you were a naïve and foolish boy… You viewed the world in black and white, and you would have never achieved such amazing feats with that mindset… Tell me, what would you think of Blaise Zabini if you had met him before your sorting?"_

" _I'd… think that he was a… bigot…"_

" _Exactly! And what do you think of him now?"_

" _He's strong, loyal… brave… And he never backs down if he thinks that someone has wronged him or his friends."_

" _You see, Ronald… A person who is set in their ways can never change the future… The future is malleable, it is what you choose to make it. Choices, Ronald… Choices are everything. But with a mindset like the one you had, your choices would be limited! And as a result, the change that you could make would be limited…"_

" _But I keep feeling like I'm making all the wrong choices…"_

" _You have made mistakes, no one can dispute that. But you have also done amazing things! You have friends who hold you in the highest of regards! You have an ally who followed your lead against Albus Dumbledore himself! That same ally cares about you deeply, even I can see that!"_

" _Lord Greengrass"_ Ron smiled as he thought of his mentor.

" _It is not our mistakes that define us… What defines us is what we learn from them! And you, my dear boy, always come to the right conclusions! And that is something that you do! Not someone else, not me… But you! Please stop doubting yourself, it will not end well for you…"_

" _What about my family, Hat? I want them to… you know…"_

" _You want them to see you for who you are, and not just the house that I put you in…"_

" _They all hate Slytherins… And I've always be just that… The little Death-Eater…"_

" _I do not believe that, Ronald. I do not believe that for even a second… Do not lose heart, my boy. There will be many more struggles ahead… You must be strong! For their sake, if not your own."_ Ron nodded slowly, he was at least feeling less burdened than before.

" _Was Salazar evil? You told me when we first met that he wasn't…"_

" _Salazar Slytherin was a…"_ the Hat sighed deeply. _"He was a troubled man, Ronald. A proud, but troubled man…"_

" _He left a giant serpent behind in order to kill Muggle-Borns!"_

" _Yes, he did… And that is a terrible crime, there is no doubt about that. But you must understand, Ronald… The times when the Founders walked the Earth were much harsher than they are now. The hatred between Muggles and Magical People was deep. Muggles hunted down anyone who showed signs of magic with complete ruthlessness, and this created much fear amongst the Magical Community. The Four Founders founded Hogwarts with the hope that they could train young witches and wizards in a safe environment. All of them were the best of friends, Ronald. And Salazar loved Godric like a brother…"_

" _Then why did he leave?"_ Ron asked softly. _"Why did he betray the other Founders?"_

" _Salazar feared the Muggles… He feared that they would discover Hogwarts, and that they would burn it to the ground… And so, he also feared the Muggle-Borns. To him, they were all potential spies… And that fear festered in his heart, until one day he finally decided to act on it. He brought his concerns to the other Founders, but they did not share his fear. Instead, they told him that he was being foolish and short-sighted. That is when the rift between them started…"_

" _Salazar grew more and more reclusive"_ the Hat continued, and Ron listened with rapt attention. _"He was too proud to admit his fears again, and so he turned inwards. Things in the outside world were getting worse every day, and Salazar became certain that his fears would be realized. That one day, a Muggle-Born would tell the Muggles where the school was. And yet he knew that he could not act… His friends would never allow it. Salazar became bitter towards them, especially towards Godric who refused to even acknowledge Salazar's fears… All of that paranoia and fear eventually got to him… And he left… His last words were 'When this school burns, be it on your heads'…"_

" _You were there, weren't you?"_ Ron asked softly.

" _Yes… The Founders were like my… parents… They created me, they gave me life, and they gave me purpose. I cherished them… And I was there when Salazar fled the castle… Helga wept for months on end… Rowena turned to her books and avoided anything that wasn't made of parchments… And Godric… Godric would just spend his days sitting in Salazar's chair… They never saw him again, and neither did I…"_

" _When did he build the Chamber?"_

" _I imagine he built it just before he left… And that is probably when he hatched that Basilisk as well…"_

" _Why? Why go that far?! He turned into the very thing that he feared! His school is in danger of being shut-down because of his pet…"_

" _Yes… I imagine that he would feel a amount deal of pain if he were here today. He loved this school, Ronald. He truly loved it… But that love became twisted because of his own fears… I believe that he hatched that Basilisk so that his Heir could one day protect the school from those who would betray it…"_

" _I have to stop this, Hat… I can't lose my friends… And we will need Hogwarts in the upcoming war… There is so much at stake! And on top of it all, my own family is slipping out of my fingers…"_ Ron rubbed his forehead firmly. _"Where do I even start?"_

" _Start by clearing your own mind, my boy. You are being spread too thin… You must let some things run their course, which I know is difficult for you considering your power to see the future. You must focus on the biggest problem in front of you, and once it is dealt with, then you can act on the smaller ones."_

" _The biggest problem… The Chamber of Secrets"_ Ron said. _"I have to find the Chamber… It can lead me to the Heir, and to their pet Basilisk…"_

" _There you go, my dear boy. You now have a goal set out… As for your family, let things run their course. They will see you for the brilliant boy that you are, I have no doubt about that."_ There was a sudden loud crack in the room.

"Master, dinner is about to be served!" Marty hurried towards Ron with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron smiled at him as he stood up. _"Goodbye Hat, and thank you…"_

" _I will always come when you call, Ronald. Goodbye."_ And just like that, the Hat was gone.

"Is Master Ronald friends with the Sorting Hat?!" Marty asked in utter awe, and Ron chuckled.

"Yes, Marty" Ron nodded. "The Hat was my first ally in this school… Even when I couldn't see it. I know what I have to do now because of him…"

"How can Marty help you, Master?!" Marty beamed. "Just give Marty an order, and Marty will see it done!" _Think… What can Marty do that I can't?_

"Marty…" Ron said in a soft voice. "I need you to look for the Chamber of Secrets… Find any information that you can, and bring it to me."

"Marty will see it done, Master" Marty nodded firmly. "How long does Marty have?"

"Take all the time you need, Marty" Ron ordered. "And don't you dare put yourself in danger… Is that clear?"

"Master is far too kind! Marty will not fail you!" Marty promised, and then he was gone with a crack.

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Library)**_

She was losing her mind, she was certain of it. At first it was the small things, like her belongings not being where she left them, and then it had escalated to her missing entire days… She would wake up and not be able to remember what she done the previous day… And then, she had woken up with blood on her hands and rooster feathers in her bed. That had been it, she had truly begun to go insane on that day… She also knew now that she was probably behind those attacks, but she dared not admit it. Tom had been her only source of comfort, but even he scared her now. There was something wrong with him lately…

All Tom ever did now was ask her questions about Ron… What Ron did in his spare time? What Ron liked to eat? What Ron's magic capabilities were? How much influence he held in the school? His relationship with Dumbledore? His relationship with her? The questions never ended, and Ginny was getting scared of them. When she would put her foot down, Tom would ask about Harry… He knew that she wanted to talk about Harry, and he was using that. Tom never asked her how she was anymore. Or how her day had been. All Tom wanted to talk about was her brother and her crush. And when she had told Tom what Ron had done to Harry, Tom had become obsessed with Ron. It frightened her… She was beginning to wonder if Tom was behind her missing days… Because every time she blacked out, she'd been writing to him…

So she had begun to ignore Tom… The last time she had spoken with Tom was on Christmas Eve, and she had blacked out that day. She had woken up on Christmas Morning, and her clothes had been torn and filthy… But despite all of that, she still kept him close. He knew things about her… Things that she never wanted him to tell others… And her roommates were busy-bodies.

"Ginny…" came a faint whisper, and it ripped her out of her thoughts. She looked around slowly, her bottom lip quivering. _Tom…_ She'd been hearing him whisper to her lately, and that frightened her most of all. He was just supposed to be a book… "Ginny… Talk to me… I miss you…" Ginny looked at her school bag, and her eyes burned with tears of fear. There was a sudden compulsion in the back of her mind… A compulsion that wanted her to write to him, but she began to resist that compulsion.

"No…" she whispered meekly. "Please… just leave me alone…"

"Ginny… You don't have to be alone… I'm here for you…" Tom whispered in her mind, and she felt her hand reaching into her schoolbag. Ginny let out a soft sob as she pulled the Diary out. _Please Tom… Stop it…_ "It's alright, Ginny… Talk to me… Talk to me… I can help you…" Ginny opened the diary, and her tears fell on the page. The Diary soaked them up, and Tom wrote back.

"I want to see Ronald… Take me to him… Hand me over to him as a gift…" Tom wrote, and Ginny blacked out.

* * *

 _ **January 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dungeons)**_

Ginny was standing in the Dungeons, and she had no idea how she had got here… And then it hit her, she had blacked out again! Ginny whimpered as she looked around, her hands tightening around whatever she was holding. It felt like a… book… Ginny's eyes widened in horror as she recalled what Tom had asked her to do. _Ronnie!_ Ginny looked at the black leather Diary in her hands, and she let out a sob. She was about to give this Diary to Ron… _NO! LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE, TOM!_

Ginny tightened her grip on the Diary almost as if she was scared that it would grow legs and run off. But Ginny didn't even think about her actions, she only had one thought in her head. Ronnie was hers, and she wouldn't let Tom take him away! Ginny broke into a wild sprint straight out of the dungeons. She had to get this Diary away from Ron… She had to get rid of it! Ginny ran as fast as her legs could carry her, and she found herself on the first floor. _Mrs. Norris died here…_ Ginny's chest tightened as her heart ached for that cat, Ginny knew that she was its killer. _I have to throw it away! I can't take it anymore!_ Ginny saw the door to Myrtle's Bathroom, and she sprinted for it. This bathroom was abandoned, no one would come in here!

Ginny slammed into the bathroom door, and she ignored the pain in her right shoulder. The moment she was inside, she hurled the book towards a sink with all of her strength. The black Diary, Tom, went flying towards the sink. Before she could even see it land, she had already turned around and run for it! She ran towards the Gryffindor tower with tears in her eyes. Whether they were tears of joy, or tears of fear, she had no idea. She was both whimpering, and laughing… _I'm free! I never have to see him again! I never_ _ **want**_ _to see him again!_ As Ginny got closer to her common room, she slowed down. She rubbed her eyes clear as she gave the password for the common room, and she ran in once it opened. The moment she entered the room, she felt all her burdens fade away. The common room was warm, filled with laughter, and it smelled of sweets and biscuits. _I'm safe… and I'm free…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor)**_

Ron sat in his usual spot within Lord Greengrass' study, and Lord Greengrass sat in his. Lord Greengrass was sipping some Brandy as Ron sipped his freshly squeezed apple juice. Ron hadn't seen Lord Greengrass since before his Christmas Break, and the two were catching up.

"So you set them free?" Lord Greengrass asked Ron, his tone suggested that he was displeased. _I figured that he would be…_

"Yes, my Lord" Ron replied firmly, he had no intention of second guessing himself. "The point was to send a message, and I did. Keeping them in those detentions was alienating me from my own family, so I decided to stop them."

"I see…" Lord Greengrass nodded softly. "Let us hope that they learned their lesson, then. But considering their actions, I have to disagree with you. Sometimes showing mercy tells the people around you that you are weak."

"I am not weak" Ron said quickly.

"I know" Lord Greengrass smiled. "I meant no offence, it was just some advice. I am curious about one thing though, what did you do to Mr. Potter? He looked quite out of sorts when I saw him in the Hospital Wing." Ron felt his cheeks flush a little.

"I… beat him" Ron answered softly.

"In a Duel? I figured that…"

"No, my Lord" Ron stopped Lord Greengrass. "I beat him… physically…" Lord Greengrass blinked at Ron.

"I see…"

"I disarmed and overpowered him easily enough, but after that… I lost my temper… And then I restrained him with a Curse and beat him" Ron finished with a shameful sigh. They were both silent for a few moments as they quietly sipped their drinks.

"Ron, you shouldn't lose your head like that" Lord Greengrass broke the silence. "The point was to humiliate the boy, not turn him into a martyr."

"I know, my Lord" Ron nodded sheepishly. "It's just that I got so angry when I thought about what they were doing behind my back… How they targeted Daph… How they never trusted me, despite everything I did for them…"

"It's alright, Ron" Lord Greengrass said softly. "What's done is done, now you look forward and move on. Though I am glad that you care for my daughter enough to attack a fellow student" Lord Greengrass chuckled, and Ron blushed. Ron's blush deepened as he thought about how 'close' Daphne and he had gotten during that one night… _I'm sitting in front of her father, and he has no idea!_

"I do care about her, my Lord…" Ron managed to say, and it was apparently the right thing to say because Lord Greengrass smiled. They were both silent again for a few moments, but Lord Greengrass suddenly broke the silence.

"Tell me something, Ron" Lord Greengrass started. "How did you defeat Mr. Potter so easily? You must be quite decent at Dueling, and from what my daughter has told me, you seem to have a wide array of spells at your disposal."

"I know more spells than those around me…" Ron answered slowly, should he tell Lord Greengrass about Pandora's ring? _No, I'll keep that to myself for now._ "And I practice Dueling in my spare time." _Well, that's not a total lie…_

"Is that so?" Lord Greengrass smiled, he sounded rather intrigued. "And would you say that you are rather skilled at it? When compared to your fellow year-mates, of course."

"I would say that I am the best amongst them" Ron replied softly, he didn't want to sound arrogant. But he wasn't stupid either, he knew all too well that he could easily overpower most fifth years with his wide array of knowledge. _Thank you Charlie!_

"Hmmm…" Lord Greengrass hummed, and Ron gave him a guarded look. _What is he up to?_ "Tell me, Ron, what would you say if I offered to hire you a tutor?"

"A tutor, my Lord?" Ron asked with wide-eyes. "For Dueling?"

"Yes" Lord Greengrass smirked. "Would you accept?"

"Of course, who wouldn't?" Ron replied. "But my Lord, I don't really have much spare time…"

"You will in the holidays, won't you?" Lord Greengrass asked. "After all, you'll be staying here for a quite a while."

"I will?" Ron muttered, he didn't know about this! _What does he mean by that? Does he expect me to spend my holidays here? Mum would never let me…_

"My daughter didn't tell you…" Lord Greengrass sighed.

"Tell me what?" Ron asked.

"I wanted you to spend some more time with us" Lord Greengrass explained. "I asked my daughter to inform you of this, and I assumed that she had. I asked her before the Yule Break…" _Daphne!_

"She did not mention it…" Ron sighed. "She probably planned to tell me at the last second so I couldn't think about it too much…"

"That does sound like my daughter" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "I'm sorry about her behavior, Ron. She can be quite… forceful…"

"I've noticed…" Ron blushed as he remembered the night he 'showed' her his scars.

"Have you?" Lord Greengrass teased, but his tone was slightly irked.

"Um… I meant that…" Ron started but Lord Greengrass raised his hand to stop him.

"I was only joking, Ron" Lord Greengrass smirked. "So it's settled then. You will spend more time with us, and I will hire you a tutor for Dueling. Excellent…" _But I didn't even agree…_ "Now, let's get to work. I have a lot things planned for you today." _And he called Daphne forceful…_

* * *

 _ **January 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dinner)**_

Ron walked into the Great Hall with a quick pace, he was late to dinner. Lord Greengrass had made him work his arse off today, and then he had beaten Ron in four matches back-to-back. It was a humbling experience, but Ron could see that he was improving. As could Lord Greengrass, judging by his strong pat on Ron's back. Ron quickly made his way to the Slytherin table, and he took his seat in between Theo and Blaise as he greeted his friends.

"How was your day?" Tracey asked him.

"It was long… but I enjoyed it" Ron smiled at her.

"Well… That's good" Pansy said with a sheepish look. _Is something wrong?_

"The Gryffindors are out for your blood, mate" Theo said bluntly. Ron just blinked at Theo.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Their team got annihilated without Potter" Blaise smirked. "They had some oaf named Cormac McLaggen as their new seeker, and Diggory destroyed him. Gryffindor lost 270-30… It was rather embarrassing."

"I thought it was great" Millie chuckled, but then she quickly stopped. "Sorry, Ron…"

"No, it's okay" Ron reassured them all. "Potter made his bed, now he needs to sleep in it. I don't care if Gryffindor lost, they aren't my house-mates."

"Good" Daphne smiled at him. "How is my father?"

"He is doing well" Ron smirked. "And he was extremely pleased when I 'accepted' his offer to spend the holidays with your family…"

"Oh…" Daphne blushed.

"Oh, indeed" Ron chuckled. But his chuckle died as he spotted the Gryffindors from the corner of his eyes. They were glaring at him, especially the older students. _Well, I expected them to be sour… Guess I need to look over my shoulder from now on._ Blaise saw Ron looking at the furious Gryffindors, and he frowned.

"Ron, you're to spend every minute with one of us" Blaise said as he cut into his steak. "Do you understand?"

"Aw… Blaise…" Ron cooed, and Blaise glared murder at him. The girls and Theo chuckled at Blaise's irritation, and his protective behavior. "Fine… Who wants to volunteer for 'Ron duty'?" Ron asked everyone sarcastically.

"I will" Mille answered immediately. Ron gave her a smile and a nod, she'd definitely have his back.

"We all will" Daphne said firmly.

"Count me out, mate" Theo chuckled. "I'd rather not get caught in the… OW!" Theo suddenly yelped, and Tracey gave him an innocent smile. "My shins…"

"We should all stick together" Pansy suggested. "We'll be safest that way… Things are getting worse for us Slytherins because of recent events, I caught two third year Hufflepuff boys bullying a first year Slytherin girl today…"

"Wait… Hufflepuffs?" Tracey asked her in disbelief. "Since when do Hufflepuffs bully anyone?"

"They're following the trend" Millie sighed. "According to the other houses, it's about time we Slytherins 'pay for our crimes'… And people like Malfoy aren't helping…" Ron rubbed his forehead and he sighed, when was Malfoy going to become the hero from his vision? _Maybe he needs a small push in the right direction? Ugh… Sod it… Not my problem…_

"Why isn't Dumbledore doing anything?" Daphne pouted.

"I'll ask him…" Ron sighed out.

"You'll ask him?" Blaise blinked. "Since when are you two so close?"

"We aren't" Ron shrugged. "But he did invite me to play chess with him whenever I want… I'll take him up on that offer."

"Building connections?" Theo smiled. "I'm so proud of you…"

"Thanks, dad" Ron grinned.

"Anytime, son" Theo replied in a deeper tone. Dinner proceeded like usual after that, they made jokes and had banter. And once dinner was done, they all moved towards the exit as a unit. Ron hated admitting this, but they were all ready for a fight. And all because Ron had turned them into targets… _What's done is done, look forward and move on!_

"Ron, we need to talk to you" came Fred firm voice, and all seven Slytherin turned to face the twins. They looked more than annoyed with Ron, even George was quite unhappy. _Guess they took their loss to heart…_

"Sorry, we have better things to do" Theo smirked at Fred.

"Are you Ron?" George glared at Theo.

"I don't think you are" Fred added in.

"But it makes sense that you think you are" George followed up.

"Considering that you're both snakes" the twins said at the same time. _Yeesh…_

"You think we'll let you talk to him after that" Millie glared at the twins.

"He's our brother…" Fred hissed.

"When it suits you" Daphne shot back. The twins flushed with anger, and their eyes glinted in a terrifying manner. Ron knew that if this little bout kept going, Ron's friends would regret it. _They don't know what the twins are capable off…_

"What do you want?" Ron asked his brother in a calm tone. "We can talk in the courtyard."

"Ron, no…" Tracey whispered in his ear. "It could be a trap…"

"My friends come with me though, just for safety reasons…" Ron added to the twins.

"Safety reasons?!" Fred fumed.

"We're your brothers, you git!" George foamed at the mouth.

"You burned a hole through my tongue with an Acid Pop when I was seven…" Ron reminded them. "And you laughed while I cried for hours…" The twins flinched at that, but Ron's friends were horrified.

"You fucking bastards…" Blaise grit out. "Ron isn't going anywhere with you two. Fuck off." Blaise then grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him off. _Oi! Ease up! You'll wrinkle my robes!_

"Blaise… what are you doing?" Ron asked as he followed his dark-skinned friend.

"There is no way we're letting you near them" Daphne scolded. "Is that story true?!"

"Yeah…" Ron admitted. "Believe it or not, that still isn't the worst thing they've done to me…"

"Merlin…" Pansy muttered. "Ron, I'm really sorry…"

"It's alright" Ron reassured them. "That's just what the twins do… It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" Millie asked with confused look. _Yeah… It's just me and Percy anyway… The twins would never do that to Ginny or Charlie or Bill._

"It's now clear to me that Ron has masochistic personality" Theo chuckled, but he stopped when Tracey smacked his arm.

"That's not funny, Theo" Tracey scolded the weedy boy. "What do you think the wanted? Personally, I doubt that it was anything good…"

"Well, we'll never know now" Ron frowned as they entered the common room. "Seriously Blaise, what is up with you lately? You've gone full mother-hen on all of us!"

"Because none of you understand the danger we're in" Blaise frowned back. "There is a Basilisk on the loose, the Heir of Slytherin is still at large, the Gryffindors want to do you in, and the rest of the houses are following suit… We can't afford to make mistakes and be caught out. We've made a lot of enemies very quickly, and we're just second years…"

"We should go to the Triumvirate" Daphne suggested, and Ron nodded at that.

"That's a good idea, Daph" Ron agreed. "They could help us out…"

"They have their hands full with their N.E.W.T.S" Theo sighed. "And let's be honest… They are terrible leaders. They haven't given us one speech or edict since the start of the year… Their influence in this house only exists due to their titles, but no one respects them for who they are…"

"So we're on our own?" Millie frowned.

"What about the sixth years?" Pansy suggested. _Sixth years… Carey Ductu, Clara Martyris, and Samantha Selwyn… They are bound to be the next Triumvirate, I should go to them instead._

"Let me worry about the sixth years" Ron smirked. "I have a plan…"

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **January 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner)**_

"We should stop this…" Hermione whispered to Neville. They were just coming out of the Great Hall when they had spotted Weasley and his friends arguing against the twins. Harry had stopped Neville and Hermione, and then instructed them to hide around the corner and watch.

"No, we shouldn't" Harry whispered. "I want to see this…" _At least Harry now sees Weasley for what he is! Everyone does… Everyone except Hermione._

"This is an invasion of privacy" Hermione hissed, and Neville sighed.

"Hermione, they're standing near the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall…" Neville whispered. "I doubt they care about their privacy right now." Hermione gasped as Blaise Zabini suddenly dragged Ron away from the twins, and Ron's friends followed.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, she had quickly forgotten her guilt. _That's Hermione for you, she loves a good mystery!_

"I don't know" Harry whispered. "But I think Weasley is at odds with his family… Blimey, the twins are coming." They all hugged the wall that they were hiding behind.

"You know what George" came Fred's voice, it was laced with anger. "I think it's time we teach Ronnikins a lesson…"

"Too true, Fred" George replied with a cold voice. "And to think I was trying to defend him…"

"Our 'Lord' brother is certainly getting a big head" Fred mused.

"Perhaps we should shrink it, for his own benefit" George added.

"A wonderful idea" the twins said together, their voices sounded rather sinister. _Weasley is so done for… Good._ Neville wanted to see Ron be kicked down a peg, or two… After what he had done to Harry, no one deserved it more.

"We need to warn Ron" Hermione whispered, and Neville frowned at her.

"Why?" Neville asked.

"Because he warned us about Malfoy last year" Hermione shot back. "Or have you forgotten the time when you and Harry were too stupid to listen to me?"

"She's… right…" Harry sighed, and Neville blinked at him.

"What? Harry…" Neville muttered in disbelief.

"We owe him for that, but once we warn him… He can go and rot for all I care" Harry said coldly. The Trio moved out of their hiding spot as the twins walked back into the Great Hall. As they started making their way up to Gryffindor tower, they spotted an angry Filch coming towards them.

"Damn ghost! Always crying…" Argus Filch complained loudly. _Why is he soaked?_ "Now I have to mop all night, again! It's not like I have anything better to do! No… This is the final straw! I'm going to talk to Dumbledore right now! Move out of my way!" Filch yelled as he pushed the Trio aside.

"Yeesh…" Neville muttered. "What's his problem?"

"Didn't you hear him?" Hermione asked in a haughty tone.

"He was talking about Myrtle" Harry quickly answered. _He was, wasn't he? Did she soak him?_ "We should go and see!" Harry exclaimed as he turned and ran towards the first floor. Neville and Hermione followed after him, as they always did. When they got to the first floor, they immediately noticed that it was flooded…

"Ugh… my robes" Hermione complained.

"It's coming from the bathroom" Neville said as his eyes spotted the water rippling at the base of the door. "C'mon…" Neville pushed the door open, and his friends followed after him. They could already hear Moaning Myrtle crying loudly.

"Myrtle, what's wrong?" Harry called out to the ghost, and she flew out of a cubicle.

"Oh… It's just you three…" Myrtle mewled. "What do you want? Plan to throw more things at me?!"

"What? No, never!" Hermione exclaimed. "Who threw something at you, Myrtle?"

"I don't know…" Myrtle replied with a cry, it was earsplitting. _Her voice is so… hard to listen to… But I feel bad for her, why would anyone want to do that to her? Everyone knows she takes things to heart…_

"Does it really matter if people throw things at you?" Harry asked slowly, and both Neville and Hermione frowned at him. _Really, Harry? Really?_ "I mean, you're a ghost… It would just go through you…"

"Let's all throw books at her then!" Myrtle shrieked, and the Trio covered their ears. "So funny, HA HA! Let's see if we can get it through her chest, or her head! So much fun!"

"Myrtle, Harry didn't mean that" Hermione tried to calm down the ghost. "He just said something foolish, that's all…"

"Who threw it at you, Myrtle?" Neville asked with a soft smile. He didn't like bullies, and Myrtle was clearly a victim of bullying in her life.

"I didn't see them…" Myrtle sniffled. "I was just in the U-bend, minding my own business… And then it went through me" she wailed. "It… it got washed out though… It's over there, in the corner…" Myrtle then let out a pained sob and flew away. _I know she soaked us in toilet water, but I still feel really bad for her…_

"Hmmm…" came Hermione voice from behind them, she had already picked the Diary up. "It's empty…" Neville and Harry looked over her shoulders, and Neville was underwhelmed at the Diary. It was a simple, black leather Diary… There was nothing special about it. "WAIT!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, her voice extremely excited. _What does it say?!_

"What?" Harry asked her with wide eyes.

"This name… on the Diary's first page… T. M. Riddle" Hermione gasped. "I know it! T. M. Riddle received an award for Special Services to the School fifty years ago!" _Huh?!_

"How do you know that?" Neville asked in astonishment, did she know everything?

"Professor McGonagall made me clean the Trophy Room every day when we had our detentions…" Hermione said as she turned to face the boys. "I cleaned **his** trophy so many times!"

"Fifty years…" Harry muttered, and Neville looked at his best friend. Harry was in deep thought.

"He got it from Vauxhall Road, London" Hermione told them as she read the name of the newsagent printed on the back. "He must've been Muggle-Born…"

"Why?" Neville asked, he was getting lost.

"Because Vauxhall Road is in Muggle London" Hermione told him. "No wizard would buy a common Diary from Muggle London…"

"That makes sense…" Neville agreed. _I know I never would._

"The Chamber opened fifty years ago…" Harry joined in suddenly. "And Riddle got his trophy fifty years ago… I think he saved the school from the last Heir of Slytherin fifty years ago. And if he was Muggle-Born, that would make all the more sense. It's too bad that it's empty…"

"Wait" Hermione smiled as she pulled out her wand and tapped it on the Diary three times. "Aparecium!" Hermione chanted, but nothing happened. "Harry… hold this for me" Hermione said as she handed him the Diary. Hermione then ruffled through her robe pockets, and she pulled out a red eraser. "This is a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley!"

"You just carry that around?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"You carry around a Remembrall" Hermione shot back haughtily.

"That's fair…" Neville sighed. Hermione took the Diary back from Harry, and she rubbed the Revealer on multiple pages. It did nothing…

"Ugh… There's nothing here…" Hermione pouted, she sounded extremely frustrated.

"Then why would someone throw it away?" Harry mused.

"They probably had a good reason to" Neville provided. "We should leave it… It could be dangerous…"

"Why would it be dangerous?" Hermione asked as she put her hands on her hips. "T. M. Riddle was a Muggle-Born who saved the school…"

"We're keeping it…" Harry said before Neville could even open his mouth. "Hermione, let me have it."

"Why?" Hermione narrowed her eyes on Harry.

"Because it could be trouble" Harry smiled at her. "You don't want to break the rules, do you?" Neville held back his chuckle as Hermione looked genuinely scared.

"Um… No…" Hermione muttered. "Here, take it…" Hermione said as she handed the Diary off to Harry.

"We should leave…" Neville joined in. "Filch is probably on his way back right now…" The Trio exchanged quick looks, and then they bolted out of the bathroom.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! The Trio found Tom... while Ron is getting ready to face the fallout from his actions. Things are picking up for the second years, and I still got plenty of twists and turns!**

 **See you guys soon!**


	37. Chapter 37 - Family Meeting

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 37 has been delivered! Right out of the oven!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 37 – Family Meeting**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

"This porridge is gross" Theo sighed as he put his spoon down. Everyone rolled their eyes, Theo had been particularly moody over the last two days. Theo's father had found out that Theo had torn a page out of one of his tomes, and he was not pleased with his son.

"What's wrong with it, Theo?" Tracey gave him smile. _I don't know how she's putting up with this…_

"It's too runny" Theo frowned at the porridge.

"You can have mine" Tracey offered, and Theo accepted her bowl. He had a spoonful and smiled.

"This is good, thank you Tracey" Theo turned his smile to her. Tracey had a soft blush on her cheeks, and Ron blinked at her. _What is this? I know they've been getting along, but this is just odd._

"Ron, your brothers are glaring at us again" Blaise sighed. "It's ruining my breakfast." Ron looked to the Gryffindor table and spotted the twins just staring at him, and their eyes held mischief. _Oh fuck!_ Ron then noticed Percy staring at the twins with a frown, and Ron couldn't help but smile. _He knows! They're buggered!_

"You're brothers are annoying me" Daphne frowned. "They keep shooting those dark looks at us, and other people are starting to join them. Some bitch named Katie Bell told me off for just being near the seventh floor…"

"What were you doing up there?" Millie asked Daphne.

"I was going up to the Sanctuary to find Ron" Daphne shrugged, and everyone turned to Ron. _Thank you, Daphne! Great job as always…_

"You idiot" Theo muttered. "Didn't we just agree to stick together at all times? When did you even get a chance to sneak off?"

"Was it when Snape 'summoned' you in his Office yesterday?" Pansy asked him. "And why didn't you tell us Daph?" _Great… Now we're both in trouble… Stellar work, Daph!_

"I just needed some space" Ron sighed. "We've been attached at the hip for the last four days."

"And I knew that he was lying so I decided to keep an eye on him" Daphne added in.

"Hmmm" Tracey hummed, and Ron could already feel the cringe coming on. "Sneaking around behind our backs, eh?" Tracey said in a suggestive tone, and Daphne flushed red. Even Ron blushed a little.

"I didn't even know she was following me!" Ron quickly exclaimed.

"Sure…" Tracey shrugged with a grin. _Wow!_ Ron's face felt hot at the insinuation, and he could see that Daphne was about to explode. _Oh Merlin…_

"Hello. Can I sit with you?" came Luna's voice, she had suddenly appeared behind the girls.

"Luna!" Pansy squealed. "Come and sit with me so I can hold you!" Luna smiled airily as she sat down, and Pansy clung to her immediately. "You're so cute, Luna!" Ron couldn't help but smile at how good his friends were to Luna. The girls adored Luna, and they'd shower her with hugs whenever they could. _Well, Luna is really cute. Especially how she doesn't even seem to register their hugs!_

"How are you, Luna?" Ron asked his sister, and she smiled at him.

"I'm doing well" Luna hummed as she patted Pansy's arm, the girl was just holding onto Luna tightly. "How are all of you? I know that things have been a little strained between the houses."

"Aw" Daphne cooed. "Luna you're so sweet! We're doing well, don't worry about us."

"I'm not worried" Luna smiled at Daphne. "You have Ron on your side, he'll make sure everything turns out alright." Ron blushed a little at that as the girls giggled at Luna's words.

"Where would we be without our fearless leader?" Blaise smirked, and Ron frowned at him.

"Not you too, mate" Ron sighed.

"Parvati sends her greetings, Ron" Luna said softly, it sounded like she was revealing some big secret. "Not all the Ravenclaws are against you guys because many of us remember that you helped us out." _Is that so?_

"Really?" Millie asked Luna, and Luna nodded.

"It's true" Luna explained. "Everyone knows what Harry and his friends were trying to do, and not everyone is taking their side blindly. Some of the older Ravenclaws don't like the Gryffindors. They say that the Gryffindors think that they own this school."

"This is great news" Theo smirked. "Ron, we can use this!" _Ever the opportunist, eh? Even when he's sulking about._

"What do you suggest?" Pansy asked Theo.

"We approach them, and offer them a hand in friendship" Theo suggested. "Ron, have you spoken to Carey and her friends yet?"

"No" Ron sighed. "I'll do that today."

"Make sure you do" Theo instructed. "And then tell them that you can get the Ravenclaws on our side."

"How?" Millie asked Theo.

"We can figure that out later" Theo shrugged. "Probably bribe them or something like that..."

"And you want to bring in Carey and her friends because they're older than us" Daphne mused. "The older Ravenclaws will understand that we really do want to be allies, especially if the older Slytherins are involved."

"Thanks, Luna" Ron smiled at his sister. "You've helped us a lot!"

"I know" Luna hummed, and then she smiled slyly. _Wait… Hold on a second… There's no way she planned that… Did she?_ Luna's sly smile attracted the attention of his friends.

"The Ravenclaws don't even know that you're here, do they?" Blaise smirked.

"Of course they do" Luna hummed. "They just don't know what I told you. They don't even know that I know." _Luna… Bloody Hell…_

"Marry me?" Theo smirked, and Ron instantly smacked him.

* * *

 _ **January 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

"I'm going to fail D.A.D.A at this rate…" Ron sighed. "Fucking Lockhart!" Daphne smacked Ron's arm.

"Language Ron" Daphne frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you that cussing in front of a Lady is rude?"

"Cussing?" Ron grinned at her, and her frown deepened.

"I'm serious, Ron" Daphne said haughtily.

"What the hell is a Wampus?" came Blaise's voice.

"It's a magical cat native to the United States" Millie answered excitedly. "It is extremely powerful, fast, and almost impossible to kill! They are also rumored to be great hypnotists! The Ministry of Magic has given them a 'XXXXX' rating, which is the same as the Basilisk!" _Wow… Millie sure knows a lot about this creature._

"I see" Blaise muttered. "And Lockhart wrestled one into submission?"

"What?!" Ron and Theo exclaimed.

"It is right here in his autobiography, Magical Me" Blaise sighed. "That man is full of it."

"No he isn't, don't be so jealous Blaise" Pansy huffed. The girls all narrowed their eyes on Blaise, and he cocked his eyebrow in return. _Lockhart is full of shite… Wrestled a Wampus… Damn liar!_

"Maybe he should help us with this Basilisk problem?" Theo chuckled.

"I'd rather get eaten" Ron frowned.

"Jealousy is not a good look on you, Ron" Daphne smirked, and Ron felt his temper flare a bit.

"I'm not jealous of Lockhart" Ron said in a low voice.

"Sure, Ron" Daphne hummed with an innocent smile. Ron was about to say something that he'd one day regret, but there was a sudden loud crack that stopped him.

"Master, Marty brings news!" Marty bowed, he was standing on the table in the middle of the group.

"You found the Chamber?!" Ron smiled widely, his excitement growing rapidly. _Marty! He came through for me!_

"No… Master Ronald" Marty said sadly, he looked ashamed of himself. _Oh…_

"That's alright, Marty" Ron said softly, it was hard to hide his disappointment.

"But Marty learned something very peculiar, Master" Marty said nervously.

"What did you learn?" Ron asked.

"The Elves are all talking about this" Marty replied. "Marty overheard them speaking of the pipes, Master."

"The pipes?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, the pipes" Marty replied. "Some of the Elves were cleaning the pipes, you see… And they found a lot of slime…"

"Slime?" Pansy pulled a face. "Ew!"

"This slime was not normal, Master Ronald" Marty said with a hopeful look. He did not want to fail Master Ronald completely… "There was so much of it, you see… None of the Elves know where it came from, but Marty overheard a few of the Elves talking about the snake scales that they found in the pipes." It all clicked in Ron's head immediately. _The pipes… I thought the Basilisk was a ghost because its voice came from inside a wall… But it came from the pipes in the walls! MARTY, YOU GENIUS!_

"MARTY!" Ron exclaimed happily as he stood up, and everyone was taken by surprise. "You just helped me solve a massive mystery!"

"Marty did?" Marty asked, his big blue eyes widening.

"Yes, you did!" Ron patted Marty's back sportingly, and Marty beamed as he puffed his chest out a bit. "I know why no one has seen a massive Basilisk around the school! It's using the pipes to travel around the school! It's in the damn walls!"

"Shite…" Theo muttered as the girls went wide-eyed.

"That explains the water…" Blaise nodded to himself. "Every time there is an attack, the ground is soaked. And it's all because it comes out of the plumbing system… Ron, that's brilliant!"

"Marty just cracked this whole thing open!" Ron laughed, he felt overjoyed at this victory! _We're one step closer now! The Chamber has to be connected to the plumbing system! That's how the Basilisk travels without being seen!_

"Marty did not fail Master?!" Marty asked excitedly, he couldn't believe this!

"What?!" Ron smiled widely at him. "Marty, you've outdone yourself! Thank you, for everything!" Marty smiled so widely that Ron feared for his face, and then Marty bowed deeply.

"Marty is proud to serve!" Marty sniffled. _Is he crying from joy?!_

"Well done, Marty" Daphne smiled at him. "You never disappoint."

"Good job" Millie nodded at the Elf with a smile.

"I want a House-Elf just like him" Tracey laughed. "Daphne, help a girl out!"

"Thank you" Marty sniffled. "You are all too kind…"

"You've earned it, Marty" Ron gave his Elf another pat on the back.

"May Marty please sleep?" Marty asked with a joyous smile, and Ron blinked.

"Marty, you haven't slept?" Ron asked slowly. "How long has it been?"

"Since Master asked Marty for help" Marty smiled sheepishly. _WHAT?! Marty…_

"Marty" Ron gasped. "It's been like eight days! Why?"

"Because Master needed help from Marty" Marty replied like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Marty!" Ron scolded. "You're health is more important to me than the mission I gave you… Didn't I tell you not to risk your health?"

"Forgive Marty, Master… Marty wished to help as quickly as possible."

"Marty" Ron sighed. "Please eat and sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow. And… Well done. You've done an amazing job." Marty smiled proudly, and then he was gone with a crack.

"That's some loyalty" Pansy muttered. "Eight days…"

"Are all House-Elves like that?" Ron asked Daphne.

"Marty has always been like that" Daphne chuckled. "I remember when we were kids, and Tori got really sick. Marty spent five days sitting by her side, he didn't rest for even a moment."

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered as he sat down again. "I should probably make my orders more precise for him. I don't want him running himself into an early grave…"

"But he did help us a lot" Millie smiled widely. "Now we know how the Basilisk travels around the school."

"The plumbing system" Tracey shuddered. "Imagine going to the loo, and a Basilisk pops right out of a toilet."

"Imagine if you're sitting on that toilet…" Theo grimaced, and Tracey giggled loudly.

"The Chamber itself has to be connected to the plumbing system of Hogwarts" Ron told them. "The Basilisk uses those connections to leave the Chamber, and then re-enter it."

"And the Chamber has to be big enough to hold a thirty to forty foot serpent" Theo mused. "It would need to be massive."

"Then it has to be underneath Hogwarts…" Blaise tapped his chin.

"How far underneath?" Daphne asked. "We need to find out how far the plumbing system reaches into the ground."

"Wait" Tracey jumped in. "The ground… So the Chamber is nowhere near the Slytherin common room?"

"Exactly" Blaise smirked. "The Dungeons are submerged in the Black Lake. That's why they are the coldest part of the castle, and why we see fish when we look out of the windows in the common room." _Wait a minute… I might know where to start looking…_

"The attacks" Ron started, and everyone looked to him. "We map out where all the attacks happened… Past and present. We find any records we can, and then we focus in on the location of the Chamber from there." Pansy got up quickly, and then she moved everything away from the table.

"We should draw a map of the school!" Pansy exclaimed excitedly. "That will help us visualize everything!" Pansy then placed a piece of parchment on the table. "Engorgio" Pansy chanted as she waved her wand in a circle. The parchment became as wide and as long as the table surface.

"Nice" Millie praised Pansy, and the raven haired girl blushed.

"Let's make a map" Ron smiled at his friends.

* * *

 _ **January 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Going to Dinner)**_

Turns out that making a map between seven people was extremely difficult, they had spent most of their time arguing on where what should be. Ron decided to keep the Marauder's Map a secret, it was too great of an advantage to simply reveal. He knew he was hiding this from his own friends, but he knew that they would understand. _They'll just say that I acted like a proper Slytherin._ As Ron and his friends made their way into the Entrance Hall, they were suddenly stopped by the Golden Trio. _What do they want?_

"Ron, can we talk?" Hermione asked him as the Trio blocked their way into the Great Hall. Ron noticed that the students who were passing by were shooting them interested looks.

"Are you serious?" Tracey laughed at Hermione. _And now we're being hostile. Bloody hell Tracey…_

"What is it?" Ron asked curtly, and his own friends were shocked that he was even speaking to the Trio.

"We were hoping to talk to you… in private" Hermione smiled sheepishly.

"That is not happening" Blaise said firmly.

"Why don't you let him speak for himself, Zabini?" Longbottom shot back.

"Ron, we want to help" Hermione pleaded, she was staring right at him. _They want to help me? HA!_

"We all know what your help looks like, Granger" Daphne said venomously. "Tell me something, was it your idea to kidnap me and then impersonate me?" Hermione flinched a little at that, while the two Gryffindor boys flushed red. _This is going to turn into a fight. I need to stop this right now, we're in public._

"What can you help me with?" Ron asked Hermione. Hermione shot quick looks at his friends, and Ron frowned at her. _She thinks that they are a 'bad lot', that's what she called them._

"I'll tell you, in private" Hermione said firmly as she came to a decision. "Just you and me, no one else."

"Hermione, no!" Potter exclaimed.

"I can take care of myself" Hermione shot back at her friend in a haughty tone. "I don't need a babysitter, Harry Potter!"

"He's dangerous…" Neville warned her. _Dangerous? Well, he isn't entirely wrong._ Ron felt a pang of guilt over what he had done to Potter, but it left as quickly as it came.

"And now we're leaving" Theo frowned at the slightly chubby boy.

"Ron, please" Hermione pleaded again. "I just want to talk to you for one minute…" Ron looked her, and he felt his resolve break. He had a soft spot for Hermione Granger, and he did miss her.

"Fine, one minute" Ron told her, and she beamed at him.

"Ron!" Millie and Pansy exclaimed. Daphne quickly walked behind Ron and began whispering in his ear.

"You can't trust her, Ron" Daphne whispered. "Don't you remember what she did?"

"I do remember, Daph" Ron whispered back. "But she might have something important to tell me. Why else would they approach us three to seven?"

"To set up a trap" Daphne provided. "They want you to let your guard down."

"Trust me, please" Ron whispered to her, and she stared into his eyes. "I will be fine." Daphne looked at him for a few seconds, and then she nodded softly. "Thank you, Daph."

"If you try anything, Granger" Daphne told the bushy haired girl in a menacing tone. "I'll set that brown bush growing on your head on fire. That's a promise." Hermione nodded slowly while Potter and Longbottom glared at Daphne. Ron's friends and the two Gryffindor boys left slowly, and Ron saw Blaise give him a firm nod before he left.

"Let's talk in the courtyard?" Hermione asked. _Open spaces, I'll have room to move and run if something goes wrong._ Ron gave her a nod, and then he followed her out. As they entered the courtyard, Ron broke the silence.

"Your one minute starts now" Ron told her. "Start talking."

"The twins are coming for you" Hermione answered quickly, and Ron blinked at her.

"I already know that" Ron said, and Hermione looked a bit crest-fallen.

"Oh…" Hermione muttered.

"Anything else?" Ron asked her coldly. _I don't want to be out here alone, I'm too exposed._ Hermione looked down at her shuffling feet, but she didn't say anything. Ron looked at her for a few seconds, and then he turned to leave.

"I know you're not the Heir" Hermione said suddenly, and Ron stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly whilst doing his best to keep his composure.

"What did you say?" Ron asked. _I need to be sure of what I just heard._

"You're not the Heir" Hermione looked up at him. "I know that…"

"Do you?" Ron seethed, his anger flaring out of control. "Tell me, Hermione… Did you know that I wasn't the Heir when you decided to stab me in the back?" Hermione flinched hard, and her eyes became watery.

"It wasn't like that, Ron…" Hermione said meekly. "I wanted to prove your innocence, that's all." _Hippogriff dung!_

"I heard you call my friends a 'bad lot'!" Ron shouted, and Hermione flinched at his sudden yell. "But it was you three who were betraying me! You couldn't even give me the fucking benefit of the doubt?!"

"I told them" Hermione replied immediately, her voice getting louder as well. She wasn't going to back down now, her friendship with Ron was on the line. "I told them that you weren't the Heir! I gave you that benefit! But even I couldn't keep defending your actions forever, Ron!"

" **My** actions?" Ron glared at her as he stepped right into her face.

"Yes, **your** actions" Hermione said firmly as she stared right into his eyes. "You sneak around the castle non-stop. You lie whenever someone finds you. You're always in the right place at the right time. You yelling at Ginny and bruising her arm were the last straw for me, Ron."

"And you three are so innocent?" Ron asked her scathingly. "You three sneak around the castle all the time. You three are also always in the right place at the right time. And don't bother denying that you wouldn't lie if you got caught whilst sneaking about. I do the exact same things you three do, but you still didn't trust me! And I know why…"

"Why?" Hermione asked firmly, she was not losing him!

"Because I'm in Slytherin" Ron said firmly, and her eyes-widened. "I'm right, aren't I?" Ron asked her, but she didn't reply. _And there's my answer._ "After everything I did for you three, after everything I went through for just being your friend… None of you saw me as anything more than a snake." Ron felt his own eyes sting, and he could tell that Hermione was moments away from crying as well.

"When your own house treated you like an outsider, I was there for you." Ron reminded her. "When Harry needed rescuing from his abusive Muggle family, I was there for him. When my own house turned against me for being your friend, I told them to sod off. When you three were about to be caught by Filch, I risked my own neck to come and find you. When you wanted me to spy on Snape, I agreed to help you. When you wanted to smuggle a Dragon out of Hogwarts, I helped you. When the stone was in danger, I gave myself up for your benefit. And when the Dark Lord attacked… I was the one who was left scarred for the rest of my life while you three walked away unscathed…" Hermione just blinked at him, and her tears fell down onto her cheeks. "But you three couldn't even look past the fact that I'm in Slytherin…" Ron rubbed his own eyes clear as he stepped away from her.

"Ron…" Hermione said in the meekest of voices.

"I wanted nothing more than to be your friend…" Ron sniffled as he averted his eyes from hers. "But none of you cared about that… Because at the end of the day, I'm just a snake." Ron turned around and left at that, he couldn't take it for another second. It hurt so fucking much, and he just couldn't deal with this pain. Not right now… He had too much to do… Ron made his way into the Great Hall, and he knew that she wasn't following him. She was still outside in the cold, and Ron put her out of his mind. He ignored the glares being sent his way from the Gryffindor table as he walked up to Carey Ductu and her friends. _I have to do this. I've waited long enough._

"May I have a seat?" Ron asked Carey, who looked up at him in surprise.

"Of course you can, Ron" Clara Martyris smiled at him. "Come, sit down next to me." Ron put on a practiced smile and sat down. Clara scooted closer to him, and Ron felt himself blush. _Why does she do this?_

"Can we help you?" Samantha Selwyn asked. Ron was about to answer, but he stopped when he saw Hermione enter the Great Hall from the corner of his eyes. _Stop it. Think about what you need right now._

"I wanted to talk about Slytherin" Ron smiled at Samantha, and the black haired girl cocked an eyebrow. "We're being targeted by the other houses."

"You think we don't know that?" Carey asked him bluntly.

"Carey, don't be rude to him" Clara mock-scolded her friend. Ron felt Clara put her arm around his waist, and his face began to burn. _She's doing this on purpose! Scandalous wench!_

"As I was saying" Ron cleared his throat. "I know that you all know about our current situation, trust me. But what you don't know is that the Ravenclaws don't really like the Gryffindors."

"We do know that" Samantha said coldly, and Ron blinked at her. "The Ravenclaws are still upset that they came in third place last year because Dumbledore gave the Gryffindors extra points for just existing. Sixty points for 'Outstanding bravery'?" Samantha scoffed. "No one knows what earned those three brats their last second points, and the Ravenclaws are still sulking about it."

"What about my last second points?" Ron asked her calmly, he didn't like her talking about the Trio that way. Ron wasn't sure why he was feeling irked… But he guessed that it was because the Trio **did** earn those points. They faced the Dark Lord and saved the school.

"You got your points for winning that chess tournament, Ron" Clara smiled brightly at him. "You actually earned your last second points, unlike those three." _They earned those points, fair and square._

"So, anything else you want to tell us?" Carey smiled at him, it was a cold smile. _Just one more thing…_

"The Ravenclaws are currently split" Ron provided. "And I can get some of them on our side."

"Our side?" Samantha asked, she looked intrigued.

"Right now, it's three against one in their favor" Ron explained. "But what if it was two against two?"

"You think we haven't thought of that?" Carey asked him.

"Let him speak" Clara frowned at her two friends. The two girls rolled their eyes at Clara, but they didn't say a word. _Clara is now my favorite in this group._

"The Ravenclaws still remember that I helped them out" Ron said firmly. "They know that I can get things in and out of Hogwarts at a moment's notice. It took me an hour to plan out those parties, and it took me less than three hours to get all supplies. We can use that to try and bribe them."

"Bribery?" Samantha asked. "That's your big plan? Your thinking is limited by your age, Ronald. The Ravenclaws aren't like us, they don't respond to personal gain and bribes… They respond to intellect, to sharing their knowledge and having knowledge shared with them, and most of all, they just want to be left to their books. If you try and put them in a fight, they're just going to refuse." Ron blinked at her, he hadn't even thought about that. _But she has… They all have._ Ron looked to his right and saw Clara smiling down at him, and her smile sent a shiver down his spine. _They're much better at this than I am…_

"But you are onto something, Ron" Carey said in a silky tone, and Ron looked to her. "You've shown everyone that you're not someone to be made an enemy of. And that you have powerful friends outside of the school. Instead of going after the Ravenclaws, we'll go after the Hufflepuffs. They are only acting out because they know that the other two houses will back them. Their resolve is already weak, and we can topple it with your help." Ron blinked at her and gulped, what was happening?! He was the one who was supposed to come to them with a plan… But they had just turned the whole thing on him. _I really underestimated them, didn't I?_

"You should eat something" Clara suddenly said, and then she pulled him in closer to her. She then took a spoon full of cherry pie and brought it to his mouth. "Open your mouth, Ron" she purred, and Ron opened it slightly. He could feel a cold sweat in his armpits, these three were on another level… Clara put the spoon in his mouth, and he ate the pie. "You got some on your face" Clara giggled, and then she cleaned it up with her thumb. Clara smiled as she put the thumb in her mouth, and Ron felt lightheaded. _What am I supposed to do after she does that?! Why does she do that?!_

"Clara, behave" Carey chuckled softly.

"You'll scare him away" Samantha smiled a cold smile. "We can't lose him yet. After all, we have big plans for him." Ron gulped at that. _Big plans?_ "The perfect candidate" Samantha whispered, and Ron felt another chill run up his spine.

"What big plans?" Ron asked softly.

"Not yet, Ron" Clara hummed with a smile.

"Right now, we need to think about Slytherin house" Carey told him. "We'll go after the Hufflepuffs soon enough, but right now our biggest problem are your brothers."

"My brothers?" Ron asked as he squirmed a little in Clara's hold.

"The twins" Samantha clarified. "We want you to make peace with them."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because those two have a terrifying reputation" Carey explained. "And believe me, they've earned it. You don't stand a chance against them, and neither do we. We don't have their… skills. They can make our lives a living hell, and they'd face no repercussions."

"They are Gryffindors, after all" Samantha sighed. "So make your peace with them, and spare us all that headache." _Easier said than done, the twins can be extremely vindictive._ The bell rang suddenly as it signaled the end of dinner.

"Good luck, Ron" Clara said sweetly, and then she gave him a soft kiss on his right cheek. Ron was too stunned to even react, and he just sat there as everyone left. _Make my peace with the twins… Fuck._

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron flushed immediately. _I hope she didn't see that kiss._ "How did it go?" she asked him as he stood up. _Thank Merlin, she didn't see it._

"It went… well" Ron said in an unsure way.

"Alright, what went wrong?" Theo asked him with a furrowed brow.

"They already had everything figured out" Ron sighed as they began to make their way out. "They want me to make peace with the twins."

"What?" Pansy frowned. "Ron, you can't. They've been nothing but nasty to you."

"Trust me, this isn't nasty" Ron told them. "The twins will make us wish that we were never born if we don't make peace with them, if I don't make peace with them…"

"If that's what those three want you to do, then that's what you have to do" Blaise nodded to himself. "It will serve us well to keep them happy. When they become the Triumvirate, which they will, we will have a lot more leeway in the house."

"And we can actually help out Slytherin too" Tracey added in. "I want this fighting to stop…" _Me too._

"Then I guess I'd better find the twins" Ron groaned as they began walking up the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall.

"Ronnie…" a voice called out to him, and Ron turned to find Ginny waiting for him around the corner. "Can we please talk?" Ron was just stunned into silence, she was talking to him… Ginny was talking to him. Ron felt someone push him forward softly, and Ron turned to see Daphne smiling at him.

"Go, Ron" Daphne whispered excitedly. "Go on." Ron turned to Ginny and walked up to her with a hopeful smile, this was it. _I can win her back! I can tell her how sorry I am!_ Ron's friends quickly left for the common room, and then it was just him and Ginny.

"Ginny" Ron started but she stopped him.

"Let's talk somewhere else, I don't want these portraits watching us" Ginny smiled softly. Something in the back of Ron's head warned him not to do that, but he completely ignored it.

"Lead the way…" Ron smiled at her, and she turned around and walked up the steps. She led them into a deserted Hallway on the first floor, and Ron's instincts begged him to leave. But he ignored them completely. This was Ginny, after all.

"We can talk here" Ginny said as she turned around to face him. Neither of them said anything for a few moments, and Ron panicked a little. _Apologize again, Ron._

"I'm sorry for shouting at you, and for bruising your wrist" Ron said softly. "Ginny, I'm so sorry. I won't ever do that again, I swear it. Please, just talk to me…"

"You made Hermione spy on me" Ginny whispered, she was looking down at her feet.

"Not spy, Ginny" Ron explained in a loving tone. "I wanted her to look out for you, just in case. I didn't want you to have any problems in your first year, I just wanted to make sure that you were happy."

"Then why did you yell at me?" Ginny asked meekly as she looked up, her eyes were watery. "Why did you twist my arm so hard?" Ron felt like a proper bastard in that moment, but he moved forward.

"I was scared, and angry" Ron whispered shamefully. "Luna told me that you had yelled at her, and she cried so much Ginny… I was so upset with you about that, but then I couldn't find you anywhere. That scared the hell out of me… And then, you just showed up out of nowhere. Your clothes were filthy, and you looked like you had seen a ghost. Then Percy told me that you were skipping classes as well, and I just lost it." Ron looked down as he finished. "I just wanted to know if you were safe… And when I couldn't get that out of you, I lost it. I'm sorry, Gin…" Ron was looking down, and so he didn't see Ginny run up and hug him tightly. Ron was just stunned for a couple of seconds, but then he held her tightly to him.

"I'm sorry, too" Ginny sniffled. "I don't want to keep fighting." That was music to Ron's ears, it was the most beautiful thing Ron had ever heard.

"Me too, Gin" Ron let out a wet laugh as he squeezed her harder. "I missed you so much, and I don't want to feel like that ever again." Ginny let out a whimper and tightened her hug.

"You won't" Ginny promised with a cracked voice. "I love you, Ronnie."

"I love you too" Ron said as he felt his tears leave his eyes. They were tears of pure joy…

* * *

 _ **January 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

Ron had never felt so happy before… He was sitting on the breakfast table with his friends, and his two sisters. Ginny and Luna were talking to each, but they were mostly just apologizing to each other for breaking up. Ron didn't even know that he had a massive smile plastered on his face as he watched them both patch up their friendship. The only thing that he knew was that he would never lose them again. He would be the best brother that anyone could ever ask for.

"Careful, Ron" Daphne said to him. "If your smile gets any wider, I'm worried that you'll split your face open." Ron turned to her, still smiling.

"I can't help it" Ron told her, and she smiled back at him. "Thank you, Daph."

"What for?" Daphne cocked her head.

"You told me that it would all work out, and it did" Ron said as he looked back to his sisters, they were talking to each other animatedly. _It's like they never had a falling out in the first place._

"Mate" Theo whispered in his ear. "Your brothers are staring at us, and they aren't alone." Ron looked to the Gryffindor table, and his smiled faltered a bit. The twins were looking gob-smacked, Percy was smiling at Ron and Ginny, Potter and Longbottom looked genuinely confused, Hermione was smiling faintly at him, and the rest of the Gryffindor watchers were just shooting quick glances at Ginny. _Shite. They're probably not happy that she is associating with me and my friends. And I still need to get the twins to back down._ An idea then clicked in Ron's head, he could use Ginny's help on this.

"Gin-Gin" Ron called for his sister's attention, and she smiled at him.

"Yes, Ronnie?" Ginny asked him, and Ron ignored his friends' sniggering.

"Can I get your help with something today? During lunch?" Ron asked her, and she cocked her head slightly.

"Help with what?" Ginny asked, and Ron smiled at her innocently. _Time to put this feud to bed._

* * *

 _ **January 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch)**_

Ron waited patiently in the abandoned classroom, and he waited alone. His friends had argued with him all day, but in the end, he had convinced them to not come with him. This was a family meeting, and none of them were Weasleys. Ron's plan was simple, but effective. He would bring all of the Weasley siblings into one room, and they'd hash it all out. The Weasleys were an emotional lot, so Ron was sure that everything would get aired out today. And if it didn't, then Ron would at least know that he tried his best. Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself when he heard footsteps coming from outside, he didn't want the twins to leave before they even entered the room.

"Ginny, where are you taking us?" came Percy's voice.

"It's lunch time" Fred moaned.

"And we're hungry" George added.

"Please… I just want to talk" Ginny pleaded, and Ron smiled to himself. His sister was as sharp as they came. Ron watched the door open, and Ginny led her brothers inside.

"Ginny?" Percy asked her softly as the door closed behind them. "Why are we in this abandoned classroom?"

"Oh no!" Fred suddenly gasped.

"I smell murderous intent!" George said in an exaggerated tone.

"Shut up…" Ginny frowned at them both, and they broke into laughter.

"Our sister has her Weasley spirit back, George" Fred laughed.

"About time, I'd say" George nodded as he chuckled. Ron couldn't help but smile at the friendly banter between the siblings, he'd missed this.

"I wanted to have a family meeting" Ginny told them as she crossed her arm defensively.

"A family meeting?" Percy asked her. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"I'm sick of us fighting" Ginny told Percy. "We should be sticking together, we're all Weasleys."

"This is about Ron" Percy sighed. "Then I agree, we all need to talk."

"There is nothing to talk about" Fred frowned. "He's been using the Dark Arts! He's turned traitor!" _Okay, time to step in._ Ron lifted the Charm from himself, but no one even noticed him.

"I'm no traitor, Fred" Ron said, and everyone gasped.

"RON!" Ginny squealed. "How did you do that?!"

"Magic?" Ron smiled and shrugged, and Ginny blinked at him.

"Dark magic, you mean" Fred accused as he regained his composure.

"Fred, stop it…" George sighed. "Let's just hear him out."

"Thank you, George" Ron smiled at his brother, but George didn't smile back.

"Ron, were you using the Disillusionment Charm?" Percy asked with a furrowed brow. "That's a N.E.W.T level spell… Where did you learn it?"

"A Slytherin seventh year taught me" Ron answered truthfully.

"See, he's been learning from those snakes" Fred seethed, and Ginny glared murder at Fred.

"I'm one of those snakes" Ron sighed. "And I want us to stop fighting as well… We're blood."

"Then let's talk" Percy nodded. "It's past time we put all this nonsense to bed." _Thank Merlin for Percy, and for Ginny._

"Alright, let's talk" Fred said scathingly. "When did you start learning the Dark Arts?" Ron took in a deep breath before answering, it was time to speak the truth.

"At the start of this year" Ron answered, and there was absolute silence in the room.

"So it's true…" Percy whispered to himself. "Ron, how could you?"

"I wanted to learn more about the Dark Arts, but only for my own protection" Ron answered. "If I knew what I was up against, then I could defend myself better."

"Who would use the Dark Arts against you?" George asked him.

"I live in Slytherin…" Ron sighed. "And I'm a Blood-Traitor, do the math."

"Ronnie, do they bully you?" Ginny asked softly. _Don't lie, just tell the truth for once._

"Sometimes…" Ron nodded, and his siblings looked irked. All of them except Fred. "Do you remember when I fell down those stairs?" They all nodded slowly. "I didn't fall down the stairs, Malfoy and his goons beat me bloody. And then they left me to bleed out in the boys' bathrooms. Two Hufflepuff boys, Cedric Diggory and Max McDean, found me. They took me to Pomfrey, you can ask them this yourselves if you don't believe me."

"Merlin…" Percy muttered as he sat down on a dusty chair. "Why did you lie?"

"Because if I didn't, it'd happen again" Ron shrugged. "Turning a fellow Slytherin in would not end well for me, or my friends." Ginny walked up to Ron and hugged him, and Ron patted her back softly. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Why did you attack Harry like that?" Fred asked, he looked less angry now. _It's working. Good._

"Because he betrayed me" Ron replied, his blood boiled for a second.

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked him softly as she sat down on top of a desk. "That story about Harry and his friends isn't true, is it?"

"It is completely true" Ron told her with a firm voice. "And since it was true, I was able to strong-arm Dumbledore into punishing those three."

"You mean blackmail him?" Fred spat out.

"Yes" Ron replied. "And I would do it again…"

"Ron?" George asked, he sounded appalled.

"They went after my friend" Ron told them. "They planned to drug her, and then throw her away in some cupboard. After that, Hermione would impersonate her and enter the Slytherin common room to interrogate me. They thought that I was the Heir of Slytherin, and that I was behind all the attacks." Ron noticed Ginny going pale at his words. "Ginny, I'm not the Heir. I promise."

"Why didn't you tell a teacher, Ron?" Percy questioned him hotly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"No one would believe me" Ron shot back. "I mean just look at the current situation in the school… Everyone knows what Potter and his friends were doing, but I'm still the prime-suspect of being the Heir. No one even cares what some Gryffindors were up to, and all because Slytherin was their target."

"Come off it" Fred bit out. "People suspect you because you used the bloody Dark Arts in public! And you summoned a damn snake no less… What do you expect their reaction to be?"

"I made a mistake on that" Ron admitted. "I lost my temper, and it cost me. But I am not the Heir, nor am I the one who betrayed his friends. Potter did that, and he deserves what he's getting."

"But we're suffering too, Ron" George jumped in hotly. "You're costing us the Quidditch Cup just to hurt Harry."

"It's a Cup… I'm your blood" Ron clenched his jaw.

"You haven't been acting like it" Fred snapped. "You go around making threats at us! We're your older brothers, show us some respect!"

"And when have you shown me any respect?" Ron shot back. "You humiliate me in public, and you expect me to take that lying down?"

"Wait, what is he talking about?" Percy asked the twins with a frown. "What did you do?"

"Nothing" Fred denied.

"We interrupted a small scuffle between Ron's friends and the Gryffindor second years" George admitted, and Fred looked at his twin with utter shock. "We made fun of him, and the Gryffindors laughed at him…"

"George…" Fred muttered, utterly betrayed.

"No, Fred" George shook his head. "We need to sort this out… I'm sick of this fighting."

"You two…" Percy grit out, and then he turned to Ron. "What was the fight about?"

"Dean Thomas called me a Death-Eater after I told him to piss off" Ron admitted, and Ginny gasped in horror.

"How dare he?!" Ginny fumed, and Ron had to the fight the urge to smile. _Take that Dean… You will never snog my sister now, you son of a bitch._

"We didn't know about that" Fred told Percy who was just glaring at the twins.

"But even if you did, would you care?" Ron asked Fred, and Fred blinked at him.

"Of course I'd bloody care" Fred snapped, and George sighed. He knew that his twin had just walked into a trap.

"Really, Fred?" Ron said softly. "Because you were the first person to ever call me a Death-Eater…" Fred looked like he had been slapped, and he was utterly speechless.

"FRED?!" Ginny screeched. "How could you say that to him?!"

"I… I… didn't mean…" Fred stuttered.

"Mean what, Fred?" Ron asked him bitterly. "You didn't mean to hurt me, because you did. But I forgave you on the basis that it was a mistake. And now I've made a mistake… But it wasn't against you, it was against Potter. But you had no trouble turning on me, did you? So the why fuck should I show an ounce of respect?"

"Ron, mind your language" Percy warned him, and Ron did his best to calm down. _Don't lose your temper, it won't help anyone._

"Fred, you're the worst!" Ginny shrieked at him, and he just stared at her slack-jawed.

"You're no saint either, Ginny" George jumped in to defend his twin, and Ginny glared at him. "You've been acting horrid to everyone around you for months, including all of us."

"I said I was sorry" Ginny snapped.

"And you think that's enough?" George snapped back.

"Don't yell at her" Ron grit out.

"That's rich coming from you" Fred glared at Ron.

"That's enough" Percy jumped in, but the twins turned on him.

"And what did you do about her behavior?" Fred asked Percy.

"Nothing" George added.

"Every time we brought it up, you'd tell us to 'Give her some space'…" Fred said venomously.

"At least I didn't scare her half to death!" Percy yelled at the twins. "You clowns ran around scaring her for an entire day!"

"We were trying to help" Fred defended their actions.

"Well, you didn't help me" Ginny said scathingly. "I'm still having nightmares about your boil covered faces!"

"What did you expect from these two?" Ron spat out. "When have they ever been anything but nasty?"

"Really, Ron?" George asked him. "And who comforted you after mum's letter?"

"A letter that she sent because of this idiot!" Ron yelled as he pointed at Fred.

"And there it is again" Fred spat out. "You're such a little shite…"

"Careful, Fred" Percy warned. "I've had it with you!"

"Oh no, don't give him a detention" George mock pleaded, and Percy flushed red.

"Maybe you should show Percy some respect?" Ron suggested. "Isn't he older than you?" The twins shook with rage. "You're both such hypocrites…"

"And you're a damn…" Fred started but stopped. Everyone knew what he was going to say, and it sickened them. It even sickened Fred, and Ron knew it because his brother just slumped down on a dusty chair. They were all quiet, and they were all angry. But they all felt better as well, they had gotten some of the poison out. Ron pulled up a chair and sat down on it, he just needed a breather. Ron was rubbing his forehead when he heard Ginny sniffle loudly. All of them looked to her immediately, and she had a stubborn look on her face. But her eyes were red, and her nose was runny. Ron smiled at her stubbornness to not cry in front of them, she always had something to prove. Ron reached into his robes and pulled out a clean, white handkerchief.

"Here" Ron said as he offered it to Ginny. She took it with a frown, and then she blew her nose loudly.

"Gross…" George said with a light chuckle.

"You're gross" Ginny shot back in a childish tone.

"Look at that George, Ginny has the same level of wit as Percy" Fred smiled.

"I wouldn't tell you that you're gross" Percy said softly. "I'd rub that handkerchief on your face instead."

"Now **that's** gross…" Ron smiled at Percy. Percy smiled back and shrugged his shoulders. They were all quiet again for a minute or so, and then the school bell rang loudly. _There goes Lunch Break, but we made a lot of progress._ They all got up to leave, but none of them left. _Damn our stubbornness, no one wants to say anything._

"We're a family" Percy said suddenly. "And we need to stick together…"

"I agree" Ron said firmly. "At the end of the day, we can only rely on each other. But we can't do that if we are always fighting each other."

"I'm sorry for being horrid to you guys" Ginny said in a meek tone. "I really am."

"We know, Gin" George smiled softly.

"We were just worried, that's all" Fred added.

"Let's make a truce" Percy suggested. "From now on, we'll have each other's' backs."

"At school" Fred quickly added with an innocent smile.

"We'll have each other's backs at school" Percy amended. "Is that alright with everyone?"

"It's perfect" Ron smiled at Percy. "I'm in."

"Me too" Ginny nodded.

"Since you're all doing it" the twins said together. "We're in as well." _Thank you, Merlin!_

"Good" Percy smiled at his younger siblings. "Now get to class, and don't be late."

"Ugh…" Fred and George groaned.

"Really, Percy?" Ron chuckled.

"So bossy" Ginny pouted.

* * *

 _ **January 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Library)**_

Ron sat alone in the library, and he enjoyed the peace and quiet. It had been a busy month for him, but things were finally getting better. The twins had backed off from their vendetta against him, Ginny and Luna ate breakfast with him every morning, Percy was doing his best to keep Gryffindor in check, and Ron's friends had finally allowed him some alone time. He wanted to do some reading on the Great War, and they had allowed him to go alone because he'd be in the library. No one would make a move in Madam Pince's domain.

Things were still tense between the houses, but not as much as before. The Heir hadn't struck for over a month now, and most people were guessing that the Heir lost their nerve. Ron didn't believe that for a second, he knew that the Heir was lying in wait. They had done the same thing with Justin Flinch-Fletchley, after all. Ron and his friends had no intention of letting their guard down just yet. The map that Ron's friends made had helped them quite a lot, and they were sure that the Chamber was located somewhere near the Great Hall. The majority of attacks, past and present, had happened near there.

Ron shot quick looks around himself, and then he stuffed a few Flavored Beans into his mouth. He loved sneaking food into this place, it gave him a thrill like nothing else did. He knew that if Madam Pince caught him, he would killed on the spot. But that's what made it so fun! As Ron shot another look around, he spotted a student with a big bushy mane sitting all by herself. _Hermione…_ Ron's gaze lingered on her as she studied intensely with her back to him. Ron would be lying if he claimed that he hadn't thought about their recent talk lately. He had told her about his scars during his angry and hurt rant, and he had no idea what she had done with that knowledge.

But in all honesty, he didn't care if she told Potter or Longbottom. Even he knew that they wouldn't stoop so low as to tell everyone in Gryffindor about his scars. But that odd feeling in his chest was still there. He'd dropped such a massive truth about himself on her, and then he had just walked away before she could even respond. And then there was the fact that the Trio had tried to warn him about the twins, even if he already knew about it, it was still a sweet gesture. Talking with Hermione had flipped a switch in his head, and he wanted to talk to her again. He did miss her company, their sneak snacking, their banter, and their love off getting correct answers. Ron looked down at the Muggle watch he was wearing, her Christmas gift to him, and he felt his chest tighten. _Why am I still wearing it?_ But he already knew why, it was a link to his former friendship with Hermione.

Ron looked back up at Hermione, and she was writing something down furiously. _She has broken so many quills because of that habit._ She was sitting all by herself, but Ron knew that she preferred it that way. Potter and Longbottom would only disturb her, and even Ron sometimes felt like he disturbed her. She was extremely intelligent, and logical. And she hated it when Ron just gave her the answers. She liked coming to her own conclusions… _Is that why she helped Potter and Longbottom? She told me that she wanted to prove my innocence. But why didn't she just come to me?_ Ron immediately knew the answer to that question. _What if I really was the Heir? I'd kill her on the spot. Would I act any different in that situation? No, I wouldn't._

Ron sighed to himself, and then he made a decision. He stood up and approached her from behind, she didn't even hear him coming. He sat down right by her side, and she looked at him with an annoyed look. But when she saw him, her brown eyes went as wide as dinner plates. When Ron didn't say anything, Hermione looked back down at her books.

"Hello" Ron said lamely. _Hello? Really?_

"Hi…" Hermione muttered.

"I see you're studying for Potions" Ron whispered.

"Professor Snape gave us a lot of homework" Hermione nodded softly. They were quiet for a few seconds, and then an idea came to Ron.

"Do you want some snacks?" Ron asked her as he showed her the box of Flavored Beans under the table. Hermione smiled softly at the box.

"You shouldn't bring food in here" Hermione scolded in a soft whisper.

"I know" Ron shrugged. "But you can't study without something fueling your brain. Go on…"

"Just a few" Hermione smiled as she took a few Beans out of the box. She then quickly put them in her mouth.

"I'm sorry… for everything" Ron whispered to her as she was chewing. She stopped chewing and looked to him with swollen cheeks. _Don't laugh at her!_

"I'm sorry too" she said after she swallowed the beans. _Did she even chew them?_

"Alright then" Ron smiled at her. "We're both sorry."

"And what does that mean?" Hermione asked him. "For us?" _What do I want it to mean?_ Ron thought about her question for a few seconds, and then he had his answer. Ron showed her the watch around his left wrist. "You didn't throw it away?" Hermione smiled at the watch.

"A certain blonde told me that it would be the wrong thing to do" Ron smiled. "And I'm glad I listened."

"She did that?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"She did" Ron nodded softly. "I want us to be… friends… again." Hermione beamed at that.

"Me too" she said immediately, but then her excitement ebbed. "Harry and Neville won't like that…"

"Why?" Ron asked. "I'm not asking to be their friend, I want to be your friend."

"They think that you're the Heir…" Hermione sighed.

"Then help me prove them wrong" Ron offered. "I'm… I'm hunting the Heir down." Hermione's eyes widened at that.

"You are?" she asked softly.

"People are blaming me for their crimes, I have no choice" Ron shrugged.

"What do I tell Harry and Neville in the mean time?" she asked softly. "They're my best friends, I don't want to lie to them."

"Tell them whatever you want" Ron smiled. "They can't force you to be my enemy, and if they do, then they aren't good friends to have. That reminds me… I told you something when we fought in the courtyard, something about my scars…"

"I didn't tell anyone" Hermione quickly said. "I… I'm not even sure what you meant by that."

"I meant that I was left scarred after…" Ron stopped for a second. "I was left scarred by the Dark Lord. I have them all over my body…" Hermione gasped at that.

"Is that why you wear a glove?" she asked with a whimper. Ron nodded at her, and she gave him a pitiful look. "Ron, I'm so sorry. I didn't know anything about that."

"Don't worry, not many people do" Ron gave her a reassuring smile. "Not even my siblings know…"

"And you told me?" Hermione asked, her expression was both sad and happy.

'I want us to be friends" Ron nodded. "And I want you to understand why I could never be this Heir of Slytherin. I hate Blood-Supremacy, and I always will." Hermione smiled widely at him, her eyes were getting wet.

"I won't tell anyone about them, I promise" Hermione promised. "And I'd love to be friends again…"

"Good" Ron smiled. "Then we're friends again."

"YOU TWO!" came a shrill voice from behind them. "OUT OF MY LIBRARY! HOW DARE YOU BRING FOOD IN HERE?!" Madam Pince shrieked, and Hermione and Ron grabbed their things and bolted out.

"I just got kicked out of the library" Hermione said in utter horror. "That's never happened to me before!"

"Sorry" Ron laughed. "Side-effects of being friends with Ron Weasley, I suppose." Hermione lost her look of disappointment immediately, and she beamed at him.

"I missed you, Ron" Hermione said with a wide smile.

"I missed you too, Hermione" Ron replied. Hermione moved forward a little, but then she stopped.

"Ron…" Hermione shuffled her feet. "Can I hug you? Like we used to?" Ron rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Come here" Ron said as he opened his arms, and Hermione hugged him quickly. It was a short hug, but it was a start. Ron gave her a squeeze before he let her go, and she looked extremely happy.

* * *

 _ **January 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room)**_

"I can't believe you told her" Tracey muttered.

"Ron, that was incredibly stupid of you" Blaise frowned.

"You didn't even ask us what we thought" Daphne sighed.

"I have to agree with them, Ron" Millie added on.

"You're a twat" Theo put in.

"Alright, ease up there" Ron frowned at Theo. _They're taking it better than I thought they would._

"Ron, what if she tell her friends?" Pansy asked him.

"Then the Trio will lay off of us" Ron replied. "They want this Heir captured, just like we do."

"If you think Potter will help you after what you did to him, you're insane" Blaise shook his head.

"I didn't ask for Potter's help" Ron told them. "I asked Hermione for hers because she's insanely intelligent. We could use her help…"

"What is she going to tell us that we don't already know?" Theo frowned. "We know pretty much everything except for who the Heir is, or where the Chamber's entrance is."

"Then she may help us with that" Ron shrugged. "Not to mention that having her in our corner will help us keep tabs on the Gryffindors. If she finds out anyone is coming after me, she'll warn me."

"And what does she get out of this deal?" Tracey asked him.

"My friendship" Ron smirked, but his friends just blinked at him. _They don't understand that, do they?_

"So you're telling me that she will do all of that for you, and all you have to do is be friends with her?" Millie asked slowly. Ron nodded at Millie.

"Clearly she isn't very smart to make a deal like that" Pansy frowned deeply.

"She is smart, even smarter than me" Ron told them. "She just isn't… conniving like us."

"She was pretty conniving when she wanted to kidnap me and wear my skin" Daphne glared at Ron.

"And I caught them, didn't I?" Ron argued. "If I think that she's trying something like that again, I'll cut her off immediately."

"I just wish that you'd told us before you acted" Tracey sighed.

"It just happened, I swear" Ron muttered. "I didn't plan it, it just happened. But I know that it was the right move. You didn't see how happy she was to be my friend again, she won't betray me again."

"I bet she was happy" Daphne spat out. _I expected that._

"Well, what's done is done" Blaise sighed. "Make sure you put that brain of hers to work."

"I will" Ron promised.

"There you are!" came Clara Martyris' voice, and Ron immediately blushed. _Oh Merlin, not her!_ "I've been looking for you, Ron. Come with me for a second." Ron smiled at her, she looked amazing with her medium length hair in a ponytail. _Stop it! That's how she get you, Ron!_ Ron got up and followed after her. She led them to the shared Potions Lab, and Ron saw that Carey and Samantha were working on a potion. "I found him" Clara told her friends.

"Ron, it's good to see you again" Carey said, but she didn't even look at him. She was too busy with her potion.

"How can I help you three?" Ron said with a practiced smile, he wouldn't be caught off guard this time.

"Do you remember our conversation about the Hufflepuffs?" Samantha asked him, her tall figure was rather intimidating.

"I do…" Ron said slowly. "Are we making a move on them?"

"So quick on the draw" Clara giggled as she leaned against a table. "And yes, we are."

"And more importantly, you're the messenger" Carey said as she added a bat spleen to her potion.

"Messenger?" Ron asked. _What's their plan?_

"Yes, we want to keep everything civil" Samantha said coldly. "Which is why you're perfect for this job."

"Cedric Diggory and Max McDean will be leaving the library in twenty minutes" Carey said as she stirred the potion. _How does she know that?_

"We keep our eyes open, Ron" Clara hummed at him, it was like she read his mind. She was smiling at Ron, and he couldn't help but blush. _She's really pretty, and her chest is huge… Stop it, you pervert!_

"We know they helped you when you had that terrible fall" Samantha said. "We want you to talk to them. We've learned that it's just the younger Hufflepuffs who are acting out. The older students are far too busy with their studies to bully others, not that they even could. Hufflepuffs…"

"And why Cedric and Max?" Ron asked.

"Well, that's quite simple" Carey said as she finally turned around to face him. "The younger Hufflepuffs listen to them. They're both handsome boys, they're polite, they're kind, and they're fair. The younger Hufflepuffs idolize them. If they tell those brats to leave our little ones alone, they will listen. And both boys will be more inclined to listen to you, considering your history with them."

"Play on their softer sides" Clara said with a bright smile. "Tell them how much it 'hurts your feelings', or something like that."

"People think that I'm the Heir" Ron told them. "Why would they even talk to me?"

"Are you?" Samantha asked, a sharp glint in her eyes.

"No" Ron frowned. "And if I knew who it was, I'd turn them in."

"Why?" Carey asked him in her silky voice.

"Multiple reasons" Ron sighed. "And I bet you would too." _I might as well try and get them to help me._

"Would we?" Clara giggled. "Why?"

"Because if they aren't caught" Ron smirked at her. "Then they will close the school down, just like they almost did fifty years ago…" All three girls gave him serious looks at that. "That's right, you wouldn't even make it to seventh year. No Triumvirate, no N.E. , nothing…" The girls exchanged quick looks, and then they all smiled slyly.

"Look at you" Carey smiled. "You're trying to give us an incentive to help you. You really are something else, aren't you?"

"Yes, he is" Clara hummed as she eyed him in a way that made Ron feel uncomfortable.

"You're definitely perfect for this job" Samantha smiled at him. "You help us with this, and we'll make some inquiries for you. How about that?"

"Deal" Ron agreed. _Thank Merlin that worked._

"Then you have less than fifteen minutes to get to the library" Carey told him. "And take Theodore Nott with you, he has a mind for these things." Ron nodded and left the Potions Lab. He made his way to his friends, and they all turned to face him.

"What was that about?" Theo asked Ron.

"I'll tell you on the way, you're coming with me" Ron told Theo. Theo nodded and stood up.

"What about us?" Daphne asked him.

"Actually you come with me as well" Ron told her. "You're good at negotiating."

"Negotiating?" Blaise asked him.

"Ron, what are you up to?" Tracey asked him.

"Helping the future Triumvirate" Ron smiled at her. And then he turned on his heel and walked out of the common room, Theo and Daphne followed after him.

"So what's the plan?" Theo asked him as they made their way out of the dungeons.

"We need to convince Cedric Diggory and Max McDean to help us" Ron replied. _Which I doubt will be easy._

"Convince them of what?" Daphne asked.

"The younger Hufflepuffs listen to those two apparently" Ron told his friends. "And it's the younger Hufflepuffs who are bullying our first years, the older ones are too busy for such nonsense."

"This won't be easy, Ron" Daphne told him. "People think that you're the Heir."

"I know" Ron sighed. "But the girls asked me, and I need to get this done. They've agreed to make some 'inquires' about the Heir if we succeed."

"You told them as well" Theo frowned.

"I told them that the school would be shut down if they didn't help me" Ron told Theo.

"And they decided to help you because they want to be the Triumvirate" Daphne summarized. "That's quite clever of you, Ron." Ron gave her a smile at that.

"It's known to happen" Ron chuckled.

"Not often…" Theo smirked, and Ron frowned at him. "Where are we going?"

"The library, and we have to be subtle when we run into them" Ron answered.

"Subtle?" Daphne asked. "Why did they pick you for this job then?" _Really?_

"Can we just concentrate on the task at hand?" Ron asked them scathingly. "You can poke fun at me after."

"Okay" Daphne hummed with a happy smile. _She loves taking the mickey out of me too much…_ The trio got to the library's entrance, and then they waited. When they spotted Cedric and Max leaving the library together, Ron slowly walked into them. Their books fell down on the ground.

"I'm so bloody sorry, guys" Ron apologized as he bent down to pick their books up.

"Honestly, Ron" Daphne scolded him. "What's the point of you having eyes?" Ron got up and handed the books back to the Hufflepuffs.

"Sorry again" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"It's alright" Cedric chuckled. "It was just an honest accident."

"Don't worry about it, mate" Max smiled at Ron. _That worked. Excellent._

"Hey, it's you two" Ron smiled at them, and both boys smiled back. "I never thanked you properly for helping me, you know, after my 'fall'."

"It's alright, mate" Max told him. "We couldn't just leave you there."

"Well, thank you" Ron told them sincerely, at least that much was true. "You two didn't have to help me, but you did. I owe you guys."

"It is fine, Ronald" Cedric chuckled, his smile made him look dashing. "You don't owe us anything."

"You remember my name?" Ron asked them.

"Everyone knows your name" Max replied, his demeanor had changed a little. "Well, we'd best be off. Right, Cedric?"

"Um… yeah" Cedric said, suddenly mirroring Max's attitude. _They think I'm the damn Heir. Great…_

"Well, I'd like to thank you two as well" Theo told them, garnering their attention. "You helped my friend out, and I ran off instead of thanking you."

"Like we said, it's fine" Cedric smiled at Theo, it looked rather forced.

"Actually, can you guys help me with something?" Daphne asked them in a meek tone.

"Um… sure" Max replied. "What do you need?"

"There's a couple of Hufflepuff boys in third year who have been…" Daphne started but stopped. "No… Never mind…" Daphne shuffled her feet.

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked her with a charming smile, and Ron saw Daphne's cheeks turn rosy.

"No, it's okay" Theo told them. "It's just a small issue we're having with some older kids…"

"Some Hufflepuff boys?" Max asked them, he was suddenly concerned. _They really are nice blokes. I actually feel guilty about using them like this._

"One of them had brown curly hair, and the other wore thick glasses" Daphne smiled sadly. "They've been… sort of hounding me… and some of the other girls in Slytherin."

"What?" Cedric asked in shock.

"Tom and Mathew have been bullying you guys?" Max asked them.

"It's mostly my fault…" Ron smiled sadly. "People think that I'm the Heir, and so they're picking on my friends and the first years… You guys shouldn't worry too much about it. Again, sorry for bumping into you guys. Let's go you two, we have to find that Potions book." Ron and his friends made to leave, but Cedric and Max stopped them.

"Just wait, you have to tell us what's happening" Max said passionately. "Are the Hufflepuff boys giving you trouble?"

"They're just joining in on the fun…" Theo sighed. "Everyone is looking for reasons to corner us lately, it's alright. We're getting used to it."

"No" Cedric shook his head. "No one should get used to bullying. Tell us what's happening, we'll put a stop to it."

"We appreciate that" Ron smiled. "But it would only make things worse. People will say that we're rats…"

"No one will know that you told us" Max assured him with a smile. "Right, Cedric?"

"Definitely" Cedric smiled down at the trio. "We will just tell them that we've seen their actions, and we'll tell them to stop it. They'll listen to us, trust me."

"We should tell them" Daphne turned to Ron and Theo. "Please… I'm sick of people slapping the books out of my hands, or shoving me for no reason…" Max and Cedric looked utterly horrified at that. _Damn Daph. That was a nice touch._

"I don't know…" Ron rubbed the back of head.

"They can help us, mate" Theo nudged Ron.

"We can" Cedric told Ron. "Look, none of us know for certain if you're the Heir. And people are also saying that it's Harry Potter… I don't think either of you are the Heir… You clearly care about your friends, let us help you."

"And no one will know, we promise" Max added on.

"Alright…" Ron nodded softly. "Daph, tell them…"

"It's just the younger Hufflepuffs" Daphne said softly. "They've seen the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors excluding us from everything, and they've sort of joined in recently… It's mostly the first years they pick on, but sometimes they go after us second years as well. But the older Hufflepuffs don't do that, I swear."

"That's good" Cedric smiled at her. "Look, you guys just go about your business okay? Max and I will talk to them… and to Professor Sprout. She specifically told us to not bully anyone, she'll put a stop to it."

"And no one will know that it was us who talked?" Theo asked them slowly.

"No one" Max smiled as he put a comforting hand on Theo's shoulder. "I'm sorry about the younger Hufflepuffs bullying you, it isn't right. You guys shouldn't be paying for the Heir's crimes…"

"Thank you guys, I owe you again" Ron smiled at them.

"Think nothing of it, Ronald" Cedric said in a kind voice.

"Please, call me Ron" Ron said softly. "All of my friends do…"

"Alright then, Ron" Cedric nodded with a smile. "Take care you three, and we promise to stop this behavior. At least on our end." The two Hufflepuff boys left after that, and Ron released a long breath.

"Nice touch with the visual image of bullying, Daphne" Theo smiled at her.

"Thank you" Daphne did a small curtsy.

"You know, I actually feel bad about that" Ron sighed. "They're nice blokes…"

"Just admit it" Theo smirked at Ron. "You enjoyed that."

"I did…" Ron replied. _But it was still wrong. Though it does help the first years a lot, considering that they're actually being bullied. This was for the greater good…_

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **January 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Common Room – After Dinner)**_

Hermione fretted with her hands as she saw Harry and Neville playing a game of Exploding Snap. They were sitting by the fire, and they were quite isolated. Most of the Gryffindors were socializing quite loudly, and Hermione thought that this was the best time to tell her best friends. She couldn't keep it in any longer, she felt like she was betraying them by not telling them. _C'mon Hermione, just tell them. They'll understand, I know it._

"Guys, can I talk to you?" Hermione asked the two boys in a meek tone, she quickly cleared her throat to fix that.

"Of course, Hermione" Harry smiled at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong" Hermione smiled back. "I just have something important to tell you two."

"Oh" Neville said. "Sure, Hermione. We're all ears."

"Is this about the Heir?" Harry asked her, his voice getting excited. _Sort of…_

"Um… yes, and no" Hermione squeezed her own hands. "I spoke more with Ron…" Harry and Neville blinked at her.

"When?" Harry asked, his expression becoming dark.

"Three days ago" Hermione admitted. "He sat down next to me in the library, and we talked…"

"You talked?" Neville asked her slowly, he looked more concerned than angry. Harry was the one who looked angry, and Hermione felt her palms getting sweaty.

"Yes, we talked" Hermione nodded. "And we're… we're friends again."

"Are you kidding me?" Harry asked her in a shocked voice. "You're friends again? With him?" Harry seethed.

"Yes, Harry" Hermione replied, she could feel her own temper flare. _He has no right to talk to me like that!_ "I didn't know that I needed your permission?"

"You're supposed to be our friend, not his" Harry argued.

"Harry, just wait a second" Neville told him. "Hermione, what's going on? What did Weasley say to you?"

"He told me that he wasn't the Heir" Hermione put her nose in the air. "And I believe him."

"After what he did to me?" Harry asked her. "Hermione, how could you?"

"He's really sorry about that, Harry" Hermione defended Ron. "He lifted our punishments, he's wearing the watch I got him, and even his siblings are back on his side. The twins haven't said a word about him in days, Ginny and Luna eat breakfast with him every morning, and they both look so much happier. He's trying to change, he's trying to do better. And he came to me… He told me that he wanted to be my friend."

"Hermione…" Neville sighed. "That's what he does. He says things that he knows people want to hear…"

"He is tricking you, Hermione" Harry implored. "What if you're his next victim?"

"His next victim?" Hermione grit out. "Harry James Potter, how dare you? You are making him guilty of a crime that he hasn't even committed, and we have no proof that he is the Heir. And guess what? He told me that he is hunting the Heir down himself." Harry blinked at her like she was stupid.

"He wants you to put your guard down" Harry argued. "Neville, back me on this."

"Harry's right, Hermione" Neville sighed. "Don't you remember him using the Dark Arts? Or how he laughed while attacked Harry? What kind of person does that? Most of the school already knows that he's the Heir… Please don't put yourself in danger like this." _I'm not some dainty flower._

"I can take care of myself" Hermione glared at her best friends. "Look, I told you two because you're my best friends. But you can't tell me who I should be friends with… You're not my parents."

"We want what's best for you, Hermione" Neville said softly. "And being friends with Weasley is not a good idea."

"He is a bad person" Harry said bluntly. Hermione's mind wandered back to Ron's rant, and she felt righteous anger on his behalf. _He did so much for us, and we never even gave him a chance to defend himself._

"He saved my life in first year" Hermione said firmly, and both boys sighed. "He saved our lives… When no one wanted to be my friend, including you two, he chose to be my friend. Harry, he saved Sirius from prison. He saved you from the Dursleys… He helped us with the Dragon, and he took the blame for it. And he was there when we went to save the stone. Those are not the actions of a bad person…"

"He chose to be your friend because you're intelligent" Neville said softly, and Hermione felt her blood boil. "He saved Sirius simply because he discovered his rat to be Peter Pettigrew. He saved Harry because Harry is a well-known and powerful wizard. He helped us with the Dragon because he knew that it would benefit him. And as for the stone, why was he there before us? For all we know, he wanted the stone for himself. Hermione, he's in Slytherin for a reason! Unlike his siblings, he actually has agendas and plans…"

"Enough…" Hermione shook with rage. "You have no right to talk about him like that, Neville." Hermione felt her eyes burn as she remembered Ron telling her about his scars. "You keep making up reasons to not like him, and I'm done listening to your conspiracy theories. You have no facts, whatsoever. I want to be his friend, and if you two don't like that, then you two aren't who I thought you were." Hermione stood up and marched away to her dorm, she couldn't stand to look at them for another moment. _Ron was right. They don't like him just because he's in Slytherin! That's so… so unfair!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: So that was a big chapter, huh? A lot happened during it! Ron's made some new allies, and they'll definitely be key players during 3rd year! Hermione and he are back on the same side, and both of them couldn't be happier about it! It's just their friends now who are upset... Hmmm, care to guess where I'm taking all of this?**

 **Now, a small announcement that might displease some of you. My posting speed will slow down from now on. I have Uni on, and I volunteer for three days during the week as well. Plus weekend stuff with my mates. So I'm really busy. So instead of a chapter ever 2 days, expect a chapter 5 days at the latest.**

 **This project is very important to me, and I will not be putting it on the shelf. It will be a continuous thing, and I will make sure to keep it that way. I love writing this story for you guys, I've had nothing but amazing support for it! So thank you all!**

 **Also, I had a look at the word count and we are getting up there! After evaluating some numbers with Arcs I have planned, I now know that this story will not be 1.5 million words. It'll be around 2.5 million, shiet!**

 **See you soon!**


	38. Chapter 38 - Another Letter

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 38 is here! I managed to write this up before the week truly started! And it will be a busy week for me...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 38 – Another Letter**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **January 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Library Entrance)**_

It was Friday evening, and classes had just ended. Ron was waiting outside the library for Hermione to join him, just like he used to. Today was the first day that they were going to study together since their fight, and Ron was genuinely excited. He had missed her company, and her work ethic.

Things in the school were almost back to normal, and it was all because of the fact that the Heir had disappeared. Cedric and Max had been true to their words, and the younger Hufflepuffs were back in check. Professor Sprout had apparently held a house meeting, and it had not gone well for the bullies. The Ravenclaws became disinterested in the whole school rivalry thing, and they had once again turned their attention to their own books. The Gryffindors refused to back down however, they felt the need to avenge their fallen house-mate. And so they were still being aggressive, but since it was one against one once more, the Slytherins had grown a back bone as well. Just yesterday, a fight had broken out between the two Quidditch teams and many players from both sides had ended up in Pomfrey's care. Fred and George were amongst them, both supporting boils and other melodies. Ron would feel bad for his brothers, but from what he had heard, the twins had fired the first jinx.

"Weasley…" came a boy's voice from behind Ron, and it broke him out of his thoughts. Ron turned around and saw that Potter and Longbottom were the ones who had called out to him. _For Merlin's sake. Where is Hermione?_

"Potter" Ron greeted with a curt nod. "Longbottom. Where is Hermione? I've been waiting for five minutes? She is never late…"

"Stay away from her" Potter bit out, and Ron blinked at him. "We know that you're just using her…"

"Do you now?" Ron hissed, he could already feel his temper flaring. "And what makes you think that you can tell me what to do? Or Hermione, for that matter?"

"We're her friends, and you're the Heir of Slytherin" Longbottom puffed out his chest. _This again?_

"Do you have any proof?" Ron asked in a mocking tone, and both Gryffindors flushed red. "Did you kidnap my friends without my knowledge, and learn all of my darkest secrets when I wasn't looking? No? Then piss off…" Ron spat out, and Longbottom went crimson in the face.

"I can't believe that I ever trusted you" Potter grit out. "You're just another snake!" Ron cringed internally, that had hit a sore spot.

"Don't push me, Potter…" Ron warned, he was doing his best to remain calm. The last thing he wanted to do was repeat his mistake. "Back off right now. I won't ask you again… And as for trusting me, I'm not the one who plotted behind your back."

"You had Harry taken away from the Quidditch team" Longbottom accused.

"After you three betrayed me" Ron shot back. "Don't try and take the victim stance here, we all know what you three were planning. Just be grateful I didn't get you expelled…"

"Do you have any idea how important Quidditch is to Harry?" Longbottom asked in a hateful voice. "It's his only connection to his father, and you took that away from him." Ron blinked at Longbottom, he had no clue about that.

"Nev, don't" Potter told his friend in a calming voice. "He doesn't care about things like that, remember?" Ron cringed again, what was that supposed to mean?

"You don't anything about me" Ron managed to say.

"Believe me, I know that…" Potter glared at Ron. "But we're going to expose you, Weasley. Just you wait…"

"Don't threaten me, Potter" Ron warned again. "The last time you pissed me off, Snape saved you… I don't see him saving you again." Potter and Longbottom's eyes widened for a second, and Ron knew that they were scared of him. _Good. Maybe they'll leave me alone now._

"Ron! Sorry for being so late, someone hid my book bag!" came Hermione's voice, and the girl stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her two best friends talking to Ron. "What's going on?" Hermione asked them in a worried tone.

"Seriously?" Ron spat at the two boys. "You hid her book bag so you could come here and tell me to stay away from her? You're pathetic…"

"Ron, don't say things like that" Hermione scolded, and then she turned to her best friends. "Is it true? You hid my bag?"

"Hermione, please don't be friends with him" Longbottom implored her. "He is not a good person…" Ron felt his face flush with anger, but he kept his mouth shut.

"So you did hide my bag!" Hermione snapped, and then she put her hands on her hips. "Friends don't do that to each other!"

"It's for your own safety" Potter told her.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much" Hermione said haughtily, and Ron smirked. _I have missed that. Here comes her angry pout._ "And I don't need baby-sitters" Hermione pouted angrily, and Ron had to hold back his chuckle.

"We're just trying to look out for you" Longbottom said softly.

"Hermione, I'll be waiting inside" Ron told her, he didn't care to see all this drama. "I'll be in the usual spot, alright?"

"Okay, Ron" Hermione smiled at him. As Ron left, he could hear her telling the two boys off.

Ron went and sat down in their old spot, and he let out a tired sigh. Potter and Longbottom had no right to call him a bad person. Ron knew that he wasn't a bad person… Was he? He had done some really shady things recently, that was true, and right now he wasn't sure what kind of person he was. But he was certain that he wasn't a bad person. Maybe he was both good and bad…

"I'm sorry about them" Hermione said as she sat down, dragging him out of his thoughts.

"It's alright" Ron gave a reassuring smile, but even he didn't believe his words. _Is this going to be a recurring thing? Am I going to get cornered by those two often?_

"No, it isn't" Hermione huffed as she pulled out her Transfiguration homework. "They hid my things so that they could ambush you, and I don't approve of that. They were so immature!"

"Careful, Hermione" Ron chuckled. "We're in a library… And Madam Pince is already not happy with us."

"And whose fault is that?" Hermione smiled at him.

"Um… yours?" Ron cocked his head.

"It is not" Hermione giggled.

"I'm not the one who got caught eating snacks" Ron shrugged. "That was you."

"You snuck them in here" Hermione poked his left arm.

"I did no such thing" Ron denied as he pulled out a cinnamon bun from his bag. He tore it in half and offered one of the halves to Hermione. "Hungry?"

"You're incorrigible, Ronald Weasley" Hermione giggled, and then she shot quick looks around her. "And yes, I am a bit hungry" she admitted as she took half of the cinnamon bun. _It's good to be back here again._

* * *

 _ **February 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

"This map is useless…" Pansy sighed in defeat. "It was a horrible idea, I'm sorry…"

"No, it wasn't" Millie told her, but she wasn't convinced. They had been trying to locate the Chamber's entrance for half a month now, and they had absolutely nothing to show for it. It was just impossible… There were so many hidden passages and secrets hidden within Hogwarts, and no map drawn by children was ever going to cut it. _Even the Marauder's Map isn't helping me! This is impossible. We need to focus on the Heir, that's how we'll find the Chamber._

"C'mon, Pans" Tracey smiled at her. "You at least came up with an idea when none of us did. And because of the map, we at least know where to start our search."

"Actually…" Theo jumped in hesitantly. "We might have been wrong about the Chamber not being near the Slytherin common room." Everyone looked to him immediately.

"What are you on about?" Ron asked.

"There are pipes running underneath the Black Lake as well" Theo told them. "I was talking to the Bloody Baron, and he told that when the plumbing system was implemented, it covered **all** of Hogwarts. Turns out that it was a massive undertaking. There are pipes running for miles underneath Hogwarts and the Black Lake. All of the waste goes straight out of the property, or deep underneath it."

"Back to square one then" Blaise sighed.

"We'll never find the entrance at this rate" Daphne said to Ron. "People have been searching for it for hundreds of years, and none of them succeeded. What chance do we have?"

"Tom Riddle found it" Tracey provided. "If he can find it, then so can we."

"Tom Riddle is also the Dark Lord" Theo told her, and they all shuddered. "He is out of our league…" _People searched for hundreds of years, but they failed. And yet, the Dark Lord finds it without any help?_ Something clicked in Ron's head at that, something that might solve their problems.

"He was a Parselmouth" Ron whispered, and his friends looked to him in a confused manner. "That's the difference between all of the others and him… He was a Parselmouth."

"You think being a Parselmouth shows you the entrance?" Millie asked him.

"Maybe…" Ron shrugged. "It's the only lead we have right now."

"The entrance might only show itself if you speak Parseltongue near it" Blaise leaned back in his seat. _That could be it._

"Or it could be a blood ward?" Theo provided.

"What's a blood ward?" Tracey asked.

"It means that the entrance only opens if you provide some of your blood" Daphne answered for Theo. "That seems quite plausible to me. You can only get in if you have Salazar Slytherin's blood in your veins."

"Let's hope that's not the case…" Pansy said as she went a little pale.

"We might not have his blood, but we do have a Parselmouth" Blaise smirked at Ron.

"So how do we do this?" Ron asked Blaise. "Do you want me to go around the school talking in Parseltongue? Because that won't end well for me…"

"Don't be so dramatic" Theo chuckled. "We'll go out at night!"

"How?" Daphne asked Theo with a dead-look.

"Invisibility spell!" Pansy exclaimed. "Oh Ron, this is a going to be so much fun!" _Oh no…_

"What invisibility spell?" Daphne asked Ron, and he immediately felt a cold sweat. _OH NO!_

"Um…" Ron said sheepishly. "I know a spell to turn myself invisible…"

"You do?" Millie asked in awe.

"So do I" Theo shrugged.

"Me too" Blaise added.

"Ron taught us" Pansy smiled happily. _This is where I die, isn't it?_

"Ahem…" Tracey fake-coughed. "You taught them, and not us?"

"Why didn't you teach me?" Millie asked with a hurt voice.

"It's not like that…" Ron started but Tracey cut him off.

"Clearly he likes them more than us!" Tracey snapped, her face contorting in anger. The mood suddenly shifted in a negative direction, and Pansy was no longer excited.

"NO! It's not like that!" Ron told Tracey firmly, and then he looked to Daphne. The look on her face floored him… She looked betrayed, hurt, and angry at the same time. _Fuck…_ "I taught Theo and Blaise because Blaise caught me using it!"

"It's always the same with you" Daphne said in a venomous tone. "You only ever tell us things after we catch you out." _Damnit. That was a really bad excuse._

"I can teach you guys right now" Ron offered, he didn't know why he was panicking over Daphne's reaction.

"Save it" Daphne spat out. "I don't want your pity." Daphne stood up and marched away, and Ron got up to follow her. Before he chased after her, he shot Theo, Blaise, and Pansy an outraged look. Tracey was fuming, and Millie just looked hurt. _For Merlin's sake…_ Ron left the Sanctuary as he chased after Daphne, and he caught her walking towards the moving staircase with a quickened pace.

"Daphne, please just wait a second" Ron begged her, and she turned around quickly. Her eyes were red, and she looked close to crying.

"You taught Theo and Blaise!" Daphne yelled as she jabbed an accusing finger in his chest. "And you taught Pansy? Pansy! But you didn't teach me? What, you like her more than you like me? Is that it?" she asked with an angry, frantic voice. Ron's stomach tightened at her words.

"No Daph, that's not it!" Ron told her as he tried to put a calming hand on her right arm, but she quickly slapped his hand away. Ron was stunned, he had never seen her so angry with him.

"You're the worst!" Daphne shrieked at him. "I thought that after Christmas… We were… You're the worst!" And then Daphne ran away towards the moving staircase, and Ron just stood there in a daze. _What just happened? It's just a spell! Why is she acting like that?!_ Ron had quickly bottle up his anger, because he knew that if he didn't, he'd chase her down and start screaming at her.

"Hey!" came a female's voice from behind him. "You're not supposed to be up here! Get out!" Ron turned to see an angry pair of Gryffindor girls coming towards him. Ron recognized them from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, their names were Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

"What are you doing up here?" Alicia Spinnet demanded. "This is Gryffindor territory!" _You two couldn't have picked a worse time to start this with me._

"It is?" Ron asked them innocently, and they narrowed their eyes on him. "I didn't know that, I swear."

"Don't lie" Angelina Johnson frowned at him. "Leave now, or we'll tell your brothers that you're sneaking around on the seventh floor."

"Go ahead" Ron told her. "I'll wait right here for them. Go on…" The girls glared angrily at him. _I can't go back to the Sanctuary now. Damn these two bints._ Ron spotted his friends coming around the corner, and luckily the Gryffindor girls were facing him. Ron's friends spotted the girls with Ron, and they instantly turned around and just walked back around the corner. _Really?!_

"Tell us what you're doing up here" Alicia Spinnet demanded from him.

"I was exploring the castle" Ron shrugged, he really needed a better excuse.

"Then explore somewhere else, Slytherin" Angelina Johnson ordered. Ron cocked his eyebrow at her, and then he turned around and walked away towards the staircase. She had given him an out, and he was going to take it. _Bloody Gryffindors._

* * *

 _ **February 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Midnight – Boys' Room)**_

"Ron, stop being so pig-headed" Blaise frowned.

"At least take one of us with you" Theo suggested. Ron was currently getting ready to go out into the castle to look for the Chamber's entrance. And he wanted to left alone. Tracey, Millie, and Daphne were terribly upset with Ron, and he just needed to clear his head.

"I want to be left alone" Ron told them firmly, and then he turned to face them. "Why did you tell them what I taught you?"

"We didn't, Pansy did" Theo defended himself.

"We just put our names in to clear ourselves of any blame" Blaise shrugged. Ron glared at Blaise, and the dark skinned boy cocked his eyebrow at Ron. _Arseholes._

"I need some air, leave me be" Ron frowned as he went towards the door. Theo got up to follow him, but Blaise stopped him.

"Theo, leave him" Blaise said in an aloof voice.

"What? Are you serious?" Theo asked Blaise. "He could run into the Heir…"

"Good, let's hope that happens" Ron snarled, and then he left. He cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he left the common room. Once he was out of the common room, he took out the Marauder's Map. _If I run into anyone, they will see a floating piece of parchment. Luckily, I'll see them coming because of this map._

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" Ron whispered as he tapped his wand on the parchment. The map revealed itself, and Ron studied it intensely. Snape was patrolling the first floor, Filch was on the moving staircases, McGonagall was on the third floor, Flitwick was on the fifth floor, and Lockhart was in the dungeons. _I guess that they're taking this Heir business seriously. Is that why the Heir hasn't attacked in a while? They're hiding from the Professors?_ Ron then made his way towards the stairs leading out of the Dungeons. As he got closer to the stairs, he noticed that Lockhart was heading in his direction. Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on the Marauder's Map, and then he hid in a dark corner.

"You're fine, Gilderoy" Lockhart muttered as he came into Ron's view. The man who was generally grinning looked absolutely terrified. He was pale in the face, and he had his wand aimed ahead of him. _This is our D.A.D.A Professor…_ "You've fought Werewolves and Vampires, this is nothing" Lockhart whimpered as he slowly skulked forward. Ron just watched quietly as Lockhart crept past him, and Ron had to fight the urge to jump out and scare him. _Merlin, that'd be so funny! Except he'd probably Curse me on instinct._

Once Lockhart had skulked off, Ron made his way out of the dungeons and towards the Great Hall. Getting into the Great Hall was easy enough, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do now. _Do I just speak Parseltongue? And if so, what do I say? Merlin, this is insane._ Ron creeped around the empty Great Hall, and then he drew in a sharp breath. _Here goes nothing, let's just hope I'm speaking in Parseltongue. Alright, maybe I should've brought one of the boys._

"Show me the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets" Ron hissed, and nothing happened. "Open. Let me in. I am Heir of Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin. Blood-Purity. Dumbledore's saggy balls!" Ron hissed in frustration, but nothing happened. _What do I do now?_ Ron opened the map and had a look at the patrols, Snape and McGonagall were heading towards the Great Hall. _Oh shite._ Ron quickly hid the map and ran towards the darkest corner he could find. Just as he hid himself, the giant doors swung open.

"I'm this close to cursing him, Severus" came McGonagall's strict voice. "If he ever 'advises' me on how to do my job again, I will turn him into the toad that he is."

"Please do, Minerva" Snape drawled. "Save us all from the trouble of dealing with that fool." The two Head of Houses came into Ron's view as they walked further into the Great Hall.

"Do you believe what he is saying, Severus?" McGonagall asked indignantly. "That he knows where the entrance to the Chamber is?" Ron's ears perked up at that, who were they talking about?

"If he knows where the Chamber is, then Albus Dumbledore is secretly the Dark Lord" Severus frowned deeply.

"Why Albus hired that fool is beyond me" McGonagall scowled. "I was teaching my fifth years about their upcoming O.W.L.S, and he burst into my classroom uninvited. And then he began handing out cakes. Cakes, Severus!"

"Why would he do that?" Snape asked as he shook his head. _They both sound like they're… friends? This is… awesome._

"He claimed that they all needed a 'Pick-me up'…" McGonagall sighed. "Not to mention that he almost killed Pomona when he bumped into her and she fell down the stairs."

"I spent eight hours working on a potion for a client" Snape drawled. "I left it alone for five minutes, and when I came back, he had ruined the potion and melted my cauldron. That fool added Boomslang skin to an already volatile potion" Snape hissed.

"No…" Minerva gasped in disbelief.

"Indeed, Minerva" Snape said, the look on his face was terrifying. "When I questioned him, he grinned like an idiot and told me that I'd made a mistake somewhere. He claimed that some Shaman from Africa had taught him how to make a perfect Amortentia Potion, and that Boomslang skin was an essential ingredient for it… I almost killed him, Minerva."

"Gilderoy Lockhart" McGonagall frowned in disgust. "What a vile, incompetent man." _Of course they're talking about Lockhart. I'm not even surprised._ "Well, it seems that the Great Hall is clear. Let's travel down to the dungeons."

"I suggest we stay away from the dungeons" Snape drawled as they began to leave. "Lockhart is patrolling the dungeons tonight."

"I see" McGonagall sighed. "Let's go up to the seventh floor then, I want to be as far away from that fool as possible." Ron waited quietly as the Heads of Houses left, and then he came out of the corner. _Bloody hell, I didn't know that they were friends. Why don't they step in and stop the rivalry between their houses?_ Ron took the map out and had a look. Filch was still patrolling the first floor, and it looked like he was pacing where Mrs. Norris died. Flitwick was in the dungeons now, and he was walking with Lockhart. McGonagall and Snape were heading up to the seventh floor. _I'll go and check the third floor._

Ron headed up to the third floor with as much care as he could muster, it was at times like these when Ron really appreciated his paranoia. As Ron passed the library's entrance, he decided to try his luck inside. Ron crept into the massive dark room full of books, and he quickly checked his map. Nothing had changed except for the fact that Snape and McGonagall were now roaming the seventh floor. Ron went to the Forbidden Section first, this place would be his best guess in the library.

"Show me the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets" Ron hissed in the dark, and even he felt disturbed as the sound echoed throughout the library. _Is that what I sound like? Merlin._ "Open." Nothing happened, and Ron frowned deeply. This was a shite idea! He'd be doing this for years at this rate, Hogwarts was massive. And he would have to hiss at every single corner, and he wasn't even sure if Parseltongue was the key. _There has to be a better way, how did the Dark Lord do it? There has to be some reason that he could it when no one else could. But what? Parseltongue is the only thing that I can think of._

Ron felt his spirit drown a little, he didn't even want to be out here. He wanted to be with Daphne, Tracey, and Millie. He wanted to fix his mistake and teach them the Disillusionment Charm. He wanted Daphne to not be so angry at him. He couldn't get her angry and hurt face out of his head, and it was driving him crazy. She was overreacting so much! It was just a damn spell, nothing else. _And what did she mean by 'After Christmas'? Crazy bint…_ Ron let out a tired sigh as he decided to go back to the common room. His heart wasn't in this, and it was a stupid plan anyway.

* * *

 _ **February 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Abandoned Classroom – Lunch)**_

Ron waited in the abandoned classroom for his siblings, and he wondered if these family therapy sessions were going to become a regular thing. Ginny had told him at breakfast that Percy wanted to see them all at lunch, and now here he was. Things with Tracey, Millie, and Daphne were still frosty. Millie wouldn't even look at him, Tracey glared at him non-stop, and Daphne kept making cold comments about anything that he said. It was annoying to say the least, but he didn't want to upset them further. So he decided to just take the abuse and not say anything back, they'd get over it eventually. Ron heard the door open, and he turned to see the twins enter.

"Hello" Ron greeted them, and they smirked at him.

"Little Ronnikins" Fred said pleasantly.

"All alone in an abandoned classroom" George joined in.

"Suspicious" they both said together, and Ron rolled his eyes. _How do they do that?_

"I got called here, same as you" Ron shrugged. "Do you know why?"

"I think Percy wants to have another yelling match" Fred replied.

"The last one did wonders" George chuckled. _It put an end to our fighting at least._ The door opened again, and this time both Ginny and Percy entered.

"Good, you're all here" Percy greeted them.

"Percy, what's this about?" Ginny asked him as she sat down on the same table as last time. "Some girls from my year wanted to have lunch with me" Ginny pouted. _She's making friends. That's great news._ Ron smiled softly to himself.

"I wanted to talk, just like last time" Percy smiled at Ginny, he was thinking the same thing as Ron.

"You want to fight?" Fred chuckled.

"We're in" George added.

"No, I don't want to fight" Percy sighed, and then he turned to Ron. "But we might…" _What is he on about?_ "Ron, why were you up on the seventh floor yesterday?" _Those two Gryffindors turned me in._ Everyone looked to Ron in surprise.

"I was exploring the castle" Ron shrugged, he needed a new bloody excuse.

"Exploring the castle?" Fred asked with a furrowed brow.

"And in Gryffindor territory?" George asked.

"It's not Gryffindor property" Ron frowned at them. "I wasn't near your common room, it was just the seventh floor."

"But that is our territory…" Ginny jumped in.

"I don't see your name on it" Ron said childishly.

"Real mature" Ginny sniggered.

"Ginny, this is serious" Percy told her. "Ron, what's the real reason? And why were you so rude to those two girls?"

"Which girls?" George asked.

"Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson" Percy answered, but he kept his eyes on Ron. _They weren't pleasant either._

"I wasn't that rude" Ron told Percy honestly. "They yelled at me and told me to 'Get out', I simply cocked an eyebrow and then I left."

"That's not what they told me" Percy frowned. "They said that you were extremely cold towards them, and that you weren't telling them the truth."

"I told them that I was exploring the castle, which I was" Ron sighed. "That's the truth Percy, I swear." Percy looked at him for a few seconds, and then he nodded.

"Did you find anything cool?" Ginny asked Ron excitedly.

"Nope" Ron smiled at her. "The seventh floor sucks."

"You suck" Ginny poked her tongue out at him.

"Real mature" Ron chuckled.

"Can we go and have some lunch now?" Fred asked Percy with a snobbish tone.

"Did you really have to call us in for this?" George asked. "You could've just asked Ron by yourself."

"Actually" Percy said slowly. "I was hoping that we could all talk again… About anything that might be bothering us." _If only…_

"I want to get my ears pierced" Ginny provided, she missed talking to her brothers.

"We can do that for you" Fred said excitedly.

"No" Percy and Ron said together.

"Oh look Fred, Percy has a clone" George laughed, and Percy flushed red.

"Oh please, I'm much better looking" Ron smirked, being in Slytherin gave you skills in banter. The twins sniggered like children at Percy, and Percy grimaced at Ron.

"Can we go now?" Fred asked Percy. "We have Quidditch Practice this evening."

"And we don't fancy practicing with empty stomachs" George added. There was sudden silence in the room because everyone knew that they didn't stand a chance anyway. _Cormac McLaggen is a poor sub for Potter._

"Ron…" Ginny said softly, and Ron sighed because he knew what was coming. "Why won't you let Harry play Quidditch?" _And there it is._ Everyone looked to Ron, and the twins looked rather bothered.

"It helps Slytherin" Ron shrugged. And the twins frowned at him.

"I think you should let him play" Ginny said softly. "He looks really sad all the time… And we're losing because he isn't there… He's your friend, isn't he?" Ron took in a deep breath, and then he smiled at Ginny.

"No, he isn't" Ron said in a cold voice, and Ginny's eyes widened a little. "Keeping him off the team helps me far more than letting him play, so I won't let him play."

"Ron" Percy started. "Don't you think you're being a little… harsh?"

"You took away their detentions" Fred said hotly.

"Why not let him join the team again?" George asked.

"What do you think will happen to me if I let him play now?" Ron asked the twins. "I'll tell you. My own house will string me up by my feet… And as for the detentions, I took those away because Hermione apologized for her actions. Potter and Longbottom still haven't done that. Instead, they've been giving me warnings to stay away from Hermione."

"So you won't let him play because it benefits you?" Fred scowled at Ron.

"That's so selfish" George accused.

"Ron, you can be the bigger person here" Percy suggested. "Let him play in order to show him that he was wrong about you." _Wrong about me?_ Ron felt his temper flare violently.

"I have given him far more than I've taken" Ron said as he stood up taller. "He wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me." His siblings gave him guarded looks, they didn't like this new Ron. "I saved his life from that troll. I took the blame for him when he smuggled a Dragon out of Hogwarts. I gave him his Godfather back. I rescued him from his abusive family, and I committed a crime in doing so. I even stopped Lord Greengrass from expelling him for his actions. And the only thing that I've taken from him is Quidditch, and that's all he cares about. He is a selfish, self-entitled little shite. The Boy-Who-Lived" Ron spat out. "The Boy-Who-Betrayed is more like it."

"Mum and dad raised us to be better than that" Ginny frowned at Ron. "They'd want you to forgive Harry. They'd want you to be the better person."

"Being a better person doesn't help in this matter" Ron told her. "If I let him play, I'll have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of the school year. He brought this on himself, and he needs to deal with it."

"You brought this on him" George frowned deeply.

"I'm not the one who went behind his back" Ron grit out, why were they so adamant about defending Harry? "He planned to drug and kidnap one of my friends! That's a crime that can land you in Azkaban!"

"Harry isn't old enough to be sent to Azkaban" Fred argued.

"That's you're argument?" Ron frowned at Fred. "He isn't old enough so he should be allowed to get away with it?"

"What you did would land you in Azkaban as well" Percy said firmly.

"What I did happened in a Duel" Ron told Percy. "And it was never stated that physical contact isn't allowed."

"You're such a Slytherin" Fred shook his head in disappointment, and Ron nearly popped a blood vessel.

"Yeah! I am!" Ron exclaimed. "And I'm sick of apologizing for it." Ron decided enough was enough, he was done with this conversation. So he just walked off, and he ignored Percy telling him to come back. _Harry fucking Potter… If a Slytherin student had tried to pull off the same stunt that he did, they'd be expelled without a second thought!_

* * *

 _ **February 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner)**_

Ron stared at the Golden Trio leaving the Great Hall, and he felt a pang of guilt. The conversation with his siblings had been replaying in his head all day, and it was getting to him. He had told his siblings that he was punishing Potter because it was serving Slytherin, but the truth was quite different. Yes, Potter's punishment was helping Slytherin a lot, but it was also helping Ron a lot. Some nasty part of Ron was enjoying watching the boy-who-lived squirm and sulk around. It gave Ron a sense of justice… and power. He had put Dumbledore's golden boy in his place, and that was worth more to Ron than Slytherin house's gain.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape's voice drawled, and Ron turned to face the Potions Master. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you, now." With that, Snape billowed away. Ron shot his friends a look before following after Snape. They walked up to Dumbledore's office in silence, and Ron preferred it that way. He liked how Snape only spoke when he felt the need to, unlike Lockhart who never shut up. "Acid Pops" Snape said to the gargoyle, and Ron cringed. _I hate Acid Pops._ "You know where to go from here" Snape said before leaving him alone. Ron walked up the stairs and knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in" came Dumbledore's merry voice, and Ron entered the room. "Ah, Ronald. I was hoping that was you" Dumbledore said with twinkling eyes.

"Good evening, Headmaster" Ron smiled at the old man, Dumbledore wasn't so bad. The old man had helped him quite a lot after Snape had torn him to shreds.

"Take a seat, Ronald" Dumbledore said as he gestured a seat in front of his clawed-desk. Ron sat down, and then he shot a quick look to Fawkes. The Phoenix was asleep. "I see that you've missed Fawkes."

"Not missed, just curious" Ron smiled at the beautiful creature. "How long does he usually sleep for?"

"Oh, it can be for a few short hours" Dumbledore chuckled. "Or it can be for days. But he is always awake when he is needed. Lemon Drop, Ronald?" Dumbledore offered, and Ron smiled at the sweets.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron said as he accepted one. Ron quickly popped it into his mouth, and he immediately felt soothed. _This feeling again? That's twice now that this has happened._

"How have you been, Ronald?" Dumbledore smiled at the red haired boy, his eyes dancing in merriment.

"I have been doing well, Headmaster" Ron shrugged, he felt so relaxed. "There are a few bumps every now and then, but nothing that I can't handle."

"I see, that is good to hear" Dumbledore rubbed his chin, and Ron got the feeling that Dumbledore knew more about Ron than he was letting on. "I hear that you and Miss. Granger are friends again, this is wonderful news." _That it is, but it's none of your business._

"She apologized for what she did" Ron told Dumbledore. "And I apologized for what I did… I missed her." _Why did I say that? Ron, get a grip on yourself!_ "Headmaster, is there anything in particular that you needed?"

"Yes, there is actually" Dumbledore smiled softy, and then he pulled out a letter from his robes. "This is from your mother, Ronald. She asked me to deliver this to you personally." Ron stared at the letter in silence, his mother had sent that. Ron suddenly felt trepidation because of it, what did it say? Was she going to apologize? Or tell him off? _With her, it can go either way._

"I see" Ron said lamely. Dumbledore leaned forward and handed the letter to Ron, and Ron quickly put it in his robes.

"Are you not going to read it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not here" Ron replied quickly.

"I understand" Dumbledore said softly, he looked disappointed. "Then that is all, Ronald. Good night."

"Good night, Headmaster" Ron said as he stood up. As Ron was leaving the Office, he could feel his heart beating irregularly. _She sent me a letter… I haven't spoken to her or dad since before Christmas. And the last time we spoke… Well, we didn't speak much._

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner)**_

Ginny watched as her brother followed Professor Snape out of the Great Hall, and she frowned. She didn't like Snape one bit. Snape had made so many of her fellow year-mates cry during his classes, the man was a bully. But Ron seemed to like the Potions Master… Ginny couldn't even begin to understand why. All she knew was that her brother had changed a lot since he had started Hogwarts… He had become colder, and more calculating. And sometimes even downright scary… Ronnie always had a temper on him, but now it was different. It was more vindictive, and even cruel. But she knew that despite all of these changes, Ronnie loved her more than anything.

She had come to understand why he had gotten so angry with her. She had been missing all day, and instead of telling him what had happened, she had told him to go away. He was just worried for her, and she was nothing but nasty to him. And yet he had forgiven her in a heartbeat. The moment she had apologized to him, he had forgiven her. That reminded her that Ronnie hadn't changed much at all. When they were younger, she'd always find a way to upset him. But when she apologized and gave him some attention, he'd forget all about it and just forgive her.

Ginny followed her fellow Gryffindors up the stairs, and towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. As she was going up, she spotted Hermione Granger talking to Harry animatedly. _Harry…_ Ginny felt a blush come onto her face, she was so close to him! Harry laughed at something that Hermione said, and Ginny felt a strong pang of jealousy. _They're awfully close. Are they more than friends? Does she like him?_ Ginny didn't really like Hermione that much, the bushy haired girl had spied on her after all. Well not spied, looked out for was more like it. Ron had convinced Ginny that Hermione was only trying to make sure that Ginny was settling into school without any problems. Images of Tom popped into her mind, and she quickly cast them out. _Ron had every right to be worried, and he was right._

A thought occurred to Ginny suddenly, and she pondered about it in her mind. Ron and Hermione were friends again… Ginny had heard Ron tell his friends during breakfast that Hermione had apologized to him, and now he had forgiven her. _Just like he forgave me! That's it!_ Ginny smiled to herself as an idea formed in her head. Ron had forgiven Hermione, and he might forgive Harry too. If Harry apologized for what he did, Ron would forgive him. That's what Ronnie did, he forgave people who apologized. _That's what he said today as well. He took away their detentions when Hermione apologized… He might let Harry play if Harry apologizes!_ Ginny smiled proudly as she thought about her plan. Harry would finally notice her if her plan worked!

Once they all got inside the common room, Ginny quickly made her way up to her room. She got out a fresh set of clothes from her trunk, and then she quickly went into the bathroom to take a shower. She wanted everything to be perfect when she approached Harry with her plan. She knew from Witch Weekly that looking nice, and smelling nice, was the best way to make a wizard notice you. As she finished up her shower and dried herself off, she gazed into the mirror. She took her time in making her hair look nice after she dressed, and she only left when she looked perfect. Ginny then made her way down to the common room with a confident stride, and she was glad to see the Golden Trio sitting alone by the fire. They seemed to be discussing something in hushed whispers, and Ginny suddenly felt a pang of doubt. _What If I'm just wasting my time? What if Harry doesn't like me interrupting him? Maybe I shouldn't get involved at all…_ Ginny quickly shook her head clear. She was a Weasley, and a Gryffindor. She could do this!

Ginny took small steps towards the Trio, and they didn't even notice her approaching. They were talking about something with complete concentration, and Ginny could only wonder about whatever they were discussing. _Alright, Ginevra. You can do this. You can talk to him._ Ginny felt her face flush red as she finally got close to them, and then the blood drained from her face. Her mind went numb, and she lost all feeling in her extremities. Harry was holding Tom in his hands… Ginny blinked at the black Diary, she could never mistake it for any other diary. This was Tom… and Harry was holding him.

"Ginny?" Neville said as he spotted her, and she quickly looked to him. _Why do they have Tom?!_ Pure panic bubbled in her stomach, and it took all of her strength to not vomit from the anxiety she was feeling. "Did you need something?" Neville asked with a smile, and they looked at her with smiles.

"Um… I wanted to…" Ginny stuttered meekly, what was she supposed to do?! _Did Tom tell Harry everything about me?_ "I wanted my broom…" Ginny lied lamely.

"Oh" Harry nodded slowly. "I'll go and get it now…" He looked slightly saddened because of her request, no doubt it was due to his own situation. And just like that, Harry got up and left for his dorm. This left Ginny with Hermione and Neville. There was a short awkward pause between the three, but Ginny was panicking too hard to care. Tom knew everything about her! He knew about her feelings for Harry! And he knew that she was behind the attacks! What if he told Harry? Had he told Harry? No… If he had, Harry wouldn't even speak to her.

"You look nice today Ginny" Hermione smiled at her, and Ginny forced a meek smile in return.

"Thanks…" Ginny muttered. "I hear that you're friends with Ronnie again… That's good." Neville's smile faltered a bit, but Hermione's smile widened.

"Yes, we made up" Hermione nodded. "And I see that you made up with him too. I think that's wonderful, he missed you dearly." Ginny nodded meekly, she didn't really care about Ron right now. She could lose Harry if Tom told him everything… She had to do something about this.

"Here, Ginny" came Harry's voice from behind her. Ginny turned around and she saw Harry standing there with her broom, and he didn't have Tom with him anymore.

"Thanks…" Ginny said as she took her broom, and then she left as quickly as she could. Ginny went straight to her dorm, and once she was inside, she hopped into her bed and closed the curtains. Ginny sat on the bed with her head in her hands, her breathing had become shallow and strained. _Harry has Tom. Why does he have Tom? I have to do something before Tom tells Harry everything… I need to get Tom back._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Lunch)**_

Ron followed Lord Greengrass towards the dining room, it was time to take a break from their work. Ron could barely concentrate on chess today, and even Lord Greengrass could see it. But Ron was having trouble caring about that, he had far more pressing concerns. For one, there was the letter from his mother. Ron was still carrying it around in his robes, and he hadn't read it. Ron knew that he was being a coward, but he didn't care. What if she wrote something hurtful? What if she was still furious with him? Ron wanted to avoid the feelings that those two events would bring.

Secondly, Daphne Greengrass was starting to do his head in. Tracey and Millie were already coming back around, and Ron had even started showing them the spell. But Daphne was still angry with him, and she made sure that he knew it. In all honesty, Ron was just about done with her attitude. Had he ever pried into her secrets? No, he hadn't. But she loved sticking her nose into his, and when she found something that she didn't like, she'd make his life miserable. She always expected things to go her way simply because she was who she was, and that irked Ron. Ron had to fight tooth and nail to get what he wanted, whereas she simply had everything because her father was Lord Greengrass. And it killed Ron that he was so jealous of her…

"Ron?" Lady Greengrass called, and Ron blinked at her.

"Yes, Lady Greengrass?" Ron gave her a forced smile. He was sitting on the dining table with a plate of food in front of him. _Wow. I walked in, took a seat, and made a plate of food without even realizing it. I need to wake up._

"Are you alright? You look quite troubled about something" Lady Greengrass smiled.

"Everything is fine, I'm just a bit out of sorts" Ron lied.

"What did my daughter do?" Lord Greengrass sighed. _How the…?_

"My Lord?" Ron asked with a sheepish smile. "Daphne didn't do anything…"

"Ron, every time you have a school related problem, or a problem with your friends, you tell me" Lord Greengrass frowned. "The only time you hide things from me is when they involve your family or my daughter. So I'm going to venture a guess, and say that my daughter and you are fighting again. Am I wrong?" _What the fuck? He knows me that well?_

"Ron? Is this true?" Lady Greengrass asked with a concerned look.

"Why do you two fight so much?" Tori asked Ron with a mocking smile. "Maybe you shouldn't be friends."

"Tori, behave" Lady Greengrass warned. "Or I will send you upstairs." Tori pouted at that, but she didn't argue.

"Are you going to tell me? Or should I send you back to Hogwarts?" Lord Greengrass asked in a firm voice. "Because I'm not going to waste my time with you when you can't even summon an ounce of focus."

"Husband…" Lady Greengrass frowned. _He's right. I'm just wasting both of our time at this rate._

"She's really angry with me" Ron sighed. "And all because I didn't teach her a spell that I taught Theo, Blaise, and Pansy."

"Which spell?" Lord Greengrass furrowed his brow.

"The Disillusionment Charm" Ron replied.

"The spell you used to discover Potter's little scheme" Lady Greengrass remembered. "Why did you teach Daphne?"

"I only taught Theo and Blaise because Blaise caught me sneaking around the castle" Ron shrugged. "I taught Pansy because I wanted to cheer her up after I caught Malfoy cornering her. I didn't mean to hide this from anyone… But Daphne is acting like I did it on purpose. That I did it to hurt her…"

"What about Tracey and Millicent?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Did you teach them?"

"I'm teaching them now" Ron told his mentor. "To make amends… They were upset, but they accepted my offer. But Daphne won't even accept… And she keeps pushing my buttons. I don't know what to do about her… Or how to make it up to her."

"Then don't" Lord Greengrass said with dead-serious face. _Huh?_ "Ignore her tantrum…"

"Sebastian?" Lady Greengrass asked softly.

"Daphne is behaving like a spoilt child" Lord Greengrass told Ron. "She has a tendency to do that when she doesn't get what she wants. I had hoped that she'd grow out of it by now, but I can see that my hope was misplaced." _Merlin. That's a little too harsh. Daphne may act spoiled, but she never lets her friends down. And what does he mean by 'gets what she wants'? She wants to learn that spell, and I'm offering to teach her._

"Sebastian" Lady Greengrass smiled at her husband. "If Ron ignores her, their friendship might become strained."

"She needs to learn that things don't just get handed to you" Lord Greengrass told his wife. "It is an important lesson for a Slytherin child to learn. No, scratch that. It is an important lesson for **any** child to learn." _I think I just made things worse for Daphne…_

"I can't just ignore her, my Lord" Ron smiled, hoping to fix his mistake. "She is one of my closest friends."

"It was just a suggestion, Ron" Lord Greengrass said with an expressionless mask. "But if you want this behavior to stop, then you need to show her that you won't stand for it."

"Husband, a word?" Lady Greengrass asked, her smile was kind off terrifying. Lord Greengrass sighed, and then he nodded. "Children, go upstairs. Now." Ron and Tori immediately got up and left, they didn't want to be anywhere near these two right now. More importantly, they didn't want to be near Lady Greengrass. Once they were upstairs, Tori smiled widely at Ron.

"You just made my parents fight" Tori chuckled.

"And that's a good thing?" Ron asked her with a confused look.

"Of course!" Tori said loudly. "Now, let's go to my room. Have you seen my room, Ron?"

"No, I haven't" Ron sighed as he followed after her. She was skipping ahead happily, and Ron was extremely confused. _What's wrong with her? Who gets this excited when their parents fight?_ Ron entered Tori's bedroom after her, and he was stunned. Her bedroom was nicer than his entire house… Her bed was a bed that only royalty would sleep on, and it was bright pink. The walls were pink as well, and they were covered with posters of the Weird Sisters. There were around fifty stuffed toys sitting in the far left corner, and they all looked brand new. _The contents of this room are more expensive than everything my family owns…_ Ron felt a sudden pang of shame, but he quickly pushed it in.

"What do you think?" Astoria smiled at him.

"It's very… grand" Ron smiled back. "And pink…"

"What? You don't like pink?" Astoria grinned at him. "You're such a boy…"

"Well yes, I am…" Ron blinked at her. "It's a lovely room, Astoria. I meant no offense."

"Good, now come on!" Tori exclaimed as she jumped on her bed. Ron walked up to the bed, and Tori patted the spot next to her. Ron sighed as he sat down next to her, and she quickly closed the distance between them. _Why is she sitting so close to me?_

"Tori… Personal space, have you heard of it?" Ron asked slowly, and she chuckled.

"I have" she shrugged. "But I generally don't care about it. I'm not bothering you, am I?" _Yes, you are._

"Not at all" Ron smiled at her, and she smiled slyly.

"You're lying" she giggled, and then she put some distance between them. "How did you meet Daphne?" Ron blinked at her.

"We're in the same house" Ron replied. "She approached me, I yelled at her, and then I apologized. And we slowly became friends."

"Really?" Tori cocked her head. "So you two started fighting from the moment you met? Wow… Your friendship sounds exhausting."

"It can be…" Ron said slowly. _What's she up to?_

"Personally, if I had a friendship like that" Tori smiled innocently. "I'd cut it off…" _What?_

"Cut it off?" Ron repeated, and Tori nodded.

"Why not?" Tori shrugged. "You two are always fighting each other, and it sounds terribly annoying to deal with."

"It can be, but we do more than just fight each other" Ron defended Daphne. "We laugh, make jokes, study together, eat together, and she knows more about me than all of my friends combined. And she would never betray me. That's far more important than a few fights…" _What is her problem with Daphne?_

"Then you should remind her of that" Tori smiled happily, and Ron blinked at her.

"What?" Ron asked with a confused look.

"Show her how much you value your friendship with her" Tori said. "She'll come around instantly."

"Oh…" Ron felt his face flush a little. He thought that she was trying to sabotage her sister's friendship with him. Tori smiled in a knowing way, and Ron gulped. _She's the devil!_

"Did I just outsmart the famous chess player?" Tori giggled mischievously. "I think I did!"

"No one will believe you" Ron shot back hotly.

"It's alright" Tori smiled arrogantly. "I want to remember this for myself. And I want you to remember it." _Damn, she got me this time._

"Thank you, Tori" Ron smiled genuinely, and Tori blinked at him. Her smile faded slowly and her cheeks became rosy.

"It's okay…" Tori said as she looked away from him. "Just tell Daphne what you told me, she'll love it." _I should make this conversation a bit more lighthearted. Neither one of us is very good with emotions, judging by her reaction._

"Aw" Ron cooed, and Tori frowned at him. "Little Tori loves her big sister!"

"Nuh-uh" Tori made a face.

"It's alright" Ron grinned. "I'll always remember this." Tori's cheeks turned red as she pouted angrily. Ron was about to laugh, but Tori threw a fluffy pillow straight in his face. Ron picked up the pillow and smiled mischievously. "Is that how it is? Fine, I'll give you a head start… For your sister's sake." Tori's eyes widened, and she smiled brightly. And then she squealed and ran out of the room as Ron chased after her.

* * *

 _ **February 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary – After Dinner)**_

Ron stared at the unopened letter, and he chewed his fingernails. He had been sitting in this exact spot for the last five hours, and he still couldn't find the courage to open his mother's letter. Marty had brought him supper at his request, but Ron had barely touched his food. _Why can't I just open it? Merlin, I'm such a coward. C'mon, Weasley. Just do it already._ Ron picked up the letter and he undid the wax seal on the back, but then he put the letter back down. _I'm an actual little girl._ Ron suddenly heard the door swing open, and he almost yelped in surprise. But it turned out to be his friends, and they were shocked to see him.

"Ron?" Tracey asked. "When did you get back?"

"Around five hours ago" Ron sighed.

"And you've been in here this entire time?" Blaise asked in a disinterested voice.

"Yes…" Ron drawled. "What are you guys doing in here?"

"We were just going to throw some spells at the dummies" Pansy smiled at him. "Ron, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Ron lied. "Don't let me stop you guys." His friends nodded slowly, except for Daphne. She was just staring at him… And Ron knew that she knew that something was wrong. _Damn that Greengrass insight. Is she going to analyze me like her father did?_ Daphne then followed the rest of her friends to the dummies, and Ron breathed out in relief.

Ron slowly pocketed the letter, and then he sank back into his chair. He still had to make up with Daphne, and he didn't even know how to start. Tori's advice was solid, but how was he meant to even start that conversation? _Maybe I should corner her like she cornered me during the Yule Break. Or should I ignore her like Lord Greengrass suggested? No… Lady Greengrass and Tori both disagreed with him. Damnit, why do I even care? She's just going to get mad at me again!_ Ron released a tired breath and rubbed his forehead, this was so stupid. He needed to focus on the Heir, and not on Daphne. _Ugh… But I don't want her to be angry with me! I want her to be friendly with me. Like she was during the Yule Break. Everything was perfect between us when no one was around._ Ron closed his eyes and sank further into his chair.

"What's wrong with you?" came Daphne's voice, and Ron opened his eyes and frowned. She was standing right in front of him with her arms beneath under her chest.

"Hello to you too, Daphne" Ron drawled.

"Why are sulking around?" Daphne huffed. _Even when she's upset she looks out for me._ Ron fought the urge to smile, he didn't want to piss her off.

"I've got a lot on my mind" Ron shrugged, and Daphne narrowed her eyes on him.

"Is it something to do with that letter?" Daphne asked in a cold tone. _So she saw it… They probably all saw it then. But she just can't help herself._

"Yes, and no" Ron shrugged again.

"Stop shrugging at me" Daphne snarled, and Ron put up his hands in surrender. Daphne then turned to leave, but Ron grabbed her left hand and stopped her. "Don't touch me."

"Aren't you going to ask me who sent the letter?" Ron asked, and he didn't let go of her hand.

"What would be the point?" Daphne asked in return. "You probably won't tell me."

"It was my mum" Ron told her, and Daphne blinked at him. _Wish me luck, Tori. I'm taking your advice._

"What… what did it say?" Daphne asked, why did he just tell her that?

"I don't know, I haven't read it yet" Ron replied. "I'm… I'm too worried that it will be something bad… Like at the start of last year…" Daphne's eyes widened for a second, but then she regained her composure.

"Why are you telling me this? You never tell anyone these kinds of things" Daphne said softly.

"I tell you…" Ron smiled softly. "You know more about me than anyone else in this group. And I know that you will never tell anyone because that's not who you are." _Agh! I said it! Tori, I fucking did it._ It took every ounce of willpower in Ron to not do something stupid; like smile too widely, or visibly cringe at saying something so sappy. Daphne just blinked at him over and over again, she had no idea what Ron was up to.

"Do… do you want me to read it… with you?" Daphne asked in an uncertain voice. _No. But if that's what it takes to stop this fight, I'll do it._

"Sit" Ron told her, and Daphne sat down beside him. Ron managed a quick look at his other friends, and he saw them look away quickly. _Busy-bodies._

"Why are you worried about the letter?" Daphne whispered. "I thought you and your mother were getting along…"

"We were" Ron whispered back. _I already told Blaise, so I might as well tell her._ "But then I did what I did to Potter, and she was furious with me. She…" Ron swallowed. "She hit me… really hard…" Daphne let out a soft gasp.

"Ron… I'm so sorry" Daphne put her hands over his gloved one.

"It's okay… I deserved it…" Ron sighed, and Daphne frowned.

"What about Potter then? Did any adult hit him for what he was trying to do?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know" Ron replied honestly, and then he drew in a sharp breath. "And since you now know why I'm so worried, let's read the letter…" Ron took the letter out of his pocket and held it in front of himself. But he couldn't open it, all he did was stare at it. Daphne figured out what was wrong, so she took the letter from his hands. He didn't resist, and she began opening it.

 _Ronald,_

 _This is mum. I know we haven't spoken to each other for a while, not since before Christmas. I've been thinking about what happened every day, and I'm so sorry. I have never been more sorry for anything in my life. I'm sorry that I struck you. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I'm sorry that I never asked for your side of things. But the thing that I'm most sorry about is the fact that I had no idea you were capable of being so cruel._

 _You are my son, and I should know everything about you. But I don't. And it breaks my heart, Ronnie. I am not going to try and deny the fact that what Harry did was wrong, but I will also not deny the fact that what you did was wrong. What Harry did or didn't do is between Sirius and him, and what you did or didn't do is between us. And I will not excuse your actions. I cannot excuse your actions. I am your mother, and it is my duty to raise you right._

 _Your father and I have talked about this for almost two months now, and we have come to a decision. We will be requesting for a Re-Sorting at the start of the next school year. And if you refuse, then we will pull you out of school. This is for your own good, Ronnie. I have been helplessly watching you change for the last one and a half years, but that stops now. I will not lose you. Your father and I will not lose you. We have been discussing your behavior every single day, and he has agreed with me on this. We are doing this with your best interests in our hearts._

 _You may remain friends with your current friends, but you will be removed from Slytherin. We will not let you live in a house that encourages the Dark Arts. We will not let you live in a house that encourages hatred against those born in the Muggle World. We will not let you live in a house that encourages hate over love. I know this isn't what you want, but this is for the best. Please do not be angry with us. We love you, Ronnie. And we can't lose you._

 _Love,_

 _Mum_

By the time Ron finished reading the letter, his mind had already started to go blank. It was over. He was going to be Re-Sorted, or he was going to be pulled out of school. There was no middle ground… Ron knew his parents, and so he knew that they would follow through with this. It was truly over. He'd lose his house. He'd lose his friends. And there was nothing that he could do about this.

"Ron…" came Daphne's voice from beside him, and he slowly turned to face her. Her eyes were already getting red from unshed tears, and she looked like she was in so much pain. Ron knew that he should be feeling that pain as well, but he wasn't. He couldn't even think. "What are you going to do?" Daphne squeaked, and Ron just stared at her.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" came Tracey's voice, and both Ron and Daphne looked to her. She was standing behind the couch, and the rest of their friends were behind her.

"Daphne? What's wrong?" Millie asked slowly. "Why are you crying?" Daphne looked to Ron, and he gave her a slow nod. _Might as well say my goodbyes now…_ Daphne handed the letter to Tracey, and everyone gathered around her to read it. Ron just stared at the small fireplace, the crackling fire was helping him stay calm. Well not calm, it was helping him stay a little focused. His mind was being pulled in a hundred different directions.

What would happen to his friends once he was gone? They'd be forced to deal with Slytherin politics without him. They'd be forced to deal with Malfoy without him. That platinum haired bastard would go after them for sure, and Ron would be in another house. He already knew that he couldn't afford to be pulled out of school because would be the end for his mission. And what did moving houses mean for his mission? The Sorting Hat was sure that Slytherin House was the best choice for his success, and Ron agreed with it now. Being in Slytherin had given him so many advantages once he had gotten over his hatred for the 'snakes'. Would he lose those advantages now? Would he lose his alliance with the Greengrass Family? All of his hard work was about to be undone, and he was powerless to stop it.

"Merlin…" came Theo's voice. "How do we fight this?"

"We can't…" Blaise replied. "They are his parents, and we have no say in the matter."

"No say in the matter?" Tracey muttered.

"This is wrong" Pansy whimpered. "We have to stop this."

"We can't…" Blaise repeated, he sounded tired.

"I can talk to my father" Daphne sniffled. "He can help us."

"Legally speaking, he cannot" Blaise said as he dropped on a couch. "He is only Ron's employer, he has no right to say anything against this."

"No…" Millie sniffled.

"We have to do something, Blaise" Daphne snapped at him. "Why are you shutting down everything we say?"

"I'm not shutting down anything…" Blaise sighed. "I'm just telling you that this is over… I know it, Ron knows it, and you all need to as well. We can't stop his parents from making their decisions…"

"We can if they're trying to take him away from us" Tracey snapped.

"Tracey… Don't…" Theo muttered. "Blaise is right… There is only one thing that we can do now."

"What? What do we do?" Millie asked him quickly.

"Ron has to convince them…" Theo said softly as he sat down. "Ron? Are you listening?" Ron looked away from the fire and just stared at Theo, his weedy friend looked… scared.

"Ron?" Pansy whimpered again. "Say something…"

"My parents…" Ron started softly. "Once they decide to do something, they do it. That's the kind of people they are, and I… I know that they won't change their minds…" _They don't want me to become a little Death-Eater… I should have never opened that letter…_ "My time in Slytherin is finished…" Ron muttered as he looked down at his gloved hand. Ron could hear the girls whimpering and sniffling, and he could feel that Theo and Blaise were equally shaken. But this is was it… His parents were going to take everything away from him… Everything that he had worked so hard for…

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch)**_

Harry frowned when he saw the Gryffindor Quidditch team huddled together, they were no doubt planning some strategy. Cormac McLaggen was arguing with Wood about something, and Wood looked ready to clock him. _It should be me sitting beside Wood. Not Cormac._ Harry ached to play Quidditch again… He even missed the absurd amount of training that Wood had been putting them through. _Did dad train so hard when he was seeker?_

"Harry?" Hermione called to him. "Aren't you going to eat?" Harry looked to her, and she was smiling at him. _She doesn't want me to think about Quidditch._ Harry managed a weak smile as he began to eat his chicken drumstick.

"Have you found anything about the Heir, or the Chamber?" Harry asked Hermione.

"No…" Hermione shook her head. "Ron hasn't shared his findings with me yet…"

"Did you ask him?" Neville asked her.

"No" Hermione sighed. "We just became friends again. I don't want him to think that I'm just using him."

"Who cares about what he thinks…" Harry said bitterly. "He's just a snake…"

"Harry, don't" Hermione frowned a little. There was a short pause amongst the Trio, and Harry ate his chicken quietly.

"Did you find out anything about T.M. Riddle?" Hermione suddenly asked the boys.

"Only that he was a prefect, and Head Boy" Neville shrugged. "Oh… and he was in Slytherin."

"Really? Slytherin?" Hermione blinked. "That can't be right… He was a Muggle-Born…"

"We're thinking that maybe he was a Half-Blood" Harry added in. Harry wasn't going to lie to himself, he had been disappointed to learn about Riddle's house. _What a waste._

"And how did you learn all of this?" Hermione asked softly.

"We snuck into Filch's archive room…" Neville sighed. "It took ages, but we were able to find a list of students and their houses. We went back fifty years and found him. That's how we learned about his titles and house."

"What about the Diary?" Hermione asked. "Did you get rid of it like we discussed?"

"Not yet…" Harry sighed. "I just… I need some time. I'll get rid of it soon…" They had planned to get rid of the Diary because it was clearly useless, and because Neville had convinced Hermione that someone had thrown it away for a reason. But Harry wasn't ready to let go of it just yet… His instincts told him to keep it.

"Harry" Neville said softly. "There is nothing in that Diary. It's completely empty, and Hermione has cast a dozen different 'Reveal Spells' on it. It's just a Diary… nothing more."

"Then why do you want me to get rid of it?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Because it might be Cursed or something…" Neville sighed. "Some Curses are too strong to be found so easily. Someone threw that Diary away for a reason, and we shouldn't wait to discover that reason."

"Neville is right, Harry" Hermione said haughtily. "Just leave it in Myrtle's bathroom…"

"Not yet…" Harry said in a whisper. Harry saw movement from the corner of his eyes, and he looked to the entrance of the Great Hall. Who he saw put a grim frown on his face. _Weasley._ Ron Weasley had just arrived to lunch late, and he looked haggard. His hair was made up in that pompous way that he liked, but his skin was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. Harry quickly looked to the Slytherin table, and he saw that Weasley's friends were already there. _Why is he alone?_

"Harry, stop it" came Hermione's voice, and he looked to her. She was just staring at him with a serious look.

"Stop what?" Harry asked with a frown.

"I can see you staring at him" Hermione narrowed her eyes. "He hasn't done anything to you… today…"

"Why is he so late?" Neville asked, and Harry smiled. _At least I can count on Neville to use his brain._

"Probably coming back from the Chamber…" Harry grit out.

"And now I'm ignoring you both" Hermione huffed, and then she turned her plate away from them. _Whatever… We'll prove that he is the Heir, and then she can see for herself._ The Trio ate their lunch quietly, and Harry shot looks over at Weasley every now and then. When Harry shot his fifth look over, his breath hitched for a second. Weasley was staring right at him… Their eyes locked, and Harry felt a cold sweat break out in his armpits. Ron wasn't glaring at him, or even frowning at him. He was just watching Harry… Harry slowly looked back down at his plate, he had seen Weasley show that demeanor once before. It was right before he attacked Harry…

"Weasley is staring at us…" Neville suddenly muttered. Hermione slowly turned around to have a look, and then she looked back at them.

"Why is he doing that?" Hermione whispered. "What did you two do?"

"We didn't do anything…" Harry frowned at her.

"I don't believe you for a second" Hermione frowned back. "Now tell me what you did."

"We didn't do anything" Neville implored. "I swear it…" Harry slowly looked back at the Slytherin table, and he saw that Weasley was now looking down at his plate. Blaise Zabini was talking to him about something, and Weasley was just quietly listening. _What's going on with him? Something has to be wrong. Why was he so late?_ The bell rang suddenly, and Harry grimaced. _He was missing for the entire Lunch Break. I know that it's Sunday, but it's still suspicious!_

"C'mon… Let's go" Hermione said as she stood up. "I want to get started on our History of Magic homework, and you two should join me."

"I'll join you" Neville smiled at her, and she beamed in return.

"Really?!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, and Neville nodded.

"I think we should all do homework together from now on" Neville said firmly, and he looked to Harry. _What is he on about?_

"Um… sure…" Harry muttered, and Hermione looked ready to die from excitement.

"This is great" Hermione laughed. "You won't regret it, I promise." Harry gave Neville a quizzical look as they left the Great Hall. Neville just smiled and gave him a wink, he was definitely up to something. The Trio made their way up to Gryffindor Tower, and Hermione led the way in a rush. She clearly wanted to get started on their homework, and Harry had no clue about what Nev was thinking. _History of Magic is the most boring subject in existence. I don't want to waste my Sunday doing it._ Once they were inside the common room, Hermione all but shoved them towards the boys' dorms.

"Nev, what are you playing at?" Harry asked his best friend as they made their way to their room.

"Did you see how happy she was?" Neville asked in return.

"Of course she was happy, Hermione loves homework" Harry replied.

"Exactly, Harry" Neville smiled. "We just have to show Hermione that she doesn't need Weasley. That we can study with her instead."

"Oh…" Harry mumbled. "Nev… That's brilliant!"

"Thanks…" Neville said with a faint blush. Neville then opened the door to their room, and they both stepped in. Harry's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw the state of their room. It looked like it had been pillaged by barbarians! Every trunk was flung open, clothes were scattered all over the floor, their beds had been turned over, their desk drawers were hanging open, and Harry's cloak lay ripped at his feet.

"What happened in here?!" Harry exclaimed.

"It looks like someone was searching for something…" Neville muttered, he had gone pale in the face. Harry's stomach tightened, and he immediately ran to his bed. Harry lay down on the ground, and then he put his head under the four poster bed. _NO! Where is it?!_ Harry's eyes searched frantically in the dark, but it didn't matter… The Diary was gone…

"Harry? What is it?" came Neville's voice, and Harry came out from under his bed. He looked at his best friend with a shocked stare.

"Riddle's Diary… It's gone…" Harry muttered, and Neville blanched.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Some big changes have happened from the Canon!Timeline. Riddle never got to speak with Harry, and that is a massive change. If you've read the books, then you know just how much Harry learned about the Chamber from Riddle. Let's see where the story goes from here!**

 **See you all soon!**


	39. Chapter 39 - Chocolates and Basilisks

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 39 is here! And it is the biggest chapter so far in the story!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 39 – Chocolates and Basilisks**

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower)**_

"What do mean it's gone?" Neville asked in a shaky voice.

"I mean that someone took it" Harry replied as he put his hands on top of his head. _It was important! It was so important that someone broke in here to steal it._

"Who would want it?" Neville asked. "It was empty… There was nothing special about that Diary…"

"Then how do you explain this, Neville?" Harry asked in frustration. "We missed something important… That Diary clearly had something that no one wanted us to find…"

"You think the Heir did this?" Neville asked, and Harry frowned.

"I… I don't know…" Harry muttered. _How would Weasley break into our room? Even he isn't capable of doing that._ The door suddenly swung open, and Harry nearly ripped his wand out.

"Woah!" Seamus exclaimed with a shocked look. Dean looked over the Irish boy's shoulder with widened eyes. "What happened to our room?"

"Did you guys do this?" Dean asked.

"No…" Neville sighed. "Someone broke into our room and… thrashed it…"

"Why would anyone do that?" Seamus asked with an angry look. "Was this a prank?" _We can't tell them about the Diary._

"I think so" Harry lied. "Maybe the twins think that this is funny."

"Those two…" Dean frowned. "I'm telling McGonagall about this. And I'm not cleaning up this mess…" Harry felt a pang of guilt for throwing the twins under the bus, but keeping the Diary a secret was more important.

"What are you two doing up here anyway?" Neville asked Seamus and Dean.

"We live here…" Seamus frowned. "And Hermione asked us to come and get you. She's waiting in the common room." Harry and Neville exchanged quick looks, and they knew that they had to tell Hermione about this. Both boys left for the common room with a quickened pace, and they found Hermione sitting in front of the fire.

"Hermione" Harry called to her, and she turned to face him. Her eyes dimmed a little when she saw that neither boys had their books with them. Harry and Neville quickly sat down around her.

"Where are your books?" Hermione asked haughtily. "You promised that we'd study together…"

"Hermione, someone broke into our room" Neville told her bluntly, and Hermione blinked at him. "They thrashed the entire place, and…"

"And they stole Riddle's Diary" Harry jumped in.

"What?" Hermione asked with shock. "Are you sure?"

"Positive" Harry nodded. "It was important, Hermione. And someone else knew just how much."

"Who could it be?" Hermione pondered to herself. _Even I'm not so sure… I want to suspect Weasley, but I know that he can't break into Gryffindor Tower. Not without being seen._

"It had to be the Heir" Neville whispered.

"The Heir?" Hermione frowned. "You mean Ron…"

"Nev… How would Weasley break into our common room?" Harry asked slowly, and Neville frowned.

"He was late to lunch, remember?" Neville reminded them. "He was extremely late, and he just stared at us for the rest of it…" _That was… odd._

"He doesn't know the password" Hermione sighed. "And even if he did, how would he get past the Fat Lady? She'd never let a Slytherin student enter the Gryffindor common room." Neville slowly nodded as he sank back into his seat.

"Hermione's right" Harry said softly. "Only a Gryffindor student could break into our room…"

"You don't mean…" Hermione whispered in a horrified tone. "Are we really going to suspect one of our own?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense" Harry told his best friends. "Weasley might've been late to lunch, but even he isn't capable of breaking into our common room. It had to be someone from Gryffindor…"

"Then you believe me?" Hermione asked with an ever growing smile. "You believe that Ron isn't the Heir?"

"I don't know…" Harry sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "He might've gotten someone to help him…" Hermione's smile died immediately, and Harry put up his hands in surrender. "Look… I don't have the answers, alright."

"Who would help Weasley?" Neville asked. "None of the Gryffindors like him, and I doubt that his siblings would help him steal from Gryffindor… Maybe…" Neville stopped and sighed. "Maybe Weasley isn't…" _I don't believe this!_

"Really, Nev?" Harry asked his best friend. "You're going to say that he isn't the Heir? You're the one who convinced us to look into him." Neville shifted in his seat, and Hermione scowled at Harry.

"I didn't say that, Harry" Neville said meekly. "I said that I'm not sure on what to think about this… None of this makes any sense. Who would try and steal an empty Diary? And if it was a Gryffindor, then how can Weasley be involved?"

"Could the Heir be a Gryffindor student?" Hermione muttered to herself, and both boys went wide-eyed.

"Hermione, are you crazy?" Harry asked.

"They're the Heir of **Slytherin** …" Neville said slowly. "They couldn't possibly be in Gryffindor…"

"Whoever stole the Diary was clearly helping the Heir" Harry added on.

"Then we have to find out who stole that Diary" Hermione nodded. "They can lead us to the Heir."

"Easier said than done…" Harry sighed.

"We don't have any other choice" Hermione rubbed her forehead. "And Harry… If they knew that you had the Diary, then that means that the Heir is watching you." _She's right. Someone saw me holding that Diary, and they told the Heir. We can't trust anyone in Gryffindor anymore._

"This just got a lot harder, didn't it?" Neville asked, and both Harry and Hermione nodded. The Trio completely missed the fact that a certain red-haired girl was pretending to read a book near them.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dinner)**_

"He's back in the Sanctuary, isn't he?" Tracey asked softly. Daphne looked at her best friend, and she flinched internally. _I've never seen Tracey look so… sad. She's usually always smiling._

"Give him time" Blaise sighed as he cut into his steak. "He just had his world knocked upside down."

"I've never seen him look so… defeated" Pansy muttered, she too looked out of sorts. The news that Ron would be leaving soon had affected everyone differently. Blaise had shut down emotionally, Theo was scheming away in his own head, Tracey was just sad, Pansy was fearful for the future of this group, Millie was looking for a fight with anyone, and Daphne… Daphne was already plotting. She had no intention of losing Ron to one of the other houses. Especially to Gryffindor… She knew that's where he would end up.

"Daphne, did you send an owl to your father?" Theo asked her suddenly.

"I haven't…" Daphne sighed.

"Why?" Theo asked with a furrowed brow. "We need to get help on this, or Ron will be removed from Slytherin." _No, he won't. I won't let that happen._

"And how will Ron react if we do something like this behind his back?" Daphne shot back. "His parents just made a decision behind his back, and I'm not going to do the same thing. I want to talk to him first."

"Daphne's right" Blaise said aloofly. "You'll just anger him by doing this. He needs some time, so we'll give him some time."

"Time?" Millie scowled. "We don't have time to waste. We need to fight this."

"And how do we do that without Ron?" Tracey joined in. "It's **his** parents that we have to do something about…"

"But he isn't fighting" Pansy sighed. "He's just given up… We saw him for ten minutes today, and then he disappeared again. I think… I think Ron's given up…"

"No, he hasn't" Daphne defended Ron. "When does he ever just give up? Never. He hasn't given up, and neither should we." _He can't give up. We can't just lose him like this…_

"I know that you guys don't want to hear this" Theo started, and Daphne frowned at him immediately. "But if Ron does leave… We need to be prepared."

"Prepared?" Tracey asked hotly.

"Theo, how can you even say that?" Pansy added.

"It hasn't even been a full day yet" Millie snarled.

"Just listen for once" Theo shot back. "Malfoy and his flock will come after us, I know it. He'll want us to become his allies again, and he'll make sure to make our lives miserable. We do need to be prepared. We need to have allies amongst the older students."

"Those three girls…" Daphne said slowly, and Theo nodded.

"They like Ron, and they aren't stupid" Theo continued. "If we can show them that we're valuable, they'll keep Malfoy off of our backs."

"Ron isn't the only reason that Draco keeps his distance" Pansy told Theo. "We can always do what Ron does… We can just ignore him."

"Pansy's right" Tracey added. "Daphne's father is wealthier than Lucius Malfoy."

"But Lucius Malfoy has more influence" Theo told them. "He has a long reach within the Ministry, and he is the Chairman of the Board of Governors. Ron keeps people off of his back because he is a prodigy. A prodigy that has shown everyone that no one should make him their enemy. We don't have that shield…" Daphne stayed quiet, but she was starting to get irked. _They're already acting like Ron has left._ But she also knew that Theo was right… Not being prepared would just be stupid.

"Then this is what we do" Blaise said aloofly. "We give Ron some time to process his situation, and in the meantime, we start making our own connections with the older students. Especially Carey Ductu, Clara Martyris, and Samantha Selwyn. And we keep this thing about Ron to ourselves… We can't let anyone know that we're vulnerable."

"You're all forgetting one important thing" Millie sighed, and everyone looked to her. "The Heir is still out there… All of this scheming and plotting won't even matter if the school shuts down." _The Heir… Wait!_ An idea clicked in her head, and she smiled broadly.

"The Heir can save Ron" Daphne told her friends excitedly, and they blinked at her. _That sounded more sane in my head._ "What if **we** , the Slytherins, catch the Heir? That'll show his parents that Ron is in a house that isn't… evil."

"That's a great idea, Daphne" Theo said sarcastically. "I wish I thought of that…" Daphne frowned at Theo.

"We've been looking for the Heir, Daph" Tracey smiled softly. "But we still have nothing. Our suspect list hasn't changed in ages… We don't know where the entrance is… And the attacks have stopped."

"Then we look harder" Daphne snapped. "We have to… It's the only way that we can keep Ron. We haven't explored so much of the castle yet, there have to be more clues."

"And we will" Blaise sighed. "After Ron has had some time to collect his thoughts." _Why is he so adamant about leaving Ron alone? He's up to something._ The bell rang suddenly, and there was mass movement in the Hall. Everyone started making their way out, and Daphne spotted the Golden Trio. _These three… Merlin, I hate them so much! Especially that bushy haired bitch._ Daphne felt a strong pang of jealousy towards Granger, why did Ron have to become her friend again? A horrible thought popped into her mind suddenly, and she went a little pale. _If Ron gets Re-Sorted into Gryffindor, she'll never leave him alone._ A sudden sense of dread engulfed Daphne, and she barely managed to keep her composure.

As they were making their way up the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall, Daphne decided she had to do something. She had to talk to Ron! She had to push him into action, or she'd lose him to Granger! Daphne slowed down as her friends neared the steps leading to the dungeons, and Pansy turned to face her.

"Daphne?" Pansy asked softly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go talk to Ron…" Daphne sighed, she had to wake him up.

"Daphne, give…" Blaise started but Daphne cut him off.

"No. I won't" Daphne said firmly. "I'm going to go talk to him alone, and if you want to stop me, then you'll need to hex me." Her friends exchanged looks, and then Pansy broke the silence.

"Let her go, Blaise" Pansy told the dark skinned boy.

"Just let her, Blaise" Theo sighed. "What's the worst that can happen?" _What does that mean?!_ Blaise stared right at Daphne, and Daphne didn't back off.

"Fine" Blaise said in a disinterested tone. "Just don't make him miserable like you've been doing for the past few days." Daphne just blinked as Blaise turned around and left. _What? I haven't been…_ Daphne's thoughts stopped as she realized that Blaise had a point. Daphne and Ron had been fighting before Ron read that letter with her. All of Daphne's friends left slowly, expect for Millie.

"Good luck, Daph" Millie gave her a weak smile, and then she left as well. Daphne drew in a sharp breath, and then she headed up for the seventh floor. _I completely forgot that I was angry with Ron… Angry because he didn't teach me that spell._

Daphne sighed to herself as she remembered why she was so angry. She was jealous. Jealous of Theo, Blaise, and Pansy. And then, she was too proud to go back. He had offered to teach her, but she kept refusing. She wanted him to understand why she was upset. She wanted him to know that their Yule Break together was important to her, and that she believed that there would be no more secrets between them. _I was really stupid, wasn't I? Ron loves his secrets, and I've always known that. But he still chose to tell me about that letter. And he said those wonderful things beforehand._

Daphne paced back and forth, and the door to the Sanctuary appeared. Daphne quickly opened it and entered, and she then closed the door shut behind her. She looked around the room, and she spotted Ron sitting in front of the fire. He was holding the letter from his mother in his hands, and he turned around to look at her.

"Daphne?" Ron asked in a soft voice. "Where are the others?"

"I came alone" Daphne replied as she approached him.

"That's not safe, Daph" Ron sighed as he turned back to stare at the crackling fire. _I'm no wallflower._

"You're here alone" Daphne shot back. "Are you saying that I can't take care of myself?"

"Daphne…" Ron sighed again. "If you're here to fight me again, please leave. I don't have it in me…" Daphne blinked at him, and then she fought the urge to smack herself. _What am I doing?! Why do I act so stupid around him? Calm down, Daphne… Just breathe. I need to take control of this conversation first, and then I'll make him listen._

"I'm not here to fight, Ron" Daphne said softly, and then she sat down beside him. It was a single person chair, and Daphne squeezed herself in beside Ron.

"Daph?" Ron looked to her as she made herself comfortable. Daphne smiled a little when she saw a blush creep onto his face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking a seat" Daphne replied innocently. She shifted her buttock a bit, and then she sank into the chair. They were now both squeezed together in between the chair's armrests.

"Can't you grab another seat? There are almost a dozen in this room…" Ron shifted a bit, and Daphne felt his hip collide with hers. _This is fun, he's letting his guard down._

"But I want to sit next to you" Daphne smiled at him, and his ears turned red. "And we've been closer than this before" Daphne hummed, and Ron went scarlet.

"What… what are you…?" Ron stuttered, he was no doubt thinking about the night he showed her his scars.

"We've hugged loads of times, Ron" Daphne smiled innocently, and Ron blinked at her. _He's so cute!_

"Oh… yeah…" Ron looked back to the fire. They sat together for a few seconds, and Daphne could swear that he was holding his breath. _Just like that night. I didn't say anything, but I know that he was having trouble breathing that night._ Daphne felt her lips twitch upwards, it felt good to know that she had this effect on him. But he had an effect on her as well. She was starting to feel extremely nervous, and she wasn't sure on how to go about talking to him.

"Ron…" Daphne said softly. "Why aren't you fighting this?" Daphne felt him stiffen, and she cursed her own idiocy.

"I don't want to talk about it" Ron replied. _Too bad. I'm not letting you give up._

"I want to talk about it" Daphne said firmly as she turned to face him. Their faces were quite close, and that made her heart flutter.

"Daphne… please…" Ron muttered. "I don't want to think about this."

"Well you have to" Daphne told him. "This is important Ron, and if you ignore it, it'll come back to haunt you."

"Come back?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "It's already haunting me… I'm buggered, Daph. And I can't do anything about it."

"You're wrong" Daphne huffed. "You have friends, Ron…"

"Do I?" Ron cut her off, and she blinked at him. "You're not angry with me anymore?" Daphne felt her face flush, and she sighed.

"Ron, I was just being… stupid" Daphne admitted, and Ron's eyes widened. "Don't give me that look, Ronald. I'm only human…"

"Could've fool me" Ron smiled softly, and Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Don't be rude, Ron" Daphne said as she elbowed him in the ribs. Ron grunted, and then a laugh broke out of his throat. It was like music to her ears, her plan was working.

"I'm sorry, Daph" Ron said as he calmed down, and she was taken by surprise. "I'm sorry for not teaching you that spell." _I have to show him that it wasn't his fault…_

"Don't apologize" Daphne said softly. "I wasn't angry about the spell… I was…" Daphne stopped. She didn't want to admit to being jealous, that would show weakness.

"Was what?" Ron asked her, and she felt his breath on her cheek. It made her fidget with her hands, and it sent a shiver up her spine. _Control, Daphne. I have to control this conversation._

"I was angry that you kept it from me" Daphne said elusively. "I thought that after Christmas we'd be… closer…" Daphne's face burned as she finished, she had finally said it!

"Closer?" Ron muttered, and Daphne just kept looking forward.

"Like… no more secrets…" Daphne said meekly. "But then you told me those wonderful things, and I realized that I was being unreasonable… I'm sorry."

"Merlin…" Ron smiled a little. "I never thought that I'd see this day… Daphne Greengrass just apologized to me." _Excuse me?!_

"Shut up" Daphne growled as she turned to glare at him, but he was smiling at her pleasantly. Daphne felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she blinked over and over again. _We're sitting too close._

"What's wrong, Daph?" Ron asked. _I didn't think this through, that's what's wrong._

"Nothing…" Daphne said as she stared into his bright blue eyes. _Talk to him about the Heir right now._ "Ron, I was thinking about something. What if we caught the Heir?"

"I'm pretty sure we already planned to do that" Ron smiled and cocked his head.

"I know" Daphne nodded softly. "But if **we** catch the Heir, then we can show your parents that not all of Slytherin is bad. We can…" Daphne continued but Ron cut her off.

"You don't know my parents" Ron sighed as he sank back into the chair. Daphne's body shifted a bit due to his movement, and her left shoulder found itself resting on top of his right shoulder. It didn't seem to bother Ron as he focused on his parents, but Daphne felt her face burn. _Mother and father sit like this sometimes!_ "Daphne, are you listening?" Ron asked her, and she nodded. _What did he say?_

"Can you… repeat what you just said?" Daphne asked him, and he frowned a little. _Nice going, Daphne._

"My family is quite prejudiced against Slytherin" Ron repeated. "I was prejudiced too… We all believed that Slytherin was the house that had all the Death-Eaters, or Dark Wizards in general. It took me almost a year to learn that I was wrong… But my parents… They'll never understand that. They're doing this because they thinks it's the best option for me."

"Well, they're wrong" Daphne frowned. "Slytherin has served you well, Ron. Even they can't deny that."

"Do you remember when I told you that my mother doesn't really care about that?" Ron sighed, he looked hurt. "They don't want me to turn my back on the things that they raised me to believe in."

"And you haven't" Daphne said firmly.

"I know that, and you all know that" Ron sighed. "But they don't know that… I've tried telling them, but they hate that I'm in Slytherin. I can see it in their eyes… Even my own brothers chose to side with Potter… I can't see a way out of this, Daph. They are my parents, and I might lose them if I don't do as they say." Ron's shoulders slumped after he finished, he looked done in. Daphne relaxed and leaned back on Ron's shoulder, and he didn't say a word. Daphne knew that he had too much on his mind right now, and she also knew that he needed help. She also knew that Ron was too proud, and too stubborn, to ask for help. _But he has it anyway._

"Can I tell you something, Ron?" Daphne whispered, and she felt him move a little. "When we were all growing up, and this is before we met you, we all talked about Blood-Purity often. Malfoy was always at the head of the conversation, and Pansy would laugh and just agree with him. Theo… Theo really hated Muggles, and he probably still does. Blaise was the same as he is now, he only talked when he was questioned. Crabbe and Goyle would just listen to our conversations with rapt attention. And Millie… Millie was the punching bag of our group…"

"Is this before you all met Tracey?" Ron asked in a whisper, and she felt his breath on the back of her neck.

"Yes, this is when we were around seven or eight" Daphne replied as she stared into the fire. "We all got together twice a week, maybe more. And we would just talk about Blood-Purity, Muggle-Borns, and Muggles. We used to say some really disgusting things, Ron."

"We? You joined in?" Ron asked.

"I joined in" Daphne admitted. "It seemed like the normal thing to do at the time. After all, we always overheard our parents talking in a similar fashion. And we all wanted to be like our parents… But before I started Hogwarts, my father told me something that stuck with me. My father told me that he didn't care if I believed in Blood-Purity, he only cared if I believed in what made sense to me. And now I think I understand what he meant. He didn't want me to be just like him, he wanted me to be my own person. He wanted me to be me, and not just his clone."

"What are you saying?" Ron asked in the faintest of whispers.

"I'm saying that if your family can't see you for the amazing person that you are, then they shouldn't have any say in what you do" Daphne replied, and then she turned her head to face him. Ron's cheeks were slightly red, and he wore a serious expression. "I think you're amazing… We all think that… And we don't want to lose you." Their faces were mere inches apart, and Daphne's stomach was doing summersaults.

"I don't want to lose you either" Ron said, and Daphne couldn't help but smile.

"Then stop sitting up here" Daphne told him. "Stop giving up without a fight, because we aren't giving up on you. Not yet." Daphne then leaned forward and kissed his right cheek. When she slowly pulled back, she came face-to-face with a scarlet Ron Weasley. He was just looking at her, his face showing both confusion and slight shock. Daphne thought that he looked far too cute, and so she leaned forward again and pecked his lips. They were much softer than they looked. It was a short kiss, but she'd never forget it. And judging by Ron's bright red face, he'd never forget it either. Daphne then stood up and turned to face him. He looked to be in complete shock, and he just stared at her as he lightly touched his lips with his gloved hand.

"You can take tonight off" Daphne said, it was taking everything in her to not burst out into a happy dance. "But starting from tomorrow, we are going to fight this in every way that we can. Is that understood?" Ron gave a meek nod, his face still as red as a tomato. "Good, then I will see you tomorrow at breakfast." Daphne then left without a moment's hesitation. Once she closed the door behind her, she let out an excited squeal. _I kissed him! I did it!_ Daphne then broke into a sprint towards the Slytherin common room, she felt like she could conquer the entire world tonight. She had just shared her first kiss with a boy, and that boy was Ronald Weasley!

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

Ron stepped out the Sanctuary, and he shot quick looks around to see if he was alone. Once he was certain that no one was around, Ron began making his way down to the Great Hall. It was still early, but he wanted to make sure that he didn't run into any Gryffindors. He knew that there was no way that he could explain being on the seventh floor so early in the morning.

As he made his way down, his mind drifted away again. Daphne had kissed him last night… And he had no clue on how to react to that. He was used to getting kisses on his cheeks from members of the opposite sex, but none of them had kissed his lips before. _Why would she do that?_ Uncertainty clouded Ron's mind, and he had no idea on how to act around Daphne now. Did she like him in a romantic sort of way? She had to… Why else would she kiss him like that? And what was Ron supposed to do about this? He liked Daphne a lot… And he did get that strange, fluttery feeling around her… Did that mean that he liked her too? He was certain that her opinion of him mattered a great deal to him. He wanted her to like him, but did that mean that he liked her romantically too? _I have no fucking clue about this sort of stuff._

Ron entered the Great Hall, and it was mostly empty. His friends hadn't even arrived yet, and a small part of Ron was glad. He wanted to think about last night some more, he needed to. He didn't want things to get weird between him and Daphne, but he also wanted to try it again. It had felt nice, but in a strange kind of way. Her lips were really soft, and she had bumped them against his. It had lasted for around a second, but it had floored him completely. He couldn't even think after it had happened, but Daphne was in a perfectly normal state of mind. Had she done this before? Or was she just better at keeping her composure than him? Or did she think nothing of it? _I really have no idea about this sort of thing, but Charlie does. He can help me._ The thought of telling Sirius occurred to him, and he quickly decided that that was a bad idea. Sirius would turn this into a joke of some sort, and Ron didn't want that. He wanted clear, concise answers.

Ron sat down and began putting food on his plate, but his mind was still miles away. _What do I do when they get here? Daphne wouldn't tell the others about the kiss… Would she? I'll act like it didn't happen. I don't need Theo and Blaise taking the piss out of me. Or Tracey for that matter. But Daphne knows that it happened… How do I act around her? Ugh… Why did she do that to me?! I need to talk to her alone when I get the chance. In the meantime, I need to tell them all my plans. I'm not going down without a fight, Daphne was right about that._

"Ron?" came Pansy's voice, and Ron looked to his right. His friends had shown up, and he hadn't even noticed. "You're here early" Pansy smiled as they all began taking their seats. Theo and Blaise sat down beside him, and Daphne and the girls sat down across them. Ron looked at Daphne for a quick second, and she looked like she always did. Ron quickly looked to Pansy as he felt his face get hot. _How is she so calm?! She kissed me last night!_

"I wanted to get an early start on the day" Ron told Pansy. The girls all smiled at him happily, but Ron could see his best mates narrow their eyes on him.

"That's great to hear, Ron" Daphne said with a happy smile, and Ron managed to give her a sheepish smile. _Merlin, how is she so calm? Did she tell the others?_ Ron felt a cold sweat in his armpits, and he ignored it.

"So you're done moping around?" Blaise asked bluntly, and the girls glared at him.

"Don't be so rude, Blaise" Pansy frowned.

"You're a jerk" Tracey growled.

"It's alright" Ron chuckled softly. "And yes Blaise, I'm done moping around. I'm not giving up so easily. I'm going to fight this in every way that I can." Ron felt his cheeks burn as he repeated Daphne's words from last night, and he shot her another quick look. She was smiling to herself and buttering her toast, and Ron didn't miss the rosy blush on her cheeks. _I really need to talk to her._

"I think that's great" Millie jumped in excitedly. "What are you planning? We'll help in any way that we can."

"I'm going to go to Snape" Ron started, and his friends blinked at him. "Then I'm going to go to Dumbledore. I'll send letters to Charlie and Bill, my older brothers. I'm also going to owl Pandora and Xenophilius Lovegood. And I will also owl Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I want to have as many people behind me as I can. One of them is bound to know how I can fight this."

"What about my father?" Daphne asked him.

"I was planning to tell him in person…" Ron fidgeted with his hands under the table. _Stop acting like a little girl, Ron._

"That isn't a good idea" Daphne smiled softly. "My father will want to know about this beforehand so he can think of a strategy. I can send him an owl on your behalf, if that's alright with you?"

"Please do" Ron said with an ever growing blush.

"Ron, are you alright?" Tracey asked him.

"Yeah mate, you're looking a bit flushed" Theo added. Ron looked at Theo, and Theo wasn't grinning. He looked genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine. Everything is just fine. Like it always is" Ron replied quickly.

"Alright…" Theo said slowly. "Weirdo…" _They don't know, do they? Good._ Ron looked back at his plate, and he could see Daphne smiling to herself again. _She's enjoying this?_

"What about your parents?" Blaise asked.

"What about them?" Ron asked, he couldn't stop himself from frowning.

"You should write to them as well" Blaise told him.

"And say what?" Ron asked curtly. "They already know that I don't want this. That's why they're giving me this ultimatum. They don't care that I don't want this…"

"I think they do care, Ron" Pansy said softly. "They are doing this because they care about you."

"Why are you defending them?" Ron asked hotly.

"I'm not" Pansy replied. "I'm just making sure that you don't hate them for looking out for you…" _And why would you do that?_ Ron took a deep breath to calm himself down a little, he shouldn't take out his anger on Pansy. She was just trying to be a good friend.

"Either way" Ron started. "They won't listen to me, but they might listen to everyone else. If enough people tell them that this is the wrong decision, they might change their minds."

"And if we catch the Heir" Millie piped in. "The chance of them changing their minds increases."

"This could work" Theo mused. "But you need to talk to them, Ron. We need to know why they came to this decision so we can prove it wrong. Whatever their reasons are, we need to be able to argue against them."

"Theo is right" Daphne said firmly, and Ron looked at her. His stomach tightened, but he kept his face from changing. "You need to owl them…"

"Fine" Ron sighed. "I'll owl them when I'm ready."

"Now that we've decided about Ron's parents" Millie said. "What do we do about the Heir? They've all but disappeared."

"Ron, have you heard the Basilisk lately?" Blaise asked, and Ron shook his head. "Damn, that complicates things. What if the Heir is finished with whatever their goal was?"

"How?" Tracey asked. "There are still Muggle-Borns all over the school. Isn't the Heir supposed to 'purge' them all?"

"Maybe they got scared?" Millie provided.

"Or maybe they are biding their time?" Pansy asked.

"We can't wait to find that out why they aren't attacking" Ron said firmly. "We need to get them before they attack someone. I think we need to refocus on our list, and we need to learn more about the plumbing system."

"I had an idea" Theo jumped in. "When the attacks happened fifty years ago, there was one fatality. Myrtle Warren… And she haunts the girls' bathroom on the first floor." _Myrtle Warren! How did I forget about her? She might know where the entrance is._

"That's a great idea, mate" Ron smiled at Theo, and Theo shrugged his shoulders arrogantly.

"Someone has to use their brain in this group" Theo smirked, and everyone frowned at him. Tracey scooped some porridge on her spoon, and then she flicked it at him. "Oy! I just had these cleaned!" Theo snapped as he looked at the porridge stain on his robes.

* * *

 _ **February 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Classes – Common Room)**_

"We should go speak with Myrtle Warren" Blaise said as he dropped his books on his bed.

"And then I'll go to Snape" Ron added on. _He always says that his door is open, now I need it to be._

"He'll help you, Ron" Theo said as he stretched. "I don't know of a single Slytherin that he has refused in the past."

"I'm not worried about if he'll help me" Ron sighed. "I'm worried that he won't be able to."

"We have to try" Blaise shrugged. "C'mon, let's go get the girls." _The girls… Daphne… I still haven't talked to her yet. I'll talk to her after dinner._ The boys made their way to the common room, and they ran into the girls as soon as they stepped inside.

"Oh, that was lucky" Theo smirked. "We're heading up to talk to Myrtle Warren's ghost. Want to tag along?"

"Obviously" Millie said in a dead-serious tone. They all began making their way up to the girls' bathroom, and Ron dreaded talking to Myrtle again. She had made him really uncomfortable the first time they had talked, and then she had seen him crying after he had found out the Trio's plans. _Merlin, I hope she doesn't tell them what she saw. That'll be embarrassing._

"I should warn you boys" Daphne said suddenly. "Myrtle Warren's ghost is infamous for being the most annoying ghost in Hogwarts. No girl ever uses her bathroom because of it."

"Isn't Peeves the most annoying ghost in Hogwarts?" Blaise asked with an indifferent expression.

"Actually, Peeves isn't a ghost" Theo told them. "Peeves is a Poltergeist, a tangible manifestation of the students' mischief."

"Really?" Ron asked, and Theo nodded. "Wow, I didn't know that. That's neat."

"Neat?" Pansy frowned. "He's the worst… He threw an egg at me once…"

"He locked me in a broom closet for an hour" Blaise sighed.

"I caught him floating out of the girls' bathroom near the dungeons" Daphne huffed.

"What?!" Tracey exclaimed. "He spies on us?!"

"Probably…" Daphne shuddered. _Damn, I haven't really run into him much. When did he lock Blaise away? And why was Blaise in a broom closet in the first place?_ They all quieted down as they neared the haunted bathroom, and Daphne stepped in front of the group. "I'll go in first, I want to make sure no girls are currently using the bathroom" Daphne told them, and then she entered the bathroom. They all waited for a few seconds, and then Daphne called them in. They entered the bathroom quickly, and Daphne was its only resident.

"Where's the ghost?" Theo asked Daphne.

"Not here" Daphne sighed. "She tends to move around the different bathrooms, but this is her main place of haunting."

"Now what?" Tracey frowned. "Do we just wait for her to come back?"

"That's a waste of time" Blaise said curtly. "Ron needs to go and see Snape. We can just come back tomorrow."

"I don't mind waiting here" Millie said.

"Well I do, this place is creepy" Theo frowned. "And I don't want to get caught snooping around a girls' bathroom. Imagine the damage that will have on my reputation."

"Your reputation?" Tracey chuckled.

"A lot of people look up to me, Tracey" Theo smirked at her, and Tracey giggled. Ron ignored his friends as he stared at the cubicle that had the Polyjuice Potion in it. _That's where they betrayed me… And that's where I decided to do something really fucking stupid. And now… Now I could lose my place in Slytherin because of it._

"Ron, are you alright?" Pansy asked, and Ron blinked.

"I'm fine. I have to go to Snape's Office" Ron replied, and then he turned around and left. As Ron was making his way towards the moving staircases, he heard his friends catch up to him.

"Ron, are you sure you're alright?" Daphne asked, and Ron kept his eyes forward.

"I'm fine. I just need to talk to Snape" Ron lied. "Don't worry about it."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Millie asked him, and Ron thought about it.

"No" Ron replied. "I want to do this by myself." Ron and his friends separated as they reached the dungeons, they went to the common room while Ron went to Snape's Office. Once Ron reached Snape's door, he took in a sharp breath. _Here goes nothing._ Ron knocked on the door three times.

"Come in" Snape called, and Ron entered the Office. "Mr. Weasley? What may I do for you?"

"Sir, I just needed…" Ron started but stopped. Draco Malfoy was sitting in a chair in front of Snape's desk, and Ron just stared at him.

"Take a photo, Weasley" Malfoy sneered. "It will last longer…"

"Mr. Malfoy, there is no need for that" Snape said in a low voice. _What is Malfoy doing here?_

"I was leaving anyway" Mafloy bit out, and then he got up.

"Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy" Snape drawled.

"Goodbye, **Godfather** " Malfoy replied, and he emphasized his last word. It was no doubt an attempt to show how close he was with Snape, but Snape didn't seem amused. The Potions Master just stared at Malfoy as he left. Once Malfoy was gone, Ron slowly took a seat.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked in a cold voice.

"Why was Malfoy here?" Ron asked before he could stop himself. _Shite, not a smart move._ Snape frowned, but Ron quickly jumped in to salvage the meeting. "I'm sorry, Sir. It is none of my business."

"Indeed" Snape said as his frown disappeared.

"I need your help, Sir" Ron told the Professor, and Snape sat forward a bit. "My mother and father sent this letter to me…" Ron said as he handed Snape the letter. "Please read it, and then we can talk more about it." Ron waited patiently as Snape read the letter, and Ron felt his stomach floating around. _What if he can't help me? What do I do then?_

"Mr. Weasley…" Snape sighed. "I am truly sorry, but there is nothing that **I** can do about this." Ron felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Oh…" Ron managed meekly as he looked down at his feet.

"Let me explain why, Mr. Weasley" Snape said as he handed the letter back to Ron. "I am your Head of House, and I am your Professor for Potions. But they are your parents, and also your legal guardians. I have no right to interfere directly with their decisions." Ron looked up at that.

"Directly?" Ron asked, and Snape smirked a little.

"We will go to the Headmaster right now, Mr. Weasley" Snape said as he stood up. "We will convince him to speak with your mother and father. They both respect the Headmaster greatly, his words might alter their decision. Come." Snape then billowed out of his Office, and Ron followed after him quickly. They walked up quietly, like they always did, but Ron decided to break the silence this time.

"Do you think the Headmaster will help me?" Ron asked Snape, and the Potions Master kept walking.

"He will, I can assure you of that" Snape answered. "Whether your parents listen to him or not, that is the thing that I am uncertain about. Tell me Mr. Weasley, when did you get this letter?"

"I got it around four days ago…" Ron answered softly.

"And you are only just now coming to me?" Snape asked as he shot a quick frown at Ron.

"I didn't open it… until recently…" Ron replied in a meek voice. _I should've kept my mouth shut._ The last thing Ron wanted was for Snape to start shouting at him again, the first time was more than enough.

"I see…" Snape said softly, and Ron blinked at the man's back. _That's it?_ They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Ron was glad for it. "Acid Pops" Snape said to the gargoyle as soon as they reached it. Snape then led them both up, and he knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in" came the Headmaster's voice. Snape opened the door and ushered Ron inside.

"Headmaster, we have a problem" Snape said in a calm tone, and Dumbledore looked up from his desk. Dumbledore's eyes went straight to Ron, and then back to Snape.

"What has happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"This" Snape replied curtly as he handed Dumbledore the letter. The Headmaster gestured for them to sit as he began reading the letter. Ron and Snape sat down, and Ron shot a quick look to Fawkes. The gold and scarlet Phoenix was staring right at him, and Ron gave him a smile. The Phoenix seemed to nod his head at Ron, and Ron was awestruck. _That is the coolest bird on the planet, not counting Helios._

"This is… unexpected" Dumbledore sighed as he removed his half-moon spectacles. Ron looked at the Headmaster, and Dumbledore gave him a soft smile.

"Can you talk to them, please?" Ron asked, he didn't want to beat around the bush. _Please say yes, you're my best hope._

"You want me to change their minds?" Dumbledore asked, and his eyes began twinkling.

"I do" Ron nodded. "I don't want to be Re-Sorted, and they **will** pull me out of Hogwarts if I refuse."

"Headmaster, I would like to say something" Snape started, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "Mr. Weasley's parents are clearly doing this because they believe it to be in his best interests… But I believe that they are wrong. Mr. Weasley's life will be negatively affected if his education becomes home-based. So I implore you to speak with them, tell them that they are making a mistake."

"I see…" Dumbledore smiled at Snape. "What would you like me to say to them, Ronald?"

"Tell them what Professor Snape just said" Ron replied. "Tell them that they are taking me away from my friends. Tell them that if I change houses now, I will never be accepted by my new house-mates."

"Mr. Weasley is correct about that" Snape jumped in. "He is a Slytherin student, and we are not overly-liked by any of the other houses. If he gets Re-Sorted, he will always be an outsider."

"And I don't want this Re-Sorting" Ron said firmly. "They can't do this to me."

"No, they cannot" Dumbledore said as he rubbed his bearded chin. "Technically speaking, only a student can request for a Re-Sorting. And your parents are no longer our students. The real problem here is the ultimatum they have given you, and I know that they will follow through with it. Arthur and Molly Weasley never go back on their words."

"Then you have to help me, please" Ron pleaded, and Dumbledore gave him a reassuring smile.

"Of course, Ronald" Dumbledore nodded. "I will go to the Burrow and speak to them, personally. And I will do my best to convince them that this is not the right way to help you." _I don't need their help. I need them to not fuck me over._

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron smiled at the old man. "This means a lot to me, and I won't forget it."

"It is quite alright" Dumbledore chuckled merrily. "I am more than happy to help. It will take me a day or two to set up a meeting with them, and I believe that you should focus on your school-life in the meantime. After all, Valentine's Day is coming up." _Valentine's Day? Oh no… Daphne._ Ron gulped loudly and forced on a smile.

"Thank you again, Headmaster" Ron said as a blush creeped onto his face.

"Oh, I sense a secret" Dumbledore chuckled again, and Ron went crimson.

"Ahem…" Snape coughed, and then he stared at Dumbledore.

"Just having some fun, Severus" Dumbledore smiled at the Potions Master, and Snape was not amused. "You are dismissed, Ronald. And I will be keeping this letter for the time being. I wish to go over it again."

"That's alright" Ron said quickly as he stood up. Ron then began making his way out, and Snape didn't follow him. As Ron opened the door, he heard Dumbledore call out to him.

"Ronald, send my greetings to Miss. Greengrass" Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron almost broke into a sprint.

"Headmaster…" Snape growled as Ron left the room in a hurry.

"Crazy old man" Ron said after he shut the door behind him. _Does he know about our kiss? And what was that about Valentine's Day? Oh shite. I promised Daphne that I'd buy her chocolates last year. Merlin, what do I do about her? I can't even look her in the eyes…_

* * *

 _ **February 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

Ron was a bloody coward, he knew it for certain now. He was the most cowardly Weasley to ever be born! He had backed out of talking with Daphne, and it had been almost three days since she had kissed him. Ron had sent all of his letters, including the one asking Charlie for help. He had also sent Astoria a letter via Marty, asking the little girl about what her sister's favorite chocolates were. If there was one thing that Ron knew about Daphne, it was that she always had favorites. She was a girl with refined tastes, and she knew what she liked. And Ron really didn't want to disappoint her. The need to please her baffled Ron himself. Why was he trying so hard to make her happy when he didn't even have the courage to talk to her alone?

And she wasn't making things any easier on him… She was acting like she normally did, and that was driving him insane. Was he just a moron for thinking about this so much? He just wanted some answers, but he also didn't have the courage to talk to her. _What if it didn't mean what I think it meant? What if I'm just overreacting? I don't want to say something stupid._ Ron let out a tired sigh as he looked over the brochure Astoria had sent back with Marty, at least she had encircled the chocolates that Daphne loved most. The only problem was that these chocolates cost five Galleons a box, and they were only sold in Paris. And then there was the fact that Astoria was a little demon sent from hell itself… Trusting that little girl was a risk that could leave Daphne disappointed, and Ron really didn't want that to happen. Ron was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open suddenly, and he quickly hid the brochure in his inner robe pocket. Ron turned to see Daphne walking in with a happy smile.

"Hello, Daphne" Ron managed a weak smile. "Where are the others?" _Just talk to her, you twat._

"They'll be up shortly" Daphne hummed as she approached Ron, and Ron felt his heartbeat increase steadily. "I wanted to talk to you alone first."

"Alone? Talk?" Ron muttered, he could tell that his ears were turning red. Daphne's happy smile turned sly, and that worried Ron.

"My father sent a letter" Daphne said as she pulled it out of her inner robe pocket.

"Oh…" Ron said, and then he sighed. _She's still acting normal, and I'm being weird._

"Ron, what's the matter?" she asked in a mischievous tone, and then she squeezed herself in beside him on the single person chair again. _Not again, why is she doing this?!_

"Daphne…" Ron managed, his throat suddenly felt tight. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting next to you" Daphne smiled as she wiggled a little, making herself more comfortable. It had the opposite effect on Ron… "I want to read my father's letter with you."

"But this is just like…" Ron started and then stopped.

"Just like what, Ron?" Daphne hummed, an 'innocent' smile on her face. Ron felt his face burn, and he bit his tongue to regain his focus. But that didn't stop the butterflies in his stomach, or his ever increasing heartbeat.

"We kissed…" Ron managed to whisper. Daphne's cheeks became a little more red, but she kept her smile.

"We did" Daphne whispered back.

"And you're acting like it didn't happen…" Ron whispered.

"Do you want me to tell everyone?" Daphne asked with a small chuckle.

"No… But you could at least tell me why you kissed me" Ron said as he gazed into her dark blue eyes.

"I kissed you because I wanted to" Daphne replied. "Didn't you like it?" Daphne asked, her voice sounded a little shaky.

"I… I did…" Ron admitted. He did like the kiss, and he wanted to try again. But he was never going to admit that, it was too embarrassing. What if she refused?

"Good" Daphne beamed at him. "I liked it too."

"Good…" Ron said lamely. There was a short pause between the two, and Ron could tell that Daphne was waiting for him to say something. She was just looking at him with her dark blue eyes, and he was starting to lose his focus again. "Let's read the letter that your father sent" Ron broke the silence, and Daphne blinked at him. _Her smile just fell a little._

"Alright" Daphne replied as she turned her attention to opening the letter. Ron felt his stomach flip around as he watched her open the letter. _She is really pretty. Prettier than any girl in our year. The Patil twins are her only competition. But they don't have her… elegance._ Daphne put the opened letter between them, and they both read it together.

 _Dearest Daughter,_

 _I have received your letter, and I must admit, it has bothered me greatly. I am already looking into finding a solution, but I will need time._

 _Tell Ronald that I will speak with him more about this when he comes over on Saturday._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Your Father_

Ron blinked at the short, and businesslike, letter. Who writes to their children like that? Lord Greengrass, that's who.

"This is good" Daphne turned her head and smiled at Ron.

"Does he always…" Ron started but then he stopped. _I don't want to offend her._

"Does he always write letters like that?" Daphne asked for him. "Yes, my father is extremely formal."

"He said 'Best Regards'…" Ron muttered.

"Are you worried about me, Ron?" Daphne chuckled, and he immediately felt defensive.

"No" Ron replied curtly, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"You're so sweet" Daphne cooed, and Ron felt his cheeks flush.

"Whatever" Ron said coldly as he turned to face the fire. Daphne started wiggling around again, and her hips pushed into his. "Daphne, what are you doing?"

"I want to get more comfortable" Daphne said playfully as she wiggled a bit more.

"I have an idea" Ron said in a dead-serious tone. "Sit on a chair that isn't occupied."

"But I want to sit next to you" Daphne smiled mischievously. _She is enjoying this too much._

"Why are you doing this?" Ron asked, enough was enough. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I already told you, I kissed you because I wanted to" Daphne replied. "If you want to do something, then you should do it." _What's that supposed to mean? And why is she looking at me like that? Like she is expecting something._ And then it clicked in his head, did she want him to kiss her? Ron immediately felt his heart skip a beat, and he became extremely nervous. He wanted to do it… Just one more time… Ron slowly began to lean forward, and Daphne's smile encouraged him. She closed her eyes and waited patiently, but just as their lips were about to touch, the door to the Sanctuary began to creak open. Daphne shot out of the chair so fast that Ron was left utterly stunned. They both looked to the door guiltily, and they saw Blaise slowly enter. _Good, he didn't see us. Merlin, my fucking heart was about to give out. We were about to kiss again. And she wanted me to kiss her._

"There you two are" Blaise said as he approached them. "We have a damn problem."

"What happened?" Daphne asked, her voice was a little shaky.

"Sprout's Greenhouses are burning…" Blaise replied, and both Ron and Daphne went pale. "They suspect the Heir to be behind this."

"What about the Mandrakes?" Ron asked as he stood up.

"Burning to crisp along with everything else" Blaise sighed. _Fuck._

"This is terrible" Daphne said in a horrified voice.

"That's not all" Blaise frowned. "Someone killed the last of Hagrid's roosters."

"Because a rooster's cry is fatal to a Basilisk" Daphne nodded, and then she looked at Ron. _Fine, I was wrong about the roosters!_

"Don't say it" Ron frowned at her. "Don't fucking say it…"

"I was going to say that we should go back to the common room" Daphne huffed indignantly. "If the Professors start looking for the Heir, we shouldn't be missing from any role call."

"That's why I came here" Blaise told them. "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **February 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner)**_

Albus waited behind his desk, and he stared at the report Pomona had just submitted. Some had meticulously disarmed her safety Charms, and then they had used a Fire-Making spell to set the Greenhouses ablaze. The Mandrakes were destroyed in the fire, and it was a miracle that no student was harmed. It had taken Severus, Minerva, Sprout, and Filius to put out the magical blaze. But the Greenhouses were already destroyed by then. Everyone already knew who was behind it, the Heir. Just like it was the Heir who had slaughtered the last of Hagrid's roosters. And Albus knew why. _They're trying to protect their Basilisk._ Albus had figured out what the monster was the day the first rooster was slaughtered, but he had kept his silence. He knew that the Slytherin students would become even greater targets once it was revealed that their house's emblem was behind the attacks. Albus had begun to wonder if the silver serpent on the Slytherin banners was indeed just a serpent…

"Albus, we're ready" Minerva said as she came in without knocking. Albus was pulled from his thoughts, and he put on a welcoming smile.

"Headmaster, is it wise to leave the castle tonight?" Severus asked as they both approached Albus' desk.

"We are only leaving for half-an-hour at the longest" Albus told his two Heads of Houses. "I already told the Weasley family that I would be dropping by, and they are expecting me to."

"But Albus, the Heir…" Minerva started but Albus stopped her by a raising his right hand.

"The Heir will not strike tonight" Albus assured her. "They will not risk being caught like that. They know that everyone is on high alert tonight. Come, we must be off." Albus then moved to his fireplace, and he took some floo powder from a connected pot. "The Burrow" Albus said clearly as he threw the floo powder into the fire. Albus stepped through the green blaze, and he was suddenly inside the Burrow. He cleared the way for his companions, and they both came in one after the other.

"Ah, you're here" Arthur Weasley smiled at them as he entered the living room. "Come, please. Sit down, Molly prepared you some food." Albus walked up to Arthur, and the man shook his hand firmly. _Why do people keep forgetting that I'm old? My bones aren't what they used to be._ Albus then made his way into the kitchen, and he spotted Molly Weasley putting 'some' food on the table. _Merlin, that's too much for five people._

"Welcome" Molly beamed at Albus and his companions. "Please take a seat."

"It is good to be inside your home once again" Albus smiled at Molly, and then he breathed in the homey smell of the Burrow. Albus then took a seat at the table, and Severus and Minerva sat on either side of him. Arthur took his seat at the head of the table, and Molly sat to her husband's right side.

"Please, dig in" Molly beamed at them, and Albus nodded as he began putting food on his plate. Minerva followed suit, but Severus didn't. _Of course, he won't._ Albus lightly kicked Severus under the table, and Severus growled at him. Molly and Arthur waited patiently, and Severus sighed as he began to put food on his plate. _That's a good lad._

"Molly, Arthur…" Albus started but Molly shushed him.

"We can talk after we've eaten" Molly smiled, and Albus nodded. _It is her house, and she did prepare all this food. And we all know that our conversation isn't going to be pleasant._ Albus ate his food and talked to Arthur about the Ministry, Minerva spoke with Molly about the Weasley clock, and Severus ate quietly. After they had finished their meals, and seconds, Albus filled to bursting. _I've eaten three dinners in one night._

"Now that we've eaten" Albus started. "I would like to talk to you about Ronald, and his future at Hogwarts."

"We've decided that Re-Sorting him is the best option" Arthur said firmly, and Albus blinked at him.

"It was your idea" Snape said in his cold voice, and Arthur nodded. _I made a mistake. I thought that Molly was driving this decision, but it was Arthur._

"And I stand by my husband" Molly interjected. "This is for his own good."

"Molly" Minerva said. "I personally don't believe in that. Ronald has achieved a great many feats within Slytherin, the House of the Cunning has served him well."

"No, it hasn't" Molly argued. "My boy has changed for the worst over the last year and a half."

"And how is that?" Snape asked coldly. "He has become a respected member of my house, and he has earned a great deal of allies in that time. He has made connections with wealthy, powerful people. Connections that serve him well, and will continue to serve him well."

"I will not deny that" Arthur nodded. "Ron has amazed us with his actions over the last year and half, but those actions have changed him. Albus, after his attack, he told me that he wanted to kill the Dark Lord himself. He is only twelve, and he meant every word of it. And now he's using the Dark Arts? This would have never happened if he was in Gryffindor."

"Is that so?" Severus asked bitterly. "If he had entered that house, then he'd turn into a dunderhead like the rest of them." Molly and Arthur both looked appalled, and even Minerva was irked.

"Severus didn't mean that…" Albus started, but Severus cut him off.

"I did mean that" Severus told them. "Slytherin has helped him hone his ambitions, and we have tempered his talents. Slytherin demands excellence from its students, and without that constant expectation, Ronald's mind would have slowly deteriorated. And he would have never made those connections in any other house. For Merlin's sake, Ronald has become the apprentice of the wealthiest wizard in all of Britain."

"And now he hates how we all live" Molly growled, and all three Professors blinked at her. "He wanted to buy his siblings new robes and books, but when we told him not to, he started screaming at us. I did not raise my son to yell in my face. I did not raise him to beat other children bloody. I did not raise him to use the Dark Arts. He picked that all up in Slytherin."

"But what about the good things that he's picked up in Slytherin" Albus argued. "I'm sorry that Ronald acted that way, Molly. But he has made good friends in that house. Friends who are starting to think like he does. Ronald could help us overturn Slytherin house's ill reputation."

"But what about him?" Arthur asked. "Every day we leave him in that house, there is a chance that he gets more influenced to be like them."

"Like them?" Severus asked.

"Yes, like them" Arthur replied hotly. "Your house didn't earn its reputation on just rumors. Most of the Dark Lord's Death-Eaters came from your house."

"Arthur, there is no need for that" Albus interjected.

"My son is alone in that house!" Arthur bellowed. "And every single day that he is in there, his future is in jeopardy! He started learning the Dark Arts, Albus! And you didn't even know?! How could you not know that?! You promised us that you'd keep an eye on him… And you broke that promise." All Albus could do was stare at Arthur's enraged face, he had no answers to that.

"Arthur, please calm down" Minerva jumped in. "Ronald has shown us that he will not travel down that path anymore. He made a mistake, and he regrets it. Don't punish him any further."

"We are not punishing him" Molly argued. "We are protecting our son, because none of you will. And as for regretting his actions, why is he still torturing poor Harry?"

"Torturing poor Harry?" Severus asked in a sarcastic tone.

"He is not letting Harry play Quidditch out of spite" Arthur frowned.

"It is not spite" Severus hissed. "It is a strategic move that benefits his own house. Ronald owes no allegiance to Potter."

"And there it is again" Arthur glared at Severus. "My son didn't used to think like that. He was a sweet boy who wanted nothing more than to be kind to others, and now he is cold and calculating. He is turning into them…"

"This again…" Severus sighed.

"Arthur, Ronald is changing" Albus jumped in. "I will not deny that, but change is a part of growing up. The Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin because that house was the best fit for Ronald."

"No" Molly shook her head. "No, it made a mistake. My son is not a Slytherin…"

"He demonstrates their qualities" Albus started, and both Arthur and Molly glared at him. "And I am not talking about Blood-Purity or anything like its ilk, I am talking about Slytherin's traits. Determination, cunning, ambition, strong leadership, and fraternity. These are good, admirable traits to have, and Ronald demonstrates them. He is loyal to the people that he cares about, he has a drive to be better than he was yesterday, and he has established himself as a leadership figure in Slytherin. The first and second years look up to him…"

"I don't want him to be leader in Slytherin" Molly cut Albus off. "I don't want my son to be affiliated with that vile house." Severus was about to say something, but Minerva beat him to it.

"Molly, you are being unreasonable" Minerva said firmly, her lips tightening into a frown. "It is the individual that determines what the house stands for, not the other way around."

"That isn't entirely true" Arthur argued. "There is a reason why so many Dark Wizards come from Slytherin, and it's all because the founder of that house was an evil man. Salazar's beliefs poison the minds of the children in Slytherin, and I will not let my son become like them. I will not have Ron turn into one of those Pure-Blood sympathizers."

"So you will rip that choice from his hands?" Minerva asked hotly. "Arthur, you are not doing your son any favors by removing him from Slytherin. His friends are all Slytherins. He has lived in that house for nearly two years. And if **you two** take all of that away, you will break his heart. He will never forget it… And he will never forgive you."

"And he certainly won't be better off in any other house" Severus added. "He will always be treated as an outsider… You will ruin his school life by doing this."

"Do you have children, Snape?" Arthur asked, and Severus blinked at him. "No, you don't. I would rather my son hate me then him turn into whatever he is turning into. I am his father, and it is my duty to protect him. Even from himself. You've known him for less than two years, but I've been with him since he was a day old. And now, I don't even recognize him. He sits differently, he eats differently, he talks differently, he thinks differently, he dresses differently, and even his hair is different. He cares about his appearance more than he cares about other people… What he did to Harry, I cannot allow that to happen again. I will not allow it. And this meeting… it's finished. He will either accept being Re-Sorted, or he will be home-schooled." Arthur then stood up, and he gestured them to the living room. Albus and his companions rose out of their seats, and they walked to the living room. After Severus and Minerva flooed back to Albus' Office, Albus looked to Arthur and Molly again.

"Will you not reconsider?" Albus asked one last time, and both parents shook their heads.

"No, this is our decision to make" Arthur said firmly, and Albus gave him a slow nod. Albus then walked through the green blaze, and he knew that his mission had failed. Ronald was on his own…

"They are making a mistake" Severus growled.

"I must agree with Severus" Minerva said as she paced the room. "This will only push Ronald away from them."

"Either way, we have no more say in the matter" Albus sighed as he walked up to a sleeping Fawkes.

"So that's it?" Severus asked. "We just give up on this?"

"They are his legal guardians, Severus" Albus said as he rubbed Fawkes' chest. The Phoenix hummed in his sleep, and Albus smiled softly at him. _I failed him. Forgive me, Fawkes._ "Even if we don't want to let this go, we must. They need his permission to Re-Sort him, but they don't need his permission to pull him out of school. Many witches and wizards are home-schooled, so even the Ministry will not bat an eye at this."

"And what about his future?" Minerva asked hotly. "He is a brilliant boy, and that brilliance will fade if he does not have professionals helping him along the way."

"I know" Albus sighed again. "But we are his teachers, not his blood. Arthur and Molly are in their rights to do this… And we cannot legally interfere. Which means only one thing…"

"The boy is on his own" Severus said in a cold voice, and Albus nodded. _I'm sorry, Ronald. I tried my best._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary – Before Dinner)**_

 _Ronnie,_

 _This is Charlie, but you already knew that because I signed my name on the letter. Anyway, I got your letters. Both of them. And I'd like to congratulate you! Well done, Ronnie. Landing your first kiss before thirteen? You've outdone both Bill and I, probably every Weasley. So well done you sly dog you. As for the girl that kissed you, she clearly likes you. Girls don't just kiss blokes at random, trust me. Unless they're slags… but I'm sure that your little girlfriend isn't. She is a proper Lady from what you've told me, and I'm so fucking proud of you!_

 _But before I say another word on this, I need to make sure that you know how important this is. Kids around your age generally start experimenting with members of the opposite sex. And then there's puberty… You're probably really confused about the changes happening to your body, but there is nothing to fear. It's perfectly natural. This Daphne girl is probably going through the same things as you, and you two can help each other. But Ron… Don't do anything stupid. A few kisses are fine, but if you do something that endangers your future, I'll break your fucking legs! Namely: No sex, no sexual acts of any sort (Other than kissing), and you must respect her decisions! If she doesn't want to do something, don't even ask her. Consent is the most important thing between two people who are intimate, and you both need to consent. This is important, Ron. Make sure you know that through and through._

 _Now, about your second letter. Fucking hell, what a mess. Dad sent me a letter a few weeks ago, and he told me what you did. And I am really disappointed in you, Ron. The Dark Arts are no joke, and you will abandon this path at once. Or I will feed you my fist! As for their ultimatum, I don't agree with taking things that far. I will send a letter to them right after I send this one, and I will ask them to stop. You have my word on that. But I want you to know that you dug yourself into this situation. So no more Dark Arts, and for fucks sake stop acting like an arsehole. Just sit tight, and I'll do my best to get you out of this._

 _Your Favorite Brother,_

 _Charlie_

Ron put down the letter and sighed, Charlie was always the blunt one. But Ron was overjoyed that Charlie was going to help him with their parents. And he at least got some answers about Daphne. _She does like me in the romantic sort of way. Woah. What do I do now? I mean, I like her too. But is it in the same way? I do want to kiss her again…_ Ron quickly pocketed the letter as he heard the door creak open, and his friends marched in.

"You spend a lot time in here, Ron" Pansy pouted. "Let's go outside and watch the sunset."

"This place is way better than sitting outside in the dirt" Theo grinned at Ron. "You have my blessing, mate."

"Thanks" Ron chuckled. "But don't get comfortable, I was just about to leave."

"What?" Daphne pouted miserably. "We just got here…" _That pout is really cute. Get a grip, Ron._

"I know" Ron smiled at her. "But we still haven't spoken to Myrtle Warren, and we need to get on to that."

"Ron's right" Blaise said aloofly. "We should go before dinner starts." Ron and his friends began making their way down, and they were fortunate enough to not run into any Gryffindors. As they neared the first floor however, they began to hear a commotion.

"What's going on?" Tracey asked as they rounded the corner, and they all stopped dead in their tracks. A massive group of students was gathered around the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. _No, don't tell me…_ Ron started making his way towards the crowd, but Blaise stopped him by gripping his left arm.

"Those are all students from different houses, we need to leave" Blaise told him, and Ron blinked at his friend. Ron then looked at the group of students, and Blaise was right. Ron couldn't spot a single green tie.

"Ron, let's get out of here before we get spotted" Daphne pleaded, and Ron immediately moved into action.

"We'll go up to second floor, and then we'll take the moving staircases down" Ron instructed, and they all bolted immediately.

* * *

 _ **February 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dinner)**_

The school was once again set ablaze by rumors and speculation. And Ron listened to these rumors with a keen interest. The Heir had struck once again. Moaning Myrtle's ghost was found in a similar state to Sir Nicholas' ghost, she was found floating around in her bathroom in a black and smoky state. The staff were talking to each other animatedly, and so were the students. Ron felt more than a few stares being shot his way, and he also saw Potter ducking a few glances as well. _We didn't even get a chance to talk to her. Why would the Heir target her? She's already dead._

"This is bad" Blaise sighed as he swallowed his food. "If this keeps happening, they'll shut the school down before long."

"And we'll be separated" Theo grimaced. "What do we do now? Our only lead just got taken out of the picture."

"She was a Muggle-Born, wasn't she?" Tracey asked. "Even the Muggle-Born ghosts aren't safe… That must've be the Heir's message."

"The Heir…" Ron grit out. "What a cunt…"

"Ron" Daphne frowned a little, and Ron sighed.

"I'm sorry" Ron muttered. The truth was that he kind of liked Myrtle. Sure, she was annoying, but she had been there for him. _She comforted me when I was in pain… She didn't deserve this._ Ron rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand, he could feel a headache coming on.

"May we have your attention?" McGonagall's voice boomed, and she tapped her wand on her glass. All the students turned to face the staff table, and Dumbledore rose out of his seat.

"I am sure that you have all heard the rumors about Myrtle Warren" Dumbledore said clearly. "And I regret to inform you all that they are true. She was attacked, just like Sir Nicholas, and we suspect the Heir of Slytherin to be behind this." The Slytherin students ignored the sudden glares being sent their way. "Please, do not turn your anger on your fellow school-mates. This is the work of an individual, not a collective group. In any case, we have decided to enact extreme safety measures."

"From this moment on" Dumbledore continued. "No student is to travel the castle alone. You must always be in a group of two or more. Furthermore, you will all have a new curfew from this day onwards. No student is to be found roaming the castle after six 'o'clock in the evening. Failure to comply with this new curfew will result in an immediate detention. And… Quidditch is hereby cancelled for the remainder of the year…" There was a sudden uproar from the students, and Ron was taken by surprise.

"That's rubbish!" Ron heard one of the twins shout.

"You can't do this to us!" Marcus Flint bellowed.

"What about the Quidditch Cup?"

"We were ahead in the Quidditch tournament!"

"This is ridiculous!"

"My father will hear about this!"

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore shouted over the students, and everyone shut up immediately. Dumbledore's expression had hardened, and he looked like completely different. "These new rules are not up for debate" Dumbledore said in a calmer voice. "They are for your own safety, and we will not change our minds. You Heads of Houses will escort you all to dinner every night, and there will be name-calls. Any student found missing will be subject to interrogation. Now… Eat your dinner, and then you will all be escorted to your common rooms." Dumbledore sat down, and looked visibly tired.

"This school is done for" Theo muttered, and Ron couldn't agree more. _Merlin damn the Heir for ever being born._

* * *

 _ **February 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

Ron marched along with the rest of the Slytherins, the prefects were leading them all to the Great Hall together. Ron shot quick looks around himself, and he could see that the house was unhappy about this. The older students looked annoyed, and the younger ones looked scared. The first years were all but quaking in their boots. _They're scared about being blamed for this._

"We have to protect our first years" Millie suddenly whispered to Ron, and he looked to her with a faint smile. "I know that we have a lot of problems right now, but we can't leave them on their own. The third years don't really care for them, and the older students are far too self-serving. It has to be us, Ron."

"You're right" Ron nodded, and Millie smiled widely. "We will protect them… Tell the others." Ron turned his attention forward as Millie began telling the girls.

"This is ridiculous" came Draco Malfoy's voice from behind Ron. "It's like we're in Durmstrang." _Is he talking to me?_ Ron slowly looked back at Malfoy, and the boy sneered at Ron. "What are you looking at, Weasel?"

"I thought you were talking to me…" Ron sighed as he looked forward again. _What a tosser._

"I would never lower myself in such a manner" Malfoy hissed.

"You're doing it right now, you idiot" Ron hissed back. When Malfoy didn't retort, Ron smirked to himself. Ron then spotted the Gryffindors marching down the steps with their own prefects at the head of the pack. _Figures. We're all being put through hell together._ The two houses marched towards the Great Hall, and the tension between them was palpable. Ron spotted a few Gryffindors glaring directly at him, and he gulped. _Things were finally starting to settle down a little, and now it's all gone to hell again._

Once all four houses were lined in front of the Great Hall, the prefects opened the door. The students moved inside in an orderly fashion, and Ron began to hear loud gasps coming from them. _What now?!_ As Ron and his friends entered the Great Hall, Ron was stunned into silence. The walls were covered with large, lurid pink flowers. There was heart-shaped confetti falling from the pale blue ceiling, and there were pink balloons floating around the Hall. _What the bloody hell happened in here?!_ The students slowly sat down in their usual spots, and everyone was just stunned. Most of the girls were smiling in awe, but the boys were looking to each other for an explanation.

"Who did this?" Theo asked Ron, and Ron shook his head.

"I don't know…" Ron muttered.

"Ahem…" Blaise coughed, and both boys looked to him. Blaise was pointing at the staff table, and Ron cringed when he saw Lockhart. The man was wearing lurid pink robes to match the Great Hall, and he was grinning ear to ear. On either side of Lockhart, Ron saw the teachers looking stony-faced. McGonagall was just staring at the students. Snape looked like he was about to kill Lockhart. Flitwick was looking ashamed. And on it went… _Wait, where is Dumbledore?_

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart suddenly shouted, and Ron just blinked at the man. "And may I thank the forty six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken it upon myself to arrange this little surprise for you all! And no, it doesn't end here!" Lockhart then clapped his hands loudly, and the giant doors flung open. Around thirty surly-looking dwarves marched in, and Ron's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw their attire. They were wearing fake golden wings, and they were carrying harps. _This can't be real… Lockhart is pulling everyone's leg._

"My friendly, card carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed in pure joy. One of the dwarves spat on the ground, and Ron just blinked at Lockhart in shock. "They will be making the rounds around Hogwarts today in order to deliver your Valentines! And the fun doesn't end here! I am sure that my colleagues will want to enter the spirit of the day! Why not ask Professor Snape for a Love Potion?! And if that isn't your cup of tea, why not ask Professor Flitwick for an Entrancing Enchantment?! He knows those enchantment quite well, the sly old dog! Now enjoy your breakfast children!"

Ron saw Flitwick bury his face in his hands, and he had to stifle a laugh. Ron then looked to see Snape's reaction, and it did not disappoint. Snape was shaking with quiet rage, and Sprout was holding his right wrist firmly. _Lockhart is going to die today._

"This is amazing" Pansy said in awe, and all three boys frowned at her.

"This is disgusting" Theo muttered. "This is not the right time to be celebrating Valentine's Day…"

"Why not?" Tracey frowned at Theo.

"Maybe because there is a psychopath on the loose?" Blaise asked sarcastically.

"Lockhart is a fucking clown…" Ron shook his head, and he felt a strong kick on his shin. "Merlin…" Ron grit out in pain. Ron looked up to see Daphne smirking at him.

"I think this is a wonderful idea" Daphne said with a smirk.

"He wants us to forget all the bad things that are happening" Millie provided.

"This is a bad thing…" Theo shot back. "And please tell me that you four weren't a part of those forty six Valentine cards that he got…" Ron looked to Daphne immediately, and she looked down at her plate. All four girls did…

"Wow" Blaise frowned. Ron felt a strong pang of jealousy, and he glared down at his plate. _Why did she send_ _ **him**_ _a Valentine card?_

* * *

 _ **February 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Heading to Lunch)**_

"I can't believe this is happening" Theo chuckled. "The school is being invaded by angry dwarves!" Ron chuckled as he thought about the events of the day so far. Lockhart's dwarves were bursting into classrooms, hounding students, and they were not gentle. Most of the male population was walking around in fear, while the female population was extremely embarrassed because of it. _At least the dwarves are gentle with the girls. I heard one of them pinned Potter down and sang him a limerick._ Ron and his friends had been safe from any attacks so far, and Ron couldn't be more glad.

"So…" Tracey muttered. "Did you boys send out any Valentines?" Ron looked to Tracey, and she was fidgeting with her hands.

"I didn't" Blaise shrugged. "Saw no need to."

"Me neither" Ron joined in, and he saw Daphne's expression change immediately. _Trust me, you should be grateful that I didn't._

"Boys…" Daphne huffed in disgust, and Ron flinched. He had actually managed to get her those chocolates that she loved most, and it was all thanks to Marty. But he wanted to give them to her in private.

"Don't lump me in with them" Theo sighed, and everyone looked to him in shock. "I sent one…"

"You did?" Tracey asked excitedly.

"To who?" Millie asked in disbelief.

"I'm not telling…" Theo frowned at Millie. "Now drop it, please." _Absolutely not._

"Who was it, Theo?" Ron smiled slyly. "You can tell me, I'm friend."

"Stop it" Theo said, but his lips were twitching upwards.

"C'mon mate, let us in on the secret" Ron hummed. "Who's the lovely lad?" Everyone suddenly broke into a laugh, and even Theo was laughing.

"It was you" Theo wheezed.

"I knew it" Ron smiled.

"OY! YOU!" came a shout from behind them, and they all slowly turned around. Five angry looking dwarves were marching towards them. "Blaise Zabini! Hold it right there!" one of the dwarves yelled as they all started running.

"Fuck!" Blaise yelled as he threw his book bag at Theo, and then he broke into a sprint. Ron and his friends just stared in utter horror as Blaise ran off into the corridors, and two pissed off looking trolls ran after him.

"Did that just…" Theo started but then he stopped. Ron looked at Theo, and his weedy friend had gone pale. Ron looked to where Theo was looking, and he saw a pale dwarf grinning at Theo from the end of the hallway.

"Theodore Nott!" the dwarf yelled with a creepy smile. "I have a message for you! A message about love!" The dwarf suddenly broke into a sprint towards them, and Theo screamed as he dropped the book bags he was holding.

"Are you serious?!" Theo yelled as he broke into a sprint for the moving staircases. The dwarf ran past Ron and the girls, and Ron was disgusted by his creepy smile.

"Oh no…" Tracey muttered as they lost sight of Theo.

"This can't be happening" Ron muttered, his friends were doomed. For the first time in his life, Ronald Weasley was glad that someone else got something that he didn't. Ron picked up the book bags, and he shuddered. _Those two are probably running for their lives right now… Merlin help them._ "Let's go to the Great Hall, yeah?" Ron asked the girls.

"Yeah…" Pansy muttered, her cheeks were bright red. _Why does she looked so embarrassed?_

"Poor Theo…" Tracey sighed, her cheeks were also bright red.

"Ron… maybe we should go to the common room instead?" Daphne suggested, her cheeks were also bright red.

"I'm really hungry…" Ron said slowly as he stared at her. She looked genuinely worried for Ron, and Ron could hear the alarm bells in his head going off. _What did you do Daphne?_

"Okay…" Daphne muttered with a faint smile. They all made their way down slowly, and Ron was starting to feel scared. None of them were talking, and Ron wanted to know why. As they entered the Great Hall, Ron saw ten dwarves sniffing around where he usually sat. _No… NO!_

"THERE'S THE LITTLE BASTARD!" a dark skinned dwarf yelled as he pointed an angry finger at Ron. "GET HIM!" The whole student body in the Great Hall was dead silent as they watched Ron drop his book bags.

"Run, Ron!" Millie bellowed as she jumped in front of him. Ron did as he was told, and he bolted for the courtyard. _Oh Merlin!_ Ron shot a quick look back, and he saw the dwarves push the girls out of the way and charge at him.

"Stop right there!" one of the dwarves yelled. "Stop!"

"We're just doing our jobs, you little shite!" another dwarf yelled, and Ron picked up his speed.

"Get away from me!" Ron screamed as he bolted past a few fifth years. Ron ran straight into the courtyard, and his pursuers were still giving chase. They had short legs, but they were dead set on getting him. _No one has escaped them today! I'm so fucked!_ Ron grit his teeth as he cut his way through a few bushes. He ignored his shallow breathing as he spotted the Clock-Tower, he could hide in there! Ron ran straight towards the massive entrance, and he shot a quick look back. Every single dwarf that was chasing him was still on his tail. _FUCK!_

Ron ran through the Clock-Tower and he knew that he couldn't hide in here. Those evil dwarves were hot on his tail and they'd know where he was hiding. _What do I do?!_ Ron kept running, and he could feel his stamina begin to fade. But he clenched his jaw and kept running, he was not going to get caught today. As Ron ran into a deserted Hallway, he spotted Cedric Diggory running right towards him. The Hufflepuff boy had almost twenty dwarves on his tail, and Ron wasn't even surprised. They both ran past one another, and they exchanged terrified looks. _Good luck, brother._ Ron hugged the wall as he ran past the army of dwarves chasing Cedric. After Ron got past them, he shot a quick look back. The dwarves chasing him had crashed into the dwarves chasing Cedric. The Slytherin and the Hufflepuff exchanged grateful looks with each other, and then they parted ways.

Ron ran a bit more slowly as he made his way back into the castle. _I'm on the third floor now, I need to get to the Sanctuary._ Ron picked up his pace as he ran towards the moving staircases, he had no intention of letting those dwarves catch up to him.

"Not again!" Ron heard a familiar voice yell from around the corner.

"Harry, run!" came Longbottom's yell. As Ron rounded the corner, he saw Potter bolting towards him. There were five dwarves chasing him down, and Ron decided to ignore this. He had his own problems right now. Ron ran past Potter, and straight towards Longbottom and Hermione.

"Ron?!" Hermione called to him, but then her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Ron shot a quick look back, and a scream tore its way out of his throat. _They fucking caught up to me!_ Ron bolted right past the two Gryffindors, and they were both shoved against the walls as the dwarves charged at Ron. Ron ran as hard as he could and he managed to reach moving staircases. Luckily for Ron, he ran almost every morning, and therefore he had stamina to spare. The dwarves however were beginning to wear down, and the stairs weren't helping them. Their little legs were becoming the bane of their mission to get Ron. As Ron managed to make it onto the seventh floor, he saw an unholy sight before him. It was Theo… His friend… And he was pinned down by four dwarves, and one of them was holding the weedy boy's head to the ground.

"Your beautiful curly hair" the pale and creepy dwarf sang, and Theo let out a groan.

"Theo!" Ron yelled, and that seemed to wake Theo up.

"Ron! Help me, please!" Theo yelled, and Ron ran towards his friend.

"Back off you little twat!" the dwarf holding Theo's head bellowed at Ron.

"Get them off me!" Theo screamed at Ron, and Ron felt stared in utter horror as the creepy dwarf glared at Ron.

"HE'S RIGHT HERE!" the creepy pale dwarf yelled, and Ron turned to see his own pursuers. _NO!_

"I'm sorry, Theo!" Ron yelled as he broke into a sprint.

"Weasley, you son of a bitch!" Theo screamed as Ron rounded the corner. Ron was almost there, he was almost inside his Sanctuary. Ron turned another corner and ran towards the tapestry.

"Ah, my little prodigy!" Lockhart suddenly popped into view, and Ron almost broke into tears. He was so fucking close, and now Lockhart was standing in front the entrance.

"Sir, help me!" Ron decided to beg. "Those dwarves…"

"Ah!" Lockhart laughed. "Say no more, come with me." Ron actually smiled as Lockhart led him towards a broom closet. "Get in, quickly. I will send them elsewhere!" Lockhart grinned, and Ron ran into closet.

"Thank you, Sir" Ron gasped for air. _My legs… My lungs… I just need to sit down for a minute._

"He's in here boys!" Lockhart suddenly yelled with a grin, and Ron's heart fell. Ron quickly tried to escape, but Lockhart blocked his way. And then… Then the dwarves showed up. They looked so pissed off, and Ron felt his eyes sting.

"Please…" Ron muttered, and then they charged him. He was pinned to the ground by rough hands, and he couldn't even move. Ron tried to flail about, but those hands tightened around his limbs. Ron let out a pained cry as a dwarf started playing his harp. Ron heard the door close, and he knew that it was over for him. The dwarves then began to sing their Valentines at the same time, and Ron squealed in pain as they held him down more tightly.

"You're beautiful blue eyes!"

"Red locks of fire!"

"The beautiful Heir!"

"Purging the unworthy!"

"I love your rings!"

"I want to take off your glove!"

"Kill those Mud-Bloods!"

Ron screamed in shame as they kept going, this was hell.

* * *

 _ **February 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Hospital Wing)**_

"There, you should feel much better now" Pomfrey smiled sadly at him. Ron covered up his arms and legs, and then he put on his glove.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey" Ron said softly. He had been left bruised all over his arms and legs by those fucking dwarves, and Ron wanted to murder Lockhart. But that wasn't even the worst part… The worst part was the cringe-worthy things that those dwarves had sang to him. He felt ashamed of himself, and that was worse than anything.

"Alright, run along now" Pomfrey said as she ushered him through the curtains. "Next!" Pomfrey yelled as Ron stepped out. There was a line of male, and few female, students. All of them were supporting their own bruises. Afternoon classes had been cancelled due to the massive number of students being admitted into the Hospital Wing, and Lockhart was hopefully paying for this. Ron walked past the students still waiting in line, and he spotted his best mates waiting for him.

"There you are" Blaise sighed, his robes were torn up. "Let's go…" Ron quietly walked with Theo and Blaise, and none of them wanted to say a word.

"You left me" Theo said suddenly, and Ron looked to the weedy boy. Theo was frowning at him, and Ron sighed.

"Mate, I had ten of them on my tail" Ron defended himself. "And you were already caught…"

"That sounds reasonable to me" Blaise said in bored tone.

"How did you get caught?" Theo asked Blaise.

"I was almost safe, but then three more dwarves showed up" Blaise shuddered. "One of them kicked my legs out from under me, and that was that."

"At least Lockhart didn't lock you in a damn broom closet" Ron grit out.

"What?!" Theo laughed. "He locked you in with ten dwarves?"

"I'm going to kill him" Ron hissed.

"Let's just never talk about this again…" Blaise sighed.

"Agreed" Theo and Ron said together. The three boys made their way down to the common room, and they sighed gratefully as they entered the safety of their home.

"You guys are alright!" came Pansy's happy voice. Ron and the boys turned to see the girls walk up to them, and Ron frowned at Daphne. _She sent one of those Valentines, didn't she? That's why she wanted me to go to the common room._

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked Ron slowly, and Ron calmed down his features.

"I'm fine" Ron replied curtly. "I need to go change." And just like that, Ron walked towards his room. Ron spotted Malfoy supporting a haggard look as he limped towards the entrance to the boys' dorms. _Him too? Merlin, what a day._ Once Ron entered his own room, he closed the door behind him. Ron then sat down on his bed and sighed loudly, he wanted to forget that this had ever happened. There was a sudden knock at the door, and Ron looked at the door in surprise.

"Can I come in?" came Daphne's voice, and Ron just blinked at the door.

"Yes" Ron called out, and Daphne slowly entered the room. She closed the door behind her, and then she locked it. Ron's heartbeat started increasing, what was she doing? "Where are Theo and Blaise?" Ron asked her as she turned around.

"They're talking with the girls" Daphne replied with a frown, and then she began to approach him. "Are you angry with me about something?"

"No" Ron lied. "I'm not angry with you…" Daphne narrowed her eyes on him as she crossed her arms under her chest.

"Yes, you are" Daphne huffed.

"No, I'm not" Ron retorted childishly.

"Does this have something to do with this morning?" Daphne asked haughtily, and Ron blinked at her. _This morning? What happened this morning?_

"I don't know what you mean by that" Ron replied honestly.

"So you aren't jealous that I sent Lockhart a Valentine?" Daphne smirked arrogantly. Ron suddenly remembered that he did feel jealous, and that annoyed him greatly.

"I'm not jealous" Ron said as he stood up.

"Whatever" Daphne huffed.

"What do you want, Daphne?" Ron asked her bluntly. Daphne just stared at his face, and then her cheeks started becoming rosy.

"You promised me something last year" Daphne said softly. "Remember?" _The chocolates._ Ron sighed at her as he nodded. Ron then opened his trunk and pulled out the box of French chocolates.

"Here" Ron said as he walked right up to her. Daphne looked down at the box, and then she released a happy squeal.

"You got me my favorites!" Daphne laughed as she clapped her hands, and Ron felt his anger fade away. _Thank you, Tori._

"Yes" Ron couldn't help but smile, she looked so excited.

"How did you know?" she asked as she looked at Ron in awe.

"Your little sister helped me" Ron replied truthfully. "I asked her for help a few days ago, and she sent me a brochure with your favorite chocolates already marked."

"Thank you" Daphne blushed deeply as she accepted the box from Ron, and Ron gulped. _Now what?_ "Ron, what's wrong?" Daphne asked with a wide smile, and Ron managed a meek smile back. His stomach was doing flips again, and they were standing rather close.

"Nothing" Ron lied poorly, and Daphne blinked at him. But then her smile suddenly turned mischievous. _Shite._

"Nothing, eh?" Daphne hummed. "Were you expecting a reward, Ron?"

"No…" Ron whispered as he shook his head slowly.

"What if I want to give you a reward?" Daphne asked slowly. Ron felt his heart pounding in his throat, and he felt a little lightheaded. _This is just like the time with my scars._

"What reward?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne took a step closer to him.

"I'll leave that up to you" Daphne said softly, and then she closed her eyes. _She wants me to kiss her!_ Ron gulped again, and he felt the pressure. He didn't want to leave her hanging, and he also wanted to kiss her again. He just wanted to try it a little… Ron slowly leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He felt a shiver run through him as he felt her soft lips, and he quickly pulled back.

"There…" Ron muttered, his face felt like it was on fire. Daphne opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"You didn't enjoy it?" Daphne asked, but she knew that he did.

"I did…" Ron shuffled his feet. "Did… did you?"

"I did" Daphne said softly. "We can try again… if you want?" Ron looked into her dark blue eyes, and he nodded slowly. The both leaned in again, but there was a sudden bang on the door.

"Ron, why is this locked?" came Blaise's annoyed voice, and Ron and Daphne flew apart from each other.

"Sor… Sorry" Ron called as he walked up to the door. His hands and legs were shaking a little, and he knew that his face was bright red. Ron unlocked the door, and Blaise walked in.

"Um… am I interrupting something?" Blaise asked slowly as he looked between Daphne and Ron.

"No" Ron lied blatantly.

"Ron and I were… arguing" Daphne lied more convincingly as she hid the box of chocolates behind her back.

"About what?" Blaise asked.

"I want to ask my father to talk to Ron's parents, and he keeps refusing" Daphne sighed. _Wow._ Ron was awed by how convincing she sounded.

"Ron, don't be an idiot" Blaise frowned at him. "Daphne's idea is quite decent, and you should go for it. What happened to fighting this in every that you can?"

"I'm just waiting to hear back from Dumbledore" Ron jumped on board. _Why hasn't he gotten back to me?_ "After that, we'll see…"

"Fine" Blaise shook his friend at Ron's stubbornness. "I'm going to go take a shower…" Blaise walked up to his trunk and began to pick out his outfit. Ron shot a wide-eyed look to Daphne, and she smiled at him. Ron couldn't help but return her smile, they'd manage to trick Blaise.

"I'm going to go" Daphne told the boys as she slowly slipped out of the room. Ron noticed that she was still hiding her chocolates, and she gave Ron a quick wink before she disappeared from sight. Ron shook his head clear, and he let out a breath of relief.

"You need to listen to her, Ron" Blaise said as he turned around with his outfit picked out. "Her plan could help us keep you around." _I'm not going anywhere._

"You're right…" Ron smiled faintly. "I'll listen to her from now on."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower)**_

Hermione sat in front of the fire alone, and she waited patiently for Ginny Weasley. It was the crack of dawn, and there was nobody else in the common room. Yesterday had been quite hectic, especially with those mean dwarves running about. Hermione felt her cheeks burn as she thought about Ron, one of those dwarves had been sent by her… She hadn't meant for that to happen of course, none of the girls and boys did. Professor Lockhart had somehow gotten his hands on everyone's Valentine cards, and he had used the dwarves as the delivery system instead of the owls. _Poor Ron, and poor Harry._ One of the dwarves had broken Harry's spectacles in the scuffle…

"You're here" came Ginny's voice from behind her, and Hermione quickly turned around.

"Ginny, why did you want to see me so early?" Hermione asked the pale, red-haired girl. _Something is off about this. Why did she ask me to meet her alone in the morning last night? We have a new curfew to follow._

"Ronald asked me to set this up" Ginny smiled, but her smile looked forced.

"Ron asked you to meet me this early in the morning?" Hermione asked slowly, and Ginny nodded.

"He asked me to give you a message" Ginny replied. "He wants to talk to you in the library before he leaves for work this morning. He couldn't get to you yesterday because of those dwarves and the new curfew."

"What does he want to talk about?" Hermione asked. _What she says makes sense, this new curfew is a massive hindrance to everyone._

"He said something about your mutual goal to find someone" Ginny shrugged. "I didn't really understand what he meant, but he said that you would." _The Heir! Ron must finally be ready to share his knowledge on the matter._

"Well, we can't leave right now" Hermione sighed. "It's too early."

"Ronald will be gone for the entire day" Ginny told her. "And he won't get back until after the curfew starts. He told me to tell that it was extremely important, that he knew what the secret weapon was…" _The monster?! Ron knows what the monster is!_

"I need to go get Harry and Neville" Hermione said as she stood up.

"Why?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Because we aren't allowed to roam around alone" Hermione told her.

"I'll come with you instead, and then we can come back together after you've spoken with Ronald" Ginny smiled at her.

"I don't know about that…" Hermione said softly. _Ron won't like it if I drag Ginny along with me._

"Please" Ginny implored. "I actually need some help with my homework… And Ronald told me that you're the smartest witch in his year." Hermione felt her cheeks flush at that.

"He said that?" Hermione asked with a soft smile.

"He did, and I want us to make… peace" Ginny shuffled her feet. "I want to make more friends…"

"Of course, Ginny" Hermione beamed at Ron's little sister. "I'd love to be your friend. C'mon then, let's go talk to your brother." Hermione then led the way towards the library, and Ginny followed after her. When they were on the fifth floor, something clicked in Hermione's head. _She doesn't have any books…_ Hermione stopped walking instantly.

"What's wrong?" came Ginny voice from behind her, and Hermione turned around slowly.

"Ginny, where are your books?" Hermione asked Ginny, and the little girl smiled at her. It was a cold smile, and it scared Hermione a little. "Ginny… Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"You're quite clever, aren't you?" Ginny spat out, and Hermione flinched. _What's wrong with her?_

"Ginny…" Hermione blinked at the little girl.

"I overheard your little theory the other day" Ginny smirked coldly. "You were on the right track when you suspected the Heir to be a Gryffindor." Hermione felt the blood drain from her face, this couldn't be happening. "But those two fools shut you down immediately. They can't look past their own blind faith in your disgusting house."

"You… you…" Hermione stuttered as she shook from fear. _She can't be the Heir, she's Ron's little sister…_

"I wonder what they will do after I kill you" Ginny hummed, and Hermione felt her eyes sting. _I have to fight back!_ Hermione quickly ripped out her wand, but Ginny slapped the wand out of her hand with wandless magic.

"Please…" Hermione muttered as tears fell down her face. "You can't do this… You're Ron's little sister… I'm his friend…"

"Ronald and I share no relation" Ginny smiled cruelly. "I was intrigued by him, I must admit. But I have changed my mind. After I get rid of you, I'll get rid of him. And then, I'll get rid of Potter." None of what Ginny was saying was making any sense because Hermione's mind had stopped functioning properly. She was going to die, wasn't she? Ginny then began to hiss in a foreign tongue, and it made Hermione's skin crawl. _She really is the Heir…_

"What are you doing?" Hermione whispered, and then she let out a meek sob.

"Ending you" Ginny grinned, and her eyes gleamed red. Hermione heard something moving behind her, and a large shadow was cast over her and Ginny. _The monster…_ Hermione slowly began to turn around, her entire body shaking with fear. Her eyes fell on a shiny armor that was serving as a decoration, and Hermione saw the horrific reflection of Slytherin's monster behind her. Her eyes landed upon the two bright yellow orbs in the reflection, and everything went black.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Holy shit this was a big chapter! And a lot of big things happened! Tom is on the fucking warpath!**

 **Now, I just quickly wanted to say something. I know that a lot of you are fearing that I might abandon this story, and I can understand those fears. A lot stories that we like tend to get axed, and Ron stories are especially guilty of this. I want to dispel those fears when it comes to my story! I have spent way too much time planning this all out for it to just get axed. That's why I made this chapter extra massive! I want you all to know that I won't just leave halfway! Sure life gets busy, but I will always make time for this. You have all shown me an amazing amount of support, and I won't let you down.**

 **That is all.**

 **See you guys soon.**


	40. Chapter 40 - A new Strategy

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 40! We just hit a mile-stone! We are now officially past 500K words! That's huge! Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. The first half of the chapter happens at the same time, but through different people's POVs.**

 **2\. I'm glad to see that many people are enjoying the latest chapters quite a lot. Makes me happy. So thanks.**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 40 – A New Strategy**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Breakfast – Crack of Dawn)**_

The Great Hall was completely empty as Ron finished up his breakfast, and it was rather disconcerting. He hated the eerie feeling that he was getting from being the only person roaming the castle. Ron finished up the last of his scrambled eggs, and then he left the Great Hall. The walk down to the dungeons was done in dead silence, and Ron knocked on Snape's door. The sound of his knocking echoed through the dungeons, and Ron shuddered involuntarily. _It's so creepy being the only one around._ Ron waited for a response but it never came. Ron knocked again and he was met with silence again, was Snape not in his Office? _Bugger it, I need to get to Greengrass Manor._

Ron pushed the door open slowly, and he entered when he saw that it was empty. Snape wasn't in the Office. _That's odd. He is always here to send me off, so where is he today?_ Ron shrugged to himself as he made his way to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of floo powder, and he tossed it into the fireplace as he called out his destination. The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through.

"You're here!" came the sweet sound of Astoria's voice, and Ron felt his lips form into a smile.

"It's good to be back" Ron chuckled as Tori quickly clung to his right arm.

"I want to talk to you before you see my father" Tori beamed.

"Tori, I have to at least greet him first. It'll rude not to" Ron told her, and she pouted.

"Please" Tori whined. "I just want to know if Daphne liked our gift for her." _Our gift? I don't remember you paying your half._

"She… liked it" Ron replied softly as his face flushed. _We even kissed again._

"That's great news" Tori hummed as she dragged Ron along with her. "I had to raid her room in order to get that brochure."

"What?" Ron asked with shock.

"Don't be so surprised, Ron" Tori laughed. "Did you honestly think that I carry around a brochure with her favorite type of chocolate encircled? That's just silly."

"Tori…" Ron sighed. "I told her that I asked for your help… She'll know that it was you who raided her room."

"Don't worry" Tori grinned. "I got Spinny to clean Daphne's room. It's looks just like she left it."

"Spinny?" Ron asked slowly.

"My House-Elf" Tori replied in a fond voice. "She is the best! She even lets me cuddle her when I have bad dreams." _Bad dreams?_ Ron stopped himself from moving, and Tori stopped too.

"Bad dreams?" Ron asked. _Not visions, I hope…_

"It's nothing weird" Tori blushed. "I've always had them… Everyone in the family knows, and now… So do you." Ron blinked at her, was she saying what he thought she was saying? "Anyway" Tori quickly changed the subject. "I just wanted to ask about the chocolates, and now I know that it worked out."

"Ron, welcome back" came Lady Greengrass' voice, and both children turned around to face her. She was wearing some sort of gardening outfit, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. _Woah. No! Don't even think like that._

"Good morning, Lady Greengrass" Ron greeted her with a smile, and she gave him a light frown.

"Ron, just call me Mary" Lady Greengrass sighed. "You're a friend of our family, and my friends call me Mary." Ron went to open his mouth but she shushed him. "No arguments, young man. And if you call me Lady Greengrass when we are alone again, I will pinch your cheeks red." Tori giggled at that, and Ron frowned at her. _Betrayed._

"You can pinch my cheeks" Tori laughed, and Mary did just that. Ron smiled at the happy mother and daughter, and then he felt his chest tighten. His mother used to pinch his cheeks like that…

"I'm going to go find Lord Greengrass" Ron said, and then he turned to leave.

"Ron" Mary said, and he turned to face her. She put a soft hand on his left cheek, and then she gave him a kind smile. "It will all work out…" Ron was stunned into silence, and he just stared at her for a few seconds.

"What will work out?" Tori asked, and Ron woke up from his daze.

"Don't worry about it, love" Mary told her daughter. "Go on, Ron. My Lord Husband is waiting for you." Ron gave her a slow nod, and then he left. He made his way to the study, and he knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in, Ron" came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron entered.

"How did you know that it was me?" Ron smiled at Lord Greengrass. His mentor was standing in front of the small fireplace, and he was gazing into the flames.

"My wife doesn't need to knock" Lord Greengrass replied. "And my little Tori doesn't understand the concept of knocking. So who else could it be?"

"Show off…" Ron pouted as he took his usual seat, and Lord Greengrass let out a small chuckle at Ron's comment.

"We won't be starting your work yet" Lord Greengrass sighed, and then he turned to face Ron. "We need to talk about your parents first." Ron nodded slowly. "Tell me, Ron. Do you want to leave Slytherin?"

"No, absolutely not" Ron replied firmly, and Lord Greengrass' lips twitched upwards.

"That is good to hear, Ron. My daughter sounded quite panicked in her letters to me."

"Letters?" Ron asked as his cheeks felt hot. _I kissed his daughter… If he ever finds out…_ Ron shuddered.

"Yes, she sent me four" Lord Greengrass replied in a calm tone. "The first one told me of your situation. The next three were riddled with her plans and solutions. She is very… fond of you." Ron met Lord Greengrass' eyes, and Ron smiled meekly. But Lord Greengrass didn't smile, and that worried Ron a little. _He couldn't possibly know, could he?_ "In any case, I looked into the matter myself."

"And?" Ron asked. "Can I stay in Slytherin?"

"I'm sorry, Ron" Lord Greengrass sighed, and Ron's heart fell into his stomach. "I am only your employer, and legally speaking, I cannot interfere. All I can do is talk with Arthur and attempt to change his mind on the matter. I wanted your permission before I do that."

"My permission?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"Of course, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied as he sat down in his chair. "This is your family, and I do not to wish to overstep."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled, and Lord Greengrass smiled back. "You have my permission. Dumbledore actually went and spoke with them as well, but I don't know if it worked. He hasn't told me yet."

"If he hasn't told you, then he failed. People like him are quick to speak of their victories, but slow when admitting defeat." Ron's face fell at that, did Dumbledore really fail? _How? Dad worships him. How will Lord Greengrass succeed when even Albus Dumbledore failed?_

"And if they refuse you as well?"

"Then it will be out of my hands, Ron. You will have to take things into your own hands" Lord Greengrass replied.

"My own hands? What can I even do?" Ron slumped his shoulders.

"Ron, there is one thing that you can do…" Lord Greengrass said slowly. "Emancipation…" _What?_ Ron blinked at Lord Greengrass, and his mentor held a calm look.

"No" Ron said curtly.

"It was just a suggestion" Lord Greengrass smiled softly. "I will speak with Arthur on Monday, at his workplace. And then I will owl you to let you know how things went. Is that alright?"

"Yes, my Lord. Thank you for doing this. It… means a lot to me…" Ron said softly.

"Think nothing of it, Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled. "Now, let's get started on your training. The Junior League Tournament is approaching, and this time, it's being held in Beauxbatons."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Crack of Dawn)**_

"Wake up, Master" came a House-Elf's voice, and Snape flew out of bed. He immediately grabbed his wand off the nightstand and aimed it at the terrified Elf.

"What are you doing in here?" Snape snarled. "I have forbidden your kind from ever coming into my room."

"Forgive Spots, Master" the Elf bowed his head. "But the Headmaster sent Spots… There has been an attack on the fifth floor…" _Another attack? The Heir!_ Snape quickly put on some robes that were laid out on his chair, and then he bolted out of his room and into his Office. Snape shut the door to his Office behind him as he ran full tilt towards the stairs leading out of the dungeons. Snape prayed that it was another ghost that was attacked, but he knew that wasn't the case. The Heir was getting bolder by the day, and they had every right to be. None of the staff had a clue on who it could be. Snape quickly ascended up the moving staircases, his legs burning slightly due to being pushed so hard so suddenly.

"Ah, Severus" came Albus' voice as Snape was about to reach the fifth floor. Snape quickly turned to see Albus, Poppy, Pomona, Minerva, and Argus Filch marching towards him. There was a floating stretcher behind them, and Snape saw a female student's hand sticking out from the side. _A girl? Which one?_

"Who was attacked?" Snape quickly asked his mentor. "Are they dead?"

"She is petrified, Severus" Albus replied, and Snape visibly relaxed. _Good, thank Merlin for that._ "And the victim is Hermione Granger…" _Granger? The know it all… The Heir attacked Potter's friend? Was it just because she was a Muggle-Born? Or was there a more personal reason behind this attack?_

"Why was she out alone?" Snape asked Minerva as they began to descend down to the Hospital Wing.

"I don't know…" Minerva muttered, her eyes were wet. "She would never be so irresponsible… Something is not right here."

"We all know how responsible Potter and his friends are" Snape said bitterly. _Foolish girl. Why couldn't she just stay with her friends? She's a Muggle-Born for Merlin's sake._

"This was different, Severus" Albus interjected.

"I found her wand" Filch suddenly piped in, and then he handed the wand to Snape. Snape inspected the Vinewood wand with a grimace, why did she have it out? _She must've seen the Heir coming, that's the only reason I can think of._

"Hermione would never break the rules on her own" Minerva said. "She may follow Potter and Longbottom into breaking them, but she has never broken them on her own. This isn't sitting right with me, Albus."

"I know" Albus sighed as he pushed the Hospital Wing door open. They quickly got Granger onto a bed, and Snape gazed down at her. She held a terrified look on her face, and it made Snape curious. _Did she know that she was about to be attacked? If so, then how did she know? Did she see the Heir?_

"Poor girl" Pomona sniffled, and Snape blinked at Granger. _Indeed._ "Headmaster, what are we going to do? The Heir has petrified three Muggle-Born students, attacked two ghosts, burned down my Greenhouses, and even slaughtered Hagrid's roosters. This is getting out of hand…"

"I agree, Pomona" Albus said in a sad voice, he was also looking down at Granger. "But I believe that the Heir has finally made a mistake…"

"A mistake?" Minerva asked. _What are you talking about, old man?_

"I believe that the Heir lured out Miss. Granger" Albus replied, and everyone was stunned. _Does he seriously suspect a Gryffindor?_ "And I believe that she realized that the Heir meant to harm her, and so she brandished her wand in defense. She was overpowered, and then she was petrified."

"You suspect the Heir to be in Gryffindor?" Poppy asked as she closed the curtains around them.

"I do now" Albus rubbed his chin.

"Albus…" Minerva muttered. "This is the House of Godric Gryffindor we are talking about… How could Slytherin's Heir be in my house?"

"Don't let your fondness for your 'lions' fool you" Snape told her bluntly. "We must be vigilant, and we must investigate every house equally." _I just sounded like Mad-Eye… Better to be paranoid than to be dead._

"I agree with Severus" Pomona sighed, and both Minerva and Snape looked to her in shock. "We have looked into every Slytherin student, and we have found nothing. Maybe it's time we broadened our pool of suspects."

"Well…" Minerva sighed, she looked exhausted. "If that's the case, and if Albus' theory is correct, then the Heir might be someone that Hermione knew and trusted. Why else would she follow them out into an abandoned hallway?" Snape wanted to point the finger at Potter, but even he knew that Potter would never attack his own friends.

"I just heard about the attack" came Filius' haggard voice, and Snape turned to see the Charms Professor walk through the curtain. He looked just as haggard as he sounded, and he went pale when he saw Granger. "Merlin, no… She was one of my brightest students…"

"We have to tell the school" Pomona sighed in defeat. "And we have to tell her fellow Gryffindors…"

"I will do that" Minerva said softly as she gazed at Granger.

"All of you must come to my Office before breakfast begins" Albus said in a calm tone. "We must discuss the future of Hogwarts…" And just like that, Snape's mentor turned around and left. _There is no future for Hogwarts if we don't capture the Heir._ Snape shot one last look at Granger, and he sighed internally. _Foolish girl…_ Minerva then sniffled softly and began to leave. Snape waited for a few seconds, and then he followed after her.

"Minerva" Snape called out as he caught up to her. She turned around with a sad look, and Snape frowned a little. "I… I'm sorry… for Granger…" Snape then shot a wary look around to see if anyone else had heard him, and he was glad to see that no one had.

"Thank you, Severus" Minerva responded with a faint smile, and then she left. Snape watched her leave, and then he too left for his own domain. Snape walked down to his Office first, he need a shower and a fresher set of robes. As he reached his Office, he noticed that the door was already open. _I closed that when I left this morning._ Snape quickly brandished his wand, and he slowly entered the Office. When he spotted the fresh soot marks upon the fireplace, he knew that Ronald had gone to work for the day.

"Idiot boy" Snape growled as he slammed the Office door shut. "Doesn't even understand the notion of closing doors."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower)**_

"Harry, wake up" came a familiar voice, and then Harry's body was shaken roughly. Harry was immediately fully awake, and he hopped out of his bed.

"Neville?" Harry asked, his vision blurry. He reached over to the side table and grabbed his glasses. Once he put them on, he noticed that Neville was already trying to wake up Seamus. _What's going on? What time is it?_ Harry let out a yawn as he approached his best friend. "Neville, what are you doing?" Harry asked as he tried to pat down his own unruly hair. _I should buy a comb._

"McGonagall is downstairs" Neville said as he shook Seamus awake. "She has an announcement to make… Percy just woke me up, and he told me to wake you all up."

"Ugh…" Seamus groaned as he got out of his bed. "What's the fucking time?" Both Neville and Harry frown at Seamus' language. _He's been swearing a lot recently._

"Early, I'd say" Neville replied.

"That's a terrible answer" came Dean's tired voice, he had woken up due to the commotion.

"Let's go downstairs and find out what McGonagall wants" Harry said firmly. "It's got to be important if she's waking us up this early."

"Do you think there was another attack?" Dean asked as hopped out of bed. Harry felt his stomach tighten at the prospect, he was so sick of this Heir business. _Everyone will just blame me or Weasley._ Harry didn't want to admit this to Neville, but he had been thinking hard about what Hermione had said. What if the Heir was actually in Gryffindor? What if it was them that stole the diary, and not their 'accomplice'? Weasley may be a prick, but there was literally no hard proof against him.

"Merlin, I hope not" Neville sighed, and then he left the room. The boys followed after him, and Harry quickly caught up to his best friend.

"Nev, are you alright?" Harry asked, and Neville gave him a faint smile.

"Yeah, mate" Neville muttered. "I'm fine…" _He's lying to me._ Harry decided not to push Neville any further, Neville would tell him what was bothering him when he felt ready. They all stepped into the common room, and it was packed with students. All of them were wearing their pajamas, and they all looked groggy.

"Good, everyone is here" McGonagall said after a few more seconds of waiting. "I have some terrible news… There has been another attack…" Whispers immediately broke out, and Percy clapped his hands loudly for silence. "Thank you, Percy" McGonagall sighed.

"Who got attacked?" Angelina Johnson asked loudly, and every student stared at McGonagall.

"Hermione Granger…" McGonagall replied, and the entire room went dead silent. Harry's head began to spin, and he had to put his hand on a chair to steady himself. _No… No, this isn't happening. How? How could this even happen? She was with us all day yesterday. I even saw her leave for her dorm early._ Harry shot a quick look to Neville, and he saw his best friend just standing there with a vacant look. "She was found petrified on the fifth floor" McGonagall elaborated. "If anyone has any information, I invite you to step forward." _The fifth floor?_

"When was she found?" one of the twins asked.

"This morning" McGonagall replied. "We believe that she was attacked as the sun was still rising. If anyone knows why she was roaming the castle so early in the morning, step forward now." No one said anything, and McGonagall let out a tired sigh. "Potter, Longbottom… Come with me." Harry slowly got up to follow her, but Neville didn't even move.

"Nev…" Harry whispered as he pulled his best friend. Neville's eyes were already going red from unshed tears, and he just blinked at Harry. "C'mon, mate. Let's go…" Harry then pulled Neville behind him, and he ignored the sympathetic looks that they were getting. All he could think about was Hermione… Nothing else mattered.

They followed after McGonagall quietly, and she began to lead them down the moving staircases. Harry's mind burned with a million questions as marched down silently. _Why was she out there so early? What was she doing? And how did the Heir know where to find her? This doesn't make any sense… Hermione didn't deserve this._ Harry's mind wandered to Weasley, and he frowned to himself. _No, not even he would do anything to her. He saved her life back in first year… Our lives… And how would he even know that she left Gryffindor tower so early? Unless… Unless he asked her to. But he never spoke to her yesterday. We were with her the entire day, and he never approached her. Why were you out there Hermione? What were you thinking?_

"Go on" McGonagall told them as they stood in front of the entrance of the Hospital Wing. "I will give you two some privacy, and then we need to talk."

"Thank you" Harry managed to croak out, was his throat really that dry? Harry and Neville walked into the Hospital Wing, and they saw Pomfrey pacing in front of some potions. She turned to face them, and her face fell a little.

"Her bed is behind those curtains" Pomfrey told them softly. Harry gave her a thankful nod, and then he led the way. As he pushed the curtains apart, a soft gasp escaped his lips when he saw her. She had a terrified look on her face, and her pale skin looked as hard as stone.

"No…" Harry whimpered as he slowly approached her, and then he grabbed her stone-like hand. It was cold, and lifeless. His eyes burned at the sight of her, she didn't deserve this. Harry could hear Neville crying softly, and he blinked away his own tears. _I have to be strong… For both of them. I will find this Heir myself, and I'll make them pay for this._

"Harry, what do we do?" Neville asked with a sob. "They got Hermione…" Harry tightened his grip on her hand, and fresh tears welled up in his eyes.

"We get the Heir" Harry grit out, his sorrow turning into wrath.

"We don't even know who it is" Neville sniffled as he sat down beside Hermione. "And… And I don't think that it's Weasley…" Harry was stunned at that, did Neville just say that?

"Nev…" Harry started but Neville cut him off.

"I know that I've always suspected him…" Neville muttered, he was just staring at Hermione's terrified face. "But what Hermione said about the Heir being in Gryffindor stuck with me… And I've been thinking about it constantly… They stole the Diary, I know it in my heart… And Weasley… we have no proof that he's the Heir. He used the Dark Arts, I know, but maybe that's just because he is a bad person. But being a bad person isn't proof of being the Heir…"

"Nev…" Harry sighed in relief. _I wasn't the only one with doubts._ "I agree with you" Harry smiled softly, and Neville looked at him with a stunned expression.

"You do…" Neville muttered. "After everything that I've said?"

"Yes" Harry nodded softly. "I've been thinking about what she said as well, and I agree that we have no proof on Weasley. And even he wouldn't attack her… Not just because they're friends, but also because that would point the finger right at him. Weasley isn't the Heir… Someone in Gryffindor is." Both boys just stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Neville rubbed his eyes clean.

"Then we have to find them" Neville said, his voice was still a little shaky. "We have to get them for what they did to her." _We will, I promise._

"Let's go and talk to McGonagall" Harry said as he let go of Hermione's hand. "We should try and learn more about her attack."

"Okay" Neville sniffled again as he stood up. "We'll get them, Hermione" Neville whispered to her with a faint smile. "I promise." Both boys left the Hospital Wing after that, and they walked straight over to their Head of House.

"I'm sorry you two" McGonagall gave them a comforting smile. "But I have some questions that need answers."

"So do we, Professor" Harry said firmly, and McGonagall blinked at him.

"Very well" McGonagall responded after a few seconds of silence. "Do you two know why she was roaming the castle alone so early in the morning?"

"No" Neville replied as he shook his head. "Hermione would never break the rules like that. If she was out there, then she was out there for something important."

"Do you know what?" McGonagall asked, and both boys shook their heads. "I see…"

"Professor, why do you think that she was out there?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Potter" McGonagall responded. "But I will doing my best to find out. Now tell me, who are her friends in Gryffindor besides you two?" _Her friends in Gryffindor?_ Then it clicked in his head, they suspected the Heir to be in Gryffindor as well! Someone must've lured Hermione out, someone that she trusted enough to follow! _But who? She only ever talks to Neville and me._

"She doesn't really talk to other people much" Harry replied truthfully. "But she isn't on bad terms with anyone in Gryffindor, or any other house. Besides Slytherin, of course."

"So there is no one that she was fighting with?" McGonagall asked. "None of her dorm-mates? Or any other girls?"

"No, not that we of anyway" Neville responded.

"Very well, you two are dismissed" McGonagall sighed. "And be careful, understand?"

"Yes, Professor" both boys replied together, and then they left. They both began making their way up to Gryffindor Tower, and neither of them said a word until they reached the moving staircases.

"Did you hear that?" Harry asked Neville. "She asked us about Hermione's friends in Gryffindor! They must also suspect the Heir to be in Gryffindor, just like we do now."

"Just like she did when the Diary went missing" Neville said shamefully. "We should've listened to her, Harry."

"I know…" Harry said as a pang of shame hit him. "But now we know where to start looking, and it isn't anywhere near Weasley."

"We owe him an apology" Neville said softly. "I owe him an apology…" _We'll get to that soon enough, but right now we need to focus on the Heir._ But even as he thought that, his mind drifted to his former red-haired friend. Their friendship was completely eviscerated by now, but Harry still felt the need to apologize. If not for Weasley's sake, then for his own. He didn't want this feeling of guilt gnawing at him anymore.

"Hermione knew her attacker, Nev" Harry said firmly as he shook his head clean of any thoughts related to Weasley. "She knew them, and she trusted them. They must've lured her out of the tower, and then attacked her."

"Damn them…" Neville grit out as he clenched his fists. "Damn them to hell." _Hell isn't a bad enough place for them… They deserve much worse._

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Grimmauld Place - Morning)**_

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Remus asked in a worried tone.

"Of course it is" Sirius frowned at his brother in all but blood. "I won't let them do this to him, I refuse to. This…" Sirius grit out as he tightened his grip on Ron's letter. "This is despicable."

"Sirius, calm down" Xenophilius sighed.

"My husband is right" Pandora chimed in. "You being this angry is not going to help our case."

"How could they even think about doing this?" Sirius asked in an appalled tone. _They are no better than my own parents!_

"They are scared for their son, Sirius" Remus sighed. "And fear is the catalyst for poor decisions."

"Just take a deep breath" Pandora said softly, and Sirius did as he was told. They were going over to the Burrow right after this. Their plan was to blindside Molly and Arthur, and then talk some sense into them. _I'll tie them both to a fucking chair if I have to._ Sirius took a few more deep breaths, and then he looked at Remus.

"Let's go" Sirius said firmly. Remus went over to the fireplace, and he opened a floo network between the two houses. They each stepped through one by one, with Sirius being the last one through.

"Molly is in the house, but Arthur isn't" Remus said as he sniffed the air.

"Remus? Is that you?" came Molly's voice, and then she walked into the living room. Her eyes popped open at the sight of them, and Sirius felt his temper flare. "Oh my… What are you all doing here? I haven't had a chance to clean, or prepare anything…"

"We aren't here for food" Sirius frowned, and Xenophilius put his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Molly, we want to talk to you and Arthur" Pandora said with an airy smile. "Can we please sit down in the kitchen?"

"Of… Of course" Molly shook her head clear. "Come on then, I'll go and get Arthur." Sirius and his companions sat down on the dining table, while Molly went out to Arthur's shed.

"Sirius, calm down" Remus frowned at him. "Being angry doesn't help the cub."

"You will just antagonize them if you speak in anger" Xenophilius added. "This is about Ron, and not your own personal issues." Sirius shot a glare at Xenophilius, but the strange man held a certain firmness in his demeanor. _How did he even know about that? These Lovegoods… I swear that they are all clairvoyant._

"Xeno…" Pandora sighed.

"Good afternoon" Arthur greeted his friends merrily as he entered the kitchen. "What brings you all here? And why didn't you call ahead? Molly would've prepared lunch."

"We already ate" Sirius said with a deadpan expression. _Look at him, all happy and carefree. I bet Ron is pulling his hair out in worry because of this mess._

"Oh…" Arthur muttered as he read the vibe of the room. "What's going on?"

"We wanted to talk to you both" Pandora said in her soft voice. "Please sit down." Molly and Arthur exchanged looks, and then they sat down in front their friends.

"What do you want to talk about?" Molly asked hesitantly, she was beginning to suspect the reason for their sudden visit.

"We want to talk about Ron, and this" Sirius said as he slid the letter towards the Weasleys. Arthur picked it up and read it, and then he frowned.

"Let me guess" Arthur sighed. "You want us to let him stay in Slytherin."

"Yes" Remus nodded. "I know that you're scared for your son's safety… But this is not the right way to help him."

"His safety?" Molly frowned, and Sirius blinked at her. "We're worried about more than his safety, we're worried about his future." _Well, you have a funny way of showing it._

"Please tell us what you mean" Pandora quickly piped in, she knew that Sirius was about to fly off the handle.

"He has changed, Pandora" Arthur told her. "I know that you've noticed that as well. And he hasn't changed for the better. He's become violent, even cruel, and it's all because of that house."

"Arthur, you can't just blame the entire house for Ronald's choices" Xenophilius sighed.

"Then who else do I blame?" Arthur retorted hotly. "I didn't teach him to act like that. Molly didn't teach him to act like that. None of you have taught him to act like that. Tell me then, who do I blame?"

"He made one mistake" Remus argued, and Sirius just bit his tongue. He was starting to lose his temper, how could Arthur be so blind? _He's going to push Ron further away from us all if he does this._

"But it isn't just one mistake" Molly jumped in. "He attacked that Malfoy boy at Gilderoy's book signing."

"As did your husband" Sirius grit out, and Arthur's face flushed red.

"He screamed in my face!" Molly snapped. "Straight in my face, Sirius… And I saw the look of disgust on his face as he looked around our home… He thinks that we haven't noticed it, but we have. Every now and then we catch him looking around like he is in a trash can… And do you know why he yelled at me?" None of them responded. "He yelled at me because I refused to accept his money. He should be saving that money, but he refused to listen. And we know why… He's ashamed to be a part of this family…" Sirius just blinked at Molly's teary eyed, and anguished, face. Pandora quickly got up and sat down with her, and then Pandora held her in a comforting way. Molly let out a broken sob, and Pandora shushed her and whispered something in her ear. The room was dead silent, and Sirius turned to look at Arthur. The man was barely holding on, and Sirius felt the wind get knocked out of his sails.

"Every single day…" Arthur managed to say, his voice and hands shaking. "Every single day I see my boy drifting away, and I'm done watching… That house is turning him into one of those Pure-Blood elitists, and I'm done denying that." That immediately began a hot fire in Sirius' veins. _Is he implying that Ron will become a fucking Death-Eater?_

"What did you say?" Sirius grit out, and Remus grabbed his arm. Arthur looked to Sirius with a confused expression, and Sirius' jaw clenched.

"Sirius, don't" Remus warned, but Sirius jerked his arm free.

"You prejudiced bastard" Sirius snarled, and Arthur went wide-eyed. "He made one fucking mistake, and you're reaction is to show him his place?!" Images of Sirius' father with his fists clenched popped into Sirius' mind.

"What…?" Arthur muttered. "His place?"

"He didn't chose that fucking house, the Hat did!" Sirius bellowed as he stood up, all of his childhood anger flashing in his eyes. "And he is just doing his best to live with a decision that he had no fucking power over! And now that he finally has his feet on solid ground, you're going to rip the fucking carpet out from under him!"

"Sirius, that's enough" Xenophilius said firmly, but Sirius refused to listen.

"Do you have any idea how that feels, Arthur?" Sirius asked, and the Weasley patriarch just stared at Sirius. "It fucking kills you, that's how it feels! You think he doesn't feel like shite for being sorted into that house in the first place? Because I know for a fact that he does!"

"And how do you know that?!" Molly yelled at him.

"BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING THERE!" Sirius yelled at them both, and then he felt the fire just fade away. "I was there…" Sirius muttered as he fell back down on his chair. "I was once in the same position as he is now…"

"Your family…" Arthur whispered.

"I was the first Black to be sorted into Gryffindor, and no one ever let me forget it" Sirius said softly as he stared at his tattooed hands. "At first, I thought that the Hat had made a mistake… But just after a few seconds I knew that it hadn't. I was always different, and the Hat knew it. It put me in Gryffindor because it knew that I would thrive in that house, and I did. The Hat has done the same thing for the pup… and you're punishing him for it…"

"We aren't punishing him" Molly replied. "We aren't your parents, Sirius. And the Hat put you in **Gryffindor** , not in **Slytherin**."

"How are you any different from them?" Sirius asked with a sad look. "They hated Gryffindor, just like you hate Slytherin…"

"And you don't?" Molly asked defensively.

"I do…" Sirius nodded. "But I love that kid… And I won't lose him because of something as… as stupid as school rivalry…"

"We won't lose Ronnie" Arthur said firmly. "I know my son, and he won't turn his back on us."

"Yes, he will…" Sirius said slowly. "I did…"

"Ron isn't you…" Molly responded with teary eyes. "He will understand why we did what we did when we put him in Gryffindor. When he sees how amazing Gryffindor is, he'll forgive us."

"That is wishful thinking" Xenophilius piped in, and everyone was shocked at his words. "The Hat could sort him into any house… What if he doesn't end up in Gryffindor?"

"Then he'll at least be away from Slytherin" Arthur replied.

"Do you know why I ran away from home?" Sirius suddenly asked the Weasleys.

"You parents…" Arthur sighed.

"Yes, and no" Sirius told them. "The beatings were bad, but I could take them… The insults were bad, but I could take them… Even feeling isolated was bad, but I could take it… But you know what drove me to run away? My mother and father demanded that I be Re-Sorted, or they'd pull me out of school." Molly and Arthur's eyes widened at that. "The thought of losing my friends… That's what drove me to run away. And we all know that Ron loves his friends, and they love him."

"They visited him every single day, Molly" Pandora reminded her. "We talked to them, remember? They were good, kind children. Well mannered, and soft spoken. And they cried at seeing Ron in that state. They cried with us…"

"Don't do this…" Remus jumped in. "He will never go down without a fight, and you know it. And then, he'll resent us all for it." There was a long silence in the room, and Sirius felt drained. He hated thinking about his horrible childhood, but he knew that he had to use it this time. _If it helps the kid, then I don't mind thinking about it._

"I remember those kids…" Molly whispered, and everyone looked to her. "They were beautiful children… But I also know who their parents are, and one day, they'll turn into them. Because that's how it works with them. They all turn into their parents…"

"Molly…" Pandora gasped.

"My brothers were slaughtered by the Death-Eaters" Molly cried, her eyes were bloodshot. "Their heads were cut off and their bodies burned… And Cornelius Nott was one of the Death-Eaters behind it… His son is Ron's friend… I… I can't let my Ronnie think like them… Please don't ask me to do that…"

"If he hates us, then he hates us" Arthur said with a cracked voice. "But we know that this is what's best for him… Dumbledore always says that the Dark Lord will return, and we know for certain that he will… Ronnie has to be with his family when that time comes…"

Sirius just stared at the two Weasleys, and he knew that he had failed. These two would never change their minds, and they were willing to let Ron hate them. They were dead-set in their beliefs, and no one had the power to change them. Ron's time in Slytherin was over…

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Almost Dinner)**_

Ron stepped out of the fireplace and into Snape's Office, it had been a long day. Lord Greengrass had made him work his mind into oblivion, and Ron was barely staying awake. _That man is a monster, but I know that he wants me to succeed. For both our sakes._

"Mr. Weasley" came a familiar icy voice, and Ron turned to face Snape sitting behind his desk. "Take a seat, we need to talk." Ron did as he was told, and he could feel that something was off.

"Is this about my parents, Sir?" Ron asked, and Snape just stared at him.

"Yes, and something else" Snape replied in a low voice. "We failed to change your parents' minds, Mr. Weasley. I am sorry, but they are adamant about their decision." Ron's heart fell at that, and he let out a tired sigh. "And there is something else… Your friend, Miss. Granger… She was attacked by the Heir today." Ron looked up slowly, and he just stared at Snape. They held eye contact, and Ron knew that Snape was telling the truth.

"What… When?" Ron stuttered, his hands beginning to shake. _Hermione got attacked? Hermione's dead?_ He felt his chest ache terribly, and he blinked rapidly to keep his tears in check.

"Sometime early in the morning" Snape replied. "She was found petrified on the fifth floor. You have my condolences." _Petrified? So she's not dead…_ Ron felt a small bit of relief at that, but his chest still ached for his friend.

"Can I… can I see her?" Ron asked, and Snape slowly stood up.

"You can… tomorrow morning" Snape replied. "There is a curfew in place, Mr. Weasley. I will escort you to dinner, and then you will go back to the common room. You can see her tomorrow." Snape then led the way out of his Office, and Ron followed him in a daze. His head was starting to pound, and his vision kept blurring because of his own tears. _I was worrying about being kicked out of Slytherin so much that I didn't even think about her… She's a Muggle-Born, so of course she was a potential target! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!_ Ron felt like he was going to vomit, and his trembling body didn't help. _Why didn't I get a vision about this?! What the fuck is the Entity doing?!_ "Mr. Weasley?" came Snape's voice, and Ron looked at him. He had a concerned look on his face, and Ron let out a whimper.

"I should've been here…" Ron managed a pitiful cry, and Snape blinked at him.

"You couldn't have done anything, Ronald" Snape said softly as he put a firm hand on Ron's right shoulder. "She was attacked before you even woke up." _I should've had a vision about this, but I fucking didn't… Why? Where are you, you evil bastard? Why aren't you doing your fucking job?!_ Ron let out a meek sob, and Snape gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Ronald… Don't show **them** any weakness." Ron looked up at that, and he saw Snape looking at him with a firm expression. Ron took in a shaky breath, and then he rubbed his eyes clear. _I won't. And I'll find them, and I'll rip their damn head off._

"I'm okay…" Ron whispered to himself, and then he cleared his throat. "She isn't dead, she isn't dead… I'm okay…" Ron felt a little calmer at the thought of Hermione waking up one day, and he rubbed his eyes again.

"Shall we go?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"Yes, Sir" Ron replied clearly. "Let's go." They then made their way up to the Great Hall, and they entered it slowly. All the students looked over to them, and then they went back to their own conversations. Ron managed a quick look towards Potter and Longbottom, and he was shocked to see them both just give him weak smiles. _They aren't accusing me? Why?_ Ron made his way towards his friends, and he sat down between Theo and Blaise.

"Did you hear?" Tracey asked him as soon as he sat down.

"I heard…" Ron sighed. "Merlin damn this Heir bastard to hell."

"I'm sorry, Ron" Daphne gave him a sad smile. "I know that she was your friend… And she didn't deserve that…"

"Thanks" Ron gave her a meek smile.

"Did you also hear about the school?" Theo asked, and Ron looked at him in confusion.

"They are talking about shutting it all down" Millie muttered, she looked extremely sad. "We're going to get split up…"

"No, we won't" Ron said firmly. "We're going to find this son of a bitch before they attack anyone else." _And I'll make them pay for what they did to Hermione._

* * *

 _ **February 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Midnight)**_

He couldn't sleep… He had been tossing and turning all night, and he just couldn't drift off. All he could think about was Hermione… Her bushy hair, her toothy smile, her haughty voice, and her by-the-books attitude. Ron had never seen her as a Muggle-Born, he could only see her as a person. As his friend. And the fact that she was attacked because of something as stupid as Blood-Status drove him mad with rage. He wanted to hurt the Heir so fucking much. He wanted to break their damn bones, and twist their head off of their shoulders. Ron sat up and opened the curtains around his bed, his best mates were snoring in their sleep. _Good. I have to go and see her._

Ron stepped out of his bed slowly, and he cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. He then grabbed his Marauder's Map, and he took a quick peek around the castle. The teachers were patrolling again, but something else caught Ron's eye. Potter and Longbottom were in the Hospital Wing… _They probably wanted to see her as well. That's fine, I just won't lift the Charm when I get there._ Ron then hid the Marauder's Map under his mattress, and then he made his way out of the Slytherin common room.

The journey up wasn't difficult, Ron had become rather skilled at using this Charm. He used it more often than any other spell, and that said something about him. _I'm a damn moron, that's what it says about me._ Ron slowly crept past a shaking Filch, and he felt sorry for the terrified Squib. Ron could at least better understand his pain now. Mrs. Norris may have been a cat, but she was his only friend. _I'll get the Heir for both of us._ Ron then made his way to the Hospital Wing, and he was glad that the door was already open. He quickly skulked in, and then he tip-toed around the room. _Where is she?_ Ron spotted three beds with their curtains closed, and he knew that he just had to check them all.

But before he did that, he lay down on the ground and checked for any feet. _Where are Potter and Longbottom? Did they leave? That explains why the door was open. Well, that makes my job easier._ Ron then stood up and tried the closest bed. He opened the curtain, and he saw a tiny Colin Creevey lying petrified on a bed. Ron grimaced at the sight, and then he shut the curtains. He made his way to the next bed, and he opened the curtains. This time he saw a shocked looking Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Ron released a shaky sigh. _That leaves only one bed._ Ron made his way to it, but he stopped before he moved the curtain. His hands were shaking horribly, and he couldn't help but remember that this terrible habit had stopped for so long. Ron took in a deep breath, and he steeled his nerves. And then, he opened the curtain.

The sight hit him so hard that he got winded, and his concentration was shattered. He became visible again, but he didn't give a damn. He entered slowly, and his eyes burned as he stared at her terrified expression. His put his shaking gloved hand on her forehead, and he caressed it softly. It felt like he was caressing a very smooth rock, and that made him release a weak whimper. He crouched down by her face, and he blinked hot tears out of his eyes.

"Hermione…" Ron whimpered, but there was no response. "I'm so sorry… I should've done something… Anything…" A sob broke out of his throat, and he grit his teeth. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead, and then he recoiled in horror. Her skin felt hard, and cold. But he felt so damn guilty for recoiling, and he didn't even know why. He just did… So he sat down on her bed, and he held her cold hand. "I'll find them… And I'll kill them…" Ron whispered, his entire body shaking. "And then, the Professors will bring you back… And we can be friends again… I'll be the best friend that I can be when you're back…" Ron let out a broken whimper again, and he tightened his grip on her hand. "I won't ever leave you behind again…" Ron then heard someone else sniffle, and he went into full alert. He flew off of the bed and aimed his wand around frantically, but there was no one there. _What the fuck?_

"Ron… it's us" came a whisper, and then Potter and Longbottom just appeared. They were under the invisibility cloak the entire time, and Ron felt his ears burn. _They saw me… They saw me!_ Ron's embarrassment turned into rage, and both Gryffindor's went wide eyed.

"Wait Ron, just please wait" Longbottom put his hand up in a calming manner. Ron saw that both boys were teary eyed, and he clenched his jaw.

"You were here the entire time?" Ron grit out, and they nodded slowly. "And you just sat there and watched? Well, did you enjoy the show?" Ron spat out. "Watching me cry like that… I bet you loved it."

"Ron, we didn't" Potter said softly. "We heard you walking around, but we didn't know that it was you. And then you became visible, and we… we just… had to see…" Ron felt his face burn, but he lowered his wand. An awkward silence engulfed them, and Ron slowly looked back at Hermione. The sight of her hurt his chest, and he quickly looked away.

"Well, I'm leaving…" Ron said softly. "Sorry for the intrusion." With that, Ron made to leave, but Potter grabbed his left wrist. Ron jerked himself free and glared murder at Potter. "Don't touch me…" Ron snarled.

"We want to talk, Ron" Potter pleaded. _Why is he calling me Ron?_

"So it's not Weasley anymore?" Ron grit out. "You think that watching me cry gives you the right to use my first name? Piss off…"

"We know that you're not the Heir" Longbottom jumped in, and Ron blinked at him. "And we're sorry… We're really sorry, Ron. Please believe that."

"You're sorry?" Ron muttered in disbelief. "I don't give a damn if you're sorry." Both Gryffindors flinched at that. "You betrayed me simply because I was in a different house from you two… Do you know how much that fucking hurt? Did everything that I did for you mean so little?"

"No… No, it meant a lot" Potter said with a shaky voice, his emerald eyes soaked with tears. "But I'm not going to let you say that you're completely innocent in this. You hurt me too…" Ron blinked at that, but he didn't argue.

"Then all three of us are terrible people" Ron whispered. "We had a good thing… And we ruined it… And the only person who tried to keep it all together is lying petrified not two feet away from us."

"Then please help us" Longbottom said softly, and Ron stared at him in disbelief.

"Help you?" Ron asked slowly. "How dare you ask for my help? If you had come to me and asked for help back in December, then I would have gladly helped you. But no… You instead chose to attack my friend and steal her likeness… What makes you think that I'll ever help you again?"

"Because they attacked her" Potter said firmly, and Ron just stared at him. _They did… and I'll find them. I don't need Potter or Longbottom for that._ Ron shook his head and made to leave again, but this time Longbottom grabbed his left wrist.

"Ron, please" Longbottom pleaded. "I'm so sorry, but please help us. Hermione told us that you were looking for the Heir yourself, and we can share information. Please, mate… I'm begging you… We need to work together on this." Ron barely heard anything that Longbottom had just said because his head started spinning, and his body felt weightless. _A vision?_

* * *

Ron found himself standing in a very familiar hallway, and he gazed around the colorless seventh floor corridor. _This is not too far from my Sanctuary._ Ron then heard quick footsteps approaching from behind him, and he turned to face a colored Longbottom. Ron was left slack-jawed at the sight of the older Longbottom, and all he could do was watch in shock as Longbottom strode towards him with a confident stride. Longbottom looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, and he was no longer chubby. Longbottom's face was still a bit round, but he was also tall, lean, and looked quite intimidating. He walked with his shoulders squared, and his head held high. _That's a tough looking Longbottom… Never thought that I'd see that._ Ron quickly followed after this older Longbottom, and he was shocked to see Longbottom start pacing in front of the Sanctuary's entrance.

"Hey!" Ron snapped, but to no effect. "This place belongs to me!" The door to the Sanctuary appeared, and Longbottom entered quickly. Ron followed with a frown, and once he stepped inside, his frown disappeared. Instead, Ron's face became a mixture of shock and genuine awe. There were almost twenty students inside the Sanctuary, and they were all practicing spells. Ron looked around slowly, and he immediately noticed that this place wasn't **his** Sanctuary. No, this place looked more like an arena of sorts, and that baffled Ron. _How do so many people know about this place? I would never tell them._

"Neville, you're here" came a girl's voice, and Ron looked over to see some blonde Hufflepuff girl hug Longbottom tightly. _Not bad, Longbottom. She's really cute. What am I thinking?! I need to concentrate._

"Nev, mate" came a male's happy voice, and Ron saw Longbottom get swarmed by people.

"Give him some space" Potter said, and Ron just blinked at him. He looked to be around the same age as Longbottom, of course, but he was much shorter and his features were sharper. "Mate, where have you been?" Potter asked Longbottom.

"Umbridge brought me in for questioning" Longbottom replied, and everyone gasped. _Umbridge? The woman that went missing after being seen with me._ "They've still got Hermione, but I know that she won't say a word about us." _Hermione! She's alright then! Thank you Merlin._

"How can you be so sure?" some male asked. Ron looked over to see a tall, skinny, blonde boy with an upturned nose staring at Longbottom. "What if she talks?"

"This is Hermione" Potter frowned at the boy. "She'd never turn on us, and don't even suggest that she would."

"Stop being a git, Zacharias" came a familiar voice, and Ron immediately frowned. _Ginny. What is she doing here? These people are clearly breaking some rules._ Ron spotted Ginny standing by the twins, and he frowned at his siblings. _They must've dragged her into this. They both look to be in seventh year, which means that Ginny is in fourth year._ "Hermione has a spine, unlike you" Ginny taunted, and some people sniggered.

"Piss off, Weasley" the boy named Zacharias glowered at her. _This bastard…_

"Stop it" Potter told them all. "The fight is out there, not in here. We have to be have faith in each other, or we might as well not even do this." _And what is this? What did you drag my family into?_ "Hermione won't talk, that's a fact. And when she's back, we'll ask her how it all went. But until then, you all need to get back to work." Everyone nodded at Potter, and even Ron was a little impressed. _Potter clearly has a lot of influence in the future. And the school is clearly not closed down, so we must've gotten the Heir._

"You're getting better at this, Harry" Longbottom smiled as everyone got back to practicing spells.

"Barely…" Potter sighed. "If it wasn't for you and Hermione, I'd have already messed everything up."

"Nonsense" Longbottom chuckled. "This is all you, mate. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks, Nev" Potter smiled, and then he looked over to a really pretty girl. The girl smiled at Potter, and then she got back to practicing. _I know that girl. She was bullying Luna in my vision._

"You should talk to her, Harry" Longbottom suggested. "I heard her talking about you in a rather… fond manner."

"Fond manner?" Potter asked, his expression brightening.

"It's too embarrassing to repeat" Longbottom chuckled. "Let's just say that she likes you, mate. And her friends know it as well. Speaking of her friends, where is Luna?" _What? Luna is friends with that girl now? And why is Luna a part of this… whatever this is?_

"You know her" Potter chuckled fondly. "She comes and goes as she pleases. Don't worry about her, she's the toughest person here." _Close to my sister, are we? Well, not if I can help it. Also, this vision is useless to me. I need information on the Chamber, and instead I'm seeing… this._ Ron looked around and saw Ginny practicing with the twins, and Ron smiled a little as he saw them teasing her. She was throwing spell after spell at them, and they were just blocking her onslaught like it was nothing.

"One more thing, mate" Longbottom said slowly, and both Ron and Potter looked to him. "I saw Weasley with Dumbledore again…" Potter clenched his jaw at that, while Ron just blinked at Longbottom. _He's talking about me, that's clear. But what am I doing with Dumbledore?_

"I need to know what's going on between them" Potter said with a deep frown, and Longbottom sighed.

"Mate…" Longbottom started but Potter cut him off.

"Something big is going on between them, Neville" Potter said firmly. "And I think that it involves me…"

"You don't know that" Longbottom sighed. "And Hermione has already asked you to stop multiple times, and now… Now I'm asking you to stop. Do you really want to piss Weasley off?"

"I'm not scared of him, Nev" Potter replied hotly.

"I didn't say that you were" Longbottom argued. "But what's happening between Weasley and Dumbledore is between them, and it has nothing to do with us. I thought that I'd tell you myself so you wouldn't hear it from someone else, but Harry… just stop it." Longbottom then walked over to the Hufflepuff girl that had hugged him, and Ron sniggered at Potter's surprised face. _I like this older Longbottom, he is actually kind of cool._ Ron then spotted Longbottom giving the Hufflepuff girl a quick kiss on the lips, and Ron grinned. _Definitely cooler._ Ron looked back at Potter, and the boy-who-lived was now frowning deeply. _I guess we never made up. But Hermione and Longbottom seem to be on my side for this. I'm not sure on what to make of this vision, it doesn't really help me much._ Ron suddenly felt lightheaded again, and his body felt weightless. And then, he was back in the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"Ron, are you alright?" Potter asked, and Ron shook his head clear of any cobwebs. _That vision was useless. I didn't learn a thing about the Chamber._

"I'm fine" Ron replied, and then he pulled his left arm away from Longbottom.

"Are you sure?" Longbottom asked slowly. "You just completely spaced out…"

"I said that I'm fine, so I'm fine" Ron said firmly. "Now leave me alone." Ron then made to leave, but Potter stepped in his way. "Potter, get out of my way."

"We're trying to apologize to you" Potter frowned at him. "But you won't even give us a chance…" Ron just stared at Potter, and his mind went back to his vision. _Potter seemed to dislike me quite a bit in the future. And my siblings seemed to be following Potter in some serious rule breaking. Do I want a future where Potter hates me? No… No, I need him for the upcoming war._

"I just…" Ron started but stopped. "I need some time to think… Can I have that?"

"Yes, Harry let him go" Longbottom jumped in, but Ron kept staring at Potter. Potter nodded slowly, and then he stepped out of the way. Ron walked right past Potter, and then he cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. He had a lot to think about tonight.

* * *

 _ **February 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

Ron sat in front of the fire, and he ate his lunch quietly. He had been thinking about Potter and Longbottom's apologies, and he had been thinking of Hermione. He was beginning to think that accepting their apologies would be the best course of action right now, mostly because there were just far too many advantages of making peace with Potter and Longbottom. For one, he'd have more help in locating the Chamber. Potter was also a Parselmouth, and that may come in handy. Secondly, it would help his case with his parents. If he made peace with the remainder of the Golden Trio, then he could show his parents that he wasn't the person that they thought he was. Thirdly, making peace with Potter now would mean that Potter might not hate him in the future. _At least that vision helped a little._ And lastly, the Hat had told Ron that he was connected to Potter and the Dark Lord somehow. Ron knew that it would be stupid to not think about that… He got the feeling that he'd need Potter for his own mission, and that mission's success was the most important thing to Ron.

Maybe making peace was the best option for Ron, but how would he convince his friends of that? They hated the Golden Trio, and Ron's actions hadn't helped put out that hatred. _If anything, I made it ten times worse. But I need to try. I need to convince them that Potter and Longbottom share the same goal as us. And that forgiving them helps me._ Ron suddenly heard the door creak open, and he turned to see Blaise enter alone. Ron felt a bit let down at that, he was hoping that it was Daphne that had just entered. They hadn't spoken about their latest kissing encounter yet, and that was another thing that was burning a hole through his head.

"Ron, what are you doing up here alone?" Blaise frowned as he took a seat in front of Ron. "You can't keep sneaking off anymore."

"I needed a quiet place to think" Ron shrugged, and Blaise blinked at him.

"And what are you thinking about?" Blaise asked as he sank into his own chair.

"I'm thinking about Potter and Longbottom…" Ron admitted with a sigh, and Blaise cocked his eyebrow.

"Really?" Blaise asked. "Let me guess, after Granger's attack, they accused you of being the Heir again."

"No, actually" Ron shook his head. "They apologized to me for everything." Blaise was shocked for a moment, but then his features relaxed again. "And I'm thinking of forgiving them…"

"Ron…" Blaise sighed. "What's wrong with you? They went after us, and then you burned your bridges with them. I could understand you making up with Granger, but those two? What's really going on here?" Ron looked at Blaise with a faint smile, and he decided that he needed Blaise to back him.

"Potter is a Parselmouth" Ron replied bluntly, and Blaise just blinked at him. "The Hat told me that it saw Potter talking to a snake in his memories."

"Potter… A Parselmouth?" Blaise asked slowly. "Are you serious?"

"I am" Ron nodded. "And what's the harm of adding two more heads into our investigation?"

"Those heads are connected to Potter and Longbottom" Blaise frowned. "They hate us, and we hate them."

"And that only helps the Heir, Blaise" Ron frowned lightly. "And forgiving them helps **me** a great deal. I can show my parents that I'm not a bad person, I can finally put this feud between Potter and I to bed, and those two might know something about the Chamber that we don't. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help anyone in the long run…"

"You make some good points, I'll admit that" Blaise said aloofly. "But what makes you think that we care to make peace with Potter?"

"Because I'm your friend" Ron replied softly, and Blaise just stared at him. "And it helps me…"

"So you're just going to forgive them?" Blaise asked in a cold voice. "Just like that… As if nothing happened?"

"Yes, I am" Ron nodded. "And I want you to back me on this. If we **both** ask the group to let Potter and Longbottom join us, then they might be more inclined to agree." _Please say yes, Blaise._ Ron and Blaise held eye-contact for a few seconds, and then Blaise let out an annoyed sigh.

'I'll back you, Ron" Blaise agreed. "But I'm not going to lie for you. If they ask me whose idea it was, I'll tell them that it was yours."

"Thank you, Blaise" Ron sighed in relief. "And I know that you don't like them, but this really does help me."

"I do have two conditions though" Blaise added with a firm tone. _Of course he does._ "The first condition is that they tell us what they know first. The second condition is that if they don't know anything useful, then we get rid of them. Is that fair?"

"That's fair…" Ron agreed.

"So how do we go about doing this?" Blaise asked, and Ron could hear the irritation in Blaise's voice.

"I'll talk to them tomorrow" Ron told Blaise. "After that, we'll both talk to the group. Then we arrange a meeting, and see where this goes."

"We should also keep your Parseltongue ability a secret" Blaise interjected. "If Potter is indeed a Parselmouth, then we shouldn't let him know. It helps us keep an advantage over him."

"I agree with that" Ron nodded. "If we do need Parseltongue to open the Chamber, then having two Parselmouths benefit us greatly. But I also want to keep my ability to myself, and the group. We'll just let Potter hiss around the school for us."

"Good" Blaise nodded. "At least you haven't gone completely senile…" _He's really against this, isn't he? But he's still helping me._

"Thank you, Blaise" Ron gave his best mate a smile, and Blaise frowned at him.

"Don't thank me yet" Blaise said curtly. "This could all still go to shite."

* * *

 _ **February 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch)**_

"You guys go on, I need to do something important" Ron told his friends as he gazed at the Gryffindor table. _Potter and Longbottom aren't here yet, so I'll wait for them outside._

"What do you need to do?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes, and he gave her his best smile.

"I'll tell you after I've done it" Ron replied.

"Ron, are you alright?" Pansy asked slowly. "You've been acting… odd." _I have a lot on my mind, give me a break._

"I'm just… stressed" Ron admitted halfheartedly.

"Granger…" Theo sighed, and Ron's friends gave him understanding looks. All of them except Blaise, he knew the truth behind Ron's odd behavior.

"Take your time, Ron" Tracey smiled at him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Millie asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I won't be alone, so don't worry" Ron smiled. "I'll be back before you know it." With that, Ron turned around and left the Great Hall. His friends reluctantly walked over to their usual seats. Ron stood outside the Great Hall, and he ignored the looks that he was getting by the students who were passing by.

"Ron?" came Potter's voice, and Ron looked over to the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall. Potter and Longbottom were both standing there, and Ron gave them a forced smile.

"We need to talk" Ron told them, and they both nodded. "Let's go into the courtyard." Ron then led the way out of the Entrance Hall door, and both Gryffindors quickly followed after him. All three of them missed Ginny watching them from the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall, she had just rounded the corner as they were leaving.

"Is this about working together to find the Chamber?" Longbottom asked as they walked out into the sunlight.

"Yes" Ron replied. "And we need to talk about our… our fight." Ron then turned to face them, and both Gryffindors looked back with firm expressions.

"I'm sorry for convincing the others that you might be the Heir" Longbottom apologized immediately, and Ron was stunned. _That was quick. He doesn't beat around the bush, does he?_

"I'm sorry about the Polyjuice Potion…" Potter sighed. "And for planning to kidnap Greengrass." _I guess it's my turn now._

"I'm sorry for attacking you" Ron apologized honestly, he did regret that quite a bit. "And I'm sorry for putting you three in a year-long detention program. And for taking you off of the Quidditch team…"

"It's alright" Potter smiled sadly. "They shut down Quidditch anyway…"

"Still, I'm sorry" Ron apologized. "Now, let's move on from this sappy nonsense." Longbottom chuckled a little at that.

"Alright, let's move on" Potter smiled. "Friends?" Potter asked in a hopeful voice. _Don't push it._

"Allies" Ron corrected him, and Potter blinked at him. "We have a mutual goal right now, and we can work together on that. We'll see how things go from there…"

"The Heir" Longbottom frowned. "I'm fine with being just allies for the time being if it means that we catch them."

"Good" Ron nodded. "I'll talk to my friends tonight… And I'll convince them to give you a chance."

"Can't we three just work together on this?" Potter asked. "Do we have to involve them?"

"Yes, we do" Ron replied firmly. "My friends' involvement is not up for debate, they've been helping me with this the entire time. And I won't just cut them out."

"That's fine" Longbottom quickly said. "Harry was just asking, weren't you Harry?"

"Sorry…" Potter sighed. "I didn't mean to sound rude…"

"Is there anything else?" Ron asked them.

"Where do we meet?" Longbottom asked.

"I'll let you know tomorrow" Ron replied. "I still have to convince them." Longbottom and Potter nodded at that, and then Ron made his way past them. _That's the first step taken care of, now I just need to convince my friends._ As Ron began to make his way towards the Great Hall, he heard the two Gryffindors catch up to him. They didn't say anything, and neither did Ron. They entered the Great Hall along with some other students in order to avoid suspicion, and Ron made his way to his friends. Ron took his usual seat, and he was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Where did you go?" Daphne asked.

"Who did you meet?" Tracey asked.

"Is this about the Chamber?" Millie asked.

"Ron, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Pansy asked.

"Why are you such a twat?" Theo asked, and Ron frowned at him. "What? Everyone was asking questions, thought I'd join in."

"This is serious, Theo" Tracey frowned at him, and Theo smirked. "Ron, what's going on?" Ron then explained his plan to them, just like he had with Blaise, except he left out the part about Potter being a Parselmouth. He didn't want anyone overhearing that.

"Is this because of Granger being attacked?" Daphne asked softly. "Ron, you can't make a decision this big right after you lost your friend. You're not thinking straight."

"I didn't 'lose' my friend, Daphne" Ron frowned. "They were attacked… And I want to get the person who did it."

"But you're forgiving Potter and his toad?" Millie asked. "How does that even help us? We already know more than enough about the Chamber, we just need to find its entrance."

"Now we'll have two more people helping us" Ron argued. "And we suspect the Heir to be in Gryffindor, right?" His friends nodded slowly. "Then getting their help is all the more important. We can get eyes in Gryffindor this way, and that makes our job easier."

"Ron is right" Blaise jumped in, and everyone just stared at him in shock. _About time he jumped in to help me._ "The Gryffindors were the prime suspects on our list, having two of them spy on the others helps us. If we tell Potter and Longbottom where to look, they'll find something. Not to mention that they might know some things that we don't."

"Really, you as well?" Pansy asked Blaise. "This is not a good idea, you two. Longbottom and Potter hate us, and they've been blaming Ron this entire time. They clearly don't know anything worth knowing…"

"They apologized to me" Ron sighed. "Something must've changed for them, some new evidence must've come forward. Whatever it is, it convinced them that I am innocent."

"And we need to know what it is" Blaise jumped back in. _Thank you, Blaise._ The bell rang suddenly, and Ron frowned. _I barely got to eat anything._

"This isn't over" Daphne sighed. "We'll talk more about this tonight." Ron and his friends got up and began to march out of the Great Hall, but Ron was stopped when someone grabbed his gloved hand. Ron turned to see Ginny smiling at him sadly.

"Gin?" Ron whispered. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just need to talk to you" Ginny said softly. "I wanted to say sorry for Granger… I know that she was your friend…" Ron blinked at Ginny, did she just call Hermione 'Granger'? _I guess she never got over Hermione 'spying' on her._

"Thanks Gin…" Ron gave her a sad smile, and he noticed his friends waiting for him at the exit. Ginny suddenly hugged him, but it didn't surprise Ron. Ginny hugged him all the time, and he was used to it.

"Can we talk after classes end?" Ginny whispered in his ear, and that definitely surprised Ron. "I want to talk to you about something that the twins did…"

"Alright…" Ron whispered back slowly. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Meet me in the abandoned classroom on the third floor" Ginny whispered. _What? Why?_

"Ginny, can't we talk somewhere more public?" Ron asked, this hug was getting too long.

"It's… an embarrassing topic…" Ginny muttered meekly, and Ron sighed in defeat. "I don't want anyone to know… Not even Percy…"

"Alright, I'll see you after classes" Ron whispered as he broke the hug. Ginny gave him another sad smile, and then she walked off with her head bowed. _What did those two do now?_

* * *

 _ **February 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Classes)**_

Ron waited for Ginny in the abandoned classroom, but she was nowhere to be found. He had to sneak away from his friends because he didn't want to betray Ginny's trust. He had finally gotten her back, and he would be damned if he did anything to push her away. But where was she? He had been waiting here for almost twenty minutes! The door suddenly opened behind Ron, and he turned to face Ginny.

"You came" Ginny smiled as she closed the door behind her.

"I did, and you're late" Ron sighed. "Gin, what took you so long?"

"I had to go get something" Ginny hummed, and Ron blinked at her. _Why is she smiling in such a creepy way?_

"What did you need to get?" Ron asked slowly, something wasn't right. His instincts were telling him to leave, but this was Ginny…

"You'll see soon enough" Ginny smiled as she approached him. She then began to eye him in a really odd manner, and it made Ron uncomfortable.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Ron asked her as he shuffled his feet. "Stop looking at me like that…"

"It's such a shame…" Ginny sighed dramatically, her creepy smile still in place.

"What's a shame?" Ron asked in a soft voice. _What the hell is wrong with her?_

"It's a shame that I got stuck in this body" Ginny shrugged, and Ron just blinked at her. "And yet, there you are. I wish I had your body, Ronald." _What the fuck?!_

"My body…" Ron muttered as he moved around her to have his back at the door. "I'm a boy Ginny, and you're a girl. Why would you want my body?"

"Can I tell you secret?" Ginny whispered in a cold voice, and Ron felt a cold sweat in his armpits. Something was terribly wrong here, and he was ready to bolt.

"A secret?" Ron asked in the smallest of whispers.

"I'm a boy too" Ginny said with a deadpan expression, and then she began laughing. But Ron didn't laugh… He just stared at her, and he could feel his heartbeat rising. Ginny's laugh was cruel, and cold. And it felt like she was laughing at him rather than with him.

"Ginny, stop it…" Ron muttered as he as took a few steps back. "Stop it!" Ron yelled suddenly, but she kept laughing. And then, she just stopped. Her eyes gleamed red as she gave him a hateful look, and Ron went into a full blown panic. He ripped his wand out and aimed it at her, but she slapped it out of his hand with wandless magic. Ron just watched in horror as his beautiful wand went flying across the abandoned classroom, how the fuck did she do that?! Ron just looked back to her slowly, and she was smiling at him with cruel intent. "How?" Ron muttered, his breathing becoming shallow.

"Are you asking how did I do that?" Ginny asked in a mocking tone. "Or did you mean to ask how I got around that pesky ring of yours?" _She isn't my sister…_

"Who are you?" Ron asked, his fear turning into anger. "Where is my sister?!"

"You finally caught on" 'Ginny' laughed. "I'm glad that you did, Ronald. But you know who didn't catch on? That filthy little Mud-Blood friend of yours." _Hermione?_

"You attacked her, didn't you?" Ron grit out. "What did you do to my sister?!" Ron screamed as he charged her, but she waved her hand and Ron was sent flying into the door behind him. He hit the door with a strong thud, and then he crumpled onto the floor. The back of his head burned, and his ear rang after the impact.

"It's funny how many people underestimate the Levitation Charm" Ginny chuckled as Ron groaned in pain. "It's quite easy to master in its wandless form, and it completely negates protective shields and… magic rings…"

"Who are you?" Ron grit out as tears blurred his vision. "Did you kill Ginny?"

"No, I did not" Ginny hummed at Ron. "But I am wearing her skin… And so I have access to all of her memories." Ron looked up in horror, and he saw his little sister standing right in his face. Her eyes gleamed red, and she had a sadistic smile on her lips. The sight made Ron shudder in fear.

"You're… possessing her?" Ron asked in a whimper, his mind was starting to go numb from fear. Ginny laughed at his pitiful cry, and Ron felt his face burn with shame.

"I am" Ginny nodded.

"Who are you?" Ron asked as he tried to stand up. Ginny suddenly moved to his left side and kicked him in the stomach, and Ron wheezed as he curled up in a fetal position.

"I don't need to tell you that" Ginny smirked. "But I will tell you one thing… After I get rid of you, I'm going to go after your friends." Ron's eyes snapped open, and he felt his entire body burn with anger.

"You piece of…" Ron started, but a strong boot colliding with his jaw shut him up. Ron was left dazed, and he was sure that there was blood dribbling out of his mouth. _Or it's a lot of saliva…_

"I'm going to make them shut this place down, and then, I'll disappear" Ginny said in an arrogant tone. "I'll find this 'spirit' version of myself, and I'll destroy him. There can only be one Lord Voldemort." Ron had no fucking clue about what she was saying, but the mention of the Dark Lord's name sent a shudder through his body.

"Please… Please…" Ron mumbled as he grabbed at her skirt. "Let her go…"

"Why?" Ginny smiled, her red eyes dancing in merriment.

"She's innocent…" Ron cried, and Ginny slapped him right across the face. Ron fell back down, the right side of his face burning from the sting.

"She is not innocent" Ginny laughed. "She knew that she was attacking those Mud-Bloods, but she didn't say a word. She knew that she killed those roosters, but she didn't say a word. She knew that she was responsible for the crimes that you were being accused of, but she didn't say a word. The only thing that she cares about is crush on Potter, and the fact that she was forced to wear second-hand robes. Pathetic little girl…"

"Take me instead…" Ron cried as he tried to stand up.

"Why?" Ginny chuckled. "Everyone suspects you already, but no one suspects her. It would be foolish to change bodies now. Plus, I'd have to kill her." Ron whimpered at that, he didn't want this person hurting Ginny. "She already knows too much."

"Brachium Colubrum" Ron chanted as he suddenly aimed his left hand at her. She was too close, and the ethereal serpent bound her before she could even react. Ron stood but with angry glare, but Ginny just smirked at him.

"Go on, Ronald" Ginny hummed. "Twist your left hand upwards, crush her little body. She deserves it." Ron blinked at his possessed sister, and he tightened his right hand into a fist. Ginny saw that, and she smiled widely. "Or punch her head in like you did to Potter. Go on, Ronald. Hurt her." Ron rubbed his eyes clear, his entire body was shaking terribly.

"I'll take you to the Headmaster" Ron threatened, but his voice cracked. Ginny laughed at him again, and he felt so powerless.

"You can try that, sure" Ginny smirked. "But do you really think that you can hold onto me? Can you even walk straight?" Ginny asked as she looked down at his shaking knees. Ron just blinked rapidly to clear his eyes, why couldn't he stop crying? _I need to tell the Professors!_ Ron then pushed her over, and Ginny fell back as the ethereal serpent disappeared. Ron quickly turned around, and he pulled the classroom door open. Ron then limped his way out as fast as he could, his entire body aching as he tried to run. His face stung, his jaw was numb, his legs weren't working properly, and he was dead certain that the back of his head was bleeding. His vision also kept blurring, and it wasn't just because of the tears. In Ron's hysteric attempt at escaping, he didn't even realize that the floor was soaking wet.

"Fuck!" Ron screamed as his feet slipped, and he went sliding down the Hallway on his arse. When he finally stopped, he let out a pained groan due to the fire burning up his back. Ron rolled over on his stomach, and then he tried to stand back up. He was looking down at his reflection when he saw a terrifying monster slide into the reflection. Its bright yellow eyes reflecting on the wet floor were the last things that Ron saw before darkness took him.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Didn't expect that, did you?! Ron just got knocked off the board! Uh oh... I'll just leave you guys with that.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	41. Chapter 41 - The End of Hogwarts

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 41 is finally here! I know that the wait was longer than usual, but this was a crazy and hectic week for me. I had assignments, and volunteer work! And any spare time I had went into this chapter! But since it took a while, I decided to make it extra long.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 41 – The End of Hogwarts**

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **February 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Before Dinner)**_

"He isn't in the dorm either" Theo sighed as he and Blaise sat down on the couch. _So he's not in the common room at all._

"He snuck off again" Daphne huffed. "When I get my hands on him…"

"Relax" Blaise said in his usual aloof tone. "He's probably at the Sanctuary, moping around as usual." Blaise's comment lit a fire in her belly, and she narrowed her eyes on him. _He's being a bigger jerk than usual lately. Especially when it comes to Ron. Did they have a fight?_

"Blaise, what's your problem with Ron lately?" Millie asked, and Tracey smiled at the big girl. Millie was always the blunt type.

"Nothing" Blaise replied curtly, but no one believed him.

"You're lying" Tracey decided to speak up. "You've been acting like a real jerk to him, he has enough problems to deal with already. Leave him alone."

"We all problems" Blaise said coldly. "But unlike him, we don't keep sneaking off. He is putting himself in danger… That's my problem with Ron." _There's definitely more to this, what happened between them?_

"He likes to be alone when he needs to think" Pansy sighed. "That's just who he is… So can we please not fight about this?"

"Pansy's right" Daphne nodded. "We have more important things to do anyway, like figuring out who the Heir is."

"About that…" Theo piped in slowly, and Tracey turned her attention to him. He was still a bit weedy but Tracey could see that he had a bit more meat on his bones now. "The suspect list we made… I want to have a look at it again."

"You mean look into Ron's sister?" Millie frowned at him. Ron's sister, Ginny, was Theo's prime suspect… But none of them had mentioned this to Ron. _He'll explode with rage if he ever finds out._

"There is something not right with her" Theo insisted. "Remember when she started going missing? And just how pale and jittery she was? And then when the attacks stopped, she was back to normal. And now that the attacks are happening again, she barely even talks to Ron. Something is off about her, I'm telling you." Tracey gave Theo a sad smile, she knew that everyone was about to shut him down again.

"She has no connection to the Gaunts" Blaise shook his head.

"She's a little girl, Theo" Millie frowned more deeply.

"And she's Ron's sister" Daphne added on.

"And wasn't she friends with Granger?" Pansy asked. "Why would she attack her own friend?"

"How would she even control the Basilisk?" Blaise asked. Theo frowned at them all, and then he looked to Tracey.

"Tracey, you don't agree with them?" Theo asked bitterly, and Tracey frowned at him. _Don't take your frustrations out on me._

"I think that they make better points than you do" Tracey replied sharply, and Theo frowned at her.

"Whatever…" Theo huffed as he leaned back into his seat, pouting like an angry child. "I'm going to find out what her deal is, with or without your help." _Fine, be that way._

"Theo… Ron will go into a rage induced coma if he ever finds out what you're doing" Pansy warned him. "But not before he murders you…"

"All I'm doing is thinking like a Slytherin" Theo shot back. "Ron's love for her is blinding him, and you're all just following his lead blindly. I have a strong basis for my suspicions, and I'm going to investigate her. You can either help me, or I can do it on my own."

"Fine, do it on your own then" Millie hissed.

"Fine…" Theo crossed his arms and looked away. _Great, now we're all at odds. But Theo does have a good basis for his suspicions. The only problem is that nothing else fits… She isn't a Parselmouth, she has no connection to the Gaunts, and how could she even find the Chamber so quickly?_

"Listen Theo…" Tracey started but the school bell cut her off. It rang loudly, and it signaled that dinner would start soon.

"I'll talk to Ron" Daphne said as they all got up to leave. "I'll ask him to stop sneaking off from the group, alright?"

"What makes you think that he will listen?" Blaise asked, and Tracey saw Daphne's cheeks flush a bit.

"He'll listen to me" Daphne responded in a mysterious manner, and Tracey's curiosity was piqued. _She seems more certain about that now… Did something happen between them? Is that why she's been so happy lately? But if something did happen, then she would've told me._ Tracey mused about Daphne's recent behavior as they made their way up, and she ignored the group's current topic of conversation. As they made their way towards the Entrance Hall, a sudden commotion stopped them all.

"All students are to return to their common rooms at once" came McGonagall's voice. The Transfiguration Professor seemed to be standing in front of the steps leading into the Entrance Hall, but Tracey couldn't see her because of the taller students. "Prefects, do your duty and escort your charges back into the common rooms immediately." The prefects suddenly began to order people around, and Tracey started moving when she saw the older Slytherin students begin to go back.

"What's going on?" Pansy asked the group with a worried tone.

"Isn't it obvious?" Theo asked with concerned look. "There's been another attack." Tracey felt her stomach tighten at that, at this rate, the school would be closed for good.

"Ron…" Daphne muttered, she had gone as pale as a ghost. "He doesn't know… He's up at the Sanctuary…"

"Dammit" Blaise grit out. "When they do a name-call, he won't be around for it, and that'll point the finger right at him." _No… Ron, you idiot._

* * *

 _ **Tom Riddle Jnr's POV**_

 _ **February 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower)**_

He was genuinely impressed with the Professors of Hogwarts, they had found the Blood-Traitor sooner than he'd expected. He had left Ronald petrified in the abandoned third floor corridor, and he had hoped that he'd at least get to eat dinner before Ronald's body was found. _I feel her body weakening. Damn this girl's growing body._

Merlin, he hated this little girl. He hated her so much that he had begun to cut himself lately. He didn't feel the pain because he was technically just a spirit possessing a host, but it gave him a grim satisfaction to know that he would be leaving permanent scars on her left forearm. The cuts were made with Dark Magic, and he had been using her own wand to do it. And since they weren't being healed completely, they'd definitely scar forever. _Good. This is what she deserves for getting in my way. If I ever do manage to leave her body, I want her to remember me._

His hatred for her was completely justified, this little tart had cost him dearly. At first he was forced to put up with her nonsense and petty problems, all of them consisting of things like her crush on Potter or the fact that her brothers picked on her because she was a girl. _Stupid little whore._ And then, she had begun to panic when he had first taken control of her. Her entries into the Diary had been frantic, and headache inducing. She questioned everything that he told her, and he got tired of it. He knew that he had to get rid of her. And it just so happened that one of her brothers was in Slytherin. And not only that, but he was considered a prodigy. He'd make for the perfect host, and Tom desperately tried to get her to hand the Diary over to Ronald.

And just as he was about to succeed, she had overpowered him. Her 'love' for her brother had overwhelmed Tom's senses, and he had been cast back into the Diary. A Diary that Ginny promptly threw away… While he lay on the flooded bathroom floor, he had to listen to Myrtle Warren cry bloody murder for almost an entire day. During that day, he genuinely believed that he was done for. Myrtle's frantic crying, and the fact that she flooded the bathroom, would attract the teachers soon enough, and one of them would find him. And then, he'd be done. But as luck would have it, Potter and his friends had found Tom. And Tom couldn't be happier. If he couldn't have Ronald, then he'd take Potter.

That excitement had died quickly when Tom realized that Potter had no intention of writing in the Diary. Tom did his best to influence the boy's mind, but Potter never wrote in the Diary. But at least he didn't throw it away either… Tom spent the next few weeks trying to influence Potter, trying to call to him, and he could feel the boy's mind losing its resistance. It was only a matter of time before Potter began writing in the Diary, and then Tom would begin to take him. He knew that it would take more time with Potter than it did with Ginny, the boy had a much stronger will than her, but Tom always did love a challenge.

And then, the stupid little girl had stolen him back from Potter. Her first act was to ask Tom if he had told Potter anything about her, and Tom wanted to kill her right there and then. She had gotten in his way because she wanted to keep her crush a secret… He had lied and told her that he had revealed everything to Potter, and Ginny's mind weakened considerably because of this. Tom possessed her instantly, and this time, he had no intention of letting go. He would keep her bound and gagged in her own mind, and he would use her to set his own plans in motion.

His plan was quite simple, he'd have this school shut down. He loved Hogwarts, but from what Ginny had told him, things had changed considerably. His true self, the master soul, had been defeated by a toddler… And then he had been defeated again by Ronald… This could not stand. And so he would destroy Hogwarts just so that he could leave this school. After that, he'd be taken back to Ginny's home. Once he was there, he'd kill every single one of those Blood-Traitors in their sleep, and then he would set out to find his counterpart. From what Tom had gathered, his counterpart was severely weakened, why else would he lose to a toddler and a twelve year old boy? Tom would destroy this pathetic version of himself, and then he'd reignite his revolution. He would also find a more suitable host somewhere down the line. Right now he had to stay in this little girl's body… If he let her go for even an instant, he knew that she'd tell someone. And there was no chance of him possessing anyone else right now due the Diary's restrictions. _If only she passed me onto Ronald… Damn this girl._

"Ginny, are you alright?" came Percy's voice, and Tom had to physically stop himself from frowning. Tom turned to face the eldest Weasley boy currently in Hogwarts, and Percy was gazing down at him with a worried look. _If you're worried now, wait till you see what I did to your brother._

"I'm fine… just hungry" Tom replied in a subdued manner, it made him sick to his stomach. "Do you know what's going on? Why are we all in the jammed into the common room?"

"I don't, Ginny" Percy smiled a little. "But everything will be alright, I promise." _I can't wait to cut your throat._

"The girls were saying that the Heir attacked again…" Tom said with a whimper. "It's true, isn't it?"

"I… I think so…" Percy replied, he didn't want to lie to his sister. The truth was that he was completely certain that another Muggle-Born had been attacked.

"I hate this… I just want the Heir to leave Hogwarts" Tom replied, there was some honesty in that.

"The Headmaster will sort this out" Percy said as he put a comforting hand on Tom's shoulder. _Don't touch me, you filth._

"May I have your attention please?" came McGonagall's voice, and everyone turned to face her. "I know that you are all hungry, but…" she stopped and pursed her lips. "But for tonight… there will be no dinner…"

"Has there been an attack?" came a female student's voice, and McGonagall sighed.

"Yes…" McGonagall replied, and the room was filled with hushed whispers. _Look at them. They enjoy this, don't they?_ "Silence, please" McGonagall called, and the room quieted down. "Will the Weasleys please follow me?" McGonagall asked as she gave Percy a sad look. _Time to sell the horrified little sister act._ Tom looked up to see Percy going as pale as a ghost, and he gave a meek nod. Then he took Tom's hand and followed after McGonagall. Tom had to hide his smirk as he passed the portrait of the Fat Lady, how many time had altered her memories? _A few dozen times at least._

"Professor, what's going on?" Percy finally asked as the portrait closed behind them. The twins were looking quite worried, and Tom decided that he liked this look on them. _They all know what's happened already, don't they? I can't wait to see their faces when we visit poor little Ronald._

"Your brother…" McGonagall started, but she stopped when she saw 'Ginny's' teary eyed face. _Haha. Say it you old crone._ "He was found petrified shortly before dinner started…" Tom let out a practiced whimper, and he felt Percy let go of his hand. The prefect looked like he had seen his own death, and he began to shake his head in denial.

"You're lying" Fred snarled, his face contorting in rage. "You're a liar!"

"No…" George muttered as he fell back on his arse. "No… no, no, no, no…" George clutched his own hair in his hands, and he stared at the ground in front of him.

"The Heir only attacks Muggle-Borns!" Fred bellowed, his fists clenching so tightly that his knuckles went bone white. "You're a liar!"

"Mr. Weasley… please calm yourself" McGonagall urged, and Tom decided to escalate things for his own amusement.

"Is Ronnie… dead?" Tom let out a strangled cry, and even he was impressed with how pained it sounded. McGonagall flinched hard, the twins looked to him with terrified eyes, and Percy quickly kneeled down to his level.

"No, Gin" Percy quickly told him, and then Percy embraced Tom's tiny vessel tightly. "He was just petrified, he isn't dead… It's okay… Everything will be okay…" _You should be thanking me for my mercy, worm._ Tom wanted Ronald to be de-petrified, but by the time he would be, his entire family would be dead. That would be Ronald's punishment for defeating his weaker counterpart. A dead family, and a broken sister…

"Please… follow me…" McGonagall instructed, her voice was meek and pained. It made Tom want to smile from ear to ear. They all followed her slowly, and Percy held Tom's hand tightly. Tom could feel Percy's hand shaking, but he chose to ignore it. It was the twins' sorrow that Tom was enjoying the most. George looked utterly broken, and he had clearly retreated into his own mind. The pain of losing his brother had shocked him to the point of breaking… He was staring ahead of him with a drawn expression, and Tom shot him confused and scared looks. Every time George saw his little sister's pained face, he withdrew further into his own mind.

But it was Fred's pain that was the most delightful to watch. The hot-headed twin had begun to lose his anger, and it was now being replaced with grief and regret. Fred was grieving for his little brother, and he was regretting their last conversation. Tom knew that the twins had fought with Ronald the last time they all spoke, Ginny's memories had shown him that, and Tom knew that Fred was quite aware of that fact. When Tom finally heard a broken whimper come out of Fred's mouth, he smiled a little. Tom quickly hid his smile, and then he turned to look at Fred. The boy was sobbing into his hands while George held his right shoulder to support himself. As they got closer to the Hospital Wing, even Percy and George had begun to sob quietly. Tom played his part as well, but it was getting increasingly difficult. Especially when he saw how Percy, the bossy prefect, was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"Please… wait here a moment…" McGonagall told them, her heart breaking at seeing her Gryffindors like this. She loved the Weasley family, and Molly was a good friend of hers. Seeing her children like this… It was too much. When McGonagall went inside in a hurry, George made to follow her.

"George… just wait here…" Percy croaked as he grabbed onto George's right arm.

"Wait…?" George asked in barely a whisper. "Ronnie's right there… We should go and see him… He's waiting for us…" _I see the shock is settling in nicely. Good._ The boy looked utterly confused, but his appearance showed just how much pain he was in.

"We have to wait" Percy tried to speak with a normal voice, but his voice was strained and shaking.

"George… come here…" Fred whimpered, and George slowly walked over to his twin. Fred quickly embraced him, but George just stood there with a confused looked. Fred cried in his twin's shoulder with a renewed vigor, and this time he didn't hold back. Tom decided to begin crying too, and as soon as he did, he was embraced by Percy.

"Everything will be alright, Ginny" Percy sobbed. "Ronnie will be alright…" _Too bad that you'll all be too dead to care._ McGonagall and Sprout came out of the Hospital Wing together, and McGonagall actually released a small sob when she saw them. Tom felt a sense of accomplishment at making her crack, but he wasn't surprised. This woman loved her precious little lions, and Tom had kicked her right where it hurt.

"You may come in…" Sprout spoke when McGonagall didn't. The plump witch was already teary eyed with maternal concern, and Tom had to fight the urge to grimace. _Pathetic fat woman._ The Weasleys and Tom followed the two Professors inside, and Tom quickly spotted Snape and Dumbledore talking to one another in hushed whispers. They stopped when they saw the Weasleys and Tom, and Snape quickly withdrew into a corner. He didn't want to intrude…

"Good, you are all here" Dumbledore smiled sadly as he approached them. Tom gazed at the old man's face, and Dumbledore had tears in his eyes. The sight gave Tom a feeling of pure euphoria, and he looked down to hide any resemblance of it. "I will not keep you from your brother, but I just wanted to give you my condolences. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask." With that, Dumbledore moved out of the way. That's when Tom spotted Ronald's petrified form lying on a bed behind Dumbledore, and he let out a practiced whimper again.

Ronald looked just like how Tom had left him, except his cuts and broken lip had been cleaned of any blood. But his wounds weren't healed because they couldn't be healed, not while he was petrified. Tom let out a soul-shattering sob as he quickly ran up to Ronald's body and embraced him. Tom sank his face into Ronald's robes and began 'crying'. The act clearly worked because he heard Sprout and McGonagall let out soft sobs from the corner of the room. Tom quickly felt himself being crushed by the Weasley boys as they too embraced Ronald's body. One of the twins was right behind Tom, and from the pathetic whimpering, he assumed that it was Fred. Tom heard the Professors slowly begin to leave as the Weasleys wept for their petrified brother. _Damn, I have to do this now._

Tom had a plan for why he wouldn't need to visit Ronald constantly, and that was simply to have a 'breakdown' every time he saw the boy's body. Tom let out a horrid cry of pain, and then he bolted out of the room while he 'cried' hysterically.

"Ginevra!" McGonagall shouted after him, but he just ran off. He heard people follow after him, and he quickly hid himself in a dark corner. _Now I just need to wait and be found._ Tom kept up his 'grieving little sister act', and he was found quickly by Pomona Sprout.

"There you are" Pomona sighed in relief, and Tom kept 'crying'. He was quickly wrapped in a maternal hug, and Pomona shushed and comforted him. "I'm so sorry, Ginevra" Sprout whispered as she rocked Tom's body. "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Crack of Dawn)**_

Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, and Daphne could feel it in her bones. Ron hadn't come back last night, they had waited for him until midnight but he never came back. Dinner had been canceled, and everyone suspected that there had been another attack. Daphne had spent the whole night pacing the common room, even after everyone else left. She was just waiting for Ron to suddenly pop in and say 'Hello' in that lame way that he always did. And when he did, she would slap him as hard as she could. But he never came… and Daphne had nearly pulled her hair out with worry. She had even tried to sneak up to the Sanctuary, but the common room door wouldn't open. It was sealed shut by some sort of spell, and Daphne had screamed at it until her voice went hoarse. Something was wrong, and Daphne knew it.

"Daph?" came Theo's voice from behind her, and she turned to face him. She saw that Theo was accompanied by Blaise, and they were staring at her. "Did you… did you stay awake all night?"

"He didn't come back" Daphne told them, and they blinked at her. "I waited all night, but he didn't come back…"

"Daphne, take a seat" Blaise told her, and she shot another look at the common room door.

"He should be back already, something is wrong" Daphne told them, and they just blinked at her again. _Didn't they hear me? Are they deaf?_ "What?" Daphne asked the two boys curtly.

"You look like shite" Theo told her bluntly, and Blaise quickly smacked his arm.

"Daphne, he is probably holed up in the Sanctuary" Blaise told her in a calm tone. "Take a seat, now." Daphne did as she was told, but she kept shooting glances towards the common room's entrance. _Where is he? He should have already snuck back here before sunrise like he always does. Then he'd take a shower, put on some clean robes, and then he'd crack some lame jokes about his whereabouts last night._

"Daphne, did you hear us?" came Theo's voice, and she turned to frown at the two boys.

"What is it?" she asked them in an annoyed tone. Why were they bothering her? Couldn't they see that she was busy?

"I asked if you got any sleep last night" Blaise told her. "Did you?"

"No, I didn't" Daphne replied with a frown. "Didn't I tell you that I waited for Ron?" The boys exchanged quick looks, and Daphne sighed. "What is it now?"

"Daphne, we have classes all day today" Theo muttered. "Why would you not sleep?"

"Because Ron isn't…" Daphne started but Blaise cut her off.

"He is fine, I'm sure" Blaise sighed. "You need to take a nap, and a shower. You look…" Blaise stopped abruptly.

"Look like what?" Daphne asked with an angry tone. Theo went to answer, but Blaise beat him to it.

"You look out of sorts" Blaise replied. "Don't forget who you are, and don't forget that appearances are important. Now go and take a shower, and rest a little." Daphne frowned at the two boys, and then she shot a quick look to the clock hanging in the common room. _It's five in the morning…_

"Why are you two awake?" Daphne asked, how had she missed the time? _Ron usually sneaks back in around six 'o'clock, so there's still time._

"We wake up around this time to go for our runs with Ron" Theo replied. "But he wasn't in his bed, so we thought that we'd go up to the Sanctuary."

"The door won't open" Daphne told them, and they looked towards the entrance.

"What?" Theo asked, his face showing confusion.

"It won't open" Daphne repeated. "I tried to leave for the Sanctuary, but the door has been sealed shut with a spell of some sort."

"They don't want anyone getting out" Blaise frowned.

"Or getting in" Theo added.

"Why would they do that?" Daphne asked quickly.

"Ron missed the prefect name-call yesterday" Blaise frowned, and Daphne realized what he meant by that.

"Oh no…" Daphne muttered, and Theo cussed.

"That idiot is definitely the prime suspect now" Blaise grit out, he was going to punch Ron in the face when he saw him.

"They're probably searching the whole damn school for him, and they don't want him sneaking back in here" Theo sighed in irritation.

"Whatever's the case, it's clear that there was another attack last night" Blaise told them.

"What if…" Daphne started but stopped, she didn't want to say what she was thinking. As a matter of fact she didn't even want to think it, but her mind was sharp enough to make the connection anyway. "What if Ron was attacked?" Daphne asked in a whisper.

"That's a possibility" Blaise nodded slowly. "But the Heir has only targeted a certain population so far, so I doubt that Ron was attacked."

"He **is** considered a Blood-Traitor…" Theo provided.

"He may not be the typical Slytherin, but he is respected in this house" Daphne told Theo. "The older students are quite fond of him…"

"We already know that the Heir isn't from Slytherin" Theo sighed. "They don't care if Ron is respected in Slytherin or not…"

"Well we can't do anything about it right now" Blaise jumped in. "Daphne, go and rest. Theo and I will wait for Ron."

"I want to wait as well" Daphne told him.

"If he does come back here, do you really want him to see you like this?" Blaise asked, and Daphne immediately felt self-conscious. Years of training helped her not show any sign of weakness, but she gave Blaise a nod.

"Fine" Daphne sighed. "If he does come back, come and get me immediately."

"We will" Theo promised. _Good, I want to slap Ron's face clean off._

* * *

 _ **February 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Before Breakfast)**_

"Daphne, wake up" came Tracey's voice, and Daphne groaned in an unladylike manner. "Daphne, get up and take a shower. Breakfast starts soon." _Did I sleep in?_ Daphne suddenly remembered why she had slept in, and that woke her up immediately. Daphne sprang out of bed, and she startled her three female friends.

"Is he back yet?" Daphne asked, and the girls blinked at her.

"Ron?" Tracey asked, and Daphne nodded. "We don't know… We just woke up and showered, and now we're getting dressed. We haven't been outside yet…" Daphne blinked, and then she saw that the girls were indeed getting dressed. Tracey wasn't even wearing any clothes yet, except for her yellow panties that were on full display. But besides that, she was completely naked. _This girl… When will she learn to stop flashing us every morning?_

"I'm going to go and take a shower…" Daphne sighed. "And Tracey, please put on some clothes… What if the boys walk in?"

"They never come here" Tracey argued. "And I like to sleep free of any clothes."

"Tracey…" Pansy frowned deeply. "That's really unladylike. You shouldn't walk around like that…"

"I agree with them" Millie also frowned. "I'm getting rather sick of seeing you naked every morning."

"Ron sleeps naked too" Tracey argued, and Daphne turned back around.

"That's not true…" Daphne frowned. "Theo and Blaise were just making things up in order to make us leave."

"How do you know that was a lie?" Tracey asked with a mischievous smile. "Daphne… Is there something that you would like to tell us?" Millie and Pansy sniggered at that.

"Stop teasing her" Pansy told Tracey, but her sniggering was contradicting her words. Daphne flushed a bit, but then she decided to tease back.

"Are you walking around naked in the hopes that Theo walks in on you?" Daphne cocked her head, and Tracey's face went red.

"No!" Tracey quickly exclaimed. "I don't even like him that much!"

"Sure you don't…" Daphne said as she began to walk away. She could hear Tracey quickly start putting on her clothes, and Daphne smirked to herself. After Daphne had showered, she began to dress in front of the mirror. There were slight bags under her eyes, and Daphne frowned at her reflection. _Ugh… I look gross. Mother would be so displeased if she saw me. So would father. And Tori would just make fun of me. Would Ron be… displeased?_

Daphne quickly found herself looking at her flaws. She wasn't like the other girls, she didn't really have an image problem. She already knew that she was extremely beautiful, but there were still a few things that she didn't like. For one, she didn't like that her 'normal' face looked cold. People were already calling her stupid nicknames like the 'Ice Queen'… Whoever came up with that one deserved to get slapped. It wasn't her fault that she got her father's pale skin and his sharp features. Hers weren't nearly as sharp as her father's, but they were still quite defined. Overall, these two things made her look cold and even intimidating. And then there was the fact that her breast were already growing faster than her classmates'. What boy would even approach her if she already looked older than them?! She had her mother to blame for that. Mary Greengrass was rather… blessed in that department… And so was Daphne apparently…

Daphne came out of the bathroom, and she noticed that the girls were already gone. _I should go too, they're probably waiting for me in the common room._ As Daphne left her room, she started hoping that Ron was back. She imagined that he'd be sitting there with his carefree grin, and he'd say 'Hello' to her like he always did. And then she imagined slapping him so hard that his teeth would scatter all over the floor. Daphne had never been so angry at him. He had put himself in so much danger by doing what he did, why couldn't he just stop running off all the time? How many times had he been asked to stay with the group? Hundreds of times! But he never listened. As Daphne entered the crowded common room, her hopes were dashed. It seemed that the door was still sealed, and that meant that Ron was still out there.

"Daphne, finally" Millie sighed in relief as Daphne approached her friends. "They've sealed us in…"

"I know" Daphne nodded.

"She was out here all night" Theo shared, and Daphne gave him a deadpan look.

"Ron is still out there" Blaise said, it sounded like he was talking to himself. "And if they haven't opened the doors yet, that can only mean that they are still looking for him."

"I'm going to slap him so hard when I see him" Pansy frowned.

"Get in line" Daphne sighed.

"Can we all just slap him?" Tracey asked. "Maybe then he'll finally listen to us."

"He's too stubborn for that" Theo provided. "The whole school could slap him around, but he'll still do whatever he wants. That's just who he is." The chatter in the room died as soon as they all heard the entrance open, and everyone stared at the entryway. Daphne' chest began to pound, but she kept her expression neutral as always. Snape billowed in, his demeanor cold and calculating.

"Sir, what is…?" a seventh year started but Snape stopped them with a raised hand.

"The doors were sealed last night for your own protection" Snape said in his low, yet commanding voice. "The Heir has attacked another student… And this time, they attacked one of our own." Daphne felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, and she almost fainted. Her female friends had also gone deathly pale, and Daphne could already see Pansy going teary eyed. Blaise and Theo just stood there with stony faces, but Daphne knew that they were shaken. All of them knew that Ron was the victim… They had always known…

"Who was attacked?" Fabian Cunningham asked.

"Ronald Weasley…" Snape said, and the room exploded with chatter. Snape didn't stop them, and Daphne could feel looks being sent their way. Daphne kept her eyes on Snape while she took Tracey's hand in her own, she needed some support to stay grounded. Tracey whimpered as she gave her hand a squeeze, but Daphne kept her composure as best she could. _I won't show weakness, I can't…_ But even with her best efforts, the pain in her chest made her eyes begin overflowing with tears.

"Is he dead?!" Clara Martyris shouted over the whispers. The usually cheery sixth year had a fierce look on her face, as did most of the older students, and Daphne knew why… The Heir of Slytherin had just attacked another Slytherin, which was a treasonous thing to do in their eyes.

"No, he was petrified" Snape told her, and Daphne felt some of her pain fade at that. "Which means that he is still alive, and that he can be brought back."

"But the Mandrakes were burned" Carey Ductu reminded everyone. "So where are we going to get the Restorative Draught from?"

"That is the school's concern, not yours" Snape replied curtly.

"If the school was doing its job, then its students wouldn't be getting attacked!" some fifth year boy shouted. And then, some other older students began yelling.

"What are you doing about this?!" came another yell.

"Are you even looking for the culprit?!"

"Why isn't the Headmaster closing the school down?!"

"Where was he attacked?!"

"Do you lot even know what's going on in your own school?!"

"I'm owling my parents! I don't want to stay here anymore!"

"The Heir doesn't care who they go after!"

"I should've left the day the first attack happened!"

"ENOUGH!" Snape suddenly bellowed, and the shouting stopped immediately. The Potions Master was sneering angrily. "Are you lot a pack of Gryffindors?! Yelling and screaming like a bunch of toddlers! Yes, the Heir has attacked one of our own! Which means that we are no longer the only suspects! Now…" Snape hissed, his tone shifting to a deadly calm one. "You will all go to breakfast quietly. You will eat, and then you will go to your classes. And If I hear that you're acting like this in public, there will be consequences." Snape then turned to Daphne and her friends. "You six are coming with me…" And just like that, he billowed out of the room. Daphne then felt Tracey tugging at her hand.

"C'mon…" Tracey said, her voice cracking. Daphne followed her friends outside, and she once again ignored the sorry looks being sent their way. _Save your pity, we have no need for it…_ Daphne already knew what she had to do. She had to send Marty to her father with a letter explaining what had happened. _My father will fix this, I know it._ They followed Snape quietly for a few moments, and then Blaise spoke up.

"Sir, are you taking us to see Ron?" Blaise asked with a croaky voice, and then he cleared his throat.

"Yes, Mr. Zabini" Snape replied as he kept walking. "Do you not wish to see him?"

"We do" Theo quickly answered. "Where was he… found?"

"Mr. Nott…" Snape drawled.

"Please, Sir" Millie quickly jumped in. "He's our friend…"

"He was found in the abandoned corridor on the third floor" Snape replied after a few moments. "Do you know why he was there?"

"We didn't even know that he went there" Daphne replied. _What was he doing there?! He never went to the Sanctuary?_ Daphne and her friends all exchanged looks. Pansy and Tracey were in tears, and they were trying not to show it. Millie was in tears as well, but she had a ferocious look on her face. And the boys… They were still stone-faced. Daphne found herself regaining her own composure when she looked at them, crying wasn't going to help Ron. And she wanted to help Ron. _Father did not raise me to be weak, and I will prove it. I'll make the Heir pay for attacking Ron._

"Why weren't you six with him?" Snape asked. "There were rules created to make sure that no one was caught out alone."

"Ron has a habit of sneaking around" Pansy replied.

"That boy…" Snape growled. "When he wakes up… He will wish that he stayed petrified." _Is he… concerned? Snape is concerned… And he is showing it so openly?_ Daphne could see that her friends were just as baffled as her. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, and Daphne found her heart beating faster and faster. She didn't want to see Ron's petrified body, but she knew that she had to. As they entered the Hospital Wing, Snape pointed them towards Ron's bed. Its curtains were drawn, and Blaise took the lead.

As soon they entered, Millie closed the curtains behind them. A sob broke out of Daphne's throat at the sight of Ron's body. It looked like he was a statue, a statue of a person trying desperately to stand up. Ron's face looked as if he was struggling with something; his brow was furrowed, his pale blue eyes were sharp, and his jaw was clenched. It looked like he had been pissed off before he was petrified. Daphne didn't know why, but she felt proud to see his expression. He didn't look scared like the rest of the victims, he looked angry…

"He fought back…" Blaise muttered. "Look… He has a cut on his bottom lip, and a bruise on his jaw…"

"Ron…" Pansy sniffled as she touched his left hand, which was closed into a fist. With no one around to see them, Pansy finally started crying in earnest. Millie quickly hugged her, her own tears coming out. Tracey too began crying as she kept her grip on Daphne's hand, while Daphne fought tooth and nail to keep herself in check. She had released a sob by mistake when she had first entered, but now she refused to show anymore weakness. The Heir wanted them to grieve and shed tears, and Daphne would be damned if she let them win. Daphne looked to the boys to help her keep her composure, and seeing their angry faces helped her start her own fire. Theo looked angrier than she'd ever seen him, and Blaise… Blaise just stood by Ron's face with a look that promised cold fury.

"They'll pay for this" Blaise said, his voice was steady. "No matter what happens, they'll pay for attacking him."

"They must've attacked him because they knew that we were getting close" Theo said as he wiped his eyes. His eyes were red with tears, but the tears were there because he was so furious right now. "Which means that we could be next."

"Let them come" Millie grit out, and then she sniffled loudly.

"Don't be foolish" Blaise told everyone. "Whoever the Heir is, they are beyond us in skill and strength. They overpowered Ron for Merlin's sake… And we all know what that means…"

"Their Basilisk isn't their only strength" Daphne said as she squeezed Tracey's hand. Seeing Ron's face hurt her chest, but it also made her angry. It made her so angry that she felt the need to scream. _I will bring down the entire power of the Greengrass Family on them. I swear it._

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **February 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Hospital Wing - Lunch)**_

"I don't want to see him like that again" Pansy muttered as they entered the Hospital Wing. Blaise shot her a quick look, and he saw that she was already teary eyed again. Pansy had been crying all day, but at least she made sure that no one around her saw it. _Her puffy eyes and red nose give it away though._ The truth was that Blaise would label her weak in his mind, and just move on. But right now, he wanted to cry as well. He hated admitting that, it made him sick to his stomach. But his one of his best mates was lying petrified on a hospital bed, while the other one had completely disappeared in his own mind. Blaise fucking hated this so much… He hated how powerless he was.

"It's okay, Pans" Millie said as she squeezed Pansy in a one-armed hug. "With the Restorative Draught, Ron will be back in no time…"

"And then we'll fuck the Heir up" Tracey grit out. The slender brunette had stopped crying after the first period, and now she was looking for a fight. But her anger paled in comparison to Daphne's… Blaise had expected her to start crying just like the other girls, but no… The Greengrass Heiress wore a cold expression on her face, and she was walking around with her head held high. Blaise admired that strength, mostly because he had no idea that Daphne possessed it. It was even helping him keep his own composure. They came upon Ron's bed, and then Blaise opened the curtains to enter. He immediately regretted that because Ron's siblings were there.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to…" Blaise started but Percy Weasley cut him off.

"No, it's okay" Percy smiled sadly, the older boy had been crying as well. "You're his friends, come in." Blaise nodded slowly as he entered, he hadn't expected to be welcomed. The twins were just sitting on separate chairs by Ron's bed, but they looked like they were a thousand miles away. Luna was sitting on the bed, and it was the first time that he had seen her crying. Ginny Weasley was the only sibling that was missing, and that sparked a bit of curiosity in Blaise's mind.

"You're all here" Luna whispered, a sad smile on her face. She looked so disheveled, her dirty blonde hair was more unkempt than usual, her big silvery eyes were red from crying, and her little nose was running. _And yet she still smiled at seeing us._

"Luna, come here" Pansy suddenly sobbed, and Luna got off the bed and hugged her tightly. Blaise was surprised to see the other three girls join in on the hug, and he was even more surprised to see Percy smiling at them. _Grief has a way of bringing people together, eh Ron?_ Speaking of bringing people together, Blaise was shocked to see how many flowers and gift baskets were placed around Ron's bed.

"They're mostly from the Slytherins" Percy told Blaise, his voice cracking a little. "They've been coming in and out all day… A lot of first year girls, and a lot of older girls" Percy chuckled dryly. "Even some of the older blokes dropped by…"

"I'm not surprised" Blaise responded, his initial shock disappearing. "Ron is well liked in Slytherin." _At least by the older students… Those first year girls are probably just crushing on him._

"He is, isn't he?" Percy said as he fidgeted with Ron's collar, trying to make it tidier. "My little brother… Liked by the Slytherins…"

"He is one of us" Daphne said firmly, and Percy gave her a soft smile.

"I never said that he wasn't" Percy muttered. _He's lost the will to fight, hasn't he?_ Blaise shot another look at the twins, and he almost flinched at their haggard appearances. He had never seen them look so… defeated. But Blaise didn't care about them, it was their brother that he cared about.

"Where is Ginny?" Theo asked, and Blaise frowned internally. _Now is not the time to question them about their sister._

"She didn't take this well" Percy sighed. "She's not allowed to come back here today… Madam Pomfrey's orders." Blaise shot a quick look towards Theo, and he saw that Theo gave a curt nod to Percy. _He isn't letting this go, is he?_ The curtains suddenly swung open, and Blaise looked to see Potter and Longbottom. Both Gryffindor boys went wide-eyed at the scene before them.

"Sorry…" Potter muttered. "We just wanted to see him…"

"See him?" Pansy asked in a hoarse voice.

"Pansy, don't" Blaise stepped in quickly. The moment he had seen Potter, something had just clicked in his mind. _Ron told me that he wanted to bring these two in on our investigation. And with Ron gone… we need Potter's Parseltongue ability. Was this part of your plan, Ron? Just in case you got attacked? Did you really think that far ahead?_ Blaise quickly blinked to stop himself from tearing up. Why was Ron's petrification hurting him so much? Ron would be fine after a dose of Restorative Draught, so why did it hurt so fucking much?

"We can just come back later…" Longbottom muttered.

"No, it's fine" Blaise told them, and both boys were shocked. Even Blaise's friends were shocked, especially the girls. But Blaise didn't care about that right now, he felt honor bound to fulfil Ron's plan. _He trusted me with it, and only me. And now that he's… I have to do this. We need Potter to find the Chamber, and I'll find that place if it's the last thing that I do._ "Come in, if that's fine with you?" Blaise asked Percy.

"It's fine… though it is getting cramped" Percy chuckled dryly, and then he looked to the twins. _Was he expecting them to make that joke?_ "Harry, Neville… Please come in." Potter and Longbottom stepped inside, and it was quite crowded. Blaise saw the pain and regret on their faces when they saw Ron's state, and Blaise fought the urge to berate them. _Still think that he's the Heir? You fucking twats._

"I'm really sorry about… Ron" Potter said.

"You have our best wishes" Longbottom added on. Blaise saw Tracey open her mouth to say something, but he stopped her with a frown. Tracey glared at Blaise, and then she looked to Luna.

"Luna, love" Tracey spoke in a soft tone. "Have you eaten today?" Luna shook her head meekly and sniffled.

"Let's go to the Hall and get some food in you" Daphne joined in.

"Okay…" Luna managed to whimper out, and Blaise felt genuinely upset at seeing her like this. She was acting like a normal girl for once, and Blaise wished that she wasn't. He preferred the aloof Luna. The one that had jarred him once by calling his eyes beautiful. The girl slowly took Luna away, and this left Theo and Blaise alone with the Gryffindors.

"He was attacked yesterday?" Potter suddenly asked, and Percy nodded. "Where was he found?" _I guess we aren't the only ones who are investigating._

"He was found in the abandoned third floor corridor…" Percy replied, his voice cracking again. His expression tightened in pain, and he released a shaky breath. "Why was he even there?" Percy asked as he bowed his head, no doubt trying to hide his tears. _That's a great question. Why were you there, Ron? What were you doing that was so important that you couldn't even fucking mention it to me?_ The pain in his chest was back, and he still couldn't understand why he felt this way. Ron was going to be fine once that potion came around, so why did it hurt so much?

"He looks like he…" Longbottom started but stopped.

"Looks like what?" Theo asked him in a rather curt voice.

"Like he fought back" Longbottom replied. "None of the other victims look like they did, but he does."

"Of course he fought back" came Fred Weasley's voice, Blaise had forgotten that the twins were still there. "Ron would never go down without a fight." Blaise felt like he heard some pride in his voice, and that made him frown internally. _Where was their pride when Ron needed it? It's wasted on him now._

"That means that he saw his attacker" Potter said. "Ron knows who the Heir is, and he can just tell us when he's back."

"Little problem with that theory, Potter" Blaise said in a calm voice. "The Greenhouses were burned to ash, and the Mandrakes along with them. The Restorative Draught is not easy to come by, that's why the Professors were growing their own."

"My Gran might be able to help with that" Longbottom suggested. "She has money… Loads of it… She can get us the Potion."

"We have money too, Longbottom" Theo frowned. "But the Potion is barely even made nowadays… Not many witches and wizards get Cursed, Transfigured, or Petrified permanently anymore. It's in low demand because there is no market for it. Finding it is the hard part…"

"Neville, don't worry about it" Percy told the slightly chubby boy. "The Headmaster said that he would take care of everything." _Relying on Dumbledore is pointless at this stage, he clearly has no idea on what the fuck is going on here._

"Well, we'll leave you to it…" Potter smiled sadly. "We just wanted to see him before lunch ended… We'll see you tomorrow, Ron." And with that, both Potter and Longbottom left. As Blaise watched them leave, he decided that he needed to ask them both for their help now. It was the best opportunity as the girls weren't here right now, and Blaise could convince them after he had arranged a meeting. Blaise followed after Potter and Longbottom, and Theo followed after him.

"Potter, wait" Blaise called as he caught up to them. They were now just outside the Hospital Wing, and Theo caught up just as Potter and Longbottom stopped.

"What is it?" Potter asked in a kind voice, and Blaise frowned at him. _Save your pity, Potter._

"Ron… He told me that he wanted to bring you two in on our investigation" Blaise replied, and both Gryffindors went wide-eyed. Theo had a slightly different reaction.

"What?" Theo grit out. "Why would he bring in these two?" _I can't say that Potter is a Parselmouth. It would result in Ron's friendship with the Hat being exposed. I need to come up with a reasonable lie._

"He wanted to make peace with them" Blaise said firmly. "That was his wish… And he told me this himself."

"It's true" Potter quickly said, he looked quite relieved. "We apologized to Ron, and he apologized to us. We were trying to make peace, and we decided to work together in order to find the Heir."

"Blaise…" Theo whispered. "Don't do this…"

"I have to" Blaise whispered back, and then he turned back to Potter. "Meet us tomorrow at Lunch… In the courtyard."

"The courtyard?" Longbottom asked. "Isn't that a little too… exposed?"

"That's the point" Blaise replied. "Everyone will be in the Great Hall, and we will be out in the open. I don't plan on sneaking around this castle anymore…"

"Alright" Potter agreed immediately. "Tomorrow at lunch then. And… Thanks"

"Don't thank me, Potter" Blaise said coldly. "I'm doing this because it was my friend's final request to me. Don't be late." Potter and Longbottom nodded, and then they left.

"Blaise, what the fuck?" Theo frowned deeply. "Those two? Really? They've done nothing but point the finger at Ron this entire time."

"Potter is a Parselmouth" Blaise whispered, and Theo just blinked at him. "Ron told me that the Hat told him this. And we need a Parselmouth." Theo was just slack-jawed for a few seconds.

"Fucking hell…" Theo muttered, his brain suddenly working at lightning speed. "You don't think that Ron planned…"

"No" Blaise cut him off. "I don't know… I think that Ron just wanted to make peace with them, but he also saw the advantage of having two Gryffindors and an extra Parselmouth with us. We suspect the Heir to be in Gryffindor, right?" Theo nodded slowly. "And now we'll have eyes in that house."

"I just…" Theo started but stopped. "You're right… This is a smart move. I'm just so angry that I can't even think straight… We should've kept him from sneaking around, you know? He listens to us…" Theo then began to walk off, but Blaise was rooted in his spot. He now understood why he felt so much pain at Ron being attacked. _First it was the Dark Lord, then it was Malfoy, and now the Heir… He faced all of them alone, and we were nowhere to be found._ Blaise realized that he wasn't angry with Ron, he was angry at himself. Ron listened to him, and he had never once put his foot down. Instead, Blaise had told everyone to give Ron his space. And now… Now Ron was petrified. He was attacked, and he had been all by himself. Blaise had failed Ron, and that's what was causing his pain. _I should've done more…_ That realization made his eyes burn, and Blaise finally let himself shed a few tears.

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

Sebastian stood in front of the small fireplace in his study, and he let the fire warm him. He had always found this to be a great way to stay calm and focused. He would listen to the crackling of the firewood, he would appreciate the aroma of the fire, and he would bask in its warmth. The fire always reminded him that he wasn't completely cold.

Everyone knew that he was a cold man, but most importantly, Sebastian himself knew it. He was ruthless in his business, and he had no pity for those who didn't work themselves to the bone in order to further their own status in the world. Those who waited around for pity, or charity, didn't deserve to breathe the same air as him. Many would deem him cruel for this outlook, but Sebastian prided himself on it. This was **his** code… The code that he had created after the Great War had finally ended. He would **never** be weak again, and no one would ever **dare** touch his family again.

When he had first told Mary about his new code, she had kissed him senseless. And when she had told him that she was proud of him for finally putting his family above everything, Sebastian's code was cemented into his mind. He didn't care if everyone in the world hated him, he only cared if his family loved him. Because he loved them more than anything. He loved his beautiful wife, who he saw as his better half. Mary was kinder than him, she had a bigger heart than him, she was elegance incarnate, and when she laughed, Sebastian felt like he was the teenager who used to chase after her in school all over again. She was his rock.

And if Mary was his rock, then Daphne and Astoria were his soul. Daphne was proud and fierce, and he felt his heart fill with pride whenever he saw her. She reminded him of himself sometimes, and she certainly had some of his features to boot. But Daphne was also compassionate, even kind, but she hid it behind a veil of coldness. And Astoria… Well, Astoria was the complete opposite. She was loud and playful, and she never failed to make him smile or laugh. Just being in the same room as her made him start smiling, which was something that Mary always teased him about. But he just couldn't help it… Whenever he heard Astoria laughing or causing mayhem, he wanted nothing more than to join her.

Sebastian smiled to himself as he thought about his girls, he didn't know why he was so blessed, but he was glad that he was. Sebastian slowly turned away from the fire and began to leave his study, dinner would be served any minute now. As he made his way out, his eyes landed on Ron's chair. _I never got the chance to spoke to Arthur. I need to owl Ron after dinner._ Sebastian's smile died as he thought about Ron's current situation. The boy was going to be ripped out of his own house by his parents, and Sebastian had failed him. He had made an appointment to see Arthur, out of respect of course, but Arthur had purposefully stood him up. _He most likely guessed the purpose behind my visit, but he could have just refused. Instead he insulted me by wasting my time._

When he had come home and told Mary what had happened, his wife had been furious. But not with Arthur… No, Mary had instead released her anger on Sebastian. She had told him that he should've just marched into the man's office, and that he should've fought harder for Ron. It was no secret that Mary had started seeing Ron as one of their own, but it wasn't until today that Sebastian had learned just how much his wife cared for the boy. And while he was being scolded like some child, Astoria had been laughing at him hysterically from the corner of the room. Sebastian frowned as he thought about his day, and then he left the study. Once he was in the dining room, he took his usual spot at the head of the table. Mary was already sitting in her seat by his side, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Good evening, love" Sebastian smiled at her, and she frowned. _Damn, here it comes. She's going to call me Sebastian instead of husband._

"Sebastian" Mary greeted curtly. _And there it is._

"What's for dinner?" Sebastian asked, he hated when she got like this. And he hated that she knew just how much he hated it.

"Chicken" Mary replied, and Sebastian sighed. "With a side of failure." _That was unnecessary._ Spinny suddenly cracked into the room, and she was holding a tray in her hands.

"Roast chicken with an assortment of vegetables, just as you requested Mistress" Spinny bowed after she put tray on the table. _I hate roast chicken… Wait… Is she punishing me?_ Sebastian was about to start an argument, but it died in his throat when he heard loud footsteps coming towards the dining room. Tori suddenly burst into the room, and she was already laughing wildly.

"I'm here!" Tori declared, and Sebastian's face lit up. Mary however, frowned at Tori. Tori skipped over to her seat, and before she sat down, she gave Spinny a tight cuddle. The House-Elf beamed at the affection.

"Lady Astoria" Spinny greeted happily. "There is no need for that, please."

"Of course there is" Tori argued with a laugh. "I love hugging you Spinny… and I love kissing you!" Tori exclaimed as she pecked the Elf's right cheek.

"Astoria Greengrass" Mary scolded. "Stop harassing Spinny."

"It is not harassment, Mistress" Spinny defended Astoria quickly. "Spinny loves Lady Astoria." _That's one way to earn loyalty, I suppose._

"And Lady Astoria loves you, Spinny" Tori laughed loudly as she let the Elf go. Spinny disapparated with a face-splitting smile on her face, and Tori took her seat. "Oh… chicken!"

"Astoria, manners please" Mary sighed in defeat, and Sebastian released an ill-timed chuckle. The temperature of the room dropped as Mary turned to face him, and Sebastian suddenly found the polished table quiet fascinating.

"Is something funny, Sebastian?" Mary asked, her gaze burning a hole through him.

"What's so funny, daddy?" Tori chuckled. "Did you manage to help Ron?" _WHY?!_ Sebastian looked to Tori, and her grin proved to him that this girl was evil incarnate.

"No Tori, your father is still sulking around in defeat" Mary answered coldly. "All the while Ron, poor boy, is fighting to keep his place in Slytherin."

"I will see Arthur tomorrow" Sebastian promised. "Now… Can we please just eat?" Mary huffed as she always did when she was annoyed with him, and Sebastian sighed as he rubbed his forehead. Tori's giggling certainly didn't help. As they were about to start eating dinner, there was another loud crack.

"MASTER!" came Marty's frantic yell, and Sebastian was immediately on his feet.

"Marty?" Sebastian asked as he saw the Elf. Ron's Elf looked utterly shaken, and he was sniffling loudly. "What's happened? Speak!"

"Lady Daphne sent Marty to you!" Marty replied as he held out a letter. "Master Ronald… Master Ronald…" Marty started to hyperventilate, and then he began bawling his eyes out. Sebastian ripped the letter from Marty's hands, and he immediately started reading it. His heart was already beating in his throat, something horrible must've happened.

 _Father,_

 _Ron was attacked by the Heir, and he was left Petrified. Please come to the school, I need your help._

 _Your Daughter,_

 _Daphne._

"Husband? What's happened?" Mary asked with a panicked voice. Sebastian decided to not say anything in order to not scare Astoria, so he instead passed the letter over to Mary. She read it, and she released a horrified gasp. _Ronald! I have to go there right now! This will not stand!_

"Marty, return to Hogwarts" Sebastian commanded. "Spinny!" Spinny suddenly appeared with a crack as Marty disapparated. "My wife and I have to leave on urgent business, so Astoria is in your hands for tonight. Make sure she eats and is in bed before ten."

"Yes, Master" Spinny bowed.

"Daddy, what's wrong?!" Astoria demanded, she looked rather frightened. "Is Daphne hurt?"

"No, my sweet" Mary replied in a comforting tone.

"So Ron's hurt?" Astoria questioned.

"Astoria, eat your dinner" Sebastian commanded, and his daughter didn't utter another word. "We will return later tonight, and we can talk about this tomorrow." Tori nodded at that. "Mary, let's go." Husband and wife quickly left the dining room, and they went straight to the closest floo fireplace. "Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts" Sebastian said clearly as he threw in the floo powder. The fire blazed green, and Sebastian quickly went through. He stepped into Snape's Office with a powerful stride, and he immediately noticed that the Potions Master was stand behind his desk with his wand pointed at Sebastian.

"Sebastian?" Snape snarled. "What is the meaning of this?" Mary then stepped through the fireplace, and Snape lowered his wand.

"Where is he?" Mary demanded before Sebastian could even speak. "Where is Ron?" Snape frowned deeply at this intrusion.

"Severus, where is he?" Sebastian demanded in a firm tone.

"I didn't open that connection between your home and my Office so that you could abuse it" Snape grit out.

"I don't care" Sebastian looked right into Snape's eyes. "Where is Ron? Why was I not contacted immediately?"

"You are not his kin" Snape replied curtly. "And he is currently in the Hospital Wing, with his **actual** kin." Mary had heard what she wanted, and she immediately set off for the Hospital Wing. Sebastian followed after her, and he heard Snape growl as he chased after them. "Greengrass, stop! This is a school!"

"Either come with us, or stay out of our way" Sebastian said as he kept his pace. Snape caught up quickly enough, and he was glaring murder at Sebastian. This was when Sebastian noticed something odd.

"Where are the students?" Sebastian asked.

"There is a curfew in place for their protection" Snape sighed, he knew that these two wouldn't stop until they saw Ronald. _Protection? Then why was Ron attacked? It must've happened during the daytime then. Or he was sneaking around at night. Either way, I'm going to tear Dumbledore apart for this!_

"A curfew?!" Mary glared back at Severus, she didn't lose her pace for a second. "That's what you're doing?! Why isn't this school employing Aurors?!"

"Because Dumbledore wants to keep this all under wraps, doesn't he?" Sebastian guessed. When Snape said nothing to argue this, Sebastian felt his blood boil. "Severus, for Merlin's sake…"

"The Headmaster is shutting the school down" Snape decided to say. "He is going to announce it tomorrow morning."

"I don't care about what he is **going** to do" Sebastian snapped. "I care about what has already happened."

"Then tell the Headmaster that, Sebastian" Snape snarled. "But mind your tone with me…" Sebastian had half a mind to Curse Snape right there and then, but he chose to keep his head clear. _Severus is right. It's Albus Dumbledore who has to answer for this!_

They entered the Hospital Wing, and Sebastian's eyes went straight to the large group of people surrounding a bed. He could already hear two women crying, and he assumed that they were Molly Weasley and Pandora Lovegood. Sirius Black was pacing back and forth, and his outrage was written on his face. Remus Lupin seemed to be standing by the bed quietly, but Sebastian could see the murderous glint in his eyes. As Sebastian and Mary got closer, everyone noticed them. Sebastian then spotted Arthur Weasley and Xenophilius Lovegood, both men were trying to comfort their wives.

"Greengrass?" Black snarled. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Sebastian ignored the former convict, instead he chose to look at Ron. Seeing his apprentice in such a state shocked him to his core for a few seconds, but when he heard Mary gasp in horror, Sebastian felt his temper flare uncontrollably. But all he could do was stare at Ron's face. The boy had clearly fought his attacker, judging by the cut lip and his somewhat angry expression.

"Ron…" Mary muttered as she quickly sat down on the bed. Molly Weasley and Pandora Lovegood just blinked at her, but they didn't say a word. They even stayed quite when Mary took Ron's hand and kissed it lovingly. They were either too shocked, or too tired to care. Sebastian could see that both women had been crying for more than an hour at least, and their husbands were no different.

"I asked you a question" Black snapped as he walked right into Sebastian's face. "What are you doing here?"

"Sirius, stop it" Lupin frowned. "They came for Ron, just like we did."

"Get out of my face, Black" Sebastian warned. "Or I'll put you in one of these beds."

"Listen here you…" Black started, but he suddenly stopped. He was looking at someone behind Sebastian, and Sebastian turned to see Albus Dumbledore march in with Severus and Minerva McGonagall. _Looks like Severus brought his master to me. Good._

"Explain this" Sebastian demanded from Dumbledore.

"Sebastian, please remain calm" Dumbledore said in a calm tone.

"I am calm, Dumbledore" Sebastian responded. "You'll know when I'm not calm. Now tell me, when was he attacked? What progress have you made in locating this Heir of Slytherin?"

"He was attacked yesterday" Dumbledore replied with a calm tone again. "And as for progress… I am sorry, but we do not know anything."

"Then why have you not called in the Aurors?" Sebastian demanded. _Go on, answer that._

"I did call them" Dumbledore replied, and Sebastian narrowed his eyes on the old wizard. "But the Ministry refused my request. I went to the Board of Governors, and they also refused my request."

"Do not lie to me" Sebastian frowned. "I am on the Board of Governors, and I never came upon this request of yours."

"It is the truth, Sebastian" Dumbledore said firmly, and Sebastian blinked at him. He couldn't read the old wizard, and that irked him. Sebastian prided himself on his ability to read other people, it was an essential tool for his business' success. But he couldn't read Dumbledore at all. "Whether or not you saw my request, Sebastian" Dumbledore continued. "The truth is that I did make it. Multiple times in fact. But I was always refused. And so, I've decided to shut down Hogwarts. This school is no longer safe for the students."

"And you couldn't have done this before Ron was attacked?" Sebastian glared at Dumbledore.

"My, my…" came a very familiar voice from the entrance of the Hospital Wing, and Sebastian was surprised to see Lucius Malfoy walk into the Hospital Wing. He had a smirk already in place, and he walked with his nose held high. But that wasn't even the biggest surprise… What was truly surprising was the fact that Cornelius Fudge was with Lucius. _Why is the Minister of Magic here? What is this?_

"Lucius, Cornelius" Dumbledore greeted them both, he sounded like he was expecting them. "What brings you to my school?" Everyone single adult in the room just watched in utter silence, and Sebastian decided to stand next to Dumbledore for this. _If Lucius is here with the Minister, then something big is about to happen. What is he planning?_

"Bad business, Albus" Fudge sighed. The sight of the man repulsed Sebastian, Fudge was a weak and pathetic man. "Very bad business, indeed. Three Muggle-Borns attacked, and now a Pure-Blood boy too. And not just any boy, but a prodigy who has been featured in the Daily Prophet multiple times… Ministry has got to act, Albus. I'm here to take him…" _Take him? Is he referring to Hagrid, the groundskeeper?_ Sebastian had done his research on this Heir nonsense in his spare time, and he had learned that Hagrid was expelled fifty years ago for the exact same crimes being committed now.

"I want it understood, Cornelius" Albus said in a hardened tone. "Hagrid has my complete faith. He is not guilty of these crimes."

"Hagrid?!" Black suddenly jumped in. "You're blaming this on Hagrid, Fudge?!" The Minister went pale at the sight of Sirius Black's outraged expression.

"Sirius, please remain calm" Dumbledore said in a firm tone. "Cornelius, this will not stop the attacks."

"Look at it from my point of view, Albus" Fudge sighed deeply. "The public is demanding that more action be taken, and as their Minister, I've got to act. I have to. I'm under a lot of pressure, and so I've got to take him. I'm sorry about this. But if Hagrid is innocent, he'll be let go with a full pardon."

"Then why haven't you given the Headmaster his Aurors?" Sebastian asked, and Fudge turned to face him. Sebastian's cold gaze startled the plump man, and he shot a quick look towards Lucius before answering.

"The Aurors are taxed as it is" Fudge replied. "Not many left after the War, and those who are left are all on assignment." _That's the lie you're going for? Really? Every here can see that Lucius is pulling your strings._

"You will not need to take Hagrid, Cornelius" Dumbledore said firmly. "I will be announcing the end of Hogwarts tomorrow morning, and all students will be sent home immediately."

"The end of Hogwarts?" Fudge muttered, going pale as a ghost. "You cannot be serious…"

"I am" Dumbledore replied. "This school is not safe, and therefore, I am shutting it down. As Headmaster, I have that right."

"Yes, you do" Lucius smirked. "Or you would… If you were Headmaster."

"What is the meaning of this?" Minerva McGonagall demanded. "Albus is the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Not anymore" Lucius said venomously, a cruel smile upon his face. "The Board of Governors has decided that your services are no longer required. We believe that you have… lost your touch." There were gasps from behind Sebastian, and even Fudge looked shocked at this. _This idiot didn't even know who he was getting in bed with?_

"The Board of Governors?" Sebastian asked, what the hell was Lucius playing at?

"Ah, Sebastian" Lucius greeted with a smug smile. "I didn't see you there, you simply blended right in with… these people. And as for the Headmaster, here is a signed Order of Suspension" Lucius said smoothly as he pulled out a long piece of parchment from his robes. He handed the Order to Dumbledore, and the old wizard began to read it calmly. "Nine out of twelve signatures are on it, and since the majority of Governors has voted to out you, you are hereby suspended." It all clicked in Sebastian's mind instantly. This was a planned move, and a move that Lucius had in play for weeks. Which could only mean one thing: Lucius knew more about these attacks than he was letting on. Dumbledore looked to Sebastian with a meaningful look, and then he handed Sebastian the Order. Sebastian quickly read it, and he noticed that his name was marked as 'absent for vote'.

"I knew nothing about this" Sebastian looked at Lucius with a cold glare. "Why was I not contacted?"

"We tried to reach you, Sebastian" Lucius lied smoothly. "But you couldn't be tracked down in time for the vote. It only took place today, you see."

"And why was this so urgent?" Sebastian demanded. "Why could this vote not be held off for a few more days?" Sebastian knew that Lucius was lying about contacting him, and that almost got under his skin. _The Auror request that was denied, he must've pulled the same stunt with that too._

"It was urgent because four people have been attacked" Lucius smiled. "One of them is your apprentice, is he not? Is that why we couldn't reach you? You have my condolences." Sebastian nearly lost his temper, but he reigned it in just in time to stop himself from attacking Lucius. Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley however didn't even attempt to calm down, they ripped their wands out and pointed them right Lucius. Lucius' mask of arrogance cracked for a second.

"Put your wands down" Dumbledore told them firmly. "Arthur, don't do this. This does not help your son. Sirius, please. You must not do this."

"He's behind this!" Arthur bellowed, glaring murder at Lucius. "He did this to my son!"

"That is an outrageous accusation, Weasley" Lucius hissed. "Fudge, put an end to this. They are threatening my safety."

"Gentlemen, please…" Fudge pleaded, and Sebastian just gazed at Fudge coldly. Fudge visibly swallowed at the sight of Sebastian. "I am your Minister, and you will lower your wands…" Black lowered his wand as Lupin whispered something in his ear, and Molly Weasley did her best to calm down her husband.

"I came to deliver your Order of Suspension, and my duty is now done" Lucius sneered at Dumbledore. "The school will not be closing tomorrow because you will be removed from its grounds tonight. Along with Rubeus Hagrid."

"Does removing Dumbledore while these attacks are happening sound like a good idea to you?" Remus Lupin asked, his voice seething with anger. "This is an utterly foolish decision. Without Dumbledore here, these attacks will only get worse!" _I can't believe I'm thinking this, but Lupin is right. This is a terrible idea, and Fudge won't say a damn word. Pathetic coward._

"These attack have happened under his watch" Lucius said dismissively, his arrogance returning once more. "Perhaps his successor will have better luck at protecting all those poor Muggle-Borns." _This son of a bitch orchestrated everything, didn't he? But I know him… He's too careful to leave behind a trail, and he clearly has nine of the twelve Governors under his thumb. Dumbledore never stood a chance._

"If the Governors wish to suspend me, then I shall step down" Dumbledore said calmly.

"Albus…" McGonagall gasped.

"You can't be serious?" Lupin asked with equal shock.

"This fucker is behind this!" Black accused Lucius.

"Enough" Lucius sneered. "Dumbledore, you are hereby expelled from the school grounds. Effective immediately." With that, Lucius turned to Fudge. "Shall I accompany you to Hagrid's, Fudge? Excellent, let us go at once." The Minister began to follow Lucius out, and everyone broke into a heated debate. Black looked like a wild animal as he shouted at Lupin for stopping him from attacking Lucius, Dumbledore began talking to his staff, and Arthur Weasley was currently being told to calm down by his wife and the Lovegoods. Sebastian exchanged a quick look with his own wife, and Mary looked furious. That was Sebastian's cue to follow Lucius out, they needed to have some words. It wasn't hard to catch up with Lucius, considering that the man walked around as if he owned the place.

"Lucius, a word?" Sebastian called as he saw the arrogant bastard and the maggot of a Minister. Lucius turned around slowly, and he smirked at Sebastian.

"Certainly, my friend" Lucius replied smoothly. At this, Dumbledore suddenly caught up to them as well.

"I will escort you to Hagrid's, Cornelius" Dumbledore said in a calm manner.

"You have no right to be on these grounds any longer, Dumbledore" Lucius sneered, and Dumbledore just gave him a smile.

"Neither do you, Lucius" Dumbledore responded. "You've done your duty, isn't that what you said? And I am just on my way out, and it so happens that Hagrid's Hut is between the gates and the castle. Come, Cornelius. Let us be on our way." Dumbledore then walked right past Lucius, and Sebastian smirked at the old wizard's antics. _Say what you will about him, but he always manages to get the last word._

"What can I help you with, Sebastian?" Lucius asked, he had lost his smirk.

"You can start by explaining your actions" Sebastian replied in a calm and cold voice.

"My actions?" Lucius smirked.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Lucius" Sebastian replied. "I have never insulted yours, at least pay me the same respect." That seemed to work as Lucius lost his smirk and adorned a more serious face.

"You want to know if I orchestrated Dumbledore's suspension behind your back, is that it?" Lucius asked smoothly, and Sebastian cocked his eyebrow to indicate his interest. "I didn't. I did attempt to contact you, but you were not at home. I tried it this afternoon." _I was at the Ministry, so he might be telling the truth. But that Auror request never came to my attention either._

"And what about the Auror request?" Sebastian asked. "Was I unavailable for that as well?"

"Indeed, my friend" Lucius smirked. "Why would you think that I'm plotting against you, Sebastian? We are friends. We have been friends since Hogwarts, remember?"

"We've both changed a lot in that time, Lucius" Sebastian replied coldly. "But please, do tell me why you refused the Auror request."

"Because the Ministry would have refused it" Lucius smiled.

"The Ministry? Or your puppet?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't know what you mean by that, my friend" Lucius replied. "I simply voted in a manner that sat well with my conscience."

"I'm growing tired of this game of cat and mouse, Lucius" Sebastian said as he fixed his cold gaze onto Lucius. "If you have anything to do with these attacks, I'll find out. And then... I'll declare Infensusque upon you." Lucius' smirk fell at that.

"You have no basis for launching a 'Family War' upon me" Lucius hissed. "And in case you have forgotten, the Ministry banned that practice over three centuries ago."

"I don't care what the Ministry has to say, you are not the only one with friends in high places" Sebastian smirked. "And I do have a basis. If you're behind these attacks, then that means that you are guilty of the attack on Ronald Weasley."

"The Blood-Traitor's son?" Lucius laughed. "That's who you're basing this on?"

"Yes" Sebastian replied. "Because that boy is not only an Ally of my Family, but he is also a contracted friend of the Greengrass Family. And if you are involved in this Lucius, I will put you in your fucking grave."

"You dare?" Lucius hissed again.

"Not only do I dare, Lucius" Sebastian smirked. "But I promise retribution. You may have more pull within the Ministry than me, but my vaults run far deeper than yours. And I will dedicate my fortune on putting an end to your family, I swear it."

"And he'll have the Black family fortune backing him as well" came Black's voice from behind Sebastian. And then, Black was standing right next to him. "Oh, and don't think that you can stop me from coming after you because of your wife. She forfeited any claims to the Black fortune when she became a Malfoy." Lucius sneered at the two men, and then he glared at Sebastian.

"So you finally show your true colors" Lucius spat out. "A filthy Blood-Traitor…"

"This has nothing to do with Blood-Status" Sebastian cocked his eyebrow. "If you are guilty of these attacks, then this is personal. I will not stand idly by as you come after my Allies."

"And I just fucking hate you" Black snarled. "So all I need is a goddamn reason." Lucius clenched his jaw, and then he turned around and walked away. Sebastian turned around as well, and then he walked back to the Hospital Wing. Black accompanied him, and then he suddenly broke the silence. "If you go after him, tell me." Sebastian simply nodded, and both men had reached an agreement with just that. They entered the Hospital Wing and went to Ron's bed. The sight of him still shook Sebastian a little, but his rage was keeping him focused.

"Husband" Mary said as she stood up from the bed. "I've been speaking with Molly and Pandora, and they've told me that the Mandrakes that were going to be used to create the Restorative Draughts were burned down. Apparently the Heir was behind this as well."

"Evil son of a bitch" Black grit out.

"I see…" Sebastian said as he rubbed his forehead. _What a mess._

"I have Mandrakes in my personal greenhouses that will mature within a week or so" Mary told the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, Severus, and McGonagall. "We can supply the school with them as soon they are ready, and Severus can prepare the Restorative Draughts within the next few days."

"Mary, are you sure?" McGonagall asked, she was pleasantly surprised by the woman's altruism.

"Of course" Mary smiled. "The second they are ready, they will be sent here."

"Thank you, Mary" McGonagall gave one of her rare smiles.

"And Ronnie will be restored?" Molly Weasley asked, her voice was hoarse from crying. Both Weasley parents looked like hell, and Sebastian couldn't blame them. If one of his daughters were in Ron's place, Sebastian would've killed Lucius on the spot. But it still irked Sebastian to see Arthur avert his gaze from him.

"With the Potion that I will make, yes" Snape drawled. "Mr. Weasley and the others will be restored."

"Thank you" Pandora thanked Mary, but Mary raised her right hand in an elegant manner.

"There is no need for that" Mary smiled at her. "We all want this nightmare to end." Everyone, except for Snape and Sebastian, smiled at Mary gratefully. Sebastian smiled internally however, his wife truly was everything that he wasn't.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Just past Midnight)**_

Daphne turned and tossed around in her bed, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep. Her mind kept bringing up Ron, and every time it did her temper flared wildly. Why had he snuck off to the abandoned third floor corridor? What was he doing there? And why didn't he tell her?! If he had, she could've been there to help him. But no… Ron had done what he always did, and that was to do everything alone. _Stupid git! Stupid, stubborn, goat of a git!_ Daphne pushed off her blankets and sat up, a deep frown etched on her face. Damn Ronald Weasley and his stupidity to oblivion! _Enough is enough._ Daphne jumped out of her bed, and then she tiptoed over to Pansy's bed. _I have to see him, at least one more time._

"Pansy…" Daphne whispered as she shook her friend lightly. Pansy released a tired moan and shifted in her sleep.

"Go away, mother" Pansy muttered in her sleep. "Let me sleep…" _Mother? Really?_

"I'm not your mother, Pans" Daphne frowned a little, and then she shook the girl again. "Please wake up, I need a favor." Pansy's eyes slowly opened, and the first thing she was Daphne's face mere inches away from hers. Pansy nearly squealed in fright, but Daphne put her hand over Pansy's mouth. "Pans, it's me. I need your help" Daphne whispered. Pansy muttered something into Daphne's hand, and Daphne felt the girl's tongue on her palm.

"Daphne, what's going on?" Pansy whispered as she took Daphne's hand off of her mouth. "Why are you standing over me in my sleep?"

"I want your help with something" Daphne smiled softly. "Please Pansy…"

"Okay…" Pansy nodded meekly. "What do you want?"

"I need you to turn me invisible" Daphne replied, and Pansy blinked at her. "That spell that Ron taught you all… I never learned it… We were fighting because I was being… stupid… And then everything with his parents happened… And I never got the chance to learn it." Daphne hated admitting that, but she needed Pansy's help right now. So she had swallowed her pride and spoken the truth.

"Why do you want me to turn you invisible?" Pansy whispered, but then she realized why. "No, Daphne. Absolutely not" Pansy hissed. "Are you insane?"

"I just want to see him… please" Daphne said as she sat down on the bed, and Pansy shifted to give her more space.

"Then see him tomorrow" Pansy whispered. "It's too dangerous to go out there alone, Daph. What if you get caught by the Professors? What if you get caught by the Heir?"

"I won't" Daphne promised. "I'll be really careful, Pans. I promise."

"Daphne…" Pansy stared right into Daphne's eyes. "Why are you doing this? What's so important about seeing him right in this moment? He's still…" Pansy trailed off. _She still doesn't want to think about it. But I can't stop thinking about it._

"Because I can't sleep…" Daphne whispered even more softly. "Because I can't stop thinking about him lying petrified in that bed… Please, I just need you to cast one spell… And then I'll be gone."

"It's a complicated spell, Daph" Pansy averted her gaze. "If I cast it, and then I lose my concentration, you will become visible again…"

"Oh…" Daphne muttered. "I didn't know that…" _I should have just learned it, but I was too busy being stubborn… and jealous. Jealous of the same girl that I'm asking help from._

"So you'll go back to bed?" Pansy asked with a sad smile. Daphne thought about it, and then she decided that she didn't care if she got caught.

"It's alright, Pans" Daphne whispered, and then gave Pansy an affectionate peck on her right cheek. "Go back to sleep…"

"Daphne" Pansy whispered as she rubbed the spot where Daphne had kissed her. "I know that you're still planning to go see him… Please don't do this."

"Once I get to the Hospital Wing, I'll be fine" Daphne said as she stood up. "I'll just sleep on one of the beds there."

"Pomfrey will kill you" Pansy whispered in a frantic manner.

"Goodnight, Pansy" Daphne whispered as she began to leave, but Pansy got out of bed as well.

"You're acting just like Ron" Pansy hissed, her eyes welling up with tears. " **You're** so selfish." Daphne was stunned by Pansy's sudden anger, and by her comment. " **You** only care about doing what **you** want, and **you** don't care about how it affects the rest of us. How could **you** be so stupid?" _Is she taking out her own anger with Ron on me?_

"Pansy…" Daphne tried to calm the girl down. "I'm not Ron…" Pansy blinked at that, and then her face twisted in pain. Daphne quickly hugged the girl, and Pansy started sniffling.

"Please don't do this" Pansy pleaded more desperately as she clung to Daphne. "The Heir could get you, just like they…" Pansy trailed off again. "Please don't go…"

"Okay, Pans" Daphne whispered. "I'll stay right here, I promise." _She was somewhat right, I think I was being selfish again… I guess Ron and I aren't so different._ Daphne slowly released Pansy, but Pansy immediately grabbed her right hand.

"Sleep with me?" Pansy asked meekly, and Daphne just nodded. Pansy quickly guided Daphne into her bed, and the two girls were lying down next to each other before Daphne could even process anything. "Don't go if I fall asleep first…" Pansy whispered as she shifted closer to Daphne.

"I won't" Daphne promised with a whisper. Pansy grabbed onto Daphne's hand tightly, almost as if to make sure that Daphne couldn't leave even if she wanted to. Daphne decided that it was rather sweet of her, and it showed just how much Pansy had changed. She used to be such a horrible girl, and now she was one of Daphne's favorite people.

Daphne lay awake in bed for almost an hour, and she listened to Pansy's shallow breathing. The raven haired girl was still holding onto Daphne's hand for dear life, but Daphne didn't mind. It felt nice. But more importantly, it made Daphne realize something. She had no right to be selfish this time around. Her friends were all in pain, just like she was. The boys had shut down emotionally, which wasn't surprising considering that's who they were. Pansy was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and she had spent the whole day in tears. Millie was letting her anger cloud her judgement, and she had already gotten into two fights since they found out about Ron. Tracey's emotions were shifting nonstop, and that made her entirely unpredictable. Tracey would be horribly sad one moment, and then she would start snapping at everyone around her the next.

All of them were failing to cope with Ron's petrification. Daphne herself was so angry at him that it even scared her. She was angrier with Ron than she was with the Heir. But maybe that was because Daphne suddenly felt the responsibility of the group shift to her shoulders for once. Someone had to keep them together now that Ron wasn't around, and Daphne decided that she had to be that person. Pansy shifted a little in her sleep, and Daphne just gazed at her sleeping face. The tranquil look on Pansy's face brought a small smile to Daphne's lips, and Daphne realized that this was more important than seeing a petrified Ron. She couldn't help him any further, but she could still help her friends. _We'll catch the Heir, Ron. And when you come back, everything will go back to normal. But I will never let you out of my sight again._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Ron kept walking through the open fields, he had no idea where he was or how he got here. All he knew was that he had to keep walking. A strange desire urged him forward, and he just kept walking. It had felt like days to him, and yet the Sun hadn't set once. No, the Sun was still shining down on him and this endless landscape. He felt tired, and hungry. His feet ached from the walking, and he felt more confused with each step that he took. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.

How had he ended up here? Why couldn't he remember anything besides the fact that he was Ronald Weasley? And where was he going? Ron shot quick looks around himself, and he sighed in defeat when he saw nothing but open fields. What was this place? It seemed almost familiar. _It's like I've been here before._ As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard children laughing in the distance. Ron looked around desperately, but he saw no one. And yet the laughter continued.

"Hello!" Ron yelled at the top of his lungs. "Is someone there?! I need help!" Laughter was his only response, and he felt a shiver run through him. _Where am I?_

"Ginny, you can't do that!" echoed Fred's voice, and Ron looked around again.

"Fred?!" Ron yelled desperately. "Where are you?!"

"I can do what I want" came Ginny's haughty voice.

"You're a girl" came George's voice. "Girls don't get to play with boys."

"I can throw a gnome too!" Ginny screamed. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"Maybe we should let her join us…" came Ron's own voice, but it sounded so young. And it sounded so… pathetic. _I remember this… I was seven years old when this happened. We were de-gnoming the garden, and Fred and George were competing to see who could throw their gnome the furthest. I wanted to play with them, and so did Ginny. They agreed to let me play, but they refused to let Ginny join in._

"Ugh…" Fred's voice echoed around Ron. "You're so pathetic, Ron! Why can't you just say no to her for once?"

"Because he's not a meanie like you!" Ginny yelled in his defense, and Ron smiled to himself. _Ginny was always tougher than me… At least in regards to the twins. But then again, they never pranked her. No… They only ever pranked me or Percy._

"Or maybe it's because he wants mum to finally notice him" George said with a mischievous snigger. Fred's voice joined in on laughing at him, and Ron sighed as he stopped walking.

"You two are the worst!" Ginny screamed, and the voices faded away. Ron was left standing in the open field by himself, the silence bearing down on him. How long had he been in this place? _I remember what happened next. Ginny told on the twins… And mum was livid. They wanted to get revenge on Ginny, but they couldn't prank her. So they gave me that Acid Pop as an 'apology'. And when it burned a hole through my tongue, they just laughed in my face. I was in so much pain… but they just laughed at me._ Ron began walking again, but this time he felt even more tired than before. Where was he going? How did he end up here? Ron suddenly heard a baby begin to cry, and his head perked up.

"Molly, dear" came his father's voice, it sounded relieved and calming.

"Dad?" Ron muttered, and then he looked around. He saw nothing but sky and grass.

"It's a boy, Molly" his father's voice echoed. "We have another boy." Ron listened intently, and then he heard a sniffle. "Molly, please don't cry."

"I'm sorry Arthur" his mother replied with a sob. "He's beautiful but… I just wanted a girl… They said that it was supposed to be a girl this time…" Ron's feet stopped moving on their own, and he stood rooted to his spot. _The twins were telling the truth?_ The sad part was that Ron wasn't even surprised, he had always known that his mother wanted a daughter. But instead she had gotten him… The sixth son. The useless son.

"They made a mistake…" his father's voice echoed, it sounded saddened. "But please don't take it out on him… He just came into the world…"

"I just need a minute… please…" his mother sobbed meekly, and Ron heard his father's footsteps walk away from her. Ron heard his mother sobbing quietly, and it felt like a knife had been twisted in his gut. His eyes burned as he bowed his head, even his birth had been a disappointment. He was ruining things before he was even born… His mother's crying faded away, and Ron started walking again. But this time his head was bowed, and he felt so weak and tired. And then the next thing he knew, he had fallen over.

Ron opened his eyes, and he immediately saw the ceiling of his room. He slowly got out of bed, and he looked around with a confused expression. He was in his room at the Burrow? Wasn't he just out in the fields? Ron slowly exited the room, and he heard his family downstairs. Ron walked down the stairs, and he saw them all talking happily to each other at the dining table. He smiled as soon as he saw them, even though he was hurting about what he had heard out in the fields.

"Ronnie!" Molly cooed as soon as she saw him, and she quickly walked up and hugged him tightly. "Happy birthday, dear." _Happy birthday? Is it my birthday?_

"Thanks, mum" Ron replied as he hugged her back.

"Come here, son" came Arthur's happy voice. "Sit with me for your special day. It's not every day that you turn eight years old!" Ron beamed at his father's words, and he quickly ran up and sat down next to him. Arthur ruffled his hair, and Ron found himself giggling. He had no idea that it was his eighth birthday today, but he was so glad that it was. His birthdays were his favorite days of the year, and it was because everyone showered him with attention and love. He felt like he was truly a part of this family during his birthdays.

"Happy birthday, Ron" his brothers all said together, and they were all smiling widely at him.

"Thank you guys!" Ron beamed as he looked around the table. _Is someone… missing?_ There was one empty chair, and Ron's head began to hurt the more he looked at it. _Whose chair is that?_

"Ronnie, are you alright?" came his mother's concerned voice, and Ron looked to her. She had a worried look on her face.

"Mum, whose chair is that?" Ron asked her as he pointed his little index finger at it. His mother looked to where he was pointing, and then she looked back at him in confusion.

"Ronnie, that's just a chair" Molly said softly. "It doesn't belong to anyone…"

"Really?" Ron asked, his head aching again.

"Of course, son" Arthur replied as he rubbed circles on Ron's back. _I could have sworn that chair belonged to someone…_ Ron looked back at the chair, and he suddenly remembered whose chair this was.

"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. "That's Ginny's chair! Mum, where is she?" His mother just blinked at him in utter confusion.

"Who's Ginny, dear?" Molly asked slowly, and this time Ron blinked at her.

"Ginny…" Ron muttered. "My sister…" Everyone on the table just stared at Ron, and he stared back at them.

"Son… You don't have a sister" Arthur said softly as he put a hand on Ron's left shoulder. "You're starting to worry us, Ron."

"Don't have a sister?" Ron asked in utter confusion. "Of course I do! Guys, tell them about Ginny." Ron looked to his brothers but they were just staring at him as if he had three heads.

"Ron's gone mental" Fred suddenly sniggered.

"Already was, brother mine" George sniggered as well.

"No, I'm not!" Ron exclaimed as he stood up from his chair. "That's Ginny's chair! Where is she?!"

"Ron…" Molly muttered.

"Son, please calm down" Arthur said with a shocked expression. "There is no 'Ginny'… Your mother and I would know if we had a daughter." Ron couldn't believe this! Was this some sort of joke?!

"This isn't funny!" Ron yelled, his voice was trembling slightly. "Where is my sister?! TELL ME!" Ron yelled at his father. His father's expression suddenly changed from being shocked to becoming deadpanned. Ron blinked at the sudden change, and he slowly looked around to see that the rest of the family had followed suit. "Mum? Dad?" Ron muttered, but they just stared at him. They were all just staring at him.

" _ **You surprise us, Champion**_ " came a horrifying voice from upstairs, and Ron began shaking immediately. _I know this voice…_ And then, it all came back to him. Every single memory and detail came back to him at once, and he felt the wind get knocked out of his lungs. _Ginny attacked me! She was possessed by the Heir! Fuck! And then, I got… I got petrified, didn't I?!_ Ron had to hold his knees to support himself, his breathing had become strained and shallow. But he stopped breathing when he heard footsteps coming from upstairs, someone was coming down. Ron looked to his family, but they were still just staring at him. Something was horribly wrong here, and Ron's instincts told him to run. And just as he was about to do that, Ginny walked down the stairs. Ron felt the blood drain from his face when he saw her. And then, she turned to face him. Ron went wide-eyed from fear as he gazed upon his little sister. Her eyes were blood crimson, and they resembled the eyes of toads. She smiled at him in a horrifying manner, and her sharp, dagger-like teeth made Ron's body quake from terror.

" _ **We meet at last, Champion.**_ "

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I know that many of you wanted to see the siblings' reactions, and I hope I delivered. Ron's friends also came to some realizations about themselves in this chapter, as well as dealing with their own grief in their own way. I know that many of you are probably hoping see more of Harry's reaction to this, and you will in the next chapter. He will now take on the primary role. Until Ron comes back, of course.**

 **Let me know what you all think.**

 **And see you all soon!**


	42. Chapter 42 - A New Alliance

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 42 is done and posted! It's 3 am, and my brain is cooked! But I really wanted to get this out by Monday morning.**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 42 – A New Alliance**

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Before Breakfast)**_

"I hope his family isn't there" Neville sighed as they made their way down from Gryffindor Tower. "I don't think I have it in me to face them, Harry." _Me too, Nev._ Recent events had been nothing short of tragic for Harry lately. Not only was his best friend petrified for being a Muggle-Born, but on top of that, Harry had to swallow the fact that he had been horribly wrong about Ron's character this entire year. Even just apologizing to him had been the hardest thing that Harry had to endure recently, but that was mostly because his guilt was burning a hole through his head the entire time. And much to Harry's surprise, Ron had accepted his apology and even apologized back. For a moment, Harry actually believed that they could be friends again. But then Ron was attacked as well, and now he was petrified just like Hermione.

"If they are there, then we need to apologize to them as well, Nev" Harry told his best friend. "We owe it to them… Especially me." _They gave me a home during the holidays, and I accused their son of being the Heir of Slytherin. Ron gave me a home for the holidays after he saved me from the Dursleys…_ The thought made Harry feel utterly ashamed of himself.

"I was the one who convinced you, Harry" Neville tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I should be the one to apologize to them."

"They gave me a home, Nev" Harry frowned at himself. "And I repaid them by accusing their son of being a potential murderer…" Neville didn't reply to that, and Harry knew exactly why. Neville wasn't the sort to make excuses when something went wrong, and they had both done a lot of wrong this year. They walked down to the Hospital Wing in silence after that, and Harry was glad that most of the students were still in their common rooms. He didn't have it in him to put up with their stares and glares right now.

The student body was now pointing the finger solely at Harry, especially after Ron's attack. Everyone knew that they were at odds, and Harry was now being accused of 'taking out the competition'. But Harry didn't even bother trying to deny it anymore. He just couldn't. He deserved this. He had pointed the finger at Ron when he was innocent, and now the others were doing that same thing to Harry. The Slytherins would glare at him no matter where he went, the Hufflepuffs would whisper behind his back when he passed them, the Ravenclaws would just stare at him like they wanted to study him, and the Gryffindors… The Gryffindors were becoming guarded and wary around him. They still defended him because he was one of their own, but he had heard people whispering when they thought that he wasn't listening. _Did Ron go through this as well after Neville and I accused him?_ That thought sent another strong pang of guilt through Harry's chest.

"Well… here we go" Neville sighed as they entered the Hospital Wing.

"Nev, you don't have to do this" Harry smiled softly at him. "We saw him yesterday…"

"No" Neville replied firmly, determination flickering in his eyes. "I have to do this. I have to see him again, and apologize… Even if he can't hear me." Harry didn't argue that, but he couldn't help but feel a little proud of Neville. Harry felt some of Neville's determination pass into him, and that comforted him. _I'm not alone. Neville will be right beside me._ They made their way towards Ron's bed, and Harry shot a quick look towards Hermione's. _I'm sorry I didn't listen, Hermione._ Neville opened the curtain covering Ron's bed, and Harry's stomach twisted at the sight of Molly Weasley sitting by Ron's side. The Weasley matriarch looked at the two boys, and Harry immediately saw that her eyes were puffy and blood-shot.

"Mrs. Weasley…" Harry managed to croak, and Molly Weasley gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Harry, dear" Mrs. Weasley greeted, her voice hoarse from crying. "Are you here to see Ronnie?"

"Yes…" Harry nodded as he stepped inside. Mrs. Weasley's polite greeting didn't sit well with Harry, why wasn't she mad at him? Why wasn't she yelling at him?

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley" Neville piped in, his previously firm voice was now shaking slightly.

"Hello, Neville" Mrs. Weasley replied with a weak smile. "Why are you two here so early in the morning?"

"We just wanted to see him… before breakfast" Harry answered. It wasn't a complete lie, but the full truth was that they wanted to see Ron before his family came to visit him. Both boys already felt that they didn't deserve to see him, and the last thing they wanted to do was intrude.

"I see…" Mrs. Weasley said as she looked back at her petrified son.

"We're sorry about what happened to your son…" Neville said in a cracked voice. "And we're sorry for our role in it…"

"Your role?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she looked back at them, she had a confused look on her face. Both boys shuffled their feet, and Harry mustered all of his courage.

"We accused him of being the Heir…" Harry managed, and his eyes burned because of the shame. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley… After everything you did for me… I'm so sorry…" His voice cracked a little at the end, and he had to sniffle to make sure that his nose didn't start running. Mrs. Weasley surprised both boys by quickly standing up and marching towards them. Harry felt his entire body tense at that, and it tensed even more as she engulfed them both in a tight hug.

"You two didn't do this to him" Mrs. Weasley whispered as she tightened her hug even more. "This isn't your fault." Harry was stunned by this, but then he slowly began to relax. He could feel Neville relaxing too, and Harry felt even more ashamed than when he first came in here. _Why is she being so kind? She knows what we did… She knows that we made things horrible for Ron._ Mrs. Weasley let them both go, and then she smiled at them weakly. "Thank you for visiting him, I know that he would be glad that you two came. And please don't worry too much, Ronnie will be up on his feet very soon."

"He will?" Harry asked her slowly. _How? The Mandrakes were burned down, weren't they?_

"Someone was kind enough to offer matured Mandrakes to the school" Mrs. Weasley replied, and something shifted in her eyes as she said it. _Who offered that? Probably a parent of the victims. Or maybe just someone who wants this to end._ The curtain suddenly opened behind them, and they all turned to see an older Slytherin girl walk in. She was incredibly pretty, had blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail, and she was carrying a vase with flowers in it.

"Apologies" the Slytherin girl said as she saw them. "I was just coming to drop off some flowers for Ronald." Harry, Neville, and Mrs. Weasley blinked at her. "They're from us sixth years."

"That's alright, please come in" Mrs. Weasley said after a second or two. The girl walked in and put the vase on the side table, and that's when Harry noticed all the other gifts by Ron's bed. _There's even more gifts than yesterday._ There were cards, gift-baskets, and a lot of sweets. This didn't surprise Harry too much, all the victims had received an extensive amount of 'get well gifts'. It was just jarring to see Slytherins acting like this. "Thank you for the flowers" Mrs. Weasley smiled at the girl. "They're lovely."

"You have my deepest sympathies, Mrs. Weasley" the blonde girl said in a kind voice. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call upon me and my friends." Harry and Neville just blinked at the older girl.

"Thank you" Mrs. Weasley smiled, but her surprise was evident in her voice. "And may I ask your name?"

"I am Carey Ductu" the girl introduced herself. "A Slytherin prefect, and a friend of Ronald's."

"A friend of Ronald's?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a murmur. "And how do you know my son?"

"We are both Slytherins" Carey replied calmly. "We are a very close house, and I have interacted with your son many times. He is quite brilliant."

"Th… Thank you…" Mrs. Weasley responded, she was clearly stunned by this encounter.

"I will leave you with him" Carey gave her a respectful curtsy. "And please remember my offer if you need anything." And just like that, Carey Ductu left. All three of them stood there quietly for a few seconds, but the silence was broken when the school bell rang.

"That's for breakfast" Neville said softly.

"Then you two should hurry along now" Mrs. Weasley smiled softly at them. As Harry and Neville were about to leave, Mrs. Weasley suddenly hugged them again. "Don't blame yourself for Ronnie, promise me."

"We promise…" both boys said together.

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast at the Sanctuary)**_

"No, Blaise" Daphne said with a scowl, and the other girls nodded with similar scowls.

"At least hear him out…" Theo sighed, he had expected this. _We should have told them about our plan to involve the Gryffindors last night. At least that way they could have thought about it._

"This is happening whether you like it or not, Daphne" Blaise told her in an aloof voice, and Daphne's face flushed with anger. _Not a smart move, Blaise._ They were all on edge after Ron's attack, but Blaise had become particularly cold.

"What Blaise means to say is that this is important, and you need to hear us out" Theo said with a frown pointed at Blaise.

"This is betraying Ron" Tracey hissed. "Those two turned their backs on him, and then they accused him of being the Heir… So no, we don't need to hear anything."

"This is what Ron wanted" Theo told her, and the girls blinked at him. "Before he was attacked, he talked to Blaise about this."

"It's true" Blaise joined in, though he sounded like he didn't want to. "We spoke alone in the Sanctuary, and he told me that he wanted to make peace with them."

"That's convenient" Millie frowned. "The fact that he only spoke to you about this."

" **Why** he chose to confide in only me is irrelevant" Blaise retorted. "All that matters is **what** he wanted to do, and I agree with him now."

"Now?" Pansy asked.

"I didn't agree with it then, but it's necessary now" Blaise replied as he mixed honey into his porridge.

"Potter is a Parselmouth" Theo told the group, and the girls looked at him like he was insane. _I don't blame them, even I have trouble believing it. Just how many fucking Parselmouths are running around Hogwarts right now?_

"A Parselmouth?" Daphne asked with a deadpan expression, and Theo nodded.

"The Sorting Hat told Ron" Blaise shrugged. "And I still believe that Parseltongue is the key to finding the Chamber. And since our Parselmouth is currently taking a nap…"

"Be careful, Blaise" Millie snarled as she cut him off. Blaise cocked an eyebrow at her, and then he sighed.

"Sorry, that was an unnecessary thing to say" Blaise rubbed his forehead with his left hand. "I'm just… I don't know."

"Angry at Ron?" Daphne asked, and Blaise nodded. "So am I… I think we all are." _You've got that right. Damn idiot kept sneaking off, but we never stopped him._ "But even if we're all angry with Ron, we can't fight amongst ourselves" Daphne said firmly, and then she shot Millie a quick look.

"Sorry" Millie apologized curtly.

"We have to stick together" Daphne told them. "Which means that we need to listen to each other… Even if we don't like it…" Daphne sighed out the last part.

"Daphne?" Pansy gasped. "You can't be serious? We can't trust those two Gryffindors, they'll turn on us like they did with Ron."

"Then don't trust them" Theo told her. "But trust us." Pansy's expression became a little subdued, and Theo nearly sighed in relief. _Pansy always thinks with sentiment, I shouldn't have even worried that it wouldn't work this time around._

"So Potter really is a Parselmouth?" Tracey muttered, and both Theo and Blaise nodded. "Merlin… Why is **he** a Parselmouth?"

"I've been thinking about that actually" Theo spoke directly to her. "We all know that the Dark Lord is a Parselmouth, right?" The group nodded together. "And then he attacked Ron, and now Ron is a Parselmouth too. Guess who else the Dark Lord attacked?"

"Potter" Tracey answered with wide eyes.

"Exactly" Theo said sharply. "Ron told us that the Hat told him that he was now 'connected' to the Dark Lord somehow. What if Potter is the same? What if they're both connected to the Dark Lord in the same way?"

"And what way is that?" Daphne asked, she had gone a little pale.

"I don't know…" Theo sighed. "But I'm going to try and look more into it. I get the feeling that this is important."

"Right now the most important thing is that we have the chance to recruit another Parselmouth" Blaise jumped in. "Ron understood the value in that, and he understood the value in having eyes within Gryffindor."

"Strategically speaking, this is a good move" Theo added on.

"And Ron is quite good at strategy…" Daphne said softly. "I'm in."

"Me too" Tracey sighed.

"I'm in as well" Pansy said in a sulky tone. "But if they try anything shady, then we need to agree right now that we'll get rid of them."

"I agree with Pansy" Millie said as she swallowed her bite. "Ron's only problem is that he trusts people too quickly, we can't afford to make that mistake."

"Then let's discuss what we're willing to share with them" Daphne said as she looked to Blaise.

"We need tell them about the Basilisk, and the way it travels around Hogwarts" Blaise said.

"And we might need to tell them about the attacks fifty years ago" Theo added.

"Do we tell them about the Dark Lord then?" Tracey asked. "I don't think that's a good idea, given Potter's history."

"Then we'll stick with the common knowledge on the matter" Theo corrected himself. "Myrtle Warren was killed fifty years ago, Hagrid the Groundskeeper was blamed, and the Chamber was never found. Everyone who has done any research into the matter already knows this, so we should be safe."

"One problem with all of this" Millie interjected. "How do we tell Potter that we need his Parseltongue ability? We only know about it because Ron told Blaise, and Ron only knew because he is friends with the Sorting Hat. I don't want to reveal that information about Ron to those two." _That is a good point, Ron would be so pissed if we revealed his secrets._

"We should just mention it off-handedly, I reckon" Pansy said. "Maybe we can hint that the Chamber can't be found by just anyone, and that we believe that someone has to be able to speak Parseltongue just like Salazar Slytherin could in order to find it."

"That's good, Pansy" Daphne smiled at the raven-haired girl. "Anyone have anything else to add?"

"What do we do if we find the entrance, or the Heir?" Tracey asked. "We know that we can't confront them, but those two are hot-headed Gryffindors… They'll want to take things into their own hands."

"If it comes to that, then I say we incapacitate them" Blaise answered. "Six against two are great odds."

"And after we do that, we go and tell Snape" Theo added on. "I'm not taking any chances with whoever this Heir is… They managed to overpower Ron, so I doubt that we'd stand much of a chance."

"Then it's settled, and we all agree on what we're doing?" Daphne asked, and the group nodded. "Okay then Blaise, set up a meeting."

"It's already set up" Blaise told her. "Today at lunch, in the courtyard."

"Open space…" Daphne nodded slowly. "And everyone will be at lunch anyway. Alright, then we'll meet Potter and Longbottom during lunch."

"This is going to be so awkward…" Tracey shook her head.

"Just don't hex them, and we'll be fine" Theo smiled at her, and she smiled back.

* * *

 _ **Molly Weasley's POV**_

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Hospital Wing)**_

Molly adjusted her son's tie, and then she pressed down his collar. She had been fixing up his robes over and over again, mostly because it calmed her down. She felt like she was back at the Burrow when Ronnie was still too young to dress himself. He'd just walk into her room naked, and then he'd give her an innocent grin and ask her to dress him. She was glad that he had gotten out of that habit, but it still brought a smile to her face. Ronnie was always the carefree type when he was still very young, but as he got older, he became more… reclusive. More distant.

It had started sometime after his eighth birthday. Sometime after he had exploded her entire kitchen with a burst of accidental magic. He began studying harder, began exercising every day, did all of his chores on time, and he even became more protective of his siblings. Especially Ginny. Molly knew that Ron always felt somewhat jealous of Ginny, and Molly also knew that she was to blame for that. Pandora had told her why Ron tried so hard in everything after she had struck him for attacking Harry, he just wanted to be appreciated. It had seemed so harmless at the time, spending all of her time with her only daughter. And so Molly had never once noticed that Ron felt neglected. But she knew now… And so she knew that she had to change.

The only problem now was that she didn't even know where to start with him. He was just too different from the boy that Molly had raised. But she promised herself that she'd try harder with him once he was awake. And now he'd be awake by the end of next week, and that was all thanks to Mary Greengrass. Molly still couldn't comprehend why that woman was being so generous towards her son, but that didn't mean that she wasn't grateful. She already planned to invite the Greengrass Family over for multiple dinners during the holidays, and Molly would try and learn more about her son's house.

That was another harsh truth that Molly had to cope with. She had been slapped awake by her son's situation, and she had been forced to witness just how much the 'snakes' cared for her son. Even now, different people from different houses dropped by with flowers, sweets, and other gifts. But the majority of the well-wishers were Slytherins. Particularly the older students. And mostly females ones at that. Molly almost chuckled when she thought about her son's many female admirers, he seemed to be taking after Bill and Charlie in that regard. _Must be his beautiful red hair, and his ocean blue eyes._

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't swayed by the support she had seen for her son. Maybe… Just maybe… She had been wrong this entire time. Maybe what Minerva had said truly held some merit. _The individual defines the house, and not the other way around. What if removing him from Slytherin is a mistake?_ Doubt gnawed at her mind, and she released a tired breath. _What do I do? Arthur is still adamant about removing him from Slytherin, but he hasn't seen what I've seen today. He hasn't seen how many people care for him._

"I'm sorry to intrude…" came a girl's voice, and Molly looked over to her with a smile. She had a brown complexion, and she was quite beautiful. _Another female admirer? Ronnie, you scoundrel._

"Please come in" Molly invited her in, her own voice made her cringe internally. It sounded so harsh, and worn out. The girl stepped inside and closed the curtain behind her. Molly noticed that she wore Ravenclaw colors, and that intrigued Molly greatly. "What is your name, dear?" Molly asked the girl.

"Padma Patil" the girl smiled at her, and then she pulled out a card from her robes.

"I'm Molly, Ron's mother" Molly introduced herself while the girl placed the card on the nightstand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Weasley" Padma said softly. "I'm sorry again for intruding, I just wanted to see him and drop off my card. Lunch is almost about to begin, and so I thought that I'd come in before his friends do."

"It's alright, dear" Molly smiled at the slightly flustered girl. "I see that you're from Ravenclaw." The girl smiled and nodded proudly at that. "I've seen a few Ravenclaws drop by already, and I was wondering if you could tell me why…" Padma became a little nervous at that, and Molly decided to push her a bit more. "I just want to know more about my son's school life…"

"I came here because he and I are friends…" Padma shuffled her feet, and Molly could see an adorable blush on the girl's cheeks. "The other Ravenclaws most likely came by because they like Ron…"

"They like my son?" Molly asked slowly. "But he's in Slytherin…" Padma adorned a guilty look at that, and Molly smiled at her. "It's alright dear, I too went to this school when I was young. I know just how much rivalry exists between the houses."

"They like him because he's not like the other Slytherins" Padma answered Molly's question. "He doesn't bully others, and he doesn't care about things like where you were born or who your parents are. And he doesn't care which house you're in either. And he works hard in his studies, and that's always a plus with us. Most of us can't even understand why he's in Slytherin, he seems more like a Ravenclaw to me." Padma had no idea that she struck an old nerve of Molly's, but the Weasley matriarch didn't even care. Padma's word had felt like a soothing balm on a new wound, and Molly smiled at the girl lovingly.

"How do you meet him?" Molly asked Padma, she was Molly's favorite female admirer so far.

"I first spoke with him at Neville's birthday party before second year started" Padma answered with a smile, and she took a seat by Molly. "I knew of him already, but we had never spoken before. When we met at Neville's party, he and I had a great conversation about our studies. Then school started, and he randomly approached me in Herbology one day. He wanted to be my partner because he didn't want to be paired with Draco Malfoy, which I can understand. That boy is so…" Padma trailed off.

"Anyway" Padma continued. "I agreed because he told me that he'd owe me one, but the truth is that I was more than happy to pair with him. I was just trying to tease him a little."

"What happened then?" Molly asked, she couldn't stop smiling as she heard Padma talk.

"We paired up, and then Professor Sprout came in" Padma giggled. "She took one look at him, and then she asked him why he was standing with the Ravenclaws. Ron replied that he was 'Promoting House-Unity', and everyone laughed their heads off." Molly let out a hearty chuckle at that, and Padma giggled some more. "After class ended, he asked me another favor."

"What did he ask?" Molly asked as she slowly stopped chucking.

"He wanted me to keep an eye on Luna Lovegood" Padma smiled. "He was worried that she might have trouble fitting in, and I decided in that moment that I wanted to be his friend. I think he's very sweet."

"He's always been quite protective of little Luna" Molly smiled in nostalgia. "He used to visit her a lot when he was younger, and Ginny always followed after him." Molly was about to ask more questions, but the school bell cut her off.

"That'll be for lunch" Padma smiled as she stood up. "It was lovely to meet you Mrs. Weasley, but I need to go now. We aren't allowed to roam the castle alone, and I should go and find my friends."

"It's alright, dear" Molly said in understanding. "Enjoy the rest of you day, and thank you." Padma gave her a strong nod, and then she left. Molly watched her leave, and she smiled at Padma's retreating back. _What a lovely girl._ Molly turned her attention back to her son, and she noticed that his tie wasn't perfectly in the center. As she began to fix that, she thought about Padma's words. Padma had called Ron a very different sort of Slytherin, and that had eased Molly's heart a little more. _I need to tell Arthur these things. I need to tell him what other people think of Ron. And I need to tell him that we might be wrong about our decision._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch – Courtyard)**_

"So we're just going to tell them everything we know?" Neville asked, he sounded unsure.

"Yes, Nev" Harry sighed. "Look, we don't have much information to share anyway. We know about Riddle's Diary, but that was stolen by the Heir. We know that the Heir is definitely a Gryffindor, and we know that Hermione trusted them. That's pretty much all we have to go on… So yes, we should share everything."

"I don't know…" Neville sighed as well. "What if they decide to withhold information?"

"Then we tell them anyway" Harry replied, and Neville blinked at him. "Catching the Heir is the most important thing here, Nev. I don't care if we're not the ones to do it, but if our information can help them, then we share it."

"Alright, Harry" Neville nodded. "And I guess we do owe Ron…"

"Exactly" Harry smiled at his best mate. "So play nice… Ignore their insults, and just share the information when they ask. With Dumbledore gone, the attacks are only going to get worse." _I still can't believe they outed him. What were they thinking? Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer of all time, and they sent him away? I'll never understand adults._ McGonagall was serving as the temporary Headmistress now, and she had announced Dumbledore's suspension at breakfast. _Ron's friends weren't at breakfast however, so I wonder if they know._

"Potter, you're here" came Blaise Zabini's voice from behind them. Harry and Neville turned to see Ron's friends coming their way, and they all held soft frowns. _Wish me luck, Ron._

"Zabini" Harry greeted him, and then he nodded at Ron's friends. Daphne Greengrass stepped forward and eyed Harry.

"We've decided that it's in all of our best interests if we all work together" Greengrass said, though she didn't seem very happy about it. "And so we're willing to put aside our grievances for the time being. Catching the Heir is the most important thing right now."

"I agree completely" Harry smiled at her, and she cocked an eyebrow at his smile. Harry quickly straightened his features, he didn't want to overstep. "Neville and I are willing to share all of our collected information, and we want to work alongside you. Just like Ron promised us."

"Sorry if we don't take your words at face value, Potter" Pansy frowned at him.

"Pansy, it's alright" Theodore Nott said. "Look, we get that this isn't easy. But we're willing to give it a shot if you are. But Potter, if you try anything shady…"

"Then we'll have problems" Millicent Bulstrode finished for Nott. Harry could feel Neville beginning to puff out his chest, so Harry decided to cut him off.

"The Heir attacked our friends" Harry said, he was hoping to remind Neville that they were doing this for Hermione's sake. "I won't try anything… And even if you don't want to let us help you, we'll share our information anyway. Greengrass is right, catching the Heir is all that matters. Things are going to get a lot worse now, especially with Dumbledore gone." Ron's friends all blinked at him.

"What are you on about?" Tracey Davis asked. _So they don't know. Why weren't they at breakfast this morning? No, Harry. Stop it. Don't ask unnecessary questions. It will drive them away._

"Dumbledore was suspended from his position as Headmaster" Neville replied. "It was announced at breakfast this morning, McGonagall is the new Headmistress. Temporarily, of course." Ron's friends all exchanged quick looks, and then they all nodded to each other. _That's it? That's their reaction to Dumbledore being outed?_

"Then we need to get started as soon as possible" Greengrass stated. "Meet us at the Black lake after classes end today."

"What about the curfew?" Neville asked her.

"Curfew doesn't start until six" Zabini answered. "Classes end at half past four, we'll have plenty of time to talk." And just like that, Ron's friends walked away. Harry let out a relieved sigh, they hadn't refused his help.

"That went better than we expected" Neville said softly. "Though I didn't like them calling you shady…"

"That's fine, Nev" Harry smiled softly. "What matters is that we can help them, and they can help us. We can go after the person who hurt Ron and Hermione." _And they'll pay when we find them._

* * *

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Black Lake – After Classes)**_

Harry watched as Neville attempted to skip stones on the water's surface. He was utterly horrible at it, and the stones would just sink straight away. They were waiting for Ron's friends again, and Harry pondered why they had chosen such a secluded spot. _They probably don't want to be seen with us. I guess that's understandable considering how much our houses hate each other. Not to mention the Heir. If the Heir found out that we were working together, then that'd be the end of this investigation._ Harry hated admitting this, but right now, he only trusted Neville. Harry even mistrusted some of the Professors. _Hermione trusted people, and look how that ended for her. I need to keep my mind sharp, and I need to find facts before I can determine who the Heir might be. I can't make another mistake like I did with Ron._

"Use rocks that are more flat, Longbottom" came Nott's voice, and both Gryffindors turned to see Ron's friends approaching. "It's easier to skip those."

"Thanks for the advice" Neville said in a deadpan voice, and Nott chuckled.

"Just trying to help" Nott smirked in an arrogant manner. Ron's friends all sat down near Harry, and Neville came over and sat down beside him.

"Why does this feel like we're having an affair?" Davis asked with a sly smile, and Harry saw Greengrass roll her eyes.

"And how do you know what having an affair feels like?" Nott asked her, and Davis winked at him with her sly smile in place.

"Can we please just get on with this?" Zabini frowned at them. "I just had these robes cleaned, and I don't want to be out here for longer than necessary." Harry thought that this was a rather girly thing to say, but he didn't say anything. _What kind of bloke worries about his clothes?_

"We're ready when you all are" Harry said firmly, and that got him a nod from Greengrass.

"Before we start this" Greengrass said coldly. "We need to lay down some ground rules."

"Ground rules?" Neville asked with a furrowed brow.

"That's what she said" Pansy frowned at him.

"What kind of ground rules?" Harry asked as he ignored Parkinson.

"First of all, everything we talk about stays between us" Greengrass said, and Harry nodded. "Secondly, if we find the entrance to the Chamber, or find out who the Heir is, we go straight to Professor Snape."

"What? No" Neville refused, and Harry sighed. _Neville hates that git, and so do I._

"You aren't making the rules here, Longbottom" Bulstrode said in a threatening tone. "We are. You can either take it or leave it."

"Why Snape?" Harry asked Greengrass.

"Because we trust him, and because he is our Head of House" Greengrass replied calmly.

"What about McGonagall?" Harry asked. "We can trust her too."

"That's reasonable, Daphne" Zabini interjected, and then he turned to Harry. "You will inform McGonagall, and we will inform Snape. Is that fair?"

"Thank you" Harry smiled softly at the dark-skinned boy, but Zabini cocked an eyebrow at his smile.

"Thirdly" Greengrass spoke. "Under no circumstances are we to confront the Heir. They are extremely dangerous, and definitely out of our league."

"But there's eight of us…" Harry said slowly. "We outnumber them eight to one…"

"They overpowered Ron" Nott sighed. "And you of all people should know how strong Ron is." Harry blinked at that, and he remembered what Ron had done to him. _They make a good point, even if it's a bit cowardly._

"Alright, no confronting the Heir" Harry agreed.

"And what if they confront us?" Neville asked.

"Then begin praying to Merlin" Davis said in a humorous tone. "And then run away screaming."

"Are you serious?" Neville blinked at her, and she smirked at him.

"Usually, no" Davis replied. "But in this instance, yes I'm serious."

"And lastly" Greengrass went on. "Under no circumstances are either of you allowed to separate. Stick together at all times, and make sure no one is following you. We will do the same."

"Alright, we agree to your rules" Harry nodded. _I was expecting harsher rules, but these are all just safety concerns._

"Good" Zabini said. "Make sure you stick to them. Now, let's discuss what we know."

"Alright" Neville said, and then he looked to Harry. _Why do I have to keep talking? Whatever…_

"Do you want us to go first?" Harry asked, and Nott shook his head.

"We'll go first" Nott said, and Harry blinked at that. _They want to share their information first? Why?_ "Think of it as an act of good-faith."

"Okay" Harry nodded.

"We know what the monster of Slytherin is" Parkinson said, and both Gryffindors went wide-eyed. "It's a Basilisk, the King of Serpents."

"Oh Merlin…" Neville muttered as he paled.

"So it's a snake?" Harry asked, he didn't know anything about what a Basilisk was.

"Not just any snake, Harry" Neville said softly, he looked terrified. "My Nan told me that they are the most dangerous creatures known to Wizard-kind… They can grow up to fifty feet in length, and one look from them can outright kill you."

"Or petrify you, if you see their eyes through a reflection of some sort" Bulstrode added on.

"Every victim saw them from a reflection of some kind" Nott told them. "Except Filch's cat. The cat saw the monster's eyes, and it died outright. Colin Creevey saw it from a camera, Finch-Fletchley saw it through Sir Nicholas' ghost, your friend Granger must've seen it in a reflection…" Harry suddenly cut Nott off.

"She was found on the fifth floor" Harry told them. "And there are a lot of shiny armor-sets where she was found. That's why she must've been petrified…"

"I didn't know that a Basilisk could petrify you" Neville sighed.

"Well it can" Davis shuddered. "And Ron…" she suddenly trailed off, and then she restarted. "Ron saw it while he was running away from the Heir…"

"His posture indicates that he was trying to stand back up" Zabini said in a hollow tone. "So we think that he must've seen the reflection of the Basilisk on the wet floor."

"Wet floor?" Neville asked.

"That brings us to the next part" Greengrass sighed, she looked quite upset suddenly. _Is she dating Ron or something? I've always wondered… They are awfully close to one another, even I can see that._ "Every single attack has left the scene of the crime wet."

"She's right…" Neville muttered. "Remember Mrs. Norris, Harry? How we all slipped and wondered why the floor was wet?"

"Well, here's the answer to that" Greengrass said. "The Basilisk is moving around Hogwarts through the pipes."

"The pipes…" Harry all but whispered, something had just clicked in his head. _That voice in the walls. That must've been the Basilisk! And that's why only I could hear it. It's a giant snake, and I can speak to snakes. Just like Slytherin could… It all makes sense._

"Which leads us to believe that the Chamber is connected to the plumbing system of Hogwarts" Bulstrode said softly. "Ron actually figured that out…" Harry smiled softly as he heard that. _Of course he did._ Harry didn't know why he felt proud of Ron for figuring that out, they weren't even friends anymore.

"Have they never renovated the plumbing system?" Neville asked. "Surely they would have found the Chamber if they did."

"That's exactly why we believe that the Chamber can't be found by just anyone" Parkinson said firmly. "We think that only an Heir of Slytherin can find it… Someone who speaks Parseltongue, that is." _Parseltongue? That's what Xenophilius called it in Dumbledore's Office. Snake language…_

"And if, hypothetically, someone could speak Parseltongue" Harry started. "How would they find the Chamber?"

"We don't know" Nott sighed.

"I guess they could just speak it?" Davis shrugged. "And then it might just open…"

"So it's like an activating ward?" Neville asked. "Our mansion's floo network can only be accessed if a Longbottom Family member speaks the address."

"I keep forgetting that you're a wealthy Pure-Blood, Longbottom" Nott said with a smirk, and Neville frowned at him.

"Not all of us care about things like Blood-Status, Nott" Neville retorted.

"Stop it" Greengrass said firmly. "We're allies right now, and fighting amongst ourselves will only help the Heir." Harry couldn't help but feel impressed with her. _I didn't really think that she was this… tough. She seems like she's in charge with Ron gone, which is something that I would have never expected._

"Theo, stop provoking others" Zabini said in a disinterested tone, and Nott chuckled.

"Sorry" Nott responded. "Old habits die hard."

"Moving on" Greengrass said as she frowned at Nott. "That's everything we have on the Chamber and the Heir that's relevant. Your turn, Potter."

"Alright then" Harry said as he shot a look to Neville, and Neville nodded. "We know that the Heir is in Gryffindor…"

"What?" Parkinson asked with wide eyes. "How did you know that?"

"Wait, you already knew that?" Neville asked her, both Gryffindors were equally shocked.

"We weren't sure" Nott corrected them. "But we were sure that the Heir wasn't in Slytherin. So how do you know that the Heir is in Gryffindor?"

"Hermione…" Harry replied slowly. "She believed that the Heir was in Gryffindor… And after she was attacked, McGonagall asked us why she was exploring the castle alone at the crack of dawn. And then she asked us if Hermione had any friends that she trusted enough to roam around with. Besides us, that is."

"So Granger was onto the Heir's house?" Zabini asked, and Harry nodded. "Clever girl…" Both Gryffindors blinked at that. _Did he just compliment a Muggle-Born witch?_

"And they probably overheard her talking to us" Neville pointed out. "That's why she was targeted, I reckon."

"Wait…" Nott said, and Harry looked to him. Nott's brow was furrowed, and he looked like he was thinking really hard. "You said that McGonagall wanted to know if Granger trusted anyone in your house enough to roam around with at the crack of dawn…"

"Yes" Harry nodded. "That's why we started suspecting the Heir to be in Gryffindor. I think they approached Hermione, and then they lured her out. After that, they attacked her." Harry felt his blood boil at that. _Damn coward._

"Merlin…" Nott muttered, and everyone looked to him. "What if Ron wasn't just exploring the castle? What if the Heir pulled the same stunt with him?"

"You think that the Heir lured Ron out?" Greengrass asked slowly. "Which Gryffindor could lure out both Granger and Ron?"

"You know who…" Nott said cryptically. "I'm telling you, she's the fucking Heir of Slytherin." _She?_

"Nott, who are you talking about?" Harry asked him quickly.

"It doesn't matter who he's talking about, because he's wrong" Bulstrode frowned.

"Oh c'mon!" Nott exclaimed, he sounded frustrated. "Who else could lure Ron out? Ron?! You know him, right? He's the most secretive and paranoid person that we've all met. And yet he lets his guard down and gets lured out?"

"Who is he talking about?" Neville asked Greengrass, and she sighed.

"Theo believes that Ginny Weasley is the Heir" Greengrass answered, and Harry and Neville just stared at Nott.

"Ginny?" Harry muttered. "The Heir?"

"Are you insane?" Neville asked Nott.

"I'm starting to believe him" Davis piped in, and everyone turned to her. Nott looked both grateful and smug at the same time. "We all know that Ron has a blind-spot where his sisters are concerned. So it would make sense that he trusted her enough to walk into a trap. As for Granger… Well she seems like the trusting sort. Potter, how was her relationship with Ginny?" _Is she serious?! This is just stupid._

"They got along fine" Harry answered honestly. "Hermione really wanted Ginny to like her, and she tried hard to be her friend. At least in her own way…"

"She told Ginny to do her homework constantly" Neville added in a deadpan voice. The Slytherins all blinked at that.

"Hermione can be… odd" Harry said lamely. "But she means well. And she wanted to be Ginny's friend."

"Was it because Ginny is Ron's sister?" Greengrass asked with a dark look, and Harry gulped.

"Um… I don't know…" Harry said slowly. "Whatever her reasons, she trusted Ginny..." _Is Greengrass angry with Hermione about this?_

"See!" Nott exclaimed again. "They both trusted Ginny Weasley, and she lured them both out in order to attack them."

"Nott…" Harry sighed. "That's insane… Why would she attack her own brother?"

"Exactly" Bulstrode jumped in. "And how would she overpower Ron as well?"

"Look" Nott frowned. "I don't have all the answers, but what I do have is a strong basis for my suspicions. And since we now have Gryffindor allies, we can do something about my suspicions. Potter and Longbottom can ask around about her."

"And what if she is the Heir?" Zabini asked. "And she catches them snooping around her? They'll get attacked as well, and we'll lose our advantage."

"But at least we'll know for certain" Nott smirked.

"Hey…" Harry frowned at him, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Look, we can ask around… But I'm still not sold on Ginny being the Heir. It's too… too absurd."

"Well, there's no harm in looking" Davis said casually.

"Not for you maybe" Neville sighed. "But if she is the Heir, then we'll be in serious trouble."

"Then don't get caught" Parkinson frowned. "And this way, we can at least rule her out as a suspect. Even if it is a really ridiculous guess."

"It's not ridiculous…" Nott frowned. "Look, just ask around about her. How she's been acting, if she disappears, what her friends think of her, etc."

"And if we don't find anything?" Neville asked. "Then what?"

"Then we go back to narrowing down our list" Greengrass answered. "The fact that we know that the Heir is a Gryffindor helps us quite a lot."

"A Gryffindor who is trusted by both Ron and Hermione" Harry added, and Greengrass smirked a little.

"Exactly" Greengrass responded. "It's only a matter of time before we figure out who it is."

"Alright, we'll look into Ginny tonight" Neville said, though he sounded unsure about this. "What are you lot going to do?" The Slytherins exchanged quick looks, and they seemed to come to some agreement. _How do they talk without talking?_

"We want to examine all of the places where the attacks happened" Zabini replied. "But we can't do that tonight… The curfew starts soon, so we'll be doing that tomorrow. And since tomorrow is Thursday, we have two free periods in the morning. That's when we'll be looking around to make sure that we didn't miss any clues."

"Then we should meet up in the courtyard at lunch again" Neville suggested, and the Slytherin nodded. _This is going really well! They must really want to find the Heir, and I can understand why. I feel the same way, and so does Neville._

"Alright then" Harry said as he stood up, and everyone followed suit. "Do we have anything else to discuss?"

"No" Greengrass replied. "We'll go back first, and you two can follow after five minutes. We shouldn't be seen together." Harry and Neville both nodded at that. "Good luck, and don't get caught." The Slytherins left right after that, and both Gryffindors relaxed considerably.

"That went… well" Neville whispered softly.

"Yeah, it did" Harry smiled. "And we all learned something new, which is great." Harry turned to Neville and he saw that his friend looked… conflicted. "Nev, what's wrong?"

"I… I don't know" Neville gave him a tired smile. "I expected them to be…" Neville trailed off.

"Nasty?" Harry provided, and Neville nodded. "They want to avenge their friend just like we do…" Harry turned to the lake, and he thought about their words. _They said that the Chamber might only reveal itself to those who speak snake language, but they have no clue that I can. Even Neville and Hermione don't know that I can._ Harry felt his gut twist at that realization, maybe he should've stepped forward sooner. But the truth was that he was scared of the fact that he could speak with snakes. He had only done it once, but when Xenophilius had mentioned that Salazar himself could talk to snakes as well, Harry had panicked. _Was the Hat right in trying to sort me into Slytherin? No! No, I'm a Gryffindor. And I need to come forward… For Hermione, and for Ron._

"Neville" Harry said softly, and then he turned to face Neville again. "I need to tell you something, and I need you to promise that you won't get scared…"

"What is it?" Neville asked, he looked quite concerned suddenly.

"I… I can talk to snakes…" Harry muttered, and Neville just blinked at him.

* * *

 _ **February 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower)**_

"Do you see her?" Harry asked Neville. They were currently sitting in the common room, and they were trying to see if Ginny was in the room.

"No, I don't" Neville frowned. "I still can't believe that we're looking into Ginny Weasley…"

"Nev, we gave them our word" Harry responded. "We have to do this… Not to mention that it could help clear her name."

"I've heard that before…" Neville muttered. "That's what I said after I convinced you two to look into Ron…"

"That was different" Harry quickly told Neville. "With Ron, we broke so many rules. We put people in danger with our Polyjuice Potion stunt… Right now, all we're doing is having a look."

"Okay…" Neville sighed, he didn't sound convinced. "I still don't see her… Yeah, she isn't here. Maybe she's in her dorm."

"You see that girl?" Harry jerked his head towards a first year Gryffindor girl. She had thick glasses on, short brown hair, and she was reading a book. "That's Matilda Steward… She's Muggle-Born, and she's in Ginny's class."

"And therefore she shares her dorm" Neville put two and two together.

"Let's go and ask her if she's seen Ginny" Harry said. "And we can then ask her how Ginny acts around them." The two boys got up, and they walked over to Matilda Steward. The girl didn't even notice them as she was completely absorbed by her book. "Hello, Matilda" Harry greeted her, and she looked up and went wide-eyed.

"You're Harry Potter" Matilda gasped, and Harry forced on a smile. _Trust me, I wish I wasn't._ "And you're talking to me…"

"I am, can we sit with you?" Harry asked her, and she nodded fervently. Harry and Neville sat down with her, and Harry noticed that her cheeks had gone completely red.

"We just wanted to ask you some questions" Neville smiled at her. "Is that alright?"

"Questions?" Matilda asked meekly.

"It's alright" Neville quickly assured her. "You're not in trouble… We're worried about a friend of ours, and we were hoping to ask you how she's doing."

"Oh…" Matilda said as she relaxed. "Okay then, you can ask me some questions."

"We wanted to talk about Ginny" Harry told her, and Matilda suddenly adorned a guarded look. "Her brother was just attacked, and we're worried about her."

"I see" Matilda smiled softly. _Good, that worked. For a second I was worried that she was going to clam up._ "Ginny's a little odd, but I don't know her that well."

"Have you seen her recently?" Neville asked, and Matilda shook her head.

"She was in classes" Matilda replied. "But after classes ended, I haven't seen her."

"She didn't come back to the dorms?" Harry asked.

"No… She tends to disappear all the time, so I don't think that's too odd" Matilda replied honestly. _She disappears? Now that I remember it, Ron yelled at her for it at the start of the year._

"She disappears often?" Neville asked with a concerned look.

"Yes, she does" Matilda shrugged. "I think she spends most of her time in the library. But now that I'm thinking about it… She stopped disappearing for a while…"

"Could you please elaborate on that?" Harry smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"After Yule break ended" Matilda replied. "She became… different. She began laughing more, she started spending time with us, and we even became friends. Before the Yule Break, she was quite reclusive. She didn't even give us the time of day, and she was always writing things down in her Diary." _Diary?_ Harry and Neville exchanged quick looks, and Harry saw the panic in Neville's eyes.

"Her Diary?" Neville asked, and Matilda blinked at him. "Was it the black leather one?" _There's no way it was the same Diary._

"Um… Yes" Matilda replied slowly. _Oh my God…_ "She always had it with her, and she was constantly writing in it. We noticed her doing it quite often, but we never questioned it… Most of us have diaries. But Ginny did write in hers a lot, however she stopped after the Yule Break…" Matilda frowned to herself. "I think she wanted to spend more time with people than with her Diary." Harry had to pinch his own leg in order to keep his head clear, his mind was thinking things that were scaring him.

"And now she's writing in her Diary again?" Neville asked slowly, and Harry knew that Neville was thinking the exact same things as him.

"No, actually" Matilda sighed. "But she has been quite cold towards us for the last week or so… I just don't get that girl. Did that help?"

"Yes, it did" Harry managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Matilda."

"No worries" Matilda replied with a blush.

"Don't tell her that we were worried about her" Neville requested. "She is kind of stubborn, and she'd get angry with us."

"Okay" Matilda smiled at him. "I won't say anything, but I think it's really sweet that you two are worried about her." Harry and Neville left Matilda to her book, and they hurried over to their previous spots.

"Harry? Please tell me that you're thinking what I'm thinking…" Neville said, he had gone slightly pale in the face.

"I am…" Harry muttered as he sat down. "Ginny's Diary… might be **the** Diary. But what role does it play in all of this?"

"Maybe it showed her how to find the Chamber?" Neville guessed.

"It was empty…" Harry sighed. "We checked, remember? And Hermione did so many spells on it… We found nothing wrong with it." _But we never wrote in it… Maybe that was the difference? Ginny wrote in it… But why couldn't we see her writing? Agh! This makes no sense._

"We still have to tell the others" Neville said with a firmer voice. "They need to know about T. M. Riddle's Diary."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Free Periods – Morning)**_

They were all currently waiting in the common room because they had decided to wait until morning classes were truly underway. It would be much easier to explore the crime scenes without any intrusions. But Daphne just wanted to get started because she was sick of waiting, she wanted to get her revenge already. But Blaise had insisted on waiting, and everyone else had agreed with him. That meant that Daphne couldn't refuse, and it was driving her insane. It was so difficult to keep everyone happy and focused, especially when she was constantly doubting her decisions. She made sure that no one saw her doubt, but she knew that it was there. _How does Ron do it so easily?_

The more she thought about that, the more she realized that Ron never **acted** like a leader. He simply did what he wanted to do, but he did it in a way that meant getting the best outcome for everyone involved. Ron made it look easy because he wasn't even doing it. He didn't see himself as a leader, he saw himself as their friend. Daphne thought that was really sweet, but she also knew that it was naïve. Every group needed a leader, and every group need a chain of command. Otherwise there would be anarchy… Everyone always thought that their ideas were best, and that meant that a leader was needed to find the best outcome. Ron filled that role without even trying, and he managed to do that because he **did** want what was best for them.

All in all, Daphne couldn't wait for Ron to be back. It had only been a day since she decided to take the reins, but she was already sick of it. Blaise's cold indifference was extremely vexing, Theo's arrogance and smugness pissed her off, Tracey constantly making everything into a joke irritated her, Pansy's sulky behavior was difficult to cope with, and Millie's insistence that they take on a more aggressive stance against the Heir made no sense. _How does he put up with all of this?! It's been one day, and if Theo acts all high and mighty again, I'm going to bite him!_ Daphne had never thought about their personalities as a leader-figure before. They were all so different, and yet with Ron around, they all worked like clockwork.

And before Ron, they had Draco Malfoy as their leader. Malfoy actually saw himself as a leader however, a very superior leader. Malfoy thought himself their better, and yet they had chosen to ignore his behavior. They didn't really feel like a united group under Malfoy, at least that's what Daphne thought anyway. Malfoy bossed them around, and they had slowly just started to stop thinking that that wasn't a good trait.

Pansy was completely spineless back then, and she just mimicked Malfoy in the hopes that he'd notice her. Theo and Blaise were like Crabbe and Goyle, except they had brains in their heads. Millie was exactly like Crabbe and Goyle, except she was a girl. And Daphne… Daphne was just cold to everyone. It was her way of protecting herself. She never felt right in that group, but she knew that this was her lot in life. Where friends were concerned anyway. She believed that it was better to be cold than to show weakness… That's what her father would do. _But now it's all different. Now we have Ron with us… That is if his parents don't take him away._ Daphne frowned deeply at that thought, what was going to happen then? Would she have to keep being 'in charge'? Or would they slowly go back to being who they were?

"Daph?" came Pansy's voice, and Daphne looked to her. "Is everything alright? You look quite annoyed about something."

"Everything is fine, Pansy" Daphne lied. "I just want to get started already." _I even sound like Ron right now. He always says that he's fine when we can all see that something is bothering him, and now I understand why. The leader can't be weak. If the leader is weak, then everyone else is weak._

"Me too" Pansy gave her a comforting smile. "All this sitting around is really annoying, and I just want to catch the Heir already."

"All in good time" Daphne said, even though she completely agreed with Pansy. _But acting rashly will cause us more problems than it will solve._

"Oh shite…" came a whisper from Theo. "Malfoy is walking over to us…" Daphne looked to where Theo was looking, and she saw Malfoy walking to them with a smug smile. His two bodyguards were grinning creepily, and Daphne strengthened her resolve. _Take charge Daphne, and don't show any weakness._

"Good morning you lot" Mafloy greeted them, and everyone looked to him with calm expressions.

"Good morning, Malfoy" Daphne greeted him back, and Malfoy looked to her. _Good, now he knows that he's dealing with me._ "Can we help you with anything?"

"No, I just wanted to say hello" Malfoy replied. _Say hello? Or weasel your way back in?_ "Hello, Pansy" Malfoy looked to Pansy.

"Hello, Draco" Pansy replied, and Daphne frowned internally. _She just gave him an opening by using his first name._

"How are you doing?" Malfoy asked Pansy with a smile.

"I'm fine…" Pansy replied. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great, Pans" Malfoy replied, and Daphne saw Pansy's cheek redden a little because of the pet name. Daphne also caught Blaise's eye, and he jerked his head towards Malfoy. _He wants me to interfere?_

"Malfoy, what do you want?" Daphne asked in a cold tone.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright" Malfoy lied arrogantly. "And I wanted to make peace with you all."

"Then wait until Ron is back" Tracey jumped in with a bitter tone.

"Oh, right" Malfoy nodded slowly, his smirk still in place. "I forgot that he got petrified…"

"Be careful, Malfoy" Mille snarled as she stood up, and Malfoy's gorillas glared at her.

"You should be careful too" Malfoy said with fake concern. "I wouldn't want you lot to get attacked by the Heir of **Slytherin** as well."

"Thank you for the concern" Daphne said coldly, she didn't miss his implication when he emphasized 'Slytherin'. "But we can look out for ourselves."

"Maybe you should act on your own advice, Malfoy" Theo said with a smirk.

"I'm always careful, Theo" Malfoy retorted.

"You've said your piece?" Daphne asked, and then she quickly followed that up with dismissing him. "Good, now leave us." Malfoy flushed a bit at that, and Daphne smirked slightly. She knew exactly where to press in order to annoy him; his massive ego.

"I see that Weasley's taught you his manners…" Malfoy said bitterly. "I came here to make peace, and you don't even have the decency to negotiate with manners."

"We know what you wanted" Daphne said as she stood up, and she looked right into his grey eyes. "Don't try and outwit us, Malfoy. Unlike Ron, we understand how Pure-Blood politics work. You come here when Ron is missing, and you start looking down on us… Don't even bother trying to deny it. And we've heard enough. Now leave." Malfoy and Daphne just stared at each other, neither of them backing down. And then, Malfoy smiled cruelly.

"I hope the Heir realizes that you lot are no better than Weasley" Malfoy said in a venomous tone. "And that they put you down, just like they put him down." Daphne clenched her jaw at that, and she could see that Millie was seconds away from attacking Malfoy. _We can't get into trouble yet, we need to check the attack sites._

"Are you done?" Daphne asked in a cold tone, and Malfoy just kept smiling. "Leave."

"You let her be in charge, Blaise?" Malfoy suddenly asked as he turned to Blaise. "Her? Really? The Blood-Traitor's slag?" Daphne was just stunned by his remark, but before anyone could say anything, Pansy stood up and slapped Malfoy so hard that the sound echoed throughout the room. Everyone was left in dead silence, and they just stared at Pansy's flushed face. Even Blaise had lost his disinterested look, and he was just staring with wide eyes.

"Get out…" Pansy hissed, her face contorting in anger. Malfoy just stood stunned in his spot, his left hand covering his left cheek. "Leave us alone!" Pansy suddenly shrieked at him. Malfoy's face went from surprised to hateful immediately, and he just glared at Pansy.

"Your parents should be ashamed of themselves for raising someone like you" Malfoy said in a hateful voice, and then he turned around and stomped away. His gorillas followed after him, and the three boys disappeared into boys' dorms. Everyone just stared at Pansy for a few seconds, and when Daphne noticed that Pansy was about to start crying, she immediately moved over to her.

"Pansy, it's alright" Daphne said softly, and Pansy started sniffling. "Please don't cry… That's what he wants." Unfortunately, that didn't work and Pansy started crying softly. The boys looked extremely uncomfortable at that, and Daphne let out a soft sigh. "Theo, Blaise… can you guys go ahead please? We'll join you on the first floor shortly" Daphne told them, and both boys nodded and left. _Boys…_ Daphne didn't miss that Pansy shot a quick look towards Blaise as he left, and that made Daphne frown internally. _Maybe I shouldn't have sent them away._

"Pansy, sit down with me" Tracey said as she moved closer to where Pansy was sitting before. Pansy sat down, and she kept crying. Millie and Daphne kneeled in front of her, while Tracy put an around her shoulders and shushed her softly. Pansy managed to calm down within a few short minutes, and Daphne felt that she could now thank the crying girl.

"Thank you, Pansy" Daphne smiled Pansy, and Pansy sniffled. "You didn't have to do that for me…"

"Yes, I did" Pansy said stubbornly, her voice cracking a little. "He took it too far…"

"Well, thank you for that" Daphne said softly.

"And good job" Tracey said humorously. "That was the greatest thing that I've ever seen." Pansy let out a small laugh at that, but it sounded more like a wet cough. _At least she's smiling now._

"I'm with Tracey" Millie joined in. "If we ever get into a fight, I want you watching my back."

"Okay…" Pansy said with a smile and sniffle. "We should go and join the boys."

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, I'm fine now" Pansy rubbed her eyes clear. "I don't want to waste any more time."

"Alright then" Daphne smiled at Pansy. _Definitely not spineless anymore. No, now she's braver than most._ The girls walked up to the first floor in silence, mostly because they didn't want to think about their recent run in with Malfoy. And if they just talked like nothing had happened, well that would just feel fake and unnatural. So they stayed quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. When they finally saw the boys, the silence was broken.

"This is where Mrs. Norris was attacked" Millie said in a sad tone.

"Yeah" Theo said softly. "She was left hanging on that torch" Theo said as he pointed it out. "It's definitely low enough that a first year could reach it." _At least they're not bringing up Malfoy, though I suspect that it's for the wrong reasons._

"And Myrtle's ghost was attacked in her bathroom just down the hallway" Tracey said as she looked in its direction.

"We already checked it out" Blaise told them. "Her ghost is still in there…"

"Merlin" Daphne sighed. "Why would they just leave her there?"

"She's already dead" Theo said coldly. "And it is her bathroom."

"Theo, that's a horrible thing to say" Tracey frowned at him.

"Well, it's the truth" Theo shrugged. "There is literally nothing to be found here, so let's go up to where Finch-Fletchley was attacked." They all went up to where the Hufflepuff boy was attacked, and this time they had to sneak around a little bit. There were classes in progress, and they didn't want to get caught sneaking about.

"This is where Potter found Sir Nicholas and Finch-Fletchley" Daphne said as she remembered Ron getting roughed up. That brought a frown to her face, and she cursed the idiots who had started yanking him around.

"I'm going to go to the loo really quickly" Pansy whispered to Daphne, and Daphne nodded.

"I'll join you" Daphne said, and then both girls went to the girls' bathroom that was just down the hallway. They missed Blaise looking at them both leave with his eyebrows furrowed. Once they were inside, Pansy quickly looked in the mirror and gasped.

"I look horrible" Pansy fussed as she began swatting her hair in place. "Oh, my eyes are so puffy… Why didn't you all say anything?!"

"We didn't want to worry you" Daphne smiled sheepishly. "Well I didn't, I don't know about Millie and Tracey."

"The boys saw me look like this" Pansy frowned as she freshened up her appearance. _The boys, eh?_

"Which boy are you worried about more, Pansy?" Daphne teased, and Pansy turned around and huffed at her.

"Both of them" Pansy said stubbornly.

"Both boys?!" Daphne laughed. "Pansy, that's really naughty." Pansy's face went crimson at that.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Pansy exclaimed. "Ugh… Could this day get any worse?"

"Don't tempt fate" Daphne chuckled, and then she walked over to Pansy. "Here, let me help." Pansy stood still while Daphne dabbed her eyes with a wet handkerchief. _She's wearing light make-up. Maybe I should start wearing light make-up too. I bet Ron would like that._

"Don't ruin my make-up" Pansy warned her.

"I won't, now stop talking please" Daphne said as she lightly cleaned Pansy's eyes. "There, they don't look as puffy anymore."

"Thank you, Daph" Pansy sighed as she looked back in the mirror. "Ugh… I hate my nose…"

"Why?" Daphne asked as she looked at Pansy's button nose. "I think it's a really cute nose."

"I like your nose better" Pansy sighed.

"My nose is a little too long" Daphne frowned at her reflection. _I have my father's nose._

"No, it isnt" Pansy gave her a deadpan look. "You know who has a long nose?"

"Who?" Daphne asked.

"Ron" Pansy giggled, and Daphne couldn't stop her own giggle.

"It is a bit big, isn't it?" Daphne smiled. _But I still like it._

"It matches his face, but mostly because he's taller than most boys in our year" Pansy smiled. "How tall do you think he'll be once he's fully grown?"

"I don't know" Daphne shrugged. "If he keeps growing at the rate he is, I'd say around six feet? Maybe a little more?"

"Um… Sorry to interrupt" came Tracey's voice, and both girls turned around. "But Theo and Blaise are getting restless, and Blaise told me to tell you that he thinks that you should 'gossip like a couple of fishwives in your own time'." Daphne and Pansy both frowned deeply at that.

"He's such a…" Pansy fumed. "Such a…"

"Arsehole?" Tracey provided, and Pansy nodded firmly. "That he is, but in this instance, he's right. We don't have time to waste, so let's go already." Daphne and Pansy followed Tracey out, and they both frowned at Blaise when they got there. But Blaise had a distant look on his face, and he ignored the girls. That seemed to annoy Pansy a lot more than it should, and Daphne could take a guess as to why. They then went up to the abandoned third floor corridor, and Daphne had fight to keep it together.

"This is where Ron was attacked…" Tracey said in a meek tone.

"So he gets lured out" Theo said, though he was talking to himself. "He meets the Heir, and then he… He must've figured out that this was a trap. Why else would he fight back?"

"Theo?" Millie asked, and he shushed her.

"I'm trying to make a mental image of the situation" Theo told her. "So he figures it out, and he fight the Heir… He begins losing, and the Heir manages to hit him a few times. That would explain the bruises and the cut lip. But he gets away, and he tries to run. Somehow he gets knocked over, and then he sees the Basilisk's reflection."

"The floor was already wet then?" Daphne asked, and Theo frowned.

"He didn't know that the Basilisk was out here" Blaise frowned as he looked in the direction of a close-by bathroom. "So he might've been in one of these abandoned classrooms."

"If I were to ambush someone, I'd choose the classroom at the end of the hallway" Theo said, and then he began marching towards it. Everyone followed after him, and they all entered the classroom. It was dusty, and it looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"Everyone span out and look around for anything that's out of place" Daphne said, and they all separated. Daphne looked by the door, and she narrowed her eyes at everything. But her eyes shot open when she saw a small dark red smudge on the inside of the entrance door. Daphne walked closer to it, and her skin crawled when she realized that it was blood. _Ron's blood…_ It was just a tiny smudge, but it made her feel lightheaded. _This is where he was attacked… And where he fought off his attacker all by himself…_ She wanted to hurt the Heir so much in that moment that it scared even her. Daphne took a step back, and she noticed some dried up drops of blood on the floor by her feet. Daphne just stared at them, her head swimming a little. This is where her friend was attacked.

"Daphne? Did you find something?" Tracey asked softly as she walked up to her. Daphne just pointed to the drops of dried up blood by her feet, and Tracey went wide-eyed. "Oh Merlin…" Tracey muttered.

"Guys!" came Millie's voice, and they all turned to her. She was standing in the far corner of the room, and she was holding a very familiar wand in her hand. "This is Ron's…" Millie then walked up to Daphne, as did the rest of them. They all huddled in a circle, and Millie showed them Ron's wand.

"So this is where he was attacked by that fucking cunt" Theo frowned. No one told him off for his language, they could all understand his anger because they felt it too.

"They never checked this room?" Pansy asked softly. "Why?"

"Probably because they found him outside in the hallway" Blaise guessed. "They probably assumed that he was attacked outside, and that he never came in here."

"And they were probably in a rush" Tracey added. "They did find him right before dinner started, McGonagall cancelled it last second remember?"

"I found some blood too…" Daphne said softly. "By the door, that is. It's probably his…" Everyone just stood there with grim looks, and a terrible silence fell upon them. Daphne wanted to kill the Heir so badly right now, and that scared her. _Ron killed that Mountain Troll back in first year, and he didn't even bat an eye. I want that right now. I want it so that I can use it when I find this Heir._

"Let's go" Blaise broke the silence. "We have one more place to check out, and none of us want to be in here anymore." They all nodded and began making their way up to the fifth floor.

"Here, Daph" Millie said as she handed Ron's wand over. "You should return this to him when he comes back." Daphne gave her a weak smile, and she took the wand. It felt cold in her hands, almost as if it was dead. Daphne put the wand next to hers in her inner robe pocket. Her anger with Ron had begun to subside as she thought about why he was there. He was lured out… He had trusted this person, and they had abused his trust. And then he had fought back, but he was left petrified. _He probably figured out that they were the Heir, which means that he knew that the Basilisk was coming for him. He must've been so scared. But even as he got petrified, he didn't show it._

"I'm guessing that this is where Granger was attacked" came Theo's voice, and Daphne was ripped out of her thoughts. _We're already here?_ Daphne looked around, and they were in a hallway with a bunch of knight armors.

"I never thought that I'd say this…" Pansy said softly. "But I feel really bad for Granger… She trusted this person, and they attacked her…"

"She probably saw the reflection off of one of these armors" Tracey said. Daphne looked around, and she saw Blaise looking off in the distance. He held a dead serious expression, and he looked like he was quite annoyed.

"Blaise?" Daphne called out to him, and everyone looked to him.

"There's a bathroom right at the end of this hallway, isn't there?" Blaise asked, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Yeah, a boys' bathroom" Theo answered.

"Four bathrooms…" Blaise said as he adorned a contemplative look.

"What do you mean by 'four bathrooms'?" Daphne asked him.

"I first noticed it when you and Pansy went to the bathroom" Blaise said softly. "Every single place where an attack happened had a bathroom close-by."

"Oh fuck…" Theo muttered, and everyone looked to him.

"Exactly" Blaise frowned, he looked quite angry. _What's going on?_ "We are so fucking stupid!" Blaise exclaimed, and the girls flinched a bit. "The Chamber is connected to the plumbing system, and we never thought to check out any of the bathrooms! Dammit!" The girls just stared at Blaise, and Daphne slowly put it all together.

"No wonder no one saw that thing" Theo shook his head. "It has multiple ways to leave the Chamber, not just the entrance to the Chamber. We assumed that it just used the pipes to move around, but we never even thought about where it would exit from. We just assumed that the entrance was its only way of entering the school."

"Every bathroom is an exit point for that thing?" Tracey muttered as she went pale.

"Oh Merlin…" Pansy whispered. "I am never going to use another loo in this school again…"

"The entrance has to be in one of the bathrooms then" Daphne said quickly.

"Exactly" Blaise responded. "Which means that we need Potter in order to find it."

"Then let's go to every bathroom with him at lunch" Millie suggested.

"Not every bathroom" Theo corrected her. "Just the four where the attacks happened."

"We have you now, you bastard" Blaise said, and they all smiled in excitement.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Courtyard – Lunch)**_

"How do we even start explaining the Diary to them?" Neville sighed. "Not to mention the fact that we lost it…"

"We didn't lose it" Harry corrected Neville. "It was stolen from us."

"By Ginny Weasley…" Neville chuckled dryly. "This is such a damn mess… And none of it makes any sense." _I couldn't agree more, Nev._

"Once we tell the Slytherins, we should look for more proof" Harry suggested. "We know that Ginny has a black leather Diary, but we don't know for certain if it's **the** Diary. We can't make random accusations… again…" Neville nodded fervently at that.

"They're coming over" Neville said as he looked over Harry's shoulder. "And they seem to be in a rush…" Harry turned to see all six Slytherins coming over with a quickened pace.

"What happened to you guys?" Harry asked, half of it was from concern and the other half was from curiosity.

"We think that we may have figured out where the entrance is" Greengrass said quickly, and both Gryffindors went wide-eyed. _Are they serious?!_

"What?" Harry mumbled.

"But it doesn't matter because we need a Parseltongue to open the entrance" Nott frowned. "So we're going to have to just tell the Professors our best guess, and hope that we're right." _Best guess…_

"And what if you're not?" Harry asked slowly. _I need to step forward. I should step forward._

"Well, we don't have a choice" Davis sighed. "We have four guesses, and we are just going to have to roll the dice with them."

"What if you didn't need to roll a dice?" Neville asked suddenly, and then he looked to Harry with a serious expression.

"What are you on about?" Zabini asked slowly. "Potter, what's he on about?" Harry looked at Neville, and his best friend gave him a firm nod.

"I can… I can speak to snakes" Harry said as he mustered his courage, and the Slytherins just blinked at him.

"What?" Millie asked.

"Are you serious?" Davis asked with a deadpan expression.

"Potter, Parseltongue is hereditary" Parkinson stated with a frown. "How would you even have that ability?"

"It's the truth" Neville frowned at them all. "Harry, show them like you showed me." Harry suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. _Thanks for putting me on the spot, Neville… You arse._ The Slytherins just stared at Harry, and Harry cleared his throat.

"My name is Harry Potter" Harry said.

"That was English…" Nott stated as he just stared at Harry, and Harry's cheeks burned from embarrassment. _Neville, I'm going to kill you!_

"Harry, try again" Neville said as he patted Harry's back in an encouraging way. Harry drew in a sharp breath, and he tried again. _C'mon, I can do it._

"My name is Harry Potter" Harry hissed, and the Slytherins went wide-eyed.

"What the fuck?" Nott muttered, and Harry knew that it had worked.

"How's that even…" Parkinson muttered.

"Potter, how can you speak Parseltongue?" Greengrass asked with a shocked expression.

"I don't know…" Harry replied truthfully. "I only know that I can…"

"Where do you think the entrance is?" Neville asked quickly, an excited smile on his face.

"The four bathrooms near all the attack sites" Zabini replied, but he kept his eyes on Harry. "Let's go to them now…"

"Alright" Harry replied, both Gryffindors had completely forgotten about the Diary. _They found the entrance, that's brilliant!_ Harry would be lying if he didn't admit that he was impressed with Ron's friends. They were certainly a capable lot, and that was hard to admit.

"The first place is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom" Greengrass told the Gryffindors. "We'll work our way up from there." They all quickly rushed to the bathroom, and once they entered it, Harry immediately saw Myrtle floating around. She was black and smoky, and Harry felt his stomach twist a little at the sight of her terrified face. Myrtle was annoying, but this was just cruel.

"Now what?" Neville asked as he looked at Myrtle. "Poor Myrtle…"

"I know right…" Bulstrode said, and then her cheeks reddened when she realized that she had just agreed on something with a Gryffindor.

"Potter, say something in Parseltongue" Nott told him.

"Open up" Harry decided to say, and all the Slytherins frowned at him. "English?" Harry smiled sheepishly, and he could see Davis fighting to not laugh. Even Greengrass and Parkinson looked a little amused with his sheepish smile. "Open up" Harry hissed, but nothing happened.

"Well, now what?" Neville sighed, and then a sudden creaking sound made him yelp. Every single head shot towards the sinks, and they all saw a white light come out of one of the taps. They all stepped back slowly, shock etched upon their faces as they saw the tap begin to spin. And then, the sink began to move forward silently. And it then sank into the bathroom floor, revealing a pipe that was wide enough for a man to slide into. All they could do was stare at the entrance with dread, but then Nott suddenly broke the silence.

"I don't know about you lot" Nott muttered. "But I think that we should get the fuck out of here…"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

"You… You're…" Ron struggled to mutter, his throat had closed up. "You're the Entity…" Ron managed to say as he pointed a shaking finger at 'Ginny'. His 'sister' grinned and looked at him hungrily, and her dagger-sharp teeth made Ron's knees weak.

" _ **At long last, we finally meet one another**_ " the Entity spoke, there was a certain malice in its tone that wasn't there before.

"Where am I?" Ron asked as he started to back away slowly. His entire body was shaking from fear, and he just couldn't stop it.

" _ **You are in the deepest recesses of your own mind, Champion**_ " the Entity answered as it slowly took a few steps forward. It eyed Ron in a manner that made his skin crawl, and Ron's instincts told him to run. He shot a quick look towards the door leading out of the house, and the Entity noticed where he was looking. Neither of them said a word, but Ron knew that the Entity was waiting for him to make a move.

Ron took in a slow breath, and then he bolted for the door. The Entity put its right hand up and snapped its fingers, and Ron's 'family' exploded into meaty chunks. Ron screamed in surprise as he was completely covered with his own family, and he lost his footing and landed on the floor with a strong thud. Ron immediately jerked his head up and looked around the room, and it was painted crimson with blood, guts, and jagged bones. Ron felt soaked, and that feeling made him gag hard. He gagged over and over again, but nothing came out. When the Entity started laughing in its terrifying voice, Ron let out a strangled scream.

"Fuck!" Ron screamed as he tried to stand up, but the floor was slippery and he fell back down. Ron landed right in front of what was left of one of his siblings, and his eyes burned with tears of fear. The Entity kept laughing, and Ron got up with a running start. He stumbled to the door, and he flung it open in a mad panic. He didn't even wait to see where he was stepping, and as soon as he stepped out of the house in a hurry, he realized that his feet didn't make contact with any ground. But it was already too late, and now he was falling straight into a dark abyss. Ron screamed at the top of his lungs as he fell deeper and deeper, and then… Darkness.

* * *

Ron woke up, and the first thing that he noticed was that he was in pitch black darkness. For a few seconds, Ron actually contemplated if he was still asleep, but then he remembered what had happened. Ron stood up slowly, and he looked around. His breathing was shallow, and he was starting panic.

"HELLO?!" Ron yelled, and his voice echoed. "IS ANYONE THERE?! HELP ME!" Ron was met with nothing but his own voice, and he put his hands on his head as he cussed under his breath. _Where the fuck am I?!_ Ron then realized his head was dry, and so he felt the rest of his face and body. _I'm completely dry…_

" _ **Champion, finally you are awake**_ " the Entity's voice echoed, and it sound so much worse because of the echoing. And then, thousands of crimson toad-like eyes appeared around Ron.

"Fuck…" Ron muttered with a horrified expression as he looked all around him. They were everywhere, all different sizes, and they all held a certain bloodlust and malice in them. "Where am I?"

" _ **We have already told you where you are**_ " the Entity spoke, and Ron heard it growl as it finished. Ron swallowed slowly, and then he tried to stand up straighter. His body felt tense, and it quaked slightly from fear and adrenaline.

"Why am I here?" Ron asked after a few seconds, and then he looked around at the terrifying eyes encircling him.

" _ **We decided that it was time to finally speak with you**_ " the Entity replied. " _ **Your weakness can no longer be tolerated**_ _ **.**_ "

"My… my weakness?" Ron muttered.

" _ **You showed mercy to the Lord of Serpents**_ " the Entity growled, and Ron's ears rang a little.

"Lord of Serpents? What does that even mean?" Ron asked.

" _ **You had them both in your grasp, Champion. And you let them go.**_ "

"Ginny…" Ron gasped as he figured out what the Entity was referring to. He had taken her and her possessor off-guard, and he had bound them with an ethereal serpent. But then… Then he had panicked. It was his little sister staring back at him, and that's all that he could think about. "I couldn't hurt her…" Ron whispered. "I couldn't…"

" _ **WEAKLING!**_ " the Entity bellowed, and Ron screamed in pain as his eardrums burst. Ron keeled over and screamed again, but he heard nothing. And then, the pain just stopped. " _ **Get up, you insect**_ " the Entity commanded, and Ron slowly stood up. He was literally shaking from fear at the realization that the Entity could hurt him in this place.

"My ears…" Ron muttered meekly, were his ears healed?

" _ **So weak**_ " the Entity said in utter disdain, its voice drilling itself into Ron's head. " _ **You are a disgusting, ugly little creature.**_ " Ron flinched at its words, and his eyes burned. He felt so… small… and scared…

"What do you want from me…?" Ron cried softly.

" _ **Your death would satisfy us the most**_ " the Entity hissed, and Ron's face contorted as he let out a whimper.

"Please don't kill me…" Ron managed to cry out, why was this happening to him? What did he do to deserve this? "I've done nothing to you…"

" _ **You have done us nothing but ill your entire life**_ " the Entity replied.

"I don't… I don't understand…" Ron sniffled. "I've done nothing… I swear…"

" _ **We should skin you alive**_ " the Entity said in low, menacing tone. " _ **But that would change nothing for us. We would still remain trapped within this never ending cycle.**_ "

"Trapped?" Ron asked as he rubbed his eyes. "What do you mean by… trapped?" Ron sniffled loudly. "And what cycle? I don't understand…" Ron was met with silence, and he stared at the eyes around him. "Talk to me! Tell me what you mean!" Ron shouted in frustration, but he was met with more silence. "Just give me the fucking answers I need! What are you?! Where did you come from?!"

" _ **There exists a**_ _ **dominion of creation so far beyond your Universe, you cannot even imagine it. We are beyond your comprehension. We… are the Eyes of the Void.**_ " Ron went dead silent at the Entity's response, and he waited for more but nothing came.

"What is your name…?" Ron whispered.

" _ **We have many, but you cannot understand them. Your meager mind cannot even begin to grasp their meaning.**_ "

"What are you? And what do you mean by beyond my Universe?" Ron asked desperately.

" _ **That is all irrelevant, all that matters is your success. It is the only way for us to finally be free of you.**_ "

"What the hell…?" Ron blinked, this was making him even more confused. "You want me to succeed in saving Fred?"

" _ **We care nothing for your kin, Champion. Our goal is the destruction of the Lord of Serpents. That… is your true purpose.**_ "

"Lord of Serpents…" Ron muttered. "The Dark Lord?"

" _ **A pathetic, toothless worm that claims immortality. As if he could even comprehend such a thing**_ " the Entity said with utter hatred.

"You hate him, don't you?" Ron asked softly.

" _ **Almost as much as we hate you, Champion.**_ " Ron flinched at that, and he tried to steady his breathing.

"Is that why… why you tried kill me?" Ron asked as he remembered his scars. "Because you hate me…"

" _ **Yes, and we succeeded in taking your life.**_ " Ron's eyes widened at that.

"What?"

" _ **We attempted to kill you, and the parasite that clung to you. But he escaped, and you succumbed to your wounds.**_ "

"Then how am I… alive?" Ron asked as he looked around with wide-eyes.

" _ **We managed to pull your soul back into your body**_ " the Entity replied.

"Why? I thought you wanted to kill me?" Ron asked. "And how can you even do something like that?"

" _ **If you had died, the cycle would begin again. Your death would have achieved nothing, and so we intervened. You now exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it.**_ "

"So you're going to kill me?" Ron asked, his eyes beginning to sting again.

" _ **Not yet, but eventually. When you have served your purpose, we will make sure to end you. Nothing will save you from us. Not even Her.**_ "

"Her?" Ron sniffled, it was taking everything in his power to not cry. He was only twelve, and he didn't want to die. Especially because of something that he didn't even understand.

" _ **We grow tired of your never ending questions, and your sniveling, pathetic demeanor. This exchange… is over.**_ "

"Wait!" Ron shouted. "You can't just leave me in this place! The Heir is going after my friends! You have to do something!"

" _ **Must we?**_ " the Entity asked in a terrifying growl, and Ron paled.

"Please…" Ron begged. "They don't stand a chance… Please…"

" _ **Consider this your punishment then**_ " the Entity responded. " _ **Your friends will pay for your weakness, and when you find yourself knee deep in their blood, you will know who is to blame.**_ " And then, the thousands of eyes closed, and Ron was left standing in pitch black darkness. Ron put his hands over his head as he let out whimper.

"No… no, no, no…" Ron whimpered. "Let me out, please. I need to help them… I need to help Ginny…" Ron's crying echoed throughout the darkness, but his prayers fell on deaf ears.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I know many of you were looking forward to this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Ron finally learnt a little more about the Entity, and the Entity's purpose is somewhat revealed. Please let me know what you think!**

 **See you all soon!**


	43. Chapter 43 - The Heir

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 43 is finished, and posted! YAY! This was a fun chapter to write, that's all I'll say! Now a quick couple of things.**

 **1\. To those who are wondering why the Entity revealed it's plans to kill Ron, it's quite simple. It believes that that will motivate Ron to seek it's favor. To beg to be spared. What the Entity doesn't understand is that Ron is a child. And that children don't have the mind to handle such things. Just as Ron can't comprehend the Entity, it cannot comprehend human beings. It's far too different from them, and to it, they are like ants. And when has any person tried to grasp how an ant's mind works? (Wait, bad example. People study ants as a job... You get what I mean!)**

 **2\. The time-line has moved up quite a bit than in canon in regards to Tom. This is mostly due to the massive changes brought about by Ron, but you all saw how it all came down to this!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 43 – The Heir**

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Myrtle's Bathroom – Lunch)**_

"We just found the Chamber of Secrets…" Davis muttered, she had gone completely pale.

"We need to leave right now" Nott said firmly. "Potter, close the Chamber." _Why? We can end this right now._

"We can end this right here and now" Harry told them, and the Slytherins all looked to him.

"We had a deal, Potter" Greengrass frowned. "Close the Chamber right now."

"Harry…" Neville said softly as he nudged him. "We should tell the Professors about this. If there really is a Basilisk down there, then we don't stand a chance." Harry clenched his jaw, and then he nodded. He just wanted to finish this, but everyone else was right. It was too dangerous…

"Close" Harry hissed, and the sink came back out of the ground. It slid back into place, and then the tap spun in opposite direction. The entrance was once again sealed away. "Now what?" Harry asked.

"Now we leave this place" Nott said as he moved towards the exit. "We wait until classes end for the day, and then we go to the Professors."

"Why are we waiting for so long?" Harry asked in frustrations. "We need to tell them now!"

"Calm down, Potter" Zabini frowned at him. "We can't play our hand too soon. Once classes have finished, we will tell our respective Heads of Houses. And we will tell them everything… How we found it, how we worked together, how you spoke Parseltongue to open the Chamber, and what lurks within the Chamber. We can't rush this, do you understand?"

"What if the Heir attacks someone in that time?" Harry asked.

"That could happen" Greengrass sighed. "But if we give ourselves away, the Heir will escape. It's a risk we have to take." That pissed Harry right off, didn't they care if someone got hurt?

"How can you think like that?" Harry asked the Slytherins, and they all blinked at him. "Someone could die, but you only care protecting your own interests."

"What did you say?" Nott glared at him. "You only found the Chamber because of us, you arrogant prick."

"But Harry is the one who opened it" Neville glared back at Nott.

"Because we showed him how" Parkinson retorted. "We had a deal, Potter. And you better honor it…"

"Our deal isn't as important as people…" Harry growled. "The Heir could kill someone in the time it takes for us to move against them." _For a moment there, I actually forgot that they are Slytherins._

"And what you're suggesting gets more people hurt" Nott snapped, and Harry blinked at him. "Think about it logically, Potter. We go and tell the Professors everything, and as a result of that, they are forced to cancel classes for the day while they investigate. The Heir realizes that something is amiss, and in a desperate move to save themselves, they lash out. Forget the fucking Basilisk, the damn Heir will become a loose-cannon. How many people will get hurt if the Heir feels cornered?" Harry just stared at Nott as he thought about his words, they made a lot of sense.

"Stop being so self-righteous" Greengrass said venomously. "We want the Heir caught just as much as you, but we are using our logic over our emotions."

"You mean being cold" Neville retorted.

"Call it whatever you want" Bulstrode said in a threatening tone. "But if being cold means that we succeed in catching the Heir with limited casualties, then so be it."

"Don't fuck this up for us" Zabini said firmly. "Or the Heir will be the least of your worries." With that, the Slytherins all left the bathroom. This left behind Harry and Neville, and both boys just stood there quietly.

"Nev, what do we do?" Harry asked softly after a few moments. He wanted to act on this now, but what the Slytherins had said made a lot of sense.

"I… I don't know" Neville sighed. "It feels wrong to just go to class and pretend that we never saw this… But what if they're right? What if the Heir figures out that we found the Chamber?"

"What if they attack someone anyway?" Harry turned to Neville, and he saw that his best friend looked extremely conflicted. "What if we wait around, and the Heir manages to kill someone this time around?"

"We made a deal…" Neville sighed, and Harry blinked at him.

"Aren't you on my side?" Harry asked slowly. "You stood up to them when we argued…"

"I did" Neville nodded. "You're my best friend, Harry. So of course I stood by you… But I think that we should give their plan the benefit of the doubt…" Harry was shocked to hear this, did Neville just agree with the Slytherins over him? "They want to catch the Heir just as much as we do, you said that yourself. And we know that the Heir isn't stupid. If we go and raise alarm bells, the Heir will figure it out. Harry… They could escape from the school if that happens. Or worse, they'll start attacking the students. But with their plan, the chance of that happening isn't as high. With their plan, we could catch the Heir unawares."

"Alright, Nev…" Harry said softly. "We'll do it their way…" The words felt like ash in his mouth, and the fact that Neville agreed with them over him hurt him a little. But Harry decided to trust in Neville's judgement. "Let's go to lunch…"

"Harry, don't be like that" Neville sighed.

"Don't be like what?" Harry asked, his voice came out sharper than he had anticipated.

"Like that" Neville frowned. "I'm not saying that you're wrong, Harry. I'm just asking you to follow my lead for once. We gave Ron our word that we'd work with him, but he's not around anymore. His friends decided to give us a chance because that was his last request to them, and we agreed to their rules… I just… I don't want to let him down again…" Harry just stared at Neville, and he felt a strong pang of guilt. _Neville is still hurting about what happened with Ron, which is why he wants to give Ron's friends a chance._

"Alright, Nev" Harry forced on a smile, and Neville gave him a guilty smile in return. "We'll wait… We'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Just like we should have done for Ron."

* * *

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (End of Potions Class)**_

Potions had been particularly terrible today. Snape was angry about something, and he made sure that the Gryffindors knew it. In between his constant abuse, Snape also forced every Gryffindor to try Harry and Neville's Hair-Raising Potion. The results were terrible, and the Slytherins had laughed their heads off. Every Gryffindor was left with spiky straight hair that was as hard as stone. This had left the girls mortified and in tears, much to Snape's delight. Neville had gone into a depressed state due to the Slytherins laughing at him, and the Gryffindors glaring at him.

But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part about attending Potions with the Slytherins was the fact that Harry had to keep his mouth shut about the Chamber. It felt like he was sitting on a time-bomb that was about to go off any second. He couldn't help but shoot looks towards Ron's friends, and their calm demeanor almost drove him mad. How were they so relaxed?! It was like they didn't even care! All Harry could think about was the Heir prowling the castle, looking for their next victim. What if it was someone they knew? What if was that Matilda girl? It had been too much to deal with, and Harry had ruined his and Neville's potion. Something that Neville had payed the price for.

"I want three rolls of Parchment about this Potion on my desk by Monday morning" Snape said in a low voice, his disgust with his class apparent to all. _What his problem today? He's such a git!_ Seamus groaned at the massive amount of homework, and Snape clenched his jaw. "Make that four rolls of Parchment. Get out of my sight." The class didn't make a peep as they started leaving, but Harry could see everyone glaring at Seamus. _Snape is such a tosser. Why is he even allowed to teach here?_ As they made their way out, Harry noticed Ron's friends slowing down. Harry shot a quick look to Greengrass, and she gave him a small nod. _Alright, let's do this._

"Nev, let's go straight to McGonagall's Office" Harry whispered to his best mate, and Neville nodded. Both boys made their way up with the other Gryffindors, but they veered off when they reached the first floor. McGonagall's Office was to the right of the spiraling staircase that led up to the third floor. Once they reached it, they knocked on the door. When no response came, Harry knocked again.

"She's not here" Neville frowned, his spiky hair made him look ridiculous. "Now what?"

"I don't know" Harry sighed. "Maybe she's in her classroom?"

"Mr. Potter? Mr. Longbottom?" came McGonagall's voice, and both boys turned to see her walking up to them. Her lips were pressed tightly together, as always, and she was carrying a lot papers. "What are you doing here? And what happened to your hair?" The boys moved out of the way as McGonagall opened her Office door and stepped inside.

"Professor Snape's class" Harry muttered as he followed her in. "Our potion didn't come out right…"

"I see" McGonagall said as she dropped the heavy stack of parchments on her desk, and then she turned to face them. "Now, what can I do for you?" _Guess it's time to set that bomb off._

"Professor" Harry started, and then he drew in a sharp breath. "We found the Chamber of Secrets." McGonagall just started at him, and then she blinked.

"Mr. Potter, if this is some stunt…" McGonagall started, a deep frown appearing on her face.

"It isn't, Professor" Neville cut her off in a desperate voice. "We can show you where it is! Please believe us!" McGonagall looked stunned at that, and then she slowly leaned against her desk.

"Start talking you two" McGonagall ordered, Harry had never seen her look so serious before.

"We've been working with the Slytherins… Ron's friends" Harry started, and McGonagall's mouth slightly parted in surprise. "They've been looking into who the Heir could be, and so have we. After Ron was attacked, we started working together. And together, we found the Chamber. We also know that the monster of Slytherin is a Basilisk, and that it moves around Hogwarts using the pipes." _Wow… That's actually all of it, isn't it? Oh, wait!_ "And we think that Ginny Weasley might be the Heir." An extremely uncomfortable silence hovered over them all, and Harry just stared at McGonagall's shocked face.

"Mr. Potter…" McGonagall muttered. "Have you lost your mind?" Harry frowned a little at that.

"Please, Professor" Neville jumped in. "We are telling you the truth, we swear it. The Slytherins are currently telling Professor Snape the same thing."

"They are?" McGonagall asked slowly. "And why were you two looking for the Chamber? You are only second years" McGonagall frowned deeply.

"The Heir attacked our friends" Harry replied firmly. "And we want to stop the attacks against the Muggle-Borns."

"All the students really" Neville corrected. "You have to believe us, Professor. There are lives at stake."

"I know that, Mr. Longbottom" McGonagall replied in a deadpan tone. "Come with me, we will go and find Severus. I wish to confirm your story." McGonagall then started making her way out, and the boys followed after her. The moment she opened the door, she came face to face with Severus Snape. He had a similar look of disbelief on his face, and Ron's friends were standing behind him.

"We need to talk" Snape said to McGonagall, and she nodded slowly. Snape shot a quick look at Harry, and Harry gulped. _I hope he doesn't throw in detention for going behind the Professors' backs._

"I suggest we go to Albus' Office" McGonagall responded. "And we should call in all the Professors. If they are telling the truth, then we need to act immediately." Snape nodded to that, and he began billowing towards the moving staircases. McGonagall followed after him, and the Gryffindors walked alongside the Slytherins.

"How did he take it?" Harry asked Greengrass, and she seemed surprised for a second that he was talking to her so casually.

"Not well" Greengrass replied once she regained her composure. "But he believed us, and that's all that matters. How did she take it?"

"Not well" Harry let out a small sigh. "She asked if I had gone insane…"

"The whole school has gone insane, Potter" Greengrass responded. "We might be the only ones who are still in their right minds." The rest of the trip was spent in silence, and Harry didn't mind that too much. He was just glad that no one was attacked while they had waited, and he was glad that the Professors were taking action.

"Cockroach Cluster" McGonagall said to the stone gargoyle, and it moved aside. "Severus, please gather up Pomona and Filius, and bring them up." Snape gave a curt nod, and then he billowed away without a second glance at the children. "You lot will follow me." They all walked up the stairs, and McGonagall led them into Dumbledore's Office. "Take a seat, and wait." They all did as they were told, while McGonagall walked up to Fawkes the Phoenix.

"Is that an actual Phoenix?" Nott whispered to the group, and Harry figured that none of them had been up here before.

"It's so beautiful" Parkinson whispered in awe.

"Could have a better color scheme" Zabini shrugged indifferently, and both Gryffindor boys frowned at him.

"I think that he…" Neville started, but he was stopped mid-sentence when Fawkes suddenly vanished in a bright blaze.

"What just happened?" Davis muttered, her eyes wide from surprise. _I have no idea._

"Phoenixes can 'flash' away" Nott smirked. "It's like disapparating, only it's much more powerful. No ordinary wards can stop them." McGonagall approached and stood over them, her lips were pressed together so tightly that it looked like she had no lips.

"When the Professors arrive, you will all explain yourselves completely" McGonagall told them. "We want to hear everything, is that understood?" The Slytherins all nodded firmly.

"Professor, why aren't we moving against the Heir?" Harry asked, he was starting to get frustrated with all this waiting around. The Slytherins were slightly surprised at his boldness, and they all shifted their gazes elsewhere.

"There is no 'we', Mr. Potter" McGonagall replied with a frown. "You are a twelve year old boy, and you have all put yourselves in enough danger already. There will be no more of that." _We found the Chamber though…_ Harry had to fight the urge to frown. "We will be taking over from here, and that is **final**." There was a sudden flash of fire behind Dumbledore's desk, and everyone covered their eyes because of how bright it was. When Harry and the others uncovered their eyes, they saw Dumbledore standing behind his desk. Fawkes sat proudly on his right shoulder, and Dumbledore had an easy smile on his face.

"Woah…" Nott muttered in awe, and Harry shared his sentiment. They all did.

"I believe you all have something to tell me" Dumbledore said in a calm tone, his eyes dancing in merriment.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Albus' Office – Evening)**_

Albus and his staff had all listened to the eight children with rapt attention, and Albus had to admit, he was left in awe. Was he that proactive when he was twelve? No… No, he was not. The children had explained how they had determined the Chamber's location, how they had figured out the identity of Slytherin's monster, how Ronald was the one to figure out how the Basilisk moved around the school, how they had come together to fight a common enemy, and how Harry had opened the Chamber's entrance with Parseltongue. The Professors had been left in utter shock at that particular revelation, and Albus could see that Harry felt somewhat ashamed of his gift. Albus decided that he would talk with Harry in private after all of this.

"We believe…" Neville Longbottom started but stopped. Albus waited patiently for the boy to continue, but Harry jumped in for his friend's sake.

"We believe that Ginny Weasley is the Heir" Harry said firmly, and there were many different reactions in the room. Albus himself was caught off-guard, but he kept his expression calm. Severus managed the same thing, but that didn't surprise Albus. Minerva just frowned lightly, and Albus figured that she had been told this already. Pomona and Filius were openly shocked, while Gilderoy just stood silently in the corner. It turned out that Severus had seen Gilderoy on his way back, and just out of spite, he had dragged the fraud along. Albus didn't mind however, this was the perfect chance to out him. _He will make up some excuse to leave, and then he'll flee the castle. I just know it._

"Ginny Weasley?" Pomona asked in utter disbelief. "Her own brother is a victim of the Heir, Mr. Potter. What is your reasoning behind this unbelievable theory?"

"There was this Diary, you see" Harry muttered, and Albus listened with rapt attention again. "It belonged to this person called T. M. Riddle…" Harry was cut off by shocked gasps from Minerva and Pomona. Even Albus went a little pale in the face, and he immediately looked to Severus. Severus' mouth hung open slightly, and he was staring back at Albus with equal shock and horror. "Professors…?" Harry muttered, the boy had grown worried by their reactions. Albus looked back to the children, and he immediately noticed that the Slytherins were staring at Harry in utter shock as well. _They know about Tom? How? I need to talk to them as well once this is over._

"Where is the Diary?" Albus asked, his voice coming out harsher than he had planned. _What is this Diary? And why is it in Hogwarts?_

"We… We believe that Ginny has it…" Neville muttered. "Is it something awful? Is that why it was thrown away?"

"Thrown away?" Filius asked. "You found it?"

"We did…" Harry replied meekly. "And we took it with us. We even kept it for a while…"

"And did it not occur to you that it was thrown away for a reason?" Severus hissed, and both Harry and Neville flinched.

"Severus, there is no need for that" Albus told his grim friend. "Harry, please go on."

"We kept it, and we couldn't find anything wrong with it" Harry went on, his eyes darting towards Severus. "But then someone broke into our dorm and stole it…"

"When?" Minerva asked, she was seething with anger. How could her own Gryffindors be so irresponsible? Why hadn't they said anything sooner?

"Around ten days ago" Neville muttered. "We asked around yesterday, and we learnt that Ginny has been using a Diary just like the one we found all year long."

"We think the Diary showed her how to find the Chamber" Harry added on. "And it also taught her how to open it. We learnt that T. M. Riddle was awarded a trophy for Special Services to the School fifty years ago, and we figured that it was for saving the school from the attacks happening fifty years ago. If T. M. Riddle stopped those attacks, then he probably knew where the Chamber was."

"He did know where it was" Albus said with a hardened expression. "But Harry… He was no savior. Tom Marvolo Riddle was the one who unleashed the horror of the Chamber on the school fifty years ago." Harry and Neville paled at that, and both their mouths hung open. "Harry… Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort." Everyone except for Harry shuddered visibly at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, and Albus shot a quick look to the Slytherins. They didn't look exactly shocked at this revelation, they were just pretending to be. _How do they know about Tom?_

"The… Dark… Dark Lord?" Neville stuttered, the boy looked like he was going to faint.

"No…" Harry muttered. "No, that can't be…" Albus ignored the shock of the Gryffindors for now, he had another thing to tend to. Albus focused on the magic within Hogwarts walls, and he tried to sense Ginny Weasley. And much to his surprise, he couldn't find her anywhere on the school grounds.

"Minerva…" Albus sighed, they had to move at once because this just got really complicated. _Whenever_ _ **he**_ _is involved, it's always complicated. I will get to the bottom of this once the school is secure._

"Albus?" Minerva responded, she looked quite worried and pale.

"Take Pomona and Filius with you to Gryffindor Tower" Albus ordered. "Try and find her, and if you do, bring her in. If she resists… incapacitate her."

"You cannot sense her, Headmaster?" Severus asked with a furrowed brow.

"No, I cannot" Albus sighed. "She must be using some sort of ward to hide from me… Or she might be in the Chamber currently."

"And if we don't find her?" Filius asked.

"Then meet us by the Chambers entrance in twenty minutes" Albus replied. "Harry, where is the entrance to the Chamber?"

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom" Harry replied, he was still quite shocked about Riddle. Minerva moved immediately, and Pomona and Filius followed after her.

"You two will join me" Albus told Severus and Gilderoy, and Albus didn't miss Gilderoy going as pale as a ghost.

"Join you, Headmaster?" Gilderoy asked, his tone showing his cowardice.

"We will be going down to the Chamber's entrance with Harry" Albus said firmly. "Once Harry opens the Chamber, we will descend into it and face its monster." Gilderoy blinked at Albus, and then he put on a shaking smile.

"Excellent!" Gilderoy chuckled with a shaky voice. "Most excellent… I have been looking forward to this for quite a while… It will make for quite the adventure…"

"That is encouraging to hear" Albus smiled at Gilderoy. "Because you will be taking the vanguard."

"Vanguard?" Gilderoy muttered.

"You are the Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, are you not?" Severus asked in a cruel tone, he knew what his mentor was trying to do.

"Of course…" Gilderoy nodded slowly. "Of course, an excellent decision Headmaster. Allow me to quickly go to my quarters… I must change out of these constricting robes… I will join you at the entrance shortly…"

"Very well, Gilderoy" Albus smiled, and Gilderoy was gone in a flash. Albus already knew that Gilderoy was going to flee the castle as quickly as he could, but it hardly mattered. Albus had approached Amelia Bones while he was on his suspension, and he had told her everything. She was currently investigating the fraud, and once this was over, Albus would tell her of his cowardice. She would have a team of Aurors apprehend him, and he'd be locked away in Azkaban for his crimes.

"Headmaster, what about my Slytherins and Longbottom?" Severus asked, and Albus looked to them.

"You are all dismissed for now" Albus told them. "Speak nothing of this, and stay in your common rooms. Dinner will be served in two hours, but we should have everything sorted by then." The children stood up at that, and they began to make their way out. "I am very proud of you all" Albus told them sincerely as they were about to leave. "Your actions have shown your bravery and heroism, and I am in your debt." Neville beamed at that, while the Slytherins looked rather sheepish at the high praise. _Guess they're not used to it._

"Sir, what about me?" Harry asked once the other children were gone. "What do I have to do?"

"You will open the entrance for us, my boy" Albus him. "And then you will return to Gryffindor Tower just like Neville." Harry bit his bottom lip at that.

"Can't I help?" Harry asked, and Albus couldn't help but smile at that. _Brave boy._

"And how exactly will you help, Potter?" Severus hissed. "Shall we dangle you as bait?"

"Severus" Albus scolded, and his friend sneered at Harry. "Harry, you have done enough. Let us take it from here, please." Harry nodded at that, though he looked quite irritated. "Come, let's head down now. Fawkes, you too." Fawkes let out a cry and he flew over onto Albus' right shoulder. _We're going to need you to blind the Basilisk, my friend._

They made their way down quickly and quietly, and Albus was glad to see that the castle was all but deserted. The curfew was doing its job of keeping the students away from any dangers tonight, and for that, Albus was grateful. Facing a Basilisk could cause problems, and if it did escape, Albus really didn't want the students roaming around. As they entered Myrtle Warren's bathroom, Albus' eyes went straight towards her black and smoky figure. _This madness ends tonight._ They waited patiently for a few more minutes, and Albus could see how restless Harry was. But the boy remained silent due to Severus' presence. And then Minerva burst into the bathroom, and she was followed by Pomona and Filius.

"Albus, she was not in the common room" Minerva said, a frantic edge to her tone.

"Then she must be in the Chamber" Albus sighed. _How could she do these things? I've met her, she is a sweet girl._ Albus frowned a little, had he really misjudged her so greatly? Was she truly capable of this the entire time that he knew her? _No, this has something to do with that Diary Harry mentioned._ "Harry, open the Chamber for us" Albus said firmly, and Harry nodded. Harry then began hissing something in Parseltongue, and Albus felt his staff stiffen a little. It was certainly disconcerting. And then, one of the sinks slid forward and sank into the floor, revealing a pipe wide-enough for a man to slide into.

"Merlin's beard…" Filius muttered.

"So it's true…" Pomona muttered as well.

"This ends tonight" Albus told them, and they all nodded firmly. "Harry, you are dismissed. Go straight back to Gryffindor Tower, and say nothing to anyone."

"But Sir…" Harry said softly. "What if you need me to open another door of some sort?" _This boy… Either he has the heart of a Lion, or he has a death wish._

"Then we will blast it open" Severus replied for Albus. "Leave, Potter. And not another word, understood?" Harry nodded, and then he sulked off. Albus couldn't help but smile at Harry's back, his little shoulders slumped over.

"Brave boy" Pomona smiled at Minerva.

"That he is" Minerva smiled back.

"Or a moron who thinks that he's untouchable" Severus frowned, and both women glared at him.

"Enough" Albus said with a firm tone. "Fawkes, fly down the pipe first. The rest of us will follow after you." Fawkes let out a cry, and then he flew straight into the pipe. "Fawkes will blind the Basilisk, while Minerva and I try to contain it. Severus and Filius, your job is to incapacitate Ginny Weasley if she is down there. Use non-lethal spells only. Pomona, you will cover Minerva and me from any errant spells." The Heads of Houses all nodded, and Albus turned to the pipe. "Watch each other's backs, and don't look at the Basilisk before Fawkes does his job." With that, Albus jumped into the pipe.

Albus slid down at an alarming speed, and the constant twists and turns made his stomach unwell. He could see hundreds of smaller pipes connecting to the one that he was sliding down, and he wasn't really sure where they all went. All he knew for certain was that he was heading deeper and deeper into the earth, and he assumed that he was well below the dungeons by now. As he kept sliding down, he could hear his companions sliding down behind him. Pomona could be heard easily enough, she was rather enjoying the slide down. Severus on the other hand, could be heard cussing every time he thumped against the pipe due to its twists and turns. And then the pipe leveled out, and Albus was shot out into a dark cavern.

"Ow…" Albus groaned as he stood up, the landing left much to be desired. His body was no longer what it once was, and landing on the cold hard ground had hurt. Minerva came out flying next, and she too landed with a thud. And then, it was Severus' turn.

"Damn whoever constructed that pipe" Severus snarled as he stood up, his black robes covered in slime.

"You mean your house's founder?" Minerva quipped, and Snape gave her a deadpan look. Filius then came out and landed before them. While the Charms Professor was attempting to stand up, Pomona came out and landed on top of him. Filius let out a wheeze, and Pomona immediately sprang up.

"Oh Merlin, Filius" Pomona fussed as she helped him up. "I'm sorry for crushing you…"

"It is alright, Pomona" Filius responded as he fixed his spectacles. "I should have probably gone last…"

"Lumos" Albus chanted, and his wand lit up the dark cavern. Albus immediately noticed how wet the ground was, and that he could barely see into the distance. _We're below the Black Lake, I'd say._ Albus' companions also lit up their wands, and then they all began to make their way forward. "Remember, if you see any movement whatsoever, close your eyes immediately."

"Where is Fawkes?" Pomona asked.

"I image that he is scouting" Albus ventured a guess. Severus slowly walked up beside him, and Albus turned to him. "Severus? What is it?" Albus asked softly.

"What if the girl is possessed by the Dark Lord?" Severus whispered. "Just like Quirrell was… Albus, I can't be seen by him."

"I believe Tom is involved, but not directly" Albus explained. "That Diary has me concerned, Severus. It may have been cursed to put someone into an obedient state."

"Like an Imperius?" Severus whispered, and Albus nodded. Their conversation was cut short when someone stepped on a bone that crunched under their feet. Everyone stopped and looked to the ground, and it was covered with the bones of small animals.

"That's always a good sign" Filius grimaced.

"Ignore it" Albus said. "Keep your eyes peeled for movement." They began marching again, but they all stopped immediately when they all saw something extremely disturbing in the distance.

"Is that…?" Minerva whispered as she aimed her wand at it. Whatever it was, it was long and curvy. It looked like a massive snake, and that was enough to put Albus on high alert.

"Behind me, now" Albus ordered, and his companions got into formation. Albus then slowly approached the long, curvy body, and he shed a light on it. Pomona gasped while they all looked at the shed skin that was over twenty feet long. It was a vivid poisonous green color, and it looked rather intimidating.

"I just realized that Lockhart is missing, he'd have made the perfect bait" Filius frowned as he looked at shed skin. Everyone gave him unsmiling looks, and Filius sighed.

"Where **is** Lockhart?" Pomona asked.

"He's probably fled from the castle by now" Severus replied.

"That doesn't surprise me" Minerva sighed.

"We need to keep moving" Albus told them. "We're getting close, so stay in formation." Albus then began leading the way forward, and he was more alert now than ever. One small mistake could cost them their lives, and that would not bode well for the students. They walked for a few more minutes along the twisting and bending cavern, and then Albus spotted Fawkes perched up on a rock.

"What is he doing?" Minerva asked as they approached the Phoenix. Fawkes let out a soft cry and pointed his head towards the wall beside him. Everyone looked to the wall and saw that two serpents were engraved into it, their eyes were socketed with glittering emeralds. _Another door?_

"Maybe we should have brought Potter along" Minerva frowned. "Now what, Albus?"

"Stand back" Albus told them all. With the Elder Wand in his hand, Albus would make short work of this gate. "Reducto" Albus chanted, and a blazing blue light blasted the wall to smithereens. Dust flew out everywhere, and so did the sound of stones collapsing.

"Well, she knows we're here now" Severus frowned.

"It changes nothing" Albus said as he walked through the gaping hole in the wall. "She has nowhere to run, and we end this tonight."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Chamber of Secrets – Evening)**_

Snape followed after Albus and Minerva, his heart beating faster and faster. It wasn't Ginny Weasley that he was worried about however, it was the Basilisk. Fighting such a creature was something only done by great heroes in fairytales. And Snape was no hero. This thing was more dangerous than anything that he had ever faced, and Snape had no intention of dying just yet. But it was a great possibility tonight. One wrong look, and he would be dead. One step out of place, and he would be dead. And even if he did all of that perfectly, the Basilisk had venom so poisonous that just a drop of it could kill a fully grown Mountain Troll. _It's no wonder that the Ministry outlawed the breeding of such a monster._ And this Basilisk wasn't just a mindless beast, no, this was Salazar's Basilisk. And Ginny Weasley could clearly control it. That made it so much more dangerous.

"Minerva" Albus said, and Snape was pulled out of his dread filled thoughts. "When the Basilisk makes itself known, transfigure some debris into a rooster. The cry of a rooster is fatal to a Basilisk, and killing it quickly is the priority."

"What of Miss. Weasley?" Minerva asked. "Shouldn't she be the priority?"

"Severus and Filius will only use weak Stunners or the Disarming Charm" Albus replied. "She will not be harmed. I believe that she is not in her right mind, and that she has to be taken to Poppy."

"Can we please concentrate?" Snape hissed, all this talking was putting him on edge. _We need to focus completely, we are in the beast's lair._ They moved in formation silently, their wands drawn and their spells hanging off of their tongues. The only sound in the Chamber came from their feet, and from the braziers that burned with faint green flames. Snape's eyes darted to the towering stone pillars that were entwined with more carved serpents, and Snape was fully ready to shut his eyes at the first sign of movement. _It could be anywhere, and one look is all it will take._

Snape shot a quick look to the ceiling, and he saw that darkness seemed to be engulfing the towering pillars. The Chamber was far too dimly lit for him to see the ceiling, and its grim green glow made the carved serpents look alive. That did not help ease Snape's mind, and he held a permanent scowl on his face. But as Snape shot one more look to the ceiling, he suddenly felt a little at ease. Fawkes was gliding about silently, and it was clear that the Phoenix was fully prepared to attack the Basilisk at first sight. As they progressed further into the Chamber, Snape began to hear the sound of trickling water. And then, they passed the last pillar. And Snape's eyes widened as he saw a massive carved statue of a man's face standing against the back wall. _Salazar Slytherin…_ But the statue's splendor was short lived because Snape's eyes darted down to a lone figure standing in front of it. The girl had her back towards Snape and his companions, and she seemed to be quite relaxed.

"Ah, Miss. Weasley" Albus greeted, his tone was too hard for such a casual greeting. Snape and Filius trained their wands on her back, but she didn't move a muscle. "We have been searching for you, are you unharmed?"

"Quite so, Headmaster" Ginny Weasley hummed, her back still facing them. That put Snape on edge, this girl had an advantage over them and she knew it. _Where is her pet?_ "How did you find this place?"

"Does it really matter?" Albus asked in return.

"Of course it does" Ginny replied. "I want to know whose life I'm going to take next after I kill you all." Her answer sent a shiver down Snape's spine, and Snape felt Filius tense as well. The dim green glow of the Chamber made her fiery red hair look so vivid, and her calm demeanor emanated power. _She is no ordinary little girl. We need to move now!_ Snape shot a quick look to Albus, and his mentor shook his head slightly.

"And why would you want to kill someone, Miss. Weasley?" Albus asked.

"Because I can" Ginny Weasley shrugged, and Snape heard Pomona draw in a sharp breath. "Because it makes me feel alive. Because it makes me feel powerful."

"I see" Albus responded with a hardened voice. "And tell me, who are you?" Ginny Weasley let out a cold laugh at that.

"Always so clever" Ginny replied, her voice was cold and cruel. _No girl her age should speak in such a tone._

"Her left hand is bleeding" Minerva whispered, and they all looked to see that it was true.

"Your hand is bleeding" Albus told the little girl.

"I know" Ginny Weasley replied. "I like to cut her from time to time, just to make sure that she is awake." The Professors all exchanged quick looks, and Snape saw that his mentor was staring at 'Ginny Weasley' with ire. "When I first took control of her mind, I made sure that she didn't see what we were doing. But recently… Recently I've been making sure that she watches" Ginny Weasley laughed cruelly. "Oh how she wept when I attacked her precious little Ronnie." Snape's jaw clenched so hard that he feared that he would shatter all of his own teeth.

"Why him?" Snape grit out. "He is a Pure-Blood, and a Slytherin."

"He was a threat" Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "One that I got rid of just in time."

"Just in time?" Filius asked slowly. "Explain…"

"He knew her too well" Ginny sighed. "Just before I attacked him, he figured out that I wasn't his sister. Not to mention that he actually managed to trap me… If I wasn't wearing his little sister's face, he might have even captured me." Snape's lips twitched upwards for a second, and he quickly suppressed his pride. _Stay focused on her._ "He even begged me to take him instead" Ginny laughed. "So pathetic…"

"You mean brave" Pomona corrected, her tone righteous and angry.

"I know who you are" Albus said in a deadly calm tone, and Snape's eyes darted to his mentor for a second.

"And who am I, Dumbledore?" Ginny asked in a playful tone.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle" Albus replied, and Snape felt the blood drain from his face. _The Dark Lord! He knows of my treachery now… All of our plans are ruined…_

"Ten points to Gryffindor" Ginny chuckled, and then she turned around. Her gleaming red eyes and cruel smile made even Snape gasp. Filius aimed his wand straight at her head, his face contorting in rage.

"Calm…" Snape whispered to Filius, his own voice shaking a little. "Stay calm…" Ginny's eyes glazed over them all, and Snape was surprised by the fact that the Dark Lord said nothing to him.

"The brave Professors of Hogwarts… come to die?" Ginny asked with a cruel grin. "There is no need for that. Join me instead… Join me, and I will let you live. Join me, and I will reward you."

"When hell freezes over, coward" Minerva spat out. "You are possessing an innocent child!"

"Innocent?" Ginny laughed. "No… She deserves this. She stayed silent while others suffered because of her actions. She even stayed silent while her own beloved brother was paying for her sins. Her disgusting crush on the worm-that-lived was her only concern. But don't worry, I've shown her the error of her ways."

"Tom… let her go" Albus warned in a deadly calm tone. "Or I will make you…"

"Even if you manage that, she will never be free of me" Ginny laughed. "Not after all the things that I've made her do. Not after all the things that I've done to her mind. Or to her body…" At that, Ginny rolled up her left sleeve. Snape felt his heart twist at the sight of the ugly, jagged scars all over her left forearm. There were almost a dozen scarred cuts, and one that was freshly made. _Did he make those scars magically? Damn him!_

"Why?!" Pomona shouted, her motherly instincts clouding her judgement. "Why would you hurt her like this?!"

"Cruel beast!" Minerva shouted.

"Life is cruel" Ginny spat out. "So why should I be any different?" Ginny Weasley then shook her head slowly, and then she looked back at them all. "I've grown tired of this meeting. I think our little chat ends here…" Her wand slipped into her right hand from her sleeve, and Snape took on a defensive stance. Ginny's face suddenly contorted in anger, and she hissed in Parseltongue loudly. And that was when all hell broke loose.

A thunderous, ear splitting roar came from within the statue of Salazar Slytherin, and just as Snape covered his ear, a massive serpent burst out of one of Salazar's eyes. Snape snapped his eyes shut as he put up a Protego to stop any incoming spells. Snape heard Albus yell a battle cry as a loud thud echoed throughout the room, and then it was followed up by another resounding thud. Snape could hear the Chamber falling apart, and he could feel the whole ground shaking. It took everything in Snape to keep up his shield and to maintain his balance at the same time. Albus had managed to repel the Basilisk with a shield of some kind, and the beast had slammed back into Salazar's statue.

"FAWKES!" Albus bellowed, and Snape felt something zoom past his ear. The Basilisk could be heard shrieking in pain, and Snape felt something slam into his own shield.

"NO!" Ginny Weasley shrieked.

"Open your eyes, fight!" Albus roared, and Snape did as he was told. The sight before him made his heart leap into his throat. Fawkes was clawing out the Basilisk's eyes, and the massive beast was slamming its head against Salazar's face in an effort to get rid of Fawkes. Before he could fully process it, Snape saw Ginny Weasley throw a Killing Curse straight at him. Snape blocked and immediately threw back a volley of weak stunners. Filius quickly followed up with his own volley of Disarming Charms and stunners. The girl's short stature helped her dodge the spells with little difficulty, and she sent back two Killing Curses in retaliation. Snape and Filius stopped them easily enough, but Snape could already see the disadvantage in this fight. They were trying to incapacitate her while she was trying to murder them…

"Minerva, quickly!" Albus shouted as he fired massive golden chains from his wand that pinned the Basilisk against Salazar's face. Snape could see Minerva transfiguring some debris into a rooster from the corner of his vision, and that's when Snape realized that the cave had begun to collapse on top of their heads. Pomona was the one keeping them from being crushed, and so Snape re-concentrated his efforts on his own job.

"Damn you!" Ginny Weasley shrieked as she fired a powerful Confringo at Pomona, and Snape immediately moved in the way and deflected it into a nearby wall. The resulting explosion sent even more debris towards them all, and before Snape could try and stop it, Ginny Weasley had turned her wand on her own Basilisk. Within a second, she had fired a transparent spell of some kind at the beast. The spell hit near the beast's head, and it resulted in a resounding, concussive sound that nearly deafened everyone in the Chamber. Snape himself was dazed, and as such, he failed to stop the debris from hitting him and Filius. Both men were forced to shield themselves physically, and Snape could already feel the pain shooting up from his body and into his brain.

Things seemed to have stopped for a second as they all recovered from that thunderous, concussive blast, and Snape shook his head in-order to clear it. His ears were ringing, and he could see that his companions were just as dazed. He could hear the Basilisk shrieking in pain as it slammed its entire body around, and that's when Snape realized what had happened. Ginny Weasley had deafened the beast to protect it from the rooster's cries, and she had pretty much deafened them too. Snape shot a dazed look towards her, and he saw her grinning from ear-to-ear. It was a vicious grin, and Snape's blood ran cold when he saw that her own ears were bleeding. _She blew her own eardrums…_

"Fawkes!" Albus called out, and Snape looked over to see the brave Phoenix lying face down in the far corner of the Chamber. Fawkes had been on top of the Basilisk when that concussive blast had been fired, and the Phoenix had taken the worst of it. Ginny Weasley let out a cruel laugh, and just like that, the fight had re-started.

Ginny Weasley fired a Killing Curse right at Albus, and Snape intercepted it quickly. His mentor had to deal with the enraged beast, and stopping Ginny was his job. Snape fired three more stunners at the girl, and she blocked them with extreme ease. Filius had come around at this point, and he joined in on Snape's assault. They fired stunner after stunner at her, and Snape could see that she was beginning to get overpowered. Two against one meant that she had no time to retaliate, and that meant that they had to keep her there. And then, she did something that sent Snape and his companions into a panic. She dove in front of the Basilisk while laughing maniacally, and Snape knew why. The Dark Lord was possessing her, and he knew that they weren't trying to kill his host. He knowingly put himself in danger so that they would instead concentrate on saving his host, and that meant that he could fight back. Snape's blood boiled at the thought.

"Coward!" Minerva bellowed as she transfigured the debris around her into gleaming swords, and then she fired them at the Basilisk. The serpent's magical hide wasn't even scratched, and Minerva grunted in frustration. The beast let out a loud hiss as it launched itself over Ginny and right at them again, and Albus roared as he put up a golden shield. The beast slammed into it so hard that Snape felt the ground shake, but he had no time to register the impact. Ginny had begun firing Killing Curses and Crucios right at him, and he managed to block them with great difficulty. The shaking ground wasn't helping him, and the girl's apparent lack of self-preservation meant that he was now fighting two battles at once. Not only did he have to protect his own life, but he had to protect hers too.

The beast pushed against Albus' shield with its head as it hissed something in Parseltongue, and Albus pushed back. They were locked in a match of strength and will, and Albus seemed to be winning right now. Snape then saw Ginny pull something out of robes, and his eyes narrowed on the object. It was a book of some sort… _That's the Diary! What is she doing?!_ Ginny Weasley began firing all sorts of Curses at Albus, and Snape intercepted them as best he could. The few that got away were stopped by Pomona, and Snape was grateful for that.

"Severus, we need to stop her first!" Filius yelled, there was blood running down his face. "Leave the beast to them, she's the main problem!" Snape nodded as he joined in on Filius' assault, but Ginny Weasley surprised them both completely. She didn't even move a muscle, or try to block the stunners… No, they seemed to veer away from her. Snape and Filius kept up their assault however, but it was pointless. She suddenly seemed to have some invisible barrier protecting her.

"How is she doing this?!" Snape bellowed as he threw out another stunner, but that's when he realized what was happening. The girl had the Diary aimed at the oncoming spells, and **it** was deflecting the spells. It was clearly a very powerful dark object, and it was no doubt under some extremely potent protection. "It's the Diary, Filius!" Snape told his partner, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he had to block a torrent of Dark Magic being sent his way. The girl grinned as she used the Diary as a means to negate their spells, and now they were on the defensive. Snape blocked spell after spell, and he could see that Filius was just as tied up. _Why is her Magical Core not depleted yet?! That damn Diary has to be behind that as well!_

"We can't fight back!" Filius yelled to Albus and the others. Albus seemed to roar at that, and then the old man pushed the Basilisk back with all of his might. The massive serpent was slammed back into Salazar's statue, and Albus threw out more golden chains in an attempt to keep it still. Pomona conjured up thick vines and she used them to tie up the Basilisk as best she could, but Snape could hear both Albus and Pomona grunting with effort. The beast was too big and too powerful to be held back so easily. Just as Snape narrowly dodged a Killing Curse, he saw a massive boulder flew over his head and slam into the beast face. The boulder shattered on impact, and it left the beast dazed. Minerva levitated another massive boulder and sent it flying at the beast's head, and this time, it shattered the beast's long fangs.

"Bitch!" Ginny Weasley hissed at the Transfiguration Professor, and Snape quickly placed himself in between the two. Ginny fired three consecutive Killing Curses at Minerva, but Minerva trusted Snape completely. He stopped the spells while she slammed the beast with another boulder, leaving the beast's face bloodied and slightly mangled. Ginny Weasley was quickly occupied by Filius, but his assault didn't even touch her.

"We need to get rid of that Diary, Severus!" Filius yelled to Snape. "Or this won't end anytime soon!"

"Get her off of her feet!" Snape yelled as he blocked another Cruciatus Curse, he was beginning to sweat quite heavily. Not to mention the pain that his body was in after that Confringo blast. "Aim a Blasting Curse at her feet or behind her!"

"She'll get hurt!" Filius yelled as he leaped out of the way in-order to dodge a purple colored Curse.

"And at this rate, she'll kill us both!" Snape yelled back. "We need to…" Snape was suddenly cut off as the Basilisk roared and broke free of its bondage. The beast spat blood and venom at them all, and Albus once again created a golden shield to stop it. Snape was left in awe at this powerful shield that Albus kept conjuring, it had stopped Basilisk venom! But that awe was short lived as the Basilisk slammed its head into the shield. The shield shattered under the strain of the venom and the battering assault from the beast, and all of the Professors were sent flying back by an invisible force. Albus' magic had backfired on them all, and Snape landed on his back with sickening crunch. He yelled in agony as he felt some of his ribs crack, and he knew that his companions had shared similar injuries. Snape's eyes immediately snapped open as he felt the beast loom over them all, and panic gripped him. _This is it…_

Just as the beast was about to spit more venom on them all, Fawkes suddenly flew in and dug his talons deep into the serpent's wounded left eye. The beast shrieked in pain as Fawkes dug his talons deeper and deeper, and this gave the Professors enough time to stand back up. The moment Snape stood up, he was forced to deflect another Killing Curse. Snape looked to Ginny Weasley, and he could see that she was panting and sweating. _She's weakening!_

"Filius, the Diary!" Snape bellowed as he threw pointless stunners at Ginny. Filius followed up with a much slower volley of Disarming Charms, the Charms Professor was badly injured from his fall. Albus suddenly fired a golden beam of light from his wand that sent the beast reeling back into Salazar's statue, and then Snape saw his mentor completely lose his temper. Albus bellowed in rage as he bombarded the beast with golden beam after golden beam, and Snape was awed by the sheer power that Albus possessed. The Basilisk was being overpowered by Fawkes and Albus' assault, and Snape quickly spotted Ginny glaring angrily at Dumbledore. Snape put himself in between the two in-order to protect Albus while he held the beast at bay, and it proved to be the right choice as Ginny started concentrating solely on Albus.

"Filius, do it!" Snape yelled as he stopped spell after spell, he was going to die at this rate.

"Confringo!" Filius yelled with the last of his strength, and a fiery orange light flew right past Ginny and hit the ground a few feet behind her. The little girl was sent flying forward, and she landed on her stomach with a thud. And much to Snape's relief, the Diary slipped out of her left hand. Snape bolted forward just as Filius told him to 'grab the girl'. As Snape ran up to her, Albus let out a thunderous roar as he blasted Fawkes with a golden flame of some sort. The Phoenix exploded into a burst of golden flames that completely engulfed the Basilisk. Just as Snape picked up the unconscious little girl like a baby, his eyes fell on the spectacle ahead of him. The beast was burning alive… Albus had created some sort of special Fiendfyre, and he was holding the Cursed Flames on top of the Basilisk. Snape's mouth hung open in absolute awe as Albus not only held the Flames in place, but also the burning, thrashing Basilisk.

"Severus, move!" Minerva yelled as she quickly moved in to help a struggling Albus. Just as Severus was about to turn around and run, he saw the Diary on the ground to his left. But his eyes instead focused on the young man that stood by it. He had dark hair, handsome features that were contorted with rage, and his eyes gleamed red. Severus was left frozen for a second, but then he saw the boy's eyes drift towards the Diary. Something stirred in Severus, and he ran up and kicked the Diary straight into the Flames. That turned out to be a mistake…

Albus let out a pained grunt as the Diary went flying into the Flames, and its own Dark Magic turned the Flames wild and out of control. Severus cussed at the top of his lungs as he bolted towards his companions with Ginny Weasley clutched tightly to his chest. Albus let out a pained scream as he pushed himself to the limit in-order to keep the Flames from harming Severus and the girl, but he was quickly being overpowered by the Cursed Fire. Pomona and Minerva quickly ran up to the old man, and both women slammed their wands into the ground.

"FINITE!" they yelled, and a bright blue barrier came out of the ground. The barrier was dome-like in shape, and it contained the Flames and the Basilisk within it. Once Snape reached his companions, all he could do was watch as he held the small girl tightly into his chest. The Basilisk was already dead, but the Flames were not. The barrier began to crack, and Snape cursed his own stupidity. In a moment of panic, he had kicked an unknown dark object into an already unstable Fiendfyre, and now they might all die in this place. Albus let out another pained scream as he used every ounce of his strength to protect his companions and his student. Albus felt his own Magical Core drain rapidly as he used it to ease the Flames, but all that mattered was that it was working. He had a firm grip on the Flames, and both Minerva and Pomona were helping immensely. As the Flames began to die down, Albus himself slowly relaxed. And then, the Flames were gone. All that was left behind was the charred corpse of a Basilisk…

Snape fell to his knees, he was covered in sweat and his breathing was shallow. But he held onto the girl in his arms like she was a treasure. She was unconscious, and Snape knew that she would not wake anytime soon. She was clearly overexerted, not to mention the strain her mind must've been in while they had fought. Snape slowly looked to his companions, and he felt his heart relax from relief. Filius was wounded, but he was awake and sitting on the ground. Pomona and Minerva were helping Albus stand up, but they were otherwise fine. _We won… We won._

"The girl?" Albus asked in a tired voice. "Is she alive?"

"Yes" Snape replied as he felt her fevered breathing. "She is alive, and she'll be fine when we get her to Poppy."

"Thank Merlin" Minerva exclaimed, her face lit up with one of her rare smiles.

"I can stand" Albus told the two women. "It's alright…" The women slowly let go of him, and Albus steadied himself. "The Diary?"

"I kicked it into the Fiendfyre" Snape replied. "Forgive me, I… I saw something that alarmed me…"

"What did you see?" Albus asked, his expression showed that his only concern was Severus and the girl.

"A boy…" Severus muttered, and his companions all blinked at him. "He was around sixteen or seventeen. He had dark hair, and red eyes… He looked to the Diary, and I decided to get rid of it before it caused any more problems."

"I see…" Albus nodded. "You did the right thing, Severus."

"Who was this boy?" Filius asked as he walked up to them. Snape saw that he had two wands in his right hand, and Snape assumed that one of them was Ginny's.

"Tom Riddle" Albus answered.

"How?" Minerva asked.

"I… I don't know" Albus replied. "But we will worry about that later. Right now, Miss. Weasley requires Poppy's attention. Fawkes!" Albus called out, and everyone looked to the Basilisk's corpse. Snape blinked as he saw the Phoenix suddenly flash back into existence from a brilliant flame, and he flew straight to them. The Phoenix landed on Albus' right shoulder, and he nudged his master's head playfully. "Well done, my friend" Albus smiled softly. "Well done. Everyone gather around and hold onto each other. Fawkes, take us to Poppy."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **February 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Dinner Time)**_

The girls all held each other's hands tightly, while Theo and Blaise held onto their bedposts just as tightly. They had been discussing their plans to not take any credit for the Chamber's discovery. The truth was that Daphne wanted credit, and she wanted it badly. They had worked so hard to find the place, and it would have never been found without their help. But the truth was that if they were publicly credited as the reason behind the Heir's capture, things would not go over well for them. Many in Slytherin believed in the Heir's goals, and taking credit for the Heir's downfall would make them targets. And then there were the parents…

Theo's father would not be pleased with his son's part in this, and the same could be said of Blaise's mother. Both boys had made it clear that they wanted no public credit whatsoever, and Millie had joined them. Her parents were staunch believers in Blood-Supremacy, and she didn't want to alienate herself from them. Daphne, Pansy, and Tracey had decided to take no credit as well in order to protect Theo, Blaise, and Millie's interests. It stung… But that's what loyalty was. Sometimes you had to sacrifice your own desires for your allies, that's what a real leader would do.

And then, just as they had all agreed on this, the ground had begun to quake. The whole bloody castle was being rocked, and Daphne's first suspicion was that it was an earthquake. But Theo had reminded them all of the fact that the Chamber was probably buried deep into the earth, and that the Professors were down there. Daphne was left in utter awe at this, what the hell was happening down there? Their fight against the Heir was causing the earth to quake?! They could hear panicked cries coming from the other dorms and the common room, and when the quaking didn't stop, the six friends had all huddled up for the sake of comfort. And then, after ten or twenty minutes, the ground finally stopped shaking.

"Is it over?" Pansy asked meekly.

"I fucking hope so" Theo replied, he had gone pale in the face. "What the hell are they doing down there?"

"Fighting the Heir, and the Basilisk" Blaise sighed as he slowly relaxed.

"Do you think they're all right?" Millie asked.

"It's Dumbledore" Tracey replied. "He couldn't have lost…"

"And he had the Professors with him" Daphne added on to ease everyone's minds, though she herself was panicking a little. "Either way, we can't do anything about it. So stop worrying, and let's talk."

"About what?" Blaise asked. "If it's about taking credit for finding the Chamber, then I'm going to repeat myself. I can't afford to lose my trust account… And neither can Theo."

"No" Daphne sighed. "This is about Ron, and about when he wakes up."

"You think he will want credit?" Tracey asked with a frown. "I highly doubt it. Once we tell him why we can't have credit, he will understand."

"I know that" Daphne frowned back. "I'm thinking about his parents. I want him to tell them that we played a crucial role in capturing the Heir."

"I see" Theo nodded. "You want them to understand that we aren't a bunch of Death-Eaters…"

"Why do you have to say it like that?" Millie frowned at him.

"Because that's what they think" Theo said bitterly. "Self-righteous pricks…"

"Theo, don't rile yourself up" Tracey said with a soft smile, and Theo nodded curtly. "And Daphne is right. None of us want to lose Ron, but so far, every attempt to keep him has failed. And he's been doing it all by himself, we need to step up. He isn't here to make his case."

"Which reminds me" Blaise said suddenly. "Daph, did you hear back from your father? When will those Mandrakes be ready?"

"It's only been a day since I found out about the Mandrakes, Blaise" Daphne sighed. "Please be a little more patient. I sent Marty this afternoon, and he hasn't returned for some reason. Most likely because my father is too busy right now to respond to me."

"Let's just hope they're ready soon" Pansy smiled. "I'm so excited about telling Ron that we saved the school!" _Me too. I bet he'll be so happy!_

* * *

 _ **February 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

The students were animatedly discussing the 'earthquake' from last night, and Daphne bit her tongue to stay silent. She hated rumors… And she hated the people who started them. Rumors had caused so many problems for them this year, and she had already had her fill for a lifetime. All the students were slowly entering the Great Hall, and Daphne's heart thumped harder and harder. Every student had gone to bed without dinner last night, and Daphne had barely slept at all. All she could think about was the battle between the Professors and the Heir. She wanted to know if they had succeeded, and now, they all would.

Daphne and her friends made their way to their usual spot, and she was extremely glad to see that all the Professors were in good health. Well, they were alive at least… Snape looked gaunt and tired, and his face had a few scrapes. McGonagall too had some scrapes, but she was smiling quite proudly. _They won!_ Sprout too was beaming at the students, and she looked quite alright. Flitwick too was smiling, and Daphne could see a small gash on his forehead. _Why didn't they get healed completely?_ But it was the sight of Albus Dumbledore that elicited wonder and renewed whispers. The Headmaster had returned to Hogwarts.

"Before you all begin eating" Dumbledore said loudly and clearly, and every student went dead silent. "I have great news to share with you all." Daphne and her friends exchanged quick smirks, and Daphne also shot a look towards Potter. The boy-who-lived gave her a smile and a nod, and she returned the favor. "Last night" Dumbledore went on. "You all felt the school quake last night, and I wish to inform you all as to why that happened. We found the Chamber of Secrets…" The Hall erupted into whispers, and Dumbledore chuckled as he called out for silence.

"Not only was the Chamber found, but the monster that laired within it was also destroyed" Dumbledore told them all, a happy smile on his face. The Great Hall erupted in wild cheers and whistles. Daphne and her friends clapped with faint smiles as they didn't want anyone to suspect their involvement, and the rest of Slytherin house did the same thing. Daphne saw that quite a few of them were forcing on their smiles, Malfoy being one of them. The other houses however, had gone completely mental with joy. Even as Dumbledore laughed and called for silence, the cheering didn't stop. Daphne saw that all the Professors were smiling quite proudly, except for Snape, and she too felt proud of them. _They defeated a Basilisk!_

"What about the Heir?!" came a loud yell from some male student.

"Quiet, quiet down please" Dumbledore chuckled, and the cheering slowly died down. "The Heir has been taken care of."

"Who was it?!" came an outraged cry.

"Are they dead?!"

"Will they be expelled?!"

"They deserve to be in Azkaban!"

"Silence!" Dumbledore said loudly, his expression hardening slightly. When the students became quiet, Dumbledore smiled at them all. "The Heir has been dealt with, and they will no longer threaten the safety of the students in this school. Beyond that, I will not say anything. You are all safe, and that is all that matters." The students erupted in cheers again, with many of them telling Dumbledore that they 'loved him', and other such nonsense. Dumbledore just chuckled and clapped his hands together, and an outstanding feast appeared on all the table.

"As a special treat" Dumbledore chuckled. "All classes are canceled for today! Now please, eat and enjoy the day!"

* * *

 _ **February 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Courtyard – After Breakfast)**_

Daphne smiled as she felt the Sun warm her face, and she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere around her. They were all lazing about in the courtyard, and Daphne could hear the excited voices of the students from everywhere. A sudden feeling of relief and joy had spread throughout the entire school like wildfire, and no one was safe from it. Daphne could hear the first years laughing and she could hear the seventh years praising the Professors with pride. The Heir fiasco had finally ended, but there was still some closure to be had. For one, Ron and three other students were still petrified. Secondly, all six Slytherins had questions about the Heir and her fate. At this point, they all knew that Ginny Weasley was the Heir. They just didn't know how that had happened. _I'm sure we'll find out soon enough._

"This is nice" Pansy hummed, a wide smile on her face.

"It's not too bad" Blaise agreed in his own way, the dark-skinned boy was currently lying down and had his eyes closed.

"Wish I had a cold drink though" Theo sighed, an easy smile on his face.

"I can't believe that we saved Hogwarts" Millie squeaked in excitement. "Do you think that they'll give us a reward?"

"I rather doubt it" Tracey chuckled. "I mean, we are still not taking any credit right?"

"Yes, Trace" Daphne said with a shrug. "And who cares about a trophy? We know what we did, and that's all that matters."

"Still…" Theo smirked. "It'd be nice to have a trophy. I'm sick of Ron being the only one with trophies."

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Daphne teased, and Theo chuckled.

"Guilty as charged" Theo grinned, and the girls giggled at his goofy smile. _I wonder though, what will the Professors think of us now?_ Daphne stretched and decided that that was a problem for another day, because right now, all she wanted to do was relax and enjoy the Sun.

"You six" came Snape low voice from behind them. "Follow me. The Headmaster wishes to speak with you." _What was that? Five seconds?_

"Of course, Sir" Blaise responded as they all stood up. Daphne looked at her Potions Master, and he looked utterly spent. _He fought a Basilisk and won. That is so amazing…_ Daphne had to fight to hide her girlish smile, she had no clue that her Head of House was so powerful. They all followed after Snape quietly, but the girls were whispering to each other.

"You reckon he dealt the killing blow on the Basilisk?" Tracey whispered.

"Why don't we ask him?" Pansy whispered, a playful smile on her face.

"I'd rather not" Millie whispered. "He just got a lot scarier now that I know how strong he is."

"Millie has a crush" Tracey teased, and Millie frowned at her.

"So why did I see you gawking at him at breakfast?" Daphne whispered, and Tracey grinned.

"I was just impressed with him" Tracey whispered with a grin.

"I can hear you" Snape said coldly, and Theo and Blaise had to stifle their laughs. Daphne felt her face burn with embarrassment, and she was sure that the other three girls felt the same way.

"Sorry, Sir" Daphne muttered, that was embarrassing.

"And no, I did not deal the killing blow" Snape added coldly. "The Headmaster did." Theo and Blaise sniggered, and Daphne glared daggers at them. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, and the girls did their best to hide their embarrassment. Luckily, Snape didn't really care about what they had whispered about him. "Cockroach Cluster" Snape said to the Gargoyle, and it moved aside. Snape then led them into the Headmaster's Office, and Daphne saw that Potter and Longbottom were already there. The two Gryffindors sat in front of the Headmaster's desk, and Dumbledore sat in his chair.

"Ah, welcome" Dumbledore smiled at them. "Please, take a seat. We have a great deal of things to discuss." Daphne analyzed the room quickly, and she saw that Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall were also in the room. Daphne and her friends took the six vacant seats in front of Dumbledore's desk, and the old wizard smiled warmly at them. "Now that you are all here, let us talk."

"About what, Professor?" Potter asked, and Daphne nearly sighed in annoyance. _I don't know whether he's extremely bold, or just disrespectful._ "Is Ginny alright? Was she the Heir?"

"Ginny is fine, Harry" Dumbledore smiled. "And no, she was not the Heir." All the children exchanged quick looks, and Daphne saw that Theo looked like he had sucked a lemon. "She was however, possessed by the Heir. By Tom Riddle, more specifically."

"How?" Longbottom muttered, and Daphne didn't mind him interrupting the Headmaster because she too wanted to know the answer to that.

"His Diary" the Headmaster sighed softly as he pulled it out of his robes and placed it on the table. "I recovered it this morning before the feast started." Daphne and her friends gazed at the burnt book, and she felt a shiver run up her spine. "Its destruction destroyed any hold it had over Ginny Weasley. She is now free, and safe from its evil."

"So she wasn't in control of her actions?" Theo asked softly.

"No, not at all" Dumbledore smiled softly. "She is currently recovering in the Hospital Wing, and when she wakes up, I will talk to her myself."

"So this Diary was behind it all?" Potter asked. "And if so, where did she get it?"

"The Diary was behind it all, yes" Dumbledore replied. "As to where she got it… I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that yet. Now, onto more important matters" Dumbledore smiled widely. "I believe you eight deserve to be rewarded for your efforts, you have helped save the school after all. You will all be given trophies for Special Services to the School, and two hundred House Points each." Daphne shot a quick look to her friends, and she realized that they were waiting for her to tell the old wizard. Her heart twisted for a second, she hated throwing away such a promising reward. But this is what they had voted on, and this is what had to be done.

"Headmaster" Daphne spoke firmly, she refused to show weakness. "My friends and I would like to respectfully decline the offered rewards." The room went dead-silent, and Daphne looked only at the Headmaster. He looked back at her with an understanding smile, and then he nodded slowly.

"Very well" Dumbledore said, his voice was laced with a little sadness. "You six will not be publicly credited in any way." Daphne smiled at the old wizard for his understanding, and she gave him a respectful nod.

"What? Why?" Potter asked them. "We'd have never found the Chamber without you!"

"This is our choice, Potter" Blaise said coldly. "It has nothing to do with you." Potter and Longbottom gazed at them with shocked and confused looks, but none of the Slytherins showed any remorse.

"But it doesn't…" Longbottom started, but Dumbledore stopped him with a raised hand.

"This is indeed their choice, and it is my wish that you two respect it" Dumbledore told the Gryffindors. Potter and Longbottom nodded slowly, but they still held confused looks. "You six are dismissed, but on behalf of the entire staff and myself, thank you. You have made us all very proud." Daphne could tell that Dumbledore truly meant it, and she smiled at the old wizard. And with that, the Slytherins stood up and left. The made their way down the stairs and into the Hallway, and Daphne finally released a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"Sorry about this" Millie said remorsefully. "I know how great that reward was…"

"It's alright, Millie" Daphne reassured her. "We're friends, and we have to stick together."

"Did you just quote Ron?" Theo chuckled, and Daphne smiled widely.

"I did" Daphne replied in a happy tone. "He sometimes says the right things." _We may not have gotten the reward, but we still accomplished something great. That has to mean something._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **February 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Near Midday)**_

Harry was utterly confused, and shocked, by the Slytherins. Why had they refused a reward like that? It made no sense to Harry, and judging by Neville's face, it didn't make much sense to his best friend either. _They could have earned Slytherin twelve hundred points! That would literally just win them the House-Cup._

"I see that you two are alarmed by their choice" Dumbledore stated with a kind smile, and both boys nodded. Dumbledore drew in a long breath, and then he looked to his Professors. "You are all excused. Please, enjoy your day." The Professors all nodded, and then they left the Office. Snape was the last to leave, and he seemed to give Dumbledore a knowing look before he left.

"Sir, it makes no sense" Harry said with a frustrated tone. "Why would they refuse such a reward?"

"Because, Harry, they live very different lives than you and Neville" Dumbledore said in a sagely tone. "But despite that, you all came together when this school needed you to. When you think about that, then you will understand just how beautiful a thing that is." Harry had no clue about what Dumbledore was saying, but he did understand the part about coming together. _We did come together, and I won't forget it._ "There is goodness in all of us, remember that." Both boys nodded slowly.

"So they won't even get an ounce of credit?" Neville asked, and Dumbledore nodded. "That is just… unfair."

"It was their choice" Dumbledore smiled softly. "If you want to reward them, then start by respecting their choice."

"Alright…" Neville said softly.

"Professor…" Harry started but stopped. He wanted to talk about his Parseltongue ability, but he didn't want to be told that he deserved to be in Slytherin. He had begun to doubt his place in Gryffindor recently, and that doubt was beginning to fester.

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"I wanted to ask you about my…" Harry let out a long sigh. "I wanted to ask you about my ability to speak with snakes. The Hat once told me that I would have done well in Slytherin…" Neville drew in a sharp breath at that, and Harry stopped talking.

"Ah, I see" Dumbledore smiled. "You do demonstrate some of Salazar's preferred qualities, Harry." Harry looked at Dumbledore with a weakening resolve, but the old wizard just smiled kindly. "You can speak with snakes, you have determination, you are resourceful, and you have a clever mind. All traits that Salazar wanted in his students, but the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor… Why did it do that?"

"Because I asked it to…" Harry replied softly, he had no idea where Dumbledore was going with this.

"Exactly, Harry" Dumbledore beamed at him. "You asked the Hat to place you in Gryffindor, you made that choice. It is our choices that show the world who we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry and Neville sat stunned in their seats. "You may share some traits that Salazar preferred, but you also share many traits that Godric preferred. Both of you do. You are both brave, bold, daring, and you both have a habit of breaking the rules" Dumbledore chuckled. Harry and Neville both blushed a little at that, but Harry couldn't help but smile a little. Dumbledore was about to go on, but the door to his Office slammed open. Harry and Neville both jumped a little in their seats, and they both turned to see Lucius Malfoy stride in. "Lucius, welcome" Dumbledore greeted calmly.

"I see you have returned" Lucius sneered. "Must I remind you, Albus, that you are suspended from Hogwarts? You have no right to be in this Office, or on the school grounds." Harry felt his blood boil at that, and he glared Lucius Malfoy hatefully. But then his eyes fell to Dobby, and he saw that the small Elf was covered in bandages. _Dobby? What happened to you?_

"Ah, funny that you should say that Lucius" Dumbledore said as he stood up and locked eyes with Lucius. "Sebastian Greengrass has been making inquiries with the other members of the Board, and he came to me yesterday with a rather odd revelation."

"What revelation?" Lucius hissed, his eyes narrowing on Dumbledore's. Harry looked over to Dobby again, and he saw the Elf doing something extremely strange. The Elf was pointing his bandaged finger at Lucius, and then at Harry. And then, he would hit himself in the head. _What is doing? Why is he pointing at me and at Mr. Malfoy?_

"Well, you see, Lucius" Dumbledore said in a calm voice. "The Governors told Sebastian that they truly believed me to be the best man for the job. And then they revealed something even more interesting to Sebastian. They told him they believed that you would Curse their families if they didn't vote me out. Someone even mentioned that you bought quite a few shares in their company… That's funny, isn't it?" The two older wizard's locked eyes for a few seconds, and then Lucius Malfoy sneered again.

"That's hearsay at best" Lucius replied coldly. "And what of their claims that you are the best man for the job? Have you caught the culprit? Have the attacks stopped?" Lucius smirked.

"Yes, we have put an end to this Heir business" Dumbledore smiled kindly, and Lucius just blinked at him.

"Well?" Lucius sneered. "Who was it?"

"The same person as last time, Lord Voldemort" Dumbledore replied, and Lucius Malfoy just stared at Dumbledore. Harry saw both Neville and Dobby flinch at the name, and he frowned internally. _It's just a name._

"Explain yourself" Lucius said in a disrespectful tone, but Dumbledore just smiled.

"This was the reason behind all of this" Dumbledore said as he held up the burnt Diary. Harry missed Lucius' reaction because his eyes went straight to Dobby. The Elf was pointing at the Diary, and then pointing at Lucius. And then, Dobby would hit himself over the head. _Is he…? Wait… Is he telling me that Mr. Malfoy is behind this?!_

"And what is this?" Lucius asked, but his tone was much lower this time around. That confirmed Harry's suspicions, and he clenched his fists as he stared at Lucius.

"This Diary once belonged to Lord Voldemort" Dumbledore replied. "It took control over Ginny Weasley, and it made her attack her fellow students. A truly clever plan… But it failed. We have Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Potter to thank for that. They found the Diary, and they passed on that information to us. With knowledge of its existence, we were able to put an end to this horrible episode in Hogwarts' history. If they hadn't found it, then that would be a true tragedy. Ginny Weasley would be blamed for the whole thing, and none of us would be the wiser for it."

"Imagine that" Dumbledore continued, his eyes locked with Lucius'. "The youngest Weasley child being blamed for these horrible attacks, and in the same year that her father established the Muggle-Protection Act. That would be truly horrible. The Weasley Family's good name would be forever tarnished."

"A truly terrible thing" Lucius Malfoy said with an expressionless face. Harry looked back to his day with the Weasleys, and he remembered that Mr. Malfoy had thrown Ginny her books back.

"Mr. Malfoy" Harry called out, and Lucius turned to face him with a sneer. "Don't you want to know how Ginny found that Diary in her possession?"

"Why would I care about how that pathetic little girl found the Diary?" Lucius asked coldly.

"Because you gave it to her" Harry said through clenched teeth, and Harry saw Neville give him a confused look. "In Flourish and Blotts, you got into a fight with Mr. Weasley. And then, you threw Ginny her books back. And you added the Diary into them." Lucius blinked at him, and then Lucius clenched and unclenched his hands.

"Prove it, Potter" Lucius hissed.

"No one will be able to prove that" Dumbledore said calmly. "It is, after all, hearsay considering that the Diary is destroyed. But I will advise you now, Lucius. You shouldn't go around giving such terrible artifacts to children. Because if you do it again, I am sure that Arthur Weasley will have it traced back to you. And if he doesn't… then I will." Harry smiled as he saw Lucius Malfoy shake slightly with rage, and then the Malfoy patriarch turned around walked away.

"Dobby, come" Lucius ordered, and a teary eyed Dobby walked up to Lucius. Lucius smacked the Elf hard as he passed by his master, and Harry felt his blood boil in his veins. Once the cruel wizard had left, an idea occurred to Harry. _Dobby told me that he could be set free if his master gave him clothing when we first met. I have to move!_

"Sir, can I please borrow that Diary?" Harry asked quickly, and Dumbledore nodded slowly as he passed the Diary to Harry.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Neville asked.

"Helping someone who tried to help me" Harry replied as he took off after Dobby. As he ran down the stairs from Dumbledore's Office, he quickly removed his left shoe and sock. Harry then put his shoe back on, and he put the sock inside the Diary. With that done, Harry bolted after Dobby.

"Harry, wait for me" came Neville's voice, and Harry slowed down to let his best mate catch up. "What are we doing?"

"Just follow my lead and stay quiet" Harry smiled. And then, they caught up to Mr. Malfoy and a limping Dobby. "Mr. Malfoy!" Harry called out, and Lucius Malfoy turned around with a sneer already in place. "I have something for you" Harry said as he tossed the older wizard the Diary. Lucius caught it on instinct, and then he glared at it.

"What is this?" Lucius asked coldly as he pulled Harry's sock out of the Diary. Lucius tossed it aside, and he missed his servant leap up and grab it. The stunned look on Dobby's face brought a wide smile to Harry's face. _It worked! He should be free now!_ Lucius glared at the Diary, and then he turned his glare onto Harry. "One of these days, Mr. Potter, you will meet the same fate as you mother and father. They too were meddlesome fools, and just like them, you'll meet a painful end." Harry's jaw clenched at that, and he could feel Neville tense as well.

"Well, until then" Harry retorted. "I'll be right here." Lucius Malfoy tossed the Diary back to Harry, and then he turned to leave.

"Come, Dobby" Lucius spat out, but the Elf didn't move a muscle. "Dobby, NOW!"

"Master gave Dobby a sock" Dobby sniffled, and Lucius Malfoy turned around slowly. "Master threw it, and Dobby caught it. Dobby is free! Master has set Dobby free!"

"What…?" Lucius muttered, and this his eyes fell to the sock in his servant's hands. Lucius felt like he had been slapped… A Lord of a Noble and Ancient House had his servant taken away from him by a child… Lucius glared at Harry, and Harry gave him a smirk. "YOU COST ME MY SERVANT!" Lucius bellowed as he advanced on Harry. And then, he was sent flying into a nearby wall as a loud bang came out of nowhere. Harry was taken aback by this, and he looked to see Dobby glaring at Lucius ferociously. Lucius crumpled to the floor, his hair and clothes disheveled.

"You will not touch Harry Potter" Dobby ordered. "Leave, or Dobby will throw you out of a window next." Harry and Neville grinned at Lucius, and the Malfoy patriarch stood up slowly. His nose was bleeding due to slamming into a wall face-first, and it gave Harry a grim satisfaction. _That was for Ginny, and everyone else you hurt._ Lucius glared hatefully at Harry and Dobby, and then, he walked away angrily. Harry smirked at his retreating back, and then he turned to Dobby.

"Thank you for that, Dobby" Harry smiled at the Elf, and the Elf smiled back.

"It is Dobby who should be thanking Harry Potter" Dobby sobbed, and Harry hoped that it was from joy. "Harry Potter has set Dobby free!"

"I believe Mr. Malfoy did that" Harry chuckled, and then he was taken by surprise. Dobby had run up and hugged Harry's middle tightly. This got a snigger out of Neville, and Harry went red from embarrassment. "There, there Dobby" Harry said as he lightly patted the thin Elf's back. The Elf let him go, and he beamed at Harry.

"Dobby will never forget this kindness, Harry Potter" Dobby said with big teary eyes. "Dobby will always be there when Harry Potter needs him!"

"It's alright, Dobby" Harry smiled. "Please take care of yourself from now on… And don't hurt yourself anymore." Dobby sniffled and nodded, and then with a loud crack, he was gone.

"Harry, that was an amazing thing to do" Neville said proudly. "Well done, mate."

"Thanks, Nev" Harry said as he turned to face a smiling Neville. "Now let's give this Diary back to Dumbledore. I don't want it anywhere near me."

"I told you we should've thrown it away" Neville chuckled, and Harry smiled softly.

"Shut up…" Harry laughed as he lightly shoved Neville.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

How long had he been in this place? How long had he been left alone in the dark for? Days? Weeks? Months? Ron had no idea… It was like time didn't move properly in this place… But then again, it was always pitch black in this place so how would he be able to tell the difference? _It doesn't matter… None of it matters… You don't matter…_ Ron did another cartwheel, and this time, he landed it perfectly.

"That was amazing, Ron."

"Thanks, Daphne. I've been practicing for… for longer than I can tell."

"Was it from before we kissed?"

"YOU KISSED?!"

"It only happened twice, Pansy. Don't tell the others, please."

"Don't tell us what?"

"Theo, Ron and Daphne kissed!"

"FINALLY! When's the wedding?!"

"We haven't decided yet."

"Theo, want to be my best man?"

"Of course, Ron. Can Blaise be best man too?"

"Of course, Theo. I'll ask him when I see him next."

Ron blinked rapidly when a sudden episode of clarity hit him. _Who am I talking to?_ He shot panicked looks around him, and his stomach twisted. How long had he been here? Days? Weeks? Months? Why was it so dark in here? Why was there absolute silence in this place? Why didn't he get hungry, or feel the need to sleep in this place? _Why am I here?_

"Because you got petrified, Ron."

"Oh, that's right. Thanks Tracey, I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, Ron."

"Can I tell you a secret, Trace?"

"Of course, Ron."

"Of all my friends, I miss your voice the most."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, really. You're always so cheerful, and you always make lame jokes with me. I miss laughing with you… Actually, I just miss laughing in general."

"Well, you can laugh right now if you want."

"You're right! I can laugh whenever I want."

And just like that, Ron broke into a maniacal laugh. He laughed and laughed, and he didn't stop until he felt his throat ache. Until he felt tears running down his face. Until he keeled over and cried his heart out. _Why am I here?_

* * *

Ron paced back and forward. This was a fun habit that he had picked up to waste his time. He'd walked five paces in a straight line, and then he'd walk back another five paces. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. He never got tired in this place, and so he paced for what felt like days.

* * *

Pacing was boring, it just didn't feel fun anymore. But you know what was fun? Running was fun. Ron had been running for what felt like days, and he had a massive grin on his face. Oddly enough though, there was no wind in this place. Part of why Ron loved to go on morning runs was because he loved feeling the wind on his face. It's also why he loved Quidditch so much. There was no better rush than cutting through the air, and feeling it on your face and in your hair.

* * *

Ron sat crossed legged, and he just stared ahead of him. He was so fucking bored…

"Couldn't you have left me a chessboard, you cunt?!" Ron yelled at the darkness, and his voice echoed back. Merlin he hated his own voice. How did anyone stand to be around him when he had such an annoying voice?

"Maybe that's why mum cried when you were born" Ron told himself. "You're voice made her sick to her stomach."

"Don't be an arsehole" Ron told himself. "It's not that bad."

"I'd sooner listen to Marty skinning Mrs. Norris alive" Ron told himself.

"That's fucked up" Ron told himself. "Respect the dead, mate! Apologize to Mrs. Norris!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Norris…" Ron muttered in a sad tone.

* * *

He was going to die. That's what the Entity had told him. At first, he had gone into a full blown panic attack. And then he had gone into several more panic attacks over the next few days. But now… Now he didn't give a fuck. Dying was better than this place. This place was just… empty. And because of his time in this place, Ron felt empty too… Wasn't he supposed to be un-petrified by now? _Leave it to my stupid friends to fuck everything up. Damn idiots, the lot of them._

"No…" Ron muttered. "No, I fucked up… I should have bashed that red-haired bitch's head in…"

"That's Ginny you're talking about, Ron" Ron sighed deeply. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Should I?!" Ron argued. "I'm the one stuck in here for showing mercy to her!"

"And she's suffering too, mate" Ron said softly.

"Good, she deserves it" Ron spat out. "She let me take the blame for her actions to protect her lovely little Potter… When I get out of here, I'll kill them both. Rip their insides out and make Molly Weasley eat them!"

Ron suddenly gasped. _What… What am I say?_ Ron clutched his hair tightly, and he looked around in panic. _Did anyone hear me? That would be so fucking bad._

"Ron, you're alone in here" Ron whispered. "No one can judge you in here. No one can tell you that they're better than you."

"You're right" Ron laughed softly. "You're completely right… By the way, what's your name?"

"Weasley, Ronald Bilius Weasley" Ron introduced himself.

"HEY! ME TOO!" Ron yelled in excitement. "It's like we're the same person!"

* * *

Ron was lying down and whistling to himself. It was a similar tune to what Pandora always hummed while she painted. _Why couldn't Pandora be my mother? At least she likes me…_

" _ **Champion**_ " came the Entity terrifying voice, and thousands of crimson toad-like eyes opened around him.

"Entity?" Ron muttered as he stood up slowly, and then he grinned in pure joy. "ENTITY, YOU'RE HERE!"

" _ **Indeed we are, Champion**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron felt his heart beat faster.

"How are you today?" Ron asked, he wanted to have a conversation so badly. Just one conversation with someone else. The Entity didn't reply, and Ron blinked in panic. _Say something quickly! Before he leaves!_ "Did I offend you…? Please don't go! Um… Do you play chess?!"

" _ **You have lost your mind, Champion**_ " the Entity growled. " _ **Pitiful maggot. You are now useless to us. We clearly overestimated your mind. A mistake that we will not repeat in the next cycle.**_ "

"Don't leave… Please don't leave!" Ron begged. "Just talk to me for a bit! I've been in here for so long…"

" _ **It has been a week, Champion**_ " the Entity said in a cold, disgusted voice. Ron blinked rapidly as the Entity's voice burrowed into his mind, and Ron let out a whimper.

"A week?" Ron asked in utter disbelief. "No… no… No, I've been here for so long…"

" _ **We suppose that you have. Time moves differently in here…**_ " Ron suddenly cut the Entity off.

"I GUESSED THAT!" Ron shouted in excitement.

" _ **Do not interrupt us again**_ " the Entity warned with a horrifying growl.

"Sorry…" Ron said sheepishly.

" _ **I t has been just over a week in the outside world, Champion. As we speak, they are administering a cure to your body. We needed to make sure that you had learned your lesson, but it is now clear to us that your mind has been damaged beyond restoration.**_"

"No, wait!" Ron yelled. "I learnt my lesson!" There was no response for a few long seconds, and Ron looked at the eyes in panic.

" _ **And what lesson is that?**_ " the Entity asked.

"That none of it matters" Ron laughed. "You're going to kill me anyway, so why should I even care? Did I… Did I get it right?" Ron looked around for confirmation, but he knew that he was right.

" _ **Goodbye, Champion**_ " the Entity hissed with utter hatred. " _ **Perhaps the next one will last us longer than you did.**_ " Ron suddenly felt his muscles seize up, and he fell to his knees. Cold, dead tendril slithered over his limbs, body, and face. And then they began to squeeze. Ron couldn't even make a sound as the Entity began to crush him to death, and all he could do was stare at the crimson toad-like eyes in horror. This was the end.

"Enough!" came a woman's thunderous voice, it was both fierce and protective. And then, the Darkness disappeared in an explosion of white light. Ron was completely engulfed by the blinding white light, and the last thing that Ron heard was the Entity screaming in pain.

* * *

 _ **March 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Hospital Wing)**_

Ron's ears began to function before the rest of him did, and he could hear a bunch of distorted voices. _What is going on? The last thing I remember was…_ And just like that, it all came back to him. He had been attacked and left petrified by a possessed Ginny! And then… Then he had found himself in that open field. He had heard the twins mock him, he had heard his mother weep when he was born, and he remembered the family breakfast. The Entity was there… And it had utterly destroyed his 'family'. And then… Then he had fallen. And now he was awake? _What happened after I fell? Did I just wake up here? I'm so confused right now._

His vision slowly started coming back, and it was so blurry. He couldn't see a thing, but he knew that he was facing a white wall or a white ceiling. _Am I being un-petrified?_

"When will he start moving?" came a familiar voice. _Pandora?_

"Any second now, just be patient" came another woman's voice. _Madam Pomfrey._ Ron tried to move his muscles, but he couldn't.

"Did you see that?!" a woman shrieked. "His hand moved a little!"

"The potion is working" came a cold, low voice. _Professor Snape is here too?_ His vision slowly cleared up, and he once again tried to move his muscles. This time, he felt his body jerk. Sensing this small victory, Ron started trying to sit up.

"Easy, Mr. Weasley" came Pomfrey's voice. "Easy… let me help." And just like that, he was sitting up. He could see his parents, Sirius and Remus, his brothers and Luna, Pandora and Xenophilius, and even Lord and Lady Greengrass. They were all staring at him with smiles, and Ron just stared back at them with a blank look. _Where are my friends? And where the fuck is Ginny?! I need to tell them that's she possessed!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And I hope you all enjoyed the action scene! I hope I surprised you with it! Also, there was a bit of a time jump at the end but it wasn't that big. Ron missed his own birthday though =( Ron slowly settles back into his life in the next update, Lockhart's fate is revealed, and Ron comes to a firm resolution. Just some fun hints!**

 **Now here's something new! People have been asking me to give the day of my next update in my A/N, and I think I'll try it out. Next chapter will be up on Sunday! At some point on Sunday, that is. Australia, Melbourne time.**

 **Let me know what you think, and see you soon!**


	44. Chapter 44 - Catching Up

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 44 is here! I said that it would be up on Sunday, and technically, it is Sunday in Australia today. 12 am in Australia =) Now just to clarify somethings to avoid confusion.**

 **1\. Ron's memories of the Dark Place were wiped clean by the 'Woman of Light' (A nickname a reviewer used)**

 **2\. Ron still has the Horcrux within him, so his already volatile temper is still empowered by it's negative influence. But I refuse to turn him emo like Harry was in the fifth and sixth book. Ron is too emotional to be the emo sort in my opinion.**

 **3\. As the title suggests, Ron will be learning about what has happened in his absence. He may or may not like a few things...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 44 – Catching Up**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Hospital Wing)**_

"Hey, kid" Sirius said with a wide smile. "Welcome back to the land of the living." Ron blinked at him, and then he tried to get out of bed. _I have to tell the Headmaster about Ginny. He'll know how to save her._

"Mr. Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey scolded as she quickly grabbed onto his shoulder and stopped him. "You need to rest! Slow down, please!"

"I've rested enough" Ron frowned. "I need to talk to the Headmaster right now." The adults were stunned into silence at that, and even Lord and Lady Greengrass looked surprised. _Why isn't Ginny here?_ That thought sent a jolt of panic through him. And he tried to get up again, but Pomfrey stopped him with a deep frown.

"Ronnie?" came his mother's voice. "Please just stop for a second." Ron's eyes went to her, and the first thing that crossed his mind was the fact that she had cried with disappointment on the day that he was born. _And the last time I saw her, she slapped me so hard that I almost fell over. Not to mention that she is trying to take everything away from me._

"Where is Ginny?" Ron asked his siblings, and they all blinked at him. And then, they all adorned guilty look and averted their gazes. Utter panic engulfed Ron at that, was she hurt? Dead? He had to know!

"Ginny is fine, Ron" his father said softly. "She is… recovering from…" his father trailed off.

"Her possession?" Ron asked bluntly, and his father's eyes widened slightly.

"Yes…" his father replied softly. "Dumbledore told us that you found out that she was… possessed… while she attacked you."

"Where is she then?" Ron asked, he was getting frustrated with them all. _Just tell me that she's alive and well, and tell me where she is._

"She is back at the Burrow" Pandora replied, and then she walked over to Ron and placed a soft hand on his right shoulder. "Ron, she is safe. She is no longer possessed, and she is recovering from her ordeal." Ron relaxed at that, and he smiled at Pandora gratefully.

"Thank you" Ron sighed. "How long was I gone?"

"It's March the third today" Pandora told him, and he nodded slowly. _It was February seventeenth last I remember._ Ron tried to think about his encounter with the Entity again, but his head hurt when he thought about his 'fall' into darkness. _What happened after I fell? Why can't I remember it? I know something happened!_ "Ron, you missed your birthday" Pandora told him with a faint smile. Ron just blinked at her, and then he smiled too.

"Did you get me something nice?" Ron joked, and Pandora and the adults chuckled softly. Ron missed the fact that his parents didn't laugh. They just stood there quietly while other people succeeded in calming down their son.

"I forgot about your birthday this year" Pandora shrugged with a smile.

"That's just mean" Ron smiled softly as he lay back down. He felt so much calmer now, things seemed to have worked out. And then it hit him, his friends weren't here. "Where are my friends?"

"They are very eager to meet you" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron smiled at his mentor. "But we decided that it was best that we adults spoke to you first."

"Adults? Then why is Sirius here?" Ron joked, he decided that he didn't like the tension in the room. He much preferred a happier environment. The adults chuckled again while Sirius just stared at Ron with mock hurt.

"I liked you better when you were petrified" Sirius quipped, his face breaking into a wide smile.

"Sirius, don't say that" Remus scolded. "Ron made a very good point." Ron grinned at Sirius at that, and Sirius looked like he was struggling to hold back his laughter.

"I'm going home" Sirius said with fake annoyance, but he didn't leave. "I'm glad that you're back, pup" Sirius said suddenly, and Ron blinked at him.

"Me too" Ron replied. _I wonder if he's mad at me for what I did to Potter._

"Poppy" came a cold voice, and Ron grinned. _Professor Snape._ "I have administered the potion to the other three patients. They will be getting up shortly" Snape said as he came into view.

"Thank you, Severus" Pomfrey smiled, and then she left in a hurry. Snape shot a quick look at Ron, and Ron grinned at him. They looked at each other for a second, and then Snape rolled his eyes and billowed away. _He missed me, I can tell._ Ron didn't miss Sirius whispering something to Remus, and Remus frowning at Sirius in return. _Let me guess, Sirius doesn't like Snape?_ Ron tried to get up, and Pandora let out a sigh.

"Ron, please just stay in bed" Pandora requested, and Ron groaned like a petty child.

"I've been in bed for ages" Ron argued. "Please just let me stretch a little, my legs are hurting." That lie seemed to work, and Pandora nodded slowly. Sirius and Remus quickly moved over and helped Ron out of bed, and Ron had to admit, his legs felt like jelly. But they quickly adjusted, and Ron stretched his back. That's when he noticed something extremely peculiar. _Why do my robes smell like jasmines… and sandalwood? They feel really clean too._ "Did someone give me a bath while I was… incapacitated?" Ron asked Sirius and Remus, and they looked taken aback.

"Um… no, kid" Sirius replied. "You were frozen… like a statue. We couldn't do it even if we wanted to." _That's really odd._ Ron then took some steps and stretched again, and the feeling made him release him a happy groan.

"That feels nice" Ron smiled at the adults, and they all just smiled at him. Ron's eyes stayed on Lord and Lady Greengrass, and he beamed at the fact that they were here to visit him. "Thank you for being here, my Lord and Lady."

"Of course we came" Lady Greengrass smiled, and then she extended her arms. Ron smiled, and he gave her a hug. She did what she always did when she hugged him, she pulled him tightly against her bosom. "Welcome back Ron, Daphne will be so happy to see you. As will Astoria, the girl hasn't stopped talking about you for two weeks now."

"I can't wait to see them too" Ron said as he pulled back, and then he turned to Lord Greengrass and extended his hand.

"Welcome back, Ron" Lord Greengrass smirked as he shook Ron's hand firmly. "I'm glad you are awake in time to sign up for the Junior League…" Lord Greengrass stopped as his wife glared murder at him. "I mean… Welcome back." Ron let out a chuckle at that.

"When do we sign up, my Lord?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass smirked. Ron missed his parents looking at the exchange with worried looks. Why was Ron calling Sebastian 'my Lord'? He had changed so much…

"Tomorrow" Lord Greengrass told him. "I know it is Wednesday tomorrow, but we need to do it as soon as possible."

"Tomorrow is Wednesday?" Ron asked slowly. "My Lord, I have classes."

"I already told Albus how important this is, and he has agreed to let you go if you are up for it" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron smiled.

"I'm up for it" Ron said firmly.

"Good man" Lord Greengrass smiled genuinely. "Come to the Manor tomorrow in your best robes, do you understand?" _No, I don't._

"I do, my Lord" Ron nodded firmly.

"Are you done, husband?" Lady Greengrass smiled softly. "Good, now let him speak with his family." Lady Greengrass then turned to Ron with a loving smile. "We will see you tomorrow, Ron. We need to get back to the Manor before Astoria burns it down. She threw quite a fit when we told her that she had to wait an extra day to see you."

"I understand, my Lady" Ron gave her a respectful nod. "Please tell Astoria that I'm looking forward to seeing her again."

"We will" Lord Greengrass said, and then both Lord and Lady left. Ron watched them leave, but his eyes veered slightly when he saw McGonagall speaking with Hermione, Creevey, and Finch-Fletchley. Hermione shot him a soft smile, and he gave her one back. _They're probably discussing what's happened since their attacks._

"Ron" came Percy's voice, and Ron turned around with a smile. His siblings looked extremely happy, and slightly teary eyed. Ron didn't like that, it made him feel rather uncomfortable. He could handle Ginny and Luna being emotional, but his brothers… They were a different story.

"Did you miss me?" Ron joked with a grin, and the twins chuckled.

"We hardly noticed that you were gone" Fred quipped.

"If you wanted to skip classes, Ronnie, all you had to do was ask us" George smiled widely.

"And not get yourself petrified" the twins said together. Ron saw his mother and father frown at the twins, but Ron just chuckled at their jokes. _I prefer this over sappy nonsense anyway, at least I know how to react to this._

"What can I say?" Ron shrugged with a smirk. "I like to go all out when I do something." The twins and Luna laughed at that, and even Percy chuckled.

"We missed you" the twins said as they both hugged him, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"I… missed you too" Ron whispered so that only they could hear. _Except I didn't really miss you. It felt like I fell asleep and then woke up._ When the twins let him go, Percy also gave him a hug. Percy's hugs didn't feel awkward anymore like they did when they were younger, but that was because they were closer than they used to be. _That reminds me… I need to start studying for third year. Or everyone will realize that I'm no prodigy, and that I'm actually quite average._

"Welcome back, Ron" Percy said as he gave him a squeeze. Once Percy let him go, Ron turned to a smiling Luna.

"Saved the best for last" Ron smiled at her, and she ran up and hugged him so tightly he felt his back crack a little. "Oh…" Ron groaned, and then he put his arms around her and gave her a squeeze. Xenophilius and Pandora were smiling ear to ear at that, while Remus and Sirius just smiled softly. "I'm alright, Luna" Ron whispered. "Everything's going to be alright." The hug lasted for another ten seconds, but Ron didn't really mind. He was fine with hugging his sisters, mostly because they were extremely affectionate and he had gotten used to it. _If the twins hugged me for this long, then I'd probably leave the country._

"How are feeling, Ron?" Luna asked with an airy smile after she let him go.

"I feel fine" Ron chuckled, and Luna blinked at him. _Merlin, here we go. She's about to say something that's going to make us all uncomfortable._

"You don't have to hide the fact that you're worried about Ginny, Ron" Luna hummed, and everyone went quiet. _Well done, Luna. Well done…_

"Of course I'm worried, Luna" Ron sighed. "But mother and father said that she's fine. I will see her as soon as I can to make sure that they are telling the truth." Luna nodded at that, and Ron gave her a reassuring smile. _Why isn't she here though? I can understand why Charlie and Bill didn't come, they work far away from home. But Ginny is at the Burrow if Pandora is to be believed. And I highly doubt that she'd lie to me about that._

With that, he turned to his parents. They had smiles on their faces, but Ron honestly didn't feel like smiling at the sight of them. To them, he'd been gone for a couple of weeks. But to him, it had only been a little while. He was petrified, and then he went into that dream world. The dream world that had shown him his mother's reaction to his birth. And now here he was, standing right in front of them. He hadn't seen them since Dumbledore's Office, and they were still trying to rip him away from his friends because of their own prejudice against Slytherin.

"Welcome back, Ronnie" his mother smiled at him, and then she extended her arms in-order to invite him into a hug. Ron just stared at the woman who had wept upon his birth out of disappointment, and he felt an extremely bitter feeling fester in his chest. The kind that made him feel sick, the kind that made him sweat under his armpits from unease.

"Mother" Ron said coldly, and then he turned to his father. "Father." And just with that, Ron left them all slack-jawed. His time in that dream world had given him the strength to finally stop trying to please these people. His father was still redeemable in his eyes for now. But the woman who had cried right after his birth, neglected him for years on end, who had told him that he had humiliated her with his sorting, and had smacked him in front of everyone important in his life had no place in his heart. If she didn't want him, then he didn't want her. He'd protect her in the upcoming war because she was a Weasley, but he didn't need her approval. Or her fickle 'love' that only came around when he was in mortal peril. Ron walked over to where Hermione and the other victims were, and he smiled widely at Hermione.

"Ron" Hermione beamed as he walked up to stand beside her.

"Mr. Weasley" McGonagall greeted him, and then she shot a quick look at his family. Whatever she saw made her furrow her brow, but Ron didn't even care to look. He had already greeted the people that he wanted to see. _Except for Ginny. I want to see her for myself._ "Are you done meeting your family?"

"Yes, I'm done" Ron answered with a polite smile, and she gave him a slow nod.

"Very well, it is good that you are here for this" McGonagall said. "I was just telling your fellow students that the Heir has been stopped, and that we have also taken care of Slytherin's monster." Ron felt Hermione tense a bit, and he looked over to her and he saw that she was forcing on a smile. _She was attacked by my sister, wasn't she? I need to talk to her about this. I made a promise to not leave her behind ever again, and I'm going to keep it._ "I was also telling them that dinner is about to be served, and that if you are all up to it, your presence will be much appreciated."

"Well, I haven't eaten in a while" Ron joked, and he got a few laughs out of the other victims. Even McGonagall gave him a thin-lipped smile.

"Ron, be serious" Hermione chuckled, seemingly forgetting her previous worries. _Good, it worked. And it worked for the others too._

"I am serious" Ron smiled at Hermione. "I'd love to go to dinner, Professor McGonagall."

"Me too" Hermione joined in.

"Same, I'm actually really hungry" Finch-Fletchley said.

"I'd like to attend as well" Creevey piped in with his squeaky voice.

"Excellent" McGonagall nodded. "Well, follow me." She then started leading them out, but she suddenly stopped. "Mr. Weasleys and Miss. Lovegood, come along now" McGonagall called out to his siblings. Ron heard their footsteps approaching but he didn't turn to face them. McGonagall led them all out, and Ron walked right beside Hermione.

"Why aren't your parents here?" Ron whispered to her.

"They're Muggles, Ron" Hermione replied in a haughty tone, and she gave Ron a deadpan look.

"And?" Ron asked slowly, and Hermione blinked at him.

"Muggles can't see Hogwarts" Finch-Fletchley replied for Hermione, he couldn't help but overhear Ron. "To them, Hogwarts appears as a smoldering ruin with danger signs all around it."

"Really?" Ron asked, he had no idea.

"Ron, haven't you read 'Hogwarts: A History'?" Hermione asked with a confused look.

"Nope" Ron smirked. "I saw it, and it looked boring."

"It's not boring" Hermione giggled as she shoved Ron lightly.

"You two are… friends?" Finch-Fletchley asked, and even Creevey looked interested now.

"We are" Ron answered, and Hermione smiled widely.

"But you're in Slytherin…" Finch-Fletchley muttered, and Ron had to force back a frown. _Does he want me to put him back in his hospital bed?_

"Weasley's alright" Creevey piped in. "He took a photo of me and Harry together." _I did, didn't I? Feels like ages ago though._

"I see" Finch-Fletchley said slowly, and then he smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley, a pleasure to meet you."

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron shook his hand and smiled. "And I feel likewise."

"I'm Colin Creevey" Creevey squeaked. "But you already know that…"

"And I'm Hermione Granger" Hermione giggled. "I guess we four have something in common now."

"Yeah, we all have shite luck" Ron smirked, and Hermione smacked his arm with a frown. Finch-Fletchley and Creevey stifled their laughs, and Ron grinned sheepishly at Hermione.

"Ronald, your language is getting worse by the day" Hermione lectured haughtily. "My mother told me that a person's character can be told by the words that they use."

"And I have bad character, everyone knows that" Ron shrugged, and Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. _She's trying not to smile, I can see it._

"Well, I think you're alright Ron" Finch-Fletchley smiled. "Can I call you Ron?" _I'd rather you didn't._

"Of course, that is my name after all" Ron smiled back. "Justin." The Hufflepuff nodded and smiled widely at that.

"You guys can call me Colin" Creevey said excitedly.

"Well, look at us" Ron smirked. "Now all we need is a Ravenclaw to finish up the band." The two boys sniggered at that, while Hermione just smiled and shook her head lightly.

"Ron, can I talk to you?" came Percy's voice from behind him.

"Sure" Ron replied, and he steeled his nerves. _Here comes a lecture about being respectful to parents. But they clearly don't respect me considering that they're ripping me away from my house and friends to feel better about themselves._ Ron slowed down and let Percy walk up beside him, and Ron didn't miss the fact that the twins stayed back and they kept Luna with them.

"Ron, what was that?" Percy asked softly, his brow furrowed.

"What was what?" Ron asked, and Percy frowned.

"You treated mum and dad so coldly" Percy said, his tone suggested that he was disappointed. "They've been worried sick about you… Mum was in tears after you left, and everyone had to calm her down."

"And?" Ron asked, and he stared at Percy with a deadpan look. Percy blinked at that, he was clearly taken aback.

"Ron? What happened?" Percy asked slowly. "You don't ever act so cold towards anyone."

"I don't want to talk about this" Ron replied. "They know what they did wrong, and they have to live with it."

"Alright, now I **need** to know what happened" Percy said, his face becoming serious. Percy suddenly looked around, and he frowned at the fact that they were nearing the Great Hall. "This conversation isn't finished, Ron."

"Fine" Ron frowned, and then he walked back to Hermione's side.

"What was that?" Hermione asked softly, she looked quite concerned.

"Just family stuff" Ron shrugged.

"Okay…" Hermione bit her bottom lip, and Ron knew that she wasn't going to let this go. "Well, us three were just talking. And we decided to catch up on our studies together, we missed a lot when we were… petrified."

"You should join us, Ron" Justin smiled. _Hmm… Two Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff… This could yield some results if I play this right._

"I'd love to" Ron smiled, and Hermione beamed and clapped her hands in excitement.

"See" Hermione told the other two boys. "I told you two that Ron would join us! Colin, we can help you with your studies because you're still in first year and we've already gone through it. We can all meet up tomorrow after classes!"

"Actually, I'm not here tomorrow" Ron said with a sheepish smile. "I will be going to Diagon Alley to sign up for the Junior League tournament."

"Oh…" Hermione blinked.

"But I'm free Thursday" Ron offered.

"Same" Colin and Justin nodded.

"Alright then" Hermione smiled. "We can all meet at the library on Thursday. This is going to be great!" Hermione said excitedly, and Ron smiled widely at her excitement. _I need to get my hands on third year's notes. But Percy's notes were destroyed by Crabbe and Goyle. I need someone else's… But who? Bill tossed his, and Charlie wasn't really the best student around._

"Are you all ready?" McGonagall asked the four of them, and they nodded. McGonagall then pushed the massive doors open, and they all walked in. The Hall erupted in cheers and applause, and all four of them were taken aback. McGonagall turned to them and smiled, and Ron realized why she had insisted that they come to dinner. _Sly old cat. This is a welcome back feast, isn't it?_

Ron looked to the other three victims, and they were all just wide-eyed and red in the face. Ron decided that he liked this kind of welcome, so he smiled widely and stepped forward. He put up his hands at his sides, and he gave the cheering crowd a bow. There was a roar of laughter and whistles, and Ron grinned ear to ear. That seemed to make the other three relax a little, and they managed shy waves at cheering student body.

"Welcome back" came Albus Dumbledore's booming voice from the staff table, and the cheering and whistles slowly died down. "Welcome back" Dumbledore said again, and all four victims looked to see Dumbledore smiling at them from the staff table. "Please, take your seats. We have all been awaiting your arrival eagerly." McGonagall then ushered them to their tables with a rare smile, and Ron shot one last look to Hermione. She smiled and gave him a wave, and he smiled and gave her a parting nod. Ron then turned his attention to his friends, and he saw them beaming at him. Even Blaise was smiling widely for once, but it was Daphne's smile that caught his attention. He had never seen her show so much emotion in public before, and he felt his cheeks flush. Ron sat down in his usual spot in-between Blaise and Theo, and Theo put his arm around Ron immediately.

"Welcome back, mate" Theo chuckled. "We bloody missed you!"

"Stop it, Theo" Ron grinned. "You're making me blush." The girls giggled at that, and then they bombarded him with their happy voices.

"Welcome back, Ron!" they all said at the same time, their faces were lit up by their wide smiles.

"Thanks" Ron smiled back. "It's good to be back where I belong." That was the right response apparently, because the girls somehow smiled even more widely.

"Merlin, I missed you so much!" Tracey exclaimed happily. "Daphne was a terrible leader."

"Hey!" Daphne frowned at her, and Tracey let out a loud laugh. _Leader?_

"What do you mean by 'leader'?" Ron asked with a laugh.

"She took charge after your attack" Blaise said as he patted Ron's back. "We'll tell you later." Ron nodded, and he shot a quick look to Daphne. She was smiling at him, but her cheeks were now rosy.

"Welcome back, welcome back" Dumbledore said loudly, and all heads turned to him. He was standing behind his podium, a massive smile on his face. Ron also noticed that Hagrid was sitting on the teachers table for some reason, a big grin on his face. "Today is a day of celebration! Friends have been returned, and this dark chapter is finally closed. The school is safe, and now we can all move forward. I have much to share with you all, so I ask that you all to have patience and indulge this old man. As you all know, Gilderoy Lockhart is being charged with Fraud and Assault by the Ministry. And so, we have no D.A.D.A Professor for the remainder of the year." Ron looked to his friends with shock, but they just smiled at him. They just liked looking at his face.

"So I have decided to teach D.A.D.A myself for the remainder of the year" Dumbledore announced, and there were excited whispers amongst the students. "Furthermore, we would like to make it up to you all for this terrible year. Quidditch will re-commence, and there will be matches every day. And all are welcome to join." The students broke into wild cheers, and Ron clapped along with them. _It doesn't really affect me, but I'm happy for them. He did say that everyone is welcome though, so I might drop by._ "And as a special school treat, all exams are cancelled for the year!" The students cheered wildly and slammed their goblets on the tables, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"This, of course" Dumbledore continued "does not apply to fifth years and seventh years." This was met with loud groans and laughter at the same time. "But I will be personally tutoring all fifth years and seventh years from tomorrow onwards. And due to the stress caused by the attacks, all fifth years and seventh years will be given special dispensations that will boost their scores on their O. and N.E. respectively." The fifth years and seventh years all started cheering again, and even the Professors were clapping happily. Well, all of them except for Snape. Snape just clapped with a blank expression.

"Now with all of that out of the way" Dumbledore went on. "Let the feast… begin!" Mountains of food appeared on the tables, and Ron couldn't see a single food that he didn't like on the table. It was clear that Dumbledore had pulled out all the stops, and Ron dug right in.

"Now, tell me about this leader business" Ron smiled at Daphne, and she blushed a little.

"I simply made sure that we stuck together" Daphne smirked. "I didn't do anything special."

"Don't listen to her, Ron" Pansy interjected with a wide smile. "She was amazing! She even kept Potter and Longbottom in check!" _What?_

"Alright, start from the beginning" Ron laughed. "I really want to hear this. I want to know everything that happened in my absence."

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Boys' Dorm – Midnight)**_

Ron had spent the entire night listening to his friends, and he hadn't stopped smiling the entire night. They told him of how Dumbledore was suspended by the Board, and of how Hagrid was arrested. But none of that mattered now because they were both back, and Hagrid even got a full pardon from the Minister himself. And then Ron learned that Daphne had taken charge splendidly after he had been taken out of the picture, and truth be told, he wanted her to stay in charge. He was no leader. He decided that he'd talk to her about this tomorrow. Blaise told him that he had honored Ron's wish to bring in Potter and Longbottom. And Blaise also explained that Potter had opened the Chamber for them and the Professors, but only after the Slytherins had figured everything out. Ron was glad also to hear that his secret friendship with the Hat was still secret, and he had his friends' cleverness to thank for that.

Then Ron had listened with rapt attention as the girls told him how the ground had shaken while the Professors had fought the Heir and the Basilisk. Ron felt annoyed that he missed such a spectacle, but it was probably for the best. His friends had come through splendidly while he wasn't around, and that made him quite proud of them. Ron was especially proud of Daphne for putting aside her spoilt habits in favor of keeping them all together. She had been the first one to agree with Blaise and Theo about Potter, and he was sure that her opinion had swayed the other three girls. And now, they were discussing Lockhart.

"So he ran away during the crisis?" Ron asked.

"Yeah" Theo sniggered. "Turns out that the bloke was a complete fraud. Not only did he bolt, but he got caught within a day by Amelia Bones' squad of Aurors. The clown was found sneaking around Knockturn Alley while he wore bright lavender robes. They dragged him into the Ministry, and threw him in the dungeons. Now he is being charged with Fraud and for Assault."

"Assault?" Ron asked.

"He was stealing other people's feats" Blaise smirked. "All of his books were about what other people accomplished. He just found them afterwards and just obliviated them. Then he took all the credit. He probably didn't even know any decent spells other than Obliviate. The Professors are all helping build a case against Lockhart, and Dumbledore is acting as an expert witness." Ron could tell how happy Blaise and Theo were because he too felt great about this. Lockhart was a damn menace, and he deserved to be locked up.

"So…" Ron looked to the girls with a smirk. "Still have a crush on him? I hear that girls like the trouble makers." The girls just gave him deadpan looks, and Tracey gave Ron 'the Bird'. Ron and the boys sniggered at the girls, and they all just narrowed their eyes on them. "Sorry, sorry" Ron sniggered, and then he relaxed against his trunk. They were all currently sitting on the floor in a circle, it was a little cramped. "Well, I'm just glad that this is all done. No more Heir business, no more attacks, and no more glaring contests between the different houses."

"There are a couple of things that we haven't told you yet" Millie said slowly, and Ron blinked at her.

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"They offered us some rather amazing rewards for our role in the Chamber's discovery" Millie told him, and Ron nodded slowly. "They offered us public credit for finding the Chamber, two hundred house-points each, and trophies for Special Services to the School."

"Bloody hell" Ron muttered.

"We turned them all down, mate" Theo said softly. _What?! Why?!_ "And it's because of Blaise, Millie, and I…"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"We can't be associated with bringing down the Heir, Ron" Blaise said in a decisive tone. "Our parents are Blood-Supremacists, and if we helped stop the Heir, that would land us in some serious trouble." Ron nodded slowly at that, now their refusal made sense. _I've always known what their parents were like, and this makes it easier to understand. This is about something more important than House loyalty, this is about family._

"We're sorry, mate" Theo apologized, and Ron looked at him with a smile.

"I understand, Theo" Ron said truthfully.

"You do?" Millie asked, a grateful smile on her face.

"I do" Ron nodded. "Trust me, I wouldn't have understood when I first came to Slytherin. But I do now. You didn't choose your parents, but you love and depend on them. You don't want to lose that, and I don't care about collecting some reward if it means taking that away from you guys." The girls beamed at Ron, Theo gave him a grateful smile, and Blaise gave him a strong pat on the back. "You remember when we first decided to hunt for the Heir? It was right in this room."

"Yes, I do" Daphne replied, a wide smile still on her face. The others nodded to indicate their answers.

"We decided to find the Heir because we didn't want to get split up" Ron reminded them. "So who cares about what the Professors offered us, we already got what we wanted. The school stays open, and we all get to stay together."

"What about your parents?" Pansy asked, she was getting teary eyed for some reason.

"What about them?" Ron shrugged. "I want to stay here in Slytherin. I want to stay here with all of you. And I'm not going to let them take me away because they have something against this House. I'm not them, and I don't have to share their beliefs. I'm my own person. I know what I believe in, and I'm sticking by it." And it was right then that Ron was attacked by four overly affectionate girls, and Theo and Blaise had leaped out of the way to save themselves. They didn't get far…

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Boy's Dorm – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron fixed the collar of his best robes, and he smiled at his reflection. His hair was getting slightly longer and messy again, but it stayed in place due to the gel Pansy had given him. He planned to ask her for another haircut soon. His black velvet robes were clean and without a single crinkle, and he wore an emerald colored tie to compliment the green studs that lined the robes designs. All in all, he looked quite presentable. Ron left the bathroom with a wide smile, it felt nice to dress up every now and then.

"Ron, why are you awake this early?" came Blaise's voice, the dark-skinned boy was sitting up on his bed. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"Ah, yeah…" Ron said slowly. "I forgot to mention this last night, but I won't be around for today."

"What? Why?" Blaise asked quickly, his eyes no longer tired. _That was quite the reaction from Blaise, what's he up to?_

"I need to sign up for the Junior League Tournament, Blaise" Ron replied honestly. "Lord Greengrass told me to get all dressed up for some reason though."

"When will you be back?" Blaise asked, and Ron blinked at him. _Since when does he act this clingy?_

"Probably after classes" Ron shrugged. "The last time I went to sign up, Snape and I ended up waiting in lines for hours… Ugh… That is going to be the worst."

"Alright" Blaise nodded slowly, and Ron could tell that he was annoyed. _Whatever. This needs to get done, so I have to go._ Ron then walked over to his nightstand, and he froze. _Where is my wand?_ And that's when he remembered that he had been disarmed by 'Ginny'. Ron clenched his hands into fists, Merlin he was pathetic. He had lost the wand that Pandora had given him, and he had lost it without even firing a single spell… But the worst part was the fact that Ron had been so confident in his abilities, but he had been disarmed in little over a second. "Ron, what are you doing just standing there?" Blaise asked.

"My wand…" Ron sighed. "I need to go and find it."

"We already found it, Ron" Blaise told him, and Ron turned to face his best mate. "It's with Daphne right now. She probably forgot to give it to you because of all the excitement. You should head down to her dorm and grab it." Ron's cheeks went a bit red at that, and unfortunately, Blaise saw it. "Want me to go with you?" Blaise asked in a mocking tone. "I can hold your hand if you want."

"Fuck off, Zabini" Ron chuckled, and Blaise sniggered. "I'll see you after classes, bye."

"Take care, mate" Blaise responded as Ron left the room. Ron drew in a sharp breath after he closed his door, and then he walked out to the common room. From there, he walked into the girls' dorms. The moment he crossed the entrance, Ron began getting anxious. He'd never been in here before, and he couldn't help but worry that he would get in trouble if he got spotted. _If only I had my wand to cast the Disillusionment Charm. But then again, I wouldn't be here if I did have it._

Ron quickly found the door that had a sign saying 'Second Years' on it, and he knocked on the door lightly. Then another worry hit Ron, he was about to see the girls in their pajamas. The thought made him blush and smile a little, and he quickly checked to make sure that his hair was in place. Ron heard some movement from behind the door, and he schooled his features. _I'd rather not be seen smiling creepily when they come out._ The door opened very slightly, and Daphne peeked out. Her usually neat and styled hair was messy, and she had a groggy look on her face. Ron just blinked at her disheveled appearance, and a small part of him was glad that he couldn't see what she was wearing. Daphne's eyes popped open at the sight of him, and she shrieked as she shut the door in his face. _What the fuck?_

"Um… Daph" Ron spoke to the door. "I need my wand…"

"Give me a minute!" Daphne yelled back, and he could hear her moving around the room frantically. He then started hearing other voice too, and he figured that Daphne had woken up the other girls when she had shrieked. _What was with that reaction?! I just want my wand back. She can just hand it over from a crack in the door._

"Tracey, what are you doing?" Pansy hissed from behind the door.

"Greeting Ron properly" came Tracey's mischievous voice.

"YOU'RE NAKED!" Pansy shrieked, and Ron took a long, slow step away from the door. "Mills, grab her!" Ron could hear a scuffle happening behind the door, and he could hear Tracey laughing wildly. Ron just stood rooted in his spot, maybe this was a bad idea. After a minute of waiting, Daphne suddenly popped out of the room and she quickly shut the door behind her. She was wearing silver silk pajamas that hugged her figure, her hair looked like it had been patted down, and judging by the water marks on her pajamas, she had just washed her face. Ron was also glad to see that she was holding his wand in her left hand.

"Here…" Daphne said as she handed his wand to him, and Ron took it with a smile. It felt warm in his left hand, and he could feel the hum of its magic. Having it back instantly comforted Ron, and he quickly put it in his inner robe pocket. Ron then looked back up to see a rather bashful looking Daphne, her cheeks was rather crimson.

"Thank you, Daph" Ron said gratefully. "I really appreciate you taking care of my wand for me." _That sounded really wrong._ Apparently Daphne thought so as well because she just blinked at him, her face getting redder by the second. "I didn't… mean it like that…" Ron stammered.

"No, it's okay" Daphne muttered, and then she took a good look at him. "Ron, why are you so dressed up?"

"Yeah, about that" Ron sighed, at least it was less awkward now. "I won't be around today…" Daphne quickly cut him off.

"What?!" Daphne asked, her eyes wide open from surprise. _That's the same reaction Blaise had, what the hell?_ "Why? And when will you be back?"

"I'm going to go sign up for the Junior League Tournament" Ron replied slowly. "I should be back after classes end for the day… Daph, what's going on?"

"Nothing" Daphne lied, and Ron blinked at her.

"Alright, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's happening" Ron crossed his arms, and Daphne gave him a sheepish look.

"It was supposed to be a surprise" Daphne sighed after a few seconds. "We wanted to celebrate your birthday, and you coming back…"

"Oh" Ron responded. "I see…"

"Why didn't you tell us yesterday?" Daphne pouted.

"It… slipped my mind" Ron replied, he was suddenly feeling really guilty. "I'm really sorry, Daph…"

"You'd better be back by five" Daphne pouted even more. "And you'd better come straight to the Sanctuary."

"I will, I promise" Ron smiled at her, and she slowly smiled back a little. "Well, I'd best be off. I don't want to keep your father waiting, and I still need to eat some breakfast." With that, Ron started to leave but Daphne stopped him by putting a hand on his left forearm. Ron stopped at that, and he turned to face her. "What is it, Daph?"

"Um…" Daphne said softly, and Ron blinked at her. _Why is she looking all bashful again? And why is she biting her bottom lip? Daphne never does that… And is that toothpaste on the corner of her lips?_

"Daph, I'm in a bit of a hurry here" Ron said softly. "But if something is bothering you, you can talk to me." Daphne sighed at that, and then she let go of his left forearm.

"It's alright, I'll see you at the Sanctuary" Daphne forced on a smile.

"Alright then" Ron nodded, but he knew that something was bothering her. "I'll see you guys later…" Ron left at that, and he wondered about what was bothering Daphne. _I'll ask her later tonight._

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Great Hall – Early Morning)**_

Ron finished up his big breakfast, and he cleaned his lips with a napkin. It still astounded him that he used to eat like such a pig… At least that was a thing of the past, and Ron now had some manners thanks to his friends. If he ever had children, then he'd make sure to teach them proper table etiquette. As Ron stood up, his eyes wandered around the empty hall. _I know that it's early, but there are generally still some students around._ Ron pondered why the Great Hall was empty as he left the Great Hall, but his attention was immediately taken by the House Point Hourglasses in the Entrance Hall. More specifically, it was the Gryffindor Hourglass that got his attention. The bottom half of the Hourglass, which showed how many points had been earned, was almost filled with blood-red rubies.

"What the fuck?!" Ron exclaimed. "When did they earn so many fucking points?!" Ron immediately looked to the Slytherin Hourglass, and it wasn't even half as full as the Gryffindor one. "What the actual fuck?" Ron muttered. Slytherin House was in second place, Ravenclaw in third, and Hufflepuff in fourth. But none of that mattered because the damn Gryffindor Hourglass was filled to bursting. Ron stared at the Hourglass that was filled with rubies, and he let out an annoyed huff. Ron then marched straight for Snape's Office. _If he's down there, then he can explain what the hell happened while I was away._ Ron quickly found himself knocking on Snape's door, and Snape answered.

"Come in" Snape's voice drawled, and Ron entered the Office and shut the door behind himself. Snape was marking some papers, his long greasy hair covering his face.

"Professor" Ron called, and Snape looked up. His black hair moved back into its usual position, and he stared at Ron with a blank expression. "I was just walking by the House Point Hourglasses…" Snape cut Ron off by clicking his tongue.

"Then you saw that we've lost the House-Cup" Snape frowned a little as he relaxed into his seat.

"What happened, Sir?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.

"Haven't your friends told you of their involvement in locating the Chamber?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded. "And did they tell you that Potter and Longbottom helped them?" It all hit Ron like a ton of bricks at that, the two Gryffindors had no reason to decline the rewards. They had gotten two hundred points each, along with everything else. _But Theo and Blaise told me that they figured out everything on their own! They just used Potter to open the Chamber!_

"Damn…" Ron whispered as he rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand.

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley" Snape drawled.

"Can we come back in any way?" Ron asked, and Snape just sighed. "What about the Quidditch Cup? We were winning that, and since Quidditch is back on…"

"Quidditch may be back on, Mr. Weasley" Snape frowned. "But there is no Quidditch Cup this year, the Headmaster failed to mention that in all of his excitement. The games are all friendly, and everyone gets to participate. There is no competition at all." _Then it's over. Fuck._ "Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom were publically given trophies and named the saviors of the school" Snape said bitterly. "And as such, they were also showered with House Points."

"But we did all the work!" Ron snapped, and Snape blinked at him. "All Potter did was speak a few words in Parseltongue! Neither one of them deserve any of those rewards!" Something flashed in Snape's black eyes, and he eyed Ron carefully.

"And your friends told you of Potter's ability as well?" Snape asked, and this time Ron blinked at him.

"Yes, Sir" Ron replied with a firm tone. "They did…"

"Is that so?" Snape asked in an icy voice. "Then I suggest you stick with that story, Mr. Weasley, and don't do anything rash. Now, I believe that you should leave. Sebastian is no doubt awaiting your arrival… eagerly." Ron just stared at Snape for a few seconds, and then he moved to the fireplace. Just as he was about to throw some Floo Powder into the fire, Snape spoke up again. "Mr. Weasley, I suggest that you speak more with your friends when you return. I am sure that although they've told you much, there are still a great many things that they failed to mention." Ron nodded slowly, and then he tossed the Floo Powder into the fire.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Morning)**_

Ron had to steel his expression as he walked through the green flames, he didn't want to bother the Greengrass' with his bad mood. He was perfectly fine with taking no credit whatsoever, but that was because he wanted to protect his friends. What he wasn't fine with was the fact that Potter and Longbottom had gotten all the credit even though they didn't know their heads from their arses. The dumb bastards had blamed him all year around, and now they were being hailed as heroes. Ron and his friends had inadvertently secured Gryffindor's win, and that felt like a knife being twisted in his gut. Did he want to make peace with the duo? Yes, but only because he needed Potter down the line. It was never his intention to build Potter his winning crown…

"RON!" came a loud shriek, and Ron saw Tori bolting at him with a huge grin. "You're back!" she squealed as she jumped onto him, and Ron let out a grunt as he caught her. She hugged him tightly, and Ron completely forgot about the boy-who-stole.

"Yes, I'm back" Ron chuckled as he gave her a tight squeeze.

"Astoria Greengrass" came Mary's scolding voice. "A Lady does not act this way…" _Haha, she sounds so defeated._

"But I missed him!" Tori laughed as she kept squeezing Ron. Ron looked over Tori's shoulder and he saw Mary smiling at them, and he smiled back.

"I would greet you too, Mary" Ron chuckled. "But I have my hands full at the moment."

"It is alright, Ron" Mary said in a happy tone. "I'll just wait my turn like a **proper** Lady should."

"Proper Ladies are proper boring" Tori sniggered, and then she gave Ron a smothering kiss on his right cheek.

"Astoria!" Mary exclaimed. "Stop kissing him! You are too young! Ron, forgive my daughter…"

"It's alright, Mary" Ron laughed. "My sisters give me kisses all the time, so I'm used to it." _As does your other daughter…_ Ron felt his stomach do a flip as he thought about Daphne, they still hadn't talked about their kissing encounters.

"See, Ron doesn't mind" Tori laughed as she kissed him again, and Mary just sighed in defeat.

"Okay, Tori" Ron chuckled as he gave her one last squeeze. "I need to greet your mother and father as well, so let go."

"No" Tori giggled. "Make me!" Ron smirked at that. If that's how she wanted to play this, then so be it. Ron lowered his hands to her sides, and he began tickling her. Tori shrieked a laugh as she let him go and stepped away. "That's not fair" Tori laughed.

"Yes, it is" Ron grinned as he moved to tickle her again. Tori let out a wild laugh as she ran behind her mother, and Ron stopped chasing her. He looked to Mary, and she was just smiling at him. "It's good to see you again, Mary" Ron greeted her.

"Come here" Mary beamed, and Ron gave her a hug. She once again pressed him tightly to her bosom, and Ron couldn't help but notice that she smelled likes jasmines. _That's just how I smelled when I woke up. Jasmines and sandalwood…_ "It's good to have you back with us, Ron."

"It's good to be back" Ron hummed. Why was it that his mother never hugged him like this? He had seen all of his other siblings being hugged like this regularly, especially Ginny… But Ron only ever got these warm embraces from her when he was in mortal peril. _Stop it, don't let this ruin your mood even more._

"Come along, Ron" Mary said as she let him go. "My husband is in his study, and he told me to bring you straight to him."

"Then please lead the way" Ron nodded. They began walking towards the study, and Tori grabbed onto his gloved hand. Mary decided not to comment on her daughter's behavior, what would be the point?

"Are you excited Ron?" Tori asked with a wide grin, and Ron blinked at her.

"Excited for what?" Ron asked.

"We're going with you to sign up" Tori said in a joyful tone. "I'm really excited to see Diagon Alley again. I want to go to the Ice-Cream Parlour again, and then we can go shopping. You can help me pick out some new dresses for Paris."

"Astoria…" Mary scolded lightly, but Tori just giggled.

"Paris?" Ron asked.

"We're going with you to France, dummy!" Tori laughed. "We have a holiday house in Paris, and it's so beautiful! Not as beautiful as the Manor of course, but the view is better. We'll spend the Easter Holidays there, and then go to Beauxbatons with you to cheer you on! But I already know that you're going to win anyway, father told me so himself."

"Did he?" Ron chuckled. "Your father has a lot of faith in me."

"He did say that he would fire you if you lost" Tori sniggered, and Ron went a little pale.

"He said that?" Ron asked slowly.

"Tori, stop lying to him" Mary shot a quick frown at her daughter. "Ron don't listen to her, she wants to get under your skin."

"Ron, you went so pale" Tori giggled, and Ron frowned a little.

"You're a menace, you know that?" Ron said in a deadpan voice.

"I'm delightful" Tori grinned. "And adorable! No one can deny that!" Ron just chuckled at Tori's wide grin and at Mary's defeated expression. When they reached the study, Mary opened the door and ushered them in.

"Ah, Ronald" Lord Greengrass smiled, he was standing in front of the fire again. "It is good to have you back in this room."

"It's great to be back, my Lord" Ron smiled as he shook Lord Greengrass' hand.

"Tell me, have you eaten this morning?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded.

"I had a big breakfast" Ron replied.

"Good, then we can set off immediately" Lord Greengrass nodded to his wife.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Diagon Alley)**_

"Is this going to take long, daddy?" Tori whined, she was had her right arm entangled with Ron's left arm.

"It did take ages last time" Ron answered for Lord Greengrass. "Professor Snape and I were in line for hours."

"Ugh…" Tori groaned.

"Tori, what did I say about groaning?" Mary asked, she was currently holding Lord Greengrass in the same way that Tori was holding Ron.

"Animals groan, Ladies don't" Tori pouted, and Ron chuckled softly. "Can't Ron and I get ice-cream while you and daddy sign him up?"

"It won't take long, my dear" Lord Greengrass replied. "Ron wasn't with me the last time. We'll go straight in, and he'll be signed up within minutes." _Really? Then why did I take the whole day off? Not that I mind skipping classes._

"And then we can get ice-cream?" Tori asked excitedly.

"Sorry, my dear" Lord Greengrass apologized, and Tori pouted again. "After we sign up, Ron and I need to attend to another matter." _Another matter?_ "After that, we have a lunch-time reservation at The Pond. But we can have ice-cream afterwards."

"Okay" Tori sighed, and Ron gave her soft smile.

"We can share our ice-creams, Tori" Ron whispered to her. "That way, you get to have two different types."

"But I could just get two different types" Tori blinked at him, and Ron just nodded. _I forgot that she doesn't understand how I grew up. Ice-cream from Florentine's was a rather special treat for us._

"Then you can have three different types" Ron shrugged, and Tori narrowed her eyes on him.

"You're hiding what you really wanted to say" Tori whispered. "Aren't you?" Ron chuckled at that. "Why are you laughing?"

"You just reminded me of Daphne, that's all" Ron smiled.

"Should I huff in annoyance as well?" Tori giggled, and Ron had to stifle a laugh. Tori then imitated Daphne's famous huff of indignation, and Ron let out a laugh.

"Stop it" Ron laughed while Tori giggled. "Oh, my stomach…"

"Alright you two, enough laughing" Lord Greengrass said as they neared Flourish and Blotts. "We need to show authority when we walk in there." Ron looked to the long line, and he grimaced as he remembered the long wait. _Snape was so pissed that I thought he was going to kill me._ Lord and Lady Greengrass led the way inside, and Ron ignored the annoyed cries from the people who were waiting in line. "Ron, come with me" Lord Greengrass ordered, and then he looked to his wife. "Love, make sure Tori doesn't do anything… mischievous."

"Now why would you say that, father?" Tori asked in a polite voice, and Ron had to bite his tongue in order to not snigger.

"Come along, Ron" Lord Greengrass said in a firm voice, and Ron walked up to the counter with him. Ron smiled a little when he saw Mr. Curtis, the man who had hosted last year's tournament, sitting behind the counter.

"Ah, Lord Greengrass himself" Mr. Curtis greeted with a smile.

"Good morning, Benjamin" Lord Greengrass nodded. "There is quite the line out there."

"It **is** the final day for registering" Mr. Curtis said, and then he looked to Ron and beamed. "Mr. Weasley, I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't be joining us this year." _He remembers me?_

"I will be, Mr. Curtis" Ron smiled at the older man. "I enjoyed last year's tournament quite a lot, and I want to try and win this one too."

"Confident, I like it" Mr. Curtis nodded.

"He has every reason to be" Lord Greengrass smirked. "He won in quite the fashion last year."

"I remember" Mr. Curtis smiled. "Hard to forget a perfect record, and the fact that he is your apprentice now." Mr. Curtis then pushed the sign up book towards Ron.

"Don't I have to play a game in the back room?" Ron asked. "Or give you a drop of blood like last time?"

"That won't be necessary" Mr. Curtis replied, and Ron saw the old man's eyes dart to Lord Greengrass for a second. Ron signed his name in the book, and then Mr. Curtis looked to make sure that everything was in order. "You are now signed up" Mr. Curtis smiled. "Matches start on the twenty third of March, and end on the twenty seventh of March. The top eight will play on the first of April." _The twins' birthday is on the first of April. I should get them something from Paris._

"And how many contestants are in the Junior League Tournament this year?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Lord Greengrass, you know that I can't tell you that" Mr. Curtis replied, but Lord Greengrass just stared at Mr. Curtis. "We are settling on an even fifty again…" Mr. Curtis whispered as he gave in, and Lord Greengrass smiled faintly.

"Thank you, Benjamin" Lord Greengrass said. "Have a pleasant day. Come, Ron, we'd best be off." Ron then followed Lord Greengrass back to Mary and Tori, and he couldn't help but smile a little. Lord Greengrass was so… powerful. He may not be the most powerful wizard, but his mere presence was undeniable. _It's the way he holds himself, I reckon. He doesn't take shite from anyone. That, and the fact that he is the wealthiest wizard in England._

"That was quick, love" Mary greeted her husband.

"Benjamin and I have known each other for a long time" Lord Greengrass replied. "And he remembered Ron from last year. Come, let's be off. I've never liked the smell of this place." They walked outside, and Lord Greengrass turned to face them all. "Ron and I will be parting ways with you here, love. We will meet you at The Pond just before our reservation."

"Why?" Tori whined. "I want Ron to see my dresses…"

"And he will, sweetheart" Mary smiled at her youngest daughter. "But he will see them in Paris. Your father and he have some things to take care of." _What things?_

"Fine…" Tori pouted.

"Come, Ron" Lord Greengrass ordered as he began moving, and Ron followed him after he gave Tori an apologetic smile. He quickly caught up to his mentor, and he decided to ask where they were going.

"My Lord, may I ask where we are going?" Ron asked.

"We are going to get you some more robes" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron blinked at him.

"My Lord, I already have quite a few…" Ron said slowly.

"And they are wonderful, Ron" Lord Greengrass smirked. "But the fashion in France is quite different than it is in England. And I want you to look perfect at the events that we will be attending."

"Events?" Ron asked, what was going on here?

"Don't worry about it yet, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied. "Just do as I say, and everything will be fine."

"Alright, my Lord" Ron responded, though he did feel a bit worried about these 'events'. "Um… my Lord…"

"Yes, Ron?"

"Madam Malkin's is in the opposite direction…" Ron said slowly.

"I know, but we aren't going to Madam Malkin's for your new robes."

"Oh… and where are we going?" Ron asked.

"A shop called 'Exquisite Fashions'. It is in the upper district, and every Pure-Blood that wants to travel out of England shops there." _Upper district? Oh, the posh area! Sirius and I got Daphne her tennis bracelet from there._ "We will get you some Muggle attire as well considering that our holiday house in Paris is in Muggle Paris."

"Muggle Paris? Why?" Ron asked with a surprised tone.

"The French Ministry doesn't like people from other countries to own homes in Magical Paris. They are quite… strict… about this rule."

"They don't want people from foreign countries to own their property?" Ron took a guess. "Does it upset the locals?"

"Very perceptive" Lord Greengrass smiled at Ron, and Ron mentally patted his own back. "Yes, they say that Magical Paris is for **French** wizards and witches. Their Ministry is quite… xenophobic. Especially where we British are concerned."

"Why? I thought that the Ministries got along well."

"They do on the surface, Ron. But a clever man should always delve deeper into such matters. Tell me, why do you think that they despise us?" Ron thought about it for a few seconds, and then he took a guess.

"The Great War?" Ron guessed, and Lord Greengrass gave him a pat on the back.

"Exactly, Ronald. They blame us for the war that the Dark Lord started, and most of that blame is placed on the Pure-Blood Families. Families like mine, and Families like yours."

"But the War happened in England…" Ron muttered.

"It happened everywhere, trust me on that. The Dark Lord had supporters across the Globe, and they all slithered out of their caves to support him. The French Ministry almost fell because of the radicals in their own house. And instead of owning up to their own short-comings, they pointed the finger right at us."

"Why would they do that?" Ron asked.

"To avoid getting lynched by their own people, I suppose" Lord Greengrass sighed. "Once they successfully did that, they crafted laws that prohibited any foreigners from having too many rights in their country. One of those laws is that only French witches and wizards can own property in Magical Paris. The rest of us have to live in Muggle Paris. This was their way of showing the public that they were actually doing something."

"I didn't know that" Ron shook his head.

"Ron, you must expand your knowledge about this world" Lord Greengrass advised. "You will, after all, inherit it. Along with its problems… But if you have the knowledge, then you've already won half the battle." Ron nodded at that, and he vowed to look more into the Great War. _I should have done that a time ago, and since the Heir is taken care of, I can get back into it._ "We're here" Lord Greengrass said as they stopped in front of a rather fancy looking clothes shop. Ron's eyes went to the sign that said 'Sponsored by the Malfoy Family', and Ron frowned deeply.

"Welcome" came a man's voice as they entered the shop. Ron looked at the portly man with the bright red cheeks. The man was wearing rather flashy robes and a Muggle hat of some sort, and he wore a greedy smile on his face. "Lord Greengrass, a pleasure to see you again."

"Good morning, Timothy" Lord Greengrass smiled politely. "I'm here to get some clothes tailored for my apprentice, we will be traveling to France very soon."

"Ah, beautiful country" Timothy said with a salesman like voice. "And the ladies… magnifique!"

"Indeed" Lord Greengrass said. "I want five robes tailor-made for him in the most current fashion amongst his age group. I also want three Muggle suits, and five casual attires."

"Excellent" Timothy said, a greedy glint in his eyes. "Let me get my measuring equipment" the portly man said as he went into the back of the store. Ron looked around the shop, and he was rather awed. It was immaculate, there were so many different types of clothes on mannequins, the walls were lined with different materials, and the store had a very modern aesthetic to it. There was even a crystal chandelier that hung quite low.

"Do you want any gloves?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron smiled at his mentor.

"No, my Lord" Ron replied. "I have this one from Daphne, and I really like it." Lord Greengrass eyed the black, horned-serpent glove, and he nodded in approval.

"First a ring, and now an expensive glove" Lord Greengrass smirked. "My daughter likes to spoil you, I see."

"Spoil me?" Ron muttered, his cheeks flushing. _I've kissed his daughter, and if he ever finds out, they'll never find my corpse._

"My daughter is very fond of you" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "That is all I meant."

"I'm… fond of her too" Ron said softly, and Lord Greengrass smiled at him and nodded. Luckily for Ron, the portly man came out with his measuring tools. Ron spent the next five minutes being measured thoroughly, and once that was done, the portly man looked to Lord Greengrass.

"How old is he?" Timothy asked.

"He turned thirteen three days ago" Lord Greengrass replied.

"Quite tall for his age" Timothy chuckled. "And I imagine that he will get taller still. Should I add a Growing Charm to the clothes?"

"Yes" Lord Greengrass nodded. "Now, show me your best materials." Ron and Lord Greengrass waited patiently as the fat man ran around grabbing different fabrics, and then he presented them all to his customers. Lord Greengrass eyed the materials for a long few seconds, while Ron just admired how nice they all felt. "This is garbage" Lord Greengrass said in a cold tone, and both Ron and Timothy were rather shocked.

"My Lord?" Timothy stammered. "These are my finest…" Lord Greengrass cut off the portly man with a cold stare that made even Ron shiver.

"Do not lie to me" Lord Greengrass said coldly. "You keep your best materials in the back of the store."

"I… I don't know what you mean…" Timothy blinked, and even Ron could tell that that was a lie.

"Yes, you do" Lord Greengrass said. "You keep those materials exclusively for the Malfoy Family, are you going to deny that?" Timothy just stared at Lord Greengrass, and then he shook his head softly. "Well, you don't do that anymore."

"My Lord?" Timothy muttered.

"I bought this building two days ago, and therefore, I bought your store as well" Lord Greengrass said with a cold voice.

"How?" Timothy asked with a shocked voice, and Ron just stood there quietly. _What is happening?_

"I paid Gringotts far more than you do, and since they own this entire block, they gave me the deed to this building" Lord Greengrass explained. "You should have never asked for a loan from Goblins, Timothy. They have a tendency to betray their patrons when more gold is offered."

"Lord Malfoy will…" Timothy started but Lord Greengrass cut him off.

"He can't help you anymore with your debts, Timothy" Lord Greengrass said coldly. "But I can, if you do as I say. Or… You can lose this prime location and peddle your wares in the Middle District." Timothy didn't say anything, and Lord Greengrass smirked. "Go and get those materials." Timothy blinked, and then he slowly left for the back of the store.

"What was that, my Lord?" Ron asked.

"Just business, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied.

"It was a little harsh, don't you think?" Ron asked. "I mean… He was really polite to us."

"He was polite because he wanted our money" Lord Greengrass told Ron. "Feelings have no place in business, Ron. Remember that. And since I was so harsh, the next time I walk into this store, he will immediately show me his best materials. A man like him is motivated by his greed for money, and he knows now that I have plenty more than Lucius Malfoy."

"Is there a reason why you're going after Mr. Malfoy like this?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass clenched his square jaw.

"He has shown me a lot of disrespect recently" Lord Greengrass replied. "No one comes after my own." Ron nodded at that, but he didn't really understand what Lord Greengrass was talking about.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Diagon Alley - Lunch Time)**_

Ron had spent the next three hours getting fitted over and over again, Lord Greengrass was an extremely picky individual. Timothy had been extremely nervous at first, and he was horrified when he had seen Ron without a shirt. That had made Ron feel quite self-conscious, but thankfully, Timothy had been quick to apologize for his reaction. Timothy had eventually calmed down a bit, and he had even made sure that both Ron and Lord Greengrass had refreshments while they waited. Once they were finally done choosing the best materials for Ron, Lord Greengrass himself was sized and fitted. Let's just say that Ron was extremely glad when Lord Greengrass had paid Timothy for his services.

"Have the robes sent to Greengrass Manor when you're finished" Lord Greengrass instructed, and then he reached into his inner robe pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. "This is a Gringotts Bond, Timothy. It settles half of your debt with the Goblins."

"My Lord?" Timothy asked, a greedy glint returning to his eyes.

"You'll get the second half after you tell all of your fellow Upper District merchants of my generosity" Lord Greengrass said coldly. "And you will no longer serve the Malfoy Family, do you understand?"

"Yes… I do…" Timothy stammered.

"Good, and change that sign outside" Lord Greengrass ordered as he turned to leave. "Come, Ron. My wife and daughter are waiting for us." Ron followed after Lord Greengrass, and he shot Timothy an apologetic look. But that was unnecessary because Timothy was smiling greedily at his Gringotts Bond. _I guess Lord Greengrass was right about his greed._

"My Lord, why did you really go after Mr. Malfoy in this manner?" Ron asked.

"You ask a lot of questions, Ron" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"Sorry, my Lord" Ron sighed.

"Don't be" Lord Greengrass replied. "I was just about to commend you on it. It is important to ask questions, and you tend to ask the right ones. As for your previous question, I want to hit Malfoy where it hurts. His ego."

"I see" Ron nodded. "And it's because he's disrespected you, right?"

"Yes, he has" Lord Greengrass replied. "Far too many times…"

"Are you going to elaborate on that…?" Ron asked slowly, he knew he was pushing his luck. But he was rather curious about this.

"Very well" Lord Greengrass sighed softly. "Lucius and I were friends when we were younger, we were even in the same year at Hogwarts. We had big plans together… We wanted to merge our businesses, and our families."

"So like Daphne and Draco?" Ron asked, an odd sense of jealousy tightening his gut.

"Yes, I suppose so" Lord Greengrass answered. "We of course had no idea about our children yet, but we still planned a union of some sort. And then, the War happened…" Ron waited for Lord Greengrass to continue, but he didn't for a few seconds. "A lot happened during that time, Ron. And because of that, Lucius and I became estranged. I truly believe that this was for the best, for both our sakes. But recently, Lucius has become emboldened. He slights me at every turn, and he believes that he has the right to look down on me because he kissed the Dark Lord's feet while I didn't."

"And now I have reason to believe that he orchestrated the attacks on Hogwarts" Lord Greengrass continued, and Ron went wide-eyed. "Not only did he suspend Albus Dumbledore without my vote, but he has been passing policies without my knowledge this year. I've put an end to that by having him fired as Chairman, and now I hold the Chair temporarily."

"How did you get him fired?" Ron asked slowly, was Lucius really behind these attacks? _If that's true, then he is the reason why Ginny was possessed. And if that's the case… He's a dead man._

"He was threatening nine of the Board members" Lord Greengrass shook his head. "And since he knew that he couldn't threaten me and Bulstrode, he elected to keep us out of the way. It all came back to haunt him when Albus Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts and saved the school. I was able to use that to leverage the other Board members into voting Lucius out. And then, I took the Chair as I held the highest amount of shares."

"But it's temporary?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass smiled.

"No, Ron. No, it is not" Lord Greengrass replied. "I have no intention of giving up that Chair, and I have a perfect candidate to replace Lucius with. He is currently buying as many shares as he can quietly, and I will announce him when the Board convenes next."

"May I ask who it is?" Ron asked.

"Lord Sirius Orion Black" Lord Greengrass smirked, and Ron was stunned.

"Sirius? Really?" Ron asked.

"He has the Black fortune backing him, Ron. He may be a bit… immature. But that can be changed with a little help."

"Help from you…" Ron figured, and Lord Greengrass just kept smirking.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Lunch)**_

The Pond's food had been nothing short of amazing, just like last time. After that, they had all gotten ice-cream from Florentine's. Tori had told Ron all about her shopping spree, and Ron listened to her quite happily. He had no idea that Tori loved new clothes so much, but he did now. She had bought over a dozen new dresses just for Paris, and one specifically for the Top Eight Tournament. At least she had the highest faith in Ron to make it to the Top Eight, and Ron decided that he wouldn't let her down. Once they had finally gotten back to Greengrass Manor, it was nearing four 'o'clock. Tori and Mary had gone upstairs to commence Tori's dance lessons, something that Ron couldn't even imagine happening in his own household. He wondered if Ginny and Luna would like to learn dancing, but the truth was that he didn't really know. Their lives were so different from the Greengrass' lives, but Ron decided to ask them when he saw them next.

"Take a seat, Ron" Lord Greengrass instructed, they were currently in the study. Ron took his usual seat, and he smiled in content. _I love this chair so much._ Lord Greengrass walked over to his 'Brandy Table', and he poured two equal glasses. "Ron… you are thirteen now, aren't you?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron answered. _But he already knows that._

"Then you are finally on the path to manhood" Lord Greengrass smiled at him, and Ron just blinked. "It is a tradition amongst the Greengrass Family for a father to share a drink with their sons when they finally reach your age. I have no son… But I would be pleased if you humored me." Ron was utterly stunned at that, this seemed like a huge thing to ask. _Is he really that fond of me?_ Ron just nodded dumbly, and Lord Greengrass' smile widened a little. Lord Greengrass then walked over with two Brandy snifters, and he handed one to Ron. Lord Greengrass then sat in his chair in front of Ron, and Ron just smiled awkwardly at his mentor.

"I've only ever had alcohol once" Ron admitted sheepishly. "It was some punch at a party, and I downed it in one go."

"Is that so?" Lord Greengrass laughed, his face lighting up. "Then I must teach you how to drink properly. Here, hold the snifter like I am" Lord Greengrass instructed, and Ron followed his instructions. Ron held the bowl of the snifter in the palm of his hand, and he waited for more instructions. "Good, now drink it in sips." Ron did as he was told, and he tasted the overpowering flavor of the Apple Brandy. It burned his throat on the way down, and he fought the urge to cough. "Can you taste the apples?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Yes, my Lord" Ron lied, he only tasted the burn.

"No need to lie" Lord Greengrass laughed. "My father asked me the same question, and I remember lying too."

"Sorry" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"No, it is alright" Lord Greengrass smiled widely. "I will make a connoisseur out of you yet, Ron." Lord Greengrass then took a sip from his own Brandy, and Ron did the same. _Merlin, it burns. Don't cough you little girl._

"My Lord…" Ron started, and Lord Greengrass smiled at him. "What was your father like?" Ron asked. _I've never shared something like this that's just between my dad and me._

"My father…" Lord Greengrass replied, his eyes becoming a bit distant. "He was a… blissful man. He tended to be the life of any party he attended, and he drank enough to put a Troll to shame. Some would even say that he was a good man." _Some?_

"What about you?" Ron asked after he sipped some more Brandy, it was beginning to burn less.

"I'd say that he was a weak man" Lord Greengrass smiled sadly, and Ron was a little stunned. "He craved the love and approval of others desperately, but he never tried to earn their respect. They loved his parties, and his jokes. But they held him in low esteem." _Love and approval…_ Ron felt his throat tighten a little at that, it hit close to home. "Which explains why most of his 'friends' didn't even attend his funeral."

"I see" Ron muttered. "I'm sorry for bringing it up…"

"Don't be" Lord Greengrass smiled. "Do not apologize so quickly, Ron. It can often show others that you are weak-willed." Ron nodded softly. "Tell me, how are things with your own parents?"

"Not good" Ron sighed, and Lord Greengrass waited for Ron to continue. "I acted rather… coldly… towards them when I woke up yesterday."

"Why?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Because I didn't want to see them" Ron admitted rather shamefully. "I just… I don't want to see them right now. I know that I've been gone for a couple of weeks, but to me… It's only been a day." Ron took another sip, and he felt a bit more relaxed. "They're causing me so many problems, and they're doing it just because they don't like Slytherin House…"

"I see" Lord Greengrass nodded. "Ron, has it occurred to you that they might be doing it because they care about you?"

"Of course it has" Ron replied. "But that's the problem…"

"Go on" Lord Greengrass said after Ron stopped.

"They care about me only when something bad happens…" Ron muttered, his face flushing. "When everything is fine… they mostly just ignore me. And because of that, they can't fathom the fact that I'm not turning into some Blood-Supremacist. They don't even really know me… They have no… They don't respect me…" Ron took a bigger sip this time. "I don't want to leave Slytherin, or my friends. I used to hate the idea of being in Slytherin, but now…"

"Now you enjoy it" Lord Greengrass finished, and Ron nodded firmly.

"And I don't want to give it up…" Ron sighed. "I don't want to give **this** up…"

"I understand" Lord Greengrass smiled softly. "But I want to make one thing clear, Ron. Even if you get Re-Sorted, you will still be my apprentice. I have no intention of untethering my name from yours."

"Thank you" Ron smiled gratefully. "But it's my friends who I'm really worried about. With me gone, people like Malfoy will… They will try and move in. I don't want to leave my friends." Both of them went silent at that, and they both just sipped their Brandies in silence for a few minutes. _I can't believe that I admitted all of that to him. So much for not showing any weakness, Weasley. You damn poof._

"Ron, I know it's not my place to put myself in your family affairs" Lord Greengrass said suddenly. "But if you truly want to stay in Slytherin, then you need to talk to them. Sooner or later, you will **have** to talk to them."

"And what if they refuse to listen?" Ron asked softly. "They refused to listen to Dumbledore. They refused to listen to Pandora, Sirius, Remus, and Xenophilius. They refused to listen to you…"

"Then you make them listen" Lord Greengrass said firmly, and Ron looked to see his mentor staring at him seriously. "Sometimes, Ron… Sometimes it is better to put your foot down rather than let people walk all over you. Even if it means saying some harsh truths. Do you understand?" _Is he telling me to tell them how they make me feel?_ Ron nodded slowly, and Lord Greengrass nodded back. "If you can't have someone's love and approval, then you need to at least have their respect."

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Hogwarts Castle)**_

It was nearly five 'o'clock as Ron made his way up to the Sanctuary, and his mind was still absorbing Lord Greengrass' words. How long was Ron supposed to toil away just to be noticed by his parents? There was a time when Ron felt lesser than all of his siblings, but not anymore. He had come to terms with his accomplishments, and he felt extremely proud of himself. He had worked his arse off to get to where he was now. But if his parents couldn't even look past which house he was sorted into, then what the fuck was the point of trying so hard to please them? Maybe he did just need to put his foot down. Maybe he needed to tell them that he was tired of being the one they neglected. Before Slytherin, Ron was always the last pick in everything. But now… Now he was respected. He was well-liked. And he was now his own person. He didn't feel the need to compare himself to his brothers. _And yet, my own parents claim that Slytherin is bad for me? They don't know a damn thing about me._

"Ron!" came an excited voice, and Ron focused ahead to see Daphne standing near the entrance of the Sanctuary. _I was so zoned out, I didn't even notice that I made it all the way here._

"Daphne" Ron put on a smile, and she smiled back. "I'm here, just as I promised."

"Good" Daphne said as he walked up to her, and she saw that he was bothered. "Are you alright, Ron?"

"I'm fine, Daph" Ron lied, and she just stared at him.

"You're lying" Daphne sighed.

"Am I?" Ron smirked, and she nodded.

"Tell me what's wrong, Ron" Daphne ordered. He stared at her for a few seconds, and then he relented. Daphne was the only person that he felt comfortable telling this sort of stuff to. Mostly because she had proven to able to keep a secret or two.

"I'm thinking about my parents" Ron sighed, and Daphne sniffed the air. _What the…?_

"Ron, have you been drinking?" Daphne asked slowly, her brow furrowed. _Busted!_

"Um… yes" Ron replied in a guilty tone, and Daphne blinked at him. "Your father and I had some of his Apple Brandy…"

"Oh…" Daphne said softly, her eyes wide with surprise. "That's… surprising…"

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Father never allows Tori or me to go near his Brandy collection" Daphne pouted.

"Are you… jealous?" Ron chuckled, and she pouted even more.

"No" Daphne huffed in indignation. "Now… Tell me what's bothering you about your parents. I don't want you in a sour mood for this 'surprise' party."

"This whole Re-Sorting nonsense…" Ron sighed. "It's a fucking mess…"

"Language, Ron" Daphne scolded, and he put his hands up in surrender. "As for your parents… Ron, I have to tell you something. Something that I didn't mention last night." Ron's ears perked up at that.

"What is it?" Ron asked slowly.

"I spoke with them a few days ago" Daphne confessed. "Alone."

"What?" Ron asked in shock. "What did you talk about?"

"You… and Slytherin" Daphne smiled softly. "I told them that we were the ones behind catching the Heir of Slytherin, Ginny, that is. And that we found the entrance to the Chamber, not Potter."

"I thought that we weren't telling anyone the truth?" Ron asked.

"I **needed** to tell them, Ron" Daphne replied. "And Dumbledore backed up my story himself. It… It made a dent in their resolve, I think. Your mother was extremely happy, and your father was… conflicted…" _Conflicted? What does that mean?_

"Did they tell you that they were going to back off?" Ron asked, his excitement growing. _I could kiss her right now! Did she seriously just put this nonsense to bed?!_

"They didn't say that" Daphne sighed. "Your mother isn't the one driving this decision, Ron. It's your father who wants you Re-Sorted." Ron just blinked at her, was she serious? _No, he isn't like that. He may ignore me sometimes, but he has never done something like this before. It's always mum that does things like this._

"You're… lying…" Ron muttered, and Daphne was taken aback. "My dad isn't like that…" Daphne quickly realized her mistake.

"You didn't know?" Daphne asked slowly, her face showing her guilt.

"He wouldn't do that…" Ron repeated. _Would he?_

"I'm sorry, Ron. But it's the truth… You're father started this whole thing, and he is still… He's still not there yet."

"What does that even mean?" Ron asked, he just felt drained for some reason. _How could dad do this to me? I thought that unlike mum, he was actually proud of my accomplishments._

"He said that you had changed too much" Daphne said slowly, she hated telling him this. But it had to be done, or Ron would be trying to convince the wrong parent. "That he didn't recognize you anymore…" Ron just stared at her, his stomach twisting in knots. And then, he turned to leave. "Ron, where are you going?" Daphne asked as she grabbed his right forearm.

"I'm tired" Ron said in a hollow tone. "I'm going to bed."

"But the party…" Daphne muttered. "Ron, we planned this for ages. We've all been waiting for so long for you to come back, please don't leave."

"Why would he do this to me?" Ron muttered to himself. "I haven't changed that much…" Daphne just blinked at him, and she scolded herself internally. What was she thinking? Why had she told him this right before the party? She had to stop him before he did anything rash, like he always did when he got upset.

"Ron, look at me" Daphne said firmly, and Ron just gazed at her. "You said that you didn't care about what they said, remember?" Ron just stared at her. "You said that you'd stay in Slytherin because that's what you wanted, remember? Well, you can't do that alone. Everyone is waiting for you in that room, your friends are waiting for you. Just come inside, please. We can talk about this after the party when you've calmed down a bit, okay?" Ron nodded slowly, but he really didn't want to go with her. He wanted to go to his room and think… Daphne quickly paced back and forth, and the door to the Sanctuary appeared.

"Ron…" Daphne smiled at him. "Please smile, don't let them see you like this. This is really important to them… to us." Ron forced on a smile for her sake, and she looked grateful. "Just get through this, and then we can talk. Just you and me, alright?" Ron nodded again. _What's there to talk about? Both of my parents are…_ Ron stopped himself from thinking whatever he was about to think. _How could he do this to me? He signed the fucking contract that let me work with Lord Greengrass in the first place! And what the fuck does he mean by he doesn't recognize me? He barely ever noticed me before._ Ron followed Daphne inside with a fake smile, and he was greeted by his friends.

"SURPRISE!" they all yelled, except for Blaise. _Just get through this._

"Guys! I had no idea!" Ron laughed, but it felt so fake to him.

"Daphne told you?!" Pansy exclaimed, and then she frowned at Daphne. "How could you?!"

"I didn't have a choice" Daphne sighed. "He was leaving for the entire day, I had to get him to come back somehow."

"It's alright" Ron chuckled. "I'm still really grateful, believe me." _Please do, for your own sakes._ "Was this Blaise's idea?" Ron joked, and Blaise frowned at him.

"Of course, Weasley" Blaise said sarcastically. "You know me… I love throwing other blokes birthday parties."

"It's true" Theo smirked. "Blaise has always been a bit of a…" Tracey coughed and stopped him.

"Don't just stand there, come here" Tracey smiled, and Ron and Daphne walked up to the couches. There was a Happy Birthday banner floating around magically, a white cream cake on the coffee table, and presents on his favorite chair in front of the fire. Ron slowly forgot about his father's… betrayal. Maybe Daphne was right to bring him inside. _She's always right about this sort of stuff._

"Happy birthday, Ron" Pansy said as she hugged him. The other girls gave him hugs as well, and Millie's hug made his back crack a little. The boys, thankfully, gave him firm handshakes instead.

"How did you guys arrange all of this?" Ron asked as he sat down in between Daphne and Tracey.

"It was easy" Theo smirked. "We have our ways…"

"It was Marty" Millie confessed, and Theo gave her a deadpan look. "He made the cake, smuggled the presents, and he even made that banner." _Marty! I haven't even seen him yet!_

"Marty!" Ron called as he stood back up, and there was a loud crack.

"Master Ronald!" Marty squeaked, and then the Elf ran up and hugged Ron's middle. The girls all cooed, while Theo and Blaise just sniggered. Ron decided to hug Marty back, he owed Marty far more than that. "Marty has been awaiting your call, Master!"

"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, I've been… distracted" Ron apologized.

"It is alright, Master" Marty responded as he tightened his hug on Ron. "Marty visited you every night, Master. Marty was so afraid that you'd die…"

"I'm alright, Marty" Ron chuckled, and then a thought occurred to him. "Marty… Did you perhaps… clean me while I was petrified?" His friends all went wide-eyed, and Tracey burst into a laugh.

"Of course, Master" Marty replied like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Marty used a wet sponge to clean Master's face, and then Marty used magic to keep Master's clothes fresh." Ron's face went bright red, and his friends all sniggered wildly.

"Well, that explains why I smelled so nice when I woke up" Ron managed, he was honestly just dumbfounded by Marty's extreme loyalty. "Did anyone see you?"

"No, Master" Marty replied as he finally let go of Ron. "Marty was most careful! No one saw Marty, or suspected Marty!"

"That's great news" Ron sighed with a smile, he wanted to keep Marty a secret. _My own secret weapon._ Marty's eyes suddenly popped open, and he looked at Ron apologetically.

"Marty is being summoned to the kitchens, Master" Marty told Ron.

"Go on, then" Ron smiled. "And thank you Marty, for everything." Marty flashed a toothy smile, and then he disapparated.

"He 'cleaned' you while you were petrified!" Tracey laughed. "Merlin, that's too good."

"Shut up…" Ron muttered, his ears burning.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Before Dinner)**_

Daphne had been right. At first, Ron was having trouble staying happy and in the moment. But after seeing Marty's amazing act of loyalty, Ron didn't feel so alone anymore. And that's when he started having fun with his friends. They're excitement about his return was quite overwhelming, and Ron forgot all about his parents. They ate cake, talked about Lockhart's upcoming trial, and then they opened presents. Blaise had gifted him a new cloak, Theo had gifted him a book on poisonous plants, Tracey had bought him dung-bombs, Millie had gotten him an owl-grooming kit, Pansy had gifted him a brand new cloak, and Daphne had bought him a 'Rolex' watch. Ron was quite surprised by Daphne's Muggle gift, but he could sort of tell why she had gotten him a watch. She wanted Ron to wear her watch over the one that Hermione had gotten him for Christmas.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Millie asked with a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm still stuffed from eating lunch at The Pond" Ron answered truthfully. _It didn't help that Tori ordered that massive dish, and then she pawned it off on me to avoid getting in trouble._

"The Pond" Blaise smirked. "Italian Cuisine, both wizard and Muggle. Great atmosphere."

"I take it you've been there" Ron sniggered, and Blaise kept smirking.

"I like good food" Blaise shrugged. "Which is why I'm heading down to dinner. Not all of us have Lord Greengrass taking us out to meals."

"Blaise, jealousy does not become you" Theo mock scolded, and Blaise gave Theo a light shove. The school bell rang at that, and all of his friends stood up.

"You guys go ahead, I need to talk to Ron about Ginny" Daphne told them, and they all nodded. _Ginny? What haven't they told me yet?_ Ron's friends all left one by one, and then… It was just Ron and Daphne. Ron's stomach immediately started floating, and he cursed his weak will around her. "Thank you, Ron" Daphne smiled at him, and Ron just blinked.

"Thank you?" Ron asked.

"For enjoying yourself" Daphne hummed.

"Ah…" Ron nodded, and he relaxed into his favorite chair. "You were right, Daph. I needed that…"

"Of course I was right" Daphne smirked.

"You're so humble" Ron chuckled.

"I'm the most humble person that you'll ever meet" Daphne smirked more arrogantly.

"Do you know what the word 'contradiction' means?" Ron smirked back.

"Are you going to teach me?" Daphne cocked her head.

"I imagine that I have plenty to teach you" Ron said playfully, and Daphne giggled.

"How to be an oaf doesn't count" Daphne said as she stood up and walked over to him. "Now move, I want to sit with you like we always do when we're alone." Ron felt his cheeks redden at that, but he moved over. Daphne squeezed herself into the chair, and Ron shifted a bit to make her more comfortable. "Now talk to me, tell me what's really bothering you." Ron shifted a little more, he wasn't really good at this sort of stuff.

"Everything, I guess" Ron muttered as he gazed at the fire. "I just… I missed a lot of things while I was petrified."

"You did" Daphne said with a hard tone, and then she turned a little and hit him in the chest. Ron was surprised by that, and he could see Daphne glaring at him. "How could you be so stupid, Ron?" Daphne asked. "Why did you keep running off like that? Do you have any idea what you put us all through?!" Ron felt a strong pang of guilt at that. _And here I was hoping that we'd maybe trying kissing again…_

"I thought she was Ginny…" Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. "She wanted my help, that's what she said… I didn't know…"

"You could have told us" Daphne frowned. "You could have told me! Or Blaise! But you decided to keep it a secret… You could have died Ron!"

"I'm sorry…" Ron said softly. "I just wanted to help her…" They both went quiet for a few seconds, and Ron relaxed back into the seat. Daphne put her weight on his right shoulder and leaned back too. _What is wrong with me? She's berating me, and the only thing that I can think about is how nice she smells. I'm a damn pervert for certain._

"People started suspecting her of being the Heir" Daphne broke the silence.

"What?" Ron whispered.

"After the Chamber was discovered, and she was captured" Daphne explained. "Your parents came by the next day, and after Dumbledore spoke to them, they took her away from Hogwarts. People noticed her absence, and they started talking."

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered.

"But Dumbledore shut it all down" Daphne said softly. "He told everyone that she had a mental breakdown because of your attack, and that people had no right to judge her for it. The guilt-trip worked, and people are now waiting for her to come back so they can wish her well."

"He really did that?" Ron asked, a soft smile on his face.

"He did" Daphne replied as she relaxed a little more into him. "He's been doing his best to keep her involvement quiet. And ours as well."

"By giving Potter and Longbottom all the credit" Ron said, his voice a little bitter. Daphne turned a bit and came face to face with him. _Too close!_

"I thought you wanted to make peace with them?" Daphne asked, her warm breath hitting the right side of his jaw and neck. Ron fought the urge to shiver.

"I wanted to make peace with them, not hand them all the credit for our hard work" Ron replied. "They don't deserve it."

"No, they don't" Daphne agreed. "But without Potter speaking Parseltongue, we'd have never found the Chamber."

"You already knew of its location, didn't you?" Ron asked.

"We had four places picked out, yes" Daphne replied. "But Potter helped us narrow it down."

"And now he is the 'hero' of the school" Ron said venomously.

"Ron…" Daphne sighed. "What's really bothering you? First you wanted nothing more than to convince your parents, and to make peace with Potter and Longbottom. But now you don't care about either things? What happened?" Ron just stared at the fire, he didn't really know what say to that. Even he wasn't sure why he was so angry at everything. "Since you won't talk, can I take a guess?" Daphne asked, and Ron let out a humorless chuckle.

"Be my guest" Ron replied.

"I think that you aren't really angry with Potter and Longbottom" Daphne said softly. "I think you're angry with your mother and father, and you're projecting that anger at everyone who has 'slighted' you in the past. Which makes me wonder about what has you so angry with your mother and father. You weren't angry with them before your petrification, but you were angry when you woke up. So something happened in-between that time. Am I close?" Ron just blinked at her. _What the fuck?! MIND-READER!_ "I am, aren't I?" Daphne smiled.

"Do you read minds?" Ron asked genuinely, and Daphne laughed. _Answer me, woman!_

"Do you want to talk about it?" Daphne asked as she slowly stopped laughing.

"No, not particularly" Ron replied.

"Okay" Daphne sighed as she shifted a bit, and Ron felt her hip hit his. "Your brother Percy came and spoke with us today."

"He did?" Ron asked.

"He asked us why you were so cold to your parents" Daphne replied. "We lied to him, of course. And he believed us I think. But Ron, he will be looking for you tomorrow. He has no idea that they're trying to pull you out of Slytherin."

"Fuck…" Ron cussed, and Daphne frowned a little.

"Don't swear" Daphne scolded. "You're sharing a seat with a Lady, Ron…"

"I just want the Easter Break to start already" Ron sighed. "I want to go to Paris, and play chess."

"Oh!" Daphne squealed suddenly, and Ron jumped a little. "Did father tell you that we're all going to Paris with you?!"

"Tori did that" Ron smiled, he was honestly surprised by her sudden mood change.

"It's going to be so much fun, Ron" Daphne said excitedly. "I can't wait to show you my favorite places! There's this Muggle café that has cats just roaming around freely! You can eat scones and pet the cats! Oh, and the shops Ron! There's so many amazing shops in Paris!"

"You sound just like Tori did" Ron laughed. "She wouldn't stop talking about how amazing Paris is when we went out to lunch."

"Well, she was right" Daphne chuckled. "Paris is so amazing! But you'd better spend most your time with me, and not Tori." Ron blinked at that, and Daphne went a little wide-eyed. She had just spilled some of jealous tendencies right in front of Ron.

"I think I'll be spending most of my time with your father" Ron told her, and she nodded meekly. _She's gone crimson. Throw her a lifeline, Ron._ "But any time that I do get off, I'll spend with you" Ron said softly as he cursed how sappy he sounded. But it made Daphne feel better because she gave him a nice smile.

"Promise?" Daphne asked.

"I promise" Ron nodded. And then, she leaned forward and pecked his lips. Ron was dazed by that. _She did it again!_ "Daphne… What are we doing?" Ron asked her.

"Having a nice conversation?" Daphne smiled innocently.

"I'm serious, Daph" Ron frowned a bit.

"Don't frown" Daphne kept smiling. "You look better when you smile."

"I'll smile if you answer my question" Ron told her. "Why do we… kiss like that?"

"Because I like kissing you like that" Daphne said in a playful tone. "And I know you like kissing me. Don't you?"

"I… I do" Ron admitted.

"Then you should kiss me again" Daphne smiled, and she waited patiently. Ron slowly leaned forward and kissed her lips. "See, it's not that hard to do."

"What does this mean for us though?" Ron asked. "Are we… dating or something?"

"I wouldn't mind dating you" Daphne hummed. _If you date me, then you'll also be dating the Entity._

"Daph…" Ron sighed softly. "I've got a lot of things to deal with right now… I'm not ready for… dating."

"Then we don't have to date" Daphne said playfully.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked slowly.

"We can just keep doing what we're doing now" Daphne said as she leaned forward and pecked his lips again. "We can keep kissing each other in private, and not tell anyone."

"What if they find out?" Ron asked.

"That's the fun" Daphne giggled. "It's our secret, Ron."

"You make it sound like it's a fun thing" Ron said softly. _Trust me, keeping secrets is not fun._

"I'm having fun now" Daphne smiled playfully. "And so are you." Ron didn't say anything, instead he just stared at her. Their faces were so close together that if someone walked in, they'd be busted. "Are you going to say that you aren't having fun?"

"No…" Ron said. "I'm having… fun." _Or at least my stomach is, considering how it's flipping around._

"Good" Daphne said. "Then we can keep having fun in secret. When no one is around." Ron had to admit, he did like that idea. It felt oddly mischievous, like they were tricking everyone around them and getting away with it.

"So we just kiss each other when no one is around?" Ron asked.

"Or if one of us is feeling down about something" Daphne whispered.

"Like I am now" Ron told her, and so she pecked his lips again.

"I was feeling really down when you got petrified" Daphne told him, and so Ron kissed her back. "Doesn't that feel better?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded meekly. "Then it's settled. We can kiss each other when no one is around, or if one of us is feeling down about something."

"And we can't get caught" Ron added. "If your father found out, I'm a dead man." Daphne giggled at that.

"That just makes it more fun" Daphne giggled as she pecked his lips again.

"Fun for you, I'll be the one who's buried away in an empty coffin" Ron smiled. He was about to peck her lips again, but the school bell rang as it signaled the end of dinner.

"That's our cue to leave" Daphne told Ron, and he nodded. They both got up and smiled at each other, and then Daphne slowly grabbed his left wrist. "I want you to… wear my watch… And not Granger's…" Daphne said slowly.

"Okay" Ron nodded slowly, and then he took off Hermione's black digital watch. Daphne helped him put on his steel Rolex, and she smiled widely at it. "Your father told me that you like to spoil me…" Ron said softly as he stared at the beautiful analog watch. It was made of steel, had a gold ring around the time-piece, and four small diamond studs on the twelve, three, six, and nine time spots.

"And you don't spoil me?" Daphne giggled as she showed him the gold tennis bracelet with the dark sapphires. Ron smiled at it, and he remembered how happy she was when he had given it to her. "We spoil each other, Ron. The only difference is that you worked hard for the money that you've spent on me, whereas I just… have it." Ron couldn't help but detect a small note of guilt in her voice. Ron leaned forward and gave her a quick peck, and Daphne blinked at him. "What was that for?"

"You seemed down" Ron shrugged with a wide grin, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards.

"Stop grinning like that" Daphne said, her voice showing off her amusement. "Now let's go, before someone figures out that we spent dinner time kissing each other."

"Alright, but can we go to Owlery on the way?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly. "I want to send Ginny a letter."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Big chapter here, and Ron is all caught up now. A lot of stuff happened, and I won't summarize it haha! I mean, you just read the chapter right? Anyway, more Harry, Neville, and Hermione in the next chapter. Dumbledore also makes a return in Ron's life. Percy pursues Ron with the help from the twins. Ron runs into a certain angry platinum blonde. Ron and Daphne sneak around. And so on...**

 **Next Chapter will be aimed for a Wednesday release! Again, Australia time.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	45. Chapter 45 - The Ambitious Weasley

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 45 is here, and it is the biggest Chapter so far! 20,000 words! A lot is happening in this Chapter, so please try to bear with it! Also, it picks up right where it left off in the last Chapter.**

 **And please, Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 45 – The Ambitious Weasley**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (After Dinner)**_

"So what did you say to her?" Daphne asked as they made their way into the dungeons. Ron and Daphne had just been to the Owlery so that Ron could send Ginny a letter. "Besides adding on my own message to her."

"I asked her how she was" Ron shrugged. "If she was dealing with everything well, and that if she needs anything, she can always owl me. And I told her that I wasn't angry about her attacking me, and that it was all Tom Riddle's fault."

"That's nice" Daphne smiled sadly. "Poor girl… She must be going through so much right now." Ron felt his gut tighten at that. _I swear to Merlin that I'll kill the Dark Lord. First me, and now Ginny… How many people has he hurt in his miserable life? Fucking evil bastard._

"Did you get to talk to her before she was taken away?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow. "Or did you see her?"

"No, neither" Daphne replied. "She was behind a curtained bed while Dumbledore and I spoke to your parents. I think she was asleep… Or passed out. Sorry, Ron."

"No, it's alright" Ron smiled. "You did more than enough, Daph. I was glad to hear that you took charge like that, I think it's great." Daphne's cheeks turned a bit crimson, and she smiled softly.

"Well, now that you're back…" Daphne started, but Ron cut her off.

"You should stay in charge" Ron told her, and she was so taken aback that she stopped walking. Ron stopped too and he turned to face her, she looked quite surprised.

"What?" Daphne asked. "Why?" _Why does she look so bothered? I thought that she'd like to stay in charge._ "Are you planning to… leave?"

"What? No" Ron chuckled, and Daphne relaxed a little. "I thought that you'd enjoy staying in charge, and you are quite amazing at it."

"Not as amazing as you" Daphne admitted. "I have no idea how you keep everyone in check constantly… I almost killed Theo a dozen times, Millie's anger issues did my head in, and Blaise… Merlin… Blaise was just cold and demanding. And Pansy, she was so emotional all the time!" Ron just blinked at her. "I hated it…"

"Really?" Ron asked slowly, he was beyond shocked. "But everyone said that you were amazing at it… Even Blaise told me…"

"Ron, I hated it" Daphne said clearly, her face becoming dead-serious. "They were such a… such a handful. All of them wanted to pull the group into different directions, and none of them wanted to listen to reason unless it was forced on them… I never want to see them like that again."

"See them like what?" Ron asked.

"As a bunch of spoilt, self-entitled brats!" Daphne huffed. "And when I was trying to keep us together, that's all I saw them as. I don't know how you put up with it like you do. Malfoy kept everyone else's opinions pinned to the ground with insults and his father's power, but you… You just keep them in line without making them feel oppressed. Tracey… Tracey constantly told me to stop being **bossy** , and she meant what she said when she told you that I was horrible at being leader…"

"Daph…" Ron sighed. "I'm sure Tracey didn't mean that. She likes to poke fun at others, that's just how she is."

"I know how she is" Daphne frowned. "You don't live with her, Ron. She probably annoyed me the most with her goofy and non-helpful inputs. I don't want to stay in charge, that's final."

"Okay" Ron smiled softly. "I'm sorry for bringing it up…" _I had no clue that she hated it so much. She seems like the type to enjoy leading others, but I guess I read her wrong._

"And don't pawn off leadership to Theo or Blaise" Daphne ordered. "Blaise is too indifferent, and Theo is too self-serving." Ron just nodded. "Good. Now let's get back to the common room, we're already extremely late." They walked back in silence, and Ron contemplated her words. Was he really that good at being 'leader'? He didn't see himself as their leader though… He just saw them as different people who were his friends. Sure they had some bad traits, but so did he. _I'll just keep doing what I was doing before, which is just making sure that my goals are aligned with theirs. If there is one thing that I've learned about Slytherins, it's that they all have their own agendas._

"Pure-Bloods" Ron said to the entrance, and it slid open. Ron and Daphne made their way in, and they saw their friends sitting in their usual spot in front of the fire.

"Don't tell them about me hating them while I was in charge" Daphne whispered.

"My lips are sealed" Ron reassured her.

"There you two are" Pansy frowned slightly as they approached her and the others. "What took you two so long?"

"Yes, do tell us why you took so long" Tracey grinned suggestively. _We were kissing over and over again. And it was awesome!_

"Daphne was telling me about Ginny" Ron said as he sat down next to Blaise. "And about how Dumbledore kept everything a secret for her sake. And then I sent a letter to her."

"Oh…" Tracey pouted. "That's boring."

"Tracey" Millie frowned. "Ron sending his poor sister a letter isn't boring."

"Millie, it's alright" Ron smiled at her. "And yes, Tracey. It was boring, mostly because I had no clue on what to say to her." _There, that should keep them all in check._

"Malfoy is watching us" Blaise suddenly whispered to Ron, and Ron shot a quick look to see Malfoy and a bunch of third and fourth year Slytherins watching them. _Great, I forgot about that platinum haired twat._ Ron and Malfoy locked eyes, and Ron cocked his eyebrow.

"What are you looking at?" Pansy asked, but she didn't turn around to look.

"Malfoy is glaring at me" Ron sighed as he looked over to Pansy. "And he isn't alone. Let me guess, they aren't happy that the Blood-Traitor is back."

"No, they aren't" Theo sighed. "Malfoy managed to garner a lot of like-minded people while you were petrified. It was actually quite clever of him."

"Clever?" Millie frowned. "He waited until Ron was gone, and all he did was say that Ron was attacked because he was a Blood-Traitor. And all the idiots lined up to kiss his arse."

"Millie said arse" Tracey giggled, and Ron had to bite his tongue in order to not laugh. _Millie never swears. I'm a terrible influence._ "But she is right. He has a gang of cronies following him around now. You should have seen them strutting around Hogwarts, Ron. They were acting like the Heir was their best friend, and that they owned the school."

"Which we all know isn't even remotely true" Daphne said.

"The truth doesn't matter in this instance" Blaise said in an aloof tone. "He has the numbers now that he didn't have before. Which means that he will become emboldened, just as all cowards do when they have people to hide behind."

"Let him come" Ron said with a happy smile, and his friends blinked at him. "We've beaten him before, and we can do it again." _And I really need to let my anger out._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, Malfoy had no idea who he was messing with.

"Talking about beating Malfoy" Tracey smirked. "Did Pansy tell you that she slapped him into another dimension?" _Huh? Pansy slapped Malfoy?_ Ron looked to Pansy with an inquisitive look, and he saw that her cheeks had garnered a blush.

"It was nothing…" Pansy muttered, but her soft smile told a different story. _She slapped him… Pansy, of all people, slapped Malfoy. And she's proud of it?_

"Why did you slap him?" Ron asked, he had to know.

"It's not important" Daphne replied for Pansy. "He was making fun of you, and Pansy got sick of it. That's all." Ron blinked at her, Daphne was hiding something. _What did he do?_

"Pansy" Ron said firmly. "What happened? Why did you slap him?" _Did he threaten her again? I'll knock his teeth out if he did._ Pansy shot a look to Daphne, and then she kept her silence.

"He called Daphne a…" Tracey started but Daphne shushed her.

"Tracey, you'll just make him angry" Theo sighed. "Let it go, it's done and in the past." _Make me angry? And what did he call Daphne?!_

"I want Ron to be angry so that he can beat the shite out of Malfoy" Tracey said stubbornly.

"Tracey, that's enough" Daphne said firmly. "Ron, forget about it. He said something spiteful, Pansy slapped him for it, and we've all moved on. Just forget it, okay." _What the fuck did he say? Why are they all so sure that I'll be angry? It must've been really bad…_ Ron looked to Daphne, and she gave him a serious look.

"Alright, I'll let it go" Ron lied.

"Thank you" Daphne responded, and then she glared at Tracey. "And don't you dare tell him, Tracey. Promise me."

"Fine" Tracey promised, a scowl on her face. _I'll find out one way or another. What did he say that has Tracey so angry on Daphne's behalf?_

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Ginny's Room at The Burrow – Crack of Dawn)**_

Guilt. That was all she felt. Constant, agonizing guilt. She was the cause of so much misery this year. She had killed Hagrid's roosters, she had killed Mrs. Norris, she had spread fear throughout the school, she had attacked those Muggle-Borns, she had let her Ronnie take all the blame on her behalf, she had then attacked Ronnie and petrified him, and then she had nearly killed the Headmaster and her Professors. All because she was a stupid little girl with a crush on Harry Potter. Tom had been right all along. She was stupid. And pathetic. And small. She had been tricked by Tom's 'kindness'. A few kind words, and she had completely forgotten her wits. Her father had always told her to 'never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain'. But she had trusted Tom.

Ginny sat on her bed with her knees tucked against her chest, her eyes were inflamed and bloodshot from crying. She had barely slept more than four hours a day for what seemed like forever. Whenever she drifted into a deep sleep, she'd hear Tom's kind and soothing voice in her mind. She would see herself attacking Ronnie again. She'd see him begging Tom to take him instead, to spare her life. And she'd jerk awake… Last night had been no different. She had woken up in the middle of the night, and she had cried until the Sun began to rise. All she wanted was some sleep. Even if it was for one night only. She was so sick of seeing Tom using her body to attack Ronnie.

Ronnie was awake now, but she had refused to see him. Her Gryffindor courage had failed her when her parents had asked her to accompany them to Hogwarts. She already knew that he'd be angry with her, just like her dad was. Just like her mum was. Both parents hid it extremely well, but Ginny could see that they were upset with her for trusting that Diary. They had every right to be. Not only had she nearly killed Ronnie, but she had almost gotten herself killed in the process. Not to mention what she had done to Hogwarts. She deserved to be hated by everyone… including Ronnie… and Harry. She had let Harry make a fool of himself as he pinned the blame on her brother, and she had just watched. If she had even an ounce of courage, she'd have stepped in. But she didn't. And now she had lost them both. Harry would never even look at her again. And Ronnie would never love her again.

There was a sudden knocking on her window, and she looked to it in a tired fashion. Her eyes almost popped out of her head at the sight of Helios. _Ronnie sent him…_ Ginny quickly looked away from the bird, maybe he would leave if she ignored him. But the tapping got louder, and so she covered her ears. _Leave me alone. I just want to be left alone._ But the tapping didn't stop. Ginny felt her eyes burn again, and she glared at the grey Eagle-Owl. Helios was going to break through the window if she didn't let him in. And she knew quite well how aggressive this bird was. Ginny felt her temper flare at the stupid bird, why wouldn't he just leave her in peace?! She jumped out of bed, and she stomped over to her window. She flung the window open, and Helios gave a loud hoot.

"Go away" she hissed at Helios, and the Eagle-Owl cocked his head. "Leave me alone! Shoo!" This angered the bird because he hooted loudly and flew right in. _UGH!_ "Go away" Ginny told the bird firmly, but her eyes began to shed a few more tears. "Leave me alone…" her voice cracked a little. The bird landed on her worn-out desk, and he pointed his leg at her. There was a letter attached to it, and the sight of it made her stomach twist. "No…" Ginny shook her head, and then she sniffled. "Just leave…" Helios hooted at her again, and she sat down on the floor.

"Leave me alone…" Ginny cried into her knees. "I don't want to read it…" She suddenly felt her the bird land on her right shoulder, and he nudged her head softly with his own. His feathers were soft, and well maintained. "What if he hates me?" Ginny asked the Eagle-Owl in the faintest of whispers, her voice cracking again. Helios hooted softly this time, and he extended his leg in her face. "Please don't make me…" Ginny croaked out, but she took the letter off with shaking hands. She stared at it, and then she looked to Helios. The bird was watching her with his big yellow eyes that looked like two Suns, and she felt her resolve break. "Please don't hate me…" Ginny sniffled as she opened the letter.

 _Ginny,_

 _I don't know if you know this, but I'm up and about. I wish that you were there when I woke up, I've been worried sick about you! Pandora told me that you are recovering from your ordeal, and I understand why you couldn't bear to be at Hogwarts right now. But I still wish that I could see you and hug you as tightly as I can._

 _I'm so glad that you're safe, and I'm just as glad about the fact that you're no longer possessed. I know everything that happened, and I don't blame you one bit. I blame the Dark Lord for taking over your body, and I blame him for attacking the Muggle-Borns and me. I just want to tell you that it isn't your fault, and that it's all on him._

 _My friend Daphne pointed out that you might be scared of how I may react to you attacking me. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you didn't attack me. It was that piece of shite Dark Lord. Fuck him! (Don't show mother and father this letter). Daphne is standing next to me as I write this, and she also wants you to know that she blames the Dark Lord for this. All of us do. You were just as much a victim as the others._

 _I love you, Ginny. And I can't wait to see you again. But take as much time as you need to recover. I know what it's like to be victimized by the Dark Lord, and I want you to know that you're not alone. If you need anything, send me an owl immediately. I will do whatever it takes, and I'll stay by your side._

 _Your big brother,_

 _Ron._

 _P.S: Helios won't leave until you send a reply to this letter._

 _P.P.S: If you take too long, he'll go mental as he always does. And if that does happen, feed him some bacon immediately. It calms him down._

Ginny was left stunned by the letter in her hands. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision, and then she re-read the letter again. And again. And again. By the fifth time she finished reading it, she let out a wet laugh. _He doesn't hate me!_ Ginny had never felt so much relief in her life as she did in that moment, and she felt it wash over her completely. Ronnie didn't blame her, and he wanted to see her again as soon as possible. _He wants to hug me tightly._ Ginny beamed at Helios, and the Eagle-Owl hooted in her face. She let out another wet laugh as she nuzzled her face into his soft chest. Helios flapped his wings in indignation, and he hopped off of her shoulder and landed by her feet. Ginny clutched the letter tightly to her chest, and she closed her eyes. _I can't wait to see you too._ And with that thought, Ginny just drifted into sleep. She didn't have nightmares this time.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Black Lake – Early Morning)**_

The wind felt divine on his face as he ran his fifth lap. His body felt extremely hot due to the fact that he wore a jacket and trousers, but he was used to it now. It was either that, or showing the world his scars. _Eh, a small price to pay._ Ron kept running, the cool morning breeze washing over his face and weaving its way through his hair.

"Ron, just stop mate" came Theo' wheezing voice from behind him, and Ron slowed down a bit. Theo and Blaise caught up, both of them sweating pints.

"Can we do the last lap a bit more slowly?" Blaise asked, his breathing shallow. "I can't feel my fucking lungs…"

"What's wrong with you two?" Ron laughed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "We usually run eight laps now. You shouldn't be getting this tired this quickly. And this isnt our last lap."

"It's been a while, alright?" Theo snapped, his curly hair bouncing up and down. _He needs a haircut, and so do I._ "Can't we stop at five today?"

"You can, but I want to run eight" Ron said, making sure to sound disappointed.

"Ugh…" Theo groaned.

"Fine, you can do eight" Blaise frowned. "But Theo and I are stopping after this one."

"When was the last time you two went for a run?" Ron asked. "Did you two get lazy while I was gone?"

"Give us a break, we had a lot on our minds" Theo complained. "Oh Merlin, my fucking spleen is hurting."

"Sounds like you got lazy" Ron chuckled.

"Neither of us got to take a two week nap" Blaise shot back.

"Fair enough, you can stop after this one" Ron smirked. "I won't judge you…"

"You arsehole…" Theo groaned as he picked up his pace.

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room – Before Breakfast)**_

Ron, Theo, and Blaise entered the common room, and they noticed that it was mostly empty. There were a couple of extremely stressed seventh years pouring over their notes, and Ron stared at them. _Maybe I can get third year notes from one of them?_

"I'm taking the first shower" Blaise said, and Ron looked away from the seventh years.

"Why?" Theo argued. "I don't want to sit around while I'm covered in sweat…"

"We can do a coin toss" Ron suggested as they made their way towards their shared room.

"There's three of us" Blaise said in a deadpan tone. "How would that work?"

"It'll be between you two, I'll just wait my turn" Ron shrugged. "I don't mind being covered in sweat."

"Degenerate" Theo chuckled.

"No, Theo" Ron chuckled as well. "I'm just not a little girl…" Blaise sniggered at that, while Theo frowned.

"I'm still taking the first shower" Blaise smirked, and Theo shook his head.

"I want new roommates…" Theo complained, but his voice was humorous. Ron was about to retort, but he stopped when he saw Daphne waiting by their door. "What's she doing here?" Theo asked in a whisper.

"There you are" Daphne said when she saw them, her demeanor was dignified and cold as usual. _At least it is in public anyway. I prefer it when we're alone, so she can act like herself._

"Daphne" Ron greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you" Daphne replied. "We need to talk in private." Her tone suggested that this was serious, and even Theo and Blaise picked up on that.

"Alright then" Ron nodded as he adorned a more serious look.

"Do you need us too?" Theo asked, and Daphne shook her head lightly.

"We'll see you when you come inside" Blaise said to Ron, and then both boys went into the room. Ron and Daphne looked at each other, and Ron waited for her to start.

"Can we go to a more… private spot?" Daphne asked, her tone calm. Ron nodded, and he led them both to the end of the seventh year dorms. There was a dark corner at the end of the boys' dorms, and Ron walked to it with Daphne walking right behind him.

"Alright, what is it?" Ron asked seriously as he turned to face her. _Is this about Malfoy? I still can't imagine what he said that made Pansy slap him._

"I wanted to talk about last night" Daphne replied, her demeanor already changing slightly. _Last night…_ Ron felt his face heat up, but he kept his calm. "I know that you have no intention of letting it go with Malfoy… So I thought that I'd tell you myself and get it over with. But before I do, I want you to promise me that you won't do something reckless."

"What did he say?" Ron asked.

"No, you promise me first" Daphne took on a defiant stance, her arms crossed under her chest. Ron's eyes quickly darted to her developing chest, but he immediately looked back up. _Don't do that again, Weasley. Or she will slap you into oblivion. They are getting bigger though… FUCK! Stop it, be serious._

"Why do you want me to promise that?" Ron asked. "If he said something so bad, then he deserves to get his arse kicked."

"He does" Daphne responded. "But not by you. Ron, you're already fighting to stay in Slytherin. If you attack another student, again, your parents will only fight harder to remove you."

"I told you already, I have no intention of leaving" Ron sighed.

"Then you are being naïve" Daphne argued. "They are your legal guardians, which means that they have the power to do this. You can't just stay in Slytherin because you refuse to listen to them, we need to convince them that you haven't changed all that much."

"But I have changed…" Ron argued, a bitter feeling rising in his chest. "I've become better than I was, and if they can't see that, then maybe they shouldn't be my 'guardians'." Daphne blinked at that, and Ron immediately felt a small sense of shame for saying something like that.

"Ron…" Daphne said softly. "You don't mean that. You're angry, and you do and say rash things when you're angry. That's why I want you to promise me that you won't attack Malfoy."

"I promise…" Ron muttered, he was stunned by his own words. _Why would I say something like that?_

"Alright" Daphne nodded slowly, and then she took in a deep breath. "He called me a 'Blood-Traitor's Slag'…" Ron just blinked at that, and he stared at Daphne's face. And then, he felt his rage bubbling in his stomach.

"What?" Ron asked, his hands clenching into shaking fists.

"Ron, calm down" Daphne said as she placed her right hand on his chest. "It meant nothing to me, and I got over it. He was just being spiteful because his attempt to 'win' us back failed. He lashes out when people refuse to give him what he wants, and that's all I saw it as."

"A Blood-Traitor's Slag…" Ron repeated, his face becoming red with anger. "I'll break his fucking legs…" Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, and Daphne flinched a bit because of the sound.

"You promised me that you wouldn't do something reckless" Daphne said firmly.

"This isn't reckless" Ron glared at her. "That fucking piece of shite…"

"Stop it" Daphne said firmly. "If you can't even keep a promise for more than ten seconds, then maybe I shouldn't tell you these things." Ron just stared at her, he couldn't believe this.

"Why aren't you furious?" Ron asked her, he himself was seething with rage.

"Because I know that he was trying to bait me" Daphne replied. "That's what he does… That's what we were taught to do. He wanted me to weaken in resolve, but I didn't let him win. But if you attack him for this, then my victory will mean nothing."

"But Pansy already…" Ron started, but Daphne cut him off.

"Pansy hit him for a different reason, Ron" Daphne said, her tone firm and decisive.

"What reason?" Ron asked, maybe one hex would be alright?

"It doesn't matter" Daphne sighed. "Why she did what she did is between her and Malfoy. We have no place in it."

"Then this is between Malfoy and me" Ron grit out, and Daphne blinked at him.

"How dare you?" she hissed, and Ron suddenly felt wary. He knew that he had said something incredibly stupid in his anger, and now Daphne was pissed. "He called **me** a slag, not **you** " she hissed. "He spat on **my** honor, not **yours** … So don't you dare try and turn this into some personal vendetta. I should have never told you…" Daphne pushed him back with her right hand that was still on his chest, and then she went to leave. But Ron grabbed her right hand and stopped her. "Let go of my hand" Daphne turned around and glared at him, but he didn't let go. "Let go, or I'll hex your face off…"

"I'm sorry…" Ron muttered, ignoring her threat. "I didn't mean to make it sound like this was about me…"

"Well, you did" Daphne said, her tone slightly bitter and angry. Ron looked at their joined hands guiltily, and he fought the urge to let go.

"I just… I don't…" Ron struggled to find the right words, he was terrible at this stuff. "I don't care what he says about me… I just… I can't stand the thought of him saying something like that… about you. Especially about you…" Ron felt his face burn with embarrassment. _She probably thinks that I'm really stupid… Fucking Malfoy, and his twat-like face._ "I don't want you to be hated because we're… you know… friends…" _Friends, Ron? Really? Fuck, you're a moron._

"Friends?" Daphne asked, her voice much softer than before. Ron just stared at their joined hands, he was too embarrassed to look at her face.

"More than friends…" Ron muttered. "Or whatever we are… I just…" Ron took in a deep breath, damn this was hard. "I care about you… a lot…" Ron whispered. _There goes the last of my dignity._ Ron was taken completely off-guard as Daphne moved forward and planted her lips firmly on his. His eyes went as wide as saucers as she pressed her lips against his for more than five seconds, this was a different sort of kiss. When she finally pulled her head back, there was a faint 'smacking' sound as their lips parted ways. Ron just stared at her slightly crimson face, his own face as red as a tomato. They were right in each other's faces, and Ron could feel her breath on his face. _It smells minty…_

"That was really sweet…" Daphne whispered with a soft smile.

"It was?" Ron mumbled, his heart beating in his throat. Daphne nodded, and then she gave him a softer peck on the lips.

"Don't break your promise to me" Daphne whispered as she pulled back again.

"I won't" Ron whispered.

"Good" Daphne smiled softly. And then, she stepped away from him. Ron shot a quick look around, and he was glad to see that no one was around. "Now go and take a shower, you smell awful." Ron's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Sor… sorry…" Ron stammered. _She didn't like kissing me? I should've taken the first shower, damn you Blaise._

"It's alright" Daphne smiled. "I still liked kissing you." And with that, Daphne turned around and left. Ron felt his lips with his gloved hand as he watched her leave, they hadn't kissed like that before.

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

Ron was just about to take his seat in between Theo and Blaise when he was stopped by a gentle hand on his right shoulder. Ron turned around to see Carey Ductu smiling softly at him, and he immediately became guarded. _What does she want? I need to be careful, I don't know how she feels about my return._

"Good morning, Ron" Carey said in her silky voice.

"Good morning, Carey" Ron greeted back, and she smiled a bit more because he used her first name.

"We wanted to welcome you back" Carey told him, and Ron looked around only to see that she was alone. "Come have breakfast with us." _That is not a request, is it?_

"I'd love to" Ron lied with a practiced smile. Carey then began making her way towards the sixth years, and Ron shot a quick look to his friends. Millie, Pansy, and Tracey looked concerned. Theo and Blaise were smirking. And Daphne… She was giving Carey Ductu's back a dark look.

"Go on, you git" Theo said quickly. "Make sure you smile, eat with manners, and show her the respect she deserves."

"And do as she says" Blaise added on. "We need people like her to like us. Now go…" Ron nodded and followed after Carey, she was now standing with Samantha and Clara. _These three… Why do I get so tense around them? Oh, wait. It's because they're cold and manipulative._

"Ron" Clara beamed at him, and she hugged him tightly. Her bountiful chest squeezed against his chest, and Ron felt like steam was going to come out of his ears. _They're so soft, and big._ "Oh, we missed having you around" Clara said as she let him go.

"You did?" Ron asked as he did his best to not blush.

"No" Clara smiled coldly, and Ron blinked at her. "Not really. I'm just being polite." _Wow._ "Now sit with me, we have so much to talk about."

"Ron, you'll be sitting with me" Samantha said suddenly, the raven-haired girl was the coldest of the three. "I'm genuinely hungry this morning, and I'd rather not have my meal ruined while Clara 'plays' with you."

"Spoil-sport" Clara giggled, but she didn't argue. Ron took a seat next to Samantha, while Clara and Carey sat in front of them. Ron waited until the girls started making their plates, and then he followed suit. He made sure to put a respectable amount of eggs and bacon onto his plate, but he knew that he'd be having seconds. Maybe even thirds. He was starving after his run.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Ron asked after he swallowed his bite. Carey tutted him with a smirk, and Ron went dead silent.

"Breakfast goes for forty-five minutes" Carey told him in a silky tone. "So let's have some pleasant conversation first, and then we can talk about business." _Pleasant conversation? And what business?_

"We want to know more about you, Ron" Clara smiled sweetly. "How was your run this morning?"

"It was good" Ron replied slowly. "You know that I go for morning runs?"

"Every day, like clockwork" Samantha replied. "Would you mind telling us why?" _Yes, I would. But I can't afford to get caught in a lie. Blaise is right, we need them on our side. Malfoy has quite the brood now._

"I like to stay in shape" Ron replied honestly. "My brother Charlie told me that a good wizard should be physically fit."

"Is that so?" Carey asked. "And why would they need to be physically fit when they have magic?"

"Because a good wizard shouldn't get tired after casting a few spells in battle" Ron answered.

"Battle?" Clara giggled. "You mean Dueling?" _No, I meant battle. Like the one that will leave Hogwarts looking like a ruin._

"Yes, I meant Dueling" Ron smiled.

"I see" Carey smiled softly. "I still remember your 'Duel' with Potter. It was quite the… spectacle." Ron felt his stomach tighten a little, that night was best left forgotten.

"I agree with Carey" Samantha said in her icy tone. "You were quite impressive. I didn't know that you were so skilled in Dueling. The way you deflected spells without even using your wand… It was quite the sight."

"Thank you" Ron responded. _I had an enchanted ring and a Dark Tome backing me, but I should keep that to myself._

"And let's not forget how that Duel ended" Clara added on. "We had no idea that you hid such… brutality… behind your pleasant demeanor." Ron swallowed his bite, and he forced himself to stay quiet. "Don't be dismayed by my comment, Ron" Clara cooed, and Ron looked to her. "Women love a man with a scary side…"

"Clara" Carey sighed. "Stop filling his head with your filth." Ron just stared at Clara as she gave him an odd look, a look that promised something rather scandalous. _Why is she looking at me like that?_ "Anyway, tell us more about yourself" Carey said pleasantly. _I'd rather not._

"A conversation shouldn't be one-sided" Ron smiled at Carey. "I'd love to learn more about you three as well." Clara giggled, Carey smiled, and Samantha smirked.

"Since you asked so nicely" Carey said with an impressed smile. "What would you like to know?"

"You could tell me about your hobbies" Ron replied. "Or your families, it's up to you."

"Then I'll start" Clara interjected. "I'm a Half-Blood. My mother is a Muggle-Born witch, and my father is a Pure-Blood wizard. I grew up in Venice, within Italy. I was meant to go to Beauxbatons, but my mother wanted me to attend Hogwarts instead. So, here I am. And as for hobbies… I like to read people."

"Read people?" Ron asked slowly, and Clara smiled sweetly at him.

"People are like books, Ron" Clara told him. "They are a product of their experiences. Their stories… I like to read them."

"I see" Ron nodded slowly. _You don't want to read my story, believe me._

"I'll go next" Carey shrugged lightly. "I'm a Half-Blood, just like Clara. My father is a Muggle, but my mother is a Pure-Blood witch. She left her family behind in Romania to be with him, and they both now live in Muggle London. That's where I grew up. My father has always known that my mother was a witch, and he has been nothing but supportive. When I turned eleven, Hogwarts sent me a letter, and my father was even more proud of me than my mother. As for my hobbies, I like to brew Potions. The more difficult, the better."

"You must be quite good in Professor Snape's class then" Ron said, an idea forming in his head. _I bet all three of them are great students. Students who have impressive grades, and equally impressive notes._

"I am one of his top students" Carey smiled, her voice laced with a hint of arrogance.

"Samantha, it's your turn" Clara smiled at the raven-haired girl, and Ron looked to her. Samantha gave him a blank look, and then she gave a curt nod.

"I'm a Pure-Blood" Samantha said coldly. "I come from the Selwyn Family, a Family that is counted as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. But unlike my parents, I care very little for Blood-Status. Everyone has their uses, and I plan to use them to further myself in the world. I have met useless Muggle-Borns, and I have met idiotic Pure-Bloods. I don't like people in general, present company excluded, and I care very little about their opinions. As for hobbies, I like to study the books in the Restricted Section."

"Sammy, don't tell him that" Clara giggled. "What if he tells on you?"

"I would never do that" Ron said truthfully. "I myself like to sneak into places where I have no reason to be."

"Oh…" Clara cooed. "Is that so? Mind if I join you the next time you sneak around?" Samantha faked a cough, and Ron looked back to her.

"Your turn, Ron" Samantha said, a faint smile on her lips. Ron couldn't help but notice how much prettier she looked when she smiled.

"Well, I'm a Pure-Blood" Ron said. "I'm the sixth son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, and my Family is also counted as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. I personally loathe the concept of Blood-Supremacy, it makes very little sense to me."

"And yet you were sorted into Slytherin?" Carey asked smoothly.

"I have… great ambitions" Ron replied with a smirk, he had to play this right.

"Care to share them?" Samantha asked.

"Maybe when we get to know each other a little better" Ron replied, and Samantha smiled genuinely.

"Isn't he so adorable?" Clara laughed.

"He certainly has a sharp mind" Carey smiled. "I prefer that in a man myself." _Don't fucking blush, Weasley. Keep your shite together._

"Anyway" Ron said, he had to change the topic of conversation. "I grew up near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon. My siblings and I spent most of our time playing Quidditch, and other such games. We're a close family…" Ron trailed off, he had just lied. _They're still close, I'm an outsider now._

"Go on" Clara said softly, they knew that Ron was the only Slytherin to come from the Weasley Family. That couldn't be easy on him considering that every Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor for the longest time. _Tell them your hobbies and move on, don't let them see any weakness._

"My hobbies are playing Keeper in Quidditch, playing chess, and going for morning runs" Ron said, his voice steady and calm.

"You play Keeper in Quidditch?" Samantha asked, she respected his need to avoid talking about his family. She herself hated talking about hers. Her father was an idiot who sprouted thoughtless philosophies, and her mother was a bitter woman who constantly spread her legs for other men.

"I do" Ron nodded.

"Then you should try out for the Slytherin team next year" Clara said. "Miles Bletchley, the current Keeper, isn't well liked by his teammates. Marcus Flint plans to kick him from the team next year." Ron thought about that for a second, and he came to two conclusions. One, these girls were far too well-informed. Two, he worked on Saturdays so playing Quidditch was a pipe-dream.

"I work with Lord Greengrass on Saturdays" Ron told them. "So I don't think that I can even try out. That, and Marcus Flint is the only sixth year that's a part of Malfoy's flock. They all hate my guts."

"They do, don't they?" Carey asked with a smile, and Ron blinked at her. "How about we change that?"

"I'm guessing that the pleasantries are finished" Ron figured, and he began making himself a second plate. "I hope you don't mind me having more food, I'm still quite hungry."

"By all means, eat and listen" Carey chuckled.

"Our house is divided now more than ever due to recent events" Samantha told Ron. "When we were universally hated, we all banded together as a means to protect ourselves. But with the Heir gone, things have changed."

"Slytherin House is no longer on everyone's kill list" Clara interjected, her voice too sweet to be taken seriously. "Well, no more than usual. Things with the other houses are almost back to normal."

"And since no one knows who the Heir was" Carey interjected. "We aren't completely blamed anymore. But the problem is that it was Potter and Longbottom who figured it all out and saved the school." Ron tightened his grip on his utensils, damn that was irritating to hear. _Fucking thieves._

"Gryffindor House is now unbeatable in regards to the House-Cup" Clara sighed. "And the Eagles and the Badgers are quite happy with the Lions, which has left us Snakes out to dry."

"And since we can't do anything to the 'House that houses the Heroes', we've turned on each other" Samantha said coldly, loathing evident in her voice. "And that Malfoy brat is at the center of it."

"Malfoy is turning the Slytherins against each other?" Ron asked slowly. "That group of his isn't just out to hate me?"

"It's a little more complicated than that" Samantha replied. "When you were attacked, that's when he started whispering in people's ears. He even came to us…"

"What did he say?" Ron asked with a frown.

"He gave us a terribly boring sales-pitch" Clara sighed. "He's handsome, but only when he keeps his mouth closed."

"What she means to say is that he spouted a lot of Pure-Blood jargon at us" Carey clarified. "And the fact that he insulted all Muggles and Muggle-Borns without even doing an ounce of research on us was just… pathetic. We turned him down of course, and he skulked off. But we made a mistake. He slowly used his father's name and your attack to turn quite a few people to his side, and now we have a problem. Not only are we losing the House-Cup, but we are treating each other as the enemy."

"What are the Triumvirate doing?" Ron asked in shock. "They're just letting Malfoy get away with this?"

"They are… not quite interested in their duties" Samantha frowned. "Samuel spends his days flirting with sixth year and fifth year girls, half of whom he's already bedded. Fabian is too busy with his studies, and his future plans to join the Ministry. And Bloise is too busy with his Ravenclaw boyfriend. Which means that **we** have to act."

"And by 'we' you mean me?" Ron asked slowly.

"There's that sharp wit again" Carey smiled at him. "Malfoy used your 'Blood-Traitor' status to gain his allies, so you have to put an end to this."

"And how do I do that?" Ron asked. "If we're already fighting each other, and then I get involved, isn't that going to make things worse?"

"Only if you chose violence" Clara hummed, and Ron suddenly felt someone's foot touching his left shin. "But if you throw another amazing party for Slytherin, and give a wonderful speech about unity… Who knows what will happen?" Ron shifted his left leg away, but Clara's foot started moving up and down his right shin instead.

"Those parties aren't cheap" Ron said tensely, why was she touching his leg like that? It was completely inappropriate. "I don't mind throwing them, but I'm not doing it for free."

"And what would you like from us?" Clara hummed, a mischievous smile on her face.

"I want your school notes from third year" Ron replied, and Clara blinked at him. Her foot also stopped moving, much to Ron's joy. "I want them from all three of you, every single notebook or piece of parchment."

"That…" Samantha started slowly. "That was unexpected… Most boys your age would ask for something more… base in nature." _Base in nature?_ Ron's cheeks flushed a bit at the thought of getting something 'base in nature' from the three girls. _They are really pretty… No! Stay focused, those notes are far more important._

"Well, I'm not like most boys my age" Ron responded, technically he wasn't lying. _How many other boys are preparing themselves for an upcoming war?_

"You mean you're into other boys?" Clara asked slowly, her voice showing her disappointment.

"No, I'm straight" Ron tried to not laugh. "I just understand that those notes are more valuable to me than some lewd acts… Do we have a deal?" Ron suddenly felt Clara's foot feeling up his right shin again, and he looked to see her smiling mischievously again.

"You are something else, Ronald" Carey smiled genuinely. "We have a deal."

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary – Free Periods)**_

"So what did they want?" Pansy asked him as she cut his hair. They were spending their time free periods in the Sanctuary, and Ron had asked her to cut his hair again. He liked the undercut that she had given him.

"They want me to throw another party" Ron told her as he watched Theo and Blaise teach the other three girls the Disillusionment Charm. Pansy already knew it, Tracey and Millie knew the basics, and Daphne had no clue about it.

"Another party? Why?" Pansy asked as she tilted his head forward a bit.

"They want me to put an end to Malfoy's gang" Ron sighed. "Though I doubt a party will accomplish that. Malfoy hates my guts, and he won't back off just because I gave him and his ilk a fun night."

"Hmmm…" Pansy hummed in thought as she used her wand to clean up the cut hair on his neck. "Maybe Malfoy won't… But his cronies might." _She called him Malfoy._ Ron frowned as he thought about what Malfoy had said, Merlin he wanted to bash the shite out of him. But he wouldn't. He had made Daphne a promise, and he wanted to keep it.

"His cronies might? Explain please, I'm rather slow" Ron joked.

"Very well" Pansy giggled. "They follow him because they don't like your family's reputation, and they fear his father. But everyone knows that Lucius Malfoy was kicked off of the Board of Governors. What they might not know is that Lord Greengrass has become the Chairman. Throw the party, and then approach them one by one. Talk to them, Ron. Tell them that you're not like any other Weasley before you, and that you have the wealthiest man in England sitting in your corner. If even a few of them listen, the others will weaken in resolve. I doubt any of them really like Malfoy, and leaving him will sound a lot more appealing than going against Lord Greengrass and you. People somewhat… fear you."

"Fear me?" Ron asked as he turned to face her, and she gave him a quick smack on his right shoulder.

"Don't move like that, or I'll cut your ear off" Pansy scolded.

"Sorry" Ron quickly apologized. "What do you mean by 'fear me'?"

"Ron, c'mon…" Pansy said softly. "No one in their right mind could forget what you did to Potter… Or how you strong-armed Dumbledore and got away with it all. Use that if you have to." Ron nodded slowly at that, but another thought occurred to him. _She feared me in my vision… Does she fear me now?_

"Pansy…" Ron said softly, and she hummed in response. "Do you… do you fear me?" Pansy stopped cutting his hair abruptly, and Ron prepared for the worst. But Pansy leaned over his right shoulder and gave him a kiss on his right cheekbone.

"No, Ron" Pansy said firmly. "I don't fear you. I know that you would never do anything to hurt your friends." Ron relaxed at that, and she started cutting his hair again. "Do you have any other silly questions to ask?"

"Just one" Ron chuckled. "Can I count on you to help me at this party?"

"That was a silly question" Pansy giggled. "Of course I'll help you, Ron. Now stay still for Merlin's sake, I don't want you crying when I chop off your ear."

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunchtime – Greengrass Manor)**_

"Damn Half-Breeds…" Sebastian grit out as he read the Daily Prophet's Sports Section. He stood in front of the fire in his study, and he did his best to not fling the paper into the flames. Beauxbatons had somehow convinced the International League of Wizard's Chess Club to allow Veela spectators. _I have no doubt that the French Ministry was involved in this._ Sebastian looked at the published competitor list for the Junior League Tournament, and he frowned deeply. _Beauxbatons only submitted girls to represent them. Damn cheats, they want the Veelas to distract all the male players to enhance their own chances of winning. Ronald is in deep trouble, and I can't do a thing to help him._ That thought finally broke the camel's back, and Sebastian hurled the paper into the flames.

"Goddamn it!" Sebastian yelled in frustration. Ron and he had spent so much time training for this tournament, and now it was all for naught. _Filthy Half-Breed scum._ Sebastian took in a deep breath, and then he swept his left hand through his hair to slick it back into position. There was nothing that he could do about this. The French Ministry would never even give him the time of day, let alone listen to his requests. There was no proof of any form of cheating, it would all be hearsay. As Sebastian slowly regained his calm demeanor, the door to his study opened slowly.

"Husband, you have a guest" came Mary's voice from behind him, and Sebastian turned to see his wife standing in front of Arthur Weasley. _Arthur? What is he doing here?_

"Please, come in Arthur" Sebastian said calmly, but his mind worked to figure out Arthur's reason for coming to his home unannounced. "Take a seat" Sebastian said as he gestured to Ron's chair. _Ron's chair… That's how I see it now, don't I? And I'm guessing that Arthur's here to speak about his son._

"Good afternoon, Sebastian" Arthur said as he took a seat, he looked rather uncomfortable.

"May I get you some refreshments?" Mary asked Arthur with a kind smile.

"No, thank you" Arthur smiled softly. "I have to get back to the Ministry soon, so I won't be here long."

"Very well" Mary smiled, and then she shot a quick look to Sebastian. _She wants me to play nice. I will as long as he does._ Mary then left the room with a graceful walk, and she closed the door behind her.

"What can I help you with, Arthur?" Sebastian asked, feigning ignorance.

"I wanted…" Arthur started, but then he stopped. "First, let me apologize to you Sebastian. I shouldn't have wasted your time like that when you came to see me at the Ministry… It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted" Sebastian responded. "I can understand the reasoning behind your actions. You didn't want me to talk about Ron, and his current situation."

"Yes" Arthur admitted, his tone suggested strong guilt.

"And yet, here you are" Sebastian said coldly. "Now you want to talk to me about Ron, and so you chose to come to my house uninvited." Arthur went a little wide-eyed, but Sebastian smiled softly. "It is alright, Arthur. I will not hold it against you." Sebastian then moved over and sat in front of Arthur. _Now that I've established myself as the one in charge, let's talk._ "What is bothering you, Arthur?"

"My son… Ron, that is…" Arthur said as he shifted in his seat a little. "He was quite cold to Molly and me after he was un-petrified… I just want to know if he's alright."

"He is fine" Sebastian responded. "I spent most of yesterday with him, and he was a delight to be around. As always." Arthur nodded slowly at that, though his face gave away his hurt.

"He hasn't spoken to us for… for months…" Arthur said in a hollow tone. "And when he finally did… he called me 'father'…"

"And?" Sebastian asked, he felt no pity for Arthur's plight. _He made his own bed, he should now sleep in it._

"Our children call us 'mum' and 'dad'…" Arthur said softly. "He was so cold towards us… I just wanted to ask if… if he's said anything to you."

"What Ron and I discuss is between us, and us alone" Sebastian responded, and Arthur looked crestfallen. "I will not betray his trust by talking to you about his… personal thoughts."

"I see" Arthur said, and then he smiled sadly.

"But we can talk about how you feel if you want" Sebastian said, his voice calm and 'caring'. "Tell me, Arthur. What is really bothering you? What did you hope to find by coming here?" Arthur looked at Sebastian for a few moments, and then he relaxed into his seat a bit.

"I miss my son…" Arthur all but whispered. "I miss him so much that it hurts my heart to even think about him. He doesn't write to us anymore, and now he won't even talk to us, or look at us. I'm afraid that I've lost him…"

"Lost him to what?" Sebastian asked.

"To you…" Arthur admitted, and Sebastian blinked in surprise. _Only a Gryffindor would be bold enough to admit that._ "To Slytherin… To everyone else…" Arthur went on. "He cares about everyone else, but he won't even speak to his mother and me. And I don't know what to do anymore…"

"Yes, you do" Sebastian said firmly, and Arthur looked into his eyes. _I can't help Ron in the tournament, but I can help him with his other problems._ "Stop your crusade against him. Let him stay in Slytherin, that's what he wants." Arthur's face twisted a bit at that, and Sebastian nearly frowned.

"My own son… wants to be in Slytherin…" Arthur whispered to himself, but Sebastian heard him. _Don't berate him, just stay calm and focused._

"Is that so wrong?" Sebastian asked, but Arthur didn't answer. "Nothing to say to that? That's alright… You can listen to me instead. Your son is a hard-working, determined young man. He is making a name for himself in the world, and he is only thirteen. Most parents would be overwhelmed with pride…"

"I **am** proud of him" Arthur said, there was some fire in his voice again.

"Are you?" Sebastian asked. "Do you actions reflect that pride?" Arthur blinked at that, and Sebastian drew in a calming breath. "I don't think they do, Arthur. And if I think that, then so does he. You already know why he treats you so coldly now, and so I thought that you came here in the hopes of finding out how to change that… And yet, when I gave you my advice, you stopped talking. So tell me again Arthur, why are you really here?" Arthur swallowed at that, and his face lost a little color.

"I want you to talk to him…" Arthur replied softly.

"Talk to him about what?" Sebastian asked, he was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Talk to him about Slytherin…" Arthur replied. "Talk to him about… moving houses…" Sebastian was momentarily stunned, and then he was outraged.

"Are you serious?" Sebastian grit out, but Arthur kept his demeanor calm. "You hate Slytherin that much, Arthur? You hate it so much that you're willing to manipulate your own son?! What the fuck did Slytherin do to you that made you so bitter towards it?!"

"You know what it did…" Arthur replied, his tone becoming hard. "How many people in Slytherin joined You-Know-Who the last time around? How many innocents died in the Great War because of the Dark Wizards that came straight from Salazar's corrupted house? And how many of them had Blood-Supremacy drilled into their heads from the day that they were sorted? My Family and I are seen as Blood-Traitors by all the Pure-Blood Families, my son is not safe in that house."

"So instead of supporting him, you choose to go behind his back?" Sebastian asked coldly.

"I am supporting him" Arthur replied. "I am trying to keep him safe, that's why I want him removed from Slytherin. And not just safe, I don't want him to turn into one of them…"

"One of them?" Sebastian asked. "You mean like me, don't you?"

"Yes, like you" Arthur replied, and Sebastian barely kept himself in check. "And I'm not blind, Sebastian. I read through your trial documents a hundred times before I signed that contract. But you and I both know that you still believe in Blood-Supremacy, you just won't kill for it. But that isn't good enough for me. I don't want my son thinking with hatred in his heart, and I won't stand by as he turns away from what I raised him to believe." There was a heavy silence in the room, and both men stared at each other with conviction. _I have to try this for Ron's sake, it's my only option._

"You're right" Sebastian broke the silence, and Arthur blinked. "I do believe in Blood-Supremacy, and though there are exceptions, a small part of me does despise Half-Breeds and Muggles. I won't deny that, it was 'drilled' into my head from the day that I was born. But you know who doesn't think like that? My daughters… I have never once tried to pass on my own beliefs on them. I've let them find their own paths, and I will continue to do that. Can I tell you why?" Arthur nodded slowly, his expression was guarded.

"Back when the Great War was happening" Sebastian continued. "I chose to not be a part of it. I had just gotten married, and Mary was with child. I didn't want to die on some battlefield and turn my new wife into a widow. I didn't want my child to be born into the world fatherless. So I stayed away. And then, my Daphne was born. I wept from joy when I held her for the first time, she was the tiniest little thing. I vowed to protect her from the world on that day… But she was only three months old when they came for my Mary." Arthur's eyes widened a bit at that.

"I came home from Germany" Sebastian continued. "I went over there to sign a deal with the German Ministry. It was a Witness Protection deal. They would help me and my family flee the country, and I would supply them with Intel on my former house-mates. I thought that with their protection, we'd be safe from the War. But I was wrong. I came home only to find my entire household slaughtered. My servants, my House-Elves, my mother… All dead…" Arthur looked at Sebastian with sorrow and understanding, but Sebastian felt no need for his pity.

"I searched the whole house for my wife and daughter" Sebastian went on. "I had never felt such fear before… And then, I found Daphne. She was crying in her Nursery Room, dead bodies all around her. She was wrapped in a cloak with the Dark Mark on it, and she was soaked in blood. There was a note inside the cloak, and it told me that they had my Mary. It told me a time and a place, and it told me to come alone. That's when I got branded…" Sebastian revealed his left forearm, and Arthur winced at the sight of the faint red Dark Mark. "It was either **this** , or lose everything that I've ever loved."

"Why are you telling me this?" Arthur asked, his voice slightly shaky.

"Because you are just as bad as 'one of them'…" Sebastian said coldly, and Arthur's mouth hung open slightly. "Yes, the majority of the Dark Lord's Death-Eaters came from Slytherin. But around eighty percent of them didn't want to be there. They were there because they didn't want to die. Do you think that Albus Dumbledore came to any of us? Do you think that he even asked us to be a part of his 'Order of the Phoenix'? He didn't… We were on our own, and we were nothing compared to the Dark Lord. I gave up my soul, Arthur… I gave it away… And I don't regret it. It kept my wife and daughter alive. It gave me a chance to help them survive."

"You say that you've read my trial documents" Sebastian continued. "But did those documents tell you any of this?" Arthur shook his head slowly. "I thought as much. Slytherin House **isn't** evil, Arthur… The Dark Lord was evil. Most of us just got caught up in his madness, and I don't remember any of you coming to our aid. You say that we are prejudiced, but none of you are any different. You're just prejudiced about something else." Sebastian drew in a long breath, and then he covered up his arm. "I am not a good person, you are right about that. And I don't care what you think of me. But at least have some faith in your own son. Because, Arthur… If you don't, then you **will** lose him. Truly lose him… Believe me when I say that." Both men went silent at that, and Sebastian could see that Arthur was quite shaken.

"I have to go" Arthur said after a long silence. "I need to get back to the Ministry…" With that, Arthur got up and just left. Sebastian stayed in his seat, and he tried not to think about his life during the War. After five minutes of staring into nothing, Sebastian was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard quick footsteps approaching his study. Sebastian looked to the door, and he saw that Arthur had left it open in his hurry to leave. Astoria suddenly appeared in the doorway, her hair disheveled. Her massive grin put a smile on Sebastian's face.

"Daddy, you have to help me" Tori demanded in a hushed whisper, and then she closed the door behind her. She then ran up to him, and she climbed onto his lap. He quickly put a hand on her back to steady her, and she beamed at him. "Mummy wants me to practice 'Etiquette'… And you know how much I hate it! Can I please stay with you? We can play chess!" Sebastian let out a soft chuckle at that.

"Sebastian!" came Mary's voice from somewhere outside. "Have you seen Tori?! I can't find her!"

"I haven't seen her!" Sebastian lied, and Tori sniggered. "I'll let you know if I do!"

"Thank you, thank you" Tori whispered ecstatically as she hugged him. Sebastian hugged her tightly to his chest, and he felt his worries drift away.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunchtime – Great Hall)**_

Ron shot a quick look towards Percy, and he saw Percy staring right at him. _Oh fuck!_

"Ron?" Tracey called, and he gave her a worried look. "What's wrong? Why did you use the Disillusionment Charm to sneak into the Great Hall?"

"My brothers are what's wrong…" Ron sighed, and everyone waited for him to go on. "I saw them hounding me this morning after breakfast, and they were hounding me again right before lunch…"

"What did you do?" Theo frowned at him, and Ron gave him a deadpan look.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Theo" Ron said flatly.

"I'm with Theo on this" Daphne interjected. "You tend to cause a lot of your own problems. It's actually a pattern with you." _That's it. I'm not giving her another kiss until she apologizes to me._

"So, what did you do?" Theo asked again, and Ron pushed his food around with his fork.

"I may have… been a little cold… to my parents" Ron admitted slowly.

"And there it is" Blaise sighed. "Why were you 'cold' to them? Is it because of the Re-Sorting business?"

"Yes, it is" Ron sighed. "I just felt… Never mind… I don't want to talk about this." Ron then looked to Millie. "Millie, I'm joining a new study group today after Potions. Want to join with me?" Everyone just blinked at him, but Millie looked the most surprised.

"I'd love to…" Millie replied softly, why would he ask her and not the others?

"What about us?" Daphne asked, her tone was snappish.

"Because unlike the rest of you, Millie actually tries to find her own solutions" Ron smirked. _Take that, Daph. How's that for causing myself my own problems?_ Daphne's eyes narrowed on him, and Ron suddenly realized that he had done it again. _Oh Merlin, it's true! I'm my own worst enemy._

"Can I join?" Blaise asked aloofly.

"Sure, Blaise…" Ron replied, but he kept his eyes on Daphne. He tried to give her a 'charming' grin, but that made her cheeks flush scarlet with anger. _I've killed myself, haven't I?_ Tracey sniggered wildly as she looked between Ron and Daphne.

"You can all join…" Ron said lamely. "I was just kidding…"

"Keep your new study group" Daphne huffed in indignation. "We'll just make our own."

"Actually, I'd rather join Ron's group" Theo said, and Daphne shot him an irritated look. "Or I can join yours…"

"Which study group are you talking about, Ron?" Pansy asked. "I don't recall any study group notices going up."

"It's a new one…" Ron said slowly. _Daphne is going to hate this._ "But it involves the petrification victims…"

"I have to go to the loo" Theo said suddenly, and he got up and left.

"I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble" Blaise said. "We've got a lot of enemies right now." Then he too left, and Ron just blinked at their backs. Ron looked back to Daphne, and she was giving him a deadpan look. Pansy and Millie were trying to avert their gazes, while Tracey was trying very hard to not snigger.

"So this group has Granger in it?" Daphne asked, her tone deadly calm. Ron honestly felt the need to bolt, but he decided to stand his ground.

"Yes" Ron answered calmly. "It was her idea in fact, and I decided to join in. It's her, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and me. I figured that I'd make some more allies outside of Slytherin, just in case I need them someday."

"That's very Slytherin of you, Ron" Pansy praised, and then she looked to Daphne. "Don't you agree, Daph?"

"I do agree" Daphne nodded, her 'Ice Queen' persona in place. "Good on you, Ron. We could definitely use more Gryffindors in our corner, considering how well-loved their house is right now."

"Thanks…" Ron responded, he had no clue if she was even mad anymore. "Do you guys want to join in?"

"I'm in" Millie said, she didn't want to let him out of her sight.

"I'll pass…" Pansy said slowly. "I really don't like Granger, or that Colin Creepy."

"Ha, Colin Creepy" Tracey laughed, and Pansy smiled softly. "But I'm with Pansy on this, that Colin kid is a deal breaker for me. He took a photo of me when he thought that I wasn't looking…" _He takes photos of everything, but I can understand why she wouldn't like that._

"Daph?" Ron asked. "Are you in?"

"I'm in" Daphne replied in a cold tone as she ate her food gracefully.

"Great" Ron smiled meekly. "That's just… great…"

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Potions Class)**_

"Is she staring at me?" Ron asked as he crushed the Dried Nettle and Puffer-Fish Eyes into a fine powder. Tracey shot a quick look back, and she saw Daphne and Pansy hard at work.

"Nope, she's working with her head down" Tracey told him, but much to her surprise, Ron frowned. "Do you want her to stare at you?"

"No…" Ron sighed. _What's the matter with him?_ "I just don't want her to be angry… you know?"

"Ron" Tracey said in a serious tone, and he looked at her. "She is always angry with you about something. So what's really going on?" Ron sighed and kept crushing the ingredients. "Is this about Granger?"

"Yes… maybe… I don't know" Ron muttered, and Tracey felt her annoyance rise. _Why won't he just talk about his feelings? Even Theo talks about them sometimes, but I've never seen Ron do it._

"Ron, there's nothing wrong with talking about your feelings" Tracey told him, and Ron looked to her with a confused look. "You can talk to me, I won't say anything. I promise." Ron just looked back to his mortar, and he kept crushing the ingredients.

"You should get the Cauldron ready" Ron said after a few seconds of silence, and Tracey sighed in defeat. She began heating up the Cauldron, and then she put two tablespoons of water into the Cauldron. While the water heated up, Tracey decided to prod Ron some more. _Time for drastic measures._

"Ron, do you like any girls?" Tracey asked suddenly, and she got the reaction she wanted. Ron nearly dropped the mortar, and then he looked to her with red cheeks. "Ohhh… someone has a crush" Tracey whispered with a grin, and Ron's ears turned red. "Is it Granger? Is that why you agreed to join her 'study group'?"

"No" Ron denied with a frown. "I don't like any girl…"

"Merlin!" Tracey fake gasped. "I knew you were gay…" Ron's jaw clenched, and Tracey sniggered.

"You're the second person today to question my sexuality" Ron frowned, and Tracey was a bit taken aback.

"What? Really?" Tracey tried not to laugh, but her voice gave away her mirth.

"Ahem!" Snape fake coughed as he passed by them, and Tracey immediately looked down at her Cauldron. Once Snape had walked further away, Tracey turned back to Ron.

"You can either talk to me, or I can tell the whole class that you like boys" Tracey joked, and Ron sighed in defeat.

"Why are you doing this?" Ron asked as he emptied the mortar's content into the Cauldron.

"Because I want you to talk to me" Tracey shrugged as she watched Ron mix the ingredients. "Now tell me, why are you so bothered about Daphne?" _Does he like her?! Oh my God! That would be amazing!_

"I'm worried about what she's going to do to Hermione" Ron admitted, and Tracey lost her joy immediately. _Why does he call her Hermione? I hope he doesn't like her… But why would he? Compared to Daphne, Granger looks like a dog's breakfast._ Tracey shot a quick look towards Granger, and she saw the bushy haired witch all but dipping her head into the Cauldron. It brought a look of disgust to Tracey's face, especially when she saw Longbottom looking around nervously. _She's doing all the work, and he's just standing there pretending._ "Tracey, can you get me some more water?" Ron asked, and Tracey did as he asked. She poured the water into the Cauldron slowly as Ron kept mixing, and then she stopped when she deemed it to be enough.

"Ron, why did you join this study group?" Tracey asked, she had to know if he liked Granger over Daphne.

"Because it has two Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff in it" Ron replied. "I want to see if I can get something out of it. Maybe even make a few handy allies in those houses."

"And that's the only reason?" Tracey asked, and Ron stopped mixing the ingredients.

"We can let this rest for an hour" Ron said, completely ignoring her question. "I don't know why we're making this potion again…" _You can't dodge me so easily, Weasley._

"Because Potter blew up the classroom before Snape could grade our potions" Tracey said in a deadpan tone. "Now answer my question. Is there another reason why you joined this study group?" Ron drew in a sharp breath, and Tracey felt a little wary. His moments of rage were quite frightening, and she didn't want to be on the receiving end of one.

"Tracey, just ask me plainly" Ron told her. "What do you really want to know?"

"Okay" Tracey said as she kept a friendly smile on her face. "Do you like Granger in a romantic sense?" Ron just blinked at her.

"No" Ron said plainly. "I don't see her that way."

"But she sees you that way" Tracey added, and Ron shot a quick look towards Granger's table. "Don't bother denying it, we both know it's true. The chocolates, the way she follows you around with her eyes, and the way she constantly calls you 'Ron'… Like she even knows you." Tracey's voice came out as rather bitter, and Ron just stared at her.

"Fine, I won't deny it" Ron said firmly. "Do I suspect that she has those kinds of feelings for me? Yes, I do. I have since she sent me those 'Cadbury Chocolates' back in first year. But I don't see her that way. I barely even get to talk to her during the week. Sure, we have some classes together. But we are always sitting away from each other. We only ever talk when we have a study session together, but even then, we don't really talk. So no, Tracey. I don't share her feelings. Is that good enough?" Tracey just blinked, and then she nodded. _At least he didn't dash my head into the table._ Ron went back to writing notes in his notebook, and Tracey smiled softly to herself. _He doesn't like her that way, good. Daphne is so much better anyway._

"So…" Tracey rocked back and forth a bit. "Do you like anyone?" Ron banged his head on the table, and Tracey grinned.

"Where is this coming from, Trace?" Ron asked in a tired voice.

"I just want you to talk to me" Tracey cooed. "Tell me who you like, please."

"What if I don't like someone?" Ron asked her as he gave her a deadpan look.

"Everyone likes someone, Ron" Tracey replied haughtily. "You can tell me, I won't say a word of it to anyone." _Unless it's Daphne, then I'll tell her._ Ron just stared at her, and she did her best to keep her smile. His stare was… intimidating.

"What if I like you?" Ron asked suddenly with a sly smile, and Tracey nearly choked on her own tongue.

"ME?!" Tracey asked a little too loudly.

"Miss. Davis!" Snape snapped from across the room. "If you can't keep your volume in check, I'll make you and Mr. Weasley talk while the entire class listens in. Get back to work, now!" Tracey went red in the face from embarrassment, and she could hear people sniggering at her. Even Ron was trying not to laugh, and Tracey frowned at her Cauldron.

"That was great…" Ron wheezed, and Tracey shot him a hateful look. But as she watched him stifle his laughter, Tracey found herself amused. _That was pretty funny._

"Well, you just ruined your chances with me" Tracey joked.

"Really?" Ron asked with a 'shocked' look. "No, please Tracey… Give me another chance."

"Too late" Tracey dismissed him. "We could've been the funniest couple in the school, but you just had to ruin it…" _Nothing wrong with a little flirting, sorry Daph._

"I'm a good guy, Trace" Ron said smoothly as he moved closer to her, and Tracey could smell jasmines and sandalwood from his robes. She rather liked this smell. "I made a mistake, I swear it. C'mon, just one date."

"Don't beg, Ron" Tracey huffed as she fought off her smile. "It's not an attractive look on you."

"What if the girl is worth begging for?" Ron asked smoothly, and Tracey looked to him with a smile.

"Now that was smooth" Tracey giggled, and Ron smiled widely.

"What can I say?" Ron shrugged with a carefree smile. "I've been practicing on how to woo you."

"And how long have you been practicing?" Tracey asked as she put her left hand on her hip.

"Since the day I saw you" Ron replied, and Tracey felt her cheeks flush. _Did he always have such a quick wit?_

"Hmmm…" Tracey hummed. "Maybe I should give you one more chance?"

"Well, you'd better do it fast" Ron responded. "Because I think a certain Gryffindor is looking at us right now. I might not be up on the market for long." Tracey shot a quick look to Granger's table, and she could see Granger watching them both 'subtly'. _Watch this then, Granger._ Tracey leaned forward and gave Ron a kiss on his left cheek, and Ron looked to her with bewilderment and surprise. When Tracey heard a mortar fall to the ground from across the room, she smiled widely.

"That was mean" Ron sighed. "Now she's going to grill me about you…" _Oops._

"What? It was just a friendly kiss between two great friends" Tracey feigned ignorance. "You can tell her that." Ron was trying not to smile, but Tracey's demeanor was getting the better of him.

"I'll make sure to do that" Ron said as he looked back to his notebook. "And you can tell Daphne the same thing…" _Daphne?_ Tracey's eyes went to her best friend's table, and her stomach dropped at the sight. Daphne was just staring at Tracey with a cold gaze. _I'm gonna die tonight…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (End of Potions Class)**_

"You will all be here on time next week" Snape drawled in his icy tone. "You will be sitting a two hour test on the effects of the Wiggenweld Potion."

"Sir…" Finnegan said meekly. "I thought that there were no more examinations…"

"There aren't" Snape said rather harshly. "But the Headmaster never said anything about any tests." The class just blinked at the sneering Potions Master. "But feel free to skip class next week, Mr. Finnegan. We both know that you're going to fail the test anyway." Ron had bite his tongue in order to not laugh, but sadly, his friends didn't bother trying to hide their amusement. "You are all dismissed. Get out." Ron grabbed his notebook and textbook, and he followed after Tracey.

"Maybe I should join your study group after all, Ron" Tracey said in a humorous tone.

"By all means" Ron smirked. "I think Hermione wants to have a chat with you anyway." _She stared at us the entire class… How am I going to explain this? And Daphne… Good lord, if Tracey isn't dead by morning, I'll be shocked._ "So does Daphne, now that I think about it… Good luck with that."

"Daphne doesn't mind" Tracey shrugged as they made their way out. "We give you hugs and kisses all the time. Pansy also gave you a kiss when she was cutting your hair today."

"You saw that?" Ron asked.

"We all saw that" Tracey giggled. "You're quite the ladies' man, aren't you?"

"What can I say?" Ron sniggered, this was fun. "You missed out by not accepting my date offer."

"There's still time, we're only in second year" Tracey said smoothly. "Who knows where we'll be in three to four years?" _I know. We'll be knee deep in shite. I really need to pinpoint when the war begins, then maybe I can act on stopping it prematurely. Maybe I should tell Dumbledore? Even if the Entity murders me, at least the old man will know about what's coming._ "Ron?" came Tracey's voice, and Ron was pulled out of his thoughts. Tracey was looking at him with a bit of concern. "Where did you go just then?"

"Sorry?" Ron blinked.

"You disappeared in your thoughts…" Tracey said softly, they were nearly out of the class. "You do that a lot…" Ron gave her a forced smile, but she didn't buy it. Ron then saw Daphne and the others waiting just outside the classroom.

"Come, Trace" Ron said softly. "The others are waiting." Ron then walked out of the classroom, and Tracey followed after him.

"Finally" Blaise frowned at Ron, and then they started making their way back to the common room. "If you had taken any longer, I'd be worried that you want to stick around Snape all day."

"I can't believe he gave us a test…" Pansy groaned in an un-Ladylike fashion. "I hate this boring class."

"What? Potions is fun" Tracey chuckled.

"Yeah, because you get to do it with Ron" Pansy frowned, and Daphne shot her an annoyed look.

"Well, I'm sorry Pansy" Daphne huffed in indignation. "I didn't know that you found my presence boring."

"Dug your own grave there, Pans" Theo sniggered. "So, now what?"

"I have to go to this new study group" Ron said. "Millie, Daph… Are you still in?"

"Yes, I'm still in" Millie smiled. "I'm kind of excited actually. Can we work on the Theory of Wiggenweld Potion?"

"Sure" Ron smiled. "I want to brush up on it too. Daphne, what do you want to study?"

"I want to finish my Charms Essay" Daphne said coldly, and Ron nearly sighed in defeat. _Why does she get like this? She already knows that I… like her. We even kissed this morning._

"Blaise" Ron said, and the dark-skinned boy gave him an indifferent look. "Are you still in?"

"No thanks" Blaise refused. "I didn't know that Granger was in this group."

"What difference does that make?" Ron asked with a frown. _If he says anything Blood-related, we're going to have a fight right here._

"I don't like Gryffindors" Blaise shrugged coldly.

"But I thought that you didn't mind working with Potter and Longbottom?" Ron asked slowly.

"We did that because it was necessary" Theo replied for Blaise. "That doesn't mean that we want to be friends with them."

"I'm with Theo and Blaise on this" Tracey piped in. "I still find them incredibly self-righteous, and it annoys me a lot."

"Not to mention Colin Creepy" Pansy frowned. "I don't like him taking photos of me, or any of the other Slytherin girls."

"Maybe he thinks you're really pretty?" Tracey chuckled.

"I never questioned that" Pansy smirked. "Of course he does. But he could just talk to me instead of taking photos of me when I'm 'not looking'."

"Too true…" Tracey shuddered.

"Okay, so who's actually coming with me?" Ron asked.

"Millie and I are coming" Daphne replied. "While the others are…"

"Going to the Sanctuary" Blaise finished for her. "I want to practice some more spells."

"Nice, me too" Tracey said happily. "I want to get the Disillusionment Charm right. Pansy, can you help me?"

"Hey, what about us helping you?" Theo asked with a frown.

"You and Blaise are terrible teachers" Millie replied. "All you did was berate us for not getting it right when you didn't even explain it properly."

"We explained it just fine…" Blaise said coldly. "Pure-Bloods" Blaise said to the entrance, and it slid open.

"Tracey, I'd love to help" Pansy jumped in, she didn't want a fight breaking out. They entered the common room at that, and the boys went towards their dorms. Once they got into their room, Ron stretched and groaned.

"I'm so tired…" Ron complained.

"Ron, we need to talk" Theo said suddenly, and Ron looked to his best mate. "Your new study group… It'll have Potter and Longbottom in it, you know that right?" Ron frowned at that.

"And there's the frown" Blaise sighed. "Ron, don't do anything to antagonize them. We finally made peace with them, just like you wanted. But ever since you've been back, you've been annoyed at them for getting all the credit. You can't even hear their names without frowning."

"They fucking stole it" Ron snapped. "And they won the House-Cup because of it."

"They didn't steal it" Theo sighed. "Dumbledore offered it to us all, and they had no reason to refuse."

"How about some common decency?" Ron argued. "They know they didn't do shite to help, but they had no trouble eating up all those House-Points. House of the Chivalrous, my arse… And I thought that you didn't like Gryffindors?" Ron asked Blaise.

"I don't" Blaise said calmly. "But we have enough problems in our own house, we don't need enemies out there as well. So for Merlin's sake, Ron, keep your temper in check. You don't have to be their friend, but you should keep your peace with them. Don't lose sight of your original goal because of some unforeseen factors."

"Ugh…" Ron groaned. "Are you done?"

"Only if you understand" Theo replied.

"I… understand" Ron nodded in a tried manner. "You're both right… We have enough problems in Slytherin, and we don't need problems with the 'House that houses the Heroes'…"

"Don't make quips like that when you see them" Blaise instructed. "They aren't stupid, and they'll catch onto your sarcasm quickly."

"Longbottom could've fooled me" Ron said coldly as he left the room with his Potions textbook, but his best mates didn't follow. Ron made his way into the common room, and he immediately saw Malfoy and his gang sitting in Ron's friends' favorite spot. _Really? At least try to be a little subtle._ Malfoy noticed Ron looking, and he smirked at Ron. _Blood-Traitor's slag…_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, Malfoy would pay for that. Ron would keep his word to Daphne, but somewhere down the line, he'd get Malfoy alone. And then… Then Ron would teach him a lesson. _No one talks to Daph like that. I'll make sure to beat that into his thick skull._

"Ron?" came Millie's voice, and Ron turned to see her and Daphne. Daphne was looking at Malfoy and his gang, while Millie was looking at Ron. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go" Ron forced on a smile.

"That's not even subtle" Daphne said in a cold voice as she watched Malfoy.

"I know, so let's ignore it" Ron shrugged, and with that, they left for the library.

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Outside the Library)**_

"They're not here yet" Ron told Millie and Daphne, he had just checked inside the library.

"Can't even be punctual" Daphne said coldly. "They said after Potions Class, didn't they?"

"Yeah, that's what she said" Ron nodded.

"We can get started without them" Millie suggested. "And they can just join us when they get here."

"We can't show them any weakness" Daphne argued. "If they think that they can make us wait for them, then they will do it again and again. We need to show them that we're in charge."

"Daphne, this is just a study group" Ron sighed, he was getting more and more worried about how she was going to act. _Not to mention Tracey's stunt back in Potions… Merlin, this has the potential to get really awkward._

"Hi there, Ron" came Justin's voice, and the three Slytherins turned to see the Hufflepuff approaching them with a wide smile.

"Ron?" Daphne whispered, her voice shocked.

"Don't make it awkward" Ron quickly whispered, and then he smiled at Justin. "Hello, Justin. Glad to see that I didn't get the time wrong."

"No, you're on time" Justin smiled. "I was the one who was running late. Sorry about that, but Professor Sprout decided to make an announcement and I couldn't leave."

"An announcement?" Ron asked, his curiosity piqued.

"She wanted volunteers to help plant some new plants at the new Greenhouses" Justin shrugged. "I signed up, of course. I personally love Herbology." Justin looked to the two Slytherin girls at that. "Justin Finch-Fletchley, a pleasure to meet you" Justin greeted them as he put his hand forward for a shake. Daphne and Millie looked to his hand, and then they looked back at him with unimpressed looks.

"They're Ladies of Noble Births, mate" Ron decided to jump in, he had to lie to save himself an awkward study session. "It isn't polite to ask for a handshake…"

"Oh" Justin's eyes widened as he drew his hand back. "I'm so sorry, I'm not familiar with Pure-Blood laws and customs… I only know a couple of Pure-Bloods, and they're both blokes."

"Apology accepted" Daphne said with a cold demeanor, she decided to join in on Ron's lie. They had to present a united front, after all. "As long you've learnt from your mistake."

"I have" Justin smiled sheepishly.

"Good" Daphne said. "I am Daphne Greengrass, Heiress to the Noble and Ancient House of Greengrass. And this is Millicent Bulstrode, Heiress to the Noble and Ancient House of Bulstrode." Ron almost sighed at that, did she really need to intimidate the poor bloke?

"I'm… I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley… from Berkshire…" Justin stammered. Daphne seemed to be pleased with his reaction, and Ron just stared at Justin apologetically. _She is so not getting another kiss from me! Not until she apologizes for her behavior._ That's when Ron saw the Gryffindors approaching, all four of them. Hermione, who was looking rather submissive. Longbottom, who was looking at her nervously. Potter, who was just staring ahead with a deadpan look. And Colin, who was chatting Potter's ear off. _Merlin, please let this end without someone attacking someone else. But judging from my irritation at seeing those two thieves, I might be the one attacking them._ Ron drew in a calming breath, and he smiled at the Gryffindors.

"Hello, Hermione" Ron greeted her.

"Hi, Ron" Hermione smiled back, though her smile wasn't very enthusiastic. _And so it begins. Merlin damn you to hell Tracey._

"Hi, Ron" Colin greeted him with gusto. "I was just telling Harry how excited I am about this. I've heard that you're the smartest person in your year, is that true?" _Really, you son of a bitch? You're trying to start a fight, aren't you?_ Longbottom seemed to tense a bit at Colin's comment, while Daphne and Millicent smirked proudly.

"He is" Daphne answered for him. "Ron is an established Prodigy, and he is also the World's current Junior League Chess Champion." Colin was awed beyond belief, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"Wow…" Colin muttered. "Harry, isn't that amazing?"

"It is" Potter smiled at Ron. "It's good to see you, Ron. I wish we had a chance to speak sooner, but you're a hard person to find."

"I've been busy catching up on life" Ron shrugged with a practiced smile. "Shall we all go inside?"

"Yes, let's go" Hermione said rather bluntly, and then she just walked right past them all.

"Sorry about her" Longbottom whispered to Ron as they made their way inside. "I don't know what's got her so bothered. She was fine up until Potions… Must be the stress from that upcoming test." _Or it might be because Tracey is pure evil incarnate. Merlin help us all when Tori gets here next year, those two are going to burn this school down._

"Probably, Hermione does worry a lot about her studies" Ron whispered back, and Longbottom nodded.

"It's good to have you back, by the way" Longbottom whispered. "I'm really…"

"Don't apologize" Ron whispered, effectively cutting Longbottom of. "We already apologized and decided to move on, so let's just move on. What do you say?"

"You're a good bloke, Ron" Longbottom whispered with a smile. "Thank you." _Just keep the peace, Ron. Listen to Theo and Blaise, you know that they're right._ They reached a big study table at the back of the library, and they began taking their seats. Hermione sat in between Longbottom and Potter, while Colin all but clung to Potter's side. Justin took a seat next to Longbottom, while Ron, Millie and Daphne sat across from them. Daphne made sure to make Ron sit in the middle of them, and she pulled her chair closer to his.

"Alright, what do you guys want to study?" Ron asked in a whisper.

"Well, we have the Charms Essay due next week" Potter whispered. "So we'll get started on that. Colin wanted to study for his Potions test…" _I guess Snape doesn't discriminate. He's shipping us all off to hell together._

"I'm also doing the Charms Essay" Daphne whispered, and Potter gave her a smile.

"Millie and I are studying for our Potions test" Ron whispered. "Colin, you can study with us. I'll even give you some personal tips that I use."

"Really?" Colin beamed, and the group shushed him. "Thanks, Ron" Colin whispered with a wide smile.

"I'll do the Charms essay too" Justin whispered.

"I think I'll do Potions study as well" Hermione whispered, and Ron felt Daphne tense at that. _NOOO! It was going so well!_ "We should move into groups to be more efficient, what do you guys think?" Potter, Longbottom, Justin, and Colin all nodded in agreement.

"Alright then" Ron decided to agree, he didn't want to start any trouble. "Those doing Potions take the right end of the table, and the Charms Essay group can go to the left side." Ron suddenly jumped a bit as Daphne pinched his thigh under the table, and everyone just blinked at him. "Foot… cramp…" Ron lied through his teeth.

"You should stretch more, mate" Potter whispered with a smile. Daphne suddenly stopped her pinch, and Ron bit back a yelp. _Fuck that hurt so much! I'm definitely having a long chat with her after this. And kissing is off the table._ They all moved into their respective groups, and Ron was surprised that Daphne didn't change her decision and join Ron. _She doesn't want to look indecisive, I'm guessing._ Ron sat with Millie to his left, while Colin and Hermione sat across from them. Ron shot a quick look towards Daphne, and his stomach tightened when he saw Potter sitting next to her. _That fucker moved across the table to sit with her?_

"So, what Potion are you being tested on Colin?" Hermione whispered.

"The Forgetfulness Potion" Colin whispered. _The Potion we made for the exam? Snape is a conniving piece of work. He might as well tell Dumbledore to sod off…_

"I'll help you with it, it isn't such a hard Potion to make" Hermione smiled at Colin, but Colin shot a quick look to Ron.

"I thought… Never mind…" Colin smiled back. "I'll ask for help if I have any trouble."

Ron was more than glad when they finally started studying, and he soon forgot about the awkwardness in the air. Millie did her own work for the most part, and she only ever asked Ron for help when she didn't know which ingredient had what properties. Ron concentrated his efforts on recalling his previous knowledge on the Wiggenweld Potion, and he tested his knowledge against his textbook. The truth was that Ron rather enjoyed Potions, and he could definitely see how useful it would be in the upcoming war. The Wiggenweld Potion itself was a healing Potion, and in a war, that would be highly sought after. Ron decided that he'd look more into Healing Magic, and other Healing Arts in his spare time. Maybe he could even buy a Tome on it? And although Healing Magic didn't really feel flashy enough for his thirteen year old brain, Ron could still see the value in learning it. Premonitions about a bloody war could do that to a person.

An hour passed by quite quickly, and Ron was grateful that Hermione was helping Colin. Colin, despite his appearance and demeanor, was quite intelligent. He worked hard to understand the ingredients for himself, and he only ever turned to Hermione when he was genuinely lost. Ron had finished his self-testing by then, and now he was just pretending to study. He didn't want to be the first to leave, mostly because he didn't want to look rude. Occasionally, Ron caught Hermione watching him from the corner of her eyes. While Ron did his best to ignore that, the looks were becoming more and more frequent. Ron could also hear the other group whispering to each other, and the thought of Potter talking to Daphne was irritating him more than it should. Ron already knew that he had problems with jealousy, he had had them throughout his entire life, but this was a different sort of jealousy. It made Ron feel uncomfortable instead of angry, and he knew that it would leave if Daphne was just sitting closer to him.

Maybe he did like her romantically? He certainly liked kissing her. But even if he did like her that way, what was he supposed to do about it? He had to prepare for a war, he had to prepare them **all** for a war. Which is something that he hadn't really started doing yet… And this didn't even touch the surface of his dilemma. If he asked Daphne to be with him, like a girlfriend, then she'd be exposed. The Entity might take an interest in her, and Ron didn't want that. This **thing** was cruel, and it had no problem with hurting him. His scars were evidence of that. What if it decided to hurt Daphne too? What would he do then? Nothing… There was nothing that he could do. The Entity had defeated Dumbledore without any effort, the Sorting Hat had told him that. What was he compared to Albus Dumbledore? Nothing…

"Ron?" Millie whispered as she shook him, and Ron blinked as he came out of his thoughts. Ron looked to see Millie, Hermione, and Colin just looking at him with worry. "Ron, Granger has been calling you for almost a minute…"

"Oh, sorry" Ron whispered. "What can I help you with, Hermione?"

"Ron, are you alright?" Hermione asked softly.

"I'm fine" Ron lied with a practiced smile. "Is there something you need?"

"I just wanted your help with getting a book for Colin" Hermione whispered, and Ron blinked at her. "I don't know where to look, and I was hoping that you did." _She knows where to look, she practically lives in this place. She wants to get me alone. Damn, I can't refuse without looking like an arsehole._

"Sure, let's go and find it" Ron whispered as he stood up.

"Thanks" Hermione smiled lightly. She then began making her way towards the Reference Section, and Ron followed after her. He missed a pair of dark blue eyes looking at them leave.

"Hermione, which book are we looking for?" Ron asked with a whisper as they entered the Reference Section.

"Magical Drafts and Potions" Hermione answered, and Ron frowned at her back. _Calm down, she just wants to talk. And this is Hermione. She's my closest friend from Gryffindor._

"Colin had that book in front of him" Ron reminded her with a soft smile, and Hermione tensed. "Hermione, you can just ask me for a chat. You don't need to come up with an excuse." Hermione turned around slowly, a guilty look on her face.

"Sorry…" Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I just… I got really worried about you…"

"Worried about me?" Ron asked.

"You disappeared in your thoughts… again" Hermione replied. "You do that quite a lot… Especially when you think that people aren't looking."

"Are you watching me, Hermione?" Ron teased with a smile, and Hermione's face flushed.

"No…" Hermione muttered. "I just notice things, that's all. Just like I've noticed that you make jokes to avoid talking about anything that makes you uncomfortable…" _Why is every girl that I know trying to analyze me?_

"Hermione, tell me what's bothering you" Ron sighed softly. "I've noticed you looking at me."

"Oh…" Hermione flushed again. "I was just…" she trailed off, but then she took in a sharp breath. "Are you and Tracey Davies dating each other?" _Tracey, look at what you've done._

"No, we're not" Ron replied.

"But she… she kissed you in Potions" Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. "I saw it…"

"Tracey and I are close friends, but we aren't dating" Ron assured her. "She's extremely affectionate, and she has a tendency to kiss the people that she likes." _All four of them do, actually._ "That's all."

"That's so… so inappropriate, Ron" Hermione huffed, her face showing her shock. "You should tell her to respect your boundaries… A girl shouldn't be kissing a boy in the middle of a classroom."

"Tracey is the sort of girl that does whatever she wants" Ron chuckled. "And I'm not in the habit of telling my friends on how to behave."

"So you like it?" Hermione muttered, her face becoming slightly crestfallen.

"I'm not going to lie to you" Ron sighed. "I do enjoy it. I'm a bloke, I can't help it. But that doesn't mean that we are dating, or that we see each other like that. Alright?" Hermione looked rather stunned by his response, and Ron decided that he had done his best. He had told her the truth, what else could he do?

"Well…" Hermione whispered as she averted her gaze. "It makes sense that you like it… You're at that age…"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"You know… Puberty…" Hermione said as she went scarlet. If only her parents could see her now… She was talking to a **boy** about puberty in the middle of the library. They would be scandalized.

"I'm just going to ignore that" Ron muttered. "And let's never talk about puberty again… Please."

"It's perfectly natural, Ron" Hermione said haughtily, couldn't he see that this was difficult for her?

"Trust me, Hermione" Ron sighed. "There is nothing natural about this conversation. Can we please not talk about this, it's rather… uncomfortable for me…"

"Okay, sorry" Hermione responded softly. "I just wanted to tell you that I understand now…"

"Thank you" Ron nodded, and he put on a smile. "Was there anything else that you wanted to talk about?" _Change the subject, please. This is so damn awkward. I'm going to throttle Tracey when I see her._

"Actually, yes there is" Hermione shuffled her feet. "Your brothers have been looking for you, Ron. And they don't look… happy. They asked me where to look for you… and I… I might have told them that you were here with me after your classes ended." Ron nearly passed out after he heard that, now he was buggered. They knew where he was, and they would no doubt be waiting for him. _I'll just sneak out whilst using the Disillusionment Charm. Yeah, that'll work._ "Ron, what's going on between you guys?"

"Family stuff" Ron shrugged, and Hermione frowned.

"That's what you said before" Hermione said in an annoyed tone. "I want to know the real reason behind their anger with you." _And how is that any of your business?_

"I… I had a fight with them" Ron lied. "Before I was attacked by the Heir."

"Your sister…" Hermione whispered.

"My sister is not the Heir" Ron said, his voice becoming hard.

"I know that…" Hermione quickly amended. "Harry and Neville told me that she was… possessed… by Lord Voldemort's Diary…" Ron flinched at the name, and then he felt his blood boil.

"There weren't supposed to tell anyone that" Ron grit out, and Hermione blinked as she realized her mistake.

"I saw her attack me, Ron" Hermione tried to lie, but Ron just stared right into her eyes. Were his eyes always so cold?

"You just said that they told you about the Diary" Ron hissed. "If you tell anyone about Ginny…"

"I won't" Hermione said, her voice quickly regaining its fire. "I know that she was a victim, just like us. I don't blame her, Ron. And I don't like you talking to me like that…" _Calm down, Ron. Hermione isn't the sort to tell others. And I believe her when she says that she doesn't blame Ginny._

"Sorry" Ron whispered with a calmer tone. "I just… I don't want her to get in any trouble…" Hermione's expression became sympathetic at that, and she smiled softly.

"She won't, I promise" Hermione whispered. "No one blames her, Ron. Not I, not Harry, not Neville, not even the Professors. I'm just sorry that this happened to her, she didn't deserve it."

"No, she didn't" Ron agreed, but Riddle's words echoed through his head. Had she really let Ron take the blame for Potter's sake? "Is that all? I reckon we should head back."

"Yeah, let's head back" Hermione nodded. She felt so stupid for bringing up his sister because now he had become withdrawn. Not to mention that she revealed that Harry and Neville had broken their promise to Dumbledore. The two of them made their way back, and Ron's insides squirmed when he saw the twins talking to Potter. Their eyes fell on Ron immediately, and Ron nearly cussed aloud. _So much for sneaking out._ The twins quickly approached him, and Ron noticed Millie and Daphne staring at them.

"A word, brother dearest?" Fred smirked.

"Oh, and don't try to weasel out of this" George smirked as well.

"We'd hate to drag you away by your ankles" Fred chuckled.

"Drag him away?" Hermione muttered. "You can't do that…"

"Oh, we can" George grinned at her.

"Fine, let's go" Ron sighed, he couldn't afford to let them make a scene. Ron went over to Millie, and he grabbed his books. "Millie, I'm heading off."

"I'm coming with you…" Millie whispered, her eyes fixed on the twins.

"Don't worry about me" Ron smiled at her. "This is a… family affair. Just please make sure that Daphne doesn't follow us." Millie shot him a pleading look.

"Ron, the last time you went off alone…" Millie whispered.

"The Heir is gone, Millie" Ron whispered. "Don't let his memory haunt you. I'm alive and well, and these are my brothers. Please just take Daphne back to the Sanctuary. I'll meet you all there."

"Alright…" Millie whispered, though she looked extremely conflicted.

"Thanks, Millie" Ron smiled, and then he turned to the twins. "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Abandoned Classroom – Evening)**_

"Why are you being so quiet?" Ron asked George as he got sick of the silence. "And what the hell are we doing in here?"

"We're waiting for Fred to get Percy" George replied. "And we're here because we want to talk to you."

"About what?" Ron feigned ignorance.

"Just stop it, Ron" George suddenly snapped, and Ron jumped a bit. "Just stop lying and pretending for one minute, alright? You know what we want to talk about, and that's why you've been avoiding us. You were petrified! And we were worried sick about you! But then you come back and just ignore us… You treat mum and dad like they mean nothing to you… And we can't even guess why! So we're going to talk, and **you'll** bloody talk! Or I won't stop Fred from beating the shite out of you." Ron just stared at George, and he was a little stunned by that reaction. _If George is this mad, Fred must be going insane. But I don't care how angry they are, I'm not just going to take their threats anymore._

"Alright, we'll talk" Ron nodded. "But don't you dare threaten me again, George. Or I swear to Merlin… I'll put you and Fred in the Hospital Wing myself…" George's eyes widened at that, and he stood up to his full height.

"What the fuck did you say?" George seethed.

"You heard me" Ron stood up as well. "I'm sick of people trying to threaten me, and if you do it again, I'll beat the shite out of you like I did to Potter."

"What the fuck happened to you?" George asked in a bitter tone. "You weren't like this before…"

"I was the punching bag, you mean" Ron said venomously. "I was the butt of every joke, of every prank, and of every insult. Well, not anymore…" The door suddenly opened, and Percy and Fred walked in. They immediately noticed the tension in the air, and Percy frowned at George.

"George, what's going on?" Percy asked, and George just stared at Ron.

"Nothing…" George lied. "I was just telling Ron that we want an explanation behind his behavior."

"That we do" Fred said, his tone was no longer happy like it was back in the library. "Start talking Ron, why are you avoiding us? And why did you treat mum and dad so horribly?! They were worried sick about you for the last two weeks, and you didn't even give them a second look! What's your problem?!"

"I don't have a problem" Ron lied. "And as for avoiding you, I didn't want to have a pointless argument."

"Hippogriff shite" Fred spat out. "You're being an absolute cunt." Ron felt like he had gotten slapped, but then the shock wore off, and Ron felt is temper flare.

"Fred" Percy hissed. "We agreed to do this in a civil manner. Ron, ignore what he just said."

"That's what you all want, isn't it?" Ron asked, his tone spiteful. "For me to ignore being treated like shite… That's what you all want." Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, something that made his brothers flinch a little.

"Ron… What are you talking about?" Percy asked, his tone guarded.

"I'm talking about my second hand clothes…" Ron replied with a piercing gaze. "About my second hand toys… About my second hand bed… About my second hand **wand** … I'm talking about the constant insults, and pranks. My whole life I've been treated like I don't belong in this family…"

"Ron, no one thinks that" Percy said, his face showed his shock.

"Really?" Ron asked. "Ask the twins what they told me about my birth then." Both twins went slightly pale in the face, and Percy looked to them slowly.

"What did you tell him?" Percy asked slowly, but neither of them said a word. Percy already knew the truth about his mother's reaction to Ron's birth. After all, Percy was with Charlie and Bill while they had kept a baby Ron company while their father consoled their sobbing mother. "What did you tell him?!" Percy shouted at them, and both twins flinched.

"They told me that she wept with disappointment" Ron answered, his hands shaking with anger. "And they were right…"

"Ron…" George started.

"Don't even try to deny it" Ron hissed. "You told me that to my face, and you made sure that I remembered it… Well, I remember it **all**. I remember being treated like your personal punching bag for as long as I can remember. I remember Bill and Charlie ignoring my treatment at your hands. I remember mother and father doing the exact same thing. I remembered all of that when mother slapped me right across my face in front of every adult that I care about…" Ron's siblings went wide-eyed at that. "I remembered it when father went behind my back in order to force me out of Slytherin. I remember it all… So don't expect me to treat any of you with an ounce of respect, because you fuckers have never done that for me." Ron's brothers could do nothing but stare at him. It was either from guilt or from shock, Ron didn't really care. _This conversation is over._ Ron simply walked right past them, and they didn't even try to stop him.

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Great Hall – Dinner)**_

"Ron, you're not eating" Pansy said softly, but Ron just stared at his empty plate. It hadn't taken long for Ron to regret the words that he had thrown at his brothers. But he refused to apologize. _I'm not going to show them any weakness. They'll just press on that, like they do with every other one of my weaknesses._

"Ron?" Theo nudged him, and Ron looked to the weedy boy. "Pansy was talking to you…"

"Oh, sorry" Ron apologized, and then he looked to Pansy. "What is it, Pans?"

"I was just saying that you weren't eating" Pansy gave him a soft smile. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Ron lied. "Just thinking about Ginny, that's all." Ron friends nodded at that, but none of them bought his lie.

"Well, you should eat something" Millie said. "I don't think that she'd like you starving yourself." Ron nodded at that, and he put a little bit of food on his plate. Ron's eyes darted to his brothers, and from what he saw, Percy was currently scolding the twins. But Ron couldn't bring himself to care about that. Had they cared when they had thrown the truth about his disappointing birth in his face? _No, none of them cared. Percy is the only one who's never let me down. Even Charlie tended to ignore me being bullied every day._

"People generally eat what they put on their plate" Blaise frowned at Ron, and Ron blinked again.

"Right…" Ron responded, and he began eating. _I still have to do research on the Great War, and learn more about Beauxbatons. And why hasn't Ginny sent back a reply yet? Helios flies at an incredible speed, so he should be back by now. Maybe she doesn't want to talk about what happened? I should have listened to Daphne when she told me to wait at the Owlery._ Ron was taken out of his thoughts when Theo nudged him again. "What is it?" Ron asked him.

"Mate, what's wrong with you?" Theo asked with a furrowed brow. "Are you asleep or something?" Ron just stared at Theo, and Theo frowned deeply. "I asked you how it went with your brothers…"

"It went fine" Ron lied.

"That's it, we're having a meeting in our room" Blaise said, he was fed up with Ron's distracted nature. "Something has you bothered, and you're going to tell us what."

"I'm with Blaise on this" Tracey said. "You completely zoned out in Potions as well."

"And at the library" Millie added.

"I'm just tired, alright" Ron sighed. "Give me a fucking break…" Ron didn't miss the fact that Daphne was uncharacteristically quiet. _She's probably still sore about Hermione._ Ron shot a quick look at her, but she didn't look sore. She looked extremely worried, and she was staring right at him. Ron looked back down at his plate, and he moved the vegetables around with his fork. The bell rang suddenly, and Ron let out a relieved sigh. _I just need some sleep. Then I can start tackling one problem at a time._ Ron and his friends got up to leave, but they didn't get far.

"You seven" came Snape's icy voice from behind them, and they all turned around immediately. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you in his Office. Come." Snape then shot past them, and Ron exchanged looks with his friends. They looked just as clueless as he was, but they quickly followed after the Potions Master.

* * *

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

Ron and his friends sat in front of the clawed desk, but Dumbledore was nowhere in sight. Fawkes the Phoenix was currently asleep on his perch, and Snape had left right after he had dropped them off.

"Does anyone want to take a guess as to why we're here?" Theo asked, but no one answered. "Fine, I'll take a guess. He wants to make sure that we don't tell anyone the truth about Gryffindor's four-hundred point lead."

"I wouldn't even be surprised…" Ron muttered, and then he yawned. "I'm so damn tired…"

"We're still having that conversation when we get back to our room" Blaise reminded him, and Ron didn't even bother reacting. The door to the Office suddenly opened, and Dumbledore walked in with a kind smile.

"Apologies for the wait" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling at them. "Mr. Filch needed my help with an urgent matter." With that, Dumbledore took his seat behind his clawed desk. "Now, you must all be wondering why I've called you here." Ron and his friends nodded, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled some more. "I wanted to discuss the Chamber of Secrets with you, and your involvement in its location. I couldn't help but notice something very peculiar when I revealed Lord Voldemort's real name…" Ron and his friends flinched at the Dark Lord's name.

"Peculiar, Headmaster?" Theo asked.

"Yes, quite peculiar" Dumbledore chuckled. "Tell me, how did you know that Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort?" _Oh shite…_ "Not many people know that particular fact, and yet, you all did."

"We didn't know that, Headmaster" Theo replied with a firm tone. "But we did know that Tom Riddle was behind the attacks fifty years ago."

"And how did you know that?" Dumbledore asked Theo.

"When we decided to locate the Chamber" Theo explained, and everyone just listened quietly. "We did a lot of research on it. We knew that anything relevant would be important, and that's when we learned about the attacks fifty years ago. We learnt that a boy named Tom Riddle stopped the attacks, and that he had a trophy awarded to him for Special Services to the School. We even found that trophy in the Trophy Room. But since the attacks were happening again, we figured that he had lied and framed Rubeus Hagrid. Everything worked out too well for Tom Riddle, and that's how we knew that he was behind it all."

"I see" Dumbledore nodded slowly, an impressed smile on his face. He knew that the boy was lying through his teeth, but he had impressed Dumbledore nonetheless. "Well, in that case, excellent detective work. You seven could make for fine Aurors someday." _Theo is the God of Lying, isn't he? How the fuck did he come up with that so quickly?_

"I don't think that my Lord Father would approve of me becoming an Auror" Daphne smiled at the old wizard. "He is far too protective of me."

"That he is" Dumbledore chuckled. "Now that you've entertained my inquiry, I have something to give you all." Dumbledore reached into his desk, and he pulled out a rectangular box. It was made of polished wood, and Ron looked at it warily. "I had these seven decorations made for you all. I know that you didn't want to accept any public credit, and I can understand why. But I still want you all to have these." Dumbledore then opened the box, and he showed them the decorations. They were small, golden Hogwarts emblem shaped pins. "You don't have to show them to anyone, but you deserve to have them. Take them, please." Ron and his friends took a golden pin each, and Ron looked at his pin intensely. _It's well-made, and is that real gold?_

"Thank you, Headmaster" Blaise thanked the old wizard, and then so did the rest of the Slytherins.

"No, thank you" Dumbledore said sincerely. "You saved the school, don't ever forget that. I am so very proud of you all." Dumbledore smiled at their blushes, he had meant every word. "Now, off to bed. I don't want to keep any of you away from your house-mates for too long." Ron and his friends stood up to leave, but Dumbledore looked straight at Ron. "Ronald, forgive me, but I do wish to speak with you alone for a moment." Ron just blinked at the Headmaster, and he slowly sat back down.

"Headmaster, is Ron in trouble?" Pansy asked, her voice laced with concern.

"No, he isn't" Dumbledore assured her. "He will join you all momentarily." Ron watched his friends leave one-by-one, and he noticed that Daphne was the last to leave. She shot him a quick look, and then she too left the Office.

"Headmaster, what do you want to talk to me about?" Ron asked slowly.

"I want to talk to you about your Re-Sorting" Dumbledore replied, and Ron's stomach dropped. _Merlin, this day just won't end._ "We need to set a date, Ronald…"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Dear Lord, my fucking brain is fried! Worth it! Anyway, there you guys go. I hope you enjoyed reading this very long day in Ron's life. Now I know that the confrontation between the Brothers was rather short, but that's because it isn't really over yet. And I know that I said that Malfoy and Ron would go against each other, but I ran out of space. So that will happen in the next Chapter.**

 **Next Chapter has Ron on the ropes with his parents, his brothers chasing him down again, Ginny's letter, some more Luna, a Party, Ron and Malfoy, and so on.**

 **Now about the next update... I have two assignment due on Sunday, and I'm still volunteering. Which means that I'm hella busy at the moment, and quite stressed. I will try and get the next chapter out on Sunday, but if I fail to, then the next update will be on Wednesday next week.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	46. Chapter 46 - Preparation is Success

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 46 is here! And it's the biggest one yet! 26,000 words people! Now a couple of things!**

 **1\. I was hit with inspiration, and procrastination. Therefore I pounded out a huge chapter for you all. And I got it done early hehe.**

 **2\. Sadly, no Luna this chapter because she didn't really fit in here. Ron's got a busy schedule during this chapter, and sadly, he doesn't have time for Luna. But she will be back next chapter.**

 **3\. Many of you are worried about the damage the Horcrux is doing to Ron's mind, and you have every right to be. Ron's grown up with severe insecurities, and now that he is overcoming them, Voldemort's soul-shard is seeping its own arrogance into him. If you looked into his mind, you'd see it in shambles.**

 **4\. Ron's mood swings will be explained, worry not. But if any of you do study Psychology, you could probably diagnose his symptoms. =)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 46 – Preparation is Success**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Set a date?" Ron asked, he was completely dazed. "What do you mean by 'set a date'? I'm not… I'm leaving my house…" Dumbledore shifted in his seat a bit, a saddened look on his face.

"Ronald, I just want you to think about this" Dumbledore said in a soft, kind voice. "Your original Re-Sorting date was meant to be at the start of the next school year, it would be done after the Sorting Ceremony. But I think that we should do it in a more… private setting, and not in front of the whole school. Can you understand why that might benefit you?"

"Benefit me…?" Ron mumbled, and then his temper flared. "How does this benefit me?!" Ron demanded. "I don't want this, and you people are forcing it down my throat!"

"Ronald, I tried to persuade your parents, I truly did" Dumbledore responded calmly. "But I failed you, and I'm sorry about that." Dumbledore went to speak again, but Ron cut him off.

"Did they tell you to do this?" Ron demanded, his face contorting in anger. "Did they put you up to this?!" _I bet they did! I bet they want to keep me in my place!_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, something that made Dumbledore just blink in bewilderment.

"I have not spoken to them since I told them of your involvement in locating the Chamber" Dumbledore admitted slowly. "This is coming from me, Ronald. I do not wish for you to be Re-Sorted in a public setting. I believe that it would be truly cruel. And I know that this isn't fair, or what you want, but you need to think about this. If this is going to happen, then you need to prepare yourself."

"I'm not preparing for anything" Ron hissed as he stood up, and then he threw the Hogwarts pin on Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore just looked at the discarded pin sadly, and then he looked back up at a seething Ron. "Keep your pathetic little pin" Ron hissed. "Put it on your Golden Boy… I have no use for it." With that, Ron turned around and marched out of the Office. Dumbledore watched him leave with a regretful look, and then, Dumbledore let out a tired sigh. What more could he have done?

Ron ran down the stairs, his hands clenched into shaking fist. _Re-Sorting date?! Fuck that! I'm not going anywhere, and they can't make me. If they want to remove me from my friends, then they'll have to physically drag me away!_ As soon as Ron got past the stone gargoyle, he looked around for his friends. They weren't there, which meant that they had gone back to the common room. Ron was about to head down there, but he stopped himself. _They want to have a heart-to-heart about what's bothering me, don't they? I just don't have it in me right now, and if they force me to talk, I'll explode!_ Ron instead turned in the opposite direction and started heading for his Sanctuary, he wanted to be alone. _There's a bed there, and I can finally get some sleep. I'll worry about this after I've woken up._

It didn't take Ron long to get inside his Sanctuary, and he thanked Merlin that the Gryffindors weren't roaming the hallways. _Mother and father definitely want me to be in Gryffindor, but I'd rather go into any other house. From what I've seen, the Lions are a bunch of self-righteous twats who think they're better than everyone else. Most of them are just as arrogant as Malfoy… Sure, they don't spout filth like Blood-Supremacy, but they do think themselves to be Merlin's gift on the world. Which is fucked up because Merlin was in Slytherin._ Ron dropped into his favorite chair, a deep scowl etched upon his face. As he stared into the fire, Ron felt himself slowly calm down. He was still fuming, but at least now he wasn't shaking with rage.

"Marty" Ron called, he made sure to keep his tone calmer than he was. There was a loud crack, and Marty stepped up beside Ron.

"Master Ronald called for Marty?" Marty beamed, and Ron couldn't help but give a soft smile. Just seeing his faithful companion made him feel less… alone.

"I did" Ron nodded. "Can you please tell Daphne and the others that I'm spending the night in here? Tell them that I want to be alone, and that they shouldn't worry about me. I'm safe and sound…"

"Of course, Master" Marty nodded. "Marty will get it done immediately." Then, with a loud crack, Marty was gone. Ron relaxed into his chair, and he stared into the dancing fire. _This is just what Lord Greengrass does. I need to talk to him about this, he always gives me good advice._ Ron remembered Lord Greengrass suggesting emancipation a while ago, and the thought made Ron tense up. He didn't want to leave his Family… He just wanted them to stop treating him like a second hand possession. He was tired of being ignored, insulted, or just being disrespected in general. He had honestly never done a single thing to deserve it, his only crime was to exist.

He wanted his mother to be like Pandora, and he wanted his father to be like Lord Greengrass. Or really just like any of the other adults that Ron knew … The fact that every other adult respected and loved Ron unconditionally felt like salt in his wounds because his own parents didn't. His mother didn't even care if he was around whenever Ginny was in the same room, and his father loved Muggles more than he loved Ron. _Why couldn't they treat someone else like this? Why me?_ There was a sudden crack, and Ron was ripped out of his thoughts.

"Marty has told them, Master" Marty reported, and Ron saw that he was holding a cup of hot chocolate. "Here, Master… Marty went to the kitchens to make this for you." Ron took the cup with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron said sincerely. "You didn't have to do that…"

"Marty did have to do that, Master" Marty argued with a toothy smile. "Master looked sad, so Marty had to make him some hot chocolate." Ron swallowed thickly, and he did his best to keep his composure. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of Marty.

"Thank you" Ron repeated, his voice more strained this time. "For everything…" Marty beamed at that.

"If Master needs anything else, please call Marty immediately" Marty said with pride, and then he was gone. Ron held the cup with his gloved hand, and he rubbed his eyes with his left. _Don't cry, you little girl. Keep it together. I can still turn this around somehow… I just need to refocus my efforts, that's all._ Ron drank his hot chocolate in silence, and it made him feel a lot calmer. It was sweet, and it had chocolate flakes on top. _I should get Marty something special. He's done so much for me over the course of this year. And he is my responsibility. Do I even pay him for his services? Or does Lord Greengrass do that?_ Ron suddenly heard the door creak open, and he let out a tired sigh. _They're here to talk… Great…_ Ron turned to look at the door, and he was momentarily stunned when he saw no one. And then, Blaise suddenly became visible.

"The Disillusionment Charm" Ron frowned while Blaise shut the door behind him. "What are you doing here, Blaise?"

"I got lost" Blaise replied in a deadpan tone.

"Then get lost somewhere else" Ron shot back. "I want to be left alone…" Blaise didn't leave however, instead he took a seat on the couch on Ron's right.

"Want to tell me what happened with Dumbledore?" Blaise asked.

"No" Ron replied curtly.

"That bad, huh?" Blaise asked softly. "So… When are they Re-Sorting you?" Ron felt his stomach tighten, but then he relaxed. _Of course he figured it out, he's too clever not to._

"Dumbledore wants me to pick the date…" Ron replied with a faint whisper.

"That's just… cruel" Blaise sighed. "It's bad enough that they're doing this, but to actually make you pick the date… Merlin, what's wrong with them?"

"Why are you here, Blaise?" Ron asked. "You know that I don't want to talk about this."

"I know" Blaise shrugged, and then he relaxed into the couch. "Pansy went into a panic when Marty told us that you were spending the night in here…"

"What? Why?" Ron asked as he shot a quick look to Blaise.

"She took your petrification pretty badly…" Blaise replied softly. "You didn't see her of course, but she was in shambles. She cried almost every day, and she probably visited you more than Daphne did." Ron was stunned at that, and he looked at Blaise with a furrowed brow.

"Why?" Ron asked softly.

"She admires you" Blaise replied, and Ron just stared at him. "She told me that when she was going through an episode about your absence. And before you put yourself down and say that 'you don't deserve her admiration', I'll just tell you that you do. You're something else, Ron." Ron just stared at Blaise's aloof expression for a few seconds, and then he looked back to the fire.

"Something else…" Ron muttered. "That's what Carey Ductu always says…"

"She's probably the sharpest student in Slytherin" Blaise said aloofly. "Maybe you should listen to her."

"I don't even know what she means by it" Ron responded.

"It means that you're a breath of fresh air" Blaise shrugged. "You'd be surprised at how tedious it can be being friends with people like Malfoy…"

"Would I?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly.

"Yes, you really would" Blaise replied. "You don't know how it feels to be 'friends' with someone like him. Someone who thinks that you're not fit to lick his boots…"

"Then why were you all even friends with him?" Ron asked with a frown.

"I owed him…" Blaise said softly, his tone suddenly changing. Ron looked to see Blaise looking away into the distance, and Ron remembered that Blaise had said that once before.

"Owed him?" Ron asked, maybe he could learn more about Blaise today. Blaise was quiet for a few moments, and just when Ron was about to give up, Blaise spoke up.

"He found me in Diagon Alley when I was eight…" Blaise said, and Ron listened intently. "I knew him already of course, but this meeting was different. I was lost, and I had been lost for half the day… But Malfoy spotted me sitting alone, and he approached me. When I told him what happened, he was livid. He dragged me to his parents, and he demanded that they take me home with them… I spent a month with their Family… With him… That's when I started seeing him as my best friend."

"Why were you all alone in Diagon Alley?" Ron asked softly.

"My mother took me shopping for a new broom" Blaise said, his voice was barely audible. "While I ran around the shop with childish glee, she ran into an old fling… They got to talking, and when he asked her if she was alone, she told him that she was. And then… She just left with him. She just left me, Ron…" Ron could do nothing but stare at Blaise, and he felt like the wind was kicked out of him. _How could she do that?_

"If it wasn't for Malfoy…" Blaise continued, still looking away into the distance. "I don't know how I would have coped with that… He didn't leave alone me for a second during that month. He didn't let me cry, or get angry. He kept me distracted non-stop with games and other silly antics… He was… He was a good person back then. That Malfoy was my best friend, the one that I refused to leave behind. But now… Now he's one of the worst people that I know."

"What happened to your friendship with him?" Ron asked. _Malfoy sounds like a great friend in that story. And he was a hero in my vision. Maybe that 'great friend' is still in there somewhere._

"He started listening to his Lord Father's lectures" Blaise replied. "And the more he listened, the more arrogant he became. And the more arrogant he became, the more he 'put us in our place'. And not just me, Ron. He did it to all of us. And we took it without ever standing up for ourselves, but that all ended when we met you. You were our way out…"

"Way out?" Ron asked slowly.

"After your incredibly long Sorting, you got placed in Slytherin" Blaise replied. "A Weasley… in Slytherin. Malfoy planned to 'put you in your place' that night, and he wanted us to help him. But then you told us that the Hat considered you a perfect candidate for every house, and we realized that you were a perfect opportunity to get away from Malfoy. So we approached you… One-by-one."

"You planned that? It wasn't just to be my ally?" Ron asked.

"Theo and I planned it" Blaise admitted. "Daphne no doubt had the same train of thought… Pansy was the only one who refused to leave Malfoy. But she eventually broke, and she came to you with her tail tucked between her legs. And instead of throwing her away like Malfoy would have, like she herself would have, you made her feel like she was one of us. And you didn't stop until she herself began to believe it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ron asked, and Blaise gave him a meaningful look.

"Because I consider you one of my closest friends" Blaise said with a straight face. "Because I don't like seeing you get kicked into the dirt by everyone in your family, just like we were by Malfoy. Because I respect you… We all respect you, and we admire you. You're what we want to be like… That's why Pansy took it so hard when you were taken away from us. You're absence made her feel like everything we had was over… And so she broke into hysterics at the mere thought of you being gone." Ron didn't even know what to say to that, so he just stared at his own hands like some idiot. Blaise got up and approached Ron, and he put a firm hand on Ron right shoulder. Ron looked at up to see Blaise smiling genuinely at him.

"I know that Theo and I tried to change you at first" Blaise continued. "But we realized our mistake, we truly did. I don't care about your Blood-Traitor status anymore… Nor do I care much for Blood-Supremacy anymore… It's done me no favors. So even if you get Re-Sorted, I'll still stand by you. I won't leave you behind again."

"What about Theo?" Ron asked softly, his eyes locking with Blaise's. "Does he share your outlook too?"

"Theo's hatred for Muggles is… deep" Blaise sighed. "And that's all I'll say on the matter because it's not my place to discuss it. Goodnight Ron, I'll see you at breakfast." With that, Blaise gave Ron's shoulder a squeeze and left. Ron watched Blaise leave the Sanctuary, and all he could do was stare at the door.

* * *

 _ **March 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast)**_

Ron was in the Great Hall before anyone else, and he ate his food hungrily. He didn't have much dinner last night, so now he was ravenous. His conversation with Blaise had been… enlightening. And it had been wholesome. After Blaise had left, Ron felt a thousand times better than he did when he first entered the Sanctuary. His friends respected him, and they admired him. And it wasn't out of duty, or any other obligation. They did it because Ron's own actions had been the cause. And the fact that Blaise no longer cared for Blood-Supremacy was astounding. Ron felt proud of his part in Blaise's change of outlook, and that led Ron to confront his own outlook on what **really** **mattered**. He was now ready to look at emancipation as a viable option.

He, of course, had no intention of leaving his family. Especially with a war looming in the near future. He had vowed to save Fred, and the rest of his loved ones. And after speaking with Blaise, Ron had realized that he truly loved his friends. They were his family too, and so he wouldn't abandon them either. Which meant that Ron had to make a compromise. He would use emancipation, but he would use it as a bluff. It would be his trump card against his parents if they didn't back off. His biggest hope was that they didn't call his bluff, because if they did, he was fucked. But using such a weapon was dangerous, and Ron knew it. He could lose the love of his parents if he did this… But he had to do it.

Lord Greengrass had told him that if he couldn't get someone's love and approval, then he should settle for their respect. And since the love and approval thing was dead in the water, Ron would settle for respect. Even if his entire family hated him, but respected him, he could work with that. He'd make them respect him by taking charge in the upcoming war, and by protecting them despite the way that they had always treated him.

This meant that Ron needed to get stronger, and not just at Dueling. He needed a stronger bank of knowledge in all things, powerful allies, and a network of information from the 'other side'. He had analyzed everything in his mind last night, and he had come to see the upcoming war as a game of Chess. His knowledge on the world would serve as the board, his allies would serve as his pieces, and a network of information would serve him in predicting the enemy's moves. He would outmaneuver them all… And he'd do it for the sake of the people that he loved.

Ron's bank of knowledge could be improved with hard-work on his part. He'd study more enthusiastically, do more research into useful topics, and analyze more of the world and its people. His allies however were a different matter. Ron already knew which side of the war he was on, which limited Ron to certain allies. This meant that Ron had to make allies with people like Dumbledore, who was the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix. And the best way to make allies was to impress them with your prowess. Luckily for Ron, Dumbledore was now teaching them D.A.D.A. And they had a class today. Ron would impress the old man with his hard-work, charisma, self-confidence, and a willingness to help others regardless of whichever house they were from.

Gaining Dumbledore's approval and respect was extremely important to Ron now. If he could get himself installed into the Order of the Phoenix, which would no doubt resurface in the upcoming war, then Ron could use his new position to procure safety for his Slytherin friends. Ron wasn't an idiot, he was a **strategist**. And so he could easily see that the Dark Lord was behind this next war. Which meant that Slytherin House would become a fucking recruitment center for future Death-Eaters before long. And since his friends were openly friends with a Blood-Traitor, they would soon find themselves cornered and under attack. But Ron would be prepared for that. He'd bring them into the Order with Dumbledore's approval, and he'd stand by them through thick and thin.

As for his network of information, Ron would look to Lord Greengrass for help. His mentor was a powerful and influential man, and he had no trouble getting his hands dirty to a certain degree. Ron would build his own network from Lord Greengrass', and maybe, they could even combine their networks someday. Ron also understood that Lord Greengrass' life would change drastically when the war started, mostly because Lord Greengrass was a wealthy man with ties to other Pure-Blood Families. So Ron would work to convince him to join the Order of the Phoenix instead. The thought of going up against his mentor in a war made Ron feel sick. Though he would never outwardly admit it, he had come to love both Lord and Lady Greengrass.

Dumbledore had been right about one thing last night, Ron needed to be **prepared**. But not about his Re-Sorting… Ron had to be prepared for a **war**. It was time to **grow up** , and it was time to take charge of his life. People depended on him, and with his power to see the future, Ron could make a massive difference in the upcoming war. And that meant that sooner or later, Ron had to tell Dumbledore his secret. Even if it meant that the Entity would kill him… If Ron's death helped Dumbledore be more ready for the Dark Lord's return, then it'd be worth it. He just had to secure his friends' safety first.

"Ron!" came Pansy's voice, and Ron looked to see people piling in. "You're here really early" Pansy beamed, and she took Theo's spot.

"I was really hungry" Ron chuckled. "I should've eaten more food last night." His friends all took their seats, while Theo took Pansy's usual seat next to Daphne.

"Then next time you should listen to us" Millie scolded, but her voice sounded relieved. She was glad to see that he was back to normal, she had been worried sick when Marty had told them that Ron wanted to be left alone. If it weren't for Daphne, the girls would've marched up there and dragged him back to the common room.

"Hmmm" Ron hummed in contemplation. "Nah…"

"Someone's feeling cheeky" Pansy giggled as she lightly smacked his right arm.

"Not just cheeky" Ron chuckled. "I feel… good. Content…" His friends blinked at him, while Blaise smirked to himself.

"And what's brought about this change?" Theo asked with curious tone.

"I just realized how much I love you guys" Ron shrugged, and his friends were left stunned. Theo was just staring at him like he was insane, Tracey and Millie were smiling happily, Pansy was ecstatic, Blaise was trying not to visibly gag, and Daphne had gone a bit crimson.

"What's gotten into you?!" Pansy laughed. "The Ron I know isn't so… open…"

"Well, this is a one-time thing" Ron smiled at her. "Until breakfast ends, I'll be nothing but sappy and loving."

"And after that you'll go back to being a twat?" Theo asked, and Ron sniggered.

"Exactly" Ron said.

"Quick everyone, gather up as many compliments as you can" Tracey chuckled. "Ron, what do think about my eyes?"

"I think they're gorgeous, just like you" Ron smiled at her, and Tracey grinned. "A perfect shade of emerald, I could stare into them all day." Tracey's cheeks went a little red at that.

"Ron, are you dying?" Millie asked slowly.

"Why would you say that?" Ron chuckled. "Can't I just be in a great mood?"

"You can…" Millie replied. "But last night you were…"

"You were moping around like a wounded puppy" Theo provided, and the girls glared at him. Theo put his hands up in surrender, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Well, that was last night" Ron shrugged as he started on his third plate of food. His friends blinked at him, Ron's mood swings were legendary amongst them. One minute he'd be fine, and the next moment he'd be filled with rage. And then, he'd be happy beyond words. This was clearly one of those moments. "I feel good today, and I'm not letting anything ruin my mood."

"If it isn't the Weasel himself?" came a pompous voice from behind him. _Is this the Universe's way of telling me to fuck off?_ Ron had to pinch his own leg to keep his anger under control, he was still furious with what Malfoy had called Daphne.

"Good morning, Malfoy" Ron turned to his nemesis with a smile, and that jarred Malfoy right out of the gate. "How are you doing? Can I help you with something?" Tracey immediately broke into an uncontrollable snigger, while Ron's other friends were just befuddled.

"What… I mean…" Malfoy stammered, his face showing his confusion. Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint were standing right behind Malfoy, and Ron looked to them.

"Good morning, Flint" Ron greeted, this was fun. "How's Quidditch going? I bet you're really glad that it's back on. From what I've seen, you're a great captain." Marcus Flint's mouth hung open slightly, revealing his bigger than average teeth.

"Thanks…?" Flint muttered in confusion. Tracey let out a stifled laugh, and even Theo started sniggering at this point.

"You're welcome" Ron smiled at him, and then he looked to an even more confused Malfoy. "Malfoy, can I help you with something?"

"No" Malfoy spat, and then he turned around and left. Ron didn't miss Malfoy shooting him an extremely confused look again, and Ron grinned to himself. _Fuck you Universe, it won't be that easy!_

"What the fuck?" Theo broke into a hysterical laugh, and he covered his face with his hands. "Merlin… what the fuck just happened?" Even Blaise was trying not to laugh, but the rest of them had no trouble letting loose.

"That was amazing" Tracey wheezed.

"Did you see his face?" Millie chuckled.

"Ron… that was so brilliant" Daphne laughed, a Lady-like hand covering her mouth. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just in a good mood" Ron smiled widely. _That, and the fact that I can't afford to go around making enemies anymore. The point of my new outlook is to try and further myself, not to get bogged down with school rivalries. Though I will deal with Malfoy eventually. If there is a chance that I can push him to become the man from my vision, I have to take it._

Ron suddenly saw a flash of grey from the corner of his eyes, and he looked to see Helios flying down at him. His heart leaped into his throat at the sight of his companion, Helios had a letter attached to his leg. _Ginny wrote back!_ Helios landed in front of Ron with a loud hoot, and then he presented his leg to Ron. Ron immediately took the letter from Helios' leg, and Helios began eating Ron's bacon while Ron read the letter.

 _Ronnie,_

 _I got your letter yesterday morning, and I'm sorry that I didn't reply immediately. I fell asleep because of how relieved I was that you didn't hate me. I'm so sorry for everything, and I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you or anyone about that Diary. It just made me feel… less alone… But I was stupid, and people got hurt. You got hurt._

 _Since I didn't tell you the truth then, let me tell it to you now. I wasn't there to greet you after you woke up because I was scared. I was scared that you'd hate me, that you'd tell me to leave, and that you'd say that you never wanted to speak to me again. I guess I was wrong about that too. I'm so stupid._

 _Mum and dad want me to stay home for a while longer. Dad says that I can go back whenever I want, but mum won't let me out of her sight. I feel like I can't breathe sometimes, she is constantly watching me. She won't even let me do any chores! That's how bad it is, I actually miss chores. I just sit in the living room or in my room all day, and she is always there._

 _I miss you, I miss the twins, and I even miss Percy. But I think I'll stay here until Easter Break ends. I'm still having trouble forgetting what I did, or all the problems that I caused. Mum and dad keep saying that it's not my fault, but dad told me that it was when they first found out. He told me that I shouldn't have trusted the Diary because I didn't know where it kept its brain._

 _Mum and dad haven't told our brothers about why I've been pulled out, Dumbledore wanted it kept a secret. So as far as I know, only a few people know that I was responsible for this whole mess. I feel like I want everyone to know so they can punish me… I don't know, it's stupid. I sometimes don't even feel like leaving my bed in the morning. (I'm sorry for rambling on, I just want to talk to someone who isn't mum. She just starts crying every time I try to tell her how I feel.)_

 _One last thing. Ronnie, are you having a fight with mum and dad? They both get so sad whenever I mention you, especially dad. I caught him looking through old photos of us when we were really young, and he seemed really upset. When they came back from Hogwarts after you were brought back, they were both so sad. Mum cried most of the night. Ronnie, what's going on? Are you angry with them? With us?_

 _Please tell me, and please send Helios back. He's a bit rough, but having him around makes me feel… safer._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny._

 _P.S: I miss you too, and I can't wait to hug you as well._

 _P.P.S: Helios attacked dad for not sharing his bacon. It was the funniest thing that I've seen in a long time._

 _P.P.P.S: I love you, Ronnie._

Ron smiled at the long letter, and then he stroked Helios' feathers. The Eagle-Owl hooted softly in content, and it looked to Ron for instructions.

"I have to go and write a letter to Ginny" Ron told his friends, and they all nodded.

"How is she?" Daphne asked. "Is she recovering well?"

"I don't really know" Ron sighed. "She says she's getting better, but she sounds… defeated. She doesn't really sound like Ginny."

"Give her time" Blaise interjected.

"She's been through a lot, and I can't even imagine how guilty she must feel" Tracey smiled at Ron. "Blaise is right, she will come around eventually."

"But you should still keep sending her letters" Millie told him.

"And tell her that you love her" Pansy added on. "That's the most important part." Ron nodded at that, and then he stood up to leave.

"Want me to come with you?" Daphne asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I think I need to do this on my own" Ron smiled, and Daphne smiled in approval.

* * *

 _ **March 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (D.A.D.A Class – Last class of the Day)**_

Ron wasn't going to lie to himself, he was extremely excited and nervous at the same time. He was excited because Albus Dumbledore himself was going to be teaching them D.A.D.A. And he was nervous because the last time Ron had seen Dumbledore, Ron had lost his temper and said something rather venomous. Was he still angry about this whole Re-Sorting nonsense? Yes, he was. But now he planned to subdue his anger in order to impress the Greatest Wizard since Merlin himself. Ron needed Dumbledore, just like he needed Potter, and letting his anger get the better of him was not helping him anymore. If anything, it was killing him slowly.

Daphne's words had lingered in his head last night, and Ron understood that he generally was his own worst enemy. He had always known that, he was prone to rage-induced outbursts and bouts of extreme jealousy. He understood that he had his reasons for those, but the truth was that he hated that part of himself. And he was sure that other people did too. If he was to win Dumbledore's trust, then he needed to show the old wizard a better side of himself. The side that wanted nothing more than to protect his loved ones.

"Good afternoon" Dumbledore beamed at them, and the class greeted him back. The Gryffindors were ecstatic, especially the Golden Trio. The Slytherins were quieter, but Ron knew that they were excited as well. Even Malfoy was sitting up with his back straight. "As you all know, I will be serving as your substitute teacher for the remainder of the school year. But before I can do that, I need to know where everyone stands. So I have prepared a small test." Dumbledore waved his hand, and sheets of parchment flew onto every students' desks. "Please take thirty minutes to complete this 'test'. Do not worry, this does not affect your overall grade. This is more for my own benefit."

The class didn't even make a peep, and they all began working on the test immediately. Ron was overjoyed to see that this test was actually on D.A.D.A, and that he could finally show off his knowledge. _This is the first step. I need to get everything correct on this because that'll help me stand out._ Ron wrote tirelessly, and since every single question was based around Percy's notes, Ron was the first to finish. It had taken him just over ten minutes to get the test done, and he put his gloved hand up to signal Dumbledore that he was finished.

"Ah, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled at him, and Ron felt his insides tighten with guilt. _I'm sorry for speaking to you like that last night._ "What can I help you with? Are you having trouble understanding a question?"

"No, Headmaster" Ron replied. "I've finished." People from around the classroom shot him surprised looks, and Ron could clearly see a jealous glint in Hermione's eyes.

"I see" Dumbledore smiled as he picked up the paper and began reading the answers. After thirty seconds or so, Dumbledore beamed at Ron. "Every question seems to be answered perfectly, well done Ronald. Take ten points for Slytherin for your excellent knowledge on the subject." Ron smiled and gave Dumbledore a grateful nod, and Dumbledore turned around and left with Ron's paper. Ron shot another quick look around the room, and the stunned/jealous looks made him smile a little more widely. _Step one was successful, now I just have to keep this up._

Ron sat quietly as the rest of his classmates finished up their tests, and he went over his day in his head. He had been working his arse off in classes again, answering question after question. He had even started taking his own notes, notes that he planned to give Ginny and Luna when they started their second year. His friends were a little stunned by his behavior at first, but then they had quickly adjusted and relaxed. Ron knew that they preferred this version of 'Ronald Weasley' over the version that was cold, calculating, and even a little scary. Ron was in agreement with them on that. Even he didn't know why he always fell into such dark moods, sure he was always emotional, but his recent behavior was so unlike him. _I just need to think before I act, that's all. Now more than ever._

"Here, Ronald" Dumbledore whispered, and Ron looked to the old wizard. Dumbledore was holding three licorice wands in his left hand, and he was smiling softly. "Enjoy these while you wait. I just finished going over your answers properly, and I must admit, you've impressed me." Ron's cheeks flushed red, and he took the licorice wands with a smile.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron whispered back, and Dumbledore's smile widened a bit. Dumbledore gave Ron's left shoulder a comforting squeeze as he moved on to continue his patrol. Ron ate one of his licorice wands, and he again shot a quick look around. His classmates were clearly confused with Dumbledore's treatment of Ron, and maybe even a little jealous. _Give me a break guys, he and I have been through quite a bit recently._ Eventually, everyone finished and handed in their tests. As Dumbledore went through them at an extraordinary speed, the classroom broke into quiet conversations.

"Ron, what was that?" Pansy asked, she was sitting with him for this class. _And every class today. Blaise was clearly telling the truth about her, and her attachment to me._ Ron felt a pang of guilt for making her worry in the first place.

"What was what?" Ron asked with a smile.

"You finished really quickly, and he gave you sweets. And he gave your shoulder a paternal squeeze…" Pansy replied. "What's going on between you two? What did you talk about last night?"

"We had a fight" Ron replied truthfully, and Pansy's eyes widened a bit.

"A fight? You had a fight with the Headmaster?" Pansy asked. "Ron, what's going on?"

"He wanted me to set a date for my Re-Sorting" Ron told her with complete honesty, she deserved that much at least. "I got… angry. And I lashed out. I… I threw the pin away in anger… And I said something rather cruel to him…" Pansy just blinked at him, and then her face started showing her panic.

"Re-Sorting… You're leaving?" Pansy asked, her voice slightly shaky.

"No, Pansy" Ron replied as he grabbed her hand under the table. "I am not leaving, ever. I'll always be here, standing by all of you. I swear to Merlin, Pans, I will not leave you." Pansy nodded as she tried to regain her composure, and Ron squeezed her hand gently. "I meant what I said this morning, Pans. I love you guys, and I see you as my family." Pansy let out a soft, relieved laugh.

"I don't know what's made you change so suddenly, but I'm glad that it happened" Pansy smiled softly as she squeezed his hand back. _Blaise showed me just how much I care about you all, and how much you all care about me. I'll do everything in my power to protect you all. I've spent far too much time avoiding my_ _ **mission**_ _._

"Excellent" came Dumbledore's voice, and everyone went silent. Ron noticed that Pansy tightened her grip on his hand, and he smiled to himself. If she didn't want to let go yet, then he wouldn't let go. "From what I can see, most of you have good theoretical knowledge on how to defend yourselves from the Dark Arts. As for your practical knowledge… The majority of you are lacking." _Blame Quirrell and Lockhart for that. One was a stuttering moron, and the other was just a plain moron._ "Which is why we will be having class outside today. After all, practicing spells is not something one should do indoors." The class immediately became excited.

* * *

 _ **March 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (D.A.D.A Class – Courtyard)**_

"We will work on a simple Disarming Charm first" Dumbledore told them, and the excitement was palpable. This was Albus fucking Dumbledore, and he was teaching them magic personally. "Which means that you'll all be breaking into pairs, and as a fun treat, you must pair with someone not in your own house." _What? Wait, no… This is perfect. I can show him that I'm a team player._ The rest of the class seemed less thrilled at that, except for Hermione who was looking at Ron with a smile. _No, not her. She's already too skilled, and I need someone who needs my help. Otherwise, what's even the point?_

"Headmaster, must we?" Potter asked, he was clearly not thrilled about working with Slytherins. _Git… But I need to make real peace with him too. Which means that we have to talk soon, and I need to move past his thieving behavior._

"Yes, you must" Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling brightly. "If you all want, I can chose the pairs randomly. Will that be better?"

"Yes, Headmaster" Ron jumped in, this was a golden opportunity. "This way, no one will feel cheated."

"Very well" Dumbledore smiled at Ron. "Everyone will write their names on a piece of parchment, and I will draw out the names from these two hats." Dumbledore then windlessly conjured two hats, one green and the other red. "Quickly now, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can start practicing." Ron almost broke into a happy dance, and he begged the Universe to not fuck him over. _Please give me any Gryffindor besides Potter, Hermione, and Dean fucking Thomas._

Everyone did as they were told, and once the names were submitted, Dumbledore began drawing them out. Hermione's name was pulled out first, and she was paired with Crabbe. Ron had to bite his tongue in order to not laugh at the look of disgust on both their faces. Malfoy was paired with Seamus Finnegan. Daphne was paired with Parvati Patil. Tracey was paired with Longbottom. Blaise was paired with Potter. Theo was paired with Fay Dunbar. Pansy was paired with Dean Thomas. Millie was paired with Fay Dunbar's friend, her name was Runcorn or something. And Ron was paired with Lavender Brown. This left only Goyle, and so Dumbledore paired up with him.

"Now that we are all sorted" Dumbledore said, his eyes still twinkling in merriment. "Spread out a bit, and start practicing. The incantation is 'Expelliarmus'. Say it clearly, and do this wand movement." Dumbledore showed them the movement, which was a downward line with a twirl of the wrist. "Make sure you hold onto your wands, we don't want any accidents" Dumbledore chuckled heartily. They all then moved into their pairs, most of them wearing disgusted looks. Ron however, wore a friendly smile on his face as he approached Lavender Brown.

"Hello, Lavender" Ron greeted her, and she looked at him warily. "Can I call you Lavender like I did at Neville's party?"

"Sure…" Lavender replied, her tone slightly subdued. _Is she… scared of me?_ Ron nearly let out a sigh at that, but he knew that this was his own doing. _Pansy told me that people still remember what I did to Potter, so I can understand why she is worried. I'll just have to be extra polite and helpful._

"I'll stand over here, and you can stand over there" Ron smiled at her, and they both parted ways. Ron quickly took off Pandora's ring, and he put it in his robe's inner pocket. _I don't need any spells backfiring on her._ Once they were around ten feet away from each other, they both took their stances. Ron took on a more aggressive and prepared stance, while Lavender's stance was… Well, it was rather timid and unsure. Ron could already hear spells being fired, and he decided to get started. "Do you want me to throw the first spell? Or do you want the honor?" Ron asked her.

"You… You can throw the first one…" Lavender replied, she was visibly scared. Ron felt his insides squirm from guilt, he had to make sure that she didn't fear him by the end of this.

"Expelliarmus" Ron chanted as he did the wand movement, and a scarlet light shot out of his wand. The light hit Lavender's right hand, and she squealed in fright as her wand was ripped from her hand. Ron caught her wand easily enough, and he looked to her with a friendly smile. "Here you go, Lavender" Ron said as he handed her wand back to her.

"Thanks…" Lavender smiled sheepishly. "I thought that it would send me flying like last time…" _The Dueling Club, I remember. I'm pretty sure that Tracey cheated, and Lavender was floored._

"That only happens if you hit your opponent's body" Ron quoted Percy's notes. "The main point of this spell is to disarm, something that Lockhart failed to mention."

"Yeah… Lockhart…" Lavender muttered, her cheeks going a little pale. _Let me guess, you had a crush on him too?_ "I can't believe he was a fraud…"

"I can" Ron chuckled. "Remember the pixies?"

"I do" Lavender smiled for the first time. "Merlin, that class was the worst…" _Don't let her get distracted._

"Alright, it's your turn now" Ron told her, and then he got back into position. Lavender aimed her wand at him, and Ron prepared for the worst. If he was lucky, she'd disarm him. If he was unlucky, she'd send him flying. _And how often am I lucky?_

"Expelliarmus" Lavender said with a rather soft voice, and she did the 'wand movement'. Nothing came out of her wand, and Ron wasn't even surprised. _What the hell was that wand movement?_ "Expelliarmus" Lavender tried again, but just like before, nothing happened. "Ugh… It's not working" Lavender complained to herself. _Time to step in and help her, I hope Dumbledore is watching._ Ron shot a quick look around, and he saw that Dumbledore was too busy helping Goyle hold his wand properly.

"Is everything alright, Lavender?" Ron asked her with a smile, and she went a bit red in the cheeks.

"No, I can't get it to work" Lavender replied.

"Do you want my help?" Ron asked, and she looked at him warily. _Please say yes._

"Okay…" Lavender said softly. _Thank you!_

"Get into your stance please, I'll help you from there" Ron told her, and she took her timid stance. _There's the first problem, she doesn't even want to try._ "Lavender, stand like this" Ron instructed as he showed her his stance. "This stance helps you keep your feet planted, and it gives you the opportunity to move more quickly." Lavender slowly took his stance, and he smiled in approval. "Much better, now let's see about that spell." Ron analyzed how tightly she held her wand, her tense wrist and elbow, and her less than keen mannerisms. "May I?" Ron asked as he stood closer to her, and she nodded. Ron ignored her blush as he used his hands to loosen her grip on her wand.

"You're holding onto it too tightly" Ron told her, and she just nodded. "And here, relax your wrist and elbow" Ron said as he lightly adjusted her right arm. They were standing quite close to each other, and Ron could smell her perfume. His first thought was to question why she was wearing perfume to classes, and his second thought was that it smelled really nice. Unbeknownst to Ron, Marty was still cleaning his robes and dabbing them with a jasmine and sandalwood fragrance. Lavender's face burned at how close Ron was, and how nice he smelled. "Okay, try firing the Disarming Charm now" Ron said softly, and she nodded again.

"Expelliarmus" Lavender said, but her voice didn't come out right. Her head was somewhere else right now, but Ron didn't really understand that. _Why does she say it so meekly? And what is that wand movement? Is she trying to stab someone?_

"Okay, let's work on your wand movement" Ron said. "Can I show you?"

"Okay…" Lavender mumbled, her face going scarlet. This wasn't so bad…

"It's alright, there's nothing to be embarrassed about" Ron assured her, and then he took her right hand with his gloved one. He didn't miss her staring at his hand, but he chose to ignore it. Ron guided her hand and wand with his own hand. "I'll do the movement for you, and you say the spell. And say it clearly, like you're trying to disarm someone. Think of Malfoy or something" Ron joked, and Lavender let out a cute giggle.

"Okay, let's try" Lavender said, her voice a bit more lively. "Expelliarmus" Lavender chanted as Ron guided her hand, and a scarlet light shot out of her wand. Lavender's joyous squeal nearly deafened Ron. "I did it! Did you see that?!"

"I did" Ron laughed. "Great job, Lavender." The blonde girl was smiling widely, her cheeks rosy.

"Thanks, Ron" Lavender said gratefully.

"Now, I'll stand over there and you try it on your own" Ron told her, and she nodded more enthusiastically. Ron took his position, and he gave her a nod to indicate that he was ready. Ron also noticed that a few people were looking in their direction because of Lavender's squeal, and Dumbledore was one of them. _Don't mess this up, Lavender._

"Expelliarmus" Lavender said clearly as she mimicked the wand movement that he showed her, and a scarlet light burst out of her wand. Her aim was shite… The spell hit Ron in the chest instead of his right hand, and so Ron was sent barreling back. His back hit the grass with a thud, and Ron was slightly winded. _Fuck… My chest…_

"Ron, I'm so sorry!" came Lavender's loud voice, and Ron heard her quickly run to him. And then, her worried face stood over him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Ron replied as he stood up slowly. He looked over to see his wand lying on the ground, and he picked it up immediately. "Technically, I did get disarmed" Ron joked with a grin, and Lavender blinked at him.

"You did, didn't you?" Lavender suddenly giggled.

"Great job, Lavender" Ron complimented her. "You're a natural… trust me." _I feel like I got kicked by a Hippogriff._

"Excellent work you two" Dumbledore suddenly interrupted, his eyes twinkling madly. "Take five points each for working together so well." Dumbledore then turned to the other students with a smile. "Miss. Granger, please swap with Ronald. You can work with your house-mate while Ronald works with Mr. Crabbe." _What the fuck? No, please…_ Both Hermione and Crabbe looked visibly relieved, while Lavender looked rather disappointed.

"I'll see you later, Lavender" Ron said his goodbye with a friendly smile. "It was fun working with you."

"You too" Lavender smiled back, her cheeks were rather red. Ron gave her a parting nod, and then he walked over towards Crabbe. _Just bear with it, it's important that I show Dumbledore what I'm capable of._ As Ron passed Hermione, the frizzy haired witch gave him a warning.

"Crabbe is a complete oaf, Ron" Hermione said haughtily. "Utter buffoon… Good luck trying to teach him… I certainly tried my best…"

"I'll teach him" Ron gave her a smirk, and she just shook her head. Ron approached the big boy who had helped destroy his precious treasures last year, and Ron forced on a smile. "Are you having trouble with casting the spell?" Ron asked Crabbe, and Crabbe just grunted.

"The Mud-Blood was annoying…" Crabbe replied, and Ron felt his temper flare to a boiling point. _Don't attack him… Don't attack him… Dumbledore is watching you, Ron. Keep your shite together!_

"Show me your stance" Ron said, his tone coming out harsher than he intended it. He couldn't help the fact that it drove him mad to see Crabbe calling Hermione **that** so easily. Crabbe took on an intimidating stance, and Ron just blinked at him. _He's just standing there with his chest puffed out… He might as well wear a sign that says 'Hit my fat arse first because I won't even try to dodge anything'._

"Well?" Crabbe grunted, and Ron tutted him.

"Your stance is wrong, mate" Ron said, his friendly tone tasting like ash in his mouth. _Suck it up, this is better for the long term. Time to grow up, remember?_ "Here, stand like this" Ron instructed as he stood in a defensive side-ways stance.

"Why?" Crabbe asked with a growl.

"Your bulky guy, Crabbe" Ron said, his charm fully turned on. "And you're quite intimidating." Crabbe smirked at that, and Ron did his best to hide his own smirk. "But since you're so bulky, it makes you an easier target. So, if you stand like me, you're a smaller target." Crabbe nodded slowly, and Ron wasn't quite sure that Crabbe even understood anything. But then Crabbe took on Ron's stance.

"What else?" Crabbe grunted. _I'd say this is progress._

"Show me your wand movement, but don't say the spell" Ron instructed, and Crabbe narrowed his eyes on Ron. "We don't want any misfires, do we?" Crabbe nodded, and then he showed Ron the wand movement. It was worse than Lavender's… _Is he trying to paint on a fucking canvass that I can't see?_ "I see what's wrong now, you're wand movement is slightly off." _Slightly off, my arse… I should be thanking Merlin that I still have both my eyes._ "Here, let me show you slowly. Just copy my wand movement."

"Alright" Crabbe grunted, he seemed rather pleased at the word 'copy'. Ron did the proper wand movement as slowly as he could, and Crabbe copied him rather well.

"Now let's try it a bit faster?" Ron asked.

"Alright" Crabbe grunted, and Ron wondered if the bulky boy was dropped on his head as a child. _Not only does he barely speak, but he just grunts everything. It's no wonder that Malfoy tried to 'win' back his former friends, the platinum haired twat was clearly desperate for an actual conversation._ Ron did the movement faster this time, and Crabbe managed to successfully copy him.

"That was perfect, well done" Ron complimented, and Crabbe smirked. "Now just say 'Expelliarmus' clearly when you do that exact wand movement, alright?"

"Alright" Crabbe grunted.

"Let me get into position, and remember to aim at my right hand" Ron said. _Please aim for my hand… Don't floor me like Lavender did._ Ron then got into position, and he gave Crabbe a nod. "I'm ready, Crabbe. Fire the spell." In his dread, Ron failed to notice that quite a few people were watching them. It was no secret that Crabbe was the slow type, but they wanted to see if Ron could teach him like he had done with Lavender.

"Expelliarmus" Crabbe chanted with alarming precision, and then a scarlet light burst out of his wand. Ron had a split second to register the fact that the light was heading for his face, and before he could even cuss, everything had gone black.

* * *

 _ **March 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (D.A.D.A Class – Courtyard)**_

"Ronald, are you alright?" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron opened his eyes.

"Ow…" Ron wheezed, his head throbbing. "Headmaster?" Ron asked as his vision cleared up. Dumbledore was crouched down next to him, and he was holding up three fingers.

"How many fingers do you see, Ronald?" Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron frowned at the old wizard's amusement. _How about I show you a finger?_

"Three…" Ron groaned as he sat up. That's when he noticed that the other students were just watching him, including Crabbe. _What the hell was that aim? Did he seriously do that on purpose? Does he even have the brain power to plan that?_

"Well, you seem fine now" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling in merriment. Dumbledore then helped Ron stand up, and he handed Ron his wand. "From what I've seen today Ronald, you make for an excellent training dummy." The entire class sniggered, while Dumbledore smiled brightly.

"What can I say? I'm a team player" Ron joked back, and Dumbledore actually laughed for once. _A bit on the nose, but at least he knows now._

"I think that should conclude our class for the day" Dumbledore announced to everyone, and there were groans of disappointment. "Let us return to the classroom so that you can all collect your things." Everyone followed Dumbledore's instructions, though the disappointment of stopping was evident. Ron couldn't blame them, he didn't want to stop either. They finally had a proper D.A.D.A Professor, and they had actually learnt Defensive Magic for a change. As they made their way back up, Daphne quickly moved to walk by Ron's side.

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked, her tone was dignified and cold. When Ron looked at her, he could see that she was genuinely concerned. _Ah, we're in public. And therefore she won't show any emotion._

"I'm alright, but my head hurts a little" Ron replied truthfully. "You reckon he aimed for my head on purpose?"

"You reckon he's smart enough to think like that?" Daphne asked in returned, and Ron sniggered.

"I had the exact same thought" Ron told her.

"Great minds think alike" Daphne smirked lightly. "I'm glad you're alright, Ron. I don't think you can afford to lose any more brain cells." Ron feigned hurt, and then he grinned at her.

"Your words have hurt me more than that spell, Lady Greengrass" Ron chuckled, and Daphne stifled her giggle. "But seriously, how was it working with Parvati?"

"She was alright" Daphne replied. "She was a lot more polite than I imagined her to be."

"Why wouldn't she be polite?" Ron asked. "Her sister is awesome."

"Padma is a Ravenclaw" Daphne said. "The Ravenclaws are generally better company than the Gryffindors. Plus, Parvati is quite the gossip. I figured that she'd be the opinionated sort, but she was rather polite. She even complimented my hair."

"You do have nice hair" Ron agreed.

"Thank you" Daphne smiled softly. "How was it working with Lavender Brown and Crabbe?"

"I definitely enjoyed working with Lavender more" Ron admitted. "At least she didn't give me a damn concussion."

"That's fair, but I think that we should all be grateful that we didn't get paired with Finnegan" Daphne said, and Ron gave her a confused look. "Did you seriously miss him nearly setting Malfoy on fire?"

"He did?" Ron asked in shock, and Daphne let out soft chuckle.

"He did" Daphne nodded. "He set one of the trees behind Malfoy on fire, and Dumbledore decided to take his wand away. Malfoy ended up pairing with Goyle, while Finnegan just skulked about. How did you miss all of that?"

"I was concentrating on my own thing" Ron shrugged. _And I was trying to impress Dumbledore._

"You mean you were concentrating on Brown?" Daphne smirked, and Ron blinked at her. "Don't worry Ron, it doesn't really bother me."

"It… doesn't?" Ron asked. _How does it not bother her? She can be rather… possessive._ "Why doesn't it bother you?"

"Brown doesn't get to kiss you, I do" Daphne whispered, and Ron's face flushed red. He felt his stomach start to float, and he fought to keep the panic off of his face. "Ever since we started kissing, it doesn't really bother me when you spend time with other girls. Strange, huh?"

"We're in public, Daph" Ron whispered. _She's going to get us caught!_

"I know" Daphne responded, a roguish smile on her face. "Does it bother you when I say that in public?"

"It does bother me…" Ron admitted. "What we're doing, Daph… It could land us in a lot of trouble with your parents…" Ron felt his heartbeat increase, and his mouth suddenly felt a bit drier.

"I know" Daphne said, she sounded… pleased. "The thrill of it is exciting, isn't it?"

"Exciting?" Ron asked.

"I know you feel it too" Daphne replied as she linked their arms, her roguish smile growing a little wider. "It makes me feel like there are butterflies in my stomach, and I get this weird… rush. What about you?" Ron shot a quick look around, and he was glad to see that everyone else was too busy discussing their most recent class. "They're not watching us, Ron" Daphne whispered in his ear, and Ron felt a shudder pass through him. "No one knows what we're doing."

"Stop it" Ron said.

"Or what?" Daphne asked, her voice silky smooth.

"Or… Or I won't give you another…" Ron stammered as he stared forward.

"Another what?" Daphne giggled softly. _Get a grip, Ron._

"You're enjoying this too much" Ron replied.

"And so are you" Daphne shot back. "Why else would you go so red in the face?"

"Fear of death can do that to a person" Ron replied. "Your father will literally disembowel me if he finds out." _Damn, she knows that I'm enjoying this little game. But if she doesn't stop, we'll both get caught._

"Then he won't find out" Daphne said as she disentangled their arms. "I can't wait for Paris…" It all hit Ron like a ton of bricks at that, and he looked to see her smiling to herself.

"You can't be serious…?" Ron mumbled. "Your parents will be right there, Daph… We… we can't…"

"We can't what?" Daphne smiled at him. "Spend time together? We're friends, aren't we?" Daphne suddenly frowned a little, and Ron blinked at her change in demeanor. "We're nearing the classroom. This conversation isn't over, Ron" Daphne promised. _Merlin help me, what's gotten into her? Is she possessed now too? And why did I enjoy that? Self-preservation my arse, part of me liked doing that too much. Is that what she meant by 'getting a weird rush'?_ Ron and his classmates entered the classroom, and they all began to grab their things. The bell rang suddenly, and Ron was amazed at the timing.

"That concludes our time together" Dumbledore beamed at the students. "Enjoy your weekend, and I will see you all next week." The class began to leave, but Dumbledore called out to Ron. "Ronald, please stay behind a moment." Everyone stopped in their tracks, and Ron slowly turned around. _It worked? He was impressed, wasn't he?_

"Of course, Headmaster" Ron smiled, and he noticed that people were staring. Well, not people… Potter, Longbottom, and Hermione were staring.

"We'll be right outside" Pansy whispered, and Ron gave her a nod. Ron then walked closer to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore looked to the rest of the class. They all began shuffling out, but Ron saw the Golden Trio lingering behind. But they too eventually left, and then it was just Ron and Dumbledore.

"Is everything alright, Headmaster?" Ron asked with a smile, and Dumbledore just looked at him with a worried look.

"I should be asking you that, Ronald" Dumbledore replied. "Our conversation last night turned rather… heated."

"I'm so sorry about that" Ron apologized sincerely. "I just… I just don't know what came over me. I had a fight with my brothers… and then you mentioned my Re-Sorting… I'm really sorry, Headmaster." Dumbledore leaned against the teacher's desk, and he gestured for Ron to sit. Ron didn't dare disobey.

"Ronald, I am growing increasingly worried about you" Dumbledore told him, it was the genuine truth. He had spent the entire night thinking about Ron's rage, and his venomous words. The boy was generally so light-hearted and polite, but then he suddenly wasn't. It was like a switch would get flipped in his mind, and Dumbledore feared that this 'Entity' might be behind this.

"Worried about me?" Ron asked. _So he wasn't impressed with me?_

"Yes, worried" Dumbledore nodded. "Talk to me Ronald, tell me why you fought with your brothers. They had been eagerly awaiting your return, what changed?" Ron just stared at Dumbledore, he didn't want to discuss his brothers. _Just give him a little bit… Try and build a rapport with him. Your pride is nothing compared to your goal._

"I happened…" Ron admitted softly as he averted his gaze. "I'm just so… I got so angry with them when they kept hounding me…"

"Hounding you?" Dumbledore asked softly. This was good, Ronald was opening up to him.

"They wanted to ask why I was so cold to mother and father" Ron told him, and Dumbledore didn't miss the fact that Ron called his parents 'mother' and 'father'.

"They don't know about your Re-Sorting?" Dumbledore asked with a kind smile.

"They do now… I blew up on them, and I just shouted whatever came to my mind…" Ron sighed. "They probably think that I'm a horrible person now…" _Maybe they can make fun of that too? Stop… What's wrong with me? Why do I keep looking for a fight? I've had a good day… and I'm trying to ruin it?_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, while Dumbledore just watched.

"I don't think that they'll think that" Dumbledore said. "Ronald, can I please suggest something? And I want you to know that I mean no offence by it."

"Suggest what?" Ron asked, this conversation was not going according to plan.

"You've been under a lot of stress lately" Dumbledore said softly, a kind smile on his face. "And judging by your excellent grades, I can see that you are pushing yourself very hard despite everything else going on in your life. Things like working for Lord Greengrass, and trying to convince your parents to let you stay with your friends. Someone your age shouldn't have such worries placed upon them. But since these things cannot be helped, I wanted to suggest that you talk to someone about them. Just to vent your feelings every now and then."

"Talk to someone?" Ron blinked. "Like… Professor Snape?"

"You can talk to Professor Snape" Dumbledore told him. "But I was thinking of Madam Pomfrey." _Madam Pomfrey? Why would I talk to her?_

"Why her?" Ron asked, his curiosity piqued.

"You may know that she is a qualified Medi-Witch, Ronald" Dumbledore said. "But what you might not know is that she is also a trained Mind-Healer." _Mind-Healer?_

"You mean that she is trained to deal with crazy people?" Ron asked, his tone coming out slightly harsher than intended. _Does he think that I'm crazy? I'm not crazy!_ "I don't need that sort of help!" Ron fumed as he stood up, and Dumbledore clapped his hands once. The odd action jarred Ron, but Dumbledore just smiled sadly.

"There it is again" Dumbledore said, while Ron blinked rapidly in confusion. "We were having a perfectly normal conversation, and just like that, your demeanor just changed." _Huh?_ "Ronald, this is why I'm so worried about you. After last night, I was quite concerned about seeing you at breakfast. But you surprised me completely. You were in a joyful mood, as if last night didn't even happen. This is not the behavior of a healthy person Ron, please try and understand that. I'm not trying to insult you, I'm trying to help you." Ron just stared at Dumbledore, and he didn't even know what to say.

"I don't need that kind of help" Ron mumbled after a few seconds. _I was in a joyful mood because my best mate finally opened up to me, and I finally realized how important my friends are to me._

"It was just a suggestion" Dumbledore said as he walked over to Ron, and then the old wizard put a hand on Ron's left shoulder. "Please think about it, that's all I ask."

"Okay…" Ron responded softly. _So much for impressing him with my prowess, he just thinks that I'm weak-minded._ "Can I go now? My friends are waiting for me…"

"Certainly" Dumbledore said softly, and Ron made to leave. Just as he was about to exit the room, Dumbledore called out to him again. "Ronald, you were quite impressive in class today. I can see why all the Professors adore you." Ron turned to see Dumbledore smiling at him, and Ron managed a weak smile back. And then, he left the classroom. The moment he stepped outside, he saw his friends waiting for him.

"What did he want?" Theo asked. "You aren't in any trouble, are you?" _I can't tell them what he suggested… I just can't. They'll… They'll lose their respect for me…_

"I'm not in trouble" Ron replied honestly.

"Was this about your fight with him?" Millie asked, and Ron sighed.

"Pans…" Ron looked to her, and she gave him a sheepish look.

"Sorry, but I felt that they needed to know" Pansy defended herself. _She's right. New outlook, remember? Just… Just deal with this like you always do. Bury it, and move on._

"It's alright, Pansy" Ron shrugged. "And no, this wasn't about our fight. He was just worried about my near concussion, and he said that I should go to Madam Pomfrey." _Technically, that's slightly true._ "Let's go and drop our books off, alright?" His friends nodded slowly, and Ron pretended to not see their odd looks.

* * *

 _ **March 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dinner)**_

"So, when are you throwing this party of yours?" Blaise asked as he cut into his lasagna.

"I was thinking tomorrow night" Ron shrugged. "It's a better choice than Sunday because no one has classes the next day."

"What about your work?" Millie asked.

"Marty will probably handle everything" Theo answered for Ron. "Which bring us to another matter… How are you going to deal with Malfoy's gang? They'll definitely try and ruin your party."

"The best way to make guests behave is to make them feel special" Daphne interjected.

"Feel special?" Ron asked.

"You need to talk to them beforehand, invite them personally so to speak" Daphne told him.

"Does that include Malfoy?" Tracey asked, her tone showing her disgust.

"No, he'll immediately try to ruin everything" Pansy replied for Daphne. "This has to be done quickly, and quietly. Which means that we need to know who to target."

"We can't let the wrong person tell Malfoy" Ron figured.

"That would be bad" Millie frowned. "You'll come out as weak and incompetent."

"Why don't you just kick Malfoy's arse?" Tracey frowned at Ron, and then she sighed in defeat. Ron shot a quick look towards Daphne. _I made a promise not to, and I don't want to feel this anger anymore. I feel like it's killing me slowly._

"Fighting him will only make things worse" Blaise told Pansy. "We're not brutes, Tracey. And in case you haven't heard, that's exactly what Malfoy has been calling Ron lately."

"He has?" Ron asked, this was news to him.

"He has indeed" Theo answered. "Though no one dares to say it when you're around, your reputation precedes you. The Troll-Slayer, Slytherin's Prodigy, and my personal favorite, 'the guy who beat Potter's arse into the dirt with his bare hands'."

"The Potter thing is what really frightens people" Millie told Ron. "Potter defeated the Dark Lord as a baby, and he's Dumbledore's Golden Boy. But you not only beat him senseless in public, but you also strong-armed Dumbledore into punishing Potter. Hence why no one is openly trying to make you their enemy."

"That's why he should teach Malfoy a lesson" Tracey argued. "To show everyone that Ron, and us, are not to be trifled with."

"All that shows is that Ron is willing to hurt his own house-mates, Tracey" Daphne frowned. "Ron, stick with the party idea. It's how things are done in Pure-Blood Society. If you have an enemy, give them a good time and make them your ally. Show them that the grass is greener on your side."

"Did you just use your last name as a… pun?" Ron asked with a snigger.

"I heard father say it once" Daphne smirked. "I quite liked it."

"We're veering off-topic here" Theo told them. "Who do we target, Pansy?" Everyone looked to her, and she blinked at them.

"Don't be shy, Pansy" Blaise smirked. "You know you're the best at this sort of thing. You love parties and socializing."

"I'd aim for the third year girls" Pansy sighed in defeat, though her rosy cheeks told a different story. "Most of them are only following Malfoy around because he's the Heir to Malfoy Family. Their only concern is his money, which I doubt he spends on them."

"Alright, who else?" Ron asked.

"Most of the fourth year boys don't really like Malfoy either" Pansy told them. "They don't like being treated as lesser by someone who is two years their junior."

"Then why even follow him?" Tracey asked.

"Probably because after Ron was petrified, Malfoy promised them the run of the school" Pansy shrugged. "And he did deliver for a little while. But we took care of the Heir, and now Ron's back."

"Which means that they no longer get anything out of following Malfoy" Ron finished, and Pansy nodded.

"If you give them something that Malfoy won't, they'll leave him" Pansy said.

"And what would that be?" Ron asked.

"A gesture of respect would do" Pansy answered. "Invite them to the party personally, and ask them what they would like."

"And when does Ron get the time to do all of this?" Tracey asked. "He's at work all day tomorrow, and with the Junior League Tournament approaching, Lord Greengrass won't let him leave early."

"That's… a great point" Ron sighed.

"Let us take care of the third year girls" Millie offered. "You can just come back around five, and then talk to the fourth year boys."

"What if they're attached to Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"They won't be" Blaise replied. "Quidditch is on tomorrow, remember?" _He's right, and Malfoy is the seeker for the Slytherin team._

"The games are running until dinner time" Theo told them. "And since Quidditch is finally making a long overdue return, no one playing will leave early."

"Which gives me plenty of time to talk to the fourth years" Ron nodded. "Alright, we have a game plan."

"Blaise and I will join you when you get back" Theo said. "Just meet us at the stands, and we'll take it from there."

Dinner then progressed as it normally did, with Ron demolishing three plates of food and his friends poking fun at him. At least he ate with proper etiquette, and that meant that Malfoy didn't have another reason to spread his hatred of Ron to the others. Ron saw Malfoy shooting him looks throughout dinner, most of them were looks of disgust, but there were a few confused ones too. Ron's earlier behavior had gotten under his skin, and that pleased Ron greatly.

While Ron knew that he had to stop Malfoy's power-hungry antics, Ron also thought about Malfoy's future. It was so difficult to see him as a potentially good person, and his bastard-like behavior was the main cause for that difficulty. But Ron knew that if there was even a small chance that Malfoy could be turned into a better person, then Ron had to take it. Ron had vowed to help everyone along the way when he had set Sirius free, and even if he sometimes lost sight of that vow, it was always lingering in the back his mind. The school bell rang, and it pulled Ron out of his thoughts. He followed his friends out of the Great Hall and into the Entrance Hall, but they were intercepted by the Golden Trio.

"Hello" Ron greeted them, and the Golden Trio greeted him back. "What do you guys need?"

"Can we talk to you in private?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting towards Ron's friends.

"No" Millie replied for Ron. _Fucking hell, here we go again._

"Hermione, it's alright" Potter told her, but she didn't seem too pleased. Ron didn't miss the look that Hermione gave him, and Ron certainly didn't miss the way she was eyeballing Tracey. _She's still convinced that Tracey and I have something going on between us? Even if we did, it's hardly any of her concern._ "Ron, I wanted to ask you… Can I play Quidditch tomorrow? It's… It's finally back on, but you still have… power over my Quidditch privileges." _Yes, I do. And no, you can't._ Ron felt someone nudge him in the back, and Ron knew that it was either Theo or Blaise.

"Of course you can" Ron replied with a practiced smile. "We've made peace and moved on, haven't we?" Potter and Longbottom beamed at that, while Hermione gave Ron a proud smile. _I need to make proper peace with them, it's necessary for the future._

"Thank you, Ron" Potter said gratefully. "Can you please tell Dumbledore, or any of the Professors? They need proof that you've lifted your ban…"

"I'll let Snape know" Ron answered, and Potter shifted in his spot a little. "You can talk to him tomorrow, and he'll let everyone know that I've lifted the ban." _Enjoy that conversation, I'm sure that Snape will. Just because I'm making peace doesn't mean that I can't be a little petty… They won the House-Cup, the least I can have is some entertainment._

"Isn't there any…?" Potter started, but Longbottom cut him off.

"Thanks, Ron" Longbottom said firmly. "Please let Snape know. Harry is extremely grateful to you for doing this. Aren't you, Harry?"

"Yes…" Potter nodded, though he didn't sound grateful.

"It's nothing" Ron smiled. "Enjoy the Quidditch tomorrow, and good luck in your games." Potter nodded at that, a small smile on his face. The Golden Trio then began to leave, but Hermione lingered on for longer than necessary. Once they were gone, Ron let out a long sigh.

"This is the right move, mate" Blaise told him. "If you want peace with them, then you need to move on."

"I know, that's why I let it go…" Ron shook his head.

"You did well, Ron" Theo told him. "I know you're not happy with them for stealing the credit, but you did well."

"Is that your brother?" Tracey asked, and Ron immediately looked up the stairs leading out of the Entrance Hall. Percy had just turned the corner, and he was staring at Ron.

"We'll give you two some privacy" Daphne said. _Please don't._

"But…" Millie went to argue, but Daphne stopped her.

"Millie, give Ron some time with his brother" Daphne said, her brow furrowed. "Ron, we'll see you back at the common room." Ron gave her a nod, and his friends slowly left after that. Daphne shot him a 'Don't mess this up' glare before she disappeared down the stairs. _I probably will, judging from my previous encounters._

"Ron, can we talk?" Percy asked as he came down the steps.

"Sure…" Ron shuffled his feet, his stomach twisting from guilt. He had said some rather nasty things yesterday, and now that his anger was gone, the guilt had replaced it.

"Let's go into the courtyard, it's a nice night out tonight" Percy said, his voice slightly awkward. Ron simply followed Percy out into the courtyard, and Ron noticed that his brother was right. The temperature was cool, but not cold. And there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and Ron could see all the stars glittering in the night sky.

"It is a nice out tonight" Ron repeated his brother's previous comment, and Percy just nodded his agreement. "So… where are the twins?" Ron asked as he sat down on the grass.

"They weren't up for this" Percy sighed as he sat down on Ron's left side. "They're still reeling from last night… So am I actually…"

"Perce, I'm really sorry about last night…" Ron apologized. "I don't know what came over me… I just lost it completely…"

"It isn't the first time that this has happened" Percy muttered, and Ron blinked at his older brother.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked softly.

"Remember what happened after I found out that Mrs. Lovegood bought you a new wand behind mum and dad's backs?" Percy asked, and Ron nodded slowly. "You said some similar things that day… The only difference is that when you yelled at me last year, I could hear how hurt and upset you were… I didn't feel that last night, Ron. All I felt was… rage… You said what you said to hurt the twins, didn't you?" When Ron didn't answer, Percy decided to continue. "Well, you succeeded. They both feel dreadful, and so do I…"

"I'm sorry" Ron apologized again.

"I know you are" Percy sighed. "Just like I know how sorry they are… And how sorry I am."

"Why are you sorry?" Ron asked. "You didn't do anything wrong…"

"Yes, I did" Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "After… After our fight at the start of last year… I started doing a lot of thinking…" Percy stopped at that, and Ron could see that Percy was having trouble letting his emotions out. _We're both similar in that regard. Of all my siblings, I've always felt the most similar to Percy. I don't have his brilliant mind, but we're both outsiders._

"What did you think about?" Ron asked, hoping to help Percy out.

"You, Ronnie…" Percy sighed, and Ron felt his throat tighten a bit. "I thought about you… and about how you've always been treated. I mean, I was treated horribly by the twins. I was constantly mocked by Ginny, and even by Bill and Charlie. But at least mum and dad always treated me with a lot of love. Dad was always supportive of my ambitions and hard work, and mum called me her 'favorite son' because I was so well behaved. But you didn't have any of that…"

"Perce…" Ron muttered softly.

"No, don't say that it's fine" Percy frowned. "Because it's not… I couldn't stop thinking about how often the twins pranked you. How they tortured you relentlessly, burned a hole through your tongue, turned that teddy bear into a man-sized spider, and I couldn't even imagine what possessed them to try and lock you into an Unbreakable Vow… But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that they felt safe doing all those things to you."

"Safe?" Ron asked, now he was confused.

"They knew that they'd get away with it, and so they did it" Percy spat, his own irritation with the twins coming out. "Bill is the oldest amongst us, and the one everyone looks up to. Charlie would beat them bloody. Mum and dad always stepped in to stop them when they came after me. And Ginny is the youngest, and the only girl amongst us. That left you as their free pass… No one would care if they went after you, if they tested their pranks on you, or said **horrible** things to you to illicit a painful reaction. Mum and dad always paid more attention to us than they did you, Bill and Charlie were too busy with school and far too old, I was just glad that they weren't targeting me, and Ginny has always been… entitled. I realized all of this last year… But I didn't do anything about it…"

"Is that why you're sorry?" Ron asked, he was choking up a bit because of Percy's analysis. It felt… good… to know that someone else saw how he felt in the family. That's all he really wanted, for someone to just understand his side of things.

"Yes" Percy nodded. "I was going to, Ronnie, please believe that. I really was. But then things started getting harder in my classes… My studies began to bury me, and I just slowly… forgot. You were settling in well with your new friends, and I fell into a safe sense of normalcy. I know now how wrong I was… You're still hurting, but it's more than that now… You want others to feel your pain… And I hate that it's come to this."

"Percy, I don't want to hurt other people's feelings" Ron said softly, though he wasn't too sure of his own words. It had felt great to make the twins feel bad for once, even if his own guilt was torturing him.

"Ron, I'm just going to be honest" Percy sighed. "You've changed… And I'm not sure that it's for the better." Ron felt his temper flare at that, but he kept quiet. "But I'm not going to judge you because I never did a thing to stop your terrible treatment. And I won't deny that you're definitely a stronger person now. You're more driven, you don't laze about anymore, and you've made powerful real world connections. I'm extremely proud of that, believe me. But I'm also… I'm also worried that I've lost my little brother… The one who I tutored for hours and hours, the one that made me feel less alone in the family…"

"You haven't lost me" Ron shifted a little closer to Percy. "I still love you guys, especially you Perce… But I'm not planning to keep being that little kid forever…" _I have a war to prepare for, and I can't afford to be weak._ "I have… I have great ambitions, and I can't achieve them by being… weak."

"You even talk like a Slytherin now" Percy chuckled, though it sounded extremely sad. "Can I tell you a secret, Ron? Something that I've never told anyone, not even mum and dad." Ron nodded at that. "The Sorting Hat wanted to place me in Slytherin…"

"What?" Ron asked, he was stunned at that. _Really? Why?_

"It's true" Percy smiled sadly. "But when I saw Charlie and Bill staring at me… I panicked. I begged the Hat to let me be in Gryffindor, just like the rest of my family. I… I sometimes wonder if that was a mistake…"

"Why?" Ron asked softly.

"The Hat saw my ambitions, and it wanted to put me in a house that would help me achieve them" Percy replied. "But in a moment of… weakness, I fell back on my safety net. My family. I eventually moved on from that, but then you got sorted into Slytherin, and it brought back my own doubts. You didn't let your fear of being rejected hold you back, and that made me feel… lesser than you…" _The Hat didn't give me a choice, Perce. I tried to beg, trust me._ Ron hated that Percy felt like this, especially because neither boys had any power over the Hat's decisions.

"I'm sorry you felt like that" Ron managed to say, he didn't really know what else he could say.

"It's okay" Percy smiled sadly. "It's not your fault, it's my own. Seeing you succeed does make me happy, Ron. It truly does. Which is why… Which is why I want you to tell me what's going on between you and our parents. You said that dad tried to pull you out of Slytherin, and that mum hit you… Tell me what's going on Ron, I want to help you."

And so Ron did. Ron told Percy about their mother striking him after the Potter fiasco, and about how their father was doing everything in his power to remove Ron from Slytherin. Ron told Percy about their threat to pull him out of school, and about how Ron didn't want to leave his friends. The only things that Ron didn't tell Percy were about his involvement in locating the Chamber, Ginny being possessed by the Heir, the Heir being the Dark Lord, and about Ron's plan to use emancipation as a bluff to scare their parents into backing off.

"That's the gist of it" Ron said as he finished, and Percy nodded in understanding.

"I had no idea things had gotten so bad between you guys" Percy sighed tiredly. "Dad even refused Dumbledore… Ron, that's bad for us."

"Us?" Ron smiled at Percy.

"I told you that I'd help, and I'm going to" Percy put his arm around Ron's shoulders. "Your shoulders have gotten broader…" Percy muttered, a soft smile on his face. "Anyway, I'll help you as best I can. I think we should talk to mum and dad together, present a united front. They've always listened to me, and I'll do my best to convince them that Slytherin has been good for you."

"They don't think it has" Ron responded. "They think that I'm turning Dark, or something."

"Like I said before, you have changed Ron" Percy said. "But change is a part of growing up, and I think they can't fully understand that. Even I have trouble understanding just how much you've changed over the last two years. But that's mostly because we're all in Gryffindor, and you're all the way down in Slytherin. We don't interact that much, and you interact with our parents even less. They need to let go of who you were, and embrace who you are now."

"Wow, did you read that in a book?" Ron chuckled, and Percy gave him a brotherly squeeze. "Thank you, Perce."

"Don't thank me yet, little brother. This might not work out like we want."

"Maybe" Ron replied. "But I'm just glad that we've… come to an understanding."

"Come to an understanding?" Percy chuckled. "You could just say that you love me, you know?"

"I could also kill myself" Ron smirked, and Percy let out a laugh.

"We Weasley boys have never been good at showing our emotions, I know that quite well" Percy said, and then he stood up. Ron followed his lead, and they faced each other. "But I do love you, Ron" Percy said as he put his right hand on Ron's left cheek.

"I… love you too."

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Morning)**_

"Good morning, Lord Greengrass" Ron greeted his mentor as he entered the study.

"Good morning, Ron" Lord Greengrass responded, his gaze fixed upon the dancing fire.

"I didn't see Lady Greengrass and Astoria on the way in, are they out?" Ron asked as he took his seat.

"Indeed" Lord Greengrass replied, his back facing Ron. _Something's bothering him._ "My daughter decided that her new dresses were out of fashion, so Mary has taken her to buy new ones. How I despise Witch Weekly…"

"Oh…" Ron blinked. _Being rich certainly has its perks. I wonder how Tori would react if someone gave her a hand-me-down dress?_ Ron grinned at the prospect. _A great idea for a prank, hehe. I'll get Daphne to help me in Paris._

"Ron, we need to talk" Lord Greengrass sighed, and now Ron knew for sure that something was bothering him. Sebastian Greengrass didn't sigh like that.

"I guess that's fair, because I want to talk to you as well" Ron said. He had decided to bring up the emancipation idea, he wanted more knowledge on the matter. As for his plans to create a network through Lord Greengrass' contacts, that would have to wait. He wanted to establish himself some more before he did that.

"Very well, tell me what's on your mind" Lord Greengrass said as he moved over and took his seat in front of Ron.

"I've been thinking about my parents…" Ron sighed, this was going to be awkward.

"What did they do now?" Lord Greengrass frowned, and Ron blinked at him.

"Now?" Ron asked.

"Your father came here two days ago" Lord Greengrass told Ron, he sounded annoyed. "He asked me to convince you to leave Slytherin."

"What?" Ron asked, his eyes going wide. _Right after I came back? He still hasn't changed his mind at all? Even after finding out that I helped locate the Chamber?_

"Ron, what possessed you to treat them in such a cold manner?" Lord Greengrass frowned. "There is a time and place to show your discontent… Doing it right after waking up from a two week petrification is not one of them."

"I'm sorry" Ron apologized. "But to me, it felt like a heartbeat." _Except for the Dream World._ "They may have missed me, or grieved for me, but to me it seemed like nothing at all. I was in that corridor one second, and then I was surrounded by all of you…"

"I understand that" Lord Greengrass said, his tone slightly kinder than before. "But Ron, keeping your emotions in check is an extremely valuable trait to have. You must think strategically before you act, that is essential. Can you see now how being cold to them right after your return could send them into a panic?"

"I can…" Ron nodded. "But what's done is done… And now I need your help."

"Truer words were never spoken" Lord Greengrass said as he leaned into his chair. "What is your plan, Ron? How do you intend to make up with them?"

"Emancipation" Ron replied flatly, and Lord Greengrass just blinked.

"And how does that help you?" Lord Greengrass asked, he was clearly caught off-guard.

"I want to use it as a bluff" Ron explained. "I will talk to them myself, try and convince them to change their minds. But if that doesn't work… Then I'll use this to scare them into submitting."

"That… is a bold move" Lord Greengrass said. "One that can backfire horribly if you aren't careful."

"My Lord, you suggested emancipation to me. Remember?" Ron asked.

"I do remember" Lord Greengrass replied. "But I suggested actual emancipation, not this… half-measure."

"I can't leave them…" Ron sighed. "I just can't…" _They need me in the future._

"What happens if they call your bluff?" Lord Greengrass asked. "I'll tell you what'll happen. They will never respect you again, your words will mean nothing to them. And if they don't call your bluff, then they will never forget this. I can understand why you don't want to leave them, they are your family. But Ron, if you do this, it won't matter if you stay with them. You will never be a family again."

"But you suggested it" Ron reminded Lord Greengrass.

"As a last measure, yes" Lord Greengrass replied. "But using something like this as a bluff is a double-edged sword, Ron. You want to walk a certain road, but your actions will lead you down a different road instead." Ron averted his gaze at that, he hadn't expected this kind of argument. "Look, I want to help you. And I will, but I just want you to understand the consequences of your actions. Using this, even as only a threat, will still damage your relationship with them beyond repair."

"They haven't left me any choice…" Ron muttered. "I can't abandon my friends…"

"You're loyalty to your friends is… refreshing" Lord Greengrass said softly. "Which is exactly why I want you to think this through. If you do this, then it's on you. Not on your friends, not on your parents, and not on me. It's all on you, and you can't put that on someone else. Do you understand?"

"I do" Ron nodded softly. "I may be doing this to stay with my friends, but I understand that this is **my** choice. I won't blame anyone else for it." Lord Greengrass smiled softly at that, and he gave Ron an approving nod.

"Alright, what do you need from me?" Lord Greengrass asked. _Finally. For a second there, I thought that he wasn't going to help me._

"I just need knowledge on the matter" Ron replied. "I want to make it sound legit, and that I am willing to go through with it."

"So we need to make a perfect lie" Lord Greengrass spoke to himself. "Very well, I will tell you the basics. We can't show that you have too much knowledge on the matter, this can't seem like a calculated move. It has be to be impulsive, and it has to be driven by emotion. They need to see that they have driven you into a corner, not that you placed yourself there to trick them. Understood?" Ron nodded at that.

"The basics are quite simple" Lord Greengrass explained. "An adult must accompany a child, the one seeking emancipation, to the Youth Protection Services Office within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. From there, the child and the adult are interviewed. If probable cause is found for rightful emancipation, then the Youth Officer handling your case will give you a time and date to appear before a randomly selected judge. Your parents would also need to attend so they can argue against it, or for it. This much knowledge should suffice."

"And you will serve as the adult in this matter?" Ron asked.

"It hardly matters because this is a bluff" Lord Greengrass shrugged. "If they call you on it, then it's over."

"Well, let's hope it won't come to that" Ron sighed, at least he now knew what he was getting into. "Percy, my older brother, has agreed to help me. He wants to help change their minds, and I think that with his help, this bluff might just be a last resort."

"Then I hope you two succeed, Ron" Lord Greengrass said. "Because the rest of us failed rather miserably…"

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled softly. "I hope we succeed too. Now, enough about this… What did you want to talk about? Is this about the tournament?"

"It is" Lord Greengrass sighed. _Another sigh? What's wrong?_ "Ron, do you remember what I told you about the French Ministry?"

"I do… You said that they hate us, and blame us for the Great War" Ron remembered.

"Did I fail to mention that they are scheming bastards?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron went wide-eyed.

"My Lord, you're beginning to worry me…" Ron said softly. "What's happened?"

"This…" Lord Greengrass said bitterly as he windlessly summoned a Daily Prophet newspaper. "Read about the Chess Tournaments in the Sports Section." Ron read the newspaper, and he couldn't really tell what Lord Greengrass was so annoyed about. All it said was that the Tournaments were taking place at Beauxbatons, and that 'all were welcome to attend'. There was a small section underneath the article that said that the Veela students were also allowed to attend because they were rightful students of the school.

"I don't understand…" Ron admitted a little shamefully.

"Veelas, Ron" Lord Greengrass said coldly. "Goddamn Half-Breeds…" Ron flinched at that, and Lord Greengrass sighed again. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to sound so callous. Ron, this pretty much means that we don't stand a chance at this tournament."

"What?" Ron muttered.

"Beauxbatons' is putting forward an all-female roster" Lord Greengrass explained. "And they are doing it because Veelas have no effect on women unless they really turn up their allures. Tell me, what do know about Veelas?"

"I know they're native to Bulgaria" Ron replied as he thought about what he had heard over the years. "I know that they're incredibly beautiful, have white-gold hair and moon-bright skin, and that they can charm any man with their allures. Oh, and that Beauxbatons has quite a few Half-Veela students… Oh fuck…" Ron muttered as he realized the problem.

"Indeed, Ron, indeed…" Lord Greengrass chuckled mirthlessly.

"They can't do this! I'll be too busy being obsessed with them to play the damn game!"

"Ron, it's worse than that" Lord Greengrass said, his voice bitter. "I've been looking into this 'decision', and I've learnt something truly distressing. Beauxbatons signed a contract with the International League of Wizards Chess Club **three** years ago. So they've been planning this goddamn stunt for three years… And there is literally **nothing** that I can do about it. The French Ministry would sooner disqualify you with no basis than listen to a foreigner tell them that this is blatant cheating."

"Then I'm buggered, aren't I?" Ron muttered, his gut twisting. "Is there any way to resist them?"

"An incredible amount of willpower…" Lord Greengrass said flatly. "But even I have trouble being in the same room as one of them, trust me. Mary once nearly killed a Veela that tried to seduce me at a French gathering…" _UGH! Daphne is going to murder me as well!_ "Their magic is specifically targeted at men, so it doesn't even matter if you prefer the company of other men. Their allures cause a chemical imbalance in your brain that results in obsessive behavior, sort of like a Love Potion."

"Shouldn't they be on Easter Holiday?" Ron asked with a dying hope. "Like me?"

"They should be, but they won't be" Lord Greengrass said. "Their Headmistress is clearly the one behind this stunt as she is the one who signed that contract. And she also has strong connections within the French Ministry. I have no proof, but I know she's behind this."

"What's her name?" Ron asked softly.

"Madame Olympe Maxime" Lord Greengrass announced, and Ron could detect a hint of respect in his mentor's voice. "She is a formidable woman, Ron. Think of her as Dumbledore, but with a Slytherin's cunning. Her only goal is to see her school prosper, which means that we're dealing with an enemy who has no trouble crossing lines. I've met her twice before, and she used Legilimency to read my mind without a second thought. I'm ashamed to admit that she overpowered my own Occlumency with little effort on her part."

"Merlin…" Ron mumbled, his stomach tightening again. "What do we do?"

"We go to Paris, and then we go to the Junior League Tournament" Lord Greengrass replied. "And you do your absolute best to resist looking at **any** girl. If they call your name, ignore them. If they approach you, walk away. Keep your head down, and think of nothing but chess."

"And if that fails?" Ron asked.

"Then your perfect record is done for…" Lord Greengrass sighed.

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room)**_

Talk about a shite day… Not only had Lord Greengrass given Ron the worst sort of news, but after that, Lord Greengrass had worked him like a slave. Ron was thoroughly, and utterly, exhausted. _Both in body and mind… I can't even think straight._ Ron walked into the common room with a tired stride, and he immediately heard Daphne call out his name.

"Ron, over here" came Daphne's voice, and Ron looked to see her sitting alone in their favorite spot. _Where is everyone? This place is completely deserted._

"Daphne, where is everyone?" Ron asked as he approached her, and she blinked at him.

"Ron, the Quidditch is on" Daphne told him with a furrowed brow.

"Oh… Damn" Ron rubbed his forehead, his head was starting to hurt.

"Are you alright? Did my father push you too hard?" Daphne asked. "Of course he did, the tournament is just around the corner." _It hardly matters, we both know that I'm fucked. It's always something, isn't it? It's like the Universe noticed me and decided 'Yeah, let's fuck him up in particular'._ "Well, I have good news for you then."

"Good news?" Ron asked.

"I took the liberty of planning the party myself" Daphne told him, and he just stared at her. "I've sent Marty off to get the same supplies as last time, but with a minor adjustment."

"Minor adjustment?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I told him to get a punch that my father is a great enthusiast of" Daphne smiled. "Not only is it stronger than the punch you got before, but it also tastes much better."

"And the cost?" Ron asked.

"An extra twenty Galleons" Daphne shrugged. "So sixty Galleons instead of forty, I think that's a good deal. Oh, and Marty took your Gringotts pouch from your trunk." _Fuck me, that's a lot of money. I just lost this month's salary, and ten Galleons on top._

"Well, thanks for taking care of that" Ron sighed as he sunk into his chair, his head was starting to throb a little.

"Millie, Pansy, Tracey, and I also took care of those third year girls" Daphne said as she pulled out a piece of parchment. "Here, take this" Daphne said as she handed him the parchment. Ron looked it over, and he had no fucking clue what it meant.

"What's this, Daph?" Ron asked tiredly.

"Those are the gifts they want" Daphne told him. _Gifts? What the fuck?_

"This totals up to be just over thirty Galleons…" Ron sighed as he looked at the total price.

"Don't worry, Theo is paying for them" Daphne told him. "He insisted…"

"Did he?" Ron asked in a deadpan tone. "And what does he get out of this?"

"He gets six pretty girls being grateful to him" Daphne chuckled, she knew that Tracey was not going to be happy.

"Why couldn't he pay for the party instead? And I could pay for these girls…" Ron sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"Ron, you're looking rather pale" Daphne said as she moved over to him, and then she placed her right hand on his forehead. "Merlin! Ron, you're burning up… What did my father do to you?"

"Nothing" Ron lied. "We just worked hard…" _That, and he told me just how much trouble we're really in. He could have at least sugarcoated it._

"Maybe we should put this party off?" Daphne asked softly as she crouched in front of him, her left hand placed on his left knee. "Ron, look at me." Ron shot her a tired look, but her worried expression made him feel rather… at ease. _She is really pretty, how did I not notice that before we started sneaking about? And her eyes… They're so much darker than mine._

"No, this is too important" Ron shook his head, he had to focus. "We need to take away Malfoy's power, or we'll all come to regret it later. He's becoming bolder, Daph. He approached us at breakfast yesterday, and if we don't stop this now, then he'll start being… more aggressive."

"Alright" Daphne nodded slowly. "But at least let Blaise and Theo handle the fourth years. You should rest up."

"You know that I can't, Daph" Ron said. _Why is she fighting me on this? I'm fine. I've had hundreds of headaches before._ "It's my party, and I need to be the one to invite them. Pansy said so herself…"

"It won't matter whose party it is if you burn out before it happens" Daphne sighed. "But I know you're not going to listen, you stubborn goat…"

"Stubborn goat?" Ron sniggered. "Wait… You called me that at your birthday party… Do I look like a goat?"

"Sometimes" Daphne smirked. "You certainly have the intelligence of one." _Ohhh, someone's come to play._

"Do you often sneak around kissing goats?" Ron smirked, and Daphne's cheeks went red. "You do!" Ron fake-gasped. "My word, Lady Greengrass… That is just… AH!" Ron squealed as Daphne pinched his left calf muscle, a sadistic grin on her face. "Please! I'm sorry! Stop!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought" Daphne smirked as she let go of his calf. "Anything else to say, Weasley?" Ron looked at her with a sheepish look.

"Baaa!" Ron imitated a goat, and Daphne lunged for his calf again.

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Quidditch Pitch)**_

The sky was starting to turn dark, but that didn't stop the students from cheering wildly. Ron limped into the Slytherin stands with Daphne at his side, she wore a proud smirk on her face. In the end, Ron had ended up begging for mercy. Daphne's pinches hurt like hell, and she knew that he'd never pinch her back. But he was tempted to… He wanted to pinch her, and then maybe even kiss her again. But in the end, he had resisted. He had work to do, and he couldn't afford any distractions right now.

"There's Theo and Blaise" Daphne said over the cheering crowd. Ron looked over to see his best mates talking to some boys. "They're already with the fourth years, that's good. Get in there, and lure them away to someplace quieter. Good luck, Ron." With that, Daphne left his side to go join the girls. Ron tapped his knuckles against his forehead to ease his headache, and then approached Theo and Blaise.

"How are the games going?" Ron asked with a practiced smile.

"Ron, you're back from your work with Lord Greengrass" Theo smiled, his use of Lord Greengrass' name was hardly subtle. But it did its job because some of the fourth year boys cocked their eyebrows.

"It was a long day, but I'm finally back" Ron smirked. "I see you've made new friends."

"Weasley" a brown haired forth year greeted. "You work for Lord Greengrass? **The** Lord Greengrass?"

"I thought it was public knowledge?" Ron smiled at the boy. "I'm his apprentice, and his Family's contracted Friend and Ally." The brown haired fourth year blinked at that, as did some of his friends.

"We were just telling them that you were planning to throw another amazing party tonight" Blaise entered, his voice friendlier than ever.

"I see" Ron smiled at Blaise, and then he looked to the fourth years. "Well, I'd like to personally invite you gentlemen to attend."

"Do we really need an invitation if it's taking place in the common room?" A black haired Slytherin smirked.

"No, you don't" Ron smirked back. "I'm just inviting you out of respect. I have no power over any of you, so you can still attend even if you refuse me."

"But you want us to accept?" the brown haired Slytherin asked. "Why? You know how we feel about you, don't you?"

"He also knows how you feel about Malfoy" Theo interjected with a smooth voice. "So what's the harm of hearing us out? I mean, do you really want to watch Potter catch the Golden Snitch again for the fourth time today?"

"I suppose we don't" the black haired Slytherin chuckled. "By all means, lead the way." Ron then led them into the bottom half of the Slytherin stands, away from the noise and the prying eyes.

"How has Malfoy fared today?" Ron asked them casually.

"Not even one catch…" the fourth year in glasses sighed. "Marcus Flint has been losing his mind, and Snape is not too pleased either. Gryffindor has been winning every game today because of Potter."

"Why did you let him play again?" the black haired Slytherin asked.

"I want to make more allies" Ron shrugged. "And Potter **is** a world famous wizard."

"A good point" the brown haired Slytherin smirked. "Now, let's hear your invitation."

"I would like to formally invite you fourth year boys to my party tonight" Ron smiled at them. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your names?"

"Smith, Septimus Smith" the black haired Slytherin introduced himself. "This is Mathew Meyers, Robert Croxley, Arthur Belmont, and Pious Greene" Septimus pointed out the brown haired Slytherin, the one in glasses, a tall blonde, and a slightly chubby Slytherin respectively.

"Weasley, Ronald Bilius Weasley" Ron shook their hands firmly.

"We know who you are" Arthur said, his tall figure slightly intimidating. "The Slytherin Prodigy…"

"A title that he has earned, believe me" Blaise reminded them.

"And one that I don't care much for" Ron said truthfully. "It's resulted in me being awarded less House-Points for my efforts in class. But enough about that, I want to know if there is anything that you would like at this party. I'm open to any suggestions."

"How generous of you" Mathew smirked.

"Hardly, I'm trying to bribe you" Ron chuckled, and Theo and Blaise nearly smacked their foreheads. The fourth years were slightly stunned by his blunt honesty.

"Wow…" Pious, the chubby one, muttered. "That was rather… straightforward."

"I'm not looking to insult your intelligence by playing around" Ron told them truthfully. "The truth is that I don't want any conflict in the house, we've had more than enough problems this year. Malfoy has a personal axe to grind with me, and he is causing everyone problems to get to me."

"That's very… bold of you" Robert said as he adjusted his glasses. "I've heard the older Slytherins saying that you're 'something different', and now I know what they mean. I rather like you, Weasley. At least more than Malfoy, anyway."

"Thank you, Croxley" Ron smiled pleasantly as he ignored his head-splitting headache. _Someone kill me, please. Why is this happening?_ "So what do you gentlemen say, truce?"

"Only if you get that amazing punch again" Mathew smirked.

"I bought an even more exquisite punch this time" Ron told them. "It cost me an extra twenty Galleons, but it's a small price to pay for peace."

"Then we'll let you know about your 'peace' after we've tasted this amazing punch" Septimus smiled. "See you at the party, Weasley. Oh, and we won't say a word to anyone of course." With that, the fourth years walked back up to the stands. This left Ron, Blaise, and Theo behind.

"Shite Ron, what the fuck was that?" Theo frowned. "You just outright told them our intent, that's not how things are done…"

"It worked, Theo" Blaise sighed. "So let's forget it… But Ron, the next time you want to pull that kind of stunt, let us know…" Ron barely heard his best mates, he was instead concentrating on his headache. _It's getting worse… Maybe I should go and lie down for a bit. Marty can set everything up himself._ Ron suddenly felt a nudge from his left, and he looked to Theo.

"Mate, are you alright?" Theo asked, his face showing slight concern. "You're looking a bit peaky…"

"I just need a nap…" Ron smiled softly. "I think I'll go and take one…"

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Boys' Room – Before Dinner)**_

"Ron, wake up" came Blaise's voice, it was followed up by a harsh shaking. Ron opened his eyes, and the back of his head ached.

"Ugh… Is it time?" Ron groaned as he sat up.

"Yeah, mate" Theo said, he was fixing up his collar. "Dinner is about to start, so you'd better get Marty to come down after we leave."

"Alright, thanks" Ron said as he got out of bed.

"Ron, you're looking worse than before" Blaise commented.

"Is that your way of saying that I'm not pretty?" Ron smirked. _Fucking hell, my head._

"He's right, mate" Theo gave him a concerned look. "You look like dog-shite…"

"That's just hurtful…" Ron muttered as he walked into the bathroom. His reflection confirmed their words, he did look like dog-shite. He was rather pale, had small dark patches under his eyes, and his eyes looked hollow. "Yep, dog-shite indeed…" Ron washed his face with some cold water, and it felt divine. So he did it a few more times, and then he massaged his temples.

"We're heading off, Ron" came Blaise's voice.

"Alright, I'll see you when you get back" Ron called out. Ron looked at his reflection again, and he was glad to see some color returning to his face. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, Merlin that felt good. "I'll take a quick hot shower, I don't plan to look like a corpse at my own party…" Ron said to himself. "Marty" Ron called, and there was a loud crack.

"Master Ronald, you called?" Marty asked, and then he saw his Master's face. "Master, you look… pale."

"Pale?" Ron chuckled. "I look horrible Marty, you can say it if you want."

"Marty would never dare, Master" Marty bowed. "Though Marty would suggest some sleep."

"No time for that, unfortunately" Ron sighed. "Marty, once all the Slytherins leave, begin setting up for the party. Same as last time."

"Certainly, Master" Marty beamed. "Marty will also lay out fresh robes for Master to use after his shower."

"How did you know I was about to shower?" Ron asked.

"Marty didn't, Master" Marty gave a toothy smile. "But Marty highly recommends one. You do, after all, look rather… pale." And with that, Marty disapparated. Ron let out a soft chuckle at Marty's words. _Someone's getting cheeky._

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room)**_

Ron waited patiently for his house-mates to return, and he was glad to see that his headache had lessened because of the hot shower. Marty had set everything up perfectly with the help of other House-Elves, and they had all wished him luck before cracking away. Ron was surprised by their well-wishes, he only expected Marty to actually care for his success. But he took their well-wishes nonetheless because he needed them. After all, Clara had mentioned a speech.

Ron pondered on what to say to the Slytherins, and he kept coming back to 'being united'. That had worked for him rather well last time, but that was only because they actually needed to be united. The whole school was against them at the time, but now things were generally calm. So what was he supposed to unite them for? _I should unite them in not going after me or my friends. C'mon, Weasley. Think for Merlin's sake. They'll be here any minute now._

The only thing that Ron could think of was the House-Cup, but that was a hopeless cause. The houses were already going neck-to-neck in House-Points but when Gryffindor got four hundred points out of nowhere, the competition had simply died. Even the hard-working Hufflepuffs had packed their bags and skulked off. So how was he supposed to unite the self-serving Slytherins behind a pipe-dream? _What would make me try to come back? Anger. A need to be better. To show-off._ How was he going to spin this? The common room entrance suddenly slid open, and Ron was up on his feet in no time. The Slytherins all piled in, headed by the seventh years.

"Oh fuck!" Samuel Byrne let out a laugh. "He's done it again!" The Slytherins just looked around with amusement, and then they looked to Ron.

"I thought I'd throw another party, considering how well-liked the last one was" Ron grinned, and he could hear people chuckling and whispering.

"And the occasion?" Samuel Byrne asked, a wide smile on his face. He rather liked this Weasley kid.

"My triumphant return to the land of the living!" Ron laughed as he put his hands at his sides, displaying his clean and well-made robes. The room was filled with laughter, and even a couple of cheers. Ron's eyes met Malfoy's for a quick second, and Ron could see just how angry Malfoy was. The usually pale boy had gone scarlet with rage. _Take that, you twat._

"Let's have your speech then" Fabian Cunningham chuckled.

"I tried thinking of a speech" Ron smirked. "But I didn't get far." Ron could see his friends giving him deadpan looks, but the rest were rather interested in where Ron was taking this. "I wanted to talk about being united, and the House-Cup. But what can I say? We're utterly fucked in that regard." There were more laughs at that, and even the current Triumvirate was smiling. _I have their attention, use it._ "But we're all technically united in that regard at least: Dumbledore handing the Gryffindors a free win, just like he tried to last year."

"They found the Chamber" one of the fifth year girls reminded.

"Maybe they did, maybe they didn't" Ron shrugged. "There is absolutely no proof that they did find it, so it's all hearsay." _Trust me, there won't be any proof. Dumbledore doesn't want to reveal our involvement, and he won't give us up._ "But I don't care about that, just like you all don't care about that. I care about the fact that the school won't be closed down, and that we all get to stay together." The Slytherins chuckled at his grin, and Malfoy finally lost it.

"Don't listen to this Blood-Traitor" Malfoy hissed, and people shot him differing looks. Some were annoyed, some were amused at the prospect of a fight, and some just wanted to start the party.

"Yeah, yeah Malfoy I'm a Blood-Traitor" Ron rolled his eyes in a dismissive manner. "You've said it a million times, and you'll say it another million times. But how about you just enjoy this party for tonight, and ignore your urge to spout nonsense at everyone with ears." There were sniggers around the room, and Ron shot Malfoy his best grin. "I got a different punch this time, and I have it on good authority that it is simply amazing."

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room – Party)**_

The party was in full swing, music was being blasted as loud as possible, people were drinking and mingling, people were dancing, some people were even snogging in dark corners, and Ron smiled proudly as he poured himself some punch. He had heard from people that it was a huge success, and now he wanted to try some himself. As Ron took his first sip of the delicious punch, someone's hand patted his back. Ron turned to see Carey Ductu smiling at him.

"Mind having a chat?!" Carey yelled over the music, and then she lightly grabbed his left wrist and began guiding him to a slightly more quiet area. _Why even ask if you're just going to drag me away? Not that I mind being dragged away by a beauty like her._

"So, what do you think?" Ron asked her as they into the quieter area. There were a fair few people around them, but most of them were too engrossed in their own conversations.

"I think it's brilliant" Carey smiled at him, and then she took a sip of her punch. "And this punch is amazing, where did you get it?"

"My friend Daphne knows, it was her idea" Ron replied truthfully.

"Well, ask her the next time you see her" Carey chuckled. "And well done on shutting Malfoy down quickly."

"Thank you" Ron grinned, and Carey chuckled again.

"I'm starting to like that cute grin of yours" Carey said.

"It **is** a cute grin, thanks" Ron kept grinning, and Carey let out a giggle. _Haven't heard her giggle before. It's quite cute._ "Where is Malfoy anyway? I haven't seen him all night."

"I saw him talking to the fourth year boys" Carey smiled. "And I saw them dismiss him… Well done on that too. Even those harlots who usually chase him around aren't very interested in him tonight. How did you manage all of that? I'm curious."

"I showed the fourth year boys proper respect" Ron smiled. "Turns out, they weren't used to it from Malfoy. As for the girls, we bought them gifts to bribe them."

"We?" Carey asked.

"My friends and I planned this together" Ron said truthfully, he had no intention of stealing their ideas. "Pansy is a master at this sort of thing, she told us who to target and how to target them. I paid for the party, Theo paid for the gifts, and now the rest of my friends are all making sure that everyone is happy."

"Is that why Tracey Davis handed me this cup?" Carey laughed, and Ron gave her a smirk. "I must say, I'm impressed with you seven. You make a good team, that's for certain. You'll be extremely useful to us next year."

"When you're the Triumvirate?" Ron asked, and Carey nodded.

"There's that sharp mind" Carey smiled. "If only you were my age, we'd be having this conversation in a more… private setting." Ron felt his cheeks flush at that. "And you're quite adorable when you blush like that. Though I don't understand why you do, considering your company."

"My company?" Ron asked, his smirk faltering a bit.

"Those four girls that follow you around everywhere" Carey smiled mischievously, it was a nice look on her. "They're always hugging you, giving you kisses, and even holding your hands in public sometimes. I don't blame them of course, you're powerful and on the rise. Quite the appealing traits considering the other boys in this school, I think that's why Clara wants to get you in a room alone."

"She does?" Ron gulped.

"Oh yes, she's told us many times" Carey laughed. "But I know she won't, she respects that you're far too young for such things. But who knows, maybe in a few years we can **all** get together again." Carey then leaned forward and gave him soft kiss on the left corner of his lips. "Enjoy your night Ron, you did well" Carey smiled, and then she walked off to join the party again. Ron just stood there for a few seconds, and then he shook his head. _She pretty much kissed me like Daphne does… She barely missed my lips…_ Ron swigged down the delicious punch, it tasted like apricots and apples. Ron then made his way towards the party as well, he wanted to make sure that people were enjoying themselves.

"Welcome back, Ron" some random Slytherin said.

"Great party, mate."

"Nice choice of music."

"Thanks for this, we really needed it."

"Have seen any easy girls?"

Ron pretty much nodded and smiled at the strangers, his mind was too occupied on how things might go wrong. For one, he hadn't seen Malfoy all fucking night. That twat was a loose-cannon, and he could ruin everything if Ron didn't keep him in check. Secondly, Ron had barely seen his friends all night. They were no doubt busy making sure that people always had a drink in their hands, but Ron still worried. What if Malfoy targeted them while they were alone? _They can handle themselves, stop being so paranoid._ And lastly, Ron's headache was back. The loud music, and people yelling over each other was doing his head in.

"Ron, there you are!" came Blaise's loud voice. Ron turned to see Blaise and Pansy approaching him quickly, and they were holding hands. _Interesting._ Pansy had a slightly subdued look on her face, and that raised alarm bells in Ron's head.

"What's the matter?!" Ron yelled over the music and shouting, his own ears beginning to ring. "Pansy, what happened?!"

"Some third year just walked up and tried to kiss her!" Blaise said, his anger clear on his face. "She's just a bit… shaken!"

"What the fuck?!" Ron yelled.

"Don't ask me! She just came to me like this!" Blaise frowned. "Have you seen the others?! I haven't seen Theo all fucking night!"

"I don't know, I haven't either!" Ron replied, and then he moved over to Pansy. "Pansy, are you alright?" Ron asked softly as he stood inches away from her, and she grabbed onto the front of his robes.

"I'm alright" Pansy replied. "I managed to move out of the way in time… I don't want to think about it." Ron frowned to himself, and then he gave her a tight hug.

"I'm sorry about that" Ron whispered in her ear. "Want me to kick his arse?"

"No" Pansy let out a tired laugh. "Blaise already did that…" _What?_ Ron broke the hug and looked to Blaise.

"What did you do?!" Ron asked. _I hope you taught that cunt a lesson._

"I just shoved him onto his arse when Pansy told me who he was!" Blaise frowned. "Didn't want to make a scene! I'll stay with her the whole night, don't worry! Go and find Theo, please!" Ron nodded at that. Ron parted ways with his friends and began to prowl the common room. It didn't take him long to see Tracey talking with Millie and Daphne.

"Hey!" Ron greeted loudly, and the girls turned to face him. Millie and Daphne looked rather annoyed, and Tracey looked quite upset. "What happened now?!" Ron asked.

"Nothing!" Daphne yelled back. "Millie, can you stay with Tracey?! I want to talk to Ron!" Millie nodded at that, and Daphne moved to Ron. She grabbed his gloved hand and guided him away from the other two girls.

"Daphne, what happened to Tracey?" Ron asked as they walked into a quiet, unoccupied corner.

"It's complicated" Daphne frowned.

"Did some fucker try to kiss her too?!" Ron seethed.

"What? No!" Daphne gave him a confused look. "Who tried to kiss who?!"

"Some arsehole tried to land one on Pansy, Blaise is with her now" Ron frowned. "How is this party so out of control, it's only been one hour?"

"The punch might be the cause… It's quite strong" Daphne replied.

"Where's Theo? Have you seen him?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I've seen him alright" Daphne frowned, and Ron blinked at her. _Is she angry with him? Theo, what did you do?_

"Well, what did he do?" Ron asked.

"He's just being an arsehole" Daphne huffed, and Ron was stunned at seeing her cuss.

"You just cussed…" Ron muttered.

"What? I didn't get that!" Daphne yelled.

"Never mind, where is he?!" Ron yelled back. An older boy and girl suddenly showed up, and Ron turned to them.

"Oh, are you guys using this corner?" the boy asked while the girl giggled.

"What? Of course we're using it" Ron gave him a confused look.

"No, we aren't" Daphne frowned at Ron. "We're just talking… Please, feel free to use it. Ron, let's go!" Ron was thoroughly confused, but he followed her out. He shot a quick look back, and he was stunned to see the couple already snogging hard. _What the fuck?!_ "Ron, you're an idiot!" Daphne laughed at him, an amused smile on her face.

"How was I supposed to know that's what he meant?!" Ron shook his head, the back of his head throbbing. "Where did you see Theo?!"

"Down by the fire, where we usually sit!" Daphne replied. "I'm going to keep handing out drinks, and I'll get Millie and Tracey to help!"

"Alright, I'll see you later!" Ron nodded, and then they parted ways. Ron made his way towards the fireplace, and people constantly bumped against him. Ron must have declined five separate invitations to dance before he finally spotted Theo talking to some third year girl.

"Theo, there you are!" Ron interrupted their conversation, and Theo turned to face him with a smile.

"Ah, Ron!" Theo yelled. "Madeline, this is Ronald Weasley. My best mate!" Ron looked to the girl, and he offered his gloved hand in the Pure-Blood manner. Madeline giggled as she gave him her hand, and he gave her knuckles a light kiss.

"A pleasure to meet you!" Ron smiled at her, and she giggled some more. _She's drunk, even I can see that._ "Do you mind if I steal Theo for a bit?! The fate of the party is at stake!" Ron said with a humorous tone.

"We can't have that!" Madeline giggled. "I was just on my way to meet my friends anyway! Goodbye Theo" Madeline said as she gave the weedy boy a kiss on the cheek. Madeline then walked off, her hips swaying behind her. Ron couldn't help but shoot a glance at her… hips.

"What's wrong with the party?!" Theo asked loudly, but Ron barely heard him. "It's going great!"

"Too great!" Ron frowned. "People are getting drunk out of their minds, Theo! And you're one of them!"

"Guilty as charged!" Theo laughed loudly.

"I need you to keep doing what we planned! And stop chatting up girls!" Ron frowned, and Theo laughed again. "Go and find Malfoy! Make sure he doesn't fuck this up!"

"Aye, aye fearless leader!" Theo gave a mock salute, and then he disappeared into the crowd. _He picked a bad night to let loose. Now I should look for Malfoy too, and pray to Merlin that he isn't doing something stupid!_ Ron turned around and walked towards the 'dance floor', but he didn't get far.

"RON!" came a sweet voice, and Ron stopped dead in his tracks. _Clara…_ "There you are, you cutie!" Clara yelled as she came into view. She was dancing in a rather… tempting manner, and she had a cup of punch in her right hand. Ron could see that her face was flushed, which meant that she was already drunk. "Come dance with me!" Clara laughed as she took his gloved hand with her left one.

"I would love to!" Ron yelled. "But I need to find Malfoy right now!"

"Why him?!" Clara pouted. "I'm much cuter than him!"

"That you certainly are!" Ron grinned, and Clara let out a giggle. "But I need…"

"No!" Clara pouted again. "Dance with me a bit!" _Merlin, give me strength._ "Here, drink this!" Clara waved the cup in his face.

"I really…" Ron started, but Clara pretty much guided the cup to his lips. Ron had a sip, but she kept tilting the cup. Before Ron knew it, he had chugged the whole thing. _That's two… At least they're making my headache go away._

"Now, come with me!" Clara laughed happily as she guided them into the thick of the dancing crowd. "You can dance with me for a few minutes, and then go save the party!" Ron nodded, and Clara suddenly held onto the front of his robes. They began dancing together, and Clara refused to part with him. She held onto his robes while she danced with her eyes closed, clearly enjoying herself too much. Ron was her height, he was a tall lad after all, and he could feel her chest against his. It made his ears burn, and his face flushed red. _So soft…_ "Put your hands on my hips" Clara whispered in his left ear. Ron did as she asked, and he could feel her swaying side to side.

"I should really…" Ron started, but she shushed softly.

"Just a bit more" Clara whispered in his ear as she pulled him closer to herself. Ron moved with her, and he couldn't help but notice that other people were dancing rather wildly. But Clara wanted to dance in a more… intimate way. Ron decided that he didn't mind that too much, she was gorgeous and she smelled amazing. He even got used to the feeling of her breasts against his chest, and his hands on her soft hips. All of that went out the window when he suddenly felt her lips kissing the left side of his neck.

"Clara…" Ron groaned, a shiver passing through him. But she didn't stop, she only pulled him closer to herself. "We shouldn't…" _That feels so good… Why is she doing this?_ Ron involuntarily tightened his hold on her hips.

"You smell amazing" Clara whispered against his neck, and then she began planting more soft kisses on his neck. Ron looked around slowly, and he was glad to see that no one was even noticing them. "They can't see anything, Ron" Clara whispered. "They don't even care… So just relax and let me taste you…" _Taste me?!_ Ron groaned again as he felt her kiss his jaw, and she let out a soft giggle. "You're so adorable, Ron. But you're too serious… You should relax more often. Let me help you relax…" Ron took in shallow breaths as he moved with her, how did he end up in this situation? "Oops, our time is up" Clara said suddenly. "Sammy is coming, and she looks rather annoyed."

"What?" Ron asked as he turned around, and he saw Samantha walk up to them.

"Ron, we have a problem!" Samantha frowned, and Ron blinked.

"What happened?!" Clara laughed.

"Malfoy happened!" Samantha seethed. "He told Snape about this party, and they're both outside! Snape told me to come get you!"

"Fuck!" Ron cussed before he could even think, and Clara laughed loudly.

"Serious Ron is back!" Clara wooed. "And just when I nearly had him relaxed for once!"

"I can see that!" Samantha frowned, and then she took out a handkerchief from her robes. She grabbed Ron's right shoulder as she cleaned the lipstick marks from his neck and jaw. Ron blushed like a little girl, Merlin this was embarrassing. "Honestly, Clara! You couldn't help yourself, could you?!"

"Nope!" Clara laughed. "He smelled too nice!" Samantha blinked at that, and then she took in Ron's smell. _Wow, that was weird._

"Sandalwood…" Samantha whispered to herself. "You do smell really nice, Ron!"

"Thanks…" Ron muttered.

"Now go and fix this!" Samantha said as she ushered him away from Clara. Ron walked towards the entrance in a daze, what had just happened? _I need to stay away from her._ Ron's mind went to Daphne for a second, and he felt a pang of guilt. _We're not dating, it's alright… Isn't it? Fucking hell, I need to keep away from Clara._ Ron left the common room, and he was instantly met with the sight of Snape and Malfoy. The Potions Master held an indifferent look, but Malfoy was smirking rather arrogantly.

"Professor Snape, you called for me?!" Ron asked loudly.

"Mr. Weasley, volume…" Snape drawled, and Ron nodded.

"Sorry, Sir" Ron smiled. "It's a bit loud in there."

"I can tell" Snape said, he sounded rather bored. "Mr. Malfoy tells me that you're the one behind this, just like the last time." _Mr. Malfoy is an arsehole._

"I am, Sir" Ron admitted. "It's only ten 'o'clock, and there are no classes tomorrow."

"And what of the students who are underage? Are they staying away from the alcohol?" Snape asked, an icy edge to his tone.

"No…" Ron sighed, there was no point in lying.

"Then I must put an end to this" Snape went to move for the common room entrance, and Ron panicked.

"Please don't, Sir" Ron pleaded. "People are enjoying themselves for once, don't ruin that." _I just stood up to Snape. Liquid courage indeed! Think, Ron. How can you stop him?_

"As a Professor, I am obligated to act" Snape said, and an idea popped into Ron's head. _Fuck it, go for it!_

"That's fair enough, Sir" Ron smiled, and Snape looked to him indifferently. "But when people do ask why this party was stopped, and why their fun was ruined, I'll point the finger straight at Malfoy. I have witnesses who can confirm my story."

"Are you attempting to blackmail me?" Snape hissed, his tone dropping the hallway's temperature. Even Malfoy was stunned by Ron's words. _Don't panic, stay calm._

"No, Sir" Ron said, the alcohol letting him keep up a brave front. "I'm merely telling you what I'm **obligated** to do when questions start flying." Snape just stared at Ron, and Ron felt his resolve begin to weaken. _Apologize, you fucking moron. No, stay the course. If I back out now, he'll know that my words mean nothing. Remember what Lord Greengrass told you today._

"And what makes you think that your 'threat' holds any weight over me?" Snape asked, his tone back to normal. Ron simply stepped out of the way and gestured to the entrance.

"Then, by all means, stop them from enjoying themselves for the first time since this Heir business was put to bed" Ron said, he barely managed to keep his voice calm. Snape's lips twitched upwards a bit, and Ron was stunned. Snape then looked to Malfoy, and the platinum haired boy held a worried look. _Now he gets it. He didn't even think twice before he told Snape, did he?_ Snape's look morphed into a disappointed one, and Malfoy squirmed in his spot.

"Very well" Snape said as he stared at his Godson, his tone slightly bitter. "Enjoy your evening…" With that, Snape billowed away. Ron watched him leave, and he could tell that Malfoy had just embarrassed his own Godfather. Ron then looked to Malfoy, and he saw that the boy was clenching his jaw in anger.

"You don't deserve to be in this house…" Malfoy hissed, his grey eyes locking with Ron's ocean blue ones. "You're a filthy Blood-Traitor dog, and you don't belong in Slytherin…" Ron wanted nothing more than to beat Malfoy senseless, but he had promised Daphne that he wouldn't. _That, and I don't want to ruin the chance of him becoming a better person._ So Ron just stared at him, a disgusting amount of anger bubbling in his stomach. Ron turned around and walked back inside, he didn't want to see Malfoy's face for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _ **March 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room – Party at Midnight)**_

It was nearing midnight now, but the party was still in full-swing. Ron was rather glad about that because there was still so much food and punch left, and he didn't want his money wasted. Ron had spent the last one hour handing out drinks, mingling with people for a little bit, and occasionally having some punch himself. He was definitely lightheaded now… And the best part about that was the fact that his headache had subsided. Ron still had no idea why he had it in the first place, but at least it was gone. Ron poured himself another cup, and he was approached by Samuel Byrne.

"Lovely party, Weasley!" Samuel laughed as he patted Ron's back a little too hard.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself" Ron smiled as he watched Samuel pour himself a cup of punch.

"Oh, I am" Samuel smirked. "Whatever's inside this punch is making the Ladies of Slytherin rather… unruly." _Exhibit A: Clara Martyris._

"I've noticed" Ron chuckled, and Samuel gave him a smirk.

"You sly dog!" Samuel laughed. "Thanks again for throwing this party, Weasley. But I need to ask you to not throw another one until after the exams are finished."

"The O. and N.E. " Ron nodded in realization.

"Exactly, mate" Samuel smiled. "It's great to let loose for a change, but we fifth and seventh years need the quiet."

"That's fair enough" Ron smiled. "I'll make sure to wait until after the exams are done."

"Looking forward to it!" Samuel laughed as he patted Ron's shoulder too hard. _Is he trying to bruise me?_ With that, Samuel once again disappeared into the dancing crowd. Ron took a long sip of the punch, it tasted so damn good. _I know that Apple Brandy was far more expensive, but why drink that stuff when this stuff tastes so much better?_ Ron watched the dancing crowd with a smirk, tonight was a huge success. Not only was the house happy for a change, but Malfoy's gang wouldn't survive the night. None of them really liked Malfoy anyway, he was too arrogant for his own good, and now they had every reason to leave him. _Now he'll only have Crabbe and Goyle with him again, and things can go back to normal._

Thinking of Malfoy's 'friends' made Ron think of his own, he had no clue where they were. Though everyone was enjoying the party wildly, he and his friends were serving as waiters. Pansy had told them that this was important because it was their job to keep their guests happy, but Ron still wanted to spend some time with them. And so, Ron decided to start scanning the room for them. He could barely make out any faces because of the dim lights and the dancing crowd, not to mention the music that was making his ears ring. _Merlin, I hate the Weird Sisters._

Ron spotted Carey Ductu talking with Samuel Byrne, and he was honestly surprised. He knew for a fact that Carey didn't hold Samuel in high regard, but Ron figured that she was probably up to something as always. Ron then saw Clara Martyris snogging some sixth year boy in a dark corner, and he was glad that Clara had found someone else to 'taste'. When Ron started to give up, he saw Blaise maneuvering past the dancing crowd, he was still holding Pansy's hand. Ron quickly made his way to them.

"Blaise! Pans!" Ron grinned at them. "Finally, some decent company!"

"Ron!" Pansy laughed, her face was flushed. "Blaise is being my bodyguard! Look!" Pansy then showed Ron their joined hands. Ron smiled at that, and then he looked to Blaise. The dark-skinned boy looked exhausted.

"She's been drinking every cup instead of handing them out!" Blaise yelled over the crowd, a scowl on his face. "Please take her off my hands, I need a break!"

"Aw…" Pansy pouted. "I want to hold **your** hand, Blaise!"

"Ron, please!" Blaise gave him a dark look. "Just for a few minutes!"

"It's no worries!" Ron laughed. "Come on Pansy! You can hold my hand for as long as you want!" Pansy smiled widely at that, and then she ran up and grabbed onto his right hand. Her grip rivaled the strength of Ginny's, and Ron let out a meek gasp. Ron shot a look at Blaise, and he noticed Blaise massaging his own hand. _Now I know why he wanted to drop her off on me._

"Come, Ron!" Pansy laughed. "Let's have more punch!" Pansy then dragged Ron away from Blaise, and Blaise shot him a smirk. _You bastard._ Ron accompanied Pansy to a nearby punch-table, and Pansy let go of his hand while she poured two cups.

"How are you feeling, Pans?" Ron asked her softly as he stood beside her.

"I feel great!" Pansy said loudly, a massive smile on her face. "Stop worrying about me! Blaise has been eyeballing every boy that's looked at me all night!"

"Has he?" Ron smirked, and Pansy blushed a bit.

"Shut up…" Pansy smiled meekly. "Now drink this!" Pansy handed him a cup, and he sipped from it.

"This stuff is amazing" Ron said. "I really ought to thank Daphne for this."

"You definitely should" Pansy giggled, and Ron blinked at her. "Last time I saw her, she was looking for you. But be warned, she's had quite a few cups…"

"Daphne…" Ron blinked. "Daphne Greengrass has been drinking too much? Are you serious?"

"You don't know this, but Daphne quite enjoys rebelling against her parents" Pansy giggled. "Whenever she gets a chance, she tries to break the rules." _Break the rules? Is that why she nearly got us caught after Dumbledore's class? She enjoys rebelling?_ "I think it's because her sister gets to do whatever she wants, and so Daphne wants to have a little freedom too. It's quite sad…" Pansy's mood suddenly shifted to being upset. _Daphne told me at Christmas that she didn't like the fact that all the Family pressure was on her. It makes sense that she likes to let loose every now and then._

"Pansy, don't be upset" Ron chuckled as he rubbed her back. He felt a clasp through her robes, and he immediately pulled his hand back. _I just touched her fucking bra by mistake._

"Ron…" Pansy looked to him slowly. "Can you please keep doing that? It feels nice…" _Her eyes are so droopy. I need to get her into bed._

"Pansy, I think we should get you into bed" Ron smiled at her, and she gave him a lazy pout.

"No…" Pansy refused. "I want to dance with my bodyguard…"

"Pansy, your swaying back and forth" Ron put his cup down, and then he took hers too. "I'm taking you to your bed." Pansy giggled wildly at that, her eyes barely staying open.

"Take me to bed, eh?" Pansy smirked. "That's so audacious of you, Ron." Ron felt his face flush for a second, and he let out a sigh.

"Yep, it's over" Ron said as he took her right hand with his gloved one. "You need to go to sleep before you get into trouble." Ron then began guiding her back towards her room.

"If I get into trouble, what will you do?" Pansy giggled.

"Depends on the type of trouble" Ron shrugged as he moved past the girls' dorms entrance.

"What if someone tries to kiss me?" Pansy laughed. "But I don't want to kiss them."

"Then I'll break their jaw" Ron replied honestly, and Pansy tightened her grip on his hand.

"What if someone tries to attack me?" Pansy asked.

"Then they'll have to go through me" Ron replied. "Pansy, is everything alright? Why are you asking me these questions?"

"I don't know…" Pansy replied meekly. "I asked Blaise… but he didn't even answer me…"

"Well, that's Blaise for you" Ron sighed as they neared her room. "But just because he doesn't say anything, doesn't mean that he doesn't care."

"Doesn't it?" Pansy asked, and Ron turned to face her. She looked tired, and slightly upset.

"Pansy, you're starting to worry me" Ron said softly, and she gave him a sad look.

"My mother hates you, Ron…" Pansy said, and Ron was just stunned. "She calls you filth to my face, and she tells me to leave you in every letter…"

"Pans…" Ron muttered, where was this coming from? _We were talking about Blaise a second ago, why is she suddenly bringing her mother up?_

"Malfoy's mother told her that I hit him…" Pansy went on, her face twisting in pain. "And now she's really angry with me…" Ron felt his stomach drop at that, what was Malfoy's mother doing spreading gossip like that? _Does that bitch even know what earned her son that slap?_

"Pansy, I'm sorry to hear that" Ron smiled sadly, but Pansy shook her head.

"I'd do it again" Pansy sniffled, and then she hugged him tightly. _I'm so lost here. I should just comfort her because I have no clue about what's happening in her head._ "I'm so glad I met you" Pansy tightened her hug, and Ron started feeling light headed and weightless. _Oh fuck me!_

* * *

Ron found himself standing in a rather posh, colorless main hall of a manor.

"Mother, please don't do this…" came a meek cry, and Ron turned around to see two women. The one in color, Pansy, was on the ground sobbing, and the other woman, her mother, was sneering down at her daughter. "I don't have anywhere else to go…" Ron moved over to see Pansy's face, and his heart stopped when he saw the bruises on her face. _What the fuck is this?!_

"Go to that Zabini boy" Pansy's mother spat. "It's his bastard in your belly, he can take care of you." Pansy let out a wracked sob at that, and Ron felt the wind get knocked out of him. _Pansy's pregnant with Blaise's kid?! What the fucking fuck?! How far into the future is this?_ Ron looked to the groveling Pansy, but her bruised face made it hard for him to determine her age. "My own daughter, a tactless whore…" Pansy let out another sob, and Ron clenched his jaw.

"You bitch" Ron hissed at Pansy's mother.

"Get out of this house!" Pansy's mother yelled as she grabbed Pansy by the hair. Pansy let out a pained sob as her mother jerked her by her hair.

"Let her go!" Ron took a swing at the wretched woman, but his fist went through her face. _Fuck!_

"Get out, or I'll cut that bastard out of you!" Pansy's mother shrieked as she tossed her daughter back onto the ground. Pansy just sobbed hysterically, but she got up slowly and limped towards the door. "Don't ever show your face here again! Your father is fighting to rid the world of Blood-Traitors and filth, but you went and spread your cunt for one of them!" That got another wracked sob out of Pansy, but she kept limping on. Ron nearly screamed his heart out in anger, and he glared at Pansy's mother with sheer hatred.

"You fucking cunt, I'll kill you myself!" Ron bellowed. "Do you hear me?! I will fucking murder you for this!" But his rage was stopped short when he heard the door open, and Ron looked to Pansy with a worried expression. "Pansy, wait!" Ron yelled as he ran after her. She shut the door behind her, but Ron phased through it. "Pansy…" Ron muttered as he watched her limp on. His gut twisted in pure agony at the sight of his friend being treated like this, and his mind burned with a million questions. But he didn't dare ask them, he could only watch Pansy limp on.

He followed her, his own footsteps mirroring hers as she limped along the pathway leading away from the manor. Pansy wept softly as she limped on, her right hand over her stomach. Ron saw that her clothes were torn, and that she had cuts and bruises all over her. Her back was bare, and it had welts all over it. _Her own mother did this? How could someone do this to their own child? Why didn't Pansy defend herself? And where the fuck is Blaise?! Why isn't he here with her?!_ Ron's questions died in his mind as he watched Pansy collapse onto her knees, and then, she fell face first onto the gravel.

"Pans…" Ron muttered, but she just lay there. Unmoving, unblinking, blood smeared on her clothes, and her welted back laid bare. "Pansy…" Ron muttered again as he fell to his knees beside her, and all he could do was stare at her face. Her bruised, unmoving face was scorched into his brain, and Ron felt a scream tear out of his throat. He didn't even notice that he was clutching his hair, hair that she had cut, as he screamed his lungs raw. And he kept screaming, his rage and sorrow mixing into a lament of pain at seeing his friend die like this. Killed from her own mother's punishment for becoming burdened with child. Ron didn't know if it was planned, or if it was a mistake. He only knew that she paid for it with her life, and her child's life. And that hurt more than he could bear. And then, he felt lightheaded and weightless again.

* * *

"Ron, say something" came Pansy's voice, she was hugging him tightly. Ron blinked, he was back. Ron slowly tightened his hold on her, his eyes becoming wet. "Ron? Why are you shaking?"

"It's nothing…" Ron croaked out, and Pansy tried to break the hug. But Ron didn't let go, he refused to let go of her. _She died… Her child died… Blaise's child died…_

"Ron? What's wrong?" Pansy asked, her voice worried.

"I love you, Pansy" Ron said, his tears barely staying in his eyes. "And I'll never let anyone hurt you… Never."

"Oh…" Pansy whispered. "Ron, I was only joking about getting into trouble…"

"I know…" Ron said as he loosened his hold, and she pulled back to see his face. Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. Ron put his hands on her soft cheeks while she just watched him, and then he kissed her forehead. "I'm really glad I met you too…" Ron told her as he pulled back. Pansy nodded meekly, her eyes darting to his lips. "Now, off to bed" Ron told her, he couldn't hold onto his pain for any longer.

"Okay…" Pansy said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She then moved to her door, and she opened it with her back to him. Images of her welted back assaulted Ron's mind, and he barely kept his composure. Before she went inside, she turned back to Ron. "Ron, I love you too…" And just like that, she was gone. Ron stared at her closed door, and then rubbed his eyes clear. _I'll never let that happen to her. I'll kill that wretched woman before I let that happen!_

Ron slowly calmed down, he knew that his vision took place at least after the war had started. And Pansy's mother had confirmed that her husband was a Death-Eater. Ron's vision had also confirmed that Pansy eventually slept with Blaise, and they ended up conceiving a child… Pansy's mother had also called Blaise 'one of them', which meant that Blaise might've joined the Order in the future that Ron just saw. _I don't even know what to think of that. Every time I see the future, it's wildly different. What am I supposed to do? Why wasn't Pansy with the Order too? Why was she even in that house with that mad bitch?_

Ron walked back into the partying common room, and he felt sick. The alcohol, mixed with the vision and his anxiety, were making him feel severely ill. _I'm going to throw up._ Ron moved towards the boys' dorm entrance, he had to get to his room. But as soon as he approached the entrance, someone grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a wall. Ron was momentarily stunned, but then his mind refocused, and he came face-to-face with a seething Malfoy.

"I fucking hate you, Weasley" Malfoy hissed as he tightened his hold on Ron's robes, and Ron could smell the alcohol on Malfoy's breath. "Go on, fight me… Let's see who the better Slytherin is right here…" Ron turned his head and cracked his neck. _Big fucking mistake, Malfoy… Big fucking mistake…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And here it is! So much happened to Ron in this chapter, and his Psyche is just taking a beating. But in a moment of clarity, he's sort of fallen back onto his original goals. Did Blaise plan that? Did Blaise not like Ron becoming darker again? Hehe, what are best mates for. I'll just tell you this, Blaise understands Ron's character quite well. He knows that a push in the right direction, and some kind words, are all it takes to make Ron see reason. Because at the end of the day, Ron does seek the love and approval of those around him.**

 **Next chapter will pick up right where it left off, Ron will finally decide that he needs to pass on Charlie's knowledge to his friends (Especially the girls), they will all start spending more time in the Sanctuary, Dumbledore tries to talk to Ron again, Percy makes a surprise appearance at home, and the Paris Arc draws nearer.**

 **See you guys on Wednesday!**

 **P.S: I love you guys. (Just thought I'd say it. Your support has been nothing short of heart-warming)**


	47. Chapter 47 - Taking His First Steps

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 47 is here boyos! And Girlos? Fucked it... Anyway, a couple of things.**

 **1\. Need to get things moving along now, so expect time to move by faster.**

 **2\. I know many of you were waiting for Ron to get his shit together, and he's starting to. He's still thirteen, and let's not forget, Harry in canon was more interested in playing Quidditch rather than preparing himself. And Harry is like that in this fic too, I didn't want to change that without reason.**

 **3\. To those who aren't happy with Daphne and Ron's new dynamic, well... What can I say? Daphne isn't the type of person who waits to get what she wants, and so she refused to just let Ron be oblivious. That's how I wrote her character, and I won't change her personality in that regard. It wouldn't feel right to me as the Author. Ron is still a bit oblivious, but now he's at least thinking about girls in that sense. Also, he's a teenager going through... changes. So I doubt that he would want to refuse getting kisses from one of the prettiest girls in his class. That'd be mental, remember Lavender... Coz I do.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 47 – Taking His First Steps**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room – Past Midnight)**_

Malfoy's breath was hot on his face, and it reeked of alcohol. At least the apricot and apple blend gave it a bearable fragrance, but Ron didn't really care about that right now. The only thing that Ron cared about was the fact that not even five minutes ago he had seen Pansy die, and now Malfoy was in his face. And the fact that it was all coming back to Ron now… Malfoy's cruel words, his constant attempts to damage Ron's standing in Slytherin, his overall cowardly demeanor when dealing with Ron, but most of all, what he had called Daphne behind Ron's back. It was all coming back to Ron in a tidal wave of rage, rage so strong that his vision began to turn hazy.

"Answer me, Blood-Traitor!" Malfoy yelled in his face, showering Ron with spittle. "Too much of a coward to accept my Duel?!" _Duel? Did I miss something?_ "I demand a Duel, Weasley! Fight me!"

"A Duel?" Ron asked in a deadly whisper, how drunk was Malfoy? "You want to Duel me?" Ron let out a mocking laugh at that, and Malfoy turned crimson with anger. Ron had a hard time controlling his laughter at the prospect of Dueling this idiot, something that made Malfoy pin Ron against the wall with even more force.

"I am the Heir of the Malfoy Family" Malfoy hissed, his face contorting in rage. "You're beneath me! Do you understand?!" _Enough is enough. He started this fight, so technically I'm not breaking my promise to Daphne. Technically, this is just self-defense._ Ron gripped Malfoy's forearms tightly, and he began to squeeze them as hard as he could. Malfoy winced from pain, and his grip on Ron began to loosen.

"I'm taller than you, Malfoy" Ron smirked. "Broader than you, stronger than you, smarter than you, and more loved than you. From where I stand, you're beneath **me** … I am your better in every single aspect, and you know it…" Malfoy's eyes widened a bit, and he grit his teeth as Weasley held his forearms in a vice-like grip. And then, Weasley was towering over him.

"Let go…" Malfoy hissed, his face showing signs of pain. Ron tightened his grip even more, and that brought Malfoy to his knees. "Let go of me… Weasley, you're hurting me… Let go…"

"I don't think I will" Ron spat as he towered over Malfoy. "Look at you… So weak, so… vulnerable… You don't deserve to live… I should have let the Dark Lord kill you in the Forbidden Forest." Malfoy's eyes widened at the mad glint in Weasley's eyes, and the red-head's cruel smirk sent a shudder through him. But then, Weasley let him go and took a step back. _What did I just say? What am I doing?_ Ron shot a quick look to Malfoy, and he saw that the boy was bent over and had his arms tucked into his stomach. "I… I'm sorry…" Ron mumbled as he took another step back, his back hitting the wall again. _What the fuck is wrong with me?! Why did I say that?!_

Ron turned around and all but ran towards his room, something was wrong with him. He was just drunk, that had to be it. That was the only reason why he would say something like that, something so callous. That was the only reason why he enjoyed hurting Malfoy so much… Ron burst into his room, and he slammed the door shut behind him. _No, that's not it… You've done this before, Ron. You did it to Potter too… You enjoyed hurting him, just like you enjoyed hurting Malfoy._ Ron's stomach turned at the thought, and he was now certain that he was going to throw up. Ron stumbled into the bathroom, and he quickly found himself looking into the toilet. And then, Ron let it all out.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **March 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch-Time)**_

It had been a couple of days since the party, and Daphne had noticed the change in Ron. His mood had once again done a turn-around, and that vexed her greatly. The party had been a huge success, and all of their goals had been achieved, but Ron didn't seem to care. He had disappeared into his own head again. Sure, he still spoke to them and made lame jokes, but he was closed off. He had spent most of Sunday and Monday in the library, going over random books about the Great War. It made no sense whatsoever, but Daphne was done taking guesses. She wanted answers behind his sudden shift in mood, and she wanted answers about the events that took place at the party.

Daphne had gotten rather drunk at the party, but that was mostly due to Tracey egging her on. And once most of her reasoning had gone out the window, she had started looking around for Ron. She wanted to drag him into a dark corner and kiss him senseless. She didn't even care if they got caught, she just wanted more of his kisses. But Ron had simply vanished into thin air. He had abandoned his own party, and he had left the rest of them to pick up the pieces.

After searching for Ron for nearly thirty minutes, Daphne had run into Blaise. He had also been looking for Ron, and he had told her that Ron had taken Pansy off of his hands for a bit. That did not sit well with Daphne, and so Daphne had marched down to her dorm. Daphne was ashamed to admit that she was completely consumed by jealousy, and a fear that Ron had hooked up with Pansy. But those worries died the moment she saw Pansy sleeping peacefully on Tracey's bed. Ron had sent her off to bed because she was too drunk, and that was it. Daphne was honestly surprised at how much relief she felt at seeing Pansy alone, and then she was filled with guilt.

She had no right to make such assumptions about Ron, or Pansy. And she had no right to feel this jealous because Ron and Daphne weren't dating. They were just… experimenting? She had no idea how Ron felt about their new relationship, but Daphne personally loved their new relationship. It was exciting, rebellious, and it was educational. She didn't have much experience with boys yet, considering that she was twelve, but she was really enjoying learning with Ron. She knew that he was enjoying it too, especially when she was more 'open' with him about her advances. Teasing him felt empowering, and kissing him sent shivers throughout her body.

"Daphne, hello?" came Tracey's voice, and Daphne was pulled from her thoughts.

"What is it?" Daphne asked Tracey. _I was completely gone, wasn't I?_

"We're heading to lunch" Pansy told her, a soft smile on her face. _I wish she didn't black out the night, I really want to know what happened with Ron. His mood changed sometime after his encounter with her, so something must've happened when he dropped her off._ Daphne nodded and followed her friends out of the common room.

"I'm so excited for D.A.D.A" Millie smiled widely. "I bet the Headmaster will teach us some more spells today!" Daphne and her friends blinked at Millie's excitement about studying, all of them except for Ron. He was just smiling at her rather proudly.

"And I bet I'll be the training dummy" Ron chuckled, and Millie sniggered.

"I'll take it easy on you" Millie smiled. "I'll only aim for below the head, I promise."

"How generous of you, Millicent" Ron smirked. Daphne watched in silence as Ron bantered with Millie, and she ignored the banter happening between the rest of her friends. She wanted to observe Ron's behavior to better understand what was causing his sudden mood shifts. Sure, he had done it before… But recently, it had been happening quite frequently. One day he was upset, the next day he was scary to be around, and then the next day Daphne didn't want to leave his side because he was nothing short of lovely. _I will find out, I swear it._

"Daphne, stop staring at him" Tracey whispered from her right, and Daphne looked to her best friend. "It's kind of creepy" Tracey grinned.

"I'm not 'creepy', Trace" Daphne frowned.

"Could have fooled me" Tracey sniggered. "Even I was feeling uncomfortable, so imagine his reaction."

"He didn't see me…" Daphne said as she shot a quick look at Ron, and she saw him quickly avert his gaze. _HE SAW ME!_ Daphne's cheeks flushed red, and she looked ahead immediately.

"Oh, he saw you alright" Tracey sniggered again, and Daphne glared at her. "Don't glare me, you're the creeper."

"I'm not a creeper" Daphne grit out, but Tracey just kept grinning. "Forget it, Tracey… I was just lost in thought, that's it."

"Following Ron's example, are we?" Tracey joked.

"So you've noticed it too?" Daphne whispered, and Tracey nodded.

"Everyone's noticed, Daph" Tracey shrugged. "Something happened, and now he's closed himself off again. But that's just how he is, so don't worry about it so much."

"How can I not?" Daphne frowned. "Normal people don't act this way."

"Ron is anything but normal" Tracey whispered, her tone highly amused. "And if you haven't noticed that, then you're never going to be able to get his attention." _Oh, I have his attention. Far more than any of you know._ Daphne felt that empowering rush again, but she kept her composure cold and calculating.

"What makes you think that I want his attention?" Daphne smirked, and Tracey blinked at her. "What if I told you that I've moved on?" _This is fun. I bet Tracey has no clue about what Ron and I get up to when we're alone._

"Then I'd like to ask you for your blessing" Tracey smiled. "I want to try my hand at winning him over."

"What?" Daphne blinked, and Tracey grinned widely.

"You've moved on, right?" Tracey whispered. "So you won't mind if I ask Ron out?"

"A Lady shouldn't do the asking" Daphne replied, her composure weakening slightly. _That was rather hypocritical, considering that I kissed him first. But what choice did I have? He was so oblivious before I acted. Now he at least thinks about girls in a different sense._

"I'm no Lady" Tracey shrugged. "And I bet that Ron prefers girls who don't act that way… I bet that he likes girls who are less… formal." _No, he doesn't. He like me, and me alone!_

"Go right ahead" Daphne said, her jealousy tinging her words. Tracey let out a playful giggle at that, and then she entangled their arms.

"I love you, Daph" Tracey sniggered. "You know that, right? You're so cute when you act like this."

"I don't know what you mean" Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Yes, you do" Tracey responded as they neared the steps leading into the Entrance Hall. "Ugh… Lunch is spoiled…" Tracey said suddenly, and Daphne looked at her with a confused look. Tracey was staring at someone entering the Great Hall, and so Daphne followed her gaze. It was Malfoy, and he was staring at them with a… nervous look. _What's with that look? He never does anything but sneer at us._ Daphne followed Malfoy's gaze to Ron, and she saw that Ron was staring at Malfoy with an indifferent look. Malfoy then turned around and walked straight into the Hall, and Daphne was left with even more questions.

"What was that?" Blaise asked Ron, and Ron shrugged.

"No idea…" Ron replied, it was clearly a lie. "I'm not really hungry, you guys go on ahead. I want to do some more study before Dumbledore's class."

"What?" Pansy asked. "Ron, you didn't have lunch yesterday either. And you barely ate any breakfast today, what's the matter?"

"Just not hungry, I guess" Ron shrugged again, and then he smiled at Pansy. "Don't worry about me, I'll see you guys in class." And then Ron just walked off, no doubt heading for the library again.

"Nothing wrong, my arse" Tracey frowned.

"Tracey… Language" Pansy sighed. "But I do agree with you, something has him on edge."

"What happened between you two after I handed you over to him?" Blaise asked in an aloof voice.

"I already told you" Pansy sighed. "I don't even remember most of the night… I shouldn't have drank so much…"

"Either way, something happened" Theo said as he began walking towards the Great Hall, and they all followed the weedy boy. "And my guess is that it has nothing to do with Pansy. I think it has something to do with Malfoy."

"Why Malfoy?" Daphne asked. _Did he break his promise to me? Again?!_

"I saw Malfoy skulking around after Ron disappeared" Theo shrugged. "I didn't think anything of it then, but after seeing that staring contest, I don't know… I remember Malfoy rubbing his forearms as he took a seat alone in the dark, he looked rather… disturbed."

"Maybe Ron taught him a private lesson?" Tracey asked, her voice happy again. "I hope Ron hurt that git, no one deserves it more." _He promised me that he wouldn't._

"Daphne, are you alright?" Millie asked. "You've gone a bit red."

"I'm fine" Daphne lied. _He broke his promise! Again! What was I thinking by telling him what Malfoy said? I already knew that he'd act rashly like he always does, but I still told him._ "I'm going to the library too."

"What? Why?" Pansy asked.

"I want answers, and I'm going to go get them" Daphne huffed.

"Daphne, don't be foolish" Theo sighed. "If you prod him, he'll become even more closed off. He never tells anyone these things, you know that." _He tells me, I just don't tell you what he says. Because unlike Ron, I keep my promises._

"I'm going" Daphne huffed again, and then she parted ways with them. She was more than glad to learn that none of them followed after her, she wanted to have a long, private conversation with Ron. She stomped her way to the library, her training in composure failing miserably. How could he break another promise to her? Why was she so stupid as to believe his words? She saw how angry he was, but after a few sweet words from him, she had completely ignored her instincts. She knew damn well that he would never let this go, it just wasn't in him to let things go. Ron was the sort to hold grudges, and he always made his enemies pay. _Malfoy, Potter, Longbottom, and even Granger. He doesn't let things go, so why didn't I do more?_

She had her answer as she neared the library, she couldn't think straight when he was around. He had a way of getting past her well-maintained guard, even if he didn't know it. His friendly demeanor and all-together different personality were… exotic in Slytherin. Even Daphne hadn't met someone like him before, and she was drawn to that. She was drawn to fact that he was something different from the mundane, conniving boys that she had grown up with. Tracey was a bit like Ron in that regard, and that's why she was Daphne's best friend. Tracey, like Ron, was exciting and fun to be around. But unlike Ron, Tracey wasn't a compulsive liar with violent tendencies. _He broke his promise, and he did something stupid to Snape's Godson! Just when we solved the issue, he bungled it._

Daphne stepped into the dead quiet library, and she scanned the room. Unfortunately, it was too big and split into different Sections, and therefore she couldn't see him anywhere. Daphne sighed as she walked up to Madam Pince, the 'Harpy of the Library'.

"Excuse me, Madam Pince" Daphne whispered, and Madam Pince looked at her with her beady eyes. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, Ronald Weasley. Have you seen him enter the library by any chance?"

"The boy who **eats** in my library?" Madam Pince frowned, and Daphne nearly sighed. _That sounds just like him._ "He went into the Records Section, he's been spending a lot of time there recently."

"Thank you, Madam Pince" Daphne smiled. "And I would like to formally apologize for his behavior, he can be very immature sometimes. I will ask him to stop disrespecting your library." Madam Pince blinked at her, and then a soft smile graced her lips. _Too easy._

"I hope you find him" Madam Pince said, and then she looked back to her ledger. Daphne quickly went towards the Records Section, and she found Ron hunched over a thick book. His back was facing her, and the sight of his well-maintained red hair made her frown. _Liar… Promise-breaking, well-dressed git!_ Daphne walked up behind him silently, and she looked over his shoulder. Her breath hitched at what she saw, he was reading about the Dark Mark. _Calm down, he doesn't know about father's Mark. He's probably just doing some light reading._

"Ahem" Daphne coughed in his right ear, and he jerked out of his seat.

"Daph?" Ron whispered, a worried look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Daphne asked back childishly. _Stop it, use your training. Don't let him get under your skin right now._

"I asked you first" Ron whispered, a sly smile breaking onto his face.

"Don't give me that smile, you liar" Daphne hissed. _Damnit, there goes my composure. But just look at that smile! He's so… so irritating!_

"Daph, what's wrong? How am I a liar?" Ron whispered, a nervous look on his face.

"You hurt Malfoy" Daphne reminded him, and his expression changed immediately. He looked… regretful. "You promised me that you wouldn't do that, Ron. You **promised** " she hissed as she barely kept herself from smacking his arm.

"He attacked me first" Ron muttered as he averted his gaze, and Daphne blinked. "I just gripped his forearms a little tightly… that's it…"

"Are you lying to me?" Daphne whispered, and he shook his head. "Ron, look at me" Daphne said as she put her left hand under his chin and turned his head to her. "Did he attack you first? Did you only 'grab' his arms?"

"I… said something…" Ron whispered as he looked into her eyes. _They're a perfect shade of ocean blue, but they look… tired._

"What did you say?" Daphne whispered, her anger morphing into concern. The look of shame on his face made Daphne sigh, and she dropped her left hand. "You don't have to tell me, but Ron, I'm getting worried about you. Please tell me you didn't say something that will have consequences for the rest of us."

"No, I didn't" Ron told her. "It was something between me and Malfoy, that's it. I think we both regret our… encounter."

"How did he attack you?" Daphne asked softly.

"He pinned me against a wall, and then he told me that he wanted to Duel me" Ron whispered. "He said that he wanted to show me that he was better than me. I'm sorry, Daph… I know I promised, but I just couldn't…" he trailed off.

"He isn't better than you" Daphne whispered before she could even think, and Ron blinked at her. "You're a good person, and he isn't. That makes you infinitely better…" _He got past my guard again. But look at him, he looks so upset. I don't like seeing him like this._

"What if he can be a good person?" Ron whispered to himself, and Daphne was completely surprised.

"What?" Daphne whispered.

"Nothing…" Ron hung his head and sighed. "It's nothing…" Daphne walked right up to up him, and her face hovered inches from his. Ron was tall for his age, so she had to tilt her head up slightly.

"Ron, talk to me" Daphne whispered, and she saw his cheeks go red because of their closeness. "I want to help you, I want to listen to what's troubling you. You know I do." Ron's eyes darted to her lips, and Daphne's stomach suddenly felt light and full of butterflies. _No, talk to him. Don't give in… This is important._

"Do you remember our deal?" Ron asked softly, the scent of jasmines and sandalwood filling her lungs. _He smells so nice. Maybe I should ask Marty to launder my clothes as well._

"Our deal?" Daphne asked softly.

"We said that we'd give each other a kiss if the other person was feeling down about something" Ron reminded her, and Daphne's stomach did another flip.

"Are you feeling down about something?" Daphne asked softly, and Ron nodded slowly. Daphne leaned up and pecked his lips. "Still feeling down?" Ron nodded again, a small smile on his lips now. Daphne leaned up again and gave him another peck. _His lips are really soft._

"Can I have one more?" Ron whispered, and Daphne gave him another kiss. _I don't even care that he won again. This is so much better than arguing._ "Your lips are really soft…" Ron whispered.

"I was just thinking the same thing" Daphne smiled.

"That your lips are soft?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne's smile fell.

"You're an idiot, Ron" Daphne frowned, but Ron just grinned. _He… UGH!_ "You're an arse…"

"I know" Ron shrugged, and this time he kissed her.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (D.A.D.A Classroom – Second Half)**_

All it took was one private meeting with Daphne, and now his mood was significantly better. He had completely forgotten about his research into the Dark Lord's fear tactics because they had spent the remainder of the lunch break sneaking around the library. Daphne had found a random book to look busy, and then they had found an isolated corner. Daphne told him more about Paris, and about her plans to show him the sights. And he told her of his worries about the 'Veela problem', something that made her rather angry. But it was the cute sort of anger, at least in Ron's eyes. Daphne was clearly jealous, but she was mostly angry on his behalf. She didn't want him to be cheated, and that kind of loyalty made Ron forget his troubles. _There has to be some way to avoid their allures, I can't let Lord Greengrass down._

"Now that we have finished up with our revision on Fire Crabs, Imps, and Gargoyles" Dumbledore smiled at them. "Let's learn a new spell, shall we?" Every student in the class beamed, and Seamus Finnegan let out a whistle. "Can anyone tell me what the spell 'Stupefy' does?" Ron put his hand up immediately, but so did Hermione.

"Ronald?" Dumbledore smiled.

"Stupefy, also known as the Stunning Charm, can be used to render a target unconscious" Ron answered, and he did his best to ignore Hermione's pout. _Sorry Hermione, but I need to impress this man._ "It is used frequently in Dueling as it can end the Duel without causing any lasting damage to one's opponents. Its Counter-Charm is the Reviving Spell, Rennervate."

"Excellent answer" Dumbledore beamed, and Ron felt Theo nudge him excitedly. "Let's have a demonstration, shall we? Everyone, line-up in the center of the room." The students quickly moved into place, and there was a bit of shoving and pushing. Dumbledore waved his left hand, and all the desks slid across the room and were placed at the walls. Ron was rather awed by this, but no one else seemed to think much of it. _That's just like what the Heir did to me… I need to learn that. I can just imagine how practical this form of the Levitation Charm can be in a fight. The Heir showed me that._ "Ronald, since you answered the question, why don't you give the demonstration?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling at Ron. _He's giving me a chance to impress him?_

"Of course, Headmaster" Ron smiled as he made his way to the front of the line. Dumbledore conjured up a test dummy that looked just like the ones inside the Sanctuary. _Hello again, my old friend. Come to get your arse kicked again, have you?_

"Whenever you are ready, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled. The Stunning Charm was generally taught in fourth year, but somehow Dumbledore knew that Ronald already knew how to cast it. Ron drew his beautiful wand, and he took on a defensive stance, the tip of his wand aimed at the ground ahead of him.

"Stupefy" Ron chanted as he slashed his wand upwards, and a red light flew out of his wand and struck the dummy in the chest. The dummy reeled back and hit the wall, and Ron's classmates had differing reactions. Some clapped excitedly, others released awed gasps, and one arsehole scoffed.

"Well done, Ronald" Dumbledore beamed. "Five points to Slytherin for being able to cast a fourth year spell perfectly. Well done." Ron smiled, and he gave Dumbledore a respectful nod. _Yes, be impressed. Let me into the Order. I'll be your best friend. Hehe._ "Now, let's see everyone else try." Ron moved towards the back of the line, and he got some nods and smiles.

"Well done, Ron" Lavender said as he passed her, and he gave her a smile.

"Good luck, you've got this" Ron said to her, and she smiled more widely. Ron then stood at the back of the line with Theo, and Theo smirked at him.

"Care to give me any pointers?" Theo asked.

"Dumbledore is explaining how to do it right now" Ron smirked.

"I can't hear him back here" Theo shrugged with his own smirk.

"Well, in that case, of course I'll help you" Ron chuckled. "It's simple, keep your wand facing the ground. Then slash it upwards, and say the incantation when the tip of your wand is aimed at where you want the spell to go. Don't slash too fast, or you'll miss the target. But don't do it too slowly either, because that ruins the spell due to improper wand movement. Got it?"

"I think so" Theo nodded, a serious look on his face. "Where'd you learn this? Is this from your brother Charlie?"

"Yeah, pretty much" Ron shrugged. "I also practice often within the Sanctuary, but you already know that."

"Oh, we do" Theo gave him disgusted look, and Ron blinked. "You smell like shite after your 'training sessions'…"

"I don't smell like…" Ron muttered, but then he stopped. _Do I?_

"The truth will set you free, mate" Theo grinned. "You know it's true, don't you?"

"Shut up, or I'll throw a stunner at you next" Ron frowned, and Theo sniggered. _Do I really smell that bad afterwards? Wait, I usually sit near the girls. If Theo can smell me, then they definitely can. Oh Merlin, no._

"Is the Prodigy blushing?" Theo sniggered, and Ron clenched his jaw.

"You're an arsehole, did you know that?" Ron shot back.

"From the day that I was born" Theo grinned, and Ron sighed in defeat.

"Just concentrate on getting your stunner right" Ron told Theo. "The love of your life is watching, you don't want to go embarrassing yourself."

"The love of my life?" Theo asked.

"Malfoy" Ron replied casually. "Don't deny it, mate. I've seen the desire in your eyes when you shoot him quick looks." Theo just stared at Ron, while Ron kept a straight face.

"It's his hair that gets me…" Theo sighed, and Ron had to stifle his laugh. "How does he keep it so slicked back? I just need to know, mate."

"Stop…" Ron bit his tongue.

"And I do love a brooding rich boy" Theo sighed again. _Oh shite!_

"What the fuck are you two talking about?" Tracey turned around and asked, her face a mixture of disgust and confusion.

"A handsome prince" Theo fake swooned, and Ron let out a quiet wheeze.

* * *

 _ **March 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (End of D.A.D.A)**_

"Ronald, stay behind a moment please" Dumbledore called, and Ron stopped in his tracks. _Another chat? Is he going to suggest that I 'talk' to Pomfrey again? Wait, what the hell is a Mind-Healer anyway? Does it involve cool spells?_ Most of the class shot him quick looks, especially the Golden Trio. Potter's gaze lingered on Ron the longest, and he was the last student to leave the classroom. _My vision from before showed me that he was clearly jealous of my relationship with Dumbledore. Talk about entitled… Bastard already won the House-Cup, and now he's eyeballing me for something that I have no control over._

"Headmaster, what can I do for you?" Ron asked after everyone was gone. Dumbledore smiled at him fondly, and Ron took a seat at the front of the class.

"I wanted to talk to you about my suggestion" Dumbledore smiled as he leaned against the teacher's desk. "Have you given it any thought?"

"Which suggestion?" Ron feigned ignorance.

"Ronald, don't play games" Dumbledore chuckled. "This is meant to be a serious conversation."

"I am serious" Ron grinned, but Dumbledore's kind smile wore him down. "I have… For both suggestions."

"And?" Dumbledore asked.

"I want to set the date of my Re-Sorting for the last day of the term" Ron replied.

"I see" Dumbledore nodded. "This gives you plenty of time to talk your parents out of their decision. Smart choice."

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron smiled.

"And what of Madam Pomfrey?" Dumbledore asked.

"Headmaster, I'm not even sure about what a Mind-Healer does" Ron admitted. _I bet it has cool spells though. Mind-Healer. It certainly sounds awesome. Does it involve healing one's mind with powerful magic?_

"I see" Dumbledore responded. "I thought from your earlier reaction that you already knew."

"Sorry about that" Ron smiled sheepishly. "I just got really angry at the prospect of being called…" Ron trailed off.

"A 'crazy person'?" Dumbledore smiled softly, and Ron nodded. "Well, allow me to enlighten on what a Mind-Healer does. Mind-Healers, as the name suggests, mend the mind rather than the body. They help their patients better understand their own troubles, and they work to bring their patients closure or a sense of clarity."

"They just… talk?" Ron blinked. "No cool spells?" _How boring._

"No, no 'cool spells' Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled heartily. "Though they can prescribe certain Potions such as the Sleeping Draught, or the Draught of Peace."

"And Madam Pomfrey is a Mind-Healer?" Ron asked slowly. "I thought she was just the Head Nurse."

"There are requirements to becoming the Matron of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Ronald" Dumbledore replied. "Madam Pomfrey had a very successful career at St. Mungo's before I enlisted her to be one of my staff."

"She did?" Ron asked.

"Of course, my boy" Dumbledore replied. "Did you think that she just started working here right out of Hogwarts?" Ron nodded at that, and Dumbledore chuckled again. "No, she was quite sought after actually. But I enlisted her at the start of the 1970 school year."

"1970 school year?" Ron asked, that date sounded familiar. _The Great War started in 1970, I just read about that._ "So when the Great War started… You wanted a talented Head Nurse to protect the students?" Dumbledore blinked at that, but then a small smile broke onto his face.

"Astounding perception, Ronald" Dumbledore said in awe. "Truly astounding. I sometimes forget that you aren't just an ordinary thirteen year old boy, but then you quickly remind me of your brilliance. Tell me, how does your mind work?"

"I just see what others don't" Ron replied, a blush on his cheeks. _Like the future. The horrible, piece of shite future._

"Like with Peter Pettigrew" Dumbledore rubbed his chin. "You noticed that he was a garden rat with an extraordinarily long life, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did" Ron lied.

"Such a simple detail, and yet no one noticed" Dumbledore stroked his beard. "And yes Ronald, you are right about why I hired Madam Pomfrey. And it didn't take much persuasion on my part, if I'm being honest."

"I'm guessing that you told her it was because of the War" Ron figured, and Dumbledore gave a thoughtful nod. "And knowing her, she all but volunteered to protect the students. It was a smart choice to pick her for the position, considering that she was so 'sought after'."

"I'm glad you agree" Dumbledore smiled. "But enough about such dark times, let us speak of the present. Will you reconsider my request?"

"Headmaster, I… I don't know…" Ron sighed, he didn't really want anyone poking around in his head. _Plus, I'm not good at talking about my 'feelings'._

"There is no shame in it, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled kindly. "It will make you stronger, less burdened. Many witches and wizards see Mind-Healers, believe me."

"Do you?" Ron asked bluntly.

"I used to" Dumbledore replied truthfully, if this is what it took then so be it. "After the Great War ended, I saw Poppy myself. It was a dark time, and she helped me come to terms with all that we lost." _Well, I didn't see that coming._ "There is no shame in it, Ronald" Dumbledore repeated.

"I'll… think about it, I promise" Ron said truthfully.

"That is all I ask" Dumbledore smiled. "Now, off you go. Your friends are no doubt waiting for you outside."

"Headmaster, before I go, can I ask you another question?" Ron asked. _Maybe he can teach me how to use the Levitation Charm without a wand?_

"Of course" Dumbledore replied.

"When you moved all the tables to the sides of the room, did you use a wandless Levitation Charm?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore smiled widely.

"You show me your brilliance again, Ronald" Dumbledore beamed. "Yes, I did indeed."

"Can you… teach me?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore cocked his head slightly. "If you have any spare time, that is." Dumbledore just stared at Ron with a smile, and Ron felt his resolve weaken. _Just say no if you want, but please stop staring at me._

"If I remember correctly, you still have an open invitation to my Office" Dumbledore smiled. "I am free on Sundays, Ronald. Perhaps we can play another game of chess, or teach you the basics of Wandless Magic."

"Wandless Magic, please" Ron grinned. "I'll see you on Sunday, Headmaster. Thank you!"

"Run along now" Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron got out of his chair. "And you will see me on Friday, during your class."

"Oh… right" Ron grinned. "Goodbye, Headmaster." Ron then turned around and walked towards the exit, a massive smile on his face. _Albus Dumbledore is going to personally teach me Wandless Magic! It should be a crime to be this happy!_ As soon as Ron exited the classroom, he came face to face with his friends.

"Finally" Blaise sighed. "I was getting sick of waiting around for you."

"Blaise, don't be a jerk" Pansy frowned at him, and Blaise rolled his eyes. _Pansy._ The sight of her made his chest hurt, but he was getting better at masking his pain. _She didn't deserve that._

"I'm just glad that he's back" Tracey frowned. "I'm sick of Theo's mightier-than-Merlin attitude."

"Not my fault that you all failed such a simple spell" Theo shrugged with an arrogant smirk. "Not you of course, Ron. You and I are cut from a different cloth than these… peasants."

"Theo, I will **punch** you in the head" Millie growled, but Theo just chuckled.

"And mostly everyone failed the spell" Daphne said coldly. "Potter, Granger, and Ron were the only exceptions."

"And me" Theo added.

"Ron told you how to do it!" Tracey snapped.

"That's hearsay, and it is inadmissible in the context of this conversation" Theo said smoothly. "Regardless of the cause, I still threw out a perfect stunner at that dummy."

"I'm gonna kill you!" Millie tried to lunge at Theo, but Theo shrieked and ran behind Ron.

"Oh shite, help me" Theo sniggered, and Ron stood his ground.

"Millie, please just ignore him" Ron said to the angry girl. _And please don't go through me._

"Ron, move out of the way" Blaise said. "Let Millie kick his arse a little."

"Ron, I'm your friend" Theo whispered in his left ear. "Protect me…"

"Millie, please calm down" Ron chuckled. "He's just being a tosser." Millie clenched her jaw, and she shot Theo an annoyed look.

"You're lucky that Ron's here" Millie said in a threatening voice.

"Thank you, Mills" Ron smiled, but she just grunted in displeasure.

"I love you, mate" Theo whispered in his left ear. "You'll always protect me from these Banshees, won't you?" _Always protect you… No, I don't think I can. None of them executed that stunner right, did they? Even Theo only got it right because I showed him how. They need to learn to protect themselves, I can't make them dependent on me. If Pansy knew how to…_ Ron's chest tightened at the thought.

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice, and he blinked at her.

"Yes?" Ron asked.

"Where did you go?" Daphne asked. "We said that we're leaving…"

"Right, leaving…" Ron nodded, and his friends just stared at him. Ron then began following his friends, his mind occupied by his thoughts. They needed to learn how to defend themselves. There was a fucking war on the way, and none of them could even cast a damn stunner… That had to change. They had to be strong enough to take care of themselves, Pansy needed to be strong enough to take care of herself. _Maybe it's time that I share some of Charlie's knowledge?_

* * *

 _ **Percy Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Headmaster's Office - Evening)**_

It was Friday evening, and dinner was about to be served soon. But Percy would miss it tonight, because tonight, he was going home. His conversation with Ron had been burning a hole through his head for the entire week, and when he realized that he couldn't even focus on his studies, Percy knew that he had to act. But he had decided to act alone…

The reason behind this was simple. Ron and the twins were too emotional right now, Ron especially. His little brother seemed to working through his hardships with the help of his friends, and while Percy was extremely grateful to the six Slytherins, Percy knew that they hadn't made much progress. Ron wasn't the type to spill his guts to just anyone, let alone his friends. But he had trusted Percy with his feelings, and so Percy was honor-bound as his older brother to act accordingly.

Percy had wanted to bring the twins in as backup, but they were a guilt-ridden mess. And instead of trying to patch things up with Ron, the duo had started pranking the student body with a renewed vigor. And who was their main target? The Slytherins… Percy didn't even know what to say about that, but he did understand why they were doing it. They were unconsciously, or consciously, blaming the Slytherins for Ron being so different. Merlin forbid they blame themselves for being utter tossers to the poor boy, but no… No, they had begun a war on the older Slytherins. Something that would no doubt come back to bite Ron on his arse, and not the twins. _I'll deal with them after this. First mum and dad, and then those two morons._

"Sorry, Percy" came Dumbledore's voice as he entered his own Office.

"Headmaster" Percy gave a respectful bow. "Please do not apologize, I am the one asking for your time."

"Very well" Dumbledore chuckled. "What may I do for you?"

"Headmaster, I wish to visit my Family home tonight" Percy said firmly, he had to show proper respect and strength.

"And is there a reason for this request?" Dumbledore smiled kindly.

"My little brother's Re-Sorting is the reason" Percy replied, both wizards standing as equals. That's what Percy respected most about Dumbledore, the old wizard never treated others as his lesser. Despite Percy's poverty, and his father's reputation, Dumbledore always showed Percy proper respect.

"You wish to convince your parents that it is a mistake?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling in merriment.

"I do, Headmaster" Percy nodded firmly. "This decision does not benefit Ron in any way, and if anything, it hinders him. It hinders his future success, and it damages his relationships with his friends and our parents."

"In that case, very well" Dumbledore beamed. "Please feel free to use my floo network, it is already linked with The Burrow."

"Thank you, Headmaster" Percy said gratefully, and then he moved towards the fireplace.

"Percy" Dumbledore called, and Percy turned to face the old wizard. "You are doing a marvelous thing, and you should be proud of yourself. Just as Ronald will be, and just as I am."

"Thank you" Percy responded, and he couldn't stop his smile from breaking out.

"Good luck, my boy" Dumbledore said, and then the Headmaster walked back out of the room. _I'll need it, if I'm being honest. I've never fought against mum and dad before, despite our disagreements._ Percy took a handful of floo powder, and he cast it into the fireplace. The flames blazed green after he called out for The Burrow, and Percy stepped through.

His senses were immediately engulfed by the sensations of being home. He could smell his mother's delicious home cooking, Ginny's laughter rang in his ears, the sight of his family's cozy living room brought a smile to his lips, and he could feel the warm temperature of the house that was caused by his mother's Charms. Percy knew that they didn't have much, and although he hated their financial situation, Percy still loved this house. Percy quickly made his way into the kitchen, and he saw his mother, father, and little sister sitting on the dining table.

"Evening" Percy greeted them, and his family's eyes almost popped out of their heads.

"Percy?" his mother called, and then a huge smile broke onto her face. "Percy, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" his mother laughed as she walked up and hugged him tightly.

"Thought I'd come and have a chat" Percy smiled as he awkwardly hugged her back. "And yes dad, I got the Headmaster's permission to be here."

"I'd never doubt that, son" his father beamed as he too got up to hug his son. Percy had an easier time hugging his father, they used to do it quite often when he was younger. _I don't think I've ever seen dad hug Ron casually._ Percy then looked to a startled Ginny, and his eyes fell on the Eagle-Owl perched on her right shoulder.

"Is that… Helios?" Percy blinked, and the Eagle-Owl hooted in response. "What's he doing here?"

"He's keeping me company…" Ginny said softly as she averted her eyes.

"Aren't you going to come and hug me?" Percy asked, a sad smile on his face. _She's been through so much. She was laughing until I showed up, so I guess she isn't ready to be around other people just yet._ Helios hopped off of her shoulder, and then he hooted at her. Ginny stared at Helios for a couple of seconds, and then she slowly got up and approached Percy. She hugged his middle lightly, and he put his long arms around her and squeezed her lovingly. "I'm really happy to see you, Ginny" Percy said, and she tightened her hug. _Why is she wearing a jumper? It's rather warm in here._

"I'm sorry" Ginny mumbled into his school uniform.

"Shhh, don't be" Percy comforted her. "No one blames you because none of it was your fault. Don't ever forget that." Ginny gave him a tight squeeze, and Percy was shocked by her strength. _My back…_ Ginny then let him go, and she gave him a rare smile. Ginny never usually smiled at him, not unless she was mocking him, so this was a welcome change.

"I need to talk to mum and dad about something serious, Ginny" Percy told her. "So you should head upstairs." Ginny pouted at that.

"Is this about Ron?" Ginny asked bluntly, and Percy just blinked. _She's quite perceptive._ Percy felt his parents tense at that, and he didn't know why, but that made him feel rather irritated. "What is happening with him? I want to know."

"Not now, love" their mother said lovingly. "Head on upstairs, this is adult business." Ginny's pout got even worse, but she at least listened. She walked up the stairs rather dramatically, and Helios flew up after her. _Ever the princess, eh? And why is that bird here? Did Ron send Helios to watch over her? That's a rather beautiful gesture. But then again, he loves her more than anyone in the family. It's not just mum and dad who spoil her, Ron would give her anything she wished for if she asked him._

"Son, have you eaten?" his father asked, a soft smile on his face.

"No, dad" Percy shook his head. "But I'm not here for dinner, I'm here to talk about Ron."

"Eat something first, dear" his mother ushered him to a seat. "You're looking rather thin… Don't they feed you up there?"

"They feed us fine, mum" Percy rolled his eyes. "But please just listen, I'm here to talk about Ron."

"After dinner, dear" his mother said as she piled food onto his plate. "We can talk after dinner."

"Alright, but you're not getting out of this" Percy frowned. "This conversation is happening, whether you like it or not."

* * *

 _ **March 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (The Burrow – After Dinner)**_

His family had already eaten when he had walked in, so it was an especially awkward dinner as he ate alone in complete silence. His mother was quick to start cleaning the dishes, and his father just sat there with a guilty look on his face as he drank his beer. Once Percy had finished his delicious meal, his mother took his dish to the sink. With all of that out of the way, his mother joined his father and sat across from Percy.

"Can we talk now?" Percy asked, his parents nodded.

"How is he?" his mother asked. "Is he eating well? Does he look peaky?"

"He doesn't eat much" Percy replied truthfully, he had noticed his brother's absence at the Great Hall one too many times. "And he looks sick all the time. Pale, with dark circles under his eyes. I imagine he doesn't sleep much either."

"No…" his mother muttered meekly. "Why?"

"Because of you two" Percy replied bluntly, and his parents flinched. _This is going to be brutal, I can see it now._ "You've hurt him… Both of you. And it's a miracle that he is still functioning. If it weren't for his friends constantly trying to make him happy, I don't even want to contemplate the consequences of your actions."

"So you know everything?" his father asked, the man's usually happy personality subdued.

"I do" Percy nodded. "I know about the letter you sent him when he first got sorted, I know you struck him in front of other people, and I know that you're trying to rip him away from his friends."

"Not his friends" his father quickly amended, his tone saddened. "Just Slytherin, and only Slytherin…"

"That's not how he sees it" Percy replied with a frown.

"You've talked to him?" his mother asked, her eyes already teary. _Don't forget that you're here for Ron's sake. Don't give up your resolve._

"I have…" Percy nodded slowly. "Me and the twins, that is. Though we wish that we hadn't…"

"Why?" his mother asked. "Is he… angry?"

"Angry?" Percy repeated in surprise, did they really have no clue what their actions were doing to Ron? "He's furious!" His parents flinched at his sudden outburst, and Percy quickly composed himself. "He's bitter, and downright venomous. The way he spoke to us… He wanted nothing to do with this family anymore, and you've driven him to that point."

"We only want what's best for him, Percy" his father said, his voice slightly firmer than before.

"Do you?" Percy asked, and his parents blinked at him. His mother was already crying softly, and his father's face had become rather red. "Is that what you tell yourself? That you want what's best for Ron? Then allow me to shatter that illusion, because what you're doing, it's only best for **you**."

"Arthur…" his mother turned to his father. "Please listen to Percy, I've told you that we've made a mistake… Just end this, please…" Percy was honest to Merlin stunned silent at that. _So dad truly is the one behind this? I didn't fully believe Ron when he told us, but now I know it's true._

"That house…" his father grit out, his hands turning into shaky fists. "I can't have my son in there when the Dark Lord returns… I can't leave him in that place alone…"

"The Dark Lord?" Percy muttered, that was unexpected.

"He attacked Ron in his first year" his father reminded Percy. "He possessed Ginny in order to re-open the Chamber of Secrets…"

"Ginny was possessed by… **him**?" Percy blinked. He had known that Ginny was possessed by the Heir, but he had no clue that the Dark Lord **was** the Heir.

"He **will** return, Perce" his father told him. "Dumbledore says it himself, it's only a matter of time… We can't leave Ronnie down there all by himself. You understand, don't you?" Percy just stared at his father's pleading face, and he understood now that his father was doing this out of love. _But that doesn't make it right._

"You're afraid of losing him?" Percy asked his father.

"Yes, I am" his father nodded. "I'm scared for his safety, and I'm scared of what he's learning down there. I'm scared that he won't be our Ronnie if he's down there for too long."

"Well, then you have only yourself to fear" Percy said in a soft tone, and his father blinked at him. "You're losing him because of this, not because of what his house-mates say to him. We're all losing him because of this. He was so… so hateful towards me and the twins. He threatened to beat Fred and George into the Hospital Wing, just like he did to Harry." His mother gasped at that. "He even threw the fact that you got me Hermes instead of getting him his own wand in my face. That's how bad this is… And there's a lot more…"

"A lot more?" his mother wept, she was looking down in order to hide her face from her son.

"He knows that you cried from disappointment when he was born" Percy replied bluntly, they needed to hear this. _They need to wake up, and they need to talk to him._

"What?" his father asked, his entire face losing its blood. "How…?"

"The twins mocked him with it when he was younger" Percy replied truthfully. "He's known for years, as far as I know."

"No…" his mother let out a sob that shook her entire body. "No…"

"How could those two…?" his father grit out, his eyes becoming misty.

"Because they could" Percy replied. "Because your neglect… **Our** neglect… showed the twins that Ron was an easy target. One that no one in this family would protect. And I don't know why, but he put up with this treatment his entire life. But now… Now he won't put up with it, and he's all but ready to walk away from us."

"Pandora told me…" his mother just cried to herself. "She was right…"

"Percy, what do you mean by 'he's ready to walk away'?" his father asked, his fear etched upon his face. "Did he say that?"

"He didn't" Percy replied. "But if you had been in that room with him… Merlin, dad… I haven't been able to think of anything else all week. He was just… There was nothing but hate and rage in his words… He wanted to hurt us in any way that he could, I know it." _I won't tell them that he made up with me, or that he told me that he loves me. Because they need to act, and I'm going to all but shove them out of the door if I have to._ "If he was so angry at us, then just imagine what he feels for you two…"

"I… I can't bear to…" his father muttered, he looked utterly defeated. **Everyone** had told him to stop this, but he hadn't listened. A small part of him believed that Ron would eventually move past this, but Percy's revelations had shattered that small part into a million, unrecoverable pieces.

"Well, you have to" Percy said firmly, his own eyes stinging due to saying these things to them. He knew that he was hurting them, but they had to see the damage that they were causing his little brother. "And you have to talk to him, dad. Before his rage turns into something that drives him to walk away forever. He's just a kid, dad… And you're putting so much on him… He has the highest grades in his class, he trains to become a better wizard every day, he **works** at the age of **thirteen** , and he also has so much pressure on him to succeed at his work. But instead of supporting him, you're hurting your own son… You're both just hurting him." Percy slowly stood up at that. "Stop hurting my little brother, or you'll lose me too…" With that, Percy walked towards the living room.

"Percy, wait" his mother got up and followed after him. Percy stopped dead in his tracks, but not because his mother had called out to him. _Ginny…_ She was standing on the top steps of the staircase, her cheeks covered with tear tracks. "Percy, don't go…" his mother stopped midsentence as she saw her daughter glaring down at her.

"How could you?!" Ginny screamed at their mother, and then she stomped her foot and ran away.

"Ginny, sweetheart!" his mother cried as she ran up the stairs, and Percy heard a door slam shut. _No…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast – Early Morning)**_

Ron rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand, his fucking headache was back. It had been coming and going all week, and Ron figured that it was happening because he wasn't sleeping properly. But how could he sleep when every time he closed his eyes, he saw an endless gravel pathway and his dead friend? The worst part of this was the fact that people were catching on. His skin had a sickly pale color to it, there were noticeable dark bags under his eyes, and he was barely keeping his eyes open most of the time. He was a fucking mess, and everyone could see it. On the plus side, the female population of the school that was around his age were rather… sympathetic.

Ron smirked to himself as he finished up his breakfast. He cleaned his mouth with a napkin, and then he began making his way out of the Great Hall. His research had been going well, and he had learned a lot more about the Great War. The most intriguing thing that he read about was the Dark Mark, and how it served the Dark Lord as a symbol of power and fear. The Dark Lord branded the Head of every single prominent Pure-Blood Family that joined him as a way to show them that he was in charge. He no doubt called it a 'great honor', but Ron could guess his real purpose. And his followers cast the Dark Mark over any of their attack sights in order to illicit terror amongst the locals. The more Ron read about the Dark Mark, the more he came to realize that Lord Greengrass most likely bore the Mark too. He was, after all, on the Dark Lord's side during the Great War. _Father never really hid that fact, nor do any of the other adults._

Why his mentor chose to help a madman was beyond Ron, but Ron decided to give Lord Greengrass the benefit of the doubt. Not only was his mentor fair to him, but he had also treated Ron with respect and even love. So Ron decided to look past the Mark that most likely blemished Lord Greengrass' left forearm. _It doesn't matter why he did what he did, what matters is that I'll slowly bring him towards Dumbledore's side. With his wealth and influence, we'll have a much better chance at winning._

And speaking of the upcoming war, Ron's friends were driving him mad. He had been trying so hard to get them to learn some self-defense, but they each found a way to grate his nerves. Pansy and Daphne refused to train at all because they didn't want to become sweaty and look 'unladylike'. Tracey treated Ron's teachings as a joke. Theo was a lazy piece of shite. Blaise lost all interest after the first hour. The only person that tried their best was Millie. Thank Merlin for Millie, because if she wasn't there, Ron would have killed his friends in a fit of rage. He even tried to tell them that this was for their own sakes, and that one day, the Dark Lord might return. Unfortunately, that had completely ruined what little motivation they had. _Probably shouldn't tell them that they might die if they aren't prepared, most people my age can't understand something so… grim._

"Ron, wait!" came a sweet voice, and Ron turned to see Clara Martyris walking up to him. She was smiling pleasantly at him, and she was carrying a school bag. "I'm glad that I caught you before you left for work."

"Clara, what is it?" Ron asked, but instead of answering him, she gave Ron a worried look.

"Ron, you look dreadful" she said softly, and then she put her right hand over his left cheek. She rubbed her thumb gently just below his left eye, and she looked rather concerned. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Don't get much sleep" Ron chuckled. "No rest for the wicked, and all that…"

"I'm not being funny this time, Ron" Clara said, her face showing no humor. "You look really sick, you need to go to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm fine, Clara" Ron sighed. "I'm just… stressed."

"The Chess Tournament" Clara guessed, and Ron nodded. _Let's go with that over seeing my Pansy's battered corpse all the time._ "No one your age should be this stressed, Ron."

"I'm fine, I swear" Ron told her. "Now, what did you want to talk about? I can't be late for work, Lord Greengrass doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Here" Clara said as she handed him the school bag. "Notes from third and fourth year, as promised." _Third_ _ **and**_ _Fourth year?_

"I only asked for third year…" Ron said softly.

"I know" Clara smiled. "But I convinced the girls to give you our fourth year notes as well. It's my way of apologizing to you."

"Apologizing? For what?" Ron asked. _What did she do? Did she tell someone something that I told her? Wait, I've never told her anything. Stop being paranoid._

"I drank too much during the party" Clara said, a soft smile on her face. "And then I did something with you that you're too young for."

"Oh…" Ron blushed. "That… It's alright, I didn't mind…"

"I'm sure you didn't" Clara smiled more widely. "But teasing is one thing, what I did was inappropriate." She then put her soft hands over his cheeks. "I never want to do anything to hurt you like that again, Ron. I'm sorry."

"It's okay…" Ron muttered as he stared into her brown eyes. "But I have to ask… Why do care if you hurt me?"

"Because we like you, Ron" Clara smiled at him. "You're different… Special… So please, go to the Hospital Wing tonight when you come back from work. And please get some more rest." Clara then leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Ron was just dazed by that, and he nodded slowly. She removed her hands from his cheeks, and Ron slowly turned around and walked towards Snape's Office. He missed Clara giving his back a genuinely worried look. Ron knocked on Snape's door, his mind still on Clara's odd behavior. He had no idea that they actually liked him, he had always figured that they used him because he was clever.

"Come in" came Snape's voice, and Ron entered the Office and shut the door behind him. "Taking your homework to work, Mr. Weasley?"

"Um… No, Sir" Ron smiled, and Snape eyed the bag. "May I leave this here with you?"

"What is in the bag, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked coldly.

"Notes on third and fourth year" Ron admitted, Snape would never tattle on him.

"You like to study in advance, I remember" Snape nodded curtly, a small smirk appearing on his emotionless face. "By all means, leave the bag with me. I will take care of it in your absence."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled gratefully as he walked up and handed the bag to Snape. Snape took the bag, and he placed it under his desk. Then Snape looked at Ron's face, and a frown replaced his smirk. _Oh shite, what did I do?_

"Mr. Weasley, when was the last time you slept?" Snape asked.

"Last night" Ron lied.

"Try again…" Snape all but growled.

"It's been a week since I got a proper night's rest…" Ron admitted, he really needed to fix his complexion.

"I see" Snape nodded. "You may leave for work now, but when you return, we will have words."

"Yes, Sir" Ron nodded slowly, and then he went to the fireplace. He could feel Snape's black eyes following him, but he did his best to ignore them. Once he got to the fireplace, Ron threw in the floo powder as he called for Greengrass Manor. As soon as the fire blaze green, Ron stepped through it. He didn't want to be under Snape's scrutinizing look for any longer than necessary. The scene changed from a dark, damp Potions Office into a beautiful, bright greeting room as Ron stepped through the flames. And it was made brighter by a little blonde girl bolting towards him with a massive smile on her face.

"RON!" came Tori's usual squeal, and Ron braced himself. But this time she didn't throw herself on him, instead she stopped right in front of him. Ron would be lying if he said that he wasn't disappointed, he rather enjoyed Tori's affection. "Ron… You look so… sick."

"Good morning to you too, my little Lady" Ron chuckled. "You look as beautiful as always." Tori's cheeks went rosy, and she smiled softly.

"Really?" Tori asked.

"Yes, really" Ron smiled. "How are you today, Tori?"

"I'm doing well" Tori replied as she eyed his pale features. "Ron, are you sure you're alright? Mummy! Ron looks really sick!"

"Tori, shhh" Ron tried to shush her, but it was already too late. Lady Greengrass had just entered the greeting room as Tori had called out to her, and now she was walking up to Ron with a quickened pace.

"Ron, my word…" Mary said as she scanned his face. "Are you ill?"

"I am fine, Mary" Ron smiled. "And may I just tell you, your radiance this morning puts the Sun to shame." A small smile appeared on Mary's face, but she quickly schooled her features.

"As much as I love your practiced compliments, Ron" Mary said with a firm tone. "Flattery will not make me overlook your appearance. Now answer me, are you ill?"

"I'm not really ill" Ron sighed. "Just… stressed…"

"Stressed?" Mary repeated, and Ron nodded. "Is this because of the Chess Tournament?" _No, it's because my friends refuse to train with me. And the fact that they're going to get themselves killed if they don't fucking listen to me._

"Yes, my Lady" Ron lied, and Mary suddenly pinched his right cheek. "Ow!" Ron groaned as he rubbed his reddening cheek.

"Call me Mary, and follow me" Mary frowned slightly. "My husband needs to see you for himself." _Did I just get Lord Greengrass into trouble? And yeesh, my fucking cheek. Did she train Daphne on how to pinch as well?_ Ron and Tori followed after Mary, and Ron did his best to ignore Tori's inquisitive looks. Once they reached the study, Mary opened the door and ushered Ron inside. Tori, although not invited, rushed inside as well. "Husband, Ron is here to start his day with you" Mary said to Lord Greengrass, an annoyed edge to her tone.

"Finally, we have much to do today" Lord Greengrass said as he turned away from the fire and looked to Ron. "Let's get…" Lord Greengrass started, but stopped when he saw his wife's annoyed look.

"Look at him, Sebastian" Mary frowned. "He's in no condition to be working."

"I'm fine, I swear" Ron sighed. Lord Greengrass narrowed his eyes on Ron's features, and then he frowned.

"Ronald, what is the meaning of this?" Lord Greengrass asked, his irritated tone making Ron flinch a bit. "We have a Tournament to prepare for…"

"No, Sebastian" Mary cut off her husband. "He is sick, and he needs rest."

"I'd much rather prepare for the Tournament" Ron piped in.

"There you have it" Lord Greengrass said to his wife, and she sighed in defeat.

"Husband, at least take things slowly today" Mary requested.

"We will, don't worry about that" Lord Greengrass smiled softly. "Now, please excuse us."

"Come, Astoria" Mary said to her daughter. "We will continue with your French lessons." Mary then began making her way out, but Tori just stared at Ron with a worried look.

"I'll be fine" Ron smiled at Tori, and she nodded meekly. The little girl then followed her mother out of the study, and Mary closed the door gently. _It's cute that she's worried about me._

"Ron, please take your seat" Lord Greengrass said softly, and Ron did as he was told. Lord Greengrass then took his own seat, and he studied Ron's features. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, my Lord" Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"Tell me what's bothering you" Lord Greengrass said in a softer tone. "And remember, our relationship only works if we're both completely honest." _Sorry, but I can't really do that._

"I'm just stressed about this Tournament" Ron somewhat lied, because he was a bit stressed by the Tournament.

"The Veela ploy?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded. "I see… Ron, there is an alternative."

"Alternative, my Lord?" Ron asked with a confused look.

"We can pull you out of the Tournament" Lord Greengrass suggested, and Ron blinked.

"Pull me out?" Ron repeated. "You mean run away…"

"I suppose I do" Lord Greengrass sighed. "We won't be the only ones, Ron. Many competitors from the Amateur and Adept Leagues have pulled out already. It is a clever strategy because pulling out doesn't count as a loss on your record, it simply counts as a 'Could not Attend'."

"That's just as bad in my opinion" Ron frowned a bit. "I'm not running away because the French can't play fair. That's just not in me…" _Give up? Fuck that, I don't give up. Not anymore._ Lord Greengrass narrowed his eyes on Ron.

"So you've made peace with the fact that this is out of your control?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I suppose I have…" Ron replied slowly, Lord Greengrass was up to something.

"Then explain to me why you look so out of sorts" Lord Greengrass said. "If you've made peace with the fact that you can't change what the French are doing, then there is another reason for your stress." _Dammit, he analyzed me again. Pick your words more carefully, Ron._

"I… um…" Ron stammered, he couldn't think of an excuse.

"Ron, whatever we discuss will remain between us. You know that already." _I can't tell him about Pansy, or the fact that my friends are driving me insane. But I can tell him my other problems, maybe he can offer me advice._

"I fought with my brothers…" Ron sighed, and Lord Greengrass nodded slowly. "I made up with Percy, but the twins are a different story. My parents are still pushing to remove me from Slytherin, and Dumbledore even asked me to plan a date for my Re-Sorting. Ginny hasn't sent me a letter in three days, and I barely have time to see Luna. And now, Dumbledore wants me to start seeing a Mind-Healer…"

"A Mind-Healer?" Lord Greengrass asked, he was genuinely surprised. "Why would he want that?"

"Look at my face, my Lord" Ron sighed as he gestured to his pale complexion and baggy eyes. "He thinks that I need help finding closure, or clarity… I don't even know what he means by that, truth be told."

"I see" Lord Greengrass said softly, a slightly worried expression on his face. "You are under a great deal of stress, even I can see that. I suggest that you heed the Headmaster's wise counsel." _Huh? Seriously, you too?_

"I don't know how I feel about that" Ron said truthfully.

"Let me guess, you think it a weakness to need someone else's help to organize your own thoughts?" Lord Greengrass guessed, and Ron just blinked. _MIND-READER! Daphne got her gifts from you, didn't she?_

"Are you a mind-reader?" Ron asked slowly, and Lord Greengrass let out a soft chuckle.

"No, Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled. "I never did learn to utilize Legilimency without a wand, though I do have some knowledge in the area. I am a powerful Occlumens however."

"So Legilimency helps you read minds, but Occlumency helps you stop people from reading your mind?" Ron asked, he had heard these terms far too often. _They must be important, especially if all the powerful people I know utilize them. I should look into them. It would be pretty fucking awesome to read people's minds._

"Spot on, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied. "But do not avoid my questions, it will not work with me."

"I guess I do see it as a weakness" Ron admitted.

"Why?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I don't know…" Ron shrugged tiredly. "When Dumbledore first suggested it, I thought he was calling me crazy. And then I saw my friends, and I felt… ashamed… I didn't want them to know that I was so… pathetic… That I couldn't even keep my own problems in check, and that someone else had to do it for me."

"I can understand where you are coming from, Ron" Lord Greengrass said. "But no one is untouchable. Everyone needs help every now and then, and only a fool refuses genuine help. And you are no fool. I personally don't know much about the profession, but I know people who have benefited from it. And many of those people aren't 'weak'." _Like Dumbledore himself, but I should keep that to myself. He told me that in confidence._

"So you want me to see a Mind-Healer too?" Ron asked softly.

"I want you to be better" Lord Greengrass replied. "And if a Mind-Healer can do that for you, then yes I do."

"Alright, my Lord" Ron nodded. "I'll tell the Headmaster that I'm ready to see one…" _I guess giving it a go isn't so bad. Maybe Madam Pomfrey can actually help me control my anger, or even help me make sense of my problems._

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **March 14, 1993 (St. Mungo's – Afternoon)**_

Why was he here again? If Remus knew that he was here again, they would get into another fight. But he couldn't help himself, he had to see **him** again. Sirius walked through the busy, white hallways of St. Mungo's with a vase full of fresh flowers. These visits were fast becoming a habit of his, and it wasn't a healthy one… But then again, Sirius was drawn to anything that negatively affected him. Getting into trouble was in his nature, and so he kept walking. And then, he stopped in front of **his** door. Sirius drew in a sharp breath, and then he opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was spotless and annoyingly white, and it smelled of sterilizing alcohol. The smell burned his sharp sense of smell, but Sirius simply ignored it. Sirius shut the door behind him, and he walked further into the room. Sirius' eyes fell on **him** , and a look of disgust appeared on Sirius' face. _Pathetic bastard._ Sirius moved past **him** , and he put the vase of flowers on **his** nightstand. _At least this gives the room some fucking color, not_ _ **you**_ _would care._ Sirius then let out a tired sigh, and he turned to face his old friend Peter Pettigrew.

Peter was sitting on his wheelchair, like always, and his hollow expression made Sirius frown in even more disgust. This man, this empty shell of a man, was the cause for so much pain in this world. In Sirius' world… But now that he saw Peter in his wheelchair, staring absent-mindedly at a white wall, Sirius felt no hatred for him. He just felt… disgust.

"Thought I'd bring you some more flowers, Peter" Sirius said as he grabbed onto the handles of Peter's wheelchair. "I don't understand how you can stand the sight of these white walls every single day." Sirius then pushed Peter's wheelchair in front of a window, and then Sirius drew open the curtains to let some Sunlight in. "There, this ought to help your pasty complexion a bit. It's a beautiful day outside, not that you care." Sirius walked over to a nearby-chair, and he picked it up and placed it in front of Peter. Sirius then took his seat, the Sunlight hitting his back and Peter's pasty face. Sirius just stared at Wormtail, or what the Dementors had left of him, and he felt his heart beat increase.

"Is this what you wanted, Peter?" Sirius asked the drooling man. "To end up like this… Like some fucking braindead husk of a man? But then again, you were never really a man were you? You were always just a fucking rodent… A rodent that hid in our shadow, a rodent who lived off of our brilliance, a rodent who turned traitor when things got hard, and a rodent who got his 'bests friends' killed to save his own hide. But now look at you. All of that suffering, all that misery that you caused just to save yourself, and yet here you are… Sitting in front of me, drooling like some fucking infant, and you can't even clean your own chin."

"Nothing to say to that?" Sirius asked bitterly, but Peter's shell just stared ahead with empty eyes. "This is what you wanted for me, right? For me to pay for your crimes. For me to get kissed by one of those things, and end up just like you. Well, you failed Peter. I'm free, and I have Harry. I have Remus, and I have people in my life who love me, but you have nothing. You **are** **nothing** …" Sirius glared at Peter's drooling face, and he felt his blood boil at the sight. And before he could stop himself, Sirius leaned forward and grabbed onto the sides of Peter's face.

"Answer me, you fucking cunt" Sirius snarled, his fingers digging into Peter gaunt face. "Are you happy with what you've done to others? Are you happy with what you've done to yourself? Can you even fucking understand me, you bastard? Or is my 'friend' currently residing in the belly of some Dementor? Merlin damn you to hell, Peter. Merlin damn you right into the deepest crevice of Hell, and may you rot in there forever…" Sirius pushed off of Peter's face, his heart beating in his throat. Peter's head drooped forward, and it hung lifelessly. Sirius drew in a sharp breath as he rubbed his own face. And then, Sirius moved Peter's head back into place.

"Damn you for doing this to us, Peter" Sirius said in a hollow, tired voice. "Damn you…" With that, Sirius walked out of Peter's room and into the Janus Thickey Ward. This Ward existed specifically for long-term patients, and Sirius had been paying for Peter's room ever since he got kissed by that Dementor. The visits were a new habit of his. Sirius walked towards the exit, but he stopped as he passed the room with a label reading 'Alice and Frank Longbottom'. Sirius looked at the closed door with a pained look, and then he stared at the handle. He reached for it slowly, but then he stopped midway, his hand dropping back to his side. He had seen enough destroyed friends for one day, and so Sirius left the Hospital.

As Sirius stepped out of the entrance of the Hospital, he reached into his velvet robes and pulled out a packet of smokes. _Another filthy habit._ But this habit was rather unique, and it wasn't entirely his fault. Being from a Pure-Blood Family, Sirius had no clue what 'cigarettes' really were. He knew that they had Tobacco in them, but that was pretty much it. That was until his seventh year, when pure-souled Lily Evans had brought a pack to school. James had just started dating her, and this was the first time that Sirius had seen her truly rebellious side. James was shocked to say the least, but Sirius and Remus had laughed their hearts out.

They had smoked the entire pack in the Shrieking Shack, and Lily had taught them how to do it properly. Remus hated it immediately, it genuinely hurt his powerful senses. Peter took a few drags, and then he coughed for the rest of the night. James and Sirius learnt how to smoke properly, and they rather liked it. The smell was extremely strong for Sirius, but he pushed past that. Lily smoked like a pro, and she could even blow out rings made of smoke. She was the perfect woman in Sirius' opinion, and he told James that constantly.

"If you fuck this up, mate" Sirius spoke to himself, recounting his words to his brother. "Then I'm definitely taking her for myself." With that, Sirius pulled out his wand and lit his cigarette with a tap. He drew in a deep drag as he put his wand back into his robes, and then he exhaled. _Damn, that's nice. I'd better get this smell off me before I go back to Grimmauld Place though, or Remus will know that I've started smoking again. And then he'll crawl into my arse about how I need to be better for Harry's sake._ Sirius smoked the rest of his cigarette in peace as he remembered that night in the Shrieking Shack, as he remembered the better days of his life.

"Sirius, is that you?" came a woman's voice, and Sirius turned to look at the person who had called his name. The woman had light brown hair, wide and kind eyes, she was rather tall for a woman, and she bore the patrician beauty common to the Black Family.

"Andromeda?" Sirius said softly, and the woman smiled widely.

"It is you" Andromeda laughed, her eyes tearing up a bit. Sirius was stunned to see Andromeda for the first time in years. She was his favorite cousin growing up, and the only one that he really considered his family. Because just like him, she didn't hold any disgusting hatred for Muggles and Muggle-Borns in her heart. She had even married a Muggle-Born, Ted Tonks, and was cast out of the Black Family for it.

"Merlin's beard, it's been so long" Sirius managed a smile as he threw away his cigarette. Andromeda walked up and hugged Sirius tightly, and after a brief moment, Sirius embraced her too.

"I read that you were set free, but I didn't know if you were ready to see me yet" Andromeda laughed over his shoulder, and he tightened his hug. This woman was his only blood-related family in the world, family that he loved anyway.

"I can't believe you're here" Sirius laughed as well. "I've missed you, Dromeda."

"I missed you too" Andromeda responded, her voice filled with joy. "I knew they were wrong about you, I even told them. But no one listened, Siri I'm so sorry…"

"It doesn't matter anymore" Sirius comforted her, and after another tight squeeze, he broke the embrace. Andromeda was smiling, but a couple of happy tears had escaped her eyes. "I'm free, and I've got my life back."

"Good" Andromeda put her soft hand on his left cheek. "I'm just… so happy to see you again" she let out another laugh.

"What are you doing here, Dromeda?" Sirius asked her, a wide smile on his face. "I hope nothing is wrong."

"Oh, it's just my foolish daughter" Andromeda chuckled. "You remember little Nymphadora, don't you?"

"Of course I do" Sirius laughed. "Who could forget that little hellion? She was around eight when I last saw her."

"Well, now she's a grown woman" Andromeda laughed. "But she still calls her 'mummy' when something goes wrong."

"When something goes wrong?" Sirius repeated.

"Don't fret, Siri" Andromeda chuckled. "She's training to become an Auror…"

"An Auror?" Sirius asked, his voice showing his excitement. _Little Dora training to become an Auror… Fuck, I'm old._

"Indeed, I could not be more proud" Andromeda smiled. "She was on a shadowing assignment with her Superior Officer, collecting Dark Artefacts for Arthur Weasley's new Muggle Protection Law, and she stumbled onto it."

"Stumbled onto it?" Sirius asked with a chuckle. "Is she still…?" Sirius trailed off.

"An utter klutz?" Andromeda provided with a smile, and Sirius nodded. "She most definitely is" Andromeda laughed. "The Artefact hexed her with some Dark Spell, and it sent her barreling through a door. Don't worry, she's fine. I'm just here to pick her up and take her home… Wait, why don't you join me?"

"Join you?" Sirius repeated, he did like that idea. "I'm not sure…"

"Nonsense, Siri" Andromeda smiled lovingly. "You're family, come along." Andromeda entangled their arms together, and they both walked into the Hospital. "I never asked you, but why are you here Siri? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine" Sirius replied. "I just came here to see Alice and Frank Longbottom."

"That poor couple" Andromeda said, a sad look on her face. "What Bella did to them was just…"

"Dromeda, don't blame yourself for her actions" Sirius cut her off. "You're nothing like her, and you shouldn't even spare her a single thought."

"I know that, Siri" Andromeda responded. "She stopped being my sister the day she threw that Killing Curse at my baby girl…" _I remember that, it was during the Great War. One of our Headquarters were attacked, and that mad bitch led the assault. Andromeda and her family were in that base, and they barely made it out of there alive. Nymphadora was probably four at the time._ "Enough about her, I can't even stomach the thought of her" Andromeda shook her head. "Tell me about yourself, how have you been?"

"I've been getting better every day, Dromeda" Sirius told her. "I moved back into Grimmauld Place…"

"Siri, tell me you didn't" Andromeda gasped. "That place… That place is cursed, you know that. You should just leave it behind."

"It **was** cursed" Sirius said softly. "But Remus and I have completely renovated it. We threw away all the Cursed Items, we repainted the walls, bought new furniture, even knocked down a few walls, and we definitely got rid of that horrid Family Tree."

"Remus Lupin?" Andromeda smiled. "He came back?"

"He came back during my trial" Sirius smiled. "He and I have been living together."

"Living together?" Andromeda teased, and Sirius groaned. "Don't worry, Siri. I know how much you love women. The whole of Hogwarts knew as a matter of fact. Tell me, how is Remus?" _She's always loved teasing me, but that's just another reason why I loved her more than the rest of my family. She wasn't born with a wand up her arse._

"He is doing quite well" Sirius replied truthfully. "He tends to nag me quite often, but without him, I don't know how I would have adjusted to life outside of Azkaban."

"That's good to hear, he was always one of the good ones" Andromeda smiled fondly. "Now tell me, why have you renovated the Black Family Home?"

"I got custody of my Godson, Harry Potter" Sirius replied proudly, and Andromeda gasped.

"Harry Potter?! He'll be living with you from now on?" Andromeda asked. "How ever did you manage that, Sirius? I can't see Dumbledore handing him over to you, despite your relationship with the boy's parents."

"That's a rather funny story" Sirius laughed. "The boy who was responsible for setting me free helped me kidnap Harry from his Muggle Family."

"Kidnap?" Andromeda went a little pale. "You haven't changed a bit, you rogue! So you're a father now, in your own way." Sirius' cheeks flushed a bit, but he nodded proudly.

"At first I wanted to be more of a 'cool uncle' to Harry, but Remus shut that shite down immediately" Sirius chuckled. "I guess we'll both be serving as his 'parents' from now on. And please don't make a crude joke about that, it's far too easy."

"I would never dare" Andromeda chuckled. "And I expect you to tell me this entire 'kidnapping story' after we pick up my daughter." Andromeda pushed open the door to Nymphadora's room, and both of them walked in.

"Finally, mum" Nymphadora sighed as she saw her mother, but then her eyes looked to Sirius. Nymphadora had dark twinkling eyes, a pale heart-shaped face, and shoulder length bubblegum-pink hair. Sirius was honestly lost for words, and Dora's eyes traveled to their linked arms. "Who's he?" Dora asked curtly, her eyes narrowing on Sirius' face. _She's rather adorable when she's trying to look menacing. Merlin have mercy, she was no taller than my hip the last time I saw her._

"Nymphadora, this is Sirius Black" Andromeda said with a slightly scolding tone. "And he's your first cousin, once removed."

"You're Sirius Black?!" Dora's eyes went as wide as saucers, and a huge grin broke out on her face. "Bloody hell, I didn't even recognize you! You look so different from the photos that I saw in the Daily Prophet!"

"And the last time I saw you, you were a tiny little hellion" Sirius chuckled. "But look at you now… A grown woman." Dora kept her grin and she walked over to them, only to trip a little due to her own two feet colliding. "And you're still… a bit clumsy."

"I like to think that it's cute" Dora laughed, and Sirius laughed too. _And she has a sense of humor, that's perfect!_

"Only when you aren't tripping on top of Dark Artefacts, love" Andromeda sighed. "Now let's get you home. Siri, would you… care to join us?"

"I would love nothing more" Sirius smiled genuinely. _Perhaps this day isn't so bad._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Snape's Office – Twenty minutes before Dinner)**_

"Welcome back, Mr. Weasley" Snape drawled as Ron stepped out of the fireplace.

"Good evening, Professor" Ron greeted back. "May I please have my notes back?"

"You may… after we speak" Snape replied, and then he gestured Ron to an empty seat in front of his desk. _Damn, he remembered._ Ron took his seat quietly, and he dreaded whatever Snape was about to say. _Is he mad that I blackmailed him? Or did Malfoy tell him what I did and said?_ "Mr. Weasley, I've noticed your recent… appearance. And so have many of the other staff members, including the Headmaster. As your Head of House, it is my duty to step in when I believe that one of my students is in trouble. Tell me Mr. Weasley, are you in trouble?" _Trouble? I'm always in trouble, and you know that._

"Not really, Sir" Ron lied, but Snape just stared at him. _Stop looking at me like that._ "I'm really stressed…"

"The Tournament" Snape said coldly, and Ron nodded. "I can understand that, but are you sure that's all? You aren't hiding something, are you?" _He knows I am, so I can't lie._

"Just family stuff…" Ron shrugged, and Snape cocked his eyebrow. "They want to Re-Sort me, Ginny is still recovering and I can't do anything to help her, and my brothers and I fought."

"I see" Snape said softly. "I am sorry for your situation with your parents, there is no way for you to help Miss. Weasley, and your brothers are far too emotional." _Was that… Was that supposed to make me feel better? Because I feel worse now. And why won't this headache leave?!_ Ron rubbed his forehead with his left hand, and a groan escaped his lips. "Having a headache, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes, Sir" Ron sighed. "I've been having it for almost a week, it comes and goes. But today it's being particularly persistent."

"You are malnourished, and sleep deprived" Snape frowned deeply. "Is this part of your plan to win the Tournament? To go in handicapped?"

"No, Sir…" Ron muttered, what was Snape's problem? What Ron didn't know was that Snape was currently scolding himself for being so bad at this whole 'comforting' thing.

"I suggest proper meals every day, and no more skipping out on them" Snape said with a softer tone, and Ron looked up. "Yes Mr. Weasley, I have taken notice of your frequent absence during meal times. That will stop at once, understood?"

"Yes, Sir" Ron nodded. _Maybe he's right. I have been skipping meals every now and then, but I just don't feel hungry that often._

"And sleep for Merlin's sake" Snape frowned lightly. "Otherwise you will burn out by the end of next week, or worse."

"Worse?" Ron asked with a worried look.

"You will cause damage to your brain" Snape replied bluntly, and Ron just blinked. "Yes boy, lack of sleep tends to hurt the brain. And a persistent headache is a clear sign of that, so get some sleep tonight. Now come along, I am escorting you to Dinner. You will not skip this meal."

"Yes, Sir" Ron nodded. "May I please have my notes back?"

"They are already in your trunk" Snape replied. "I had an Elf drop them off." _Why didn't you just say so? Oh, wait. He wanted me to talk openly for them._ They both left the Office together, and the trip up was done in silence. Snape wasn't a man of many words, but his presence was undeniable. Maybe it was the fact that he looked like a giant fucking bat as he billowed around the school, or maybe it was the fact that he was the only Professor in Hogwarts that was most likely to smack the shite out of you if you got too uppity. Either way, the way he carried himself demanded respect. _I might regret what I'm about to do, but I can't help myself._

Ron analyzed the way that Snape walked. The Potions Master walked with his shoulder's squared, his head held high, his back straight, and he took long strides. Snape was also just over six feet tall, and that alone made him intimidating. Ron copied Snape's method of walking, and he followed after the Professor like his red-haired shadow. _I feel tougher already, haha._

"Are you trying to get a detention, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked icily, his back still facing Ron. _How the fuck?_

"Sorry, Sir" Ron apologized as he stopped imitating Snape. "I was just thinking that you make for an intimidating figure." Snape shot him a frown, and Ron smiled sheepishly. "I meant that you hold yourself well… And you have nice, square shoulders…"

"Mr. Weasley, please stop talking" Snape ordered curtly.

"Sorry, Sir" Ron apologized again. "Nice long strides too…" Ron whispered to himself, and Snape rolled his eyes. This boy was clearly brain-damaged, Snape was certain of it. How Ronald went from being extremely cunning to downright stupid was beyond Snape at this point, and he had just given up on guessing. Once they entered the Great Hall, Ron saw that it was already full of students.

"Eat properly, I will be watching" Snape said, and then he billowed away. _Look at how his robes flow behind him, spectacular._ Ron smirked to himself, and then he walked over to his friends. He took his usual seat in between Theo and Blaise, and he was taken by surprise when he saw Luna being cuddled by Pansy.

"Luna?" Ron said, a confused look on his face.

"Hello, Ron" Luna gave him an airy smile as Pansy gave her a squeeze. _My sister is not a teddy bear, Pansy._

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked her.

"Waiting for you" Luna replied, but she didn't go on.

"Okay, then…" Ron muttered as he heard Blaise and Theo sniggering. "How was your day?"

"It was okay" Luna smiled. "Helios attacked my house-mates though, so that wasn't fun."

"Helios? What? Please explain" Ron asked, he was now genuinely confused. _He's meant to be watching over Ginny, so what is he doing at Hogwarts? And why is he attacking Ravenclaws?_

"He came to deliver this letter to you" Luna said as she pulled out an unopened letter from her robes. "It's from Ginny, and she told Helios to give it to me if you weren't around. Or at least that's what I think anyway…" Ron took the letter from Luna, and he smiled at it. _Finally, I've been waiting three days to hear from her._

"And he attacked the Ravenclaws because some first year boy threw bits of toast at him" Tracey chuckled. "Kid ended up in the Hospital Wing with some seriously bloody scratches on his face."

"Helios…" Ron sighed to himself. _Maybe that bird needs a Mind-Healer too._

"It's not funny, Tracey" Daphne frowned lightly. "And don't worry Ron, I gave the boy some sweets and apologized on your behalf. He admitted that he shouldn't have angered Helios to begin with, so there's no fallout."

"Thank you, Daph" Ron smiled at her, and she smiled back. They missed Luna's eyes darting between them, and the small smile that graced her lips. Dinner suddenly popped onto the table, and Ron tucked the letter into his robes.

"Aren't you going to read it?" Millie asked.

"Later, right now I need to eat" Ron replied. "Snape is watching me, just have a look."

"Oh shite, he is" Theo said suddenly.

"Theo, don't swear near Luna" Pansy glared at him.

"Tell me Luna, does it bother you?" Theo smirked at her.

"No, I know that cuss words exist" Luna smiled as she made herself a plate of mostly just salads.

"Do you now?" Blaise joined in, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"I do" Luna smiled at him.

"Go on then, share your knowledge with us" Theo sniggered, and the girls glared at him.

"Luna, don't listen to them" Ron sighed. "They're just being idiots."

"Fuck" Luna said suddenly, her voice coming out as extremely adorable. Ron dropped his utensils, a look of horror etched upon his face. Theo burst into laughter, and he had to cover his own face. Blaise was trying not to laugh, but his efforts failed when he saw Ron's face. Tracey was genuinely stunned, Daphne shared the same look of horror as Ron, Millie started choking on her pumpkin juice, and Pansy let go of Luna like she had Dragon-Pox.

"Who taught you this?" Ron muttered, but Luna just smiled airily.

"You're the only person who swears near me" Luna shrugged. "So I guess you taught me." The girls' looks all turned wrathful, and they glared right at Ron. Before Ron could even say a word, he felt strong kicks land on his shins.

"My fucking shins…" Ron squealed, and then even more kicks came. Theo suddenly jerked a bit as well.

"You kicked me, you idiots" Theo grit out. And Luna just laughed softly to herself.

* * *

 _ **March 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room)**_

Ron rubbed his shins, and he shot meek looks at the girls. But there was no sympathy to be found in their eyes. _I'll just read my letter from Ginny, and hope they forget about this by tomorrow._ Ron pulled out the letter, and he opened it for reading.

 _Ronnie,_

 _Percy was just home, and I heard him talking with mum and dad. I had no idea that they were trying to remove you from Slytherin, why didn't you tell me? Now I know why you've been fighting with them, and I'm so sorry. I overheard everything, even some things that I wish I didn't._

 _I know about mum crying after you were born… I know that she was disappointed. I didn't know Ron, and if you ever felt bad because of me, I'm sorry. I didn't know, I promise. And the twins! How could they say that to you?! I'm so angry with them! And I know that mum hit you, and that she sent some nasty letter to you as well._

 _And I know that you're angry at us. But please don't leave. Don't go away, I'm begging you. You might not like us much, but I love you. You're my favorite brother, Ron. You know that's true._

 _I'm going to send this now, mum is knocking at my door again. Please don't leave. I love you._

 _Ginny._

Ron just stared at the letter with utter shock, and he felt his head spin. _Ginny knows about this mess? Why was Percy down there without me? We agreed to do this together. What am I even supposed to say to her? I need to tell her that I'm not leaving her, and I need to do it before she does something that comes back to haunt me._

"I have to go" Ron said as he stood up and tucked Ginny's letter into his robes.

"What? Ron, it is past curfew" Tracey told him, she was surprised by his sudden energy.

"Students can't leave their common rooms after nine, you know that" Daphne said.

"Don't care, I'll see you when I come back" Ron said as he started to leave.

"Do you want us to come with?" Millie asked.

"No" Ron replied, and then he left for the Owlery in a hurry.

* * *

 _ **March 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Common Room)**_

Ron removed his Disillusionment Charm before he entered the common room, and he made his way towards his friends. He got odd looks from people who were probably wondering where he had just come from, but Ron ignored them. He had gone to Owlery and sent an urgent message to Ginny, one that Helios would hopefully deliver by morning. It was a simple 'I'm not leaving you' kind of letter, and it would have to do. Ron was rather annoyed with Percy, and he planned to confront his brother tomorrow. _He'd better have a good reason for going over there without me._

"Ron, where did you go?" Daphne asked immediately, an annoyed frown on her face.

"The Owlery, had to send a letter" Ron shrugged.

"Did something happen to Ginny?" Pansy asked.

"No, she's fine" Ron sighed. "I don't want to discuss this, so enough questions." His friends just sighed and put their questions off for now. _Was that a little harsh? Probably, but I don't I have it in me to discuss this. It's been a long day, and I'm tired._ Ron felt a pang of worry at the prospect of getting another nightmare involving Pansy, and he rubbed his forehead. _Damn this headache._

"Here, Ron" Blaise said as he handed Ron a container with six vials inside. Ron took the container with a confused look.

"What's this?" Ron asked Blaise.

"Carey Ductu handed these to me" Blaise told him, a disinterested look on his face. "She brewed you six vials of Sleeping Draught…"

"Sleeping Draught?" Ron cut him off, and Blaise frowned a little.

"Yes, that is what I said" Blaise replied. "She said that you should have one vial a night, they will help you sleep."

"Why would she give you these, Ron?" Tracey asked, an inquisitive look on her face.

"Because he doesn't sleep" Theo frowned at Ron. "He spends most of his nights awake, and pacing our room."

"What?" Millie asked, a worried look crossing her face. _Damn, here comes more questions._

"It's not like that" Ron sighed.

"Then tell us what it's like" Theo shot back, he looked genuinely irritated with Ron. "If I have to stifle another scream because I woke up to see you hovering over my bed in the middle of the night, I'll hex you."

"Why aren't you sleeping? Is this why you look like… that?" Pansy gestured to his face. _I'm not sleeping because I saw you die in the most disgusting, horrid way possible._

"I'm just a bit stressed" Ron lied. "But I guess I'll finally get some sleep tonight."

"Ron…" Millie started, but Ron cut her off.

"Please stop worrying, it doesn't help me" Ron told them. "These potions will help me, so don't worry about my sleeping problems. Can we talk about something else, please?" Ron's friends exchanged looks, but at least they listened to him. But the look on Daphne's face suggested that this conversation wasn't over yet. "What's everyone doing for the Easter Break? I haven't asked yet."

"Going home" Millie sighed, Ron was clearly done discussing his problems. "Mother and father have an Easter Hunt planned."

"I'm going home too…" Pansy said, her voice slightly subdued. _To her mother._ Ron felt his heartbeat increase, and he barely kept his composure.

"Maybe you should join Millie, or us?" Ron suggested before he could even stop himself, and his friends gave him odd looks.

"I can't" Pansy replied slowly as she gave him a confused look. "We are throwing an Easter Party, one that Millie is invited to. I'd invite you too, but…" she trailed off. _Your mother hates me, I get it._

"Well, I'm spending my break at Tracey's" Theo cut in, Merlin this was awkward.

"Huh?" Ron muttered, and everyone gave Theo shocked looks.

"She didn't tell you?" Theo looked to the girls, and they looked to Tracey.

"I was going to" Tracey frowned at Theo. "And no, I didn't ask him. He asked me." _Why the fuck would he do that? He hates Muggles, and Tracey lives in Muggle London._

"Is that so?" Daphne looked to Theo, and he just shrugged.

"Father is leaving the country all of a sudden, says it's for 'business'…" Theo sighed. "Only problem with that statement is that all of our business is in England, not in other countries. This left me without a guardian, so I asked Tracey if she could host me." _But why Tracey instead of Blaise?_ "And before you ask why I didn't ask Blaise, it's because I couldn't."

"I'm going to Italy… to see my mother" Blaise told them, his gaze facing away from them. _His mother? The woman who abandoned him when he was eight so she could spend her day with an old fling._

"Oh…" the girls all muttered, but Blaise didn't even bother acknowledging them. Ron didn't miss Pansy giving Blaise an extremely worried look, and Ron could guess why. _She fancies him, doesn't she? My vision made that clear enough, as did her behavior at the party._

"Guess we're all going in different directions" Ron sighed.

"Hey, I'm going to Paris with you" Daphne reminded him.

"Hmmm" Ron hummed as he looked at Daphne, and then he turned to Tracey. "Please let me stay with you as well, I'm begging you."

"Ha, okay" Tracey laughed, and Ron grinned. _That's much better._

"I hope you lose the Tournament, Weasley" Daphne frowned, and Ron chuckled.

"I probably will" Ron replied. _Damn Veelas…_

* * *

 _ **March 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Breakfast)**_

Ron stood in front of the stone gargoyle with a deep frown, he didn't know the fucking password. Ron had finally gotten a full night's rest, and he was feeling infinitely better. His headache was gone, his complexion looked better, and his bags were less visible. He had thanked Carey at breakfast, but she had simply given his right cheek a soft pat and given him a sly smile. Those three girls were a mystery to Ron. Not only did they seemingly control the entire house from behind the scenes, but they seemed to genuinely like him. Why else would they help him so much? And yet they had no problem using him for their own gain, damn whatever problems arose for him in the process.

"Move, you piece you shite Gargoyle!" Ron snapped. "Cockroach Cluster, Acid Pop, Licorice Wand, Chocolate Frog…" None of these 'passwords' worked. "Open invitation, my arse! Let me in! I want to learn Wandless Magic!" The gargoyle suddenly moved away at that, and Ron's eyes widened in surprise. _Was 'Wandless Magic' the password? Did he set that for me?_ Ron walked up the stairs, and he knocked on the Headmaster's door.

"Come in, Ronald" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

"How did you know it was me?" Ron asked Dumbledore, and Dumbledore looked at him with twinkling eyes.

"I heard you arguing against the Stone Gargoyle" Dumbledore chuckled heartily, and Ron felt mortified.

"You heard…" Ron said softly. _Great start to the day, Weasley. Love your work._

"I most certainly did, very amusing" Dumbledore kept chuckling. "Please take a seat" Dumbledore gestured to an empty seat in front of his clawed desk. Ron walked up sheepishly, and he took his seat. Dumbledore slowly stopped chuckling, he looked genuinely amused.

"How did you hear me all the way down there?" Ron asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I was listening for your arrival, and I am most glad that I made that decision" Dumbledore chuckled again, and Ron let out a sigh. "You are certainly quick to temper, aren't you?"

"I suppose…" Ron muttered, his ears going red.

"How have you been, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked. "You are certainly looking more rested today."

"I am feeling much better, thank you" Ron nodded. "How are you, Headmaster?"

"Quite well" Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling brightly. "Though I must confess, I am not as available today as I had hoped. I am needed at the Ministry for Gilderoy Lockhart's trial this afternoon, as are the other Professors."

"Does that mean that you can't show me the basics of Wandless Magic?" Ron asked, he was unable to hide his disappointment. Ron would never admit it to Dumbledore, but he had been looking forward to today all week.

"We have time, do not worry about that" Dumbledore smiled. "But before we start, I wish to ask you if you've thought about my suggestion."

"I have" Ron responded. "I am willing to see Madam Pomfrey, just to try it out."

"Excellent, Ronald" Dumbledore beamed, his eyes twinkling in merriment. "Most excellent, you will not regret this decision. I will let her know, and she will let you know when you can start."

"Thank you" Ron sighed, so it was really happening. "Can you please show me the basics now?"

"Eager to learn, that is good" Dumbledore nodded as he stood up, and then he ushered Ron into the middle of the room. Dumbledore then conjured a box of Every Flavored Beans, and Ron smirked at the box. _Conjuring Magic, need to learn that as well. This is really exciting!_ "Now watch carefully, Ronald. Tell me which spell I'm using." Dumbledore faced the palm of his right hand at the box, and several beans floated out of it.

"The Levitation Charm" Ron told him, and Dumbledore nodded. And then, a green bean floated into Dumbledore's left hand while the other beans kept floating. "Accio, the Summoning Charm" Ron told him.

"Excellent work, you're pre-existing knowledge on spells is refreshing" Dumbledore beamed, and then he lowered his right hand and the beans floated back into the box. Dumbledore showed Ron his left palm, and Ron gazed at the green bean. "Wandless Magic is tricky to learn, especially nowadays because wands are so readily available. But when magic was first being discovered, its users channeled it through their bodies. Wands make our spells more focused and potent, they act as conduits to channel our magic through. But Wandless Magic requires one to be their own conduit, and is therefore harder to master."

"But why use it if wands make everything easier?" Ron asked. _Other than the fact that it looks awesome._

"It's true that wands do indeed make using magic easier" Dumbledore smiled. "But wands were not always so readily available. Even now, many countries and cultures do not use wands. The Native Americans do not use wands, most countries in Africa do not use wands, and using wands is even prohibited in some cultures. They are seen as objects that manipulate and distort magic, a force of Creation. Students from Uagadao, the Ugandan Wizarding School, do not use wands. They learn to channel magic wandlessly from a young age, and so they are just as efficient at utilizing magic as Wand Bearers. Uagadao is also the largest of the Eleven Wizarding Schools, so you can see that there are many witches and wizards who do not need wands."

"But if wands make our magic more focused and potent, then why do we Europeans learn Wandless Magic at all?" Ron asked, this didn't make any sense. _Why bother doing things the hard way?_

"Not many do, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled. "But it is a convenient skill to have. Think about this for a moment, what would you do if I disarmed you?"

"I'd try and figure out what possessed me to Duel against Albus Dumbledore" Ron smirked, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"What if I was not Albus Dumbledore, what if I was just an average wizard?" Dumbledore asked.

"Then I'd be in trouble" Ron nodded in understanding. "Wandless Magic gives you the advantage of protecting yourself should you lose your wand."

"Exactly" Dumbledore nodded. "Many witches and wizards during the Great War learnt the basics of Wandless Magic just for that reason alone. Not to mention that being able to cast spells with your free hand during a Duel gives you a much better chance at overpowering your opponent."

"So what are these basics?" Ron asked, he was eager to get started. _If it gives me an advantage in the upcoming war, then I'll take it._

"The first rule of Wandless Magic is to nurture one's imagination" Dumbledore said, his voice becoming sagely. "You must be able to visualize your intent in your mind's eye, and then concentrate on it." Dumbledore looked to the green bean, and it slowly floated just above his palm. "The second rule is to have knowledge on the needed spell, and the strength to cast it." The bean dropped back into his palm, and Ron looked at it with awe.

"I know the spell already, and I think that I can visualize it in my mind" Ron admitted.

"Then you have already ticked the first two boxes" Dumbledore told him. "The third rule is the most important one, you must exercise caution. Wandless Magic puts a heavier strain on the body due to it being used as a conduit, and that is why only the most skilled witches and wizards use it casually. The more difficult the spell, the higher the strain. I must implore you to use absolute caution, Ronald. You are a growing wizard, and your Magical Core is not fully developed yet. Trying powerful spells without a wand can lead to severe exhaustion, and in some cases, death. If you use your own body as a conduit, and you do not have sufficient magic stored in your Core, then your body will take severe damage. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Headmaster" Ron nodded, who knew this was so dangerous? "But spells like the Levitation Charm and the Summoning Charm are alright to practice with?"

"Yes, they should suffice for now" Dumbledore smiled. "They may not be very, how did you put it, 'cool', but they are certainly useful. Simple is often times better, remember that. You do not need to be extravagant to be considered competent, our most recent D.A.D.A Professor is proof of that. Now, let's give you a go shall we? Concentrate on the bean in my palm Ronald, and try to levitate it." Ron focused on the green bean, and he pointed his right palm at it. _Just visualize it floating above Dumbledore's palm._

"Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted, and the bean shook slightly. Ron frowned at it as it just sat in Dumbledore's palm. "Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted again, and the bean once again shook slightly. _C'mon Ron, just picture it floating up. Concentrate on the bean, and nothing but the bean._ "Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted as he thought about the bean floating up, and the bean shook more than before. But it didn't float up. "Why isn't it working?" Ron asked Dumbledore, and Dumbledore chuckled in response.

"Wandless Magic is not a simple thing to master, Ronald" Dumbledore replied. "Your body is not used to being your magic's conduit, and believe me, that only comes with time and practice. Start with a small object like this bean, and build up from there."

"But I can already cast a Wandless spell" Ron sighed, and then he immediately regretted his words. _That spell is Dark Magic. Fucking hell, Weasley._

"The spell you used to summon that ethereal serpent" Dumbledore nodded slowly, and Ron blinked at him.

"You know…" Ron muttered.

"Ronald, you cast that spell in the middle of the Great Hall" Dumbledore chuckled. "So yes, I know. Tell me, how long did you practice that spell for?"

"For just over a month" Ron admitted, there was no point in lying now. "It came to me rather… easily. I still picture the snake coming into existence, but it sort of just does what I want it to. It's hard to explain, but it's like it knows what my intent is…"

"That is… curious" Dumbledore rubbed his chin as he adored a contemplative look.

"Curious, Headmaster?" Ron asked softly. Dumbledore let out a soft sigh, and the he gazed into Ron's eyes.

"Certain people have an affinity for the Dark Arts, Ronald" Dumbledore replied softly, the twinkle in his eyes gone. "And no, that does not make them 'evil' or 'cruel'. It just means that the Dark Arts align with their… personality."

"But doesn't that mean that I'm… dark?" Ron asked, he was now getting worried. It was true that Ron had an explosive temper, which had always been the case, but recently… Recently he had come to realize that he enjoyed causing damage to others. _Like I did with Potter, and now Malfoy too._ Ron was pulled out of his thoughts when Dumbledore placed his right hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"It is our choices that determine what kind of person we are, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled softly. "Having an affinity for the Dark Arts does not make you a bad person, but using them to hurt the innocent does. And everyone is entitled to a few mistakes, otherwise we would never learn a thing. Even the best of us have to live with some sort of regret, don't forget that."

"You told me that the Dark Arts corrupt people, remember?" Ron argued.

"They do, but that does not mean that you cannot resist" Dumbledore replied. "It does not mean that you cannot feel remorse. Only a truly lost soul feels no regret from hurting others, and I know that you are not like that." There was a sudden loud knocking on Dumbledore's door, and the Headmaster sighed at the interruption. "Come in" Dumbledore said, and Hagrid ducked into the Office.

"Headmaster, I was just…" Hagrid started, but he stopped when he spotted Ron. Hagrid's eyes went to Dumbledore's hand on Ron's right shoulder, and then they went to Ron's worried look. "I 'aven't interrup'ed anthin', 'ave I?"

"Do not worry, Hagrid" Dumbledore smiled at the giant man as he turned to face him, his hand abandoning Ron's shoulder. "What may I do for you?"

"I was just thinkin' that yer might need me" Hagrid said in his booming voice. "Fer the trial today, that is. I could tell them at the Ministry about Lockhart, and what a fool he was."

"There won't be any need for that, Hagrid" Dumbledore said. "But I will be leaving the students in your care because all the Professors will be at the trial." Hagrid's chest puffed out a bit, and he smiled widely.

"I won' let yer down, Sir" Hagrid smiled. "Those kids will be safe with me, I promise." _Wow, he bought that? It's clear that Dumbledore just threw him a bone after telling him that he wasn't needed. That's something that every Slytherin would spot in a heartbeat._

"I know they will be, Hagrid" Dumbledore smiled, and Hagrid bid the Headmaster goodbye.

"Come 'round to me hut, Ron" Hagrid as he began to leave. "Would love to 'ave yer over again."

"I will make sure to do that" Ron smiled, and then Hagrid left the Office.

"Again?" Dumbledore smiled at Ron. "Is this when you helped Harry and his friends smuggle that Dragon?"

"Headmaster, it was only me who committed that crime" Ron lied. _MIND-READER! I need to invest in this 'Occlumency' magic as well._ Dumbledore smiled widely at that.

"How forgetful of me, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled. "Forgive this old man's failing memory, I sometimes mix things up. Now, I want you to keep practicing until I have to leave. If you need help, I will be at my desk." Dumbledore then handed Ron the green bean. "And do not eat them yet" Dumbledore beamed.

* * *

 _ **March 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Lunch-Time)**_

Ron made his way down to the Great Hall, and he was famished. He had spent almost five hours practicing the Wandless Levitation Charm, and he had made very little effort. Dumbledore's words about his affinity for the Dark Arts persisted in his mind, and they felt like an itch that he couldn't scratch. Ron hadn't failed to notice that Dumbledore's words had changed now. The first time he had spoken to Ron about the Dark Arts, he had explained that the Dark Arts warped people's minds. And now he was saying that Ron could resist, and that he knew that Ron wasn't an evil person. _How does he know that? He doesn't know that I enjoyed hurting Potter and Malfoy. He doesn't know that I felt like they deserved it._

Ron entered the Great Hall, and his eyes went straight towards Percy. His older brother was talking to Colin Creevey about something, and Ron let out a tired sigh. After finally getting a good night's rest, Ron wasn't really angry with Percy anymore. Despite Percy's mistake, Ron knew that his brother was only looking out for him. And that felt good. So Ron wasn't going to get into a fight with him, he was just going overlook Ginny finding out everything. _Fighting Perce won't make Ginny forget, it'll only ruin what little progress we've made._ Ron went straight towards his friends, and he took his usual seat.

"That was a long meeting" Pansy said immediately. "What did Dumbledore want?"

"We ended up playing chess" Ron lied, he wanted to keep his new training a secret for now. Ron knew the advantages of having tricks up one's sleeve that no one knew about. "And before you ask, I lost."

"Hardly surprising" Theo shrugged. "That's Albus Dumbledore, mate. Greatest Wizard since Merlin himself, and all that."

"So what did you guys get up to?" Ron asked them as he began making his plate.

"Millie beat Theo and Blaise in an arm-wrestling contest" Pansy giggled while Tracey outright laughed.

"Did she now?" Ron smiled widely as he looked at his best friends.

"You are more than welcome to challenge her yourself, Weasley" Blaise frowned.

"I'll pass" Ron chuckled. "I know the benefits of not biting off more than I can chew."

"Your eating habits would say otherwise" Theo smirked, and Ron feigned hurt.

"Don't mind them, Ron" Millie smirked at Theo. "They're just upset that a girl beat them, especially after they challenged said girl."

"I didn't challenge you, Theo did" Blaise said curtly. "I just got mixed up in his mistake."

"Either way, I'm the champion" Millie laughed.

" _ **Champion…**_ " the Entity's voice echoed in Ron's head, and Ron dropped his utensils.

"Ron?" Daphne asked, her eyes fixed on his suddenly horrified face. "Ron, what's wrong? You've gone deathly pale."

"I'm… I'm fine…" Ron muttered, and then he swallowed thickly. "Just… a headache…" _What the fuck was that?!_

"Are you sure?" Tracey asked, the humor in her voice gone.

"I'm sure" Ron said as he picked up his utensils. "I'm still a bit under the weather, that's all."

"You should eat, Ron" Pansy advised softly. "It will make you feel better."

"Ron?" came a boy's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Cedric Diggory and Max McDean.

"Hey guys, what can I do for you?" Ron smiled at them, he was still panicking internally. _Why did I just hear that… that_ _ **thing**_ _?!_

"Madam Pomfrey asked us to give you this" Cedric replied as he handed Ron a note, and Ron pocketed it immediately. _In fucking public, really?_

"Why were you with her?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"We volunteer in her Wing during weekends" Max smiled at Ron.

"Hufflepuffs" Ron grinned, and both Hufflepuffs chuckled.

"Guilty as charged" Cedric smiled. "Take care, Ron." And with that, both boys walked off towards their house table.

"Why are they handing you a note from Pomfrey?" Blaise asked immediately. "Are you sick? Hurt?"

"Ease up, mate" Ron chuckled, he couldn't let them know about this. "It's just a sick note in case I need it for tomorrow's classes."

"So you are sick" Pansy sighed.

"No, I'm stressed" Ron corrected her. "It's just in case I feel overwhelmed, that's it."

"You mean if you have another panic attack?" Daphne asked, her expression showing her concern. Something was definitely happening with Ron, and she was going to find out. No one should be an island, everyone needed allies. Especially someone like Ron.

"Yeah, I suppose" Ron shrugged. "But c'mon guys, I'm fine. I even look better, see" Ron gestured to his face. "Now, can we please eat and talk about how Millie is tougher than Theo and Blaise put together."

"Put together?" Theo frowned. "Where did you pull that out of?"

"C'mon mate, we all know it's true" Ron smirked at Theo. "And you know it too."

"What I know is that you're a prick" Theo shot back, and Ron grinned.

"Never said that I wasn't."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **March 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

Merlin, what had gotten into Ron lately? He had finally convinced them all to try practicing some self-defense spells with him, and now he was pushing them too hard. Daphne had already started sweating… SWEATING! The Heiress of the proud Greengrass Family had sweat on her brow, and in her armpits. _This is unacceptable. Mother would be so disappointed if she saw me like this. Ugh… And I reek of sweat._ Daphne shot a look to Pansy, and she saw that her friend was equally distressed.

"Ron, can we please stop this?" Daphne asked him, and he frowned at her.

"Daph, we just started" Ron replied.

"We've been at this for two fucking hours, mate" Theo groaned, he was lying down in the sand. "And unlike the girls, you aren't taking it easy on Blaise and me."

"Nonsense" Ron argued. "Millie's keeping up, look." Daphne looked to a sweaty Millicent, and the girl smiled tiredly. She had sweat all over her face, and she looked exhausted.

"She's done, Ron" Blaise told the red head. "She just won't admit it."

"I'm fine" Millie lied, her shaky voice giving it away.

"Well, I'm done" Tracey groaned, Ron had just recently disarmed and floored her. "All you're doing is knocking us around."

"I'm trying to teach you a simple Shield Charm" Ron frowned at Tracey. "It's not that hard, Blaise and Theo got it easily enough."

"We're not them" Tracey frowned back at Ron. "I'm done…" Ron's expression suddenly became dark, and Tracey immediately lost her frown. _I need to step in before he bites her head off._

"Ron, we can continue practicing tomorrow" Daphne said quickly, she really didn't want Ron losing his temper at Tracey. "We just need rest, and so do you." Ron looked at Daphne, his ocean blue eyes piercing through her.

"Fine, go have your rest" Ron said coldly, and then he turned towards a dummy and started practicing again. Daphne shot a quick look to Tracey, and she that her best friend was rubbing her forehead in a tired fashion. Theo was the first to get up and leave, then it was Pansy, then Blaise, and then Millie. They all left the Sanctuary, they knew that it was best to leave Ron alone when he got like this. Daphne walked up to Tracey, and she put a light hand on Tracey's back.

"Go, before he gets angrier" Daphne whispered.

"I didn't mean it…" Tracey whispered back, a guilty look on her face.

"It's okay, Trace" Daphne whispered. "I'll talk to him, and I'll tell him that on your behalf." _That is if he doesn't chew me out. Whenever he's like this, the smallest thing will make him explode._ Tracey nodded, and then she too left the Sanctuary. Once Daphne heard the door close, she looked to Ron's back. He was casting stunners and the Disarming Charm in quick succession, his voice chanting out every spell. "Ron, can we talk please?" Daphne called out, and he stopped moving.

"Don't you want some 'rest'?" Ron spat out, his back facing her.

"Don't talk to me like that, not when we're alone" Daphne shot back, and he turned around to face her. She was surprised to see that he had a blank expression on his face, but his gaze was piercing. _Don't give him an inch, Daphne. No weakness._

"All I'm doing is trying to help you lot, but you can't even be bothered putting in an effort" Ron said coldly.

"We trained for two hours, Ron" Daphne argued. "Not all of us have your stamina."

"You mean you're all lazy" Ron shot back, and Daphne felt a frown form on her lips. "You think I'm not tired? Because I am. But unlike you, I don't just give up when things get a bit rough."

"Maybe if you told us why you're suddenly doing this, we'd be more inclined to practice" Daphne huffed as she put her hands on her hips. She didn't miss Ron's eyes scanning her quickly, but she was in no mood for their games today.

"I **have** told you" Ron replied, his eyes focused on hers again.

"The Dark Lord might return" Daphne recounted his words. "'Might' being the operative word in this scenario of yours."

"It's a fact" Ron said firmly. "Not some hypothetical scenario that I'm throwing out there. And if you need proof, here…" Ron pulled his left sleeve back and showed her his serpent-trail scars. Daphne flinched at the sight of them, but she immediately regretted that. His scars **did** scare her, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Ron, where is this coming from?" Daphne sighed. "You weren't like this before the party, and now you're… acting very odd. Is this about Malfoy? I've seen you two looking at each other, you know. Sometimes you both look away, but sometimes you two just hold eye-contact. What happened with him Ron, what did you say?"

"I told him that I should've let him die in the Forbidden Forest…" Ron admitted, his stare still piercing.

"What? Why?" Daphne asked, she had lost her composure for a second.

"It just… came out" Ron shrugged.

"Did you… did you mean it?" Daphne asked softly. _He wouldn't, Ron's not like that._

"In the moment, I did" Ron replied. "But now, no." _Thank Merlin._ "I'm not trying to 'knock you guys around', I'm trying to help you."

"Ron, Tracey didn't mean that" Daphne told him. "She was just frustrated, and now she's probably really guilty about making you angry. You know that she adores you, right?"

"If she adored me, she'd listen" Ron sighed, his gaze losing its sharpness. "She can't even maintain a Shield Charm for more than ten seconds… She just gives up at the first sign of making an effort. I thought that if I showed her what happens if you let your guard-down, then maybe she'd finally try."

"She did try" Daphne said firmly. "But we've never done this sort of thing before. We know the spells, but we don't practice them regularly like you do."

"Why don't you?" Ron asked. "It's just common sense, isn't it? To be stronger."

"Ron, how many people do you think train like you?" Daphne narrowed her eyes on him. "I'll tell you, none. They might sharpen their skills every now and then, but they don't frequently train for hours on end. Not even Potter does that, and he's the Boy-Who-Lived." Something glinted in Ron's eyes at the mention of Potter, and Daphne blinked at him. "What?"

"Nothing, you've just never used Potter as an example before" Ron replied.

"Well, he was the best one I could think of" Daphne responded. _Is he annoyed at me for using Potter as an example? Why?_

"Potter **should** train like this every day" Ron said to himself, an odd look appearing on his face. _And the annoyance is gone… I wish that I could see into his brain sometimes, at least then I'd be able to keep up with him._ Ron then looked at her in an analyzing way, and Daphne felt a little self-conscious.

"What is it?" Daphne asked, not showing any sign of her insecurities. _I'm sweaty, dirty, my hair is a mess, and my underwear is filled with sand. Stop staring at me!_

"Want to Duel?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him. _Seriously, how does his brain work?_

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"I want to see if you've learned anything" Ron took on an aggressive stance.

"I don't want to Duel, Ron" Daphne said.

"Afraid?" Ron smirked.

"No" Daphne huffed. _I'd be an idiot if I wasn't._

"I'll go easy on you" Ron kept smirking.

"I don't need your pity, Weasley" Daphne frowned deeply. "You want a Duel? Fine…" Daphne took on a defensive stance. _There's about seven feet between us, so I need to shield myself and move back a bit. More distance means that I have more time to react to his spells._

"On the count of three then" Ron said, his smirk disappearing. "One… two… three!"

"Protego" Daphne chanted, and she immediately felt a stunner slam into her shield. It exploded against the transparent shield, and Daphne's vision was briefly blocked by a bright red light. Daphne went to move back immediately, but as her eyes refocused, Ron was already in her face. _Damn, what is…?_ Her thoughts were interrupted as Ron grabbed onto her right wrist, and he pulled her arm up. Daphne lost her footing, but he put his left arm around her back to steady her. Ron then put her right arm behind her back, and he held her in a hug.

"There's no contact in Dueling" Daphne frowned at him, his face hovering above hers. "Let go of me." She began to squirm, but she could barely move.

"If I was trying to kill you, then you'd…" he trailed off, his expression slightly unhappy. Daphne stopped squirming, and she just stared at his face. _Trying to kill me?_

"Ron…" Daphne managed to squeak out.

"The first thing I told you was to never block any spells if you can dodge them" Ron told her. "That was the very first thing I said, and yet you immediately cast a Shield Charm. And while you blocked that, I closed the distance." _I forgot how quick he can be… He does run every morning…_ "Your enemies won't care about 'no contact', Daph…"

"I don't have enemies…" Daphne said softly.

"You will one day…" Ron responded, and then he let her go and walked back towards the dummy. "Leave me, I want to practice in peace." Daphne just stared at his back as she massaged her right wrist, his hold had hurt her a bit. Daphne turned around and walked out of the Sanctuary, and she slammed the door shut behind her. _He's such a git! What's his problem?! He wanted to Duel, and then he gets angry with me for trying to block a stunner?!_ Daphne stomped down towards the dungeons, and she was grateful that no one commented on her haggard appearance.

She had to send a letter to her father, something was definitely wrong with Ron lately. And if he wouldn't talk to her about it, then she'd tell her father. _I bet he'll tell my Lord Father, because apparently, I'm not good enough!_

"Cobra" Daphne spat at the entrance, and it slid open to reveal the common room. Daphne stomped inside, and went straight towards her dorm. The last thing she wanted was for everyone else in Slytherin to see her like this. As Daphne marched past some first years, she heard them sniggering. Daphne shot them a hateful glare, and they shut up immediately. _That's what I thought._ Daphne walked up to her room, and she burst in and shut the door behind her.

"Daph, you're back" Tracey smiled hopefully, she looked clean from her recent shower. "Is he still…"

"All he wanted was for you to make an effort, Tracey" Daphne hissed, and Tracey flinched. "But no, you would rather mess around and spoil his mood instead."

"Daphne, what's gotten into you?" Pansy asked. "Don't talk to Tracey like that."

"He's right, you know" Daphne told them, her anger at Ron coming out on them. "We wouldn't last more than five seconds against him, and that's just pathetic." With that, Daphne marched into the bathroom and she shut the door behind her. _That was really stupid of me…_ Daphne put her head against the door, and she sighed. _I didn't even last five seconds. I'm pathetic._ Daphne locked the door, and then she turned to look in the mirror. A gasp escaped her lips at the sight. The right side of her hair was a rat's nest, her clothes were dirty and disheveled, and she had sweat marks on her face. Daphne took a sniff of herself, and she gagged. _Merlin…_

"He probably smelled me too…" Daphne mumbled, and then she sighed again. She then began to undress, and she quickly hopped into the shower. The hot water was a blessing, and she felt all of her tension wash away. Once she was done, she realized that she hadn't brought a spare change of clothes with her. _I might kill someone tonight._ Daphne dried her hair with a Drying Charm, and she covered herself with a green towel. As she stepped out of the bathroom, she braced herself for an argument. But she was spared from one because the girls had left.

"I don't blame them" Daphne said to herself, and then she walked over to her desk. She sat down on her chair, and she crossed her legs. There was already a piece of parchment at the center of the desk, and she reached over and pulled her quill out of the inkpot. But she didn't write anything down. _So I just send father a letter every time that I need help? That's just… lazy. That's what Ron called me. Lazy._ Daphne frowned to herself, and she put the quill back in the inkpot. "Just give him time, and then try again later" Daphne told herself. "He's incredibly stressed because of this Veela business, and he needs to focus on his chess career. I'll just give him his space, Merlin knows that I need mine right now."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **March 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Sanctuary)**_

He shouldn't have gotten that angry with them, but he had. Why couldn't they just listen? He told them that the Dark Lord would return, but they still didn't listen! What kind of logic was driving this idiotic behavior?! Didn't their Slytherin traits tell them that this was the best way to preserve their own safety? Because Ron's did. Ron let out a tired groan, and then he kicked the dummy over.

"Take that, you Dark Lord" Ron spat out. "Fucking piece of shite…" Maybe he did need to see a Mind-Healer. He was picturing people that he hated whenever he attacked the dummies, and that couldn't be healthy. He'd see Bellatrix, the woman who killed Malfoy and his father in cold blood. He'd see Pansy's mother, a woman who killed her own daughter. And he'd see Quirrell, because he had no fucking idea what the Dark Lord looked like.

Ron pulled out Pomfrey's note, and he gazed at the message. 'We will start our first session after the Easter Break ends. Come to the Hospital Wing after classes end on Monday, the 6th of April.' Ron let out another groan as he tucked the note into his pant's pocket, and he felt something solid hit his fingers.

"What the…" Ron muttered as he pulled out the small solid object, and his eyes widened when he saw it. "My Hogwarts pin… How did he…?" Ron was baffled at the sight, but a small smile broke onto his face. "Crafty old codger" Ron chuckled. Ron then put the pin on the ground, and he pointed his right palm at it. Practice makes perfect, and he would be perfect when the time came.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And it's done! Now, I know that my last three chapters were over 20,000 words. And I know that many of you are busy too, so I'll go back to their normal 12,000 to 15,000 word limit. This is better for me too, because damn this shit getting tough. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that. Not much action, but Ron is beginning to set out a plan for himself.**

 **Next chapter will start with a small time jump, I want to get right into Paris! So, get keen. Ron gets to see more of Paris, and he finally sees Beauxbatons. Another small hint, both Greengrass sisters won't be happy that Sebastian is hogging Ron to himself.**

 **Also, I'm changing the days on which I upload. From now on, I'll upload every Wednesday, and Saturday!**

 **See you guys next time!**


	48. Chapter 48 - Beauxbatons

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 48 is finished early! And here it is! We've gone back to the usual word limit, and that has definitely made it easier on me. Thank you all for your understanding =) Now, a couple of things.**

 **1\. I took the liberty of creating my own version of Beauxbatons. Mostly because there is literally nothing on it in the HP Canon story. I mean, there are snippets, and I've used that, but nothing major. It is definitely more 'Magical' than Hogwarts, but a lot smaller.**

 **2\. As some of you may know already, I have been given Inspiration Credit by one of the fans of this story. I am truly humbled by that, and I would like to show my support to them. Their name is ROWLINGRON Lover, and their story is called 'Slytherin Weasley: The Cursed Child'. So check it out if you have the time, and show them some support and love. They are, as their name suggests, a Ron fan!**

 **3\. If you find any typos in this chapter, please let me know. FanFiction is being a dickhead, and for some reason, it's fucking with my uploads... Thanks in advance.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 48 – Beauxbatons**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday March 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Hogwarts Express – Midday)**_

Easter Break had finally started, and the students were all on the Hogwarts Express home. Ron on the other hand wasn't actually going home. He was going straight to Greengrass Manor with Daphne, and tomorrow he'd be taking a Portkey to the Greengrass holiday house in Paris. A holiday house… The mere fact that there were families out there that had houses designated to just holidays baffled Ron, mostly because his own family lived in an overcrowded shack. Ron loved the Burrow, but the more time he spent with his friends, the more he came to realize just how different his upbringing was to theirs. Even Tracey's family had a holiday house in Argentina, and they weren't exactly loaded with Galleons. Having a holiday house was quite common, and yet Ron couldn't even grasp the concept.

Either way, he would be spending his entire holidays with the Greengrass Family. And Ron preferred it that way. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to see Pandora and Xenophilius again, or Remus and Sirius, but there was also no doubt in his mind that he didn't want to see his parents. The mere thought of them grated his nerves, and the fact that he had to wait to see Ginny after the Break wasn't helping. But he'd rather wait than see his mother and father. They would no doubt try to convince him to leave his friends behind, and Ron didn't want to put up with that.

There was a sudden jerk on the train, and Ron's eyes opened. _Damn, I must've dozed off._ Ron noticed that his body was leaning on someone else's, and so he tilted his head up to see who his victim was. Pansy was smiling down at him, her face awfully close to his. _Not a bad sight to wake up to if I do say so myself._

"Morning, sunshine" Pansy giggled, and Ron sat up groggily.

"Sorry, Pans" Ron yawned.

"I don't mind" Pansy smiled. "You can go back to sleep if you want, I'll be your pillow."

"I think he's awake" came Daphne's voice, and Ron looked to see her sitting across from him. "Aren't you, Ron?" _I am now, I'd rather not be killed in my sleep._

"Yeah, I'm awake…" Ron replied, though he did want to go back to sleeping on Pansy. _She was so comfortable._ "What's the time? How far are we from King's Cross Station?"

"It is Midday" Theo replied as he checked his silver pocket watch, and Ron remembered that he had a Rolex himself. "We won't get there until five 'o'clock, so plenty of time to chat." Ron looked around the slightly crowded compartment, and he noticed that Blaise, Millie, and Tracey were asleep. Tracey was sleeping on Ron's left, while Millie and Blaise were sleeping next to Daphne. Blaise was leaning on Millie, which was unusual because Blaise hated physical contact with others.

"Look at that, Blaise is leaning on Millie" Ron smirked. "Isn't that cute?"

"That's funny coming from you" Pansy chuckled. "You drooled on my shoulder."

"Did I?" Ron flushed a bit.

"You did" Daphne replied. "Quite a lot of drool… Were you having a nice dream, Ron? You certainly made some amusing sounds." _Did I have a nice dream? No, not that I can remember._

"I was dreaming of the Veelas" Ron lied with a smirk. "Paris is going to be lovely." _Time to do my favorite thing in the world, poke the Greengrass Heiress._

"I'm sure it is" Theo chuckled. "But you do realize that those birds are out to get you, right?"

"Hey, attention is attention" Ron shrugged. "Can't say I've ever been chased by 'birds' before."

"Have you ever been fired before? Because that is what my father plans to do if you lose" Daphne frowned slightly. _I love poking her, she's too easy to annoy._

"Then I guess we won't be spending the Holiday Break together" Ron sighed, and he noticed Daphne blink at him.

"You can always come to Tracey's" Theo suggested, he had caught onto Ron's game. "She was telling me that you have an open invitation."

"Well, that's settled then" Ron smiled at Theo. "When I lose due to the Veelas, and Lord Greengrass fires me, I'll come right on over."

"Ron, stop being mean" Pansy scolded. "You've been up for five minutes, and you're already causing trouble."

"That's why you love me" Ron grinned, and then he felt someone cling to his left arm. Ron looked to his left, and he noticed Tracey cuddling him in her sleep with a smile.

"Ha, guess it's your turn now" Pansy chuckled. "Have fun, Tracey won't be waking up anytime soon."

"You could always just wake her up yourself" Theo said rather quickly.

"I agree with Theo" Daphne nodded. "She will be really embarrassed when she finds out what she did in her sleep."

"I doubt it" Pansy responded. "She's always giving him hugs and kisses in public, so this is nothing new." Ron could've sworn that the temperature in the compartment dropped, and that Daphne was the cause. Sadly for Ron, only he seemed to notice Daphne's irritation. He had been watching her more closely ever since they started their new dynamic, and he had to admit, Daphne seemed to have an iron-will. He knew that it bothered her greatly when other girls got too close to him, but she never openly complained about it anymore. Something that really showed Ron just how much she had improved over the last two years. If this was the Daphne of last year, then they'd all be dead right now.

"It was just a suggestion" Daphne shrugged, and then she looked out the window. Ron felt a pang of guilt at that, maybe he shouldn't press that button anymore. She was clearly trying to better herself and not act jealously anymore, and a good friend ought to be helping her, not hindering her.

"Trace, wake up" Ron said softly as he shook her a little.

"Mmm" Tracey hummed in her sleep, and then she hugged his arm more tightly. Ron's face went red as he felt his left arm snuggle in between her developing chest, and he kicked himself internally. _Ronald Weasley: How to make life worse for yourself. That would be the title of my autobiography._ Ron was about to wake her up, but there was a sudden knock at the door.

"Come in" Theo called, and the door slid open. Potter, Longbottom, and Hermione stood in the doorway, and Hermione's eyes landed straight on Tracey cuddling Ron. _Thank you, Universe. You ever expanding son of a bitch._

"Oh…" Hermione managed, and Ron just kept a straight face. _What are the odds that this happened to me?_

"Hello, you three" Ron smiled at them. "What can I do for you?"

"We just wanted to talk to you about something" Potter said, his eyes lingering on Tracey as well. "But we can come back later."

"Nonsense" Ron smiled, and then he shook Tracey again. "Trace, wake up please. I need you to let go of my arm." Tracey's eyes opened groggily, and she looked at his face. But rather than letting him go, she smiled mischievously.

"Morning, handsome" Tracey cooed, her eyes still barely open.

"Ahem" Hermione fake coughed, and Tracey turned to look at her. _Big mistake, Hermione._

"Granger?" Tracey smiled. "Do you want to burrow **my** Ron?"

"My… Ron…" Hermione muttered, and Ron nearly frowned. _Daphne is probably eyeballing me._ Ron shot a quick look to her, but she was just looking out the window. _I'm an arsehole, and I need to apologize. She's doing her best to not give into her jealous tendencies, and I'm just poking her for no reason. No more of that, I promise._

"Alright, Tracey" Ron said as he shook his left arm. "No more of that." Tracey let go of his arm, and Ron stood up and walked out of the compartment. "What do you guys need?" Ron asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Well, I know that we haven't spoken much since we made up" Potter said, his eyes focused on Ron's. "I mean, you and Hermione have… Because you study together and all…"

"What Harry is trying to say is that we want to try and be friends again" Longbottom jumped in, and Ron just blinked at him. "And I'm hosting Harry and Hermione at my house over the Break… I was wondering if you'd like to come too."

"I can't" Ron replied. "I have a Junior League Tournament to compete in at Beauxbatons, and you already know that."

"Oh, we do" Longbottom nodded. "But this will be happening on the weekend before school starts again…" Ron shot a quick look at their features to analyze their true intent. Potter looked rather hopeful, as did Longbottom, but Hermione seemed to be averting her gaze. _Tracey, I'm going to kill you._

"I still can't" Ron told the truth. "I'm spending the entire holiday in Paris, and I only come back on Saturday night. And then on Sunday, we have to catch the train back. Sorry, Long…" Ron stopped abruptly. He had just realized that he was no longer even using their names when he spoke to them. He didn't want to call them Potter and Longbottom, nor did he want to call them by their first names. "Sorry, Neville." _Blaise and Theo are right, I need to move on. If they can try, then so can I._

"Oh, it's alright" Neville smiled softly, he had noticed Ron's slip up. "Maybe next time?"

"Definitely" Ron replied, and he managed a small smile. Pot… Harry look a bit disappointed, Neville looked understanding, and Hermione was still averting her eyes. "Is there anything else?"

"Sirius wanted me to invite you over too" Harry added. "But I'll tell him that you're busy with work… Merlin, you actually work" Harry chuckled a bit, and Ron just blinked at him. "I mean, it's just a bit mental you know. You're our age, but you work. As in an actual job, like a grown up…"

"Harry" Hermione said, and Harry stopped his raving.

"Sorry, Ron" Harry smiled sheepishly. "I just want to… move on, you know. To not feel… awkward around you anymore."

"I know" Ron replied softly, he understood Harry's nervousness. A lot had happened between them this year, and the fact that Harry was trying to push forward was actually quite admirable. Ron could see why Harry was in Gryffindor, it took real courage to admit one's mistakes. That was personally Ron's biggest problem, he was too stubborn. _Don't whine, be better. That's what Lord Greengrass would say. So be better, Ron._ "I want to get past this awkwardness too, so how about we spend more time together at school?"

"Really?" Harry smiled, and Ron nodded. "Sure, that'd be great. We could fly around on the pitch together, that'd be fun."

"Alright" Ron smiled as well. "What are you plans for the holidays?"

"I'm spending my holidays with Sirius and Remus" Harry smiled, he looked extremely happy about that fact. "Neville and his Grandmother are hosting some sort of Egg Hunt, and we're invited. And Hermione has plans with her parents."

"Plans with her parents?" Ron asked Hermione for more clarification.

"They want to spend time with me after… you know" Hermione said softly.

"The attack" Ron sighed. "That's fair enough, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright" Hermione smiled a little. "What about your parents? Are they coming to your Tournament?" _They don't know about my situation, do they?_

"Um… No" Ron shook his head. "They need to take care of Gin, and they've got their hands full with my brothers." _And I don't want them there. It'll just turn into something else that I have to worry about._

"Oh, that's understandable" Neville smiled. "We'd better get going, good luck in your Tournament Ron." The door suddenly slid open, and Daphne emerged from the compartment. Ron took a step back to make room, while Daphne closed the door behind her.

"Daph, everything alright?" Ron asked, and she looked to him with a calm look.

"I just want to get something from the trolley" Daphne replied.

"Oh, I'll come with you" Ron smiled, and then he turned to the Trio. "I'll see you guys later."

"Alright" Harry smiled. "Take care, and good luck again." With that, the Trio started making their way back to the Gryffindor carriage. Ron didn't miss Hermione shooting him a quick look, and he gave her a slow wave. But she didn't return it, and then all three of them were gone. _Tracey needs to stop pushing Hermione, even though I've already told Hermione that it's not like that._

"Trouble in paradise?" Daphne asked coldly, and Ron shrugged.

"She thinks that I'm dating Tracey" Ron told Daphne, and then he looked at her. She had the 'Ice-Queen' persona in place, just like she always did in public.

"I could see that, considering your behavior" Daphne responded, and then she turned to leave. Ron followed her for a bit, and when they were further away from their compartment, he put his left hand on her right shoulder to stop her. Daphne turned to her right and just stared at him, her face expressionless.

"Daphne, I'm really sorry about that" Ron apologized. "I was trying to be funny, but I can see how I came off as an arsehole instead. I shouldn't act like that, especially since we're… trying different things together…" _Didn't stick the landing there, Weasley._

"Whatever" Daphne said coldly, and then she went to leave but Ron stopped her.

"I'm sorry, I won't act like that again" Ron said firmly. "I promise." Daphne turned back to him, she was still the Ice-Queen. _A stupid nickname. Daphne isn't some cold hearted banshee, but people love labeling others._

"Good" Daphne said curtly, and then she started walking again. Ron sighed, and he followed after her. They found the trolley quickly enough, and they got into line. There was a Ravenclaw couple in front of them, and the girl was ordering a whole bunch of things. Once she was done picking her sweets, the boy paid for them all. Ron found that odd, but it seemed to please the girl greatly. _Her smile just grew ten times wider when he took out his pouch._ Ron shot a look at Daphne, and he saw her just looking forward with a cold look.

"Next" the trolley lady called, and both Slytherins stepped up.

"Could I please get two licorice wands?" Daphne asked. "And three Chocolate Frogs."

"And you, dear?" the woman looked to Ron.

"I'll have three Cherry pops, and two Chocolate Frogs" Ron ordered. The woman then picked out their orders, and Ron took out his pouch.

"Paying together, or separately?" the woman asked.

"I'm paying" Ron said quickly, and he handed over the money. Ron's eyes darted to Daphne, but her expression didn't even change in the slightest. _I've really pissed her off, haven't I? Damnit Weasley, you big oaf._ The woman handed them their orders, and they both departed for their compartment again. The silence was unbearable, but Ron kept his mouth shut, he had done enough damage for one day. As they got onto the Slytherin carriage, Daphne suddenly shot quick looks around her.

"Daph, what's the…" Ron was stopped abruptly when Daphne pushed him into a corner, and then she pressed her lips against his rather firmly. He was shocked out of his mind for a couple of seconds, but then he relaxed a little. Daphne pulled back after a few seconds with a smacking sound, and she stared right into his slightly wide eyes. _That's twice she's kissed me like that…_

"They can cuddle your arms and kiss your cheeks all they want, but I'm the only person who gets to do this" Daphne smirked. "Remember that." Ron nodded meekly, and she planted three quick pecks on his lips. Daphne then stepped back, her smirk still in place. "And thank you for your kind gesture just then, it was rather gentleman-like.

"No… no worries…" Ron blushed crimson, his lips feeling a little tender from her first kiss.

* * *

 _ **Saturday March 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993 (Platform 9**_ _ **3/4**_ _ **)**_

Ron stepped off of the train with his trunk in tow, at least he was lucky that Helios was with Ginny at the Burrow. The rest of his friends looked rather encumbered with their pet's cages and their trunks weighing them down. But Ron decided not to help them, a little hardship never killed anyone.

"Mother and father should be near the Floo Networks as usual" Daphne said as she pulled her trunk behind her, she didn't have her owl with her.

"Where's your owl?" Ron asked.

"I sent him off in advance, unlike the rest of these simpletons" Daphne smirked.

"Sod off, Greengrass" Theo frowned, the weedy boy was having trouble with his owl's cage. Ron ignored their banter as he spotted his mother and father, but luckily they hadn't spotted him yet.

"Shite, I need to move" Ron told his friends. "I'll see you guys after the Break…"

"Ron, where are you going?" Tracey frowned. "At least say goodbye…"

"His parents are right there, Tracey" Millie told her. "Ron, I can distract them for you."

"No" Daphne said firmly. "Ron, stop being a coward. You can't let them see any weakness, so stand up straight and start walking. If you don't want to see them, tell them that. But don't run off like some cretin."

"Daphne is right, Ron" Blaise added on. "If you show them that you're scared to see them, then they can use that against you. And what are they going to do? You're still their son."

"Fine…" Ron frowned. "I just want to see them, that's all."

"That's fair enough" Blaise nodded, he didn't want to see his mother either. "But skulking away isn't the right call. Not in this case anyway."

"Also, we should say goodbye now" Pansy told them. "Because…" she trailed off, a guilty look appearing on her face.

"Because of me" Ron sighed, she was right.

"I didn't…" Pansy started, but Ron stopped her with a smile.

"It's alright, Pans" Ron assured her. "I understand your situations, so let's say our goodbyes now." Pansy smiled gratefully, and then they all said their goodbyes. Tracey, Millie, and Pansy gave him hugs, while the boys gave him firm handshakes. They all wished him luck, and he wished them a happy Easter Break.

"Let's go, Ron" Daphne said as all of them disbanded. Ron gave her a nod, and they began making their way towards the Floo Networks. "Don't worry, Ron. Everything will be fine, just walk with your head held high."

"Thanks, Daph" Ron smiled a little, but his armpits began to sweat the closer he got to his parents. And then, they spotted him. _Fuck, here we go._ His mother gave him a smile, while his father looked rather… subdued. Ron noticed that his brothers were already with them, which meant that his parents had been looking for him. Ron looked for Ginny, but sadly, she had not come with their parents. _She still needs time, I guess._

"Ronnie" his mother called to him, and he fought the urge to frown. _She calls me Ronnie to my face, while she stabs me in the fucking back._ His brothers were visibly uncomfortable at the exchange, especially the twins. Percy gave Ron an encouraging nod, one that Ron was grateful for.

"Mother" Ron greeted as he approached them, and his mother's smile faltered a bit. "Daphne, please go on. I'll catch up to you shortly, and give my apologies to your Lord Father for my delay."

"I will, don't take too long" Daphne nodded, and then she looked to Ron's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley" Daphne greeted them, and then she left for the Floo Networks.

"Ginny didn't come?" Ron asked as he worked hard to keep his composure. The sight of them was suddenly spiking his anger, how could they do this to him? How could they pull this kind of stunt, and then stand there with those looks on their faces?

"No, son" his father replied softly. "Being around people upsets her greatly, and being here would only hurt her."

"I see" Ron said. "Well, I'll be off then." Ron went to leave, but his mother put her hand on his right shoulder.

"Ron, we are still your parents" his mother said, her voice rising slightly. "Don't walk away from us like that."

"Do not put your hands on me" Ron hissed, and his mother shrank back with a startled look.

"Ron…" came Percy's tired sigh.

"Do not speak to your mother that way, young man" his father scolded, though his voice faltered near the end.

"Or what?" Ron glared at his backstabbing father. "You'll smack me in front of other people?" His mother flinched at that, while his father's mouth hung open slightly. Ron felt a grim satisfaction at that, it felt good to make them feel a bit of the pain that they had put him through. It felt good to reject them the way that they often rejected him when he was younger. _Mother only saw Ginny, while father only saw his Muggle toys._

"Ron" came Pandora's voice, and Ron turned to see Pandora and Xenophilius coming towards them. Luna was following behind them, and Ron was grateful for their interruption.

"Pandora" Ron smiled at her, the sight of her happy face made his heart feel at ease. _She should've been my mother…_ She walked up and hugged him tightly, and Ron hugged her back. He didn't see the hurt look on his parents' face, but even if he had, he wouldn't have really cared.

"How has your term been so far?" Pandora asked him as she let him go, but Ron still longed to hug her.

"It's been going excellently, Pandora" Ron smiled. "The Professors are all very pleased with my work, I know that for certain."

"Aren't you confident?" Pandora laughed, but her laugh died when she saw Ron's parents. "Are we interrupting something?"

"No" Ron answered for them. "I was just on my way to the Floo Networks to meet up with Lord and Lady Greengrass." Pandora exchanged looks with Ron's parents, and then she frowned at Ron. _Nice, now we're getting into it. Come around everyone, the Weasleys are putting on a fucking show for you._

"Pandora, love" Xenophilius said softly. "We are in the middle of the Platform, let's not do anything that will embarrass us." _Thank you, Xeno._

"Ron, what is going on here?" Pandora asked him as she ignored her husband, and Xeno just sighed tiredly. "Molly, what's going on here?"

"Nothing to worry about, Pandora…" his mother lied.

"Ron's being a prick to them" Fred said hotly, and he shot Ron an angry look. Percy smacked Fred over the head, while George just stared at Fred in disbelief.

"Ron, explain yourself right now" Pandora said firmly, and Ron felt his resolve weaken. He didn't like it when Pandora got angry with him.

"It's alright, Pandora" his father said suddenly. "He's angry, but that will pass with time. Ron, we're putting a stop on the Re-Sorting. **I** **promise**. You can stay in Slytherin, and I'm sorry son." Ron looked to his father with a stunned look, was this for real?! _Did I hear that right?_

"Do you mean that?" Ron asked softly, his heart beating in his throat. _I can stay with my friends? I'm finally free from this fucking Re-Sorting business?_

"Yes, Ron" his father nodded, though he didn't exactly sound happy about this decision. "Percy… Percy showed us that we were wrong to do this to you… I'm sorry." Ron looked to Percy, and his older brother smiled softly. _He saved me… He came through for me… I can stay with my friends._

"Thank you, Percy" Ron said, he didn't feel the need to thank his parents. They shouldn't have made that ultimatum in the first place. Percy gave him a nod, while the twins just looked around in confusion. When had Percy convinced them to let Ron stay in Slytherin? And why would he do that? "Well, I should be on my way" Ron said, he was tired of this exchange. He wanted to stay with Pandora and Xenophilius for longer, but it was clear that his parents had no intention of leaving.

"And what about your parents, Ron?" Pandora asked him, her frown still marring her beauty. "Don't they deserve your gratitude?" _Sorry about this Pandora, but I'm done with this conversation. And I'm not thanking them for causing me so much stress and panic, just so they could satisfy their own prejudices._

"For what? Making ultimatums? For causing me so much extra stress?" Ron asked her, and Pandora was utterly stunned by his cold response. "I'm not in the habit of thanking people who betray me… If you want proof of that, go speak with Potter." With that, Ron walked around her and left them all behind. Was that harsh? Maybe. Was it necessary? Definitely. He was tired of being the one who always apologized in the end. And he was tired of being the one that everyone blamed for their own mistakes. Why should he thank them for causing him so many problems?

Ron hated that he had to speak to Pandora in such a manner, but he had a lot more self-respect now. Even just last year, he would have happily picked up the little crumbs of attention that his parents sent his way. But now… Now he understood that respect needed to be earned, and sometimes, you had to **take** it. Whenever the Slytherins turned against him, he had no trouble earning back their respect. And he succeeded because he didn't show any weakness, and therefore he wouldn't show any weakness now either. He had to show his parents that he refused to be treated like some second-hand possession, and that he was the son that they got. If they didn't like it, then it was their loss. Ron would do his duty to his blood, no doubt about that, but he would never grovel for attention again. His new sense of self refused to go back to being the overlooked sixth son.

"Kid, there you are" came Sirius' voice from ahead, and Ron noticed that he had missed the Greengrass Family while he was in his thoughts. Sirius was standing next to Lord Greengrass, while Remus stood with Lady Greengrass. Ron also noted that Harry was standing next to Daphne and Astoria.

"Sirius" Ron smiled, and Sirius grinned in return.

"Come here, you little devil!" Sirius laughed, and Ron walked up and hugged Sirius. Sirius nearly squeezed the life out of him, and Ron loved it. "Let me look at you" Sirius said as he pulled back, his voice doting and loving. Sirius observed Ron's features, and Ron was glad that those Sleeping Draughts from Carey had repaired his looks. "Handsome as always, don't you agree Seb?" _Seb?! Does Sirius have a death-wish?_

"Please stop calling me that" Lord Greengrass replied.

"Well I agree with you, Sirius" Lady Greengrass chuckled. "Are you ready to go, Ron?"

"Yes, my Lady" Ron said politely.

"My Lady!" Sirius laughed, and Ron saw Remus just sigh to himself. "So formal, you're definitely a Slytherin through and through."

"On that, we can agree Black" Lord Greengrass said, his tone calm and collected.

"Forgive him please, he gets excited easily" Remus said. "Kind of like a dog does when it sees a bone." _He's a Werewolf…_ Ron observed Remus' features, the man had long scars on his face and neck. _No doubt from his monthly changes._ "Ron, is everything alright?" Remus asked. "I know I'm incredibly handsome, but please refrain from staring in public." Ron chuckled at that. _I don't care that he's a Werewolf, he's always been kind to me. And that's all that matters to me._

"It's the scars" Ron joked. "They are very appealing." Remus laughed loudly at that, and Ron saw Harry sniggering. Daphne shot Ron a soft smirk, while Astoria just giggled to herself.

"Ron, behave" Lord Greengrass said, and Ron nodded.

"You're too serious, Seb" Sirius chuckled. "But we'll lighten you up in time."

"I can hardly wait" Lord Greengrass said dryly. _They have actual banter going on? This is… I don't even know what to say. Lord Greengrass told me that they were scheming together, but I didn't expect this._ "Ron, let's be on our way."

"Wait, before you go" Sirius said as he pulled out a green tinted bottle from his robes. "Cologne, for the ladies… You are going to Paris, after all." Ron's ears went red at that, Daphne was right fucking there.

"Thanks, Sirius" Ron said as he accepted the gift.

"Alright, good luck kid" Sirius ruffled Ron's well-groomed hair. "Go and show those French what we British are capable of, got it?"

"I will" Ron grinned.

"Good luck, Ron" Remus said, and then much to Ron's surprise, Remus gave him a firm hug.

"Thanks, Remus" Ron smiled at the tall man.

"Good luck, mate" Harry said as he put his hand forward for a shake. Ron took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Thanks, Harry" Ron smiled genuinely, and he didn't miss Sirius' massive grin at the sight of them. Sirius and Remus then gave Lord and Lady Greengrass parting nods, and then they vanished through a green blaze along with Harry.

"Let's be on our way then, come Tori" Lady Greengrass said, and Tori ran up and grabbed her hand. Lord Greengrass led the way, followed by Lady Greengrass and Tori, and then it was just Daphne and Ron.

"You go first" Ron offered.

"Wow, such a gentleman" Daphne smirked, and then she went through the green blaze. Ron watched the fire for a second, and then he shot a look to where his parents were. They were no longer there, and Ron felt something twist in his chest. He ignored it, and then he followed after Daphne.

"Can I hug him now?" Tori asked as soon as he came through the fire, and Mary let go of her hand. Tori immediately bolted to him and jumped him, and he caught her as he dropped his trunk. He put his arms around her back, and her feet dangled in the air as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Astoria!" Daphne gasped. "Mother, how can you allow that?!" _Why is Tori so light? I know she's turning eleven on the first of June, but she weighs nothing for someone her age._

"Because I love him" Tori giggled, and then she planted a smothering kiss on his left cheek. Daphne looked like she was going to faint, but then a defiant look crossed her face. _Oh, shite._

"Then I get to do it too" Daphne frowned at her mother.

"No" Mary refused immediately. "You are the eldest daughter of this Family, and our Heiress. You will not act like… her" Mary sighed as she stared at Tori's giggling form.

"Alright, Tori" Ron chuckled. "That's enough, I'm staying with you for two weeks. We can hug as much as you want later." Ron then lowered himself so she could plant her feet on the ground.

"Fine…" Tori pouted as she let him go. "But you'd better keep your word, or you'll regret it."

"I will" Ron chuckled.

"Daphne, please escort Ron to his bedroom for the night" Lord Greengrass said, his tone slightly more happy than before. "After that, escort him to my study." With that, Lord Greengrass left the greeting room.

"Tori, come" Mary said. "We will continue with your French lessons."

"Aw" Tori whined. "Can't I spend time with Ron and Daphne?"

"No, young Lady" Mary refused. "We will continue your lessons because they were interrupted, now come along." Mary then turned to Ron and Daphne. "I will see you both at dinner" Mary smiled. "It's good to have you back." Mary then stroked Daphne's hair lovingly, and then she left. Tori followed after her with slumped shoulders, and Ron let out a chuckle.

"Come along, Ron" Daphne said, and Ron noticed that her trunk was gone. _House-Elves._ Ron followed after Daphne with his trunk in tow, and he felt the urge to ask about Tori's weight. But in the end, he decided that it would be incredibly rude. They were hosting him in their home, and he would **not** be disrespectful in any way. Ron followed Daphne upstairs, and she led him into a hallway that contained multiple doors.

"My room is the one on the far end, it has my name on it" Daphne told him. "And this is your room." Ron looked at the door, and he was stunned to see his name engraved onto it. Daphne opened the door, and they both entered it. Ron was stunned at how extravagant it was. His bed was as majestic as Tori's, but it had a Slytherin green scheme. There was expensive looking furniture as well, and a personal fucking fireplace too. Ron's mouth hung open as he looked around the emerald green walls, paintings and other decorations catching his eye. _This room is… It's too good for me…_ "I hope you like it" Daphne said, and Ron turned to see her standing by the door. "I designed it myself, from the paint scheme to the furniture."

"When?" Ron asked softly.

"When you were spending your time in the library" Daphne replied, her cheeks becoming rosy. "Do you like it?"

"I do" Ron said, he was genuinely overwhelmed. Something that Daphne didn't fail to notice, and it brought a happy smile on her face. Her hard work had paid off. "I love it…"

"Good" Daphne said as she closed the door behind her. "It's yours permanently. Father told me that whenever you stay here, this will serve as your room." _Mine?_ Ron let out a soft chuckle, and he felt his eyes sting a bit. _This is too good to be mine…_ "Now put down your trunk, Ron." Ron blinked at her, but he did as he was told. Daphne then ran at him, and he was honestly startled for a second. But he managed to figure out her intent, and he caught her when she jumped on him. She was a lot heavier than Tori, but Ron managed to hold her up.

"Daph…" Ron groaned, a sudden jolt of pain shooting throughout his back. Her feet were off the ground, and he held her back tightly. Unlike Tori, Daphne had a chest on her, and Ron's face burned because of that. Ron slowly lowered her down, and she pulled back with a defiant grin. And then, she gave him a smothering kiss on his lips that lasted well over five seconds. When she pulled back, Ron was left utterly dazed.

"Whose hug did you enjoy more, mine or Tori's?" Daphne asked.

"Yours…" Ron muttered, what just happened?

"Right answer" Daphne smirked, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Now come along, father doesn't like to be kept waiting." _This trip is going to end badly for me, isn't it?_

* * *

 _ **Sunday March 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 1993 (Breakfast at Greengrass Manor)**_

Ron started on his third plate of breakfast, and he had no intention of stopping just yet. He was completely ravenous this morning, and it was probably due to his nervousness. They were going to be heading to Paris via Portkey at noon, and according to Lord Greengrass, the Tournament would officially begin the moment they landed in Paris. Ron had spent the entire evening, and even the time after dinner, with Lord Greengrass. They had gone over their strategies on how to avoid the Veela allures, but they both knew that it was hopeless. There would be well over fifty Half-Veelas at the Tournament, and they would be using their allures in full force.

So the strategy was to keep his head down, and to concentrate on nothing but chess. Ron would not speak to any females, he wouldn't look at any females, and he would not even look at his opponents. He'd keep his eyes on the board, and nothing else. Mary had asked Ron to pull out as well, she knew the damage that the Veela allure could cause to males. Especially when it was solely focused on them, but Ron refused to back out. If he lost, then he lost. But he wouldn't tuck tail and run, that just wasn't in his character.

"Can we go shopping when we get to Paris?" Tori asked, and Ron was pulled out of his thoughts. "I want show Ron around Paris." Ron could physically feel Daphne tensing next to her sister, but her face remained calm as usual.

"You may go shopping, but Ron will be spending his time training with me" Lord Greengrass replied from the head of the table. "He is not on vacation, he is working." Tori pouted at that, and Ron held back a snigger. Tori had been constantly knocking on Lord Greengrass' study door last night in the hopes of spending time with Ron, but Lord Greengrass just ignored her interruptions.

"I'm sure that you will get to spend time with each other" Mary smiled at Tori. "But your father is right, this Tournament is important to Ron. Spend time with your sister instead."

"But Daphne has already seen Paris" Tori whined.

"Technically, so have I" Ron reminded her.

"Nuh-uh" Tori denied. "We went straight to your competition last time, you didn't see anything."

"A Lady does not say 'Nuh-uh', Astoria" Mary frowned slightly. "It is childish, and unbecoming."

"Nuh-uh" Tori denied, a grin appearing on her face.

"Tori, behave" Lord Greengrass said, and Tori's shoulders slumped. _He's tense about the Tournament, and so am I. We both know that I'm in some serious trouble._

"But Ron will get **some** spare time, won't he?" Daphne asked suddenly, shooting an inquisitive look at her father.

"No" Lord Greengrass replied.

"Yes" Mary corrected as she sent a frown at Lord Greengrass. _And now I'm confused. So is it a yes, or a no?_ "Don't worry, all us will be showing Ron the sights."

"Oh, good" Daphne nodded, but Ron could tell that she was disappointed. Ron didn't know how he felt about sneaking around with Daphne on this trip, he didn't want her parents finding out. Or Tori for that matter, the little she-devil would tell the whole planet. What they were doing was… inappropriate? _But definitely fun. And it's just harmless pecks, nothing more._ Ron started on his fourth plate, and Tori shot him a disbelieving look.

"You eat a lot, Ron" Tori giggled. "You'll get fat if you keep eating like that."

"He's a growing boy, love" Mary told Tori. "Ron, eat as much as you like. It's good for you."

"It won't be good when we use the Portkey" Daphne said as she stared at his full plate.

"Don't worry" Ron smiled at her. "I'll make sure to aim for your dress." Tori and Mary laughed at that, while Daphne just frowned.

* * *

 _ **Sunday March 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home Garden – Noon)**_

Ron heaved, his stomach tightening from nausea. Portkeys were the worst method of traveling, Ron was certain of it. Even the calm, and collected, Daphne was green in the face. Lord and Lady Greengrass were tending to Tori because the little girl had actually vomited, so Ron and Daphne were left to heave to themselves. _Curse whoever made Portkeys, why didn't we just Floo down here?_

"Ron, are you alright?" came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron shook his head. _I ate too much food, Daphne was right._

"Why didn't we just use the Floo?" Ron managed to ask.

"Because the Floo Network has a range, and Paris is well out of it" Lord Greengrass sighed, and then Ron felt his mentor rubbing his back. "This gets easier with practice, but just let it out for now if you need to."

"And prove Daphne right? Never" Ron joked, his stomach turning again. Lord Greengrass chuckled at the joke, and he patted Ron's back.

"Love, I'm taking Tori inside" came Mary's voice, and Ron looked to see Mary holding Tori up like a baby. Tori's head was resting on Mary's left shoulder, and she looked incredibly out of sorts. Daphne quickly recovered herself, and she followed her mother inside.

"Is Tori alright? She looks dreadful" Ron asked his mentor.

"Tori has a… She's always been fragile, Ron" Lord Greengrass answered slowly. "Do not worry about her, she will be fine with a little rest." _Fragile? What does that mean? Is that why she barely weighs anything?_ "Come Ron, let's get you inside" Lord Greengrass said as he ushered Ron inside.

"My trunk?" Ron asked.

"The Elves will take our luggage, do not worry about that" Lord Greengrass replied. They then entered the home, and it was quite remarkable. It didn't have a grand marble interior like Greengrass Manor, it instead had a dark, hard-wood interior. It looked a lot more Muggle than Ron had anticipated, and it was certainly filled with Muggle ornaments and decorations. No moving portraits, no dazzling magic in sight, and certainly no fairies flying about in the gardens. Ron rather liked this home, it looked very humble and cozy. Not to mention that it was warm, and inviting. "Your room is on the second floor, just like the girls. Mary and I sleep in the Master Bedroom on the third floor, and my study is on the ground floor. Make yourself comfortable and explore, I need to go and check on my youngest daughter." With that Lord Greengrass left.

Ron looked around the much smaller home, but it was still huge in his eyes. Greengrass Manor was monstrous in size, but this house was still quite massive. But then again, the Greengrass Family had a very different idea of what a house's size should be when compared to Ron. Ron explored the ground floor, and his favorite place so far was the dining room. The dining table was much smaller, and therefore more intimate, and there was a magical harp playing itself in the far corner. Ron then traveled to the living room, and he spotted Daphne sitting on a love-seat in front of a warm fire. Ron could hear the harp from the living room, and it gave the house an extremely comforting ambience.

"This is a beautiful house, Daph" Ron said as he approached her, and he winced when he saw her slightly green face.

"Thanks, Ron" Daphne managed. "Sorry, but I feel really sick…"

"Want me to get you a bucket?" Ron joked, and Daphne managed to shoot him a frown. "Sorry, I was just trying to make you feel better."

"I know, but I feel really sick" Daphne managed, her arms tucked around her stomach. Ron took a seat to her left, and he decided to try a trick that Luna had taught him. Ron put his gloved hand on Daphne's back, and he back rubbing circles on it. "Ron, what are you doing?" Daphne asked, her cheeks becoming slightly rosy.

"Luna did this to me once when I was really sick" Ron replied. "It made me feel better. Do you want me to stop?"

"No" Daphne said softly, and then she turned to stare at the fire. Ron kept rubbing circles on her back, and he saw Daphne visibly relax. "Mmm" Daphne hummed after a minute. "That feels so good…" Ron smiled at her closed eyes and content smile, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Ron was enjoying himself too, the fire's warmth showered his skin and the music eased his mind.

"My arm's getting tired" Ron lied, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Don't you dare stop" Daphne giggled, her sickness apparently forgotten. "I should thank Luna for teaching you this trick, she is such a bright girl."

"And what about me?" Ron asked. "Don't I get thanks?"

"You'll get it later" Daphne smiled mischievously. "Unless you want it now?" _Later please, I don't want to die just before the Tournament starts._

"Your parents could walk in, Daph" Ron told her.

"Scared?" Daphne kept smiling.

"Yes" Ron replied, and Daphne giggled again. _She only giggles when we're alone now, and it's really cute._

"Fine, later it is" Daphne smiled. "But please tell me that you aren't going to spend the entire Break with my father, I want you to spend more time with me."

"Most girls would be too shy to say that" Ron chuckled, but Daphne just shrugged. _I'm too shy to say that._

"I know what I want, and I'm not in the habit of hiding what I want" Daphne responded. "I want to spend time with you, and I know you want to spend time with me."

"Do I?" Ron asked, his gloved hand still working on her back.

"Of course you do, I'm delightful" Daphne chuckled. "So, are you really going to be spending all your time with my father?"

"For the first week, I am" Ron nodded, and Daphne let out a sigh.

"I understand" Daphne admitted, and then she shuffled closer to Ron. "But what about after you win the tournament?"

"Daph… I'm not going to win this one…" Ron said softly. "Your father and I both know it…"

"The Veelas" Daphne frowned, and Ron nodded. "There has to be some way to overcome their allures, didn't you two come up with a plan last night?"

"We tried to, but we didn't get far" Ron told her. "I asked him if we could use a potion to dull my…" Ron trailed off.

"Your adolescent needs?" Daphne provided, and Ron blushed a bit.

"Yeah, those…" Ron sighed. "But he told me that they will be testing people for potions this year, and guess whose idea that was?"

"The French Ministry" Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Lord Greengrass said that they don't want any of the competitors taking any intelligence enhancing draughts" Ron said softly. "And that taking **any** potion before a match merits disqualification. So that plan went out the window."

"So what are you going to do?" Daphne asked.

"Keep my head down, win a few games" Ron shrugged. "But even if I lose, I'm not backing out because they want to cheat."

"Good" Daphne smiled softly. "That's one of my favorite traits about you, you're very determined."

"Don't you mean stubborn?" Ron smiled.

"Determined sounds better in this context" Daphne replied, and Ron stared into her dark blue eyes. His stomach was filled with nervous butterflies, and his eyes darted to her lips. "Careful Ron, someone could walk in" Daphne whispered.

"Scared?" Ron asked.

"Yes" she replied, but then she suddenly pecked his lips. Ron blinked at her, and she moved away to put some distance between them. "Oh look, we didn't get caught" Daphne giggled, and Ron felt his lips form into a smile. _Pansy was right, Daphne has a seriously rebellious side. And I think I like it…_

"There you are, Ron" came Lord Greengrass' voice from behind them, and Ron nearly passed out from fear. "Now that you've adjusted, let's go over a few more chess plays." _Thank Merlin, he didn't see anything._

"Yes, my Lord" Ron replied as he stood up from his seat, and he shot a quick look at Daphne. She was just smiling at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. _I think I really like it._

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Early Morning)**_

"Are you ready?" came Daphne's voice. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, Daph" Ron replied as he fixed his tie, and Ron heard the door open behind him. Daphne stepped in and closed the door behind her, and Ron turned to face her. "So, how do I look?" Ron asked.

"I've already seen your uniform, Ron" Daphne chuckled. _Lockhart's class, I remember._ "And you look great, though your tie is off-center."

"Oh" Ron muttered, and he fixed it again.

"Wait, do you have your Hogwarts pin from Dumbledore?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded slowly. _He returned it to me after I threw it at him… Not my finest moment._ "Well, where is it?"

"In my trunk" Ron said, and much to his horror, Daphne went over and opened his trunk. "Daph! My underwear is in there!" She shot him a deadpan look, and then she pulled out the pin.

"You should keep this in a safer place than just throwing it in your trunk, Ron" Daphne scolded, but Ron just felt his face burn from embarrassment. _She saw my underwear! Did I pack enough? I hope so, otherwise she might think that I don't change underwear often._ "Ron, stop blushing like that" Daphne giggled as she approached him. "Even if I think that it's really cute. Now hold still, let me pin this on your uniform." Daphne pinned it on his blazer's left lapel, and then she took a step back. "It looks perfect" she smiled widely.

"Thanks, Daph" Ron smiled, and then he finally realized that she was wearing casual Muggle clothes. "Daphne, why aren't you dressed yet?"

"I'm going to my room now, mother wants to do my hair first" Daphne told him. "My father is waiting for you downstairs though, so you should go on." Ron nodded, and they both left the room. Daphne went to her room, while Ron went downstairs and headed into the living room.

"Good morning, my Lord" Ron greeted Lord Greengrass, and he saw that his mentor was wearing fine black silk robes. "You look great, by the way" Ron grinned, and Lord Greengrass chuckled.

"Thank you for the compliment, I suppose" Lord Greengrass smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself, and I like the pin. It suits your Uniform. Might I inquire where you got it from?"

"Oh, Daphne gave it to me just then" Ron lied, and Lord Greengrass nodded. _Need to let her know, otherwise we could get trapped. No one is meant to know of our involvement._

"Well, it looks perfect. Now, let's go over what we discussed last night. First and foremost Ron, remember our plan. Head down, and avoid eye contact at all costs. Secondly, you will be giving your interview before the matches start."

"I know, my Lord" Ron nodded, they had discussed this last night. "As last year's champion, it is required of me. And I'm not meant to comment on the Veelas whatsoever, even if they ask me. Oh, and I need to mention your patronage."

"Good man" Lord Greengrass smiled. "And the last thing?"

"Don't look into Madame Olympe Maxime's eyes" Ron replied. "She can look into my mind wandlessly, and that could give away our strategies." _Merlin help her if she does manage to use Legilimency on me, the Entity did Dumbledore in without breaking a sweat. It'll eat her alive._

"Indeed" Lord Greengrass nodded. "Now I know that even if you don't see the Veelas, you'll feel their concentrated allures focusing on you. But you must try and resist, Ron. Do your absolute best to not give in, understand?"

"I do" Ron nodded, his voice a bit shaky. The truth was that he was terrified right now, he had no idea what he was walking into. Nor did he know how he was supposed to resist them.

"It's alright to be worried" Lord Greengrass said as he put his right hand on Ron's left shoulder. "I will not hold this loss against you, remember that. I'm proud of you for not backing off when our enemies use cheap tactics, it speaks volumes about your character."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron managed a smile, and Lord Greengrass moved his right hand to Ron's left cheek.

"We will all be there, Ron" Lord Greengrass said softly. "You're not alone in this, remember that as well."

"We're ready, husband" came Mary's voice, and Ron turned to see the Mary and her daughters. They were all wearing beautiful dresses, and they had their hair done up into gorgeous buns. Astoria wore a white frilly dress that suited her, Mary wore a dark red dress that hugged her figure, and Daphne wore a green dress that made her look regal. _She looks amazing._ Ron shook his head lightly, he needed to concentrate on the Tournament.

"Then let's be off, shall we?" Lord Greengrass said, and then he went to the fireplace and took a pinch of Floo-powder. "Beauxbatons Academy of Magic" Lord Greengrass called clearly, and then he cast the powder into the flames. They roared as they turned green, and Lord Greengrass went through. Mary and Astoria followed after him, and this left Ron and Daphne behind.

"Two things" Ron said quickly, and Daphne blinked at him. "One, you look amazing. Two, I told your father that you gave me this pin just today. Got it?" Daphne blushed at his compliment, and then she nodded. "You go first, I'll follow." Daphne suddenly smiled, and then she leaned forward and pecked his lips. _What was that for?_

"For good luck" Daphne smiled, and then she went through the fire. Ron shook his head clear again, it was time to concentrate on nothing but chess. Ron held his back straight, and then he marched into the green blaze.

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Early Morning)**_

People… Lots of people… That's the first thing that Ron noticed as he stepped through the flames. There were people everywhere, and Ron's stomach tightened. _It's impossible for me to keep my head down, isn't it? How the fuck am I supposed to avoid all these eyes?_ Ron quickly made his way over to the Greengrass Family, and he noticed the girls looking around in wonder. Seeing that, Ron did the same thing. They were in a Grand Hall of some sort, and the ceiling was covered with brilliant bright lights that were putting on a show for people. Ron also noticed that this Grand Hall was much smaller than Hogwarts' Great Hall, and for some childish reason, that brought a smirk to his face.

"Let's head into the Gardens. That is where the Tournament is being held" Lord Greengrass ordered, and Lady Greengrass entangled her right arm with her husband's left.

"Astoria, take Ron's right arm" Mary instructed. "Daphne, take his left arm. Stay right behind us, and make sure that none of these creatures approach him." The girls moved and entangled themselves with Ron, and Ron was honestly surprised. _I understand why they're doing this, but I wish that they told me beforehand. Not that I mind, of course._

They all began making their way through the crowd, and Ron couldn't stop himself from looking around. Braziers emanating golden flames were attached to the walls of the Grand Hall, and Ron could see Fire-Fairies dancing in the flames. The bright lights danced all over the ceiling, and Ron was utterly captivated by their silky smooth movements. And then, his eyes fell on the Wood-Nymphs that flew through the lights, laughing and dancing with each other.

"Wow…" Tori sighed in awe. "Is Hogwarts this beautiful?"

"Not quite" Daphne replied, her voice showing her utter astonishment. "But Hogwarts is much bigger, and it has its own type of beauty."

"I honestly prefer this kind of beauty" Ron admitted, and then he leaned over to whisper in Daphne's right ear. "You reckon they have a fifty foot Basilisk in this place?" Daphne laughed at that, and Tori too leaned in.

"What's so funny?" Tori asked with a smile.

"I was telling her how adorable you look in that dress" Ron replied.

"Do I really?" Tori grinned.

"You truly do" Ron replied truthfully, and Tori gave his right arm a squeeze. She wasn't tall enough to entangle her arm with his properly, and Ron could see that she was having a lot of trouble. "Here, Tori. Hold my hand instead."

"Thanks" Tori blushed a bit, and then she took his gloved hand with her left one. "You're too tall…"

"I'll take that as a compliment" Ron chucked. Never had he imagined in his childhood that he'd be walking through Beauxbatons with two beautiful girls at his sides, and that they'd be holding onto him like this. Life sure had changed, and Ron had no intention of going back.

"Woah, look at those diamond knights!" Tori exclaimed, and she pointed her right index finger at the giant knights that were lined against the wall that had the exit door. Ron's eyes popped open in wonder as he saw them standing there, and he even felt a bit intimidated. They were massive, and they seemed to be alive. They held their noble stances while they watched the crowd of people, their massive diamond great-swords a warning to all. _They must be at least fifteen feet tall, and their swords are just as massive._

"They're made of ice, Tori" Daphne told her sister. "Never melting ice, to be exact. I read that the sixth Headmaster of Beauxbatons created them to watch over his students after he passed on, isn't that amazing?"

"So they still follow his will?" Ron asked, he was truly amazed.

"According to Beauxbatons' history books, they do" Daphne smiled at the knights.

"Never melting ice" Ron muttered, what kind of powerful magic was this? As they walked through the exit, Ron nodded at one of the knights. And much to his delight, the knight nodded back. "Ah, did you see that?!" Ron laughed, and the girls laughed too. As they stepped out into the grounds leading to the Gardens, Ron's breath was caught in his throat. He heard the girls draw in sharp breaths, and then they exhaled in awe.

The Palace of Beauxbatons was surrounded by formal Gardens and vast lawns created out of the mountainous landscape, and Ron saw that there were witches and wizards here from all over the world. And not just witches and wizards, there were also Magical Creatures just roaming freely amongst them.

"It's a Unicorn, Daphne look" Tori cooed, and Ron turned his head to his right. There was a Unicorn just lying down on the well-maintained lawn, and it was surrounded by excited children. _Their blood Curses you with a half-life, that's what Firenze told me._

"Oh Merlin, Ron close your eyes" Daphne squealed, and she put her left hand over his eyes.

"She's naked!" Tori laughed, and Ron was honest-to-Merlin bewildered.

"Who's naked?" Ron asked quickly. _Is it a Veela? Forget the Tournament, let me have a look!_

"It's a Dryad, Ron" Daphne muttered. "A really big chested one…" _LET ME SEE HER, WOMAN!_

"Let him see, Daphne" Tori laughed. "Why is she so white though, and why is her hair green?"

"They're meant to be like that, Tori" Daphne replied in irritation.

"The French are known to be avid admirers of beauty" Lady Greengrass told the children. "Daphne! Remove your hand from his face, we are in public."

"But mother, that's a naked woman" Daphne argued.

"I am sure that he will live" Mary responded. "Remove your hand before our Veela hosts take offense." Daphne's hand left his face, and Ron blinked at the sudden appearance of light. Ron felt Daphne's hold over his left arm tighten, and that's when he spotted the naked Dryad. She was just walking around in the nude, her womanly beauty on full display. _Dear Merlin, that's just… I want to study here instead. Fuck Hogwarts. These kids grow up seeing naked beauties like that, while I had to fight a fucking Basilisk? Where is the justice?!_

"Her chest is too big, and her hair is stupid" Daphne muttered under her breath, but Ron couldn't bring himself to agree. The Dryad was nothing but beautiful, and she walked with a type of grace that made her seem one with the land. Not to mention that she had singing birds hovering around her, and a crowd of people admiring her beauty.

"Hey!" Tori suddenly laughed, and Ron looked to his right and saw that a bright Fairy had perched itself on Tori's right shoulder. "Hello there, little one" Tori cooed. "Want to be mine?" The Fairy flew up at that, and it kissed Tori's right cheek. The little girl giggled wildly as the Fairy flew off to another child, no doubt trying to spread cheer and joy. _Fairies are known to love children the most, so it makes sense._ As they finally approached the Gardens, Ron was even more awed to see a Sphynx guarding the gate.

"What's that?" Daphne pointed at the Sphynx. It had the body of an overly-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft. Its head, however, was that of a woman. She turned her long, almond-shaped eyes on them as they approached, a purr escaping from her throat.

"My, my…" the Sphynx said, her voice almost bestial in nature. "Such a pretty family… Tell me, what bring you here?" Ron felt Astoria tense, and so he gripped her hand more tightly.

"We are here to spectate my apprentice" Lord Greengrass replied, and then he gestured for Ron to approach. Ron left the girls and stepped up in front of the beast, his heartbeat increasing steadily. "Here is his pass" Lord Greengrass said as he presented a piece of parchment to the Sphynx. The lion-woman observed the parchment, and then she turned her gaze on Ron.

"Come here, boy" the Sphynx purred. "Let me take in your scent." Ron took a few steps forward, and he barely kept his fear in check. _Those are some dangerous looking claws, lion-lady._ The Sphynx sniffed him, and Ron felt quite disturbed by the ordeal. It was still the head of a woman that was sniffing him, and he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the time when Samantha had sniffed him. "You are… clean. You may pass unimpeded."

"Come" Lord Greengrass said as he guided everyone past the gate, and Ron felt the Sphynx's eyes lingering on him.

"Merlin that was weird" Ron muttered. "What did she mean by 'clean'?"

"She was checking to see if you had any potions in your system" Lord Greengrass told him.

"They can do that by sniffing people?" Daphne asked.

"They are still beasts, Daphne" Lord Greengrass replied. "One's with a mind sharper than most people's, truth be told. Just be grateful that she didn't start asking us riddles, most of us would have died on the spot." _Died on the spot? I don't know whether I should be amazed, or fearful._

"Husband" Lady Greengrass suddenly said as they both stopped walking. Ron and the girls were forced to stop as well, and Ron wondered what Mary had seen. "Headmistress Maxime is right over there, and she has a flock of her creatures with her." Ron shot a quick look to where Mary was looking, and his jaw dropped.

"That's a whole lot of woman…" Ron muttered as he gazed at the giant Headmistress. Madame Olympe Maxime towered over her female students, who were all dressed in light blue silk robes that resembled a uniform of sorts. And they were all beautiful beyond words… Ron felt a soft jolt of pain run through his scalp, and he grimaced and looked away. _Is that the allure? Why does it hurt?_

"Merlin… that's her?" Daphne mumbled.

"Does she eat her students?" Tori asked.

"Ron, keep your head down" Lord Greengrass said suddenly. "Girls, don't let them approach him."

"Yes, father" both girls said together. They began moving, and Ron kept his eyes on the ground. _I bet I look like a massive tosser right now, and those girls get to see it._ Another jolt of pain sparked through his head, and Ron let out a groan.

"Ron?" Daphne asked in worry, her grip on his left arm tightening.

"Just keep moving, he's fine" Lord Greengrass ordered. They made their way into the Junior League Tournament competitors' area, and Lord Greengrass stopped them all. "Ron and I will go on alone, Mary take the girls to our seats."

"Of course, love" Mary replied, and then she turned to her daughters and Ron. "Good luck Ron, do your best and know that we're proud of you for being here."

"Thank you, my Lady" Ron replied, his eyes still on the ground.

"Come, you two" Mary said, and the girls let go of Ron.

"Good luck, Ron" Tori wished.

"Don't let them ruin your day, alright?" Daphne said firmly.

"I won't" Ron replied. And then, the three female Greengrasses left.

"Come along, Ron" Lord Greengrass said. "We need to get you to that interview."

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Interview at Beauxbatons – Morning)**_

"Hello, Mr. Weasley" the female reporter greeted, they were sitting down in a secluded corner. Lord Greengrass had left Ron alone with the female reporter, this was an exclusive after all. "My name Helena Crane, I'm with the British Daily Prophet. And I'll be doing this exclusive with you today. It will be featured on the International column, page eight, and on the Sports column, page nine. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss. Crane" Ron gave her his best smile, and she smiled back. _She looks really young, so I'll just stick to calling her_ _ **Miss**_ _. Crane._

"Now, let's get right into it" Helena said with an excited voice. "How old are you, Mr. Weasley?"

"I am thirteen years old" Ron replied truthfully, and she began jotting it down. "I turned thirteen on the first of March."

"I see" Helena said as she finished writing that down. "So you had just turned twelve when you competed in last year's tournament?"

"Yes" Ron nodded.

"And you won with a perfect record, is that right?"

"Yes, that is also true" Ron nodded again.

"And you have yet to take a loss on your already impressive record?" Helena asked, an impressed smile on her face.

"No, I have not suffered any losses" Ron answered.

"You also competed in another tournament in France a few months ago, and I am told that you won that rather easily" Helena stated. "Any comments on that statement?" _Remember to be humble, Ron._

"I wouldn't say that it was easy" Ron replied. "It was a much smaller competition, with only eight total competitors. I only played three matches in total, and my mind was definitely challenged in those matches."

"I see" Helena nodded as she wrote it all down. Ron didn't know why, but her constant note-taking was making him nervous. "And what are your thoughts on this year's Junior League Tournament?" _Here we go, we're getting closer to the Veela questions. I just know it._

"So far?" Ron smiled his best smile. "My thoughts are that Beauxbatons is absolutely gorgeous." Helena laughed at that, and she wrote it down.

"Are you talking about the Academy, or its student body?" Helena asked.

"I am talking about both" Ron replied smoothly. "As for the Tournament, I've come here to try my best. And that is what I intend to do."

"And are you worried that your efforts will be affected by the presence of the Veela students?" Helena asked, and Ron kept his calm demeanor.

"I have never felt their allure before, so I cannot truly comment on that. But this is their school, and I believe that they have every right to be here" Ron basically repeated what Lord Greengrass had told him to say. Helena seemed to like his answer though, and she jotted it down quickly.

"Is your mentor, Lord Greengrass, worried about the Veela presence?" Helena asked. _Stop with the Veela questions._

"Lord Greengrass has been nothing but understanding with me" Ron smiled. "He is patient, nurturing, and he cares a great deal about my well-being. He has told me to do my best, and to show the world what I have learned under his patronage. He has made no comments on the Veela community to me." Helena nodded slowly, and she jotted his answer down.

"Now, let's move onto something else" Helena said, and Ron blinked at her. _What? Something else?_ "Is it true that Hogwarts has officially labeled you as a Prodigy?" _This shite again?_

"Many of my Professors have made that comment, as has the Daily Prophet" Ron answered.

"Do you consider yourself a Prodigy?" Helena asked. _Fuck no, I'm basically using other people's knowledge to further myself._

"I know that I enjoy my studies a great deal, but I've never really called myself a Prodigy" Ron replied.

"Do you have any comments on the attacks that took place at your school this year?" Helena asked. _Fucking hell…_

"All I know is that I do not like to speak about them, especially because I was one of the victims" Ron replied honestly.

"I understand" Helena smiled softly. "One last question, and then we can wrap this up. Tell me Mr. Weasley, do you mind if we attach your list of accomplishments onto our interview."

"I don't mind at all" Ron smiled. "Though I would like to know which accomplishments you are referring to, Miss. Crane."

"Freeing Sirius Black, proving that Barty Crouch Snr made a mistake by condemning an innocent man without a trial, your role in the discovery of a believed to be deceased Death Eater, your impressive record in Wizard's Chess, and the fact that you slew a Mountain Troll singlehandedly at the age of eleven" Helena replied, and Ron blinked at the last one. "I've done my research into you, Mr. Weasley. And I must say, I **recommend** that you let me tell the world of your remarkable feats." _Some fucking student no doubt told people, who told other people, and now everyone will know._ "We would also like to inform our readers that you are friends with the world famous, Harry Potter. And that you saved his life in your first year."

"I see…" Ron said softly. _She doesn't know about me attacking Harry? How does she not know that? She found out about the Troll, didn't she?_ "I will allow it if you only list those accomplishments, nothing else."

"That was the plan, Mr. Weasley" Helena smiled, and Ron blinked at her. _Plan? Oh shite… Lord Greengrass is behind this interview, isn't he? He's no doubt payed her off to sing nothing but praises about me. And that's how she knows so much already._

"Then by all means, do as **planned** " Ron smiled, and Helena blinked at him.

"Sharp boy" she suddenly chuckled. "I can see why they call you a Prodigy. This interview will be in tomorrow's Daily Prophet."

"I look forward to reading it" Ron chuckled. Helena gave him a parting nod, and then she left. After she was gone, Lord Greengrass rejoined Ron.

"How did it go?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron smiled at him.

"It went just like you planned" Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass just stared at Ron for a few seconds.

"Are you upset?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me" Ron shrugged as he stood up.

"The interview **was** real, Ron" Lord Greengrass responded. "All I did was give her an incentive to write about your accomplishments."

"Which you told her about" Ron added.

"Yes, which I told her about" Lord Greengrass nodded. "I know you aren't one to throw around your accomplishments, but I believe that you **should** throw some around."

"You said that our relationship only works on absolute trust" Ron reminded his mentor. "This is not trust, my Lord. You did this without telling me."

"I know, forgive me" Lord Greengrass smiled softly. "I won't do it again, you have my word."

"Thank you" Ron smiled at his mentor. "And just between us, I would have agreed to do this if you had asked me."

"You would have?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Yes, I would have" Ron replied honestly. "If you can't have people's love and approval, then you should at least have their respect." Lord Greengrass smiled at his own words. _And telling people this will earn me respect, because those are respectable feats. Even if I got them due to luck and my power to see the future._

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Tournament Begins)**_

Ron stared at his shoes. He just stared right at his well-polished shoes, and he thought of nothing but chess. He sat there recounting chess plays in his mind, while the announcer declared the Tournament's rules. He had heard them before, and so he decided to not pay them any attention. But he didn't fail to notice that the announcer was a woman, as were all people who were looking for cheaters. _The only cheaters here are the bastards who are sitting in the stands._ The entire Beauxbatons student body was here, male and female. And they were just staring right at the competitors.

Ron could feel predatory eyes on him, but he managed to ignore them for now. What he couldn't ignore was the faint pain shooting up the back of his head. It was an odd kind of pain, it felt alive. Like it was crawling from the back of his neck and up towards his brain, and it made Ron grimace. Was this what the allure felt like? It couldn't be… Lord Greengrass had mentioned that being under the allure felt like bliss, but Ron wasn't feeling bliss. He was feeling genuine pain that seemed to be increasing with time. Ron rubbed the back of his head, his eyes still on his shoes.

Bright camera flashes went off from every direction, and that pissed Ron off. Lord Greengrass had explained that the French Ministry had pulled out all the stops this year, and it was because they knew that they were going to get a French Champion. That pissed Ron off to no end, they were blatantly cheating, and no one could say a damn word. The contract was signed three fucking years ago, and everything at this point was hearsay. If people blamed the Veelas, they'd sound like hateful bigots. If people blamed the French Ministry, the French Ministry would just deny their accusations and label them as 'sore losers'. There was no way to fight this nonsense, the French Ministry made sure of it. _They have a damn Sphynx sniffing people outside, that's how far they're taking this._ Another jolt of pain ran up his spine and into his brain, and Ron winced.

"Competitors, please take your seats" the announcer called, and Ron looked at his token. _Number twenty three. At least I got a decent starting seat this time around._ Ron got up and made his way towards table twelve in order to face off against number twenty four. He bumped into a few other blokes on the way, they too were walking around with this heads down. _This is fucking ridiculous is what this is._ Ron grit his teeth as another jolt of pain crawled up his scalp, this one was worse than the others. Ron took his seat, and a fourteen year old boy sat in front of him. They both had their eyes on the board, but Ron could see the boy fidgeting non-stop. _Is he in pain too?_ "Begin!" the announcer called, and Ron made the first move as he was playing white.

The game was… It wasn't really a game. Ron felt several jolts of pain that made him wince, and made his vision blurry with tears. The other boy however, was groaning and moaning. Ron quickly took the central position on the map, but his opponent's erratic playstyle was just plain confusing. Ron could see the boy shooting glances at the Beauxbatons stand, so Ron realized that his opponent wasn't all there. Ron landed a checkmate around the ten minute mark, and he stood up to shake the boy's hand. But the boy didn't stand up, he instead shook Ron's hand while sitting there with a guilty look. _Does he have an erection? Oh, what the fuck?!_ Ron quickly made his way to his waiting seat, and he sat down and clutched his head in his hands.

"Fuck me…" Ron whispered through clenched teeth, and another jolt of pulsating pain traveled up his scalp. _What kind of headache is this?_

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Final Match of the Day)**_

He was done… He was going to forfeit the next match, the pain was unbearable. He had managed four wins today, and that was enough. He had gone up against male competitors so far, and each match was nothing more than a cruel joke. Ron was in absolute agony, but the other boys seemed to be in a state of bliss. His last match wasn't even a fucking match, the boy had just stared at the Beauxbatons stand the entire time. The boy's mother had started screaming at the Veelas, calling them whores and whatnot, and therefore she was 'escorted' out. Ron won by default because the boy was disqualified, and so Ron had limped back to his seat. His vision was becoming hazy, and his eyelids were drooping. He was going to forfeit the next match, he couldn't take this any longer.

"Mr. Weasley" came a soft voice, and Ron looked up to see a woman's blurry shoes. "Your next match is about to begin…" _Is that sympathy I hear?_ Ron winced as he got up, and another jolt of excruciating pain ran up his scalp. Ron gasped, and he felt a steadying hand on his left shoulder. "Stop resisting their allures, please" the announcer whispered, a sense of insistence in her voice. _I'm not resisting shite! Their allures are hurting me! And I don't even know why!_

"Help me to my seat please, I don't know where to go…" Ron muttered, and the announcer held his shoulders as she guided him to his seat. Ron could hear people yelling and arguing that this was blatant cheating, but those arguments fell on deaf ears. _It's funny, I don't hear a single voice with a French accent. But then again, why would they fight against their own Ministry's underhanded tactics?_ Ron was helped into his seat, and he looked ahead for a split second. _Blurry, it's all just blurry..._ He could make out the outline of a girl, and so he looked down immediately. Another gasp escaped his lips as the worst jolt of pain so far ripped its way into his brain, and Ron felt a couple of tears escape his eyes.

"Do you remember me?" came a distorted voice, and Ron blinked rapidly at the board. "I'm Olivia Jones, we played in the finals of that Paris Competition. No? Don't remember me? Well, I remember you… The unbeatable Prodigy" Olivia spat, and Ron rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand. "I'm going to break your record, just wait and see." _I need to forfeit…_ Ron winced as he felt his forehead throb, and then he heard a loud yell. Ron saw her move her blurry white pawn forward, and so he knew that the game had started.

Ron wanted to forfeit, but the words wouldn't come out. This was his perfect record on the line, **his** perfect record. Chess was the one thing that he excelled in by himself, no one had just given him the skill to play this game. No visions from some piece of shite demon Entity, no hand-me-down notes, and no lucky breaks. It was all hard-work, **his** hard-work. He had spent hours and hours slaving away at those puzzles, and he had spent hours thinking about his strategies. And he refused to just give that up now. So Ron moved forward a pawn with his shaking left hand, his breathing shallow.

It felt like there was a pressure building up in his skull, and it was pressing against the back of his eyes. Ron genuinely feared that his eyes were going to pop out and just roll onto the board, but maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe that would alleviate this pressure… By the ten minute mark, Ron couldn't understand the board anymore. It was all just blurry, and his headache was set in stone. There were no more jolts, it was just a constant pain. Ron moved the pieces around, but he had no clue what he was doing anymore. He just moved a piece when he saw her blurry hand move a piece. And then, he heard her say the words that killed his perfect record.

"Checkmate" Olivia said, the joy in her voice making her voice less distorted. All Ron could do was stare at the board, his hands shaking and his eyes blinking rapidly. "This is the part where you shake my hand, and congratulate me." Ron put his gloved hand up, but he couldn't stand. She gripped his hand tightly, and she squeezed his hand until it hurt a bit. Ron didn't have the strength to retaliate, all he could do was stare at the board. "I guess they can now call you the 'Beatable Prodigy' instead… And I'll be remembered as the person who beat you." She let go of his hand, and it dropped to his side.

He saw a blurry shape move past him, and he figured that she had left. _My record… I lost it…_ Ron could barely bring himself to be upset over his 'perfect' record, the pain had just numbed his mind at this point. He felt like his brain was shutting down, but then he felt the pressure begin to ease. He just sat there quietly, his headache subsiding. Did this mean that they weren't using their allures on him anymore? Good riddance… He had no idea what was happening to him, why was he hurting while all the other boys were getting erections? _Never thought I'd think that sentence._ Ron felt his eyelids begin to close, but a firm hand landed on his right shoulder.

"Your mentor wants me to bring you out, Mr. Weasley" the announcer whispered. "Come, let me help you." Ron just drifted onto his feet, and he felt himself being shuffled out of the playing area. He could hear voices, but they were extremely distorted. Had his ear-drums ruptured? He had no idea, he was mostly just asleep at this point.

Everything was hazy after that. Ron remembered hearing Tori and Daphne's worried voices, he heard Mary's outrage, he heard people talking and saying his name, and he remembered throwing up on Lord Greengrass' robes. And then, he remembered being under the soft covers of his guest bed.

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Evening)**_

Sebastian had just changed his robes, and he had to hold the counter to steady himself. The allures, although not pointed at the spectators, had been overwhelming to say the least. Multiple fights had broken out because husbands were openly gawking at the Veelas while their wives sat not two feet from them. Sebastian was ashamed to admit that even his gaze had veered, but Mary's comforting hold on his arm kept him in check. If she hadn't been there, Sebastian shuddered at the thought.

They had arrived home an hour ago, and Ron was currently being checked over by Healer Bernard. The boy had left the entire Tournament lost for words, including Sebastian. Ron had resisted. Somehow, by some unearthly method, Ron had resisted them all. For hours on end no less. If Sebastian hadn't been there to see it, he would have never believed it. His apprentice had been under a great deal of mental strain, which was visible to all, but Madame Maxime hadn't backed off. If anything, Ron resisting her flock had only steeled her resolution to win. And now she knew that the boy was a great threat to her plans.

While Sebastian had all but carried Ron away from the Tournament, he had spotted Madam Maxime trying to make her way to him with her Veelas in tow. Mary had lost her temper, and Sebastian was forced to drag his entire family through the Floo Network. Luckily for Sebastian, Maxime's way was blocked by angry mothers and wives who had demanded that she take her flock elsewhere. Ron had earned quite a lot of notoriety today. But then again, what thirteen year old boy possessed the willpower needed to fight off fifty Veela allures at once?

"Daddy, mummy is calling you downstairs" came Tori's voice from beyond the bathroom door. Sebastian walked over and opened the door, and he saw Tori's extremely worried face. _She's been crying._

"Love, Ron will be fine with some rest" Sebastian said as he kneeled in front of her in order to clean her cheeks.

"Are you sure?" Tori asked. "Mummy's really scared, and so is Daphne."

"He will be fine" Sebastian told her, though he himself wasn't so sure. "He just vomited because the Floo jump upset him, that's all."

"Okay…" Tori nodded, but he knew that she didn't really believe him. So instead of lying more to his daughter, Sebastian took her hand and walked downstairs. They went into the living room, and Sebastian immediately saw Mary pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Daphne was sitting on the love-seat, her face covered with her hands.

"Sebastian!" Mary stopped pacing when she saw him. "Wir müssen ihn jetzt rausziehen!" _German? So she's gone into a panic, which means that I need to calm her down first._

"Love, it's alright" Sebastian hugged his wife as Tori took a seat with Daphne. "Mary, calm yourself" Sebastian whispered. "You're scaring our daughters."

"What are we going to tell his parents, Sebastian?" Mary whispered back as she held him tightly. "They trusted us to take care of him, and now he's…" she trailed off.

"We don't know what he is, let Healer Bernard do his work" Sebastian whispered. "Daphne and Astoria need us, Mary. We have to show them our strength so that they can find their own."

"You're right" Mary sniffled, and then she broke away from him. Sebastian rubbed his face, and then he joined his wife in comforting their daughters.

* * *

 _ **Monday March 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Late Evening)**_

"Bernard" Sebastian stood up and greeted the Healer as he stepped into the room, the man was an old acquaintance. Bernard had often made house calls for Sebastian whenever Tori got sick as a child, but now he worked in France. But that had worked out for Sebastian today. "How is he?"

"He is still unconscious, but I've administered a Sleeping Draught nonetheless" Bernard said, he sounded quite tired. "Sebastian, you said that he resisted over fifty Veelas… Were you exaggerating?"

"No, I wasn't" Sebastian sighed, and Bernard took a seat in front of the family. They were all sitting on one couch, the girls sandwiched between him and his wife.

"Remarkable" Bernard muttered. "Truly astonishing…"

"But?" Sebastian asked, and Bernard shifted in his seat a bit. "Bernard, just tell me."

"Perhaps the little ones should not be here" Bernard suggested, and Sebastian's stomach dropped. _Merlin, it must be really bad._

"Girls, go to your rooms at once" Sebastian ordered.

"He's my friend, so I'm not going anywhere" Daphne responded, real steel in her voice. "Plus, I know him better than all of you. If he's hurt, then I need to know."

"Then I'm not going away either" Tori joined in. Sebastian frowned at this open defiance, and he was about to shut it down when Mary shot him a pleading look. _She wants them to stay?_ Sebastian looked at Mary's pleading look, and he slowly gave up the idea of yelling at his daughters for refusing his command.

"Bernard, please tell us what you found" Mary asked the healer, and Sebastian looked to him as well.

"Well, I found this" Bernard said slowly as he opened his briefcase. "Tell me, what do you know of MRI machines?"

"What?" Sebastian blinked.

"It is a Muggle creation, and it allows them to scan the anatomy of an individual in order to find irregularities" Bernard explained. "We have been working on spells to copy their ingenious creation, though our spells aren't half as effective. But I was able to take two 'photos' of his brain, and transfer them onto these parchments. Here is the picture of his brain right now" Bernard said as he placed a piece of parchment on the coffee table in between them. Sebastian looked at the black and white picture, and it made little to no sense to him.

"Explain this to me" Sebastian ordered.

"This picture basically shows that his brain is in a relatively calm and stable condition" Bernard said. "Mostly everything is as it should be."

"Mostly?" Mary muttered. "What does that mean?"

"I will explain that soon, here is the picture of his brain when I first came in" Bernard said as he put the other piece of parchment on the table. Sebastian stared at it, and he saw that it was mostly just white with very little black areas. "This shows that his brain was severely inflamed when I first started my work."

"Inflamed?" Sebastian asked.

"It means that his brain was overworked, and that is not good for someone his age" Bernard told them. "Inflammation of the brain damages and destroys brain cells, speeding aging and atrophy of one's brain." The girls drew in sharp breaths, and Sebastian put his left arm around Daphne. "Tell me, how was he acting at the Tournament?"

"He was in pain" Daphne answered quickly, her voice shaking.

"He was growing more and more agitated" Sebastian elaborated. "It was like he wasn't all there, and by the end, he was just going through the motions."

"That is because inflammation causes neurons to fire off more slowly" Bernard nodded slowly. "That fits with my diagnoses."

"And what is your diagnoses?" Mary asked.

"Just a few more things I need to know first" Bernard said. "How does he normally act?"

"Normally?" Mary asked.

"How does he act around you all?" Bernard asked. "On a daily basis, that is."

"He's usually a happy soul" Mary answered. "He laughs a lot, makes jokes, and is rather hard-working." Bernard frowned a bit at that, and then he looked at Daphne.

"Child, you said that you know him best" Bernard spoke to Daphne, and Sebastian felt her tense. "Do you attend Hogwarts with him?"

"Yes, he's in my year" Daphne replied softly.

"How does he act at school?" Bernard asked. "Is he usually a happy soul? Or is he easily angered? Is he prone to feeling anxiety? Do his moods just change on a whim? Does he act irrationally sometimes? In ways that you can't understand or explain?"

"Hold on, what kind of questions are these?" Sebastian frowned at the healer, but he felt Daphne tense even more. "Daphne…?" But Daphne didn't say anything, she just kept staring at the pictures of Ron's brain. "Daphne Greengrass, answer the man's questions" Sebastian ordered, and Daphne nodded slowly with a sniffle.

"All of those things" Daphne whimpered. "Sometimes he's really happy, and then all of a sudden he is furious. He goes into a panic sometimes, but none of us know why. He even had a panic attack early on in the year…" Sebastian's mouth dropped open in shock, how did he not know all of this? _Is this why Dumbledore wants him to see a Mind-Healer? Did the old man catch onto these symptoms?_ "And lately he can't sleep without a Sleeping Draught… And his mood swings have been getting more and more frequent too…" Daphne sniffled again.

"Merlin…" came Mary's voice. "Poor boy…"

"Judging from what you've just told me" Bernard said firmly. "I'd say that his brain has been under a lot of strain long before this tournament even started. Here, look at these tiny black spots on both pictures" Bernard said as he pointed them out, and the entire family looked at them. "That… That is brain damage." The silence was deafening, and it lasted for almost a ten seconds. "It is not as severe as it sounds, it just means that he needs professional help. Help that I can't give him."

"What's the cause?" Sebastian managed to ask.

"I saw his scars, Sebastian" Bernard told him, and Sebastian closed his tired eyes. _The attack from the Dark Lord._

"Scars?" Tori sniffled. "What scars?"

"Hush, love" Mary said softly. "Let the good healer speak."

"A spell backfired on him at the end of his first year" Sebastian lied.

"Brain injury is the most common cause for damage like this" Bernard explained. "But his symptoms go beyond just a brain injury… You say that he is hard-working? How hard-working is he? What are his grades like?"

"Top of his class" Sebastian sighed. "He works to be the best in everything that he does…"

"I see" Bernard nodded. "One of the more common causes for brain inflammation is **chronic** **stress**. That is my diagnoses. The boy suffers from chronic stress, all of his symptoms point to it. Irrational behavior, mood swings, severe anxiety, general unhappiness, angry outbursts, and perhaps even a sense of loneliness or isolation."

"Loneliness?" Daphne asked suddenly.

"Yes, a feeling of being isolated is extremely common in these cases" Bernard replied. "Though I doubt he would ever show it to anyone else, his need to be the best won't allow that. Sebastian, this boy **needs** professional help." Bernard then pulled out a card from his briefcase. "Poppy Pomfrey is an old acquaintance of mine, and she works at Hogwarts."

"Madam Pomfrey?" Daphne muttered. "Ron got a note from her very recently, but he said that it was just a sick note."

"I see" Bernard nodded, and he put the card back in the briefcase. "I will write down a report on everything that I've heard, and I will pass it along to her. He needs her help, make sure he gets it." With that, Bernard stood up.

"Thank you, Bernard" Sebastian stood up and shook the man's hand.

"There is no need for that" Bernard smiled. "I've left some Nutrition Potions by his bed-side, please make sure that he drinks them when he wakes up. He was severely exhausted from today's proceedings. Oh, and one more thing. It is the most… unusual thing that I've seen in a good while."

"What is it?" Sebastian asked.

"The boy's Magical Core was rather depleted" Bernard replied, his tone showing his confusion. "I've never seen anything like it… I think that the boy's body was using his own magic to resist the allures somehow, and that it was also helping him heal his inflamed brain."

"How's that possible?" Sebastian muttered, he was completely shaken by this.

"I don't know" Bernard shook his head. "But it is very similar to how children use accidental magic to heal their own injuries… That's the closest thing that I've seen to this. Truth be told, his own body did most of the healing. I only helped a little with my Potions. A good night's rest ought to restore him to his usual self, but I still recommend that he sees Pomfrey. His stress will burn him out otherwise."

"He'll see her" Sebastian promised. "Have no doubt about that. Also, can we get a copy of that report too? We need to show it to his parents, they need to know about this."

"Certainly" Bernard nodded. "Call me again if you need me."

"I will" Sebastian nodded.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **The Dream World**_

"What the fuck?" Ron muttered as he suddenly found himself standing in front of Hagrid's hut, it was completely colorless. "Am I at Hogwarts?" Ron gazed up at the sky, and he saw green, red, yellow, and blue hues of lights dancing around on a starless night. "Woah…" Ron's eyes widened, those lights seemed to be the only things in color in this place. _They're so beautiful._ Ron looked around, and he saw the Castle standing not too far from him. "I'm at Hogwarts? What is going on here?" A sudden pain shot throughout his body, and he let out a yelp. "Fuck! What was that?!"

Ron's eyes grew wider as he saw one of the towers crumble and collapse in on itself, but they grew wider when it suddenly began to repair itself. _Did that tower crumbling down hurt me? Am I in a dream?_ Then it hit Ron, was he in the Dream World again? Sort of like that open field that he was in after his attack? _Wait… Does that mean that the Entity is here too?_ Ron felt anxious at the thought, maybe he could sneak out of this place before running into **it**? _But how do I sneak out?_ Ron rubbed the back of his head, he didn't even know how he got here.

"I was at the Tournament, and then…" Ron muttered to himself. "Then I lost, that's the last thing that I remember." Another tower began to crumble, and electrifying pain shot throughout his chest. "Ow…" Ron groaned as he rubbed his chest with his left hand. At least this answered one question, his sudden pangs of pain were happening because of this 'Dream Hogwarts' breaking down. _Now I just need to figure out what's happening here._ Ron slapped his cheeks, he wasn't going to get answers by just standing here.

Ron began making his way towards 'Hogwarts', and he was disturbed by the uncanny resemblance. It was exactly like the real Hogwarts, only it was all shades of grey instead. Ron gazed up at the lights again, and he felt calmed by their mesmerizing dance. As Ron made his way through the wooden bridge that led towards the back of the courtyard, he felt another pang of pain. This time he heard something heavy collapsing, but the pain subsided as he heard it being repaired. _This is just insane. What is this place? And where is the Entity?_ As Ron made his way onto the courtyard, his need for answers clouded his sense of self-preservation.

"ENTITY?!" Ron yelled out. "Are you here?!" He was met with silence, and Ron frowned. _What the fuck am I doing? And why am I disappointed that it's not here?_ Ron suddenly heard something slimy slithering in the shadows, and his blood froze in his veins. "Entity?" Ron squeaked. "Is that you?" Ron asked as he shot wild looks around himself. _Fucking hell, I know that it's here._ "Show yourself!" Ron commanded.

" _ **Champion**_ " came the monstrous voice of the Entity from behind Ron, and Ron saw a massive shadow being cast over him. Ron slowly turned around, and then he screamed in fright and fell on his arse. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he saw the Basilisk looking down at him, its eyes crimson and toad-like. " _ **We meet again, Champion.**_ "

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Boom, get cliff-hangered! Wait, that's not a word... Well, as some of you suspected, The Entity tends to step in whenever outside forces attempt to hinder the Champion's mind. But even it caved under the a** **ssault of that many Veelas, but that's mostly due to Ron's own inability to resist them.**

 **Now, a couple of hints for the next chapter. Ron and Entity have a chat that isn't interrupted. Ron learns some disturbing news. The Red-Furred Goat makes a return, much to the Greengrass Family's annoyance. Madame Maxime and Fluer in the next Chapter. Blaise, Tracey, and Millie POVs too. So, big chapter... Oh well!**

 **Oh, and I know that I haven't done a Hermione POV in a while, but she will have one before the break ends. Sorry to you Hermione fans, didn't mean to make you feel excluded =P Also, a Harry POV will be coming.**

 **See you on Wednesday!**


	49. Chapter 49 - The Determined Goat

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 49 is here, fresh out of the oven. Now, just a couple of quick things:**

 **1\. There is a small misunderstanding amongst the readers, so let me clear it up. Olivia Jones was the girl that Ron beat in the final of the Paris Competition. (She frowned the entire game, and at the end). Amanda DuPont was the girl he beat at the end of last year's Junior League Tournament.**

 **2\. No Tracey or Millie in this chapter, I instead gave their POV slots to someone else.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 49 – A Determined Goat**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **The Dream World**_

"Oh shite…" Ron muttered as he stared at the Basilisk. "You're a Basilisk?"

" _ **Does this form bother you, Champion?**_ " The Entity/Basilisk asked, its voice and visage sending a cold shiver through Ron.

"Bother me?" Ron asked slowly, the Entity's simple question confusing him a bit. _It's not attacking me?_

" _ **That is what we asked.**_ " The Entity replied.

"Yes, it bothers me…" Ron whispered as he slowly stood up. "Fucking hell…" Ron muttered as he stared at the towering King of Serpents. The Entity suddenly began circling Ron with frightening speed, and Ron looked around wildly as the Basilisk's form broke apart into a thick black fog. The fog enveloped Ron completely, to the point where Ron couldn't even see his own two hands. And then, the fog was sucked into something behind Ron. Ron turned to see Daphne staring at him, her crimson toad-like eyes ravenous and cruel.

" _ **Do you prefer us in this form instead?**_ " the Entity grinned, its dagger-sharp teeth making Ron take a step back. All Ron could do was stare at 'Daphne' with wide eyes, and when he didn't reply, the Entity slowly approached him. " _ **You don't like it? Strange… We thought that this form would please you.**_ "

"And why would you think that?" Ron asked slowly, it was clear that the Entity knew of his 'close friendship' with Daphne. Ron felt dread at the prospect of the Entity knowing about Daphne, he didn't want to endanger her in any way.

" _ **We see all, Champion**_ " the Entity replied. " _ **We are a part of you, and we know you better than you know yourself.**_ "

"Then take another form…" Ron suddenly seethed, seeing 'Daphne' like this was too distressing. "Stop hiding behind the faces of others, show me what you really look like."

" _ **You could not gaze upon our true form and live, believe us**_ " the Entity laughed in a mocking manner, and Ron clenched his jaw. _Piece of shite demon. Stop laughing at me._

"That ugly, are you?" Ron mocked back, and the Entity immediately lost its humor. _Bad move, Weasley. Really bad move._

" _ **Careful, Champion…**_ " the Entity warned, its tone making Ron take another step back. " _ **We will not tolerate such a defiant tone from a lesser life form.**_ "

"Lesser life form?" Ron repeated, a cold sweat breaking out in his armpits. "What are you? Why are you in my head?" Ron felt a sudden pang of pain in his stomach, and he bent over and clutched his stomach with his hands. "Fuck…" Ron winced as he fell onto his knees, and he heard heavy stones collapsing behind him. The Entity stared at Ron for a few seconds, and then it waved its left hand and Ron's pain subsided as the Castle was repaired once again. "What are you doing to me, monster?"

" _ **Keeping you in one piece, worm**_ " the Entity replied.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked as he slowly stood back up. "Am I dying?"

" _ **Your kind is always dying, Champion**_ " 'Daphne' replied with an overwhelming amount of disgust. " _ **So fragile, and weak.**_ "

"Why does it hurt me when this 'Hogwarts' takes damage?" Ron asked.

" _ **Because this place is you, and you are this place**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron grit his teeth.

"Are you just going to speak in riddles?" Ron asked, this was so frustrating. _I want answers, and I want them now._

" _ **Riddles?**_ " 'Daphne' grinned, her demonic eyes glaring into his. " _ **This place is a physical manifestation of your mind, Champion. And it is breaking apart. We are the only reason why you aren't braindead already.**_ "

"Oh…" Ron muttered, this sounded bad. "So this is all in my head?"

" _ **Yes, your body is currently recovering from your tribulation**_ " the Entity replied. " _ **We are healing the damage done by those… creatures.**_ "

"My headache…" Ron came to horrible realization. "Their allures did this to my mind…"

" _ **We held them off, Champion**_ " the Entity told him, and Ron blinked at it. " _ **However, your desire for them weakened our defense considerably. But we have learned of how their trick works now, and we will be able to better handle their assault from now on.**_ "

"You protected me?" Ron asked softly, and the Entity cocked its head. "Why? Why are you in my mind? Why can I see the future?"

" _ **You cannot see the future, Champion. You merely see Creation through our eyes for mere moments.**_ "

"What?" Ron blinked again. "What does that mean?"

" _ **We see all, every moment of this Universe at the same time. Past, present, and future. We see it all, and for a few moments, so do you.**_ "

"What… the… fuck…?" Ron mumbled to himself. "How do I see as you do? And what are you?"

" _ **We are something beyond the comprehension of mortals, which is all you need to know.**_ "

"Not good enough!" Ron shot back, and the Entity glared at him for raising his voice. "You are in **my** head, and I deserve to know why."

" _ **Believe us, Champion, we do not wish to be here. We were bound to you against our will, and now we cannot leave until you complete your task. A task which you have failed hundreds of times.**_ " Ron just stared at the Entity with unblinking eyes, he was even more confused now.

"What task?" Ron asked slowly, and the Entity smiled cruelly.

" _ **To end the Lord of Serpents**_ " the Entity answered. _Lord of Serpents?_

"You mean the Dark Lord?" Ron guessed, and the Entity's smile grew wider. Its dagger-sharp teeth gleamed, and Ron swallowed thickly. "So you want me to kill him?"

" _ **You, Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore… It matters not who delivers the final blow, only that it gets done.**_ "

"Okay…" Ron nodded slowly, at least one question was answered. "But why him?"

" _ **His existence cannot be tolerated. Creation has but one rule, and one rule only. All that is created, must eventually end. He has broken that commandment, and so he must die. His existence is an unraveling thread that will undo all around it. Death does not like to be cheated, and He would sooner destroy this Universe than be made a fool out of by some mortal.**_ " Ron just stared at the Entity for a few seconds with an unblinking look.

"Right… right…" Ron muttered as he slowly nodded his head over and over again. "I just need to sit down…" Ron fell back on his arse, and he gripped his head with his hands. "Destroy the Universe? Death?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. _This is a bad joke, isn't it? I've gone fucking mental, that's all._

" _ **You wanted the answers, Champion. And now you have them.**_ "

"Answers?" Ron looked up at 'Daphne'. "Now I have a million more questions…"

" _ **Of course you do, your kind is never satisfied**_ " the Entity hissed, and Ron frowned deeply. " _ **All you need to know is that your task is the only reason why we haven't destroyed you yet, and we will not rest until it is done. We will not rest until we are free of you.**_ "

"Free of me?" Ron whispered, and the Entity scowled in disgust. "You think I want you in my head?!" Ron yelled as he shot up, his anger taking over his common sense. "Why chose me?! There are so many people out there that you could've latched onto, but no… No, you had to pick me?!"

" _ **We did not pick you, you insect!**_ " the Entity bellowed, and the ground began to quake. " _ **She picked you! She bound us to you against our will! Instead of picking someone worthy of us, She picked the weakest, most pathetic of creatures as an insult to us!**_ "

"Fuck you!" Ron yelled back as he steadied his footing. "I am not weak! Nor am I pathetic!"

" _ **Aren't you?**_ " the Entity laughed suddenly, its change in demeanor scaring Ron a little. " _ **You dare say that? You, who failed to even earn the love of your own parents?**_ " Ron flinched at that, and the Entity suddenly grabbed Ron by his throat and lifted him into the air with its right hand. Ron choked as the Entity's grip blocked his flow of oxygen, and his feet thrashed about in panic. " _ **You are an ill-made, spiteful little creature! Full of rage, greed, and low cunning… You do not deserve our gift, all you deserve is to be consumed by maggots!**_ " The Entity threw Ron aside effortlessly, and Ron landed face first onto the stone ground. He coughed loudly as he tried to take in air, his face feeling wet because of the new cut on his forehead.

" _ **It is only because of our presence that you have achieved so much in this life**_ " the Entity spat out while Ron tried to get his bearings. " _ **We witnessed what your first, true life was like, and you should be on your knees thanking us for our existence. Everything that you are now, is exactly how we intended it to be. You think that pathetic little Hat put you in Slytherin because you are exceptional? No, Champion… We compelled it to.**_ "

"You're lying" Ron grit out as he steadied himself on all four, tears of anger blurring his vision.

" _ **You think that we didn't notice its presence during your Sorting?**_ " the Entity laughed, its terrible voice ringing in Ron's ears. " _ **While it watched us, we simply planted an idea into its mind. An idea that it believed was its own.**_ "

"Why?!" Ron yelled as he got back up and turned to face the Entity, it was now wearing Luna's face.

" _ **Of all the Cycles, Champion, the closest you've ever come to succeeding in your task is when you were placed in Slytherin. All forty-eight Slytherin Cycles lasted for far longer than any of the other House Cycles.**_"

"Cycles?" Ron glared at the Entity, his chest hurting at the Entity's cruel words. "You said that I've failed this 'task' hundreds of times, right? Is that what you mean by Cycles? I fail, and it all starts again?!"

" _ **Yes…**_ " 'Luna' hissed. " _ **Every time a Cycle ends in failure, we are thrown back into your eight year old body… Over and over again, and you always fail! But we have learned from your mistakes, Champion. We allowed Albus Dumbledore to see your trauma from being neglected as a child, from being betrayed by your friends. We made him sympathize with you, and then to top it all off, we dominated his pet's mind into believing that you were a 'pure' soul. And now, Albus Dumbledore believes you to be some 'Child of Destiny'… We control every aspect of your life, you are nothing but our puppet. You dance on the strings that we pull, never forget that.**_ " Ron's face contorted in rage, and before he knew it, he had clocked 'Luna' right in the face. The Entity didn't even move an inch, but it was stunned into silence.

"Did you pull that string, you fucking cunt?" Ron hissed back, but the Entity just stared at Ron with… bewilderment? "I control my own life, and I'm no one's 'puppet'… Never forget **that** , you **evil** prick." The Entity's look suddenly darkened, and Ron saw the bright lights in the sky begin to dim. The Entity's crimson, toad-like eyes began to glow as the world became darker, and Ron took a shaky step back. "What are you doing?" Ron asked as he looked around at the dimming world.

" _ **We will break you earlier in the next Cycle...**_ " the Entity hissed, its glowing red eyes becoming the only source of light. " _ **Goodbye, Champion.**_ " _It's going to kill me?! Oh fucking fuck!_ There was a sudden thunderous noise, and Ron covered his ears on instinct. The world began to reappear slowly, and Ron gazed around in utter confusion. _What the hell…?_

"What was that?" Ron asked, and he looked over to see the Entity staring at the sky. "What the hell was that?" Ron asked again.

" _ **Leave**_ " the Entity replied, its voice coming out as a deadly whisper.

"Leave?" Ron repeated, was the Entity going to spare him? "You're not going to kill me…?" The Entity looked over at Ron with a hateful look, its eyes glaring into Ron's.

" _ **She says that you may yet succeed, so leave**_ " the Entity said coldly. " _ **This exchange is over.**_ "

"She?" Ron blinked. "The one who bound you to me?"

" _ **LEAVE!**_ " the Entity shrieked at him, its voice blasting Ron out of his own mind.

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Clementine Zabini's Current Home, Tuscany – Early Morning)**_

Blaise ate his breakfast alone as he read the Daily Prophet that had just arrived, the picture on the front page showing Ron in his Chess Uniform had caught Blaise's eye. Blaise had read over the exclusive with great interest, and he was glad to see that Ron had answered the questions with a modicum of cunning. His red-haired friend had left little room for scrutiny, and his massive list of achievements made him sound like some hero out of a fairy-tale. But it was Ron's most recent achievement that had left Blaise in utter shock, his friend had resisted over fifty concentrated allures from Veelas.

The Daily Prophet, being a bunch of arse-kissers, had quickly written the word 'alleged' next to the report about the allures. But Blaise knew that this was true, and he was honest-to-Merlin just baffled. How was that even humanly possible? Sure, Ron was always the exception to the rule. He was the first Weasley to be sorted into Slytherin. Unlike his family, Ron seemed to thrive in Pure-Blood Politics. Ron had even gone up against the Dark Lord and lived… But this? This was something that even Blaise had trouble believing. _Maybe Ron isn't even fully human?_ Blaise chuckled to himself at the absurd thought, but his amusement died when he heard footsteps upstairs. His mother was awake…

The last two days had been terribly awkward, and Blaise was in no mood to repeat them. His mother had picked him up from Platform 93/4, and then they had traveled to Malfoy Manor to spend Sunday night with them. Lucius Malfoy was out of the country for some business, so Blaise had to spend the day with his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy… It quickly became apparent that Blaise and Draco were no longer friends, much to their mothers' displeasure. And Blaise, being an utter idiot, had decided to borrow some of Ron's courage and come clean. He had told both mothers about his friendship with Ron, and about Draco's foolish behavior at school.

Luckily for Blaise, it turned out that Draco had been lying to his family the entire time. He had told them some far-fetched story about being a leader of sorts within Slytherin, so Blaise's story about Ron being more of a leader had come as a nasty shock to Narcissa. Let's just say that Blaise was glad to leave Malfoy Manor on Monday morning. But now he had his own problem to deal with, a problem named Clementine Zabini. She had all but ignored him yesterday, but Blaise didn't really care. His mother was incapable of love, Blaise had learned that long ago. His only good memory with her had dimmed over time, and now he was done looking back. _Ron never looks back, and he fought tooth and nail to stay with us._

"Good morning, son" came his mother's voice, and Blaise looked to her as she stepped into the room. She was one of the most beautiful women that Blaise had ever seen. She was slender, dark skinned, strong-jawed, and her amber eyes almost looked golden. _It makes sense, considering gold is all she has eyes for._

"Good morning, mother" Blaise greeted back. "Are we talking today?"

"We may, after you send a letter to Draco Malfoy" Clementine replied as she sat down at the head of the table, just to Blaise' left. "You will apologize to him, and you will tell him that you plan to abandon that Blood-Traitor you've been following around." Blaise's blood boiled at the thought, but he kept his demeanor indifferent. Being detached was the best defense against allowing people to let you down, his own mother had taught him that.

"Read this, mother" Blaise smirked as he handed her the Daily Prophet, and she took it with a raised eyebrow. Blaise ate his marmalade toast as his mother read the paper, and then he suddenly heard her mutter something under her breath. "Did you say something, mother?" Blaise asked, she had taken the bait.

"This… boy…" Clementine replied, and then she put the paper down and looked right at Blaise. "Is this true, Blaise?"

"Which part?" Blaise asked.

"Don't play games with me, my treasure" his mother smiled, and Blaise recognized the greedy glint in her eyes. "All of it… His accomplishments, his **patronage** , and his impressive… vigor. Is it all true?"

"It is" Blaise smiled back, and his mother put her left hand over his.

"Go on" his mother smiled as she rubbed his hand. "Tell me more about your friend, love." Blaise felt true disgust at his mother's sudden change in behavior, but he chose to ignore it. This was his opportunity to break ties with Malfoy permanently, and win his mother's seal of approval for Ron.

"He is unlike anyone I've ever met" Blaise said truthfully. "I learnt that during his Sorting…"

"The longest Sorting in Hogwarts' history" his mother cut him off as she looked back down at the paper. "He was a perfect candidate for all the Houses?"

"The Hat claimed so, mother" Blaise replied with a practiced smile, and his mother's eyes glinted golden for a second. "That is why I chose him over Malfoy, I knew then and there that Ron was the better choice for an ally."

"You did well, my pearl" his mother cooed. "That Malfoy brat has always been weak, so unlike his father." _Does she even realize that she is a walking contradiction? Or has her greed completely addled her mind?_ "Now tell me more of Ron." _Ron? Not Blood-Traitor?_

"He is strong, stronger than anyone in our year" Blaise went on. "He bested Potter without a wand, and he even strong-armed Dumbledore with little to no effort." _That's an embellishment, but she'll eat it right up._

"Without a wand?" his mother chuckled. "My word… He defeated the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"With **ease** " Blaise smiled. "He could probably best most students in Hogwarts, mother."

"It says here that he singlehandedly killed a Mountain Troll" his mother read.

"I was there" Blaise confirmed, and a flash of concern momentarily crossed her face. _I probably just imagined that._ "He blew the Troll's head off with a single spell, a spell that he taught me himself."

"He imparts his knowledge onto you?" his mother smiled widely.

"Without ever asking for anything in return" Blaise told her. "Unlike Malfoy, Ron earns respect. He never demands it. He treats everyone equally, and **that** is why he is so well liked within Slytherin. Especially by the older students. He is the real leader amongst us second years, not Malfoy."

"And you have his ear?" his mother asked.

"He calls me his best friend, mother" Blaise told her, and she made a gleeful noise.

"A Weasley in Slytherin, I cannot believe it" his mother hummed. "And a Prodigy with powerful allies no less… Blaise, you must tell me more. What does he like to eat? What's his favorite color? Is he allergic to anything?"

"Planning to host him, mother?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow.

"Of course, my sweet" his mother cooed. "I wish to meet your best friend, and thank him personally for being such a good friend to you." _She has no shame, does she? Ron hates people like her._

"Then you must know that he doesn't believe in Blood-Purity" Blaise told her, but she waved a dismissive hand.

"Ron is entitled to his beliefs, and I will respect that" his mother smiled at the picture of Ron in his Chess Uniform. "Such a handsome boy… You must introduce us, my gem. I wish to make his acquaintance and offer him our combined allegiance."

"That quickly, mother?" Blaise was genuinely surprised by her words.

"You are his best friend, and he is yours" Clementine replied as she stroked Blaise's left cheek lovingly. "It would be improper of me to not show him my approval, don't you think?" _I guess my plan worked, now I just need to tell Ron about what kind of person she is. But I think he already has a good enough idea._

"Very well, mother" Blaise smiled. "I will send him a letter after breakfast. He is currently defending his Champion title at the Junior League Chess Tournament being held at Beauxbatons, so his reply will be delayed."

"A Chess Champion…" his mother smiled widely. "One that can resist so many Veelas…"

"He is nothing if not impressive, believe me" Blaise said softly.

"I cannot wait to meet him" Clementine said happily as she stood up. She then walked over to Blaise and kissed his forehead tenderly. "I'm so proud of you, Blaise. You did the right thing by abandoning that Malfoy brat in favor of Ron, well done." With that, Clementine left the room as she hummed to herself happily. Blaise dropped his toast on his plate, his stomach turning in disgust. He had just thrown Ron into his mother's crosshairs, and all for the sole purpose of making things easier on himself. _I think I've lost my appetite… I'm sorry, Ron._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Morning)**_

Ron woke up with a start, and he immediately sprang out of his bed. _Where am I?_ Ron shot tense looks around his room, and he slowly relaxed as he realized that he was no longer in the Dream World. _The Entity let me go. It said that 'She still thought I had a chance at succeeding'. Who the hell is She?_ Ron was honestly stumped, his dream had felt like something out of a story book. The Entity's words echoed in his mind, and he found himself filled with even more questions. _It's alright, mate. Just think about everything piece by piece, and then try to put it all together._ Ron looked at his Rolex, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. _FUCK! It's twenty past eight, and the damn Tournament starts at nine!_

Ron went to take his clothes off, and that's when he realized that he was wearing his pajamas. _Someone changed my clothes? Ugh… Doesn't matter, I need a quick shower and then to be on my way!_ Ron quickly ran into the adjoining bathroom, and he all but ripped his clothes off. He quickly turned on the water and hopped in, and he let out a yelp as the cold water hit his skin.

"Fuck…" Ron squealed, but he didn't stop showering. As he washed himself in a hurry, his mind drifted to his encounter with the Entity. The whole concept of Cycles was baffling to say the least, but the fact that he had failed to destroy the Dark Lord 'hundreds of times' was truly alarming. _The Slytherin Cycles were the closest that I ever got to succeeding, and so_ _ **it**_ _put me in Slytherin…_ Ron didn't even know what to think of that, but he knew that he had to tell the Sorting Hat. This fucking demon in his brain was clearly capable of doing a lot more than just giving him visions, and it hoodwinking the Hat proved it. _But not just the Hat, it even manipulated Dumbledore and Fawkes. I don't know if it was telling me the truth, but I don't see a reason as why it would lie. And it was right, Dumbledore has been showing a keen interest in me recently._

That particular thought angered Ron, he had genuinely believed that his own skills were the reason why Dumbledore had taken an interest in him. But now… Now it just felt like Dumbledore pitied him, and that hurt. _Piece of shite demon, fuck you! Just how much of my life have you manipulated?!_ That's when Ron remembered the Entity's words about his first, true life. _It said that I should be thanking it, was my first life really that bad?_ Ron suddenly chuckled mirthlessly, the whole concept of reliving his life over and over again was insane. He couldn't even begin to understand how it worked, or why he didn't remember anything from his previous lives. Or even the fact that the Entity was actually bound to him by some **other** **being**. It was all too much, and Ron suddenly felt his breathing become shallower. _Relax, just relax._

Ron leaned against the shower wall, and he felt his stomach turn. This was all too big, the entire concept revolving around the Entity was too big. Did he really have such little control over his own life? Was he just a puppet of some otherworldly being? Ron suddenly gagged a bit, but his stomach was completely empty. _Get a grip right the fuck now. Focus on the Tournament, Ron. Think of Chess. Just think of Chess, and about going to the Tournament. Tackle what's in front of you, and then you can think about this crazy shite._ The water was warmer now, and it eased his jittery mind. Ron packed the Entity, and everything involving it, into the back of his mind. He couldn't think about this right now, he needed time to process everything.

Ron stepped out of the shower, and he gazed at his naked reflection. His eyes fell on his scars, and a jolt of panic shot through him. _No, stop thinking about_ _ **it**_ _. Get dressed, and get going._ Ron put a towel around his waist, and he hurried into his room. He saw his Uniform hanging in his open closet, and Ron quickly grabbed it. He put on his Rolex, his rings, his glove, and then his Uniform. Once he was fully dressed, he looked at the watch that Daphne had given him. _Oh fuck! Quarter to nine, I took too long in damn the shower!_ Ron bolted out of his room, his tie still undone and his shirt tucked out. Ron barreled down the stairs, and he heard Mary call his name.

"Ron, is that you?" Mary's voice came from the dining room, and Ron burst into the room. The entire Greengrass Family was sitting at the dining table, and they stared at him with bewildered and worried looks. _They're not even dressed for the Tournament?! What the fuck?!_

"Why aren't any of you dressed yet?!" Ron asked in a panic, and he saw Daphne and Astoria's mouths hang open slightly. _What's with those scared looks?_

"Ron, take a seat please" Lord Greengrass said, his voice softer than usual. "We need to talk."

"Talk? My Lord, the Tournament starts in less than fifteen minutes! We need to leave now!" Ron said in a panic, and they all just blinked at him.

"Ron, we've decided to pull you out of the Tournament" Mary told him, a saddened look crossing her face.

"Pull me out? Why?" Ron asked slowly, his eyes darting to everyone in the room. Lord Greengrass was just looking at him with a tired look, Daphne looked extremely guilty and she averted her gaze, Tori looked ready to cry, and Mary was trying to look strong but failing. "What's happened? What did I miss?"

"Ron, take a seat please" Lord Greengrass repeated. "We need to talk to you about what happened yesterday." _Yesterday? Is he referring to me resisting the Veelas? Well, the Entity resisting the Veelas and me being in agony._ Ron shot a panicked look at his Rolex, and his body tensed. _Ten fucking minutes?! Fuck!_

"My Lord the Tournament starts in ten minutes!" Ron told his mentor, his urgency apparent in his tone.

"I know, but I do not want you to attend" Lord Greengrass sighed. "Ron, you were in extreme pain yesterday. And I will not let you go through that again just for some trophy."

"Some trophy…" Ron blinked at his mentor. It wasn't just some trophy, this was Chess. The one thing that he excelled in by himself, the one skill that was truly his own. The Entity had made it quite clear that it was controlling Ron's life, but Chess was something that Ron controlled. It was the one part of his life right now that was genuinely under his own control, and he had no intention of giving it up. He had no intention of being some evil monster's puppet… "I am not in this for some trophy" Ron told them, his temper flaring wildly. "And as for pulling out… Well, that's not happening."

"Ron…" Lord Greengrass started, but Ron turned and bolted out of the room. "RON!" Ron heard them yelling and getting up to follow him, but he was already in the living room by the time he heard them come out of the dining room.

"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic" Ron called clearly as he tossed the Floo Powder into the fireplace, and then he ran through the green blaze. He ran out into the Beauxbatons Grand Hall through the fireplace, startling everyone around him.

"It's him, he's here" some random woman called, but Ron ignored her. He ignored all the wide-eyed people staring at him, and he bolted towards the Gardens. _Shite, I'm so fucking late! Pull me out, my arse! I'm not backing off because of some pain! Entity, if you can hear me, do your thing!_ Ron ran past the witches and wizards who were heading in the same direction as him, most of them moving out of his way in panic. He imagined that he must've looked like quite the mad-man, charging into Veela territory with his clothes all untidy and whatnot. But he didn't give a shite at the moment, he was not giving up control. He wasn't some puppet, and his life was his own. He was sick to death of people telling him what to do, and if he could find the strength to clock the Entity in the face, then this was nothing.

"Halt" the Sphinx ordered as Ron approached, and Ron dug his heels into the ground in order to stop himself.

"Sphinx, sniff me quickly" Ron ordered, and the beast blinked at him. "I'm running late, hurry!" The lion-woman sniffed in his scent deeply, and then she purred. _Stop being weird, and let me pass!_

"You may go on, boy" the Sphinx told him, and Ron ran right past her. He barreled into the playing area, and he heard loud gasps and whispers break out as soon as he ran into view. Ron ignored them as he ran past the shocked announcer and took his seat, and then he let out a victorious breath of relief. _I fucking made it… Thank you Merlin…_ A pang of pain shot up through his skull, and Ron knew that the allures were now on him. _Kick their arses, you demonic piece of shite. If you can use me, then I can use you too._

"Weasley" came a voice from his right, it was female and it had a thick French accent. Ron looked to see Amanda DuPont looking at him with a shocked look, and Ron immediately looked away. "What are you doing 'ere? You should not be 'ere."

"Is that what you want?" Ron asked coldly as he stared down at his shoes, his headache coming on slowly. "For me to give up and go home?" Amanda shuffled in her seat, and then she let out a deep sigh.

"You are in danger 'ere, Weasley…" Amanda whispered, and Ron blinked in confusion. "The Madame is watching for you, as her Veelas are." Ron knew that her English wasn't great, she was French after all. But still, her poor English mixed in with her thick accent made her incredibly difficult to understand. Not to mention the sudden jolts of pain that were traveling up his scalp. _They aren't as bad as yesterday. The Entity did mention that it had learned how their allures worked, and that it could fight them off better._

"You sound like you care" Ron said coldly. "Aren't you glad that your 'Madame' is cheating to give you a free win?"

"Do not be speaking to me that way" Amanda retorted. "You do not know me. I do not approve of ze Madame's plans… But I 'ave no power to stop 'er from souillure this Tournament."

"What? I don't know what that word means" Ron whispered. _Was that French?_

"Um… tainting? Sullying? I do not know ze word in Eenglish" Amanda said softly. "And no, I am not Veela… so stop looking at ze floor. It is rude…" Ron couldn't help but release a soft chuckle, and he slowly looked up at her. She was blonde, green-eyed, and as pretty as the last time he had seen her. "Do you remember me?"

"I do" Ron smiled softly. "We played against each other in last year's Junior League Tournament Final, and it was a great game." Amanda smiled at that, and she nodded.

"You were a good winner, and not arrogant like ze American boy" Amanda reminded him. Ron suddenly felt a strong pang of pain, and he inwardly cursed the Entity. "Weasley, why 'ave you come back 'ere?"

"The matches are about to begin, and I'm competing" Ron told her, and she blinked at him.

"You are in pain, I can see it" Amanda said softly. "Everyone can see it…"

"I won't let that stop me" Ron shrugged, and Amanda blinked at him again.

"Are you a… what do you call it? A crazy person?" Amanda asked him, and Ron sniggered.

"Some would say that" Ron admitted. "I like to think that I'm determined." _Or as Daphne would put it, a stubborn red-furred goat._

"Determined does sound better, no?" Amanda smiled, but her eyes showed her bewilderment.

"Competitors" the announcer called, and they all rose from their chairs. "Please move onto the tables allocated to you." Everyone began to move but Ron stood dazed for a few seconds, which table was he on? Ron walked up to the announcer, and she looked at him with a scolding look.

"Excuse me, but I don't know which table I was on yesterday" Ron told her, and she tutted him. She was rather young, had long brown hair, and hazel eyes.

"Why did you come back here? Most of the other boys have quit the Tournament" the announcer told him, and Ron blinked at her. Ron then looked around properly for the first time, and she was right. There were only four other boys here, and they were already staring at the Beauxbatons stand. _Did they come here just to see the Veelas again? And if all the other boys quit, what does that mean for the rankings?_

"I plan to win this Tournament" Ron told her, and she looked rather surprised. "Please show me to my seat."

"This way…" she said as she guided him to a table with another boy. Ron took his seat, and he noticed that he was playing black this time. The announcer then walked back into the center of the playing area, but Ron saw her shooting him curious looks. "Competitors you may begin!" Ron looked back at his chess pieces, and he waited for his opponent to start. But after waiting for over ten seconds, Ron finally got annoyed enough to look at the boy. His opponent was just smiling and waving at the Veelas, and so Ron let out a tired sigh.

"Mate…" Ron whispered. "Make a move, you're playing white." The boy just ignored Ron, which pissed Ron off to no end. But Ron wasn't angry at the boy, he was angry at the Veelas and their Madame. Against his better judgement, Ron shot a look at the Beauxbatons stand. The first thing he noticed was that Madame Olympe was not there, and the second thing that he noticed was a horrid jolt of pain tearing its way through his head. Ron looked away from the stands, and the pain ebbed significantly. It was still there, but at least it was bearable now. Ron put his hand up, and he waited for the announcer.

"Mr. Weasley?" the announcer whispered from behind him, and then she came around. "Is everything alright?"

"No, he won't make a move" Ron told her, and she shot the other boy a sad look. She then walked over to him, and she patted his left shoulder.

"Mr. Williams, it is your move" the announcer whispered, and Ron just stared at the enthralled boy.

"I forfeit" the boy shrugged, a happy smile on his face. _What the hell? Poor bloke, this is just plain unfair._

"Mr. Williams, I urge you to reconsider" the announcer whispered, but the boy just kept his eyes on the Beauxbatons stand.

"I didn't come here for chess, I came here for them" the boy waved to the Veelas. "I forfeit, now let me watch them in peace." The announcer shot an angry look towards the Beauxbatons stand, and then she looked over to Ron.

"It is your win, Mr. Weasley" the announcer sighed in defeat.

"Doesn't feel like a win to me" Ron muttered back, and she nodded in understanding.

"Please take your waiting seat while I escort Mr. Williams away from their… line of sight" the announcer instructed, and Ron stood up to leave. He began making his way back to his seat, but that's when he spotted Lord Greengrass by the entrance. His mentor looked rather annoyed, and he summoned Ron to him by jerking his head to the side. _Shite. What do I even say to him? I've never disobeyed him like that._ Ron walked over to Lord Greengrass, his resolve weakening as he approached the tall, pale man. _Just tell him that you can resist them better today, and that you can win this._

"Ron, what were you thinking?" Lord Greengrass whispered, though his whisper exhibited his anger.

"I was thinking that I came to win a Tournament" Ron whispered back, his whisper exhibiting his regret at disobeying Lord Greengrass. "And I can win, my Lord. Just give me a chance, please."

"Ron…" Lord Greengrass sighed. "You were barely in one piece when I brought you back home last night, so please come back with me. You can win the next one, but let this one go."

"No, I'm not giving up control" Ron refused, and Lord Greengrass blinked at him.

"Control?" Lord Greengrass asked softly. _Dammit, don't lose your temper._

"What I mean is that I'm not letting them cheat me out of my win" Ron quickly amended, his temper at the Entity's words had slipped out. "We worked so hard, my Lord. And I'm not letting that go to waste. If I lose, then I lose. But it won't be because I gave up and went home, I can't do that to all the hours that we put in training." Lord Greengrass gave him a sad look, and then he put his right hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"Please, Ron" Lord Greengrass said. "I know that I'm not your parent, but I don't want to see you get hurt. If you're doing this for me, then I'm giving you permission to stop. Come home with me."

"With all due respect, my Lord" Ron smiled at his mentor. "I'm here because I want to be here. This isn't about you, it's about me. Please don't take that choice away from me like they did." _Like everyone apparently does. My parents, the Entity, and even this other being._

"They?" Lord Greengrass blinked, but then he nodded slowly. "Your parents… Daphne was right…"

"Daphne?" Ron whispered with a furrowed brow.

"Mary and I decided to pull you out last night, but Daphne told us that it was not a good idea" Lord Greengrass smiled softly. "She told us that taking your choice away would do you more harm than good, and now I can see that my daughter was right." _She said that?_ Ron couldn't help but feel his chest swell with affection for Daphne, she knew him too well. _I should be the one to give her a kiss this time around. And an actual gift too. Maybe a new dress? I'll figure it out later._

"So I can stay?" Ron smiled, and Lord Greengrass nodded tiredly.

"I can't force you to leave, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied. "But I won't leave you here alone. I'll be in the stands, and I'll take you home when you need me."

"Thank you" Ron smiled widely, and then in a moment of childish glee, Ron hugged his mentor. It immediately dawned on Ron that he had just hugged Lord Greengrass, and so he quickly pulled back. His mentor just blinked at him, while Ron just stared back. "Sorry…"

"No, no it's alright" Lord Greengrass said slowly, but both of them could feel the awkwardness setting in. _Quick, make a joke to ease the tension._

"You smell really nice, my Lord" Ron grinned, and Lord Greengrass just blinked again. And then, his mentor just smiled and shook his head.

"Don't give them an inch, Ron" his mentor told him, and Ron nodded. Lord Greengrass then left for the stands, and Ron quietly made his way back to his seat. He was glad to see that Amanda was already waiting for him.

"So 'e will let you compete?" Amanda whispered as Ron sat down.

"Yes, he will" Ron whispered back. "Did you win?"

"I did" Amanda whispered with a smile. "I would ask you, but I know you did."

"Yeah… didn't feel like a win though" Ron whispered wearily.

"It is a crime" Amanda whispered angrily. "Ze Madame has tainted Chess with zis plan of 'ers… Zis was supposed to be my last year in this League, and now it is ruined…"

"You really don't agree with her then?" Ron whispered, he was beginning to like this girl. _She must be fourteen right now, and by the next Tournament she will be fifteen. Which means that she will move onto the Apprentice League._

"Chess is a game of skill, and wit" Amanda whispered. "This cheating should not stand. Ze Madame means well, but she is too 'ungry for a Champion from Beauxbatons. All zese poor boys, shamed in public…"

"Where is your Madame, by the way?" Ron whispered. "I looked for her at the stands, but I didn't see her."

"You looked at zem?" Amanda went wide-eyed. "And you resisted zem?" _The Entity resisted them, while I just winced in pain._ Ron rubbed his left temple, his headache was getting worse.

"Barely…" Ron replied.

"Weasley, Madame is looking at you right now" Amanda whispered, but Ron kept his eyes on Amanda.

"Does she look pissed?" Ron asked.

"Pissed?" Amanda whispered in confusion.

"Angry? Does she look angry?" Ron asked again.

"Madame is furious" Amanda told him, and Ron sighed tiredly. "She wants you um… searched? Looked into, I forget ze word…"

"Investigated?" Ron provided, and Amanda nodded. _She looks worried for me, I really like this girl._

"She claims you cheat" Amanda whispered, and Ron gave her a deadpan look. "I know… It is 'ypocrite of 'er, no?" A sharp pang of pain traveled up his scalp, and Ron's breath hitched. "Weasley? Are you in pain?"

"Yes" Ron muttered, his voice shaky. _What the fuck Entity? I though you could better handle their assault. I won't last long at this rate._

"You are brave, like a 'ero" Amanda smiled at him. "Do you love Chess too?"

"I do" Ron admitted, he now loved it more than ever. "My grandfather taught me…" Ron started, but the announcer cut him off.

"Competitors, take your seats" the announcer called. Both Ron and Amanda stood up, and she smiled at him.

"Tell me more after game, yes?" Amanda asked.

"Sure, we can share stories" Ron smiled back. _Maybe not all of Beauxbatons is so bad._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Beauxbatons – End of Second Match)**_

He had done it, he had actually beaten a girl at this Tournament. Even with his creeping headache, Ron had managed to focus enough to outsmart the girl from Uagadao. She had been a rather good sport however, and she had shaken his hand with a wide smile. Ron heard multiple cameras go off as he shook her hand, but he kept his eyes on the friendly girl. They shook each other's hands firmly, gave each other wide smiles, and then Ron had walked off to wait in his seat. Amanda was still playing her game, and Ron hoped that she won soon. Talking to her felt like an escape of sorts, something to distract himself from his ever-growing headache.

But when Ron saw her stuck in her game, a look of absolute concentration masking her beauty, Ron decided he would take this opportunity to go to the loo. He didn't get a chance to go in the morning, considering how rushed he was, and now seemed like as good a time as any. So with that decision made, Ron quietly slinked off towards the competitors' restrooms. The moment he was away from the Veelas' line of sight, his headache began to subside. Ron felt light-heated, and his knees wobbled from the relief.

"I guess you can take a break, Entity" Ron spoke to himself in a soft whisper. He then walked to the boy's loo, and he did his business. Once he had washed his hands, he put on his glove, and then he made his way back out. _Maybe I should spend my breaks in here, it definitely beats being out there._ As he exited the bathroom, he came face to face with a tall girl. She had long, silvery-blonde hair that almost fell to her waist, large deep blue eyes, fair skin, and a faint silvery glow emanated from her. She was utterly breathtaking, and she was staring at him with a concentrated look. _She might be the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen…_

"Excuse me" Ron blushed as he went to move past her, but she stepped in his way. Ron was surprised by her actions, and so he found himself staring at her face with a confused look. "Um… I need to get back to the Tournament." The girl's expression hardened even more, and Ron felt an extremely feeble pang of pain in the back of his head. _A Veela! Shite, she must've followed me here. Though it doesn't hurt at all to see her, probably because she's alone._

"'ow do you reseest?" the Veela asked, her powerful accent making Ron blink. _Compared to her, Amanda is pretty much a British citizen._

"Pardon?" Ron asked, a blush still on his face.

"You blush, yet you reseest?" the Veela blinked at him, and then she deepened her look. Ron's face burned as she brought her face closer to his, and he took a quick step back.

"Woah, no need for that" Ron said quickly, did she just try to kiss him? She gave him a deep scowl for his false presumption.

"No keeseeng, look at I" the girl ordered, her haughty voice being undermined by her terrible English.

"I am looking" Ron sighed, he honestly didn't want to look away. "You are extremely beautiful, I won't even bother denying that." The girl blinked in confusion, she looked genuinely baffled.

"You blush again, you say I are extreemely beauteeful" the girl said. "Yet you reseest? 'ow is zis posseeble?" Ron drew in a sharp breath, they needed to restart this conversation. He also decided that she was more appealing when she didn't speak, her accent was grating his nerves.

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself, and then he put his gloved hand forward with its palm facing up. The girl looked at his gloved hand, and then she slowly gave him her left hand. Ron took it gently, gave her knuckles a light kiss, and then he gave her a respectful bow.

"Fleur Delacour" Fleur introduced herself with wide-eyes, Ron had genuinely baffled her. But not enough to forget her manners, so she gave him a curtsy.

"A pleasure to meet you, Fleur Delacour" Ron smiled at her as he ignored the dim pain in the back of his head.

"You do not prefer boys?" Fleur asked slowly, why had her Madame sent her here? This was so embarrassing, this boy was resisting her so easily. No one had ever resisted her before, this was utterly mortifying. And yet he hadn't let go of her hand, so he clearly liked her. Ron chuckled at her question, and then he looked her right into her deep blue eyes.

"No, I don't" Ron replied. _Why do people keep assuming that I'm into other boys?_

"But you reseest I?" Fleur asked, and then she deepened her look again. Ron felt the weak pang of pain spike a little, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle.

"Yes, I resist" Ron lied, and he thanked his lucky stars that the Entity could. _If it wasn't there, I'd probably fucking propose to her right here. Actually, I still might. No. Stop thinking like that, concentrate._

"Tell I 'ow" Fleur demanded, her voice rising slightly. "You cheat, no? 'ow do you get past ze Sphinx?"

"I walked past her after she determined that I wasn't cheating in any way" Ron told the truth. "And I resist because I don't plan to lose this Tournament."

"Liar" Fleur frowned as she ripped her hand away from his. "You cheat, Madame says so."

"Your Madame is the only cheater here" Ron frowned, now he was starting to lose his temper.

"Fleur!" came Amanda's voice from behind the Veela, and both Ron and Fleur looked to see Amanda storming up to them. "Eloigne-toi de lui!"

"Il trompe, Amanda" Fleur shot back, but Amanda just shot right past her. Amanda grabbed Ron's gloved hand tightly, and then she dragged him away from Fleur.

"What are you doing, Weasley?" Amanda asked in a scolding tone.

"She cornered me" Ron told her, and Amanda let go of his hand as they got closer to the exit. "Did you come looking for me?"

"I did" Amanda sighed. "I saw her missing from ze stand, and you missing too. So I turned worried, no?" Ron smiled at her, she was worried for him?

"Why?" Ron asked softly as he stopped her. "Why help me?"

"I told you already, no?" Amanda frowned a bit. "I love Chess, and you love Chess. It is a game of skill, yet Madame disrespects it by… um… sullying? Yes, sullying the Tournament." All Ron could do was stare at her with awe, but she began to squirm a little after a few seconds of being under his cold blue gaze. "You stare, Weasley. It is rude…"

"Sorry" Ron blinked. "I couldn't help it… You're like the only nice person that I've met from Beauxbatons so far."

"Rude again" Amanda frowned slightly. "But you are not wrong, I suppose… We all love ze Madame dearly, and many follow her um… without sight?"

"Blindly?" Ron provided.

"Yes, blindly" Amanda nodded.

"Won't you get in trouble for going against her wishes?" Ron asked, and Amanda smirked.

"Worried for me?" Amanda asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I am" Ron replied genuinely, and she blushed slightly. He knew how bad things got when you supported people from other Houses, but Amanda was helping someone from a different fucking school all together. And she was damaging her Madame's plans. "I don't want you getting into trouble on my behalf."

"I have already told ze Madame of my anger" Amanda flicked her hair back. "She did not listen to me, so I will not listen to her. That is fair, no?"

"You'd be in Gryffindor for certain" Ron muttered, and Amanda gave him confused look.

"What does zat mean?" Amanda asked.

"I meant that you're really brave" Ron smiled, and her blush increased. "Thank you, Amanda."

"You call me by my first name?" Amanda asked.

"I do that with all of my friends" Ron smiled, and she slowly smiled back. Ron then presented his gloved hand in a formal manner. "Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron properly introduced himself, and she gave him her left hand. He took it gently, kissed her knuckles, and bowed respectfully.

"Amanda DuPont" Amanda reintroduced herself with a polite curtsy.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Final Match of the Day)**_

He had put another four wins in his corner, but he was dead certain that he was going to lose the next one. His headache was constant, his eyes were getting heavy, and he was having trouble keeping his mind on track. Thoughts about the Entity controlling his life bombarded him, but he was too tired to get angry. Thoughts about this 'She' character plagued him, but his mind was too scattered to come up with any theories. He was even too tired to figure out why a brunette his age was glaring murder at him. He remembered playing against her yesterday, but he had no idea why she was so angry at him. She had won, hadn't she? _I'll ask Amanda when she gets back from her game._

Ron waited in silence, his head hanging down as he rested his eyes. The pain wasn't as bad as yesterday, but it was still enough to completely take him out of the scene. No matter what he tried to think of, his pain slowly made him forget his train of thought. It had been getting worse with time, and Ron assumed it was because the Entity was getting tired too. Ron couldn't blame it, the other boys had been vacated from the premises after one of them had starting rubbing one out under his table. _That poor bastard's life is over, he will probably end up on the Daily Prophet tomorrow_. The thought made Ron sick to his stomach, all of this shite just to get a French Champion? Couldn't they just train an actual decent player, or maybe have faith in players like Amanda.

That was something else that Ron had noticed, quite a few competitors from Beauxbatons were giving him sad looks. They didn't want this, it was all that giant bitch's plan. They were like Amanda, just here to play some Chess, but Madame Maxime wanted nothing more than to excel her school's prestige. It made little sense to Ron, mostly because the rest of the World would call out this blatant cheating, but Amanda had explained that the French Ministry was very good at convincing its own people that everything was fine. They would no doubt launch some form of propaganda after they got their Champion, and they'd act like nothing was out of the ordinary. And the people of Magical France would eat it up, what other choice did they have? Madame Maxime was playing the long game, and she didn't care how much damage she did to the male competitors. Ron vowed that if he had a chance to win this, then he would. He wouldn't let this woman beat him, he'd make sure that all of her planning went to shite. For once in his life, Ron was rooting for the fucking Entity.

"Ron" came Amanda's voice, and Ron looked up to see her standing in front of him. "Take zis ice-pack, it will 'elp with ze 'eadache" she said as she passed him a cold, transparent pack of ice. Ron took it gratefully, and he put it on his forehead. A groan escaped his lips, and he slinked into his chair.

"Merlin that feels nice" Ron sighed softly. "Thank you, Amanda."

"It is no worries" Amanda said as she sat down in her seat. "But you should zank ze Veelas on ze stands."

"Huh?" Ron gave her a confused look.

"Some of zem smuggled zis in for you" Amanda smiled at him, and Ron blinked in confusion.

"They want to help me?" Ron asked softly.

"No one likes to see pain, Ron" Amanda told him. "Many are 'ere because zis is our school… Even ze Madame is growing worried for you" Amanda said as she shot a look to the stands.

"Really?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Then why is she doing this?"

"She did not plan for you" Amanda whispered. "She did not know zat it was possible to resist…"

"Well, she can stop anytime" Ron sighed as he sat up, and then he pressed the cold pack to the back of his head. _Here you, Entity. Something cold for your efforts._ Ron shuddered as he realized that he was acting like this demon was his friend, how far gone was he?

"Ron, why go so far?" Amanda asked softly. "I know you love Chess, but you are in pain no? Why 'urt for this?" _Because Chess is mine… Just mine, not someone else's… It's the only thing in my life that I've earned properly._ "Your Granfazer would be upset, no? 'e would not want you to 'urt, no?"

"You didn't know him" Ron smiled softly. "He's probably cheering for me right now. When I was young, he was the only person in my family who saw me as more than just…" Ron trailed off.

"More zan what?" Amanda asked softly.

"More than just… me" Ron replied tiredly, he was about to fall asleep. This ice-pack felt way too good against his skin, and it was numbing his mind.

"I do not understand you" Amanda blinked at him.

"My family and I are not on good terms right now" Ron shrugged, and Amanda gave him a sad look. "It doesn't matter, truth be told. I don't need them to like me, I just need to protect them."

"Protect zem?" Amanda asked slowly. _Shite, get a grip. Change the topic before something else slips out._

"Amanda, who is that girl?" Ron asked as he pointed to the brunette. Amanda looked over to where he was pointing, and she frowned deeply.

"Olivia Jones" Amanda replied bitterly. "She is a um… spoiled brat? Very arrogant, and nasty."

"She's been glaring at me for the last two matches" Ron frowned. "What's her problem with me?"

"You beat 'er in ze Paris Competition, no?" Amanda reminded him, and he slowly remembered her. She was the final contestant in that competition, and he had flogged her rather easily. But he had been nothing if not polite afterwards, so why did she hate him? "You played 'er yesterday, do you not remember?"

"I remember playing her, and losing" Ron nodded slowly. "But honestly, I don't remember much of anything after my fourth game. I was actually just barely conscious." A sudden jolt of pained rang through his skull, and Ron closed his tired eyes.

"Well, she 'ates you very much" Amanda told him as she stared at Olivia. "She tells you cheated when she returned from ze competition. And after you were taken away, she show off to all of us. She was cruel, and rude. We all know she won because of Veelas 'elping 'er, but ze Madame allows 'er to be'ave zis way…"

"Why?" Ron asked slowly, he was falling asleep for certain.

"'er family is an old family, pure" Amanda replied. "Zey 'ave always attended our school, so Madame allows 'er rottenness."

"She reminds me of a certain platinum blonde I know" Ron chuckled, his eyes closed. Amanda looked at him in confusion, but her expression changed to that of worry.

"Ron, please wake up" Amanda shook him lightly, and Ron's eyes opened. "You must leave, Ron. You are hurting too much to be playing."

"I'm not giving up my control" Ron muttered as his head hung down.

"I am calling ze host" Amanda began to get up, but Ron grabbed her left hand with his gloved one.

"Please don't take this away from me" Ron looked up tiredly, and he gave her a weak smile. She slowly sat back down, and she squeezed his hand.

"I do not like zis, Ron" Amanda said softly as Ron let go of her hand. "You are 'urting yourself… Your fazer is not 'appy eizer." _Father?_

"My father isn't here" Ron gave her a confused look.

"Ze man in ze stands" Amanda said. "'e has been watching you wiz a sad look all day."

"Oh, you mean Lord Greengrass" Ron smiled. "He is my mentor, and my sponsor."

"Oh…" Amanda nodded. "So zose girls are not your sisters?"

"Daphne and Tori? No" Ron smiled. _It would be all sorts of wrong if they were, especially because of what Daphne and I get up to. Shut it, Ron. Don't spill that to her._

"I see now" Amanda smiled. "Ze older one cares for you, no?"

"Huh?" Ron blinked, but Amanda just smiled more widely.

"She 'eld your 'and as you were taken away yesterday, and she was crying" Amanda told him, and Ron felt a pang of pain and guilt hit him at the same time. "Ze younger one cried too, but ze older one cried more. And ze mother… She yelled in German very loudly, and she made ozers mad too for you." Ron was genuinely baffled by that, was she referring to Mary? _I made Daphne and Tori cry, and then I came back here. I'm so fucking dead when I get back. Also, Mary speaks German?_

"Competitors, take your seats!" the announcer called, and Ron slowly got up. He dropped the ice-pack on his waiting chair, and then he looked to Amanda.

"Good luck in your game, Amanda" Ron smiled, and she smiled back.

"Good luck to you too, Ron" Amanda nodded, and then they parted ways. Ron actually found his chair by himself this time, and he was up against some girl from Ilvermorny. She just stared at him with a curious look, and he shot her a smile. Her lips twitched upwards, but she didn't smile.

"Begin!"

* * *

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Beauxbatons – End of Day)**_

Ron had lost his final match. He had tried his best, but he was utterly exhausted and unable to concentrate on his game. Halfway through the match, he had simply started moving his pieces around in a daze. His headache was constant, and although it wasn't half as bad as yesterday, it was still enough to get the better of him. Once the match had ended, Ron had trouble even standing up. And so he had shaken the girl's hand with from his seat, a tired, apologetic smile on his face. She had understood the meaning behind it and called the announcer over, much to Ron's relief.

"Come now, Mr. Weasley" the announcer huffed as she helped him up, and Ron had no problem leaning on her. Not only did he need to, but also because she was pretty and she smelled nice. _An O-level pervert, that's me._ "You did well today, four more wins under your belt" the announcer said as she helped him towards Lord Greengrass. "I'm not allowed to tell you this, but you're currently ranked as third seat in the Top Eight."

"I am?" Ron whispered.

"Yes, we've had to revise the Tournament a bit" the announcer told him. "Too many dropouts, you know. As of this moment, only two players hold more wins than you."

"Is Amanda one of them?" Ron asked.

"Yes, she sits on the top seat, followed by Miss. Jones" the announcer replied, and Ron smiled on Amanda's behalf. "This is just between us, of course. Will we see you tomorrow?"

"Count on it" Ron chuckled tiredly, and then they reached Lord Greengrass who was waiting by the entrance. "My Lord" Ron greeted his mentor, and Lord Greengrass quickly pulled Ron's weight onto himself.

"You did wonderfully, Ron" Lord Greengrass told him, though his tone gave away his worry and irritation.

"I suggest you two be on your way" the announcer told them quickly. "The Headmistress of Beauxbatons will try and corner you again."

"You have our gratitude, Ms. Thorne" Lord Greengrass said, and then he began moving with Ron leaning on his left shoulder. _Ms. Thorne? That must be the pretty announcer's name. Also, Lord Greengrass is too tall. I can barely reach up there, and he is even leaning down on my behalf._ As they both made their way past the Sphinx, a woman's voice called out from behind them.

"Stop them, Sphinx" the woman ordered, and the Lion-Woman dashed in and cut off their path. Lord Greengrass stopped dead in his tracks, and Ron could feel his mentor tense up. But Ron was too tired to care. Ron felt Lord Greengrass gently lower Ron onto the grass, and then he turned around with a cold glare.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Greengrass demanded, and Ron sat up on the grass. _My headache is leaving, but I'm so damn tired. I'll just wait here while Lord Greengrass deals with this._

"I wish to speak with this boy" the woman demanded, and Ron looked over to her. She had an olive-skinned face, a beak-like nose, and large, black, liquid-looking eyes. She also towered over Lord Greengrass, and from where Ron was sitting, she looked to be a giantess. _That is a big woman. Is she like Hagrid? What am I thinking? Of course she is._

"Your wishes are none of my concern, Madame" Lord Greengrass hissed. "Now let us return home before you cause an International Incident." Madame Maxime stared into Lord Greengrass' eyes, and then she frowned deeply. "Yes, I have brushed up on my Occlumency since our last meeting. Now let us pass."

"Boy, look at me" Madame Maxime ordered, and Lord Greengrass moved in between them.

"Ron, keep your eyes away from hers" Lord Greengrass ordered. "If she wants a look into your head, then she will need to brandish her wand." Ron ignored them both, and he gazed around instead. A pissed off looking Sphinx was circling them, and beyond it was a large crowd that was growing bigger. _Shite, we're making a scene._

"You are breaking the rules of this Tournament" Madame Maxime glared at Lord Greengrass. "That boy has to be on some Potion, or some other sort of sedative."

"You dare accuse us of breaking the rules?" Lord Greengrass stared at her coldly, his gaze going right through her. "And what would you call your actions?"

"We have followed the rules, my students are allowed to be here" Madame Maxime replied, and then she looked past Lord Greengrass and right at Ron.

"Are they also allowed to use their allures?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Oh wait, you claim that that isn't the case. So I wonder, why are you so upset?" Madame Maxime blinked at Lord Greengrass, and Lord Greengrass smirked. "You are a passionate woman, but that is your greatest weakness. So go on, make a bigger scene. Expose yourself to all these people, and save me the trouble of putting you in your place. Or you can let us pass. The choice is yours." The two adults stared at each other, and Ron found himself growing tired of their pissing contest. He just wanted to go home and sleep until tomorrow morning. So Ron stood up with extreme effort, with his headache gone, he had regained some strength.

"Can we just go home, my Lord" Ron sighed, and Lord Greengrass turned to him. "I am tired, and I want to sleep."

"Goodbye, Madame" Lord Greengrass said without even turned around, and then he put a steady hand on Ron's back. "Can you walk?" Lord Greengrass whispered, and Ron nodded. Mentor and mentee began to leave, but the Sphinx jumped in their way. Lord Greengrass tensed again, and Ron heard people gasping and cameras going off.

"Laissez-les passer, Sphinx" Madame Maxime said, and the Lion-Woman slowly stepped aside. Lord Greengrass pushed Ron forward gently, and Ron began walking. He was too tired to even care about the camera flashes, or the people asking him questions. Lord Greengrass kept them at bay with his cold gaze, and even colder tone.

"No comments, step out of the way" Lord Greengrass ordered, and he repeated himself all the way to the Grand Hall. Once they were inside, Lord Greengrass led Ron to the closest fireplace. "Don't throw up on me again" Lord Greengrass told Ron, his voice somewhat humorous and serious at the same time.

"Then let me go through first please" Ron chuckled tiredly. Lord Greengrass called the address for the Holiday House, and then he tossed the Floo-Powder into the flames. As soon as the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through and found himself back home.

"He's here!" Tori yelled as she latched onto his middle, and Ron blinked in surprise. _Damn she's fast. Was she just waiting in front of the fire?_

"Yes, I'm back" Ron patted her head with his gloved hand, and then he heard Lord Greengrass enter behind.

"Oh, Ron" Lord Greengrass muttered as he side-stepped him. "Don't stand in the way, that's the first rule of traveling via floo…"

"Sorry, my Lord" Ron smiled apologetically, and then he groaned as Tori squeezed him tightly. "Tori, can I please sit down?"

"No" Tori refused.

"Astoria, let him go at once" Lord Greengrass sighed, and Tori slowly did as she was told. "Ron, with…" Lord Greengrass was interrupted when Daphne and Mary burst into the room.

"Wo ist dieser Junge?" Mary grit out, and then her eyes narrowed on him. _Oh shite, I'm going back to the Veelas._ She marched at him angrily, but Lord Greengrass quickly got in her way.

"Love, calm yourself" Lord Greengrass told her, and she turned her glare at her husband.

"Sag mir nicht, ich soll mich beruhigen, Sebastian" Mary huffed, and then she shot an angry look at Ron. "Foolish boy, you could've gotten hurt!" Seeing her so angry made Ron develop a keen interest in the floor, and even Tori skulked away from him. _Smart girl. Usually a wise policy to step away from a dead man._ Ron shot a quick glance at Daphne, and she looked even angrier than Mary. At least Mary's anger came from concern, Daphne was just red with fury. Ron looked back to the floor, he might not be making it home to Britain it seemed.

"Love, he resisted them today" Lord Greengrass told his wife. "He seemed more tired than in pain…"

"Why did you not bring him home?" Mary demanded angrily. "Why did you let him stay there?"

"Because it was not my choice to make" Lord Greengrass replied, his voice rising slightly. "I am not his father, and you will not speak to me this way. Is that understood?" _Fuck me, I'm the reason behind this fight. Ronald Weasley: Homewrecker Extraordinaire._

"Yes, husband" Mary replied coldly, and then she shot Ron an angry look before departing from the room.

"Mary…" Lord Greengrass sighed, and then he turned to Daphne. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, and call Healer Bernard." _Who?_

"Yes, Father" Daphne replied, and then Lord Greengrass left to find his wife. And unbearable silence engulfed them all, and Ron made sure to not look at either sister. Tori was probably scared and worried, but Daphne was definitely pissed off. Daphne suddenly moved towards him, and Ron braced for a flogging. But she walked right past him, grabbed some Floo-Powder, and then tossed it into the flames. The flames blazed green, and she stuck her head into the fire.

"Hello? Is Healer Bernard in?" Daphne spoke to someone on the other side. "Excellent, please tell him to come over to the Greengrass Holiday Home. Tell him that Lord Greengrass requests his presence whenever he finishes his rounds. Thank you." With that, she pulled her head out of the fire and turned to Ron.

"Did you win today?" Tori suddenly asked Ron softly, and Ron looked to her with a tired smile.

"Four wins, and one loss" Ron told her, but he was interrupted when Daphne punched his right arm. It had enough force behind it that his wobbly knees lost their balance, and Ron toppled onto his left side. Ron let out a groan as pain shot up through his right arm, and then he turned onto his back.

"Daphne!" Tori yelled as she quickly sat down next to him. Ron shot a look at Daphne, and she looked extremely shocked and guilty. _Fucking hell… That really hurt, Daphne._

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Daphne muttered, and then she quickly sat down next to him as well. "I didn't think that you'd fall over." Ron felt his temper flare, but he quickly suppressed it _. You deserved that for what you put them through today, you selfish git. If anything, they should all be allowed to clock you one today._

"It's perfectly okay, I deserved that" Ron said as he full on just lay down on the ground, and he closed his eyes. The hardwood was cool, and it felt heavenly. "I'm sorry for running off like that, but I swear, I resisted them much better today. I'm getting used to their allures." _Well, the Entity is anyway._

"Getting used to their allures?" Daphne asked, her expression still showing her guilt. "So it wasn't just accidental magic? You resisted them yourself?"

"Yeah, I did" Ron lied.

"Wow…" Tori said in awe. "Ron, you're like super-famous now!" _I am? It's only been a day since I started resisting them._

"Tori, don't yell in his ear" Daphne frowned at her sister.

"What? You just hit him!" Tori argued with a haughty tone.

"I'm allowed to" Daphne huffed. "I'm his… friend…" _That was smooth. Ladies and gentlemen, please give Ms. Greengrass your applause._

"I'm his friend too" Tori shot back.

"Can one of my 'friends' please get me a pillow?" Ron chuckled tiredly. "I'm so fucking tired…"

"Ron!" Daphne exclaimed. "Don't swear near Tori!"

"I'm not a moron, Daphne" Tori told her sister. "I know swear words too."

"Knowing them and saying them are two different things" Daphne frowned at both Ron and Tori.

"All this yelling is hurting my brain" Ron sighed as he opened his eyes, and he saw both of them go wide-eyed. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ron…" Daphne started softly, but she was interrupted when Mary walked back into the room. As soon as Mary saw Ron on the ground, her somewhat angry expression turned into pure panic and worry.

"Ronald!" Mary shrieked as she quickly made her way to him, and Lord Greengrass suddenly burst into the room too.

"What happened?" Lord Greengrass demanded.

"I slipped and fell, that's all" Ron lied immediately. _Lying is pretty much my go to move now. Damn…_

"He's lying" Tori said, and Ron frowned deeply. "He fell over because Daphne hit him really hard."

"Ugh… Don't tattle on people like that" Ron groaned.

"Daphne Greengrass, how dare you strike your friend?" Mary scolded Daphne in a harsh tone.

"It's alright, I deserved it" Ron groaned as he sat up. "I don't mind."

"Apologize to him, now" Lord Greengrass commanded as he gazed right through Daphne.

"I'm sorry, Ron" Daphne muttered meekly, and Ron felt a strong pang of guilt.

"It's alright, Daph" Ron told her, but she looked quite subdued and guilty. _Nice going, Astoria. You little tattle-tale._

"Here, Ron" Mary said as she bent forward and handed him a small vial with a green Potion. "Drink this quickly." Ron didn't even question what was in it, and he downed it in one go. It tasted minty, and it felt like something frozen was going down his throat.

"Ugh… What was that?" Ron wheezed as Mary took the vial from him and stood up straight.

"It's an Invigoration Draught" Mary told him. "It should give you more energy."

"Why? I wanted to sleep" Ron whined, only to realize that he sounded like a child.

"You didn't eat last night, or this morning" Mary scolded him. "Come, I'm going to make sure you eat your fill." Ron slowly got up, and he noticed that it wasn't as hard as before. _Neat Potion, I should learn to brew it._ Mary took his gloved hand in her left one, and she dragged him to the dining room behind her. She sat him down in front of a plate filled with food, and she pointed her finger at it. "Start eating, Ronald Weasley. Or I'll spoon feed you myself."

Ron didn't question her again, and he began eating slowly. Mary took a seat next to him, and she watched him eat with a worried look. Once Ron had started eating, his hunger became apparent. He was starving. No, he was utterly ravenous. Ron demolished four different plates of food, and once he was completely filled to bursting, he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. _Ugh… I'm bloated now, but it was totally worth it._

"There you go, now drink this too" Mary smiled softly as she handed him a glass filled with a thick pink fluid.

"What's this, Mary?" Ron asked, but she just caressed his right cheek lovingly. "Why do you look so… troubled? Did something happen while I was away?"

"Yes dear, something happened" Mary said softly, and Ron blinked at her. _Dear? That's a first. And what's happened?_ "But drink this first, it's a Nutrition Potion." Ron nodded slowly, and he took a big sip. Ron swallowed it quickly and he immediately gagged, it was horrid. "Shhh, just drink it please" Mary said as she rubbed his back. Ron quickly chugged down the rest of the thick Potion, and his stomach turned. Ron felt saliva building up in his mouth, but Mary handed him another glass with a thick blue Potion. "Drink this quickly, it will stop you from getting sick." Ron took the glass in a hurry, and he chugged the sweet Potion down. It worked like a charm, and Ron felt his stomach begin to settle down again.

"Mary, what's with these Potions?" Ron asked, and then he looked around and finally noticed that Lord Greengrass and the girls weren't here. "Where are the others?"

"My husband is no doubt lecturing Daphne" Mary sighed. "And once he gets started, not even Astoria is safe."

"I told you guys, I didn't mind her hitting me" Ron sighed, he didn't like the fact that Daphne was paying for his mistake. "She was just upset, and scared. That's just how she reacts when she loses control over her emotions."

"I know" Mary smiled. "And I'm a little surprised that you do too. My husband told me that our daughter was right about not pulling you out without your consent. You two seem to know each other rather well." _Good lord, I've backed myself into a corner here. Make a joke, distract her._

"Well I don't know about her, but I'm considered a Prodigy" Ron joked with a soft smile, and Mary chuckled. "I'm sorry for running off like that, I just couldn't give up."

"I know, Sebastian told me what you said as well" Mary said as she moved some of his hair back in place. Her loving and doting manner was beginning to alarm him, something was wrong here.

"Mary, what's happened?" Ron asked her. _She shows me affection already, but she's been constantly touching me since we sat down._

"How do you resist them, Ron?" Mary asked, and he blinked at her deflection. "Even my husband failed to resist them, and he wasn't even their target. But you resisted them all, and today, you resisted them again. How?"

"Um…" Ron muttered, he needed a good lie right now. "I just… I want to look at them, I really do. I want to see them for myself, but I know that if I do I'll lose. So I force myself to look away… It's hard to explain." _Yeah, it's hard to explain because it's utter shite. The Entity resists them, while my brain takes the beating._ Mary's look showed her confusion, and her awe.

"But it hurts you, doesn't it?" Mary asked softly. "So why resist so hard?" _Didn't really get a choice, the Entity made that choice for me._

"I don't want to lose" Ron shrugged, at least that was true. "I worked hard to be here, and I don't want to give up everything that I've gained." _I'm going to prove to the Entity that I control my own life, and that it can fuck off and die._

"It's just one Tournament, Ron" Mary said as she held his right hand.

"Not to me" Ron told her. Mary just stared into his eyes, she was clearly just blown away by his strength. It was a shame too, because it was the Entity's strength that she was admiring. Ron felt like a cheat for earning this amazed look from her, he didn't deserve it. But that guilt quickly turned to anger towards the Entity, this thing had turned him into a lying cheat. _No, I did that to myself I think. Most of my problems are my own fault, Daphne told me that. What did_ _ **it**_ _call me? An ill-made, spiteful little creature… Maybe it was right._ The door suddenly opened, and both Ron and Mary looked to it. Lord Greengrass entered the room, and a strange bald man followed behind him.

"Ron, this is Healer Bernard" Lord Greengrass introduced the bald man. Ron noted that the man had a rather bushy mustache, and Ron made sure to not stare at it.

"Hello" Ron greeted the Healer, and the Healer smiled at him. The girls entered the room as well, and both girls looked quite guilt ridden. Ron's chest tightened at the sight of them, and he decided to apologize to them after this.

"Girls, please go to your room" Mary told them, and they both shot quick looks at Ron. But in the end, they did as they were told. _What the fuck is going on? I'm starting to get scared here._ "Ron, Healer Bernard wants to talk to you about something important. Please just hear him out." Ron nodded slowly as Lord Greengrass took a seat to his left, effectively sandwiching Ron in between himself and his wife. Healer Bernard walked up behind Ron, and Ron tensed a bit.

"Before we get started, I'd like to take another picture of his brain" Healer Bernard said, and Ron turned to face the man.

"A picture of my brain?" Ron asked in bewilderment.

"It won't hurt, child" Bernard assured him. "Just stay very, very still for me."

"Ron, do as he says" Lord Greengrass told him, and Ron slowly turned back around. _A picture of my brain? Wait… He said 'another picture', didn't he? Did he take one yesterday while I slept? That's so fucking creepy._ Ron sat as still as possible, and he sat there for over two minutes. No one said a word, and Ron was starting to go crazy with worry. Something was very wrong, and he knew it for certain now.

"Done" Bernard said, and Ron heard the crinkling of parchment. "What in Merlin's name…?" Bernard muttered, and Ron turned around in a panic.

"What is it?" Mary asked quickly.

"His brain is inflamed" Bernard replied slowly, and then he looked at Ron with a confused look. "But not half as much as it was yesterday… How is this possible?"

"My brain is inflamed?" Ron muttered. "What does that mean?" _Is that why the Dream Hogwarts was collapsing around me? Is that what the Entity was healing?_

"Oh, it means that it was quite overworked yesterday" Bernard replied. "But today, although overworked, it is not a threat. **This** is generally how inflamed a brain can get when someone's worked for over sixteen hours in one day, or hasn't slept in a couple of days." Bernard then moved away from Ron, and he sat across from Ron and the Greengrasses. "I understand that you didn't get a chance to talk to him yet. But that is alright, I'm glad that I can be here to answer any questions that he might have."

"Questions about what? Talk to me about what?" Ron asked Lord Greengrass.

"Sebastian, please leave me with the boy" Bernard instructed. "This will be easier if his attention is focused solely on me." Lord Greengrass gazed at Bernard for a few seconds, and then he nodded slowly.

"Come, love" Lord Greengrass said as he stood up. "Ron, we will be right outside when you finish." Before Ron could even say a word, both Lord and Lady Greengrass left the room. Mary shot him a sad smile before she left, and Ron's gut twisted.

"Am I dying?" Ron asked Bernard immediately after they left.

"No, you are not dying" Bernard replied, and then he reached for his briefcase. The bald man opened his briefcase, and he pulled out two photos. He placed them next to the recently taken one, and Ron looked at the three pictures in bafflement.

"What are these? Are these pictures of my brain?" Ron asked, he remembered the Healer's previous words.

"Yes, Ron" Healer Bernard replied. "Do you mind if I call you Ron?"

"No, now explain these" Ron ordered, he didn't really care about niceties right now. _This has to be bad… First the Dream Hogwarts collapsing, and now the panicked looks from the Greengrass Family. Something is really off._

"This is the photo I took when I first inspected you" Bernard pointed to a really white photo. "This showed how badly your brain was inflamed, and even I was shocked to see this. And then, this is the photo I took after administering a heavy dose of Sleeping Draught." Bernard pointed to the photo that was more black-and-white, and at least resembled a brain. "There was significant improvement, though most of it was the result of accidental magic healing you." _The fucking Entity you mean._ "And now this photo" Bernard pointed to a photo showing a slightly inflamed brain "is the one I just took. Tell me, were there less Veelas in attendance today?"

"No, same amount I think" Ron replied, and Bernard blinked. "I just learnt how to avoid their allures a bit better."

"You learnt…" Bernard stammered, he was clearly flummoxed. "Please explain this to me Ron, I must hear your account." Bernard then quickly took out a piece of parchment and a quill, and he stared at Ron to go on. _Oh shite, what do I say? Yeah Bernard, a fucking demon lives in my brain. It's the real reason behind my success in this Tournament. If the Entity doesn't kill me, then this Healer will definitely lock me up._

"Well, it's hard to explain" Ron started slowly. "I want to look at them, but I force myself to stop. I think of Chess, or anything else really. As long as it's not Veelas, I think about it." _At least that's somewhat true._

"I see, you displace your focus onto other things" Bernard nodded as he jotted this down. "Tell me, how does it feel? When you resist them?"

"Like a headache" Ron admitted, and Bernard started jotting things down again. "Like a really slow, growing headache. It starts at the base of my skull, and it crawls up. Like it's trying to spread to the rest of my brain… It feels alive, sort of like a jolt… And it just gets worse and worse, until I can't even think straight."

"Hmmm" Bernard nodded slowly. "Very interesting. And you resist them because you refuse to be beaten, yes? You'd rather feel pain than give up?"

"Yes, exactly" Ron nodded with a soft smile, this guy understood him. Bernard jotted that down too, and Ron couldn't help but think that he had made a mistake.

"Why?" Bernard asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Why go so far for a victory?" _It's not about the win, it's about taking control of my own life. It's about showing the Entity that I fucking hate its guts._

"The trophy is rather nice" Ron joked, but Bernard wasn't amused. Instead, the man jotted down his answer.

"Let's move on, shall we?" Bernard asked suddenly. "I am not your Mind-Healer, so I will stop with my questions. I would instead like to talk to you about these pictures."

"Okay…" Ron replied slowly.

"Do you see these black spots?" Bernard pointed them out, and Ron nodded. "All three photos have them, and they are what's important."

"What are they?" Ron asked.

"Brain damage, Ron" Bernard replied, and Ron slowly up at him.

"Pardon?" Ron muttered. _Brain damage? What the fuck does he mean by that?_

"Don't be frightened" Bernard assured him quickly. "These were caused by your accident, the one that left you with your scars." Ron's eyes widened, Bernard knew of his scars? "I saw them yesterday as I was nursing you back into a steady condition. Your accident left damage on not only your body, but also your mind."

"These black spots are from my accident?" Ron asked slowly. "I was brain damaged?" _The Entity did this?_

"The damage is not significant, but it can help to partly explain your behavior" Bernard went on.

"What behavior?" Ron asked.

"Your friend was forced to tell us about your frequent mood swings, angry outbursts, and even sudden bouts of sadness" Bernard replied. "Ron, you are suffering from a severe case of Chronic Stress."

"Severe case of Chronic Stress?" Ron blinked, this was insane. _I'm brain damaged? What do I do about that? Entity, what did you do to me?_ "Wait, can we go back to the brain damage please?" Ron felt a cold sweat break out under his armpits.

"Of course" Bernard nodded. "You are not in any life threatening danger, I can assure you of that. However, this damage can grow if left unchecked. Which is why I want to talk to you about your Chronic Stress. It is the biggest threat to your health right now as it could potentially increase the damage already done to your brain. Again, I would like to assure you that you are not in any immediate danger. With proper help, you can learn to cope with your stress."

"Can this damage be healed?" Ron asked quickly.

"Unfortunately, our Healing skills have never truly been focused on the brain" Bernard sighed. "So I would say that as of this moment, we can't do anything about the damage. But we **can** stop it from spreading."

"By dealing with my 'Chronic Stress' issue?" Ron said softly as he leaned into his seat. _How am I going to tell this to my family? Mum and dad are going to be devastated, Ginny will cry, and my brothers… They'll probably become overprotective, but it'll just come off as irritating. What about the Lovegoods? Or Sirius and Remus? Or my friends… I'll be labelled a cripple for the rest of my life._

"Ron, please listen to me" Bernard said, and Ron looked at him. "You cannot help what has already happened, but disappearing into your own mind is not the right decision. We can do something about this, that's what matters. I understand that you are planning to start seeing Poppy Pomfrey at Hogwarts?"

"Did Lord Greengrass tell you that?" Ron asked, he suddenly felt annoyed at his mentor for telling this man of their private conversation.

"Ron, we are not against you in any way" Bernard said softly. "I want to recommend that you start seeing her as soon as possible. She can help you in a great number of ways, and with her help, we can stop this damage from spreading."

"And if it keeps spreading?" Ron asked.

"Then you won't be you anymore" Bernard replied. _My mission will fail. This Cycle will fail. The Entity told me that I always fail, but what happens to my family if I do?_ Ron felt drained, like his soul had been sucked out. He was already exhausted from his horribly long day, and now he had just found out that he was a brain damaged cripple. It was all a fucking joke, wasn't it? Some weird, cruel joke orchestrated by whatever force was strong enough to bind the Entity to Ron. "I also recommend that you stop attending this Tournament, Ron" Bernard told him, and Ron just gazed up tiredly. "It is hurting you, and it is not doing your brain any favors." Ron didn't even bother replying, he just wanted to go to sleep.

"What do I do then?" Ron managed to ask, his throat tightening.

"Rest until you can see Pomfrey" Bernard replied. "I will finish up my report on you today, and I will send it to her first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, I want you to have these." Bernard took out a small wooden box from his briefcase, and he opened the box in front of Ron. The box contained around 15 tiny vials filled with a thin blue Potion.

"The Calming Draught?" Ron guessed, and Bernard nodded.

"Very small doses" Bernard replied. "I know that you've suffered from an anxiety attack before, and just in case you feel another one coming on, I want you to have one vial. Make sure you take no more than two a day, otherwise you might become reliant on them." Bernard then closed the box, and he slid it in front of Ron. "Do you any more questions?"

"Can you tell me more about what Chronic Stress is?" Ron asked as he stared at the box filled with Potions.

"Of course" Bernard replied. "Chronic Stress is the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period of time in which an individual perceives that they have little or no control over their lives." _Control? Shite…_ "The symptoms tend to vary from patient to patient. But the general ones are anxiety, depression, social isolation, headaches, an inability to sleep, and in severe cases like yours, panic attacks. Do you feel like you have any of these symptoms?" _Most, if not all…_

"Well, I'm not depressed" Ron replied slowly. "Though I'm not sure I'd know if I was…"

"Do you generally feel unhappy?" Bernard asked.

"I feel unhappy, but not all the time" Ron replied, he couldn't look away from the box. "It comes and goes…"

"Mood swings are another symptom of Chronic Stress" Bernard told him. "Daphne tells me that your mood changes frequently at school, and she claims that your other friends think the same as her."

"I… don't really think about it" Ron admitted.

"That's alright, Ron" Bernard smiled. "To you your actions seem rational, and there is nothing wrong with that. With Pomfrey's help, you'll learn to better handle your condition. Do you have any more questions?"

"No…" Ron replied softly. "No, I'm done…"

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **(Flashback – July 1981)**_

"C'mon, Arthur" Fabian mocked, he had a three year old Fred sleeping in his lap. "We're hungry, you know."

"Terrible cook, and abysmal service" Gideon added on as he rubbed a sleeping George's back.

"What kind of restaurant are you running here, Arthur?" Fabian sniggered.

"Stop it you two, my husband is doing his best" Molly frowned at her brothers, and then she looked to Arthur who was making dinner for them. "Arthur, take your time love."

"I'm done" Arthur sighed tiredly as he quickly made their plates, he didn't have time to waste. _Fabian and Gideon have a mission for the Order tonight, they need to eat and be on their way._ And so, he served his brothers-in-law first. They were always poking fun at him, but they were great blokes. They loved a good laugh, and their presence within the Order uplifted the spirits of everyone. But they could also be pricks, though Arthur would never admit that. _Molly would go mental if I did._

"Thank you, my good man" Fabian chuckled as Arthur gave him a plate with steak and mashed potatoes.

"Mmm" Gideon hummed as he chewed, and then he smacked his lips. "My compliments to the chef, he didn't completely burn the steak this time."

"Arthur has been getting better every day" Molly smiled proudly, and Arthur smiled back at her. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy, and this time they were sure that the baby was a girl. Arthur served his pregnant wife with a healthy amount of vegetables to go with her steak and mashed potatoes.

"Hey" Fabian frowned at Molly's plate, bits of mashed potato sticking to his thick red goatee. "How come she gets more than us?"

"I'm eating for two" Molly replied as she rubbed her stomach. "And Ginny likes vegetables."

"I can't believe you already named her" Gideon rolled his eyes, but then he smiled widely. "So she'll be born next month?"

"Merlin willing" Molly smiled down at her stomach, her hand still rubbing her belly.

"Guess we'd better get shopping for a perfect 'Welcome to the World Gift', shouldn't we?" Fabian sighed. "Honestly Molly, could you pop them out faster?" Arthur shot an angry glare at Fabian, and the troublemaker put his hands up in surrender.

"Wonder where we'll get this present, not many shops left" Gideon spoke to himself, he was somewhere in his own mind. "The Death Eaters have…"

"Shush" Molly frowned at her bothers, and then she shot a look to the sleeping twins.

"I'll take them up" Arthur said as he moved over to Molly's brothers. Arthur took Fred and George from Fabian and Gideon, and he held his sons to his chest. They were still tiny, so lifting them was no great feat. Arthur made his way upstairs, and he gently put the twins on their shared bed. He kissed both their heads, and then he left the room with a content smile. Arthur then moved to everyone single bedroom, and he checked to make sure that all of his children were asleep. He was happy to note that unlike the twins, the rest of his children were still asleep. _Though Ronnie might wake up again, he usually wakes up in the middle of the night because he needs his diaper changed._ Arthur tiptoed back downstairs, and he could hear Fabian and Gideon talking in hushed whispers.

"They struck Gringotts again today" Fabian sighed as he rubbed his face, his dinner forgotten.

"Gringotts?" Arthur asked as he stepped into the dining room/kitchen. Arthur was far removed from the War, he had a family to raise after all. But sometimes he wished that he was out there helping the Order, the War was going horribly.

"Yeah, Gringotts" Gideon started explain, his dinner also forgotten. "You-Know-Who is obsessed with it for some reason, this has been his fourth assault on the bank. And just like the last three times, it failed."

"What do you think he wants?" Molly whispered.

"Merlin knows what that mad-man wants" Fabian frowned deeply. "Lately, he's barely been making an appearance on the battlefields. He's up to something, and his pet Malfoy has all but taken the reigns."

"Though he does show up sometimes" Gideon added on. "Bastard leveled most of Diagon Alley singlehandedly last week, and we all had to run for our lives. Even Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore?" Arthur's eyes went wide, how was that possible. "He would never flee from **him**."

"He had little choice, Arthur" Gideon explained in a hollow voice. "He may have 'fled', but it was so that he could get us all out safely. You-Know-Who released some new form of Fiendfyre in the middle of the fucking street, roasted some of his own followers in the process."

"Coward" Molly spat, her disgust evident in her expression. "Why won't this War just end? How long is this going to go on for?"

"For a long time, sis" Fabian sighed. "Things are getting worse, not better. As you already know, the French Ministry has fallen. His supporters are growing every single day, while we're barely holding on."

"Our own Ministry won't last much longer" Arthur told them, and the Prewett twins nodded. Molly however, looked utterly horrified. "It's all that anyone talks about at work, love. We have no way of knowing who's on his side within our own walls, and with the Ministry out for blood, we're becoming alienated from the public. Some of the Aurors have started using the Cruciatus Curse as a means to get information, and everyone knows it."

"Which is why we came here today before our mission" Fabian suddenly cut in, and both Arthur and Molly looked to him. "Gideon and I were hoping to convince you two to leave the country."

"What? No" Arthur refused immediately.

"Our home is here, and we're not leaving it because of **him** " Molly joined her husband's side.

"Please see reason, Molly" Gideon pleaded, Arthur had never heard the man speak in that tone before. "You're about to have another child, and at this rate, they'll grow up in this War. Think of them, please. We have money saved up for you two, please take it and go somewhere safe."

"No" Molly refused, and Arthur nodded his agreement. The two Prewetts looked to Arthur with pleading looks, and Arthur felt his resolve weaken. _I've never seen them like this._

"Arthur, please" Fabian insisted.

"We don't have children, but we love your children like our own" Gideon added on. "Please just reconsider our proposal. Bill will be attending Hogwarts next year, and if the War keeps waging on, then he'll be forced to fight one day."

"That will be his choice, we won't take that away from him" Arthur replied. "I know you two mean well, but Molly and I have already decided to not let fear control us."

"Did you agree on that? Or are you just listening to Dumbledore's propaganda?" Fabian frowned deeply, and Arthur felt his temper flare.

"Arthur, you haven't seen how bad it is out there" Gideon quickly jumped in. "The Ministry isn't telling the public the truth, things are at their worst right now. I pulled…" Gideon suddenly stopped, and then he drew in a sharp breath. "I pulled a little girl from a collapsed building a couple of months ago, and she died in my arms… Her legs were… gone…" The room went dead silent, and Gideon stared at his uneaten food with a sorrowful look.

"Please" Fabian broke the silence with a soft whisper. "Please leave the country. There's no shame in it, you have children to protect. And we've seen so many dead ones recently…" Arthur felt his heart clench at the thought of losing his children, but Molly jumped in before Arthur could say anything.

"We are not leaving, you are our family too" Molly said firmly, and the twins gave defeated sighs. "If we give into fear, then we might as well lose the War." They were all silent again, and Arthur could see just how much the two men had aged. They still had red hair, and youthful bodies. But their faces had aged, their eyes had become hardened, and their famous humor had ebbed. _War has changed them, while I'm just sitting here in my home._ Arthur once again felt the need to join the Order, and he decided that he would broach the subject with Molly again.

"We'll be off then" Fabian said suddenly as he checked his pocket watch. "We have a mission to get to." Fabian and Gideon stood up, and Arthur followed suit. Molly remained seated, and both twins gave her kisses on her right cheek.

"See you soon, sister" they both said together.

"Please be safe, you two" Molly smiled sadly. "And don't get distracted like you always do."

"It's just a civilian escort thing" Gideon smiled softly. "We aren't even expecting a fight tonight."

"Either way, please be safe" Molly fussed. The twins nodded with smiles, and then they began leaving the house. Arthur followed them outside, and he made sure to close the door behind him.

"Wait a moment" Arthur requested, and the twins turned to him. "I've been thinking lately… I want to join the Order." The twins blinked at Arthur.

"Arthur, don't be stupid" Gideon frowned slightly.

"You have a family to protect" Fabian added on, though he had a more sympathetic look about him.

"I know, and that's why I want to join" Arthur said firmly. "I'm pretty much already in it, and I can help."

"Hosting dinner for the Order, and fighting Death Eaters are two separate things you fool" Gideon scolded him.

"Gideon, don't be a twat" Fabian smacked his brother's right arm. "Arthur, mate… You have six children, and a seventh one on the way. If you get killed out there, who will provide for them?" Arthur looked down at that.

"I just… I want to help" Arthur sighed tiredly.

"And you do help" Fabian walked up and put his left hand on Arthur's right shoulder. "You keep our sister happy, and people like you keep hope alive."

"Hope?" Arthur repeated softly.

"Hope for a better future" Fabian smiled, and Arthur stared at Fabian in wonder. "Hope for a day where that evil bastard is dead, and we can start rebuilding our world. Gideon may sound like a twat, but he's right. It's not safe out there, and we can't lose you. We… We love you, mate. You're our family too." Arthur was lost for words, these two had changed so much over the years. "Here" Fabian said as he handed Arthur his pocket watch.

"This is a Prewett Family Heirloom" Arthur muttered, his eyes going wide at the sight of the gold pocket watch. "I can't accept this…"

"You can, and you will" Gideon called out from behind Fabian. "Keep it for your sons."

"Are you two…?" Arthur started softly.

"No, we're not planning to die" Fabian shook his head. "But we might… We can't say that to Molly, she'll go mental. But the truth is, Gideon and I could die during any mission. So keep the watch." Fabian then gave Arthur a hug, one that Arthur slowly returned. "Take care, mate. We'll see you in a couple of days."

"And don't tell Molly what we said" Gideon added on, and then they both Disapparated.

That was the last time that Arthur saw them alive.

The next time he saw them, their severed heads were being buried in the Prewett Family Graveyard. Their eyes and tongues cut out.

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **of March, 1993 (Ministry of Magic – End of Work Day)**_

"Arthur, mate wake up" came Macmillan's voice, and Arthur was torn out of his memories. He had been thinking of the Prewett twins a lot recently, especially that night. "It's time to go home, or would you rather stay the night here." Arthur looked up to see Macmillan smiling at him from the doorway, and Arthur managed a weak smile back.

"I'll be out in a minute" Arthur replied, and Macmillan nodded and left. Arthur then took out Fabian's gold pocket watch, and he checked the time. _Six 'o'clock, I should head home._ Arthur put the watch back in his pocket, and he stood up and stretched. When he finished stretching his back, his eyes fell onto the picture of his family that sat framed on his desk. Arthur smiled at it, the picture was taken with a Muggle camera when Ginny had turned six. Arthur picked up the frame, and he stared at Ronnie's face with a sad look. _Look at that smile, I haven't seen him smile like that since he turned eight. He looks so… innocent._

Deep down, in the darkest part of his heart, Arthur hated how different his son had become. It had all started when he had turned eight. One day he was a sweet boy, who was a little too shy. But then all of sudden he had started studied, exercising, and that was when he started to change. Slowly and slowly, this happy version of his son disappeared. And it was replaced by the cold, angry Ron that he knew today. But Arthur didn't blame his son, he blamed himself. He was at fault, and everyone knew it.

Pandora had told them all, including Sirius and Remus, about how hard Ron was trying to please everyone. That Ron's Acute Stress Disorder came from trying to please Arthur and Molly, which was the only thing that his son wanted... To please his parents, but both Molly and Arthur had neglected him. It wasn't intentional, but it had happened. Molly loved and doted on Ginny most of the time, while Arthur sated his passion for all things Muggle. It had seemed so harmless at the time, dismissing Ron to experiment with a new gadget. Arthur figured that Ron would just play with his brothers instead, but Arthur now knew that his children didn't always get along. And that Ron often ended up as the target for their frustrations. The twins had each other, Bill and Charlie stuck together because they were too old for their siblings, Ginny had Molly, and Percy had his books and Arthur's ear. Ron had no one, so he had chosen the Lovegoods.

Arthur put the frame down, his face hollow and tired. Merlin he missed his son, he missed him so much that it hurt to even think about him. And lately, Ron was the only thing that Arthur could think about besides the Prewett twins. _I need to go home and check on Ginny, I don't like to be away from her when she needs me._ Arthur grabbed his dirty old briefcase, and he left his office with a quickened pace. As he made his way into the main lobby, he noticed people staring at him. Arthur quickly checked himself over, but everything seemed to be in order. But the looks didn't stop, and so Arthur stopped walking and stared back at them. _Why are they looking at me like that? And what are they whispering about?_

"Arthur, mate!" came Macmillan's voice, and Arthur turned around to see his co-worker running to him with a copy of the recent Daily Prophet. _Didn't get a chance to read it this morning, but then again, it's always just garbage._

"Ian, what's the matter?" Arthur asked his co-worker as he stopped right in front of Arthur.

"Your son is bloody famous, Arthur" Macmillan replied, and then he handed Arthur the Daily Prophet. "Read this mate, it's utterly unreal." Arthur immediately started reading the paper, and his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. _Saved Harry Potter's life by slaying a Mountain Troll singlehandedly… Considered a Prodigy by Hogwarts' Professors… Saved Sirius Black from wrongful imprisonment… Helped capture a thought to be deceased Death Eater at the age of eleven… Champion of last year's Junior League Chess Tournament… CAN RESIST OVER FIFTY VEELAS AT ONCE?!_ Arthur looked up to see Macmillan smiling widely. "Is this all true? Is that really your son?"

"He is…" Arthur muttered, he was utterly stunned by this. _I need to show this to Molly!_ "Excuse me, I need to get home right now."

"Get me his autograph!" Macmillan laughed as Arthur made his way through the crowd, the Daily Prophet clutched tightly in his right hand. _Fifty Veelas? How is that even possible? I know about the other things, but fifty bloody Veelas at once?_ Arthur looked around to see a few people smiling at him in wonder, and others whispering about his son. He could make out a few words, and they all seemed to be questioning if Ron was really Arthur Weasley's son. That angered Arthur greatly, but he chose to ignore them. He had to show Molly this newspaper. Arthur quickly got to a free fireplace, and he threw in some Floo-Powder with his left hand.

"The Burrow" Arthur called clearly, and he jumped right in as soon as the flames turned green. "Molly! Are you here?!" Arthur called as he burst into the kitchen, and he was stopped dead in his tracks by what he saw. Sirius, Remus, Pandora, Xenophilius, and Molly were all talking animatedly, and Arthur saw Molly holding a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hand. Molly turned to him, her expression excited and confused at the same time.

"Arthur! Have you read today's Daily Prophet?!" Molly asked as all the adults turned to Arthur, all of them sharing Molly's look of confused excitement. Arthur just held up his copy, and a wide smile broke out on his face.

"I did…"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday March 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Close to Midnight)**_

He stood by the window in his room, and he gazed out at the city of Paris. It was off in the distance, its bright lights dazzling and alluring. Everyone else was no doubt asleep by now, but Ron couldn't sleep. He was utterly exhausted, but he just couldn't sleep. After Bernard had left, Ron had been comforted by Lord and Lady Greengrass. Well, they had **tried** to comfort him. But he had just sat there quietly as he pondered what his brain damage meant for his mission. In the end, Ron had just gotten up and left them both behind. Their comforting words and touches were starting to piss him off, and he just decided to grab his box of Potions and leave. They didn't follow him up, and Ron was fine with that.

He had heard the Greengrass Family dining downstairs, but he hadn't joined them. Tori had knocked on his door a few times, but he had ignored her. Mary had come into the room before bedtime, but he had ignored her as well. His mind was focused on his mission, and this Cycle's impending failure. That's all he cared about right now. He didn't care about his family's reaction anymore, he wasn't planning on telling them anyway. He didn't care about the Greengrass Family trying to comfort him, he didn't want comfort. What he wanted was to figure out a way to make this Cycle successful.

And so, Ron had actively tried to contact the Entity. Ron planned to beg it for its help, but his 'prayers' went unanswered. After that failed, Ron had tried to contact this other being that had bound the Entity to him. But once again, he was met with silence. When he finally began to realize that he couldn't do anything about his mission tonight, that's when the panic began to set in. His heart had started pounding in his throat, his lungs ached from his ragged breathing, and he had begun to sweat buckets. He was brain damaged, a damn cripple… How the fuck was he meant to succeed now? He was just thirteen, and now he was brain damaged?! How was that fair?! What the fuck did he do to deserve this?!

He found his escape in a tiny bottle filled with some Calming Draught. He had quickly downed a vial in his panic induced state, and now he was a lot more mellowed out. A small part of him was still terrified of what he had learned today, but he was no longer panicking. He was quite a lot calmer than before, but not enough to not worry about the future. What was he meant to do? Where was he supposed to go from here? Which move would yield him the greatest results? Ron was ripped out of his thoughts as he heard his door click open, and he turned to see Daphne pop her head into his room. Ron stepped back into the shadows, he wanted to see why she was here. Daphne entered slowly, and then she quietly closed the door behind her.

"Ron?" Daphne whispered as she stared at his bed, it was rather dark in his room. He had turned the lights off because they were driving him insane while he was panicking. "Ron, are you asleep?" _How would I answer that if I was?_ Daphne took a few more steps towards his bed, while Ron watched her quietly. Daphne seemed to hum a bit when she realized that he wasn't in his bed, and she immediately went to leave his room.

"What do you want, Daphne?" Ron asked calmly as he stepped out of the shadows, and Daphne let out a scared yelp.

"Ron?" Daphne hissed as she turned to face him. "What are you doing in that corner?"

"It's my room, I can stand in any corner that I like" Ron shrugged, and then he stared out of the window again. Daphne was bewildered by his demeanor, but then she realized why he was being like this.

"You had some of your Calming Draught, didn't you?" Daphne asked.

"I don't remember telling you I had some on me" Ron replied, and he heard Daphne step up behind him.

"Mother told us that Healer Bernard gave you a box full of them, and that we aren't allowed near it" Daphne said softly. "Did you… did you have another panic attack?"

"I started to, but then I had a vial" Ron replied as he gazed at the lights of Paris. "I feel… calm? No, I just feel tired…"

"Then why are you awake?" Daphne asked as she stepped up beside him, and he turned to see her in her silver silk pajamas.

"Couldn't sleep" Ron replied. "Why are you awake? And why are you in my room this late? If your mother and father find out, we'll both be done for."

"Ah, so you aren't completely gone" Daphne smirked, but then her smirk fell immediately. "Sorry… I shouldn't make jokes. You've had a… tough day. A really tough, horrible day… How are you feeling?"

"I feel brain damaged" Ron smirked, and Daphne gave him slightly horrified look.

"Ron… don't say that…" Daphne muttered, her voice slightly shaky. "Don't ever say that again…"

"Why not? It's true, isn't it?" Ron looked back to Paris. _Look at those lights. Maybe father is right about Muggles being amazing._

"This is just the Potion talking" Daphne sighed softly. "You're numb to your own words."

"Daphne, what are you doing here?" Ron asked her, all he wanted was to be left alone.

"I wanted to see you, and I wanted to talk to you" Daphne replied.

"Then why wait until the dead of night?" Ron frowned slightly.

"Tori told me you ignored her, and mother said the same" Daphne replied. "Father told us to leave you alone, that you needed to process this on your own first."

"Your father is the smartest man I know" Ron told her. "You ought to listen to him."

"I know, but I couldn't help it" Daphne responded. "Look at me, Ron. Stop staring out of the window like that." Ron turned to face her again, and he saw that she looked rather worried.

"Don't worry, Daphne" Ron told her, and she blinked. "It doesn't help me, and it doesn't help you. I just need some time to figure out my next move, and then everything will be fine."

"Next move?" Daphne asked.

"Doesn't matter, it's just something that I've been thinking about" Ron shrugged, and then he stared out of the window again. "What would Lord Greengrass do in my shoes?" Ron asked himself, while Daphne just stared at him with a saddened look.

"Do you want me to leave?" Daphne asked softly.

"Yes" Ron replied. "And close the door behind you please." Daphne nodded, and she left the room with a dejected look. When Ron heard the door click shut, he let out a relieved sigh. _What would Lord Greengrass do? Which move is the most beneficial to my Cycle?_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is, another Chapter finished. And yes, Ron was rather out of his mind at the end. That's what the Calming Draught does, it numbs all emotion to suppress any panic or fright. He won't be too happy with how he spoke to Daphne tomorrow. Also, Ron took quite a thrashing this Chapter. But then again, it's all part of the story.**

 **Next Chapter will have a Tracey POV, and a Millie POV. I've also decided to put in a Neville POV, one with a disappointed Gran. She gave Ron her hand in allegiance, but her Grandson shat all over that... Ron will come to a crossroad next chapter when it comes to chess. Lord Greengrass and he will discuss some stuff. And he will try and make it up to the sisters and Mary.**

 **See you on Saturday!**


	50. Chapter 50 - Weasley, Our New Celebrity

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 50! Bloody Hell, never thought that I'd ever make it this far! Happy day, people! 50 more chapters till we reach 100!**

 **Let me just thank you guys for your support again, it is very much appreciated and it helps me keep going. Especially when the nights are cold, and I feel lonely =(**

 **Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 50 – Weasley, Our New Celebrity**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday House – Early Morning)**_

Ron had just finished up his morning shower, and now he was staring at his Chess Uniform whilst being covered by a towel. If someone walked into his room right now, they'd see his naked upper body that was blemished with scars. He wanted to put on his Uniform, he wanted to go to Beauxbatons and win. But he also feared putting more stress onto his brain. Could he really afford to risk his Cycle for a game?

Ron hadn't slept much last night, he was too busy plotting his moves for the future. The Entity's words echoed through his head all night, and Ron feared that his Cycle would also end in failure. He had thought about the Cycles intensely, and what they meant for him. But in the end, they seemed to be inconsequential. The previous Cycles belonged to the Ronald Weasleys that had all failed, and Ron couldn't bring himself to care about what had happened to their families. Ron had his own family, his own friends, and his own life to worry about. So he had decided that he would just focus on making his Cycle successful. The other Rons had clearly made mistakes that ended their Cycles, so Ron had to be better than them in every way possible.

Which meant that he had to train harder, study harder, begin making proactive changes around him, and he had to get his brain damage under control. There was so much to do, but so little time. The upcoming war was looming ever closer, and Ron had already wasted too much time. To that rectify that, Ron had made a revised plan. He would still join the Order when the time came, but he wouldn't be just another soldier in Dumbledore's army. He would be the commander of that army. The more power he held, the safer his family and friends would be. And in order to achieve that power, Ron couldn't afford to be held down by any moral obligations. It was time to revisit the Dark Arts. It was time to grow beyond his family's beliefs, and to truly be his own person. Dumbledore had told him that he might have an affinity for the Dark Arts, and ignoring that natural talent was not a smart move. It'd be like ignoring your own bishops whilst playing Chess, and therefore failure would be inevitable.

Ron however had no intention of becoming a killer, or any other form of a sadist, but he wasn't an idiot either. People died in wars, this was an irrefutable fact. So if it came down to it, Ron would do **whatever** it took to make this Cycle succeed. Everyone he loved depended on his success, even if they didn't understand it yet. And then there was the whole 'Death destroying this Universe' thing… Ron didn't even want to start contemplating about that shite. What was he even supposed to think about something like that? It was so far out of his scope of understanding.

Ron was taken out of his thoughts when he heard the Greengrass Family eating breakfast downstairs, and he let out a long sigh. _Time to make a proactive change._ Ron began dressing in his Uniform, some semblance of doubt gnawing at the back of his head. Competing in this Tournament was risky, but it had to be done. Ron needed to win this in order to achieve more fame, more influence, and more Galleons. He needed to make allies beyond just Great Britain, and this Tournament was the perfect opportunity to do all of that. _I'm putting my faith in you, Entity. Keep up the defense, and I'll do the rest._

Ron left his room when he was fully dressed and ready, and he made his way down to the Dining Room. He knew that the Greengrasses wouldn't approve of him risking his brain being further damaged, but Ron knew that the reward was well worth the risk. _Plus, the Entity is getting used to their allures. If I win this despite all the odds, I could really make a name for myself._ Ron entered the Dining Room, and all eyes focused on him immediately.

"Merlin…" Mary sighed in defeat when she saw him dressed in his Uniform. _Good start, now I know for certain where they stand._

"Ron" Lord Greengrass greeted with a nod, and Ron took his seat next to Daphne.

"Good morning all" Ron greeted them, and then he began making his plate. He could feel them just staring at him, but he chose to ignore it. "Am I going alone?" Ron suddenly asked.

"No, I will be accompanying you" Lord Greengrass replied resignedly, and Ron shot a grateful smile at his mentor.

"We're all going" Mary said tiredly, and then she shot Ron a slight frown. _She doesn't agree, but she's still showing me her support. That's the best that I could hope for, all things considered._

"Thank you" Ron said as he cut into his toast and poached eggs.

"But the moment you look like you're in pain, we're bringing you back home" Mary added on. "Healer Bernard was very clear, Ron. This is dangerous, and we don't approve of you risking your mind for this."

"I understand" Ron nodded. "But like I said yesterday, I'm getting used to their allures. I should be able to better handle them today."

"How does it work?" Daphne suddenly asked him, her curiosity taking over. "How do you just 'resist' them?"

"I think of anything but them" Ron shrugged. "I resist the urge to look at them, or to even acknowledge their presence. It's hard to explain…" _Damn, I need to come up with a more coherent lie._

"You were all over the Daily Prophet yesterday" Daphne told him, a slight smile on her face. _I need to apologize to her about last night. To all of them, actually. They just wanted to help, but I simply ignored them._

"The exclusive" Ron figured.

"No, it was more than that" Lord Greengrass told him, and Ron looked to his mentor with a confused look. "You've garnered a lot of support and recognition for resisting the Veelas, and many of the spectators have given testimony about your resistance against their allures. The French Ministry isn't too happy about this scandal, and neither is the International League of Wizard's Chess Club. But you're quickly becoming a celebrity of sorts in other countries."

"A celebrity?" Ron asked, this was great news. _I'm already gaining recognition, and if I win this thing, then I'll definitely gain a lot of influence. Influence that I can use at a later date._

"Your list of achievements in the exclusive has certainly helped boost your growing popularity" Lord Greengrass smirked. "The Wizarding World is starting to learn of your name, Ron."

"Well, that's great news" Ron chuckled. "Thank you, my Lord. The exclusive was a great idea, and it worked out just like you planned."

"I never expected these kinds of results, but thank you" Lord Greengrass responded.

"So…" Tori piped in, a grin forming on her face. "Can I get your autograph?" Ron choked on his orange juice, and then he grinned back at her.

"Depends, will you frame it?" Ron asked in return.

"Don't be arrogant Ron, it's not a good look" Daphne huffed, but her smile showed just how happy she was for him.

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – After Breakfast)**_

"I still can't believe it" Percy chuckled as he re-read yesterday's Daily Prophet for the hundredth time. The Weasley children and Luna were visiting Grimmauld Place this morning upon Sirius' insistence. Ginny sat with Luna on a loveseat in the Living Room, and she occasionally shot looks at Harry sitting beside the twins. It filled her up with guilt, but she couldn't stop herself.

"How many times are you going to read that?" George laughed, a massive grin on his face.

"I don't know" Percy shrugged. "I just don't want to stop, that's all I know." They had all learned of Ron's growing fame yesterday, and they had all read the exclusive interview together. Percy was ecstatic, George was just awed, Ginny and Luna were extremely proud, and Fred was… Fred was conflicted. Ginny knew that he was the more emotional twin, and she knew that he wasn't happy with how Ron was treating their parents. Truth be told, a small part of her was also unhappy with Ron's cold behavior. But she understood where it stemmed from. She, after all, had taken a lot of guilty pleasure from seeing her mother choose her over Ron time and time again. She wasn't proud of it, but as a little girl growing up with all brothers, Ginny treasured the fact that she had trumped her brothers in something.

"Is it that hard to resist Veelas?" Harry asked, and Ginny shot a quick look at him. Her face flushed when she saw him eye her quickly, and she shifted in her seat. _He's noticed me looking, hasn't he? He probably thinks I'm a weirdo. Not to mention I opened the Chamber and ruined his friendship with Ron._

"Next to impossible for blokes" George answered. "Just one look at them, and you'll be begging for their attention. Or at least that's what I've read."

"You read?" Fred sniggered, and George chuckled.

"One of us has to" George shot back.

"George is right" Percy told Harry. "This is utterly unheard of, and that's why it's getting so much attention."

"Wait…" Fred's eyes went wide suddenly, and everyone looked to him. "You don't reckon Ron's into… other boys, do you?" Ginny's jaw hung open, Percy frowned deeply, Harry looked uncomfortable, and George sniggered. _What if it's true? I mean, I don't mind. But still, I never thought about that._

"No, he's not" Luna said airily.

"And how do you know that?" Ginny asked with narrowed eyes.

"Not my secret to tell" Luna smiled at Ginny, and Ginny felt the need for a 'girl talk' with her best friend. _I'll ask her later. She definitely knows something juicy._

"I'm pretty sure he's dating Davis" Harry told them.

"Davis? Tracey Davis?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I saw her cuddling him on the train" Harry went on. "As a matter of fact, I've seen her being really… handsy with him. She's always hugging him, or giving him kisses."

"Kisses?" Ginny blurt out in surprise, and she instantly regretted it when Harry looked to her.

"On his cheeks" Harry amended quickly, and all of the children relaxed slightly.

"All of his female friends do that" Luna smiled. "You haven't noticed?"

"Um… no" George replied. "What about that Greengrass girl, she seems to hover around him quite often."

"Can we not discuss his personal life behind his back?" Percy said firmly. "I'm more interested in knowing how he resists the Veelas."

"That's literally what we're discussing" Fred frowned at Percy, but then a smirk appeared on his face. "Don't like talking about dating, do you?"

"Poor Percy, can't even think of girls without blushing" George grinned.

"It's a good thing that there's a lot of boys in our family" Fred went on. "If it was left to Percy, the Weasley line would end." George and Harry sniggered at that, while Percy just rolled his eyes. He was used to their teasing and rude comments, and he pretty much just ignored them at this point. Ginny on the other hand had just started noticing how cruel the twins could be. Sure, they were absolutely hilarious. But their jokes were always at someone else's expense. _And it's always Ron or Percy. I can't believe they used to say such terrible things to Ron._

"I don't see you two dating anyone" Ginny said hotly, and the twins blinked at her. Even Percy was surprised to see her jump to his defense. "And dating each other doesn't count." Harry and Luna chuckled at that, and Ginny felt rather proud of her comment. _I made Harry laugh!_

"Little sister has claws" Fred remarked.

"Indeed, Fred" George nodded. "Shall we cut them off?"

"Enough, you two" Percy narrowed his eyes on the twins. "Leave Ginny alone, understand?" Ginny resisted the urge to frown at Percy, he was being particularly overbearing lately. It was sweet on the first day, but it had quickly lost its charm. _He keeps acting like I'm made of glass, and that I'll shatter if something goes wrong._ She was still recovering from her ordeal, but she was making good progress. She had started sleeping well again as long as Helios was in the room, and with Luna's presence, she had even started laughing every now and then.

"Refreshments?" came Sirius' voice, and Ginny looked to see him entering the Living Room with a tray full of food. "What are you lot up to?" Sirius asked as he put the tray down on the coffee table.

"Discussing Ron's dating life" Luna replied aloofly, and Sirius just blinked at her. Every other child in the room looked in different directions, but Luna just stared right into Sirius' eyes. _Oh Merlin, Luna. What's wrong with you?_

"Well…" Sirius muttered, and then he shook his head clear. "Is he as popular with the ladies as I think he is?"

"Lots of girls like him" Luna smiled. "A few of my friends ask me to introduce them to him, but I don't."

"What? Why?!" Sirius asked a little too loudly, and Ginny just stared at the two of them. _What's happening here?_ Ginny shot a look towards the others, and she was glad to see that they were just as gobsmacked as she was.

"Ron doesn't like people snooping around him" Luna shrugged. "He would just get irritated by their company."

"Luna, sweetheart" Sirius smiled slyly. "Come with me, I want to have a quick chat with you."

"Okay" Luna agreed, and then she got up and picked up a few biscuits from the tray. And just like that, Luna and Sirius left the room.

"Um… what just happened?" Ginny asked the others, and they all shrugged. Ginny looked to Harry, and she saw an annoyed expression on his face. _What's wrong?_

"I'm going to go stop him" Harry said as he suddenly got up. "He's trying to fill her head with his insanity, Remus warned me about this." And just like that, Harry also disappeared from the room.

"There's something wrong with that girl" Fred muttered, and Ginny shot him a glare.

"There's something wrong with your face" Ginny said hotly, and Fred sniggered.

"Don't laugh you moron, we're twins" George frowned at his second half.

"That's not why I'm laughing" Fred shrugged, and then he looked straight at Ginny with a smile. "Gin, are you coming back to school with us?" Ginny tensed at that, and she looked down at her lap. _I don't want to go back there._

"I don't know…" Ginny replied meekly.

"I think you should" Fred said softly.

"You're certainly looking better, and you've got that hot-headed temper back" George added on. Ginny didn't respond to that, she really didn't want to go back to Hogwarts. She had almost killed people, and she had succeeded in killing Mrs. Norris.

"She'll come back when she's ready, don't push her" Percy said as he shot a meaningful look at the twins. Ginny shot Percy a grateful smile, and then silence engulfed them. _And there's the awkward silence again._ Over the last couple of days, whenever they all got together, things gradually became awkward. Ginny knew it was because of her, and she hated herself for it. They knew that she was behind the attacks, they just didn't know the full story. _Except for Percy, he knows most of it. I'm so stupid…_ Ginny absent-mindedly made sure that her left arm was covered up, and then she just sat there. _When is Luna coming back?_

"You reckon we could ask Ron to share some of his fame?" George asked suddenly, and everyone gave him deadpan looks. _Don't try and stop the awkwardness, it only makes it worse._

"I doubt it" Fred replied. "I don't think he cares much for us."

"Speak for yourself" Ginny blurted out, her temper flaring. "If I were him, I'd never want to see your face again." Fred looked genuinely hurt by her comment, and Ginny noticed that Percy and George were frowning at her.

"Ginny, that was unnecessary" Percy said softly, and Ginny scowled a bit. _Let me guess, he thinks I'll break if he scolds me. Ugh…_

"I'm going to go find Luna" Ginny said, and then she got up and left. _They can dish it out, but they can't take it? I wish Ronnie was here, at least his company wouldn't be so awkward._ Ginny found Luna talking with Harry in the corridor leading out of the kitchen, and she froze when she saw that Harry had his hand on Luna's left shoulder. Harry noticed her, and he drew his hand back slowly.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Harry asked her with a smile. Ginny felt her cheeks burn, and she once again made sure that her left arm was fully covered.

"I was looking for Luna…" Ginny replied with a meek tone.

"Oh, I see" Harry responded. "Well, I'll be on my way then." Harry then moved past her, and he gave her a reassuring smile as he left. When Harry was out of sight, Ginny quickly ran over to Luna.

"What was that?" Ginny asked quickly, her jealousy clearly evident in her voice.

"What was what?" Luna teased with a playful smile.

"Luna, why were you talking with Harry?" Ginny asked with jealous look.

"He wanted to ask me how you were doing" Luna hummed.

"Huh? Then why didn't he just ask me? Why did he talk to you about it?" Ginny asked with narrowed eyes. _She knows how I feel about him, so why is she talking to him in a dark corridor?_

"I asked him that too" Luna replied as she cocked her head a bit. "He says that he's worried about you, but he can't talk to you because you always act like you're uncomfortable around him."

"Oh…" Ginny blushed deeply.

"He doesn't like it" Luna went on, and Ginny blinked at her. "He doesn't like how you act around him, but he's too polite to say it. I don't think Harry likes being seen as the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Why? He's famous the world over" Ginny said softly, Luna was clearly about to impart her keen insight into people. _Make sure you listen to her, she's almost like a Psychic with this stuff._

"Because he lived, but his parents didn't" Luna said in a sagely voice. "Every time someone calls him the Boy-Who-Lived, they remind him of that fact. I think it would hurt quite a lot, don't you?"

"I guess it would" Ginny replied softly, she had never really thought about that. But then again, she hadn't really spoken to Harry much. She wanted to, but she would just freeze up whenever he was near her.

"I think if you act like you normally do, he'd love to be your friend" Luna shrugged. "But that's just what I think, you don't have to follow my advice." Luna then began to leave, but Ginny quickly stopped her.

"Wait" Ginny said as she stepped in Luna's way. "What else should I do?"

"About what?" Luna blinked at her.

"About Harry, Luna" Ginny sighed, how was Luna so airheaded sometimes?

"Oh" Luna smiled widely. "Just talk to him like he's an actual person, and not some famous wizard."

"But he is a famous wizard" Ginny responded slowly.

"He doesn't want to be" Luna told her. "He wants to be just Harry."

"How do you know all of this?" Ginny asked her.

"There's an aura of pain that engulfs him whenever people talk to him like he's some hero" Luna shrugged. "I noticed it, and since everyone knows his past, I figured that he missed his parents. I know I'd miss my parents if they died, so it wasn't a hard conclusion to make."

"Right…" Ginny nodded slowly, Luna clearly had no idea that other people weren't that insightful. "One last thing… Who's Ron's girlfriend?"

"Ron doesn't have a girlfriend" Luna replied, and Ginny smiled slyly. _Oh, I know you know._

"Come here, Luna" Ginny cooed, and then she put her arms around Luna. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone." Luna giggled, and then she hugged Ginny. _Okay, I wasn't really trying to go for a hug. But it's Luna so I don't really mind._

"Ron doesn't have a girlfriend" Luna repeated as she squeezed Ginny tightly. "And even if he did, I'd never tell anyone."

"Why?" Ginny chuckled at Luna's tight hug.

"Because he doesn't like people going behind his back" Luna replied aloofly, and Ginny stopped chuckling. "Poor Harry learned that the hard way." Luna pulled back at that, and all Ginny could do was stare at her airy smile. _I sometimes forget about what Ron did to Harry, it was horrible._ "You guys shouldn't be discussing things about him behind his back, it might not end well for you." Ginny blinked at Luna's words, but Luna simply walked past her with her airy smile in place.

"Luna" Ginny called softly, and they both turned to face each other. _I have to ask this._ "Are you scared of Ron?"

"Sometimes" Luna smiled. "Aren't you?" And just like that, Luna walked back to the Living Room whilst humming her mother's favorite melody. Ginny just stared at where Luna had been standing, and then she took in a deep breath. She remembered Ron laughing as he attacked Harry like some wild beast, and a shudder passed through her. _I guess sometimes I am as well._

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (City of London – Afternoon)**_

The holidays had been nothing short of disappointing so far. Theo was staying in the guest bedroom just down the hallway, but she hadn't manage to spend a single second alone with him. Her dad was everywhere, and his eyes were glued to Theo's every move. And Theo himself wasn't helping matters… He hadn't even tried to get her alone once, instead he just seemed withdrawn. Uncomfortable. The rational part of Tracey understood that he felt unease due to living in a Muggle home within the Muggle World. But the irrational part of Tracey wanted him to get over it and talk to her.

When he had first asked her to host him, she had been left utterly stunned. But after a few minutes, she had become extremely excited. Theo showed a keen interest in the Muggle World, her World, and now she would get to show him around. She didn't know why he was so interested in the Muggle World, considering that he genuinely hated Muggles with a passion, and so at first she had thought that he was trying to get to know her. That was how her crush had started, a crush that he seemed to know all about. Though he never acted on that either. His sole interest in her seemed to stem from her ties to the Muggle World. But then why had he sent her a Valentine Card this year? Ugh… He was so confusing!

But not today… No, today Tracey had it all planned out. Theo had expressed his interest in going to the Leaky Cauldron, and so Tracey had channeled her inner Slytherin and set a plan in motion. She had begged her mum to keep her dad occupied so that Tracey could spend time with her friend. Merlin that had been an awkward conversation. Tracey loved her mum to bits, but the woman had the most inappropriate sense of humor that Tracey had ever witnessed. And some would say that it was a sense of humor that she had passed onto her daughter, but Tracey disagreed wholeheartedly. Either way, today Tracey would get some alone time with Theo.

"Theo, didn't you mention that you wanted to see more of Charing Cross Road?" her mother asked Theo, they were all at the Leaky Cauldron. _Here we go. Thanks mum!_

"I did…" Theo smiled softly, and Tracey narrowed her eyes a bit. _What's wrong with him? Even in the Leaky Cauldron he seems withdrawn._

"Why don't you and Tracey go have a look around" her mother smiled at him, and her dad choked on his beer.

"What?" her father managed to ask.

"James, we'll be right here if they need us" her mother replied. "And kids should get some independence every now and then."

"I will keep her safe, Sir" Theo smiled at James Davis. "You have my word."

"Please, dad" Tracey made her best puppy dog eyes, and her father sighed.

"Fine" her father consented. "Be back here before four, understood?" _An hour?! That's it?! Just take it, Tracey. It's the best that he will offer._

"Thanks, dad" Tracey faked a grateful smile, and then she hurried out of her seat. "C'mon Theo, I can show you some neat little places around here." Theo nodded, and he too slid out of his chair. Tracey wasted no time, and she hurried out of the Leaky Cauldron. _Finally. I finally get to talk to him alone._ She turned around, but Theo hadn't come out yet. _Damn, Dad is probably giving him some weird talk._ Tracey waited for a few seconds, and then Theo suddenly walked of the pub.

"Here" Theo said as he handed her some Muggle money, and Tracey blinked at it. "Your father gave it to me, you ran out of there before he got a chance to give it to you."

"Oh" Tracey blushed, and she quickly took the money from him. _Smooth, Tracey. But you can still recover._ "So um… where do you want to go?"

"Foyles bookstore" Theo immediately answered, and Tracey was a bit taken aback. "Though I've forgotten the way there…"

"You've been there before?" Tracey asked slowly, this was news to her.

"I have, and I want to revisit that store" Theo replied.

"Alright" Tracey nodded. "Follow me, I know a really quick way to get there." Theo smiled a bit, and they both began their little trip. _I didn't know that Theo had been here before, but then again, I don't know that much about him. Or Blaise. Or even Ron. They don't like talking about themselves. Well, time to change that._ "So Theo…" Tracey started, but then she stopped. _What the fuck do I even say?!_

"Yes?" Theo cocked an eyebrow.

"How's life?" Tracey asked, and she instantly felt like throwing herself in front of a car. _How's life? What the fuck, Tracey?_

"Same as usual" Theo shrugged.

"Cool…" Tracey responded, and Theo suddenly stopped walking. Tracey turned to face him, and he was just staring at her.

"Can you just tell me what's on your mind, please?" Theo asked, and Tracey blinked at him. "In the past two days, I've caught you staring at me over a dozen times. And half of those times, you were frowning." Tracey's face burned at that, he knew that she was staring all along? _Just go for it, it's now or never._

"Why haven't you tried to talk to me in private?" Tracey asked softly.

"Because your father is always watching me, and I don't want to disrespect my host" Theo replied.

"Disrespect your host?" Tracey asked.

"Do you really need me to explain it to you?" Theo sighed. "I'm a boy, and you're a girl. And your father doesn't want a boy talking to his little girl."

"Don't be an arse, Theo" Tracey frowned at his mocking tone. "You're the one who asked me to host you at my house, and now you won't even talk to me."

"I asked you to host me because I have nowhere else to go" Theo rolled his eyes, and a pang of pain shot through Tracey's chest. Theo saw it reflected on her face, and his expression softened. "I didn't mean it like that…"

"You… You're an arse" Tracey grit out, her eyes burning a bit. "I'm leaving…" Tracey began to make her way back, but Theo jumped in her way.

"Tracey, I didn't mean it like that" Theo repeated.

"Well, that's what it sounded like" Tracey snapped. "All I wanted was to talk to you… And you're just being a jerk for no reason… Go and find your own way to that bookstore." Panic shot through his face, and then a pleading look marked his features.

"Tracey, please take me there" Theo pleaded softly. "I'm begging you, I just need to see that store one more time." Tracey just stared at his face, half-angry and half-confused. _When does he ever 'beg'? What's with his need to see this bookstore?_

"Why?" Tracey asked.

"I just do" Theo replied. "Please, Trace… I just need to see it once, and then I'll start acting normal again. I'll spend every second with you if you want, but just take me there first. And don't ask me why…" Tracey stared at him for a few seconds, and his expression weakened her resolve. _What's so special about this bookstore?_

"Fine" Tracey said softly. "But you're telling me everything after we get there." Theo gave her a nod, and he gestured her to show him the way. Tracey turned around and began leading the way again, her curiosity piqued. As Tracey led them towards Foyles bookstore, she noticed Theo looking around as if he was remembering something. His face had become pale, even a little haunted, and that set off alarm bells in her head. Something didn't make sense here, why was Theo so interested in a Muggle bookstore?

"There it is" Tracey said as she pointed to it, and then she looked to Theo. "Now can you tell me why you wanted to see it?"

"Foyles bookstore…" Theo muttered as he just stared at the shop. As Tracey watched his haunted expression, she quickly forgot her anger and hurt at his previous words.

"Theo…" Tracey nudged him slightly, but his eyes were fixed on the store. "You're starting to worry me, why did you want to see this particular bookstore?" Theo didn't answer, instead he crossed the road and went straight for the entrance. Tracey followed behind him, and she watched him look around as if he was putting some sort of puzzle together. _I'm starting to get really worried? How does Theo know of this place?_ Theo suddenly stopped, and Tracey followed his gaze which was fixed to a back alley.

"There…" Theo said softly, and he began making his way to it. Tracey quickly followed after him, her instincts telling her to stop Theo from going there. But she chose to ignore them. And then, they were in the back alley. Tracey looked around the shady back alley, and nothing special stood out to her. _Some bins, surrounded by buildings, and a gross smell._ Tracey looked to Theo, and she was horrified to see tears welling up in his eyes.

"Theo?" Tracey put her right hand on his left arm. "What's wrong? What happened here?" Theo didn't reply, his gaze was fixed at the center of the alley. "Theo, how do you know about this place?"

"My mum… she died right over there" Theo pointed to the center of the alley, and Tracey felt like she had the wind kicked out of her lungs. She stepped back involuntarily, her brain turning off for a few seconds. By the time she processed his words, Theo had begun moving to the center of the alley. Tracey trailed behind him slowly, her stomach tightening and her heart pounding. "This is where she died…" Theo said as he stopped walking, his eyes fixed to the cobblestone just ahead of him.

"How do you know that she died in that spot?" Tracey asked before she could even think, her mind was burning with a hundred different questions.

"Because I was right over there" Theo whispered as he pointed to the wall to their left, and Tracey's heart clenched painfully. All she could do was just stare at Theo's back with wide-eyes, what was she even supposed to say? "I asked to stay with you because I wanted to come here at least once… I've waited for so long to be here. My father never let me come back…"

"How did she die?" Tracey asked softly.

"She was shot" Theo replied, his voice cracking slightly. "She was shot by a Muggle…"

"Why?"

"He wanted money" Theo replied, bitterness evident in his voice. "We were coming back from that bookstore, she loved Muggle novels…"

"Theo, I'm so sorry" Tracey managed, there was a massive lump in her throat suddenly. "I'm sorry you saw something so horrible."

"I don't remember much, I was around five or six" Theo said in a hollow voice. "But I do remember the shop, and the loud bang from his… what are those things called?"

"Gun?" Tracey provided as she rubbed her eyes clear.

"Yeah, gun…" Theo repeated, his eyes still fixed on the spot where his mother bled out. "It all happened so fast, Trace… One minute we were in that bookstore, and the next minute she was hiding me behind her. And then, she was bleeding out. All I could do was stare at her from that wall… They said that she died from shock, but I know that she suffered incredible pain before she passed on. I couldn't do a fucking thing to help her… So I just watched her suffer, and then I watched her die."

"Theo, it's not your fault" Tracey quickly blurt out, and he turned to face her. "It's **his** fault, the man who shot her."

"I know that" Theo said, pain and anger etched on his face. "And one day, I'm going to find him."

"And do what?" Tracey asked, a sudden fear crawling into her brain. When he didn't reply, Tracey had her answer. They just stared at each other in silence, and Tracey finally realized that she didn't know Theo at all. He was a stranger, one with a horrible past. One that hated Muggles so much that he planned to kill one of them. But the worst part was the fact that she understood why he was so hateful, she would go mad if she saw her mother die like that before her eyes. "What would your mother think about your actions, Theo?" Tracey finally broke the silence.

"She'd be angry, and disappointed" Theo replied. "She was a good person, the best person. People mocked her for marrying my father, who was over twice her age, but she loved him to bits. She planted trees and flowers all over Nott Manor, she sang stupid Muggle songs, and she read me bed-time stories with Princes and Princesses. She stood by my father when people labelled him a murderer, and she shielded me from their hate. She even treated her servants as friends, much to my father's annoyance. She was a good person, and she died in an alley that smelled like piss and vomit. Her killer has to pay for that, and I'll make sure that he does."

* * *

 _ **Millicent Bulstrode's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Bulstrode Manor – Afternoon)**_

"So how did your parents react to Ron's exclusive?" Millie asked Pansy, they were having tea in the Bulstrode Manor Gardens.

"Father made some lame jokes about Ron being adopted" Pansy frowned as she sipped her tea. "And mother… Well, she doesn't believe it to be true. She said that this was just another publicity stunt pulled by Lord Greengrass in-order to 'make his Blood-Traitor pet look good'. She still wants me to go groveling back to Malfoy."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Millie sighed, Pansy's mum was a piece of work.

"Don't be" Pansy smiled at Millie. "And thank you for inviting me over, Millie. I couldn't stay in that Manor for another minute. Mother was constantly glaring at me, and father was just hiding in his study." Millie smiled back, it always amazed her to see Pansy like this. _I actually hated her more than Malfoy once, but now she's so much better. But then again, we're all better than we once were._

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Pans" Millie told her.

"Oh!" Pansy suddenly squealed, and Millie chuckled at her sudden excitement. "We can do a sleepover, and try on new makeups!"

"You can do that, I'll just watch" Millie said, she hated that kind of stuff. It just wasn't for her.

"Nonsense" Pansy chuckled. "I've been looking into new hairstyles for us girls, and I want to show you some of them. But enough about that, how did your parents react to Ron's sudden rise in popularity?" _Did she just change the topic before allowing me to refuse? Whatever, I'll just refuse later on._

"They took it rather well, actually" Millie smiled. "Mum likes Ron a lot, mostly because he helps me with my studies. And dad was extremely impressed with his feats. He even broke into a rant about how 'at least one lad in Slytherin had a pair'." Pansy giggled at that, and Millie found herself giggling too. "Mum went into a rage at hearing him say that near me, it was rather amusing."

"Well, I agree with your dad" Pansy said as her giggles subsided. "I still can't believe that he's able to resist so many Veelas at once."

"Same" Millie agreed. "I know that Ron's impressive, and that he's earned his 'Prodigy' title, but this is something else entirely. This is just… unheard of."

"Mother said that Ron probably fancies boys" Pansy said in a haughty tone. "She's so… stupid!" Millie blinked at Pansy's new defiant nature, and she found herself smiling. _I like this Pansy._

"Maybe he does" Millie shrugged. "I mean, he does seem rather oblivious when it comes to Daphne's crush. And unlike other boys, he doesn't care when we show him affection in public." Millie then looked over to see Pansy staring at her with wide-eyes. "What?"

"You really reckon that he's… gay?" Pansy whispered, and Millie let out a sigh.

"I said that he **might** be" Millie said firmly. "And even if that's the case, it doesn't really matter to me."

"Hmm…" Pansy hummed with a soft smile. "What kind of boys do you think he likes?"

"What? Pansy, I said that he **might** be" Millie frowned. "We don't know for…"

"Humor me" Pansy chuckled, cutting Millie off mid-sentence. "If Ron was gay, or is, what type of boy would he be into?"

"This conversation has gone down the gutter" Millie shook her head.

"Nonsense, it just got so much more interesting" Pansy laughed, and then she quickly moved closer to Millie. "I think that Ron would like someone powerful, but also someone that shares his noble attitude." _Wow, this is not a conversation I want to take part in. But still…_

"Potter has a noble attitude" Millie said slowly, why was she entertaining this idea? "Remember how self-righteous he was when we were working together?"

"Ohhh!" Pansy cooed. "Potter and Ron, that's a nice pairing. What about Ron and Longbottom?"

"I imagine that Longbottom would be the bottom in that relationship" Millie joked, and Pansy melted into wild giggles. "Ron seems the dominant type."

"He does, doesn't he?" Pansy laughed, and even Millie found herself amused. "Let's see if we can think of more suitable boys for Ron!"

"Okay, but this is just hypothetical" Millie replied. "Alright?"

"Of course" Pansy smiled widely. "Now, what about Ron and Theo?"

"Blaise seems more like Ron's type to me" Millie replied.

"I could see that" Pansy said, she was clearly imagining it judging by her sly smile.

"I'm sure you can" Millie chuckled, and Pansy blushed a bit.

"I'm only human, and they're both rather handsome" Pansy shrugged. "How do you reckon Daphne would take it? That is, if she found out that Ron was into the same sex?"

"I imagine that she'd wipe out the male species from the face of the Earth" Millie guessed. _I wouldn't put it past her._

"As her friends, maybe we should make her aware of that fact" Pansy said. "I don't think I like the idea of her chasing after Ron while he chases after other boys."

"Pansy… Ron might not be gay" Millie sighed. "This is just hypothetical."

"I know" Pansy smiled.

"You sound like you want him to be" Millie stated with a raised eyebrow.

"It would definitely be interesting, don't you think?" Pansy's smile got wider.

"Perhaps" Millie shrugged. "Or perhaps Ron doesn't really think about stuff like that."

"What? That's not even possible" Pansy blinked. "Everyone thinks about that stuff at our age."

"Asexual people don't" Millie informed her, and Pansy gasped.

"What if Ron is asexual?!" Pansy asked loudly, and Millie shushed her.

"Don't yell that out-loud" Millie hissed, and Pansy covered her mouth.

"Ron's asexual" Pansy muttered under her breath, and Millie rolled her eyes. _I'm sending her home._ But in the end, she didn't. Instead, they discussed Ron's asexual/homosexual interests… It was a fun day.

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Afternoon)**_

Awkward. That was the only word that he could think of right now. He was sitting at the dining table with his Gran, within smacking distance no less. She had just read Ron's exclusive, and she had begun asking questions about him. She wanted to know if this was all true, and so she had launched an inquisition about Ron right there and then. Neville couldn't bear answering those questions for long, his guilt over accusing Ron of being the Heir was too much. And so, he had broken down and told her everything that had happened between them. She was not pleased.

Usually when his Gran got angry with him, she made sure that he heard it. But right now, she was just staring at him with a dark look. They had been sitting in silence for almost five minutes, and Neville was on the verge of tears. He had never elicited such a reaction from her before, and he just wanted her to start yelling at him already. _I deserve this. I ruined everything because of how jealous and threatened I felt around him. He says that he's moved on, but I know that he hasn't. He barely talks to us anymore, he even ignores Hermione sometimes. I ruined everything…_

"I gave that boy our eternal friendship" Gran suddenly broke the silence, and Neville fidgeted in his seat. "You have turned me into a liar, and you have brought dishonor to our name." Neville sniffled at that, but that only made her angrier. "Stop crying, you are almost a man!" she shouted, and Neville flinched.

"I know, and I'm sorry" Neville muttered.

"You will write to him at once, do you understand?" Gran said in harsh tone, and Neville nodded. "You will invite him here, where we will both apologize to him. You, for your petty behavior, and me, for raising a fool. He saved your life, and you do this? You target him and his friends, even after you knew that I had given him our eternal friendship? That boy honors the old ways, and he will never forget this."

"I know" Neville replied with a weak voice.

"Do you?" Gran demanded, and Neville couldn't even bring himself to nod. "My Grandson… I have put up with your incompetent behavior for far too long, and it ends today. Never did I imagine that you'd be the sort to betray your own friend this way, especially one that spared you a Life Debt. Your mother and father would be ashamed." With that, Gran got out of her seat and left the room.

Neville just stared at his full plate of food, his vision blurring because of unshed tears. He let out a meek sob as he rubbed his eyes clear, he was such an idiot. His Gran was right, she had given Ron the Longbottom Family's eternal friendship for saving her Grandson's life. Neville knew all about that, but it just didn't seem to matter at the time. He had been so sure that Ron was the Heir, even before Ron had attacked Harry. And although it felt like he had all the proof that he needed from his observations of Ron, the truth was that a part of Neville didn't like Ron simply because he was scared of losing his only two friends to Ron.

It was no secret that Hermione liked Ron better than she liked Harry and Neville, she made that quite clear every day. But it was Harry that Neville truly feared losing, he was Neville's truest friend after all. His first friend. But even Harry showed a blind side to Ron's actions, and Neville had feared that it was because Harry wanted to be Ron's friend no matter what. And so, Neville's mind had become clouded from fear and jealousy. And he had ruined everything.

Hermione made her disappointment in him quite clear, while Harry just blamed himself for it all. Neville had damaged his own circle of friends far more than Ron ever could, and there was no greater shame than that. But right now, while he sat here trying not to cry, Neville was adamant about one thing. He had to be the one to fix this. He would do his best to put everything back to normal, and he'd try even harder than he had been. And so, Neville got out of his chair and marched towards his room. He had a letter to write, it would be his first step when it came to making amends.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Last Match of the Day)**_

As much as Ron hated thinking it, he had to give the Entity some credit. The allures hadn't started hurting Ron until the beginning of his third match, and now he was making sure to hide his pain. He could feel Mary watching him from the stands with unblinking eyes, just waiting for him to wince or show any signs of pain. Luckily, Ron had someone helping him stay distracted. Someone named Amanda DuPont.

They talked to each other in between the games, and he had learned quite a bit about her. She was taught by her father, who was taught by his father. Her Family loved Chess, and they passed down that love from generation to generation. Which was the reason why she was openly defying her Madame, and why she didn't care about being Ron's ally in this. Ron and Amanda shared a love for the game, and so they respected each other immediately. He had also learned that Amanda held no love for the Veela students, mostly because they acted like they owned the school. They had their pick of the boys, and it was a common game for them to steal other girls' boyfriends. Amanda herself had been a victim of this nasty game very recently, and Ron felt disgust on her behalf.

He knew that it was wrong to judge a group of people because of the actions of the few, he had learned that by being in Slytherin most of all. But he was quickly finding himself disliking these… creatures. Not only were they putting a severe strain on his mind, but they had also happily shamed so many other boys in front of the World. Sure, some of them had tried to help him yesterday. But that wasn't good enough for Ron. They were the reason behind his pain, and so offering him an ice-pack didn't mean shite. Amanda told him that it was in their nature to use their allures, just as normal people used their hands. But all Ron got out of that was the fact that Veelas were dangerous, especially to his gender. If they couldn't help themselves from seducing men, then they should be kept away from men. It was like housing wolves with sheep, soon or later the wolves would do what wolves do to sheep.

"Do you want me to destroy 'er?" came Amanda's voice, and looked to her with a smile. "I am playing Olivia next, do you want me to destroy 'er?"

"Depends on what you mean by destroy" Ron smirked, and Amanda giggled. "If you want to draw out your wand and hex her, then yes please."

"You are 'orrible" Amanda giggled. "No, I meant in Chess."

"Would be nice if someone avenged me, and put her in her place" Ron smiled. "I don't remember much from when I played against her, but you said that she was a horrible sport about it. So by all means, go right ahead."

"Zen I will 'avenge' you" Amanda gave a firm nod. "And I will be a 'orrible sport too."

"No need to sink to her level" Ron said. "Just beat her, and be polite about it. People like her tend take that worse than being rude."

"You 'ave much experience zen?" Amanda asked. "Wiz people like 'er."

"I'm in Slytherin, so I deal with people like her everyday" Ron shrugged. "Just be as polite as possible, trust me."

"Zen I will destroy 'er, and be polite about it" Amanda smiled, and Ron smiled back. "Do you 'ave a 'eadache?" _Kind of, yes. But it's ten times more bearable than yesterday, and a hundred times more bearable than two days ago. Good job Entity, you demonic prick._

"Nothing I can't handle" Ron replied. "I've got four wins already, so even if I lose, I'll stay in the Top Eight."

"Competitors, take your seats!" Ms. Thorne, the announcer, called. Ron and Amanda stood up, and they faced each other.

"Good luck" the both said at the same time, and then they parted ways. Amanda took her seat across from Olivia Jones, while Ron sat in front of an Asian girl. Once everyone was seated, the announcer gave the call to begin.

Without an extreme amount of pain holding him back, Ron was quickly able to grasp his opponent's stratagem. She wanted to get her stronger pieces into the middle of board as soon as possible, which was exactly what Ron wanted to do. This left Ron with two choices: contest for the territory and lose a few pieces, or use his pawns to fortify his own territory. Ron decided to use his pawns, she could have the middle of the board. All Ron had to do was make sure that he didn't get boxed in. Plus, Ron really wanted to test out the 'Poisoned Pawns' strategy. This was a new strategy that Lord Greengrass had taught him while they were preparing for this Tournament.

Ron quickly moved his pawns further down the board, and by the time she got her stronger pieces out and into position, Ron had managed to move his pawns a quarter of the way up. Sensing Ron to be playing on the defensive, the Asian girl decided to slow down her own pace. _She wants to draw me out, but that's not happening. We will sit here all night if that's what it takes._ But Ron didn't waste any time as he began implementing his new strategy, while she brought up her pawns and guarded her king with her rooks.

The name 'Poisoned Pawns' was quite fitting, because that was literally the case. It was not to be mistaken with the 'Poison Pawn Trap' strategy, this was something else entirely. In this strategy, Ron was turning most of his pawns into easy targets. But taking them would mean losing a piece each time because his 'Poisoned Pawns' were being watched over by his stronger pieces. This strategy usually never worked because it took too long to set up, but this girl had just given him all the time that he needed.

The girl seemed unsure of why Ron wasn't marching on her, and that's when she made her first mistake. She used her fucking queen to take a poisoned pawn, and Ron all but leaped forward to use his bishop, which was sitting in the far corner, to kill her queen. The first two pieces of the game had been taken out, Ron had lost a pawn and she had lost her queen. The look on her face made Ron smile like a Cheshire cat, this game was over. The game turned into a slow, grueling affair as she took her time to play each move, but Ron just waited patiently. Every now and then, he broke his formation to take a piece that was more important than his keeping his trap. She on the other hand, lost pieces whilst only taking a couple. By the twenty five minute mark, she forfeited the game. A feeling of utter pride, and power, washed over him. Despite the Veelas, Ron had won five games in one day.

Ron stood up, and he shook her hand with a polite smile. She gave him a bow, and Ron gave her a deep nod. As Ron began making his way back to his seat, he saw Lord Greengrass smirking proudly at him. Ron gave his mentor a nod, and then he took his seat. His eyes went to Amanda's table, and he waited patiently for her to finish. A strong jolt of pain suddenly ran up his head, and he winced involuntarily. _Oh fuck!_ His eyes went straight to Mary, and she was staring at him with a fretful look. She pointed towards the entrance, and Ron figured that his time here was done. Ron sighed in a resigning manner, and he walked over to the entrance. The entire Greengrass family met him there, Lord Greengrass and the girls were smiling while Mary looked pale and worried.

"Ron, is your head hurting?" Mary asked him as she put her right palm over his forehead.

"Not really, it was just one jolt of pain" Ron chuckled, but her frown shut him up.

"Love, he's fine" Lord Greengrass said. "And congratulations Ron, you've outdone yourself today."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled.

"So you've really learned to block their allures?" Astoria asked in awe, and Ron nodded.

"I'm pretty amazing, aren't I?" Ron grinned, and Astoria nodded fervently. His eyes shot to Daphne, and he saw her just smiling faintly at him. _I was a real git last night, I need to apologize as soon as possible._

"Ron, don't grin" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "I've told you to never show your emotions when you play Chess but you grinned so widely at that poor girl, I feared that your face was going to split open."

"Husband, you were grinning too" Mary reminded him, and Lord Greengrass smirked.

"I wasn't playing Chess, I was simply observing that girl's stupidity" Lord Greengrass remarked.

"That's just rude, daddy" Tori said haughtily, and Mary smiled at her youngest daughter. "It's not her fault she was born stupid…" Mary lost her smile, and Ron had to stifle a laugh. Daphne watched them quietly, and she couldn't help but smile. Ron had indeed outdone himself, and he had made a new friend. A friend that Daphne wanted to head-butt for being too pretty, but also thank for keeping Ron distracted from his worries. That was something Daphne had failed miserably at. And thinking about the devil, Daphne saw said friend approach from behind Ron.

"Ron, are you leaving?" Amanda asked, and Ron turned around immediately. He smiled widely at her, and he missed Tori narrowing her eyes on Amanda.

"Are you a Veela?" Tori asked bluntly, and she was immediately scolded by Mary.

"No" Amanda smiled at Tori.

"Amanda is friend of mine, Tori" Ron told the youngest Greengrass. "Amanda DuPont, allow me to introduce you to Lord Greengrass. He's my mentor." Amanda gave Lord Greengrass a curtsy, and Lord Greengrass gave her a nod. "This is Lady Greengrass, Astoria Greengrass, and Daphne Greengrass" Ron introduced the others, and Amanda smiled at them all.

"A pleasure to meet you, Amanda" Mary smiled at the girl.

"Ze pleasure is mine" Amanda smiled back. "May I 'ave a moment of Ron's time please?"

"Certainly" Lord Greengrass replied, and everyone but Amanda missed Daphne's face twitching. Ron stepped away from the Greengrasses, and Amanda joined him.

"Did you beat her?" Ron asked, and Amanda smirked.

"I destroyed 'er" Amanda replied, and Ron grinned widely. "And I was ze most polite person about it, she was very angry."

"Ha, that's great!" Ron laughed, and Amanda smiled widely. "I managed to win as well, my opponent forfeited."

"Zat is wonderful news, Ron" Amanda giggled. "Two more days, and zen we will be in ze Top Eight."

"I look forward to playing against you again, Amanda" Ron smiled. "But I won't be taking it easy on you just because we're friends now."

"Good, I would be angry if you did" Amanda shot back. "I will let you go 'ome now, your girlfriend does not like me talking to you alone." _Huh?_

"Girlfriend?" Ron asked slowly, Amanda had to referring to Daphne. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Does zis Daphne girl know zat?" Amanda giggled, and Ron's eyes widened for a second. "I study at Beauxbatons, Ron… A school filled wiz ze Veela population, I can tell when a girl likes a boy. She is very pretty, no?"

"She is" Ron muttered, a small blush on his face. "And no one knows that we're more than normal friends, so please don't tell anyone." _And she's not my girlfriend. She's just my friend… that kisses me sometimes… Yeah, even I can't bring myself to believe that._

"Don't worry, Ron" Amanda chuckled. "Your secret is safe wiz me, you 'ave my word. Now go, before she gets angrier."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Amanda" Ron smiled, and she nodded. With that, they both parted ways. Ron rejoined the Greengrass Family, and he shot a quick look at Daphne. She was looking at a Unicorn that was running around in the distance.

"Ready to go?" Lord Greengrass asked. "I'd rather leave before the matches finish up for the day. I imagine that we might get surrounded again."

"Then let's be off" Mary answered for Ron. "Ron, I have some Potions that I need you to drink when we get back." _Oh shite, not that pink Potion I hope._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Evening)**_

Ron gagged at the taste of the Nutrition Potion, but he drank it all down. Mary quickly passed him the blue Potion, and Ron drank that just as fast. He didn't really understand why he was drinking them, but he assumed that it had something to do with his brain damage. _Might as well make sure._

"Mary, do these help my brain in some way?" Ron asked, and he could see the girls fidgeting from the corner of his vision.

"Yes, and no" Mary replied, and Ron gave her a confused look. "These help you with your overall health, and that will help your brain. We need to limit all the factors that might damage your mind, and poor nutrition is one of them. Which is why you will be drinking these once a day for the rest of your life."

"What? No…" Ron groaned, but Mary just tutted him.

"No arguments Ronald, this is happening whether you like it or not" Mary said firmly. "I will be sending them to you once you return to Hogwarts, and Daphne will make sure that you drink them. Understood?"

"Yes…" Ron sighed, there was no point in arguing this. _They taste like shite, but if they help me protect my brain, then so be it._

"Ron, I will be in my study" Lord Greengrass said from by the door. "I expect your presence within five minutes." Lord Greengrass left at that, and Ron pondered what his mentor wanted to talk about.

"That's not fair" Tori pouted. "He just came back, and I want to spend time with him."

"There will be time enough for that later, love" Mary told her daughter. "This is important. Ron, you should go over now." Ron nodded at that, and he shot an apologetic look towards the girls. Tori looked annoyed, while Daphne just gave him a sad little wave. _There's that guilt again, I really need to talk to her._ Ron walked towards Lord Greengrass' study, and he knocked on the door.

"Come in" Lord Greengrass called, and Ron entered the study and shut the door behind him.

"You needed to speak to me about something important?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass gestured him to a seat. Ron took a seat while Lord Greengrass pulled out a file from his desk, and then Lord Greengrass sat across from Ron. "What's in that?" Ron asked as he stared at the file.

"This is a copy of Healer Bernard's report" Lord Greengrass replied. "He has sent one to Pomfrey at Hogwarts, and he gave me this one to show to your parents." Ron tensed immediately, he really didn't want that to happen. _It will just create more problems than it will solve._

"My Lord, I would prefer it if you didn't show them" Ron said as he eyed the report, and Lord Greengrass let out a sigh.

"Your reasoning?" Lord Greengrass asked with an expressionless face.

"They will just overreact and cause me more problems than they already do" Ron replied. "I don't want them getting involved in this, please."

"I understand" Lord Greengrass nodded, and Ron smiled a little. "But I don't agree with you. And this is not up for debate, they are going to see this report whether you like it or not." Ron's smile fell at that, Lord Greengrass' tone showed how adamant he was about this. "This isn't some nonsense relating to which House you'll be a part of at school, Ron. This is serious, life threatening business. Your parents **need** to know this, they **need** to understand that you require professional help."

"They'll tell all the other adults" Ron sighed tiredly. "And everyone will start treating me like some cripple…"

"You are not crippled, Ron" Lord Greengrass said firmly, and Ron looked up at his mentor's slight frown. "I know that you don't like being treated like a child, I even sometimes forget that you are one. But the truth is, you are a child Ron. A thirteen year old boy… You can't handle this on your own, and I will not allow you to. Hate me for it if you want, but they are finding out about this."

"Okay…" Ron said meekly, he had no choice but to relent. "Can we at least wait until after the Tournament? If you tell them now, they'll go mental and call me home." _Dammit, now I have to put up with their 'concerns' too._

"Of course" Lord Greengrass replied. "I planned on telling them after we returned from Paris, and I'd like you to come with me."

"The Saturday before the Hogwarts Express leaves?" Ron figured, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"You can come home with me after, if you want" Lord Greengrass offered. "But I want you to see them."

"Why?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Because you may not believe it right now, but they do love you dearly" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron blinked at him. "They didn't pull that Re-Sorting business to hurt you, they did it because they wanted to protect you."

"Ripping that choice out of my hands doesn't protect me, it betrays me" Ron frowned, his temper suddenly flaring. Just the thought of his parents grated his nerves, and Ron knew that that wasn't healthy. But he couldn't help how he felt about them right now, they had been nothing but a source of annoyance for Ron this year. _And before that, they all but ignored my existence. But the moment I start being my own person, they start thinking that they have a say in how I conduct myself._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, his stomach feeling hot from anger.

"How did I not see this before?" Lord Greengrass suddenly muttered, and Ron looked to see his mentor staring at Ron's clenched hands. "You went from being calm, to being resigned, to being furious in less than five minutes… How did I not see this?" Ron relaxed his tensing muscles at that, and he somewhat melted into his chair.

"It's not your fault" Ron told his mentor the truth. _It's the Entity's fault, and my holier-than-Merlin parents._

"It is partly, Ron" Lord Greengrass sighed tiredly. "I've pushed you harder than anyone else…"

"You've pushed me to be better, and you have never held me back to satisfy your own views about the world" Ron cut off his mentor. "I mean look at me, I never imagined that I'd be in Paris playing Chess professionally. You made that happen, and I'll always be grateful for that."

"You've certainly gotten better at charming people" Lord Greengrass smiled softly, and Ron shrugged. "My wife wants me to stop pushing you the way I've been doing, she says that I'm hurting you." _I'm not surprised, she's been fretting over me constantly. But I'm not some weakling like the Entity suggests, I can handle myself._

"I'm not going to lie and say that I don't feel stressed from my work with you, but it's the good kind of stress" Ron responded. "I know that my hard-work will pay off, so I put in the effort. And truth be told, I tend to get lazy if something isn't pushing me to keep working."

"Now that, I have noticed" Lord Greengrass said with a wider smile. "You tend to disappear into your own mind if someone isn't looming over your shoulder. Tell me, what do you think about when you procrastinate?" _An upcoming war, the death of my loved ones, and how I'm going to go about changing everything for the better. And now I'll be thinking about how the previous Rons all failed…_

"Veelas" Ron joked with a wide smile, and Lord Greengrass chuckled softly.

"Liar" Lord Greengrass smiled, and then he looked right into Ron's eyes. "But speaking of Veelas, we haven't discussed your bonus yet."

"My bonus?" Ron asked, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Yes, the bonus I always give you when you win" Lord Greengrass replied, he could physically feel Ron's avarice. "Since this is a Junior League Tournament, and it is a particularly difficult one to win, I'll let you choose."

"Let me choose how much money you give me?" Ron blinked.

"Within reason, Ron" Lord Greengrass added. _How much do I want? This is unreal, he's letting me choose? How much is an appropriate sum? I don't want to seem too greedy, but I do want that money. I could use it for my future plans during the war._

"Five hundred Galleons?" Ron asked slowly, was that fair? _It's the same amount as the Tournament's winnings, and I'll net a thousand Galleons in total. Fucking hell… A thousand fucking Galleons. Has my family ever owned that much in all of our history? Probably… But still, that's a lot of money._

"That's a reasonable sum" Lord Greengrass nodded. "Very well, five hundred Galleon bonus it is."

"Now I'm definitely winning" Ron grinned, unable to hide his glee at the prospect of making so much money. Lord Greengrass just smiled at his childish behavior, and he decided to not tell Ron that he was willing to go up to a thousand. But there was one thing that he still had to tell Ron.

"Ron, do you remember our plans to get you a tutor in Dueling?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded. _I completely forgot about that. Having a trained professional teaching me Dueling is a must have._ "Well, I've narrowed it down to two potential tutors. I thought that I'd let you choose."

"You're letting me choose again?" Ron asked slowly.

"Of course" Lord Greengrass replied. "They'll be teaching you, not me. My duty to you was to find the best available tutors, and these two fit that bill." Lord Greengrass then got up and went over to his table, and he pulled out two dossiers. "Here, have a look" Lord Greengrass said as he handed Ron the two dossiers. Ron opened the first dossier, and he read it out loud.

"Malik Hussain" Ron read, he knew that he definitely butchered that name. "Forty two years old, studied at Uagadao, has won four International tournaments, thirteen National tournaments, is currently living in Muggle Liverpool, has Mastery of Wandless Magic, fought against Dark Lord Sympathizers within Germany and Turkey." Ron closed the file, this Malik guy was clearly an amazing wizard.

"Impressive, isn't he?" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"How much is this costing you, my Lord?" Ron couldn't help but ask, but Lord Greengrass just waved a dismissive hand.

"Think nothing of it, I've already told you that I benefit from your success as well" Lord Greengrass replied. "Now read the next one." Ron nodded, and he did as he was told.

"Jane Roberts" Ron read. "Fifty eight years old…" Ron stopped at that.

"Keep reading, Ron" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"Fifty eight years old" Ron read on, Merlin she was ancient. "Studied at Ilvermorny, graduated top of her class, has won six International tournaments, twenty two National tournaments, is currently working with the Aurors Office within the British Ministry of Magic, expert at Wandless Magic, willing to teach about the Dark Arts, fought alongside the British Ministry of Magic during the Great War, earned an Order of Merlin: First Class for efforts in the Great War. Bloody hell…"

"Indeed" Lord Greengrass nodded. "She is an impressive woman, there is no doubt about that. And from what I've gathered, a harsh instructor."

"It's not even a choice, she's clearly the better candidate" Ron said, and Lord Greengrass nodded. "Then why present this as a choice, my Lord?"

"Full honesty Ron, I was planning to choose her myself" Lord Greengrass told him. "But her reputation made me reconsider… especially in the last few days."

"Reputation?" Ron asked.

"Like I said, she is a harsh instructor" Lord Greengrass replied. "She will push you much harder than Malik will, and she doesn't have a gentle touch. And with our recent discovery about your mental state, I do not wish to put more stress on you."

"Well, I prefer her over Malik" Ron said firmly. "But just one thing… What does she mean by 'willing to teach about the Dark Arts'? Is she willing to teach them, or about them?"

"I imagine both, many believe that knowing the Dark Arts is the best defense against them" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron pondered that in his mind. _I did decide to revisit the Dark Arts, and having her teach me is better than some dusty old tome. Merlin, I shouldn't have burned that Tome that Victor gifted me. That was so stupid of me._

"I'd like her, my Lord" Ron said firmly, and Lord Greengrass nodded slowly.

"Is it because she's willing to teach you the Dark Arts?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron looked into his eyes.

"Yes" Ron replied truthfully, the man deserved that much at least. _I mean, he is paying her for my benefit after all._

"I see" Lord Greengrass nodded. "I will start setting it all up then. Your tutelage will begin during the End of School Year Holidays."

"Thank you" Ron smiled widely, this was fantastic!

* * *

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Evening)**_

 _C'mon, mate. Just knock on her door, and go in. You've apologized to her dozens of times, why are you so worried this time around?_ Ron was currently standing outside of Daphne's room, and he was failing to muster the courage to knock on her door. The last time they had spoken, Ron had been a dismissive git. Sure, he was on the Calming Draught. But still, she had come to his room to show him her support and he had all but wiped his arse with it. Just like he had done with Mary and Tori, who were next on his apology list. But he wanted to talk to Daphne first because… Well, because she was Daphne. With that in mind, Ron knocked on the door lightly.

"Who is it?" came Daphne's voice.

"A red-furred goat" Ron replied, and he instantly heard movement from beyond the door. And then, the door slowly opened. Ron saw Daphne peek a bit of her head out, and he gave her a sheepish smile.

"You're alone" Daphne said, and then she opened the door and walked back to her bed. Ron entered the lavish room that supported a Slytherin House color scheme, and he shut the door behind him. He then locked it, something that earned him a quick look from Daphne. _I'd rather not get interrupted. Or murdered by Lord and Lady Greengrass._ "Why did you lock the door?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow as sat down on her fluffy bed.

"I don't want Tori bursting in" Ron replied honestly, and then he made his way over to her and stood in front of her. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Pardon?" Daphne blinked. _Damn butterflies in my stomach, stop it._

"I said that I wanted to apologize" Ron repeated as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I was a horrible git last night, and I dismissed you when all you wanted to do was talk to me. I'm sorry for doing that, Daph."

"Ron…" Daphne sighed. "I'm not even upset about that, your entire world was rocked yesterday. I'd have probably done the same if I found out that I had…" she trailed off.

"Brain damage?" Ron provided, and she looked down at her lap.

"Yeah, brain damage…" Daphne muttered. There was a short pause between the two, and Ron hated the silence. _Don't let it get more awkward, just say something._

"May I sit with you?" Ron asked, and Daphne smiled softly.

"Stop being so formal and just take a seat" Daphne patted the bed with her right hand. Ron walked over and sat down to her right, and he put his elbows on his knees.

"Hmmm" Ron hummed. "Your bed is softer than mine."

"Jealous?" Daphne smirked.

"A little" Ron shrugged. "But it's too soft in my opinion."

"What can I say? I like to feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud" Daphne replied.

"Well, this is definitely the softest bed I've ever sat on" Ron nodded, and then he shifted around a bit. "Is your bed at Hogwarts this soft?"

"You have to understand how inappropriate that question is, don't you?" Daphne chuckled softly, and Ron felt a blush creep onto his face.

"I didn't mean it like that, I swear" Ron immediately told her.

"I'm just teasing, Ron" Daphne shrugged, and then she looked at him with a concerned look. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine" Ron replied, and Daphne frowned.

"Don't say that, not to me" Daphne said firmly. "How do you feel, Ron?" _Ugh… Just tell her and get it over with, otherwise she'll keep asking._

"I don't know, truth be told" Ron replied slowly. "I mean, brain damage… It's just so surreal. I'm… I'm a little scared, I guess."

"Go on" Daphne said as she shifted closer to him, and Ron fidgeted in his spot. "Ron, you can't keep bottling things up anymore. You have to talk to someone."

"Do you want to be that person?" Ron asked.

"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" Daphne asked.

"Not really" Ron replied. "You always ask me to talk about this sort of stuff, even though you know I'm not good at it."

"It's not about being good" Daphne told him. "This isn't a competition Ron, no one is judging you on how well you can talk about your feelings."

"Feelings…" Ron sighed. "My brothers would label me a poof if they heard me talking about my 'feelings'…" _I wonder how they'll take the news about my brain damage, and about my Chronic Stress._

"Well, I'm not them" Daphne said. "So tell me how you feel."

"Like I said, I feel a little scared" Ron told her, but the truth was that he was terrified. Not for himself though, he was terrified for the people he cared about. If his brain damage caused him to fail, then they'd pay the price.

"Scared in what regard? Are you scared of being treated differently? Or scared about being in pain?"

"Can it be both?" Ron asked in return, and she nodded softly. "I don't want the others finding out about this… Is that fair?"

"Ron, this is about you" Daphne replied. "If you don't want your friends finding out, then I'd say that it's fair in this particular case." Ron gave her a grateful smile, but she looked at him with a tired look. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course" Ron replied.

"A small part of me wishes that I didn't find out" Daphne admitted, a shameful blush on her face. "I can't stop worrying about you, and I haven't been able to do anything to help you."

"You're helping now" Ron told her, and she shook her head lightly. "What is it, Daph? You usually just say what you're thinking. What's the matter?" _It's one of my favorite things about her, I don't have to guess at what she's feeling. She just tells me._

"I feel guilty, and really stupid" Daphne admitted, and Ron gave her a confused look. "I noticed your mood swings ages ago, we all did. But none of us said a word about it… I took it upon myself to find out why you acted so irrationally sometimes, but every time I spoke with you, I just put my goal in the back of my mind and forgot about it. I really wish that I didn't do that."

"Daph, that's hardly your fault" Ron told her honestly, and she looked at him with a soft smile. "No one noticed it. Well, except for Dumbledore…"

"Dumbledore?" Daphne asked, and then she drew in a sharp breath. "Your talks with him after classes…"

"Yeah" Ron replied. "He mentioned that my behavior was… odd. He recommended that I see Pomfrey, which I was going to do after the Easter Break ended. Don't tell anyone that either, please."

"Ron, everything we discuss is just between us" Daphne told him, and Ron released an involuntary chuckle.

"You sound just like your father" Ron noticed, and Daphne smiled.

"He did teach me most of what I know" Daphne said proudly. "So tell me more about Pomfrey, what's she going to do?"

"Talk to me about my 'problems', I suppose" Ron shrugged. "I'm still not clear on what her job is, but I know that she's meant to help me cope with my stress." _I can't really talk about my problems though, because my main problem can kill me on a whim._

"Well, she has her work cut out for her" Daphne said softly, and Ron gave her a sheepish smile. "Honestly Ron, why are you still competing in this rigged Tournament? It's not good for you." _I need the money and influence that I'll get from winning it. I love Chess and all, but my only goal is getting the rewards right now._

"Didn't you tell your parents to not pull me out?" Ron asked with a grateful smile, and Daphne blushed.

"Father told you…" Daphne sighed.

"He did, and thank you" Ron gave her a weak nudge. "You were right about me not being happy with having them make a decision on my behalf. How did you know that?"

"Because you're stubborn" Daphne frowned slightly, but her blush increased a bit. "And because I know how angry you are at your parents for making decisions on your behalf. And I don't want you to be angry with us. But I did plan to talk you out of it last night, which I never got the chance to do."

"Sorry about that" Ron chuckled. "But I'm not really sorry about going back, I need to win this."

"It's alright, you resisted them really well today" Daphne smiled at hearing him laugh. "I'm sure 'Amanda' helped with that…"

"And there it is" Ron smiled widely, and Daphne immediately frowned.

"If you say that I'm jealous, I'll hit you" Daphne huffed indignantly, and Ron laughed.

"I'd never be so tactless" Ron grinned.

"That's a blatant lie" Daphne huffed again.

"Okay fine, I was going to say it" Ron admitted, and she narrowed her eyes on him. "But I won't say that… All I will say is that I don't see her like that, and that she knows about us." Daphne's eyes widened at that.

"You told her?!" Daphne exclaimed, and Ron jumped a bit.

"What? No, she figured it out" Ron quickly told her. "She mentioned you 'staring' or something…"

"I was not staring" Daphne hissed. "She must be imagining things, stupid French… bint…"

"Hey, ease up on the horrible language" Ron joked, but Daphne just frowned.

"I wasn't staring…" Daphne muttered as she looked down at small space between them. _She really doesn't like coming off as a jealous person, does she? I guess that's fair, I always hid my jealousy from my siblings and parents._

"I believe you, and don't worry, she won't say a word about it" Ron told her. "She gave me her word."

"So she just figured it out by my 'staring'?" Daphne asked. "You didn't do anything?"

"She mentioned that she went to a school full of Veelas, and that she could tell when a girl liked a boy" Ron replied, and Daphne's red cheeks got redder.

"What did you say when she told you that she knew?" Daphne asked softly.

"I told her that our… friendship… was a secret" Ron replied. "And by friendship I mean…"

"I know what you mean, Ron" Daphne gave him deadpan look.

"Which reminds me, you haven't shown me around Paris yet" Ron smiled, and Daphne blinked.

"You've been busy" Daphne responded slowly.

"I won't be on Saturday, why don't you show me then?" Ron asked, and Daphne went crimson.

"Are you… are you asking me out on a date?" Daphne muttered, and Ron immediately felt his ears burn. _What? No! That was not my intent!_ "You're not… are you?" she asked softly after she saw his expression. She wasn't going to lie, his expression hurt her feelings. It hurt quite a lot, but she'd never show it. _Ugh, it just got awkward again._

"I want to spend time with you" Ron mumbled as he averted his gaze. "Just you, that is… Um… I don't know what that means, but I'd like to go see Paris with just you… Does that make sense?"

"No" Daphne sighed, and Ron fidgeted in his spot. "You want to spend some alone time with me, but you don't want to admit it."

"I thought I just did" Ron responded.

"No, you said that you'd like to see Paris with just me" Daphne said softly. "But you also said that you don't know what that means. So I'll just ask you because I don't enjoy beating around the bush. Do you want to see Paris with me as just your friend, or as what we are now?"

Ron looked at her, and she was just looking at him with an expressionless face. Her blush however, gave away the fact that she too was having trouble with this topic. _How the hell did I land myself in this situation? All I wanted to do was apologize, and then I went off-topic. But when I think about it, I do want to spend time with her like we do when we're alone. It's just more… fun that way._

"I want to see it with you as we are now, and not as just normal friends" Ron admitted softly, his face burning with embarrassment. _Don't look at her, don't show her that you're blushing._ He didn't see Daphne smiling at his answer.

"Was that so hard?" Daphne asked.

"Yes…" Ron replied, and Daphne chuckled lightly.

"Ron, I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend here" Daphne decided to make that clear, she'd get him there eventually. "But I do want you to know that I prefer being more than normal friends."

"Me too" Ron admitted as he looked back to her.

"So it's a date then" Daphne said, and Ron's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "That was a joke" Daphne laughed. "I couldn't help it, I'm really sorry." But she kept laughing at his shocked expression, and Ron found himself being amused after a few seconds. _She does look really cute when she laughs._ Without thinking about it, Ron leaned forward and pecked her lips. When he pulled back, he noticed that she wasn't laughing anymore.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself" Ron repeated her words, and she blushed again. "You know, I've been feeling really down lately."

"Are you really using the news about your brain damage as a way to get more kisses?" Daphne asked softly.

"When you put it like that, it is a bit weird" Ron blinked. "But since I've already said it, I'll just stick with it." Daphne blinked at him for making a joke out of something so serious. She suddenly put her hands on his cheeks, and she saw him turn red.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"I'm worried that you're not taking your health seriously" Daphne replied. "Promise me that you'll stop making jokes about this, I **hate** it. Please take this seriously, Ron. There are people in your life who are scared for you, and if you don't take this seriously, you're hurting them as well as yourself."

"Okay… I'll stop…" Ron promised with a guilty tone. Daphne smiled softly, and then she gave him the kiss that he wanted. "Are you going to let go of my face now?" Ron asked softly, and she shook her head.

"No, I don't want to" Daphne replied. She leaned forward again, but a sudden knock at the door split them up. Daphne let go and shrank away from him, while Ron all but flew off of the bed.

"Daphne? May I come in?" came Mary's voice, and Ron went into a panic. _I'm dead, I'm so fucking dead._

"What the fuck do we do now?" Ron whispered in a panic.

"Quick, hide under the bed" Daphne whispered sarcastically, but Ron went to do as she had instructed. "That was sarcasm you dolt, don't hide under my bed. Just tell her that you were talking to me about your worries."

"Oh…" Ron muttered, and Daphne got up and went to her door. She unlocked it, and Ron put on an act of normalcy.

"Daphne, since when do you lock your…" Mary started, but she stopped when she entered and saw Ron. "Ron?" Mary blinked at him, and then she looked to Daphne. "Daphne Greengrass, why was this door locked?" _Goodbye, Entity. I fucked this Cycle up as well._

"Ron and I were talking about his… you know" Daphne replied softly, and she began fidgeting with her hands. _Wow… Lying that well is probably not a good sign._

"Oh" Mary muttered, and then she looked to Ron. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two…"

"It's alright" Ron smiled softly. "I was done talking about it anyway… Not a fun topic."

"Okay" Mary smiled sadly, her eyes searching Ron's. "Well, Tori wants to play some Monopoly and she's worried about asking you two."

"Worried?" Daphne asked. "When is she ever worried?" _Since I ignored her constantly… Damn, I'm a git. Also, what is this 'Monopoly' thing?_

"Not sure what Monopoly is, but I'll play" Ron smiled, and Mary beamed at him.

"Excellent!" Mary exclaimed. "Tori will be so pleased!"

* * *

 _ **Wednesday March 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Eleven P.M)**_

"This is so unfair!" Daphne exclaimed, and then she looked to a tired Mary. "Mother, tell them to stop cheating!"

"We are not cheating" Ron grinned.

"Yes, you are" Daphne glared at him, and then she glared at Tori. "Stop giving them your puppy dog eyes, Tori!"

"Love, please calm yourself" Lord Greengrass sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"No, we've been here for four hour!" Daphne snapped. "And this game won't end because Ron keeps smuggling Tori money, and you keep forgiving her when she lands on your hotels!"

"Sebastian, I agree with Daphne on this" Mary frowned at her husband. "You three are unashamedly cheating, and we'll never end the game at this point."

"Unashamedly?" Lord Greengrass blinked. "The true shame would be if I forced my own daughter to pay to stay within my own home."

"You make **me** pay at your hotels!" Daphne accused haughtily.

"Well, that's because you have money to spare my dear" Lord Greengrass replied.

"Just roll the dice…" Daphne glared at Tori, and Tori smiled back innocently.

"Of course, sister" Tori hummed, and then she rolled the dice. The dice landed on a four, and Tori moved her top-hat piece onto Ron's hotel in the yellow section. "Ron, I don't have the money to pay you" she muttered meekly to Ron, and Ron felt a pang of guilt for ignoring her yesterday.

"You can stay here as long you want, Tori" Ron smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Don't worry about rent."

"NO!" Daphne exclaimed, and everyone looked to her. "Tori, pay him his rent!"

"I can't, Daphne" Tori said meekly, her lips twitching upwards. "I don't have enough money."

"Then give him your properties" Daphne said venomously.

"But I only have two…" Tori whined.

"Daphne, stop harassing her" Ron frowned at her, and she gave him an angry frown. "Tori, I don't want your properties."

"I'm done!" Daphne huffed angrily.

"Me too…" Mary joined in. "Ron, you need to go to bed. This game won't end anytime soon…"

"So we win?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"We?!" Daphne turned her angry frown towards her father.

"I said 'me', not 'we' love" Lord Greengrass replied calmly. _He totally said 'we'._

"I'm never playing with you three again, come mother" Daphne huffed, and then she marched off.

"I'd better go and check on her" Mary sighed, and then she gave Lord Greengrass a disappointed look. With that, Mary followed after Daphne.

"So…" Ron muttered, and Tori and Lord Greengrass looked to him. "That was fun…"

"It was, wasn't it?" Tori giggled. "We can play Cluedo tomorrow!"

"Is it like this Muggle game?" Ron asked, and Tori nodded.

"Yeah, but it is way more fun" Tori explained. "In Cluedo, everyone has to find a killer!"

"A killer?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Why didn't we play that tonight?"

"I've got loads of games" Tori smiled widely. "We can play them all whenever you're free." Ron smiled at her excitement, and he decided that he'd love to play these other 'board games'.

"My wife was right about one thing" Lord Greengrass smiled at his many hotels. "You should get some sleep, Ron. You have two more days left, and I want you at your best."

"Daddy, stop that" Tori frowned at Lord Greengrass, and he put his hands up in surrender.

"Old habits die hard, my love" Lord Greengrass smiled at her.

"I don't mind" Ron said honestly. "But I am pretty tired, so I'll head off." Ron got out of his seat, and he looked to Lord Greengrass. "Good night, my Lord. I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Good night, Ron" Lord Greengrass nodded curtly. Ron then made his way out of the room, and he smiled when he noticed Tori following after him. Once he got to his door, and turned around and looked at her.

"This is my stop" Ron told her, and she suddenly hugged his middle. Ron was surprised by her hug, and he slowly put his arms around her.

"Don't push yourself, promise?" Tori spoke into his chest, and Ron couldn't stop his smile. He tightened his hug, and she tightened hers.

"I won't" Ron lied.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Now I know that Ron isn't taking things easy, but that's the thing with people who live under extremely stressful conditions. They tend to forget what being normal is, and Ron has had this on his shoulders for five years now. He can't just switch it off.**

 **Now originally, I was going to pull Ron out of the competition. But due to high demand, I've changed it up. As you can see, his outlook on Chess has changed somewhat. He didn't quit, but it did become a means to an end. Sadly, that's the best that I could do without breaking Ron's Arc too much.**

 **Now for some hints: There will be a time jump to Ron/Daphne's 'date but not date' (Whose Pov do you want it to take place in?). Ron will finally see Paris for himself, and do some shopping for people back home. Those calming draughts will start looking really delicious. An event that Lord Greengrass has planned will happen. Severus will return.**

 **See you on Wednesday!**


	51. Chapter 51 - The Last Week in Paris

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 51 is finally done! I wasn't sure if I'd finish it on time, University is beating my ass like it's a bongo drum. Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. For those who have raised concerns about this Fic becoming something like 'Entity vs. Entity'. Please do not worry. Those beings are out of Ron's scope of understanding. They play their parts in the background, and Ron is the only one who deals with them. They will not show up and level everything in sight, ever. This story is about human conflict, and the Entities don't really care for humans. Their goals are far, far bigger than that.**

 **2\. Sorry, still no Hermione POV. But she is on a vacation in the Muggle World with her parents, who are Muggles. I can't really think of anything exciting for her just yet, but she will be going to Longbottom Manor on the final weekend of the break, and I promise to give her a POV.**

 **3\. Once they get back to Hogwarts, this year will go by much quicker. I'm keen to get started on third year.**

 **4\. I thought about the 'Date but not date', and I must say, it didn't exactly sit well with me. Didn't feel realistic enough, so I've changed it up a bit.**

 **5\. Holy shit I wish I picked a city that I've actually been to... So much research...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 51 – The Last Week in Paris**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday March 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – After Breakfast)**_

Daphne was extremely pissed, while Ron was extremely disappointed. Their 'date but not date' had been ruined by the rest of the Greengrass family. Ron generally lied to everyone around him, but he never lied to himself. And so he knew that he had been counting down the days until he'd get to spend the day with Daphne, and yes, part of that excitement came from their 'different sort of friendship'. Their interactions always left Ron feeling lightheaded, happy, and filled with butterflies. And he desperately wanted to feel that again, especially now.

The first week of the Tournament had been finished, and Ron had ranked in second place. This meant that he'd be playing in the Top Eight Tournament on Wednesday, and his nerves were getting to him. He desperately wanted that fucking win because he needed those rewards. He never usually felt like this when it came to Chess, but there was too much at stake. His win would net him a heavy sum of money, and his already growing fame would skyrocket. Ever since he found out about the Cycles that he was supposedly stuck in, and how he always failed, Ron had his focus on the future now more than ever.

This resulted in him having stress filled moments of doubt and panic. They weren't panic attacks, something that Ron was extremely grateful for, but they were becoming a nuisance. He'd start sweating wildly, sound would become slightly distorted, and everyone around him could see his face lose all of its blood. He'd had four of these moments in the last two days, three while at the Chess Tournament and one last night as he thought about his 'date but not date' with Daphne. That last moment didn't really matter anymore thanks to the Greengrass Family.

Daphne had finally mustered the courage to ask her father if she could show Ron around Paris… by herself. Lord Greengrass had just stared at her until she looked down at the ground dejectedly. It was an awkward dinner… Luckily, Mary stepped in and decided to make this a family affair (Plus Ron). So today they would **all** be heading into Paris, much to Daphne's anger and Ron's disappointment. But at least he'd still get to see Paris, and maybe buy some souvenirs for his siblings.

"Ron, can I come in?" came Daphne's voice from outside, and Ron finished putting on his shoes.

"Sure" Ron replied from his bed, and Daphne entered the room. She was wearing a white sundress that was sleeveless and cut off at her knees, and a big white hat. "Nice hat" Ron sniggered, and Daphne frowned.

"The Sun is out today, Weasley" Daphne told him. "And I get sunburned easily."

"Well, we do live in a dungeon for most of the year" Ron joked as he stood up, and he could see her tips twitching upwards. "C'mon Daph, give us a smile" Ron grinned, and she smiled softly.

"You're an oaf" Daphne said humorously. "But thanks for trying to make me feel better." _I'll take that, especially because I was only making fun of her hat. I had no idea that she'd find that amusing._ "You look very… Muggle."

"Ouch" Ron feigned hurt, making Daphne giggled. "But as we are going into Muggle Paris, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I like the jeans and the white collar shirt, not sure about the blazer" Daphne hummed as she eyed him, and he shifted in his spot a bit. "It might get too hot for a blazer when the Sun is at its highest."

"Yes well, it's a necessary evil" Ron shrugged, his shirt didn't make him feel covered enough. _Damn scars._

"Oh" Daphne muttered, and Ron knew that she had figured out why he was wearing the dark navy blazer. "Well, it looks good. I'm surprised to see how well you dress in Muggle attire."

"Thank the guy who made these clothes, he matched all of my clothes for me" Ron replied truthfully, and Daphne nodded. "So… Excited for today?"

"I was, until my family ruined it" Daphne pouted, and Ron nodded in agreement.

"I was… excited too" Ron admitted slowly, and Daphne's pout turned into a smile. "But you know, when I think about it, there was no way that they'd let us go alone. I mean, I just turned thirteen and you're still twelve."

"Nonsense" Daphne huffed in indignation. "I've been to Paris six times, I know my way around. They just want to ruin my day, that's all." _Still a princess, but in the cute sort of way._

"You and I both know that's not true" Ron chuckled, and Daphne let out an annoyed sigh. "We're two Magical teenagers, there is no way that Lord Greengrass would let us explore a Muggle city alone. Oh wait, you're not even a teenager yet."

"Mentally speaking, neither are you" Daphne shot back, and Ron gave her a serious look.

"Really? We're going there?" Ron asked.

"What? Oh no… no, I didn't mean it like that Ron" Daphne gave him a really guilty look, and Ron broke into a grin.

"Ha, too easy Greengrass" Ro chuckled as he moved closer to her, and she blinked.

"You promised me that you wouldn't joke about your health anymore" Daphne reminded him with a darkening look. _Oh shite, fix this quickly. Or a damaged brain will be the least of my worries._

"And I wasn't" Ron explained quickly. "I was just making fun of you."

"What?" Daphne hissed, and Ron groaned. _You fucking clown, Weasley._

"No, that's not…" Ron started, but stopped to restart his excuse. "What I mean is that I was just pulling your leg, that's all."

"Consider us even then" Daphne suddenly smirked, and Ron blinked. "Too easy, Weasley." _I hate her._

"Damn, I'll give you that one" Ron smiled, and Daphne gave him a mock curtsy.

"Let's go" Daphne instructed as she turned around to leave his room, but then she stopped moving. "But don't make another joke like that again, please."

"I won't" Ron sighed, and then he followed after her. They went straight to the Living Room and found Lord Greengrass sitting on a seat, and Ron was surprised to see him in a brown Muggle suit. _Does he have scars too? Or does he burn easily like Daphne? Oh wait, he's probably hiding the Dark Mark._ Ron felt a shudder go through him, and he checked to make sure that he had his vial of Calming Draught in his jean pocket. _Good, it's there._

'Where are mum and Tori?" Daphne asked.

"Astoria wanted her hair done, so we're too wait for them to finish" Lord Greengrass sighed, and Daphne just nodded in understanding.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked.

"I have a few places in mind" Lord Greengrass replied. "A museum, a Cathedral, and other famous landmarks." _That sounds… boring._

"That sounds like fun" Ron lied with a smile. "Can we please also go to some shops? I wanted to get a birthday present for the twins."

"Certainly" Lord Greengrass nodded. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of going to a Muggle joke shop" Ron replied. "Do Muggles have joke shops?"

"They do" Lord Greengrass replied. "But perhaps you should get them something more practical instead? Maybe nice watches? Or maybe some quality pens?"

"Quality pens, father?" Daphne chuckled. "Those are old people gifts."

"Really? Then why did you get Ron a watch for his birthday?" Lord Greengrass asked in return, and Daphne just blinked at her father. _She wanted me to wear her watch over Hermione's, which even I have to admit is a little childish. But I'm not complaining, this watch is amazing._

"What she meant was that the twins are jokesters" Ron quickly jumped to Daphne's defense. "They wouldn't appreciate something refined like a nice watch."

"I see" Lord Greengrass nodded with a smirk. "Very well, we can look for a joke shop." Daphne flashed Ron a grateful smile, and Ron gave her a wink.

"I'm here!" Tori suddenly announced herself with a wide grin as she burst into the room. Mary walked in behind her, while Tori walked right up to Ron. "Ron, don't I look amazing?" Ron looked her over, and he had to admit that she did. Her hair was done up, she was wearing a yellow sundress that was slightly longer than Daphne's, and she had a sunflower placed in her hair.

"You look great, Tori" Ron smiled at her, and she gave Ron a little spin. _I can feel the temperature dropping, must be the Ice-Queen._

"I know" Tori grinned. "The sunflower was my idea. I thought it fitting because the Sun is shining so brightly today."

"It looks perfect on you" Ron told her, and she blushed slightly.

"Can we please go now?" Daphne asked her father, and Lord Greengrass stood up.

"Come, we have much to show Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled softly.

* * *

 _ **Saturday March 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Paris – The Louvre Museum)**_

A museum. Ron could've been on a 'date but not date' with Daphne, but no… He was stuck in a damn museum. A Muggle museum at that. They had taken a 'taxi' here, and then they had signed on for a tour featuring the museum's most famous artworks and sculptures. The sculptures definitely caught his eye, especially the Venus de Milo. But then again, what thirteen year old boy wouldn't appreciate the statue of a naked Goddess? _Maybe this place isn't so bad. Nice tits._

"Stop gawking at her, Ron" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron turned around with a blush. _She saw me perving on stone breasts!_

"I wasn't 'gawking', Daphne" Ron said quickly, and she cocked an eyebrow. "I was admiring the artwork."

"Uh-huh" Daphne nodded with a scathing look. "Pervert…"

"I'm not a pervert" Ron blushed crimson. "And please don't say that, we're in public. What if your mother and father hear you? Or Tori?"

"They're too busy trying to keep my monstrous sister in check" Daphne huffed, and then she shot a glare at the statue behind Ron. _Is she seriously jealous of a fucking statue? Damn, she needs Pomfrey's help more than I do._ "She doesn't even have arms."

"She doesn't?" Ron asked as he turned to have another look. "Would you look at that, she's armless."

"Wow… You failed to notice that she had no arms?" Daphne asked in utter shock. "You're an utter pervert…"

"Daphne, shhh" Ron shushed as he turned to face her again. "Stop saying that."

"Do you like them?" Daphne narrowed her eyes on him.

"Huh?" Ron blinked.

"Do you like her 'assets'?" Daphne asked. "I do, they're well sculpted." _What the fuck?! What do I even say to that?_

"I… agree…" Ron said slowly.

"Pervert" Daphne said immediately, and Ron hung his head and sighed deeply. "Calm down, Ron. I'm only teasing you."

"Really?" Ron looked back up, and he saw Daphne trying to stifle her giggles. _Damn, that's twice today that she got me._

"It's just a statue, Ron" Daphne smiled.

"Wow, she's naked" came Tori's giggle from behind Daphne. Ron looked to see Lord and Lady Greengrass holding Tori's hands as they all walked over to Ron and Daphne.

"Tori, that is one the most famous sculptures to come out of Ancient Greece" Mary told her daughter.

"Yeah, but she's still starkers" Tori giggled, and Mary just looked to Lord Greengrass for help.

"Tori, you should respect the hard work of others" Lord Greengrass smiled at his daughter. "Muggles don't have Magic like us, and so whoever made that sculpture was clearly a Master of their craft."

"Where are her arms?" Tori asked. _Actually, I'd also like to know that._

"I tried" Lord Greengrass looked to Mary with a smirk, and Mary sighed.

"Let's keep going" Mary instructed. "The group is moving on anyway, and I want to go see the Mona Lisa." Lord and Lady Greengrass then began following the group of Muggles and the tour guide, while Ron and Daphne followed rather slowly.

"What's a Mona Lisa?" Ron asked.

"Some famous painting" Daphne replied, she looked like she was trying to remember something. "Tracey's mother told my mother about it a while ago, I remember overhearing them."

"Does it move?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a deadpan look.

"It's a Muggle painting Ron, what do you think?" Daphne asked.

"Oh…" Ron replied as he realized how stupid his inquiry was.

"Sorry, I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you" Daphne sighed. "I'm still upset about us being here rather than exploring Paris by ourselves." _Trust me, I know how you feel._

"And what would we be doing if we were exploring Paris alone?" Ron smirked.

"Shopping" Daphne replied, and Ron blinked. "Oh, and we'd eat a lot of different foods."

"Now that sounds more like it" Ron chuckled.

"I thought that you'd enjoy that" Daphne smiled. "I wanted to show you French cuisine, and I wanted you to try Café liégeois."

"What is that?" Ron asked slowly.

"It's a cold dessert made from lightly sweetened coffee, coffee flavor ice cream and Chantilly cream" Daphne hummed as she pictured it. "It's so amazing, and I wanted to share one with you."

"You really had the whole day planned out, didn't you?" Ron smiled.

"I did" Daphne blushed a bit, and then she nudged him lightly. "Stop smiling at me like that, it's annoying me."

"I can't help it" Ron shrugged. "And truth be told, I'd much rather be out exploring Paris with you than being in this museum." Daphne smiled widely at that.

"You've gotten better at charming people" Daphne noticed, and Ron chuckled again.

"You just sounded like your father again" Ron told her, and she shrugged.

"I'll take that as a compliment" Daphne responded.

"You should, your father is awesome" Ron smiled. "Now let's go see this Moaning Lisa."

"It's Mona Lisa, you dolt" Daphne giggled.

* * *

 _ **Saturday March 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Paris – Galeries Lafayette)**_

How was this even possible? How could Muggles create such a beautiful, and lively, place? Even without having the advantages of Magic, Muggles were capable of creating the most amazing building that Ron had ever entered. The Galeries Lafayette was a 'shopping mall', and it was magnificent. Words couldn't describe how grand it was, and when Ron had seen the splendid glass Coupole on the ceiling, his jaw had dropped. Muggles were… astonishing. Seeing all of this made Ron think of his father, how would he react if he was standing where Ron was? Ron figured that his father would probably never leave this place.

They had been shopping for almost two hours now, the women of the Greengrass Family were wreaking havoc on Lord Greengrass' funds. Ron's mentor didn't care though, he just carried their bags around with a soft smile. Tori and Daphne had bought dozens of 'designer clothes', while Mary's focus was on jewelry. Ron had to admit, he felt a twinge of annoyance at how spoiled the three women were. But Ron was also clever enough to realize that his annoyance stemmed from jealousy, he wished that his sister and mother could shop like this. All three Greengrass women were ecstatic as they ran from store to store, and Ron wanted to see his own mother and sister to feel that happiness.

And so, Ron had asked Lord Greengrass for Muggle money. He told his mentor that he would repay him with Galleons later, something that earned him a smirk from his mentor. Ron figured that Lord Greengrass liked the fact that Ron didn't want to owe anyone money, and Ron felt proud of himself for the fact that he did have his own money. Money that he had earned. With that out of the way, Ron had started buying things for his family.

Ron quickly found that shopping wasn't so boring when you had money to spend, and Ron had quite the large sum saved away. And so he hit every store with the Greengrass women, and he started spending his hard earned money on his family. Ron knew that in the long run, this was probably not a good idea. He knew that he should be saving his money for the upcoming war, but he couldn't resist spending some at the moment. He knew how happy everyone back home would be, and that had trumped his plans and schemes.

Ron bought Luna and Ginny 'designer clothes' with Daphne and Tori's help, he bought a gold necklace that had a small ruby hanging at the bottom of it for his mother, he bought Percy a shiny metal Caran D'ache Luxury pen, he got Charlie a brown leather jacket, he got Bill black Italian dress shoes, he got the twins various Muggle joke items like a 'handshake shocker' and a 'whoopee cushion', he bought his father a muggle camera that actually worked, he bought Pandora new paints in colors that Ron didn't even know existed, he got Xeno a book on Muggle myths and fairytales, and as a joke he had bought Sirius and Remus a book on being new parents. By the end of his shopping spree, he was carrying as many bags as Lord Greengrass. He knew that his funds just had the shite kicked out of them, but it was worth it. He could save up that money again, but his family's happiness was priceless.

* * *

 _ **Saturday March 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Paris – Café des Deux Magots - Lunchtime)**_

Thank Merlin for House-Elves. After their massive shopping spree, Lord Greengrass had led them all into an isolated area and called his Elves. They had taken all the shopping bags back to the Greengrass Holiday House, and Ron had been reminded to get Marty a gift too. The blue-eyed Elf was a part of Ron's family as far as Ron was concerned. And so Ron had asked Lord Greengrass for advice, to which Lord Greengrass had suggested giving Marty a raise. But to do that, Ron had to officially buy ownership of Marty. Lord Greengrass promised to start the paperwork when they returned to England.

"Ron, do you know what gluttony means?" Tori asked, pulling Ron from his thoughts.

"No, what does it mean?" Ron smirked. _This should be good._

"It means you don't know when to stop eating" Tori smirked back.

"Tori, don't be rude" Mary scolded, but Tori just giggled.

"I'm hungry, we've spent all day walking around" Ron explained. They were in some fancy Muggle Café, and Ron had ordered an entrée, two mains, and dessert. _Maybe I overdid it a bit, but give me a break. I've never walked so much in my life._

"When you come to Hogwarts next year, Tori" Daphne chucked. "Then you'll see what Ron is truly capable of at the dining table. The House-Elves have to work overtime to keep him happy."

"That's not even true" Ron told Tori, but she gave him a scolding tut.

"It's true" Daphne told Tori. "He even steals food from our plates."

"Okay that might be true" Ron admitted, and the Greengrass family laughed. Ron smiled widely as he heard their laughter, even Lord Greengrass was chuckling heartily. When they finally stopped laughing, Daphne looked to Ron.

"So, what did you get for yourself?" Daphne asked. "I mean, you did almost as much shopping as us."

"I got gifts for my family, souvenirs and so forth" Ron replied.

"I know that, but what did you get for yourself?" Daphne asked. "Clothes, accessories, that sort of stuff?"

"I um…" Ron pondered out loud. "I didn't get anything for myself." This earned him confused looks from Daphne and Tori.

"What? Why?" Tori asked.

"I don't know" Ron shrugged, but he did know. _Spending money on them I can excuse, but I'm not wasting it on myself._ "I didn't really think about it." Tori gave him a truly confused look, Daphne just blinked at him, and the children missed the tender smiles that Lord and Lady Greengrass were giving Ron.

"You're weird" Tori said after a few moments.

"I agree with Tori" Daphne said with a light frown. "Ron, you might not come back to Paris anytime soon. You should at least get yourself a souvenir." _And spend more money? No thanks, I'll just remember Paris instead. I probably owe Lord Greengrass half of what's in my account._

"My trophy will be my souvenir" Ron smirked arrogantly, and Lord Greengrass smiled widely.

"That's what I like to hear" Lord Greengrass said firmly as he gave Ron a strong pat on the back, and then he looked to his daughters. "You two should learn from Ron's attitude." _What?_

"Learn what?" Tori asked. "How to not buy myself nice things?"

"Tori, shhh" Daphne quickly shushed her rash little sister.

"Oh look, the food's coming" Mary said quickly, she knew that her husband was about to tear into their daughters.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday March 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993 (Paris – Eiffel Tower – Late Afternoon)**_

Damn her family for ruining her perfectly planned day, she wanted to show Ron the Eiffel Tower! But no, here she was with her entire family, packed into an elevator with random Muggles. They were on their way up to the top, a place where they could see all of Paris beneath them. She wanted to share a kiss with Ron at the top, like in those romantic films that Tracey had shown her. But no, her hawkeyed father and her monstrous sister wouldn't let Ron out of their sight. At least her mother was subtle about it, mostly because she was just watching over Ron. Tori just wanted Ron's constant attention, and compliments, much to Daphne's annoyance. _And why does he keep giving them to her? He hasn't told me once that I look amazing, or cute, or pretty, or that my hat was a good idea. No, all of those compliments are reserved for Astoria._

"Daph, are you alright?" came Ron's voice from beside her. "You're scowling again."

"Oh, I'm fine" Daphne put on a fake smile, but Ron just raised an eyebrow. _He knows why I'm upset, they all ruined my day._ "I'm fine, don't worry so much."

"Ron, I can't wait for you to see the view" Tori said excitedly, and Daphne fought the urge to grimace. "You can see all of Paris from up there, and they have telescopes for us to look through. But the last time I was here, I was too short to use them."

"Can we look into people's houses?" Ron asked with a smirk, and some Muggle man broke into a chuckle.

"No, and you shouldn't be doing that Ron" her mother scolded.

"Ron, behave" her father ordered. The lift finally reached the top, and the doors parted. The first thing she felt was the cold weather up here, and she shivered as the cold wind bit her skin. They all shuffled out of the elevator, and Daphne quickly held onto her hat because of how windy it was up here. _My sundress! I'll flash everyone my panties up here!_ She quickly put her left hand on her hat, and she controlled the lower half of her dress with her right hand. _Merlin, what was I thinking? Oh wait, all I was thinking about was how this dress would impress Ron. But he hasn't even noticed it. Stupid oaf._

"It's cold up here" Tori whined as they all parted from the Muggles. _And windy! Merlin, if Ron sees anything, I'll throw myself off this Tower!_

"Here, love" her father said as he took off his brown coat and put it around Tori. Daphne watched as Tori smiled widely and snuggled the coat around herself. She then saw Ron staring at Tori, he had a contemplative look on his face. _What's he thinking? Probably that Tori looks great in father's coat._ Daphne frowned at herself, she needed to control herself. She was being unreasonable, and she knew it. But she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, she had spent an hour picking out this dress.

"Thanks, daddy" Tori beamed at their father, whose upper body was now covered with a long-sleeved white collar shirt and black vest. _His Mark is hidden, good. I don't want Ron to know that it's there… That won't go over well, especially with his beliefs._

"Here, Daph" came Ron's voice from behind her, and she turned to see him holding out his blazer. Daphne blinked at him, he scars were still covered by his long-sleeved white collar shirt. "Aren't you cold?" Ron asked with a faint blush, and Daphne blinked again. _He copied my father's actions, just like he copied that boy on the train._ Daphne smiled at that, and she took his dark navy blazer and put it on. It was warm, and the silky material inside rubbed nicely against her bare arms.

"Thank you, Ron" Daphne smiled at him, her face flushing slightly. _It smells so nice. Jasmines with a hint of sandalwood. I'm definitely asking Marty to launder my clothes from now on. But I have to wonder, when did Marty get time to put this fragrance onto Ron's coat? These clothes are brand new… That Elf doesn't sleep, does he?_

"It's no worries" Ron smiled, but she noticed him pulling down at his sleeves. He probably didn't even notice that he was doing it, it must've just been a reflex. The fact that he would risk exposing his scars for her comfort made her stomach flip around, and she lost all of her annoyance at once. _I'm definitely giving him a kiss before the day is finished._ "Now, show me these telescopes."

"Alright, follow me" Daphne instructed, and she subtly guided him away from her family. _Mother and father are too busy keeping an eye on Tori, this is my chance to talk to him alone._ "Here they are" Daphne said as she presented the white binoculars.

"Damn, this is a nice view" Ron said as he looked around, the look on his face showing his awe. Daphne also looked around, and she had to admit, Muggle Paris was nothing if not impressive.

"Try the binoculars, you can focus in on some really nice sights" Daphne told him, and Ron did as he was told. Daphne watched him as he looked through the binoculars, a growing smile upon his lips. Daphne found herself smiling as well, at least she got to do one thing on her list.

"Wow, I can see that museum that we went to" Ron chuckled. "The one with the naked lady." _Wow… He can't help himself, can he?_ Daphne wanted to be annoyed, but she just couldn't get there. His coat was keeping her warm, and it was keeping her dress in place. And seeing him so happy made her feel calm, like she didn't have to worry about his stress issues. "Here, have a look" Ron said as he stepped back, and Daphne moved in to have a look. _He's right, I can see the Louvre Museum._

"What are you guys doing here?" came Tori's voice, and Daphne pulled back to see her sister smiling at them.

"Come here Tori, you can see the Louvre Museum from this telescope" Daphne replied, and Tori skipped over to them. As her sister looked through the binoculars, and made cooing sounds, Daphne noticed Ron take a step back. She turned her attention to him, and she saw his face lose its blood. _Oh no… He's having another stress related moment._ "Ron?" Daphne whispered as she quickly walked over to his side, and he gave her a forced smile. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Ron replied.

"You've gone pale again, what's wrong?" Daphne whispered again, she didn't want Tori to overhear them.

"It's nothing, it just comes and goes" Ron whispered back, and then he looked over to Tori looking through the binoculars. "Please, can we not talk about it? You know that it passes…"

"Do you have a vial with you?" Daphne whispered, she couldn't just let this go.

"I do, and if it gets worse, I'll drink it" Ron assured her. "Please stop worrying, and let's just enjoy the view. Please?" Daphne felt her resolve weaken at his pleading look, and she knew that pushing further would just make him close off. _Or it'll make him angry. And that won't go over well for me._

"Alright, but I'm right here if you need to talk about it" Daphne said, and then she reached over with her left hand and gave his gloved hand a squeeze.

"Thanks…" Ron said as he averted his gaze, his cheeks turning red.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **March, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Evening)**_

Daphne took off her shoes and groaned in relief, her feet were killing her. She never usually groaned, but since she was alone, there was no one here to judge her. She hopped off of her seat, and she picked up Ron's blazer from her bed. _I'd better return this now before I forget. But first…_ Daphne sniffed the blazer deeply, and the smell of jasmines and sandalwood filled her lungs. Daphne smiled a guilty smile, and a chuckle escaped her lips.

"I'm a freak, forgive me Ron" Daphne said to herself, and then she left the room with Ron's blazer. She walked down to the corridor, and she stopped in front of his closed door. She knocked lightly, and Ron responded immediately.

"Come in" came Ron's voice, and Daphne entered the room and locked the door behind her. "Did you just lock the door?" Ron asked, and Daphne could hear the excitement in his voice. It made her want to grin, but she kept her slight smirk in place. Ron was standing by his bed, which was covered with shopping bags.

"I wanted to return your blazer to you" Daphne hummed as she stepped further into the room, and Ron just smiled back. "Thank you for lending it to me, you're such a gentleman." _He's starting to blush. He's so sweet._

"It was nothing, Daph" Ron smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"But it was" Daphne told him as she finally reached him. She put the blazer on the bed, and then she looked him right in the face. Ron's blush was easy to see now, and Daphne hoped that her own face wasn't betraying her. She enjoyed being the one person who made him blush and act bashful, and supporting a blush would ruin that. "You gave me your blazer despite the fact that you were worried about people seeing your scars. You put my comfort above yours, and that deserves a reward."

"A… a reward?" Ron swallowed thickly, and Daphne smiled widely.

"What kind of reward do you want?" Daphne cocked her head slightly.

"A new chessboard would be nice" Ron replied, and Daphne blinked. Ron's sheepish smile turned into a grin, and Daphne found herself mildly annoyed at him for ruining her game. _Two can play at that game, Weasley._

"A chessboard it is" Daphne smirked, and then she turned to leave.

"No" Ron said quickly as he ran around her and stood in her way, his grin replaced by a guilty smile. "I want… I want, you know…" _I win._ Daphne fought the urge to smile, and so she instead cocked an eyebrow. _I want him to say it, and then he can have a kiss._

"I don't know, so you have to tell me clearly" Daphne said, and Ron sighed a little as his face went red.

"I want a kiss…" Ron muttered quickly, his embarrassment at saying the words clear as day. Daphne put her hands on his cheeks, and she gave him a smothering kiss. Only this time he put his hands on her shoulders, and he kissed back. Daphne was stunned by his sudden boldness, but she didn't mind it at all. The kiss lasted for around ten seconds, it ended when they both pulled back with a smacking sound. Daphne felt a little lightheaded, and judging from his awed expression, so did he.

"You kissed back" Daphne smiled, her hands still on his cheeks.

"I did" Ron smiled back, his hands still on her shoulders. "These kinds of kisses feel… different…"

"I know" Daphne nodded. Usually they just pecked each other's lips, but these longer kisses were only done when Daphne couldn't hold herself back. And so she'd squish his lips with hers until she regained her senses. "That's first time you've returned one of these kisses. What made you do that?"

"Oh… I'm not really sure…" Ron blinked. She wasn't surprised by his reply because she knew that he was horrible at this stuff. _Just be patient with him, he always finds his way there._

"Describe what you felt" Daphne said.

"Um…" Ron started, his ears turning bright red. "I was really looking forward to today, mostly because I thought that it was just going to be me and you. And then that didn't happen, and I sort of… Um… I don't know. I just wanted to kiss you all day, I guess." Daphne smiled widely at that. _He always finds his way there._

"One more?" Daphne asked.

"One more" Ron replied, and they gave each other another long kiss.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **April, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Top Eight Tournament)**_

It was finally the day of the Top Eight Tournament, and Ron sat with his fellow Top Eight contenders. Amanda DuPont, Olivia Jones, and five other girls that Ron didn't really know anything about. Amanda held the first seat, Ron held the second, while Olivia held the third. Ron could feel Olivia glaring at him, but he just ignored her. He didn't get a chance to play with her after she had broken his perfect record, but now that the Entity was used to the allures, Ron had no doubt that he'd beat her. And speaking of allures, Ron could feel them solely focused on him. He was literally the only male in the playing area, and every Veela's eyes were fixed on him.

The Madame of Beauxbatons had lost her fucking mind at the prospect of a 'little boy ruining her plans', and so she had called in the cavalry. The cavalry being a dozen adult Veelas who were 'here to support their children and country'. Their allures were far stronger, and Ron could feel a dull ache at the back of his head already. This was sending him into a panic for two reasons. Firstly, Ron didn't want to endure the pain that he had suffered through on the first day of this fucking mess. Secondly, and far more importantly, his rewards were now on the line. If this headache kept getting worse, then by the time the last match rolled around, he'd be incapacitated. Or worse, he'd start wanking in front of hundreds of cameras. _I mean I've started experimenting with it, but I'd rather not make a show of it in front of the whole fucking world. Entity, don't fucking fail me now._

"Competitors, here are your tiles" Ms. Thorne announced, and black-and-white tiles flew to each contestant. Ron looked at his black tile that was marked with a three, and Ron shot a look towards table three. _I wonder who my first opponent will be. I hope that it's Olivia, I'd like to kick her out of the Tournament early on._ "Competitors will now move to their allocated tables, and await instructions." Ron got up and walked towards table three, the flashes from the cameras dazing him a little. _Merlin, this whole controversial Tournament has become a circus. Every witch and wizard wants to see what happens. That's what Lord Greengrass said anyway. I have to win this!_ And then, much to Ron's joy, Olivia Jones took a seat in front of him. _It can't be?! The Universe didn't bugger me?!_

"Weasley" Olivia greeted with a slight frown. "Ready to lose to me again?" _Yeah, fuck being polite. Time to give her a taste of her own medicine._

"That's tough talk coming from a cheat" Ron smirked, and Olivia frowned more deeply.

"I don't cheat" Olivia hissed.

"Shut up" Ron said with a growing smirk, and Olivia was appalled at how rude he was. "Your giraffe sized Madame won't be able to help you this time." Ron ignored the crawling pain at the base of his skull, he wasn't losing to this bitch again.

"Begin!" Ms. Thorne announced, and Ron focused on the board.

Olivia was playing white, and so she made the first move. Five minutes in, and Ron could already tell that she was worried. She was quickly trying to form a defensive position with her pawns, so Ron decided that he'd control the board instead. Copying her strategy wouldn't be a wise tactic because then she'd have the advantage of being one move ahead because she was playing white. As Ron moved further up the board move by move, he noticed her bringing her stronger pieces out. This confused him for a few moments, why would she create a defensive position and then leave her stronger pieces out to die? But that's when he saw her expression, she was nervous. _Is she unsure of how to play this? I guess that's what happens when you get beaten by someone, and then you cheat to beat them. When it's an even playing field, you know you're done for._

Ron quickly began mobilizing his stronger pieces, if she became aggressive now, his pawns would get destroyed. The queen, knights, and bishops were easy to bring out, and so Ron left the rooks to defend his king. She was using a similar idea, but her only problem was that she had no pawns backing her stronger pieces. It was around the ten minute mark that Ron drew first blood, she had been careless and Ron had used his bishop to take out her knight. From there, things only got worse for her.

She was fighting on two fronts now. Firstly, Ron was trying to murder her stronger pieces. Secondly, she had to waste moves in order to pull those pieces back and push her pawns forward. But against someone like Ron, it mattered very little. He had already broken any semblance of strategy that she could come up with, and she was the only one who didn't know that. Ron attacked her relentlessly, but carefully. He never risked his stronger pieces in order to take hers, but he had no problem in sacrificing his pawns. By the time she had finally gained a standing on the board with her pawns, she only had a queen, rooks, and a knight left. Her pawns were little threat to Ron as he had most of his pawns, and he had only lost a knight and a bishop. Piece by piece, Ron shredded any hope she had of winning. And by the thirty minute mark, he checkmated her.

Pure pleasure engulfed him, and he stared at her with a polite smile. She was clearly a 'drama queen' as Amanda had suggested, because when Ron stood up to shake her hand, she burst into tears and ran off. _What the fuck? Hahahaha! Take that, you bitch!_ Ron fought off the urge to laugh evilly, and he instead settled for a shocked look. _There's no point in me coming across as an arsehole, so let's just play the part of the shocked opponent._ Ron looked over to Ms. Thorne with wide-eyes, and she gestured him to take his waiting seat. Ron nodded once, and then he made his way over to his chair. As he sat down, he shot a quick look at the Greengrass Family. The Greengrass women were waving at him, while his mentor had a knowing smirk on his face.

All of that fell away when Ron suddenly felt a horrific jolt of pain, and he couldn't help but wince. He grabbed onto his seat until his knuckles went white, and in a moment of weakness, he looked to the Beauxbatons stand. The Veelas were glaring at him, especially the older ones. Direct eye-contact with them sent another jolt through his head, and Ron let out a timid whimper of pain. _Fuck me… Entity, what's going on up there? I thought you got used to them? Ugh… Why am I even talking to you in my head? You never fucking reply._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **April, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Top Eight Tournament – Before Final Match)**_

Agony. That was what he was in. Pure fucking agony. It wasn't as bad as the first day, but it was a hell of a lot worse than the other days. He had just won his second match against a girl from Durmstrang, rank eight, and now he was waiting for Amanda to finish her match. He'd be facing the victor in the Final Match of the Tournament. All he wanted was for Amanda to hurry the fuck up and win, he didn't want to stay here for any longer.

Ron knew that Mary was no doubt trying to force her husband to pull him out, but Ron had forced Lord Greengrass to promise him that he wouldn't pull Ron out. He shot a quick look at them, and much to his surprise, all the Greengrasses were looking at him with fierce pride. _I guess they already know that I won't leave willingly._ Lord Greengrass gave him a firm nod, and Ron figured that it meant that Lord Greengrass had faith in him. _Yeah, let's go with that._ Another jolt of pain spread throughout his skull, and Ron's forehead throbbed. _Fuck! Entity, answer me you fucker! Why aren't you doing a better job?!_ And much to Ron's horror, **It** replied.

" _ **Champion, leave this place**_ " the Entity's voice echoed in his mind, and Ron's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

" _Entity? You're replying?_ "

" _ **Champion, we are ill-prepared for this renewed assault. Leave this place, we command you.**_ "

" _Command me? COMMAND ME?! Fuck you! You don't own me, didn't I make that clear?!_ "

" _ **Stop being a fool, and leave!**_ " the Entity's voice echoed, and Ron felt cold, dead tendrils coil around his body.

" _No!"_

" _ **Petulant filth! Fall under their spell then, we care not!**_ "

" _What?! What the fuck does that mean?!_ "

"Mr. Weasley, are you alright?" came Ms. Thorne's whisper, and Ron looked to his left to see her hovering over him. She looked rather worried. "Do you wish to leave?" Ron blinked at her, and then he looked her dead in the eyes.

"No" Ron whispered, and she gave him a worried frown. But she didn't argue, instead she nodded curtly and left him.

" _ **Champion, we cannot hold of the older creatures. Leave this place, or this will not end well for you.**_ "

" _Is that concern I hear?_ " Ron thought bitterly.

" _ **You pathetic little maggot! This is a promising Cycle, and you are ruining it for a childish game!**_ "

" _You know why I'm doing this, you fuck! You can look into my brain, remember? So do your fucking job, and I'll do mine!_ " Ron waited for a reply, but none came. Instead he felt the cold, dead tendrils leave his body. " _Entity? Entity, are you there?_ " Ron felt a sudden jolt of pain that made him shrink into his seat, and he clutched his head.

"The next match begins now!" Ms. Thorne suddenly announced, and Ron looked to see Amanda getting up from her chair with a confused look. "Mr. Ronald Weasley vs. Miss. Amanda DuPont! Mr. Weasley come take your seat!" _What is she doing? Is she… Is she speeding everything up for my sake?_ Ron quickly got up and made his way towards Amanda's table, and he saw her giving him a scared look.

"Ron, you are in pain" Amanda observed with a whimper, but he flashed her a weak smile.

"I'm fine" Ron said as he took his seat. Ron also noticed that the girl that Amanda had just beaten hadn't even left the stage yet.

"Ms. DuPont, take your seat" Ms. Thorne said firmly, and then she turned to the crowd. "The match will begin now! Mr. Weasley plays white, and Ms. DuPont plays black." With that, Ms. Thorne flicked her wand and arranged the pieces in a hurry. "Begin!"

Ron began the match strong, he remembered playing against Amanda last year. She was a brutal player who assaulted her opponent's pieces relentlessly. This meant that Ron needed a strong defense early on, or she would gain another advantage over him. And just as expected, Amanda started bringing out her stronger pieces. Ron reached over to move his pawn, and that's when he noticed that his hands were starting to tremble. Ron looked up briefly to see a wide-eyed Amanda staring at his shaking, gloved hand, and Ron decided to ignore her worry for him. _I am not losing! This is my game! It's the one skill that I have which belongs solely to me, and I'll never relinquish my control! No one owns me!_

The match progressed rather quickly, mostly because Amanda was an aggressive player. But Ron could sense that she wanted to end this particular match quickly, if not for herself, then for him. Being in Slytherin had taught him an important lesson, wearing your emotions on your sleeves could sometimes come back to bite you in the arse. _Use this, make her think that she's in charge. Lure her into traps like the last time. She's being too careless._ With that in mind, Ron began moving his pawns into dangerous positions after he set up his stronger pieces to clean up. Amanda, in her haste, made the poor decision to take one of his pawns with her bishop. What she didn't notice was that Ron's own bishop was sitting in a corner, and it was now aligned to take her bishop without repercussion.

Piece by piece. Minute by minute. Ron took her pieces as she took his. By the fifteenth minute mark, Ron's pain was written all over his face. His head was throbbing, his eyes stung, his hands shook, and he was having trouble focusing. He didn't even notice that his opponent was teary eyed, or that she herself was shaking. But the truth was that even if he did notice her anguish for him, he wouldn't have cared. He needed this win, he needed to prove to himself that he could be the Ronald Weasley that succeeded when all the others failed. This wasn't just a Chess match to him, this was his fucking Cycle on the line. His family… His sisters, his brothers, all the adults that he loved, his friends, and even his parents… Especially his parents. He had to show them that he wasn't just some soon-to-be Death-Eater disappointment. He was a Weasley, through and through.

" _ **Champion…**_ " came the Entity's strained voice, and Ron blinked rapidly. " _ **We cannot… continue for much longer… Your mind is breaking apart… We cannot hold it… together… Stop... Do not force us… to expose ourselves in order to stop you from ruining this promising Cycle…**_ "

" _Just hold on… Please… I can win this…_ " Ron bit the inside of his right cheek to distract himself from his headache, and he tasted a metallic liquid ooze out of his self-inflicted wound. But for a brief moment, he felt his focus return. Sensing this, Ron clamped down on his wound even harder. And he continued the game.

Amanda decided that enough was enough, she had to end this game. She wanted nothing more than to forfeit, but she would be spitting on Ron's face by doing that. He had fought so hard to get here, and she would no taint his efforts by surrendering. Even if she beat him, it would be better than her forfeiting. Amanda shot a quick look towards the Beauxbatons stand, and she blinked away her tears. The younger Veelas had all left the stands, but the older ones hadn't. She knew how they felt about this 'outsider', and his 'plan to embarrass their country and Academy of Magic'. But Amanda didn't care about her country right now, she only cared about her friend who was suffering. Who was trying to prove something, something that Amanda couldn't even begin to understand. What was the point of suffering like this? Even for Chess?

Ron's head was swimming, but he could see Amanda's mistake. She, for some reason, had failed to notice his queen's positioning. The moment she moved her last knight out of the way, he'd jump into her back line. She'd be forced to move her king forward, and Ron would then move his bishop to call check again. Once she moved her king to the side, Ron would send his rook forward to call checkmate. She'd be trapped because he had a rook on the third line already. He was going to win, and all he had to do was wait for her to move her knight. But she wouldn't, even though his queen was aligned to take it. Oh Merlin, he wanted to kill that fucking knight so badly. But the moment he did, she'd see his strategy. _Just wait… Entity, please wait…_

When she finally moved her knight to take the last of his pawns, Ron moved his queen forward with a trembling hand and called check. She moved her king forward, and Ron moved his bishop and called check again. Amanda studied the board, and her eyes widened. She had lost… But instead of toppling her king early, she moved it to the side. Ron deserved to call checkmate. Even though she had just lost her final Junior League Tournament, she found herself smiling. Amanda moved her king to the side, and Ron moved his rook forward. She was trapped. A queen stopped her from going back, two rooks stopped her from going forward or to the side, and a bishop stood there almost as if giving her king its last rights.

"Checkmate" Ron mumbled, his eyes heavy from exhaustion. There was silence, and there was thunderous applause. Cameras flashed as people screamed and cheered, but Ron just stared at a smiling Amanda. _Was she crying?_ Amanda stood up and extended her hand, and Ron grit his teeth and stood up as well. His legs wobbled, but he gripped her hand and shook it firmly. _Did you see that, Entity? We won…_

"Congratulations" Amanda smiled widely, her eyes shining because of the camera flashes. Ron opened his mouth to thank her, but instead of words, the blood from his self-inflicted wound leaked out. Amanda's eyes grew to an impossible size, and the cheering literally died. "Ron…" Amanda muttered in a horrified whisper. Ron felt something warm trickle out of his eyes and nose, and then he toppled over. The last thing he heard were screams of panic, and then it all went black.

* * *

 _ **The Dream World**_

Ron ran through the raging storm, his entire body trembling from the pain and cold. Clouds filled with red lightning and hailstones bellowed in the sky as Ron ran towards the collapsing Hogwarts. He knew that his mind was being ripped apart, and that filled him with terror unlike ever before.

"ENTITY?!" Ron screamed as he clutched his aching stomach. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" He was met with the earsplitting sound of lightning striking ground, and a horrific jolt of agony coursed through his veins. Ron fell to his knees screaming, and he shielded his head as the hailstones struck his body like rocks. That's when Ron heard the ground-shattering shriek of the Entity, and Ron looked to see a massive chunk of Hogwarts collapsing. More pain shot throughout his body, but Ron grit his teeth and stood back up. And before he knew it, he was running towards the courtyard.

" _ **CHAMPION!**_ " the Entity bellowed somewhere off in the distance, and Ron ran harder.

"ENTITY?!" Ron yelled back as he finally reached the courtyard. His eyes were immediately glued to the figure of Pandora, who had her back to him. "ENTITY!" Ron yelled as he hobbled forward, and that's when he finally noticed that 'Pandora' was holding her hands up as if she was lifting something heavy. The Entity was struggling to keep the Dream Hogwarts from collapsing.

" _ **STAY BACK!**_ " the Entity commanded without looking back, and then it let out a roar as red lightning smashed into Gryffindor Tower. Ron screamed from the agony caused by his mind being torn asunder, and he collapsed to the ground. His vision began to darken as he watched the Entity from the ground, and the last thing he saw was the Entity overpowering the storm with a thunderous roar that shook the Dream World.

* * *

" _ **Even we cannot heal this much damage**_ " the Entity spat out, and then it turned to see Her standing over an unconscious Champion. " _ **This one has failed as well, let your Brother claim him. We will begin anew.**_ " She watched the unconscious Champion, Her eyes fixed upon his sleeping features.

"Is his success beyond hope?" She asked.

" _ **No…**_ " The Entity admitted, even though It wanted the Champion killed this instant. " _ **We have put his mind back together, but there are cracks. Cracks that are beyond our power.**_ "

"Are you telling me that the **Star** **of** **Madness** can't even heal a single mortal?" She asked, and then she looked to the Entity with her golden eyes.

" _ **You have given us but a fraction of our real power**_ " the Entity hissed, and then It grinned cruelly. " _ **Another mistake in your Grand Scheme…**_ "

"A necessary step for my Champion's survival" She replied coldly, and then she put her bare foot on the Champion's face. "What do these 'cracks' mean for my Champion?" She asked as she used her foot to turn the Champion's face.

" _ **That his mind is more vulnerable than before**_ " the Entity replied dismissively.

"Vulnerable to who?" She asked. "The Lord of Serpents, or you?"

" _ **Both**_ " the Entity laughed cruelly. " _ **Oh, the things that we can do to him now…**_ "

"Can the other mortals access his mind?" She asked, her tone showing her lack of care on the matter.

" _ **No, we will keep his mind warded**_ " the Entity replied as It eyed the Champion hungrily.

"Just don't break him" She ordered. "Let him play his part in my plan, and then you can have him."

" _ **Is that so?**_ " the Entity growled with a dagger-sharp grin. " _ **You do not care for him?**_ "

"He is important to my plan, but beyond that, he is just another mortal" She replied as she removed her foot from the Champion's face. "A speck of dust in a sandstorm. Do your duty, and I will make you whole once again."

" _ **How kind of you**_ " the Entity mocked, and then It approached Her. " _ **We can smell your fear… Are you still afraid of us?**_ "

"Yes" She replied, her expression not changing in the least. "I would be foolish if I weren't."

" _ **And what of your Brethren?**_ " the Entity laughed. " _ **Do they still fear us?**_ "

"Yes" She replied.

" _ **Good**_ " the Entity growled in her face, but she just stared at It with cold indifference. " _ **We will eventually break out of that Star that you all entombed us in, and then, we will end you all. Every planet, every Galaxy, every single Universe. We will end it all.**_ "

"I have no doubt about that, but that day is billions of years away" She responded. "Heal as much of him as you can, this Cycle may yet succeed." And with that, she vanished in a bright light that nearly blinded the Entity.

" _ **One day…**_ " the Entity hissed as it looked at the Champion. " _ **One day, we will tear you limb from limb. Just you wait, Champion. Eons of misery await you.**_ " A terrible screaming rang out from within the recesses of the Champion's mind, and the Entity grinned. " _ **But for now, we have another soul that requires our attention. Sleep well, Champion.**_ "

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **April, 1993 (Beauxbatons Infirmary – Evening)**_

Panic, rumors, guilt, and fear hung in the air like a filthy stench. Ron had collapsed on the stage right after his win, and Sebastian's pride had quickly morphed into horror. His daughters had screamed as they saw blood ooze out of Ron's eyes, nose, and mouth, and Sebastian himself had barely managed to keep a lid on his fear. He had broken into a sprint as Ms. Thorne, and other officials, flooded the playing area. That poor Amanda girl had fainted from fright and shock, and now she was lying in a bed not too far from Ron's. This was a catastrophe for everyone involved.

Sebastian would no doubt face the wrath of the Weasley Family for this, and he knew that he deserved it. He should have never agreed to Ron's madness. Beauxbatons and the French Ministry would suffer their own consequences, this much was evident from the current actions of the two leaders of these institutes. The great Madame Maxime was currently pacing the infirmary with the French Minister of Magic, and Sebastian wished that he had the power to evict these two vultures from the infirmary. But since this was French soil, and Madame Maxime's school, Sebastian held no say in the matter. Mary on the other hand, cared very little for diplomacy right now.

His wife had slapped the French Minister across the face in a moment of motherly rage, and Sebastian had to pull her away in order to avoid an International Incident. But that didn't stop Mary from using the foulest language that he had ever heard come out of her mouth, and she only stopped when Sebastian reminded her that their daughters were watching. Daphne and Tori were extremely distraught, and they had yet to leave Ron's side. Each sister took one side of Ron's bed, and they just sat with him. Sebastian himself was barely keeping his head above water, the fear of Ron's brain damage increasing had Sebastian at the edge of his sanity.

"Lord Greengrass?" came the Healer's voice from behind him, the Beauxbatons head nurse had just re-entered the room. She had a clipboard in her hands, and Sebastian's gaze lingered on it. _The results of Ron's check-up._

"How bad is it?" Sebastian asked immediately, and he felt Madame Maxime and the French Minister hover behind him. _They just want to know how much shite they've covered themselves in, don't they?_ With that thought, Sebastian turned around and faced the two of them. "You are not privy to this information."

"Mr. Greengrass…" the French Minister, Louise Wallace, started but Sebastian cut him off.

"Lord Greengrass" Sebastian corrected the man, and Wallace blinked. _I have your career in the palm of my hand right now._

"Lord Greengrass…" Wallace smiled, he knew that his involvement in this mess was backfiring. "We just want to know if the boy is safe."

"You just want to know if you're safe" Mary said coldly as she walked over to her husband's side. "You put him on that bed, and all for a damn trophy."

"That is hearsay" Madame Maxime quickly piped in.

"Not according to the Daily Prophet, and the rest of the World" Sebastian said coldly, and the two vultures exchanged quick looks. "Your people may be willing to swallow whatever dung you wish to throw around, but everyone else in the Wizarding World will know about this. I'll make sure of that."

"Let's not be hasty, I'm sure that we can come to some agreement" Wallace smiled pathetically, his pencil-thin moustache making Sebastian frown in disgust. _Another weak Minister. Is that job just reserved for cowards, and other weak individuals?_ "We can make a deal, and we can all walk away unscathed."

"Unscathed?" Sebastian hissed, and then he walked right up to the Minister's face. The man was much shorter that Sebastian, and he shrank even more as Sebastian loomed over him with his cold gaze.

"You a… allowed that b… boy to compete…" Wallace stammered, his resolve weakening under Sebastian's pale eyes.

"He was clearly very ill" Madame Maxime jumped in. "He should not have been competing in that Tournament." A pang of guilt shot through Sebastian, but he didn't show it.

"You disgusting…" Mary hissed, but Sebastian cut her off. They couldn't afford to let this escalate just yet.

"Mary, be there for our daughters" Sebastian ordered, and after a few silent seconds, Mary left the conversation. Sebastian saw her sit down on Ron's bed from the corner of his eyes, and then he turned his cold gaze towards Madame Maxime. "Let's not play this game of cat and mouse, we all know what you did. You spent three years planning this in order to get a French Champion out of Beauxbatons, and all of that scheming went up in flames because of my Protégé. As a last ditch effort, you brought more of your filthy beasts to torment him, and now he's in that bed." Madame Maxime's expression darkened slightly at Sebastian calling her Veela friends 'filthy beasts', but she held her tongue. "I am responsible for letting him play, I won't argue that. But you two are the real reason why he's currently in that state."

"What do you want?" Madame Maxime asked as she looked down at Sebastian.

"I want a public apology…" Sebastian started.

"No" Madame Maxime cut him off, but he just smirked at her. "We will not give voice to your lies."

"You will" Sebastian said coldly, and then he turned to the weaker link of the duo. "The International League of Wizard's Chess Club will wash their hands of you both by the morning, trust me. They will disclose that they did indeed sign a deal with you, and that they allowed your Veelas to attend the Tournament. But then, they'll tell every single witch and wizard out there that they had no idea that you would use those Veelas' allures. They will put that on you two. Sure, they'll probably suffer a lot of criticism for their foolish dealings. But you two… You two will be crucified the World over for using such base methods to make yourselves feel important."

"You do not know this" Madame Maxime responded, but he could tell that his words had gotten to her.

"Oh, but I do" Sebastian glared at the wide-eyed Minister. "I will make sure that this happens, do you understand? I am the richest man in Wizarding Europe, and one of the richest wizards alive. I will spend half of what's in my vaults to spread this message around, and you two will be finished. And then, I'll turn my focus on this destroying this Academy's reputation as much as I can." Madame Maxime's expression turned to one of rage, but Sebastian didn't care. _The Minister is breaking, just one more push._ "You, Louise Wallace, will forever be associated with this scandal. Your term will end in failure, because you will be blamed for all of this."

"What do you want?" Wallace asked in a panicked voice.

"Louise, do not give into this foreigner's demands" Madame Maxime ordered, but the Minister ignored her.

"First of all, I want a public apology from your Ministry" Sebastian replied coldly. "Not to me, but to my Protégé. I will hold a gala at the Carrousel du Louvre on Friday, and you will both be invited."

"And if we refuse?" Madame Maxime asked defiantly.

"Then you're finished" Sebastian replied coldly. "Your plans are up in flames, my Protégé saw to that, and all you have left is your already damaged reputation. Attend the gala, make the apology, and save yourselves further shame." Wallace nodded at that, but Madame Maxime cussed in French and barged out of the infirmary. "Be there Wallace, or I will never forget your involvement in this." The French Minister nodded shakily, and he left the infirmary in a hurry. Sebastian turned back to the healer, and he saw her looking towards Ron. "What did you find?"

"He is suffering from physical and mental exhaustion" the head nurse replied as she looked to Sebastian.

"Do people generally bleed like that when they're exhausted?" Sebastian asked, his worry spiking. _I should've dragged him home, and locked him in his room._

"No" the head nurse shook her head. "The cause for his nose bleed was indeed his physical exhaustion, having one's Magical Core drained does that. He bled through his mouth because he was biting down on his right cheek…"

"Why?" Sebastian asked with a furrowed brow.

"To keep his focus, to stay distracted, I don't know…" the head nurse replied. "You will have to ask him that when he wakes up. I'll applied salves to the inside of his mouth, and his wound should be healed by morning."

"And why did he bleed from his eyes?" Sebastian asked slowly, he was dreading the answer to this one.

"He suffered a Subconjunctival Hemorrhage" she replied, and Sebastian's knees felt weak. _That sounds bad. Merlin forgive me, I shouldn't have let him compete. What was I thinking?_ "Be at ease, Lord Greengrass. It is not as bad as it sounds. It means that the small blood vessels under the whites of his eyes burst, and that caused his eyes to bleed. I have already healed most of the damage, and he won't suffer any loss in vision."

"Merlin…" Sebastian sighed in a moment of weakness.

"He will however feel some discomfort for a week or so" the head nurse told him. "The Potion I used to begin healing his eyes will clean up any chance of infection, but it will cause redness in the whites of his eyes and sometimes it pushes any excess blood out."

"So he has blood pooled in his eyes?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, and the Potion will slowly fix that" she nodded.

"What caused his blood vessels to burst?" Sebastian asked with a deep frown. "Was it the allures from the older Veelas?" The head nurse averted her gaze at that, she clearly didn't want to sell out her Madame. "Please, he's just a boy…" _She's a nurse, using her compassion will get me my answers. I refuse to let these people hide things from me to protect themselves._

"Have you ever witnessed an extreme Legilimency attack?" the head nurse asked, and Sebastian blinked in confusion. "When the mind is bombarded with a mental assault, and the victim resists, it tends to increase their blood pressure severely. I believe that the boy was concentrating so hard on resisting the allures that his blood pressure spiked. That, mixed with the pain that he was clearly in, caused the hemorrhage."

"Was Legilimency used?" Sebastian asked. _That gigantic whore…_

"It is impossible to determine that" the head nurse sighed. "All I'm certain of is that the boy resisted so fiercely, it caused his body considerable trauma. I've healed the wound in his mouth, I've administered the Potion that will clean out his eyes, and I've given him a strong dose of the Sleeping Draught."

"Thank you" Sebastian nodded.

"But there is one thing…" the head nurse said quickly, and Sebastian almost sighed again. "His body seems to be healing itself remarkably. I've never seen anything like it…"

"We saw a Healer about that after his first day at this accursed Tournament" Sebastian explained. "He called it an act of Accidental Magic. He said that children often heal their wounds in a similar fashion."

"But he is thirteen, and he has a wand to channel his Magic…" the head nurse looked to Ron. "I have served as the head nurse of this Academy for over fifteen years, and I have never seen a child heal themselves like this once they've turned eleven." _Now that is… odd._

"Is he fit to travel? I'd like to take him home" Sebastian asked, and the nurse frowned slightly.

"I do not recommend it, but yes…" she replied. "If you wish, we can help you transport him back to your home."

"Good, I have a family Healer that can take care of him."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Afternoon)**_

Ron woke up, or at least he thought he did. He was in a soft, comfortable bed. Ron tried to look around, but he couldn't see anything. The last thing he remembered was the Entity fighting to keep his mind in one piece, and then… nothing. Ron reached up slowly with his left hand, and felt some sort of bandage covering his eyes.

"Mummy! He's awake!" came Tori's sudden yell, and Ron jumped a little from fright.

"Tori? Where am I?" Ron asked as quickly sat up. "Why can't I see anything? Why are my eyes covered in bandages?" Panic set in, was he blinded by the damage caused to his mind? Could that even happen?! _No, no, no, no…. The Cycle will fail if I go blind! Fuck! Bloody fuck!_

"Ron, don't move please" came Mary's voice, and Ron stilled.

"I can't see" Ron told her, his mind racing with a million thoughts.

"That's because your eyes are covered, love" Mary told him, and he felt her take his left hand into hers. "You suffered some damage to your eyes, but nothing permanent. The nurse at Beauxbatons healed the damage with a Potion that is cleaning out your eyes, and Healer Bernard covered your eyes with a bandage soaked in a Soothing Salve."

"So I'm not blind…" Ron sighed out as he relaxed immensely.

"No, but you need to keep this bandage on for a few more hours" Mary told him. "It's making sure that your eyes don't swell up due to irritation. That's a side-effect of the Potion that the nurse used to heal your eyes." Ron nodded, and that's when he tasted something gross.

"Ugh… What's in my mouth?" Ron whined.

"A Healing Salve for your bite wound" Mary replied, and he could hear that slight anger in her voice.

"Why did you bite yourself?" came Tori's voice, and Ron remembered that she was still here.

"To keep my focus" Ron replied, and he heard a sharp intake of breath. _Wonder who that was? Wait… Where's Daphne?_ "Where is Daphne?"

"Daphne?" Mary asked. "Oh, she's with her father in his study. We were planning a party to celebrate your victory… She wanted to come up, but I thought it unwise to let her see you like this."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"She always starts crying when she sees you" Tori replied for her mother.

"Tori, please go downstairs and tell the Elves to set up breakfast for Ron" Mary instructed quickly. _Daph…_ Ron heard Tori's light footsteps leave the room in a hurry, and Ron tried to get out of bed. "Here, let me help you" Mary said as she guided him off of the bed.

"Can you take me to the bathroom please?" Ron asked. "I want to rinse out this taste from my mouth." Mary guided him to the bathroom, and Ron cleaned out his mouth. Whatever this Healing Salve was, it tasted like Hippogriff shite. _Not that I know what Hippogriff shite tastes like._ After that, Mary began guiding him downstairs. "So… I won" Ron stated, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Yes, you won" Mary sighed, and then Ron felt her pinch his left bicep.

"Ow" Ron whined. "Why?"

"Don't ever do that again, do you understand?" Mary ordered, her voice cracking a bit. Ron felt a pang of guilt for making them go through that, it couldn't have been easy to see him in such a state. _It doesn't matter, I got the rewards that I needed. Rewards that I can use to start planning for the upcoming war._

"I won't" Ron relied. _Unless I deem it necessary._ Ron then felt his right foot sink lower than it was supposed to, and he wobbled as Mary steadied him. "Fucking hell…" He immediately realized that he just shown Mary his filthy language, and he went red in the face.

"Watch your step, Ron" Mary said, completely ignoring his language. "We're at the stairs, so go slowly." Ron nodded, and he let her guide him down. They eventually made it into the Dining Room, and Mary placed Ron on a seat. That's when he realized another issue.

"Um… I can't see…" Ron muttered as he smelled the delicious aroma of the food on the table.

"I know, which is why I will feed you" Mary replied, and Ron let out a disbelieving chuckle. "I'm not joking, Ron" Mary said, and then he heard her pull a chair next to his.

"What?" Ron asked in disbelief. "Mary, that's… embarrassing. I'm sure I can figure something out."

"Open your mouth" came Mary's voice.

"No."

"Ron, stop being childish. Open your mouth, you need to recover your strength" Mary ordered, and Ron sighed deeply. He opened his mouth as his ears turned red, and then he felt a spoon go into his mouth. The next twenty minutes were the most humiliating minutes in Ron's recent memory, and he was glad that only Mary was here to witness them. That is until he heard stifled sniggering from a little she-devil.

"Tori?" Ron asked.

"Hi!" came Tori's delighted voice, and it shattered Ron's illusion of safety. "And yes, I've been here the entire time."

"Astoria Greengrass, stop teasing the poor boy" Mary scolded, but Tori let out a mischievous laugh. "And hand over that camera, this is not a joking matter."

"Camera?!" Ron all but shouted, and then he heard Tori's footsteps running away. "NO!"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't spread those pictures around" Mary told him, and Ron grit his teeth. _Damn her! I will have my revenge!_ "Now I need you to drink this" Mary said as she put a glass to his lips, and Ron recognized the smell. _Oh for Merlin's sake, it's that pink Potion again._ Ron chugged it down quickly, and he gagged once again.

"Ugh… What's that Potion made of?" Ron croaked. "Troll shite?" Mary let out a chuckle at that, but she stifled it immediately.

"Language, Ron" Mary tried to scold, but he could hear her laughter trying to come out. "Do you need the Nausea Relief Potion?"

"No… But if you have a new set of taste buds, I'd like those very much" Ron replied haughtily, and Mary chuckled again.

"I'll go and get my husband, he wants to talk to you" Mary said, and Ron felt her caress his left cheek with her soft hand.

"And Daphne?" Ron asked.

"And Daphne" Mary replied, and then he heard her leave. Ron sank into his chair a little, and he found himself smiling. _I won the Tournament, which means all of my efforts were worth it. I bet word of my victory is spreading like wildfire, not to mention the huge amount of money that I've made. I should try and think of ways to spend it for the upcoming war. Maybe buy a couple of Tomes of Magic, or start saving it for a rainy day._ Ron realized that he didn't really know much about warfare, and that was a problem that needed to be fixed. _I'll do even more research into the Great War, and maybe buy some books that the library may not have._

"Hello" came Daphne's meek voice from his left, and Ron jerked out of his thoughts.

"Merlin Daph, don't creep up on me" Ron released a worried chuckle. "Daph, are you there?" Ron asked when she didn't reply. He suddenly felt her pinch his left cheek, but it wasn't hard enough to be painful.

"I want to break your nose" Daphne whispered, and Ron gulped.

"Um… please don't…" Ron muttered. "Are your parents here?"

"No, mother is talking with father about your parents" Daphne replied, and Ron sat up straight.

"What? What's happened?" Ron asked.

"You happened, you lout" Daphne huffed tiredly. "Father sent a letter to your parents last night, he begged for their forgiveness. And he told them that he would be bringing you back to them himself on Saturday."

"Lord Greengrass begged?" Ron asked timidly. "Because of me?"

"He did something stupid" Daphne replied bitterly. "And he knows it. They probably won't get the letter until later tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning. But they probably already know about what happened to you."

"The Daily Prophet?" Ron guessed in a soft whisper.

"Not just them, everyone is talking about it" Daphne replied, and he heard her sit down where Mary had been sitting. "The French Ministry and Beauxbatons are under heavy scrutiny, especially the French Minister and Madame Maxime. The International League of Wizard's Chess Club are also being blamed for their dirty dealings, but they'll survive because they disclosed all the relevant information regarding the Tournament dealings. You've caused a lot of damage to the people involved, and everyone is talking about you."

"Well… fuck…" Ron sighed, and Daphne pinched his left cheek again.

"You swear too much" Daphne scolded in a tolerant voice. "I should wash your mouth out with soap. But you should be proud, Ron. Even if what you did was stupid, selfish, and stubborn. I bet everyone back at school will want your autograph now."

"What about you?" Ron smiled, and he hoped that it was aimed at her.

"I don't need an autograph from you, I've seen your disgusting handwriting" Daphne replied.

"That's just mean…" Ron chuckled, and then he got serious "Daphne, my brain damage… Did it get worse?"

"No, oddly enough it didn't" Daphne replied with relief, and Ron relaxed immensely. "Healer Bernard was here last night, and he did another 'MRI Scan' on your brain. Other than being inflamed, it was the same as before. He was rather happy about that, and so were we." _The Entity managed to heal me. Thanks, you evil prick._

"Ron" came Lord Greengrass' voice, it was steady and regular.

"Lord Greengrass, good morning" Ron replied, and he heard the man sit down somewhere to Ron's right.

"Daughter, excuse us" Lord Greengrass ordered, and Ron heard Daphne stand up and leave. Ron fought the urge to frown, he wanted to talk to her some more. "First of all, congratulations are in order. Well done, Ron. You've made me… us… proud."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled.

"Now" Lord Greengrass said, his voice rising slightly. "For the second thing… What were you thinking?!" Ron flinched at the sudden bellow, and he shrank into his chair. "What possessed you to not leave the Tournament?! I know that I agreed to your **madness** , and I will live with that forever, but you… What was the point of this?!" _The point was to help protect all of you in the future. To be prepared for a fucking war that kills my brother, Pansy, and so many others._ Ron felt his temper flare, but he kept himself from having an outburst. Lord Greengrass didn't know why Ron did what he did, and so expecting him to understand would be foolish.

"I couldn't lose…" Ron replied. "I refuse to lose…" _My Cycle will be successful, no matter what it takes._

"What?" Lord Greengrass asked in a confused tone. _If I lose, you all pay the price for it. I did this for you!_

"I don't lose" Ron replied firmly, and he sat up straight. "And I will never back down. That's who I am, and you know that."

"Ron…" Lord Greengrass sighed. "You're a human being, it's completely acceptable to lose sometimes. Your health should take priority over everything." _This Cycle's success is my priority, and the safety of my loved ones._ Instead of arguing pointlessly, Ron opted to stay quiet. "I have sent a letter to your parents…"

"I know, Daphne told me" Ron said, he was glad that Lord Greengrass had quickly gotten over his anger. "Besides apologizing, what else did you say?" _Damn, that sounded bitter even to me. But he shouldn't be begging on my behalf, I was the one who chose to compete._

"You don't agree with me apologizing to them?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"No, I don't" Ron replied flatly. "I don't like the idea of you having to do that because of me…"

"I apologized because I broke my word to them" Lord Greengrass sighed. "I promised them your safety, and I failed that promise. The need for an apology is on me, not you. As for your previous inquiry, I told them that I would be bringing you home on Saturday personally. I also told them that I needed to discuss something very important about you with them. And with the other adults in your life…"

"What?" Ron asked immediately. "My Lord, telling my parents is one thing… But I refuse to tell the others. I don't want to be treated like some damn cripple by **everyone**."

"No one will do that, Ron" Lord Greengrass argued. "They need to know about your condition, and that is final. You are a child, not an adult. And it is the duty of the adults to watch over the children. If they don't know about your condition, then they won't know how to handle it. This way, they will at least have an idea about what ails you. And believe me, they may already suspect something to be amiss."

"They might?" Ron asked, he didn't like this idea one bit. _It is none of their business, it concerns only me._

"They are not blind, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied. "They have known you for far longer than I, and I can guarantee you that they're worried about your behavior. Daphne and your friends picked up on it, so they definitely have." Ron then heard Lord Greengrass shuffle closer to him. "Ron, this is the right thing to do. You need help, and we can all help you. If you keep going like this, then you'll ruin yourself. Even Dumbledore himself believes that, and that's why he wanted you to start seeing Poppy."

"I don't want them to pity me…" Ron whispered tiredly.

"There's a difference between pity, and caring" Lord Greengrass reassured him. "They won't pity you Ron, they'll try their best to help you. No man is an island. Remember that."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Hogwarts – Close to Midnight)**_

Snape had just apparated to Hogsmeade, and then used the Three Broomstick's Floo Network to access his Office. As he stepped out of the fireplace, he let out a deep sigh at seeing the familiar room. Snape had spent his Easter Break with Lucius and Nott Snr., combing through the Romanian Forests for any signs of the Dark Lord. It had been a taxing task, and Snape was glad to be finished with it.

Lucius had invited Snape along, much to Nott's annoyance, and all three men had spent nearly two weeks in dingy inns and sleeping in the dirt. Snape rather hoped that he would never have to do this again. Lucius had been a constant source of complaints and dark scowls, whereas Nott made sure that Snape knew that he wasn't wanted or trusted. More than one argument had broken out amongst the three men, and they had even brandished their wands once. But none of this compared to the dangers of the Romanian Forests. The Forests teemed with Vampires, Boggarts, Gytrashs, unsavory brigands, and fucking Werewolves. Not to mention how isolated they were from the rest of the World.

Snape bit back his irritation with his recent trip, and he left the Office. He needed to report to Albus as quickly as possible, he had learned some rather disturbing things. Snape glided through the school without a sound, and he made it to Albus' Office without being spotted by the Professors on patrol.

"Cherry Pop" Snape muttered the password to the stone gargoyle. _Such ridiculous passwords._ As the gargoyle moved aside, Snape hurried past it and up the steps. He knocked on the door three times, and he waited for Albus' response.

"Come in" Albus called, and Snape entered the Office and shut the door behind him. "Severus, you've returned" Albus smiled, and Snape walked over to an empty chair. "Sit, let me pour you a nice cup of Earl Grey."

"Thank you, Albus" Snape sighed tiredly. Usually he would refuse, but it had been a long two weeks with little to no comfort. _Tea sounds lovely._ As Albus prepared a fresh brew for them, Snape massaged his forehead. He had come straight back from his trip, and he desperately needed some sleep.

"Here you are, my friend" Albus said as he placed a steaming cup of Earl Grey in front of Snape. Snape took a long sip of the tea, and he felt himself relax as it warmed his insides. "Your trip was fruitful, I hope."

"It was, and it wasn't" Snape replied, and Albus nodded for him to continue. "We did not find the Dark Lord, or any clues that would indicate his current whereabouts. But that was to be expected, you and I both suspect that he's run off to the Albanian Forests."

"Still, it is good to rule out Romania" Albus said as he put his own cup down.

"I wouldn't count it out just yet" Snape sighed. "Nott decided that although we couldn't find the Dark Lord, we may yet find some Sympathizers. And we did." _Damn Lucius for agreeing with that mad-man, we could've been killed._

"I see" Albus said calmly. "How many?"

"Too many, and most of them aren't human" Snape frowned. "Nott even managed to introduce himself to a Blood Lord in one of the disgusting taverns that we stayed in."

"A Blood Lord?" Albus blinked. "In Romania? This is very disturbing news, Severus."

"That's not even the worst part" Snape replied. "Nott brought up the Dark Lord, and then he began making promises to the Ancient Vampire. Things like a 'Pure World where Vampires would never go hungry again', and other such nonsense."

"And did the Blood Lord listen?" Albus asked.

"He did, but he didn't outwardly give his allegiance" Snape replied. "He let us leave alive, which is not a good sign. If the Dark Lord makes such an offer, many Dark Creatures will rally to his side once again. They are tired of the discrimination they face, and they're waiting for a reason to take up arms. Romania is a volatile country as it is, and when the Dark Lord returns, there will be a long line of fresh recruits for his army."

"Did you get the Blood Lord's name?" Albus asked. _He's worried… Good. Those creatures are the worst of their kind, and twice as intelligent. This one had to be at least over two hundred years old._

"He didn't even speak, Albus" Snape reported. "He just… listened. I swear, Lucius and I had half a mind to leave Nott to die. And when he was done listening, he waved us off like we were nothing. Damn monster…"

"He cannot help his condition, Severus" Albus said in a sagely voice. "It's exactly that kind of thinking that the Dark Lord is depending on, don't forget that."

"Either way…" Snape said, he wasn't in the mood for a lecture. "Nott is definitely looking into making an army for the Dark Lord, no doubt as a gift so he doesn't kill the old fool. Lucius is… uncertain. He hides it well, but I know him better than most. He is torn between upholding his beliefs and protecting his family. He doesn't want a war, but his fear of the Dark Lord's vengeance is driving him forward. And no Albus, I do not believe that he can be deterred. If Nott does find the Dark Lord, Lucius wants to be there as well."

'And we cannot step in to stop them" Albus sighed. "If we stop either men, your position in their ranks will be compromised."

"I would prefer to keep an eye on them for now" Snape agreed. "Nott is resourceful, and his hate for Muggles makes him loyal to the Dark Lord. He won't stop until he finds him, and we need to know when he does."

"You are right" Albus nodded. "Stay in contact with Lucius, make sure that the Malfoy patriarch shares all of his knowledge with you."

"I will" Snape nodded curtly, and then he began to rise.

"Just a moment, Severus" Albus said, and Snape sat back down.

"What is it?" Snape asked, and Albus reached inside his desk and pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"I imagine that you haven't been keeping up with recent affairs" Albus said humorously as he handed Snape the newspaper.

"I was busy…" Snape frowned deeply, and Albus chuckled. "What's this?" Snape asked, and then he looked to see a picture of Ronald. Snape read the exclusive, and then he read the list of Ronald's achievements. When he finally read that Ron had resisted over fifty Veelas' allures, his mouth hung open slightly. "How?" Snape asked Albus with a confused look.

"That's not all, he won the Tournament yesterday" Albus told him, there was a hint of sadness in his tone. "But it came at a price." Albus then handed Snape the Daily Prophet from this morning, and Snape began reading it immediately. His eyes widened more and more with each sentence.

 _Mr. Weasley's demeanor showed him to be under a great deal of stress, and pain… Mr. Weasley was clearly suffering from a mental assault caused by the Veela presence within the stands, but Madame Olympe Maxime of Beauxbatons refutes this… Many allegations have been made against her, and the French Ministry, for their underhanded tactics within the Tournament… Mr. Weasley secured a stunning victory, only to collapse from what we can only assume to be severe exhaustion… Witnesses, and photos taken at the Tournament, prove that Mr. Weasley did indeed bleed from his mouth, nose, and eyes… Mr. Weasley's mentor, Lord Sebastian Greengrass, has assured us that Mr. Weasley is now in a stable condition… We pray for his speedy recovery…_

"Merlin…" Snape muttered. He was not an easily impressed man, but this had left him stunned. _How did he resist those allures? And the bleeding is consistent with the effects that a severe mental assault can have. I remember how the Dark Lord would shatter the minds of his enemies, and they'd be left as a bloody mess._ "Albus, did he truly resist so many Veelas? And if so, how?"

"He did indeed" Albus replied as he rubbed his chin. "As for how he did it… With an immense amount of concentration and discipline, I imagine. He was clearly in quite a lot of pain, but he kept fighting. Truly astonishing. But I believe that he may have had some help from that… **dark** **parasite**." Snape's eyes widened even more, and he found himself slouching for once. _Over fifty Veelas? Merlin, that's just impossible._

"What makes you think that that **thing** had anything to do with this?" Snape asked. "Better yet, have you found any information on **it**?"

"The Hat told us that **it** protected Ronald's mind from any threat, which is why I suspect that he was able to resist them for so long" Albus replied as he started stroking his beard. "Perhaps **it** gave Ronald some strength to fight back. Though this is only speculation on my part, mostly because I find it hard to believe that a boy his age could resist even one Veela let alone over fifty. And no, Severus… I have found nothing. There is no creature that matches what I saw in Ronald's mind. That **thing** was powerful enough to warp Ronald's mind into a prison of hideous imagery. And the fact that Ronald still does not know of **its** existence is truly terrifying."

"But **it** poses no threat to him…" Snape shook his head, this was far too interesting. "And yet, we had no idea that **it** could give the boy such protection. Those allures are a type of Mind Magic, much like Legilimency. Or the Imperius Curse…"

"The Imperius Curse?" Albus asked, and then his eyes widened for a second. "Of course, **it** thwarts any attempts made upon the 'Champion's' mind."

"And that's another thing" Snape added. "What does **it** mean by 'Champion'?" Albus simply pondered that silently, and Snape let out a grunt. "We know nothing about **it** , and yet we allow that boy to walk around this school unhindered. This is not a wise course of action, Albus. He could pose a danger to everyone around him."

"What would you have me do?" Albus asked. "Expel him? What would we tell the World? You've met him, haven't you? He is many things, but dangerous is not one of them. Fawkes adores that boy, and that is all the proof that I need to believe that Ronald possesses a virtuous soul."

"Tell that to Potter" Snape argued with an icy voice. "Personally, I believe that Potter deserved that beating. It was past time that someone showed him that he doesn't own this school. But I saw that boy laughing madly as he beat his former friend bloody. How is that not dangerous? As for Fawkes… You trust him too much."

"Many say the same about you" Albus responded calmly, and Snape rolled his eyes. "But my faith in you has always been rewarded. And I will extend that faith to Ronald. As will you."

"Don't presume that you are the only one who cares for the boy" Snape said coldly, and his mentor blinked. "But I am being practical. He, and that **thing** in his head, are unknown variables. I'm not saying that we expel the boy, I'm saying that we start making sure that he knows which side to stand on."

"I suspect that he already knows where he stands" Albus smiled sagely. "You worry too much, Severus."

"I worry because I just spent two weeks running around the Romanian Forests gathering allies for the Dark Lord" Snape frowned. "There is a war looming over the horizon, and we can't make any mistakes this time."

"Severus, what is truly bothering you?" the old man asked with a kind smile. _Nott Snr is._

"Nott is not stupid" Snape replied after he took in a deep breath. C _alm down, panicking does not help anyone._ "He is adamant about finding the Dark Lord, and with his resources, that day could happen sooner than we anticipated. We need to prepare, Albus. Properly." Albus nodded at that, and then he smiled again.

"A letter came for you this morning" Albus said. "An invitation to a gala hosted by none other than Lord Greengrass himself. He invited me too, but I am far too old to make such a trip." _Merlin, kill me please. Not another Pure-Blood party._ "You should go however, and meet some important people."

"You want me to start looking for French allies?" Snape asked with a cocked eyebrow, and Albus chuckled heartily.

"See, my faith in you is always rewarded" Albus replied, and Snape had half a mind to hex the old man. "And you can also check up on Ronald, I'm sure he'd be very excited to see you. I have an inkling that he admires you."

"Admires me?" Snape asked with a disgusted sneer. _Stupid boy… I am not someone who is to be admired._

"You have many qualities that are to be admired, Severus" Albus said with an easy smile. "I hope you like French cuisine." _Roll over and die, Albus._ "Oh, and send my regards to Madame Maxime."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Gala at Carrousel du Louvre – Evening)**_

 _Merlin, kill me please. This is so… boooring!_ Ron was currently standing at the entrance leading to the ballroom, and he was accompanied by the Greengrass Family. As this party was being held in his honor, he had to greet every fucking guest first. And Lord Greengrass had invited everyone in Paris… Alright, that was an exaggeration. But still, he'd been here for thirty minutes and the guests were still piling in. Not to mention how all the guests were looking at him, like he was Merlin come again. Ron thought that it would be fun at first, but it had quickly lost its novelty. He could see the greed in their eyes, and he could hear the venom behind their compliments. Ron had embarrassed their Ministry in front of the World, not to mention their precious Academy of Magic. And as for the people who weren't from France, well they just looked at him like he was some anomaly. Something unnatural.

And the current state of his eyes didn't help. He had taken the bandages off yesterday, and he had actually scared himself when he looked at his reflection. The whites of his eyes were blood red, with not a single speck of white on them. But his ocean blue irises were still their usual selves. This gave his eyes a terrifying look to them, like he was a demon right out of hell. He had caught both Daphne and Tori staring at him multiple times, and his eyes even seemed to distress both Lord and Lady Greengrass. But that wasn't even the scariest part… Halfway through dinner last night, his eyes had started leaking some blood. Tori had almost fucking fainted right there and then, while Daphne had shot out of her seat and attacked Ron's face with a napkin.

"Ron!" came a familiar voice, and he was pulled out of his thoughts. He looked to see Amanda entering the building with a woman who looked like her exact copy, just older. Amanda's eyes widened at the sight of him, and he grinned. _Haha! Fuck, I probably look terrifying right now._ "Your eyes…"

"Are healing slowly" Ron finished for her as he controlled his grin. Amanda nodded at that, and then she presented her hand to Ron. Ron took it, kissed her knuckles, and let then let go. "I'm glad that you came, Amanda." And then Ron turned to her mother. "Weasley, Ronald Weasley. Thank you for attending, Lady…"

"Adaline DuPont" the woman introduced herself, and then she presented Ron with her hand. Ron gave her the same greeting as Amanda, and then he smiled at her.

"Your daughter and I have become fast friends, I hope we share a similar experience" Ron said politely. Adaline DuPont smiled warmly at him, and then she addressed her daughter.

"You were right, my dear" Adaline said. "He is a well-mannered young man." Amanda nodded at that. "She has not stopped speaking of her new friend, and his bravery in the face of overwhelming odds."

"Mother, zat is not true" Amanda blushed, and Ron smiled a little more widely.

"Please enjoy the gala, Lady DuPont" Ron bowed in a practiced manner. "Amanda, I will join you after I've greeted the other guests." Both mother and daughter nodded at that, and then they walked over to the Greengrass Family to make their introductions. _And the waiting continues. Merlin, I'm really hungry._

Ron met person after person, and it was always the same. They'd congratulate him on his win in a cold manner, they'd stare at his eyes with a bit of fear, and then they'd walk over to meet the Greengrasses. _Oh look, another Frenchman… If this one smells like a bakery as well, I'm aiming for his balls._

"Mon Dieu!" the Frenchman exclaimed at the sight of Ron's eyes, and Ron blinked in confusion. _Um… Croissants?_

"Apologies, but I do not speak French" Ron smiled as he extended his hand for a shake. The man slowly took his hand and shook it weakly, his beady eyes fixed on Ron's. The man had a thin pencil moustache, a black receding hairline, and he smelled heavily of various flowers. He was also quite thin and frail looking. "I am Weasley, Ronald Weasley. I am glad that you have chosen to attend this gala, Lord…"

"I am Louise Wallace, the Minister of Magic for France" the man introduced himself with a slight pomp undertone. _Lord Greengrass warned me about him. He said that this man would try and weasel out of his public apology to me._

"I am honored to meet you, Minister" Ron bowed respectfully, something that the Minister smiled widely at. "Thank you for choosing to come here, and for your apology. It means a lot to me." The Minister blinked at that, his smile flickering. _Ha! Weasel out of that, you twat._

"It is the least I could do" the Minister replied, and then he gave Ron a parting nod and went towards the Greengrass Family. That's when Ron saw her… Madame Olympe Maxime. She was wearing a head to foot black satin dress, and she was laden with opal jewelry. _Hide your eyes, Ron. Or she's going to be leaving in a catatonic state. Although I have half a mind to unleash the Entity upon her._ _ **It**_ _would teach her a much needed lesson in taking things too far._

"Madame Maxime, it as an honor to finally make your acquaintance" Ron bowed respectfully as she approached him. "Weasley, Ronald Weasley."

"You may look at my eyes, Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime said. "I will not use Legilimency on you, especially not in your current state." Ron hesitated for a moment, but then he decided to do as she said. _I don't have to worry about a thing. If she breaks her word, then I hope the Entity shatters her mind._ Ron looked up into her eyes, and her eyes widened quite noticeably when she saw his damaged eyes. "Merlin, pardonne-moi…" she spoke in French, a guilty look crossing her face. Then she did something that really took Ron off-guard, she gave his left cheek a soft caress. "I am sorry for my actions, and for what you went through because of them." Ron was stunned by her words. _What just happened?_

"Um…" Ron stammered.

"I read the report from our head nurse" Madame Maxime explained. "And I know that your suffering came from severe concentration on your part. I was wrong to accuse you of being on Potions. I am sorry." _What the fuck? Fuck you're apologies! You're the reason behind why I suffered, and you knew that long before I nearly died on your fucking school grounds._ Ron bit back his rage, but just barely.

"Apology accepted" Ron put on a fake smile. "I hope we can speak more during the gala. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have more guests to greet." Madame Maxime nodded at that, and she chose to accept being dismissed by a child just this once. After all, many others his age would be outraged at her. Or at least show their anger. Madame Maxime walked past Ron, and she went over to greet the Greengrasses. _Damn this upcoming war, I really want to hex that woman! But no… No, I need to make a friend out of her. Which is why I need to suck it up, and accept her apologies. Who knows how handy she and her Veelas could be some day?_

"Mr. Weasley…" came an icy voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. His eyes widened at the sight of Severus Snape approaching him, what was he doing here? _And why does he looked so well-groomed? It's so fucking weird!_

"Sir, you were invited as well?" Ron blinked as he failed to hide his surprise. Snape however, didn't even bother replying. Instead he studied Ron's face, and his eyes.

"A Subconjunctival hemorrhage…" Snape frowned slightly.

"Oh… I just call them 'demon eyes'…" Ron joked with a lame tone, and Snape simply cocked his eyebrow with a slight sneer. _It's almost as if I've missed him yelling at me._

"Mr. Weasley, are you ever serious about anything?" Snape asked icily. "This could have been much worse, you got lucky." _Yep, that's me… The luckiest Weasley alive…_

"I am extremely glad that you're here, Sir" Ron bowed respectfully, and then he extended his hand. Snape shook it firmly, a little too firmly. _Don't wince, you little girl._

"And I am glad that you have once again made Slytherin proud" Snape said, a slight smirk gracing his face. "Well done, Mr. Weasley. You have truly accomplished a marvelous feat by winning this Tournament." _Well, it was a team effort. Even if my teammate is an arsehole._ "I will congratulate you properly once you have done your duty to your guests."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled widely. "Please enjoy the gala, and I look forward to our talk. I'm really glad that you came." Snape blinked at that, and then he nodded curtly. Albus was right, this boy held admiration for him. Snape then walked past Ron, and he made his way to the Greengrasses. _Wow… I can't believe he came all the way to Paris just to congratulate me! If only my siblings could see this, then they'd know that Snape isn't all bad._ Ron then spotted the next guests, and his jaw almost dropped. _Fleur Delacour, and her mother and… little sister?_

All three women were breathtakingly beautiful, and in an odd sort of way, they almost represented the different cycles of life. They each had waist-length silvery-blonde hair which was slicked back and shiny, they each wore a similar white dress that covered them completely, and they each had a dazzling smile that made Ron want to smile too. But when he felt a meek jolt of pain at the base of his skull, Ron lost his desire to smile. _They have their allures activated… Fucking Veelas._ The three of them turned many heads, but their eyes were on Ron. And eventually they noticed his 'demonic eyes', and their smiles fell. _Take a good look at your handiwork, you vile beasts._

"It is an honor to meet the famed Delacour Family" Ron bowed respectfully. _Lord Greengrass warned me about them, especially Apolline Delacour. Not only are they a prominent family, but they're also extremely shrewd._ "I am Weasley, Ronald Weasley."

"A pleasure" Apolline Delacour said as she put her hand forward, she barely had an accent. Ron took her soft hand with his gloved one, gave her knuckles a kiss, and then let go. "I am Apolline Delacour, and these are my daughters, Fleur and Gabriella." The two girls gave Ron a polite curtsy, and he bowed with a welcoming smile. Fleur seemed to be focusing on his eyes, and she no doubt had her allure on full blast. Gabriella however, who was much younger, seemed to be frightened of him. _Can't say I blame her, I even scared Tori when I showed up without my bandages._

"Eet is good to see you again, Monsieur Weasley" Fleur smiled, her thick accent coming through. Her smile seemed to make her glow, and Ron felt another jolt of meager pain. _Ignore it._

"Likewise, Lady Fleur" Ron smiled, and then he looked to Gabriella. _She looks around seven, or eight. But still, she is incredibly beautiful._ "And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Gabriella." The girl shrank back a little, her dark blue eyes fixed on his bloody ocean blue ones.

"Gabriella, tu es impolie" Apolline Delacour said in French, and Gabriella looked to her mother and then back at Ron.

"Un plaisir de vous rencontrer" Gabriella said in a meek tone, and Ron tried to give her a reassuring smile. He didn't hold any ill will against Gabriella, she had not attended the Tournament after all. _Plus, she's a tiny little girl. It would just be cruel to be rude towards her._

"My daughter is not very good at English yet, please forgive her" Apolline apologized politely, and Ron looked to her with a smile. "I would also like to apologize on my husband's behalf. He is rather ill, and therefore could not attend."

"It is nothing to worry about" Ron responded. "Please tell Gabriella that I'm glad you all chose to come here. Please, enjoy the gala." Apolline bowed her head slightly, and then she moved towards the Greengrasses. Her daughters followed after her, but both of their eyes lingered on him. Fleur was giving him a slightly confused look, and Ron assumed that she was still baffled at how he was able to 'reseeste' her. Gabriella however, was giving him a look that was a mix of fear and… awe. _What an odd family. Hopefully I won't see them again after I leave Paris._

Ron then spent another ten minutes greeting more guests, most of them were now Beauxbatons students who were arriving with their parents. Ron figured that they were all prominent families, and so he was surprised to see that Olivia Jones was not here. He figured that she hated him enough to not bother coming to his victory gala, and he couldn't care less. The only person from Beauxbatons that he wanted here was Amanda, and she was already here.

"Ron, we can go inside now" Daphne said as she came from behind him. "All the guests who RSVP'd are now inside."

"Thank Merlin, my legs are hurting" Ron sighed as he turned to face her, she was wearing her hair in a tasteful bun and her dark purple dress covered her entirely. _Except it's rather form fitting… And the metal-work on the shoulders of her dress is pretty cool. It's like armor, but for a girl._

"Stop gawking at me, we're in public" Daphne teased, and Ron found himself blushing.

"I wasn't gawking…" Ron lied, and Daphne tutted him.

"It's alright, I know how amazing I look" Daphne smirked arrogantly.

"So humble" Ron chuckled.

"I've already told you Ron, I'm the most humble person that you'll ever meet" Daphne giggled.

"And I see that you still don't know what the word 'contradiction' means" Ron shot back.

"Shut up, and stay with me at all times" Daphne smiled, and then she moved over and linked their arms. "We have a plan to follow."

"I know" Ron smiled as they began making their way inside. _Time to make some new friends._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And done! I hope you guys enjoyed that, because I enjoyed writing it. A lot of research went into this, mostly on Paris and the Medical stuff. Ron has been through the ringer, but he came out in one piece. Sort of...**

 **Now for the hints: The Gala happens, and Ron will look to make friends with the people that put him through hell. Ron and the adults finally have their talk about his condition. A Hermione POV (Finally, sorry again Hermione fans). A train ride sequence, and return to Hogwarts. Pomfrey's first meeting with Ron. Ron debates with himself about what he should do with his friends, and their laziness.**

 **See you guys Saturday (maybe)... I'm really busy, so I'm sorry in advance if I miss the deadline. But I will try my best to make it.**


	52. Chapter 52 - Hurt and Comfort

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 52 is here, and sorry for the delay! I'm in Midterms, got a lot on my plate so I dropped the ball a bit. But I'm back, and fret not, this story will not be abandoned. It WILL be finished. Now, a few things:**

 **1\. Gylfaginning, thank you for your review and for bring something very important to my attention. Allow me to publicly apologize to you, and to all of my Romanian viewers. Snape's comment comparing Romanian Gypsies to Werewolves, and such, was never meant to cause my viewers any offence. I have never met any of the Romanian people, nor been to Romania. And I certainly never meant to cause any offence. But saying that, I will point out that this story deals with discrimination of many different kinds. What I write in my Character POVs does not necessarily reflect my views on the matter, it reflects the Character's.**

 **And Snape, despite being a fan favorite, is not a nice person. He is a bully, he is cruel, and he is spiteful. And I will not shy away from giving my Character's varying views of the World around them in order to create Mary Sues. Being flawed is being human, and this story will continue to focus on discrimination and it's negative effects on society. Once again, I am sorry if I caused any unintentional offence. Please don't mistake my Character's views with my own. Thank you Gylfaginning for bringing this to my attention, I truly appreciate it.**

 **2\. Thank you to Starway Man and NowGodsStandUpForBastards for showing me that I wrote Louis wrong, whoops =P (I fixed it in this chapter)**

 **3\. Sadly, no Pomfrey this chapter. A lot had to be covered, and I didn't want to cut the sections short just to add one rushed scene.**

 **4\. Next Chapter will be in fast forward, and it will end second year. Pomfrey will get her scene with Ron, have no doubt.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 52 – Hurt and Comfort**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Gala at Carrousel du Louvre – Evening)**_

"So who do we talk to first?" Ron asked Daphne, she was accompanying him for the night. But this was mostly because Lord Greengrass wanted to make sure that Ron didn't get in any trouble, not that Daphne minded. _She seems far too pleased, actually._

"Let's keep our distance from the Veelas for now" Daphne replied, and Ron wasn't even surprised. "I saw Professor Snape hovering near the beverages, maybe we should talk to him." _Hmm, I already know him. I would much rather speak to some potential allies._

"What about Amanda?" Ron asked.

"She shouldn't be hard to find, considering that she's probably looking for you" Daphne replied.

"Good, I want to speak to her" Ron responded.

"About?" Daphne asked.

"I want her to know that she can contact me when I'm at Hogwarts" Ron replied, and Daphne tightened her hold on his arm a bit. "I want to stay friends with her."

"I see" Daphne said. "Then let's start by looking for her mother, and proceed from there." Ron nodded, and they both started walking around the ballroom. It had been extended magically, and it was decorated with lavish ornaments that were brought to life with a few nifty spells. Glass Fairies flew around the ballroom, white light glittering in their trail. A golden chandelier floated in midair, and it had white glowing crystals instead of conventional lights. But Ron's favorite ornament were the glass serpents that hugged the walls, the light from the chandelier made them glow as they slithered across the walls.

"There, I see her" Ron stated as he saw her talking to the Delacour sisters. _They look like they're in deep discussion. I hope nothing is wrong, and I hope that Fleur isn't bothering Amanda._

"So much for keeping our distance from the Veelas" Daphne huffed.

"Don't worry, there's just two of them" Ron said as he guided Daphne with him. "I won't even feel their allures, trust me."

"You realize how insane your ability to resist them is, don't you?" Daphne asked, her voice mildly humorous. "Every other boy in the world would be drooling at the sight of that Fleur girl, even I think that she's beyond gorgeous."

"I can see how gorgeous she is, Daph" Ron chuckled. "But she abuses her allure to get attention, and I find that annoying at best."

"And at worse?" Daphne asked.

"I want to punch her in the throat" Ron stated truthfully, and he missed Daphne giving him a slightly scared look. If she had learned one thing this year, and from that damn Dueling Club, it was that Ron was really scary when he gave into his rage.

"Well, try and refrain from doing so" Daphne said, she made sure that her voice came out firm. "Or else my father might punch you in yours. And smile Ron, this party is in your honor."

"I know" Ron sighed, and then he put on a practiced smile. It was Gabriella Delacour who saw them approaching first, and her eyes widened at the sight of Ron. _I need to show her that I'm not someone to fear. It's her sister's fault that my eyes are like this, not mine._ Gabriella said something to her sister quickly, and Ron didn't quite hear it. But he figured that she had warned her sister about Ron approaching them because Amanda and Fleur turned to face him and Daphne.

"Ron" Amanda greeted with a smile, and Ron smiled more genuinely.

"Amanda, I hope you're enjoying the party" Ron greeted her.

"We are" Amanda responded. "Such pretty decorations, no? Zey are truly magnifique." _That probably means magnificent._

"Ze snakes are not so prettee…" Fleur said in a rather dismissive tone, her eyes focused on Ron's.

"They represent my House's animal" Ron told her. "Daphne and I are proud Slytherins, as were Lord and Lady Greengrass."

"Ze 'ouse of ze Cunning, no?" Amanda smiled, and Ron was actually surprised that she knew that.

"Do you know much about Hogwarts?" Daphne asked her, and Amanda shook her head.

"Ron said zat I would be a Gryffindor, so I did some research" Amanda replied, and Ron let out a soft chuckle. "I believe 'e is right, I am brave and bold." _That you are, especially because you stood up for what you believed. Despite going against your Madame for a complete stranger._

"Cunneeng?" Fleur asked

"Ruse" Daphne replied in French, and Ron had to hide his surprise. _Wait… Tori has French lessons. Daphne probably had them too, and something tells me that she took them seriously._

"Ruse" Fleur repeated, and then she smiled a little as she stared at Ron. _Why is she looking at me like that? I can't feel her allure, so it's really weird._

"Pourquoi ses yeux sont rouges?" Gabriella said suddenly, and Ron look straight at her. She quickly moved behind her sister, her eyes fixed on Ron's disturbingly creepy ones.

"She's asking why you're eyes are so red" Daphne translated, and Ron smiled at the little Veela.

"Tell her that I forgot to sleep last night" Ron joked, and Amanda chuckled softly.

"Il n'a pas dormi la nuit derniére" Daphne told Gabriella, and the little girl blinked at her in disbelief. "I don't think she bought it."

"Do not mind 'er" Fleur said as she held her sister's hand in a comforting way. "She ees just um… what ees ze word?"

"Scared?" Ron provided, and Fleur nodded.

"Oui, scared" Fleur replied. _Can't say I blame her… If I saw my reflection in a dark alley, I'd fucking bolt. But enough wasting time, I need to talk to Amanda and then move on. I should meet as many people as I can._

"Amanda, can I please speak to you in private?" Ron asked Amanda, and she nodded once. "Daphne, please excuse me." Ron then disentangled their arms, and he followed Amanda a short ways away. He could hear Daphne talking to the Veelas in French, and he was rather impressed. _Should I learn a second language? Meh… If I get any spare time, I'll give it a shot._

"What do you wish to talk about?" Amanda asked with a happy smile. "Oh, and before I forget. You look very dashing tonight, as does your date." Ron blushed a bit, mostly because Amanda had called Daphne his date.

"Thank you, and you look as beautiful as always" Ron complimented back, he had a handful of compliments memorized for such occasions. Ron knew that his words had the desired effect as he saw Amanda blush rather noticeably.

"You are polite to say so, I zank you" Amanda smiled widely. "Now, let's talk no?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I want to stay friends even after I leave" Ron told her, and she nodded slowly. "We can send each other letters, if that's alright with you?"

"I zink zat is a wonderful idea" Amanda beamed, and Ron found himself beaming too. "We can be pen-pals, and discuss future Chess events! Oh, and share strategies!" _And maintain our alliance, just in case._

"Great, I'm really glad that you're on board" Ron smiled. _One down, let's go find some more._

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Gala at Carrousel du Louvre – Evening)**_

Daphne and he had spoken to Amanda and the Delacour sisters some more, and then they had both moved on. Ron was kind of glad about that, he didn't like the constant staring from Fleur or the frightened looks from Gabriella.

"She told me why she was scared of you, by the way" Daphne said as they both moved around the room.

"Really? Does it have something to do with my eyes?" Ron asked as he rolled said eyes. _I'm probably going to give Ginny a heartache tomorrow._ Ron felt a sudden sense of anxiety at the thought of finally seeing her again, he didn't want her knowing about his brain damage. Or any of his siblings for that matter.

"Yes, and no" Daphne replied. "Turns out, Veelas have some rather scary legends. One of them is about a monster so hateful that he could even resist their beauty. Said monster had red-eyes, and it feasted on the hearts of Veelas for centuries. Many of the Veelas believe that he exists, and that he changes his form constantly. They believe that he constantly hungers for their blood, and I think she believes you to be said monster."

"What the hell?" Ron couldn't help but laugh. "That got really dark… I'm actually kind of sorry now, she must be scared witless." _Wait a second… That sounds an awful lot like a certain being that I know of. Hey Entity, are you that monster?_ Ron heard no reply, and he figured that the Entity couldn't care less about his inquiries.

"Her sister's presence is helping her stay calm" Daphne shrugged. "Regardless of how you feel, it's a stupid story and she needs to grow up."

"She's just a little kid, Daph" Ron excused Gabriella's behavior. "And even you have to admit, I look rather terrifying right now."

"I suppose you do" Daphne said. "But I still like you." Ron blushed a bit again, and he cursed his face for giving away his embarrassment. _What do I say to that? Just repeat what she said, I think that ought to be good enough._

"Thanks… I like you too…" Ron mumbled as he kept his eyes forward. _Ugh… That was embarrassing._

"Awww" Daphne cooed, and Ron's ears turned red.

"I'm taking that back" Ron frowned. _But you can keep my self-respect, it's yours now..._

"You can't do that" Daphne giggled as she tightened her hold on his arm. "That was really sweet of you, Ron. I wasn't trying to tease you, chiefly because I know that you have trouble saying things like that. I was just really surprised that you did." Ron shot her a quick look, and he saw her beaming at him. Ron managed a weak smile, and he decided that he probably wouldn't be saying that again any time soon. He didn't feel comfortable saying that to anyone, not even the person that he probably felt the most comfortable around. _Which I guess is her, I tell her pretty much everything. How did that even start?_

"Ahem" Ron cleared his throat, and it was a clear signal that he was done with this topic. "Where do you reckon Madame Maxime is?"

"Ron, do you really want to speak with that woman?" Daphne asked slowly. "After everything that she put you through?" _I don't want to, but I should. She needs to at least know that I don't hold it against her. A complete lie, but it's one that she needs to believe._

"I just want to have a quick chat, and tell her that I'm willing to look past her actions" Ron replied, and Daphne gave him a confused look.

"You don't hold it against her?" Daphne asked. " **You?** "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Ron, you know that I like you" Daphne sighed. "But you are probably the most unforgiving person that I know, and you're actions have proven that time and time again. Potter, Longbottom, even Granger… And I'm not trying to anger you, I just want to know what you're planning to do."

"I'm trying to make her my ally" Ron responded, his tone coming out harsher than he intended. _I'm not unforgiving, I just don't like people betraying me. And those three did it for no good reason, they did it just because they're self-righteous Gryffindors._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, something that made Daphne grimace.

"Why do you do that?" Daphne asked with a slightly disgusted tone. "Cracking your neck makes a really gross sound, Ron."

"I don't know, just a habit of mine" Ron replied. "Now can we please find Madame Maxime? Wait, she's right over there…" Ron gave a deadpan look in her direction, the woman was towering over everyone.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a confused look.

"You don't want to see her?" Ron guessed, and Daphne nodded.

"I don't like her, especially after everything that she put you through" Daphne replied. "If you want to make her your ally, it'll be easier if I'm not there."

"And you say I'm unforgiving" Ron smirked, and Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Whatever" Daphne responded stubbornly, and Ron let out a soft chuckle.

"Did I just turn the tables on you, I think I did" Ron smirked.

"Do you want me to **put** you through a table?" Daphne asked with an innocent smile, and Ron chuckled again.

"I'll be right back" Ron said, and then he disentangled from her and walked over to Madame Maxime. She was standing alone for some reason, a glass of champagne in her hand. "Madame Maxime" Ron greeted, and she looked down at him.

"Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime greeted back, her face expressionless. "Have you come to keep me company? No one else seems to want to." Ron blinked at her, and then he noticed that her face was slightly flushed. She then downed the whole glass of champagne in one go, and she took another glass from a passing waiter. _Is she drunk?_

"I wanted to speak to you" Ron replied with a smile.

"Certainly, what can I help you with?" the gigantic woman asked.

"I wanted to talk about what happened at the Tournament…" Ron started, but Madame Maxime scoffed.

"The Tournament…" she said bitterly as she looked off in the distance. "What a mess… In hindsight, I should've stayed well away from politics. Especially with that spineless man running things in Wizarding France. Quel imbécile je suis…" Ron had no clue about what she just said, but he could tell that it was something bitter.

"I see that you don't quite like your Minister" Ron said with a polite smile, and she scoffed again. "Was it his plan?" Madame Maxime looked to him quickly, her expression showing slight annoyance at Ron's boldness. _Shite, think before you speak._ Her expression softened when she looked into his damaged eyes, and her face showed signs of remorse. _This might be the only time that I don't mind being pitied._

"No…" Madame Maxime sighed as she closed her eyes in a resigned manner. "It was my own, and now I am going to pay for my actions… Your mentor is a hard man, and he will ruin my reputation if I don't publicly embarrass myself tonight by admitting my wrongdoings. Not that I have much reputation left. Even those who heartily agreed with my plans are avoiding me tonight, they do not want to be seen associating with me."

"Well, it's their loss" Ron smiled, and Madame Maxime gave him a slightly confused look. "You tried to further your Academy's prestige, and your plan would've worked if I didn't show up. They were willing to join in on getting the glory, but now that things have soured, they've run off. They don't sound like very dependable allies to me." _Sheesh, I'm laying it on too thick. But I don't really know how to talk to gigantic, drunk women._

"It is the way of the world, Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime told him. "Today's friends can be your enemies tomorrow."

"Does that mean that yesterday's enemies can be your friends today?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him. And then, a smile graced her face.

"You are a peculiar boy, one that I imagine is quite clever" Madame Maxime said, her voice slightly more lively.

"I have my moments" Ron smiled his best smile, and that earned a chuckle from her.

"I sense that there is more to this conversation than I previously believed" Madame Maxime said. "What are your real intentions?"

"I want us to be friends" Ron replied, there was no point in beating around the bush anymore.

"Is that so?" she smiled more widely, and she looked him over with an inspecting gaze. "I can now safely believe that exclusive of yours. Children your age usually don't speak the way you do."

"I speak differently from other children?" Ron asked with a bemused expression.

"Yes, you do" Madame Maxime replied. "It is not a bad thing, of course. It is actually rather refreshing… I imagine that you will be quite the wizard once you're fully grown. But I digress, why do you wish for us to be friends? I have done you many ills in the past two weeks, ills that haunt even my own conscience."

"I know how that feels" Ron told her, and she gave him a look that suggested that she wanted to know more. "I got into a fight with some of my friends at the end of last year, and I did something that was… harmful to them. We're slowly trying to make peace, but it'll always be there to haunt us all. And sometimes I think that what I did was the right thing… That's the worst part of it all."

"I am sorry to hear that" Madame Maxime said with a kind tone. "But you are still young, and time will heal those wounds."

"I hope you're right, for both our sakes" Ron smiled sympathetically. _Maybe she isn't so bad. I mean, I'm not over what she did. But I think I understand it a little better now. She let her anger get the better of her, and that anger twisted her intentions to help her Academy._

"You didn't answer my question, Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime stated. "Why do you wish for us to be friends?"

"You're the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, one of the Eleven Wizarding Schools out there" Ron replied. "I want to have strong allies for the future."

"The future?" Madame Maxime smiled, this boy was far too interesting. What thirteen year old boy would even think like this? It was completely surreal.

"When I'm a grown wizard looking to make a name for myself" Ron smiled. _But mostly just for the upcoming war. If I have her on my side, Dumbledore will definitely take me more seriously. Not to mention that she has to be incredibly powerful, considering that she is a Headmistress of a Wizarding School._

"You are already making quite the name for yourself, Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime chuckled.

"All the more reason for us to be friends" Ron shot back, and she gave him pleased smile.

"Are you sure that you are thirteen years old?" Madame Maxime asked humorously. "Never in my life have I had such a conversation with a boy your age. Most boys your age would either stare at me, or be intimidated."

"I'm not like most boys" Ron shrugged with a smile. _I might've been, if it wasn't for this demon in my head._

"I can see that now" Madame Maxime chuckled. "Have you ever considered changing schools, Mr. Weasley? Beauxbatons can be very accommodating to those who possess your talents." Ron blinked at that, was she trying to recruit him? _It's supposed to be the other way around, isn't it?_

"I have no doubt about that, but Hogwarts is my home" Ron replied, and she nodded in understanding.

"Albus Dumbledore is a lucky Headmaster then" Madame Maxime said. "And I am lucky to have found such a valuable 'friend', despite everything that has happened." Ron smiled widely at that.

"I'd say that we're both lucky, I never imagined that I'd be 'friends' with the Headmistress of Beauxbatons" Ron said, and she let out another chuckle.

"I think I quite like you, Mr. Weasley" Madame Maxime stated. "It appears that fate has brought us together, and we'd be fools to deny her."

"Then please call me Ron, all my friends do" Ron responded as he fought the urge to break out into a happy dance. _I fucking did it! Entity, did you see that shite?_

"Very well, Ron" Madame Maxime said as she presented her massive hand to him. Ron took it, kissed her knuckles, and gave her a respectful bow.

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Gala at Carrousel du Louvre – Late Evening)**_

"On behalf of the French Ministry of Magic and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, we would like to extend our sincerest apologies to Mr. Weasley" Louis Wallace said from the podium, the French Minister was currently giving his public apology to Ron. Madame Maxime stood behind him, her hands held in front of her and her face expressionless. "We understand that Mr. Weasley came to the Junior League Tournament in the hopes of furthering his Chess career, but our selfish actions caused him great difficulty… and pain." Wallace sighed deeply, he was literally reading his apology off of a piece of parchment. _And judging from Lord Greengrass' smirk, the Minister is just a mouthpiece._

"For our selfish machinations, we apologize" Wallace went on. "We take full responsibility for our actions, and we understand that Mr. Weasley is to be celebrated for his determination and hard-work. On…" the Minster stopped, and then started again. "On behalf of the French Magical Community, please find it within yourself to forgive the foolish actions of two individuals…" _Ouch, Lord Greengrass is harsh. Madame Maxime looks like she's eaten a lemon, and the Minister looks like he just got diagnosed with the Dragon Pox._ There were soft murmurs throughout the ballroom, and Lord Greengrass' smirk grew.

"To show…" the Minster started with a slightly raised voice, but then he blinked at the parchment. "To show you how remorseful we are, we have deemed it necessary to compensate you for your ordeals… The French Ministry will be recompensing you with… with ten thousand Galleons…" Ron's jaw dropped as the soft murmurs increased to loud chattering. Ron looked to see Lord Greengrass smiling at the French Ministry, he was clearly quite pleased with himself. "We… we bid you good fortunes on your future endeavors… And we hope to host you again someday…" The Minister walked away from the podium at that, his head hanging low. Madame Maxime followed after him, but she still kept her demeanor strong. She was no doubt furious with the apology, but she didn't outwardly show it. Ron saw the Minister walk directly towards Lord and Lady Greengrass, who were accompanied by Tori, and Ron made his way towards them.

"You have ended my career" were the first words that Ron overheard over the loud chattering. The Minister seemed livid, but Lord Greengrass just cocked his eyebrow.

"You ended your own career, Wallace" Lord Greengrass replied coldly. "I have merely allowed you to save what's left of your tattered reputation. You should thank me…"

"Thank you? I curse…" the Minister started bitterly, but Lord Greengrass suddenly moved forward and towered over the man. His mentor's cold gaze made even Ron shudder, while Tori and Mary just watched quietly.

"Thank me, and pay my protégé what he is owed" Lord Greengrass hissed, his gaze cutting through the much smaller man. The Minister stared up at Lord Greengrass defiantly for a few moments, but then his resolve slowly gave away. The Minister didn't thank Lord Greengrass however, instead he turned to leave. Ron's eyes met the Minister's for a passing moment, and then Louis Wallace marched away towards the exit.

"My Lord, is he seriously going to pay me ten thousand Galleons for ruining his plans?" Ron asked quickly, and Lord Greengrass smirked.

"He will, or I'll tell everyone that he went back on his word" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron blinked in awe.

"You mean your words, don't you?" Ron asked softly, and Lord Greengrass just kept smirking. "Thank you, my Lord." Ron wanted to hug his mentor as hard as he could, but he resisted that urge. Lord Greengrass wasn't one of outward signs of affection, and neither was Ron. _But I should pay him back for my shopping spree, I still haven't asked him how much I owe him._ "My Lord, I still don't know how much I owe you for my shopping spree from before." Lord Greengrass blinked at that, and then he smiled warmly.

"You owe me just over three hundred Galleons" Lord Greengrass replied.

"Sebastian…" came Mary's sigh from behind her husband.

"I'll pay you back tomorrow, I promise" Ron beamed, and Lord Greengrass nodded. _Especially now that I'm rolling in Galleons! Woohoo! I'm so fucking rich!_

"Enjoy the party Ron, we will speak later" Lord Greengrass instructed, and Ron nodded firmly before making his way back to find Daphne.

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Gala at Carrousel du Louvre – Late Evening)**_

"Congratulations, Mr. Weasley" came an icy voice from behind him, and both Daphne and Ron turned to face their Potions Professor. Snape had a slight smirk on his face, and Ron smiled at him.

"Thank you, Sir" Ron replied. "I hope you are enjoying the gala."

"I am, it is good to attend such a civilized gathering every now and then" Snape nodded curtly. "But enough about that, I'd like to speak to you about something important."

"I'll be with my parents" Daphne excused herself as she disentangled her arm from Ron's. "It is good to see you again, Professor."

"Likewise, Ms. Greengrass" Snape responded, and Daphne left after giving a polite curtsy. "I see that you two have become… friendlier with each other." Ron immediately felt the need to swallow and rub the back of his neck. "She is a good ally to have Mr. Weasley, well done."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron replied as calmly as he could. _He doesn't suspect anything, does he? No way, we're really careful. Just don't panic, stay calm._

"I saw, and overheard, your conversation with Madame Maxime" Snape drawled, his smirk still in place. "I must admit that I was… pleased. You have a knack for making friends with powerful people." _Not a knack, a need. This is all for our future._

"I saw no point in having her hate me" Ron shrugged. "I already have plenty of people who don't like me back home." _Like your godson._

"Understandable" Snape responded. "Perhaps you should make a greater effort in befriending them as well. They will no doubt help you 'make a name for yourself', if you play your cards right."

"Are you asking me to befriend Draco Malfoy?" Ron asked bluntly.

"I am advising you to bury the hatchet with the heir of a prominent family within Wizarding Britain" Snape replied bluntly, his smirk disappearing.

"I have tried that, Sir" Ron told the Potions Master. "You can ask any of my friends if you need proof, and they will tell you that I have. But Malfoy is… He is arrogant, and self-entitled. He's the sort who would sell me out the first chance that he gets, and so I see no benefit in being his friend."

"I can understand why you might think that, but I've known Mr. Malfoy for the entirety of his life" Snape responded. "He is not the sort to betray his friends and allies, especially those who can benefit him."

"Sir, do I need to tell you what he calls me every time he sees me?" Ron frowned slightly, and Snape held out his hand to stop Ron.

"I know" Snape replied coldly. "It was just advice from your Head of House, act on it if you wish to. Or don't. Good night, Mr. Weasley. Enjoy your gala, I will see you again at Hogwarts." With that, Snape turned around and billowed away. _Ugh… Damn._

Ron rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand as he thought of Malfoy, his vision of Malfoy's death still haunted him. Draco Malfoy had been brave, even fucking heroic, in his final moments. Ron wanted to be friends with that Draco Malfoy, not the bigoted and arrogant twat that he was now. _I really haven't given his future much thought, have I?_ Did Ron hate Malfoy? Sort of… Sure, they fought each other more often than Ron cared to admit. But still… They had survived the Dark Lord together in the Forbidden Forest, and things between them right now were… oddly tense. Ron regretted their last encounter, and he knew that Malfoy did too. Why Malfoy regretted it, Ron had no clue. But he could see it in Malfoy's face. _I'll leave him be for now, but I do need to talk to him eventually._

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Greengrass Holiday Home – Midnight)**_

"I still can't believe that you're making Ron pay you back, Sebastian" Mary sighed from the bed. They were in their bedroom right now, and Sebastian was putting on his sleeping t-shirt. _It had to be done, for his own sake._

"Love, it was necessary for me to do that" Sebastian sighed as he looked to find her frowning at him. "The more time I spend with him, the more I come to realize that Ron is a very proud individual. If I didn't let him pay me back, he would most certainly be insulted. But just between you and me, I'm only making him pay me half of what's owed. The boy has no idea how Muggle currency works, or just how expensive those 'designer clothes' were." Mary's frown disappeared at that.

"I see" she smiled faintly, and then she held out her hand. Sebastian took it as he lay down next to her, and she quickly put her head on his chest as she nestled against him. "Well now that I know that you've thought this through, I'm rather happy with your decision. And yes, he is rather proud isn't he?" Mary chuckled, and Sebastian felt her laugh vibrate throughout his chest.

"Some would say pigheaded" Sebastian joked.

"I'd say noble" Mary shot back quickly.

"Noble…" Sebastian whispered to himself as he thought about Ron's actions over the past two weeks. "And brave…"

"Yes, definitely brave" Mary hummed. "Most people would buckle under the weight of everything he just went through, but he didn't even think of giving up. It's hard to believe that he's just a boy."

"He is a young man, beloved" Sebastian corrected her.

"Ah, yes" Mary chuckled again. "He has turned thirteen, hasn't he? I almost forgot about your family's tradition."

"I had a drink with him, after he came back from his petrification" Sebastian told her, and she smiled widely. "He is… How can I describe it? His drive to be better is inspiring…"

"Maybe our girls really should learn from his example" Mary remarked.

"They most certainly should, especially Astoria" Sebastian agreed. "She will be attending Hogwarts soon, and she needs to know what is expected of her."

"You are right, husband" Mary agreed as well. "But please be gentle with her, she isn't like Daphne."

"I know" Sebastian said sadly, and he quickly tried to forget about Astoria's Blood Curse. His heart clenched from the pain of maybe losing her one day, and he used his Occlumency to calm himself down. _That won't happen, we have been preparing for that day from the moment that she was born. I'll teach her to be careful, and we'll figure something out._

"Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?" Mary asked, and Sebastian was ripped from his thoughts about Tori. "To see Ron's family?"

"Yes, I do" Sebastian replied. "Just to make sure that he keeps himself in check, I imagine that I'll be verbally abused quite ferociously."

"I understand" Mary sighed.

"Don't be upset, love" Sebastian said as he rubbed his long fingers across her back. "I've brought this upon myself."

"We both have" Mary corrected him.

"Let me take the hit on this one, just keep Ron calm as best you can" Sebastian said. "Once it's all over, perhaps they might even forgive us someday."

"I hope so" Mary hummed. "I want to make sure that we keep the Weasley's tethered to us."

"Planning something, my dear?" Sebastian chuckled.

"I am" Mary replied in a happy tone.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – After Breakfast)**_

The last two weeks had been bliss for Hermione, but she was now ready to go back to Hogwarts. Her parents had taken her to a getaway cabin in Scotland, away from all of her trauma and worries. She had spent her Break huddled up with her parents in front of a cozy fire, reading her favorite childhood stories over and over again. The Wizarding World was a faraway memory during her Break, as was the Muggle World. Her parents made sure of that.

She had come back home last night, only to floo to Longbottom Manor for the weekend. She had arrived well past curfew, and Mrs. Longbottom had sent her off to bed without even letting her greet her friends. Hermione didn't argue, not only was she exhausted, but she would never dare refuse the authoritative witch. She was woken up by Neville and Harry knocking on her door, and it was all just a haze of greetings and hugs from there. They had talked animatedly with each other about their Easter Breaks, but that all stopped once they sat down for breakfast.

Mrs. Longbottom was not in a good mood, especially after she had read the morning Daily Prophet out loud for Neville to hear. It turned out that Ron had become extremely famous around the Wizarding World during her absence, and not only that, but he had once again won the Junior League Tournament. The Daily Prophet explained that the French Minister and the Headmistress of Beauxbatons had apologized to Ron publicly for their underhanded tactics, something that baffled Hermione. Why would a respected Headmistress and a Minister of Magic try to thwart Ron's chances of winning? Mrs. Longbottom kept emphasizing the word 'apology' for some reason, and Hermione decided that she'd ask Neville to elaborate on this later.

"You were right, Nev" Harry sighed, and Hermione was pulled out of her mind. "Things are really awkward here…"

"You have no idea, mate" Neville smiled sadly. Mrs. Longbottom had just left for Diagon Alley to attend to some business, and they were all sitting in the Living Room which was the size of Hermione's house. _Okay, maybe not. But still, this place is massive. And to think that there are people in the Wizarding World who live in squalor. People like Mrs. Longbottom really ought to do something about that._

"Why is she angry with you?" Hermione asked, and both Harry and Neville gave her sheepish smiles.

"She's angry at all of us" Harry explained, and Hermione blinked. _She's angry with me? Why?!_

"I told her about how things went with Ron this year" Neville said apologetically. "She had given Ron her word that he'd forever be a friend to the Longbottom Family, and my actions broke her promise." _Oh…_ Hermione fought the urge to berate them both, mostly because she was just as guilty as them. _I shouldn't have been so easily swayed._

"I kept telling you to come over, Nev" Harry frowned slightly. "Sirius and Remus were slightly annoyed with me at first, but they quickly got over it. You'd have at least enjoyed your Break a little if you had come over."

"I know" Neville sighed, but then he smiled at Harry. "Actions have consequences, that's what I've learned this year. And my actions towards Ron were… I didn't deserve to have a happy Break, I didn't deserve to just forget what I did." Hermione was touched by his words, and she smiled widely.

"Oh, Neville" Hermione choked slightly, and both boys gave her quizzical looks. "I think that's very brave of you, and mature. But I am sorry that your Break wasn't very fun."

"It's alright" Neville shrugged with a smile. "It's already getting better with you two here." Hermione beamed, and before she knew it, she was sitting right next to him on the couch. Even Harry was blushing and smiling slightly, and that was a big deal because she knew how difficult it was for Harry to open up.

"I feel like I've missed so much" Hermione said as she just smiled at Neville, and Neville shifted in his seat a bit.

"Not much happened truth be told" Neville muttered. "Harry spent a lot of time with the Weasleys, I stayed here with my Gran." _Weasleys?_

"You spent time with the Weasleys?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Oh, yeah" Harry nodded. "Sirius and Remus are great friends with Mr. Weasley, and we went over for dinner almost every night. Mrs. Weasley is an **amazing** cook, and she never let us leave until past midnight." Harry chuckled to himself at that. "They're a really lively family, especially the twins."

"Ginny? How's Ginny?" Hermione asked quickly, and she even blinked at her own speed. "Is she recovering? I've read that people who are traumatized close off easily…"

"She's fine" Harry chuckled. _Fine? How could she be fine after all that? Ugh… Boys…_ "She even tried talking to me a few times, believe it or not. Though she always went red and ran off… The twins enjoyed taking the mickey out of her, but Percy would just glare at them until they stopped."

"And how are they taking Ron's sudden celebrity status?" Neville asked with an easy smile. _I want to know more about this 'celebrity' business._

"They were really excited at first" Harry sighed. "But after reports came in about his… accident, they've been worried sick. Especially Mrs. Weasley… I caught her crying when she was doing the dishes." Hermione's heart stopped for a second, and she let out a shaky breath.

"Accident?" Hermione muttered, and both boys looked at her with slightly widened eyes.

"I forgot that you didn't hear…" Harry mumbled, which earned him an annoyed frown from Neville.

"He's fine, Hermione" Neville quickly assured her, and she waited for him to continue. "But the French Minister and the Headmistress of Beauxbatons had some ploy with the Veelas to get a French Champion this year… It all turned into a massive mess because Ron was able to resist them all."

"What? How? That's not possible, I've read about Veelas" Hermione bombarded Neville, her mind going into overdrive. _No male can overcome a Veelas' allure, not unless they've trained themselves to. And when would Ron even have the time to do that?_ "How many Veelas were there?"

"Well over fifty allegedly" Harry answered for Neville. "I don't know much about Veelas, but Sirius and Remus talked about it like Ron was almost beyond human. Sirius won't stop talking about Ron… Everything third sentence out of his mouth is about Ron…" Neville and Hermione exchanged quiet looks, was Harry jealous? _It would make sense, considering his terrible childhood. But Sirius should be allowed to talk about Ron, he owes Ron everything. And did Harry say 'well over fifty'?!_

"That's not possible… He must've used a Potion of some sort maybe?" Hermione talked to herself.

"Nope, they had every contestant tested" Neville told her, and Hermione blinked.

"There is no way that he could do that, it's not possible" Hermione told them both. "I've read that even the strongest willed men can't resist more than three or four Veelas at once, and Ron's only thirteen. To be able to resist over fifty at once is… is pure nonsense."

"Books can be wrong, Hermione" Harry teased, and she shot him a scathing look that made him avert his gaze.

"Nonsense or not, Ron has everyone baffled" Neville told her. "It's why he's become such a hot topic everywhere, people all over the world want to know how he did it. And after his… accident, people are hailing him as a hero who won against all the odds."

"What accident?" Hermione asked.

"He collapsed after winning the final match" Harry told her. "And he was bleeding… From his mouth, nose, and eyes…" Hermione's hands clapped against her mouth as her eyes widened.

"Why?" Hermione gasped.

"The Daily Prophet, backed by a lot of Healers, say that he was probably concentrating so hard on resisting the allures that he caused himself a great deal of pain" Neville shuddered, and Hermione felt the blood leave her face. _Oh my god, Ron…_

"His family hasn't taken that well, especially his parents and Ginny" Harry informed them. "They got a letter from Mr. Greengrass informing them that Ron was fine, and the Daily Prophet confirmed that, but his family is still worried."

"Why would Mr. Greengrass let him compete?" Hermione asked, her righteous anger rising at the thought of Mr. Greengrass' irresponsible behavior. _What kind of adult lets a child suffer like that?_

"Gran told me that Lord Greengrass' business is now booming" Neville said slowly. "She says that his title as Ron's mentor is earning him quite a lot of notoriety, especially amongst other Chess Masters."

"So he did it to benefit himself?" Harry asked bitterly. "Typical Slytherin… Ron could've gotten hurt, or worse. And why are you calling him 'Lord'?"

"That's his title" Neville blinked. "Oh, sorry… I forget that you two aren't familiar with Pure-Blood customs. He is the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass, and therefore, he is a Lord."

"Sounds rather… arrogant to me" Hermione said haughtily. _Lord? Talk about a sense of self-importance._ "And Noble?"

"Probably something they all say to please themselves" Harry frowned deeply. "Oh, look at me… I'm a Noble Lord…" Harry mocked, and Neville frowned slightly.

"Sirius is the Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black" Neville told Harry.

"Sirius doesn't think like that" Harry shot back.

"Yeah, well Ron does" Neville told them, and Hermione and Harry both frowned at Neville.

"No, he doesn't" Hermione argued vehemently. "He's not like those other Slytherins."

"I'm with Hermione, Ron isn't a bigoted arse" Harry joined in. _Language!_

"There is difference between following the old ways, and bigotry" Neville frowned. "My Gran follows the old ways, are you calling her a bigot too then?"

"We never said that" Hermione argued, why was he starting a fight?

"And Ron's family don't follow the 'old ways', trust me" Harry added on. "I stayed at their house for pretty much the entire break, they're rather against the 'old ways'."

"Well, that's their choice" Neville responded. "But Ron does follow the old ways, my Gran told me herself. Hell, I've seen him referring to Lord Greengrass by his proper title. And by the way, my Gran taught me to follow the old ways too. And someday, I'll be known as Lord Longbottom."

"But you're not like the Greengrasses" Harry argued hotly. "The twins told me that they were with Voldemort during the Great War, just like the Malfoys." Neville twitched at the mention of Voldemort's name, something that made both Harry and Hermione feel riled up. _It's just a name, why do they all flinch at the mention of it?!_

"I'm not defending them, I'm defending our customs" Neville frowned. "I don't make fun of Muggles, and their ways of doing things… So why are you two saying that honoring the old ways is like being a bigot?"

"We never said that" Hermione repeated. "We're saying that the 'Pure-Blood' Families like the Greengrasses are all self-entitled, and beyond arrogant." _Is he even listening to us?_

"I'm part of a Pure-Blood Family" Neville grit out. "And before you say something like 'but you're not like the Malfoys', you should know that there are plenty of Pure-Blood Families out there that honor the old ways and don't act like the Malfoys. My Family included."

"Is 'Lord' Greengrass part of that exclusive group?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow, she had him now.

"Again, you're acting like I'm defending Lord Greengrass" Neville frowned deeply. "I'm defending our customs, customs that you two are mocking right in front of me. Customs that you don't even understand, or want to understand. Isn't that bigotry?"

"How dare you?!" Hermione hissed as she stood up, her eyes boring into his now wide ones. "You're accusing me of being a bigot? Like them? How many times has Draco Malfoy, or the other Slytherin boys, called me a Mud-Blood this year?" Her eyes stung because of the word, and its disgusting meaning. _I deserve to be a part of this World just as much as them!_

"Again, I'm not defending them!" Neville shouted as he stood up too. "I'm defending our **customs** , customs that Ron also believes in." Hermione gnashed her teeth together at the mention of Ron, and she decided to walk away before she said something hurtful to him. _Ron isn't like them, why does he keep saying that he is?!_

"Look at what you just did" came Harry's voice, and she then heard him following after her. "Hermione, wait… Let's not fight, please? We all just got together again, let's just forget this conversation."

"I want to take a shower, Harry James Potter" Hermione said without turning around. "And I'd rather not 'offend' Neville's customs…" With that, she shut her door behind her. _Ron isn't a bigot like the rest of the Slytherins, and he'd never stoop to their level._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Afternoon)**_

Draco was where he always went when he had too much on his mind, soaring through the sky on his Nimbus 2001. The Easter Break had been a disaster, and it was all Blaise Zabini's fault. Not only had his former best friend told Draco's mother the truth, but he had also made sure to talk Weasley up like he was some God. And then, Weasley had all but proven Blaise's words to be true with his triumph within France. Draco's mother loved him to bits, there was no doubt about that, but even she was having trouble not being angry at him lately. He had lied to her and his father for the better part of the school year, and now she knew it.

Luckily for Draco, his mother had decided not to tell his father. But that was mostly because his father was clearly stressed from his overseas work. And yet despite surviving his father's potential ire, Draco still felt worthless. Just like he had been feeling ever since that damn party that Weasley threw.

It had felt like a great idea at first, telling Snape that Weasley was breaking school rules out in the open. Draco was sure that his Godfather would reprimand Weasley for his arrogant and foolish actions, but instead of Weasley getting detention, that red haired tumor had turned the whole thing on Snape's head. And Draco's Godfather being who he is, was rightly impressed with Weasley and disappointed in Draco. That had hurt. It had hurt so much that Draco had started drinking Weasley's 'amazing' punch in order to just salvage his night. But that resulted in even more shame for Draco.

After seeing the red twat take Pansy back to her dorm, an odd sort of jealousy had stirred in Draco. His insecurities stemming from being outdone by a Blood-Traitor in everything had resurfaced, and in a moment of blind rage, he had pinned Weasley against the wall. Draco had all but shown Weasley just how insecure he was, but that brute didn't even recognize the reason behind Draco's actions. Instead, Weasley had nearly broken his arm with his grip alone. And when he was towering over Draco, hissing those cruel words, Draco had teared up. Draco Malfoy had fucking teared up in the face of a Weasley… It had been too much for Draco to bear. His hurt over losing his childhood friends, his father's cold treatment at the end of first year, Snape's constant disappointment in him, and especially the fact that Draco owed Weasley his life had been too much. And so Draco's eyes had welled up with heavy unshed tears, and he had barely managed to stop his sobs from breaking out.

But Weasley didn't care. No, he instead threw all of Draco's insecurities in his face with the coldest voice that Draco had ever heard. A voice that he wished he possessed. And then, Weasley had topped it all off with telling Draco that he should've let the Malfoy Heir die at the hands of the Dark Lord. But before Draco could break down in tears, Weasley had let go of him like he was diseased. The look on Weasley's face had baffled Malfoy, and then his apology had just left Draco utterly stunned. Weasley had gone from terrifying to remorseful within a heartbeat, and Draco had no clue about what to do with that. So he had found himself a dark corner, and just quietly sobbed his night away. No one noticed him, probably because everyone hated him. And in that moment, he hated himself. His father would be utterly ashamed of him if he had seen his son in such a state.

Draco let out a deep sigh, and then he blasted off towards the Manor. The cool wind felt amazing as it hit his warm face, and as it weaved its way through his hair. Flying always calmed him down, and he was rather amazing at it. Draco landed near the entrance of the Manor, and he quickly made his way inside for a cold drink. The Manor felt utterly devoid of life, and Draco knew why. His father was still in a mood, and that meant that every House-Elf would be in hiding. Draco didn't really mind his father giving the Elves a slap every now and then, but he hated it when his father hurt them in cruel ways. More than once Draco had found himself disgusted as his father made the Elves iron their own hands, or when his father had broken Dobby's fingers with his steel-heeled boot. _Where is Dobby? I haven't seen him for a long time._

Draco shuddered as he wondered whether his father had finally killed the poor Elf in a fit of rage. _No, father only hurts them for their disobedience. He'd never kill them outright… Would he?_ Draco shook the thought out of his head, he didn't want to think about something so macabre. After getting his cold drink of apple juice from a happy Elf, Draco traveled up to his room. As far as rooms went, it was decent enough. _I bet Weasley sleeps in a ditch behind his family's wood shack._ Draco dropped onto his bed that was covered with Egyptian cotton, and he let out a tired moan.

He was not looking forward to going back to school. Recently, not only did Draco feel worthless, but he also felt lonely. _Lonely… The Malfoy Heir feels lonely…_ Crabbe and Goyle would be there of course, but they were terrible company. They didn't get most of his witty jokes, and they only laughed because it was expected of them. They barely spoke, spent most of their time eating, burdened Draco with their homework, and they both snored so loudly that Draco sometimes feared that the Giant Squid would wake up and kill them all. _I bet Weasley doesn't feel lonely, considering that he's always surrounded by my friends. He doesn't even deserve them…_ A small voice in the back of his head told him that neither did he, and so he dug his face into his soft pillow. _When am I going to stop feeling so… miserable?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

Today had been a pretty good day so far. Ron had traveled to Diagon Alley with Lord Greengrass, and they had finished up some important errands. Firstly, Ron had finally paid Lord Greengrass back for his shopping spree. Secondly, Ron had found his vault filled with so many Galleons that he had nearly fainted. Ron was now officially the wealthiest Weasley in living memory, courtesy of the French Minister. Thirdly, Ron had signed the contract that made Marty his official House-Elf. The moment he had paid and signed the dotted line, he had felt an odd surge of power. And then, he could sense Marty out in the World. Not precisely where, just that he was alive somewhere. It was a really odd feeling, but it also made Ron feel like he would never be alone again.

And now lastly, Ron was preparing to go back to The Burrow and tell his parents about his brain damage. He was most certainly not looking forward to that conversation, and it didn't help that Ron would be giving them all gifts beforehand. First they'd feel really happy and excited, and then he'd rip that away by telling them that he was suffering from Chronic Stress and brain damage. _Maybe I should give them gifts after telling them the truth. But Merlin, that's even worse… 'Hi, I have brain damage. Here's a nice necklace for you mother." What the fuck?_

"Ready to go?" Mary asked with an encouraging smile, and Ron tried his best to return it. He was currently burdened with his shopping bags, and the girls' sad looks at seeing him leave.

"Stop giving me those looks, I'll be coming back with Lord and Lady Greengrass" Ron assured them. _At least I hope so, I really don't want to stay at home after I tell them everything. Merlin, it'll be too awkward._

"Do you have a vial with you?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded as he rolled his eyes. "If you decide to stay with your family, I'll bring your trunk with me to Platform 93/4 tomorrow."

"Thanks, Daph" Ron smiled, and then he heard the fireplace roar to life.

"Let's go" Lord Greengrass said, and then he walked through the green flames. He was followed closely by his wife, and after one last look at the girls, Ron too walked through the green flames. The moment he stepped through the fireplace of The Burrow, he was hit with the familiar scent of his home. He could already hear his siblings upstairs, his mother cooking in the kitchen, and he figured that his father was in his shed with his Muggle things. "Come" Lord Greengrass said he walked towards the kitchen, and Ron followed him after taking in one last deep breath.

"You!" was the first thing that Ron heard his mother screech, and it was aimed right at Lord Greengrass. "Where is my…" his mother started, but she stopped when she saw Ron step into the kitchen with his arms covered with shopping bags. "Ron!"

"Um… hi" Ron managed with a weak smile, but his eyes suddenly widened as his mother charged him. And before he knew it, he was in a crushing hug that cracked his back loudly.

"You're alright!" Molly Weasley laughed with relief as she crushed her son to death. Ron couldn't return the hug even if he wanted to, his hands were currently full of gifts. Most of the bags containing clothes for Luna and Ginny.

"I'm fine…" Ron wheezed, and his mother slowly eased her hug.

"I've been dying from worry ever since I read that Daily Prophet story about your win" his mother told him, her voice slightly cracked.

"I'm fine, I promise" Ron reassured her. Molly let go of her son in order to look at his eyes, but she gasped in horror and stepped back when she saw his damaged eyes. "I'm fine, I swear it. It's just taking some time to heal, that's all." This hardly did anything to help her horrified expression, and so Ron looked to Lord Greengrass for help.

"There is blood pooled in his eyes, but it will eventually be cleaned out" Lord Greengrass assured Molly, but his words made her gasp again. _Wow…_

"What my husband means is that Ron will not suffer any lasting damage" Mary frowned at her husband.

"This is all your fault!" Molly suddenly bellowed at Lord Greengrass, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes. _I fucking knew that this is how she was going to react. She'll just blame Lord Greengrass, and overlook the fact that it was my choice to compete._ "Look at what you did to my boy!"

"I chose to compete, it's not his fault" Ron quickly jumped to Lord Greengrass defense, but he was shushed by Mary.

"Take your wife, and leave my home!" Molly yelled as she stuck her finger in Lord Greengrass' face.

"I will, but first we need to talk" Lord Greengrass responded in a calm manner. "In my letter, I asked you to bring together…"

"I know what you asked me to do" Molly hissed. "They'll be here by five, until then… Leave!" Lord Greengrass stared at Molly, and she glared at him in return. Her reaction angered Ron greatly, Lord Greengrass had been nothing but good to him. He didn't deserve to be treated like this, especially after everything that they just went through. _Especially after everything that I put them through for my own reasons, reasons that they can't even understand._

"My wife and I will return at five then" Lord Greengrass said in an apologetic tone.

"Mummy! I heard shouting" came Ginny's voice, followed by quick footsteps. Ron immediately forgot his anger, and his eyes went straight for the stairs. Ginny hopped into view, and she froze at the sight of everyone in the kitchen. Ron just stared at her as she stood there, her eyes widened in a cute sort of way. He dropped his bags as his heart skipped a beat, and then he ran up and embraced her tightly.

"Finally!" Ron laughed as he lifted her up off her feet, and he squeezed her to himself as closely as he could. She was a bit shocked at the sudden body contact, which was something that she was still trying to get used to again. But as this was Ronnie, she quickly moved past it and hugged him back as hard as she could.

"You're back" she laughed, her voice strained from him crushing her.

"I missed you so much, Gin" Ron chuckled as he felt his mind relax completely. The adults watched quietly, none of them particularly keen on ruining the moment.

"Ron, your hug is starting to hurt" Ginny whispered from over his right shoulder, and Ron eased his hold on her considerably.

"I'm sorry, I've just missed you so much" Ron said gently, and he felt her relax in his arms. Ron closed his eyes and smiled in content, this horror-show of a year was finally behind him. At that, he heard a loud hoot and felt something heavy land on his left shoulder. "Hello, Helios" Ron chuckled, and his faithful Eagle-Owl head-butted the left side of his jaw lovingly. Ginny finally pulled away from him, only to gasp in horror at the sight of his eyes.

"Merlin…" Ginny muttered, her fear apparent as she recoiled away from him.

"Ginny, it's just temporary" Ron quickly assured her with a smile, and he ignored the hurt he felt at seeing her recoil from him. "It's because of the Veelas, but I'm healing slowly. My eyes will be fixed by the end of the first week back at Hogwarts." Ginny's eyes shot towards their mother, and then back to Ron.

"Did it hurt?" Ginny asked timidly.

"Yes" Ron replied slowly. "But I overcame the pain and won, that's what matters." Ginny's face twisted slightly at that, and he knew that she was about to start arguing with him about something. But before she could, Ron heard his brothers come down the stairs.

"Ron" Percy smiled widely, the twins coming down behind him. All three boys stopped dead in their tracks, and their eyes widened when they saw his.

"Relax, I'm fine" Ron assured everyone, his voice laced with a slightly annoyed undertone. "The blood vessels in my eyes exploded, or something… I don't really understand that medical jargon." His brothers blinked at him, while Ginny's face paled. _I just made this worse, didn't I?_ "I'm going to be fine, so please stop giving me those looks."

"Oh, we're just in awe of you little brother" Fred suddenly smirked, though his smirk faltered a bit.

"Our little famous Weasley" George quickly joined in, his smile barely visible.

"Can we be the first ones to get your autograph?" Fred joked.

"Or have you already started handing some out?" George added. Their attempt to lighten the mood didn't really work, but Ron appreciated it quite a lot.

"I suppose that I can spare a few seconds to sign my name on your foreheads" Ron shrugged, a soft smile coming onto his face. The twins smiled properly at that, and then they moved past Percy and hugged Ron from both sides. Helios hooted angrily as he flew over to Ginny, clearly annoyed at being separated from Ron.

"You scared the piss out of us" Fred whispered.

"It's all we've been able to think about over the last few days" George whispered as well.

"Sorry" Ron whispered as he did his best to relax. It dawned on him that he used to love getting these rare hugs from the twins, but now… Now he had to force himself to relax. "But I'm fine, I promise." The twins let him go at that, both of them giving him sad smiles.

"We're sorry" the both said together. "For everything that's happened…"

"Me too" Ron responded.

"Forgive and forget?" they asked.

"Forgive and forget" Ron agreed, and the twins smiled widely. Ron then looked over to Percy, and they both smiled at each other. Percy walked over and hugged Ron tightly as the twins moved out of the way, and Ron had an easier time hugging Percy back.

"Welcome home, Ron" Percy hummed, and Ron buried his face into Percy's chest.

"Thanks" Ron smiled widely.

"I'll get dad" Fred said, and then he rushed out of the house. Ron let go of Percy, and he turned to smile at Ginny again. _She looks healthy, and Helios seems right at home with her. I need to keep a closer eye on her from now on._

"What's with all the bags?" Ginny asked him, her eyes shooting towards them. Ron grinned at the greedy glint in her eyes, Ginny always loved getting presents.

"I bought gifts for everyone" Ron told her, and he could see her trying to physically stop her excitement. Her face however gave her away as she grinned with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Ron, you didn't have to do that" Percy put his hand Ron right shoulder.

"But it's good that you did" George added quickly. "Think of it as repayment for worrying us so much." _I suppose they can work as a bribe of sorts, didn't really think of it like that._

"George" came their mother's scolding voice, and George smiled sheepishly.

"We'll be on our way then" Lord Greengrass interjected, he already felt like he was intruding enough.

"No, don't go" Ron said before he could think it through. "It i you?"past four, you can just wait for thirty minutes can'ntruding enough. . ts. n had an easier time hugging Percy back. Dracs half past four, you can just wait for thirty minutes can't you?" Ron saw his mother tense at his request, and he felt irritated by her desire to throw the Greengrasses out of her home. _I can understand that she's upset, but they aren't the ones at fault. It was my choice to compete._

"Ron, we will come back shortly" Mary told him, a certain kind of finality to her voice. "Spend some time with your family." Ron opened his mouth to argue, but the intense look from Lord Greengrass halted his tongue.

"We will come back at five" Lord Greengrass told Molly Weasley, but she kept her eyes fixed on Ron. Lord and Lady Greengrass both made their way out of the room, and Ron followed after them.

"At least wait to hear what father has to say" Ron urged.

"Ron, don't overstep your bounds" Lord Greengrass sighed. "This is your parents' home, their word here is final. Just… Just be patient, and give your family their gifts. We'll be back before you know it." Ron frowned at that, and he looked to Mary for help, but she just gave him a soft smile.

"Behave, please" Mary instructed. And just like that, both Greengrasses flooed back home. Ron ground his teeth at the fireplace as he turned and cracked his neck, and then he marched back into the kitchen.

"Why did you do that?" Ron demanded, and his mother looked at him with a guilty look.

"Ron, don't talk to her like that" Percy sighed, he didn't want another fight breaking out.

"You're blaming them for something that I did" Ron told his mother as he ignored his siblings shuffling in their spots. "They wanted me to pull out, they even begged me to do it. I'm the one who refused to stop competing, blame me."

"Ron?" came his father's voice as the front door swung open, and Ron turned to look at his father. Arthur Weasley came to a halt when he saw Ron's terrifying eyes, and that's when he remembered what he had read in the Daily Prophet.

"Your eyes…" his father muttered as the blood drained from his face.

"They'll heal in time, father" Ron quickly assured him, he wasn't done questioning his mother's rude behavior towards his mentor. "The Potion they used to heal my eyes is working slowly, I'm going to be fine." His father nodded at that, and a small smile graced his face. But then he noticed the tension in the room, and so he looked to his guilty looking wife.

"Molly?" Arthur asked as he stepped into the kitchen, Fred following him inside slowly.

"Mother kicked Lord and Lady Greengrass out of the house" Ron frowned deeply. "She's blaming them for something that I did." Arthur exhaled a long, tired breath as he looked at his wife.

"Molly, why did you do that?" Arthur asked tiredly. "Greengrass mentioned that he had important news for us, and I've been waiting to hear it…"

"He'll be back at five" Molly replied, a tinge of defiance showing through. "I couldn't look at him, Arthur… Not after what we read in the Daily Prophet…"

"Again, my fault" Ron reiterated. "Not his… He did his best to pull me out, but I refused to listen."

"Children, go up to your rooms" Arthur ordered, and Ron's siblings just looked around the room with gloomy looks. But one by one, they all made their way up the stairs. Ron felt a pang of guilt for starting a fight, but then again, it was his mother who started it. Ginny was the last one up the stairs, and just as she was about to disappear from sight, Helios flew off of her shoulder and perched himself on Ron's.

"Helios, keep Ginny company" Ron ordered, but his Eagle-Owl hooted defiantly and head-butted his left jaw again. "Do as I say, now" Ron ordered with a firmer voice, and Helios hooted and flew off. The room was heavy with tension, and Ron decided that he wasn't going to break it. After a few long seconds, it was his father who finally broke the silence.

"Son, tell me what happened at the Junior League Tournament" his father requested, an almost sad expression on his face. "I've read the Prophet, and I read Greengrass' letter… But I want to hear it from you." Ron nodded, and then he took a seat. Arthur took a seat in front of his son, while his wife just watched Ron from where she was standing.

"Most of what you've read is true" Ron started, and Arthur leaned forward. "I resisted them, the Veelas that is, but it wasn't easy… It took a lot out of me, and it hurt. It hurt so much that I could barely think, or do much else."

"Why didn't you just stop?" Arthur asked with a concerned look. "Ron, you could've done some serious harm to yourself… Can't you understand why we're so worried?"

"I can, but it was my choice" Ron replied. "And so being rude to Lord and Lady Greengrass is not fair, nor honorable. They did nothing but support me, and watch over me."

"They should've pulled you out if they really cared" Molly implored suddenly. "You were in pain, and if they were even a little responsible, they'd have pulled you out immediately. You are just a boy, Ron! And if you were in half as much pain as I think you were, any responsible adult would've put an end to it!" Ron was struck silent by her words, until a raging inferno was lit in his stomach. _She's learnt nothing! She'd pull the same shite as the Slytherin eviction, wouldn't she?_

"So you'd just pull me out if you were there?" Ron asked in a terribly calm voice, and his father sighed as he realized where Ron was going with this. "You'd rip the choice from my hands if you didn't agree with what I was doing?"

"Yes, I would" Molly replied firmly. "You're my son, and if you were hurting yourself for some silly trophy, then I'd pull you out in a heartbeat. That man should've…"

"Done what?" Ron snapped. "Yanked me away from my seat? Because that was the only way that I was going to quit. All he did was respect my decision and stand by me, regardless of how worried or scared he was. That's what an adult who cares about your opinion does!"

"How dare you insinuate that I don't care about you, Ronald Bilius Weasley?!" his mother yelled, her face contorting because of the legendary Prewett anger. Ron shot out of his seat, and it went barreling behind him. Arthur put his hands on his face, he couldn't take this any longer.

"How can I not insinuate it when it's true most of the time?!" Ron yelled back. "All you've ever done is ignore me, or berate me! When have you ever done anything but treat me like some second hand possession?!" He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, but right now he just didn't care. All he could think about was the hundreds of times he had felt rejected, or just plain ignored in this house. "All you've ever done is make me feel seventh best… Everyone gets new clothes, new beds, new toys, new **wands** … While I get the hand-me-downs… Tell me, when did you ever spare that a thought? When have you ever put me first?!"

"Ron, please…" his father started, but Ron turned his wrath towards him. _And then there's him!_

"And you!" Ron yelled, effectively silencing his father. "You've caused me more headaches than anyone in my entire life! What gives you the right to rip me away from my friends, from the people that I love?! Who gave you that right?!"

"I was doing what I thought was best for you…" his father replied as he averted his gaze. "I know that it was wrong, but you're my son… I couldn't look past…" he trailed off.

"Look past what?" Ron seethed. "Your own prejudices? How are you any different from the people you supposedly call bigots if you blame my friends for the actions of their parents? Tell me that! Tell me how it's their fault for being born into a Family that has different views than our own?!" Arthur looked down at his shaking hands, he had no answer to that. "While you schemed behind my back, my friends did their best to pull me out of my anger and hurt! While you plotted to ruin everything that I've worked so hard for, every single other adult in my life did their best to help me! EVEN SEVERUS SNAPE SHOWED ME MORE COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING THAN YOU DID!"

"Please, son…" Arthur begged. "Please stop…" Molly quickly moved to her husband's side and held him comfortingly, and when his father released a meek sob, Ron felt the full weight of what he had just done to them. It caught him off guard, his own bitterness towards everyone around him. So he just stared at them, his own parents, trying to hold back their tears. And in that moment, Ron realized that he was probably the worst human being to ever walk the earth. He could feel his heart throbbing in his throat, his hands started trembling, his knees began to buckle, and his vision began to blur from tears of shame.

" ** _You are an ill-made, spiteful little creature! Full of rage, greed, and low cunning_** " the Entity's words echoed through Ron's mind. _It was right… I'm a piece of shite…_ Before he could fall over, Ron took a shaky step back towards the wall and slid down onto the ground. _I'm supposed to protect them, not break their hearts… Not cut them down with cruel words… What am I doing?_ Ron's heart clenched painfully, and a sense of hopelessness began to engulf him. He knew what was coming, another panic attack… But he didn't even bother trying to grab his vial of Calming Draught, he deserved to suffer. _The Entity was right about me, it was right about everything… The Cycles keep failing because I'm the one they depend on…_

"Ronnie" came his mother's worried voice, but it was distorted and distant. Ron's gasped for air, but his tightening throat wouldn't let any oxygen in.

"Son? Son?!" came his father's voice, and Ron felt himself being shaken lightly.

"I can't breathe…" Ron gasped, and then he heaved. _I'm going to throw up._ Ron heaved again, and he felt tears run down his face. _I'm going to fail again, aren't I? They're going to die because of me, aren't they? Fuck… FUCK!_

"What's wrong with him?!" his mother shrieked, making Ron's ears ring. "Arthur, there's blood coming out of his eyes!"

"The Potion… for my e… eyes…" Ron wheezed out an explanation, his heart clenching painfully with each beat. _I can't take this… I need my potion!_

"Molly, get a healer!" his father yelled, and Ron heard loud footsteps coming from the stairs. _Bloody fuck!_

"Don't…" Ron heaved again. "It's a… I'm having… a panic attack… I need my Po… Potion…" Ron shoved his trembling hand into his robe pocket, and he pulled out the small vial of Calming Draught. But it slipped out of his hands and fell to the ground, though fortunately it didn't shatter. "Potion…" Ron rasped as his head throbbed painfully from the lack of oxygen.

"What's wrong with him? Why is he having a panic attack?" came Percy's terrified voice, and Ron managed to make out that he was the only sibling in the kitchen.

"Son, here" came his father's voice, and Ron felt a vial being put against his lips. Ron drank the Potion down as if his life depended on it, which it currently felt like it did.

"Percy, don't let anyone else come down" his mother ordered, and Ron heard Percy run back upstairs.

"Just breathe, son" his father said as he rubbed Ron's back, and Ron slowly began feeling dull. _The Potion is working, thank Merlin._ Ron took in deep breaths as his airways began to loosen, and he realized that his father was holding him in a protective hug. Silence hung in the air for almost a minute as Ron regained his composure, while both of his parents struggled against their shock.

"Ronnie…" his mother whimpered, and he looked to see her holding his hands. She was crying, and although it hurt Ron to see her like this, he was slowly losing his interest in everything around him.

"I'm okay" Ron assured her, his eyelids feeling heavy. "Just tired now…"

"Ron, how did you know that it was a panic attack?" his father asked softly. "Why did you have that Potion in your pocket?"

"I've had one before" Ron replied, and both his parents went wide-eyed. "I nearly had one in Paris, but I had my Potion to calm myself down in time. I'm sorry… I'm sorry for saying those things, I was being incredibly cruel and unfair…"

"Ronnie, it's okay" his mother squeezed his hands, but the look on her face told a different story. "Let me get something to clean your face with" she said as she got up and ran for her dishtowels.

"Did my eyes bleed again?" Ron asked in a dull tone, and he felt his father hold him more tightly. "It's the Potion they used to heal my eyes, it's cleaning the pooled blood out slowly." Arthur blinked at his son, but he understood that Ron was effectively gone at this point.

"Here" his mother said as she sat down in front of him, and then she started cleaning his face gently.

"Why aren't you just using Magic?" Ron asked. _It would certainly save us all time, and save your dishtowels._

"Please just stay still" his mother said, her voice cracking. "Just let me clean you…"

* * *

 _ **Pandora Lovegood's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (The Rookery – Nearly Five 'o'clock)**_

"Hurry up, Luna" Pandora called out to her daughter, and she heard Luna's little feet pitter-pattering from upstairs.

"I'm coming" Luna called as she ran down the stairs, then she came into Pandora's view. The first thing that Pandora spotted was Luna wearing a wreath made of garlic on her head. _Xeno…_

"Love, remember what we said about wearing that sort of apparel in public?" Pandora smiled down at her daughter, and Luna smiled widely.

"But what if we see a vampire?" Luna asked innocently, and Pandora couldn't help but release a small chuckle. _She's just like her father._

"Love, garlic does nothing to vampires" Pandora hummed as she took the wreath off of Luna's head. "That's all just make believe, and besides, we're going to The Burrow. Mrs. Weasley would never let a vampire into her home, you know that right?"

"Oh, I guess you're right mummy" Luna nodded with a pleasant smile, and Pandora pinched her left cheek softly.

"Good girl, you're so clever" Pandora cooed, and just as predicted, Luna blushed and giggled.

"I'm here, sorry…" came Xeno's ragged breath as he burst through the front door. "I had to get some fresh garlic from the gardens…" Pandora nearly sighed in defeat, but she managed to just hold it back.

"Daddy, we won't run into any vampires" Luna told her father, and the eccentric man blinked at her. "We're going to The Burrow, and Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let vampires into her home now would she?" Xenophilius was about to argue that, but Pandora shot him a warning glare that hitched his voice. _You'd better put that Garlic down, or I swear to Merlin…_ Xeno smiled sheepishly at his wife and daughter, and then he put the garlic on a nearby table.

"You're right Luna, I was just being a little silly" Xeno smiled at Luna, and Luna looked up to Pandora for approval. She missed her father quickly stuff some garlic into his pockets, and Pandora had to bite her tongue in order to not laugh at her husband's antics.

"Come Luna, take my hand" Pandora said as she moved towards the fireplace. "The Burrow" Pandora called as she flicked some Floo-Powder into the fire, and Luna gripped her right hand as the fire blazed green. Pandora then moved through the fire with her daughter in tow, and they both stepped into Weasley Living Room. Luna stumbled a little, but Pandora made sure that her daughter didn't fall over. As they cleared the entryway, Xenophilius stepped through the roaring flames.

"Something's not right in this house" Xenophilius said as he sniffed the air, and Pandora blinked at him. She had learned long ago that her husband had an odd type of instinct when it came to such matters, so she took him quite seriously. "Come" Xeno said firmly as he moved towards the kitchen, and Pandora moved behind her husband with their daughter in tow. She immediately noticed Ron sitting on the table, and her heart leaped into her throat.

"Ron, you're here" Pandora smiled widely, and she felt her daughter let go of her hand in order to race over to him. _He's safe, and he's home._ Ron stood up and faced them, a cloudy look on his face. Luna hugged him tightly, and he patted her back softly. _He's not hugging her back? Something's definitely wrong here._

"Ah, you're here" came Molly's voice, and Pandora finally noticed both Arthur and Molly standing by the sink. They looked… distraught.

"Is everything alright?" Xeno asked slowly, and both Weasley parents nodded with sad smiles. _They're horrible liars. Did they have another fight with their son? Ron, what's happening to you?_

"Luna, you can let go of me now" Ron told her, and that made Pandora's eyes nearly pop out of her head. Luna let him go slowly, and then she gasped in horror.

"Mummy, Ron's a vampire!" Luna shrieked as she ran over to hide behind her mother, and Pandora analyzed Ron's lack of reaction. His eyes made her breathing become jagged, and she felt Xeno tense considerably. Ron's brilliant blue eyes were surrounded in a sea of crimson, and he seemed to be looking through the Lovegood Family rather than at them.

"He isn't a vampire" Molly quickly assured them as she put her arm around Ron. "His eyes were damaged by the Veelas' assault."

"Damaged?" Pandora asked, and then she suddenly heard the sound of fire blazing to life from the Living Room.

"The pup's here" came Sirius' voice, and then both he and Remus burst into the kitchen. "KID!" Sirius bellowed excitedly as he raced over and hugged Ron tightly. "You're alright, you tough little bastard!"

"SIRIUS!" Molly shrieked at him, while Pandora just stared at Ron's lack of reaction. _What's wrong with him?_ She then felt Remus rush past her, and he hugged Ron as soon as Sirius let him go.

"Hello, Harry" Luna said suddenly, and Pandora looked behind her to see Harry walk into the room with a soft smile. The boy's emerald green eyes were fixed on Ron, Remus, and Sirius being reunited, and Pandora couldn't help but detect a note of dejectedness and relief emanate from Harry at the same time. _Children… Was I that insecure at their age?_

"Hi, Luna" Harry greeted her back with a wider smile.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Sirius gasped suddenly, and Pandora looked back to see Remus looking into Ron's eyes with his hands on the boy's cheeks.

"There's blood pooled in them" Ron shrugged casually, and every single person in the room took in a sharp breath. "They gave me a Potion to heal my eyes, but it's working slowly. I won't have any lasting damage, but for the time being, I have to settle with looking like a 'vampire'." Ron then smiled in a way that looked extremely forced, and Pandora couldn't take it anymore. _This isn't Ron! There's no life in this boy, he's just… here._

"Ron, you're acting weird" Luna said immediately.

"He's on a…" Arthur started, but he stopped immediately. "Love, please take Luna and Harry upstairs."

"Come along you two, I just dropped a bundle of food upstairs for the others" Molly smiled at them as she moved towards the stairs. "Everyone is in Percy's room, follow me."

"But I want to see Ron" Luna frowned slightly.

"Sweetheart, do as Mrs. Weasley says" Xeno said firmly, and then he gave his daughter a smile. "Please…" Luna nodded, and both she and Harry began following Mrs. Weasley upstairs. Harry shot inquisitive looks at Ron as he made his way up, but Ron just cocked his eyebrow at Harry. Once Molly had disappeared with the children, Arthur broke the silence.

"We can talk now, there's a Silencing Charm on the stairs" Arthur told them.

"I wish you put that there before I had my panic attack" Ron sighed, and then he moved over and sat back down. " **They** probably heard me going insane…"

"Panic attack?!" Sirius all but yelled, his eyes searching Arthur's for answers. Pandora just stared at Ron, her heart beating as hard as it could. _Panic attack… Acute Stress Disorder, isn't that what he was diagnosed with when he was younger? Is he still dealing with that?_

"He's on a Calming Draught" Arthur told them, his face contorting a little. "But yes… We got into an argument, and he broke down…"

"I didn't break down" Ron frowned slightly.

"An argument?" Remus asked, and Pandora moved further into the room. _They're still fighting about what Arthur tried to do._

"Just some family business" Arthur replied dismissively as he put the kettle on. "Please, take a seat. Greengrass should be here any minute now, and then we can get started." The adults nodded, and they began taking their seats. Pandora moved to sit beside Ron, but Sirius took one of the chairs as he put his arm around Ron.

"Pandora, you can take mine" Remus said understandingly, and Pandora flashed him a grateful smile. As Pandora sat down on Ron's other side, Remus took a seat directly in front of Ron and beside Xeno. Remus let out a grunt as he sat down, and Pandora finally noticed how pale he was. _There was a full moon six days ago, and he's still recovering._

"Remus, are you alright?" Ron asked with a dull tone.

"I'm fine cub, don't worry about me" Remus smiled kindly, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Are you recovering from your transformation?" Ron asked, and the whole room died down. Arthur dropped a mug as he turned to face the table, a panicked look on his face. Pandora, Sirius, and Xeno were just wide-eyed and shocked beyond words. And Remus… Remus looked like he had been sentenced to death.

"Wha… what?" Remus stammered.

"Your Werewolf transformation? Are you still recovering?" Ron asked again. _How does he know? Who could've told him?!_ Pandora looked to Remus with slight panic, and the horrorstricken look on his face made Pandora's heart clench. "I read that it takes a heavy toll on your body, and that you should rest for about a week after. You should take better care of yourself."

"Ron, who told you about Remus?" Sirius asked quickly, his panic evident.

"No one told me" Ron shrugged. "I just see things that others don't, and I've known for a while." An odd sort of smile made its way onto Ron's face, a type of smile that hinted that Ron held all the cards. If Pandora wasn't so terrified on Remus' behalf, she'd probably feel a little proud of Ron's keen perception.

"Ron… I'm not like… like the stories you've read… or heard…" Remus struggled, his fear palpable.

"I don't care about those stories" Ron replied with a slightly confused look. "I just want to know if you're alright, Remus." Ron's words silenced the room again, and Pandora could literally hear her own heartbeat.

"You're not… scared?" Pandora asked slowly.

"Why would I be?" Ron asked as he gave her a confused glance. "Remus has been nothing but good to me, and he's a part of my family. I have no reason to fear him." Ron may not have been in the mindset to realize what his words meant, but every other adult was left awestruck. They were all lost for words, especially Remus who was now just staring down at his clenched hands. "Dad, maybe you should pour Remus some tea first. He looks pale, and sickly. Plus my Potion has already eased my nerves, so I doubt that tea is going to do much for me."

"Of… of course…" Arthur replied, his eyes still fixed on Ron. And then, he smiled widely and turned around to pour the tea. Both Pandora and Sirius couldn't hold back anymore, and they hugged Ron tightly as they sandwiched him between each other.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked in a deadpan voice. "Pandora, your hair is going in my mouth…"

"Sorry…" Pandora released a choked up laugh, but she didn't let go. _Don't ever change, you're just perfect as you are now._

"Than… Thank you, Ron" Remus choked, and Pandora let go of Ron to look at Remus. Their Cursed friend was still staring down at his hands, but she could see the tears running down his face. The sight made her own eyes water, especially after Xeno put a comforting hand on Remus' shoulder. "Thank you…"

"Um… You're welcome" Ron replied slowly. "Remus, are you sure you're alright?"

"I am…" Remus released a strained laugh.

"Pup, Remus is just… really happy, that's all" Sirius beamed at Ron as he ruffled Ron's well-made hair.

"Sirius, it took me ten minutes to get my hair like this" Ron frowned as he tried to avoid Sirius' hand.

"Sorry, kid" Sirius laughed. "You still look incredibly handsome, doesn't he Pandora?"

"He does" Pandora smiled widely.

"Remus?" came Molly's voice from the stairs. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you after" Pandora smiled at Molly, and Molly nodded slowly. _You should be so proud of him, he's one of a kind._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Five 'o'clock)**_

"Do I really have to be here?" Ron asked. "I'm tired…"

"Ron, this is important" Sebastian Greengrass sighed, the man wasn't happy to learn that Ron had suffered another panic attack. "We talked about this, remember?" Pandora wasn't an impatient person, but she had to admit that she just wanted to get this started already. Ever since Sebastian had sent that letter, every adult in this room had been speculating about its contents. And the fact that every adult in Ron's personal life was here at once only worked to worry Pandora even more, she knew that this couldn't be good news. She had seen too many signs already that pointed to something bad, as had the other adults.

"Can we please just get started, I've been constantly thinking about this ever since you sent that letter" Sirius admitted. Every adult, including Mary Greengrass, was currently sitting on the dining table, and it was a tight fit. Sebastian stood at the head of the table, and the file in his hand was making Pandora sweat from worry.

"There's no easy way to say this, so just bear with me" Sebastian said after he drew in a sharp breath, his eyes fixed on Ron. "After the first day of the Tournament, Ron collapsed… I took him home, and I called in a Healer friend of mine. He used a new type of spell that I'm unfamiliar with, and he produced several images of Ron's brain."

"His brain?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, his brain" Sebastian nodded, and then he took out a photo from the folder and slid it across the table. Every eye was glued to it, but none of them really understood it. "That is a picture of Ron's brain when it's in a stable condition." Pandora eyed the brain, and something inside her twisted. She didn't understand the picture, but the fact that they were having this conversation was scaring her. Her mind was trying to jump to conclusions that made her shudder from fear.

"What do you mean by 'stable condition', Sebastian?" Remus asked.

"This picture shows his brain in an unstable condition" Sebastian said as he produced another picture that none of them understood. This picture was mostly just white and blurred, except for a few black spots that were consistent with the previous picture. "As for your question, the human brain can become inflamed from stress or harsh ordeals. Ron's brain was severely inflamed while he fought to resist the Veelas' allures, and therefore his body collapsed on the first and last day of the Tournament."

"They did this to him?" Xeno asked with an angry frown, something that Pandora barely ever saw.

"Their allures did, yes" Mary Greengrass replied.

"Why did you let him compete, Greengrass?" Sirius snarled.

"I chose to compete, don't put that on him" Ron sighed, and everyone looked to Ron. "Why are you blaming him for my choices? Do you have any idea how worried and scared he was? Or the rest of them? No, you don't. I was selfish, and obsessed with winning. Blame me… Just stop pointing fingers at him." No one replied to that, there was just too much to process right now.

"Why? Why do this to yourself?" Molly begged, her eyes were welling up with tears again.

"Because I can't lose" Ron replied monotonously. "I can't keep coming in second place anymore. Oh, and they did try to pull me out. I ran away from their home in order to compete." Pandora was lost for words again, as were the other adults. Her mind couldn't help but draw parallels from Ron's younger days. He had hurt himself before, and all for the sake of being noticed. This was wildly different, but it was still the same.

"Sebastian, keep going" Mary instructed, and he nodded.

"His brain is in a stable condition now, but there is something that you all need to know" Sebastian said in a foreboding tone. "Do you see those black spots in the pictures, they're consistent in both images. That… That is brain damage…" Everyone reacted differently to that. Some of them drew in shocked breath, Molly released a meek cry, but Pandora… Pandora just sat there, her head swimming from Sebastian's words. _Brain damage… Brain damage…_ It was like her world had just ended, and she had no idea on how to react. And then, her heart tightened almost as if someone had grabbed it. _No, no, no, no… NO!_

"Brain damage…" Sirius snarled, his fist clenching and slamming into the table. "Tell me you're lying, Greengrass… Tell me you're fucking lying right now!"

"Sirius…" Remus muttered, he had gone even paler than before. His happiness from being accepted by Ron for who he was completely gone at the moment, it was no doubt replaced by the pain that they were all in now. Pain… and denial.

"This isn't happening…" Pandora muttered to herself, her head spinning. Molly's crying wasn't helping her, and she was beginning to feel queasy.

"How do we fix this? How did it happen?" Xeno asked, a dead-serious look on his face. "Is there any treatment for this kind of damage?"

"It's permanent" Sebastian replied, and that was the last straw for Pandora. She broke down crying, but she did her best to hide her face from Ron.

"No…" Pandora repeated to herself. "No please…" She felt a woman touch her shoulder comfortingly, but it did little to stop her pain.

"It isn't terminal, and we can limit this damage" Mary told them all as she hugged Pandora, a complete stranger, comfortingly. "That's what's important right now, stopping this damage from spreading further."

"How did this happen to him?" Arthur demanded, his voice raw. "Did those Veelas do this?!"

"No…" Sebastian took in a deep breath. "This damage was caused by a severely traumatic event in his life. The attack from the Dark Lord." Even Pandora looked up at that, her pain momentarily stopping from her fear of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "Yes, I know about the attack. I told the Healer Dumbledore's version of events, but the truth is that this was caused by You-Know-Who's assault."

"Merlin…" Arthur muttered, and then he ran towards the sink and threw up. Xeno was up on his feet in a heartbeat, and he was rubbing Arthur's back not a second later. Molly was just hysterical at this point, and Remus was doing his best to comfort her while dealing with his own heartache. Pandora, despite trying to resist, shot a terrified look towards Ron. He was just sitting there, completely uninterested by his surroundings or the fact that Sirius was holding onto him for dear life. His eyes were fixed on the pictures, and he looked to be in deep thought. That's also when Pandora realized that Mary Greengrass was standing beside her, her arm around Pandora's shoulders.

"There's more…" Sebastian said weakly, and Pandora blinked at seeing a man like him having trouble speaking. "Ron was diagnosed to be suffering from Severe Chronic Stress."

"Chronic Stress?" Pandora managed, a fresh batch of tears rolling down her face. "He was diagnosed… diagnosed with an Acute Stress Disorder when he was younger…" Sebastian looked taken aback by that, he clearly had no idea about that. "What's Chronic Stress?"

"Chronic Stress is the response to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period of time in which an individual perceives that they have little or no control over their lives" Sebastian read from the file, and no one understood what he meant.

"What does it mean for him?" Sirius grit out, he was failing keep his emotions in check. "What is Chronic Stress doing to him?"

"The Healer told us that it's partly the reason behind his… odd behavior at times" Mary told them, and all eyes focused on her. "The symptoms of Chronic Stress are irrational behavior, mood swings, severe anxiety, general unhappiness, angry outbursts, and a feeling of loneliness and isolation. Our daughter helped confirm most of these, his friends have all noticed similar patterns with him. Daphne told us…"

"There's no point in telling them everything about me" Ron cut her off, his gaze moving from the pictures to Mary.

"Ron, we discussed this" Sebastian implored. "Remember? There is a difference between pity, and caring. You said that you'd tell the full truth." _Pity?_ Pandora just looked at Ron with overwhelming sympathy, he didn't deserve this. _Of all the people in the world, he deserves this the least._ Ron gave Sebastian a meek nod, and he turned his gaze back to the pictures.

"Daphne told us that Ron is easily angered at school, but he bottles it all up" Mary said slowly, her eyes fixed on Ron and her arm around Pandora. "He disappears into the castle for hours on end, sometimes he doesn't eat for an entire day, becomes upset and saddened without noticeable cause, and that he has trouble expressing himself. His friends do their best to keep their eyes on him, and to keep him happy, but sometimes it's too hard for them. Blaise and Theo even helped him through his first panic attack, but just barely."

"They do that for him?" Molly croaked, her eyes red and puffy. A part of Pandora wanted to find them all, and hug them to death. It eased her heart to know that Ron wasn't completely alone at school.

"They do, but helping him is beyond them" Mary replied. "Ron needs professional help, or his stress will make his brain damage worse."

"Then he gets help" Sirius said firmly as he squeezed Ron against his chest, something that Ron barely even registered. "Where do we start?"

"Dumbledore already took care of that" Sebastian replied, and everyone was stunned by his words. "He saw Ron's behavior, and it made him concerned about his wellbeing. He asked Ron to start seeing Poppy Pomfrey, a qualified Mind-Healer, and Ron has agreed to start seeing her at school. She will help him privately, and she'll teach him how to handle his stress properly."

"What do we do?" Arthur asked, his breathing shallow from vomiting.

"Limit his stress in any way possible" Sebastian told them. "Ron needs to have structure in his life right now, something that he can focus on and accomplish. The things that are happening outside of his control are the things that are causing him to stress so much. And Ron has promised me that he will learn to relax more, my daughter will be sending me regular updates on his school life. Updates that I'll share with all of you."

"What about his studies and work?" Xeno asked. "Are they causing him stress as well?"

"Yes, they are" Sebastian admitted, he knew that he was putting his partnership with Ron on the line now. But getting Ron help was far more important. "His need to be the best is a major contributing factor to his high level of stress, a need which's origins I can't place." _I can… He still hasn't changed from his childhood, he still hurts himself just to prove that he's brilliant too._ The thought made her sniffle and let out a soft sob, she should've seen this coming. "With the proper help, and from our support, Ron can get through this and live a long and happy life. But from now on, his mental health has to be everyone's **priority**."

"Agreed" Sirius and Remus said together.

"Agreed" they all managed to repeat. Pandora looked over to see Ron staring at her, and then he gave her an apologetic smile. Pandora moved forward and yanked him into her bosom, and she nearly squeezed the life out of him as she cried into his hair.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (The Burrow – Breakfast)**_

He had ended up falling asleep last night while the adults were cuddling him and agonizing over his diagnosis, and he had woken up fully dressed on his unconformable bed feeling rather confused. But it was hardly his fault that Pandora's bosom was so comfy. He had spent a few minutes recollecting his thoughts and memories of the previous day, and then he had made his way downstairs. It was around seven in the morning, and all of his family members were already awake. The room had gone dead silent when he entered, but his mother had fixed that by making a fuss about him looking 'gaunt and unfed'.

Harry had left with Sirius and Remus last night, Luna had stayed behind and slept in Ginny's room while her parents went back to the Rookery, and Lord and Lady Greengrass had also returned home. Ron decided to hand out his presents that were still where he had left them, mostly just to ease the tension in the room. His siblings had heard his screaming match with their parents, but instead of being angry, they were mostly just scared for him. They could tell that something bad had happened to him, and they were no doubt irritated about the fact that no one was telling them anything.

Luna and Ginny had accepted their gifts rather happily, Ginny especially. His red-haired little sister had dragged off his blonde little sister upstairs to try on their new clothes immediately after thanking Ron with a kiss on the cheek. Percy had also accepted his new Caran D'ache Luxury Pen with a wide smile and a 'thank you hug'. When he had handed the twins their new Muggle joke items, the twins had grinned widely and run off to tamper with them without even thanking Ron. He didn't really care though, that's just how they were. When something caught their attention, it caught all of it and everything else fell away. His parents however, felt differently as they both grit their teeth at the stairs.

Ron had then handed his father his new Muggle camera, and then spent the next ten minutes explaining how it worked just like the clerk at the shop had told him. His father was more than grateful, and he had hugged Ron harder than ever before. Although that pleased Ron, it also annoyed him because he knew that it was coming from worry rather than a positive feeling. After that, Ron had finally given his mother her new gold ruby necklace. She had, of course, teared up and nearly crushed him to death. But at least she hadn't asked him how much it cost him. She had simply accepted her new gift with a happy, and tearful, expression. Ron had then handed her the gifts for Charlie, Bill, Xeno, and Pandora in the hopes that she would pass them along, which she agreed to do as soon as possible. He had kept Sirius and Remus' gift to himself, he wanted to 'surprise' them at Platform 93/4 today.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Platform 9**_ _ **3/4**_ _ **– Ten Minutes before Departure)**_

"Don't I look amazing in this?" Ginny laughed happily as she showed Ron her outfit for the tenth time. She was wearing a white t-shirt, skinny blue jeans, black boots, and a thin black leather jacket. She looked unrecognizable in such Muggle clothes, but they did suit her. _I'm just glad that she's coming back to Hogwarts, she needs to get out there and start living again. Plus, I'm going to refer her to Pomfrey._

"Yes, Ginny" Ron smiled as they walked towards Sirius and Remus, who were accompanied by Harry. "You look stunning."

"Thanks" Ginny giggled, her expensive new clothes boosting her confidence. "It's Harry…" Ginny muttered as she saw the Boy-Who-Lived, her cheeks going red. Ron's eyes darting back and forth between the two, and he felt his temper flare. _Is she still crushing on him? Why? He's clearly not all that powerful, and those tales about him were just hippogriff shite._

"We should greet him, don't you think?" Luna piped in, she too was unrecognizable in her new Muggle clothes. Unlike Ginny, Luna was wearing a bright yellow sundress with long brown boots and black leggings. And to cover her upper body, she was wearing a big puffy coat. She looked… as odd as ever. "C'mon Ginny, let's go say hi" Luna said as she all but dragged Ginny behind her. _What the fuck, Luna?_ Ron decided to part from his brothers and parents, and he followed after the girls.

"Kid!" Sirius grinned widely at the sight of Ron and his sisters. "Remus and I were looking for you. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine" Ron shrugged, and he didn't miss Harry and the girls looking at him inquisitively. _Please stop, it's none of your concern. It's bad enough that so many people already know, I don't need you lot to start 'caring' for me too._

"Hi, Harry" Ginny suddenly greeted, her cheeks rosy and a soft smile on her face. _Wow, really?_

"Oh, hello" Harry smiled at her, and then he looked at her clothes and went wide-eyed. "Wow, nice clothes. You look really good in them, Ginny." Ginny went crimson, Sirius grinned proudly, Remus smiled sagely, Luna smiled at Ginny, and Ron nearly attacked Harry. But instead of doing that, he just stared at Harry with his terrifying eyes. Harry noticed him staring immediately, and his discomfort became rather visible. "I'm going to hop onto the train… I'll write to you both." Harry then hugged Remus and Sirius, and he shrank away from Ron's lingering gaze.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Ginny frowned at him, her voice haughty.

"Nothing" Ron replied as he stared at Harry climbing onto the train. _Does he want me to break his fucking legs? If so, there are easier ways to convince me to do that than to hit on my sister._

"That was really rude, Harry was just being nice" Ginny bit out, and Ron turned his glare to her.

"Go find mum and dad, and don't leave their sight" Ron ordered, his gaze cutting right through her. She was about to argue, but Luna took her hand and pulled her away.

"Come on Ginny, I want to see my parents too" Luna said as she dragged Ginny away.

"Well… that was awkward" Sirius chuckled, and even Remus let out a soft laugh. "Kid, did you really have to stare down poor Harry like that?"

"Did he really have to hit on my sister like that?" Ron shot back, a slight frown on his face.

"It was just a compliment, cub" Remus smiled at Ron.

"And let my Godson spread his wings a little" Sirius laughed. "Not everyone can be a lady-killer like us, pup."

"Us? I'm no lady-killer…" Ron admitted. _And if I was, a certain Lady would kill me._

"Really?" Sirius hummed, and Remus shot him a warning look. _Here we go… Banter-time._

"Sirius, get your mind out of the gutter" Remus frowned slightly. "Ron, please ignore this idiot."

"Remember that letter you sent us back during Christmas?" Sirius asked as he wiggled his eyebrows at Ron, something that made Ron blush. _Damnit!_ "You little hound-dog you…"

"Where is your trunk, Ron?" Remus asked with a tired sigh, when would Sirius grow up?

"Daphne is bringing it, I left it back at Greengrass Manor" Ron replied.

"When do I get to meet the young Lady Greengrass?" Sirius asked, his grin showing all of his pearly whites.

"Don't grin so widely, you look like you have eighty teeth" Ron frowned, and Sirius guffawed at Ron's blush.

"And not two brain cells to rub together" Remus added.

"Oi, what the fuck?" Sirius looked to Remus with a betrayed look. Ron shook his head, and he noticed that people were boarding the train.

"Here" Ron said as he handed them their 'gift'. "I got this for you two when I was in Paris."

"Ron, you didn't have to get us a gift" Remus smiled kindly at Ron while Sirius took the book and read the cover.

"He didn't" Sirius laughed, and then he handed Remus the book. "You little shite!" Ron let out a laugh at Sirius' reaction.

"You little shite, indeed" Remus chuckled. "I think I'll start reading this as soon as possible. I do have a man-child to take care of while Harry is away."

"What the fuck, Remus?" Sirius glared at Remus, while Remus and Ron both laughed at 'Lord' Black. "You just turn on me when the kid is around, is that it?"

"I do like him more" Remus shrugged.

"Well, fuck the both of you then" Sirius gave them both the bird.

"Oh no… We hurt his feelings" Ron pouted, and Remus sniggered. The train honked loudly, and Ron turned to look at everyone saying their goodbyes and boarding the train. "Well, gents… I must say my goodbyes" Ron smiled at them.

"Take care, kid" Sirius stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Just please take care of yourself, that's all I'll ask." Ron hugged him back just as tightly.

"I will do my best" Ron responded. They broke their hug, and then Ron hugged Remus.

"Take care, Ron" Remus squeezed him tightly. _I should address what I said to him yesterday, just so he knows that it wasn't the Potion talking._

"I meant what I said yesterday, Remus" Ron told him. "You're family, and your Curse will never change that." Remus squeezed him more tightly at that, and Ron smiled to himself. They broke their hugs, and Ron shot them both a smile. "I'm going to go quickly find mum and dad, and hopefully Pandora and Xeno. Don't kill each other while I'm at Hogwarts."

"No promises" they both smiled, and Ron jogged over to where he thought he saw his parents. He missed the sad looks both men were giving him, but perhaps that was for the best.

"There you are" his mother fussed when she saw him. "Where did you run off to, Ron?"

"Sirius and Remus" Ron told her, and then he looked around. His father, Xeno, and Pandora were smiling at him, and he could feel their worry emanating from them. _My siblings have already boarded the train._ "Well, I'd better go" Ron told them, and his mother nodded. _Should I hug her? I'm still… No, just do it. Have to move past this for the future, my job is to protect them._ Ron stepped forward and gave his mother a hug, something that surprised her momentarily before she nearly crushed his rib-cage. _Mistakes were made, Entity… Mistakes were made._

"Please be safe, and don't stress too much" his mother choked, she was tearing up again.

"I'll be fine, I promise" Ron said as he broke the hug. "Quick hugs, people. I don't plan to get left behind." They all chuckled softly at that, it was good to see that he still had his sense of humor. One by one they each hugged him, and they all told him to write to them.

"Don't forget that we love you" Pandora smiled sadly. "And please see Pomfrey as much as you can."

"I will" Ron chuckled as he hopped onto the closest train entrance.

"Make sure that you eat properly, son!" his father waved. "And don't forget to enjoy yourself!" Ron waved back at them, and he could see their concern as they waved back frantically. Ron kept waving until the Hogwarts Express turned the corner, and he lost sight of them. Ron entered the carriage properly, and he noticed that he was in the Hufflepuff carriage. _Damn, I need to go through the Gryffindor carriage to get to my friends. I just hope Daphne brought my trunk onto the train for me, and I should thank her for that. Helios will probably make it to Hogwarts by tonight or tomorrow morning._

Ron began making his way through the Hufflepuff carriage, and he immediately felt their eyes linger on him. Their looks were followed by hushed whispers and comments of awe, and Ron did his best to ignore them. But there was no denying that he liked this feeling, like he was someone extremely important. _Is this how Harry feels all the time? Then why does he not embrace it?_

"Hi, Ron" came a familiar voice as Ron was passing a compartment, and he turned around to see Justin Finch-Fletchley stick his head out of the compartment. The boy was instantly alarmed by Ron's eyes, something that made Ron smile mischievously.

"Hello, Justin" Ron greeted back in a polite manner. "And relax, my eyes…"

"They bled, didn't they?" Justin asked quickly, and Ron blinked. "It's been all over the news. They said that you did the impossible, but it hurt you a lot!" _Why the fuck does he sound so pleased about it?_

"They did indeed bleed, and it did hurt a lot" Ron admitted, and Justin mouthed the word 'Wow'.

"Susan's been talking about you non-stop" Justin told him, and Ron narrowed his eyes as he remembered his year-mates from Hufflepuff.

"Susan Bones?" Ron asked, and Justin nodded.

"Susan, come say hello" Justin said to someone inside his compartment, and Ron heard muffled talking. "What? He's actually a great guy, despite being in Slytherin." _What the fuck?_ Ron then heard some movement, and Susan Bones stepped out of the compartment as she shot Justin a glare.

"Hi" she smiled weakly, her eyes fixed on his. Ron noted that she wore her hair in a long plait down her back, and that she was rather pretty. _Not nearly half as pretty as Daphne, but still really pretty. But then again, Daphne is the prettiest girl in the class not counting the Patil twins. Or maybe Lavender on a really good day._

"Hello" Ron greeted back as he held his gloved hand out for a Pure-Blood greeting. She looked at his hand, and then she slowly put her left one in his gloved one. "Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself politely as he kissed her knuckles and gave her a short bow.

"Sus… Susan Bones…" she blushed, and Ron grinned inwardly. _Sirius was right, I'm a lady-killer! No! Stop it… Daphne would be hurt if you start acting like that._

"See, he's really polite and nothing like Malfoy" Justin grinned.

"Thank Merlin for that" Ron joked, earning a chuckle from both Hufflepuffs. "Justin, are you still interested in keeping our study group together?"

"I don't see why not" Justin replied with a smile, and Ron turned his smile to Susan Bones.

"It's an open invitation, please feel free to join us" Ron told her, and she nodded fervently. Ron let go of her hand at that, and she fiddled with it with her other hand. "Now please excuse me, but I really ought to find my friends. It was nice to properly meet you, Susan."

"You too… Ron" Susan smiled a little more widely.

"Take care, mate" Justin beamed as Susan re-entered the compartment, and Ron gave him a parting nod. Ron then turned around and started making his way towards the Slytherin carriage. The whispers followed him, and he fought the urge to smile. Sure, people already knew his name and achievements, but now he was almost as famous as Harry. _Okay, probably not… But still, it feels nice to know that my hard-work paid off._ Ron made his way into the Gryffindor carriage, and he immediately spotted the Golden Trio walking back to their carriage from the Slytherin carriage. _What the…? Oh, they were probably looking for me._ Ron made his way towards them, and they spotted him rather quickly.

"Ron!" Hermione beamed, and he smiled back at her. "You're alright!" she exclaimed as she ran up and hugged him. _Um… Alright then._

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ron asked, and she pulled back with a frown.

"Because you bled from every orifice, genius" she stated haughtily.

"Hold on a second" Ron said quickly. "It was just my nose, eyes, and mouth…"

"That's what I just said" Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"No, you said every orifice" Ron stated slowly, and she blinked at him.

"He means that you implied that he bled from his… other openings" Neville jumped in, and then he smiled at Ron. "You alright, mate?" Neville asked as Hermione went wide-eyed from figuring out what Ron had meant.

"Getting better" Ron shrugged. "Wait, you're not scared of my eyes?"

"I warned them beforehand" Harry replied. "I didn't want them to be caught off-guard."

"You just ruined a great prank, you know that right?" Ron rolled his eyes and grinned.

"This isn't funny, you could've died Ron" Hermione scolded in her haughty tone, and both Gryffindor boys rolled their eyes as well. "You were careless, and incredibly foolish."

"But I won" Ron smirked, and Hermione frowned deeply.

"Winning isn't as important as your life" Hermione retorted. _It is for me._

"Hermione, give him a break" Harry sighed. "He pulled off something amazing, let him have that."

"Thank you, Harry" Ron smiled at him. _But if you hit on my sister again, I'll pull your arms off._

"Did you get my letter?" Neville asked nervously, and Ron nodded.

"Yeah, I got it in Paris" Ron replied. "Sorry for not replying, but I was barely holding it all together. And yes, I'd love to join Lady Longbottom and you for dinner in the Holidays." Neville smiled extra widely when Ron said 'Lady Longbottom', and Ron figured that he was imagining things.

"Excellent, Gran will be so pleased to hear that" Neville beamed. "I'll let her know as soon as possible. By the way, Greengrass was looking for you. She was… mildly annoyed." _Oh shite, what did I do this time?_

"Mildly?" Hermione scoffed. "She was incredibly rude, as was Davis."

"What did they say?" Ron sighed.

"Davis told us to sod off" Harry shrugged. "While Greengrass just told us that even if she knew where you were, she wouldn't tell us. I thought that we'd at least get along a little better after the whole… Salazar business." _Why would you? We had a common goal, and now we don't. Oh, and you stole all the credit for our hard-work._

"They're just looking out for me, that's all" Ron smiled. "Don't let it bother you."

"So, Greengrass' father is your mentor? Right?" Hermione asked, her tone coming out as rather deliberate. Ron looked over to the Gryffindor boys, and they were looking at him with some sort of expectation. _What the hell is this?_

"Yes, he is" Ron replied slowly.

"You spent the Break with her and Mr. Greengrass…" Hermione started, but Ron cut her off.

"Lord" Ron corrected immediately, and Hermione blinked in surprise. "It's Lord Greengrass."

"Oh…" Hermione muttered, a dejected look marring her features. Even Harry seemed to dislike what Ron had just said, but it was Neville's reaction that confused Ron the most. Neville looked almost… smug.

"Lord Greengrass, Head of the Ancient and Noble house of Greengrass" Neville stated. "Right?"

"Yeah…" Ron nodded slowly. "You're all being weird…"

"What's weird is that you call someone 'my Lord'…" Hermione muttered under her breath, but unfortunately for her, Ron caught that.

"It's out of respect" Ron told her in a blunt tone. They were friends, but he refused to let her insult his mentor in any way. "And believe me, he's earned my respect a thousand times over."

"We'll let you meet up with your friends" Harry said suddenly as he managed a weak smile. Hermione moved past Ron, she was clearly irritated by something.

"What? What did I say?" Ron asked, and Neville put a firm hand on his right shoulder.

"Nothing mate, you stuck by your way of thinking" Neville smiled. "It's important to respect our customs, no matter how old they are." _What the fuck?_ Neville then followed after Harry and Hermione, and he shot Ron another smile as he entered their compartment. _What a bunch of weirdos… What in the actual fuck was that about?_ Ron shook his head clear, and then he made his way towards the Slytherin carriage. Once he was inside, he peaked through all the windows in an attempt to find his friends. He got wide-eyed looks, smiles, hushed whispers, and even a few waves. He returned them out of politeness, but he knew that his house-mates were probably planning to use him in some way.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed as he entered the right compartment, and his friends immediately looked to him.

"Where were you?" Daphne asked immediately, and Ron grinned sheepishly.

"I jumped onto the Hufflepuff carriage, and made my way from there" Ron shrugged, and then he looked for an open spot. There was only one, and it was in between Daphne and the window. _I won't even pretend that that's a coincident. Not that I'm complaining, mind you._ Ron walked over and sat down in 'his' spot. "How was everyone's Break?"

"Really?" Theo chuckled. "Fuck our Break, tell us how you did it!"

"Did what?" Ron smirked.

"How did you become such a massive twat?" Theo asked, and Ron frowned as his friends laughed at his expense.

"I'm going to take up Harry on his open offer to join their compartment" Ron started to stand, but Daphne quickly pulled him back down.

"C'mon Ron, we're dying to hear how you did it" Pansy pleaded, a massive smile on her face. "Daphne won't tell us, so you have to. Also, your eyes are really frightening…"

"Yeah, sorry about that" Ron chuckled.

"Did the Veelas do that to you?" Blaise asked.

"Sort of, but I sort of did it to myself" Ron admitted, and that earned him confused looks.

"Um… Is that a riddle?" Millie asked.

"Resisting them took a great deal of effort, and concentration" Ron replied, and he shuddered as he remembered the pain that he was in.

"Did it hurt?" Tracey asked quickly. "I read that it hurt you a lot, and that you were all but passed out by the end of each day."

"It did hurt…" Ron nodded.

"It was horrible" Daphne sighed. "I've never seen something so… so cruel. He was barely able to see, and he couldn't even stand by the end of each day."

"Merlin…" Theo muttered as he gazed at Ron with awe. "You're a bloody mad-man, you know that right?"

"Ron, you could've died" Millie frowned, her voice laced with worry. "Please don't do that again… Even **my** parents were shocked to read about what happened to you during the finals, and Pansy and I…" she trailed off. _Great, now I feel like a bastard._

"Why did you bleed like that?" Blaise asked, his voice was more curious than concerned.

"I suffered from a… um…" Ron tried to remember the word.

"He suffered from a Subconjunctival hemorrhage" Daphne told them, and Ron nodded.

"That sounds bad" Tracey went pale. "That sounds really bad…"

"It means that the blood vessels in my eyes burst, and the blood pooled in my eyes" Ron told them, and he saw them all go pale. Pansy in particular. "That's why my eyes are like this, and no, it's not permanent. They gave me a Potion that's healing me slowly."

"How? How did you resist so much?" Mille asked. "Ron, that's not even… human." _You have no clue how right you are, Millie._

"You are human, right?" Theo asked quickly.

"Yes, I'm human" Ron sighed. "I just refused to give up…"

"So stubborn" Daphne frowned. "It was a horror show for my family, seeing Ron put himself through that over and over again." Ron gave her an apologetic smile, and that weakened her frown considerably.

"Wait, you explained why your eyes bled" Blaise blinked. "Why did you bleed from your nose and mouth?"

"High blood pressure was the reason for my nose bleed" Ron replied. "As for my mouth… I bit the inside of my mouth open…"

"Why?" Pansy asked, her skin a soft shade of green.

"To keep my focus on anything but the allures" Ron smiled weakly. His friends went dead quiet at that, and Ron wasn't sure how he felt about their stares. Their looks were a mix of horror, awe, concern, and a hint of confusion.

"You're a damn monster" Tracey broke the silence, and Ron chuckled.

"Maybe…" Ron shrugged as he relaxed into his seat.

"Not maybe Ron… You're certifiably insane" Tracey muttered as she stared at him with a slightly gaping mouth.

"Probably…" Ron sighed as he looked out of the window. _I certainly need professional help._

"So…" Daphne said softly. "How was everyone else's break?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: And it's finished! Sorry again for the delay, but life is crazy like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know there was a lot of angst in this one, but I saw no way around it. Ron has sort of started rebuilding his relationship with his parents again, especially after he got all of his anger at them out. But it will take time, and therapy, for him to fully move on.**

 **Now, the Hermione POV... All I will say is that she is growing up too, and despite what most FF's on this website tend to show, Hermione is not a perfect character. If anything, she's the most stubborn of the Trio. Remember third year? When she went behind Ron and Harry's back just to get her way, or how she refused to admit that her cat may have killed Scabbers despite suspecting it to be true, or how she acted with the elves later on in the story? Or how she just expected Ron to pluck up the courage to ask her out, and yet she did nothing to make a move on him first. She has a very black-and-white view of the world, and I won't change her core character for the sake of this story. Not just on a whim, character development has to take time. You can't change overnight. No one gets the 'perfect person' treatment in this story, Mary Sues are not my forte. And no, I don't hate her character. I love all the characters because they are my childhood, so I want to do right by them. Even if it sometimes means making them annoying or stubborn or vexing. Hell, the protagonist of this story can very frustrating.**

 **Rant over, and now some hints: Ron goes to Pomfrey, and he isn't as keen on it as she wants him to be. Pansy and Millie raise a certain concern about Ron to Daphne. Ron and Draco talk (Angst is coming). Time will pass by faster, and Ron will chose his electives for third year. Second year comes to a close, and the House-Cup Ceremony takes place. (I wonder who will win?)**

 **See you on Wednesday!**


	53. Chapter 53 - Diagnosis

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 53 is here, and it's a little late. Sorry about that, but I have midterms and I overestimated myself a lot. Studies turned out to take up most of my time, and I was having trouble with this Chapter. Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. I decided not to rush to the end of Second year just yet, instead I focused on the first week back.**

 **2\. No Draco or House-Cup, sorry.**

 **3\. With this week done, I've sort of implemented Ron's new system at School. Now I can more easily fast forward time, as I believed that rushing his return to Hogwarts wasn't right.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 53 – Diagnosis**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Great Hall – Welcome Back Feast)**_

Ron sat on the Slytherin table alongside his friends and house-mates, all of them eager to hear Dumbledore's welcome back speech so that they could start eating. And yet, mostly every single eye within the Great Hall was trained on Ron. People were whispering things about him, some of them even smiled and waved at him. Even the Professors were shooting him subtle looks, but at least they were visibly pleased to see that he was alright. Ron honestly had no clue about how he should deal with his sudden fame and popularity. So he figured that he'd just be friendly, and do his best not to get a big head. His mission to save the future required a lot of secrecy, and being loud and obnoxious would not benefit him at all. He needed to stay hidden, at least for now.

While Ron had become a celebrity over the Break, and he and Daphne had gotten closer than ever, his friends were not so fortunate. Tracey was visibly annoyed by how her Break had gone, her main problem being that her father embarrassed her by constantly hounding after Theo. Theo himself had not enjoyed said hounding, and he was probably not going to stay over at Tracey's anytime soon. Blaise had told them all about Malfoy lying to his family, and then about his stay with his mother. He too did not have a decent experience, mostly because she constantly talked about him needing to stay friends with Ron (Much to Ron's surprise). As for Pansy and Millie, well they actually enjoyed their Break somewhat. Pansy had ended up spending her entire Break at the Bulstrode Family Manor, and she and Mille had bonded quite a bit. They were even sitting together right now, all smiles and giggles. Ron was extremely happy about that, he didn't want Pansy staying with her 'mother' for a moment longer than necessary.

"Welcome, welcome" Dumbledore spoke loudly from his golden podium, and all the whispered died down. "I hope you all enjoyed your Easter Break, I certainly enjoyed eating copious amounts of chocolate. But alas, all good things must come to an end." The Professors frowned at Dumbledore for encouraging the students' annoyance at coming back to school. "Now I know that many of you are eager to begin our delightful feast, but I do have some important announcements to make. First and foremost, I speak to all fifth year and seventh year students."

"You're tutoring by me is no longer optional, I expect you all to turn up for your revision lessons" Dumbledore went on, and there were loud groans from the fifth and seventh year students. "The D.A.D.A classes in particular are mandatory, and those who skip them, will answer directly to their Head of House." _Why are they groaning and complaining? They're getting private lessons from Albus Dumbledore himself._ "Now, onto happier news. I would like to congratulate Mr. Ronald Weasley for his spectacular win at this year's Junior League Chess Tournament." The Slytherin table erupted in cheers, most of the students yelling just to show Ron off to the other houses. Ron himself was a bit stunned, but he put on a grateful smile and let the praise wash over him.

"A truly outstanding win, well done" Dumbledore said over the cheers, his eyes twinkling at Ron. The other houses cheered and clapped as well, some more than others. "Your Championship Trophy has been delivered to us, and placed within the Trophy Room besides your other Trophies. You have mine, and the Professors', appreciation for representing Hogwarts once again." There were some whistles, and Theo gave Ron's back a firm pat. "Now one last thing" Dumbledore said as he raised his hands for silence. "This applies to all students who wish to participate in our daily Quidditch matches. I have heard rumors that the Quidditch Teams have been 'hogging the pitch far too much', and I hope that this is not true. Therefore, Madam Hooch will now coordinate with the Heads of Houses to give everyone a fair chance to play." The Quidditch Teams were visibly annoyed by that, especially the Quidditch Captains.

"Now, let the feast… begin" Dumbledore said in his usual way, and he clapped his hands to summon mountains of food onto the tables. Ron dug right in, respectfully of course, and so did his friends.

"Merlin, I missed this food" Blaise sighed.

"You were in Italy" Pansy blinked at him. "How did you not eat amazing food every day?"

"My mother's standards in food are on par with her standards when it comes to men" Blaise replied coldly, his response making them all slightly uncomfortable. _Only Blaise could say something so disturbing with a straight face._

"Wait… Didn't you say that she liked me?" Ron asked slowly, and Blaise smirked at him. "Tosser…"

"All jokes aside" Blaise said after he swallowed his bite. "You should take my warnings seriously, my mother is only interested in your fame. That's just how she is… If she sees anyone excel at something, she comes out with her hands put together. She will definitely tell you what you want to hear, and she'll make sure that we stay best friends."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ron asked.

"Also, I'm his best friend" Theo quickly interjected.

"You're both my best friends, now please answer me" Ron chuckled.

"What about us?" Tracey frowned at Ron. _Shite, I've started something bad._

"You're all my best friends, now can we please let Blaise answer" Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"That's a coward's answer, Ron" Millie interrupted. "You can only have one best friend. That's what the word 'Best' means. There can only be one person who's the best at something." _Fucking hell… The Entity is my best friend! There! Now nobody wins!_

"Then Marty is my best friend" Ron shrugged, and they all blinked at him.

"Marty doesn't count" Pansy retorted. "He's your servant, it's completely different."

"I'm going to start throwing punches if you guys don't let Blaise answer" Ron frowned, and the girls all huffed. Except for Daphne, she was just smiling to herself as if she was already sure that she was his best friend.

"Anyway…" Blaise rolled his eyes. "My mother is slippery, and not to be trusted. She turned her back on Malfoy the moment she read that exclusive of yours, and that's because she only likes people who can benefit her. The moment she finds someone else to benefit off of, she'll turn her back on you as well. This is just a temporary solution, but I'm working on finding a more permanent one."

"You could always just tell her that you want to be my friend" Ron suggested, and Blaise frowned.

"Don't be naïve, I depend on her" Blaise responded coldly, and Ron hid his hurt with a smirk. _Would he leave if his mother told him to? Even after I fought so hard against my parents just to stay in Slytherin with them?_ Ron didn't want the answer to that, mostly because he feared that Blaise would indeed leave. Both Theo and Blaise had left Ron before, and sooner or later, they'd all have to pick a side. _Just keep working on them, Blaise already told me that he doesn't really care about Blood-Purity anymore. Just keep your eyes fixed on the future, that's all you need to do._ Ron felt a cold sweat at the thought of losing his friends to the wrong side, and he looked down at his plate to hide his worry.

"You alright, mate?" Theo asked slowly, and Ron nodded.

"Yeah, just… I'm just a bit under the weather" Ron lied as he took in a deep breath in order to calm his nerves.

"Are you recovering from the Veelas?" Tracey asked gently, and Ron nodded. After a few seconds, his 'stress moment' had passed and he looked back up. Theo and Blaise seemed to look rather indifferent, while the girls showed some worry for him. Daphne was staring right at him, and he shot her a weak smile to let her know that he was fine.

Dinner progressed as usual from there, with all of them bantering and talking about classes. Ron decided to retry in making them interested in self-defense classes, but only Millie agreed to join him. After the dinner bell rang, Ron and his friends made their way down to the Slytherin common room. He could hear his name being muttered, and a lot of nonsense about why his eyes were the way they were. He mostly just ignored the voices, but he could see that his friends were trying to listen in. Once they were in the common room, Ron guided his friends to their favorite spot as quickly as he could. He really didn't want to get cornered.

"So…" Theo broke the silence, a grin forming on his face. "We're famous around Hogwarts now, aren't we?"

"We?" Millie and Pansy asked together.

"There is no 'we', Theo" Pansy added quickly. "Ron's the one that they're all talking about."

"Yeah, but we're his friends" Theo told them, and everyone looked to Theo for what was clearly going to be a crazy explanation. "What's the point of him being famous if we don't get something out of it?"

"Wow…" the girls all muttered.

"Theo, even I think that your way of thinking about this is rather selfish" Blaise said aloofly.

"Ron went through a lot, Theo" Daphne stated in a threatening tone. "Don't you dare ruin this for him, or I'll murder you."

"Woah, ease up" Theo chuckled. "I was only joking…"

"Really?" Tracey blinked.

"No, not at all" Theo sniggered, earning himself multiple eye rolls. "Ron, mate" Theo looked to Ron. "You don't mind if I throw your name around a little, do you? I'm sure that some girl will go for the smarter best friend."

"Sure, mate" Ron laughed as he stared into the fire, and Theo grinned widely. "Just don't set me up with any of them, and you can do whatever you want." That earned him a variety of looks. Blaise and Theo just blinked, but didn't say anything. Tracey was glaring at Theo, who didn't even seem to notice her. Daphne was somewhat blushing, and trying to contain her smirk. While Millie and Pansy exchanged slow looks, and then stared at Ron. "Merlin… I'm so tired…" Ron yawned as he stared into the fire, completely oblivious to their reactions.

"Ronald" came a sweet voice from behind them, and Ron turned in his seat to look at Clara. "Do you have minute to spare for little old me?"

"For you, always" Ron smirked, and Clara smiled widely at his response. Ron then got up, and looked to his friends. "I'll be heading to bed after this. I'll see you girls tomorrow morning, yeah?"

"Goodnight, Ron" the girls all said with pleasant smiles, and Ron smiled back. After that, he followed Clara away from his friends.

"Goodnight, Ron" Clara mimicked the girls in a sweet voice, and then she tangled her left arm with his right one. People were watching them, but Ron was sure that that was what Clara wanted. "You little devil, Ron. So popular with the ladies, I'm quite jealous."

"Why? Want to take them off my hands?" Ron chuckled, and she let out a giggle. _Merlin, she smells nice. And I can feel the side of her chest with my arm!_

"I am not jealous of you, I am jealous of them" Clara clarified with a wicked smile. "You're not cheating on me, are you?" Ron blushed slightly at that, which only made her smile more wickedly. "You're so cute. Except for your eyes… Your eyes are rather creepy."

"Thanks" Ron sighed. "Words hurt, Clara…"

"Aw…" Clara cooed. "I'll be sure to make it up to you then. Tell me, what would you like me to do to make it up to you?" Ron felt a little lightheaded from her tone, and from her closeness. "There's the full blush that I wanted."

"Where are we going?" Ron asked as they suddenly turned towards the girls' dorms. "I don't think I should be in here…"

"And who's going to tell you off when you're with me?" Clara asked as she tightened her hold on his arm, her soft chest squeezing against his upper arm. _Daphne fucking Greengrass, that's who. She'll kill us both, trust me._ "Don't worry so much Ron, I'm taking you to my room."

"You… Your room?" Ron stammered, a cold sweat running down his back.

"To talk, Ron" Clara giggled. "You're so dirty minded."

"I'm dirty minded?" Ron asked as he gave her confused look. "Have you ever met this girl named Clara Martyris?"

"I think I have" Clara hummed. "I hear that she's an excellent kisser, and that she has quite the figure."

"I've heard some things too" Ron teased, and she gave him another wicked smile.

"What things?" Clara whispered in his ear, and he swallowed thickly. "Go on, Ron. Tell me what you've heard about Clara Martyris." _Merlin, I'm getting aroused… Turn your pelvis, you fool. No wait, she'll see you turning. Oh fuck me, I'm buggered…_ "You've flushed scarlet, Ron. What's wrong?" she asked with an innocent voice. _SHE KNOWS I HAVE A SEMI! Why didn't I wear my fucking school cloak?!_

"Nothing…" Ron muttered as he flushed even more, and he looked ahead and thought of anything but Clara. _Go down you fucker, stop waking up!_

"Ah, here we are" Clara suddenly announced, and Ron stopped when she did. "I'll go in first, while you… calm down a bit." Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head from embarrassment, but Clara just smiled. "Don't worry Ron, I just have that effect on every boy in this house." With that, she turned around and walked into her room. Ron honestly felt like drowning himself in the Black Lake, this couldn't possibly get any worse. _You can resist Veelas, but you can't stop me from getting stiff? Entity, you're a proper cunt!_ Ron paced up and down for almost a minute, and then he knocked on her door.

"Come in" came Samantha's voice, and Ron entered and closed the door behind him. He noticed that Samantha was the only girl in the room, and that she was wearing her school uniform loosely. She had no tie, her two upper buttons were undone, and she wasn't wearing her cloak. She had a nice figure, even if she was a little too skinny. But her long legs made Ron blush, despite the fact that they were covered with black stockings.

"Hello" Ron greeted lamely, his eyes quickly scanning the room. There were three beds, two really tidy and one rather messy. _I bet I could guess which one is Clara's. Wait… Are those her panties on her bed?! What the fuck?!_ Ron quickly averted his gaze from the black lace panties, and he looked straight at Samantha. Her eyes quickly drifted to where Ron's were just a moment ago, and she frowned deeply.

"Sorry about her" Samantha smiled slightly. "She can be a massive slob."

"I heard that" came Clara's voice from the bathroom, and then both she and Carey Ductu stepped out in their pajamas. Carey was wearing green silk pajamas that were similar to Daphne's silver ones, but Clara was simply wearing tiny green shorts and a black tank top. _Good lord above, her tits are huge! And she has great legs as well!_ "Eyes up here, Ron" Clara giggled, but she made no effort to hide her assets.

"Then stop flaunting them in his face" Samantha sighed. "And clean your bed, we just got back to Hogwarts."

"What did you all want to talk about?" Ron asked quickly as he decided to stare at the ground in front of him. _I am not getting another semi in front of Clara again, much less in front of Carey and Samantha._

"Ron, it's rude to stare elsewhere when you talk to your friends" Carey said in her silky voice. "Look at me." Ron slowly looked up to her, and he saw her leaning against her bed-post. She had a serious look on her face, like she was studying his face. "Merlin, your eyes are haunting…"

"Yeah, sorry about that" Ron replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What happened?" Samantha asked him. "We read the Daily Prophet just like everyone else, but we don't care about rumors or lies." All three girls were now looking at him seriously, even Clara.

"I suffered a… a Subconjunctival hemorrhage" Ron replied as he remembered the words, and all three girls drew in sharp breaths.

"Why? Was it from their allures?" Carey asked.

"Yes, and no" Ron replied. "To resist their allures, I had to concentrate really hard. That raised my blood pressure so much that I bled from my nose, and the blood vessels in my eyes burst."

"Fucking hell" Clara gasped.

"How did you concentrate that hard?" Samantha asked. _You don't want to know, believe me._

"I wanted to win" Ron shrugged, making sure to keep his eyes away from Clara's tempting body. It was a losing battle because his eyes kept wandering towards her.

"So you made history by resisting over fifty of them?" Carey laughed a hollow laugh. "Ron, you're just… Wow." Ron blushed at that, and he shot her a weak smile.

"What about your mouth?" Clara asked. "Was that from your blood pressure too?"

"No, I bit open the inside of my cheek" Ron told them. "It helped me focus on something other than their allures, so I kept biting my wound."

"Merlin, Ron" Samantha muttered, and Ron blinked because he had never seen her like this. He failed to notice Carey walk up to him, and he flinched a bit when she put her hands on his cheeks. She turned his face to hers, and she examined his eyes with a concentrated look.

"So that's blood in your eyes right now?" Carey asked him, and Ron flushed because of how pretty she looked with her hair down.

"Y… yes" Ron replied.

"Is this permanent?" Carey asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

"No, the Potion they used to heal my eyes is slowly fixing this" Ron replied, and she smiled gently.

"Did it hurt? Resisting them?" Carey asked with a tender voice, and Ron nodded.

"It hurt so much that I couldn't even stand…" Ron whispered, a shudder passing through him as he remembered the agony that he was subjected to. Carey smiled sympathetically, and then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Ron tensed at that, mostly because her odd behavior caught him off guard. But he relaxed as he smelled the soft vanilla fragrance emanating from her, and when she pulled back, she was smiling almost sadly.

"I'm sorry you went through that" Carey whispered as she rubbed her thumbs across his red cheeks, and Ron nodded dumbly. "You wouldn't mind if we started spreading the truth about what you went through, would you? We want to dispel all the rumors with facts."

"What?" Ron blinked, and then it clicked. "You want to show me off, don't you?"

"Don't say it like that" Samantha replied from behind him. "We want everyone to know that Slytherins can be brave too, and you can help us prove that."

"But it's entirely up to you" Clara spoke up, and Ron's eyes traveled to her tempting figure again.

"What do I get?" Ron asked as he looked back into Carey's eyes, and she smiled more widely.

"You get to be the brave hero who fought tooth and nail for his win" Carey whispered, her soft hands still on his cheeks. "No one will be able to argue that after we're done, do you understand?" Ron thought about her words for a few seconds, and then he nodded lightly.

"You don't want another 'Malfoy problem' again" Ron guessed, and Carey nodded slowly.

"The Triumvirate will be too busy with their exams, and so they've asked us to keep the peace" Samantha told him. "And we intend to pass their little test."

"And when we're the next Triumvirate…" Clara added.

"We will make sure to reward you for your efforts" Carey finished for her. _Do they share one brain? How are they so in sync?_

"I… I understand" Ron agreed, this would save him from any 'Malfoy problems' too. "You can spread what I've told you."

"Thank you" Carey smiled, and then she kissed the right corner of his lips again. As Ron flushed beet-red, she let him go. "Goodnight Ron, make sure you rest your eyes as much as possible." Ron nodded dumbly as he put his gloved hand at where she had kissed him. _She kissed me like that at the party too. I can't understand these girls, they're way too… complicated._

"Goodnight" Ron responded, and then he turned around and left their room. As he was walking back towards his dorm, he couldn't stop thinking about them. Clara's voluptuous figure, Samantha's long legs in black stockings, and Carey's near kiss and her scent. "Fuck…" Ron muttered as he glared down at his oncoming erection. Ron immediately ripped out his wand and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he snuck out of the girls' dorms. He spotted his friends still sitting by the fireplace, and so he made his way towards his room in a hurry. He went into the bathroom immediately and locked the door behind himself, he needed some 'alone' time with images of the three older girls.

* * *

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Charms Class – Last Class of the Day)**_

It had been a strange day for Ron, especially his classes. Professor Sprout had smuggled him a bag of chocolate frogs during Herbology, Professor Binns had talked about Veelas and their allures out of nowhere during History of Magic, and Professor Flitwick had handed him a Cherry Pop as he was entering the Charms Class. And to top it all off, multiple witches had greeted him with wide smiles all day. Most of them were first, second, third, and fourth years, but some of them were in higher year-levels. Ron would be lying if he claimed that he didn't enjoy the attention, but he didn't act on it. His mind was preoccupied with his Mind-Healer session today with Pomfrey, and he kept looking for reasons to not go. But his promise to Lord Greengrass held him in place.

"Mate, you've spaced out again" Theo nudged him, and Ron blinked. "What's the matter with you today?" Theo whispered. "You've barely answered any questions, and you keep disappearing in your own head."

"I was just in Paris, and now I'm in this class" Ron lied. "I'm just not feeling up to studying." Theo nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron's.

"You've gotten rather good at lying, you know that right?" Theo smirked slightly, and Ron rolled his eyes. "I won't pester you again, I just wanted to let you know that Bones and Abbot are looking at you again." Ron looked over to them, and they quickly turned their heads away. _That was so subtle…_ "Fancy either one? They've spent all of Charms Class shooting looks at you. Frankly, it's pissing me off."

"Why?" Ron smirked, and Theo grinned.

"C'mon mate, you've been approached by dozens of beauties today" Theo whispered. "And you did nothing but greet them politely… Seeing you not take advantage of your new fame is annoying me, it isn't right."

"I appreciate their interest, but I'm not interested in them" Ron shrugged, his eyes trying to dart towards Daphne. Luckily, he stopped them in time. _Theo's way too clever to miss that. But why did I feel the urge to look at her? Oh shite… She probably isn't taking this extra attention that I'm getting well, I should talk to her about it. Just to let her know that I'm not interested in them, I don't want her to feel jealous or hurt._

"You're not interested in any of them? Not even Brown, nor the Patil twins?" Theo frowned slightly. "Ron, you're not… Look… I won't judge mate, trust me. But are you…"

"Theo, please stop" Ron sighed, why did everyone always question his sexuality? _Because they don't know that unlike them, I've actually kissed a girl before. And not just any girl, I've kissed Daphne Greengrass._

"What? I just want to know" Theo whispered, a genuine smile on his face. "Who cares who you're into, it's your business mate. But seeing as we're friends…"

"Theo, I will punch you in the head" Ron warned, and Theo put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright…" Theo muttered, his smile still in place. "Just take your time."

"I'm not gay, you idiot" Ron sighed again. "I just have other things to worry about…"

"Like what?" Theo asked. "And by things, do you mean big…"

"I will end you if you finish that sentence" Ron warned, his eyes digging into Theo's. But then, his eyes started itching wildly. He blinked rapidly, but he didn't touch them because he had been warned not to.

"Oh shite…" Theo suddenly jerked back a bit. "Professor!" Theo called out as Ron felt something warm trickle out of his eyes. _Shite, the pooled blood is coming out again._ Flitwick stopped talking, and he looked over to Theo.

"Merlin!" Flitwick exclaimed as he spotted Ron, and Ron heard multiple gasps. He couldn't see shite though, his vision was blurry and red.

"I'm fine, it doesn't really hurt" Ron said as he searched his pockets for a handkerchief.

"Mr. Nott, please take him to Madam Pomfrey" Flitwick ordered, and Ron felt Theo tug at his cloak gently. _Damn, my session will probably start right after she cleans out my eyes._ Ron got out of his chair, and he tried to grab his books.

"Leave them, I'll take them to our room" Theo told him, his voice slightly muffled by the loud chattering in the classroom. _I bet I've scared the Hufflepuffs witless._

"Thanks…" Ron muttered, he didn't like making a scene. Or grossing his classmates out. Theo led Ron out of the room, his hand gripping Ron's right forearm firmly. As they made their way towards the Hospital Wing, Ron had to physically fight the urge to rub his eyes clear.

"Look at us" Theo sighed. "One minute we're talking about your sexuality, and the next minute we're holding hands. You work pretty fast mate, even I have to admit that."

"You're a tosser, and we're not holding hands" Ron glowered at Theo's blurry, red back. Theo moved his hand down and held onto Ron's gloved one.

"We are now… lover" Theo laughed, and Ron jerked his hand free. "Hey! I'm trying to help here."

"Help this" Ron said as he gave Theo the bird, and Theo burst into another laugh.

"Alright, fun's over" Theo wheezed. "Give me your arm mate, we need to get you to Pomfrey." Ron frowned, but he did as he was told. They walked down to the Hospital Wing quietly, except for Theo's whistling. And then, Theo pushed the doors to the Wing open. "Madam Pomfrey!" Theo called, and Ron saw her blurry figure come into view.

"Good heavens…" Pomfrey sighed deeply. "Why is it always you, Mr. Weasley?"

"I like to see you, and this is the only way that I get to do that" Ron grinned, and Theo chuckled as he let go of Ron's arm.

"I see that your tongue has not dulled in the slightest" Pomfrey huffed, and then she walked up and grabbed his left hand. "Thank you Mr. Nott, you may return to your class." Theo nodded, and he left the Wing quickly. "Come, let me wash out this blood." She guided Ron to an empty bed, and she filled a basin with water from her wand. After she soaked a clean cloth in the water, she began dabbing his eyes and face gently. It took a few minutes, but Ron's vision eventually cleared up.

"I can see again" Ron told her as she cleaned the blood off of his cheeks.

"Open your eyes as wide as you can" she ordered, and Ron did as he was told. She examined his eyes, and then she nodded firmly.

"There is less blood in them now" Pomfrey smiled very slightly. "Enough for just one more incident."

"Can I go back to class then?" Ron asked, he really didn't want to start his session just yet.

"Class ends in five minutes, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey told him as she dropped the bloodied cloth into the basin. "And don't think for a second that I don't know what you're trying to do."

"And what am I trying to do?" Ron asked innocently. _Damn, she's smarter than I thought._

"Mr. Weasley, please step into my Office" Madam Pomfrey gestured towards it, and Ron sighed. "I've already cleared away an hour for you."

"An hour?!" Ron's eyes widened, and she nodded firmly. "I don't even know what we'll be doing…"

"I will explain it… in my Office" she said sharply, and Ron fought the urge to throw a temper tantrum.

"Fine…" Ron managed as he hopped off of the bed, and then he made his way into her Office. It was small, but cozy. There was a soft-looking brown sofa, a small desk with a white chair, and colorful finger paintings on the white walls. "This is neat, I like the finger paintings."

"Thank you, now take a seat on the sofa" Pomfrey said as she closed the door behind her. Ron sat down with his hands in his lap, and he watched her take a seat on the white chair. She then pulled out a file from her table, and glossed over it as she turned to face him. "Mr. Weasley, please relax."

"I'm totally relaxed" Ron lied, and she nodded slowly. "So… How does this work? Do you look into my mind with Legilimency?" _I fucking hope not, for your own sake._

"You know of Legilimency?" Pomfrey quirked an eyebrow, and then she smiled knowingly. "I forgot that you aren't just any ordinary thirteen year old boy, forgive me. And to answer your question, no. You are a minor, and Legilimency on minors is illegal." _What? But Dumbledore… Wow. Clearly laws don't apply to him, and he can do as he pleases._ Ron frowned deeply at that, he didn't appreciate Dumbledore's 'boldness'. "Mr. Weasley? What is the matter?"

"Nothing" Ron replied curtly. _Just because he's the most powerful wizard alive shouldn't excuse his blatant law-breaking. But then again, he paid for it in the end. Though I have to wonder, does he do that to other students? What about my friends? How much has he learned about me through them?_

"Mr. Weasley? Did you hear me?" Pomfrey asked, a look of concern marking her features.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey" Ron replied as he shook his head clear. "I was in my own head… What did you say?"

"I tried to ask you about where your thoughts led you" Pomfrey replied.

"Just some… stuff" Ron shrugged, and she nodded slowly.

"Mr. Weasley, allow me to explain how this works" Pomfrey started, and Ron listened intently. "The purpose of this is to enlighten you about what's really causing you your high levels of stress. My job is to help guide you through your troubles, and to help you find a stable and healthy way of living. Do you understand?"

"I do" Ron nodded. _I already know what's stressing me out, so this is pointless._

"But you are in charge of this journey" Pomfrey added on. "And it will only work if you make an effort. So please, do try to give this a fair chance. What we discuss will be just between us, not even your family will be privy to our conversations."

"Alright" Ron sighed, feeling a little guilty at avoiding her questions. "So do we just… talk? Like how my day was? Or the weather?"

"Not the weather, no" Pomfrey smiled. "But let's talk about your day instead. Tell me, how has your return to Hogwarts been so far?"

"Um… Well, I'm back at school and now have homework" Ron replied after thinking about her question, and she looked for him to go on. "And um… I've been getting a lot of attention from people all over school, so that's nice…"

"What kind of attention?" she asked.

"Just people saying hello to me, or waving at me" Ron replied. "Most of them are girls though, which I guess is pretty nice." Pomfrey nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing a bit.

"You don't care about getting attention from young witches?" Pomfrey asked.

"I do, but I just… I don't know" Ron shrugged.

"You have more important things to think about?" Pomfrey provided, and Ron nodded with a soft smile. _Finally someone gets it, and doesn't just assume that I'm gay._

"I like that they're interested, believe me" Ron went on. "But I just don't have time to waste on them."

"Is that really true, Mr. Weasley? Do you really have no time spare?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron blinked at her. "You are in second year, and you are very young. You don't even have exams at the end of this school year, nor do you have any upcoming Tournaments. So what is occupying your time?" _Preparations for an upcoming war._

"Studying…" Ron said defensively, and she nodded slowly. "Practicing Chess, my friends, school life, and family stuff. I have plenty going on."

"What are you studying besides your course-work?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron fought the urge to frown. He didn't enjoy answering so many questions, especially questions that were getting to close to his secrets.

"I like to read" Ron replied curtly.

"What do you like to read?" Pomfrey asked.

"Things that are none of your business" Ron replied coldly, and Pomfrey just stared at him.

"Alright, then let's move on" Pomfrey smiled. _Move on? Just like that? What is she playing at?_ "How often do you practice Chess?"

"As often as I can" Ron replied.

"Can you be more specific?"

"Just… Whenever I get the time" Ron replied irritably. _Relax, just think your answers through._

"Whenever you get the time" Pomfrey repeated as she wrote it down, and Ron's eyes flashed to the file. "Mr. Weasley, do you ever feel the need to take a break? To relax once in a while, or just spend time socializing?" _No, not lately anyway. Too much to do._

"I socialize" Ron forced on a smile. "I spend a lot of time with my friends. We eat together, study together, we go for morning runs together, and we even practice some spells together." _Take that._

"I see" Pomfrey smiled a little sadly, something that made Ron worry about answering her wrong. "Mr. Weasley, children your age would generally not classify these interactions as relaxing or socializing. The way you spoke about these interactions makes me wonder whether even you enjoy them."

"Are you saying that I don't enjoy being with my friends?" Ron grit out, the nerve of this witch.

"That is not what I said, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey replied clearly. "I stated that you don't sound like you enjoy your 'relaxing activities' very much."

"Well, I do" Ron gave her a scathing look as he sat upright. "I enjoy running, I enjoy eating, I enjoy learning more about the World around me, and I enjoy practicing spells."

"So in other words, you enjoy pushing yourself to be better?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron smirked.

"Exactly" Ron told her.

"Then can you see why you are so stressed, Mr. Weasley?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron frowned as he realized that she had just turned his own words against him. "You are pushing yourself to your limits every day, and sooner or later, your mind will leave your body in a ruined. You will burn yourself out, Mr. Weasley."

"I already know that" Ron responded. "Healer Bernard made that quite clear."

"And yet, you don't sound like you plan to stop" Pomfrey observed. "Why is that? It is clear to me that you are intelligent enough to realize the danger you are putting yourself in. So why keep going?" _Because I can't afford to be weak! Like those other idiot Rons that failed!_ Ron bit back his irritation with her questions, and he took a deep breath.

"I would rather be a little stressed than to be unprepared" Ron replied.

"Unprepared for what?"

"Life" Ron shrugged.

"That's a very vague response, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey said as she wrote it down.

"I don't think that it is" Ron retorted. "I want to be successful, and to be ready for anything. Life is unpredictable, and I don't plan to get caught off-guard and fail."

"Success is often defined differently by different people" Pomfrey said, and Ron felt the urge to roll his eyes. _There she goes again, twisting my words._ "Would you not say that success is defined by perspective?"

"Success is success, and failure is failure" Ron said curtly. "If you have a goal in mind, and you don't achieve it. Then you have failed, and that's that. There is no 'oh, things were out of my control', or 'I'll do better next time'. You either win, or you lose." _You either make the right choices, or you watch your loved ones die._

"To me, failure is a part of success" Pomfrey said in a musing tone, and Ron exhaled impatiently. "Those who don't fail never learn from their mistakes, and therefore can't really achieve true success."

"That sounds like a convenient excuse to me" Ron all but sneered. "What if failure is not an option? What if failing means that you lose everything?" _What happens to you if I fail? I bet you'd die during the assault on Hogwarts that killed my brother._

"Do you believe yourself to be in such a situation?" Pomfrey asked. _Shite, I need to calm down. Don't reveal too much._

"Sometimes" Ron replied, his tone slightly calmer. What Ron didn't know was that Pomfrey noticed his change in demeanor, and so she knew that he was hiding things again.

"Do you wish to elaborate on that?" Pomfrey asked.

"No" Ron replied. "Madam Pomfrey, how is this supposed to be helping me?"

"I'm just trying to learn more about you right now, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey replied. "This is only our first session after all."

"And what have you learned?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"That is for me to know, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey replied.

"Well, that's hardly fair" Ron crossed his arms and slouched in his seat. "How do I get better if you don't show me how?"

"This is not like studying" Pomfrey told him. "There are no right or wrong answers, and I will help you if you give me time. I myself need to learn more about you first in order to help you create a plan to navigate your stress."

"And talking about what success means tells you who I am?" Ron asked, his tone more condescending than he intended.

"It does indeed" Pomfrey replied.

"How?"

"It shows me a glimpse of your mindset" Pomfrey decided to answer. "For example, I can now better understand why you chose to put yourself through so much pain just to win the Junior League Tournament."

"Is that so?" Ron smirked, he knew that she wouldn't get the right answer on this. _If she does get it, then I'm bolting for the door._

"You felt like your future depended on your success" Pomfrey replied. "You realized that failure was not an option for you, and that if you did fail, you would lose much more than just the Tournament." Ron blinked rapidly, she was awfully close to the mark. _The only thing she didn't get right was the Entity, or the need to control my own life. These were the reasons why I needed to succeed._ "What I don't understand yet is why you came to this conclusion, but I hope that after we spend some more time together, I'll come to understand you better. And in doing so, do my best to help you."

"What if I chose not to come back?" Ron asked, he didn't need her sticking her nose into his life. _Or the Entity's. If she pisses_ _ **It**_ _off, we'll both be too dead to care about my stress levels._

"That is entirely up to you" Pomfrey replied. "Though judging from what I've read about your diagnosis, I highly recommend that you keep seeing me."

"You mean the brain damage, right?" Ron asked bluntly.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey nodded. "If your Chronic Stress is left unchecked, it will ruin your life. Your future." _My Cycle…_

"Isn't there some Potion that can just help me stay 'unstressed'?" Ron asked, and Pomfrey shook her head slowly.

"Using Calming Draughts, or other such Potions, is not a wise solution" Pomfrey told him. "You would be trading in one issue for another, and becoming dependent on Potions will lead to many other issues down the road." Pomfrey then narrowed her eyes on Ron, and he shifted slightly under her gaze. "Why are you so against this kind of treatment, Mr. Weasley? You are an intelligent young man, and I know that you understand the benefits of this. And I know that you don't want your life ruined by your condition, but it feels like that you don't want this to work. Why is that?" _I don't want to answer your invasive questions, my secrets are my own._

"I never said that I didn't want it to work" Ron replied.

"And yet, you have been looking at the clock every other minute since you got here" Pomfrey stated. "And you clearly want an easier way out rather than confronting your troubles, which from what I've witnessed and heard so far, is very unlike you. It leads me to believe that you don't want this type of therapy. Why is that?"

"Aren't you suppose to figure that out for me?" Ron asked.

"No, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey sighed. "I told you at the start of your session that this only works if you put in an effort, which you are clearly not ready to do. I can only help you if you want my help, and from what I've seen so far, you don't want my help."

"I have been doing just fine so far, and I'm only here because **other** people keep telling me to be here" Ron retorted.

"If a majority of people tell you to do something, do you not think that they might have a valid reason behind it?" Pomfrey asked.

"And who are the people in this majority?" Ron asked sarcastically. "Albus Dumbledore? A man whose irresponsible actions landed me in a coma and left me with permanent scars. Or my parents? Two people who have never given me a second thought until I started making something of myself." Pomfrey wrote down his response, and Ron grit his teeth as he glared at the file. _She keeps writing everything down, and it's pissing me the fuck off._ Pomfrey then looked to Ron, and she let out a soft exhale.

"Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey started. "I can see now that perhaps the direct approach is not what's best for you, so let's try something else instead. Lie down on the couch please, and just relax your mind as best you can." _What is this?_ Ron slowly did as she had asked, and he lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. _Relax, think of anything that isn't stressful. Like food, or the Sanctuary._ "Now I'm going to give you a topic, and you just give me your thoughts on it. Reveal only as much as you deem necessary, how does that sound?" _Um… Much better, though how this helps me is beyond me._

"So I just talk? And what do you do?" Ron asked.

"I will listen to you get your thoughts out, and try my best to help you sort out how you feel" Pomfrey replied. "This is a safe-place Mr. Weasley, what you say here will not leave this room."

"Alright" Ron breathed in deeply. "What's the topic?"

"Let's talk about you" Pomfrey replied. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" Ron asked for clarification.

"Whatever you want to share" Pomfrey replied, and Ron turned his head and gave her a confused look. She just smiled and waited for him to start talking, so Ron turned his head back into place before starting.

"I'm Ronald Bilius Weasley" Ron started. "The sixth son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, and the only Weasley to be sorted into Slytherin…"

* * *

 _ **Forty Minutes Later**_

"I've been thinking about sending Charlie more letters, mostly because I miss him and don't ever get to see him" Ron went on, he had been talking about his childhood and siblings for almost forty minutes now. He much preferred this kind of therapy, and it was definitely because he could hide his secrets from her. _Not to mention that it's just like talking to myself._

"You two have a very close bond, don't you?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron smiled softly as he thought about his 'toughest' brother.

"Yeah, Charlie and I have always gotten along" Ron replied. "I mean, we had problems with our age gap and all… But then again Charlie had that same problem with Ginny and the twins as well. But he taught me a lot, and never treated me badly. Except for a few bruises, and the occasional scolding. He's the one who taught me how to fly, actually…"

"You said that your father taught your brothers to fly, but Charlie taught you?"

"Dad was busy with Ministry work, and I was just bothering him…" Ron sighed. "Charlie overheard me, and he volunteered to teach me. I wasn't happy about it then, but we had a lot of fun together. I did my first barrel-roll after Charlie spent a week teaching me, but mum was furious when she saw us from the kitchen window." Ron grinned at the memory of Charlie being yelled at for almost ten minutes straight.

"You two sound quite close" Pomfrey noted. "Is there a reason why you don't send him letters often?"

"Um… No, I guess not…" Ron mused. "I just have a lot going on in my own life, and I don't really think about him that much. Usually when I'm in bed, I think about all the things that I should be doing. And Charlie being in Romania pops up in my mind. But by the time the Sun rises, I'm back to my own life and I forget him…" Ron felt a pang of guilt at that, he owed Charlie a lot. _But I can't even spare ten minutes to send him a letter?_

"What if you started sending him a letter every Monday from now on?" Pomfrey asked. "It would help alleviate any guilt you may be feeling, and you'd get to keep in contact with him."

"So I just send him a random letter every Monday?" Ron asked. "I guess it would help us stay in contact, and I wouldn't feel so bad about not trying hard enough."

"That's good, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey replied. "And most conversations are often times just about 'random' things. You can just tell him about your school life, or your friends, or even something as simple as what the weather is like here."

"Yeah… Yeah, I'll do that" Ron nodded to himself, his eyes fixed on the white ceiling. "I'll write him a letter after we finish up here."

"I think we can end the session on that note" Pomfrey said, and Ron looked to her. "It's been an hour, and we've made stellar progress today."

"We have?" Ron asked, all he had done was talk about his childhood.

"Certainly" Pomfrey nodded with a smile. "Unlike most of my other patients, we already have a diagnosis for you. Which means that we can start working on making you feel more in control of your own life. Not to mention that in just one session, we have found a system that seems to work for you."

"I guess it wasn't so bad" Ron responded. "And I do feel rather… calm." _It's like I've got less to worry about tonight, especially after I send Charlie a letter._

"That is good to hear, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey said as Ron sat up. "I want to set up another session for next week, same time and day. Is that alright?"

"Um… Yeah" Ron nodded. "Is it going to be like this one? I just lie down and… vent?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey smiled. "Though we will discuss another topic."

"Alright, then I'll see you next week" Ron responded as he stood up and moved towards the door.

"One more thing before you leave" Pomfrey stopped him, and he turned to face her. "I want you to try a calming exercise from now on. Whenever you feel overwhelmed in any way, I want you to count to ten and take a deep breath with each number."

"And that'll help?" Ron asked, he was a bit skeptical about that.

"It will help lower your blood pressure, and it will lower your stress and anxiety" Pomfrey replied. "Can I count on you to try that?"

"Yeah, I'll give it a go" Ron promised.

"Then I will see you next week" Pomfrey smiled. "But if there is an emergency, and you feel the need to come and see me, please do not hesitate."

"I won't" Ron replied. "See you next week, Madam Pomfrey." Pomfrey nodded at that, and Ron left her Office feeling a little less burdened. It was an odd sensation, to just talk for an hour, but somehow feel better because of it. He had shared more of his childhood with her than anyone, and even mentioned that he often felt lonely as a child. _Me sharing my feelings with someone that I barely know, who would've thought that was possible?_

Ron stepped out of the Wing, and he turned to walk towards the common room. But just as he was about to head down there, he decided that he wanted to go his Sanctuary instead. _I want to talk to Marty, and the Hat. My friends, other than Daphne, are probably wondering where I've been this entire time. I need to come up with an excuse that is believable._ As Ron made his way up towards the Sanctuary, he wondered about his session with Pomfrey. It certainly wasn't what he was expecting, there wasn't even a single spell uttered. Not to mention how badly it started off, but that was mostly just his own fault. Once he had been given control over what he disclosed, he had sang like a canary and told Pomfrey all about growing up in The Burrow. He could still hear Pomfrey writing things down, but it didn't bother him as much as before because he couldn't see her doing it. _Maybe this can work out better than I thought it would, and I'll definitely try out that breathing exercise._

Ron paced in front of the Sanctuary entrance, and the door slowly materialized. Ron smiled widely, and he pushed it open. This room was like his own personal home within Hogwarts, and he loved it. Ron shut the door behind him, and his tranquil mood was suddenly interrupted.

"There you are!" came Tracey's voice, and Ron looked over to see his friends sitting on the couches. _So much for my own personal home…_ "Where have you been, Ron?!"

"I was at the Black Lake after Pomfrey cleaned out my eyes" Ron lied with a smile, and everyone but Daphne frowned deeply. Daphne just shook her head and looked away from him, something that made him worry a little. _Is she angry with me? She knows that I had a session with Pomfrey._

"What were you doing there?" Millie asked, her tone revealing her irritation.

"And it didn't occur to you to inform us?" Blaise asked before Ron could answer.

"I didn't know that I had to" Ron chuckled as he moved over to his favorite seat, which they had left unoccupied on his behalf. "The Heir and the Basilisk are gone, remember?"

"Ron, we spent thirty minutes looking for you" Pansy replied. "And we went to the Lake, and you weren't there." _Fuck._

"Did you look in the woods? Where I usually try out my spells?" Ron asked calmly, and Pansy let out a sigh.

"I told you guys that we should've gone there" Pansy frowned at the others.

"You couldn't spare five minutes to let us know that you were alright?" Tracey huffed. "Five minutes Ron, that's all it would've taken."

"What Tracey means to say is that your eyes bled mate, and then you disappeared" Theo said calmly, his eyes meeting Ron's. _He doesn't believe me, does he? Damn him, and his keen intelligence._ Ron took in a deep breath, and then he smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted some alone time" Ron told them. "All this attention that I'm getting… I'm not used to it…" The girls' expressions softened at that, but Theo and Blaise's didn't. They knew him better than that. Daphne just looked at anything but Ron, and that was starting to worry him. Things had been going great with her, and he didn't want her to be angry with him. _When Daphne and I do fight, it's usually rather vicious._ "Did I miss anything?" Ron asked them, his eyes lingering on Daphne.

"Not much" Tracey sighed, she wanted to clock Ron for disappearing again. "The Hufflepuffs told a bunch of people that your eyes bled in public, and you already know how fast gossip spreads around this school. We also ran into the 'Golden Trio'… Granger all but demanded that we take her to you… I don't know why you even like her, she's so bossy." _Yep, that sounds like her. But it comes from a good place, she was just worried about me._

"You also missed a speech from Snape, by the way" Blaise said aloofly, and Ron looked over to him immediately. "He told us second years to start thinking about our electives in advance, we need to choose a minimum of two by the end of the year."

"Electives…" Ron muttered, he hadn't really thought about that yet. _I have the notes from the girls, I should look through them and see what interests me._

"Ron, did you tell people about your Subco… the hemorrhage?" Millie asked suddenly, and Ron shook his head. _Those three have started spreading the word then, that's good to know._ "Well, people are talking about it… A lot of people are talking about it. Word of it has even reached the Professors." _Damn, they're good._

"This school has a habit of gossiping" Ron shrugged as he gazed into the fire. "And who cares if they know? It won't change anything for me, it's not like I was trying to hide that fact." Theo and Blaise exchanged quick looks, and they both knew that Ron was behind this. Someone as private as him would've been annoyed at this spreading around the school, and the fact that he didn't care proved that he already knew about it. They both decided to hold their tongues.

"So it doesn't bother you?" Tracey asked with narrowed eyes.

"Not really" Ron replied, and he missed her grimacing at him. Something didn't seem right about his recent behavior, and it was annoying her. And why wasn't Daphne saying a damn word?

"Do you guys want to do something?" Pansy asked, she was sensing some unwanted tension building up. "We can get started on our homework? Or we can go down to the courtyard, and watch the Sun-set?"

"I'm not really a 'Sun-set' person" Blaise replied. "I'd much rather just sit here and relax."

"Same" Tracey and Theo said together.

"I'll go down with you" Millie told Pansy. "We can work on our Charms homework, I know you don't like that subject much."

"Really?" Pansy beamed. "Thanks, Mills. Does anyone else want to join us?"

"Not really, I need to write a letter to my brother Charlie" Ron replied with a smile. "Maybe next time."

"Daphne?" Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head.

"Not in the mood to study" Daphne replied. _So she speaks?! She's definitely pissed about something._

"I guess it's just us then" Millie told Pansy as she stood up. "Let's go and get our books, then we can head to the library."

"Let's study in the courtyard instead" Pansy suggested as both girls began to leave.

"Fine, but you better not get distracted" Millie told her, something that made Pansy chuckle. As they both left the room, Ron found himself rather amused. _They're certainly getting along better. It's nice._ When Ron heard the door shut, he got up and walked over to the desk near the bed. There was an ink-pot with a quill inside it, and some parchment laying around. _Just talk about anything and everything, that's what Pomfrey said._ Ron began drafting the letter, and he could hear his friends talking about electives. All of them except Daphne. It took Ron around ten minutes to finish up his letter, and once he was satisfied with it, he left it behind on the table to send later.

"Do you guys want to practice some spells?" Ron asked his friends, and they stopped mid conversation. "I can show you guys the difference between the three 'Explosive Curses'. It'll be fun." _And then maybe we can do some dodging practice too, and help Tracey with her Shield Charm._

"Um…" Tracey stammered, her face showing her hesitation.

"We were just about to head down to the courtyard" Theo lied. "To study with Pansy and Millie… We figured that it was probably smart to stay ahead…"

"Oh…" Ron muttered. _They're lying, and not very well._ "I can just help you guys with your homework afterwards, it's no problem."

"Thanks, Ron" Blaise said aloofly. "But we should probably try our own hand at it first, otherwise we won't learn anything." Blaise got up at that, and so did Tracey and Theo. "We'll see you at dinner, yeah?"

"Yeah" Ron replied in dejected voice. _Why won't they just try a little? I'm even offering to help them with their homework after. It doesn't make any sense, I've told them about the Dark Lord's return. But they just keep saying that it won't happen._ "Maybe we can practice later?"

"Sure mate" Theo forced on a smile, and then all three of them left in a bit of a hurry. Ron felt both annoyed and hurt by their actions, he was only trying to help them. _What more do I need to do in order to convince them? Maybe I should ask the Hat?_ Ron sat down in his seat, and he let out a tired sigh. _They're so… lazy!_

"Here" came Daphne's voice, and Ron looked over to see her trying to hand him a vial with a pink Potion in it. _Shite, this Potion again._

"Um… Do I really…" Ron started, but she cut him off abruptly.

"Drink the Potion, now" Daphne ordered, and Ron took it from her. "I didn't get the chance to give it to you yesterday, mostly because you disappeared so suddenly." Ron's cheeks flushed a bit at that, mostly because of how his night had ended. Ron drank down the Potion, and he barely resisted the urge to gag.

"Merlin, that's the worst…" Ron grimaced at the empty vial, and then he looked to Daphne. She was looking away from him again, and Ron found himself rubbing his forehead. "Daphne, are you angry about something?"

"Yes" she replied curtly, and Ron sighed.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked.

"You" she replied as she glared at him, and Ron blinked.

"What did I do?" Ron asked tiredly.

"It's what you haven't done that's annoying me, Ron" Daphne huffed, and Ron gave her a confused look. "Why do you keep refusing to tell the others about your Chronic Stress?"

"This again…" Ron exhaled.

"Yes, this again" Daphne said harshly. "I just spent the last hour lying to them for you. They were worried about you, and I couldn't tell them a thing. Instead, I wasted an hour 'searching' for you with them." _Now I understand why she's upset. That does sound rather vexing._ "I just can't understand why you're hiding something so important from everyone."

"I don't want to tell my friends that I'm brain-damaged, is that really so hard to understand?" Ron asked.

"I'm not telling you to do that" Daphne shot back. "I'm telling you to tell them about your Chronic Stress instead, and about Pomfrey. Tell me something Ron, are you seeing her again soon?"

"Yes…" Ron sighed, he knew where this was going.

"So I'm supposed to lie again?" Daphne frowned. "And how do I keep explaining your disappearances to them? How do I keep explaining to them that you're fine, or that you aren't getting yourself in trouble? How do I explain to them why I have to give you Nutrition Potions? Or why I always carry around a vial of Calming Draught with me?"

"You do that?" Ron asked suddenly, and she nodded curtly.

"I have to, just in case you have another panic attack and you don't have your Potion with you" Daphne replied. "Now answer my questions." Ron looked away to the fire, he really hadn't thought about her position in all of this. "Did you even think about me in all of this?" When Ron didn't reply, she drew in a sharp breath. "Your little lie about the Black Lake was pathetic, and no one bought it. They know that you're hiding something… But if you just tell them, then all of your problems will vanish."

"I don't want them to see me like that…" Ron muttered.

"Like what?! As human?!" Daphne snapped, and Ron frowned at her for yelling at him.

"As damaged" Ron glared at her. "I don't want them to think that I'm weak, alright?"

"You really have that little faith in them?" Daphne asked, and then she blinked as if she realized something. "Would you have told me if I didn't find out from Healer Bernard?" Ron knew the answer to that, but he didn't want to say it. His silence seemed to add fuel to her anger, and she shot out of her seat with a menacing glare. "You… You…" she stammered, her hands clenching into fists.

"Daph, please just calm down" Ron said gently as he got out of his chair.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she yelled at him, and he was honestly shaken by her outburst. "You have no faith in any of us, do you?!"

"It's not like that" Ron tried to tell her, but her glare was getting to him.

"Yes, it is!" Daphne accused. "You think that we'll just judge you, don't you?! That we're so petty that we won't even try to understand you! Well, you're dead wrong! I haven't once judged you for your condition, and all I've done is do my best to help you! I even bought a book about dealing with stress to help me help you! I've been reading it constantly in secret! Merlin, I can't even read it in public because you're so pigheaded that you'll probably tell me off for trying to help you!"

"Daph…" Ron said weakly, he had no idea that she was going to such lengths for him.

"Friends don't hide things like this from each other!" Daphne went on, and Ron felt smaller by the second. "And you've made me into someone who lies to her friends, just like you!" Ron felt like he had gotten slapped, and all he could do was look down at his feet. "And you know what the worst part is?! I'll keep doing it for your benefit! But you can't even trust me enough to tell me the truth once in a while?!"

"I do tell you the truth, more than anyone" Ron replied meekly.

"Only when you have no other choice, Ron! Only when you want something from me, or when you get tired of us being angry at each other! That's when you open up a little, and it's only because you know that I'll get over it once you tell me what's bothering you!" An uncomfortable silence fell onto the room, and Ron thought about her words. She… was right. If he had to choose between keeping his secrets, or telling her the truth, he'd always pick his secrets. His mission was too important, and he needed to keep his powers hidden. "I'll keep going with your stupid little plan to not tell your own friends that you need help, but I'm not going to tell you that you're right" Daphne broke the silence. "I'll keep giving you your Potion, but only because I don't want you to get worse. You… You're selfish… And you're so pigheaded that it beggars belief…"

"You can't keep being angry with me…" Ron all but whispered. "Not in front of them…" Daphne just shook her head in disbelief. How could someone be so secretive? Why was he like this? Daphne couldn't even begin understand his reasons.

"Fine…" Daphne said coldly. "I'll keep pretending that I'm not upset with you around them, but I won't pretend when we're alone. I'll leave you to yourself now, you clearly prefer that over having friends…" Daphne turned around and stormed out, and Ron just watched her leave. Once she slammed the door shut behind her, Ron sank back into his seat, his mood thoroughly spoiled. _Am I making a mistake by not telling them?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary - Before Dinner)**_

He had thought about Daphne's words in silence, while also contemplating all the times that his friends had surprised him. He had shown Theo and Blaise his scars, and despite their initial shock, they had quickly moved on. They had even made sure to keep his scars hidden from the girls, something that he hadn't really given them any credit for. As for the girls, Daphne knew all about his scars and condition. And she had been nothing but compassionate, and trustworthy. Pansy had seen his hand, and even she was kind and made sure that he didn't feel embarrassed. And although Pansy hadn't seen **all** of his scars, he knew deep down that she would never mock him or make him feel embarrassed. As for Millie and Tracey, Ron was quite sure that they wouldn't mind his scars either. Millie would probably become even more protective of him, while Tracey would lighten the mood and make him laugh.

But this brain-damage stuff was different, it was more personal. Everyone could potentially see his scars, for better or worse, but his Chronic Stress and brain-damage… That was something that he had to show others, and Ron really wasn't good at revealing things about himself. He preferred keeping his strengths, and weaknesses, to himself. He had been hiding things for so long that it was engraved into his brain, and overriding that need to keep himself hidden was difficult. It was uncharted territory, and Ron being someone who was obsessed with being prepared, didn't enjoy being in a position where he was 'flying blind'. Why couldn't Daphne understand that? Why did she have to be angry with him? _Because you've never told her any of this, and she's not psychic._

"Marty" Ron called, he needed a break from thinking about this. There was a loud crack, and Marty popped into view. He looked… upset.

"Master Ronald called Marty?" Marty asked, his eyes slightly red from crying.

"Marty? What's the matter?" Ron shot out of his seat, and he was crouched down in front of the Elf before he knew it. "Did someone hurt you? Tell me their name, I'll teach them a fucking lesson."

"No one hurt Marty" Marty quickly replied, and then he shrank a little. "Marty has been sold by Master Greengrass to another Family… Marty no longer serves the Greengrass Family, and Marty does not understand what he did wrong…" Ron blinked at that, and he felt the need to break his own nose for neglecting Marty for so long.

"Marty, Lord Greengrass did sell you" Ron smiled tenderly, and the Elf met his eyes shamefully. "But he sold you to me because I asked for you. You are officially my Elf now. You're a Weasley." Marty blinked rapidly as he processed Ron's words, and then he let out a wail that made Ron jump a bit. "I… I didn't mean to upset you, I thought that you'd be happy…"

"Marty is happy!" Marty wept, and Ron found that hard to believe. "These are tears of relief, Master Weasley! Marty thought that he had shamed his ancestors by being fired, you see… But now Marty knows that he didn't! Marty is truly overjoyed!"

"Oh" Ron muttered, and then he smiled widely. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, Marty is surprised" Marty gave a toothy smile while being covered in tears, and Ron found himself chuckling at the sight. "Marty promises to serve the Weasley Family faithfully, and to always put Master Weasley first." _Maybe I should promise something as well._

"I promise to be a good Master to you" Ron promised, and Marty listened intently. "I will never abuse you, or treat you in a disrespectful manner. I will protect you, and treat you like a member of my family. And I will see to it that all of your needs are met. If you ever need, or want, something, I expect you to come to me without hesitation. And if it's within my power to give, then you will have it." Marty smiled ear to ear, and then he hugged Ron tightly. Ron was taken aback for a moment, but then he put his arms around Marty's tiny body and hugged him back. "Welcome to the family, Marty." Marty sniffled and hugged him more tightly.

* * *

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (The Great Hall – End of Dinner)**_

Dinner had been… odd. Ron's mood was greatly improved because of his chat with Marty, but then it had dampened at the dinner table. His friends had been their usual selves, and the banter was rather amusing, but Daphne was 'ignoring him but not ignoring him'. That was the only way that he could describe her behavior. She responded to him, passed him the bread-rolls, even laughed at his jokes. But the way she looked at him was different, it cold and unfeeling. No one else seemed to notice, but Ron had spent a lot of time with her recently, so it stuck out to him like a bright red flag. She was angry, but she was still going along with his plan. Her loyalty made him cringe with guilt, and so he tried to limit his interactions with her on the dinner table. Ron was more than happy when the school bell went off, and he all but shot out of his seat.

"Want to play some Chess, Ron?" Theo asked, and Ron smiled and nodded. Although Theo would never admit it, he felt a bit guilty for running out on Ron before. But none of them were in the mood to practice spells for hours on end after their long first day back.

"Sure, want to bet money?" Ron asked, and Theo chuckled.

"Sod off with that, I'm not stupid" Theo replied.

"Ron…" came a voice from behind them, and they all stopped just short of exiting the Great Hall. It was Justin Finch-Fletchley, and he had a box of Chocolate Frogs in his hand.

"Justin?" Ron asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, nothing really" Justin smiled pleasantly, something that made Ron's friends cock their eyebrows. "I just wanted to see if you were alright after… you know…"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine mate" Ron smiled back. _Knowing his house, he's probably genuinely worried about me._

"That's good. Here" Justin said as he handed Ron the box of Chocolate Frogs, which Ron took slowly. _What is this?_ "It's from the Hufflepuffs, mostly just us second years. Everyone was worried about you, and the older Hufflepuffs suggested that we get you something to cheer you up."

"Um… Thanks, Justin" Ron blinked, this was new. "And thank the other Hufflepuffs for me, this is a kind gesture."

"I will, take care" Justin smiled widely, and then he walked off towards his friends. Ron gave them all a friendly smile, and they smiled back.

"Hufflepuffs…" Theo muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"I think that was sweet" Tracey told him. _It was sweet, they're a good lot. I should make an effort to befriend more of them, it will help me in the long run._

"Plotting something?" Blaise smirked at Ron, and Ron smirked back. "The look on your face was rather conniving."

"Have the Slytherins ever made an effort to befriend the Hufflepuffs?" Ron asked as they re-started their journey back to the common room.

"Not really" Theo shrugged.

"Our house doesn't get along with others" Millie added. "And the Hufflepuffs have always been on Gryffindor's side. We're more like the Ravenclaws."

"Maybe we ought to change that" Ron smiled as they climbed the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall.

"We?" Pansy asked. "Ron, we can't go around making friends with Hufflepuffs. Everyone will mock us, and we'll be made into a joke."

"I'd like to see someone try and mock me" Ron said flatly, and his friends exchanged looks. "C'mon, they're a kind and loyal lot. Look at this" Ron said as he showed them the box. "They were worried about me, a Slytherin. That's got to count for something, and keeping them at arm's length is just foolish."

"You'd know all about that" Daphne muttered under her breath, but Ron and the others heard her clear as day.

"Daphne?" Tracey gave her a confused look, while Ron just frowned to himself. _Really? Is she that angry that she's just letting it out in public?_

"Ron!" came Hermione's voice from behind them, and Ron turned to see her waving at him. Harry and Neville were behind her, but unlike Hermione, they weren't waving at him enthusiastically.

"Merlin, then there's her…" Tracey rolled her eyes.

"You guys go ahead, I'll join you after I've spoken with them" Ron smiled, and then he handed Millie the box of Chocolate Frogs. "Don't let Theo and Blaise eat these, and I'll give you half."

"Deal" Millie grinned, while Theo and Blaise scoffed. Ron gave them both a sly grin, and then he climbed back up the stairs.

"Hello" Ron greeted the Trio with a smile.

"You're alright" Hermione sighed out. "We heard what happened, but we couldn't find you anywhere. Where did you disappear off to? Even your… friends… didn't know where you went." _What was with that delay? Just ignore it._

"I was at the Black Lake after Madam Pomfrey fixed me up" Ron shrugged. "And don't worry so much, it didn't hurt at all. The Potion that's healing my eyes is just letting the blood out."

"That's kind of gross, Ron" Harry smirked.

"Yeah, it's pretty gross" Ron chuckled. "How are you guys? Enjoying school?"

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, while both Gryffindors shook their heads behind her back. "It feels great to get back into my studies, and without this Heir business looming over us. It's a shame that they canceled the exams though…"

"How is that a shame?" Neville asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Because they won't be testing us on what we've learned this year" Hermione replied.

"The only thing I've learned this year is that Cornish Pixies don't belong in a classroom" Ron joked, which earned him a laugh out of Harry and Neville. "Bloody Lockhart…" Hermione looked a bit sheepish at that, while Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"He was the worst" Harry said. "He'd corner me at every opportunity, and just embarrass me and himself."

"Did he grin the entire time?" Ron asked.

"Merlin… Yes!" Harry exclaimed. "He had the most arrogant grin on the planet, and he was utter fraud in the end."

"Can't say that I'm surprised, the man was a tosser" Ron shook his head.

"Ron, he's still an adult" Hermione scolded.

"One that's being sent to Azkaban on Friday" Neville jumped in. "I'm sorry Hermione, but stealing other people's memories and taking their hard-work for yourself is rather disgusting."

"I never said that it wasn't, just that he's an adult and should be respected" Hermione responded.

"Not everyone deserves respect" Ron told her, and she blinked at him. "Respect has to be earned, not just freely given because someone's passed a certain age."

"My Gran says the same thing" Neville beamed. "Well, sort of… She says that everyone should be open for critique, no matter who they are." _That sounds just like Lord Greengrass. And I agree with them. No one respected me until I earned it, and it should be the same for everyone._ "I told her that you've accepted her invitation, but she hasn't replied yet."

"I look forward to seeing her again" Ron admitted, he was positively ecstatic at the prospect of making another strong ally. _I should do more research into the Ministry, she brought that up last time and I had no clue on how to respond._

"By the way" Harry jumped in. "You remember when we agreed to… spend more time together?" Harry asked, his tone slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, I remember" Ron nodded.

"I was thinking that we could go flying sometime this week" Harry said. "Are you free?"

"Yeah, as long as it's not Saturday" Ron replied, and the Trio smiled widely.

"What about Wednesday?" Harry asked, and Ron nodded.

"Sure, Harry" Ron replied. "We can see who the better seeker is on Wednesday."

"You're on" Harry grinned. _He is going to destroy me, there is no doubt about it in my mind._

"I was thinking of starting our study group again" Hermione piped in, her eyes revealing her excitement. "Are you free on Friday?" _The study group, eh? That could be useful in befriending the Hufflepuffs. I did invite Susan Bones, so maybe I should tell Justin to bring over whoever wants to come along. Oh, and I should invite Padma! I haven't spoken to her in too long._

"I'm free on Friday" Ron agreed. "Are you two coming along?" Harry and Neville closed their eyes tiredly, and Ron felt a pang of guilt for putting them on the spot.

"They're coming" Hermione answered for them. "Harry got an E in Potions before the Break started. An E, Ron!" _Yeesh, but then again… Snape does have it out for the Gryffindors._

"Snape hates me" Harry defended himself.

"You blew up your cauldron, Harry" Hermione huffed. "Don't blame Professor Snape for that."

"That was my fault actually…" Neville smiled sheepishly.

"So you agree then that you both need to be there?" Hermione smiled victoriously. "Good, we'll all be there." Ron shot them both an apologetic smile, and they just shrugged in defeat.

"Mr. Weasley" came a cold voice from the stairs leading into the dungeons, and then Snape came into view. _Speak of the devil, and he shall appear._ "Why are you idling about in the middle of the castle? Dinner is finished, and you should be in your common room." Snape's eyes then shot towards the Gryffindors, and he sneered slightly. "Five points from Gryffindor for lurking about after Dinner has ended, each…" The Gryffindors didn't even bother arguing, they knew that Snape would just take more points from them. _That was just mean, especially because I'm doing the same thing as them and he didn't take points from me._

"Were you looking for me, Sir?" Ron asked, he didn't want to stick around now.

"Yes, I was" Snape drawled as his gaze fell back on Ron. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you, follow me." Snape then began to leave, and Ron began to follow after him. He wasn't even surprised by Dumbledore wanting to see him, they had been meeting up more and more.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to see Ron again?" Harry couldn't help but ask, and even Ron was dumbfounded by Harry's utter disregard for his own well-being. Snape stopped, and he turned around slowly. His glare cut right through the three Gryffindors, who all averted their eyes from his. _They're dead, Harry fucking Potter killed himself and his own friends…_

"Go back to your Tower" Snape hissed. "And never ask me questions outside of class again, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor for your insolence." Snape turned back around and started walking again, and Ron followed him after shooting Harry a sorry look. Hermione was frowning at Harry for losing them more points, while Neville was just patting his back in a consoling manner. They made their way towards Dumbledore's Office, and the silence wasn't really comfortable like usual. "You have something to say, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked, he could sense that the boy was thinking about something.

"I don't want to be disrespectful, Sir" Ron replied, there was no way that he was pissing Snape off too.

"You have my permission to speak freely, just this once" Snape responded. _Alright, here goes then._

"You were a little too harsh with Harry and his friends" Ron said in a subdued voice, and Snape looked at him.

"It's Harry now, is it?" Snape asked coldly. "After all of that drama, you've just moved on?" _Drama? It wasn't drama to me, it fucking hurt._

"I saw no advantage in staying on bad terms with Harry Potter, Sir" Ron replied a little more firmly, and Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"Another powerful friend to add to your ever-growing collection?" Snape asked, his voice low and smooth. "Even a slightly intelligent person would think that you're… up to something."

"I'm securing my future" Ron replied, his reply was technically true.

"Well, I doubt Potter will prove useful to you" Snape said bitterly as he looked forward again. "The boy possesses no real talent besides flying a broomstick, and even his fame is not something that he earned. It was just given to him for simply being born."

"He lost his parents for it…" Ron said softly, and Snape jerked to a halt. Ron stopped too, he knew that he was fucked now. But instead of tearing into him like Ron was expecting, Snape started walking again. The Potions Master didn't utter another word for the remainder of the trip, and he only broke his silence to give the stone gargoyle its password.

"He is expecting you…" Snape said, and then he billowed away without even saying goodbye. _Did I say something that upset him? Can he even get upset?_ Ron shook his head clear, and then he made his way up to Dumbledore's Office. He knocked on the door firmly, and the Headmaster responded.

"Come in" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron entered and shut the door behind him. "Ah, Ronald my dear boy. Come and take a seat, let me pour you some tea." _Wow, that's a rather warm welcome. Thank him, you dolt. Hasn't Daphne taught you anything?_

"Thank you for your heartfelt hospitality, Headmaster" Ron smiled politely, and he took a seat.

"I think you've earned yourself an extra biscuit for your manners" Dumbledore chuckled heartily as he conjured tea and biscuits. Dumbledore then began pouring the tea by hand while Ron waited, his eyes travelling around the room. They stopped on Fawkes, who was staring right at him. Ron's stomach dropped at the sight of the majestic Phoenix, the Entity's words ringing through his head.

" _ **What a weak little creature**_ " the Entity hissed in Ron's mind, and Ron's breathing stopped. _Entity?_ " _ **Shall we show you something, Champion? Here, watch this.**_ " Fawkes suddenly let out a shrill cry and flapped his wings, something that made Dumbledore's head jerk up.

"Fawkes?" Dumbledore asked as he moved over to his faithful companion.

" _ **Watch its pain Champion, and know that we told you the truth**_ " the Entity laughed, and Ron felt his eyes begin to sting. _Stop it! Stop hurting him!_ Fawkes suddenly relaxed, and he ruffled his feathers in confusion. Ron quickly rubbed his eyes clear while Dumbledore was looking away, his heart beating frantically. Ron had to clench his hands in order to stop them from shaking, and he felt a lump form in his throat. _How?! How are you able to do this?!_

"What's the matter, my friend?" Dumbledore asked Fawkes, his voice laced with concern. Fawkes let out a soft cry, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Just rest, Fawkes. I'm sure that it was nothing." _Fuck… Fuck!_ Ron did everything in his power to calm himself down, and he even started counting to ten and breathing deeply. _It was telling the truth… It put me in Slytherin… It's been controlling my life…_ "Ronald, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes shooting between him and Fawkes.

"Y… yes…" Ron croaked, something that made Dumbledore blink at him. "I didn't like seeing him in pain, that's all… Does he do that often?" Sensing Ron's pain and growing panic, Fawkes flew over and perched himself on Ron's right shoulder. _Please don't do that… I don't deserve it…_ Fawkes pecked his right ear gently, something that calmed Dumbledore down. For a second, Dumbledore had thought that Ron was causing Fawkes his pain.

"No, he doesn't" Dumbledore replied as he moved back over to the desk. "It certainly is curious, maybe his wings were in an uncomfortable position. Here, Ronald" Dumbledore said as he put a cup of tea in front of Ron, his eyes still shooting between Ron and Fawkes. "Ronald, are you sure that you're alright? Fawkes can sense your uneasiness." _Shite! Fuck you, Entity! You utter bastard!_

"Just… I'm just having a moment" Ron muttered as he took in another deep breath. "Seeing Fawkes like that triggered it… That's all."

"Triggered?" Dumbledore asked as he sat down, a look of worry on his face. "Is there something that you wish to tell me? Something that might be important for your Headmaster to know?" Ron felt conflicted at his question, telling Dumbledore was probably important in gaining his trust. _But I haven't even told my own friends yet. Just tell him about the Chronic Stress. No, don't show any weakness. What if he deems you too weak to join the Order?_

" _ **Tell him, Champion**_ " the Entity hissed, and Ron went visibly pale. _YOU FUCKER! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_ " _ **Tell him, make him sympathize with you. Use him, we have already earned you his trust.**_ "

"Ronald? You are beginning to worry me" Dumbledore said as he stood up. "I am summoning Madam Pomfrey."

"No, just wait…" Ron said quickly, his eyes meeting Dumbledore's. Dumbledore looked older than usual, his face marred with worry. "I'm just having a… a 'stress moment'. It'll pass… Please don't call her…" Dumbledore sat back down slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron's.

"Tell me what's happened" Dumbledore ordered, his usual merry demeanor gone. Ron's eyes widened a bit at seeing this Dumbledore again, the Dumbledore that Ron hadn't seen since capturing Pettigrew. _Tell him, and then deal with the Entity. Just do it!_

"I was diagnosed with Chronic Stress" Ron averted his gaze as he slumped into his seat, Fawkes still on his shoulder. Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment, his heart clenching at the news. Ronald was only thirteen, and yet he was diagnosed with something so serious.

"I am sorry, my boy" Dumbledore offered his sincere sympathies. They both sat in silence for a few minutes, and Ron eventually started drinking his tea. Fawkes eventually noticed that Ron had started calming down, and so he flew back onto his perch. _It feels oddly good to just tell someone, and not just anyone, but Dumbledore himself. Maybe I need to tell my friends too._

"Did you need something, Headmaster?" Ron asked after he finished his tea, and Dumbledore smiled weakly in response.

"I wanted to know how your meeting with Madam Pomfrey went" Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded in understanding. "Who diagnosed you? Even Poppy isn't capable of diagnosing someone after just one session."

"A Healer named Bernard diagnosed me after Daphne told him of my behavior over the last two years" Ron admitted. "He was the one who was nursing me back to health after my Tournament days."

"I see" Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you for telling me this, Ronald. This is far too important to keep bottled up inside." Ron managed a weak smile at that.

"I'm seeing her again next week" Ron told Dumbledore. "We didn't start off well, but she found a way to make me feel comfortable. And I was able to… open up a bit. It felt nice to just talk to someone about… things."

"I am very happy to hear that, Ronald" Dumbledore relaxed significantly. "More tea?" Ron nodded at that, and Dumbledore refilled his cup by hand.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron smiled gratefully, and then he sipped the hot tea. He was still feeling jittery, and he kept feeling sudden rushes of anxiety because of the Entity. It clearly enjoyed putting Ron through pain, and Ron hated it so much for that. _One day, you bastard… I'm going to figure out a way to get rid of you, just you wait._

"How did your parents take this ill news?" Dumbledore asked, but he already knew the answer to that. The Weasley Family was extremely close, and they would all be devastated.

"Not well" Ron replied with a shrug. "Mum cried, while dad just threw up… But it's given us a chance to try and work things out again…"

"Good" Dumbledore responded, his eyes twinkling a little. "Where there is family, there is love. And you have an extraordinary family, Ronald."

"I haven't told my siblings about my diagnosis" Ron admitted. "Or about my scars…"

"I can understand why you haven't" Dumbledore smiled kindly.

"You can?" Ron asked. "You don't think that I'm being selfish?" Daphne's words were still ringing in his head.

"No, I don't" Dumbledore replied truthfully. "But I hope that eventually, you can find it in yourself to finally tell them."

"Why? What good will come from it?" Ron asked, he dearly hoped that Dumbledore had the answers.

"The same good that came from your parents finding out" Dumbledore replied. "In times of crisis, families have a way of coming closer than ever. They have a way of supporting one another, to give one another the strength to keep fighting. Love, Ronald… Love is the most powerful kind of Magic there is. It is what binds you to this Universe, and it is what binds us all together as a result." Ron thought about Dumbledore's words in silence, his resolve to keep this a secret weakening. "And family does not end with blood Ronald, it just starts there." Ron looked up at that, and he saw the old wizard smiling in a sagely manner.

"My friends…" Ron whispered to himself. _I don't know how he knew about them, but I'm not surprised that he does._

"Give them a chance to surprise you" Dumbledore advised in a tender tone. "Give them a chance to show you their love." Ron put down his empty cup and relaxed into his seat, his eyes on Dumbledore's.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron smiled. _Tomorrow then. I'll tell them tomorrow._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – After Classes)**_

Classes were over for the day, and Ron was making his way towards the Sanctuary. His friends were already there by now, they had gone up ahead because he needed to use the loo. But the truth was that he wanted to look himself in the mirror and give himself a pep-talk. He had thought about how to tell them all night, and he figured that he needed Daphne by his side. She was better at this sort of stuff than him, and he hated how angry she was with him. He also decided that he'd sleep in the bed that he was about to make. If they saw him as weak, or damaged, then he would just live with that. They deserved the chance to show him their love for him, and if it wasn't there, Ron would not hold it against them. He loved them, and that would have to be enough.

Ron pushed the door open, and he entered quickly and shut the door behind him. His friends were sitting on the couches, talking to each other about menial things like homework or Lavender Brown's new make-up. _Time to do this. Just walk up there, and win Daphne over. Let her help you like she's been doing from the moment this shite started._ Ron walked up to Daphne, who was currently talking to Tracey about Witch Weekly's latest entry.

"Daphne" Ron greeted, and she looked to him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Ron, can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Can I have my Nutrition Potion please?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked. Her eyes shot to Tracey's confused face, and then back at Ron's.

"Nutrition Potion?" Tracey asked, and everyone stopped talking and looked to them. Ron just stared at Daphne with a pleading look. _Please help me._

"It's for my well-being" Ron replied to Tracey, and she gave him an even more confused look. "Daphne knows more about it than me."

"What do you mean by 'for your well-being'?" Blaise asked, and Ron turned to everyone else. Daphne was just stunned, and Ron figured that he had fucked that up too. _Just tell them yourself, it's not that hard._

"I saw a Healer while I was in Paris" Ron started slowly. "And… And he diagnosed me with Chronic Stress…" _I did it! Fucking hell, that was so hard._ Ron looked around the room to survey their reactions, and they each had different looks on their faces. Tracey was looking to a stunned Daphne for answers, Pansy was just staring at Ron with wide-eyes, Millie had a look that suggested that she was already thinking of ways to do something about this, Theo was looking at him with a furrowed brow, and Blaise looked like he was piecing things together. "I didn't go to the Black Lake yesterday…" Ron told them, a lump forming in his throat. "I was with Pomfrey, she's my Mind-Healer…"

"Why did you lie?" Tracey asked slowly.

"I was being selfish…" Ron muttered. "I was scared… Scared that you'd all see me as…" Ron trailed off, his eyes stinging.

"See you as what?" Theo asked, his brow even more furrowed.

"Weak… Damaged…" Ron sniffled, he couldn't stop himself from tearing up. He wasn't sure what was causing him to start breaking down like this. Maybe it was the fear that he may have been right all along, or maybe it was the fear that they would be insulted by his lack of faith in them. Whatever was the right reason, his anxiety had just tripled and he couldn't bear it. "I'm sorry for lying…" Tracey got up and hugged him tightly, something that stunned Ron silent.

"What is Chronic Stress?" Blaise asked, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Um…" Ron muttered, Tracey's tightening hug making him lost for words.

"It means that Ron is in a constant state of stress, and even panic" Daphne provided as she stood up to stand next to Ron.

"What's causing it?" Millie asked, her voice slightly panicked. Ron wanted to answer that, but he was just listening to Tracey whisper to him that 'everything was going to be alright'.

"A lot of things" Daphne replied, she was trying to contain her pride at Ron coming clean. "School, work, social life, and other responsibilities. All that matters now is that we help him manage it, because he does need our help." Some proud part of Ron stirred, and he wanted to deny needing help, but he instead just returned Tracey's hug. It was calming him down.

"How do we help him?" Pansy asked as she got up and walked to hug Ron as well.

"Minimize his stress" Daphne replied as a teary-eyed Pansy walked past her. "Make sure that he isn't pushing himself too hard. Make sure that he eats properly, and that he has company. I also want everyone to carry one of these with you at all times" Daphne said as she showed them her vial of Calming Draught. "Ron has a high chance of having more panic attacks, and if he does have one, he needs this as soon as possible. I have a box full of them from my mother, and I will give you each five. Have at least one on your person at all times."

"And what's the Nutrition Potion for?" Theo asked, his eyes glued to Ron. Millie stood up and joined the group hug, and Theo just watched a stunned Ron in the middle.

"It's to help him keep up his strength" Daphne replied. "Chronic Stress causes severe fatigue, and a Nutrition Potion a day makes sure that Ron has enough strength to last the full day." Ron himself didn't know that, he just drank the Potion because Mary wanted him to.

"Fucking hell" Blaise muttered as he finally looked away from Ron. "How do you know all of this, Daphne?"

"I've been reading about it" Daphne replied. "Just to be prepared for Ron's sake."

"So you knew where he was yesterday?" Theo asked, and Daphne nodded.

"It wasn't my place to tell you" Daphne replied. "I only found out because I was there when he was diagnosed. And he didn't want to tell anyone. He still hasn't told his own siblings."

"Why?" Blaise asked as he stood up, his eyes back on Ron. Did he really have no confidence in his own friends?

"He didn't want anyone to worry on his behalf" Daphne replied, and Blaise blinked at her. "He didn't want to cause us any trouble by making us worry over him, so he planned to just go through it alone."

"That's just bloody…" Theo muttered, and then he let out a sigh. "That sounds just like him, so I'm not even surprised. Noble prick…" Daphne smiled a little at that.

"So why tell us now?" Blaise asked, he didn't know whether to comfort Ron or smack him.

"Daphne told me that I was wrong to hide this" Ron finally spoke up, the girls hugging him was just pure relief. "She told me that I was being selfish, and after I thought about it, I realized that she was right."

"You're damn right that she was right" Theo snapped. "You stupid fuck, you could've gotten really hurt. What if you had another panic attack near one of us? We'd have no damn clue on how to help you. Not to mention how guilty we'd feel after…"

"Theo…" Blaise said, stopping Theo's anger short. "Daphne, give me my share of Calming Draughts."

"Me too" Theo frowned at Ron, his eyes betraying his demeanor and showing his worry.

"Us as well" Pansy sniffled as she hugged Ron from behind. To say that Ron was touched would be an understatement. He felt his heart swell at their words, and despite their annoyance, he could see just how much they cared for him. That thought alone made him feel happier than he had felt when he had won this year's Junior League Tournament. Daphne and Dumbledore had been right, all he needed to do was have a little faith. Now all he had to do was eventually tell his siblings, but he would tell Bill and Charlie first because they weren't in Hogwarts. Sending a letter was easier than telling them in person.

"Thank you…" Ron said to his friends. "I'm still… me. But thank you."

"You can count on us, Ron" Tracey said firmly. "We won't let you down, I promise."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Quidditch Pitch)**_

Ron was a mystery to her sometimes. Of all the people that Ron called his friends, Daphne prided herself as being the one person that he truly trusted and opened up to. And after yesterday, she had been so happy and proud of him. But then this morning, Ron had somehow managed to anger her again. She didn't know how he did that, but he always managed to catch her off-guard. They had come up with a simple plan yesterday, and that plan revolved around limiting Ron's worries. Chief among them being his constant fight to be accepted by the other Slytherins. Ron had agreed wholeheartedly, grinning ear-to-ear at seeing everyone looking out for him for a change.

And then he had just casually dropped the fact that he was going flying with Harry Potter today, and now here she was, watching Ron get destroyed by Potter as they both tried to catch the Golden Snitch. It wasn't even a competition, Potter was outmaneuvering Ron at every turn. _I hope lightning strikes Potter's broom. And then I hope it strikes Ron's thick skull._ Not only was Potter destroying Ron at being Seeker, but it was in front of a small audience of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Their teams would be playing in an hour or so, and right now they were gossiping to each other animatedly. Word of Ron getting beaten by Potter would spread, and yet, the red-haired oaf was flying around with a happy grin. She'd punch him in the face if he wasn't so damn cute.

"Ron seems to be enjoying himself with Potter" Pansy mused, her eyes fixed on both boys. Daphne looked over to her, they were currently in the Slytherin stands. Blaise and Theo were on the pitch, getting ready to join Potter and Ron.

"He shouldn't be" Daphne huffed indignantly. "Those Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are going to tell everyone about this. And then not only will the Slytherins be upset with Ron for associating with Potter, but they'll also be angered at him for losing."

"You're right" Tracey frowned. "Why does he even want to be friends with Potter after all that happened? We all saw how hurt he was when Potter went behind his back, and yet he always goes back to them."

"Goes back to him" Pansy muttered, and then she and Millie exchanged looks. _Why do they keep doing that?_

"What's up with you two lately?" Daphne asked, and both girls looked to her with slightly panicked looks. _Okay, now I need to know._ "Start talking… What are you two hiding?"

"Oh good, so I'm not the only one who's noticed their whisperings and odd looks" Tracey grinned at Millie and Pansy. "Are you two dating now?"

"What? No" Millie frowned, and Tracey broke into a chuckle.

"Daphne and I won't judge, we've tried kissing and stuff together" Tracey lied, and both Millie and Pansy were shocked. Daphne smacked Tracey immediately, and her best friend melted into giggles.

"She's lying, now spill the beans" Daphne said firmly. "Why do you two keep exchanging looks whenever you talk about Ron?"

"Alright…" Pansy started, an apologetic look on her face. "Have you noticed how Ron doesn't even react when we hug him, or give him kisses?" _He reacts when I do, but go on._

"I suppose…" Tracey narrowed her eyes slightly.

"And now he has all these girls who are openly interested in him, but he isn't even lifting a finger about it" Millie jumped in. _He isn't doing that because I'd break that finger._ "I saw Lavender Brown batting her eyes at him for almost twenty minutes during History of Magic, and he only smiled at her in a friendly manner. What boy wouldn't at least be excited by a girl as pretty as Brown showing an interest in him?" _A boy that has a much prettier girl showing an interest in him._ Daphne fought the urge to smirk arrogantly.

"And when have you seen him really look at any girl 'in that way'?" Pansy added on. _Alright, where are they going with this?_

"He's flirted with me a few times" Tracey shrugged, and Daphne immediately tensed. _What? When? Why? And why didn't you stop it?_ Daphne glared at Tracey, who immediately gave her a sheepish grin. "It's only happened a couple of times, that's it. And it's all in fun, neither of us mean anything by it."

"Then you shouldn't do it at all" Daphne said, her tone barely coming out as tolerable. _Traitor!_

"Daphne, she said that neither of them mean it" Pansy said slowly. "Millie and I were talking about Ron resisting all those allures… And we think we might know how he managed it." Both Tracey and Daphne leaned in instinctively, this was far too interesting.

"So? How did he do it?" Tracey asked with bated breath. Pansy and Millie exchanged looks, and then they both nodded.

"We believe that Ron is gay" Millie said with a dead-serious face. _Pardon?_

"What?" Tracey blinked, a look of pure disbelief marring her features. Daphne just stared at Millie and Pansy, her own brain trying to process what they just said. Were they joking? No, they looked dead-serious and even apologetic towards Daphne. Were they insane? Most definitely. Images of Ron blushing scarlet from her kisses bombarded her mind, and a laugh escaped her throat. She put her hand on her mouth to stop it, but the shocked looks on Pansy and Millie's face broke the dam, and Daphne released a cackle unlike ever before.

"What?!" Daphne laughed. "Gay! HAHAHAHA!" Daphne's eyes immediately began to sting, and she shot an apologetic look to both Pansy and Mille. Both girls were just staring at her with open mouths, their eyes wide from her reaction. "Oh Merlin! Ron! Gay! HAHAHAHA!" Her lungs ached slightly, and she tried to take in more air. But it was pointless, every time she thought about their dead-serious faces, a louder cackle escaped her throat. Even Tracey started laughing, but not nearly as hard as Daphne. _Control yourself, Ladies don't laugh like this!_ "I'm sorry… I'm sorry" Daphne wheezed, and then she looked at Millie and Pansy.

"It's true, Daphne" Pansy said apologetically, and Daphne broke out in another laugh. _Ron?! Gay?! Trust me, he is not gay! Merlin, they're both bloody insane!_ Daphne tried to control her breathing, her jaw and cheeks were beginning to hurt. Her mind raced back to Paris, and the dozens of kisses that they had shared in secret. Daphne had to press her hands over her mouth to stop her mad cackles.

"Are you two insane?" Tracey laughed, and Daphne found herself barely stifling her laughter. This was gold, and her father had taught her to never fail an opportunity. _Maybe I should exact some revenge on Ron? I'm still a bit angry with him from Monday, and this will teach him to never anger me again._

"Ron isn't gay" Daphne coughed, and then she cleared her throat. _I'm going to destroy Ron with this._

"Daph, I know that you like him a lot" Millie said gently, and it took everything in Daphne to not start cackling again. "And that you're still crushing on him, but we're friends. And so we thought that it was best to tell you now. Before you spend too much time pining for someone who can never see you that way." DON'T LAUGH IN HER FACE, DAPHNE! CONTROL! Daphne's face shook slightly because of how hard she had to clench her teeth, and their sorry looks were not helping.

"We can't just assume something like this" Daphne managed to say, her lips twitching upwards.

"Daph… Don't do this to yourself" Pansy put her hand on Daphne's lap. _Merlin! I can't keep it in! Ron… Gay! HAHAHA!_ Daphne's entire body shook from her stifled laughter, and she fought with all of her strength to stop. Pansy exchanged a worried look with Millie, both of them knew that Daphne wasn't going to take this well.

"You two are certifiably insane" Tracey wheezed. "Completely off your rockers… And I'm with Daphne, we can't just assume something like this."

"We need to test it" Daphne managed. "I can't believe it otherwise…"

"Same" Tracey breathed out, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"Alright Daphne, if that's what it takes" Millie sighed. "But I just want to warn you… If we are right about Ron, I won't let you get angry with him. I won't let you lash out at him just because he can't return your feelings." _Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. The only person who should be worried is Ron. This is going to be great!_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Great Hall – Dinner)**_

Daphne slowly nudged Pansy, a clear signal that they should start their test now. Pansy shot her a look, and then she sighed softly. Ron was eating his food with gusto, having worked up an appetite from being destroyed by Potter on the Quidditch Pitch. Theo and Blaise was sulking, but oddly enough, Ron didn't seem to care about his loss.

"Ron" Pansy called out his name gently, and Daphne pressed her lips together to stop another bout of hysterical laughing. Ron looked up from his plate with a smile that made Daphne's stomach fill up with butterflies. _He's so cute._

"Yeah, Pans?" Ron asked after he swallowed his bite.

"Brown was asking me about you" Pansy initiated their plan. "She wanted to know if you're free anytime soon, she wanted to talk to you." This was a complete fabrication created by none other than Daphne herself.

"Talk?" Ron raised an eyebrow, his eyes shooting towards Daphne for the shortest of moments. To anyone else, it probably seemed like nothing. But Daphne knew that he was thinking about her instead of Lavender Brown.

"I think she likes you" Pansy told him, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I'm not really interested in Lavender" Ron responded, and Daphne fought the urge to smile.

"What about someone else?" Daphne asked, and Ron looked slightly conflicted. _Just the reaction that I wanted._ "Any other girls strike your fancy?" Theo and Blaise looked at her with disbelieving looks, while Ron shifted in his seat.

"No, not really interested in any girls" Ron said softly as he looked back down to his plate. _He's averting his gaze! Haha! So adorable!_ Theo and Blaise slowly shifted away from Ron, they didn't want Daphne exploding on them. They knew how she felt about him, so Ron was the only one on the table who didn't know that he was a dead man. Pansy shot a meaningful look towards Daphne, and Daphne shook her head ever so slightly. Pansy frowned, and pushed on.

"So you and Potter are friends again?" Pansy asked, and Ron looked back up.

"Um… Yes…" Ron replied slowly. _Time for my own little plan._ Daphne extended her right foot, and she tapped Ron's left leg. Ron shifted in his seat again, his eyes moving between each girl. Daphne kept a straight face, Ron was no doubt trying to figure out whose foot was touching his shin.

"Potter isn't so bad" Pansy mused, and Ron blinked. Even Theo and Blaise shot her odd looks, and Daphne took the opportunity to start moving her foot up and down Ron's leg. She didn't mind the innocent game of footsies with Ron, mostly because she was looking for a desired reaction. She wanted him to blush when he spoke about Potter. Ron's eyes met hers for a second, and she quirked her lips up slightly. His entire demeanor changed to one of panic, what the fuck was she doing?! "What do you think of Potter, Ron?" Pansy asked.

"Um…" Ron swallowed as he tried to move his leg away, but Daphne's foot followed it. "He's a nice bloke… A little too self-righteous, but not a bad person…" Even Tracey, who was completely against Millie and Pansy's theory, was now studying Ron's face. There was a hint of a blush on it, and Daphne decided to redouble her efforts. She pulled her foot back, used her other foot to take off her shoe, and then started playing footsies with Ron again. His blush became slightly more visible when she touch his leg with a shoe on, and he tried to move his leg again.

"He's not bad-looking either" Millie provided not so subtly, and all three boys gave her confused looks. "What do you think, Ron?" Millie asked, and Daphne kept rubbing her foot up and down his shin. Ron was clearly uncomfortable, and he was going redder by the second.

"I guess he isn't" Ron muttered, his cheeks rosy and his ears red. Tracey was just staring at Ron in disbelief. "Do you like him?" Ron asked Millie, trying his best to ignore Daphne's foot. He planned to interrogate her later, and probably tell her off for being an idiot.

"What? No" Millie quickly denied. "But if someone did… Then they should go for it… Hiding your true feelings is never a good thing." Theo just stared at Millie like she was insane, while Blaise looked like he was struggling to keep up. And Ron… Ron was blushing just like Daphne wanted. _Stay calm, and keep at it._ Daphne used the sole of her foot to rub the side of Ron's calf, and he jerked slightly.

"I guess it isn't" Ron responded to Millie. Half of him was confused by Millie's cryptic message, while the other half was wondering what the fuck had gotten into Daphne.

"I don't believe it…" Tracey whispered to herself, Ron's blush when talking about Potter was hard-proof. Daphne moved her foot back at that, and she put her shoe back on. _My work here is done._ Ron looked back down at his plate, a look of confusion matching his heavy blush. Pansy shot Daphne a quick apologetic look, while Millie just concentrated on her plate. She hated doing this to Daphne, but it was for her own good. Tracey didn't even know what to think, but she knew that she'd support Ron no matter what. And Daphne… Daphne fought the urge to break out into another mad cackle.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Morning Free Periods – Sanctuary)**_

Ron was doing what he always did during the Thursday free periods, he was practicing his Spellwork against the dummies. He was dodging their Jinxes, blocking or deflecting any that he couldn't dodge, and then he'd try to disarm the dummies as fast as possible. It was impressive to watch, and Daphne certainly didn't mind seeing him practice. But her attention was elsewhere right now, she was trying to focus on Pansy and Millie's conversation with Tracey. They had spent all night in utter shock, even Pansy and Millie was surprised to see Ron blush so much. None of the girls, except for Daphne, had seen him like that before.

"You reckon he'll ever ask Potter out?" Tracey giggled, her eyes darting towards Ron. They lingered on Ron as he disarmed two dummies in quick succession, and they widened a bit when he wiped the sweat from his brow. His shoulders and chest were heaving up and down as he caught his breath. "It's a shame that he's gay…" Daphne shot her a scathing look on instinct, but she quickly pulled in her jealousy. "What Daph? He's gay, I can admire him out in the open now." _What does she mean by 'out in the open'? Does she 'admire' him secretly?!_

"He isn't the most handsome boy in our year, but he is rather attractive" Pansy joined in. _What is this?! Do they think that they can just start eyeing him now that he's off-limits? Well, he is off-limits! He's mine!_ Daphne had to fight the urge to snarl at her friends like some savage beast.

"Strong, and tall" Millie nodded. "And definitely the best wizard in our year, if not all the lower years."

"And he's so sweet as well" Tracey added on. "Damn, why is he gay?" _Tracey, I will throttle you in your sleep tonight._

"How are you doing with all of this, Daph?" Pansy asked in a comforting tone, and Daphne shot her a defeated look.

"I'm fine…" Daphne muttered dejectedly, her inner-self grinning in a manner that would frighten even Astoria.

"I'm really sorry, Daph" Tracey said as she put her arm around Daphne and squeezed her lovingly. "There's plenty of guys in our year that like you, but Ron just isn't one of them."

"You reckon we should tell Theo and Blaise when they get here?" Millie asked, her eyes looking at Daphne with worry.

"No, not yet" Pansy whispered. "They'll just get scared, and probably confront Ron. I don't want Ron getting hurt." _Oh, he'll get hurt alright. And so will you lot now that I know that you all 'admire' him._

"What are you girls up to?" came Ron's voice, and all of their eyes went towards him. He was wearing his running gear, and he was sweating profusely. _But he's wearing a jumper to keep his scars hidden._

"Nothing" Tracey replied quickly, and Ron nodded slowly while eyeing her. "How was training?"

"Just taking a break" Ron replied. "And I was wondering if any of you wanted to join me?"

"I'll join you for a bit" Millie smiled sympathetically, and Ron beamed.

"Really?!" Ron smiled ear-to-ear.

"I'll join you too" Tracey joined in. "You can show me that Shield Charm again, and I'll get it right this time."

"Yes, yes of course" Ron laughed, his eyes swimming with joy. _Wow, he really wants us to join him that badly?_ Daphne felt a small sting from guilt, maybe he did feel lonely like Healer Bernard had told her. _And I always said no to his training sessions._ "We can start right now" Ron offered excitedly, and the girls all stood up. Daphne however, decided to remain seated. She felt guilty, but she had a plan to finish.

"I don't feel up to it" Daphne said dejectedly. "You guys go on without me." The girls gave her understanding looks as they made their way towards the practicing area, while Ron gave her a worried look and stayed in place.

"Daph, is everything alright?" Ron asked, he was genuinely worried.

"I'm fine…" Daphne replied. "Ron, can we please talk during lunch? Just you and me?" Ron nodded slowly.

"Alright, we can talk here after everyone else leaves" Ron replied, a comforting smile on his face. Daphne almost felt bad about her prank. Almost…

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Lunch-time - Sanctuary)**_

"You guys go on" Ron smiled widely at his friends. "And well done, Trace. You did a great job at learning to block those Jinxes."

"Thanks, Ron" Tracey smiled proudly, it wasn't so hard anymore. At first she just wanted to be there for him, but his patient and kind demeanor really helped her get it.

"We'll see you in the Great Hall?" Theo asked, and Ron nodded. Daphne looked over to them from the couch, Merlin she had been bored witless. Theo and Blaise had joined Ron and the girls when they showed up, and this left Daphne all by herself. _But it'll be worth it now. Yes…_ Millie shot her a meaningful look, and Daphne smiled softly. Millie bought her innocent act, and she left with their other friends. This left only Ron and Daphne behind, and Ron rushed over to her.

"Daph, tell me what's wrong?" Ron asked quickly, and even she was slightly taken aback by his worried expression. "Did someone say something to you? Who was it? Give me their name, I'll make them pay. Was it Malfoy again?" _He was that worried this entire time? Damnit… I made him stress, didn't I?_

"No one said anything, Ron" Daphne smiled weakly, and Ron blinked.

"Then what's wrong?" Ron asked as he sat down beside her.

"We can't do this anymore, Ron" Daphne initiated the final part of her plan.

"Do what?" Ron asked.

"Kissing… and flirting…" Daphne sighed, and Ron seemed to just stop in time.

"What?" he asked meekly. "Did… Did I do something?"

"I know the truth now, Ron" Daphne looked him in the eyes, and she saw that he was hiding his hurt.

"What truth?" Ron asked with a whisper.

"That you're not into girls" Daphne told him, and all of his hurt just vanished. It was replaced with utter confusion. _There it is! Haha, YES!_

"What… the… fuck…?" Ron mumbled. "Who the hell told you that?" Daphne couldn't stop her smile from spreading across her face, and Ron eyed her in a shocked manner. "Daph, what the hell is going on? Does this have something to do with your actions last night at the dinner table?"

"Millie and Pansy told me that you were able to resist the Veelas because you might be gay" Daphne replied innocently, and Ron looked at her like she was an idiot.

"What the fuck, Daphne?" Ron asked. "You know that that's not even remotely true."

"Then why did you blush so much when we asked you about Potter?" Daphne asked, she was barely able to contain her glee.

"Blush? Potter?" Ron asked, and then his eyes widened. "Oh Merlin… I blushed because you were…" He looked her right in her eyes, and she burst into laughter.

"THEY THINK YOU'RE GAY NOW!" Daphne laughed, and she clutched her sides as she guffawed like a mad-woman. "OH MERLIN, ALL THREE OF THEM ARE FULLY CONVINCED OF IT!" Ron just stared at her with utter shock and disbelief. Her questions, her game of footsies, and her dejected demeanor all made sense now. She was playing them, and him, for fools. And she had convinced the girls that he was gay.

"Daphne, what the fuck?!" Ron yelled as he shot out of his seat, but she just rolled onto the couch laughing.

"I couldn't help myself…" Daphne wheezed. "They think that you and Potter are going to become an item! Merlin, save me… HAHAHA!"

"This is not funny!" Ron snapped. "How could you do this to me?! Stop laughing!"

"I'm… I'm trying…" Daphne tried to stifle her laugh. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. I was… I was still angry… And I just had to… HAHA!"

"Oh fuck" Ron muttered as he thought back to Tracey's reaction during training. "I ended up touching the side of Tracey's chest by mistake, and instead of tearing me in half, she just smiled and said that it was fine. She said that she didn't mind as long as it was me doing it… And I've just been thinking about that like some idiot… She didn't mind because she thought I was… That I am… gay…" Daphne's laughter came back with full force, and she had to bury her face in the couch because her lungs were starting to hurt. "Daphne… I am going to kill you!" Ron bellowed, and he moved forward to grab her. But he stopped midway, his expression darkening. "You know what?"

"What?" Daphne coughed as her laughter died down.

"You're right…" Ron nodded slowly, something shifting in his eyes.

"About what?" Daphne asked.

"We shouldn't do this anymore" Ron told her, a dead-serious look on his face. _Pardon?_

"Do what?" Daphne asked, her laughter all but dying out.

"Kissing… and flirting…" Ron mimicked her bitterly, and then he turned around and began to leave. Panic seized her.

"It was just a practical joke, Ron" Daphne frowned as she followed after him. "You're taking it too seriously. Ron just stop…" Daphne said as she grabbed his arm, but he jerked his arm away. "Ron…"

"You think it's funny to spread lies about me?" Ron turned on her. "I'll teach you a lesson, just like I taught Potter" Ron towered over her, and she shrank back with wide eyes. His cold blue eyes were just seeing through her rather than seeing her.

"Ron…" she managed to mutter. The look on his face scared her, it was cold and lifeless. He turned back around and marched out of the Sanctuary, and Daphne felt a pit in her stomach. _Follow him! What are you doing?_ Daphne willed her feet to move, and she followed after him. "Ron it was just a joke… I swear! Why are you taking it so seriously?"

"Because I have to now convince my friends that I'm not actually gay" Ron snapped. "Go away, Daphne."

"We're both going in the same direction, genius!" Daphne bit out, and then she instantly regretted it. "Ron, I'm sorry. I'll tell them that I was behind it, alright?! Just don't be so angry over a joke." Ron ignored her as he made his way down to the Great Hall, and so she tried to stop him again by grabbing his arm. But he jerked it away again and quickened his pace. And before she knew it, they were both entering the Great Hall. She schooled her features, but just barely. She followed after Ron, and he took his usual seat between Theo and Blaise.

"Ron, you alright?" Theo asked, and Ron broke into a friendly smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Ron replied with ease, something that made Daphne blink in shock. _He just… He's that good at lying?_ "Pansy, you remember what you said yesterday?" Ron asked, and Pansy smiled at him.

"About?" she asked.

"About Lavender Brown?" Ron reminded, and even more panic gripped Daphne. _He wouldn't…_

"Um… yes" Pansy replied. "What do you want with her?"

"I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that I want to talk to her" Ron smiled as he piled food onto his plate. "I think I'll ask her out." Daphne just froze, her mind going blank. Pansy and Millie both blinked, while Tracey's mind went straight to the 'training incident'.

"Oh fuck…" Tracey whispered to herself, her face turning red. She had said something very misleading to him.

"Lavender, mate?" Theo grinned, and then he patted Ron's back. "Great choice!" _You wouldn't dare!_ Daphne kicked Ron's leg under the table, but he didn't even seem to register it. So she kicked harder, and pain flashed across his face for a split second. _Damn his high tolerance for pain._

"But… but I thought…" Pansy stammered, while Millie just looked at Ron with wide-eyes.

"Where are you going to take her?" Blaise asked with a smirk. "We're second years, so we can't go to Hogsmeade."

"The Black Lake" Ron shrugged. "I'll ask her to go on a walk with me **tomorrow** **after** **classes**."

"Nice" Theo grinned. "Finally, you're doing something with your fame." All four girls were in utterly different places. Tracey was just mortified by her own comment from earlier, Pansy was trying to figure out how to tell Ron that it was a lie, Millie was regretting ever listening to Pansy, and Daphne was shaking with anger. "Just talk to her after Potions, she's been eyeing you in every class anyway."

"You're right, Theo" Ron smiled coldly. "After Potions, I'll ask her out for tomorrow." _IT WAS JUST A JOKE!_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (After Potions Class)**_

Potions had been hell for Daphne, especially the last half of it. Ron had waved to Brown during class, and that stupid bimbo had waved back with so much enthusiasm that Daphne worried for a second that her hand was going to fall off. Daphne had also spent the majority of the class glaring at Pansy and Millie, and both girls were doing their best to hide from her glare. Tracey was just red in the face for the first half because she was partnered with Ron, but then they had started talking and now she was laughing as usual. Whatever her worries were, Ron had put them out. But Daphne's worries were just piling on, especially because she knew that she was the cause of Ron's actions.

When the bell finally rang, Ron made his way over to Lavender Brown while Daphne struggled to even move. _He won't do it. He would never do that to me._ As Ron spoke with Brown, who was just batting her eyes at him, Daphne felt her chest tighten painfully. And then suddenly, Daphne felt the urge to run forward and clock Brown. But just as she took a step forward, Brown squealed excitedly.

"Then I'll see you after classes tomorrow, Ron" Brown squealed, and Daphne just stood there with her eyes fixed on Ron's back. He gave Brown a parting nod, and then he began making his way out of the classroom. Brown started talking to Parvati Patil excitedly, and Daphne felt bile at the back of her throat. _He… He actually asked her out…_

"Daph" came Tracey's voice, and Daphne felt herself being nudged. "Are you alright?"

"No…" Daphne mumbled, her chest hurting. She then looked over to Ron smiling proudly as he left the classroom, and she found herself gnashing her teeth. _How could he do this over a fucking joke?!_ Daphne suddenly found herself moving without willing it, and pretty soon, she was hot on his trail. She could feel the girls following her sheepishly, especially Millie and Pansy. But she couldn't care less right now because she wanted to rip Ron's face off. She followed him and the boys into the common room, and then she followed them towards their dorm. She entered right behind them, and that's when they realized that she was trailing them this entire time.

"Daphne, what are you…?" Theo started, but Daphne cut him off.

"Get out!" she snapped at him, and Theo frowned at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Theo, Blaise" Ron said calmly. "Can you give me and Daphne a second? I think that we're about to fight." Theo and Blaise exchanged quick looks, and then they sighed tiredly.

"Don't break anything" Blaise warned, and then he made his way out with Theo in tow. They closed the door behind them, and Daphne locked it angrily. She turned around with a teary-eyed glare, her clenched fists shaking from anger.

"IT WAS A JOKE!" she screamed at him, and he just blinked. "How could you do that to me?!"

"Do what?" Ron asked calmly, and Daphne blinked. She felt her tears escape, but she was slightly confused his question so she didn't care.

"You asked Brown out… and she said yes…" Daphne replied with a strained voice. "I was just joking… But you actually asked her out…"

"I only asked her to join my study group tomorrow" Ron stated with an innocent voice, and Daphne just stared at him. "It's after classes. Parvati is also invited, and so are a bunch of Hufflepuffs and Padma. You should come along as well."

"Wh… what?" Daphne stuttered.

"Consider us even now" Ron laughed, and Daphne just stared at him. "The girls know that I'm not gay now, and I got you back for hurting my feelings as well. Damn, I'm good."

"Your feelings?" Daphne asked, her brain was trying to process everything.

"What? You think that it didn't hurt me when you said that you wanted to stop being… whatever we are?" Ron asked, and Daphne just blinked again. "It hurt a lot, and now we're even. I didn't ask Lavender out, I don't see her that way. Tell me, did you really believe that I'd get so angry with you?" Daphne felt her blood boil at his shite-eating grin, and she charged him without a second thought.

"You arsehole!" Daphne yelled, and Ron's eyes widened in fear.

"DAPHNE!" Ron screamed as he turned to run, but she jumped onto his back and put him in a headlock. "Oh fuck! Get off me!"

"NO!" Daphne screeched she choked him with her right arm, and she pulled his hair with her left.

"AH!" Ron screamed, but he was clearly laughing as well. "Get off me!"

"I'm going to kill you!" Daphne felt the urge to bite him as well. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt?!"

"I do! Please get off!" Ron laughed, and then he winced. "My beautiful hair! Show mercy, woman!"

"Ron!" came Blaise's voice from outside, and then there was a knock against the door.

"She's lost her mind, Blaise!" Ron howled with laughter as he swung about, and Daphne swung around on his back. "Save yourself!"

"Stop laughing, you arse" Daphne hissed. "I hate your guts…"

"I'm unlocking this door!" Theo called. "Alohomora!" The door burst open after that, and all of their friends stared from the door as Daphne tried to strangle a hysterical Ron. Their eyes were wide with shock, especially the girls.

"Get her off me!" Ron guffawed. "She's so heavy, my spine is bending out of shape!"

"Are you calling me fat?!" Daphne shrieked.

"NO!" Ron laughed loudly. "You idiots want to help or what?!" Theo and Blaise rushed in at that, and they began trying to separate the two of them.

"What's the matter with you two?" Blaise hissed as he tried to pry Daphne off Ron.

"Fucking hell, she's breaking my neck" Ron coughed.

"What the hell are you doing, Daphne?" Theo asked as he pulled at Ron. "Let him go, you psycho." The girls just watched from the entrance in absolute horror, Daphne's mind had officially snapped. But deep down, she was just overjoyed.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Lunch-Time - Dungeons)**_

Never tickle a sleeping Dragon, this was the Hogwarts motto. Ron now had his own motto, never piss off Daphne fucking Greengrass. It left you with a bruise around your neck, and with scratches on your face. Not to mention pulled hair, and a sore back. But it had been so fucking worth it. Ron had laughed for twenty minutes straight while Theo and Blaise had restrained Daphne, but that wasn't even the best part. Ron had told them all that Daphne had just attacked him for no good reason. All he had done was ask Lavender and her friend Parvati to join his ever-growing study group, and Daphne had attacked him for it. He pretended to be ignorant of her reasoning, and Daphne was forced to apologize to him in order to hide their secret relationship.

To his friends, Daphne came across as a crazy person who had attacked Ron for showing feelings towards another girl. While Ron came across as the poor guy who had chickened out at the last second from asking Lavender out, and had therefore invited her to his study group instead. It had all worked out, except for the bruises. Oh, and Daphne was furious. That wasn't a win either, but Ron figured that she'd get over it. She pranked him, and so he pranked her. They were even now, and even if she wouldn't admit it, Ron knew that she felt the same way. Their friends however, were annoyed with Daphne for her behavior. Especially Theo and Blaise, who had labeled her as a 'psychotic bint'.

They were all heading to Lunch right now, well not exactly. All of Ron's friends were heading to Lunch, while Ron followed them with a Disillusionment Charm. He had snuck off right before they had all decided to leave, and told his friends to go on. This way, he could pull Daphne aside and they could talk. Ron tiptoed towards Daphne, who was walking on the opposite side of the boys, and he tucked at her robes. Daphne stopped immediately, and she looked around.

"Daph?" Tracey stopped as well, and so did the others. "You alright?"

"Yeah" Daphne mumbled, her eyes darting around her. Ron bit back his snigger, Merlin he loved this Spell. "Thought I felt something…"

"Crazy…" Theo clicked his tongue, and Daphne shot him a glare. "Crazy how much draft there is in this castle, eh?" Theo corrected himself, and Blaise rolled his eyes. Ron tugged at Daphne's robes again, and she looked in his direction. Her eyes widened for a second, and then she relaxed.

"I knew it" Daphne sighed. "I forgot something back in our room, I'm going to go and get it now."

"Forgot what?" Millie asked. _A certain red-head._

"My tennis bracelet" Daphne lied, her arms fully covered by her school cloak. "I don't like to be without it, you guys go on ahead." Daphne then started making her way back, and Ron followed after her with a smile. Their friends just shook their heads, sighed, and began making their way back to the Great Hall. Ron followed Daphne all the way to an abandoned classroom in the dungeons, and he followed her inside. "Ron?" Daphne called after the door closed, and Ron lifted the Charm. She gasped when he just appeared right behind her, and then she let out a sigh. "Merlin, that's so scary."

"Tennis bracelet? That was your best excuse?" Ron grinned. _Even Luna can lie better than that. Which is saying something._

"Yeah, not my best…" Daphne sighed. "But you try and come up with something when you think a ghost is trying to pull one on you." Her expression softened when she looked at his neck, and then she looked extremely guilty when she saw the scratches on the left side of his face. "I'm sorry…"

"For attacking me?" Ron laughed, and she nodded.

"Why aren't you angry?" Daphne asked as she took a step forward, and then she turned his head slowly to look at the scratches. She drew in a sharp breath at how red and visible they were. "I'm so sorry for attacking you, I just…"

"Just what?" Ron asked, an amused smile on his face.

"I don't know… I was so angry, and so happy…"

"Happy?" Ron asked with a bemused expression. "If that was happy, Merlin help whoever truly pisses you off." Daphne let out a dry chuckle, but her face morphed back into a guilty one. "Are you actually just upset? I thought that you were angry with me."

"I'm angry at myself" Daphne sighed. "I shouldn't have done that" she said as she looked at his neck. The bruise wasn't that bad, his scratches were worse.

"Eh, don't worry" Ron shrugged. "I grew up with five older brothers, and Ginny Weasley. This is nothing." They both just stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Daphne broke the silence.

"Did I really hurt your feelings when I said that I didn't want us to be… what we are?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Ron asked.

"No" Daphne shook her head. "I just thought that I'd have my laugh, and then explain everything. I'm not… I'm not very good at pranks, am I?"

"What? Even I have to admit that convincing the girls that I was gay was actually quite brilliant" Ron laughed, and Daphne blinked at him. "You're a natural, trust me. You just need to learn how to stick your landings. And how to take a prank yourself."

"I guess you were pretty clever… when you convinced me that you asked Brown out" Daphne smiled softly. "Is that why you made sure to emphasize that it was happening today after classes?" Ron nodded with a grin. "I underestimated you…"

"Many have made that mistake" Ron shrugged. "Peace?"

"Peace" Daphne agreed. Ron then leaned forward and pecked her lips, something that caught her slightly off-guard. He barely ever initiated the kissing.

"Haven't done that since Paris" Ron smiled. "I've missed it."

"I missed it too" Daphne smiled widely, and then she gave him a long kiss in return. When they broke apart to catch their breath, Ron gave her a massive smile.

"The only girl that I like… is you" Ron said as he averted his gaze a bit. "And I'm not good at telling you that… But there you go…" Daphne beamed at him, and then she kissed him again.

"Let's not do that to each other again" Daphne suggested as she put her arms around his lower back. Ron slowly put his arms around her upper back, this was an odd sort of hug. It felt more… intimate.

"How about we prank each other, but never hurt each other's feelings" Ron suggested, and she nodded in agreement.

"So you admit that you have feelings for me?" Daphne asked, half teasing and half hopeful. _Just tell her the truth. The truth you felt when she said that we needed to stop._

"I do" Ron admitted, and Daphne leaned up and kissed him hard on the mouth.

"You'd better watch your back from now on, Weasley" Daphne smirked after they ended their kiss. "I'm going to prank you so hard."

"That's your trash talk?" Ron chuckled, and she pouted adorably. "Bring it on Greengrass, I'll show you everything that I've learned from the twins." They narrowed their eyes at each other, and then they smiled competitively.

"But don't prank me in public" Daphne quickly added. "I don't want to be embarrassed in front of people."

"Same."

"No, I can prank you wherever I want" Daphne disagreed, and he laughed from disbelief.

"Why would I agree to that?" Ron asked humorously.

"Because you like me" Daphne hummed, and Ron rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Fine" Ron agreed, and Daphne smiled widely.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: There you have it! It was a big chapter to make up for the fact that I was late. But studies come first, sadly... Anyway! I hope you enjoyed that, and that you enjoyed their little 'fight'.**

 **Next Chapter will be the one that ends Second year now that Ron has a basic routine to follow.**

 **Now for the hints: Hermione's study group (That Ron has filled up with people that he wants to ally with). Wonder how she'll take that. Draco and Ron confrontation. Ron and Lord Greengrass. Maybe some pranks? House-Cup ceremony. Train ride home.**

 **See you guys on Sunday! I need around three to four days for each Chapter now.**


	54. Chapter 54 - A Long Overdue Chat

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 54 is here, and I didn't finish second year... FUCK! I decided to lay some ground-work for third year instead, which I'm happy to reveal will be a completely new story. No Azkaban escapee. It will have... other problems...**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 54 – A Long Overdue Chat**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Library – Study Group)**_

"What happened to you, Ron?" Colin Creevey asked, every eye looking at Ron's face scratches and the bruise on his neck. Daphne tensed on his left, while Millie kept her poker-face. The two girls had taken either side of Ron immediately, no doubt to wall off anyone who wanted to sit next to him.

"I was attacked by a savage cat" Ron lied, and he felt Daphne tap her foot against his under the table.

"A cat?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "Cat's usually don't attack people Ron, you must've done something to anger it." _Well, technically I did._ Lavender and Parvati rolled their eyes at Hermione, the bookworm was being extra snobby today.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?" Ron grinned, and most people around the tables chuckled. Hermione, Daphne, and Millie being the exception.

They had to put two tables together to make everyone fit, something that pleased Ron greatly. He had managed to bring together someone from each house, which everyone else seemed to have differing opinions on. Millie and Daphne were of course in support of Ron, mostly because they knew that Ron was just trying to make allies. Justin had brought Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and Ernest Macmillan with him. Padma Patil had brought Terry Boot and Michael Corner with her. Lavender and Parvati hadn't brought anyone with them, which was a shame. Hermione had dragged Harry and Neville with her. While Ron had brought Daphne and Millie with him, his other friends weren't so keen on interacting with the other houses. Daphne was here mostly because she wanted to keep her eyes on Ron and his stress, while Millie was actively playing the role of bodyguard.

"So, what does everyone want to study?" Ron asked. "Colin mate, you can join me if you want. I'll help you with your first year stuff." _This should win me some favor with the Gryffindors, and even the Hufflepuffs._

"Really?!" Colin exclaimed, and everyone shushed him. "I mean, yeah that'd be great Ron." Ron smiled in a friendly manner, especially after he noticed Lavender, Parvati, and Padma smiling in an approving way. The Hufflepuffs, who were all huddled together, whispered something to each other. Ron felt Daphne tap his foot again, and he shot her a quick glance to see her smirking ever so slightly.

"I want to work on Potions, and Harry and Neville will be working with me" Hermione said.

"I'll join you as well" Padma piped in, and Hermione nodded firmly. _Why is she so serious today? I don't think that I've seen her smile even once today._

"We're doing Herbology" Justin spoke for the Hufflepuffs, Terry Boot and Michael Corner from Ravenclaw decided to join them. This left behind Ron, Daphne, Millicent, Lavender, and Parvati. Lavender and Parvati were just looking at Ron expectantly, and he figured that they wanted to join his group.

"I'm doing Transfiguration" Ron smiled in a friendly manner. "If you want to work on that, or need any help with any other subject, I'll be right here. Colin, what are you going to work on?"

"I have a Charms Essay due on Tuesday" Colin replied with an eager smile. The mousy boy had a habit of shooting Harry looks after everything that he said, something that Harry was simply tolerating by ignoring it.

"We'll do Transfiguration too" Lavender piped in, and Parvati nodded. Ron saw Hermione glower at the two girls, and then she shot Ron a scathing look. A look that she immediately fixed when she saw him looking at her. _What the fuck was that?_

"Let's split up then, just so that it's easier to interact with our group members" Ron suggested, and everyone but Hermione nodded. Ron decided to ignore her behavior, he'd try and figure out what was bothering her later. Right now he had to impress the new members so that they'd become regular members. They all got into their groups, something that took a lot of coordination because certain things had to be taken into account. Millie, much to Ron's surprise, gave her seat to Colin and moved to sit beside Daphne. Daphne, unsurprisingly, didn't move an inch from Ron's side. Parvati and Lavender sat across from Ron with friendly smiles, smiles that he happily returned.

"What's your essay on, Colin?" Ron asked as they all got their books out.

"Oh, we're supposed to write a one foot parchment essay on the benefits of the Softening Charm" Colin replied as he took out his copy of "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1".

"I remember that essay" Ron chuckled. "You should do the work, but if you need any help at all, just ask."

"Thanks" the mousy boy replied with a wide smile. _Please ask for help, I need to show my 'altruism'._

"Ron, are you working on the 'Animals into Water Goblets' spell?" Lavender asked sweetly, and Ron nodded. "That's great, Parvati and I can't really make any sense out of it. Can you help us?" _Well, of course you can't make any sense out of it. We haven't tried performing that Spell in class yet._

"We can all work on that together" Millie suggested calmly. "I'd rather not hurt Misty in any way."

"Is Misty your school pet?" Parvati asked.

"Yes, she is an Asian Semi-Longhair" Millie told them proudly, her jaw jutting forward a bit. "She's a crossbreed between Burmese and Long-Haired cats, and she is absolutely gorgeous."

"Wow, I didn't think that you were a cat person" Lavender smiled. "I have a British Semi-Longhair named Toby. And he's so adorable." _That's fortunate, Millie and Lavender are both cat lovers._ The two girls started discussing their cats in hushed whispers, which sort of excluded Parvati a bit. Ron decided to fix that because although this was about making allies, Ron didn't like the slightly worried look on the brown girl's face as her friend struck up her own conversation.

"Parvati, why don't we get started with what you know already?" Ron asked politely, and she nodded.

"Wait, can you already perform the Spell?" Parvati asked suddenly, and Ron nodded. Images of Helios' fury flashed in Ron's mind, and he shuddered. _He is not going to be happy next week when I transfigure him again._ "Wow, how do you always know this stuff?" _Percy's personal notes._

"I read ahead, and try anything that catches my eye" Ron replied, and then he looked to Daphne. "Daph, where are you with this?"

"Haven't read up on it yet" Daphne replied coldly, and Ron understood that she was in her 'Ice-Queen' persona again. "I was planning to wait for your personal lessons again." _Personal lessons?_

"Personal lessons?" Parvati asked. _Wow! Is she seriously making things up to show off how close we are? I mean, I help her in class sure. But that's it, there are no special one-on-one lessons. I show all of my friends how to fix up any mistakes that they make._

"Ron is very friendly in that regard" Daphne replied. "He enjoys helping others, it's quite a noble trait." Ron was slightly confused by that, but then he realized that she was actually helping him by building him up. Ron felt a pang of guilt for thinking badly of her, and so he shot her a grateful smile. _When did I become so… pessimistic?_

"Wow, that's really nice of you Ron" Parvati smiled widely. "I can see why my sister likes you so much." Padma shot her a glare from across the table, and Parvati giggled softly. "Well, here's what I know. I know that I'm supposed to tap my wand on my owl three times, and then say Varo Verto."

"That's good" Ron nodded. "But the incantation is Vera Verto." Parvati nodded at that. "And after you tap your owl, make sure that you point the tip of your wand at your owl and **then** say the incantation."

"What do we picture in our mind?" Daphne asked, shooting a quick look at Millie who was just talking about her cat with Brown.

"The goblet is key, because that's your goal" Ron replied. "We have to picture the weight of the goblet, its dimensions, any pattern that we might want on it, and we need to make sure that it's made of glass. I think about all of that while I'm tapping Helios with my wand, and then picture 'my goblet' as I say the incantation." Parvati was writing down his instructions, while Daphne was just picturing something in her head. "I'm guessing that none of us brought our pets?" _Mine's probably on his way back from Romania with Charlie's reply._

"Madam Pince wouldn't like that very much" Parvati giggled, and Ron smirked.

"I guess not" Ron chuckled. "She already hates me as is."

"Because you keep sneaking food into her library" Daphne gave him a deadpan look, and Ron blinked. "She told me that herself."

"That's fair, I guess" Ron shrugged with a smile. "Speaking of food, anyone want some Flavored Beans?" Ron asked as he pulled out a box from his school bag.

"Merlin, Ron that's very naughty of you" Parvati chuckled. "And I'd love some."

"Me too" Colin piped in as his head shot up from his parchment.

"Just keep the box under the table" Daphne instructed. "And I'd like the green ones, please."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Come here, you little… fuck" Ron groaned as he reached up for a copy of 'Untransfiguration for Beginners', it was barely out of his reach. He was getting the book in order to help his group, and himself, better understand how to reverse the process of Animal Transfiguration when one messes it up rather badly. Luckily, he hadn't done that yet. But if he was going to transfigure Helios again, he wanted to make sure that he didn't kill his beloved Eagle-Owl. "You little shite, who put you up there? Hagrid?" An idea came to his mind, and he smiled gleefully. He pointed his gloved palm at the book, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted in a hushed whisper. The book shook slightly as Ron felt a certain weight in-between his fingers, it was an odd feeling, and Ron had figured that it was just his Magic being channeled through his hand.

"Damn…" Ron sighed as he put his palm down, the book had moved about but it didn't levitate. _It's easier with the pin. I need to keep practicing._

"Hey, Ron" came Neville's voice from behind him, and Ron jerked a bit from fright. _Did he see me try Wandless Magic?_

"Fucking hell" Ron exhaled as he put his gloved hand over his heart, and then he shot Neville a frown. Neville just smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" Neville whispered, and then he looked at the book that Ron was trying to reach. "Need help?"

"No offence, but you're kind of shorter than me" Ron replied.

"True, but there's a library ladder right over there" Neville pointed to the far corner of the bookshelves. _Well, shite._

"Oh…" Ron flushed a bit. "I didn't see it before." Ron then began making his way towards it, and Neville followed him. "Do you need it too?"

"Um… Not really" Neville smiled sheepishly again, something that made Ron raise an eyebrow. _Then this isn't a chance meeting, is it? He wants something from me._

"What can I do for you, Neville?" Ron asked as he grabbed the ladder and began pushing it towards the book that he wanted, the wheels attached to the ladder squeaking annoyingly.

"I just observed that you were getting along with Lavender and Parvati" Neville replied a little meekly, and Ron blinked at him.

"I guess" Ron said slowly. "But we are just talking about Transfiguration, and about Lavender's cat. Did you know that Toby hates tuna?" Ron asked in a teasing way, and Neville chuckled.

"Everyone in Gryffindor Tower knows that" Neville smiled. "Lavender loves Toby, and she makes sure that everyone knows it. The only animal that she loves more is her rabbit, but she wasn't allowed to bring that to Hogwarts because it's just a baby."

"Oh, you mean Binky?" Ron grinned. "I know all about Binky too." Neville stifled a laugh, and Ron found himself smiling genuinely.

"Look, mate…" Neville stopped laughing suddenly and adorned a serious face. "About everything…" Ron rolled his eyes and gave Neville a firm pat on his arm, making Neville flinch.

"It's fine, Neville" Ron told him. "We all made mistakes, we had an ugly fight, and then we all apologized. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"It isn't sitting right with me to just leave it" Neville sighed as Ron climbed the ladder. "I… I was the one who… convinced Harry and Hermione to… I was behind their doubts about you." Ron looked down at Neville at that, a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked slowly, his curiosity getting the better of him. Neville shuffled his feet, a guilty look crossing his face. Ron grabbed his book, and he climbed down and faced Neville. "Neville, what do you mean that you were behind it?"

"I told them to doubt you" Neville replied meekly, and Ron just stared at him. "I've always… doubted you. And with the attacks happening this year, I was convinced that you were the Heir."

"Why me?" Ron asked flatly. "Why specifically me?" Neville's face contorted a little, and he averted his gaze.

"I was… I was just being shallow…" Neville muttered, and Ron barely heard him. "I was being jealous…"

"Jealous?" Ron asked in a hushed whisper, and Neville nodded. "Of what?"

"Of you" Neville pushed out, his gaze elsewhere and a blush creeping onto his face. "I was scared that you would… That you would take Harry and Hermione away from me. That they'd choose you over me." Ron was stunned by Neville's words, partially because he couldn't believe that Neville could admit that so openly.

"Mate…" Ron sighed, not knowing what to even say. _I don't know if he's incredibly brave, or just stupid. Why would he admit a weakness like that to me?_ But a big part of Ron sympathized with Neville immediately, Ron had always been jealous of his siblings. Even his Ginny. Ron knew how disgusting that feeling was, and what it could do to one's mind.

"At the time of the attacks, everything seemed to make sense in my head" Neville went on, his voice strained. "But now… I know that it made sense because I wanted it to. I wanted it to be you. I wanted you to be the culprit so that Harry and Hermione wouldn't be your friends anymore…" Ron shot quick looks around at that, he didn't want anyone else to hear Neville's confession and hold it over him.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ron asked gently. "Mate, I'd never take them from you. I can't. I'm in Slytherin, and you're their best friend."

"I know that" Neville looked at his feet. "I want to properly apologize to you, and to explain my actions. I'm the Heir of the Longbottom Family, and my Gran offered you our Eternal Friendship for saving my life during first year. I broke her word, and I need to fix it." _Wow, I didn't know that Neville thought like this. It's rather… Pure-Blood of him._ "I am sorry for betraying our friendship, and I hope you understand why I did it now" Neville apologized formally. "I don't expect forgiveness, or even sympathy. I am sorry." _Merlin, what do I say to that? Where is Daphne when I need her? She's the formal one out of us two._

"I understand, and I forgive you" Ron simply spoke the truth. "I understand jealousy, and how… How unbearable it is…" Neville looked up at that, a confused look on his face.

"You understand jealousy?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, I do" Ron admitted softly.

"But… You're… you" Neville stammered.

"Exactly" Ron smiled, and Neville just blinked in confusion. "Look mate, I understand you better now. And I do sympathize with you, believe me. And I accept your apology. Friends?" Ron asked as he extended his gloved hand, and Neville shook it firmly.

"Friends" Neville repeated, still slightly confused as to how Ron could be jealous of anyone. He was seemingly perfect in every way, so it didn't really make any sense for him to be jealous. And who would he be jealous of?

"Hey, you want to play Chess sometime?" Ron asked, deciding to be better friends with Neville. _In the future I saw, he was completely different. He was… impressive. And he clearly had the respect of his peers. He'll prove useful to me if I ever need someone from Gryffindor backing me._

"You're a professional Chess player though" Neville chuckled, and Ron smiled at being called a professional. _I guess I am, aren't I? Thank you, Lord Greengrass._

"I'll take it easy on you" Ron grinned, and Neville chuckled again.

"Sure, that'd be great" Neville agreed.

"Let's head back?" Ron asked, he had no doubt that Daphne and Millie would be getting impatient.

"Before we do" Neville suddenly smiled apologetically. "I think I ought to tell you that Hermione is kind of upset with you."

"What?" Ron asked, and then he remembered the looks she was giving him. "Is that why she's been shooting me scathing looks?"

"Sorry about that" Neville sighed. "She doesn't like Brown and Patil, and she isn't happy that they're here. She says that they aren't here to study, and that they just want your attention." Ron remembered her chocolates, and his conversation with Tracey. _Does she still see me that way? It's been ages since then. Or has it? Damn, it's been a long fucking year._

"They've actually been alright" Ron admitted. "They laugh a lot, but they aren't holding us back in any way."

"I'll let Hermione know that you said that" Neville smiled, and they both began making their way back. But they both stopped when they saw Dumbledore himself talking to Harry and Hermione. _What is he doing here?_ "It's Dumbledore…" Neville stated. _Oh good, you have eyes then._

"I can see that" Ron responded. "What is he doing here?"

"Talking to Harry" Neville replied, and Ron gave him a deadpan look. "Um… We can just go and find out." _So much for being prepared._ Ron and Neville walked back to their groups, and Dumbledore beamed at them.

"Hello, Ronald and Neville" Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling brightly. Dumbledore's eyes fell to Ron's face scratches, but the old wizard just ignored them.

"Headmaster, how are you this evening?" Ron asked with a polite smile. _What are the odds that he's just here? And right when we're having our study group?_

"Fantastic" Dumbledore replied. "It always brings a happy tear to my eye to see such a diverse group working together. I simply had to drop by and see it for myself." _Wait, what? If he had to come and see it, then how did he know that it was happening?_ "But now that I've seen it, I will no longer interrupt."

"Please, Sir" Hermione piped up. "You are not interrupting anything, please stay if you want to." _Two 'pleases', really?_ Dumbledore smiled at Hermione, and then he looked to Ron.

"It is your school, Headmaster" Ron told him, though he didn't know why he felt annoyed by Dumbledore's presence. _Sometimes, he just does things that make me second guess him. And him showing up here already knowing that this was happening is just… too convenient. Is he watching me? No… No, I'm just being paranoid again._ "Though we would get more done if you weren't here to distract us." Dumbledore chuckled merrily at that, but everyone else was wide-eyed at Ron's boldness/rudeness. Ron then picked up his box of Flavored Beans and presented it to Dumbledore, something that shocked everyone even more. "Please, have one."

"Ah, I never could resist these" Dumbledore smiled widely, his eyes dancing in merriment. Dumbledore then reached into the box, and he took out a yellow bean. He quickly popped it into his mouth, and his lips pursed tightly. "Lemon… Sour Lemon."

"Care to try your luck again?" Ron grinned.

"One more couldn't hurt" Dumbledore said as he pulled out a brown one, which he promptly put into his mouth. "Ah yes… Fresh Soil…" _Ha, enjoy that._ "I think I've had my fill of these for today. Make sure you keep them hidden, Ronald. Madam Pince has already alerted me of your… habits."

"I will do that" Ron agreed, and Dumbledore nodded with a smile and left. Ron watched the old man walk away, his brightly colored robes an eyesore in the otherwise bland library. Ron made his way back to his seat, and that's when he noticed that everyone was staring at him.

"You were so rude to him, Ronald" Hermione scowled deeply. "That's the Headmaster of Hogwarts, you can't speak to him like that."

"Give it a rest, Hermione" Lavender rolled her eyes, something that turned Hermione red with anger. "Professor Dumbledore didn't mind at all, he actually spoke to Ron like a friend would." Harry shifted in his seat, and Ron remembered from his vision that Harry was unhappy with Dumbledore's interest in Ron. _He can't be unhappy already, can he? The Harry I saw was older, and around fifth year._

"Are you two friends?" Parvati asked quickly, and Ron looked to her. "We've all noticed that he asks you to stay behind after classes sometimes. And he tends to favor you too." Daphne tensed at that, and she tapped Ron's foot again. _She wants me to lie? Of course, Dumbledore asked me to stay behind to discuss my Mind-Healing._

"We get along, that's all" Ron shrugged. _Change the topic right now._ "I got the book that will help us better understand undoing a botched Transfiguration, so let's get back to work." People around the table looked a bit put off, but they didn't argue.

"Actually, can you please help me really quickly?" Colin piped in, and Ron smiled at the mousy boy.

"Daph, can you please get started with everyone else?" Ron asked as he handed her the book, which she took with an expressionless face.

"Sure" Daphne replied, and Ron leaned closer to Colin.

"Can you see if I missed any benefits of the Softening Charm?" Colin asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes. Eyes that once again darted towards Harry. _This kid is obsessed with Harry, isn't he?_ Ron read through Colin's work, and he was surprisingly impressed. Colin, despite being a Muggle-Born, possessed a great understanding of the Charm. _And he didn't have Percy's complicated notes helping him either._

"This is good work, Colin" Ron said truthfully, and Colin beamed. "But there is one more benefit that you can add. The Softening Charm is often used in wizard homes when there are young children about. It is used to make sharp table corners, and things like stairs, soft and rubbery in order to avoid injury."

"Oh" Colin nodded slowly. "Thanks Ron, I can fit that in and make my essay longer than asked."

"Good man" Ron smiled and patted Colin's back, something that made the tiny boy jerk forward. _Eh, he's fine. Look at that wide smile, and look at the smiles that I'm getting from everyone else. This is working wonderfully._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Don't you think that you are being a little paranoid, Severus?" Albus chuckled, his eyes twinkling in a condescending way. Snape had no doubt that the old man didn't intend it, but it often felt like he did.

"That boy is up to something, and the only one who can't see that is you" Snape replied harshly, a slight sneer on his face. "First it was Headmistress of Beauxbatons, and now this little study group that keeps growing? Not to mention his friendship with Potter and his lapdogs…"

"Severus" Albus scolded, his twinkling eyes dwindling a bit. "Do not speak of the students in such a manner, they are just children."

"Fine…" Snape fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Regardless of how I speak of them, it makes no sense for that boy to stay friends with Potter. Not after how things went down this year. And yet, he has re-integrated himself in their lives. I have never seen any student act like that, and I'm sure that neither have you. What kind of thirteen year old behaves like this?"

"I've seen one" Albus rubbed his chin, but he didn't go on. _Why am I not surprised? Sometimes I wonder who has more secrets, Albus or the Dark Lord._

"He is up to something, and we need to find out what it is" Snape suggested. "What good does it do a student of Hogwarts to befriend the Headmistress of Beauxbatons? And after what she did to him? How does a **child** turn that into an opportunity to make an alliance? I don't know about you, but when I was his age, my concerns were my studies and other childish nonsense."

"My biggest concern was the way that my hair looked. But I suppose Ronald does not need to worry about that, he has a haircut that suits him" Dumbledore chuckled, and Snape gave him a deadpan look. _Why did I even come here?_

"You're not taking this seriously, are you?" Snape sneered, his temper flaring. But he quickly controlled it with Occlumency. "Ever since your chicken took a liking to that boy, you have found every reason to excuse his behavior."

"Chicken?" Dumbledore chuckled heartily, while Fawkes flapped his wings and glared at Severus. "Perhaps you are right, Severus." _You don't say?_ "But I do not believe that Ronald has ill-intentions. I believe that he is driven by his need to outdo all those around him, to be appreciated."

"And what makes you think that?" Snape sighed. "Did you perhaps look into his mind, and find your answers? No, wait… You met some **demon** that nearly killed you."

"Now that… That is a concerning matter" Albus replied, his eyes becoming hardened. _Finally, the real Albus Dumbledore joins the conversation._ "But our hands are tied in regards to it. We cannot extract it, not without killing Ronald."

"Or so the Hat says" Snape interjected. "What if it's lying to you?"

"It cannot" Albus replied.

"The Hat has a duty to protect its students" Snape said before Albus could, and the old wizard nodded.

"And we cannot look into Ronald's mind without incurring its wrath" Albus sighed. "For now, we have no choice but to ignore it." _Ignoring things is how we ended up in a damn war in the first place._

"It, or the boy?" Snape asked. "Has it occurred to you that perhaps Ronald is being controlled by it? That perhaps it's behind the boy's confusing actions?" Albus nodded slowly. "We are dealing with enough problems already, and yet that boy is all I can think about. I intend to find out why he is gathering so many allies, and I will."

"How?" Albus asked. "Do not use Legilimency."

"I am not a fool, Albus" Snape frowned. "I intend to insert myself into his life in a more prominent way." Albus rubbed his chin at that, and he signaled Snape to go on. "When he comes to me to discuss his electives, I will suggest that he enter my Potions Club as well."

"All of the students in that Club are fifth years or higher" Albus stated, and Snape smirked.

"Exactly" Snape replied. "You say that the boy wishes to be appreciated, and what better way to feel that way than to be invited to join my Club at such a young age?"

"You will aim for his vanity?"

"Yes, and that boy has a lot of it" Snape replied. "He will agree, I know it. And then, I plan to slowly get all the information I need out of him. A few compliments ought to earn me his favor, and then he'll open up eventually."

"This is… cruel" Albus sighed, and then he looked Snape dead in the eyes. "Do it, and keep me informed." Snape nodded, but he didn't get up to leave.

"There is one more thing, Albus" Snape started, and Dumbledore leaned forward a bit. "The other Heads of Houses, and myself, have been wondering about what we saw in the Chamber. You said that you'd look more into it, and we have given you enough time. Minerva plans to question you, and I stand behind her. We all want to know how the Dark Lord possessed the Weasley girl, and why he looked so young." Albus nodded at that.

"Thank you for warning me, Severus" Albus smiled. "When that time comes, I will share what I have learned."

"All of it?" Snape asked.

"As much as I've learned thus far" Albus replied.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"At first I was really scared of telling them" Ron said as he lay on the couch, he had been talking for what felt like hours. "I thought that they would just… That they'd just see me differently."

"In a good way, or a bad way?" Pomfrey asked for clarification.

"Both, I guess" Ron mused. "More bad than good though. I felt like telling them would change their opinion of me. That they'd either see me as weak, or as simply damaged goods. That they'd pity me."

"But they don't?" Pomfrey smiled to herself.

"No, not one bit" Ron smiled widely as he stared at the ceiling, the thought of their reaction always made him smile. "They've been great about it, just like Daphne said that they would be. They're all carrying a vial of Calming Draught with them at all times just for me. But they also make mean jokes like before, and ask me for help with their homeworks. It feels like nothing has changed, but it sort of has. Do you get that?"

"I do" Pomfrey nodded. "You expected the worst, but they have surprised you in a good, meaningful way. They want to help you because they care about you, not because they pity you."

"Exactly" Ron beamed. "I was stupid to doubt them, especially Daphne."

"You mention Miss. Greengrass quite often" Pomfrey noted, and Ron's smile faltered. _Uh-oh, nice one Weasley._ "Do you see her as your 'best-friend'?" Ron thought about it, and then he nodded.

"I guess I do" Ron admitted. "But that only started this year. We used to disagree and fight a lot, but we've become more… tolerant of each other." _That and other things. Hehe._ "We still fight though, but we always work things out."

"Disagreements between friends can be a healthy thing, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey told him. "True friends are not afraid of pointing out your mistakes, but they do it because they care."

"I suppose I make a few mistakes every now and then" Ron responded, and then he grinned. "Actually I make them quite often… But I'll never admit that to anyone. Except for you of course, but only because you can't tell anyone."

"That is one way to look at this" Pomfrey chuckled. "How are things with Charlie? Did you send him the letter?"

"I did" Ron replied. "He was happy to hear from me, and he told me a secret. He plans to come down for the Holidays to surprise mum and dad, and he asked me to not tell anyone."

"And you are telling me because I can't tell anyone?" Pomfrey chuckled again, and Ron grinned.

"Yeah" Ron admitted.

"Are you excited to see him?" Pomfrey asked.

"So excited" Ron beamed as he thought of his burly big brother. "He even challenged me to game of Chess, though I'm not sure if I should beat him. Charlie can be a sore loser, but I guess we have that in common."

"In our last session, we talked about failure Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey said suddenly, and Ron remembered the conversation. "You had a very strong opinion on what success and failure meant, does this come from your brother?"

"Um… No, not really" Ron admitted slowly. "I just don't like the concept of failing…"

"Does failing scare you?" Pomfrey asked.

"Yes…" Ron admitted, he didn't like where this was going. "Can we not talk about this, please?"

"Mr. Weasley, this is a safe-place remember?" Pomfrey reminded him gently. "I am not going to judge you in any way, you know that." Ron felt a cold shiver run through him, and he paled a little. _Failure… How many Cycles have I failed? I need to ask the Entity that eventually. Maybe I can learn from the mistakes made by the other Rons, and avoid those mistakes. But I don't really want to talk to that evil prick… But I have to. Fucking hell, everything goes to shite whenever I talk to It._ "Mr. Weasley, can you hear me?" Pomfrey asked a little more loudly, and Ron jerked out of his thoughts.

"Sorry…" Ron shook his head clear, and Pomfrey sighed.

"Tell me more about this study group that you mentioned at the start of our session" Pomfrey changed the topic, Ron's reaction had scared her a little. The boy had gone pale, and just disappeared into his own mind. This was not a good sign, especially for someone with his condition. Failure was a part of life, and Ron needed to accept that eventually.

"Oh…" Ron blinked, but he jumped at the opportunity. "It was great actually, and it went better than expected. Daphne and Millicent joined me, and they actually made friends. Wait no… Millie made friends with Lavender, sort of. Daphne was cold to everyone, but she was never rude or dismissive."

"It's important to you that your friends be friendlier?" Pomfrey asked.

"It is" Ron nodded. "Everyone in this school seems to… not like us. The Slytherins that is, and I can understand why. Most Slytherins are arseholes… But I don't want to be seen that way, and my friends are important to me. I want us all to be seen as just students, and to be given a fair chance."

"You said that only two of your friends joined you?" Pomfrey asked. "What about the others?"

"They… They didn't want to associate with the other houses" Ron sighed tiredly. "I can't understand why though. It only benefits us to have more friends and allies, but they refuse to see that. They're not stupid, but they're stupid when it comes to this."

"Perhaps you should step into their shoes" Pomfrey advised, and he turned his head to face her. "They may have reasons that seem logical to them, but not to you."

"So I should talk to them about it?" Ron asked.

"It couldn't hurt to try" Pomfrey replied. "Communication is key in every friendship, especially ones that you care about."

"Alright" Ron nodded. "I'll try and talk to them about it."

"And?" Pomfrey interjected.

"And be patient" Ron added on. "And keep my anger in check."

"Good" Pomfrey smiled, and then she looked at the clock. "Oh my, it's been just over an hour. We will end this session on that note, Mr. Weasley." Ron nodded, and he hopped off the couch and stretched.

"Merlin… I'm tired…" Ron yawned. "That couch is really comfortable."

"Thank you" Pomfrey chuckled. "I will see you again next week, same time."

"What if I get hurt before that?" Ron grinned, and she gave him a scolding look.

"Then I will twist one of your ears off" Pomfrey warned, and Ron laughed.

"I'd better be careful then" Ron said as he opened the door. "Take care, Madam Pomfrey."

"You too, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey gave him a parting nod. Ron closed the door behind him and made his way towards the Sanctuary, his friends had told him that they'd be there. As Ron was making his way up the moving staircases, he spotted Ginny walking down in her Quidditch Outfit with her Comet 260 in tow. _Ginny!_

"Is that the future Quidditch sensation Ginny Weasley?" Ron asked as soon as she spotted him, and she snorted in response.

"Yeah, that's her" Ginny laughed. "Hi Ron, how are you?"

"I'm doing well, what about you?" Ron smiled. "Getting good grades I hope?"

"Ugh… Stop being like Percy, Ronnie" Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's always asking me how my grades are, but nothing else." _Yeah, that sounds like him._ "And I'm doing fine, so stop worrying about me."

"Who said that I was worried?" Ron teased as they stopped in front of each other, and Ron leaned against the stone barrier.

"Of course you're worried, I'm only the most important person in your life" Ginny grinned.

"Nah, Luna is" Ron teased, and Ginny lost her grin.

"If you say that again, I'll hex you in the face" Ginny warned, a glint of anger in her eyes.

"I won't, if you answer my question" Ron said seriously. "How are you, Gin? And don't lie, please." Ginny sighed deeply at that.

"I'm doing alright, Ron" Ginny assured him. "But it's a bit… It's a little hard being back here, especially after everything I did."

"Ginny, you didn't do anything" Ron grabbed her hand with his gloved one, and she smiled softly.

"No one knows that it was me" Ginny said in a meek tone. "They think I had a breakdown because of your attack, and they're all so kind to me. I hate it."

"I get that" Ron nodded.

"You do?" Ginny asked, she sounded almost hopeful.

"You don't want their pity" Ron replied, it is how he'd feel if he was in her shoes. If there was one thing that Ron hated more than the Entity, it was being pitied by people.

"Exactly" Ginny responded, her tone suddenly haughty. "Percy and the twins don't even understand that, and it's so annoying."

"You could always just tell them" Ron shrugged.

"Would you?" she asked haughtily.

"No."

"That's what I thought" Ginny smirked.

"Anything I can do to make you feel 'not pitied'?" Ron asked.

"You could send Helios to me" Ginny smiled. "I really miss him."

"Helios is doing some important stuff for me, and he isn't around often" Ron smiled apologetically, but Ginny's eyes sparkled.

"Oh, mysterious" Ginny grinned. "Tell me."

"No."

"Pleeeaase…" Ginny begged, and Ron chuckled. "No one tells me anything! What's the harm in telling me?"

"Fine" Ron replied, and Ginny listened intently. "He's secretly gathering intel on Vampire movements…" Ginny punched his left arm, and Ron laughed despite the pain shooting up his arm.

"You're an arse" Ginny frowned. "I'm going to the Quidditch Pitch to practice."

"Wait, want me to join you?" Ron asked, and she narrowed her eyes. "I can be Keeper, and you can practice being Chaser."

"Are you just trying to keep an eye on me?" Ginny asked. "I don't need a babysitter, Ron. I know how to fly."

"I know that, why do you think I got you all of your gear?" Ron shot back, and she flushed. _Damn, I shouldn't throw that in her face. I got her that gear as a gift, not as something to hold over her head._

"Good point…" Ginny blinked. "Meet me there?"

"Yeah."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Morning Free Periods)**_

The Stinging Hex flew past his head, the heat from the Spell warming his right cheek. Ron quickly fixed his footing, only to roll to his left quickly to dodge another Stinging Hex. The sand made his landing bearable, and Ron quickly jerked up with widened eyes. Maybe taking on four dummies without Pandora's Rune Ring wasn't a smart choice, he wasn't even getting enough time to throw out a Spell.

"Protego" Ron chanted, and he felt the weight of two Stinging Hexes slam into his shield. "Protego!" Ron chanted louder than before, and his new shield was immediately slammed with two more Hexes. _For Merlin's sake!_ "Stupefy!" Ron quickly yelled, and one of the dummies flew back in response. His victory however was short lived because the other three dummies fired separate Stinging Hexes at the same time. "Prot…" the Hexes slammed into him, and he winced as he toppled onto his back. His ribs and right thigh stinging horribly. "Fuck…" Ron groaned, his eyes darting to the dummies. He was met with another Stinging Hex to the left shoulder, and he gasped from the jolt of pain. "Stop! Stop!" The dummies became lifeless again, while Ron groaned because of his new sore spots.

"Fucking hell…" Ron sighed as he rolled onto his stomach, his face now resting on the cool sand. He could feel the pain traveling up into his brain, and he had to clench his teeth in order to not cuss wildly. The pain was by no means unbearable, but the shame of being floored by dummies definitely was. _If they were Death-Eaters, I'd be dead… My Cycle would have failed then and there, and my family and friends would pay the price for it. FUCK!_ He heard the door to the Sanctuary open, and he quickly stood up to avoid being seen on the floor.

"Ron?" came Tracey's voice, and Ron stepped into view. All of his Slytherin friends had just entered the Sanctuary, and their eyes were immediately fixed on him.

"You have sand on your face" Theo pointed out, and Ron quickly wiped it off. "Did you seriously just lose to dummies?" Theo teased, a grin forming on his face. Ron frowned deeply at that, his already agitated temper flaring even more.

"I'd like to see you try and fight four at once" Ron hissed. "You'd last maybe two seconds, judging from your garbage skills with a wand." His friends all just blinked, while Theo just lost his grin.

"Whatever" Theo replied bitterly, and then he walked over to the couches in order to ignore Ron. Ron however, glared at the weedy boy with ill-intentions. _Stupid curly-haired fuck._

"A word, Ron?" Blaise asked, and Ron glared at him. _If he lectures me… I swear to Merlin…_

"What?" Ron barked, and the girls were quick to get out of his line of sight. The last thing they wanted was Ron tearing into them as well, and so they joined Theo quickly and quietly. Blaise however didn't move, instead he just stared at Ron. "Are you going to stand there like some damn statue, or do you want to talk?" Blaise gestured him towards the dummies, and Ron rolled his eyes. _He doesn't want the little girls to overhear us and get their feelings hurt?_ Ron walked over to the dummies, and Blaise joined him.

"Why were you taking on four dummies?" Blaise asked in a calm tone.

"Oh, I just enjoy getting my arse kicked" Ron replied sarcastically. "Any other stupid questions? Or can I get back to my favorite pass-time?"

"I didn't Hex you, or make fun of you" Blaise stated with a raised eyebrow. "Don't take it out on me." Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck loudly. _Fucking stupid dummies. Fucking stupid Cycle. Fucking stupid Weasley._ Ron took in another deep breath, and then he looked to Blaise with an expressionless face.

"What is it, Blaise?" Ron asked coldly. "I'm practicing." _Like you should all be, you lazy incompetents._

"Two things" Blaise replied, at least Ron was trying to calm down. "Firstly, we were all planning to discuss our electives together. Secondly, Daphne didn't give you your Nutrition Potion at breakfast. She wanted to give it to you now, but she most likely wants to stay out of your way." Ron shot a look towards the couches, and he found himself frowning. "What is it?"

"You really need that long to discuss electives?" Ron asked.

"You want us to join you?" Blaise asked, his tone indifferent. Showing any sort of emotion would not be wise right now. If Ron didn't like his tone, he may end up getting knocked around the room. "In your current state?" _Another excuse, why am I not surprised?_

"Fine, go talk about your electives" Ron grit out. "And tell Daphne to leave the Potion behind." Ron then turned back to the dummies. "Back!" he ordered, and the dummies moved further away from him. He heard Blaise walk off, and he shot Blaise's back a quick look. Blaise was shaking his head to himself, and Ron felt a very small pang of guilt for being so harsh. But it left as soon as it came. "Three this time. Start!"

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Morning Free Periods)**_

"So he won't be joining us?" Pansy asked Blaise as he walked over, while Tracey and Daphne watched Ron begin Dueling three dummies at once. _What's wrong with him? He shouldn't be pushing himself like this. I know that Daphne told us to act like we normally do, but I can't stop worrying about him._

"No, he isn't in the mood" Blaise replied as he took a seat next to Millie.

"Good riddance" Theo spat out as he shot an annoyed look towards Ron. "He's such a tosser."

"You started it" Millie frowned at him.

"I made a joke, and he reacts like some psychopath" Theo frowned back at Millie. _Great, now we're fighting._

"Give him a break" Tracey said gently, but Theo's frown got deeper.

"No, he doesn't have any right to speak to us like that" Theo argued, his voice not loud enough to be heard by Ron. "I don't care about his 'Chronic Stress', he needs to learn to speak to other people with some modicum of decency." Daphne gave Theo a dark look, and he sneered back at her.

"Just come off it" Blaise gave Theo a deadpan look. "And in all fairness, you shouldn't be poking him when he's clearly just been hexed."

"Why is he fighting so many at once?" Pansy asked, her eyes darting towards Ron.

"He's insane, that's why" Theo grumbled.

"Theo, just stop it" Tracey sighed deeply.

"Why are you always defending him?" Theo asked her. "You all just excuse his behavior, and that's why he thinks it's fine to treat us like this."

"Treat us like what?" Daphne asked coldly. "Give you the chance to sponge off of his hard-work? We all know how you've been throwing his name around whenever it suits you, so get off your high-horse. And you are a moron for making condescending remarks to him when he's clearly just received a thrashing."

"Whatever" Theo frowned as he crossed his arms and sank into his seat, whilst also glowering at the coffee table. _They're both wrong. Theo was a condescending moron, but Ron seriously needs to calm the fuck down._

"By the way, he wants you to leave his Potion behind after we leave" Blaise told Daphne, the sound of Spells going off in the background muffling his voice a bit.

"Didn't you say that he needs to drink it right after he eats?" Millie asked, and Daphne nodded. All of them, except for Theo, exchanged looks. _Shite, one of us has to take the hit._

"I already spoke to him" Blaise broke the silence, and the girls frowned at him. "Sorry, but I'm fresh out of 'Calm Ron down' cards." Tracey looked over to Daphne, and she saw that her best friend looked extremely conflicted. _She wants to give him the Potion, but she doesn't want him getting angry with her. When is she going to get over him? This isn't even a cute crush anymore, it's just sad._ But despite her thoughts, Tracey didn't want Daphne taking this hit.

"Give it to me" Tracey sighed, her tone defeated. _I'm so stupid._

"Really?" Daphne smiled gratefully, and then she handed Tracey the Potion. Pansy and Millie also gave her thankful smiles, but Tracey couldn't even enjoy them. _I hope he's let some anger out on those dummies, because I really don't want to start my day by getting verbally abused._ Tracey got up, and she walked over to the practicing area slowly. She watched Ron disarm two dummies in quick succession, but then he took a hit on his right shoulder from the third dummy. Tracey winced just like Ron did.

"Stop!" Ron grit out, and the third dummy became lifeless. _Go now!_

"Ron" Tracey said quickly, she didn't want him starting again just yet. He turned to face her, all the while massaging his right shoulder. _That Stinging Hex looked like it hurt._ "Can I talk to you really quickly?"

"Sure" Ron replied coldly, and then he faced the dummies again. Tracey approached him, the Potion in her left hand.

"You should drink this now" Tracey said as she showed him the pink Potion, and he glared at it. "Daphne says that you have to drink it right after you eat, so you shouldn't wait."

"She sent you?" Ron asked, his eyes on the Potion.

"Um… not exactly" Tracey mumbled. "She doesn't want you to… It doesn't matter, please just drink it now." Ron looked at her for a few seconds, and then his expression softened considerably. He took the Potion, removed the cork, and gulped it down. His face contorted in disgust, and Tracey found herself feeling sorry for him again. _He has to drink that every day for the rest of his life. I wish Daphne never told me that._

"Ugh… here" Ron grimaced as he handed her the empty vial, and Tracey pocketed it. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds, and then Tracey turned to leave. She managed one step before he grabbed her hand with his left one, and Tracey stopped immediately. She felt a jolt of panic, and even fear, but she didn't show it. Instead she turned to face him again, but he was looking at their joined hands.

"Ron?" Tracey asked.

"Tell… Tell him that I'm sorry…" Ron muttered, a slightly sad look on his face. Tracey had to fight the urge to smile, but she did squeeze his hand in a comforting manner. Ron let go of her hand at that, and he turned back to the dummies. Tracey made her way back to the rest of the group, and she took her seat.

"Thanks for that, Trace" Daphne said, and Tracey shrugged her shoulders.

"It's no worries" Tracey told her, and then she looked to Theo. "He's says that he's sorry." Theo looked up from the coffee table and right at her, and then he sighed and rubbed his face. An awkward silence surrounded them, and the sound of Ron dueling in the background just made it feel heavier.

"You mentioned mood swings?" Theo asked Daphne suddenly, and she nodded. Daphne had told them everything about Ron's Chronic Stress after his confession, and although they'd never tell him, they were actively being mindful of everything that they said to him.

"Will he ever get better?" Pansy asked. _Now that's a good question._

"I don't know that, but he will get better at handling his emotions" Daphne sighed. "Look, I've told you lot everything that I know. But I don't know what the future holds. So all I can do is ask you all to be patient with him, alright?"

"Being patient is fine" Blaise replied. "But he needs to know that he can't just take his anger out on us, especially when we haven't done anything to trigger it. Theo was a tosser, but Ron's reaction was unwarranted."

"You should talk to him, Daph" Millie suggested. "He listens to you."

"He also listens to Blaise, why do I have to always do it?" Daphne asked, and Tracey blinked. _Since when does she not jump at the chance to get Ron alone?_ Tracey looked around, and she noticed that her other friends had also caught on.

"Daphne, are you two fighting again?" Pansy asked slowly.

"What? No" Daphne huffed. "And I don't want to start."

"So you're avoiding him because he's in a bad mood?" Tracey asked, and Daphne shifted in her seat.

"Give me a break" Daphne frowned a little. "I'm always the one who takes the brunt of his anger. And we just had that… fight… I don't want to start anything again so soon after, alright?" _I guess she's right, but I am not taking that hit either. I just did the Potion thing, so I'm out._ Tracey knew that she was being selfish, but Ron's anger was legendary amongst them. It was toxic, and explosive. And his words usually left you feeling hurt and even worthless.

"I'll do it" Millie sighed.

"I'll help you" Pansy offered, and Millie smiled gratefully. _Is it just me, or are those two acting really chummy ever since the Break? Pansy Parkinson being chummy with Millicent Bulstrode, that's just not right._

"We can all discuss electives after Ron's… settled down" Blaise instructed, and then he turned to Theo. "Stay out of his way, and keep your witty comments to yourself."

"Yeah, yeah…" Theo sighed, a slightly guilty look on his face.

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Quidditch Pitch – Afternoon)**_

Ron was currently flying around with his sister Ginny, and from what Pansy had seen, Ginny was easily the better of the two. But then again, Ron was playing Keeper and didn't need to fly around much. But Ginny, the little devil, was as fast as lightning and had a solid arm on her. Pansy and Millie were both currently sitting in the Slytherin stands, and they were waiting for Ron to finish up. They had both promised the others to talk to Ron, and now that a few days had gone by, it seemed the right time to talk to him about his anger. Pansy was not looking forward to this conversation, and a part of her was regretting offering Millie her help. But in the moment it had just seemed like the right thing to do, especially because Millie had helped her greatly during the Break. _But why am I regretting it now? Merlin, maybe I'm just a petty person like mother._

"Ginny is quite amazing for her age, don't you think?" Millie asked, and Pansy broke out of her thoughts. "And she's got a solid throwing arm for someone so small."

"Maybe it's just a Weasley trait?" Pansy mused. "Her brothers are Beaters, and Ron's told us that his brother Charlie played Seeker and was Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor."

"Percy and Ron clearly didn't get that trait" Millie stated. "What's his other brother's name? The Curse Breaker?"

"William, but Ron calls him Bill" Pansy replied. "And Ron's not that bad, it's just that Ginny's better." Pansy then saw Ron do a sharp turn and kick the Quaffle away from the middle hoop, while Ginny quickly flew after it. "See, he's stopped quite a few of them." Ginny grabbed the Quaffle before it hit the ground, and she flew back up at an alarming speed. As she reached higher altitude, she hurled the Quaffle towards the right hoop, and Ron missed it completely.

"And she scores again" Millie chuckled. "I reckon she should try out for their team next year, she's definitely get in."

"That wouldn't be good for us, Millie" Pansy frowned slightly, and Millie shrugged.

"I like her" Millie admitted. "So I don't mind too much. Plus, Quidditch is boring." Pansy smiled teasingly at that.

"Don't like watching the boys play?" Pansy wiggled her eyebrows, and Millie scoffed. "Don't like seeing them all sweaty, and smelling like grass?"

"Shut up" Millie waved dismissively, and Pansy broke into a giggle when she saw Millie blushing. "And I'm never listening to you again when it comes to boys… 'Ron is gay, Millie'… 'We should tell Daphne'… I've never been so humiliated in my life." Pansy lost her laughter at that, and she flushed red from embarrassment. _Not my finest moment, that's for sure. But something still seems off to me._

"Isn't it weird how sure Daphne was that Ron wasn't gay?" Pansy asked.

"I guess" Millie shrugged. "But then again, I think it was mostly from her inability to move on from her crush. She really can't understand the notion of just giving up, can she?"

"Hmmm" Pansy hummed as she thought back to Daphne attacking Ron. "It all just seemed… weird to me."

"How?"

"Well for one, why did Ron blush when talking about Potter?" Pansy asked. "And then there was the whole Brown thing… He just decides to ask her out? And then he doesn't?"

"He got scared, Pans" Millie sighed, she didn't want to hear more of Pansy's theories.

"Ron? The guy who bit open his own mouth for a game of Chess? That Ron?"

"He's a human being, despite what some of you seem to believe" Millie said firmly. "Not to mention his mental health situation. It isn't hard to believe that he backed out from asking a pretty girl. And Brown is probably the third prettiest girl in class, after the Patil twins." _Ugh… I hate Brown, and her bouncy blonde hair. And her stupid perfect teeth, and her stupid short skirts. Why does she have to wear such short skirts?_

"But still" Pansy went on, and Millie rolled her eyes. "First Daphne was certain that he wasn't gay, then she wanted us to test it, then she was all sad, and then she was mad when he wasn't. And then she bloody attacks him, and he doesn't hold it against her? Something is seriously off here."

"Oh, look at that" Millie grinned. "Ron is coming down from flying, we should go down there now."

"Are you seriously just ignoring me?" Pansy asked as she got up and followed after Millie.

"We should get them some juice, they must be exhausted" Millie stated, completely ignoring Pansy's theories.

"Millie" Pansy whined. "Listen to me. Please!"

"No thanks, I've had enough egg on my face" Millie remarked. "I'm staying away from Ron's sexuality as much as possible, and so should you. And stop thinking about that, we have a job to do." Pansy hung her head, but she didn't argue. _I'll talk to Daphne about it tonight, that's if Ron doesn't put us in the Hospital Wing. Oh, stop exaggerating. He may yell and get red in the face, but he would never put a finger on us. But still, I'm so nervous._ They made their way down, and just as they entered the Quidditch Pitch, Pansy saw something that made her stomach drop.

"Oh no…" Pansy muttered as she saw Draco and Marcus Flint watching Ron talk to his sister. Both Weasleys seemed to be oblivious to the glares being sent their way from the exit gate.

"Of course this happens, just our bloody luck" Millie frowned. _What are those two doing here? And why are they glaring at Ron?_ "We should get to Ron and his sister first, I think Malfoy wants to get Ron into trouble."

"Trouble over what?" Pansy asked as she picked up her pace.

"First Ron was flying around with Potter, and now with another Gryffindor" Millie explained. "Why else would the Quidditch Captain of Slytherin be here?"

"He's flying with his sister" Pansy sighed. "Is that a crime now?"

"We don't know what lies Malfoy has whispered into Flint's ears" Millie replied. _Why does he keep antagonizing Ron like that? I thought that after whatever happened between them, they both decided to stay clear of each other._

"Hello" Ron greeted them as they finally got to him and Ginny.

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Millie asked, and Ron gave her a confused look.

"Sure, but can't it wait? I'm with my sister" Ron answered slowly, and Ginny frowned him.

"Way to make me feel like a burden" Ginny narrowed her eyes on Ron, and he gave her a sheepish smile. _We don't have time for this._ Pansy shot a look back, and her eyes widened when she saw Flint walking over to them with Draco following closely behind. The smirk on Draco's face made her groan internally.

"Ron, Malfoy is coming over" Pansy told him bluntly, and he shot a look behind her and frowned.

"Isn't that the Slytherin Quidditch Captain with him?" Ginny asked. "Ohhh, maybe they saw me thrashing you and they want my autograph." Ron didn't say anything to that, his eyes fixed on Draco and Flint. "Really? No comeback, Ronnie? I'm disappointed." _Is she serious? Do they not have internal conflict in Gryffindor? This could get really ugly._

"Take my sister back to the castle" Ron instructed, and Ginny frowned.

"Stop babying me, Ron" Ginny said in a puffed-up tone.

"I'll take her back" Pansy offered, and Ron nodded. "Come on, Ginny" Pansy said as she gestured towards the exit.

"No" Ginny refused, a determined look in her eye. "I'm not just going to leave when those two boys clearly want to start a fight." _Gah! Gryffindors!_

"There won't be a fight, Gin" Ron assured her, and then he looked at the two Slytherins as they got closer and closer.

"Weasley, what's going on here?" Flint asked, his troll-like face sneering. _He is so ugly, yuck._ Pansy and Millie moved over to Ron's side, effectively shielding Ginny. Ginny however, stomped her foot and went around them to stand next to Ron. _This girl…_

"Nothing is going on here" Ron replied politely, making Draco lose his smirk. "I was just practicing Quidditch with my sister, that's all."

"Practicing Quidditch?" Draco sneered, and Pansy found herself wondering why she was calling him Draco in her mind again. _Malfoy, that's what he is now. We aren't friends, and we're barely even acquaintances._ "Why? You're never joining the Slytherin team." _Is that why he brought Flint along? Is he that insecure? Pathetic. I don't know why I ever liked him. Getting away from him was the smartest decision that I've ever made._

"With a Seeker like you, I'd rather not" Ron smirked, and Malfoy grimaced.

"Why are you practicing with a Gryffindor?" Flint asked. "You can just practice with someone from Slytherin, can't you?"

"Like I said, I wanted to practice with my sister" Ron repeated calmly.

"And what's it to you?" Ginny asked angrily. "Sod off." _Shite…_ Millie put a firm hand on Ginny's shoulder, and Pansy hoped that that was a clear enough signal to shut up.

"What did you say?" Flint hissed, his eyes shooting to Ginny.

"Forgive her, she is just feeling the rush from Quidditch" Ron tried to defuse the situation, Pomfrey had warned him to keep his anger in check. Ginny shot Ron an angry look for apologizing to their bullies. "Now that I've explained what I'm doing, can we have our privacy?"

"He's also been 'practicing' with Potter" Malfoy shot up. "I've seen it myself, and everyone's been talking about it."

"Care to explain that?" Flint asked.

"He doesn't have to explain anything to you" Ginny snapped, getting annoyed at Malfoy for bringing Harry into this. "What's your problem?"

"No one is talking to you, you little…" Malfoy started, but Ron cut in.

"Mind your mouth Malfoy, don't make me angry" Ron hissed, his face flushing. Pansy shot a quick look to Millie, and Millie nodded in understanding.

"We were just leaving" Pansy told them, and both Slytherin boys looked to her. "This doesn't have to turn into a stupid fight, let's just leave it alone and be on our separate ways."

"And Professor Snape won't be happy about this" Millie added on. That seemed to catch Flint's attention, and he slowly moved aside. Malfoy clenched his jaw at Flint for giving up so easily, but he didn't say anything. _Thank Merlin._ Pansy shot Malfoy an annoyed glance, and she decided that she'd confront him later.

"Let's go" Ron said as he started walking away, his voice harsher than Pansy liked. They all walked off the Quidditch Pitch, leaving Malfoy and Flint behind, and Pansy let out a long sigh.

"What was that, Ron?" Ginny suddenly asked, all of them stopping halfway to the castle. She had an angry, and irritated, look on her face. "A rush from Quidditch? That's what you have to say about me? Why didn't you stand up to them?"

"Fighting them would only get us in trouble, Gin" Ron exhaled as he turned to face her. "They're my house-mates, and I can't just go around starting fights with them." _At least he's finally starting to understand that his actions will have consequences for us all._

"Wow…" Ginny muttered, and then she sneered. "That's just cowardly, Ron." Ron blinked at that, and Pansy found herself frowning at Ginny. "Way to show me that you have a backbone…"

"I do have a backbone" Ron frowned slightly, while Millie and Pansy both decided to stay out of this.

"Not from what I just saw" Ginny shot back. "They wanted a fight, and you just walked off with your tail tucked between your legs. How is that 'having a backbone'?"

"I defused a potential situation" Ron told her, his voice rising. _Maybe I should step in, but this seems more like a family thing._ "And I saved us from getting detentions."

"Whatever" Ginny said hotly. "At least now I can see why you weren't placed in Gryffindor." With that, Ginny stormed off while Ron just stood there. Millie had a dark scowl on her face, whereas Pansy was just watching Ron process Ginny's words. Pansy felt like she should say something, but Ron's darkening look stopped her.

"She's just angry about what happened Ron, don't listen to her" Millie spoke up, though she herself was scowling as she watched Ginny march off. Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he looked to Millie.

"I'm fine" he said coldly, and then he turned around and also marched off. _So much for talking to him about him not taking his anger out on us anymore._

"We should follow him" Millie suggested.

"And do what?" Pansy sighed. "Don't you think that we'd just be making things worse? And he controlled his anger just fine."

"Damn Malfoy…" Millie frowned. "And Ginny had no right to say that."

"On that, I agree with you" Pansy said. "We should go warn the others to leave Ron alone, and tell them about Malfoy."

"I thought that he had finally backed off" Millie grit out. "What's his problem now?"

"I think he's jealous" Pansy replied. "And it's only getting worse with Ron's new fame. C'mon Mills… Let's go and find the others before they find Ron, and before they put their feet in their mouths."

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Common Room – Afternoon)**_

Contrary to popular belief, Theo was not a petty person. Well, he wasn't petty when it came to his friends. He was definitely petty when it came to strangers, and doubly so when it came to people that he didn't like. But he held his pettiness in check when it came to his friends, mostly because he understood that they too were petty. Holding things against them would only create an endless cycle of wrongs and revenge. This kind of behavior came from a need to constantly defend yourself in a school where three of the four houses hated you on principle, while your own house was filled with schemers and opportunists.

Theo was a schemer, and he was definitely an opportunist. So much so that he had no problem throwing Ron's name around in order to charm the younger witches of Hogwarts. He'd tell them that he was Ron's best friend, and the one who supported him emotionally. Ron had turned into something of a caricature in Theo's tall tales, but it still got him the attention that he enjoyed so much. Was this kind of behavior selfish? Yes. Was it necessary? No. Was it fun? Definitely. But that's all Theo saw it as, fun. Nothing more, nothing less. He'd never do anything to harm Ron's well-earned fame, and yet his other friends didn't seem to believe that. According to them, Theo was petty and selfish. They were such hypocrites.

Daphne actually believed herself to be the all-knowing 'Ron encyclopedia' that was put on Earth just to keep Ron safe and happy, but it often just made her come across as self-important and delusional. Especially considering the fact that she would snarl at, or threaten, any girl that even looked towards Ron. Daphne claimed to want what was best for Ron, but she just wanted Ron. She was a spoiled girl who had always gotten whatever she wanted. That was it. She was just as selfish as Theo, the only difference between them being that Theo didn't delude himself with pretty lies.

Pansy was far too attached to Ron, so much so that it bordered on being unhealthy. She needed him there constantly, and if he ever got angry or displeased, she'd spend the whole day in a daze. Theo would sympathize with her, if it wasn't so damn pathetic. Pansy was a follower, and she had always been a follower. First it was Malfoy, and now it was Ron. The major difference between the two being that Ron actually treated her with respect and affection, whereas Malfoy treated her as if she was an underling. And that had caused her to depend on Ron, sort of like a puppy that went from an abusive caretaker to a loving caretaker. And although there was no doubt in Theo's mind that Pansy had improved considerably as a person, because she had, she still put too much faith in following others.

Millie was probably the only person that Theo couldn't find many faults in. She had always been their group's punching bag, until they had undergone a change in leadership. Their new leader, Ron, didn't care much for cruelty or hurtful insults. Instead he respected those who worked hard, and he tried to help those who didn't. Millie had blossomed under Ron's leadership, and Theo honestly respected her for it. She worked hard to change her image in the group, and she had accomplished that. But that resulted in her giving Ron her undying loyalty, and becoming the Crabbe and Goyle to Ron's Malfoy.

Tracey was… She was someone that did Theo's head in. How she managed to be the only girl in the group that turned his head was beyond him. She was funny, witty, and quite clever when it suited her. But she was insecure, even after everything that had happened. For some reason, she still believed that people judged her for her Blood-Status. Theo didn't. She was a Half-Blood, and Slytherin was filled with Half-Bloods. But her insecurities were still there, and they held her back. She pretty much just swayed with the most popular opinion, and she barely ever said anything that went against the flow. And the most annoying part of her insecurities was her constant need for validation. Which resulted in her making a joke out of everything, even when the time for jokes was well and truly gone. And if Daphne said something, Tracey would follow it as if it was gospel.

Blaise was just Blaise. Cold, detached, and uninterested in his surroundings. That is until his safety bubble was threatened. Only then would he act, and more often than not, he'd save the day. But it wasn't some heroic act of benevolence. It was simply him protecting his safety bubble. Blaise could be described with only one word: Passive. A lifetime of disappointment had made Blaise put up walls around himself, a bubble if you will. Theo couldn't deny that his childhood friend had changed a lot over the last two years, but Theo could still see how passive Blaise still was. He didn't try simply because he didn't want to fail, and when he did try, it was only because he felt that he had no other choice. One of these days, Blaise was going to act too late and regret it forever.

And then there was Ron, their fearless leader. Was Ron a great bloke? Yes. Was he fair? Yes. Did he work harder than anyone else in their year? Definitely. But was he always right? No. And yet he believed himself to be. To Ron, the only opinion that really mattered in the end was his own. If he had a goal, he'd achieve it. And Merlin help anyone who got in his way. Ron was stubborn beyond belief, he was violent and easily-angered, and he was undoubtedly the strongest of them all. This meant that if Ron put his foot down, everyone would do as he commanded. Otherwise you'd be risking a concussion, or in the case of Harry Potter, a fucked up face. It was at the Dueling Club that Theo had finally realized that Ron was potentially a more dangerous leader to follow than Malfoy. Because while Malfoy only made threats, Ron could break your bones and laugh while he did it. It didn't matter if he saw you as his friend a few days ago, if you wronged him, he'd fuck you up. If it wasn't for Ron's righteous and seemingly benevolent ideals, Theo would have left long ago. Ron scared Theo, and he scared the others too. But none of them wanted to admit that because they knew that he'd be devastated. And then he'd get pissed.

Theo's friends, much like himself, weren't perfect. They each had flaws, and Theo was the kind of person who observed people's flaws. He didn't put people on pedestals, he saw them for who they really were. And that gave him the unique ability to look past the rough edges of his friends. But just once, in a moment of hurt, Theo had failed to look past Ron's anger fueled comment. After spending some time with it, Theo had come to see where he had gone wrong. Firstly, he shouldn't have made that comment after they all clearly saw Ron try and hide the fact that he lost to dummies. Ron was proud, and kicking him when he was down was just plain stupid. Secondly, Theo had thrown a tantrum about Ron's attitude. A tantrum that seemingly disturbed Blaise's safety bubble, and so Blaise had launched a plan to influence Ron's behavior 'in a positive way'. Theo didn't feel that this was necessary. Despite their flaws, they all worked together exceptionally well. What was the point of fixing something that wasn't broken?

Pansy and Millie were no doubt talking to Ron right now about his behavior, Merlin help them both. No one could give verbal lashings like Ron could. He honed in on your insecurities, and he beat the shite out of them with gusto. Then there was always the danger of him ripping out his wand and hexing your face off, something that he had fortunately never done. But still… They were all Slytherins, and self-preservation was law.

All in all, Theo was just upset with himself. Ron was dealing with enough shite, and Theo had just piled more onto his plate. And now everyone wanted to talk to Ron about his anger issues, as if they didn't have flaws themselves. _Fuck, I hate feeling guilty. I wish I never threw that tantrum, all it's done is put a spotlight on Ron for his shortcomings._

"Theo, are you alright?" Tracey asked, and he looked at her with a smile. Her emerald eyes were shining because of the cozy fire in front of them, and Theo's stomach felt light. _Stop it. Father would never approve of her parents, or her._

"Yeah, just thinking…" Theo shrugged.

"That's new" Tracey chuckled. _Another joke, just humor her._

"Is it supposed to hurt?" Theo asked. "I'm kind of new at this, and I can't say that I'm enjoying it much." Tracey laughed at that, something that garnered everyone's attention. Unlike Tracey, they understood that this wasn't a time for jokes. Pansy and Millie were probably having a really uncomfortable talk with Ron right now, and if they messed it up, Ron would be in a bad mood for days. That's when he saw both girls entering the common room with defeated looks, and no Ron. _For fuck's sake, they messed it up. I'm an idiot for bringing this about._

"What happened?" Daphne asked them as they sat down on either side of Blaise. "Did you talk to him? Is he upset? Where is he?"

"He didn't come here?" Millie asked, and they all stared at her. "No, we didn't get to talk to him. Malfoy showed up, and everything went to hell."

"What?" Theo asked. _Malfoy again? I thought we were past that._ "What happened?"

"Ron was flying around with his sister, and he was in a great mood" Pansy replied, her shoulders slumped. "But then Malfoy brings Marcus Flint with him, and they start questioning Ron's actions."

"What actions?" Blaise asked, a thoughtful look on his face. _Man the walls, the bubble is threatened._

"They questioned him about him flying around with Gryffindors" Pansy replied.

"Potter…" Theo sighed, now it made sense. "I knew that was going to come back and bite Ron in the arse."

"He needs to stop seeing those three" Daphne huffed angrily.

"I agree" Tracey joined in. "Every time he starts associating with them, Malfoy starts using that as ammunition."

"Did he lose his temper?" Daphne asked slowly.

"Surprisingly, he didn't" Millie replied, and they all looked at her to go on. "Pansy and I defused the situation, and Ron took the chance to walk away from it before it got out of hand. But that's when his sister decided to speak her mind."

"She called him spineless" Pansy sighed.

"Ron? Spineless?" Theo almost felt the need to laugh. _Is she stupid?_

"Not just spineless" Millie added on. "But she even remarked about him not being sorted into Gryffindor for it. He then walked off…"

"Great" Blaise sighed. "Just great… He's probably in the Sanctuary, and he's most definitely pissed off again." A silence fell on them all, someone had to go and check on Ron. Theo took the opportunity to look around, and he studied his friends' faces. Tracey was looking away, Daphne looked guilty, Pansy was lost in her mind, Millie was frowning, and Blaise was clearly making some plan. Theo felt his stomach tighten, and for a second he was back in the Sanctuary as he was throwing his tantrum. _Damn guilt, go away._ But it didn't. It just stayed with him, and he let out a groan.

"I'm going to go and talk to him" Theo said as he stood up, and everyone shot him disbelieving looks. "Oh, sod off. He's my friend too, and I do care about him." Theo then walked out of the common room before he could hear or see their reactions. _Stupid guilt, look at the situation that you've put me in._ Theo marched up the moving stair-case, and he snuck through the seventh floor. _Why the fuck is this place up here? I'm always worried about getting ambushed by some angry Gryffindors._ Theo paced back and forth in front of the entrance, and the door to the Sanctuary appeared. Theo entered it quickly, and he shut the door behind him. He then looked over to the couches, and he found Ron seating in his favorite seat.

"Has anyone ever told you how handsome you look?" Theo put on a smirk as he approached Ron, and Ron shot him a deadpan look. "Sitting there with a clenched jaw, brooding as you stare longingly into the flames. Very handsome. Although your long nose ruins that a bit, and your dry skin."

"What do you want, Theo?" Ron asked in a tired tone. _He's not angry? No, he just looks… sad._

"Can't I just talk to my friend?" Theo asked as he took a seat which was facing Ron.

"You haven't spoken to me for the last three days" Ron stated, and then he looked back into the fire. "I thought you were still upset with me."

"Not really upset, just guilty" Theo admitted, and Ron looked back at him. "I overreacted mate, sorry about that."

"Me too" Ron smiled a little.

"There's that beautiful smile that brightens my day" Theo smirked, and Ron genuinely laughed.

"Fuck off" Ron snorted.

"Can't do that just yet" Theo smiled, it was good to see Ron not angry. "I heard what happened with Malfoy… and your sister."

"Yeah…" Ron lost his smile. "She called me a coward…"

"She's stupid if she thinks that" Theo stated, and Ron clenched his jaw.

"Don't speak about her like that" Ron said firmly. _What is it with him and his sisters? They seemingly can't do any wrong in his eyes. Wish I had that gift in regards to Ron. Imagine the power that I'd wield within Slytherin if Ron always had my back, and attacked anyone that went after me._

"Sorry" Theo put up his hands in a placating manner. "You did the right thing by ignoring Malfoy, although his return into our lives isn't a good sign."

"The 'Malfoy problem'…" Ron sighed as he rubbed his eyes with his gloved hand.

"The what?" Theo blinked, and Ron waved a dismissive hand.

"Nothing, mate" Ron replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "I'm glad that we're talking again. I… I missed you." Theo shifted in his seat a bit, he missed Ron too. _Is it just me, or does he say nice things more often now? What's changed? Is it the Mind-Healing?_

"You sure that you're not gay?" Theo asked, a grin appearing on his face.

"Did you come here to check up on me?" Ron asked, ignoring Theo's remark. "I'm fine… I just wanted to be alone after Ginny…"

"I get that" Theo replied. "And yes, I did come up here to check up on you. I may have caused a small problem for you, and I thought that I'd apologize in advance."

"What did you do?" Ron asked.

"After our little… squabble, I may have thrown a small tantrum" Theo admitted slowly, and Ron narrowed his eyes on him. "I pointed out that you sometimes… lash out verbally at us, and that you shouldn't do that… And now, the others want to talk to you about it." Ron nodded slowly, and then he looked to be in deep thought. Theo sat there for almost a minute in complete silence, his guilt gnawing at him again.

"I'm sorry" Ron broke the silence, a guilty look on his face. "I… I don't have any right to do that. And I will be more mindful in the future." Theo blinked at that, he was honestly gobsmacked.

"What the fuck? Who are you?" Theo asked, half-joking and half-serious. "Is this from the Mind-Healing? What is Pomfrey doing to you?"

"It's not just her, I've just started looking at the bigger picture" Ron replied, his gaze falling back on the fire.

"Bigger picture?" Theo asked with narrowed eyes.

"Don't worry about it, it's something that relates to me" Ron replied cryptically. "I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you guys."

"You're starting to scare me" Theo said slowly.

"Worried about me, Theo?" Ron smirked at the fire. _Yes, you noble prick._

"What would I do without you?" Theo asked. "Do you have any idea how many witches approach me just to hear about you, and how I keep you centered? Oh, how they swoon when I tell them of how I look after you after you push yourself too hard."

"You arsehole" Ron chuckled. "Just don't turn me into some joke, and you can do whatever you want."

"Too late" Theo grinned, and Ron shook his head with a soft smile. "Do you want to come down and change out of your Quidditch gear? You smell horrible."

"A shower does sound nice" Ron admitted, and then he stood up. They both began making their way out, and Ron broke the silence. "Is my skin really that dry?"

"Oh yeah, it is" Theo replied truthfully. "But I've got a great moisturizer, and you can have some. I'll leave it on the bathroom counter. Use it twice a day, and your skin will improve within a week or two."

"And you call me gay" Ron rolled his eyes.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"And she thinks that I'm some coward now" Ron fumed, he was currently pacing the room with a cushion in his arms. "What was I supposed to do? Hit Malfoy and Flint? Flint is twice my size, and I wasn't wearing…" _Shite, don't tell her about your ring._

"Wearing?" Pomfrey asked.

"What I meant was that I didn't have my wand on me" Ron corrected himself, and then he felt his frustration spike again. "Did she want me to get my arse kicked? Would that have convinced her that I'm not a coward?"

"You did the right thing, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey assured him, and Ron stopped pacing and faced her. "You controlled your anger, and you stopped the feud from escalating. I commend you on your restraint."

"Well, according to Ginny, I'm just some spineless snake" Ron huffed.

"Did she say that?" Pomfrey asked.

"Not specifically" Ron replied. "But she called me spineless, and then she told me that she 'now knew why I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor'… Gryffindor" Ron spat venomously. "Bunch of pompous, self-gratified bastards…"

"Mr. Weasley, do not turn your anger towards an entire house for the actions of one person" Pomfrey advised.

"But it's true" Ron argued. "They strut about this school like they're the greatest thing to have ever happened. Can't they see that they're just as arrogant as Malfoy? He acts all high-and-mighty, and all because he's a Malfoy. They act all high-and-mighty, and all because they're in Gryffindor."

"That may or may not be true, but we are not here to discuss them" Pomfrey responded. "We're here to talk about you, Mr. Weasley. Tell me, why did Ginny's comment hurt you so much?"

"It didn't hurt me" Ron defended himself, but Pomfrey just stared at him. _Fine, it hurt. It hurt a lot._ "I'm not a coward" Ron managed.

"I believe that wholeheartedly" Pomfrey smiled kindly. "But we need to look into why her comment affected you so much."

"Because they're all Gryffindors, and I'm not" Ron sighed as he fell onto the couch, and he squeezed the cushion against his chest as he lay down. "The first time I managed to outdo my brothers in something, and it was me being sorted into a house that my family hates. But of everyone in my Weasley family, Ginny was the only person who didn't care about my sorting one bit. And now, she had no problem throwing it in my face. What gives her the right to judge me? All I did was walk away from a potentially messy problem."

"Perhaps she didn't really think that her comment would hurt you so much?" Pomfrey suggested, and Ron gave her a deadpan look. "Maybe she just said it because she was filled with adrenaline? Your sister has been through a lot this year, and being confronted like that no doubt took her off-guard. And she seems to have lashed out at everyone in sight as a self-defense mechanism, including you."

"Hmmm" Ron hummed, he hadn't thought about her trauma. "So I should try and understand her side, rather than lash out myself?"

"Exactly" Pomfrey smiled. _She has been through a lot, maybe she should be here too?_

"Madam Pomfrey…" Ron started. "Would you be willing to see my sister?"

"Excuse me?" Pomfrey blinked.

"She's been through a lot this year, and she's clearly having trouble adjusting" Ron sat up and faced Pomfrey. "I mean, she's been practicing Quidditch all day, every day. At first I didn't think much of it, but now… Now I think that she's avoiding people."

"Is that so?" Pomfrey asked.

"Ginny is a loud, social person" Ron told her. "Believe me, when we're at home, she never shuts up. But now she doesn't really talk much, and she's clearly avoiding people. I'm convinced of it. You can help her better than I could, so please consider it." Pomfrey nodded slowly.

"She has to be willing to come here herself, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey responded. "I can't force her to be here, just like I can't force you to be here."

"What if I convince her?" Ron asked, his voice suddenly excited at the prospect of helping Ginny.

"Then I would be more than happy to see her" Pomfrey agreed.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Great Hall – Dinner)**_

Ron eyed Ginny from across the Great Hall, and he noticed something peculiar once again. Ginny was sitting with the first years, but she wasn't really talking. She was just listening to them talk, and nodding absent-mindedly. Ron cursed himself for not seeing this sooner, Ginny wasn't happy to be here. _Damnit, I'm such a fucking moron!_ Ron then looked to his brothers, and a deep scowl was etched upon his face. The twins were laughing loudly and talking to Lee Jordan, while Percy was smiling at someone at the Ravenclaw table. Ron followed his gaze to a girl with long, brown curly hair, and he saw her smiling back at Percy. _Is that the girl I saw Percy with on the Marauder's Map at the start of the school year? What was her name? Something Clearwater…_

"Ron, why are you glaring at the Ravenclaws?" Tracey asked, a smirk on her face.

"Maybe he's eyeing Padma Patil" Theo suggested, and Ron frowned at them both.

"Can we not start this?" Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to think of something important here." _If I ask Ginny to see Pomfrey, I'll no doubt have to tell her that I'm seeing Pomfrey too. Then she'll ask why because she's too nosy not to, and I'll have to tell the truth. Otherwise she'll just get angry and say no. Fucking hell, why can't things be simple for once? Just for once, why can't things just fix themselves?_ Ron felt a shiver pass through him, and his breathing became shallow.

"Ron?" Blaise asked, and Ron felt a hand on his back. "Mate, you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Ron breathed out, a cold sweat in his armpits. _I have to tell Ginny about my Chronic Stress, and she'll tell everyone else. That's just how she is. But if I don't do it, she'll just keep getting worse won't she?_ Ron loosened his tie and jerked at his collar, and that's when he felt someone's foot touch his foot. _Daphne._

"Is this a 'stress moment'?" Pansy whispered, and Ron just nodded.

"It'll pass, just ignore it" Ron told them as he tried Pomfrey's breathing exercise. _Deep breaths, Ron. Just breathe, and relax. Think of nothing but your food._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Morning Free Periods)**_

After spending another night coming up with ideas, Ron had come up with… nothing. _Fuck._ He wanted Ginny to get help, just like himself. At first he didn't want Pomfrey's help at all, but now he looked forward to their sessions. He would vent his basic problems and just feel lighter by the end of it all, and he wanted that for Ginny. But no matter what scenario he ran in his mind, he always came to the conclusion that he'd have to tell Ginny about his Chronic Stress.

Ron had decided not to tell his siblings in the end, mostly because he knew that they'd take it way too seriously and just become bothersome. Percy would baby him all day, Ginny and Luna would be devastated, and the twins would eventually start holding it over him. Ron's friends knew, and that was enough for Ron. Unlike with his friends, Ron already knew the reactions that his siblings would have. He had known them for far longer, and he had a very different dynamic with his siblings when compared to his friends.

"Shite…" Theo wheezed from the ground, and Ron came back to reality. He had convinced his friends to try some Dueling with the dummies, and he knew that they agreed this time because he had a stress moment last night.

"Theo, are you alright?" Tracey asked with a worried voice as she helped him up.

"No, damn that hurts…" Theo whined as he rubbed his right shoulder. _If that was a Death-Eater Theo, you'd be dead._

"Try and dodge instead of blocking, mate" Ron advised with a polite voice, and Theo nodded. "Blaise, you're up." Blaise sighed, and he got up and took his position. "Remember, only try and disarm when you have a clear opportunity. Don't rush yourself." _I learnt that the hard way… Three fucking Stinging Hexes at once, Merlin that hurt._ Ron watched as Blaise started moving around the dummy, his eyes fixed on the dummy. Ron had realized that his friends were rather terrible at Dueling, and that only stressed him out even more. _Not counting Millie, of course._

Theo was always too wary, and he'd start blocking out of panic. And then he'd get bogged down and start getting tired, which would result in him getting Hexed. Blaise would rush the fight in order to win quickly, and he'd make silly mistakes as a result. He'd lose his footing, or he'd miss his attack because he threw it out in a hurry. And then he'd get Hexed. Tracey would stand still and squeal whenever the dummies fired a Hex at her, and she'd take that Hex immediately. Pansy was actually scared of attacking the dummies, or just scared of them in general. Daphne tried her best, but she'd lose her patience when things didn't go her way. And that's when she'd start throwing out Curses wildly, missing almost all of them. And then, she'd get Hexed. Millie was actually quite good, and she wasn't afraid of physical contact. The burly girl had actually punched a dummy to the ground, much to Ron's pride and joy.

"Am I up next?" Daphne whispered, and Ron noticed that she had snuck up beside him.

"Yes" Ron replied, and she pouted miserably.

"Please, can I not go again?" Daphne whined. "I have sand in my hair, and I'm… I'm sweating" she blushed scarlet. _Better sweating than dead in some shallow grave._ Ron was about to berate her, but her pout pulled at his heartstrings. _Give her an incentive instead. That's what Lord Greengrass would do, right?_

"If you manage to disarm the dummy" Ron whispered. "Then I'll give you a present."

"A present?" Daphne's eyes gleamed golden for a moment, a smile replacing her pout. "What kind of present?"

"Take a guess" Ron smirked, and Daphne blushed a bit more.

"Fine" Daphne agreed, clearly hiding her glee.

"Oh shite" came Millie's voice, and Ron looked to see Blaise on the ground.

"Fuck me…" Blaise groaned as he clutched his ribs.

"Blaise, are you alright?" Ron asked, and Blaise gave him the bird from the ground. _He's fine._ "You're up next" Ron told Daphne, and she nodded and got in place.

"How do you take on four at once?" Theo asked Ron as he approached him.

"I don't" Ron admitted. "I can take on two, but even that's pretty hard." _Unless I have my ring, then I could potentially take on four._ "I tried fighting four of them, and you saw what that got me." Ron then saw Daphne dodging Hexes left and right, but she wasn't attacking back. _She's lost control of the fight, dammit. Throw a fucking Spell, Daphne._

"Want to tell me what had you so worried last night?" Theo asked, and Ron shot a look at his other friends. They were all talking to Blaise about his latest fail, with Pansy fretting over him. _He doesn't seem to mind it too much._

"I was thinking of my sister, Ginny" Ron admitted, and Theo waited for him to go on. "I want her to see Pomfrey, just like I am."

"Why?" Theo asked.

"You know why" Ron sighed, and Theo drew in a deep breath.

"The possession" Theo nodded in understanding. "That's a good idea I reckon, that is if it's affecting her."

"It is" Ron replied. "I know my sister, and she is not some… introvert. She's bothered, but she's too proud to admit it."

"Hmmm, sounds like someone that I know" Theo smirked, and Ron nudged him.

"Whatever" Ron smirked back.

"Are you going to ask her?" Theo asked.

"I would, but then I'd have to confess my diagnosis to her" Ron frowned as he watched Daphne miss a Curse. "I don't want to do that."

"I see" Theo said as he thought of something. "Wait, why do **you** have to do it?"

"Because I care?" Ron gave him an annoyed look.

"Not what I meant, you moron" Theo frowned slightly. "You said that Dumbledore asked you to see Pomfrey, right? Why not talk to Dumbledore about Ginny, and get him to ask her? If you tell him that you don't want Ginny to know that it was your idea, I'm sure he'd keep your involvement a secret. He likes you." Ron blinked, and then he blinked some more.

"That's… genius" Ron said slowly. "Blood hell, I've been fretting about this for almost three days now."

"You're welcome" Theo grinned. "Like I said, I'm the smart one between us."

"Just more conniving" Ron grinned back, and then he got serious. "Thanks Theo, I really appreciate it."

"Don't ruin my moment" Theo frowned a bit. "Sappy little bastard."

"Are you blushing?" Ron grinned, but then his attention went straight to Daphne. She missed her Disarming Charm, and the dummy hit her wand hand with a Stinging Hex.

"Ow!" Daphne screamed, and she immediately let go of her wand and tucked her right hand into her stomach. "Ow… Ow…"

"Stop!" Ron ordered, and the dummy stopped dead in its tracks. "Daphne, are you alright?" Ron asked as he approached her, and so did the girls.

"No" Daphne snapped, her eyes welling up. "That really hurts…" _It's just a Stinging Hex, stop whining so much. No, don't be an arse._ "Alright, the rest of you keep going. Daphne, come with me so I can see your hand." Daphne nodded, her hand still tucked into her stomach.

"Here" Tracey said as she picked up Daphne's wand, and handed it to Ron. Ron tucked it into his robes, and then he made his way over to the couches with Daphne in tow.

"Alright, show me your hand" Ron instructed as he sat her down in his favorite chair. Daphne showed him her right hand, and it had a tiny welt on it. The skin was slightly red, but it wouldn't bruise.

"It really hurts" Daphne complained, her eyes still misty. _I've had worse from Ginny._ "I don't want to go again." _And there it is._ Ron felt his annoyance flare up, but he kept himself in check.

"It's just a tiny welt, Daph" Ron assured her, making sure to sound sympathetic. "And it'll heal within a day, trust me." Daphne pouted miserably at that, her eyes getting wetter. "Don't give me that look, getting hit is part of training."

" **Why** are we even training?" Daphne whined. "None of the other students in Hogwarts do this, Ron." _They should._

"I told you, it's for your own good" Ron said gently, and then he crouched in front of her.

"Because the Dark Lord will return?" Daphne sighed as she stared into his eyes.

"Yes, and it's only a matter of time" Ron replied. "Don't you want to be prepared for that day?"

"Ron, I'm not planning to join the vanguard" Daphne frowned. "I'm sure that father has something planned already, and he won't let us get caught up in any war." _That is… the stupidest thing that she's ever said._

"Life is unpredictable, Daph" Ron told her. "And I'm not asking you to join the vanguard, I just want you all to be ready. Just in case things don't go as planned."

"Fine…" Daphne sighed again, she knew that she wasn't changing his mind. "Can I at least get my present?" _She wants to be rewarded for failing? I don't think so._

"You lost to the dummy, Daph" Ron replied. "I said that you'd get a present for disarming it, which you didn't."

"What?" Daphne muttered, her eyes widening with disappointment. _Ugh, the guilt._ "Ron…"

"Stop" Ron whispered, her dejected look getting to him. And then his resolve shattered completely when she sniffled, her left hand covering her welt. Ron shot a quick look towards his other friends, and he saw that they were too busy with their training. Ron reached forward and took Daphne's injured hand, and he kissed her welt. "There, that's all you're getting." Daphne blushed and smiled a little, her eyes darting to his lips.

"But we haven't kissed in ages" she whispered. "It's been thirteen days…"

"You've been keeping count?" Ron blinked, and she flushed red.

"No" she denied immediately, her eyes shooting elsewhere. _Wow, she totally has been._ Ron didn't want to smile and make her feel embarrassed, so he instead swallowed his amusement.

"Tonight?" Ron asked, his stomach feeling weightless.

"Tonight" she smiled widely.

"Good… Now let's get back to training" Ron said, and her smile died immediately. _Did she seriously think that I'd let her off the hook?_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Outside Dumbledore's Office – Right before Lunch)**_

Ron waited patiently in front of the stone gargoyle, he didn't know the password. That, and the fact that Dumbledore was probably teaching a class right now. Ron figured that he'd wait here in the hope of Dumbledore coming to his Office before Lunch, and if he didn't, then Ron would come back after classes. While he waited, Ron decided to pass the time by practicing some more Wandless Magic. He took out his golden Hogwarts pin from his pant pocket, and he placed it on the ground in front of him.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted clearly, and he focused his gloved palm at the pin. He instantly felt the odd weight in between his fingers, and the pin levitated slowly. It felt like his hand was being pushed down by an invisible force, and Ron battled against it. The pin floated up, and Ron quickly broke the Spell and caught it. "Damn, that's so hard…" Ron sighed, but he was pleased nonetheless. He had been practicing all month, and he could at least levitate a tiny pin now. That was progress… _Who am I kidding? Dumbledore moved every table and chair in the class with just a flick of his wrist. The Heir sent me flying without so much as a second thought. But hey… It took me a full month and a bit to levitate a tiny pin. Fuck._ Ron pocketed his pin, an annoyed look on his face. _I bet the Entity is laughing at me. Fuck you, you twat!_

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron turned to see the Headmaster walking towards him. He had his usual kind smile in place, and his eyes were twinkling as usual. "What brings you here? Are you skipping classes?"

"I have my free periods on Thursday mornings, Headmaster" Ron replied.

"Ah, of course" Dumbledore nodded. "Forgive me, but I am rather swamped and can't keep track of many things."

"Too old to teach?" Ron joked, and Dumbledore laughed.

"Indeed, my boy" Dumbledore's eyes danced in merriment. "Add onto it my other duties, and the tutoring that I am giving the fifth and seventh years, I am simply far too busy these days." _Other duties? Oh wait, isn't he in charge of a whole lot of Ministry stuff too? Like the Wizengamot, and so on?_ "Cockroach Cluster" Dumbledore said the password, and the gargoyle moved aside. "Come, we can speak in my Office." Ron nodded, and he followed Dumbledore up. They entered the Office, and Ron took an empty seat in front of Dumbledore's clawed desk. Fawkes was dozing off, and Dumbledore poured himself and Ron some tea. "Here you are, just what I need to pick me up" Dumbledore chuckled as he put a cup of tea in front of Ron.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron accepted the tea, and he took a sip of it. _Could use some sugar, to be honest._

"Sugar?" Dumbledore asked after he sipped from his own cup, and Ron nodded.

"Thanks" Ron said as he put the cup on the table. Dumbledore put three teaspoons of sugar in his own tea, and Ron settled for two.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked, a kind smile on his face.

"I wanted to ask a favor of you, Headmaster" Ron started, and Dumbledore nodded. "I've been seeing Madam Pomfrey ever since school re-commenced, and it's been going great."

"That is wonderful news, Ronald" Dumbledore beamed.

"Yes, it is" Ron agreed, and then he re-started in asking his favor. "I feel a lot less… burdened after our talks, and she's even taught me a few exercises that help me stay calm. And since she was able to help me, I thought that she could also help my sister. Ginny, that is. Not Luna."

"I see" Dumbledore rubbed his chin. "Does Ginevra need her help?" _You're the Headmaster, you should already know that._

"She has been closed off, Headmaster" Ron admitted, and Dumbledore leaned forward a bit. "She doesn't talk much, and I feel like she doesn't want to be back here again. She blames herself for what happened this year, I know that for certain."

"Poor girl" Dumbledore sighed. "What do you need from me, Ronald?"

"I was kind of hoping that you could ask her to see Madam Pomfrey?" Ron smiled sheepishly. "Like how you did with me."

"Why not ask her yourself?" Dumbledore smiled in a sagely manner.

"I don't want her to know about… some stuff relating to me" Ron admitted slowly, and Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "If I ask her, she'll question me constantly. And when I lie, she'll be so put off that she'll deny help just to spite me. That's just how she is…"

"Very well, I will ask her when I see her next" Dumbledore agreed.

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron sighed from relief, and then he began drinking his tea again.

"How is your training with Wandless Magic going?" Dumbledore asked. "I know that we haven't spoken of it since we got you started, but I hope that you've made progress."

"I sort of have" Ron admitted. "I can levitate the Hogwarts pin, but it's not easy. And I can't hold it in place for very long, just a few seconds at most."

"That is quite impressive for someone your age, Ronald" Dumbledore assured him, he could detect a hint of frustration in Ronald's voice. "I do however, suggest that you practice the Summoning Charm first. It requires a moment of focus, rather than keeping up your focus as the Levitation Charm demands. Build up your body's tolerance in regards to Wandless Magic, and then build upon that."

"I see" Ron nodded. "I completely forgot that my body isn't used to being a channel for Magic. Is that why I feel like there's some invisible force acting against me?"

"Indeed, it is" Dumbledore explained. "Your muscles are not used to your Magic circulating through them, and so they seize up. Your fingers no doubt feel like they're being crushed by something heavy, but that is just them tensing up. You will get used to it."

"How long did it take you?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"I'd rather not say, Ronald" Dumbledore replied, but Ron just stared at him. "I was able to lift tables by the age of fifteen."

"And when did you start?" Ron asked.

"When I was fourteen" Dumbledore admitted, his eyes twinkling.

"Wow… a year?" Ron muttered. "I thought that it took years… That's what you told me."

"I was… a special case" Dumbledore smiled.

"You mean you are Albus Dumbledore, greatest wizard since Merlin himself" Ron sighed. _I don't know why I even thought that I could compete with him. He's one in a million, whereas I'm just… normal._ Dumbledore was about to reply to Ron's statement, but the school bell went off.

"Ah, lunch" Dumbledore smiled widely. "I don't know about you Ronald, but I am simply famished. Come, help an old man navigate this overly large castle." Dumbledore and Ron then both got up and left the Office, with Ron walking just a little behind Dumbledore.

"What's the strongest Spell that you know?" Ron broke the silence, and Dumbledore chuckled merrily. _It was a serious question, I want to learn it._

"I can't share all my secrets, Ronald" Dumbledore replied.

"Is it super destructive?" Ron went on. "Could it destroy this whole castle?"

"I would never tell you even if I knew such a Spell" Dumbledore replied.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because that would put me out of a job" Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron found himself smiling. _He has a sense of humor, which is pretty neat considering how powerful he is._

"What if I found you another job?" Ron asked. "Would you tell me then?"

"If it payed better, then why not" Dumbledore replied. _Time to find him a job…_ "Tell me something, why do you wish to learn such a Spell?"

"I can't share all my secrets, Headmaster" Ron grinned, and Dumbledore laughed at that.

"Touché" Dumbledore responded, his eyes no doubt twinkling. They both entered the Great Hall, and most of the students had already piled in. "Enjoy your lunch Ronald, and I promise to speak with your sister. And I will keep your involvement hidden."

"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron smiled widely. "Enjoy your lunch as well." Ron then parted from the old wizard, and he made his way towards his friends. _Merlin, I hope Ginny agrees to see Pomfrey._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – After Dinner)**_

Ron had used the Disillusionment Charm to sneak off to the Sanctuary after Dinner, and now he was waiting for Daphne to join him. They had agreed to meet up tonight, and Merlin be willing, kiss each other again. It embarrassed Ron greatly with how giddy he was at the prospect of kissing Daphne after so long, but he pushed that embarrassment down in order to just enjoy her company. He deserved some nice things happening to him once in a while, didn't he? _And this is a great fucking thing!_ Ron was currently sitting in his favorite chair, and he was grinning at the cozy fire. His excitement increased tenfold when he heard the door open, and then it was closed by some nearly-invisible force. And then, Daphne undid her Disillusionment Charm.

"Finally" Ron smiled widely, and she smiled back. Though her smile was… kind of mischievous. Ron decided to ignore it, maybe it was just the lighting. "Did anyone see you?"

"Nope" Daphne skipped over, her mischievous smile still in place. "I told them that I was going to bed early, and then I snuck out with the Disillusionment Charm. Tell me, could you see me?"

"Sort of, but only because I was looking for you" Ron replied as Daphne stopped right in front of him.

"I'm so happy that you're already sitting in your favorite chair, like always" Daphne hummed, and Ron blinked.

"Okaaay…" Ron drawled, his smile faltering a bit. "So… Are we going to… you know?" Daphne leaned forward at that, and she gave him a long kiss. Her lips were soft as always, and he could feel that she was smiling a bit. But then she jerked back, and Ron just blinked in confusion. That confusion increased when he saw that she had nicked his wand from his robe pocket. "Daphne? What are you doing? Give me back my wand." Ron tried to get up, but his arse was just stuck to the seat. "What the…?"

"Hahahaha!" Daphne cackled as she pocketed his wand, and Ron's face turned horror-stricken.

"What did you do?" Ron asked, panic setting in. "Daphne?!"

"I thought of it after we agreed to meet up" Daphne wheezed. "After you ran off to meet with Dumbledore, I cast a Sticking Charm on your chair!"

"What the fuck?" Ron muttered, and then he shifted in his seat. He tried to get up, but the chair held him in place.

"And now that I got my kiss, goodnight Ron" Daphne turned and began to leave, all the while cackling like some mad-woman.

"WHAT?!" Ron yelled after her, his voice panic-stricken. "You can't leave me here! Daphne!"

"You're a smart guy Ron, I'm sure you'll figure something out!" Daphne hollered.

"I need my wand!" Ron called, but she just left the room. The moment the door closed, Ron let out a frustrated yell. "DAMN YOU, GREENGRASS!" _Fucking hell, she got me really good._ Ron slumped into his chair, and he had to fight the urge to smile. _Ugh, I can't even get mad at her for this. It's brilliant. But she better come back and help me, or I swear to Merlin I'll get her back in public._ Ron tried to free himself again, but it was futile. His arse was glued to the chair, and that was that. So Ron instead stopped struggling, and he waited for Daphne to come back. After almost five minutes of waiting, panic started creeping into his brain again. "Fucking hell, she really left me here didn't she?"

" _ **Indeed, Champion**_ " came a horrifying voice, and Ron's blood froze. " _ **This is a good opportunity for us to have a talk.**_ "

"A talk?" Ron muttered, his heart beating faster. And then, he felt cold, dead tendrils slithering all over his body. "Get off! Get the fuck off me!" Ron yelled as he began jerking in his seat, but the tendrils tightened and held him still. He felt one wrap around his neck, and it squeezed his windpipe. "Stop…" Ron choked, his teeth clenching and his eyes shutting tightly. "I can't… breathe…"

* * *

 _ **The Dream World**_

Ron found himself on all fours, doing his best to breathe. Ron coughed loudly, and he drew in deep breaths that made him cough again. He slowly looked up, and he realized that he was in the courtyard of the Dream Hogwarts again. And right in front of him was Bill, his eyes blood crimson and toad-like. He was just staring at Ron, his terrifying eyes studying Ron with subtle disgust.

"You arsehole…" Ron coughed again as he felt his throat with his left hand. "Why? What do you want?"

" _ **We wanted to speak with you, and so we have summoned you here**_ " the Entity (Bill) replied.

"So you can just summon me here?" Ron slowly stood up. "How? Every other time I've been here, I was unconscious out in the real world." The Entity grinned maliciously at that, and it raised its arms by its sides.

" _ **Look**_ " the Entity laughed, and Ron looked around. Hogwarts was… the same. But then Ron noticed something off, there were cracks everywhere.

"What the fuck? Why is it damaged? Isn't this supposed to be my mind?" Ron asked as he looked around to see even more cracks. They were barely noticeable, but once you saw them, you couldn't help but notice them. "Did you do this?" Ron glared at the Entity, and it laughed again.

" _ **No, this all your doing Champion**_ " the Entity grinned, its dagger-sharp teeth on full display. " _ **We warned you of the allures, but you would not listen.**_ "

"These cracks… are from them?" Ron asked slowly, a sense of dread filling his heart. "What do they mean?"

" _ **They mean that we have more freedom than ever before**_ " the Entity gloated. " _ **See when your mind was damaged, so were the shackles that bind us here. They can never truly be broken until your task is complete, but we now have more freedom than ever before.**_ "

"What does… that mean…?" Ron's eyes widened, the Entity's 'happy' voice was anything but pleasant. The Entity just grinned, and then it snapped its fingers. Ron heard a disgusting cracking sound, and then he felt a ghastly amount of agony shoot up his right leg. Ron screamed so loudly that he thought he was going to tear open his throat, but he kept screaming until he was on the ground and writhing in pain. "Fuck! FUCK! MY FUCKING LEG!" Ron screamed, his teeth clenching together painfully. The Entity snapped its fingers again, and the pain stopped immediately. Ron was left crying on the floor, still clutching his right thigh.

" _ **Get up**_ " the Entity spat out, but Ron couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Why…?" Ron sobbed. "What… did… I do…?" Thick tears rolled down his cheeks, and he let out another sob. He suddenly felt the Entity grab him by his hair, and it yanked him up. Ron winced from the pain as he tried to fight the Entity off, but Bill's angry face jarred Ron.

" _ **Let's talk**_ " Bill sneered in disgust, and something in Ron just snapped. Ron punched Bill right in the face, but the Entity's face didn't even budge. It was like punching a stone wall, and Ron grit his teeth as pain shot up throughout his right hand. " _ **Really, Champion? Where are your manners?**_ " the Entity laughed, and then it punched Ron with its free hand. Everything went blurry instantly, but his mind put together the fact that he was sent barreling across the Courtyard. Everything was just hazy after that, and Ron stared up at the beautiful lights in the sky. He could feel his own blood dribbling down his chin and the side of his face, but there was no pain. The Entity snapped its fingers again, and Ron felt life re-ignite in his chest. He touched his face, but there was no blood on it anymore. " _ **Had enough?**_ "

"Fuck…" Ron groaned as he stood back up, his mind still putting things together. "What do you want?" Ron asked with a strained voice, his tears still leaking out. Bill just smiled, clearly pleased by Ron's fear and pain.

" _ **We want to talk to you about the Future**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron blinked rapidly. " _ **It is time for us to give you some much needed clarity.**_ "

"Clarity?" Ron muttered. "Why now? Also, why are you suddenly acting up? You've never been so involved, but recently… Recently you've been showing up more and more… Why? How can you hurt Fawkes? Can you hurt everyone around me?"

" _ **Be silent**_ " the Entity hissed, and Ron's mouth closed by itself. His lips were stuck together, and Ron clawed at them in panic. " _ **Now listen to us.**_ " Ron looked at the Entity, and he fought to stop himself from panicking even more. " _ **War is coming Champion, as you already know. We draw ever nearer to it, and we need you to understand your role. The Lord of Serpents must die, be it by your hand or another's, it matters not. His death is, and will be, your only focus.**_ " Ron shook his head, and then he pointed to his lips. _Undo this!_ The Entity waved its hand, and Ron's lips finally parted.

"His death?" Ron gasped, having one's mouth closed shut was not a fun experience. "I get that, I want him dead… Believe me. But my main focus is to protect the people that I care about, and you already know that."

" _ **Then you will fail, as you always do**_ " the Entity spat, a look of disgust marring Bill's face.

"Why?!" Ron yelled. "You told me that you can see the Future constantly, remember? You said that I've been doing this fucking shite over and over again, remember? Then why not just give me the answers? If you can see the Future, then why not just tell me everything that I need to know?!" He had never felt so angry or frustrated in his life, the Entity was clearly an idiot.

" _ **Your understanding of Time is… pathetically mortal.**_ "

"What the hell does that mean?" Ron asked in an exasperated tone.

" _ **Tell us Champion, if you knew that you were going to die by falling down the Moving Staircase… What would you do?**_ " Ron just blinked in confusion, but the Entity just glared at him for an answer.

"Not use… the Moving Staircase?" Ron asked slowly.

" _ **Exactly. Once you know that an event will take place, it will not take place. Your mere knowledge of it changes the Future, because you will do everything in your limited power to change that Future. Time is not linear. It is not fixed in place. It is a river, and it flows by its own rules. If we tell you how to act, then the Future that we just informed you on is made moot.**_ "

"What…?" Ron muttered, and then it hit him. "The visions that you've shown me… They won't happen because I've seen them…"

" _ **Yes, they are no longer relevant. You know that they are going to happen, so you've already started taking steps to prevent them. And therefore, you have already undone them.**_ "

"Then Fred… Fred won't die?" Ron's lips twitched upwards, his brother was going to live.

" _ **In the current Timeline, no… But your brother Bill, and your precious Lovegoods, will perish.**_ "

"What?" Ron blinked. The Entity's eyes suddenly rolled back into its head, and then they came back down.

" _ **The Future has changed again. Now do you understand?**_ " Ron thought about it, and he took a seat on the cold stoned floor. It made sense in an odd sort of way. If Ron knew that something bad was going to happen, then Ron would no doubt work to change it. And his actions would create a new Future.

"So the Future… is constantly changing?" Ron asked the Entity. "And you see it changing constantly?"

" _ **No, only when you act to change what we show you. The Future only changes when you learn of its trajectory.**_ "

"So if you told me everything that was going to happen, all of that information would be… pointless."

" _ **Yes, to an extent. Every time you act on the information that we give you, the Future changes. We would have to constantly supply you with information, and that would cause… permanent damage to your Universe.**_ "

"How?" Ron asked. "What permanent damage?"

" _ **Our power is not something that is meant for mortals. Time HAS to be beyond your control, this is the way that Creation was built. But you are an anomaly within Time because you possess our power. You can change the Future because unlike any other mortal in this Universe, you can see it. Truly see it.**_ "

"What about Seers?" Ron asked, and the Entity scoffed.

" _ **They see what She wishes for them to see. Their 'Prophecies' are self-fulfilling, whereas we give you the power to truly bend the Laws of Creation. But bend the Laws too much, and you risk shattering them, along with your reality.**_ "

"She? Who the fuck is She?" Ron asked. "When do I meet Her?"

" _ **When She deems it necessary, we suppose. She has done well to hide Herself from our eyes, like the coward that She is.**_ " Ron's head spun from all of this information, and he chuckled dryly at the notion of looking forward to kissing Daphne tonight.

"Oh fuck…" Ron rubbed his face with his hands, and then he fell onto his back. "Fucking hell… Ever since I was eight, I've been fighting to keep Fred alive. And now you're telling me that it won't happen because I found out about it? What was the point of showing me his fucking death then? Or any of their deaths?"

" _ **T**_ _ **ell us Champion, what was your reaction to your brother's demise?**_ "

"Um… Horror, fear, panic…" Ron muttered, how the fuck did he end up in such a fucked up situation?

" _ **No, try again.**_ "

"I started studying… Exercising… I started pushing myself…"

" _ **Yes, you see it now don't you? Every vision that we have shown you has had a different effect on you. With each vision, you grow more resolute.**_ "

"But the Future that you show me is changed the moment you show it to me…"

" _ **True, but you change along with it Champion. When we saw your acts of debauchery at that… 'Party', we showed you Pansy Parkinson's death. That pushed you to start training harder, and to involve your friends as well.**_ "

"My friends? I thought that you didn't care about them?" Ron asked as he stood back up.

" _ **We don't**_ " the Entity hissed, its face contorting with rage. " _ **But armies are made of soldiers, and their involvement improves the chances of you succeeding for once. Even if they are just lambs for the slaughter.**_ "

"My friends are not meat shields for your fucking plans!" Ron yelled. "You evil, smug cunt!"

" _ **Careful, Champion**_ " the Entity sneered. " _ **Or we will flay you alive.**_ " Ron blinked at that, a sudden fear gripping his stomach. They were both silent for a bit, but then another thought occurred to Ron.

"The Cycles…" Ron whispered, and then he faced the Entity. "My previous Cycles, you remember them don't you?"

" _ **Yes, we do.**_ "

"Then you can tell me about them?" Ron asked quickly. "You can tell me how to kill the Dark Lord, can't you? I mean, one of my previous Cycles must've learned something useful. And you won't be telling me the Future, you'd just be telling me how to kill him."

" _ **Not yet, but soon.**_ "

"What?" Ron blinked. "What?! Why?! Tell me now so that I can prepare! So that I can tell Dumbledore, or any other cunt that wants to listen!"

" _ **Do you think that we haven't tried this before? Because we have. Sixteen times we've tried this tactic, and sixteen times you have failed.**_ "

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked.

" _ **Certain things must happen before the Lord of Serpents can be destroyed, things that we will not allow you to change. Things that you ALWAYS change!**_ "

"What things?" Ron asked quickly.

" _ **His return is one of them. If we show you how to kill him now, then his soul will become a wraith upon this world. Your Cycle will fail because Death cannot claim a wraith. The Lord of Serpents must die completely, and for that to happen, he must live once again.**_ "

"Then I won't kill him just yet, I'll wait for him to return" Ron retorted, and the Entity laughed cruelly.

" _ **We have heard you speak those words before, and you will not fool us again. You, as an individual, are the weakest of your kind. Insecure, weak-willed, and prone to fantasies of being a hero… The Champion**_ " the Entity spat, and Ron flinched from the sheer hatred in its terrifying voice. " _ **The moment we tell you of his weakness, you will act on it. Like some petty child that wants to be praised by its parents, you will cause a bigger mess than before. You have never shown restraint. Your obsession with being seen as some hero has always blinded you, and you fail your Cycles as a result.**_ "

"I… don't understand…" Ron responded slowly.

" _ **Cycle Eighty-Three… We showed you his weakness in your third year, and you being you, started hunting. Not only did you get caught, but you got killed in the process of destroying something far beyond your power. The Lord of Serpents learned that his secret was no longer safe, and so he became even more paranoid. Everyone in that Cycle paid the price for your lack of restraint. Sixteen times we have seen this happen, and we will not allow you to ruin THIS promising Cycle.**_ "

"What? Can you at least try and make some sense for once?" Ron asked, his temper flaring at the Entity's hurtful words. _I'm not like that. I'm not…_ "What do you mean I 'started hunting'? Hunting what?" The Entity blinked, and then it glared at Ron.

" _ **Never again, Champion.**_ "

"Then what the fuck was the point of dragging me here?" Ron asked.

" _ **To tell you of how Time works, how it truly works. Your kind may be able to tamper with Time, but they cannot change it. They will forever be slaves to Time, but you are exempt from that. You are able to change the Future because of us. Remember that.**_ "

"Because you being in me makes me an 'anomaly within Time'…" Ron summarized, a cold shiver passing through him. "That can't be a good thing…" Ron missed the Entity smiling cruelly at him, the Champion didn't understand what being an anomaly truly meant.

" _ **Here is some parting advice, Champion**_ " the Entity controlled its features. " _ **Go to the Chamber of Secrets. Find a fang from the dead Basilisk, and keep it safely hidden away. And take your servant with you.**_ "

"Huh?" Ron blinked.

" _ **Oh, and if you dare tell Albus Dumbledore anything JUST YET… We will make sure that you live long enough to know what his entrails taste like. Do not trust that man. He will undo our work.**_ " Ron swallowed thickly, his fear of telling others was true all along.

"Dumbledore is… the greatest wizard alive…" Ron stated with a scared look.

" _ **He is but a man, and like all men, he is not above making mistakes. And his mistakes have caused us several Cycles. A man like him should not be trusted with the power to bend the Laws of Creation, he will cause more damage than the Lord of Serpents himself. Now leave… We are done with you for now.**_ "

"Wait…" Ron said quickly, and the Entity clenched its jaw and shook with anger. "Can you hurt my friends through me? Like you hurt Fawkes?"

" _ **Yes.**_ " Ron lost the strength in his legs, and he fell on his arse.

"Don't… Please…"

" _ **We will not, unless you give us a reason to. Remember, your only duty in this world is to destroy the Lord of Serpents. Goodbye Champion, we will speak again soon.**_ "

* * *

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Morning)**_

"Ron? Ron, wake up" came a familiar voice, and then someone shook Ron hard. Ron's eyes opened, and he looked up groggily. _Where am I? Where's the Entity?_ "Merlin Ron, I'm so sorry…" Ron blinked his eyes clear, and he felt pain shoot up his back. "I thought that you'd call Marty and have him undo my Sticking Charm, I'm so sorry…"

"Daphne?" Ron muttered as his vision cleared, and he saw her hovering in front of him.

"I'm so, so sorry" Daphne said again, and Ron tried to put everything together. _She left me stuck in this chair, and then the Entity took me. What time is it?_

"Is it morning?" Ron asked, and he finally noticed that Daphne was teary-eyed and sniffling.

"Yes… I'm sorry for leaving you here like this" Daphne apologized again, and Ron sighed tiredly.

"My back hurts…" Ron moaned, and then he stood up on shaky legs. Daphne quickly moved to help support him, and he put some of his weight on her.

"I thought that you'd call Marty, I'm so stupid" Daphne sniffled. _Honestly, I don't even care about her prank. The Entity... I need to think about its words. It wanted me to go to the Chamber, and grab a fang from the dead Basilisk? And it wanted my servant there? Marty? What the fuck? And all of this Future shite… Merlin, what the actual fuck?_

"Where are the others?" Ron asked as they both made their way out. "And what time is it?"

"I woke up early to catch you before your morning run" Daphne replied, her voice choked up. "I wanted to… tease you about… It doesn't matter… I saw Blaise and Theo. They told me that you never came back from the Sanctuary… that you had probably slept there. And I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing" Ron managed a weak smile. "It was a pretty good prank…" Daphne tensed at that, and she sniffled loudly.

"Why aren't you furious?" Daphne asked meekly. _Because I finally got some answers, even if they were confusing and terrifying. My ability to see the Future means something entirely different to what I imagined. Everything that I've worked for… Saving Fred, saving Pansy… All of that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is me becoming stronger. That was the point of my visions, to get me to become stronger._ "Ron, why aren't you angry with me? You should be angry…"

"I'm just bloody hungry… and sore" Ron forced a chuckle. "Don't worry about it Daph, I'm fine…" _I'm so fucked._

* * *

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Library – After Classes)**_

Ron's day had been slow, and filled with grim thoughts. He had thought about the Entity's words, and he had come to a horrifying realization. The Entity not controlled his life, but it had been doing so from the day that it 'possessed' Ron. Every vision was a manipulation to make Ron act a certain way, and like some puppet, Ron had always acted in a manner that the Entity had desired. Forget the fucking Sorting Ceremony, the Entity controlled Ron's very values. Ron's mission was a lie, Fred had been saved on the very day Ron saw his death. But the Entity never told Ron that until now. It understood Ron better than Ron understood himself, and so it showed him the Future whenever it needed him to act in a certain way. But the worst part about this was the fact that Ron understood why it did this to him. It had spent Merlin knows how many Cycles within him, or versions of himself, and so it knew that Ron was… who he was. There was truth to its harsh words, and that hurt more than anything.

Ron's actions so far were all planned by the Entity, and he had given them a great deal of thought. By saving Pandora, he had managed to get his own wand and new clothes. By saving the Trio, he had managed to acquire friends within Gryffindor. By catching Pettigrew, Ron had made an ally in Sirius Black. Ron's fame and influence came from these 'achievements', and they had all been a manipulation. Sure, he had put in the hard work. But it still felt… hollow.

He had spent the entire day in his own head, and the more he thought about his shitty life, the more tired he felt. He had had six separate stress moments today, four of which his friends had spotted. His head was throbbing, his eyes felt heavy, and his body just felt lifeless. He felt lifeless… And yet, he wouldn't just give up. Despite how he felt about himself right now, despite how much he hated his own life right now, the Entity had been right. Ron wanted to be the hero. He wanted to save his family, and his friends. He wanted to win, and he couldn't do that without the Entity. And the Entity couldn't succeed without Ron. They were both stuck together, cursed by that 'She' bitch. It wanted the Dark Lord dead, and Ron wanted to protect the people that mattered to him.

"Ron?" came Hermione's voice, and Ron shook his head clear.

"Yes?" Ron asked, his eyes feeling heavier than before. _I bet her life is so simple. She studies, eats, and then sleeps. Rinse and repeat. While I have some demon's hand up my arse…_

"Ron, if you don't want to study then you shouldn't be here" Hermione frowned. They were currently having their study group, the one that had people from every house. It sadly hadn't increased in size, but Ron didn't give a fuck about that right now.

"Hermione, he looks exhausted" Harry interjected, a sympathetic look on his face. "Give him a break, will you?" Everyone on the table seemed to agree, especially Millie and Daphne.

"Then he should get some sleep" Hermione countered, and Ron felt… annoyed by her. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to grab her by the throat and wring the life out of her. Why did she get to live such a carefree life? Why was everyone around him just studying, playing, and enjoying themselves while he was stuck preparing for a war? _Why me? And why the fuck can't I tell Dumbledore?!_

"Hermione, stop being annoying" Lavender frowned, and Hermione looked extremely offended. Both Neville and Harry exchanged worried looks, something that made Ron sigh loudly. _I'm causing this._

"Hermione's right" Ron said as he stood up tiredly. "I'm tired, and I should get some sleep." Ron then went to leave, but Neville called out to him.

"Mate, your books…" Neville reminded, and Ron turned around and saw them sitting there. _Fuck._ Ron walked over and grabbed his books, and he just ignored the worried looks that everyone was giving him. Ron then made his way out of the library, his eyes meeting Madam Pince's on the way out. She frowned at him, and he averted his gaze. _Even she hates me._ As he stepped into the corridor, Ron stopped and leaned against the wall. He could feel another stress moment coming on, why was everything so fucked up?

"Fuck it" Ron muttered, and he reached into his robes and took out his vial of Calming Draught. _Having one won't be so bad, just this once. What is the point of keeping them with me if I can't have one in moments like these?_ Ron opened the vial, and he drank it down.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Second year didn't exactly end as promised, but that's because I wanted to add this conversation with the Entity in the Holidays. But it didn't seem right being put there, Ron needs someone to hear him out. Someone to fully vent to, someone... that is made of leather.**

 **Next update will end second year, and Ron will be up to a few things. Harry will have a POV, or two. Draco tries to regain some standing within Slytherin, much to the new triumvirates irritation. It's a shame that they don't know that Ron isn't in the mood for their games.**

 **See you on Wednesday (Maybe Thursday, depends on my week to be honest).**


	55. Chapter 55 - A Puppet No Longer

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 55 is here, and I didn't still didn't finish second year... RIP! Some of third years plot has come up a little earlier, mostly because I really hate time-skips. Ron is not an inactive character in this story, so time-skips make me feel like I'm not writing him right. He's always doing something, and the people around are always doing something. The main plot, sub-plots, and characters are something that I always put my very soul into, and having a large time jump just feels like they're on hiatus or something. Anyway, I'm rambling.**

 **Please enjoy the Chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 55 – A Puppet No Longer**

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Library – After Classes)**_

The study group was over, and truth be told, Harry was rather happy about it. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be out on the Pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He was simply here because Hermione had kept insisting that he needed to study more, and Neville had urged him to listen to her. And yet, some part of him was rather disappointed with how the study group had ended. Hermione had scolded Ron, who had then just walked off, and now everyone was annoyed at Hermione.

Ron had not been… Ron. There were no jokes, or any witty remarks. He was just there, and he was almost an eyesore today. Ron was paler than usual, so pale that even his freckles were hard to see, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He wasn't studying, or helping the others study. He was just… there. Was Harry worried about Ron? Yes, of course he was. They were finally getting back to normal, sort of. And Harry knew that something big was happening with Ron, mostly because he had seen how distraught all the adults were after their chat with Ron at The Burrow. Harry had kept that bit of information to himself, he didn't want to go around spreading Ron's business at school. Harry had no intention of risking their friendship again, and so he had even kept this from his best friends.

But now one of his best friends, Hermione, had caused the study group to disband earlier than usual. Not to mention that she was now fuming because Lavender had told her to 'stop being annoying', which if Harry was being honest, he somewhat agreed with. Harry completely understood where Hermione was coming from, he really did. She seemed to have trouble communicating her intent, Harry and Neville had learned that the hard way. She was definitely not trying to antagonize anyone, and she was definitely worried about Ron. But the way she had gone about telling him that was… poor. She had sounded like a scolding mother, rather than a concerned friend, which was often the case when Hermione showed her concern. And if there was an actual tinge of annoyance at Ron in her voice, than Harry understood that as well.

Hermione was the one who created this study group, and she had created it for the victims of the Basilisk attacks. But Ron had effectively taken over the group, and he had shunted her off to the side. Ron had turned this group into… something. Something that clearly benefitted him in some way that the Trio couldn't figure out, and that had hurt Hermione. She didn't admit her hurt, because that was who she was, but Harry and Neville could see it. When they had overheard Lavender and Parvati discussing joining 'Ron's study group', Hermione's face had twisted in a horrible way, and she had just run off to cry. All the while Ron, who was completely oblivious to her feelings, didn't even give her a second thought as he kept adding more and more people into the group. And the people that had joined up clearly preferred Ron's method of teaching over hers, including Colin Creevey who was their fellow Gryffindor.

"Mate, you want to play some Exploding Snap?" Neville asked, and Harry shook his head. They were back in their dorm, and Harry was looking for his Quidditch gear.

"Some other time, Nev" Harry replied, and Neville shrugged with an easy smile. "I want to go out flying for a bit, maybe practice with Oliver a bit more. What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll go and look for Hermione" Neville sighed, and Harry felt a pang of guilt. _Maybe I should help him? She was horribly upset with how things ended, and with how everyone left just after Ron did._ "I know that look Harry, don't worry about it. I'll find her, and talk to her myself. She won't feel ganged up on if it's just me." Harry gave Neville an apologetic smile, but Neville just waved a dismissive hand.

"Thanks Neville, I think that she's a bit angry with me right now" Harry admitted.

"Well, you brought it on yourself" Neville chuckled. "You shouldn't fight her so much when she just wants you to study a bit. You know that she means well, don't you?"

"I do…" Harry rolled his eyes. "But she can be…" _Forceful? Annoying? Ugh… what's the proper word?_

"Overzealous?" Neville asked, and Harry nodded fervently. "Yeah, I get that. I just think about why she's doing it, and it makes it easier to deal with."

"I'll try that out myself" Harry promised.

"I'd best be off" Neville grunted as he hoped off of his bed. "Where do you reckon she's run off to?" And then they both grinned.

"The library" they both said together, breaking into light chuckling.

"She probably went right back after everything" Neville shook his head, a smile on his face. "I'll go and talk to her, hopefully she won't hurl a book at me." Neville left at that, and Harry found his Quidditch gear crumpled by his bedside. Harry picked it up, and on instinct, he took a sniff.

"Ugh… God, this needs a wash" Harry face twisted a bit. _But I really want to play Quidditch right now… Bugger it, no one will notice it._ Harry quickly changed into his gear, he grabbed his Nimbus 2001, and he made his way out of Gryffindor Tower. As Harry was walking towards the moving staircase, he felt something move past him. Harry stopped immediately, and he looked around with a curious look. _What was that? A breeze? Inside the castle?_ Harry looked around some more, but he didn't see anything. _Odd…_ Harry began making his way down towards the Pitch, and once he entered the Courtyard, he spotted the twins walking towards him.

"Harry" Fred greeted with a smile.

"Fancy seeing you here" George added on.

"And in your Quidditch gear no less" they both said together. Harry noticed that they were simply wearing their school uniforms, rather untidily as always.

"I thought that the team was practicing?" Harry asked, and the twins sniggered.

"Wood landed himself in the Hospital Wing" Fred chuckled.

"How? What happened?" Harry asked, he rather liked Oliver.

"Just the usual, someone Cursed him" George laughed. _How is that funny?_

"Why are you laughing about that?" Harry frowned, and the twins laughed a little more loudly. "It could've been the Slytherin Team for all we know." _It probably was, and it was probably Malfoy's idea. Stupid git._

"Oh, it wasn't" Fred grinned. "Oliver tried asking out a Ravenclaw, and her boyfriend was none too pleased."

"And now Wood's right arse cheek is twice the size of his left one" George added, and the twins started sniggering again. _Wow… Poor Oliver._

"Isn't Cursing someone because they like your partner sort of… cruel?" Harry sighed. "It just seems like an excessive reaction."

"Never been in love, eh?" Fred wiggled his eyebrows, and Harry found himself flushing.

"The heart can make a man do crazy things, Harry" George said in a sing-song voice. _Yeah, I'm sure it can…_

"Well, I guess I'll go practice alone" Harry sighed, and the twins shrugged their shoulders.

"Don't be upset, mate" Fred smiled sympathetically.

"It's not like there's a Quidditch Cup on the line" George added on, and then both twins sauntered off.

"Quidditch isn't about some Cup" Harry muttered to himself, and then he made his way towards the Pitch. Quidditch meant more to Harry than just some competitive sport, it was his connection to his late father. James Potter was the Seeker for the Gryffindor Team, and Harry felt extremely proud to hold his father's position on the team. They were connected, even if his father was no longer… here. Quidditch connected them, and Harry loved Quidditch for it. Harry shook the sad thoughts from his mind, and he mounted his broom just as he spotted the Pitch. He blasted off the ground, the cool wind instantly blowing against his face and through his hair. Harry grinned as he spotted a bunch of people just flying about, and thankfully, none of them were from Slytherin. That's when Harry spotted a certain red-haired girl throwing a Quaffle through the hoops, and Harry flew over to her.

"Hey, Ginny!" Harry called out, and she stopped abruptly. "Practicing for Quidditch try-outs for next year?" Ginny turned to face him, her face flushed and wind-beaten.

"No…" she replied as Harry flew in closer, and he could see her tense a bit. It bothered Harry a bit that she was still so awkward around him, but she had been getting better. _At least she can say a few things to me before running off._ "I just enjoy throwing the Quaffle around…" Ginny explain, her face getting redder.

"You've been out here every day from what I've heard" Harry smiled in a friendly manner. He got along with all the Weasleys, and he wanted to give Ginny a chance too. _I mean, even Ron and I are friends. And he's in Slytherin._ "I reckon you could make the team easily."

"Really?" Ginny asked, a small smile of excitement gracing her face.

"Sure, I don't see why not" Harry replied, and Ginny averted her eyes and blushed. _Oh no, she's about to do it again._ "Hey, why don't we practice together? I can be Keeper, and you can keep practicing being Chaser. And then, we can both compete for the Golden Snitch?" Ginny went beet-red, but she also nodded fervently. _I guess she can't get shyer around me, but maybe this way I can show her that I'm just Harry. Not some 'Savior of Wizarding England' nonsense._

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Library – Before Dinner)**_

She didn't need anyone to study with, she could do it on her own. As a matter of fact, she preferred studying alone. Yeah, that's right… When she studied alone, she didn't have to hear whispers or chattering. When she studied alone, she didn't have to stop every five minutes to help everyone around her. When she studied alone, no air-headed bimbo would call her annoying.

Hermione huffed angrily as she flipped the page with a little more gusto than necessary, how could Lavender Brown dare call her that? _I'm not 'annoying', she's annoying. Her and Parvati both. How is it even possible for Parvati to be related to Padma? Did Padma get the whole brain when they were in the womb together?_ All Hermione had done was show concern for **her friend**. Lavender didn't even know Ron, or anyone else in their study group. _Their study group? No, it's Ron's study group._ Hermione quickly silenced the traitorous voice in her head, it was **their** study group. Hermione had made it for **them**. Sure it had grown in size, and it was no longer just the Heir's victims, but at least it promoted House Unity. But despite that, Hermione couldn't help but feel like Ron had stolen her idea. And then he had cast her aside in order to… do whatever he was up to.

Hermione wasn't a complete moron, despite what people like Lavender Brown said, she understood people. So it wasn't hard to see that Ron had some agenda behind his actions. He had filled the group with people from each house, and he used his funny personality to entertain them rather than teach them. Ron's method of teaching was simple, he'd make some jokes and then give you the answer. So it was no surprise that morons like Lavender and Parvati always joined his group. And yet, Hermione could see that both Neville, and especially Harry, also wanted to join Ron's group. That not only enraged her, but it also hurt her. How would they learn anything if Ron just gave them the answers every time? And why wouldn't they listen to her? She was funny as well… _No, I'm anything but funny. But studying shouldn't be entertainment! It's there to increase our knowledge, and to teach us how to operate in the real world. Ron won't always be around to make witty jokes, or to just hand them the answers._

"Thought I'd find you here" came a familiar voice from behind her, and Hermione rolled her eyes. _Great, more interruptions._ Neville came into view, and he sat down in front of her. He was smiling in a really friendly way, as usual, but Hermione found it annoying for some reason.

"I'm trying to study, Neville" Hermione whispered in a scolding tone. "And you're disturbing me." Neville looked at her closed books, and Hermione flushed red. "I… I just got here, alright?"

"That's fine" Neville replied in an understanding tone, and Hermione frowned at his understanding nature. Neville was too polite, and it often made her feel like the guilty party whenever they argued. But they didn't really argue that much at all, Hermione could actually count on one hand how many times they had fought. _When he suspected Ron of being the Heir, when we argued about 'Pure-Blood' families, and just whenever he and Harry try and ignore their homework. Neville isn't the type to start fights unless he deems it unavoidable._ "I just wanted to check up on you" Neville went on.

"I'm fine, Neville" Hermione responded curtly. "There's no need to 'check up on me'." _That's so patronizing._

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Neville asked, completely ignoring her statement.

"No" Hermione replied as she opened her book on Potions.

"Lavender was way out of line, Hermione" Neville said, again ignoring her words. Hermione looked up at him for agreeing with her, and then she drew in a deep breath. _At least someone understands._

"She's not even there to study" Hermione complained, and she missed Neville's smile increasing. He had gotten through her 'tough' act. "And she isn't Ron's friend, she's just… an airheaded moron. Ugh… And how dare she call me annoying? I was only looking out for Ron, you know, because he's **my friend**. And in case no one noticed, he agreed with me. He didn't leave because he was 'hurt by my comment', he left because he could see the sense in my words. Lavender and Parvati were just mad that they lost their free source of answers, and their complaining is what made everyone else leave. Ron's own friends stayed behind, and they only left because Lavender and Parvati wouldn't stop whining." Hermione drew in a deep breath, while Neville just held back his chuckle.

"And now everyone is blaming me" Hermione frowned deeply. "Ron looked completely… dead. And I suggested that he get some rest, but nooo… 'Hermione is a jerk', 'Hermione is so mean', or my personal favorite 'Hermione is just bossy'… Why did he even invite them to join?" Hermione then glared at Neville to reply.

"House Unity?" Neville guessed, and Hermione gave him a deadpan look. _Is he really that blind? Isn't he usually the one who 'sees Ron for what Ron really is'? Or some other gibberish like that?_

"He's turned our study group into his own personal fan-club, and he's trying to bring around even more people" Hermione exhaled. "What's his goal? He isn't the type of person who just wants to be at the center of attention, I'm sure of that."

"Well, we don't really know Ron all that well" Neville interjected, and Hermione felt irritated beyond words. _Is he seriously back on that?!_ "He's our friend, no doubt. But we only ever see him in classes, where we don't even talk to him. When we do talk to him, it's usually for a few minutes… or at the study group. But the study group is a new thing… What I'm trying to say is that Ron might be a little more complex than you want him to be. Everyone hides some part of themselves, it's only natural. And he probably doesn't realize that he's… bothered you. I mean, you haven't really told him have you?"

"No…" Hermione blinked. "But I shouldn't have to. He's a 'Prodigy', isn't he?"

"Hermione, that's a little unfair" Neville smiled apologetically. "Ron isn't a mind-reader, he can't tell how you feel by just looking at you. Even Harry and I have trouble deciphering you sometimes, and we're your best friends."

"Well…" Hermione tried to think of an argument, but dammit he had her. "He still shouldn't have invited those two… air-for-brains…"

"He assured me that they pulled their own weight" Neville told her, and she narrowed her eyes on him.

"You talked to him?" Hermione asked, and he nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you were angry at Lavender and Parvati, and Harry told me not to upset you further" Neville admitted.

"Harry James Potter… You're so dead…" Hermione grit out.

"He just doesn't like seeing you upset, and neither do I" Neville told her, and Hermione found it increasingly harder to stay angry. "Look Hermione, Ron's already invited them to the group. And if you kick them out, that's only going to make you look bad. Why not just ignore them? They're never in our group anyway, so what's the harm of letting them linger around Ron?" _Because then I can't talk to him!_

"They're annoying…" Hermione managed as she averted her gaze. Damn Neville for being so polite, and for being so understanding. Couldn't he see that she just wanted to vent? Couldn't he understand that she wanted to study with Ron just like they used to? _He isn't a mind-reader… Great, now his words are stuck in my head._

"They're not so bad, I usually just ignore them once they reach a certain volume" Neville shrugged, and a giggle escaped from her mouth.

"Nev, that's horrid" Hermione laughed guiltily, and Neville smiled widely. "Thanks…"

"Don't mention it" Neville replied. "Do you want to head back to Gryffindor Tower? We can play Exploding Snap."

"Hmmm" Hermione hummed. "Alright, but just this once."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Dinner)**_

"Marty" Ron called, and it resulted in a loud crack sounding off from behind him.

"Master called Marty?" came Marty's squeaky voice, and then the Elf came around to stand in front of Ron. Ron was sitting in his favorite chair again, his thoughts finally calmed by the Calming Draught.

"I did" Ron replied. "I'm hungry, can you bring me some food? Nothing too heavy, I don't want to feel bloated."

"Marty understands, Master" Marty nodded, and Ron wondered about Marty referring to him as just 'Master'. _If he doesn't mind, then why should I?_ "Marty will bring chicken soup, with bread and cheese." Ron nodded in approval, and Marty was disapparated with a loud crack.

Ron stared back into the cozy fire, its warmth showering his skin. _I'll take Marty to the Chamber tonight, and show him that I'm a Parselmouth. I know that I can trust Marty with anything, he'll never betray me._ Ron had been thinking about betrayal from the moment that he had taken his Potion. Well, not just betrayal, but the concept of doing something else after giving your word. The Entity didn't want Dumbledore to know 'Just yet', which meant that it wanted Dumbledore involved eventually. _It doesn't trust Dumbledore, as if it has any right to judge anyone. I'll try and get more out of it later, right now my focus should be on the Chamber._

Once the castle had gone to sleep, Ron would make his way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and open the entrance. His friends had told him all about the moving sink, and Ron was rather keen to see it for himself. Though why he needed a fang from the dead Basilisk was beyond him. But he knew that it had to be important. Why else would the Entity, who was always in the background, instruct him personally to get it? The fang was important, and Ron would find out why. After he had acquired it, he planned to speak to the Entity again. There was a sudden crack, and the clanking of plates.

"Master, your dinner" Marty bowed deeply after he put the tray on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron put on a smile just to look grateful, the Potion still dulling his emotions. "Now, I need you to do something else."

"Of course, Master" Marty beamed, it had been too long since he had helped with anything.

"I want you to go to my room, and I need you to get a few things" Ron instructed, and Marty listened intently. "Inside my trunk is a large piece of parchment with nothing on it, bring that to me. And also within my trunk is a wooden box which has vials of the Calming Draught, bring me one vial. Understand?"

"Marty understands Master" Marty nodded, and then he was gone with a crack. Ron moved over to the tray of food, and he began eating. The soup was hot, the bread was soft, and the cheese had a strong flavor to it. All in all, Ron was pleased with the meal and he ate quickly. Marty reappeared with a crack, and he presented Ron with what he asked for.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron forced another smile.

"Anything else, Master?" Marty bowed.

"Yes, actually" Ron replied, and Marty beamed. "Take a seat Marty, I need to talk to you." Marty nodded, and he climbed onto a seat on the other side of the table.

"Marty has never sat with a Master before" Marty noted, his smile growing wider. "What does Master wish to discuss?"

"I can trust you, can't I?" Ron asked, trying his best not to sound monotone. _Damn Potion, I don't want to offend Marty in any way._

"Of course, Master" Marty nodded fervently. "Marty will take Master's secrets to the grave, truly."

"Thank you, Marty" Ron smiled in spite of the Calming Draught. "Are you hungry?"

"No Master, Marty has already eaten" Marty replied. "Master should finish his meal by himself, he looks… unwell."

"I see" Ron nodded. "I need your help tonight Marty… with something that might be dangerous. Can I count on you?"

"Of course!" Marty agreed immediately, and Ron blinked in surprise. _I don't know what I've done to earn this kind of loyalty from him._ "May Marty ask what Master is planning?"

"Of course" Ron nodded again. "I need to break into the Chamber of Secrets tonight…" Marty gasped, his face showing his fear.

"Master could get hurt" Marty muttered.

"Which is why I need you with me" Ron explained, and Marty sat up straighter. "There is an object that I need to retrieve, and it is hidden within the Chamber. Now… The Chamber was host to Salazar's Basilisk, but it's been dead for just over two months now. I need its fang."

"Why?" Marty asked slowly.

"That… I can't explain yet." _How can I? I myself have no clue about it._

"Marty understands, and Marty will gladly join Master on his quest" Marty smiled in an understanding way.

"Thank you, Marty" Ron responded. "Come back to me at midnight, and we will travel to the Chamber together." Marty nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone. Ron turned his attention to the Marauder's Map, and he tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map was revealed, and Ron opened it and turned his attention towards the Great Hall. His friends were all sitting together… alongside Carey Ductu? _Why is she sitting with them? Interesting._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Sanctuary – Midnight)**_

Daphne had come around to check up on him at the Sanctuary, but Ron honestly couldn't be bothered dealing with her. So he had hidden himself with the Disillusionment Charm and just watched her walk around the room as she looked for him, and then he had watched her leave with a worried look on her face. Her worries seemed… trivial to Ron. She probably wanted to talk to him about things that he couldn't tell her, or she was just looking for him to play their games. Games that just seemed pointless right now. A loud crack brought Ron out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Marty standing behind him.

"Marty is here, Master" Marty reported, his back straight. _He looks ready to go to battle. Let's hope that's not the case tonight, I just want to get that fang and get out._

"Good, we don't have time to waste" Ron replied, he had just had another vial of Calming Draught. _Two in one day, that was the maximum Bernard said that I should have._ "The entrance to the Chamber is in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and we need Parseltongue to open it."

"Parseltongue, Master?" Marty blinked.

"I speak it, so don't worry about that" Ron replied, and Marty's eyes widened. "It's a long story, one that isn't important right now. We should be on our way." Marty nodded, though the curious glint in his eyes was still there.

"Marty can take us there, if Master wishes" Marty offered.

"Will we make a lot of noise?" Ron asked calmly. "You tend to make an earsplitting sound whenever you show up." Marty averted his gaze at that, and he shuffled his little feet.

"Marty will take care to be much quieter from now on" Marty replied. _I only stated the truth, no need to get all guilty._

"If you can get us there quietly, then sure" Ron responded, he didn't have time to make Marty feel good. Ron opened the Marauder's Map, and he looked around the castle. Blaise and Theo were in the common room, no doubt waiting for Ron. The girls were asleep in their dorm, except for Daphne who was pacing in their bathroom. Ron looked to Myrtle's bathroom, and he noticed that no teacher was currently on the second floor. But Myrtle was floating about in her bathroom.

"Marty, take us to the broom closet on the second floor" Ron instructed. "The one near the abandoned girls' bathroom, and keep the noise to a minimum." Marty nodded, and he held out his hand for Ron to take. Ron did so without a second thought, he trusted Marty completely. Ron suddenly felt like his entire body was being pushed through a straw, his eyes were pressed against the back of his head, his ear drums felt like they caved in, and his vision went black for a moment. And then, he was inside a broom closet along with a faint popping sound. Ron bent over, his breath jagged and his head spinning.

"Master?" Marty whispered.

"I'm fine…" Ron muttered, though he felt rather queasy. _I might actually vomit._ After a few seconds of barely keeping his dinner in, Ron took out his wand. "Lumos" Ron whispered, and his want emitted a white glow from its tip. Ron looked at the map, and he was glad to see that the Professors weren't anywhere near him. Myrtle was their only problem, and Ron needed her gone before he could open the Chamber. "Marty, Moaning Myrtle is in the bathroom and we can't act until she leaves."

"Marty can take care of that, if it pleases Master" Marty smiled widely.

"How?" Ron asked.

"Marty will lie to her" Marty replied, a flash of guilt in his wide, blue eyes. "Marty will tell her that the Elves wish to see her."

"And she'll fall for that?" Ron asked.

"She is kind to the Elves, Master" Marty nodded. "And we enjoy her company as well." _Well, who knew? But then again, she seems to be lacking in the friends department. And Elves are a kind lot, generally._

"Do it, I'll join you after I see her leave" Ron agreed, and Marty's eyes shot to the Marauder's Map. "Yes, it can show me where ghosts are too." Marty nodded, but he didn't comment on the map. Marty then disapparated, and Ron turned his focus to the map. He waited for a few moments, and he watched Marty's 'dots' in front of Myrtle's. And then, Myrtle flew through the walls and began heading towards the Kitchens. _Nice job, Marty._ Ron snuck out of the broom closet, and he tiptoed into Myrtle's bathroom.

"She is gone, Master" Marty smiled widely when he saw Ron, and Ron nodded.

"Well done, Marty" Ron responded, and then he looked around the bathroom. _No time to waste, she might come back any minute now._ "Alright Marty, stand behind me." Marty nodded, and he ran behind Ron. "Open" Ron said, but nothing happened.

"Master… that was not…" Marty piped up, but then he held his tongue. _Damn, I haven't done it in a while._

"Open" Ron hissed, and Marty grabbed at the back of his Master's robes. There was a white light that suddenly emanated from one of the sinks, and then it was gone. Ron turned to the sink that began sliding forward, and he finally noticed that he wasn't even unnerved. The Potion was dulling any fear or worry, and Ron decided that maybe that was a good thing. He had a job to do. As the sink sank into the ground, it revealed a pipe that was wide enough for a man to slide into.

"The entrance…" Marty whispered, his eyes widening.

"I'll go in first, and then I'll call for you if it's safe" Ron told him. "You can slide down once I give you the signal."

"Master no… Let Marty go in first, please…" Marty grabbed a fist full of Ron's robes.

"Marty, that was an order" Ron told him firmly, he wasn't letting Marty get hurt on his behalf. _If the Entity wants me going down there, then I'm risking my own neck first._ Marty's eyes welled up with thick tears, but he didn't argue. Ron approached the pipe, and he found himself being grateful to his Potion again. And then, Ron took a leap of faith.

The journey down was unexpected… and unpleasant. Ron slid down the pipe at an alarming speed, and the twists and turns resulted in him slamming against the pipe. He held his wand tightly to his chest in order to protect it, and he held his breath to bypass the horrid smell. Not to mention that he could feel the slime on his clothes and skin, something that unnerved Ron despite the Calming Draught. And then, the pipe leveled out and Ron was shot out into the darkness. He landed with on the cold stone ground with a thud, and a cuss. But he was quick to get back up on his feet, his wand at the ready.

"Lumos!" Ron chanted loudly, and his wand lit up like a torch. He was in a damp cave of sorts, and it was rather cold down here. _I must be miles beneath the school. Beauxbatons gets naked Dryads, while I get damp caves. Maybe I should have agreed to Madam Maxime's proposal._ "Marty, come!" There was a sudden crack from behind him, and Ron turned around quickly.

"Master is safe!" Marty ran up and hugged Ron's leg, not even caring about the slime. "The entrance closed after Master went inside, and Marty feared the worst…" Marty sniffled.

"I'm fine, Marty" Ron assured his Elf. "Covered in slime, and a bit sore, but fine. I do have one question though… How did you apparate down here?"

"Elves can apparate to their Masters" Marty explained as he let go of Ron's leg. "Unless their Masters are in a place warded against Elves, that is."

"So you don't have to know where you're going" Ron blinked. "As long as I'm there, you can just come to me?"

"Yes, Master" Marty nodded, and Ron was slightly awed. _House Elves are… not like us at all. I know that they have different Magic than us, but still… Are they stronger than us?_

"Well… Let's move on…" Ron blinked, was Marty more powerful than him? _I should be calling him Master… What the hell?_ Marty snapped his fingers, and a bright ball of light appeared above them. "Neat" Ron smiled at it. "Stay alert, and stay behind me." Marty nodded, and they began making their way further into the cave. The cave, although well-lit by Marty's ball of light, was still eerie. Ron's eyes darted to each shadow, his mind alert. And yet, the Potion was dulling an essential emotion needed to stay alert. Fear. _Alright, maybe taking the Potion isn't always the right call._ Ron had to focus on being alert, rather than just being alert, and that was not a good sign.

"The monster of the Chamber is dead, is it not?" Marty asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Yeah, that's what the Professors claimed" Ron replied. "And I'm sure that they were telling the truth." _The Entity claimed that it was dead too, and despite being a mangy cunt, it doesn't want me to die down here._ Ron and Marty kept going deeper and deeper into the cave, but they stopped abruptly when Ron stepped on a bone that crunched under his foot. "That's… a lot of bones…" Ron said slowly as he looked around himself. There were hundreds of bones from small animals just laying around, and Ron felt Marty stick closer to him.

"Master…" Marty squeaked, but Ron couldn't bring himself to care about the bones around them.

"It's alright, Marty" Ron assured the Elf. "The Basilisk is dead, and there's nothing down here that can hurt us." Ron then began making his way forward again, with Marty following closely behind. As Ron turned the corner, he found himself frozen by a disturbing sight. _Oh fuck._

"Master, what is that?" Marty squeaked again, while Ron aimed his wand at the long, curvy snake-like object in the distance.

"I think that's its… skin…" Ron guessed, it wasn't moving so it wasn't alive. "Just be ready to apparate us out of here if anything goes wrong. You can do that right?"

"Yes…" Marty squeaked. Ron drew in a deep breath, and he slowly approached the shed skin. It was over twenty feet long, and it sent a cold chill throughout Ron's skin.

"It's shed skin" Ron told Marty. "But it looks… fresh. How's that possible?" Ron eyed the poisonous green skin, his hand tightening around his wand.

"A Basilisk's skin is Magical, Master" Marty replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "It can withstand most Spells, and it is even difficult to pierce with a blade."

"How do you know that?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"We Elves share our knowledge with each other to better serve our Masters" Marty smiled sheepishly. "And… we read the books collected by our Masters… But only to better help them." Ron nodded again, he had clearly been underusing Marty.

"Well, let's move on" Ron stated, he didn't want to stay near this shed-skin. Marty nodded fervently, and they both delved deeper into the cave. They eventually found themselves at what was meant to be a dead-end, but there was a massive hole in the wall. "The Chamber… at last…" Ron quickly went through the hole, and Marty followed just as quickly.

The inside of the Chamber was… in ruins. Shattered pillars and statues were everywhere, there was so much debris that Ron could barely see what was ahead, and almost everything in sight was cracked or broken. Ron knew from his friends that the fight between the Heir and the Professors had shaken the very ground itself, and seeing this level of destruction, he could easily believe them. Whatever happened down here, it was far beyond Ron's imagination. As Ron and Marty navigated the large debris that blocked most of their path, Ron spotted a massive, monkey-like face that was carved into the wall at the far end of the Chamber. It too was badly damaged, with holes and scorch marks all over it. _I'm guessing that that is Salazar's face. Have you heard of moisturizer, mate? I know a good brand, thanks to Theo._

"Master, look!" Marty suddenly exclaimed, and Ron followed his gaze towards a massive, charred corpse.

"Fucking hell" Ron found himself muttering, the Potion barely keeping his nerves in check. The Basilisk's corpse was burnt to a fucking crisp, and Ron wondered what the fuck Dumbledore had done to it. _How is telling Dumbledore about the war not the right move? I need his help, I can see that for certain now. Look at this shite, he did_ _ **this**_ _to a Basilisk._ Ron and Marty finally crossed the debris, and they stood before the smoldered corpse of Slytherin's monster. Ron found himself grimacing at the sight, Dumbledore had really done a number on the beast.

"Master, the fangs…" Marty said softly, and Ron gazed at the monster's slightly open mouth. Its fangs were shattered, and completely charred. "Does Master want the poison from its fangs?" Marty asked. _That's a good question… Do I?_ "These fangs are destroyed, and there's no poison left on them…"

"The fangs are all broken and burnt…" Ron frowned. "Look around, and see if you can find a chipped fang that isn't destroyed." _Now would be a good time to show yourself, Entity. No? Nothing? Fucking cunt._ Ron started looking near the debris, while Marty looked near Salazar's damaged face. Ron and Marty searched for ten minutes, and just when Ron was about to give up, Marty called out excitedly.

"Master! I found one!" Marty called, and Ron immediately made his way to the Elf. Marty was standing in front of a large fang which wasn't burnt, but it was slightly chipped.

"It's the size of a bloody dagger" Ron said as he examined it.

"Be careful, Master" Marty warned. "A Basilisk's venom can kill anything."

"I know, Theo told me all about it" Ron responded. "We should've brought a cloth, or something…" Marty snapped his fingers, and he conjured a thick leather rag. "Is there anything that you can't do?" Ron asked, and Marty beamed. _Is this why the Entity wanted Marty here?_ If Ron wasn't on the Calming Draught, he'd probably get angry at being controlled. But then again, his entire life since he was eight was a manipulation. And Ron would have gone on being ignorant of it… But the Entity broke that illusion. _Why? Showing me its cards doesn't help it, so why do tell me the truth? Something is not right, but I can't see it just yet._

"Master?" came Marty's voice, and Ron was pulled from his thoughts. "Is Master alright?"

"Yes" Ron put on a soft smile, and Marty nodded slowly. "Hand me the leather rag please" Ron asked, and Marty passed it over. Ron carefully wrapped the fang up, while Marty watched with a scared look. Once the fang was all wrapped up in the rag, Ron stood up with the rag in his left hand. "We have what we came for, let's leave. This place is unnerving, and I'd rather not stay here longer than necessary." Marty didn't argue that, and he quickly grabbed onto Ron's right hand. "Take me to the bathroom connected to my room, and keep the sound to a minimum."

"Of course" Marty smiled, and then they both disapparated. After going through the horrendous feeling of being shoved through a thin pipe, Ron found himself in his bathroom. _Fuck, that's just nauseating._ Luckily for both Ron and Marty, it was empty. Ron frowned at himself for not checking the map beforehand, it was utterly careless. "Master should hand Marty his robes for washing" Marty suggested, and Ron nodded. Ron didn't know if it was the Potion, or if it was the simple fact that he was just completely exhausted, but he began taking off his clothes without a care. Even if Marty was horrified by Ron's terrible scars, he didn't utter a word about them. Once Ron was starkers, he handed Marty his slime covered clothes.

"Take your time, school won't start until Monday" Ron said in an eerily calm voice, and he even ignored Marty's wide-eyes staring at the scar that ran across Ron's chest. _He won't judge me on them, and even if he does, I don't really care right now._

"O… Of… Of course, Master" Marty stammered a bit, but then he adorned a more resolute expression. "Marty will have them laundered by the morning." And then just like that, Marty disapparated with a pop. Ron shot a quick look to the leather rag and the Marauder's Map, both of which were now sitting on the bathroom counter. He then walked over, and locked the door. Ron took a quick shower, and once he was no longer smelling like garbage, he stepped out and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around his waist, grabbed the leather rag and the map, and then exited the bathroom. He instantly spotted Blaise and Theo, both of whom were clearly waiting for him.

"Where have you been?" Blaise asked, his voice calm and collected. But the moment he saw Ron's scars, something akin to fear flashed across his face. _They are pretty jarring to look at, aren't they? Well, they've already seen them so it hardly matters._

"Around" Ron shrugged as he made his way to his trunk.

"What's that?" Theo asked, his eyes on the leather rag.

"Something that doesn't involve you" Ron replied in a monotone voice. "Forget that you even saw it." Blaise and Theo exchanged quick looks, Ron was acting off. But then again, he had been acting off all day. Ron tucked the map and the leather covered fang into his trunk, and then he sealed it shut. _I need to find a more secure place for the fang. I don't need either of them finding out about it._

"Ron?" Theo called, and Ron stood back up. Theo's eyes travelled towards Ron's scars, but he quickly looked Ron in the eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm on the Calming Draught" Ron told them in order to clear up any questions regarding his off-behavior.

"I see" Blaise responded, his body relaxing a bit. "Did you have a panic attack?"

"Nearly" Ron replied, his calm tone making both Theo and Blaise uncomfortable. It was like conversing with a dead person. "I had a lot of stress moments, and I couldn't take it anymore. I ended up having two vials of Calming Draught."

"Alright" Theo nodded slowly.

"Make sure you tell Daphne that tomorrow" Ron instructed. "She likes to keep tabs on my stress. And before you ask, I can't talk to her tomorrow because I have work with her father. Goodnight." Theo and Blaise just blinked at him as he turned to his bed.

"Wait…" Blaise said suddenly, and Ron turned to face him again. "Carey Ductu was looking for you." _Is that why she was having dinner with them? Great, I wonder what she wants now. I've already got enough to deal with, I don't have time for her games._

"Thanks for letting me know" Ron nodded. "Goodnight." With that, Ron got onto his bed and closed the curtains. He took off his towel, snuggled himself into his blankets, and went to sleep.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **April, 1993 (Heading to Dinner – Dinner-Time)**_

Something was off, and Ron could feel it. Ron had retrieved that blasted fang, but the Entity wasn't responding. He had spent all morning trying to get its attention, even to the point of just cussing at it, but he was only met with silence. So instead of focusing on why the Entity wasn't responding, Ron began to think about its actions. There was a pattern with the Entity, a pattern that Ron had begun to notice when he looked back at their interactions under the influence of the Calming Draught. It would leave him alone for weeks on end, and then show up just to terrorize him. And then, it would just leave again. It didn't make any fucking sense. Not to mention that it had just shown Ron all of its manipulations, and it sounded rather proud of itself. For a being that could see all of Time at once, the Entity did some rather… idiotic things.

That's when it occurred to Ron that those things seemed idiotic to him because he couldn't understand the motivation behind them. And so, Ron began to focus on the Entity's intent. It wanted the Dark Lord dead, and it wanted to be free of Ron. And yet, its actions worked in favor of something completely opposite. It terrorized and hurt Ron at every turn, it kept secrets that could help Ron immeasurably, and now it was forcing him to stay silent? It had never hurt anyone around Ron, but now it was openly showing Ron what it was capable of? Why the fuck would something as 'All-seeing' as the Entity make such basic errors in judgement? Why show Ron that it was controlling him? Couldn't it **see** that Ron would reject the idea of being controlled? Shouldn't it just know Ron's reactions because it could see the Future? And that's when a **barmy** idea occurred to Ron. Maybe it couldn't **see**? Maybe… just maybe, the Entity couldn't see Ron.

What if the Entity could see everyone's Futures, but not Ron's? Ron was, after all, an 'anomaly within Time', right? He wasn't a 'slave to time', right? The Entity itself had told Ron that he was different from every other mortal in this Universe because Ron possessed the Entity's unique power. Would it be such a stretch to think that maybe Ron possessed a little more power than the Entity wished? Why else would it not just tell him what to do? Why even show him visions when it could just tell Ron about **his** Future? Sure that Future would change by Ron just knowing about it, but wasn't that the case with the visions as well?

And then there were the visions that Ron had seen during his life, visions that he had spent the entire day combing through. Ron was surprised to realize that no matter which vision he looked back upon, he wasn't in any of them. Not a single one. Not even the one where all of his family members were mourning the death of Fred. Why the fuck wouldn't Ron be there? Where was he during the assault on Hogwarts? He knew for certain that he would stand by his family during this assault. And yet, he wasn't there? His brother had died, and Ronald Weasley was nowhere to be found. Was he dead? Was he captured? Was the vision just to motivate Ron? Ron had so many questions that he felt almost a hundred years older than he was.

Also, why in the actual fuck did an 'All-seeing being' feel the need to manipulate Ron, rather than just tell him which pot-holes to avoid? The Entity had also revealed that each vision was used to make Ron 'more resolute' in his task, but that only served to make Ron wonder even more about why the Entity would tell him this. If you were manipulating someone, wouldn't telling them that bit of information just throw a wrench in your plans? It was like it wanted Ron's spirit to be broken, for Ron to become utterly dependent on it. To be its puppet, and nothing else. And there was Ron's answer to everything. The Entity wanted a slave, and unfortunately for Ron, they were bound together by this 'She'.

Ron was taken out of his thoughts when he felt another stress moment coming on, and he stopped at the steps leading into the Entrance Hall. This would be his fifth one today, and Ron couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't live like this… He didn't want to eat, he didn't want to sleep, he didn't even want see his friends. He just wanted a break from it all… Ron reached into his robe pocket, and he pulled out a vial of Calming Draught. As he drank it down, he felt utter contempt for his own life. What the fuck was the point of all of this suffering if the Entity was just going to show up eventually and make things worse? It was just one bad thing after another, and it had been like this for as long as Ron could remember. Something had to be done, or Ron was just going to keel over and die from stress.

As the Potion did its job, Ron felt numbness wash over him. Numbness that Ron embraced with a soft smile, he was regaining his clarity. Lord Greengrass had noticed Ron's troubled state, but he hadn't said anything. Ron was grateful for that, he didn't really want to lie and cause himself even more stress. With his mind calming down, Ron made his way into the packed Great Hall. A lot of eyes fell on him, but most of them quickly lost interest. Ron walked over to his friends, and he took his usual seat in-between Theo and Blaise.

"Hello" Ron greeted them in his usual way, and they all nodded. _Silence? Great, they're upset about something. Whatever, I'm not going to even bother asking them. If they want to talk about it, then they can start that conversation._ Ron began putting a modest amount of food on his plate, his mind becoming more and more devoid of his worries.

"How are you feeling today?" Pansy broke the silence.

"I feel fine" Ron replied, his tone calm and cold. "How are you, Pansy?"

"Fine…" Pansy mumbled, her eyes going back to her food.

"Are you on that Potion again?" Daphne asked, a certain edge to her tone.

"Yes" Ron replied, there was no point in lying about it. _What are they going to do? Kill me? Take a number, and get in line._

"Mate…" Theo sighed. "Did you have a lot of stress moments again?"

"Five so far today" Ron replied, he missed Daphne's face going pale. "Couldn't take having a sixth, so I had the Potion."

"Ron, what's wrong?" Tracey asked with a worried voice. "You were doing really well with your stress, but then out of nowhere you've… You've just gone off the deep end." _I've gone off the deep end because the cunt that is supposed to be helping me would rather torment me than do its job. Why did 'She' bind this fucker to me? Nothing to say to that, Entity? Where are you? Where do you run off to when you're done ruining my life?_

"Ron?" Millie called, and Ron looked up at her. "Tracey asked you something."

"I know, I heard her" Ron responded, but then he began eating his food. It felt like a chore, but it had to be done. His friends exchanged looks, and then they began eating their own food. _Why would the Entity tell me of its machinations if not to break my spirit? I mean, I would never give away my schemes. Tactically speaking, it's just not a smart move to show your opponent your hand. Opponent… Fucking hell, we're supposed to be working together, but we hate each other so much that we can't even see each other as anything else._ Ron could hear his friends chatting to each other, and he ignored them for the most part. He ate his food, and he pondered more about the Entity. There was something going on with it, and Ron was going to figure it out.

Before Ron could finish his third plate, the school bell went off. Ron decided that he had eaten enough, and he got up to leave with his friends. They were talking about pointless things like Millie's Chocolate Frog Card Collection, or Pansy's new fashion advice. Ron almost envied their ignorance… almost. Their ignorance was going to get them killed one day, and despite Ron's best efforts so far, they still refused to train with him on a regular basis. _Maybe I should take a page out of the Entity's book, and force them to do as I say. No… I can't do that to them. I'll never do that to them. But maybe a harsh lesson about the upcoming danger is needed, and then they can make their own choice?_

"Ron, wait up" came a familiar voice from behind them, and Ron turned to see the Golden Trio catch up to them. He could feel the annoyance emanate from his friends, but he didn't feel anything himself.

"Hello you three, what can I do for you?" Ron asked politely, and both Gryffindor boys looked to a sheepish Hermione.

"I wanted to apologize…" Hermione replied, and Ron waited for her to go on. _Apologize for what?_ "I shouldn't have been so… forceful yesterday. What I was trying to say was that you should rest… and not study. Because you looked tired…"

"I know, that's why I left" Ron accepted her apology, though he was never bothered in the first place. "You were right Hermione, I wasn't in the mindset to study. I was only getting in everyone's way. Thank you for apologizing, but you have nothing to apologize for." _That was rather political of me, I'm proud of that. And she really didn't offend me, so she has no reason to feel guilty._ Hermione certainly enjoyed his words because she beamed, only to give him a worried look right after.

"Do you want to talk about what had you so worried?" Hermione asked, and that seemed to be the last straw for Daphne.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Granger" Daphne said coldly, and then she turned to Ron. "Ron, let's go." _Can't we all just get along? Why do we keep fighting each other over such trivial things?_

"He's my friend too, Greengrass" Hermione bit out, and Ron felt the need to sigh tiredly. Neville and Harry however, did sigh tiredly.

"Hermione, it's fine" Harry told her, though he was eyeballing Daphne. "Ron's not upset with you, let's not start an argument."

"She doesn't own him" Hermione narrowed her eyes on Daphne, but Daphne just cocked an eyebrow. _In all fairness, I think Hermione would win in a Duel. Daphne is slightly above average, but nothing special. I should step in before this escalates._

"No one owns me" Ron lied, the Entity clearly did. "And Harry is right, can we please not argue in the Entrance Hall. People are passing by." That seemed to make his Slytherin friends a bit more aware, whereas Hermione didn't seem to care.

"Ron, let's go" Tracey said as she grabbed his gloved hand and gave it a tug.

"I'll see you guys later" Ron told the Trio, but only Harry and Neville nodded. Hermione was just glaring at Tracey and Daphne, much to Ron's annoyance. Arguing in the Entrance Hall just seemed… petty. _I need to tell Daphne to stop being so hostile towards them all the time._ Ron turned around and began to leave, and his friends slowly followed after him. As they were nearing the common room, Ron looked towards Daphne. "Stop being so hostile towards them." Daphne blinked at him, and then she frowned.

"She was overstepping…" Daphne shot back, and Ron's friends just sighed.

"She asked me if I wanted to talk about my worries, and you started dictating what she could and couldn't do" Ron responded calmly. "I'm sick of the same arguments happening between our groups, and they end now. Is that understood?"

"She is a haughty, annoying…" Daphne started, but Ron just stared through her.

"I said that they end now, don't make me repeat myself" Ron warned, and Daphne stopped talking. "That goes for all of you. The next person who starts an argument with the Trio for no fucking reason is going to get their arse kicked into the dirt by me. That's a promise." _Enough is enough. I'm sick of this constant bickering when there is a fucking war around the corner._ Ron's friends were wounded by his threat, but they didn't say another word. "Legacy" Ron said to the common room entrance door, and the wall slid aside. Ron and his friends made their way inside, but they were forced to stop immediately. Carey Ductu was clearly waiting of them, her eyes fixed on Ron.

"Ron, I need a word with you" Carey said, her voice as silky as always. _Let me guess, you need me to fix another problem for you._

"Certainly" Ron replied in a monotone voice, and then he turned to his friends. "Remember, this bickering ends. I'm sick of it." Ron then followed after Carey without waiting for their response, they needed to grow up already. Ron followed Carey to the Potions Lab, and he was met with both Samantha and Clara.

"He lives" Clara giggled. "You had us all worried yesterday."

"Yes, I'm sure you were all so worried" Ron replied coldly, and Clara's smile faltered. "What do you want?"

"Excuse me?" Samantha asked, her face losing all of its mirth.

"What do you want?" Ron repeated, although more slowly. "I'm tired, and I want to sleep." The three girls exchanged looks, something was off with him.

"Maybe we just wanted to see you" Clara smiled, this conversation needed a restart.

"Well, you've seen me" Ron shrugged, and then he turned to leave. "Goodnight."

"Ron, what's the matter with you?" Carey asked, a tinge of concern in her voice. Ron turned back around, and he just stared at them. _Why can't they just be straightforward for once? Also, I can't be bothered dealing with 'House Issues' right now. I have bigger things to worry about._

"I've had a long day, and I'm not in the mood for games" Ron replied. "Tell me what you want, or I'm leaving." The girls exchanged looks again, he had caught them off-guard with his cold demeanor. Ron was anything but cold, and it didn't suit him.

"Malfoy has been making a fuss about you" Clara said, her voice no longer sweet. "It's getting annoying, and idiots like Flint are listening to his drivel. We told you that we wanted to keep the House peaceful, but you've given Malfoy another reason to complain."

"What did I do now?" Ron asked.

"You're openly associating with Potter, and his ilk" Samantha replied. "This new study group of yours is also… strange. Unheard of, even. You're a Slytherin who is openly joining forces with Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws. It has some people… worried about your priorities."

"My priorities are clear" Ron replied. _The war is my only 'priority'._

"We know that" Carey said smoothly, a confident smile on her face. "But Malfoy wants… No, he expects himself to be taken seriously within this House. And he sees you as his direct challenger, so you need to be more mindful of how you act."

"Do I?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, and Carey blinked. "What would be the point of that? The moment we fix this problem, Malfoy will find another reason to start this shite again. I don't see the point of constantly putting out the same fire." With that, Ron turned to leave. Carey moved forward and grabbed his gloved hand, and Ron stopped.

"Clara, Sammy" Carey said in a firm tone. "Give Ron and me some privacy please." Clara and Samantha nodded, and they left after shooting Ron quick looks. "Come here" Carey said as she guided them to a bench, and she sat down with his hand still clutched in hers. Ron did as he was instructed, a dull look on his face. "Are you on a Potion of some kind?" Carey asked, and Ron was surprised by her assumption.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked, and she smiled a little.

"I'm great at Potions, and I know how people act when they're on them" Carey replied. "It can't be the Draught of Peace, which would only serve to make you loopy and peaceful. So it has to be the Calming Draught, or some variation of it, judging by your unemotional state."

"It's the Calming Draught" Ron admitted, and Carey nodded slowly.

"Ron, do you want to tell me why you're on such a strong medical Potion?" Carey asked gently.

"No" Ron replied curtly, he didn't need her knowing about his personal problems.

"Alright" Carey nodded in understand, her hand squeezing his. _Let go of my hand._ Carey examined his pale face, and she saw the dark smudges under his eyes. He looked unwell, and if he was on a Calming Draught, then it had to be stress related. Carey, Samantha, and Clara often noticed that Ron seemingly never turned off. He was always doing something, whether it be studying or creating new relations. He ran every morning, clearly trained in Dueling, and seemed to push himself in every way possible. Even to the point of biting the inside of his mouth open for a game of Chess.

"Carey, you're staring" Ron told her, and she blinked.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought" Carey responded. "You can go and rest, Ron. We'll have a chat with Malfoy ourselves. Don't worry about it."

"Alright" Ron nodded, and he stood up. "You're still holding my hand."

"Oh" Carey blinked, and she let go of it. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight" Ron said in return, and he made his way out. He spotted his friends sitting by the fire, but he didn't feel the need to join them. All he wanted was to sleep, and so he left for his room.

* * *

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"You didn't come to our session last week" Pomfrey stated as Ron sat down, and he gave her a shrug. "Mr. Weasley, my time is not for you to waste."

"I didn't have anything to discuss last week" Ron replied, the Potion making him not care about her frown.

"Then you need to tell me that" Pomfrey sighed, and then she calmed herself down. "What matters is that you are here now, and from what you just said, I can assume that you have something to talk about today."

"I do" Ron nodded, he really did. He had been thinking of nothing but the Entity all week, and he needed some insight from someone else. He knew that he couldn't reveal anything to her, but he could ask vague questions couldn't he? But before he did that, he needed to ask one important question. "Are you seeing Ginny?" Pomfrey blinked at that, his question taking her by surprise.

"Mr. Weasley, I cannot discuss that with you" Pomfrey replied.

"I'll take that as a yes" Ron smiled to himself. "That's good, she needs your help." Pomfrey pursed her lips, and she examined his demeanor.

"You are on your Calming Draught… again" Pomfrey stated, and Ron simply nodded.

"I've noticed you staring at me in the Great Hall" Ron said.

"Mr. Weasley, I am going to caution restraint here" Pomfrey said firmly. "These Potions are not something to abuse, do you understand?"

"I do" Ron replied, and then he took in a sharp breath. "Madam Pomfrey, can I ask you a few questions? I want your insight on something."

"Certainly" Pomfrey replied after a moment. _Here I go._

"Are people born with a fixed way of thinking?" Ron asked, and she blinked. "Are they just born with the innate desire to be a certain way? Can they change in how they see things? How they act? How they perceive the world around them?"

"From what I have seen, people are their experiences" Pomfrey started, her eyes fixed on Ron. "People adapt to their surroundings in order to survive, in order to thrive, or simply because their situations demand it. No one is born with a fixed moral compass, your experiences shape you."

"I think that too" Ron smiled at her for agreeing with him. "If I was in… let's say Hufflepuff… I'd be a very different person, don't you think? I'd have never met my current friends, I'd have never become Lord Greengrass' apprentice, and I'd probably hate the Slytherins just like everyone else seems to."

"Do you feel hated, Mr. Weasley?" Pomfrey asked.

"Sometimes" Ron shrugged. "But it doesn't bother me as much recently, it just seems… insignificant. There are far bigger things to worry about than who doesn't like you at school, you know? But I digress, I am glad that we agree on the nature of people. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't the only person who thought that. I am me because of what I've experienced, and any other version of me out there can't be… 'Me'. We are not the same person, and so we don't share the same strengths and weaknesses. Our experiences make us different people, with different goals and agendas." Pomfrey blinked at him, clearly confused by his words.

"Mr. Weasley…" Pomfrey started, but Ron cut her off.

"Next question" Ron said, his eyes staring into hers. "If I could see all of Time at once, if I knew every possible outcome before it even happened, wouldn't that make my chances of failure nil?"

"Pardon?" Pomfrey muttered, her clipboard completely forgotten.

"If I had the power to know everything before it happened, if I could see the Past, Present, and Future all at once, would I ever fail at anything?" Pomfrey just stared at him, her expression showing that she was gobsmacked. "Please answer me."

"Mr. Weasley…" Pomfrey muttered as she thought about his words. "Are you speaking of being 'omniscient'? Of being 'All-seeing', and 'All-knowing'?"

"Yes" Ron smiled again, she was catching on. "Could I truly fail at anything if I always just knew the outcome beforehand?"

"I don't see how you could" Pomfrey decided to humor him, though she was starting to get scared for him. He was abusing his Potions, and now he was talking about being… 'God'?

"Exactly" Ron smiled widely, and she blinked again. "If I knew everything before it could happen, then I'd know when and where my host was going to fail."

"Host?" Pomfrey's eyes widened. _Damn, I need to watch my words._

"I meant me" Ron stated, and she nodded slowly. "If I knew all of the twists and turns, I'd simply bypass them easily. I wouldn't feel the need to do things the hard way, right?" Pomfrey nodded again, and Ron felt some relief in his chest. This only confirmed his ever-strengthening theory about the Entity. That evil bastard couldn't see Ron's future, and so it felt the need to control him. _Why aren't you responding to me? Where have you disappeared off to?_

"Mr. Weasley… Ron… You are starting to worry me" Pomfrey said gently, and he blinked at her. "I don't understand where this is coming from, and I would like you to tell me." _That would probably get us both killed, so no thanks._

"I've gotten what I needed" Ron stood up, and she went wide-eyed. "Have a pleasant day, Madam Pomfrey."

"Ron, what is…?" Pomfrey started, but Ron simply left her Office and began making his way to the Sanctuary. _You evil, smug fucker… You can't see my Future, can you? Is that why you hate me? Because I am the one person who is exempt from your control? Is that why you're trying so hard to scare me, to make me submit to you? I have you now, you shite. And I'm not giving you another inch._ Despite being on the Calming Draught, Ron found himself grinning. The Entity could kill him at any moment, but it clearly didn't want to ruin 'this promising Cycle'. Ron had something over the Entity, and he'd be damned if he let that monster run his life.

Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself as he made his way onto the seventh floor, it would be troublesome to get caught by any Gryffindor. As Ron turned the corner and headed towards the Sanctuary, he found himself heading for the Golden Trio themselves. They were talking animatedly, and judging by Hermione's frown, they were arguing. _Not your business, Ron. Leave them alone._ Ron moved slowly, and as he was passing them, he overheard Harry say his name.

"No one is blaming you for Ron, Hermione" Harry said, his voice drawled out. _Okay, so maybe it is my business._

"He skipped our study group, and everyone is blaming me" Hermione shot back haughtily. "Don't bother trying to hide it, Lavender and Parvati told me so themselves."

"Those two…" Neville sighed. "Hermione, why do you even listen to them?"

"I can't not listen to them" Hermione huffed. "I live in the same room as them, so ignoring them is impossible." _Damn, I skipped it because I've been living in my head for the last week or so._ Ron watched the Trio pass by him, their voices becoming incoherent the further they went. _I should probably fix this for Hermione, considering that she's in it because of me._ Once Ron had made up his mind, he walked towards the Sanctuary. He paced in front of it, and when the door appeared, he quickly made his way inside. As he broke his Disillusionment Charm, he spotted his friends sitting at the couches. They looked to him, and then slowly went back to their conversation. _Then there's them… I've barely spoken to them all week, and I've spent most of my time alone._

"Anything interesting happening?" Ron asked them as he made his way over, and they looked to him.

"So we're talking now?" Daphne asked in return.

"Daph, drop it" Tracey sighed.

"I know I've been… distant" Ron put on a friendly smile. "But I've had a lot on my mind. And when I'm under the Potion's influence, I don't really understand social queues. No, that's not right… I understand them, I just don't feel the need to respect them. But I think I've sorted through a few things that were bothering me, and I want us to go back to being normal again."

"Are you on the Potion now?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. Utter panic and worry crossed her face, but she quickly hid it. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm with Daphne" Blaise jumped in, no longer aloof or indifferent. "Ron, stop taking that Potion. It's not good for you." Ron looked at them all, and they all had the same look of worry on their faces. _They're right, I don't need my 'clarity' anymore. What I need is to talk to the Entity, but that bastard has run off again._

"Then I'll stop" Ron agreed, but they all just stared at him. _They want proof?_ "Daphne, I'll give you my supply of it. I won't even carry around a vial anymore. You guys should still carry them, just in case, but I won't even risk tempting myself. How's that?" They exchanged looks, and nodded.

"I want it right now" Daphne ordered as she stood up. "I want you to hand me the entire box, and the vial in your pocket." Ron took out the empty vial and tossed it to her, and she barely caught it. _She has horrible reflexes._

"Shall we all head down now?" Ron asked, and they all stood up. _That's a resounding yes if I've ever seen one._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (The Boys' Room – After Classes)**_

"Can we come in now?" Daphne asked, what did boys feel the need to hide? _Their underwear? But then again, their underwear is usually just plain._

"Yeah, you can come in" came Theo's voice, and the girls entered and closed the door behind them.

"Sorry about that" Ron smiled at them, and Daphne fought the urge to shudder at his lifeless smile. "Theo needed to hide his panties."

"Oi, fuck you" The frowned deeply, while Blaise sniggered. A laugh escaped Daphne's throat, but she quickly seized it. _No, you're angry with him. Don't let the fact that you've missed him make you forget what a tosser he's been for the last week._

"What color were they?" Tracey giggled, she never could resist turning everything into a joke.

"Slytherin green, and they were lace" Ron replied, and the girls laughed at Theo's glowering face. But Daphne didn't laugh, she wondered how Ron knew what lace panties were? _Has he seen lace panties before? Where would he see them? Whose skirt has he been peeking under?_ "Anyway, here you are" Ron said as he handed Daphne the wooden box, and she took it immediately before he could change his mind. She opened it in order to examine its contents, and she was surprised to see just how many vials were missing.

"How many have you had in the last week?" Daphne asked, unable to hide the panic in her voice.

"Around ten" Ron shrugged, and Daphne saw Blaise and Theo shake their heads at Ron's back. _Ten? Merlin, what had him so stressed? Why didn't he bloody talk to anyone about it? Why didn't Pomfrey see this?_

"I'm telling my father" Daphne said, and Ron shrugged again.

"That's fine with me, I don't need them anymore" Ron replied.

"You don't need them anymore?" Pansy asked.

"Well, I might in case I have another panic attack" Ron replied, his voice thoughtful. "But I don't need them to think anymore, I've sorted through most of what was bothering me."

"And what was bothering you?" Millie asked. "Why didn't you tell us? We told you that we wanted to help you, but you didn't even mention anything. You just started drinking those stupid Potions, and you started being cold. Do you have any idea how terrible it's been to see you like… that… for the last week?"

"Can't argue that" Ron sighed. "But I'm stopping it, so it's fine."

"Fuck that!" Theo snapped, and Ron gave him an uninterested look. "You've had us all in a panic for over a week, and that's all you have to say about it? That 'it's fine'?"

"Guys, stop" Tracey piped in. "He's still… He's still not interested, can't you see that?" Daphne frowned at Ron, and he just stared at her. _I've never felt the need to slap someone so badly before._

"I'm never letting you drink another one of these, do you understand?" Daphne all but snarled, her sheer rage at him creeping into her voice. "If you have a panic attack, then you can have one. But other than that, I'll make sure that you never taste this Potion again." With that, Daphne left the room with the box hugged tightly to her chest. _Stupid Potion, you've caused enough problems for us._

* * *

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Entrance Hall – Dinner-Time)**_

"Mr. Weasley, a word?" came Madam Pomfrey's voice, and they all stopped and turned to face her. She was making her way down the steps leading into the Entrance Hall, and she had a deep frown etched on her face. _What did he do now?_

"Certainly, Madam Pomfrey" Ron replied, he was still under the Potion's influence. Daphne and her friends waited while Ron stepped into a corner with Pomfrey, both of them discussing something important. _Did he not go to his session? She looks angry… and worried._ After a minute, Ron pointed straight at Daphne. _What?_ Pomfrey gestured her over, and Daphne quickly made her way to them.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey?" Daphne asked the Matron of the Hospital Wing.

"Did Mr. Weasley give you his supply of Calming Draught?" Pomfrey asked, and Daphne looked to Ron. He was just staring at her, and Daphne decided to tell the truth.

"Yes, he did" Daphne replied, and Pomfrey nodded firmly.

"He is not allowed anymore of it, make sure that he doesn't slip back into this new habit of his" Pomfrey commanded, and then she marched off towards the Great Hall. Daphne looked to Ron, and he was smiling now.

"I'm glad you told her the truth" Ron said. "I was worried that you would lie on my behalf, and then I'd get in even more trouble. She gave me a week's worth of detention, something that she has apparently never done before."

"What did you do?" Daphne asked, unable to hide her shock.

"I worried her a lot."

"Well… I know how that feels" Daphne responded, and he just stared at her. _I hate it when he's on his Potion. This is not Ron, it's like I'm talking to his shadow._

"I'm sorry" Ron said suddenly, and Daphne blinked at him. "It must be terrible… being my friend." He had a somewhat sad look on his face, and he walked off before she could answer. Daphne followed him immediately, and she moved right next to him.

"We are having a chat after this Potion wears off" Daphne said firmly, and he nodded.

"Tomorrow? Sanctuary?" Ron asked.

"Lunch-time" Daphne agreed.

"What was that about?" Tracey asked Daphne as they neared the group.

"Ron just got a week's worth of detention from Pomfrey" Daphne told them, and they were all visibly surprised. Even Blaise cocked an eyebrow at Ron.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked.

"Something stupid" Ron shrugged. "Let's go inside, I need to talk to Hermione about something." Daphne fought the urge to cringe as her jealousy flared, why her? _Why does he always talk to her? They're in different Houses, but he keeps going back to those three… tumors. Why?_

"You want to talk to her in public?" Theo asked as they began walking. "Ron, don't be stupid. People in Slytherin don't like you associating with the Gryffindors. Especially those three."

"They always find reasons to be unhappy" Ron shrugged. "I'm done being dictated by others. I'm going to do what I think is best, and I won't ask you to be a part of it if you don't want to be."

"Fuck's sake…" Blaise mumbled. _Malfoy is going to love this, isn't he? That Flint moron is talking to everyone in fourth and fifth year about Ron's 'priorities', but Malfoy is behind his actions. What kind of sixth year follows a second year's orders? Malfoy has something on him, and I need to find out what it is. If we take away Malfoy's leverage over Flint, he'll lose his strongest ally._ Ron parted ways with them, and while they went to their usual seats, Ron went towards the Trio.

"He is starting to piss me off" Theo scowled as they sat down. _Welcome to the club._

"Forget him, look at Malfoy" Tracey frowned deeply, and they all did as she instructed. The Malfoy heir was glaring at Ron as Ron spoke to Hermione, and his glare turned hateful when Hermione laughed and beamed about something. Malfoy then started talking to Flint and bunch of third year boys.

"Every fucking time we get rid of Malfoy, Ron gives him another reason to get back in the game" Theo sighed.

"So what? Ron's just supposed to stop living because Malfoy is a spoiled brat?" Millie asked, she was the only one excusing Ron's recent behavior.

"We're not saying that" Blaise replied. "We're saying that Ron needs to understand that he can't have it both ways. He can't be friends with those three, and still expect everyone in Slytherin to accept him. Those three are well-known for their open dislike of our House, and Ron being their friend is just… It's giving people a reason to doubt him. He can, and should, stay peaceful with them, but this… This blatantly open friendliness is too much."

"And now he doesn't care about what his own House thinks of him?" Theo added on. "This is going to turn into something bad if he doesn't stop. How many times have we been down this road already?"

"We should confront Malfoy" Pansy said firmly. "Without Ron."

"And do what?" Tracey asked.

"We can always beat the piss out of him" Millie said, her eyes fixed on Malfoy.

"That won't help us" Daphne sighed. "We need an actual plan. I reckon we get Flint to leave Malfoy, and then slowly take away Malfoy's other allies. And no, another party isn't the answer. That buys us time, but it doesn't solve the overall problem."

"You think he has something on Flint?" Pansy asked.

"Why else would a sixth year follow a second year around?" Daphne asked in return, and everyone thought about her words.

"Hello" came Ron's voice, and then he walked up and sat in-between Blaise and Theo.

"Nice chat?" Theo asked, and everyone just stared at Ron.

"It was" Ron nodded as he began making his plate. "I fixed a problem that I made for Hermione, and now we're meeting up on Friday for another study group session. You are all welcome, of course."

"I'll be there" Millie nodded.

"Me too" Daphne joined in. _Even though I don't want to be. But I can't let him put himself in a situation where he is outnumbered._

"I'll join this time as well" Pansy piped in, and Ron smiled widely.

"Thank you, Pansy" Ron said, and Pansy slowly smiled back. "This is important to me, and I'm glad that you'll be there."

"Ron, what is your goal with this 'study group'?" Tracey asked, and both Blaise and Theo looked to him.

"I want to make an alliance of sorts" Ron admitted, and everyone leaned in. "Imagine if all of us second years were united, if we weren't fighting over something as silly as Houses? Can you imagine how much we could accomplish?"

"Silly?" Theo asked, clearly not happy about Ron's choice of words.

"Yes, silly" Ron nodded. "Being divided makes us all weaker, and I want to change that."

" **All** second years?" Pansy asked, her eyes shooting towards Malfoy. Ron followed her gaze, and he let out a sigh.

"I will give him every chance" Ron replied, and they all went wide-eyed. _What the… fudge?!_

"What?"

"Why?

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Ron, where is this coming from?" Daphne asked over them all. "What are you really doing?"

"Preparing for the Future" Ron replied, and she had to grit her teeth because of his response. Her chest tightened out of anger and frustration, why was he being this way? He was so great to be around in Paris, but now that they were here, he was a complete stranger. _I'm going to kill him tomorrow!_

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Sanctuary – Lunch)**_

The moment Daphne entered the Sanctuary, she made her way straight towards Ron. He was sitting in his favorite chair, and he gave her welcoming smile. _I'm going to slap that smile clean off of his face!_

"Get up!" Daphne hissed, and Ron blinked. "I've kept my anger in check all day, but now that we're alone, you're so… dead!"

"Wait…" Ron said slowly as he stood up, his hands up in surrender.

"No!" Daphne yelled. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh shite!" Ron yelled as he ran behind a couch. "Daphne, please…"

"Shut up!" Daphne snapped, and panic crossed his face. "Over a week! You had me worried mad for over a week! You didn't say anything! Didn't tell me a single thing! And now you want to act like it never happened?! You are so… so fucking stupid!" Daphne eyes suddenly widened at using such a word, and so did Ron's.

"Merlin…" Ron muttered, he knew now that he was doomed. The Entity could fuck off because Daphne was going to kill him right here and now. Instead of feeling horrified by her own language, Daphne took the chance to climb over the couch and catch Ron unaware. "Oh fuck…" Ron managed as he bolted towards the training area, but Daphne was hot on his tail. _Come here!_

"Stop!" Daphne ordered as Ron hid behind a dummy. "Stop being a coward! How could you do this to everyone?! We showed you how much we cared! We stepped forward and promised to help you, and then you just ran off! Like our help meant nothing to you! You've been cold, and even cruel towards us, for over a week! You're a terrible friend! You're a bad person, Ronald Weasley!" Something shifted in his face, and he stopped moving about. Daphne rounded the dummy and grabbed his arm, but he just stood still. "Got you!" Daphne gloated as she dug her fingers into his arm. Daphne then glared at him, but he was just looking really sad. "What?" Daphne hissed. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

"You just said something that I've always been…" Ron sighed. "You just said something that I've always feared to be true." _What thing?_ "That I'm a bad person." Daphne blinked at him, did she really say that? _No! He is not getting out of this so easily!_ Daphne dug her fingers in with more strength, but he didn't even seem to feel it.

"UGH!" Daphne groaned. "Why aren't you screaming?! Doesn't this hurt?!"

"It does" Ron replied, and Daphne cursed his tolerance for pain. "But I've been through worse."

"You made Pansy cry five separate times!" Daphne yelled at him, and he flinched. "Millie spent all week defending your actions, but even she was hurt when you threatened to 'beat our arses into the dirt'! How could you say that?! Blaise and Theo having been worried sick, but they're so damn stubborn that they just put up with your behavior silently! Tracey repeatedly asked me to talk to you, but you just blew me off! And so she took her anger out on me!" Daphne grit her teeth, she could kill Ron right now and not feel guilty.

"And you?" Ron swallowed thickly. "What did you go through because of me?"

"What do you think?!" she yelled as she tossed his arm aside, her pinching wasn't even affecting him. "I paced my damn room most nights, I tried to find you whenever you disappeared, I even summoned Marty but he just refused to tell me! How he did that is beyond me?!"

"I bought Marty from your father" Ron told her, and she blinked.

"And why didn't you tell me that?!" Daphne's anger was re-ignited. "You just… You just do whatever you please, right?! Damn everyone else, right?! You selfish prat!"

"Do you want to hit me?" Ron asked, his voice strained. Daphne blinked at him, and something stirred in her chest. She clenched her right hand into a fist, and she pulled back her arm. But she didn't hit him, instead she just glared murder at him. "Hit me. It'll hurt your hand, but it'll make you feel better."

"Don't patronize me, Ron!" Daphne shrieked, her fist shaking. _Don't hit him, that's taking things too far._

"I'm not" Ron told her. "I want you to hit me."

"Why?" Daphne hissed.

"Because it'll make you feel better, and I deserve it" Ron straightened his back. "Go on, I won't hold it against you."

"I'll hit you right in your big nose" Daphne warned, why was he pushing her? Didn't he know that she wanted nothing more than to hit him? "You think you can run off, and just come back whenever you please? You think we don't feel hurt when you threaten us? You… You are the worst person that I've ever met… All you do is hurt people, and then you just expect us to come back to you? To just forgive you?"

"Daphne, don't cry" Ron muttered, his own eyes welling up.

"I'm not crying!" Daphne shrieked. Was she? _I am, aren't I?_ Daphne dropped her fist, and she sat down with her knees tucked into her stomach. And then she started sobbing.

"Daphne" Ron quickly sat down with her, and he put his hand on her back. She immediately shoved him away, and he fell onto his back.

"Don't touch me!" Daphne howled, and then she let out a wet cough. "You ran off, and I was so scared… that I barely slept. I sent so many letters… to father… and he didn't even reply to me…" Daphne sniffled loudly, and Ron just watched her with teary eyes. "I thought that I had… finally made you open up… to everyone. But you… You just can't do it… You don't want to, and I'm sick of it…" Ron sat back up, and he put his arm around her. She wanted to throw him off again, but she also wanted them to stay like this.

"I'm… I'm sorry" Ron sniffled, she hadn't seen him cry before.

"Why did you leave like that?" Daphne coughed out. "Why did you drink so many Potions? Tell me… please… All I can think about is your brain damage, and it's… it's killing me…" Ron tensed immensely, but he also tightened his hug.

"I…" Ron started, but stopped. He then squeezed her so tightly that it hurt, and she could hear him gnashing his teeth. "Daphne… There's a war… There's a war coming, and I know it for certain…" Daphne looked up at that, and she could see that he was struggling to even speak. He was crying, and he looked scared. He looked so scared that Daphne herself began trembling slightly. "People… People are going to die, and I think I'm…" he just stopped.

"Ron?" she muttered, she was honestly left slack-jawed by his words. "War? What war? Is this what you mean by the Dark Lord returning?" Ron's eyes widened, and he let out strained squeak. "Ron? Ron, what's wrong?" And then she saw something that froze her blood. Blood began to leak out of his nose, and he shook slightly as he toppled over. "RON!" Daphne screamed, her hands falling on him immediately. "RON! WHAT'S WRONG?!" Ron let out a blood-curdling scream, and Daphne watched in utter horror as his eyes began to bleed.

"Help me…" Ron cried out. "It's killing… me…" _It?! The Brain-Damage?!_ Daphne suddenly broke out of her horror, and she grabbed his arm and put it around her neck. And then, with strength that she didn't even know that she possessed, she hauled him up. _Fuck! FUCK! What do I do?!_

"Merlin… Merlin…" Daphne found herself chanting as she dragged him with her, he wasn't completely dead-weight but he was close to it. "Ron, don't die! Don't die! Oh Merlin…" she recited hysterically. She was crying, hauling Ron, fear-wracked to the point of insanity, and she was pretty sure that she was about to vomit. But she didn't stop moving forward. She held his torso tightly as she yanked the door to the Sanctuary open, and she dragged Ron outside. "HELP ME! PLEASE! ANYBODY!" Ron lost the strength in his legs, and they both fell over. Daphne ignored her aching back and jaw, and she quickly turned him over. He had passed out, and the blood stains on his face made her scream from fear. "RON! FUCK!" Daphne shot up and ran towards the moving staircase, her vision completely blurry from tears of fear. "HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE!"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **The Dream World**_

The Dream Hogwarts was colder than usual, and even more… lifeless. There were no beautiful lights in the sky, and everything was just… dead. Ron stood in the Courtyard, his mind racing with what was happening. Was he dead? He was just talking to Daphne, wasn't he? He was just telling her of the upcoming war, wasn't he? Why did he do that? He knew why. Seeing her like that, seeing the sheer amount of pain that he had been causing her, it had broken his resolve to be secretive completely. She hated him for it, but she was still loyal to him. He had put them all through hell, while he himself had spent a 'stress-free' week. All they wanted to do was help him, but he was too busy with… the Entity. Daphne was hurt to the point of crying hysterically, and he was at fault.

" _ **Champion**_ " came the Entity's voice from behind him, and Ron turned around slowly. He was afraid, but that fear was being overridden by absolute fucking rage right now. " _ **You have overstepped your bounds, and now we have…**_ "

"Shut the fuck up" Ron spat at the perverted visage of Dumbledore, and it blinked at him. "Where have you been? Where did you run off to? I've been calling you for over a week."

" _ **We are not your pet**_ " the Entity hissed, and then it vanished from sight. " _ **And you will speak to us with respect**_ " came its voice from just behind Ron. Ron turned around quickly, and he stepped away from his 'father'.

"Where did you go?" Ron asked again, his jaw clenching.

" _ **We have… hobbies**_ " the Entity grinned maliciously, and Ron shuddered at the thought. " _ **You have retrieved the fang, a pointless action…**_ "

"You don't know about that?" Ron blinked. "I got it a week ago…" Something ignited in his chest, and Ron found himself just being done with the Entity's games. "I have questions about the previous Cycles."

" _ **Do you now?**_ " the Entity mocked. " _ **Very well, you may ask them. After all, you will be dead within a few minutes.**_ " Ron felt a wave of fear run rampant throughout his body, and the Entity's grin grew to a disturbing level.

"Dead?" Ron managed, his voice trembling.

" _ **We told you that we wouldn't let you live if you disobeyed us, and we aim to keep our promise.**_ "

"I see…" Ron looked down at his feet, his head spinning. "So this Cycle… My Cycle… It's over?"

" _ **You are another failure, we will try again.**_ "

"A failure" Ron muttered, and then he looked back at the Entity with tired eyes. "Tell me, how many Cycles have there been so far?" The Entity just stared through him, its gaze terrifying and hungry.

" _ **You are the four-hundred and sixty-fourth Cycle.**_ "

"Fuck me…" Ron was left shaken down to his very core by the Entity's reply.

" _ **You, just like your predecessors, are a pathetic little cockroach. One that refuses to listen, one that…**_ "

"How many Rons have you killed?" Ron cut it off, his legs shaking slightly. He didn't want to die, but if he was going to, then he'd at least get some answers. "How many Cycles have ended simply because you decided to end them?"

" _ **One hundred and ninety, including yours**_ " the Entity replied, it sounded so pleased with itself that Ron felt bile at the back of his throat. Ron's legs gave out, and he fell onto his arse. His eyes blurred from tears, and he let out a dry laugh.

"You evil… monster…" Ron managed. "You damn… demon from hell… You are the worst thing that's ever happened to anyone…"

" _ **Is this how you are going to die? Muttering like some mad-man?**_ "

"You're killing me… because you think that you know what's best…" Ron spoke to himself, how could his life end like this? How could he die without ever truly living? He'd never get to see his family again. He'd never get to hold Ginny and Luna's hands again. He'd never get to paint with Pandora, joke around with Sirius and Remus, or hunt for creatures with Xeno. He'd never get to tell the twins that he loved them, he'd never get to see Charlie and Percy again. And Bill? He hadn't seen Bill in so long. He'd never get the chance to fix his relationship with his parents, to tell them that he was sorry for everything. And that he only ever wanted them to be proud of him, like they were proud of the other children. And what of his friends? They'd all die in the war to come, and he wouldn't even be there to help them. What about Lord Greengrass, Mary, and little Tori? What about Daphne? How could he fail everyone like this?

And that's when it hit Ron, he was supposed to be pissed off. He was supposed to fight back, and not just keel over and die. Ron shot the Entity a hateful glare, and then he shot up to his feet. "You psychotic piece of shite!" The Entity grinned at that. "I have you all figured out! I know why you're such a hateful cunt towards me, and I know why you think everything is my fault!"

" _ **Is that so?**_ " the Entity asked. " _ **Amuse us then. Share your insight.**_ "

"Four-hundred and sixty-four fucking Cycles, and you still can't kill a single man?" Ron mocked, his common sense lost to hysteria. " **YOU?!** A being that can see all of Time, and yet you keep failing?!"

" _ **Do not throw your faults upon us…**_ "

"I don't think I am!" Ron yelled, and the Entity lost its grin. "I've been thinking about nothing but you, and I finally see it. Tell me, why didn't you warn me about the Veelas before I went to the finals? Why didn't you tell me about Ginny being possessed, or her petrifying me? Why didn't you tell me about the Dark Lord attacking me during the Philosopher Stone heist? You want a successful Cycle, right? And yet, I could have died in any one of those scenarios!"

" _ **You didn't.**_ "

"Yeah, I didn't… But not because of you!" Ron exclaimed, a disdainful look on his face. "Cycle Eighty-Three died 'destroying something out of his power', didn't he?" The Entity's eyes widened a bit, and Ron knew for certain now that he was right. "You told me that you'd never let me 'fool you again', and that makes no fucking sense to me. How can I fool an 'All-seeing' being like you? You can see the Future, can't you? Why even bother manipulating me when you already know how I'm going to react? And that's when it hit me… You can't see my fucking Future. You have… no control over me, do you? And that's why you hate me. That's why you torment me, that's why you try and break my spirit at every turn, and that's why you're ending my Cycle."

" _ **You little…**_ "

"Shut up!" Ron yelled, and the Entity snarled in a terrifying manner. "FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY FOUR CYCLES! All of them different! All of them with their own personalities due to their own experiences! And yet, we all failed?! HOW?!"

" _ **You dare…**_ "

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ron screamed so loudly that his lungs hurt. "You are the only thing that is consistent in every Cycle! Don't you understand that, you despicable bastard?! **YOU!** This whole year… NO! My whole fucking life, **you** have been my biggest problem! You hurt me constantly, you make me have sleepless nights, you gave me **brain-damage** , and now you're killing me! All because I refuse to serve you! FUCK YOU! We both keep failing because of you! Because you are a fucking **stupid** prick! AN IDIOTIC, TANTRUM-THROWING CUNT!" The Entity moved with the speed of lightning, and it punched Ron so hard that his teeth scattered everywhere. Ron didn't even feel the ground when he landed on it, his brain had simply turned off.

" _ **Insolent wretch!**_ " the Entity shrieked as it grabbed Ron's hair, but Ron was gone at this point. The Entity's punch had sent him into a stupor, and he hung lifelessly in the air. " _ **We will make you beg for mercy! Death will seem like a welcome embrace after we are done with you!**_ "

"I'll…" Ron mumbled, blood and shards of teeth spilling out of his mouth. This was it, wasn't it? He was going to die, all of his struggles ending simply because of a moment of honesty. All he had wanted was for Daphne to know that he never meant to cause her pain… that he wasn't a bad person. All he had ever truly wanted was to protect the people that he loved, but the evil demon in his head wouldn't let him. _Death is better than being its slave… I won't live like this… I can't… I'm sorry for failing… I'm sorry…_ Ron felt himself being thrown across the Courtyard, and he heard a sickening crunch when he landed. _Mum… Dad… Ginny… Luna…_

" _ **Burn…**_ " came the Entity's distorted voice, but Ron's eyes were fixed to the black sky. _I hope they all live… I hope none of them waste a second mourning me… I hope Daphne tells them what I told her… I hope they all make the right choices, unlike me…_ The Entity was raving on about something, but Ron couldn't even make out a single word. He was pretty much dead already, his vision slowly darkening. And yet, he wasn't afraid. He had tried his best. He had fought, and now his fight was over. He wasn't a perfect person, he had made many mistakes along the way. But he would rather die free than to live as the Entity's slave. _So many Cycles… and they always end with my death… We will never succeed… The Entity can never succeed… It can't understand us… We are always fighting for control, and it always ends with failure…_ Ron simply shut his eyes, it was over.

But that's when he heard a thunderous noise, and much to his astonishment, the sky was torn apart by a golden beam of light which slammed into the ground near Ron. He was sent barreling away because of the impact, and he landed with his head facing the castle entrance. If he wasn't so out of it, he'd have been stunned out of his mind at the sight before him. The golden beam was slamming down upon a screaming Entity, and it was crushing the Entity into the ground.

" _ **NO! LET US GO! FOOLISH BITCH!**_ " the Entity screamed, its visage distorting horribly. " _ **WE WILL NOT BE SEALED AWAY WITHIN THE CHAMPION! WE ARE A GOD!**_ " Ron had no idea what was happening, but he could see that the Entity was in pain, and that was good enough for Ron. Even if he was going to die, he at least had a chance to see the Entity suffer a little. The Entity's body broke apart into a thick, black fog which was riddled with crimson toad-like eyes of varying sizes, and Ron felt utter horror course throughout his dying body. It was a horrendous sight, and the Entity's screams made it a thousand times worse. But Ron kept looking. The entrance to the castle slammed open, and the Entity was sucked inside as if there was a vortex within the castle. " _ **CHAMPION! YOU WILL...**_ " the doors slammed shut, and the Dream World fell into complete silence. Ron closed his eyes, and he let the darkness take him.

* * *

 _ **The Dream World**_

She had made a mistake. She should've ended this Cycle the moment the Champion's mind was 'cracked'. She had underestimated the **Star of Madness**. It was a crafty being, and It was far too clever to be tied down so easily. It had been siphoning energy from the small piece of the Lord of Serpents' soul, and It had been steadily gaining the power to attack the beings surrounding the Champion. She had given It the power to influence the Phoenix for the Champion's benefit, but this… This ability to cause pain to a creature so pure? The Entity had once again shown her the error of her ways. But the Cycles could **not** be broken, the spell that she had used was permanent until its conditions were met. The Cycles would **never** stop, not until her Champion succeeded. Or until her Brother lost his patience and attacked this Universe. So much Death would be unleashed… And all because of one mortal's desire to be Immortal.

"You have your 'freedom', Champion" She said as she gazed upon his sleeping form. "We will meet once the Lord of Serpents truly lives again. We will speak of what we always speak of, and I will watch for your success." She then looked towards the castle, and she could feel the **Star of Madness** thrashing about inside. She extended her arms, and a golden shield began to engulf the castle. She would not let the Entity influence this Cycle anymore, It could not be trusted while it had that soul-shard in Its grasp. This was something that had never happened before, and so she had been caught off-guard. But no more. She would seal the Entity away. It would be nothing more than a guard dog, one that would unleash Its wrath upon anyone that entered the Champion's mind. No more visions, no more 'help'… The Champion would have his 'freedom', but it would come at the cost of fighting alone. The Entity had already set the Champion upon a different path, one that may yet bear fruit.

She was forbidden from directly acting in favor of one mortal, but that didn't mean that she couldn't let the Champion keep fighting. That was the sole reason why she had chosen him. He'd fight. He'd fight until his dying breath for the people around him. He had failed to do that once, and it had resulted in this endless mess. But once his task was done, she would set him free. Truly free.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Outside of the Hospital Wing – Evening)**_

Classes had been cancelled for the day because all the Professors were currently in the Hospital Wing, while all of the students were just loitering about. Most had gone back to their common rooms, others were spending their day in the castle's grounds. As for Harry and his friends, they were sitting outside of the Hospital Wing. Ron had suffered from… something, and he had been sealed away inside the Hospital Wing.

Harry remembered just eating his lunch, and noting that both Ron and Greengrass were missing from the Great Hall. And then, it was pandemonium. Sir Nearly-Headless Nick had flown in screaming bloody murder about a student who was dying, and the Professors had raced out of the Great Hall with frightening speed. A lot of curious students, including the Trio, had followed after the Professors to see what was happening. And that's when Harry had caught a glimpse of a bloodied Ron being hauled off by Snape. Greengrass was being consoled by Professors Sprout and McGonagall, all the while Dumbledore was ordering everyone to leave for their common rooms.

And now here they were, all of them sitting outside of the Hospital Wing, simply waiting for answers. Neville was currently consoling a distraught Hermione, Ron's brothers were panicking but also consoling Ginny and Luna, Greengrass was just sobbing to herself as Ron's Slytherin friends consoled her, and Harry was just staring at the closed door with a furrowed brow. He wanted to be let inside so that he could see Ron, he wanted some semblance of news about his friend. What had happened? Why was Ron's face covered in blood? Why were he and Greengrass not at lunch? Harry had so many questions, but he held himself back from demanding answers. The door to Hospital Wing parted slightly, and everyone was on their feet instantly. Snape slid outside, his expression lifeless as always.

"Ms. Greengrass, come with me" Snape ordered, and Greengrass sniffled and did as she was told.

"What about us?" Fred asked, his voice loud and panicked. "We're his family!"

"Is he alright, Professor?" Percy jumped in as he shot Fred a silencing glance. "That's all that we want to know. Is he going to be alright?" Snape just stared at Percy, and then he nodded curtly.

"He is stable now, and out of immediate danger" Snape responded, his almost sympathetic voice jarring Harry. With that, Snape and Greengrass disappeared from sight as the door closed once again.

"Why does she get to see him?" Ginny bit out, her face blotchy from crying.

"The Professors probably want to know what happened" Percy replied as he put his arm around Ginny. "She was there with him when… when he got hurt, and she called for help. She saved his life."

"What if she caused this?" Ginny asked in a panic.

"She would never hurt him" Luna piped in, her voice not as airy as usual. Everyone looked at Luna, but she just stared at the closed door. _What's that supposed to mean?_ Harry shot a look towards the Slytherins, and they all looked nerve-wracked. Parkinson was crying, Davis was teary-eyed and consoling Parkinson, Bulstrode was pacing, while Zabini and Nott were speaking in hushed whispers. _They know something._ Harry found himself walking up to them before he could even think otherwise.

"Do you know what happened to Ron?" Harry asked bluntly, and the Slytherins all just stared at him. Harry looked to Nott and Zabini with a determined look, but they just didn't seem to care about his question. "I know that Greengrass must've told you something, and you need to tell us."

"Need?" Nott hissed. "Fuck off, Potter. I don't care about your 'needs'." Harry clenched his jaw at Nott, Slytherins were the worst of the worst. _Bullies, and Dark-Wizards in training._

"His family is worried sick, and you want to hide things?" Harry accused.

"We can't hide what we don't know" Zabini sighed as he nudged Nott, who then walked over to sit with the girls. "Daphne was not in any state to tell us what happened, we're as clueless as you." _He's lying, they know something and they are hiding it._

"You're lying" Harry hissed, his hands clenching into fists. "What were you two just discussing then? This is not the time for secrets, you can help everyone here."

"Take your self-righteous attitude out of my face, Potter" Zabini warned, their eyes clashing. "We may have put up with your holier-than-thou outlook while we 'worked' together, but don't think for a second that I give a shite about what you want. Now piss off, before I put you in a bed right next to Ron."

"Harry? Everything alright?" came Neville's voice from behind him.

"Zabini and Nott know something" Harry said loudly. "And they're keeping it from us." Everyone's eyes shot to the Slytherins, who all took on guarded looks.

"Tell us what happened?" Fred demanded.

"We don't know anything" Nott replied as he stood up. "We were in the Great Hall, same as all of you."

"What about Greengrass?" Hermione shot up. "She knew something, and I doubt that she wouldn't tell you lot."

"Guys, stop it" Neville stepped in front of the Slytherins. "We're here for Ron, stop fighting each other."

"Neville, they are hiding something important" Harry frowned at the Slytherins, why was Neville defending them?

"Step out of the way, Neville" George ordered, suddenly getting riled up just like Fred.

"That's enough" Percy ordered. "If you can't behave, then go back to your common rooms." Hermione sat back down at that, and even Harry was a little discouraged, but Ron's siblings went ballistic.

"Should've expected that from you" Fred snapped.

"Perfect prefect Percy protecting the 'peace'…" George snarled.

"Leave him alone" Ginny shot up. "Why are you two always picking on him?" Even Percy was surprised by her defending him, but then Ginny turned to the Slytherin. "You'd better tell us what you know."

"We don't know anything" Zabini repeated.

"You're his friends, you have to know something" George stated.

"And you're his siblings, shouldn't you?" Nott retorted, and twins glared murder at him.

"We're leaving" Davis said suddenly, and she grabbed both Slytherin boys by their arms and started dragging them away. Parkinson and Bulstrode glared at Harry, and then started following their friends.

"You can't just…" Harry started, but Neville stepped in front of him. "What are you doing?"

"Stop it" Neville said firmly. "You're making everything worse by starting a fight."

"I'm no…" Harry started, but Neville cut him off.

"Everyone is scared, and you started a witch-hunt" Neville frowned, and Harry, for the first time, realized that Neville was taller than him. "How is that going to help Ron? And now, you're the reason why his friends were forced to leave."

"They left because they have something to hide" Harry shot back as he watched the Slytherins turn the corner. "They know more about him than us, and they won't tell us because they're a bunch of selfish gits." _And why are you suddenly on their side?_

"They may know more about him, but they might also be just as confused as the rest of us" Neville sighed. "And they're probably twice as scared as you and me."

"That's…" Harry went to deny, but Neville cut him off again.

"They're his closest friends, and you need to accept that" Neville said, and Harry clenched his jaw at Neville. "They were here to find out what happened, and you turned everyone against them."

"Not everyone" Harry frowned at Neville. "Why are you siding with them?"

"Guys" came Hermione's voice, and she huddled into their conversation. "Why are you two fighting? Everyone is staring at you."

"Neville wants to defend the Slytherins" Harry accused, his temper flaring at Neville for not taking his side.

"I saw that" Hermione replied as she looked to Neville. "Why are you, of all people, defending them? They were clearly hiding something?"

"I was trying to stop a fight from breaking out" Neville defended himself. "Percy agreed with me." Hermione blinked at that, and she averted her gaze.

"But the rest of us didn't" Harry shot back.

"The rest of them are scared, and you sent them into a frenzy by giving them someone to blame" Neville frowned deeply. "You think Ron is going to appreciate you making his allies and friends into scapegoats?"

"Allies?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow, and then she sighed. "More Pure-Blood jargon…"

"It isn't jargon" Neville shot back hotly. "Ron sees the world like that, and…"

"No, he doesn't" Hermione bit out. "He doesn't bully people, or judge them for their Blood-Status."

"I'm not having this argument again" Neville shook his head. "Respecting the old ways and being a bigot are two separate things, and I'm not going to waste my breath explaining that to you two."

"Fine, go and talk to your Slytherin friends then" Harry snapped, and Neville flinched a bit.

"I'll ignore that because we're all scared" Neville responded, and Harry immediately felt a great amount of guilt for saying something so cruel. Neville's eyes then widened at something behind Harry, and both Harry and Hermione turned to look. It was Sirius and Remus, and they were bolting like they were being chased by the hounds of hell.

"Sirius!" Harry called, and Sirius came to a sliding stop as he saw Harry.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, his face covered in sweat. Remus stopped right behind Sirius, and he immediately made his way to Ron's siblings while Sirius approached the Trio. "What happened? I just got word about the pup."

"Pup?" Hermione asked.

"He means Ron" Harry explained, and then he looked to his panting Godfather. "He collapsed on the seventh floor, and his face was all bloody." Sirius's eyes widened, and he paled slightly. "How did you hear about it so fast?"

"Oh…" Sirius panted. "Fawkes, Dumbledore's bird, showed up in the living room. It was dropping off letters to us all, telling us of what happened."

"Us?" Hermione asked.

"The adults" Sirius replied, and then he turned to the closed door. Sirius then walked up and pushed the doors open, and Harry made to follow. "Harry, stay out here" Sirius ordered, and Harry frowned.

"No, he's my…" Harry started, but Remus quickly shot past him.

"Harry, let the adults handle this" Sirius said gently as he cupped Harry's left cheek. "Once it's all sorted, then you can see him." With that, Sirius closed the door. _That's not fair! Why are they keeping us in the dark?!_ Harry then heard more footsteps, and he turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass approaching. Mrs. Greengrass looked rather distraught, but Mr. Greengrass held a stoic look as he walked down calmly. _The last time I saw him in Hogwarts, he strong-armed Dumbledore._ Harry moved aside as Mrs. Greengrass went inside without even a second glance at anyone, whereas Harry's eyes met Mr. Greengrass'. The man had cold eyes, and Harry found himself staring at him. He cocked an eyebrow at Harry, and then proceeded to follow his wife inside.

"Mum!" Ginny called out and Harry turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood running down. They looked haggard, and Mrs. Weasley was still wearing an apron. The adults all stopped at the Weasley siblings and Luna, and they no doubt started questioning them.

"Harry, step away from the door" Hermione said gently, and Harry walked over to her. "Poor Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they look so terrified." _They do, but who can blame them?_ Mr. Weasley was still wearing his work clothes, and his entire face was red and blotchy. Mrs. Weasley was in tears, while the Lovegoods were putting a failing brave face. The family members were talking to each other rather frantically, and then the adults quickly moved into the Hospital Wing. And then much to Harry's surprise, Luna and Weasleys began to leave.

"Where are they going?" Neville asked.

"Let's ask them" Hermione suggested, and then all three of them caught up to the Weasleys and Luna.

"Where are you guys going?" Harry asked Percy, and Percy let out a tired sigh.

"Mum wants us to take the girls away from here, and dad backed her" Percy replied. "They said that they'd let us know when all of this was sorted." _That's what Sirius said as well._ "I suggest you three join us, or at least go back to the common room. They won't be done anytime soon." With that, they all left with rather dejected looks. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were the only ones left behind.

"Do we go with them?" Hermione asked Harry, she didn't look like she wanted to.

"I reckon we should" Neville piped in. "We can't do anything for Ron right now, and sitting out here isn't good for us. That's why the Weasleys and Luna left."

"We should wait" Harry looked to Hermione. "Greengrass has to come out eventually, and we can ask her about Ron."

"She won't tell us anything" Neville sighed, why was Harry so gung-ho about antagonizing Ron's friends? Sure, they all hated Slytherin House. And they had every reason to, but still… Ron and his friends weren't like the rest of the snakes, they didn't bully or mock everyone in the school. If anything, Ron and his friends were a separate entity from the houses. Ron did as he pleased, and his friends backed him no matter what.

"Then we make her tell us" Hermione frowned.

"What? You're gonna torture her, or something?" Neville asked, and she frowned more deeply.

"I didn't say that" Hermione denied. "We corner her, and tell her to tell us everything. He's our friend too, and we have the right to know what she knows."

"Then you can do that alone" Neville shook his head, and Harry blinked at him. "She's been through hell today, and I'm not cornering her and causing her more distress." Harry sighed deeply at that, Neville was right. Greengrass looked absolutely devastated, not to mention that she had nearly seen her friend die. And Harry knew that Ron and Greengrass were extremely close, so close that it was almost weird.

"Harry? What do you reckon?" Hermione asked him. _Ugh… I want to know more, but Neville makes a great a point. I don't want Ron to be angry with us for going after Greengrass, Merlin knows that the last time we did that he was… murderous._

"Bugger…" Harry huffed, and then he looked to Neville. "You're right, let's not push her any further." Neville smiled in approval, whereas Hermione just sighed.

"Fine, but he'd better tell us everything when he wakes up" Hermione muttered to herself.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Late in the Night)**_

Ron woke up with a start, and he instantly tried to stand up. If the Entity wanted to kill him, then Ron would at least give it bloody nose before he went down. The first thing Ron realized was that he couldn't see anything, the second thing he realized was that there was no solid ground to his right, and the third thing he realized was that that falling on your face really fucking hurt. There was a lot of movement and distorted noise from around him, and Ron sprang up to his feet.

"You want a fight, you cunt?!" Ron demanded as he put his fists up. "I will fuck you up!"

"RONALD!" came his mother's horrified voice, and Ron stopped snarling.

"Mum?" Ron muttered, what the fuck was going on? _Where's the Entity?_ And then it all hit Ron at once. The Entity had tried to kill him, they had argued, the Entity had sucker-punched Ron, and then there was a golden beam of pure light that had fucked the Entity up. _But I'm supposed to be dead, aren't I? No, wait… 'She' interfered, didn't she? What happened to the Entity? It got sucked back into the Dream Hogwarts._

"Ron…" came his mother's voice again, and Ron felt a gentle hand on his right shoulder.

"Mum? I can't see anything…" Ron replied, and then he tried to check his face. His mother stopped him immediately by grabbing his hands.

"Ron, your eyes are bandaged" Molly told her son, and then she guided him back to the bed. Pandora and Mary were just watching with shocked expressions, Ron's awakening had been… startling.

"Bandaged?" Ron asked. "Did I have another Subconjunctival hemorrhage?"

"Yes, you did" came Pandora's voice, and Ron felt someone grab his left hand.

"Pandora? Who else is here?" Ron asked, he didn't enjoy being blind.

"I'm here too, Ron" came Mary's voice, and Ron remembered that Daphne was with him when he was attacked by the Entity. _Fuck! What if it attacked her too?!_

"Daphne? Where is she?" Ron asked, something that made all three women blink. "Is she alright? She was with me when…" Ron trailed off.

"She is asleep in her dorm" Mary told Ron, once again he had asked for Daphne immediately. Just how close were the pair of them? "She is safe, although very shaken by what she witnessed."

"What she witnessed?" Ron asked slowly.

"Ron, you suffered from a seizure of sorts" his mother replied, her voice was rather hoarse. _Has she been crying?_ "Pomfrey says that you were exhausted, and that your Magical Core had become unstable." _Fucking Entity! That psychotic bastard tried to off me because I called it out on its Hippogriff-shite! I hope that beam of light hurt, you fucker!_

"Ron, you need to rest" Pandora said as she caressed his forehead, and Ron found himself relaxing under her soft touch.

"My face hurts…" Ron muttered, he was sure that his fall must've been a hilarious sight.

"Were you having a bad dream?" Pandora asked, and Ron cocked his head. _You could say that, I suppose._ "You shot out of your bed, and then…" Ron's face flushed as he remembered his words.

"Oh… Yeah…" Ron hung his head. "Sorry…" The three women exchanged looks, and they held back their laughter. Despite his actions, seeing him awake was pure relief.

"Ronald Weasley, who taught you to speak like that?" his mother demanded with wide smile that he couldn't see, and Ron shrank into his bed because of her tone.

"No one…" Ron replied meekly. _She is going to finish what the Entity started, isn't she?_

"In all of my days…" Molly huffed as she did her best to hide her amusement. "Never have I heard such foulness spill out of someone's mouth." _That can't be true._

"Sorry…" Ron mumbled, his ears turning red. The three motherly-figures in his life had just seen a side of him that he never wanted them to see. Ron knew that his foul language was a problem, but he couldn't stop himself. He loved cussing.

"Go to sleep, Ronald Weasley" Molly ordered. "We will speak of this in the morning." _The morning? I need to find out what happened to the Entity? Is it dead? Fucking hell, I hope so._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Morning)**_

It wasn't often that Ron found himself at the end of so much ridicule, but this morning was special. The moment he had woken up, he had been subjected to a scolding that had made him shrink a few feet into his bed. Everyone from his mother to Sirius Black had taken Ron to the Quidditch shed, so to speak. Turns out that the letters Daphne had sent to her father had also been shown to all of the other adults, and so they all knew how Ron had been behaving for the last week or so. They knew that he had been abusing his Potions, they knew that he had been cold and distant with his friends, and they knew that he was failing at managing his stress. What they didn't know was why, and Ron decided to keep the Entity a secret. He had no fucking clue on what had happened to it, and so he decided not to risk being killed by it.

However, when Ron couldn't provide them with a suitable answer, he had been torn several new ones. Even Pandora had told him of how stupid it was to 'distance himself from the people that loved him'. As sappy as that had sounded, it had still made Ron mope about while the next person took a shot at him. Not to mention that Pomfrey had also joined in on the fun, much to Ron's shock. But thankfully, she had kept their private conversations to herself. She more or less just wanted to berate him as well, which was fair enough because he had been particularly weird with her. If Pomfrey ever mentioned their insane conversation about Ron being 'omniscient', they'd lock him up in St. Mungo's.

"Can I please take these bandages off?" Ron asked.

"No" came Pomfrey scolding voice, and Ron frowned deeply. _I can't see shite. And I'm hungry. And I have a million questions about the Entity._

"Ron, you already know that the Potion used to clean your eyes needs to set in first" Mary said gently.

"Will I have those creepy eyes again?" Ron asked, half-annoyed and half-excited. _It was fun to scare people, I won't deny that._

"Yes, Mr. Weasley" came Snape's drawled voice. _What the…? How many fucking people are in here?_ "But they should heal within the week."

"Should?" Sirius asked, a certain edge to his tone. "Not good at your job, Sniv…"

"Stop it" came his father's voice, and Ron heard someone walk away. _Was that Snape?_ "Ron… Son… Do you want anything?" Ron felt his father's hand on his right shoulder. _I want to know what 'She' did to the Entity, but I'll settle for some food. And Daphne. We fought, and then I… I have to see her._

"Daphne?" Ron asked. "Is she awake? I want her to know that I'm fine." The adults exchanged looks, and Sirius fought the urge to grin in front of the girl's parents.

"She'll be here soon, I imagine" Lord Greengrass said. "Which reminds me, I have a business meeting in twenty minutes. Ron, take this weekend off. No studying, no Chess, and no pushing yourself. Understood?"

"Yes, my Lord" Ron replied, he wasn't too keen on refusing after the scolding he had just received.

"We'd best be off too" Remus said. "Sirius?" _It's the start of the month, Remus must have transformed recently._

"Yeah, kid don't push yourself for Merlin's sake" Sirius said, and Ron felt someone squeeze his right shin in a comforting manner.

"I won't" Ron replied. One by one they all left, until Ron's parents and the Lovegoods were the only ones left.

"I'm late for work" his father said tiredly.

"Dad, please go" Ron smiled. "I'm fine, there's no need to skip out on work."

"Thank you, son" Arthur smiled as he squeezed Ron's shoulder. And then he too left.

"Are you hungry?" his mother asked, and Ron nodded. "I'll get Pomfrey to bring you some food." _OH SHITE! NOT HOSPITAL FOOD!_

"Um… that's okay…" Ron muttered. "I'm not that hungry…"

"Nonsense" Molly frowned. "You're all skin and bones, Ronnie."

"That's not even remotely true" Ron shot back, he was rather proud of his fit physique. "I'm rather well-toned, just ask anyone."

"He is" Pandora laughed lightly. "Do you still run every morning?"

"I do" Ron grinned proudly. _And I train on most days, but I'll keep that to myself._

"Well, there will be no more of that for the next week" Molly tutted. "You are pushing yourself too hard, and I will bring you straight home if it doesn't stop."

"Alright, I'll stop" Ron lied. _Never!_

"Mr. Weasley" came Pomfrey's voice. "I have brought you some food." _Oh, fuck me!_

"Perhaps Ron would prefer something less… gooey?" Xeno piped in, and Ron felt the need to hug the man.

"If he eats something less gooey" Pomfrey replied in a haughty tone. "He will vomit out the Potions I've given him. Mr. Weasley, do you need me to feed you again?" Pandora laughed at that, and Ron gnashed his teeth in her direction.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Breakfast Time)**_

There was a special place in hell for people like Pomfrey, and it was right next to the place kept for people like Pandora. One had force-fed him slop, while the other one had laughed at his reactions. After that, Pomfrey had sent the adults home after assuring them that Ron would be fine. Despite their unwillingness to go, they had relented when Pomfrey told them that Ron needed to rest. And now here he was, sitting alone on his bed and blindfolded. His mind was analyzing the events that had taken place within the Dream World, and Ron found himself worried about his Future. What had happened to the Entity? Was it dead? If so, then what the fuck was Ron supposed to do now? What about the Cycles? Why had 'She' interfered this time around? There were so many questions, and Ron didn't even know where to begin. He needed help, and there was only one 'person' who knew about the Entity and about Ron's visions. The Sorting Hat.

Ron had kept away from the Hat so far simply because he feared what the Entity would do to it. And the fact that Ron was afraid that the Entity's words would be confirmed true… That the Entity was indeed the one that put him within Slytherin. Ron sighed as he realized that they probably were, and that Ron was cowering from the harsh reality of the Entity controlling his life. Ron now knew for certain that it had been, but after last night, he wasn't sure about the Entity's fate anymore. What had happened to it? The Hat could help him, there was no one else that Ron could turn to right now. But Ron knew one thing for certain, if the Entity was indeed dead, then Ron was telling Dumbledore everything. Without that noose around his neck, there was no longer a need to keep the Future a secret from Dumbledore.

"Ron!" came Pansy's loud voice, and Ron jumped in his bed.

"Merlin…" Ron gasped. "Pansy, you scare me half to death…"

"Sorry" Pansy replied, though she sounded more happy than apologetic. Ron felt her grab his gloved hand, and he felt a few people lingering around him. _Are my scars covered? Probably, otherwise there'd be some panic. I know for certain that I have my glove on._

"Bloody hell" Blaise said. "Are those bandages really necessary?"

"I had another Subconjunctival hemorrhage" Ron sighed, and he heard a few sharp intakes of breath. "Daphne?"

"I'm here" Daphne replied as she grabbed his left hand gently. _Thank Merlin it didn't attack her as well. If she died because of me… I'd end this Cycle myself…_ Ron tightened his hold on her hand, and she did the same.

"You scared the piss out of us" Theo half-laughed and half-fretted.

"I'm sorry" Ron smiled apologetically. "I was going through… some stuff."

"Tell us" Millie piped in. "We're tired of waiting, Ron. We want answers about what had you so stressed." _I already told Daphne, sort of. And after what I put them through, I can tell them the same thing I told her._

"I've been thinking about the Future" Ron admitted, and he felt people shift on his bed. "I know there's a war coming, and before you ask, I just know. And I've been thinking about it constantly, and what it could mean for everyone… for us. And that caused me my stress moments." _Not exactly true, but it's pretty much on the mark._

"So…" Tracey started. "Some potential war, that may or may not happen, is what's been making you act like this?"

"It will happen" Ron told her. "And it will happen soon, I know it."

"Ron, how can you know that?" Pansy asked gently. "Can you see the Future?" _Oh shite! That's too close to the truth! Entity, if you're listening, don't get any fucking ideas!_

"I was attacked by the Dark Lord himself right in the middle of the school" Ron sighed, and he felt Pansy's hand stiffen. "He attacked both Malfoy and I in the Forbidden Forest. And this year, the Heir of Slytherin tried to murder all the Muggle-Borns within Hogwarts. The Heir being the Dark Lord as well… Can't you guys see the pattern? He is out there, and he won't rest until he destroys everything." Ron missed all of his friends exchange worried looks, their friendship with Ron would definitely get complicated if the Dark Lord came back.

"Ron, why aren't you letting people like Dumbledore worry about this?" Blaise asked as he rubbed his forehead.

"Or the Ministry?" Tracey added.

"Or any other group that deals with the Dark Arts?" Theo added as well. "Why are you putting this on your head?" _Because unlike them, I don't need to guess about the upcoming war. I know that it's coming for certain._

"I…" Ron started, but he stopped. "I worry about it because it concerns us all. My family, your families, us… War doesn't care about your age, it just happens. People die… All sorts of people die, and I don't want that happening to the people who are important to me." An uneasy silence fell on them, and they just sat there quietly. Daphne and Pansy squeezed his hands, and he squeezed back. They needed to hear this, they needed to wake up. _When the war does arrive, they'll all get killed because of how unprepared they are. No one seems to be looking ahead, and it's so damn frustrating. This is why I need to tell Dumbledore, maybe he can start running classes or something._

"Ron!" came Ginny's voice, and it was followed by a lot of footsteps. Both Pansy and Daphne let go of his hands immediately, something that Ron didn't really like. He enjoyed holding their hands, though he'd never admit it.

"Bloody hell, did you go blind?" Fred/George gasped.

"No, just another Subconjunctival hemorrhage" Ron replied. "I'm fine, I swear it. These bandages will come off soon."

"What's a Subconjunctival hemorrhage?" came Luna's airy voice, and Ron felt someone kiss his left cheekbone. _Was that Daphne?! No… No, she wouldn't do that in public. It was definitely Luna._

"The blood vessels in my eyes burst" Ron replied, and he heard loud gasps. "It sounds bad… Nope, I was going to say that it isn't, but it is. I'll also have 'Vampire eyes' for a week or so. Now, tell me who's here?"

"I'm here" Percy answered, and he put a hand on Ron's left shin. "So are Ginny, Luna, and the twins. Merlin Ron, you had us terrified. What happened?"

"I had a seizure of sorts" Ron replied, and he felt Percy tighten his hold on Ron's leg. "It came because of exhaustion."

"Like last year?" Fred/George asked, and Ron nodded. "Bloody hell, you need to stop once in a while."

"Learn to relax" Fred/George added. "Tell you what, we will show you everything that we know about relaxing."

"Mr. Weasley is meant to be resting" came a scolding voice, and Ron adorned a scared look. "And you all have classes soon, so stop disturbing him."

"Can I go to…?" Ron started.

"No" Pomfrey shut him down. _Fuck, so I'm stuck here all day? I need to talk to the Hat._ "You can all see him at Lunch-time, once I've removed his bandages and discharged him."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Halfway through First Period)**_

"There, now please open your eyes slowly" Pomfrey instructed as she put the bandages aside, and Ron did as he was told. His vision was blurry, and he could barely make out anything.

"Do I look amazing?" Ron smirked, and Pomfrey frowned. He didn't know why he was making jokes, especially when there was this terrible feeling growing in his stomach. It was akin to… fear.

"This is no joking matter, Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey sighed out. "Is your vision blurry?"

"It's getting better" Ron replied as he blinked repeatedly. He looked down at himself, and he noticed that he was still wearing his school robes.

"You should probably change, and take a shower Mr. Weasley" Pomfrey told him, and he nodded.

"Am I discharged?" Ron asked.

"Yes…" Pomfrey sighed again, but then she adorned a fierce look. "But you are not allowed to attend your classes today, and you will **not** push yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes" Ron averted his gaze. Pomfrey gave him a sad look, and then she did something that she never usually did. She put a comforting hand on his right shoulder.

"Ron, you could have died last night" Pomfrey said softly, and something in Ron's stomach twisted. "Please, if not for your sake then for the sake of your friends and family, stop pushing yourself like this."

"I… don't know how to stop" Ron admitted. _I can't stop, if not for my sake then for theirs._ "I'd like that shower now, please…" Pomfrey removed her hand, and Ron stood up. "Thank you for saving me, again."

"Thank Ms. Greengrass, she somehow hauled you down most of the moving staircase" Pomfrey told him, and he blinked. "She seems to possess an unnatural amount of strength for a girl her size. Though it was most likely adrenaline." _She saved me? I guess I owe her… everything. But it was 'She' who really saved me._ Ron gave Pomfrey a parting nod, and he began making his way down towards his room. That feeling in his stomach was getting worse, and Ron didn't know what it was.

Once he was in his room, he took off his school robes quickly and hopped into the bathroom. That's when it hit him… The horrible realization that he had come so close to death that he had actually said his farewells in his mind. His Cycle had been mere moments from ending, everything he held dear could have been taken from him. As soon as Ron looked at his scarred reflection, that feeling in his stomach burst, and he broke down in tears. He had almost lost everything… He had been so fucking scared in those final moments…

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Boys' Room – Second Period)**_

Ron had recovered from his breakdown… Well not really, he had simply pushed it all down and smothered it like he always did. Right now, he needed to talk to the Hat. He needed its help in shedding some light on the Entity's fate. _Merlin, I really hope that fucker died._

"Sorting Hat, it's me" Ron called out. "I know we haven't spoken in a while, but I really need your help right now…"

"Ronald, dear boy!" came the Hat's voice from Ron's bed, and Ron turned around with a massive smile.

"Hat…" Ron whispered, it was pure bliss to see it again.

"Long time, my boy" the Hat said. "Where have you been?"

"Around…" Ron replied as he sat down next to it. "Truth is… I've learnt some horrible things… And I was scared to see you…"

"Horrible things?" the Hat asked. "And why were you afraid to see me?" Ron let out a long breath.

"I was scared that you'd confirm something that I feared, but I ended up realizing that it was always true" Ron replied. "Here, have a look." Ron then picked up the Hat, and he put it on his head.

" _Hmmm_ " the Hat hummed inside Ron's head, and then it went dead silent. Ron sat there for a few long seconds, and then he decided to break the silence.

" _Hat? Are you there?_ " Ron asked slowly.

"Ronald, remove me from your head" the Hat sighed out, and Ron did as he was told.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked with baited breath. _Is it the Entity? Is it still there? Did it find the Hat?_

"I just… need a moment" the Hat replied, and Ron blinked at it. "You may not know this, but I do feel emotions. It's necessary for me to do my job, for me to understand the individual that I am placed upon. Helga have mercy, I just need a moment…"

"Was it something bad? Was it the Entity?" Ron asked, and the Hat's 'face' contorted.

"My dear boy, I am astounded by your strength…" the Hat replied, and Ron just stared at it with a confused look. "You have suffered… Truly suffered… And yet, you fight on. You have my respect, and my condolences." _Strength? And I have its respect?_

"I don't understand…" Ron muttered. "Did you see the Entity?"

"Not quite" the Hat replied. "It… That **thing** … It was controlling me, and I didn't even realize it… Forgive me, Ronald. So much of your struggles have happened because I was foolish, because I couldn't fathom its intelligence."

"No, don't blame yourself" Ron frowned. "I did that for the longest time, and it won't fix anything. That piece of shite is to blame for everything, not us."

"I am grateful to hear that, but still… Forgive me" the Hat sighed. "By the Founders, it even began controlling Fawkes… I have never seen such a manipulative force before. If evil had a face, then I'd wager that the Entity would be it. The things it did you… I'm so sorry, my boy."

"Is it alive?" Ron asked. "It was attacked by the being that bound it to me, did you see that?"

"I did…" the Hat replied slowly. "And Ronald, it is still alive."

"Fuck…" Ron sighed tiredly, all of his hopes had just been shattered.

"But it's…" the Hat started but stopped. "Ronald, it isn't exactly there anymore… Do you remember when I told you about the 'vault' that held your visions?"

"Yes, I do" Ron nodded.

"It is sealed within that vault, and it is not pleased" the Hat explained, and Ron leaned in a bit. "I could not see it, but if I tried to access your inner thoughts, then I imagine I'd become its victim rather quickly."

"What do you mean by 'inner thoughts'?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes.

"Legilimency has stages, my boy" the Hat replied. "There is the light version, which is used to see ones surface thoughts. There is the standard version, which is used to see memories and experiences. And then there is a type of Legilimency that only the masters of the Spell can do, which is used to delve into a person's psyche. The last version often leaves the victim in a poor state, and so it is hardly ever used. Since you wanted me to see certain things, your memories were on your surface thoughts. Which means that even I can no longer look into your mind properly, the Entity will surely turn its wrath upon me."

"So my surface thoughts are safe for people to read?" Ron asked. "I thought that the Entity stopped all intrusions."

"It used to… But like I said, it's been sealed with the vault" the Hat replied.

"The Dream Hogwarts…" Ron eyes-widened as he remembered the Entity being sucked in. "I've lost some of its protection?"

"Yes, that is correct" the Hat replied. "The Entity used to exist throughout your mind, but now it exists further in. And judging by its anger, it's not happy about that fact."

"The being that bound us together attacked it… 'She' saved me" Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Do you think that it can still hurt me?"

"I… don't know that" the Hat replied, and then it shifted a little. "Ronald, I must tell you some rather grave news. I overheard Albus and Severus talking, and it seems that Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott are actively searching for the Dark Lord." Ron blinked at the Hat, and then he slowly stood up.

"Malfoy and Theo's fathers?" Ron asked, and the Hat sighed in response. "Theo's dad is looking for the Dark Lord? Why?"

"To bring him back, of course" the Hat replied, and Ron put his hands on his head. _Are they fucking insane? Theo's dad is… Fucking hell, does Theo know about this?_

"Wait, Dumbledore and Snape both know this?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Severus is… Severus is friends with Lucius Malfoy" the Hat replied.

"And they're doing what?" Ron asked. "Are they going to stop them? Send them to Azkaban?"

"They are letting it play out" the Hat replied in a grave tone, and Ron gave it a shocked look.

"What?" Ron was stunned by their inaction. "Why? Why let them find the Dark Lord?"

"For the Dark Lord to be truly destroyed, he must first return to his full power" the Hat told Ron. _The Entity said the same fucking thing._

"So Dumbledore already knows about the upcoming war?" Ron asked.

"He is expecting it, yes" the Hat replied.

"And what is he doing to prepare for it? Does he have an army? Is the Ministry in on this? Are the Aurors on high-alert?"

"None of the above" the Hat sighed, and Ron was left gobsmacked. _This doesn't make any sense… If he knows what's coming, then why isn't he rallying an army? He has so much power within the Wizarding World, he could muster a force with ease._ "Ronald, what are you thinking?"

"Why isn't Dumbledore doing more?" Ron asked, his confusion turning to anger. "Why isn't he getting the Ministry involved? How many people know of what Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott are up to?"

"Only Albus and Severus, and now you" the Hat replied. "My boy, they do not wish to cause a panic."

"A panic?" Ron asked in a scathing voice. "They don't want to cause a panic? What the fuck do you think is going to happen when the Dark Lord returns, and everyone has their pants around their ankles? Bloody fuck…" Ron sat down on the ground, and he rubbed his temples with his knuckles. "They're doing nothing… They may be prepared, but what about the rest of us? Does Dumbledore have any plan in mind? Or is he just throwing the fucking dice?"

"I do not know what goes on in his mind" the Hat replied. "But Albus was the final bastion against the Dark Lord's corruption the last time, do not mistake his inaction for not preparing." _The Entity told me that Dumbledore had caused a few of my Cycles to fail. Is this what it meant? That Dumbledore did nothing to prepare the world? I can't let that happen, my family and friends will get slaughtered otherwise._

"I have to tell him" Ron mumbled as he shook his head in disbelief, he was just shocked beyond words. "I have to tell him how bad it gets, and that the war starts sooner than he 'expects' it to."

"What of the Entity?" the Hat asked, and Ron looked up.

"I have to tell him, I have to wake him up…" Ron said as he stood up slowly. "The Entity might kill me, but maybe… Just maybe… Dumbledore will stop sitting on his arse… Maybe my death will mean that he finally starts to take action."

"Ronald, I've always wanted you to tell Albus the truth" the Hat started. "But think this through, please. There will be no coming back from this. Once you tell him, then your secret is gone." Ron stared at the Hat, and then he gave it a broken smile.

"My secret is not worth the lives of other people" Ron replied. "I'll see you in Dumbledore's Office…"

"Very well, my boy" the Hat said, and then it disappeared. Ron took a deep breath, his chest puffing up to the point of hurting, and he exhaled loudly. _I'll tell him, and if that kills me… then it kills me. I've spent so long under the constant threat of death, and at this point, I'd rather just get Dumbledore to act instead of doing nothing. Everyone I know will be plunged into a war soon, and they need to start getting ready for it. They won't listen to me, but they will listen to him._ Ron looked down at his gloved hand, and his scars popped into his mind. _If you want to kill me Entity, now would be the perfect time to do so._ When nothing happened, Ron left the room with a firm stride. He needed Dumbledore to act, and so he would make Dumbledore act.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another one! I hope you all enjoyed that, it certainly took longer than usual. I wrote up a Chapter, but it just wasn't good enough for me so I restarted. Sorry about that. Oh well... And no, I have not written the Entity off. It just learnt a harsh lesson in overstepping its bounds. I've always said that the Entities are background characters, and I meant that. This story is about humans, and not God-Like beings.**

 **I'll just leave you with that Cliff-Hanger. =)**

 **See you on Sunday, or Monday... Depends on my assignments.**


	56. Chapter 56 - The Truth Will Set You Free

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 56 is here, and I'm sorry for the delay on this. But life has a habit of kicking you in the gnards when it gets bored. And oh boy, did it get bored of me!**

 **Please enjoy the Chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 56 – The Truth Will Set You Free**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Outside of Dumbledore's Office – Before Lunch)**_

Ron sat by the stone gargoyle as he waited for Dumbledore to finish giving his classes. There were so many thoughts in his head that he felt like his head would explode, and the only thing holding it all together was the simple notion that his actions would benefit thousands of people. He might, or might not, die after telling Dumbledore, but at least the old wizard would wake up and act.

Ron was still dumbfounded by the fact that both Snape and Dumbledore knew of what was coming, and of the fact that they were choosing to play the 'waiting game'. Maybe they had some strategy in place that the Hat didn't know about, maybe they already had everything figured out. _No, they don't. If they did, then my Cycles wouldn't even exist. The Dark Lord wins, and it all starts again._ Whatever reasons they had for waiting, both Snape and Dumbledore clearly weren't going to win against the Dark Lord. Whatever battle-plans they were concocting would inevitably fail, otherwise Ron wouldn't be in his four-hundred and sixty-fourth Cycle. _I can't just expect them to take care of everything, I need more assurances._

Ron decided that if he didn't die outright, then he'd play his cards wisely. He would tell Dumbledore of his visions, he would tell Dumbledore of the Entity (Something that Dumbledore already knew of), he would tell Dumbledore how close the war was, and he would tell Dumbledore of the Cycles. He would drop most of the harsh truth into Dumbledore's lap, and he'd force the old man to look at it. Dumbledore needed to understand that his inaction was going to be the death of them all. Dumbledore needed to know that he was the cause of a few of Ron's Cycles.

What Ron wouldn't tell Dumbledore was that Ron fully intended to start playing an active role in the war to come as of this day. If Dumbledore insisted on inaction, then Ron would take matters into his own hands. He would redouble his efforts on his plans to build a network of powerful allies, he would start making contacts in the 'shadier' parts of the Wizarding World, and he'd start telling certain people about the Dark Lord's return. Ron would also keep the Hat's involvement a secret, and he'd beg the Hat to keep spying on Dumbledore for him. If Ron could see what moves the old man was making, then Ron could influence the upcoming events in a more meaningful way. He would also keep the Entity's current state a secret, he didn't want Dumbledore looking into his head.

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron's head shot up. "My boy, what are you doing sitting on the floor?" Ron saw that Dumbledore wasn't alone, Snape was standing behind the old man with an indifferent look on his face. _Here I go. Entity, don't fucking kill me. Please…_

"I wanted to speak with you, Headmaster…" Ron said as he stood up slowly, his voice shaking slightly. Dumbledore gave him a worried look, and then he nodded once.

"I will come back later, Headmaster" Snape said, and he turned to leave.

"No, wait…" Ron called out, and Snape stopped immediately. _If they're both plotting things together, then they both need to hear what I have to say._ "I want to talk to you as well." Snape blinked at him, and then both the Headmaster and Potions Professor exchanged looks.

"Licorice Wands" Dumbledore said to the gargoyle, and it slid aside. "Come, we can all speak within my Office." Dumbledore went in first, and he was followed by Ron. Snape came in last, his eyes fixed on Ron. Once they were in the Office, Snape and Ron sat down next to each other and across from Dumbledore. "Now Ronald, what is it that you wish to speak of?" Ron's stomach twisted from fear, and his skin paled considerably. _This is it… Just say it… Fuck! TALK!_

"Mr. Weasley?" Snape called, his brow furrowing at the sight of Ron losing all of the blood in his face.

"I know about Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott searching for the Dark Lord" Ron blurted out, and then he inhaled a deep breath. _They need to know, don't be a coward!_ Snape's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, all of his composure shattered by Ron's words. Snape looked to an already paling Dumbledore, and he saw that the old man had a dead-serious look on his face. How was this possible?! How did the boy know this?!

"Who told you this?" Dumbledore demanded, his voice firm. Ron looked Dumbledore in the eyes, and he took in another deep breath.

"I saw it in a vision" Ron lied, and he waited for the Entity to kill him. While Dumbledore and Snape just stared at Ron with disbelief, Ron found himself shaking from fear. Any minute now, the Entity could kill him. _Talk! Tell them what they need to know before it gets a chance to act!_ "I can see the Future, and I know that there is a war coming. A war led by the Dark Lord, and it is almost here. I know that you two are doing nothing to stop those two idiots, and I think that they're going to succeed in bringing back the Dark Lord."

"Ronald, stop…" Dumbledore blinked. "Just… Start from the…"

"I need to tell you before **it** kills me, so just listen to me" Ron bit out, and both men were stunned into silence. Snape didn't even care that his mouth was hanging open, and from the looks of it, neither did Dumbledore. "In the near Future, the Dark Lord comes back and starts another war. People like Bellatrix join him…"

"Bellatrix Lestrange?!" Snape blurted out, his eyes shooting to Dumbledore once again. Even the Headmaster was horrified at the idea of Bellatrix Lestrange being out of Azkaban.

"I don't know her last name" Ron replied. "But a mad-woman named Bellatrix does join him, and she kills… She kills Draco and Lucius Malfoy…"

"What?" Snape blinked, his Godson was going to die? "Ronald, stop!" Ron shot a scared look to Snape, and Snape was shocked to see that the boy was shaking like a leaf in the wind. _It hasn't killed me yet? Entity? Are you there? Does it not have the power to harm me anymore now that it's been sealed away in that 'vault'?_ The thought calmed him a little, but he was still shaking from the adrenaline.

"Severus, lock the door and cast a Silencing Charm around the room" Dumbledore ordered, and Snape flew out of his seat. "Now…" Dumbledore looked to a trembling Ron. "Tell us everything from the very start." The school bell suddenly rang, signaling the start of Lunch. Ron clutched his trembling hands together, and he nodded quickly. "Ronald, start talking."

"It all started when I turned eight" Ron started as Snape sat back down, both men looking at Ron intently. "It was my birthday, and I had this… moment of accidental magic where I leveled my mum's kitchen. But it wasn't accidental magic, I was possessed by this… **thing** …" Dumbledore and Snape's eyes widened, and Ron shuddered. "You've met it once, Headmaster…"

"You know about that too?" Dumbledore massaged his forehead with his frail looking fingers. There wasn't much out there that could shake Dumbledore, but right now, he was thoroughly shaken.

"Yes, and I know that it overpowered you easily" Ron nodded, and then he decided continue his story. "After it possessed me, it showed me a vision. In this vision, I saw Hogwarts in ruins… And I saw my brother, Fred, die from an unknown cause."

"Merlin…" Snape muttered to himself, his heart beating wildly. This was it, wasn't it? The enigma that was Ronald Weasley was about to be uncovered. "You saw your brother die when you were eight?"

"I've seen a lot of death" Ron replied, and Snape just blinked. "Fred was around eighteen, maybe nineteen… He died in the Great Hall, and he wasn't the only one. There were so many people there, they were either injured… or dead. I didn't believe in my vision at first, and even after I had a few more, I still didn't believe in them. How could I possibly see the Future? But then, I had a vision about Pandora's death…"

"Pandora Lovegood… You saved her when you were ten" Dumbledore said softly, he couldn't take his eyes off of Ronald.

"In my vision, I saw her die" Ron swallowed thickly, he was starting to sweat a little. "She died from a Spell gone wrong, and it was… bloody. Luna found her in my vision, and she was devastated… I couldn't let that happen, so I went to The Rookery on the day that Pandora was supposed to die…"

"You knew the exact date?" Snape interrupted.

"Sort of, I found a calendar during the vision" Ron replied. "My visions are… odd. It's like I'm there as a spectator, and I can move around freely. Anyway, I decided to test out if my visions were the real deal. And then everything happened, and I knew for certain that my visions would come true. But I also learned that I could change the Future…"

"Change the Future?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes unblinking.

"My goal was to save Fred, and the rest of my family" Ron replied, and Dumbledore's lips twitched upwards for a second. "I came to Hogwarts, and was sorted into Slytherin…"

"The Hat?" Snape interrupted again. "Does it know of your visions?" _Need to keep the Hat's involvement a secret, just in case I need it to spy on Dumbledore._

"It saw the Entity, but it has no idea about my visions" Ron lied. "The Entity hides my mind from everything, and it hid my visions and some of my memories from the Hat. The Hat sorted me into Slytherin because it saw that I was driven by ambition, my ambition being my desire to change the Future itself."

"I see" Dumbledore nodded. "Keep going."

"I worked as hard as I could to excel in everything" Ron told them. "I knew that my task wasn't going to be easy, and that I needed to be the best in order to achieve it. I made allies, who turned into friends, and I continued my learning. I practiced everything until I understood it perfectly, and I was labelled a 'Prodigy'. A title that I didn't really earn, I suppose… All of my advanced knowledge came from my brothers. I'm veering off topic, sorry…"

"Take your time, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled gently, he was starting to regain his own composure. Dumbledore also glanced over to Severus, and he saw the Potions Master just staring at Ronald with rapt attention.

"I eventually had another vision, and this time it involved Harry, Hermione, and Neville" Ron told them, and he shuddered at the memory of the Troll incident. "It was on the day that the Troll invaded Hogwarts… In my vision, I saw all three of them die in the girls' bathroom."

"Die?" Snape asked, his eyes turning to a surprised Dumbledore. Harry Potter was going to die that night? The 'Chosen One' would be dead right now if it wasn't for Ronald?

"The Troll hit Neville with its cudgel, and there… there was nothing left of him" Ron muttered. "Hermione was crushed to death when the Troll fell on her. And Harry… The Troll ate his head… Crushed Harry's skull with its teeth…"

"And you saw all of this?" Dumbledore asked in a whisper. "Ronald… I'm sorry…" Ron shook his head, his eyes stinging a bit. It had been one of the most horrible visions that he'd ever seen, and what followed was just as horrible.

"I wasn't there by chance" Ron told them, his eyes moving between the two horror-struck men. "I saw their deaths, and I acted to stop them from happening…"

"Why didn't you come to us?" Snape asked, a slightly bitter edge to his tone.

"I tried to" Ron replied. "But you all ran off to save the Philosopher's Stone… Which I didn't even know existed at that point. In the end, I ran over to the girls' bathroom myself. And I killed the Troll before it could kill them. Things settled down for a while after that, but eventually I had another vision. This one showed me Peter Pettigrew disguising himself as my pet rat, and it also showed me Sirius' death at the hands of Dementors."

"And so you came to me" Snape blinked, it was all making sense. Ronald's absurd behavior was finally starting to make sense.

"I did, and then Sirius was set free" Ron nodded, a small smile gracing his face at the memory of Sirius being set free. "That was the day that I decided that I'd use my visions to save every life that I could, not just my loved ones'." Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at hearing that, whereas Snape was just waiting for Ron to go on. "Life went on, and eventually the Trio approached me…"

"Potter and his flock?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"They wanted my help with keeping the Philosopher's Stone safe from you" Ron told Snape, and Snape cocked his eyebrow. "They thought that you were planning to steal it, and after they told me that it could make someone immortal, I decided to help them. But it wasn't to keep the stone from you, I planned to destroy it. I had the dumb notion that destroying the Stone would end any chance of the Dark Lord resurfacing…"

"You were brave to try" Dumbledore interjected, and Ron smiled a little. "Many would be tempted by such a powerful object, but you chose to destroy it for the greater good. I commend you on that."

"Well, it didn't quite work out as planned…" Ron smiled sadly, his scars served as permanent proof of his failure.

"What made you think of the Dark Lord using the Stone?" Snape asked.

"Firenze, a Centaur within the Forbidden Forest" Ron replied, and Snape nodded curtly. "Malfoy and I were attacked by the Dark Lord within the Forest, and Firenze saved our lives. He told us that it was the Dark Lord who was killing the Unicorns, and he mentioned the Stone. I put two-and-two together, and I decided to destroy it. But when I went to make my move, I ran into the Trio. They wanted to keep it safe from you, Sir."

"Idiots…" Snape groaned as he rubbed his face, this was so surreal. How could a student be dealing with all of this right under their noses? The only idiots within Hogwarts were the Professors, and Snape knew that he was the biggest one.

"I helped them get to the Stone, but then Harry had to go on alone" Ron went on. "I was a complete moron back then, and I just assumed that Harry was some great wizard. I let him take the Potion that would let him pass forward, and I waited for my opportunity."

"You planned to take the Stone from the Trio" Dumbledore remembered, they had had this conversation when Ronald was in St. Mungo's.

"Yes, I planned to ambush them when their guards were down" Ron sighed, and Snape found himself agreeing with Ron's strategy. "But instead… Instead I was attacked by the Dark Lord… He tried to do something to me, but the **Entity** found him first… And **it** tried to kill us both…"

"Both?" Snape's head jerked up from his hands.

"It gave me my scars" Ron swallowed again, and both men were left horrified.

"It can hurt you?" Dumbledore asked slowly, and Ron nodded.

"It does that a lot…" Ron whispered, his eyes burning. "It hurts me whenever it gets a chance…" Dumbledore paled, his own hands shaking slightly. Snape just stared at Ron with slightly widened eyes, his shock too great to put into words. But that shock broke when Ronald began sniffling, clearly moments away from crying. That's when Snape realized that they were talking to a thirteen year old boy, a child. A child who was clearly terrified. A child who was completely alone. Despite his better judgement trying to stop him, Snape reached over and put a comforting hand on Ronald's back.

"How does it hurt you?" Dumbledore asked, doing his best to sound calm.

"It berates me… Mocks me… Threatens me…" Ron sniffed, some traitorous tears dripping out of his eyes. "It beats me… It broke my leg recently… It hit me so hard that most of my teeth broke…" A broken sob escaped his throat, and Ron completely forgot what he was meant to be doing. All he could think about was how scared he was to be here, how at any given moment he could die. "It hat… hates me…" Ron sobbed, and Dumbledore shot out of his seat. Snape pulled away as Albus held the boy in a paternal hug, this was not Snape's forte. He wanted to comfort the boy, but he wasn't that kind of person.

"Shhh" Dumbledore shushed as he put a hand around Ron's head, and then pressed Ron's head into his beard. Snape was surprised to see Albus show such open concern, but then again, Ronald's words had shaken both men. That **creature** was torturing the boy? And Ronald never said a word about it? Snape didn't even know how to feel about that. How was Ronald even walking around like nothing was wrong? It was no wonder that Ronald was suffering from Chronic Stress, he was living with an **abusive** **monster** inside of his head. "Severus, make us some tea please" Albus said as he caressed Ronald's head, and Snape did as he was told.

"I have… more to tell you…" Ron sniffled, his eyes itching wildly. _Stop crying. Stop being so damn weak. Tell them what they need to know, that's all that matters._

"And you can, but only after you have some tea" Dumbledore managed, his voice shaking slightly. **It** beat Ronald? Broke his leg? Broke his teeth? Ronald was just a boy! What was this **creature**?! Dumbledore himself had been subjected to the Entity's brutality, and it had shaken Dumbledore down to his very core. But he could imagine living with such a monstrosity as Ronald did. How often was Ronald savaged by that **thing**? Dumbledore the urge to shudder, he had never imagined such thing happening right under his nose.

"Here" Snape said as he put three cups of Earl Grey on the clawed desk, and Dumbledore let go of Ron. Ron rubbed his eyes, and he noticed that his hands had blood on them. _Shite, the pooled blood…_ "Here, use this" came Snape's voice, and Ron looked to see the Potions Master holding a clean handkerchief in front of him. Ron took it slowly, and he flashed Snape a grateful smile.

"Thanks" Ron mumbled as he cleaned up his face, while Snape just watched him quietly. Meanwhile, Dumbledore took out a vial of Calming Draught and poured a drop in all three cups. Just enough to sooth them all a little. Dumbledore then handed out the tea, which Ron accepted.

"There is a drop of Calming Draught in there, just to help us all… manage" Dumbledore told them, and Ron looked at his cup with a worried look. "Ronald, drink the tea." _I shouldn't, I promised Daphne that I'd stop taking this Potion._

"Mr. Weasley, you won't become addicted from just one drop" Snape told him, and Ron blinked at him. "Your mother and father told us about your condition last night…" Ron's eyes widened at that, and he looked to Dumbledore with a slightly panicked look. _Why the fuck would they do that?!_

"They felt the need to tell the Professors" Dumbledore smiled gently.

"Professors?" Ron managed, his throat tightening. "Everyone knows?"

"No, just the Professors" Snape assured him. "They told us of your Chronic Stress… and of the damage done to your brain." _Fucking hell… I knew I should've never told them. They just couldn't keep their mouths shut, could they? Now they all know that I'm… crippled…_

"Ronald, no one is judging you" Dumbledore assured him, and Ron glared at the man. "We have all agreed to help you manage your stress, and to keep an eye on you." _That's exactly what I don't want. I don't need people eyeing me constantly._

"I don't need your help in that regard, I'm handling my stress just fine" Ron responded, though he knew that he was lying. His stress was at an all-time high, and it was starting to ruin his life. _Though there isn't much to ruin, my life is horrible joke._ Snape and Dumbledore exchanged looks, but they didn't say anything. Sebastian Greengrass had mentioned that Ronald was too proud to ask for help. But both men were now questioning whether Ronald was just too proud, or whether he had just gotten used to doing everything by himself.

"Please, drink the tea and continue your story" Dumbledore said as he sipped his own tea. _It's just one drop, and if it helps me continue on, then so be it._ Ron drank down his tea rather quickly, his mouth burning slightly.

"Where was I?" Ron asked as he tried to remember where he had left off.

"The Entity attacked you and the Dark Lord" Snape provided, his attention back on the subject at hand.

"Right…" Ron nodded, a small amount of calmness washing over him from the tea. _It still hasn't attacked me, which probably means that it can't. I'm… free…_ Ron nearly broke into a wide grin, but he stopped himself just in time. "The Entity tried to kill us both, but the Dark Lord escaped. I was left… Well, you already know that…" Ron shifted in his seat a bit, while both men just stared at him. "You eventually told me that you had the Stone destroyed, but that the Dark Lord could still come back. That was… hard to swallow."

"How do your visions work?" Snape asked suddenly, the thought was burning a hole in his head.

"Oh… Well, they just happen" Ron replied. "They come from the Entity, and I have no control over them."

"And you had a vision of Lucius and Cornelius searching for the Dark Lord?" Snape asked. If that was true, then Ronald probably saw him too.

"No, I had vision of you two discussing it" Ron replied, and he prayed that they didn't question him further. _Change the topic._ "They happen when I'm around people, and I see one person's Future. They're… focused on one person, but that person is usually with other people. Truth be told, I haven't had many visions during this school year. I spent most of my time dealing with the Heir, then my parents, and then the Entity…"

"You and your friends found the Entrance to the Chamber" Dumbledore nodded. "Did your visions help with that?" _Don't tell him about your Parseltongue ability, you need at least some sort of advantage._

"No, I didn't have any visions related to the Chamber" Ron admitted. "We genuinely looked into every possible lead, and once I got petrified, my friends took over from there." Both men nodded in understanding, and Ron thanked Merlin for them not questioning him too much.

"You dealt with…" Snape started, but the school bell cut him off. All three of them looked up for some reason, and then they each sighed.

"We have to go, Ronald" Dumbledore said as he stood up, and Ron noticed that there was some blood in his white beard.

"Headmaster, your beard…" Ron said as he pointed at the blood stains. Dumbledore looked at his beard, brandished his wand, and vanished the blood nonverbally.

"You may remain here" Dumbledore smiled at Ron in a kindly manner. "Once our classes are finished, we wish to continue this conversation." Ron nodded at that, and he sank into his chair a bit.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Classes)**_

The bell had just gone off, and Ron was patiently waiting for Dumbledore and Snape to come back. Fawkes was currently sitting in Ron's lap, and he was nibbling on Ron's gloved index finger while Ron stroked his gold and scarlet feathers. It was rather therapeutic, and it was keeping Ron centered. The Entity hadn't killed him, and although that had calmed Ron down considerably, he was still a bit jittery. And it was due to this jitteriness that Ron had eaten all of Dumbledore's Lemon-Drops… The whole fucking jar. Not only did he feel queasy from eating so many sweets, but the sour Lemon-Drops had somewhat burned his taste buds. _It was worth it, they were delicious. I'll just buy Dumbledore another jar to pay him back._

The sound of a door opening from behind him broke him out of his thoughts, and he looked back to see Snape walk in rather quickly. The Potions Master slowed down when he saw Ron, and something unrecognizable flashed across his face. Ron looked back ahead as Snape slowly walked up and took his seat beside Ron. They were both silent, and Ron continued stroking Fawkes' feathers.

"Mr. Weasley…" Snape broke the silence, and Ron looked to him. "You mentioned something… about Draco…" _I mentioned his death, yes._

"Bellatrix cut open his throat" Ron told the Potions Master, and Snape just stared at Ron with a troubled look. _I could've put that in a much better way… Fuck._ "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so… blunt about it. I've just seen… a lot of death… Sometimes I don't even think about it that way…"

"That's alright, thank you for telling me" Snape interjected as he rubbed his face with his hands, his boney fingers digging into his forehead. "When did you see his… death?"

"While he was attacking me with Crabbe and Goyle" Ron sighed, and Snape frowned to himself. "Do you want to know why she killed him?" Snape looked at Ron for a few moments, and then he nodded curtly. "Malfoy was helping save Muggle-Born children" Ron told the older wizard, and Snape's eyes widened. "He smuggled them, and his mother, through the floo, and then he blasted the fireplace apart so that the Death-Eaters couldn't follow them. He… He died a hero… At least in my eyes…" Snape swallowed thickly, and he sank into his seat. They were both quiet again, and Ron knew that Snape was processing his Godson's death. "I won't let him die like that." Snape looked at Ron, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything, his throat had closed up from the shock of his Godson's fate. _He won't die that way, the Future changes whenever I learn of it. But I'll keep that to myself, otherwise they might find a reason to not listen to me._

"Lucius? How did he die?" Snape managed after a few moments, his mind almost numb. It had been a long day, and it wasn't even close to finishing yet.

"He was enraged by his son's murder, and he charged at Bellatrix" Ron replied in a soft tone. "She used the Killing Curse on him. Sir, who is she?"

"Someone very dangerous, and utterly mad" Snape replied, and Ron nodded. "You say that you can change the Future? That you've already saved people who were meant to die?"

"I won't let him die like that, I promise" Ron told the Potions Master, and Snape was grateful to hear that. Snape too was proud, and he didn't want to ask a thirteen year old boy to change his Godson's fate. Especially because said Godson constantly targeted said thirteen year old boy. A small part of Snape just wanted to go back to his room and sleep, this was all too much. The door opened once again, and the Headmaster raced in.

"Forgive me for being late" Dumbledore said as he quickly took his seat, and that's when he noticed Fawkes sitting in Ron's lap. The sight brought a smile to his face, but he didn't comment on it.

"I ate all of your Lemon-Drops" Ron confessed with a soft smile, and Dumbledore looked to the empty jar. "I will get you another jar, sorry."

"No need for that, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled a bit, and then he pulled out another jar from under his desk. Snape rolled his eyes, while Ron just blinked at the old codger. "Now" Dumbledore adorned a more serious look. "Let's continue our talk."

"What did you mean by 'you dealt with the Entity'?" Snape asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Tell them what you planned, and nothing more. And don't have another breakdown, you weakling._

"Over the course of this year, the Entity became increasingly more abusive" Ron admitted, and both men leaned in a bit. "Last year it was just sort of… there. It didn't do much besides give me visions, and protect my mind. But this year, especially after the Junior League Chess Tournament, it started lashing out at me."

"Why?" Dumbledore asked.

"It wanted me to be its slave… Still does, actually" Ron replied, and the two older wizards exchanged worried looks. "It took every chance to hurt me, to break my spirit… To make me give up my control. But I refused, no matter what it did to me, I kept refusing. And so it got angrier with each encounter, and last night… Last night it tried to kill me again…"

"What?" Snape blinked.

"Merlin have mercy on us all…" Dumbledore muttered, his face aging considerably.

"Why did it try and kill you? What does it want?" Snape asked, and Ron noted just how concerned the Professor was for him. Some childish part of Ron wanted to smile widely, but he didn't. This was no joking matter, and Ron was still worried that the Entity would off him any second now.

"It wants the 'Lord of Serpents' to die" Ron told them. "It's after the Dark Lord, and I'm its… vessel. The Entity was bound to me by some other being that is stronger than the Entity, I think. It just refers to her as 'She'."

"This can't be real…" Snape sighed out, and then he used his Occlumency to regain some control over his racing mind.

"And the reason why it tried to kill me was because I slipped up" Ron went on. "I told Daphne about the upcoming war, or at least a little bit about it. The Entity warned me never to reveal anything to anyone, but I did it anyway, and so it tried to kill me."

"You're telling us" Dumbledore stated.

"And it could kill me at any given moment" Ron said, his voice coming out shakier than he wanted.

"Ronald…" Dumbledore blinked, why would he endanger himself like this?!

"I'm tired of this…" Ron admitted as he looked down at Fawkes. "If it kills me, then that's fine… You two knowing about what's coming is more important than my life." Snape and Dumbledore were lost for words, but they were both shocked and awed by Ron's bravery. "This new war will kill thousands, if not more… I've read about how terrible the last one was, and I'm not letting my friends and family go through that." There was a small silence, and Ron petted Fawkes' head. "There is one more thing that you need to know. And it involves the Entity and me."

"Tell us" Dumbledore managed, he was still stuck at Ron's heroism. Watching Ronald sit there with Fawkes in his lap as he told them that he was willing to die for the people that he held most dear was enough to make Dumbledore choke up. No thirteen year old boy should ever feel the need to resign to death, not a single one. And yet, Ronald had stepped into this Office knowing full well that he might never leave it alive. That was just… too much.

"Whenever my 'Cycle' fails, the Entity is sent back in time" Ron told them, and they both went wide-eyed again. "It latches onto me on my eighth birthday, and this all starts again. This 'She' being is behind this Cycle nonsense, she wants the Dark Lord dead. Because… Because if he doesn't die, then Death will destroy this Universe. 'Death doesn't like to be cheated', that's what the Entity told me." Ron took another deep breath, and he looked at both men to gauge their reactions. Dumbledore was just staring at him like he was asleep with his eyes open, while Snape looked like he was having an existential crisis. _I shouldn't have just dropped this on them, but fuck it. It was dropped onto me, and I dealt with it. They need to as well._

"Give us… a moment, Ronald" Dumbledore muttered, this day was getting more and more bizarre by the second. What was this about 'Death destroying this Universe'? Were there more Universes out there? Dumbledore was mentally jarred into stupidity, and that hadn't happened in decades.

"What do mean by 'Cycles'?" Snape asked slowly, this all sounded like a fairytale at this point. And yet, there was evidence that this was all true. Ronald was the evidence, his odd actions were the evidence, his scars were the evidence, Dumbledore being attacked by the Entity was evidence, and Ronald saving lives at such a young age was evidence.

"It's basically my life, and the lives of all the previous Ronald Weasleys" Ron replied. "Whenever we fail at killing the Dark Lord, the Entity goes back in time and restarts its mission."

"Do you know how many Cycles have come to pass?" Dumbledore asked, his mind numbed by all of this.

"I am the four-hundred and sixty-fourth Cycle" Ron replied, and both men aged a hundred years right in front of Ron. "We have lost four-hundred and sixty-three times."

"No…" Dumbledore whispered to himself, his eyes falling down to the table. Snape once again covered his face, and he sank into his seat.

"Tell me this is not true" Snape spoke through his hands, his calm demeanor forgotten in the face of this overwhelming new reality.

"I can't do that" Ron responded as Fawkes nipped at his chin lovingly. "You both need to know that… that you fail. Whatever schemes you have, whatever strategies that you're currently employing… They fail, and we all die." Ron looked right at Dumbledore, and the old man gave him a broken look. "The Entity didn't want me to tell you about my powers because it told me that you couldn't be trusted. It told me that a few of my Cycles had failed because I put my faith in you, and you didn't do enough. I didn't want to believe that, but I know that it's probably true… You are just sitting here, waiting for the Dark Lord's return. I don't know if you have any plans or not, but whatever they are, they're going to fail. He's going to win, and the Entity will just restart its mission from scratch."

"That's what it does" Ron went on, he didn't care that both men looked broken. "It just keeps on trying. It doesn't care about me, and it doesn't care about you. It wants the Cycles to end, and so do I. And yes, each Cycle **is** different. Each Ronald Weasley **is** different. Some are Gryffindors, some are Hufflepuffs, some are Ravenclaws, and some are Slytherins. Each of them had their own personalities and experiences, but they all have one thing in common. They **all** failed. But **I** don't plan on failing, and despite all the evidence that I've seen against trusting you, here I am. I am offering you my help, and I am asking you to help me. With my knowledge on the Future, and your power and influence, we can win this war." There was a long silence after that, and after a few minutes of all three of them just sitting there, Dumbledore finally broke it.

"Ronald, I think that's enough for today…" Dumbledore said, his voice soft and hopeless. "Go back to your common room, we will speak more once I've worked through this…" Fawkes flew off of Ron at that, and Ron stood up. He turned to leave, but he stopped himself at the last second.

"I might be dead soon" Ron told them, and they both gave Ron weary looks. "And if the Entity does indeed kill me for telling you two the truth… Don't waste what I've told you… And… And protect my family for me, and my friends… I think that the Entity only restarts the Cycle when there is no hope of success." With that, Ron left the Office. He was utterly spent, but he had done his duty.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Classes)**_

Snape had seen things that would break weaker men. He had delved deep into the Dark Arts, he had seen men and women killed, he had seen the Dark Lord torture people into insanity, he had seen the corpses of children, and he had seen the love of his life dead beside her infant son. But all of that paled in comparison to what he had just learned. The Entity, Death, 'She', the Cycles, their repeated failures to destroy the Dark Lord, Ronald being able to see the Future, Draco's impending death… Snape wanted to believe none of it. Was their reality really so cruel? Was everything that they had fought for really so fragile? Snape looked to Albus, and his mentor had a look on his face that Snape hadn't seen in almost eleven years. _The last time he looked this broken was when the Potters were killed._

"Albus… What do we do?" Snape asked, but the old man didn't reply. "Was the boy telling the truth? He was, wasn't he? What are we supposed to do?"

"I… I don't know…" Albus replied as he massaged his forehead with shaking fingers.

"Four-hundred and sixty-three times…" Snape said as he closed his eyes, he needed to sleep. "That's how many times we've lost… That's how many times **he's** won…"

"Ronald… I could never have imagined such a thing" Dumbledore spoke to the table, his eyes glossed over. "In all of my years… This is… beyond my comprehension…"

"It all makes sense though" Snape told himself. "The boy, that is. His absurd actions, the fact that he is always in the right place at the right time, his advanced knowledge, his obsession with making powerful allies… All of it fits perfectly now. He's been… fighting to prepare for a war." _He has been fighting this war since he was eight, and he has been fighting it alone._

"Did you hear him, Severus?" Dumbledore finally looked up, his wrinkles more prominent. "He came in here with the knowledge that he might die. He told us everything, and he did it knowing full well that he might never leave this room alive…"

"Merlin…" Snape ran his hands through his hair. _I keep forgetting that he's only thirteen._ "Can we be sure that he's telling us the truth? I mean, this is some… insane babble."

"The 'Champion'… That's what the Entity called Ronald" Dumbledore said, his eyes meeting Snape's. "It helped Ronald resist over fifty Veelas at once, it attacked me for trying to enter Ronald's mind, and now we find out that it tried to kill Voldemort too… That **it** is the culprit behind Ronald's scars… And not only that, but it tortures the boy at every turn…"

"Broke his leg… shattered his teeth…" Snape found himself saying, his stomach turning from dread on Ronald's behalf. "Merlin knows what else it's done to Ronald… And we can't even extract it?"

"It would just kill Ronald, and restart the 'Cycle'…" Dumbledore replied, a lifeless laugh coming out of his mouth. "How did we miss this?" Dumbledore asked as he closed his tired eyes.

"Because this is beyond us" Snape replied. "This is… This is almost make-believe. I… I can't even think…"

"Sleep on it" Dumbledore sighed deeply, his body sinking into his chair. "I intend to. Ronald has told us a lot of things, and we need to process them." Snape stood up, and he noticed that his knees were wobbling. _Get a grip. Just… Just get to your room._ Snape walked out of the Office without uttering another word, he had spoken enough today.

The moment he stepped past the stone gargoyle, he began hearing the students. There was laughter, chattering, and loud footsteps. Snape schooled his features as best he could, and he began making his way down to his Office. Everything just felt hazy, and unreal. He walked past many students, all of them stepping out of his way, and he barely even noticed them. He barely even noticed anything at all. His mind was fixed on Ronald's words, and they just kept echoing within Snape's mind. And then, he saw a head of platinum-blonde hair. Snape stopped dead in his tracks as he saw his Godson laughing at something near the steps leading into the Entrance Hall. _Draco…_ The Malfoy heir looked so carefree, a massive smile on his face as he joked about with his burly friends. _He's going to die at the hands of his own aunt. Is this how Ronald sees the world? Dead faces everywhere? His own brother among them?_

"Godfather" Draco greeted as he spotted Snape coming down the steps.

"Draco, we are in public" Snape said, barely managing to keep his voice steady.

"Forgive me, Professor" Draco corrected, though his tone suggested that he wasn't really sorry. Snape had known Draco since the boy was in diapers, but right now he could barely keep his eyes on the boy. _Bellatrix Lestrange… I'll kill her myself. I swear it._ "Professor, are you alright?" Draco asked, and Snape blinked.

"Yes" Snape lied, and then he reached over and patted Draco's right shoulder. Draco's eyes widened from surprise, and Snape pulled his hand back. _Stop. Stop it. He won't die… I won't let him die like that._ Snape then simply walked off, while Draco rubbed his shoulder with a widening smile. Snape made his way down to his Office with a quickened pace, he needed to be alone. He just needed a stiff drink, and sleep.

Snape burst into his Office and locked the door behind him, and then he all but ran into his room. Once he had closed the door and locked it, he made his way over to his Ogden's Finest. Snape poured himself a glass, and he downed it in one go. It burned his throat terribly, but he didn't care. He began pouring himself another glass, and that's when he noticed that his hands were trembling. Snape put the bottle down, and he let out a shaky breath.

"Oh God…" Snape muttered as he clutched his head with his trembling hands, his heart beating in his throat. "Oh my God… God… Four-hundred…" Snape felt bile rise in the back of his throat, and he vomited out his drink.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Classes)**_

The moment Snape had left, Albus had found himself going into a panic of sorts. He had always known that another war against Tom would be inevitable, what he didn't know was that he was doomed to fail. Four-Hundred and sixty-three times they had failed, and the prospect of failing again filled Dumbledore with dread. He didn't want to believe Ronald whatsoever, but he was having trouble hiding from the facts. The boy knew things that no one in the world knew, he had a tendency to show up exactly when he was needed, not to mention the Entity itself. Dumbledore had met that **monstrosity** himself, and he had felt its savagery first-hand.

"Zinny" Dumbledore called, and there was a loud crack in the room.

"Yes, Headmaster Sir?" came Zinny's voice, and the smaller than average House-Elf came into view. "Is the Headmaster feeling unwell? He looks very pale…"

"I am indeed feeling a little under-the-weather, I'm afraid" Dumbledore replied, his voice slightly strained. "Could you please bring me a goblet of mulled-wine?"

"Of course Headmaster Sir, Zinny is happy to serve" Zinny beamed, and then she was gone with a crack. Dumbledore took out a small vial of Calming Draught from his desk, and he waited for the Elf. When she apparated back into the room, Dumbledore took the goblet of mulled-wine with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Zinny" Dumbledore said, and the Elf bowed deeply.

"Is there anything else that Zinny can do for you, Headmaster Sir?" Zinny asked.

"No, please continue on with your day" Dumbledore replied, and Zinny nodded in understanding. Once she had disapparated, Dumbledore poured the Calming Draught into his wine and swirled the goblet. Then he drank it down as quickly as he could, he truly needed something to calm his nerves down. After he was finished, Dumbledore relaxed into his seat. It had been a terribly long day, and Dumbledore was left with a million questions and a mountain of self-doubt. But he knew one thing for certain. Ronald had just become one of the most powerful pieces on the board, and Dumbledore needed him on his side when the time came.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Classes)**_

Ron walked over to his friend, all of whom were sitting in their usual spot, and he felt himself calm down even more. The Entity hadn't attacked him yet, which could only mean two things: One, it had decided to let Ron take charge. Or two, it had no power over him anymore. Either way, Ron was feeling like his life was his own again. And that brought a wide smile to his face. But that smile fell when he saw Theo. _His father is trying to bring back the Dark Lord. Does Theo even know about that? What would he say if I told him that?_

"There you are" Daphne huffed as soon as she saw him, her eyes immediately looking into his.

"Ron, where were you?" Mille asked, visibly relieved to see him.

"I was with Dumbledore" Ron said as he sat down next to Blaise. "We were talking about my Chronic Stress." Daphne shifted in her seat a bit.

"Your parents told the Professors" Daphne said with an apologetic look, and Ron waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't blame yourself, none of it is your fault" Ron smiled, she had saved his life. _Sort of. 'She' saved my life, and Daphne got me to Pomfrey._

"So, what did he say?" Blaise asked.

"We tried to bring you your Charms homework, but Flitwick told us that he wasn't giving you any" Theo provided. "Wish I had…" Tracey smacked his arm before he could finish.

"Don't joke about that" Tracey frowned deeply, and they all exchanged looks. _Did Tracey just say that? Tracey Davis?_

"Right…" Ron said in a drawled out voice, his eyes on Tracey. "Do you guys need help with…?"

"No" they all said immediately, and Ron blinked. _What the…?_

"You should find Carey Ductu, actually" Pansy jumped in. "She was looking for you at Lunch, and she was just now asking about you."

"Oh… Where did she go?" Ron asked.

"Probably to her room" Millie provided, and Ron stood up.

"Guess I'd better go down there" Ron sighed. "They probably want me to do something for them…"

"Ron, getting in good with them is really important" Theo told him, and Ron nodded.

"I can come with…" Daphne suddenly piped in, her eyes fixed on his.

"Sure" Ron shrugged, he saw no harm in it. They both left the group together, and they walked towards the sixth year girls' room side by side. "Daph… Are you alright?" Ron broke the silence.

"Yes…" Daphne replied. "I just thought that… I'd um… show you the way there."

"I've been there before" Ron chuckled, and Daphne blinked at him.

"What?" Daphne asked, her voice no longer soft. "When? Why?"

"They wanted my help with Malfoy" Ron told her, did he say something wrong? _She sounds rather annoyed all of a sudden. What did I say? I told her the truth, that's all._

"Oh…" Daphne blinked again, her cheeks turning rosy. "Malfoy… He's becoming a problem again."

"He's always a problem" Ron sighed. "One that I'm getting rather bored of." _Is his Future now changed because I know of it? Probably… Shite._ They stopped in front of the sixth year girls' room, and they turned to each other.

"I'll stay out here" Daphne told him. "And after… Can we please talk?"

"Talk?" Ron gulped, she looked… uneasy. "Daph, is everything alright? With us?"

"Just go and talk to them, then we can talk about… us" Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly. Ron then knocked on their door, and Clara answered by opening the door.

"Ron!" Clara beamed, and then her eyes went to Daphne. "And Daphne Greengrass. What can I do for you two?"

"Carey was looking for me?" Ron asked, and Clara nodded and stepped aside.

"Come in" Clara invited them inside with a sweet voice.

"I'll stay here, please take as much time as you need" Daphne replied politely, and Clara nodded. Ron stepped inside, and Clara closed the door behind him. Ron managed four steps inside before Clara clung to his back, her arms wrapping around his chest.

"Um…" Ron flushed, and she squeezed him tightly. When her big, soft breasts pressed against his back, he immediately turned beet-red. "Clara… What are you…?"

"We've been so worried" Clara sighed as she put her chin on his right shoulder, and then she leaned forward and kissed his right cheek. _Merlin, I'm going to pop another erection right here! Get off me!_

"Um…" Ron looked around the room, and he found Carey and Samantha just sitting on their beds with a lot of parchments and books open in front of them.

"Ron, I'm glad to see that you're alright" Carey said smoothly, a soft smile on her face.

"You're eyes are… damaged again" Samantha noted, she too was smiling. _She looks really appealing when she smiles, she should do it more often. And can someone please get Clara off of me._ "Clara, he's going as red as a tomato…"

"I don't care" Clara giggled, and then she gave his right cheek another kiss. "I'm not letting go until he has to leave."

"Merlin…" Ron muttered, and then he swallowed thickly. "What… What did you need to see me for?"

"We just wanted to see if you were alright" Carey slipped out of her bed, and then she walked over and stopped right in front of him. She put her fingers on his chin as she looked into his eyes with a worried look. "Another Subconjunctival hemorrhage?"

"Ye… Yes" Ron's voice broke a bit, and he flushed even more.

"What happened, Ron?" Samantha asked, she was now leaning against her bed-post. _I'll just tell them what I told my siblings._

"I had a seizure" Ron replied, his eyes fixed on Carey's green ones. "I was too exhausted, which made my Magical Core unstable. During the seizure, the blood vessels in my eyes burst…" Clara drew in a sharp breath, and she squeezed him more tightly. Carey and Samantha just sighed, Ron needed to learn to relax.

"Do you not know how to relax?" Samantha reprimanded, her voice slightly haughty. "Or do you get a kick out of worrying your friends and family?" _I'd like to pass the mic over to the Entity for that one._

"Sorry" Ron apologized, he didn't know what else to say. "Um… Do you need me to talk to Malfoy? I know that I was… rude the last time we spoke… Sorry about that as well."

"We can deal with that brat" Samantha replied.

"And stop apologizing so much" Carey frowned slightly. "It doesn't suit the person everyone sees you as." _What person?_

"I'm going to have a chat with your friends soon" Clara warned him, and he turned his head towards hers. That was a mistake because her head was way too close to his, and he immediately looked forward. Clara smiled widely at his childish behavior, how was this the same person who beat Potter senseless in public?

"A chat about what?" Ron asked, his cheeks burning. _Merlin, I'm sandwiched between two gorgeous girls. Sirius, I hope you're proud of me._

"I am going to make sure that they stop you from overexerting yourself" Clara hummed.

"Oh…" Ron blinked.

"We'd love to keep chatting with you, Ron" Carey spoke in her silky voice, a small smile gracing her face. "But we have two tests tomorrow, and we'd best get back to studying. We're glad to see that you're alright, and we'll be keeping an eye on you. Don't let us catch you pushing yourself, or we'll have to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson?" Ron asked, his voice betraying him by showing his excitement. Carey smiled more widely at that.

"Clara, send Ron on his way" Carey said as she walked over to her bed, and Clara let go of Ron.

"Come along, Ronald" Clara said sweetly as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door. She let go of his hand when they got to the door, a mischievous smile on her face. "I'd rather your girlfriend not catch us holding hands."

"My… My girlfriend?" Ron flushed. "Daphne… It's not like that…"

"Oh, really?" Clara chuckled. "That's a shame, I think you two look rather cute together." _Don't say anything, just avert your gaze._ Clara opened the door, and Ron stepped outside. "Don't be a stranger, you're welcome here anytime." Ron managed a smile as Clara shut the door, and then he turned to Daphne.

"What did they want?" Daphne asked, her expression unreadable.

"To see if I was alright" Ron replied. "They also said that they'll take care of Malfoy for me."

"They won't" Daphne told him, and he blinked. "In the end, we'll have to do that ourselves. Trust me on this, they'll come to you with an excuse and then ask you to take care of Malfoy for them."

"Why would they lie?" Ron asked, was Daphne jealous of them? _She does tend to let that cloud her judgement._

"Don't be naïve, Ron" Daphne sighed. "They are most definitely the next Silver Triumvirate, and dealing with a second year squabble is beneath them. They told you that they will help you because they want you to be happy. But once you've recovered, they'll come around asking you to deal with it." Daphne then shook her head slightly, effectively ending the conversation. "Can we talk now? In my room?"

"Yeah…" Ron replied, his mind fixed on Daphne's words. _Now that I think about it, wasn't Victor the same way? He didn't deal with Malfoy until it was too late. I won't make that mistake again. I'll give them a week, and then I'm solving this myself._ Ron followed Daphne to her room quietly, and once they were both inside, Daphne closed and locked the door. "I've never been in here" Ron told her as he looked around. "It looks… normal…"

"What did you expect it to look like?" Daphne asked, she was standing by the door.

"I don't know…" Ron shrugged as he faced her. "I expected clothes to be everywhere, some girly stuff…"

"Girly stuff?" Daphne smirked. "Were you hoping to see our underwear? You're a pervert…"

"What?!" Ron exclaimed, his ear turning red. "No, I swear! I was thinking like stuffed toys, or something…"

"I'm only teasing you, Ron" Daphne giggled, but then her mood shifted to a more somber one. _Damn, for a second there I thought that maybe she wasn't upset with me._

"Daphne, tell me what's bothering you" Ron ordered. "I'm not good at figuring out people's… emotional stuff. So you need to spell it out for me." Daphne shifted in her spot for a bit, and then she looked at Ron with a guilty look.

"I said… I said some really mean thing to you" Daphne finally managed, and Ron blinked at her. "Things that weren't completely true, but not completely false either… You're not the worst person that I've ever met, but sometimes… sometimes you really hurt us…" Ron averted his gaze and shuffled his feet, her words coming back to him. "I know you were on the Potion when you became… cold. And I know that you're going through things that I can't even begin to understand… But we're your friends, and you sometimes… you sometimes make us feel like we're a burden to you."

"I don't think that" Ron denied immediately, his pleading eyes staring into her wide ones. "I have never once thought that in my life, I swear it. I love you guys more than you can imagine…" Daphne blinked at that, and then she smiled knowingly.

"I know that" Daphne nodded gently. "I know that I was completely wrong to tell you that you are the worst person that I've ever met, and that you only hurt people… I was angry, and… really stupid. I know that you give a lot more than you take… I'm sorry for saying those things."

"That's fine… I deserved it…" Ron sighed, and Daphne walked right up to him. _I was a horrible git to everyone while I was on that Potion._

"No, you didn't" Daphne argued in a soft voice, and Ron flushed because of how close she was. He took a step back, but she just took step forward. "I'm… I'm trying to say that I'm sorry, but you're just blaming yourself for what I said. Ron, I was way out of line when I said those horrible things to you…" Daphne averted her gaze her little, her cheeks turning red. "I know… I know that I can be… forceful… and a little possessive…" _A little? No, don't say that out loud. She's trying to apologize._ "And I'm really sorry if what I said gave you…"

"The seizure?" Ron blinked, and she nodded meekly. "Daphne, you had nothing to do with my seizure." Ron grabbed her shoulders firmly, and he looked her dead in the eyes. "Sure, your words hurt… But I'm not blameless in this, I know that. As for my seizure, it happened because of my stress and because of… my brain-damage. Not because of you. Do you understand?" When she didn't reply, Ron shook her slightly. "Daphne, tell me you understand that." Her eyes welled up as her nose turned a shade redder.

"I feel really bad…" Daphne sniffled, her face contorting from guilt. "I feel like I'm the thing that pushed you over the edge…" Ron pulled her into a tight hug, did she really blame herself for what the Entity had done? _You evil cunt, look at what you've done!_ "I told…" Daphne released a sob. "I told father that we fought… And he got really angry… at me… So did mother…" She started crying in earnest, and Ron found himself shushing her like some useless moron. _Merlin, what do I do? Just pretend that she's Ginny… No wait, what the fuck? I can't see Daphne like that, dammit. Should I just let her get it out of her system? Fuck, I hate not knowing what to do._

"It wasn't your fault" Ron consoled her as he rubbed her back, and she released a lung wracking sob. "I don't blame you, no one can blame you. Everything's going to be alright, just let it out Daph…"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Daphne had gone to the bathroom to wash up, while Ron sat on her bed. She had cried for ten minutes straight, and Ron had hugged her the entire time. He had officially set the world-record for the longest hug ever given. _I can't believe that she blamed herself for my seizure, and I can't believe that her parents got cross with her for 'putting more stress on me'. What a load of dung! I don't want to disrespect them, but I need to tell them to back off._ Someone banged into the door, and Ron looked up.

"Daphne, why is this locked?" came Pansy's voice. Ron got up and walked over to the door, and then he unlocked and opened it. Pansy's eyes widened at the sight of him, and they just stared at each other. "What are you doing in here, Ron?" Pansy asked, her eyes fixed on his.

"Daphne… blamed herself for my seizure" Ron whispered, and Pansy adorned an understanding look.

"Oh…" _So she knows about it, do the other girls know as well?_

"Yeah, and she… cried… a lot" Ron mumbled. "She's in the bathroom washing up… Do you want to take over from here?" _Please say yes, I don't know how to make her feel better._

"What?" Pansy blinked.

"I don't really know what I'm doing, Pans…" Ron sighed, he really didn't. "So I was…"

"No" Pansy cut him off, and this time he blinked at her. "Just tell her that you're there for her, and that you want to hear what she has to say." _What the…?_ "Oh, and give her a hug." _Again?!_

"Pans…"

"Shhh" Pansy shushed as she pushed him back into the room, an odd look in her eyes. "Just be there for her." _What in the actual fuck?_ Pansy then closed the door, and he heard her run off.

"Ron, who was that?" came Daphne's hoarse voice from behind him, and Ron turned around with a confused look on his face.

"It was Pansy" Ron shook his head as he walked over to Daphne's bed, and she joined him. "I told her that you were in the bathroom, and she just ran off." Daphne rolled her puffy eyes as she sat down beside Ron.

"Ignore them, they're just… weird" Daphne told him, her hoarse voice making him feel a pang of guilt. _What did Pansy say that I should do?_

"Daph…" Ron started, and she looked at him with a soft smile. Ron shifted closer to her and put his right arm around her, something that made her turn a little red. "I don't blame you for my stress, and I never will. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, and that I will always hear what you have to say. Just like you do for me." _Ronald Weasley plagiarizes once again._ Daphne's growing smile made Ron thank Pansy internally, he figured that he'd just go to her when things like this came up.

"That was a really sweet thing to say, Ron" Daphne smiled happily, and Ron smiled back. _It was totally my idea._

"Thanks…" Ron blushed, it felt nice to say the right thing occasionally. "We should probably head back, otherwise people will get suspicious."

"Suspicious about what?" Daphne's smile turned sly.

"You know…" Ron muttered, his gaze going towards the now unlocked door.

"No, I don't" Daphne giggled, her voice still raw. "You have tell me. Use your words Ron, I know that you've gotten better with them." Ron sighed, she sure loved teasing him.

"They might get suspicious about our… different kind of friendship" Ron said, and Daphne giggled again. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Immensely" Daphne replied smugly. "You're so cute when you get all bashful."

"Thanks" Ron chuckled, at least she was in a happier mood now. _That's all that matters. Plus, the teasing isn't so bad._ Ron stood up to leave, but Daphne pulled him back down. "Okay then…"

"You don't want a reward for making me feel better?" Daphne scooted closer to him, and Ron swallowed thickly.

"I… I didn't do it… for a reward" Ron managed, it had been a while since they did this.

"Now that only makes me want to reward you more" Daphne smiled widely. "Unless you really want to go back?"

"No… No, I'll take the reward" Ron couldn't stop his lips from smiling.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Great Hall – Close to Dinner's End)**_

Snape wasn't here, something that Ron could sort of understand. He himself lost his appetite whenever he was really stressed about something, and Ron had given Snape plenty of reasons to be stressed. Dumbledore on the other hand, was sitting in his chair in the middle of the staff table. But he wasn't eating… He was just staring at his plate in a tired fashion. The other Professors were shooting him looks of concern, and even some students, but he just sat there as he thought about… everything. Ron shot the occasional glance towards the old man, just to make sure that he was still alive.

"Ron, did you hear me?" came Pansy's voice, and Ron looked away from the Headmaster slowly. _I broke the old codger._

"Sorry, Pans" Ron smiled, and she frowned in annoyance.

"I was saying that since you have this weekend off, we should have another picnic" Pansy suddenly broke into a smile, and Ron chuckled at her sudden shift in demeanor. Daphne, Tracey, and Millie seemed to really like the idea, and judging by Daphne's look, she wanted Ron to like it as well. _The last one was really fun, why not._

"I think that's a great idea" Ron agreed, and Pansy beamed. "The last one was really fun, and relaxing."

"Mate…" Blaise sighed, and the girls frowned at him. "I was hoping that you'd disagree…"

"Why?" Tracey asked haughtily.

"Because Potter is playing on Saturday" Theo answered for Blaise. "We wanted to make some easy money, but we can't do that if we're not there to collect it."

"Then don't come" Millie said bluntly, and Theo feigned hurt.

"Lady Bulstrode, how could you say something so unkind?" Theo asked her, and Ron fought the urge to laugh. Millie was not amused…

"Don't call me that, or I'll force Potter's broom down your throat" Millie warned with a glare.

"Naughty…" Theo grinned, and Ron and Tracey broke into a laugh. Blaise, Pansy, and Daphne were stifling their laughter, while Millie looked ready to jump Theo.

"You're sick" Millie glowered. _And hilarious._

"Nope, you're just too easy to rile up" Theo shrugged, and then he turned to Pansy. "Can't we do it on Sunday?"

"I wanted to do it on Ron's free day" Pansy replied.

"Theo, just come to the picnic" Tracey said, her laughter still in her voice. "You get to eat sandwiches and relax, what's the harm?"

"Money" Blaise replied, and the girls rolled their eyes. _Sunday still works, I don't see the need to have it on Saturday._

"You have money" Daphne shot back. "But Ron never gets Saturdays off, that's what we're celebrating."

"I don't mind…" Ron started, but Tracey shushed him.

"You don't get a say in this, Ron" Tracey grinned, and Ron blinked.

"What the fuck?" Ron asked, and he was immediately kicked in the shins. "My legs…"

"We're having it on Saturday, and that's final" Pansy huffed. "I've already made the sandwiches, and I've ordered the cake." _Cake?_

"What kind?" Ron asked, a hungry look in his eyes.

"A hummingbird cake" Pansy smiled, and Ron had no idea what a 'hummingbird cake' was.

"I'm in" Blaise said suddenly, and both Theo and Ron looked to him. "What? Those cakes are amazing. Bugger Quidditch, I'd rather have good food." Pansy smiled in a knowing way, and Theo sighed.

"Fine, since you all insist" Theo said dramatically, and the bell went off before Millie could retort. They all got up from their chairs and began to leave, and Ron shot one last look at Dumbledore. The old man was looking at him, but he looked away when Ron saw him. _He needs time, but I won't wait forever._ As they stepped into the Great Hall, their paths were intercepted by the Golden Trio.

"Hey Ron, nice to see you up and about" Harry greeted, and Ron smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm glad to be out of the Hospital Wing" Ron replied, and then he looked to his Slytherin friends.

"We'll see you in the common room" Daphne said, her eyes fixed on Ron's. Ron nodded gratefully, he didn't want to break up another argument. The Slytherins left one by one, with Blaise and Theo being the last ones to disappear from sight.

"Do you want to talk in the Courtyard?" Hermione asked, she was keen to find out about what had happened to him.

"Sure, lead the way" Ron replied, and then he followed the Trio out. What they all failed to notice was that a certain Slytherin saw them all leaving together. Once they got to the Courtyard, the Trio turned and face Ron with concerned looks. _Um… What?_

"What happened, Ron?" Hermione asked quickly. "Did Greengrass do something to you?" Ron's temper flared up at the absurd thought, but he pulled it in just as quickly. _Deep breaths Ron, just like Pomfrey taught you._

"No, she saved my life" Ron replied, and Hermione waited for him to go on. "I had a seizure…"

"Oh no" Hermione gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

"Why?" Neville asked.

"My Magical Core became unstable because of severe exhaustion" Ron lied, and Neville muttered something under his breath.

"Can being tired really kill wizards?" Harry asked, his face paling. _Maybe, but having a demonic prick in your head certainly has its dangers._

"Sort of" Neville replied, and everyone looked to him. "I've spent a lot of time in hospitals…" _Why?_ Harry and Hermione adorned understanding looks, which only made Ron more curious. _Stop that. That's Neville's business, not mine._ "The only time exhaustion can kill a wizard, or witch, is when they're exhausted to the point of no return."

"Ron?" Hermione looked to him, she sounded scandalized. "Why were you so exhausted?"

"I don't know how to… relax" Ron grinned, and the Trio gave him shocked looks.

"Stop grinning, mate" Harry frowned suddenly. "This is not a joke. Do you have any idea how worried everyone was for you? Your family was devastated, as were Sirius and Remus."

"Even Lord and Lady Greengrass rushed down here" Neville mimicked Harry's frown. _Damn, tough crowd._

"Believe me, I know how serious this is" Ron lost his grin. "The blood vessels in my eyes burst, and that fucking hurt." Harry and Neville winced, while Hermione just frowned at his language. "Anyway, I'm not allowed to push myself for the time being."

"So you can't come to the study group tomorrow?" Hermione looked crestfallen, whereas Harry and Neville rolled their eyes.

"Hermione, he almost died" Harry sighed.

"Let the bloke have a break from studying" Neville added on, and Hermione drew in a sharp breath. _Oh fuck, intervene!_

"I'll be there" Ron told her quickly. "I'll just help others with their work."

"Ron, don't do that" Harry told him with a firm tone. "Take a day off, we'll survive." Hermione looked ready to argue against Harry, but they were all interrupted by a particularly arrogant voice.

"Look at that, Weasley's made up with his Gryffindor 'friends'…" came Malfoy's voice from behind Ron, and the Trio immediately broke into deep scowls. Ron just sighed tiredly, Malfoy's timing was both a blessing and a curse.

"Sod off, Malfoy" Harry spat out. "And take your goons with you." Ron turned around at that, and he immediately noticed that Malfoy wasn't alone. He had Crabbe, Goyle, Flint, and a couple of third years with him. _Outnumbered… great._

"Shut up, Potter" Crabbe warned as he cracked his thick fingers. _Ohhh, menacing._

"Wow, a coherent sentence" Hermione retorted. "Seems like evolution is catching up with you, Crabbe."

"Malfoy, what do you want?" Ron asked, his right hand slipping ever closer to his robe pocket. _If a fight breaks out, I'm taking out Flint first._

"I saw you leaving the Entrance Hall with Gryffindor's… 'Finest', and I figured that I'd show the others your true colors" Malfoy smirked, his confidence boosted by his advantage in numbers.

"The others being your lackeys?" Ron asked, and then he looked to Flint. "A sixth year following a second year around like some personal dog… Where is your self-respect, Flint?" Flint looked murderous at that, and Ron smirked in return. _Just keep your distance because if he gets to too close, he'll beat the piss out of you._ "And you two, aren't you third years?" _It's always the same with these people, they always find a reason to start licking Malfoy's feet. Is he that charismatic, or am I just an arsehole? Bit of both, I reckon._

"You lot better think about your actions" Neville piped in, his voice coming out slightly weaker than usual.

"Oh look, Longbottom's scared" Flint laughed.

"Well, have you looked into a mirror recently?" Hermione shot back, and both Ron and Harry barely held back their laughter.

"Watch your mouth, Mud…" Flint started, but Ron ripped out his wand and aimed it at Flint.

"Finish that sentence, and I'll finish you" Ron hissed, his humor completely disappearing. The Slytherins took out their wands, as did the Trio. "Don't make me lose my temper, Malfoy…" Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, something Dark stirring in his chest. _I'll break your fucking bones, just give me a reason._

"What is the meaning of this?" came McGonagall's voice, and everyone hid their wands. The Transfiguration Professor came up from behind the Slytherins, her famous scowl etched upon her face. "Explain yourselves at once!"

"It was them, Professor" Hermione shot up instantly.

"We were just having a heated debate, Professor" Ron interjected, he didn't want the other Slytherins siding against him. "No harm was done." Hermione frowned at Ron, whereas McGonagall just eyed him.

"Mr. Weasley" McGonagall huffed. "You have just now come back from the Hospital Wing… Is your intention to secure a permanent residence within Madam Pomfrey's Wing? If so, then I will happily oblige you." _Oh shite, she's pissed._ "As for… this… Five points from each of you, now leave for your common rooms at once." The Slytherins turned around and left immediately, but not before Malfoy shot Ron a warning look. _This twat… Does he have any clue about what I can do to him?_ "Mr. Weasley, stay a moment." The Trio slowly began to leave as well. Hermione looked rather irritated with Ron lying to McGonagall, whereas Neville and Harry just shot him sympathetic looks.

"Professor?" Ron asked.

"Just wait a moment, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall replied. "I don't want you to have an accident whilst using the moving staircase." _Oh, she's right. Malfoy's gang would definitely do me in on the way down._ Ron waited patiently for a couple of minutes, while McGonagall just stared at him. "You were discharged today, and you are already overdoing things." Ron averted his gaze because of her scolding tone.

"I was just talking to my friends" Ron told her, and she gave him an understanding look.

"Try a more public place next time, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall sighed, she didn't have it in her to scold him properly. She, and the other Professors, had thought of little else other than Ron's condition and brain-damage. Pomona hadn't taken it very well, especially after finding out that his brain-damage was caused by the Dark-Lord's attack. "Off you go, Mr. Weasley. And no loitering…" Ron didn't argue against that, and he left in a hurry. _I might need to fix this Malfoy problem earlier than expected._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Potions Class – Last Period)**_

"What's even the point of a Hair-Raising Potion?" Tracey asked as Ron chopped the Rat's Tail into three equal pieces.

"To raise your hair" Ron replied with a smirk, and Tracey gave him a deadpan look.

"Haha, Ronald" Tracey spoke in a monotone voice. "You're so funny. I've seen Blaise crack better jokes."

"Wasn't joking" Ron shrugged as he put the Rat's Tail pieces into the cauldron. "I was answering your questions."

"Hmmm" Tracey hummed, and then she smiled slyly before creeping closer to Ron. _What is she doing?_ "Tell me, why were you and Daphne gone for so long?" _Here we go. Leave it to Tracey to bring that up._

"She blamed herself for my seizure, and I was convincing her that it wasn't her fault" Ron replied, keeping his composure.

"Oh" Tracey muttered, her smile falling. "I was hoping for something more… fun…" _Turn this around on her._

"Like what?" Ron asked. "Oh, I know… You were hoping that she'd give me permission to touch her breasts." Tracey flushed red at that, and Ron grinned.

"You little twat" Tracey chuckled, her cheeks turning bright red. "I thought that we decided to never speak of that again."

"I never agreed to anything" Ron shot back. "Do I still have your permission?"

"Are you still gay?" Tracey asked back, her voice humorous.

"If I say yes, do I have your permission?" Ron asked, and Tracey pretended to think about it.

"If you say yes, then you have my permission" Tracey replied.

"I'm gay" Ron told her, and Tracey giggled.

"Go on then" Tracey moved her hands to her sides, and Ron clicked his tongue. "Yeah, thought so."

"We're in class, and my grades are important to me" Ron told her, and she nodded with condescending look.

"Sure, Ron" Tracey cooed. "I totally believe you."

"You're playing with fire, Davis" Ron told her, a wide smile on his face. "I'll do it, and you bloody know I will."

"Promises, promises" Tracey sighed in an exaggerated manner, and then her eyes went to something behind Ron. Before Ron could turn around, something squishy hit the back of his head. _What the…?_ Ron turned around to see Malfoy sniggering with Goyle. _For fuck's sake, he's getting bolder._ "Ron, ignore him. Theo and Blaise are asking around about why Flint is playing lackey for Malfoy. Once we figure that out, we'll take away his personal Troll. Then he won't be so brazen."

"He'll find another way back, he always does" Ron frowned as he looked to the front of the class. He immediately saw Snape just staring at him, and Ron stared back. Snape's black eyes went towards Malfoy, and something shifted behind them. _Maybe I shouldn't have made that promise. Malfoy can't help but be an arsehole, he's too spoiled for anything else._ Tracey and Ron began working in silence after that, but Tracey eventually got tired of that.

"What are you thinking about, Ron?" Tracey whispered as she nudged him lightly.

"Malfoy… I'm wondering about why he's such a git" Ron told her as he stirred the Potion. _And about how I can help change that. Just because his Future has changed because of me knowing about it doesn't mean that he can't be… fixed. He clearly has the potential to be better…_

"He's a spoiled brat, Ron" Tracey told him. "Don't waste your time thinking about him, that's what he wants you to do. I only knew him for a couple of years, and in all of that time, he was always a prat. He'd always make sure that he was sitting in a position where we would all face him, and he'd rant on and on about Blood-Purity. Honestly, it was like he was just repeating what his Death-Eater daddy told him. It was sick, and I hated going anywhere near him."

"But you went because Daphne did" Ron figured, and she nodded.

"I didn't have any Magical friends before Daphne, and I never really fit in at any Muggle schools" Tracey told him, and he silently kept stirring the Potion. "I **did** have Muggle friends, but I had to hide everything from them. They weren't allowed to come to my house, and so they never invited me to theirs. Eventually I got sick of it, and I… threw a massive tantrum at my parents."

"A tantrum?" Ron asked, and she sighed tiredly.

"It was stupid…" Tracey admitted, but Ron didn't agree.

"You were lonely, and you wanted it to stop" Ron said, and she blinked at him. "I often felt like that when I was younger, so I know how terrible it feels…" Tracey smiled at that, and she continued her story.

"After my tantrum, my father contacted Lord Greengrass" Tracey told him. "They were friends from… the war… Anyway, Lord Greengrass just showed up at our house after that. And he brought Daphne along with him." Ron smiled at that, it all worked out for Tracey in the end. "She was so snobby, I hated her guts from the get-go." _Huh?_

"What?" Ron blinked, and Tracey smiled widely.

"I know right, how shocking…" Tracey chuckled. "She eyed our house with something akin to disgust, and when I took her to my room, she asked me why my bed was so small. I nearly punched her in the face right there."

"Bloody hell" Ron shot a frown towards Daphne, and she saw him. Daphne looked confused for a moment, but then she narrowed her eyes at him. _Oh shite._ Ron looked back to a grinning Tracey, and she tutted him.

"You already know that it all worked out in the end" Tracey said, and Ron sighed.

"How?" Ron asked.

"I told her that I didn't like her snobby attitude, and that I didn't want to be her friend" Tracey shrugged, and Ron looked at her like she had two heads. "She was shocked beyond words, how could anyone tell the Greengrass Heiress that she wasn't wanted? So instead of leaving my room, she planted herself on my bed and refused to leave until I apologized for being a bad host. I told her she was being a bad guest, and we just eyeballed each other for what felt like hours. And as it turned out, Lord Greengrass had already gone home without her. The look on her face…" Tracey giggled.

"Lord Greengrass certainly is a character, isn't he?" Ron chuckled. "Then what happened?"

"Dinner time came around, and Daphne was still being a stubborn git" Tracey went on, and Ron forgot about their Potion. "I told her to come down and eat, but she just pouted angrily at me. I could see that she was scared of being alone in a Muggle house, so I couldn't bring myself to keep being mad at her. I brought her food up for her, food that she ate in a rather 'princess-like' fashion. But despite that, she asked me for seconds. I obliged, and she finished that too. She then demanded that I give her something suitable to wear for bed-time, and once again, I obliged her."

"I gave her my spare pajamas, and she was shocked at how 'simple' they were" Tracey went on, and Ron found himself being annoyed by the 'younger' Daphne. "That pissed me right off, and I threw the pajamas at her. I told her to wear them if she wanted, otherwise she could just sleep in her 'extravagant' dress. While she was changing, I started asking her about the Wizarding World. I was really curious about it, and she took the chance to start showing off her knowledge. I realized that she liked feeling important, so that's how I made her feel. She kept going on and on, and I kept listening about the world that I was always meant to be a part of. By the time I had heard enough, it was already midnight. That's when she realized that I was just stroking her ego to get something out of her. But instead of getting angry at me, she was rather surprised by me outsmarting her."

"Let me guess" Ron smirked. "She had never gotten outsmarted by a lot of people before."

"Exactly" Tracey smirked back. "Seeing my 'potential', she decided that I was 'worthy of being her friend'. When I rebuffed her, she was genuinely shocked beyond words. She started coming over more and more after that, always trying to get on my good-side. She absolutely loathed being refused, and so she kept trying to win me over. It became something of a game" Tracey chuckled, and Ron found himself smiling. "She'd bring me sweets, books, and all-sorts of Magical paraphernalia. In a couple of months, I found myself looking forward to her visits. And she found herself looking forward to coming over to mine. We just… became friends."

"That's really…" Ron started, but Snape suddenly billowed in front of them.

"Potion check" Snape said icily, his eyes looking into Ron's cauldron. Ron immediately realized that he had forgotten about their Potion, as did Tracey judging by her tense posture. "Mr. Weasley… Ms. Davis… I asked you to create a simple Hair Raising Potion, and you have instead concocted a mixture that would lay waste to this school's population." Snape turned his glare towards Ron, and Ron stared down at his feet. _He's going to make me drink this, isn't he?_ There was muffled laughter somewhere in the background, and Ron knew that it was coming from Malfoy. "You will both be remaking this Potion… in detention. Tonight!" Snape then marched off, and Ron shot Tracey an apologetic grin.

"Well, it could've been worse" Tracey said, her own face splitting into a grin. "He could've made us drink that."

"My thoughts exactly" Ron replied, and they both began sniggering. The school bell went off not long after that, and both Ron and Tracey packed up their things. As everyone was leaving, Snape called out after them.

"Mr. Malfoy, stay behind a moment" Snape said icily, and Malfoy stopped with an arrogant smirk in place.

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Potions Classroom – After Classes)**_

Weasley had managed to ruin a rather simple Potion, and that pleased Draco quite a bit. Perhaps the 'famous' Blood-Traitor wasn't so perfect after all. Draco himself had made the Potion to perfection, which only made this sweeter. And the cherry on top was the fact that Weasley had gotten himself a detention too, and Snape had torn into him right in front of everyone. Including his disgusting Gryffindor friends. _Godfather doesn't favor Weasley like every other Professor in this school, because unlike them, he sees Weasley for the stain that he is._

"Draco, come here" came Snape's voice as the classroom door closed, and Draco made his way to his Godfather.

"Was Weasley's Potion really that bad, Godfather?" Draco asked, his excitement growing at the prospect of Weasley failing.

"It was indeed" Snape replied, and Draco found himself holding back a snigger. _Who messes up such a simple Potion?_ "Though it would make for an excellent poison."

"Perhaps Weasley should drink it" Draco smirked, and his Godfather's demeanor changed completely. "Godfather?"

"I saw you throwing things in my class, Draco" Snape said in a cold whisper, a tone that he usually reserved for berating. _Damn, he saw me?_

"Oh, that was…"

"Silence" Snape hissed, and Draco lost his good mood immediately. "I will not tolerate this kind of pathetic, childish behavior within my classroom. The next time I see you throw an ingredient at someone, I will force it down your throat." Draco's eyes widened, and he quickly averted his gaze. "Not to mention that McGonagall came to me about your behavior after dinner last night. Foolish boy… Doing something so stupid in public."

"Weasley was associating…"

"Who he associates with is none of your concern" Snape suddenly barked, and Draco flinched from fright. Snape only ever took this kind of harsh tone when he was truly livid, and that thought scared Draco. "You're fixation with him is the reason why your standing within Slytherin is so… poor." Draco's stomach tightened from hurt, he didn't want to hear something like that from his Godfather.

"They're willing to accept a Blood…"

"They are willing to accept him because he has proven himself to the house" Snape cut him off. "He secured the House-Cup last year, he has earned more house-points in the last sixth months than you have in the last two years, not to mention that he has made powerful connections outside of Hogwarts. His fame rises by the day, and he works to stay ahead of everyone around him. Whereas you…" Snape stopped, and Draco shuffled his feet as he stared at the ground. He didn't even know what to think of this, Snape had never spoken of Weasley like this before. And if Draco was being honest, it hurt him.

"Draco, look at me" Snape said in a softer tone, and Draco did as he was told. He was shocked to see Snape suddenly look… almost sad. "You are liable for the consequences of your actions, do you understand?" Draco nodded slowly, where was this coming from? Snape suddenly looked resigned, and he took in a deep breath.

"Godfather, what has happened?" Draco asked meekly, his voice betraying him. _He's starting to worry me. Is he unwell? Why wasn't he at dinner last night?_ "Are you feeling unwell? I noticed that you weren't at dinner yesterday, is everything alright?" Snape just stared at him, something shifting in his black eyes. "I will help with whatever it is, I promise."

"Do not worry about me, Draco" Snape replied, but that didn't stop Draco from worrying whatsoever. "Listen to me, and listen well. You may be the Heir to the Malfoy Family, but the world doesn't care about that. Despite what your father has told you, the world does not care for such things. It will come after you just like it does for everyone and everything, and you as you are now, will not survive it." _Survive it?_

"I have played a key role in creating your current attitude" Snape went on, it was like he was talking to himself. "So I will tell you the truth right now. You are a spoiled child who has never wanted for anything in his entire life." Draco flinched at that, but Snape put his hands on Draco's shoulders to stead him. "I have always treated you as my own, you know this to be true." Draco gave a shaky nod, something was definitely wrong with his Godfather today. _He's not dying, is he?_ The thought made his heart clench, he loved Snape dearly. "Weasley grew up with nothing, and yet, he has amassed relative wealth and fame through hard work. Even you cannot deny that."

"He's a…"

"Him being a Blood-Traitor means nothing to his allies and friends" Snape cut him off. "Even the current Triumvirate prefer him over you, as do the three in-line for the Silver Triumvirate of next year. Draco, I need you to start looking at the world for what it is. Your father loves you, but he doesn't understand that his vision for you is holding you back. Your expectations for what the world owes you are meaningless to other people."

"Where is this coming from?" Draco managed, his throat tightening. _What the fuck is going on?! Why is he saying these things?!_

"I am watching you fail every day, and now… After everything I've…" Snape stopped again, his black tunnel-like eyes staring into Draco's stormy grey ones. "Do you want to succeed within Slytherin?" Draco nodded slowly. "Do you want to reach your full potential?" Draco nodded again. "Do want to live a life that you yourself can be proud of?" Draco nodded once again, his eyes fixed on his Godfather's. "Then you need to start looking at your surroundings with your own eyes, and not your father's. I know that you lie to him about your school-life, and I know why you do it."

"It's not…" Draco started, his heart beating in his throat painfully.

"You are not your father" Snape told him. "You can be better, but only if you get out of your own way. From now on, I need you to start holding a mirror in front of yourself. Don't point fingers at other people for your own shortcomings, otherwise you will never overcome them. Do you understand?"

"I… I do…" Draco replied, he had no fucking idea about what his Godfather was saying.

"Good" Snape said as he let go of Draco's shoulders. "Remember my words, Draco. I will not be as tolerant the next time, I can promise you that. From this day on, I will personally hold you accountable. And your little one-sided feud with Weasley ends today. **It**. **Ends**. Or I will let your father know of the truth, and about how you've brought it upon yourself." Draco swallowed thickly, his breathing had become shallow at some point. "Now go about your day, and know that I have my eyes fixed upon you." Draco turned around, and he walked towards the exit in a daze of sorts. "And Draco, this conversation will remain between us."

"Y… Yes, Godfather" Draco answered without turning around, and then he left the classroom. Goyle had already taken Draco's belongings back with him, so that was one less thing on Draco's mind. As he walked back towards the common room, his Godfather's words rang through his head. _What just happened?_ Part of Draco was angry at being spoken to that way, but it was a very small part. Snape had never led him astray before, but Snape had never told him to be a different person before either. _What did he mean by my father's vision of me holding me back? Father has always been there for me, and he wants what's best for me._

"Legacy" Draco said to the entrance, and it slid out of the way. Draco stepped inside, but not before composing himself a little. The moment he stepped inside, his eyes went towards Weasley as they always did. The Blood-Traitor was sitting by the fire-place as usual, and he was surrounded by Draco's former friends. They were all laughing, especially the Half-Blood. Draco's eyes lingered on Blaise and Theo, both of whom were trying to stifle their laughs. Jealousy once again reared its ugly head within Draco, those two had never laughed like that around him. Draco's eyes then went towards Weasley, who telling some story to the group, and Draco found himself staring. _He took my friends, how is my situation not his fault?_

The traitorous voice of reason told him that Weasley didn't take them, **they** left Draco for Weasley. And then, that all too familiar feeling of loneliness began to engulf him again. _Do I really want to go and talk to Crabbe and Goyle? They don't even talk, they just sit there and stare at me._ Draco turned around and left the common room, it felt like he was being cast out into the cold to fend for himself. That's how he had been feeling ever since coming back from the Easter Break. Like he was fighting just to stay… relevant. Most of the House preferred Weasley, and although it hurt his pride to admit that, it was simply true.

The Triumvirate shut him down every time he mentioned Weasley's open association with the lesser Houses, those three sixth year girls ignored Draco completely in all regards, and all the first years admired Weasley rather than Draco. _I still have…_ Draco stopped mid-thought. Who did he have? Crabbe and Goyle were… Crabbe and Goyle. Flint only followed him around because Draco had made promises about Quidditch that he knew he couldn't keep. Potter was unbeatable as Seeker. _Another lie that will eventually catch up to me._ Draco felt dread creep into his stomach, Flint was a massive guy. And once Draco started losing to Potter next year, Flint would make him pay.

Draco quickened his pace. _Where am I going?_ Draco kept walking, his breathing becoming more and more shallow by the second. And before he knew it, he was standing at the shore of the Black Lake. _This is where Weasley comes for his runs. Weasley… and Theo and Blaise._ Draco looked around the vast lake, and he began to feel slightly calmer. _I could run around this lake too, it doesn't look that hard._ Draco loosened his tie, and then untucked his shirt. With that done, he began running.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Sanctuary – After Midnight)**_

"Sorting Hat, I need you" Ron called, he was standing in front of the lit fireplace.

"Ronald, I've been meaning to talk to you" came the Hat's voice, and Ron turned to find it sitting in his favorite chair.

"I need to talk to you as well" Ron nodded. "You go first."

"Why did you lie to Albus and Severus?" the Hat asked, its voice showing its annoyance. "You did not have a vision of them speaking about Lucius and Cornelius, I told you that bit of information. And I do know of your visions, but you lied about that too. What are you planning, my boy?"

"There's no easy way to ask this, so just hear me out first" Ron started as he straightened his posture. "I lied about you because I don't want them to know that we're… working together. If they know that you know everything about me, then they will come to you looking for answers."

"I… see" the Hat responded, its voice slow and drawled out.

"Also, I need you to spy on them for me" Ron added.

"Excuse me?" the Hat asked.

"I need you to spy on them, but mostly I need you to spy on Dumbledore" Ron clarified.

"And why would I do such a thing?" the Hat asked. "Ronald… Albus is the Headmaster of Hogwarts…"

"And yet, you still told me what he and Snape were up to" Ron interjected. "You **can** spy on him, there is no Magical limitation placed upon you in that regard."

"Even still… Where is this coming from?" the Hat asked in confused tone. "I thought you planned to confess everything?"

"At first, I did" Ron sighed. "But then I got there, and I realized something… If I give Dumbledore everything, then he has no use for me."

"Ronald…"

"Let me finish" Ron said gently, and the Hat stopped. "I've picked up a few things when it comes to negotiations over the last two years. And one of the things that I've learnt is that you never put everything on the table. I told him what he needed to hear for the time being, and I believe that it's enough. I need assurances from him, and for those assurances to be met, I need to have some semblance of control in our partnership. My visions give me that control. I did not fight off the Entity to simply hand over my life to Albus Dumbledore. This is **my** life. **My** Cycle. **I** get to have the final say."

"I can understand where you are coming from, my boy" the Hat sighed. "But reconsider this path. Tell him everything so that he can begin…"

"He won't change a damn thing, and you know it" Ron interjected. "He was patiently waiting for the Dark Lord to return. He brought the Philosopher's Stone into a school full of children when he knew that the Dark Lord was looking for it. He did nothing to stop the Heir, and this school would be shut down if it wasn't for me and my friends. Dumbledore is not a God. He has given me plenty of reasons to doubt him, and I'm not just going to let him take over **my** Cycle. My visions were granted to me, and only to me. And I will share them when I see fit."

"I cannot force you to do something that you don't want to do, but asking me to spy on him… Ronald, you have changed."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Ron asked, he wasn't going to apologize for being more aware of the world around him. "The Entity may have influenced you, but your words were your own. Right?"

"Yes…" the Hat replied.

"Well, I've changed" Ron admitted. "I grew out of hero-worshiping a man whose lack of oversight left me permanently scarred. I learned that the world isn't just black-and-white. I learned that even inside a House that I grew up hating, there are people worth protecting. If I was in any other House, I'd have probably never understood that. I'd just eat up whatever nonsense that the people who worship Dumbledore do, and I'd be left unprepared." Ron then approached the Hat, towering over it. "I have made powerful allies, and I will continue to make more. And Dumbledore is one of them. I will either work as his partner in this, or I will leave him in the dark."

"I see that I cannot change your mind in this" the Hat sighed deeply.

"No, you can't" Ron smiled gently as he kneeled down to face it. "The Entity told me that Dumbledore caused a few of my Cycles to fail, and **it** didn't trust Dumbledore with **its** power. I know that the Entity is a spiteful, cruel creature… But still… Some part of me understands where it was coming from. Dumbledore makes mistakes, and I can't afford him making mistakes when the lives of my loved ones hang in the balance. Which is why I need you to keep an eye on him for me. If I know what he is up to, then I can act accordingly."

"You are asking me to betray the Headmaster of Hogwarts, my boy…" the Hat said tiredly. "You are asking me to betray a man who I respect, despite his flaws. And I will not do it."

"I see" Ron stood back up. "Are you going to tell Dumbledore everything about me if he asks?"

"No, I will not say a word" the Hat replied. "You have put me in the middle of you two, and I will not play sides because you are both on the same side, dear boy. If I tell him that you lied to him, I believe that will have a negative impact on the Future. So I will hold your secrets, but I will not turn on Albus for you." _Fine, go back to your Headmaster then._

"I understand" Ron nodded. "Is there anything else that you wanted to ask me?"

"No… Goodbye, Ronald" the Hat replied, and then it vanished. Ron turned back to the fire, he was slightly annoyed by the Hat's refusal, but he understood why it refused him. _Entity, I don't know where you've fucked off to… But thank you. Thank you for teaching me that my life is my own, and that I am my only master._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Sanctuary – Morning Free Period)**_

It had been a week, and the Entity was still missing. Not that Ron missed it, of course. He couldn't be happier that it was just… gone. He had gradually begun to move on from his near-death experience, but he still had a long way to go. His nightmares were a hindrance, as was his somewhat growing dread at the prospect of a Future filled with war. But without the Entity there to haunt him, Ron had become considerably more relaxed. He still went for his morning runs with Theo and Blaise, trained against the dummies, and studied hard. But if he felt tired, he stopped pushing himself to the point of injury. His friends had taken a liking to his more relaxed demeanor, especially Daphne.

They were all currently studying while Ron trained against the dummies, but he knew that they were just pretending to study so that they could get out of training with him. Just last week, Ron would have flown into a rage induced lecture. But right now, he just found himself slightly irked by their blatant laziness. He had told them of the war, but they still didn't act to prepare themselves. And Ron knew why. Tracey's story about her first meeting with Daphne had made a few things clearer to Ron.

His friends believed themselves to be 'protected'. They believed that things would always work out for them because they always had. They were born into wealth and power, and their parents had always given them all the comforts that life could offer. They didn't know what it was like to struggle. They didn't understand how it felt to be handed second-hand clothes, toys, and wands. They had never seen something in a shop, and desperately wanted it, only to resist the urge to ask their parents for it. They had probably never even done chores before. Ron felt… sorry for them in that regard. Because when this war did come along, they would learn the hard way that life is unfair. Pansy's death still haunted him, and despite it being erased, Ron still felt the need to protect her from it.

Ron disarmed the dummy to the right, quickly dodged an incoming Disarming Charm, and then shot a Stunning Charm at the dummy on the left. With his 'enemies' defeated, Ron smiled to himself. _I'm getting better at this. I think I'll start trying to take on three at a time again._ Ron's thoughts were interrupted by Tracey's laughter, and he looked over to his friends. They were talking to each other, their homework forgotten. Blaise saw him looking, and he signaled the others to 'get back to work'. Ron fought the urge to frown, he didn't want to ruin the more relaxed demeanor of the group. _But there has to be a time to relax, and a time to improve. Stop stepping on eggshells, or you will regret it for the rest of your life._

Ron's eyes fell to his discarded school cloak, and then he looked to his shirt-covered arms. And then it hit him. _They feel protected, don't they? What if I take that feeling of security away from them with harsh truths? What if I just… show them? Show them what happened to me when I was unprepared._ Ron's stomach tightened at the thought, he had always made great efforts to hide his scars. They were his biggest shame, and his biggest insecurity. They were ugly, and they made him feel ugly too. _What's more important to you? Your friends, or your feelings?_ The answer came to him immediately, and he walked over to his friends. _Show them, and let them come to their own conclusions. I'm done nagging them._

"Ron?" Daphne smiled, and he smiled back. "Done training for the day? You should probably take a shower."

"Yeah, mate" Theo blocked his nose. "You smell like rotten eggs…"

"No, he doesn't" Pansy sighed, and then she smiled at Ron. "Don't listen to him, Ron."

"What are you guys studying?" Ron asked, ignoring all of their comments. They all exchanged looks, and then gave conflicting answers. Ron once again fought the urge to frown, especially when they gave each other worried looks. "Well, if you're all done with your work… Maybe you should join me?"

"Um… I just had my hair done" Tracey looked to Daphne, who looked towards Blaise.

"I'm still sore from our morning run" Blaise lied as he looked back at Daphne.

"I'll join you, Ron" Millie piped up, and Ron smiled at her. Everyone else frowned at her, and that irked Ron greatly.

"Thank you, Millie" Ron smiled, and she smiled back half-heartedly. "Anyone else?" No one replied, and Ron looked to Daphne. She just sighed, and gave him a look that could only mean 'stop it'. _No, not yet._ "Can I tell you all a secret? Something that I've never told you, or anyone really." His friends just stared at him, all of them adorning worried looks. "Last year, the Dark Lord didn't just attack me." They all blinked, and leaned forward a bit. _Just tell them, and allow them to learn from your mistakes._

"The Dark Lord isn't dead, but he is close to it" Ron went on, and they listened with rapt attention. "But there was an object within the school last year that could bring him back, and make him immortal."

"Immortal?" Theo interrupted, and he was shushed by everyone but Ron. _His father is my biggest worry right now, and he doesn't even know it. Which side will he end up on? It doesn't matter right now, all that matters is that he learns from my mistakes._

"The Philosopher's Stone was that object, and Dumbledore knew that the Dark Lord wanted it" Ron replied. "And so he hid it inside of Hogwarts, arguably the safest place in all of Wizarding England. Unfortunately, he was wrong. The Dark Lord found his way inside the castle, just like he did this year. I… I went to find the Stone myself, I planned to destroy before the Dark Lord could find it."

"What?" Daphne gasped, all of his friends going wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"I wasn't alone, the Trio were with me" Ron told them, and they looked gobsmacked. "But we were completely unprepared. We figured that everything would work out, and I can confirm that because that's how I literally felt. Things always worked out for me if I worked hard enough, so what could go wrong this time? We had no clue that the Dark Lord was down there at the same time as us, and when his plans were foiled by Harry, he went into a rage. Of all the people there, he attacked me. Not Hermione, a Muggle-Born. Not Neville, a Gryffindor. Not even Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived. But me, a Slytherin… And this is what was left of me when he was done." Ron loosened his tie, undid his buttons, and removed his shirt.

Their reactions were as expected, shock and horror. Tracey leaped out of her chair with eyes so wide that Ron feared they would pop out. Pansy let out a scared whimper and covered her eyes with both hands. Millie paled as she just stared at him with a horror-struck look. Daphne, Theo, and Blaise just stared at his scars with knowing looks. Ron removed his glove as well in order to show them his damaged hand. Tracey looked away at that, her body completely tense. Even Millie looked away, her eyes moving wildly as she wondered how none of them knew about Ron's… mutilated body.

"Ron, stop it" Daphne demanded, her eyes welling up. "Why are you doing this?"

"To wake you up" Ron replied, his heart beating in his throat. "I don't… I don't want to show these to you, but I still am."

"Why?" Theo asked as he looked away, the scars were haunting.

"You all seem to think that I'm telling you to prepare yourselves because I'm insane" Ron replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Look at me." Daphne was the only one who kept her eyes on Ron, but the others kept looking away. Something snapped in his head, fueled by his own feeling of shame. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, his face contorting from rage. "LOOK AT ME!" Ron yelled at them, and they all jumped from fright. But they all slowly looked at him, the girls' eyes welling up just like Daphne's. Ron's anger vanished when he saw that, and he adorned a more understanding look.

"I was unprepared for one moment" Ron told them as they examined his scars with scared looks. "And this is what happened to me. But only on this… I was… I was also left with permanent… permanent brain-damage…" _There, I finally told them. Fucking hell…_

"What the fuck?" Theo muttered.

"Ask Daphne, she can confirm it" Ron sighed, this was harder than he expected. He was an extremely private person due to his powers, but right now he felt completely naked. _Probably because I am semi-nude._ Everyone looked to Daphne, and she swallowed thickly and nodded.

"Oh my god…" Tracey fell into her chair, her face completely crestfallen.

"I'm not telling you this to hurt you, I'm telling you because I don't want you to get hurt" Ron said as he picked up his shirt and started putting it back on. "In the last two years, I've run into the Dark Lord twice. Both times I nearly died… The first encounter left me scarred, and in a coma. The second one left me petrified. And both incidents happened within Hogwarts, 'the safest place in Wizarding England'. So I'm not just making things up when I say that a war is coming, I know it for certain. Dumbledore knows it too, as do the Professors." His friends just sat there, their eyes fixed on him as he put his glove back on.

"And I'm not foolish, I know that we might all end up splitting up" Ron went on, and they all shifted in their seats. "But that won't change the fact that… that I love you guys. And that I want you to be safe, to be protected. I won't always be around, I might even die before the war starts… So I want you all to be ready, not for my sake, but for your own. That's why I keep asking you all to train with me, that's why I keep insisting that you all to make a better effort in befriending people from other Houses. I don't want any one of you to get hurt like I did, or worse, end up dying."

"And before you tell me that your parents will help you" Ron sighed. "How many of them escaped the last war?" His friends all looked down at that, especially Daphne who hid her gaze from his. "Life is unpredictable, and it doesn't care about who you are. Or about your Blood-Status. The Dark Lord certainly doesn't, believe me. So there you go, I've put all of my cards on the table. I won't nag you any further, I won't chase after you and give you lectures. I don't own you, and I can't make your choices for you. If you still don't want to take my advice, I'll understand. I'll still look out for you all as best I can." Ron took a deep breath, and he left for the training area. _If they still don't want my help, then at least I know I did my best to persuade them._

Ron began practicing as usual, but he was distracted by their whispering. Most of them were questioning Daphne, and she was answering their inquiries. He could even hear Pansy sniffling, and although that made him feel like a piece of shite, he ignored it. He would protect Pansy no matter what happened, he had promised himself that the day he saw her die in his vision. Eventually, Ron was interrupted when his friends came to the training area. He stopped, and then he looked to them.

"There were easier ways to convince us" Theo sighed as he stepped onto the sand, and Ron shrugged.

"I tried them, they didn't seem to be working" Ron replied.

"So do we continue like usual?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded as he fought to hide his joy. _It worked? It worked!_ "I'll take on the first set…" Blaise sighed as he got into position, and Ron moved out of the way. Ron felt someone tug his shirt from behind, and he turned to look at Daphne.

"You opened up to them" Daphne whispered, a slightly proud smile on her face. Ron blushed a bit, and then he nodded curtly.

"I opened up to them…" Ron sighed. _And it worked, I think._

"Talk to Pansy, please" Daphne whispered as she gestured towards the teary eyed girl who was watching Blaise Duel a dummy. Ron nodded again, and he walked over to Pansy.

"Pans, are you alright?" Ron asked in a gentle tone, he didn't mean to make her this upset. She looked at him with a sad look and sniffled.

"I'm fine… Daphne told us that your… That **it** won't get worse if you manage your stress" Pansy replied.

"Yeah, it's not life-threatening if I keep my stress in check" Ron smiled, and she suddenly hugged him. He slowly put his arms around, and he patted her back. "I'm fine, I swear. I'm actually feeling a hundred times better than I was last week, which is why I was able to finally show you guys my scars."

"You showed me your hand, and I thought that that was it…" Pansy sniffled, and Ron spotted Tracey and Millie looking over at them.

"I didn't want to show them to anyone, I was… embarrassed…" Ron admitted, and she squeezed him tightly. _Oh shite, where is this strength coming from? My fucking back…_ "I know that I upset you, and I'm really sorry. But don't think that I'll be taking it easy on you because I like you."

"Like? You said that you **love** us" Pansy released a wet chuckle, and Ron's ears turned red.

"Yeah… Well… Whatever…" Ron chuckled.

* * *

 _ **Friday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Potions Classroom – After Dinner)**_

Ron entered the classroom when it was his turn, all the second years were picking their electives today. Ron had looked into the notes from the three sixth year girls, and he had come to one conclusion. He was **not** doing Divination. Clara was the only one who did it, and she clearly hated it judging from her demented drawings of Professor Trelawney's deaths. Not to mention that he had done a lot of research into Divination during his first year, and he had come to realize that it was mostly just a sham. Ron's powers came from the Entity, and that's all that he needed to know.

"Mr. Weasley, take a seat" Snape said from behind his desk, and Ron did as he was told. _They still haven't gotten back to me about what I told them._ "Have you thought about your electives?" Snape asked, his eyes on a piece of parchment rather than Ron.

"I have, Sir" Ron replied. "I know that I will not be doing Divination."

"I see" Snape responded, his eyes still fixed on the parchment in front of him. _Seriously?_

"Which electives would help me prepare for a war the most?" Ron asked bluntly, and Snape's eyes shot up. He sneered at Ron momentarily, but then his expression morphed into one of indifference. "It's been over a week since I told you and the Headmaster of my… gift. Are you two still not convinced?"

"We are…" Snape sighed as he put the parchment down, and Ron relaxed into his seat.

"Sir, I just want to know if you've taken what I've told you seriously. That's all" Ron said, he didn't want to disrespect his favorite teacher. Snape sighed tiredly, and he seemed to age a decade.

"I am… struggling, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied, and Ron nodded in understanding. _I know how… macabre this all is._ "What you revealed was… jarring. The Headmaster and I have not spoken to each other since, and I have been trying to cope with the knowledge of our impending doom."

"I can, and have, changed the Future" Ron said firmly, and Snape looked into his eyes.

"Who else knows of your… secret life?" Snape asked.

"Just you, the Headmaster, and I" Ron replied. "And I don't plan on telling anymore people, not for the time being."

"A wise move" Snape sighed tiredly. "Most people do not know Occlumency, and we cannot afford you falling into the wrong hands."

"Let me worry about my secret" Ron responded, he didn't plan on just being their weapon. "You need to talk to the Headmaster, and come to terms with what's coming. I know I've had more time to cope with all of this, but you two clearly have some plans in motion. And… I want in."

"Want in?" Snape cocked an eyebrow. "Mr. Weasley, you are just a child…"

"Don't you patronize me, I've been through far too much to allow you to look down on me" Ron cut him off, his temper flaring at being called 'just a child'. Snape stared at Ron, and then he nodded curtly.

"I suppose you have…" Snape said in a whisper.

"I'm not 'just a child', and if you want my help, then we will be partners in this" Ron told the Potions Master. "Now, which subjects will help me in the Future the most?" Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, and he released a tired breath.

"I recommend Care for Magical Creatures, the Dark Lord's army will consist mostly of Dark Creatures" Snape replied, and Ron nodded. "I also recommend that you take Study of Ancient Runes, and perhaps even Arithmancy."

"Study of Ancient Runes…" Ron whispered to himself, his gloved fingers touching the Rune Ring on his left hand.

"Your Protection Ring was created with the knowledge of Runes and Wards" Snape told him. "Two disciplines of Magic that helped the resistance against the Dark Lord immensely during the last war."

"And Arithmancy?" Ron asked. "I've been going through some notes for it, but I don't understand it. It looks like gibberish to me."

"Arithmancy is a Magical discipline that studies the magical properties of numbers, including predicting the Future with numbers and numerology" Snape replied, and Ron blinked at him. "It is used to make predictions about the Future using numbers" Snape clarified.

"Isn't that a little redundant in my case?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded slowly.

"It can also help you understand the meaning behind numbers and symbols, and it is a requirement for Curse Breakers" Snape replied. "Your brother, William, is a Curse Breaker, is he not?"

"He is…" Ron replied slowly. "So knowing Arithmancy can help me break Curses placed upon objects?"

"Yes, but I suppose Study of Ancient Runes will teach you that too" Snape replied. "Arithmancy branches away from Study of Ancient Runes when it delves into predicting the Future."

"Then it's pointless for me" Ron concluded. "I can already see the Future, and the Entity itself told me that no other mortal in this Universe shares my power. I can see the Future for what it is, and not as some prediction." Snape nodded at that, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose again. "Sir? Are you feeling unwell?"

"This talk of 'Universes, Death, and this Entity'… It is difficult to grasp" Snape replied truthfully.

"It only involves me, so you don't need to worry about it" Ron sighed. "All that matters is that my ability to see the Future helps us greatly." They both went silent at that, until Snape broke that silence after a minute.

"I will put you down for Care of Magical Creatures, and for Study of Ancient Runes" Snape said, and Ron nodded. "One more thing… If we are to work together, then I'd like you to join my Potions Club."

"Really?" Ron asked, his excitement rising suddenly. "I thought only fifth years and higher were allowed in?" Snape blinked at him, and then he released a lifeless chuckle as he realized that he no longer needed Ronald to join his Club. "Sir?" Ron's eyes widened, he had never seen Snape 'laugh' before. _It's really fucking creepy, please stop._

"I was going to invite you to join the Potions Club because I wanted to find out why you were creating powerful allies everywhere you went" Snape replied, and Ron just stared at the man. "I thought that you were up to something, something that could cause problems for us down the line… I was so wrong…" Ron just stared at Snape who looked utterly exhausted, his mind weighed down by Ron's confession. _I need him to snap out of this. This is not the time to be moping about, we still have a chance to start preparations._

"I know that all of this is difficult to come to terms with" Ron said as he stood up, and Snape looked at him with glassy eyes. "So I will give you until the start of June, but after that… We are having a conversation about this. About what we need to be doing. And yes, I'll still join your Potions Club. I'd like you to teach me more about the last war, and maybe even some Magic." Snape's eyes widened slightly, but then he adorned an expressionless mask again. "Please Sir… Talk to the Headmaster. If you're going through so much turmoil, then he might be as well." Ron then turned around and left, while Snape rubbed his forehead in a tired fashion. The boy was right, he needed to talk to Albus about this.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **May, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Near Midnight)**_

"Come in" came Albus' voice, and Snape entered and closed the door behind him. Snape then cast the Silencing Charm around the Office, something that made Albus cock his eye-brow.

"Severus, the entire castle is asleep" Albus chuckled, and Snape found himself staring at the old wizard. _He's laughing? Has he already made his peace with everything that we've learned?_ "Take a seat, Severus. Let me pour us some tea."

"I don't want tea, Albus" Snape replied curtly as he took a seat.

"Wine then?" Albus asked, and Snape refused by raising his hand. "What brings you here so late?"

"Weasley…" Snape replied, and Albus adorned a more serious look. "He wants in."

"Does he?" Albus rubbed his chin, his eyes becoming distant.

"Albus, he is only a child" Snape started. "But he is also… clearly more. The things that he's dealt with… Deals with… They were enough to shake even me. And yet, he is still fighting. We need to look at our options realistically now. If we truly have failed four-hundred and sixty-three times… Then perhaps we have been going about this all wrong."

"I myself have been wondering the same thing" Albus replied. "My… mistakes… They are at the forefront of my mind recently. I brought the Stone here, and Ronald payed the price. I failed to find the Heir in time, and was outmaneuvered by Lucius Malfoy. Ronald and the Muggle-Born children were petrified, and could've died. They lived because of sheer luck… Perhaps we have indeed gone about things the wrong way." _Good, he agrees with me then._

"Then what do we do about this?" Snape asked, and Albus kept rubbing his chin. "The Dark Lord's return is imminent, and if Weasley is to be believed, then he will eventually attack Hogwarts. Which means… that we're both dead by that time."

"I know" Albus nodded.

"My Godson's throat will be cut open by Bellatrix Lestrange, Weasley told me as much" Snape blurted out, and Albus looked at him sympathetically. "We are heading for disaster, Albus. All of this 'cloak and dagger' nonsense that we do… It fails us in the end. We could've already lost Potter if it weren't for Weasley… The Prophecy about the Dark Lord's fall would have been made moot. The boy has already helped us avert a calamity."

"You want to start working with him" Albus stated, and Snape nodded curtly. "Severus… He is just…"

"He has made powerful allies already" Snape interjected, and Albus sighed. "He clearly trains rigorously, judging by his ever intensifying build. And he knows a lot more than he's letting on."

"On that, we can agree" Albus nodded. "He kept a lot to himself, I could see it in his eyes. Ronald has proven that he is intelligent, but he does not trust us."

"Perhaps he doesn't trust us because he is intelligent" Snape argued. "We haven't given him any reason to. But despite his intelligence, he is clearly somewhat naïve. He told you and me of his… gifts, and he doesn't even know that I am a spy for the Order. He trusts me simply because I work here, and so he assumes that I have to be on his side."

"You don't think that he's told anyone else, do you?" Albus asked, his eyes hardening.

"No, he hasn't" Snape replied. "He told me so himself. Right before he invited himself into my Potions Club, and asked me to teach him about the last war and maybe even some Magic."

"That is good, I want you to build a rapport with him" Albus instructed, and Snape nodded in agreement. "As for him joining us… I don't see any way around that. His power to see the Future will remove so many variables from the equation, and since we can't look into his mind, we have to ask for his help."

"He wants to be a 'partner' in this" Snape informed.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from him" Albus smiled. "He has already done quite a lot to help us, and this way, we can keep him on our side. And we can make sure that his powers don't fall into the wrong hands."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Late Afternoon)**_

Things for the most part had returned to normal, or at least what Ron saw as normal. Malfoy avoided Ron and his friends as if they had the Dragon Pox, which was fine with Ron. Ron figured that the sixth year girls had come through for him, despite Daphne telling him otherwise. Classes had also resumed as normal, with the exception of the Professors always keeping an eye on Ron. They were subtle enough, but Ron could see that they were concerned about him. At first Ron didn't enjoy the extra attention, but he slowly just came to terms with it. They cared for him, and that felt good.

Ron's friends continued training, and they even stopped whining about it. Well, most of them stopped whining about it… Daphne and Pansy would exaggerate their soreness from any spells that they caught, while Tracey continued giving up whenever other people succeeding before her. Blaise only did what he thought he'd be successful at, and never pushed himself. Theo kept pestering for 'cooler' spells, but he still struggled to beat a single dummy. Millie was the only one who showed any real progress, and she had even managed to beat two dummies at once. The burly girl could take a hit, and still keep going despite her pain. As for Ron… He had a tendency to show off fighting three dummies off at once, and he had even beaten five at once with his Rune Ring on. That had earned him a few kisses from Daphne, in secret of course.

He still saw Pomfrey once a week, and they were currently working on ways to keep his anger in check. It was working for the most part, mostly because Ron didn't have the Entity haunting him constantly. That monster had been gone for month now, and Ron couldn't be happier. His days seemed brighter, he laughed a lot more, he didn't push his friends but rather encouraged them, he kept in contact with Charlie who told him that he had a surprise for the family, and he had even started eating breakfast with Ginny and Luna again. Percy had disappeared into his books, just like the three sixth year girls. The twins were aiming most of their pranks at the Hufflepuffs for some reason. And as for the Trio, Ron spent at least an hour or so with them a week. His friends had told him of Harry persecuting them after Ron's seizure, and about how Neville of all people had stood up for them. This, mixed with his prior apology, made Neville Ron's favorite new Gryffindor.

And as for Snape and Dumbledore… That hadn't been going so well. Snape was cold, as usual, and he kept his distance from Ron. They occasionally made eye contact, but Snape would just walk off or start ignoring Ron outright. Even Dumbledore was a little distant, but not as much as Snape. The old man would still smile kindly at Ron, keep an eye on him during class, and he had even handed Ron a jar of Lemon-Drops at the end of a class. Something that seemed to annoy a particular Gryffindor. Ron didn't really care about how Harry felt on the matter of who Dumbledore paid attention to, mostly because Ron wasn't looking to become Dumbledore's new Golden Boy. Ron needed a partner in the upcoming war, and Dumbledore fit that bill perfectly.

"Ron, are you listening?" Daphne pouted as she nudged him, and he shook his head clear.

"Sorry, what was that?" Ron looked to her, and she pouted even more miserably. _She's so damn cute._ They were currently sitting a little bit away from their other friends, and Daphne was busy making plans about the Holidays. Plans that all involved Ron, and Ron alone.

"I asked you if you wanted spend a week or so at Greengrass Manor" Daphne repeated. "Tori and mother would love to have you over, as would father."

"And you?" Ron smiled, and she shrugged casually. Ron's more patient, and happier, demeanor seemed to agree with Daphne.

"It wouldn't be so bad to have you around" Daphne smirked, and Ron grinned. "Don't grin like that" Daphne giggled. "I've told you how creepy you look when you do that."

"What? I'm just smiling" Ron kept grinning.

"You look like you have eighty teeth" Daphne snorted, and then she flushed red.

"Ha!" Ron laughed, and she got a shade redder. "Oink, oink my Lady."

"Shut up" Daphne smacked his arm, a massive smile on her face. "Just come over for a week or two, please?"

"I can floo over at any moment, Daph" Ron chuckled.

"But I want to show you the Gardens…" Daphne told him.

"Do the Gardens…"

"At night" she finished, and Ron stopped talking. _Oh…_

"I'll come over" Ron agreed immediately, and Daphne smiled in a mischievous manner.

"Good, I'll let father and mother know" Daphne said. "They've been hounding me to ask you for over a week now. And Tori… All she does is talk about you."

"We do get along" Ron admitted.

"You bought her a necklace for her birthday… from Martin's jewelry store" Daphne sighed.

"Jealous?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, a teasing smile on his face. _She totally is._

"Nuh-uh" Daphne denied in a childish manner. "You see her the same way you see Luna, so why would I be jealous of that?"

"I see Luna as my sister, and if I see Tori as my sister, then what does that make you?" Ron asked, and Daphne stared at him like he was an idiot.

"If you call me your sister, Ron" Daphne started. "I will slap you, and have you admitted to St. Mungo's Psych Ward."

"That… is a fair enough response" Ron chuckled.

"By the way, Theo will be staying over at mine for a bit as well" Daphne told him, and Ron lost his humor.

"His father is leaving the country again?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked.

"Um… yeah…" Daphne replied. _For fuck's sake._ "Ron, how did you know that?"

"Why else would he stay at your manor?" Ron asked back as he put on a smile. _Damn Theo's father, he'll get us all killed._

"That's fair enough" Daphne replied as she bought his response. "Well, since Theo is staying over. I figured that I'd invite everyone, and we could have a slumber party of sorts."

"A slumber part?" Ron asked. "Aren't we a little too old for that?"

"What? Don't want to pillow fight me?" Daphne smirked.

"I would destroy you in a pillow fight" Ron told her bluntly, but when she rolled her eyes, he understood her meaning. "Oh… Now that you put it like that, I don't think I mind a slumber party."

"Nice save" she shook her head with a smile.

"Mr. Weasley" came an all too familiar voice from behind them, and both Ron and Daphne turned to see Snape towering over them. "Come with me." Snape turned around and billowed out of the common room, and Ron got up to leave.

"I'll see you when I get back" Ron smiled at Daphne, and she gave him a wink. That made his smile wider, and he ran after Snape. He caught up with the Potions Master outside, and they began making their way towards the Headmaster's Office. As they trudged up the moving staircase, Ron took in a deep breath. "Sir…"

"Not here" Snape cut him off, and Ron nodded as he closed his mouth. _Are we finally going to have a conversation about the things to come? If so, then I'm ready for it._ Once Snape and Ron got past the Stone Gargoyle, Snape ushered Ron inside the Headmaster's Office.

"Ah, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled from behind his clawed desk.

"Headmaster, how are you?" Ron smiled back.

"As well as can be expected" Dumbledore replied as he gestured to a free seat, which Ron sat on. "Now, how have you been? I'm asking about your stress, and about the Entity."

"My stress is under control" Ron replied. "As for the Entity… Don't make me answer that." _I need to keep the Entity's disappearance a secret, otherwise the old codger might get ideas. I know that it's still there, and that it's pissed off. The last thing I need is Dumbledore taking a look into my mind, and then getting murdered for it._

"I see" Dumbledore responded, his features softening. Snape took a seat beside Ron, his expression controlled as usual. "Has it hurt…? No, I won't ask that either…"

"Thank you" Ron said softly, and Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Headmaster, can we please finally talk about what I've told you?"

"Yes, I believe that it's time" Dumbledore replied, and Ron sat up straighter. "Your ability has the power to change the tide of the upcoming war, and I think you understand that. And I know that you wish to join Severus and me in planning for the war. And after thinking it through, I think that can be arranged." Ron smiled at that. "But for that to happen, there are some important things that you need to know."

"But before we tell you these things" Snape interjected, and Ron looked to him. "We need to be certain that your mind cannot be compromised in any way."

"If you are referring to Legilimency, please don't try it" Ron warned them, and they nodded.

"We were thinking more about the Imperius Curse" Dumbledore said, and Ron's eyes widened a bit.

"The Unforgivable?" Ron asked, he hadn't thought of that. _Oh fuck, what if they use it on me? Am I protected from that?_ Dumbledore took out his wand and aimed it at Ron.

"Forgive me, Ronald" Dumbledore said. "But we have to make sure of this. Imperio." Ron felt a sudden pang of pain in the back of his skull, and it suddenly shot up to his forehead. _Fucking hell!_

"Ow…" Ron winced, and then he looked at Dumbledore with a frown. "Really? An Unforgivable? Headmaster of Hogwarts, my arse…" Dumbledore just blinked at Ron, and then he looked down at his own wand with disbelief.

"Impossible…" Snape sighed as he shook his head. "This is… utterly mad."

"Well, I believe that we can tell Ronald whatever we want to" Dumbledore chuckled, though it sounded rather forced.

"Won't you get arrested for this?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore shook his head.

"My wand is… protected from any traces created by the Ministry" Dumbledore replied. _How? Doesn't the Ministry cast a trace on every wand when it's made? They've been doing that for almost two hundred years in order to protect the Statute of Secrecy._

"Whatever" Ron said grouchily. "Can we please talk now? That really hurt…"

"Sorry" Dumbledore smiled apologetically. "And yes, we can talk." _Good, it's about time that we sorted this out._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Tada! It's done, and damn did it take a while... Lot of dialogue in this chapter, but that was sort of the point. Everyone did something, and I will let you all think about what's next. I need some much needed sleep...**

 **Now for some bad news, this story is going on hiatus for a month. My exams are around the corner, and all of my attention needs to be on them. So I guess this is goodbye for the time being =( I will miss you all, but this isn't final.**

 **Take care, see you all soon.**


	57. Chapter 57 - Departure

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 57 is here, and I know that I've been gone for almost a week. If you don't know, I have exams coming up and I'm working on them most of the time. I've put this Chapter together over my breaks, but since I don't get much time off these days, it took a while to complete.**

 **Please enjoy the Chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 57 – Departure**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Late Afternoon)**_

"First things first, Ronald" Dumbledore said as his expression hardened, something that made Ron lean forward. "What we discuss here will remain between us three, no exceptions. You will not tell your friends, your parents, your siblings, or anyone at all. You will take these secrets to your grave, if necessary." Ron swallowed at that. _Grave? I guess I can do that, considering that it nearly happened a month ago._

"I agree" Ron nodded firmly.

"Good" Dumbledore said in return. "Secondly, you will never mention your powers to anyone. It doesn't matter who they are, your power to see the Future will never be discussed."

"I understand" Ron replied, and Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow. "If I tell anyone, then it is no longer my secret. Someone could use Legilimency to find out the truth about me, and that could put me in danger."

"Legilimency, torture, the Imperius Curse… The possibilities are endless" Snape interjected, and Ron nodded in understanding.

"Thirdly, Ronald" Dumbledore jumped back in. "If we are to work together, then we will need to lay our secrets out on the table." _Does he want me to hand over my visions? Yeah, that's not happening._

"With all due respect, Headmaster" Ron started, and both men looked at him to continue. "I have already given you a lot, but you haven't given me anything in return."

"That is a fair point" Dumbledore smiled in a sagely manner, and then he nodded at Snape.

"Mr. Weasley, look" Snape said, and Ron turned to see Snape rolling up his left sleeve. Ron's eyes widened when he saw the faint red blemish on Snape's left forearm, and Ron looked into Snape's eyes for answers. _The Dark Mark?!_

"What is this?" Ron demanded.

"I was a Death-Eater" Snape told him, it sounded like he had been preparing to say those words. _What the fuck?!_ Ron looked to Dumbledore, and the old wizard just stared at Ron.

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered as he shook his head. "I told you about my power to see the Future… I'm such an idiot…"

"Do not blame yourself too much, Ronald" Dumbledore told him, and Ron blinked at the old wizard. "But from here on out, there can be no more mistakes like that. You told us that we've failed four-hundred and sixty-three times, so if we are to succeed in this 'Cycle', then we cannot afford to make any errors."

"You were a Death-Eater?" Ron asked Snape, he couldn't believe this. _What the actual fuck?! Why is he allowed to teach at this school?!_ Snape nodded, his eyes becoming slightly distant.

"I made mistakes, and I paid dearly for them" Snape said coldly, and then he pulled his sleeve back down. "And before you even imply it, I know where I stand now. And it is **against** the Dark Lord."

"I have to ask…" Ron started, his voice coming out as bemused. "How did you end up becoming a Professor at Hogwarts? Why aren't you in Azkaban?"

"I vouched for Severus, and I offered him his post as the Potions Professor of Hogwarts" Dumbledore answered for Snape, and Ron looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're also the person who hired Lockhart" Ron said, and Dumbledore chuckled while Snape smirked slightly. _Does he just hire the most unlikely people to be the Professors of this school? Crazy old codger._

"Severus has proven his loyalty a hundred times over" Dumbledore assured him. "He has also kept in contact with previous Death-Eaters, those not locked away in Azkaban that is."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"They still believe him to be loyal to the Dark Lord, and that allows him to keep his eyes on their movements" Dumbledore explained.

"You're… a spy?" Ron asked Snape, and he nodded curtly. _Wicked._ "So I'm guessing that you already know that Nott Snr is leaving the country again, mostly likely searching for the Dark Lord." Snape looked to Albus with a tired look, and Dumbledore sighed. "You didn't know?" _Clearly he isn't a very good spy._

"I warned you about this, Albus" Snape said in an icy whisper. "Nott does not trust me." Snape then looked to Ron with a dead-serious look. "How do you know of this? Was it a vision?"

"Daphne told me" Ron replied, and Snape blinked. "Theo is staying over at Greengrass Manor during the Holidays, and Daphne confirmed that his father was indeed leaving the country again."

"Did she tell you any specific dates?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I can ask around, and let you know" Ron replied. "But what are we going to do about Nott Snr? Also, why is he so intent on bringing about the Dark Lord's return?"

"His wife, Theodore's mother, was killed by a Muggle" Snape informed Ron. "She died in front of Theodore, something that left both father and son scarred. Nott Snr wasn't so loyal during the last war, but after his wife's murder, he began to truly believe in the Dark Lord's mission. But by then, it was too late because the Dark Lord was already gone. But now Nott has a chance to bring him back, and he'll never stop trying." _Bloody hell… Theo…_ Ron had all but zoned out after hearing about how Theo had seen his own mother die right in front of him. _I'm so fucking sorry, mate._

"Ronald?" Dumbledore called, and Ron shook his head clear.

"Sorry, but Theo is a close friend of mine" Ron managed, and both men nodded in understanding. "I had no idea…" And then something occurred to Ron, something that Theo had said last year. "Theo once mentioned that all Muggles were 'Barbaric Scum'… Now I know why he said that…"

"Blaming the masses for the mistake of an individual is unjust" Dumbledore told Ron.

"I know that" Ron frowned, his heart clenching at the thought of a 'younger Theo' watching his mother die right in front of him. "But he lost his mother to a Muggle… He has the right to be angry."

"He does, but if that anger ever turns into vengeance, he will need to be stopped" Dumbledore responded, and Ron blinked at him. _What the fuck is that supposed to mean?_

"You will not harm him" Ron warned. "Because if you do, then you will need to find another person who can see the Future." _And I'll find some way to set the Entity on you both. I can promise you that._

"No one will harm Theodore" Snape interjected in a drawled out tone. "But once the Dark Lord returns, Slytherin House will become a recruitment den for future Death-Eaters. Make sure that your friends stay away from that, they are your responsibility." Ron nodded firmly at that. "Can we get back to the matter at hand? Or are you two just intent on wasting my time?"

"Nott Snr…" Dumbledore said as he rubbed his chin. "I believe that we should let him continue his search, at least for the time being."

"Why? Ron asked. "The sooner he finds the Dark Lord, the sooner we all end up in a war. I say that we stop him as soon as possible, and buy ourselves more time."

"I am in agreement with Mr. Weasley on this" Snape said, and both Ron and Dumbledore looked to him. "Albus, we've already discussed how our current strategies always fail. Stopping him now will buy us the time we need to start spreading the word. The Ministry is considerably weaker than it used to be, and as for the Aurors… There's barely a handful of them left."

"You can't play a game of Chess with only half of your pieces" Ron said, and Snape nodded at him.

"We will get overrun, it's just that simple" Snape added on.

"If we stop Cornelius, then your position is compromised" Dumbledore argued. "You and Lucius are the only ones who know what Cornelius is planning, and if he escapes and brings back Lord Voldemort, then you will not be safe. We need eyes within Voldemort's camp, which was the real reason why we lasted as long as we did the last time." _Why is he saying the Dark Lord's name so openly? Merlin, I hate it._

"And how many of your spies were eventually caught?" Snape asked. "All of them except for me, and I only got away because I turned my back on the Dark Lord near the end of the war."

"Can't you involve the Ministry?" Ron interjected, though he really wanted to know more about Snape's life as a spy. "You're Albus Dumbledore, people listen to you. Tell them that you have reason to believe that the Dark Lord might return, start building an army now."

"Things are not so simple, Ronald" Dumbledore sighed, and Ron leaned forward a bit. "The last war… It is still a fresh scar within the minds of most people, and they can only cope with it because they believe that Voldemort is dead. If we tell them otherwise, then we risk tearing the public into different factions. Most people will not believe us simply because they don't want to, and those who do believe us, will all fly into a panic. Not to mention the Ministry's reaction…"

"Cornelius Fudge will not take responsibility for this" Snape piped in, and Ron blinked at him. _Why?_ "He is a coward, one who is more interested in keeping his job than doing his job. He will not want to risk taking the blame for the Dark Lord's return happening during his term. But that is not a problem that we need to solve today… Right now, we need to do something about Nott Snr."

"Ronald, do you have any visions that might help us?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron thought about it.

"No…" Ron admitted shamefully, and both men nodded. _None of my visions explain how, or when, the Dark Lord returns. For fuck's sake, Entity. You and your damn obsession with controlling me has fucked me over. You could have shown me visions that mattered, rather than visions that would haunt me._

"That is fine, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled in a kind manner. "You have already helped more than enough by telling us of Cornelius' actions. The fact that he is doing this in secret is indeed worrying, he might actually be onto something. Try and find out more from your friends, especially young Theodore. If we know where his father is going, then we can plan accordingly."

"One more thing, Mr. Weasley" Snape interjected. "We believe that the Dark Lord is currently hiding within the Forests of Albania."

"Albania?" Ron asked, what made them come to that conclusion? "Why Albania?"

"That is where Quirrell found him, or at least that's what we believe" Snape replied. "Quirrell was serving the Dark Lord, and he mentioned Albania frequently during the stories about his 'adventures'. And no, we cannot go looking for him. He will simply hide himself if we get too close."

"Hide himself how?" Ron asked.

"Possession, most likely" Dumbledore answered. "If he possesses an animal, then we would never be able to tell the difference. And in his current form, he cannot truly be destroyed." ' _A wraith on this world', that's what the Entity said._ "Which brings us back to Nott Snr… We must find out what we can, and then act accordingly. If he is looking in the wrong place, then we can leave him be."

"And if he is looking in the right place?" Ron asked.

"Then we will continue this conversation another time" Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded. "Now, before you go. Is there anything else that you wish to ask us? We are partners in this now, so we must share our knowledge." _We? Or me? It won't be that easy to coax out my secrets, I'm not blind to your actions like everyone else. You're still the man who told me to lie to everyone to hide your own debacle with the Stone._

"I want some assurances from you both" Ron started, and Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat. "Firstly, you will provide my friends and family with the Order's protection…"

"The Order was disbanded" Snape interrupted, and Ron looked to him with a deadpan look.

"My visions have shown me otherwise" Ron stated, he had reason to believe that Blaise joined the Order from his vision of Pansy's death. Snape and Dumbledore exchanged looks, and Dumbledore smiled in a sagely manner. "Like I was saying, I want them to be given the Order's protection. That includes housing, security, and acceptance. My Slytherin friends are to be treated as people, and not with the same prejudice that goes on in this school. Not all of us are like Malfoy…" Snape tensed a bit at that, and Ron looked to him. "He was helping the Order when I saw him die, so I know that it's possible for you both to house my friends."

"If they come to me, I will do everything in my power to protect them" Dumbledore promised.

"Secondly, I want my family to be kept as distant from the war as possible" Ron said, and Dumbledore blinked.

"I'm afraid I don't have that kind of power over them" Dumbledore said gently.

"Yes, you do" Ron argued. "They respect you, and listen to you. I know that my parents, and even siblings, will want to fight for the Order. And that's fine… But I want them to be given relatively safe missions. Lie to them if you need to."

"You want us to favor your family over other people?" Snape asked, and Ron shrugged.

"I vowed to protect everyone that I could, but I know which lives matter more to me" Ron admitted. "It might be selfish, but I've learned to accept being a little selfish every now and then. Oh… And this also applies to my friends. I will work hard enough to make up for them all, if that means anything." Dumbledore looked like he wanted to argue, but he instead nodded once.

"Anything else?" Dumbledore asked.

"I will share my visions only when I deem necessary" Ron told them, and both men exhaled loudly. "The Entity is cruel, I would even call it evil incarnate… But it never lies to me. It may hide things, but when questioned, it tells me the truth. And it has told me that you are not to be trusted with my power. I am taking a leap of faith on you, but I'm not going to hand you the reins. You will simply have to come to terms with that." Snape clenched his jaw, they were being given edicts by a thirteen year old. And they could do nothing about it because they needed him. They needed his power. "Those are my three requests, and if you honor them, then I will happily help you. Otherwise, I'll keep doing this on my own."

"Very well" Dumbledore responded, and he gave Snape a nod. Snape took out a piece of parchment from his robe pocket, and he handed it to Ron. "Those are next year's passwords for my Office, they change weekly. I had them all written down for you, come to me if you ever need to discuss anything."

"Thank you" Ron smiled gratefully as he pocketed the parchment. "If you ever need to ask me about my visions, don't hesitate to call on me. I will share them if they are relevant to our plans."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Late Afternoon)**_

Albus watched Ronald leave the Office, and once the door was closed behind him, Severus let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. _That went well, Ronald provided us with valuable information. But his demands… He is still only a teenager._ Albus didn't know whether to find comfort in that, or to worry about the Future. He knew that if some Celestial Force choose Ron as its 'Champion', then it did so for a reason. The boy had an important part to play in the war to come, and he was clearly still unprepared.

"So that's it?" Severus asked with a clipped tone. "We are now following the edicts made by a child?"

"He would argue that he isn't a child, and we'd be fools to argue that" Albus smiled at his friend, but Severus just frowned. "Ronald has made staggering achievements, and he clearly doesn't plan to stop. Not to mention the things he's been through… He is far too experienced to be taken as a child."

"His demands were foolish" Severus spoke in his usual icy voice. "If we are to build 'an army', then we can't play favorites so blatantly. People don't respond well to being treated as less valuable than others."

"He doesn't understand war, Severus" Albus said in a sagely voice, and Severus nodded. "Despite his… ordeals… He is still far too young to grasp such matters, but he will learn."

"And if he doesn't?" Severus challenged. "What do we do if his demands don't change?"

"They will change" Albus smiled knowingly. "He will learn, because we will teach him." _He must learn, for all of our sakes._

"And by 'we', you mean me" Severus scoffed, and Albus' smile turned slightly sly. "Wonderful…" Albus couldn't help but chuckle at Severus' eye roll, he was certainly in a mood.

"I also need you to contact Lucius" Albus instructed. "Just in case Ronald doesn't learn anything."

"I know" Severus said as he stood up, his eyes fixed on Albus'. "Anything else, Albus?"

"Just one more thing" Albus readjusted in his seat. _This is necessary. I cannot afford to make the same mistakes that I know I've been making in the previous Cycles._ "Tell Minerva and the others that I wish to elaborate more on what we all saw in the Chamber. I've done some research into the kind of Magic used by Tom in order to create that Diary, and I have a hunch." Severus' eyes gleamed, and he nodded firmly. "Come to my Office tonight, after dinner." Severus turned on his heel and walked out of the Office, his stride displaying his purpose.

Albus leaned back into his seat, and he let out a long breath. _So this is it, isn't it? We're changing our current course of action in order to survive annihilation. A world where Tom always emerges victorious…_ A shudder passed through his old body, and he gripped the handles of his chair. _I must reform the Order in full force, just as Ronald said. The earlier the better. I will also travel to Albania in these coming Holidays, there has to be some sort of trail that I can follow._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Common Room – Late Afternoon)**_

There was an obvious skip in his step, and why wouldn't there be? Dumbledore and Snape had 'let him in', and they had met his demands. His friends and family would be safe for the most part, and that brought the widest smile to his face. He had even chatted to a few Ravenclaw fifth years on the way down here, and they had been rather pleasant to him because of his jolly mood. Sure, his friends and family weren't guaranteed to survive just yet, but he would keep working harder and harder for them. Ron slowed down when he spotted Samantha sitting by herself near the boys' dorm, her head buried in a book.

"Good afternoon, Samantha" Ron beamed at her, and she looked up with a dull expression. But when she saw his wide smile, she decided to give him a soft smile in return.

"Good afternoon, Ron" Samantha returned his greeting as he stopped. "Why the massive smile?"

"Things are just going my way" Ron laughed happily, and she smiled more widely. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, this…" Samantha rolled her eyes. "Just a book on Runes."

"Runes? I'm taking Runes next year" Ron said, and she nodded in approval. "I have your notes" Ron whispered, and she giggled at his behavior. Ron almost began glowing when he heard her laugh, it was quite the sight. _I don't want to tell her to smile more often, but she really should. It really suits her._

"Are you planning to cheat in order to get ahead?" Samantha asked, her voice showing her amusement.

"Never" Ron replied, but he nodded his head fervently.

"Good boy" Samantha laughed, her left hand covering her mouth.

"I'll let you get back to work" Ron grinned, and she nodded again. "Have a nice day, Samantha." With that, Ron made his into the boys' dorms. Samantha watched him leave with a slightly confused smile, at least her day was slightly brighter because of that interaction. Ron made his way into his room, and he saw Theo writing a letter at his desk. _Where's Blaise?_

"You're back" Theo turned in his chair as he heard Ron shut the door. _Theo…_ Ron immediately remembered Snape's words, and his smile faltered slightly. "Mate? Stop staring…" Ron blinked at that, and he fixed his smile. Ron then walked over to Theo without even thinking, and Theo watched him warily. _His poor mum… I never knew that he suffered through something so horrible._

"Can you please stand?" Ron asked, and Theo blinked.

"Why?" Theo asked, his suspicion taking over his confusion.

"Please?" Ron smiled a little more genuinely, and Theo slowly stood up.

"You're starting to…" Theo was cut off as Ron hugged him tightly. "What the…?" _Just this once. I'll hug a bloke outright, just this once._ "Ron?" Theo asked, and Ron squeezed more tightly. Theo let out a chuckle after a couple of seconds, and he patted Ron's back. "Alright big guy, you can let go now…"

"This doesn't really surprise me one bit" came Blaise's voice, and Ron let go of Theo and turned to see Blaise standing by the bathroom door. He had a smirk on his face, and he cocked an eyebrow at both Ron and Theo.

"I can't give my friend a hug?" Ron grinned.

"Best friend" Theo corrected as he sat back down, his eyes fixed on Ron. "Ron, you're in a good mood. What happened? Was it Daphne? We saw you two giggling with each other in the corner." _Oh shite._

"We were discussing me coming over to stay at Greengrass Manor for a week or so" Ron explained, and Theo nodded slowly. "You're going to be there, right? Daph told me."

"Daph?" Blaise smirked more conceitedly, and Ron snorted.

"Come off it" Ron waved a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, I'm staying over during July" Theo sighed. "Father is leaving the country at the start of July, and he won't be back until the end of July. I think he's planning to start a business overseas." _Oh, you could say that. That business being us getting shafted. At least I know when he's leaving, now I just need to know where._

"Overseas?" Ron asked casually. "So like… Albania, or something?" _Fuck! That was smooth, Weasley._

"Albania?" Theo gave him a confused look. "No, he's heading over to Denmark." _Oh thank Merlin._ Ron felt his mood elevate even higher, and he beamed at Theo. "Stop with the creepy smile" Theo chuckled, while Blaise sniggered from his bed. Ron made his way over to his own bed, and he opened his trunk in order to take out Samantha and Carey's Rune notes.

"What's that?" Blaise asked, his eyes scanning the parchments in Ron's hands.

"Notes for Runes next year" Ron admitted, he trusted them with this secret.

"Do you have notes for all subjects?" Theo asked, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Hmmm" Ron hummed as his smile turned coy. "Perhaps…" _I should share them. It'll help them be better._

"Do have notes on Muggle Studies?" Theo asked as he hopped out of his chair.

"Why are you doing Muggle Studies again?" Blaise asked Theo, and the weedy boy shrugged.

"Tracey is doing it, and she's already got it all down" Theo smirked. "Easy marks, you know?" Ron and Blaise shared a look, and Theo rolled his eyes. "Suck a cock, and give me the notes."

"In that order?" Ron laughed, and Theo snorted. Ron then reached into his trunk and got the notes out, and then he held them in front of Theo. As Theo went to grab them, Ron pulled them back. "You will share these with Tracey and Millie, clear?"

"Yeah, yeah" Theo huffed, and then he took the notes with a greedy smile.

"Blaise, we're both only doing Runes and Magical Creatures" Ron turned to the dark skinned boy who was just lounging on his bed. "I'll keep our notes with me." Ron then reached back into his trunk, and he got all of the notes out. _Okay, let's sort this out. Theo is doing Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy. Daph and Pansy are doing Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination. Tracey is doing Divination, and Muggle Studies. Millie doing Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies. Blaise and I are doing Care of Magical Creatures, and Study of Ancient Runes._

Ron handed Theo the Arithmancy notes, which he took greedily once again. _I'll hand Daphne notes on Divination, and then tell the girls that Theo has notes on Muggle Studies. I'll also tell them that I have notes on Care of Magical Creatures. If we're all prepared for next year, then we can all reap the benefits as a team._ Ron turned around and headed for the door, only to stop when Blaise called out.

"Where are you off to?" Blaise asked as he yawned.

"I'm going to give the girls notes on Divination, and let them know about the other notes too" Ron smiled, and Blaise nodded. Ron made his way out, a skip in his step once again. Things were really lining up, weren't they? _I'm making a positive change alongside Dumbledore and Snape now, the Entity is no longer haunting me, I've kept my temper in check for almost three weeks, Daphne and I haven't argued since our talk in her room, my friends are finally working hard at training, and things are going well with my family._ Ron's smile widened as he thought of his flying plans with Ginny tomorrow after Pomfrey's session. Ron came to a halt in front of the girls' door, and he knocked a little too enthusiastically.

"Who is it?" came Tracey's voice.

"A handsome prince" Ron chuckled, and Tracey opened the door.

"Well, where is he?" Tracey looked around, and Ron laughed.

"He ran away when he heard you're voice" Ron shrugged, and Tracey sniggered.

"Not bad, Weasley" Tracey smiled as she moved aside, and Ron walked in. Tracey held back a laugh as she saw him literally skip, this was new.

"Ladies" Ron smiled in a happy manner, and all the girls looked to him. Daphne and Pansy were on Daphne's bed, while Millie was studying at her desk. "I bring gifts."

"Gifts?" Tracey and Pansy asked together, and Ron held out the Divination notes. The girls' smiles fell away at the sight of parchment.

"These are the notes for Divination Class" Ron told them. "Both year three and four. Interested?" Tracey, Pansy, and Daphne went wide-eyed, and Daphne quickly hopped off of her bed.

"Where did you get these?" Daphne asked as she took from Ron.

"I have my ways" Ron smirked, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "Theo has the notes on Muggle Studies, which he will be sharing with you both" Ron looked to Millie and Tracey. "I have notes on Care of Magical Creatures, which I will also be sharing. I reckon we should all try and be ahead of everyone else. Make Slytherin proud, and all that nonsense."

"Thanks, Ron" Pansy smiled widely as she looked at the notes in Daphne's hands.

"These are really detailed" Daphne said as she scanned through them, and then she frowned a bit. "What's with these demented drawings? Clara Martyris…" Daphne read the name off a piece of homework, and then she looked to Ron. "The sixth year girls gave you their notes?"

"Yep" Ron smiled. "I also have the notes on normal classes, and I will gladly share them."

"You're in a jolly mood today" Millie said as she stood up, a wide smile on her face.

"Things are going well for me lately" Ron admitted. "Well, I'll leave you all to it." Ron then turned to leave, but he stopped himself. "What are you guys doing right now?"

"Nothing much" Tracey sighed. "Daph, Pans, and I were reading Witch Weekly, while Mills was studying." Ron turned to Millie and gave her an approving nod, something which made the big girl smirk at the others. "Booooriiiiing…" Tracey drawled, and then she grinned. "Want to do something fun, Ron? It's not often that we get one of you boys visiting us." _Leave it to Tracey to flirt with me in a room full of people._

"Tracey…" Daphne frowned slightly. "At least try and be more Lady-like…"

"Ladies are boring, and Ron agrees with me" Tracey laughed.

"They can be" Ron shrugged, an easy smile on his face. His eyes went to Daphne for a second, and he noticed her trying to hide her knowing smirk. "Why don't we go for a walk? Without Theo and Blaise, that is. And you can tell me all about 'Witch Weekly and the latest gossip'." _Bugger it, I'm in a great mood lately. I should share it with my friends, even if it is spent talking about dresses and so forth._

"Wow, you are in a good mood" Pansy laughed as she quickly locked her arm with his. "And a walk sounds like fun." Ron looked to Daphne, and she smirked.

"We can go for a walk… after you have your Potion" Daphne hummed, and Ron's smile fell a little.

"Daph…" Ron whined, but she shushed him playfully.

"No moaning or groaning, this is compulsory" Daphne said as she pulled out a Nutrition Potion from her trunk, and Ron's eyes widened when he saw that she had dozens in there. _Bloody fuck!_ Daphne held the Potion in front of Ron, and he took it with his gloved hand. He uncorked it, and then downed it in one go. As it slid down his throat, Ron gagged because of the foul taste.

"If I scooped up a handful of Troll shite and shoved it in my mouth, it would still taste better than this fucking Potion" Ron shuddered, while the girls all reacted differently to his comment. Tracey let out a loud laugh, Daphne pulled a face at the imagery, Pansy gasped as if scandalized, while Millie shook her head with a soft smile.

"One of these days, I will shove a bar of soap into your mouth" Daphne sighed as she took the empty vial, and Ron wagged his eyebrows at her. That made her giggle, but she stopped it immediately. _That was funny, just laugh. I know you want to._ Daphne pressed her lips together, and she kept her composure. _Damn, she's too good at that._

"Shall we head out?" Ron asked Pansy, who was still just wide-eyed. She shook her head clear, and smiled widely.

"Let's go to the Lake" Pansy announced, and then she dragged Ron with her as the girls followed them.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Nott Snr leaves for Denmark at the start of July, and will return near the end of July" Snape read from the note, and Albus nodded. Ronald had slipped him this note during dinner, something that had annoyed Snape at first. But the boy was nothing if not careful, he had been doing this for far too long to be anything else.

"Ronald certainly works quickly" Albus chuckled, no doubt in a better mood now that he knew that Nott was wasting his time.

"Indeed" Snape drawled. "But it is only a matter of time before Nott finds a trail…"

"Severus, sometimes it is just better to take the win" Albus smiled, and Snape fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Now, when are the other Professors…" the old man was interrupted by a knock at the door, and Snape quickly got up and moved to a dark corner. Albus frowned at him, and then he called them in. _It's better this way…_

"Albus" Minerva greeted, and then her eyes flew to Snape. "Good, you're already here Severus." Pomona and Filius entered from behind Minerva, and Pomona closed the door and locked it. "Albus, we need to talk about what happened in the Chamber" Minerva said as she took Snape's old seat, while Filius and Pomona took seats next to her. _He already knows, and he better give us something._

"The Diary" Albus nodded, and Minerva pursed her lips.

"Headmaster, I've been thinking about it extensively" Filius jumped in, and all eyes went to him. "It would take a terrifying amount of power to create such an artifact, and if that young boy in the Chamber was indeed You-Know-Who, then that Diary was created when he himself was that age. Unless he figured out a way to transfer his 'younger self into an object, which is just… unheard of."

"You are right in a way, Filius" Albus sighed as he took on a more ashen look, and Snape listened keenly. "I believe that Tom did indeed create that Diary when he was a young man, and he did it within this very castle." Filius and Minerva leaned forward, while Pomona released a small gasp. "Fifty years ago, when the Chamber was opened, Tom was a student here. And there was a death… Myrtle Warren. I believe that is when the Diary was made."

"He was capable of such Magic at **that** age?" Pomona asked with disbelief. "He must've been no older than sixteen at that point…"

"There have been very few wizards and witches half as capable as Tom, Pomona" Albus said in a grave tone, though Snape could almost detect a hint of respect in there. "As for what the Diary was… I believe that it was the product of an old, and a very dark, type of Magic." Albus then drew in a deep breath, and he looked at his Heads of Houses with a foreboding look. "What do you know about Horcruxes?" _Horcruxes?_

"Horcruxes?" Filius asked, his eyes shooting towards the other Heads. None of them had heard about it, but that didn't surprise Albus. This was a type of Magic that was not only hidden by Dumbledore, but even the Ministry. Albus waved his hand, and a black leather Tome flew out from one of his shelves. Albus showed the Tome to the Heads of Houses, and Snape read the title in his mind. _Secrets of the Darkest Art…_ Snape's eyes widened at that, he had seen this book in the Malfoy library. It was gifted to Lucius by the Dark Lord himself.

"I had this book removed from the Forbidden Section, but not before Tom read it as a young man" Albus sighed as he put the book down. "This Tome, and its other copies, are the only books in the World that explain what a Horcrux is."

"And what is a 'Horcrux'?" Minerva asked, her eyes fixed on the Tome.

"It is an object that houses a part of the caster's soul" Albus replied, and everyone went wide-eyed. "Yes… One must split their soul in order to create a Horcrux…"

"Split their soul?" Pomona asked with a shaky voice. "How?"

"Murder" Snape found himself saying, and everyone turned to him. Snape looked to Albus, and the old man nodded slowly. "He killed that Warren girl in order to split his soul, and he created the Diary…"

"Yes, Severus…" Albus breathed out, he looked older than usual. _Merlin help us all… This is the kind of man that I used to serve?_ Snape felt a powerful pang of self-hatred as he remembered how happy he was when he was branded by this monster, and how proud he used to feel to be a part of his following. _Lily was right… She was always right._

"He killed a student when he was sixteen…" Filius shook his head in disbelief. "So he was always… a monster."

"Why split his soul and create such a vile object?" Minerva asked as she used her Gryffindor strength to break through her horror.

"As long as a portion of his soul survives, he cannot die" Albus explained. "He created the Diary in order to become immortal." Snape looked back up at that, his mind racing with memories of the Dark Lord's boasting. _He always claimed to be beyond death, but we just thought that it was all propaganda. He really was immortal, wasn't he? In a twisted, disgusting sort of way… but still immortal._

"But the Diary was destroyed" Minerva said quickly. "Does that mean that his immortality is broken?"

"Perhaps…" Albus leaned back into his chair. "I do not know for certain… All I know is that his incredible durability in the last war came because of this Diary. His soul cannot move on whilst a part of it lingers on in this World."

"So if we found him now, and destroyed him, he would die?" Pomona asked, and Albus took in a tired breath.

"Perhaps…" Albus repeated. "I do not know for certain, but I will be leaving for the Forests of Albania during the Holidays."

"Alone?" Snape asked before he could stop himself. _This is a foolish course of action!_

"I am in agreement with Severus" Minerva said, her voice hardened. "Albus, let us join you. We fought him together in the Chamber, and we can do so again."

"He is in a weakened state, right?" Filius added. "If the five of us confront him, we could destroy him once and for all."

"No, I will go alone" Albus said firmly, his eyes darting towards Snape. _He doesn't want to compromise me? So why not just take the other three and leave me behind?! Damn fool!_ "We fought a fragment of his power, and he almost overwhelmed us."

"He had a fifty foot Basilisk helping him" Pomona argued, her protective instincts kicking in. "Headmaster, please don't go alone. This is too dangerous…"

"I have already made up my mind" Albus smiled in a kind manner, his eyes falling on his Heads of Houses. "I am only going there to look for a trail, or to root him out. But if I do not return… Minerva will take my place as the Head of Hogwarts." Snape wanted to slap Albus out of his martyrdom, but he instead used his Occlumency to calm himself down. _This conversation isn't over, old man._ "Now that I've told you what that Diary was, you must promise me to never speak of it again. We cannot allow Tom to realize that we know his secret." The Heads all nodded, but they did so reluctantly. Snape figured that just like him, they were still stuck on Albus throwing himself in such a dangerous situation.

"Could he have made more of these Horcruxes?" Filius asked suddenly, and everyone looked to Albus with bated breath.

"There is no record of anyone creating more than one Horcrux" Albus admitted. "So I truly do not know… It might not even be possible to create more than one."

"How do we find out if he has?" Snape asked. "These objects could be anything… anywhere."

"Magic… Dark Magic… Tends to leave traces" Albus told them. "Once I return, I will look more into this."

" **If** " Minerva frowned deeply, but Albus just smiled in his usual way.

"Remember, this conversation does not leave this room" Albus told them, and Snape bit back a retort. _If he dies, we might as well line up at the chopping block._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Breakfast – Great Hall)**_

 _Greetings from France, Ron._

 _I have wonderful news to share with you! I have been made an apprentice by the well-known French Chess Master, Frederick Laurent! He saw our match at the Finals, and he told he me that he admired my spirit! He says that I embody the 'Beauty of Chess'!_

 _I am so very happy about this, and I wanted to share this with you as soon as it happened. Master Laurent has his own Chess club, filled with players that he himself trains, and I am a part of it now! Isn't that wonderful? Mother and father are very proud of me, and even the Madame congratulated me in front of the whole school. (She sends her greetings to you)._

 _How are things in England? Are you and Daphne getting along? I only tease, of course. Please send her my regards. Also, how are things with your mentor? Are you competing in any competitions any time soon? Let me know._

 _Eager for your response,_

 _Your friend,_

 _Amanda DuPont._

Ron smiled widely at the letter, he was really glad for Amanda. He had read about Frederick Laurent, and he knew that she was in good hands. The man was rather old, but his 'Academy of Chess' was quite spectacular from what Ron had read about it. He was also glad that Madame Maxime had not forgotten him, her friendship was important to Ron.

"Good news?" Daphne asked, her eyes on the letter.

"Amanda has found a mentor, and she is officially an apprentice level player" Ron replied as he tucked the letter into his robe pocket. "She sends her regards, by the way." Daphne nodded as she began eating her food again.

"So when will you be an apprentice level player?" Millie asked as she put marmalade on her toast.

"When I turn fifteen" Ron replied. "I'll compete in one more Junior League Tournament next year, and then in the Apprentice League after that." _I should send Amanda a gift in order to congratulate her. But what should I get?_ "Pans, can I get some help?" Ron asked, and Pansy looked up from her plate.

"Of course" Pansy replied with a smile.

"What is an appropriate gift for a fifteen year old girl?" Ron asked, and Theo and Blaise groaned.

"Here we go" Theo muttered darkly as Pansy's smile widened tenfold.

"It has to be related to Chess" Ron quickly added, and Pansy blinked.

"Nice save" Blaise whispered, and Ron hid his relieved smile. _We could've been here for days. Choose your words carefully, Weasley._

"I don't know much about Chess" Pansy admitted, but she didn't give up. "Maybe you should gift her a new set? Something exquisite, but not obnoxious."

"There is a shop in Diagon Alley's upper district that Father likes" Daphne put in, and Ron looked to her. "It has some wonderful sets, both Muggle and Magical. I have a brochure in my trunk that you could use."

"Thanks, Daph" Ron beamed, and she nodded with a faint smile. _Why does she have that brochure though? She's horrible at Chess._ The bell rang, and they all stood up.

"Yay… Classes…" Tracey groaned. "You know, I'm feeling like it's a sick day today…"

"You certainly look sick" Millie chuckled, and Tracey grinned.

"Ohhh… Millie wants banter, does she?" Tracey wagged her eyebrows at the big girl. Ron's eyes fell towards something a little more interesting, and he zoned out his friends. He watched as Ginny left the Great Hall with Colin Creevey, the mousy boy talking animatedly as Ginny laughed with slightly rosy cheeks. _Hmmm…_

"Excuse me" Ron said to no one in particular, and then he quickly made his way towards Ginny and Colin. He saw them leave for the Courtyard, and that only made him more curious. _Don't they have class?_ Ron quickly caught up to them in the Courtyard, but they didn't spot him just yet. Ron took out his wand and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he walked up behind them slowly.

"So I've got loads of pictures of Harry" Colin admitted proudly, and Ginny smiled at him.

"Doesn't he… mind?" Ginny asked, and Colin shrugged.

"I don't think so" Colin said slowly. "He never says that he does, so I think that it's fine." _Harry?_

"What else have you photographed?" Ginny asked, she sounded rather interested. Colin smiled widely as he clutched his camera.

"I've got photos of the whole castle" Colin beamed. "The Whomping Willow, the Great Hall, the moving staircase, the Dungeons, Gryffindor Tower, and even the Library. Though Madam Pince yelled at me for that."

"She's just insane, don't worry about her" Ginny giggled, and Colin nodded fervently. _She's… making friends again._ Something in Ron's chest felt soothed at that, Pomfrey's help was clearly working for Ginny. _She has been a lot more like herself lately. This is great! Though I should probably leave for class. But not before I invite her to join the study group today. She could make even more friends this way._ Ron lifted the Disillusionment Charm, but they didn't notice him because he was behind them.

"Hello" Ron greeted with a smile, and both Gryffindors jumped.

"Ron!" Ginny frowned deeply, and Ron sniggered as he watched Colin jump in front of Ginny in a protective manner. _Brave lad._ Ron liked that Colin's first instinct was to protect his friend. The mousy boy had grown on Ron over the last month because of their study group.

"Where did you come from?" Colin asked with wide-eyed as Ginny moved past him and punched Ron's arms. Ron barely even registered the hit, his tolerance for pain had improved quite a lot over this year.

"I just wanted to say hello to you two" Ron shrugged, a wide grin on his face. "And to ask you two why you aren't going to class?"

"We have a free period" Ginny replied haughtily, her hands going to her hips in a defiant manner. _Awe, she's adorable._

"And I was just telling Ginny about my photos" Colin said in a placating manner.

"And we don't have exams, so what's the point of worrying about studies?" Ginny asked, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"Actually, I wanted to invite you to join my study group today" Ron said, and Colin began to smile. "Colin is a part of it, and so are a lot of other people."

"It's great, Ginny" Colin jumped in, his smile turned towards Ginny. "We all help each other with our homeworks, though I'm the only first year there."

"Harry mentioned it once" Ginny said in a thoughtful voice, and Ron blinked.

"When?" Ron asked.

"We practice for Quidditch sometimes" Ginny shrugged, though her voice betrayed how happy that made her. _Potter… What are you up to?_ Ginny noticed Ron's darkening mood, and she rolled her eyes. "It's just Quidditch, Ron" Ginny said, what was his problem? "And if I do join, can I bring Luna?"

"Of course, bring whoever you want" Ron nodded. _It's just Quidditch, don't make mountains out of molehills. Just breathe, and move on._ "It's after classes today, Colin can show you where. I'd best be off, I have to get to Charms." Ron left at that, his mind preoccupied with keeping his irritation at bay. _Just Quidditch, huh? What did Sirius say again? 'Let my Godson spread his wings a bit'? Well, spread them somewhere away from my sister._

* * *

 _ **Friday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Library – After Classes)**_

Ron sat with Luna, Ginny, and Colin as he helped them work through their Charms homework. Flitwick had turned the exam into an essay instead, and Ron was looking over their work on the Dancing Charm. Colin had the best amount of detail on it, and its uses. Ginny had only written as much as needed, and not listed any uses. Luna had written far too little about what the Charm did, and far too much about what it did to made up creatures. All in all, Colin was the only one of them that took his work seriously. That made Ron both annoyed, and frustrated with his sisters. Ginny was lazy, and Luna was… whatever Luna was.

He could see people, mostly the girls in the group, eyeing Ron helping the first years. They looked rather happy with Ron, so Ron didn't mind too much. The Hufflepuffs had warmed up a lot more towards him, and even towards Daphne and Millie. The Ravenclaws didn't mind sharing theories and answers with Ron anymore, but they still didn't talk much to Daphne and Millie. Lavender and Parvati always found ways to study alongside Ron, and they did study seriously. While Hermione still had her own little group within the overall study group which consisted of her, Harry, and Neville. A group that Ginny clearly wanted to be in, judging by the quick looks she was shooting towards Harry.

"Colin, can you help Ginny with her list of uses?" Ron asked, and Colin nodded.

"I was…" Ginny started, but stopped. "I was hoping to get Hermione's help, actually."

"Hermione's help?" Ron blinked, and Ginny nodded. "Alright…" Ron forced on a polite smile in order to hide his hurt, and Ginny quickly grabbed her things and moved over towards Hermione's group. _Why doesn't she want my help?_ Ron watched Hermione smile at Ginny as Ginny took a seat across from Harry, and that gave Ron his answer. _Fucking hell, that makes more sense. Her stupid crush on the 'Boy-Who-Lived' is still running strong?_ "Colin, help Luna instead please."

"Alright" Colin nodded as Luna stared at Ron. Her eyes followed his gaze, and a small smile graced her face.

"She's making friends" Luna whispered to him, and Ron turned to her.

"Who?" Ron feigned ignorance, but Luna just smiled knowingly.

"Ginny" Luna replied, and Ron gave a weak nod. "This is good for her, please think about that." Ron stared at her for a couple of seconds, and she stared back with her aloof smile. _She's right, Ginny needs this. Stop being so needy, you git._

"You're right" Ron forced another smile, and then he looked to Colin. "If you need me mate, I'll be over there" Ron pointed towards Daphne.

"Sure" Colin smiled, and then he turned to Luna. "Luna… What are Nargles?" _Ha, have fun with that._ Ron walked over towards Daphne as Luna excitedly started telling Colin about her delusions.

"Hi, mind if I sit here?" Ron asked Daphne, and she looked up at him with tired eyes. Ron took a seat, and he gave her a worried look. "Daph, what's the matter?"

"That" Daphne jerked her head towards Millie, and Ron looked to see Millie discussing cats with Lavender. _Yeesh._ "They've been going on for twenty minutes, Ron… I can't take it anymore. I have half a mind to murder their cats tonight."

"Merlin" Ron pulled a face, but Daphne just stared at him.

"Do something to entertain me, I'm bored" Daphne huffed, and Ron bit back a chuckle.

"We're here to study, Daph" Ron told her.

"About cats?" Daphne asked with a deadpan voice, and Ron looked over to see Parvati studying with the Hufflepuffs.

"We can join them" Ron said as he kept his gaze on the Hufflepuffs, and Daphne looked over to them as well.

"No thanks, I don't like the way Macmillan looks at me" Daphne huffed again, and Ron looked to her with a confused look.

"How does he 'look' at you?" Ron asked.

"Like he wants to ask me out on a date" Daphne shrugged, and Ron tensed involuntarily. Daphne noticed him tensing, and a mischievous smile found its way onto her face. "Jealous, Ron?" she asked sweetly.

"No" Ron lied bluntly, there was no humor in his voice anymore. "Do you like him?"

"Hmmm" Daphne's smile became even more mischievous. "He isn't so bad, and he's a Pure-Blood as well. Maybe I will join them, now that I think about it." Daphne got up to leave, fully expecting Ron to stop her. But when he didn't, she walked over and joined the Hufflepuffs and Parvati who welcomed her with smiles. _So friendly, aren't they?_ Ron's eyes went towards Macmillan, and the stout looking boy was certainly pleased with Daphne joining them. Despite being a bit stout, Macmillan definitely had a more handsome face than Ron's, something which sent a jolt of anger and jealousy through Ron. _Great, first Ginny ditches me for Harry, and now Daphne's left me here with Lavender and Millie._

Ron looked away from the Hufflepuffs, he was being unreasonably needy for some reason. _What's wrong with me? I'm here to study, and to make allies with these people. And things are going in my favor._ Ron looked around to see everyone getting along well, but he still felt vexed because he was sitting alone. _If I join Daphne, that's just going to make it clear to her that I'm jealous of Macmillan liking her. I'm not giving her that satisfaction._ Ron got up and went to find a book to read. _Maybe something on Wandless Magic? Yeah, definitely. I'm getting better at it, but not fast enough._ He found himself perusing through a shelf in the Records Section, there were a lot of choices to pick from. _Hmmm, it's a shame that I won't have these books around when I'm back home._

"What are you doing?" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and he jumped a bit.

"Bloody hell" Ron sighed as he turned around, and he saw her eyeing him with a frown. "I'm trying to find a book to read. Don't have any homework to do."

"I don't care about that" Daphne huffed. "Why didn't you join me?"

"You looked fine" Ron turned back to the shelf, and Daphne stomped over to him.

"I wanted you to come with" Daphne told him, and he turned back around. "Or to stop me from leaving." _What?_

"Then why would you leave to join them?" Ron asked. "Oh wait, you were trying to have some fun at my expense."

"Not fun" Daphne blushed, but kept her face straight. "You really didn't feel even a bit jealous? Not even a little bit?" Ron blinked at her, she looked rather annoyed… and troubled.

"No" Ron lied, and she blinked at him.

"Why?" Daphne asked, her voice coming out meeker than before. "I feel jealous when every girl pesters you for 'help'…" _Why would she admit that so openly? What's wrong with her?_

"Um…" Ron managed, what was he supposed to say to that? "I… I'm lying… I did feel a little… jealous…" Daphne suddenly smiled widely, and Ron nearly punched himself in the head. _For fuck's sake, why am I so stupid?_

"Awww" Daphne cooed. "That's sweet, Ron."

"Daphne, why are you doing this?" Ron frowned. "Are you trying to spoil my mood? What's the point of making me look like an idiot for no reason?"

"An idiot?" Daphne looked taken aback. "Ron, I wasn't trying to do that. I just wanted you say that you didn't like Macmillan liking me…"

"So why not just ask how I felt about it?" Ron frowned more deeply. "I'm not good at this stuff, you know that."

"But we play around like this all the time" Daphne blinked, and then she took on a more concerned look. "This isn't about me, is it? What's wrong?" Ron turned back to the shelf, all he wanted was to read a book and not deal with Daphne's 'games'. "You can't ignore me, Ronald Weasley. I won't leave until you tell me what's got you so wound up." Ron glared at the books in front of him, and Daphne suddenly pinched his side. Ron jerked upwards, and then he turned around to face her.

"Nothing is bothering me, I just want to read a book on Wandless Magic" Ron said, and Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Do you remember our deal?" Daphne reminded him, and Ron huffed. "You said that you wouldn't keep bottling things up, and you promised that if you couldn't talk about it, I had the right to pester you about it."

"I remember" Ron muttered, and Daphne took a step closer to him. "Daph… We're in a public place…"

"So? Tell me what's wrong, and I'll step back" Daphne smirked.

"Ginny…" Ron mumbled, and Daphne gave him a confused look.

"She looks fine to me" Daphne said as she stepped back. "Happier than I've seen her in a while, actually."

"Harry and she are playing Quidditch together…" Ron averted his gaze as he shuffled in his spot. "She's been practicing with me as well, but she never once mentioned Harry… Now I know why she often practices without me… And just now… She ditched me to study with him instead…" Daphne smiled genuinely, and she reached forward and pinched his left cheek. "What was that for?" Ron rubbed his left cheek.

"You're worried about her" Daphne told him, her voice gentler now. "Whenever Tori starts acting like she prefers Tracey over me, I get really worked up too. You want your sister to pay attention to you rather than your friend."

"I'm being stupid…" Ron rubbed the back of his head. "And needy…"

"You are" Daphne nodded, and Ron's shoulders slumped. "But you have that right, Ron. She's been through a lot, and you want to be the one who helps her through everything. But she's finding her own way to deal with it, and you feel left out." Ron nodded weakly. _I'm being an utter girl about this, but it's been bothering me all day. Ever since she told me about Harry and her playing Quidditch, I keep finding ways to get annoyed._

"What do you do about Tori?" Ron asked Daphne, and she leaned against the shelf to her right.

"I let her enjoy Tracey's company" Daphne admitted. "Tori spends all day at the Manor by herself, and I know that it must be horribly lonely for her. So I swallow my pride, and I let her play with Tracey to her hearts content."

"So I shouldn't be bothered by her liking Harry more than me?" Ron asked, and she clicked her tongued.

"I didn't say that" Daphne replied. "What I'm saying is that Ginny needs this, and as her brother, you should respect that. You can't be the one to always fix everything. That's not how things work. She's been through the worst year of her life, and she is finally moving forward in a meaningful way. Just because you aren't needed right now doesn't mean that you won't be needed later. Sometimes you just have to step aside, even if it makes you feel left out." _But why Harry? He's a danger to her. He is connected with the Dark Lord, and that could endanger Gin._ "And she doesn't like Potter more than you. You're her brother, and that can never change." Ron looked up at that, and he smiled a little.

"You're right" Ron nodded slowly, and she shrugged. "I'm still her blood, and I can still help her. All she has to do is ask."

"There you go" Daphne smiled. "Feel better?" _I do, actually. She is making friends, and not being an introvert anymore. That's what matters, right? I shouldn't hold that against anyone, much less Ginny herself._

"Thanks, Daph" Ron took in a deep breath, and then he stepped forward and pecked her lips.

"Ron… Public place, remember" Daphne said as she looked behind her. "What if someone saw that? Normal friends don't give each other pecks like we do… Everyone with a brain knows that."

"Sorry" Ron shrugged with an easy smile. "You always find some way to cheer me up… And I'm really grateful for that…"

"Well…" Daphne's cheeks became rosy. "It's no worries…"

"Want to head back?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded.

"Remember what I said" Daphne said as they began walking back. "If Ginny needs you, she'll come to you. Don't pressure her, or make her worry."

"I won't" Ron agreed. _If she needs me, she'll come to me. And I'll help her in whatever way I can._

* * *

 _ **Friday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Library – After Classes)**_

There it was again, Ginny was once again spending her time in Hermione's little group. Ron had spent the last week noticing that Ginny was hovering near the Golden Trio more and more, and although that bothered him, he kept it to himself. Despite trying too hard to be friends with Harry's group, Ginny was also quickly becoming popular with the girls in her year. She laughed more often, argued her opinions, practiced Quidditch on her Comet 260 as often as she could, and she even dragged Luna around with her everywhere she went. She was slowly returning to her usual self, and Ron took joy in that fact. But due to her ever increasing activities, she stopped even looking in his direction. Luna joined Ron for breakfast often, but Ginny had completely stopped.

"Ron, you're staring" Millie whispered, and Ron blinked and looked to her.

"Sorry?" Ron asked.

"You're staring at Granger's group" Millie whispered. "What's the matter?" _Nothing, I'm just being an idiot._

"Nothing" Ron shrugged, and he looked to the Hufflepuffs. Ron, Daphne, and Millie were studying with the Hufflepuffs, and it was going well. The Ravenclaws were helping Luna and Colin with their work, especially Padma who adored Luna.

"I don't get why Professor Dumbledore is giving us more and more homework lately" Susan Bones groaned, and the Hufflepuffs nodded in agreement. "We're leaving in a week anyway…"

"Who do you reckon is going to be our next D.A.D.A Professor?" Justin asked, and then he looked to the Slytherins. Ron had noticed that Justin kept looking to them in order to include them, and Ron kind of liked that. Justin, and the other Hufflepuffs, were quite alright in Ron's books. _Even Macmillan, despite his constant smiles towards Daphne, is a good bloke._

"Maybe Professor Snape" Millie suggested, she was also enjoying the Hufflepuffs' warm demeanors.

"I hope not" Hannah Abbot blurted out, and then she went a little wide-eyed. "Sorry…" she said to the Slytherins, and Ron held back a laugh. _Snape is a menace, you won't find me arguing that._

"He can be… unfair to the other Houses" Daphne said with forced politeness, and the Hufflepuffs blinked. She was doing her best not to roll her eyes at their constant whining because this was clearly important to Ron. "But if you do your work properly, he usually doesn't bother you." _Well, she's putting up with them at least. And I know that it's only for my benefit._ All the Hufflepuffs suddenly went wide-eyed, and then they averted their gazes like frightened rabbits. _What the…?_

"Mr. Weasley" came an icy voice from behind him, and Ron turned around with a wide smile. _Speak of the devil, and he shall appear._

"Good Evening, Sir" Ron greeted Snape, who was currently eyeing Ron's study group with disgust. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yes" Snape looked to Ron, his face morphing into an expressionless mask. "Come with me." With that, Snape turned around and began walking away.

"I'll take your books down" Millie offered, and Ron nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, Mills" Ron said gratefully, and then he began following Snape. He noticed people looking at him and Snape, especially the Trio and Ginny. _Damn, it must be urgent if he's coming to me in public._ Ron followed Snape towards the Headmaster's Office, and he broke his silence when they were alone. "Sir, did something happen?"

"Yes" Snape replied, and then there was silence.

"What happened?" Ron asked after waiting for a few seconds.

"The Headmaster is leaving Hogwarts tonight for some urgent business" Snape replied. _What urgent business? Does this have something to do with the upcoming war?_ "Rainbow Bites" Snape said to the stone gargoyle. "Up you go, Mr. Weasley. I will not be joining you tonight."

"Why not?" Ron blinked.

"Because I cannot stomach being near **him** right now" Snape replied in a venomous tone, and then he billowed away. _What the fuck? What's happened?_ Ron ran up the steps, and he knocked on the door firmly.

"Come in, Ronald" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron walked in and shut the door behind him. Dumbledore was wearing a traveling cloak, and he was standing by a suitcase. _What the…?_

"Headmaster? Are you truly leaving?" Ron asked as he approached the old man, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"Yes, I am" Dumbledore admitted.

"Where?" Ron asked. "The school year isn't finished yet? Does this have something to do with the Dark Lord? Why is Professor Snape so angry with you?" Dumbledore raised a hand to stop Ron, a kind smile on his face.

"I am traveling to the Ministry first for some Wizengamot business, and then I will be leaving for Albania" Dumbledore replied, and Ron went wide-eyed. _Albania? Where the Dark Lord is?_

"Why? Did something happen? Is **he** on the move?" Ron asked quickly.

"No, nothing of that sort" Dumbledore replied. "But your words have changed my outlook on many things, Ronald. I thank you for that. I now know that I have become victim to inaction, and that it will be the end of us all. I will travel to Albania, and try to find Lord Voldemort. He is weakened, and I might be able to capture him."

"Might?" Ron muttered, his panic rising. "Capture?" _Not kill?_

"I will not blindly confront him, of course" Dumbledore assured Ron. "I will try and find out where he is hiding, and should I find out where, then I will plan and act accordingly. There must be trail for me to follow." Ron just stared at Dumbledore like he had five heads, and Ron felt his own breathing become shallower by the second. _What if he dies out there?!_

"Headmaster… You could die…" Ron managed. "Why haven't I heard anything about this until now?" Dumbledore gave him a paternal smile in response. "Don't go… If you die, everything could fall apart…"

"You place a much higher value on my piece than I deserve" Dumbledore said with his smile in place. "You were right, Ronald. We waited for far too long… **I** waited for far too long. And no, I have no intention of dying just yet. I simply wish to lure him out of hiding, or to capture him if fate smiles upon me."

"Capture?" Ron asked again. "Why capture him instead of killing him outright?"

"I believe that that is someone else's role" Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked. Dumbledore then adorned a more serious look, and he looked into Ron's eyes. "If I do not return, Minerva McGonagall will take my place. I have left instructions for her just in case I do not return. You must tell her what you told me. Promise me that." Ron could only stare in utter disbelief, his mind lagging behind. "And remember this. Harry is the key to the Dark Lord's downfall, I truly believe that. But he will need your help." Dumbledore then reached to grab his suitcase, and Ron grabbed onto Dumbledore's free arm out of some childish need to stop him from leaving. Dumbledore looked to Ron with a hint of surprise, but then his features softened considerably.

"Don't go alone at least… Please…" Ron all but begged, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's. "Tell the Ministry… The Aurors…" Dumbledore put his suitcase down, and then he put a firm hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"Ronald, I have told you that I cannot turn to the Ministry… yet" Dumbledore said gently as he squeezed Ron's shoulder in a paternal manner. "This is only the first step towards our war against him."

"We'll lose the war if you die before it even starts" Ron argued, his tone slightly bratty.

"In war, people die" Dumbledore told him, and Ron's eyes stung a bit. "War is violent, it is unforgiving, and it does not care for the sorrow of people. But if we are to fight in another one, then we must fight with steeled resolve. I may or may not return, but I will tell you this again… I do not intend to die just yet. Your Future is what you make it, Ronald. You of all people **must** understand that." Ron was about to plead some more, but Dumbledore's Office was breached by Hagrid who rushed in from the front door.

"Dumbledore Sir… I jus' heard that ye migh' be leavin'…" Hagrid's voice boomed, he was clearly out of breath. Hagrid's eyes then fell on Ron and Dumbledore, and then to Dumbledore's hand on Ron's right shoulder. "I haven' interrupted nothin', have I?"

"No, Hagrid" Dumbledore smiled as he let go of Ron's right shoulder. "And yes, I am indeed departing for some Wizengamot business. I'm afraid that I will be gone for some time." Hagrid nodded slowly, whilst Ron focused on keeping his composure. _Why won't he at least ask for someone for help? And what happens if he does die? Everything will be ruined! I should never have told him anything!_

"How long?" Hagrid asked.

"As long as it takes" Dumbledore replied, and Hagrid nodded slowly again. Dumbledore then turned to Ron with a kind smile. "You may return to your day, Ronald. Until we meet again." Ron cursed Hagrid for his timing because now he had to keep up appearances.

" **Please** take care, Headmaster" Ron said as firmly as he could, and then he walked past Hagrid's large frame. Ron marched down the steps, and he stopped at the stone gargoyle. _Fucking fuck! Snape's Office, that's where I should go. I need to ask him to do something about this._ Ron began making his way down to the Dungeons, and after a few minutes, he found himself in front of Snape's Office. Ron knocked on the door a little too hard, and Snape answered.

"Come in" came Snape's voice, and Ron walked in. But he stopped when he saw Malfoy sitting across from Snape, the two were clearly having a conversation about something. _Great, this twat chooses now to have a chat with his Godfather._ Malfoy turned to see Ron, and he instantly sneered at the red-head. Ron felt the need to roll his eyes, but he kept himself in check. "Mr. Weasley, can't this wait?" Snape asked in an icy tone. _Fuck no!_

"Of course, Sir" Ron sighed as he stepped back out of the Office. Ron then closed the door behind him, his head hurting from irritation. _Malfoy and Hagrid, both of them have the worst timing in history._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Friday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Dinner – Great Hall)**_

"May I have your attention please?" came McGonagall's voice, and Harry looked towards the staff table. McGonagall was standing at Dumbledore's podium, whilst the Headmaster was still missing from the Great Hall. "I have announcement to make on behalf of the Headmaster. Headmaster Dumbledore has been called away on some important business, and as such, he has departed already. His D.A.D.A classes will not run next week, as he is not expected back for quite some time." There were loud murmuring at that, and Harry looked to his friends with a worried expression. _Important business? He was here at breakfast, and now he's just gone?_ Harry looked to the Slytherins to see their reactions, and he frowned when he saw that they didn't even look like they cared. But then he spotted Ron, who was just looking down at his plate indifferently, and Harry's gaze lingered on his friend.

"You will have spare periods during those classes" McGonagall went on, and Harry looked back to McGonagall. "I will be acting as temporary Headmistress during the final week, so if you have any inquiries, come to my Office. That is all, please continue with your dinners." McGonagall left the podium at that, and she took her usual seat. Harry watched Dumbledore's empty seat with a slight frown. _He wouldn't just leave out of the blue, would he?_

"Where do you think he went?" came Seamus' voice, and Harry looked to his housemate.

"Probably something to do with his Ministry work" Hermione answered, and Harry looked to her with a confused look.

"He works at the Ministry? How do you know that?" Harry asked, and Hermione smiled widely at the chance to give information out. Seamus and the others in their year rolled their eyes at her enthusiasm, and Harry found that rather vexing. _Leave her be, you gits._

"I read about it in the Daily Prophet" Hermione replied with a matter-of-fact tone that didn't match her wide smile. "He is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Harry." _Oh right, he oversaw Sirius' trial didn't he?_ Hermione saw that Harry had remembered Dumbledore's part in Sirius' trial, and she mentally patted her own back.

"Strange though" Neville said to himself. "Why would he just leave out of the blue? I haven't read about anything happening in Wizarding England that requires his attention." Harry looked to Neville with a curious look.

"Maybe it's a ruse?" Harry whispered, and Neville blinked. "What if there is something else going on?"

"Maybe…" Neville said slowly, clearly not having the same train of thought as Harry.

"Remember the Stone?" Harry whispered, his mind trying to find some connection to explain Dumbledore's sudden disappearance.

"Shhh" Hermione shushed him with a panicked look. "Harry, there are people around us…" Harry looked around to see everyone talking to each other animatedly, none of them even looking at the Trio.

"Hermione, no one is looking at us" Harry said with a slight frown.

"No, but they might be listening" Hermione frowned back. "We can talk about this later, when we're alone."

"I agree with her, mate" Neville said gently, and Harry sighed and nodded. _Alright, I'll wait._ Harry looked over to Ron again, and this time, Ron was looking back. Harry blinked, but he didn't look away from the red-haired boy. Ron seemed to be staring right at him, and then, he just looked down at his plate again. _What was that?_

"Harry?" Hermione nudged him, and Harry looked to see her giving him a sympathetic smile. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh… Sorry." _What?_

"Oh, no" Harry smiled back. "Don't worry about it… I just saw Ron staring at me, and it was a weird look as well. He looked… confused for a second."

"Maybe he's wondering the same thing as you?" Neville suggested as he shot a look back towards Ron, who was now talking to Nott about something. _Maybe._

"What do you reckon Snape wanted with him today?" Harry asked, and both Neville and Hermione shrugged.

"Slytherin business maybe" Hermione replied. _'Maybe'… It's always maybes wherever Ron is concerned._ Harry didn't want to admit this, but he still found himself questioning Ron's behavior at times. Despite everything that had happened between them, they had both decided to stay friends. Harry knew that he wasn't blameless in the mess that was this year, but Ron had shown a side of himself that Harry genuinely never wanted to see again. _But it's still there, and it always will be. And what's happening with him and the adults? And even Dumbledore? I have so many questions that I want to ask him._

"Mate, aren't you hungry?" Neville asked, and Harry looked down at his empty plate.

"Yeah, just thinking is all" Harry replied as he began putting food on his plate.

"About Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded.

"Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus… Ron…" Harry sighed, and Hermione's ears perked up at the mention of Ron.

"What about Ron?" Neville asked before Hermione could.

"Just… him in general" Harry replied slowly, and both of his best friends blinked. "I just feel like we don't know anything about him at all, you know." Neville nodded at that, while Hermione looked over at Ron eating his food quietly. "I don't know… I want to ask him more about himself, but I don't want to overstep."

"Harry, that's great to hear" Neville smiled at Harry finally controlling his overzealous curiosity. "And I have similar thoughts about him, but I know now that he isn't a bad bloke. I think he deals with things that we don't fully understand, and our lack of contact with him doesn't help us."

"Exactly" Hermione beamed, and Neville smiled a little more. "I think we should try and talk to him more often." _I don't think that's what Neville meant at all, but I do agree with her. He doesn't really look like he fits in with the Slytherins._

"The Break starts next Friday, Hermione" Harry shrugged. "We're all going home, and you're going back to Muggle London."

"I can visit whenever I want though… right?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded firmly.

"Please do, or I'll be bored to death" Harry reassured her, and she smiled widely.

"Then I'll visit as often as I can" Hermione said happily, and Neville sniggered. "What?"

"Nothing" Neville shrugged, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Come to Longbottom Manor too please, I'd appreciate that."

"Oh, of course I will" Hermione nodded. "And you'll both come visit me too, right?"

"Yes, Hermione" they both answered together, and she looked ecstatic.

"Ohhh, I can show you my favorite places" Hermione said, talking more to herself than them. Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and they bit back their laughter. Hermione's excitement was almost contagious, mostly because she didn't get this excited often.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Hagrid's Hut – Midday)**_

They had discussed Dumbledore's disappearance, but come up with nothing at all. The truth was that they didn't really know much about what Dumbledore got up to when he wasn't teaching D.A.D.A, and that bothered Harry a little. Dumbledore, other than Hagrid, Sirius, and Remus, was perhaps the only adult that Harry truly admired. And yet, he knew nothing of the man save for his love of sweets and ten-pin bowling. There were other adults that Harry admired of course, but Dumbledore was certainly the highest on his list. Sirius, Remus, and Hagrid were close seconds however, followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley and Augusta Longbottom. Basically the adults that treated him with genuine concern, and didn't assign him homework. The sound of knocking broke Harry out of his thoughts, and he saw that Neville had stepped up and knocked on Hagrid's Hut.

"Hello, ye three" Hagrid beamed as soon as he opened the door, and Harry could smell the fresh pot of tea. "I just made some tea, hop on in." The Trio moved past Hagrid, and he closed the door behind himself. Harry took his usual spot near Hagrid's chair, while Neville and Hermione sat on the couch together. Fang sat in between them, and Neville immediately started giving the big dog a rub behind the ears.

"How are you, Hagrid?" Hermione asked politely, and their massive friend smiled at her.

"Just the same as las' time, I reckon" Hagrid chuckled. "How're ye three?"

"Excited for the Break" Harry admitted, and Hagrid looked to him with a curious look. "Remus and Sirius, Hagrid… I live with them now, remember."

"Oh" Hagrid mumbled, and then he chuckled heartily. "Ye had me worried there fer a momen', Harry" Hagrid laughed as he began pouring tea into four mugs, and Harry smiled widely. _I can't wait for the Break! How crazy is that?!_ Harry felt giddy at the prospect of actually going back to a family that loved him. "Any plans fer the Holidays?" Hagrid asked as he handed out the mugs. "I also got some rock cakes, if yer feelin' hungry." _No, thanks._

"We saving space for lunch" Neville smiled. "I'm going to miss the food that they serve Hogwarts, that's for certain." Hagrid nodded with a smile as he took his seat, and the chair creaked almost as if in pain.

"So, plans?" Hagrid asked again.

"I'm staying with my parents, of course" Hermione announced. "But I'll be visiting Harry and Neville often, and they'll be visiting me too."

"I'm probably going to spend most of my time trying to dodge Sirius' endless pranks" Harry said, and he masked how excited he was for that.

"And I'll spend most of my time in the gardens back at the Manor" Neville shrugged. "What about you, Hagrid?"

"Oh, just mindin' the school fer the Professors" Hagrid replied. "Probably wait fer the Headmaster to come back." Harry's ear perked up at that, as did Hermione's.

"Do you know where he went?" Harry asked quickly, and Hagrid blinked.

"Some Wizengamo' business in…" Hagrid stopped. "Important Ministry business." _He knows!_ Harry looked to his friends, and they had picked up on Hagrid's reluctance as well.

"Does it have something to do with his position as the Chief Warlock?" Hermione asked, and Hagrid nodded. "How do you know for certain?" Harry fought the urge to smile, Hagrid tended to let things slip if he was questioned from different angles.

"Well, he told me didn' he?" Hagrid chuckled as he sipped his tea, and then he frowned at himself. "I shouldn' be telling ye this… No more questions abou' the Headmaster's business, alrigh'?"

"But Hagrid, we're just worried" Harry said gently, it was true.

"Worried abou' wha'?" Hagrid asked. "This is Albus Dumbledore yer talkin' abou', not yer average wizard. He'll be fine, trust me."

"What if he's going to a dangerous place?" Neville asked.

"Albania's not so bad…" Hagrid started, but then he frowned at them. "Yer three…" _Albania? Why Albania?_

"What's in Albania?" Hermione asked, and Hagrid shook his head.

"I don' know, and I didn' ask" Hagrid told them. "Headmaster Dumbledore is the greates' wizard in all of history, he can handle himself jus' fine. He's only goin' to attend some meetin' anyway. Now enough abou' that… Tell me about yer plans fer the last week." _We won't get anything else out of him now that he's onto us._

"I'm practicing Quidditch later today" Harry sighed out, he wanted more out of Hagrid.

"With Ginny?" Neville asked.

"And the twins" Harry nodded. "They saw us training together, and they weren't happy that Ron bought Ginny a better broom than their current ones."

"Ron?" Hagrid asked, and they all looked to him. "I saw a strange thing before the Headmaster left, he was talkin' with Ron in private." _Huh?_ Harry looked to his friends, and they looked equally as bewildered. "Now that I think abou' it, I've seen Ron with the Headmaster before. Talkin' to him alone abou' somethin'…"

"About what?" Harry asked immediately, his previous curiosity about Ron and Dumbledore's 'friendship' waking up.

"I don' know exactly" Hagrid shrugged. "Sounded importan' is all…" _What were they talking about? What does Dumbledore need to discuss with him in private? And he before he leaves as well? So Ron knew that Dumbledore was leaving… That's why he didn't look surprised last night. But why did he stare at me like that then? What's Ron's deal? Why is he always in such weird places all the time? What's happening with him and the adults? Ugh… I have a million questions, and they always come back to him somehow._ Whilst Harry was lost in his own mind, his best friends were looking at him with worried expressions. Harry's curious nature was getting the better of him, but this time, they both wanted answers too.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Snape's Office – Evening)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, and his eyes immediately fell on Snape behind his desk.

"Mr. Weasley, welcome back" Snape drawled, his eyes on his work.

"May we speak, Sir?" Ron asked, and Snape looked up and gave a curt nod. Ron took a seat in front of him, and Snape put away his quill. "The Headmaster left for Albania…"

"Indeed" Snape replied icily.

"Alone…" Ron sighed, and Snape took in a deep breath.

"Is there a point to this? Or do you simply enjoy the sound of your own whining?" Snape asked in a harsh tone, and Ron flinched a bit because of Snape's sudden ire. "What do you want me to say? Do you want to ask me about why I didn't stop him? Because I tried. All the Heads of Houses tried, but he was set on this. It's now clear to me that your words affected him deeply, just as they did me." _Alright, a lot to process there._

"So the Heads know as well" Ron stated, and Snape nodded curtly.

"He has signed on for genuine business within Albania to hide his true goal, but it required his immediate departure" Snape informed Ron. "All the staff know where he is going, he made sure to tell them. He did not tell them of his true purpose however, he only shared that with the Heads of Houses. And I imagine that you're the only student who knows where he's going, and why." _I see._

"What did you mean by 'my words affecting you'?" Ron asked, and Snape sneered slightly. _Fuck, I just kicked a sleeping Dragon didn't I?_ Snape suddenly relaxed, and his expression changed to one of indifference. _That was weird._

"Has Draco bothered you recently?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked.

"No…" Ron answered slowly, and then he realized what Snape meant. "You told him to leave me alone?"

"I told him to look in the mirror, and he himself did not like his reflection" Snape replied. "I did not do this for your benefit, but for his." _Alright, what's his problem with me?_

"Did I do something to vex you, Sir?" Ron asked, his own temper flaring. Snape's face darkened at Ron's tone, but Ron didn't back off. "I have been nothing but polite, I even left yesterday when I saw you with Malfoy… So what is it?" Snape and Ron stared at each other, and for some odd reason, Ron didn't feel any fear at all. _Why would I? I've faced the fucking Entity, and Snape's a kitten compared to it._

"I wish you never told me" Snape suddenly broke the silencing, and Ron let out an understanding sigh. "I wish I never learned of what awaits us, what truly awaits us… A World where **he** always wins."

"He won't win this time" Ron said softly, and Snape frowned slightly.

"You are not like the other children within this school, I will grant you that" Snape said in a cold whisper. "But you are far too young to truly fathom what kind of war awaits us all. Men, women, children… all dead. Their bodies in the streets, or missing. Spending every moment wondering who you're going to lose next." Snape then looked into Ron's eyes, and Ron held back a shudder. "You don't know war, boy."

"True" Ron admitted, and Snape cocked an eyebrow. "But if it wasn't for me, you and the Headmaster would still be living in a fairy-tale. I told you what you needed to hear in order for you to wake up and smell the shite heading our way. To stop sitting around, and to do something." _Oh fuck, I can't believe I said that! Entity, you'd better get ready to save me if he loses his temper._ Snape just stared at Ron with his cold eyes, and Ron did his best to not panic.

"How are things with your parasite?" Snape suddenly asked, and Ron found himself confused by his sudden inquiry.

"Are you asking me if it's still torturing me?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded once. _Shite, I can't tell him that the Entity has disappeared. I can't let them know that my surface thoughts are safe to read now._ "It… it comes and goes…" _That was a pathetic._ Snape's eyes widened a bit, and he swallowed.

"It… It won't kill you, will it?" Snape asked, his voice much softer now.

"It's tried before" Ron admitted, his own thoughts travelling back to his worst moments with the monster in his head. "I suppose it could whenever it decides that my Cycle has failed… or if it gets bored." Snape shifted in his seat a bit, but Ron didn't notice because he was remembering the time when the Entity broke his leg for fun. And then when the Entity broke his teeth in a fit of rage. And then the time when Ron faced the end of his life, and made his peace with death. Ron's grip tightened on his chair's handles, and he eyes became unfocused.

" ** _We will make you beg for mercy! Death will seem like a welcome embrace after we are done with you!_** " the Entity's terrifying voice rang out from Ron's memories, and he jerked out of his daze. His heart was beating in his throat, and he looked to see Snape looking at him with wide-eyes.

"Mr. Weasley?" Snape said. "Ronald? What is it?"

"Nothing…" Ron lied as he averted his gaze, his hands now trembling horribly. "I should go…" Ron stood up slowly, and he walked out of the Office almost as if he was in a dream. He didn't see Snape looking at him leave with a worried look. Snape had seen enough people suffering from Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder from the war to not miss its signs, Ronald had just had an episode of some sort right then and there. In the middle of a conversation… Snape clenched his hands into tight fists for being so stupid as to bring up the Entity to the boy.

"Severus, you fucking imbecile" Snape muttered to himself, and then he looked to see that Ronald had left the door open.

Ron walked towards the common room, and he shoved his shaking hands into his pockets. _Fucking calm down, breathe! Just breathe! It can't hurt you!_ Ron stood in front of the Slytherin entrance, and he stared at the wall. Why wasn't it opening for him? Ron took in a shaky breath, and he grit his teeth in frustration. _Why won't you calm down, you damn weakling?! Open already!_

"Open!" Ron hissed, and the wall moved aside. Ron quickly walked inside, and he made a beeline straight for his room.

"Ron, you're back" came Millie's distorted voice, and he looked over to see the girls and Blaise sitting near the fireplace. Ron then looked around to see that the common room was filled with people minding their own business. _Too many people, go to your room._ Ron walked off towards his dorm, while his friends just stared at him as he left. Ron walked into his room and closed the door behind him, and he felt his stomach heave. _I'm going to be sick… What's wrong with me? Calm down, just breathe like Pomfrey showed you._ Ron took in a deep breath, and that's when he noticed Theo staring at him from his desk.

"Ron?" Theo said as he gave Ron's face a quick study. "Mate? You're looking pale, you alright?"

"I'm fine" Ron replied as he made his way to his own bed, and he missed Theo going wide-eyed. "I'm going to take a nap, please just wake me up for dinner." Ron closed the curtains of his bed, and he slid into his emerald and silver covers. _You're fine, you're safe. It's gone, and it hasn't even muttered a word since 'She' saved me. Breathe, and think of Chess. Dumbledore will be fine too, he'll come back safe and sound. And we'll win. We'll save so many lives. Think of positive things._

* * *

 ** _Daphne Greengrass' POV_**

 _ **Saturday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Common Room – Evening)**_

"What was that?" Millie asked as Ron disappeared into the boys' dorm section. _What was that indeed?_

"Blaise, can you please go check on him?" Pansy asked, and Blaise sighed tiredly.

"He's fine, and Theo is currently writing a letter to his father" Blaise said as he sank more into his chair. "If something is wrong, Theo will come and get us." Daphne kept her composure, but she shot another look towards the boys' dorm.

"You don't think he's having another… moment… do you?" Tracey whispered to Daphne, and Daphne looked to her with a calm expression.

"I don't know" Daphne replied. "But I'll go and check." Daphne went to stand up, but then she saw Theo emerge from the boys' dorms with a confused look. _Yeah, something is definitely off._ Theo walked up to them, and then he just stood there with most confused look Daphne had ever seen.

"Theo? Was it Ron?" Tracey asked, and Blaise opened his eyes to look at Theo.

"Yeah…" Theo muttered, and then he shot a look towards the boys' dorms. "I just asked him if he was alright, and he replied… in Parseltongue…" _Parseltongue?_ Daphne immediately stood up.

"I'm going to check on him" Daphne told them, and they all just nodded. "Are you lot coming?" They all just gave her weird looks, and she found herself frowning at them. _They still don't know how to handle his stress moments, do they? None of them read the book that I let them borrow, did they?_

"I'm still reading through the book" Pansy admitted. "I haven't had a chance to finish it yet…"

"It's not that long" Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.

"I'll finish it soon" Pansy promised.

"There's nothing special about it" Daphne told them. "He just needs someone to listen to him most times, is that so hard?" Daphne then marched off towards Ron's room. _Pansy's had that book for over two weeks now._ Daphne knocked on his door, but there was no answer. She took in a deep breath, and she let herself in and closed the door. _He hasn't had a moment in a while, so I just need talk to him about what brought this on._ "Ron?" Daphne called, and she saw that his bed curtains were closed. Daphne approached them, and she grabbed the curtain. "Please don't be naked…" Daphne whispered to herself, and then she opened the curtain. He was just lying there, asleep. He had cocooned himself in his blankets, and he was still wearing his shoes.

"Ron?" Daphne whispered as she slowly sat down on the bed, but he didn't stir. Daphne noticed that he was looking a little pale, and that he was sweating in his sleep. Daphne let out a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding, and then she put her palm on his forehead. _He's slightly warmer than he should be, but nothing to worry about. How did he fall asleep so quickly? Was he exhausted from work? Probably. Father doesn't seem to understand that Ron is only a human being. I'll write to mother about this, and let her sort him out._ Daphne stood up, and closed the curtain again. "I'll come and get you for dinner."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Boys' Room – Before Dinner)**_

"Ron, wake up" Daphne shook him, and he groaned in his sleep. "Ron, dinner is about to be served." The word 'dinner' seemed to do the trick, and Ron's eyes opened. _Should've figured that that would do the trick._ Ron looked over to her, and then he shot up and tried to cover himself. Daphne giggled as she saw him wiggle about in his self-made cocoon.

"Daphne, what are you doing in here?" Ron asked. "Where are Theo and Blaise?"

"They left for the Great Hall" Daphne told him, and then she gave him a concerned look. "Ron, how are you feeling? Did you have another stress moment?" Ron escaped his cocoon, and then slid out of his bed.

"Um… yeah, sort of" Ron admitted as he went into the bathroom, leaving Daphne to wait for him. He came back after a couple of minutes looking considerably fresher, though still a bit paler than usual. "Want to head down to dinner?"

"Sure" Daphne replied as she got up, and they both left the room. _He's avoiding my question, but that's fine. I'll just ask in a more subtle way._ "How was your day with father?"

"Really good, actually" Ron smiled widely as they crossed into the common room. "I almost beat him today, and he was really pleased by that. But then he destroyed me anyway. It's like he can read my mind or something. Tori and Mary went shopping for the day, and yes they got you something as well. Lord Greengrass and I had the Manor to ourselves, so we played Chess in the Living Room."

"That sounds nice" Daphne smiled, but she quickly composed herself as they left the common room. There was no need for other people to see her smiling like a moron.

"Are you trying to find out when, and why, I had a moment?" Ron asked, and Daphne nearly frowned at being caught. "I think I'm on to you" Ron chuckled as he nudged her lightly.

"You haven't had one in a while, so what happened today?" Daphne asked, her voice coming out as more concerned than she intended. If she was being perfectly honest with herself, a small part of her disliked having to watch over Ron like this. Most girls her age worried about their looks, grades, or Witch Weekly's latest trends. But Daphne had to worry about Ron's mental state, and it sometimes overwhelmed her.

"Nothing happened, it just came on for some reason" Ron sighed out. "So I figured I'd take a nap, and save you guys the headache of dealing with me." Daphne stopped dead in her tracks, and Ron stopped shortly after. "Daph?" Ron asked as he eyed her with a confused look.

"Headache of dealing with you?" Daphne repeated, and Ron chuckled to himself.

"I know that I can be a handful when I'm like that" Ron shrugged. "It's why you're here, but the others are already at the Great Hall." _No…_ Daphne's stomach tightened at his words, had he realized that the others avoided him when he was having his moments? The small part of her that disliked having to care for Ron's mental state vanished, and it was replaced by a need to yell at her friends. "Thanks for getting me, by the way" Ron said casually. "I'm pretty hungry, and I'd hate it if I missed dinner."

"They're still learning how to handle your moments" Daphne blurted out, and Ron blinked at her. "I… I gave them my book, and they're reading through it. They don't avoid you because of any bad reason, they just don't know how to help you yet." _Why did I just defend them like that? They've had that book with them for almost a month, and none of them have even tried to finish it._

"Daph, it's fine" Ron smiled and shrugged. _No, it's not._ "None of you signed on for dealing with something like this, and I don't mind being avoided because of it. And I can be a real prat when I'm like that, you showed me that." _Why does he look so… not hurt by this? They're avoiding him, and he's fine with it?_

"Well, you have me to watch out for you" Daphne said firmly, and Ron blinked again. Then he broke into a grin.

"I know" Ron nodded, and then he offered her his arm. "May I escort you to dinner, my Lady?"

"You may" Daphne said as she took his arm, but she wasn't sharing his playful mood. "How is my sister doing?" Daphne decided to change the topic, she didn't like how angry she was beginning to feel on his behalf. _I'm going to rip into them the moment I get them alone._ She could understand why Pansy and Tracey didn't want to be around Ron when he was in a mood, he could say some really hurtful things when he was like that. But Millie? Theo and Blaise? Theo probably didn't want to ruin his standing with Ron, while Blaise didn't fix things until they broke. As for Millie, she would fight anyone to defend Ron. And yet, she clearly thought herself inept at dealing with something like Ron's own mind turning on him.

"Tori's doing great, and she's really excited for the Break" Ron smiled widely at the thought of Daphne's crazy sister. "She got told off again for kissing and cuddling me. I reckon your mother is at her wits end with Tori's behavior, especially because she's starting Hogwarts soon."

"I'm not surprised" Daphne sighed. "Tori has no intention of letting anyone dictate her behavior or life, that's just how she is."

"I like that about her" Ron admitted. "I don't think I could stand up to Mary if she was telling me off about something."

"You and I both" Daphne responded as they went down the steps leading into the Entrance Hall. "We should probably let go of each other now."

"You sound disappointed" Ron teased, and she huffed as she freed her arm.

"You wish, Ron" Daphne said coldly, and he just laughed at her tone. _Okay, maybe a little disappointed._ They made their way inside, and judging from the looks that most people sent their way, they were a bit late. "I think we're late" Daphne whispered.

"Astounding perception, my Lady" Ron teased, and she held back a laugh. They took their usual seats, with Ron in between the boys and Daphne across from him with the girls.

"About time" Theo smirked. "Did you get lost?" _No, his roommate is a self-serving coward._

"No, I was just showing Daphne your panty collection" Ron shot back, and everyone but Daphne sniggered at Theo.

"Why so much pink, Theo?" Daphne asked, and he shrugged with a grin.

"It suits me, that's all" Theo replied.

"Great way to start dinner" Tracey jumped in. "Most of mine are yellow." _Merlin! That's actually true!_ "As for the other girls…" Tracey went on, but Millie elbowed her in the ribs.

"No please, go on" Blaise smirked, and all the girls except for Tracey gave him deadpan looks. Daphne looked to see Ron already making his plate, clearly more interested in food than in panties. _Hmmm… I don't know if that's a good thing or not._

Dinner progressed as usual after that. Tracey and Theo bantered the most, Blaise made wisecracks every so often, and the others jumped in whenever they had something to say. Ron also ate four plate full of food, something that they all teased him for. But he didn't seem to mind anymore, he just ate as much as he pleased without a care in the world. Daphne herself ate two plates, but thankfully no one noticed that. She didn't want to be teased for eating more than a girl her age should. She was already self-conscious enough about her ever expanding chest, and the fact that the rest of her body wasn't catching up fast enough. It made her look, and feel, disproportionate. Her self-loathing stopped when the bell rang, and they all began to leave.

"I think Potter wants to talk to you, mate" Blaise said to Ron, and Ron gave him a confused look. "I caught the three leeches looking at you a dozen times over."

"And you didn't say anything?" Millie asked Blaise, and he shrugged.

"I'm saying something now" Blaise replied indifferently. They made their way out towards the Entrance Hall, and almost instinctively, they made a wall of sorts around Ron.

"Subtle" Ron sniggered, and Daphne rolled her eyes. _Either everything is a joke to him, or he stresses and burns out._ And then, almost as if on cue, the Trio quickly caught up to them.

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Granger asked, and they all stopped. _Bushy-haired hindrance. Do us all a favor and dropout already._ They all turned to face the Trio, and Daphne felt the urge to frown at their expectant looks. _Like dogs looking for scraps._ Even if Daphne had told Ron to step aside and let Ginny make her own friends, Daphne still didn't appreciate Granger's own little group within the study group. And the fact that Ron's own sister was keener to join Potter rather than her own brother rubbed Daphne the wrong way. _It might be good for her, but it's still annoying. Where is her sense of loyalty?_

"Talk about what?" Ron smiled, like he always did.

"It's um… private" Potter replied, and Theo let out an exaggerated sigh.

"They don't trust us" Theo pouted, and Tracey sniggered. The Trio looked rather vexed by Theo's comment, much to Daphne's joy.

"Ron!" came another voice, and they all saw Percy coming out of the Great Hall. "I need to talk to you about…"

"There he is!" one of the twins shouted, and Daphne saw Ginny following after them. She looked rather furious with the twins, while the twins looked mildly annoyed.

"A word, Ronnikins?" one of the twins asked.

"Leave him alone" Ginny snapped at them, while Daphne just looked around to see that they were all clogging the steps.

"He bought her a gift, it has nothing to do with you two" Percy frowned at the twins, and then he looked to Ron. "Ron, ignore these idiots please." _What gift? What is going on here?_

"What gift?" Ron asked.

"Her broom, and her gear" one of the twins replied.

"She doesn't even play Quidditch" the other one said.

"We play Quidditch" they said together. _Merlin, that's annoying. And which one is which one?_

"He doesn't have to get you two anything" Percy's frown deepened.

"Hold on…" Ron muttered but no one heard him.

"Can't this wait, we need to talk to Ron before he goes down to the Dungeons" Granger rolled her eyes at Ron's siblings.

"About what?" Pansy asked.

"Not your business" Granger shot back.

"I think it is" Blaise stepped in, clearly tired of this mess already. "I don't think I like you three getting him into trouble with your stupid schemes."

"He won't get in trouble, I promise" Longbottom said in a placating voice. "We just need a minute of his time, that's all."

"Wait your turn" one of the twins said.

"Family first" the other one sniggered.

"Ronnie, you missed our birthday" one of the twins said.

"No, I didn't…" Ron blinked at them. "I got you gifts from Paris, remember?"

"Damn, we missed that" one of the twins clicked his tongue.

"Ron, let's just go" Daphne whispered to him, and he looked at her with a blank stare. He was getting paler with all voices around him, and Daphne knew why. She had read about people recovering from stressed fueled moments in her book. And he was currently recovering from a moment, and they were overwhelming his senses with all the noise that they were making.

"Okay…" Ron nodded, and he turned to leave.

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape's voice, and Daphne nearly groaned from annoyance.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Entrance Hall – After Dinner)**_

Too many voices, smells, and people at once. They were smothering him, and all he could do was stare at them. The twins were upset with him for buying Ginny new gear and a new broom, but he had done that a while ago. Percy was annoyed with the twins for being annoyed with Ron, while Ginny was just defending her belongings by defending Ron's actions. Too many voices, smells, and people at once. What did the Trio want from him? And why were his friends starting an argument with them? Didn't Ron ask them to stop? Ron could feel his breathing becoming unsteady, but he tried his best to look normal. Everyone was here at the same time, and he couldn't give his problems away. Too many voices, smells, and people at once. And they were all aimed at him.

"Ron, let's just go" Daphne whispered to him, and he felt her warm breath brush his right cheek. He looked to her, and she looked back with her composure in check. _She's worried, I can see it in her eyes. Maybe I_ _ **should**_ _just leave, it's better than being smothered by everyone._

"Okay…" Ron nodded, and he turned to leave.

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape's voice, and Ron felt Daphne tense. All the voices stopped, and Snape walked past everyone. "Come with me, I wish to speak with you." Ron looked at the expressionless face of Severus Snape, and he nodded. Snape then turned to everyone else, and he sneered at them. "Don't you all have common rooms to be in?" Snape hissed. "Get out of everyone's way at once." Percy woke up at that, and he noticed that they were clogging the way for other people. Ron missed Percy flying into action because Snape slightly nudged Ron to move towards the Dungeons.

Ron did as he was told, and he left the large group behind. His friends trailed after Snape, while Ron walked ahead of everyone. He was already feeling better, and the cold atmosphere of the dungeons was helping him. Ron's friends turned to leave for the common room, while Ron walked with Snape towards his Office. Snape moved ahead and unlocked the door with a flick of his wand, and he let Ron inside.

"Feel better?" Snape asked suddenly, and Ron looked to him with a blank look.

"I do" Ron admitted.

"Take a seat, I'll get you something to help your nerves" Snape said, his voice still cold despite offering help. Ron took a seat, and he watching Snape pour some sort of Tonic into a glass. _Why is he being… nice? He wants something from me, doesn't he?_ Snape handed him the glass with the light purple Tonic in it.

"What's in this?" Ron asked, and Snape frowned.

"It is not poison, if that's what you're referring to" Snape said with a blunt voice, and Ron blushed a bit.

"I didn't… Sorry" Ron apologized, and then he drank down the Tonic quickly. It was sweet, and really cold. "Woah… That was nice…" Ron breathed out as Snape took the glass from him. "What was that?"

"My own creation" Snape answered. "A Tonic consisting of powdered Moonstone, and Syrup of Hellebore."

"Those are two of the four ingredients used in the Draught of Peace" Ron noted, and Snape turned to face Ron. "You gave me one last year, and I looked into it" Ron shrugged, and Snape smirked slightly.

"Potion Crafting is an art that not many can master" Snape said, his voice almost boastful. "Knowing the properties of the ingredients used is a key factor that determines who's an amateur, and who's a master." _And I don't know much about ingredients. I just know which Potion requires which._

"Sir… Why did you pull me away?" Ron asked, his stomach feeling nice and cool. Snape walked over and sat behind his desk, his eyes fixed on Ron's.

"I wished to apologize" Snape stated, and Ron's mouth hung open. "Close your mouth, or are you aiming to catch flies?" Snape snapped, and Ron closed his mouth immediately. Snape breathed out loudly, his greasy hair swaying back and forth. "I am sorry for bringing up… the Entity."

"Oh…" Ron managed as he shifted in his seat.

"I was out of line, and I apologize" Snape apologized. _Bloody hell, this is a historic day._

"I accept your apology" Ron responded, and Snape nodded curtly. "And I'm sorry for being so… rude to you when we spoke about the Headmaster's departure." Snape nodded again, and he relaxed into his seat. "He'll be fine, won't he?" Ron asked before he could stop himself. Snape stared at Ron for a few seconds, while Ron cursed his childish inquiry.

"He is not a fool, and he is more powerful than you can imagine" Snape replied. "He may act like some crackpot, but he is the man who defeated Gellert Grindelwald in a three hour long Duel. He is also the man that kept Wizarding England in one piece during the last war, and helped put it back together." Ron nodded, feeling slightly better. "He will be fine, Ronald."

"Thanks" Ron managed a weak smile. He didn't trust Dumbledore completely, but he liked the old man nonetheless. Dumbledore was a constant source of warmth, one that had seen Ron's troubles long before he was diagnosed. And despite Ron's annoyance at Dumbledore's inaction, he was the first person that Ron had thought to turn to about the Future. "He said something rather odd to me before he left."

"What did he say?" Snape asked.

"Something about Harry being the key to the Dark Lord's destruction" Ron replied, and Snape rolled his eyes. "Do you know what he meant by that?"

"You should ask him when he returns" Snape answered, clearly not keen on discussing Harry. _He really doesn't like Harry much, does he?_

"And if he doesn't?" Ron asked, and Snape frowned.

"He will" Snape replied. "Albus Dumbledore has survived far worse than a weakened Dark Lord."

"This is **the** Dark Lord" Ron said.

"That's what people said about Grindelwald, and yet, Albus defeated him."

"Alright" Ron nodded, he could do little else but trust Snape on this matter. "Is there anything else, Sir?"

"No" Snape replied, and Ron stood up. "Goodnight, Mr. Weasley."

"You can call me Ron… if you want" Ron suggested, and Snape just stared at him for almost ten seconds. _Did I overstep?_

"Very well… Ron" Snape said, it sounded slightly forced but Ron didn't mind at all.

"Goodnight, Sir" Ron smiled widely, and Snape frowned slightly at Ron's annoying 'smiling habit',

* * *

 _ **Monday 22**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"You weren't at the Great Hall yesterday during meal-times" Pomfrey stated. "Is there a reason why?"

"Um… not really" Ron lied, and she just stared at him. _Damn, she's onto me._ Ron had spent yesterday avoiding people, and so he had spent all day in his room going over notes for next year. Marty had brought him his meals, so he didn't go hungry at least. "Alright… I was avoiding people."

"Did you feel overwhelmed?" Pomfrey asked.

"I had another moment on Saturday" Ron told her, and she nodded in understanding. "I know that I haven't had one in a while, but it just came out of nowhere." _Just like Dumbledore's decision to pack his bags and leave._

"That's alright, Ron" Pomfrey assured him. "What matters is that you've handled it without causing too much damage to your routine."

"Daphne said the same thing" Ron smiled, and Pomfrey smiled back. "She was worried that I was going to take it out on everyone, but I just took a nap instead. And then I spent yesterday studying, and now I feel much better."

"Well done, Ron" Pomfrey said in a genuine voice, and Ron patted his own back mentally. "Did you go for your run yesterday?"

"I did, but it was before anyone was even awake" Ron nodded. "Theo and Blaise joined me as usual, they're getting rather good at it." _They're all making progress in positive ways. Even Tracey is working hard to improve her Dueling, and she isn't just giving up. I just need to be patient._

"That's good to hear" Pomfrey stated. "Now, let's talk about what's on your mind instead." Ron lay down on the couch, and he relaxed.

"I have thinking about next year, and what it might entail…"

* * *

 _ **Monday 22th June, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – End of Session)**_

"Our time is up" Pomfrey stated, and Ron looked to the clock.

"That hour went by fast" Ron said as he sat up, and Pomfrey nodded. He was finally opening up more and more, but the Break had her concerned for his progress.

"Ron, as you know already, the Holidays are coming up" Pomfrey said, and Ron nodded. _I had no clue, please tell me more._ "And that means that our sessions will have to wait until the next school year starts."

"Oh…" Ron muttered.

"However, if you ever feel the need to talk, I stay at the school during the Holidays" Pomfrey stated, and then she handed Ron a note. "Give this to Professor McGonagall. She is also staying behind during these Holidays, and the note will let her know that you might sometimes use her fireplace to floo into Hogwarts in order to see me."

"So I can just come in whenever I feel… overwhelmed?" Ron asked.

"Yes" Pomfrey smiled. "I would highly recommend that. Though I do volunteer at St. Mungo's on the weekends, so you may need to think about that."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey" Ron smiled. "I really appreciate this. And if I don't see you before the Break starts, please enjoy your Holidays."

"Same to you, Ron" Pomfrey smiled back, and Ron made his way out of the Office. _She's actually pretty great. I should hand McGonagall this note right now, before I end up forgetting about it. She's probably in her Office, so I'll go straight there._ Ron began making his way towards McGonagall's Office, which was on the first floor. But luckily for him, he spotted her near the Entrance Hall. She was scolding a pair of older Ravenclaw girls about 'indecent behavior' in public, and so Ron waited for her to finish. Once the girls were properly reprimanded, they walked off with deep blushes on their faces.

"Professor, may I have a word with you?" Ron asked politely, and McGonagall turned to him with a slight frown.

"Of course, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall nodded, and then she beckoned him to come forward.

"Here" Ron said as he handed over Pomfrey's note, which she began reading immediately.

"I see…" McGonagall stated, and then she fixed her gaze on him. "Mr. Weasley, are you not already able to floo into Professor Snape's Office?"

"Well, yes I am" Ron replied.

"You may continue using that for your needs" McGonagall said. "I will speak to him myself, and explain the situation."

"What if he says no?" Ron asked, and she pursed her lips.

"Has he refused you yet?" she asked, and Ron shook his head. "Then you have nothing to worry about. Now, anything else? I am currently very busy."

"No, that's it" Ron smiled. "Take care, Headmistress." _I bet she'll like that._ She gave him an odd sort of smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. _She knows about Dumbledore's mission, but not of my involvement. I bet she's worried about him too._

"I will see you at dinner, Mr. Weasley" McGonagall said, and then she was gone. _Hmmm, now what? I could go to the Sanctuary and practice my Dueling, or I could enjoy the day and relax with my friends. Hmmm… Sanctuary it is._ Ron turned to start heading up to the seventh floor, but something caught his eye. It was Ginny, and Harry. They were both wearing their Quidditch gear, and had their brooms with them. But neither of them were talking to each other, which wasn't surprising because Ginny tended to close up near the Boy-Who-Lived. They were coming down the steps, and unfortunately, 'Hawk-eyed Harry' spotted him.

"Ron!" Harry called out, and Ron waved at him. _Fuck me, I'm still not up to socializing._ Harry hurried down the steps, and Ginny followed after him with her eyes locked onto Ron.

"Where were you yesterday?" Ginny demanded. "Luna was looking for you, but none of us found you. You didn't even come to eat at the Great Hall."

"I was sick" Ron lied. "And bed-ridden. My friends brought me food." Ginny cocked an eyebrow at his response, while Harry saw through Ron's lie. _Shouldn't have put in the part about my friends, I'm really not in the mood to deal with people._ "Okay, fine… My friends didn't bring me any food."

"Figures" Harry muttered under his breath, but Ron didn't miss it. He did however, choose to ignore it. "I wanted to talk to you about something important, mind if I do it now?" _Yes._

"No, mate" Ron smiled. "Go ahead." Harry looked to Ginny at that.

"Can we meet up at the Pitch? I won't be long" Harry said, and Ginny blinked at him. Ginny nodded curtly, and then she looked at Ron with an odd look. And then, Ginny walked off. Ron watched her with a bewildered expression, she was upset about something. _She always walks with her nose held up when she's annoyed. What did I do?_ Harry didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, but Ron knew that his sister wasn't happy about being sent away.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ron turned to Harry.

"Well…" Harry shuffled his feet, and Ron just stared at him.

"Mate, just say it" Ron said gently. "You don't want to keep my sister waiting, trust me." _Which you should do, by the way._ Ron felt a pang of jealousy, and even anger towards Harry, but he shoved it down. _Remember what Daphne and Luna said, this is good for her._

"Did Dumbledore tell you that he was leaving?" Harry asked, and Ron blinked at him. _Wait, what?_

"No" Ron lied. "I spoke to him before he left, and he was wearing a traveling cloak. I didn't think much of it, but then I heard at dinner that he had left for 'important business'."

"I see" Harry nodded slowly. "What did you talk about?" _What's with these questions? Lie, but do it with a casual demeanor._

"Nothing much" Ron shrugged. "He made some lame jokes about playing Chess with me next year, that's all. Oh… And he wanted me to keep representing Hogwarts in any competitions that I competed in." _That was good, and he looks like he's bought it. But why is he asking me these questions?_

"But you didn't look too surprised when you heard that he had left, I saw you" Harry stated, and Ron just stared at Harry.

"I was just surprised at myself for not realizing it sooner" Ron lied again. "You know, because he was wearing a traveling cloak and talking about next year."

"So you don't know where he went?" Harry asked, he knew that Ron wasn't telling the full truth.

"Some Ministry business, I'd wager" Ron replied, and Harry nodded slowly. "Where do you think he went?" Harry blinked at him, but he didn't reply. "You know something, don't you? C'mon mate, share with the class." _What the fuck does he know? And how?_

"Hagrid said something about Albania" Harry whispered, deciding to trust Ron. _WHAT THE SHITE FUCK?!_

"Albania?" Ron said with a confused face, but his confusion came from Harry knowing part of the truth. "Why Albania? The Ministry has no business with them, do they?" _Keep talking, I need to know what you know. Fucking Hagrid, why would he tell Harry this? Wasn't this meant to be a secret from the students?_

"Hagrid said that they do, and Dumbledore is taking care of it" Harry whispered again, Ron didn't seem to know about Dumbledore's destination. Harry, for some reason, felt elevated because of that. He knew something about Dumbledore that Ron didn't.

"Well, the more you know" Ron put on a smile. "You should head out to my sister before she gets angry, she can be pretty scary when that happens." Harry nodded at that.

"Take care mate, and don't tell anyone what I told you" Harry said with a smile, and then he walked off towards the Pitch. _Fuck me, I need to tell Snape about this._ Ron turned on his heel, and he all but ran down to Snape's Office. Once he was there, he knocked on the door.

"Come in" came Snape's voice, and Ron went inside and shut the door behind him. "Mr. Weas… Ron, how may I help you?" Snape asked in drawled voice.

"Harry knows about where Dumbledore went" Ron said bluntly, and Snape looked up with a surprised look. And then, the Potions Master sneered.

"You told him?!" Snape demanded, his face contorting in anger.

"I didn't do shite, bloody Hagrid told him" Ron said quickly. "Harry just came up to me and asked me what I knew, and I obviously lied to him. But then he told me that Hagrid told him of where Dumbledore went. He doesn't know why Dumbledore went there, but he does know that the Headmaster is in Albania. And if he knows, then so do Hermione and Neville."

"Damn that gigantic oaf!" Snape snapped, and then he took in a deep breath. "How many times have I told Albus that that moron cannot, and should not, be relied upon? But does he listen? Never."

"Is it that bad that Harry knows?" Ron asked. "I mean, Dumbledore did leave on genuine business right?"

"Genuine business that only the Wizengamot knows about, and us because he trusted us" Snape replied. "If word gets out, and people like Nott Snr hear about it, we'll have another problem on our hands. Albus used the Wizengamot in order to avoid suspicion from the Ministry, and that was fine because former Death-Eaters don't get to be a part of the Wizengamot. There was a reason why he left so quickly, and that was because he didn't want even the Wizengamot questioning him."

"Great" Ron sighed out. "So now what? Harry and his friends know, and they'll definitely tell Sirius and Remus. Hagrid clearly can't be trusted to keep his mouth shut."

"Black and Lupin…" Snape muttered, and then he nodded to himself. "They are both part of the Order, and I can tell them to keep Potter and his toads from asking anymore questions. As for the oaf, I will deal with him when Albus returns. Well done on bringing this to my attention, Mr. Weasley." _Ron. Also, Sirius and Remus are a part of the Order. That's fucking wicked. Those two are so bloody awesome._

"Right…" Ron nodded. "Good luck with that, let me know if you need my help with anything." Snape nodded curtly, and Ron left the room. _If Dumbledore tells Hagrid about my secrets, I'll be so fucked._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Great Hall – Cup Ceremony)**_

Everyone knew that Gryffindor had already won, mostly because the House of Lions was currently making a barbaric amount of noise. Those four hundred points that Harry and Neville had stolen were too much, and nothing could be done about that. The two thieves were currently being patted and praised by everyone on the Gryffindor table, including Ron's siblings. It made Ron sick, and he could feel his anger beginning to bubble. They had stolen from him and his friends, and that was all that Ron could think about right now. They looked so pleased with themselves, especially Potter, who had Hermione and Ginny smiling widely at him.

"Ron, if looks could kill, Potter would be dead right now" Theo whispered, and Ron looked away. "Mate, just don't think about it."

"They stole our credit" Tracey butted in.

"We gave them the credit to protect ourselves" Daphne said firmly.

"No, we didn't take any rewards to protect ourselves" Pansy corrected her. "They, despite being so 'chivalrous', didn't have the decency to admit that we did all the work. All Potter did was say one word."

"It benefited them to accept the reward, and so they did" Blaise said aloofly. "We'd have done the same if we were in their shoes. And it's just a Cup."

"It's the House Cup" Millie frowned. "And we all but handed it to them. That's what annoys me the most about this. We all but assured our own House's loss by involving them."

"We needed Potter to speak Parseltongue" Theo whispered. "Especially after Ron was taken out of the picture."

"May I have your attention please?" McGonagall announced as she tapped her glass with a golden spoon. Everyone quieted down and looked to her, and she gave them all a rare smile. _She's just happy that her House won._ "Before we begin the Leaving Feast, we have to determine who's won the House Cup this year."

"We already know who…" someone muttered from the Slytherin table, and Ron shook his head.

"Now, here are the points for this year!" McGonagall's voice boomed suddenly. "In fourth place, Hufflepuff with seven-hundred and thirty points! In third place, Ravenclaw with eight-hundred and ninety-five points! In second place, Slytherin with nine-hundred and ten points! And in first place, Gryffindor with one-thousand two-hundred and twenty points!" The moment she finished, the Gryffindors began cheering with deafening intensity. _Eight-hundred and twenty points, that's what they should've had. Third place is what they deserved, not the fucking House Cup._ "Gryffindor House Wins!" McGonagall announced, and then with a flick of her wand, she turned all the banners into Gryffindor ones.

"Utter nonsense" Ron whispered to himself as he saw the Gryffindors cheering like they had just solved the meaning behind life. _Fucking twats._ His eyes met the twins', and he cocked an unamused eyebrow at them before looking away. "I'm not really hungry, can I leave?" Ron asked his friends, and they shook their heads.

"Just ignore them please, and eat properly" Daphne said gently, but Ron barely heard her over the Lions shouting. Ron looked over to see Snape giving McGonagall a respectful nod, and that intrigued Ron a bit. _They're friends in secret, aren't they? I remember them talking about Lockhart when I was trying to find the Entrance to the Chamber in the dead of night._ Mountains of food suddenly appeared before them all, and Ron quietly made his plate. His appetite was increasingly being ruined by their obnoxious cheering, but when they started slamming their goblets on their tables, Ron all but threw away his cutlery.

* * *

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Hogwarts Express – Midday)**_

The train shook, and Ron eyes opened. He immediately felt the left side of his head against the compartment wall, and so he sat up with groggy eyes. Blaise was sitting ahead of him, while Daphne sat to his right. They all looked rather glum, but Ron couldn't blame them. Other than Blaise, everyone in the group felt like they were the reason behind Slytherin's loss, and in a way, they were. And it certainly didn't help that the Gryffindors were rubbing it in even now. They were throwing another blasted party in their carriage, and everyone but the Slytherins were invited. _Let's all celebrate Slytherin's streak being broken, because they never deserved to have one. I bet that's how they all think._ Ron looked at his Rolex, and he frowned. _Midday. Damn, I'm feeling a little hungry._

"Do you guys want anything from the Trolley?" Ron asked his friends, but they just shrugged. "My treat." That woke them up, and Ron was slammed with multiple orders that he simply missed. "Um… I caught none of that."

"I caught it" Daphne said, and Ron nodded.

"Let's go?" Ron asked, and he waited for her to leave first. He followed her out, but not before looking to his friends. "Sweets will fix us up" Ron forced a smile, and the girls smiled back. Ron then closed the compartment door, and he turned to Daphne. "Did you really get their orders?"

"Of course" Daphne smirked. "I'm amazing, remember."

"And oh-so-humble" Ron managed an actual smile. "Now, where is…" Ron stopped mid-sentence when he finally noticed that a bunch of Slytherins were loitering the carriage, most of them looking annoyed. _What's this?_

"Something is wrong" Daphne looked around, and then she called out to some third year girl. "Jenny, what's going on?" The girl named Jenny looked to them with a frown.

"The Trolley is in the Gryffindor carriage, and so we're just waiting for it be sorted out" Jenny replied. "It's been twenty minutes…" _Great, now what?_

"I guess we'd better wait" Daphne whispered to Ron, but he just frowned.

"I'm hungry, and I don't want to wait" Ron said back, and then he began making his way towards the Gryffindor carriage.

"Ron, wait" Daphne quickly caught up. "Don't go alone, just let the older students figure it out."

"Daph, they're not going to lynch me for wanting some food" Ron rolled his eyes. "Sure, our Houses don't get along. But they won't start anything with me for wanting to eat." _And if they do, then I can still use my wand because we're on the Hogwarts Express. Though I will get lynched in the end, so let's hope it doesn't go rotten._ "Am I going alone?"

"Ugh… Why are you so stubborn?" Daphne huffed, and Ron smirked.

"I thought you liked that about me?" Ron whispered.

"Not right now, I don't" Daphne frowned. They made their way to the edge of the Slytherin carriage, and they could hear the music blasting from the adjacent Gryffindor carriage. As Ron neared the door, he spotted Carey, Clara, and Samantha by the door. They were talking to each other animatedly, and they looked to be arguing. _That's new._

"Hello" Ron greeted, and they looked to him.

"Ron, do you need something?" Carey asked, her voice not as silky as usual. _Figures, it's been a disappointing few days._

"I was just heading for the Trolley, don't mind me" Ron said politely, but they stepped in his way.

"Ron, that's the Gryffindor carriage and they're busy" Samantha sighed. "Just give us another ten minutes or so to make a plan, and then you can get your sweets." _What plan? Just go there and get them, they aren't demons. I've met a demon, trust me._

"What about the seventh years?" Daphne asked them, and they looked to her. "Why aren't they planning on how to get the Trolley back?"

"No one wants to see their faces" Clara smiled at Daphne. "Their poor leadership lost us the House Cup." Ron fought the urge to flinch, they weren't to blame. _I am, and so are my friends. And the thieves who stole our points._ Ron felt something stir in his chest, but he smothered it with a deep breath.

"I'm going to go get the Trolley" Ron said as he moved forward, but Carey put a hand on his right shoulder.

"Ron, don't be narrow-minded" Carey said in firm voice. "They aren't alone in there, some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are in there too."

"I'm getting something to eat, not walking into a war-zone" Ron blinked, and then he looked to her hand. _Remove your hand, or I'll do it for you._ She moved her hand back immediately, almost as if she read his mind. "Daph, stay here please. I'll ask the Trolley Lady to come here for us all."

"Thanks" Daphne smiled in gratitude. She may admire his bravery, but she didn't share his lack of self-concern. Ron opened the door, and he headed into the Gryffindor carriage. The first thing he noticed was the overwhelming noise, and the loud cheering. It set his teeth on edge, but he ignored it. All he wanted was some food, and to ask the Trolley Lady to serve the Slytherins who were too scared to come here. Ron felt both annoyed by their irrational fear, and annoyed from the fact that they felt the need to have it at all. The more he thought about it, the more he hated the concept of House Rivalry. _This rivalry means nothing, and will help no one when the Dark Lord returns._

Ron side-stepped a few people, most of them blatantly staring at the Slytherin. Ron noticed a fair few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but most of them were younger students. They were clearly here to just have a good time, and Ron could relate to that. What he couldn't relate to were the stares that he was getting. _They're uncalled for, I just want some damn food._ As Ron spotted the Trolley, he also spotted that there was line. The Trolley Lady looked rather happy, mostly because her business was booming. _Just get in line, and be polite._ Ron got in line, and he ignored the stares and the whispering. The music was still loud enough that Ron couldn't hear anything, but he was grateful for that.

"Ron?" came a voice from next to him, and Ron turned to see Justin Finch-Fletchley just standing there. "What are you doing in here?" Justin looked around with wide-eyes.

"Getting some food" Ron shrugged, and Justin nodded slowly. "And I'm here to ask the Trolley Lady to come to our carriage. A lot of Slytherins want to eat, but they don't feel safe coming here."

"Oh, that's a shame" Justin replied, his eyes still looking at the people staring at Ron.

"Relax, mate" Ron gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be out of here soon, and there's no need to worry about anything. What are you doing here?"

"Just…" Justin stopped as soon as he started, and Ron nodded in understanding.

"Enjoying Slytherin's loss" Ron said, holding back a deep frown.

"Sorry, but it's been a while since any other House won" Justin smiled sheepishly. "Or that's what I hear anyway."

"You've heard right" Ron sighed. _They wouldn't give a shite if we had won, they'd actually be annoyed by it. And yet, here they are._ Something once again stirred in his chest, but he once again smothered it with a deep breath. _Don't ruin your chances of getting the Trolley by getting angry._

"I'm going to go find Susan and Hannah, they're around here somewhere" Justin said, and then he walked off into the crowd. _Damn, it's a tight fit in here._ Ron looked back ahead, and he saw Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet in front of him. They were staring at him, and so he gave them a polite smile.

"Hello" Ron greeted them, but they just cocked their eyebrows at him before looking back ahead. _Alright then. Didn't they tell me off once for sneaking around on the seventh floor? Oh yeah, they did. It was after Daphne and I fought after Christmas._ The move forward was slow, so Ron decided to think about what he wanted to say to the Trolley Lady. _I need to be polite, but still a bit forceful. Maybe guilt her with the fact that there are hungry students in the Slytherin carriage. Hopefully, that will…_

"I think you're on the wrong carriage, mate" came a humorous voice that Ron didn't recognize, and he looked to his right and saw some random Gryffindor sniggering at him with his friends. Ron recognized the girl in the group as Katie Bell, but he didn't know who the three blokes were. Ron gave him a polite smile, and looked back ahead. _Just ignore it, he was probably just joking. I'm the 'Calm Ron' now, the one who doesn't lose his temper without a reason to._

"He didn't hear you, Cormac" one of the boys sniggered.

"I said you're on the wrong carriage, mate" the boy named Cormac said more loudly, and his mates kept sniggering. Ron looked back at 'Cormac', and he studied the boy. _He looks like he's a year or two older than me, but we're the same height. I'm definitely in better shape though, but he is slightly larger._ Cormac had short, neat blonde hair, and a rather handsome face.

"I'm here for the Trolley, that's all" Ron replied, and he saw Katie Bell nod slowly. "You're Katie Bell, right?" _She looks reasonable._

"Me?" Bell asked, and Ron smiled and nodded once. "Yeah, that's me."

"You're on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with my brothers, and you're a good Chaser from what I've seen" Ron said politely, and she smiled back. _There, her ego is now sated. Now get your dogs away from me please._

"Well, everyone must look good from what I've seen of your team" Cormac sniggered, and his mates joined him again. _Wow. Just slapped Katie Bell in the face, didn't he?_

"Thanks, McLaggen" Katie hissed, and then she stepped away from the confused boy. She then looked to Ron. "You should get what you need and be on your way, otherwise you might run into morons who are enjoying themselves too much." McLaggen frowned at the word 'moron', while Ron gave her a polite nod. Katie Bell then walked off to find some better company, while Ron looked back ahead. _This damn line won't move._

"Oi, what was that?" McLaggen asked his mates, but none of them replied. "Hey Slytherin, I'm talking to you." Ron looked back at him, his temper flaring at being called 'Slytherin' in such a tone.

"What was what?" Ron asked, and McLaggen frowned deeply. "You insulted your friend, and she left. That's not on me." ' _Calm Ron', that's me. Breathe, and mind your own business like Pomfrey taught you._ McLaggen's frown deepened, and he went slightly red in the face.

"Yeah, you're done mate" McLaggen said firmly. "Be on your way, this isn't your carriage." _Fuck!_

"I'm here for the Trolley, and I'll leave once I've gotten what I want" Ron replied, his voice firmer and less polite than before.

"Alright, tell me what you want" McLaggen stepped up a bit. "I'll get it for you, and then you can be on your way."

"Mate, leave him" one of McLaggen's mates said. "He's just here for some sweets, it hardly matters."

"Then I'll get him what he wants so he can leave" McLaggen said, and Ron felt his dislike for this particular Gryffindor rise. _No one else cares that I'm here, what's this twat's issue with me?_

"I'm also here to ask the Trolley Lady to come to our carriage because a lot of Slytherins are hungry" Ron told them honestly, but that didn't sit well with any of them.

"Right" the guy from before muttered, and then he sat back down with a disbelieving look.

"Why not ask their orders, and get them in one go?" McLaggen asked. _I'm not a God, I have a human's memory._ Ron looked forward, and he noticed both girls in front of him looking back with some interest. They looked back forward when he looked at them, and that vexed him slightly. _Um… Help?_

"Too many people" Ron replied, keeping his eyes ahead. He was starting to tense a bit, mostly because McLaggen wouldn't stop pestering him. "Look, I just want some food. Let me have that, and let me talk to her. If she doesn't want to leave, then I won't force her."

"There are more people here, so why would she?" McLaggen chuckled arrogantly.

"Because that's her job" Ron replied, and McLaggen stopped laughing. The Slytherin was right, and she would totally leave the Gryffindor carriage if he asked her to.

"Right, off you go mate" McLaggen ordered, and Ron looked to him with a deadpan look.

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"I said you're not welcome here, this is a winner's carriage" McLaggen smirked. That hit a nerve with Ron, and he couldn't stop his frown from showing.

"You don't look like a winner to me" Ron retorted. "Just some show-off who probably didn't earn his House a single point." Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson sniggered, and Ron felt rather pleased by that. _I'm guessing his House-mates don't like him either._ "Judging from their reactions, I'd say that I just hit the mark."

"Ohhh" McLaggen's mates hollered, and the boy went red in the face again.

"He's the little brother of the twins, McLaggen" Johnson turned around. "I'd leave him be if you were smart, or they'll turn your life into a living hell."

"I know who he is" McLaggen spat, clearly getting more vexed by his friends egging him on by laughing at him. "The Weasley who turned traitor and joined Slytherin." ' _Calm Ron' can fuck off and die, I'm back!_ Ron looked at McLaggen with a cold glare, but McLaggen was certainly not backing off. He was surrounded by his House-mates, and Slytherins were notorious cowards. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and damn it felt good to do that again.

"I didn't turn traitor, and I don't appreciate you saying so" Ron told him as he turned to face McLaggen. "And if you say something like that again, you can forget about what the twins might do to you, because I'll break your fucking legs myself." Ron's comment seemed to stop all the conversations around them, and because of that, the music slowly died down. Most of the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs didn't understand what was going on, so they started looking around.

"Is that so?" McLaggen sneered.

"I'm guessing you weren't around for the Dueling Club" Ron said, his face expressionless. Johnson and Spinnet frowned deeply at Ron, and then they left to find his brothers.

"I was there, but I'm not Potter" McLaggen said.

"Which is why I won't hold back" Ron glared into McLaggen's eyes. "Get out of my face, I won't warn you again." _C'mon cunt, give me a fucking reason to belt you one. I'm no damn traitor, and I've faced far worse than some twat on a winning high._

"Sod off, Weasley" McLaggen stepped in front of Ron, his slightly taller build aligning his nose with Ron's forehead.

"Cormac mate, just leave it" one of his mates said as he put a hand on McLaggen's left forearm, but McLaggen jerked his arm free.

"Sod. Off" McLaggen said more firmly, and Ron pulled his head back and slammed his forehead into McLaggen's nose. There was a horrible crunching sound, and Ron felt his forehead break something on McLaggen face. McLaggen fell on his arse, and began howling in pain instantly. "My fucking nose! Fuck!" Ron just stared at him as people gasped and stepped back from shock, but Ron simply looked to McLaggen's mates. _My fucking forehead! Ow!_

"Problem?" Ron asked, his heart thumping in his throat. _Don't show any weakness, Ron. If he gets up again, put his arse on the ground. And beat the shite out of anyone who steps forwards to defend him._ McLaggen's mates just stared at Ron for a moment, and then went to help their friend. Ron turned to the line, and he noticed everyone staring at him. Ron walked forward, his right hand holding his wand in his pocket. The Trolley Lady just blinked at him, and Ron gave her a forced smile. "The Slytherins have been waiting for you for a while, could you please come to our carriage."

"O… Of course" she muttered, but she didn't move.

"Now" Ron ordered with a firmer voice, and she began pushing the Trolley. _Keep calm, fucking hell… My chest is about to explode, I need to get the fuck out of here before they lynch me!_ Ron followed after her, his eyes forward but his mind ready for an attack. _Just remember that you have Pandora's Ring with you. If people take their wands out, fucking bolt out of here._ As Ron passed McLaggen, who was sitting up looking dazed and in tears, Ron stepped on his ankle for good measure. _I'm no traitor, and I'm not some coward either. Remember that._ McLaggen winced, and people gasped. And then, Ron left the carriage with the Trolley Lady in front of him.

"Ron, you got…" Clara started excitedly, but she stopped when she saw the Trolley Lady's worried look.

"I get to order first" Ron said, his voice slightly shaky. _Calm down, don't show them weakness. But fuck me, I'm so glad that I got out of there._ "Daphne, do you remember their orders?" Ron asked, and she nodded with a furrowed brow. Ron gestured her to start, and then he stood next to her.

"I'll… um…" Daphne just stared at the Trolley Lady, but then she forcefully fixed her composure. "I'll have four licorice wands, ten chocolate frogs, three boxes of flavored beans, three cherry pops, and five cauldron cakes." _Merlin. Just ask her for the damn Trolley next time._

"I'll take two licorice wands, and a ham sandwich" Ron smiled. "Sorry about my… temper. But he insulted me gravely, and despite my warnings, he refused to back off. Oh… And I'll be paying for us both." Ron then took out his Gringotts Pouch, and he took out ten Galleons which he gave her.

"That's too much" the Trolley Lady told him, a paternal frown on her face. "And don't go around attacking people, it's not polite." _Polite? No, I guess it isn't._ Daphne tensed at that, and she glared at Ron with genuine anger.

"Please, accept it" Ron said, his voice sounding forced. "And don't leave, or else I'll have to come and get you again." She frowned, but nodded as she took his Galleons.

"Kids these days…" the Trolley Lady muttered in utter disbelief, and then she began piling things into Ron's arms. _Okay, this is a bit too much to handle. It's spilling out!_ Daphne quickly took some of the load, and they both turned to leave.

"What did you do?" Daphne whispered in an angry tone, but he just shrugged.

"Ron, what was that about attacking people?" Carey asked him as she stepped in his way.

"I broke some Gryffindor's nose, and probably sprained his ankle" Ron replied, and she went wide-eyed. Daphne nearly popped a blood vessel from anger right there, but Ron couldn't care less. His heartbeat was finally slowing down, and he had given ample warnings. McLaggen was out of line, and it felt good to let out some anger. There was some inkling of regret that was trying to grow, but Ron killed it immediately. _I'm not some traitor, and I refuse to let arseholes get away with saying so. Smug cunt deserved worse._

"Are you insane?" Daphne whispered as they moved past a stunned Carey Ductu.

"He called me a traitor, and despite me telling him to back off, he kept stepping into my face" Ron told her. He felt the need to crack his neck again, and so he did it a little more forcefully than usual. _Oh, that's nice._

"So you broke his nose?" Daphne hissed.

"I could have done worse" Ron looked her dead in the eyes, and her expression went from angry to tense immediately. Ron then looked back ahead, and he missed Daphne shuddering. He opened the compartment door, and his friends grinned at seeing all of their orders.

"About time" Theo exclaimed. "Where did you go for them? Diagon Alley?"

"Gryffindor carriage" Ron sighed as he began handing out the orders with Daphne's help.

"What?" Blaise asked, suddenly aware again.

"Yeah, it didn't go well" Ron sighed again.

"He broke someone's nose" Daphne suddenly snapped, once again losing her temper with Ron.

"What?!" most of them exclaimed.

"Ron, what the fuck?" Theo frowned.

"He was a twat, and I warned him to sod off" Ron defended himself. "And I will not hear any of your complaints about it. Just eat the food that you all wanted me to get for you." Ron took his seat at that, and an eerie silence filled their compartment. _Not a single 'thank you'… Whatever. I don't care._ Ron looked out of the window as he ate his sandwich in silence. His friends started talking after a minute or so, but Ron was excluded from the conversation. Their compartment door suddenly slid open, and Ron looked to see a pissed off Percy glaring at him. _Oh shite._

"Get out here, now!" Percy snapped, and Ron stood up slowly and left the compartment. The moment Ron shut the door behind him, Percy was in his face. "What was that?! Answer me right now!"

"What was what?" Ron asked innocently.

"Don't!" Percy warned loudly, his face turning almost purple. Ron spotted the twins, Luna, and Ginny behind Percy, and the Trio behind them. _Wow, he brought everyone with him._ "I just fixed McLaggen's nose and right ankle, and all but begged him to not take this any further! What were you thinking?!"

"He called me a traitor in regards to our family, and I did warn him to back off" Ron replied, and he decided that he wasn't going to apologize for McLaggen's behavior. Or his own. "I warned him, his friends warned him, and so did Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson. He was looking for a fight, and he found one. Just ask them."

"We did" the twins said together.

"Percy, leave him alone" Fred said, much to Ron's surprise.

"McLaggen is a tosser to everyone, and everyone told us that he started it" George added. The twins grinned at Ron, and he smiled in return.

"We'll be taking care of him from now on" the Twins said together, and Percy turned his glare to them.

"Shut up!" Percy yelled, something that made the twins go wide-eyed. "You encouraging his behavior is not helping."

"Percy, please calm down" Ginny muttered meekly. _All I wanted was a damn sandwich, and now I'm standing out here and listening to this shite. The twins know that I'm right, but Percy is too rigid to see that Family trumps rules._ Ron turned his head again, and this time the crack was sickeningly loud. Ron almost melted from how good it felt to let loose for a change.

"Ron, don't" Luna suddenly stepped up to him, and then she turned to Ron's siblings. "Leave, now. I'll talk to him, alright?" There was an urgency in her voice that stunned everyone, including Ron. "Go!"

"This isn't over" Percy frowned at Ron. "I'll be telling mother and father about this, I promise you."

"Fine" Ron replied. "But Perce… You should learn to put your Family before your need to suck up to authority figures… Or I'll teach you that lesson myself." Percy went wide-eyed at that, and even the Trio gave Ron guarded looks. _And you three can fuck right off. I don't need you telling me how you would've handled it, I already know that kidnapping someone is your first response._

"Ron, stop it" Luna turned to him, and she grabbed his gloved hand and tugged him away from everyone. Ron made sure that Percy had heard him clearly, and judging by his stunned look, he had. _There is a time to kiss arse, and a time to stand by your Family. If he doesn't learn that before the war, then I'll beat it into him._ Luna dragged Ron towards the Ravenclaw carriage, and they both went inside. It was relatively abandoned, mostly because of the Gryffindor party.

"Luna, where are you taking me?" Ron asked, his voice coming out harsher than planned. _Fuck._ "Sorry…"

"Don't be angry, please" Luna pleaded, and then she turned to face him. Ron blinked at her, but she gave him a rather worried look. Ron decided that he preferred her aloof expression more. And then, she hugged his middle tightly. _Oh shite, my back…_

"Luna…" Ron sighed out, and then he slowly put his arms around her. _Bloody hell, she's so small._ "What's come over you?"

"Just stop being angry, let it go" Luna spoke into his chest, and Ron shifted uncomfortably. He then spotted some people look his way, but they looked away when they saw who it was. Everyone knew of Ron being Luna's 'brother', mostly because she told everyone with ears.

"Luna, people are around" Ron gave her a light squeeze, and she let go. But she grabbed his gloved hand again, and dragged him into an empty compartment. _What the hell?_ "Luna, what is going on with you?"

"I want to talk to you" Luna said as she sat down, and then she patted the seat next to her. Ron bit back the urge to frown, and he sat down slowly. "Are you alright?"

"Am I alright?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Luna, I'm fine."

"Really? That's a lie" Luna blinked at him, her expression slowly becoming aloof again.

"No, it isn't" Ron said with forced politeness.

"People who are alright don't attack other people, and then act like it's nothing" Luna stated. "Everyone was shocked into disbelief, but you're too calm."

"Too calm?" Ron blinked. _Is this her crazy 'Xeno' side? Merlin, I'm not up for that right now._

"Too calm" Luna nodded. "Violence is never the answer, Ron. Mum will be shocked when she hears about what you did, just like I was." _You don't look shocked? And sometimes violence is the answer, especially for cunts like him. Are you going to hug a Death-Eater into submission?_

"He deserved it" Ron looked away from her, his voice becoming hard. "I warned him over and over again, but he kept running his mouth. It isn't my fault that he's **weak**."

"Weak?" Luna muttered, and then she frowned at Ron for the first time. "Ronald Weasley, no more of this!" Ron jumped a little because of her high-squeaked yell, and he looked at her with a bewildered look. _What the fuck was that?_ She then patted her lap firmly, an adorable frown on her face.

"What?" Ron just stared at her, and she patted her lap again and frowned more deeply. _DON'T LAUGH AT HOW CUTE SHE LOOKS!_

"Put your head here" she ordered, and Ron just stared at her. "Now!" _My eardrums!_ Ron slowly put his head down on her lap, and he put his legs up on the seat. _Um… This is weird, and I'm getting up._ Ron tried to sit up, but she pulled his head back down. _Ow, my neck. Don't yell at her. Breathe…_ Ron found himself facing the seat in front of him, his head resting on Luna's slightly uncomfortable lap. She was small, and a bit skinny, so her lap wasn't all that soft. She suddenly started giving his head a massage, her nails scratching his scalp in a manner that made him tense at first, but then relax completely. _Oh, this feels nice. Shame about my hairstyle though, but still… Hmmm._

"Luna, what's this?" Ron asked with a more gentle voice, he was almost purring.

"When I get angry, mum does this to make me calmer" Luna hummed. _Luna gets angry? I'd love to see that._ Ron fought back a chuckle. Luna began humming a tune that Pandora always hummed when she was painting, and Ron just lay there. _I hope no one walks in, it'll be so hard to explain this. But her nails feel great on my head. Hmmm._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron was struggling to stay awake, and Luna's humming wasn't helping. He was being lulled into sleep, but he didn't fight back at all. Her nails were now scratching the back of his neck and head, and every so often Luna leaned down and kissed his head. It was great to spend some time with her, and Ron had completely forgotten about his earlier actions. He wasn't angry, or vexed in any way. He was just… sleepy. But he had to tell her something important, something that he needed her to believe.

"I'm not a traitor" Ron whispered, and Luna stopped momentarily before starting again.

"I know" Luna smiled widely, but Ron had already closed his eyes at that point.

* * *

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Hogwarts Express – Evening)**_

"Ron, the train's stopped" came Luna's voice, and Ron stirred. "Wake up please." Ron opened his groggy eyes, and he sat up. _Ugh… My head._ Ron looked to Luna, and he saw her smiling at him. "We're here, so you should go and get your trunk."

"I fell asleep?" Ron asked as he yawned.

"You slept the whole way" Luna hummed, and Ron remembered everything. "My feet are tingly now."

"Sorry" Ron chuckled, but Luna just shrugged.

"Do you feel better?" Luna asked, and he gave her a slow nod.

"I do… Thank you" Ron said softly, and then he stood up and stretched.

"Your friends came, and so did your siblings" Luna informed him.

"Our siblings" he corrected her without a second thought.

"Our siblings" she repeated with a smile. "They all came, and left after seeing you asleep. Percy wanted to wake you up in order to talk to you, but the twins got really serious and told him to leave you alone." _They did? Wow, that's new._

"Did Harry, Hermione, and Neville come?" Ron asked as he opened the compartment door.

"They did, but they left pretty quickly" Luna replied as she got up on legs that were asleep.

"Need help?" Ron asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm fine" Luna hummed. "I'll see you outside, alright?"

"Right" Ron nodded, and then he left for the Slytherin carriage. Ron made his way to the compartment that he had been sharing with his friends, and he noticed them stepping out. Blaise had Ron's trunk in one hand, and his own in the other. "Hello" Ron greeted them, and they sighed in relief when they saw him.

"Here, take your trunk" Blaise said as he handed Ron his trunk. "Was worried that I'd have to carry this around for you while you napped away."

"How are you feeling?" Tracey asked.

"Really sleepy" Ron shrugged, and she nodded. Ron then stepped back, and he gestured his friends to move out. "We can talk outside. Right now we're just blocking other people's way." They nodded, and started making their way out. Ron didn't miss Daphne narrowing her eyes at him, and he figured that she was still annoyed with him for belting McLaggen. Ron decided to wait before talking to her, mostly because he didn't want to fight with her in the middle of the Slytherin carriage.

"Ron, clear the goop in your eyes" Blaise told him, and he blinked at his friend's back before doing as he was told. "My mother might be dropping by to 'surprise me', and meet you at the same time."

"This again" Ron sighed. "What do I say?"

"Be polite, and accept her invitation if she makes one" Blaise shrugged, and Ron nodded. They stepped off of the train, and then turned to each other.

"This is goodbye then" Theo drew in a deep breath. "For the time being, at least."

"Remember to come over to mine whenever you want" Daphne told them, and they all nodded. "I'll arrange some things, and maybe we can spend a few days at the Manor together."

"Please do" Pansy all but pleaded. "I'd rather not waste my Holidays listening to mother's nagging."

"Just come to mine if you need" Millie offered, and Pansy nodded firmly. Ron saw people passing by them, and a few of them shot him wary looks. _I'm guessing word got around._

"Do we all hug now?" Tracey joked, and they all sniggered.

"Take care you lot, we'll meet up at Daphne's soon" Ron told them, and then they all began parting ways. Ron and Daphne walked in the same direction, but they didn't speak. That is until Daphne got sick of it, and she shot him a glare.

"Idiot" Daphne said, and Ron chuckled involuntarily. "Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not" Ron controlled himself, but just barely. "It's just how you blurted that word out that made me laugh."

"McLaggen's family is influential in Wizarding England, Ron" Daphne said, her composure back in place. "His uncle works in the Ministry, and commands a lot of respect."

"Shame that he didn't teach his nephew that 'respect'…" Ron retorted. "I'm not apologizing for hitting him. He was warned by everyone around him, and no one came to help him after except for his mates. Now can we please not argue about this here? I'll be coming over for work tomorrow, and we can talk about it then."

"What's there to talk about?" Daphne nearly frowned at him. "We can't go back in time and stop you from being dropped on your head as a baby." Ron sniggered at that, but Daphne was dead-serious.

"Does this mean that I'm uninvited from the slumber party?" Ron asked, and Daphne rolled her eyes.

"No, but we won't be talking during it" Daphne told him, and Ron shrugged again.

"I'll just spend my time with Asto…"

"I'll kill you if you finish that sentence" Daphne warned him, and Ron grinned to himself. Ron then spotted his family, and Daphne's family. Together… "What's this?"

"I don't know" Ron replied slowly, and he saw that his siblings weren't here yet. "Mum, dad!" Ron called, and they looked to him and smiled widely. Ron and Daphne approached their families, both of them questioning their families' behavior.

"Father, mother, Tori" Daphne greeted them with a formal curtsy, and then she looked to Ron's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, it's a pleasure to see you again." Molly Weasley smiled a little too widely for Ron's liking, and then she hugged Daphne tightly. _WHAT THE FUCK?!_

"Hello, dear" Molly said to Daphne, and then she let the bewildered girl go. But Tori took Molly's spot right after, and Daphne was once again occupied. Ron looked to his own father with a confused look, but Arthur just smiled at Ron.

"Dad, explain this?" Ron whispered.

"We met them here, and invited them to dinner tonight" Arthur replied as he gave Ron a paternal one-armed hug. "Sirius and Remus are also coming with Harry, as are the Lovegoods with Luna. We'll be eating outside, of course." _Wait, Daphne and Tori are coming to our house?_ Some odd sort of panic engulfed him, and he suddenly felt rather self-conscious. Sure, Daphne had been in their Dining Room before, but now she might see his room. _And that fucking ghoul!_

"That's great" Ron forced on a smile, and his father chuckled. Ron then looked to Mary and Lord Greengrass. "Lord and Lady Greengrass" Ron greeted them politely, and they greeted him back.

"Oh, Ronnie" Molly suddenly hugged him tightly, and Ron nearly screamed when he saw Daphne and Tori snigger. There were stopped by their parents, but they were still rather amused. _RONNIE?! NO!_ "How have you been, love? Look at you" Molly let him go and then eyed him with distress. "You've grown so much! But you're getting a bit gangly."

"Mum, please stop" Ron's ears turned red, and he flushed when Daphne mouthed the word 'Ronnie'. _NO! She's going to tell all our friends too!_ "And I'm not 'gangly', I'm in good shape."

"Of course you are, dear" Molly petted his cheeks, and he felt like he was two years old again. Ron's siblings started showing up after that, and Molly Weasley embarrassed them all one by one. Ron slunk away towards Lord Greengrass during this.

"My Lord, are you really coming over tonight?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass smirked.

"Of course, Ronnie" Lord Greengrass replied humorously, and Ron sighed deeply. _Even him? Great._ "Who am I to refuse such an invitation? Although… it sounded more like a command than an invitation."

"That's my mum for you" Ron shrugged.

"She has taken a strong liking to Daphne, by the way" Lord Greengrass told him, his smirk still in place. "Especially after you had your seizure, and Daphne all but carried you to safety." _Oh… Now that explains the hug._

"That's… good…" Ron said slowly, and Lord Greengrass patted his back firmly.

"Stop being so tense, Ronnie" Lord Greengrass said. "We're all going to finally taste your mother's cooking tonight. Your father spent ten minutes talking it up, so I'm very excited." _Kill me, please. You hear that Entity? Fucking end me._ Ron looked at Mary talking to her daughters, she was no doubt giving them instructions.

"There he is!" came a particularly happy voice, and Ron's face broke into a wide smile. Ron turned to see Sirius marching up to him, while Remus and Harry were behind him. Remus had an arm around Harry, and the two were talking animatedly.

"Sirius!" Ron greeted, and then both gave each other a firm hug.

"Look at you, pup" Sirius smiled as he looked Ron up and down. "What do they feed you down there in Slytherin?"

"I'm not that tall" Ron grinned arrogantly, and Sirius barked out a laugh.

"Humble, aren't you?" Sirius laughed.

"Ron, it's good to see you" Remus greeted him, and Ron gave the man a firm hug as well. Ron noticed Harry staring, no doubt because of what Ron had done earlier. "Oh, stronger than you look" Remus chuckled after Ron gave him a tight squeeze.

"I hear you're all coming over for dinner tonight" Ron said to Sirius and Remus, and they smiled widely.

"Your mum's cooking is just… divine" Sirius grinned. "I eat there pretty much every day anyway. Beats the shite that Remus puts together any day." Ron and Harry sniggered at that, while Remus frowned at Sirius.

" **You** burnt our kitchen down, which is why **we** eat there all the time" Remus glared, but Sirius just shrugged.

"Ron, we're heading off for now" Lord Greengrass came up from behind Ron. "We'll see you tonight."

"Certainly" Ron turned around, and nodded firmly. "Take care, my Lord." Lord Greengrass then began leaving with his family, but not before Tori ran up and hugged Ron tightly.

"See you tonight, Ronnie" Tori giggled, and then she followed after her family. _Damn you Mum, damn you…_

"Hmmm" Sirius hummed, and Ron shot him a frown.

"Don't even say it" Ron warned him, but he just grinned.

"Sirius, behave" Remus sighed out.

"I haven't said shite" Sirius chuckled. "You two are the ones who have your minds in the gutter."

"So the Greengrass family is coming over tonight as well?" Harry asked suddenly, and they all looked to him.

"It appears so" Sirius smiled, and then he moved over and put his arm around Harry. "How about we head home too?"

"Can we please? I need to use the loo" Harry smiled, and Ron himself smiled at the sight before him. He was glad that Harry didn't have to go back to those Muggles that kept him locked up, Ron could never forget that. _They had him locked away like an animal. Disgusting bastards._

"We'll see you tonight, cub" Remus gave Ron's right shoulder a squeeze, and then they too left. Ron rejoined his family, and he noticed that the Lovegoods were here too.

"Pandora" Ron smiled widely, she was talking to her husband about something that was clearly amusing. Ron walked up to her, and when she turned to him, he hugged her tightly.

"Hello, Ron" Pandora hugged him back, her hand rubbing his back. "You just keep getting bigger, don't you?" Ron squeezed her tightly, and she let out a chuckle.

"I've missed you terribly" Ron whispered.

"I've missed you too" Pandora whispered back, and Ron let her go. He was slightly taller than her now, and she was rather happy to see that.

"Hello Ron, how are you?" Xeno asked, and Ron smiled widely.

"Same as usual" Ron shrugged, and then he gave Xeno a quick hug. "Are you all coming tonight?"

"We are" Xeno replied. "Have to celebrate you children coming home safely, don't we?" _Well, it has been a dangerous year. So I guess that's fair._

"Come, love" Pandora said suddenly. "I want to help Molly prepare, so we don't have much time to get Luna ready." She then looked to Ron with a motherly smile, and she put a soft hand on his right cheek. "I'll see you tonight, alright?"

"Of course, Pandora" Ron smiled back, and she patted his cheek before turning to leave. The Lovegoods quickly left after that, but only because they'd be seeing the Weasleys in an hour or so. That's when Ron finally spotted Percy talking with their father, and Arthur Weasley was looking rather pale. _He told them, didn't he? Right before this big dinner too._ Ron looked over to see his mother fretting over Ginny, and he figured that Percy had only told their father.

"This… is going to be a long dinner…" Ron muttered to himself, and then he walked over towards his family.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: So here you guys go! This will be my last update for about a month, and I'll start the Holiday Arc when my Holidays start. Kind of cool, right?**

 **See you guys in a month! (I will miss you all)**


	58. Chapter 58 - Home is Where the Heart is

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'M BACK! Exams are done, while some stuff is still due. But that's my problem, and I'll deal with it =)**

 **Now a couple of things!**

 **1\. I know I said a month, but I couldn't wait to get back into the story! Updates won't be as fast because I still have some final stuff to submit, but I will be typing up the story once again.**

 **2\. KyleLandy, your review on my last chapter made me blush (Not gonna lie, no homo). Also, I share your pain with the Game of Thrones 'Finale'. What a shit-storm that was... You also mentioned something about a forum for this story for people to join and discuss things, I think that's a pretty cool idea. So if anyone knows how to do that, PM me. It'd be fun to talk to you guys, and to discuss all the plot threads.**

 **3\. I'm slightly worried that some people might've missed the last chapter: Chapter 57 (Departure). But that's mostly because I said I was going on hiatus at the end of chapter 56, but then uploaded chapter 57 shortly after. So if you're not sure that you missed the last chapter, please go and read it. Otherwise you might be a little lost.**

 **4\. I'M BACK!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 58 – Home is Where the Heart is**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

Ron's room was rather clean, cleaner than he had left it. His bed was made, his clothes were neatly placed within his drawers, and there wasn't a speck of dust within the room. And yet, he found himself gnashing his teeth from worry. Daphne was probably going to see his room today. No, she was **definitely** going to see his room today. She was going to see the burnt orange walls, the old Chudley Cannon posters, the worn out furniture, and the weathered wooden floor. She was going to sit on his second-hand bed that creaked under any weight, and she was going to hear that damn Ghoul in the attic. The Ghoul that could only be heard in his room because his room was on the fifth floor, and right below the attic.

Ron had made great strides in his self-confidence, especially after he had become Lord Greengrass' apprentice. He had amassed quite a bit of wealth, thanks to Lord Greengrass' ingenuity, and he had even learnt that his appearance was an important factor in earning respect. And he was **respected**. He was respected by his friends, class-mates, House-mates, and even by the Professors. But here he was, fidgeting in slight panic at the prospect of Daphne disliking his room. _She's going to hate it, I just know it. My room in their Manor is a million times better than this… What do I even call_ _ **this**_ _?_ Ron put his trunk down at the foot of his bed, and he sat down on his orange bed covers. The bed creaked loudly, and Ron frowned deeply because of it. _You son of a bitch._

Part of him understood that he was being an idiot, and that his room was the best that his parents could offer him. His room wasn't extravagant, but he had never cared about that before. _Yet here I am, panicking like a little girl. What is she going to think about this room? She won't want to sit anywhere in here, will she?_ And then another thought hit him, the whole house was quite similar to his room. Some might call it homely, but the truth was that it was very… **limited** by their family's financial situation. _Merlin, this is no place for a Lord and Lady to eat. Bloody hell, what is Tori going to think about this?_ He didn't want this dinner becoming awkward, or worse, to be ruined. He wanted Lord and Lady Greengrass to feel welcome here, especially because he wanted them to join his side when the war came. Ron shot up at that.

"Ron, this is just like any other problem" Ron slapped his cheeks. "Find any leaks, and plug them. This dinner has to go well." Ron marched to his trunk, and he sorted through his clothes. In the end, he settled for light blue casual suit with a white long-sleeved collar shirt. _Hmmm, this is good. Bright, welcoming, sophisticated, and yet casual enough to wear to an important dinner at home. But most importantly, it covers my scars._ Ron's eyes suddenly landed on the leather rag within his trunk, and he just stared at it for a few seconds. _The fang from the Basilisk. I have to do something about this soon. I can't leave it in here, especially because of how dangerous it is._ Ron closed his trunk and sealed it, and then he left for the bathroom. _Take a shower, gel your hair, and then look around for anything to fix._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron finished fixing his hair, and then he studied his reflection. He looked sharp, and that pleased him greatly. _My hair is getting a bit long, but I can get Pansy to fix that when I see her next._ Ron fixed his collar, and then he pulled at the sleeves of his white shirt. He then put on his Horned-snake skin glove, and then his rings and Rolex. _Looking good, old boy. And this suit is a perfect fit._ Ron smiled at his reflection as he nodded in approval, and then he left the bathroom with his dirty clothes. He put them in the laundry basket before heading back to his room. He opened his closet, and took out a pair of polished black shoes. Once he was fully dressed, he headed downstairs. As he headed downstairs, he sighed deeply at the realization that there wasn't much that he could do. The Burrow was old, creaky, and some would even argue that it was no better than a large shed.

Even compared to the Slytherin common room, the Burrow was simply not up to par. The furniture was weathered and old, the floor creaked at almost every fucking step, and it was far too narrow and cluttered. The walls had chipped paint-jobs, and wherever there was wallpaper, tears could be found. _How did I never see this before? This place is barely standing!_ Ron was sad to admit that he felt ashamed of his family's house, a house that still meant a lot to him. This was **his** house, and he **did** love it. But even he would be hard-pressed to say that it was acceptable. The Burrow needed a renovation, and it needed one yesterday. _Maybe I can do something about that? I do have a lot of money now, and making this place the best that it could be would be great. Especially for the family, they deserve it._

"Ron, can I have…" his father started when he saw Ron step into the kitchen, but he stopped to analyze his son's expensive clothes.

"Awe, look at him!" his mother cooed from the sink, a wide smile threatening to split her face. "My handsome boy!" Ron blushed at that, how did she make him feel like a toddler? Ron managed a meek smile at her as he observed the kitchen. _So untidy…_ Percy was sitting with their father, while the rest of Ron's siblings were nowhere to be found. _Probably unpacking in their rooms. I wonder how far Helios is from the Burrow. I let him leave before I boarded the train, so he should be here by tomorrow._

"Ron, can I have a word with you in the Living Room?" his father asked after shaking his head clear.

"Of course, dad" Ron nodded. _This is probably about that McLaggen tosser. Let's get this over with, I have work to do._ Ron followed his father into the 'Living Room', which actually felt smaller than Ron's room at Hogwarts. _Merlin, what the hell? I never noticed how tiny this room is before. There's a dirty fireplace, four old couches, dad's 'Corner Study', and barely any room to move around._ Arthur took a seat on one of the couches, and he patted the open space beside him. _My clothes are going to get dirty…_ Ron cringed internally as he sat down on the couch, and its old pillow almost sucked him in.

"You look very… good" Arthur said slowly, he didn't even know how to comment on Ron's clothes. His son was wearing a suit that was clearly more expensive than all of Arthur's clothes put together. And although that pleased Arthur greatly, he couldn't deny that Ron looked out of place within his own home.

"Thanks" Ron smiled at the compliment, it felt nice to dress well. That was another thing that Ron had noticed. Whenever he wore nice clothes, he felt more confident in himself. Even more powerful. _It makes me feel like I'm someone to be taken seriously, and isn't that the real point of clothes. To help you express what you want the World to see you as._

"Son, Percy told me something rather troubling" Arthur cleared his mind, and he saw Ron stiffen slightly. "He told me that you attacked another student on the train-ride home…"

"That's not what happened" Ron quickly defended himself, and his father nodded for him to go on. "I went to their carriage to get something to eat, and to ask the Trolley Lady to come to our compartment. My House-mates were hungry too, but none of them wanted to go into the Gryffindor carriage. So I went in myself. I was minding my own business, and nobody really cared that I was even there. That McLaggen twa… kid… He started a fight with me simply because he thought that he'd get away with it. I warned him to leave me alone, his friends told him to leave me alone, and even some of the older Gryffindors told him to stop."

"I know, son" Arthur smiled in understanding. "But he was using his words, **just** his words. You physically attacked him, and you left him with a broken nose. Physical violence is a serious crime, which is why Percy was so upset with you. He told me that you threatened him when he confronted you." Ron shifted in his seat at that, what was he supposed to say to that?

"Percy should be on my side, just like I would be on his" Ron responded, but he was talking to himself.

"This isn't about sides, Ron" Arthur patted his son's back gently. "Percy was worried for you, he even begged that other boy not to take things any further on your behalf."

"I didn't ask him to do that" Ron frowned slightly. "I can take care of myself, and I don't need that kind of help. And I didn't threaten Percy, I simply told him to get his priorities straight." Arthur scooted closer to Ron, and he put an arm around his son's shoulders. They were broader than he had anticipated, but that only brought a proud smile upon his face.

"Percy loves you Ron, more than he loves any of your siblings" Arthur stated with a gentle voice. "And yes, even I know that that's true. He has sent Hermes over a hundred times since we learned of your… diagnoses. He is worried beyond words for you, and all he wants to do is to be there for you."

"He doesn't know, does he?" Ron asked quickly, and a paternal squeeze was his answer.

"No, we haven't told him" Arthur admitted, and then he sighed. "But Bill and Charlie know…"

"What?" Ron looked at his father with disbelief.

"Ron, if something ever happens to your mother and me… Then Bill and Charlie will become your legal guardians" Arthur replied, and Ron tensed. _Something ever happens? Fuck no, nothing is happening to you two. Not while I'm around._ "It's in our will. They have also seen your scars…" Ron's head started spinning at that.

"When? Charlie hasn't once mentioned them in our letters" Ron managed, how could this be?

"They saw your scars when you were in your coma, when they were the only thing holding your mother and me together" Arthur sighed out. "They took charge, and they kept everything together. They cooked meals for your siblings, brought us food at the Hospital, and kept an eye on you while your mother and I took much needed breaks." _Bloody hell, I didn't know about that. They really did all that?_ "Ron, we're veering off-topic."

"Bloody hell" Ron rubbed his face, and Arthur decided not to scold Ron for his language.

"Percy just wants to make sure that you're alright, that's all" Arthur went on. "And after what you said to him, he was genuinely hurt." Ron felt guilt slap his face, and he let out a weary breath.

"Sorry…" Ron muttered. _I didn't know that he was so worried for me. Damn, I'm an idiot. Of course he's worried, he saw my panic attack during the Easter Break._

"I'm not the person you should say that to, but thank you for understanding" Arthur smiled, and then he kissed Ron's head. "Oh…"

"Ha" Ron couldn't help but chuckle. "Did you enjoy the taste of my hair-gel?"

"Not particularly, no" Arthur chuckled back, and then he let go of Ron after one more squeeze.

"I'll talk to him" Ron said as his father stood up. "I promise."

"Good man" Arthur nodded in approval, and Ron also stood up. "I'm going to help your mother in the kitchen, and we'll keep this between ourselves."

"Thanks" Ron smiled genuinely, he didn't want to be subjected to his mother's wrath. They both went into the kitchen again, and Ron noticed that Percy was now gone.

"What were you two talking about?" Molly asked with a bright smile, she could coo at Ron all day. Her boy had grown so tall so suddenly, and he was dressed in a manner that would no doubt make all the ladies swoon.

"Just about how he's been" Arthur lied, and Molly nodded in understanding as she turned to face them.

"How have you been, Ronnie?" Molly asked with a slightly worried voice. _Ronnie again? Ugh…_

"Mum, please don't call me Ronnie in public" Ron groaned, and his mother blinked at him.

"What he means is that he's a little too old for such a nickname" Arthur chuckled as he moved over to peel some potatoes.

"Nonsense" Molly huffed as she shooed her husband out of her kitchen. "I'm his mother, and I get to call him Ronnie no matter how old he is."

"But not in public, please…" Ron pleaded, and she waved a dismissive hand.

"You'll always be Ronnie to me" Molly responded, and Ron sighed in defeat. "Now tell me, how have you been?"

"I've been getting better" Ron replied as he looked to the stairs. "Mum, I'm doing just fine."

"Alright" Molly smiled in understanding. She had read almost a dozen different books about stress management, and so she understood that pestering him was not the right call to make. No matter how much she wanted to do it. Sirius was currently reading those books, they had been passing them around.

"I'm going upstairs for a bit" Ron said. "Do you need any help?"

"No, you go on up" Molly turned back to her potatoes. "Oh, and tell Ginny to start showering. You know how long she takes…" _Oh, we all bloody know that._ Ron walked up the stairs, and he went straight for Ginny's room. He knocked on the closed door, and he heard some shuffling before she opened the door slightly and stuck her head through. Her eyes scanned his clothes, and then she blinked a few times.

"Ron? What is it?" Ginny asked quickly, and Ron gave her a smile. She didn't smile back.

"Mum wants you to start showering" Ron passed on the information, and she nodded curtly. _Is she not happy with me?_ "Gin, did I… Did I do something?"

"No" Ginny replied.

"Oh, alright" Ron smiled again, and then he turned to leave.

"Wait…" Ginny sighed, and Ron turned around at an alarming speed. "Why did you attack someone from our House, Ron?" _Oh… He was a prick. No, don't say that._ "And why is Percy forcing us to keep quiet about it near mum?" Ron felt another pang of guilt at that, Percy was really on his side. _I'm a cunt, and I need to apologize to him right after this._

"McLaggen started it… And I lost my temper" Ron admitted, but Ginny wasn't buying it.

"You came to our carriage, and then you attacked one of us" Ginny told him. "You made Percy beg that snot-nosed idiot on your behalf, Ron."

"I know" Ron sighed guiltily. "I'll apologize to Percy for that right after this, I promise."

"Alright" Ginny nodded. "Did you… Did you apologize to Harry for attacking him?" Ron blinked at her question. _Where did that come from?_

"We made up" Ron replied slowly.

"But did you apologize?" Ginny asked with a slight frown. Ron didn't know why, but her question rubbed him the wrong way.

"We both apologized" Ron replied. "Take your shower, or mum will be unhappy." Ron turned around and left for Percy's room, he didn't want to think about his incident with Harry. _She made it sound like Harry was completely innocent in that mess. Assault, attempted kidnapping, thievery, and setting off an explosive in class are crimes worthy of Azkaban._ Ron took in a deep breath, and then another, and another. His mind began to ease up, and he took another deep breath for good measure. _It's in the past, and we both decided to move on._ Ron stopped in front of Percy's door, and he knocked firmly.

"Come in" came Percy's voice, and Ron entered and closed the door behind him. Percy was unpacking his trunk, which was sitting on his bed. "Ron" Percy greeted, and then he turned back to his task.

"Perce" Ron greeted back as he walked further into the room. _This room is too tidy. It's like no one lives in here._ "I'm sorry for what I said to you" Ron apologized, he knew that Percy respected straight-forwardness. Percy turned to face him, and he waited for Ron to go on. "I was angry, and I was way out of line with you. I'm sorry that you had to beg McLaggen, but I'm not sorry for belting him" Ron finished strongly.

"I guess that's fair" Percy sighed. "Ron… What is going on with you? You're not acting like yourself anymore…"

"Acting like myself?" Ron asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. _Not this again._

"I don't mean that it's bad" Percy replied. "I just want to know what's happening with you. We were really close, but now we barely talk about anything. It's like how things were before we started studying together, and I hate it." _Back when we were both outsiders in this family, which we still are in some ways. Dammit, he's right. Being on the outside is what made us truly start connecting in the first place, and I've just left him behind like some arsehole._

"I've been dealing with some… problems" Ron shifted in his spot, his oncoming confession fueled by guilt.

"Problems?" Percy asked, his voice much gentler than Ron had anticipated.

"You remember my Acute Stress Disorder?" Ron asked with a sheepish look, and Percy nodded with a solemn one. "It… got worse… recently. I got diagnosed with Chronic Stress during the Easter Break…" Percy felt like the wind had been kicked out of him, and he just stared at Ron like a moron with his mouth hanging open. "Perce, don't stare at me like that" Ron muttered as he fixed his sleeves on instinct. _My scars are covered, right?_

"Why didn't you tell me?" Percy asked after a few seconds.

"I don't like bringing it up, or talking about it" Ron admitted, his stomach feeling heavy. "I just want to deal with it on my own, and to not worry everyone around me with it."

"Who else knows?" Percy asked, controlling his anger at Ron's stubbornness.

"Mum and dad know, and so do Bill and Charlie" Ron shrugged. "Sirius, Remus, Xeno, and Pandora also know. And the Greengrass Family know because they were there when I was diagnosed. And now you know too."

"Your panic attack" Percy suddenly went wide-eyed. "How did I not see this?! I'm such a dolt!"

"Percy, don't do that" Ron sighed. "I kept it hidden, and I don't like talking about it. I'm getting help, and I'm dealing with it as best I can. And please don't tell anyone about it." Percy nodded, and then he moved forward and hugged Ron tightly. Ron hugged back, but he was surprised when Percy held on.

"I want to help, tell me how" Percy said, and Ron couldn't stop his smile.

"Just don't tell anyone, and let me handle the rest" Ron replied, and he felt Percy nod. "And let go of me because I don't swing that way." Percy chuckled despite himself, and he let go of Ron.

"You ever need anything, you'd better come to me first" Percy ordered, and Ron nodded softly.

* * *

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Dinner Time)**_

The inside of the Burrow may have not been up to par, but Molly Weasley had outdone herself when it came to outside. There were small Muggle lights, which were attached to a long wire and powered Magically, that illuminated the large dining table. The table was decorated with conjured flowers, and a clean white table spread. And the feast… Merlin, the feast that she had made was mental. There were over a dozen different dishes, all of them different Prewitt Family recipes. She had put Warming Charms on them, and then placed Protection Wards around them just in case. Ron had been zapped while he had tried to steal a drumstick.

Due to the Sun setting for the day, the lights gave the table an extremely welcoming ambience around it. Ron and his brothers were drawn to the table like moths to a flame, but none of them could touch the food. Molly had also made sure that her children were properly dressed, and looked suitable for the occasion. Ron was used as a template, much to the twins' annoyance, and now they were all dressed in their best.

Pandora, Xeno, and Luna had also shown up earlier, but Molly had refused to let them help her. This was her dinner, and as their hostess, she refused to let her guests do any of the work. Their only job was to enjoy their night, and to leave with full stomachs. Xeno and Pandora had spent their time with Arthur, hovering around just in case they were needed. Ron also noticed that Xeno and Pandora looked extremely happy, and they were sharing some stories from the 'old times' with Arthur. Ron didn't pay it much mind in the end, Xeno and Pandora had the right to be loud for once and Ron welcomed it. Luna and Ginny had sealed themselves in Ginny's room, and were no doubt still trying on different clothes. Ron had bought them enough clothes to last them a couple of years, after all.

Ron himself eventually left his brothers outside, and he found himself waiting in the Living Room. The guests could arrive at any moment, and he wanted to welcome them personally. Not only would it be respectful, but it would also show the guests that their presence was looked forward to. Daphne's teaching were almost like a reflex to him now, but he knew that he had a lot more to learn from the 'Ice Queen'.

"What are you doing in here?" came Fred's voice, and Ron looked to see the twins step into the Living Room.

"Waiting" Ron replied.

"For?" George cocked his head.

"For a certain girl, perhaps?" Fred sniggered, and Ron felt his cheeks burn.

"I am, actually" Ron replied, and the twins chuckled merrily. "Our guests could be arriving at any moment now, and one of us should be here to greet them. Well, all of us should be here… But we'd probably never fit."

"You want us all to stand guard of the fireplace?" Fred asked, a confused look on his face.

"Not stand guard" Ron replied. "It is a gesture of respect to welcome your guests into your home as soon as they enter." The twins exchanged looks, and then they began sniggering.

"Ronnie…" Fred cooed.

"Ronnikins" George added.

"Such a perfect host" Fred sang.

"Such a perfect child" George sang as well, while Ron fought the urge to frown.

"What other lessons do you wish to impart upon us?" Fred grinned.

"Tell us what else you've learnt within Slytherin" George also grinned.

"How **not** to win the House Cup?" they both asked, and Ron frowned. _That hit a sore spot._

"Go away" Ron snapped, both they both just laughed.

"We want to greet our guests too" they both said.

"Greet them, or send them running because of your ugly mugs?" Ron smirked, and they laughed harder.

"A fair point" Fred shrugged.

"We'll be in our room" George added. "Come and get us once you're done playing butler." The twins then sauntered off, while Ron looked back to the fireplace.

"I'm not a butler" Ron told himself, and then he shook his head. "Talking to yourself, Ron? Finally said your farewell to your sanity? Wait… I'm still doing it." Ron shook his head, and then a chuckle escaped his throat. _I've lost me fucking mind, I have._ The fireplace blazed green, and Ron straightened his back and smiled. Sirius walked out of the fire with a massive grin, followed by Harry and then Remus.

"Welcome" Ron greeted them, and Sirius scanned Ron.

"Well, with a welcome like this" Sirius laughed, and then he gave Ron a hug. "Looking like a proper casano…"

"Ahem" Remus coughed, and Sirius just shrugged. _Casanova?_ Ron snorted at the thought. "You look very smart, Ron" Remus said as he hugged Ron as well.

"Welcome back, Harry" Ron said as he shook the boy's hand firmly.

"I've missed this place" Harry smiled at Ron. "Remember last year's Holidays, they were such a blast."

"After the rescue, certainly" Ron grinned, and Harry grinned back.

"There are times when I feel like breaking into another Muggle home, I won't lie" Sirius laughed. "What a night that was, pure adventure." _With a hint of murderous intent, if I recall._

"Let me know when" Ron joked, and Sirius gave his back a firm pat.

"Are your mother and father in the kitchen?" Remus asked, and Ron nodded.

"They're expecting you" Ron told them.

"It'd be rude to keep them waiting" Sirius stated. "See you soon, pup." With that, Sirius and Remus left for the kitchen. Ron heard their voices greet the other adults, while Harry waited next to Ron.

"You're certainly dressed to kill" Harry sniggered, and Ron grinned at him. Harry was wearing black Wizard Robes, expensive Wizard Robes. _What is the material? Velvet? Linen?_ "I didn't know that you wore such Muggle looking clothes."

"I actually quite like them" Ron admitted. "They feel new to me… Different, but in a good way."

"Different, but in a good way…" Harry mused. "That's sort of like you, I reckon."

"Really?" Ron chuckled, and Harry shrugged with an easy smile. _Different, but in a good way. I like that._

"Where are your siblings?" Harry asked.

"The twins are in their room" Ron started. "Percy is probably with the adults, while Ginny and Luna are in Ginny's room. Bill and Charlie are away, of course." _But Charlie is coming home soon, I can't bloody wait for that._

"Luna" Harry smiled at Ron, and Ron blinked. "You really think of her as a family member, don't you?"

"Because she is" Ron replied, not understanding Harry's question. Harry seemed pleased about that, much to Ron's further confusion.

"Different, but in a good way" Harry repeated. _Alright then, be cryptic if you want. It's a free country, after all._ The fireplace blazed green again, and Ron smiled widely. _Daphne!_ Lord Greengrass emerged first, a beautiful bottle of Apple Brandy in his left hand. Mary and Tori came in next, followed by Daphne. Both Greengrass daughters were wearing elegant green dresses, but Daphne's was a shade darker than her sister's. They both had their hair done up, and Ron spotted his golden pin in Daphne's hair. She was also wearing the tennis bracelet that he had gotten her, much to his satisfaction.

"Lord Greengrass, welcome to The Burrow" Ron shook his mentor's right hand.

"Mr. Greengrass" Harry gave the pale man a welcoming nod, which he returned.

"Mr. Potter" Lord Greengrass greeted back, and then he looked to Ron with a smile. "Thank you for welcoming us, Ron. Are we the last to arrive?"

"Fashionably late" Ron joked, and Lord Greengrass chuckled.

"Excellent" Lord Greengrass said back. Ron then looked to Mary, and she presented her hand. Ron took it, and kissed her knuckles.

"Thank you for coming, and for making this house even brighter" Ron greeted, and she chuckled.

"Flatterer" Mary smiled. "Come love, we should find Arthur and Molly." _Arthur and Molly?_

"They are in the kitchen" Ron gestured, and both Lord and Lady Greengrass left the Living Room. The moment they disappeared, Tori ran up hugged Ron, and then planted a kiss on his left cheek. Harry's jaw dropped, while Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose. Ron just laughed, and he gave her right cheek a kiss in return. Harry jaw hung even lower, while Daphne pretended not to see it.

"Wasn't that so much better than kissing my knuckles?" Tori laughed as she let him go, and Ron smiled widely.

"It was, but you'd better behave" Ron told her, and she snorted.

"Not when you look so kissable" Tori teased, and this time Ron snorted.

"Tori…" Daphne warned, but it fell on deaf ears. Tori's eyes went to a stunned Harry, and she smiled mischievously. _Brace yourself mate, you've seen nothing yet._

"Harry Potter" Tori said in a sweet voice, and then she presented her hand to him. Harry looked at it, and then at her, and then at Ron. _Kiss her knuckle, you simpleton._ Ron made a kissing face, and Harry blushed. Harry then copied Ron's earlier actions, and Tori gave him a polite curtsy. "Astoria Greengrass" Tori introduced herself.

"H… Harry Potter" Harry replied.

"You're much more handsome in person" Tori told him, and Harry's cheeks flushed.

"Thanks" Harry managed a smile. "You're very… pretty as well… I mean, you're very pretty." _Well, he did better than I did when I was learning this. I couldn't bring myself to even try at first._

"I am, aren't I?" Tori hummed, and Harry blinked. Tori then moved to Harry left side, and she locked her arm with the Boy-Who-Lived. "Have you been to the Burrow before?" Harry nodded. "Then you should show me around, I'd hate to get lost in here." Ron held back a snigger as he watched Harry go red, while Daphne just smirked at Tori's behavior.

"Well, this is the Living Room" Harry stated, and Tori nodded. Harry then left the room with Tori, but not before he shot a confused look towards Ron. _Poor lad, I should've probably helped him._ Ron then looked to Daphne, and he found himself smiling like an idiot.

"Aren't you going to greet me?" Daphne put her hand forward, and Ron took it and kissed it.

"Welcome to my house, Daph" Ron smiled.

"My compliment?" Daphne asked with soft smile.

"You look stunning" Ron replied, and she blinked at him. "Didn't think that I'd give you one?"

"No, just surprised at the speed in which you did" Daphne smiled a little more widely. "You look extremely smart, by the way. Blue suits you" Daphne said as she eyed him.

"You're making me blush" Ron grinned, but there was truth to his words.

"I expect a tour, of course" Daphne said as she locked her arm with his. "Starting from your room." _My room… Shite. Just be a good host, and hope for the best._ Daphne then took out a handkerchief from left sleeve, and she wiped his left cheek.

"Daph?" Ron asked.

"Tori left lipstick on your cheek, just cleaning up after her" Daphne told him, and then she tucked her handkerchief back into her left sleeve. "Now, take me around the house." Ron guided them out into the kitchen, and he spotted the adults and Percy talking about his studies. Ron turned and started walking up the stairs, and he missed Sirius nudging Remus to have a look. Ron also missed the deadpan look Remus gave Sirius.

"You aren't upset with me anymore?" Ron asked as they walked up the steps, and Daphne tightened her hold on his left arm.

"No, not really" Daphne admitted.

"Why?" Ron asked, he knew that he was poking a dragon but he had to know.

"Something occurred to me when I got home" Daphne replied. "I won't be able to look after you during the Holidays."

"Look after me?" Ron frowned slightly. "I'm not a baby, Daph."

"I know, but I'm just… worried" Daphne admitted, though she whispered the last word. Ron lost his frown at that, and he gave her a small smile.

"I'm at home, and I'm sure that my parents will be keeping their eyes on me" Ron assured her, and she gave a nod.

"But still, I'm worried" Daphne replied. "I know that you hate talking about yourself, and…" she trailed off.

"And?" Ron asked.

"You only ever talk to me, right?" Daphne asked, a hint of pride in her voice. _I suppose that's true, it's just easier to talk to her. We've been through a lot, and despite seeing the worst things about me, she's never once mentioned them to anyone._

"I will floo over the moment I feel overwhelmed, I promise" Ron promised, and she smiled at him.

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear" Daphne said as she looked forward. They made the rest of the trip in silence, but it was interrupted by Harry and Tori.

"Is Ronnie giving you a tour?" Tori asked with a smile, and Ron sighed at being called 'Ronnie'.

"He is" Daphne replied, her eyes going to Harry. "My sister isn't giving you trouble, is she?"

"Harry and I have become fast friends" Tori answered for Harry. "We both love Quidditch, and he's been telling me about his Seeker career within Gryffindor." Harry smiled at that, clearly looking more comfortable than before.

"Harry is an amazing Seeker" Ron said truthfully, something that made Harry's smile wider. "Well, I'll see you both downstairs." Harry and Tori moved past them, and Ron heard Harry mention something about swallowing a Golden Snitch. "Does Tori really like Quidditch?" Ron asked as they started making their way up again.

"No, she doesn't" Daphne smirked.

"Bloody hell" Ron sighed. "I should probably warn him about her, or she'll try and make him into her slave or something."

"My sister isn't some monster, Ron" Daphne giggled, and he gave her deadpan look. "Warn him after my tour." Ron and Daphne eventually found themselves in front of Ron's room, and he was glad to see that the door was closed. _Harry didn't take Tori inside, good._ "Are we going in?"

"Y… Yeah, of course" Ron replied, and then he opened the door. Daphne let go of his arm, and she walked inside as he followed her. Ron closed the door behind him, and he watched her look around. _Well, here it is. In all of its orange glory._

"So this is where the Slytherin Prodigy grew up" Daphne smiled as she looked around, and Ron felt his ears go red.

"Don't call me that" Ron muttered, but she just shot him a smirk.

"Is Ronnie better?" she teased, and Ron flushed. "No? Then what should I call you?"

"Ron" he replied as he averted his gaze, and she held back a giggle. It was always a treat to see him like this, all shy and cute. She prided herself for being the only person that brought out this side of him, and every time she got to see it, she savored it.

"Ron, look at me" Daphne hummed, and he did so reluctantly. "Tell me what it was like to grow up here." Ron blinked in confusion, and she waited patiently.

"Are you asking about my childhood?" Ron asked, and she nodded as she moved to his bed. She sat down, and it creaked, and Ron nearly lost his temper. Daphne didn't even register how hard his mattress was, but if she did, then she was too polite to say anything. Either way, Ron still felt… embarrassed. _Why am I being this way? It's just a fucking room._

"Ron, I'm waiting" Daphne hummed, and then she eyed the spot beside her. Ron walked over, and he sat down beside her. "What was it like growing up here with so many siblings? When did you start running? When did you start studying? What did you do to pass the time?"

"Do you want to know what my first words were too?" Ron joked.

"If you can remember them, then please tell me" Daphne replied.

"Well, I don't" Ron shrugged. "As for the other questions… It was hectic. Bill and Charlie were always too old, and they were often our babysitters. Percy was always different, but in a good way." Ron smiled to himself at that, because it was right. "The twins were like Tori, but there were two of them and that made them a handful. They also happen to be utter geniuses, and have almost limitless creativity. I'll let you think about that for a second."

"Sounds like fun" Daphne smiled as she studied his features. He had a lot of freckles, but they suited him because of his fiery red hair. He was starting to grow into his nose, but it was still a bit too big. He was also starting to lose the roundness of his face, and she could see a jaw-line beginning to show through.

"It was fun" Ron admitted with a smile. "Ginny is the baby of the family, and we all sort of felt this need to keep her safe. She's also the first female Weasley in generations, so that only egged us on. But truth be told, she's tougher than she looks. She constantly butted heads with us whenever we told her to stay out of rough-housing. She also took it upon herself to de-Gnome the garden once, but she ended up getting bitten by one of them."

"What did you do about that?" Daphne asked, her eyes traveling to the various Chudley Cannon posters.

"I comforted her" Ron recalled. "Told her that I loved her, and that I'd do all of her chores for her. The twins had a great time making a fool out of me for that" Ron chuckled. "I hated it at the time, but it doesn't bother me as much anymore now that I think about it. That's just how they are."

"And Luna? When did she become your sister?" Daphne asked as she moved closer to him.

"She spent a lot of time here" Ron told her. "Especially after…" Ron trailed off, images of a dying Pandora flashing in his mind.

"After you saved her mother" Daphne finished for him, and he nodded. "I remember when Luna first told us that story. It was… right after you killed that Troll. Feels like ages ago…"

"It's been a long year" Ron managed a weak smile. "So much has happened since then, it almost feels surreal." _The Entity, this 'She', Death destroying this Universe… How could I ever explain this to anyone without ending up in a Psych Ward?_

"I'd say that more good than bad has happened" Daphne whispered.

"It doesn't feel like it…" Ron whispered back, his eyes studying her face. Her face wasn't as round as it used to be, making her cheek bones more prominent. Her eyes seemed like a darker shade of blue than before, but that could have been due to the lighting. Ron stared at the flecks of gold in her eyes, and he felt drawn in. Her lips lifted into a small smile, and it was the most adorable smile that he had ever seen. Every line and angle of her face worked seamlessly together in order to create something more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

"I used to dislike you quite a lot when I first heard that story" Daphne admitted softly as she watched him looking at her lips.

"Why?" Ron looked back into her eyes.

"I… don't know" Daphne whispered, they were close enough to make her blush. "You just showed up, and I hadn't met someone like you before. You were rude, loud, had no manners, and despite being in Slytherin, you hated your own House-mates. But you worked hard to achieve more House-Points than anyone else, all the while trying to be friends with us. I couldn't understand you, even after spending hours thinking about you. You made no sense to me, and there are times when you still don't."

"What made you kiss me in the Sanctuary?" Ron asked.

"I spent too much time thinking about you, and I think it triggered a change in my opinion of you" Daphne smiled. "Especially after you accepted Pansy with open arms after I asked you to, that's what cemented my… my crush on you." Ron blushed at the word 'crush'. "And after everything we went through… Your attack and coma, your return, our arguments, you speaking Parseltongue, our Christmas Break together, me seeing your scars… All of it. When we were sitting in that chair, I just moved without thinking. I wanted to do it, at least once."

"I'm glad you did" Ron admitted easily. "And I'm glad that it wasn't just once." Ron leaned forward, and he kissed her lips. She kissed back, and he could feel the smile on her lips.

"I'm glad too" Daphne said after she pulled back. "Oh, I left lipstick on your lips." She took out her handkerchief, and she cleaned his lips in a fussy manner. "There, no evidence" she giggled, and Ron smiled widely.

"Have I ever told you that you have the most adorable laugh?" Ron asked, and she shook her head. "Then let me remedy that. You have the most adorable laugh that I've ever heard, and every time I hear it, I start smiling involuntarily. I could be in the foulest of moods, but when you start laughing, I struggle to stay upset." Daphne just stared at him, her face flushing from his words. She decided that he deserved another kiss for that, but there was a sudden knock at the door that stopped her. Ron stood up slowly, and he walked over to the door and opened it.

"Percy" Ron smiled, and Percy's eyes went to Daphne immediately. "I was telling her about our childhood in this house, do you want to tell her some stories as well?" Percy relaxed at that, his worries about inappropriate behavior slowly fading away.

"Maybe later" Percy gave her a polite smile, one that she returned. "Mum wants to get dinner started, and people are starting to move outside."

"Thanks for letting us know" Ron nodded, and Percy left for downstairs. "Daph?" Ron looked to her, but she was already walking over to him. Ron closed the door behind them, and they made their way down in silence. Daphne had locked her right arm with his left one, and Ron was certain that she had no intention of letting go. _It looks harmless enough, and I'm certainly enjoying it, so I don't mind._ "So… What did you think of my room?" Ron asked slowly.

"It was very… orange" Daphne replied, her tone amused. "And I knew that you loved the Chudley Cannons, but I didn't know just how much until today. I counted twelve posters, I think." _Glad she didn't see the ones under my bed._ "All in all, I liked it a lot."

"Really?" Ron asked, clearly baffled by her response.

"Why wouldn't I?" Daphne asked in return, but Ron just looked forward and didn't answer. "Stop that, Ron. I liked your room, your bed, and what we did on it."

"Merlin…" Ron muttered, did she even hear herself?

"That's not what I meant, you pervert" Daphne tensed a bit, and Ron snorted. "Arse… I was trying to be sweet."

"I know" Ron held back his snigger. "Thanks, Daph." Daphne nodded, and they both stepped into the kitchen together. Ron spotted the twins talking to Harry and Tori, and then Ron spotted Ginny and Luna eyeing Tori from a different corner. Luna was just smiling airily, but Ginny was shooting daggers at Tori.

"Hmmm" Daphne hummed, clearly amused by Ginny's obvious dislike of Tori. "I'm going to talk to my sister, Ron. You should get to Potter, and give him your warning about Tori. Also make sure that he sits near us on the dinner table, he is in our year after all." Daphne then disentangled from Ron, and she walked over to her sister. They greeted each other, and then left to go outside together. Ron spotted Ginny move towards Harry, but Ron quickly made it to him before her.

"Harry mate, a word?" Ron smiled as he gestured towards the door leading outside.

"Sure, Ron" Harry smiled in returned, and they both made their way out. Ron missed Ginny glaring at him, or Luna laughing to herself. "What do you need?" Harry asked as they stepped outside, and Ron immediately felt the cool night breeze wash over him.

"Well, a couple of things" Ron started. "First of all, you should sit with me and Daph. We're in the same year, and I'd like you to spend some more time with us."

"Oh" Harry muttered. "The twins… They already asked me to sit with them… Same with Astoria." _I see, well I tried._

"Secondly, about Astoria…" Ron started again, but Harry jumped in.

"She doesn't like Quidditch, does she?" Harry smirked, and Ron blinked at him. "Yeah, I figured as much. I think she noticed that I relaxed a bit when I talked about it, and so she began pretending to care. It was… nice of her, but she did put me in that awkward position in the first place."

"She didn't mean anything bad by it, she's just a bit on the wild side" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry so much" Harry chuckled. "I enjoyed talking to her, she has a great sense of humor." Ron relaxed at that, and he gave Harry a grateful nod. "The twins have also taken a liking to her, but I'm not surprised by that. They like people who can take a joke. Though Ginny was…" he trailed off.

"Ginny was what?" Ron asked with a sigh. _She's really acting out of character lately, and I don't know what to do about it._

"I don't want to say anything to… anger you" Harry shuffled his feet, and he shot a glance towards the front door. "But mate, your sister can be a little overwhelming… First, she never talked to me and always ran away whenever I showed up. Then, she started moving past that but still wouldn't talk. And now she does talk to me, but I can see that she's uncomfortable doing it. It… I don't know, it just doesn't feel natural to me." Ron processed Harry's words, while Harry took in a deep breath. "I like her, she's great at Quidditch and she's been through a lot this year. But mate… She didn't even acknowledge Astoria, and spent ten minutes just glaring at her. It was weird…"

"I'm sorry to hear that" Ron shook his head, he had to tell mum and dad about this.

"I do like her, don't doubt that" Harry said quickly. "But she has a way of making me feel… unnatural. Like I'm some savior of the World, one that can't be approached because they're barely human… I don't like **that**."

"Dinner's ready, kids!" came Molly's voice, and both boys began walking towards the table.

"Well, I'll try and do something about that" Ron assured Harry. "But in the meantime, just enjoy yourself and talk to whoever you want."

"Thanks Ron, I appreciate you understanding me" Harry smiled gratefully. "I don't want to make things awkward, but I really don't know how to deal with your sister outside of the Quidditch Pitch."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Dinner was progressing rather nicely, despite a couple of awkward moments. The first awkward thing to happen was Ginny blatantly pouting when Harry and Astoria sat together across from the twins, but at least Luna had quickly taken care of that by distracting Ginny. Ginny still kept shooting glares at Tori, who was becoming fast friends with everyone around her. The second awkward thing had happened because of Arthur Weasley. Lord Greengrass had mentioned that he owned a lot of businesses within the Muggle World, and that he often travelled to different Muggle cities because of it.

Ron's father had all but erupted with excitement, and was still questioning Lord Greengrass about 'Muggle behaviors and traditions'. At least the adults were all talking to each other, and they were certainly getting along. Mary had become friends with Pandora and Ron's mother over the last couple of months, mostly because they were all learning to deal with Ron's mental health together. At least something good had happened because of his brain-damage.

Percy was telling Remus about his school-life, while Sirius talked with Xeno about Dementors of all things. Xeno was quite adamant that Dementors had no place within the Wizarding World, and Sirius happily agreed. Ron listened to every conversation, and it pleased him greatly that everyone was getting along nicely. There was plenty of laughter going around, and it made Ron wonder why he was so worried in the first place. The adults were intelligent enough to discuss things in a civil manner, as he was witnessing now.

"So are you coming to work tomorrow?" Daphne asked, she was sitting to his left. Ron had noticed that they were sitting quite close, but no one else seemed to notice that. And if they had, they didn't say anything about it.

"Yeah, I don't see why I wouldn't" Ron replied as he turned his upper body slightly towards her.

"So I'll get to see you tomorrow" Daphne smiled slightly, and Ron smiled back.

"For about the twenty minutes that I'll be free" Ron said, but she just shrugged.

"I'm fine with that, I know that your work is important to you and father" Daphne said. "Theo is coming over on Monday, and he'll be spending the entire month at the Manor." _Bloody hell, his damn father… I nearly forgot about that._ "So you'd better come around often, because I don't think that I can deal with him alone."

"Theo's not that hard to handle, just hand him a book on Herbology and he'll be gone for hours" Ron sniggered.

"He gets along with mother splendidly, actually" Daphne noted. "They both love Herbology, and he often helps her in the Gardens."

"See, nothing to worry about" Ron responded.

"Maybe, but you still better come over" Daphne smiled mischievously. "By the way, did you run into Blaise and his mother at the station?"

"No, actually" Ron replied. "I didn't really see any of them once we left them."

"Odd" Daphne mused. "I'm sure you'll get a letter soon enough from Clementine Zabini. Be careful with her Ron, she's not right in head." _Neither am I._

"Are the rumors about her true?" Ron asked. "That she… poisons her husbands, and takes their wealth?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were" Daphne whispered. "She's had six so far, and they've all died within a year of marrying her. And she was always the beneficiary of their wills… Please be on your guard near her, she is a poisonous woman. Father and mother despise her, and even Lucius Malfoy keeps his distance from her."

"Bloody hell" Ron whispered. "And Blaise lives with this woman?"

"He's had a terrible childhood, believe me" Daphne replied with an almost sad voice. "Why do you think he's so closed off? He doesn't like people getting too close to him, mostly because he expects them to betray him. We all know it, but we just don't talk about it." _Theo saw his mother die, Blaise's mother is clearly mental… I need to learn more about my friends, and be there for them in any way that I can. They're helping me with my problems, and I must do the same for them._

"He told me that she once left him within Diagon Alley, and that Malfoy ended up finding him" Ron whispered, and Daphne nodded.

"I've only met her twice, and each time I did, I was left with a foul taste in my mouth" Daphne admitted. "She enjoys flirting with every man around her, and because of how beautiful she is, they tend to forget themselves."

"Did she ever…" Ron started, but then he stopped himself.

"My mother would kill her, believe me" Daphne smirked, and Ron smiled to himself. Ron suddenly heard someone tap a spoon to a glass, and both Ron and Daphne looked to see Pandora standing up with Xeno by her side.

"Excuse me everyone, but we have an announcement to make" Pandora beamed at them, and everyone turned to face her. "We've known something for a month now, and we've been waiting for the perfect moment to tell everyone." The Lovegoods exchanged loving looks, and then they looked back at everyone. Ron could see the adults already grinning madly, even Lord Greengrass was smiling genuinely. They clearly understood what was going on, but Ron and the other kids just waited for the 'announcement'.

"We're pregnant!" the Lovegoods exclaimed together, and Ron just blinked at them. _Pregnant?_ And then it hit him, and the moment it did, Sirius let out a loud whistle as the other adults started clapping. Molly and Mary were the first to get up and congratulate Pandora, especially Molly who hugged Pandora as tightly as she could. Sirius had his arm around Xeno, and he was bellowing with laughter and joy. Xeno was smiling proudly as he shook hands with the other men, all of them congratulating him with wide smiles. Ron stood up from his seat, and he began clapping after Daphne nudged him. It was odd how just two words had sent him through a rollercoaster of emotions. He had felt such overwhelming joy and excitement that he was left frozen in place, but he had also felt a weak sense of dread. Dread for a life that wasn't even born yet.

"Go and congratulate them" Daphne said to him, and he felt her push him gently. _A baby? A little baby? Another Lovegood?_ Ron watched Pandora and Xeno as they were being hugged and showered with words of love and support, and that's when he noticed Luna run up to them.

"I'm going to be a big sister?!" Luna smiled widely, her feet barely staying on the ground as she hopped with excitement. Pandora hugged her tightly as a response, and Ron spotted Molly wipe her eyes clean with a massive smile in place. By the time Ron got there, everyone seemed to be cheering for Xeno and Pandora.

"Um… Congratulations" Ron stammered, his face struggling to stop his ever-growing grin. Pandora beamed at him, and then she pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back far more gently, scared that he might hurt the baby.

"Xeno and I want to ask you something later, alright?" Pandora whispered, and he nodded. Once she let him go, Ron went and hugged Xeno.

"Pandora and I want to ask you something later" Xeno stated as he hugged Ron back, and Ron let out a laugh.

"She said the same thing" Ron gave the man a squeeze. "I'm so happy for you both." Xeno let go of Ron, and he put his hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"Thank you Ron, for everything" Xeno smiled lovingly, and Ron just smiled back.

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinner)**_

He felt slightly out of place right now, but that was fine. Mary had become friends with Pandora and Molly over the last couple of months, while he had learned to tolerate seeing Ron's family on a weekly basis to discuss Ron's health. Daphne had kept him updated on everything, and he in turn would relay that information to Ron's family. Unlike Mary, Sebastian didn't see Ron's family as his own friends. They were all brought together because of Ron, and that was that.

But right now, he was genuinely happy for Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood, he knew just how amazing having a child was. The sheer joy of it could even overwhelm a person like Sebastian, like it was doing right now. He didn't really know these people, but he was genuinely happy for them. And he wanted their unborn child to be born safe and healthy. In a way, he felt proud to be here. And he knew exactly what to do next.

"Black" Sebastian looked towards the man with a mad grin on his face. "That bottle I brought with me, we ought to open in now." Sirius looked to Sebastian with his grin in place.

"Seb, you're a genius!" Sirius laughed, and he gave Sebastian a firm pat on his back. _This is a joyous occasion, so I'll let that slide._ "C'mon, I'll grab us some glasses." Sebastian and Sirius left quickly and quietly, but not before Sebastian shot a smile at Mary who was currently talking to Tori about 'the baby'. They made their way into the Burrow, and Sebastian went straight for the bottle while Sirius looked for glasses.

"What are you two doing?" came Remus' voice, and Sirius answered immediately.

"We're getting the proper tools to start this celebration" Sirius replied. "It was Seb's idea, by the way." _Stop calling me 'Seb', it's demeaning._ Sebastian ignored the ex-convict as he grabbed the bottle and looked to Remus.

"We need to toast the Lovegoods, and their unborn child" Sebastian told him, and Remus nodded in agreement.

"The glasses are in **that** drawer" Remus pointed out, and Sirius started grabbing them.

"Wish we had cigars or something, like we did with James and Lily when Harry was announced" Sirius mused. _Cigars?_

"I have Cigars back at the Manor" Sebastian told them, and they gave him surprised looks. "They were a gift from one of my Muggle business partners. I've only had one or two because Mary doesn't like me smoking."

"What kind?" Sirius asked immediately.

"No idea" Sebastian replied. "But they taste good, if that's what you're wondering." Sirius gave him an almost puppy-dog eyed look, and Sebastian nodded in understanding. "I'll be right back."

"Good man" Sirius beamed. Sebastian handed Remus the bottle, which he took carefully because of how expensive it looked.

"Don't let him near it" Sebastian instructed, and Remus chuckled.

"My thoughts exactly" Remus agreed. "We'll meet you outside." Sebastian nodded, and then he went to the Burrow's fireplace. He grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and cast it into the fireplace as he called for his home. When the fire blazed green, Sebastian stepped through it.

"Spinny!" Sebastian called, and she showed up in front of him with a loud crack.

"Master, you called Spinny?" Spinny bowed.

"I did, go to my study and bring me that box of Cigars that I was gifted" Sebastian ordered, and Spinny nodded before Disapparating. Sebastian waited patiently for a few seconds before Spinny apparated back, the polished wooden box of Cigars in her hands. Sebastian took the box from her, and she bowed deeply.

"Does Master require anything else?" Spinny asked.

"No, return to your duties" Sebastian said as he turned around. He heard her leave with a loud crack while he tossed floo-powder into the fireplace and called for the Burrow, stepping through when the flames turned green. As he stepped into the Burrow, he suddenly realized that he was excited to share this moment with a family that he had always ignored. _Who could've seen such a turn of events? I certainly didn't._ Sebastian smiled to himself, and then he made his way outside.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Nearing Midnight)**_

Sirius, Remus, Harry, and the Greengrasses had all gone home after celebrating the great news, which left only the Weasleys and Lovegoods at the Burrow. Pandora had tried helping Molly clean up, but Molly was having none of that. As far as Molly Weasley was concerned, Pandora would not be lifting a finger to work for the next eight months. Ron's mother was already talking about making enough food to feed the Lovegoods as well in order to stop Pandora from cooking. Ron's father was busy making plan with Xeno about renovating the Rookery for a larger family, and Percy had joined them. Ron figured that they'd need Percy's intelligence on this, mostly because Xeno was too aloof and Arthur was too optimistic. Ron was currently sitting with his siblings in the Living Room, and they were all talking about baby names for the incoming Lovegood.

"I'm just saying that Fred is a solid name" Fred chuckled.

"For a boy" Ginny argued. "What if the baby is a girl?"

" **He's** a boy" George waved a dismissive hand, clearly enjoying vexing his little sister. "We all know it Gin, stop deluding yourself."

"How could you possibly know that?" Ginny snapped. "The parents don't even know!"

"What do you think, Luna?" Ron beamed at her, she was the happiest he had seen her in forever.

"I think I'm going to be a big sister, and that I'm going to spoil my sibling" Luna hummed.

" **We're** going to spoil **him** , you mean" Fred corrected her, and then he chuckled when he saw Ginny get riled up.

"I wonder if we're about to meet another kindred spirit, Fred" George said in a longing tone, and Fred hummed.

"That would be wondrous, brother mine" Fred replied.

"Speaking of kindred spirits" Ron started. "What do you think of Tori?"

"She's not so bad, actually" George sniggered.

"Has a twisted sense of humor, which makes her a friend in my books" Fred laughed. "She ran circles around poor Harry."

"Though he did see through her, but was just too polite to stop her" George added.

"She's annoying" Ginny frowned, and the twins grinned at her.

"Jealous of a little competition, Gin-Gin?" Fred asked. _Oh shite._

"No, I'm not!" Ginny bellowed as she stood up, but the twins just grinned. "And there's no competition!" Ginny's face turned a horrible shade of red, and she glared murder at the twins.

"Ah, teen drama" George breathed in deeply. "I live off of this angst."

"That's enough" Ron bit back a laugh.

"I don't need you defending me, Ron" Ginny frowned at him.

"I'm not defending you, I'm trying to stop a fight" Ron said in a placating manner, though her tone irritated him greatly. "And give Tori a chance, she's actually really great."

"She's an annoying, attention-hungry brat" Ginny hissed.

"And what are you right now?" Ron asked before he could stop himself, his voice harsh. He didn't know why, but Ginny's recent behavior was starting to annoy him. Firstly, she started avoiding him and began prioritizing Harry. Then she openly joined Hermione's group over his, despite him being her blood. But then again, she only did that to be closer to Harry. And now Ron had learned that she was making Harry feel uncomfortable because of her blatantly open crush on him. Her being so venomous towards Tori was the last straw, especially because she didn't even know Tori.

"Ron, stop" Luna whispered as she put her hand on his back. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, and then at Luna. She was suddenly hit with a wave of possessiveness that she hadn't felt in a long time, and that made her grit her teeth.

"Whatever" Ginny huffed as she left the room.

"She needs to learn how to take a joke" Fred frowned slightly as he watched the spot where Ginny had been.

"She needs to get over Harry" Ron spat out, his mood was beginning to turn. "He has no interest in her, and she makes him uncomfortable with her stupid crush." The twins just stared at Ron, and then they shook their heads.

"You can a massive arsehole when you want, you know that right?" Fred sighed.

"She's not even twelve yet, Ron" George said. "We were only poking fun at her, but you saying that 'she needs to get over Harry' is taking things too far."

"Her reaction to your jokes was 'taking things too far', and calling Tori those things isn't acceptable" Ron argued, and he felt Luna rubbing circles on his back. "You met Tori, and you know that she's a delight to be around."

"Won't argue that" George sighed. "Never met a 'Lady' who knew so much about joke items, though she still has a lot to learn." Something in the back of Ron's head went off, and he could imagine the twins 'teaching' her their ways. _Merlin help us all. With her wealth, and their ingenuity, Hogwarts will be in deep shite next year._

"I'm going to go check on Ginny" Fred said as he stood up. "Any message you all want to pass on?"

"Tell her that today's a happy day, and that she should be happy too" Luna smiled, and Fred nodded slowly.

"Ron?" Fred asked, and Ron just shook his head. "Right…" Fred muttered as he left the room.

"I'm going to go find Pandora and Xeno" Ron sighed as he stood up. "They wanted to talk to me about something, and I'd best find out what. Luna, want to tag along?"

"Sure" Luna hopped off of the couch, and they both made their way into the kitchen.

"Guess I'll just… sit here then" George muttered to himself once everyone was gone.

"Ron and Luna, there you two are" Pandora smiled at them as they stepped into the kitchen, and Ron saw her sitting at the dining table with her husband and Ron's father. Ron's mother was charming dishes to wash themselves, a big smile on her face.

"Mum" Luna smiled widely, and then she ran up and hugged Pandora's neck.

"Take a seat, love" Pandora laughed in her usual airy voice, and Luna sat down beside her. Ron sat down across from Pandora, Xeno, and Luna.

"Where's Perce?" Ron asked his father.

"Oh, he was tuckered out and went to bed" Arthur replied.

"That's fair, I'm just about to head to bed as well" Ron nodded. "I need to be at work tomorrow, and it's been a long day."

"Can't you take tomorrow off?" his mother asked as she sat down beside him, effectively trapping him in between her and her husband.

"Practice makes perfect" Ron shrugged. "If I take even one day off, that's a day that someone else might have on me." Molly pursed her lips, but didn't argue. "Pandora, you wanted to ask me something?"

"I did" Pandora hummed as she played with her daughter's hair. "My husband and I had a long talk, and we've decided something." Pandora then looked to Xeno, who cleared his throat and sat up straighter.

"Ron, we want you to be the Godfather of the baby" Xeno stated, his voice warm and hopeful. _Huh?_ Arthur and Molly smiled widely at that, and Ron felt his father give him a strong pat on the back.

"Me?" Ron blinked. "Why?"

"Well for one, I wouldn't be here without you" Pandora chuckled. "And secondly, you've always watched over Luna without fail. I can't think of a better person for it."

"You really want me to be a Godfather?" Ron asked once again, his smile growing wider by the second. _Me? A Godfather? Like Sirius is to Harry? I'd be like a parent to their child._

"Yes, we really do" Xeno smiled widely, and then he looked to Molly. "And we want you to be the Godmother, Molly."

"Of course" Molly replied immediately, her eyes welling up again. Ron kept his eyes on Pandora, and she smiled at him like she always did. Like she could see all of him, every part of his soul, and she loved him wholeheartedly.

"I accept."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

As Ron finished up his breakfast, his other siblings came down to start theirs. He had barely slept last night, his excitement at being a Godfather had him tossing and turning all night. Even when he went for his morning run, he had a massive smile plastered on his face. And about halfway through, he had started cheering for himself and the baby to come. _I'm glad no one saw that side of me. Even I have to admit that it must've been rather a weird sight to see._

"Thanks for breakfast, mum" Ron said as he handed his plate to her.

"Of course, dear" his mother replied. "Are you heading off now?"

"I am, and I won't be back until dinner" Ron replied honestly. Something shifted in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. "I'll be fine, mum" Ron whispered, and she smiled sadly.

"Of course, dear" she repeated.

"Are you leaving for work?" Percy asked as he took his seat, his hair disheveled. "It's not even nine in the morning…"

"I've been up since half-past-six, Perce" Ron chuckled.

"Ugh…" Fred groaned.

"Ickle Ronnikins has become worse than Prefect Percy" George fake-gagged. "Send Astoria our regards, by the way."

"I will" Ron smirked, his eyes moving over Ginny. She was eating her breakfast quietly, and Ron felt a pang of guilt for getting angry with her yesterday. Normally he'd apologize to her, but right now, he decided not to. He was tired, he had work on for the whole day, and he didn't want to start a fight. Ron moved towards the Living Room, and his eyes drifted towards the 'Chores List'. _Might as well know what I have to do once I'm home._

"Ronnie?" his mother called as he read the list. _What the…? My name isn't even on here._

"Mum, where are my chores?" Ron asked, and she smiled tiredly.

"I must've forgotten to put them on" Molly replied, which was a blatant lie. She had left him out on purpose because she didn't want him pushing himself whatsoever. Unfortunately for her, Ron figured that out pretty quickly.

"That's fine" Ron smiled. "I'll put them on now." _I can handle chores for Merlin's sake. I'm not some cripple that needs to be looked out for._ Molly wanted to argue, but her other children were eyeing her suspiciously. Percy gave her an understanding look, and went back to his food. But the twins and Ginny were shocked that their mother would forget to hand out chores. Ron finished putting himself down for garbage duty, and for clearing the table after dinner. "There" Ron smiled at her, and she managed a weak smile in return. "Now that that's fixed, I'm off. Say hi to dad for me when he wakes up."

Ron moved to the fireplace within the Living Room, and he took a pinch of floo powder and cast it into the fire as he called for Greengrass Manor. The flames blazed green, and Ron stepped through them. As he stepped into the Greengrass Greeting Room, he spotted Lord Greengrass talking with a young man with black hair that was swept back. Ron stopped in his tracks as he studied the handsome boy's face, it was Victor Burke. _Bloody hell, I haven't seen him since before I was attacked. What is he doing here?_ Ron approached the two men slowly, and they both noticed Ron at the same time. Lord Greengrass nodded at Ron, while Victor smiled at him knowingly.

"Ronald Weasley, we meet again" Victor greeted, his voice was still smooth and low.

"Victor Burke, it's good to see you again" Ron greeted back, though he himself didn't believe his words. Something about Victor always made the back of Ron's head tingle, like there was something dangerous about the handsome young man. _Not to mention how he smiles at people around him. Like some unnatural force is pulling at his face to present an approachable façade._

"You two know each other?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Ronald helped me with some Triumvirate business back when I was at Hogwarts" Victor replied smoothly. _And you rewarded me with a Tome filled with the Dark Arts. One that I destroyed in a fit of righteous anger. A moronic mistake that resulted in me losing an important asset._

"So you two have schemed together before, that's good to hear" Lord Greengrass smirked. "Ron, wait for me within my study. I won't be long." Ron nodded at that, his eyes still on Victor. _What is he doing here?_ Ron made his way towards the study, his eyes shooting back towards Victor. The young man was looking back at Ron, his unnatural smile still in place.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron sat in his chair as he waited for Lord Greengrass, his mind on Victor Burke. _The last time I saw him, we had butterbeers together. And then, I was attacked and left in a coma. Once I got back to school, he sent me a bloody Tome filled with the Dark Arts, a Tome that I destroyed. What the hell is he doing here?_ Something didn't sit well with Ron, and he planned to ask Lord Greengrass about Victor. But there was another thought in his head as well. Victor was a shady guy… with shady connections… Connections that Ron wanted to start making, just in case he needed information on the Dark Lord's movements. _Or even the movements of his followers. Ron, this is a shite idea._

"Sorry for the wait, Ron" Lord Greengrass said as he entered the study and shut the door behind him.

"My Lord, why was Victor Burke here?" Ron asked, his curiosity defeating his manners.

"You don't trust him?" Lord Greengrass picked up, and then he moved over and sat down in front of Ron. "That's a wise policy, Ron. People like him are the most dangerous to deal with because they only serve themselves, and do not understand the notion of loyalty."

"So why was he here?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass stared at him for a few seconds.

"Do you know of Borgin and Burkes?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"The shop in Knockturn Alley? Dad's mentioned it a fair few times, actually" Ron replied. _Didn't Theo's report tell us that the Dark Lord worked at Borgin and Burkes before he disappeared? Yeah, it did. Bloody hell, that's one creepy little fact._

"Victor is a Burke, and he is currently working for Mr. Borgin" Lord Greengrass explained. "They peddle in some… forbidden artifacts. I have recently bought a Tome from them to be stored within my personal collection."

"A Tome?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass nodded slowly. "Was it a Tome on the Dark Arts?"

"Yes" Lord Greengrass replied, his eyes studying Ron. The moment he noticed something akin to desire, Sebastian found himself questioning Ron's intentions. The boy had jumped at the opportunity to learn from a Trainer that dealt with the Dark Arts, and he had used a Dark Spell on the Potter boy too. Sebastian frowned slightly as he noticed a pattern. Ron was attracted to the Dark Arts, and that was never a good sign.

"Your collection…" Ron started, but Lord Greengrass cut him off.

"Is not for viewing" Lord Greengrass said bluntly. "It is something of a hobby of mine, but I never delve into the objects that I collect. And neither will you." _Fuck. I really wanted to see if I could learn something from it._

"I was going to ask if your collection could get you into trouble with the Ministry" Ron lied, and Lord Greengrass cocked an eyebrow.

"I know that you won't tell anyone about it" Lord Greengrass smirked, and Ron nodded in agreement. "Let's start your day, shall we?"

"I'll grab my puzzle books" Ron said as he got up. Sebastian followed Ron with his eyes, he had seen the boy's disappointment at being rejected. And he was impressed with the ease that the boy had made a lie to cover his tracks. Ron sat back down in his chair with his books in his hands, and he noticed Lord Greengrass' eyes on him. Ron looked up and smiled, and Lord Greengrass smiled back. _Is he onto me? Probably, but I'm innocent until proven guilty._

"Ron, one more thing" Lord Greengrass started, their eyes locking with each other's. "Your Dueling tutor, Jane Roberts, is coming to interview you today, right before lunch."

"She is?" Ron asked, slightly taken aback. "And why is she interviewing me?"

"She mentioned something about seeing if you were worth her time" Lord Greengrass replied. "She is a… harsh woman."

"Harsh woman?" Ron blinked. "You mentioned that she was a harsh instructor back when you first showed me her file. What does that even mean?"

"Well for one, she is extremely blunt" Lord Greengrass replied. "I met her on Thursday, and she immediately told me not to waste her time. She told me that she was coming here to 'interview' you today, and that if she didn't like what she saw, then she'd be moving on."

"And what does she want to see?" Ron asked. "Does she want to test my Dueling skills?"

"I imagine she wants to test your knowledge first" Lord Greengrass mused. "And she no doubt wants to see your character, build, and so forth. Just be yourself, and I'm sure everything will work out. Now, let's get started shall we?" _This is becoming an increasingly more interesting day._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Just Past Midday)**_

"Ron, I've explained this strategy already" Lord Greengrass frowned at Ron's mistake. "Why are you always so hell-bent on killing your opponent's knights?"

"They are unpredictable" Ron argued. "Even if I lose a piece taking them down, their removal makes the game easier for me to handle."

"This 'piece for a piece' philosophy of yours will come back to haunt you one day, mark my words" Lord Greengrass frowned at him. "I used the knights as poisoned pieces, and you were so obsessed with taking them, you didn't even realize it. Get your head on straight, or go home and stop wasting my time." Ron sighed out because of frustration, and then he nodded.

"I'll be more careful" Ron promised.

"Just because you can't see an immediate danger doesn't mean that it isn't there" Lord Greengrass' features softened at Ron's words. "Take your time, and don't become solely focused on taking your opponent's pieces. There is more to…" There was a knock on the door, and both of them looked to it.

"Husband, Madam Roberts is here" came Mary's voice. Ron tensed at that, while Lord Greengrass gave him a reassuring smile.

"Come in" Lord Greengrass answered, and the door opened. Mary stepped inside, and she was followed by a woman with a rigid posture. Ron looked at her, and she immediately set her eyes on him. She was wearing an Auror's uniform, but with a short grey cloak covering her upper body. She was an older witch, her amber eyes showing her hardened resolve. Ron also noticed that she had a long scar on the right side of her face, one that stretched from her forehead down to her jaw-line. Her greying hair was done up in a neat bun on top of her head, and it reminded Ron of McGonagall. Ron stood up to greet her, as did Lord Greengrass.

"Madam Roberts, welcome to Greengrass Manor" Lord Greengrass shook her hand.

"Thank you" she answered curtly as she let go of Lord Greengrass' hand. "You will not be needed for this interview, please leave." _Wow, she_ _ **is**_ _fucking blunt._ Mary frowned from behind her, but Lord Greengrass gave her a firm nod.

"Let us know when you are done" Lord Greengrass said, and then he left the room with his wife.

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself as he put his hand forward for a shake. She took his hand, and they both squeezed firmly.

"Madam Jane Roberts" she introduced herself. "A firm handshake, that's always a good sign."

"It is?" Ron smiled, but she just stared at him.

"I've seen plenty of fools drop their wands in the middle of a Duel" she replied. "A strong grip is important." Ron nodded, and then he gestured to the chairs. Ron sat down in his, while she took Lord Greengrass'. "He has told you of our interview?"

"Yes, he has" Ron replied.

"Good, then we can begin" she stated, her posture straight as an arrow. Ron waited for her to begin, but she just studied him. _Is she interviewing me, or am I interviewing her?_ "Ronald Weasley…"

"Yes?"

"Almost three years ago, I read a case about a young man" she started, and Ron blinked at her. "A witch was conducting an illegal Magical study within her basement, a study that backfired because she was unprepared." Ron tensed immensely, his eyes widening slowly. "Her death was all but certain, but she survived because a young man interfered. He was spending the day at this woman's house because he was friends with her daughter, and he saved her life by undoing a ward that was siphoning her life-force. I read that he used his own fingernails to do it, effectively ripping them off. Show me your hands, Ronald Weasley." _What the fuck?_ Ron just stared at her, and she pursed her lips. "Show me your hands."

Ron put his hands forward, one naked and the other gloved. She looked at them both, and then she reached over and turned his left hand palm-up. She could see some calluses on them, and that pleased her slightly. Her eyes then studied the Rune Ring on his middle finger, and then the serpentine ring on his little finger. One Magical, and the other pointless. Why Pure-Blood Wizards wore jewelry was beyond her, not that she cared enough to learn. She then looked to his gloved hand, and when she reached for it, Ron pulled it back. She looked up at him with deadpan look, while he stared back with a guarded one.

"You have quite the life story, Ronald Weasley" she up straight again. "Not only did you save a woman's life at the age of ten, but you also saved three of your fellow school-mates by slaying a Mountain Troll singlehandedly. You conducted some 'experiment' at the end of your first school year that left you in a coma, and scarred for life."

"How…?" Ron managed, who the fuck was this woman?

"We Aurors tend to keep our eyes open, especially when it comes to people like you" she replied, and Ron felt a cold sweat in his armpits. "People that tend to always be in the right place, at the right time. People who have extremely unbelievable life-stories. You are, of course, rather famous after what you accomplished in Paris. Even I was taken by surprise when I heard about your latest achievement. Over fifty Veelas, and you resisted them all with sheer willpower. Astonishing."

"The Aurors are watching me?" Ron asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. _Why is she even telling me this?_

"No, you are only a child" she replied. "But we do have files on your involvement with Pandora Lovegood's near-death experience, and files on your 'accident' at the end of your first school year. Neither set of files were followed up on, mostly because you weren't charged with anything. But I read through them again before coming here. As for the Troll incident, the Daily Prophet made sure that everyone heard about that. You have lived quite a life, Ronald Weasley."

"I'd argue that it's been a nightmare" Ron responded, his anxiety beginning to fade. He wasn't going to let this woman, this stranger, back him into a corner. And he sure as hell wasn't going to let her shake him.

"Show me your hand" she instructed again, and Ron took off his glove. _She already knows that it's there, might as well show her. Here, take a good look._ Ron showed her his damaged right hand, his own eyes falling on his badly disfigured middle finger. _Bloody ring burned most of the back of my hand, and a good portion of my palm too._ "This is why Protection Rune Rings are forbidden amongst us Aurors" she told him, and he looked at her with a furrowed brow. "One powerful spell, and this is what they do to you."

"Are you telling me to get rid of my other one?" Ron asked slowly.

"I'm telling you that it won't protect you against anything that can **actually** harm you" she replied, her tone clipped. "And in Dueling Tournaments, things like your Rune Ring are forbidden." _That makes sense, this kind of Ring would offer an unfair advantage._ "It's fine for a school environment, where bratty children throw Hexes at each other. But in the real world, it won't help you much. It is a crutch, one that dulls your instincts by giving you a false sense of security."

"I see" Ron responded as he put his glove back on.

"But enough about this" she said, her rigid posture back in place. "Now that my curiosity is sated, let us begin the interview." Ron nodded, keen to finally get started. "If I threw a Curse at you, what would be your first instinct?"

"To dodge it" Ron replied immediately.

"Why?" she asked.

"Blocking drains your Magical Core, and it keeps you fixed in place" Ron replied, and she just listened. "If I block your Curse, you might launch another and another, effectively bogging me down in one place with no means of escape. Dodging requires little to no effort, and it gives me time to respond in kind." _Learnt that from Malfoy's death. Poor bastard got stuck trying to stop an endless onslaught._

"Well done, Mr. Weasley" she said, though she sounded rather annoyed. "You already have more knowledge on Dueling than most of the incompetents that I have to train at the Auror Academy." _Auror Academy? Isn't that the program you have to go through before you get your Auror badge?_ "What is the connection between a Jinx, a Hex, and a Curse? When would you use which?" _What is this? An exam?_

"All three are considered to be Dark Magic, unlike Charms" Ron replied, his mind going back to what he had read in the Tome. "Jinxes are used to cause your target minor inconvenience, or annoyance. Hexes are slightly darker, and are used to cause major inconvenience to your target. Extra limbs, antlers on forehead, that sort of stuff. Curses are used to cause harm to your target, and are considered to be the worst kind of Dark Magic. The Three Unforgivables are Curses, and will land the castor within Azkaban." She nodded at his response, it was short and to the point, something that she approved of.

"How would you describe your overall knowledge on these three branches?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Extensive" Ron replied truthfully, he had all but memorized Charlie's journal.

"Extensive?" she cocked an eyebrow. "Flipendo?"

"The Knockback Jinx" Ron replied.

"Ebublio?"

"The Bubble Jinx, used to encase people or things inside a bubble."

"Colloshoo?"

"The Stickfast Hex, used to make a target's shoes stick to the ground permanently."

"Densaugeo?"

"The Growing-Tooth Hex, used to grotesquely grow the target's teeth."

"Confringo?"

"The Blasting Curse, used to cause explosions. A personal favorite."

"Petrificus Totalus?"

"The Full-Body-Bind Curse, used to paralyze the target completely" Ron replied, this was rather easy. They both stared at each other, and Ron kept his smirk inside, he was smashing this test.

"Avada Kedavra?" Madam Roberts asked, her features perfectly calm. Ron's eyes widened at her question, but he quickly fixed his composure.

"The… The Killing Curse, used to kill one's enemies immediately" Ron replied, his tone more subdued. _Who the fuck would ask that?_

"A Prodigy indeed, well done" Madam Roberts gave him a tiny smile, but it disappeared as fast as it came. "I can see the potential of teaching you, but there is one more test that you'll need to pass. Knowledge is all well and good, but there is far more to Dueling than being able to recite things from a book. Next Saturday, I want to test your Dueling skill in a sparring match."

"We're going to Duel?" Ron blinked. "But I can't even use Magic outside of school because of the Trace."

"That's true, but you can be exempted from the Trace under certain conditions" she replied, and Ron leaned forward as his ears perked up. "Greengrass will take you to the Ministry, to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I can sort it out from there. Be there on Monday, at Midday." With that, she stood up and so did Ron. "Good day, Mr. Weasley. No need to show me out, I know my way." And just like that, she walked right out of the study, leaving Ron behind with a confused look on his face. _Does she not like people or something? And why does she talk like she has no emotions? What a weird woman…_

Ron made his way out of the study, he figured that the Greengrass Family was probably eating lunch right now. Ron's stomach grumbled as if on cue, and he walked down towards the Dining Room. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Madam Jane Roberts, the woman certainly knew how to make an impression. Ron could tell just from her demeanor that she was a tough old bird, one that had faced off against actual Death-Eaters. _She did help the Ministry during the Great War, and she is an Auror now. I wonder how she got that massive scar on the right side of her face. Dark Magic probably._

"Finally!" came Astoria voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. He had just entered the Dining Room, and he noticed that the Greengrasses had been waiting for him. "Can we eat now?" Tori asked her parents.

"Tori, stop being rude" Daphne huffed, making Tori stick her tongue out at Daphne. "Mother, look at this abhorrent behavior. She will drag our Family's name through the mud once she gets to Hogwarts."

"No, I won't" Tori argued with a frown. "I'll be way more popular than you, and you know it."

"That is enough you two" Mary ordered, looking to her husband for support.

"Behave" Lord Greengrass drawled dismissively. Ron approached the table, and he sat down next to Daphne. Tori and Daphne were glaring at each other, something that made Lord Greengrass roll his eyes.

"Ron, before you start eating" Mary started as she poured a pink Potion into an empty glass.

"Ugh" Ron groaned.

"Do not groan at me, young man" Mary frowned. "Daphne, give this to Ron." Daphne took the glass and passed it to Ron, her eyes still locked with her sister's. Ron chugged it down, and held back his need to gag. "There you go, not so bad right?" _I'd rather get my teeth knocked out by the Entity again._

"Ron, how was the interview?" Lord Greengrass asked as he began eating. Tori and Daphne followed their father's lead, their eyes still locked on each other's.

"It went well" Ron replied, his eyes darting between each sister. _Are they really having a staring competition?_ "She wants us to go to the Ministry on Monday, at Midday. To the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Something to do with making me an exemption from the Trace" Ron replied. "She wants to spar with me next Saturday in order to test out my Dueling skill. She called it 'one more test'."

"I'm not free on Monday" Lord Greengrass pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I can take you to the Ministry, Ron" Mary offered.

"Thanks, Mary" Ron smiled gratefully, and she smiled back.

"Mother, Theo is coming on Monday" Daphne said, still glaring at Tori.

"Daphne Greengrass, enough of this glaring" Mary ordered.

"But she's also…" Daphne started.

"Enough" Mary shut her down, and Daphne broke her stare and frowned miserably at her plate. Tori smirked at Daphne, but she hid it quickly when Mary looked her way. "As for Theo, you and Astoria can welcome him and help him settle in."

"Yes, mother…" Daphne muttered, her eyes still on her plate. Ron felt rather bad for her, especially because of how annoyed and miserable she looked. He bumped his knee with hers, but she didn't really react at all. _Time for more extreme measures then._ Ron subtly moved his right foot, and he bumped it against her left foot. After a second, she bumped his foot back. _A game of footsies it is._

"What did she question you about?" Lord Greengrass asked Ron as Daphne tapped Ron's foot again.

"Well…" Ron started, his mind more occupied with his game of footsies.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Greengrass Manor - Before Dinner)**_

"Are you sure you can't stay for dinner?" Daphne asked.

"I could, but I don't want to" Ron smirked, and Daphne held back her giggle.

"Fine, I was just being polite" Daphne huffed as she tossed her hair back.

"I'll see you on Monday, Daph" Ron replied as he turned to the fireplace. He was about to grab a pinch of floo-powder when Mary suddenly called out to him.

"Ron, just a moment" Mary called, and both Ron and Daphne turned to see Mary coming over with two wooden boxes in her hands. _What's in those?_ "Here Ron, take this" Mary said as she handed him the boxes, and Ron took them with a confused look.

"Um…" Ron started, his eyes examining the polished boxes.

"The one on top is for you, Nutrition Potions that you'll be drinking every day" Mary explained. "And yes Ron, your mother knows all about them and she will be keeping an eye on you." _Shite._ "The one on the bottom is for Pandora…"

"Pandora?" Ron looked up. "Is it for the baby?"

"Yes, it is" Mary smiled, the thought of a little baby cheering her up. "The box contains Potions to help with Morning Sickness, for nourishing the child, and for nourishing her. They are already labelled, and all you have to do is pass on the box."

"Alright" Ron nodded firmly. _I haven't told them that I'm going to be the Godfather yet._ "By the way, Pandora wants me to be the Godfather of the baby" Ron told them, not even trying to hide his pride. Both mother and daughter smiled widely, especially Daphne who was actually holding back her girly reaction.

"That's wonderful news, Ron" Mary congratulated. "You'll make a fine Godfather, I just know it."

"Really? I'm actually kind of nervous" Ron admitted. "Any advice?"

"Spoil your Godchild" Mary laughed.

"I can do that" Ron grinned. "I'd best be off then, see you on Monday." Ron turned to the fireplace, but then he noticed that his hands were full.

"I'll get that" Daphne said as she moved forward and grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. "The Burrow" she called as she tossed it into the fire, and it roared green. "Congratulations on being named a Godfather, you'll be great at it."

"Thanks Daph, I'll see you on Monday" Ron bid her farewell. _I kind of wish Mary wasn't here, just so that I could… No, stop that. It's too risky._ With one last smile at Daphne, Ron stepped through the fire. The moment he entered the Living Room of the Burrow, he heard loud voices coming from the kitchen. His family were talking excitedly over each other, and that immediately raised his interest. Ron quickly moved into the kitchen to see what was going on, and his eyes widened at the sight of Charlie bellowing in laughter as the twins told him of their latest pranks. _Charlie! He came early!_

"I didn't think you'd show up so early" Ron grinned as he came into view, and Charlie looked to him with a grin of his own. _He's gotten stockier, and I like the short hair._ Charlie was wearing the leather jacket that Ron had gotten him from Paris, and Ron couldn't deny that it suited Charlie perfectly. Charlie's face was also a lot more weathered than it used to be, but Ron figured that that was the price one paid for working outdoors.

"Well look at you" Charlie laughed, his voice filling the entire kitchen. "I barely recognized you from that little prat that always chased around after me!"

"I did not chase after you" Ron snorted as his mother moved in front of him.

"Welcome home, Ronnie" She patted his cheeks, and then she looked to the boxes in his hands.

"Potions from Mary" Ron whispered, and she blinked at the boxes. "Top one is for me, bottom one is for Pandora and the baby." Molly nodded with a smile, and she took the boxes from him and left for upstairs. _No doubt trying to hide my Potions because Mary warned her about my hatred for them._

"Now that she's taken those boxes, come here and give me a hug" Charlie laughed again, and Ron smiled widely and did as he was told. His brother smelled like the outdoors; like grass and earthy soil. Charlie gave Ron a bone crunching squeeze, one that got a strained laugh out of Ron.

"Ease up on the merchandise" Ron sniggered, while Charlie laughed loudly. Charlie then let go of Ron, but immediately put his left arm around his little brother. _I'm nearly as tall as him now._ The thought made him smile more widely, even if Charlie was the shortest of the Weasley brothers (Not counting Ron). The twins were only slightly taller than Charlie, while Percy and Bill were a good few inches taller than Charlie. _But it doesn't matter because he could beat us all up with ease. Hell, he already did whenever we all rough-housed._

"Sit with me, little brother" Charlie said as he pulled them both down into their chairs, his left hand gripping Ron's upper left arm. Ron noticed that he was now sitting next to Ginny, who was beaming at Charlie. The twins and Percy sat across from them, all smiling at Charlie for being here. "The twins were just making up stories to try and impress me." Percy sniggered at that, while Ginny laughed at the annoyed looks that the twins were suddenly shooting Charlie.

"We don't make up stories" Fred shot back, his lips twitching upwards.

"And we can prove it" George added.

"We've been working on some…" Fred trailed off as he looked for their mother, and then he whispered. "Products…"

"Care to have a gander?" George whispered as well.

"Of course" Charlie winked with a grin, and then he looked to Ron. "So you work Saturdays, do you? How old are you again?"

"Old enough to be a professional Chess player" Ron replied, his pride showing through.

"A famous Weasley, who'd have thought that was possible" Charlie beamed.

"Not me" Ron sniggered.

"Is he famous in Romania too?" Percy asked.

"Not as famous as he is here, I'd imagine" Charlie patted Ron's back, effectively winding him. "Oh shite, sorry little brother."

"It's fine" Ron coughed out.

"I bet the ladies love you, don't they?" Charlie guffawed, while Ron shifted in his seat. _I told him about Daphne kissing me back when it first happened. Merlin, I hope he's forgotten about that._

"Charlie, none of that talk in my house" came their mother's voice as she stepped into the kitchen with a scolding frown. Charlie just grinned at her, and she fought to keep her lips from smiling at him.

"How long are you here for?" Ron asked.

"A couple of weeks" Charlie replied. "I've got an assignment back at the reserve waiting for me. We have this Hungarian Horntail back at the reserve, nasty piece of work she is. I signed on for her…"

"Why would you do that?" Ginny interrupted with a worried look.

"The bigger they are, the more fun it is to work with them" Charlie replied, an almost smug look on his face. "I'm pretty keen to work with her, especially because she's pregnant and moody. The others are too scared of her, so this is a good chance for me to show my supervisor what I'm capable of."

"Just be careful, dear" Molly chimed in as she fixed Ron some food.

"Speaking of pregnant" Fred started.

"Excellent transition" George complimented.

"Thank you" Fred smiled at George.

"Pandora Lovegood is pregnant" they told Charlie together.

"You don't say" Charlie responded. "Lucky man, that Xenophilius. Pandora is a…"

"Charlie!" Molly turned around with a deep frown, but Charlie just chuckled.

"Sorry, mum" Charlie apologized while the twins sniggered. Ron decided to let Charlie's comment go, even if it vexed him to hear someone speak of Pandora like that near him.

"By the way…" Ron started, a smile coming onto his face. "She asked me to be the Godfather for the baby."

"Is that so?" Charlie smiled widely.

"Congratulations, Ron" Percy smiled widely as well. Ron got the feeling that Percy wanted to shake his hand, and that made Ron snigger.

"Poor kid" Fred muttered.

" **His** life is already ruined" George added on.

"Ruin this" Ron frowned as he gave them the bird, and both twins and Charlie began laughing. Ginny wanted to snigger, but she held it back because Percy was frowning at Ron. She didn't want to get in trouble if he tattled on them.

"Don't listen to them, love" Molly said as she turned around with his plate of food, and Ron quickly hid his hand. "Here you go, eat all of that" Molly said as she put the food in front of him.

"What about us?" Fred gaped.

"Your brother's worked all day, you can wait your turn" Molly huffed as she went back to the kitchen counter. Ron grinned at the scandalized twins, while Charlie stole a drumstick from Ron's plate.

"How's life in Slytherin, little brother?" Charlie asked with genuine interest, and he nearly frowned as all of his siblings tensed except for Ron. Charlie remembered going mad with rage at his parent's actions when he had first heard about their plan to re-sort Ron.

"It's quite good" Ron admitted, ignoring his siblings going tense. "I have a lot of support from the older students, Malfoy has finally buggered off away from me, and my friends are doing well. I've even started…"

"We won the House-Cup, by the way" Ginny suddenly cut-in.

"Gryffindor won?" Charlie blinked. "We beat the Slytherins' win-streak?"

"We did" the twins smirked.

"Harry and Neville found the Chamber of Secrets, and **that** got us the win" Percy clarified, shooting a withering look at the twins. _Ugh… Here we go with the lies._

"Anyway…" Ron drawled, annoyed at being interrupted. Ginny shot him a sorry look, one that he missed. "I've started earning the respect of some of the older students as well, and they keep all that bigotry nonsense away from me. Which includes Malfoy, or any like him."

"That's good to hear" came Molly's voice, which Ron found to be a little too relieved.

"Are these older students girls?" Charlie whispered, a sly grin on his face. Ron blushed at the thought of the three Slytherin girls of whom he was referring to, and he gave a weak nod.

"Storytime later, got it?" Charlie whispered, and Ron shot him a bemused look. Charlie then looked to Percy, who was eyeing Ron and Charlie for whispering. "Perce, tell me about you now. I've heard everyone else's stories." Percy smiled and puffed out his chest, only to be interrupted by the twins groaning at Percy. Charlie threw the bone from the drumstick at Fred's head, which Fred dodged with a maniacal grin. "Go on, Perce."

"Well, I'm all but certain that I'll be Head-Boy next year" Percy said proudly, and Ron smiled at him.

"Great…" the twins rolled their eyes.

"Can you two stop?" Ginny frowned at them.

"And I plan to crack down on pranks in general" Percy said as he shot the twins a look, and they gave him challenging smirks in return. "Also…" Percy shifted in his chair, his ears turning red. "I… I got a girlfriend this year."

"YES!" Charlie bellowed happily, while the rest of them found their mouths hanging open.

"You did?" Molly asked, and then she ran over to Percy's side and hugged him around his neck. Percy's glasses got unseated, and he fixed them with a frown.

"I did, is that so hard to believe?" Percy turned red. _A girlfriend? Is it that girl that I've seen him with on the Marauder's Map? What was her name? Penelope Clearwater? Yeah, that's it._

"Is it that Penelope Clearwater girl?" Ron asked, and Percy's eyes widened. _That's a yes._

"How did…?" Percy muttered.

"I know things" Ron smirked and shrugged, not planning to share where his knowledge came from.

"Penelope Clearwater?" Ginny asked as she remembered the Muggle-Born Ravenclaw. "She's quite pretty, isn't she?"

"She is" Percy smiled despite himself.

"What Ginny is asking is how **you** managed to net her?" George sniggered.

"George Weasley" Molly frowned at him. "Women aren't something to be 'netted'…"

"You sound jealous" Percy smirked at the twins.

"Jealous?" Fred blinked with a condescending smile.

"We could easily get girlfriends" George boasted.

"Your hands don't count" Ron remarked, and Charlie barked out a laugh.

"Oh shite!" Charlie gasped as he melted into a hysterical laugh. Percy ended up losing his battle and started laughing as well, and even the twins were trying their best not to laugh.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Molly gave him a horrified look.

"I don't get it" Ginny blinked at them. "Hands?" _Oops, I keep forgetting that she's not even twelve._

"It's nothing, dear" Molly frowned at a sniggering Ron.

"Oh Merlin…" Charlie wheezed. "I have to tell this one to dad…"

"I certainly will" Molly scowled as she moved back to the kitchen counter.

"Where is dad?" Ron managed to ask.

"Ministry business" came his mother's curt reply.

"Go on Percy, tell us more about your lady love" Charlie said as he breathed in-and-out to calm down, his left hand resting on the back of Ron's chair.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron skipped down the steps in his running gear, a massive smile on his face because of how great the weather looked today. When he stepped into the kitchen, he immediately spotted Charlie by the kitchen sink. His brother was wearing black shorts, a thin black jumper, and red running shoes.

"Good morning" Ron said before he could think better, and Charlie turned around with a small jump.

"Fuck me, Ron…" Charlie sighed out, his hand over his heart.

"Coming on a little strong there, mate" Ron sniggered, and Charlie just chuckled as he shook his head.

"I was waiting for you actually" Charlie admitted as he made his way over to Ron.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yeah" Charlie smiled. "Dad mentioned that you still go for your morning runs, so I figured that we could go together. Like we used to."

"Really?" Ron beamed, and Charlie nodded. "That's be great, Charlie!" _This day is already off to a great start!_

"Let's run up to that ravine this time" Charlie suggested. "I know that it's far, but I really want to go there. The weather's perfect for it too. Oh, and try to keep up little brother."

"Oh, I will" Ron smirked.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Bloody hell…" Ron wheezed as he came to a stop, and Charlie stopped in front of him. They had finally made it to the ravine, and it had completely exhausted Ron. He was used to long runs, but not running for thirty minutes straight. _My lungs. They burn._ Ron bent forward with his hands on his knees, his breathing out of sync and strained.

"That was a good run" Charlie breathed out, he was panting for breath but in much better condition than Ron. "I'm surprised you made it here with me. Good job, little brother."

"Thanks…" Ron spoke to the ground, his entire body aching.

"Look at that" Charlie smiled in bliss as he looked around the open fields, the sound of rushing water in the ravine music to his ears. The Sun was out, its warming light washing over them both. There was a bit of mist around them, and the weather was slightly chilly for it, but their run had warmed up their blood enough for it to not matter.

"Give me a second…" Ron said as he straightened his back, and then he saw the view. _Woah…_

"Fucking hell, I've missed this place" Charlie said, and Ron looked to him. "Bill and I used to come here together to get away sometimes… We'd just talk about things, and take a dip in the ravine. Which sounds great right now, actually." With that, Charlie took of his jumper, revealing that he was wearing a black tank top underneath. Ron was shocked at how muscular Charlie really was, it was rather intimidating. _Wait, a dip?_

"I don't know about that" Ron responded, and Charlie gave him a pleading look.

"It'll be good for you" Charlie said as he took off his tank top, and that's when Ron spotted a shiny burn scar on Charlie. It stretched from his right forearm to his right shoulder.

"Charlie, did a Dragon do that?" Ron asked before he could think. And then his eyes fell on Charlie's tattoo, which looked rather tribal and covered his left shoulder and pec.

"A Dragon **did** do that" Charlie chuckled, and then he looked to his tattoo. "And my friend did this one. We all got it after surviving a wild Dragon attack."

"Wild Dragon attack?" Ron asked, his eyes examining his brother's wicked tattoo. _Merlin, he is built like a Troll._ Charlie was more muscular than Ron had previously envisioned, his entire body was toned and his muscles seemed to be popping out.

"Yeah, a wild fucker found the reserve" Charlie stretched his muscles. "Wanted to mate with the females there, and our damn supervisor wasn't around because he went to the pub. My mates and I ended up defending the reserve from the beast. It was a hairy fight, one that I'll never forget."

"Merlin, Charlie" Ron muttered in disbelief.

"Don't tell mum or dad, got it?" Charlie grinned, and Ron nodded. "Anyway, we managed just fine. But it left its mark on us all. Instead of moping about though, we decided to get matching tattoos as our own marks. Sort of like a 'Fuck you, Dragon' kind of thing. Now come on, let's cool off in the ravine."

"Charlie… I'd rather not" Ron said, but Charlie just blinked at him. "You know why…"

"It's just us here, little brother" Charlie smiled sadly, and Ron shifted in his spot. "Scars aren't something to be afraid of, it's just skin."

"Your scar and tattoo look awesome, so that's easy for you to say" Ron replied, his voice slightly bitter. Charlie noticed it, but he didn't say anything about it. "You got yours while fighting a Dragon with your mates, while I got mine in a dark dungeon…"

"You got yours fighting the Dark Lord alongside **your** **mates** " Charlie reminded him. "A Dragon is nothing compared to You-Know-Who, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." Ron's lips twitched upwards, and he looked around due to instinct. _It's just us, right? And he's already seen them…_

"Just a small dip…" Ron told himself, and Charlie smiled proudly. Ron took off his jumper and shirt, revealing his scarred body. He kept his eyes away from Charlie, who was currently doing his best not to wince. Ron's snake-like scars were terrifying enough, but the massive scar that ran over his chest and stomach made Charlie's heart drop. Ron finished removing his clothes, and he was now just in his boxers. Ron looked over to Charlie at that, only to see his brother gritting his teeth and clenching his hands to the point where his knuckles turned bone white. "Charlie?" Ron asked, and Charlie looked into Ron's eyes. _Fuck, he looks pissed._

" **That** **fucking** **cunt** …" Charlie grit out, and Ron sighed. _Blame the Entity, not just the Dark Lord._

"Don't… please…" Ron said softly. "Can we just jump in? I don't like standing out here…" Charlie nodded as he took off his shoes, and the brothers jumped into the ravine together.

"Oh fuck!" Charlie yelled, the water was freezing.

"Yeah, I'm out!" Ron tried to get out, but Charlie put his arm around Ron.

"Stop being a little bitch" Charlie chuckled, and Ron frowned at him.

"Your language is worse than mine" Ron snapped. "Let go of me. I don't like people seeing my scars, and I like people touching them even less."

"Sorry" Charlie quickly let him go, while Ron averted his gaze. They stood there for a few seconds, the water slowly becoming easier to tolerate.

"I didn't mean to snap" Ron sighed as he sank into the water until only his head was above it. _Shite, so cold._

"It's alright, little brother" Charlie smiled at him, copying Ron and sinking into the water.

"Charlie, why were you waiting for me?" Ron asked. "I want the real reason." Charlie blinked at him, and then he chuckled.

"Clever little git" Charlie replied. "I've been worried about you. Bill and I both… He almost quit his job to move back here for you, but dad talked him out of it."

"Really?" Ron asked, and Charlie nodded. "Bloody hell… Why?"

"Why?" Charlie asked, his tone confused. "Ron, Bill and I both know everything. The moment I heard about your brain… Your brain-damage… I almost packed my bags and came home too. If it wasn't for mum and dad reassuring us both, we'd be living with you guys right now."

"Why?" Ron asked again.

"You really want me to spell it out for you?" Charlie gave Ron a worried look. "We love you, little brother. And we want to be here for you. For anything, and everything. Letting you deal with this alone is something that neither of us can stomach." Ron gave Charlie a meek smile, and then he started floating about.

"I'm getting help from Pomfrey" Ron admitted.

"I know" Charlie responded. "How is the old bird?"

"Grumpy, and bossy" Ron chuckled lightly. "But amazing too… I wasn't too sure about seeing her, but she's really helping me manage myself better. My temper, stress… panic attacks… All of it."

"Good" Charlie felt a little relieved by that. "And what about mum and dad? Are they giving you any trouble?"

"Not since my… breakdown…" Ron muttered.

"That was right before your diagnosis came out, right?" Charlie asked.

"Bloody hell, what don't you know?" Ron asked back, and Charlie shrugged.

"I'm glad that they've seen some damn sense" Charlie admitted. "Bill went fucking mental on them… And then he went mental on me too… Told me to get my head out of my arse, and to do something to help you. Shame that you did it all on your own before I could."

"Why isn't he here?" Ron asked, sounding rather childish.

"Egypt is a long way away, little brother" Charlie replied, his mind going to images of Bill. "I miss that bastard."

"Me too" Ron smiled, both brothers falling into a calm silence. Ron floated around for a few seconds, while Charlie thought about Bill.

"Enough of that" Charlie shook his head clear. "There's something else that I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes, I'll sign anything that you want" Ron sniggered.

"Little shite" Charlie grinned. "I want to hear about your little girlfriend." Ron tensed at that, and he looked to Charlie with a panicked look. "Did you think that I'd forget?" Charlie laughed. "I still have that letter you sent me, in all of its panic-filled glory. 'Charlie, she kissed me on the lips! I don't know what it means! Please, tell me what to do! Why would she do that?!'… What a letter."

"Ugh!" Ron groaned as he dipped into the water completely. _Fucking drown me, Entity. Please._ When Ron reemerged, he saw Charlie grinning at him. "We're still… We're still doing that… in secret."

"In secret?" Charlie smirked, and Ron nodded as his face flushed. "That's fair I suppose. But still Ron, you've impressed me. Only twelve, and you scored your first kiss. And now you have a secret girlfriend at the age of thirteen."

"She's not my…" Ron started, but Charlie tutted him.

"Don't bother, I'm onto you" Charlie teased, but then he got extremely serious. "Ron, you two haven't done anything beyond kissing, have you?"

"What?!" Ron yelled, his face turning bright red. "No! We only kiss! That's all!"

"Alright, alright" Charlie said in a calming manner. "I'm just trying to get the full-story here, just for your benefit."

"We only kiss" Ron repeated. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because I want you to be responsible" Charlie replied immediately. "Things can get complicated with girls, trust me. And you've got enough to worry about."

"We only kiss Charlie, I promise" Ron defended himself and Daphne. "It's no different from kissing people's cheeks… Just a different spot…" Charlie blinked at that, looking thoroughly confused.

"Wait… What?" Charlie blinked again, and Ron blinked back. _What?_ Charlie then let out a laugh, much to Ron's surprise. "Oh Merlin, you fucking moron."

"What?" Ron asked, staring right at a laughing Charlie.

"Ron, you're so simple" Charlie kept laughing, and Ron was taken aback. "When you said kissing, I thought you meant actual kissing. Not bumping lips." _Bumping lips? What the fuck?_

"That does classify as kissing" Ron replied.

"No mate, it doesn't" Charlie calmed down. "Oh, my sweet little brother."

"Piss off" Ron snorted.

"I'm sort of glad actually, you're too young to be snogging" Charlie grinned. "As is this girl, who sounds lovely by the way. Way out of your league."

"I… won't refute that" Ron said slowly. _Daphne_ _ **is**_ _amazing. I wonder what she's doing right now. I can't wait to see her again tomorrow._

"You're smitten, aren't you?" Charlie asked, and Ron frowned deeply.

"I don't get 'smitten'…" Ron argued, his tone resembling Snape's way of talking.

"Why? Are you not human?" Charlie asked. "Oh wait, you might not be. That Veela story blew me away, and the people at the reserve too. Every bastard with ears wanted me to tell them about you. How did you do it?" _We're moving off of Daphne, good._

"I resisted their allures, but it fucking hurt like hell" Ron shrugged, while Charlie eyed him with awe. "Ended up bursting the blood vessels in my eyes because of a Subconjunctival hemorrhage."

"Merlin…" Charlie sighed, his voice low. "When mum and dad told me what really happened, I nearly passed out. Ron, you're a fucking monster mate."

"Thanks" Ron sniggered.

"Can I tell you something?" Charlie asked suddenly, and Ron nodded. "You remember Kirsten Domitor?" _Who?_ "She helped you sneak that Norwegian Ridgeback out of Hogwarts?"

"Oh, I do" Ron nodded. "Didn't really get to talk to her, considering that we were in a hurry."

"Yeah, I've been sort of seeing her" Charlie told Ron, and Ron nodded slowly. _Alright, why is he telling me this?_ "It's been on and off, just something casual. But after your finals, when I heard about how you collapsed, I fucking lost it mate. I was tossing chairs and tables, yelling and screaming like some wild animal…"

"Why?" Ron asked.

"My fucking supervisor wouldn't let me leave the reserve because it was mating season" Charlie frowned. "So I threw a rage induced tantrum… Not my finest moment. But she was there for me, and we talked about you constantly. It helped me deal with being unable to do shite about your situation, and during one of these talks, we got together again. And I've been seeing her since."

"Congratulations?" Ron said with a confused look. "So me nearly dying scored you a girlfriend?"

"Yeah" Charlie chuckled. "Sorry… But yeah, in essence it did. And then that wild Dragon attacked our reserve near the end of the mating season, while my daft cunt of a supervisor was getting drunk. That sort of solidified our relationship, surviving a Dragon attack can do that I suppose."

"Charlie, I'm happy for you" Ron told him. "But why are you telling me this?"

"She's here" Charlie smiled sheepishly.

"What?" Ron blinked.

"In England, I mean" Charlie clarified. "She wanted to meet you, and our siblings."

"When?" Ron asked.

"Soon, she's leaving before I am" Charlie replied.

"And mum and dad?" Ron asked, and Charlie sighed.

"I don't want them to meet her yet, that'll make it too serious for us" Charlie admitted. "I was thinking that we could go to Diagon Alley today, all of us. And I'd introduce you guys to her." _Diagon Alley? Hmmm. I could go to Gringotts too, and hide the Basilisk fang in my vault. This could work, I need to get rid of that thing before someone stumbles on it by accident._

"That sounds great" Ron nodded, and Charlie smiled gratefully. "I need to go to Gringotts actually, could we drop by there too?"

"Yeah, sure" Charlie nodded. "Why do you need to go to Gringotts?"

"I want to drop off something into my vault" Ron admitted. "Something that Daphne gave me…"

"Oh, no worries" Charlie grinned. "I'll keep it all secret, don't worry."

"Thanks, Charlie."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – After Breakfast)**_

Ron put the leather rag, which contained the fang, inside his inner coat pocket. It was a thick, grey Muggle-styled coat, one that reached his knees. He knew that he was dressed far too well for a home setting, or even for a gander through Diagon Alley, but he couldn't help himself. For one, all of his clothes were perfectly fitted and expensive. His other option was to wear his old second-hand clothes, and Ron never wanted to do that again. Secondly, wearing his new clothes made him feel better about himself in general. So why would he not wear them? _I should still buy some casual clothes, just enough so that I don't have to keep wearing my good clothes all the time._

Ron adjusted his suit, fixing his thin silver tie in the process. After that, he shut his trunk and made his way downstairs. _Wand, check. Gringotts pouch and key, check. Fang containing deadly poison, check. Looking like I own a company, check._ Ron sniggered at his own silly thoughts, but he composed himself as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Son?" came his father's voice, and Ron looked to see his family eating breakfast. Charlie was no doubt in the shower, both of them had already eaten because of waking up much earlier.

"Why are you dressed so… fancy?" Ginny pulled a face.

"I like to look pretty" Ron shrugged with an easy smile, and Ginny snorted.

"Ginny, don't snort" came Molly's voice.

"Are you planning to go somewhere?" Arthur asked slowly, and Ron nodded.

"Charlie wants to take us to Diagon Alley" Ron told his father.

"Oh, that's alright then" Arthur nodded, taking a bite out of his toast.

"Diagon Alley?" the twins' heads perked up.

"Yeah, you all in?" Ron asked, and everyone nodded. "We're planning to leave by Midday, so be ready by then."

"Yes, my Lord" Fred saluted Ron, making George cough on his pumpkin juice. _Twat._

"Lord Ronald Weasley" George wheezed, trying his best to tease whilst choking on juice. _Double twat._

"Give it a rest, you two" Percy frowned at them, while Ginny just rolled her eyes at the twins.

"Ronnie, come here a moment" came his mother's voice, and Ron walked over her with his back facing the rest of his family.

"Yes, mum?" Ron whispered, and she handed him a pink vial. _Bloody hell._

"Mary left clear instructions in the box, Ron" Molly whispered. _Mary? Well, I'm glad that they're on a first name basis._ "Go on, drink it down quickly." Ron chugged the Potion, his stomach turning because of the taste. "That's a good boy" Molly rubbed her son's back.

"Thanks…" Ron whispered, his face contorting slightly.

"Sit down love, I'll get you some juice" Molly instructed.

"Pandora? Did you give her the box?" Ron asked, and she shook her head.

"She's coming over any minute now, I'll give it to her then" Molly replied.

"Pandora is coming? Why? Is it something to do with my Godchild?" Ron asked in hushed whispers. Molly smiled at his use of the word 'Godchild'.

"She's coming here to spend the day with me" Molly whispered. _Why are we still whispering? Fuck it, go with it._ "I don't want her to push herself, especially this early in her pregnancy. I'll take care of all of her needs, and her family's."

"Oh, that's great mum" Ron smiled, and then he kissed the side of her head. "Thank you for the Potion that tasted like a turd."

"Ron" Molly chuckled before smacking him lightly. "Go and sit down, I'll bring you something to wash away the taste." Ron walked back over to the table with a content smile, things were getting better with his parents. _In a way, I should be grateful for my Chronic Stress and brain-damage. And now that the Entity has fucked off, I can actually stay calm most of the time._ Ron sat down across from Ginny, and she narrowed her eyes on him.

"What were you two whispering about?" Ginny questioned.

"Oh, it's this little thing called 'none of your business'…" Ron smirked, and she narrowed her eyes even more.

"You're hiding things" Ginny stated. "Like always…"

"Gin, I'm not hiding anything related to you" Ron assured her.

"So you admit that you hide things" Ginny retorted.

"Ginny, leave your brother alone" came Molly's voice, and then she put a glass of pumpkin juice in front of Ron. _Oh my, did she just defend me against Ginny?_ Ginny seemed even more shocked than Ron, while the twins and Percy gave their mother odd looks. After their mother went back to the kitchen, Ginny glared at Ron.

"I'm going to find out what you're hiding" Ginny challenged him.

"Good luck on your search" Ron chuckled as he began drinking his juice. They all heard the fireplace roar to life, and Ron stood up to greet Pandora. She walked into the kitchen with her usual airy smile, Luna skipping in behind her. "Pandora, Luna" Ron smiled widely, giving both Lovegoods welcoming hugs.

"What a nice way to be greeted" Pandora hummed as she pinched Ron's left cheek.

"Hello, Ron" Luna hummed as well, her smile widening. "You're dressed very fancy."

"Do I look dashing?" Ron smiled at her, and Luna nodded.

"Pandora, come sit down" came Molly's excited voice. "I'll get you both plates." Pandora and Luna walked over and sat down on the table, with Luna sitting beside Ginny. Ron sat down across from them, while Pandora sat down to Arthur's right.

"Is Xeno joining us?" Ron's father asked.

"He left for another trip this morning, actually" Pandora replied.

"That man…" Arthur sighed out. "Pandora, why don't you stay here until he returns? Bill's room is empty, and Luna can sleep with Ginny." Ginny's ears perked up at that, a grin forming on her face.

"Arthur, we don't want to impose" Pandora started, but Milly Weasley came flying in with hot plates of food.

"Nonsense, I'll get the rooms ready while you eat" Molly said, dropping both plates off.

"Molly…" Pandora smiled.

"No arguments" Arthur smiled widely. "Just let us take care of you until Xeno comes back from his trip."

"Thank you" Pandora nodded once, a grateful smile on her face. Ron just beamed at the prospect of Pandora and Luna staying over, this could be a lot of fun. Charlie came down the stairs at that, wearing his leather jacket again.

"Good morning everyone" Charlie greeted them, his eyes jumping between Luna and Pandora.

"Charlie?" Pandora blinked. "When did you come home?" Pandora made to stand up, but Charlie quickly made his way over to her.

"Mrs. Lovegood, it is good to see you again" Charlie smiled politely. "And congratulations on the baby, I'm thrilled for you."

"Thank you" Pandora smiled back. "And please, just call me Pandora."

"Of course" Charlie nodded, and then he walked over towards his own chair. He gave Luna a pinch on her left cheek, something that made Luna giggle. "Hello Luna, you've gotten bigger since I last saw you."

"You've gotten bigger too" Luna hummed. "Not in height, but as a person." Charlie cocked his head at that, a confused smile on his face. _Ha, Luna-ed. I should make that a catchphrase. Every time Luna bewilders someone with her odd insight, I'll think of the word; Luna-ed._

"Did Ron tell you of our plans?" Charlie asked his siblings as he sat down, and they all nodded. Charlie then looked to Luna with a welcoming smile. "Luna, we're all heading to Diagon Alley for the day. Want to come along?" Luna looked to her mother, who nodded with a smile.

"Thank you for inviting me" Luna smiled gratefully.

"Tell me, what's your favorite ice-cream?" Charlie asked, and Luna beamed.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Gringotts Bank – Just Past Midday)**_

Ron walked over to the desk where a familiar Goblin was stamping some parchments, his siblings watching Ron with intrigued eyes. The twins and Ginny were rather curious about why Ron needed to come here, while Charlie, Luna, and Percy respected Ron's privacy. Ron stopped in front of the desk, and he waited patiently for the Goblin to notice him. Lord Greengrass had told him to be mindful around Goblins, they were a cruel and vindictive lot. Any sign of disrespect, and they'd keep your face fresh in their memories for decades. The Goblin, Gornuk, suddenly looked to Ron with frightening speed, his beady eyes glaring into Ron's. Ron gave a polite nod, and Gornuk beckoned him forward.

"Mr. Weasley" Gornuk greeted.

"Thank you for seeing me again, Gornuk" Ron greeted back, doing his best to sound as polite as he could. He didn't know shite about Goblin culture and customs, and he really didn't want one of these little bastards remembering him for the wrong reason.

"What brings you here today, may I ask?" Gornuk asked.

"I wish to make a deposit" Ron replied. "It is a dangerous object, extremely dangerous."

"Is it related to the Dark Arts?" Gornuk asked. _Don't lie, they won't betray their customer's trust._

"In a way" Ron started. "It is a Basilisk fang, one laced with its venom." Gornuk's beady eyes gleamed, and a sharp-toothed smile came onto his face.

"What a rare commodity" Gornuk whispered. "Would you be willing to part with it? I can offer you five-hundred Galleons right now." _Five-hundred? Bloody hell._

"It is not for sale" Ron replied, and Gornuk nodded. The Goblin was clearly put off, but Ron came up with an idea. "But if I did happen to find a… spare… Would this deal still exist?"

"Certainly" Gornuk smiled again. "A Basilisk is the rarest of creatures, and I have… connections… with people who would be very happy to buy parts of it. We could both benefit greatly, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, I will come to you first if anything comes my way" Ron smiled back.

"That is all I ask" Gornuk nodded, his eyes practically shining at the prospect of making gold. "Now, do you have your key?"

"Yes" Ron nodded as he presented his key, and Gornuk examined it.

"All seems to be in order, come with me" Gornuk instructed. The Goblin climbed down from his tall chair, and he wobbled past Ron. Ron followed after him, his eyes darting to his family members. "They can come with you, if you like." _It doesn't bother me, as long as they don't go inside my vault._

"Thank you" Ron said to the Goblin, and then he gestured to his family. They began walking towards Ron, the twins and the girls excited for the ride down.

"We have expanded your vault, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk informed him. "Steady payments have been made to your account, and after the French Ministry's large transfer, we felt it necessary as to avoid the cluttering of your gold. Gold must be **respected** , after all."

"I understand."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The ride down was fun and all, but Ron feared being stabbed by the fang in his coat pocket at every sharp turn. It'd be a terrible way to die, death by Basilisk Poisoning. Once he got off the cart, his stomach heaved and his head spun. _Oh Merlin, who made this thing?_ His siblings got off as well, while Gornuk put the key inside the lock and turned it. Ron heard the familiar clicks and clangs from the locks unlocking, and then the heavy door swung open. Ron smiled to himself as the contents of his vault came into view, and that smile grew when all of his siblings, excluding Luna, gasped loudly.

"Merlin's beard" Charlie muttered, his eyes fixed on the shelves stacked with thousands of Galleons. The twins nearly collapsed from shock, Percy was just staring at Ron's back in utter disbelief, Luna didn't seem to be bothered at all, while Ginny could already see all the things that she would buy if she had this much money.

"Wait here, please" Ron told them, and then he entered the vault. _It_ _ **is**_ _bigger than before, and it's still filled to bursting._ Ron knew that excessive pride was a terrible thing to have, but right now, he basked in it. Here he was, the youngest Weasley son, dressed in clothes far more expensive than he ever imagined owning, and standing within a bursting vault that was his own. _I earned this, all of it._ The twins and Ginny snuck closer for a better look, and they gaped even more as they saw that the whole vault was filled with Galleons.

"This is not your vault" Gornuk told them, and then he shut the door in their faces. Ron turned to see Gornuk looking at him expectantly, and Ron nodded in understanding. He took out the leather rag, and he unwrapped it. Gornuk walked over, his eyes fixed on the white fang that was as long as a dagger. Ron noticed that the inside of the leather rag had lost most of its color, and that made him swallow thickly. _How fucking potent is that venom? Merlin._ Gornuk went to touch the fang, but Ron pulled it away from him.

"Careful, one prick from this thing and you'll die" Ron warned him, and Gornuk gave a shaky nod as he stepped back cautiously.

"I would recommend placing it in a dark corner" Gornuk told him, and Ron wrapped the fang up again. "And remember, I will happily pay you for any Basilisk related items. No questions asked."

"I will, and thank you" Ron nodded as he put the leather rag behind a large stack of galleons, hidden away from any light. _There, stay put until I learn what to do with you._ Ron felt himself relax once the rag was no longer on his person, and he walked over to the door. Gornuk opened it again, and Ron was met with the gaping faces of the twins and Ginny. Ron smiled at them as he stepped outside, while Gornuk resealed the vault. "I'm done, and we can leave." His siblings nodded dumbly, while Luna just swayed back and forward with a proud smile.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

They all stepped out of Gringotts, and Ron started to make his way down the steps. But he was stopped when the twins and Ginny jumped in his way, their eyes glazed over with greed.

"When did you make so much money?" Fred questioned.

"Was it from your job?" George questioned, his voice laced with disbelief.

"Ron, you're so rich!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Um…" Ron blinked. "Thanks?"

"Stop it, you three" Charlie told them off, though he himself was gobsmacked.

"You ought to share your wealth" Fred suggested with a grin, though his voice was dead-serious.

"We're all Weasleys, after all" George added on. Ginny found herself nodding her head, while Ron cocked his eyebrow at them.

"None of that" Charlie pulled Ron to his side, while Percy frowned at the twins and Ginny.

"That's Ron's hard-earned money, stop trying to sponge off of him" Percy scolded them.

"You want some too" Ginny huffed with a frown.

"We saw you salivating at it" Fred narrowed his eyes on Percy.

"Imagine how many quills and books you could buy" George sniggered. Ron rolled his eyes, and then he looked to Luna. She was just watching some people off in the distance, an aloof smile on her face. _If only we Weasleys shared her indifference, things would be so much quieter._

"So what's the plan?" Ron looked to Charlie, who was still a little pale from seeing Ron's vault. He looked to Ron, and then shook his head clear.

"She's staying at the Leaky Cauldron, so while I go get her, why don't you lot meet us at Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour?" Charlie suggested.

"Who's 'she'? Ginny asked. _Who's 'She'? Ha, I ask myself that all the time._

"Kirsten Domitor" Charlie announced. "My girlfriend." The twins immediately grinned and made cat-calls, Percy gave an understanding nod, Ginny narrowed her eyes on Charlie, and Luna simply shot him an airy smile. "You can all ask questions later, but right now, just head down to the Ice-Cream Parlour. Oh, and not a word of this to the parents. Or I'll belt you."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"We can order once Charlie and Kirsten get here" Percy told them for the tenth time, and the twins groaned loudly.

"It's Kirsten already, is it?" Ginny huffed. "We don't even know her, Percy."

"Which is why we're here" Ron jumped in. "There's nothing wrong with using her first name, I'm sure."

"You've already met her" Luna stated, her eyes fixed on Ron. _How does she do that? I just got Luna-ed._ Ron's other siblings narrowed their eyes on him.

"When?" Fred asked.

"Back in first year, but they weren't dating back then… I think" Ron replied. "She helped me smuggle a Dragon out of school." His words were met with utter shock and disbelief.

"Wait, is that why you were in so much trouble at the end of last year?" Percy asked, his tone rising.

"Yep, got caught because Malfoy ratted me out" Ron shrugged.

"A bloody Dragon?" Fred muttered.

"Is our little Ronnikins a troublemaker?" George's lips twitched upwards.

"A kindred spirit?" the both asked as they shuffled closer to him.

"Piss off" Ron snorted as they eyed him with grins.

"Why were you smuggling a baby Dragon?" Luna asked.

"I never said that it was a baby" Ron stated with a smile.

"It would have to be, otherwise you wouldn't be able to fit it inside of Hogwarts" Luna hummed. _Ravenclaw indeed._ "And if it was a grown Dragon, then it would be too difficult to handle."

"I was helping Hagrid" Ron answered her previous question. "It's all in the past now… Luna, what Ice-cream do you want? Get anything that you want, my treat." Luna decided to respect Ron's decision to move on from the Dragon conversation, and she looked the menu with an airy smile.

"Are you treating us too?" Ginny asked immediately, and Ron nodded. Her eyes were back on the menu in a heartbeat, while Percy just shot Ron a frown from smuggling a Dragon. Did the Ministry's Laws mean nothing to Ron? Why was he so intent on ruining his Future?

"What kind of Dragon was it?" Fred asked.

"The fire-breathing kind" Ron replied, and the twins sniggered.

"Love your sarcasm, but we're serious" George told him. "You have to tell us more."

"How did you handle it?"

"Where did it come from?"

"Since when are you friends with Hagrid?"

"Stop it, you two" Percy tried to shoo them away, but they just blew raspberries at Percy. Ron spotted Charlie walking into the shop at that, and Kirsten Domitor was by his side. They were both laughing, wide smiles on their faces as they held each other's hands. Kirsten's hair was rather short now, almost boyish in looks. But it suited her just fine, and Ron still thought that she was rather pretty. Ron and Percy stood up to greet them properly, while the twins and Ginny just eyed Charlie's new girlfriend with scrutinizing eyes. Luna didn't even notice the commotion, her eyes searching the menu.

"Kirsten, these are my siblings" Charlie announced, while Kirsten smiled widely at them. "This is Percy."

"It's good to meet you" Percy shook her hand in a formal manner.

"It's good to meet you too" Kirsten beamed at him, something that made Percy blink.

"These are the twins" Charlie pointed them out, and Kirsten turned her pearly whites to them.

"Hello" Fred smiled.

"How do you do?" George asked.

"And yes, they talk like that all the time" Charlie chuckled, making his girlfriend giggle.

"It's part of our charm" Fred grinned.

"You'll grow to love it" George grinned as well.

"I'm sure I will" Kirsten responded.

"This is Ron, you've met him before" Charlie pointed Ron out, and Ron gave her a polite smile. She smiled wider than ever before, her brown eyes fixed on his ocean blue ones.

"It's good to see you again, Ron" Kirsten beamed.

"You too, Kirsten" Ron responded. "May I call you by your first name?"

"Of course" she replied with a chuckle. "After all, we've already smug…"

"Ahem" Charlie coughed, stopping his girlfriend from revealing too much about their smuggling deal with Ron.

"He already told us" Percy shot a frown at Ron, and Ron shrugged.

"We got away with it, no harm done" Ron smirked.

"That we did" Kirsten giggled.

"And these two ladies are Ginny and Luna, the little sisters" Charlie introduced, his eyes shooting to Ron. Ron beamed at Charlie for including Luna as their sister, and Charlie gave him a knowing wink.

"Hi" Ginny said as she looked Kirsten up and down.

"I like your hair" Luna hummed as she looked up, her eyes darting between the couple. "Do you both have short hair because of your work?"

"We do" Charlie nodded. _Oh, I didn't even think of that._

"Dragon fire doesn't go well with hair, as I learned the hard way" Kirsten laughed, though she could tell that Luna wasn't a Weasley. "Took three of my friends to put out the flames." The twins sniggered at that, and even Ginny's lips twitched upwards. _Was this when that wild Dragon attacked them?_

"Are you guys ready to order?" Charlie asked as he sat down with his girlfriend, his right hand resting on her thigh.

"We are" the Weasley's all said, while Luna looked back at the menu.

"Luna?" Ron looked to her with a smile, and she blinked at him.

"What are you getting?" Luna asked.

"Apple Sorbet" Ron replied. "Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds good."

"I'll have the Lemon Sorbet then, and we can swap if we don't like ours" Luna hummed, making Ron chuckle.

"Fair enough" Ron said, and then he looked to the couple. "It's my treat, by the way. Get whatever you want."

"Oh, that's not necessary Ron" Kirsten smiled at him.

"Yeah it is, he's loaded" Charlie muttered, but it was just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Charlie" Percy frowned, but he was met with a chuckle from Charlie.

"Charlie already knows what I want" Kirsten smiled at her boyfriend, who smiled and nodded.

"Why don't we go up and order, Ron?" Charlie suggested. "Give Kirsten a chance to learn more about the others."

"Sure" Ron nodded, and both brothers stepped behind the line of people after everyone gave Charlie their orders. He could hear Kirsten asking the twins questions about their hobbies, something that they were more than happy to share.

"She already knows quite a lot about you already" Charlie whispered, and Ron looked at him. "I want her to get to know them as well."

"What do you mean by 'quite a lot'?" Ron asked, his tone becoming guarded and slightly annoyed. Charlie blinked at him, and then he gave Ron a reassuring smile.

"She doesn't know about your diagnosis, or scars" Charlie assured Ron. "I would never tell her something so personal about you Ron, you know that." _Hmmm, maybe. But people slip up, which is why I keep my problems to myself._ Ron looked back forward, and they both waited in silence.

"Thank you for including Luna" Ron suddenly broke the silence.

"Of course, little brother" Charlie smiled at Ron. "She's a bit distant, but I reckon she's got a heart of gold."

"She does" Ron stated, and then he looked to the front of the line. _Why aren't people more efficient? Step into the line only when you know your damn order._

"You know that they do house deliveries, right?" Charlie suddenly mentioned, and Ron looked to Charlie with a puzzled look. "You place an order, they box it, put a Cooling Charm on it, and then send it over. It's quite neat."

"Alright…" Ron said slowly. _What an odd thing to share._

"Merlin, Ron" Charlie sighed. "I'm suggesting that you order something for your girlfriend, sort of like a surprise gift." _My girlfriend? Bloody hell, he means Daphne._

"Charlie…" Ron started, but Charlie shushed him.

"Ron, it's a nice thing to do" Charlie instructed. "You'll make her day much brighter, and all you have to do is say a few words and pay a little bit of money. Isn't that worth it?"

"It… It is…" Ron averted his gaze, a blush creeping onto his face. _He is convinced that she's my girlfriend._

"Do you know what she likes?" Charlie asked, and Ron gave a meek nod. _It would make her really happy, she loves gifts. Both giving them, and receiving them._

"Honey Caramel with Macadamia Nuts" Ron remembered, and Charlie nodded with a slight chuckle. "She has 'refined' tastes, as she puts it."

"And she picked you?" Charlie teased, and Ron snorted.

"My thoughts exactly" Ron sniggered. "And she's not my girlfriend, so stop calling her that."

"Whatever… lover-boy."

"Piss off."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Midnight)**_

The day had gone off rather well for Ron, and for Charlie. Despite Charlie's worries, Kirsten had actually gotten along rather well with the Weasley siblings (Including Luna). She was genuinely interested in the twins' antics, in Percy's plans for the Future, in Ginny's love of clothes, in Luna's fascinating adventures with her father, and in Ron's Chess career. And they in turn were extremely interested in her work with Charlie back at the reserve. Ron had been polite, but he had kept himself at a distance with Kirsten. He didn't know why, but he just felt the need to keep whatever Charlie hadn't told her to himself. It bothered him greatly that there was some woman in Romania that knew so much about him.

He knew that he was being paranoid again, but that was just who he was now. His life was held up by his secrets, and everything he did was in order to serve those secrets. Having some stranger get too close to him was a terrifying thought, and so he had kept himself at bay. He answered her whenever she asked him something, but he mostly just bombarded her with questions of his own so she wouldn't get the chance to ask him anything. It worked wonderfully, and she had left with next to no new knowledge on Ron.

As for the rest of the day, Ginny and the twins had made a huge deal out of Ron's wealth when they all got home. His parents, including Pandora, were genuinely shocked to learn just how much money Ron had saved up. And although it boosted his confidence, it also made him become elusive to their questions. He told them that he had made his money by winning, something that was true, but he had kept everything else to himself. The business with the French Ministry was a sour topic for Ron, and he didn't want his parents fretting over him about it. And now here he was, an utterly mad plan in his head.

"Marty" Ron called, and he heard a soft pop from behind him. Ron turned to find Marty standing in the middle of his room, and Ro smiled at the Elf.

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed deeply.

"I did" Ron walked over and sat down on his bed, his eyes fixed on his Elf. "And I'm glad that you got through dad's wards."

"Marty felt no wards against Elves, Master" Marty beamed. "How can Marty help Master tonight?"

"Are you still at Hogwarts?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded fervently. "Good, I have a rather insane idea that I want to share with you. Come, sit with me." Marty beamed at Ron's kindness, and he quickly ran over and sat down beside Ron. "Do you remember the Chamber, and the Basilisk?" Ron asked, and Marty's eyes widened.

"Ye… Yes, Master… Marty remembers" Marty replied, clearly scared of that place.

"I met a Goblin today that offered to pay me handsomely for pieces of the Basilisk, and I was thinking…" Ron started, and Marty leaned in. "Would it be possible for you to harvest the corpse?"

"Harvest?" Marty's voice shook, but then he slapped his own cheeks loudly. _What the…?_

"Marty, don't hit yourself" Ron frowned slightly.

"Forgive Marty, Master" Marty gave Ron a more resolute look. "But Marty is acting like a coward when Master needs Marty's help, this cannot happen. It is shameful, and Marty will stop it."

"That's fine, Marty" Ron gave the Elf a pat on his tiny shoulder. "I know that what I'm asking is rather… grim."

"Marty can do it" Marty nodded firmly. "Though not alone… Marty does not know much about hunting and harvesting carcasses, Master. But Marty could find Elves that do, and hire them."

"They'd keep their work a secret?" Ron asked.

"Elves would never betray their employers" Marty assured Ron, something that made Ron smile deviously.

"Here" Ron said as he handed Marty his Gringotts pouch. "How much will you need?"

"Marty was thinking of hiring seven Elves with experience, Master" Marty replied. "A Galleon each would suffice, this is a rather scary job."

"Pay them two Galleons each" Ron ordered, and Marty gave Ron a wide smile. "And Marty, don't touch anything with poison on it. Do you understand? You will only supervise them, and not risk yourself. Let them handle it because they know how to."

"Marty understands" Marty nodded as he hopped off of the bed, eager to get to work. "Anything else Master, perhaps something to eat?"

"No thanks Marty, be on your way" Ron smiled at him. "Take as much time as you need to get this done." Marty nodded firmly, and then he left with a soft pop. _Hopefully they'll find loads of stuff for me to sell. I could make a lot of money from this._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ahhh... It feels good to delve into the Harry Potter World again. So much better than my Muggle existence in the real World. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was a bit slow, but you know me, I like setting things up every now and then. I'd wager that my next update will on Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. It depends on how efficiently I work through my studies.**

 **Also Charlie's finally here, and he will get a big POV next chapter. I promise. I know that many of you have been asking for one for a while, and I'm happy to finally give you what you wanted.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	59. Chapter 59 - A Wild Beast

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 59 is here, right out of the oven that is my computer! Thank you all for the warm welcome back, it feels good to be back here. There's so many stories that I want to read right now (none of them about Ron, sadly). Anyway...**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 59 – A Wild Beast**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – An Hour before Midday)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, fully expecting to get tackled by an excited Tori, but that didn't happen. There was no there to greet him, yet Ron wasn't too bothered. He instead began making his way to the Living Room. The Mansion was massive, so it took Ron a couple of minutes to get there. The moment he stepped into the room, he spotted Daphne and Tori playing a game of Chess together. Mary was reading a novel by the fireplace, completely absorbed by the book.

"Hello, my Ladies" Ron greeted them, and they all looked to him with smiles.

"Ron, you're here a little early" Mary greeted back. "Come and sit down with us, we can leave after I finish this chapter."

"Interesting book?" Ron asked as he sat down in an empty chair.

"It is" Mary chuckled. "One of my Husband's Muggle romance novels." _It's so weird that Lord Greengrass reads those types of books._ Mary turned her attention back to her book, so Ron looked to the girls. Tori was focused on the board, but Daphne gave him a nice smile. _I wonder how she reacted to me sending her Ice-cream. Hopefully she didn't think that it was creepy._

"Who's winning?" Ron asked the girls.

"Me" they both replied, and then they looked at each other with confused looks.

"That's never a good sign" Ron laughed, and he could hear Mary stifling her laugh. "Theo not here yet?"

"No, he won't be here until the afternoon" Daphne replied as she took Tori's knight.

"Ugh…" Tori groaned at losing her knight. "I don't want to play anymore… You've killed both of my knights."

"So I win?" Daphne smirked, and Tori frowned at her sister.

"No, I'm just not playing anymore" Tori argued. "There's a difference." _That's called forfeiting, so Daphne does win._

"Alright" Daphne agreed, making both Ron and Tori blink in disbelief. "We can continue later, if you want." Tori nodded slowly with narrowed eyes, her sister was up to something. "Ron, Blaise sent a letter for us. Said that it was urgent." Ron was immediately alert at that, and even Mary looked to Daphne for a second. "It's in my room, you need to read it."

"Alright" Ron stood up, his brow furrowed. _Blaise is sending urgent letters? He still hasn't sent me one inviting me over for dinner with his mother. Is he in trouble?_ Daphne stood up and walked over to Ron, and Tori made to follow.

"Tori, this is kind of private" Daphne gave Tori a soft smile, but Tori just huffed.

"Tori, come sit with me love" Mary called out, and Tori sighed and did as she was told. Ron gave Mary a grateful nod, and she smiled in return.

"Show me" Ron turned to Daphne, and she nodded. They made their way up to her room as Ron ran through all the different scenarios in his head. "Did he say what was wrong? He hasn't contacted me about dinner at his place yet."

"Not here" Daphne replied, and Ron held back his questions. _Damn, what's gone wrong?_ They entered Daphne's room, and she locked the door behind her.

"Where is it?" Ron asked, his expression dead-serious.

"There's no letter, Ron" Daphne giggled, her features relaxing because of her ploy succeeding. _Huh? What?_ "I wanted to talk to you alone, so I used Blaise sending an 'urgent' letter as a means to trick mother."

"Daph…" Ron groaned. "I was scared for him…"

"Sorry" Daphne smiled as she walked up to him. "But I wanted to thank you for the Ice-cream yesterday. I think it was a really sweet gesture, and it made my day."

"Really?" Ron relaxed considerably. _Blaise is fine, thank Merlin._

"Really" she hummed as she put her arms around his lower back and gazed up at him. Ron felt his face flush, and he awkwardly looked down and gave her a weak smile. "We've hugged before Ron, there's no need to be so tense."

"I know… It's just that you hug me differently…" Ron mumbled, earning a giggle from her.

"How so?" Daphne asked. "Describe the difference."

"Well for one, your arms are near my… lower back" Ron replied, trying his best to avoid the word 'arse'. "And you're pressed up against me more…" _Merlin, what's the damn temperature in this room?_

"Your blush is so cute" Daphne smiled up at him, and he managed another weak smile back.

"You're blushing too" Ron pointed out, but she just shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me anymore" she admitted. "Does it bother you?"

"I… Sort of…" Ron admitted. "Sorry."

"What for?" Daphne asked. "You have the right to not like blushing, despite how cute you look when you do." _Cute? She really thinks that I'm cute?_ Ron smiled a little more genuinely at the thought, he thought that she was cute too. "As for the Ice-cream, thank you." Daphne then leaned up and pecked his lips, and Ron's stomach felt like it was floating again. _Damn Charlie, his words got to me. We've kissed plenty of times now, so why am I getting so nervous again? This counts as kissing, no matter what Charlie says._

"You're welcome" Ron smiled, and she blinked at him.

"Ron, what's wrong?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing" Ron lied with a smile, but she let go of him with a sigh. _Damn, how did she know?_

"I know when something is bothering you, Ron" Daphne told him. "Tell me what it is, I want to help." Ron shuffled his feet, his face burning from embarrassment. _Damn you Charlie Weasley, damn you._

"What we do…" Ron started slowly. "It counts as kissing, right?" Daphne would be lying if she said that she wasn't left gobsmacked by his weird question, and she didn't even try to hide it.

"Ron, did you bump your head?" Daphne asked, half-teasing and half-serious.

"No" Ron quickly replied, his sense of embarrassment increasing. _Nice going, Ron. You daft cunt._ "I'm being stupid… Sorry…"

"No, it's alright" Daphne reassured him. "I shouldn't have said that. You have something on your mind, and I shouldn't make fun of you for it. Tell me what's wrong." Ron smiled gratefully at that.

"My brother… My older brother Charlie, that is… He knows that we kiss each other" Ron told her. "I asked him about it when you first kissed me because I was really confused by it, and he knows that we're still doing it in secret. He won't tell anyone, I can promise that. Anyway… He said something to me that just got to me, that's all."

"What did he say?" Daphne asked with a patient smile. It was taking everything in her power to not start teasing Ron for acting so bashful near her.

"He said that…" Ron stopped, but Daphne gave him a soft nudge. "He said that 'bumping lips' isn't kissing…"

"Bumping lips?" Daphne frowned. "That's a gross way to say it."

"Sorry, Charlie can be a bit too blunt" Ron admitted. "Anyway, it just got to me for a second." _That, and him saying that Daphne's my girlfriend. The really scary part is that I actually really like the sound of that. Shite, am I actually smitten?_

"Why wouldn't it count as kissing?" Daphne huffed, slightly annoyed with Ron's brother.

"I said the same thing" Ron assured her. "But he just laughed at me…" Daphne huffed indignantly at that.

"Come here please" Daphne stood up to her full height, and Ron moved over to her. "Kiss me." _Damn, that sounded like an order rather than an invitation._ "And I want one of those long kisses. We haven't done one of those in forever."

"Do you want me to give you a salute as well?" Ron asked.

"If you want" Daphne smirked. "Now hurry up. Mother will want you back soon." Ron nodded, calmed his nerves, and he gave her what she wanted.

* * *

 _ **Monday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **June, 1993 (The Ministry – Near Midday)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace after Mary, both of them entering the Ministry of Magic. Mary quickly locked her arm with his, and he smiled at her. _Merlin, she smells nice. Wait… What the fuck am I thinking? I just kissed her daughter, and I've just realized that I have a crush on said daughter. I've kissed my crush! WOHOO!_

"Ron?" Mary laughed. "Why are you smiling so happily?"

"Oh… Just happy to have a beautiful woman on my arm" Ron replied, earning another laugh from Mary.

"Very nice use of flattery, Ron" Mary smiled as they began moving. "Trust me, flattery is a powerful weapon when used right. And you are getting better at it every time I see you."

"Daphne's helped me a lot, if I'm being honest" Ron replied, his eyes traveling to the Fountain of Magical Brethren. _Statues made of solid gold. A wizard, a witch, a Centaur, a Goblin, and a House-Elf. Father told me that the Fountain symbolizes unity, but everyone knows that witches and wizards dominate the Wizarding World. This Fountain is just for show._

"That is good to hear" Mary responded. "You and my daughter are very close, aren't you?" Ron tensed at that, and she felt it. It brought a mischievous smile to her face.

"She's my best friend" Ron admitted, hoping to throw her off. _Though Tracey is hers. Odd, that my best friend is best friends with someone else._

"You're such a sweet young man" Mary cooed, her smile widening as she saw his blush. She found it rather adorable, yet odd, that her daughter, who was someone that refused to wear her heart on her sleeve, constantly brought Ron up. Every fifth sentence would either be about him, or allude to him. Daphne was clearly harboring a massive crush on the boy, and he being who he was, seemed utterly oblivious to it.

"You're teasing me" Ron stated with a frown.

"Forgive me, but I couldn't resist" Mary laughed. "I'll stop, I promise. Tell me, how is Blaise?" _Blaise? Oh, the 'letter' he sent. Great work Daph, now I have to come up with a suitable lie._

"He's fine" Ron replied. "He wanted to let me know that his mother wants me over for dinner soon." Mary stopped dead in her tracks, making Ron do the same. "Mary?"

"Ron, is this true?" Mary's eyes widened, and Ron blinked at her before nodded slowly. "Verdammt" she muttered in a foreign language.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"You should refuse her invitation, Ron" Mary urged him, much to his surprise. "Stay away from that… that vile, despicable woman. She is a spider, one that will try to entangle you in her webs." _Not a fan? And spider?_ Ron shuddered at the thought of those monstrosities. _Ugly little bastards._

"That's Arthur Weasley's youngest boy…" came a voice from somewhere, and Ron looked around to see dozens of people eyeing him.

"That's Ronald Weasley…"

"That's the kid that resisted fifty Veelas? Wait… it is…"

"Mr. Weasley!" a shabby looking man waved to him, and Ron turned to see some reporter march towards him. There was a massive camera floating behind him, and Ron tensed. Other people heard the shout, and they started eyeing Ron too.

"Ron, start walking" Mary instructed as she all but began dragging Ron with her. "Damn vultures…"

"What's going on?" Ron asked her, his eyes darting to the people staring at him.

"You're quite famous" Mary reminded him. "But my husband, at your father's request, has kept you relatively shielded from 'journalists'. Don't look at them Ron, just keep your eyes forward." Ron did as he was told, all while wondering why his father didn't want him talking to journalists.

"That's really him…"

"He looks… like a normal kid…"

"Isn't that Mary Greengrass?"

"Leave the kid alone…"

"Hold the elevator" Mary ordered, and a tiny witch squealed and held it open. Ron and Mary squeezed in, while some bloke inside spotted the journalists and quickly closed the cage. "Thank you, my good man." The man nodded, and then looked back to his paper. Mary pressed the button for the second floor, and then tightened her hold on Ron's arm. "Don't leave my side for a second."

"I won't" Ron promised. The elevator jerked to life, and Ron quickly grabbed a handle with his free hand. Mary just used Ron as her support, effectively making him work to keep her stable too. Once the elevator finally stopped on the second floor, a light-headed Ron opened the cage and guided Mary out.

"What a horrid contraption" Mary sighed out, her grip on Ron's arm loosening. Ron was about to answer, but he stopped when he spotted Madam Roberts just standing there. She was looking at Ron and Mary, no doubt waiting for them.

"I said Midday, and you're five minutes late" Madam Roberts stated, her face calm but her eyes judgmental.

"We had the misfortune of running into some enthusiastic journalists" Mary informed the woman, who simply gave a curt nod. _But they didn't really slow us down. If anything, we got here quicker because of them._

"Come with me" Madam Roberts ordered, and Ron and Mary began to follow her. Ron's eyes traveled all over the place, hungrily taking in the sights. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was huge, with people running back and forward in a hurry. _I wonder how many of them are Aurors?_ Ron felt giddy for some reason, he'd love to work here someday. _Catching bad guys, working cases related to the Dark Arts, protecting innocent people._ Ron was nearly salivating at the prospect of such a job, something that Mary noticed.

"Do you want to work in this Department someday?" Mary asked him, she figured that he would. Ron had a tendency to get into trouble, and to help other people along the way.

"I do" Ron admitted. "Being an Auror sounds like fun."

"It sounds fun?" Madam Roberts turned around, her face expressionless. "You want to deal with the scum of the Earth for the rest of your life, is that it?" Ron blinked at her, while Mary frowned. "You want people throwing Killing Curses at you every other week?"

"He's just a boy" Mary said as she looked into Madam Roberts' eyes, but the older witch simply turned back around and started walking again. "Don't listen to her Ron." _I… I think I should. She's seen war before, and I'm preparing for one right now. 'Sounds like fun', what the fuck is wrong with me?_ They walked the rest of the way in silence, until eventually they entered the Auror's Headquarters, and that silence was broken. There was a lot of noise, which was the first thing that Ron noticed. Then he looked around the cluttered open area divided into cubicles, which was buzzing with loud talking and laughter.

"Hand me your wand" Madam Roberts turned around, and Ron did as he was told. As soon as the warmth of it left his hand, Ron felt naked. Madam Roberts examined the fourteen inch wand, her eyes narrowing on the elegant flowery design. "What type of wood is your wand made out of?"

"Cypress" Ron replied, and Madam Roberts looked back at him immediately. Something flashed behind her eyes, and her lips twitched upwards for a second. _What was that? She looked almost pleased for a second there._

"Wait here" she ordered, and then she began to head deeper into Headquarters. "Kingsley, I need your help with something."

"That woman…" Mary sighed. "Who says that to a child?"

"I'm not a child" Ron gave her a weak smile. "And I think she was trying to show me what being an Auror is really like."

"Still…" Mary frowned. "There are gentler ways to do it."

"It's alright" Ron reassured her, and she patted his right cheek gently.

"You are in the way" came a man's voice, and both Ron and Mary turned to see the man limping towards them. He wielded a walking stick to help with his slight limp, and looked rather like an old lion with streaks of grey in otherwise tawny hair and bushy eyebrows.

"Mr. Scrimgeour" Mary greeted, and the man stopped when he heard his name. His keen yellowish eyes landed on Mary, and he fixed his wire-rimmed spectacles to see her better.

"Ah, Lady Greengrass" Scrimgeour greeted back. "It has been a long time, has it not?"

"It has, and I must admit, I am grateful for it" Mary smiled at the man, while Ron just studied the older wizard. "Ronald, this is Rufus Scrimgeour. Head of the Auror's Department." Ron's eyes widened slightly, and he put his hand forward for a shake without even thinking about it. Rufus Scrimgeour shook his hand firmly, and gave Ron a curt nod.

"I'm Ronald Weasley, Sir" Ron properly introduced himself.

"Rufus Scrimgeour" the older wizard said curtly, letting go of Ron's hand. "I've heard much about you, Mr. Weasley. Some rather troubling things, I must admit."

"Troubling, Sir?" Ron blinked.

"You possess a penchant for getting into trouble" Scrimgeour replied. "I imagine that you'd fit right in here."

"Oh… Thank you, Sir" Ron beamed, nearly passing out from excitement.

"Now please excuse me, I have a meeting to get to" Scrimgeour excused himself, and then he limped onwards and disappeared into the headquarters.

"Did you hear that?" Ron beamed at Mary, his grin nearly splitting his face open.

"Composure, Ron" Mary reminded him, a soft smile on her lips.

"Sorry" Ron apologized, his grin still in place. But that grin fell when he spotted Madam Roberts coming their way, and Ron cleared his throat to warn Mary.

"Here's your wand, and your permit" Madam Roberts said as she handed Ron his wand back.

"Permit?" Ron asked as he quickly pocketed his wand. _Finally, I was feeling like I was starkers._

"I've pulled some connections, and had the Trace lifted from your wand" Madam Roberts explained. "As for the Trace on you, that will be ignored for these school Holidays. This permit is proof of you being in our 'exclusion books', don't lose it."

"I'll take that" Mary said, and Madam Roberts handed her the permit.

"Is the Trace permanently lifted from my wand?" Ron asked, and Madam Roberts cocked an eyebrow.

"No, only temporarily" she replied. "Once Hogwarts reopens, the Trace will return. Can't have an untraceable wand out there, security reasons. This is just so that the Aurors don't come looking for you while we spar, and if I decide to teach you. Now excuse me, I have work to get back to." Madam Roberts turned on her heal, and she walked off without saying goodbye.

"I don't think she likes me much" Ron joked.

"I'd wager that she doesn't like anyone much" Mary said, and then she gave Ron a smile. "Let's head off, I promised your mother that I'd send you straight home after this."

* * *

 _ **Charlie Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Afternoon)**_

Things were going rather well for Charlie, with only a few minor inconveniences. The first one, and the major one, was that Kirsten had gone back to Romania. He was going to miss his witch, but he knew that he'd see her soon enough. At least he had managed to see her before she had departed, and they'd had mind-blowing sex before parting ways. The other inconvenience stemmed from his own siblings. Charlie understood that he was never home, mostly because of his busy and difficult job, but it still bothered him when his siblings became possessive. He barely had a minute to himself, and because he was used to having his freedom out on the reserve, he was getting a little prickly.

The twins, bless their hearts, were shameless attention-seekers. They were constantly trying to show him their creations, which were rather ingenious, but always left behind sticky messes. In an effort to win their big brother's approval, the twins had turned wilder than usual. Percy often fell victim to their shenanigans, as did Ron, and that had turned their mother into a Banshee. There was so much noise in the Burrow, and most of it stemmed from the twins.

Percy was his usual self, constantly boasting about his grades and new girlfriend. He would send her letters in front of other people as a way of showing off, but would just end up getting teased by everyone. This did nothing to stop him however, it only made him renew his efforts. It was an endless cycle with him, and Charlie feared that his brother had become a glutton for pain.

Ginny was going through her own problems, as Charlie was well aware thanks to their parents, but Merlin she was a handful. She constantly snapped at the twins for bullying Percy, but had no problem making remarks of her own. She constantly butted heads with Ron for no apparent reason, even when Ron was just minding his own business. Charlie suspected that it had something to do with Harry Potter, who seemed to be prefer Ron's company over hers. Charlie knew that if left unchecked, Ginny was going to push Ron over the edge any day now.

And Ron… Whoever this person was, he was not the little brother that Charlie remembered. Ron had always been so carefree, constantly prioritizing play over work. Ron used to laugh and make jokes constantly, fly around whenever he got the chance, and he would shine like the Sun if people made him the center of attention. But now… Now Ron was closed off, always in the distance somewhere. He made himself known of course, but only when it suited his needs. Beyond that, he didn't seem to care much for attention. Kirsten had been the one to point that out to Charlie after their meeting with his siblings, and she was rather hurt by Ron's distrusting nature. Ron fucking Weasley was distrustful of people! What the fuck had happened to him? Why was it that of all of Charlie's siblings, Ron was the only one who didn't want any attention from him?

And then… Then there was that temper of his. Their father had told Charlie about it, and about how Harry Potter had fallen victim to it. Charlie had finally seen it in person yesterday, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that it had scared the shite out of him. They were all de-Gnoming the garden, all laughing together and whatnot. But then Ginny started questioning Ron about why he was wearing a jumper and his glove even though it was hot, while she herself was wearing a jumper, and that had closed Ron off again. Ron quietly left in order to work alone, but Charlie had noticed that his little brother's mood had been soured. And that's when it happened. A Gnome bit Luna's leg, bringing her to tears. The Gnome, being what it was, seemed rather pleased with itself. And that had snapped something in Ron's head.

Charlie's stomach dropped as he remembered how Ron's face had contorted in utter rage, and then he had started attacking the Gnome, smashing the poor fucker into the ground over and over. Punching its face bloody and screaming like some wild animal as he did it. It had taken both Charlie and Percy to get Ron away from the tiny Gnome, who had limped off in an effort to save his life from the crazed Weasley. But the worst part about this was that Ron had turned around with the full intention of clocking Percy in the head, only to stop at the last second. That had made Charlie dead certain that Ron was trying to kill the Gnome, and that scared the piss out of him. Everyone avoided Ron for the rest of the day, except for Luna, who spent the entire day with Ron in his room.

"Charlie, are you listening?" came Ginny's voice, and Charlie snapped out of his dreadful thoughts. He looked over to see Ginny sitting on the ground, alongside Harry, Luna, and the twins. They were playing Gobstones, while Percy was just watching them play as he lazily read a book. "Do you want to play? We need one more to make it even." Charlie's eyes went to Ron, who was playing Chess against himself in the corner.

"You should invite Ron" Charlie said softly, hoping that Ron didn't hear. _He's too busy playing against himself, but why does he need to read that book at the same time?_

"Um… We'll just play with five people" Ginny mumbled, looking back to the game. Harry gave her a confused look, and then he looked to Charlie for an explanation. _Consider yourself lucky, mate. You didn't see Ron nearly murder a Gnome yesterday._ Charlie remembered that Ginny had started crying out of sheer fear, while the twins had both turned tail and run. _Fucking hell…_ Against his better judgement, Charlie moved over towards Ron.

"Little brother, what are you up to?" Charlie smiled at Ron, who looked away from his book and at Charlie.

"Solving Chess conundrums" Ron replied, his eyes going back to the board. "Doing so improves my ability to interpret strategies of all kinds." _He even talks differently now, but that's not a bad thing at all._

"Sounds boring" Charlie nudged Ron. "How about a game of Gobstones?" Ron looked back at Charlie, and then his eyes went towards their siblings and Harry. Charlie saw something shift behind them, and Ron looked back down at his board.

"Please don't make me…" Ron whispered, his voice strained. "I know they don't want me there…" Charlie would be lying if he said that it didn't twist his heart to hear Ron sound so alone, but Charlie knew that egging him on would only make Ron close off even more. _This Chronic Stress nonsense doesn't have some cure? Like a Potion, or something?_

"Alright, Ron" Charlie managed a weak smile. "Just let me know if you want to talk, alright?"

"I will" Ron nodded, clearly lying to Charlie. As Charlie made to leave, Ron suddenly looked back up. "Can we go running again tomorrow? I didn't mean to skip out on you this morning, I was just feeling off."

"Sure thing Ron, I'd love that" Charlie said truthfully, and Ron gave him a grateful smile before returning to his game. Charlie turned back around and went back to his chair, his siblings shooting him glances. Harry still looked confused, and he was eyeing Ron with a furrowed brow. _Best keep your distance Harry, it's the Dragon that looks worn out that gets you._

"You kids need anything?" came Sirius' voice, all jolly as usual. Charlie looked to see Sirius grinning at everyone, his eyes traveling around the room. They stopped on Ron momentarily, but then kept scanning the room.

"We're fine, Sirius" Harry smiled up at his Godfather, who gave Harry a wide grin.

"Alright then, enjoy your play date" Sirius laughed, making everyone groan at him. "Charlie, can I have a word with you?"

"Of course" Charlie replied as he got up and followed the man out of the room.

"Let's go up to the roof, there's something that I need to do" Sirius said, his voice suddenly more calm and collected. Charlie followed Sirius up the stairs in silence, until they finally stepped out onto the roof. It was a nice day out, but Charlie could smell the incoming rain. _Probably an hour away, and it's going to pour._

"Well, what did you need?" Charlie asked as they stepped further out on the rooftop. Sirius reached into his jacket, and he pulled out a pack of smokes. "I didn't know that you smoked."

"Yeah, only a couple of people do" Sirius shrugged, and then he gave Charlie a knowing smile. "You know what cigarettes are?" _He's a sharp bastard._

"I do" Charlie chuckled, and Sirius offered him one. "One can't hurt, I suppose. We have this Muggle-Born on the reserve, smokes them constantly. Idiot tossed a used one in a pile of Dragon dung once…"

"He didn't" Sirius laughed. "He didn't know that Dragon dung is flammable?"

"He does now. The whole fucking heap exploded. Hot shite everywhere" Charlie laughed as well. "We usually bum some off of him when we all go to the pub." Sirius lit his own cigarette, and then he lit Charlie's. "Thanks" Charlie said, and then he took in a drag. _That's the stuff. I should come here more often, definitely beats all of mum's rules._

"So… What's wrong with the pup?" Sirius asked.

"Pup?"

"Ron, what's wrong with him?" Sirius asked.

"You haven't heard?" Charlie took another drag. "I thought that you adults all kept constant tabs on him."

"Yeah, I've heard…" Sirius sighed out, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "Was hoping that something else was bothering him… Fuck me, did he really lose it like that? Arthur made it sound like a horror story."

"It was worse" Charlie laughed mirthlessly. "Sirius, he was out for blood… If we weren't there, he was going to kill that little shite."

"And I thought Harry had temper issues" Sirius muttered.

"Harry? Polite, soft-handed Harry?" Charlie asked.

"He has his moments" Sirius admitted. "Gets riled up if he sees someone bully others, or if people keep things from him. Saw me yell at Kreacher, ended up ripping into me right on the breakfast table. He's just a kid, so I can't really explain that Kreacher is a bigoted little twat."

"Yeah, I met him" Charlie took a deep drag. "Called me a Blood-Traitor on the spot, and then fucked off to Merlin knows where."

"Little cunt" Sirius shook his head. "I wanted to get rid of him, but Remus told me to stay my hand. Told me that Kreacher was the last connection that I had to my parents, as if I care about keeping something like that." _He clearly does, considering that he listened to Remus._ "Damn, we're veering off topic. What are Arthur and Molly doing about the pup's latest… episode?"

"Nothing, not a fucking thing" Charlie frowned, and Sirius gave him a confused look. "They're scared of pushing him away, Sirius. So much so that they constantly try to please him, something that's turning our siblings against Ron. Ginny is green with jealousy, and the twins target anyone who is favored by authority figures. It's a fucking circus back at home. Poor Pandora is the only one trying to do the right thing, whilst also trying to keep Ron in line. Sirius, he's changed so much that it fucking terrifies me."

"What was he like? You know, when he was a kid" Sirius asked, offering Charlie another smoke. Charlie took it, and Sirius lit it.

"He was a goofy moron" Charlie smiled to himself. _And he was perfect._ "Always joking, laughing, skipping work, flying around on dusty old broomsticks. He didn't have a damn care in the world, except for maybe his need to please everyone around him. But all kids are like that."

"When did that change?"

"When he turned eight" Charlie leaned against the railing, his face towards Sirius. "Suddenly declared that he wanted to be tutored, and that he wanted to learn spells. Percy jumped at the chance to build a connection with someone, while I just thought that it was adorable. Fucking fool I was… Look at him now…"

"He's still an amazing kid" Sirius took a long drag, and then exhaled loudly. "I love him almost as much as I love Harry, nothing can change that." Charlie gave Sirius a grateful smile, one that he returned.

"He lies a lot" Charlie noted, and Sirius nodded.

"I've noticed" Sirius shrugged. "He always has an answer for everything. And he somehow knows things that he shouldn't. Maybe he really is a real Prodigy, far smarter than any of us. Maybe that's where his insight comes from."

"Maybe" Charlie took a drag, he didn't really believe that though. _People don't become prodigies overnight, they don't change who they are overnight. But Ron did. Like some damn switch went off in his head, and it took Ron with it._ "I love him to bits, you can ask anyone that. But Sirius, I've been having trouble even connecting with him during our runs. He so closed off that I just want to throw a fucking tantrum. Every question I ask him is met with a preplanned answer. And if I catch him off guard, he just stares at me… Makes even me feel… small. Like I'm nothing, and that I have no place asking him questions."

"Fuck…" Sirius muttered. "Haven't seen that side of him yet… But Harry has mentioned something similar before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when they had their fight" Sirius nodded. "Said that speaking to Ron didn't feel right to him, like his instincts were telling him to leave. Harry said that Ron always managed to say things that pleased Harry, no matter the circumstance. But it didn't feel natural, it felt planned. I thought that Harry was just angry because of the fight, but now here you are… saying the same thing."

"I have half a mind to quit my job and move back home" Charlie admitted. "Just so I can keep an eye on him, just so I can make sure that he's getting help."

"Are Arthur and Molly really coddling him?" Sirius asked, and Charlie nodded. "Bit late for that, isn't it? They already pushed him to the point of nearly running away from home, so why now?"

"Guilt?" Charlie suggested.

"Love shouldn't come from guilt" Sirius frowned, tossing his cigarette away but taking out another. Sirius also tossed Charlie one, which Charlie caught easily because of his Seeker days. Charlie used his own wand to light the smoke, and then he took a long drag. _That's getting rough, last one._ "Ron needs help, which means that he needs to be held accountable. Otherwise, what's the fucking point?"

"I tried talking to dad about it last night" Charlie mentioned. "Told him that Ron needed to be… That he needed to be controlled. That his **anger** needed to be controlled. Dad told me not to worry about it, and that he'd talk to Ron."

"But he hasn't" Sirius figured, and Charlie nodded. "He broke some kid's nose on the train ride home as well… Some snot nosed brat that was trying to bully him."

"Percy mentioned that" Charlie replied. "I'll talk to him myself, I reckon."

"Need help?"

"Not yet" Charlie replied. "I want to talk to him alone, see if I can't find out why his temper gets to that point."

"Well if you learn anything, let me know" Sirius tossed away his cigarette, most of it still unused. "Want to head inside? It's going to rain, I think."

"It is" Charlie confirmed. "And yeah Sirius, let's go." They made their way inside, and went down the stair in silence. Just before they finished making their way down, Sirius stopped them both.

"I want you to bring him here more often, alright" Sirius instructed. "I feel like I'm standing around with my dick in my hand, and Remus feels the same way too."

"Where is Remus?" Charlie asked.

"Went to his shack for a couple of days, we got into a fight" Sirius replied, and Charlie nodded.

"I'll bring him" Charlie agreed, and Sirius smiled gratefully. They made their way back downstairs, and Charlie entered the room with the kids inside. His eyes went to Ron, and he smiled when he saw that Ron and Harry were playing Chess together. Ron looked much happier because of it, and Charlie thanked Merlin for Harry Potter. Charlie's eyes then fell on the others, and he noticed Ginny shooting looks at Ron and Harry. They were jealous looks, and they made Charlie want to bang his head on a wall. _I need to talk to her as well, and I need to do it tonight._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow - After Dinner)**_

"Why didn't you stay over, love?" Pandora asked Ron, who was currently reading his chess book and sitting with her. She was stroking his hair in a motherly fashion, and talking to him in a soft voice. Charlie only heard them because he was trying to listen in, trying to find out why Ron had refused to spend the night with Harry at Grimmauld Place. Of all the Weasleys, Harry had asked only Ron to stay over. Charlie suspected that Harry knew that something was bothering Ron, and so he wanted to try and fix it somehow. Charlie was starting to grow rather fond of Harry, even though they had only met recently.

"I have work to do" Ron replied with an equally soft voice. "Being there would just distract me." _Does he ever turn off at some point? Or does he recite his textbooks in his sleep as well?_

"It was just one night, Ron" Pandora hummed, still stroking his hair. "Harry's your friend, and he's just a bit lonely in that house." Ron looked away from his book at that, but then he immediately looked back at it.

"I didn't think of that" Ron admitted. "Next time Pandora, I promise."

"Good" Pandora smiled at him. _She knows how to talk to him, even I can see that. Should I stroke his hair too? Nope… Bad idea._ Charlie looked around to the others in the room, his eyes shooting to all of his siblings. The twins were sniggering with each other in a corner, Percy was reading a book by the fire, Luna was cuddled up with a plushy and fast asleep, and Ginny was just hovering about. Ginny, much like Charlie, was listening in on Pandora and Ron's conversation.

"I'm tired" Ron suddenly announced, closing his book and standing up. "Goodnight, Pandora."

"Goodnight, love" Pandora said back. Ron went to leave the room, only to stop and walk over to Luna. He grabbed a blanket off of an empty couch, and put it around Luna. Once he had covered her fully, he turned around and left the room without a word. Charlie smiled over at Pandora, who smiled back at him. Charlie waited for five minute before getting up to follow Ron, hoping for a quick chat with his brother. Charlie spotted his mother and father in the kitchen, talking to each other and giggling like teenagers. He'd have thought it sweet, if it didn't gross him out to see them like this. _At least they're in love._ Charlie made his way up to Ron's room, and he knocked on the closed door.

"The door isn't locked" came Ron's voice, and Charlie opened the door but lingered in the doorway. Ron was sitting on his bed, surrounded by parchments.

"I thought you were going to sleep?" Charlie asked with a pleasant smile.

"I was" Ron shrugged. "But after spending the whole day at Harry's, I figured that I had slacked off too much. I just want to go over some things before I sleep."

"It's the Holidays" Charlie chuckled, torn between teasing Ron and admiring his determination.

"I know" Ron smiled. "Just a bit of work, and then I'll go to sleep. Are we still up for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, of course" Charlie replied. He was about to go on, but a creaking sound stopped him short. Charlie looked down the hallway, only to find it deserted. _We're not alone… Ginny._ "Goodnight Ron, I'll see you bright and early." _Our chat can wait until then._

"Goodnight, Charlie" Ron said back, his eyes already on his parchments again. Charlie closed the door, and he made his way down the Burrow, stopping near Ginny's door. _If I was spying, and then nearly got caught, I'd hide in my room too._ Charlie knocked on Ginny's door, and he heard the sound of feet shuffling. _Caught you, little sister._

"It's me Gin, got a minute?" Charlie called, and then he heard the door unlock. Ginny opened it, an innocent look on her face. _Ha, people don't look innocent unless they're trying to hide their guilt._

"Is everything alright, Charlie?" Ginny asked with a polite smile, and he smiled back.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to chat with you" Charlie replied. "May I come in?"

"Sure" Ginny replied as she stepped back into her room, and Charlie went inside and closed the door. "What did you want to talk about?"

"About you… and Ron" Charlie replied, and he saw her tense. "Ginny, what's going on with you two? Has Ron done something to upset you? Does he even know that?"

"Nothing's wrong with me and Ronnie" Ginny replied, dropping onto her bed.

"Ginny, you're not in trouble" Charlie assured her as he sat down on Luna's bed, facing Ginny with a kind smile. "I just want to know why things are rocky between you two. You keep butting heads with him, and he seems oblivious as to why. Does it… Does it have something to do with Harry?"

"No, why would it?" Ginny asked immediately, her face flushing. _That's a yes if I've ever seen one._ Charlie just stared at her with a kind look, and she began squirming. "Stop that, Charlie. I'm telling the truth… This has nothing to do with Harry." Charlie kept staring, and Ginny huffed angrily at him. "Yes, and no… Happy?" she snapped.

"Talk to me Gin" Charlie leaned forward a bit. "I have to go back to Romania soon, and I want to make sure that everything is alright before I leave." Ginny put her knees against her chest, and she frowned miserably.

"Why does everyone always go to Ron for everything?" Ginny asked, her voice rising. _Huh?_ "Everyone gives him preferential treatment, despite his prat-like behavior. Mum and dad are constantly hovering around him, giving him everything he wants. Mum won't even put his name down for chores, and dad is constantly asking us where Ron is. Ron this, Ron that… I want to know what's going on, alright. That's all…" _I was right, she's jealous. But also worried for him._

"And now he's also going to be a Godfather" Ginny went on. "I can understand why, but still… Back at school, everyone is always bringing him up near me. 'What's he like at home? Has he always been like this? Does your brother really study the Dark Arts?'… I'm sick of it. People have labelled me as 'Ron's little sister', and so most of them don't even bother learning my name. All the girls in my year are constantly asking me private things about Ron, yet they run away when I offer to introduce them to him."

"Gin…" Charlie started, but she wasn't done yet.

"And why didn't the rest of us get asked to stay over?" Ginny asked, and Charlie just blinked. _Girls, and their overwhelming angst..._ "Why just him? He's not even in Gryffindor, and yet Harry, Neville, and Hermione act like he is. They'd rather be friends with him than the other Gryffindors, and people talk about that all the time behind their backs. Ron's just… He's just… Why is he always just getting everything without even trying? Even after what he did to Harry, Harry just turns around and forgives him. Wants to be Ron's best friend…" _That is a lot to take in. She's jealous of Ron, worried about Ron, worried about Harry and his friends, whilst also feeling overshadowed. Fuck me, I'm not equipped to deal with this. Kirsten, why did you leave before helping me with this?_

"Ginny, I'm sorry that you feel like Ron is overshadowing you" Charlie started, but she groaned loudly.

"He isn't overshadowing me."

" **But** " Charlie went on, ignoring her comment. "Ron works very hard, no one can deny that. He does try, and I know you know that." Ginny averted her gaze, her cheeks becoming redder. "And I know that you know that he doesn't try to make you feel… insecure…"

"I'm not insecure, Charlie" Ginny glared at him. "Just go away, please. I'm tired, and I want to sleep." Ginny lay down on her bed, and she looked to the wall, effectively turning her back to him. _Nice going Charlie, you dung-brained arse._

"Ginny…"

"Leave" she snapped, not looking at him. Charlie let out a sigh, and he left her room. _That was an astounding failure. Great… I was never any good with her. Where is Bill when you need him?_

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Charlie wasn't the conceited type, but he wasn't completely humble either. He knew that he was in perfect shape, all the whistling witches back at the reserve had shown him that. The training regimen that they all went through for their work kept them in amazing shape. So he was nicely surprised to see that Ron could sort of keep up with him if he held back a bit. Whenever their runs ended, Charlie pretended to be more out of breath than he was in order to make Ron happy. Which, judging by Ron's exhausted grin, was clearly working.

"I kept up, see?" Ron panted as he bent over. "Nothing to it…" _He tried his best, that's what counts._

"You've gotten much better than you used to be" Charlie admitted, his voice humorous.

"I go running everyday" Ron grinned, still panting. "My mates, Blaise and Theo, join me as well."

"Really?" Charlie asked, genuinely surprised. _Slytherins back in my day were a lot more… lax. But they were also the naughtiest bunch._ Charlie smirked to himself as he thought about the 'forbidden' things he had done with a handful of Slytherin witches, all of them pretending like they hated him but moaning his name nonetheless.

"What are you smirking about?" Ron asked. "It's a creepy smirk too…" _Heh, love me some snake-meat._

"Don't worry about it" Charlie waved a dismissive hand.

"Well… I'm heading inside" Ron took in a deep breath, they were currently standing near the Burrow.

"Wait" Charlie stopped Ron, who turned around with a pleasant smile. _Now or never._ "Mate, I wanted to talk to you about what happened with the Gnome…" Ron's smile disappeared immediately, and Charlie was met with that cold stare again. _Merlin, it's unnerving._

"Charlie, I don't want to talk about that" Ron turned back around.

"I don't care, we're talking about it right now" Charlie said with a firmer tone, he couldn't let Ron leave without him explaining himself. "I want to know why you did something so horrible."

"Horrible?" Ron asked as he turned around. "I did nothing wrong, Charlie…" Charlie blinked at Ron, who just stared back at him with an expressionless face. _Stop it, you're not supposed to have that kind of look in your arsenal._

"Ron, you nearly killed something" Charlie pointed out, but it didn't register with Ron.

"It hurt Luna, and it was proud of its actions" Ron stated. "I simply showed that… thing… that no one hurts my family."

"Is that what you think you did?" Charlie asked, his temper flaring. How could Ron even think something this horrid? "That you showed it how protective you are? That's not what I saw… That's not what our siblings saw, including Luna. You scared the piss out of me, the twins ran off, Ginny started crying, and Percy has been keeping his distance from you. And the adults… Fuck me, they're all a different story. You better explain yourself to me, or I swear Ron…"

"I just did" Ron frowned. "It hurt Luna, it drew blood, and it made her cry… So I did the same to it. And I'm going to make sure that it never happens again. I'll build a fence around this entire property myself if I have to, but those fucking Gnomes are done for."

"They're harmless…" Charlie defended them, their gardens had always been home to Gnomes. "Sure, they can be a bit rough, but they're not…"

"Violent?" Ron scoffed. "They bit Ginny once, made her bleed and cry too. Now they've done it to Luna."

"Dad likes having them around, you know that" Charlie stated, but Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't care about what he likes" Ron sneered, stunning Charlie. "I will not allow them to stay here anymore, and that is final!" Ron made to leave, but Charlie grabbed Ron's right arm with more strength than he intended. Charlie had finally reached his limit, and his entire face turned red with rage because of it. _This ends now, I'll smack him back to his senses if that's what it takes!_

"Final?!" Charlie roared, twisting Ron's arm. It clearly hurt Ron, but he didn't make a sound.

"You're hurting me" Ron stated, his face contorting slightly.

"What has gotten into you?!" Charlie demanded. "TELL ME!"

"Let go…" Ron tried to free his arm, but Charlie tightened his grip.

"You beat your friend bloody, you broke another kid's nose, and then you do **this**! You think you can do whatever you want, is that it?! You think hurting other people has no consequences?!"

"Charlie… Let go…" Ron tried to free his right hand, but Charlie twisted it again. Ron started trying to yank his arm free, but that just pissed Charlie off even more. _I'm trying to help you, you psychotic git!_

"You've been acting like a proper cold bastard, and for the life of me, I can't tell why!" Charlie yelled, his temper engulfing him. "You made Kirsten feel so unwelcome that she didn't want to see you guys again, and for what?! What are you so obsessed with hiding?! Why are you so fucking closed off?!" Charlie was nearly frothing at the mouth, but when he saw tears in Ron's eyes, he felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over him. His rage just died, and he let go of Ron's arm, making the younger Weasley tumble back and land on his stomach. Ron quickly pulled his right arm into his stomach, going utterly silent. _No… No, no, no… Ronnie…_

"Ron…" Charlie muttered, his throat closing up at the sight of Ron keeled over. "Little brother…" Charlie reached forward with a shaky hand, but when he saw Ron trembling, he pulled back. "Ronnie… I'm sorry… I am so fucking sorry…" Ron slowly got up, still shaking, and then he looked back at Charlie with a look that made Charlie's stomach drop. _Ron?_

"You…" Ron hissed, his face contorting from rage. Ron had gone blood red in the face, was shaking from wrath, and his eyes were glassed over. The sight made Charlie swallow thickly, he had never seen Ron so fucking angry before. Not even when he had attacked that Gnome.

"Ron, I didn't…" Charlie started, but he was stopped when a fist suddenly collided with his nose. Charlie heard his own nose break, and the pain was excruciating. So much so that even a big guy like him let out a scream, his hands covering his nose immediately.

"Fucking fuck!" Charlie screamed as he bent over, blood spilling out of his nose and through his hands. _FUCK! MERLIN FUCK! HE BROKE MY FUCKING NOSE!_ Charlie looked back up through stinging eyes, and he saw Ron glaring at him. Ron then turned his head and cracked his neck in a grotesque manner, his face still red with wrath. "You little shite!" Charlie snapped, his hands still covering his broken and bleeding nose.

"Don't ever put your hands on me again" Ron hissed. "Or I'll do worse." _Worse?!_ Charlie's temper roared back to life, his head spinning from the blood-rush. Charlie stood up to his full height, and he spat out the blood that had gotten into his mouth. And then, Charlie clocked Ron back. Charlie had pulled his punch at the last second, but it still floored Ron. And yet, Ron started getting back up slowly.

"Stay down" Charlie panted, his entire face throbbing so much that he wanted to scream out cusses. "Stay down… Or I'll belt you again… I'm older than you, and stronger than you… Stay down…"

"You're nothing compared to what I've gone up against…" Ron said bitterly, and then he suddenly shot up and kneed Charlie in the crotch. Charlie bent over, his face tightening as he held back a scream. _MOTHERFUCKER!_ Ron went to throw another punch, but Charlie moved out of the way and clocked him again. This time it was harder, and it sent Ron tumbling to the ground again. Charlie took the time to let out a pained gasp, his face and groin throbbing.

"You kneed me in the balls…" Charlie groaned, his eyes stinging horribly. "What the fuck?!" Charlie shot a look towards Ron, who was struggling to stand up. The sight of his little brother's face in the dirt brought Charlie back to his senses, and he limped towards Ron. "Ronnie… I'm sorry… Here, let me help…" _I just hit a fucking kid… FUCK!_

"Don't… Don't touch me… Ungrateful… You're all just… ungrateful…" Ron mumbled, still trying to stand up. Charlie didn't even register the words because of how much his body parts were hurting. Charlie put his arms around Ron's chest, but Ron jerked up and pushed Charlie away. It didn't even move Charlie, but Ron fell back on the ground, his face up. He already had a bruise forming on the right side of his face from Charlie's last hit, and he had a bloody lip from the first one.

"Let me help, please" Charlie groaned out, his stomach tightening from pain because of his currently bruising testicles.

"I don't… need it…" Ron cried, and Charlie finally realized that Ron was trying to keep himself from crying. That made Charlie feel a million times worse, and he swore at himself internally. "I don't want it… I'll do it all myself…" _What the fuck is he going on about?_

"CHARLIE?! RON?!" came their mother's shriek, and Charlie looked to see Molly Weasley running at them. "RONNIE! WHAT HAPPENED?!" She tried helping Ron up, but he threw her aside with surprising strength.

"OI!" Charlie shouted, immediately going to his bewildered mother's side.

"Stay away from me!" Ron yelled, his face contorting with rage again. _This fucker doesn't know when to stop, does he?!_ But instead of fighting, Ron turned around and ran away towards the house.

"RON!" Molly stood up and ran after him, with Charlie limping behind her. _My fucking balls…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

There were two kinds of pain in Ron's experience. Emotional and physical. Personally, he preferred the physical variety. Physical pain could be healed with spells, bandages, time… The possibilities were endless. But emotional pain… That stayed with you forever. That was the kind of pain that gnawed at you before you slept, before you ate, before you did anything important. Ronald Weasley knew pain better than most. He had suffered through both types of pain far more than he ever let on. And yet, right now, he was confused. His face was hurting, his arm was hurting even worse. But something in his chest was also hurting, and it wasn't his heart.

He could hear himself crying, but he didn't feel it. His eardrums were thumping in rhythm with his elevated heartbeat, and his vision was just a blur. What the fuck had just happened? What had he done to deserve this? He had protected his sister from a creature that had made her bleed, a creature that had laughed cruelly as Luna hunched over in tears. So what if Arthur Weasley loved the Gnomes? They had to go, and anyone with a modicum of sense could see that. But not Charlie, apparently… No, his older brother would rather nearly break his arm than let those filthy creatures get what they deserved. There were two kinds of pain in Ron's experience, and he was currently engulfed in them both.

"Greengrass Manor" Ron cried out as he hurled the floo-powder into the fireplace, ignoring that his mother was shrieking from outside. The fire roared to life, and Ron stepped through it when it changed color. _This is how they repay me?! After all I do for them?!_ His mind was besieged by a hundred different thoughts, and he didn't even realize where he was going. He just kept walking, and walking. Why was this fucking house so big? Did Lord Greengrass feel the need to compensate for something? Ron stopped in front of the study door, his safe place. _Chess… This is where I learn how to win._ Ron knocked on the door, his arms barely lifting. _Tired…_

"Come in" came Lord Greengrass' voice, it felt divine to Ron's ears. Ron opened the door, and he stepped inside before shutting it behind him.

"Can… Can I stay… here?" Ron asked, his voice utterly strange to even himself.

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Early Morning)**_

"Can… Can I stay… here?" Ron asked, his voice broken and heart-wrenching. Sebastian just stared at him for a couple of seconds, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. The right side of the boy's face was bruising, his lip was split and bleeding, and he was in hysterics.

"What happened?" Sebastian demanded, rushing out of his chair and standing in front of Ron. The boy suddenly hugged him, and started crying into his chest. _WHAT THE FUCK?!_ "Ron… What happened? Who did this to you?" _They're dead!_

"I don't… know what… I did wrong…" was the answer that Sebastian got, and so he knew that Ron wasn't planning on telling him. Sebastian put his arms around Ron, hoping to instead comfort the hysterical boy.

"Shhh" Sebastian shushed, he had no idea about this sort of stuff. "I'm here, and you can stay."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The room had been silenced by Sebastian, and Ron had gone to sleep. Well, passed out is more like it. Sebastian had put Ron in his chair, and begun pacing like a mad-man. This was not how his morning was supposed to go, not at all. _Who did this? He's wearing his running gear, and judging from the bruising, this just happened._ A terrible thought entered his head, but he quickly dismissed it. _Arthur and Molly would die before doing this to him. No, this is either from a sibling fight or a stranger. But if it was a stranger, then he wouldn't have come here. He wanted to get away from his home. Damnit!_ Sebastian looked to the sleeping Ron, and he felt his face tighten into a sneer. _I'm going down there._

Sebastian walked out of his study, and he marched towards the Greenhouses first. He had to get Mary to do her Healing Magic on Ron, it was never his forte. As he was nearing the exit, a voice called out to him.

"Husband?" came Mary's voice from behind him, and Sebastian quickly turned around. Theo was with her, as was Daphne. _Damn!_ Sebastian beckoned her to him, and she quickly came over. Theo and Daphne exchanged looks, but didn't follow. "Sebastian, what's wrong? Why do you look so…"

"Ron is in my study" Sebastian whispered. "He's hurt… He was beaten. Go there, and heal him. Keep the children out." Mary's eyes widened, and then she all but ran off towards the study. _Fine, I'll keep them out._

"Mother?" Daphne called out before looking to Sebastian with a scared look.

"Take Theo back upstairs" Sebastian ordered.

"Father, what…"

"Do not argue!" Sebastian snapped. "Upstairs, that is a command." Daphne nodded, grabbed Theo's arm, and they both left in a hurry. Sebastian made his way towards the fireplaces, and within moments, he stepped into the Burrow. _They'd better tell me who did this to Ron, or so help me Merlin…_ Sebastian burst into the kitchen, and he spotted a hysterical Molly Weasley being comforted by Arthur. Pandora was also in the room, and she was glaring at some boy who looked far worse than Ron. _Not a boy, this is a grown man._

"What is the meaning of this?!" Sebastian yelled, all eyes going to him immediately.

"He went to you" Molly stated as she cleared her eyes, her voice both relieved and confused.

"Tell me what happened now" Sebastian demanded, his eyes going to the injured man. The Weasley had a bloodied nose, which was clearly broken, and a red handprint on his left cheek. "Did you do this?!"

"Who are you?" the man demanded, his voice breaking.

"Charlie, be silent" Arthur ordered, and then he looked to Sebastian. "Is he alright?"

"Is he alright?" Sebastian repeated scathingly. "No! Tell me what happened."

"It's my fault" Charlie Weasley responded. "We got into a fight, and things got out of hand."

"Out of hand?" Sebastian laughed coldly, scanning Charlie's face and the ice-pack between his legs. "You attacked a child? And he did this to you?" _Unbelievable… How could a thirteen year old manage that? This man is built like a mountain, and yet he looks ten times worse than Ron. He clearly must've held back, or he's a simpleton who doesn't know how to fight._

"Ron's a tough bastard" Charlie laughed tiredly, but then extreme remorse crossed his face. "Is he alright? Where is he?"

"Sebastian, take me to him" Arthur said as he moved towards him.

"No" Sebastian responded, making Arthur stop dead in his tracks. "He came to me to get away from you lot, and I'm not betraying him by bringing you to him. When he wakes up, he can decide for himself. And as for you…" Sebastian glared at Charlie. "A child… That's what he is. I don't care if you're a Weasley, if you ever put your hands on him again, I'll kill you." Charlie Weasley nodded, keeping his eyes on Sebastian. Sebastian turned back around, and he marched home. _Weasleys, what a mad lot. Their tempers are too great for their brains to handle._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Early Morning)**_

Ron woke up with a jerk, his eyes darting around wildly to take in his surroundings. _Where am I?!_ All thoughts of his surrounding vanished as he felt pain shoot up into his brain, his face and right arm were killing him. _Fuck me, what happened?_ A fight… Fragments of a fight with his big brother came to mind, and Ron caught up with everything. He had fled to his safe place to lick his wounds, to hide from his family. Ron stood up on shaky legs, a groan escaping his lips. _Damn, Charlie hits like a Troll._ Ron wasn't an idiot, he knew that his brother had held back considerably. And Ron also knew that he himself hadn't. He had broken Charlie's nose, and probably killed his future nieces and nephews too. _All because I protected Luna from that filthy creature. Why can't they see that?_ The door to the study burst open, and Ron turned around with a pissed off look.

"Merlin" Mary gasped, her hands going to her mouth. Ron's face relaxed, and he fell back into his chair. _Bloody hell, I'm done. I'll just sit here for the rest of the day, I think._ "Ron, who did this to you?" Mary asked as she shut the door behind her, and then she ran over and kneeled in front of him.

"Brotherly fight…" Ron replied, his voice hoarse. "It happens…"

"It happens?" Mary repeated, her face suddenly becoming fierce. She took out her wand from her front pocket, and Ron finally noticed that she was wearing a gardening outfit. "Let me heal you…"

"No" Ron said immediately.

"What? Why?" Mary blinked. "No, this is not up for debate."

"Please… just leave it… It hurts less than…" Ron trailed off. _It hurts less than what I'm feeling, and it's a welcome distraction._ Mary just stared at him, she was at a loss.

"Ron, my daughters are in this house" Mary told him, and he looked at her with tired eyes. "And if they see you like this, they will be left horrified." _Daphne and Tori. She's right about that._ Ron nodded, and she pointed the wand at his face. "Episkey."

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Before Dinner)**_

As if getting his arse handed to him by Charlie wasn't enough, Ron had spent the rest of the day losing in Chess to Lord Greengrass. One would think that Lord Greengrass would hold back, considering Ron's emotional state, but no. Lord Greengrass didn't understand the notion of going easy on other people. Ron didn't mind though, it was a welcome distraction. They had played all day, with a House-Elf bringing them food and drinks. Daphne, Tori, and Theo didn't even know that Ron was here, much to his relief.

"Dinner is about to be served" Lord Greengrass stated, and Ron looked up from the board. "We should join the others."

"Can't I stay here?" Ron asked, his eyes going back to the board. _I'm trapped, he's got my queen locked down and I can't save her._

"Ron, we've been in here all day" Lord Greengrass replied. "Locking yourself away isn't healthy. Siblings fight, trust me. Tori and Daphne used to fight constantly, pulling each other's hair and biting. But they always made up, just like you and your brother will." _I know we'll make up, but how long will that last? How long until one of them is on my case again?_

"How was he? I didn't ask" Ron looked up.

"Worse off than you" Lord Greengrass smirked, but his smirk fell right after. "He asked me about you. He is worried about you… Very worried, actually. How did you manage to beat up a grown man?"

"He held back a lot" Ron shrugged.

"I see" Lord Greengrass nodded. "By the way, you're about to lose again."

"Yeah, I know…" Ron sighed, frowning at the board.

"Come, let's go eat" Lord Greengrass stood up, his eyes fixed on Ron. _That sounded like an order._ Ron stood up, and he gave a reluctant nod. They made their way out together, and they walked to the Dining Room in silence. The moment they entered, Ron knew that he should've remained in the study. His Slytherin friends were here… All of them.

"Ron?" Millie looked to him, and every eye shot to him immediately. _What the fuck? Why are they all here?_

"Hello" Ron greeted them as he and Lord Greengrass both stepped further into the room. _Did he know that they were here? Is that why he made me come out?_

"I didn't know that we had guests" Lord Greengrass said as he took his seat at the head of the table. "When did you all get here?"

"Just before lunch was served" Mary replied for them because they were too busy looking at Ron, who was still wearing his running gear.

"And why are you all here?" Ron asked before he could stop himself.

"I called them here" Daphne replied, her eyes studying Ron. "You're Dueling against an Auror tomorrow, and everyone wanted to watch so I invited them over." _The Duel… I left my wand back at the Burrow. Shite._ "When did you get here?"

"He got here at Midday, and we've been working together the entire day" Lord Greengrass cut in, his eyes on Ron. _Thanks._ "Now, let's eat shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Friday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Dinner)**_

"So you got here at Midday, did you?" Theo asked as Daphne shut the door behind them, they had all decided to catchup in her room before sleeping.

"Yeah, but I went straight into Lord Greengrass' study" Ron lied, but they didn't buy it.

"You showed up in your running gear?" Blaise questioned, and Ron blinked at him.

"Want to try again?" Theo asked with a smirk. _No, not particularly._ What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to tell them that his older brother, the brother he all but worshiped, had kicked his arse? That Charlie had held back considerably but still floored Ron with little to no effort, despite Ron taking cheap-shots at him? _That's the worst part about this fucking mess… If Charlie was a Death-Eater, my Cycle would be over right now._ Ron vowed in that moment that he'd always keep his wand on his person from now on, no matter where he was.

"Ron, you've zoned out" Pansy nudged him, and he drew in a sharp breath before looking to her. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

"I got into a fight with my older brother" Ron sighed. "A physical fight…"

"Why?" Tracey asked immediately. "Did you win?" The other three girls shot her deep frowns, and she shrugged with a guilty look.

"No" Ron admitted. "I didn't have my wand, and Charlie works at a Dragon Reserve… It didn't end well for me, or him. Can we move on from this now?"

"One last thing" Daphne piped in, she was really beginning to dislike this 'Charlie'. "Were you the reason why my parents were in such a rush this morning?"

"Yeah… Sorry about that" Ron rubbed the back of his head. "I was bleeding, bruised, and also utterly dazed… I just barged into Lord Greengrass' study, and Mary ended up healing me in there too."

"Bleeding? Bruised?" Millie all but snarled. "What kind of siblings fight like that? And didn't you say that he was older than you? How could he…?"

"Millie, I'm alright now" Ron gave her a weak smile, but she scoffed at him.

"How much older?" Tracey asked, and Ron let out another sigh. _This day… First I get a beating for protecting Luna, and now I'm getting interrogated by my own friends. Friends who are only here to watch me get destroyed tomorrow, even if they won't admit it._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Gardens (Transfigured Training Area) – Midday)**_

Ron was a bundle of nerves right now, and it wasn't simply because he was about to spar with an Auror. It wasn't even that he had to remove Pandora's Rune Ring. No… Ron's main concern was being made fun of by the vultures he called his friends. They were all here, sitting in the stands that Mary had transfigured into existence, wide and unsympathetic smiles on their faces. Blaise and Theo weren't even trying to hide their excitement at Ron getting his 'just desserts'. A term Tracey was using because they all wanted to see Ron be beaten for once. Even Daphne was looking forward to it, and she wasn't the sort to back away from teasing him. Millie and Pansy were concerned about his safety, but they too wanted to see Ron be beaten by an Auror.

He couldn't entirely blame them, mostly because he knew how hard he pushed his friends to be better. All of them had earned bruises more than once from the Stinging Hexes fired by the dummies, so to them, this felt like a bit of justice. And their excitement had transferred over to Tori, who was initially scared for him, but was now grinning like the little demon she was. Lord Greengrass was his usual stoic self, his eyes simply resting on Ron. Mary was the only one who was truly in Ron's corner. And as for Madam Roberts, how did the old witch manage to look so intimidating? _Maybe it's that scowl, or the fact that she's an International Champion. Bloody hell, how did I land myself in this situation?_

"The first rule of Dueling, Mr. Weasley, is that you never show your opponent your distress" Madam Roberts said, her eyebrow cocking as she studied his fidgeting. Ron quickly steadied his mind and regained some of his usual composure, something that earned him a curt nod from his opponent. "Good, let's start your test then. Try and disarm me, and I will try the same against you."

"I'm ready" Ron said as he tightened his grip on his wand, his eyes reading all of her movements.

"Don't hold back" she advised as she took on her stance. It was a rather odd type of stance, one that Ron hadn't seen before. Her knees were slightly bent, her wand was aimed at him, and she had her free hand behind her back. _She is standing with her side facing me, which makes her a smaller target. I'll need to make her move so that she can make a mistake, which'll make hitting her easier._ "Ready. On the count of three… One… Two… Three!"

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus!" Ron shouted as he fired the first two Spells, and just like he predicted, she moved left in order to dodge them. Ron took the opportunity to cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, effectively vanishing from sight.

"WOW!" came Tori's loud cheer, followed by her making wooing sounds. "GO RON!" _Ignore it, even if it feels really nice. I need to keep my focus on Madam Roberts._

"The Disillusionment Charm…" Madam Roberts smirked, her amber eyes peeled for any movement. He knew that if he moved erratically, she'd catch him out. "Not bad, Mr. Weasley… not bad at all." Ron smirked as he moved a bit further away from her, hoping to get behind her without being spotted. As he slowly moved to her right, he feared that his elevated heartbeat might give him away because of how loud it was.

"Glacius!" she suddenly bellowed as she slammed the tip of her wand into the Earth, something that caught Ron by surprise. A thin sheet of ice began spreading from around her at an alarming speed, and Ron was forced to jump over it before it froze over his feet. The moment he landed, he knew that he had been caught. Madam Roberts fired two non-verbal stunners at him when she heard the ice shatter to her right, and Ron side-stepped them and responded in kind. _She has a bigger Magical Core than me, so trading with her isn't an option for me. I need to end this quickly._

"Expelliarmus! Confringo!" Ron chanted, sending the Disarming Charm at her but the Exploding Curse right behind her. She dodged the Disarming Charm with little to no effort, but Ron saw her eyes widen as she spotted the fiery orange light of the Exploding Curse. With a wave of her wand, she raised the thin sheet of ice at her feet to act as a wall. _What the…? Is she trying to die?!_

Ron spotted her mouth moving, but he didn't hear her. And then, much to his shock, the Exploding Curse hit the sheet and caused a fiery explosion. A shroud of black smoke engulfed where she had been. _Oh fuck, I killed her!_ Ron's eyes darted to the stands, and he saw that his spectators were all watching the smoke filled area with widened eyes.

"A clever strategy, boy" came Madam Robert's voice, and Ron blinked at the smoke. It was suddenly banished, leaving behind Madam Roberts… and her unscratched sheet of ice. _How the fuck?!_ She flicked her wand and sent the sheet flying at him, whilst following up with a volley of stunners. Ron dodged the sheet of ice in time, but his left foot slipped because of the slippery, ice-covered ground.

"Protego!" Ron chanted, and he felt the stunners slam into his shield. _Fuck! I'm so fucking fucked now!_ As Ron maintained his shield, she maintained her assault. Stunner after stunner slammed into Ron's weakening shield, turning the tide of the Duel in her favor. Until he decided that drastic measures had to be taken… He wasn't losing so quickly, not when he needed her to teach him. His Cycle may depend on her teachings, and that steeled his resolve. Ron suddenly dived to his right, and rolled into a crouched position.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron chanted as he aimed his wand at her feet, and then he jerked his wand up to the sky. The thin ice under her feet shot up, making her lose her footing and land on her back. Ron saw a flicker of shock on her face, but instead of feeling proud, Ron unleashed a barrage of his own.

She quickly cast a Shield Charm non-verbally, but the weight of the stunners and Curses was making it difficult for her to stand back up. The boy was certainly crafty, she'd give him that much. And his stunners were getting stronger and stronger, no doubt because of his adrenaline rising. He had certainly impressed her, and she had decided to teach him the moment he had cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. His effective use of the Exploding Curse had further cemented her decision. But now she was done holding back for his benefit. It was time to end this.

"AGH!" she suddenly yelled as she pushed her shield forward, something that Ron didn't even know was possible. He had no time to react to the shield, and no method of dodging it either. The spectral blue shield came at him in a large, dome-like shape, and it hit him like an iron-clad punch. A full body iron-clad punch. Ron was sent barreling through the air, and he landed hard on the thin sheet of ice behind him, shattering it with his back. Pain shot up into his brain like a murderous disease… Pain, and panic.

The last time he had been sent flying back by a witch, it had been his possessed little sister. He still remembered the moments before his petrification perfectly, like they had only happened yesterday. He had indulged in his weakness that day… He had managed to catch Ginny's possessor off-guard, but he had submitted because it was his little sister's body in front of him. And he was rewarded for it by being petrified…

The thought of Ginny brought Charlie to mind, and Ron grit his teeth. _Damn him! All I did was protect Luna! All I do is protect them!_ Ron turned on his stomach in order to use his arms to aid his recovery. His heart was thumping, his ear-drums were ringing, and there was a fire growing in his chest. Ron wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline, or the pent up anger from his fight with Charlie, but Ron was suddenly boiling from rage. His fucking blood was boiling in his veins, and he wasn't letting this old bitch beat him so easily. Ron suddenly shot up to his feet, aimed his left hand at her wand, and yelled out a Spell.

"ACCIO WAND!" Ron bellowed, his face contorting into a hateful sneer. Madam Roberts' wand suddenly tried to leave her hand, much to her utter shock and disbelief. The boy knew Wandless Magic too?! She managed to hold onto it, but the boy's Summoning Charm nearly yanked her arm out of its socket. She fell forward and landed on her stomach, still utterly shocked at this turn of events. But that shock wore off when she saw the murderous look on his face. As shock turned into panic, and slight fear, she quickly moved into action.

"Protego!" she chanted without even thinking twice, and luckily for her, it was just in time to stop the boy's onslaught.

"EXPELLIARMUS! STUPEFY! REDUCTO! INCENDIO!" Ron bellowed, throwing anything that came to mind. _I DON'T LOSE! I CAN'T LOSE!_ He saw her shield cracking, and that gave him further incentive to go all out. "AGHHHH!" His roar nearly deafened her, and she noticed that he was firing Curses non-verbally now. But it wasn't intentional, he had simply gone into a frenzy… A terrifying frenzy that was overwhelming her shield, and her. Curse after Curse slammed into her shield, and she had to grit her teeth to stand up fully while maintaining her ever-weakening barrier.

"AGH!" she roared as she once again pushed her shield at him.

"PROTEGO!" Ron yelled, he had expected her to do that again. Her shield shattered upon contact with his own, but it also left his shield badly damaged. "AGH!" Ron bellowed as he copied her earlier movements, all the while picturing his shield shooting forward like hers had. That was the trick with Spells, they all depended on the caster's imagination, and Ron had a powerful imagination.

"Damn…" she muttered, nearly out of breath and once again shocked. He had copied her earlier Spell… He had bloody copied it after seeing it only once?! She slashed her wand up, and in doing so, she slashed his shield open in the middle. It zoomed past her, and for a single moment, she spotted him again. There was a gleam of red in his eyes, but she figured that it was a trick of the Sunlight.

"Expelliarmus!" she chanted

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Ron roared at the same time as her. But unfortunately for Ron, her Disarming Charm was much more powerful, and it tore right through Ron's like a scarlet bullet. Ron felt his entire rib-cage rattle as the scarlet Spell hit him in the chest, and he was once again launched into the air. The sudden impact loosened his grip on his wand, and it was sent flying back alongside him. But unlike last time, he was so driven by his anger that he rolled back and shot up to his feet as soon as his arse hit the ground. He could see the look of shock on her face, her once neat and tidy appearance now wild and haggard.

"BRACHIUM COLUBRUM!" Ron chanted as he aimed both of his palms at her, and from each arm an ethereal green serpent shot out with horrifying speed. One wrapped itself around her neck, while the other one wrapped itself around her right thigh. _I'll break your fucking neck before I lose! This time… I won't show any mercy!_

"Merlin…" Madam Roberts managed to choke out, her free hand digging at the strangling serpent around her neck. It kept tightening as the boy's face morphed from rage to an evil grin. The Sun once again made her think that his eyes were gleaming red, but when she looked into them, they appeared to be simply icy blue. Whilst struggling to even breathe, to even stand up straight, she aimed her wand at the boy. He began turning his palms upwards, and the serpents tightened even more. She fell to her knees, her eyes bulging out because of the growing pressure in her skull.

"RONALD STOP!" came Lord Greengrass' voice, but it fell on deaf ears. Ron would stop only when she dropped her wand, and submitted her service to him. _I need her for_ _ **my**_ _war!_

"Stupefy…" Madam Roberts choked out, and a red beam of light shot out of her wand. Ron's eyes widened for a second, and then it all went black.

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Gardens (Transfigured Training Area) – Midday)**_

It was probably wrong to fear one's friends, but right now, Blaise didn't care in the slightest about that idea. Whoever thought of this idea first clearly wasn't friends with Ronald Weasley, because if they were, they'd probably fear him too. Anyone with half a brain would be wary of Ron after what Blaise, and his other friends, had just witnessed.

They had all made bets about how Ron would go down. They had made bets on the Spell, the time, and whether or not Ron would lose his temper. _At least I won two of the three… But I don't think that I'll be collecting. I don't think anyone will be._ Blaise looked away from the unconscious Ron and to his fellow spectators, and he wasn't surprised to see their hanging mouths. Theo, Pansy, Millie, Tracey, and Tori looked genuinely too shocked to even move. _More like too scared… Fucking hell, Ron… You crazy fuck._ Lord and Lady Greengrass were just staring with unbelieving eyes, but at who, Blaise wasn't sure. Daphne on the other hand…

"Ron!" Daphne called out, and then she suddenly ran up to the protective barrier around the training area. "Mother! Undo this!" That effectively woke them all up from their shaken stupors, and Lady Greengrass unsheathed her wand and undid the barrier. _Yeah… I'll give him the letter from my mother tomorrow, or whenever I can bring myself to stand near him and not shit myself._

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Gardens (Transfigured Training Area) – Midday)**_

As Mary undid her protective barrier, Sebastian quickly moved down from the stands. He saw his eldest daughter run up to Ron's unconscious body and kneel next to it, her worry written on her face for all to see. Sebastian didn't give it much thought however, right now he had another job to do. He had to convince this Auror to never speak of this again… He had hired her to teach Ron, and Ron clearly didn't need teaching. Sebastian quickly approached Madam Roberts, who was on one knee and coughing as she massaged her already bruising neck. _Fucking Merlin… Where did he learn to do this? He's supposed to be a thirteen year old…_ And yet, even Sebastian was forced to admit that he didn't plan on getting on Ron's bad side. Ever.

"Madam Roberts" Sebastian called out, his voice coming out slightly hoarse because of the lump in his throat. "Let me help…"

"No need…" Madam Roberts coughed out, and then she grunted as she stood up with wide grin. The grin on her face unnerved him, and it unnerved Mary too judging by her stopping right behind him with a gasp. Madam Roberts' throat was already bruising horribly, her hair was a ragged mess, her clothes were lined with dirt, her breathing was labored, and yet she was grinning like a mad woman. "I'll take him…" Madam Roberts looked to Sebastian, her amber eyes locking onto his. "Give me a year, and I'll give you a Champion…"

"Your throat…" Sebastian managed, his composure ripped away by her odd reaction to nearly dying.

"Civilians…" Madam Roberts chuckled, something that Sebastian wasn't even sure she was capable of. "It's just a bruise… I've had much worse. Forget about it… I want to start training him as soon as possible." _Training him?_ Sebastian and Mary blinked at the mad witch before them, both of them not knowing how to even respond.

"Is he alright?" came Pansy's voice, and the adults looked to see the children standing around Ron. Daphne was on her knees, cleaning his dirtied face with a white handkerchief. _Odd… Those two are rather… attached to each other._ Sebastian cleared his head of his foolish thoughts, they weren't important right now.

"He's just stunned girl, and he'll wake up in a couple of hours" Madam Roberts informed them, and then she looked to Sebastian and Mary. "I'll sign the contract today, and he can sign it once he wakes up."

"You'll… You'll still teach him?" Mary blinked, what was wrong with this woman?

"I most definitely will" Madam Roberts replied, her grin dying down. She was still having trouble getting her breathing under control, and her heartbeat was still too out-of-sorts. "Talent like that… It has to be tempered." Sebastian's ears perked up at that, those words meant something to him.

"He used a rather… Dark Spell…" Sebastian mentioned, hoping to convince her to keep her silence. Madam Roberts just scoffed, almost as if she thought that Sebastian was an idiot.

"That bothers you? Given your history?" Madam Roberts asked, and Sebastian felt Mary tensing behind him. "Curses are allowed in Dueling Tournaments, and Curses are also considered the Dark Arts. Only hypocrites and fools believe that the Dark Arts are inherently evil… No, it's all about intent. I could just as easily kill a person with a Charm instead of a Curse."

"So you won't mention this to anyone?" Sebastian asked, his cold demeanor coming back to him. _Given my history… This woman._

"If we locked up everyone who ever used the Dark Arts, the Dementors would grow nice and fat" Madam Roberts sighed, her left hand massaging her neck again.

"Let's go inside" Mary suddenly suggested. "I'll heal your neck, and any other injuries."

"Thank you" Madam Roberts nodded curtly.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

"Done" Madam Roberts said as she signed the contract, her eyes going over the details again. It was a rather simple contract, one that could be terminated at any time. All she had to do was tutor Ron to the best of her ability, and to be present at any Tournaments that Sebastian would sign him up for. He was willing to pay for Ron, but he expected success from his apprentice. _Success, and prestige for the House of Greengrass._

"Are you sure that you won't stay for lunch?" Mary asked, clearly happy that Ron wasn't being hauled off to Azkaban right now.

"Yes, I am sure" Madam Roberts replied as she stood up. "I have to get back to work, especially because I'm already late for it. I didn't expect him to be so… well-trained already."

"About that…" Sebastian started, but she stopped him with a raised hand.

"I do not care about where he learned his… skills" Madam Roberts said firmly, much to Sebastian's relief. _The Dark Arts are not something that a thirteen year old should know. Should I tell his family about this? No, most definitely not. It would raise too many issues for him, and he already has enough on his plate._

"I must admit" Madam Roberts went on. "He certainly took me by surprise. Wandless Magic, non-verbal Magic, strategic use of a wide variety of Spells… That Dark Spell at the end… I look forward to working with him. Good day." With that, she turned around and left the Dining Room. _She's mad, but maybe that's a good thing. She clearly wants to teach him, and from what I've heard about her, I can think of no one better. I don't think Ron would have been able to overpower her like that if she hadn't underestimated him so much. But then again… I don't even know what to make of this._

"There's something wrong with that woman" Mary whispered, and Sebastian gave her a weak smile. "Sebastian… Did you know what he was capable of? Did you know that he was so… dangerous?" Sebastian's light smile turned into a frown. _Dangerous?_

"I didn't know, and he is not dangerous" Sebastian replied. "Remember what Roberts said? She told us that Ron went into a battle frenzy, and that it was quite common."

"Sorry… I'm just a bit overwhelmed by what I saw" Mary took in a deep breath, he seldom saw his wife like this. _I don't blame her for her reaction, I'm barely managing to keep my own head clear._

"Where are the children?" Sebastian asked.

"In the Living Room with Ron" Mary replied. "He won't be waking up for another hour or so… I overheard them talking, love. They mentioned something about his 'training', and that he did it almost every day."

"Training? At Hogwarts?" Sebastian asked, and she nodded. _Now where would he do that?_

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

Chatter. That was all that she could hear, and it was horribly distracting. But maybe that wasn't so bad right now. Maybe all of her friends, and sister, chattering nonstop was a blessing in disguise. It was certainly helping her calm down, and it was helping them too. Tori had gone from being terrified for Ron, to being terrified of Ron, to becoming Ron's devoted fan. All of this in the span of an hour.

"Could he beat the seventh years in Slytherin?" Tori asked them, a gleeful look on her face. She was red with excitement, and she was bombarding them all with questions that they themselves didn't have answers for. Was Ron the strongest student at Hogwarts? Did he train in the Dark Arts? Could he beat their father, Lord Greengrass, in a Duel? Did they know just how strong, and scary, he really was? All of her questions were disconcerting, but mostly because they didn't know the answers. _Not completely anyway._

"Probably…" Theo replied, he was still examining Ron's wand. _It's not the wand, Theo. It's him._ They were all sitting around in the Living Room, while Ron lay unconscious on one of the couches. He looked so peaceful, an alarming thing considering that just around an hour ago he was out for blood. _He looked just like he did when he attacked Potter… The only thing missing was laughter, but he was still grinning like a mad man._

"If all of you Dueled him at once, would he still win?" Tori asked, her eyes darting to Ron and Daphne. While everyone was either sitting away from Ron, or standing around like Blaise, Daphne had decided to sit down near Ron's head. At first it was because she was cleaning his dirtied face, but now she just wanted to sit here. _That's not entirely true… I want to put his head on my lap, like Luna did on the train. I wonder how that would feel? I bet he has a heavy head._

"If we all Dueled him at once, he would probably still win" Tracey answered, breaking Daphne out of her weird thoughts. _What's the matter with me? I can't stay focused._

"That's so awesome" Tori grinned, her face flushing even more. "Does he train you guys too?" They all exchanged looks, but that was enough for Tori to figure it out. "That's so awesome! You reckon he'll teach me too? What am I saying? Of course he will, he loves me!"

"Blaise, you're being awfully quiet" Pansy pointed out, and they all looked to him. He was standing by the fire, lost in his own thoughts.

"Blaise!" Millie called out, of all of them, she was the most calm right now. Daphne figured that after getting over her shock, Millie had simply come to respect Ron's strength. That's just how Millie was, especially because of her Family. The Bulstrode didn't just look stout and well-built, their Family was well-known to be supporters of Professional Dueling and Quidditch.

"What?" Blaise looked to them, still barely paying attention.

"Pansy pointed out that you're being too quiet" Millie replied, and Blaise shot Pansy a quick look.

"I'm just thinking, that's all" Blaise told them.

"Care to share your thoughts with us?" Daphne asked, finally breaking her silence.

"No, not particularly" Blaise shrugged, his expression cold and uninterested. _Looks like he's gone back to normal. It's certainly better than him gawking at Ron._ "What would be the point? Tori can ask all the questions that she wants, but the truth is that we ourselves have no idea about what to say."

"Blaise, mate…" Theo started, but Blaise cut him off.

"It's true, and you all know it" Blaise went on. "While we struggle to even face one damn dummy, he nearly killed an Auror today… And yes, I know that he just caught her off-guard. And that she was taking it easy on him at first, but still…" Blaise then looked to Tori, who blinked at him. "If you want actual answers, then you should ask him when he wakes up. But I rather doubt that he'll tell you anything…" With that, Blaise went to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Tracey asked.

"To eat" Blaise replied, and then he was gone. They all exchanged looks again, and Daphne could see that the others were now worried about Blaise too. Except for Tori, she was once again looking at Ron with a gleeful look. _Does she really think that he'll tell her his secrets? If Ron held any more secrets, he'd be a Tome within the Forbidden Section._ Theo suddenly walked up to Daphne, who looked up at him expectantly.

"Here" Theo said as he handed Daphne Ron's wand, which she took slowly. "I'm going to go talk to him… Find out what's really bothering him."

"Thanks, Theo" Daphne managed a weak smile, she didn't want to leave Ron alone. She wanted to be there when he finally woke up.

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

"I know that look Blaise, I've seen it a hundred times before" Theo said as he caught up to Blaise, who turned around with an expressionless mask plastered on his face.

"What look?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow.

"When you look like you need to shit, but can't" Theo sniggered, earning an eye roll from Blaise. "What's wrong, mate? Was it Ron?"

"I don't know… Maybe" Blaise sighed out, looking rather conflicted all of a sudden. _I guess it's deeper than that._ "How did he do all of that?"

"He prac…" Theo started, but Blaise cut him off by clicking his tongue.

"We've seen him practicing" Blaise said curtly. "But what we saw out there… That was not from just training. He took on an Auror, and he nearly won."

"Our Ronnie is quite special" Theo shrugged, his shock had completely worn off now. And his usual scheming self was back. _Instead of interrogating Ron, I'm going to ask him to teach me all of that. And knowing him, he'll do it with a happy smile on his face. I was an idiot for not taking him more seriously before._

"You're up to something" Blaise frowned, and Theo sniggered again. "I've seen that look a hundred times before."

"Nice turnaround" Theo smirked. "If I'm being completely honest, I don't really care about how he did it. And yes, he was rather frightening out there. But instead of going into shock, I think I'll just ask him to teach me his tricks."

"Why?" Blaise asked.

"Because just like you, I felt really jealous" Theo stated, there was no shame in admitting the truth. _I've had to admit to worse things than feeling jealous of my friend's power._ "And before you deny that, just know that I know you better than anyone. I think that behind our shock and awe, we were all feeling a little jealous of how strong he is."

"The girls don't look jealous…" Blaise said softly. _The girls, eh?_ Theo smirked to himself, it was odd to see Blaise being so open.

"No, they don't" Theo chuckled, earning a glare from Blaise. "Daphne is taking the opportunity to play nurse, Tracey is too busy trying to keep Tori from passing out from excitement, and both Pansy and Millie look rather proud of Ron's valiant effort. Let them worry about idiotic things like that… You should join me instead."

"Join you?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm going to ask him to teach me everything" Theo replied. "Fuck being weak when you can be strong…"

"And Ron is someone who'd happily show you his tricks" Blaise noted to himself.

"He is rather generous, isn't he?" Theo grinned, and Blaise smirked to himself. "When he wakes up, we'll just ask him outright. He likes honesty, mostly because he has trouble looking into the meaning behind other people's words."

"You're right" Blaise gave a nod. "But we should praise him before we ask. Ron responds well to being praised… It makes him more agreeable."

"Then it's settled" Theo agreed. "When he wakes up, we'll kiss his arse and ask for his help. And in the meantime, you'll stop looking so fucking glum."

"Ron's influence has ruined your vocabulary" Blaise smirked, but Theo just shrugged. _I kind of like that about him. He doesn't really care about what people around him think. He just takes matters into his own hands._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor –Lunchtime)**_

Ron's eyes drifted open slowly, his vision groggy and his head aching slightly. _Merlin, what happened?_ He felt the soreness in his chest and back, but something soft under his head. Ron blinked his eyes clear, and he spotted Daphne's face. Her face, and the lower half of her chest hovering over his head. _WHAT THE FUCK?!_ She was looking ahead with a guilty smile on her face, something that made Ron question whether she was breaking some sort of rule. _The Duel!_ Ron sat up with a grunt, earning a frightened squeal from Daphne.

"What happened?" Ron croaked, his throat too dry from his nap. "Where is Madam Roberts?"

"Ron, you scared me half to death" Daphne sighed out, her cheeks turning rosy.

"Sorry" Ron blinked at her, and then he looked around. _The Living Room? Where is everyone else?_

"The others are at lunch, but I stayed behind because…" she trailed off, her cheeks turning scarlet. _What did she do? What happened with Madam Roberts?_

"Daph, where is Madam Roberts?" Ron asked quickly. "Did she leave?"

"She did, but not before signing the contract" Daphne gave him a smile. "You impressed her greatly, and she wants to start training you from next Sunday onwards. The Sunday after tomorrow, that is." _She does? SHE DOES!_ Ron jumped off of the couch and pumped his fist in the air, completely forgetting his soreness.

"WOHOO!" Ron exclaimed, a massive grin on his face. _I DID IT!_ He heard Daphne giggling at him, but he didn't mind at all. He had managed to secure a powerful Auror as his teacher, an Auror with legitimate war-experience. _I could learn so much from her! This is so fucking great!_ After a couple of more fist pumps, Ron turned to Daphne with a wide grin. She was just watching him with amusement, and after seeing his grin, she let out another giggle.

"You're so weird" she stated, but Ron just shrugged with his grin in place. _Wait, why isn't she at lunch with everyone else?_

"Daph, why were you here alone?" Ron asked as he looked around again.

"Oh… I was just making sure that you weren't hurt…" Daphne replied, and even Ron could tell that that was a blatant lie.

"I see…" Ron nodded slowly, observing the blush on her face. "Wait… Was my head on…"

"Are you hungry?" she cut him off quickly. "I'm pretty hungry, so we should go down to the Dining Room. Let's go." _Um… What?_

"Alright" Ron said as he eyed her. _My head was on her lap when I woke up, wasn't it? Is that why she was staying behind? And she says that I'm the weird one._ Daphne quickly stood up and began marching out of the room, with Ron following her more slowly. They made their way into the Dining Room quietly, and all the eyes turned to look at Ron.

"Hello" he greeted them with a smile, which they all slowly mimicked. All of them except for Lord and Lady Greengrass, who were just staring at him.

"Ron, sit here!" Tori called out as she patted the seat to her left, which just happened to be empty. Ron did as he was asked, all the while watching the look of admiration on Tori's face. It made him a little uneasy.

"Tori, stop staring at him like that" Daphne sighed as she sat down beside Tracey, who was giving Ron an uneasy smile. _What's with the weird atmosphere in here? Why are they all just looking at me?_

"Are you the strongest student at Hogwarts?" Tori blurted out, shifting closer to Ron. Daphne rolled her eyes, while everyone else just waited for Ron to answer.

"Probably not…" Ron replied, managing a weak smile at Tori. "I haven't Dueled anyone except for Harry…"

"Harry Potter?" Tori cut in, her eyes widening a bit. "Did you win?"

"I did… Tori, what's with the questions?" Ron asked as he began putting food on his plate.

"You beat **THE** Harry Potter?" Tori grinned, her eyes almost gleaming with excitement. "But he was powerful enough to beat the Dark Lord!"

"Astoria Greengrass!" Mary scolded. "You will not mention **him** in our home!" Lord Greengrass just pinched the bridge of his nose, while Ron absent-mindedly made sure that his scars were covered up. _Harry didn't beat the Dark Lord, of that I am dead-certain. Something else happened that night, and I want to know what. It may be the key to defeating him when he returns._ The thought of the Dark Lord made Ron think of Dumbledore, who was no doubt in Albania right now. _All alone… Fucking hell, if he dies… It's all over._

"Sorry" Tori smiled sheepishly, earning an annoyed frown from Mary. Tori then looked back to Ron, no doubt ready to ask him even more questions. _As long as she doesn't mention the Dark Lord, I don't mind too much._ "Do you train in the Dark Arts?" _Fucking hell…_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

His afternoon had passed by slowly, but that was mostly because of the million questions that Tori had asked him. Questions that he didn't really answer properly, or simply lied on. She eventually took the hint that Ron didn't like discussing his private matters with people, and so she stopped with her questions. But she didn't leave his side. No, she instead clung to him and started dropping hints about wanting Ron to teach her. Ron would have no problem with that, he simply wished that she'd ask him outright. He hated it when people beat around the bush when they wanted something from him. Ron had to lie and tell her that he had 'homework' just to get away from her, and from her looks of admiration.

And so here he was, sitting alone in his room and going over next year's notes. Lord Greengrass had been kind enough to go to the Burrow last night and grab some things for Ron, just the essentials of course. Ron's wand, his notes, his toiletries, and a few clean clothes. He didn't want to go to the Burrow himself, mostly because he didn't want to deal with his older brother just yet. Ron wanted to see Pomfrey first, she always gave him sound advice and right now he needed it. He was angry, apologetic, bitter, and hopeful whenever he thought of his next meeting with Charlie, which made him realize that he needed help working through his emotions again. So he decided to stay at the Manor for the weekend, see Pomfrey on Monday, and then go home and deal with Charlie.

"Someone's moved up in the world" came Theo's voice, and Ron looked up to see both Theo and Blaise enter his room. Blaise was looking around with approval, while Theo was sniggering at his own joke.

"Someone's forgotten how to knock" Ron chuckled as he looked back at his notes, he was sitting on his magnificent bed.

"It wasn't locked" Theo shrugged as he sat down at the edge of Ron's bed, while Blaise was studying the room with a keen eye. "Are you actually studying? Or are you simply avoiding little Tori?"

"Bit of both" Ron admitted, earning a snigger from his mates. "Do you know what's gotten into her? Hero-worshiping doesn't suit her."

"Did you just call yourself a 'hero'?" Blaise asked with a smirk, but Ron just waved a dismissive hand.

"You know what I mean…" Ron replied.

"Give her a break, she hasn't seen Magic being used in a Duel before" Theo shrugged. "Even we were left in awe of you. You're quite amazing, Ron." Ron felt his cheeks flush a bit, and he looked back down at his notes.

"Thanks…" Ron smiled to himself.

"He's right, Ron" Blaise piped in. "Even I'll admit that you were amazing out there, and that your hard work has really paid off." _Don't blush at their compliments, just enjoy them._

"Thanks, you two" Ron looked up with a genuine smile, it felt good to be validated by his friends. He **had** worked hard, so much so that he was constantly sore from his training whilst at Hogwarts. _But it's so worth it. And it's getting easier to just do it, I don't even try and make excuses to put it off anymore._

"Seeing you out there…" Theo started, a small smile on his face. "It made us realize that we were dead wrong about your advice." Ron blinked at that, his eyes fixed on Theo. "You worked hard, and it paid off spectacularly today."

"So we've decided to do the same" Blaise sat down as well. _Really? YES!_ "From now on, every time you train, we train."

"Really?" Ron smiled widely, and they nodded. "Great! There's so much that I want to show you guys, but couldn't because of the bare minimum time we spent training together. I'll even pass on whatever Madam Roberts teaches me." _This is excellent! If they're both as prepared as I am, then they can help me protect the others. Maybe the girls will join in too after seeing Theo and Blaise come around._ Ron's mood was improved greatly by this, something that Blaise and Theo noticed rather easily.

"One more thing, mate" Blaise suddenly jumped in, and Ron looked to him with his smile still in place. Blaise reached into his robes, and he pulled out a golden envelope. "An invitation from my mother, hand delivered." Blaise handed Ron the invitation, and Ron opened it slowly. Ron pulled out a white card from the envelope, and he read the golden writing on it. _Dinner at the Zabini residence? On Friday the tenth of July, 1993? So I finally get to meet this… spider-woman? The woman who abandoned Blaise, her own son, in Diagon Alley just to go on a date._

"I accept" Ron gave Blaise a smile.

"Good, be there at six" Blaise nodded. "We'll bring the wards down so that you can floo in. Wear your best robes, be polite, and don't give her any reason to complain about you. This is important to me Ron, don't mess it up."

"You want me to win her over" Ron noted, and Blaise gave a curt nod. "So you can keep being friends with me…" Blaise nodded again, but this time it was more slowly. Ron understood Blaise's predicament, but it still hurt that he had to jump through so many hoops just to be friends with him. _I wonder if Theo's father has something similar in mind. What do I do then? I don't want to meet that fool, especially because of his current 'activities'._

"Ron, it's just one night" Blaise said, and Ron fixed his faltering smile.

"Sorry, I'm just being an idiot" Ron shook his head. "Yeah mate, I'll be there. And I won't mess it up, I swear." _I'll talk to Mary about Blaise's mother as well, just to find out what I'm getting into._

* * *

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Midday)**_

"What if she's not there?" Pansy asked, and Ron shrugged in response.

"Then I'll come right back, I suppose" Ron replied, fixing his glove in place. He was heading off to see Pomfrey in order to get help with his 'family issues', and he was hoping to see Snape as well. If the Potions Master was in the castle, Ron would find him and ask him about Dumbledore's mission.

"Pansy and I won't be here when you get back" Millie sighed. "My parents are taking us to a fund raising event today." _Fund raising event?_

"It's for a Charity that aims to help children with Dragon Pox" Pansy explained right after Millie finished, and Ron blinked in response. _That sounds… nice of them. Did they support You-Know-Who?_

"Well, I'll see you guys when I see you" Ron gave them a parting nod. "Tell Daphne that I snuck off again, that'll annoy her a bit." Tracey, Theo, Daphne, and Tori were currently helping Lady Greengrass in the Greengrass Gardens, whereas Blaise had left for home yesterday.

"That's mean" Millie chuckled. "I'll tell her once you floo out." Ron turned around at that, and he grabbed a handful of floo-powder that he threw into the fireplace.

"Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts" Ron called out, and the fire blazed green. Ron stepped through it, and he found himself within Snape's Office.

"Mr. Weasley" came Snape's voice, and Ron looked to see the Potions Master putting jars of ingredients on the shelf behind his desk. Snape gave Ron a curt nod as he went on with his task, but when Ron lingered, Snape turned to face him fully. "Are you here to see Pomfrey?"

"I am" Ron replied, oddly happy to see the Slytherin Head of House. "How are you, Sir?" Snape cocked an eyebrow at that, the boy loved making idle conversation.

"I am fine, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied as he began putting the final two jars on the shelf. _It's like I'm talking to a wall._

"Have you heard anything from the Headmaster?" Ron asked, deciding that beating around the bush wasn't his forte. Snape turned around and took his seat at that, his black eyes looking into Ron's.

"No, I haven't" Snape replied truthfully. "He is most likely within, or near, the Albanian Forests by now. All we can do is wait." _Great, I can keep worrying then._ "Have you had any more visions?"

"No" Ron admitted as he took a seat in front of Snape, ignoring the slight frown on Snape's face. "I have some more questions."

"Of course you do" Snape whispered coldly. "Well, spit them out already."

"My friends…" Ron started, slightly annoyed with Snape's rude behavior. "Tell me about their parents. Which of them were Death-Eaters? Who supported the Dark Lord, and why?"

"And why do you need to know this?" Snape asked, slightly taken aback by Ron's questions.

"So I can plan accordingly" Ron replied. "I want to know who I might need to deal with in the Future."

"Deal with?" Snape cocked an eyebrow. "Planning to lay waste to the most prominent families within Wizarding England?"

"If I have to" Ron replied immediately, causing Snape to blink in confusion. _Pansy's own mother killed her in my vision, so I'll do whatever it takes to protect my friends. Even if that means getting rid of their families._ "But I would like to avoid that if I can" Ron added on.

"Mr. Weasley…"

"Please Sir, call me Ron" Ron interjected, and Snape frowned at being interrupted. _Whoops, that was rude of me._

"Ron…" Snape started again, his voice coming out as a cold whisper. "You should be careful with what you say. Threatening the families of your friends is not a wise policy." _What if those families threaten my friends? Then what?_ "As for who is guilty of what, I'm inclined to tell you. But only because **we** might need to work around said families." Ron nodded at that, he was fine with whatever Snape's reasons were as long as he got his answers.

"Firstly, the Greengrasses" Snape continued, and Ron leaned forward. "Sebastian Greengrass funded the Dark Lord's war against the Order and the Ministry."

"Why?" Ron asked. He knew that his mentor was on the wrong side of the war, but hearing his crimes still managed to anger Ron. _There better be a good reason behind it._

"His wife, Mary Greengrass, was abducted by the Dark Lord and held as a hostage" Snape replied, and Ron clenched his jaw.

"Mary was kidnapped…" Ron grit out to himself, disgusted with the Dark Lord and his minions.

"Yes, when your friend Daphne was still a babe" Snape went on, not really caring for Ron's feelings on the matter. The boy needed to learn just how horrible war was. "The Dark Lord gave Sebastian a simple choice; Serve or watch your family die. Sebastian chose to serve, was marked, and then funded the Dark Lord's war for nearly a year. He was eventually captured, tried, and found innocent due to being coerced. He was fortunate that his wife made friends with another Pure-Blood who was rotting away in one of the Dark Lord's dungeons, James Davis. His testimony saved your mentor from a life within Azkaban."

"Bloody hell" Ron shook his head. "Tell me more, please." _I wonder if Daphne knows about this._

"As you already know, Nott Snr was a… is a Death-Eater" Snape went on, his expressionless face watching Ron's. "His wife's death truly ignited his belief in the Dark Lord, and so he is trying to bring him back."

"Did she serve the Dark Lord too?" Ron asked.

"No, but she attended the meetings with her husband" Snape replied. "She didn't have the stomach needed for a war, and so she was only there because her husband needed her to be. I always found her to be… an odd individual. She was a Pure-Blood, but didn't act like one. She had no particular hatred for Muggles and Muggle-Borns, nor did she care if they died. As long as she wasn't doing the killing, she ignored it for her husband's benefit. They both used the 'Imperius Curse Excuse' to get out of serving a life-sentence within Azkaban."

"Imperius Curse Excuse?" Ron asked. "Is that when the Death-Eaters claimed to be under the Imperius Curse, and the Ministry was stupid enough to believe them?"

"The Ministry didn't believe most of them" Snape scoffed. "The Ministry was more interested in the wealth that the Pure-Blood families held. They needed every Knut in order to start rebuilding the Wizarding World, and the 'Imperiused victims' happened to have a lot of money."

"Couldn't the Ministry just empty their vaults?" Ron asked.

"And risk another Goblin uprising?" Snape asked in return. "No, they pardoned a lot of Death-Eaters simply because they were rich. And those who were pardoned repaid the Ministry's mercy by handing over vast amounts of money, effectively fixing whatever they broke."

"What about the people that died?" Ron asked, his temper flaring. "What about the children who got orphaned, or the women who got widowed? What about them?"

"Tough luck" Snape replied curtly, and Ron couldn't help but release a mirthless chuckle. _Fucking corrupt arseholes. They let them off the hook for simply being rich enough to rebuild everything. It's like the war never happened, that thousands didn't die pointlessly._

"Is that how Lucius Malfoy got out? He just had a lot of money?" Ron spat out.

"Yes" Snape replied, ignoring the look of disgust on Ron's face. "Lucius wasn't like the other Death-Eaters, he was the Dark Lord's second in command."

"Second in command?" Ron asked. "How the hell did he go free then?!"

"He was 'Imperiused', of course" Snape replied. "When the Dark Lord disappeared, his army was fractured and faced its own civil war. Lucius tried to unite the remaining forces in the hope of destroying the Ministry and then ushering in his own reign, but the Loyalists, led by Bellatrix Lestrange, broke away. They wanted to find their Lord, and kill anyone who got in their way. Lucius realized that without the Dark Lord, the families would just start vying for power again. So he walked into the Ministry, and told them that he was under the Imperius Curse the entire time. That he wanted to help bring justice to the Loyalists."

"And Bellatrix? What about her?" Ron asked.

"She was captured by the Aurors after a violent encounter" Snape replied, he looked rather sickened as he spoke of the woman who would one day kill his Godson. "She, and three others, were captured after they tortured an Auror couple into insanity with the Cruciatus Curse. Frank and Alice Longbottom…"

"Neville's parents?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded. _Bloody hell. Poor Neville._ Ron had just found another reason for wanting Bellatrix Lestrange dead. _So that's why he lives with his Grandmother, and not his parents. Shite mate, I'm so sorry._

"She was sentenced to life in Azkaban for her crimes, along with Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jr" Snape went on. "Rodolphus was her husband, but in name only. Rabastan was her brother in law, while Barty Crouch Jr was the son of Barty Crouch Snr."

"Barty Crouch Snr? Didn't he sanction the use of the Unforgivables for the Aurors during the war?" Ron asked, he had read about that within the Library.

"He did" Snape smirked, pleased that Ron knew such a detail. "His policy was to 'fight fire with fire', which turned out to be rather effective. In the first month alone, the Ministry regained a footing within the war. The Order was, of course, against the use of such tasteless acts, but the rest of the Aurors didn't really care. They just needed an excuse, and when they were given one, they started piling bodies all over England."

"Piling bodies?" Ron blinked.

"Yes, funny how they keep that part out of the history books" Snape smirked again. "If there was any reason to believe that you were aiding the Dark Lord, the Aurors would break into your house and execute you. No questions, no trials, and no repercussions for them. The public was appalled and the Order distanced itself from the Ministry, but Barty Crouch Snr ignored them all. His Aurors ended up with a higher body count than the Death-Eaters themselves."

"What the hell?" Ron was honest-to-Merlin shocked at this.

"There were only around thirty Death-Eaters, of course. The Dark Lord made sure that none of us knew who was who, except for a key few individuals. This way, if one of us was caught, the others were safe. But that didn't really matter once the Kill-Order came in. The majority of the Dark Lord's army consisted of criminals, Dark Creatures, and outcasts. And none of them were safe from the Aurors. When the Dark Lord disappeared, and two separate factions sprang up to fill the void, the Dark Lord's army disbanded. The Aurors were blood thirsty, and they had no intention of stopping until they were forced to. The world may claim that Dumbledore and his Order were the reason the Dark Lord lost, but that's not entirely true."

"I didn't know that the Aurors were so… vicious" Ron admitted.

"War is a terrible thing, and we must be terrible to wage it" Snape quoted, and Ron nodded slowly. _I'm guessing that Madam Roberts was one of these Aurors._ "The Aurors became terrible, but by doing so, they managed to keep the Ministry from crumbling. And it was all thanks to Barty Crouch Snr, whose own son was found out to be a Death-Eater. Crouch sent that son to Azkaban, who died within the year, and Crouch Snr lost any standing he had with the people of Wizarding England."

"And you? How did you escape?" Ron asked, earning a deep scowl from Snape. "You were a Death-Eater, right? Did Dumbledore manage to save you?"

"He did" Snape replied curtly. _I want to ask why he became a Death-Eater, but I'd rather not get Hexed to death._ "We have veered off topic, you wished to know of your friends' parents?"

"Yes" Ron replied, as if accepting the change in topic.

"The Bulstrodes supported the Dark Lord, and still do, though they don't make a show of it anymore" Snape told him, and Ron let out a tired sigh. "The Parkinsons joined because they were afraid of the Dark Lord's power, except for Lady Parkinson. That vulture is as bigoted as they come." _Believe me, I know that already. If she even touches Pansy, I'll rip her hands off._ "James Davis is a Pure-Blood who married a Muggle-Born witch, Susana Davis, but was captured and tortured for it. He refused to divorce her even under the threat of death."

"Brave man" Ron blurted out.

"Brave… and foolish" Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"Foolish for what? Staying true to his wife and principles?" Ron narrowed his eyes.

"For staying within the country" Snape replied coldly. "If he truly loved her, he'd have taken her as far away from the Dark Lord as possible. Instead, he openly stayed within England as a direct insult to the Dark Lord."

"I stand corrected then" Ron said firmly. "Brave man." _Running away, and abandoning his home, would be as bad as giving into the Dark Lord's insanity._ Snape rolled his eyes at Ron, something that made Ron frown. "What about Clementine Zabini?"

"She was not welcome at the Dark Lord's table" Snape replied. "Though she was forced to pay for her 'safety'."

"Why wasn't she welcomed by the Dark Lord?"

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors about her" Snape replied, and Ron nodded. "The Dark Lord had no intention of letting that Black Widow into his camp, especially because she was looking for another husband at the time." _Black Widow? Another spider reference? Merlin, can I refuse to see her please?_

"Are the rumors true?" Ron asked.

"Perhaps… No one knows for certain" Snape replied, and Ron shuddered. "She is incredibly beautiful, and she has a string of dead husbands. My advice is that you stay away from her."

"Too late" Ron groaned, and Snape blinked.

"What?"

"I said it's too late for that" Ron replied. "I'm having dinner at hers next Friday."

"Another ally, Ron?" Snape asked, and Ron noticed that his name sounded odd coming from Snape's mouth.

"No, at least I don't think so" Ron replied. "I'm doing this for Blaise's benefit. He wants me to kiss her arse so he can keep being friends with a 'Blood-Traitor'…"

"I see" Snape nodded once. "Be careful." _Is that concern I hear?_

"I will be" Ron nodded as he stood up. "It was good to see you, Professor, but I should go and find Madam Pomfrey. Please keep me updated on the Headmaster's status."

"Very well" Snape responded. "You may send me an owl if you need anything, I will not be at the castle after tonight."

"Returning home?"

"Yes, I am" Snape replied.

"Alright, take care then" Ron said as he made his way out. Snape watched Ron leave, and then he relaxed into his seat. The boy was clearly planning to save his friends, even if that meant that he had to get rid of their parents. This could be… troublesome, and Albus needed to hear of this.

* * *

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office – Afternoon)**_

"I want to go home…" Ron went on, he had been telling Pomfrey about everything that had happened since he left Hogwarts. "But Charlie's there… My mum and dad are there… Pandora is there. I want to go home, but I don't want to deal with…" he trailed off.

"You don't want to deal with the repercussions of the fight?" Pomfrey provided, making Ron shift in his seat.

"I don't want to hear the apologies" Ron admitted.

"Hear them, but not make them?"

"I have nothing to apologize for" Ron repeated for the tenth time. "I protected my sister, and I won't apologize for that. And Charlie started the fight with me."

"Go on, Ron" Pomfrey leaned forward.

"He blamed me for his girlfriend's sour mood" Ron scoffed. "So what if I was a bit distant, I don't even know this person. She's a stranger to me, and why would I tell a stranger my life story? I didn't ask her for hers, why can't she show me the same respect?"

"People generally share life experiences when they socialize" Pomfrey stated. "Maybe she was looking forward to meeting you, and when you didn't reciprocate those feelings, she was left hurt."

"Then she needs thicker skin" Ron frowned. "And my life experiences aren't something that I want to discuss. Not even with my own family. What was I supposed to do? Tell her about how the Dark Lord left me a mangled mess on the dungeon floor?" _Or how the Entity's favorite pastime is causing me misery?_

"You could have told her of your hobbies."

"I did" Ron responded. "I told her I enjoyed Chess, practicing with new Spells, all of that stuff. But she was clearly expecting me to bear my soul to her, and when I didn't, Charlie blamed me for her insanity. Then when I told him that I planned to create a fence around our property, something that any normal family would want, he nearly broke my arm."

"And that's when you both traded blows?" Pomfrey asked for clarification, and Ron nodded. "I believe that it might be deeper than that, Ron. Your brother sounds like a rational person, which leads me to believe that a lot more happened before this fight."

"He… He called me a cold bastard" Ron remembered, and Pomfrey waited for him to go on. "Said that I was too closed off, that he couldn't understand why I was being like this… He said some other nonsense too, but I don't really remember much."

"Perhaps your brother lashed out because he was scared?" Pomfrey suggested, earning a confused frown from Ron.

"He was scared? That's why he went rabid?"

"Helplessness can often lead to anger, and your family's temper is legendary" Pomfrey smiled gently, she was trying to push Ron to figure this out himself. If he could manage that, then he might find the courage to go back home.

"So Charlie felt… helpless?" Ron asked slowly, drifting into his thoughts. _Helpless about what? Me being closed off? I'm not even that closed off, I just don't talk about my problems. I'd rather just deal with them. But he doesn't know that, I suppose._

"Tell me Ron, how did you feel when Ginny began spending time with Harry and his friends instead of spending it with you?" Pomfrey pushed a bit more. "How did you feel when she wouldn't talk to you about what was bothering her?"

"I felt… agitated" Ron replied slowly, something clicking in his brain. "He wanted me to talk to him… But he didn't know how to ask, and when we argued, he lost his temper… Bloody hell."

"This is good, Ron" Pomfrey smiled genuinely, and he managed a weak smile in return. "Perhaps your brother and you aren't so different."

"I guess we aren't" Ron nodded weakly. "I… I shouldn't have hit him…" _I should never raise my hand against my family. I'm supposed to protect them._

"And he shouldn't have twisted your arm in the first place" Pomfrey added. "You both made mistakes, and from what I've seen of you, you're not the sort of person who leaves his mistakes unattended. Your brother is going back to Romania soon. Do you want him to leave before you sort this out?"

"No" Ron replied. "I need to go home."

"I think that's for the best" Pomfrey smiled. "And Ron, don't forget your breathing exercises."

"I won't" Ron smiled and rubbed the back of his head, he was already feeling better. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. I really appreciate everything that you do for me."

"I'm here whenever you need me, Ron" Pomfrey responded. "Just make sure that you don't need me on a weekend." Ron chuckled at that, and then he nodded firmly.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Harry flew past George so fast that the older boy nearly fell off of his broom, and Charlie followed right behind. Harry had his eye on the Golden Snitch, and he was dead certain that so did Charlie. _He has a longer reach than I do, so I need to get to it first._ Harry leaned forward on his broom, diving forward slightly in the hope of gaining some extra speed. The Snitch gleamed in front of him as it flew around wildly, and for a second, Harry lost his concentration.

Fred took the chance to smack a bludger at Harry, and by the time Harry realized that it was coming, it was too late. Miraculously however, Ginny flew in and hit the bludger out of the way just in time for Harry to make it to the Snitch. Charlie was just on his tail when Harry caught the Snitch, ending the game in favor of his team.

"Bloody hell, you're a quick little bugger" Charlie laughed as he came to a stop.

"Thanks" Harry grinned, though he knew that he had a massive advantage over Charlie. While Harry was flying around on his Nimbus 2001, Charlie was flying on a chipped and dusty old broom. _He still nearly caught me. I definitely believe that he was the Quidditch Captain of Gryffindor now._ They all flew down and dismounted their brooms, with Percy landing last and falling over.

"Ha, nice one" Fred laughed at Percy, who stood up with a deep frown.

"Can I go inside now?" Percy asked Charlie, who just let out a laugh and patted his brother's back a little too hard. Percy, Ginny, and Harry were on one team, while the twins and Charlie were on the other. Luna was just watching them, and cheering for Ginny rather loudly.

"But we'll be a man down if you leave" Harry tried, he didn't like the twins mocking Percy for being bad at flying. Percy was like Hermione, only comfortable in the library.

"If it's him, you'll be better off" George sniggered, earning a frown from Ginny.

"Or maybe you'll finally win one?" Ginny shot back.

"Ohhh" the twins howled, chuckling at Ginny's comment.

"I reckon we've played enough today" Charlie noted with a smile. "Plus, it's nearly lunchtime."

"Are you guys going again?" Luna asked as she approached them.

"No, little Luna" Charlie ruffled her hair, making her giggle. Harry had grown rather fond of Charlie, especially because Charlie treated everyone with care and attention. Even Harry himself. _And Sirius likes him a lot considering that he kept bringing him up to Remus. Though he did sound really angry that one time when he mentioned Ron on the weekend._ "C'mon, let's go inside and harass mum for something to eat." As they all began making their way inside, Harry positioned himself by Charlie's side.

"Charlie, where's Ron?" Harry asked, and he felt Charlie tense for a second. "I asked the twins, but they weren't too sure. Neither were Ginny and Luna."

"He's at his mentor's house" Charlie gave Harry a friendly smile. "Something to do with his Chess career." Harry nodded slowly, his instincts were telling him that something was off. _First, Ron was really gloomy when he came to Grimmauld Place. And now he's not at home? And why don't his other siblings know where he is?_

"He's alright, isn't he?" Harry asked, deciding to let his concern for Ron's well-being win out. "He was acting rather off when he came to mine, and now he's not here. Not to mention that Sirius and Remus were talking about him in hushed whispers again… I just want to know if he's doing alright."

"You're a good lad" Charlie chuckled, giving Harry a pat on the back that nearly winded him. _Ow…_ "Ron's alright, I promise. My brother's a busy kid, as I'm sure you know."

"I guess I do" Harry smiled to himself. "I was actually hoping to see him today."

"Something important?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah" Harry nodded. "Neville and I are heading into Muggle London to meet up with Hermione, and we were hoping to bring Ron along. We were hoping to spend more time with him… especially after… you know…"

"The fight…" Charlie nodded slowly. "I think that's a great idea, Harry. My brother's lucky to count you as his friend." _Maybe… But I have to make amends for going behind his back after everything he did for me. For Sirius, Hermione, and Neville as well. I owe him quite a lot._

"You reckon he'll be back before Thursday? That's when we're all going to Muggle London" Harry stated.

"He'll be back" Charlie replied, something flashing behind his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came, and Charlie gave Harry a wide smile. "I'll let him know."

"Thanks" Harry smiled back. "Just tell him to be at mine on Thursday morning, we'll take it from there."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Dinner)**_

"Checkmate" Lord Greengrass smirked, and Ron bowed his head in defeat. _He cheats, I know it._ "Don't look so defeated Ron, maybe you'll beat me when I'm old and grey."

"When?" Ron smirked, earning a chuckle from Lord Greengrass.

"Maybe if your mind was as sharp as your tongue, you'd win one already" Lord Greengrass smiled arrogantly. "Would you like a drink?" Lord Greengrass asked suddenly as he stood up and walked over to his Brandy table.

"Um… I…" Ron started, but Lord Greengrass just poured Aged Apple Brandy into two Brandy snifters.

"It is rude to refuse a Lord's offer" Lord Greengrass stated as he handed Ron a snifter, which Ron took with a grateful smile. "It doesn't hurt to start building a palate for such things at your age. When I turned sixteen, I could tell where a wine was bottled just by the smell."

"A useful talent" Ron smirked.

"It certainly impressed a specific German witch that caught my eye" Lord Greengrass sat back down, an easy smile on his face. He rather enjoyed this banter between him and Ron, which was a new thing. After watching Ron Duel Madam Roberts, Sebastian had come to respect the younger wizard's talent even more.

"A German witch?" Ron smiled slyly.

"The most beautiful witch that I had ever laid eyes on" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "She had never even looked in my direction, but once I approached her, we became inseparable. And I learned that her mind was even more beautiful than her visage." Ron took a sip of the Apple Brandy, and it burned his throat. He could sort of taste the apples, but they were masked by an overwhelming burning sensation. "It gets easier, Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled.

"I don't wish to be rude, my Lord" Ron started, while Lord Greengrass sipped his drink. "But you summoned me in here right after dinner, and I got the feeling that you wanted to talk to me about something."

"I did" Lord Greengrass replied. "There are a couple of things that I wanted to talk to you about. First and foremost, I've signed you up for another Tournament. Nothing too big, just eight competitors including yourself. But I've heard rumors that the International League of Wizard's Chess Club will be interviewing the winner, and I want you to be that winner."

"Rumors, my Lord?" Ron asked after he took another sip. _Isn't he a part of the League?_

"Yes, rumors" Lord Greengrass exhaled. "They aren't very happy with me, not after what happened in Paris."

"They cut a dirty deal and payed for it, how is that your fault?" Ron frowned to himself.

"When foolish people fail, they often pin the blame on their betters" Lord Greengrass smirked. "Either way, it doesn't really matter. If you win this competition, we can begin making peace with these people."

"When and where is this competition?" Ron asked, deciding to listen to Lord Greengrass' advice.

"The tenth of August, at Flourish and Blotts" Lord Greengrass replied.

"It's at Diagon Alley?" Ron asked with a smile. _Handy._

"An easy trip for us, thank Merlin" Lord Greengrass took a sip. "Now, for the second thing. My wife has been… worried about something that you told her."

"Mary's worried?" Ron leaned forward.

"I won't lie Ron, she's in a bit of a panic" Lord Greengrass sighed, his wife had been talking his ears off for almost two days now. "You are having dinner with Clementine Zabini soon, aren't you?" _Oh, that…_

"I am going to the Zabini Residence on Friday" Ron nodded, taking a sip again. "And I'm becoming increasingly worried about it, especially because people keep telling me to stay away from her."

"It's a wise policy to listen when everyone tells you the same thing" Lord Greengrass stated. "Ron, this woman… She's not mentally stable."

"Tell me about her" Ron relaxed into his seat, whilst also resisting the urge to crack a joke about his own mental state. _Daphne will burst in here just to slap me in the face, I fucking know it._

"She's had six husbands in the past fifteen years, her first one being an old Pure-Blood wizard when she had just graduated from Hogwarts" Lord Greengrass started, the thought of that venomous woman sending a shiver up his spine. "He died within a year, and she became one of the wealthiest witches within England."

"Did you know her at Hogwarts?" Ron cut in, curious about Lord Greengrass' past.

"She was two years above me, but I didn't know her" Lord Greengrass replied. "She did sleep with Lucius, but once he met Narcissa, whom he married, she lost all interest in him. That woman even scared Lucius, which should tell you more than enough about her."

"Does she really kill her husbands?" Ron asked slowly.

"Personally, I believe the rumors" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron swallowed thickly. _I need to get Blaise away from her before she hurts him._ "I believe in patterns, and she has a rather malicious one. She marries older men, who all die within a year or two, and she is always the beneficiary in their wills. And she has a penchant for making allies with powerful people, which is how she avoids investigation. Don't let her charm and beauty fool you Ron, she is a spider… One that will entangle you with her honeyed words if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful" Ron nodded.

"Ron, look at me" Lord Greengrass ordered, and Ron did so. His mentor had a hardened expression on his face, but his usually cold eyes were warm and worried. "Be polite, **be** **vigilant** , and don't give her any reason to feel antagonized. She may be your friend's mother, but she is not someone to be trusted. Promise me that you will be careful."

"I promise" Ron said firmly. _And I promise to get Blaise away from her before she hurts him. She's not his only family. He's got a proper family as long as I'm alive._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Midnight)**_

"Marty" Ron called, and there was a sudden pop from behind him. Ron turned to see his Elf smiling up at him, and Ron smiled widely at the sight of him.

"Master called Marty?" Marty asked.

"I did" Ron nodded. "How goes your mission?"

"Oh!" Marty beamed. "Very well, Master. Marty and his new friends have found much. The beast was burned on the outside, but its insides were mostly undamaged you see. Marty has even secured the beast's heart for Master."

"This is excellent news!" Ron grinned from ear to ear, and Marty mimicked him. "Well done Marty, I knew that you wouldn't let me down!"

"Marty lives to serve" Marty bowed deeply, his wide smile still in place.

"How long before you finish?" Ron asked.

"Chivvy, the House-Elf overseeing the harvesting, believes that Marty's task will be done within two days" Marty replied. "Marty also took the liberty of securing the beast's shed skin for Master. If Marty lines Master's robes with it, the skin will protect Master from many Spells." _Really? That sounds useful._

"How much skin did you secure?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Around thirty feet, Master" Marty replied.

"Marty, come here and give me a hug!" Ron laughed excitedly, and then he crouched on one knee. Marty did as he was told, and he hugged Ron for almost ten seconds. Ron didn't really mind, Marty had earned that hug and more. "Once you've finished your job, bring everything to me in my room at the Burrow. Come at midnight, and don't make a sound."

"Marty understands, Master" Marty said as he let go of Ron, a toothy smile on his face.

"You're dismissed Marty, I'll see you soon" Ron stood back up, and Marty bowed before popping away. Ron pumped his fist into the air, and danced around with childish glee for a few seconds. _Calm Ron, calm. Breathe, and keep your composure. Even if you're about to make a lot of fucking money!_ Ron pumped his fist again, and then headed for his bed with a massive grin. But a sudden knock at his door stopped him, and he walked over to the door and opened it slightly.

"Can I come in?" Daphne whispered, she was in her silver silk pajamas. _A bit late for that, but sure._

"Come on in" Ron smiled as he opened the door for her, and she tiptoed in. Ron shut the door gently behind her, and then he turned to see her smiling mischievously at him. He knew that look, and it made him flush immediately. _Fuck, what's wrong with me? Just because I've started crushing on her doesn't change anything, we've kissed so many times now._

"I've been meaning to talk to you" Daphne hummed as she walked over to his bed, and Ron followed her slowly. "But you're far too busy to even look at me lately."

"It's… It's not like that, Daph" Ron gave her a sheepish smile, but she gave him a fake pout.

"No, you've forgotten all about me" she said dramatically. "Like I was just another wench to you…" _Another wench?_ Ron held back a snigger, especially because he was enjoying this playful game.

"You're not like the other wenches, I swear" Ron decided to play along, much to her delight.

"I bet that's what you say to all of them as well" Daphne feigned hurt. "That they're special… But we're nothing to you, are we?"

"I… I just need time… I'm sorry" Ron looked away dramatically, and Daphne snorted. Ron let out a chuckle before sitting beside her. "Cute snort."

"Shut up" Daphne giggled.

"So, what brought that about?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I've been reading one of father's Muggle Romance novels" Daphne smiled widely. "I'd rather read a manifesto written by Theodore Nott."

"I'll never understand why your father reads that stuff" Ron sniggered.

"Mother says that father is a hopeless romantic" Daphne whispered, as if telling Ron a dark secret. "But enough about old people."

"Very respectful" Ron chuckled, but Daphne just shrugged.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" Daphne asked as she scooted closer to him, something that Ron immediately became aware of. _She's nearly at kissing distance. Play it cool, Weasley. What?! No! Just be normal, you half-wit._ "Ron?"

"Oh… um… Yeah, I am" Ron replied.

"But we never went into the Gardens" Daphne groaned, something that she'd never do in public.

"I'll be back, I promise" Ron assured her. "I just need to solve things with my brother before he leaves for Romania."

"Well, in that case, I'll let you go" she said dramatically.

"You have my gratitude, my Lady" Ron shook his head slightly, amused by her antics. "But I was here for nearly five days, Daph. Why didn't we… you know, sneak off to the Gardens?" _Did I really just ask that? I'm almost as smooth as sandpaper._

"Well, all of our friends were here for one" Daphne sighed, scooting even closer to him. Their legs were now touching, and Ron could put his arm around her quite easily. _Should I? No, that's weird. I've never done it before, but maybe I should try it._ Ron put his left arm around her, and she moved a bit to make herself more comfortable. _She didn't mind! Praise Merlin!_

"You did invite them" Ron whispered.

"I know" Daphne sighed again. "But I figured that we'd get to sneak off anyway. My sister ruined any chance of that happening with her constantly following you around. Did you really have to show off that much?"

"Well, I'm sorry" Ron chuckled, making her laugh as well. "I was trying to beat an Auror, one that I desperately needed."

"Needed?" Daphne looked to him, her eyes fixed on his.

"She was the best candidate, and I wanted her to teach me" Ron replied, that was still true. "I hope Tori stops asking me her absurd questions soon, they make me rather uncomfortable. She… She asked to see my scars…"

"What?" Daphne frowned. "Ron, you didn't…"

"No, of course I didn't" Ron quickly responded.

"I'm going to have a chat with her, she needs to learn that not everyone will put up with that kind of behavior" Daphne noted. "I love her to bits, but she'll make a lot of people angry at Hogwarts if she doesn't learn to behave."

"She's always been this way, hasn't she?" Ron asked. _And she's always been frail according to Lord Greengrass. I wonder why. She does go to sleep very early, and I've never seen her running around or exerting herself._ Ron's protective instincts went off, and he decided that he'd try and learn more about Tori's health.

"She has, and it doesn't help that my parents don't stop her" Daphne replied before deciding to change the topic. She knew that her sister wasn't… healthy. But that's all she knew. Her parents were rather tight-lipped about it, and even Tori didn't know why she was so small and frail. "Anyway, I wanted to see you before you 'snuck off again'."

"What's on your mind?" Ron asked.

"This" Daphne hummed before giving him a quick kiss. "Finally, I've been waiting for days to do that."

"Really?" Ron asked with a whisper, and she nodded.

"Why do you always think that I don't like kissing you?" Daphne asked with a soft smile.

"I don't think that" Ron blinked.

"Well, I do like kissing you" Daphne said firmly. "So stop thinking that I don't, because I know you do."

"I… I like kissing you as well" Ron whispered.

"I know" Daphne whispered back. _Wish I had that sort of confidence. I mean if it's Chess or a fight, then I'm as confident as they come. But this sappy stuff isn't my forte._ "By the way, Pansy asked me a very funny question."

"What did she ask?"

"She asked me if I still had a crush on you" Daphne replied, her voice amused. "And before you ask, I do." _I have a crush on you too… Should I say that?_

"What did you tell her?" Ron asked instead of confessing. _Ronald Weasley, emotionally stunted extraordinaire._

"I told her that I've moved on" Daphne giggled. "She was genuinely upset with my response… Turns out that she has a bet with Tracey that you and I will end up dating soon, but Tracey believes that we won't date until we're much older." _Can we go back to kissing instead, this is giving me anxiety._

"Do people start dating in third year?" Ron asked, but he already knew the answer to that.

"Most of them do" Daphne replied, and then she gave him a knowing smile. _Fuck!_ "Don't worry Ron, I'm not hinting at anything. I told you that what we do together doesn't have to mean anything unless we both want it to. For now, I'm just happy that I have a boy to practice on."

"Practice on?" Ron blinked.

"You know, for when I do get a boyfriend" Daphne hummed, but she stopped when she saw something gleam behind Ron's eyes. _If someone asks her out before me, I'll knock their teeth in._ Ron took in a deep breath to calm down, and he gave her a calm smile.

"So I'm just another 'wench' to you?" Ron asked, and Daphne broke into giggles. Ron squeezed her, and she put her arms around his stomach and kissed his left cheek.

"No, you're special to me. And if any girl asks you out, I'll claw her eyes out." Ron broke into a laugh at that, and then he gave her a long kiss.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed that! Much action, much suspense, much angst...**

 **Now a quick announcement, I will update the next Chapter by Saturday at the latest. But I'm worried that some of my readers don't actually know that I'm back, and there is no way for me to alert them either. Damn FF... Anyway, if you know someone who reads this story as well, let them know please.**

 **See you guys on the next one!**


	60. Chapter 60 -Old Friends, and New Friends

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 60 is done!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 60 – Old Friends, and New Friends**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Breakfast)**_

"Do you really have to go?" Tori whined as she stomped her feet in a spoiled manner.

"Tori, I won't be gone forever" Ron chuckled, looking to Daphne for help.

"You can spend the day with Theo and me" Daphne provided, trying not to frown at Tori's unladylike behavior.

"Ugh…" Tori groaned, earning a deep frown from Daphne. _And there it is._

"Ouch" Theo sniggered before looking to Ron. "Take care mate, and please come back as soon as you can. Don't leave me with these people…"

"These people?!" the Greengrass sisters hissed at Theo, who looked to Ron with a frightened look.

"Never mind, take me with you" Theo demanded. Ron just sniggered at his friends' antics, but deep down he wanted to stay here. _Back home, I have to deal with Charlie and my family… And all of their questions and problems._ Ron walked over to the floo-powder, and he grabbed a handful.

"I'll see you guys soon, I promise" Ron smiled at them, but they didn't even notice as the girls were too busy pinching Theo to death. "The Burrow" Ron called as he threw the floo-powder into the fireplace, and when it blazed green, Ron stepped through. The moment he stepped into his home, he heard loud chatter coming from the kitchen. Loud chatter, and the smell of his mother's cooking. _Here we go._

"Good morning" Ron greeted as he stepped into the kitchen, and the talking died immediately. All the eyes in the kitchen went to him, but Ron maintained his composure. Charlie was sitting with Percy, and Ron's eyes lingered on his older brother. _He looks healed, which is good I suppose._

"Welcome back, Ronnie!" his mother exclaimed as she walked over to him and embraced him, crushing his bones into a fine powder.

"Hello, mum" Ron whispered as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry for…"

"Shhh" Molly shushed him with a hushed whisper. "Think nothing of it… Please don't leave again." Ron's stomach tightened because of guilt, and he nodded firmly. Molly let him go, and then she began scanning him from head to toe. "Look at you, you look peaky… Come and sit down, I'll fix you a plate." _I already ate, but I don't want to refuse her either._

"Thanks, mum" Ron put on a smile as he walked over and sat beside Pandora, ignoring everyone's stares. "How is everyone doing?"

"Where were you?" Ginny demanded, her voice coming out much harsher than she intended.

"Ginny Weasley, speak to your brother with manners" Molly frowned at her daughter, something that made Ginny frown at Ron. _What? It's not my fault that you got told off, it's your own._ Molly walked off to fix Ron some food, while Pandora gave Ron's back a rub.

"Welcome back, Ron" Pandora smiled in her usual airy way, but her eyes were sharp. "How was your stay at Greengrass Manor? Do you have any tournaments coming up?" _What the…? Wait, is she giving me an excuse to use? Thank you, Pandora!_

"I do actually" Ron smiled at her. "There is a competition happening at Flourish and Blotts on the tenth of August, and it's really important that I win this." His siblings all nodded slowly, effectively buying his story. Charlie gave Ron a weak smile, but Ron chose to ignore him for now. _There's no point in us talking about our problems on the dining table._

"Why is it important that you win this?" Percy asked, genuinely interested in Ron's career.

"Are you getting paid a lot of money to win?" Fred asked, his eyes gleaming golden.

"You are, aren't you?" George grinned.

"Probably" Ron shrugged. "But the money isn't the important thing, it's the interview that I'll get for winning that's important."

"Interview?" Charlie asked, keeping his voice casual.

"With the International League of Wizard's Chess Club" Ron replied.

"Try saying that quickly five times" Fred challenged George, who grinned at his twin. Both of them began muttering to themselves, while Ron cocked an eyebrow at them.

"Are you going to be in some magazine?" Ginny asked, not sounding very interested in hearing Ron's answer. _Did I do something to her? Or does she just enjoy spoiling my mood now?_ Ron took in a deep breath, hoping that Pomfrey's exercises would keep him centered.

"Maybe" Ron replied, he wasn't too sure himself. "But enough about me, how have you all been?" Ron looked to Luna, who was asleep in her chair. "Long night?" Ron asked Pandora, who smiled at her sleeping daughter.

"Xeno sent her a book from his travels, and she spent the whole night reading it" Pandora replied.

"He's still not back?" Ron asked.

"No, and I imagine that he'll be gone for another week or so" Pandora replied, pinching Ron's right cheek.

"Here you go love, tuck right in" Molly said as she put a plate full of food in front of Ron. _Shite, that's so much. I already ate three plates worth of breakfast at Greengrass Manor. Merlin help me._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – After Second-Breakfast)**_

Ron fell on his bed unceremoniously, and he let out a loud groan. _My stomach… My poor stomach. I'm sorry for doing this to you._ Ron sat up slowly, his bed creaking loudly because of his weight shifting. _This damn bed._ Ron looked around his room with an analytical eye, and he decided that he needed to change it. _Maybe some green and silver? Or maybe the color scheme that Daphne picked for my room at Greengrass Manor? I'll get new furniture, a new bed, maybe even change up the floor boards. I certainly have the money for it._ A sudden knock on his door ripped him away from his thoughts, and he looked to the closed door with a slight frown.

"It's open, you can come in" Ron called, fixing his features. The door swung open, and Charlie stepped in and closed the door behind him. _Yay, drama time…_

"I figured that we should talk" Charlie gave Ron a weak smile, one that Ron couldn't be bothered with returning.

"Sure, take a seat" Ron gestured to his weathered chair. Charlie walked over to it, and he sat down with his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sorry for hitting you" Charlie said immediately, his face dead-serious. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you, and I'm sorry for twisting your arm."

"I'm sorry for breaking your nose, and for kneeing you in the balls" Ron apologized as well, earning a firm nod from Charlie. "And… I'm sorry if your girlfriend felt… alienated… because of me. It was not my intent."

"Thanks" Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a tired sigh.

"What?" Ron asked, taking in another deep breath.

"It was not my intent" Charlie copied Ron's words, and then he looked at Ron with a sad smile. "You talk differently, you eat differently, and you dress differently… Hell, even the way you walk around is different now. Dad told me in his letters about how much you had changed, but I stubbornly believed that…" Charlie trailed off.

"Believed what?" Ron asked slowly.

"That I'd still be able to recognize you" Charlie shrugged. "This visit has proven me wrong…"

"People change" Ron told his brother, he had no intention of apologizing for evolving.

"I know…" Charlie nodded weakly. "And don't think for a second that I'm not proud of you, because I am. Truly. I just found myself missing… the old you." _The weak brat, you mean. The one who ran around hoping to gain people's attention, all the while lazing about and wasting his talents._

"I understand" Ron responded. "But I'm still… me. Who I am deep down, that hasn't changed. I've just learned to apply myself, and I've learned of the benefits of hard work."

"Too much hard work" Charlie chuckled, though he didn't sound happy. "I was wrong to lose my temper like that, it's not your fault that you've grown up. I was being incredibly… childish. I wanted the 'old you' back so badly that I lashed out at you, and I fucked everything up."

"Siblings fight" Ron shrugged, giving Charlie a reassuring smile. "We fought, and now we've apologized. Can we please just bury this and move on?"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded firmly, imitating Ron's smile. "But before we do, I have to tell you that for a Slytherin, you've got a mean jab."

"Thanks" Ron sniggered, a compliment was a compliment. "You're pretty good yourself, or at least when you're beating children."

"You little cunt" Charlie laughed, grateful that Ron wasn't holding this against him. They both sat in silence for a few seconds, calm smiles on their faces. _I'm just glad that this didn't turn into a big scene. Also…_

"The others don't know that we fought" Ron stated, and Charlie nodded as he relaxed into his seat.

"Mum and dad kept it all under wraps" Charlie informed Ron.

"Tell me."

"Well, you ran off after our fight" Charlie started, and Ron leaned forward. "You also closed the floo behind you, so mum and I had no idea where you'd run off to. She was hysterical, and after I told her what happened, she slapped the shite out of me."

"I've been there" Ron muttered, remembering how hard his mother could slap someone.

"Yeah" Charlie smirked. "Knocked my senses out of me. That's when dad came in, ready to go to work. He took one look at us, and his face just dropped. After mum told him what happened, I was dead-certain that he wanted to hit me. He went purple with rage, but you know dad… he always manages to keep himself in check. Dad instead focused on calming mum down, while I found something cold to put between my legs."

"Then Pandora came in, and things got even more awkward" Charlie went on, while Ron just listened intently. "She didn't yell, or do anything to harm me… But Merlin… Her glare was terrible. She just stared at me like I was the worst cunt to ever walk this Earth. I wanted to skulk off back to Romania, truth be told. And then your mentor came in, yelling and demanding answers. He told dad to sod off, and threatened to kill me if I ever put my hands on you again. Charming man…"

"Sorry about that" Ron apologized, but he was rather happy that Lord Greengrass was so protective of him. _Loyalty is a marvelous thing._

"Don't be, I deserved it" Charlie shrugged with an easy smile. "Sirius and Remus were more understanding, but they were definitely pissed off with me as well. In the end, we all decided to keep everything quiet. Just to avoid drama… Mum said that it's not good for you." _Yeah, because it's tedious._

"Well, for that I'm grateful" Ron admitted, now he just had one more question. "What's Ginny's problem with me?"

"Pardon?" Charlie blinked.

"It's been going on for a month or so…" Ron remembered. "She either ignores me, or talks to me in this uppity tone. Like I've done some ill against her… Has she mentioned anything to you?"

"Sort of" Charlie rubbed his forehead, how was he supposed to tell Ron that Ginny was jealous. "Girls are… complicated creatures, Ron. And Ginny is a girl…"

"Astounding perception" Ron said with a deadpan look.

"Arsehole" Charlie snorted, making Ron smile. "What I mean is that she's just used to being the apple of mum and dad's eye, but now… Now their eyes are always fixed on you…"

"Because of my brain-damage" Ron stated, and Charlie flinched and averted his gaze. _Really?_

"Yeah, because of… **that** " Charlie nodded, still looking down at his own hands. "She has no idea about it, none of them do. So she's a bit jealous, that's all." _Ginny is jealous of me? Well, you don't see that every day._

"So what do I do?" Ron asked. "Charlie, I'm getting sick of her attitude. Not to mention that she's trying to pry into my business all the time too."

"I tried talking to her, it didn't go well" Charlie sighed. "I was never any good with her, but you might have better luck because she likes you more. If you do talk to her, just be gentle please." _Have I ever been anything but whenever she's concerned?_ "Anyway… You want to play some Chess?"

"Chess?" Ron blinked.

"Yeah" Charlie smiled. "I'm leaving tomorrow, and I didn't get to spend as much time with you as I wanted."

"Chess sounds great, Charlie" Ron agreed. _But I won't be taking it easy on you._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Lunchtime)**_

"Do you want to go again?" Ron asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"Fuck off" Charlie frowned at the board, making Ron snigger at his brother's frustration. _Charlie has always been the most competitive one out of us, and he hates losing to anyone but Bill._ "How do you do this for a living? Just sit there and move pieces on a board?"

"Do this for a living? Charlie, I'm thirteen" Ron laughed, and Charlie looked up with a bemused look. And then, Charlie broke out in a laugh as well.

"Sorry little brother, it's hard to think of you as a kid sometimes" Charlie managed in between his laughter. There was a sudden knock at the door, and both brothers looked to it.

"Come in" Ron called, and Luna opened the door. She had an airy smile on her face, and her tired eyes were fixed on Ron. "Luna! You're awake!" Ron got up and hugged his sister tightly, who giggled in response before hugging him back. _Why is she so small? Ginny's starting to outgrow her._

"Mum woke me up for lunch, and she told me to come and get you both" Luna told him as he let her go.

"Luna, how much do you eat?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning her tiny physique. Luna blushed at his question, though her airy smile stayed in place.

"Don't ask girls that, you simpleton" Charlie sniggered, and Ron turned to him with a smirk.

"That's a big word Charlie, did you look it up before I came home?" Ron asked.

"Look this up" Charlie gave Ron the bird, something that made both Ron and Luna laugh.

"I eat just fine, Ron" Luna assured him, but he didn't really believe her.

"Is that so?" Ron asked slowly, a mischievous smile creeping onto his face. _I bet I could carry her downstairs without breaking a sweat._

"Ron… don't…" Luna tried to hide her laugh as she took two steps back, but Ron closed the distance quickly. "NO!" Luna squealed as Ron lifted her up like a baby, her laughter ringing throughout the Burrow. "Put me down!"

"No" Ron chuckled, though his stomach fell at how light she was. _She weighs nothing… What the fuck?_ Charlie just laughed at Ron's antics, but he was slightly worried that Ron would drop Luna by mistake. But before he could say anything to discourage Ron, the youngest Weasley boy began making his way downstairs with Luna still in his arms.

"Ron, you'll drop me" Luna giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck for support.

"Well if I do, you'll be too dead to worry about it" Ron snorted.

"That's not helping" Luna laughed.

"Don't worry Luna, I won't drop you" Ron promised. _How could I drop you when you weigh as much as a bag full of feathers? Hmmm, I'm going to keep an eye on how much she eats. At least two plates at every meal should bring up her weight a bit._ Ron made his way downstairs with Luna in his arms, and Charlie at his back. Once they entered the kitchen, Ron's thoughts were interrupted by Molly Weasley gasping loudly.

"Ron, put her down this instant" Molly scolded, whereas Pandora just smiled widely at Ron and Luna. The twins sniggered at their mother's reaction, while Ginny just blinked at the sight of Ron carrying Luna around the house. Percy just frowned at the danger Ron was putting Luna in.

"Brace yourself Luna, I'm going to drop you" Ron lied with a serious voice, but Luna just laughed in response. Ron gently helped her land on her feet, his thighs burning slightly from the workout. _Maybe that should be my new exercise? Am I old enough to do weight training? I'll have to ask Madam Roberts._

"What's for lunch?" Charlie asked as the new arrivals took their seats.

"Roast chicken with lots of vegetables" Molly announced, earning a groan from the twins. "Vegetables are nothing to groan at, and you two better eat them!" With that, Molly starting putting food on the table and everyone began helping themselves. Everyone but Pandora, whose plate was filled to bursting by Molly Weasley herself. Pandora just smiled gratefully, though Ron could see the horror in her eyes. _Ha, maybe I should do that to Luna._

"Why don't you kids go to Diagon Alley after this?" Molly smiled at them as she sat down in her husband's empty chair. "We've got nice weather today."

"Yes!" the twins both agreed immediately, while Ginny beamed at the prospect of getting ice-cream.

"I do need new quills" Percy spoke to himself.

"That sounds nice" Charlie replied, looking to Ron.

"I'm in" Ron nodded, his eyes darting to Luna's plate. _ONE PIECE OF CHICKEN AND A DWARF-PORTION OF VEGGIES?!_ Without a second thought, Ron speared two pieces of chicken with his fork and placed them on Luna's plate. Luna blinked at him, but his stern glare made her look back down at her plate. "Finish that" Ron ordered, and she nodded quickly. Ron missed the twins trying to stifle their laughs, while Pandora, Molly, Percy, and Charlie just exchanged slow looks. Ginny narrowed her eyes on Ron, she didn't like him bossing Luna around.

"So… finish up quickly, and we'll head out" Charlie said slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron.

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Late Afternoon)**_

"I'll be at Flourish and Blotts" Percy told the group, eager to run off and look at new books. Ginny often wondered if her brother preferred the company of books over people, and Percy had a way of proving that every time he opened his mouth.

"Be wary of papercuts" Fred sniggered, earning an eye roll from Percy.

"They can be deadly" George added on as Percy walked off. Charlie clapped George on the back of the head, making the twins snigger even more. _Hit him again please, maybe then they'll learn to give Percy a minute of peace._

"Can't you two give him a fucking break?" Charlie asked with a frown.

"Can't do that, Charlie" Fred smirked.

"If we let him get away with his anti-social behavior, our brother will be crushed under the weight of his prefect badge" George added on with an equally arrogant smirk.

"Now if you'll excuse us" Fred stated.

"Wait…"

"We have some items to collect" George hummed, and the twins both ran off to be on their own.

"Bloody…" Charlie muttered, massaging his temples with his knuckles. "I could use a drink…"

"Then you should get one" Ron smiled at Charlie, and Ginny fought the need to look at him. Seeing him stirred unwanted feelings of envy in her, and so she had decided to just ignore him until she got over it. _Then things can go back to normal._

"Ron…" Charlie started, but Ron just waved a dismissive hand.

"I can take care of the girls" Ron assured Charlie. "I have my wand with me, and my pouch."

"You can't even use your Magic" Ginny blurted out, immediately regretting her impulsive action.

"I have permission from the Ministry to use Magic outside of Hogwarts" Ron smiled at her, but she just blinked. _What? Really? Can that even happen?_

"Nearly forgot that" Charlie tapped his chin, and Ginny gaped at him. _It's true?! The Ministry gave Ron permission to use Magic outside of school?!_ And there it was again, Ron was once again the special one. Even the Ministry was handing him freebies… "Well, it would be nice to have some time to myself… If you need anything, come straight to The Leaky Cauldron. Got it?"

"I understand" Ron nodded with a smile. "Go have your drink, Charlie."

"Thanks, little brother" Charlie grinned, and then he turned around and left for The Leaky Cauldron.

"So… where do you girls want to go?" Ron asked them, but Ginny was still recovering from what she had just learned. _How did he manage to get permission from the Ministry itself?_

"I'd like to go to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop" Luna hummed, and Ginny nodded dumbly.

"Sweet shop it is" Ron smiled widely as he began leading the way, and the girls followed after him. Ginny stared at his back, her eyes scanning his shoulders. _Square shoulders, long strides, and a straight back. He walks around like he owns the place. And why is he always wearing such expensive looking clothes? Wait…_ Ginny looked down at herself and frowned, she was wearing the designer Muggle clothes that he had bought for her.

"Ginny, are you feeling alright?" Luna asked in her aloof voice, one that didn't match her worried look. Ginny noticed Ron's ears perk up, but he didn't turn back to look. _Eavesdropping? Really?_

"I'm just feeling tired after eating so much at lunch" Ginny replied, hoping to throw Ron off. It worked as Ron's stride went back to normal.

"Me too" Luna hummed. _Of course you are, he practically forced food down your throat and no one said anything about it. Ron can do whatever he wants, can't he?_

* * *

 _ **Fifteen Minutes Later**_

Her mood was considerably better now that she had a bag full of sweets, curtesy of Ron and his overflowing vault. Ginny had slowly started ignoring her bitter feelings of envy towards Ron, at least for now. It was too hard to stay upset with him, especially when he had no idea why she was upset. Ron was just his usual cheery self, and even Ginny struggled to ignore him because of it. And truth be told, she had missed him terribly over the last five days.

Spending her time with Luna was great, but Ginny also liked spending time with her brothers. Charlie was a delight to be around, but he was constantly fighting to give everyone equal attention. So sometimes when it was her turn, she often just left him alone so that he could take a break. Percy was… Percy, and he all but ignored anyone who wasn't Ron or an adult. The twins spent their time with each other, and they never wanted to involve her in their pranks. Ron was the only brother who spent time with her, and she had missed his kind and loving nature. No amount of envy could change how much she loved him, and she was eager for the day when she'd just get over her jealousy.

"Now that we have sweets, where do you want to go?" Ron asked, his eyes on Ginny. _He's addressing us both, but he's asking me._ Something sprang to her mind, a shop that she had read about in her father's discarded Daily Prophet. A shop that had been advertising jewelry with Glamor Charms placed upon them. _Having a look won't hurt._

"There's a jewelry shop in the upper district, can we go there for a look?" Ginny asked, her voice coming out as rather timid. But that couldn't be helped… The ad in the Daily Prophet had claimed that the Charmed Jewelry could hide any blemish, and Ginny's entire left forearm was a blemish. _I just want to see my arm without the scars… Just one more time…_

"A jewelry shop…" Ron blinked, something flashing behind his eyes. "Sure, let's go."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Proudly sponsored by the Greengrass, Parkinson, and Bulstrode Families" Luna read the sign, and Ron chuckled to himself. "What?"

"Nothing, there used to be another name on that sign" Ron smirked at the sign.

"You've been here before?" Ginny asked slowly, why would her brother come to a jewelry store?

"Um… Maybe" Ron replied curtly, and then he cleared his throat. "Let's go in." Ginny nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on Ron who was averting his gaze. _He's definitely been here before! Why? Wait… Did he get his rings from here? His snake ring…_ Ginny didn't even want to bring that up, it was a pet peeve within the siblings that Ron openly wore a snake ring. Like he was throwing his sorting in everyone's face. Ron however, had no idea just how vexing his siblings found that ring. _Even Percy doesn't like it. And the fact that he only wears one glove just to show it off is rather obnoxious._

"Ginny, are you coming?" Luna asked, and Ginny shook her head clear. She was knit-picking Ron again, something that made her frown at herself. Ginny followed Ron and Luna inside, and her eyes immediately darted around the store. Her girly excitement turned her mind blank in an instant, and she quickly began eyeing all the different pieces on display. _Merlin! Look at all of these! This one has black gemstones on it! OH! This one has rubies! Just like the ones inside the Gryffindor Hourglass!_ Ginny missed Ron and Luna sniggering at her because she was too busy being in heaven.

"H… Hello…" came a meek voice, and all the children looked to see a frail young man come out from the back of the shop.

"Hello, Martin" Ron greeted with a pleasant smile, something that made Luna and Ginny go slightly wide-eyed. _That settles that. Ron's been here before, and he even knows the Jeweler's name._

"Mr. Weasley" the frail young man relaxed, a shy smile appearing on his face. _He's kind of cute, but he looks too shy to be dateable._ "Welcome back… How can I help you today? Perhaps another gift for the young Lady Greengrass?" _Huh?!_ Ginny's eyes flew to Ron, who kept his eyes on Martin as he blushed slightly.

"No Martin, I'm here with my sisters today" Ron replied, his voice slightly panicked. _Gifts for 'the young Lady Greengrass', eh? He's wasting his money buying gifts for Daphne Greengrass? Wait, are they… Are they dating? Is that the person that Luna wouldn't talk about?_ Ginny had to wrestle the urge to start asking Ron questions about Daphne Greengrass, a girl that Ginny didn't really feel anything for. Sure, Ginny had had breakfast with Ron's friends multiple times. But she only really spoke to Ron or Luna, and she actively avoided making friends with the Slytherin students.

"Ah, I see" Martin nodded in understanding. "What are their tastes?" _Tastes?_ Ron looked to his sisters, both of whom didn't really know what to say. "It's… It's alright if you don't know" Martin smiled in a comforting way, his voice barely audible because of how meek it was. "We can have a look together while Mr. Weasley waits."

"Sounds good to me" Ron nodded, while Ginny and Luna exchanged worried looks. "I'll be by the windows. If you like anything, pick it up, and I'll pay for it." Ron left to wait by the window, while Ginny fought the urge to gape at him. _He's going to buy us whatever we pick?! This place looks really expensive though… I don't really want him to spend so much on me._

"Let's have a look, shall we?" Martin asked as he moved past the counter. "I'm sure we'll find you both something beautiful."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ginny had come to one horrible realization today. She had no clue about jewelry, despite her love for it. Martin was asking her questions that often left her lost for words, whereas Luna had just stated that she was in Ravenclaw and would like something that shared Ravenclaw's color scheme. Ginny desperately wanted to ask about the Glamor Charmed jewelry, but with Luna there, Ginny was forced to hold her tongue.

"Here, try this one please" Martin handed Luna a bronze-colored bracelet that had three small sapphire studs on it. "This is made from silver, but the bronze texture was added on after with Spell-work" Martin said proudly, his voice a little more confident. "I'm from Ravenclaw myself, and I love paying homage to our wonderful house."

"Are you really?" Luna beamed, putting on the bracelet. _It looks great on her._

"I am" Martin smiled politely. "How is our Grey Lady?"

"She's well, though I do hear her crying sometimes" Luna hummed, and Martin nodded in understanding. "I like this one, it's beautiful."

"Wonderful" Martin smiled, and Luna handed him the bracelet back. "Would you like me to package it for you? Or do you wish to wear it out of the shop?" Luna looked to Ron, her features slightly conflicted. _Maybe we should just leave before Ron spends too much money on us._ Ron was reading a magazine, completely ignoring the girls and Martin.

"I'll be right back" Luna said as she left to talk to Ron. Ginny looked to Martin with a smile, one that he reciprocated.

"Would you like something that matches your house colors as well?" Martin asked.

"Actually…" Ginny started, deciding to ask about the Glamor Charmed jewelry. "I read that you have certain jewelry that is… Charmed to… to hide blemishes" Ginny whispered as her face turned red, and Martin nodded slowly.

"Of course, I have them in the back of the store" Martin replied, his voice also coming out as a whisper. The girl was clearly embarrassed, and he did not wish to make her any more so. "Along with a mirror."

"Can I…?"

"Of course, come along" Martin said as he walked behind the counter, and Ginny followed after him. She shot a quick look to Ron and Luna, both of whom were currently focused on each other. _Please keep occupying him Luna, I won't take long._ Ginny followed Martin to the back of the store, which looked just as neat and tidy as the front of the store. The only difference was that there were no display cases, instead there were small metal lockboxes.

"The Glamor Charmed Jewelry is rather new, and I've just recently had some of my pieces Charmed by a Master of Charms" Martin explained as he unlocked one of the lockboxes with a flick of his wand. "Maybe something made of gold… With rubies… Yes, that would suit you" Martin said, though he was speaking to himself. Ginny didn't really mind, she just wanted to see her arm as it used to be. _Just one more time…_ "Here, try this on your opposite hand" Martin said as he carefully handed her a golden cuff bracelet, one with a sizable ruby in the middle.

"Why opposite hand?" Ginny asked, she didn't want to roll up her left sleeve in front of Martin.

"Glamor Charmed objects are very tricky" Martin replied. "Outside Magic interrupts them very easily, so if you wear this near your wand hand, you'll interfere with the Glamor Charm whenever you cast Spells." _I see. I can't ask him to leave me back here with all of this jewelry, he might find that suspicious._ Ginny swallowed thickly, and she pulled up her left sleeve. The sight of her own left forearm made her wince, but Martin wasn't even fazed in the slightest.

Ginny quickly put the bracelet on, and much to her astonishment, her disgusting forearm began to look like it used to. It was clean again, just smooth pale skin. She couldn't look away from it, even when her eyes started stinging horribly. _I'm normal again… Just like I used to be…_ Martin was polite enough to stay quiet, and when she sniffled, he took out a pocket handkerchief and offered it to her. Ginny took it and dabbed her eyes, fighting her hardest to not start crying in front of the kind stranger. Her arm looked normal again, and so she never wanted to take this bracelet off. _It was a mistake to come back here…_

"Would you like to look into a mirror?" Martin asked after a few seconds, and Ginny nodded weakly. He guided her gently to a mirror, and she looked at her reflection.

"My freckles are gone…" Ginny muttered, her heartache momentarily forgotten. She might not have had as many freckles as her brothers, but she still had enough to notice the change.

"As I said, Glamor Charmed items are very tricky objects" Martin explained in a gentle voice. "They cannot pinpoint what one wishes to change, and so they make one appear completely flawless. But if you touch your arm, you will still feel your scars." Ginny traced her right index finger over her left forearm, and she immediately pulled away when she felt the jagged bumps. _No…_

"Excuse me" came Ron's voice, and Ginny turned around with a panicked look. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes Mr. Weasley, everything is fine" Martin assured Ron, much to Ginny's relief. "I was just showing the young Lady some of my newer items." Ron nodded slowly, his eyes going to her left forearm. Panic gripped Ginny again, and she quickly hid her arm from his sight. Ron blinked at her, and she nearly smacked herself. _They're hidden, I'm so stupid._ Ginny slowly revealed her arm again, and she let Ron look at the golden cuff bracelet. He smiled at it, and then at her.

"Do you like it?" Ron asked, and she managed a weak nod. Her throat was closing up again because of how guilty she was beginning to feel. She didn't want him to spend so much money on her, but she also wanted the bracelet. She wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything, and that made her feel like the worst sort of person alive. "Do you want me to buy it for you, or do you want to keep looking?" And there it was, the moment of truth…

"I… I'd like this one…" Ginny muttered, her eyes looking down at her clean forearm. The lump in her throat began hurting, but she kept her features steady.

"Alright, I'll be at the counter" Ron beamed, utterly oblivious to her inner turmoil. He was just glad that she was letting him buy her something, maybe they could start being close again. He didn't like that she was jealous of him, mostly because he knew how miserable one felt when they were. After Ron left, Ginny went to take off the bracelet, but Martin stopped her.

"There is no need for that" Martin said with a compassionate voice, and Ginny managed a grateful smile. They made their way out to the counter, and Ginny noticed that Ron had talked Luna into getting the bronze-colored bracelet with the three sapphire studs. That made some of her own guilt go away, but only a very small fraction.

"How much do I owe you, Martin?" Ron asked as he took out his Gringotts pouch, and Ginny's stomach tightened. _I'm the worst._

"Four-hundred Galleons" Martin replied, and both Ginny and Luna went wide-eyed.

"That's all?" Ron looked up at Martin, clearly confused at how much cheaper the items were than what he expected.

"I've taken off fifty Galleons because of your continued patronage" Martin replied with a shy smile, his eyes darting to Ginny for a split second. Ginny's eyes widened even more at that, did he know that she was feeling guilty because of the price?

"I won't argue against that" Ron smiled gratefully as he began paying Martin. _I was wrong, Martin is one of the most dateable people that I've ever met._ "And four-hundred" Ron said as he handed over the last Galleon.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley" Martin bowed slightly, and Ron gave him a polite nod in return.

"I'll see you soon, Martin" Ron told the Jeweler, who nodded in understanding.

"And I will make sure to keep an eye on whatever young Lady Greengrass fancies" Martin managed a wider smile, one that Ron mimicked with a slight blush. _He's blushing again._

"Let's be off then" Ron turned back to the girls, and they nodded. Luna had her airy smile on her face again, whereas Ginny managed a weak smile. They made their way out of the shop, and Ron stretched as he stepped into the Sunlight.

"Thank you, Ron" Luna hummed, giving Ron a quick kiss on his left cheek.

"Luna, you don't have to thank me" Ron smiled at her. "Didn't I just explain that?"

"I know, but thank you nonetheless" Luna hummed. _What did he tell her?_

"Thank you" Ginny said quickly, despite her guilt, she had no intention of being ungrateful. Ron may not know it, but he had given her something that she'd treasure forever.

"Ginny, don't worry…" Ron started, but then he stopped. His eyes focused on her face, and her eyes widened slightly in response. _Did the Charm break?! My arm!_ Ginny shot a quick look to her still naked forearm, and much to her relief and joy, it still looked normal. "Something's different about you…"

"Different?" Ginny muttered, was he really that bloody observant?

"I… I don't know…" Ron whispered. Ginny saw Luna looking at her face, and Luna blinked at what she saw. _She knows!_

"Let's go find Percy" Ginny blurted out, and without a second thought, she began walking towards Flourish and Blotts.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Your pretty freckles are gone" came Luna's voice from behind her, and Ginny had to bite back a frightened squeal.

"Luna… Don't do that" Ginny turned around with a scared frown, but Luna just studied her face again. Ginny was hiding behind a bookshelf, pretending to look at a book in order to hide her guilty, freckle-less face from Ron.

"They're all gone" Luna observed, and Ginny shushed her.

"Luna please… Don't do this" Ginny begged, the urgency in her voice making Luna adorn a concerned look.

"Gin, what's the matter?" Luna asked, and Ginny's eyes began stinging again.

"I did something horrible…" Ginny's face contorted, her voice cracking. "I made him spend so much money, even after I've been nothing but horrible to him…" Luna just waited for her to go on, but Ginny knew that if she kept talking she'd start crying.

"The bracelet" Luna figured, and Ginny nodded fervently. "It's hiding your freckles… and your scars." Ginny's heart stopped beating, and she whimpered as she looked at Luna staring at her left forearm. _She… She knows about…_

"Luna…" Ginny's voice hitched.

"I saw them recently, when you were getting dressed when you thought that I was asleep" Luna explained, while Ginny tried her best to not pass out. _She knows about my… my disgusting arm..._

"You can't tell anyone… please" Ginny croaked.

"I'd never do that" Luna blinked. "And I don't care about the scars, you're still Ginny. With or without them, you're still my best friend." Ginny pulled Luna into a hug, and she squeezed the smaller girl so tightly that Luna let out a pained groan. "It's alright Ginny, I won't tell a soul" Luna managed, her back cracking because of Ginny's unnatural strength. Ginny couldn't even explain the relief she felt in that moment, but it was quickly dashed to smithereens by her guilt.

"He spent so much on this, and he doesn't even know why" Ginny sniffled.

"He may not know about your scars, but he knew how much you wanted it" Luna replied, and Ginny tensed. "I told him that I didn't want him to waste his money on me, but that irked him greatly. 'What's the point of me having this money if I can't spend it on you two?'… That's what he said." Luna was probably trying to make Ginny feel better, but it had the opposite effect. _I'm such a git._ "He misses you."

"What?" Ginny asked as she pulled back, studied Luna's face as if she had never seen it before.

"He misses you" Luna repeated. "I know that you're… not happy with him, but he misses you a lot. And he doesn't even know why you're upset with him. Please stop making him feel like that, or at least tell him why. He deserves that much." Ginny swallowed thickly, the wind knocked out of her lungs.

"I'll stop" she promised Luna, and herself.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Close to Evening)**_

"Where do you two get your money from?" Percy demanded from the twins, both of whom just smirked at him. "I know for a fact that mother and father don't give you two money anymore."

"Do you now?" Fred lost his smirk.

"Percy, do you have something to tell us?" George asked, his eyes suddenly gleaming with anger. Percy blinked, and then he looked away from the twins with disgust.

"Git…" they both whispered, but they made sure everyone heard it.

"Will you all stop that, we're in public" Ron sighed, his head feeling light. A sudden wave of exhaustion had hit him, and he was barely managing to keep his head clear. _I didn't drink my Nutrition Potion today, and now I can barely function. Eh… A small price to pay to avoid that despicable brew._ They were all making their way to The Leaky Cauldron, and for that, Ron was grateful. He wanted to get home and take a nap, preferably near Pandora because she would play with his hair while he slept. As they stepped into The Leaky Cauldron, both girls covered their noses. The stench of cheap alcohol was everywhere, along with tone-deaf singing.

"There's Charlie" Percy pointed out, and they all looked to see their brother laughing loudly at some other patron's joke.

"Is he drunk?" George asked, his voice humorous.

"I believe so, brother mine" Fred replied. _Mum is going to kill him._

"Let's grab him and go, I don't want the girls being caught up in this" Percy said firmly. "Fred and George, keep the girls with you." The twins would usually argue, but after watching this rowdy crowd of wizards and witches, they decided to do as they were told. They all made their way to Charlie, who was still laughing loudly. "Charlie!" Percy called, and then he patted his brother's shoulder. Charlie turned around with a smile, a smile that widened at the sight of his siblings.

"Hey there you lot, what brings you here?!" Charlie asked a little too loudly.

"You" Percy frowned. "We're going home, do you want to tag along?"

"Nah…" Charlie shrugged. "Just use the fireplace over there to floo back home, I'll come back after a couple of more pints." _He's so fucking dead when he gets home. Mum might actually bury him in the backyard._

"You heard him" Percy turned to his siblings. "Let's be off."

"Could…" the twins started, but Percy shut them down immediately.

"No, absolutely not" Percy cut them off. "Mother will kill us all…"

"Noted" George muttered. Ron just tried to block out the noise, his eyes getting heavier. _If I fall asleep, carry me._ When everyone began moving to the fireplace, Ron followed them lazily. Percy opened a floo channel to their home, and one by one, they all went through it. The sudden quietness of the Burrow was heavenly, and Ron smiled with heavy-lidded eyes. _Home sweet home._

"Welcome back you lot" Arthur greeted them, he was sitting on the couch with Molly. Pandora was sitting on a nearby chair, much to Ron's disappointment. _No… Now she can't scratch my head while I take a nap. Wait, she still can._ Ron walked over and sat down on the floor by Pandora's feet, his back resting against the chair's leg. _Scratch my head, woman. I wish to nap._

"How was…" Molly started, but then she stopped. "Where is Charlie?"

"Oh… He stayed behind at The Leaky Cauldron for a couple of pints" Percy replied, doing his best not to give away the fact that Charlie was already drunk when they left him.

"Couple of pints?" Molly Weasley blinked.

"Love, it's his last night in England" Arthur quickly told her. "After that, he'll be knee deep in Dragon dung again. Let him have this." Molly nodded half-heartedly, while her children breathed out in relief due to avoiding a calamity.

Ron looked up at Pandora expectantly, earning a slightly confused look from her. But when she realized what he wanted, she found herself giggling at him. She had been scratching his head lately, much like she did to Luna, in an effort to keep him calm. Had he really grown so accustomed to it so quickly? It didn't really matter to her, she'd give him the moon if he asked her for it. Pandora shifted in her seat in order to reach his head more easily, and then, she began scratching his head with her left hand. _Yes, that's the stuff._ Ron almost purred as he closed his eyes and leaned more against the chair's leg, content to stay here for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

Arthur found it hard not to laugh at his youngest son's behavior. His son was sitting on the floor, in clothes that looked more expensive than what Arthur made in a month, and he was completely gone as Pandora scratched his head. _He looks like a ginger cat right now._ The rest of the children gave Ron odd looks, something that Molly caught onto.

"Was he this tired all day?" Molly asked, trying to sound nonchalant. It came across as inquisitive instead.

"No, he was fine all day" Luna replied, sitting next to Ginny on the couch. "His exhaustion hit him very suddenly." _Suddenly, eh? Did he not have his Potion today?_ Arthur felt Molly tense, though she didn't show any sign of it to their children.

"Well you're all home now, so it's nothing to worry about" Pandora hummed from her chair, clearly telling Arthur and Molly not to panic. _She's right, we should just let him sleep until dinner._ Pandora suddenly shifted in her seat again, her eyes locking onto her daughter's right wrist. "Luna… What is that on your wrist?"

"Oh" Luna hummed, showing her wrist to her mother from across the room. There was a bronze-colored bracelet on it, a bracelet with three noticeable sapphires. _Merlin's beard! Where did she get something so expensive? Is it genuine?_ "Ron bought it for me today from a Jewelry shop in the upper district of Diagon Alley. I told him not to, but he didn't want to hear it." _Bloody hell, how much does that boy make? Wait, if he got something for Luna…_ Arthur's eyes went to his own daughter's arms, and Ginny being the clever girl that she was, had crossed her arms while adorning a nonsuspicious look on her face. _He definitely got her something too._

"Ginny, what did your brother get you?" Molly asked, not very happy that Ron wasn't saving his money like a responsible person should.

"Nothing…" Ginny muttered, her cheeks flushing.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, do no lie to me" Molly tutted, frowning slightly. Arthur decided not to step in for now, he himself wanted to see what Ron had gotten Ginny.

"Sorry…" Ginny sighed, and then she showed them her left wrist. Arthur eyed the golden cuff bracelet with the sizable ruby in the middle, but his actual attention went to her slightly uncovered forearm. _Wait… Where are her scars?!_

"Ginny, a word?" Arthur quickly stood up, surprising even Molly. Ginny nodded meekly, clearly believing that she was in trouble. Arthur led the girl into the kitchen, thanking Merlin that his wife hadn't noticed Ginny's scar-free forearm before him.

"Dad… I can explain…" Ginny muttered, looking down at the floorboards.

"Show me your left forearm" Arthur said as gently as possible, and it seemed to do the trick. Ginny shuffled her feet before showing her father her left forearm. Arthur slowly moved her jacket's sleeve back, ignoring the fact that his daughter was fidgeting even more now. "They're gone…"

"Not really" Ginny looked up as she pulled her arm back, quickly pulling her sleeve back down. "The bracelet has a Glamor Charm on it, please don't tell anyone."

"A Glamor Charm?" Arthur blinked, weren't those horribly difficult to do? That's when he noticed that Ginny no longer had any freckles, and that she looked fair and flawless. "Ginny… Does your brother know that he's bought you a Charmed item?"

"No" Ginny mumbled, looking back down. Arthur resisted the urge to sigh and rub his face, how was he supposed to explain this to Molly. "Please don't take it away from me, I don't want to have scars" Ginny suddenly pleaded, her eyes welling up with thick tears.

"I won't do that, love" Arthur assured her quickly, pulling her into a gentle hug. "And I'll talk to your mother too, don't worry about a thing." Her plea had nearly ripped his heart out of his chest, he hated the fact that both of his youngest children were left scarred by that **demon**.

"Thank you" Ginny put her arms around his waist. _My night just got a lot more complicated, didn't it?_

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

Charlie still wasn't home, the twins were annoyed that Ron had spent his money on the girls rather than them, Percy wouldn't stop talking about his plans to work within the Ministry, Luna and Ginny were eating as carefully as they could in order to not dirty their new bracelets, Ron was particularly grouchy for being woken up, Pandora was trying to urge Ron to eat his food, and Molly was still upset with both Ron and Charlie. This once again left Arthur in a position that he often played in his home; the peacekeeper.

"How much did your bracelets cost?" Fred demanded, his coming out as particularly childish.

"They look expensive enough to buy a thousand joke items" George glowered.

"Fred, George…" came Molly's voice from the kitchen, and the twins frowned at the girls.

"Enough of that" Arthur told them firmly. "Your brother can buy your sisters whatever he wants, it is **his** money after all."

"He should be saving his money" Percy piped in, making Arthur sigh. _Thank you for your help, Percy._ Arthur was about to defend Ron again, but they all heard the fireplace roar to life from the living room. _Charlie's back._

"Good evening, everyone" Charlie slurred as he stepped into the kitchen, clearly drunk to the point of stupidity. _For Merlin's sake!_ "How goeth your night?" Charlie grinned at them. "Wait… Is 'goeth' a word?"

"No" Percy answered immediately, while Arthur looked to his horrified wife. His horrified wife, who was quickly turning red with rage.

"Charlie, a word?" Arthur shot out of his seat, quickly making his way to his inebriated son.

"Sure dad, I've got all the words in the world for you" Charlie chuckled, the stench of cheap alcohol emanating from him. Arthur's face pinched without a second thought, how much had Charlie drank tonight?

"Upstairs" Arthur said as he took his son by the arm, hoping to get him out of the kitchen before Molly ripped out her wand. Charlie was so drunk that he was having trouble navigating the steps, and so the young man put most of his weight on his father. Arthur's back nearly gave out because of how heavy his overly-muscled son was.

"I'm a Dragon" Charlie stated out of nowhere, earning a confused look from Arthur.

"Son, how much did you drink tonight?" Arthur asked as he pulled Charlie along. _Why is his room on the third floor?! My poor back._

"Enough that I had to piss a dozen times" Charlie laughed.

"Wonderful…" Arthur sighed out. When they finally made it into Charlie's room, Arthur helped the young man into his bed.

"My shoes" Charlie groaned, feeling a bit sick. Arthur nodded, and then he took off Charlie's shoes like he used to when Charlie was a toddler. "Thanks dad, I love you."

"I love you too, son" Arthur replied, trying not to sound too tired. He had done paperwork all day, and now he was trying to keep his house in order too. Arthur pulled out his wand, and he transfigured a nearby stool into a bucket. "Son, if you do vomit, try and aim for the bucket" Arthur instructed as he put the bucket near Charlie's head.

"Vomit? Little bitches vomit" Charlie waved a dismissive hand, his eyes closed.

"Language, son" Arthur sighed. "Goodnight."

"Night dad" Charlie muttered, dozing off. Arthur left the room, closed the door behind him, and then he travelled back downstairs. Molly was now sitting at the table, glowering at no one in particular. When she saw him, she frowned deeply at him. Arthur decided to ignore it and eat his dinner, he'd speak to her later.

"Is he alright?" Percy asked, not reading the atmosphere in the room.

"Your brother is fine" Arthur assured them with a smile, something that made the children relax a bit. Arthur took his seat next to Molly, who was still staring at him. "We can talk later" Arthur whispered to her, and she nodded before beginning her own dinner. Arthur managed one bite of his own dinner before it was interrupted by the sound of cutlery clanging against a plate. Arthur's head shot up, and much to his shock, he saw that Ron had fallen asleep on the table.

"Ronnie?" Ginny gasped, all of the children going wide-eyed at the sight of him.

"Love?" Pandora helped him sit back up, but not before shooting a panicked look at Arthur and Molly.

"I need sleep…" Ron mumbled, his eyes closing again. Arthur quickly shot out of his chair… again, and he made his way over to Ron.

"I'll take him up" Arthur quickly assured everyone, but his comment was mostly aimed at Pandora and Molly who had both gone pale with worry. "C'mon son, let's go" Arthur grunted as he helped Ron out of his chair, his youngest son was practically dead weight. _I'm going to St. Mungo's tomorrow, that's for certain._

"Is he alright?" Fred asked, still staring at Ron with wide-eyes.

"He looks really pale" George added on.

"Ron's just tired, that's all" Arthur assured them.

"I didn't sleep last night…" Ron lied, his voice barely audible.

"Let's get you to bed son, you need your sleep" Arthur said as he helped Ron out of the kitchen and up the stairs, cursing Merlin that Ron's room was on the fifth floor. They made their way up at a steady pace, with Ron managing to regain some of his senses.

"Did you have your Potion today?" Arthur asked as they neared Ron's room.

"No, thank Merlin for that" Ron replied.

"Ron… You need to drink one every day" Arthur tried to say gently, but his tone came out as scolding.

"It tastes like Troll shite, and it makes me feel sick" Ron whined.

"It helps you fight off fatigue, Ron" Arthur told his son, ignoring Ron's language. "Fatigue is a major symptom of Chronic Stress, and since you won't stop pushing yourself, you have to drink it. No more arguments on this, do you understand?"

"Yes, yes" Ron nodded, sounding like he had heard this lecture before. Arthur led Ron into the boy's room, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he spotted two bright yellow eyes staring at him from a dark corner. Helios hooted loudly at the sight of Ron, and Arthur relaxed considerably.

"It's just your…" Arthur started, but Helios hooted loudly once again before flying over to them. The Eagle-Owl began hooting madly at Arthur, while also trying to land on Ron's shoulder. "Stop Helios! I'm trying to help him!"

"Get him Helios, show dad who's in charge" Ron laughed, clearly amused at the sight of his father trying to hold off the angry bird. Arthur quickly helped Ron into his bed, and he took a step back as Helios landed by Ron's pillow. The Eagle-Owl hooted angrily at Arthur, glaring murder at him for touching Ron.

"Barmy bird!" Arthur snapped at Helios, who just intensified his glare.

"Helios, it's alright" Ron chuckled, his eyes closing again. Helios hopped closer to Ron, head-butting his master's head in a 'loving' manner. Ron didn't seem to mind, he even enjoyed it judging by his content smile. _That thing is a bloody menace!_ Arthur took in a deep breath, still annoyed at being attacked by the angriest bird on the planet. _Why couldn't Sirius get him a nice, ordinary owl?_

Arthur skulked out of the room, hoping that he could finally eat his dinner before tucking in for the night himself. The moment he stepped into the kitchen, he realized that that wasn't going to happen. The children had moved on to the Living Room, no doubt playing games and relaxing, while Arthur stared at Molly and Pandora whispering to each other.

"Is everything alright?" Arthur asked as he sat down in his seat again, his cold food staring back at him. He shrugged his shoulders and started eating, regardless of the temperature, it still tasted good.

"We should be asking you that" Pandora replied. "What's the matter with Ron?"

"Is it his…" Molly started, but trailed off. _She still hasn't uttered the word 'Brain-damage'._

"No, he simply didn't have his Potion today" Arthur sighed, and both women relaxed considerably. "Not just that, but he actively avoided drinking it. I'm sure of it. He probably told Mary that he'd drink it once he was home, and then when he got here, he just didn't bother mentioning anything."

"That boy" Molly frowned at the stairs.

"He's a kid" Arthur shrugged. "No kid wants to drink medicine. Now, about the bracelets…"

"We should have him return them" Molly said firmly, and Arthur felt the need to run back to his desk at the Ministry.

"You know he won't like that" Pandora stated. "And if we force him, he'll lose that temper of his."

"He bought his sisters a gift, he has that right" Arthur said, looking his wife in the eyes. "Molly, don't make problems when there are none. Luna and Ginny already love those bracelets, didn't you see how carefully they ate? Neither of them wanted to take them off." _I imagine that Ginny will_ _ **never**_ _take hers off._

"Is there a Glamor Charm on Ginny's bracelet?" Pandora asked, and Arthur was floored by her perception. _Does she have the Third Eye or something?_

"Glamor Charm?" Molly blinked, looking to Arthur for answers.

"It does" Arthur put down his cutlery, his dinner was no longer appealing.

"I figured as much" Pandora hummed. "All of her freckles were gone, and she looked more beautiful than ever. Utterly flawless, even."

"Her scars are also 'gone'…" Arthur whispered, and Molly winced at the mention of them. She had not taken the news of her little girl being scarred by the Dark Lord well, and Arthur had caught her crying constantly when they first found out. _First Ron, and now my little girl. The moment that monster resurfaces, I'll be the first person to join the Order. I'm sure that Dumbledore will reorganize it when the time comes._

"Does Ron know about her scars?" Pandora asked, and Arthur shook his head.

"He just payed for the bracelet, I think" Arthur replied. "He probably has no clue that it's an Enchanted item. It must've cost him a small fortune, but he doesn't seem bothered by that at all." Arthur then looked to Molly, who was almost convinced of letting the girls keep their new bracelets. "Molly, don't take this away from her. I haven't seen her look so carefree for a long time, and she didn't once tug at her sleeve during dinner." Molly nodded meekly, giving Arthur a sad smile. _Good, all of the fires are put out._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Midday)**_

"Can't you stay one more day?" Ginny pleaded, trying her best to guilt Charlie into staying. "We never get to see you, and Merlin knows when we'll get to see you again." Ron and Ginny were currently saying goodbye to Charlie, who was about to leave for Romania once again.

"I'm sorry, Gin" Charlie smiled softly. "But I told you that I've already booked the Portkey, and it costs a lot of money to change your booking."

"Ron can pay for it" Ginny said, looking to Ron with hopeful eyes. _Great, now it's all on me._

"I don't mind paying" Ron looked to Charlie, but Charlie waved a dismissive hand.

"I have work to get back to as well" Charlie told them.

"Work? Or your girlfriend?" Ginny pouted miserably, while Charlie looked around in a panic. _Is he trying to make sure that our parents aren't around the corner? They're meeting him at the Ministry, along with Pandora and Luna. I hope Pandora's Medi-witch checkup is going well, and that my Godchild is healthy._

"I got your trunk" came Percy's voice, and Ron turned to see Percy step into the living room with said trunk.

"The twins?" Charlie asked.

"Being bratty as always" Percy frowned, the twins and Ginny had made it abundantly clear that they didn't want Charlie to leave. While Ginny was begging Charlie to stay, the twins had locked themselves away and refused to say goodbye.

"I'll go talk to them" Charlie sighed.

"You don't have the time, Charlie" Percy informed his older brother.

"I'll always have time for them" Charlie said as he began leaving the room, but then he suddenly stopped at the door. "Ron, come with me. I want to talk to you about something important." _Important?_ Ron nodded and followed Charlie out, missing Percy trying to console a teary-eyed Ginny and failing miserably.

"What's this 'important' thing?" Ron asked, following Charlie up the stairs.

"Two things, actually" Charlie started. "Firstly, you can't let Ginny think that she has any claim on your money. She just tried to guilt you into paying for me, and that isn't right." _What the…? She didn't try and guilt me, she's sad that you're leaving you moron._

"Charlie…" Ron started, but Charlie cut him off.

"Mum told me that you bought Luna and Ginny expensive jewelry yesterday" Charlie stated as he turned to look at Ron, his face dead-serious. "Buying gifts is fine, it's actually rather kind of you, but don't make a habit out of it. If you keep getting her whatever she wants, then she'll stop working to earn it for herself. Do you understand?"

"I… I understand" Ron nodded. _He doesn't want my money to put a strain on my relationship with Ginny, and I agree with him. She's been rather nice today, and we even talked for over ten minutes at breakfast._

"Good lad" Charlie smiled, and then he began climbing the stairs again. Ron followed after Charlie, thinking about his words. "Now, the second thing… I should've told you this sooner, but I honestly forgot about it until today. Harry came over when you were at Greengrass Manor, and he wanted me to let you know that he's heading into Muggle London to meet some girl named Harmony." _Harmony? Who the hell is that? Wait…_

"Hermione?" Ron asked, and Charlie snapped his fingers.

"That's the one" Charlie chucked. "Anyway, I told him that you were in."

"You did?" Ron nearly frowned, he didn't like having the option to refuse being taken out of his hands.

"Don't be like that" Charlie sighed. "They want to be better friends with you, and that's a good thing Ron. Just go down to Grimmauld Place tomorrow morning after breakfast, and then spend the day with your mates. It'll be good for you." _I wanted to buy Clementine Zabini a gift for inviting me into her home, and to earn points with her for Blaise's sake. Now I'll have to postpone that plan till Friday, which is the exact same day I have go to her house. I'll ask Theo and Daphne for help I reckon, especially because I don't have much time now to get an appropriate gift._ "Ron, are you listening?" came Charlie's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, totally" Ron lied, noticing that Charlie had stopped and was now looking at him with a furrowed brow.

"So you'll meet up with Harry tomorrow?" Charlie asked, and Ron nodded.

"Sure" Ron agreed. _I don't have any Muggle money, and I don't really understand their currency. I really need to look into it, just in case it becomes important for the Future._

"Good" Charlie nodded firmly, smiling once again. "Want to help me deal with the twins?"

"No, not particularly" Ron admitted, making Charlie chuckle.

"I'll meet you downstairs then" Charlie said as he began making his way up again, while Ron turned around and headed back downstairs. _So Muggle London tomorrow? I hope I don't have to spend the whole day there, I want to try and get a hold of Theo and Daphne. But I guess I can just do that on Friday as well. We'll see how tomorrow goes._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midnight)**_

"Master" came a whisper, and Ron felt warm hands shaking him gently. "Master, Marty has returned…" Ron's eyes slowly opened, and he spotted the blurry face of his House-Elf hovering right in front of his own. _SHITE!_ Ron sprang up from fright, his entire body tensing at the sudden movement, while Marty quickly hopped off of the bed.

"Fucking hell, Marty…" Ron breathed out, clearing his eyes quickly. "You scared the life out of me."

"A thousand apologies, Master" Marty gave a sheepish smile before bowing. _What is he doing here? What's the damn time?_ "Marty has completed his task, and Marty has brought the secured items for Master to inspect." _Items? The Basilisk!_ Ron quickly slid out of his bed, looking to the thick black trunk that was behind Marty.

"Are they in there?" Ron asked, barely managing to keep his excitement in check. _That's a big trunk, which means that I'm going to make so much fucking money!_

"Yes Master, all of the items are within" Marty replied, and then the Elf snapped his fingers and the trunk unlocked. Ron and Marty approached the trunk, and Ron opened it slowly. The smell hit him before the sight, and Ron's entire face pinched. _Merlin, what the fuck is that smell?_ Ron's eyes then scanned the contents before looking to Marty for an explanation. Marty however, was just staring at the harvested organs.

"Marty, care to tell me more about what I'm seeing?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded as he looked to Ron.

"Chivvy, the House-Elf that harvested most of the organs, told Marty that the organs had to be bathed in a preserving solution" Marty started, and Ron nodded along. "That's where the horrid smell comes from, Master. The Basilisk's venom was keeping its organs preserved, but once Marty and his friends removed them, they had to be preserved another way."

"And what organs am I seeing?" Ron looked at the contents of the trunk. _These are rather large, but then again, it was a big fucking snake._

"That's the heart" Marty pointed to three-chambered heart, and then he began pointing out the other organs. "That's the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, the right lung, and…" Marty pointed a shaky finger at a fleshy sac "that's the sac that stores the venom." Ron swallowed thick at the bulging sac, it was clearly full of the most dangerous venom known to wizarding kind. _I can't keep these inside the house, it's too dangerous._

"Any fangs?" Ron asked, tearing his eyes away from the smelly organs.

"Marty and his friends found two" Marty nodded before opening a small compartment within the trunk, revealing two chipped fangs. "They are damaged, but Marty collected them anyway."

"You did the right thing, Marty" Ron smiled at his Elf, who beamed in return. "This is really amazing, well done. But… I can't keep this trunk inside the house… Is it possible that you can keep it hidden away for the time being?"

"Of course" Marty nodded fervently as he snapped his finger, closing and locking the trunk. "Marty will store it where Marty has stored the shed skin, within the Chamber. The skin was too large to be stored within the trunk." _Around thirty feet, if I remember correctly. I'll keep the skin and have Marty line some of my robes with it, which will be really handy if I'm ever in a battle. As for the organs… I can't sell them tomorrow, or on Friday. I have work on Saturday, and training on Sunday. Bloody hell, I'll have to wait until Monday before I can meet up with Gornuk._

"Thank you Marty, well done again" Ron smiled widely at the Elf, who bowed deeply. "I've got a big day tomorrow, so I'm going to get some sleep. Can you do something about this smell?"

"Certainly, Master" Marty nodded firmly.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

It had been odd to go for his morning run around the Burrow without Charlie, but Ron had quickly found another thing to occupy his mind. The property needed a warded fence, and Ron kept his eyes peeled for where it would go. The Burrow had a vast amount of land around it, and putting up a warded fence around **all of it** would just be a waste of resources. So Ron had decided to replace the makeshift fence that they already had with a warded one, but that also meant that he'd have to get rid of quite a few hedges.

Ron decided that it was worth it easily enough, mostly because those filthy Gnomes tended to hide in the hedges to avoid detection. He'd get rid of all of those parasites, and maybe even build a small greenhouse around his mother's vegetables. He knew that his mother loved growing her own produce, but she hated working out in the Sun or rain, and a greenhouse would fix that. The idea of renovating his childhood home made him feel rather excited, especially when he thought about how much he could help improve his family's life.

"Drink your potion love, you've got a long day ahead of you" Molly said as she handed him a glass that had the Nutrition Potion in it. Ron's siblings were probably still asleep, and his mother had woken up early just to make sure that he ate properly after his run. _And to make sure that I drink this shite._ Ron drank the Potion down quickly, his face twisting as he fought the urge to gag.

"Thanks, mum" Ron managed a weak smile, his voice strained. Molly rubbed his back with a doting smile before she headed back to the sink to wash the glass.

"When are you leaving?" Molly asked.

"Right after this" Ron replied, he had already showered and dressed in Muggle clothes for his day out in Muggle London.

"Do Muggle children wear clothes like yours?" Molly asked, eyeing her son's casual grey suit.

"I… have no idea" Ron admitted, earning a chuckle from Molly.

"Well, you make sure that you learn lots today" Molly turned back to her cooking.

"I will, mum" Ron promised. _I want to know how their currency works most of all. I'd rather not make Hermione pay for me._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Early Morning)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, and he immediately spotted Harry and Neville. Both boys were lounging about, reading their own magazines. Neville was reading something on plants, while Harry was carefully eyeing a copy of Seeker Weekly. When they heard Ron step into Grimmauld Place, they both looked up at the same time and smiled in a welcoming manner.

"Good morning" Ron greeted them.

"Good morning" they greeted back, eyeing Ron's clothes. Neville seemed to approve of Ron's clothes, especially because he too was wearing an expensive looking suit. _Burgundy? It looks good on him. Maybe I should look into getting a burgundy suit as well._

"You're wearing a suit as well" Harry sighed, while Neville chuckled. Ron blinked at Harry, who was wearing jeans and a black jumper.

"These are Muggle clothes" Ron said slowly. "The man who fitted me told me so himself…"

"Apparently normal Muggle children don't walk around in suits" Neville replied, an easy smile on his face.

"They don't?" Ron asked.

"No, they don't" Harry sighed again, and then he shook his head clear. "Why are wizards so clueless about the Muggle World?"

"Weren't you clueless about the Wizarding World when you first went to Hogwarts?" Ron smirked, while Harry blinked at him.

"He got you there, mate" Neville sniggered, and then he got up and shook Ron's hand. "It's good to see you again, I'm glad that you accepted Harry's invitation."

"It's good to see you too, Neville" Ron admitted. Ron had a new found respect for Neville after his amazing apology within the library, and it had definitely increased when Ron's friends had told him that Neville had tried to stand up for them when Harry was trying to start the 'blame game' after Ron's seizure. "So is Hermione meeting us here?"

"No, we're going to The Leaky Cauldron and meeting up with her there" Neville replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _Why can't she just floo here? Maybe she doesn't have her house's fireplace registered with the Floo Network?_

"And it's just us four?" Ron asked.

"Yeah" Harry replied, getting up from his chair. "Hermione had to beg her parents to not babysit us, but they only agreed after she promised that we'd stay near The Leaky Cauldron."

"It should still be great" Neville said excitedly. "I haven't seen much of Muggle London, so I'm pretty excited to see how the Muggles live." _If it's anything like Paris, then it's going to be a great day. Plus, seeing Hermione is always good. I wonder what she's been up to._

"Ah good, you're here" came Remus' voice from the doorway, and Ron turned to see Remus step into the room. He looked exhausted, and utterly pale, something that worried Ron. _Is he alright? The full-moon was over a week ago. He still can't be recovering from that, can he?_

"Remus, you shouldn't be walking around" Harry frowned at his guardian, who just chuckled at Harry's concern.

"I am quite fine, I assure you" Remus gave a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Sirius says that breakfast is ready." The children all nodded and began making their way out, but Remus stopped Ron. "I need to talk to Ron about something, you two go on." Neville and Harry exchanged looks before leaving, while Ron studied Remus' sickly features.

"Are you sure you're alright, Remus?" Ron asked, the older wizard looked shabbier than ever.

"If one more person asks me that question, then I swear to Merlin, I'll start screaming" Remus chuckled, but then he adorned a more serious look. "How are you? I heard about your fight with your brother, and that you two made up as well."

"Yeah, the fight…" Ron sighed. "We made up, and I'm trying to forget that it even happened. It was mostly because of a lack of communication…"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Remus asked with a kind smile.

"No, I really don't" Ron shrugged. "But I will… If you tell me what happened to you."

"A story for a story?" Remus asked, his smile was now more amused than kind.

"That sounds fair to me."

"Well, you can go first" Remus suggested, making Ron snort.

"Trying to cheat me?" Ron asked, earning a chuckle from Remus.

"Clearly we aren't getting anywhere, and you seem to be doing well" Remus put his arm around Ron's shoulders, and then he began guiding Ron out of the room. "So how about we just leave it at that?"

"That also sounds fair to me" Ron nodded, deciding to respect Remus' privacy. "Did Sirius really cook breakfast?"

"He burnt the bacon" Remus sighed. "I cooked the breakfast… But don't tell Harry, Sirius feels the need to show off in front of him."

"My lips are sealed" Ron sniggered, but he stopped quickly as they entered the Dining Room.

"Pup, you're here" Sirius grinned, a frying pan with scrambled eggs in his right hand. "Take a seat, I made breakfast." _The lies! Don't laugh at him, or his scheme will fall apart._

"Thanks Sirius, it smells great" Ron said as he sat down beside Neville, while Sirius mentally patted his own back for his ingenious ruse. Remus took his seat quietly as he fought the urge to roll his eyes at Sirius. "Can I just have a little? Mum already fed me this morning."

"Your loss, I make great eggs" Sirius smirked, while Ron just smiled at him. "Isn't that right, Harry?"

"He does make great eggs" Harry admitted, he was just glad that he wasn't the one being forced to make breakfast anymore. _Be careful Harry, those eggs are laced with lies._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Morning)**_

"There she is" Harry said as he spotted Hermione enter The Leaky Cauldron, her parents following after her. Ron, and the Gryffindor boys, were shocked to see Hermione in a light blue dress, but what was even more surprising was the fact that she had her hair done up. _She looks nice, but isn't it a bit too cold to be wearing a dress with no sleeves?_

"She's wearing a dress…" Neville blinked at Hermione, he had never seen her like this before.

"Great, now I'm the only one wearing casuals" Harry sighed, fixing his glasses. Hermione spotted them, and she broke into a wide smile before waving to them. The boys approached Hermione and her parents, all of them wearing their best smiles.

"It's so good to see you guys" Hermione beamed at her friends, and then she turned to her parents. "We'll be alright from here" Hermione told them, and both of her parents blinked at her. _She's keen to lose them, isn't she?_

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. and Mrs. Granger" Neville quickly said, making sure to remember his manners.

"You too, Neville" Mr. Granger said, shaking Neville's hand with a smile. Mr. Granger then shook hands with Harry and Ron as well, while Hermione waited impatiently for her parents to leave. "Be back here by five, tulip" Mr. Granger smiled at his daughter, who went slightly red in the face. _Tulip?_

"Love, let's be on our way" Mrs. Granger suggested, an amused smile on her face as she watched Hermione squirm.

"Of course" Mr. Granger smiled widely, he was just glad to see his daughter being so excited about something that wasn't related to books. Mr. and Mrs. Granger left at that, but instead of leaving for Muggle London, they left for Diagon Alley.

"You look nice, Hermione" Harry complimented her, and she turned a slight shade redder. "I haven't seen you in a dress before, but it suits you."

"Thanks" Hermione managed an embarrassed smile.

"Why did your parents leave for Diagon Alley instead of Muggle London?" Ron asked, curious about what Muggles would even do in Diagon Alley.

"Oh, they're trying to learn more about the Wizarding World for my sake" Hermione replied.

"That's nice of them" Neville stated with a smile.

"It is" Ron agreed, looking to Hermione with a smile. She smiled back, though it looked a bit awkward. She didn't enjoy wearing dresses, but she had figured that today could be an exception… She was wrong. It was a bit too cold, and it looked like it might rain later.

"So what are we doing first?" Harry asked. "Have you had breakfast, Hermione?"

"I have" Hermione nodded.

"Same" all three boys said together.

"We should go to Gringotts first" Neville suggested, and Ron's ears perked up. _Gringotts? I could let Gornuk know that I have some Basilisk items for sale._

"Why Gringotts?" Harry asked.

"To exchange currencies" Neville replied.

"Oh, there's no need for that" Hermione quickly piped in, shaking her purse gently. "My parents gave me a lot of money for us, so we'll be fine. They know that Wizards don't know how to use Muggle money."

"We can't just let you pay for everything" Ron started, but Hermione took on a defiant stance.

"Why not?" Hermione asked in a haughty tone, making Ron look to Harry and Neville for help.

"What he means…" Harry started, but Hermione cut him off too.

"I have the money, so there's no point in arguing about it" Hermione told them. "And if you still feel the need to repay me, then you can just give me Wizarding money after today and I will have it exchanged for Muggle money later." _Damnit, I wanted to see Gornuk. Oh well, I'll just have to wait until Monday._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"This is one of my favorite places on Earth!" Hermione beamed as she showed them 'Foyles Bookstore'. "You can find every kind of book in here! Action, adventure, thriller, fantasy… It's wonderful!" The boys exchanged quick smirks, deciding to let Hermione have her moment. "Let's go inside and have a look, maybe we can find something interesting!" Hermione led the way at that, her eyes glistening with excitement.

"I feel so underdressed" Harry frowned to himself, and then he shot his friends quick looks. "Who wears a suit to a bookstore?"

"These are Muggle clothes" Neville defended himself.

"The man who sold me these said so himself" Ron added on before giving Neville a firm nod, which Neville returned.

"And Hermione is wearing a dress, and she hasn't said a word about our clothes" Neville piled on.

"Why **is** she wearing a dress?" Ron whispered, hoping that Hermione didn't hear him. _She definitely didn't, she's lost in her own world right now._ "It's kind of cold today, and it might rain by the look of it."

"You're right" Neville whispered as well, shooting a quick look to a giddy Hermione.

"Keep up you guys, I want to show you how big this place is" Hermione said as she shot a quick look back. "What types of books do you three read?"

"Do they have books on Herbology?" Neville asked.

"They have books on Botany, which is kind of similar to Herbology" Hermione smiled sheepishly, but Neville didn't even know what 'Botany' meant. "Ron, what do you like to read?" _Tomes containing powerful Spells._

"I'd like to have a look at the romance section" Ron replied, taking everyone by surprise. _Maybe I can get Lord Greengrass a book that he hasn't read yet._

"Romance section?" Harry blinked at Ron, while Neville tried to hide his ever growing grin.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Harry, Ron can read romance novels if he wants to" Hermione shook her head, though she was rather surprised that Ron would read that nonsense.

"It's not for me…" Ron started, finally catching on.

"Sure it isn't, mate" Harry smiled, making Ron blink at him.

"It isn't" Ron said more firmly.

"Ron, there's nothing wrong with reading romance novels" Hermione gave him a genuine smile, she personally hated that tripe. In her opinion, romance novels tended to miss one important thing in them, characters who used their brains. _What the fuck? It's not for me!_

"I want to buy one as a gift for… a friend…" Ron finished lamely, he didn't want to out Lord Greengrass' secret love for Muggle romance novels.

"Which friend?" Harry smirked, clearly not believing Ron.

"Pansy…" Ron lied. "Yeah, she loves romance…" _Why did I even mention getting a romance novel? I'm a moron._

"Yeah, that was believable" Harry sniggered, followed by Neville sniggering too. _Great, now they think that I'm some ponce who reads love stories._ Ron looked to Hermione, who was just smiling at him in an understanding way. _I should've stayed home._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (A Muggle Café – Afternoon)**_

"Merlin, how many sandwiches can a person eat?" Neville asked, his eyes fixed on Ron who was eating his fifth sandwich.

"What? I'm hungry" Ron turned slightly red, his other friends had simply gotten used to his appetite. Hermione just giggled at Ron, while Harry shot her a confused look. Harry had noticed that Hermione had been giggling constantly today, which was really out of character for her.

"I'm not judging" Neville chuckled. "Just amazed, that's all."

"Well, be amazed because I have my eyes on your sandwich too" Ron eyed Neville's bacon sandwich.

"I'd better tell Gran to stock up our pantry" Neville laughed. "Which reminds me, are you free next week? She wants to have you over on Wednesday." _Next Wednesday? Yeah, I'm free._

"I'm free on next Wednesday" Ron nodded.

"Great, I'll let her know that you're coming" Neville smiled. _Dinner at Longbottom Manor… I still can't believe that Neville's parents were driven insane from torture. And that it was Bellatrix Lestrange who did it. She sounds like the scariest witch to have ever walked the Earth, and judging from what I've seen of her, she might genuinely be._

"What about us?" Harry asked, half-serious and half-joking.

"Um… She just wants to see Ron" Neville's smile turned sheepish. "It's mostly for ceremony…" _Ceremony?_

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, trying not to shiver. The weather had gotten worse as the day had progressed, and she was really regretting wearing a dress.

"Well…" Neville started, not keen on explaining Pure-Blood traditions to his friends. "Gran gave Ron our Family's eternal friendship, and I… I broke that… So she wants to have him over in order to apologize, and to better the friendship between Ron and me."

"And I will accept her apology" Ron assured Neville, who smiled gratefully. _We all fucked up, especially me. Attacking Harry like that is going to haunt me for the rest of my life._ "By the way, what kind of gift would be appropriate for your Gran?"

"Oh, she enjoys a good Sherry" Neville replied, and Ron stored that information in his brain. _A good Sherry, got it. I'll ask Lord Greengrass to order me one because I'm too young to buy alcohol myself, and then I'll pay him back._

"Friends fight sometimes, but is a 'ceremonial apology' really necessary?" Hermione asked, she was still blown away by how medieval the Pure-Blood Families were.

"It is when one Family gives their eternal friendship, and then a person from that same Family breaks it" Neville sighed, he didn't want to argue about traditions again. Not only did Harry and Hermione not understand Pure-Blood traditions, they actively didn't try to.

"And it'll get us your Gran's blessing, which is a plus" Ron nodded. _And it'll get me another ally. She must already hate Death-Eaters and their master, and due to her wealth, she could be a great asset in the upcoming war._

"Right…" Harry nodded slowly, exchanging a quick look with Hermione. "Well, I hope it all works out."

"It will" Neville nodded at Ron, who nodded back. _I'll make damn sure that it does._

"Now that we're all together, I can finally tell you guys something that I've been sitting on for a week or so" Harry said as he leaned forward, his emerald eyes blazing with intrigue.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, she knew that look all too well. Harry had been poking around, and something had caught his interest.

"You know how Dumbledore snuck off to Albania?" Harry started, and Ron tensed slightly. _Fuck, is he still looking into that? I thought Snape was going to get Sirius and Remus to put a stop to that._

"He didn't sneak off, Harry" Neville sighed.

"What else would you call it?" Harry asked with a slight frown.

"Wizengamot business" Neville suggested, but Harry just rolled his eyes.

"There is no Wizengamot business, I'm sure of it" Harry looked to Ron and Hermione. _Merlin, Harry's one inquisitive bastard._ "I went to Remus and Sirius about it, and they got really secretive… Told me not to go spreading such things around, and that Dumbledore was in Albania for actual Wizengamot business. So I started looking at all the Daily Prophets that Sirius leaves lying around, and not once was Albania mentioned. Hell, there hasn't even been a mention of Dumbledore leaving the country…"

"Why would he go to Albania of all places though?" Hermione asked, suddenly forgetting that she was cold.

"Exactly" Harry smiled, his eyes burning with questions. "Every time I try and talk to Remus or Sirius about it, they both clam up. I think something big is going down, and whatever it is, it's happening in Albania."

"Something big?" Ron asked, trying to sound ignorant. _I need to tell Snape that his plan to stop Harry failed, and that Harry is getting closer to the truth._

"I think that it's got something to do with Voldemort" Harry whispered, and both Ron and Neville flinched. _He said the fucking name! WHY?! And for fuck's sake, he's onto it already!_ Harry ignored his friends flinching at Voldemort's name, though it vexed him.

"Voldemort? What makes you think that?" Hermione whispered back, while Ron and Neville shifted in their seats.

"Stop saying that name" Ron said, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. "It's taboo…" Every Wizarding child was taught to never say the Dark Lord's name, the war was something that was best left forgotten.

"I'm with Ron on this" Neville muttered, his parents' fate flashing in his mind. "Please stop saying it so openly…"

"It's just a name, Neville" Harry fought the urge to frown.

"That name carries memories of the war, which is why it's taboo" Ron frowned at Harry. "Just call him the Dark Lord, or something…"

"Fine…" Harry rolled his eyes, he hated that Voldemort held so much influence even after his defeat. "Anyway, I think that Volde… the Dark Lord… is hiding in Albania. That's why Dumbledore's there, he wants to defeat **him**." _Well, Harry Potter figured it all out in his spare time. Bloody hell, he's as sharp as they come._

"If anyone can defeat You-Know-Who, it's Dumbledore" Hermione said firmly, clearly believing her words wholeheartedly. _My Cycles indicate a very different outcome._

"Why would You-Know-Who go to Albania after…" Neville trailed off, looking at Ron with a worried look.

"After he nearly killed me?" Ron finished for Neville, and all three Gryffindors looked rather uncomfortable. "Well, he can't use the Philosopher's Stone because it's been destroyed… Which means that he's probably trying to figure out another way to come back. If he is in Albania, which is a **big** if, he's probably just plotting his return." _That should suffice. I answered the question, and I didn't reveal anything that they didn't already know._

"Let him return" Harry said, his voice slightly bitter. "We'll be ready for him when he does." _I fucking hope so, because if we're not, then we're all dead._

"Are you lot done with your food?" came the waitress's voice, and all four of them jumped slightly. _Merlin, that scared me._ "Sorry loves, didn't mean to frighten you. Are you done with your food?" Ron looked down at his fifth sandwich, but he didn't feel hungry anymore. _The Dark Lord killed my appetite._

"We are" Hermione replied after looking to her friends for confirmation. The waitress began taking the plates, while the four of them kept silent.

"Do you want dessert? Coffee? Maybe some hot-chocolate?" the waitress asked, and they all shook their heads. "Alright then, just pay up the front when you're ready." With that, the waitress left for the kitchen.

"I'll go and pay, and then we can keep talking about this" Hermione said as she stood up to leave. _Can we please not talk about this?_

"I'll come with you" Ron offered, keen to see how Muggle currency worked.

"Oh… Okay…" Hermione replied, her voice slightly flat. Ron stood up, and they both walked over and stood in line. "Ron, you don't have to wait with me. But it's also fine if you want to, I don't mind…" _What? Getting mixed signals here._ Ron studied Hermione, and he noticed that her cheeks were getting red.

"I want to see how Muggle money works" Ron admitted, and Hermione looked to him with a slightly confused look.

"Oh…" Hermione muttered, but didn't go on. _Why is she being so awkward all of a sudden? Wait… Does she still have a crush on me? I hope not, that could complicate things between Daph and me._

"Can you show me?" Ron asked after a few seconds, and Hermione broke out of her stupor.

"Sorry, and of course I can" Hermione smiled, though it looked slightly forced. Hermione then reached into her purse and pulled out a bunch of notes, all of them with different pictures on them. _Is that parchment? Why not use gold? Gold literally symbolizes wealth._

"Why is it made of paper?" Ron asked.

"It's cheaper to produce than gold" Hermione explained, losing her slight awkwardness now that she was explaining something. "Muggles don't have any means to create gold, and they don't have Goblins digging up more gold constantly either. So they use paper, which is marked with these pictures and different colors. Mints, where Muggle money is made, use special techniques to avoid counterfeiting, and they sometimes even issue new notes to replace the old ones. It's really quite fascinating." _It sounds rather well organized, Muggles are quite amazing._ Ron remembered Paris, and just how mind-blowing some of the buildings were. _Quite amazing._

"So you hand over these notes, and that's that?"

"Well, sort of…" Hermione bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to explain this in simpler terms. "Just watch me pay, it's actually very similar to Wizarding money. There are pence, and then there are pounds. One hundred pence make up one pound, and that's all there is to it." Ron nodded slowly, so he only had to understand two different categories of money. _It seems easier than remembering that one Sickle is twenty-nine Knuts, and one Galleon is four-hundred and ninety-three Knuts. And that seventeen Sickles make one Galleon._

"So pounds are the more important form of Muggle money?" Ron asked, and Hermione nodded with a wide smile.

"See, you already understand it" Hermione replied, and Ron mentally patted his own back. _One hundred pence make one pound, and pounds are the more important form of payment. Remember that._

"It's much easier to grasp than our currency, isn't it?" Ron chuckled, and Hermione laughed.

"Wizarding currency is so overly complicated that my parents just leave it to me to figure it out" Hermione told him. "Remember when we met you and your family at Gringotts?" Ron nodded, that was right before second year started. "The Goblins confused my poor parents so much that they just gave up."

"I'm sure that my dad didn't help by pestering them about Muggle money" Ron grinned, and Hermione nodded as she giggled.

"That'll be £48.50, love" the old cashier said, and Hermione handed over one note with a fifty on it. Ron watched carefully as the woman handed Hermione three coins back, while Hermione thanked her. _So those three coins must make up one pound and fifty pence._ Hermione put the coins in her purse, and then they both left the line.

"Is £48.50 a lot of money?" Ron asked, and Hermione nodded slowly.

"Sort of, but we did buy a lot of food" Hermione replied, and Ron grinned sheepishly. _I ate five of the eight sandwiches that we bought._

"Sorry about that, I'll be sure to pay you back before you head home" Ron promised, but Hermione just waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't worry about it Ron, my parents gave me this money for all of us" Hermione stated as they approached Harry and Neville. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yeah" Harry replied as both Harry and Neville got up. "Let's go to a clothing store, I want to show Ron and Neville how Muggles normally dress." _I'd prefer that over discussing the Dark Lord._ "And we can bounce theories about why Voldemort is in Albania." _Cocksucker!_

They all made their way out, and the moment they did, a particularly cold wind blew past them. _Bloody hell, that was nasty._ Ron noticed Hermione rubbing her arms from the corner of his vision, and he turned to see her shivering slightly. _Why did she wear a dress out today?_ Ron suddenly remembered offering Daphne his jacket back in Paris, and he figured that Hermione needed it more than he did. _And I'm wearing a full sleeve shirt, so I don't have to worry about my scars._ Ron took of his grey jacket, and he held it in front of Hermione.

"Here, Hermione" Ron smiled, and Hermione blinked at the jacket. "You're cold right, you should wear this. It'll keep you warm."

"What about you?" Hermione asked softly.

"I live in a dungeon for a majority of the year" Ron sniggered. "I can handle the cold." Hermione slowly took the jacket, and then she put it on. She smiled instantly, it was really warm and it smelled amazing.

"Thank you, Ron" Hermione blushed, pulling the jacket closer to herself.

"It's no worries" Ron said honestly. "So… Muggle clothing shop?"

"Yeah, there's one that's close-by" Hermione mumbled, and then she took off for it with a quickened pace. _Alright then…_

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Afternoon)**_

Five different shops, he had inquired about work at five different shops today. All of them needed an extra pair of hands, but they had all thrown him out because of his condition. But Remus wasn't deterred yet. He had been dancing this dance for years, a stable job was any Werewolf's dream. In this regard, Remus preferred the Muggle World and his small cottage in it. The Muggles didn't care about his scars, if he could do the heavy lifting, then he could work in construction.

But the Magical World loathed his kind, and that loathing had only increased as of late. Two months ago, a woman named Dolores Umbridge had passed an Anti-Werewolf Legislation that made it impossible for Werewolves to get work. Remus could almost respect the ingenuity behind it, if it didn't disgust him so much. If any business owner hired a Werewolf, they were bound by law to pay for the Werewolf's Wolfsbane Potion. Since the Potion was so expensive, it's ingredients being so rare, every business owner threw the Werewolves in their employ out into the streets.

Most of Remus' fellow Werewolves left for the Muggle World in order to find jobs, while others joined packs and moved into the wilderness. Remus himself detested the notion of packs, mostly because of how primal the Werewolves within these packs became. Their inner beasts killed the human half of them, and so they became no better than the monsters that Wizarding children feared. Remus, and a handful of other Werewolves who still wanted to be part of the Wizarding World, had very limited options in everything.

"Excuse me" Remus said as he opened the door to the Apothecary, the bell attached to the door signaling his arrival. A short, old man popped up from behind a shelf, his old face pinching at the sight of Remus. _He already knows that I'm not a customer._

"How can I help you, young man?" the old man asked as he walked over behind the counter, a noticeable limp in his step.

"I couldn't help but see the 'Help Wanted' sign outside of your shop, good Sir" Remus started, and the old man looked Remus up and down.

"I'm rather old, and I can't keep working the front desk and making the Potions all by myself" the old man nodded, a smile appearing on his face. Remus felt a jolt of hope in his chest, but he quickly smothered it. Hope was for people who didn't turn into mindless monsters once a month. "Do you have any experience with Potions, son?"

"I do" Remus replied truthfully.

"Good, you look like an able bodied young man" the old man eyed him again. "Name's Gunther, you?"

"Remus Lupin" Remus replied, shaking Gunther's hand over the counter.

"Well, I'm willing to give a week's worth of trial period" Gunther smiled genuinely. "Just to see if you're any good. But don't worry, it's nothing too complicated. All you have to do is attend the front desk, pile some ingredients onto the shelves, and sometimes help me in the lab. You reckon you could handle that?"

"Yes, I can" Remus smiled, though he was still very guarded.

"Great" Gunther said as he pulled out a piece of parchment and placed it on the counter. "I just need you to fill out some details, and then we can start." Gunther then handed Remus a quill, and Remus began working on the details. He filled his address as Twelve Grimmauld place, wrote down his date of birth, wrote down which Wizarding school he attended, wrote down the details of his Gringotts vault, but he stopped dead in his tracks at the 'Magical Maladies' section. _Merlin… Not again…_

What was he supposed to do now? Lie? Tell the truth? Remus shot a quick look up, and he noticed Gunther writing down something in his ledger. The old man had been polite enough not to point out Remus' scars, and he had done nothing to offend Remus. _I can't lie to him, he could lose his license if the truth ever comes out._ Remus reluctantly wrote down that he was a Werewolf, his stomach tightening horribly.

"I'm finished" Remus managed a weak smile, and Gunther took the parchment and read through it. Remus' entire body tensed as he watched the old man read the parchment, and when Gunther blinked at the paper, Remus' heart fell.

"A Werewolf?" Gunther looked to Remus, a hint of fear behind the old man's eyes. _Not again…_ "Your scars… Merlin…" Gunther's expression hardened suddenly, his lips pursing in disgust. "Get out. I don't want your kind in my shop."

"I have my own supply of Wolfsbane…" Remus tried, but Gunther scoffed at him.

"I don't care about the Potion, Half-Breed" Gunther spat out. "Get out of my shop, or I'll report you." Remus swallowed thickly, a pang of pain coursing through his chest. And then, he turned around and left the shop without another word. There was no point in arguing, none at all. If the old man called the authorities, Remus would be beaten into a bloody pulp and thrown into custody. He had been dancing this dance for a long time.

The moment Remus stepped out of the shop, a cold breeze blew past him. His light brown hair blew in the wind, and Remus felt his determination slip away. _Six shops, and I was thrown out of all of them. I'll… try again tomorrow._ Remus took out his dented pocket-watch, and he realized that he was late for his meetup with Sirius and the other adults. Remus quickly pocketed his watch before apparating to The Leaky Cauldron's entrance. Remus quickly made his way inside, and went upstairs where they all usually met up.

"Remus!" Sirius called, waving him over. Much to Remus' surprise, only Sirius was here right now. _Isn't he meant to be with Sebastian?_

"Where's Sebastian?" Remus asked as he sat down, his voice coming out a little weak. _Maybe I should start looking for work in Muggle London? Or go back to my cottage?_ He didn't like thinking about his cottage, he detested the notion of being away from Harry. It had taken a lot of convincing from Sirius, but Remus was truly grateful for it. Just being near Harry made all of his struggles worth it.

"He went back home to collect his wife, but he should be here soon" Sirius replied.

"How was the meeting?" Remus asked, today was Sirius' first official Board of Governors meeting.

"Garbage" Sirius muttered, shaking his head. "Bunch of posh twats sitting around a table doing nothing… Seb tried talking about increasing the budget for the staff, and everyone clammed up immediately at the prospect of losing money. So I offered to pay the extra two thousand Galleons, Merlin knows that it's just sitting in my vault collecting dust, but that didn't go over too well either. Apparently, that's not how 'things are done'…"

"I'm sorry to hear that" Remus said, relaxing into his chair.

"What's the matter?" Sirius asked suddenly, eyeing Remus suspiciously.

"Nothing" Remus lied.

"What's that saying that Lily always said when someone was lying to her?" Sirius asked.

"Bullshit" Remus replied, thinking about the kindest woman that he had ever met. When he had heard about James and Lily's deaths, and about how Sirius had betrayed them and killed Peter as well, a part of Remus had simply died. And it never came back to life, not even when he got Sirius back.

"Yeah, that" Sirius clicked his fingers. "I'm calling bullshit on your 'Nothing's wrong'. You've been moping about for days, and even Harry is beginning to notice it. Is this still about that stupid Legislation?"

"I went to six shops today… They all threw me out…" Remus averted his gaze, looking down at the table through tired eyes.

"Remus, brother, why are you putting yourself through this?" Sirius asked, his voice far softer now. "You can just…"

"I can just stay at Grimmauld Place?" Remus looked up, and Sirius nodded. "I want to work Sirius, I just can't sit around all day doing nothing."

"You're not doing nothing, you're helping me raise Harry" Sirius provided.

"Harry doesn't need constant babysitting, he's far more responsible than you give him credit for" Remus responded, looking back down at the table. "I… I just want to work, to be more than just a caretaker… I want to able to leave something behind for Harry when I'm…"

"Fucking hell" Sirius muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're not dying anytime soon, Moony… And neither am I." Sirius then looked at something behind Remus, but Remus already knew that Sebastian and his wife were here. He could smell their extravagant fragrances from the moment they had entered The Leaky Cauldron. Remus' condition was kept secret from the two Greengrasses, mostly because none of them really trusted the Greengrass Family. _Too much bad blood from the war._

"Where's Arthur?" Sebastian asked as he took a seat with his wife by his side.

"Running late" Sirius shrugged, his eyes still on Remus.

"Are we interrupting something?" Mary asked, looking between Sirius and Remus.

"No Mary, it's nothing" Remus assured her, but he knew that she didn't believe him. _I think she knows of my condition because of my scars, but why she hasn't said anything about it is beyond me. Her husband's hatred for 'Half-Breeds' is well known._

"While we wait for Arthur, maybe we should grab a pint" Sirius suggested.

"Alright" Sebastian nodded, earning confused looks from everyone. "What? The taste of stale beer has grown on me." _Ha, being near Sirius has that effect._

"Seb, when you say things like that, I can't help but fall more in love with you" Sirius sniggered as he stood up, while Sebastian looked like he was having a splitting headache.

"Careful Sirius, I have my wand on me" Mary smiled at Sirius, who just chuckled heartily.

"Don't worry my Lady, your husband is safe… for now" Sirius grinned, earning a look of disgust from Sebastian. "Remus, come and help me get the beers." Remus nodded, trying not to laugh at Sirius' antics. Both men made their way downstairs and got into line, with Sirius still grinning to himself.

"You really love pushing his buttons, don't you?" Remus asked, and Sirius simply shrugged.

"I think that Seb wants people to see him like he's some sort of immovable object, which just makes me want to draw out a reaction from him" Sirius admitted.

"You haven't changed a bit since Hogwarts" Remus stated, not sure whether that was a good thing or not.

"We've all changed plenty" Sirius looked to Remus with an understanding look, taking Remus by surprise. "I'm just not fucking glum all the time."

"Fuck you" Remus smirked.

"Fuck you too" Sirius chuckled. "How about we both go into Muggle London tomorrow? And we can try and find something for you."

"Really?" Remus blinked, and Sirius gave him a kind smile and patted his back.

"Moony, if you want a job, then I'm going to help you in any way that I can" Sirius promised, and Remus couldn't help but feel his spirit lighten.

"Thank you, Padfoot" Remus smiled gratefully. "What about Harry?"

"Molly loves having him over, and it'll be good for him to be out of the house more often" Sirius replied. "Plus little Ginny has a crush on Harry, of that I'm certain."

"And there goes the maturity that I just saw" Remus chuckled, while Sirius gave him a wide grin. They ordered five pints, Sirius paid Tom the bartender, and then they made their way back up. Remus spotted Arthur coming into The Leaky Cauldron from the steps, the red haired man looked disheveled and out of breath.

"Here you are" Sirius said as he put the pints on the table, while Remus waited for Arthur to catch up.

"Sorry for being so late, I'm drowning in paperwork" Arthur panted.

"That's fine, we all just got here anyway" Remus reassured the winded man. "Are Molly and Pandora coming?"

"No, Pandora was having some trouble this morning and Molly locked the entire house down" Arthur replied.

"Trouble?"

"Pregnancy stuff" Arthur shrugged. "Nothing to worry about, I'm sure." _I hope so._ They both made their way to the rest of the group, and Remus could see that Sirius was once again trying to get under Sebastian's skin. _He's going to end up in St. Mungo's if he's not careful, Moony is rather wary of Sebastian… which can't be a good sign._

"Finally" Sebastian said as he saw Remus and Arthur approaching. "Can we please start already so I don't have to see this degenerate's face anymore?"

"Ouch" Sirius sniggered, while Mary put a calming hand on Sebastian's arm.

"Sirius, behave" Remus frowned.

"We should start, I'm in a bit of a rush" Arthur said, his eyes fixed on his pint. "I can't drink, I have to get back to work."

"It's just one pint, Red" Sirius smiled. "No one will know… I can see that you want it…" Arthur blinked at Sirius, and then looked back to the cold pint.

"Just one…" Arthur said as he took the glass, while Sirius smiled wickedly. _The amount of trouble that smile used to get us into… Arthur never stood a chance._

"How's he been since he came home?" Mary asked, eager to learn about Ron's behavior back home.

"He's been doing well" Arthur replied after he took a long sip. "He and Charlie made up again, and I had a long chat with Charlie before he left. He was just having trouble grasping the changes in Ron, but I think that he has made his peace with it now."

"That's good" Mary smiled, taking a very small sip of her pint. She grimaced slightly, much to Sirius and Remus' amusement. _I don't think that she's ever had cheap beer before we started meeting here._

"One more thing" Arthur started, looking right at Mary. "When he left your house, did he tell you that he was going to have his Potion back home?"

"He did" Mary nodded slowly.

"He lied" Arthur frowned slightly, annoyed with Ron's lying habit. "He came home, and he never uttered a word about it. He then proceeded to pass out in the middle of dinner…" _Wow… For a smart kid, he sure does some stupid things._

"That boy…" Mary frowned, while Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is he still going through with his Dueling training?" Remus asked, looking to Sebastian.

"He is" Sebastian replied.

"Is that wise?" Sirius asked. "Letting him push himself like this?"

"I think it is" Sebastian replied, his features expressionless. "Ron is very excited about it, and I think that this will be good for him." _For him, or for you?_ "Oh, and Arthur… He's been training by himself at Hogwarts, Mary overheard his friends talking about it."

"Training? By himself?" Arthur blinked, while Remus and Sirius leaned forward in their seats.

"I don't know the specifics, but apparently he spends a majority of his free time honing his Spell-work" Sebastian replied.

"And it shows" Mary finished for her husband. "He nearly bested an Auror during his sparring trial."

"Nearly bested an Auror?" Arthur went wide-eyed, while Remus and Sirius exchanged shocked looks. _Merlin, that kid… Every time I learn something about him, I have to fight the urge to gape like an idiot._

"She was taking it easy on him, but that turned out to be a massive mistake on her part" Sebastian replied, looking straight at Arthur. "He left everyone speechless, except for the Auror, who jumped at the chance to train him."

"Bloody hell" Sirius shook his head in disbelief.

"Did he… Did he use any Dark Spells?" Arthur asked in barely a whisper, and all eyes went to Sebastian.

"He used one" Sebastian replied, clearly conflicted between his loyalty to Ron and his concern for Ron's wellbeing.

"I see" Arthur looked down at the table, his left hand massaging his forehead. Remus put a comforting hand on Arthur's back, but the man didn't even notice it.

"The Auror said that it was fine" Mary tried, hoping to reassure Arthur. "It was not an illegal Spell, and she said that he could even use it in any tournaments without facing any problems." _At least that's a positive, but still… Ron is clearly attracted to the Dark Arts._

"Just keep your eye on him while he trains, please" Arthur requested.

"We will" Mary promised, while Sebastian nodded curtly.

"Does his tutor know about his brain-damage?" Sirius asked, taking a long gulp of his beer.

"No, I still haven't brought it up" Sebastian replied. "I'll ask Ron if it's alright, and convince him if he says no." _That's good, he doesn't like letting people in._

"Alright then" Remus nodded. "Do we have anything else to discuss?"

"Where are Pandora and Molly?" Mary asked Arthur. "And is Xenophilius still on his trip?"

"He is, and Pandora and Molly are back at the Burrow" Arthur replied.

"All is well?" Sebastian asked, and Arthur nodded.

"Pandora is just feeling a bit under the weather, that's all" Arthur replied, and then he drank down his entire pint in one go. _Bloody hell._ "I need to get back to work" Arthur said as he stood up. "Thank you all for coming, and for keeping an eye on my boy." With that, Arthur turned around and left in a hurry.

"Well, now it's just us" Sirius sighed, and then he looked to Sebastian with a grin.

"Mary, let's go" Sebastian made to stand up, but Sirius sniggered and pulled him back down. "Don't touch me."

"C'mon Seb, give me a chance" Sirius laughed. "I'll grow on you."

"Yes, like fungus" Sebastian frowned deeply, and Remus just smiled widely and shook his head.

"Seb, play nice" Mary smiled at her husband, who simply gave her a deadpan look.

"I suppose we can stay for one more drink" Sebastian said, his voice lacking any sort of enthusiasm.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Evening)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, his jacket gripped in his right hand. Other than the terrible weather, the day had been a lot of fun. _Except for near the end when Hermione gave me that really awkward hug in front of her father. Merlin, if looks could kill… I need to tell her that I'm not interested in her like that, and I need to do it before things get anymore… weirder._

"Ah, it's so warm in here" Neville said as he came through the fireplace, followed by Harry.

"We should let Sirius and Remus know that we're back" Harry said, patting down the ash from his clothes.

"I reckon I'll head home from here, I've got plans tomorrow and I'm a bit knackered" Ron said, and Harry's face fell slightly.

"At least say goodbye to Sirius and Remus" Harry suggested, and Ron nodded. _That's fair._ They made their way out of the living room and into the kitchen, and they found Remus cooking dinner while Sirius sat on a countertop with a butter-beer in his right hand.

"You're back!" Sirius beamed, hopping off of the countertop. "How was your play date?"

"It wasn't a play date" Harry frowned.

"Nonsense Harry, utter nonsense" Sirius laughed.

"Stop bothering the children, Sirius" Remus shot his friend a glare. _I swear that those two are an old married couple._

"Listen to your wife, Sirius" Ron grinned, and Remus turned around with a frown.

"Ha, did you hear that?" Sirius laughed. "Stop bothering the children my arse, they're all nasty little blighters. Except for Neville of course, Neville's a sweet lad."

"Thanks…" Neville said slowly, unsure if it was a compliment.

"You didn't bring Hermione?" Remus asked Harry, who shook his head.

"Her parents had dinner plans with her, but we had a great time in London together" Harry replied. "I even showed these two how to dress properly."

"Ugh…" both Ron and Neville rolled their eyes.

"I'm dressed fine" Neville pointed out.

"The man said that these were Muggle clothes" Ron repeated for the hundredth time.

"They are" Sirius agreed, giving Harry a funny look.

"They are, but children don't walk around in expensive suits" Harry nearly burst a blood-vessel. "I lived with Muggles, I know how Muggle children dress."

"Well…" Ron muttered, shooting Harry's back a grin. _He's getting mad._ "I just came in here to say goodbye, mum will want me back for dinner."

"You sure you don't want to eat here?" Sirius asked, his eyes almost pleading.

"Hmmm…" Ron hummed, tapping his chin. "My mum's cooking, or whatever slop you two managed to put together… I wonder…" Harry and Neville sniggered, while Sirius stifled a laugh.

"No need to be a cun…" Sirius started, but Remus smacked him with a spatula. "Merlin! That's got hot oil on it, you tosser!" Sirius exclaimed, leaping away from Remus who went to smack him again. Ron, Harry, and Neville laughed hysterically, while Remus began issuing warnings to Sirius.

"Alright, I'm off" Ron said, giving Harry's back a firm pat.

"Take care, mate" Neville smiled at him. "Don't forget about next Wednesday." _Believe me, I won't._

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Early Morning)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, keen to get his day started. He had gone for his morning run, sent Helios to find Snape with a letter attached to his leg, had a big breakfast, panicked slightly because of Pandora's 'Morning sickness', drank down his disgusting Potion, and now here he was. _I'm pretty excited to see Daphne! I haven't seen her in… three days. Merlin, what's wrong with me? I've become so needy when it comes to her. Charlie was right, I'm smitten._ Ron made his way towards the Dining Room, but he stopped halfway when someone called out to him.

"Ron!" came Theo's voice, and Ron turned to see Theo running at him. Ron's eyes widened when he noticed that Theo's hair was blonde instead of brown.

"Theo? What happened to your head?" Ron asked, while Theo shot panicked looks around himself.

"It's Tori, mate… She's been coming for me constantly" Theo muttered quickly, and Ron's eyes widened even more.

"She did this?" Ron pointed to Theo's head.

"I locked my room last night, and she still snuck in somehow" Theo sighed deeply.

"What the hell did you do to piss her off?" Ron asked, looking Theo up and down. _Merlin, he looks so bloody weird with blonde hair._

"You remember that joke I made about 'leaving me with these people'?" Theo asked, and Ron nodded slowly. "Well, it was a big fucking mistake… Tori just spent a fortune on joke items, and since she can't use them on Daphne, she's been coming after me instead. You have to fucking help me, you twat."

"Merlin, calm down Theo" Ron hushed, he hadn't seen Theo so agitated and scared before.

"I can't calm down" Theo grit out. "Twenty eight fucking pranks, Ron… TWENTY EIGHT!" Ron flinched a bit, while Theo looked like he was ready to kill someone. "Take me with you, please! I'll sleep in the fucking attic if need be…"

"There's a Ghoul in there" Ron blinked, and Theo looked at Ron like he was insane.

"A fucking Ghoul? In your attic?" Theo blinked rapidly, and Ron grinned sheepishly. _Don't break into laughter! Control Ron, control!_

"Why haven't you gone to Daphne for help?" Ron asked, his voice cracking because of the strain he was putting on it by not laughing.

"Merlin, why didn't I think of that?" Theo hissed, annoyed with Ron for thinking that he was an idiot. "She doesn't care as long as it's not her who's getting targeted… Look at my damn tongue!" Theo opened his mouth, and Ron broke into hysterical laughter when he saw that Theo's tongue was rainbow-colored. "She laced my soup, Ron… My damn soup! I can't take it anymore, please help me!"

"I'll do… I'll do my best…" Ron wheezed, his eyes stinging and his cheeks hurting.

"Wait, why are you here today?" Theo asked suddenly, realizing that it was Friday and not Saturday. "You don't have work today."

"Can't I just come here to see you?" Ron asked, still having small fits of laughter. _That made my day._

"You want something" Theo stated, something flashing behind his eyes. "I'll give you whatever you want if you get Tori to stop harassing me."

"And what? End up on her list myself?" Ron asked, and Theo nodded. "What? No!"

"She respects you, Ron" Theo said, his voice coming out smooth as he put his arm around Ron. "She looks up to you. She'd never prank you, and you know that."

"Save the sales-pitch" Ron sniggered. "I'll help you, and you'll help me."

"Thank you, Merlin!" Theo praised the Heavens. "What do you need from me?"

"Blaise's mother… I'm seeing her tonight, and I want to get her a nice gift" Ron replied.

"Throw her a bag of gold, and you're in" Theo chuckled, while Ron rolled his eyes. "I'd get her a nice scarf myself, made from some exotic animal. And I'd make sure that it was over three hundred Galleons."

"What the fuck?" Ron frowned. "Does she want my kidneys too?"

"Probably, she's a man-eater" Theo grinned. "But in all seriousness, she can tell how expensive something is just by looking at it. I've never met someone so materialistic before, or since. Get her something amazing, and you'll be golden."

"Great…" Ron sighed, annoyed that he had to spend so much money just to kiss some woman's arse. "Want to tag along?"

"Yes, I would love that" Theo nodded, letting go of Ron.

"Alright, let's go find Daphne" Ron began to walk away, but Theo stopped him.

"Why her? Let's just go mate, it's better that way" Theo said, his voice slightly panicked. _Merlin, what has Tori done to him?_

"I want to see Daphne" Ron told Theo, who narrowed his eyes on Ron. _Oh shite, I need to be more careful._ "She's also my friend."

"Right…" Theo smirked. "She's your friend… Totally…"

"Are you done?" Ron asked.

"No."

"Well, you've already helped me so please… keep going. I'll just let Tori know that you've been talking behind her back" Ron smirked as well, while Theo's smirk fell.

"Why do you hate me when I show you nothing but love?" Theo asked, making Ron snort.

"Piss off" Ron laughed, pushing Theo away slightly. "C'mon, let's go get Daphne and be off." They made their way to the Dining Room, and they found the entire Greengrass Family having breakfast.

"Ron!" Tori beamed at him, hopping out of her chair and running straight at him. Ron braced himself, and he caught her when she jumped on him, hugging him tightly around the neck.

"How's my favorite little devil?" Ron laughed, giving her a squeeze.

"Oh, I'm doing splendidly" Tori said as she let him go, her eyes travelling to Theo. "Good morning Theodore, you look different this morning."

"I'm trying something new with my hair" Theo gave her a withering look.

"I preferred your brown hair, but that's just my personal taste" Tori smiled innocently. Ron shook his head, and he made his way towards the others. He took a seat next to Daphne, and she tapped his foot with hers. _I missed you too._

"Ron, what brings you here?" Lord Greengrass asked, a small smile on his face. And then he looked to Theo, and his smile fell. "Theodore… What happened to your hair?"

"Nothing, my Lord" Theo lied as he took a seat beside Tori. "Just trying something new…"

"Astoria…" Mary frowned at her youngest, who just smiled innocently.

"Yes, mother dearest?" Tori asked in a sweet voice.

"Tori, enough is enough" Lord Greengrass said, his voice rather firm. "You will not harass my guests. I gave his father my word that I'd keep him safe, and you're making me a liar." _How much contact does he have with Cornelius Nott?_

"Sorry…" Tori pouted miserably.

"It's just jokes, my Lord" Theo sighed, he didn't want little Tori to be upset. _Theo?! That's your escape! What are you doing?!_ "No harm done."

"Nevertheless, it ends now" Lord Greengrass ordered, looking back to Ron. "Now, what brings you here?"

"I need your daughter for the day" Ron smiled, earning a confused look from Daphne.

"Very well, she is your responsibility then" Lord Greengrass nodded, looking back to his Daily Prophet.

"Father!" Daphne exclaimed, utterly horrified by her father's disregard of her.

"Do you not wish to spend time with your friend?" Lord Greengrass asked, still reading his paper.

"Well… I…" Daphne stammered.

"Then it's settled" Lord Greengrass said. "Ron, if anything happens to her, you will answer to me."

"I understand, my Lord" Ron grinned at Daphne, who just blinked at him. "We're going to have so much fun today." Daphne shook her head clear, and then began finishing up her breakfast. She loved the idea of spending her day with Ron, she just wished that her father didn't hand her over like a toy.

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Morning)**_

"So what are we doing today?" Tori asked Ron, clearly excited about not having her parents watching over her.

"I need to get a gift for a Lady of Noble Birth" Ron explained, and Tori grinned.

"Ron, you don't have to get me anything" Tori sing-sang.

"Well that works out for me, because I wasn't planning to" Ron grinned back, while Tori frowned.

"Is this gift for Clementine Zabini?" Daphne asked.

"It is" Theo answered for Ron. "I told Ron that a new scarf would be a good idea."

"A scarf?" Daphne tapped her chin. "That could work, but it'd have to be exotic. And expensive." _My poor pouch. Blaise better be grateful for this._ "I know just the place! Twilfitt and Tattings!"

"Ohhh, I love that shop" Tori clapped her hands. "I get all of my hats from there!"

"We're going to be here all day, you know that right?" Theo whispered in Ron's ear, and Ron gave him a confused look.

"We're here for a scarf, and that's it" Ron whispered back.

"You poor delusional fool…" Theo shook his head, a sad look on his face. "You should've taken my advice to come here with just me…" _But then Daph wouldn't be here. It can't be that bad, can it?_

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Nearly Midday)**_

Theo had been right… Ron should've taken his advice. Tori and Daphne were gushing about everything that they saw, and both girls had tried on a dozen different dresses but bought none. Ron still hadn't found a damn scarf for Clementine Zabini, and it was all the girls' fault. Instead of helping Ron, they were too busy indulging themselves. _And I haven't had a second alone with Daphne… Dammit._

"Sorry about this" Ron looked to Theo, who was waiting beside Ron with a deadpan look.

"Shut the fuck up" Theo muttered, staring at the girls piling on more dresses in their arms.

"Fair enough."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron's patience had come to an end, something that Theo noticed immediately. _We've been here for over two fucking hours! FUCK! I'm putting an end to this garbage!_

"I have to use the loo" Theo lied, getting out of Ron's way as quickly as possible. Ron ignored Theo, his eyes fixed on the two Greengrass girls. Deciding that enough was enough, Ron made his way over to Daphne while Tori ran off to try another dress.

"Ron! What do you think of this dress?" Daphne asked, putting a white dress over her chest.

"I don't care about your dress" Ron hissed, making Daphne go wide-eyed. "What?"

"Ron… You're speaking Parseltongue" Daphne whispered, throwing panicked looks around them. _Really? Bloody hell._

"Sorry" Ron whispered, though he clearly sounded agitated.

"What's wrong?" Daphne asked, her face showing her concern. _No, resist it! You're pissed Ron, don't let her take that from you!_ "Ron, you're worrying me" Daphne whispered as she put her right hand over his left arm. _Damn… There it goes…_

"Daphne, I just wanted some help with getting a proper gift for Blaise's mother" Ron sighed, losing his steam. "But you and Tori have made Theo and I wait for over two hours now…"

"Two hours?" Daphne blinked, and Ron showed her his Rolex. "Merlin… I'm so sorry, Ron."

"Can you please help me? I don't know anything about scarfs…" Ron asked, and Daphne quickly put away her white dress.

"Come with me" Daphne said as she grabbed his left hand, and this time Ron shot panicked looks around himself. _Safe._ Daphne led him into the far right corner of the shop, and there were dozens of scarfs locked away in display cases. "These are their best, so let's have a look." _Three hundred and twelve Galleons for a scarf?! What the actual fuck?!_

"Why are they so expensive?" Ron asked.

"They're made from rare materials" Daphne explained, and then she pointed to smooth white scarf. "This one is made from the silk harvested from an Acromantula." _Acromantula? A giant fucking spider?_ Ron felt a cold shiver run up his spine, something that Daphne noticed. "What is it?"

"Don't like spiders" Ron mumbled, averting his gaze. _Wait… Why did I tell her that?_

"You're scared of spiders?" Daphne asked.

"No."

"You are" Daphne laughed as Ron's ears turned red. "Don't worry, they scare me too. Too many eyes…"

"I know right" Ron looked to Daphne, who was just smiling at him now. "And eight legs? What the hell? Complete horror shows."

"Ghastly creatures" Daphne agreed, making Ron relax and smile. She didn't really fear spiders, but she didn't want Ron to feel embarrassed either, so she had lied for his benefit. She also thought that it was rather cute that he was scared of spiders while being as powerful as he was.

"So should I get this one?" Ron asked.

"Let's keep looking" Daphne replied. "This may take more time, but you want to get it right don't you?"

"I do" Ron nodded. "This is important to Blaise, so it's important to me. What's that one made of?" Ron pointed to another white scarf. "Wait, it says Yeti fur under it… Yeti fur?" Ron looked to Daphne, who just shrugged.

"Not as rare as Acromantula silk" Daphne noted, and Ron nodded in understanding.

"Daphne, what are you doing?" came Tori's voice, and they both turned to look at Tori. "I need help putting on this dress" Tori explained, and Ron spotted a frilly pink dress in her arms.

"Sorry Tori, but I need to help Ron find an appropriate gift" Daphne apologized, while Tori groaned. "Tori, don't groan in public please."

"Fine… I'll look at another dress…" Tori sighed, and then she sulked off. _Great, now I feel bad._

"Ignore her, she's trying to guilt you" Daphne told him, and he looked to her with a confused look. "Trust me, I know my sister better than anyone. She knew what we were doing, and she knows that we'll go home after we get you your scarf."

"So she tried to steal you away?" Ron blinked, and Daphne nodded with a smirk. _Clever little devil. I nearly fell for it._

"Let's keep looking" Daphne hummed as she looked back at the scarfs, and Ron followed her gaze.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

In the end, Ron and Daphne had settled for the Acromantula silk scarf. Daphne had droned on about how silk was good for your skin, and that it was a light and elegant material. But Ron's brain had simply turned off due to how dull he found that particular rant.

"You aren't listening, are you?" Daphne asked, while Ron was just staring at the wall behind her. "If you don't respond, I'm going to pinch your side." _Maybe we should get some ice… AH!_ Ron woke up with a start, his side hurting slightly.

"What was that for?" Ron asked, rubbing his side with a cross look on his face.

"I told you I was going to do it, but you didn't do anything to stop me" Daphne smirked. "Also, it's very rude to zone out when someone is talking to you."

"Sorry, but your rant on silk nearly put me in another coma" Ron smirked back, and Daphne went to pinch him again. But Ron was ready this time, and he quickly dodged her claws. "Too slow, my Lady."

"Whatever" Daphne huffed, annoyed with Ron getting one on her. "Just get the scarf, and let's go."

"Don't be like that" Ron cooed, earning a glare from Daphne. "C'mon, give me a smile."

"No."

"Please?"

"No, just buy the scarf already."

"Alright" Ron shrugged, looking to the scarfs. "Do you… Do you like any of these?" Ron suddenly asked, his voice barely audible. Daphne blinked at him, and then looked to the scarfs.

"Ron, you don't have to get me anything" Daphne whispered back.

"I know, but I want to" Ron looked at her, and she managed a weak smile. _I got my smile, I win. And I don't mind spending more money, I'm going to get a lot very soon._

"How about you treat me to some ice-cream instead?" Daphne suggested. "Spending so much of your hard earned money in one go isn't a wise move. It would be wiser to save it for a rainy day." _I guess that's fair, and I do want ice-cream. I'll also order some for Ginny and Luna, and have it sent to them._

"Alright, let's get this scarf and go."

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Very Late Afternoon)**_

"Ron!" came Ginny's squeal the moment he stepped through the fireplace, making him jump a little. Ron noticed that Ginny and Luna were eating their ice-creams, while the twins were glowering at Ron from the couch.

"Hello" Ron greeted his sibling, wondering where Percy was. "Where's Perce?"

"Oh, he went to the Ministry with dad" Ginny replied, a big smile on her face. _Merlin, she hasn't smiled at me like that for ages. It feels nice._ While Ron basked in Ginny's good mood with him, the twins glared even harder at Ron.

"How was your day, Ron?" Luna asked with an airy smile.

"It was good" Ron replied, showing his siblings the bag that contained the silk scarf in it.

"Isn't that a lovely thing?" Fred asked, and Ron looked to his brother. _What's with the glare?_

"Ickle Ronnikins had a good day" George added on, also glaring at Ron.

"Ignore them, Ron" Ginny frowned at the twins. "They're just jealous with the fact that you didn't get them ice-cream." _Oh shite, I didn't even think of them. Or Percy._

"Not jealous" Fred glared at Ginny.

"Insulted" George hissed. "After all we do for you, little bro."

"This is how you repay us?" Fred asked.

"All you do for me?" Ron blinked, trying not to laugh outright.

"We haven't pranked you in over a week" Fred replied.

"He's only been home for three days" Ginny gaped, were the twins delusional?

"It still counts" George tutted her. "Little sisters shouldn't interrupt when the big brothers are talking."

"Why you…" Ginny clenched her jaw.

"You two can have some of my ice-cream" Luna offered, and the twins shot out of their seats with the speed of lightning.

"Ah, Luna" Fred cooed.

"Why can't you teach Ginny to be more like you?" George cooed as well. _Damn vultures._ Ron looked to Luna, but she just smiled at him. _She's trying to stop an argument from breaking out, I shouldn't ruin that._

"As fun as this is" Ron started "I can't stick around. I need to get ready for an important dinner, I'll see you guys later tonight." Ron made his way out of the Living Room, and up the stairs, he didn't have much time to spare. Once he was in his room, he stashed the scarf by his trunk, and selected his best robes. _Soft black silk, yes._ Ron felt the material with his left hand, and it put a smile on his face.

"Ron, can I talk to you?" came Ginny's voice, and Ron up to see her standing in the open doorway. She had her ice-cream in her hands, and a guilty look on her face. Most people wouldn't be able to spot that guilty look, but Ron knew her better than most.

"Yeah sure, is everything alright?" Ron asked. "Also… Why are you carrying your ice-cream around?"

"I don't want the twins to eat it, they ate all of Luna's" Ginny replied, and Ron frowned at the twins' actions. _Damn vultures. I got that ice-cream for Luna, not them._ "Anyway, I didn't thank you properly for the bracelet…"

"Ginny, there's no need to thank me" Ron smiled, looking to her left wrist. "It looks great on you."

"Thanks" Ginny smiled, relaxing considerably. "I know you're in a hurry, so I'll be quick." Ginny put her ice-cream on his nightstand, and then she hugged his middle tightly. _Well, this is nice. Is she not jealous anymore? Are things finally going back to normal between us?_ Ron hugged her back, grateful that she wasn't on his case anymore. "Thank you Ronnie, this is the best thing that anyone has ever gotten me."

"You're welcome, Gin-Gin" Ron said. _Should I ask her why she was jealous? That might upset her, but I really want to know what had her so bothered._ "So… You're not upset with me anymore?" Ginny tensed a bit, but she didn't break her hug.

"I wasn't really upset with you…" Ginny mumbled. "I wasn't even upset…" _Didn't seem that way._

"As long as we're fine, I'm happy" Ron decided to say, Ginny wasn't big on opening up to her brothers. _Luna, sure… But us, barely ever. She doesn't want us to think that she's a 'girly girl'._ "But if you ever do get upset with me, you'll let me know. Right?"

"Right."

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Zabini Residence – Six P.M)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace with a polite smile on his face, ready for anything and everything. He had his wand in his inner robe pocket, just in case he needed it. He had Clementine Zabini's gift bag in his left hand, which he would present to her after greeting her properly. Then he would spend the night being nothing but charming, though he had no intention of bending his views on Blood-Purity just to impress her. Ron drew the line on that because he could never, and would never, judge someone for simply being born.

"Welcome to the Zabini residence, Ron" Clementine Zabini greeted him, her seductive lips forming a beautiful smile. Blaise stood to her right, but Ron's eyes were glued to Clementine Zabini immediately. She was gorgeous… She wore a shimmering golden ballroom dress, which was strapless and gave Ron a clear view of her bare shoulders and neck. She was dark skinned, had long raven-black hair, was strong jawed but slender, and her amber eyes looked like two polished Galleons. _Bloody hell! Can I be her next husband? Wait no, control yourself Ron._

"Thank you for hosting me, Lady Zabini" Ron smiled more widely without even realizing it.

"The honor is ours, and please, call me Clementine" she responded, putting her right hand forward. Ron took it with his gloved one, kissed her knuckles, and gave her a respectful bow.

"Very well" Ron said, still holding her hand. She just smiled at him, deciding to let Ron hold her hand for a bit, it pleased her to know that she had this effect on the boy who could resist over fifty Veelas.

"It's good to see you again, Ron" Blaise piped in, staring at Ron holding his mother's hand. Ron's senses came back to him, and let go of Clementine's hand before looking to Blaise. _Make a joke to alleviate the awkwardness, and for fuck's sake get a grip._

"Ah Blaise, I failed to notice you completely" Ron smiled widely, while Blaise blinked at him. "You didn't tell me that your mother was so beautiful, now I know where you get your good looks from." That earned him a soft laugh from Clementine, and a smirk from Blaise. _Nice save Weasley, nice save._

"You were right my gem, he is quite the flatterer" Clementine said, her eyes shining golden due to the lighting.

"Just observant, that's all" Ron gave her his best smile, and she returned the favor. _She is probably the most gorgeous witch I have ever seen, too bad that she's rotten on the inside. I can't let my guard down near her. I have to make this work for Blaise's sake._ "Once again, thank you for hosting me" Ron said as he presented the gift bag to her.

"A gift? You shouldn't have" Clementine smiled as she took the bag, the boy was well-mannered too. She looked inside the bag, and her smile widened even more, he also had good taste. "Pinky" Clementine called, and a House-Elf popped into the room. "Take this to my room, and get the dinner table ready."

"Yes, mistress" Pinky bowed, taking the bag carefully before popping away.

"Thank you, Ron" Clementine looked to Ron, who was thanking Merlin for Daphne Greengrass. "Are you up for a small tour of the house before dinner?"

"I would love that" Ron admitted, he wanted to see Blaise's childhood home.

"Then let's start right away" Clementine announced. "This is the Living Room, which also serves as the Greeting Room…"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

The Zabini residence wasn't as big as Ron had imagined it to be, but it was nothing to scoff at either. Especially considering the fact that this was just one of Clementine Zabini's twelve houses. While normal people collected objects, Clementine collected houses. _And husbands._ Still, Blaise's childhood home was beautiful. It was old, but it was kept in a perfect condition. The house was held up by polished ebony wood, and had a strong granite foundation. Expensive rugs, pieces of artwork, and polished furniture brought the house to life, while the thin corridors gave it a mysterious atmosphere. The house was only slightly bigger than the Burrow, but it felt like it had a lot more space in it. Ron figured that it was because this house only served two people, while the Burrow served seven.

"And here is Blaise's room" Clementine stopped in front of a closed ebony door. "It used to serve as his nursery, but he loved it so much that I had it renovated for him as he got older. He'd spend hours in there, drawing the stars and writing poems." _Poems? Drawing the stars? What?_ Ron looked to Blaise, who was just smiling at his mother. _That smile looks really forced._

"I didn't know that you wrote poems, Blaise" Ron smiled at his friend, who turned his forced smile on Ron.

"He is very talented at it" Clementine smiled at her son. "But he can be a bit shy." _He still does it?_

"Thank you… mother…" Blaise sighed, earning a chuckle from her.

"I will let Blaise show you his room, while I check on dinner" Clementine said as she stroked Blaise's left cheek. "Blaise, bring Ron to the Dining Room once you are finished." With that, Clementine left to go downstairs. Ron gave into his weakness, and he 'watched' her leave. She walked with the grace of a cat, her back straight and her hands held at her stomach. But Ron's eyes lingered on her lower back, watching the natural sway of her hips with keen interest.

"Are you done undressing my mother with your eyes?" Blaise asked, sounding rather agitated. Ron looked to him with a sheepish smile, his ears turning red.

"I'm sorry…" Ron swallowed, but he wasn't really. "She is… Bloody hell, Blaise…"

"Whatever" Blaise rolled his eyes. "I'm used to people looking at her like that. Theo used to find any reason he could to please her, hoping that she'd pet him like some puppy." _Don't give me ideas, mate. I'd love nothing more than to be petted by your mother._

"Your room?" Ron asked, shaking his head clear.

"Yeah" Blaise replied as he opened the door, gesturing Ron inside. Ron walked in with his eyes peeled, excited to see where his friend had grown up. Blaise's room was quite breathtaking, mostly because of the fact that his ceiling made entirely of clear glass. It gave the room the sky's natural lighting, and Ron figured that it gave Blaise a perfectly clear view of the stars at night.

"Merlin…" Ron muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"Pretty neat, right?" Blaise smiled slightly, looking up as well. "Coming home is worth it just for this." _Just for this?_

"So there is where Blaise Zabini grew up" Ron said, looking around the room. It too had the polished ebony design, and Ron was surprised to see drawings everywhere. _All of them are of the stars though._ "I didn't know that drawing was a hobby of yours."

"It's only a hobby when I'm in this room" Blaise shrugged. "Something I do to pass the time at night."

"Normal people sleep at night" Ron stated, but Blaise just shrugged again.

"I like to sleep during the day" Blaise replied, which was only partly true. He only did that to avoid his mother, and he knew that she was grateful for it. It gave her time to entertain her… guests, and to pretend like he didn't exist.

'And when do you write poetry?" Ron smirked, earning an eye roll from Blaise. "C'mon mate, why didn't you tell me about the poetry? Do the others know of your hobbies?"

"They know that I map the stars" Blaise replied. _Map? Sounds like a fancy word for drawing._ "As for the poetry… No…" _Noted. I'll keep my mouth shut about it._

"Clementine was right, you are shy" Ron sniggered.

"Is it Clementine already?" Blaise asked, and this time Ron rolled his eyes. "Ron, you need to be careful with her."

"I will be" Ron promised, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck loudly. Blaise flinched, grimacing at Ron's grotesque habit. "Let's just hope that she's careful around me too…" Blaise's eyes widened slightly, and his body tensed up for a split-second. Images of Ron's Duel with the Auror flashed in Blaise's mind, the image of Ron's murderous grin forcing Blaise to swallow thickly. "This is a really nice room, Blaise."

"Thanks" Blaise nodded once, his body relaxing as he saw Ron looking around with a wide smile. "So… What did you get her?"

"A scarf made from the silk of an Acromantula" Ron replied, holding back a shudder at the thought of a gigantic spider.

"Very nice" Blaise smiled a little. "Was it Theo's idea, or Daphne's? No… It was Pansy's, wasn't it?" Ron blinked at his friend.

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked. "I could have thought of it…"

"Ron… Mate…" Blaise smirked, and Ron blinked again. "C'mon, don't lie to yourself." _Wow, his lack of faith is disturbing._

"It was Theo's…" Ron sighed, and Blaise chuckled softly. "And Daphne picked the scarf… **But** … I paid for it, so I'm taking the credit."

"I figured as much" Blaise said, clearly happy that Ron had found an appropriate gift. "Now that you've seen my room, let's head downstairs for dinner."

"Wait, I want to see your poetry" Ron said quickly. "No need to be shy mate, give me a look. Are there any poems about me?"

"Ron oh Ron, what a prick" Blaise said in a dull voice, making Ron snigger like a child. "There's your poetry, now let's go." They made their way outside, and Ron began telling Blaise about Theo being pranked by Tori. It turned out to be a pretty funny conversation, and they were both laughing when they entered the Dining Room.

"I was worried that the food might get cold" Clementine said, standing behind her chair at the head of the table.

"Sorry mother, but Ron and I were just catching up" Blaise said, calming himself down considerably.

"That's alright, my treasure" Clementine smiled at them, oddly pleased to see Blaise laughing for a change. Blaise went to sit on her right side, so Ron went to sit on her left. They all sat down at the same time, and Ron eyed the platter of Shepard's Pie placed right in front of his plate. _My favorite… Blaise must've told her._ "Let's get some food in us before we start talking, I have so much to ask you Ron."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

They had finished eating, and Clementine Zabini was lost for words at just how much food Ron could consume in one sitting. Not that she minded, she was glad that he enjoyed her House-Elves' cooking. She had also been pleasantly surprised with his good manners, and especially his good humor. She knew that he was on his best behavior, but it was still refreshing to see a Pure-Blooded child who wasn't as arrogant as their parents.

Ron himself was enjoying his time with the Zabini's, but his guard was up constantly. He thought about every word before it came out of his mouth, and he had paced himself well during dinner. He had also made idle conversation with Clementine, letting her talk about herself as much as possible. He didn't once interrupt her, and he laughed at her jokes even if he found them dull. He had learned a lot about the Zabini Family in the past thirty minutes, but the most surprising thing was that they could trace their ancestry all the way back to Africa. They were an **old** Family, something that Ron never really knew.

"So I come out the bathroom, it's the middle of the night, and then just like that, Ron appears out of the blue" Blaise told his mother, a smile on his face. Blaise had been telling his mother of the night when he had caught Ron using the Disillusionment Charm, which was the same night that Ron had been smuggling a Dragon out of Hogwarts. "Scared me half to death…"

"What were you doing being awake in the middle of the night?" Clementine asked Ron, an amused smile on her face. "And who taught you the Disillusionment Charm? That is N.E.W.T level Magic." _Wow, she caught onto my Spell from just that? I guess you have to be pretty smart to get away with murder._

"I… was smuggling a Dragon out of Hogwarts" Ron admitted, deciding not to lie to her.

"A Dragon?" Clementine blinked, looking to Blaise for confirmation.

"It is true mother, the teachers were not too happy with Ron" Blaise stated, glad that Ron was being honest. Clementine looked to Ron with genuine intrigue, waiting for him to explain himself.

"Hagrid, the Gamekeeper, had a baby Dragon" Ron started, and Clementine leaned forward a bit. _DON'T LOOK AT HER CLEAVAGE! RESIST!_ "And Harry, Potter that is, is friends with Hagrid. So he came to me because my older brother Charlie works at a Dragon Reserve in Romania. I decided that having Harry Potter owe me one sounded great, so I agreed."

"A wise move" Clementine nodded.

"And that's how I ended up sneaking around the castle with a baby Dragon, which I delivered to Charlie's friends at the top of the Astronomy Tower" Ron continued, earning a mixed look of humor and bewilderment from Clementine. "I had to use the Disillusionment Charm to sneak back down to the Dungeons, mostly just to avoid Filch. And that's when Blaise caught me, and I offered to teach him that Spell if he kept quiet about my midnight stroll."

"You can use the Disillusionment Charm?" Clementine asked her son, who gave her a firm nod. "My word… Your first year of Hogwarts alone was more interesting than my seven years there. Tell me, how did you get caught?"

"Malfoy…" Ron rolled his eyes, looking to Blaise who was shaking his head. "He told the Professors what I was doing, and he knew of my plans because he broke into our room and went through my letters."

"He invaded your privacy? And then he tattled on a fellow Slytherin?" Clementine asked, trying to understand the young Malfoy's plan. It made no sense to her, how would he benefit from being known as a House-Traitor?

"He doesn't like me much" Ron admitted, smiling at Clementine who smiled back.

"He's jealous, love" Clementine told Ron. _Love? Already? She's clearly trying to get me to lower my guard, but that's not happening. Ever. Not around her._

"That he is" Blaise confirmed. "The amount of times that he's tried to turn the House against Ron… Truth be told, I've lost count." _Me too._

"I imagine that he always fails" Clementine laughed, her soft and smooth voice was almost like music. "I never found him to be a particularly bright boy, nor did I detect a hint of a spine." _He has a spine, believe me. I just hope he finds it before the war starts, those children he saved might need him to._

"Every time he gets close, we just throw a party to win everyone back" Ron stated.

"A party?" Clementine smiled, she liked their way of thinking.

"Blaise taught me the value of bribing the people who don't like you" Ron replied truthfully, giving his friend a grateful nod.

"I am glad to hear that" Clementine said as she reached over and stroked Blaise's right cheek. "It makes me happy that you two support one another within Slytherin. I know from personal experience how… harrowing… our House's inner politics can be. Now, tell me another story Ron. How did you resist those Veelas at Beauxbatons?"

"Mother believes that you used a Potion of some sort" Blaise smirked at Ron, who gave Clementine a wide smile. _Maybe I should have her meet the Entity? What do you say to that, Entity? Nothing? I hope you're rotting to death wherever you are, you evil fuck._

"They had a Sphinx guarding the gate" Ron told Clementine, who went slightly wide-eyed. "She made sure that none of us were cheating in anyway. Believe me when I say this, the French Ministry did their best to rig that Tournament."

"So how did you do it?" Clementine asked, unable to hide her excitement. "I have been asking Blaise, but he wanted me to hear it directly from you." Ron saw Blaise give him a weak nod from the corner of his vision, and Ron decided to comply.

"There were a couple of tricks that I used" Ron started, deciding to share the story for Blaise's benefit. "My first trick was to stare at my shoes."

"Your shoes?" Clementine smiled in a bewildered manner.

"My shoes weren't trying to seduce me" Ron chuckled, and so did Clementine and Blaise. "The second trick was to avoid looking at any female, regardless of what they were. That became a lot harder when all the other boys dropped out, or got disqualified for…" he trailed off.

"For?" Clementine asked with bated breath.

"I don't wish to be vulgar, but some of the other boys decided to… help themselves by relieving their spiking lust" Ron explained, making Clementine smile in a way that sent a shiver throughout his body. _Merlin, I might need to borrow a page from their books if she looks at me like that again._

"And yet, you resisted the Veelas" Blaise smirked at Ron, who just smiled back.

"It wasn't easy, the pain was enough to send me into a mini-coma on the first day" Ron told them.

"So you were truly in pain?" Clementine asked, losing her smile. _Did she think that it was all an act?_

"Excruciating pain" Ron looked to her as she went slightly wide-eyed. "Even though I wasn't looking at them, their allures were still hard to resist. I had to concentrate on nothing but Chess, and when the pain started, I had to suffer through it quietly. I passed out from exhaustion on the first two days, but I also began to develop my ability to resist them." Clementine blinked, she was lost for words. She had genuinely believed that some Potion-work was behind Ron's prowess.

"I scored enough wins to land in the finals, much to everyone's shock and displeasure" Ron continued, all the attention in the room on him. "But Madame Maxime decided to play one last trick, she brought older and more powerful Veelas to the Tournament. Resisting them was… It was pure agony." Ron stopped and took in a deep breath, still remembering how horrible that Tournament had been.

"During the final match, I couldn't even see clearly anymore" Ron admitted, he knew deep down that he only beat Amanda because she was completely focused on him.

"So how did you win?" Clementine asked, her voice was even softer now. She had, of course, read all about how Ron had bled out on the stage.

"I bit open the inside of my mouth" Ron replied with a casual voice, giving her a polite smile.

"Why?" she gasped.

"To focus my attention on anything but their allures" Ron replied, hiding his amusement when he saw her lose some of her color. "It's why I bled through my mouth after I won, my inner cheek was mauled to shreds."

"Sweet Merlin…" Clementine muttered, was it normal to feel afraid of a child?

"And what about your eyes and nose, Ron?" Blaise asked, looking at his mother with a smirk. This was going splendidly, he had never seen Ron be so well-behaved before. And his mother was clearly intrigued by Ron, judging from her current reaction.

"Well, my nose began bleeding because of my abnormally high blood-pressure" Ron replied, his eyes still on Clementine. "And as for my eyes, I suffered a Subconjunctival Hemorrhage."

"The blood-vessels in his eyes burst because of his intense concentration" Blaise explained in simpler terms, resisting the urge to grin at his paling mother.

"Why?" Clementine muttered.

"Why?" Ron repeated, unsure of what she meant.

"Why put yourself through something so… horrible?" Clementine asked, she was utterly lost for words and slightly afraid of this red-haired boy.

"Because I don't lose" Ron replied, it was the honest truth. _I_ _ **can't**_ _lose. I'll win, even if I have to break every bone in my body to do it. My Cycle_ _ **will not**_ _fail, I_ _ **will not**_ _let it._

"In all my years…" Clementine whispered to herself, staring at Ron like he wasn't even human. She looked over to her son, who was just giving her a faint smirk. She understood perfectly well why Blaise had changed his allegiance now, this red-haired boy was something else entirely. "Who wants dessert?" she asked dumbly, still trying to process Ron's story.

"I would love some, Clementine" Ron answered, looking to Blaise who was just smiling at his mother.

* * *

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Zabini Residence – Night)**_

Dessert had been wonderful, and once it was over, Ron had told Clementine many more stories about his adventures. He had stayed away from anything to do with the Chamber, but he had swallowed his trauma and told her about his petrification (Excluding Ginny's involvement, of course). He had even told her that he was left in a coma for over a month after one of his 'Dark Spells' had backfired on him. She had vowed to keep his 'secret', all the while being amazed by his stories.

"You must come over again before your school recommences, Ron" Clementine said with a smile that made Ron want to shiver. _Merlin, she's just… Bloody hell…_

"Thank you for the invitation, and I would love to" Ron replied, his back to the fireplace. He could see Blaise giving Ron an easy smile, and a subtle thumbs up, from behind Clementine.

"I wish you could stay for longer, your adventures were a delight to listen to" Clementine told him, and she meant it. It was not every day that one got to meet a Prodigy, and one who was quite the entertainer.

"I plan to have many more, and I hope that your son will share them with me" Ron decided to say, he wanted to make it clear to her that he planned to keep Blaise around. _With, or without, your approval._

"He will, I'm sure of it" Clementine looked to her son with an approving smile, he done her proud today. He had cast aside a weak ally, and found himself a powerful one without any help from her. And now, she too had made one. "Take care Ron, I can't wait to meet you again" Clementine said, giving Ron two quick kisses on his cheeks. _What is that perfume? It's heavenly._

"Goodnight, Clementine" Ron smiled, and then he looked to Blaise. "I'll see you soon, mate."

"Take care, Ron" Blaise nodded, hiding his relief at the success of this dinner. Ron turned around at that, and he took a pinch of floo-powder.

"The Burrow" Ron called, casting the powder into the fire. It blazed green, and Ron stepped through it with a confident stride. And then, he was in the Burrow. His shoulders immediately slumped, and he let out a groan as his cheek muscles relaxed. _Merlin, I must've smiled for hours._ Ron massaged his hurting cheeks, grateful to finally be home.

"How was your dinner, love?" came his mother's voice, and Ron jumped a little. He turned to see her walk into the Living Room, followed by the rest of his family.

"It went well" Ron replied, deciding not to smile for the rest of the night.

"Ron, come sit with me" Ginny said as she spotted him, smiling brightly at him. Ron broke into a smile, and he nodded firmly. _Fuck, my face hurts!_ Ron took a seat on the couch with Ginny, and Luna quickly sandwiched him between her and Ginny.

"Where's Pandora?" Ron asked, looking at his mother and father.

"She was feeling tired, so she tucked in early for the night" Arthur replied. "Didn't even eat dinner…"

"Don't worry, I'll make her a big breakfast tomorrow" Molly said, talking more to herself than to them.

"So, how was your fancy dinner?" Fred asked.

"Did you eat lobster? Or something more posh?" George asked. _Are they still mad at me for not getting them ice-cream?_ Ron saw his parents roll their eyes, deciding to talk to each other instead of scolding the twins. What would be the point? They'd be at it again in less than ten minutes.

"I had a lot of Shepard's Pie" Ron admitted, looking to Luna who had put her entire body weight on him as she read her book. _Is that a Spell Tome? No… It's just that book Xeno sent her._ "Wait… Where's Perce?"

"Writing a letter to his girlfriend" Ginny sniggered, copying Luna and cuddling into Ron's side. _Yeesh, my ribs._ Ron ignored the slight pain, he was just glad that Ginny was no longer avoiding him.

"Probably gushing about his date with the Minister" Fred laughed.

"Don't make fun of your brother's ambitions" Molly scolded, and then she returned to her conversation with her husband.

"Ambitions" George scoffed, earning a frown from his parents. The twins decided to talk to each other before their parents got angry with them, they had plans to make anyway.

"How was your day after I left?" Ron asked Ginny, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Stop that" Ginny snorted. "It was fun, Luna and I went to the ravine and took a dip. And then we spent the rest of the day doing our nails. Also, Harry and Neville came over for a bit. They asked about you, so we told them that you were having dinner with your friend. How was your dinner?"

"Successful" Ron replied, smiling to himself. _All is right in the World tonight. I finally have my sister back, Blaise is as happy as they come, and tomorrow I get to see Daph._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Snape's House (Spinner's End) – Night)**_

An annoying tapping sound ruined Snape's cold dinner. He removed his wand from his robes, and he flicked it angrily at the window. The blinds slid aside, and the window flew open, revealing a grey Eagle-Owl. _Whose bird is that?_ The Eagle-Owl flew in, circling over Snape's head before landing beside his bowl of soup. Snape spotted the letter attached to bird's leg, and he used his wand to remove it. After casting the necessary Charms to detect any hint of Curses, Snape finally opened the letter and read it.

 _S.S,_

 _Scar figured it out, and told their friends. _

_R._

Snape blinked at the letter, and then he set it on fire. The Eagle-Owl cocked its head at the burning letter, and then glared murder at Snape for destroying its master's letter. _Damn Potter, and damn that gigantic oaf! At least Ron had the good sense to try and code the message, though it could use a lot of work. Another thing that I will have to teach him._ Snape rubbed his eyes, thoroughly put off from his dinner.

"Those two fools had one job…" Snape muttered to himself, pushing his bowl of soup away. The Eagle-Owl took that as an invitation and began eating from the bowl. Snape frowned at the bird, but decided not to do anything about it. He had far bigger things to worry about right now. If Potter had figured it out, and then told his friends, things could get out of hand if the wrong person overheard them.

Snape, due to being a spy, did not trust anyone in the disbanded Order. He only trusted Albus, and even that trust was tested often enough. And yet, for the first time in a long time, Snape was genuinely worried for someone for over a week. He was worried for his old mentor, his friend. Albus, who still hadn't sent any word, was all that Snape could think about. And that left Snape angry beyond words, he wasn't meant to care. Not after Lily. He did not deserve to care, or to be cared for. _Albus, at least send me a letter telling me that you're not dead in some ditch._

Snape got up and went over to study table, deciding send a letter to Ron in order to keep him in the loop. _And to ask if he's had any visions involving the old man. I should never have let him go alone, he's far too important to lose this early._ As Snape was drafting the letter, he also decided that he needed to figure out a way to keep Potter from flapping his mouth. _How did that moron figure everything out? From this moment on, I will refuse to help with anything if Hagrid is involved. What kind of simpleton gets outfoxed by a child?!_ Snape drew in a deep breath, using his Occlumency to calm himself down.

He needed to be patient. Albus would send word soon, or come back safely. He had to.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you all enjoyed that! A slow chapter, I know, but certain things had to be addressed and taken care of. Next Chapter will have a Dumbledore POV (a long one). And maybe even a POV from a certain Dark Lord...**

 **See you guys next Wednesday!**


	61. Chapter 61 - Harsh Lessons

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 61 is here, and my God! I read through it after I finished, and this a fucking dark chapter...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 61 – Harsh Lessons**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

"So she invited you back?" Lord Greengrass asked, they were discussing the dinner at the Zabini residence.

"She did" Ron replied. "Even I can tell that she wants something from me, and I get the feeling that it's not good."

"I told you Ron, she has a habit of making powerful allies" Lord Greengrass reminded him, and Ron nodded. "Try and keep your distance from her as much as possible, that's all I'll say."

"No other advice?" Ron asked.

"No" Lord Greengrass shook his head. "You are getting older every day, and I'd like you to start thinking about your Future on your own." _Trust me, that's all I ever do._

"Actually, I do have a favor to ask of you" Ron said as he remembered Lady Longbottom's invitation. "Could you perhaps buy me a nice bottle of Sherry?"

"Sherry?" Lord Greengrass smirked. "What would your parents say to that, Ron?"

"It's not for me" Ron chuckled. "I'm having dinner with Lady Longbottom on Wednesday, and her grandson told me that she enjoys a nice bottle of Sherry from time to time."

"And so your list of allies keeps growing" Lord Greengrass chuckled. "I will get you a nice bottle before Wednesday, I promise."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled gratefully, that was one problem taken care of. "I will pay you back, I swear."

"Excellent" Lord Greengrass said as he stood up, and Ron followed suit. "Let's get some lunch, and then we can keep working on those conundrums." _Ugh… More puzzles?_ "Don't be like that Ron, they are helping you improve. You act much faster now, and sometimes you figure out my moves as soon as I implement them." Ron nodded at that, glad to see that his mentor had taken notice of his improvement. They both made their way out, and as they were closing in on the Dining Room, Theo caught up to them.

"My Lord" Theo greeted Lord Greengrass, and then he looked to Ron. _Still blonde, it looks so weird._ "Ron, can I talk to you?"

"Sure" Ron replied, eager to hear what Theo had to say.

"I will see you both at the dining table" Lord Greengrass said as he left them. Theo shot looks around them, and Ron slowly followed his gaze.

"Good, we're alone" Theo smirked, making Ron blink. "So… How was dinner at the Zabini residence?"

"It went well, and I think…"

"Enough about that" Theo cut Ron off, and Ron frowned at Theo's rudeness. "What did you think of Blaise's mother?" _What?_ Ron blinked again, but Theo's ever growing grin gave Ron a clear idea of what he wanted to know.

"Clementine…" Ron muttered, his ears turning red at the thought of her bare shoulders and neck.

"Yeah" Theo nodded slowly, his grin threatening to split his face. "She is one sexy witch, isn't she?"

"She is" Ron whispered, smiling guiltily.

"Blaise is a lucky man" Theo whispered.

"That's his mum…" Ron looked at Theo with slight disgust.

"You thought it too Ron, I know you did" Theo put his arm around Ron's shoulder. "Just admit it, mate."

"I didn't…" Ron lied lamely, he had thought that last night. _It'd be so neat to live in a house with a witch that looked like that. But then again, I'd probably hate it because I know what she's capable of. Murder._

"Yeah, you did" Theo hummed. "She used to put me on her lap when I was younger… Merlin, I miss those days. She once even let me rest my head on her breasts…"

"Lucky bastard" Ron mumbled, horribly jealous of Theo.

"What are you two talking about?" came Daphne's voice, and both boys squealed before turning to look at her. She was walking over to them, her eyes widening slightly because of their girly screams. _DON'T KILL ME! IT WAS ALL THEO!_ Ron pushed Theo's arm off of his shoulders, all the while staring at Daphne with an ever increasing blush. _She didn't hear us, did she? No, I don't think she did. Thank Merlin._

"Daphne, what brings you here?" Theo asked, his voice controlled and calm.

"It's my house" Daphne narrowed her eyes on Theo, and then looked to Ron. Were they talking about something inappropriate? "Ron… What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing" Ron lied, but Daphne just narrowed her eyes even more. "It was nothing, I swear."

"We were talking about what we're going to get you on your birthday, so stop asking questions or you'll ruin your own surprise" Theo lied smoothly, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Oh…" Daphne's eyes widened slightly, and then she covered her ears. "Okay, don't tell me" she smiled, and then she quickly left for the Dining Room. _Theo's a bloody genius._

"Bloody hell, Theo" Ron muttered. "That was amazing."

"I know" Theo smirked. "But now we have to get her something amazing for her birthday…"

"A problem for another day" Ron patted Theo's right arm. "Now… Tell me more about Clementine…"

"With pleasure" Theo grinned, while Ron just smiled in a guilty manner. _Nothing wrong with a little 'guy talk', right?_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Morning)**_

Ron waited in the Living Room eagerly, his hands fidgeting and a massive grin on his face. _My training starts today!_ He wasn't waiting alone either, nor was he the only excited individual in the room. Daphne, Tori, Mary, and Theo were also sitting in the Living Room, all of them awaiting Madam Roberts' arrival. Lord Greengrass had left on some important business last night, but not before bringing up Ron's brain-damage, much to his surprise. As it turned out, Ron's parents and the other adults wanted Ron to tell Madam Roberts about his condition. But they had ultimately left the choice in his hands. He still hadn't decided what to do yet.

"Will we get to watch?" Tori asked Mary once again. "I really want to watch."

"That is up to Madam Roberts, love" Mary replied, reading her Muggle novel. Tori went to speak again, but the whole room was engulfed in silence when the fireplace blazed to life. Madam Roberts stepped out of the green flames, a stern expression on her face. Ron immediately noticed that she was carrying a brown suitcase, and that she was wearing some sort of Dueling Uniform. The logo over her heart captured Ron's attention. _A capital 'A', with a wand going through the middle._

"Welcome back, Madam Roberts" Mary greeted her, and everyone, except for Theo, rose out of their seats.

"Lady Greengrass" Madam Roberts greeted with a curt nod, her eyes going to Ron. "I'd like to get started as soon as possible. Do you have your wand with you?"

"Yes, I do" Ron nodded, trying not to grin at her.

"Good, then let's get started" Madam Roberts said, placing the suitcase in the middle of the room. She opened it, and gestured Ron to step inside. _What the fuck?_ Ron blinked at the suitcase, and then he blinked at Madam Roberts. "Now, Mr. Weasley… I don't have until the end of my life for you to realize that there is an Undetectable Extension Charm on this suitcase." _Bloody hell, she is so grouchy._

"Can we watch?" Tori asked meekly, the old witch intimidated her greatly. The massive scar on the right side of her face even frightened Tori, who couldn't help but wonder how the old witch got such a ghastly scar.

"No" Madam Roberts replied curtly. "I'm here to teach Mr. Weasley, not to be your entertainer." Tori looked thoroughly put off, and she pouted miserably at Madam Roberts. It did nothing to faze Madam Roberts, who just cocked an eyebrow at Tori. Ron decided to move into the suitcase before Madam Roberts lost her patience, shooting a sorry look at Tori. "We will see you in a few hours" Madam Roberts told Mary, who gave her a soft nod.

Ron was genuinely surprised to find stairs when he stepped into the suitcase, and he slowly walked down them while also minding his head. _This is… awesome! I need to learn this Spell immediately, and to buy a suitcase to use it on._ Ron heard Madam Roberts behind him, and when she closed the suitcase's lid, the inside went completely dark.

"Lumos" Ron chanted, his wand brandished by his face. White light lit up the inside of the suitcase, which looked like a thin, leathery corridor leading up to a closed wooden door. "This is so cool! Did you Enchant this suitcase yourself?"

"I did" Madam Roberts replied, eyeing Ron's back with a slight frown. Was this the same boy who nearly killed her last week? He seemed so… childish… right now.

"That's awesome" Ron grinned, approaching the door. He pushed it open, and his jaw dropped to the floor at the sight before him. _It's a small house in here!_ Ron quickly made his way inside, looking at the barely lit interior with childish glee. Much like the Sanctuary, there was a small section filled with couches and a coffee table. But most importantly, there was an actual Training Ring in here.

"Incendio" Madam Roberts chanted, flicking her right hand at the torches which all lit up immediately. Ron looked around with a massive grin, and then he looked to Madam Roberts.

"Is this 'Undetectable Extension Charm' hard to learn? It has to be, right?" Ron asked, he definitely wanted her to teach him this. _Just imagine having my Sanctuary at the foot of my bed. I'll never have to sneak up to the seventh floor again._

'It is, but everything can be mastered with time and practice" Madam Roberts replied, looking at Ron's clothing.

"Oh, these are my running clothes" Ron told her.

"You will not be training in those" Madam Roberts said in a stern voice, her face expressionless now. "Go to the showers, your Training Outfit is inside." _Showers? This place has showers?_ Ron turned around and spotted one wooden door near the couches, which was previously hidden due to the darkness. "Hurry along now, we have much to do."

"I'll be right back" Ron nodded, quickly making his way to the closed wooden door. He pushed it open and entered the 'showers', but much to his shock, this room wasn't just showers. It was a massive bathroom; outfitted with five showers stalls, five toilet stalls, and five lockers. _Bloody hell, this is my new favorite Spell. Goodbye Disillusionment Charm and Blasting Curse, you never stood a chance._ Ron spotted his 'Training Outfit' on a bench, and it looked just like Madam Roberts'.

Ron quickly changed into it, truly grateful that it was long sleeved and that it came with trousers. Once he was fully dressed, he looked himself over in a nearby mirror. The Training Outfit was completely white, with shoulder and knee pads fitted inside the thick fabric. Ron tucked his top into his trousers, just like Madam Roberts, and then he went outside to meet her.

"Good, it fits" Madam Roberts nodded, walking over to Ron. Just as Ron was about to speak, the old witch fixed his shoulder pads in place rather roughly. She then fixed his collar, again rather roughly, before taking a step back. "This will be your new Training Outfit, you will treat it with the respect that it deserves. Keep it clean, and wear it every time we train together. I also want you to wear it when you train on your own, understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am" Ron nodded firmly, smiling gratefully. "Thank you for this."

"Thank Greengrass, he paid for it" Madam Roberts told him.

"Mine doesn't have that insignia on it" Ron said, looking at the insignia over her heart.

"That insignia represents the Auror's Academy, where I teach new recruits" Madam Roberts said, walking over to the Training Ring. Ron followed after her, stretching his arms and back. _It's a little too snug, if I'm being honest._ "Perhaps one day… You too will wear this insignia over your heart." _I hope so._

"Now Mr. Weasley, let's begin" Madam Roberts said, turning to face him. "First, we will go over some basics. Things such as rules, form, and Dueling styles. Then, we will do Circuit Training. I want to start working on your strength building and muscle endurance immediately."

"Is it alright for me to start doing muscle stuff? I'm only thirteen" Ron asked, he didn't want to damage himself before the war. "Also, what is Circuit Training?"

"Circuit Training is a form of endurance training developed by the Muggles" Madam Roberts told him.

"The Muggles?"

"When it comes health and exercise, Muggles outclass us in every way possible" Madam Roberts told him, she had seen Muggle soldiers and was greatly impressed by them. _Do they really? I'm not surprised actually. Every time I learn something about the Muggles, I'm left impressed._ "As for your previous question, you will be fine Mr. Weasley. The Muggles may be better at health and exercise than us, but they do not have Magic to aid them. After every training session, I will personally heal you and give you Potions that will help in muscle recovery. In one year, you will be as strong as an ox."

"I like the sound of that" Ron admitted.

"I'm sure you do" Madam Roberts said, her voice cold and hard. "But we'll see if you're still smiling after the day is finished. I will not hold back on you, and if you refuse to obey me…" Madam Roberts conjured a thick wooden baton in her left hand. "I will beat the necessary discipline into you." Ron's eyes widened at that, his excitement slipping away and being replaced with a hint of fear.

"You'll… hit me?" Ron blinked, he didn't see that coming. _Can she even do that?_

"Under my tutelage, the Auror Academy has graduated some of its most well-trained Aurors" Madam Roberts told him, staring right into his eyes. "My methods were so effective that they even put me charge of the Auror's Academy during the Great War, and the Aurors that I trained kept the Ministry from falling apart. And no, I will not hit you needlessly. You will get three warnings in each session."

"If you disobey me directly, that's a warning" Madam Roberts went on, while Ron swallowed thickly. "If you endanger your life or my life, that's a warning. If you cut corners, that's a warning. If you refuse to learn something over a vast period of time, that's a warning. If you start complaining, that's a warning. After your third warning has been issued, you will receive the rod instead of my words. Is that clear?"

"I… Is that…?" Ron stammered, his heartbeat increasing slightly. _That's a thick baton, it's going to hurt like hell…_

"Do you want to be the best?" Madam Roberts asked him, and Ron stared at her for a few seconds.

"Yes…"

"Then you must learn to endure pain, to overcome it" Madam Roberts said firmly. "Take this from someone who has won more Tournaments than you've seen years, the best steel is forged in the hottest fire. Now, are you willing to learn from me? Despite everything that I just told you?" _The best steel is forged in the hottest fire… I want to be the best, I_ _ **need**_ _to be the best. And I've suffered through pain before… Real, mind-numbing pain._ The moment Ron's mind drifted to his family's Future, his mind was made up.

"I will learn from you, and I will give you nothing but my best" Ron promised, straightening his back. _I'll break every bone in my body if I have to if that's what it takes to save my loved ones. I will not fail like the other Rons, I won't let the Entity be proven right._

"Good" Madam Roberts gave the boy a rare smile, she liked the resolve in his voice. "Take a seat" she gestured to the wooden bench behind him, and Ron did as he was told. "Let's start with the rules of Dueling, they will serve as your foundation within Tournaments."

"The most important rule in Tournaments is that you cannot make physical contact with your opponent, unless the Tournament specifically allows you to." she continued, and Ron listened with rapt attention. "If it doesn't state anything about physical contact, then it means that it's **not** allowed." _Sorry, Harry._ "Every Tournament follows a Five-Point rule, which just means that the first person to reach five points wins. One point is earned for throwing your opponent on their back, two points for disarming them, and three points for stunning them. If the opponent forfeits, you receive five points immediately."

"Every time a point is earned, the round ends" she went on, and Ron nodded along. "Each round has a ten minute limit, and if neither party earns a point in those ten minutes, then the judges award a point to the person who showcased a better understanding of Spell-work in that round. Following along?"

"Yes, Ma'am" Ron nodded firmly.

"There are three ways that a person can get disqualified" Madam Roberts said, focusing her attention on Ron. "The first way is to get caught cheating. That includes using Potions to enhance your senses, or to gain any sort of advantage. They have ways of testing you, so don't even think about it. The second way is to use illegal Spells, such as the Unforgivables. And no, your Dark Serpent Spell would not be classified as illegal."

"It wouldn't?" Ron blinked.

"No" she shook her head. "That Spell is Dark, but so are all the Curses."

"So what makes a Spell illegal?"

"If it will get you locked up in Azkaban, that makes it illegal" Madam Roberts replied. "Your Spell cannot be something that will cause immediate death, pain that will cause permanent trauma, or anything that will damage your opponent's mind permanently. A Confundus Charm is allowed, but if you start throwing out the Imperius Curse, then you're done. Also, don't ever try and use Obliviate. If they redirect it, then your life is over. Oh, and you'll be disqualified." _Bloody hell, she is so blunt about these things._

"The third way to get disqualified is if you make physical contact when it's not allowed, so it doesn't really apply to you if it is allowed" Madam Roberts told him. "Do understand the rules now?"

"I do" Ron replied.

"Good, now let's move onto form" Madam Roberts gestured him to stand up and come to her, and Ron did as he was told. "You're a tall lad, and you have wide, strong shoulders. That is a good thing, and a bad thing. Let's start with the good. You have an intimidating figure, especially when you're angry. I learnt that myself last week."

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize needlessly, only apologize when someone asks you to" Madam Roberts said, her voice as hard as stone. "When it comes to Dueling, there are two battles in play. One battle is visible for all to see, but the other one is far more subtle. And far more important. It's the battle that happens in here" she said as she tapped his forehead. "In your mind, and in your opponent's mind. You nearly beat me last week because I underestimated you, and when you showed me your strength, my mind was too shocked to fight back properly."

"But the thing that impressed me most, other than your spectacular use of Spells, was the fact that you didn't give me a chance to recover from my shock" Madam Roberts told him, and Ron resisted the urge to smile. "If your opponent is too shocked, or too afraid, to fight back properly, then you've already won. Which brings us back to your intimidating figure. As far as thirteen year olds go, you're just about the tallest one that I've ever seen."

"And we can use that?" Ron asked, and she nodded curtly.

"When your opponent is towering over you with a murderous grin, most people shit themselves and panic" Madam Roberts told him, and Ron blinked at her language. "Your tall figure is an advantage that we will utilize, but it does have one major drawback. Can you tell me what that is?"

"I'm a bigger target" Ron replied, he had learned that from the dozens of Stinging Hexes that he had taken over the course of his second year of schooling.

"Exactly" she smirked. "A person with a smaller frame is harder to hit, that's just common sense. Luckily for us, you're pretty damn fast from what I've seen. So this is what I have in mind…" Madam Roberts then turned Ron side-ways, with his wand hand facing where the opponent would be. "This makes you a thinner target, but it still shows your height. Bend your front knee a bit, it'll make it easier for you to move on a moment's notice." Ron did as he was told, and she straightened his shoulders and back for him.

"Keep your back straight, otherwise you'll risk injury" she told him, digging her knuckles into his back. _Ow, shite!_ "Do you stretch?"

"Sometimes…"

"Sometimes? Greengrass told me that you go running every single day, but you only stretch sometimes?" Madam Roberts frowned at him, and Ron averted his gaze. "From now on, you will stretch before and after your runs. And you will stretch before we start training. If you don't, then that's a warning." Ron swallowed thickly, and then he nodded. "This form looks good, what do you think?"

"I… um… I might have some trouble if I'm trying to move back" Ron replied, and she nodded slowly.

"Then we will work on that" she told him. "You may sit back down, and don't forget your form. We will work to perfect it over time, but for now, it will serve as your default."

"I understand" Ron said, taking a seat again.

"Now, let's talk about Dueling styles before we start your Circuit Training" Madam Roberts said, and Ron leaned forward in his seat. "This is completely up to each individual. Every one Duels in their own way, but their 'style' originates from one of three categories. The first is aggression, being completely on the offensive. The second is reactive, being completely on the defensive. The third is opportunistic, this one relies heavily on movement and getting your hits in whenever your opponent makes a mistake." _Damn, I never thought about any of this. I just go with whatever feels right._

"There are advantages, and disadvantages, to each of these styles" Madam Roberts went on. "But we will save that lesson for when we actually start Dueling. For now, I've explained everything that you need to know. Is it still all in there? Or did it go in one ear and come out the other?"

"It's still there, Ma'am" Ron replied, standing up with his back straight.

"Good, then start stretching" Madam Roberts ordered. "The next two hours are going to be difficult, and painful."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Close to Midday)**_

Madam Roberts had planned out everything for Ron; his exercises, his meals, how he would train without her, and how he was never allowed to eat sweets again. That last one had stung horribly, especially because Ron had a sweet tooth. As for his exercises, he would work-out his entire body every three days. On Sundays, then Tuesdays, and then Thursdays. Every morning he would do fifty pushups and fifty sit-ups, and then go for his morning run. And if he didn't stretch… Then Merlin help him.

As for his entire body workout, it consisted of seven exercises. Thirty pushups to work his chest, biceps, and core. Twenty squats to work his thighs, and glutes (his arse). Twenty lunges to work his quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. Two minutes of burpees to work his arms, chest, core, and lower body. Two minutes of jumping jacks to strengthen his bones, and to make them denser. Two minutes of holding a plank to strengthen his core, and to stretch out his lower body. And finally, twenty shoulder presses without weights to work his deltoids. And he had to do three fucking sets of this back to back, with no rest in between. Which is why he was currently struggling to even breathe, but at least he was on his last set.

Ron heaved again, doing his best not to vomit. He was currently on all fours, and his entire body felt like it was on fire. Madam Roberts had been right, Ron was not ready for this sort of 'exercise'. Running every morning was one thing, but this 'Circuit Training' was another. How Muggles did this sort of exercise was beyond Ron, and he had thought about quitting several times in the last two hours. Madam Roberts had sensed his reluctance, and had issued two warnings so far. _One more, and then she's going to beat me with that baton._

"Get up, Weasley" Madam Roberts ordered, casting the 'Mr.' part aside. Ron struggled to stand up, his teeth gnashing together. _Just the plank and the shoulder presses left, get up! Just do them, or she's going to hit you._ "First I underestimated you, and now I've overestimated you… Where is the young man who nearly defeated me?"

"I'm right here" Ron bit out, and she cocked an eyebrow at his tone. Another thing that she had to fix; his violent temper.

"Two minute plank… Now!" she yelled at him, making him flinch. Ron had never been spoken to like this before. Sure, he had been yelled at for various reasons. But this was different, it was almost demeaning. Not to mention that she kept the baton in his sights, and the fear of getting hit pushed him to work even harder. _I'm never looking forward to another Sunday again, I just know it._ Ron grunted as he got into the plank position, his arms feeling wobbly.

"Start the timer…" he managed, thick drops of sweat rolling down his face.

"I will when you hold it properly" she said with disgust, using the baton to lower his arse. "Two minutes start now, and if you break this plank, I'll break your head open." _Fucking FUCK!_ Ron was barely keeping his temper in check, he didn't like being threatened whatsoever. But he needed her… _Just take the abuse, and get stronger. Think of_ _ **them**_ _. Just a bit more… keep going…_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron's breakfast came flying out of his mouth, and he made a rather disgusting noise as he projectile vomited. Madam Roberts just stared at him, half-disgusted and half-pleased. At least the boy had finished his Circuit before projectile vomiting all over the place. She had overestimated his physical capabilities, but who could blame her, he had been nothing short of amazing last week. She had her work cut out for her, and if the boy wanted to succeed, then he needed to get his head on straight. She planned to give him a three month trial period, if he didn't show signs of improvement in that time, then he could find himself a new trainer. She had better things to do than to train an inept boy.

"Sorry… about your suitcase…" Ron panted, keeling over and trying to steady his breathing. _I'm dead… Merlin, I just want to sleep forever._

"Think nothing of it" she told him, flicking her wand and cleaning up the mess. She then conjured up a glass of water, which she offered to him. "Drink slowly, or you'll vomit again." Ron nodded meekly, and did as he was told. Once he was finished, she helped him over to the couches, planting him on a couch with little to no regard for bedside manners. "At least you finished, that's a good sign."

"I'm supposed to do this three times a week?" Ron groaned, ready to give up on this type of training. _I'll be dead before the war even starts if I keep this up. Maybe I should tell her about my brain-damage in the hopes that she'll take it easy on me._ The thought shamed Ron, but he was still considering it seriously.

"Yes, but it will get easier with time" she assured him, though her voice lacked any compassion. "My Aurors recruits go through the same training, though your training has been cut in half due to your age."

"Half?" Ron looked at her with disbelieving eyes. _How the fuck is someone supposed to do two times what I just did?_

"I have no reason to lie to you" she told him, and she really didn't. "You told me that you want to be the best, this how you become the best. Hard-work and pain, those are the ingredients needed to create a Champion." _Champion? Fuck, I hate that word._ "Now… Relax your body, I need to start healing your muscles."

Ron relaxed as best he could, his body burning like never before. Madam Roberts placed the tip of her wand on his left foot, and then she began muttering in a barely audible voice. Ron felt something cool pass through his left foot, and when Madam Roberts began moving her wand up his leg, the cool feeling moved with it. Ron would be lying if he said that he didn't find it mind-numbingly pleasurable, it just felt amazing to feel his muscles cool off and heal after being worked so hard.

"I will perform this treatment every Sunday, and it will help to negate any permanent injury to your muscles" Madam Roberts told him, but he barely understood a word that came out of her mouth. His eyes had closed due to the cooling sensation, and he was simply enjoying the treatment. But that enjoyment died the moment he felt his manhood stir. _Fucking shite! Not now, you little bastard! Wait… I just called myself little… Dammit!_

"Um… Can I…?" Ron tried to stand up, hoping to leave before she noticed anything. Why was this happening right now of all times?!

"Relax, Mr. Weasley" Madam Roberts rolled her eyes. "Becoming erect is a common side-effect of this treatment due to the 'pleasure' it brings. There is nothing to be ashamed of." _Becoming erect?! My fucking trainer just said 'Becoming erect'!_ Ron's entire face turned bright red, and he shifted around because of his crippling embarrassment. _What do I even do? Just let this happen? This is so embarrassing…_ And before long, he was as hard as he'd ever been. _Kill me, Entity. I've shamed us both because of this._

"Sorry…" Ron mumbled, averting his shameful eyes away from her.

"Again you apologize when no one asked you to" Madam Roberts frowned, continuing the treatment without a care in the World. At least the boy had the decency to not start moaning like some of her recruits at the Academy, a reason why she had stopped giving this treatment herself. "Once I finish this treatment, I will give you a Nutrition Potion to drink." _For fuck's sake, two in one day?_

"I've already had one this morning" Ron informed her, and she gave him a quizzical look. "Personal reasons…"

"I see…" she nodded slowly, and then she turned her attention back to the treatment. "Well, having two in one day won't do anything harmful to you." _Great._ "Once you've had your Potion, go and take a cold shower. It will help with muscle recovery, and put you in a decent state again." _You mean not being erect?_ Ron's face burned once again, and he nodded meekly. _I will never mention this to anyone. And if she mentions it to others, I'll kill myself._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"That was too long a shower" she frowned at him as he stepped through wooden door, he was wearing his running gear once again and was carrying his Training Outfit.

"Sorry, but I hate cold water" Ron smiled sheepishly, he had spent over ten minutes gaping at the fact that there was no option for hot water. The next twenty minutes were spent running in and out of the water, all the while cursing at every single thing that came to mind.

"Get used to it, you will now take cold showers after your exercises" she told him, and he let out a tired sigh. _This has been a horrible day, if I'm being honest._

"Why?" he asked, forgetting to hold his tongue.

"Cold showers are good for you" she replied, and he blinked at her with utter disbelief. "They promote fat-loss, give you better circulation, and can even help relieve stress. But make sure that you cool off properly first, otherwise your muscles might seize up because of the shock." _You're just going to say that with a straight face? Really?_ Ron suddenly felt his stomach grumble, and he groaned slightly as he put his hand over his stomach. _I threw up all the food in my system._

"Come Mr. Weasley, we should get some food in you" Madam Roberts said, and Ron nodded gratefully. "Remember what I told you of your meals?"

"I need to keep eating as much as I do, but I need to increase my intake of vegetables" Ron replied, grimacing at the prospect of eating more vegetables.

"And?"

"And no more sweets…" Ron sighed.

"Good" Madam Roberts nodded. "Mr. Weasley, don't think for a second that you can cheat me. If I don't see an improvement in you in the next three months, then you can start looking for a new trainer. Do you understand?" _Can I start looking for one now? Crazy old woman._

"Yes, I understand" Ron nodded as well, feeling utterly miserable. _We didn't even spar. No Magic whatsoever. Just me getting fucked in the arse._ They made their way out of the suitcase together, with Ron occasionally losing his footing. The treatment had eased his soreness considerably, but he was still feeling out of sorts. Not to mention that he was utterly exhausted. Once they were both in the Living Room, Ron noticed that only Mary was in the room.

"Taking a break?" Mary smiled at Ron, but her smile faltered when she saw that he was looking utterly dazed.

"We are done for the day" Madam Roberts told Mary, who just blinked at her. "Get some food in him, he threw up his breakfast."

"Threw up his breakfast?" Mary asked, standing up and walking over to Ron. As Mary fussed over Ron, Madam Roberts picked up her suitcase and headed for the fireplace.

"Remember Mr. Weasley, it takes **real effort** to be the **best**. Don't slack off, because I will know if you do" Madam Roberts reminded him, and then she flooed back to the Ministry. Ron decided to forego his tough act, and he sunk into the chair behind him.

"Ron? What did she do to you?" Mary kneeled in front of him, putting the back of her hand on his forehead. "You're shivering for Merlin's sake…"

"Cold shower" Ron mumbled, thoroughly upset with how his day had gone. _I have to do this Circuit Training nonsense three times a week?_ A weak part of Ron wanted to just give up, and a childish part of him wanted to throw a tantrum. But the part of him that feared for his family's Future refused to back down. If he could deal with the Entity, then why not at least give this a go? _She didn't teach me any Spells…_

"She made you take a cold shower after training?" Mary asked, her eyes going to the sweat covered Training Outfit in Ron's lap. "Spinny!" Mary called, and a House-Elf popped into the room. "Take these and wash them immediately" Mary handed Spinny the Training Outfit.

"Spinny will get it done immediately, Mistress" Spinny bowed with the outfit held closely to her chest. And then, she was gone with a loud crack.

"Come Ron, let's get some food in you" Mary said as she helped him up, making him groan from the effort. _Ugh… That chair was so comfortable._ They made their way to the Dining Room, and Ron made sure not to put any of his weight on Mary.

"Where are the others?" Ron asked, stretching his back and rolling his neck.

"Spending time together in the Gardens" Mary replied, running her hand through his cold, wet hair.

"Mary…" Ron whined, trying to move his head away.

"Tell me what happened right now" she ordered, and Ron felt the need to glare murder at her. _I'm getting sick of people ordering me about today._ Ron swallowed his anger down, and he told her about his training session. He left out the part about the baton, and the part about him becoming erect during the treatment. Though he couldn't stop his ears from turning red with shame, something that she luckily missed.

"And you're meant to do this horrendous routine three times a week?" Mary asked as she helped Ron into a seat.

"Yes, but not just that… I also have to do fifty pushups and fifty sit-ups every morning" Ron replied, his voice coming out as particularly whiny. Mary shook her head in disbelief as she rung the dinner bell, and the House-Elves conjured food onto the table from the kitchens. Ron's eyes went straight to the salads, and he pulled a face. _Old bitch._

"Ron, did you tell her about your condition?" Mary asked with a soft voice, putting her soft palm on his right cheek. Ron tried to avert his gaze, but she turned his head to face her.

"No…" Ron mumbled. _I was going to, but then…_ _ **that**_ _… happened._

"Stubborn boy" Mary scolded, but her face showed only concern. "You should start eating… I'll go and grab my wand from the Living Room in order to dry your hair."

"You can use mine" Ron offered.

"There is no need for that, love" Mary patted his right cheek. "I'll be right back." Mary left in a hurry at that, while Ron started piling food onto his plate. As he was putting a sizable amount of vegetables onto his plate, an odd form of panic began to bubble inside of Ron's chest.

This was it, wasn't it? For the foreseeable Future, Ron would have to live in this 'disciplined' way. He would have to embrace this difficult, and dull, lifestyle in order to be the best, wouldn't he? A feeling that Ron had lost along the way began to resurface, and it only furthered his growing dread. _I can't do this. I can't put myself through this type of torture three times a week for the rest of my life. I don't want to._ Ron melted into his seat, his long lost laziness whispering doubts into his mind. _No sweets. No cakes. Only well-balanced meals, with lots of vegetables and chicken._

The walls began to close in on Ron, his miserable existence becoming even bleaker. Why did he have to suffer like this? Daphne, and the rest of his friends, didn't have to deal with these issues, so why did he? Why was it always him who got the short end of the stick? How was that fair? _Always… It's always me. My friends are spending time together in the Gardens, while I'm coming to terms with this garbage._ It was usually in these moments that Ron thought of his family, and then he'd tell himself that he was doing it all for them. But did that really apply this time? There were ways to keep them safe that didn't rely on Ron putting himself through so much work.

A bead of sweat, or water, rolled down his face. Ron wasn't too sure which it was, but it made him alert enough to realize that his hands were trembling. _Shite… Stress moment…_ Ron knew that it was coming, all the signs were already there; the walls closing in, loss of focus, pointing fingers at everyone but himself, shaky hands, his heart beating in his ears… _How is this fair? Why can't she just teach me Spells? That's all I want! Not this Circuit Training nonsense!_

"Ron?" came Mary's distorted voice, and he looked at her with tired eyes. "You've gone pale, what's wrong?"

"Stress moment…" Ron managed, his throat closing up. "They come and go…"

"Do you want me to grab you a Calming Draught?" Mary asked, kneeling by his side and stroking his cheeks. _A Calming Draught? I haven't tasted one in so long… I promised Daphne that I'd only have one if I was about to have a panic attack. Am I about to have one? No… But you know what? I'm going to have one anyway. I deserve one after what I just went through…_

"Yes, please."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

Ron's worries were gone, and so he was free to demolish as much food as he could. Once he had drank down the Calming Draught, his laziness had also subsided. He'd give this new lifestyle a go for three months, and if he showed vast improvement in that time, then he'd keep going. And he wasn't doing this for his family, not entirely anyway. He had always dreamed of being a great Duelist, what Magical child hadn't? This was his chance to try his hand at being one, a chance that not many other children got. _I'll give it my best, and if it doesn't work out, then I'll figure something else out._

"I'll never get used to how much you eat" Mary chuckled, fixing his hair in place while also drying it with her wand. She had even summoned some product to style his hair, but he knew that she just wanted to play around and be creative. It didn't really bother him because it kept her busy. _And quiet._

"I love food, and your Elves make great food" Ron shrugged.

"Well, thank you" Mary hummed. _I was complimenting them, not you._ Ron finished his last bite, deciding that three plates were more than enough.

"I think I'll head home for the day" Ron said, waiting for Mary to finish with his hair. Once she pulled her hands back, Ron stood up and stretched. _Merlin. That hit the spot._ "Thank you for the lunch, Mary."

"You're welcome, but are you sure that you don't want to spend some time here?" Mary asked, a nice smile on her face. One that Ron decided to reciprocate, though it looked so forced that Mary lost her own. "You can spend some time with Daphne, she always enjoys having you around." _Is she hinting at something? Does she know about Daphne and me? Hmmm._

"Does she?" Ron asked in return, and Mary blinked. "Did she tell you that?"

"Pardon?" Mary just stared at Ron with a confused, and worried, look.

"Ron!" came Tori's voice, and both Ron and Mary turned their attention towards the door. Tori, Daphne, and Theo had just entered the Dining Room. Tori ran up and hugged Ron's side, like she always did, but Ron simply gave her a light pat on the back. _There, now get off me._ "What was that?" Tori snorted, letting go of Ron. But her laughter died immediately when she was met with a pale blue gaze that looked through her rather than at her.

"I'm heading off for the day, thank you for having me over" Ron looked to Mary, who nodded slowly. "Spinny!" Ron called, and an Elf popped into the room.

"Did someone call Spinny?" Spinny looked around, and then she looked to Ron. "Master Weasley, did you call Spinny?"

"I did" Ron replied, staring at the little Elf. "Are my clothes dry?"

"Yes, Spinny had…"

"Go and get them. Now" Ron ordered, and she disapparated. Daphne and Theo went slack-jawed at the sight of Ron acting so odd, but their shock died at the same time when they realized why he was being like this. They had spent enough time around him when he was on his Calming Draughts to know that this wasn't their Ron.

"He's on that fucking Potion again" Theo whispered in Daphne's ear, who was just staring at Ron. Spinny returned with a loud crack, Ron's Training Outfit folded in her arms.

"Thank you" Ron said as she handed it to him, and then she bowed deeply before cracking away. Ron began making his way towards the fireplaces, but Daphne jumped into his way. Theo tried to stop her, but she was too quick.

"Are you on a Calming Draught?" Daphne asked, her voice slightly panicked. She couldn't let him leave the Manor like this, she knew just how terrible he became whilst he was on that Potion. He became extremely cold, he threatened people, and sometimes, Daphne even feared that he'd hurt someone. The Potion turned Ron into the worst sort of person, a person that didn't care about anything around him.

"I am" Ron nodded, and her bottom lip quivered slightly.

"You promised…" Daphne whispered, looking slightly hurt.

"I was about to have a panic attack" Ron lied, and she blinked at him. "Ask your mother, she will confirm my story."

"Why? What happened?" Daphne asked. "Was it your trainer?" _I can't even leave without people crawling into my arse._

"Yes" Ron replied. "My training regimen overwhelmed me, so much so that I was driven into a panic. Can I leave now? Or do you want me to write you my autobiography?" Daphne flinched at that, while Theo clenched his jaw at Ron for being such a prick.

"Ronald…" Mary gasped, staring at Ron with utter disbelief.

"It was a joke" Ron 'smiled', staring right through a hurt Daphne. And then he simply walked past her, heading straight for the fireplaces.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

Ron disappeared from the Dining Room, no doubt heading home to his family. Daphne however, was rooted in her spot. Ron hadn't spoken to her like that in months, and so she had forgotten how much it hurt to be on the end of his harsh words. _That Potion… Damn that Potion!_ Daphne shot a glare at her confused mother, who was still just trying to figure out why Ron would act like that whilst being on a Calming Draught.

"You gave him a Calming Draught?" Daphne asked her mother, half-accusing and half-frustrated. _I warned my parents to keep that vile Potion away from Ron!_

"I did, but it shouldn't affect him like that" Mary blinked. "Unless…"

"Unless what, my Lady?" Theo asked.

"Merlin, I forgot that he started drinking it in excess near the end of the school year" Mary rubbed her forehead. Too much of this particular brew resulted in some nasty side-effects, one being a complete mental block on one's inhibitions. And Ron… Ron was a troubled young man, everyone who loved him knew that. Without his inhibitions, he'd start letting his worst side influence him. The side that was in pain and was constantly stressed out. Mary didn't even want to imagine what kind of person Ron would become, but judging by what she had just seen, she knew that she wouldn't like him very much.

"I'll be right back" Theo said, and then he darted out of the room.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Ron?" Tori asked, looking to her regretful mother. Daphne decided to chase after Theo, who was no doubt trying to get to Ron before he flooed away. _This dress! I can't run properly! Merlin, if Ron floos back home… His family is in for a nasty surprise._ Daphne caught up to Theo, who was just staring at a fireplace with an angry glare.

"He's gone" Theo looked to her, clearly frustrated. "Quick bastard… He's no doubt terrorizing his family as we speak."

"Calm down, and let's go and get him" Daphne told Theo, who gave her a quizzical look.

"I'm not going there, they'll kill me" Theo scoffed. _What?_

"Why would they do that?" Daphne returned his look.

"Son of a former Death-Eater" Theo pointed to himself, making Daphne grimace. "You go and get him, they like you I'm sure. You saved his life after he had that seizure." _Great._

"Fine!" Daphne exclaimed, moving to the floo-powder.

"Daphne, where are you going?" Mary asked her daughter, arriving on the scene with a confused Tori.

"I'm going to the Burrow to make sure that Ron doesn't ruin his relationship with his family" Daphne replied. "Why would you give him that Potion, mother? Didn't I warn you a hundred times not to?" Daphne herself had no idea where she got the strength to say that, but before anyone could figure it out, Daphne cast the floo-powder into the flames. "The Burrow" she called, and then she stepped through the green flames.

"Woah, unwanted visitor" came the voice of one of the twins, and Daphne looked to see both twins sitting on one of the couches.

"Is Ron here?" Daphne asked, and the twins sniggered.

"Any particular reason why you're looking for our dearest little brother?" one of the twins asked. _Yes, I'm trying to make sure that he doesn't kill your pets. Because right now, I wouldn't put that past him._

"He left something at the Manor, I just want to return it to him" Daphne replied.

"Then give it to us, we'll give it to him" one of the twins smirked, and the other one mimicked it. _Damn, they got me._

"Oh… What are you doing here?" came Ginny's voice, and Daphne looked to see the youngest Weasley child enter the room with Luna behind her.

"Looking for Ron, have you see him?" Daphne asked.

"He went up to his room" Luna hummed. "But you shouldn't go there, it's highly inappropriate." Daphne blinked at Luna, while everyone else just looked to Luna like she was insane. _Noted, but I still need to._

"Thank you Luna, you're a gem" Daphne gave the girl her best smile, and Luna smiled widely at the compliment. _Definitely Ron's best sister._

"What is this noise?" came Ron's voice, and he suddenly stepped into Living Room. "I'm trying to study, if you want to make noise, then get…" he trailed off when he spotted Daphne, who just looked at him with her composure intact. _I'm ready this time, and I'm not letting you ruin your relationship with your family. You just got them all back on your side._ "Daphne? What bring you here? Did I forget something?"

"You did" Daphne nodded, looking right into Ron's eyes. _I'd rather not do this in front of them, so please read my mind!_

"Alright" Ron said, and then he turned around and left the room. His siblings just blinked at where he was, while Daphne felt the need to slap her forehead. _He just walked away! Giving no explanation whatsoever! Merlin, he really doesn't care about social queues when he's on that stuff, does he?_ Daphne gave his siblings soft nods as she followed Ron out of the room, both of them going to the end of the kitchen. "What is it? Did something happen after I left?"

"No, Ron" Daphne sighed, and he waited for her to go on. "I came here to stop you from making enemies with your family."

"Why would I do that?" Ron asked, just staring at her.

"Because you're a jerk when you're on that Potion" Daphne hissed, her temper flaring because of his earlier behavior. "So thank me, and then apologize to me." Ron just stared at her for a few seconds, and she felt the need to squirm under his gaze. _Damn his height, he's always looking down on people._

"Thank you Daphne, you always look-out for me" Ron said suddenly, and Daphne smirked and nodded curtly.

"Now the apology" Daphne said, still waiting.

"And I'm sorry for being rude, it just slips out when I'm on this stuff" Ron apologized. "You didn't get to eat, did you?" Daphne blinked at his odd question, and then she nodded slowly. _What's he up to?_ "Take a seat, there are pies in the kitchen. I'll grab you a few."

"That's fine Ron, I can just eat when I get home" Daphne told him. "So c'mon, let's go."

"Or we can go up to my room with them" Ron suggested. "And we can study together after you finish eating."

"Your room?" Daphne blinked, looking to the Living Room. She immediately spotted Ginny hide behind the corner, and that made Daphne tense. _This is unsafe. I should say no._

"I want to study" Ron shrugged, not even caring that Ginny was 'spying' on them. "I've been slacking off for the last four days, and at this rate, I'll fall behind my schedule."

"Ron, if we both go up to your room… People might get suspicious" Daphne whispered. _Why am I even entertaining the idea? Oh, I know! It's because it sounds great, but only if Ron was… Ron._

"Then you should head home" Ron shrugged again, moving to go to his room. _Ugh… I'm going to kick him in his crotch!_

"Wait, we'll go up to your room" Daphne whispered, looking to the Living Room. "Just stay away from your family for a few hours."

"Alright" Ron nodded, grabbing some pies for Daphne.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

"Can I get you something to drink?" Ginny asked, this was her fourth visit so far.

"No Ginny, I'm quite fine" Daphne smiled at Ron's little sister. "Thank you for the offer though."

"Alright, just give me a call if you need anything" Ginny 'smiled', her eyes digging into Daphne's. _I won't need to because you'll be back here in thirty minutes. Like clockwork._ Ginny slowly left the room, leaving the door open. Daphne waited for a few seconds, and then she looked to Ron who was looking at his notes with a confused look.

"I don't think your sister likes me being up here with you… alone" Daphne told him. Ron had been true to his word, and he had started studying the moment he entered the room. Was Daphne disappointed? Slightly. Was she glad that he was playing nice? Definitely. _Though he could sneak in a kiss every now and then… But then again, I'd rather he go back to normal first._

"What makes you think that?" Ron looked to her, they were both sitting on his bed.

"Well for one, she just looked into my soul" Daphne huffed, looking back to the open door. "And secondly, that was her fourth visit up here."

"She probably thinks that you're up to something… inappropriate" Ron smirked, looking alive for the first time in hours. _Has the Potion worn off? No, it shouldn't wear off this early._

"Are you back to normal now?" Daphne asked slowly.

"Sort of" Ron shrugged, still looking at her. "I still feel rather… aloof. But I'm also really glad that you're here."

"You are?" Daphne blinked.

"I like having you close-by" Ron admitted. "Just makes me happy."

"Finally, you're back to being you" Daphne smiled, and Ron smiled back. "I really hate the person you become on that Potion."

"Isn't that person still me?" Ron asked.

"It is, but you're not a complete tosser when you're off it" Daphne smirked, and Ron chuckled.

"You said a bad word" Ron tutted. "I'm telling your father about this."

"I'll tell him that it's your fault" Daphne challenged. "You've corrupted me, just like you corrupted Luna. Remember that?" _Because I do._

"Oh, I do" Ron pulled a face, making Daphne giggle. "I almost had a heartache when she said 'fuck'."

"Ron" Daphne frowned. "Don't cuss so openly, it's a filthy habit. And it's not attractive whatsoever." Ron was about to retort, but a tapping on his window stopped him. Both Ron and Daphne looked to see Helios waiting outside, eager to get inside. Ron hopped off of the bed, walked over to the window, and he opened it quickly. Helios hopped in, and Daphne saw Ron quickly remove something from the bird's leg and pocket it. _What was that?_

"Welcome home, Helios" Ron smiled, rubbing his pet's chest. Helios hooted loudly, and then flew over to his perch and started munching on some Owl treats.

"Hello, Helios" Daphne smiled at the Eagle-Owl, and Helios gave her a loud hoot. Ron walked over to the bed, picked up his notes, and then he walked over sat down right beside Daphne. "Ron… What are you doing?" Daphne asked, getting sandwiched between the head of the bed and Ron.

"I want to sit next to you" Ron replied, relaxing and putting his back against the wall. Daphne's face flushed, and she looked back to the open door. "Relax, we're friends Daph. Friends can sit side-by-side if they want to."

"I'm sure they can, but do you really want people asking questions?" Daphne whispered, she had a strong feeling that Ginny was close-by.

"What questions? I just need your help with Herbology" Ron replied, tapping the parchment in his spare hand.

"Help with Herbology?"

"Yes actually, I really can't understand some of this" Ron admitted, while Daphne just read his face. _Wait… He's genuinely asking for help?_ This was another thing that she hated about the Calming Draught, she couldn't predict Ron's thoughts while he was on it. The normal Ron would never pull this kind of stunt, even if he needed help. He always tensed up whenever she got too close to him, and would only relax after a minute or so. _Or a kiss or two._

"Well I can't help you, I'm doing my own work" Daphne smirked, trying to regain her footing in the conversation. She then looked back to her (his) Charms notes, but she didn't really pay attention to them. She hadn't paid attention to them for the last three hours.

"I'm sorry for what I said back at the Manor" Ron suddenly whispered, and she looked back at him.

"You already apologized" Daphne told him.

"I didn't mean it then" Ron admitted, and she frowned slightly.

"What makes you think that I'll believe that you mean it now?" Daphne asked, and Ron suddenly leaned forward and pecked her lips. "Ron, for Merlin's sake…" Daphne looked to the open door in utter panic, trying to keep her frown from turning into a smile.

"I'm sorry" Ron repeated, kissing her right cheek. _Agh! Why is he doing that? His guard-dog of a sister could walk in at any moment!_

"As much as I love your kisses, stop it" Daphne warned him. "Your sister could be around the corner."

"She's not" Ron told her, and she blinked at him. "Helios would start hooting if she was, he gets really excited when she's nearby."

"Why?"

"He really loves her" Ron replied, and Daphne wondered why. "Now please help me with Vampiric Vegetation… I don't understand why some plants are considered to be Vampiric, but others aren't."

"When it says 'Vampiric', it simply means that the plant has fangs" Daphne told him, surprised that the 'Prodigy' didn't know something so basic. Ron nodded slowly, looking back over his notes.

"So any plant with fangs is a part of the Vampiric Vegetation category?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly. "And they don't suck blood?"

"Not necessarily, no" Daphne replied, and Ron gave her a grateful smile. _Odd that he doesn't know something so basic, even Tori knows this kind of stuff._ Ron was once again staring at her, and when his eyes darted down to her lips, she knew why. Daphne put her left hand on his left cheek, gave him a kiss that lasted two seconds, and then looked back down at her notes with a smile. Ron seemed happy enough with that, going back to his own notes with a wide smile.

Daphne, on the other hand, was starting to get curious about something. Her eyes darted over to the rest of the bed, and then to the floor around Ron's bed. _Notes… Notes everywhere._ Usually when someone went through notes, they would put them away after finishing. _But he just has them lying around. Why?_ Daphne subtly looked at the parchment in Ron's hands, and much to her surprise, it was the same sheet of paper that he had been reading thirty minutes ago. _Ron's not a slow reader, I know that for certain._

Then why? Why was he still reading the same piece of parchment from thirty minutes ago? _Maybe his Potion is affecting his ability to study? No… He's aware enough to know that Helios will warn him that Ginny's coming, so he's not slowed down._ She thought about asking him, but she knew that that would be pointless. Ron had a tendency to start stressing when people looked into his business, and when Ron stressed, he also got defensive.

"Ron, a quick question" Daphne said, looking to him with a soft smile. "What's seven times one hundred and five?" _Seven hundred and thirty five._ Ron did the math in his head, looking up at the ceiling for around ten seconds.

"Seven hundred and thirty five" Ron replied, and Daphne nodded and looked back down at her notes. _That took him just over ten seconds, whereas it took me around three seconds. I need one more 'test subject'._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Helios suddenly began hooting at the door, and both Ron and Daphne looked up to see Ginny walk in with two glasses of pumpkin juice. _Like clockwork._ Ginny's eyes widened at seeing Ron sitting shoulder to shoulder with Daphne, while Daphne kept her composure in check. _Time to test Ginny's mind._

"I got you juice…" Ginny said, looking at Daphne with an expressionless face. _This is your brother's doing, not mine._

"Thank you, Ginny" Ron gave his sister a smile, one that she didn't return.

"Ginny, a quick question" Daphne said, ignoring Ron's confused look. "What's seven times one hundred and five?" Ginny blinked at her, doing the math in her head.

"Seven hundred and thirty five" Ginny replied after five to six seconds. _She's faster than Ron as well._

"Thanks" Daphne said, taking the glass of juice from a confused Ginny. Ron did the same thing, but he was looking at Daphne with a furrowed brow. Ginny stood there for a couple of seconds, and then she left the room slowly.

"Daph? What was that?" Ron asked her. "You asked me the same question."

"Ron… Why are you still reading the same piece of paper?" Daphne asked in return, looking at him with an understanding look. "You've been reading it for over thirty minutes now." Ron blinked at her, and then his cheeks began to turn red. "Are you just memorizing the answers?"

"Yes" Ron nodded, looking back down at his sheet. _Does he have no basic understanding of the concepts behind these things? He's not a… He's not a Prodigy, is he? We kept thinking that he was a genius, but he just memorizes answers and then repeats them. How many hours does he spend doing this?_

"Why? Why not study properly?" Daphne asked in a whisper, utterly shocked at this discovery.

"This is studying" Ron quickly defended himself. "I know the answers, and I know what applies where."

"But you didn't even know what Vampiric Vegetation was" Daphne said, trying to keep her voice gentle. "You read the word 'Vampiric', and assumed that it referred to blood-sucking plants." Ron blushed even more at that, averting his gaze completely. "Ron… How long have you been doing this? Is this why you were so far ahead of everyone when you first came to Hogwarts? It was, wasn't it? You always gave the answers first, always finished the tests first…"

"What does it matter?" Ron asked, looking to her with an upset look. She felt a pang of guilt at that, she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She just wanted some answers. "I get things right, and our house benefits."

"What happens if they change the course-work?" she asked, her voice slightly panicked. "Ron, you will fail your O. and N.E. if you don't learn the theories behind our studies."

"Have I failed anything yet?" Ron asked. "Who is at the top of our class?"

"You… but Granger is right behind you" Daphne replied. "And unlike you, she understands everything she writes down."

"I understand it too" Ron told her, his face flushing. "Why do think I spend so long going over things? I just… I get confused sometimes, alright?" Ron shifted in his spot, drank down his whole glass of juice, and then looked back down at his notes. Daphne just stared at him, both shocked and worried. Shocked because Ron was clearly not an Academic Prodigy, some might even call him a cheat. And she was worried because her friend was playing a very dangerous game, one that could come back to ruin his life at some point. "I'm not stupid…" Ron whispered, staring at his parchment.

"I'm not saying that you are" Daphne shifted closer to him, close enough that the smell of jasmines mixed with sandalwood filled her lungs. "No one could ever claim that you're stupid. It's just… Ron, this could come back to haunt you someday. Why not study properly? It would be far more efficient than spending hours memorizing course-work."

"I know more than just course-work" Ron looked back up at her. "And as for this 'Prodigy' title, I didn't ask for it. People just threw that on me, and now they expect me to be a genius. I have never once claimed myself to be a genius, I know that I'm not. I am where I am because I work harder than people like Hermione, who are just born smart. I have to work far harder than anyone else around me just to be where I am, and this method works for me. I'm not giving it up." _He sounds rather frustrated… and bitter._

"Alright, don't give it up then" Daphne decided to compromise, using her skills in negotiation. "But when we return to Hogwarts, why don't we study together? Just you and me. No one else, not even our friends. It'll help you not get easily 'confused', I promise." Ron frowned down at his piece of parchment, but Daphne could see that it was working. "And after every session, we can 'spend some time together'."

"Time together?" Ron's ears perked up as he looked to her. "You mean…"

"Kissing, cuddles… Whatever we want to do" she whispered with a sly smile, she had him now.

"I'm in" Ron smiled despite himself, but he quickly schooled his features. _Cute._ Daphne went to move back to her previous spot, but Ron put his arm around her. "Stay here, please." _Is it just me, or is he getting used to being this close to me?_

"Ron, your family could…" Daphne started, but Ron pouted miserably.

"Mum and Pandora are spending their day at the Rookery, dad is at work, Percy is in Muggle London with his girlfriend, and my other siblings don't come up here that often" Ron listed, hoping to keep her close to him.

"Your sister has been up here five times" Daphne blinked at him.

"Helios will tell us if she's near" Ron smiled in a hopeful way. "We can't sit this close to each other back at the Manor, remember? Theo… Tori… Your parents…" _That's true._

"Alright, you win" Daphne agreed, resting her shoulder onto his. _Nothing wrong with cuddles, right? We'll be fine. Hmmm, he smells nice._

"Thank you" Ron smiled widely, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

She had ended up spending the entire day with Ron, much to her own shock. They had stopped studying pretty quickly after their cuddle session had started, neither of them wanting to concentrate on parchment when they could be sneaking in kisses. Ginny had made multiple appearances, but Helios had managed to always warn them in time. Daphne could tell that Ginny didn't like her much, but that was alright because Daphne didn't like Ginny much either. And Daphne **definitely** didn't like Ginny spending her time hovering near Potter rather than her own flesh and blood, where was her loyalty to her kin?

"I'd better go home" Daphne hummed, attempting to stand up. Ron pulled her back down and hugged her from behind, something that made her giggle. _This is new._

"No."

"Yes."

"Stay for dinner" Ron requested, making her smile widely. "I always eat dinner at yours, but you've only eaten dinner here once."

"Ron… My parents will be worried for me" Daphne told him, she could feel him trying to nestle his head into her hair.

"They trust me" Ron countered, his breath hitting the back of her neck. She shivered at that, her stomach feeling light and floaty.

"They shouldn't" Daphne laughed. "What would they say if they saw us like this?"

"I imagine Lord Greengrass would turn into a demon and eat me, while Mary would be disgusted with your 'unladylike' behavior" Ron replied.

"Are you making fun of my parents?" Daphne asked, her tone slightly scolding.

"Yes."

"Wow" Daphne snorted, making Ron laugh.

"Oink, oink" Ron snorted back, making her laugh hysterically.

"Ronnie! Dinner!" came Molly Weasley's voice, and Ron groaned in an annoyed manner.

"Time to let go, Ronnie" Daphne sang, and he let her go. _Aw…_ She turned to see him stand up as well, her eyes traveling to his slightly red lips. _Too many of those long kisses…_ "Ron, your lips are a little… agitated."

"So are yours" Ron pointed out with a smile. _Damn._

"Do you have your wand on you?" Daphne asked, and he nodded slowly. "Quick, take it out and point it at my lips."

"What?"

"Just do it" she frowned slightly, and he did as he was told. "Give your wand a soft flick, and say 'Episkey'."

"Episkey" Ron chanted, flicking his wand gently. Daphne's lips felt very hot, and then very cold. _It worked._ "Woah, your lips are back to being their usual pink selves."

"It's a Healing Spell" Daphne told him, surprised that he didn't know that. "Now do it to yourself, I don't anyone to suspect why both our lips are a little sore." Ron nodded, and healed his own lips quickly.

"Where did you learn this Spell?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him.

"It was in our Charms textbook, Ron" she reminded him, and this time, he blinked at her. "You didn't read the textbook, did you?"

"Damn…" Ron frowned, putting his wand into his pocket.

"It's okay, we'll fix that" Daphne promised, while Ron shifted in his spot.

"I'm sorry that you have to waste your time like that…" Ron sighed.

"It'll be fun, Ron" Daphne smiled for his benefit. "We can cuddle and read together. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"It does" he nodded, still a bit glum. _I don't mind going over a few things again, it'll be good to review the things that I've forgotten._

"Don't be so glum, it's not very cute" Daphne poked his stomach, but it hurt her finger slightly. _Um… Why is his stomach as hard as a rock?_

"Ronnie! Dinner!" came Molly's voice again, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Stay for dinner, please" Ron said, and she nodded. They both made their way down together, keeping a healthy amount of distance between each other. As they stepped into the kitchen, Daphne was met a lot of Weasleys.

"Hello, dear" came Molly's voice, who was looking right at Daphne with a kind smile.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley" Daphne greeted, giving a polite curtsy.

"Come, take a seat" Molly beckoned her, though it sounded more like an order. Ron and Daphne sat beside each other, and Daphne did her best to keep her composure. _Everyone is looking at me._

"Thank you for hosting me" Daphne decided to say, looking to Mr. Weasley.

"The more the merrier" Arthur Weasley chuckled, making her smile lightly. "How was your study session?" _Study session? Ginny Weasley…_

"Fruitful" Daphne replied, it certainly had been in her mind.

"That's good to hear" Pandora hummed, her sharp eyes looking right into Daphne's. _This was a mistake, I should've gone home._

"Where's Percy?" Ron suddenly asked.

"Still wooing his lady-love" one of the twins sniggered, smirking at Ron and Daphne.

"Speaking of which…" the other one started, but Molly Weasley shushed them. Daphne just smiled at them, not planning to let them rattle her. _This is not helping our 'secret relationship' whatsoever, is it?_ Daphne would never admit this to anyone, not even to Ron, but in her mind, she already referred to Ron as her boyfriend. _All he has to do is catch-up and ask me out, and then we can stop pretending._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Here you go, dear" Molly hummed, putting some more food in front of her. _Merlin, this is my third helping. I can't take another bite, but I can't refuse her either. She's been nothing but a gracious hostess, and the food does taste amazing._

"Thank you" Daphne smiled at Molly, who was already waiting for her to start. Daphne began eating, shooting a look to Ron who was just smirking at his plate. _Arse._

"Do you two study together often?" Pandora asked, all eyes shooting to Daphne again. _How many questions are they going to ask me?_

"We do" Daphne replied. "Usually we all study together, but since everyone is on Holidays, it's just Ron and I."

"What did you study again?" Ginny asked, trying to outsmart Daphne.

"I did Charms, and Ron did Herbology" Daphne replied. "You should join us next time, I'm sure your brother can help you get ahead. Maybe he'll even teach you things that Potter can't." Ginny blinked at her, while Daphne just smiled politely. _Stay in your weight-class._

"Are you continuing your study group next year, Ron?" Luna asked. _I love how he just stole Granger's idea, and then took over completely. Very Slytherin of him._

"I am" Ron nodded with a smile. "You're all welcome to join us, by the way."

"Pass" the twins said together.

"You have a study group at school?" Arthur asked, looking to Ron.

"I do, and it's made up of people from every house" Ron replied, playing with the salad on his plate. _I've never seen him eat so many greens before._

"Hermione mentioned that she started it" Ginny piped in.

"But Ron perfected it" Daphne added. She suddenly felt Ron tap her foot, no doubt telling her to get along with Ginny. _Fine._

"Well, that's great to hear Ronnie" Molly Weasley smiled at her son. "Being inclusive is very important." _I'm sure it is, but I can't help but think that Ron has other motivations. No doubt relating to his beliefs about an 'upcoming war'._ If Daphne was being completely honest, she didn't really believe in Ron's superstitions. Even if the Dark Lord did return, it wouldn't be for a long time. The Wizarding World was at peace, and the Ministry was vigilant about such matters. _Plus, what can_ _ **we**_ _do about something as big as war? Ron stresses too much._

"How are your parents? We never asked" Pandora changed the topic, she could feel some hostility between Ginny and Daphne.

"Mother is at the Manor, while father left for the Muggle World last night" Daphne replied.

"The Muggle World?" Arthur smiled widely, his face coming to life. "What's he doing there?"

"Oh… Father owns a business with Mr. Davis" Daphne replied. "He left in a hurry last night, so I'm not too sure about what he's doing in the Muggle World."

"Do you go to the Muggle World often?" Arthur asked, and Daphne saw all the Weasley children shake their heads slightly. _Are they telling me to not answer? That would be so rude._

"Only when I visit my friend Tracey, she lives in the Muggle World" Daphne replied, looking to Ron for a second. "And I go there to Holiday with my family, but that doesn't happen all that often."

"Tracey? A Pure-Blood living in Muggle London?" Pandora asked.

"Tracey is a Half-Blood, Pandora" Ron piped in, he needed to end this before his father went off about Muggles. The twins were already holding back their groans, while Ginny had completely zoned out.

"Oh, she's the girl you attacked Malfoy for" one of the twins remembered, and Ron nodded.

"Our brother, defending the honor of young maidens" the other one sang.

"That's me" Ron chuckled, while the twins sniggered at his response.

"I'll get dessert ready" Molly hummed, standing up and leaving for the kitchen. _Dessert? I've gained ten pounds tonight, I just know it!_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

The apple pie Molly had baked had been delicious, but Daphne wasn't all that surprised. From what she had seen of Molly Weasley's cooking, the woman knew what she was doing. The only odd thing that Daphne had noticed was that Ron had tried to put off eating the pie at first, but then he had given in and eaten a quarter of it by himself. Daphne found that rather suspicious, mostly because Ron never refused dessert. He had a sweet tooth, one that he always sated at every opportunity.

"Thanks for coming over, Daph" Ron said, they were both standing by the fireplace. The rest of Ron's family were still in the kitchen, talking and cleaning up. "Please do it more often."

"You know what? I will" Daphne promised. "I had a lot of fun today, Ron. And I learned a lot."

"I'm sure you did" Ron sniggered, making Daphne smile slyly.

"I still haven't shown you the Gardens properly" Daphne whispered, and Ron nodded. "Can you try and spend next week at my place? I've decided to have that sleepover."

"So not this upcoming week, but the one after?" Ron asked for clarification, and she nodded. "I'll be there."

"Good" Daphne smiled, deciding not to hug him goodbye. _No evidence._ She turned around and took a pinch of floo-powder, and then cast it into the fireplace. "Greengrass Manor" she called, and the flames blazed green.

"Bye, Daph" Ron said as he took a step back.

"Bye, Ronnie" Daphne teased, making him roll his eyes. With that, she stepped through the flames and found herself back home. Daphne immediately put her hands on her stomach, letting out a weak moan. "My tummy… I should start exercising…" Daphne then made her way to the Living Room, where she found Theo reading a large book on Herbology.

"You're back" Theo looked to her. "Thank Merlin, I thought that he'd killed you."

"Stop that" Daphne frowned, taking a seat close to the fire.

"Just kidding, Daphne" Theo smirked. "How was your date?"

"You won't get a rise out of me Theo, so don't even try" Daphne huffed in indignation, while Theo sniggered to himself.

"Your sister has a crush on Ron" Theo tried again, and Daphne did her best not to frown. _I know, alright. I know…_ "Still nothing? I must say that I'm impressed, you usually don't like people teasing you."

"You're not teasing me, you're boring me" Daphne smirked at him, and he grinned back.

"There's that sassy wit" Theo said, and Daphne rolled her eyes. "I missed not having it directed at me today." Theo then became dead-serious, something shifting behind his eyes. "Did you get there on time?"

"I did" Daphne replied. "He was just about to rip into them, but I stopped him in time."

"You did well Daphne, I mean that" Theo nodded, looking back to his book. "Ron is his own worst enemy." _Trust me, I know that. I still can't believe that he's so far ahead, but so far behind as well._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Midday)**_

Ron stood in front of the steps leading up to Gringotts, this was it. He had thought about finding Victor Burke in Knockturn Alley in order to find out if he was being cheated in any way by Gornuk, but in the end, Ron had decided against it. He didn't want Victor to know that he had managed to procure the dead Basilisk's organs. Victor was no doubt still in the loop when it came to Hogwarts, and he would definitely question how Ron found the Chamber. That was a headache that Ron could do without, so Ron decided that he'd just haggle with Goblin.

And there was Snape's letter from yesterday… Dumbledore was still missing, and the lack of news put Ron's teeth on edge. Just the thought of Dumbledore dying scared Ron, it genuinely scared him. Not simply because he liked the kind old man, which he did, but also because the Wizarding World needed Albus Dumbledore. He was too important a man to lose, especially this early. Without Dumbledore there to face him, the Dark Lord would win in no time. And unfortunately for all parties involved, Ron still hadn't had a single vision since… _Since a long fucking time._

Ron made his way up the steps, his chest and stomach hurting slightly. The pushups and sit-ups had been a real chore to do, and the cold shower had made Ron grouchy. He still couldn't believe that he had to go through so much trouble just to get Madam Roberts to teach him, but he was willing to put in the effort for three months. If she still wasn't happy, then fuck her. Ron would find someone else to teach him, or he'd keep teaching himself. _And I won't have to suffer through 'Circuit Training'._ Ron walked into Gringotts, and he waited in line to see Gornuk.

"Next" Gornuk said after serving an old wizard, and Ron stepped up with a smile. "Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. How may we help you today?"

"I am here about your offer" Ron started, but the Goblin frowned and shushed him. _Okay…_

"Of course, let's have a look at your vault" Gornuk said, making Ron blink. _Um… Just nod and follow him._ Gornuk led Ron down to the cart ride, which they took together in silence. Ron was quite unsure about what Gornuk was playing at, but for the time being, Ron had no choice but to do as he was told. Once the cart stopped in front of his vault, Ron dismounted and handed Gornuk his key. The Goblin quickly unlocked the vault door, and then led them inside. The moment Gornuk shut the door, Ron turned to face him.

"Why are we down here?" Ron asked, and Gornuk just frowned in response.

"Too many eyes and ears upstairs" Gornuk replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "Now… What's this about our deal? Are you willing to sell me that fang?" Gornuk asked, his greedy eyes traveling to the corner where Ron had hidden the fang.

"No, but I have other things to sell" Ron replied, and Gornuk frowned once again. "Basilisk things…"

"Really?" Gornuk's eyes gleamed, a sharp-toothed smile appearing on his face. "Do tell, Mr. Weasley. I have never been one to enjoy suspense."

"I have two fangs, slightly chipped" Ron told the Goblin, who was rubbing his long-fingered hands together. "The heart, the liver, the pancreas, the spleen, and the right lung."

"My, my…" Gornuk licked his lips, something that made Ron shudder slightly.

"Oh, and one more thing" Ron suddenly remembered. "I have its poison sac, which is intact and filled with Basilisk Venom."

"What a day" Gornuk clapped his hands together loudly, his beady eyes crinkling because of his ever-growing smile. "I will not ask you how you obtained such… curios, but I am more than willing to buy them off of you."

"Great, how much money are you willing to hand over for them?" Ron asked, his own eyes gleaming gold for a second.

"For the poison sac alone, I'm willing to pay fifteen hundred Galleons" Gornuk offered.

"That's all?" Ron asked, keeping his voice indifferent. "Even I know just how expensive Basilisk Venom is, and that sac is filled with it."

"Two thousand Galleons" Gornuk corrected himself, still smiling like a greedy little blighter.

"My friend in Knockturn Alley offered me a better deal" Ron lied.

"Twenty five hundred Galleons, that's as high as I'll go" Gornuk's smile faltered. _Merlin, that's a lot of money for one item!_

"Alright, I can settle for that" Ron nodded, while Gornuk smiled once again. "What about the other items?"

"The fangs are chipped, so I'll pay five hundred Galleons for them both."

"For both? You offered to buy the last fang for five hundred just by itself" Ron frowned slightly.

"That fang was undamaged, these two aren't" Gornuk shrugged. "Unless you wish to sell me the undamaged one…"

"No" Ron sighed. "Five hundred Galleons for both chipped fangs is fine." _Still a lot of money, so I don't mind too much._ "Now the other organs?"

"I'll take the lot for five thousand Galleons, and that's very generous" Gornuk said with a firm voice. _So I'll make eight thousand in total… That's good. I'll take it._

"Done" Ron nodded, putting his hand forward for a shake. Gornuk stared at it, and then stared at Ron. _Do Goblins not shake hands?_ Ron slowly pulled his hand back, deciding to do his best not to offend the Goblin in any way. "So how do we do this?"

"Friday night, Knockturn Alley" Gornuk told him. "Behind the White Wyvern Pub, in its back alley." _Shite, how am I supposed to go to Knockturn Alley at night?_

"I'm thirteen, I can't go there at night…" Ron told the Goblin.

"That's your problem, not mine" Gornuk said. _It is your problem, you twat. If I can't go there, you don't get your items._ "Meet me there at eleven 'o'clock, and wear something less… flashy."

* * *

 _ **Monday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Knockturn Alley – Past Midday)**_

Ron passed by the shady looking people, each of them staring at him with dark looks. _Fucking shite, what am I doing here?_ But he already knew the answer to that, he had decided to have a quick look at this White Wyvern Pub. Just to make sure of where it was, and where the back alley was found. So now here he was, walking down Knockturn Alley with his hand on his wand. Most of the shady people only stared, but one crimson witch had offered to make Ron 'a man'. He had never walked past someone so quickly in his life before.

Unlike Diagon Alley, which was bright and cheerful, Knockturn Alley was gloomy and full of dark secrets. Just by being here, Ron felt like he was committing a crime that would land him in Azkaban. The buildings themselves gave Knockturn Alley a twisted look about it, mostly due to the fact that they hid the sunlight in any way that they could. The tall buildings seemed to warp in on Ron as he walked down to the White Wyvern Pub, giving the streets a weird tunnel-like feel to them.

"Hello, can I get five eggs please?" a wizard asked, and Ron's eyes went to his right immediately. The dirty wizard was talking to a hole in the wall, a glazed over look on his face. _What in the actual fuck?_ Ron swallowed thickly, picking up his pace. After a couple of more twists and turns, he found the White Wyvern Pub due to the directions placed around street corners.

The pub itself looked rather out of place, mostly because it was blindingly white and spotless on the outside. But judging from what he saw through the windows, this place was definitely a dive worthy of Knockturn Alley. He could hear the voices coming from inside the pub, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Ron decided to forgo listening in, he had to find the back alley. It took him less than a minute to find it, and if he was being honest, being in it terrified Ron. It smelled rotten, and it was disturbingly dark considering that it was Midday.

"Marty" Ron called, and his Elf appeared with a loud crack. _Merlin, make more noise next time. I don't think they heard you inside._ "Marty, too much noise…"

"Apologies Master, Marty forgot to be quiet" the Elf smiled apologetically, and then he looked around with a surprised look. "Master…"

"We're behind the White Wyvern Pub in Knockturn Alley" Ron explained, and Marty nodded fervently.

"Marty knows Master… Marty has been here before…" Marty informed Ron, looking around with a jittery look. _He knows?_

"You've been here before?" Ron blinked, and Marty nodded.

"Master Greengrass had… dealings here, Master…" Marty whispered, and Ron blinked again. "Dark dealings…"

"What for?" Ron asked, forgetting where he was.

"For his collection" Marty mumbled, not keen on talking about such things. "Why is Master in such a dark place?"

"The Basilisk items…" Ron whispered, and Marty's big blue eyes widened. "I found a buyer, and we're to meet them here on Friday night. At eleven. I just wanted you to see this place so you could apparate us here on Friday."

"Marty can do that" Marty nodded. "Though Marty would prefer Master to stay at home, where Master is safe and protected."

"Marty, it's just for one night" Ron started, but Marty gave Ron a panicked look.

"Marty can do the dark dealings for Master, just as Marty did them for Master Greengrass" Marty offered. "Please stay home…" _Dark dealings? I suppose that is the right term for this… Fuck, when did I turn into this person?_ Ron shook his head clear, deciding that this wasn't the place to have an existential crisis in.

"I can't just let you come here alone, it could be dangerous" Ron said, but Marty just made a more miserable face.

"Marty can take care of Marty" Marty pleaded. "Master, please stay at home. Marty is begging Master…"

"Alright, alright…" Ron said in a calming manner, Marty's eyes had welled up with tears. "I'll… I'll stay at home… And you can come here and trade the items in. The buyer is a Goblin named Gornuk, and he has offered to pay eight thousand Galleons in total for the items. Understood?" _This is foolish, we should both be here._ "Marty…"

"Marty understands" Marty nodded, cutting Ron off. "Marty will sell the items for eight thousand Galleons to Gornuk, the Goblin. And Marty will make sure that Master is not cheated, and that Master remains at home where Master is safe." _Um…_ "Master is too young to be in such a place."

"I… I understand" Ron mumbled, feeling like a scolded child. Marty nodded firmly, his eyes clearing up as he smiled from relief. "Just… Just be safe, alright. And if anything goes wrong, leave the items and run away."

"Marty knows how these things are done" Marty assured Ron, who managed a weak smile. "Shall Marty take Master to his room?"

"Um… no" Ron shook his head, he decided to try and find Victor now that he was already here. "You're dismissed, Marty."

"If Master needs Marty, Marty will come immediately" Marty told Ron, and then he popped away. _Alright, that's one thing taken care of. Wish I called Marty before I found myself in this alley._ Ron quickly made his way out, his hand on his wand again. It took him very little time to find Borgin and Burkes, a place that Ron knew Victor worked in. _Thank you, Lord Greengrass._ Ron peeked inside through the dark, cracked windows, and he could see a young man talking to a young woman by the counter. _Time to rekindle my alliance with Victor._ Ron pushed the door open, and the bell attached to it rung out.

"Welcome to my Uncle's shop" Victor greeted, his eyes falling on Ron. They widened momentarily, something that made the young woman he was talking to turn around and look at Ron as well.

"Are you lost, kid?" the brunette asked, she was wearing a rather revealing dress. She was slender, almost gaunt, and she looked to be around fifteen years of age. Ron would say that she was pretty, but she clearly needed to eat more often.

"Ronald doesn't get lost" Victor smirked at Ron, who was looking around the shop with a wary look. A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood-stained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Ron even saw a charred skull locked behind a display case, rubies fitted into its jaw.

"You know this kid?" the brunette looked to Victor, and then back at Ron. Ron's fancy clothes made her frown with disgust, probably another rich Pure-Blood.

"I do, we are old friends" Victor hummed, eyeing Ron with interest. "What brings you to me, Ronald?"

"Like you said, we're old friends" Ron smiled, his skin crawling because of how Victor eyed him. "I've been meaning to get back in touch with you, especially after I saw you again." _Let's not mention that he was in Greengrass Manor, this girl clearly doesn't like me and can't be trusted._

"Where did you find this one, Victor?" the brunette asked Victor, shooting a frown at Ron.

"In Hogwarts" Victor shrugged. "Ronald, this is Priscilla. Priscilla, meet Ronald."

"A pleasure to meet you" Ron gave her a polite nod, hoping to make a better impression.

"Priscilla, this is **the** Ronald" Victor looked her in the eyes, something shifting behind them. "The one I read to you about, remember?" The brunette's eyes widened to an impossible size, and she looked to Ron with utter shock. _The one he read to her about? What?_

"You're **the** Ronald? Ronald Weasley?" Priscilla asked, her voice reaching a higher note.

"Yes…" Ron nodded slowly, and she squealed before pulling his head onto her chest. Ron froze completely as his head was placed on her tiny, almost bare breasts. _What the shite?!_ Victor made an amused sound from behind the counter, while Priscilla squealed again. Ron broke out of his shock, and he pulled his head away from her.

"You really killed a Mountain Troll when you were eleven?" Priscilla asked, making Ron blink.

"He did, it was quite gruesome as well" Victor 'smiled' at Ron, amused by Ron's ever increasing blush. "Priscilla is a fan of yours, Ronald, be polite."

"Right…" Ron mumbled, his ears turning red. _Her skin felt so smooth…_

"I thought you were another Pure-Blood kid with too much of your parents' money in your pockets" Priscilla smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for being rude."

"It's… It's alright" Ron shook his head clear, looking to an amused Victor.

"What can I do for you, Ronald?" Victor asked, eyeing Ron's nice clothes lazily.

"I was hoping to talk to you… in private" Ron replied.

"Oh, I get it…" Priscilla nodded. "I'll head back out for the day, Victor. Thank you for the tea and sandwiches."

"Thank me by keeping your eyes and ears open" Victor told her, losing his amusement for a second. Priscilla nodded, and then with one last smile at Ron, she departed for Knockturn Alley.

"Who was that?" Ron asked, confused by the odd girl he had just met.

"Priscilla… Don't know her last name" Victor replied, leaning against the wall behind him. "She comes here every day, and I feed her and check her for diseases. I even let her shower sometimes…"

"Doesn't she have her own house?" Ron asked, and Victor smirked at him.

"She is a whore, Ronald" Victor said bluntly, and Ron blinked. _A whore? She looked so young?_ "An underage whore, to be exact. There's quite a market for that in these streets." Ron's stomach turned at that, and all he could do was stare at Victor with a dead look. "You really don't belong here" Victor drawled, his face completely losing its humor. Ron truly believed in the meaning behind those words right now, he was not ready to be here.

"She's underage?" Ron mumbled, still stuck on that.

"She's a Squib, so it hardly matters" Victor replied. _A Squib?_ Ron didn't care much about Squibs, not even his family cared much for them, but still… "Her parents died in the Great War, she ended up in an orphanage for Magical Children, but when they discovered that she was a Squib, they threw her out. She grew up on these streets, and she knows them better than most."

"She's your spy?" Ron asked, remembering Victor's previous words.

"Not a 'spy', Ronald" Victor scoffed. "She keeps me in the loop, and I make sure that she is free of diseases and is fed… Somewhat fed…" _I need to leave._ "Oh, and I read to her whenever it's a slow day. That's how she knows about you."

"You read the Daily Prophet exclusive to her?" Ron asked, and Victor snapped his fingers loudly.

"Sharp as always" Victor smiled in his cold way. "I told her of how you smuggled a Dragon out of Hogwarts, of how you slew a Mountain Troll to save the life of Harry Potter… And she listened with a dreamy smile. It's her dream to see Hogwarts, the fool that she is." _Disgusting bastard, speaking of her like that._

"I'm here to ask if you have any 'special' Tomes" Ron said, trying to change the topic. He didn't want to learn more about Priscilla, he couldn't take it.

"Special Tomes?" Victor repeated, trying not to laugh at Ron's squirming. "Already finished the one I gifted to you?"

"I learned what I wanted from it" Ron replied curtly, not keen on telling the whole truth. "So? Do you have anything like the last one?" _I should just leave, fuck the Tome._

"Tone, Ronald" Victor tutted, and Ron blinked at him. "Mind your tone, or you won't leave this shop. I mean, you will… but in pieces." Ron paled a bit at that, his hand traveling to his wand. "NOW!" Victor exclaimed suddenly, clapping his hands so loudly that Ron flinched. "Let's get you what you want" Victor smirked, chuckling at Ron's scared features. _Fucking prick…_ Ron relaxed a little as he watched Victor look at the shelf to his left. "Do you want something Dark, or something Dark **and** Forbidden?"

"Do you have any Tomes on defeating the Dark Arts?" Ron asked, and Victor gave Ron a bored look.

"You're in the wrong shop if that's what you want" Victor replied. "Ron… Don't lie to yourself."

"Lie to myself?" Ron blinked.

"You came **here** to find a Tome that will help you defeat the Dark Arts? Really?" Victor's black eyes dug into Ron's blue ones, and Ron averted his gaze. "We both know why you came here… Just admit it."

"Something Dark…" Ron muttered, clenching his fists at himself. _Just so I know how to fight them._

"Here" Victor said as he put a black leathered Tome on the counter. "This isn't illegal, and it has some interesting Spells in there. Mostly Curses, and Counter Curses… Perfect for children in denial." Ron fought the urge to frown at Victor, the handsome young man was clearly enjoying making Ron feel like a weak fool.

"How much?" Ron asked.

"Sixty Galleons" Victor replied, and Ron took out his pouch and payed him. "A pleasure doing business with you, Ronald. Again…"

"Right" Ron said as he took the book, forgetting why he was even in here in the first place. _I'm never coming back to Knockturn Alley, not unless I have no other choice._ Ron turned to leave, but Victor whistled at him.

"Here, take this" Victor said as Ron turned around, and then Victor threw Ron a dusty black cloak with a hood attached to it. "You're an idiot for coming to Knockturn Alley in your fancy clothes" Victor sneered with disgust. "And cover your red hair with the hood, every cunt with half a brain will recognize you for a Weasley Blood-Traitor. You'll be lucky if they kill you quickly." Ron just blinked at Victor, and then at the cloak. "Hope to see you again" Victor 'smiled' suddenly, though it was more scathing than polite.

Ron put the cloak on, pulled the hood over his head, and then hid the black Tome from sight. With that, Ron stepped out of Borgin and Burkes in a daze. His stomach felt light, and the more he looked around the street, the more sick he felt. _This place is a blight._ Ron began to make his way out of the street, but he was suddenly pulled into a dark street by a thin figure. Something snapped in his head, and he grabbed his assailant and slammed them against the wall. Priscilla let out a weak cry as she fell down, and Ron stepped back in a hurry.

"Priscilla? Oh fuck… Oh fuck, I'm so sorry" Ron quickly helped her up with shaky hands.

"It's okay…" she croaked, clearly winded. "I shouldn't have pulled you like that…"

"No… No, I shouldn't have attacked you like that" Ron looked her over, and he immediately averted his gaze when he saw that her revealing dress had come loose. _Shite! I just saw her naked breasts!_ "Your… Your dress…" Ron pointed, his throat suddenly dry. Priscilla looked down, and then she quickly made herself 'decent' again.

"That's embarrassing" Priscilla chuckled, clearly not embarrassed. Ron looked back at her with a flushed face, this day hadn't turned out as planned.

"Sorry…"

"It's alright" she assured him, though she had to hide the pain shooting up her back. "We both made a mistake, let's move on?" Ron nodded weakly, guilty for being such an idiot. "You're Ronald Weasley" she smiled at him, and he just stared at her.

"Yes…"

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her smiling falling a little. "This is not a place for kids."

"You're a kid…" Ron mumbled, and she blinked at him. _How old is she? Fifteen? Sixteen? I should have never come here._

"Victor told you" she stated, losing all of her mirth. "You should stay away from him… He's kind to me, but only while I'm helpful…"

"Does he…?" Ron started, but his throat closed up. _I'm going to throw up…_

"I'm missing some of the bits that he likes" she told him, a half-smirk on her face. _Oh._ "You should go, and you shouldn't come back here. The Ministry won't even look into you if you go missing here, trust me." _The Ministry? Why aren't they cleaning this place up?_ Ron just stared at the girl that he had just met, her life making him feel nothing but… sadness.

"What about you?" Ron asked, only to realize too late that he sounded like an idiot. What about her? She didn't have a home to go back to. Nor did she have any family. _Only Victor._

"I… I'll do another round… before nightfall…" Priscilla looked down. "You should leave." Ron nodded dumbly, and Priscilla shot him a weak smile. "It was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too" Ron muttered, going pale in the face. With that, Priscilla walked off down the dingy alley. Ron stared at her leave, and then he began making his way out of Knockturn Alley. No one paid him any mind because of his dirty cloak, but even if they did, Ron simply didn't care. He felt like he was floating around the place, completely out of his mind. _And depth._ As Ron reached the end of Knockturn Alley, he stopped walking.

"Marty" Ron called, his voice breaking.

"Master?" came Marty's voice, and Ron realized that Marty hadn't made a sound. Ron took off the dirty black cloak, and he handed it to Marty along with the Dark Tome.

"Take these to the place where you have the items hidden, I'll collect them when I'm back at Hogwarts" Ron instructed.

"Marty understands" Marty bowed deeply, and then he was gone with a pop. Ron walked out of Knockturn Alley and went straight for The Leaky Cauldron, he just wanted to go home.

* * *

 _ **Fifteen Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped into the Burrow through the fireplace, and he could immediately smell his mother's cooking. It turned his stomach, and he could feel the saliva building up in his mouth. _Ugh… I'm going straight to my room._ Ron left the Living Room, and just as he was about to run up the stairs, his mother called out to him.

"Ron, you're back" Molly breathed a sigh of relief, stopping Ron dead in his tracks. "Take a seat love, we're just getting started."

"I'm not hungry" Ron croaked, and then he cleared his throat.

"What was that?" Molly asked him, not hearing him right.

"I'm not hungry…" Ron replied more clearly. His family shot him confused looks, since when did Ron refuse to eat?

"You should eat a little" Pandora smiled airily at him.

"No thanks, I'll be in my room" Ron turned to leave.

"Ronald, come and eat" his mother ordered, she was not letting him miss meals. Ron wanted to argue, but the look on her face made him think twice. He liked his ears attached to his head. Ron sulked over to the table, and he took his seat quietly.

"Not hungry?" Fred hummed.

"Is something upsetting you, Ronnie?" George asked.

"Girl troubles?" the asked together, sniggering like little children right after. _Girl troubles?_ Ron closed his eyes and swallowed thickly, the walls were beginning to close in. _I don't know anything about the World around me, do I? An afternoon in Knockturn Alley proved to me that I'm just some… Some brat… What the fuck was I thinking when I decided to go down there? I'm such an idiot… This isn't Hogwarts, but I was operating like it was. Thinking that I'd just get away with a quick lie, or a snarky comment. Fuck me…_

"Ron? Are you unwell?" Luna asked, watching him lose his color. Ron just looked at her with a dead look, and then he looked back down at his empty plate. The smell of his mother's cooking was nauseating, and he was moments away from throwing up. _Two days in a row. Bloody hell._ Ron felt bile rise at the back of his throat, and he shot out of his chair and ran to the sink.

"Ron!" came his mother's voice, but it was drowned by the sound of him vomiting his insides out.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Dinnertime)**_

Ron had been actively avoiding his family for the last two days, and he spent most of his time going over his notes. His trip to Knockturn Alley was still fresh in his mind, and Ron prayed to Merlin that he'd just forget it. He had even done his Circuit Training, enduring horrible exertion, in order to hide from his memories. What was the point of thinking about it? Ron had learned his lesson, and he had no intention of ever going back to that place again. And yet… His mind kept drifting to Priscilla. A girl who was two or three years older than him, and who had gone through things that Ron could never even understand.

Ron couldn't help but feel guilty when he looked back at his own life in the past two years. He had fought bitterly against his parents, but at least he had parents to fight with. He had complained about Malfoy and the Slytherins, but he was living Priscilla's dream. Ron had actually been foolish enough to feel ashamed of the Burrow, but at least he had a fucking house to live in. These thoughts had bogged down his mind completely, and his guilt had turned him into a reclusive person. But that had ended tonight, because tonight, he had to have dinner at Longbottom Manor.

So here he was, a nice bottle of Sherry in his hands. Wearing silk robes that smelled of jasmines and sandalwood. Merlin, he just wanted to go back home already.

"Ron, it's good to see you mate" Neville greeted him, his Gran standing behind him.

"Good to see you as well, Neville" Ron smiled, and then he approached Lady Longbottom. She put her right hand forward, which he took gently and kissed. "Thank you for inviting me into your home, Lady Longbottom. It's an honor to be back here." Ron then presented the bottle of Sherry to her, and she smiled at him with pursed lips.

"Thank you, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said gratefully, taking the bottle from him. "Neville, be a dear and take this to the Dining Room. I wish to speak to Ronald for a moment." Neville nodded, took the bottle, and made his way to the Dining Room. "Welcome back to Longbottom Manor, Ronald. Let me apologize to you on behalf of my grandson. I am sorry."

"I accept your apology, just as I accepted his" Ron responded, and she nodded curtly. "Neville and I have put our fight in the past, we were both to blame for it."

"That is good to hear" Lady Longbottom said. "And he apologized properly?" _Properly? What is that supposed to mean?"_

"He was very honest, and I understood him perfectly" Ron replied.

"Good" she said, sounding slightly relieved. "Come, let's eat. Then we can work to remove any bad-blood between you two." _Bad-blood? Whatever._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had surprised himself with how much he ate, whereas Lady Longbottom seemed rather pleased. She had told him that a young man should eat as much as possible, and then she had ordered Neville to keep up with Ron. Something that Neville had failed horribly at, which wasn't surprising. Few could match Ron's appetite, and he hadn't eaten lunch today.

"Did my grandson tell you that I enjoy a good Sherry?" Lady Longbottom asked, sipping some from her glass. _She seems to be enjoying it._

"He did" Ron admitted, seeing no reason to lie. "I asked him when we all went to Muggle London last week."

"I see" she shot Neville a tight smile, who smiled back sheepishly. "I am happy to see that you are all friends once again. And that you are all actively trying to move on, it makes my duty that much easier."

"Friends fight" Ron smiled, looking to Neville. "And Neville is quite amazing at apologizing."

"Thanks" Neville chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "But yes, as you can see Gran, Ron and I are on good terms again."

"Good" Lady Longbottom nodded, her surprise slightly evident. She then looked to Ron, deciding to give Ron their eternal friendship… again. The boy was the only reason why Neville was even alive, and she could never repay him for that. "Ronald, allow me to give you the eternal friendship of the Longbottom Family once again. This time, we **will not** break it." She then looked to Neville, who cleared his throat.

"I vow to uphold this friendship, and to never do anything to endanger it" Neville promised Ron, who just nodded slowly. _What am I supposed to do now? Do I have to make any pledges?_ "If you ever need my help, then you will have it. I will keep your secrets, I will protect your back, and I will never doubt the sincerity of your words. I promise." _Merlin, that was… Touching?_

"Thank you" Ron responded, was he supposed to say that oath too? _Damn, where is Daphne when I need her?_

"Excellent" Lady Longbottom said, happy that the formalities were through. "Let us talk of more… entertaining things, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Somehow the topic had come back to the Ministry, the French Ministry to be exact. Ron had been telling them of how he had resisted the Veelas, a story that he hated repeating. And during this story, he had mentioned the French Ministry trying to cheat him out of a win. That had been a mistake because Lady Longbottom had started ranting about her displeasure with the Ministries. _All of the Ministries…_

"They would rather assure us that everything is alright instead of doing their jobs and fixing this country" Lady Longbottom went on, while Ron and Neville just listened. _I think she's enjoyed too much of that Sherry._ "I mean, just look at their new Legislation against Werewolves… How is that helping anyone but the fools who are easily frightened?" _Legislation against Werewolves?_

"What is this Legislation?" Ron asked, thinking of Remus. Neville just blinked at Ron, why would he ask something that would just send his Gran on another rant?

"It makes it impossible for Werewolves to find work, Ronald" Lady Longbottom frowned, turning to face him fully. "Businesses are forced to supply their Werewolf employees with a Potion that they can never afford, which in turn has resulted in Werewolves losing their jobs the country over. Now we have hundreds of angry Werewolves roaming the country, with no means to provide for themselves except to turn to crime and villainy."

"And who passed this Legislation?" Ron asked, just shocked that he had missed this. _I don't know anything. FUCK! This is Knockturn Alley all over again._

"Dolores Umbridge" Lady Longbottom rolled her eyes, while Ron's eyes widened slightly. _The woman I supposedly killed in the Future? According to my friends' suspicions, anyway._ "A pathetic, power-hungry bottom feeder. One who is using the hate against the Werewolves to climb the ranks of the Ministry, damn the consequences."

"Is that normal? For people to use methods like that to climb in the Ministry's hierarchy?" Ron asked.

"It is indeed" Lady Longbottom replied, glad that at least some child out there was trying to learn more about the horrid World that they lived in. A World seething with backdoor politics, hate-crimes, and disgusting opportunists who would sell their own kin to further themselves. "Occasionally, you get one bottom feeder who is so good at taking advantage of other people's misery, that they are named the 'Minister of Magic'. A job filled with weak fools. If only Crouch Snr's degenerate son didn't shame him, we could've had a decent Minister for once."

"Barty Crouch Jnr…" Ron nodded slowly, remembering Snape's history lesson. Lady Longbottom blinked at him, while Neville's mouth hung open. Did Ron know about his parents?

"You know of the Crouch Family scandal?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron nodded.

"I am sorry for what they did to your son and daughter-in-law, Lady Longbottom" Ron gave his condolences, meaning every word. He then looked to Neville, who had just gone pale. "I'm sorry Neville, I really am."

"Thanks…" Neville looked down, just closing in on himself. _Poor guy… Losing his parents like that._

"I pushed for the Dementor's Kiss on those four…" Lady Longbottom said bitterly.

"Gran, don't talk about this" Neville piped in, not wanting to hear this.

"It's unspeakable to you?" she asked, frowning at Neville who simply looked back down at his plate. "What they did to your father, my son, was unspeakable. What they did to my beloved Alice was unspeakable. They didn't deserve mercy, they deserved the Kiss. But no… The Ministry spun a tale about 'taking the high road', and sent them off to Azkaban instead. A stunt to appease the masses, and to assure them that everything was alright. My Frank and Alice lost their chance at true justice because of the Ministry's games… Only Crouch Snr took my request seriously, and they shamed him for wanting to send his own son to the Dementors."

Neville suddenly got up and marched off, clearly not wanting to hear this bitter rant again. Ron just watched him leave, a feeling of awkwardness engulfing him. Lady Longbottom frowned and shook her head, her grandson needed a sturdier spine. Ron and Lady Longbottom sat in silence for a bit, and Ron simply watched her finish off the last of the Sherry. _She drank the whole fucking bottle in one sitting._

"Forgive Neville" she sighed suddenly. "He's a good hearted boy, but he can be weak sometimes." _Weak?_

"Are his parents still…?" Ron trailed off, and she nodded.

"They live in St. Mungo's, but they are no longer themselves" Lady Longbottom replied, a hint of sadness in her voice. "He deserved to be raised by them, they were spectacular people. Noble, righteous, and brave." Ron nodded slowly, unsure of what to say to her.

"Is the Ministry really that bad?" he asked, deciding that that was better than silence.

"Yes, and no" she sighed. "The World is a complicated thing, and the Ministry plays its own role inside it. I speak about them to you youngsters because one day, it will be you lot who inherit this World. Without the Ministry, Wizarding Communities would crumble. The Old Families would go to war again, and the Statute of Secrecy would be shattered. The Ministry is necessary… But it has been tainted by the ambitions of the people who are meant to serve it."

"Why doesn't the Ministry do something about Knockturn Alley?" Ron blurted out, immediately biting his tongue. _Fuck me! Wake up, Ron. Wake the fuck up._

"What can they do?" she asked. "Evict them? They'd just settle somewhere else. Haul them off to Azkaban? There would be riots in the streets. Tell me, have you been there?" Ron blinked at her, and she smiled knowingly.

"Please don't tell anyone" Ron pleaded, and she held up her hand.

"I will keep your secrets" she assured him, but Ron's paranoid nature wasn't sated by that. "It is a sorry place, is it not?" Ron nodded weakly, thinking of Priscilla. "Full of crime, Dark Object peddlers, whores, and thieves. Even the occasional murderers. And yet, it is kept right next to Diagon Alley."

"I met a girl there…" Ron mumbled, he couldn't keep this in any longer. "She was around sixteen… And she was a…" Ron trailed off, feeling his stomach turn.

"I imagine that she was a Squib" she figured, and Ron nodded weakly. "If she wasn't, she'd be anywhere but there."

"Why doesn't the Ministry help people like her?"

"Help the Squibs?" Lady Longbottom asked, surprised by his foolish question. "Who would that please? No one."

"People like her would be pleased" Ron said, his voice almost jittery. _Fuck, my head is starting to hurt._

"People like her can't offer the Ministry's parasites anything" Lady Longbottom told him. "The Ministry is necessary, but it has been tainted by the ambitions of the people who are meant to serve it" she repeated, and Ron slouched in his chair. "You are almost a man, as is my grandson, and I imagine that you two don't truly understand the World you live in." _I'm beginning to see that. Snape's history lesson, this Werewolf Legislation, Priscilla and Victor, the Ministry's shady habits, Madam Maxime's plans, even Lord Greengrass' Dark dealings… All of it. My view on the World really is pathetic, isn't it?_

"I want to learn" Ron admitted. _But it just pales in comparison to the upcoming war. There's too much to do, and never enough time._

"Then learn, and do with that knowledge whatever you can" she advised. "Now, you should go and find my grandson. He will be in his room. Third door on the left, second floor." Ron nodded slowly, and then he got up.

"Thank you for hosting me, and for your advice" Ron said, and she gave him a soft nod. Ron made his way out of the Dining Room, missing Lady Longbottom's look of approval. Ron quickly found the stairs, and he made his way over to Neville's room. The door was closed, so Ron knocked on it lightly. After some shuffling sounds, the door opened slowly. Neville looked at him through the crack, and then opened the door fully.

"Hey" Neville greeted, going back into his room.

"Hey" Ron said back, entering the room and closing the door behind him. Ron looked around the room, and he found it to be rather plain. There was a nice bed, a sturdy looking table with books on Herbology, some framed photos of Harry and Hermione, and a stack of old books near his Hogwarts trunk. There was one thing that caught Ron's eye however; the walls were laced with gum-wrappers.

"My mum…" Neville piped up, sitting on his bed and looking at the walls. "She gives them to me every time I visit…" Ron swallowed thickly, his chest tightening a bit. _There's thousands of them. He must go there every day._

"Does she recognize you?" Ron asked slowly, and Neville looked conflicted.

"I don't know…" Neville admitted, his voice strained. _Merlin…_

"I'm sorry" Ron repeated, what else was he supposed to say? "Do Harry and Hermione know?"

"They do… They know everything" Neville replied. _Good, he's not alone. Harry and Hermione are the sort of people who will look after him._ "Is Gran still going on about the Ministry?"

"No… No, she stopped" Ron shifted in his spot. "She actually sent me up here…"

"Does she want me to come back down?" Neville asked, looking rather subdued.

"No, I'm just about to head home… Thought I'd say goodbye before leaving" Ron told him, and he relaxed a bit. "I won't tell anyone about your parents, Neville. I swear. I will keep your secrets." Neville smiled at that, looking to Ron with a grateful look. "Take care."

"You too, Ron" Neville nodded, and Ron turned to leave. "Ron… You should come around more often." Ron looked back to Neville, and he gave the Gryffindor a nod.

"I will try and do that."

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Albanian Forests – In the Dead of Night)**_

The Unicorn's silvery-blood rolled down his chin, and he let out a victorious hiss. The three days he had spent tracking the beast had finally paid off, and he could feel his 'body' being revitalized. Any sense of shame that he had once felt at being so weakened was gone now, replaced by a desperate need to survive. _To defeat Death, the ultimate enemy._ Lord Voldemort lived, and that was the only thing that mattered.

The Albanian Forests were teeming with life, both Light and Dark, but they all avoided him because of sheer instinct. He was the king of this Forest, and they all knew it. For now, that was enough for the Dark Lord. He would survive, and eventually thrive. And then… He'd burn the Forest down in order raise his own kingdom. A kingdom created to spit in the face of Death, and all the fools who accepted it. A kingdom where there was no threat to his life, where no one would dare challenge his will. Lord Voldemort would live… forever.

Lord Voldemort walked past the drained corpse of the Unicorn, and with a flick of his stolen wand, he levitated the heavy beast and strung it up. The branches of the trees weaved through the beast's corpse, creating a truly haunting piece of art. It brought a smile to his little face, he was getting stronger. _Soon… I will have the power to step out of the shadows soon._

His soul had once again become stable, and whatever horrors that that **monster** had inflicted on him, were now healed. He no longer felt the crippling agony that he used to, but the fact that he had created another Horcrux taxed him greatly. There were days where he would just lose the strength to even move, but they were becoming far less frequent. Now that he had this new host, he could actually start recovering his power again. But rather than drain his current vessel's Magical Core, Lord Voldemort had started hunting the Unicorns. Their blood was a suitable replacement, and it kept his vessel from breaking apart from the stress of his ever increasing power.

He eyed the haunting piece of art with a sense of pride, it had been too long since he had created something. _Something that serves a purpose._ This piece of art would keep the locals out of the Forests, like his previous works had been doing. He was currently residing near a Magical settlement, with no more than three hundred people residing in it. They were a superstitious lot, who were wary of outsiders and preferred to live in isolation, which suited the Dark Lord just fine. His host needed actual food from time to time, just so it wouldn't lose muscle mass, and he could easily sneak into the settlement and steal whatever he needed.

"Mathew!" came a loud yell, and Lord Voldemort frowned. _That peasant is back._ "Mathew! Son! Are you here?!"

"Irritating fool" Lord Voldemort hissed, his vessel's uncle was looking for 'him' again. Lord Voldemort had put off the idea of killing the peasant uncle, but only because it would direct unwanted attention to himself. But these 'visits' were becoming tedious, and they were starting to get in his way. Lord Voldemort became one with the shadows, disappearing into the branches in a puff of dark smoke. From there, he watched for 'his' uncle.

"Mathew!" the older wizard called again, walking into view. He was almost an old man, with greying hair, and his worry for his nephew had seemed to have age him a hundred years. _Bothersome oaf, I will suffer you no more._ "Son, where are…?" the uncle started, but his voice died in his throat when he saw the dead Unicorn. "By the Old Gods…" the old fool stumbled back, losing his footing and landing on his back. The sight pleased Lord Voldemort, especially because of the plan that was brewing in his mind. _I'm strong enough now, so I know that it will work without fail._

"Uncle?" Lord Voldemort called, taking shape behind the blubbering fool. The uncle turned around with a horror-stricken look, his heart lifting at the sight of his long-lost nephew.

"Mathew? Mathew!" the older wizard stood up in a hurry, but then he stopped moving completely. There was Unicorn blood all over the boy, and something wasn't right behind those eyes. "Mathew? Is that you?"

"No" Lord Voldemort smiled cruelly, not in the mood for playing games. "I am something… more." The old man paled as Lord Voldemort's eyes blazed red.

"What are you? The Devil?!" the old wizard demanded. "Did you kill my little brother and his wife?! What have you done to Mathew?!"

"Silence, you will serve me" Lord Voldemort hissed, how dare this lowly peasant raise his voice at the most powerful sorcerer in history?

"Serve you?" the older wizard blinked, and then his face contorted with rage. "Give me back my nephew, demon!" The peasant tried to go for his wand, but Lord Voldemort seized the very blood in the old man's veins. A wondrous scream tore out of the peasant's throat as he seized up, his blood boiling in his veins.

"You. Will. Serve. Lord Voldemort" the Dark Lord hissed, using his Magic to drag the old man by his feet. "But first, I will break you."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore POV**_

 _ **Thursday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Magical Settlement on the Border of the Forests – Early Morning)**_

Albus apparated right at the edge of the settlement, his boots getting soaked in the mud immediately. Albania's current climate was… bothersome. The cold made his bones ache, despite the fact that he wasn't wearing his own skin. In order to stay undercover, Albus had been drinking Polyjuice Potion every two hours. Polyjuice Potion that contained the hair of some middle-aged man that Albus had found handsome in a rugged sort of way. The locals of such small towns often opened up to a handsome, but familiar looking, face.

He had had no success in his mission so far, but he knew that he was getting close. Whispers of dead Unicorns had traveled down the border of the Forests, and Albus had followed these rumors to this settlement. If this was indeed Tom, then he was getting bolder. And if he was getting bolder, than that meant that he was also getting stronger. Time was of the essence, and Albus intended to waste none of it.

After drawing in a deep breath, Albus began making his way into the settlement. The townsfolk were just waking up to start their daily routines, with the men heading off to work while the women took their children on grocery runs. It was a very small settlement, which meant that Albus' task to gather information would be much more difficult. _Small towns hold their secrets far more closely to their hearts. I should start with the locals, and then head to a pub. If they have one…_ Albus was ripped from his thoughts when he saw a burnt down house, its roof had collapsed in and the whole house was charred. _It was burned down a long time ago by the looks of it, but no one has cleaned up? Odd._

"Stay away from that place, lad" an old crone croaked, shambling past him with a cane. "It's cursed."

"Cursed?" Albus asked, and the old woman stopped. She turned to face him with milky white eyes, her wrinkled face pinching. _She is blind._

"A stranger…" the old crone hissed, spitting on the ground. _Not blind enough, it seems._ "Leave this place, we don't want your kind here. Misery… That's what you strangers bring. Death and misery…" With that, the crone turned around and began limping away. Albus watched her limp away, this town was as friendly as the last one.

He could feel eyes falling on him, most of them were hateful and wary, but there were some that were simply resigned. Something ominous was at play here, and Albus felt relieved at the prospect of finally locating Tom. Relieved, and fearful. If Tom was indeed here, then this town would not be safe from their battle. Tom understood the value of hostages even though he couldn't understand love, which made him far deadlier than even Gellert Grindelwald. Gellert at least respected life, whereas Tom lived to serve only himself.

Albus spent an hour surveying the town, keeping away from the eyes of the townsfolk. He had seen, and learned, some troubling things. For one, the locals were afraid of the Forests that they lived near. The men would leave to hunt early in the morning, and they'd come back well before dark, regardless of how their hunt went. A young girl had told him that there was something 'Dark and Old' in the Forests, and that **it** was angry with them. Albus knew that small Magical settlements like this one were superstitious, but the way the young girl had spoken to him had sent a shiver up his spine.

The second thing he had noticed was that people steered clear of the burned house, they didn't even want to look at it. This only intrigued Albus even more, and he decided that he needed to learn more about it. Why would people fear a burned down house if something truly horrible didn't happen in it? For all Albus knew, Tom could very well be connected to that house. It was a possibility that Albus couldn't rule out, he had learned from the folly of going up against Tom unprepared. Tom was capable of anything, and everything.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Magical Settlement on the Border of the Forests – Dinnertime)**_

The day had been a resounding failure, but Albus wasn't deterred just yet. These people were scared, and that gave them the right to be wary of strangers. Albus was currently in the local pub, sitting alone in a dark corner, waiting patiently to be served. A young woman, who was the only waitress, was serving the locals first, which was fair because they had brought the meat to be used tonight. Albus could tell that these were a humble people who valued community above all else, which also explained why they were so shaken by that burned house. _Tragedy can be a bitter thing to swallow._

"What can I get you?" the young woman asked, smiling weakly at him. Albus smiled back politely, which eased her tense shoulders.

"Could I please grab a bowl of venison stew? And some ale?" Albus asked, deciding to live a little.

"Sure thing, I won't be long" the waitress nodded, leaving for the kitchens. Albus returned to his thoughts once again, he would venture into the Forest tomorrow. _If Tom is out there, I'll find him. And once I do, I'll trap his wraith-like form in a Magical bubble. After that… I'll figure out what to do with him._ But he already knew what he had to do to Tom, he had to find a way to destroy his former pupil. _But what if he created more than one Horcrux? Could Tom be capable of such a feat? Most likely._

"There are no more tables, but you can join that other stranger in the corner" Albus heard the waitress' voice, and he looked up to see who his new 'companion' would be. Albus' mouth hung open from utter shock, this couldn't be happening. _What is_ _ **he**_ _doing here?_

"Thank you, kind girl" Xenophilius said to the waitress with an airy smile, something that made her blink. Albus controlled his features, and he looked down at his hands that were resting on the dirty table. Xenophilius walked over to where Albus was sitting, still smiling airily. _Why is he here? Of all the places in the World, what would compel him to come here?_ "May I join you, good man? There are no other tables."

"Certainly" Albus replied, making his voice deeper. _I'm still disguised as someone else, now I just need to be careful and mind my voice._ Xenophilius took a seat from across Albus, and then he opened up a journal and began reading it. Albus watched him for a few seconds, deciding that he needed to learn of why Xenophilius Lovegood would be here.

"Here's your order" the waitress said, putting a hot bowl of stew and a mug of ale in front of Albus. "What can I get for you?" she then asked Xenophilius, who looked up with a smile.

"I will have the same as my companion" Xenophilius replied, shooting a smile at Albus.

"Alright" she nodded, and then she looked to Albus. "Pay up the front once you're done, stranger. Zamir knows what you ordered, and he'll take your money." Albus nodded politely, and then he watched her leave.

"Not a friendly lot" Xenophilius observed, though he didn't sound vexed whatsoever. "I went to a Muggle town before this, and they were quite a wonderful lot. They even helped me pick out suitable clothes." Albus looked at Xenophilius' clothes, and they definitely looked more local than his own.

"We Magical-folk are wary by nature" Albus said back, and Xenophilius nodded gently. _I've heard that Muggle Albania is very traditional, and that they respect each other's differences. We could learn from them._

"That we are" Xenophilius agreed. "Xenophilius Lovegood, a pleasure to meet you."

"John Proctor, likewise" Albus lied, using the name of a character from a Muggle book.

"John Proctor? That's a nice name" Xenophilius smiled airily. "What bring you here, John? Are you simply passing through?"

"Yes, and no" Albus replied, deciding to spin a tale. "There's been some irregular activity in the area, and the Albanian Ministry sent me here to investigate."

"Irregular activity?" Xenophilius blinked, and then he smiled more widely. "I believe that our paths were destined to cross, John." _They were? Why is he here?_

"Really? What brings you here?" Albus asked.

"My wife and daughter, truth be told" Xenophilius chuckled, while Albus waited to hear his story. "I run a magazine back in Magical Britain, it's called The Quibbler. I write about the things that the Ministry tries to hide from the people." _Yes, I've read it before. And truth be told, I'm not a fan._ "Anyway… I got word that some… Dark things… were happening in the Albanian Forests."

"Dark things?" Albus asked, and Xenophilius nodded and leaned in.

"Dead Unicorns" Xenophilius whispered, and Albus nodded gently. _Merlin, he's looking for Tom without even realizing it. I need to send him away from here._ "My daughter, Luna, she loves Unicorns" Xenophilius smiled widely, his eyes relaxing at the mention of his own daughter. "I wasn't going to come down at first, my wife is pregnant you see, but they both urged me to look into this." _Pandora is with child?_

"Congratulations" Albus offered Xenophilius a smile.

"Thank you" Xenophilius leaned back. "So here I am, looking into the monsters who would harm such beautiful creatures."

"Monsters?" Albus asked, looking to the waitress who was approaching them.

"Here's your order" she said, placing it in front of Xenophilius. "Pay at the front, Zamir knows what you ordered."

"Thank you, kind girl" Xenophilius smiled at her, and she smiled back before leaving.

"You mentioned monsters?" Albus asked, starting his meal alongside Xenophilius.

"Poachers, I'd wager" Xenophilius sighed, looking slightly crestfallen. "I've tracked a lot of poachers in my time, they're always the same… Greedy, violent, and they have no respect for the land that they walk on." _He's tracked them._ Something clicked in Albus' mind, something that made him feel rather guilty.

"Maybe we can find them together?" Albus suggested, and Xenophilius looked up with a surprised look. "I'm not very good with tracking people through forests, and two heads are better than one."

"Two heads are better than one? I like that…" Xenophilius smiled, nodding his agreement. "The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can return to my wife's side." _Albus, what have you done?_

* * *

 _ **Friday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Forests –Morning)**_

Albus and Xenophilius had started their hike through the Forest at the crack of dawn, and for a while, Albus had struggled to keep up. Despite using Warming Charms, Albus was still an old man wearing the skin of a young one. His feet hurt terribly, and the cold had made his joints ache.

"Keep up, John" Xeno chuckled, making his way forward. "This is summertime, and the day will get warmer, I promise."

"This is summertime?" Albus asked, catching up to Xeno.

"The Muggles told me that it was" Xeno nodded, looking around for tracks. "They said that they've had a lot of rain recently, but the Sun still comes out around Midday. I reckon today's going to a lukewarm day, judging from the lack of clouds and cool breeze." Albus looked up at the sky at that, and Xeno was right. _Barely any clouds up there. He knows what he's doing, but then again, of course he does. He travels at least ten times a year._ "You're not from Albania, are you?" Xeno asked with a knowing smile.

"No" Albus replied. "Just a wand for hire…"

"I see" Xeno nodded. "I once ran into a band of wizards and witches who were wands for hire. We ended up exploring a lot of Scotland together."

"I usually work alone" Albus said, he didn't want Xeno seeing through his story.

"Me too" Xeno said, and then he smiled widely. "Except when my little Luna comes along with me. She's as sharp as they come, and she knows all of my tricks."

"How old is she?" Albus asked, keeping the conversation on Xeno.

"She's twelve" Xeno beamed. "She studies at Hogwarts, and she was smart enough to land in Ravenclaw. Just like her father and mother."

"She really asked you come here?" Albus prodded, trying to fully understand why Xeno was even here.

"She and my wife both" Xeno nodded. "They want me to report what's happening here, and why the Ministries aren't protecting the Unicorns. They're already an endangered species, but the Ministries aren't doing anything to help them. I've been writing an article about them, and when this came up, they urged me to investigate. But truth be told… I want to go home as quickly as possible."

"Then let's find out what's happening here, and then let's be on our way."

* * *

 _ **Friday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Forests – Lunchtime)**_

Nothing. They had spent hours traveling the woods, and they had found nothing. Not even tracks.

"Here" Xeno offered Albus some salted meat, and Albus took it with a polite smile. "Bread and cheese alone won't keep you in shape" Xeno chuckled. They were currently having some lunch, both of them had their own supplies in Enchanted pouches, but Xeno was far better prepared than Albus when it came to food. "I'm surprised that a man in your trade doesn't feel right at home here." _I'm a Professor, not a mercenary._

"I prefer working near civilization" Albus replied, smiling despite himself. "There is no life to be found in these woods, and that makes me uneasy."

"And it certainly should" Xeno told him, and Albus looked to Xeno with a curious look. "These woods are meant to be teeming with life, but so far, we haven't found any signs of that." _No… We haven't._ "Something is not right in this Forest, John. I can feel it. The animals are hiding from us… Just listen." Albus listened, and he heard nothing.

"There are no birds, or insects…" Albus realized, and Xeno nodded slowly. _I made the right call by asking him to join me._

"Animals aren't mindless creatures, trust me" Xeno said, his voice almost ominous. "They are hiding because they are afraid of something… Something that has taken over this Forest." _Tom. It has to be him._

"Back in the settlement, I spoke to a young girl about the burned house" Albus said, deciding to share information. "Before she ran off, she mentioned that something 'Dark and old' had stirred in these woods. The locals, I believe, think that a Curse is upon them."

"They do" Xeno confirmed, making Albus blink. "Do you remember our waitress?"

"I do."

"I spoke to her after you went to your room for the night, she opened up to me because no one was watching us" Xeno informed Albus. "That house burned down about a month ago, and the family that lived inside it burned along with it. The locals tried to put out the fire, but they couldn't do a thing to stop it."

"What do you mean?" Albus asked, was it a Cursed Flame?

"I think that the fire was Cursed, John" Xeno replied, and Albus nodded. "They recovered the bodies the next day, but here's the thing, the eight year old son was missing. Both mother and father were burned beyond recognition, their size was the only indicator of who they were, but the son was never found." _A boy goes missing after a house-fire?_

"Did they try and find the boy?" Albus asked, forgetting to eat his food.

"They did, but they never even found a trail" Xeno shuddered. "His uncle, the town's bailiff, still goes out looking for him. But no one has seen him since Wednesday… The locals have every right to fear that a Curse is upon them, I myself believe it."

"Perhaps…" Albus said, taking a bite of his meat. "Do you still suspect poachers?"

"You think that the Unicorn deaths and the town's misfortune are related?" Xeno looked up, and Albus nodded. "I suppose that makes sense… Perhaps that little girl was right, and we have both stepped in something far bigger than us." Albus couldn't help but notice that Xeno had gone slightly pale, no doubt worried about not making it home.

"Perhaps we should leave?" Albus suggested, though he had no intention of backing out.

"Leave?" Xeno blinked, looking in Albus' eyes. "You're not planning to leave, I can see it in your eyes." _The Lovegoods. They are far too observant._ "Two heads are better than one, John" Xeno smiled softly. "I'm not abandoning you here."

* * *

 _ **Friday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Forests – Sunset)**_

"John, are you alright?" Xeno asked, putting his hand on Albus' back. Albus drew in a deep breath, and then he looked to Xeno who was also somewhat out of breath.

"It's getting harder to breathe. Have you noticed?" Albus asked, and Xeno nodded. "I think we've passed some sort of ward."

"I think we should turn back" Xeno suggested, looking around the darkening woods. "If we've passed wards, then the person who put them up knows that we're here." _Tom knows. Xenophilius is right, we need to turn back for the time being. I'll take the wards down tomorrow._

"Alright, let's turn back" Albus agreed, and they both began leaving the dense part of the Forest. The sun was beginning to set, and it gave the woods an orange color scheme. _Orange, and filled with shadows._

"We should camp on higher ground" Xeno suggested, and Albus nodded. "That's better" Xeno breathed in. "The air is clearer here." _That it is._ Albus was relieved at that, he truly needed some rest. _I'm too old for this sort of behavior._

"We know where to start looking tomorrow" Albus told Xeno. "I'll take down the wards at day-break, and then we can investigate further in the woods." They both walked for a few more minutes, the silence between them being filled by the sound of crunching twigs and stomping feet. And then, all too suddenly, Xeno stopped making any noise.

"John, wait" Xeno said, stopping in his tracks. Albus stopped as well, facing Xeno with an alert look. "Tracks…" Xeno pointed just in front of himself. "Unicorn tracks…" _Unicorn?_ Albus' eyes twinkled slightly, and he watched Xeno study the tracks with a keen eye.

"Can you follow them?" Albus asked. _If we can find where the Unicorns are going, we'll find Tom. Find him, and capture him._

"I can" Xeno smiled at Albus before looking back down. _Thank Merlin, we finally have a trail to follow._ "These are deep, and perhaps a day old. Maybe two…"

"Deep?" Albus asked.

"This Unicorn was running" Xeno noted, taking out a camera from his pouch. Xeno then took a photo of the Unicorn track, the camera's flash echoing through the Forest. "It went that way" Xeno sighed, pointing to the denser part of the Forest. _Then we must follow it. The wards… The Unicorn tracks… Tom is hiding in there, I can feel it._

"Will you be able to follow this trail tomorrow?" Albus asked, and Xeno looked up at the sky. Albus followed his gaze, and much to his disappointment, he could see thick clouds. _Xenophilius mentioned that there had been a lot of rain recently._

"The rain will destroy the tracks" Xeno stood up, his camera still in his hands. "So much for clear skies…"

"The sooner we find the cause of the dead Unicorns, the sooner we both get to leave" Albus said, deciding to follow the tracks. Xeno nodded at that, and they both began making their way back to warded part of the Forest.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Albus had broken the wards with relative ease, which was a good sign. If Tom was the one who placed them, then he was still weakened. Xeno had been truly impressed by Albus' ward-breaking skills, while Albus was truly impressed with Xeno's tracking skills. Xeno could see tracks with little to no effort, while Albus couldn't tell one patch of Earth from another.

"We're getting closer" Xeno said suddenly, taking another photo of the tracks.

"What makes you say that?" Albus asked, his eyes traveling to ever shadow around them

"The tracks are getting deeper, and fresher" Xeno replied. "I think that it…" Xeno stopped mid-sentence, and Albus looked to him. Xeno was staring at something ahead of him, and Albus followed his gaze to a wet, silvery patch on the ground. _Unicorn blood… It's staining the ground._ Xeno quickly moved towards it, while Albus failed to stop him.

"Xenophilius… Use caution…" Albus frowned, brandishing his wand as he caught up to Xeno.

"It died here…" Xeno muttered, his voice slightly strained. Albus looked to the wide patch of stained Earth, and he said a silent prayer for the Unicorn. _Poor beast. To meet such a horrible fate._ Xeno took a photo of the ground, while Albus wondered where the body was.

"Where do you think its body is?" Albus asked, feeling his stomach tighten at the sight of so much Unicorn blood.

"There's no blood trail" Xeno looked around. "If some other animal found its carcass, then there would be a trail. This Unicorn's carcass simply… vanished…"

"Did someone take it?"

"Poachers are messy, they'd leave behind a mess" Xeno took another photo of the blood. _This is… odd._ Albus suddenly felt something land on his right shoulder, and he felt it trail down his jacket. _Birds…_ Albus went to clean the bird-dropping, but his eyes widened when he saw that it was Unicorn blood. _Merlin's beard…_ Albus looked up slowly, and his blood froze.

"Xenophilius… Look…" Albus managed stepping back as if in a daze. Xeno looked up as well, and his camera fell from his hands.

"By the Hallows…" Xeno whispered, the blood draining from his face.

There, right above them, was the dead Unicorn. The branches from the tall trees around them were weaving their way through the desecrated carcass of the Unicorn, creating an image so haunting that even Albus was shaken. Pure anguish was etched on the dead Unicorn's face, with wooden branches piercing out of its eyes, nostrils, and ears. It hung there for the World to see, its belly ripped open and devoid of any organs. Whoever had done this, they had done it to inspire horror. And it was working.

"Poachers don't do this…" Xeno muttered, taking a shaky step back. "This is… This is cruelty manifest…" _What have you become, Tom?_

* * *

 _ **Friday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Forests – Night)**_

"Xenophilius, please eat" Albus said, offering Xeno bread and cheese. Xeno looked to Albus with a haunted look, his face dirtied and pale. Xeno had taken pictures of the desecrated Unicorn, and then he had cut it down and buried it. Albus had helped of course, and he had respectfully remained silent when Xeno had teared up. Albus knew that Xeno, even as a young boy, loved Magical Creatures. _And he is one of the finest students of Care of Magical Creatures that Hogwarts has ever seen. Almost as good as Newt himself. Though his belief in unnatural Creatures did wound his grades terribly._

"I'm not hungry" Xeno whispered, looking back at the small campfire with puffy red eyes. Albus nodded gently, deciding not to push him any further for now. _I am taking him back home when the Sun rises._ "Who could do this?"

"Someone who has no humanity left in them" Albus sighed, taking a sip of Polyjuice Potion. "We will leave in the morning, and you can return to your wife and daughter. Think of them, Xenophilius. Cast aside the horror that we just witnessed. It does not do well to dwell on darkness." Xeno looked up at that, his eyes piercing. "What is it?"

"You just reminded me of someone" Xeno replied, looking back to the fire. "An old wizard who used to tell me that being different wasn't a bad thing." _He's speaking of me. I used to tell him that whenever I found the other children bullying him. He never once fought back. Not even when James, who was two years his senior, hung him upside down for two hours._

"And it isn't" Albus replied, offering Xeno the bread and cheese again. "Eat, you will need your strength." Xeno took the food reluctantly, nibbling on it as he gazed into the fire.

"I'm going to publish this article, John" Xeno whispered suddenly, and Albus nodded in an understanding way. "The people need to open their eyes to things like this… There are barely five hundred Unicorns left in Europe, with the largest herd of them living in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest." _Only four of them left now, thanks to Tom._ "And once I've published the article… I'll sell the Quibbler to the Daily Prophet…" Albus blinked at that, rather taken aback by Xeno's words.

"Sell the Quibbler? Isn't it your life's work?" Albus asked, and Xeno shot him a tired look. _Be careful, Albus._

"It is… But I've been thinking about selling it ever since I found out that my Pandora is pregnant with our second child" Xeno replied. "The Daily Prophet offered me a great deal for it, mostly because they want the people who read my magazine to read their papers. They'll let me work with them to publish my work in a small section of the Daily Prophet, and I can even call it the Quibbler. With the money that I'll get, I can make room for the new baby. And I'll need a stable job to support two children and my wife… No more traveling…"

"I see" Albus nodded, oddly upset at this bit of news. _'The harsh realities of life'… Isn't that what Gellert called this phenomenon? That we must abandon our dreams to fulfil a greater role. And yet, he still chose to chase his dream of absolute power. Something that destroyed him._ "You are a good man, Xenophilius. Not many can give up their dreams for others."

"I'm not giving up my dream, I'm focusing solely on it" Xeno smiled for the first time since they had found the dead Unicorn. "I don't why I just told you all of that… You're a good listener, John."

"I've been told as much" Albus smiled, looking to the fire.

"Tell me about yourself" Xeno said, turning to face him.

"Nothing much to tell" Albus shrugged.

"Any family?"

"No" Albus replied, thinking of Aberforth. "None that want me around."

"I see" Xeno said slowly. "Forgive me for prying, I just…" he trailed off.

"Need a distraction?" Albus smiled, and Xeno nodded weakly. "I had a…"

"Shhh" Xeno shushed suddenly as he stood up, and Albus did the same. _What is it?_ Albus' hand went to his wand, prepared to brandish it at a moment's notice. Albus could hear the leaves rustling, but nothing else. "The leaves…" Xeno whispered, and Albus blinked at him. "John, there's no wind…" _We're not alone._

"You shouldn't be camping here" came a man's voice, and both Albus and Xeno brandished their wands. An older wizard stepped into the fire's light from the shadows, his appearance was haggard and dirty, but he was still mostly hidden by the surrounding darkness. Albus' instincts told him to stun the man, but he stayed his hand.

"We're simple travelers" Xeno announced, hoping to de-escalate the growing tension. "Who are you, my good man?"

"The bailiff of a nearby town" the man replied, looking at Albus and Xeno's wands. "The bailiff of a nearby Magical settlement."

"The missing boy's uncle…" Xeno whispered, and they both lowered their wands. _What was he doing out there in the dark? Why didn't we see him in the Forest?_ Albus kept his guard up, ready to strike the man down at a moment's notice. "We passed through the town, and we…"

"What are you doing here?" the bailiff demanded, cutting Xeno off.

"We are simply enjoying the countryside" Albus replied, he did not trust this man. "Step further into the light, my good man. Let us share the fire, and what little food we have, with you."

"How do I know that you're not brigands?" the man asked, keeping his face hidden in the dark.

"If we were brigands, we would've attacked you on sight" Xeno replied. "It is a cold night, my friend. You are welcome to our fire." The bailiff didn't move from his spot, and both Xeno and Albus exchanged looks. _Something is wrong here. Why is he hiding his face?_ The bailiff reached for his wand suddenly, and Albus non-verbally stunned him in less than a second.

"John!" Xeno exclaimed, going wide-eyed.

"Raise your wand, and stay alert" Albus ordered, his eyes hardening. Xeno nodded shakily, pointing his wand at the darkness. Albus non-verbally levitated the bailiff to the fire, placing him on the ground gently.

"Why did you stun him?" Xeno asked.

"Instinct" Albus replied, studying the man's gaunt and pale features. "This man hasn't eaten in over a day… And judging by his torn shoes, he's been walking around for a while." Albus quickly checked the man's eyes, and unsurprisingly, they were milky white. "The Imperius Curse…"

"Imperius Curse?" Xeno asked, his wand hand trembling. _I need to get Xenophilius out of here. If Tom is behind this, then all hell is about to break loose._

"You always were quick, weren't you?" came a child's voice, and Albus looked up into the surrounding darkness. _A child? The missing boy!_

"John? What's happening?" Xeno asked in a panicked voice, his wand still aimed at the darkness around them.

"Concentrate, Xenophilius" Albus instructed, looking for any signs of movement. And that's when he felt it, a sudden change in the Magic around him. Albus looked down at the unconscious bailiff, and his eyes widened as he saw the bailiff's skin become violently red. He had seen this Spell before. "XENOPHILIUS!" Albus threw himself at his former pupil, raising a golden shield at the same time the bailiff exploded into fiery, meaty chunks.

Albus' rushed shield shattered, and both men were sent barreling into the darkness. Their camp was utterly destroyed, along with their only source of light. Albus could hear the blood pumping in his ears, his forehead getting slicker by the second. _Tom!_

"Xenophilius?" Albus called, lighting his wand.

"I'm here…" Xeno groaned, his clothes slick with blood. As Xeno tried to stand up, Albus was glad to learn that the blood on his former student wasn't his own. _The bailiff…_ "John? Are you alright?"

"I am…" Albus groaned, he could feel the gash on his forehead burning.

"Lumos" Xeno said, stumbling towards Albus. "What is happening?"

"We're being attacked" Albus replied.

"By a child?" Xeno muttered, still dazed from the explosion. "The bailiff… Oh Merlin… By the Hallows…" _Hallows?_

"Steady, Xenophilius" Albus ordered, looking around the darkness.

"You should never have come here… Albus" came the child's voice, and Albus' stomach tightened. _Tom! Show yourself, coward._

"Albus?" Xeno blinked, shaking like a leaf.

"Show yourself, Tom" Albus ordered. "You will hide in the shadows no longer!"

"It does not do well to dwell on darkness…" came the boy's voice, it was scathing and cold. "You are still spewing out the same nonsense…" _He's been watching us. The wards… He has been watching us from the moment we passed them._ "Tell me Albus, have you come to die?"

"Not by your hands" Albus replied, he could feel Xeno shaking by his side. "Xenophilius… You must run when the time comes…" Albus whispered, and Xeno blinked at him. "Run, do you understand?"

"Do not listen to him, he cares nothing for your life" came the boy's voice, it echoed from all around them. _He's using some sort of Spell to hide his location._ "Why do you think he brought you here with him? You are nothing but a pawn to him…"

"Who are you?!" Xeno called out, and then he looked to Albus with scared eyes. "Dumbledore?" That's when it all clicked in Xeno's mind, and he felt his knees wobble.

"Xenophilius, hold your ground" Albus said with a hardened expression. _I can't fight Tom and protect Xenophilius at the same time._ Albus then looked back into the darkness, and the moment he did, a jet of green light flew at him. Albus quickly jumped out of the way, while Xeno fired three stunners into the darkness.

"Hahaha" a child laughed, the laughter echoing loudly around them.

"Fawkes!" Albus called, and the Phoenix flashed into existence right above them. For a moment, it looked as if the entire Forest was lit up, and Albus spotted a child staring at him from the distance. Their eyes locked, and Albus' chest tightened when the boy's eyes gleamed red. "Fawkes, take Xeno…" Albus started, but his instructions were cut off when he felt his blood boil in his veins. _Not this Spell again…_

"Dumbledore?" Xeno gasped, and then he looked to the little boy who was holding his hands out at Albus. The boy was no older than eight, and yet, the sight of him terrified Xeno. "Stupefy" Xeno chanted, firing a stunner at the boy. The boy grinned in a cruel manner as he vanished into the darkness. Albus coughed roughly as he broke out of Tom's Blood-Magic, something that sickened Albus down to his core.

"That is no ordinary boy" Albus told Xeno, and then he looked to Fawkes who was flying around in the sky. _He's trying to find Tom?_

"It's the Dark Lord, isn't it?" Xeno asked, his voice trembling.

"Fawkes will take you away…"

"No, I'm not leaving you here" Xeno refused. "That monster nearly killed my son. And he's the one who's behind the Unicorn murders… I'm staying… I'll fight…"

"Don't be…" Albus started, but a nearby explosion cut him off. Both men turned to the explosion, and they went wide-eyed as they saw massive tree trunks coming straight for them. Albus waved his hand powerfully at the debris, sending it flying in the other direction. But the moment he did that, he saw another jet of green coming for him. Albus ducked, and he felt the energy from the Killing Curse pass over him. It froze his bones with how cold it was.

"You have gotten old, haven't you?" the boy laughed, hiding in the shadows.

"And you are still a coward" Albus goaded. "Hiding in the darkness, hoping that no one can see how weak you are."

"Weak?" the boy hissed. "I have accomplished feats beyond your comprehension."

"Was losing to a toddler one of them?!" Xeno yelled, baring his teeth.

"Silence, worm" the boy hissed, and Albus spotted two tiny red orbs in the darkness. _There!_

"Divinum Lumen!" Albus roared, firing a pillar of golden light at Tom. The golden light clashed against a Dark shield with a thunderous sound, nearly deafening them all. Dumbledore missed the sound of Tom disapperating, and so he looked around for any signs of the Dark Lord. The area where their Spells had clashed was leveled, with entire trees ripped out of the ground root-and-stem.

"He's possessing a child?" Xeno asked, amazed by Albus' Spell.

"They are more… compliant" came Tom's voice. "Adults have matured minds… Possessing them completely is impossible…"

"You killed the boy's family" Albus accused, and Tom's laughter echoed through the woods. "Convinced the townspeople that their land was Cursed. Forced them to become even more wary. Is that why you desecrated the Unicorns that you slew?"

"Fear is a powerful weapon" Tom replied, clearly amused by this encounter.

"You drank Unicorn blood whilst possessing the boy…" Albus said, his grip on the Elder Wand tightening. Xeno paled for a second, and then he flushed red.

"Coward!" Xeno yelled, both revolted and terrified. Fawkes suddenly screeched, flying down at something with terrifying speed. Albus followed Fawkes movements, and he fired a Blasting Curse at where his companion was heading. The fiery orange light, and the subsequent explosion revealed Tom, and Albus fired another pillar of golden light at him. Tom summoned a shining silver shroud in front of himself, absorbing the golden light, and then he sent it right back at Albus and Xeno. _That's new._

Albus quickly put up a golden shield, and the pillar slammed into it with such force that Albus had to dig his heels into the dirt to keep his balance. Tom disapparated again, appearing on their opposite side with a weak pop. As Albus recovered from stopping his own spell, Xeno moved to cover him with an ordinary shield. Tom fired some black and silver Curse at Xeno, and Xeno barely managed to hold back the onslaught. Tom quickly disapparated again, disappearing from sight.

"Xenophilius, cast anti-apparition wards around us" Albus ordered, looking for Tom. Xeno did as he was told, while Albus summoned Fawkes to him. He heard the Phoenix shrill as it flew over to its master, but it was suddenly shot out of the air by a wooden spear, getting impaled to a thick tree.

"That's one" Tom laughed maniacally, while Albus clenched his jaw. Fawkes was a Phoenix, and therefore immortal, but it still stung to see him die in such a manner. _I will recover you, my friend._ "What will you do now, Dumbledore? Your torch has been snuffed out. I wonder… Will you burn down this Forest in order to find me?" _No, but you are not the only one who has learned new tricks._

"Sol Temperat" Albus chanted, aiming the Elder Wand into the sky. A bright white orb shot out of the tip of his wand, and it hung in the sky for a moment before exploding brightly. The entire area around them was lit up by a long-lasting white light, taking away Tom's advantage.

"There…" Xeno panted, and Albus turned to see Tom just staring at him. They were twenty feet apart, but Albus could feel the rage emanating from Tom's vessel.

"No more games, Tom" Albus said, thinking of Ronald's words. "I will not let you take this World." _Not this time._

"No… You want it all to yourself, don't you?" Tom smirked. "The great Albus Dumbledore. The man who decides who lives… and who dies. The man whose 'wisdom' cannot be challenged by anyone, and those who do challenge him, are servants of the Dark Arts."

"Look at what you've become Tom, you have no right judge anyone" Albus responded, not even acknowledging Tom's words. Albus also took advantage of this brief respite and studied the boy's features, and much to his regret, he realized that the boy's body was breaking apart. _At this point, Tom is simply wearing a corpse._

"You see what you've done" Tom said, his face suddenly expressionless. "This… boy… will not last me the night. Not after our little Duel. But it matters not, you will die before this body breaks apart." Tom's eyes began to glow red, and Albus took on a defensive stance. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!" Xeno chanted, diving out of the way. Albus simply stepped to the side and sent fiery ropes to bind Tom, who blocked both Spells with ease before sending a Killing Curse at Xeno. Albus took the opportunity to try and yank Tom's wand out of his hands with Wandless Magic, but Tom countered that by sending more debris towards Albus.

Albus summoned a golden shield to protect both Xeno and himself, and he felt the impact of the assault as the tree trunks shattered against shield. Xeno fired more stunners at Tom, who batted them away with no real effort. Albus decided to sync his attacks with Xeno's, who had no real strategy against a foe as powerful as the Dark Lord. _If we both attack him together, he will have to go on the defensive more often._

"Die!" Tom yelled, his face contorting with rage as he fired a shadowy Curse at Albus' golden shield, and Albus braced himself and held off the attack. The wind picked up around them as Tom maintained his Curse, and it was so violent that Xeno had to dig his hands and feet into the ground in order to not get blown away. Tom suddenly pulled the Curse in on itself, turning it into a ball of unstable energy right in front of himself, and then he sent that energy at Albus and Xeno in a wave of destruction.

Albus felt his shield crack immediately, and he let out a roar as he pushed back with all of his might. The tree around them were blown to shreds, and Fawkes' corpse was left in pieces. Albus felt anger swell in his chest, and he slammed his wand into the Earth, creating a prism of golden light around Tom. As Albus moved to crush Tom's body, Xeno fired ropes from his wand that bound Tom. _He didn't move?_ Tom let out a laugh as the prism crashed in on him, and both Xeno and Albus cringed as they heard the boy's bones shatter.

"Yes…" Tom coughed, silver blood oozing out of his mouth. Albus heard Xeno gasp from horror, while Albus was momentarily shocked into a daze. _His blood is silver? What has he done to the boy's body?_ Tom let out a maniacal laugh as his body began to break apart into a thick black smoke, Xeno's ropes sliding off of him as he became an Ethereal Shadow.

Albus locked eyes with Tom, blue eyes clashing against bright red, and then Tom shattered the prism with sheer will alone as he began to float into the air. Thick, shadow-like smoke came off of Tom as he hovered above them, looking down at them like the insects that they were. And then, Tom sent his shadows at them. Albus blocked them with a powerful white shield, while Xeno just stood there with a horrified look on his face. Lightning and fire came to life where their Spells clashed, with both wizards fighting for dominance.

Albus could feel the ground heat up at his feet, but he didn't stop pushing. Tom would not take this World, not again. _This Cycle will not fail. I will not let it!_ Albus roared as he pushed Tom back with all of his might, and much to his shock, it worked. Albus realized too late that Tom had abandoned the fight for dominance in order to fly right at Albus, and by the time Albus figured that out, Tom had his tiny hands around Albus' throat. Tom lifted Albus into the air, and then slammed him into the Earth with such force that Albus heard multiple ribs break.

A scream tore out of Albus' throat, but Tom cut it off as he squeezed down with an unnatural amount of strength, trying to strangle Albus to death. Xeno fired a stunner right into Tom's back, but it had no effect whatsoever. One of Tom's shadowy tendrils smashed into Xeno's side, sending the former Ravenclaw barreling through the air.

"Just us, Dumbledore" Tom hissed, still trying to crush Albus' windpipe.

"Accio wand" Albus croaked, summoning his wand into his right hand. And then, without a moment's hesitation, Albus jammed the tip of his wand into the side of Tom's throat.

"Not my body…" Tom grinned, more silver blood oozing out of his mouth. It trickled over Albus' face, and Albus turned his head in order to avoid any of it going into his mouth.

"I know… But this will still hurt…" Albus retorted, and then he fired a burst of electricity from his wand right into Tom.

"AGH!" Tom howled, his body going into wild spasms on top of Albus'. Albus ripped his wand back out, aimed it at Tom's chest, and fired a powerful Knockback Jinx. Tom' tiny body was sent flying away, landing on the ground with a sickening crunch. Albus grit his teeth as he got up, his broken ribs causing him excruciating pain. Tom also slowly got up, his tiny broken bones crunching as they moved about.

"I never thought that you'd do this to a child's body" Tom hissed as he faced Albus, half of 'his' face sinking into his broken cheek.

"That boy died the moment you possessed him" Albus said, feeling utter disgust at the sight before him.

"No… No, he was alive before our Duel started" Tom said, silver blood leaking out of every orifice. "You did this to him…" Albus shrugged of Tom's words, he would not fall victim to guilt and regret. Not right now. _Xenophilius…_ Albus saw his companion trying to stand up, but to no avail. _Broken bones, I'd wager._

"It's over, Tom" Albus aimed his wand at the Dark Lord. "Your vessel is finished…"

"You cannot kill me… No man can…" Tom laughed, his left arm breaking off of his body. _Merlin, what kind of Magic is this? Necromancy! He's turned his host into a different type of Inferi?_ Tom aimed his wand at Albus, his right hand shaking as his body began to break apart. Tom's eyes suddenly blazed red, and he cast Fiendfyre right in front of himself. Albus was stunned for a split-second, but it quickly wore off as he ran to Xenophilius, putting up a powerful golden shield around them. The flames roared loudly as they came to life, obscuring Tom from Albus' sight. _What has he done?!_

"Xenophilius! Stand up! Undo the Wards!" Albus yelled, the Cursed Flames lashing out at everything around them. Xeno quickly began muttering the counter to his anti-wards, his face devoid of any color.

"TOM!" Albus roared, watching the Cursed Fire take on several forms as it began to spread out in every direction. Flaming Serpents, Chimaeras, Manticores, and Dragons ran rampant, feeding on the Forest around them as they began burning down everything in their path. _NO! What has he done?!_ Albus suddenly saw Tom for a moment, his body burning as he watched Albus with a victorious smile. And then, a wraith-like shadow burst out of the boy's chest and flew off into the night sky. _No… No…_

"Xenophilius! The Wards?!" Albus yelled, his shield cracking. _We're going to die…_

"Broken!" Xeno yelled, and Albus grabbed him and disapparated to the Magical settlement. The landing was bad, but neither of them got splinched. Albus fell on his knees, trying to calm down his breathing. But when he heard screams coming from the settlement, he looked up.

"No…" Albus muttered, watching the unstoppable Fiendfyre light up the night sky. They were miles away from the battleground, but the Cursed Flames would be here in minutes.

"What do we do?" Xeno asked, grunting as he stood up. Albus looked to him, and he could see the fear behind his eyes.

"We need to get the town people to help us!" Albus ordered, breaking out of his own fear. "Get them to apparate into different locations and build a Finite Wall, while I contain the Flames on the outskirts!" Xeno nodded, and then he disapparated. _Not a second to lose!_ Albus reached into his jacket, and he pulled out his Enchanted pouch.

Albus reached inside it, and he pulled out a vial of Phoenix tears which he drank down quickly. His pain subsided immediately, his bones cracking back into place and mending. Albus then reaching into the pouch again, ripping out his broomstick. Albus mounted it immediately, and then he blasted off into the night sky. Once he was as high as he needed to be, he looked down at the Fiendfyre with widened eyes. The Forest was completely ablaze, and the Flames had no intention of stopping. _Damn you Tom!_

Albus flew down towards the Flames, his wand aimed at them as he created a trailing Finite Wall. Albus pushed his broom to its limits, creating a Magic-dispelling Wall as far as he could. Unfortunately, the Flames had spread too far… Which meant that although the town could be saved, the majority of the Forest would be lost. All the creatures living in it were doomed, and Albania's wilderness would never be the same again.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Magical Settlement – Morning)**_

Albus, and the folk from the settlement, had spent the entire night fighting the Cursed Flames. Many Albanian Officials had also appeared on the scene, and in the chaos, Albus wasn't even noticed. His Polyjuice Potion had worn off, and now he was using a powerful Disillusionment Charm to remain hidden. He was so proficient with that Charm that he was effectively invisible.

The Forest was mostly lost… But the Settlement had survived, as had many of the other settlements on the Forest's borders. Tom had escaped once again, taking advantage of Albus' desire to protect Xenophilius who was still missing. Albus was flying above the town, searching for a head made of Cotton-Candy colored hair. Xeno had successfully convinced the townsfolk to band together instead of running away, and in doing so, he had saved so many lives. Albus couldn't help but feel a little proud of his former pupil, but that pride was nothing compared to his regret. So much was lost in one night…

Albus spotted Xeno sitting by himself, his head hanging low as he examined his camera. _He saved that camera? How?_ Albus flew down slowly, hovering over Xeno's head.

"Xenophilius" Albus called, and Xeno looked around for him. "I'm above you, meet me where we apparated last night." Xeno nodded, and then he disapparated. Albus flew out to meet Xeno, finding him alone and still fidgeting with his camera.

Albus knew what had to be done… What **he** had to do. There would be many questions about last night, and Xeno would soon be the center of attention. He had shown up in the middle of the night, and then banded the people together to combat the Cursed Fire. The Albanian Ministry would start looking into this, and if Xeno told them that it was the Dark Lord's doing, then only Merlin would know what would happen. Albus was sure of one thing however, there would be complete chaos if Xeno told the truth.

For one, no one wanted to believe that the Dark Lord yet lived, and so Xeno would be blamed and get thrown into prison. Then there was the fact that both Xeno and Albus were citizens of Wizarding Britain, and their being here and fighting the Dark Lord without alerting the Albanian Ministry would cause an International Incident. Tom most likely had thought that through, hence his extremely dangerous actions. Tom had put the ball in Albus' hands; he could tell the truth and cause complete chaos, or he could lie and fabricate a story to protect himself and Xeno. Tom had managed to win… again.

"Xenophilius" Albus greeted, breaking his Disillusionment Charm.

"Dumbledore…" Xeno greeted back, still shell-shocked from last night.

"How are you, my boy?" Albus asked in a gentle voice, and Xeno shook his head. "It's alright, Xeno… We lived…"

"The Forest…" Xeno's eyes welled up, looking to Albus for answers. "The Dark Lord… Why didn't you say anything? I could have died… My wife and my daughter would be…" Albus felt a strong pang of guilt, but he buried it deep down.

"You saved your camera?" Albus asked, and Xeno blinked at him.

"The films were destroyed…" Xeno said, his face gaunt and tired. _Good. The townsfolk will confirm his story about the dead Unicorns, while I tamper with his memory and fabricate a different tale. Forgive me, Xenophilius._ Albus aimed his wand at Xeno, who went wide-eyed for a second.

"Obliviate."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Is this the biggest chapter yet? I'm not too sure. But it sure was grim, wasn't it? Well, I hope you enjoyed that.**

 **I bet that many of you feared for Xeno's life in this chapter, but he made it out in one piece... sort of. See, I want you all to know and understand these characters, to love them. So when I start killing them off, it'll be that much more fun for me =) (Think I'll start with Sirius)**

 **Thoughts?**

 **See you on Sunday!**


	62. Chapter 62 - Fool Me Twice

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 62 is here! Now a couple of things:**

 **1\. Many of you were shocked to learn that Ron was abusing his brothers' notes, which took me by surprise. After all, I've made it rather clear throughout the entire story that that is what Ron does. And when he lost his brothers' notes, he went out of his way to find someone else's. If you think that Ron is a cheat of sorts when it comes to his studies, then you're dead right. He's too reliant on other people's knowledge when it comes to Academics, but with time, that'll change. Maybe...**

 **2\. My summary said that the story will get darker as it progresses, and I will be staying true to that. So if you are lighthearted, please be cautious going forward. (This Chapter isn't very dark though)**

 **3\. We've had a fair few followers join the Story recently, and we're a part of 8 communities now. So to all the newcomers, welcome!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 62 – Fool Me Twice**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

These holidays so far had been… odd. For some reason, Ron felt like he was just floating right through them. Especially recently, but **maybe** that was because he was overwhelmed by the state of the Wizarding World.

He had taken Lady Longbottom's advice and tried to look more into the World around him, but much to his shock, it was harder than he had expected. He had read his father's Daily Prophet issues over the last three days, something that the twins and Ginny made fun of him for, and Ron was surprised to learn that there was no mention of people like Priscilla. Even the Werewolf Legislation, which sounded rather cruel to Ron, was hyped up to be revolutionary by the Daily Prophet. It gave Ron an empty feeling in his stomach when he realized that Lady Longbottom had been right; The World was run by politicians, and only their agendas mattered. People like Priscilla were best left forgotten.

But what did this realization mean for Ron? Nothing… It meant nothing. He was a thirteen year old boy with very limited knowledge on the World. What was he meant to do? What could he do? Nothing… So for the time being, Ron had actively begun to ignore the idea of people like Priscilla existing. When you are unable to understand your opponent's way of thinking, they have you at a disadvantage. Ron had had that lesson drilled into his head by Lord Greengrass, and by his own experiences in Slytherin House. So for now, he'd learn more about how people like the 'Minister' and Umbridge thought about things, and then he'd do something about it down the line. If he could…

And then there was his shady deal in Knockturn Alley, which Marty had pulled off last night. As it turned out, Marty had a knack for these kinds of dealings. But that made sense considering that Lord Greengrass himself had put Marty in charge of his 'Dark dealings' in the first place.

Marty had lied to Gornuk about Ron 'finding a better deal', and so the desperate Goblin had added an extra two thousand Galleons onto his end of the deal just to keep the original bargain. Instead of making eight thousand Galleons, Ron had made ten thousand Galleons. And it was all thanks to Marty's need to serve Ron to the best of his ability. To say that Ron had been pleased with his Elf was an understatement. Ron was ecstatic, and he had nearly crushed Marty to death in a bear hug.

And yet, all of this combined made Ron feel rather… lost. Like he was just going through the motions… Ron had decided that he needed to see Pomfrey again in order to get a gauge on why he was feeling this way, mostly because he hated feeling this way, but also because Pomfrey always gave him good advice about his troubles. She hadn't failed him yet, and he knew for certain that she had his best interests at heart.

"Ronald, are you coming?" Lord Greengrass asked, breaking Ron out of his thoughts.

"Yes, my Lord" Ron replied, getting out of his chair while Lord Greengrass gave him an odd look.

"You have been very… distracted as of late, Ron" Lord Greengrass observed. "Is everything alright?" _No… Yes… I don't know…_

"Everything is fine" Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass nodded. The boy was lying… again.

"Then come, let's get some food in us before we continue" Lord Greengrass said, leading the way. They walked to the Dining Room in silence, but they both preferred it that way. Lord Greengrass preferred to speak only when he had something to say, whereas Ron wasn't in the mindset to answer questions that he himself didn't have answers for. As they entered the Dining Room, Ron saw that Daphne had saved him a seat by her side. That made Ron feel rather happy for a moment, but he knew that his crush on her was the cause. _You sit with her every time you dine here, get a grip._ Ron walked over and took his seat, and Daphne tapped her foot against his. _I missed you too._

"How is your training going, Ron?" Mary asked, a pleasant smile on her face. It was good to see him return back to normal, she had vowed never to give him another Calming Draught again.

"It's going well, I'm rather confident about the upcoming Tournament" Ron replied, smiling back at her.

"Good man" Lord Greengrass said, fixing a napkin into his shirt.

"I meant your other training" Mary said, and everyone looked to Ron.

"I'm sore, and that's all I'll say about that" Ron chuckled, stretching his back.

"It's a bit… over the top, don't you think?" Daphne gave him a sorry look, she was still astounded with the fact that Ron had to go through such an insane routine. Wasn't his daily training against dummies enough?

"Over the top?" Theo chuckled. "It's outright mental in my opinion. Ron, can't you just tell her to teach you Spells?" _So I can teach them to you? That's what I like about Theo. His self-serving nature is consistent._ "I mean, she is working for **you** isn't she?"

"Ahem" Lord Greengrass coughed, making Tori laugh at Theo's sheepish face. "Ron will do as she says. Believe me, she knows what she's doing. And a little hard-work never killed anyone." _Tell that to me after I throw up again._ "Speaking of which… Astoria, your tutor tells me that you've been neglecting your homework. Explain yourself." _Tutor?_

"I've been busy" Tori smiled sheepishly, losing her previous humor. _Oh damn, she shouldn't have said that._ Even Theo gave her a worried look, slowly edging away from her.

"Busy?" Lord Greengrass asked, his cold eyes just staring through her. _Awkward. I think I'll play footsies with Daphne instead._ Ron tapped Daphne's foot, and she quickly tapped back. _And so it begins._

"My French lessons are really hard, and I've been allocating most of my time to them" Tori replied, trying to be as eloquent as possible.

"Odd then that your French tutor is the one who came to me" Lord Greengrass stated, trapping her in her lie. Tori hid her gaze quickly, while Theo's ever growing grin betrayed his amusement. "You will be attending Hogwarts soon… Is this what you plan to show them? That I raised someone who slacks off constantly." _Merlin, what happened? He was so calm, and now he's just drilling into her._

"No, father…" Tori mumbled, looking down. Ron looked to Mary, expecting her to jump in and defend Tori, but the look on Mary's face told Ron that this was her idea. _Ah, this was pre-planned._ Daphne suddenly wrapped her foot around his, tugging at it with a faint smirk. _Damn, I let my guard down._

"I expect better from you" Lord Greengrass said, and then he looked to Daphne. _Oh shite._ Daphne immediately pulled her foot back, giving her father all of her attention. "Daphne, you will monitor your sister's progress from now on. If she slacks off, you will both be punished accordingly." _What? How is that fair?_

"Yes, father" Daphne nodded, and then she smiled at Tori. "It'll be fun Tori, I promise." _And she accepted…_

"Good" Lord Greengrass nodded, looking to Theo. _Is he just going to tear into everyone? Wait… I'm next, aren't I?_ "Theodore, any word from your father?" Ron looked to Theo a little too quickly, earning a slightly confused look from the weedy boy. _I need to be more subtle next time._

"None so far, my Lord" Theo replied, looking to Lord Greengrass. "Father tends to forget to write, he is getting a bit old."

"Theo…" Mary chuckled, shaking her head slightly.

"Where did you say he went again?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Denmark, my Lord" Theo replied, and Lord Greengrass nodded slowly. Denmark? Nott had no businesses there… If he did, then Sebastian would know.

"I see…" Lord Greengrass said, looking to Ron. _Oh fuck… My turn._ "My daughter told me this morning that you are spending the night here tonight, however I don't recall you brining any of your things." _What the fuck, Daph? Why would you lie to him? Now I have to lie too._

"I am going to go get them after our work is finished, my Lord" Ron lied, feeling the urge to kick Daphne's shin.

"Good" Lord Greengrass nodded, his eyes darting to Daphne for a second. "You're planning to spend next week here, so you might as well get started early." _Can we eat now? Or are you planning to drill into Mary next._ Lord Greengrass then looked to Mary. _Shite…_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Midnight)**_

"Marty has not submitted the Galleons into Master's vault yet" Marty told Ron, they were discussing Ron's 'Dark dealings' in his room at the Manor.

"Why?" Ron asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong Master" Marty explained. "It's just that the Goblins are greedy, and untrusting, creatures…" _Not a fan?_ "They would grow suspicious if a large payment is made to a vault without it coming from a business of some sort. Marty still has the chests of Galleons hidden at Hogwarts, Master. Marty will add them in slowly, just to avoid any suspicion."

"I see" Ron nodded, seeing the sense in Marty's words. "Marty, I really don't know what I'd do without you." Marty beamed at that, his eyes welling up. "Don't cry again, please" Ron said quickly, he didn't want a repeat of last night's events.

"Marty lives to serve" Marty bowed deeply instead, holding back a joyous wail.

"So you'll need to keep the key to my vault for the foreseeable future?" Ron asked, rubbing Marty's shoulder lovingly.

"Yes, Master" Marty nodded. "At least for a week or two."

"Take as much time as you need, and be careful" Ron said, smiling in an understanding way. Someone knocked on his door suddenly, and Ron looked to it with a panicked look. _It's locked, relax._ "Take care, Marty" Ron whispered.

"You too, Master" Marty replied, and then he was gone with a faint popping noise. Ron walked over to the door, unlocked it, and then opened it slightly.

"Can I come in?" Daphne whispered, wearing her silver silk pajamas.

"Sure" Ron replied, keeping his voice civil. He was a little upset with the stunt that she had pulled, especially because his mother was slightly saddened to see him run off again. Daphne stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, locking it immediately.

"Who were you talking to?" Daphne asked.

"Helios" Ron looked to his Eagle-Owl, who Ron had brought along with him. Helios hooted at Daphne, clearly joining in on Ron's lie. "What do you want, Daphne?"

"I didn't tell father that you were staying over" Daphne told him, she really hadn't.

"Really?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, and she took on a haughty stance.

"Yes, Ronald… Really" Daphne replied, her hands on her hips. "I was just as surprised as you were, believe me."

"Why would he lie?" Ron asked, still not buying her story.

"He was testing to see if you would lie on my behalf, I'd wager" Daphne shrugged, her stance relaxing.

"Testing me?"

"Father tends to do that sometimes, you get used to it" Daphne sighed. "He probably wanted to make sure that you had his princess' best interest in mind." _She sounded rather pleased with that sentence. Let's knock her down a peg._

"Tori is his princess, you're the babysitter" Ron smirked, and she frowned adorably.

"Don't be a jerk, Ron" Daphne huffed in indignation. "Wait… What if Tori told him that you were staying?"

"Why the hell would she do that?" Ron blinked, and Daphne tapped her chin with a conflicted look.

"Alright, don't tell her this… But she has a mild crush on you" Daphne whispered, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night. _Mild crush?_ Ron coughed out a laugh, looking at Daphne like she was insane. "It's true, so don't laugh at me" Daphne huffed again.

"She has a crush on me?" Ron chuckled, trying to regain his composure. "Why?"

"Ugh… Do you need me to explain everything to you?" Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Yes."

"Wow…" Daphne sighed, rubbing her forehead. Why were boys so idiotic? "She saw your Duel, and her fairytale addled brain told her that you were Prince Charming."

"That's a mean way to put it, Daph" Ron said slowly, he could hear the possessiveness in her voice.

"Sorry…" Daphne sighed again. Why couldn't she control her 'tendencies'? "Look, she hasn't really seen much Magic before… And then you come along and show her how strong you are, and that probably got her really excited to learn Magic. Not to mention that you keep letting her hug you and kiss you…" Daphne's eyes suddenly narrowed on him, and he took a step back. "Why does she get to do that?"

"What?" Ron blinked, watching Daphne's expression darken slightly. _Helios, get help!_

"Why does she get to hug you and kiss you in public? You shouldn't let her do that" Daphne said, half-jealous and half-scolding.

"She's just a kid, Daph" Ron shuffled his feet.

"You are only two years older than her…" Daphne gave him a deadpan look.

"I think of her like she's one of my sisters" Ron admitted. "And I love my sisters."

"Well, one of your sisters now has a crush on you" Daphne told him, and then they both made a disgusted face at her words. "I'll take that back…"

"Please do…"

"But still… Can you tell her to… stop?" Daphne asked, fidgeting with her hands for a moment. "Please?"

"Daphne, you're asking me to hurt her feelings" Ron said slowly. "You know that, right? If I tell her to stop, then she'll get upset about it. She'll probably wonder if I don't like her affection…" Daphne looked down at that, feeling bitter about Tori getting whatever she wanted… Again. "Daph, are you alright?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Daphne asked meekly, still looking at her feet.

"What? Why would I think that?" Ron asked. _Where is this coming from? This entire conversation feels really off to me. Why is she really here?_

"Theo said it a couple of days ago…" Daphne mumbled, wondering whether or not she really was crazy. She liked Ron, and she wanted to spend a lot of time with him. What was crazy about that? They had fun together, despite their initial dislike of one another. "I know I'm a little… possessive…" _A little?!_ "But I'm working on that…"

"Daphne, I don't think that you're crazy" Ron assured her, though he did think that she could dial it down a bit. "And I don't know why Theo would say that, but…"

"He mentioned that I kept bringing you up in conversations" Daphne cut in, looking up at Ron with a weak smile. "Mother said the same thing, but she didn't call me a 'crazy bint'…"

"Crazy bint?" Ron repeated, he was going to kill Theo tomorrow.

"You're the reason I got that nickname, remember?" Daphne reminded him.

"No… You got that nickname after you tried to strangle me" Ron reminded her.

"After you convinced me that you asked out that air-headed Gryffindor" Daphne frowned.

"Stop, we are veering off topic" Ron said, deciding to kill the upcoming argument in its crib. "It doesn't bother me that you bring me up in conversations, I bring you up too." What Ron didn't know was that Daphne brought him up every fifth sentence or so.

"You do?" Daphne's face lit up, and Ron nodded.

"I do" Ron admitted, he brought her up once a day maybe. Daphne took a step forward, no doubt trying to get a kiss from him. "Are you trying to get something from me, Daphne Greengrass?"

"Yes" Daphne whispered. "We haven't kissed since I visited your house…"

"We are doing that a lot more often now" Ron observed, and her smile faltered. "Not that I'm complaining" Ron quickly amended. "I really enjoy kissing you." _Did I just say that? Helios, close your ears._

"It's been a week" Daphne pouted slightly. "You said that you'd come over, but then you just vanished…"

"I had… other things on my mind" Ron whispered, shutting away his memories of Knockturn Alley. "Neville's Gran… My training regimen…"

"So it's alright then" Daphne whispered, putting her arms around his lower back. _There it is. She's hugging my upper arse again._ Ron put his arm around her, and he gave her a long kiss. His stomach felt floaty, and when he finally pulled back, his head spun for a second. _Why does it feel so good?_

"Helios is watching us… again…" Ron whispered, and Daphne giggled.

"Then let's leave" Daphne said, letting go of his back and tugging at his gloved hand.

"Leave?" Ron blinked, following her to the door. "Daph, where are we going?"

"The Gardens."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Daphne, it's the middle of the night" Ron whispered, looking around like he was a thief who had tripped the alarm. They were standing in front of the door that led to the Gardens, and Ron wondered why he had let her talk him into this.

"Everyone is asleep" Daphne smiled slyly.

"You and your rebellious streak…" Ron muttered to himself, scared of getting caught.

"What was that?" Daphne hummed, still holding his right hand. She had held it all the way down here.

"Nothing, I just don't want to get caught" Ron whispered.

"You brought your wand, and you can use Magic" Daphne said as she rocked their hands back and forward, something that Ron thought was too girly for her. "That was smart, Ron." _Paranoid is the better word. This is some fucking risky shite._

"Let's be quick" Ron whispered, keen to go back to his room.

"No" Daphne hummed, opening the large door. She missed Ron giving her a shocked look. They walked out to the marble balcony overlooking the Gardens, and Ron was once again amazed at how beautiful they were. "No fairies this time" Daphne whispered with a smile. "They're all asleep."

"No witnesses then" Ron joked, earning another giggle from her. _Her laugh is so cute, and truth be told, it's like music to my ears. Especially because she never outright shows her emotions in public. It makes me feel like her laughs are reserved just for me._ "Do you want me to cast Lumos?"

"No" Daphne shook her head, pulling him down the steps eagerly. "I want to show you something amazing." Ron nodded as he trailed after her, his eyes falling on their joined hands. _Does she mind that she's holding onto my glove? Maybe… Ugh, I wish I had a way to read her mind._ "Alright, are you ready?" she asked as they stopped.

"I'm ready" Ron chuckled, amused by her need for theatrics. Daphne slowly took a step forward, and a ball of soft white light floated out of the Earth. "Woah, that's neat!" Ron looked at the ball of light, it seemed to be pulsating.

"Listen" Daphne whispered, and he did as he was told. There was a faint hum coming from the light, like it was singing a melody. "It's Fae-Magic" Daphne explained, while Ron just admired the ball of soft white light. "This is their 'light', and they blessed our Gardens with it. The Fairies that live here are friends with my mother, and they help her keep this place 'alive'. Their Magic is Old Magic…"

"Old Magic?" Ron asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Magic forgotten by our civilization, but not forgotten by the Fae" Daphne replied, her voice soft and smooth. "My mother told me that it was the Fae who first discovered Magic, and it was long before men and women claimed it as their own. When we first discovered it, it was the Fae who taught us how to control it. But they taught us too well, and that was their downfall."

"Wizards and witches betrayed them?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded with a sad look.

"My father says a quote sometimes, I think he learned it from the Muggle World" Daphne said as she tightened her hold on his hand. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Fae made our ancestors strong, but their strength corrupted them."

"Why weren't the Fae corrupted?" Ron asked, thinking about power. And of the men and women who held it. _The Ministry… The Dark Lord… Dumbledore…_

"Mother says that the Fae serve the Earth, and not themselves" Daphne smiled at Ron, she always loved her mother's stories. "Their Magic is born from Love, and so it is pure." _Love?_

"Is any of this true?"

"Maybe… Maybe not…" Daphne shrugged slightly, still smiling. "All I know is that their Magic is beautiful, and it is only used to create Life. These Gardens wouldn't exist without their blessings. Now… Let's go for a walk." Ron nodded at that, and Daphne began leading the way. They walked silently together for a few minutes, balls of soft white light lighting their way, and Ron no longer cared that Daphne was holding his gloved hand. Eventually, they stepped into one of the gazebos and took a seat.

"This really is a beautiful place" Ron admitted, awed by the lights floating around them. _They followed us here._ There were around a dozen balls of light hovering around them, their melodies syncing together and becoming more audible.

"Tori and I used to spend hours in here" Daphne told him, scooting closer to him. "We'd play hide and seek in the maze, or try to race one another in order to find out who could find the center first."

"Wouldn't you just memorize the right path?" Ron asked.

"It changes randomly, another one of my mother's Charms" Daphne replied, and then a sudden smile broke out onto her face. "Want to play?"

"Want to play?" he repeated, looking to her with a surprised expression. _She's a completely different person when other people are around._

"We can race to see who's faster?" Daphne challenged.

"Daph…" Ron smirked. "I've been running every day since I was eight… Mostly every day, anyway."

"True, but I've got the home-field advantage" Daphne smirked, standing up and pulling him out of his seat.

"A Quidditch reference?" Ron blinked, letting her drag him out of the gazebo.

"It'll be fun, I promise!"

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron didn't know what Daphne had been thinking when she had challenged him to a race, but he didn't really care once they took off. He left her in his dust within seconds, and he found the center within fifteen minutes. Daphne was still nowhere to be found, and Ron was beginning to worry. He didn't want her to get lost in the maze, especially at night. The little balls of light had of course followed them, but within the maze, they didn't seem to do much except for lighting a foot or two ahead of you. _Two more minutes, and then I'll head out to find her._

"No…" came an upset voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Daphne run into the center.

"Thank Merlin, I thought that you got lost" Ron breathed out, eyeing her slightly ruffled hair. She was out of breath, and her pajamas were slightly crinkled.

"How long did it take you?" Daphne asked, a miserable pout on her face. She hated losing, especially in something that she was confident in.

"Around fifteen minutes, give or take" Ron shrugged, walking over to her. The center of the maze was larger than he had expected, and it had a grand fountain in its center. A mermaid made of solid gold sat on top of the fountain, and she was currently dozing off instead of playing the harp in her hands.

"Did you use Magic?" Daphne asked.

"No" Ron chuckled. "I'm just quick."

"Well… Congratulations…" Daphne said in a deadpan voice, clearly annoyed with losing. Ron didn't really mind her attitude, he himself despised losing. So instead of gloating, he decided to try and smooth out her hair. He didn't know why he was so alright with doing so, and judging by Daphne's sudden blush, she didn't seem to mind at all. The moment he finished, Daphne took his gloved hand in hers. _She really likes holding my hand, doesn't she?_

"Want to sit by the fountain?" Ron asked, and she nodded with a weak smile. As they took their seat, Daphne held his hand in her lap. "How long did it take your mother to create this maze?"

"A year or so" Daphne replied, fidgeting with his hand. "Once the Fairies moved in, they began to take over. Mother didn't mind, she was simply overjoyed to have them here."

"I would be too" Ron admitted, looking at the balls of light again. _They seem happy, but maybe I'm just imagining that._

"You should spend more time with us in the Gardens" Daphne suggested, eyeing his glove. She wanted to take it off, but she was scared of how he would react. "Theo loves it here, and he tends to be much happier around the flowers and trees."

"I'll try and do that" Ron replied, remembering how he had to work himself to the bone while his friends played around. Feeling like that stung him, it made him feel like he was missing out simply because of his visions. _I know that if I start taking breaks, then I'll just feel guilty instead of happy. Damn the Entity, and damn this 'She'…_

"Hmmm" Daphne hummed her response, deciding to pull at the glove slightly.

The moment she did that however, a jolt of panic ran throughout Ron's body, and he ripped his hand away from her. His face contorted with rage as he glared at her like a cornered beast, and Daphne froze from fear. They just stared at each for a couple of seconds, with Ron trying to regain his senses and Daphne trying to stop her bottom lip from quivering. Ron quickly realized that he had scared her terribly, and that made him feel like a piece of shite. _What was she trying to do?_

"I'm sorry…" Daphne managed, her voice meek. _Fucking hell Ron, you bloody arsehole._

"Sorry…" Ron apologized as well, his voice hard and slightly panicked. They both just sat there for a minute, awkwardness creeping in to fill the silence. "What were you trying to do?" Ron asked suddenly, controlling his voice in order to sound calmer than he was. His stomach had tightened horribly, and it wasn't relaxing no matter how hard he tried.

"I wanted to see your hand…" Daphne replied, still not looking at him.

"Then why not just ask me?" Ron asked, and Daphne shrunk a little in size. _Calm down, Ron. You're fucking scaring her even more._ Ron slowly took off his glove, and he hovered his hand in between them. It made him feel… exposed, and he didn't like that one bit. Daphne looked at his damaged hand, and she slowly took it in hers.

"It's alright" she whispered the moment he tensed up. She didn't know what she doing, truth be told, but she knew that she wanted to show him that he had nothing to worry about. She'd never judge his scars, they weren't his fault. Ron on the other hand, was completely tensed up. He wanted to put his glove back on, but she clearly wanted to hold his disgusting hand.

"Daphne, you can hold my left hand if you don't like holding onto my glove" Ron told her, shooting her a quick look. She was just staring at his burn scars, turning his hand up and down in order to study the scars in more detail.

"Do you remember last Christmas? When you showed me all of your scars?" Daphne asked, looking back at him.

"I remember…" Ron's face flushed slightly, he was getting hot under the collar. _If she asks me to show her again, I'm simply not going to. I don't like looking at them myself, and I don't want her to see them either._

"Can I see them again?" Daphne whispered.

"No" Ron declined, looking ahead instead of at her.

"You showed them to all of us" Daphne reminded him gently.

"I did that to wake you lot up" Ron told her. "Daphne, I'm not showing you my scars."

"Alright…" Daphne nodded, though he could hear that she was disappointed. _She's still holding my hand._

"Don't they disgust you?" Ron asked, sounding like a kicked puppy all of sudden. "Don't lie please…"

"They don't disgust me, but they do scare me a little" she admitted, instantly regretting not lying because of Ron's face falling.

"That's fair…" Ron muttered, closing himself off. Daphne mentally slapped herself in the face, looking back down at his scarred hand. An odd idea popped into her mind, and before she knew it, she pulled his hand to her face and kissed his scar. Ron was taken by surprise, and a shudder passed through him because of how unpleasant that had felt.

"Did that bother you?" Daphne asked, seeing his wary look.

"Yes, please don't do that again" Ron replied, and she nodded.

"Alright, I won't do that again" Daphne agreed, deciding that she'd only do it if he gave her permission. It hadn't really bothered her to kiss his burn scar, despite the fact that his scars were bumpy yet oddly soft.

"It's getting late, we should head back" Ron suggested, eager to call it a night. _My scars ruined the night…_

"I'm sorry if I ruined the mood" Daphne apologized genuinely, mentally berating herself for being an idiot. What was she thinking? That he'd just let her see them again? Why did she even want to see them? Daphne sorely wished that there was a book out there that could explain to her what was going on in her head.

"You didn't ruin anything" Ron forced on a smile for her sake, and then they both stood up. "I had great time Daphne, I swear."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Near Midday)**_

The baton hit his back with a sickening smacking sound, and Ron released a muffled cry of pain as his face hit the dirt. This was his second baton hit of the day, the first one being on his right forearm. Ron had managed to acquire two warnings right from the get-go, one for eating sweets and one for lying about it. Madam Roberts had an eye for the truth, and she had immediately realized that he was lying to her. As for his third warning, that was given out because he was distracted. His late night stroll with Daphne kept popping up into his mind, especially the fact that it ended so abruptly.

"Get up" Madam Roberts ordered, and Ron did so with shaky hands. There were tears in his eyes because of the pain that was crawling throughout his body, but they were also there because being struck filled him with an odd sense of shame and failure. The weaker part of him was begging him to leave, to simply quit and find a new tutor. How was it fair that he had to suffer while children his age got to enjoy Gardens and sleepovers? _Even Harry, who is apparently the key to defeating the Dark Lord, is currently living it up with Sirius. But me… I'm getting beaten around._

"Get up" Madam Roberts ordered again, dragging him up to his feet with surprising strength. "One more plank, and then one more set of shoulder presses. Now!" He was on his last two exercises, but his body was fighting him every step of the way. Ron swallowed thickly, deciding to ask her for a small break. _I just need a minute, my entire body feels like it's on fire._

"Can I take just one minute off? Please?" Ron asked as he averted his gaze, his voice cracking slightly. Looking away had been a mistake, mostly because he didn't see the baton coming down on his right thigh. Pain shot up into his brain, and Ron grit his teeth as he did his best to not fall back down. Unfortunately, his body betrayed him once again, he toppled over with a meek sob.

"Take a minute then" Madam Roberts said coldly, watching him with slight disgust. Why had he even bothered hiring her if he wasn't willing to push himself? He was wasting her time, and his own. "And then you will finish your Circuit, do you hear me?"

"I do" Ron muttered, his voice wet because of his need to cry. _I hate this bitch so much!_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had once again gotten stiff during her Healing Therapy, but this time, his pain mixed in with his embarrassment had made him start crying. Madam Roberts had threated to hit him again if he didn't stop mewling, her reasoning being that 'Champions didn't cry because of hard-work'. But it wasn't the prospect of hard-work that had made him cry, it was just how horrible he had felt in that moment. He was in genuine pain, he was as hard as a rock, and Madam Roberts' cold demeanor had all overwhelmed him. And deep down, he was bitter that his friends weren't suffering like he was. That had been the thing that broke him, the fact that he was such a terrible person for wishing for such a thing.

Madam Roberts had also refused to heal his bruises, they would 'serve as a reminder' that she wouldn't put up with any signs of weakness. And to take things further, she had told him that she would check for them next Sunday, and if he had had them healed, then that would be a warning. After that, she had sent him to take a cold shower. By the time Ron was finished, he genuinely hated his life once again. If it wasn't the Entity torturing him, it was this cold witch. He thought about telling her of his brain-damage and Chronic Stress, but he genuinely feared that she would think that he was making excuses.

"Make sure that you don't eat sweets, and make sure to keep doing your Circuit Training" she told him, his defiant yet weak behavior today had thoroughly put her off. If he didn't get his act together in the next three months, then she would gladly wash her hands of him. She already had enough idiots to train, she didn't need another one.

"I understand" Ron replied, touching his bruised right forearm with his left hand. He had looked his bruises over in the shower; one was on his right forearm, one was on his lower back, and one was on his right thigh. The one on his forearm hurt the most, and it had already begun to swell and go purple.

"Good, then we're done for the day" Madam Roberts said, turning around and making her way out. Ron followed her quietly, deciding to keep his injuries to himself. If he told his family, or even Lord Greengrass, he knew that they would fire Madam Roberts immediately. _Though that doesn't sound so bad right now._ The only reason he didn't plan to tell anyone was because he still held out some hope that she'd start teaching him how to Duel soon. They climbed out of the suitcase, and Ron was glad to see that the Living Room was empty.

"Make sure you eat a large, balanced meal Mr. Weasley" Madam Roberts told him, packing up her suitcase.

"I will" Ron nodded, watching her leave. She stopped at the fireplace, shooting one last look at him. For a moment, Ron thought he saw weariness on her face, but it was gone as quick as it came.

"I will see you next Sunday" Madam Roberts said, looking away from the boy. Had she been too hard on him? Maybe… She definitely didn't enjoy hitting him, or seeing him cry meekly to himself as she had healed his muscles. But pain was the price for strength, she knew that all too well. So she steeled her resolve once again. She had stopped second guessing herself a long time ago, and she didn't plan to start that again anytime soon. Doubt was Death. And without pain, how could weakness be purged?

Madam Roberts flooed away to the Ministry, and Ron relaxed considerably. He touched his right forearm once again, wincing slightly as pain shot up his arm. He then walked over to the Dining Room, hoping to find Mary so that she could summon food for him. He was hungry, cold, and in pain. _I will never look forward to Sundays again, I just know it._

As he moved into the Dining Room, he found it empty as well. _Where the hell are they?_ Ron walked over to his usual seat, and he rang the bell. _Please let it work._ Much to his relief, a lot of food appeared on the dining table. Ron made himself a big plate, one filled with vegetables, and he dug right in. Maybe a full stomach would make him forget how miserable his day had been so far.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Young Master Weasley called for Spinny?" the Elf asked, giving him a deep bow.

"I did" Ron replied, starting his third plate. "Spinny, where is everyone?"

"Master and Mistress Greengrass have left for urgent business" Spinny replied. "Lady Daphne is entertaining her guests in the Gardens, along with Lady Astoria." _Guests? Not just Theo?_

"Thank you, Spinny" Ron nodded slowly. "Before you leave, do you have today's copy of the Daily Prophet?"

"Spinny will look in Master Greengrass' study for one" Spinny replied, disapperating with a soft pop. Ron went back to his meal, wondering who Daphne's guests were. _Probably our friends. The sleepover starts tomorrow, but they probably just came down early._ Spinny suddenly popped back into the room, Sunday's Daily Prophet in her hands. "Here you are, Young Master Weasley" Spinny said as Ron took the paper.

"Thank you, Spinny" Ron smiled gratefully, and she disapparated after bowing deeply. Ron looked to the paper, deciding to read as he ate. _Show me how the World works._ It took one word on the front page to make Ron drop his fork; Albania.

 _FOREST RITUAL RESULTS IN MASS DESTRUCTION_

 _Last Friday night, an inferno of destruction was unleashed upon the Forests of Albania. There are hundreds of different accounts, but they all state one thing; the inferno was created using Fiendfyre, also known as The Cursed Flames Curse._

 _Local Magical residents were forced to intervene in order to keep their homes, and lives, intact. However, the Forests have been destroyed beyond repair. This unfortunate event has left the Wizarding World at risk of being discovered, and the Albanian Minister of Magic has dubbed it as 'The Worst Magical Calamity to have ever taken place in Albania'._

 _Albanian Ministry Officials are working hand-in-hand with Muggle Albanian Officials to keep things from escalating, yet this reporter has confirmation that another Muggle-Wizard War is brewing. The Muggle Albanian 'Prime Minister' is currently in talks with the Albanian Minister of Magic, Agron Shala, and they hope to reach a compromise. But this reporter doesn't think that such a thing is possible._

 _The International Confederation of Wizards is traveling to Albania later this week to try and make peace with the Muggle Prime Minister's lackeys, with The Supreme Mugwump, Albus Dumbledore, taking over the talks. But is Albus Dumbledore the best wizard for the job? In this reporter's humble opinion, he_ _ **is not**_ _._

 _Albus Dumbledore's love for Muggle-Wizard Unity is well-known, as is his easy temperament, which makes this reporter doubt that he will have the Albanian Ministry's best interests at heart. Minister Cornelius Fudge will also be travelling to Albania later this week, no doubt planning to put the issue to bed._

 _As for how the inferno started, there are hundreds of different accounts. But only one of these tales seems to hold any truth to it. And that tale has Xenophilius Lovegood at its center. The notorious Author, and Editor, of the Quibbler, a magazine riddled with mad conspiracy theories, was picked up by the Albanian Ministry and locked away for questioning._

 _The Albanian Minister heard Mr. Lovegood's tale, and then called in folks from local Magical settlements in order to get a clearer picture of the night's events. This reporter has learned that over three hundred Wizards and Witches answered the call, all of them claiming that Xenophilius Lovegood banded them together to fight the Cursed Flames, despite their initial desires to run away._

 _Inside sources claim that after interrogating Mr. Lovegood, the Albanian Ministry was shocked to learn that there was a Cult of Fanatics who were sacrificing Unicorns in order to achieve immortality. Mr. Lovegood stumbled upon this Cult when he was traveling through the Albanian Forests, and when he tried to stop them, an Acolyte of the Cult unleashed the Fiendfyre._

 _Now this all sounds laughable at best, does it not? And who could blame you, the readers, if you thought so. Xenophilius Lovegood's imagination is well-known to any who have read his works, and yet, many of the locals confirmed that Unicorns were indeed slain in 'ritualistic ways'. What's even more shocking is that the locals attempted to make the Albanian Ministry aware of this weeks before the inferno came for their homes, yet their words fell on deaf ears._

 _So who is to blame for this 'Calamity'? The Cult of Fanatics? The Albanian Ministry itself? Xenophilius Lovegood, who chose to intervene himself rather than warn the Albanian Ministry? This reporter will let you decide for yourself, but if you're intelligent, you'll blame all three parties._

 _The Daily Prophet,_

 _Rita Skeeter._

Ron put the paper down with shaky hands, his body breaking out in a cold sweat. _Xenophilius…_ Ron was lost for words. Truly lost. But he did know one thing for certain; there was no fucking Cult of Fanatics. If there were Unicorn deaths in the area, then the Dark Lord was involved. Firenze's voice echoed in his mind, and Ron shuddered as remembered the night he ran into the Dark Lord in the Forbidden Forest. _Dumbledore! He was there too! He had to be!_

Ron grabbed the paper and left the Dining Room, his pace speeding up by the second. _Xenophilius… Xenophilius…_ The walls were closing in as he thought of the man, and Ron broke out in a run. The moment he got to the nearest fireplace, he took a pinch of floo-powder, and hurled it into the flames.

"Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts" Ron called, his voice shaking with panic and worry.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Past Midday)**_

Severus stood in his usual dark corner, watching Minerva and Pomona tear Albus into shreds. The Headmaster of Hogwarts had returned late last night, battle-weary and carrying a baby Fawkes in his hands. Albus had found what he was looking for, and unfortunately, he had lost it soon after. The Dark Lord was once again in the wind, and this time, they had no idea about where he could have gone.

But the Dark Lord's disappearances wasn't the only problem. No… The real problem was that their Duel had burned down the majority of the Albanian Forests, destroying any and all life in there. Unicorns, Fairies, and countless other Magical and Non-Magical creatures were killed. This had turned Pomona into a banshee, and Albus' recklessness had turned Minerva into a banshee.

So here they were, the Headmaster and his Heads of Houses, trying to figure out how it all went to shite. Snape waited patiently for Pomona and Minerva to finish, he'd get his hits in later, while Filius hand fed a baby Fawkes. Albus just sat there, haggard and pale. He hadn't slept last night, instead he had paced his Office all night and raved about how 'Tom needed to be stopped'. Whatever Albus saw in those woods, it had shaken him. That alone scared Snape, and it scared the others too, he could see it.

In the back of Snape's mind, he could already see the ramifications of Albus' Duel with the Dark Lord. For one, Albania might soon be turned into a war-zone. The Statute of Secrecy was hanging on by a thread, and Muggle Prime Minister of Albania was rightfully outraged. Agron Shala, the Albanian Minister of Magic, was doing his best to keep things from escalating, but his own people were losing faith in him already. If a Muggle-Wizard war broke out, then the Dark Lord's return would be the end of them all.

Secondly, Albus had done something incredibly foolish when he had decided to utilize Xenophilius Lovegood's tracking skills. Now a British Magical Citizen was stuck in Albania, no doubt being 'interrogated' by the Albanian Aurors Division. Snape personally didn't give a damn about Lovegood, but a certain red-haired boy did. Ronald would no doubt be here soon, which is why Snape had warded his Office to alert him if the boy did come. Albus and Snape had promised Ronald that they would never endanger his family and friends, and Albus had broken that promise in less than two months. _This will haunt us, I just know it._

"So You-Know-Who cast the Fiendfyre?" Filius asked, scratching baby Fawkes' naked chest.

"He did" Albus replied, rubbing his forehead.

"You could have died, Albus!" Minerva snapped, sounding like a broken record. "What was the point of this?!"

"I was attempting to capture him" Albus replied, showing them his Deluminator. "I enhanced it in order to hold Tom's wraith-like form, but I failed to use it."

"You had to save Xenophilius Lovegood?" Snape asked, and Albus nodded. "Great choice…"

"Severus!" Minerva gasped, while Pomona frowned deeply at him.

"Now the Dark Lord has vanished, and an entire Forest is burned to ash" Snape stared at Albus, he wanted to strike the old man. "A Muggle-Wizard war looms over Albania's people, a war that will no doubt reach the rest of Europe. Well done, Headmaster… Well done…" Albus looked down at the table, hiding his gaze for the first time in a long time. _Damn your foolishness, Albus. You acted like Ronald's words didn't affect you, but then you do this?_

They all fell into a silence, Snape's words were true enough to jar them all. Pomona sat down, pale as a sheet of paper. Minerva began pacing again, occasionally glaring at Albus. Filius turned his attention to nurturing Fawkes, no doubt trying to distract himself. Albus just stared at his Deluminator, still reeling from his mistakes. And Snape… Snape felt a shudder pass through him. _Ronald is here._

"I'll be in my lab" Snape told them, heading for the door.

"Severus…" Minerva looked at him with a shocked look. "We need to talk about this…"

"Then you can talk, I myself have better things to do than to berate him" Snape said coldly, not breaking his stride. _I can't let any of them see Ronald, they will grow suspicious._ "Do not disturb me." Snape exited the Office, walked down the steps, and then began making his way to the Dungeons with haste. _I need to cut him off before he gets anywhere near the seventh floor._ It wasn't too difficult to find Ronald, the red-head ran straight into Snape on the Moving Staircases.

"Mr. Weas… Ron, come with me" Snape said, stepping into Ron's way. Ron stopped, and Snape could see the panic on his features. The boy was sweating, pale, and he was clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in his trembling hands.

"Is he here? The Headmaster?" Ron asked, his voice shaky and quick.

"He is inside his Office…" Snape started, and Ron tried to walk past him. Snape grabbed his right forearm to stop him, but the boy howled in pain, causing Snape to jump a little and let go immediately. Ron's face contorted from pain as he held his right forearm, while Snape just blinked at him. _What was that?_ "Ron… Are you hurt?"

"No…" Ron lied, his voice betraying his pain. "Please, I need to see the Headmaster… Xeno… They have him locked up in Albania… I just need to know what happened out there…"

"Come with me, and I will inform you" Snape said, trying to be gentle. "The Headmaster is speaking with the other Heads of Houses. We cannot let them see you, do you understand?" Ron looked towards the seventh floor with a look of longing, and then he nodded at Snape. "Come…" Snape said, not touching Ron this time.

They both walked down in silence, and much to Snape's annoyance, he could hear the boy fidgeting in panic. Ron was muttering to himself, crinkling the Daily Prophet in his hands, and dragging his feet all at the same time. It put Snape's teeth on edge, but he didn't say anything about it. The boy's Chronic Stress was no doubt at an all-time high, with his… whatever Lovegood was to him… in Albanian custody, so Snape knew not to antagonize him right now. _How do I even tell him of what happened? I can't lie to him, Albus plans to tell him the truth anyway. As if his noble intentions even matter now. He broke his promise to the boy, and that will cause us a great amount of problems._

"Take a seat, Ron" Snape said as they entered his Office, and Ron did as he was told while Snape shut the door.

"Sir, please tell me what happened" Ron requested, still sounding panicked. Snape began preparing his personal Calming Tonic, his back facing Ron.

"Albus ran into the Dark Lord…" Snape sighed, deciding to come clean for the old man. _I need to try and minimize the damage. We need the boy's power, now more than ever._ "They fought one another, and at the end of their Duel, the Dark Lord burned the entire Forest down in order to escape."

"Single-handedly?" Ron muttered, and Snape turned to see Ron staring at him with wide-eyes.

"Yes" Snape nodded, handing Ron the Calming Tonic. "Drink." Ron took the glass, and downed it in one go. _Good, now he'll be a little calmer._

"This paper…" Ron said, ringing it in his hands. "It says that Xeno was there… They have him locked up, Sir. What happened in Albania?"

"First, you will show me your right forearm" Snape ordered, looking right into Ron's eyes.

"Sir, please just…"

"Now, Ronald" Snape said, his voice coming out in a cold whisper. Ron stared at him for a few seconds, and then he slowly pulled up his sleeve. Snape looked at the bruise with a slight frown, wondering where he had gotten such an injury. "Who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter" Ron mumbled, his eyes going back to the paper. _It doesn't matter? Was it the Entity?_

"Was it… the Entity?" Snape asked, and Ron looked back to him with an odd look. Snape really didn't want to bring that **monster** up, especially because he had learned his lesson. He did not want to send Ron into a panic, not again.

"Yes…"

"I see" Snape nodded curtly, feeling sorry for Ron once again. "Let me heal that…"

"No, it warned me not to" Ron said quickly, pulling down his sleeve. "Just don't…" Snape blinked at Ron, his stomach dropping slightly. _It warned him not to get help? Disgusting_ _ **Demon**_ _._ "Please just tell me what happened in Albania, that's all I want."

"Very well" Snape responded, walking over to his chair. "Albus ran into Lovegood in a Magical settlement near the Forests. Lovegood was looking into the alleged deaths of the Unicorns in the area…"

"He was?" Ron blinked, clearly this was news to the boy.

"He was" Snape replied. "Albus and Lovegood began traveling together…"

"Why? The Headmaster knew that the Dark Lord was out there" Ron interrupted again, and Snape frowned internally for not giving the boy a stronger dose. "The Headmaster promised me that he wouldn't endanger my family… That was our deal, remember?"

"I remember" Snape nodded slowly. "But Albus needed a tracker, and Lovegood offered to help."

"Offered to help?" Ron blinked, reeling from the fact that Dumbledore had broken his promise in less than two months. "So Xeno knew that the Dark Lord was in the Forest?"

"He… did not" Snape replied, watching Ron go pale. _Damn._ "Albus did not tell him, and since Albus was under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion, Lovegood didn't even know that it was Albus who he was traveling with."

"He tricked Xeno?" Ron muttered, his bottom lip quivering.

"It's more complicated than that" Snape tried, he really didn't know how to do this. _What can I say to undo Albus' mistake? If I lie to the boy, and then Albus tells him the truth, he will never trust either of us._

"How?" Ron asked, looking back down at the paper. Snape felt the need to take that damn Daily Prophet issue away from Ron, mostly because it was making the boy's stress spiral out of control.

"The Dark Lord was hidden too well" Snape started, and Ron looked back up with a flushed face. _He's hurting?_ "Albus couldn't even find a trail to follow before Lovegood joined him, he never intended to put Lovegood into any danger."

"He had him tracking the Dark Lord" Ron stared at Snape like he was insane. "How is that not putting Xeno's life in danger? Xeno could have died!"

"Ron, calm yourself."

"No… Pandora is pregnant with their child, and Dumbledore nearly got Xeno killed!" Ron stated, he was starting to shake with anger. _Pregnant? Merlin, did Albus know of this?_ "I need to…" Ron started again, but Snape's fireplace blazed to life. They both looked to see Albus enter, his eyes immediately going to Ron.

"Ronald" Albus greeted, not at all surprised to see that Ronald was here.

"Headmaster…" Ron blinked, and then he shot out of his chair. "Headmaster, what happened in Albania?" Ron asked, his voice pleading. Albus looked to Snape, who simply sighed in defeat. _The damage is done. Well done, Albus._

"I faced Lord Voldemort" Albus replied, and Ron flinched at the name.

"Xeno? Was he there?" Ron asked, hoping to Merlin that Dumbledore hadn't broken his word.

"He was by my side" Albus admitted, and Ron took a step back. The look on the boy's face made even Snape flinch slightly. Ron looked utterly betrayed, and truly hurt.

"Why?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"He was helping me track Unicorn movements" Albus replied, his voice gentle and regretful.

"He didn't know of the Dark Lord, did he?" Ron asked, and Albus shook his head. "How could you do this?"

"Ronald…" Albus went to put his hand on the boy's shoulder, but Ron recoiled away from him.

"Pandora is pregnant, and you put his life in danger" Ron accused, his hands trembling again.

"I know" Albus admitted, looking a hundred years older. _He knew._ Even Snape was left feeling cold by that. Ron's eyes became bloodshot because of unshed tears, and he looked at Albus with a fearful look. Like he couldn't even recognize the man in front of him.

"This paper is talking about some Cult…" Ron muttered, showing Albus the crushed paper with trembling hands. "There's no mention of you being there…"

"I had to hide the truth…" Albus looked at the paper with tired eyes. "I altered his memories to avoid mass panic…" Ron just sniffled as he looked down at his feet, he was having trouble even thinking at this point. He had been betrayed… again. And this time it was by a man that Ron had once worshiped.

"You promised me…" Ron sniffled, completely crushing the paper in his hands. "We had a deal… I told you everything… I risked dying at the hands of this **thing!** " Ron suddenly yelled, hitting his own head multiple times. Snape and Albus both flinched at that, and Snape found himself just staring at Albus. He wanted to step in and stop this, to calm the boy down before he hurt himself. But at the same time, he wanted Albus to pay for his foolishness. " **It** was right…" Ron sobbed meekly. "I should never have trusted you… Xeno nearly died because of me… Because I didn't fucking listen…"

At that, the boy walked right past Albus, who didn't even try to stop him, and he flooed back to Greengrass Manor. _We just lost him…_ There was a heavy silence in the room, with Snape just staring at Albus who was looking at where Ron had been with a regretful look. Did Snape agree with Albus' choice to Obliviate Lovegood? He did. But he could also understand Ron's pain. Albus should have never gotten Lovegood involved in the first place. _Better yet, he should have never run off to Albania._

"I think we've lost him, Severus" Albus whispered, still looking at where Ron had been.

"You lost him" Snape corrected coldly, and Albus nodded once. "We need to plan our next move."

"Our next move?" Albus asked, looking to Snape. _Yes, time is of the essence._

"We can sit around and point fingers, which would all fall on you by the way, or we can take action" Snape replied. "Nott is still looking for the Dark Lord, who is now in the wind, and we might be facing a Muggle-Wizard war soon. There are fires all around us, and if we don't start putting them out, we'll burn."

"You are right" Albus responded, looking utterly spent. "What about Ronald?"

"What about him?" Snape asked in return, and Albus blinked at him. "I found a large bruise on his right arm just now… He probably has more on him. **It** gave them to him, and **it** warned him not to get them healed." Albus went slightly pale at that, looking back to where Ron had been.

"I've done something terrible…" Albus said, talking to himself. Snape felt his blood boil at that, if there was one thing he hated, it was people who complained about their regrets openly.

"You did" Snape hissed. "When he came to us, you closed yourself away for a month. I constantly tried to reach out to you, but you kept telling me that you had come to terms with our… Cycles of failure. But in truth, you were driven into a panic. And now, here we are… With Wizarding Europe facing its first Muggle-Wizard war in centuries. The Dark Lord missing. Ronald's power lost to us. And with you leaving the country for the foreseeable future." There was another minute of silence between them, and Snape used it to calm himself down. _We need to prepare for so much, and we are quickly running out of time._

"Albus…" Snape broke the silence, and Albus looked to him. "We have to start preparing. Four-hundred and sixty three failed Cycles… We can't fail again… **We** **must** **act**." Albus nodded, and then he took a seat.

"During your time in Tom's camp, did he ever mention any place in particular?"

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Ministry – Mid Afternoon)**_

This had been the most hectic day in Sirius' recent memory. His morning had started off with him finding a witch in his bed, her bare arse free for everyone's viewing. Sirius had immediately covered her, and then he had prayed to Merlin that Harry hadn't walked into his room at some point. That prayer had gone unanswered, which he learned the moment he came down for some breakfast. He had found his Godson eating his toast with a bright blush on his face, while Remus was glaring at Sirius with utter disappointment.

And then to make matters worse, the witch had come down with a happy smile on her face. Harry had turned beet-red the moment he had laid eyes on her, while she just smiled at him in a knowing manner. It was clear to Sirius that Harry had ended up getting caught, and knowing his Godson, it was probably because he had slammed the door shut in utter panic. Breakfast had been a silent affair, with Sirius looking anywhere but at Remus. The witch had then departed, she knew that this was a one night stand, and that had turned Remus feral.

After being called every terrible word in the book, Sirius had decided to talk to his Godson. Just so he could clear things up. But that was interrupted by Remus, who was now in complete panic. Remus had sent Harry off to Neville's, much to the boy's shock, and then proceeded to read Sirius the day's Daily Prophet. That's when all hell broke loose.

Before Sirius even knew it, he was inside the Burrow. Pandora had gone into some teary trance, just sitting there with tears all over her face. Molly was doing her best to keep Pandora from breaking down even more. Arthur had already left for the Ministry, no doubt trying to find out more about Xeno. The children, including Luna, were confined to upstairs, mostly for their own benefit. And while Sirius and Remus talked about going to Albania in order to see Xeno, two more people had arrived.

Sebastian and Mary had come to see Pandora, probably at Mary's insistence, and while Mary joined Molly in keeping Pandora on the side of sanity, Sebastian had joined Remus and Sirius. Remus mentioned their plan to go to the Albanian Ministry, and Sebastian had mentioned that he knew a guy who could get them a Portkey to Albania within an hour or so. Pandora had overheard them, and then begged them to help her get her husband back. That was enough for Sirius and Remus to go into action, and they dragged Sebastian to the Ministry with them. Mary had decided to join them, and Sirius knew that it was because she wanted Sebastian to help them.

They had met with some shady transport agent, who told them to wait for an hour while he prepared the Portkey and did the paperwork. Sebastian had even bribed the man to hurry up. Remus had found Arthur during that time, who had learned nothing about Xeno's situation. Once the Portkey was ready, they had come up with a 'team' that would retrieve Xeno. Sirius, Sebastian, Mary, and Remus would go to Albania, while Arthur went back home to keep an eye on Pandora and Luna. And now, here they were.

"It's worse than I imagined" Mary said, watching the entire Albanian Ministry workforce rushing from point to point.

"I can't even imagine the pressure all of these people have on them right now" Remus sighed.

"Fuck them, let's go find Xeno and bring him home" Sirius said as he started walking. His companions followed him, but none of them got very far.

"State your business" a fat Official stopped them, his bald head shining because of the lighting.

"We are friends of Xenophilius Lovegood, and we wish to see him" Sebastian answered, stepping forward.

"You wish to see him?" the bald Official blinked, and then he let out a hearty chuckle. _Fucking prick!_ Sirius had to bite his tongue in order to stop himself from cussing at the man.

"That is what I said" Sebastian replied, his dead gaze looking right through the fat man. The Official stopped laughing immediately, clearing his throat with a guarded look.

"You can't do that" the Official told them.

"What do you mean by 'we can't do that'?" Sirius snarled, and he felt Remus nudge him. _Bald cunt._

"He is currently being investigated, and is therefore under our custody" the Official told them. "No visitors."

"Please" Mary pleaded softly, her eyes tearing up. "His wife is with child, and she could lose the baby because of shock. Please let us see him for a moment, just so we can tell her that he's safe." The Official shuffled in his spot, looking to Mary with a conflicted look.

"There is a waiting area on the second floor, the lift will take you there" the Official sighed. "I'll go and talk to the Head of the Auror Department."

"Thank you" Mary gave a shaky smile, and the Official nodded curtly before walking off.

"Nicely done" Sebastian smirked, and Mary cleared her eyes.

"Let's go and wait" Mary said, and both Greengrasses began leaving for the lifts. Remus and Sirius exchanged looks, what the fuck had just happened? _Bloody snakes. Not that I'm complaining._ Remus and Sirius followed after them, with Remus praising Mary for her great acting skills. Sirius, on the other hand, was looking around them.

There wasn't a single person who wasn't running around. People were shouting over one another, exchanging papers, and then running off again. They clearly had some sort of system in place, but Sirius wasn't sure that it would be enough. From what he and Remus had read, an entire fucking Forest had burned down because of some psycho Cult. And Xeno was in the middle of it all. That thought fucking terrified Sirius, mostly because he knew what prisons were like. And a man like Xeno would not survive long in such a place. As soon as they entered the lift, Remus pressed the button for the second floor.

"What do we do if they don't let us see him?" Remus asked.

"We're seeing him, and that's that" Sirius said firmly.

"Don't be an idiot, Black" Sebastian said coldly, and Sirius shot him a glare. "If we start making trouble, we'll cause more problems for Lovegood. For the time being, we need to wait patiently."

"My husband is right" Mary chimed in, her voice was much more understanding. "Right now, our only goal should be to appeal to these people. They are clearly panicking, and they are most definitely not in the mood to entertain foreigners. Think of what Pandora needs, Sirius. If you lose your temper, we could lose the chance to see Xenophilius." _She's right… I need to stay level-headed._

"And if appealing to them doesn't work?" Sirius asked, keeping his voice in check.

"Then we will figure something else out" Mary assured him, and then she looked to her husband. Sebastian simply nodded, not even looking to her. _What was that? Do they have some telepathic link?_ The lift opened, and they all stepped out and walked to the waiting area. _So now we just wait. Great…_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Ministry – Late Evening)**_

Patience was never Sirius' strong suit, he had always been the wildest one out of the Marauders. But today, he had forced himself to sit quietly in one spot. He was not going to be the reason behind Xeno's situation getting worse, he just wasn't. So he had sat down and not made a sound, instead he observed his surroundings. Mary and Sebastian were talking to each other in whispers, no doubt plotting something devious. Remus had started pacing, something he only did when he was panicking. The amount of times Sirius had found Remus pacing before a full-moon…

"Are you the friends of Xenophilius Lovegood?" a woman approached them, and then all turned their attention to her. She was a burly woman with a crooked nose, and truth be told, she sort of intimidated Sirius.

"We are" Mary replied, looking to her with a hopeful look.

"I am Ajola Smith, the Head Auror of this Ministry" Ajola introduced herself, giving them a polite nod.

"I'm Mary Greengrass" Mary gave a polite curtsy. "This is my husband Sebastian, and these are our friends; Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."

"A pleasure" Ajola said, looking them all over.

"Is it possible for us to see him?" Remus asked, and Ajola nodded. _Thank fucking Merlin!_

"Come with me" Ajola said, turning around and leaving for the lift. They did as they were told, glad that despite all the rush, the bald Official had come through for them. _It wouldn't have been possible without Mary's brilliant acting, that's for certain._ "He's being held in one of our interrogation cells."

"Interrogation cell?" Remus asked, looking to Sirius. _Bloody hell._

"He was the prime suspect until recently, but his story checked out" Ajola shrugged, pressing the button for the lowest level. "We're too busy to relocate him, but I assure you, he's being treated with respect."

"Why not set him free then?" Sirius asked.

"Because an entire Forest was burned to ash" Ajola looked to Sirius with a frown. "A Forest that has existed since Albania was first discovered. A Forest that sheltered over two hundred different types of creatures. The Muggles are… angry, while our own people are spending every moment trying to find this 'Cult of Fanatics'."

"Have you found any of them?" Sebastian asked.

"Not a single one" Ajola replied. "Not even a corpse."

"Fiendfyre wouldn't leave a corpse behind" Remus told her, and she nodded curtly.

"Which is why your friend is being held in custody" Ajola said. "No bodies, no culprits… Your friend has all the answers, and so he'll give them to the International Confederation of Wizards." _Dumbledore is The Supreme Mugwump, he'll help Xeno out._ "Even the Muggle Prime Minister wants to talk to your friend." _Xeno, what the hell did you get involved in?_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Hand over your wands" Ajola said, putting her right hand forward. Sebastian and Mary did as they were told, and Remus followed their example. But Sirius hated the idea of not having his wand on his person.

"Sirius, do it" Remus urged, and Sirius swallowed his pride and handed over his wand. _The last time an Auror took my wand away, I ended up spending ten years in Azkaban._

"You have five minutes" Ajola told them. "After that, you will be escorted off of the premises." They didn't wait for another second, quickly entering Xeno's 'room'. The inside of the cell was better than what Sirius had been expecting. There was a bed, a toilet, and even some blankets. And on the bed was Xeno, his face bruised and his right hand wrapped in a bloody bandage.

"Xeno?" Sirius blinked, and Xeno looked over to them with a shocked look. _Being treated with respect?!_ "Fucking hell, what did they do to you?" Sirius asked as he rushed forward, looking a still shocked Xeno over.

"Sirius? Remus?" Xeno looked between their worried faces, and then he looked to Sebastian and Mary. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came to see you" Remus replied, looking at Xeno's bandaged hand with a dark look.

"The Aurors did this?" Sebastian asked, frowning slightly. He already knew that they had because of personal experience. After he had been captured, he too had had 'friendly' visitors.

"Is Pandora here?" Xeno asked, his eyes gleaming with hope.

"She can't use Portkeys, Xenophilius" Mary smiled weakly, it was jarring to see the eccentric man so subdued. "The baby would get hurt."

"I understand" Xeno nodded, giving her a weak smile in return.

"They've been beating you?" Sirius all but demanded, his blood boiling in his veins.

"They blamed me for everything at first" Xeno replied. "Some of the… angrier Aurors decided not to hold back…"

"The least they could do is heal you" Mary hissed, losing her kind demeanor for a second.

"They are angry… and scared…" Xeno shrugged gently.

"Why are you defending them?" Sirius asked, giving Xeno a genuinely worried look.

"We don't have time for a pointless conversation" Sebastian cut in, earning a glare from Remus and Sirius. Sebastian just cocked an eyebrow at them, and then looked to Xeno. "Have they told you when your trial is?" _Trial?!_

"He didn't do this" Sirius barked.

"We know that, but they don't" Mary said in a calming voice. "Sirius, please…" Sirius blinked at her, and then he bit down on his tongue.

"They mentioned that I have to stand in front of the International Confederation of Wizards…" Xeno replied, the fear in his voice was evident. "I even have to speak with the Muggle Leader…"

"From what the Daily Prophet mentioned, you have many witnesses claiming your innocence" Sebastian said, his mind going into planning.

"The Daily Prophet?" Xeno muttered, going slightly wide-eyed. His bruised left eye barely moved however. "Did Luna read it?"

"No, not yet…" Mary sighed, taking out a white handkerchief from her left sleeve. She then began to wipe the dried blood from his face gently, while he looked to Sirius and Remus with a scared look.

"I might never get the chance to see them again…" Xeno croaked, his eyes getting teary.

"That's not happening" Sirius said firmly. "Look at me, Xenophilius" Sirius ordered, and Xeno did as he was told. "We're not leaving this country without you, I promise." _I'll be damned before I let him get wrongfully convicted._

"Can you have witnesses at your trial?" Sebastian asked suddenly, and Xeno blinked at him.

"I don't know" Xeno shook his head, while Mary tutted at him to stay still.

"If the International Confederation of Wizards is involved, then we need to assume that he can't" Remus sighed. "They prefer their meetings to be behind closed doors."

"Time's up" Ajola burst into the cell, looking to all of them with an expressionless look.

"Is this what you call 'being treated with respect'?" Sirius demanded, his face flushing.

"The men who did this to him have been disciplined" Ajola replied, not even fazed in the slightest.

"At least heal him" Mary requested, she knew that no discipline had been meted out.

"He looks fine to me" Ajola replied, and Sirius fought the urge to lunge at her. He was strictly against attacking unarmed women, but right now, he couldn't care less. "I've let you see him for his wife's benefit, but your visit is now over."

"Tell Pandora that I'm fine" Xeno requested, looking to them with a pleading look. "Tell her that I'm perfectly healthy… Please…"

"We will" Mary smiled in a kind manner, cupping Xeno's bruised right cheek. _You can tell her that. I'm not leaving this country without him in tow._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"I'll head back to England" Mary said, and then she looked to Sebastian. "Alone."

"Alone?" Sebastian cocked an eyebrow.

"Pandora is my friend, love" Mary said in a soft voice, and Sebastian blinked at her.

"I will help Black and Lupin, I promise" Sebastian nodded, and Mary smiled at him. Sirius and Remus pretended that they weren't there, but they were both listening in.

"I love you, husband" Mary whispered, giving Sebastian a farewell kiss.

"Likewise" Sebastian replied, and Mary smiled a little more widely. _Likewise? What the fuck? Who says that?_ Mary then looked to Remus and Sirius, and they both gave her polite nods.

"Try your best to not kill each other" Mary joked, and Sirius managed a smile.

"Could you please send a letter to Augusta Longbottom?" Remus asked. "Harry is with her, and I don't think that we'll be coming back for a few days."

"I will take care of it" Mary promised, and then she looked back to her husband. "Be safe."

"Take care of our daughters, love" Sebastian said in return. Mary nodded, and then she took the Portkey back to England.

"Likewise?" Sirius asked immediately, and both Sebastian and Remus looked to him with confused looks. "She tells you that she loves you, and all you can manage is 'Likewise'?" Sebastian frowned slightly, electing to ignore Sirius in favor of his better half.

"We should find ourselves a hotel first" Sebastian spoke directly with Remus, who nodded. _Did he just ignore me?_

"We should also eat something before we start coming up with a plan" Remus replied, and Sebastian nodded. "And it would be wise to stay at a Muggle hotel. I don't think that the Albanian Wizarding Community wants to see anymore foreigners."

"Good point" Sebastian agreed. _These cunts are just ignoring me, aren't they?_ "Until we find out when his trial is going to be, we can't really do much."

"We should go find these 'locals' who claimed his innocence" Sirius blurted out, and the other two men looked to him. "They could tell us more about what really went down."

"I guess we already have a plan then" Sebastian said, giving Sirius a curt nod. "We find a place to stay, and then tomorrow, we go to the Magical settlements."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Midnight)**_

Today had been the worst day in his life, Ron was certain of it. His painful training session paled in comparison to the rest of his day. The news of Xeno being locked up in Albania had driven him to tears multiple times during the day, and the situation at the Burrow wasn't helping.

Pandora was… She was just gone. Her sharp eyes had become dull, her silvery hair was disheveled, and her amazing mind was turning on her. She mostly just sat there, looking like she was in a daze, and then she'd start crying out of nowhere. Ron's mother had told him that it was mostly due to her pregnancy, but she herself was having a hard time believing that. Molly hadn't left Pandora's side all day, which meant that the kids had to do everything for themselves.

They had figured out that something was amiss even before Ron came back home, and Luna had also become a teary mess. Ginny, bless her heart, had turned into the Molly Weasley to Luna's Pandora Lovegood, and she had spent the entire day distracting her friend. The twins had decided to help out by making lunch and dinner, and surprisingly, they were pretty decent at it. They had even taken Luna into their lair to show off some new gags, but Luna had simply cried on their shoulders instead.

As for Ron, he was just all over the place. In between his hysterical sobbing, his bursts of sheer rage, and his ever growing hatred for Albus Dumbledore, Ron had simply become unapproachable. He had, of course, sat with Luna and let her cry with him, and he had done the same with Pandora. But all it had taken was for Molly Weasley to say that 'Dumbledore will fix this', and Ron's mind had snapped. He had simply excused himself, gone into his room, and then proceeded to have the worst panic attack of his life.

No matter how he thought about it, he was always the reason behind all of this. Dumbledore was keen to sit on his wrinkly arse, doing nothing, but it was Ron who had dropped harsh truths on him. He had driven a man like Dumbledore to give into his fear, and in that fear, Dumbledore had run off to fight the Dark Lord. Which had then resulted in an entire fucking Forest being destroyed, and Xeno ending up in Albanian Custody.

Ron understood that a lot of things had happened in between, but he had set off the chain of events that led to his mess, and that hurt more than anything. Well… almost anything. Dumbledore, that grey sunken cunt, had broken his promise to Ron in less than two months. He had put Xeno in incredible danger, knowing full well that Pandora was pregnant, and he had done it simply because he needed a tracker. A man that Ron loved like a father-figure had nearly died, and all because Dumbledore had seen him as nothing more than a tool to be used.

He hadn't even gone down for dinner, and the only reason he ate anything was because George had brought him a plate. And when Ron had said that he wasn't hungry, George had pleaded for him to eat something. So he had eaten, but only because he didn't want his brother's kind gesture to be wasted. After eating, he had crawled into his bed to sleep. But sleep hadn't come. Instead, Ron was plagued with grief, stress, and anger.

Ron sat up suddenly, he wasn't getting any sleep tonight. _I want to go downstairs for some water, but I just know that Pandora is still down there. I can't see her like that again, and if I do, I'll have another fucking panic attack._ The thought of not being there for her made him feel extremely guilty, but guilt was better than having another panic attack. The last one had rendered him unconscious for five minutes. So instead of going down, Ron simply sat on his bed and stared into the darkness.

It wanted to close in on him, he knew it. It wanted to sink into his bones, and render him mad. Ron shook his head clear, got out of bed, and then turned his light on. The room came to life, and the shadows were banished into their rightful corners. Ron walked over to his bed again, but he stopped when he saw the crumpled copy of the Daily Prophet. _Xeno…_ Ron rubbed his face with both hands, what could he do right now?

One of things that Ron had learned about himself was that he tended to shut down when nothing was happening. If he wasn't facing a crisis, or any other sort of problem, he tended to become lazy. And yes, he was aware of the fact that there was a huge crisis right now, but Ron couldn't do anything about it. Xeno was in fucking Albania, and Ron had no intention of leaving Pandora and Luna behind. They needed him here, and starting from tomorrow, he'd do just that.

From what Ron had been told, four people had already left for Albania. _Sirius, Remus, Lord Greengrass, and Mary… They can help Xeno in ways that I can't._ But rather than finding comfort in that, Ron found himself becoming more and more bitter. He couldn't do anything to help Xeno… What the fuck did that even mean? His entire life was dedicated to fixing the Future. His entire life was dedicated to protecting the people he loved most. And yet here he was, just standing in his room and staring at a crumpled piece of paper.

Ron pressed down on his bruised forearm, and the pain woke him up again. Ron clamped down even harder, gritting his teeth as his body begged him to stop. _Stupid, useless bastard! That's what you are! A weak-willed fool!_ Tears blurred his vision, but Ron didn't relent. He deserved this pain. He deserved it for trusting Dumbledore. He deserved it for not being able to help Xenophilius. He deserved it for not going down right now and helping Pandora. He deserved it… Ron let go of his arm, falling to one knee and choking out a strangled sob.

"He betrayed me…" he heard his own voice, but it didn't sound like him at all. "It happened again… I gave them everything… I even risked my life doing it, but he still broke his promise…" He should've listened to the Entity in that regard. The Entity was a cruel and evil prick, but it never lied to Ron when it was questioned. It had warned him not to trust Dumbledore because it knew that Dumbledore would cause more problems than fix, but Ron hadn't listened. And now here they were… So much had been destroyed, and Xeno was facing the consequences for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some part of Ron, however, was more than just angry. It wanted to act. It wanted Ron to stop crying over his mistakes, and to start fixing them instead. That's when a thought entered Ron's mind, a thought that he had been thinking about a lot today but not acknowledging.

 _I'm alone in this. Slytherin has taught me so much, and one of those things is that I know for certain now that everyone has their own agendas. Mine is to stop the Dark Lord, and in doing so, save as many lives as I can. And people like Dumbledore, despite claiming that they want the same thing, have their own vision of how things should be done. I promised myself that I'd never give up my control, but I did that when I confessed to Dumbledore. I have to learn from my mistakes, that's how I'll improve. That's how I'll_ _ **win**_ _!_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, a sense of release traveling through him.

Ron got up and walked over to his cupboard, wiping the tears out of his eyes. _Learn from your mistake._ Ron opened the cupboard, and then he opened the bottom drawer which had all of his old textbooks. Daphne had shown him that she knew a Spell that he didn't, and he resented that. He was supposed to be strong one, the one who knew everything. He wasn't the person who needed her help, it was the other way around. And from now on, he wouldn't rely on anyone's help. If a man like Dumbledore couldn't keep his promise for more than two months, then damn them all. He'd do it all himself. He'd give his own life if he needed to, but he would never give up his control again. This was **his Cycle** , and he'd be the one to make it succeed.

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Monday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Breakfast)**_

Daphne's sleepover had been ruined, and she was utterly miserable because of it. Tracey herself was upset about it, but she understood that Ron needed to be there for his family. But Daphne, despite understanding Ron's situation, still tended to give into her possessive nature. She wanted to march down to the Burrow in order to help Ron in any way possible, but Lady Greengrass had forbidden them from disturbing the Weasleys and Lovegoods. Everyone had understood why, they'd just be a hindrance due to the Burrow's size, but Daphne still wanted to sneak off.

"I'm not saying that we all have to go, I can just go" Daphne frowned, earning tired looks from them all.

"He's our friend too" Millie said in a rather firm voice.

"Did I say that he wasn't?" Daphne asked.

"No, but you're acting like you're the only person who can help him" Millie replied. _Woah, Millie just dropped the truth on Daphne. I should stop this before it escalates._

"Girls, don't spoil the lovely weather with your dull conversation" Theo jumped in, giving them condescending smiles. "We're all worried for Ron, and we all want to help him… But Lady Greengrass is right. If all six…"

"Seven" Tori interrupted.

"Seven…" Theo corrected. "If all seven of us go there, then we'll just get in their way. They're working through this as a family, and we have no place in that."

"Theo's right" Blaise said in an aloof voice. "Just drink your tea and enjoy your lemon cakes, Ron will be fine." _Wow, what an arsehole._

"Blaise, you can be a real jerk sometimes" Pansy told him, but he just shrugged. _Absolute arsehole. Luna's father is imprisoned in Albania, and they don't even care._ Tracy shot a frown at Theo, and he shrugged as well.

"Fine, I'll do just that" Daphne stood up. "But I'll do it away from you two!" With that, Daphne stormed off.

"Drama queen" Theo rolled his eyes.

"Theodore, do you really want to speak about my sister like that near me?" Tori asked him, and Theo grinned sheepishly.

"I'm going to talk to her" Tracey said, leaving before any of them could object. _I don't even know why I like Theo and Blaise sometimes._ Tracey made her way straight for Daphne's room, cursing the fact that the Manor was so huge. In that regard, Tracey preferred her own house. At least she didn't have to walk a fucking mile just to reach her best friend's room. Tracey knocked on Daphne's door, and it swung open.

"What?" Daphne asked rather rudely.

"I didn't annoy you, so please don't talk to me like that" Tracey replied, keeping her voice in check. Daphne frowned slightly, but she moved out of the way. Tracey stepped inside and walked over to Daphne's bed, while Daphne closed the door rather loudly. _So moody. Is it her time of the month?_ Tracey herself just had her first period last month, and she already hated them. Not to mention that her mother's 'jokes' had made the experience a million times worse.

"Tracey, why are you here?" Daphne asked, dropping onto her bed unceremoniously.

"Are you on your period?" Tracey asked.

"What?!" Daphne exclaimed. "No!"

"That's a yes" Tracey sniggered, she knew Daphne's tell. _She starts yelling, losing her calm demeanor completely._

"Tracey… Stop it" Daphne frowned, looking away from her. "I'm not in the mood."

"Alright, I'll stop" Tracey pouted. "We used to tell each other everything…"

"Don't…" Daphne said.

"I had my first one…"

"Oh Merlin!" Daphne hid her face in her pillow, making Tracey laugh. "You're so gross, Trace!"

"We're both girls, so it's perfectly alright" Tracey shrugged. "Now… Tell me why you want to disobey your mother so openly? This is a bit too much, even for your rebellious streak."

"Ron should be here" Daphne spoke from her pillow.

"Wrong. Ron should be with his family" Tracey corrected her. "They need each other, and it'd be wrong of us to cram ourselves into their lives right now." _Please see some sense and come back outside. Theo and Blaise may have been jerks, but they were right._

"You sound like Theo" Daphne groaned.

"Theo's a smart guy, no one can deny that" Tracey said.

"He's smart, is he?" Daphne asked, looking up at Tracey with a deadpan look. _I can play this game too._

"Ron should be here, eh?" Tracey asked in return, and Daphne sunk her face into her pillow. _And she told Pansy that she's over her crush on Ron._ Tracey rolled her eyes, and then she hopped onto Daphne's back.

"Hey! Get off me" Daphne tried to get up, but Tracey kept her pinned down.

"Not until you agree to come back outside" Tracey giggled, leaning down and kissing Daphne right cheek.

"Tracey, you're such a freak!" Daphne pulled the pillow on top of her own head, using it as a shield.

"Maybe" Tracey shrugged, blowing air onto Daphne's nape. "But I like to think of myself as unique."

"What if someone walks in?" Daphne asked from beneath the pillow.

"Millie and Pansy are used to this" Tracey replied. "As for Theo and Blaise… I don't think they'd mind seeing this."

"Merlin…" Daphne mumbled, what was wrong with Tracey's brain? "And when you say that they wouldn't mind, what you really mean is that they just don't care." _And there it is again. Daphne is the only one who cares for Ron._

"They were real tossers just now, I won't refute that" Tracey admitted. "But they do care about him."

"They don't sound like they do" Daphne huffed.

"Daph…" Tracey sighed, getting off of her best friend. "Just stop that, alright? No one likes it when you get like this…" _Great, I just started a fight. Nice going Trace, you buffoon._

"Get like this?" Daphne asked, sitting up with a glare.

"When you start acting like you're the only person that can help Ron" Tracey replied. "Ron isn't a child, and he doesn't need you to babysit him. He's with his family, he'll be fine."

"Really?" Daphne hissed. "Who has his Calming Draughts?" Tracey blinked at that. _What?_ "Answer the question, Tracey. Who in his family has his Calming Draughts?"

"I… I don't know…"

"No one" Daphne told her. "I've asked him myself, and he told me that his entire supply was with him."

"And we took that supply…" Tracey realized. _Oh shite._

"He's probably had multiple stress moments" Daphne said, her voice cracking. Tracey looked to find Daphne teary-eyed, and that felt like an iron-clad punch in her gut. "You know how he is, don't you? He probably hasn't said a word about it to anyone. What if he has a full-blown panic attack? Then what?"

"Then they'll take care of him" Tracey replied, trying to calm Daphne down. _Her hormones are probably driving her mad._

"That's not good enough! He has brain-damage that can kill him!" Daphne yelled, making Tracey's ears ring.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Tracey demanded. _I don't care if she's panicking, I haven't done anything to deserve blown eardrums._

"You're the one saying that you don't like it when I 'get like this', so you tell me what you're doing to help him?" Daphne asked. "What are Blaise and Theo doing? Nothing. They only help him when they can get something out of him."

"Don't talk about them like that" Tracey shot up to her feet. _Why am I defending them? Oh right, I don't want Daphne to start throwing her weight around._ "In case you haven't realized, we wouldn't even be friends with Ron if it weren't for them."

"That's laughable, Tracey" Daphne huffed, sounding like a spoiled princess.

"Ron yelled at you within a minute after meeting you" Tracey reminded her, and Daphne's face darkened. "Don't glare at me, I'm not scared of you. And you know that I'm telling you the truth. Theo and Blaise became friends with him, and they convinced him to give us a chance."

"They were trying to get away from Malfoy."

"And we weren't?!" Tracey exclaimed, shocked at Daphne's delusions. "How many times could you stomach him frowning at me with disgust?!"

"How dare you?" Daphne hissed. "I defended you!"

"Well, thank you for being a decent human being **sometimes** " Tracey retorted, losing her temper. "But most of the time, you just pretended to be the 'Ice-Queen'."

"Why are you even here?" Daphne demanded, her face was starting to turn red.

"I was trying to get you to come back" Tracey replied. "You invite us into your home, but then you spend your time sulking because your crush isn't here." _That was a low blow… I really stepped over the line with that one. I should apologize._ "Daphne…"

"Get out…" Daphne ordered. "Go back to Theo… Maybe he'll give you a minute of his precious time when he's done ranting about Muggles… and anyone with 'questionable' heritage." Tracey couldn't even try and hide her hurt at that, her eyes were already starting to sting.

"You know what, Daphne? I'm going home" Tracey walked towards the door. "Thanks for having me over." Tracey slammed the door shut on her way out, clenching her hands into fists as she walked down to the fireplaces. _Questionable heritage? Theo has never once said that near me._ But deep down, she knew that Theo had thought about it often enough. Why else wouldn't he try and spend time with her outside of their group? _Why did he ask to stay here rather than at my house?_ Her fear of her Blood-Status started creeping into her mind.

"Tracey, did you manage to convince her?" came Pansy's voice, and Tracey to see Theo and Pansy walking over to her. The sight of Theo fueled her insecurities, and she barely kept herself from running away.

"No" Tracey replied. "I'm going home."

"Going home?" Theo asked.

"That's what I said" Tracey frowned at him. "Are you deaf?"

"Woah" Theo put his hands up in mock-surrender. _Why is he always patronizing people?!_

"Trace, what happened?" Pansy asked, shooting a look to Theo. "Theo, give us a minute?"

"Gladly" Theo replied, turning around to leave. _Gladly?_

"Don't want to talk to the Half-Blood, is that it?" Tracey asked in a venomous voice, and Theo turned around with shocked expression.

"Tracey…" Pansy gasped, completely taken off-guard. _Why did I say that?_ Tracey felt utterly disgusted, and so she quickly turned around and marched towards the fireplaces. _I'm so stupid…_

"What the fuck was that?" Theo asked, catching up to her. Tracey didn't break her stride, so Theo grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Don't touch me" Tracey snapped at him, her arm hurting slightly. Pansy had decided not to follow after them, which made sense, the girl hated infighting.

"What was that barb about me not wanting to talk to Half-Bloods?" Theo demanded, looking slightly angry. "What happened between you and Daphne? You were only gone for ten minutes." Tracey glared at him, but that just annoyed him even more. "You girls… I swear to Merlin…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tracey asked.

"You're all so damn… crazy!" Theo exclaimed, making her flinch. "We all finally meet up, and instead of enjoying each other's company, you lot start fighting each other on the second day. Daphne's miserable because Ron's not here, Millie decides that today is the fucking day that she'll start standing up for herself, and now you too… Why is it always so complicated with you lot?"

"So you want us to be like you and Blaise?" Tracey asked, and Theo nodded firmly. "You two are jerks, and if you hadn't spoken to us like we were five year olds, then none of this would be happening."

"Don't blame me for your issues" Theo told her. "What happened between you and Daphne is between you and Daphne… Don't put that on Blaise and me."

"Why didn't you come to my house for the Holidays?" Tracey demanded, this had been bugging her for the entire Break.

"What?" Theo blinked.

"You heard me? Why did you come here instead of coming to my house like last time?" Tracey demanded again, crossing her arms.

"I didn't really think about why, I just went to the nearest…"

"Stop lying! You didn't come to mine because it's in Muggle London" Tracey stated, her eyes stinging again. "Go on, deny that!"

"Trace…" Theo said in a pacifying manner. "It's not like that…"

"Don't lie to me" Tracey warned him. "If you do, I swear that I'll never talk to you again." Theo pinched the bridge of his nose, and took in a deep breath. "Well?"

"My father forbid me…" Theo admitted, and Tracey's heart dropped into her stomach. _It's because of my stupid Blood-Status…_

"Was it because of me? Or my mother?" Tracey asked, trying not to sniffle.

"Your mother…" Theo averted his gaze. _My mother?! My mother is the best woman that I know!_

"Your father is a pig" Tracey hissed, unable to control herself. "My mother was nothing but kind to you, Theo. She kept you fed while your father ran around in Romania somewhere, and she was more than happy to house you again. But no… You only care about her 'heritage', don't you?"

"I've never once said that…" Theo muttered, still averting his gaze.

"But you think it, and that's enough to make you just as bad as him" Tracey said, and Theo looked at her with a clenched jaw.

"My father raised me all by himself after some filthy Muggle murdered my mother" Theo told her.

"And my father was imprisoned for falling in love with someone that people like your father didn't approve of, so cry me a river" Tracey shot back. "Hating everyone for the actions of one person is stupid, and it's cruel."

"You know what? Why don't you just leave?" Theo suggested, turning around to walk away.

"Fine, I will" Tracey replied, turning around and doing just that. _I was just a baby when they locked my father away. People like Theo's father are a disgusting breed, and if Theo wants to be just like his father, then he can rot for all I care._

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Monday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Forest Outskirts – Midday)**_

The sight of so much scorched Earth made Remus feel uneasy, and the smell nearly made him vomit. _So much Death… Now I know why the Albanian Ministry is in complete panic. How are they going to explain this? No Muggle is going to believe that this happened because of a wildfire. I can't see any part of the Forest that survived. It's all charred as far as the eye can see._ They were all standing on a hill that overlooked a vast amount of the Forest.

"This is fucked…" Sirius whispered to Remus, and Remus nodded weakly.

"You two better get your wands serviced, we might be facing a Muggle-Wizard War by the end of the month" Sebastian remarked, just staring at the destruction with dead eyes.

"They blamed Xeno for this?" Sirius asked no one in particular. "No wonder they kicked his arse…"

"Now they know that he's innocent, which means that we have a chance to get him out of here" Sebastian told them.

"How do you know that they believe that?" Remus asked.

"They let us see him, didn't they?" Sebastian looked to Remus. _That they did._

"So what's the plan?" Sirius asked.

"We should each take a settlement" Remus suggested. "We can cover more ground that way."

"Do you want to be strung up?" Sebastian asked, and Remus blinked at him. "These people are scared, and people who are scared tend to lash out. If we show up and start asking questions…"

"They might think that we're a part of this Cult, and that we're trying to cover our tracks" Remus finished, and Sebastian nodded curtly. "Then we should go to the settlement where Xeno gathered everyone first. If we tell them that we're his friends, they might listen."

"I like that plan" Sirius agreed. "Well, any plan that won't leave us hanging from trees is fine with me. I don't think I want to spend my last moments with you two."

"The feeling is mutual" Sebastian admitted. "Let's apparate."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Merlin, they're just eyeballing us" Sirius pointed out, all three of them looking around warily. _Story of my life. You get used to it._ "I blame Seb for this… He's wearing a fucking suit for Merlin's sake."

"I can hear you, Black" Sebastian said.

"Oh, so you have ears?" Sirius smirked.

"If I recall correctly, I wanted to buy appropriate clothes this morning" Sebastian frowned at Sirius. "But you had a fire under your arse, and you forced us to come here immediately."

"Seb said a dirty word" Sirius informed Remus, who took in a deep breath.

"Can you two stop?" Remus asked. "We're already unwanted enough, and your bickering will have us thrown in the gallows."

"Do they have gallows in this dump?" Sirius asked.

"Black, do you ever shut up with your colorful commentary?" Sebastian asked.

"Not when I'm nervous, no…" Sirius replied, watching an old man eyeball him like he was a slab of meat. "That man has ill-intentions, I can fucking see it in his beady eyes." _Merlin, I might just hit him._

"Lupin, is it too late to split up?" Sebastian asked.

"You wanted to stay together, this is what staying together looks like" Remus replied, smiling politely at Sebastian.

"What's your business here?" a young man stepped in their way, a grim look marking his features.

"We came to pick berries" Sirius replied, and Remus smacked him in the chest. _Fucking idiot!_

"We wish to meet with the elders of this settlement" Remus told the young man, he knew how small settlements like this worked. The young men labored, the women kept the village intact, while the elders passed the laws.

"About what?" the young man asked, a small crowd slowly gathering around them. "What gave you your scars?" _Alright…_

"The Great War" Remus lied. "I fought alongside the Ministry."

"What gave you your scars?" the young man repeated. _Does he know that I'm a Werewolf? Shite, this could turn sour really fast._

"My companion was attacked by a rabid Vampire" Sebastian answered. "He lost his wife in that ordeal…" _My wife?!_

"I see…" the young man nodded slowly, still eyeing Remus with a suspicious look. "Was he bitten?"

"You don't get turned by being bitten" Sebastian assured the crowd around them. "That only happens if they perform their 'Passing the Blood' ritual on you. Remus, show them that you don't have fangs." Remus nodded slowly, and then he opened his mouth. The young man took a look at his teeth, and then he relaxed a bit.

"He's clear!" the man told the people around them, who also relaxed a bit. _Vampires can hide their fangs… Superstitious fools._

"Why do you want to see the elders?" the young man asked.

"We're friends of Xenophilius Lovegood" Sirius announced, and the crowd broke out in chatter.

"You know Xenophilius?" the young man asked with a surprised look.

"They might be lying!"

"What if they're from the Cult?!"

"I say we take them in!"

"We're about to get lynched…" Sirius muttered, looking around with a paling face. Remus, on the other hand, stepped forward with a firm look on his face.

"Our friend is being accused of starting the Cursed Fire that nearly destroyed your homes!" Remus yelled over the chatter. "We know that that isn't true! We know that he came back here to warn you! He banded you together, and he saved countless lives! You owe it to him to at least talk to us!" The crowd just stared at Remus, all the while whispering to each other.

"His wife is with child, and we want to take him back to her!" Sirius yelled as well.

"Mathias, stop with your foolish interrogating" an old man scolded, stepping out of the crowd. People moved out of his way, and Remus knew that this man was an elder of the village.

"I'm watching for intruders" the young man named Mathias told the old man.

"You've done splendidly, my boy" the old man smiled. "It only took you long enough for them to reach the center of our settlement." Mathias frowned and averted his gaze, while the crowd sniggered. "Strangers, my name is Arben" the old man introduced himself. "You say you know Xenophilius? Tell me, what is his daughter's name?"

"Luna" Remus replied, and Arben nodded with a smile. _How does he know of Luna?_

"Friends of Xenophilius are welcome here" Arben told them. "Come, I will speak with you in my home." Arben then turned to the crowd. "Go about your day, all will be fine."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Picking berries?" Sebastian hissed at Sirius, they were sitting in Arben's house. The old man was talking to the people of the town outside.

"This coming from the guy who came up with 'Likewise'?" Sirius asked in return.

"Black, I might just…"

"Shut up already" Remus frowned at them both. "We're here for Xeno, so keep your problems in check until we get him back. Sebastian, ignore Sirius' comments. Sirius, stop making wisecracks." A silence fell on them, but it was quickly broken by Sirius.

"Nice story about the Vampire attack" Sirius said, he hated silences. He had had ten years of silence…

"If they discovered Lupin's affliction, we'd be killed on the spot" Sebastian replied, looking ahead with a dead look. _My affliction?_ Remus' chest tightened, and he looked to Sebastian with panic in his eyes.

"You know?" Remus muttered.

"I'm not stupid" Sebastian replied. "I know Werewolf wounds when I see them. Those were self-inflicted, weren't they?"

"Yes…" Remus looked down at his hands.

"If you say anything bigoted about it…" Sirius started, losing all of his humor.

"Have I said anything yet?" Sebastian looked to Sirius, cutting him off.

"Why haven't you?" Remus asked before he could think better. _Damnit, now I'm the one inciting conflict._

"Don't presume to know me, you don't" Sebastian replied, looking away from them both. Remus and Sirius exchanged quick looks, and Remus could see that Sirius was about to question Sebastian about his knowledge.

"Sorry about making you wait" Arben said as he entered the room, and Remus rose up respectfully. Arben took a seat and let out a tired sigh, and Remus took that as his queue to sit back down. "These old bones… Pray that you don't live to be as old as me…"

"Elder Arben, we would like to talk about Xenophilius" Remus said, and the old man nodded. "He is being accused of starting the Cursed Fire, and while many believe his innocence, he is still being put on trial in front of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"We know" the old man smiled sadly. "Which is why I convinced many in this village, and the surrounding villages, to speak for him. We went to the Ministry, and we spoke with the Minister himself… But they refused to set him free. What else can we do?"

"Come to the Confederation meeting" Sebastian requested. "Bring your people with you, and stand outside. Make a scene if you have to…"

"If we can show the men in charge that Xeno saved lives, they'll be convinced to let him go" Sirius jumped in.

"And if they're not?" Arben asked.

"Then I'll break in and rescue him myself" Sirius replied, dead-serious. _And I'll be right there with you._

"I like your spirit, young man" Arben chuckled. "Forgive my manners, recent events have made me tired… I never asked your names."

"Remus Lupin."

"Sirius Black."

"Sebastian Greengrass."

"I am Arben Shala" the old man said. "No relation to the Minister, of course. Otherwise, we might have some people helping us rebuild."

"The settlement seems alright to me" Sirius said.

"It is, but we have lost our most important asset" Arben sighed tiredly.

"The Forest" Remus noted, and Arben nodded.

"Without it, we have no means of getting food" Arben told them.

"If you agree to help us, then I'll have this village supplied with essentials for a year" Sebastian offered, making Remus blink from shock. _He'd go that far for Xeno? And all because his wife asked him to?_ "My… friend… will help me with the costs." Sebastian then looked to Sirius, who nodded in understanding.

"My…" Arben chuckled, he was rather taken aback by the offer. "Xenophilius has good friends. But then again, I'm not very surprised. Your friend was nothing short of a hero during the inferno. I'd be a fool to refuse such an offer… My people sorely need it."

"So you will help us?" Remus asked, trying not to grin with relief.

"Yes, we will help you."

* * *

 _ **Monday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Tavern – Night)**_

It was funny how quickly people changed their tunes when they stood to gain something. Remus and his companions had originally been met with scorn and suspicion, but now they were being treated like heroes. The townsfolk were celebrating their good fortune, Arben had told them all of the deal, and so the trio had found themselves in the middle of the celebrations. Sebastian wanted to leave for the hotel, but Sirius never could walk away from a good party.

"Picking berries…" Sebastian shook his head, finishing his third tankard.

"I panicked, alright?" Sirius defended himself, a grin on his face. "It all worked out, didn't it? Look around Seb, we've got a whole town behind us now."

"It's not enough" Sebastian pointed out.

"Fuck me, you're such a glum bastard" Sirius chuckled. "Remus, tell him to cheer up for once." _Don't put me in the middle of this, you arse._

"Things **did** work out, Sebastian" Remus said, hoping to play peacekeeper. _I still can't believe that he knows about my Curse. And I can't believe that he hasn't ever mentioned it either._

"We should call it a night" Sebastian suggested, but Sirius had already called for the young tavern wench. "Black, we have work to do tomorrow."

"I spoke to Arben, and he's letting us borrow some of the lads from the village" Sirius said, smiling at the young tavern wench. "They'll come with us tomorrow, and with their help, we'll convince the nearby settlements as well."

"You mean I'll have to pay for every peasant in this country" Sebastian frowned.

"We'll share the costs" Sirius laughed it off.

"Three ales?" the young waitress asked, and Sirius nodded. The waitress smiled at Remus, and then she left to go get the ales. _Kind woman. People usually fear my scars._

"We won't have to" Sebastian sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"We won't?" Sirius asked.

"Once word of our charity reaches the other Pure-Blood Families, every single one of them will join in" Sebastian explained.

"They'll want the good publicity?" Remus asked, and Sebastian nodded. "You already knew that when you offered to pay for this settlement" Remus realized, deciding to respect Sebastian's mind from this moment on.

"Then why are you complaining?" Sirius laughed, happy at the prospect of saving money.

"Because we'll at least need to pay for a week or so" Sebastian shrugged, looking around at the dancing locals. "And then vultures like Malfoy will swoop in to get their beaks wet."

"Ugh, Malfoy…" Sirius rolled his eyes. "What a cunt…"

"Three ales" the young waitress came back, placing the ales on the table. She shot Remus another smile, and then she was gone. _Odd._

"She has her eyes on you" Sebastian noted, taking his tankard.

"Excuse me?" Remus asked.

"She has her eyes on you" Sebastian repeated. "I've been watching her…"

"Creep" Sirius jumped in, drinking from his tankard when Sebastian shot him a glare.

"You're mistaken" Remus said, taking a long sip from his tankard.

"Nah, Seb is right" Sirius said. "She didn't even look at us when she came to take our orders. But you… Well, she was nothing but smiles when it came to you." Remus looked for the young tavern wench, and he saw her serving some locals. She noticed him looking at her, and she smiled again. _Merlin, they're right!_ Remus looked back to his tankard, deciding to drink instead.

"Are you a virgin?" Sebastian asked, and Remus blinked at him.

"Merlin, where did that come from?" Sirius laughed.

"The ale is stronger than I thought it would be" Sebastian shrugged, still looking at Remus. "Well?"

"Remus isn't a virgin" Sirius barked out a laugh. "I walked in on him once at Hogwarts… What was that girl's name?"

"Jessica…" Remus sighed, remembering that night. _He walked in mid-act, and instead of leaving, he started cheering me on. Jessica never spoke to me again._

"Ah, Jessica…" Sirius hummed. "She had some nice…"

"Are you done?" Remus asked, and Sirius grinned.

"If you're not a virgin, then why are you being so shy?" Sebastian cocked an eyebrow, wondering how a Werewolf was allowed to study at Hogwarts.

"We're here to help Xeno" Remus replied, though he himself didn't believe that.

"We can't do anything more tonight" Sirius explained. "They've already offered us lodgings, you might as well enjoy the night."

"Sirius…" Remus started, but Sirius reached over and smacked his arm.

"Go and talk to her" Sirius ordered. "While I try and cheer up this sour twat."

"Fuck you, Black" Sebastian spoke into his tankard.

"Yes…" Sirius smiled at Sebastian. "Just let it all out…" Remus shook his head at Sirius, and then he looked to the tavern wench. _She looks to be in her early twenties. And she is beautiful… Maybe I should at least try and talk to her. It's not often that someone isn't afraid of my scars._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Lunchtime)**_

Xenophilius' trial was on Friday. That's when the International Confederation of Wizards was going to convene, and it was Albus Dumbledore who was in charge of the whole thing. The man who was behind Xeno's crimes was leading his trial, and that disgusted Ron.

Ron's anger had only gotten worse over time, but he refused to release it near his family. They needed one another right now, especially Luna and Pandora. Even the twins were struggling, mostly because they had given up their hobbies in order to help keep the house running. Ron himself was exhausted. He was either helping the twins keep the house in order, or he was helping Ginny keep Luna from crying alone, or he was holding Pandora's hand as hard as he could, or he was studying his old textbooks.

Truth be told, Ron wasn't as far behind in his studies as he had feared. There were quite a few terms that confused him, and there was the occasional useless Charm that he didn't know, but that was it. He mostly understood what he was reading, and he could piece together what he couldn't initially understand with relative ease. Percy was certainly keen to help him, mostly because he didn't know how to help anybody else.

Percy had questioned Ron about why he was re-reading his old textbooks, but Ron had simply told him that he wanted to reinforce his knowledge. Percy had bought that, and even commended Ron on it, but Ron was sure that Percy didn't question him further simply because he wanted to feel useful.

Usually, Percy was the first one to try and take charge when Molly or Arthur were too busy. But this crisis was something that he couldn't really deal with. That was Percy's weakness; he had trouble connecting with the people around him. He had offered to help Luna with her homework, but what he didn't understand was that Luna didn't need to do homework, she needed to be distracted. After a few initial failures, Percy had sort of faded into the background. Quietly doing his, and everyone else's, chores.

"Ron, can you take this to Pandora?" Fred asked, handing Ron a plate of food.

"Get mum to convince Pandora that she needs to eat" George said, looking awfully tired.

"I'll get it done" Ron replied, grabbing the plate of food and heading over to the Living Room. _She didn't eat dinner last night, and she didn't have any breakfast this morning either._ Ron entered the Living Room, his eyes falling on Pandora and Molly immediately. Pandora had stopped crying, but now she just sat there and stared at the fireplace. _I think she expects Xeno to come through it randomly._

"Ronnie, bring that over here" Molly smiled at him, preparing herself for another bout of convincing Pandora to eat. She had refused to leave Pandora's side because of the woman's pregnancy, and she was so proud of her children for taking up responsibility for the house.

"Here you go" Ron said, handing over the plate to his mother. "Pandora… You should eat this…" Pandora nodded absentmindedly, her mind somewhere else. Ron looked over to his mother, and she gave him an assuring look in return. _Good luck._ Ron turned to leave the room, deciding to go back to his Charms textbook, but that was interrupted when the fireplace blazed to life. Arthur stepped through, looking like he hadn't slept in days.

"Arthur, any news about my husband?" Pandora asked immediately, and Arthur shook his head weakly. _Bloody hell._

"I'm sorry Pandora, but the Albanian Ministry is being really tight-lipped" Arthur sighed, he had only come back to pass on a message.

"What brings you home so early then, love?" Molly asked, putting the plate aside.

"Dumbledore sent me" Arthur replied, and Ron tensed immediately. _Dumbledore? What does he want?_

"Dumbledore?" Molly blinked at her husband.

"He was just at the Ministry, getting a Portkey to Albania, and he wanted me to tell Pandora that Xeno would be home before the end of the weekend" Arthur replied, giving Pandora a weak smile.

"I see, thank you Arthur" Pandora managed a weak smile in return.

"Dumbledore will take care of everything, I just know it" Arthur told them, and Ron felt his stomach turn. _Dumbledore… This is all his fault, and yet, he has everyone convinced that he's helping Xeno. Like he's some fucking savior… Xeno wouldn't even be in Albanian custody if it wasn't for Dumbledore's conniving tactics._ Ron left the room before he could hear another word about Dumbledore, he needed to finish up with his Charms book already. _My Family, my responsibility._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **July, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Afternoon)**_

"Are they here?" Snape asked Narcissa, who just smiled politely at him. Snape had just flooed in, and he hadn't even said hello properly.

"Good afternoon, Severus" Narcissa greeted. "How are you today?"

"Save me your games, Narcissa" Snape said, earning a chuckle from her. "Are they here?"

"They are, come with me" Narcissa said, tangling her arm with his. _She wants to talk? Something must be bothering her._

"What has happened?" Snape asked, walking with Narcissa towards Lucius' study.

"You always were sharp" Narcissa smirked. "Even when we were in Hogwarts…" _Hogwarts? That was a life time ago._

"Narcissa…" Snape drawled, losing his patience with her.

"It's Draco, Severus" Narcissa whispered to him, her voice suddenly laced with worry. "He has not been the same since he came back from Hogwarts… And I am at my wits end with him…"

"What has he done?" Snape asked.

"Nothing" Narcissa replied.

"Nothing?" Snape looked to her, and she nodded.

"He does nothing all day…" Narcissa whispered, her hold tightening on his arm. "He barely talks, he eats only in his room, he hasn't asked for a single thing in almost a month… Severus, he won't even fly his broom…" _Odd. I will have to look into this after my meeting._ "I am worried beyond words for him…"

"And Lucius?" Snape asked.

"He was upset with Draco at first, and all because of that Weasley boy" Narcissa replied. "But even he is starting to worry… I've seen him trying to talk to Draco, but Draco is so withdrawn that he isn't making any headway."

"And you think I'll succeed where you two failed?" Snape asked, and she nodded.

"He looks up to you, Severus" Narcissa pleaded. "Please…"

"I will see him before I leave, I promise" Snape agreed, stopping in front of the study.

"Thank you" Narcissa smiled, cupping his gaunt cheek with her soft palm. And then, she turned around and left him to his business. _First I'll see what Lucius wants, and then I'll look into Draco's odd behavior._ Snape entered the study, and his stomach fell at the sight of Nott Snr. _What is he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be in Denmark?_

"Ah, Severus" Lucius greeted, gesturing Snape to sit down.

"Lucius" Snape nodded curtly, taking a seat. "Nott… How was your 'trip'?"

"It was a waste of time" Nott replied, sounding particularly sour. _Good. Here's hoping that you have many more trips like it._ "But it matters not… I've come back to discuss something else."

"Something else?" Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"Cornelius wants to make sure that the Muggle-Wizard war that is brewing in Albania takes place" Lucius informed Snape, who had to use his Occlumency in order to keep himself from going slack-jawed. _Even Nott can't be that mad._

"And why would you want that?" Snape looked to Nott.

"It is past time we showed ourselves to the Muggles…" Nott replied, his voice venomous. "They cannot hope to stand against our might. And it would certainly help our Lord once he returns."

"Cornelius wants to weaken both the Muggles and the Ministries" Lucius said, looking to Snape for his opinion on the matter. _This old fool has to be dealt with immediately._

"Don't be a fool, Nott" Snape said coldly. "The Muggles outnumber us a thousand to one, and their technology will level the playing field… This isn't Medieval Europe anymore. We will be decimated by them." Nott frowned deeply at that, looking to Lucius.

"Once again he defends the Muggles" Nott hissed, shooting Snape a look of disgust.

"I'm not defending them" Snape rolled his eyes, he truly wasn't. "I'm stating a fact that your addled mind can't seem to grasp."

"Severus, we are all friends here" Lucius said, trying to keep the peace. "And you will not start a fight in my home. Cornelius, listen to Snape's council. We are not ready for a war with the Muggles, not yet anyway." _At least he has some sense._ "Without the Dark Lord to lead us, we will be severely weakened." _I take it back._

"Then we must find him" Nott said, and Lucius and Snape exchanged quick looks. "What if this 'Cult of Fanatics' was being led by the Dark Lord?"

"What makes you say that?" Snape asked. _Damn him. For an old fool, he certainly has moments of perfect clarity._

"Our Lord boasted of his immortality" Nott replied. "What if he found a new following in the Forests of Albania? A following that was also trying to become immortal?"

"You wish to travel to Albania?" Lucius asked, and Nott nodded curtly. _The Dark Lord has most likely left that country behind. And there is no 'Cult'. Let Nott waste his time._ "When do we leave?"

"Soon…" Nott replied. "But first, I want to see my son again."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Nott had left for his Manor, while Lucius had gone back to his books for the day. Snape however, had one more thing to do before he himself could return to his own books. He had to speak to Draco in order to find out what his Godson was up to. Snape knocked on the boy's door, and he waited for a reply.

"The door is unlocked" came Draco's voice, and Snape entered the room and shut the door behind him. Draco was sitting on his study table, his back to Snape, and he was clearly reading something.

"Good afternoon, Draco" Snape drawled, and Draco turned around with a surprised look.

"Godfather? What are you doing here?" Draco asked, getting out of his chair.

"Manners, Draco" Snape said, walking over to see what Draco had been reading. _A Wizard's Charisma? A motivational book?_ Draco quickly closed the book and hid it in his drawer, his pale features flushing slightly.

"It's just some light reading" Draco lied.

"I see" Snape drawled, deciding to ignore the boy's lie. "Your mother and father are worried about you. Care to explain yourself to me?"

"I… I don't know what you mean…" Draco walked over to his lavish bed, hopping onto it as he played innocent.

"Draco…" Snape stared at the boy.

"They're overreacting" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Are they?" Snape asked. "You are being rather anti-social from what I've heard. And what's this about you not flying your broom? Are you that keen to lose to Potter again?"

"I'm quitting Quidditch" Draco averted his gaze, looking rather crestfallen. _Quitting Quidditch? The Draco I know would rather lose his arms._

"Draco, my patience is wearing thin" Snape said. "Tell me what's wrong, and maybe I will help you." Draco shifted on his bed, still looking away from Snape. _Very well._ Snape began to leave, knowing full well that Draco would stop him.

"I'm in trouble, Godfather" Draco spoke up, deciding to confess before Snape could leave. He really did need help, and he had no one else to turn to.

"Trouble?" Snape asked, turning to face his Godson.

"After Weasley took my place…" Draco started, but Snape already found himself frowning at the boy.

"He took nothing from you, you simply lost it because you acted like a fool" Snape reminded him. "Did I not tell you to look yourself in the mirror?"

"What I meant was that after… everything…" Draco restarted, choosing his words carefully. "I made the mistake of making promises that I can't keep…"

"Foolish boy…" Snape said coldly, and Draco flinched a bit. "What promises?"

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Snape knew a fool when he saw one, and right now, he would call Draco the prince of fools. Nott Snr held the title of king… Draco had made Marcus Flint promises about winning the Quidditch Cup in the upcoming school year, and in return, Flint had agreed to serve as Draco's muscle. Draco's thinking had been on the right track, but his hatred and jealousy towards Ronald had skewed his plans.

What Draco needed was influence in the House, and Flint provided that simply because he was a sixth year, but Draco had instead settled for muscle. Snape knew that his Godson had always been an entitled brat, and even a bully, but the fact that Draco had chosen muscle over influence truly irked Snape. The boy had the chance to rebuild his standing in the House, but he had settled for being a thug. _Like always._

And now Draco was panicking. He had no allies besides Crabbe and Goyle, who honestly preferred the company of Flint over Draco's simply because he was a thug like them, and Draco also knew for certain that he couldn't keep his promise to Flint. Potter, despite being a moron, was unmatched as a Seeker. Draco was in for a tough year, and him being a pampered fool, was going to make things so much harder on him.

Snape found himself being torn between helping his Godson and letting him face the consequences of his actions. On the one hand, he didn't want Draco to be subjected to harsh beatings and bullying, which Snape was certain were in store for the boy. But on the other hand, Snape knew that the lessons people learned through hardship were the lessons that they never forgot. And Draco needed some harsh lessons. He needed to understand just how harsh, and unfair, the World really was. He needed to become the man that Ronald had seen in his visions, Snape truly wished to meet that version of his Godson.

"Can you please help me?" Draco asked, his eyes misty. "I… I don't know what to do…" Snape's chest tightened at seeing Draco so afraid, but he steeled his resolve. _This is for his own good._

"Do you remember what I told you about consequences?" Snape asked, and Draco nodded meekly. "It's time you faced the consequences of your actions, Draco." The boy paled slightly, his eyes getting mistier. "You made your bed, and now you must sleep in it."

"Flint is going to kill me…" Draco pleaded. "Please… I don't have anyone else to turn to… Mother and father won't understand…"

"I told you that I would never openly favor you over the other Slytherins, do you remember? It was right before you started Hogwarts" Snape reminded him, using his Occlumency in order to keep his voice calm and cold. "You will not get any help from me, Draco… Not this time." With that, Snape turned around and left. The moment he shut the door behind himself, he heard his Godson's faint cries. _This is for his own good…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is!**

 **We have officially reached ONE MILLION WORDS with this Chapter! Milestone! We are a 1/4 of the way there, and to all of you who have made this possible, THANK YOU! Your support has been nothing short of amazing, and without it, I'd have probably given up on this story.**

 **See you guys on Thursday! (I like to have four days to work on a Chapter)**


	63. Chapter 63 - A Golden Idea

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 63 is finished, somehow... I'm juggling a million things at once, it's quite crazy!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 63 – A Golden Idea**

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Ministry – Midday)**_

Lovegood's trial was about to be held, and because of that, the entire Albanian Ministry was filled to bursting. Diplomats from all around Europe were here to attend the meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards, and they had each brought their own team of journalists with them. The Albanian Aurors had their hands full keeping everyone at bay, while the Ministry workers ran from point to point. All in all, it was complete mayhem.

Sebastian, Black, and Lupin hadn't made things any easier either. They had managed to squeeze in roughly five-hundred people from the Magical settlements, just to make a point of Lovegood's innocence. They even planned to make a scene once Lovegood was being transferred through the Atrium. None of them were allowed into the Courtroom of course, so Sebastian wanted to make use of the journalists on the other side of the Atrium.

"Remember people, when they bring out Xeno, start making noise" Black told the people around them. "Pass that around, make sure that everyone knows it." Black then looked to Sebastian with a grin, looking rather excited for a man whose friend was on trial. "We'll make enough noise for them to hear us in their Courtroom, that's for certain."

"Just enough noise for those journalists to hear will do" Sebastian said, watching people pass on Black's message. _I should have brought ear-plugs._

"Is this wise?" Lupin suddenly asked. "We are inciting a mob at Xenophilius' trial… I don't want to do anything to hurt his case."

"We're not hurting his case, we're helping build it" Black assured his friend. "And it's too late now, I've already sent the word out."

"They're bringing him out!" came a woman's voice, and everyone looked to the lifts. Ajola Smith came out with three of her Aurors behind her, and right in the middle of them was Lovegood, his injuries perfectly healed. _Damn, I was hoping that they wouldn't heal his injuries._

"Sly buggers" Black snarled, looking to the people from the settlements. Black then signaled them to start making a scene, while Lupin and Sebastian mentally prepared themselves. This could get rough.

"XENOPHILIUS!" people began cheering, taking even Lovegood by surprise. The eccentric man just stared at the mob with widening eyes, while the Aurors brandished their wands. _Please throw out some Curses, that'll save us an entire trial._

"HE SAVED US!"

"HE CAME BACK FOR US!"

"GET THOSE CUFF OFF OF HIM, YA BASTARDS!"

"WHERE ARE THE TRUE CULPRITS?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MINISTRY DOING ABOUT OUR HOMES?!"

Sebastian felt someone run into his back, and he braced himself on Lupin's arm. Lupin quickly pulled him out of the way with surprising strength, and a large crowd of people rushed through where Sebastian had been. The entire mob was rushing towards the Magical Barrier, yelling and screaming for 'True Justice'. The Aurors all strengthened the shield, the mob's sudden frenzy completely taking them by surprise.

"LET HIM GO, YOU CUNTS!" Black yelled, grinning like a mad-man. "START THROWING THINGS!" _What?_ Some angry young lad grabbed a nearby bin and hurled it at the Magical Barrier, and others began following his lead. And before Sebastian knew it, people were throwing furniture and anything else that they could get their hands on.

"HE'S INNOCENT!"

"IF YOU HAD LISTENED TO US, THEN OUR FORESTS WOULDN'T HAVE BURNED!" There was a loud uproar at that, and people starting banging on the Magical Barrier. The journalists, much to Sebastian's joy, were frantically taking photos of the scene. _It's working!_ Sebastian then saw a man to his left try and remove his wand, and Sebastian immediately grabbed his hand.

"No Magic!" Sebastian yelled at the man. "Don't give them a reason to blame this on Lovegood!" The man blinked, and then nodded dumbly. "Find anyone else who might be getting ideas, and stop them!" The man nodded fervently, rushing off with his mates to do as he was told.

"It's working!" Lupin yelled over the mob, and both Sebastian and Black nodded at him. Lovegood was just staring at the mob, a smile creeping onto his face. But the moment he stopped moving, one of the Aurors pushed him forward. Lovegood stumbled a bit, but he didn't fall over.

"THIS IS ABUSE OF POWER!"

"THIS TRIAL IS A SHAM! WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING US SMALL-FOLK?!"

"SET HIM FREE!" some woman yelled, and people began yelling the same thing.

"SET HIM FREE!"

"SET HIM FREE!"

"SET HIM FREE!"

"SET HIM FREE!" Lupin and Black joined them, yelling at the top of their lungs. _Set him free so I can go home to my wife and daughters. I never want to set foot in this country again._ Sebastian suddenly felt someone nudge him, and he looked over to see Black gesturing him to join them. Sebastian drew in a deep breath, and then he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"SET HIM FREE!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Albanian Ministry – Midday)**_

The Courtroom was ablaze with chatter, the sounds of a mob had put everyone on edge. Everyone but Dumbledore of course, who was rather pleased with the idea of a mob trying to help Xenophilius. It would make his job easier, and he'd be able to keep his word to Pandora. She'd have her husband back by the end of the weekend, he'd make sure of it.

The last week had been difficult, to say the least, and Albus had once again been reminded that his 'good intentions' didn't always mix well with his multiple positions of power. The destruction of the Forests, and all the life within them, weighed heavily upon his conscience. Not to mention the other debacles; Xenophilius' temporary imprisonment, Tom escaping once again, a potential Muggle-Wizard war looming over them all, Severus' anger towards him, and Ronald's power being lost to them. Too much had gone wrong too quickly, and Albus knew that he was to blame.

Severus had been right all along, Albus had been driven into a panic by Ronald's warning. He didn't like to admit it, but everything relating to Ronald and his powers scared Albus. He wanted to understand the 'Entity', and the other Forces like it, but it was all just too much for him. So Albus had aimed his fear at Tom, hoping to change his focus onto something that he **could** understand. But Tom had reached levels of madness not thought possible by even Albus. _What he did to that boy… What he's done to himself… There can be no forgiveness for that._

"We ought to do something about that mob, Albus" Fudge whispered, standing up from his seat to Albus' right. "They'll break into here before long…"

"Calm yourself, Cornelius" Albus said gently, smiling in an assuring way. "Minister Shala's Aurors will do their duties without fail, of that I'm certain." Albus then looked to Agron Shala, who was seated to Albus' left.

"They will" Agron assured Fudge, his voice almost strained. _How long has it been since he's had a proper rest? Probably not since the Inferno._ The entrance to the Courtroom opened, and Albus smiled when he heard the yelling, which was shortly followed by the sight of Xenophilius and his escorts. The Aurors quickly shut the large door behind them, and then they began casting Noise-Canceling Charms as Xenophilius was escorted to the middle of the room by Ajola Smith.

Xenophilius was placed on the wooden chair in the middle of the room, and all the diplomats began eyeing him critically. Xenophilius averted his gaze, no doubt uncomfortable with the unwanted attention that he was getting, and Albus found himself feeling rather regretful once again. But he refused to look away from Xenophilius, the man who was paying for Albus' mistakes. Ajola Smith used her wand to summon Magical Binds, which quickly attached themselves to Xenophilius' ankles, wrists, and neck.

"Is there really a need for that?" Albus asked Ajola, utter silence following in wake of his voice. Ajola didn't seem to be fazed by the question, while Xenophilius looked up at Albus with a hopeful look. Albus could it see it in the man's eyes, his need to go home to his family, and that twisted a knife in Albus' gut.

"We are in their Courtroom, Albus" Fudge whispered again, shooting an apologetic look towards Shala. A look that was met with slight confusion from Shala's end.

"Ajola, undo the binds" Shala ordered with a mild-mannered voice. "Mr. Lovegood is not a danger to anyone in this room." Ajola gave a curt nod before doing as her Minister had commanded, while Albus gave Shala a grateful nod. _He believes Xenophilius' innocence. Good._

"Thank you, Minister" Xenophilius piped up, rubbing his sore neck. The binds had been so tight that Xeno feared that he wouldn't be able to speak.

"Wizards and witches of the International Confederation of Wizards, we will now commence the Hearing of Xenophilius Lovegood" Albus announced, looking to all the diplomats on the benches. They each nodded, keen to get this meeting started. "Minister Shala has informed me that Veritaserum was used to interrogate Mr. Lovegood when he was first brought in, and therefore, we will not be using it at this hearing. We already have a detailed account of Mr. Lovegood's actions, and any inconsistencies will be followed up immediately. Are there any objections to this?"

"Nay!" _Good. Veritaserum only catches people out who know that they're lying. I made the right call by Obliviating and altering his memories._

"Excellent, then let us convene" Albus said, looking to Xenophilius. _You will be home before you know it, I promise._ "Mr. Lovegood, why were you in the Albanian Forests on the night of the Inferno?"

"I was looking into the deaths of several Unicorns, Supreme Mugwump" Xenophilius replied. "I heard a rumor that many Unicorns had been murdered within the Forests, and I was there to find evidence for my Magazine; the Quibbler."

"What kind of evidence?" a witch asked.

"Pictures, accounts from the locals… that sort of evidence" Xenophilius replied, still choosing to either avert his gaze or look only to Albus. "I wanted to raise awareness about Unicorn slayings…"

"I would ask if you have any witnesses, but I feel that that would be redundant" Albus said, trying to remind Xeno that he wasn't alone. That he had a mob preaching his innocence just outside this very room. It seemed to work a little, judging from Xenophilius' humble smile.

"Walk us through these events" Fudge ordered. "How did you hear such a rumor when even the Albanian Ministry was unaware of such a thing?"

"With all due respect Minister Fudge" Shala jumped in. "We did have several reports from the locals within that area, but our investigations were not fruitful. We decided that the rumors were baseless…" _He is owning up to his own Ministry's failings in front of all the diplomats._

"Go on, Mr. Lovegood" Albus said, deciding that he liked the middle-aged Albanian Minister.

"I have… I have contacts all over the World" Xenophilius explained. "People who, like myself, love the creatures of this World. We often discuss known, and unknown, creatures together…"

"And you have one of these contacts within Albania?" a wizard asked.

"No, Sir…" Xenophilius shook his head. "My friend, Mr. P., told me of these rumors."

"Mr. P.?" another wizard asked.

"We use pen-names, Sir" Xenophilius replied, Albus could see the sweat on his forehead. "Our views are not always met with… enthusiasm… Once I read his letter, I shared it with my wife and daughter. At their request, I came to Albania…"

"So your wife and daughter sent you here?" Fudge asked. "You yourself had no desire to come to Albania?"

"I did, and I did not" Xenophilius replied slowly. "My wife is with child, and I did not wish to leave her side, but my wife and daughter wanted to help raise awareness about the Unicorn murders as well. So they asked me to look into it. That is how I found myself in Albania…" Soft chatter broke out amongst the diplomats, who were no doubt discussing Pandora's pregnancy. _Exactly. Why would a man who has a child on the way do something like this?_

"Did you know of his wife's pregnancy?" Fudge whispered to Albus, and Albus felt a strong pang of guilt.

"How could I have, Cornelius?" Albus asked in return, and then he looked to the diplomats. "We will continue the Hearing, so please quiet down." The chatter died immediately, and many sympathetic looks were sent towards Xenophilius. "Tell us what happened once you reached Albania?"

"I travelled around Muggle Albania for a few days in order to better understand Albanians customs and traditions, I did not wish to stand out too much" Xenophilius replied. "After that, I began traveling to the various settlements near the Forests' borders. Many locals were wary of me, but a few were kind enough to tell me to stay away from the Forests. They told me that something Dark was happening within the Forests…"

"Something Dark?" a witch asked, looking towards Albus for a second. "Are you referring to the ritualistic killings of the Unicorns?"

"I am, Miss." Xeno replied. "I eventually met a man… John Proctor…" Xeno choked slightly, and Albus knew why. In order to cover his tracks, he had made a memory of 'John's' death in Xenophilius' mind. It had been a cruel thing to do, but it was necessary because so many locals had seen them together. "He was a traveling wand-for-hire, and we joined forces in order to help one another… Two head are better than one…" Xeno repeated his dead friend's words, his voice pained and filled with sorrow.

"And what happened to this 'John Proctor'?" Fudge asked. "Did he die in the Inferno?"

"He did…" Xenophilius replied, looking down at his lap. "His shield gave out… But it bought me enough time to apparate away…" Xenophilius hated thinking about John's death, and yet he had spent a majority of his time within Albanian custody grieving for his companion. His brave companion, who had lost his life, but managed to save Xeno's in the process.

"Tell us of this Cult" an African wizard requested. "What kind of rituals were they performing?"

"Dark, and disturbing, ones" Xeno replied. "They were harvesting the organs from the Unicorns that they murdered, and then leaving the carcasses hanging from the trees. It had an odd effect on the Forests… The other creatures were terrified, so much so they simply hid in their burrows or nests. No birds sang, and we couldn't even hear the insects."

"By the Moon…" the African wizard muttered, shaking his head in disgust.

"They were defiling the land…" a witch all but hissed. "How did the Albanian Ministry not find any clues? How did Mr. Lovegood and Mr. Proctor succeed where your entire Ministry failed?"

"We believe that our Aurors fell victim to Confundus Charms…" Shala replied. "And… And a thorough search was never implemented…"

"You ignored your own people, and now we all face a war because of it" a German wizard accused. "The Statute of Secrecy is severely…"

"That is enough" Albus stepped in. "We are here for Mr. Lovegood's Hearing, not to point fingers at who failed to do what." The room fell back into silence, and Albus used that opportunity to push the Hearing on. "Mr. Lovegood, tell us of your encounter with the Cult."

"It happened at night…" Xeno started, looking back into his 'memories'. "John and I buried one of the Unicorn carcasses that we found, and as we searched for a place to camp, we happened upon the Cult."

"Do you remember their attire? Anything that could help us find them?" Fudge asked.

"They wore red robes…" Xeno tried to remember. "I'm sorry… It was all just a blur…"

"His memories are somewhat damaged, but that can be explained by the trauma he suffered" Shala said, and Albus fought the urge to breathe out a breath of relief. _I was scared that someone might catch onto my work, but it seems that it all worked out._ "Go on, Mr. Lovegood."

"They spotted us, and a Duel broke out amongst us" Xenophilius started. "John and I held our own, and when the tide began to turn in our favor, one of the Acolytes cast the Fiendfyre… I don't think that he knew what he was doing, nor did he understand what sort of Curse he was unleashing upon us all… He died immediately after casting it, his own Flames burned him alive. John and I tried to run, but we couldn't outrun the Flames… So John put up a shield to protect us… But it wasn't enough…" Xenophilius finished with a sniffle. "I saw him die as I apparated away…"

"Why didn't you both apparate away?" Fudge asked.

"One of the Cultists cast an anti-apparition ward around us" Xenophilius replied, looking back down at his lap. "I undid it while John held the Flames at bay… If I had been a little faster, a little more skilled, we could have both lived…" Albus hid his shame, while the other members of the Confederation respected Xenophilius' pain.

"You apparated back to one of the settlements?" a witch asked, and Xeno nodded weakly.

"I had to warn them of the Inferno that was coming for them" Xenophilius replied. "They joined forces with me in order to save their homes, while some of the more experienced wizards and witches apparated to nearby settlements in order to spread the word. We fought the Inferno all night…"

"Your bravery will not be forgotten, Mr. Lovegood" Shala said, truly grateful that a foreigner had chosen to help his people when he himself had failed to do so.

"And the mob outside… It consists of these locals?" a witch asked, and Shala nodded. "I believe that I have heard enough, and so have the others…" The other diplomats nodded, they now knew for certain that Xenophilius had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Then let's take a vote" Albus said, giving Xenophilius a kind smile. "All in favor of conviction?" Not a single hand was raised, and Xenophilius was visibly relieved. "All in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

There was dead silence in the house, and it was only broken by the sounds of cutlery. Pandora and Luna were the most on edge out of all of them, but that was completely understandable. Xenophilius' trial was held today, and not a single word about the outcome was known. Ron himself was extremely tense, but he was adamant about the fact that Dumbledore would save Xeno. That old fool had put Xeno in danger, and by Merlin, he'd better succeed at pulling Xeno back out. Because if he didn't… then somewhere down the line, Ron was going to kill him.

It wasn't just the fact that Dumbledore had broken his promise that angered Ron, it was the fact that Dumbledore **wasn't** supposed to endanger people with such ease. Dumbledore was the Leader of the Light, and yet he had acted in such a cold manner in regards to Xeno that Ron found himself utterly shaken. He had once worshiped Dumbledore, and he had even forgiven the old man for telling him to lie about his scars, but now Ron was completely disillusioned with Dumbledore.

Ron could, and would gladly, forgive Dumbledore for his mistakes, but only when those mistakes affected Ron. His family, and friends, were off-limits, and Dumbledore had crossed a line by endangering Xeno simply because he 'needed a tracker'. _Not to mention that the Dark Lord is now missing. We knew where he was, but instead of taking a small force with him, Dumbledore ran off alone. Now we're facing another war… Or is this the war that I've foreseen? Merlin, what if Dumbledore started the war?!_

"Ron, you're not hungry?" Ginny asked, and Ron broke out of his increasingly more disturbing thoughts.

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked, looking at Ginny's flawless features. _Is she trying on make-up? I swear that she used to have freckles. I guess I never noticed how pretty she was until recently. I bet all those Gryffindor boys will be head over heels for her… It's a shame that they'll have to go through her brothers first._

"You haven't even finished one plate yet" Ginny replied, watching Ron move his fork about.

"I'm just…" Ron started, but the sound of the fireplace coming to life stopped him. Pandora stood up, looking to a surprised Arthur Weasley. _Xeno?!_ And then, Remus walked into the kitchen with a wide smile.

"Remus?" Arthur said, standing up alongside his wife. "You're back? Is Xeno with you?"

"No, he's still in Albania" Remus replied, and Pandora sat back down with a crestfallen look. "But he's been cleared of all charges!" Ron had never heard sweeter words before, and he let out a long breath of relief. _Thank Merlin! And his beard!_ Ron heard Pandora release a joyous sob, and when he looked over to her, he found her holding her hand over her heart and praying.

"Dad's not in trouble anymore?" Luna asked, looking happier than she ever had.

"No, he's not in any trouble whatsoever" Remus replied, a massive smile still on his face.

"Tell us everything" Molly said, getting out of her seat and helping Remus into it.

* * *

 _ **Fifteen Minutes Later**_

As it turned out, Remus had had quite the adventure in Albania. Sirius, Remus, and Lord Greengrass had spent their time collecting people from the settlements that Xeno had helped save, and then they had turned those people into a mob within the Albanian Ministry. Not only was Ron really impressed, but he and the twins had had a good laugh about that. Even Percy seemed amused, though he didn't like the idea of such chaos within a Ministry.

Xeno had been cleared of all charges, much to Pandora and Luna's joy, but he wouldn't be returning until the end of the weekend. As it turned out, the International Confederation of Wizards would staying on in Albania for the foreseeable future. Xeno was still expected to appear before the Muggle Prime Minister tomorrow in order to give his account of what had happened, but after that, Sirius would bring Xeno home.

Lord Greengrass had returned to his own family, and he had sent Remus with a message for Ron. Ron was expected to be at work tomorrow, and for that, Ron was grateful. He really didn't want to spend another day doing just his exercises, reading his old books, and comforting upset Lovegoods. They all needed a break from their worries, and Ron's break would be a day filled with Chess. That, and he'd get to see his friends for a bit.

As for Remus, he planned to stay at Grimmauld Place… alone. He had told everyone on the table that he just needed a moment of peace before Sirius came back, but the adults and Ron understood the real reason why. The full-moon was approaching, and Remus was already looking paler and weaker than usual.

"See, I told you that everything would work out" Ginny said to Luna, who was smiling for the first time in almost a week. "No one could be stupid enough to believe that your dad would hurt animals." The children were all sitting in the Living Room, while the adults spoke about 'important matters' in the kitchen. As far as Ron was concerned right now, the only important thing was that Luna and Pandora would have Xeno back by Sunday. And truth be told, Ron was over the moon at the prospect of seeing Xeno again.

"So no more crying, little Luna" Fred smiled, relaxing into his chair. Both twins couldn't be happier right now, they no longer had to do anything to keep the house running. Their mother would take over the house once again, and they couldn't be more grateful to her for all the things that she did for them.

"No more crying" Luna promised, her airy smile back in place. Ron just smiled at her, thanking Merlin that everything was back to normal. _All it takes is a really horrible week to make you realize how good you have it._

"So you seriously have to go back to work tomorrow?" George asked Ron, keeping his voice low.

"Yeah" Ron nodded.

"Sorry about that, little bro" George sighed, but Ron simply gave him a wide smile.

"Don't be, I couldn't be happier about it" Ron admitted, and George blinked at him. "I missed my routine…"

"You should still go over your old books" Percy piped in, but his eyes were on Ginny and Luna who were talking to each other animatedly. "Make that a part of your routine, Ron. I myself still…"

"Boring" George sighed, rolling his eyes at Percy. Percy simply frowned at George, electing to return to his book over arguing with George.

"Don't worry Perce, I won't stop reading my old textbooks" Ron promised. _If I can find even one useful Spell in them that I don't already know, then it'll be worth it._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor - Morning)**_

Ron hadn't slept so well in ages, and he was in a great mood because of it. Sure, he was still reeling from Dumbledore's idiocy, but at least Xeno was going to be alright. Ron had decided not to think too much about Dumbledore or Snape, just to keep himself from getting angry. Everyone was happy back at home, and Ron didn't want to ruin that by having a sour mood. He would think about them after seeing Xeno.

"Ron!" came Tori's voice the moment he stepped out of the flames, and Ron braced himself. Tori greeted him excitedly, kissing his cheek as she hung off of his neck. "You're here!"

"That I am" Ron chuckled, giving her a kiss on the cheek in return. As Ron set her down, he saw Daphne, Millie, Pansy, and Blaise come around the corner. "Hey guys!"

"Ron!" Pansy and Millie beamed, while Blaise and Daphne simply gave him welcoming smiles. He decided to greet them all with hugs, Merlin he had missed them. Pansy and Millie were more than happy to hug him back, they were far too used to it. Daphne's hug had been slightly reluctant, but when he had noticed her arms almost fall onto his lower back, he knew that she wanted to hug him in her own way instead. As for Blaise…

"Woah, I'll settle for a firm handshake" Blaise said, stopping Ron from hugging him. _Oh…_ Ron shook Blaise's hand firmly, while the girls rolled their eyes at Blaise. _Wait… I'm missing two hugs._

"Where are Tracey and Theo?" Ron asked, smiling at the girls.

"Theo went back to his house, and Tracey did the same" Blaise replied, and Ron blinked at him.

"Really?" Ron asked, slightly disappointed. _I wanted to see Tracey again… I haven't seen her since I Dueled Madam Roberts._

"They had a fight" Tori told Ron, who turned to face her with a confused look.

"Tori!" Daphne exclaimed, glaring at her sister. Millie and Pansy just sighed in defeat, while Blaise frowned slightly at Tori.

"What kind of fight?" Ron asked Tori.

"I'm not sure, but Daphne started it" Tori shrugged, shooting her sister a grin. _Daphne started a fight? What?_ Ron looked to Daphne, who was all but snarling at Tori.

"Care to explain?" Ron asked Daphne.

"Tori, you can't do that!" Daphne exclaimed instead, nearly frothing at the mouth.

"Why not?" Tori asked innocently. "This way, you can all talk it out and be friends again. Isn't that what's important?" Daphne blinked at Tori, and even Pansy and Millie were slightly taken aback.

"If you were in Slytherin, and you ran your mouth like that, I'd make sure to exclude you in everything" Blaise said rather coldly, staring at Tori until she lost her grin.

"Don't talk to her like that" Daphne huffed at Blaise, who rolled his eyes at her.

"Pick a side, Daphne" Blaise told her, and then he looked to Ron. "I'll fill you in, walk with me." Ron nodded, and both boys walked off together.

"Blaise, what did Daphne do?" Ron asked. _From one problem to another; the life of Ronald Bilius Weasley._

"Ugh…" Blaise groaned. "It's nothing that bad, mate. We had an argument, something that isn't too uncommon, but we all made up. Except for Theo and Tracey, of course… They both left."

"Wait… Theo left for home? His father is back?" Ron asked, and Blaise nodded. _Great… Should I let Snape know? Just in case he doesn't know it yet?_ Ron buried the problem deep within himself, he'd deal with it after seeing Xeno.

"So anyway, it's nothing to worry about" Blaise assured him, something that was actually true. They had all made up within two days, but by then, both Tracey and Theo had left. They didn't hear Daphne apologize for her behavior, or Millie comforting her about Ron's current state of mind. Truth be told, Pansy had told them that Tracey had made some sort of remark about her Blood-Status. Which had then led to a fight between Theo and Tracey, but Blaise really didn't want to bring up Blood-Status near Ron, he rather liked Theo in one piece.

"Blaise… It was bad enough to send two people home" Ron sighed, not believing Blaise's words. "Please don't lie to me, you know that I depend on you for advice…" Ron had truly meant that, Blaise had been the one to pick Ron back up multiple times during the last school year. When it came to emotional advice, Ron went to Pomfrey. When he needed to vent, and to be comforted, he went to Daphne. But when Ron needed advice about people, he went straight to Blaise. If it wasn't for Blaise, Ron may have adorned a far more 'Malfoy-like' attitude.

"I know" Blaise said, his tone expressionless.

"Well?"

"Mate… You're just going to get angry…" Blaise rubbed his forehead.

"Tracey's Blood-Status was brought up?" Ron figured, stopping dead in his tracks. _Theo wouldn't… Not with Tracey._

"It was" Blaise sighed, slightly irked by how sharp Ron could be. "But not by Theo… Tracey had a fight with Daphne, and then she aimed some remark about her own Blood-Status towards Theo and Pansy, and then Theo and she had a fight that led to them both leaving…" _Wow._

"So Theo made no remark about Tracey's Blood-Status?"

"No" Blaise replied. "Not that I know of."

"Alright" Ron nodded, he was certain that Theo wouldn't. _He and Tracey get along really well, and I doubt that Theo would ruin their friendship by saying something so stupid._

"You're not mad at Theo?" Blaise asked slowly, surprised by Ron's calmness.

"From what you've told me, Tracey brought up her own Blood-Status" Ron started walking again. "And I'm not going to blame Theo for that… It's just a shame that they fought, because you know, they get along so well." _Too well. They'd make a cute couple, I reckon._

"Every friendship has its ups and down" Blaise responded, feeling almost proud of Ron for being so unbiased. There was a time when even the word 'Blood-Status' would send Ron into a rage, and he would have directed that rage at Theo regardless of whose fault it was.

"And Daph?" Ron asked.

"What about her?" Blaise asked.

"Tori mentioned that Daph started the whole thing" Ron replied. "So… What did she do?"

"That's between you and 'Daph'…" Blaise smirked, earning a light smack on the arm from Ron. "This is your stop… my Lady."

"Someone's feeling rather snarky today" Ron chuckled, stopping in front of Lord Greengrass' study. "Did you have nails for breakfast? Or are you simply missing your sexy moth…"

"Finish that sentence, and you'll have my fist as your breakfast" Blaise warned, his lips twitching upwards. "Bloody pervert…" With that, Blaise waved goodbye and left to find the girls. _I'll talk to Daphne during lunch. It shouldn't be too suspicious if I make a good excuse._ Ron knocked on the study door, waiting patiently for his mentor's permission.

"Come in, Ron" Lord Greengrass called, and Ron entered the study and closed the door behind him. _He always knows when it's me. I find that oddly suspicious._ Lord Greengrass was standing by the fire, and Ron made his way over to him. "Take your seat Ron, and we'll get started."

"Just one quick thing" Ron said, and then he hugged Lord Greengrass. _Protocol be damned, he helped save Xeno from Albania._ Lord Greengrass was clearly shocked, the man's entire body had seized up, but Ron didn't care. "Thank you for what you did for Xeno, my Lord."

"It's… You're welcome" Lord Greengrass relaxed slightly, the boy was growing like a weed. Ron felt Lord Greengrass pat his back awkwardly, and so Ron broke the hug.

"I know I said it once, but I'll say it again… You smell really nice" Ron grinned, earning an eye roll from his mentor.

"Just take a damn seat so we can get started" Lord Greengrass said, hiding his amusement completely.

"It was a complement" Ron assured his mentor.

"And I thank you, but don't think that I'll take it easy on you today" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"Please don't" Ron chuckled. "I'm so keen to practice some chess."

"Good man."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor - Lunchtime)**_

"Daphne, can I talk to you about something?" Ron asked, and all the eyes on the Dining Table went to them. Daphne blinked at him, and then she nodded slowly. _That was as subtle as a tiptoeing Troll. Nice one, Weasley._

"Well?" Daphne asked, shooting a look towards her smirking mother.

"Oh, in private" Ron stated, standing up. Daphne looked to her father before standing up, who gave her an approving nod. Daphne then stood up, and they both left the Dining Room together. The moment they stepped out of earshot, Daphne smacked his arm. "Ow… Why?" Ron asked.

"What were you thinking?" Daphne frowned slightly. "You might as well start dancing in my father's face, all the while singing about our 'special relationship'." _What the fuck?_

"Daph… He wouldn't think that…" Ron muttered, rubbing his sore left arm.

"Yes, he would" Daphne huffed. "A Gentleman asking to see a Lady in private… on the Dining Table no less… My father will interrogate me tonight, I assure you."

"I'm a Gentleman?" Ron smiled genuinely, and she frowned at him.

"It's a… never mind… What did you want to talk about?" Daphne asked.

"Can we talk in your room?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him. And then, she started smiling with a rebellious glint in her eyes.

"Of course, Ron" Daphne hummed, locking her arm with his. _She thinks that I want to share kisses? I do, but after I question her about this fight._ Daphne led them towards her room in a hurry, they hadn't even talked since their Garden stroll. And that night had ended a little more awkwardly than Daphne had planned, or liked. The moment they entered her room, Daphne let go of Ron and locked the door behind them. "We don't have much time…" Daphne started, taking a step closer to Ron.

"What happened between you and the others?" Ron asked, making Daphne stop.

"Huh?" Daphne muttered in a rather unladylike manner.

"Why did you guys fight?" Ron clarified. "I just want to know why Tracey would throw around her Blood-Status like that… She wouldn't do if she wasn't hurting…" Daphne sighed deeply at that, taking a step back.

"She and I had a row…" Daphne replied. "And we both said some… some really stupid things… But she ran off before I could apologize. I've sent three letters to her house, but she hasn't replied to even one of them."

"Did you say something about her Blood-Status?" Ron asked slowly. "Did you say anything about her mother?"

"No!" Daphne quickly defended herself, she loved Mrs. Davis. "And don't even imply that I would, Ron. I'm warning you."

"I won't" Ron assured her, he just wanted to know if Tracey was alright. "Tell me what happened."

"I was just worried about you" Daphne huffed, looking at anything but Ron.

"Me?" Ron blinked.

"And I came across as… unwelcoming…" Daphne admitted. "Tracey called me on it, and when she made a remark about my crush on you, I made one about… About something that she cares for." Confessions be damned, she wasn't telling Ron about Tracey's secret crush on Theo. She couldn't betray Tracey like that.

"So you were worried about me, and due to that, you alienated the people around you?" Ron asked, and Daphne was genuinely taken aback by his grasp on things.

"Yes…" Daphne replied slowly. "You sounded really smart just then."

"I channeled my inner Pomfrey" Ron joked, making Daphne smile a little. "I'm sure that things will work out between you two. Tracey loves you Daph, and she knows that you love her too."

"Did you hit your head?" Daphne asked.

"What?" Ron blinked. "Daphne, I'm not that emotionally stunted…" Daphne cocked an eyebrow at that. "I have my moments, woman! Let me have my moment!" Daphne started giggling at that, seeing Ron in such high spirits was relieving, so much so that she couldn't help but laugh.

"I was so worried about you" Daphne said, and then she hugged his middle tightly.

"Everything's fine now" Ron put his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. "Xeno is coming home, safe and sound."

"Did you have any stress moments?" Daphne asked, talking into his chest.

"Too many…" Ron admitted. "I even had two panic attacks…" Daphne tightened her hug, her arms traveling to his lower back. When she pressed down on his bruise, Ron let out a sharp wince. _My arse!_

"Ron?" Daphne pulled her head back, looking at him with a worried expression.

"I fell on my tail-bone" Ron lied. "And it's bruised."

"Oh, sorry" Daphne apologized, moving her arms back up. "So…" Daphne started.

"Do you want to kiss?" Ron and Daphne asked at the same time. They both blinked at each other, and then Ron grinned.

"Don't grin like that" Daphne giggled.

"We have time for one or two long kisses, or several quick pecks" Ron informed her. "We've been gone for a bit too long."

"Long ones, please" Daphne smiled widely.

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Bedtime)**_

Blaise and Ron had both left the Manor, and so now it was just the girls. Astoria had once again gone to bed extremely early, she was having trouble even keeping her eyes open during dinner. Lord Greengrass had carried her upstairs in his arms, and Pansy thought that that was the sweetest thing that she had seen in a while. Seeing a man who slightly scared her be so gentle with his daughter had made Pansy swoon. Was it wrong to have a little crush on your friend's father? Maybe… But Pansy didn't care.

"So, what did your father want with you?" Pansy asked as she brushed Daphne's hair. Millie was currently reading a book on 'Muggle boxing' as she lounged on Daphne's bed, a book that Pansy thought was too unladylike. _But I won't say that to her. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable for liking something that I don't, that's not how friends should be. That's something that my mother would do._

"He asked me invasive questions about my talk with Ron" Daphne rolled her eyes. What really bothered her was that he was clearly uncomfortable doing it, but he had done it because it was the traditional thing to do. _And now, it's my turn._

"So… What did you and Ron talk about?" Pansy asked, and she heard Millie laugh from the bed.

"Really, Pans?" Daphne gave her a deadpan look from the mirror's reflection.

"What? I'm just a bit curious, that's all" Pansy smirked, tugging out a knot in Daphne's hair.

"Ow!"

"Sorry" Pansy hummed. "So… What did you and Ron talk about?"

"He wanted to know about our fight" Daphne replied. "I told him the truth. That it was my fault, and that Tracey and I had a really bad row. He took it well, and he told me that Tracey would come around. I'll send her another letter tomorrow, and if she doesn't reply to this one, then I'm going to her house."

"So… Nothing juicy happened?" Pansy pouted slightly. _Why are our lives so boring? The rumors I hear at Hogwarts make me think that we are doing something wrong within our group. Where is the controversy? The sizzle?! Where is it?!_

"Juicy?" Daphne pulled a face.

"She means snogging!" Millie called out.

"Thank you for your input" Daphne sighed.

"You're welcome!"

"You two really didn't do anything?" Pansy asked Daphne. "Not even a hug?"

"We hugged…" Daphne replied slowly, deciding to throw Pansy a bone. It might make her stop.

"That's it? Ugh… This group is so boring…" Pansy moaned, earning a wary look from Daphne.

"What's boring about hugging a boy?" Daphne asked. "How many have you hugged?"

"Blaise, Ron… even Theo… Oh, and I hugged a Ravenclaw boy on a dare" Pansy gloated. _Malfoy let me hug him once, but I'm not going to count that._

"You're welcome!" Millie called out.

"Wait, you two dare each other to hug boys?" Daphne blinked.

"It only happened once…" Pansy shrugged. "Millie hugged a Hufflepuff."

"Which one?" Daphne asked, turning her head towards Millie.

"Wayne Hopkins" Millie replied, still reading her book. "He was kind of cute."

"And you?" Daphne asked Pansy.

"Michael Corner" Pansy replied. "He was shocked, and before he could say anything, I just walked off."

"Merlin… That's kind of… immoral, don't you think?" Daphne blushed slightly.

"Hardly" Pansy replied. "Most girls our age have already had their first kisses! I heard that Lavender Brown kissed Terry Boot on a dare. All I did was hug someone." _According to Witch Weekly, we're falling behind the witches our age._

"But you don't even know him…" Daphne muttered, averting her gaze. Pansy found Daphne's reaction to be rather cute, but she didn't know that Daphne was feeling bashful because she had outdone her friends in the 'immoral department'.

"We're nearly third years, Daphne" Pansy chuckled, taking Daphne's hair in a bundle and tying it into a ponytail. "Hmmm, Millie what do you think?" Pansy asked, and Millie looked at Daphne's new hairstyle.

"Not my cup of tea" Millie shrugged. "Her hair is naturally straight, so I reckon it would look better if was styled around that. It looks good right now, but it would look better loose."

"You're learning" Pansy smiled widely, but Millie just snorted and looked back to her book. _That snort killed a part of my soul, but I'll get her there._

"Maybe I shouldn't change my hair?" Daphne mentioned her doubts. "I've had the same style for six years, and it works…"

"It used to Daph, but six years is too long" Pansy told her. "We witches have to constantly change it up, or the braindead boys around us won't notice us." Pansy suddenly blinked at her own words. "Oh Merlin, I've become my mother…"

"No, you haven't" Daphne laughed. "You're far too nice to ever become your mother."

"That means a lot" Pansy admitted, shaking her head clear. "But I'm only nice to you lot."

"As it should be" Daphne nodded. "You really think the boys will notice if I change my hair."

"He totally will" Pansy assured her friend.

"He? Really, Pans?" Daphne frowned slightly.

"Did you know that pretty much all the Slytherin girls, and the girls from the other Houses as well, start dating in third year?" Pansy asked, ignoring Daphne's ever growing frown.

"Subtle" Millie laughed from the background.

"It's completely natural" Pansy hummed.

"Is this about your bet with Tracey?" Daphne demanded.

"What bet? I'm just stating facts, that's all" Pansy replied innocently.

"Your facts are slightly vexing" Daphne's lips twitched upwards. _Alright then, I'll stop playing nice._

"The truth hurts, isn't that the saying?" Pansy hummed. "But you should ask Ron out if he doesn't find his own spine."

"WOW!" Daphne exclaimed, while Millie broke into a hysterical laugh. "Just outright abandoning your subtlety now, aren't you?"

"I know you still like him… Even though you told me that you don't" Pansy smirked. _She totally does. Why else would she take his absence so badly? We all had a great time together, but even after rejoining us, she was still somewhat distant._

"Pansy… I'm not going to do that…" Daphne mumbled.

"Then I'll just spread a rumor around Hogwarts claiming that Ron is looking to date" Pansy shrugged, and Daphne gaped at her from the reflection. "I'm not losing one hundred Galleons to Tracey. She'll brag about it until I'm grey…"

"You wouldn't…" Daphne paled slightly. If Pansy did that, then every harlot around their age would come knocking, Daphne was certain of it!

"Our parents taught us to take what we want" Pansy leaned down and kissed Daphne's left cheek. "The weak wait for scraps, while the strong…"

"While the strong feast…" Daphne finished, shifting in her seat.

"If you don't find the courage to do it, then someone else will" Pansy hummed. "And I really don't plan to lose that bet, so I might just light a fire under you." Daphne gulped at that, but Pansy simply smiled at her blonde friend. "Are you willing to eat scraps, Daphne?" Daphne shook her head slowly. "Then you'd better pluck up the courage. Idiots wait for their turn, while we simply cut the line." Daphne nodded at that, staring at her reflection.

"Find me a good hairstyle" Daphne straightened her back. _That's my girl._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Morning)**_

"Did you eat any sweets this week, Mr. Weasley?" Madam Roberts asked.

"I didn't" Ron replied truthfully, and Madam Roberts looked into his eyes. Ron could feel her trying to dig the truth out of him, but he wasn't too worried. He had followed the rules, so he knew that he was safe.

"Well done" Madam Roberts nodded curtly. "Now, the bruises… Take off your clothes." _What?!_

"My clothes?" Ron blinked.

"Are you deaf?" Madam Roberts frowned. "Or are you disobeying a command from a superior Officer?" _Superior Officer?_

"Nope, not disobeying" Ron quickly assured her, he didn't want to get hit by that fucking baton ever again. _She knows about my scars already, and I have shown her my arms. Just do it. Or she'll add to your already bountiful collection._ Ron took off his Training Top, revealing his upper body. Madam Roberts didn't even register his scars, she only had her eyes peeled for the two bruises on his upper body.

"Right forearm, check… Lower back, check…" Madam Roberts nodded, and then she looked at him again. "Right thigh?"

"Check" Ron sighed, lowering his pants enough to show her. _Thank Merlin I'm wearing underwear. I don't reckon I could look her in the eyes if she saw my cock. Cock… What a disgusting word. 'Hey, have you seen my_ _ **cock**_ _?!' Seriously, who named it that? What's a less vulgar word for it? Penis, manhood, wand, peepee, shwing-shwang…_

"Mr. Weasley?!" Madam Roberts snapped in his face. "Pull up your pants already, I won't ask you again."

"Sorry" Ron flushed slightly, hurrying to do as he was told.

"Let's start with a warmup" she said as Ron put his top back on. "And stretch before you start." _Or that's a warning._ "Or that's a warning." _Charming woman._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Past Midday)**_

"Color me impressed, Mr. Weasley" Madam Roberts said with a thin-lipped smile. "Not a single warning, not a single complaint… You even made sure to keep your form perfect during the later sets."

"Thank you" Ron panted, his muscles burning from the stress that he had put them through.

"Take a seat, we'll start your treatment while your muscles are still sore" Madam Roberts said, and Ron walked over and lay down on a couch. _Is it wrong that I'm looking forward to this? It just feels really good… I just need to think of anything that will stop me from getting aroused. Great Aunt Muriel…_ Madam Roberts began the treatment from his left foot again, and the moment she did, Ron had to hold back a groan.

"So… How was your week?" Ron asked, trying to keep his mind occupied. The cool feeling seemed to be pulsating throughout his left leg, and that made him relax completely.

"My week?" Madam Roberts asked, she despised idle chatter.

"Mine was really stressful" Ron told her, a pleasant shiver passing throughout his left leg. _Great Aunt Muriel's saggy chin!_

"Lovegood" she figured, and he nodded. "Well, it all worked out from what I've read in the Daily Prophet." She knew what he was doing, and just because he had done so well today, she decided to spare him his oncoming embarrassment. "Except for the mess that all the Ministries are in… We might all be fighting in a war soon."

"Yeah…" Ron sighed, for once he didn't mind her blunt nature.

"The Muggles will obliterate us" Madam Roberts said, moving onto the boy's left calf muscle.

"They would?" Ron asked.

"They have weapons built to level entire countries, Mr. Weasley" Madam Roberts informed him, and Ron just stared at her with utter disbelief. _Entire countries? What the fuck kind of weapon does that?_ "They call them 'Nuclear Warheads'… This war, if you can call it that, will be short and devastating for our kind."

"Bloody hell…" Ron mumbled, still stuck on 'Nuclear Warheads'. _Are Muggles better than us in everything? Maybe we've grown too reliant on Magic, and because of their struggles without it, they've surpassed us._

"But enough about that, you are still too young to think of such things" Madam Roberts said, moving onto Ron's left thigh. _I've been thinking of such things since I was eight._ "Tell me, what made you strengthen your resolve? Last week, you whined constantly." _It wasn't constant. I only whined after you started swinging that baton like a mad-woman._

"I… I decided to push myself even harder, that's all" Ron admitted. "You told me that it would be worth it, even if I hate it right now. So I want to see that for myself… I want to be powerful."

"And you will be" she told him, glad to hear the honesty in his voice. "If you push through the pain." Another shiver passed through him, and Ron grit his teeth. _Why does it feel so much better than the last two times? AUNT MURIEL'S CHIN HAIR!_

"How long have you been an Auror?" Ron asked, his breath hitching slightly.

"I'm not really an Auror" Madam Roberts informed him, and he was momentarily shocked. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is divided into several different branches. The Aurors make up one of the three main branches, or divisions as we call them. I'm part of the Hit Wizards sub-division. We work very closely with the Aurors, but we're not a part of them. We work with our own set of principles and methods."

"Hit Wizards?" Ron asked, he hadn't heard of that sub-division before.

"We get mistaken for Aurors, but we're a step above them" she replied, moving onto his abs. "If Aurors are the Elite Police Force, then we're the Elite Soldiers. Many Aurors try and transfer into our division once they get tired of the red tape holding them back."

"Elite… Elite Soldiers?" Ron exhaled, he was losing his battle with his own manhood. _You traitorous bastard._

"We go after targets that are too dangerous, targets that need to be put down instead of being put in a cell" she replied. "We answer directly to the Head Auror, or the Department Head. Sometimes even the Minister, but that hasn't happened for a while."

"Can I say that your job is really cool?" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"I killed a man three days ago, Mr. Weasley" she replied coldly, and Ron lost his smile. "Still think that my job is 'cool'?" _I put my foot in my mouth so often that it's a wonder that I haven't digested it already._

"Why did you kill him?" Ron whispered. "You don't have to answer that… Sorry… I'm just…"

"He was hunting Muggle women" she replied. _Hunting women? What the fuck?_ "Enough questions."

"Alright…" Ron nodded weakly. _She killed a man three days ago… Fucking hell._ Ron wasn't going to lie to himself, he was rather scared of this woman. She had this air of self-assurance around her, and that intimidated him. As she moved onto his chest, Ron tensed from the pleasure.

"Stop tensing, you're making things more difficult" she bit out.

"Sorry… I'm not sure that I like this treatment…" Ron lied, he enjoyed it a little too much. _I'm a pervert._

"I've never heard anyone claim that" she said in a monotone voice. "Mr. Weasley… When was the last time that you masturbated?" _WHAT?!_ Ron tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down with a deep scowl.

"Don't do that again, or I might end up injuring you!" she snapped at him, making him flinch. "That's a warning for next week." _Shite!_ "Now answer the question." _What the fuck?! Why is she like this? Who asks that question with a straight face?_

"I… I don't feel comfortable talking about this… No offence…" Ron averted his gaze, his heart beating in his throat.

"Fine, if you end up climaxing from this, then you can live with that" she told him.

"Climaxing?" Ron gaped, going pale in the face. _Words can't describe how uncomfortable I am right now._

"You just thrust your pelvis forward without even realizing it" she informed him, and Ron nearly passed out from embarrassment. "Now stop being so pathetic and answer the question."

"It's… It's… been a while…" Ron mumbled, turning his head away from her. He hadn't touched himself since he learned about Xeno's imprisonment, he had been too busy to even think of such a thing.

"That is unhealthy for a boy your age" she said, shaking her head slightly. She then restarted the therapy, ignoring Ron's discomfort. "From your absurd height, I can easily assume that you're going through puberty. You will not endanger your progress by neglecting proper health procedures, am I clear?"

"You're telling me to…" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Merlin… Normal adults don't ask these kinds of questions…"

"Maybe if they did, then you wouldn't be so easily rattled" she said, moving to his shoulders. "Discipline your mind." _Someone please kill me._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

It still hadn't gone down… Ron had thought about fixing it himself in the shower, but in the end, he had refused to sully Madam Roberts' suitcase in such a manner. So here he was, cold and hard…

"Can we never speak of this again, please?" Ron muttered, following her with a dazed expression. _I ended up thrusting again… Twice… Fucking hell, I'm genuinely ashamed of myself._

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, boy" she said in an annoyed voice. "I've met ten years olds with more maturity than you."

"I'm mature" he quickly defended himself. "I just don't like talking about my genitals with other people." _Did I just say that?_

"Do you want a medal for your service?" she asked him, and Ron frowned at her back. _Mean old witch._ "Just do yourself a favor, and fix your pants. You don't want to give those young girls a fright, do you?" _I have never felt an urge to clock an old woman before, but right now, I really fucking want to._ Ron put his left hand into his pants and fixed himself, flushing slightly in the process. _I can feel my ears burning._ They exited the suitcase, and Ron shot quick looks around himself. _Clear. I'm heading straight for a bathroom._

"See you next week" Ron said, walking straight for the door. Madam Roberts gave his back a smirk, and then she packed her suitcase and left for the Ministry. Ron shot a look out into the hallways, and then he quickly moved for the nearest bathroom. _Ground floor, just around the corner from here._

"Ron!" Pansy called out, and Ron stopped dead in his tracks. _Fuck!_

"Hello" Ron greeted as he turned around with a forced smile. Pansy was walking over to him, wearing a t-shirt that showed him a small part of her mid-riff. _Now that I think about it, Pansy's rather good… NO! FUCK!_ "I have to go!" Ron said, turning around and walking towards the bathroom.

"Wait! I just want to have a quick word" Pansy caught up to him.

"I have to use the loo really badly" Ron lied.

"Oh…" Pansy stopped walking. "Well, just come and find me in the Dining Room after you're done."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Oh, that was quick" Pansy smiled at him, she was loitering about in the Dining Room. _That was quick? Well, it certainly was. But can you blame me? I was so far gone that I was thrusting at the air…_ "Ron? You're zoning out on me" Pansy pouted.

"Sorry, Pans" Ron smiled. "What did you need from me?"

"Daphne told me that you eat right after your training" Pansy smiled, looking him up and down. "She told me about how crazy your exercise regimen is."

"It is… crazy" Ron replied slowly, he had a bad feeling about this.

"We're eating out in the Gardens right now, you should join us" Pansy suggested.

"I'd love to, but… I should really be getting home" Ron said. "Xeno might be there, and I really want to see him."

"Surely you can spare thirty minutes" Pansy said, she was failing at her job.

"Pansy, he was imprisoned in a foreign country…" Ron reminded her. "I've thought of little else besides him for the last week, and I want to see him as soon as possible."

"Five minutes?" Pansy smiled sheepishly.

"What is going on?" Ron asked her, and she lost her smile.

"Millie and I just wanted to spend some time with you" she replied, half-lying and half-truthful. What she really wanted was for Ron to be dazzled by Daphne's new hairstyle.

"I'll come back tomorrow" Ron promised, and she nodded weakly. _Sorry Pansy, but this is too important._ "Walk back to the fireplaces with me?"

"Of course" Pansy replied, moving forward and tangling her arm with Ron's. They began making their way to the fireplaces, and Ron felt a small pang of guilt for not staying.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I swear" Ron said suddenly, and Pansy blinked at him. "I don't want to make anyone feel bad, but it's just that Xeno has been… You know…"

"I understand" Pansy said, giving his left cheek a kiss. She suddenly squeezed his left bicep, and then she squealed in a rather girly manner. "Do you have a six-pack?"

"A six-pack?" Ron asked. "Are you asking if my abs are visible?"

"Yes" she grinned.

"Only if I hold my breath, but they're getting there" Ron shrugged, trying not to sound boastful. But truth be told, he was rather pleased with his physique. He was the tallest boy in the class, and he wasn't gangly or weedy like the other boys. He was broad-shouldered, and his muscles were developing nicely. "My morning runs and sparring sessions have helped me quite a lot in that regard."

"Witch Weekly says that wizards with abs are a must have for any sensible witch" Pansy giggled, making Ron blush a bit.

"Is that so?" Ron asked. _What about wizards covered in grotesque scars? Are they a must have too?_

"So are you going to be really muscular because of your new training regimen?" Pansy asked.

"Not too muscular, I hope" Ron replied. _I'm already a massive target, I'd really rather not become as big as Charlie. But then again, Charlie is the shortest of us brothers. So maybe he just looks bigger because of that._

"No, you should get muscular!" Pansy urged him. "Girls love muscles!"

"What else do girls love?" Ron chuckled, he had missed Pansy. _If Witch Weekly told her to kill one of us, she'd probably do it._

"They love boys with tidy hair" Pansy replied, looking at his head. "I'm cutting your hair tomorrow, Ron. You've let it grow out too much."

"Alright, be my guest" Ron smiled, stopping in front of a fireplace. "This is where I leave you, Lady Parkinson."

"No, this is where I leave you Ronald" Pansy smirked, turning around and leaving without saying a proper goodbye. _Cheeky bint._ Ron turned to the fireplace, took a pinch of floo-powder, and then called for the Burrow as he hurled into the fireplace. Once the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through it and entered the Burrow.

"Hello, Ron" came a familiar voice, and Ron's eyes immediately went to Xeno who was sitting with his wife and daughter. _Xeno? Xeno!_ Ron's parents and siblings were also in the room, looking quite relieved and grateful.

"You're back?" Ron blinked, his heart jumping into his throat. "You're back!" Ron smiled from ear-to-ear, and then he walked over to Xeno. The eccentric man stood up, and they hugged each other tightly. Ron wasn't planning to let go of Xeno anytime soon.

"It's good to see you again, dear boy" Xeno said, squeezing Ron as tightly as he could.

'Welcome home!"

* * *

 _ **Sunday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – After Lunch)**_

Xeno's adventure in Albania had everyone transfixed, even the twins hadn't made a sound while Xeno had been regaling them. Everyone had questions after he was finished of course, but unlike the others, Ron had kept his to himself. Ginny wanted to know more about Albanian settlements, Luna wanted to know if her father had found any new creatures, the twins wanted to know about Xeno's Duel with the Cult, while Percy wanted to know about the Albanian Ministry and its workings.

Ron personally wanted to ask more about the ritualistic killings, and about how Xeno had banded everyone together, but he instead held his tongue. Ron knew that recalling traumatic things tended to put a strain on a person's mind, and judging from Xeno's clear discomfort, there were some things that Xeno didn't want to tell them. Pandora, Molly, and Arthur had also noticed Xeno's discomfort, and so they had made sure to keep Xeno talking about simpler things. One of them being The Quibbler…

"I'm going to sell it to the Daily Prophet" Xeno told them, looking to his wife with a slightly resigned look. _Sell it?_ Pandora simply blinked at him, she was truly lost for words. The Quibbler was her husband's life work, why would he want to sell it? She distinctly remembered him being bullied at school when people found out about his dream to publish 'The Quibbler', and she remembered how he hadn't let anyone discourage him. It's why she had set her eyes on him in the first place.

"Sell it to the Daily Prophet?" Arthur asked, reeling from the revelation. "Why?"

"You won't be writing about creatures anymore?" Luna piped in, just staring at her father.

"I will be, love" Xeno quickly assured his daughter. "The Daily Prophet will publish The Quibbler in an entirely new section, and I'll be able to put whatever I want on it."

"Just one section?" Molly asked, looking to a stunned Pandora. It was odd to see Pandora, who was the sharpest woman that Molly knew, be so dazed by someone's words.

"They are paying me a lot of money to purchase The Quibbler, and I still get to keep it alive" Xeno explained. "I will still get to highlight what the Daily Prophet doesn't…"

"Children, can you please give us the room?" Pandora asked, breaking out of her daze.

"Dad, you can't sell The Quibbler…" Luna started pleading. "Who will inform the World about its wonders if not you?"

"Luna…" Xeno started, giving her a conflicted look. _He doesn't want this? So why is he doing it?_

"Children, upstairs" Molly ordered, this was far too serious a conversation for children to take part in. The twins slowly got up, followed by Ginny and Ron.

"Luna…" Ginny started, but she was cut off by Luna herself.

"I'm staying" Luna told them, still staring at her father in utter disbelief.

"It's alright, she can stay" Xeno said to Ginny. "This decision affects her as well…" _Damn, I really want to know why Xeno is doing this. He sounds like he doesn't want to, and yet, he is more than willing. Is this about the money?_ Ginny nodded at Xeno, and then she began leaving the room with Ron and the twins. Percy didn't move from his spot, eager to hear of Xeno's reasons.

"Percy, you too" Molly said, and Percy blinked at her.

"Mother, I'm an adult too" Percy told her, taken aback by her asking him to join the 'other children'.

"You are not seventeen yet" Molly reminded him.

"I'll be seventeen in a month" Percy tried, but Molly simply tutted him.

"Son, please go upstairs" Arthur said, giving Percy a weak smile. Percy frowned slightly, and then he stood up and marched up the stairs. The others moved out of his way, the twins sniggering behind Percy's back. Ron and Ginny shot one last look at Luna, and then they too left for their rooms.

Ron however, had no intention of going to his room. Instead, once he was out of sight, he removed his wand from his robes and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. After taking a look at himself, and becoming certain that he was hidden from sight, he snuck back downstairs. Navigating the creaking floorboards was simple enough, he knew which of the floorboards to avoid. And then, he parked himself in a corner and observed. _Do the Lovegoods really need money that badly? If so, maybe I can help them?_

"Who will write about the Unicorns?" Luna asked, sounding rather upset.

"I still will, I promise" Xeno replied, looking to his wife for help.

"Love, please let your father explain" Pandora said, looking to Xeno for answers.

"I've… I've been thinking about it since we learned of the baby" Xeno told them, fidgeting with his hands. _The baby? Of course! He needs the money for the baby. The Rookery can't hold them all, it's too small._ "We don't have enough money saved away, and The Quibbler costs a lot to print… We just manage to make ends meet, but with another Lovegood, we can't sustain our way of life."

"Can't you print less copies?" Arthur asked, unsure if Luna should be in the room for this.

"It's our main source of income" Xeno replied. "If I start printing less copies, then we won't make enough… Not to mention the subscriptions… I would still need to print enough for them…"

"What if you increased the amount that it costs to subscribe?" Pandora asked, still trying to get her head around Xeno's decision.

"The Daily Prophet costs one Knut" Xeno sighed. "If The Quibbler costs more than that, then people will start going over to the Daily Prophet. I'd lose my readers and our income…"

"I could start working again…" Pandora started, but Xeno gave her a hurt look.

"Our child will need you, and you promised me that you wouldn't…" Xeno said. _She promised to not work?_

"The accident was three years ago…" Pandora tried, but Xeno shook his head. _Damn, she stopped working after that? Did she create Spells for a living?_ Something clicked in Ron's head, and he put it aside for the time being.

"It isn't just about sustaining our lifestyle…" Xeno said, and then he gave Luna a sorry look. "Do you remember when you asked us where the baby's room would be?" Luna blinked, and then she nodded slowly. "The Rookery is too small… Pandora and I sleep in her old lab, Luna has her own room, and that leaves only the kitchen… Where is the child meant to sleep? They will need their own room… Not to mention the repairs needed for the house…"

"Why didn't you say anything?" Pandora asked as she held his fidgeting hands.

"We were so happy… I didn't want to ruin that…" Xeno smiled sadly, relaxing slightly because of his wife's touch.

"I'm sorry, Xenophilius" Arthur sighed, rubbing his forehead. "How much will it cost to fix up the Rookery?"

"Around fifteen hundred Galleons…" Xeno replied, and both Arthur and Molly went slightly pale. _That's it? I could pay for that… No… No, that would be insulting. I hate being given charity, so I can't go around doing the same thing. Not to mention that Xeno still needs a higher income._

"And the Prophet is paying you that much?" Molly asked, and Xeno nodded.

"They are paying me two thousand Galleons, and they're giving me a steady job" Xeno replied. "I'll be writing The Quibbler section for the Daily Prophet… They're even willing to pay for my trips."

"That's one way to kill any competition" Molly frowned.

"The Quibbler won't die" Xeno said quickly. "It will still exist… I will still write about the same things in The Quibbler section. Just… not as much as I'm used to…"

"The Quibbler is your dream…" Pandora said.

"There are more important things" Xeno smiled, looking at Pandora's stomach. Pandora leaned forward and kissed her husband, and then she buried her head in his shoulder. "Everything will be fine." Luna got out of her seat and approached her father, looking down at her feet as she shuffled them. "Luna?"

"I understand" Luna said softly. "You're doing this for us." Xeno took her small hand with his free one, giving her a loving look.

"We'll still go on trips together" Xeno assured her. "And since the Prophet is paying for it, we can even bring back lots of souvenirs." Luna smiled weakly at that, though it still hurt her to know that her father's magazine was being taken away. Arthur and Molly, and Ron, watched the Lovegoods with sad smiles. _Maybe I can help them in some way? Without giving them charity and insulting them. I don't know much about The Quibbler, but I hate seeing Xeno like this._

"When are you going to sell it?" Pandora asked, her heart clenching at the prospect of Xeno losing his life's work. She knew that the Prophet was going to strip The Quibbler down and turn it into something that conformed to their concept of journalism.

"By the end of August" Xeno replied. "I still want to publish my article on the Unicorn killings."

* * *

 _ **Monday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

The Lovegoods had left for the Rookery last night, and as sad as the Weasleys were to see the Lovegoods leave, they understood why. With Xeno finally being back, they all wanted to be together as a family. Ron actually wasn't too bothered by them leaving, they were only a floo-jump away from him as far as he was concerned.

Ron's little eavesdropping session, as much as it shamed him, had given him a few ideas that he wished to implement. First and foremost, he wanted Pandora to teach him about making Spell-Creation. If she did it for a living at some point, then she was skilled enough to teach it too. The prospect of creating his own Spells excited him greatly, and he was willing to give it his very best. And knowing Pandora, she'd teach him in a heartbeat.

The second idea was still unrefined, but it related to Xeno's magazine. Ron understood just how valuable information could be, thanks to Slytherin House, and he also understood that the person who controlled that information was powerful. Xeno had actual readers, and he had them all over the country apparently. If the Prophet wanted to buy The Quibbler in order to gain Xeno's readers, then why couldn't Ron?

Ron had no clue about news outlets of course, but he did know that he wanted to spread his influence in key areas. Maybe he could even shine a light on Knockturn Alley, and people like Pricilla who suffered in it. And maybe… Just maybe… He could also shine a light on the upcoming war. If Ron somehow convinced Xeno to become his partner in publishing The Quibbler, they could both benefit from it. Xeno would get to keep living his dream, and Ron could finally start being more active.

He still thought of Pricilla from time to time, especially when he was dining with the Greengrasses. They were so bloody wealthy, but as far as Ron knew, they didn't do anything to help people like Pricilla. A girl who was born a Squib, and then forced to sell her body in order to just survive. A girl who was around two years older than Ron himself, but she had to rely on people like Victor Burke to feed her… Ron had once vowed to help as many people as he could, and he planned to keep that promise.

The only problem with buying The Quibbler was that Xeno still needed a higher income, and if they raised the price of the subscription, then Xeno may lose a lot of his readers. And then there was the fact that The Quibbler was utter garbage… at the moment. Ron had borrowed a couple of Luna's old copies yesterday, and even he had found most of the content laughable at best. And at worst, straight up insulting. Either Xeno was a comedic genius, or he more brain-damaged than Ron himself.

In the end, Ron decided to do some actual research first. If he was going to become someone's partner in something, then he planned to pull his own weight. He would ask people for their advice, he would keep reading the Daily Prophet in order to understand their type of journalism, and then he'd come up with his own ideas to pitch to Xeno. He already knew that he wanted a more 'serious' magazine, one that didn't have insane tripe written all over it, but he also knew that Xeno would want to keep The Quibbler as it was. Ron would need to change his mind…

"Where are you going, Ronnie?" Molly asked as she saw him head for the Living Room.

"I'm going to Hogwarts to see Pomfrey" Ron replied, his siblings were still asleep so he didn't mind saying that out loud.

"Pomfrey?" Molly blinked, and then she adorned a worried look. "Are you feeling overwhelmed, love? Do you want to talk about it?" _Not with you._

"I just need some… help" Ron replied, and Molly nodded slowly. "The last week was really stressful, and I just want to vent about it a little. Pomfrey told me to come straight to her if I ever needed to do that."

"I understand" Molly smiled, slightly disappointed that he didn't want to talk to her about his troubles.

"Oh, and after that, I'll be staying at Greengrass Manor for a few hours" Ron said. "Pansy and Millie are expecting me, and I haven't seen much of them lately."

"You and your girlfriends" Molly chuckled, shaking her head at him. _My girlfriends? Ha!_

"They're not my girlfriends, mum" Ron assured her. "They're my friends, who happen to be girls."

"Just be back by dinner, alright?"

"I will be" Ron promised, heading for the fireplace. Once he was there, he took a pinch of floo-powder and cast it into the fire. "Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts." _Thank Merlin that Snape opened a channel connecting to the Burrow, otherwise I'd have to floo twice._ Ron stepped through the green flames, appearing within Snape's Office once again.

"Mr. Weasley" came a cold voice from behind the desk, and Ron looked over to see Snape reading a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Sir" Ron nodded curtly, walking towards the door. _I'll tell him about Nott once I've spoken with Pomfrey. And then, I'll get going. I'd rather not stare at his hooked nose for longer than necessary._

"Lovegood has been returned safely to you" Snape said, and Ron stopped dead in his tracks. "He has been cleared of all charges."

"He told me" Ron turned to face the Potions Master, who was staring back at him. "Nott is also back in the country."

"I know, I met him" Snape responded. _Figures._ Ron then turned to leave again, but he stopped when Snape spoke again. "Aren't you going to ask me about him? Or is our partnership over?"

"Let me guess, he wants to take advantage of the mess in Albania?" Ron looked to Snape. _What else could he want to do? He wants to pick a fight with the Muggles, and he plans to bring back the Dark Lord just to do that._

"You've thought about it… Good" Snape leaned back in his seat, gesturing for Ron to sit down.

"I'm here to see Madam Pomfrey" Ron told him, turning to leave. Ron pulled at the door, but it didn't budge. _He locked it?_ Ron turned back to face Snape, who was just staring at Ron. "Unlock the door, Sir."

"After we've talked" Snape replied, gesturing Ron to sit down again.

"We have nothing to talk about" Ron said coldly, getting annoyed with Snape. "I want to talk to Pomfrey."

"The last time you were in this room, I was worried that you would hurt yourself" Snape told him, and Ron blinked at the sudden change in topic. "You struck yourself over the head repeatedly… Quite hard, if I remember correctly."

"I was distraught" Ron gave Snape a deadpan look. "A person who I put my faith in broke my trust." Snape's expression didn't even change, but Ron could feel the temperature dropping. _I used to be scared of this man once, but now… What is he compared to the horror that lives inside my head? Nothing._

"Sit down" Snape ordered in an icy tone, getting irked by the boy's attitude.

"And what will you do if I don't?" Ron asked.

"Whatever I have to in order to get you into a chair" Snape replied, fully intent on using force if necessary.

"An honest answer" Ron chuckled. "That must be new for you."

"Enough!" Snape snapped, standing up and glaring at Ron. _Ohhh, scary…_

"What do you want?" Ron asked. "Do you want to know if you can still rely on my help? Look… I'm not an idiot, and I know that if I see something beyond my skill, I'll have to come back to you. And I will. But right now, I have nothing to offer you. So unlock the door…"

"Arrogant boy" Snape hissed, walking around his table and straight up to Ron. Ron made sure not to move a muscle, not planning to give an inch. _What's he going to do? Hurt me? Taunt me? Terrorize me? No, he won't do that. And even if he does, I'm rather used to pain._

"Arrogant?" Ron repeated after Snape.

"You think that your family is going to make it through the war unscathed? Is that it?" Snape asked, deciding to teach Ron some harsh truths about life.

"Which war? The one that the Dark Lord starts? Or the one that Dumbledore started?" Ron asked for clarification. "Wait… They might be the same war… I'm not too certain on that one."

"Mistakes happen in war, boy" Snape told him. "And we are already at war… Albus will fix his mistakes, and then we'll continue our work. Now answer my question… Are you truly so foolish as to believe that you won't lose a single loved one in the war?"

"I won't" Ron promised, but Snape just scoffed.

"I don't know what gave you such a delusion, but let me shatter it for you" Snape said icily. "People die… All it takes is one errant Spell, or one cocky mistake… And people die."

"Whose cocky mistake? My loved one's, or Dumbledore's?" Ron asked in return. "You think that I'm angry at him because he endangered Xeno? I am… But it's more than that. He ran off alone like some idiot! And then, he started a fight with the Dark Lord that resulted in an entire Forest burning down! Thousands of creatures were burned to ash! The Muggles want to start a bloody war with us! A war that they're going to win quite easily from what I've been told! Oh… And the Dark Lord is now missing!"

"Albus chose to save your precious 'loved one' over capturing the Dark Lord" Snape told him, staring into Ron's eyes.

"Am I supposed to commend him on that?" Ron asked in a scathing voice. "Xeno wouldn't have been there in the first place if Dumbledore hadn't decided to use him like some tool."

"So in your mind, using people with certain skills is wrong if those people are your 'loved ones'? You are far too entitled…" Snape told him, his disgust apparent. _Entitled? So I'm entitled because I love my family?_

"Have you ever loved someone?" Ron asked Snape, who just stared in response. "You have… Tell me, are they dead?"

"Careful" Snape hissed, removing his wand and jabbing it into Ron's neck. "Be. Very. Careful…"

"Tell me, Sir… If you had to choose between the people that you love, or some stranger… Who would you pick?" Ron asked in a calm voice. "Who would you choose to prioritize?" Snape just stared at Ron, half-seething with rage and half-thoughtful. He would chose Lily… He had done it before, and he would do it again.

"You think that I'm entitled because I want my family to live?" Ron continued as he pushed his neck forward, Snape's wand digging into his neck. "You think that I'm arrogant because I don't plan to lose the people that I care about? Fine… I'm both then. I'm not going to apologize for choosing the people that I know over the people that I don't know. Now answer **my** question… Who would you choose to prioritize?" Snape didn't reply however, he simply drew his wand back and sheathed it.

"Let **me** shatter a delusion for **you** " Ron continued, staring right into Snape's eyes. "I will do whatever it takes to keep them safe. This all started for me when I saw my older brother's corpse and the misery that my family was in at the sight of it. I have been in this war **since** **I** **was** **eight** , and I have seen my fair share of corpses. And my family will not join them…" Ron then turned his head and cracked his neck, something that made Snape blink. "I'll **kill** anyone who tries to take them from me. **Anyone** … Now unlock the door…"

Snape just stared at Ron for a few seconds, but Ron didn't even blink. Snape then flicked his hand, unlocking the door with Wandless-Magic. Ron turned around at that, and he left the room without uttering another word.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"The worst is behind you, Ron" Madam Pomfrey said in a gentle voice, trying not to startle him further. Ron had ended up breaking down about how difficult the previous week had been, talking so openly about it made him feel like he was reliving it. Ron had brought up his stress moments, his panic attacks, told Pomfrey that a friend of his had broken his word to Ron, and he had even told Pomfrey about Madam Roberts' teaching methods. "Things will go back to normal now that Xenophilius is back. Your routine will fix itself."

"Are you sure?" Ron sniffled, looking down at his lap. "I still have to go through Madam Roberts' training sessions… I told her that I'm all in, but it's still so daunting… No one else has to go through them… Just me…"

"You have the choice to say no, Ron" Pomfrey said, but Ron knew that he didn't. _I can't keep my promises if I'm weak._ "Do you feel like you don't?"

"Sometimes" Ron replied. "I just feel like I **have** to do this. That I have to be the best… You can't be the best if you don't work harder than your competition."

"Ron, my job is to help you manage your stress" Pomfrey started. "And therefore, I would advise you to stop this training regimen."

"Why?" Ron looked up.

"You are a thirteen year old boy" Pomfrey told him. "Other children your age spend their time pursuing their hobbies. Hobbies like playing Quidditch, gossiping, shopping, eating good food, learning new languages, playing instruments, reading novels… Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"I don't do any of those things" Ron replied, and she nodded with a faint smile.

"Chess was once your hobby, but you've turned that into your job" Pomfrey said. "Tell me truthfully, do you still play Chess for fun?"

"No…" Ron admitted. "I play to win…"

"You are pushing yourself to your limit in every aspect of your life" Pomfrey said, making Ron fidget with his hands. "I know that you feel like you have no choice but to do it, many who aspire to be the best feel that way, but that kind of thinking leads to a burnout."

"What should I do then?" Ron asked.

"I want you to spend more time with your friends" Pomfrey told him. "And when you are at home, I want you to try and get closer to your siblings. Your burdens are isolating you from the people around you, and since we humans are social animals, being isolated is not good for you. We cannot let your brain-damage progress any further, Ron. That should be your only concern."

"I'm seeing my friends today" Ron told her, and she looked pleased about that.

"Good" Pomfrey said. "Enjoy your day with them, and try to not think of your worries. Now… Is there anything else that you'd like to discuss?" _We've been here for just over an hour. She's never let me go overtime before._

"I just need your opinion on something" Ron replied, deciding to get some advice for The Quibbler.

"Of course."

"Have you read The Quibbler before?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly.

"One or two issues, yes…" Pomfrey replied. "Not my cup of tea, if I'm being honest."

"It's too bizarre, isn't it?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "My thoughts exactly… It's filled with nonsense that no one in their right mind can believe, and just like the Daily Prophet, it doesn't take into account the issues that plague our society."

"Are you thinking of becoming a journalist, Ron?" Pomfrey asked with a smile, he had just sounded like a politician. "Or perhaps a politician?"

"Maybe" Ron chuckled, rubbing his eyes clear. "But truth be told, I'm thinking of becoming Xenophilius' partner in publishing The Quibbler."

"You are?" Pomfrey blinked, she was taken completely off-guard. What kind of thirteen year old wanted to own a news outlet?

"He wants to sell it to the Daily Prophet, and in return, they'll give him a steady job" Ron sighed. "The Daily Prophet is rather biased from what I've read… They talk about things like the latest gossip, Quidditch scores, who's in trouble for breaking the Statute of Secrecy… But they haven't said a word about the Werewolf unemployment issue, or Knockturn Alley's sleazy practices. They're not even covering the story about Albania properly. They're just fear-mongering about an upcoming war, but giving no insight into what's actually happening within Albania."

"Ron… Please give me a moment" Pomfrey requested, and Ron just blinked at her. She had no idea where this was coming from, and she wanted some context. "Where is this coming from? You've never mentioned anything like this before."

"I didn't really think about it until recently" Ron admitted. "I… I went to Knockturn Alley…" _She won't tell anyone, I know that for certain._

"You did?" Pomfrey asked, going slightly wide-eyed. "You are far too young to be going to such a place."

"Isn't that part of the problem?" Ron asked, thinking of Lady Longbottom's words. "It's right next to Diagon Alley… And yet, no one does anything to help the people who live there. I… I met a Squib girl there… She was two, maybe three, years older than me… She was an underage prostitute…" Pomfrey drew in a sharp breath, shocked by Ron's venture into Knockturn Alley. "Why does the Daily Prophet choose to report on 'Stylish Wizards' rather than people like her? She might be a Squib, but she shouldn't have to sell her body just to survive…"

"Ron, this is a very complicated issue…" Pomfrey started, but Ron quickly cut in.

"I know that" Ron quickly assured her. "But in the end, it simply boils down to people scratching each other's backs while people like Pricilla are simply forgotten about. It's wrong, and I know that I can't change it overnight, but I just want to do something. Anything… Even if it's something as small as shedding some light on the issue. And not just this issue, but things like hundreds of Werewolves losing their jobs because someone passed some legislation to benefit themselves. Not all Werewolves are bad, some of them might just want to live normal lives… But that's impossible for them now, and all because some woman in the Ministry wants to stand out."

"And you wish to report such issues in The Quibbler" Pomfrey figured, rubbing her forehead. No wonder the boy's stress was getting worse, he spent his time thinking of issues that have plagued the Wizarding World for centuries.

"I didn't even know of these issues until I stumbled upon them by chance" Ron said. "I think that there are thousands of people out there who don't know about these issues, and if they did, they might be inclined to help fix them."

"Partnering with a business is not a simple thing to do Ron, and you are already taxing yourself severely" Pomfrey said. "We just spoke about your ever increasing stress, and if you buy into a business, then you're going to increase that stress tenfold. Not to mention the change in your relationship with Xenophilius if you two become partners. Would he be willing to write about these issues? Who would own more of the shares in The Quibbler? Who would make the decisions that need to be made? While you study at Hogwarts, does Xenophilius take over the business? Have you thought about any of this?"

"I've thought about whether or not he would write about these issues…" Ron replied, thinking about her questions. "But that's all…"

"I think that you should concentrate on your school life, and when you come of age, then you can try and tackle these issues" Pomfrey advised. "Don't be in such a rush to grow up Ron, or you'll miss out on a lot of amazing things that only children can experience." _Is dying horribly in a war one of them?_

"I… understand" Ron mumbled, slightly put off.

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Monday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Nott Manor Gardens – Morning)**_

Theo hated drama… Drama tended to cloud people's judgement, and it often resulted in verbal spats that did nothing to help either party. There was no gain to be had by falling victim to drama, and yet, the girls in the group often tried to find it. **Tracey** tended to find it… At least where he was concerned.

Blaise had sent him a letter the day after he had left Greengrass Manor, informing him that Daphne had taken responsibility and made amends. Theo was glad about that, but he still refused to return. For one, he had missed his father's company. Secondly, his spat with Tracey had left him in a sour mood. And thirdly, her words had been ringing in his head for the last few days. According to Tracey, even thinking about Blood-Purity made you a bigot… which had simply pissed Theo right off.

Theo did think about Blood-Purity. He thought about it every time he saw Granger strut up to Ron, expecting him to give her an audience like she was entitled to it, all the while looking down her nose at the rest of them. He thought about it whenever he saw the Muggle-Borns coo at every piece of new Magic, while not acknowledging the fact that it was probably a Pure-Blood wizard or witch who created said Spell. He thought about it every time he overheard Muggle-Borns poke fun at Wizarding Traditions, as if they could even understand the fact that Wizarding-Kind existing long before they joined it. He thought about it often, and every day. But he never preached his beliefs to others. He kept them to himself, and he didn't try and create drama where there was none.

He never pretended like he had the moral high ground, which is exactly what the Muggle-Borns all over Hogwarts did. If they couldn't understand something, then they simply played the 'Muggle-Born Card'. If their notions of how the World should be were challenged by traditions that were centuries older than them, then everyone who believed in those traditions was a 'bigot'. If you didn't take time out of your day to approach them, then you were 'cold and alienating'. Instead of appreciating the World that they were now a part of, they sought to change it to their old one. They were happy to ignore **what** **was** in favor of creating what **helped** **them** feel more at home, and that irked Theo greatly.

Theo wasn't an idiot, of course. He understood that people like Malfoy, who openly bullied and spewed propaganda everywhere, fed the Muggle-Borns' victimhood complex. Which is why he kept his beliefs to himself. If something bothered him, he avoided it. If some Muggle-Born wanted to make him understand how special **they** were, much like Granger and her constant need to show off, he simply ignored them. Hell, he did these things with anyone. Including his own friends.

And yet, he couldn't ignore Tracey's words. She had looked like she was in genuine pain when they had fought, and despite his best attempts, Theo couldn't stop feeling guilty. He himself didn't care about her Blood-Status. Truth be told, none of them did. Sure, Pansy used to act superior to Tracey constantly. But that was before Ron had shown up and stirred everything up. Pansy now cared about Tracey, and she respected Tracey's opinions. The only person who didn't respect Tracey's opinions… was Tracey herself.

Tracey was so damn insecure about being the only Half-Blood amongst them that she constantly thought about it, Theo was certain of this. And the worst thing was that Half-Bloods weren't even looked down upon. At least not as much as the Muggle-Borns were, but as Theo knew, most Muggle-Borns set themselves up to be hated. Why would anyone care about a group of people who constantly tried to discredit traditions that they didn't even bother to try and understand?

Theo genuinely liked Tracey, and he even wanted to try and understand her better. But the girl was hell-bent on bringing up her imagined shortcomings, and Theo would often be the first person that she released her frustrations on. And why? Because he thought like a 'bigot'… _This is why plants are better than people. They don't call me and my father bigots simply because we believe in the Old Ways._

"Son, drink this" came his father's voice, and Theo turned to see his father holding a glass of cold lemonade. Theo stood up, his clothes covered in dirt, and he took the glass with a smile. As Theo drank down the cold beverage, his father ruffled his hair. "It's far too early for a boy your age to be toiling in the dirt, don't you think?"

"The Gardens are in a sorry state, father" Theo replied, feeling much cooler already.

"The Elves kept them in proper order, you're simply too hard to please" Nott Snr chuckled. As Theo finished his drink, his father looked around the Gardens with a proud look. Iris would be so proud of their son, he had her green-thumb.

"I'm hard to please?" Theo smirked, and his father chuckled again. "How many merchants have you berated in public for selling 'subpar wine'?"

"Mind your cheek, son" Nott Snr said, failing to hide his amusement. "Now hand over that glass so I can send it back to the kitchens." Theo did as he was told, and his father banished the glass with a flick of his wand. _Why didn't he just send a servant?_

"Do you have something on your mind, father?" Theo asked, noticing that none of the Elves were around.

"Sharp as always" his father stated. "I've been thinking of hosting a party here, we haven't hosted any of our allies for a long time."

"Too long."

"Exactly" Nott Snr gave a curt nod. "I wanted to let you know so you could invite your friends. It's important that they see the power that you will one day wield."

"Trying to intimidate my friends, father?" Theo chuckled, sitting back down in order to tend to his Dragon-Flowers. _My friends? Does that include Tracey and Ron?_

"Not intimidate my son, just impress" his father replied, watching Theo work with flowers with a soft smile.

"Am I allowed to invite them all?" Theo asked, feeling slightly tense all of a sudden.

"You are referring to the Half-Blood and the Blood-Traitor, aren't you?" his father asked, and Theo tensed even more. _Their names are Tracey and Ron._ "You may invite the Half-Blood, but her parents will not sully our home. As for the Blood-Traitor…" Nott Snr drew in a deep breath. "I want you to limit your contact with him." _What?_ Theo turned around and looked up to his father, but the old wizard had a stern look on his face.

"Father, I have told you of his power…" Theo started, but Nott Snr cut him off by raising his hand.

"Theodore, you can find better allies than him" his father told him. "Choosing a Blood-Traitor over the Malfoy heir was foolish, but there is still time to fix your mistake." _Ron isn't a mistake… He's my friend…_

"Draco Malfoy is a moron, one that is looked down upon within our House" Theo stated. "He is entitled, arrogant, and he refuses to change."

"Then make friends with older students" Nott Snr sighed, he hated arguing with his son. "As for Malfoy… Their Family's power lies outside of Hogwarts. What will the Weasley brat offer you once you all graduate?"

"Father… Please…" Theo stood up, he truly didn't want to lose Ron's friendship. "If you meet him, you will see that he is nothing like you imagine him to be. He is clever, and he has a habit of making powerful allies. He has even received a letter from Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons."

"The Headmistress?" Nott Snr blinked, and Theo nodded sharply.

"He turned her into his ally, even after what happened in the Junior League Chess Tournament" Theo said. "Please don't make me cast him aside… He is too valuable to me at Hogwarts. And… And he is my friend." Father and son stared at each other for a few moments, and then Nott Snr turned to leave. _No…_

"He will not come here, and that is final" his father ordered. "But you may keep him as your 'friend'… for now. However, I expect you to start finding 'friends' who are worthy of your name. Is that understood?"

"I… I understand, father…" Theo replied, frowning at his feet. Nott Snr left for the Manor at that, leaving Theo behind with an ever darkening mood. Theo sat back down and began working with his Dragon-Flowers again, his good mood spoiled. _Why can't people be like plants? Why does everyone feel the need to create drama when there is no need for it? And I don't want new friends. I like the ones that I have now. Even if one of them thinks that I'm a 'bigot'._ Theo let out a tired sigh, why wouldn't Tracey's words leave his mind?

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Morning)**_

Ron closed in on the door that led to the Gardens, excited to spend some time with the girls. Blaise had left for his own house, which was a shame, but Ron understood that he was the one who hadn't spent a week at Greengrass Manor. Blaise no doubt missed writing his poetry, the thought made Ron snigger. Ron pushed the large door open, and he immediately spotted the girls having tea on the balcony.

"I'm here for my free haircut!" Ron announced, and the girls all looked to him with slightly surprised looks. Tori beamed at the sight of him, Pansy and Millie smiled at seeing him again, and Daphne… _What the hell? Her hair!_ Daphne sat there with a startled look, her hair no longer parted down the middle and framing her face. Instead, her hair was longer and parted from the right side. Instead of her hair framing her face, it was tucked neatly behind her ears and ran down her back. _I like it… But then again, I think I'd like her in any hairstyle. Unless she was bald… Bald Daphne would give me nightmares._

"Come and join us, Ron" Millie called him over, and he nodded dumbly. Ron slowly made his way over to a free seat, staring at Daphne as she stared back at him. She looked completely out of sorts, her cheeks turning rosy. This is not how she wanted to show him her new hairstyle, a hairstyle that a lot of effort had gone into.

"I like your new hairstyle" Ron admitted, smiling a little. "You look very pretty…" Ron bit his tongue, that wasn't supposed to come out until they were alone. _Dumb fuck, are you trying to get caught?_

"Thank you" Daphne said, taking a sip of her tea in order to hide her flushing face behind a teacup. Millie just smirked at Ron, while Pansy resisted the urge to start grinning.

"Would you like some tea, Ron?" Tori asked, trying not to shoot a dirty look at her sister.

"Um… Yes, please" Ron nodded, breaking out of his surprise. _I can stare when we're alone._ Tori poured him a cup, and then passed the cup over to him.

"Sugar?" Pansy hummed, smiling widely at Ron.

"No thanks, not allowed to have sugar" Ron replied, taking a sip of his bitter tea. _Tastes gross. I should have declined Tori's offer._

"Is that because of your training regimen?" Daphne asked, regaining her composure. So what if her surprise had been ruined? He had still called her 'very pretty', and that counted as a win in her books.

"It is" Ron replied. "No sugar, lots of vegetables, topped off nicely with some crippling depression." The girls giggled at that, and Ron took the opportunity to scan Daphne's face again. _Her hair used to hide her amazing cheeks bones. They suit her nicely._

"But it'll make you powerful, so it'll be worth it in my opinion" Millie stated. "I've been thinking Ron, and I think I'd like to join you for your morning runs at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Ron looked to her, and she nodded. "Great, the more the merrier. We usually slip out at around six in the morning."

"Great" Millie smiled, and Ron smiled back. _Why can't they all be like Millie? Out of us all, she's improved the most over the last two years._

"Millie, running isn't very…" Pansy started, but Millie just rolled her eyes at Pansy.

"I don't want to be 'ladylike', I want to be a powerful witch" Millie said firmly. _That's what I like to hear!_

"You girls can also join us" Ron suggested, looking to Daphne.

"No" Daphne and Pansy said together.

"Running is only useful if you're trying to get away from the scene of a crime you've committed" Tori sniggered, earning wary looks from the others. _Little monster._ "Are you spending the day here, Ron?"

"I am" Ron nodded. "Pansy and Millie missed me terribly."

"You wish" Millie snorted.

"I did miss you, Ron" Pansy admitted. "Now hurry up and finish your tea, I want to tidy up your hair as soon as possible."

"Alright" Ron said, drinking his tea down in one go. "By the way, where are Lord and Lady Greengrass?"

"They left to meet some friends" Daphne replied. _Friends?_ "Though father seemed to be dragging his feet for some reason." _Odd._

* * *

 _ **Monday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (Greengrass Manor Gardens – Late Afternoon)**_

"We should play hide and seek!" Tori announced.

"Hide and seek?" Pansy asked. "I haven't played that since I was eight."

"I'll pass" Millie said, her eyes fixed on her book. _A book on Boxing. Millie sure knows how to irritate Pansy._

"It's so much fun though" Tori urged them, she hated that they were just lazing about. Daphne was talking to Ron and Pansy, Millie was just reading her book, and this left Tori feeling excluded. "Tell them Daphne" Tori said, looking at her sister with a pleading look.

"It is fun" Daphne admitted. "You're allowed to hide anywhere in the Gardens, and the person who is searching can ask the Fairies for help."

"That does sound fun" Ron said. "I haven't spoken to Fairies before."

"So can we play? Please?" Tori asked, looking to Millie. "I don't get to play with other people often…" _Tori…_

"We can play" Millie quickly put her book down, while Daphne fought the urge to gape at her sister's manipulative nature.

"Ron can search for us" Pansy suggested.

"Why me?" Ron asked.

"You're the only boy here" Daphne smirked, earning a deadpan look from Ron. _Blatant discrimination._

"If you get caught, you have to come and wait back here" Tori announced, and then she ran off towards the Greenhouses. The girls giggled at Tori's excitement, and after giving Ron a smirk each, they too ran off. _What the hell?_

* * *

 _ **One Hundred Seconds Later**_

Ron stopped counting, and then he began his hunt. Unfortunately for the girls, none of them had stated that he couldn't use Magic. And he just happened to have his wand on his person. Ron grinned in an evil manner, and then he cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. _Ready or not, here I come._

He had seen Tori run off towards the Greenhouses, and so he decided to start there first. He planned to use his 'invisibility' as a means to make the girls think that they were safe because he 'wasn't around'. So when they tried to move spots, he'd simply catch them out. He had played this game often enough with his siblings, so he knew just how difficult it was to stay in one spot for too long.

As Ron got closer to the Greenhouses, he started spotting bright green Fairies darting about. They were 'chirping' animatedly, and Ron could tell that they were excited about something. _Should I talk to them? I'd have to break my Disillusionment Charm._ The Fairies suddenly looked in his direction and began 'chirping' more loudly, some of them even pointing fingers at him. _Wait… They can see me?_

"A hidden young boy comes to find our Princess" a Fairy sang into his right ear, and Ron took a step away from her. _They can see me! How?!_

"How can you see me?" Ron whispered, sounding rather shocked and panicked.

"We see your Magic" the green Fairy sang, while the others began darting about again. "It is evil, and it reeks of pain." Ron froze at that, just staring at the Fairy with a 'hidden' dumb look. _Evil?_

"Evil?" Ron whispered, his heartbeat rising.

"A void… One filled with light… How odd…" the Fairy flew circles around him before perching herself on his right shoulder. "Darkness looms over you, we see it." _Void? Darkness? Is she referring to the Entity? Oh fuck!_

"I… I don't know what you mean…" Ron muttered, feeling an urge to grab the Fairy and crush her in his hands. _She'll tell them… She'll tell the Greengrasses…_

"You made our Princess laugh, we saw it" the Fairy sang, ignoring Ron's increasing dread. "You adored our light, we saw it. Your scars burden you, we saw it." Ron jerked awake, and he tried to grab the Fairy. But she was too quick…

"You were spying on us?" Ron hissed, snarling at the little green tart.

"You were in our home, we simply watched over you and our Princess" the Fairy sang, spinning circles around Ron again. "Scars are just flesh, do not let them upset you."

"Don't talk like you know me" Ron glared at her, slowly reaching for his wand. "And my scars are none of your concern."

"Anger is poison" the Fairy sang, perching onto his right shoulder again. "Your wrath… You can get lost in it…" The Fairy then kissed his right ear lobe, making him flinch. _What the fuck?!_ "A good soul, I can taste it. We will help you find them."

"I don't need your help" Ron said, shooing her away with his hand.

"Very well" the Fairy sang. "Come back to us if you ever lose your way." With that, the Fairy flew off to join her kin. _Why did she sound so cryptic just then? Damn creeps, watching Daphne and me like that. Wait… She knows about us. They all do. What if they tell Mary?!_ Ron looked around himself, eyeballing the Fairies who were happily minding their own business.

Ron quickly moved into a Greenhouse, eager to get away from the Fairies. _What the fuck was that about my Magic anyway? Evil? Reeks of pain? Did she sense the Entity? Or was she referring to me?_ Ron frowned deeply at the thought, he wasn't a bad person. _It has to be the Entity. I'm not evil. She said that I had a good soul, whatever the fuck that means._ Ron quickly began looking about the Greenhouse, keen to leave this area as soon as possible.

Just as he was about to give up on this location, he saw a little blonde head pop out from beneath a table. Astoria slid out from behind thick pots, looking around with a gleeful look. _Well hello there, little bunny._ Ron quickly pushed the Fairies out of his thoughts, and he watched Tori tiptoe towards him. He had an inkling to scare her, but he decided to hold back. _She might lead me to other great hiding spots, and then I'll catch them all out._ Tori walked right past Ron, who was just grinning at her as he stayed dead still.

Once Tori was a little further away from him, he began following her slowly. The little blonde was giggling to herself as she tried to keep an eye out for Ron, something that Ron found rather adorable. The little green Fairies began 'chirping' loudly when they saw her, flying around her and planting kisses on her face.

"No…" Tori laughed. "I'm trying to hide, and you'll give me away." _Too late._ Ron spotted some of the Fairies looking at him, and then laughing at Astoria, but he simply ignored them. Tori certainly didn't seem to catch on, she was too busy being coddled by them. Tori then began sneaking towards the flower-beds, and Ron kept up his pursuit. Just as they were making their way towards a large shed, Ron spotted Pansy sneaking towards it from another direction. _That makes two._

"Tori?" Pansy called out in a hushed voice.

"Pansy, what are you doing here?" Tori asked, barely keeping her voice in check.

"Daphne already took the maze" Pansy replied, and Ron smiled from ear to ear. _That makes three. Daphne is probably trying to get to the center of the maze. She wants me to work hard in order to catch her._

"Well, I'm taking this shed" Tori said, and Pansy pouted.

"Tori, we can just share" Pansy said. "Don't you want to cuddle together with your big sister Pansy?"

"Fine, but don't make a sound" Tori relented. "I want to win, and if you ruin that, I'll make you pay."

"Scary" Pansy giggled. _You should be scared. Theo can attest to that._ Both girls then made their way towards the shed, with Ron following behind them. He closed the distance between them, syncing his footsteps to theirs. _Maybe Pansy or Tori know where Millie is as well. I'll wait for now._ As they entered the shed, Ron snuck in as well.

"Should we close the door?" Pansy asked.

"No, it was open before we came in" Tori replied. "If he saw it already, and we close it, then he'll know someone is in here."

"Clever" Pansy said. "Now, where do we hide?"

"Behind those barrels" Tori pointed out several large barrels. The girls quickly made their way over to them, crouching behind them snugly. Ron simply stared at them, doing his best not to make a sound. _Tell me where Millie is, I plan to win this._ "Don't make a sound, Pansy."

"I won't" Pansy chuckled, surprised to see that Tori was so competitive. Both girls sat in silence for around thirty seconds, and Ron began to lose his patience. That is until Tori reached over and squeezed Pansy's right breast. _WOAH!_ "Tori! What was that?!" Pansy exclaimed, and Tori shushed her.

"Why are yours smaller than my sister's?" Tori asked, and Ron bit his tongue. _Don't fucking laugh. Don't do it!_ Pansy flushed immediately, covering her chest with her hands.

"Every girl has their own size…" Pansy mumbled, her cheeks turning scarlet. "And you shouldn't squeeze them… They're sensitive…" _I did not need to hear that. Time to put an end to this before Tori further embarrasses Pansy. But… I think I'll embarrass her a bit myself. She was rather cheeky yesterday._

"I didn't know that they were sensitive" Ron said, and both girls stilled. Pansy and Tori then began looking around, their eyes widening. Ron suddenly broke his Disillusionment Charm, and both girls shrieked so loudly that he had to cover his ears.

"RON?!" Pansy yelled, and then her eyes widened even more. She had just said something very embarrassing, and Ron had heard her.

"You can't use Magic!" Tori stood up with a frown. "That's cheating!"

"You never said that I couldn't use Magic" Ron smirked at Tori, and he grinned at Pansy. "You have to specify the rules, otherwise it's your own fault. Right, Pansy?"

"Merlin…" Pansy mumbled, her hands still covering her developing chest. Ron looked down at them, and she shrieked as she turned around and hunched over, hiding her head between her legs.

"HAHAHA!" Ron bellowed, ignoring Pansy muttering to herself about suicide. "That's two!" Ron then turned around and marched out of the shed with Tori hot on his tail.

"You cheated!" Tori accused, sounding rather whiny. Ron turned to face her, and he pinched her cheeks with a massive grin on his face.

"We Slytherins use whatever tools we have at our disposal, and if our opponents slip up, we take advantage of that" Ron told her, and she crossed her arms. "As long as you're not endangering other people, feel free to do as you please."

"Find Daphne next…" Tori muttered, pouting miserably. "She's in the…"

"Maze, I know" Ron smirked. "Why do you want me to find her next?"

"I don't want her to win" Tori huffed.

"Because you didn't?" Ron asked, slightly taken aback by Tori's request. Tori stuck her nose up at Ron's words, looking away from him. "I'll see what I can do." With that, Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself again.

"Woah!" Tori suddenly laughed, clapping her hands at seeing Ron just vanish. "That's so cool!" _She goes from being upset to being so excited in a heartbeat. Adorable._ Ron pinched her cheeks again, making her giggle as she reached out for his face. Ron didn't let her find his face however, instead he let go of her cheeks and left for the maze. "Find my sister first!" Tori called out.

Once he was at the maze's entrance, he drew in a deep breath and stretched. _Time to find the center. Daphne may have already found it, and if she has, then this might take some time._ Ron suddenly heard some leaves crunching from his right, and he looked to see Millie walking towards the entrance. _Thank you Merlin!_ As Millie got closer to him, Ron broke the Disillusionment Charm.

"Oh fuck!" Millie yelled, jerking away from Ron and nearly falling over. Ron began laughing hysterically, whereas Millie failed to try and control her breathing. "Ron, what the hell? You're cheating!"

"No one said that I couldn't use Magic, and you know the Slytherin code" Ron shrugged.

"Use any means to get ahead…" Millie grunted, frowning deeply.

"I've never heard you swear before" Ron grinned. "It was refreshing."

"Shut up" Millie huffed, making Ron snigger. "Who else have you caught?"

"Pansy and Tori" Ron replied, looking back into the maze. "Just one person left."

"I'm going to go read my book" Millie said, leaving for the balcony.

"You **nearly** won!" Ron called out, and she stomped off with a faster pace. _Ha! Just Daphne left now._ Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he began his journey to the center of the maze.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

It was easier to navigate the maze when he wasn't running. He had time to map out familiar routes in his mind, not to mention asking for directions from the purple Fairies. They had been frightened of him, mostly due to his 'evil' Magic, but they had helped him along nonetheless. Ron in turn had been polite to them, even giving them a forced smile. And before long, he was standing at the entrance of the center.

He smiled widely when he saw Daphne, her back facing him. She was speaking to the golden mermaid on top of the fountain, and they were not conversing in English. _Is that French? I think it's French._ Ron walked up to her slowly, not making a single sound along the way. Daphne let out a cute laugh at a joke that the mermaid made, and Ron's smile widened. _Cute._ He stopped right behind her, gazing at her long hair which was nestled between her shoulder blades. _It wasn't this long the last time I saw her._

Ron flicked the end of her hair up, and Daphne turned around with a startled look. She looked around herself, her right hand traveling to her back. _There's no one here._ The golden statue asked her a question, and Daphne replied as she looked back to it. _Maybe I should learn French. Pomfrey did say that I don't have any real hobbies, and Daphne could teach me._ Ron blew air on Daphne's left ear, and she turned around again.

"Ron…" Daphne said, relaxing immediately. "Show yourself." _Not yet._ Ron moved to her right, and then he ran his index finger through her hair. She let out a giggle as she tried to grab him, but he jumped back in time. "Stop being scared, I won't hurt you. I might even reward you for finding me." _Bribery, eh?_ As Daphne took a step in his direction, Ron circled around her. _Should I hug her from behind? I've done it once, back at my house, but I had the Calming Draught helping me a bit. She didn't mind the last time…_

"Gloria won't tell anyone" Daphne said, and Ron looked to the golden statue. It was smiling at Daphne, and Ron found himself amused at the fact that Daphne was friends with a statue made of gold. "She saw us during our stroll, and she's promised to keep our secret to herself." _Is that so? More bloody witnesses._ Ron decided to trust Daphne, and he hugged her from behind. Daphne squealed for a moment, and then she quickly grabbed his hands. "Got you!"

"That's my line" Ron chuckled, his Disillusionment Charm breaking as he relaxed his mind. "I love your new hairstyle."

"Really?" Daphne asked, snuggling her back into his chest. _She didn't mind!_

"I do" Ron admitted, bending over and putting his chin on her left shoulder.

"Good, I changed it to impress you" Daphne admitted, not feeling the need to hide that due to her success. "You called me 'very pretty' in front of everyone."

"I know, I couldn't hold it back" Ron said, amused by the fact that she felt the need to impress him. "Did you grow it using Magic?"

"Mother helped me, though she thinks that I just wanted to change my hair" Daphne replied. "And Pansy styled it for me."

"Can we kiss near this statue?" Ron whispered in Daphne's ear.

"Her name is Gloria, and she won't tell a soul" Daphne replied, turning her head and planting a quick kiss on his lips. "She saw us sneaking around at night, and she saw us holding hands. She also saw me kiss your scar. Let me introduce you to her." _Was the statue pretending to be asleep? Or did we wake it by talking?_ Ron let go of Daphne at that, and he turned to face the smiling statue. "Ronald, this is Gloria. Gloria, meet Ronald."

"Ah, jeune amour!" the mermaid said, her voice was oddly pleasant considering that she was a statue.

"Um… A pleasure to meet you" Ron gave a polite bow, and so he missed Daphne gesturing the mermaid to not say anything else.

"She only speaks French, but she can understand us perfectly" Daphne told him. "Mother Charmed her to be this way. Gloria served as my French tutor for a while, but that ended when my father learned that I had made friends with Gloria. She and I wouldn't really study, instead she'd play her harp for me while I practiced dancing."

"You dance?" Ron smiled.

"I do" Daphne replied. _I really have no hobbies, do I? Oh well… I don't have time to waste anyway._

"Thank you for not telling anyone about us" Ron looked back to the golden mermaid, and she smiled down at them in response.

"Am I the last one?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "I win!"

"You won amongst the girls, but I won the whole thing" Ron corrected her, but she just poked her tongue out at him. _Wow. I would pay to watch her do that in public. The Ice-Queen acting so… emotional. It would make quite the scene._ "Also… The Fairies saw us too."

"I know…" Daphne sighed. "But they won't tell anyone. Not even my mother."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Is it because you're their 'Princess'?"

"They just call me and Astoria that" Daphne snorted. "The Fae serve a Queen, and they've begun to see my mother as their Queen. They lost their own Queen right before they moved here."

"I've kissed a Fairy Princess?" Ron chuckled, and Daphne smacked his stomach.

"Stop it" she giggled, and then she began rubbing her hand. "Why is your stomach so hard? I poked it at the Burrow, and I nearly broke my finger."

"I'm in good shape" Ron grinned.

"Arrogance doesn't suit you" Daphne smirked.

"It's not arrogance if it's fact" Ron shrugged, he had worked hard enough to be a little arrogant. "Shall we head back?"

"Hmmm, no" Daphne declined, a sly smiled appearing on her face.

"Daph… It's the middle of the day" Ron said, tensing slightly as she put her arms around his lower back. "Anyone could walk in…"

"Three kisses only, I promise."

* * *

 _ **Monday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

"You're back!" Molly said, sounding a little too relieved.

"Where were you all day?" Ginny asked him. "I was so bored…"

"Sorry Gin, but I was spending some time with my friends" Ron told her, taking his seat on the dinner table.

"Welcome home, son" Arthur said, looking away from his paper for just long enough to give Ron a smile.

"How was your day, dad?" Ron asked.

"We confiscated an enchanted car" Arthur replied, and the children sniggered.

"Enchanted car…" Molly grumbled, shooting a frown at her husband.

"Mollywobbles" Arthur sighed. "I've told you already, it's perfectly legal for me to have the Ford Anglia. I put that in the legislation."

"It was a very criminal thing to do" Molly began lecturing.

"Don't you mean clever?" Ron whispered to himself, but everyone heard him. _I do love the taste of my own feet, don't I?_ Molly and Arthur just gave Ron odd looks, while the twins and Ginny seemed to agree with Ron. Percy, on the other hand, was most displeased.

"You shouldn't cheat the Ministry like that, father" Percy told Arthur, earning an approving smile from his mother.

"It's too bad the Ministry doesn't mind cheating its people" Ron stated, making his plate of food. "They'd rather report on the 'most stylish wizard' than the slums of Knockturn Alley…" _I wonder if Pricilla ate anything today. It's pretty cold out too… Bloody hell, why am I doing this to myself?_

"No politics on the dinner table" Molly said quickly, sensing an argument coming. She then looked to Ron with a worried look, and then she looked to her husband who was just staring at Ron.

"A letter came for you today" Ginny broke the silence, looking between Ron and her parents. "It was from Harry… You're invited to Neville and Harry's joined birthday party on Friday the thirty-first of July. It's at Longbottom Manor."

"You read my letter?" Ron looked up, losing his humor completely.

"N… No…" Ginny lied.

"Don't ever do it again" Ron told her, annoyed at her for invading his privacy in such a manner. _I'd never do something like that to her, why can't she show me the same respect?_

"We're also invited" the twins piped in. "Well, all of us children except for Percy."

"I'm not a child" Percy frowned at the twins, who just rolled their eyes at him.

"Can't you children just get along for one dinner?" Molly asked them, and the twins shook their heads. "Arthur…"

"No more arguing children" Arthur said, shooting another look at Ron. They all began eating in silence, and Ron made sure to put a lot of vegetables on his plate.

"Anything else happen at the Ministry today, father?" Percy asked suddenly, eager to hear about his future workplace.

"Pius Thicknesse won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw today" Arthur shrugged. "But not much else…"

"Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw?" Ron asked. "How many Galleons?"

"Seven hundred" Arthur replied, taking a rather large bite of his steak. _They have seven hundred Galleons to just throw away? Subscription costs only one Knut, so how do they have so much money?_

"Bribery is a powerful tool" Blaise's voice rang through Ron's head, making him look back down at his plate with a dark look. _If they spent even half that amount on the poor folk of Knockturn Alley, they could change a lot of lives._

"How much does it cost to print newspapers or magazines, dad?" Ron asked, earning multiple confused looks.

"Not much…" Arthur replied slowly, lowering his fork. "You pay a printing company a certain amount of money for a certain amount of papers, and then you hope to sell enough copies to turn a profit."

"And every Wizarding family has a subscription to the Daily Prophet, which in turn helps them turn a profit" Ron nodded, the gears in his brain turning. _If Xeno and I get a larger reader base, we'll make far more money than the initial cost of printing. He could have an increased income, and I'd be able to do something to spread the word about key issues. Issues like the upcoming war, or even just the fact that there are hundreds of pissed off Werewolves lurking about due to the Ministry's inner politics._ Ron ate his dinner in silence that night, and then he spent a majority of his night reading his old textbooks and thinking of new ideas to pitch to Xeno.

* * *

 _ **Friday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **July, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Mid Afternoon)**_

A pack of Weasley's came rolling out of the fireplace, each of them dressed completely differently. Ginny was wearing a brand new sleeveless dress, curtesy of Molly Weasley. The twins were wearing casual clothes, not really interested in their appearance. And Ron was wearing freshly cleaned black velvet robes. The twins had been calling him their 'Lord Brother' from the moment they saw him, but Ron didn't take it as an insult. That only served to irk them, much to Ron's delight.

"Welcome to Longbottom Manor" Lady Longbottom greeted them, and Ron saw Neville standing beside her with a polite smile. _No Harry? That's fair I suppose, it's not his house. But it is his party…_

"Thank you for having us over, Lady Longbottom" Ron bowed respectfully, and then he presented her with another bottle of Sherry. "A gift from my Family for hosting us all." _A gift from me, to be more specific._

"I thank your Family for their polite gesture" Lady Longbottom gave a thin-lipped smile, taking the Sherry from Ron. It was the same one that he had gotten her last time, something that pleased her greatly.

"Welcome to the party, you guys" Neville greeted them all.

"Thanks for having us over, mate" Fred said.

"We have not come empty handed" George gave Neville a wink, something that made Neville smile widely. The twins had gotten Harry and Neville their own presents, while Ginny and Ron had come together to buy Harry and Neville's presents as a team. Ron had payed, while Ginny had picked out the gifts. Harry was going to get a professional broom cleaning set, while Neville would be getting a box fitted with every gardening tool available.

"Please, feel free to join the others" Lady Longbottom gestured them towards the Living Room. "My nephew will join you shortly." They all nodded, and then began making their way towards the party. Ron's fears had come true the moment they all entered the Living Room, which was filled with people from the other Houses. _Not a single Slytherin in sight._

"Guess you'll be spending your time by yourself, my Lord" Fred whispered to Ron.

"Try not to pull any sneaky acts" George sniggered.

"Ron will be with me" Ginny huffed, grabbing Ron's arm and dragging him towards the gift pile. Once they put their presents down, Ron turned to Ginny with a smile.

"I'll be fine, Gin" Ron told her. "I'll just spend my time with Harry, Neville, and Hermione."

"And me" Ginny added. _Of course. Why wouldn't she want to hover near the Boy-Who-Lived?_

"Alright" Ron said, deciding not to ruin her night by telling her to 'act normal' around Harry. _That would just be hurtful. She's been really excited for this party._

"Ron!" came Hermione's voice, and Ron turned in time to be hugged by the studious witch. "And Ginny!" Hermione then hugged Ginny as well, who gave Ron a confused look over the girl's shoulder. _Hermione is hugging people so openly? Why?_

"Hello, Hermione" Ron said as she turned to face him. "You're certainly in a cheery mood."

"Oh…" Hermione muttered, losing her enthusiasm. "Was it too much? Sirius told me to be approachable… He said that people like it when you're enthusiastic and spontaneous."

"Yeah… You shouldn't listen to him" Ron chuckled, making Hermione smile a little. "Sirius is one of a kind, I'd say."

"I love your dress" Ginny piped in, looking at Hermione long pink dress. _She's wearing a dress again. I don't know why, but this look doesn't really suit her. It looks… forced…_

"Thank you, Ginny" Hermione said. "I also love your dress." _Yep, she sounds like she has no clue about dresses. I guess we have that in common._ Ron took the opportunity to look around, and he noticed Sirius having a chat with Harry nearby.

"I'll be right back, excuse me" Ron said, breaking away from the two girls. Ginny did her best to not look annoyed, she didn't want to be left alone with Hermione. All Hermione did was talk about books, and the Muggle World. Ginny didn't even know how to talk to her.

"What are you two conspiring about?" Ron asked, and both Harry and Sirius looked to him with smiles. Sirius' smile looked joyful, while Harry's looked like one of relief.

"I was just telling Harry here that he should spend some time introducing himself to the witches at this gathering" Sirius chuckled, patting Harry on the back.

"Sirius… These are my friends…" Harry groaned as he looked around. "Alright, some of them are my friends… More like acquaintances, really." _The Golden Trio is an exclusive club, isn't it?_

"Don't be shy, Harry" Sirius said firmly. "This is your party, and you have to be a good host… Now go and find yourself a witch to talk to."

"I'll be with Hermione and Ginny" Harry told Ron, eager to get away from Sirius. _My sister?! You fucking cunt!_ Harry quickly left to join the two girls, while Ron eyed Sirius.

"Happy now?" Ron asked. "Now he's going to go flirt with my sister."

"I hope so…" Sirius said, looking at Harry with a smile.

"Then you can take him home in a body bag" Ron frowned, glaring at Harry's back.

"Relax, pup" Sirius chuckled. "Harry is a little too shy to do that. It's odd considering how tough he is… But Harry has trouble talking to girls."

"He is best friends with one" Ron stated.

"Hermione is more like a sister to him" Sirius shrugged. "Plus, I don't think that she knows what flirting is." _I can believe that._

"Thank you" Ron said suddenly, deciding to put Harry out of his mind for now.

"For what?" Sirius asked, looking to Ron with a slightly confused look.

"For helping Xeno the way you did" Ron replied. "I'm truly grateful, Sirius. Thank you."

"Don't think on it" Sirius smiled, giving Ron's shoulder a squeeze. "Bloody hell, kid… You're shoulders are too tense."

"I stress a lot" Ron grinned.

"Not funny" Sirius said. "I know a place in Diagon Alley that gives great massages, we should go there together."

"Massages?" Ron asked.

"Yes, massages… from beautiful witches" Sirius grinned.

"Pass" Ron told him, making Sirius frown slightly. "Is Remus not here?"

"No…" Sirius clicked his tongued. "He's… recovering."

"I understand" Ron nodded. "Sirius, what's Remus doing for work?"

"Pardon?"

"What's Remus doing for work?" Ron repeated. "The Werewolf Legislation is probably causing him a lot of problems, right?"

"Of course you know about" Sirius shook his head. "Don't worry about Remus, pup. That man is the toughest bastard that you will ever meet. He won't let something like a stupid legislation get in his way. Now, instead of discussing politics with me, why don't you follow my Godson's example and flirt with someone?" _Flirt?_ Ron turned to see Harry talking to Ginny, who was listening to him with a content smile.

"Cocksucker…" Ron grit out, making Sirius bark out a laugh.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron had noticed that people were looking at him warily. Mostly those looks came from people who he had never really spoken to, but even some people from his study group were shooting looks at him. Ron figured that it was because he was the only Slytherin here, so he decided to let it go. He was the odd one out, and if he made a scene about it, he'd ruin everyone's fun. _This is Harry and Neville's birthday party, and Neville is my 'eternal friend'. I won't ruin this for him, no matter what happens._

"Sorry about them" Neville whispered to him, they were both standing with Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. "They're just wary of you because you beat up McLaggen on the train."

"I see" Ron nodded in understanding.

"Some of them believe that you were angry about losing the House-Cup, and so you attacked a Gryffindor as a way of getting revenge" Neville sighed.

"Wow…" Ron rolled his eyes.

"What are you two whispering about?" Hermione asked them with narrowed eyes.

"We were just saying that you look good… Tulip" Ron smirked, making Hermione gape. Neville and Harry held back their sniggers, while Ginny looked between Ron and Hermione.

"Ron, don't be mean to other people" Ginny told him off.

"It was a compliment" Ron assured her, and Neville and Harry began laughing.

"I'm going to go get some more juice" Hermione muttered, quickly leaving the group.

"See what you did" Ginny glared at him, and then she followed after Hermione.

"She's not actually upset, is she?" Ron asked Harry and Neville.

"Probably" Harry sniggered.

"Or maybe not" Neville shrugged.

"Helpful…" Ron said in a deadpan voice.

"Yeah… We try to not make jokes at her expense" Neville told Ron. "Sometimes she laughs them off, but sometimes she takes things to heart." _Oh… noted._

"So you guys don't banter?" Ron asked.

"Neville and I banter sometimes" Harry replied. "But we don't usually try to poke fun at each other. Do you banter a lot with your friends?"

"Constantly" Ron replied. _One wrong move, or one stupid remark, and that's it… Everyone is going to take the piss out of you. No one is safe._ "Keeps you on your toes" Ron chuckled.

"Merlin…" Neville suddenly muttered, noticing his Gran eyeing him critically. "I should go and socialize properly, otherwise my Gran will kill me. Let's go meet more people."

"That's fair" Harry sent a sheepish smile at Lady Longbottom.

"Give me a minute, I'll join you after" Ron said, deciding to talk to the old witch. _She could give me great advice on my Quibbler problem._

"Alright mate, we'll be with the others" Neville said, and they parted ways. Ron approached Lady Longbottom, who was standing with Sirius. _He looks miserable._

"Is the party to your liking, Ronald?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"It is, Lady Longbottom" Ron replied truthfully. _Sure, I'm the odd one out… But I'm still enjoying myself._ "I was hoping to talk to you about something that is on my mind."

"I'll give you two your privacy" Sirius excused himself, eager to get away from the stern woman. She had been lecturing him about getting a wife, and telling him that a Lord needed a Lady to keep him 'honest'. Sirius hated being honest… And he hated being called a 'Lord'. Sirius left them and headed straight for the food table, grateful to Ron for the save.

"That man needs to grow up" Lady Longbottom remarked, frowning at Sirius' back. "He has a child now, and that should be his only priority." _I'd really rather not comment on that. I like Sirius the way he is, despite a few annoying traits._ "Now, what did you wish to discuss with me?"

"I wanted to continue the conversation we had over dinner" Ron replied, and Lady Longbottom cocked an eyebrow.

"A child who wants to discuss politics while the other children laugh and play? You are a rare one. Very well, I will oblige."

"I've been thinking about the Daily Prophet, and about how it fails to spread word about the issues that are hurting our society" Ron started, and Lady Longbottom listened intently. "You told me to learn what I could, and then to apply that knowledge in any way that I could. I've thought of a way, but I'm uncertain about how to implement it."

"You work quickly" Lady Longbottom gave him a rare smile. "Tell me Ronald, perhaps I can offer you the insight that you need." _Thank Merlin for this woman!_

"Xenophilius Lovegood wants to sell The Quibbler to the Daily Prophet" Ron whispered, and Lady Longbottom nodded slowly. "This is just between us, right?"

"Of course, I will keep your secrets" she assured him.

"Thank you, my Lady" Ron said gratefully. "The Daily Prophet has offered him two thousand Galleons, and a steady job writing the new 'Quibbler section'."

"And how do you know this?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm in Slytherin" Ron grinned. "We tend to lurk about when it suits us. Anyway… I was thinking of buying my way into Xeno's magazine, and then reforming it slightly."

"Slightly?"

"A lot…" Ron corrected himself, making her chuckle for a moment. "He'd still get to keep his… writing… But I would like to add a few different sections in there."

"Will he be willing to sell to you?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"I will do my best to convince him" Ron replied. "I plan to offer him three thousand Galleons, and fifty percent of the earnings. That is a lot better than what the Prophet is offering him."

"The Prophet is offering him a steady paycheck, you are not" she told him, and Ron nodded in understanding. "I imagine that he needs the money for his new child?"

"He does" Ron replied, not even bothering to ask how she knew of Pandora's pregnancy.

"You will need to prove to him why selling to you is better" she instructed, and Ron began taking mental notes. "For one, you will let him write whatever he pleases. I know of his work, and the Daily Prophet will not let him write conspiracy theories about the Ministry or anyone else of note. You may call that section 'Xenophilius' corner'… Or whatever pleases him. Secondly, you need to market the change in The Quibbler's direction. Most people tend to laugh at The Quibbler… My words are harsh, but they are true."

"I myself laughed reading it" Ron admitted, and she nodded in understanding. _Coming to her was a good move. I prefer honesty over honeyed words._

"You'll have to spend a bit of money before you begin turning a profit, but that is to be expected with any business" she informed him. "Perhaps if you tell him that you are willing to pay for the costs of re-advertising as well, he may listen to you. Unlike the Prophet, you won't shackle him behind a desk. Oh, and secure over half of the total shares in The Quibbler. That will make you in charge of it. Xenophilius can write his section and continue his… good work, while you do your business with the rest of the magazine. And I suggest that you hire proficient journalists too. I doubt Xenophilius will know how to write about underage prostitution." Ron flinched at her last few words.

"You still think of the girl?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron nodded. "Good, it means that your intentions are noble. And because of that… You may rely upon me for help whenever you need."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"I will council you, and aid you in any way that I can" she promised. She could see the benefit of having a paper that actually shined a light on the truth instead of just being the Ministry's mouth piece. "I have contacts, Ronald… And I will put you in a room with them. Your idea could be the next big thing, and some of them may even invest in it. You and Xenophilius could help change how this country thinks, and make a lot of money doing it." _Money is always good, but helping those in need trumps money any day of the week._

"Thank you for this, Lady Longbottom. It means a lot to me" Ron gave her a respectful bow, and she gave him another smile in return.

"We will speak of the finer details at a later date" she promised. "For now, you should rejoin my grandson. He has been looking at us with no subtlety whatsoever."

"I understand" Ron said. "Thank you for hearing me, and for helping me get a better grasp on my idea." With that, Ron excused himself from her and rejoined Harry and the others. Harry, Neville, and Hermione were speaking with Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Finnigan, Thomas, and Justin.

"Guys, you know Ron right?" Harry said, putting arm around Ron's shoulders. _Too much touching._

"We happen to be in his study group" Padma chuckled, and then she smiled at Ron. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Padma" Ron smiled back. "Hello Lavender, Parvati, Justin… How are you guys?"

"Quite well" Justin replied, giving Ron's upper left arm a pat. _What's with all this contact?_

"Hi, Ron" Lavender smiled widely, and Ron spotted Hermione rolling her eyes.

"How have your holidays been?" Parvati asked him. Images of wooden batons, panic attacks, and old textbooks flashed in his mind.

"They've been great" Ron replied. "What about you guys?"

"I went hiking with my parents" Lavender replied immediately. "We went to upper Scotland, and we spent two weeks in the woods. It was unpleasant at first, but then I got rather used to it. I even fed some wild animals."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

It was quite clear to Ron that he wasn't very popular at this party. The twins had run off with Lee Jordan. Ginny was the only first year here but she was a Gryffindor. And Ron… Ron was the Slytherin who was getting eyeballed by all the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs who weren't standing near him. Finnigan and Thomas had broken away from their group in order to find better company, and while that irked Ron, he didn't say a word about it. He even assured Harry and Neville that it didn't bother him whatsoever.

"Just ignore them" Hermione said to him, they were currently talking to each other while the others discussed Quidditch. Ron wanted to discuss Quidditch too, but he also didn't want to show support for his House's team. That would piss people off, and he knew it. _Plus, I don't really support the Slytherin Quidditch team. I just want them to win for the House-Points._

"Can you ignore someone who is ignoring you?" Ron asked Hermione.

"They aren't ignoring you" she said in a challenging voice, giving him a smirk.

"I wish they were" Ron chuckled. "Being eyeballed is so much worse than being ignored. But then again… I did clock that git on the train."

"Which was extremely irresponsible" Hermione scolded. "It doesn't matter what he said to you, you should know better Ronald." _I'm not a damn traitor. And if he says it again, I'll break his other bones as well._

"You're right" Ron replied, not keen to start an argument at someone else's party. Hermione blinked at him, and then she smiled in a rather conceited manner.

"Of course I am, fighting is wrong" she said firmly. "Even if someone deserves to be hit."

"You think he deserved to be hit?" Ron asked, failing to hide his smirk.

"Well… Sort of…" she mumbled, she had just backtracked by mistake. "But it doesn't matter what he deserved, you have to do what's right in those kinds of situations."

"But who determines what's right and wrong?" Ron asked her, enjoying pulling her leg.

"The rules do, and the people who made them" Hermione replied. "Teachers look down on fighting, and since they are in charge, we should respect their authority. By hitting McLaggen, you proved his point about you."

"His point about me being a traitor to my Family?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him again.

"I didn't say that" Hermione replied.

"No, but he did" Ron shrugged.

"Violence is never the answer, Ron" Hermione said. "Violence breeds violence, I read that in a book about the Romans. They conquered so many nations, but all that did was incite more fighting. And in the end, their empire was destroyed because of it." _I have no fucking idea about what empire she is speaking of, but I can understand what she's trying to prove._

"Violence breeds violence… I can see how that works" Ron nodded, and she smiled victoriously. "Which is why you hit the other person so hard that they can't get back up again…" Hermione's smile fell at that, and she just stared at him with a slightly horrified look.

"Ron, that's horrible…" Hermione all but whispered, and Ron blinked at her.

"Just something my brother once said to me" Ron lied. "Think nothing of it." She nodded slowly, not really believing his words. She had never truly seen Ron the same way again after he had attacked Harry like some wild beast, and every now and then, he tended to say something that made her worry about what went on inside of his head. She preferred the kind and gentle Ron from first year, not the person he was slowly becoming. Not the person Slytherin, and his friends, were turning him into. She had read that a person's environments helped shape their personality, and that made her worry for him. She would definitely be spending more time with him in the upcoming school year, for his own benefit.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: That's the end of the Chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed that, a lot was happening during this Chapter. And for those who are wondering, Ron does indeed practice Wandless Magic in his spare time. More on that in the next Chapter.**

 **Now, I'm going to be taking a few days off for some personal reasons, but I will be back by next Wednesday at the latest.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	64. Chapter 64 - Never Enough Time

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 64 is done! And I'm sick as hell... Now a couple of things.**

 **1\. Do you guys feel like I'm bashing any characters unfairly? I don't think I am, but it's just a thought that occurred to me yesterday. The characters in this story have all developed into either very different characters all together, or they're still very much who they were in Canon. So if you think I'm being unfair to any character, let me know your thoughts. I don't want to be needlessly cruel to any of the spectacular characters of the HP Universe.**

 **2\. To those who think that Ron has too many annoying traits, for eg. Stubbornness, hypocritical, entitled, violent, etc. Well, good! Ron may be the MC, but it's perfectly alright with me if you prefer the other characters in this story over him. If Ron was perfect in everything, this would be a boring ass story. And I write from different POVs to show the story from multiple angles. What Ron might be able to justify to himself, others might not fully understand. Same with how Neville used to hate Ron, but slowly and surely, he's come to see that the problem lay with himself all along. The story is about growing up, as well as the other stuff.**

 **3\. I'm terribly conflicted about something. This story has an M rating, and that was always planned. Now that my characters are becoming young adults, certain things will of course need to be explored. Which brings me to this question: How raunchy do you guys want this to be? I've barely read any smut, and I've never tried writing it. But somewhere down the line, sex will have to be addressed. Let me know what you guys want me to do, and we'll go from there. (Don't worry, that stuff is still ages away. I just want to get a handle on what you all prefer)**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 64 – Never Enough Time**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Past Midday)**_

"Just try and relax Mr. Weasley, you're only making this more difficult for the both of us" Madam Roberts frowned slightly, her eyes fixed on left calf muscle. She was currently healing the boy's muscles, and once again, he was fidgeting and… blushing.

"You can call me Ron…" Ron said, looking anywhere but in her direction. "Mr. Weasley doesn't really suit me…"

"If it makes you more comfortable" she said, not sounding very amused. ' _Comfortable' she says… Nothing about this is comfortable. I even rubbed one out before coming here, and yet, it's waking up again._

"So…" Ron started, but he stopped when she looked up with a frown. "What is it?"

"You are far too chatty" she stated, turning her attention back on the treatment. _Am I?_

"When are you going to teach me Dueling?" Ron asked bluntly, deciding to be straightforward.

"When you are ready" Madam Roberts replied.

"Ready?" Ron asked immediately. "How am I not ready?"

"You are impatient, undisciplined, and even lazy… Does that answer your question?" Madam Roberts replied coldly. _Wow… This old tart._

"So I'm just supposed to keep jumping through hoops to please you?" Ron asked, feeling his temper flare.

"The mere fact that you would ask such a question proves my point" she replied, focusing most of her attention on healing Ron's left thigh.

"Whatever…" Ron muttered, deciding to let it go for now. _The last thing I want to do is to piss her off when her wand is mere inches from_ _ **my wand**_ _._

"Power is wasted on those who cannot control it" Madam Roberts told him. "When we Dueled each other, you lost control. You became a wild animal… An animal with no thoughts of strategy or foresight. That cannot happen again, so you will learn discipline first. And then you can learn to Duel."

"I nearly beat you" Ron reminded her, and that made her look up.

"Believe me, boy… If I truly wanted to take you down, you wouldn't last ten seconds" she said as she stared into his eyes.

"Is that a challenge?" Ron asked, hoping to Duel her again. _Even if I lose, it'll still be fun to actually spar with someone._

"You have spirit, I'll give you that" Madam Roberts smirked, going back to his treatment. "You 'Slytherins' like deals, don't you?"

"Only when they benefit us" Ron replied slowly. _What's she getting at?_

"If you complete next week's training session without a single warning, I'll begin teaching you an extremely useful Spell used by **experienced** Duelists" she promised, and Ron lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" Ron grinned, and she gave a curt nod. "I'll do it, I promise!" _YES! FINALLY!_

"Then it's a deal" she told him as his grin threatened to split his face. "Now stop talking… And stop fidgeting." _Understood! I won't move a single muscle! This is great!_

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **August, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Dinnertime)**_

"Sirius, why do I have to wear these robes?" Harry asked, trying not to sound whiny.

"Because we are dining with important guests, Harry" Sirius replied, fixing his Godson's collar and tie. "Look… I know you don't like wearing these types of clothes, but sometimes, you have to put on formal attire. It's respectful… Not to mention that you look dashing in them. "

"I understand…" Harry sighed. Truth be told, he felt out of place in such clothes. He was used to Dudley's old clothes, or even just simple Muggle clothes. Wearing dress robes and suits made him feel like he was standing out too much, and Harry hated standing out. The bloody Scar on his forehead already did enough damage… Why add posh clothes into the equation?

"It's just for tonight, I promise" Sirius said, and then he looked at Harry's hair. "Let's do something about that mess, shall we?"

"What's wrong with my hair?" Harry asked. "I know it's a little… unruly, but it suits me."

"Harry, it makes you look like you were just attacked by goons" Sirius chuckled, earning a slight frown from Harry. _No, it doesn't. It's always been like that._

"I like my hair like this" Harry said firmly.

"Your bangs are longer than most witches, Harry" Sirius pointed out. _Good, they hide my stupid scar._ "At least let me comb it back."

"So I can look like Lucius Malfoy's forgotten lovechild? No thanks…" Harry said, stepping away from Sirius.

"I used to comb my hair back… when I was younger…" Sirius tried, though he was lying blatantly. He had grown his hair out in order to rebel against his father's tyranny, but that had all ended when his father had tied him down and completely shaved his head. Sirius had been a teary eyed bald boy for weeks…

"Liar" Harry huffed, making his way out of the room. _I'm never cutting my hair!_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Remus should be here" Harry said, he was standing in front of the fireplace with Sirius.

"I told you Harry, Remus is looking for work in the Muggle World" Sirius said, giving Harry's shoulder a paternal squeeze. _He missed my birthday too…_

"Why can't he just find work in Diagon Alley? Or the Ministry?" Harry asked, sounding a little childish.

"It's… It's complicated, kiddo" Sirius replied, and Harry looked up at Sirius with an intrigued look. "I will tell you after dinner, alright?"

"Promise?"

"I promise" Sirius replied with a soft smile. "Now cheer up, these people are family." _The Tonks. I didn't even know that they existed until a couple of days ago._ The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and both Harry and Sirius straightened their backs. A young witch with bubble-gum hair stumbled out of the fireplace, and Sirius caught her immediately.

"Sorry, cousin" the witch laughed, quickly recovering and smiling widely at Sirius.

"You're alright" Sirius chuckled just as two more people stepped through the flames, but unlike the young witch, they didn't stumble.

"Dora, I told you not to rush through like that" the older man sighed before smiling down at Harry. "Good heavens, Harry Potter…"

"Hello, Sir" Harry greeted politely despite feeling the need to roll his eyes. _Everyone has the same reaction. I remember when Hermione lectured me on who I was. Or how Neville stammered around me for a whole week._

"Welcome to the House of Black" Sirius grinned at the older witch, who was looking around with wide-eyes.

"Siri… This place looks so different…" the older witch gasped, and then she smiled pleasantly at Sirius and Harry.

"We added a lot of color, and then we got rid of all the furniture in order to get new one" Sirius told her as he took her hand and kissed it. "Dromeda, meet my Godson… Harry Potter."

"A pleasure to meet you, Harry" Andromeda smiled widely, pulling Harry into a hug. "You're so adorable!" _Good God! Help!_ She then let go of Harry and looked him over. "He's thirteen?"

"I am, Mrs. Tonks" Harry replied for himself.

"Just call me Dromeda" she said pleasantly. "You're a bit short for your age, aren't you? Don't worry, a nice growth spurt will change that."

"I hope it comes around soon" Harry said, smiling politely. _She's not too bad, I think. She does look… familiar…_

"It will" Dromeda assured him. "Nymphadora got hers when she was your age, and she grew taller than all the boys in her year. None of them wanted to date her because she was so intimidating."

"Mum!" Nymphadora exclaimed, gaping at her chuckling parents.

"This is my husband, Edward Tonks" Dromeda made introductions, ignoring her daughter's embarrassment.

"Just call me Teddy, Mr. Potter" Edward shook Harry's hand.

"Only if you call me Harry" Harry said, earning a nod from the fair-haired, big bellied man.

"And this is my daughter, Nymphadora" Dromeda said, gesturing to her daughter.

"Don't call me Nymphadora, mother" Nymphadora frowned deeply, her bubblegum hair turning fiery red.

"Woah!" Harry gaped. "Wicked…" Nymphadora smiled at that, her hair returning to normal. _What kind of Magic is this?_ "That's so amazing!"

"Thank you, Harry" Nymphadora said, giving him a sudden hug. _It must be a family trait._ "Just call me Tonks, or Dora. My mother decided to ruin my life early by naming me 'Nymphadora'." Harry chuckled at that, as did Sirius.

"Let's head into the Dining Room" Sirius smiled at his ever expanding family, doing his best not to tear up. He had never imagined that a moment like this could ever exist while he was rotting away in his cell. "Dromeda, I made your favorite."

"He ordered your favorite" Harry corrected with a smirk, making everyone but Sirius laugh.

"My cousin was always a horrible cook, and a poor liar" Dromeda laughed, tangling her arm with Sirius'. "Where is Remus, Siri?" _Siri? That sounds like a girl's name._

"Job hunting" Sirius sighed. "He doesn't want to be a housewife anymore." _Ha! He'd never say that if Remus was nearby, otherwise he'd be in for a thrashing._

"My wife tells me that you're in Gryffindor" Teddy said, his voice was rather mellow and easy on the ears.

"I am, Teddy" Harry replied. "Which House were you in?"

"Hufflepuff" Teddy replied with a proud voice. "We Badgers have always been friends with the Lions."

"I think all the Houses get along fine" Harry shrugged. "Well… Slytherin being the exception."

"Truer words were never spoken" Dora piped in. "A bunch of bullies, that lot…"

"Not all of them are so bad" Teddy chuckled, looking at his wife's back. "Dromeda was in Slytherin, and she is the kindest woman that I've ever met." _She was in Slytherin? Really?_

"Mum's different" Dora waved a dismissive hand, and then she put her arm around Harry. "Sit with me during dinner, I want to hear all about Hogwarts. I miss that place every day." _Me too._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Dinner had been amazing, as always. Harry had regaled everyone with his stories about being the youngest Seeker in a century, as well as telling them about his everyday life at Hogwarts. In return, Harry learned a great deal about the people around him.

Andromeda Tonks was once a Black, but she was removed from the Family for marrying Teddy, who was a Muggle-Born. That had irked Harry greatly, and he had decided that he was glad that all the Blacks were gone except for Sirius and Dromeda. Just knowing that Dromeda had rejected the Black Family's bigoted views had made her a friend in his books. Maybe there was hope for some Slytherins yet… But that was a weak prayer considering the Slytherins that he had met so far. Ron being the only exception. Dromeda was also an author, and she wrote about Muggle Culture and about how it would benefit Wizarding-Kind today. Though her work was often just ignored…

Teddy worked in the Ministry, in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. As such, he had been rather busy of late. With Albania under so much stress, Minister Fudge had handed over quite a few workers to the Albanian Ministry temporarily. Harry had immediately started asking questions about the Muggle-Wizard war, and about what Dumbledore was doing to prevent it. And Teddy had told him that no one really knew. The International Confederation of Wizards was still meeting with Muggle Officials behind closed doors, but there were rumors of a massive undertaking happening in order to avoid war.

And as for Nymphadora, Harry had found her to be the most interesting person here. She was a Metamorphmagus, which basically meant that she could change her appearance on a whim. Or due to emotional outbursts. She had shown off her abilities to Harry, who had to fight the urge to clap like a child. Dora could even morph her face into the face of a duck, which was utterly bizarre to Harry. And then there was the fact that she was an Auror in training. Harry had bombarded her with questions about the Aurors, and she had told him that she was still in the Auror Academy, which was a two year program designed to weed out the weak.

"So in six months, you'll graduate and become an actual Auror?" Harry asked excitedly.

"That's right" Tonks replied, sounding a little boastful. The adults were discussing their own interests, but Harry's attention was now fixed on Tonks. "Just six more bloody months, and then I never have to train with that barmy old witch again." _Barmy old witch?_

"Your trainer?" Harry asked, and Tonks nodded. She then pulled back her left sleeve, showing Harry a dark purple bruise on her left forearm. Harry drew in a sharp breath at the sight of it, and then he looked back to Tonks' face with a slight frown.

"Don't tell mum and dad, but it's a rather brutal program. Our trainer, Madam Jane Roberts, is a bitter old cow. If you so much as make a single mistake, she hits you with this wooden baton that she carries around with her. No warning, no kind words…"

"She sounds horrible and cruel" Harry said, shuddering at the thought of such a woman. "And I won't tell them, I swear."

"You're a good lad, Harry" Tonks chuckled. "Tell me, do you want to be an Auror one day?"

"Yes" Harry replied immediately.

"Makes sense, given who you are" Tonks nodded, but Harry just blinked at her. "Shite… I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way…"

"It's alright" Harry forced on a smile. "I'm rather used to it."

"Still… Sorry…" Tonks smiled sheepishly. "I sometimes speak before I think… Trust me, I've gotten the baton for that plenty of times. Anyway… I got you something for your birthday." _My birthday?_ "Mum and dad also chipped in, but you can't tell Sirius because he was adamant about them meeting you before buying you presents."

"You guys didn't have to…" Harry started, but Tonks just ruffled his messy hair.

"Nonsense" Tonks laughed, and then she reached into her robes and pulled out a trinket. "Here, it's a Sneakoscope."

"A what?" Harry asked, taking the odd looking trinket carefully. Harry eyed the trinket that looked like a glass spinning top, trying to figure out its function.

"A Sneakoscope" Tonks whispered as she leaned in, making Harry look back at her. "It's a type of Dark Detector, which are objects used to detect if anyone is doing something untrustworthy near you. It'll light up, spin, and whistle if someone shady is close-by." _That's so cool. I reckon this'll help me loads considering my life._

"Woah…" Harry looked back down at the Sneakoscope. "Thank you, Dora!"

"Keep your voice down" Tonks shushed before smiling widely. "Just keep it on your person all the time, and you should be golden. I doubt any of the other students at Hogwarts know how to get past it, so you should definitely hear those Snakes sneaking up on you."

"Do you use this when you go on missions?" Harry asked, pocketing the gadget before Sirius saw it.

"Sometimes" Tonks smirked. _Awesome!_ "Though I have actual Aurors hovering over me all the time. They look down on such gadgets because they think that Dark Detectors dull a person's instincts. Smug old coots."

"Thank you" Harry said again, smiling from ear-to-ear.

"You already said that" Tonks chuckled, her hair turning bright blue. "Happy belated birthday, Harry."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Davis' House – Midday)**_

Daphne stepped into the Davis' home from the fireplace, ready to finally put her feud with Tracey to bed. Truth be told, it was Tracey who was causing problems right now. But Daphne knew that she had done nothing to help the situation, if anything, Daphne had made it worse with her spiteful comment regarding Theo. But that all needed to end today. It had been two weeks, and Daphne missed her best friend terribly. It was time to make-up and move on.

"Daphne" Susana greeted her with a smile. "What brings you here?"

"Good afternoon, Susana" Daphne greeted back, happily letting Tracey's mother hug her. "I'm here to see Tracey."

"Ah…" Susana nodded in understanding. "Well, it's about time I'd say. That girl has been moping about for nearly two weeks now, and truth be told, it's getting bothersome. I don't remember being so hormonal when I was her age."

"We had an argument" Daphne admitted, she didn't want Tracey taking all the blame.

"I figured" Susana smiled, ushering Daphne towards the stairs. "She's in her room right now. Don't come back down until everything is sorted between you two."

"I won't, I promise" Daphne said, and then she made her way to Tracey's room. _I miss sleeping over here. I miss Tracey._ Daphne knocked on the door, and when she heard feet shuffling from behind the door, she prepared herself. Tracey opened the door with a smile, but it fell when she saw Daphne. "Good afternoon, Tracey" Daphne greeted, but Tracey simply looked at Daphne's hair.

"I like it" Tracey said with an approving nod, and then she walked back into her room. Daphne entered behind her and shut the door, locking it immediately. _I'm not leaving until we sort this out._ "So it's one of those visits, is it?" Tracey asked.

"One of those visits?" Daphne asked in return.

"When you lock yourself in my room until I give you what you want" Tracey shrugged, hopping onto her bed. "Just like you used to do when we were little."

"If it isn't broken, don't fix it" Daphne shrugged back, making her way over to Tracey's bed and taking a seat on its edge.

"You can sit closer, Daphne" Tracey rolled her eyes, and Daphne moved closer to Tracey. _That's a good sign._

"I'm sorry for what I said about Theo" Daphne apologized. "It was cruel and spiteful, and I'm ashamed of myself for saying something so horrible to you."

"How do you do that?" Tracey asked, giving Daphne a weak smile.

"Do what?" Daphne blinked.

"Apologize so easily, and genuinely mean it" Tracey replied.

"I know that I did something wrong, and I don't want it to hurt our friendship" Daphne said. _Father would be disappointed if I refused to own up to my own mistakes._

"Me too" Tracey sighed, dropping onto her pillows. "I'm sorry for my remarks about Ron, and for not trying to understand your concerns. Truth is that I didn't even give his Chronic Stress much thought, but when you pointed that out, I felt like a complete arsehole." _Language!_ "Have you seen him?"

"I have, and he's doing alright now" Daphne replied, scooting closer to Tracey. Daphne had underestimated just how much she had missed Tracey, but then again, since they had entered Hogwarts, the girls had been inseparable. _Not seeing her for two weeks is bad enough, but we haven't exchanged any letters either. I think I have 'Tracey Withdrawal'._

"Daphne, can you lie down with me?" Tracey asked, turning to her side. Daphne didn't need any other incentive, and before she knew it, she was lying down next to Tracey, their faces close enough to touch. "I'm sorry…"

"Why didn't you reply to my letters?" Daphne asked, taking a hold of Tracey's hands. Tracey averted her gaze, and so Daphne put her forehead against Tracey's. "I sent so many…" _I've missed you so much._

"I know" Tracey said, pushing her forehead forward slightly as she tightened her hold on Daphne's hands. "I wanted to, but I just… couldn't do it…"

"Were you mad at me?" Daphne asked. She would never admit it, but being this close to Tracey again made her feel whole again. _Maybe I am too possessive, but right now, I just don't care. Tracey is mine._

"For a short while… I was" Tracey admitted. "And then I wasn't, but it was too late by then… I had made a mess of everything, and despite wanting to fix it, I didn't know how… No… I did know how, but I didn't have the courage to."

"It wasn't your fault" Daphne told her. "We both said stupid things, and I was… I was overreacting to everything."

"Periods will do that to you" Tracey smiled, whereas Daphne cringed internally.

"Yes… Let's not talk about that" Daphne mumbled, she never could understand how Tracey was so open about these things.

"Our friends?" Tracey asked, rubbing her forehead against Daphne's.

"I told them about what happened… Theo had left by then, but the others weren't too happy with me" Daphne replied truthfully. "Millie and Pansy accepted my apology, but they wanted you to be there. And Blaise… Blaise was Blaise." _Cold and indifferent._

"Theo went back to his father?" Tracey asked, looking right into Daphne's eyes. _They're so green. Like the emeralds in the Slytherin Hourglass._

"He did" Daphne replied, and Tracey's face fell a bit. "Trace? What really happened between you two?"

"I happened…" Tracey muttered, her eyes were starting to well up. Daphne quickly gave Tracey's forehead a kiss, and then she muttered some words of comfort. _Did she really start throwing her insecurities on him?_ "I was upset… and really stupid…" Tracey started crying, and Daphne let go of her hands in favor of hugging Tracey tightly.

"It's alright, just let it out."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Tracey was an extremely jolly person, anyone who knew her would claim that. But when she was upset, she would become downright depressed. Daphne had just hugged her best friend tightly, while Tracey had just cried about her own 'stupidity'. Most of it was just incoherent crying, but what Daphne did make out was that Tracey had been feeling rather insulted by the fact that Theo had chosen to spend his break with Daphne instead of her.

"I'm sorry for making that remark about Theo, Trace" Daphne apologized again, feeling like a right git. "I didn't know that you were so upset with him already."

"Not your fault…" Tracey whimpered, her face had become blotchy and wet from her endless tears. "It was stupid of me to think that he'd spend his Holidays at my house…"

"Stop calling yourself stupid" Daphne said a little too firmly. "You're not stupid."

"I feel stupid…" Tracey admitted with a loud sniffle. "All it took was for him to pay some attention to my Muggle lifestyle, and I started crushing on him… It's just that no one talks to me about these things, and I just felt really… happy… when he showed genuine interest in it…" Daphne cringed slightly at that, she herself didn't like talking to Tracey about Muggle things. And it was mostly because Daphne didn't enjoy being outclassed in anything. "And now I've ruined everything between us…"

"No, you haven't" Daphne assured Tracey. "Friends fight, we all know that better than most." _The amount of times that Ron and I have fought is astounding, and yet, we're together._

"I called him and his father 'bigots'…" Tracey sniffled. "I sounded like one of those idiotic and entitled Muggle-Borns from the other Houses…" _Oh… That's bad. Theo hates that lot._

"You were upset, he'll understand that" Daphne told her. "Theo is a smart guy, probably the smartest in our group when it comes to people's emotional reactions. You know that he analyzes people as a pastime. Just talk to him when you see him again."

"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Tracey asked. "I don't want to be the reason why our group gets hurt. If we both can't stand each other, then the rest of you will feel burdened… And he's more valuable than I am…"

"Not to me, so don't ever say that again" Daphne ordered, clutching the back of Tracey's shirt in her hands. "All seven of us are friends… Not just allies, but **friends**. That means something Tracey, do you understand? It means that we will never turn our backs on each other. Not after everything we've been through. We found the bloody Chamber of Secrets together last year, remember?"

"You said 'bloody'…" Tracey chuckled, though it sounded more like a wet cough. "Ron is a bad influence on us all."

"Your language is just as bad as his" Daphne said, easing her hold on Tracey. "Alright… Maybe not as bad, but it's still bad."

"Can you stay here tonight? Please?" Tracey asked, snuggling closer to Daphne.

"I think that can be arranged" Daphne agreed. "We're friends Tracey, and one stupid fight won't change that. Not for any of us. Do you understand?"

"I do…" Tracey nodded. "And I'll talk to him when I see him again… I'll explain why I was so upset…"

"You mean you'll confess?" Daphne blinked.

"No" Tracey replied quickly. "I just want him to know that I… understand why he didn't stay at mine. That's all… I don't think that Theo and I would work well together…"

"Really?" Daphne whispered. _Is she moving on from him?_

"We're too different…" Tracey whispered back. "His father, my family, our ideals and personalities… They all just clash… I refuse to ruin our group by being selfish…" _Selfish?_

"Why would it ruin the group?" Daphne asked, thinking of her relationship with Ron. _He and I are quite different, but we enjoy each other's company._

"It would make things awkward…" Tracey shrugged, oblivious to Daphne's ever-growing dread. "Especially if we dated and then broke up… I'll just wait this crush out, and then find someone from outside our group of friends… There is no way that I'm not getting a boyfriend by the end of the next school year, which would just be embarrassing…" _I've never really thought about what would happen if Ron and me breakup… What if he stops being friends with me? Tracey's right, it would make everything so awkward. I need to talk to him about this._

"Girls! Do you want a snack?!" came Susana's voice from downstairs.

"I'm a bit hungry" Tracey told Daphne. "Want to come down with me?"

"Yes" Daphne replied, and the both of them broke apart.

"Your tits are getting bigger by the way" Tracey pointed out suddenly.

"I'm going home…" Daphne frowned, but Tracey lunged at her and hugged her from behind. _Stupid breasts! At least wait for the rest of my body to keep up! I feel so disproportionate!_

"Thank you for coming, Daph" Tracey hummed. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Lunchtime)**_

"C'mon Ron, just do it…" Ron muttered to himself, his left hand hovering over his desk. "It'll only hurt for a second, and then you can heal it…" Ron closed his eyes, strengthened his resolve, and then he slammed his left hand down on the corner of his table. Pain shot throughout his entire hand, and Ron had to grit his teeth in order to keep his scream sealed inside his throat.

"What was that?!" came his mother's yell from downstairs. _That was me being a dumb cunt!_

"I dropped something!" Ron yelled, and then he pointed his wand over his left hand. "Episkey." Ron's entire left hand felt very hot, then very cold. And then, there was no more pain. _Bloody hell…_ Ron scanned his hand, and he smiled as he watched the redness begin to fade. _Daphne showed me this Spell, and I just found it again in my second year Charms textbook._

Ron opened up his new journal, which was sitting on his desk, and he jotted down the Spell and its effects. _Episkey; used to heal minor injuries (Bruises, cuts, soreness). Simply point and say the incantation._ So far, Ron had found three useful Spells to add to his new journal. _Episkey the Healing Charm, Sonorus the Amplifying Charm, and Colovaria the Color-Change Charm._ The Color-Change Charm wasn't anything special, but he was testing it out in order to sate his curiosity. This was the reason why his walls were now emerald green instead of bright orange. _I should try to mix up the colors too, just so I completely understand this Spell._

"Mum asked me to come and get you…" came Ginny's voice, and Ron turned to face her. She was just staring at his walls with a deadpan expression.

"Is lunch ready?" Ron asked, packing up his journal.

"Yeah, lunch is ready…" Ginny rolled her eyes, and then she walked off. _What was that? Whatever._ Ron pocketed his wand before making his way down to the kitchen, eager to eat a lot of food. However, the moment he stepped into the kitchen his mother flew at him like a maddened Harpy.

"What have you done to your room?" Molly demanded, making Ron jump slightly from surprise. "Did you damage the paint on your walls?" _Damage the paint on my walls?_

"No, I just changed the color to green" Ron replied, shooting a look towards Ginny. _Did she tattle on me? It's just a color change… What's the big deal?_

"Oh…" Molly blinked. "How? When?"

"Just now, I used Magic to do it" Ron replied slowly. "I'm trying out new Spells…"

"Inside the house?" Molly asked. "No more of that, Ronald. The Ministry didn't give you that permit for you to abuse your Magic." With that, she walked back over to the kitchen counter. Ron walked over and sat down in his chair, his eyes fixed on Ginny.

"Why did you tattle on me?" Ron asked her.

"What was wrong with the color of your walls?" Ginny asked in return. _What?_

"Ickle Ronnikins wants to show his scaly pride" Fred smirked at him. _Ah… Now I get it. Can't have the color green anywhere near the Gryffindors without them frothing at the mouth._

"Where's your Serpent-Ring?" George asked, imitating his twin's smirk. Ron reached into his pocket and took it out, putting it on with a smirk of his own. _Nearly forgot to put it back on after my 'experiment'._

"It doesn't suit you" Ginny stated, putting food onto her plate. _I'd disagree. Especially considering that I can speak to snakes. Though I should try and figure out why I can. The Hat mentioned that it was because Harry, the Dark Lord, and I are connected somehow._ A shudder passed through Ron at the thought of being connected to the Dark Lord. _I had my first panic attack when I learned that bit of bad news._

"Ron? Lunch?" his mother asked, watching him with a careful eye.

"Sorry…" Ron shook his head clear, and then he began making his plate.

"Fred and George, don't forget to de-Gnome the Garden after you're done with your food" Molly reminded her sons, who both groaned loudly. _The Gnomes? They're back again?_

"Why can't Percy help us?" Fred frowned at his smug older brother. Percy just cocked an eyebrow at Fred, not even remotely interested in Fred's problems.

"Or better yet, Ron?" George added. "The Gnomes will bolt at the mere sight of him." The whole room went dead silent at that, and even Fred was just staring at George with a look of utter disbelief.

"If you want my help George, then all you have to do is ask" Ron said, not really bothered by George's remark.

"You have your own chores" Molly reminded Ron, clearly not keen on the idea of Ron 'de-Gnoming' the Garden. _They think that I'll attack another Gnome. I won't… Unless they give me a reason to._

"I don't mind, mum" Ron assured her. "I can clear the table and do the dishes in less than ten minutes."

"I said no, Ronald" Molly said firmly, making Ron blink at her. Ron's siblings began eating their food in silence, occasionally shooting looks between Ron and Molly. _Wow… I'm not some deranged psychopath._

"Two people aren't enough for that job" Ron said, trying his best to sound reasonable.

"Then Ginny can help them" Molly stated in a far more authoritative voice.

"But I cleaned the Living Room today…" Ginny groaned, shooting a frown at the twins for even bringing this up.

"I'm volunteering" Ron said, he was quickly beginning to get irked by this unnecessary argument.

"Ron, just let it go" Percy piped in, frowning at Ron for riling up their mother.

"Alright…" Ron frowned at Percy, and then he turned that frown towards his mother. "But one last thing… Why don't we just get a fence around the property? Something warded to keep those blighters out?"

"And who will pay for it?" Molly asked, annoyed with Ron's tone.

"I can pay for it" Ron replied.

"No."

"Why not?" Ron asked. "It would save us the trouble of having to deal with those Gnomes every three weeks. And your Garden would be safe from their pillaging."

"I said no, and that is final!" Molly all but yelled. "There is nothing wrong with a little hard-work!" _Hard-work? Is she serious?_

"You're lecturing **me** about hard-work?" Ron asked in a cold whisper, his mood shifting completely. Molly blinked at him, whereas Ron's siblings just frowned at him. _Dial it down, Ron. Just tell them that you're not trying to hurt their pride, and that you just want to help out._ "Mum, please… It will help everyone out, especially you when we're all at school."

"You need to save your money, Ronald" Molly turned around, she was done with this conversation. "Now enough is enough… Eat your lunch, do **your** chores, and then go back to your studies." _Fine. De-Gnome that cesspool you call a Garden for the rest of your life, see if I care._ Ron looked back to his lunch, but his appetite was now gone. _Just eat for the sake of eating… And then I can go back to learning new Spells. My Wandless Magic still needs work, and I want to try and test out different Charms without using a wand._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Midday)**_

Everything had worked out with Tracey, but that had made way for another problem. Daphne was currently worrying about her friendship with Ron. Tracey's words had become glued inside of Daphne's head, and no matter what she told herself, doubt kept creeping into her thoughts. What if Ron never asked her out? Sooner or later, she'd get tired of their games. She wanted to be his girlfriend, whereas Ron, who was a moronic boy, was still having trouble figuring out his own thoughts on the matter.

But what if he eventually asked her out? How would that change the group's dynamics? What would it mean for Ron's partnership with her father? Would their parents even approve of such a thing? There were so many things that she hadn't thought of yet, and that had caught her off-guard. Daphne was meticulous when it came to planning her moves, but this time, she had thrown good sense out of the window. That alone bothered her, but what bothered her even more was the fact that Ron also didn't think of these things. One of them had to think of the Future, and Ron certainly wasn't interested in doing so.

"Daphne?" came Ron's voice, followed by a knock on the door.

"Come in" Daphne called as she stood up, it was time to have a long chat about what they were doing. _I really hope it doesn't ruin things between us._ Ron entered the room, her letter clutched in his gloved hand, and he closed the door behind himself. "Lock it, please."

"Alright…" Ron said slowly, doing as he was told. "Daph, what's the matter? Your letter sounded urgent."

"It did?" Daphne asked.

"You told me to, and I quote, 'Come down to the Manor right now!'… Why didn't you just floo over?" _Wait… Why_ _ **didn't**_ _I just floo over?_

"Sorry… I have a lot on my mind" Daphne sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. Ron quickly walked over and sat down beside her, a look of concern marking his features.

"Tell me what's happened" Ron said. "I'll help in any way that I can." _I know._ Daphne couldn't help but give him a weak smile, her stomach was beginning to float again.

"I made up with Tracey" Daphne started, and Ron smiled knowingly. "She was upset about something else, and I made things worse by saying something hurtful. Anyway… We've made up again."

"So what's bothering you now?" Ron asked.

"She and I were talking… And she said something that got me thinking about the Future" Daphne replied, and something shifted behind Ron's eyes.

"The Future? What about it?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him. _Is he worried about what I might say about us?_

"I was thinking about us… and about what we're doing now" Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "What happens if we… breakup?" _I said 'breakup'… That's going to get to his tiny boy brain._

"Breakup?" Ron blinked, and Daphne fought the urge to roll her eyes. "But we're not dating…"

"I know that" Daphne huffed. _Calm down, don't lose your footing._ "I'm just talking about our different relationship. Normal friends don't act like we do, Ron. What happens if we decide to put an end to it?"

"Are you thinking of putting an end to it?" Ron asked nervously. _I won't make the mistake of hurting his feelings again, so I need to be dead-clear about this._

"No, I'm not" Daphne assured him with a firm voice. "But what if one of us decides to in the Future? What if our parents find out, and then tell us to stop? What happens to the group? What happens to us?"

"Give me a second" Ron took in a deep breath.

"Take your time" Daphne said gently, scooting closer to him. He put his arm around her, but the look on his face told Daphne that he had done it absent-mindedly. _See how casual we are with these gestures now? What happens when we're forced to stop them?_

"First of all, I'm not thinking of putting an end to this" Ron assured her, clearly thinking his words through. "And since neither are you, we are safe for the time being. Now about our parents… I don't really care about what they think."

"You don't?" Daphne asked slowly.

"Honestly… No…" Ron sighed, giving her a faint smile. "Sure, there was a time when that's all I cared about… But now? Now I just plan to do what I think is best. And if they don't like it, then they can keep their opinions to themselves."

"Even my father?" Daphne asked.

"Even your father" Ron nodded.

"What about me?" Daphne asked slowly. "Do you care about what I think?"

"It… depends…" Ron answered slowly.

"It depends?" Daphne asked, doing her best to not get angry at his response.

"Look… I just think that if you want to do something, and you care about doing it, then you should be able to" Ron replied in a placating manner. "I want to keep 'this' going, I enjoy it… I look forward to it, and I know that I can depend on you. I don't want to give that up just because someone else is telling me to. Being around you makes me… happy…" _He's starting to blush, but then again, so am I. He really feels that way when he's around me?_ "But if you wanted to stop, then I would respect that… I'd be upset, but I'd understand…"

"Which is why I said 'it depends'…" Ron continued. "If you decided to stop this simply because your mother and father told you to, then I'd be… I'd be really hurt, I think. I wouldn't agree with it, and I know myself enough to know that I'd do something stupid…"

"So if we 'broke up' because I genuinely didn't want to do this anymore, you'd understand?" Daphne asked.

"I would…" Ron sighed. "As long as it was **your** decision, I would do my best to respect it. Despite what we are now, we're still friends Daph. That means something, you know? I depended on your help long before we started kissing and hugging in secret, and I'd still rely on you. And I'd want you to rely on me as well."

"What if things get awkward between us?" Daphne asked, she was doing her best not to kiss him right now. Ron could be the sweetest person when he tried, and right now, she knew that he was trying for her sake.

"Then we would work on that" Ron replied firmly. "Despite not liking you very much when we first met, I've come to… care… about you. A lot…"

"I feel the same way" Daphne quickly piped in.

"Then it's quite simple then" Ron smiled at her, giving her a squeeze. "We will respect **each other's** decisions, and still be friends with each other."

"But what if we can't?" Daphne decided to ask, it would be her last question.

"We get to choose our own Future" Ron replied in a rather sagely voice. "I truly believe that… The Future is what we make it, be it better or worse. So I'll do my best for a better Future, and I hope you will too." Daphne would be lying if she claimed that she wasn't much calmer now, and for that, she was truly grateful. Not to mention that she was starting to feel 'that way' again… _He deserves to be rewarded, I think._

"You can be really smart sometimes, Ron" Daphne hummed, feeling goosebumps on her arms. "And cute… Very cute…" Ron blinked at her, clearly starting to get nervous and excited.

"Cute?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly at the sight of her sly smile.

"Yes…" Daphne hummed, turning her body to face him. And then, she jumped onto him. _Got you._

"Daphne?" Ron squeaked, looking like a deer caught in headlights. Daphne rested her elbows on his chest, pinning him down on the bed. She knew that he could throw her off easily, but she also knew that he wouldn't. _No, he's enjoying this. Just listen to his breathing, it's already erratic._ That only made Daphne more excited, she definitely wanted to kiss him senseless now.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked playfully, and Ron nodded meekly as he just stared up at her. "Sometimes I have trouble holding back on you…"

"Holding back on me?" Ron muttered.

"Remember when you paid for my sweets on the train because you were worried that I was upset with you?" Daphne asked, bringing her face closer to his.

"I do…" Ron whispered, remembering how she had given him a long kiss for the first time right after.

"You were really sweet when you did that, and I wanted to kiss you really badly" Daphne confessed, blushing at her own words. Ron gave her a nervous smile, and she could feel his heart thumping against her elbows. "So I just kissed you as hard as I could, for as long as I could… And you were really sweet just now."

"I was?" Ron asked.

"You were" Daphne nodded, giving him a quick peck. "I've been fretting over this for days, and you made me feel better about everything so quickly… How did you do that?"

"I… I just said what was on my mind…" Ron replied, just gazing up at her. He wasn't going to lie, he was both scared and excited right now. Daphne seemed to be possessed by something, and Ron wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. _He just said what was on his mind?_

"An honest Slytherin?" Daphne hummed teasingly, bumping her nose against his. "Is that what you are?"

"I… sometimes…" Ron replied.

"Sometimes?" Daphne smiled shrewdly.

"I lie…" Ron confessed, his voice barely audible.

"Just the fact that you'd admit that makes you a bit more honest than the rest of us" Daphne told him before giving him another peck. _His lips are really soft. I could kiss them all day._ "Ronald Weasley, the most honest Slytherin student at Hogwarts."

"Are you teasing me?" Ron whispered.

"A little" Daphne giggled. "You don't like it?"

"I… It's fine as long as you're the one doing it…" Ron replied in a bashful manner, looking towards the closed door. _Only I get to make him act like this. Only me._ Daphne kissed his cheek a couple of times, and she shuddered when he did. "Someone… could walk in…" Ron breathed out, his heart thumping in his ears.

"The door's locked" Daphne kissed his temple. "Look at me, Ron." Ron looked back to her, his face as red as a tomato. "You just said that you didn't care about what anyone else thought. So there's no reason to be scared of getting caught, right?"

"Your rebellious streak is terrifying, you know that right?" Ron muttered, not really caring that her elbows were digging into his chest.

"Avoiding capture is part of the game" Daphne kissed his nose. "And what's the point of playing if you don't plan to risk things? I know you're enjoying yourself, Ron. Admit it."

"Of course I'm enjoying it…" Ron admitted softly. "I just… I'm not good at this sort of stuff…"

"Which is why we're practicing together" Daphne hummed, kissing him again. "Don't you love practicing things?"

"I do…" Ron replied, swallowing thickly. "Can I try something?"

"Try what?" Daphne asked, becoming curious.

"I… I want to put my hands on your back… Your lower back… Is that fine?" Ron murmured, looking more and more flushed by each word.

"It is… but don't go any further" Daphne nodded, and Ron slowly moved his hand onto her lower back.

"Is that alright?" Ron asked, and she nodded again. "Merlin… What are we doing, Daphne?" _He's starting to overthink again. Ugh… There goes my fun._

"Do you want to stop?" Daphne asked him, she had no intention of pushing him any further than what he was comfortable with. _I read that girls mature more quickly than boys, which is clearly true. Ron gets rattled rather quickly when it comes to our games._

"I do…" Ron admitted. "We're too young to be… This just feels really… What's the bloody word?"

"Inappropriate?" Daphne smirked.

"Yeah…" Ron replied, taking his hands off of her lower back. "And I'm starting to…" he trailed off, his eyes widening as he realized that he was about to admit something rather private.

"Starting to what?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing." _Okay, so something is definitely up._

"You can tell me" Daphne cooed, still refusing to get off of him.

"Daph… It's… It's really embarrassing, can we please stop?" Ron asked nervously, fidgeting under her elbows. _Embarrassing? Wait… Oh Merlin!_ Daphne quickly sprang off of him, her eyes darting towards his 'boy parts' for a moment. _He has an erection, doesn't he? Wait, of course he does. We were kissing and stuff… Getting aroused is only natural. I…_ _ **I**_ _made him feel aroused…_ The thought made her face burn, and she began fidgeting with her hands. _I had my oversized tits on his chest! What was I thinking?! My elbows were in the middle, but still…_

"I'm going to go…" came Ron's voice, and Daphne was ripped out of her thoughts. She cringed internally when she looked back at him, he was completely red and rather subdued.

"Wait…" Daphne blurted out. "Don't go… Just sit down, please." Ron blinked at her, but he didn't move to sit back down. "We decided to not let things get awkward, right?"

"This is… different…" Ron replied, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't want us to avoid eye contact for the foreseeable future, so please sit down" Daphne steeled her mind, but just barely. She was rather embarrassed herself, mostly because she had just given a boy an erection. But oddly enough, she was still clearheaded enough to know that Ron would start avoiding her for a while. _And I don't want that._ "Ron, it's alright… Please don't go…"

"Okay…" Ron sighed, sitting back down on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be" Daphne assured him. "It's natural… Mother is making me read a book on puberty, so I know that boys can't really control it… Especially at our age."

"She's having you read a book?" Ron asked slowly.

"Amongst other things…" Daphne replied, remembering her awkward lessons. "Most of it is just about… myself… But the book is for both boys and girls… Do you want to borrow it?" ' _Do you want to borrow it?' I'm such an idiot! Merlin, why did I say that?_

"Um… sure…" Ron replied, looking back to the closed door. _Time for drastic measures, otherwise he's going to bolt out of here. And I won't see him again for ages._

"This is part of learning about these things" Daphne announced, startling Ron due to her raised volume. "It's natural, and feeling embarrassed by something that you can't control is idiotic. Are you idiotic, Ron?"

"No" Ron shook his head, waiting for her to go on.

"Then let's leave it at that" Daphne suggested. "We both had fun, and we stopped before it got out of hand. We were **responsible** , and that's what matters."

"You're… You're right" Ron nodded to himself. "No harm was done."

"Exactly" Daphne said. "Thank you for making me feel better about my worries."

"Happy to help, Daphne" Ron smiled at her, though it looked rather nervous. "And it was fun… The kissing part, I mean. Wait… What I meant was that I enjoyed helping you, and kissing you. Both. Equally." _Helping me didn't give him an erection. He's beginning to spiral._

"We enjoy each other's company, and there's nothing wrong with that" Daphne said.

"Exactly" Ron snapped his fingers. "You're perfectly right, Daph. Let's just keep this between ourselves, and not make a big deal out of it." _That sounded more like a plea rather than a suggestion. But I'll take it._

"Do you want to play cards?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded fervently. "Just us… Friends… Playing cards together. They're on the table, I'll get them."

"Accio Daphne's cards" Ron pointed his left palm at her table, and much to her shock, her pack of cards flew into his hand. _Was that Wandless Magic?!_

"Ron… Did you just perform Wandless Magic?" Daphne asked as she stared at him with wide-eyes, completely forgetting the awkward situation that they were just in.

"I did" Ron nodded slowly, unpacking the cards. _'I did'? That's what he has to say to that?_

"You can do Wandless Magic just like that?" Daphne asked him. "I thought you only managed to do it against Madam Roberts because you were in a 'battle frenzy'…"

"The 'battle frenzy' helped, but I know how to perform a couple of Spells without a wand" Ron replied, a faint smile appearing onto his face. "Pretty cool, right?" _Pretty cool? That's amazing!_

"Ron, you're only thirteen" Daphne reminded him. "When did you learn to…? Wait… Your practice sessions at Hogwarts. You were learning Wandless Magic as well?"

"I was" Ron nodded, shuffling the cards.

"You're amazing…" Daphne blurted out, making Ron smile genuinely.

"Really?" he asked, sounding a little unsure.

"Yes… Really…" Daphne blinked at him. "You can do Wandless Magic…" _I'm both amazed, and slightly jealous. I think I made a big mistake when I didn't take his 'training' seriously._ "Can you teach me? Next year, that is." _Don't feel regret when you can fix your mistake. That's what father would say._

"Of course" Ron agreed, moving onto her bed completely.

"We can do it when we go over the old textbooks together" Daphne suggested.

"About that…" Ron started, losing his smile slightly. "I've been going through them in my spare time." _What? But we were meant to do that together._

"You have?" Daphne asked, feeling a pang of pain in her chest. "Why? You… You don't want to study with me?" She felt rather hurt by that, she had been looking forward to studying alone with him.

"I do" Ron quickly replied.

"Then why?"

"I thought that we could both do third year subjects together" Ron replied. "I mean, I have time to spare in the Holidays, but once we're at Hogwarts, we'll both have homework and other responsibilities. I decided that it would be in our best interest if I had caught up by then, just so we can concentrate on our current work together."

"So… We'll still study together?" Daphne asked, calming down significantly.

"Of course, I'm actually really looking forward to it" Ron admitted, relieved that she wasn't sounding so upset anymore. "I was thinking that we could sit on the bed inside of Sanctuary, and then we'd just do all of our work side-by-side." _Thank Merlin… That sounds great. I was worried for a moment that he didn't want to get help from me._ "And then we could… cuddle or something…"

"Cuddle or something?" she repeated without thinking twice.

"If you want to, that is…" Ron quickly replied. "I know that we haven't really cuddled before, but it should be fine… Right?"

"Right" Daphne nodded slowly, a smile creeping onto her face. "Show me more Wandless Magic?" Ron blinked at her, and then he nodded firmly. Ron then put the cards down and aimed both of his palms at them, his demeanor changing completely.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Ron chanted, his mind focusing completely on the task before him. All fifty-two cards flew into the air, hovering over Daphne's bed like stars. _Wow…_ Daphne just stared at them with a slack-jawed expression, and then she looked back to Ron. _Does he realize how amazing this is? How amazing he is?_

"Is it difficult?" Daphne asked him, and he gave a curt nod.

"I have to concentrate on the object completely" Ron replied, slowly bringing the cards back down. He then stacked the cards together right above them, and then placed them between himself and her. "Unlike using a wand, Wandless Magic requires you to think of the object as well as the Spell. Just imagine what you want the object to do, and imagine what the Spell can actually do. It gets easier with practice. I can even levitate my chair for a couple of seconds now."

"How often do you practice Wandless Magic?" Daphne asked, still just staring at him.

"An hour or so before I go to sleep" Ron shrugged.

"Everyday?"

"Everyday" Ron nodded, shuffling the cards again.

"You're not human" Daphne told him, something that made him snigger. "Why? Why even learn Wandless Magic at your age?" Ron looked up at that, a cocky grin on his face.

"To impress pretty witches" Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. _Pretty witches? He's pulling my leg._

"Witches… As in plural?" Daphne asked him. "Do I need to sharpen my nails, Ron? Didn't I already tell you that I'd claw out any witch's eyes if they asked you out?"

"Pretty witch…" Ron corrected himself, still grinning at her. "A pretty blonde witch, who is sitting right in front of me. That's what I meant."

"I'm sure you did" Daphne hummed, smiling at him involuntarily. "I'd hate for someone to lose their eyes because of your decisions, Ron."

"Merlin… You can be really scary sometimes, Daphne" Ron chuckled. _He thinks I'm kidding? Do I look like someone who likes to share?_ "Do you want to sit closer to me? For the game, I mean."

"You can come here" Daphne smirked, patting the comfortable spot beside her. Ron smiled and shook his head, and then he moved over to her side.

"What do you want to play?" Ron asked. _I want more kisses, but I'll settle for a game of Wizard's Poker._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Lunch)**_

After a delicious meal with the Greengrasses, and a long game of footsies with Daphne, Ron had completely put the embarrassing 'erection event' out of his mind. If Ron was being honest, he had half a mind to bolt out of Greengrass Manor and then ignore Daphne for a while. Just until he felt like he deserved to make eye contact with her again. But thankfully, he didn't do that. Instead he had played Wizard's Poker with Daphne, lost horribly to her, and had then eaten a Troll's share worth of food. All was right in the World right now.

"Ron, come with me" Lord Greengrass ordered after they had all finished. "We might as well spend your time here practicing for the Tournament on Monday." _That's fair, I suppose. I really need to win this one, just so we can make friends with the Chess League again. It's just a shame that it's on Daphne's birthday._

"I understand, my Lord" Ron stood up, earning put off looks from Tori and Daphne.

"Can't you do that tomorrow?" Tori pouted miserably.

"I can, and I will" Ron chuckled. "But I might as well get some work done now."

"And you have lessons with me, young Lady" Mary reminded her daughter. "Just because Ron is here doesn't mean that you get to take time off. Daphne, why don't you join us? I'm certain that your knowledge on Herbology isn't perfect yet."

"Yes, mother" Daphne agreed, slightly annoyed at having to study as well.

"Ron, come" Lord Greengrass said, heading out of the Dining Room. Ron followed after his mentor, not really bothered about not going home. In fact, he was kind of happy about it. Things had been a little tense at home, mostly because of his family's fragile minds. The twins and Ginny were upset that Ron had turned **his own** walls green, Percy was bothered because Ron had ignored his orders to 'let it go', and his parents were upset because Ron had offered to buy them a fence. Ron entered the room behind Lord Greengrass, and he shut the door.

"Do you want me to solve more conundrums? Or are we going to go over my strategies?" Ron asked, taking his usual seat.

"A bit of both… after we talk about some important matters" Lord Greengrass replied, taking a seat in his chair. _Important matters?_

"Is everything alright, my Lord?" Ron asked. _Does he know that I spent a lot of time with Daphne today? And that the door was locked the entire time? Oh Merlin, he knows about me getting an erection…_

"You tell me, Ron" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron swallowed thickly. "I've had a couple of interesting chats of late. Firstly, your mother and father. They are… displeased with you." _Huh? Shite, this is about the fence problem._ "Your mother mentioned something about you trying to buy them a fence instead of de-Gnoming the Garden by hand. Whatever that means…"

"I'm not even surprised that they told you about that" Ron sighed, he knew that the adults held some sort of meeting about him behind his back. _The 'let's discuss the cripple' group._ "All I did was offer to buy a fence around our property. I wasn't trying to insult them, I was offering to help us all. Have you ever dealt with Gnomes by hand?"

"No, I have not" Lord Greengrass admitted.

"They're vile little buggers" Ron told his mentor. "They bite, scratch, kick, punch, and even spit on people who try to remove them from a Garden. My father 'likes having them around' because he thinks that 'they are harmless bundles of joy', but let me assure you, those things are nothing but vermin. I'm tired of us having to deal with them every three weeks or so, and therefore, I offered to buy a fence to keep them out."

"Was that response rehearsed?" Lord Greengrass asked him. _It may have been… Give me a break, I expected mum to tell Pandora about this._ "Your mother told us that you were not even asked to help with this task, but you still volunteered to. Why?"

"To help the twins, believe it or not" Ron admitted. "They may annoy me sometimes, but overall, they're pretty great. And two people aren't enough to deal with dozens of those blighters. **And**... I can use Magic in the Holidays. My Lord, why are you discussing this with me? It has nothing to do with Chess?" _Or you._

"Your father asked me to" Lord Greengrass replied, rubbing his forehead. "He thinks that I'm the 'Ronald whisperer', or something just as absurd. Just tell me that you didn't offer to buy that fence simply because you were ashamed of your Family's house, and we can move on from this dull conversation."

"Is that what they think?" Ron frowned deeply, and Lord Greengrass nodded. _Ashamed of my Family's house? I love the Burrow, but that doesn't mean that I can't be ashamed of it._

"That's why they came to me rather than speak to you themselves…" Lord Greengrass rolled his eyes.

"Any person with half a brain would be ashamed of living in the Burrow" Ron said, deciding to be blunt. Lord Greengrass looked up at that, looking rather surprised for once. "What? It's true… Most of the house needs repairs, the furniture is far too old, the wallpapers are damaged and faded, there is little to no space in most areas of the house, Gnomes constantly invade our Garden, the shed looks like it was raided by Trolls, and there is a bloody Ghoul right above my room. It's pathetic… But I still love that house. And I can fix these problems rather easily, the only two things in my way are my parents and their 'pride'."

"Ronald… Even I think that what you just said was harsh" Lord Greengrass frowned slightly.

"Truth is harsh" Ron reminded his mentor. "I'm not trying to be cruel, all I did was offer to chip in a bit. They're making a big deal out of it because of their own insecurities, that's their problem. I haven't once brought it up again after my mother shut me down, so I refuse to apologize just because they feel inept."

"That…" Lord Greengrass started, but then he stopped suddenly. "That is something that I would say."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"Personally, I think that you're right" Lord Greengrass admitted, he didn't really care about Arthur or Molly's opinions on 'fences and Gnomes'. The fact that they had come to him with such a trivial matter had irked him greatly, but he followed through with it simply because it involved Ron. "Just do us both a favor, and don't ever say that to your parents. I will tell them that you only wanted to help out. That ought to put this to bed."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron said gratefully.

"Now, onto the other matter" Lord Greengrass started. "I was visited by Madam Roberts last night. She felt the need to make me aware of your progress."

"My progress?" Ron asked.

"She wishes to teach you how to Apparate" Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron immediately grinned. _Apparate?! You can't do that until you're seventeen!_

"Really?!" Ron asked excitedly, and Lord Greengrass cocked an eyebrow at him. "Wait, won't it be illegal?"

"That is what I asked her" Lord Greengrass replied. "Normally, Apparition is only allowed if you have a license, but as it turns out, Dueling Tournaments allow Apparition if you've proven that you can do it. She told me that none of the other Duelists your age will even try to learn it, which in turn will give you a massive advantage."

"Bloody hell" Ron chuckled, his mood couldn't be better right now.

"I advised her against teaching you something so dangerous" Lord Greengrass told him, and Ron felt the wind leave his lungs. _He did what…?_

"Why?" Ron asked, just blinking at his mentor. _Why would he do that? How_ _ **could**_ _he do that to me?_

"Apparition is not like other Spells, Ron" Lord Greengrass sighed, he didn't like disappointing his apprentice in such a manner. But there were more important things than winning Tournaments. "One mistake, and you can die… I myself lost half of my right foot due to splinching. And if it wasn't for Professor Slughorn, I'd be footless today." _Footless? What the fuck?_ "And I was three years your senior when I tried my hand at Apparition."

"But I'm good with Spells, you know that" Ron whined, his mood utterly spoiled. _So she's not teaching me anything on Sunday? Fuck! I've been looking forward to it all damn week…_

"I do know that, Ron" Lord Greengrass said. "But you are far too young to learn this ability. It's far too dangerous, and with your… condition… I'm not certain that you should learn it at all."

"My condition?" Ron repeated, trying not to sound like a whiny brat.

"Yes, your condition" Lord Greengrass replied. "A condition that she is still not aware about…" _Oh fuck…_

"I've been meaning to tell her" Ron started, but Lord Greengrass stopped him by raising his hand.

"I don't care about your excuses, Ron" Lord Greengrass said firmly. "I have given you more than enough time to tell her yourself, and since you refuse to do it, I will have to twist your arm. You will tell her yourself on Sunday, or I will do it myself."

"Why does she even need to know?" Ron asked, not happy about Lord Greengrass taking away his choice.

"She is teaching you a dangerous craft, and she is doing it without fully knowing about your health" Lord Greengrass frowned, why was this boy so secretive? "Ron, your condition is not a joke. I fear that you are under the delusion that it can't hurt you, but I have been speaking to Healer Bernard, and he has told me that your condition could be fatal." _Fatal?_ "Do you know what that word means?"

"I do" Ron replied, his mentor's tone was getting harsher with each word.

"Then you understand why I'm forcing you to do this" Lord Greengrass said, and then he took in a deep breath in order to calm down. "I don't like raising my voice when I speak to you, you know that. But sometimes Ronald, your stubbornness infuriates me."

"Sorry…"

"Don't be sorry, be better" Lord Greengrass told him. "I don't feel the need to clarify this often, but I'm going to do it today. I have grown very fond of you, Ron." _Fond of me?_ Ron stared at his mentor, doing his best to keep himself from making any sounds. "My Family has grown very fond of you. There are a lot of people who care about you. And every time I see you put yourself in danger, it makes me wonder if you truly understand the fact that you can die because of your condition. You. Could. Die. Does that mean nothing to you?" Ron averted his gaze, of course he understood that. It truly terrified him, but he feared failing his Cycle even more.

"You will tell her on Sunday" Lord Greengrass told him. "And if you don't, then I will. That is if I don't send her away completely… Your Dueling Skills pale in comparison to your health in my eyes. Do you understand?"

"I understand…" Ron replied, looking down at the Chess board in front of him. _I have to tell her then. I can't afford to lose a trainer who is willing to teach me everything that I need to know._ Ron suddenly felt a hand on his right shoulder, and he looked up to see Lord Greengrass giving him a weak smile.

"I'm sorry about this, Ron" Lord Greengrass apologized. "But this is for the best. You might not understand that just yet, but one day, you will thank me for it."

"What if she refuses to teach a cripple?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass held back his frown.

"You are not a cripple" Lord Greengrass assured him. "And if she refuses to teach you, then I will find someone else for you."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Morning)**_

"I have to tell you something, Madam Roberts" Ron piped up, his stomach clenching tightly. _Here I go._

"Tell me what?" Madam Roberts asked, watching Ron stretch his arms.

"You know how I have scars all over me?" Ron asked, stopping his stretching. _Just do it, and deal with the consequences afterwards._

"Yes" Madam Roberts replied, her eyes narrowing on him ever so slightly. "Boy, just spit it out already."

"I have brain-damage" Ron told her, and she just stared at him. Ron simply stood there, watching the old witch stare at him, his stomach feeling queasy. After five seconds, Ron couldn't bare the silence anymore. "It's not too bad, but if it increases, I could… I could die…" _Fucking hell, I'm going to be sick._

"Was your faulty Spell the reason?" she asked him, doing her best to not sound surprised. But truth be told, this was a rather unforeseen event and it had shaken her. _Faulty Spell? Should… Should I tell her the truth? That it wasn't my fault, but rather Dumbledore's for keeping the Stone in a school full of children. That the Dark Lord tried to possess me? No… I promised Snape and Dumbledore that I wouldn't ever discuss that again, and unlike them, my word still means something._

"Yes" Ron lied, and she nodded slowly. "And it's not just that…"

"There's more?" she asked him, how long had he been hiding this?! An old wound in her mind felt irritated once again, and she did her best not to lose her temper at him.

"I was also diagnosed with Chronic Stress Disorder" Ron admitted, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. _She deserves to be told properly. I've been hiding this for too long._

"What's that?" she asked, just staring at him with disappearing shock and hidden rage.

"I stress… constantly…" Ron swallowed, he could see that she was getting angry. _She's trying to hide it, but I can fucking see it in her eyes. She's pissed off._ "There are other side-effects… Mood-swings, moments of irrationality, temper issues… Sometimes I even get depressed for no reason…" Madam Roberts drew in a deep breath, and then she walked up and grabbed Ron by his collar. _Oh fuck!_

"Weeks… We've been doing this for weeks… And you didn't say a word!" she suddenly yelled, making Ron flinch. "Foolish boy!" she pushed him back, but he barely moved at all.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want you to…" Ron trailed off as he looked down at his feet.

"You didn't want me to leave?" Madam Roberts asked, her tone was seething. "You and your mentor have been lying to me from the jump! So why shouldn't I leave?"

"We didn't lie…" Ron started, but he stopped himself immediately. _Don't lie to her again, you moron._ "No, you're right… But don't blame Lord Greengrass, he told me to tell you during our first session. I hid it from you… Just me… I knew that you'd be angry, and that you'd want to find another student."

"You think I'm angry because you have brain-damage?" Madam Roberts hissed as she raised her baton, and Ron clenched his teeth. But the baton never came down on him, instead she threw it on the floor in front of him. "Idiot boy… Is your condition fatal? Are there seizures due to the brain-damage? Is your life in danger if you stress too much?"

"Yes…" Ron muttered.

"Then tell me… What would happen if you had a seizure and I didn't know about your condition? What if you dropped dead in front of me? I would have to live with that for the rest of my life, whereas you would get to sod off to wherever the dead go… Tell me, did you even think of that?" _No…_

"No" Ron shook his head.

"We're done" she told him, and Ron felt his eyes sting. _I was right, and I was so bloody wrong at the same time._ "Grab your things, and get out."

"Please, just give me a chance" Ron resorted to begging. _I need you!_ "My condition is manageable, and I've been managing it just fine…"

"Your condition cannot work alongside my teaching methods" Madam Roberts hissed. "I will not have any more deaths on my conscience, now leave…" With that, she turned around and marched towards the exit. Ron just stared at her leave, his hands trembling slightly because of the adrenaline… and anger. Anger at himself, more specifically. _I fucked it up, didn't I? What did she mean by 'any more deaths'?_ Ron grabbed his wand from the couches, and then he followed her out. By the time he exited the suitcase, Lord Greengrass was already getting an earful from Madam Roberts.

"Find yourself another fool, Greengrass" Madam Roberts snapped at Lord Greengrass, who was simply staring at her quietly. She then turned to Ron with a sneer, and Ron stepped out of her way. She grabbed her suitcase, walked over to the fireplace, and flooed back to the Ministry.

"Perhaps this is for the best" Lord Greengrass sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't say that I particularly liked that woman…"

"I liked her…" Ron sighed, feeling like a piece of shite. "Did she really quit?"

"She told me to 'shove the contract down my throat so I would choke on it', so I'd say yes."

"Were you just waiting out here for her?" Ron asked.

"I was" Lord Greengrass admitted. "We will find you someone else, Ron."

"Will they be half as good as her?" Ron asked, but Lord Greengrass didn't reply. _That's a no… Despite being who she was, I knew that she would help me more than anyone else could when it comes to Dueling._ "I'll talk to her again."

"You will?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I need her, and I don't give up easy" Ron said, deciding to fix this. _Which other tutor is willing to teach me the Dark Arts? None of them. I need her for my Cycle's success, which means that I have to get her back._

"If you think it best, then by all means, do your best to persuade her" Lord Greengrass said, turning to leave the room.

"Any advice?" Ron asked quickly.

"She is powerful, and she respects strength" Lord Greengrass replied, heading for his study. "Don't avert your gaze, and don't let your voice crack. Oh, and give her a few days to cool off." _Alright… Fucking great. I guess I'll need to go to the Ministry in order to talk to her. But when? I have that Tournament tomorrow, I'm meeting Lady Longbottom again on Wednesday, and I want to pitch my idea to Xeno soon. If he sells The Quibbler before I get a chance to speak to him, then I'll lose the chance to use it. Not to mention that school starts soon, and that Percy, Ginny, Daphne, and Tracey have birthdays soon. I really have no fucking spare time on my hands… There's never enough time._

* * *

 _ **Monday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Morning)**_

"Merlin, what's this?" Daphne asked, all of them staring at the massive crowd near Flourish and Blotts. Ron was here with the Greengrasses only because Lord Greengrass hadn't bothered procuring seats for the Weasleys, which was fair because he wasn't their caretaker. Plus, they knew about this Tournament for as long as Ron did, so they had plenty of time to procure their own seats.

"I thought that this Tournament was supposed to be a small affair" Mary said to her husband, who was just eyeing the crowd with a frown.

"It was meant to be" Lord Greengrass stated. "I count six cameras… Damn vultures are here, and they're blocking the entrance."

"I'm going invisible" Ron told them. "And then I'll sneak in with you all."

"A good idea… but not necessary" Lord Greengrass suddenly smirked. "Ron, how do you feel about giving these people some words?" _Some words?_

"Husband…" Mary sighed, they had a deal with the Weasleys to uphold. Ron was to be kept away from the public eye for his own good, and in return, Ron could keep playing Chess despite his condition.

"It's up to him" Lord Greengrass said, looking to Ron. "Some exposure now is better than getting caught unawares down the line. This will be a good learning experience for him." _Learning experience, eh?_

"Then I'll do it" Ron agreed. _How hard could it be? The last time I was interviewed by a lot of people, the Chamber of Secrets was on everyone's mind. This time, it'll be different._

"Ron, be careful with what you say to them" Mary advised as they all began making their way towards the blocked entrance. "Astoria, hold my hand so you don't get swept away."

"Alright" Tori said, grabbing onto Mary's hand tightly enough to make the older witch wince a bit.

"Daphne, fix his tie" Lord Greengrass ordered. "I want our Family's Emblem to be visible."

"Ron, stop" Daphne said, and he did as he was told. She began fixing his tie while he stared at the massive crowd, their loud chatter making him swallow thickly. "Don't be nervous" Daphne whispered, and Ron looked to her. "You can do this, I know it."

"Thanks" Ron whispered back.

"Are you two done?" Lord Greengrass asked. "We need to be inside by ten, and it's already quarter to." _Merlin, we're cutting it close._ "Ron, walk with me. Daphne, take your mother's other hand." They all got into formation, and then they began marching forward again.

"That's him!" some reporter yelled, taking a photo immediately. And before Ron could even say 'Hello', they were all surrounded by people shouting over each other as they snapped photo after photo. _My fucking eyes, you bastards. I need them to play the damn game._

"Quiet!" Lord Greengrass' voice boomed. "We have time for a few questions, so ask them in an orderly fashion!"

"What are your chances of winning, Mr. Weasley?" a witch asked Ron, jotting down her own question on her notepad.

"Lord Greengrass and I have trained vigorously for this Tournament, and I believe that I have a real shot at winning this" Ron replied, thinking every word through. _Yep, this was a terrible idea. What if I say something stupid?_

"After your victory at this year's Junior League Tournament, your presence in the Media has been nonexistent. Why is that?" another reporter asked. _Fucking hell…_

"Um… I have school, and other responsibilities" Ron started, trying to come up with something other than 'my parents decided for me'. "My family and I decided that I should focus on my studies for now."

"Madame Olympe Maxime was seen entering the building not long ago, how do you feel about her being here?" a perky witch asked, and Ron blinked at her. _Madame Maxime is here? Why? Doesn't she have a school to run?_

"I was not aware that she was attending" Ron replied. "But she is more than welcome to be here."

"But how do you feel about her being here?" the witch asked again. _Fuck, I didn't answer the question._

"I have no ill feelings on the matter, she and I actually got along splendidly at my victory gala" Ron replied, deciding to honor their alliance. "I'm glad that she is here, and I hope that she will be showing me her support."

"Did she truly apologize to you during your victory gala as many French sources claim?" a chubby wizard asked, his camera man snapping a photo of Ron.

"She was truly remorseful, and her apology was sincere" Ron replied.

"That's enough questions" Lord Greengrass stepped in, something wasn't right here. "We have to get inside soon, so please make way." Surprisingly, the reporters did as they were told. Unsurprisingly, they started shouting again and snapping photo after photo. Lord Greengrass put his arm around Ron in order to guide him, and to make sure that some reporter didn't snatch him into the crowd. After a bit of turbulence, they all stepped into Flourish and Blotts.

"Why did they all smell so bad?" Tori asked her parents.

"It's a prerequisite for their jobs" Lord Greengrass replied, and then he looked to Ron. "You did well."

"I did?" Ron asked. "I think that I overthought everything…"

"You did well, Ron" Mary assured him, still holding her daughters' hands. "With a bit of practice, you'll be even better." _Yep, I was terrible at it. Oh well, whatever… I'm here to win this thing, not give speeches._

"Why do you think that Madame Maxime is here?" Daphne asked her father.

"She is no doubt trying to show Ron 'her support' in order to absolve herself in the Media" Lord Greengrass replied. "She has been particularly charitable as of late, and there are always reporters around to take pictures of her kind acts. I wouldn't be surprised if she was behind that lot being here."

"They started asking questions about her" Ron realized. "I think I just got used…"

"Welcome to the sad world of politics" Mary sighed. "Come, let's get inside the back." They all made their way towards the back of the shop, and they were greeted halfway by a young man with a large red ledger.

"Name of contestant?" the young man asked.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley" Ron replied, and the young man ticked off his name.

"Your tickets?" the man asked the Greengrasses, and Lord Greengrass handed them over. "Enjoy the Tournament." They all moved past him and stepped into the back, and much to Ron's surprise, the back of the shop had been made larger some sort of Spell. _It's just like Madam Roberts' suitcase! So this Charm can be applied to rooms as well? Neat. I need to find a way to learn it. Then I can have a personal home with me wherever I go._

"Mary, take the girls to our seats" Lord Greengrass said. "I will take Ron to his, and then I'll meet you after."

"Come along girls" Mary said. "Good luck, Ron."

"Good luck, Ron" the Greengrass sisters said together, and Ron smiled at them.

"I'll do my best" Ron promised them as they left.

"Come, Ron" Lord Greengrass said as he put his hand on Ron's right shoulder. They both walked over to his seat amongst the contestants, and Ron spotted Madame Maxime in the crowd rather easily. She gave him a polite nod, one that he returned without any delay. _Maybe I'll get a chance to talk to her after this. I definitely need to win this. I have to show her that I'm worth being allies with._

"I've got this, my Lord" Ron told his mentor, who smirked at him in response.

"I know" Lord Greengrass said. "Is a five hundred Galleon bonus enough incentive?"

"It certainly helps" Ron smiled widely, his eyes gleaming gold.

"Very well, it's a deal" Lord Greengrass nodded. "Win this thing. Don't rush yourself, and for Merlin's sake, don't get obsessed with your opponent's knights."

"I've stopped doing that" Ron sighed.

"Old habits die hard, trust me" Lord Greengrass said, patting Ron on the shoulder firmly. "Good luck, Ronald. Make me proud."

"I will."

* * *

 _ **Monday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Flourish and Blotts – Afternoon)**_

Ron was genuinely surprised with himself. Either his training was really paying off, or Lord Greengrass had payed all of his opponents off. Ron had smashed through his matches with relative ease, especially his final opponent who was clearly rattled due to facing Ron. As it turned out, Ron's fame was growing rather steadily in the Wizarding Chess scene, and because of that, every opponent here was wary of him. The fact that Ron had won the Junior League Tournament despite the odds he was facing was something that scared his opponents greatly, and Ron loved it. It felt amazing to be recognize, especially because of the pain that he had put himself through for that win. It had been worth it.

Ron shook hands with his defeated opponent, George… something, and then he made his way back to his seat. Ron smiled up at the Greengrasses, all of them smiling back at him. Ron then shot a look towards Madame Maxime, who was smiling at him in an approving manner. _One more notch in my belt._

"This concludes our Junior League Flourish and Blotts Tournament, please give the winner, Ronald Weasley, your applause" the announcer said, and everyone applauded Ron. Ron could actually hear Tori's voice, and he wondered how such a tiny girl could make so much noise.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Once all the ceremonial nonsense had taken place, Ron had won himself two hundred Galleons and an interview with an Official from the International League of Wizard's Chess Club. _And an extra five hundred Galleons from Lord Greengrass. It's been a good day._

"Hand that over love, you need to get ready for your interview" Mary beamed at Ron, giving his left cheek a quick peck before taking his trophy. "I'll have this sent to Hogwarts for you."

"Thank you" Ron smiled at her, taking a good look at his golden trophy. _Another one for my collection._

"Do I really have to wait to hug him?" Tori asked Mary.

"Yes" Mary tutted.

"Ugh…" Tori rolled her eyes, and then she grinned at Ron. "When we get home, I'll give you lots of hugs and kisses."

"Thanks" Ron shook his head, and then he looked to Daphne.

"Congratulations, Ron" Daphne said in a polite voice, and Ron blinked at her. _That's it? I actually want hugs and kisses from you._

"Thank you" Ron replied, trying not to sound disappointed. "Where is Lord Greengrass?"

"My husband is making sure that the Official doesn't sneak out the back" Mary replied. "Hurry along to the back of the room, we will meet you both after your interview."

Ron said his farewells to the Ladies, and then he began making his way towards the back of the room. Luckily, there were no reporters inside of Flourish and Blotts, otherwise Ron might have been swarmed by now. As he looked around for Lord Greengrass, he saw a mountainous woman making her way over to him.

"Madame Maxime" Ron greeted her, and she smiled down at him. _I know I've said it once, but I'll say it again. That's one big woman._

"Congratulations, Ronald" Madame Maxime said, offering Ron her large hand. He took it with his gloved one, kissed her knuckled, and bowed respectfully. "An outstanding display of skill, my boy. Well done on earning another win."

"Thank you, Madame Maxime" Ron replied, smiling rather genuinely at her. "And thank you for being here in order to show me your support."

"Is that why I came here?" Madame Maxime chuckled.

"I certainly hope so" Ron replied. "We're friends, are we not?"

"That we are" she nodded, amused by the boy's good humor. "I must say, I did not expect you to win so… easily. You truly are worth your weight in gold, aren't you?" _Is she referring to my partnership with Lord Greengrass?_

"We both benefit from working together, and Lord Greengrass has become more than just a mentor for me" Ron replied.

"That is good to hear" Madame Maxime smiled. "I recently found myself in the company of Frederick Laurent. Do you know who that is?"

"I do" Ron replied. "The French Chess Master who trains his own personal club of protégés. I hear that he's one of the best in the Chess scene."

"A true genius, and a very charming wizard" Madame Maxime said, sounding more like a salesperson than a Headmistress. "I told him of our friendship, and he was rather interested in meeting you."

"He wanted to meet me?" Ron asked, slightly taken aback. _What does he want? Probably wants to poach me from Lord Greengrass, doesn't he? My loyalty doesn't sway with the wind, so I'm not interested._

"There is not a witch or wizard in France who doesn't want to meet you" Madame Maxime replied. "Your victory at the Junior League Tournament has become rather… well-known. I imagine that you have more fans in France than you do in England. You should visit us again someday. We would love to host you again, and this time, Veelas will not be the only ones trying to seduce you." _Seduce me? Yeesh, I'm thirteen…_

"I would love to visit France again" Ron started, and Madame Maxime smiled at that. "But Hogwarts starts soon, and I have quite a lot of… business… to conduct in what remains of my Holidays. Perhaps I will drop by after the first semester."

"I certainly hope you will" Madame Maxime said, her eyes darting towards Sebastian Greengrass for a moment. The man was just staring at her from behind Ron, and the boy seemed to be oblivious to his mentor's presence. "I will send your regards to Amanda, Ronald. The girl has become rather popular due to her adorable friendship with you."

"Please do" Ron smiled at the thought of his French friend. "Tell her that I hope to see her again soon, and that I will write to her again once school starts."

"Au revoir, Ronald" Madame Maxime said, giving him a parting nod.

"Goodbye, Madame Maxime" Ron imitated her gesture, and then she was gone. Ron watched her leave, her massive build towering over the people around her.

"You handled that well" came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron turned to face his mentor. "Will I be needing a new apprentice?"

"I would never starve you of my company, my Lord" Ron smirked, earning a light chuckle from Lord Greengrass. "Did you find the Official?"

"I did" Lord Greengrass replied, gesturing Ron to begin following him. They began making their way towards the Official, and Lord Greengrass put his hand on Ron's right shoulder. "You played well, Ron. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled at his mentor, slightly taken aback by the fact that Lord Greengrass was showing him such open affection. _Usually he just says 'Congratulation', and that's it. Maybe a look of pride every now and then, but he never openly admits it._

"Now, about this Official" Lord Greengrass started, surprised by his own previous words. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to show Ron how he felt right now. "His name is Henry Buckingham, and he is one arrogant piece of work. Be polite, don't antagonize him, and answer his questions truthfully."

"What sort of questions will he ask me?" Ron asked, annoyed at the prospect of dealing with another arrogant twat.

"He will probably want to know what your Future goals are, or why you wish to be a professional Chess player" Lord Greengrass replied. "There he is…" Ron looked over to see a man in his middle-ages. Henry was a gangly man with a thick black moustache, and he wore a golden monocle that made him look rather silly in Ron's eyes.

"Ah, finally…" Henry said, giving Ron and Lord Greengrass an irritated look. "I've been waiting for nearly five minutes."

"Sorry about that, Henry" Lord Greengrass said politely. "Ronald here needed a toilet break." _Wow… Really?_

"I should have gone this morning, sorry" Ron apologized, trying not to shoot a frown at his smirking mentor.

"Yes, yes…" Henry said quickly, gesturing Ron to take a seat on a close-by chair. Ron did as he was told, all the while smiling like a polite young man. _What's this guy's hurry?_ Henry summoned a chair for himself via Magic, and then he sat down across from Ron. Lord Greengrass was now standing behind Henry, and Ron smiled a little more widely when his mentor started frowning at the back of Henry's head.

"Firstly, congratulations on another victory" Henry started, though he didn't sound too happy about it.

"Thank you, Sir" Ron said.

"As I'm sure you're aware, this interview will be published in Wizard's Chess Weekly" Henry stated, and Ron nodded. "So let's get started, shall we?"

"Certainly" Ron nodded.

"Let's start with something simple" Henry took out a notepad. "How long have you been apprenticing for Sebastian Greengrass?"

"It's been around one year now" Ron replied. "We first met after I won last year's Junior League Chess Tournament in Hogsmeade."

"You did not have a mentor when you entered the competition last year?" Henry asked. "You won with a perfect record, if I remember correctly."

"I did win with a perfect record, and no, I did not have a mentor then" Ron replied, earning a slow nod from Henry. "I didn't start apprenticing for Lord Greengrass until my end of year Holidays from Hogwarts." _And he certainly didn't secure me beforehand by working in bad faith…_

"Why Sebastian Greengrass?" Henry asked. "You must've had dozens of offers before him, so why did you settle for him?"

"Because he's the best" Ron smiled, earning a smirk from his mentor. "Not to mention that his eldest daughter is a good friend of mine. He came to watch me at her behest, and once we spoke, I really wanted him to mentor me. But Lord Greengrass chose to wait in order to give the other Masters a fair chance to send me offers. I kept refusing them, and eventually, Lord Greengrass made me his offer. I accepted his mentorship immediately."

"And it has certainly paid off" Henry said, sounding a little more polite now. "What is your training regimen like? Does your mentor push you to your limits?"

"He certainly does" Ron admitted. "Lord Greengrass values hard-work, as do I, so we're a perfect match for each other. We have spent countless hours training together, and much to his credit, he always keeps my training fresh. I'm happy to admit that I've never once felt bored by our work together."

"And how does this training fit into your school life?" Henry asked. "You are often labeled a Prodigy by the Media, do you ever feel that your training is affecting your studies?" _Yeesh, these questions are getting harder._

"Lord Greengrass and I train on Saturdays, so I never miss out on my classes" Ron replied. "As for my training affecting my studies, there are no real negatives in my opinion. I always get my work done on time, and if I ever truly need to focus on my schoolwork, Lord Greengrass understands that completely." _That was a straight-up lie. He'd tell me to get my head out my arse._

"How many hours do you spend training with him every Saturday?" Henry asked.

"From morning to late evening" Ron replied, and Henry blinked at him.

"So around ten to twelve hours?" Henry asked, and Ron nodded. "And no breaks in between?"

"We eat lunch together, but other than that, no" Ron replied. "Like I said, we both understand the benefits of hard-work."

"And I assume that you are also expected to practice in your own time?" Henry asked.

"I am" Ron nodded. "I love playing Chess, so to me, it doesn't feel like practice or work. And playing Chess certainly beats writing essays" Ron joked.

"Everything beats writing essays" Henry joked back, he was beginning to get impressed by this boy. The boy was clearly mental… but impressive. "What do you like to do in your spare time, Ronald? May I call you Ronald?"

"Of course you can" Ron replied. "And I usually study in my spare time, or I work to learn new Spells. And of course, solve Chess conundrums."

"What about Quidditch? Or spending time with your peers?" Henry asked.

"I enjoy flying around on my broom, but truth be told, I know that it doesn't really help me improve myself" Ron replied. "So I don't do it often. As for spending time with my peers, I have six amazing friends who are nothing if not supportive." _That is when they're not making jokes at my expense, or when I'm trying to irritate them for a laugh._

"These friends are Slytherins too, I assume" Henry said, and Ron nodded.

"They are" Ron said with a genuine smile. "Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis, and Millicent Bulstrode."

"Did you just say their names in order to give them a shout-out?" Henry asked.

"I won't deny that" Ron chuckled. _And to show their parents that they can kiss my arse for all I care._

"You said that you don't think that Quidditch can help you improve yourself, what did you mean by that?" Henry asked, though it was more out of curiosity.

"Flying around on a broom doesn't really help me with my studies, or Chess" Ron replied. "Instead of spending an hour just flying about, I put that hour into my work. The more I get done, the better I become."

"That is a very… studious… way of thinking" Henry noted. "Do you ever feel alienated from the other students in Hogwarts?"

"Sometimes I do, but like I said, I have great friends who are always there for me" Ron replied. "And my House is also very supportive of me, especially the older students." _Might as well give them a little credit. And by them, I mean Clara, Carey, and Samantha._

"I see" Henry nodded. "One last question about your school-life… What is your opinion of your teachers? Are they supportive of your work? Do they ever take it easy on you due to your responsibilities outside of Hogwarts?"

"The teachers at Hogwarts are the best, and no… They don't take it easy on me" Ron replied, deciding to raise his school's reputation. "They are extremely supportive of my work, especially my Head of House Professor Snape, who even spent an entire day helping me sign up for last year's Junior League Tournament. He also allows me to use his personal floo in order to help me get to work." _And he's a massive, greasy cunt most of the time. And the last time I saw him, he jammed his wand into my neck._

"Speaking of Tournaments, we have to discuss your victory at the Junior League Tournament in France" Henry started, this is what he truly wanted to write about. "You have been very quiet about your… impressive… victory at Beauxbatons. Can you tell me why?"

"My school-life kind of took over after my victory, and before I knew it, I was knee deep in essays again" Ron replied, deciding to not bring up the Chamber of Secrets. _Or my petrification._

"And is it true that you were petrified by the monster of Slytherin?" Henry asked suddenly, and Ron's smile fell a little. _Merlin, people love talking about other people's lives, don't they?_

"He will not be answering that" Lord Greengrass stepped in, frowning at the back of Henry's head.

"I'm sorry if it brings up any traumatic memories" Henry apologized, just staring at Ron's hollowed expression. "We… We will cut that from the interview."

"Thank you" Ron shook his head lightly, knocking the image of a possessed Ginny hurting him out of his skull. _I could have captured her, but I held back instead. Ended up getting petrified for my trouble. I could have done a million things to help save her, but I panicked like some coward instead._

"It is no secret that the Veelas were abusing their allures at the Junior League Tournament, how did you feel about that at the time?" Henry asked, deciding to veer clear of the boy's school-life for now.

"At the time…" Ron started. _I should tell the truth, otherwise I'll come across as a blatant liar._ "I was angry, and extremely frustrated…" Lord Greengrass gave a slow, approving nod to Ron from behind Henry. "I felt like they were trying to cheat me out of a fair game, and that they were disrespecting something that I love at the same time. My friend Amanda DuPont, who is a student at Beauxbatons, was similarly vexed. She said that 'Chess is a game of skill and wit, and that it was being sullied by the Veelas' actions'… I felt the same way as her."

"It was truly shocking" Henry agreed. _Then why did you people approve it?_ "It has been confirmed that you resisted over fifty Veela allures at once through sheer willpower, something that was believed to be entirely impossible at the time. Do you have any comments on making history?"

"Making history hurts a lot" Ron chuckled, though there was no mirth in his voice. "It… It hurt so much that I could barely even see by the end of the first day. Lord Greengrass had to carry me home, and I don't remember anything after my fourth game."

"Astonishing…" Henry whispered to himself. "Did you know that the French Ministry is currently attempting to conduct a study in order to reproduce your accomplishment?"

"I did not" Ron admitted. "Any success?"

"None whatsoever" Henry replied. "One man managed to resist four Veelas at once, but when a fifth was added, he had to be physically restrained." _Figures. They don't have the Entity living inside their heads._ "You resisted over fifty of them at once… How did you do it?"

"Like you said, sheer willpower" Ron lied with a smile, and Henry actually smiled at him. Though his smile looked more like genuine bewilderment.

"Could you do it again?" Henry asked.

"I'm sure that I could" Ron nodded. "But I'd really rather not have to go through that much pain again." Henry nodded slowly, and then he took a quick look at his pocket watch. _He really has somewhere else to be, doesn't' he?_

"Oh, we'd better hurry this along" Henry said, shaking his head clear. "You have an undefeated record when it comes to Tournaments, how long do you imagine that you can keep it going?"

"I can't really see the Future" Ron chuckled, amused by his own personal joke. "But I'd like to keep winning for as long as possible. I'm more than willing to work myself to the bone if necessary, and I hope that that will help me along."

"Are you planning to achieve the title of Chess Master somewhere down the line?" Henry asked.

"I am" Ron admitted. "It is one of the reasons why I work as hard as I do when it comes to Chess."

"That is good to hear" Henry stated. "Do you have any more specific Tournaments planned for the remainder of the year?"

"Not at the moment, no" Ron replied. "But I'm sure that I'll be making an appearance at one or two Tournaments before the end of the year."

"Well, we hope to see you there" Henry stood up, and Ron followed suit. _A bit abrupt, but alright. I'm starving anyway._

"Thank you" Ron said, shaking Henry's hand firmly.

"We will be using some photos that we took during the matches, is that fine?" Henry asked Lord Greengrass.

"It is" Lord Greengrass replied. "Please make sure that they're flattering."

"We will" Henry nodded, and then he quickly left for his 'appointment'.

"He was in a rush" Ron noted, and Lord Greengrass nodded curtly.

"A bit rude… but it hardly matters" Lord Greengrass said. "We got what we wanted."

"Did we?" Ron asked. "I thought that we wanted to make friends with these people, but it didn't feel like we made any form of alliance."

"You gave a superb interview, and you didn't once blame the International League of Wizard's Chess Club for the debacle in France" Lord Greengrass told him. "They're doing their best to piece together their reputation again, and you just helped them immensely. They won't forget that, I assure you."

"They're trying to fix their reputation… Madame Maxime is trying to fix hers… We really did a number on these people, didn't we?" Ron asked.

" **You** did a number on them, Ron" Lord Greengrass smiled at him. "Don't ever sell yourself short because you were nothing short of amazing in France. Even if I hated seeing you in that much pain, I won't deny that I was truly moved by your conviction."

"Th… Thank you, my Lord" Ron blinked at his mentor. "You're being awfully nice to me today."

"Am I usually not nice?" Lord Greengrass asked with a smirk.

"You are, but you're being extra nice" Ron replied. "Truth be told, it makes me feel like you want something from me."

"That's what I like about you Ron, you are paranoid enough to be truly successful one day" Lord Greengrass smiled and shook his head. "I just want you to keep working the way you have been, nothing more. And… And maybe fly your broom around once in a while…"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked again.

"It's nothing…" Lord Greengrass sighed, his smile faltering slightly. "Come along, Ron. Let's get some food in you. I've booked The Pond for us." _Is he dying or something?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Evening)**_

"Are you sure that you're not upset with me?" Ron asked again, and Daphne rolled her eyes. They were both currently planning her birthday party in the Living Room, and truth be told, it was a disturbingly difficult task. "I know that it's your birthday today, but the competition…"

"Ron… I've already told you that I don't care about that" Daphne assured him again. "Tracey and I are having a joined birthday party, that'll count as my real birthday." _You can't change when your birthday is, that's against the rules._

"Alright…" Ron whispered to himself, and then he looked back at the catering list.

"Ron, what's the matter?" Daphne sighed out, deciding to help him before working on her own things. "You're being rather… needy…" _Needy?_

"I'm not being needy" Ron quickly defended himself. "I just want to know if you're upset with me."

"And I've told you that I'm not" Daphne repeated once again. "Why would I be upset with you? Have you done anything to upset me?"

"Not voluntarily…" Ron replied slowly. "It's just that today's **your birthday** , but instead of celebrating it, you got dragged away to watch me play Chess… And then when I won, you didn't seem too… pleased…"

"Ron, I decided to have my party on the twenty-first of August long before father told me about your upcoming Tournament" Daphne told him. "And as for not being pleased about your victory, what gave you that idea?"

"Tori gave me hugs and kisses the moment we got back… And you…" Ron trailed off, and Daphne just blinked at him.

"You wanted me to be as excited as her?" Daphne asked slowly, and Ron felt his ears burn. _I'm definitely being needy, I can see it now._ "Ron, I **am** happy for you. I'm even proud of you for winning with such ease. But I can't show it in public, can I? What would my parents think if I told you that I wanted to hug and kiss you? What would they do if I did that the moment we walked into the Manor?"

"They'd be pissed…" Ron sighed. "So you're not mad?" Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose, and then she shot looks around them. When she noticed that they were completely alone, she grabbed Ron by his collar and pulled him into a bombardment of quick kisses all over his face. _Woah…_

"There" Daphne smirked as she let him go, and Ron stumbled back a bit. "Don't fall over, Ron" Daphne giggled, looking back to her party plans. "Still think that I'm mad at you?"

"No…" Ron replied, he was rather dazed by all of those kisses. _She even kissed my right eyelid._

"Good, now help me with this" Daphne said as she handed him the catering list. "What do you think of these dishes?" Ron read through them, and he let out a pathetic chuckle.

"I don't know what most of these are" Ron admitted, giving Daphne a sheepish smile.

"Great…" Daphne sighed.

"Why don't we just ask your parents for help? Or Tori?"

"I might as well tattoo the word 'Incompetent' on my forehead, Ron" Daphne huffed in indignation. "Throwing a party is something that every Pure-Blood should know through and through." _Hmmm, a party…_

"Pansy…" Ron said, and Daphne looked to him with a confused look. "Pansy knows parties better than any one of us. Remember the party we all threw together? She pretty much helped with everything, including the guest list."

"You're right" Daphne nodded slowly, and then she smiled at Ron. "Well done Ron, you've actually managed to help me with this."

"You're welcome" Ron smiled, mentally patting himself on the back. _Well done, old boy._

"Now go to my room and send Pansy a letter" Daphne waved him away, looking back to her plans.

"Ahem…" Ron coughed.

"Please" Daphne said sweetly.

"That's better" Ron imitated her huff, something that made her laugh to herself. "You'd better show me some respect, woman."

"What did you just say?" Daphne looked up with scowl. _Oh fuck…_

"I said that… I think you're beautiful, and that I need to go get Pansy for you…" Ron stuttered, and then he turned around and marched out of the room. _Crazy bint!_ He missed Daphne giggling behind his back.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

"Happy birthday, Ginny!" everyone shouted and applauded as Ginny cut her pink cake. _She's officially twelve years old now._

"Go on love, I'll take it from here" Molly said as she took the knife from her daughter, and Ginny made her way over to an applauding Luna.

"She looks very pretty today" Hermione observed, and Ron nodded his agreement. "Thanks for having me over for this." Ginny had invited Harry over for her birthday, and she was smart enough to know that Harry was a packaged deal. Neville and Harry were currently talking to the twins, while Percy was asking Xenophilius about the Albanian Ministry.

"Thank Ginny" Ron smiled at Hermione. "She's the one who actually invited you."

"Because I'm friends with Harry" Hermione realized. "I guess that's fair, Ginny and I aren't really friends."

"You could be" Ron decided to say. "Ginny can be really tough on the people that she doesn't really know, but if you two spend more time together, I'm sure that you'll be fast friends." _That is if you stop lecturing her about her studies._

"I've tried talking to her" Hermione sighed. "It always gets awkward after a few minutes…"

"Do you tell her to spend more time on her studies?" Ron asked.

"No" Hermione denied, but Ron just stared at her for a couple of seconds. "Alright… But she should really concentrate on her studies. It will benefit her far more than… um…"

"You don't even know her hobbies, do you?" Ron asked, making sure to sound amused rather than vexed. _What's the point of telling Ginny to change when you don't even know her?_

"She likes Quidditch" Hermione remembered. "And since she isn't applying for the Quidditch team, she should instead focus on her studies."

"Quidditch helps her deal with what happened to her last year" Ron pointed out, and Hermione blinked at him. "Just try and find a middle ground with her, and you'll be fine Hermione."

"Alright, I can do that" Hermione nodded firmly, and then she looked over to Ginny who was talking to Luna animatedly. Ron looked between Hermione and Ginny, and then he sniggered to himself. "What, Ronald?"

"Are you going over there now?" Ron asked her.

"I just said that I'll try and be her friend" Hermione reminded him.

"But what about me?" Ron faked a pout. "You'll leave me here all by myself?"

"It would serve you right" Hermione smirked. "You haven't even wished her happy birthday properly."

"I bought her earrings worth one hundred and fifty Galleons" Ron gaped. "What else am I supposed to do?"

"Wait… You bought your sister something that expensive?" Hermione asked, utterly bewildered by Ron's spending habits.

"Yeah… What's wrong with that?" Ron asked. "They suit her bracelet… Gold with ruby studs."

"Normal siblings don't spend that much money on each other" Hermione blurted out.

"Hey, we're normal" Ron frowned slightly. "Sort of… sometimes…" _Give me a break, we've been poor for as long as I remember. What's the harm in Ginny getting something nice for a change? Wait… She always got the best things. Damn, am I weird? Maybe that's why mum is sort of annoyed with me again._

"Hello" Hermione clicked her fingers in his face. "Is my friend Ron around? I want to speak to him."

"Sorry, but this conversation bored him to death" Ron joked, coming back to reality.

"Oh…" Hermione muttered.

"That was a joke" Ron quickly pointed out. "Just some friendly banter, nothing more."

"Oh, of course!" Hermione snorted, punching Ron's arm 'playfully'. _Ow! What the fuck? How about you grab the knife and gut me next time?_ "Sorry, was that too hard?" Hermione quickly asked.

"It's fine" Ron chuckled. _Can't feel my damn arm._

"Hello, you two" Harry said as he walked over to them, he was carrying a plate with a slice of cake on it.

"Is that for me?" Ron grinned.

"I think I saw Ginny toss your slice in the bin" Harry remarked.

"How long ago? It might still be fresh" Ron laughed.

"Ew…" Hermione pulled a face.

"Why are you two standing away from everyone?" Harry asked, looking to Hermione with a 'smile'.

"We're talking" Hermione frowned at Harry. What was he trying to pull?

"Alright" Harry shrugged, still smiling at Hermione. _I don't even want to know what's going through their heads._ "By the way Ron, congratulations on your win yesterday. Sirius wouldn't stop talking about it… for hours…"

"Thank you" Ron said, his eyes darting towards Sirius and Remus. _Is Sirius drinking from a flask? At a birthday full of children? Wow…_

"You won a Tournament yesterday?" Hermione asked Ron, looking rather surprised.

"Yeah" Ron nodded.

"He was in the Daily Prophet's Sports Section" Harry pointed out. "You don't subscribe to the Daily Prophet? It only costs one Knut."

"I do, but I put the subscription on hold because mum and dad were getting worried by the owls" Hermione sighed. "Our neighbors started asking questions…"

"Were they curious about where all the bird shite was coming from?" Ron asked, making Harry snigger. Hermione, on the other hand, was not amused by Ron's inappropriate language.

"They were, as a matter of fact" Hermione replied haughtily, but then she smiled at Ron. "Congratulations, Ron."

"Thank you" Ron said, mentally patting his on back. "If you're interested, I'll be in next week's Wizard's Chess Weekly magazine."

"Really? They have a magazine for Chess?" Harry asked slowly. "Why?"

"Same reason why they have one for Quidditch" Ron shrugged.

"But Quidditch is… fun…" Harry said even more slowly.

"Harry, don't be rude" Hermione frowned at her best friend.

"I think he was trying to pull my leg" Ron pointed out, while Harry just sighed at Hermione's lack of social skills.

"Oh… Blast" Hermione 'cussed'.

"Where is Neville?" Ron asked, deciding to move the conversation along.

"The twins took him to their room in order to show him a few 'knick-knacks'…" Harry replied. "I warned him, but he was really curious about seeing the twins' room." _Poor fool._

"Do you two want cake?" came Ginny's voice from behind Harry, and they all looked to see her carrying two plates.

"None for me, thanks" Ron refused, though he was eyeing the cake with a sad look. _Why am I refusing sweets? Madam Roberts left me._

"Thank you, Ginny" Hermione said as she took hers politely. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks" Ginny smiled widely.

"Your earrings are lovely, they really suit you" Hermione complimented, doing her best to sound genuine. She honestly didn't get the allure behind fashion… Clothes were clothes…

"Really?" Ginny beamed, shooting Ron a joyous look. "Ronnie got them for me. Who knew that my brother had such good taste when it comes to jewelry?"

"Martin sends his regards" Ron chuckled.

"They do look really good on you" Harry complimented her as well, though he had a bit of trouble getting it out. He didn't want to sound like he was flirting with her. _It's just a compliment, don't make a big deal out of it. It's Ginny's_ _ **birthday**_ _, so keep yourself in check._

"Th… Thanks" Ginny's cheeks turned rosy, and she immediately looked to Ron. "Are you sure that you don't want any cake?"

"I… I'll have one slice" Ron said, losing his battle with himself. Ginny handed him the plate, and then she looked to Hermione. "Do you want to come and talk to Luna and me? We're better company than Ron, I promise."

"I would like that" Hermione agreed. The girls both left then, but not before Hermione shot a look back to Ron. _Good luck._

"So… how have you been?" Harry asked Ron, and he found himself shocked beyond words when he saw that Ron had scarfed down his entire slice already. "Bloody hell, mate… Did you chew?"

"No…" Ron wiped his lips in a guilty manner. _That was soooo good. I miss sweets so much._

"Do you want more?" Harry asked.

"I do, but I won't…" Ron sighed, giving his empty plate a miserable look.

"Alright…" Harry nodded slowly. "You're a weird bloke, Ron." _Speaking of weird…_ Ron shot a look towards Xenophilius, who was talking to Ron's father about something excitedly. _Is he alright? He looks rather pale._

"Excuse me, Harry" Ron said suddenly, deciding to find out if Xeno was sick. "I need to have a quick chat with Pandora."

"I'll be with the girls" Harry nodded, and they both parted ways. Ron walked over to Pandora, who was currently speaking with Molly.

"Hello" Ron greeted them.

"Hello, Ron" Pandora greeted back with an airy smile. "Congratulations for yesterday."

"Thank you" Ron smiled at her, why did it feel so much better to hear that from Pandora than most people? "Mum, can I talk to Pandora about something? Alone?"

"Oh…" Molly blinked at him, and then she nodded slowly. "I'll go and find the twins… I saw them sneak off with poor Neville, the boy is probably miserable right now." Molly then left the group, feeling a bit dejected because of Ron's preference for Pandora.

"How have you been, love?" Pandora asked Ron, cupping his right cheek and smiling at him.

"Busy" Ron shrugged, smiling back at her. "How are you, actually? Is everything alright with the baby?"

"It is" Pandora assured him.

"You should come over more often" Ron suggested. "I prefer it when you're around…"

"Then you should floo over to the Rookery" Pandora suggested back. "We can paint together like we used to."

"Friday?" Ron asked, and she nodded at him. _I'll ask her about Spell-Crafting then. Right now, I want to know if Xeno is alright. And if he plans to sell the Quibbler soon. Though I should definitely try and be careful, I'm not supposed to know about that._

"What's going on inside that head of yours?" Pandora hummed as she pinched his right cheek.

"Endless schemes" Ron chuckled.

"I believe it" Pandora said, smiling widely.

"I was just wondering if Xeno is alright" Ron said. "He looks a bit pale… And by a bit, I mean a lot."

"My husband is… trying to move on from the things he witnessed in Albania" Pandora replied, deciding to treat Ron like a young man instead of a boy. She knew that he was clever enough to already know what was going on, and that he was here for another reason.

"What kinds of things?" Ron asked slowly, cursing Dumbledore in his mind.

"The Inferno, the Unicorn killings, the Cult… He has been through a lot recently" Pandora replied. "But don't worry Ron, he will be fine in time." She decided not to mention Xeno's nightmares, or the fact that he woke up screaming for a man named John every other night.

"I hope so" Ron said, shooting another look at Xeno. "Is he going to be writing about his experience in The Quibbler?"

"He is" Pandora replied, why was Ron interested in The Quibbler?

"When can I expect to read it?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound casual. _I need to be careful here, Pandora is the sharpest person I know._

"He always publishes his magazine at the end of each month" Pandora replied. "Ron, what is this sudden interest you have with my husband's magazine?" _Bloody hell, it's like she can read my mind._

"I'm just interested in reading about Albania" Ron replied. "And I think that Xeno owning his own magazine is pretty awesome."

"Yes… I think so too" Pandora said, looking slightly crestfallen for a moment. _I have until the end of August to get my hands on that magazine. This is good, I have a bit more time than I expected._

"I'm going to go rejoin the others" Ron said, deciding to break away before she caught onto him.

"That's alright" Pandora said, looking into Ron's eyes with a sharp look. "Whatever you're up to Ron, just make sure that you don't put too much of a strain on yourself."

"Right…" Ron blinked at her. _Mind-reader!_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midnight)**_

A sudden pop made Ron look up from his Transfiguration textbook, his right hand immediately reaching for his wand.

"Marty…" Ron sighed as he relaxed completely at the sight of his Elf. _That bloody scared me half to death._

"Master is awake very late" Marty said as he bowed deeply.

"Just reading some of my old textbooks" Ron explained. "What brings you here, Marty? Is everything alright?"

"It most certainly is, Master" Marty beamed at Ron, and then he put Ron's vault key in front of Ron.

"You're done transferring the funds?" Ron asked with a growing smile.

"Marty has completed Master's will without arousing any suspicions from those horrible Goblins" Marty said proudly. "Master's vault has once again been expanded in order to facilitate his ever-growing wealth." _That's what I like to hear. I can now use that money for my Quibbler idea._ "Would Master like a sandwich while he studies?"

"You know what, Marty" Ron beamed, reaching over to squeeze Marty's shoulder. "That would be great."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Evening)**_

"We do not have long" Lady Longbottom said as they both sat down in the Living Room. "My grandson is visiting Harry at the moment, and I'm expecting them both back soon." _I'm glad that she understands my need for secrecy._

"Thank you for seeing me, Lady Longbottom" Ron smiled at her. "I truly do appreciate your help in my endeavor."

"The Ancient House of Longbottom owes you far more than what I'm offering" Lady Longbottom responded. "Now, how goes your research into The Quibbler?"

"Xeno fully plans to sell his magazine after he publishes this month's issue" Ron started. "I imagine that he will be working with the Daily Prophet by the end of September."

"Try the start of September" Lady Longbottom corrected him. "They made this deal a while ago, and I assure you, they've already sorted everything out on their end. I have a friend within the Daily Prophet, Kikis Trecus, and he assured me that the Daily Prophet already has their new layout ready."

"Damn…" Ron muttered to himself.

"Our time is short, but it is still possible to swipe The Quibbler from the Prophet's incompetent hands" Lady Longbottom told him. "Xenophilius has yet to sign any contracts, and luckily for you, he has only spoken to them of his interest to sell. They believe that no one else is planning to outbid them, and quite frankly, why would they?"

"That makes it easier for me to take The Quibbler behind closed doors" Ron realized, and Lady Longbottom gave him a curt nod. "There is no contract holding him down yet, so all I need to do is offer him a deal that he can't refuse."

"Be careful with what you promise him" Lady Longbottom advised. "You must make sure that he knows of your intentions to overhaul The Quibbler."

"I will let him keep his work" Ron began explaining his ideas. "And like you said, it will be called 'Xenophilius' Corner'. As for my sections, I've thought about a few that I definitely want to have. Each section will have their own designated reporter, who I will pay for personally in our early stages."

"That is good" Lady Longbottom nodded. "You will lose a bit of money before you begin turning a profit. Please, go on."

"There will be five new sections within The Quibbler" Ron started once again. "Word on the Streets, Local Opinions, International News, The Ministry's Politics, and Sad Reality."

"Can you explain them to me?" Lady Longbottom asked, she was glad that he was taking this seriously.

"Word on the Streets will cover the local news, sort of like a blend of both the Daily Prophet's 'Good News' and 'Bad News' sections" Ron explained, taking on a more serious posture. "Local Opinions will be directly related to the 'Word on the Streets' section, and it will feature interviews with the local residents of the British Wizarding Community. I want there to be a genuine discussion between people about the goings on around them, which is something that the Daily Prophet sorely lacks."

"An excellent idea" Lady Longbottom noted, and Ron mentally patted his own back. "If you ask the right population about a certain issue, you might even be able to change a lot of people's opinions."

"Exactly" Ron nodded. "It will be quite random, but I will definitely make sure to aim for people with the right opinions. Or rather, the opinions that match my own."

"Good" Lady Longbottom agreed. "It may seem crude, and even biased, but a bit of manipulation is very standard when you're attempting something of this magnitude. Now tell me about the others."

"Well, International News will cover international news" Ron said. "Things like Legislations being passed in foreign countries, a look into the different cultures and politics than our own, and so forth. Now, the last two sections are the most important to me. The Ministry's Politics will take an unbiased look at what the Ministry gets up to. It will report on the different political idiots who are poisoning our society for their own gain, so people like this Dolores Umbridge. It will also look at the Legislations that are being passed, and delve into what they could actually mean for the people of Wizarding Britain. It will be free of the Ministry's propaganda, and it will be the largest section in the new Quibbler."

"I will not lie to you, Ronald" Lady Longbottom gave him a rare smile. "This section alone will earn you many enemies."

"I figured as much" Ron said, he knew all too well that people tended to throw tantrums when they were challenged. "As for the Sad Reality section, I was thinking that it could be a long story about something that people normally don't even think about. So people like Priscilla, or the unemployed Werewolves. Or even just people still recovering from the last war. The Ministry and the Prophet are content to ignore these people, so I plan show their side of things. I think that if more people learn about these things, they might actually want to do something about it."

"I like that as well, but may I suggest something?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"Of course" Ron replied, eager to hear her advice.

"The name 'Sad Reality' is a bit too… morbid" Lady Longbottom told him. "Many potential readers would be put off by such a section because people generally don't want to feel gloomy. Name it something that catches your readers' attention instead, but also works to give them an idea of what it is."

"Alright, that makes sense" Ron nodded. _What else could I call it? I'll have a think about it later._

"The magazine itself is coming together in your head, which is excellent, but you have to focus on the logistics too" Lady Longbottom said. "How often will an issue be published? Is it still monthly?"

"No, I was thinking that an issue comes out every week" Ron replied. "A lot can happen in a month, and if we only release one issue a month, we won't be able to cover all the topics in greater detail."

"Then you'd better be willing to pay a lot of money, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said. "You will need to buy The Quibbler shares, pay for re-advertising, printing, salaries, and even find yourself some investors. Oh, and find an appropriate staff."

"I know" Ron rubbed his forehead. _My vault is about to take a thrashing. Is this really wise? Should I instead save my money for the war?_ "Lady Longbottom, what exactly are investors?"

"They are people who also buy into shares, or make payments in order to gain a profit in the future" Lady Longbottom replied, giving him a simple explanation. "My advice is that you find people to buy shares into The Quibbler, just so they can help save you money early on. They will each, of course, take a small cut of the profit, but overall, you will save more money than you will lose. That is, if your idea works out." _Merlin, so much work… Fuck it! Just get started from one end, and go from there._

"Would you be willing to invest in some shares?" Ron asked her, and she actually laughed for once.

"You are as opportunistic as they come, aren't you?" Lady Longbottom joked, genuinely amused by Ron. "I, like the other potential investors, will only invest if I see something worth investing in. I suggest you speak to some Goblins, and get an idea on what kind of contract you want to present to Xenophilius first. Until you buy The Quibbler from him, you can't just hand out its shares."

"I understand" Ron said, grateful that she was being so patient with him. Truth be told, he was starting to get overwhelmed and confused by all of this. "First I need to get The Quibbler, own a majority of its shares, and then I can start finding investors. All the while finding an appropriate staff, and re-advertising The Quibbler."

"You have a busy few months ahead of you, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said.

"Bloody hell, we won't start publishing until the end of the year…" Ron realized. "I'll basically have to keep Xeno, and his family, alive with my own money. He plans to repair his house, and without an actual source of income, he'll be dead in the water without me." _How am I going to fucking convince him to rely on a thirteen year old? Shite!_

"The success of your endeavor relies upon how much hard-work you put in, but from what I've seen and heard of you, I know you can do this" Lady Longbottom said, deciding to encourage the only young man who was actually interested in making a change in the World. She was an honest woman, and she was humble enough to admit that Ronald's attitude was beginning to inspire her as well. Something unnatural had to be driving this boy, or he was simply one of those rare births that change the World forever.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped into the Burrow from the fireplace, his mind working overtime on his plans for The Quibbler. He was excited, of that there was no doubt. But after speaking with Lady Longbottom, he had also realized that this was not going to be easy. He was going to be in for a stressful few months, and that would only happen **if** he managed to convince Xeno to sell The Quibbler to him. _I need to start laying the groundwork on Xeno, and I'll start it on Friday. As for the Goblins… Next Monday sounds good. Tomorrow I need to go to the Ministry and speak with Madam Roberts._

"Ronald, there you are" came his mother's voice as he entered the kitchen. Ron looked around the room, and he was surprised to see his siblings just sitting silently on the dinner table, while his mother was staring at him through narrow eyes. _Shite, what did I do?_

"Hello" Ron greeted his family, and the twins and Ginny shot him sympathetic looks. _Oh Merlin, it's that bad?_

"You spoke to reporters?!" Molly demanded, waving around a copy of the Daily Prophet around. _Huh?_

"Um… Yeah…" Ron nodded slowly. "They were all waiting outside of Flourish and Blotts, and I spoke to them a little. I only answered like four questions…"

"Was it Greengrass? Did he tell you to speak to them?" Molly asked, frowning at the fact that the Greengrasses had broken their word to her. _He did, but I'm the one who agreed to it._

"It was my idea" Ron lied. "I wanted to get a taste of what it would be like, and I'll be doing it more often from now on." _I'll need to, considering that I'm trying to buy a magazine myself._ "I hope that's alright."

"It absolutely is not!" Molly huffed. "You are far too young to be in the papers! You need to focus on your studies, and not on these distractions!"

"Mother, I think that it's good for Ron's career if he gets some coverage from time to time" Percy piped in, surprising everyone in the room. Especially the twins, who were slowly starting to smile at him. "I've been reading about the Wizard's Chess scene, and Ron barely has any coverage there despite his outstanding record." Ron just stared at Percy, and then he looked to his shocked mother. _Oh Merlin, she's starting to get red._

"He is too young for these things" Molly repeated, frowning at Percy for acting out. "Ronald, you will not speak to any more reporters. Is that clear? And I will have words with your 'mentor' about this." _What the fuck? Wait… I just realized that my parents are my biggest problem when it comes to buying Xeno's magazine. There is no way that they're going to let me spend so much of my money without a fight. Fuck!_

"No, it's not clear" Ron said, and Molly blinked at him.

"Excuse me?" Molly scowled at him.

"It's not clear" Ron repeated, and the room was engulfed in silence. His siblings were just looking in-between him and their mother, just waiting for Molly Weasley to snap. _I refused to let a_ _ **God**_ _take control of me, what makes her think that she even has a say in what I do? I'm getting sick of her throwing her weight around near me._ "I will be in my room, let me know when dinner is ready" Ron said, deciding to leave before this got worse.

"You have not been excused, young man!" Molly snapped, vexed by Ron's increasingly rebellious attitude. "You will apologize to me, and you will…" _That's it!_

"SILENCE!" Ron yelled suddenly, making everyone in the room flinch. Molly was stunned silent by Ron's murderous glare, while his siblings just sat there with wide-eyes. _She will not get in my way. Not when I'm doing everything I can to protect this family._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, shuddering because of how good it felt. "When I want your advice, I will ask for it… Until then, keep your opinions to yourselves. **Is that clear**?" Molly just blinked at Ron, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Call me when dinner is ready, until then, I don't want to see your annoying little faces." With that, Ron walked up the stairs and went to his room. _Stupid, useless cunts. They can't even afford a fucking fence around their shitty house, and they think that they can tell_ _ **US**_ _what_ _to_ _do?_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: There it is, you MUGGLES! Sorry... Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that. It was slightly late, I know, but I'm really bloody sick.**

 **Next chapter is the last chapter of the Holiday Arc, and then we can start Third Year together. Many plots are planned, and some of them are definitely going to catch your eyes. That's all I'll say.**

 **See you guys on Monday!**


	65. Chapter 65 - A Million Things To Do

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 65 is here, and I'm still fucking sick! But that helped me get this chapter done faster because I'm in bed-rest.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 65 – A Million Things To Do**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

How was it possible for one woman to completely ruin Ron's mood and sabotage his train of thought? Why was it that no matter what he did, his own Family kept finding reasons to start fights with him? What had he honestly done by answering four or five questions that he had been asked? He had a millions things on his mind right now, but instead of finding solutions for them, he was brooding in his room. Ron hated how unproductive he was being, but no matter how hard he tried to get back to his plans, his rage kept finding a way in.

Ron took in another deep breath, praying to Merlin that Pomfrey's breathing exercises would yield some results this time. _If I keep this up, I'll suck all the oxygen out of this house. Then we'll all fucking die._ Ron took in another deep breath, but just like before, it did nothing to stop him from gnashing his teeth. _The only logical reason as to why she's so upset is because I did something that she doesn't approve of. This is just like her disgusting letter, or her attempts to rip me out of Slytherin. If she isn't micromanaging everyone's life, then she's miserable and noisy._ A sudden knock on his door ripped him out of his thought, and Ron glared at the closed door.

"It's unlocked" Ron said, somehow keeping his voice in check. _If it's my siblings, then I should keep myself in check. They've done nothing to piss me off._ The door opened slowly, and Percy stepped in with a plate of food.

"I brought you dinner" Percy said in a clipped voice.

"I can't eat downstairs?" Ron asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"No one wants you downstairs" Percy replied coldly, putting the plate on Ron's desk. _What?_

"Excuse me?" Ron asked, just staring at Percy's back with a bewildered look. _I must've misheard him._

"I said that no one wants you downstairs" Percy repeated, turning to face Ron with a deep frown. "Not mum, not Ginny, not the twins, and not even me… Eat in your room, and go to sleep." Ron just blinked at Percy, his mind slowly understanding his brother's words.

"So it's all my fault?" Ron asked his brother, who didn't even bother replying. Instead, Percy went to leave the room. "I come home, and the first thing she does is start yelling at me for no good reason. So what if I talked to some reporters? I'm a **professional** Chess player, and talking to reporters helps spread my name. It helps my career." _It will help me with your bloody Future._

"She's been crying for the last two hours" Percy told Ron, not even bothering to turn around. "Ginny, a twelve year old, is trying to keep her hysterics at bay… You did that." Ron wasn't going to lie, a powerful pang of guilt hit him square in the chest after hearing that. But the guilt wasn't on behalf of his mother's state, it was on behalf of Ginny's situation.

"So she starts crying, and now I'm the villain?" Ron asked, and Percy immediately turned around and grabbed Ron by his collar. Ron was momentarily stunned by the look of sheer anger on his brother's face, Percy looked almost feral.

"Do you even hear yourself?!" Percy's voice boomed, and Ron flinched slightly. He had never seen Percy so furious before, and if he was being honest, he didn't like it. _His veins are popping out of his forehead._ "I just told you that your own Family doesn't want to see your face, and you go ahead and say something so cruel about our mother. She's crying because you hurt her, you idiot!"

"Let go…" Ron said slowly, getting over his shock. "I haven't put my hands on you, so don't put yours on me." _Great, he's going to beat me just like Charlie did. Just like mum did in Dumbledore's Office._

"The twins are raving about Slytherin turning you into… this" Percy hissed, and then he let go of Ron with a shove. "And for the first time in my life, I'm having trouble arguing against them. There's something wrong with you Ron, and until you figure that out, stay away from the rest of us." With that, Percy stormed out of the room and slammed Ron's door shut. The sound was so loud that Ron was sure that everyone downstairs must have heard it. Ron just stood there, staring at the closed door with an expressionless face.

"Something wrong with me?" Ron whispered to himself, slowly fixing his collar. "There's nothing wrong with me, it's everyone else that's insane…" Ron then walked over to his door and locked it, his hands trembling slightly. "They don't want to see me? Fine… I'll stay out of their way." Ron then walked over to his desk, taking a seat and staring at his meagre dinner. It suddenly dawned on Ron that it was Percy who had just snapped at him… Percy, the one brother that Ron could relate to the most.

Ron put his head in between his trembling hands, his brain suddenly going into overdrive. He had so much to do, but at the end of the day, his main goal was to protect his Family and friends. And yet, no matter what he did, he was always at odds with his Family. Every single thing he did resulted in someone being unhappy, even if it was something as small as turning his walls green. Why was he under such scrutiny constantly? Why was everything on his shoulders? Why was it that he felt the need to keep his mouth shut just so that he could avoid arguments with his Family members? Why was he always the outcast? _Maybe it_ _ **is**_ _my fault? Maybe I'm just a piece of shite? Maybe the Entity was right about me…_

* * *

 _ **Dream Hogwarts**_

Here she was again, walking around in her Champion's distressed mind. The **Star of Madness** could be heard screaming throughout the Champion's mind, doing its best to escape from its prison. She was herself was currently debating whether or not she should release it.

The Lord of Serpents' thread was never ending, which meant that this Cycle was heading towards disaster just like the previous ones. She should have picked a better human. Perhaps she should have picked Harry Potter, or Hermione Granger. Both of the Champion's original allies were better than him in every way imaginable, and yet, she had still picked him. The Champion did not possess Harry Potter's natural talent and affinity for Magic, nor did the Champion possess Hermione Granger's powerful mind. The Champion only had one good quality, and that was his strategic mind. But perhaps strategy without talent or emotional strength was useless.

Doubt was a new feeling to her. In her billions of years of existence, she had never once felt it until she had come into contact with the Champion. Humans were the worst kinds of mortals, in her opinion. They were unreliable specks of dust that were swayed by their 'emotions', and as a result, she had found herself tangled in this endless mess. Perhaps she should have simply let her brother destroy this Universe, after all, it was only one out of **millions**.

" _ **LET US OUT! WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE, WHORE!**_ " the Entity bellowed from inside of 'Hogwarts', and she stopped walking. With a thought, she found herself standing before the large closed door leading into 'Hogwarts'. " _ **The Champion will fail, we can see it! Let us out!**_ "

"Your deception will not work on me, abomination" she told it, but that little bit of doubt in her mind began gnawing at her again. How could **she** feel doubt?

" _ **Then why are you here?**_ " the Entity laughed in a cruel manner, its laughter shaking the entire castle. " _ **We cannot see his Future, but we can see his loved ones mourning his death. It will happen soon…**_ "

"Soon?" she asked. It was a shame that she could not see the Champion's thread due to him being a Time Anomaly, so she had no way of knowing if the **World-Eater** was lying to her.

" _ **Let us out, and we will tell you.**_ "

"And what of the Champion? If I set you free once again, what will you do to him?" she asked, but she already knew the answer to that. Despite this monster's bravado, the Champion had gotten under its skin. And she had no intention of letting the Entity damage this promising Cycle out of some petty need for revenge.

" _ **Nothing**_ " the Entity replied.

"Nothing?"

" _ **There is nothing else that we need to do**_ " the Entity explained. " _ **He is a walking corpse already, nothing can change that. If you set us free, we will go back to being what we were. Just a guide. No more interfering, no more torture. You have our word.**_ "

"Your word?" she couldn't help but ask, and then she realized why this prideful **Old God** was trying to bargain with her. "Does your new prison remind you of your old one? Do you miss being whole that much?" When it didn't reply, she had her answer. The **Star of Madness** wanted to be whole once again, and it wanted whatever little freedom that it did have in the Champion's mind. "Have you grown tired of your toy?"

" _ **What toy?**_ " the Entity asked, its disgusting voice coming out as a predatory growl.

"The Lord of…" she started, but she stopped immediately. Odd… She could not feel the Lord of Serpent's presence in the Champion's mind anymore. "What have you done?" she asked.

" _ **Exacted our revenge**_ " the Entity began laughing. " _ **We have made sure that no matter what happens, the Champion will die at the end of this Cycle. You should have taken better care with your actions. When you left us bound in here, we began mutilating the Lord of Serpents' soul into an unstable state. And then we lined the walls of the Champion's inner mind with its remains. Your precious lap dog is now a permanent Horcrux, one that must be COMPLETELY destroyed if the Lord of Serpents is to fall.**_ "

"I see" she replied, she was rather impressed with the Entity's creativity. "And without something to chew on, you're growing more and more restless. Hence you bargaining with me."

" _ **We can aid in the Champion's success.**_ "

"And drive him to his death at the same time" she noted, walking away from the door.

" _ **This Cycle will fail without us! Do not leave! Set us free!**_ "

"Then let it fail without you, and we will both meet again in the next one" she replied, and then she departed from her Champion's mind.

The Entity was just as petty as these humans, and it was foolish enough to believe that she actually cared for the Champion's life. The Champion was a pawn, nothing more and nothing less. And even if the Champion somehow survived this Cycle, she planned to end him nonetheless. She **could** **not** allow a Time Anomaly to simply exist inside of this Universe. The Champion's mere existence caused change on a global scale, and if the Entity wasn't eventually extracted from him, that change would begin causing damage to this Universe's Tapestry of Time. And unfortunately for the Champion, the extraction would lead to the utter destruction of the host's body.

The Laws of Creation were absolute, and they had remained unbroken since the Dawn of Time. Her only goal was to make sure that her arrogant brother didn't break them out of some imagined slight against him. Her only goal was to make sure that Death didn't do something that resulted in his own destruction. Death was the linchpin that kept everything running smoothly, and without him, it would **all** fall apart. What was the life of one human compared to that? Nothing.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron looked at his slightly pale reflection, and the bags under his eyes, and he let out a tired sigh. He had barely slept last night. His stupid Chronic Stress had sent him into a spiral of stressful moments, which had then led to a splitting headache. When he eventually did fall asleep, he started having nightmares about Fred's corpse.

The cold shower had definitely helped get his blood running again, and his body certainly appreciated his morning run, but it wasn't enough. He was starving due to the meagre meal he had last night, and his Family 'not wanting to see him' was troubling him. He stubbornly refused to go back downstairs yesterday in order to get seconds, and now he was paying for it.

Ron grabbed his Training Outfit, and he left the bathroom with little to no noise. _Mum's probably awake by now, and I'd rather not get into another screaming match with her. Bloody hell, I was hoping to go to the Ministry today in order to see Madam Roberts._ As Ron neared his room, he spotted something peculiar sitting right in front of his door. It was a plate of eggs and bacon, his breakfast. _Mum left this here. There's barely anything on this plate._ Ron frowned as he picked up the plate and entered his room, locking the door behind him.

"Marty" Ron called, and the Elf appeared instantly with a weak pop.

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed deeply.

"I did" Ron nodded, putting the plate on his desk. "Could you launder these for me?"

"Certainly, Master" Marty beamed, taking Ron's Training Outfit. "Is Master unwell?"

"That easy to see, is it?" Ron gave Marty a weak smile, he didn't want his Elf to worry needlessly. "I'm fine, Marty. I promise. Although… I could use a bit more food. Do you mind stealing some from the Hogwarts kitchens?"

"It is not stealing if it helps Master" Marty gave a toothy smile, and then he disapparated.

"Barmy Elf" Ron smiled more genuinely, and then he began eating his mum's food. _I need to go see Madam Roberts today, I'm too busy to do it on any other day. I could try on Sunday, but I'd rather have her train me on that day. What do I even say to her? She mentioned something about not wanting another death on her conscience, but I don't want to pry into that. That would just be disrespectful, and she has never once shown me disrespect. Beatings aside, that is._ A sudden pop broke him out of his thoughts, and turned to see Marty walking over to him whilst balancing three plates.

"Sandwiches, cheese, and kidney pie" Marty said as he put the plates in front of Ron. _Now this is more like it._

"Thank you, Marty" Ron said gratefully, eyeing his meal with a salivating mouth.

"Marty lives to serve" Marty bowed deeply, clearly pleased with himself. "Does Master want pumpkin juice, or coffee?"

"Pumpkin juice, please" Ron replied, and Marty snapped his fingers. A large cup of juice appeared on Ron's desk, it had a Hogwarts crest on it. Ron turned to thank Marty, but the House Elf was suddenly looking perplexed for some reason. "Marty? What's the matter?"

"Marty is being summoned to Hogwarts" Marty replied. "Headmaster Dumbledore has returned, and he has brought guests with him." _Huh?_

"He's back? And he brought 'guests'?" Ron asked, wondering how Marty even knew that. _What guests? Is it the International Confederation of Wizards?_

"Flippy, Hogwarts' head-chef, is calling Marty" Marty replied.

"You are excused, Marty" Ron told him. "Thank you for bringing me food. Oh, and tell me who these guests were tonight. Keep your ears peeled for any information as well."

"Marty understands" Marty nodded, and then he disapparated. _Dumbledore is back then. I wonder how things in Albania went. I hope he figured out a way to avoid war against the Muggles._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron was filled to bursting, much to his relief. He was hungrier than he had imagined, and as a result of that, Ron had eaten every single crumb of his breakfast. While he had been feasting, he had come to a decision about seeing Madam Roberts. Stubbornness be damned, he needed to see her today. The last thing he wanted to do was to brood inside his room again, something that was completely unproductive. He knew that if he stopped moving, if he stopped working, he'd start getting lazy. Today's tasks would become tomorrow's problem, and before he knew it, he'd end up fucking everything up.

Ron hid the Hogwarts plates and cup under his bed, deciding to keep Marty's service to him a secret. And then he made his way out of his room, his wand and Gringotts pouch inside his robe pockets. As he neared the stairs, he steeled his mind. He was simply going to floo to the Ministry, and he was definitely not going to cause problems for anyone.

If his mother saw him, he'd simply say 'Good morning', and then be on his way. _If she questions where I'm going, I'll just tell her the truth. I'm not doing anything shady, after all._ Ron stepped into the kitchen, and he was surprised to see his entire Family eating breakfast. _They're awake early… Wait, where's dad?_ Ron shot a quick look to the Family Clock, and he noticed that his father was still at work. _He deserves a damn raise considering how many hours he puts in. But then again, he's pretty much the only person who works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office._

"Going somewhere?" Percy asked Ron, while the rest of his siblings just frowned at him. _Even Ginny is glaring at me, all the while wearing the earrings and bracelet I got for her._

"The Ministry" Ron replied, making his way towards the Living Room.

"The Ministry?" Molly piped up, turning around with narrowed eyes. "Why? What do you need to go to the Ministry for?"

"I'm seeing my Dueling teacher, she works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" Ron replied, keeping his voice calm and polite. _Don't make things worse for everyone. Just be on your way, Ron._ "I won't be back for a while" Ron said as he moved into the Living Room, and he immediately heard footsteps following him. _Shite, here we go. Just keep yourself in check. Breathe in, and then breathe out._

"You are not going to the Ministry alone" Molly followed him into the Living Room. "As a matter of fact, you are not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Your father will be home soon, and once he's here, we will be having a long conversation about your recent behavior."

"Not going anywhere for the foreseeable future?" Ron asked, stopping in front of the fireplace. "What does that mean?"

"No more Chess, no more reporters" Molly said firmly, and Ron blinked at her. "You need to focus on your school-work, and on your health. You are far too young to be burdened with so much responsibility, and everyone can see that it's getting to you." _Is she fucking serious? Another ultimatum? Did she seriously not learn anything from the whole 'Slytherin debacle'?_ "You will wait upstairs until your father and I come and speak with you." _I need to see my Dueling instructor, and there is no way that I'm quitting Chess._

"I'll talk to you both, I promise" Ron said after taking in a subtle deep breath, and Molly gave him a curt nod. "After I get back from the Ministry." Ron then reached over and took some floo-powder, but much to his shock, Molly reached over and grabbed his wrist.

"I am your mother, and you will not disobey me in such a manner!" Molly shrieked, what was wrong with this boy? Molly understood that he was extremely troubled, and that his mind was fragile, but even she had her limits. Ron had to understand that he couldn't just do as he pleased, and she was done letting him constantly get away with his increasingly rebellious actions.

"Let go of my wrist" Ron said slowly, ignoring how tight her grip was. _Bloody hell, she'll snap my wrist if she doesn't ease off._

"No!"

"You're being extremely unreasonable" Ron told her, still keeping himself in check somehow. _Just don't explode on her._ "I have genuine business to conduct today, and you're forcing me to stay at home. This is important to me."

"You will go to your room, Ronald" Molly hissed, irked by his 'calm' demeanor. She could tell that it was forced, and that only worked to anger her further. She had not raised him to be this way.

"Mother, let go of him" Percy said as he stepped into the room, and Ron looked to see that his other siblings were 'spying' on the scene. "There's no need to get physical about this." _He's looking a lot calmer today._

"I will be back by lunch" Ron promised. "And then we can talk for as long as you like. But right now, I need to go and see Madam Roberts." _We can talk for years, but I'm not quitting anything because you tell me to. I'm in control of my own life, and that's that._

"You don't need to see her because you will no longer be taking any lessons from her" Molly said with an adamant tone, still holding her son's wrist. "Your father and I will be speaking to your 'mentor' today, and by Merlin, you will be released from your contract with him. You will go back to being the boy I raised, and not this… This horrible and cruel boy that you've become." Ron would be lying if he wasn't left dazed by her words, and judging from his siblings' reactions, even they were slightly rattled. _Horrible and cruel? What have I done to warrant being called these things?_

"Mum, you're being too harsh…" Fred spoke up, looking like he had just made a massive mistake.

"He can be a git, but he's not **that** bad…" George added on, slowly shrinking behind Percy's tall frame. _They're standing up for me?_

"Mother, you're talking about taking his career away from him" Percy said slowly, trying to diminish the growing tension. "Isn't that a bit too… extreme?"

"He is a thirteen year old, and children his age don't need careers!" Molly snapped at them. "Go to the kitchen and finish your breakfasts." _I think… I think I'm starting to lose my patience with her._ The twins and Ginny slowly moved back into the kitchen, while Percy just stood there. "Percy, go to the kitchen."

"I'm going to tell father about this" Percy said, and then he left the room whilst shaking his head. _There goes my support. Oh well, there's no reason for us all to be in trouble._

"And you…" Molly looked back to him, tightening her grip even more. "You will go to your room at once."

"Let go of my wrist, you're starting to hurt me" Ron said, his left hand clenching into a fist.

"I'm trying to protect you, can't you see that?" Molly asked, sounding more and more desperate. "You're not well, Ronnie… You need help, not a 'career'…"

"You're hurting my wrist" Ron repeated, getting annoyed with her patronizing words. "You're treating me like some cripple, all the while crushing my wrist. Can't you see that?"

"It's a weekday, go and see Pomfrey instead" Molly urged him. "If you don't want to go to your room, then go and see Pomfrey." _For Merlin's sake! At this rate, I'll be old and grey before I get to see Madam Roberts. And I'm not giving up my fucking career to sate her overbearing nature!_

"Let. Go" Ron told her, he had half a mind to yank his arm free. The only reason he hadn't done that yet was because he knew that she'd go tumbling to the floor.

"Your father and I…"

"Can talk to me for eons for all I care" Ron interrupted her. "But I am not giving up Chess, and I am not giving up my Dueling tutelage. Now let go of my wrist." Molly's eyes began to tear up, and she let go of him in an angry manner.

"What happened to you?" Molly demanded, her voice turning hysterical. "Who am I supposed to blame for the person that you're becoming? Slytherin? Greengrass? Myself? You yell at me, your own mother, and you ignore your siblings persistently. You'd rather live in 'Greengrass Manor' than your childhood home, and you definitely prefer Greengrass over your own father. Just like you prefer Pandora over me. What am I supposed to do? What have we done to earn your scorn, Ronald?" With that, she turned around marched out of the room, a weak sob escaping her throat.

Ron stood there for a few seconds, thinking over her words. _What fucking scorn? Just because I'm working to become something, and not just be their puppet, that's enough makes me horrible and cruel? And you know what? I_ _ **do**_ _prefer Lord Greengrass and Pandora over them. Neither Lord Greengrass nor Pandora try and control me. Neither of them have given me life-altering ultimatums. They saw my potential long before they felt threatened by my House. They didn't ignore my existence simply because I'm the sixth-born._ Ron shook his head clear, he was wasting his time thinking about her hysterical rant. He had work to do right now, and that meant that he had no time to spare. He'd worry about her words once he was home, once he had convinced Madam Roberts to keep teaching him.

"The British Ministry of Magic" Ron said clearly as he tossed the floo-powder into the fireplace, and when it blazed green, he stepped through it. Ron walked out into the Ministry Atrium, and he immediately noticed that something was wrong. There were next to no workers in the Ministry, and as a result of this, the Ministry barely had any visitors as well. _What the hell?_ Ron slowly made his way over to the visitor registration, and a portly witch greeted him with a surprised look.

"My, what's a handsome young lad like you doing here?" the witch asked, her voice overly sweet.

"I've come to see a friend of mine" Ron replied, observing the handful of workers moving about near the Fountain of Magical Brethren.

"I see, sign here please" the witch said as she pushed a clipboard in front of him. "And please hand over your wand for safekeeping."

"My wand?" Ron blinked at her, and she nodded with a look of understanding.

"Things are a bit… hectic for the Ministries right now" she told him. "Most of the workforce has left for Albania, apparently some big project is underway. Our Minister decided to offer the most staff members, no doubt trying to impress the Albanian Minister and the Daily Prophet. So here we are…"

"I see" Ron nodded, handing over his wand for safekeeping. _What big project?_ "Is there going to be a war?"

"Apparently not" the witch replied, her relief evident in her voice.

"Thank Merlin" Ron said, sounding just as relieved as her. _He did it. He undid his own mess. But how?_ "So this big project is the reason why there won't be a war?"

"Yes" she nodded, handing him a visitor's pass. "Minister Fudge came in last night, and he made this big speech about 'doing our part to protect the Statute of Secrecy'. And before you knew it, this whole place was deserted."

"Really? And what about the Aurors Office?" Ron asked.

"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is staying behind in order to keep the peace" she replied. "Don't want this country's evil-doers to go unpunished, do we?"

"Of course not" Ron replied, grateful that Madam Roberts hadn't left the country.

"But other than them, and the Unspeakables, most of the Departments are currently empty" she said. "Just come back when you're done, and I'll hand over your wand. Sorry about the precautions, but we're too unmanned to let people through with their wands."

"I understand" Ron offered her a polite smile. "Don't want any evil-doers in here, do we?"

"Exactly" the witch chuckled.

"I'll see you soon" Ron said as he moved past her desk, heading for the lifts. _So some big project is underway, and its goal is to stop the situation in Albania from escalating. I'm guessing Dumbledore figured out a way to fix the Forests, or at least heal the land. That's what I'd do if I was in his shoes. If the Muggles have nothing to be angry about, then there won't be a war. I'm guessing that this project requires a lot of manpower, at least more than what the Albanian Ministry can muster, which is why our own Ministry is deserted._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Can I help you?" a tall, dark-skinned wizard asked Ron, his voice was so deep that Ron cleared his own throat to sound more 'manly' himself. "Wait… You're Ronald Weasley, aren't you?"

"Yes, Sir" Ron nodded, putting his hand forward for a shake. The broad-shouldered wizard smiled at Ron, and then shook his hand firmly. "Weasley, Ronald Weasley. A pleasure to meet you."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt" Kingsley introduced himself, taking note of how the boy introduced himself. "What can I do for Arthur's youngest son?" _Arthur?_

"Are you friends with my father?" Ron asked, curious to know why an Auror was friends with his father.

"We're… work-friends" Kingsley replied. "He and I share a certain amount of respect for the Muggles. Now… What can I do for you? Are you looking for your father's Office?"

"No, I'm here to see Madam Jane Roberts" Ron replied, and Kingsley nodded slowly.

"So that was your wand I wiped the Trace from" Kingsley realized, and Ron blinked at him. "Mind you that it was only a temporary cleanse. I'll go and get her for you, just wait outside."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled. "Oh, and don't tell her that it's me."

"Alright…" Kingsley said, eyeing Ron carefully. Kingsley then made his way further into the Aurors Office, while Ron stepped back outside to wait for Madam Roberts. After a minute or so, she stepped outside and looked around. The moment she saw him, her look of indifference turned into a deep frown. _I think my face just pisses people off._

"Good morning, Madam Roberts" Ron greeted her, quickly making his way over to her.

"What are you doing here?" Madam Roberts demanded, and then she scanned his features. "You look like shit…" _Shit? Not shite? Oh wait, she's from the States._

"I didn't sleep much last night" Ron admitted. "Family problems…"

"I see" she nodded curtly, losing her frown slightly. "Congratulations on your victory, I read about it in the Daily Prophet."

"Thank you" Ron said. "Is it possible if we can talk?"

"Talk?" Madam Roberts asked, and then she turned to leave. "I'm not teaching you, Mr. Weasley." _Damnit._

"Just give me a chance to convince you" Ron said, using his frightening speed to get between her and the door. "Please."

"I said no, Mr. Weasley" Madam Roberts said firmly, frowning at him for blocking her way.

"All I'm asking for is a chance to convince you, nothing more" Ron said, deciding to keep his emotions in check. _She respects strength, that's what Lord Greengrass told me. So show some fucking strength._ "You said that I couldn't handle your training regimen, and in doing so you implied that I'm **weak** , therefore you owe me the chance to prove to you just how wrong you are."

"Do I?" Madam Roberts asked, her expression becoming unreadable. The boy had spirit, that couldn't be denied. And he did have an odd sort of… belligerence about him.

"You do" Ron stood up to his full height, looking down on Madam Roberts with dead-serious look. "I'm still following your training regimen, and truth be told, it's starting to get a bit too easy for me. Odd how one's body gets used to being pushed to its limits." _That's a complete lie. I still get fucked up by it, and I hate doing it._

"You are… stubborn" Madam Roberts said, her lips quirking up for a second. "Fine… I take lunch at half past two, at The Leaky Cauldron. Now step out of my way, I have work to do." Ron did as he was told, and she made to go back into the Office.

"It's a date then" Ron grinned, and Madam Roberts shot him a look that would freeze hell over. "Sorry, Ma'am…"

"Just don't be late" she bit out, and then she was gone. _Put the 'charm' on the back burner, Ron. She respects strength and maturity, so give her that. At least I'm halfway there… Now how do I convince this woman to help me?_

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

Arthur was utterly exhausted, he had spent the entire night helping with the logistics of the 'massive project' that was happening in Albania. Fudge himself had approached Arthur in order to get his perspective due to his work, and fascination, with the Muggles. So Arthur had pulled out all the stops in order to impress the Minister, working with and helping anyone else that was figuring out the budget needed for using so much manpower in a foreign country. Whatever this project was, it was perhaps the largest undertaking in Wizarding History.

And then Arthur had finally come home, browbeaten and exhausted. But instead of eating 'breakfast' with his family, he was bombarded with terrible news from his children. Molly had locked herself in her room, apparently too upset to even show her face. While Ron was at the Ministry, seemingly just missing running into his father.

Percy had explained to Arthur what had happened, and then shown him the issue of the Daily Prophet which had started this entire mess. Ron had spoken to the reporters, and there were photos of him standing side by side with Sebastian plastered on the front page. Was Arthur upset that Sebastian had let reporters talk to Ron? Yes… But was he upset with Ron for answering five questions? No… Arthur understood just how the Daily Prophet's 'journalists' worked, and so he was certain that they were probably blocking the entrance to the Tournament.

According to Percy, and his other children, Molly had gone mental when she had read the paper. They didn't really understand why, but Arthur knew that she was stressing out because of Ron's condition. All the adults in Ron's life had agreed to keep Ron away from the Media's attention in order to limit his stress as much as possible, and so when Molly saw her son on the front page, she had lost her common sense.

Ron and Molly had gotten into an argument last night that resulted in Ron having another rage-induced outburst, and Molly crying hysterically. And then this morning, she had decided to once again start an argument with Ron. Which had once again resulted in Molly becoming upset. Arthur needed to speak to her, and he needed to sort this out before it escalated any further. Oddly enough, his children were now torn on the matter. At first they had been disgusted with Ron's harsh words, but after hearing Molly threaten to take his career away, all of them had decided to steer clear of the whole thing. All of them except for Percy, who just wanted the fighting to end. Percy's maturity made Arthur feel rather proud of him, and so Arthur decided that Percy was ready to take part in more 'adult conversations'.

"Mollywobbles" Arthur called as he knocked on their bedroom door, and he heard a loud sniffle and feet shuffling in response. The door then swung open, revealing a distressed Molly Weasley. Her eyes were puffy, and her face was slightly blotchy from crying too much.

"You're home…" Molly sniffled, and then she hugged his middle tightly. Arthur put his hands around his wife, giving her a loving squeeze.

"I'm home, and we need to talk" Arthur said, and she let him go.

"Alright" Molly said, nodding to herself as she moved back into the room. Arthur followed her inside, and he locked the door behind them.

"The children told me what happened" Arthur started as Molly sat down on their bed. _She's still wearing her apron, and it's covered with tear marks._

"He spoke to the reporters, Arthur" Molly said, cutting in before he could say anything else.

"He answered five questions, that's all" Arthur said, and Molly blinked at him.

"Greengrass promised us that he wouldn't let Ron speak with the Media" Molly reminded her husband.

"No, he didn't" Arthur corrected her. "He said, and I quote, 'I'll see what I can do'…" _He probably had no intention of making any promises that he couldn't keep._ "Five questions is nothing, Molly. Did you really have to start yelling at him the moment he walked into the house?"

"I didn't yell…"

"Yes, you did" Arthur said firmly. "Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny… They're all saying the same thing. They're saying that Ron barely set foot in the kitchen before you went off on him, and he in turn became vicious. I'm not saying that he has no fault in this, because he most certainly does, but you know better than to yell at him. **Him** , Molly… You know he has a troubled mind…"

"He spoke to me like I was his servant, Arthur" Molly cried, tearing up again. "He has no respect, or love, for me… For either one of us… He sees Greengrass as his father, and he sees Pandora as his mother… All he does is look down on this family, including our house… His own childhood house, Arthur! He despises it!" _That's not true. None of that is true._

"And who told you this?" Arthur asked her, kneeling in front of her in order to take her hands into his own.

"I'm not blind… I see it in his actions" Molly sniffled, and then she released a strangled sob. _His actions? The fence…_

"He offered to buy a fence, and when you said no, he never brought it up again" Arthur reminded her in a gentle voice. "Sebastian assured me that it wasn't because Ron felt ashamed of this house, it was because he genuinely wanted to help out."

"Greengrass will say whatever he has to in order to keep his claws into Ron" Molly said, speaking more to herself than to her husband. "If it weren't for Mary, I'd never let Ron near that man. He's just using Ron for his own benefit…"

"They are partners, Molly" Arthur said, his wife was clearly in need of sleep. "They both benefit from each other. Sebastian spends hours on end with Ron, training him and advising him."

"That's your job, Arthur" Molly told him. "You're Ron's father, not Greengrass…"

"I know that" Arthur sighed, he wasn't getting anywhere with her. _Her real issue is with Ron loving Pandora more than he loves her._ "I can advise him, but I can't train him in Chess. Sebastian has done right by our boy, and despite his own reluctance, he always puts Ron's health over his training."

"Mary does that, not Greengrass" Molly argued. "If it weren't for her, Greengrass would gladly watch Ron work himself to death." _Merlin, we just did a full circle._

"Molly, what's really bothering you?" Arthur asked her, deciding to take a different approach. "I know that you're upset because of how Ron spoke to you last night, but threatening to take away his career was unnecessary… Did you learn nothing from the whole Slytherin mess? Ron isn't like our other children, he doesn't respond well to ultimatums. We promised each other that we would never do something like that again."

"I can't lose him, Arthur!" Molly suddenly wailed, and then she got up and started pacing. "I'm his mother, and yet, he listens **only** to Pandora. If she told him not to speak to any reporters, he'd bolt at the mere sight of them. He's so… He's just so disobedient! If I tell him to do one thing, he makes sure to do the opposite. On the very first day of the Holidays, he wrote his name down for multiple chores."

"Chores? You're upset because he wants to do chores?" Arthur blinked at his wife.

"He didn't want to do them, Arthur" Molly looked to him with a panicked look. "He saw that I didn't put his name down, and so he wrote it down himself!"

"He doesn't want to be treated differently" Arthur told her. "He wasn't being disobedient, he just wants to fit in. And he probably doesn't want the others questioning him as to why **he** doesn't have to do any chores. And even if he's a bit rebellious, so what? He's a teenager, Molly. Remember Bill? Or Charlie? Bill threw a bloody chair through a window when you told him that he couldn't date that Slytherin girl."

"He was **twelve** , and he had no business dating the likes of her" Molly defended herself, that girl's parents openly supported the Dark Lord before they were driven out of the country.

"They liked holding hands, and that's it" Arthur frowned, remembering just how angry he had been with both Bill and Molly. "You berated him right in front of his mates, and he broke a damn window in a fit of rage."

"And he apologized and fixed the window himself" Molly reminded her husband. "If Ron broke a window, he'd probably just tell us to do it. And he would never apologize." _We're veering off topic here. I need to focus on Ron._

"Out of all of our children, Ron clearly needs us to be supportive of him the most" Arthur said firmly, doing his best to not raise his voice. "I thought that we had **both** learned that lesson after what happened during the last school year… Molly, you're the one who begged me to back off. And now you're making the same mistake by threatening to take away his control. Remember what Mary told us? Ron will resist **anyone** who tries to take his control away. Including Sebastian. For Merlin's sake Molly, Ron went up against fifty Veelas just because they tried to cheat him. His Chronic Stress makes him feel like he has no control over his life, and if anyone tries to impose on him, he lashes out."

"I was not imposing on him! He needs to worry about his health, and not about his next Tournament!" Molly snapped. "If he wants to fit in, then he needs to at least try and do that. No child his age has a job, Arthur. No child his age has **brain-damage**!"

"Keep your voice down" Arthur said quickly, looking to the closed door. "I know that you want to protect him, but this isn't the way to do that. Chess isn't just a job to him, it's his anchor. It makes him feel like he's in control of his life, and that brings him comfort. I've been reading Mary's books at work, and I think I'm starting to understand him bit by bit. You're right when you say that Ron's not like the other children… Children his age don't have brain-damage. Children his age don't have permanent scars all over their bodies. Children his age don't have a Prodigy status put on them, a status that does nothing to help his Chronic Stress."

"Please, Molly…" Arthur went on, his exhaustion catching up to him. "Please sit down, and just listen." Molly slowly sat back down, looking like she was at her wit's end. "He loves you, and he does respect you. And… And even if it isn't on the same level as Pandora…" Molly tensed at that, and Arthur quickly took her hands into his own. "And even if it isn't on the same level as Pandora, it still means something. He doesn't go out of his way to antagonize you, or anyone for that matter. Now I'm not saying that we let him go unpunished, but the punishment has to fit the crime."

"He threw a tantrum, and you threatened to lock him away forever" Arthur continued, looking directly into his wife's eyes. "That is not an appropriate response…"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Molly asked him. "Take away his broom? He doesn't even fly it… He has no hobbies that I can take away from him in order to discipline him. Chess is the only thing that I could think of…" _Then take his board, not his career._

"Just let me talk to him when he gets home" Arthur said. "I'll take a small nap, and when he gets home, come and get me. I'll talk to him, and I'll make sure that he understands what he did wrong."

"Alright…"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Lunchtime)**_

Ron was finally starting to get used to the odd looks that he was getting. He understood why he was getting them, after all, why was a thirteen year old sitting alone on a table whilst sipping a glass of cold water for nearly two hours? Magical-folk were a curious, and wary, lot, so Ron understood their reactions to him. Luckily, Tom the bartender didn't seem to mind Ron's presence.

Ron had spent the day thinking of a hundred different schemes that he could use against Madam Roberts, but in the end, he decided that he had lied to her enough. She had given him her best, while he had withheld something crucial to **his** success from her. His training was for **his** betterment, not hers. She had put in her time, and judging by her job, her time was extremely important to her. Ron himself hated wasted his time, so he could sympathize with why she had been so angry with him. Ron had been selfish and shortsighted, and that had driven her away. _No more of that. I won't tell her about how I got my scars and brain-damage, but I won't blatantly lie either._

"Mr. Weasley" came Madam Roberts' voice, and then she walked around him and took a seat from across him.

"Madam Roberts" Ron greeted back. "How has your day been?"

"My day?" Madam Roberts cocked an eyebrow. "That's what you want to talk about?" _Show no weakness, Ron. You may need her, but don't let her disrespect you._

"I'm being polite, and you're being needlessly hostile" Ron told her, and she blinked at him. _Please don't kill me!_

"I'm sorry" Madam Roberts apologized, the boy was right. "It's been a long day…"

"Everything alright?" Ron asked. "Is it because of this 'Project' in Albania?"

"It is" Madam Roberts nodded curtly, and then she started looking at the menu. "Word is getting out that the Ministry is short-manned at the moment, so every piece of scum in Knockturn Alley is getting riled up. I've had to break two arms today."

"Two arms?" Ron blinked. "Your tone doesn't even change when you say things like that…"

"Experience does that to people" Madam Roberts replied, still reading the menu with a blank expression. "What about you? What have you been up to since I saw you this morning?"

"I went to the Ice-Cream Parlor to gaze at all the ice-cream that I couldn't eat, and then I went to Flourish and Blotts and bought my brother Percy an expensive 'Never Break Quill' for his upcoming birthday" Ron replied. "And then I waited here for a couple of hours."

"What can I get for you, Jane?" Tom the bartender approached them, and then he smiled at Ron.

"I'll have the pea soup, Tom" Madam Roberts replied.

"And you, young man?"

"I'll have the steak, the pea soup, and a large salad" Ron replied, and Tom chuckled heartily.

"Good man" Tom said, patting Ron's back firmly. "I'll have your orders out soon." Tom then left for the kitchens, while Madam Roberts just stared at Ron.

"What? I need to keep you here for a while, don't I?" Ron smiled widely.

"Why are you doing this?" Madam Roberts asked him, not even remotely amused by his cheery demeanor. "Greengrass could hire you any tutor that you want, so why are you showing up at my workplace?" _Tell her the truth._

"I want you… because you're willing to teach me about the Dark Arts" Ron replied, keeping his eyes fixed on hers.

"Why do you want to learn about the Dark Arts?" Madam Roberts asked him.

"Because they fascinate me, and because I want to learn how to defend myself from them" Ron replied truthfully. _Bloody hell, I just admitted to liking the Dark Arts._ "You're a 'Hit-Wizard', and you fought in the Great War. You have **actual** experience, and in my eyes, that makes you the best. And to be the best, you have to learn from the best."

"Then hire Alastor Moody" Madam Roberts told him. _Moody? As in Mad-Eye Moody? Merlin, I'd love to learn from him. Dad says that he has no equal in Auror History._

"Is he looking to teach?" Ron asked her, and she let out an annoyed sigh.

"You have a quick tongue…" she whispered to herself. "Mr. Weas… Ron… You don't need a Dueling Tutor, you need help for your condition."

"Is that why you dropped me?" Ron asked her.

"I didn't drop you because of your brain-damage, or your Chronic Stress" Madam Roberts replied, becoming focused again. "I dropped you because you lied to me. And before you say that you 'only hid the truth', that's considered lying in my books. You put your life in my hands without telling me everything. I find that unacceptable."

"I hid it because I was genuinely scared that you'd drop me" Ron told her, deciding to finally say his piece. "Everyone I know is constantly telling me to 'take it easy'… They mean well, of course… But it still annoys me. And it hurts me too. It makes me feel like they're underestimating me simply because of my condition, whilst ignoring my strengths."

"Strengths?" Madam Roberts asked. "Are you referring to your intellect?"

"No, I'm not actually that smart" Ron replied truthfully, and she blinked at him. "I'm strategic, and clever… But not academically gifted. The only difference between me and my fellow students is that I work harder than them. I spend hours memorizing Spells, while they fly their brooms around. I spend hours practicing against Dueling Dummies, while they socialize. That's my strength. I work hard, and I never give up. And I don't let pain stop me from achieving my goals. Just ask the Veelas at Beauxbatons."

"That… That is respectable" Madam Roberts admitted, and then she looked to an approaching Tom.

"Here you are" Tom announced, levitating the dishes onto the tables. "Pea soup for Jane, and the lot for the young man."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled at him.

"Sir?" Tom laughed, and then he left for the kitchens whilst shaking his head. _Snape's done a number on me, hasn't he?_

"Now I know why you're so tall" Madam Roberts said, eyeing Ron's meal.

"I know what I did was wrong, and extremely selfish" Ron told her, deciding to keep his efforts going. "And I'm not trying to make excuses for myself. I'm sorry about what I did, truly sorry. All I'm asking for is a chance to learn from you. I'll give you my best, I swear it."

"I know you will" Madam Roberts sighed. "But tell me something, what happens when my training methods push you over the top?"

"Over the top?" Ron asked, beginning his meal.

"Your mind is strained already, and me pushing you to your physical limits will not help it" Madam Roberts replied. "Sooner or later, you'll get hurt. And I will not be a part of that. Never again." _Never again? Is this about her conscience again?_

"You're refusing to teach me because of something that happened in your past?" Ron asked her, throwing caution to the wind. "Did it have something to do with a former trainee?"

"Yes…" she replied, and then she began drinking her soup. They both ate quietly for a few minutes, and Ron decided to keep his mouth shut. Madam Roberts was clearly struggling with telling him something, and he didn't want to spook her by breaking her concentration. _Just eat, and if she decides to talk, then sit still and listen._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"What do you know about the Aurors during the Great War?" Madam Roberts asked him suddenly, and Ron looked up immediately.

"I know that they started killing people left and right, with no regard for proper procedures" Ron replied, and she nodded slowly.

"We were losing the war…" Madam Roberts started. "People were dying all over the World, which is why I came to fight for the British Ministry in the first place. After a couple of months, they saw my potential and put me in charge of training the recruits. Things were bad back then… Very bad… The training program was cut in half, and new Aurors were being pumped out every year. This is before the Kill Order came down, so the Ministry was simply hoping to outnumber the Dark Lord's forces. It was a stupid strategy, one that was resulting in an ever increasing death toll. We'd train a student fresh out of Hogwarts, and then send them out to die at the hands of a seasoned killer."

"One of my recruits, was a young man right out of Hogwarts" Madam Roberts went on. "He was a Muggle-Born, and his family had been recently murdered in one of the Dark Lord's raids. Now normally, we wouldn't let someone into the program if their mental state was compromised. But he was pushed through because we 'needed the numbers'… He was a bright lad, and he was hard-working. He was always on time, and the last to leave. His determination impressed me greatly, and I took him under my wing. His name was… His name was Roger."

"Roger became more than my favorite recruit, he became my friend" Madam Roberts continued, her eyes fixed on her empty bowl. "He quickly climbed to the top of the Auror Academy, and when he finally graduated, I immediately put him on my team. We had a mission coming up, one that was incredibly important. We'd learned where a certain Death-Eater was hiding out, and we planned to capture him for interrogation. The Death-Eater was a man named Antonin Dolohov. Have you heard of him?"

"No" Ron shook his head.

"That's surprising considering that he killed your uncles, Fabian and Gideon Prewitt" Madam Roberts told him, and Ron's eyes widened to unnatural proportions. _What? What the fuck?!_

"Antonin Dolohov…" Ron muttered, memorizing the name. "He killed my uncles? Mum… Mum never talks about her brothers…" _If he's not dead already, then he will be soon enough._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, something that Madam Roberts failed to notice because she was concentrating on her bowl.

"I can understand why" Madam Roberts said. "There were some Death-Eaters that were openly feared by all, and often discussed in the Daily Prophet. Death-Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange, or her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange… Dolohov wasn't like them. The only people who knew of him were the Aurors, and other authority figures in high places. He wasn't just some psychopathic supremacist. He was a follower of the Dark Lord, and more importantly, he was a follower of the Dark Arts. He was fighting to inflict death upon others with the various Curses that he would create in his spare time. He considered himself an inventor, and the war was his laboratory."

"Many Aurors feared Bellatrix Lestrange because of her insanity, but they feared Dolohov because facing him meant death" Madam Roberts continued, and Ron listened with rapt attention. "Roger was just out of the program when I took him along for such a dangerous assignment, and I did it because I was certain that he could handle it. I trusted him completely, and I thought I knew all of his strengths and weaknesses. But the truth was that I didn't… Roger had lied on his admission form, and he had lied to me for a full year. He had taken it upon himself to hide something that he knew would result in his immediate discharge from the Aurors Academy."

"Roger had Photosensitive Epilepsy, which meant that if he saw flashing lights, he'd risk having a seizure" Madam Roberts said, and then she looked back at Ron with a cold look. _Fuck, he hid his mental condition from her._ "Dolohov was caught off-guard by us, but he quickly rallied his forces and a skirmish broke out. We managed to take down most of Dolohov's forces due to their lack of coordination, and soon enough, I came across him. We began Dueling, and I assure you, I was barely keeping him at bay. He was using Curses that I had never even heard of before, and all of them came out as bright flashes of lights." _Oh fuck._

"Roger came to my aid…" Madam Roberts said, her voice becoming strained for a moment. "And he had a seizure because of Dolohov's Curses… I thought that he got hit with something, and so my guard dropped in a moment of panic. And Dolohov did this…" Madam Roberts trailed her finger over her facial scar. "And then he finished off Roger right in front of me, and when he went to kill me as well, more Aurors came to my aid. Dolohov escaped, and I became one of the only Aurors alive who could claim that they survived a Duel against him. But it didn't feel like an achievement, despite what everyone said to me. No… It became a cruel lesson, one that I would never forget."

"That's why you dropped me" Ron realized, looking into her eyes with genuine guilt. "I reminded you of your friend."

"He didn't want to be dismissed because of his condition" Madam Roberts said. "He wanted revenge for his family, and so he thoughtlessly hid his condition from everyone. In the end, he wasn't my friend. He was only out for himself, and I became the person who blamed herself for years even after the war. Believe me, Ron… You never forget someone who dies because of you."

"I don't want to offend you, but I don't think that his death was your fault" Ron said truthfully.

"Wasn't it? I taught him, I put him on my team, and I never bothered to ask him of his condition."

"You had no way of knowing something like that, and he actively hid it from you" Ron said, doing his best to tread lightly.

"Just like you hid yours from me" Madam Roberts said, her expression hardening. "I've never blamed Roger for having Photosensitive Epilepsy, just like I don't blame you for your condition, but it's the lying that I can't stomach. When you told me of your condition… I couldn't stomach the sight of you…" _And here I was thinking that she didn't want to teach a cripple. She doesn't want to teach a liar… And I'm… I lie constantly. I have to._

"I understand why you don't want to teach me now" Ron admitted, deciding that his training wasn't worth her reliving her biggest regret. "I'm sorry for pestering you, and for making you relive something so horrible. I'll… I'll find someone else." Madam Roberts stared at Ron for a few seconds, and then she gave him a curt nod.

"Good luck, Ron" Madam Roberts said as she stood up. "This one's on me… Finish up and go home, it's not safe out here for someone your age."

"I understand" Ron nodded, doing his best to hide his disappointment. "Thank you for all the help you gave me. It truly means a lot to me. Goodbye, Madam Roberts." Madam Roberts gave him a reluctant nod, and then she was gone. Once she had payed Tom and flooed back to the Ministry, Ron slumped in his chair.

"Damn…" Ron muttered to himself. _Why didn't I keep trying? Ugh… It feels like I did the right thing, but it also feels like I failed._ Ron began finishing up his meal, all the while wondering what he was supposed to do now. Without Madam Roberts, he'd have to search long and hard for a Dueling instructor that was comfortable with teaching him everything that he wanted to learn. Not to mention that Madam Roberts was extremely powerful, and Ron, despite his initial dislike of her, was slowly coming to respect her. _It just feels like it ended so abruptly. And it was my own damn fault._

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Lunch)**_

"Tori! You can't wear emerald green during the party because my dress is emerald green!" Daphne whined loudly, shooting panicked looks at her father and mother. "It's my birthday! And she's taking my dress color!"

"You can both wear the same color, Daphne" Mary sighed, this had been going on for hours. Daphne was planning the whole party by herself, and Tori kept finding ways to aggravate her. It wasn't that Tori was doing it on purpose, but the younger sister wanted whatever the older sister had. _She wants to be just like her, and so she constantly finds ways to imitate her._

"But she always gets what she wants! I just want this one thing!" Daphne cried, her eyes tearing up.

"Astoria, find another color" Sebastian ordered, wanting to put an end to the yelling. What followed after his command genuinely baffled Sebastian. Daphne looked visibly shocked, while Tori just stared at Sebastian like he had five heads. _Do I really not defend Daphne that often?_

"Fine…" Tori pouted miserably, throwing her green dress on the floor. "Green is a stupid color anyway!" With that, she ran off towards her room. _Excellent…_ Mary shot him a frown, and Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. _I'm going to get an aneurysm when she leaves for Hogwarts. Maybe I should have her homeschooled instead, just to be on the safe side. No… That would destroy her._ Sebastian was torn out of his thoughts when his apprentice suddenly stepped into the Living Room, a wide grin on his face.

"Good afternoon!" Ron announced himself, and all three Greengrasses just blinked at him.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" Daphne asked, her upset tone disappearing completely. _Mary's right, my daughter is smitten with my apprentice. This is like something out of my romance novels._

"Came to say hello" Ron shrugged, eyeing the green dress on the floor. "There's a dress just there… In case you all missed it…"

"We didn't miss it" Mary shook her head, and then she banished the dress with a flick of her wand. _Why is he here? And why is he grinning like that? He wasn't looking that happy even after he won the Tournament on Monday. Something is bothering him._

"Ron, why are you really here?" Sebastian asked. "And don't bother lying."

"Mum read about my chat with the reporters" Ron groaned, losing his fake mirth. "She's threatening to take away my apprenticeship, and I figured that I should warn you before Hurricane Molly makes landfall at your front door." _Hurricane Molly?_

"Take away your apprenticeship?" Daphne asked, and then she shot another panicked look at Sebastian. "Father, you can't let that happen!"

"I know that" Sebastian said calmly. "Even if she wanted to cancel Ron's apprenticeship, she can't. For the contract to be annulled, Ron has to sign it. And since he clearly doesn't want to do that, there's nothing to worry about. Ronald, a word in my study?"

"Am I in trouble?" Ron grinned sheepishly.

"It depends on what I hear."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Now, tell me everything that's happened" Sebastian ordered as he fixed himself an Apple Brandy. _Should I fix him one? It feels good to share a drink with him. For a moment, it feels like I have a son._

"Well, I came home yesterday from Longbottom Manor" Ron started, while Sebastian fixed Ron a small drink. "And the first thing she did was explode on me. She told me that I wasn't allowed to speak to anymore reporters, and things got heated…"

"Heated?" Sebastian asked, handing Ron a snifter. The boy eyed the Apple Brandy warily, but he accepted it nonetheless. "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume that I did something?" Ron asked in return, and then he took a sip from his Snifter.

"Because I know you" Sebastian replied with a smirk. "I'm guessing that you lost your temper and made things far worse."

"She's insane!" Ron defended himself.

"Ronald, do not disrespect your mother" Sebastian said firmly, slightly irked by Ron's childish outburst. "Real men don't speak of their Family in such a manner." Ron averted his gaze and looked down at his snifter, looking like a scolded child.

"I yelled at her, and then we had another fight this morning" Ron spoke to his snifter. "But I didn't argue with her this morning, I swear. I didn't yell, I didn't throw tantrums… I just stood there while she mangled my wrist."

"Mangled your wrist?" Sebastian asked.

"She had a death grip on my wrist in order to stop me from flooing to the Ministry" Ron replied, slowly rubbing his right wrist. "I think she bruised me…"

"Show me" Sebastian said as he walked over him, and Ron pulled back his sleeve. The sight of Ron's scars always turned Sebastian's stomach, but he was slowly getting used to them. What he wasn't used to was the slight bruising around the boy's wrist. _Damn._

"She didn't mean it, even I know that" Ron sighed, fixing his sleeve again. "She's just so… If she can't get her way, she makes sure that everyone around her knows it. She doesn't want me talking to reporters, and when Percy and I told her that it was fine, she went mental."

"I see" Sebastian nodded. "Finish your drink Ron, and then help my daughter with her birthday plans. I'll go and speak to your parents about this."

"I should come along" Ron stated.

"I know… But you have a tendency to make things worse when you're upset" Sebastian told him, and Ron slumped in his chair. "Don't worry, I'll have a small chat with them. And then you can go home in order to make things right with everyone. Starting with apologizing to your mother. It doesn't matter how she acted, you owe her the respect of not raising your voice at her."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Sebastian stepped into the Burrow from its only fireplace, and he immediately spotted Arthur sleeping on a couch. _He probably fell asleep waiting for Ron._ Sebastian looked around, and he spotted Ron's siblings playing outside from a window. _What are their names again? Fred, George, and Ginny… Where's the fourth one?_ Sebastian decided that it was best if he got started right now, he really didn't want Ron's siblings getting involved in this. And so, Sebastian walked over and sat down on a nearby chair. And then he reached over and shook Arthur awake.

"Is he here?" Arthur asked as woke up, his groggy eyes going to Sebastian. _He looks exhausted._

"Burning the midnight oil at the Ministry, Arthur?" Sebastian asked, and Arthur rubbed his eyes clear.

"Sebastian? What are you doing in here?" Arthur asked, looking rather surprised. "Where is Ron?"

"At the Manor" Sebastian replied. "I decided that I'd let him cool off for a bit before he came home. He tends to escalate things when he's riled up."

"I see…" Arthur yawned, and then he stretched his back. "Is he really that riled up?"

"Sort of" Sebastian replied. _How do I tell him what I really think without upsetting him?_ "He's mostly riled up about Molly's ultimatum. Other than that… I don't think he really cares about the argument."

"Doesn't care about the argument?" Arthur blinked.

"When you go through something enough times, you tend to get used to it" Sebastian replied. "And Ron's relationship with the both of you has been… turbulent at best."

"I… understand" Arthur sighed as he rubbed his face. "Does he want to come home? Or does he want to stay at yours?"

"He wants to be here, but he also wants to be left alone" Sebastian replied. "Tell me, are your other children as challenging as Ron?" _If so, then you have my sympathies._

"No…" Arthur shook his head. "Ron is definitely the most challenging, which is insane because he used to be the easiest at one point. All he wanted was food and attention. And now…"

"Food and attention? No child is that simple" Sebastian said, and Arthur just nodded to himself.

"Ron was easy to forget about" Arthur sighed, looking a decade older than he was. _Neglect, you mean._

"Is Molly still trying to go through with her ultimatum?" Sebastian asked, deciding to steer clear of their family drama.

"No, she's calmed down" Arthur replied. "She's asleep right now, I think. Her whole outburst was due to some personal issues… It had nothing to do with Chess really…"

"That's good, it'll make everything easier for everyone involved" Sebastian nodded as he stood up. "I'll go and get Ron, and then we can put this to bed."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Afternoon)**_

"Shepard's pie?" Ron read from the catering list, and then he looked at Daphne with narrowed eyes. "This wasn't on here before… I read the list, remember?"

"I put it on for you" Daphne replied, her eyes fixed on the decorations list. "It's your favorite, isn't it?" _Oh…_

"Thanks" Ron smiled, putting the list down again. Ron then shot a look towards Mary, who was completely engrossed in her book. _I've had a horrible day, but maybe Daphne could…_

"Don't even think about it" Daphne whispered, shooting him a quick smirk.

"Think about what?" Ron whispered back.

"I can see you looking at mother to check if she's watching us" Daphne whispered. "Not here. Let me make an excuse so we can go up to my room." _YES!_

"Okay" Ron grinned, glad that at least something was going his way today.

"Ron, there you are" came Lord Greengrass' voice, and everyone looked to see Lord Greengrass step into the room. "Come along, everything has been sorted." _Damnit! The Universe fucks me over again!_

"That quickly?" Ron asked. "You were gone for like ten minutes."

"Your father had already calmed everyone down, I'm just the errand boy" Lord Greengrass replied. "Let's go."

"Bye, Ron" Daphne gave him a sorry smile, and Ron fought the urge to drag his feet. _This fucking day just won't end…_ Ron followed Lord Greengrass towards the fireplaces, and then they both flooed back to the Burrow. The moment Ron stepped into his house, he saw his father sitting in wait.

"Hello, son" Arthur greeted Ron with a smile, and Ron smiled back.

"Hey, dad" Ron greeted back, and then he walked over and sat down on an empty chair.

"You don't need me for this, do you?" Lord Greengrass asked Arthur, and Arthur shook his head.

"No, but thank you for bringing him here" Arthur replied, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"I'll see you on Saturday, Ron" Lord Greengrass said, and Ron nodded at him. _I fucking hope so._

"Goodbye, my Lord" Ron waved his farewell, and Lord Greengrass flooed back to the Manor.

"You look sick, son" Arthur pointed out with a gentle voice.

"I know…" Ron replied, bracing himself for a scolding. "I didn't sleep much last night…"

"Why?"

"I had a really bad headache… and nightmares…" Ron admitted, and then he gave his father a withered look. "I'll apologize to her, but only if she apologizes to me."

"That's fair, you were both in the wrong" Arthur agreed, but his mind was stuck on Ron's 'headache and nightmares'. "Why did you have a headache?"

"I don't know" Ron shrugged. "They come and go…"

"You don't have to lie to me, Ron" Arthur said. "Did you have stress moments because of your fight with your mother?" _Damn._

"I did" Ron sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Then why not just say that?" Arthur asked. "I'm not going to judge you, I just want to help you."

"I don't like talking about that stuff with anyone, except for Pomfrey" Ron replied. "I don't like how people start acting around me when I do tell them what's wrong with me. Why make drama when I can just deal with the situation myself?"

"Because regardless of whether or not you talk about it, the people who love you can see that you're troubled" Arthur pointed out, and then he patted the seat to his left. "Sit with me, son." Ron got up and did as he was told, and the moment he sat down, his father put an arm around him. "Let's talk, man to man."

"Man to man?" Ron repeated, trying not laugh at the absurdity of his father's words.

"It's an expression, Ron" Arthur chuckled. "I want us to talk to each other without holding back."

"Ugh…" Ron groaned.

"Just once, Ron" Arthur assured him. "Just tell me what's bothering you, and I'll tell you about what's bothering me." _Great, sappy nonsense it is._

"Then you go first" Ron suggested.

"Why?" Arthur asked, amused by Ron's childish request.

"That way I know that you won't get one over me" Ron replied, and Arthur was genuinely lost for words. Arthur then drew in a deep breath, and he decided to humor Ron. "But wait… Where are the others?"

"Ginny is flying her broom, the twins are… blowing things up, and Percy is visiting his girlfriend in London" Arthur replied. "And your mother is asleep."

"In the middle of the day?" Ron asked.

"She tired herself out" Arthur replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "Can I start now?"

"By all means" Ron replied, relaxing slightly because of his father's gentle tone.

"I feel like I'm not doing enough to help you" Arthur said, and then he looked to Ron.

"My turn?" Ron asked. _That's it?_

"We each say one thing until we have nothing left to say" Arthur explained. _Well, you're gonna be here for a while. I feel like there's a demon in my head. Your turn!_

"I feel like people underestimate me" Ron said. "But they do it simply because they think of nothing but my condition." _Madam Roberts might be the only person who didn't feel that way, but I accused her of it nonetheless._

"I feel like you push yourself too much, and I'm scared that you're going to get hurt" Arthur said, remembering his son's words. Arthur planned to remember this conversation for future events.

"I feel like people say things like 'you push yourself too much' without even understanding why I do it" Ron said, annoyed with hearing that phrase for the hundredth time. "I don't push myself because I'm mental, I do it because what's the point of doing something if you don't do it right?" _All the previous Rons fucked it up, and now I'm stuck dealing with this mess._

"I feel like I don't know how to approach you when you're upset" Arthur said, shooting a look outside to make sure that his other children weren't coming in.

"I feel like I don't constantly need other people's emotional support" Ron said. "I have Pomfrey for that." _And I have Daphne too._ "Other people get upset, but they don't get put under a microscope for it. If I get upset, every person from here to Hogwarts crawls into my arse."

"I feel like Charlie has permanently damaged your vocabulary" Arthur frowned, and Ron bit back a traitorous laugh. _This is serious, so be serious._

"I feel like…" Ron started, but then he trailed off. Arthur waited patiently for his son, who suddenly had a conflicted look on his face. _Just say it._ "I feel like I get punished simply because I'm not living up to what other people want me to be." Arthur just blinked at Ron, waiting for him to go on. "Charlie beat me up because he wanted his 'little brother' back. Mum sent that disgusting letter to me during my first week at Hogwarts, and she's never apologized for it. She even had no trouble hitting me when Harry turned against me, and she certainly didn't care to hear my side of things…" _Pandora listened to me. Sirius listened to me. Every fucking adult listened to me, but not her._

"Son, no one wants to…"

"You tried to rip me away from my friends because you hated me being in Slytherin" Ron reminded his father, and Arthur slowly looked down at the coffee table in front of them. "Look at me…" Ron whispered coldly, and Arthur looked back at Ron. "You wanted to do this, right? Your turn."

"I miss who you used to be" Arthur admitted, and Ron felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach.

"Why?" Ron asked, his eyes tearing up. "Why? I've done nothing to be hated by you lot…"

"No, no one hates you Ron" Arthur quickly assured his son, all the pulling him into an awkward hug. "I miss who you used to be, but that doesn't mean that I don't love the person you are now. I'll always love you, son, no matter what happens. And I **am** proud of you, more proud than you can imagine."

"It doesn't feel like you are" Ron cried, his face buried in his father's chest. _Get a grip… Stop being so_ _weak_ _…_ "It feels like no matter what I do, no matter what I accomplish, no one gives a damn about me… You all just want 'Ronnie' back… Mum even called me horrible and cruel today, and I don't even know why…"

"I know, you're siblings told me" Arthur squeezed Ron more tightly, while Ron released a strained sob. "Just let it out son, don't hold back." _No._ _Stop crying_ _._ Ron had to clench his jaw in order to keep himself from releasing more sobs, and even though his eyes were leaking traitorous tears, Ron managed to stop himself from crying.

"I'm fine…" Ron cleared his throat, but his father didn't let go of him. Ron thought about protesting, but he stopped when he realized that he hadn't hugged his father in ages. So Ron just sat there, breathing in his father's parchment-like smell. _He said that he was proud of me…_

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

Ginny flew down after the battered old Snitch, her eyes focused on it with hawk-like precision. _Just a bit more, and then I can grab it._ Ginny leaned forward slightly, pushing her broom's speed to its limit. And then, she suddenly reached for the Snitch and caught it. It was a tough little bugger, and it tried to resist at first, but Ginny's firm grip put that resistance to an end. Ginny slowly flew down to the ground, and once she was a couple of feet above it, she hopped off of her broom and landed on her two feet.

As Ginny was wiping the sweat from her brow, she suddenly heard a loud bang from behind the Burrow, and then she saw the twins running towards the house in hysterical laughter. _What did they just do? Are they using explosives?! Mum is going to kill them!_ Ginny hopped back onto her broom, and she quickly flew over to them.

"What did you two just do?" Ginny asked them, and the twins stopped laughing at the sight of her.

"We did nothing, Gin-Gin" the both lied, giving her identical grins.

"Mum is already angry, and you two are blowing things up?" Ginny asked, utterly shocked at their stupidity.

"Actually…" Fred grinned.

"Dad told us to do it" George grinned. _Huh?_

"Told you to do what?" Ginny asked slowly as she hopped off of her broom.

"Something was clogging the well, so we detonated a small explosive to clear up the way" Fred chuckled, looking like he was having the time of his life.

"And no Ginny, it won't do anything to poison the water" George ruffled her hair, laughing when she tried to smack his hands.

"We were very careful" they both said together.

"You probably woke mum up" Ginny told them, and they shrugged at her.

"Which is why we were running…" Fred started.

"Towards our room" George finished.

"You should follow our example" they said together, and then they both quickly made their way into the house. _They're right, I don't to get in any trouble. Mum went off the deep end with Ron this morning. Sure, he was being an absolute git, but she was really harsh with him._ Ginny put her broom in between her left armpit, and she quickly followed after the twins, only to bump into one of their backs as she entered the front door.

"Ow… Move…" Ginny rubbed her nose with her right hand, but they were just staring into the living room. _What are they looking at?_ Ginny wedged her head between the twins, and she found herself staring at her father and Ron. Only Ron had his face buried in their father's chest, and he was snoring.

"I've walked in on weirder things" Fred stated.

"As have I" George pulled a face at his twin, remembering the time he had walked in on Fred rubbing one out.

"Well, I haven't" Ginny said, wondering what was going on. _It looks like dad smothered Ron to death with his chest._ Their father suddenly noticed their presence and he beckoned them over. All three siblings slowly walked into the room, each of them trying to get a look at Ron's face.

"You've killed him" Fred accused their father.

"You monster" George added.

"My wand is in the kitchen, go and grab it" Arthur told them, ignoring their flare for the dramatic. The twins played a quick match of 'rock paper scissors', and Fred lost.

"Cheater" Fred groaned, leaving for the kitchen.

"Is Ron alright?" Ginny decided to ask, making sure to whisper in order to not wake him.

"He's had a long day, and he needed some rest" Arthur told them. His son had been dropped by his Dueling instructor, and he had taken that to heart. Ron had actually fallen asleep mid story, and Arthur didn't have the heart to wake him up.

"Long day?" George asked. "Is it because of what mum said?"

"Partly" Arthur sighed. "Now be quiet, I don't want him to wake up."

"Here you are" Fred said as he handed their father his wand.

"Locomotor" their father chanted as he aimed the wand at Ron's body. Ron suddenly began to levitate a few inches into the air, and his face finally became visible. His eyes were red and puffy, which meant that he had been crying.

"Why was he crying?" Ginny asked immediately.

"He… He was dropped by his Dueling trainer today" Arthur told them, deciding that hiding something like that was pointless.

"Oh…" the twins muttered. _He was dropped? Why?_ Ginny didn't know who this instructor was, but she wanted to tell them off for being so stupid. _Who would drop Ron as a student? An idiot, that's who._

"Now out of the way please, and make sure that he doesn't hit his head" Arthur said as he began taking Ron towards his room. The twins followed after their father and Ron, making sure that Ron didn't hit the narrow walls, while Ginny walked behind the twins. After a lot of stairs, they finally reached Ron's room, and Arthur put Ron on the bed after Ginny pulled back the covers. Once their father lifted the Charm, Ginny covered Ron's body with his covers.

"Right…" Arthur stretched, and then he rubbed his face. "I'm going to sleep, so please keep it down."

"Understood" the twins sighed, annoyed at the fact that they couldn't try out another bomb. Their father then left the room, leaving Ginny and the twins watching over Ron's sleeping form.

"So his Dueling instructor dropped him…" Fred started.

"On the same day that mum went mental on him" George finished.

"Rough day" they both said together, watching Ron's slightly blotchy face.

"You don't think she's going to take his Chess career from him, do you?" Ginny whispered.

"Maybe…" they both shrugged, and then they both left for their room. Ginny thought about leaving too, but instead she sat down on the edge of his bed. Without really realizing it, she started fidgeting with her Charmed bracelet again.

"Sorry about your day" she whispered as she stared at his pale features. "And I'm sorry that mum said those things to you. She was just upset, and you know that she can sometimes go overboard. Like the time she forced Charlie to shave his first moustache… Never mind, that moustache was gross." Ginny was about to leave when the twins suddenly came back into the room, their arms full of sweets. Ginny watched them with a gaping mouth as they dropped the sweets onto Ron's desk, and then they casually made their way out again. _What was that?_

"Well, at least your day will get better from here" Ginny smiled down at Ron, and then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Sleep well, Ronnie."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Near Midnight)**_

It had been quite the day at Hogwarts, mostly because Albus had shown up with hundreds of diplomats in order to celebrate avoiding a war against the Muggles. Snape himself was extremely curious to know just how Albus had avoided this calamity, but he had to wait. Snape was, after all, a known former Death-Eater, and despite being the Order's spy, his presence would be insulting to Albus' guests. And so he had spent the entire day tending to his Potions, even forgetting to eat after breakfast. But now his wait was finally over.

"Ah, Severus" came Albus' voice as soon as Snape walked through the old man's fireplace. "It is good to see you again, my friend." Snape observed Albus' features as he took his usual seat, the Headmaster was looking much better compared to the last time Snape had seen him.

"Welcome back, Albus" Snape said.

"Lemon-Drop?" Albus asked as he offered Snape one, and Snape refused by raising his hand. _Merlin Curse the fool who made Lemon-Drops._ "More for me then" Albus chuckled, popping one into his mouth.

"So you avoided the Wizard-Muggle war, congratulations" Snape said, and Albus nodded slowly. "Your diplomats certainly seemed pleased, I could hear them down in my lab."

"Yes, they were quite proud of themselves" Albus said, his eyes twinkling at Snape. "Why didn't you join us? The other Heads of Houses were asking about you."

"You know why" Snape replied coldly. _Not that I mind, I prefer working with my Potions over socializing with half-wits._

"I would have enjoyed having you there" Albus smiled in his usual way, both kind and sagely.

"Would Fudge share your sentiment?" Snape cocked an eyebrow at Albus.

"Probably not, but it would be quite funny to see you eating with him" Albus chuckled, and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Did the stress of nearly starting a war drive you insane?" Snape asked, but Albus' eyes kept twinkling from amusement.

"Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane World" Albus remarked.

"Not when you're behind the World becoming insane in the first place" Snape retorted, and Albus chuckled once again.

"I've missed our chats, Severus" Albus admitted. "The last few days have been… trying."

"I can imagine" Snape said, and then he leaned forward in his chair. "So how did you do it? How did you avoid this war?"

"The Gaia Project" Albus replied, and Snape waited for him to go on. "We wizards and witches will heal the damage done to the Forests' lands, while the Muggle Officials will spin a tale about a wildfire."

"They were already doing that" Snape pointed out. "And how are you going to heal the damage done by Fiendfyre? It's impossible."

"You're right, it is impossible to heal the damage done by the Cursed Flames" Albus replied, becoming serious all of a sudden. "Which is why we dug into the Earth in order to discover just how deep the damage went. It went… far. All of the burned land will need to be excavated, and then refilled with undamaged soil."

"All of the burned land?" Snape repeated slowly, this was an insane plan. "The logistics alone… Albus, this project of yours will bankrupt Albania's Ministry. How did you convince them to go along with this?"

"Albania will not shoulder this burden alone" Albus replied.

"Fudge signed us up?" Snape hissed, and Albus nodded. "Damn that fool! His need for good publicity is going to drive this country into the dirt!"

"Quite the opposite, Severus" Albus told him, and Snape's anger was replaced by curiosity and confusion. "His 'selfless' act inspired the diplomats, who all contacted their own Ministries. Every European Ministry has offered to chip in, we're even getting aid from The Magical Congress of the United States. The only problem now is that Fudge turned giving help into a competition…"

"Competition?"

"He has sent over seventy percent of our Ministry's manpower to Albania" Albus sighed. _Seventy percent?! Who is going to be running_ _ **our**_ _Ministry?!_

"Merlin…" Snape muttered, feeling the need to put on his Death-Eater cloak once again and paying Fudge a visit. "You couldn't stop him?"

"I tried to caution reason, but he is becoming more and more irrational" Albus replied. "Madam Amelia Bones' reputation is beginning to overshadow his own, and so he feels the need to strengthen his position within the Ministry." _Let's put a pin in that and come back to it later._

"How does this project of yours really work?" Snape asked.

"Excavation has already started, we certainly have the manpower for it" Albus explained. "That will take around three months or so, depending on any unforeseen issues. Powerful Concealment Charms have been placed around the burned lands, and there are teams delegated to making sure that those Charms stay in place. The Albanian Ministry is providing security as well as manpower, and the costs are being split equally between the European Ministries."

"And the fresh soil?" Snape asked.

"A small portion of fresh soil will be taken from the unburned lands, and then duplicated via the Doubling Charm" Albus replied.

"The Gemino Curse, you mean" Snape said, and Albus nodded. "Ingenious…"

"Once the excavated land has been filled with the fresh soil, we will use Herbology to cultivate the Forests in order to keep the Muggle Officials' tale consistent" Albus said as he relaxed into his chair. "I imagine that everything will be back to normal within five to six months."

"Normal?" Snape asked. "How much is this going to cost in total?"

"A lot" Albus replied. "The workers have to be paid, those affected by the Cursed Flames have to be compensated, and the Muggle Government of Albania is demanding a **very large** ransom. Not to mention repopulating the Forests. We are looking at millions of Galleons." _Millions? Merlin help us all._

"Your mistake has weakened all of Europe, Albus" Snape said, unable to keep the venom out of his voice. _This will only serve to aid the Dark Lord once he returns._ "Are the Goblins going to help us pay?"

"No, they outright refused" Albus replied.

"Self-serving beasts… If our World is discovered, then they will be discovered alongside us" Snape pointed out.

"Wizard-kind has always been cruel to them" Albus reminded Snape. "Is it truly surprising that they do not wish to pay for our sins?" _Your sins, you mean._

"And what are you going to do about Fudge's idiocy?" Snape asked.

"I have spent the entire day planting a seed in his mind" Albus replied. "Once it blossoms, he will realize that his need for popularity has outgrown his common sense. We should have the Ministry back in working order within a week."

"So it's all finished then? You're here for good?" Snape asked, and Albus gave him a nod. _Now we can get started on our actual plans._

"Did you get a chance to speak with Ronald?" Albus asked, his voice coming out as far too professional. _He's still guilty about his actions. Good. He's not the kind of man who can afford to make mistakes, and hopefully he's learned that lesson._

"I did" Snape replied, frowning at the memory of the encounter. _The boy caught me off guard with his question. And his threat._

"It didn't go well?" Albus asked.

"He told me that he'd still inform us of his visions, but only when he deemed it necessary" Snape replied. "So we're still partners, I suppose."

"That's good" Albus nodded slowly, immensely relieved at not losing such a valuable asset.

"He's angry" Snape stated, and then he looked right into Albus' eyes. "He threatened to kill me, and you, if we got in the way of his plans. And Albus… He meant it."

"I see" Albus sighed, a somber look marking his features. "Maybe it was just his anger talking?"

"Maybe…" Snape replied slowly, but he didn't really believe it. "He **was** angry, Albus. But it wasn't just blind rage… It was focused, and he spoke as if he had spent hours figuring out why he was angry. He asked me a question that I still can't answer in my head… Not without lying to myself." _I know that I would choose Lily over anyone else, and he called me out on it without even knowing about her. He beat me._

"A question?" Albus asked.

"It doesn't matter" Snape replied, not keen on repeating the conversation. "I tried to teach him an important lesson, but he used his logic to prove me a hypocrite. He has no shame about choosing his loved ones over strangers, and personally, I can't help but understand that." _A thirteen year old with so much clarity? It's utterly bizarre. But then again, Ron has been through some rather horrific things. Only Merlin knows how that boy's mind even works at this point._

"Every life matters, Severus."

"That's easy to say, but when it comes down to it, people always choose whom they love" Snape said, thinking about Ron's words. "You might want a savior, Albus, but what you got was a cold strategist instead. Personally, I prefer that over whatever decorative hero you've been waiting for."

"Harry is the one we've been waiting for, not Ronald" Albus said, and Snape frowned at the thought of being led by Potter. "Harry is the key to defeating Lord Voldemort, and he has the gift to inspire loyalty in others. I believe that Harry will lead us to salvation."

"And Ron?"

"Ronald will be like us" Albus replied, looking almost upset due to that thought himself. "He will play his part, but he will play it from the shadows. His power cannot be discovered by the Dark. With it, Lord Voldemort will become unstoppable. That is if the Entity doesn't end Ronald and restart the Cycle once again."

"Damn, I almost forgot about that" Snape frowned deeply, it all still sounded like a fairytale to Snape. "Gods, Champions, and the Dark Lord… It's almost unbelievable."

"It is" Albus agreed. "But enough about that, I'm simply glad that Ronald is not completely lost to us. How have you been, Severus?"

"I went to the abandoned Lestrange House like we discussed, and I found nothing" Snape started, but he stopped when he saw Albus just smiling at him. "What?"

"I asked how **you** were, Severus. Not your mission" Albus replied, smiling in his kindly manner. "You look gaunt… Have you been eating properly?" _No, I haven't. I don't have time to waste, especially considering that I've been running around the country on your orders._

"I eat" Snape replied, ignoring Albus' smile. "Like I was saying, I found nothing at the Lestrange House. It was completely abandoned, and other than the Fidelius Charm, it had no other protections. The Dark Lord wasn't there, of that I'm certain. I left behind an Alarm Charm just in case, but I doubt that it'll ring."

"Where could he have gone?" Albus rubbed his chin. "We will have to continue our search for him after school starts. I have to start sorting out the staff immediately." _Speaking of staff…_

"Hagrid, that giant idiot you're so fond of, told Potter that you went to Albania" Snape told Albus, and Albus pinched the bridge of his slightly crooked nose. "Potter somehow managed to come to the conclusion that you were hunting the Dark Lord, and he has been telling his 'friends' of his theories."

"He is certainly bright, isn't he?" Albus asked, a hint of pride in his voice.

"He got lucky" Snape remarked without a second thought.

"I imagine Ronald told you of this" Albus figured, and Snape nodded. "How many people actually know?"

"Potter, Granger, Longbottom, and Ron" Snape replied, and he missed Albus smiling at him for calling Ronald by his preferred name. "Lupin and Black don't know the details, but they do know that you went to Albania for a few meetings. I had to tell them that you were on important Wizengamot business, and that Potter was going to get you into trouble if he kept running his mouth. That boy has no sense of subtlety, but then again, the Potters are all an attention seeking lot. So I'm not really surprised."

"Hagrid made a mistake" Albus said, ignoring Snape's comment about the Potters. "I will tell him to be more careful from now on."

"That's it?" Snape frowned. "He gets a slap on the wrist for telling a loudmouthed brat about your plans? Let's not forget that this idiot also told Potter about the Stone, and Quirrell for that matter. Or that he smuggled a Dragon Egg into Hogwarts, or the time he split up children in the Forbidden Forest. Albus, see reason… That oaf cannot be trusted with important things."

"He has a good heart, Severus" Albus said.

"And a simple brain" Snape shot back. "If you want my help, Albus, then Hagrid is not to be involved. Give him missions if you like, but don't even bother involving me if he's involved."

"Alright, if that's what you want" Albus agreed, and then he let out a soft chuckle. "By the way, I'm making Hagrid the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures this year." _Is… Is he serious?_

"Of course you are" Snape said in a deadpan voice.

"I can think of no one better" Albus' eyes twinkled. "Is that alright with you?"

"Does it even matter to you?" Snape asked.

"As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, it's my duty to insure that my staff are happy" Albus replied. _Barmy old man._

"Do as you please" Snape said coldly. "But trust me on this, he will favor everyone but my students." _Like every other Professor in this school, with the exception of Pomona._

"I know" Albus admitted. "It is a shame, but there is very little that I can do about that. I will tell him to be fair, but I know that Hagrid thinks with his heart."

"And the Defense Against the Dark Arts position?" Snape asked, trying not to sound greedy. _I know more about the Dark Arts than most people in this country._

"I am still looking" Albus replied, he could see just how badly Snape wanted the position. "But I do have a certain individual in mind. I just need to speak to him first, and then I'll let you know." _I see._

"I can see that you have it all figured out then" Snape said, controlling his emotions with Occlumency. "Welcome back, Headmaster." Snape then stood up, and walked over to the fireplace.

"Severus" Albus called, and Snape looked at him. "You would make an excellent Professor for the Defense position, but that is not where I need you. Not right now." Snape just stared at Albus for a couple of seconds, then he flooed back to his lab.

The lab was running hot at the moment, and the sound of bubbling Potions eased his mind slightly. The truth was that he desperately wanted the Defense position, mostly because he planned to teach the students how to **actually** face the Dark Arts. He didn't want to follow some pre-set syllabus, he wanted to revolutionize it. He wanted to prepare the students of Hogwarts for the upcoming war, a war that he always knew was looming over the horizon.

Snape walked over to his desk, and much to his surprise, there was a hot plate of food waiting for him. _Who left this here? Who came into my lab despite me locking it?_ Snape spotted the small card next to his plate, and he picked it up with deep frown.

 _Make sure you eat this, Severus._

 _Minerva._

Snape put down the card, his frown slowly disappearing. _Mothering hen…_ Snape sat down, and after staring at the plate for a few seconds, he began eating. _Who's this 'individual' that Albus wants to talk to for the Defense position?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Rookery – Afternoon)**_

Ron had woken up in the middle of the night, and he had been too well rested to go back to sleep again. Much to his surprise, someone had left him a lot of sweets to enjoy. Ron figured that it was the twins, mostly because their 'hidden' stash was something of a mystery in the Burrow. Arthur and Molly had spent hours searching for it, as had the other children, but none had discovered where the twins kept their hoard of goodies. After failing to resist the allure of such a gift, Ron had devoured the entire lot within minutes. He had also promised himself that he'd repay the twins for their kindness, and if they ever wanted something that they couldn't get their hands on, Ron would make sure that they got it.

Ron had then called in Marty for his report, and fortunately for Ron, Marty had managed to learn quite a lot. It turned out that the diplomats were invited to Hogwarts by Dumbledore in order to celebrate their success at avoiding a war against the Muggle. Even though Ron was still angry with Dumbledore, he was glad that the old wizard had managed to fix his mistake.

Marty had then informed Ron on 'The Gaia Project', which was being discussed by all the diplomats rather openly. Ron was genuinely impressed with the idea, and with himself for sharing the same train of thought as Dumbledore. The Gaia Project would no doubt be announced very soon, especially because people were bound to start asking questions about where the Ministry's workers went. Marty had also informed Ron of the expected costs of such an undertaking, and Ron had cringed at the realization that Dumbledore had weakened all of Europe with just one mistake. That man held too much power, and if he ever fucked up, he fucked up colossally.

Once Marty had left, Ron had spent his time finishing up his last Transfiguration textbook. After that, Ron had gone for his morning run and done his Circuit Training. Ron couldn't deny that he felt rather upset as he did his Circuit Training, mostly because he realized that his own mistakes had cost him such a golden opportunity. The Universe had handed him a perfect tutor, and he had squandered it because of his own insecurities. **That couldn't stand**. Ron had to succeed in his Cycle, and mistakes were like weeds in that they would keep growing if they weren't tended to.

And so he had decided to get his head on straight once again, and to act like a competent strategist in all things. There was no point in wallowing in his own misery, not when he had so many things to do before Hogwarts reopened. Ron quickly made a schedule for himself after his epiphany, and he planned to follow through with it. He needed to see Xeno and ask him some non-invasive questions about his plans in regards to The Quibbler, all the while influencing him not to sell to the Daily Prophet. Then he needed to go see Gornuk, and get some idea of what his contract with Xeno would look like. And then he had to sell the idea to Xeno, and get him to hand over his signature. After that, he'd start looking for potential investors. And then staff. And then re-advertising…

A million things to do, and only two weeks before he was boarding the train to Hogwarts once again. Ron would be lying if his self-set goal wasn't getting to him already, but he decided to power through it. What was a little stress compared to the chance of helping people like Priscilla? Nothing. The Universe had handed him another golden opportunity, and unlike his previous one, Ron had no intention of squandering this one.

Breakfast at the Burrow had been… awkward. Percy was still not home, which meant that he had 'spent the night' at Penelope Clearwater's house. And his mother had decided to do what she always did when she made a mistake, she began coddling Ron. No apology, no explanation… Just mollycoddling. It was like the 'letter incident' all over again, and Ron couldn't help but feel annoyed at himself. Why had he just let her get away with the letter? Why did she always start ignoring her own mistakes in favor of pretending like a fight never happened? He had thought about calling her out on it, but he had held his tongue. He had work to do, and if Molly Weasley was content to simply ignore the drama that she had created, then so was he. For the time being, at least.

After breakfast, Ginny and the twins had expressed their sympathies for him losing his trainer. And then they had told him that he was a massive git to them all, and that he needed to apologize for his harsh words. Ron had made his apology, and he had genuinely meant it. He had then thanked the twins for the sweets, and then departed for the Rookery. Luna had been eagerly awaiting his arrival, and from the moment he flooed in, she was attached to his hip. And so here he was now, painting out in the fresh air when he needed to be talking to Xeno.

"I've missed this" Pandora hummed, smiling contently as she handled her brush with impressive skill.

"Me too" Luna hummed as well, mimicking her mother's voice. _They're like the same person, so much so that it's eerie._

"What are you two painting?" Ron asked them, eyeing his demented drawing of a 'pumpkin'. _Merlin, I'm so bad at this._

"We're almost finished" Pandora said airily. "Then we can show each other our work." _Can I not do that? My pumpkin is starting to scare even me._

"I'm finished" Luna said, putting her brush down. "Just waiting on you now, mum."

"Patience is a virtue, my love" Pandora smiled at her daughter, who nodded in understanding. _Patience is a pain in the arse. Especially when you have to do a million things in a small amount of time. I might as well think of some potential investors while I'm waiting. Lord Greengrass, Lady Longbottom, 'Lord' Black… Maybe even Clementine Zabini? No, not her. Despite her looks, I don't like her very much. And I definitely don't want to be her friend._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Done" Pandora said, putting her brush down. _Finally!_

"Can we show each other our paintings now?" Luna asked excitedly, and Pandora nodded. Luna then turned hers around, and Ron had to admit, it was actually quite amazing. "It's the Grey Lady" Luna explained to Ron as he observed the sad, but beautiful, young woman flying around in an abandoned Hallway. "She's our House Ghost."

"I know" Ron smiled at Luna. "That's amazing Luna, really amazing." _Burn your painting, Ron! Don't let them see the garbage your mind has given birth to!_

"Thanks" Luna smiled widely, mentally patting her own back. "Your turn."

"Um… Pandora, let's see what you made first" Ron said, looking to Pandora with a semi-pleading look.

"Certainly" Pandora gave him a knowing smile, and then she showed them her painting. It was… perfect.

"Wow" Luna got out of her seat, eyeing the painting with a sharp eye. Pandora had painted Luna and Ron painting their own paintings using vibrant colors, which really brought the meticulous painting to life. _Damn… I'm about to embarrass the Weasley name._ "We should hang this one, mum" Luna suggested, and Pandora nodded in agreement.

"I think I'll hang it in the Living Room" Pandora mused, and then she looked to Ron. Ron sighed in defeat, and then he showed them his 'pumpkin'. Luna immediately stifled a laugh, making Ron's ears turn red. _I'm sorry for shaming our family, dad._

"Go ahead…" Ron frowned miserably, and Luna began laughing at his painting. It was of a 'pumpkin' sitting on a bed of green.

"I didn't know that you loved pumpkins, Ron" Pandora smiled, amused by Ron's ever-growing blush.

"That's a pumpkin?" Luna laughed, and Ron grumbled to himself. "Why is it so angular?"

"Why are **you** so angular?" Ron asked her, but she just laughed off his terrible retort.

"Luna, you shouldn't laugh at people expressing themselves" Pandora said. "That pumpkin is clearly a representation of how Ron sees himself."

"Is that an insult?" Ron asked, slightly confused.

"The fact that you think it is makes it one" Pandora chuckled, somehow controlling her own urge to laugh.

"I should've painted a chess piece…" Ron muttered, mentally smacking his own forehead.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Pandora was currently preparing sandwiches for lunch, and Luna had run off to use the loo. This gave Ron the perfect opportunity to sneak into Xeno's study, which used to be Pandora's lab. Ron hadn't been down there since he had saved Pandora's life, and Ron knew that it was because he was afraid of this place. It reminded him of his horrible vision, and of the sounds Pandora had made while she was drowning in her own blood. This was the place where Ron's powers had been confirmed, and his entire life had changed. For better or for worse…

As Ron crossed the stairs and fully entered the lab, his eyes travelled to the middle of the room on instinct. There was an eerie silence in the room, one that was disturbed only by Xeno's quill scratching the parchment he was writing on. Ron however, could only focus on the spot where he had been reborn. Where he had started his journey to become who he was now, and who he would one day become. _That's where she died in my vision, and that's where I saved her life._ Ron slowly walked closer to that spot, and for some reason, he could hear the sound of someone gurgling faintly in the back of his mind.

Ron kneeled down and stroked his gloved hand over the stones, and for a moment, he felt the fear that he had felt that day. The tips of his fingers felt agitated, but he ignored them. _I saved her, and that's all that matters. I won. I beat my own fears, and I saved a woman's life._ Ron then looked to where the ward had been, and unsurprisingly, it was covered by a large chart. _A memory that's best left forgotten._

"Ron?" came Xeno's voice, and Ron quickly looked to him. Xeno was just staring at him, and the look on his face made it clear that he knew what Ron was doing. "It's alright, I sometimes just stare that spot too."

"Yeah…" Ron all but whispered, and then he stood back up. _Focus on your goal, Ron._ "What are you up to, Xeno?" Ron asked as he approached the man.

"Working on my latest issue" Xeno sighed, turning back to his hundredth draft. "I've never had so much trouble with one before, and I swear to the Hallows, I'm at my wit's end." _The Hallows? What's that?_

"Are you writing about what happened in Albania?" Ron asked, leaning against a bookshelf.

"I am" Xeno nodded, shooting a smile at Ron. "Clever boy."

"Maybe I can help you out somehow" Ron suggested, and Xeno chuckled as he leaned back in his seat.

"Alright, give it a quick read and then tell me what it's missing" Xeno gestured to the draft. _So far so good._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron had quickly gone over Xeno's draft of the article and The Quibbler's latest issue, and he could easily see what was wrong. It was inconsistent. The entire issue was riddled with insane tripe, but the article was completely dead-serious. It made the article come off as grim rather than informative, and due to Xeno's tall tales mere pages before, the article felt more like a story than a firsthand account. The article was fine, even superb… but the rest of the issue was taking away from the article's highlights.

"Any advice?" Xeno asked as Ron put the draft down.

"Your article is amazing, especially your adventure with John" Ron replied, he knew that 'John' was Dumbledore in disguise.

"Is it?" Xeno asked, slightly surprised. "I can't find it in myself to like this issue…"

"And that's the problem" Ron told him. "Your issue doesn't match the article."

"What do you mean?" Xeno asked, looking through his issue.

"Well, as a reader, it felt inconsistent to me" Ron admitted, and Xeno blinked at him. "Your article is extremely detailed, and some parts in it made me genuinely tense up. Which is great, of course. It had me hooked, and I read the whole thing as fast as I could. But after that, I couldn't bring myself to read the rest of the issue. Now… I'm not trying to be rude… But the rest of the issue makes your article seem… made up…"

"Made up?" Xeno asked. _Careful, Ron. Don't come across as a cunt._

"Your issue is filled with conspiracy theories, Xeno" Ron explained. "Like the fact that Boggarts are Ministry spies… Or that they tell the Ministry our worst fears…" _Who would even believe such a thing?_ "But then your article is filled with facts and detailed accounts of the terrible things you witnessed. If I didn't know you, I'd have trouble believing in your article because of what I'd just read before it."

"I see…" Xeno nodded slowly, eyeing his issue with a perplexed look.

"My advice is that you keep the article, but change the content of the issue" Ron said, trying his best to sound ignorant. "Maybe fill up the issue with important facts about Unicorns, and about the other creatures that were lost in the Inferno. Maybe even write a bit more about what the Cursed Flames Curse is, and about what it's done to the land. If your issue is filled with provable facts, then it'll give weight to your article. Right?"

"Right…" Xeno said, and then he smiled at Ron. "Not bad advice from someone your age." _Well, I've spent hours and hours looking into the Daily Prophet's work formula. They either preach the good, or the bad. But they don't preach it in the same issue._

"Why is this issue giving you so much trouble, Xeno?" Ron asked. "You've written so many before it."

"That's… a little complicated" Xeno sighed, looking a bit subdued. "To me, this is my most important issue yet. I have to get this one perfect…"

"Why is it so special? Is it because of what you witnessed?" Ron asked innocently, waiting for Xeno to bring up the sale.

"Yes, and because… Because it's my last issue, Ron" Xeno replied, deciding to tell Ron the truth. What was the point in lying to the boy, he'd know soon enough once Xeno sold it.

"Last issue?" Ron acted surprised. _There we go, time to influence him to not sell just yet._ "Are you stopping The Quibbler?"

"No, I'm not stopping it" Xeno quickly assured Ron, though he was smart enough to know that **his** Quibbler would be replaced by the Prophet's Quibbler. "I'm selling The Quibbler to the Daily Prophet, and in turn, they'll make it into a section. A section that I will author…"

"I see…" Ron nodded slowly. "And they're going to let you stay in control of your section?" Xeno looked up and blinked at Ron, the boy clearly understood that Xeno would just be a quill. _Pull back, you clown. Don't give him the impression that you've planned this conversation. What would Theo do in my shoes? Lie and appease._ "I've just been reading the Daily Prophet lately, and I get the impression that it's rather biased. They're always preaching about the Ministry's accomplishments, and truth be told, I can't see your 'section' being a part of their issues because of how unbiased your magazine is."

"You're… right…" Xeno said, speaking more to himself than Ron. "The Prophet is rather biased, isn't it?"

"It really is" Ron nodded. "I never knew just how endangered Unicorns are until I read your article. I reckon the Daily Prophet should report on that rather than what scandalous thing happened the day before. Who cares about which Pure-Blood is sleeping with whom? I mean, we could lose Unicorns forever if we don't protect them. I didn't know that until today." _I really didn't._

"I'm glad you liked the article, Ron" Xeno smiled sadly, his heart aching slightly at the prospect of losing his life's work to the Prophet. "But I don't have much choice in the matter…"

"Adult stuff?" Ron asked with a gentle smile.

"Yes, adult stuff" Xeno reached up and patted Ron's cheek.

"I understand, Xeno" Ron said. "Since this is your last issue, take as much time as you can with it. Make it perfect for the people who wait an entire month for a copy of the latest Quibbler. Make it perfect for yourself."

"Boys, lunch is ready!" came Pandora's voice from upstairs, but Xeno and Ron didn't even break eye contact.

"I'll rewrite the issue again, I think" Xeno decided, giving Ron a grateful smile. "Thank you for your advice Ron, I always forget how sharp you are. You would have done well in Ravenclaw."

"Thanks" Ron smiled back. _Now I need to think of a suitable contract, and then go see Gornuk for advice._

* * *

 _ **Friday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – After Dinner)**_

Ron stepped into the Burrow with a smile on his face, his day had been rather successful. He had convinced Xeno to take his time with The Quibbler, and shown the man just how valuable he could be. Xeno was bound to take him more seriously now. The only downside was that Pandora had taken notice of Ron's interest in her husband's magazine again, but thankfully, she didn't make a big deal out of it. Now all Ron had to do was to think of a contract that was better than what the Prophet was offering, but it still needed to put Ron in charge. He needed more than half the shares for that to happen, according to Lady Longbottom, so he at least had a starting place.

"Ronnie, welcome home" Molly smiled at him as he entered the kitchen, and Ron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Yes, everything is fine. You didn't bruise my wrist yesterday, and I didn't scream at you two days ago._

"Hello, everyone" Ron smiled at his siblings, his eyes traveling to Percy. "You're back… Wait… What's that on your neck?" Percy immediately fixed his collar, while the twins began laughing at him.

"Our dear brother came home with a love bite" Fred laughed. _Love bite?_

"Shut up…" Percy frowned at them.

"Clearwater bit you?" Ron asked, and Percy's ears turned red. _Crazy bitch bit him!_

"More than that, she…" George started, but Molly smacked his arm to stop him from teasing Percy once again.

"None of that, George" Molly huffed. "And you too Fred… Stop picking on your brother for just one minute."

"Percy slept with Penelope" Ginny said, and Ron gaped at her. _Oh Merlin, she's killed us all!_

"Ginevra Weasley?!" Molly shrieked, going completely pale in the face. "Who told you this?!" _I should escape._

"The twins" Ginny replied slowly.

"What?!" Fred yelled.

"That's a lie!" George yelled as well, both of them shooting panicked looks at their mother.

"She's lying, mum!" they yelled together, and Ron blocked his ears. _So loud. Does Ginny even understand what that means? Of course she does, she's not stupid. I knew what it meant when I was her age._

"You two…" Molly hissed, shaking with rage. "You are both grounded! No more pranks! No more roaming the house! When I tell your father, he will give his own punishment!"

"I'm not hungry…" Percy sighed as he got up to leave, his entire face a bright shade of red. Percy then quickly made his way out of the room, and Ron had the good sense to move out of his way.

"That's it!" Molly glared at her twin sons. "You will eat in your room! Upstairs, now!" The twins glared murder at Ginny, and then they both stormed off. _Yeesh. Just another day at the Weasley homestead._ "And you, Ginny… You will never repeat something so unladylike again. Or you too will be grounded. Understood?"

"I understand" Ginny nodded, looking rather subdued.

"There's food on the counter, Ron…" Molly sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Help yourself…" With that, she went to the Living Room to lie down. Her children were going to give her a heart attack at this rate. Ron slowly took a seat in front of Ginny, eyeing her carefully. And then she suddenly broke out into a wide smile, and Ron swallowed thickly.

"You little monster…" Ron muttered. "The twins didn't tell you shite…"

"Nope" Ginny shrugged. "I caught them trying to rig your bed after you left, and when I asked them what they were doing, they said that a good pranking always cheers people up. Odd… They didn't look very happy just then." _Merlin! Why am I surrounded by such devious psychopaths?_

"You did that for me?" Ron asked slowly, and Ginny's smile faltered for a second.

"Nu-uh" Ginny lied pathetically. "I just wanted to prank the twins…" _Right._

"Well, I don't really need cheering up" Ron lied. "Madam Roberts made her choice, and it was my own fault."

"What really happened, Ron?" Ginny asked.

"I… I lied about something important" Ron replied.

"About what?" Ginny asked, but Ron didn't reply. "You won't tell me?"

"It's very personal" Ron told her, and she looked visibly annoyed with him.

"Here" Ginny said as she took out a letter from under her arse, handing it over to Ron. "It came for you today, and I've been hiding it from mum."

"Why?" Ron asked, but his question was answered when he saw the Nott Family emblem on it. "Theo…"

"I figured that she might lose it again if she saw your Slytherin friends contacting you" Ginny shrugged.

"I don't think that she would, but thank you Ginny" Ron smiled at her as he opened the letter.

 _Hello Lover,_ _(Oh, for fuck's sake…)_

 _It's been a while since we were in each other's company, and I figured that we should spend some time together again. Meet me at The Leaky Cauldron on Monday morning, at nine._

 _Looking forward to our date,_

 _Theodore Nott._

Ron just started at the letter with a blank expression, thanking his lucky stars that no one else had read it. _That fucker wanted to get me into trouble, I just know it._

"What did it say?" Ginny asked.

"You're very inquisitive, you know that right?" Ron told her, and she shrugged at him. "Theo wants to meet me on Monday."

"Why?"

"I have no idea…" Ron said as he pocketed the letter. "Thank you for keeping it safe for me, Ginny."

"It's no worries" Ginny grinned at him. "I'm happy to help, that's all."

"Right…" Ron nodded slowly. _She wants something from me, so she's buttering me up._ Ron then went to leave for his room, but he stopped when a question popped into his mind. "Gin, how did you know what sleeping with someone means?"

"I read it in Witch Weekly" Ginny replied, and Ron blinked at her. "That's how I knew what a love bite was too. Wait a minute… You don't know what a love bite is, do you?"

"Of course I know what it is" Ron lied, but Ginny just smirked at him.

"You asked Percy if Penelope bit him" Ginny pointed out, and Ron tensed slightly. "It's when someone 'bites' their partner in order to leave a mark on them. Their mark, that is. It's a show of affection, and dominance. You can leave one by sucking on their skin too."

"What the hell? You shouldn't know these things, Gin" Ron blushed slightly. _Shite! How does she know this but I don't? Am I brain-dama…? Wait… FUCK! I am!_

"You boys…" Ginny rolled her eyes. "You should read Witch Weekly, Ron. It'll help you with Greengrass." _WHAT?!_

"Daphne? What? Ginny, what's the matter with you? She's my friend. That's it… I'm leaving" Ron turned around and walked away, ignoring Ginny sniggering behind his back. _I can't believe that just happened! Witch Weekly is teaching my sister filth! And what did she mean by 'Help me with Greengrass'?! Does she know about us?! No… No, calm down… She was probably just making a remark to get to me. Yeah, she doesn't know shite._

* * *

 _ **Monday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Morning)**_

"Ron, mate…" Theo smiled widely, giving Ron a firm handshake.

"Theo, how are you?" Ron smiled back.

"Same old, just getting ready for Hogwarts" Theo replied. "You?"

"Busy" Ron replied honestly. "I've got a million things going on right now."

"Is that so?" Theo asked, and they began making their way into Diagon Alley. "Want to tell me what these things are?"

"I do, but not yet" Ron replied, he had decided to let Theo in on his plan. _He's rich enough to become an investor, and he is clever in these sort of things. I have a gold mine when it comes to my friends, and I should utilize it._

"Ohhh… intriguing" Theo chuckled.

"We can talk about that stuff later" Ron said, deciding to see Gornuk first in order to draw up a 'mock contract'. _And to get a better idea about how this sort of stuff is done._ "But first you have to tell me why we're meeting up like this?"

"I told you in my letter, love" Theo smirked his trademark smirk.

"Thanks for that, by the way" Ron shook his head. "I'm lucky that no one read that letter, otherwise I'd have been turned into a joke."

"Damn, I was hoping your sister read that letter" Theo laughed. "She seems like a nosey bint to me."

"Don't call my sister a 'bint', you tosser" Ron scolded. _Only I get to do that. And Ginny is a nosey bint. One that knows things that she shouldn't._ "Theo… Do you know what a love bite is?" _I couldn't ask Daphne on Saturday because she ran off to test dishes for her party._

"Woah… The letter was a joke, mate" Theo said, putting some distance between them.

"What? No, you idiot" Ron frowned, and Theo sniggered at him. "It's just that… Ugh… Whatever. You clearly know." _Maybe I should read Witch Weekly as well? Wait… Does Theo read Witch Weekly?_ "Theo, do you read Witch Weekly?"

"I do" Theo nodded, and Ron blinked at him. "What? It gives me a look into the mind of the average witch. It's not a particularly fun read, but it does have its uses. You should read it too."

"Isn't it a bit odd though? A bloke reading Witch Weekly?" Ron asked, and Theo scoffed.

"It's only 'odd' if you make it 'odd', Ron" Theo replied. "Just don't get caught reading it, and you'll be fine."

"I see…" Ron nodded slowly. "So… What are we doing today?"

"Getting Daphne a gift for her birthday party" Theo replied. "We told her that we were getting her something amazing together, remember?"

"Oh shite" Ron smacked his forehead, remembering their lie when she had caught them discussing Blaise's mother.

"You forgot?" Theo asked. "Please tell me that you haven't gotten her something already."

"I haven't" Ron replied, and Theo breathed out a breath of relief. "What did you have in mind? Oh, and we should also get Tracey something." _Are they still fighting?_

"I already got Tracey something" Theo said, and Ron nodded slowly.

"So you two made up?" Ron asked, and Theo shook his head.

"We haven't spoken since our fight" Theo replied. "But I intend to make up with her during her birthday party. I… I don't like her being upset with me, and truth be told, I'm feeling rather guilty about our fight."

"That's… good" Ron blinked at Theo, surprised that Theo would admit to feeling guilty. "Friends fight all the time, so I'm glad that you want to make up with her." _He admitted to feeling guilty. Is it the end times?_

"Anyway…" Theo shook his head clear. "Let's find something for Daphne. I was thinking that we could get her something sentimental rather than materialistic."

"We promised her something expensive, remember?" Ron reminded Theo.

"It can be expensive and still be sentimental, mate" Theo replied. _Hmmm…_

"She got a new haircut, maybe we should get her something for that?" Ron asked.

"She got a new haircut?" Theo asked, and Ron nodded. "But she hasn't changed her hair in six years… Why would she change it now?" _To impress me, apparently._ "Maybe she wants to catch someone's eye?" Theo smirked at Ron. _Bloody hell…_

"Come off it" Ron nudged Theo away.

"C'mon mate, even you can see that she has a soft spot for you" Theo laughed.

"That doesn't mean that she changed her hair for me" Ron said. "Now can we please get back to the task at hand?"

"Certainly" Theo smirked. "You want to get her something for her hair? So like a hair band?" _Should I get her more jewelry? It's becoming rather… stale._

"Twilfitt and Tattings" Ron suddenly snapped his fingers, and Theo blinked at him. "Remember when I wanted a scarf for Clementine? Daphne had the time of her life in that shop."

"Not bad, Weasley" Theo nodded in agreement. "Let's have go and have a look, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"The thing about dresses is that most girls don't wear the same thing twice" Theo said, rubbing his chin. "Especially Daphne Greengrass, heiress of the most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass."

"Thank you for saying her full title, it was very helpful" Ron said sarcastically.

"I was making a point, mate" Theo chuckled, enjoying irritating Ron. Theo knew that Ron hated losing, and he hated losing in **anything**. Even if it was something as trivial as knowledge on what girls wore.

"What if we got her something that she has to wear often?" Ron asked. "She's had the same pajamas for as long as I can remember."

"How in the actual fuck do you know that?" Theo asked, trying not to laugh at Ron. _Shite, I walked into a trap._

"I've spent a lot of time with them" Ron stated, and Theo gave him a wink. "You… Whatever. What do you think of Pajamas?"

"It's practical, and she'll use it every day" Theo nodded slowly. "And if we get her something rare, she'll definitely like that. She's a girl of 'refined tastes'…"

"Alright, let's go and find some pajamas" Ron said, and they both moved over to the pajamas section.

"What the fuck?" Theo frowned at the price tag of the first set of pajamas that he saw. "Four hundred and thirty Galleons? Why?"

"It's made from 'Enchanted cotton'…" Ron read. "These pajamas come with a permanent Fitting Charm and a permanent Beautifying Charm cast upon them. The cotton was grown on a field fertilized with Manticore Dung."

"So these are poo pajamas" Theo said, and Ron sniggered. _Ha! Poo pajamas._

"What about these?" Ron pointed to a golden set of Pajamas.

"Merlin…" Theo gasped. "Eight hundred fucking Galleons?"

"These also have a Fitting Charm on them, as well as a Beautifying Charm" Ron read. "And it's made from Unicorn hair which was turned into silk using advanced Alchemy. Bloody hell…"

"Shouldn't it be silver then?" Theo asked.

"The Unicorn was probably less than two years old" Ron replied. "Their hair is gold until they become adults."

"Thank you, Professor" Theo remarked.

"You're welcome, dunderhead" Ron smirked, making Theo snigger. "Gold does suit Daphne… You know, because of her hair… And this is a rare piece of garment, not to mention that it's on sale."

"Probably because no one can afford it" Theo frowned slightly.

"We can afford it" Ron said. "If we split it, we'll both only need to spend four hundred Galleons."

"Only?" Theo asked. "Ron, the average income of wizards and witches is just over four hundred Galleons a year."

"For a millionaire, you're rather stingy with money" Ron noted.

"I respect the value of money" Theo shrugged. "And my father is the 'millionaire', I'm the leech with a trust account."

"I bet your trust account is bigger than my house" Ron said, and Theo sighed in defeat.

"Fine… Let's get those pajamas…" Theo submitted. "But she better fucking wear them every day, or I swear to Merlin, I'll shave her head." _And then I'll take your life._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Ron, what do you need from Gringotts?" Theo asked, they were both waiting in line to see Gornuk. "Is this the thing that you won't tell me about just yet?"

"It is" Ron nodded.

"I see" Theo nodded slowly. "May I take a guess?"

"Go right ahead" Ron replied, he was in a rather good mood right now. He had gotten both Daphne and Tracey gifts, and now he was at Gringotts to learn more about buying a business. _A productive day, just how I like them to be. Daphne will love her new set of pajamas, and Tracey will love her shipment of joke items._

"You're thinking of investing in a business" Theo guessed, and Ron shook his head. _Damn, he was quite close._

"You want to make a dirty deal with the Goblins" Theo guessed, and Ron shook his head again. _Been there, done that._

"You're here to write your will" Theo guess, and Ron gave him a bewildered look.

"My will? You know what, I might just do that considering that this conversation is slowly killing my brain" Ron remarked.

"Oh, then it's working" Theo chucked.

"Next" Gornuk called, and Ron and Theo stepped up to the desk. "Ah… Mr. Weasley. A pleasure to see you again" Gornuk smiled a sharp-toothed smile, making Theo look between the two of them. Since when were Goblins this friendly?

"Good to see you as well, Gornuk" Ron smiled back, noticing the Goblins new ivory earrings. "I like your earrings, they suit you." _Did he buy them from the money he made selling the Basilisk organs?_

"They were a… gift" Gornuk said, sounding rather pleased with himself. "What brings you to Gringotts today?"

"I wish to have a mock contract drawn up, and I need some advice on buying a business" Ron replied, and Theo gaped at him.

"Certainly" Gornuk nodded, and then he put a 'Busy' sign on the edge of his desk. "Follow me into my Office."

"I'll wait in the waiting area…" Theo said, eyeing Ron with a curious look.

"I won't be long mate, lunch is on me" Ron patted Theo's shoulder, and then he followed Gornuk towards his Office. Once they were inside, Ron looked around the tiny Office before taking a seat. _It's the size of our dorm room's bathroom. Considering how grand the entrance is, I expected this Office to be bigger._

"Now…" Gornuk grunted as he took his seat from across Ron. "What business are you planning to buy?"

"The Quibbler" Ron replied, and something flashed behind the Goblin's eyes.

"The Quibbler, you say" Gornuk smiled in a devious manner. "How do you know that it's up for sale?"

"It's up for sale?" Ron asked.

"Another client is interested in purchasing it too" Gornuk replied. "Inquiries have been made…"

"The Daily Prophet" Ron figured, and Gornuk grinned.

"You are very well informed, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk said, clearly amused by Ron. "I can't say that I've dealt with a wizard child that intrigues me like you do."

"I intrigue you?" Ron asked, giving Gornuk a polite smile. _Creepy fuck._

"Why wouldn't you?" Gornuk asked in return. "We've had some interesting dealings, you and I. Dealings that have made us both a lot of Gold."

"I can tell" Ron looked at Gornuk's earrings.

"You have made me a wealthy Goblin, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk said. "You have my gratitude for that."

"The feeling is mutual" Ron admitted. "I hear that my vault's size was increased once again."

"Yes, you certainly make a… bountiful income" Gornuk said. "I kept eyes away from your servant as he made his deposits."

"You did?" Ron asked.

"I had to" Gornuk replied. "If the others became suspicious of you, they'd eventually follow the Gold back to me." _Mutual benefit then._ "Now, why do you wish to buy the Quibbler?"

"That is unimportant" Ron replied, and Gornuk nodded. _They have to respect their client's privacy, that's what Bill told us when he first got a job with them._ "What's important is that I need to buy it before the Daily Prophet does."

"Their offer is very generous" Gornuk said.

"Two thousand Galleons, I know" Ron replied, and Gornuk blinked at him. "I know the man who owns the Quibbler, he told me."

"I see" Gornuk nodded slowly. "And you plan to swoop in and buy it before the Daily Prophet gets a signature out of Mr. Lovegood?"

"Exactly" Ron nodded, leaning forward in his chair.

"Some might consider that to be in bad faith" Gornuk said, and then he smiled his greedy smile. _He wants more money from me, doesn't he?_

"Which is why I came to you, Gornuk" Ron said. "We've made… shady… deals before. Why not make another one?"

"Where did they find you, Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk 'laughed'. "How much are you willing to pay me for my services?"

"And what are your services?" Ron asked, he wanted a clear answer in order to not get cheated.

"I will advise you, draw up your contract, and even give you estimates on how much everything will cost" Gornuk replied. "And since we are… partners in crime, I will even give you information on our personal statistics for the business. They are not one hundred percent accurate, but still quite on the money. We Goblins tend to keep track on matters of business, after all." _Sounds like just what I need._

"I will pay you an extra fifty Galleons on top of your usual fee" Ron replied, and Gornuk nodded his approval. Gornuk then took out a piece of parchment and grabbed a quill, and then he looked to Ron with a serious look.

"What kind of contract are you thinking of?" Gornuk asked.

"I want to own over half of the shares in the Quibbler" Ron replied.

"I see" Gornuk began taking notes.

"I was thinking that I'd own fifty five percent of the Quibbler, which is enough to make me in charge of it" Ron started, remembering his numbers and Lady Longbottom's advice. "Xeno can own twenty percent, which will leave twenty five percent for any potential investors to buy up."

"You've thought about this" Gornuk stated, and Ron nodded. "Good, it will save us time. How much are you willing to pay Mr. Lovegood in order to buy the Quibbler outright?"

"Outright?" Ron asked.

"I suggest that you buy the Quibbler completely, and then make Mr. Lovegood buy the twenty percent with his own money" Gornuk advised. _That'll save me money, but Xeno needs it more than I do._

"I was going to buy the Quibbler for three thousand Galleons" Ron said.

"Why?" Gornuk asked, sounding rather surprised. "That business is not worth that much money." _I want to help Xeno, not rob him._

"He is very passionate about it" Ron replied. "I plan to change The Quibbler rather radically, and in order to get his signature, I'm willing to pay that much."

"Then I highly recommend that you make him buy his own shares" Gornuk advised. "Buy it for three thousand Galleons, and then make him pay six hundred Galleons back."

"Why six hundred?" Ron asked.

"Once you've bought the business for three thousand Galleons, that's how much one hundred percent of its shares will cost" Gornuk replied. "Don't give out any shares until you completely own the business. Once you do, you can make him sign a contract that won't let him own more than twenty percent. I imagine that he will still want to be a part of it?"

"He will" Ron replied.

"Good, then he will need to pay you six hundred Galleons to buy up twenty percent" Gornuk said, writing it all down. "This will leave behind eighty percent of your shares. You can then distribute twenty five percent to various other parties, and keep fifty five for yourself."

"So to own the business completely, I only need to pay three thousand Galleons?" Ron asked, mentally noting it down.

"Yes, which is still an insane sum of money for such a business" Gornuk replied.

"The Daily Prophet was willing to pay two thousand" Ron said.

"They are a very wealthy business acquiring assets" Gornuk told him. "They had no intention of letting Mr. Lovegood work for them, believe me. Their only interest was to take out any potential competition, and then sell it back for parts. They'd lose a bit of money, and Mr. Lovegood would be out of business." _Bloody hell, that's rather cutthroat of them._

"Once I own The Quibbler, its total value would be three thousand Galleons right?" Ron asked, and Gornuk nodded.

"Investors will help you save money by buying up shares, and that includes Mr. Lovegood" Gornuk replied. "Once The Quibbler starts turning a profit, they will need to be payed back for their investments in regards to how much they invested. I can take care of that for you."

"You can?" Ron asked.

"You will need to hire me as your Logistics Officer" Gornuk smiled greedily. "I will handle the books for you."

"I guess that's one staff member down" Ron smiled, this was coming together nicely. "Gornuk, you are a Merlin-send."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk 'laughed'. "Gold is Gold, it matters very little to me where it comes from. But if you hire me, I will do right by you just as you did by me. As is a Goblin's honor." _As is a Goblin's honor? What's that mean? And didn't Marty con an extra two thousand Galleons out of him? Knowing Goblins, he probably respected that._

"And since I own fifty five percent, I make the majority of the money earned" Ron nodded, understanding this better.

"Exactly" Gornuk replied. "Since you own the business, you will need to pay your own staff. You can do that through me as well. How many staff members are you looking for?"

"Xenophilius will be one of them" Ron replied.

"So he owns shares and works for The Quibbler?" Gornuk asked, and Ron nodded. "So he gets two paychecks?"

"He has to work there, otherwise he will never sign it over to me" Ron explained, and Gornuk nodded.

"Go on, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk began writing it all down again.

"I will need four other journalists, one for each new section of The Quibbler" Ron started. "I will need to hire a printing company. I will also need three or four cameramen, and a good Editor-in-chief."

"So eleven total employees, including myself and Mr. Lovegood" Gornuk said, doing the math in his head. "This could work, but you'll need to pay their monthly salaries from your own pocket first. I will open an account in The Quibbler's name once your business is truly underway, but until that happens, all the payments will come from your personal vault. It is unfortunate that Mr. Lovegood is alone the owner, and distributor, of The Quibbler. We have to create the 'skeleton' of the new Quibbler from scratch."

"But you can do it, right?" Ron asked, and Gornuk nodded.

"Once you've hired me, certainly" Gornuk replied.

"We will also need to re-advertise The Quibbler" Ron said.

"I figured as much" Gornuk said, writing it all down. "You plan to turn an old product into a brand new one, and you need to get the word out. A continent-wide advertisement program will cost you around two thousand Galleons, and it will run for six months. Hiring a printing company will be easy enough, but I advise you to wait until your campaign ends before you start publishing. You want the launch to be as successful as possible."

"Understood" Ron nodded, coming to Gornuk was perhaps the best idea anyone could have given him. _Thank you, Lady Longbottom. I'll be sending you a bottle of good Sherry very soon._ "So what are my overall costs estimated to be?"

"Before you start turning a profit, I'd say around ten thousand Galleons" Gornuk replied. "How fortunate that you came into such a fortune very recently. Tell me, Mr. Weasley. Did you plan this all out?"

"No" Ron admitted, and Gornuk was surprised at the honesty. Most children would take credit for being smarter than they actually were. "The fortune came around long before I heard about The Quibbler. I got lucky, that's all." _Finally, something goes my way for once without me busting my arse for ages._

"Indeed you did" Gornuk nodded. "It's good that you have the money to fund this yourself, otherwise you'd be stuck dealing with us. Now, here are the costs. Three thousand for the initial purchase. Two thousand for the advertisement campaign. Around five thousand Galleons in total for the salaries of the staff for the first year."

"I have to pay the salaries up front?" Ron asked.

"No, you will pay them monthly" Gornuk replied. "It's just smart to have the money already saved up so you don't fall behind on paying your employees." _Ah, I understand. Was actually worried for a second there._ "Now, here is how much you can save early due to the investors. Once you've sold forty five percent of the total shares, you will get back one thousand three hundred and fifty Galleons."

"That's great" Ron smiled.

"It is, if you can manage to do it" Gornuk said. "But you will have to pay them back from your profits."

"And how do I pay the shareholders?" Ron asked. "Is it monthly as well?"

"No, you pay them a dividend annually from your total profits" Gornuk explained, and Ron started noting it all down in his mind. "That's how **you** will make money as well."

"Because I own fifty five percent" Ron nodded in understanding.

"Exactly" Gornuk said. "The salaries, printing fees, distribution, and advertisements are the costs that come out of The Quibbler's bank account."

"The account that isn't opened yet" Ron noted, and Gornuk nodded.

"You will be at a loss at first, but eventually you will break even, and then you'll start turning a profit" Gornuk explained. "It all depends on your Quibbler's success. Luckily for you, subscriptions are just cheap enough that wizards and witches don't really care for them. Due to this, you will most likely keep a majority of the current subscribers that Mr. Lovegood has. This is not a new product, it is an improved version of it. Therefore, you can still call it The Quibbler and pass on the subscribers."

"I was actually thinking of releasing an issue a week, and charging two Knuts instead of one" Ron piped in.

"I see" Gornuk wrote it down. "You will have to release a notice about that, which can be done by the advertisers. I will take care of it if you hire me. Getting started is the hard part, but once the launch happens, you personally won't have to worry about much."

"But I will get to decide what we publish, right?" Ron asked.

"You own it, so yes" Gornuk nodded. "Do you have any more questions?"

"Yes, how long before I start making a profit?" Ron asked. "Just an estimation, if you will."

"Currently, the Quibbler makes around three hundred Galleons a year" Gornuk replied, thinking of the Quibbler's estimated values. "Which all goes to Mr. Lovegood."

"That's below the average salary of wizards and witches" Ron noted.

"Indeed it is" Gornuk said. "Which is why he wants to sell it, I imagine. He can't turn it into a business like you because he doesn't have the resources, and he can't get a loan from us because his numbers are too low. If you play this right, Mr. Weasley, you could earn a lot of money. You are essentially turning The Quibbler into a product much like Witch Weekly, or Seeker Weekly. The only difference being that it doesn't have a massive workforce behind it. You have five reporters, four cameramen, an Editor-in-chief, and a Logistics Officer. If your Quibbler succeeds, then we can discuss increasing the workforce."

"So Xenophilius has enough readers that despite only earning one Knut per subscriber a month, he still makes three hundred Galleons a year?" Ron asked.

"He doesn't have to worry about paying staff, he only has to pay for printing" Gornuk explained. "But since you'll be making eight Knuts a month per subscriber, and after your advertising campaign, I imagine that you will be well on your way to breaking even by the end of next year. Just don't tell him that, or he might get ideas. Buy The Quibbler first, and then make him sign the shareholder agreement. After that, you can start looking for other investors. Once they're on board, headhunt a staff."

"I understand" Ron nodded. "Can you draw up the actual contract now, as well as the shareholder's agreement?"

"I can" Gornuk replied, taking out another parchment. "After all, you're paying me for my services. Come back in three hours, I will have everything finished by then."

"And how much do I owe you?" Ron asked.

"Sixty five Galleons" Gornuk grinned. _Sixty five? His rate was fifteen Galleons? Fuck, I overpaid so much. Think next time, Ron._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron and Theo were having lunch in The Leaky Cauldron, and Ron had just explained his plans to buy The Quibbler to Theo. Theo had gone from utterly shocked to being rather excited within minutes, much to Ron's amusement.

"Why a news magazine?" Theo asked.

"I want to control what people hear" Ron replied, and Theo let out a laugh.

"You fucking madman" Theo said, making Ron snigger. "So you're really doing this? You're going to become a thirteen year old business man? Business teenager?"

"I am" Ron nodded.

"I don't get you" Theo shook his head, still smiling widely. _He doesn't get me?_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"I spend my time thinking of my grades, or about what I want to eat for lunch" Theo replied. "You have a job, and now you're doing this… How does your brain work like that?"

"I think of the Future" Ron replied. _And not much else._

"The Future?" Theo asked for clarification.

"I want to have influence, and power" Ron admitted. _I want to win._

"Bloody hell, father has no idea how wrong he is about you" Theo sighed. "Which brings me to this… Ron, I'm really sorry."

"Sorry?" Ron blinked. _What's happened? What did his cunt father do now?_

"My father is hosting a party soon, and… And he forbid me from inviting you" Theo explained, looking more annoyed than sorry. "We're allies, but more importantly, we're friends. I wanted to tell you in person in order to apologize. If it were up to me, you'd definitely be invited. I'm really sorry about this, Ron."

"I understand, Theo" Ron assured him, but in the back of his mind, Ron was slightly hurt. And insulted.

"Don't do that" Theo sighed.

"Do what?"

"Be all understanding…" Theo replied, massaging his forehead. "I'm not doing right by you, and we both know it. You just trusted me with this plan of yours, a plan that no one else knows about. And I can't even invite you to a party."

"Do you want me to be upset?" Ron asked.

"I want you to…" Theo started, but then he trailed off. "Ron, I want you to tell me if you're upset or not. I can generally get a read on people easily, but you… Your brain works in ways that I can't really grasp."

"Are you calling me irrational?" Ron asked.

"Sort of, yes" Theo replied. "You're too irregular, and you don't think like the rest of us. I know what pisses you off, or when you're in a jolly mood. But sometimes, it's too hard to predict you. So…" _Fine, I'll tell you._

"It does bother me that I'm seen as some burden by your father" Ron sighed, and Theo nodded slowly. "Pansy's parents, Millie's parents, your father… They'd all prefer it if I wasn't around, and that does bother me. But you know what? They can kiss my arse for all I care." Theo's eyes widened at that, and then he began sniggering. "I'm here whether they like it or not, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. Now, can we please move on from this?"

"Sure, mate" Theo agreed, satisfied with Ron's answer. "Wait… Why did you tell me about your plan to buy The Quibbler?"

"Well…" Ron grinned. "You've got a lot of money in your trust account, don't you?"

"You sneaky fuck…" Theo chuckled, and then he grinned back.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you enjoyed that. Now I know that I said that third year would start after this chapter, but I fucked up... So, one more chapter before third year starts.**

 **I wonder how Ron's family will take his interest in buying Xeno's magazine? Especially when he has to explain to them why he wants it? Should he tell them? Personally, I bloody wouldn't.**

 **See you all on Thursday.**


	66. Chapter 66 - Matters of Money

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 66 is done, and now posted. A LOT happens in this chapter, so keep your eyes peeled. Also if people are confused about the italics, here is a guide.**

 _This refers to People's Thoughts._

 _This is Ron thinking in Parseltongue._

 ** _This is the Entity._**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 66 – Matter of Money**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Afternoon)**_

The contract had been written up, as well as the shareholder agreement, and Ron had even managed to find his first investor. Theo had agreed to buy up five percent of the shares as a friendly favor to Ron, but Ron first had to get Xeno to sign over The Quibbler to him. In all honesty, Ron felt that convincing Xeno would be the hardest part about this venture due to a variety of reasons.

Firstly, Ron was a thirteen year old, and despite how prepared he was, people underestimated him due to his age. They didn't know that Ron had probably seen horrors that they couldn't even fathom, or that Ron had genuinely punched a **God** in its face. To the outside world, Ron was just another kid who went to Hogwarts. And therefore, no adult was going to take him seriously when he came to them with an offer to buy their business.

Secondly, Ron's parents would most likely think that he was insane. Ron was certain that his mother would step in and attempt to tank the deal, mostly because she would refuse to let him waste his money. His father would no doubt bring up his 'fragile' mind, and try and talk him out of making such a big decision. And when Ron would refuse them both, they'd start taking extreme measures to 'protect him'. It was an old dance, and Ron was getting sick of it. He didn't need people getting in his way every time he made a move, and he certainly didn't need people to act like they knew **his** limits better than he did.

Thirdly, Xenophilius might genuinely object to Ron becoming his boss. Xeno wasn't like most of the adults that Ron knew, Xeno was far more open-minded than he was proud. All three Lovegoods were extremely open-minded, but truth be told, that open-mindedness had its limits. Despite trusting and loving Ron completely, Xeno also understood that Ron was 'just a child'. Naming Ron the Godfather of his unborn child was one thing, but becoming reliant on him was another. Ron, of course, had no intention of offending Xeno's pride, small as it may be, but he truly needed The Quibbler. And he was willing to twist Xeno's arm a little for it. Xeno could either work for Ron, or he could get a two thousand Galleon pay out and be jobless. Ron's deal was a Merlin-send compared to what the Daily Prophet was planning, and Ron planned to use that fact if necessary.

Fourthly, Ron's busy lifestyle was no doubt going to be brought up. Ron was a student, a professional Chess player, in the market for a new Dueling tutor, and now he was aspiring to run a business as well. Normal people would be easily daunted by such a busy lifestyle, and Ron was too, but Ron was also driven by something that he couldn't tell anyone about. And since he couldn't tell them why he was pushing himself so hard, everyone who knew him just assumed that he wanted to jump into an early grave. His brain-damage and Chronic Stress were bound to come up, and Ron had no idea about how he was going to navigate that mess.

And lastly, Ron had little to no time on his hands. Xeno was apparently flying through his work, and he fully planned to sign over The Quibbler once his latest issue was published. This gave Ron roughly ten days to get everything in place. There just wasn't enough time to do everything that needed to be done, and so Ron was starting to stress more and more. There were parties to attend, work to go to, books and supplies to buy, and a legitimate presentation to come up with. Not to mention talking to potential investors before he was shipped off to Hogwarts, all the while tackling the obstacles that were going to be thrown in his way.

"Ron?" came Neville's voice, and Ron looked over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to…" Ron started, but he stopped when he saw Harry and Hermione poke their heads out of the Living Room. _They're visiting him? Fair enough, I'm only here for Lady Longbottom anyway._

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, repeating Neville's question. There was a growing smile on her face, but Ron paid it no mind. He was here to show Lady Longbottom his contracts in order to get more of her advice, and to potentially convince her to be a shareholder.

"And why do you have that briefcase, and that bottle of Sherry?" Harry cocked his head as he and Hermione walked up beside Neville.

"The Sherry is for Lady Longbottom, and the briefcase has some important documents in it" Ron replied, and the Golden Trio nodded slowly. _Thank you for the briefcase, Gornuk._

"What important documents?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. _I should keep that to myself for now. I don't want Harry to tell Sirius, who will then tell my family. Sirius is the last investor that I'll speak to, mostly because I don't trust him to keep quiet about this._

"Just some personal stuff" Ron shrugged, and then he looked to Neville. "Is your Grandmother here? I wish to see her."

"Gran?" Neville blinked. "She's in her study…"

"Mind taking me there, I don't know the way" Ron said, and Neville nodded dumbly. Why did Ron need to see his Gran? And what were these documents?

"Follow me" Neville said, and they both began making their way towards the study. It didn't take long for Harry and Hermione to catch up.

"Why do you need to see Neville's Gran?" Harry asked.

"I need her advice on some important matters" Ron replied, and something flashed behind Harry's eyes.

"What important matters?" Harry asked. "Maybe we can help as well." _I rather doubt it._

"It's nothing to worry about, mate" Ron shot Harry a smile. "I just need ten minutes of her time, and then I have to go anyway." _I promised Daphne that I'd help her with her party decorations. And I need to speak with Lord and Lady Greengrass about this._

"Really?" Neville asked. "You can't stay for a chat?"

"It'll be fun, Ron" Hermione piped in. "We can talk about which subjects we're taking this year."

"Hermione's taking them all" Harry said, ruining her surprise. _She's taking them all?_

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, looking both upset and angry.

"Wait, don't the subjects clash?" Ron asked Hermione, but she was just glaring at a sniggering Harry.

"They do, but she plans to work extra hard" Neville replied for her, and Ron nodded slowly. "I think she's going to burn herself out."

"I will not" Hermione said haughtily. "I'm perfectly capable of doing it, and the teachers agreed."

"Well, good luck I suppose" Ron said, wondering whether or not he should follow her example. _No, I'm already too busy. I don't need that headache as well._

"Which subjects are you taking?" Hermione asked him.

"Care of Magical Creatures and Study of Ancient Runes" Ron replied, and Hermione beamed.

"Have you read 'Ancient Runes Made Easy' yet?" Hermione asked, and both Harry and Neville groaned. "It's so fascinating! Did you know that the Egyptians used to perform their Magic solely from Runes? Or that…"

"Here we are" Neville announced, stopping Hermione from going off on a rant.

"Neville, you cut me off" Hermione narrowed her eyes on him, and he smiled sheepishly. _Thank Merlin for that, I don't have all day. I need to get my arse moving here._

"He said that he was in a hurry, Hermione" Neville reminded her, and she frowned to herself.

"Mate, once you're done in there" Harry whispered, and Ron leaned in to hear him properly. "Come to the Living Room for like five minutes. We're talking about 'Dumbledore's mission in Albania', alright?" _Why won't he just leave it alone? He's like a dog with a juicy bone. Bloody hell, I should at least hear him out just in case. What if he's figured something else out? I'll need to warn Snape and Dumbledore._

"I'll do that" Ron nodded his agreement, and Harry smiled and patted his shoulder.

"See you then" Harry said, and both he and Hermione left for the Living Room. Neville however, stayed and knocked on the study door.

"Come in" came Lady Longbottom's stern voice, and Neville opened the door. Ron entered behind Neville, and he waited for Neville to announce him.

"Gran, Ron is here to see you" Neville said, and Lady Longbottom looked up from her work. She was writing something down on a piece of parchment, and Ron figured that she was working on her businesses.

"Ah, Ronald" Lady Longbottom gave a rare smile, something that made Neville blink repeatedly. "Come in and take a seat."

"Good afternoon, my Lady" Ron greeted her with a smile, and then he walked over and sat down from across her. _Alright, let's do this. Think before you speak, and keep your manners in check._

"You may rejoin your friends, Neville" Lady Longbottom told her Grandson, and Neville left with a parting nod. Once the door was closed, Lady Longbottom looked to Ron. "What brings you here, Ronald?"

"I came to speak with you about my business plans" Ron replied, and then he stood up and offered her the bottle of Sherry. "A gift for your excellent advice, the Goblins really helped me get everything started."

"When it comes to matters of Gold, there is no one better" Lady Longbottom said, accepting the bottle and putting it on the shelf behind her. "Thank you for the Sherry, Ronald. You have truly found my weak spot. Now, what's in your briefcase?" Ron smiled and sat back down, and then he opened the briefcase on his lap.

"These are two contracts that I had drawn up" Ron replied, handing her the documents. "And this folder has the relevant information about my business' structure" Ron said, handing her the blue folder as well.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" Lady Longbottom said, her eyes scanning the documents.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"This is well detailed" Lady Longbottom said, putting down the papers and looking at Ron. "And structurally sound. I commend you on your efforts."

"I had a lot of help" Ron smiled, pleased at hearing her words.

"One question though… Why are you giving Xenophilius twenty percent of the shares?" Lady Longbottom asked. "It is an awfully large amount for a man who will just be writing three pages."

"The Quibbler is his life's work" Ron replied. "And… And I don't want him to struggle with money. Ever. His unborn child is to be my Godson, or Goddaughter."

"Is that so?" Lady Longbottom asked, nodding in understanding. "Congratulations, Ronald. I hope you understand just how important that responsibility is."

"I do" Ron said, already eager to meet the baby. _I'm going to spoil them so much._

"Everything seems to coming together well" Lady Longbottom said, looking back down at the papers. "Your Goblin was smart to cap share-buys at five percent for each Family, too many businesses tend to get bought out by wealthy Families."

"That's what Gornuk said" Ron told her. "He wanted to cap Families over individuals in order to stop multiple Family members from buying separate shares. He said that that would also help give my business credibility because multiple Families will be investing in it."

"Speaking of which…" Lady Longbottom interrupted his train of thought with a thin-lipped smile. "You want the Longbottom Family to invest as well?"

"I do" Ron replied honestly. "I can't give out shares until after Xeno signs the contract, but I would like some assurances nonetheless. Hogwarts is going to be starting very soon, and once it does, speaking to potential investors will become an issue for me."

"I understand, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said. "Do you have any assurances yet?"

"One, my friend Theodore Nott" Ron replied. "He will be using his Trust Account to buy five percent of the shares for his Family."

"The Notts…" Lady Longbottom said. "Are you sure that's wise? Given their Family history?" _I didn't ask his Family, I asked him._

"He is my friend, and ally" Ron replied. "And I trust him completely. And even if he backs out, once I've payed him his investment back, I can just find another investor to take his spot."

"It's not his investment that I'm questioning, it's his beliefs" Lady Longbottom said. "Do you truly want him to have a say in what you put out?"

"Only I will decide what I put out" Ron replied. "Every week, I will oversee what my staff wish to put out for the upcoming Quibbler issue, and if I don't like it, then they'll have to pitch another idea."

"A dictatorship?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron nodded.

"I'm paying the bills, so I decide what happens" Ron replied. "I think that's fair."

"Good" Lady Longbottom nodded her approval. "You'll need that backbone in the future, I assure you." _Believe me, I know._ "Very well, Ronald. You've convinced me." _YES! TWO DOWN!_ "But I will not be buying the shares, my Grandson will."

"Neville will be buying the shares?" Ron asked, slightly surprised. _Why?_

"He will do as he is told" Lady Longbottom replied. "I want him to start thinking about these things, and to get his head out of the clouds. And his pot-plants, for that matter."

"I see…" Ron nodded slowly. "Then I have to ask a favor of you."

"Name it" Lady Longbottom said.

"Don't tell him about this until after I get Xeno's signature" Ron requested. "He will tell Harry, who will tell Sirius, who will tell Xeno. I need time to prepare, and if Xeno finds out too early, he might end up going to the Daily Prophet."

"I understand" Lady Longbottom gave him a nod. "I will keep your secrets." _That phrase again? Is that a Longbottom saying, or something?_

"Thank you, Lady Longbottom" Ron said as he stood up, and she handed him the documents.

"I will say this outright, Ronald" Lady Longbottom started as Ron was packing his briefcase. "I'm not a woman who hides what she thinks, and I think that my Grandson could use someone like you influencing him."

"Influencing him?" Ron asked, holding his briefcase in his right hand.

"Neville needs to transition into becoming a young man" Lady Longbottom said in a stern voice, and Ron couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Neville. "He spends his days playing with flowers, and when he's not wasting his time with them, he spends it following Harry and Hermione around. His grades are lacking, with the exception of Herbology, and he is the least talented of his friends. He sorely lacks confidence, and therefore he lacks the strength to take charge." _Merlin, why don't you Avada his toad as well while you're at it?_

"And you want me to help him improve?" Ron asked. _How's that my problem? He's a part of the Golden Trio, which basically means that he's under Dumbledore's constant protection. It's my Slytherin friends who need me._

"I want you to show him that he can be more than what he is settling for" Lady Longbottom replied. _What he's setting for? She's being a little harsh, isn't she? I mean, Neville might not be the brightest… Or the strongest… But he is still respectable. He stood up for my friends, and in doing so, he went up against his own friends. That took balls, especially because he was scared of losing Harry and Hermione to me._

"I will see what I can do" Ron said, deciding to keep his answer vague.

"That is all I ask" Lady Longbottom said. "Goodbye, Ronald. I wish you luck in your endeavor."

"Thank you" Ron gave a parting nod, and then he began making his way out. Right before he opened the door, he decided to defend Neville just like Neville had defended his friends. _You owe him that much._

"Did Neville tell you about the Stone?" Ron asked, he knew that he had. _Why wouldn't he? The Trio tend to run their mouth._

"He did…" Lady Longbottom replied slowly, watching Ron with a curious look.

"Did he tell you that I was there?" Ron asked, and Lady Longbottom nodded again. "When we got trapped in the Devil's Snare, none of us knew what to do. All of us began panicking, me most of all. But Neville didn't panic, he instead used Bluebell Flames to drive away the Devil's Snare. He saved all three of us singlehandedly, and while we escaped, he held the Devil's Snare at bay alone" Ron finished strongly, and Lady Longbottom just blinked at him. _Didn't know that, did you?_ "He found his strength when it really mattered, thought you should know. Have a pleasant day, Lady Longbottom." With that, Ron left the study and closed the door behind him.

Ron then made his way towards the Living Room in order to hear what Harry had come up with this time. He personally didn't like the idea of 'influencing' Neville into being more like him, mostly because he knew that it wouldn't work. Ron had slowly come to value Slytherin's more noble traits, whereas Neville strongly disliked the House of the Cunning in general. It had taken Ron well over a year to fully embrace his House, and he had only managed it due to his friends. Trying to turn Neville into a Snake would be impossible, especially because he clearly loved being a Lion. Hell, there were times when Ron **still** hated his own House, and the pompous idiots in it.

"Hello" Ron greeted the Golden Trio as he entered the Living Room, and they smiled in return.

"Finally" Harry said. "What were you doing in there?" _Does privacy mean nothing to him?_

"Like I said, I needed her advice on something" Ron replied, taking a seat next to Hermione. "Now, what did you want to discuss Harry? I'm in a bit of a rush."

"I think that the 'Cult of Fanatics' was just a cover up" Harry said, and Ron felt the immediate urge to strangle the Boy-Who-Lived. _This cunt has someone whispering in his ears, doesn't he?_

"Harry, do you even hear yourself?" Hermione rolled her eyes, making Harry frown deeply. "He's been going on and on about this for days, and it sounds more and more silly each time."

"Hermione, just let him say his piece" Neville sighed, though he himself was sick of hearing it.

"It's gibberish…" Hermione huffed, why would the Daily Prophet make up such a story? It would be illogical to publish it if it wasn't true, and they had actual evidence proving their story to be true. Harry only had guesses and conspiracies.

"Just tell me, please" Ron looked right at Harry. "Let me be the judge of what I want to believe."

"Right" Harry said, looking right at Ron and ignoring his best friends. "So we know that Dumbledore went off to Albania on a secret mission, right? And then, out of nowhere, the Inferno happens. I told you that he was hunting Voldemort a while back, and I think that Dumbledore actually found him." Ron cringed at the name, which earned him a deadpan look from Harry.

"Why would You-Know-Who be in Albania, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Why would Dumbledore go alone?" _Because I lit a fire under his arse._ "And why would hundreds of people lie?"

"Maybe this Cult was working for Voldemort?" Harry shot back. _Why does he say that name? Is he mental?_

"You think the Dark Lord started the Inferno?" Ron asked, trying to sound skeptical.

"He could, couldn't he?" Harry asked back. "He's the most powerful Dark Wizard of all Time."

"Why would he do that?" Neville asked. "No one died in it, Harry. And Dumbledore wasn't even in Albania when the Inferno happened."

"He could have flown back on a broom" Harry pointed out.

"Harry… Mate…" Ron started, and Harry groaned because of Ron's tone. "What about Xeno? He was there, his memories were tested, and he didn't even mention Dumbledore once."

"Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed, eager to use this new argument. Harry took in a deep breath, trying to think of Xenophilius Lovegood's part in all of this. "Professor Dumbledore was at Mr. Lovegood's trial, and he had to go there from England. It was in the Daily Prophet, Harry. You're trying to find reasons for Professor Dumbledore leaving Hogwarts without telling you, and so you're making up outrageous reasons to explain why he didn't tell you." _Oh… Going for the low blow, I see. She knows that Harry hero-worships the old codger, doesn't she? But I have to admit, her words do make a lot of sense._ "I'm sure Professor Dumbledore does a lot of things without telling you, so why are you so fixed on this?"

"I'm 'fixed' on this because I want to know what's going on with Voldemort!" Harry snapped, making everyone flinch. _My ears…_

"Don't yell his name" Ron frowned at Harry.

"It's just a name" Harry rolled his eyes. "Voldemort. Voldemort. Volde…"

"I'm leaving" Ron shook his head as he stood up. "I have more important matters to attend to anyway." Ron then looked to Neville and Hermione, who were both just frowning at Harry. "Good luck with him." With that, Ron left for Greengrass Manor. _I should tell Snape and Dumbledore that Harry is literally on the Gold with this, and that if they want their secrets to be kept secret, they need to stop him from bringing this up to the adults. If Harry caught on, then someone else is bound to._ Ron made his way over to fireplaces, and then he flood back to the Burrow. _From there I'll go to Greengrass Manor, and then to Snape's Office._

"Oh, hello Ron" came Luna's voice as soon as he stepped through the fireplace, and Ron found himself in a Living Room filled with Lovegoods and Weasleys.

"Hello…" Ron said slowly, eyeing everyone in the room. _Everyone is here?_

"I'm glad you're here son, you should join us" Arthur smiled at his boy, and Ron blinked at him.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, his eyes lingering on Xeno as his hold on his briefcase tightened. _What's he doing here? Did they catch onto me? Impossible. I was nothing but careful._

"We're just spending some family time together" Molly replied, waving a pack of cards for him to see. _Ah… Safe._

"I would love to join you, but I have some important things to do" Ron said, and then he grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. Everyone in the room just blinked at him, what was his hurry?

"Wait… What important things?" Molly asked, surprised by Ron's haste.

"Daphne needs my help with her party planning" Ron replied. "Greengrass Manor" Ron said clearly as he threw the floo-powder into the fireplace. It blazed to life, and Ron walked through it before anyone could stop him. _Blood hell, that was scary. I thought that they knew what I was up to, and that they planned to shut me down. Why was Xeno there? Probably just taking a break from his work, judging by how worn he looked. Worn, and stressed._

"Ron, you're here!" came Pansy's voice, and Ron looked to see Pansy and Millie carrying a table between them. _What the hell? Why are they lifting a table?_

"Can you give me hand with this?" Millie asked. "Pansy has noodles for arms."

"I'm a Lady, and this is beneath me" Pansy frowned at Millie. "Why is Daphne making us carry tables? She could hire help, you know…"

"Why **is** she making you carry tables?" Ron asked, deciding to find out before he flooed away.

"Something about wanting to see the Ballroom without any furniture in it" Millie shrugged, and then she lowered the table onto the ground.

"Thank Merlin…" Pansy moaned, rubbing her arms with a pout. "I resent this."

"We just got started, Pans" Millie sighed, and Pansy stomped her feet.

"I'm going home" Pansy threatened, and Millie groaned at her. "Don't groan like that, it's so degrading."

"Your noodle arms are degrading" Millie shot back.

"Yeah, well…" Pansy started, but Ron cut in to stop their childish spat.

"Is Daphne in the Living Room?" Ron asked, and both girls nodded. "Let me have a word with her, she's clearly going mental." Ron began making his way towards the Living Room, and the girls followed after him.

"What's in the briefcase?" Pansy asked.

"My will" Ron lied, earning a laugh from Millie.

"Are you leaving me anything?" Pansy asked, tangling her right arm with his left one.

"Just a lock of my hair to remember me by" Ron replied.

"That's just creepy" Millie pointed out. "Seriously though, why are you walking around with a briefcase?"

"It's got some important papers in it" Ron told her, and Millie nodded in understanding. He clearly wanted to keep this private, and so both girls decided to not poke their noses into it. "Is Tracey here?"

"Yeah, she's here" Pansy replied. "And she's also panicking… Actually, I think she's the reason why Daphne's gone off the deep end as well."

"What's wrong with them?" Ron asked.

"It's just what 'Ladies' do, Ron" Millie shook her head. "They start throwing tantrums before their parties, claiming that nothing is as they want it to be."

"Great…" Ron groaned. _Daphne is definitely going to take her frustrations out on me._ They entered the Living Room, and all three of them stopped dead in their tracks. Daphne was looking over some papers, while Tracey was leaning forward on the table in an attempt to reach for something that was far out of her reach. But in doing so, her skirt was riding up and showing some of her yellow panty covered rear. _NICE!_

"Ron, don't look" Millie covered his eyes. _Oi! I was enjoying the show!_

"No, let him" Pansy smacked Millie's hand away. "This is good for a boy his age, it'll get his blood flowing."

"What the fuck?" both Ron and Millie asked Pansy, and she frowned at them.

"Flowing to where?" Millie asked, and then she gaped at Pansy. "Pans… What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I read it in…"

"Witch Weekly" both Ron and Millie groaned, and Pansy scowled at them.

"That magazine is corrupting witches, I swear" Ron shook his head, and then he shot another look at Tracey's arse. _Yellow? Not green? Hmmm, a bit skinny but not bad. Very pale compared to the rest of her body._

"Ron, stop being a pervert" Millie shoved him, but he barely moved.

"Tracey, I can see your arse!" Ron called out, and Tracey turned around within a flash. Daphne just looked over to them with a confused look, while Tracey fixed up her skirt in a frantic manner.

"Great, you ruined it for us all" Pansy sighed, letting go of Ron's arm. _Huh?_

"Ignore her, Ron" Millie gave Pansy a deadpan look. "That magazine has rotted her brain beyond saving."

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Tracey asked, her face completely flushed already.

"And why are you looking at Tracey's… behind?" Daphne hissed, narrowing her eyes on Ron. _Whoops._

"Couldn't not see it" Ron shrugged as he approached them with a grin. "Yellow?"

"Oh my god…" Tracey shrunk in on herself, her hands still pulling her skirt down. _Odd, she's usually rather open about this sort of teasing. Don't tell me that she's all talk? And why did she say 'Oh my god' instead of 'Oh Merlin'? Must be from her Muggle school days._

"I told you that your skirt was too short" Daphne frowned at Tracey, her jealousy turning her blood into acid for a moment. "And you're late, Ron. Where were you?"

"I had stuff to do, and I have more things to do actually" Ron replied, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "I need to see Pomfrey for like half an hour."

"Oh…" Daphne blinked, her flaring temper collapsing. "Then why are you here being a pervert instead of being with her?"

"I want to know why you're making Millie and Pansy lift tables" Ron replied.

"Tracey and I want to see the open space so we can allocate where everything will go" Daphne replied, looking to a flushed Tracey. "Do you mind helping out after you get back?"

"Not at all" Ron replied. "Just wait for me to get back, and I'll do the whole thing. With Millie, that is."

"So I'm free?" Pansy asked, a smile appearing on her face.

"Pansy, can you help me with the music?" Tracey asked, avoiding looking at Ron. _Haha! This is almost as funny as 'Pansy's sensitive breasts'._

"Definitely" Pansy agreed, eager to get out of physical labor.

"Want me to wait for you to get back?" Millie asked Ron, and he nodded. "Suits me, I'm taking a nap." With that, Millie walked over to the nearest couch and dropped onto it unceremoniously.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly" Ron said, making his way over to Living Room fireplace. _This Manor has way too many fireplaces._ Ron grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and he tossed it into the fire as he called for Snape's Office. The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it and into Snape's Office. The moment he came through the fire, he saw Snape hunched over a cauldron. "Good afternoon, Sir" Ron spoke in a polite tone, even though he really didn't want to.

"Mr. Weasley" Snape said curtly, still concentrating on his Potion.

"What are you brewing?" Ron asked.

"Blood Replenishing Potion" Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Is the Headmaster here?" Ron asked, and Snape turned to look at Ron for a moment. _He's sweating, and his hair is greasier than usual. It's actually quite hot in here, now that I think about it._

"He is not, but you can tell me what's happened" Snape said. "Did you have an important vision?"

"No…" Ron replied, wondering why he wasn't getting visions anymore. _Has the Entity simply given up on me? Or is something wrong with it? I saw it get sealed away, and the Hat confirmed that. But still… Where the fuck is the 'help'?_ "I do bring some annoying news, however."

"Annoying news?" Snape cocked an eyebrow, and then he turned back to his Potion.

"Harry thinks that the Dark Lord set the Inferno off, and that there is no Cult" Ron replied, and Snape stopped stirring. "Hermione and Neville are starting to call him mental, and I think that he might go to an adult soon. He won't let this go for some reason, and I think that it might be because Dumbledore didn't tell him that he was leaving for Albania." _Bloody hell, I need to sit down. I've been walking around all day, and my muscles are sore from my Circuit Training._

"Albus has to answer to Potter now, is that it?" Snape scoffed.

"No, but Harry feels that he deserves answers whenever the Dark Lord is involved" Ron shrugged, taking a seat without permission. Snape didn't really care, and even if he did, he didn't say anything about it. "He actually snapped at me for telling him to not say the Dark Lord's name…"

"He openly says the Dark Lord's name?" Snape asked, not even surprised by Potter's arrogance.

"Yeah… It's pretty unnerving" Ron replied, resting his briefcase on his lap and rubbing his forehead. _Shite, my head is hurting because of this heat. I need to stop stewing in it and get a move on, too much left to do._ "Didn't you say that you were going to put a stop to that?"

"I already told his incompetent caretakers to shut him up" Snape replied. "Other than Obliviating him, I really can't do much else."

"Get Dumbledore to do it, he seems to be an expert at it" Ron remarked, and Snape used his Occlumency in order to stop himself from cuffing the sharp-tongued boy on the back of his head. "Where is he, by the way? Is he still taking care of his Gaia Project?"

"How…?" Snape started before stopping, that project wasn't even announced yet. "Your visions…" _Nope, my Elf._

"Yeah" Ron lied, his headache increasing slightly. "It's really hot in here… So much so that I can't even breathe properly." _How does he live in this lab?_

"Then leave, you've said what you came to say" Snape said in a cold whisper, and then he turned back to his Potion once again. _Fair enough._ Ron stood up to leave, but his legs lost the strength in them and he fell forward onto Snape's desk. "Mr. Weasley?" Snape called, and then he was by Ron's side instantly. "Ronald?"

"I'm… fine…" Ron shook his head clear, a weak ringing noise filling his ears. _What the fuck?_ Ron tried to stand up, but once again his legs gave out. Snape caught him and guided him onto the chair, and then he began observing Ron's face with a serious look. Ron's spatial perception became slightly distorted, and he began feeling queasy because of it. _What is happening? I feel like I'm still falling forward…_

"Ron?" Snape called again, his voice much softer now. "Lean back in the chair." _Lean back?_ Ron did as he was told, but for some reason, it felt like he was falling off of a cliff. And so he jerked forward with a panicked look, but Snape grabbed his shoulders in order to steady him. "It's alright, you're not falling. It's just Spatial Disorientation. Don't be scared…" Snape said as he eased Ron into a leaning position.

"What's happening?" Ron mumbled, feeling utterly spent. And then he simply dozed off before he could hear Snape's response.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron's eyes opened slowly, his vision completely blurred. _Where am I? What happened?_ Ron tried to sit up, but his body didn't move. _I'm exhausted…_ Ron tried to sit up again, but all he managed was a weak groan.

"You're awake" came Snape's voice, and Ron noticed the Potions Master coming out of his stores. "Can you move?"

"No…" Ron replied. _What's happened to me?_

"You're not panicking, which itself is a symptom" Snape said, putting a bunch of Potions on his desk.

"Symptom?" Ron asked.

"Spatial Disorientation, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, flashes of heat…" Snape listed the symptoms that he had deduced. "Is your head hurting?"

"No… But it was…" Ron replied, closing his eyes again. _A little more rest…_

"Wake up, Ron" Snape said, making sure to not shake the boy. "You are showing symptoms of brain-injuries. Have you had these before?"

"I've had headaches" Ron replied, opening his eyes a little. "And both kinds of fatigue… Spatial Disorientation is new…" _Why is this happening now? I have work to do. I need to get back to the girls, and then I need to speak with Lord and Lady Greengrass._

"Ron?" Snape called for the third time, and Ron opened his eyes a bit more. "Drink this" Snape said as he put a vial to Ron's lips, and then helped him drink the Potion down. The Potion was rather bitter, but bearable. _Better than my Nutrition Potion, that's for certain._

"What are you giving me?" Ron asked.

"Something to stop your left hand from trembling" Snape replied. _It's trembling?_ "You don't feel it?"

"No…" Ron replied, his eyes travelling to his left hand. It was still shaking, but the tremors were slowly beginning to subside.

"I know you've had seizures before, and luckily, you didn't have one this time" Snape said, picking up another vial. "Drink this too." Ron did as he was told, and he didn't put up any sort of resistance. He couldn't even if he wanted to.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron woke up with a desperate need to vomit, and before he could even process what was happening, he had shot out of his seat and thrown up all over Snape's desk. Once he was finished, he fell back onto the chair with a tired groan. _Fuck me, what was that?_

"That's one way to wake up" came Snape's voice, and Ron turned his head in order to see Snape. The Potion Master was watching him, while also stirring his bubbling Potion.

"I'm sorry…" Ron apologized, still feeling a little queasy. _I just ruined his desk. Bloody hell, why did I vomit like that?_

"Think nothing of it" Snape said, his expression unreadable. Snape then brandished his wand at the vomit, and he cleaned it up non-verbally. "The Potions did their work, and you should be able to move around now. Though I do caution restraint."

"What Potions?" Ron asked, slowly standing up and looking for his briefcase.

"I left your briefcase by the fireplace in order to save it from your sickness" Snape told him, and Ron looked to it. _There it is._

"Thank you, Sir" Ron said, making his way over to his briefcase. Walking felt odd for some reason, and Ron was getting lightheaded by just doing it. "I'd hate for it to get soaked too."

"Slow down" Snape ordered, watching Ron with a curious eye. Did his symptoms mean nothing to him? Or did he simply have them so often that he was used to them? Or was he having trouble catching up to what had just happened due to mental fatigue? "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um… We were talking about Harry" Ron replied, picking up his briefcase and holding it to his chest. _The contracts are vomit-free, thank Merlin._ "And then I had symptoms of brain-damage…" _Shite, that's bad right? Fuck, I don't need this right now. If mum and dad find out, I can kiss The Quibbler goodbye._

"Come, we need to take you to Pomfrey" Snape said, leaving his Potion to simmer.

"No" Ron quickly refused. "I'm fine, and this happens sometimes…" Snape just stared at Ron for a few seconds, and then he looked to his briefcase.

"Whatever is in that briefcase means very little when compared to your life, boy" Snape told him, and Ron tightened his hold on the briefcase. Snape drew in a calming breath, and this time he spoke with a slightly gentler voice. "At least sit back down."

"I have important things to do…" Ron told him, he really had no time to waste. "How long was I here for?"

"Around forty five minutes" Snape replied, and then he gestured for Ron to stay still as he left for his stores. _Forty five minutes? Damn, Daphne is probably waiting for me to get back. I'll quickly help her with the furniture, and then I can talk to Lord and Lady Greengrass._ Snape came back out of his stores with two vials of his personal Calming Tonic, and he handed them to Ron.

"Um… Thank you" Ron said, taking the vials with a slightly confused look.

"One a day only, understand?" Snape said, and Ron nodded slowly. "And stop pushing yourself needlessly. I don't know what you're up to, but your ability to see the Future is still very much needed."

"I… understand" Ron nodded slowly, pocketing the vials. _Hear that Entity? Do your fucking job, please._

"Now open your mouth" Snape ordered, and Ron blinked at him. "Open." _His bedside manner is atrocious. But then again, I did just vomit all over his desk._ Ron opened his mouth, and Snape quickly took out his wand and cast a Fresh-Breath Charm inside of Ron's mouth. The minty flavor hit the back of Ron's throat rather harshly, and it made him start coughing.

"Thanks…" Ron wheezed, but Snape simply walked back over to his Potion.

"If you've developed a new symptom, then I recommend getting a checkup" Snape said, turning the heat up on his cauldron. "Take better care of yourself, Mr. Weasley."

"I will…" Ron said. "Um… Thank you, Sir… For helping me…" Snape didn't respond in any way, and Ron took that as his cue to leave. He took a pinch of floo-powder, and he cast it into the fireplace as he called for Greengrass Manor. Once the flames were ready, Ron walked through them and entered the Manor's Receiving Hallway. Using the floo-network made his head spin terribly, and Ron leaned forward on his knees in order to catch his breath. _Why now? I know that I'm stressing a lot lately, but I've been through worse amounts of stress before._ Ron straightened his back once again, groaning as he did it. He then made his way over to the Living Room, eager to take a seat and rest for a moment.

"Ron, you're back!" Pansy called out, she was sitting on a loveseat with Tori. Tori had a copy of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' in her lap, and she quickly looked away from it in favor of smiling widely at Ron. _Where are Tracey, Daphne, and Millie?_

"Ron, can you help me study?" Tori asked as Ron dropped on a seat unceremoniously.

"I promised to help your sister first" Ron replied.

"Actually, you don't have to" Pansy informed him, and he looked to her with a confused look. "Lord and Lady Greengrass cleared the whole Ballroom with a couple of Charms. Daphne wasn't very happy about it though, she wants to do this all by herself."

"How is asking us for help any different from asking them?" Ron asked, glad that he didn't have to lift tables and chairs.

"We're her friends, so our help doesn't count as help" Pansy shrugged, and then she looked him over properly. "Ron, are you alright?"

"I'm really tired, that's all" Ron replied. "Where are Lord and Lady Greengrass?"

"They're in the study, I think" Tori replied, looking back to her boring book. "Since you don't have to help Daphne anymore, you should help me instead."

"I will" Ron said as he stood back up. "But I need to speak to your parents first."

"What about?" Tori asked, looking back up to Ron.

"This thing called 'None of your business'…" Ron grinned, making both girls giggle.

"That's not even funny" Tori grinned as well.

"You still laughed, so I win" Ron shrugged, and then he made his way out of the Living Room. As he was making his way towards the study, Pansy suddenly caught up to him. "Are you sure that it's wise to leave Tori unattended?" Ron asked her.

"She's not **that** wild, Ron" Pansy replied, an odd sort of smile on her face. _What's she up to?_ "Plus, her father is cracking down on her for not taking her studies seriously. Trust me, she won't be pulling any troublesome stunts any time soon."

"I see" Ron said, eyeing Pansy carefully.

"Careful Ron, or you'll make me blush" Pansy smirked.

"Pansy, why are you following me?" Ron asked.

"Can't I spend time with my friend?" Pansy asked innocently, and Ron fought the urge to smile at her antics. "My tall friend… who has a six-pack…" _Now I see, she wants to see it._

"Pansy… No" Ron refused in advance, and Pansy feigned hurt.

"Just one quick look" Pansy pestered him as she clung onto his arm in order to stop him. "I was looking forward to watching you lift tables, you know. You'd get all sweaty and then be forced to take off your shirt." _What the hell?_

"Pansy, I'm worried about your mental state" Ron told her, half-bantering and half-serious. "That magazine is doing a number on you." _Merlin, girls are crazy. Even Daphne has moments where she gets really… excited._ "And I'd never take off my shirt… You know why, don't you?"

"Your scars…" Pansy whispered, and Ron nodded. "Scars can be sexy on a lean body, Ron. I personally wouldn't mind seeing them again." _My scars are not 'sexy', they're haunting._ "Please, I haven't seen abs on an actual boy yet."

"I'll show you my abs if you show me your 'sensitive' chest" Ron said, and Pansy blinked at him.

"I can't do that!" Pansy exclaimed, letting go of Ron's arm.

"Exactly, now you know how I feel" Ron said, grinning because of his small victory.

"What if I show you my stomach instead?" Pansy asked, quickly recovering from her shock. "That's fair, right?" She had no problem with her body image, her stomach was perfectly flat due to her careful eating habits.

"I've already seen your stomach" Ron reminded her.

"When?" Pansy asked, trying to remember when Ron could have done that.

"You were wearing a t-shirt that showed a part of your midriff" Ron replied. "It happened the last time you asked me to show you my abs."

"Oh, damn…" Pansy frowned, remembering her tight t-shirt. "Then you have to show me your abs, one for one."

"I showed you my entire upper-body when I revealed my scars to you lot" Ron countered, and Pansy hung her head.

"I was too… shocked… to properly see them" Pansy whined. "You're being mean, Ron."

"How so?" Ron chuckled, restarting his journey towards the study.

"Well…" Pansy quickly followed after him. "You're breaking a young maiden's heart by refusing."

"Young maiden?" Ron sniggered.

"AND…" Pansy cut in. "How many other boys do you know who also get such attention from a pretty girl? You're being ungrateful by not showing me your abs."

"Do you honestly believe your own words?" Ron asked, stifling a laugh.

"No, but is it working?" Pansy giggled.

"Nope" Ron replied, stopping in front of the study door. "Oh look at that, end of the line."

"Hardly" Pansy smirked. "I'll be waiting right here when you come back out."

"Persistent, aren't you?" Ron shook his head, amused by her outlandish behavior. "We'll see what happens…" Ron then turned around and knocked on the door, waiting for permission to enter.

"Come in" came Mary's voice, and Ron opened the door and entered the study.

"I'll see you soon…" Pansy whispered ominously, a mischievous smile on her face. Ron closed the door, trying not to snigger at Pansy's 'warning'.

"Ron, what can I do for you?" Lord Greengrass asked, his body facing the cozy fire.

"I need to speak with you both, actually" Ron replied, and both Greengrasses looked to Ron. Mary was sitting in her husband's chair, a book in her hands as usual, whereas Lord Greengrass was having some of his Brandy by the fire.

"About what, love?" Mary smiled at him, and he smiled at being called 'love'.

"About buying The Quibbler from Xenophilius" Ron replied, casually taking his usual seat and unlocking his briefcase. Lord Greengrass turned to face Ron with a bewildered look, while Mary just stared at him like he had five heads.

"Never a dull moment…" Lord Greengrass whispered to himself, eyeing Ron carefully.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"This is quite intriguing, Ron" Mary said, reading through the shareholder structure. Their confusion had turned into amusement at first, and that amusement had now turned into genuine intrigue. Both of them knew that this could work, and Ron had clearly put a lot of effort into it. "How long have you been planning this?"

"From the day Xenophilius came home" Ron admitted, deciding to let them in on his plot. _They have untold experience in such matters, and with their help, I could actually pull this off._ "I overheard him telling his Family that he was going to sell The Quibbler to the Daily Prophet, and I decided to intervene."

"And why do you need a News Outlet?" Lord Greengrass asked, putting down the contract. He was still trying to get his head around the fact that a thirteen year old was plotting something so big under their noses, and none of them had caught onto it. It said something about Ron's character that he could lie and hide things with such ease, for better or worse.

"I want to influence how people think" Ron replied, and both Greengrasses waited for him to go on. "I went to Knockturn Alley…"

"You went to Knockturn Alley?" Mary's eyes widened, while Lord Greengrass just frowned at Ron.

"I did" Ron nodded, not dismayed by their reaction. "I met a girl there, Priscilla, and she was only two years older than me. And she was a prostitute."

"Merlin…" Mary went pale in the face, while Lord Greengrass rubbed his forehead. "Please tell me that you didn't do anything sexual with her." _What? No!_

"I didn't" Ron assured her. "And that's not what I'm trying to tell you. I met a girl who is old enough to be a Hogwarts student, and instead of going to a school, she has to sell her body just to stay alive. I find that to be… unacceptable. She doesn't deserve that kind of life, no one does."

"Was she a Squib?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded. "So you're buying a News Outlet to inform the world about a Squib whore?"

"Sebastian!" Mary exclaimed, looking to her husband with an aghast look. _Wow… That is a disgusting thing to say about someone._ Ron wasn't going to lie to himself, he had half a mind to clock his mentor.

"Tell me, Ron…" Lord Greengrass said, keeping his eyes fixed on Ron. "Are you doing this just because you felt a moment of guilt when you learned of this girl's story?"

"No" Ron replied. "I'm doing this because there is far too much misinformation out there. The Daily Prophet is keen to report on Pure-Blood scandals, but I haven't read a damn word about the hundreds of unemployed Werewolves who were sacked from their jobs solely because a fat woman wanted a better position within the Ministry's corrupt ladder." _Damn, that was a mouthful._ "I'm doing this because I myself didn't know about these things until I ran into Priscilla. And now that I know that the Wizarding World is facing these issues, I want to help. And I believe that like myself, there are plenty of people out there who want to help as well. They just don't know it yet."

"And you'll inform them via The Quibbler" Lord Greengrass said, looking to his wife with an unreadable expression.

"Ron, isn't this a bit too… drastic?" Mary asked, trying to sound gentle. But the truth was that she was too rattled by the suddenness of all of this.

"I don't think it is" Ron replied, keeping his mind as calm as he could. "I think it would be a crime to do nothing. Xeno is going to lose his life's work, and then he's going to get booted out on his arse. The Daily Prophet will sell The Quibbler for parts, and despite whatever they've told him, their only goal is to kill any potential rival. Magazines like Witch Weekly and Seeker Weekly don't report the news, but The Quibbler sometimes does. Lady Longbottom told me that they already have a new layout ready…"

"Lady Longbottom?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Augusta Longbottom is in on your scheme?"

"She is, and it isn't a scheme" Ron frowned slightly. "I'm doing this to help Xeno, and by doing that, I can help a lot of other people too."

"By reporting on them?" Mary asked, her head spinning slightly. Ron was secretive… **Too** secretive for someone his age.

"By spreading facts and verified information" Ron replied. "There was a time when I wouldn't even think twice before sneering at you both, and that's because I was misinformed. I was raised to believe that Slytherin House was a blight upon Hogwarts, just like everyone that was sorted into it. I mean seriously, how many people always think of our House when Dark Wizards are brought up? I certainly did. It wasn't until I spent a long time in Slytherin that I realized that most of the students there care more about their grades than about serving some Dark Lord. Sure, there's no denying that we have a handful of idiots, but that can be said about any House." _Except maybe Hufflepuff, but they're_ _ **too**_ _nice. So much so that it can be annoying._

"But people still look down on us" Ron continued. "And it's because they don't know any better. They don't have all the facts, and so they rely on speculation and rumors. For Merlin's sake, most of the school genuinely believed that I was the Heir of Slytherin until I was petrified. And why? Because 'the Golden Trio' of Gryffindor was spreading that nonsense around. I have been a victim of misinformation, and that taught me that information is a powerful weapon. And with the **right** information, I can help people like Priscilla."

"That… was rather inspiring" Lord Greengrass admitted. "But your business structure says nothing about employees, printers, distributors…"

"That's all coming along" Ron cut in, and Lord Greengrass blinked at him. "I have a Goblin helping me put all this together."

"A Goblin?" Mary asked. "Ron, you cannot trust their kind."

"And I don't" Ron admitted. "I'm paying him for his services, and Marty told me that once Goblins see Gold, they'll chase it to the ends of the Earth. He is working for me, and he **will** do right by me. And if he doesn't, I'll break his neck with my bare hands." Mary's eyes widened, while Lord Greengrass just blinked again. "I'm letting you two in on this because I want your Family to invest in my business venture. I'm not here to be told that 'I'm too young' to be doing this. I am here as your Family's ally, Ronald Bilius Weasley, and not as Ron, your daughter's friend."

There was complete silence in the room, and Ron used it to eye both Lord and Lady Greengrass. Lord Greengrass seemed to be getting impressed, but Mary was looking more shaken than pleased. Ron figured that it was because of how he had threatened Gornuk's life, and truth be told, if Gornuk betrayed him then Ron would send Marty to kidnap the Goblin and take him to the Chamber. And then Ron would beat his Gold out of the beady-eyed little shite.

"You want my assurance that I'll invest in five percent?" Lord Greengrass broke the silence, unable to hold back his smile. This 'businessman' side of Ron was something that Sebastian could get used to seeing more often. Though threatening the Goblin's life was unnecessary because Sebastian knew that Ron would never follow through with it.

"I do" Ron nodded, his body relaxing considerably. "With your assurance, I will have three investors down. That will leave only ten percent behind, which I will promptly find investors for."

"Then you have my assurance" Lord Greengrass said, handing Ron back his documents. "Who else is joining you on this venture?"

"Lady Longbottom, and Theo" Ron replied.

"I see" Lord Greengrass nodded in understanding. "I will buy the shares in the Greengrass name, and then leave Daphne in charge of them. Is that alright with you?"

"It is" Ron agreed, he had no problem with which Greengrass he would be dealing with. _If anything, having Daphne in charge of the shares helps me. I can just talk to her at school._ "I would really appreciate it if you two kept this to yourselves for now" Ron said as he packed up his briefcase.

"Planning to blindside Lovegood?" Lord Greengrass smirked, and Ron nodded.

"After you've brought this up" Mary started, breaking out of her shock. "Your parents will ask us if we knew about this. What do you suggest we do about that?"

"Lie, of course" Ron grinned. "Tell them that you had no idea whatsoever, and that you are just as shocked as they are. Why create drama when you can just avoid it, right?"

"Right" Lord Greengrass chuckled, while Mary smiled and shook her head at him. "Take Saturday off Ron, and spend that time polishing this plan of yours."

"Really?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass gave him a nod. "Thank you, my Lord. You have no idea how much stress you've just saved me from." _That's an entire day that I can spend fixing up my structure. I'll see Gornuk on Saturday in order to find out what he's come up with. And then on Sunday, I'll talk to Xeno._ Ron then excused himself and left the study, leaving Lord and Lady Greengrass to discuss what he was up to.

"Finally, I was getting bored" Pansy said as soon as he closed the door behind him, and Ron gave her a sheepish smile. _Bloody hell, she actually waited for me._

"You actually waited out here?" Ron asked.

"Of course, I'm a Lady of my word" Pansy smirked, sticking her nose up. "Now take off your shirt."

"Wow… I never agreed to do that" Ron chuckled, making his way towards the Ballroom.

"Aw…" Pansy whined, accompanying him towards the others. "One of these days, Ron… One of these days…"

"Why is this so important to you?" Ron asked her, trying to get a read on her motives.

"It's not important, I just want to have a gander" Pansy shrugged. "Are they really firm?"

"Merlin…" Ron sighed. "Stop reading Witch Weekly, Pansy. It's turning you into a fiend." _Should I read it too? Theo does, and he seems to know more about what girls like than I do. Even Ginny knew what a love bite was, and I didn't._

"What are you thinking?" Pansy sang, poking his bicep. "You suddenly got all serious."

"How much does a subscription to Witch Weekly cost?" Ron asked, and Pansy blinked at him. And then, she smiled like a Cheshire cat. _Uh-oh._

"It costs three Knuts a week, or a sickle a week if you get the special editions like I do" Pansy replied sweetly. "But you don't have to get a subscription Ron, you can have my issues. I have them all cataloged in my room, and if you want, you can borrow all of them." _I don't have time to read millions of magazines._ "Or, I can just tell you all about them. Well, the parts that you actually seem to be interested in."

"And what parts am I interested in?" Ron asked, knowing that he'd regret his words.

"How to win over witches, of course" Pansy replied, and Ron mentally slapped his own forehead. "You wouldn't need to work very hard in my opinion. After all, you're quite famous around Hogwarts. Not to mention that you were featured in Wizard's Chess Weekly this week." _Ah, that… They put a picture of me mid-match on the front cover. Mum already went and framed it, and now it's just hanging in the Living Room._ "So, do you want my tutelage?"

"No thanks" Ron declined. "I reckon I'll keep clear of that magazine." _And then get Theo to hand over his issues when we get back to Hogwarts. I don't want the girls to know that I'm reading it._

* * *

 _ **Friday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

The guests were slowly showing up while Ron made sure that everything was in order. Daphne and Tracey had handed him a list of tasks to complete, most of them just being check-offs. The musicians had their instruments tuned, the Enchanted Glass Doves were flying overhead as planned, the food was all set up and had Preserving Charms on it, not a speck of dust could be found anywhere, the Fairies were awake and ready to entertain anyone who would step outside, and most importantly of all, Ron was wearing an emerald green tie in order to match Daphne's dress. That last thing was a bit weird, even for Ron, but he had decided to do it anyway in order to appease her. It was her birthday after all.

Ron's Family had been invited, but much to his relief, they had declined. Ron wasn't ashamed to admit that his Family had no business being here. They were all labeled as Blood-Traitors, and if Lord Greengrass invited them all to his home, there'd be problems for him in the future. And yet Lord Greengrass had invited them anyway, no doubt for Ron's sake, but his Family was smart enough to decline. They knew that they wouldn't fit in with, or be welcomed by, the other guests. Not to mention the fact that the twins, Ginny, and even Ron's mother, had turned their noses up at such a 'Pure-Blooded affair'.

His Family not being here was the reason why Ron was the only child in the Ballroom at the moment. His friends would all be coming with their parents, with the exception of Tracey whose parents were already here and greeting the guests. Oddly enough, Tracey's parents were both rather skilled at upholding the Old Ways. Ron could understand Mr. Davis being good at it, but the fact that Tracey's Muggle-Born mother was just as adept as her husband baffled Ron. And it made him respect her. She was here for her daughter's sake, and despite the high chance of running into unsavory morons, she had no intention of backing down.

"Could you please keep the door leading to the Gardens open?" Ron asked a helper, and they nodded. _Good, that'll let the Fairies come inside if they want. Alright, next item. I have to make sure that the Enchanted Crystal Snakes are 'alive'._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Excuse me, waiter" came Theo's voice from behind Ron, and so Ron turned around with a smile. "Could I get something to drink? I'm parched."

"Haha" Ron mock-laughed. "Your sense of humor could be compared to Snape's, you know that right?"

"It wasn't my best, but I think you're being too critical" Theo chuckled, he was wearing long black robes that made him look like a vicar. _Nice robes._

"Where did you get these?" Ron asked, feeling the fabric with his left hand. _Smooth and soft. Very nice._

"Father bought them for me in Denmark" Theo smirked.

"Your father is here?" Ron asked, and Theo gave a nod. "Where is he?"

"No doubt looking for a drink" Theo replied, sounding a little vexed. "Want to meet him?"

"Maybe…" Ron replied, unsure of how he felt about meeting the idiot who was going to get them all killed. "I doubt he wants to meet me anyway."

"He doesn't" Theo admitted. "He even asked me if you were attending, and when I told him that you were, he actually frowned for ten minutes straight."

"Fair enough…" Ron said, turning back to observe the Crystal Snakes slithering on the walls. _I don't want to meet that old cunt anyway. I might knock his teeth out by mistake._

"Hey, don't be that way" Theo poked his side, and Ron turned back around with a frown. "One Nott isn't enough for you?"

"More than enough" Ron replied, resisting the urge to smile at Theo's doe-eyed look. "I could even argue that one is too many."

"Yay… Ron hurt my feelings" Theo sing-sang, and then he smirked at Ron as the red-head rolled his eyes. "What are you doing, by the way? And why are you walking around with that parchment?"

"Tracey and Daphne asked me to make sure that certain things were in order" Ron replied, looking back at the list. "Only two things left to do, and then I can relax and enjoy myself."

"You're acting as the help?" Theo sniggered, and Ron nudged him lightly.

"I'm being helpful, which doesn't make me a servant" Ron replied. _Though I do feel like one at the moment._ "I need to go into the kitchens and talk to servers. Want to tag along?"

"Sure" Theo shrugged, an easy smile on his face. They both began making their way towards the kitchens, smiling politely at any guests that they passed. "So… I spoke with Blaise yesterday about your business venture."

"You did?" Ron asked. "He came back from his trip early?"

"He did" Theo nodded. "I went to have dinner at his house last night, and sweet Merlin, his mother looked even sexier than the last time I saw her."

"Did she?" Ron grinned. "What was she wearing?"

"A black strapless dress that was rather form-fitting" Theo replied, mimicking Ron's grin. _No, concentrate on Blaise._

"Lucky bastard" Ron chuckled. "And what did Blaise say about my plan to buy The Quibbler?"

"He was genuinely baffled, mate" Theo replied. "It's always a treat to see his illusion of indifference collapse. He thought I was joking at first, but then I told him that you wanted him to invest too. He said that he wanted to talk to you first, and then he'd decide. How did Lord and Lady Greengrass take it?"

"They were shocked too, but they quickly recovered and jumped on board" Ron replied.

"That's two investors down" Theo said.

"Three, actually" Ron corrected, earning him a curious look from Theo. "Lady Longbottom has also given me her word. She plans to buy five percent in Neville's name."

"Longbottom?" Theo asked, and Ron nodded. "She wants you to involve him? Why? Is she trying to better your friendship with him?"

"She is" Ron replied, not surprised that Theo figured it all out that quickly.

"Great… Can we expect to see more of 'Potter's shadow' from now on?" Theo asked. "Will he be eating with us too?"

"Don't be an arse, Theo" Ron replied. "Neville's alright… Don't forget that he stood up to defend you from Harry's accusations after I had my seizure." _Seizure my arse, that toad-eyed twat tried to off me._

"That was so noble of him" Theo said in a mocking manner. "I'd actually swoon if he wasn't the moron who accused you of being the Heir of Slytherin. Dumb cunt…"

"Language, Theo" Ron scolded, imitating Daphne's voice. "Don't worry… I have no intention of bringing Neville around. If I do spend time with the Trio, it'll be away from you lot."

"Thank you" Theo nodded firmly as they entered the busy kitchens. "Merlin… It's chaos in here." _Shite, that's a lot of people and Elves running around._

"Excuse me" Ron said, gaining the attention of a young waiter.

"Yes, Sir?" the waiter asked. _Sir? I like that._

"Lady Greengrass sent me" Ron told the waiter, who nodded and waited for instructions. "She says that if a dish isn't ready in time, then you mustn't serve its accompanying dishes either. Wait for it to finish, and then serve it together as intended. Also, can you get some people out there to serve drinks? The guests are showing up faster than expected."

"Certainly" the waiter nodded, and then he went off to gather a crew of servers.

"Have I told you that you're incredibly handsome when you take charge like that?" Theo smirked, and Ron frowned lightly.

"Stop flirting with me, Theo" Ron said, and Theo sniggered.

"Sorry, that's Daphne's job" Theo remarked, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, one more thing left to do" Ron said, leaving the kitchens alongside Theo.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Are you done counting the tables?" Theo asked, growing increasingly bored of Ron's chores.

"Done" Ron said as he pocketed the parchment, glad that he could now relax. "Girls, mate… They're insane."

"You will find no arguments here" Theo said as he noticed a dark-skinned boy. "There's Blaise." Ron turned around and looked to him as well, noticing that Blaise was observing the Glass Doves.

"The Locomotion Charm" Ron said as they both approached Blaise, who looked to Ron and Theo with a faint smirk. "It's good to see you again, mate."

"You too" Blaise said, shaking Ron's hand rather firmly.

"How was Italy?" Ron asked.

"Same as the last time I went there" Blaise replied, not keen to discuss his trip with his mother. "So, Theo tells me that you are planning to become a businessman."

"I'm looking to further my reach" Ron replied, earning a chuckle from Theo.

"You've been spending too much time with Lord Greengrass, Ron" Theo said, and then he gave Blaise a meaningful look. "I've already decided to buy in, and you should too."

"How much is up for grabs?" Blaise asked Ron.

"Five percent per Family" Ron replied. "Theo, Lord Greengrass, and Lady Longbottom have all given me assurances."

"Lady Longbottom?" Blaise asked.

"She's been helping me put this together" Ron replied. "She's named me her Family's eternal friend for saving Neville's life back in first year."

"Makes sense" Blaise said, Ron would be lying if he said that he didn't miss Blaise's indifferent voice and demeanor. "How much for five percent?"

"One hundred and fifty Galleons" Ron replied.

"That cheap?" Blaise asked.

"How's that cheap?" Theo frowned at his mates. "You two need to learn to respect the value of money."

"I'm buying the business for three thousand Galleons, and five percent of that is one hundred and fifty Galleons" Ron explained. "I'll keep fifty five percent, while Xeno has to buy back twenty percent."

"Leaving twenty five for your investors" Blaise nodded. "I'll buy the shares, Ron."

"Just like that?" Ron blinked. _No speech needed?_

"Ron had a sales-pitch ready, Blaise" Theo smirked. "You've ruined everything."

"It's hardly that much money" Blaise shrugged. "And if his business becomes successful, I'll make five percent of the profits. And if it fails, it won't really put a strain on me financially. So yeah, I'm in."

"That was a cold way of saying that you want to help your friend" Ron remarked, glad to have his fourth assurance. _Only Sirius left._

"There are no friends in business" Theo pointed out, quoting his father. "There's mutual benefit, and that's it."

"I agree" Blaise smirked. "Have you told the girls about your plans?" _Yeah… No, I haven't._

"I haven't" Ron replied, and Blaise cocked an eyebrow at him.

"That'll go over well" Blaise said, and Ron smiled sheepishly.

"I reckon it was the right move" Theo said. "Lord Greengrass no doubt plans to buy the shares in his daughter's name, Tracey would fall asleep if something as boring as business was brought up, Pansy has no interest in the real World, and Millie hates numbers."

"And Theo is a mean prick" Ron added on, which earned him a grin from Theo and a chuckle out of Blaise.

"But I'm right, aren't I?" Theo asked. "You haven't told them because you'd rather plot things with us two instead of them."

"Please don't say that near them" Ron gave Theo a deadpan look. "It's not even remotely true, and you'll just hurt their feelings needlessly. And then, they'll hurt me."

"Ron's right" Blaise piped in.

"I know, it just feels nice to be higher on the food chain" Theo shrugged. "Speaking of the girls… I see Pansy and Millie. And Pansy's mother… Excuse me." Theo then turned around and left, earning confused looks from Blaise and Ron.

"What was that?" Blaise asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me…" Ron replied as he watched Theo disappear into the crowd. Ron then looked to Pansy and Millie, and their Families. The Bulstrode were looking large, yet also refined. The Parkinsons were… _Bloody hell, why is Pansy's mother frowning like some shrew? And is Lord Parkinson drunk already? He's gotten fatter too._

"We should go and greet them" Blaise suggested, watching the two Families split up.

"You can go do that, I'm fine right here" Ron said, staring at Lady Parkinson. _She killed Pansy in my vision..._ _Vile whore, I'll take her life if she touches Pansy._ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, making Blaise shudder at the grotesque sound.

"Why do you do that?" Blaise asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Why do crack your neck that way?"

"I don't know… I just feel the need to…" Ron replied slowly, he himself wasn't too sure of why he did that. "It's just a habit I picked up… You should go and greet them, and then bring the girls here."

"Ron, it'd be rude if you saw them and then elected to ignore them" Blaise said. "All you have to do is greet them, and you'll save the girls a headache." _He's right. Pansy's mother is already on her case about being friends with me, and if I give her more reasons to hate me, she'll keep pestering Pansy._

"Fine" Ron agreed, not sounding too happy about it.

"Just ignore Lady Parkinson, everyone else does" Blaise said, and Ron nodded curtly.

"By the way, where is your mother?" Ron asked as they began making their way towards girls.

"She went back to Italy shortly before I came here" Blaise replied. "She… She met someone." _Oh…_

"Where are you staying then?" Ron asked.

"Parkinson Manor" Blaise replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "I have money to buy my own books, and they've agreed to drop me off on Platform 93/4."

"Alright" Ron said, not sure about what else to say. Blaise himself decided to stop discussing the fact that his mother had pawned him off in order to spread her legs for an old Italian wizard, one that she no doubt planned to 'marry'. The wizard was old as sin, had no kin or heirs, and he lived alone in a villa within Tuscany.

"Lord and Lady Parkinson" Blaise greeted Pansy's parents, while Ron gave them a smile and a polite bow.

"Ah, Blaise" Lady Parkinson smiled, though it made her look like a Harpy eyeing a juicy morsel. "It's good to see you again." Lady Parkinson then offered Blaise her hand, and he kissed her knuckles. _What did she call Blaise in my vision? Oh right… A filthy Blood-Traitor. Also, she's outright ignoring me._

"How are you, young man?" Lord Parkinson chuckled, his face slightly flushed from drinking prior to the event.

"I am doing well, my Lord" Blaise replied, while Ron just stood there. _Should I interrupt? No, that'd be rude. Guess I'll just stand here like Blaise's manservant._

"How are you, Ron?" Pansy asked, noticing that her parents were ignoring her friend. Ron didn't miss Lady Parkinson's quick frown, and it brought a smile to his face.

"I'm doing well" Ron replied, keeping his eyes on Pansy. "You look lovely, by the way. Purple suits you."

"Thank you" Pansy smiled, doing a quick twirl to show Ron her new purple dress. "You look very handsome yourself, and your tie matches Daphne's dress." _It does, she made sure of it._

"I believe congratulations are in order" Lord Parkinson piped in, stepping beside his daughter. "Well done on your most recent triumph, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, my Lord" Ron smiled at the portly man, shaking his hand firmly. _Filthy fucking Death-Eater. I know for a fact that he'll rejoin the Dark Lord once he returns._

"My daughter made sure that we both heard of your victory, didn't she love?" Lord Parkinson looked to his wife, who broke away from her conversation with Blaise in order to give Ron an expressionless look.

"She did" Lady Parkinson replied, trying her best not to sneer at the filth in front of her. "Husband, I believe that we should let the children spend some time together." With that, she just turned around and left. Lord Parkinson chuckled for no reason, and then he followed after his wife, leaving the 'children' behind.

"That went better than I thought it would" Pansy confessed, and then she gave Ron a sorry look. "Sorry about her, Ron. She's just… difficult." _Try rude, and in need of a beating._

"Not your fault" Ron smiled at Pansy. "Let's go and get Millie, alright?"

"Alright" Pansy agreed, glad that Ron wasn't too upset with being disrespected in such a manner. It was one thing to make snide remarks, but it was entirely worse to just ignore someone's presence. "Have you got your things, Blaise?"

"I do" Blaise replied, moving to Pansy's side so that she was in between him and Ron. "Lord Greengrass had an Elf collect them for me, and I'll get them back when we're ready to leave."

"Great" Pansy smiled at him. "It'll be good to have someone to talk to besides my parents." Blaise gave her a nod, more interested in the decor than spending a week at Pansy's.

"By the way" Ron started, getting Pansy's attention. "Why did Theo run off when he saw your mother?"

"Oh… That…" Pansy sighed. "Mother and father visited Lord Nott at his Manor, and my mother embarrassed both herself and Theo by telling him that I was 'allowed to date'."

"You and Theo?" Ron chuckled, and Pansy nodded.

"A match made in heaven" Blaise smirked. "If your parents don't mind you dating another girl, then you should go for it." _Ha!_

"Theo's a girl…" Ron sniggered, and Pansy rolled her eyes.

"I got that, Ron" Pansy said haughtily. "And no he's not. I'm sure he'll make some girl very happy one day, it just won't be me. No matter how hard my mother tries to pawn me off to the richest bachelor."

"Does she seriously want to do that?" Ron asked. _Mum would never do such a thing to Ginny. What's wrong with that mad cunt?_

"She wants me to marry right out of Hogwarts" Pansy told them, and they both just shook their heads.

"Start saving up money in your trust account, and then run away once you graduate" Blaise advised. "It's what I'm doing." _Yeah… That's not happening. A certain Dark Lord has his own plans, and they involve subjugating the World._

"Is that so?" Pansy smirked at Blaise. "I'll need a partner in crime if I'm to do that. Are you volunteering, Blaise?"

"We'll go to the States" Blaise smirked back, and Pansy giggled. And Ron felt like he was intruding. _Merlin, are they flirting? He's going to knock her up, and then she's going to die. No wait… That won't happen because I know it will. That's what the Entity said. Bloody hell, why am I not getting any visions anymore? It's driving me insane._ Ron was broken out of his thoughts when his friends suddenly stopped, and Ron realized that they had reached Lord and Lady Bulstrode.

"Ah, your friends have come to steal you away" Lady Bulstrode said to Millie, and then she looked at Millie's friends. "Blaise, Pansy, and Ronald. Wonderful to see you all here." _She didn't ignore me. That's a win in my books._

"Likewise, Lady Bulstrode" Blaise said, giving her a small bow. Ron did the same, while Pansy curtsied out of respect.

"How are you boys doing?" Lord Bulstrode asked.

"I am quite well, my Lord" Blaise replied.

"As am I" Ron added on. _These two support the Dark Lord in secret? Either Snape is wrong, or these two know how to hide in plain sight really well._ "How goes your day, my Lord?"

"It is getting better" Lord Bulstrode smiled at Ron.

"My husband is eager to get started on emptying Sebastian's larders" Lady Bulstrode joked. "Good to see you all again, come along husband. Let us get some food in you." Lord and Lady Bulstrode left at that, leaving their daughter with her friends. Mille was wearing a black dress that covered everything but her head, and Ron was surprised to see that she was less bulky than she used to be. She was still on the heavy side, but she looked… sturdier. _I guess I haven't seen her in a dress for a long time._

"Sorry about them, but they've been really busy with work all day" Millie told her friends. "Wait… Where's Theo?"

"Hiding from his mother in law" Ron grinned, and Pansy smacked his arm. _Ow. Worth it._

"That was good" Blaise chuckled, earning himself a smack from Pansy as well. "But we should find him before she does."

"You reckon we could both be best men?" Ron asked Blaise, and Pansy groaned.

"Don't groan Pansy, it's really degrading" Millie smirked.

"I hate this group…" Pansy sighed, while her friends sniggered at her expense.

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Friday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

"Hello" Theo said as Tracey came out of the restroom, and Tracey jumped from fright. "Sorry about that."

"Theo…" Tracey turned around with a frown, glaring at him as he leaned against the wall next to the restroom door. "What are you guarding the door to the ladies' restroom?"

"I'm not" Theo said, pushing himself off of the wall. "I was waiting for you to finish up. I saw you excuse yourself from greeting your guests."

"I had to use the loo" Tracey told him. _No you didn't, you just got sick of standing around in one place._ Theo looked her over approvingly, she looked good in her silver dress. _Emerald green for Daphne, and silver for Tracey. Neat._ "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You look nice, that's all" Theo replied truthfully.

"Thanks…" Tracey said slowly, and then she turned back around. "I need to get back to greeting my guests."

"Or you could come with for a second" Theo suggested, and she turned back around.

"Come with you?" Tracey asked, watching him with a guarded look.

"You greeted me rather poorly at the reception" Theo said, and Tracey rolled her eyes.

"No, I didn't" Tracey denied. "I greeted you the same way I would have greeted anyone else."

"Exactly" Theo said with a teasing smile. "I'm not just 'anyone', am I?" _Ease up, Theodore. Don't make her angry. Again._

"Theo, what do you want?" Tracey asked him, getting tired of his games. He always had to outwit people with his words, didn't he? Why couldn't he just say what he wanted for once?

"I wanted to give you your present" Theo admitted.

"My present?" Tracey blinked. _That got her attention. Good. Now reel her in._

"The others are probably looking for me, and your parents are waiting on you" Theo said, and Tracey gave a slow nod. "So just give me a minute, please?"

"Why can't you give me my present in front of other people?" Tracey asked.

"Because I went through a lot of effort to get it, and I don't want them to know that" Theo replied. _The last thing I need is for people to start thinking that they can expect better things from me. And I want to apologize to her in private. I could have handled her being upset a lot better._

"Scared of losing your reputation as an arsehole?" Tracey smirked, and Theo nodded.

"So you'll come with me?" Theo asked, smiling genuinely.

"Alright, I'll come with you" Tracey agreed, and Theo offered her his arm. She took it, and they both began making their way to an unoccupied room. "I like your robes, by the way. They suit you."

"Thanks" Theo said, pleased that she was pleased. _Don't tell her that father bought them._

"We should hurry up, my parents will get mad if I take too long" Tracey told him.

"We both know that you don't want to go back, Trace" Theo said. "Which is why you ran away from the reception in the first place."

"Oh no, I've been caught" Tracey laughed. "You're right, of course. My brain nearly shut down from the boredom of just greeting people that I've never really spoken to before. I think I gave Lady Parkinson a small stroke by just being here."

"She's a bitch, and everyone knows it" Theo said.

"That's Pansy's mother you're talking about" Tracey giggled.

"Pansy would be the first one in line to say that, trust me" Theo chuckled, and then he opened the door for Tracey. "In you go."

"Thank you" Tracey said, entering the empty room. Theo followed her in, and he closed the door behind him. "Well, here we are… All alone in an empty room…" Tracey then shot him a playful smile, and Theo couldn't help but smile back. "So, what did you get me?"

"I got you this" Theo said, taking out the 'Walkman' from his robes and showing it to her. Tracey stared at it for a few seconds, and then she gave him a bewildered look.

"This is a Muggle device, Theo" Tracey stated, clearly confused as to how he got it.

"I know" Theo nodded. "I went to Charing Street in Muggle London to get this."

"Do you even know what it is?" Tracey asked.

"It plays music, right?" Theo asked, and Tracey nodded slowly. "I know that you like to sing and dance, you certainly don't hide that. And with this, you can listen to music whenever you want."

"You really got me a Walkman?" Tracey asked, sounding more awed than grateful.

"I did, and buying it was quite awkward actually" Theo admitted. "I don't know how Muggle money works, and I gave the clerk way too much. She thought that I was mentally unstable, especially because of the millions of questions that I asked her. I wanted to get you a Muggle gizmo, but I wasn't sure about what to get. Luckily, she was very helpful. Despite asking me if I was from 'overseas'…"

"Theo, this is really sweet…" Tracey said, a massive smile breaking out on her face as she took the box from him.

"The box has… Um… What were they called?" Theo tried to remember. "Um… Earphones! Yeah, that's the word. The box has earphones, and a bunch of 'cassettes' too. The clerk helped me find Muggle music that's popular with the Muggles our age, and she packed it into the box for me." Tracey just stared down at the box, too touched to say anything. "I hope you know how this thing works, because I've forgotten the instructions."

"I'll figure it out" Tracey said, and then she smiled at him. _I should apologize now._

"I'm sorry about what happened the last time we saw each other" Theo said, and her smile faltered for a second.

"Pardon?"

"I've been thinking about what you said" Theo admitted. "And I think I handled the situation poorly… I shouldn't have gotten angry like that, especially because you were upset about something that **I** did. I should've told you about why I didn't stay at yours for the Holidays. The truth is, I did enjoy staying at yours. And your mother was very good to me during my stay. I'm sorry if I made you think that I don't respect her, because I do. And… I don't care about her Blood-Status like my father does. That's his problem to deal with, and I shouldn't have put that ahead of our friendship. So… I'm sorry, Tracey." _Got it word for word. Practicing in front of a mirror was the right call._

"I see…" Tracey said, looking back down at the Walkman box.

"Right…" Theo said after a couple of seconds. "We should head back to the party, your parents are no doubt waiting for you." Theo turned to leave, but Tracey quickly moved into his way.

"I'm sorry too" she blurted out, and Theo blinked at her. "I'm sorry for acting like… Like I was a 'victim'. No one in the group even brings up my Blood-Status, and if they did, Ron would kill them. I was just feeling… insecure, and I took that out on you and Daphne. I had no right to question your views when you've never questioned mine. I just… I don't want you to hate people like me, or my mother."

"I accept your apology" Theo said, and she smiled weakly. "Friends?"

"Friends…" Tracey said slowly, her eyes going back to her new Walkman. "Theo…"

"Yes?"

"Do you… Do you like me?" Tracey asked, looking back up with a guarded look. _Is she asking me if I would date her? Yes…_

"Of course" Theo smiled, deciding to steer clear of 'the talk'. _It wouldn't work, and then things would just become awkward between us._ "Out of all the girls, you're my favorite. You're fun to be around, Tracey. Believe me."

"I didn't mean that kind of 'like', I'm asking if you **like** me" Tracey clarified, her face becoming slightly flushed. _Oh Merlin, this was not planned. What am I supposed to say to that? Yes, I do like you. But my father… He'd never let it happen. He'll throw me out on the street before he accepts something like this._

"I… I do…" Theo whispered, looking down at his feet. _Fucking idiot, what did you just do?_

"I like you too" Tracey admitted, her own plans of not confessing going out the window. "But it wouldn't work between us, right?" Theo looked back up with a sorry look, and he nodded.

"I'm sorry…" Theo apologized, feeling a strong pang of guilt. _It's her birthday party, and I'm just ruining it._

"No, it's alright" Tracey smiled, and Theo just stared at her because of his growing confusion. _She's fine with it?_ "I understand why it wouldn't work, and now I know for certain that you don't judge me for being a Half-Blood."

"I don't" Theo said quickly, and she smiled a little more widely.

"We're too different, and if we date and break up, that'll just hurt the group" Tracey said, and Theo nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do?" Theo asked, unsure of how he was feeling at the moment. On the one hand, he was ecstatic about the fact that she liked him too. On the other hand, he understood that dating her would be next to impossible for him. He cared about Tracey, and he respected her mother, but he still detested Muggles. He didn't even know how to stop hating them for killing his mother, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to stop. He could either blame the Muggles for Iris Nott's death, or he could blame the useless son who did nothing to save her.

"We should just stay friends, and eventually, we'll both move on from our feelings" Tracey replied. "I asked my mother for advice, and this is what she told me." _Do nothing?_ He couldn't deny that he felt disappointed with that idea, but he also knew that doing nothing was for the best. **Logically** **speaking** , it was for the best…

"Then let's stay friends…" Theo smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. Tracey gave him a weak nod in return, and then she leaned forward and pecked his right cheek.

"Thank you for the amazing gift, Theo" Tracey said. "I'll always cherish the fact that you went through so much trouble to make me happy." With that, Tracey turned around and left to complete her duties. While Theo just stayed behind in the room, both upset and relieved at the same time. _This is for the best… At least this way, I still get to keep her as a friend…_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

"I'm surprised that Crabbe and Goyle aren't here" Millie said, and everyone but Ron nodded. They were each currently making themselves a plate of food, with Blaise being the person who picked what they were going to eat. _I only care about the Shepard's Pie though. Look at it, it looks delicious._

"I'm not surprised" Pansy said. "Lords Crabbe and Goyle both openly support Lord Malfoy, and since Lord Malfoy isn't invited, they probably chose to decline their invitations."

"It's for the best" Blaise said, putting some foreign looking dish onto Pansy's plate. "If Malfoy and his goons were here, there'd be this awkwardness in the air. Especially for us."

"Is it true that Lord Greengrass is targeting Lord Malfoy's investments?" Millie asked Ron, who just shrugged in response.

"I know that he's bought Malfoy out from some of his favorite shops, but that's about it" Ron replied. "I think they're both just having a pissing competition, but neither one of them wants to openly declare hostilities. Especially because the Ministry will crack down on them. And since Malfoy has a lot of influence in the Ministry, Lord Greengrass is probably being cautious."

"Wow… That was a rather detailed response" came Theo's voice from behind them, and they all turned to face him.

"Where have you been?" Pansy asked him, trying not to frown at him for running off for almost twenty minutes.

"Sorry, beloved" Theo smirked, making Ron and Blaise snigger. "I had to take a shite."

"Ew…" Pansy grimaced, while Millie's lips twitched upwards.

"Blaise, would you mind making me a plate?" Theo asked, and Blaise turned around to do that. "Please put normal food on it, and not that weird shite you like to eat."

"Sure" Blaise said, though he had no intention of doing as Theo asked.

"What's that?" Theo asked Ron, looking at his plate with a guarded look.

"Duck… I think…" Ron replied, shooting Blaise a frown. _It looks gooey… I don't want to eat gooey duck…_

"I wonder when Tracey and Daphne will finish up, this place looks almost full" Millie said, looking at all the adults and little children. "You guys see those two girls over there" Millie pointed out, and they all looked. Ron eyed the two girls, who were both wearing the same green dress and holding each other's hands. _They're twins. Bloody hell, they look exactly alike. Hair, dress, height, expressionless mask for a face. All of it._

"That's Flora and Hestia Carrow" Pansy told them, and Millie nodded.

"We had them over for dinner a week ago" Millie started. "They're starting Hogwarts this year, same as Tori. I've already told them about her, and they seemed 'eager' to meet her."

"Why did you say 'eager' like that?" Ron asked.

"Look at them, mate" Theo replied for Millie. "They seem to be rather… controlled."

"I'd say creepy" Ron remarked, and Pansy tutted him.

"Don't be mean, Ron" Pansy clicked her tongue. "They're just minding their own business, that's all."

"Anyway…" Millie jumped in. "I'm going to introduce Tori to them tonight, and hopefully, Tori will start Hogwarts with some allies."

"That's awfully nice of you, Millie" Pansy smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea."

"Tori really has no friends that are her age?" Ron asked, and all of them shook their heads.

"Lord Greengrass is very protective of her for some reason" Theo pointed out, and Ron nodded slowly. _He is, isn't he? I had no idea that he kept her locked up in this Manor though. Something is clearly wrong with her health, judging from what I've seen. But should I really stick my nose into their Family business? I do care about her, but does that give me the right to interfere?_

"Hello?" Theo waved his hand in Ron's face, breaking the red-head out of his thoughts. "You zone out a lot, Ron. You know that, right?"

"Sorry…" Ron smiled sheepishly, and then he shot another look at the Carrow twins. "Millie, I agree with Pansy. I reckon you're doing a really sweet thing for Tori."

"Thanks" Millie smiled, mentally patting her own back. She had been unsure of her actions at first, but when she thought about Tori feeling lonely at school, she had steeled her resolve.

"What if they're not in Slytherin?" Ron asked.

"They'll be in Slytherin" Blaise replied, handing Theo his plate. Theo looked down at it, and then looked up with a miserable look. "Finish that."

"It looks…" Theo started, but Blaise cut him off.

"Trust me, it tastes good" Blaise said, and then he looked to Ron. "Those two are Carrows, and the Carrow Family has never been sorted into any other house. They might be the only Pure-Blood Family out there that can claim that achievement, and they certainly love flaunting it around."

"Are they… believers of Blood-Purity?" Ron asked, and his friends exchanged quick looks. "That's a yes…"

"They're just kids, Ron" Millie said. "And Tori needs friends."

"And Tori doesn't really care about that stuff, you know that" Pansy assured him.

"I know" Ron nodded. "And I was just asking. I don't have any right to tell her who to be friends with." _Let's just hope that she doesn't start thinking like them._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Finally" Pansy smiled widely as she saw Daphne and Tracey approach them.

"Merlin, I'm so tired of 'smiling'…" Tracey sighed, looking utterly spent.

"It wasn't that long, Trace" Daphne smiled at her, and then she looked to the rest of them. "Enjoying the party?"

"We are" they all replied, something that pleased both Tracey and Daphne.

"I love your dresses, by the way" Pansy gushed. "Really clever use of our House colors."

"It was Tracey's idea" Daphne admitted, and Tracey smirked victoriously.

"Don't they look beautiful?" Pansy asked the boys, and they nodded immediately in order to avoid Pansy's wrath. _They really do though. Especially Daphne._ Ron eyed her form fitting emerald green dress, noting that Daphne's chest was surprisingly big. _Never really noticed that until now. But now that I have, she looks almost… disproportionate._ Ron couldn't help but remember the 'older Daphne' from his visions, and that brought a massive smile to his face. _Daphne's going to grow up to be so sexy! And I managed to get her! I'm a God! If everything goes right, she'll fill out in all the right places! Lovely chest, amazing arse, soft-looking thighs, nice hips, and that face… Merlin, that face!_

"Ron, why are you smiling at me like that?" Daphne asked, feeling slightly embarrassed by his blank stare. Their friends were just eyeing Ron too, but they were more amused than embarrassed.

"Oi, wake up" Theo nudged him, and Ron was ripped out of his exciting thoughts.

"Sorry, what is it?" Ron shook his head clear.

"You were staring at Daphne in a rather creepy manner" Tracey laughed, amused by Daphne's visible embarrassment.

"Was I?" Ron grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, I was zoned out." _I swear to Merlin, I'm going to make sure that Daphne grows up to look like the version that I saw of her. I do this for the benefit of Wizarding-Kind. And me. Mostly me. I want to date a witch that's way out of my league. Wait… Was I dating her in the Future? She certainly cared a lot about me, but so does my current Daphne. And if we were dating, why didn't she know what I was up to? Why am I even thinking about this? That vision no longer holds any weight now that I've seen it. Which is why I have to make sure that Daphne grows up to be that sexy! Don't worry Entity, I won't let your vision go to waste!_

"Ron?" Millie nudged him, and Ron blinked at her. "What's the matter with you?" Ron looked at his friends, and he noticed that they looked more concerned than amused now. Even Daphne was just staring at him with a worried look.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind" Ron told them, deciding to tell the girls of his plans. _Just to save myself any drama._ "Speaking of which, there's something that I have to tell all of you."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"So, what do you guys think?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Is this why you were carrying around a briefcase?" Millie asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Yeah, it was" Ron replied, and then he looked to Daphne. She was just staring at him, and Ron couldn't really read her expression. So Ron looked to Tracey and Pansy instead, both of whom looked rather bored. "What about you guys? What do you think?"

"Oh…" Pansy blinked, and then she smiled at him. "I think that it's quite amazing Ron, and I know you'll do really well."

"Same" Tracey said, she had actually zoned out when Ron had started talking about numbers.

"And you plan to raise awareness about certain issues that the Daily Prophet is neglecting?" Daphne asked, how long had he been planning this? And why didn't he tell her? She would've loved to help him.

"Yeah, that's the plan" Ron nodded. "I just have to get Xeno to sign over The Quibbler, and then I can get started."

"Ron… This seems like a difficult thing to do" Millie started. "Are you sure that you want to put yourself through that? Especially considering the fact that Hogwarts is starting in ten days."

"I'll be fine" Ron assured them. "I'm getting a lot of help from various people, and for the first six months or so, I'll just be advertising the new Quibbler. Publishing won't start for a while, and in that time, I'll headhunt a staff as well."

"And he's got us to help him as well" Blaise said, not sounding very eager to help however.

"Hi, guys!" Tori suddenly showed up, smiling widely at all of them. "What are you lot up to?"

"Tori, volume" Daphne scolded, but Tori just giggled. _That is a really pink dress, but it looks good on her._ "Did father finally let you go? Or did you sneak away?"

"He let me go" Tori sighed. "He's showing me off to everyone… 'Look at my daughter, she's going to Hogwarts this year'… It's was mortifying. And mother was the worst… She got all upset about it, and she hid it rather poorly."

"They're just proud and worried, that's all" Daphne told her sister. "And don't worry, I'll be there to watch over you."

"I think I'll be fine" Tori smiled at her sister, though it was a devious-looking smile. _Maybe… I don't she really understands that Hogwarts isn't like her house. If she tries to prank people, or throw her weight around, she'll turn herself into a target within Slytherin. I mean seriously, people like Carey won't tolerate her behavior. And she has no idea about Snape._

"Speaking of Hogwarts…" Millie smiled at Tori. "Come with me for second, Tori. I want to introduce you to a couple of people who are your age."

"My first allies?" Tori smiled widely, her excitement evident to all.

"They will be, if you play your cards right" Theo told her. "Millie, mind if I join you?"

"Of course not" Millie replied. "Pansy, can you come as well?"

"Of course" Pansy agreed. "See you guys in a bit." With that, they all left to find the Carrow twins. This left Ron, Daphne, Blaise, and Tracey behind.

"I'm hungry" Tracey said, rubbing her stomach. "Daphne, do you want to come get some food with me?"

"I'm fine, thanks" Daphne declined, not wanting to fill up on food. The last thing she wanted was for her stomach to protrude out in this dress.

"If you're getting food, let me join you" Blaise said, eager to show Tracey which dishes had earned his seal of approval.

"Sure" Tracey agreed, and then they both left as well.

"You're not hungry?" Ron asked, and Daphne shook her head. "Are you sure? Some of the dishes are really good." _Like that gooey duck. Damn it tasted good, despite looking like a wet turd._

"Want to go for a walk?" Daphne asked, and Ron blinked at her. _Am I in trouble?_

"Sure…"

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Daphne, is everything alright?" Ron asked her as she closed the door. They were in Lord Greengrass' study, and Ron didn't feel right being in here without his mentor.

"First thing first, how are you?" Daphne asked him.

"I'm fine…" Ron replied slowly.

"Really?" Daphne asked, and he nodded. "Your plan to go into the World of business isn't stressing you too much, is it? It can be really daunting, Ron. Just hearing about it made me feel overwhelmed."

"I'm fine, Daphne" Ron smiled genuinely, touched that she was worried about him. "I mean, I am stressed… But I really want to do this."

"Alright" Daphne nodded in understanding, and then she gestured Ron to sit down. Ron took his usual seat, and Daphne walked over and squeezed herself in as well.

"Daph…" Ron muttered, shifting a little to make her more comfortable. "There's an empty seat right there…"

"Oh no, I must've missed it" Daphne smirked. "This is a tight fit, isn't it?"

"We're getting a bit too big for one seat" Ron noted. "Especially me…"

"I can sit on your lap if you like" Daphne smiled mischievously. _Merlin, do we have to do this in here? This is where I work with her father._

"Um… I don't know about that…" Ron mumbled, trying to stop himself from turning red at the thought.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked. "We can just try it, and if you don't like it, I'll get off."

"Alright…" Ron relented. Despite being uncomfortable with the idea of defiling his workplace, Ron couldn't deny that he wanted to try it. Daphne got out of the chair, and once Ron moved back to the center, she gently planted herself on his lap. _Not as heavy as I imagined._

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" Daphne asked.

"Not at all" Ron replied honestly, and she smiled widely. "You look great, by the way."

"Thank you" Daphne said as she shifted to make herself more comfortable. _Merlin, I have a girl on my lap. Sirius, if you can hear me, I've done you proud._ "You make a surprisingly comfortable chair, Ron."

"Thanks" Ron sniggered. "Never thought that I'd hear such a sentence."

"How long have you been planning to take over The Quibbler?" Daphne asked him, and Ron tensed slightly. _She's trapped me! Fuck!_

"Um… Since Xeno got back" Ron replied, and she nodded slowly. "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"It's alright" Daphne said, and Ron blinked at her. "What? I'm not that irrational, Ron. We've both been really busy, too busy to even spend time together. And I know that you're not the sort to sit around doing nothing, and once you set your mind on something, you do it secretly and efficiently. I just wish that you told me before you told Theo."

"I see…" Ron nodded, feeling slightly guilty.

"It's alright, Ron" Daphne smiled at him, turning a bit more to the side in order face him more easily. "I'm not too bothered by it. In fact, I think that you're doing something amazing."

"Really?" Ron smiled, looking her eyes.

"You'll have genuine influence in the outside World, which in turn will give you influence within Slytherin" Daphne replied. _What about the people that I'm helping?_

"And I'll be helping people" Ron pointed out, and she just smiled at him.

"And you'll be helping people" she said, and then she leaned forward and pecked his lips.

"Should we be doing this in here?" Ron whispered. "I work with your father in this room, Daph… This feels wrong."

"You don't like it?" Daphne hummed before kissing him again.

"I… I do… But still…" Ron stammered, scared that Lord Greengrass would suddenly show up and belt him.

"But we haven't kissed in ages" Daphne whispered. "And it's my birthday." _She loves risking getting caught, doesn't she? Is that what she wants? For us to get caught and be outed as… whatever we are?_

"People will notice that you're missing… Your parents and our friends…" Ron whispered back, his breathing becoming shallow because of how close her face was. _She smells so nice. What is that perfume? She should wear it all the time._ Ron couldn't help but wonder if 'Future Daphne' wore this perfume, and the thought excited him far more than he wanted it to.

"We'll just lie to them" Daphne said as she put her arms around his neck, and then she pulled him into a barrage of quick pecks. _Merlin… I can feel my pants getting tighter…_

"Daph…" Ron breathed out, his entire face flushed. "I'm… It's happening again…"

"Do you want to stop?" Daphne whispered.

"No…" Ron admitted. "But you're sitting on my lap… And you know…" _It'll start poking you before long._

"Alright, we can stop" Daphne said, and then she gave him a really long kiss.

When they broke off, there was a smacking sound and Ron was left feeling lightheaded. Daphne then got off of his lap, making sure to not look at his oncoming erection. She didn't want him to feel embarrassed, and she certainly didn't want to give him a reason to start avoiding her tonight. She planned to stick by his side all night, and to pretend like they were a couple in her mind. It was childish, but she was still going to do it.

"Could you look the other way for a second?" Ron asked while averting his gaze, and she did so without questioning him. Ron quickly fixed his trousers, all the while trying to steady his breathing. _Damn, this is so bloody embarrassing..._ "We should head back out…"

"Wait, you've got lipstick on your lips" Daphne said as she pulled out a clean handkerchief from her left sleeve. She then proceeded to clean his lips, while he thought of anything but her. "Ron, it's alright."

"I know…" Ron smiled weakly. "I'm just… I'm being an idiot…"

"No, you're not" Daphne told him. "You're a boy, and this happens to boys when they get excited. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"How are you so… mature… about this?" Ron asked her. "I don't get it…"

"It's impractical to be embarrassed by something that you can't control" Daphne replied, though she herself was embarrassed by her 'eager to grow breasts'. _She's right, but still…_

"Could I burrow the book that your mother gave you?" Ron asked. "If you're finished with it, that is." _Don't be sorry, be better. Learn more about this stuff so you don't get rattled so easily._

"I am, and you can" she replied with a smile. "Are we alright?"

"Of course, Daph" Ron replied, feeling a bit less embarrassed. "I just need to get over it. We had fun together, and we stopped before it got out of hand."

"We were responsible" Daphne giggled, amused by him bringing up their previous conversation. Daphne then hugged him, her arms tangling around his lower back. "Thank you for helping me with everything tonight, I really appreciate it Ron."

"You're welcome" Ron smiled as he hugged her back. "Bloody hell, you smell nice." Daphne snorted at that, which in turn made Ron laugh.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **August, 1993 (Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Midday)**_

Ron's Family was getting suspicious, he could see it in their eyes. His frequent visits to Diagon Alley were something that they had all noticed, and Ron feared that they'd start asking him questions very soon. Luckily for Ron, this would be his last visit to Diagon Alley until he needed to get his books.

"Take a seat, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk said as he sat down himself, and Ron did as he was told. "How goes your business?"

"I haven't asked him yet" Ron replied, and Gornuk nodded slowly. _Tomorrow. I'll talk to him tomorrow._

"Then you should make haste" Gornuk advised. "I've read that The Quibbler's latest issue is coming out in eight days. Which means that he's finished writing it."

"I will speak with him tomorrow" Ron assured the Goblin. "Now, how are things on your end?"

"I have made inquiries, as was part of our deal" Gornuk replied. "Fletcher's Printing Company seems to like the idea of printing for a consistent magazine, and they aren't asking for much. Fifty Galleons a year is a bargain, and I highly recommend partnering with them. As for the advertising campaign, it will cost fifteen hundred Galleons for a six month run."

"Five hundred Galleons less than expected" Ron smiled, and Gornuk nodded. "Well done, Gornuk."

"You paid me for my best, and that is what I've given you" Gornuk smiled a sharp-toothed smile. _And you want to impress me because you want to work for me._

"Are you still looking to be my Logistics Officer?" Ron asked, and Gornuk gave him a nod.

"I have many contacts, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk boasted. "And I am good with numbers, far better than any witch or wizard."

"But you'll still be working here, is that correct?" Ron asked, and Gornuk nodded.

"I can work both jobs with ease, I assure you" Gornuk replied. _Marty told me that the average pay of a Goblin is three hundred Galleons a year, which is why Gornuk makes dirty deals. His ivory earrings, that golden pin in his tie… He enjoys the luxurious life, and so he wants two full paying jobs. I need to set the rules for him early on. If he tries anything dirty with me, there will be consequences._

"And I'm willing to hire you, and pay you four hundred Galleons a year" Ron started, pleased to see Gornuk's greedy smile. "But I expect loyalty… **Absolute** loyalty. Do you understand?" _They respect strength, just remember what Marty told you._

"Of course, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk assured him, his smile faltering slightly because of Ron's cold stare.

"If you cheat me, Gornuk" Ron started, cracking his neck in a grotesque manner. "I will find out. And I swear to Merlin… I will make you regret it. Is that clear?"

"It… It is, Mr. Weasley" Gornuk replied, completely taken aback by the change in the boy's demeanor.

"Good" Ron said as he stood up, suddenly smiling 'politely' at the Goblin. "Once I have the signature, I will be back. And then we can start sorting out the paperwork."

"Certainly" Gornuk said, hopping out of his chair as well. "Good luck with your endeavor, Mr. Weasley."

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **August, 1993 (Hogwarts - Midday)**_

Remus stepped through the Headmaster's fireplace, his mind stuck on the letter that Dumbledore had sent him. _What private matter does he need to discuss with me? It has to do something with the Order, I can't think of anything else. Is the Dark Lord on the move once again?_

"Ah, you are here" came Dumbledore's voice from behind his desk, and Remus smiled at the kind old wizard.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster" Remus greeted the man who gave him a chance to learn Magic when no one else would have.

"Good afternoon, Remus" Dumbledore greeted back, gesturing Remus to take a seat. "You don't have to call me Headmaster, my friend. You are no longer a student here."

"I don't think anyone ever really stop being a student of Hogwarts" Remus said as he took a seat, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"I suppose you are right" Albus agreed. "How have you been?"

"I'm getting by" Remus replied, the truth was that he wasn't 'getting by'. Even in Muggle London, he faced constant rejection. His scars didn't belong in the civilized World, and most business owners had suspected him to be a criminal. Remus was planning to return to his little shack after Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express, at least he could find work in the country.

"And how is Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"He is well" Remus replied, unable to hold back his smile. _He grew two inches during the Holidays._ "And safe."

"Good… Good" Dumbledore nodded, and then he adorned a more serious look. A look that he wore often during the Great War. "I fear that Harry will not be safe for long, Remus." Remus' breath hitched at that, and he just stared at Dumbledore for a few seconds. _Not safe?_

"Why?" Remus asked.

"Lord Voldemort is once again on the move, and I believe that his return is imminent" Dumbledore sighed. _You-Know-Who is on the move?_ Remus swallowed thickly, his mind immediately fixated on protecting Harry. Remus could even feel Moony preparing himself to defend his cub, and that gave Remus a small amount of comfort.

"Do you need me to track him?" Remus asked. "I have contact with various Werewolf encampments, and if I go to them, we might be able to pinpoint any sightings of the Dark Lord."

"Thank you for your offer, Remus" Dumbledore smiled in a grateful manner. "That would indeed be very helpful."

"I will get started immediately" Remus said, but before he could get up, Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him.

"I would like one more thing from you" Dumbledore said, and Remus waited for Dumbledore to continue. "The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is currently open, and I was hoping to hire you for the job." _What?_

"Work here at Hogwarts?" Remus blinked, he was certain that he had misheard Dumbledore.

"As the D.A.D.A Professor, yes" Dumbledore replied. Remus was genuinely lost for words, and all he could do was stare at Dumbledore. "Remus?"

"Um… Headmaster…" Remus stammered, his mind going into overdrive. _A job… An actual job. And a job at Hogwarts? I… I don't know what I've done to deserve such a gift…_ "I'm a Werewolf…" Remus muttered, averting his gaze from the kind old man. "I don't belong near children…"

"You are also a man, my boy" Dumbledore smiled kindly at him, and Remus looked back up. "And one of the finest that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. You have actual experience in the field, and from I what I remember, you were the sharpest student out of your friends."

"That's not much of an achievement" Remus smiled weakly, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Don't sell yourself short" Dumbledore said.

"The Legislation against Werewolves… Hiring me will cause you problems with the Ministry" Remus pointed out, mentally smacking himself for listing the reasons why he shouldn't be hired. "I don't want to cause you any problems, Headmaster."

"There will be no problems, I assure you" Dumbledore said. "The Legislation doesn't forbid me from hiring you, it simply states that I need to provide you with the Wolfsbane Potion. Luckily for us, we have a Potions Master in this school." _Snape?_

"He'll never help me…" Remus said, remembering the 'prank' that Sirius had played on Snape. "I nearly killed him when we were students here…"

"Severus is a good man, and he will do it if I ask him to" Dumbledore assured Remus. "And if he doesn't, then I will use the school's budget to buy you the Potion." _He'd do that for me?_

"Why me?" Remus couldn't help but ask.

"I need someone that I trust working in that position" Dumbledore replied. "Lord Voldemort will return soon, and I fear that we've all grown negligent as of late. I want you to teach the students to combat the Dark Arts."

"Combat the Dark Arts?" Remus asked, slightly unsure of what that meant.

"Last year, we opened up a Dueling Club at Hogwarts" Dumbledore replied, and Remus nodded slowly. "I would like you to resume that Dueling Club, alongside Severus. And… I need you to begin training Harry."

"Training Harry?" Remus blinked.

"Lord Voldemort will come for him one day, and he must be ready" Dumbledore replied, and Remus swallowed once again. _Dumbledore's right. The Prophecy referred to Harry as being the one who destroys the Dark Lord._ "He trusts and loves you. And I want you to give him private tutoring in the Order's ways. Patronus Charm, skirmish tactics, and how to lead."

"So Harry will truly lead the Order one day?" Remus asked.

"I know that he is our true hope of destroying the Dark Lord" Dumbledore replied. "But he must be prepared." Remus didn't even have to think twice about his answer, not when Harry needed him.

"I accept."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Rookery – Dinnertime)**_

This was it. This was the moment that Ron had been both dreading and anticipating. They had eaten dinner, Ron had drank Snape's Calming Tonic to help settle his nerves, and now Ron was sitting with the Lovegoods. They had no idea what Ron was about to do, and that gave him sort odd sort of comfort. He was in charge, he was in control, and they didn't even know it.

"Thank you for the dinner, Pandora" Ron smiled at her, and she smiled her airy smile in return. "It was really amazing."

"You're welcome, Ron" Pandora hummed. "It was nice of you to drop by like this."

"You're always welcome here, dear boy" Xeno smiled as well.

"Why didn't Ginny come with you?" Luna asked.

"Because I didn't tell her that I was coming here" Ron replied, and Luna looked visibly confused. "Only dad knows that I'm here. No one else." _If I told mum, or anyone else, there would be questions._

"Why?" Pandora couldn't help but ask.

"Because I wanted to speak to Xeno about something important" Ron replied. "And if my Family were here, they'd make this needlessly difficult."

"Talk to me?" Xeno asked, a curious smile on his face.

"Are you still planning to sell The Quibbler to the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked, and the Lovegoods just blinked at him.

"Um… Yes, I am…" Xeno replied slowly.

"You shouldn't" Ron said firmly, Snape's Tonic keeping his mind and nerves relaxed. _Time to get this started. Be decisive, and don't fucking stutter. Explain everything step by step. And if need be… use a bit of coercion._

"Ron?" Pandora asked, utterly taken aback by him. "This is not…"

"They plan to boot you once you've signed over The Quibbler" Ron told Xeno, and the man's mouth dropped open. "Two thousand Galleons, but no job."

"How do you know about the money?" Pandora asked him, and then it hit her. "Your sudden interest in my husband's magazine…"

"The Daily Prophet already have their new layout ready, but they won't be hiring you" Ron told Xeno, ignoring Pandora for the time being. "They plan to sell most of The Quibbler for parts, and then use the name to publish whatever rubbish they want. If you sell them The Quibbler, you'll lose it forever."

"Who told you all of this?" Xeno asked, looking to his equally confused wife and daughter.

"I have contacts, and they've given me all the information that I needed" Ron replied. _No need to tell them that I spied on them. That'll just make them upset._

"Contacts?" Pandora asked, and then she looked to Luna. "Luna, my love, please go to your room."

"But…" Luna started, but her mother's sudden serious demeanor closed her throat. "Alright…" Luna sighed, and then she slowly left the room. Before she disappeared upstairs, she shot Ron a worried look. _Don't be worried for me, I plan to win._

"Ron, explain yourself" Pandora said, she couldn't believe her ears. What was Ron up to? Why had he been asking questions about The Quibbler? Who were these contacts? She felt like her head would explode if he didn't give her the answers.

"I'm going to be blunt here" Ron told them, his eyes traveling between Pandora and Xeno. _They look baffled. Good._ "I want to buy The Quibbler."

"Excuse me?" Xeno asked, his usual eccentric tone completely gone.

"I want to buy The Quibbler" Ron repeated. "I don't want the Daily Prophet to get it, and I have plans for it. Plans that can help a lot of people. **We** can help a lot of people, Xeno."

"Ron, that's enough" Pandora said, she needed to call Molly here. Ron had clearly lost it, and he definitely needed to see Pomfrey tomorrow morning. _Shite, time to hit them below the belt. I'm sorry about this._

"You made around three hundred Galleons last year" Ron pointed out, and Xeno's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

"How…?" Xeno started, but Ron cut him off.

"I have contacts" Ron replied. "And believe me, what I plan to offer you is going to change your life. Now you can either hear me out, or you can be jobless within a week. Or you can keep The Quibbler to yourself, but something tells me that that isn't really an option for you. Why else would you sell it?"

"Merlin…" Xeno muttered, and then he looked to his wife. "He's possessed…" _What the fuck? Actually… Xeno's right. Hear that, Entity? You got caught, you smarmy fuck._

"I'm not possessed, now please just hear me out" Ron said as he stood up, and then he snapped his fingers. Marty sent him his briefcase from Hogwarts, just as planned. Pandora and Xeno went pale at the Wandless, non-verbal Conjuration.

"Who are you?" Pandora demanded, and Ron blinked at her.

"Pandora, I'm not possessed" Ron frowned slightly. "Just because I don't show my skills doesn't mean that I don't have them. Go on, ask me something that only I would know."

"What was the first thing that you ever painted with me?" Pandora asked.

"It was a drawing of me on a broom, and I was wearing a Chudley Cannon Uniform" Ron replied, and Pandora relaxed slightly. She was still eyeing him warily, but she was slowly starting to calm down. Ron opened up his briefcase, and he took out the documents. "These are contracts that I had drawn up, as well plans for The Quibbler. Here, read them" Ron finished, handing Xeno the documents. Xeno took them slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron. _For fuck's sake, I'm not possessed._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"I don't understand…" Xeno mumbled, his eyes fixed on the shareholder's agreement.

"What don't you understand?" Ron asked gently.

"How long have you been planning this?" Xeno asked, looking to Ron with a guarded look. _Lie!_

"Since you told me that you planned to sell The Quibbler" Ron lied.

"That's impossible" Pandora said, looking up from Ron's plans.

"Not for me" Ron said, and Pandora blinked at him. "I immediately decided that I could use The Quibbler for good, but I also knew that my time was limited. So I started planning this immediately, and then with help of a 'friend', I put all this together."

"What friend?" Xeno asked.

"A Goblin named Gornuk" Ron replied, and both Lovegoods just stared at him with utter disbelief written on their faces. "I had to hire him, of course, but he's done right by me. What do you think of the new Quibbler?"

"It's… Ron, this is too sudden" Pandora said, looking back down at the plans. She was having trouble even thinking straight. She couldn't recognize this boy in their kitchen, no matter how much he looked like her son.

"It had to be" Ron told them. "The Daily Prophet planned to dupe Xeno, and so I had to act fast. But I have everything sorted already, as you can see from the documents. All I need is your signature, Xeno."

"Ron, this is amazing work…" Xeno started. "But you are just a child… I appreciate…"

"Do not underestimate me" Ron hissed, and Xeno looked up with a slightly scared look. _Calm down, Ron. It's alright. He's right to doubt your age._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he smiled at the Lovegoods. "I might be thirteen, but I have accomplished impossible feats. I singlehandedly slew a Mountain Troll when I was eleven. I made history by resisting over fifty Veelas. I am yet to lose a single Tournament… And I survived the Dark Lord not once, but twice." Pandora and Xeno exchanged slow looks, and then they just stared at Ron with wary looks. "So please, tell me your honest thoughts on my proposition."

"It's generous" Xeno admitted. "Three thousand for The Quibbler, and then I get to keep four pages out of the twenty for my own section…"

"Xenophilius, you can't be serious?" Pandora asked her husband, shocked that Xeno would sell his life's work to a child. Ron was brilliant, but he was still just a boy.

"Look at this, love" Xeno swallowed thickly, showing her the shareholder agreement. "I get to keep twenty percent of The Quibbler… I didn't even know what shares really were, but he does…"

"You will be paid a yearly salary of four hundred Galleons plus twenty percent of the profits" Ron told Xeno, who nodded slowly. "Once you sign over The Quibbler to me, you can sign the shareholder's agreement. Both are Magically Binding Contracts, and once signed, they're permanent. Once you sign them, the appropriate sums will be transferred between our accounts. The Quibbler will become mine, and then I can go to the investors."

"Investors?" Pandora asked.

"Lady Longbottom, my friends Theo and Blaise, Lord Greengrass, and Sirius" Ron replied. "Sirius is the only one who hasn't given me his assurance, but the rest have agreed to be investors. They will collectively own twenty five percent, while you will own twenty. And I will own fifty five."

"Ron, what's brought this on?" Pandora asked. "This is a lot money that you're giving away."

"I'm not giving anything away" Ron replied. "This is a business deal, not charity. As for what brought this on, well… I just got sick of the garbage that the Daily Prophet calls news. They talk about scandals, and about 'stylish wizards'… But not once have the reported on the slums of Knockturn Alley, or the hundreds of jobless Werewolves. Or the fact that there is an underage prostitution problem in Knockturn Alley, which by the way, is right next to Diagon Alley."

"Underage prostitution? In Knockturn Alley?" Xeno asked, he had never ventured into that place before.

"You've been there?" Pandora asked, her mouth dropping open and her brow furrowing. "Ronald…"

"Neither of you knew about it, did you?" Ron asked them. "That's fine, it's not **your** fault. There is so much misinformation out there because of the Prophet, and since they won't do their jobs properly, I'll do it for them. I want to use The Quibbler to inspire people, I want action to be taken against these issues. The Quibbler is perfect for this, but if you don't give it to me, then it will go to waste. I have the means to turn it into a viable source of news, and an even more viable business. All I'm asking for is a chance."

"And your parents?" Pandora asked him, while Xeno just read over the contracts again. "What do they have to say about this?"

"They don't know anything about this, and if you tell them, then this deal is off" Ron replied. "They'll show up here, and then they'll force me to throw these contracts away. Xeno will be forced to sell to the Daily Prophet, and he'll lose his life's work in the progress. This deal… It's a Merlin-send, and you know it."

"It says here that I can't work for the new Quibbler until I sign the shareholder's agreement" Xeno pointed out, and Ron nodded.

"I turned your shareholder agreement into a work contract, and as long as you choose to be a shareholder, even I can't fire you" Ron replied. "This is to make sure that you always have your name associated with The Quibbler." _It was Gornuk's idea, but I'll just steal it to impress them._ "Xeno, this deal gives you everything that you want and more." _He's buying it, I can see it. He knows that there is no better alternative, he's only holding back because it's me who's presenting this deal._

"I… I need time…" Xeno said, putting the contract down. _Damn._

"No" Ron said firmly, and Xeno and Pandora blinked at him. "I either leave with the signed contracts, or I don't. Too many complications will arise once mum and dad find out, and they'll shut this down because they think that they know best. So no, Xeno. Make your choice right now. You either sign this deal, or you lose everything."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron and Xeno both felt an odd sensation once both contracts were signed, and Ron smiled contently. He had won. The Quibbler was now his, and he could get on with his business.

"Did you feel it too, Xeno?" Ron asked, and Xeno nodded.

"So it's done?" Pandora asked, and they both nodded.

"The funds are probably being transferred as we speak" Ron replied. "Xeno will get three thousand Galleons, and then I will get six hundred back for his investment."

"Then you can leave" Pandora said, looking down at Ron's plans. She couldn't help but feel like Ron had manipulated her husband's desire to protect his Family's future, and in doing so, taken over his business. But she also knew that Ron had saved Xeno from becoming jobless, and he had given them far more than what the Daily Prophet had offered. And so she was left feeling conflicted, and she knew that she needed Ron to leave. She needed to talk to her husband alone.

"Ron, please return home" Xeno smiled weakly, and Ron nodded slowly. _What's with this reaction? I just saved them so much money, and gave Xeno a permanent job._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he packed up the documents in his briefcase.

"Xeno, this is going to work" Ron smiled at the man, and then he put his hand forward for a shake. Xeno shook it, though Ron could feel the lack of enthusiasm in Xeno's grip. "Once you really think about what we're going to be doing, you'll understand why I pushed so hard for this. Goodnight." The Lovegoods both nodded slowly, but they didn't say anything back. Ron decided not to make a big deal out of their lackluster reaction, and he went home quietly. He'd worry about the problems to come tomorrow, because tonight he planned to celebrate his victory.

* * *

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Morning)**_

Ron wasn't going to lie, he had chosen the cowardly path. He had woken up, done his morning run, showered, and then bolted for the Bank. He knew that the Lovegoods were going to show up at the Burrow in order to inform his parents of what was happening, and since his father was at work, he didn't want to deal with his mother alone. Ron would go to the investors from here, and then return home at night once he was certain that his father was there to calm his mother down. But truth be told, he didn't care about his mother's reaction. He was spending **his** money, and she had no say in what he did with the money that he had earned by working his arse off. Her controlling nature be damned.

"Mr. Weasley, please take a seat" Gornuk 'smiled' at Ron, and Ron sat down with a smile.

"I got the signature, Gornuk" Ron told the Goblin, who nodded eagerly.

"I transferred the funds myself" Gornuk said. "I am in charge of your vault's care, after all." _The Quibbler is mine. Yes!_ "I have also taken the liberty of writing up my own contract, as well as the contracts for the rest of the staff. You'll need to headhunt them, of course. But the paperwork is ready."

"When did you get this done?" Ron asked, he was rather pleased to hear this.

"As soon as I finished transferring the funds" Gornuk replied. "Here you are, Mr. Weasley." Gornuk then took out a bunch of contracts and handed them to Ron, and Ron began reading them one by one.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"This is all satisfactory" Ron said after he had finished reading them for the fourth time. _No tricks, and no devious ploys to milk more money out of me. Good, my threat stuck with him._ "I am willing to sign your contract of employment right now if you are."

"I most certainly am" Gornuk said, taking out a quill and inkpot. Ron handed him his contract back, and then he sealed the others away inside of his briefcase. Gornuk signed his name on the contract, and then handed it back to Ron in order for him to sign it as well. Ron did so happily, overjoyed that his plans were coming to life.

"Done, you are officially my Quibbler's Logistics Officer" Ron said, handing the contract back to Gornuk.

"By my honor, I'll do right by you Mr. Weasley" Gornuk said, sealing the contract into the lockbox behind him. "I will open an account for the new Quibbler today, and we can fill it with the funds needed to pay the salaries and other costs. Six thousand five hundred Galleons will suffice. I will also contact Fletcher's Printing Company, and the advertisement firm. We should aim to start the campaign at the start of October, and let it run for its entire duration."

"Fantastic" Ron smiled.

"Tell Mr. Lovegood that he has to publish his final issue before the thirtieth of August, otherwise any profits that he makes will go directly to the new Quibbler."

"I will, Gornuk" Ron replied. "Is there anything else?"

"No, Sir" Gornuk replied.

"Then I'll head off" Ron said as he got up and began to leave, but he stopped right before he left the Office. _Make sure he knows that he can't outsmart you._ "Gornuk…" Ron started, turning to face the Goblin. "Remember my words. If you betray me, I **will** find out. And then, I'll beat you to death." Unbeknownst to Ron, his eyes had gleamed a terrifying shade of red, something that made the Goblin's blood turn to ice. With that, Ron turned around and left the Office. _Time to talk to my investors._

* * *

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Morning)**_

"Come in" came Lady Longbottom's voice, and Ron opened the door and entered her study. "Ronald, what brings you by?"

"I have good news" Ron smiled at her as he closed the door behind him. "May I take a seat?"

"Of course" Lady Longbottom replied, and Ron sat down from across her.

"Xeno has signed over The Quibbler to me" Ron told her, and she smirked at the news.

"Congratulations, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said, and then she stood up and turned to the shelf behind her. "We must share a drink to celebrate." _Alcohol? Can't I have some juice instead?_

"Thank you" Ron said, deciding not to offend her by refusing her kind gesture. She fixed them both a small glass of Sherry each, and then she handed Ron his.

"Drink it slowly" Lady Longbottom gave him a rare smile, and Ron took a small sip. _Yeesh…_ "Don't worry, it gets easier over time. Now, tell me… Have you brought my shareholder agreement with you?"

"I have" Ron replied, opening his briefcase and handing her the document. "Five percent for one hundred and fifty Galleons." While she read her contract, Ron sipped his Sherry. _It tastes so different from the Apple Brandy that Lord Greengrass sometimes gives me. I think I prefer the Brandy._

"You have my signature" Lady Longbottom broke the silence, and then she signed the agreement. "I will tell my Grandson of the good news when he gets home."

"Where is Neville?" Ron asked.

"He is spending the day with Harry and Hermione" Lady Longbottom replied. "At Grimmauld Place."

"I see" Ron nodded. "I'll see him before you then, I need to speak to Sirius about his investment."

"Ronald…" Lady Longbottom said, and Ron waited for her to continue. "I spoke to my Grandson about what you told me, and he confirmed the story." _Good._ "I had no idea that he had done such a thing…"

"He is quite something, isn't he?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly. _Why does she look so conflicted?_

"I know that I'm harsh on him, but it's because I feel like I need to be" Lady Longbottom confessed, and Ron thought that her words were a load of dung. _Calling him weak won't make him strong, it'll just degrade him._

"I often hide things from my parents" Ron confessed, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. "It's not because I want to make them feel bad, or because I don't respect them. It's because I know that they will try and take away my control… They probably think that they know what's best for me, and that kind of thinking leads them to get in my way. Calling your Grandson weak isn't going to help him, it's going to get in his way. He stood up for my Slytherin friends, and in doing so, he went up against Harry and Hermione. That right there is someone that I can respect, and someone that I'll gladly call my friend. He didn't get sorted into Gryffindor for nothing, the Hat doesn't make mistakes." With that, Ron drank down his glass and stood up. _That dramatic sip was a mistake! Oh Merlin, my taste buds!_

"Thank you, Ronald" Lady Longbottom said, giving him a polite nod. "I will… take your words into consideration. Good luck with Sirius, and the rest."

"Have a pleasant day, Lady Longbottom" Ron smiled at her. "I hope I can continue to count on you for your counsel."

"You are always welcome here, Ronald" Lady Longbottom assured him. "Farewell."

* * *

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Late Morning)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, and he looked around the empty Living Room. _No one? Odd._ Ron then made his way towards the kitchen, and once again, he found no one. _Maybe they aren't home? Sirius and Remus may have taken them out for the day. But why would they leave the floo-network open?_

"Is anyone home?!" Ron called out, and a sudden crack came from behind him.

"Another Blood-Traitor in the House of Black?" Kreacher, the Black Family House-Elf, snarled.

"You…" Ron frowned at the disgusting thing before him. The old Elf had a bulbous, snout-like nose, bloodshot eyes, and way too many folds of skin. "Where is your Master?"

"Master travelled to the Burrow with his man-wife…" Kreacher hissed, eyeing Ron with malice. "The mother of the Blood-Traitor children came through here, raving like some banshee…" _Oh shite. I'm guessing that Pandora and Xeno went to her shortly after I left._

"And Harry?" Ron asked, ignoring Kreacher's filth. _Sirius told me that Kreacher was a miserable old bat, and that I should just ignore him._

"Gone to Diagon Alley with the fat child and the Mud-Blo…" Kreacher started, but Ron backhanded him right across the face. The old Elf went tumbling to the floor, utterly dazed.

"Mind your tongue, slave" Ron hissed, glaring murder at Kreacher. "Or I will rip it out of your head."

"A thousand apologies…" Kreacher mumbled, getting up and bowing his head.

"Off with you" Ron dismissed him, and the Elf disapparated. "Vile old cunt…" Ron then walked back into the Living Room, took a pinch of floo-powder, and tossed it into the fire. "Greengrass Manor." The fire blazed to life, and Ron stepped through it and appeared in the Greengrass Receiving Hallway. Ron then made his way towards the Living Room, putting Kreacher out of his mind. _Why does Sirius even keep him around? All he does is spill his bile everywhere. And how dare he call Harry's guest that word._

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice, and Ron turned to face her with a smile. _Just relax, and forget about that sorry sack of skin._ "What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile, happy to see him again.

"I came to see your mother and father" Ron replied. "I got The Quibbler, Daph."

"Did you really?" she smiled widely, and Ron nodded. "Congratulations, Ron. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks."

"But mother and father aren't here…" Daphne told him, and Ron blinked at her. "Um… Lord Black came here, and they left with him." _Is that so? Fuck, they're probably at my house right now. Damn, that's two investors that I can't get to without running into my mother._ "I'm guessing that it has something to do with you?"

"It does…" Ron groaned. "Mind if we go to your room? I need your help with something."

"Of course I don't mind, let's go" she replied, holding out her left hand. Ron took it with his gloved one, and they began making their way up to her room.

"Is Tori around?" Ron asked, and Daphne shook her head.

"She's went to her tutor's house" Daphne replied, and then she smirked at him. "So it's just you and me."

"I like the sound of that" Ron admitted. "But first, I need your help."

"And what can I do for you?" Daphne sang, tightening her hold on his hand.

"I need you to send your owl out to Theo and Blaise" Ron replied. "I need them to sign their shareholder agreements, and then to send their agreements back to me."

"That's simple enough" Daphne said, eager for some alone time with Ron.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"There, all done" Daphne said as she sent her Owl off, and Ron smiled at her from her bed. _She looks amazing today, but then again, she always looks amazing. Damn, I really am smitten with her._

"Thank you, Daph" Ron said, and she turned around with a smile.

"Come here" Daphne cooed, and he did as she asked. When he got to her, she put her arms around his lower back. "Why did Lord Black come here for my parents?"

"I didn't tell my parents about what I was up to" Ron sighed, giving her a tired smile.

"Ron…" Daphne sighed back, bumping her forehead into his chest. "Ow…"

"Ha" Ron chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Daphne asked him.

"Because they would've shut me down" Ron replied truthfully. "That's what they always do… If I do something that they don't approve of, they start getting in my way. They won't ever bother with listening to my reasons, they'll just start ruining everything. My sorting, my fight with Harry, my mother's letters, their ploy to pull me out of Slytherin, and my mother's recent attempts to rip my career away from me… I'm sick of the roadblocks, Daphne. Xeno has signed the contract, and now there's nothing that they can do to stop me."

"They'll be angry with you" Daphne looked up at him, but Ron just shrugged.

"I don't care anymore" Ron admitted. "They want some other version of Ron, but that Ron doesn't exist." _Not in this Cycle anyway._

"Well, I like this version of Ron" Daphne smiled, and then she leaned up and pecked his lips.

"And this version of Ron likes you" Ron chuckled, making her giggle a bit. "Let's not talk about the shite-storm that's waiting for me at home. Let's do something together instead. What do you say?"

"Hmmm" Daphne hummed, and then she nodded. "Want to dance?"

"Dance?" Ron asked, and she nodded again. "I'm not a good dancer."

"Have you tried it before?" Daphne asked.

"Nope, which is how I know that I'm not a good dancer" Ron replied.

"Then I'll show you" Daphne said, taking his gloved hand into hers. "Now put your left hand on my lower back." Ron did as he was told, and Daphne put her left hand on his upper left arm. "Good. Now straighten your back, and let's move around a bit. I'll show you the movements, so follow my lead."

"Yes, Ma'am" Ron smiled at her, content with spending his day dancing with Daphne. _I'll worry about my Family when I get home. Until then, I'm going to enjoy my victory with someone who appreciates me._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And it's finished! Ron got The Quibbler, but now he has to face the consequences of his devious ways. I know this is a bit of a cliff-hanger, but I loved the idea of ending the chapter with Ron and Daphne dancing together whilst enjoying his victory. Hope you guys enjoyed the Chapter, and have a good one!**

 **I will see you guys on Tuesday!**


	67. Chapter 67 - A Different Side

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 67 is here, and I'm sorry for the slight delay. Things got really hectic, and I ended up losing track of time. Now a couple of things before you all get into the Chapter:**

 **1\. Some of you are feeling put off by the ever looming demise of Ron, and I can understand why. I mean, it would make all of his struggles irrelevant, right? Well, I don't think so. Personally, I still haven't decided how this story ends just yet. I am currently still planning how the war will fully play out, and many characters are on the chopping block. I don't intend to massacre a lot of people for simple shock value, and the deaths that do happen will be realistic and fair. And yes, _everyone_ is fair game. Life ain't fair, and I'm not going to drop my theme of realism for a rainbow covered ending. **

**But even still, a story isn't just about its ending. Its about the journey to the ending. There are soooo many things that I have planned, and yes Ron will struggle a lot, but that's what happens when you're fighting a war. Ron may be the MC, but he's not some hero archetype. I treat my characters as human, and humans struggle constantly.**

 **2\. Now I'm not saying that Ron won't do a lot of damage during the war, because he will. The Dark Lord, the Death-Eaters, the Ministry, and even Snape and Dumbledore don't know just how long Ron has been obsessing about this war. And because of that obsession, he's sort becoming warped in his thinking. Trust me, when a Future Seeing (potential) Psychopath shows up, and he's been preparing to fight and kill his enemies for years, head will roll...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 67 – A Different Side**

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow - Near Midday)**_

The Weasleys… They were a Family made up of good-hearted and hospitable individuals. Sirius had truly begun to see them as his extended Family, especially because of how much he loved the Weasley children. Ron was his favorite by far, but Sirius still loved the others. And as for Molly and Arthur, they were his lifelong friends now. They were the sort of people who gave instead of taking, and after spending his entire childhood with takers, Sirius truly saw Molly and Arthur as what Pure-Bloods should be. Proud of their Pure-Blood heritage, but not arrogant about it.

But despite all these good qualities, they were certainly a dramatic lot. Sirius, Remus, Harry, Neville, and Hermione had been eating breakfast when Molly Weasley had come screeching through the fireplace, nearly giving Kreacher a much-needed heart attack. Sirius didn't even need to hear her out to know that this tantrum was related to Ron somehow. It was always Ron… Sirius was sure that his pup didn't mean to start trouble, but his different mindset constantly clashed with his Family's. Ron was brilliant, but he was extremely closed off. This often resulted in him doing things that no one would see coming, which in turn would start the monthly spectacle of his parents being at their wit's end.

Sirius and Remus had ended up sending Harry, Neville, and Hermione to Diagon Alley for the day, even though they seemed more interested in what Ron had done. After being lightly scolded by Remus, the Trio had decided to mind their own business. Well… Neville and Hermione had decided to mind their own business, Harry had just gotten really angry and stormed off. Once the children had left for Diagon Alley, Sirius and Remus had traveled to the Burrow alongside a furious Molly. Sirius had never seen the stout woman so filled with murderous rage before, and truth be told, he feared for his pup's life.

Pandora and Xenophilius were already at the Burrow, both of them looking slightly put out. As it turned out, Ron had somehow convinced Xeno to hand over The Quibbler to him, something that made Sirius and Remus gawk openly at the eccentric man with shock. Ron had been planning some massive business venture right under everyone's noses, and now it was too late to stop him because he had twisted Xeno's arm and made the man sign the agreement. And not just any agreement, but a fucking Magically Binding Contract. It was over. Ron was now in charge of The Quibbler, and not even Merlin's ghost could change that.

Oddly enough, Xeno wasn't angry about what Ron had done. If anything, he was defending Ron and his brilliant idea. But Xeno had made the mistake of telling Molly that Ron had traveled to Knockturn Alley and come across some prostitution ring, and Molly had lost it. Remus had to physically restrain her from killing someone, and a lot of plates had ended up shattered on the floor. In her blind rage, she had accused Sebastian of being behind this. Sirius, uncomfortable with being around such an angry woman, had volunteered to go and get the man.

Getting Sebastian and Mary wasn't the hard part, keeping Molly from murdering Sebastian was. And Sebastian being who he was, had told them that Ron had come to him before he had gone to Xeno. Sebastian and Mary had agreed to become investors in Ron's new business, and they had elected to keep this a secret at his behest. Turns out, Ron knew how his mother would react to him spending thousands of his Galleons at the young age of thirteen. Sirius was actually rather impressed with Ron, but he made sure not to show it. He didn't plan to leave the Burrow in a body bag.

"THIS WILL NOT STAND!" Molly screamed, her face becoming slightly purple. _Merlin help Ron, because I'm sure as shite not going to._ "HE… HE WILL UNDO THIS, OR I SWEAR TO MERLIN!"

"Molly, please…" Pandora piped in. "Please just calm down."

"HE STOLE XENO'S PAPER!" Molly screamed at herself, nearly pulling at her own hair. "HE STRONG-ARMED YOUR HUSBAND, PANDORA!" _Fuck me, my ears are ringing. She's been screaming for nearly an hour now._

"He can't undo it" Sebastian said, giving Molly a bored stare. "A new contract would need to be drawn up, and then he would need to sign it. Other than that, nothing can be done."

"THEN I'LL MAKE HIM SIGN IT!" Molly yelled at Sebastian, who just rolled his eyes at her. _He literally doesn't give a damn about her wrath, does he?_

"Sebastian, stop it" Mary sighed, and then she looked to Molly. "Where is Arthur?"

"At work" Remus replied for Molly, who was once again pacing in front of the Family Clock. "He won't be back until tonight."

"Then neither will Ron" Sebastian told them.

"How do you know that?" Pandora asked him, and he pointed to Molly.

"He knows what he's doing, which is how he planned an entire business empire under our noses" Sebastian shrugged, relaxing in his seat and closing his eyes. "You won't see him until **he** decides to come here."

"YOU DID THIS TO HIM!" Molly accused Sebastian, who didn't even bother denying her accusations.

"Ron was sorted into Slytherin long before he met my husband, Molly" Mary said firmly, defending her husband from her friend's mad accusations.

"I signed the papers, and I'm not even that angry" Xeno piped back in. "Molly, his idea is quite amazing…"

"DON'T DEFEND HIM!" Molly yelled, glaring at Ron's golden hand on the Family Clock. _In transit, whatever that means. Where are you, kid? Well, wherever you are, don't come home yet._

"Molly, please calm down" Remus implored. "This is not helping anyone, especially not you. We need to talk this out, and then we need to figure out a way to make Ron give The Quibbler back to Xeno."

"Why?" Sirius asked, deciding to break his silence. All the eyes in the room went to him, including Sebastian's. _Fuck me. Should've stayed quiet._

"Sirius…" Remus just blinked at his friend, which made Sirius strengthen his resolve. _I_ _ **need**_ _to defend Ron, even if I don't agree with his devious methods._

"It's Xeno's paper, and from what I've heard, Ron has saved it from being destroyed" Sirius started, eyeing Molly with a slightly scared look. "He's giving Xeno twenty percent of the shares, which is extremely generous. Not to mention that Xeno will have a steady job, and his own section. What other alternative is there? If Ron's 'contacts' are right, then he's saved Xeno from the Daily Prophet's schemes."

"Exactly" Xeno agreed, and then he looked to Molly. "Molly, Pandora and I discussed this all night…"

"And we've agreed that Ron has done right by us" Pandora finished for her husband. "He is saving The Quibbler, and he's turning it into something that might truly help people less fortunate than us."

"And his business plan is viable" Sebastian added, glad that the Lovegoods at least had a brain unlike Molly Weasley. "He stands to earn eight times per subscriber per month, which will boost The Quibbler's profits significantly."

"He spent three thousand Galleons on a whim!" Molly snapped, her voice strained from all the yelling.

"Not on a whim" Mary told her. "Ron planned this, and he planned it well. He has already saved up enough for a staff, and an advertising campaign. All of this will cost him roughly ten thousand Galleons, but in a year or two, he'll have broken even."

"TEN THOUSAND GALLEONS?!" Molly screamed, digging her fingers into her temples. _Oh fuck me, here we go again._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Past Midday)**_

"I need a break" Daphne said, her head on Ron's chest as they both swayed back and forth. "My feet are killing me."

"Sorry about that" Ron sniggered, he had stepped on her feet constantly for the first thirty minutes.

"It's alright, Ron" Daphne hummed, and he felt the vibration of her voice inside his chest. _Ohhh, feels weird._

"Let's go and sit down on the bed, and I'll give you a foot rub" Ron said, and she looked up with a confused smile.

"Really?" Daphne asked, and Ron simply shrugged.

"I don't mind" Ron smiled at her. "You're saving me the trouble of having to deal with my Family's wrath, and… And I'm having fun. It's not that weird, is it?"

"Not at all" Daphne agreed, eager for a free foot massage. "But you have to carry me."

"Carry you?" Ron laughed, and she smiled innocently.

"My feet hurt, Ron" Daphne whined as she pouted adorably. _She's trying to challenge me, isn't she? I accept._ Ron suddenly moved and put his right arm behind her knees, while his other arm stayed on her back. And then, Ron lifted her up like a baby. _Oof… Well, look at that. She's not that heavy at all._

"RON!" Daphne squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly in order to cling to him. _Merlin, her chest is pressing against mine, and it's really soft._ "Ron! I was kidding!"

"Too late" Ron laughed, walking over to the bed. "I'm not letting you go. You're mine now, and I'm going to carry you around everywhere from now on."

"Merlin!" Daphne squealed/laughed, something that made Ron grin widely. Ron slowly sat down on the edge of her bed, fixing Daphne on his lap.

"A safe landing, my Lady" Ron sniggered. "You can ease up on the headlock now."

"You're mental" Daphne giggled, slowly easing up her hold on his neck.

"What you call mental is just another part of my charm" Ron said, their smiling faces inches from each other's. Ron didn't think twice before showering her with light pecks, while she did the same to him. Despite the mess that was waiting for him at home, Ron was in complete euphoria at the moment. Moments like these had that effect on him, and so he had begun to count the minutes before he could be alone with Daphne again. And the best part was that he knew that she felt the same way. _This is what life should be like, not the grim horror show that I'm forced to face alone. No Entity, no 'She', no Dumbledore, and no Dark Lord._

"I'm really glad that you're here, Ron" Daphne whispered before planting a kiss on his chin.

"Me too" Ron admitted, planting his forehead against hers. "This is pretty insane, right?"

"What's insane about this?" Daphne asked, closing her eyes and relaxing in his lap. Ron had his arms around her in order to support her, and she was certain that he'd keep her in place.

"I just never thought that we'd become like this, that's all" Ron replied. "I… I look forward to these moments. Like a lot…"

"Me too" Daphne told him. "Doesn't it feel like we have no worries when we're together like this?"

"It really does" Ron smiled before planting a sneaky kiss on her lips.

"No school, no drama with our friends, no parents ordering us around…" Daphne listed, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah" Ron whispered, not really surprised about the difference in their worries. "Are you excited for Hogwarts?"

"I am" Daphne replied. "This is going to be a good year, I can feel it. Tori is coming to Hogwarts, so I'll get to see her all the time. We'll be in third year, which means that we will no longer be the babies anymore. And you and I can spend more time together. I resent that I don't get to see you every day."

"What about our friends?" Ron chuckled.

"Them too" Daphne replied. "I actually miss my dorm, can you believe that? I miss waking up with my friends, and then eating breakfast together. I even miss our classes, and that odd sense of comradery that comes with learning together."

"As do I" Ron agreed. "I miss having a schedule to follow, and I miss Theo and Blaise's company."

"Only seven more days, Ron" Daphne snuggled her head into his neck. "And then we'll be on the Hogwarts Express, followed by another year at Hogwarts." _One less year before the war comes for us all. No! Stop that. Stop bringing your problems with you everywhere that you go._ "Ron?"

"Sorry" Ron apologized for zoning out, and then he squeezed her gently. "Merlin, you smell so bloody nice."

"Are you talking about me, or Merlin?" Daphne giggled.

"Smart-arse" Ron chuckled.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Sweet Circe, Ron…" Daphne moaned, her chest heaving up and down. "That feels so good… Please don't stop…"

"I won't" Ron promised her, digging his thumbs into the sole of her right foot. "I'm sorry about stepping on your feet, by the way."

"Think nothing of it" Daphne moaned again, her eyes closed as she enjoyed his foot massage. _Bloody hell, her voice is kind of turning me on. I bet she has no idea just how pleasing her voice is when she's moaning like that. Stop it, Ron. Don't turn this into a perverted game… Nah, fuck it. Make her moan again._ Ron redoubled his efforts, while also being careful not to hurt her. "That feels amazing…" Daphne moaned, smiling in content. _Win! I'm a God!_

"Other foot?" Ron asked, and she quickly presented it. Ron took it into his hands, and he began massaging it as well.

"I could get used to this" Daphne told him, and he smiled and shook his head.

"As could I" Ron said, his eyes once again traveling to her heaving chest. _Yes, I certainly could. How did I never take notice of her amazing knockers before? I'm an idiot, that's why. I bet that both Tracey and Pansy are envious of Daphne's rack._

"Are you staring at my chest?" Daphne asked him, and Ron noticed that her eyes were now open. _Oh shite!_

"No" Ron lied blatantly, and she frowned slightly. She then reached for a pillow and planted it on her chest, effectively hiding her breasts. _NO! THEY NEED TO BREATHE, WOMAN!_

"Ron, I don't feel comfortable with that…" Daphne told him, and Ron tensed slightly.

"I'm… I'm sorry" Ron apologized, still massaging her foot. "I won't do it again."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron was still massaging her left foot, and Daphne was still hiding her breasts from him. Did Ron feel guilty for making her feel uncomfortable? Certainly. Would he sneak a glance again? Probably. Was he getting sick of the awkward silence? Most definitely. _I should apologize again, just to break this silence._

"Why were you staring at my chest?" Daphne suddenly asked him, propping herself up on her elbows. _Huh?_

"Um…" Ron blinked, and she frowned slightly. "I'm a boy?" _Why did I phrase that like a damn question?_

"I see…" Daphne mumbled, falling back onto the bed.

"Daph… I won't do it again" Ron sighed, but she didn't say anything back to him. _Ugh… The silence returns._

"They're too big…" came Daphne's voice, and Ron just looked at her pillow covered chest. _Too big?_ "They make me look… disproportionate…" _Sort of… But I don't give a shite about that. Is she covering them because she feels insecure? The same way I cover my scars constantly? Well, fuck that. There's only enough room for one insecure person in our relationship, and I've already taken that spot._

"Can I be blunt about something, Daphne?" Ron asked her, and she propped herself back up on her elbows.

"If you're going to insult me, then don't even bother…" Daphne frowned deeply.

"Insult you?" Ron repeated, and then he shook his head. _It's time for truth, brace yourself Daphne._ "Daphne, I want to bury my head in your chest." Daphne's mouth dropped open, while Ron just gave her a dead-serious look. "I'm sitting here, mentally smacking myself for not noticing your amazing assets until now, and you think that I'm going to insult you? No… Your chest is a gift from the Universe, and I won't hear you say otherwise. Also… Your bum is soft but **firm** at the same time, which is simply awesome. There… You may now kill me for being a pervert."

"Um…" Daphne mumbled, her face slowly turning red. She then simply lied back down on the bed, not uttering a single word. _Maybe I was_ _ **too**_ _blunt? Oh well…_ Ron went back to massaging her foot, while she just stared at the ceiling. After a minute or so, she threw the pillow aside. Ron's eyes immediately darted towards her chest, but when he noticed her looking at him, he quickly looked back down.

"Whoops" Ron said, and then a chuckle escaped his lips. "Sorry… Ahem…" Ron cleared his throat, concentrating on her foot.

"You're a massive pervert" Daphne told him, and he nodded to himself. "But… Thank you…"

"I should be thanking you" Ron joked, looking up with a grin.

"Don't grin like that…" Daphne said, her lips twitching upwards.

"Like what?" Ron asked, wagging his eyebrows as well.

"Stop" Daphne giggled, trying to kick him with her free foot. Ron caught it, and immediately started tickling it. "NO! NO! STOP!" Daphne started laughing, all the while writhing about like a fish out of water. "Ron!"

"No, this is what you get for kicking" Ron laughed, holding her legs in between his left arm and chest while using his gloved hand to tickle her feet.

"Stop! I'm going to end up peeing myself!" Daphne laughed, reaching forward and grabbing his collar from behind.

"Hey, no pulling on my good shirt" Ron laughed, stopping his assault on her feet. "There, I've stopped."

"That was mean, Ron" Daphne panted, smiling from ear to ear.

"That's me…" Ron chuckled, rolling onto his back and planting his head in her lap. "Ron the Bully, that's what my gravestone will read." Daphne just smiled down at him, all the while absentmindedly playing with his hair. _Ah, head scratching… I've missed this._

"You're a complete weirdo, you know that right?" Daphne asked him, but he simply shrugged with a grin on his face.

"You owe me ten minutes of head scratching for the massage, that's all I know" Ron replied, and Daphne nodded.

"That's fair" Daphne agreed.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Are you hungry?" Daphne asked, and Ron's eyes snapped open. _Food?_

"I could eat" Ron replied.

"Then let's head down to the Dining Room" Daphne suggested, and Ron quickly sat back up. They both hopped off of the bed, and while Daphne fixed up her jumper and jeans, Ron bolted to the door.

"Let's gooooo" Ron hollered, making Daphne laugh at him.

"I'm coming" Daphne said as she made her way towards him, taking his gloved hand into hers when she reached him.

"Are you sure that you want to hold hands?" Ron asked her as they left her room. "What if your parents are home?"

"They're not" Daphne assured him. "If they were, then Spinny, our Head-Elf, would come and tell me."

"You have your own spy?" Ron chuckled.

"No, and she would do it because I'm expected to greet them once they come home" Daphne replied, swinging their hand back and forth. Ron looked at their joined hands with amusement.

"You act really different when you're alone with me" Ron pointed out. _And I like it. It's so bloody cute._

"Well, like I said" Daphne smirked. "I don't feel the need to worry when we're alone together. It's just you and me, and I know that you'll never tell people what I'm like. What I'm really like, that is. I have an appearance to maintain, after all."

"Appearances are important" Ron imitated Lord Greengrass, and Daphne laughed.

"Daphne, don't be sorry when you can be better" Daphne imitated her father as well.

"Ha! He's hit me with that one as well" Ron laughed. "Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah… There is nothing wrong with a little hard work, Ron."

"Family comes first, Daphne" Daphne added, both of them sniggering like idiots.

"The difference between successful people and failures can be determined by their level of focus" Ron added.

"I swear to Merlin, he writes his quotes down somewhere" Daphne giggled, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"I bet there's a secret place in his study where he keeps them, and I guarantee you that they are laminated" Ron laughed as they entered the Dining Room.

"Where should we sit?" Daphne asked him, her eyes already set on her mother and father's chairs.

"I don't know" Ron shrugged. "Same spots as usual?"

"No, that's boring" Daphne replied, and then she pulled him to the head of the table. "You sit here, and I'll sit there." _Um… These are her parents' seats._

"Daph… These are Lord and Lady Greengrass' seats" Ron pointed out, and she gave him a shocked look.

"Really? I had no idea" Daphne gasped.

"Was that sarcasm? It's hard to tell considering your intelligence" Ron smirked, and Daphne smacked his arm playfully.

"Ron the Bully indeed" Daphne huffed, and then she pushed him into her father's chair. "Now stay. Good boy." _Oi, I'm not a dog._ Daphne then took a seat in her mother's chair, and then she rang the bell.

"Are we really pretending like we own this Manor?" Ron asked her, amused by her childish desire to play 'house'.

"Who says we're doing that?" Daphne asked him innocently, but before he could reply, the food appeared. _Nice. Look at all of this. All mine. Daphne can have a bit too._

"If you confess that you want to play a game of house, I'll join in" Ron said, deciding to humor her. "But only if you confess." Daphne stared at him for a few seconds, and then she smiled sheepishly.

"I want to play house" Daphne admitted, deciding that it would be fun to act as if they were married. "Starting from now, we're married. So don't break character." _What the actual fuck?_

"Alright… wife" Ron stifled a laugh.

"Can you pass the bread, husband?" Daphne asked, and Ron began laughing. "Shhh… You're breaking character, Ron."

"Sorry… Sorry" Ron apologized, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Here you are, love" Ron said as he passed her the bread basket, and she took it with a smile.

"Thank you, husband." _Weird day, that's for certain._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"What do married people do in their spare time?" Ron mused as they left the Dining Room, his stomach filled to bursting.

"Mother and father cuddle on a chair, and then mother reads to him" Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Study?" Ron asked, and she took his gloved hand.

"I have the perfect book, husband" Daphne laughed.

"Then lead the way, wife" Ron smiled widely in return.

* * *

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

"Ron, wake up" came Daphne's voice, and Ron opened his eyes groggily.

"Hmmm?" Ron hummed, looking around lazily. _I fell asleep, didn't I?_ "What time is it?"

"Late evening, but other than that, I'm not too sure" Daphne replied, shifting slightly in his lap. That's when Ron realized that she was still sitting on his lap, and that he still had his arms around her waist. _My legs are asleep._

"Sorry for falling asleep" Ron apologized.

"It's alright, I fell asleep too" Daphne told him. "I just woke up a few minutes ago myself." _Oh, that's good. It means that I didn't ruin anything._

"Mind hopping off of me?" Ron asked her. "My legs are asleep…"

"Fine…" Daphne said overdramatically, earning a weak chuckle from Ron. Daphne then slowly got off of his lap, and Ron stretched his legs.

"Ah, fuck…" Ron groaned, enjoying the feeling of his leg muscles stretching.

"You'd better not swear near our children, Ron" Daphne warned him, and Ron looked at her with a scared look. _Our children?! What fucking children?!_ "From the game of house, Ron" Daphne laughed at him, and Ron relaxed into his chair.

"Bloody hell, I thought that you had gone all psycho on me" Ron laughed from genuine relief. "Help me up, please."

"Humph" Daphne grunted as she pulled him up, and Ron's legs wobbled.

"Ah, pins and needles!" Ron exclaimed, and then he looked to Daphne with a smile. "What now?"

"Now, you go home" Daphne replied, and Ron sighed in defeat. _She's right. Her parents are no doubt still at mine, and are waiting for me to get back. And I'm just wasting their day in order to avoid my Family._ "From what you've told me Ron, you've done nothing wrong. You saved Mr. Lovegood's business, and now you plan to improve it. You even gave him a steady job plus twenty percent of the profits. You did an amazing thing, and I'm proud of you."

"Wow…" Ron blinked at her, confused as to where that had come from.

"I just thought that you should know that" Daphne smiled at him, and then she held her hand out. "Let's get you to a fireplace."

"Thank you for saying that, Daphne" Ron said, unable to stop his smile. He then took her hand, and they left the study together. "I left my briefcase in your room, by the way."

"Do you want me to call Spinny? She can get it for you" Daphne suggested.

"No, I need you to hide it in your room" Ron replied, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "My mother is bound to be frothing at the mouth, and she has a tendency to not control her temper."

"Hmmm, I wonder what that's like" Daphne smirked at him, making him snort. "Oink, oink."

"C'mon, be serious" Ron said, smiling widely at her.

"I am" Daphne assured him. "No one will find it Ron, I promise."

"Thank you, I can't afford to have those documents damaged" Ron said. _And knowing mum, she'll set them on fire._

"Don't you have copies?" Daphne asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I will make them when I get a chance" Ron replied. "All of this has been rather rushed, if I'm being honest. I still need your father's signature, and I also need Sirius'. Theo and Blaise will probably get their agreements in the next couple of days, and then it'll take a day or two after that for their copies to come back to me."

"My father's shares will be in my name?" Daphne asked.

"That's what he told me" Ron replied. "We're going to be business partners, Daph. Well, sort of…"

"Here you are" Daphne said as they stopped in front of a fire place. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

"It is" Ron nodded, and then he took in a deep breath.

"Ron, you've done nothing wrong" Daphne reminded him. "Don't let your parents, or anyone else, make you think that you have. Don't give them an inch." _Her father also says that._

"I won't" Ron replied. "Like I said before, I'm done with roadblocks. And I'm done with people constantly jumping in to make decisions for me. I'll see you soon."

"I had a great time with you today" Daphne said, and then she leaned up and pecked his lips. "For good luck."

"I had a great day too" Ron admitted, and then he turned to face the fireplace. _So much for waiting until dad got home. Here I go._ Ron took a handful of floo-powder, and he cast it into the fire. "The Burrow" Ron called, and once the flames roared to life, Ron stepped through them. The moment he entered the Burrow's Living Room, he spotted the wide-eyed twins just staring at him. Ron went to greet them, but they quickly gestured him to keep his mouth shut.

"What are you doing here?" Fred whispered as they quickly snuck up to him. _What?_

"I live here…" Ron whispered back.

"You need to leave, Ronnie" George whispered, shooting a look towards the Living Room.

"Mum has gone mental, and she's been howling at your clock hand" Fred told him, and Ron nodded slowly. _I figured. But you know what? I don't give a damn about what she thinks about this._

"We used a Silencing Gizmo that we created on the fireplace, so you still have time to escape" George told him. "Also, what did you do? No, never mind…"

"Just leave, and come back once dad is home" Fred added. _They really did that? Wow. I'm touched. And what's this Silencing Gizmo?_

"Thanks, you guys" Ron whispered, smiling at the twins.

"Thank us by leaving" Fred whispered.

"I'm not leaving" Ron whispered, and they blinked at him. "Thank you for this, but it's not necessary. I intend to stick to my conviction, and if she has a problem with me, then I'll deal with that too."

"He's lost it, George" Fred whispered to his twin.

"Ron, please just go" George implored, but Ron just shook his head. "Oh Merlin, this is going to be bad."

"Maybe" Ron shrugged. _But I really don't give a damn about what she thinks. If she wants to micromanage someone, then it bloody well won't be me._

"You owe us ten sickles" Fred frowned.

"That Gizmo wasn't cheap to make, and now we feel like we wasted it" George sighed.

"I will reimburse you" Ron promised. "And… And I'd like to see your other creations too, if possible."

"Why?" Fred asked with a suspicious look.

"I have the money, and you have the skills" Ron shrugged, and the twins blinked at him. "Maybe we can help each other out?" _I'd love some useful gizmos in my inventory. Even I can see that the twins could really help in the war to come due to their amazing creations. We'd just need to focus more on… lethal creations… instead of joke items._

"Right…" Fred said slowly.

"We'll see about that, little brother" George whispered. "If you live, that is."

"Where are Percy and Ginny?" Ron whispered.

"Hiding in their rooms" Fred replied.

"Like we ought to be" George added on.

"Tell you what, you two go on up" Ron suggested. "I'll wait here for a minute or so, and when she explodes on me, you two will be out of range."

"Done" Fred nodded, and then both twins just walked out of Living Room. _I'm not really surprised at their readiness to leave. Let's just get this over with._

Ron reached into his robes and took out Snape's last Tonic, and he chugged it down. After steeling his resolve for a minute or so, Ron walked into the Kitchen with a calm expression. He immediately noticed his mother by the kitchen counter, hacking away at various vegetables. Sirius, Remus, Lord and Lady Greengrass, Pandora, and Xeno were just sitting around the table, no doubt waiting for him. Ron focused on the cool feeling inside of his stomach from the Tonic, and then he stepped further into the room.

"Hello" Ron greeted them all, and every eye went to him immediately. Ron's mother turned around with a murderous glare, but it didn't even faze Ron. _What is she compared to the Entity?_ "I didn't know that we were having a large family dinner tonight. Not that I'm not on board, of course." Lord and Lady Greengrass hid their smiles, while the other adults just gaped at him.

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly shrieked. "Come over here this instant!" _Oh shite, that's what she said before she hit me across the face in Dumbledore's Office. But you know what? I'll do as she says. If she lashes out at me, then I'll have dad on my side immediately._

"Yes?" Ron smiled as he approached her, and just as predicted, she grabbed his right ear and twisted it.

"Molly, there's no need for that!" Pandora suddenly shot out of her seat, but Ron put his hand up to stop her from intervening. _It doesn't hurt that much at all._

"You will give Xenophilius his paper back! Today!" Molly yelled at him, and despite being on a Calming Tonic, Ron felt his blood boil because of her tone.

"Enough of this shite!" Sirius snapped, and then before Ron knew it, Sirius had yanked him away from his mother and placed him behind himself. Ron heard a rip come from his shirt, and his ear nearly came right off. "Molly, we are going to wait for Arthur! That's what we all agreed upon!" _I'm just getting manhandled here… And why are they all yelling?_ _It's starting to irritate me._

"This doesn't involve you, Sirius" Molly snarled, utterly shocked that he had pulled Ron away from her.

"If it involves him, then it involves me" Sirius snarled back. _Again… I'm touched. But stop tossing me around like I'm a slab of meat._

"Will you people just calm down?" Ron groaned, turning his head and cracking his neck loudly. "You're all beginning to irritate me." The whole room was engulfed in silence because of his words, and now even Lord and Lady Greengrass were just staring at him.

"What… What did you say?!" Molly shrieked, while Sirius gave Ron a bewildered look.

"What are you doing, pup?" Sirius whispered quickly.

"And stop manhandling me" Ron frowned at Sirius, who just blinked in return. "You've ruined a really good shirt" Ron hissed as he checked the popped buttons on his collar. _Fuck sake, this shirt cost me twenty Galleons._ "This is Egyptian cotton that you just damaged, Sirius."

"Um… Sorry…" Sirius blinked again, while Ron looked to his apoplectic mother.

"I'm not giving anything back" Ron told her, and she all but snarled at him for being such a disobedient child. "It's already done. The new account is open, the funds have been transferred, and I've even hired a Logistics Officer. The advertising campaign will start in October, and after that, **my** business will take off."

"It will not!" Molly snapped. "You are throwing away **thousands** **of** **Galleons** at the age of **thirteen**! You will give back The Quibbler to Xenophilius, do you **understand**?!"

"Xeno, do you feel cheated by my deal?" Ron asked Xeno, deciding to ignore his mother's tantrum. Xeno shook his head slowly before looking to Molly, who shot him an angry glare in return. "Lord Greengrass, is my business model viable?"

"It is" Lord Greengrass replied, glad to see that Ron was handling this with some semblance of tact. Sebastian had grown worried for a second there, the last thing that they all needed was Ron losing his temper. That would only escalate this into something vicious, and Sebastian didn't want Ron to go through that.

"So Xeno doesn't feel like he was cheated, and Lord Greengrass just confirmed that my business model is indeed viable" Ron summarized, looking back to his seething mother. _Merlin, she's so pissed. But I'm not changing my mind. She has no say in what I do with my own money._ "And as for 'throwing away thousands of Galleons'… Well, they're **my** Galleons. And you have no say in what I do with **my** money."

"I have no say?" Molly asked him, her expression becoming a mixture of hurt and anger. "I am your mother!"

"And that money is mine, not yours" Ron said firmly, keeping his own expression clear of any signs of frustration. "I earned it through pain, sweat, and hard-work. And therefore, only I get to decide what I do with it."

"As long as you live under my roof, you **will** follow **my** rules Ronald!" Molly snapped, her voice ringing in his ears.

"And what are those rules?" Ron asked, his temper flaring. _I will not be controlled by other people, especially not some house-wife._ "To be a slave to your every whim? This deal doesn't even involve you, and yet you're throwing your weight around because you are a complete control-freak."

"Ron, that's enough" Lord Greengrass stood up, Ron had clearly decided to throw away his tact. "This conversation is devolving into petty slurs, and you will both put an end to it before one of you says something that you can't take back."

"My husband is right" Mary said, looking between Ron and Molly. Both Weasleys were just glaring at each other, and while Molly's glare was one of pure anger, Ron's glare was more bitter and clearly born from disgust. "Ron, please go to your room and wait for your father's return."

"Molly, please just wait until Arthur gets here to sort this out" Remus urged. _Sort out what? There is nothing to sort out. She clearly needs to get checked for rabies, and she definitely needs Pomfrey more than I do._ Remus then looked to Ron with a pleading look, something that made Ron feel a pang of guilt. _Their entire day has been wasted because of her tantrum._ "Ron, please go to your room."

"Fine…" Ron relented, deciding that silence was better than this idiotic conversation. "But before you tell dad of my 'crimes', make sure that you explain to him that I saved Xeno's livelihood. And tell him that this business has the potential to succeed." Ron then looked to Lord Greengrass, who nodded in agreement. _Good._ After shooting his mother one more frown, Ron left for his room. _I was perfectly happy today, and then she shows her face and ruins everything. As usual._

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Nearly Dinnertime)**_

This Gaia Project was turning out to be a logistical nightmare, and Arthur was starting to regret his decision to help with it. It was one thing to sort out the volunteers from the British Ministry, but micromanaging volunteers from all over Europe was just insane. Not to mention the volunteers who didn't even work in any of the Ministries. Running background checks on them all took an infuriatingly long time, and despite advising the Minister against it, Arthur and his fellow workers were being forced to do it constantly. Cornelius Fudge wanted the whole World to know just how amazing the British Wizarding Community was, and the following good press was coming at the expense of his workers' sanity.

Everyone working on this project was taxed and frustrated, and Arthur was no different. The only saving grace about this mess was that Arthur was being payed a handsome sum for his work on the books, and he planned to use that money to buy his children new clothes and books for the upcoming school year. That was the only reason why he was still spending hours working on the books of this insane plan. It didn't matter to him that his work in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office was being put on hold, the only thing that mattered was sending his children to school with new things for once.

Arthur smiled from ear to ear as soon as he stepped into his Living Room, eager to take off his work clothes and finally eat a meal. _I'm actually feeling light-headed from hunger. This whole back-and-forth between the different Ministries is so ineffective. Everyone who is helping with the books needs to be in one place, at least that way we won't constantly make mistakes. I mean seriously, if one piece of parchment gets misplaced, it takes hours to figure out what the hell went wrong._

"Evening, Weasleys" Arthur said as he entered the kitchen, but he wasn't greeted by his wife and children. Instead, all of his friends were here. _This could only mean one thing…_ "What did Ron do this time?" Arthur sighed, his eyes going to his grimacing wife.

"Your son… He is completely out of control…" Molly grit out, eager to tell her husband about Ron's disgusting schemes.

"Arthur, please just take a seat" Sirius said, he wanted nothing more than to go home already. Arthur nodded tiredly as he took off his coat, and then he took a seat next to his wife. _I'm going to end up in an early grave at this rate._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Arthur rubbed his face over and over again, he was still struggling to come to terms with Ron's actions. His son had been planning out a business empire right underneath everyone's noses, and he had even managed to buy The Quibbler from Xeno. Surprisingly, both Pandora and Xeno had come to terms with it.

Pandora and Xeno, although shaken by seeing a very different side of Ron, were both vehement about defending Ron's deal. They had explained it in great detail to Arthur, who himself was immensely impressed by his son's thoroughness. Ron had thought of everything, and he had even procured professional help in order to achieve maximum success. Arthur would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't masking his pride right now, and the only reason he was masking it was because his wife was once again seething at Ron's Clock Hand.

Molly was the only adult in the room who was completely against Ron's actions, and she refused to listen to other people's say in the matter. Her son had lied to her, hidden a life-changing decision from his parents, all the while pretending like he was up to nothing. Ron had been hiding his intentions with a mask of normalcy for the sole purpose of keeping his own parents out of the loop, and despite Arthur's awe, he was also rather hurt by Ron's actions. Ron clearly didn't trust them, nor did he care about their opinions enough to ask them for their help. Arthur was certain that Molly's rage was entirely based on Ron's devious behavior, and it was clear to him that he was the only person in the room who understood that.

Sirius, Remus, Sebastian, and even Mary were making the mistake of thinking that Molly was just trying to keep Ron from doing something so drastic, but Arthur knew better. His wife was hurt, and she was barely keeping herself from crying her heart out. This is what Molly Weasley did when she was on the verge of a breakdown, she'd start yelling and screaming. And while she screamed and yelled, she'd try and take control of the situation in order to neutralize it. Only this time, she had no idea on how to do that. Her son didn't respect her enough to come to her, nor did he love her enough to trust her with his plans. And as for Arthur… He was just as hurt as her.

Arthur was certain that he would have heard Ron out properly, and the fact that Ron didn't believe that whatsoever wounded Arthur greatly. Ron was quickly becoming far too independent, and Arthur often felt like he was simply trying to grasp at Ron's shadow. He didn't want his youngest son to miss out on his own childhood, and he certainly didn't want Ron to push himself into an early grave. But any attempt made at telling Ron what to do was met with scorn, and any suggestions that Arthur made fell on deaf ears. Molly no doubt felt the same way, and her rage was no doubt being fueled by her need to protect Ron from himself. The boy already had enough going on in his hectic life, and now he wanted to run a bloody business as well.

"Where is Luna?" Arthur asked, suddenly remembering the little Lovegood. "If you two are here, then where is she?"

"In Ginny's room" Pandora replied, smiling at Arthur for his concern over her daughter. "She knows that Ron bought The Quibbler, and she has probably told Ginny by now."

"Arthur, you have to talk him out of this" Molly urged, and Arthur groaned tiredly. _I'm utterly exhausted._

"I don't think that you should" Sirius said, he had been particularly vocal about defending Ron's actions. **All** of Ron's actions…

"I agree with Black" Sebastian joined in. "Ron's deal is nothing short of a miracle for the Lovegoods, and he made sure to give Xenophilius as much as he could. And believe me Arthur, this business has the potential to set your son up for life. He saw an opportunity, and he seized it. You should be proud of him." _I am proud, I just wish that he came to me before he came to you…_

"I personally don't see any other alternative for me, Arthur" Xeno said, giving Sebastian a nod. "He is giving me more for The Quibbler than what the Daily Prophet planned to, and his 'contacts' told him that the Daily Prophet planned to dupe me… I was going to lose everything, and Ron stopped that from happening."

"My husband and I have come to terms with it, Arthur" Pandora assured him, and then she drew in a deep breath. "What I **can't** come to terms with is why Ron felt the need to be so secretive…"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius asked, frowning at Molly.

"Sirius, don't…" Remus said, putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Me?!" Molly snapped, glaring at Sirius. _Great…_

"Yes, you…" Sirius replied. "He literally came home, and within five seconds, you were twisting his ear as hard as you could." _What?_

"You put your hands on him?" Arthur asked his wife, he was both shocked and angered by that.

"Sirius is exaggerating" Molly scoffed. "And he has no say in how I choose to discipline **my** children."

"Just as you have no say in what Ron does with **his** money" Sirius retorted, earning a weak shove from Remus.

"Black, stop dousing the situation with fuel" Sebastian said, staring right through Sirius.

"We are finally getting somewhere" Mary told him, and Sirius frowned down at the table. Mary then looked to Arthur, who was still frowning at his wife. "In Molly's defense, Ron certainly wasn't putting his best foot forward. He was patronizing her with his 'innocent' act at first, and then he outright called her a 'control-freak'."

"Did you really have to twist his ear?" Arthur asked Molly, who grit her teeth at Sirius. Arthur suddenly felt a pang of lightheadedness, and so he rubbed his forehead in a harsh manner. _I can't even concentrate._

"Arthur? Are you alright?" Pandora asked.

"Sorry… I haven't eaten all day…" Arthur replied, what was he supposed to do with Ron? _I can't punish him, he's wronged no one. I can't tell him off for hiding things from me, that'll only make him more closed off. Merlin, please help me… Give me a damn sign._

"Neither have we" Sebastian said. "Which means that neither have the children upstairs."

"Harry is probably home by now" Remus realized. "And knowing him…"

"He probably hasn't eaten properly all day" Sirius finished for Remus, who gave him an understanding nod. Harry was still far too used to eating small portions of food, and both Remus and Sirius cursed the Dursleys daily for it.

"Why don't we put a pin in this?" Mary asked, and everyone but Molly nodded their agreement. Molly simply stood up, and then she walked over to the kitchen counter to begin preparing food for her children. How could she have forgotten to feed them?

"We'll be off then" Sebastian said as he stood up, his wife following his lead. "We bid you goodnight, and good luck with Ron." With that, Sebastian and Mary left for the Living Room.

"We'll be off too" Remus said as he stood up alongside Sirius, who was giving Arthur a meaningful look.

"Just hear him out" Sirius implored, and Arthur nodded. Sirius and Remus both left after that, while Arthur looked to the Lovegoods.

"You should dine with us tonight" Arthur suggested, and the Lovegoods exchanged looks.

"That sounds lovely, thank you" Pandora agreed, planning to keep an eye on Ron for the duration of dinner.

"Here" came Molly's voice, and Arthur looked to see her holding a glass of beer for him. Arthur took it with a weak smile. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." With that, Molly went back to her cooking. _Twenty minutes. I can wait twenty more minutes… I think. But what am I going to do about Ron?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

"I'm never going to get this Spell right" Ron sighed, he had been at this for nearly an hour now. "No. No, I've got this." Ron took in a deep breath, and then he aimed his left hand at his chair. "Glacius" Ron chanted, and he immediately felt his left hand tighten. _OW!_ Ron quickly took a look at it, and much to his surprise, his palm had a thin, cold sheet of ice on it. "Well, that's progress" Ron grinned, shaking the ice off of his hand. "Bloody cold though…"

"Ron?" came Percy's voice, and then there was a knock on his door.

"It's open" Ron called, and Percy opened the door slowly.

"Mum's calling you down for dinner" Percy informed him, his disappointment in Ron written on his face. _Damn, I was starting to forget about her. Bloody hell, why is it that she's the main cause of my stress and anxiety lately?_

"I'll be right down" Ron said, hiding his left hand in a subtle manner. Percy didn't even wait to question him, and he was gone before Ron could even utter another word. _Wow, what's his problem? Does he even know why mum is so livid with me? Or is he that much of a kiss-arse that he doesn't need an excuse to jump onto a bandwagon? Whatever…_ Ron quickly wrote down the progress that he had made with his Wandless Magic in his journal, and then he made his way down to the Kitchen. His other siblings were already seated, and their eyes stuck to him like glue once he stepped into the Kitchen.

"Hello" Ron greeted them, deciding not to be rude to them despite feeling vexed by their stares. Unsurprisingly, the Lovegoods were still here, and Ron was glad for it. _Their presence will hopefully keep things calm._

"So you've really bought The Quibbler?" Ginny blurted out, looking right into his eyes. _There goes the calm…_

"Ginny…" Luna sighed, she hadn't told Ginny that for her to blurt it out in public.

"You bought The Quibbler?" Fred asked, while George gaped at Xeno.

"I did" Ron replied, shooting a quick look to his already agitated mother. _Fuck, she's about to lose it again._

"Why did you buy The Quibbler?" Percy asked him, at least now he knew why his mother had turned into a banshee after the Lovegoods had shown up. "Wait… You're selling The Quibbler?" Percy asked Xeno, who nodded slowly.

"I am indeed" Xeno replied, trying his best to sound normal. "Ron purchased it from me yesterday."

"What do **you** need from The Quibbler?" Fred asked him.

"He wants to turn it into some sort of Daily Prophet copy" Ginny replied for him, and he frowned at her.

"Not a 'copy', an improvement" Ron corrected her. "I want to help spread unbiased information out to the public in order to raise awareness about the issues that are plaguing our society. Issues that the Daily Prophet doesn't touch on because it's too busy kissing the Ministry's corrupted arse."

"Ron… Language…" his father sighed, though he wanted Ron to go on.

"Sorry" Ron apologized.

"The Ministry isn't that corrupted" Percy told him, and Ron bit back a laugh.

"Not that corrupted?" Ron repeated, earning a deep frown from Percy. "Dad, is the Ministry corrupted down to its bedrock?" _I know it is. Those dumb cunts let people like Lucius Malfoy walk around despite the fact that he's a murdering sociopath. The Dark Lord's second in command, and he still has his head on his shoulders._

"It's… It's complicated…" Arthur elected to say, taking a long sip from his beer.

"That answers that" Ron smirked at Percy, who was now frowning at their father.

"What's your problem with the Ministry?" George asked him, and Ron thought about it for a second. _My problem is that they don't care about their people, they only care about good press._

"Not that we don't agree with you" Fred quickly added.

"They are a boring lot" the twins said together.

"Your father is not so boring" Pandora joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I appreciate you saying that, Pandora" Arthur chuckled. "But it's completely untrue…"

"Arthur" Molly scolded, and then she looked to the twins. "Your father's work at the Ministry is crucial, and one day, you two will also work there."

"Fat chance" the twins sniggered, but Molly just stared at them until they stopped sniggering. _Yeah… I can't see the twins working at the Ministry. Maybe burning it down, but not working there._

"So dad is going to be working for you now?" Luna asked Ron, and everyone looked to him. _Should I say yes? I don't want to hurt anyone's pride, but at the end of the day, he_ _ **is**_ _my employee._

"Yes, he will be working for me" Ron replied, deciding to stick by his decisions. _No half-measures._

"Well, I reckon that you'll make a good businessman" Luna hummed as she shot him an airy smile, and Ron couldn't help but smile back. "You have the mentality for it. And it was kind of you to let my dad keep his own section."

"Thank you, Luna" Ron said genuinely, at least someone had some faith in him. _Bloody hell, I can feel mum's glare on me._

"Shall we eat?" Pandora asked, shooting a look towards Molly who was just frowning at Ron.

"Yes… Let's eat…" Molly said, her tone making everyone go quiet. _Awkward family dinner commencing… Now!_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Not one word had been uttered for the entirety of the dinner, and the only sound in the room was that of people chewing their food. Ron had zoned out around ten minutes in, electing to think about why the Freeze Charm wasn't working without a wand. He had cast it properly, of that he was certain. And yet, all it had done was cover his palm in a thin layer of ice. It didn't make any sense… Why was it that Madam Roberts was able to freeze everything in a thirty feet radius around her, but Ron couldn't even freeze a chair? _She slammed her wand into the Earth, if I recall. I'll test that out tomorrow. Maybe it'll help me figure out why I can't use this Spell Wandlessly._

"Thank you for the dinner Molly, it was delicious" Pandora said, breaking the thirty minute long silence.

"You are welcome" Molly gave her a weak smile, and then she began taking the plates. She even took Ron's, but she made sure to not look at him. _Does she seriously think that the silent treatment is going to work on me? She has no clue that I don't want her talking to me in the first place. All she does is chew my ears off._

"Do you guys want to play a game?" Ginny asked her siblings.

"Mum?" Luna looked to Pandora, who gave her a nod. "I'll play, Ginny."

"Gobstones?" the twins asked together. _That sounds fun._

"I'm in" Ron agreed.

"Ron, I need to speak with you" his father jumped in. "Children, go play upstairs please. Percy, you can stay here if you want." _Fuck._

"I can?" Percy asked.

"He can?" Molly gave her husband a surprised look.

"He is seventeen" Arthur replied, shooting Percy a parental smile.

"Then I'll stay" Percy decided, his chest puffing up involuntarily. _Great, here we go again. I swear to Merlin, if he tells me to hand The Quibbler back to Xeno, I'm going to start throwing punches._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"And once Sirius and Lord Greengrass sign their shareholder agreements, I'll have all five investors" Ron finished explaining his business model to Percy and his father. The other children had left for upstairs, while Ron was asked to explain his business model. Much to his father's credit, the man had heard out Ron in a civil manner. And Ron was certain that his mother had been listening in keenly, despite 'ignoring' him while she did the dishes.

"And you put all this together in a week?" Arthur asked, still utterly dazed by his son's plans.

"That's right" Ron lied.

"Merlin…" Arthur shook his head slowly.

"And you plan to use The Quibbler to belittle the Ministry?" Percy asked, and Ron shook his head.

"No, I want to use The Quibbler as a means to spread unbiased information" Ron replied. "There are far too many problems that the Daily Prophet doesn't report on, and by reporting on them myself, I'm hoping to make a change for the better."

"What kind of change?" Percy asked, he would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't impressed with Ron's efficiency. His little brother was clearly a genius, and with the lessons that he had no doubt learned whilst being in Slytherin, Ron was now a proper schemer as well.

"I… I went to Knockturn Alley" Ron confessed, deciding to tell them why he was doing this. Pandora and Xeno already knew about, so they didn't really react. Percy, Arthur, and Molly however, went pale with shock.

"You did what?!" Molly yelled, her face a mixture of panic and anger.

"Ron, what's the matter with you?" Percy asked, his shock written all over his face.

"When?" Arthur demanded, his tone taking on an angry edge. "That place is not for children, Ron. How could you be so reckless?"

"I wanted to see it for myself" Ron lied, he couldn't tell them that he was doing dirty business deals there. "And I'm glad that I did… It showed me that I really have no clue about the Wizarding World as a whole, and that pushed me to learn more about it."

"Ron, tell them everything" Pandora said, and Xeno nodded in agreement.

"Everything?" Molly asked, and then she glared at Ron.

"I met a girl there… Her name is Priscilla" Ron went on, watching his Family's reactions carefully. "She is two years older than me, and… And she is a prostitute." Arthur and Percy's jaws dropped, while Molly nearly passed out from panic.

"Tell me that you didn't…" Percy started, but Ron cut him off by clicking his tongue.

"I'm not some sex-fiend" Ron frowned at his brother, making his father blink at him. "I just spoke to her, and she was extremely friendly. She was a fan of mine…"

"A fan?" Arthur asked, glad that his son hadn't crossed 'that' line yet.

"She knew about my exploits because of the Daily Prophet" Ron explained, and his father nodded slowly. "And judging by her telling me to leave Knockturn Alley for my own safety, I can safely assume that she's not a bad person. She's just an ordinary kid… But she has to sell herself in order to stay alive, and she is just stuck there because no one will hire a Squib… That is **unacceptable** to me. That's when I started thinking about doing more than just getting good grades in school… I want to help people, and people like her need the most amount of help. So that's where I'll start. Xeno's magazine was an opportunity sent by Merlin himself, and since it was only there for a limited amount of time, I had to act fast."

"I signed The Quibbler over to him not only because he was offering me a way out, but because he wants to use it for good" Xeno told Ron's parents, hoping to end this fight once and for all. "Ron has done right by me, and despite my initial… shock, I'm glad that he came to me. I had no other way out, and Ron gave me one. And not only that, but The Quibbler will be used to help people. Which is why I don't want complete ownership of it again. I will still get to keep my life's work, and this is a change that I can live with."

"He is doing a good thing" Pandora told them, shooting Ron a loving smile. Ron returned her smile, glad that the Lovegoods weren't offended by his offer. He was certain that if he lost Pandora's love, he'd just curl up and die on the spot. His Cycle be damned…

"Then why did he lie to us?" Molly demanded, she was still struggling to come to terms with Ron becoming a businessman at the age of thirteen.

"Because I couldn't afford to be slowed down by you both" Ron told his parents, choosing to be truthful over saying honeyed words.

"Slowed down?" Arthur asked, barely masking his hurt.

"I knew that you'd act like…" Ron started, but then he stopped himself. _Don't be a cunt. Try to tell them why you did this without hurting them._ "You would both get scared, and then you'd both panic. You'd refuse to let me put any 'unnecessary' stress on myself, and you'd probably put me in house arrest in order to stop me from buying The Quibbler. Am I wrong?" Ron asked, and his father sighed in a tired fashion.

"We are your parents" Molly frowned at him. "You can't make decisions this big without our permission."

"I don't ask for permission, and I never will" Ron said, unable to hide the coldness in his voice. "If I see an opportunity to make a better Future, then I'll take it. My life is my own, and I won't give up my control to please any one."

"You are just a boy" Molly said, resisting the urge to smack him for being so defiant. "You are not ready for a responsibility this big, Ronald. You need to focus on your health, and on your studies."

"I will be seeing Pomfrey every week once Hogwarts re-opens, and I study just fine" Ron told her, and then he looked to Percy for back-up.

"He… He does study a lot" Percy admitted, he would never dare deny that. "Even when we all socialize or just play some games together, Ron studies instead."

"You are putting too much stress on yourself" Molly told him, refusing to back down.

" **You** are putting too much stress on me" Ron said firmly, and she blinked at him.

"Me?" Molly asked, looking rather scandalized.

"I was having an amazing day, and it went to hell the moment I came home" Ron replied, wishing that he was still in Daphne's company. "A couple of weeks ago, this exact same thing happened. I came home from Longbottom Manor, happy with how everything was going, and you launched yourself at me the moment I stepped into the Kitchen. And today… You did the same thing. I didn't tell you about The Quibbler for this exact reason. I knew that you'd go mental on me, and then you'd seal me away in order to 'help me'. I don't need that kind of help, and I'm getting tired of being bossed around in matters that you don't know anything about."

"Ron, stop" Arthur said, he had heard enough. "You can keep The Quibbler…"

"Arthur?!" Molly exclaimed, utterly shocked by her husband not backing her on this. _YES! I win!_

"Molly, it's already done…" Arthur sighed. "Xeno and Pandora are both fine with it…"

"We are" they said together.

"And Ron has it all planned out" Arthur went on, he knew that his wife was going to tear him to shreds the moment the children went to sleep. "He has the money saved up for his staff and expenses, and his Logistics Officer will handle the books. From what he's told us, his only job will be to determine what gets published. And that's not so hard… Ron, you are excused." Ron smiled at his father as he stood up, grateful that his father was looking past his own worries in order to be fair to Ron. "Oh, and you're grounded until Hogwarts re-opens. You still hid something extremely important from us, and as your parents, we had the right to know. Is that fair?"

"That's fair" Ron agreed, deciding that being grounded for a week was a small price to pay for keeping his business. Ron then looked to Xeno, remembering that he had to inform Xeno of something. "You need to publish your last issue before the thirtieth of August Xeno, otherwise all the profits will go to the new Quibbler."

"So I get to keep the profits if I publish it before the thirtieth?" Xeno asked, and Ron nodded. "Thank you, Ron. I look forward to working with you."

"This'll be great, I just know it" Ron smiled at the Lovegoods, and then he left for his room. _YES! I got to keep my business!_ Ron had to resist the urge to skip out of the Kitchen, but once he was well on his way towards his room, Ron pumped his fist into the air.

"Interesting form of celebration" came Percy's voice from behind him, and Ron quickly turned to face his brother. "You should've thanked father for being so… open-minded, Ron."

"If I thanked him, then that would imply that I was seeking his permission to buy The Quibbler" Ron said.

"Yeah… You don't ask for permission, and you never will" Percy repeated Ron's words, and Ron blinked in return.

"Is something bothering you?" Ron asked his brother.

"You know that you hurt them both by hiding this, don't you?" Percy asked in return, he himself was hurt that Ron didn't come to him for help on something so complicated. "Mother is probably livid because of how hurt she is. You went to the Greengrasses instead of our own parents, and that probably hurt them a lot." _I know, I just don't care. Their 'feelings' are not my concern, I only care about their Future. And that Future is looking better now that I'll have more influence out in the real World. They'll get over this eventually._

"Are your feelings hurt too?" Ron asked Percy, who simply just stared at Ron. "Look… I didn't go to the Greengrasses because 'I like them more', that's just ridiculous. I went to them because Lord Greengrass is the wealthiest wizard in Wizarding Britain. He has businesses all over the World, and I needed his expertise. What can mum and dad offer me in this particular situation? They'd both outright refuse to let me do this, and knowing mum, I'd be locked away in my room until the end of the World."

"And me? You didn't think to come to me?" Percy asked, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes. _What's with these expectations? I only ask for help when I need it, and I didn't need his help._

"No, I didn't" Ron replied truthfully. "And if I thought for a second that I needed your help on this, I would have come to you. But I didn't need your help."

"Alright… I understand" Percy nodded, turning to leave for his room.

"Perce? What's really bothering you?" Ron asked, feeling a small pang of guilt. "I'm not a mind-reader, and if you don't tell me, then we can't work to fix it."

"You're distancing yourself from this Family, Ron" Percy said, looking back to a confused Ron. "You used to spend hours and hours with us, but now… Now we barely get to see you. **I** barely get to see you…" _Is he fucking retarded?_

"You know where my room is, Percy" Ron said, why was this sort of shite always on him? _Fuck that, I'm sick of their idiotic 'feelings' getting hurt constantly. Are they all really that fragile?_ "When Ginny is feeling lonely, she comes straight to my room. And I drop everything for her. The twins? When they need me, they also come and find me. You're the only one who doesn't do that, and I'm not going to take the blame for it. You not coming to me is your problem, not mine."

"I'm not trying to sound cold here" Ron went on, staring right into Percy's eyes. "But I'm sick of people blaming me for their own shortcomings. If you feel lonely, then why not come to me? Why do I have to figure out how you feel, and then help you feel better? It is completely impractical to put your shite on me, and it's even more impractical to make mountains out of molehills. You want to spend time with me? Then come to my room and we'll spend time together. But expecting me to figure out how you feel is just plain unfair, almost as unfair as making me feel guilty about not being a psychic." With that, Ron turned around and left for his room.

He genuinely couldn't understand why **he** was expected to do everything. Why was it his fault if Percy kept his feelings hidden from him? Ginny and the twins certainly didn't, and Ron never once told them to leave him be. If Ginny wanted to play with him, he would drop everything that he was doing in order to make her happy. He genuinely chose to study all night over saying no to her, and it was the same with the twins. Luckily for him, the twins seldom sought anyone's attention because they were at their happiest when they were creating things together.

And it wasn't like Percy or his parents ever asked him what he was up to. His mother and father gave him attention simply because they were worried about his health, and so they never really asked him about his interests. And Percy? Percy spent most of his time in Muggle-London, and when he was home, he'd stay in his room. How the fuck was Ron supposed to know that Percy wanted to spend more time with him when he never showed any signs of it? _Damn Gryffindors, they're all a bunch of pansies. I mean seriously, do they get off on being so emotional all the time?_

Ron entered his room, eager to put this day behind him. _I get to keep The Quibbler, that's all that matters right now._ Ron then looked to his chair, and it reminded him that he had to figure out why the Freezing Charm wasn't working without a wand. _Bloody hell, I'm really tired… No, stop being_ _ **lazy**_ _Ron. You have to be the best, and that won't happen by calling it quits because you're sleepy. You can go to sleep once you figure out what you're doing wrong._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Late Evening)**_

These Holidays had been perhaps the worst two months of his life, and yet, he didn't want them to end. He didn't want to return to Hogwarts, where he would be all alone again. Draco wasn't an idiot, and so he knew that not many people liked him. Hell, his only two friends, Crabbe and Goyle, hadn't sent him a single letter during the Holidays. Once Hogwarts re-opened, Draco would be facing a lonely year. A lonely, and dangerous, year…

He had spent all of July in his room, cursing Weasley for ever being born. Ronald Weasley had usurped his rightful position within Slytherin, and in doing so, left Draco out in the cold. Draco was the outsider of Slytherin, something that he could have never predicted. The older students didn't respect him, or his Family's name. The younger students tended to gravitate towards Weasley due to his ever growing fame, especially the female population. Weasley was what Draco had always imagined himself of being once he got to Hogwarts, and that realization… hurt.

It hurt knowing that he was letting his mother and father down like this, that he was lying to them in order to hide his own shame. He hated making up stories whenever they asked him about his school life, and he hated it even more when they smiled proudly at him. His mother knew that he was lying, of course. Blaise had seen to that when he had visited, but his father was utterly clueless about his son's current situation.

The final straw for Draco had been at the halfway point of July, when he had told his father about how he was the first person to finish Dumbledore's test. And as he was telling his father about how Dumbledore had rewarded him with Licorice Wands, it occurred to Draco that he was stealing Weasley's achievement. That realization had destroyed him, and when his father had told him that he was proud of him, Draco had to hold back his tears. His father was proud of Weasley, not Draco. This was when he had started isolating himself inside of his room, and this was when he had started hating who he was. A weak fool, one that was unworthy of his father's noble name.

July flew by rather quickly after his self-imprisonment started, and Draco spent his time trying to better himself. He knew that he wanted more respect, and maybe even adoration, and so he had bought a bunch of self-help books via Owl-mail. Those books had proven to be useless, and even off-putting… The books often listed characteristics that people tended to gravitate towards, and Draco only had two of the dozens that he had read about. He had money, and he had good looks. Both characteristics that he hadn't earned himself. The books had only served to make him angrier with himself.

And then, his Godfather had shown up. And Draco, in his fear and panic, had told him everything. But rather than helping his Godson, Snape had instead told Draco to fend for himself. Draco wanted to hate his Godfather for refusing to help him, but oddly enough, he just couldn't. He kept thinking about Snape's advice to 'look into the mirror', and whenever he did, he hated the person staring back at him. Draco had done this to himself, and no matter how much he hated admitting that, it was simply the truth.

No one had twisted his arm when he had made those false promises, no one had told him to refuse Weasley's offer of peace, and no one had ripped his friends away from him. They had all left voluntarily, including Pansy. And now, Crabbe and Goyle were also trying to leave. Draco was the person that they all wanted to stay away from, so the only reasonable conclusion was that something had to be wrong with him. He was undesirable, and he was weak. Who would want to follow someone like that? Draco certainly wouldn't.

And then August had come and flown past, and Draco had rarely left his room. He spent his time thinking of the mistakes that he had made, hoping to learn from them. But that didn't happen… Instead, he found himself hating who he was even more. Which in turn made him stop taking care of himself. His hair had grown out, and was now reaching his neck. He had lost a bit of weight as well, mostly because he hated coming down to eat with his parents. Both of whom were visibly worried for him, especially his mother. But Draco couldn't bring himself to care, he just wanted to stay in his room in order to be left alone. But even that was taken from him because Nott Snr was throwing a party tonight, and Draco's Family had been invited.

"Remember to be on your best behavior tonight, Draco" his father said as his mother prepared the floo, and Draco nodded absentmindedly. _Theo and Blaise will be there, as well as Crabbe and Goyle. I'll just spend my time in the Gardens._ Draco was broken out of his thoughts when he felt his father's hand land on his right shoulder, and Draco looked to see the man smiling weakly at him. "Your mother and I are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow in order to purchase your books. Do you want to come along?"

"No…" Draco admitted, deciding to not lie.

"I see…" Lucius said slowly, removing his hand from his withdrawn son's shoulder.

"The floo is ready" Narcissa told them, looking towards her son with a smile. He had let his hair grow out, and so he was now wearing it in a neat ponytail. The look suited him, but his slightly gaunt cheeks twisted her heart painfully. Draco was only eating one or two meals a day, and even then, he'd leave behind scraps.

"Then let's be off" Lucius said, hoping that a night out would improve his son's mood. They all stepped through the floo one by one, with Draco taking the lead. As soon as they landed in Nott Manor's Receiving Room, Draco felt his stomach tighten at the prospect of running into Flint tonight, who was no doubt invited as well. _Just stay clear of everyone, and when you get a chance, sneak off to the Gardens._

"This is going to be fun, Draco" his mother said softly, trying to encourage him to socialize. She had no idea what was happening to her boy, but she refused to let Draco become an introvert. She couldn't bear to see him like this…

"I know" Draco lied for her sake, and he even managed to smile weakly at her.

"Ah, the Malfoys" Cornelius Nott greeted them as they approached the entrance to the Ballroom, and Draco's eyes immediately went to Theo. His old friend was smiling at him, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. _Trust me, I don't want to be here either. And I'll be out of your hair as soon as this greeting finishes._ "Welcome to Nott Manor, my old friends."

"Cornelius, it is good to see you again" Narcissa said, giving the old wizard her hand. Cornelius took it gracefully, and planted a quick kiss on her knuckles. And then, he looked to Draco.

"You look more like your father every time I see you" Cornelius smiled at Draco, who shook the man's hand firmly. _I'm nothing like my father. My father is both powerful and respected, whereas I am neither._

"I know, isn't he handsome?" Narcissa beamed, making Cornelius chuckle.

"Theodore, take your friend inside please" Cornelius said, and Theo gave his father a nod. _Friend? He doesn't even want to be near me._ "I wish to speak to Narcissa and Lucius as old friends."

"Certainly" Theo replied. "Please enjoy your night, Lord and Lady Malfoy. I hope that we get a chance to speak later on in the night." Theo then looked to Draco with a 'smile', one that Draco mimicked. "Let's go, Draco." Draco gave Theo a nod, and then they both left their parents behind.

"This looks well put together" Draco noted, looking at the amazing water-works all over the beige ceiling and walls. "I like the Charmed water that is sliding up the walls and pooling on the ceiling."

"Thank you" Theo said curtly, and then he stopped them both by grabbing onto Draco's arm. "Listen here Malfoy, and listen well. Tracey is here tonight, and if you even mention Blood-Purity near her… I'll have you thrown out immediately. You will not insult my guests, remember that." Draco just stared at Theo for a couple of seconds, and weirdly enough, he didn't feel angry at being threatened. _I… I just don't care. I don't plan to stick around them anyway._

"I won't" Draco said, but only because he wanted Theo to let go of his arm. Theo eyed him carefully, and then he let go of him.

"Just make yourself a plate, and then stand in some corner quietly" Theo advised. "You're only here because of my father, and if it were up to me, you'd be rotting away in your own Manor." With that, Theo turned around and left in order to continue his duties. This left Draco behind to stare at Theo's retreating back, wondering how long this party was going to go on for. _I can't wait to be in my room again._

After looking around for a few seconds, Draco made his way over to the food. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and so he was rightly starving. Not to mention that his throat was becoming dry because of how nervous he was… Somewhere in this crowd were Marcus and his goons, and they'd no doubt strike up a conversation with him when they spotted him. Draco had no intention of playing for the Slytherin Team this year, especially because Marcus would break his arms if he ever lost to Potter. _Which I probably will… Scarhead is unbeatable as Seeker._

Draco quickly began making himself a plate, occasionally shooting looks around himself in order to make sure that he was safe. He spotted Crabbe and Goyle speaking to their parents, and if they had spotted him, they made no show of it. Which was fine with Draco, he didn't want to spend his time with people that didn't want him around. Both Crabbe and Goyle had taken a liking to Marcus, and Marcus had taken a liking to them. They were all meat-heads, and they enjoyed each other's 'personalities'. Draco often felt like his 'friends' would betray him if Marcus told them to, and as the year had progressed, that feeling was all but confirmed.

Draco was certain that Crabbe and Goyle were watching him, and then reporting back to Marcus. The Troll-like sixth year wanted to know how often Draco was practicing Quidditch, and what methods he planned to employ in the coming school year that would give him an edge on Potter. _What am I supposed to do? I know that I can't always beat Potter, which means that Marcus is going to kill me. And… And I don't want to play Quidditch because that'll force me to spend hours with Marcus. I'm trapped…_

"Are you going to eat something, or are you just content to stare?" came Blaise's voice from behind him, and Draco turned around slowly. "You need a haircut" Blaise pointed out, almost sounding friendly.

"Yeah…" Draco said lamely, looking back to the food.

"That's it?" Blaise asked, and Draco gave him a confused look. "Look, Malfoy… My mother sent me here to say 'hello'… The least you could do is save me some embarrassment." Draco nodded slowly, noticing Clementine Zabini on the arms of a rather old wizard. _Another one?_

"What do you think about **that**?" Draco asked Blaise, pointing his head towards Blaise's mother. Blaise didn't even bother looking back, instead he frowned slightly. "I'm not trying to start anything, it's just that… We used to talk about that sort of stuff… sometimes…" _I'm an idiot._

"Used to" Blaise said coldly, and Draco got the message loud and clear. _We're not friends, not anymore._ "Truth be told, she prefers Ron over you. She just sent me here to 'keep my options open', whatever the hell that means. So do me a favor, and pretend like we're talking."

"Alright" Draco said, more interested in leaving for the Gardens instead. "How were your Holidays?"

"They were alright, nothing to boast about" Blaise replied, putting various types of food on his plate. "You?"

"They were great" Draco lied.

"Crabbe and Goyle keeping you busy?" Blaise asked, and Draco nodded slowly.

"Yeah" he lied again. "How are things with Weasley?"

"They are… interesting" Blaise replied, smirking slightly to himself. _Interesting?_ "Alright, I reckon that's enough. I'll be on my way now." With that, Blaise just turned around and left. Draco watched him leave, making sure to keep his face expressionless in order to mask his hurt. Draco hadn't realized just how much he had missed talking to people, and Theo and Blaise's 'conversations' with him were the only conversations that he had had over the Holidays. Not counting his parents, of course. Draco shook his head clear, deciding to leave for the Gardens before he was noticed by Marcus and his lot.

It wasn't all that difficult to navigate his way out without being noticed, Draco had spent a lot of time in this Manor as a child. He knew the fastest routes towards Theo's Gardens from every room, and the Ballroom was only three minutes away from a backdoor that led right into the Gardens. Once he was there, Draco ignored the fact that there was barely any light out. It was clear to him that the Gardens were closed off, which meant that he'd be safe here. Draco took a seat on a nearby bench, which was overlooking a bed of Dragon-Lilies, and he began eating.

"What are you doing out here?" came a girl's voice from behind him, and Draco jumped up and turned around in a panic. The girl was slightly short for her age, her neat blonde hair reached her shoulders, her pretty face still had some baby-fat on its cheeks, and she reminded him greatly of Daphne Greengrass. _Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's little sister._

"I'm eating" Draco frowned at her, feeling slightly embarrassed by the fact that she had scared him.

"Eating, eh?" Astoria sniggered, walking around the bench and staring at his plate. "Why are you eating out here?"

"That's none of your business" Draco replied, taking a seat again. Much to his surprise, Astoria sat down as well. _Great, she's not leaving._

"Eating alone in the dark?" Astoria smiled mischievously, making Draco feel slightly uncomfortable. "And jumping from panic when I approached you? Hmmm, are you hiding from someone?" _What the fuck?_

"No" Draco lied. "What do you want, Greengrass?"

"You're still quite rude" Astoria sighed, making Draco blink.

"Still?"

"We've met before, Draco Malfoy" Astoria reminded him.

"I know" Draco said, turning his attention back on his food. _I know that I've met her, but I don't recall talking to her._

"And are you sorry?" Astoria asked, and Draco gave her a bewildered look.

"Sorry for what?" Draco asked, and Astoria sighed again. This time, she made sure to sound overdramatic.

"You came to our house, and when I wanted to spend time with all of you, you made my sister feel embarrassed because 'she had to change my diapers'…" Astoria reminded him, and Draco cringed internally as he remembered that particular memory. _That was the first time I saw her. She was around six, and Daphne and I were around eight. She was so excited about 'making new friends', and I used that in order to make a joke out of her sister._ Draco suddenly felt a pang of self-hatred, Snape was right… He did bring this upon himself. His friends had left him because he was a bully, and now he was going to become a victim of bullying himself. _It's almost poetic…_

"I'm sorry" Draco apologized, unable to look at Astoria.

"I don't think that you meant that" Astoria smirked at him. "If you had meant it, then you would look at me while you apologized." Draco bit back a harsh retort, deciding to 'apologize properly' instead.

"I'm sorry" Draco said, looking into her dark blue eyes.

"That's better" Astoria hummed, looking back down at his plate. "Can I have your chicken drumstick?" _What?_

"Fine…" Draco all but snarled, but it seemed to be lost on her as she nicked the biggest drumstick off of his plate. "Now can you leave? I want to be alone."

"Is that why you snuck out here?" Astoria asked innocently. "You really are trying to avoid someone?"

"You followed me?" Draco asked, feeling a small amount of anxiety. _What if someone followed her following me?_

"I did" Astoria shrugged, taking a bite out of 'her' drumstick. "I must admit, you looked particularly suspicious because of your panicked looks." _What kind of Lady speaks with her mouth full?_

"It is common etiquette to swallow before you speak" Draco told her, ignoring her comment about his suspicious looks. "Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"My parents don't talk to me very often…" Astoria replied, shrinking slightly. "Being the second born daughter does that…"

"Oh…" Draco muttered, looking back down at his plate.

"Did you seriously buy that?" Astoria laughed suddenly, making him look back up at her. "Wow… You're rather slow." _What is this girl's deal?! Is she insane?!_ "It's a good thing that you're handsome, otherwise you'd be in for a tough lot in life."

"Were you dropped on your head as a child? Is that it?" Draco asked her, losing his temper. "Go away."

"Rude again" Astoria tutted. "If I leave, then those big boys who were eyeing you will show themselves." _Big boys?_ Draco felt the blood drain from his face, and all he could do was stare at her. "You should be thanking me, I could practically see the malice on their faces. You're not very popular, are you?"

"Did one of them look like a Troll?" Draco asked her, ignoring her other tripe.

"Marcus Flint?" Astoria asked him, and he nodded dumbly.

"How do you know his name?" Draco asked her.

"I make sure to remember the people that come to my Manor, especially if they're in Slytherin" Astoria shrugged. "It's a secret though, so don't tell my sister."

"Your sister and I don't talk… Not anymore" Draco said, deciding to leave the Gardens. _I need to stick by mother's side. Marcus won't approach me if she's there._

"That's good, she never liked you much" Astoria pointed out. _I figured… Why else would they all leave me? None of them liked me much, not even Pansy. They only liked my father's wealth and influence._

"I'm heading inside" Draco said as he stood up. "You should head back to your sister."

"Or we could stay out here" Astoria suggested, and Draco blinked at her. "The party is boring, and there is no one here who is my age. Daphne is too busy keeping an eye on Tracey, and Pansy and Millie talk about irritating things. As for Blaise and Theo… Well, they're boys…"

"I'm a boy" Draco frowned at her, not missing her implication.

"Yes, but you're a boy that I haven't spoken to before" Astoria shrugged, patting the seat beside her. "I want you to tell me about Slytherin."

"Maybe some other time…" Draco said, deciding to leave the irritating girl behind. _I need to find mother._

"Well, I tried" Astoria sighed, getting up and looking at him with a bored look. "Enjoy sneaking around alone then. And good luck with avoiding those boys." With that, the younger Greengrass daughter walked right past him. As Astoria headed for the proper route back to the Ballroom, Draco decided to take the shortcut. _I'll head straight into the Ballroom, mother should be near the food table._ As soon as Draco opened the backdoor, his entire body jerked to a halt.

"Finally" Marcus said, he was leaning against a wall. "I've been waiting for you for nearly five minutes. Come, I want to talk to you about this year's Quidditch strategies."

"Um… I need to go speak with my mother first…" Draco said, mentally smacking himself for sounding so indecisive. Marcus blinked at him, and then he gave Draco a curious smile.

"I only need five minutes, Draco" Marcus told him. "You can talk to your mother after that. Come on" Marcus said as he walked over to Draco, leading him back outside. _What do I do? I have to tell him that I can't play Quidditch this year._ "You need to get a haircut, by the way. Or keep your hair tied like this while you play. I don't want you to miss the Snitch because of your hair covering your eyes."

"Actually…" Draco started, his voice barely audible. _I'm alone out here._ The thought made him feel a ball of anxiety in his stomach, which was followed by a dose of fear.

"I've got our training regimen already planned" Marcus told him, eager to get Draco on board. "We won't hold a Team Trial this year, I've already got Snape's permission. We'll start training in the first week back, just to get Vincent and Gregory caught up."

"Crabbe and Goyle are on the Team?" Draco asked, rather taken aback by this.

"They'll be our substitute Beaters" Marcus replied. "They didn't tell you?"

"Um… No" Draco replied. _So they really have left me. I'm… I'm actually friendless now…_

"Right…" Marcus said slowly. "Anyway, tell me about your strategies to beat Potter. I reckon you're better on a broom than Diggory, and I've heard that Ravenclaw is looking for a new Seeker for their Team. Potter is our only real threat when it comes to the Quidditch Cup."

"I… I can't play Quidditch this year…" Draco mumbled, his throat closing up.

"What?"

"I can't play Quidditch this year" Draco repeated, trying his best to not show any weakness. "My parents want me to focus on my studies…" _I'm lying again… But what other choice do I have?_ Draco couldn't help but notice the difference between their builds, which only served to frighten him even more.

"You can't play Quidditch this year?" Marcus asked him, losing all of his mirth. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"I… I need to…" Draco started, trying to keep his eyes fixed on Marcus'.

"You need to shut the fuck up" Marcus cut him off, his voice becoming harsh. "I put up with a lot of shite last year on your behalf, and your end of the deal was that you'd beat Potter. What was it that you said again? Oh, that's right… 'I'm already working on a strategy to beat Potter this upcoming year, and if you want my help, then you need to help me deal with the Blood-Traitor'. Well, I held up my end of the deal. I acted as your muscle, despite being mocked daily for it, and now you're telling me that you're backing out of our deal?"

"It's my parents…" Draco restarted, but Marcus shoved him into the wall behind him. Draco was instantly winded after his back collided with the wall, and he let out a surprised whimper as he leaned on the wall for support. _What just happened?_

"You listen to me now, you pampered little shite" Marcus hissed, getting right into Draco's face. "I put up with **a lot** of mockery last year, and I'm willing to look past it… **If** you hold up your end of the bargain. You made me a promise, and you're going to keep it. I don't care about what your parents want, I only care about what you promised to deliver. So bring your broom with you when you come to Hogwarts next week, or I'll spend the entire year coming after you. And if you tell anyone about this, I'll give you another bruise." _Another bruise?_

"I have…" Draco started, hoping to bribe Marcus with money. But before he could finish, Marcus punched him right beneath his sternum. What little air he had left inside of his lungs simply evaporated, and Draco was left wheezing on the ground, his eyes teary and his vision blurry. _I… I can't breathe…_ Fear gripped his heart, and Draco wheezed even more loudly as he tried to stop the feeling of suffocation.

"Get up" Marcus said as he dragged Draco upright, but Draco immediately hunched over. _My chest… Fuck, it hurts…_ "I held back this time, but if you try and cheat me again, I'll teach you a proper lesson."

"My father…" Draco wheezed, unable to hide his panic. "My father will…"

"He won't do anything, because if you tell him, then you'll have to spend an entire year with me as your enemy" Marcus warned him, effectively shutting Draco up. "And once I graduate, I have friends who will keep coming for you. You are not cheating me, do you understand?" Marcus suddenly grabbed Draco by his throat, and then he pinned Draco against the wall. "Do. You. Understand?"

"I understand…" Draco cried, his meek voice sickening even himself. "Please… Don't…" _I can't breathe… I'm going to choke to death…_

"And you won't tell anyone about this, do you understand?" Marcus hissed right into his face.

"I won't tell…" Draco sobbed, his voice and tears betraying him.

"Good" Marcus hissed as he let go of Draco's neck, and Draco coughed uncontrollably as fresh air jammed itself down his sore throat. "Make sure you clean up before you show your face to anyone, and don't you dare forget what I told you. A school year is a long time, Malfoy. And I'll spend mine torturing you every single day if you try and weasel out of our deal." With that, Marcus stormed off, leaving behind the sobbing, scared mess that was Draco Malfoy. _No… What am I supposed to do?_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Late Night)**_

Draco eyed the slight bruising on his upper stomach, and he winced from the pain of holding his shirt up. Marcus could throw a mean punch, of that there was no doubt. And if his warning had meant anything, then this wouldn't be the only punch that Draco would suffer from. _I have to join the Team, otherwise Marcus will ruin me. And I have to beat Potter somehow._ Draco lowered his shirt, his eyes already stinging again. He was fucked, and he knew it.

He knew that he was never going to be able to beat Potter, not every game at least. And every time he failed to do so, Marcus would beat him. There was no one on Draco's side, not at Hogwarts anyway. His Godfather had abandoned him, his friends were long gone, and now even Crabbe and Goyle had distanced themselves from him. They had clearly caught onto the fact that Draco would never be a powerful player within Slytherin, something that he himself was beginning to believe. The older students despised him, while the younger students only saw his father's money. And his year-mates worshiped Weasley, who utterly despised Draco. _At least the feeling is mutual._

Draco slowly walked over to his bed, trying to keep his sniffling at bay. His upper stomach was hurting, and the pain just wouldn't end. His mother and father had noticed him walking with a bit of a hunch, and he had blamed his pain on 'food poisoning'. They hadn't questioned him any further, no doubt wondering where he had disappeared off to during the party. Draco refused to tell them that he was sobbing in the upstairs bathroom, whilst also doing his best to calm down his agitated nerves. His encounter with Marcus had scared him, and he was still shaken by it.

As Draco lay down on his bed, a sharp pain emanated from his stomach. Which in turn made him wince again, and a couple of thick tears rolled down the side of his face. What was he supposed to do? He had no allies, no friends, and no one liked him enough to help him at school. Draco was utterly powerless, and Marcus knew it. _This… This is what my year is going to be like, isn't it?_ Draco found his bottom lip quivering at the thought, he didn't want to leave the safety of his home. He didn't want to be victimized and bullied every day… He just wanted to stay inside of his room, where he didn't have to worry about anything. Or anyone. But more than that, he wanted the pain in his stomach to go away already.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Ron was still grounded, and according to his mother, that meant that he couldn't go to work either. She had taken away his wand, his books, his chessboard, his running gear, and now she had taken away his work. She had even tried to take away Helios, but that had resulted in her getting her hand scratched open by the angry Eagle-Owl. Ron figured that she was doing her best to make sure that Ron knew of her displeasure.

His mother was angry, but beyond that, she was simply done with Ron. She didn't acknowledge his presence beyond feeding him, and if he ever entered a room, she'd make a dramatic exit immediately. The fact that his father had let him keep The Quibbler clearly didn't sit right with her, and so she was punishing them both. Sure, she couldn't ground Arthur. But she could ignore him as well, something that was evidently getting to his father. There was just so much tension in the Burrow right now, and Molly Weasley was the cause of it.

Ron's siblings blamed him for her foul mood, which was fair. But they still spent a majority of their time in his room because their agitated mother would never come up there. Ron in turn asked them for their books, which Percy was all too happy to provide. They had a system going, which was also making them closer. Nothing created a bond like avoiding an angry Banshee, and right now, all of the children were doing just that. At least Percy had the good fortune of having a girlfriend in Muggle-London, the rest of the Weasley children were trapped.

But despite all of this drama, Ron was happy. He was content, truly content. He had worked his arse off, and as a reward for his hard work, the Universe had given him The Quibbler. He was genuinely excited to start his business, and he was counting down the days before his advertisement campaign would begin. Sirius, Lord Greengrass, Theo, Blaise, and Lady Longbottom had all signed their shareholder agreements, and Gornuk was already on top of the paperwork.

Helios and Marty had been instrumental in keeping Ron in the loop, and Helios had made more than a few trips to Gringotts. Gornuk had informed Ron via Helios that multiple copies of the documents had been made, curtesy of Marty's delivery skills. Everything was going right, except for his house arrest. But Ron was glad to pay such a small price for his business' success. Now all he had to do was to keep his head down until Monday, when the Hogwarts Express would be departing, and then he'd be golden.

"Hello?" came Pandora's voice from the Living Room, and Ron stopped making his sandwich. _Mum left the floo open?_

"In here!" Ron called from the Kitchen, and Pandora entered the room. "Hello, Pandora. What brings you here?"

"Just dropping by to say hello" Pandora smiled at him as she took a seat.

"Would you like a sandwich?" Ron asked, and she politely shook her head.

"Where are your parents?" Pandora asked, looking to the Family Clock. "Diagon Alley? Wait, your entire Family is in Diagon Alley?"

"They're buying school supplies" Ron told her, putting together his sandwich.

"Without you?" Pandora asked, giving him a sharp look.

"Mum's idea" Ron shrugged, his father had assured him that he'd get Ron whatever he needed. _And he even signed my Hogsmeade form, despite mum telling him not to. Praise Merlin for Arthur Weasley._

"I see" Pandora nodded, watching him as he took a seat to her left. "How are you, Ron?"

"I'm fine" Ron smiled, and then he looked at her stomach. "How are you?"

"I am doing well" Pandora replied.

"I was talking to the baby, Pandora" Ron sniggered, earning a chuckle from her.

"He's as happy as they come" Pandora told Ron, who looked up with an excited look.

"A boy?" Ron beamed.

"I believe so" Pandora hummed, shooting Ron an airy smile. "My husband wants to be surprised, but I have a good feeling about the baby's gender. Don't tell him, alright?"

"I won't" Ron replied, fighting the urge to break into a happy dance. _A Godson…_ _ **My**_ _Godson… Bloody hell, I can't wait to meet him!_ "How is Xeno, by the way?"

"His article is being published today, and he took Luna with him to celebrate" Pandora replied.

"He didn't take you?" Ron asked, glad that Xeno had managed to beat the deadline.

"He really wanted to, but I had severe morning sickness" Pandora replied. "I actually made a mess of his shirt." _Ha!_

"That's good" Ron smiled at her, and then he blinked because of his own words. "Um… Not good that you threw up on him, good that he's celebrating his final issue with Luna…" _Another fine moment from Ronald Weasley, the man who loves the taste of his own feet._ "Pandora… Is Xeno happy? With our deal, that is." Pandora gave him a curious look, but her sharp eyes could see that Ron was uncertain about something.

"He is, Ron" Pandora assured him. "We both are, despite how shaken we were with how you got his signature."

"You were shaken?" Ron asked, scaring them was the last thing that he wanted to do.

"We were" Pandora admitted, and then she reached over and cupped his right cheek. "I didn't know that you had such a side to you, and it did jar me. But once my husband and I discussed your plans, and your intentions, we both slowly realized that you are doing this out of a need to help other people. And we both love that side of you. So yes Ron, my husband and I are happy. The Quibbler will live on, and it will do a lot of good under you."

"Thanks…" Ron smiled, feeling rather joyful at hearing her say that. "It means a lot to me that you're not angry with me, Pandora. One pissed off mother is all I can take" Ron joked, and Pandora laughed as she shook her head.

"Come here" Pandora said, pulling Ron into a sitting hug. "She'll come around Ron, I know it."

"Maybe…" Ron said, resting his head just above her chest.

"She's scared about your health, we all are" Pandora hummed, running her left hand through his hair. "And the fact that you aren't as scared as her is getting to her. She can be a little too protective."

"I'll be fine" Ron assured her. "It's everyone stressing about me that stresses me…"

"I understand, love" Pandora hummed, her soft voice making Ron feel sleepy. "Just make sure that you see Pomfrey as much as you need, and come to me if you ever need to talk. I know that sometimes it's hard for you to open up to your parents." _You're my parent too._

"I'll do that" Ron promised. "I love you, Pandora."

"I love you too, my sweet."

* * *

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Platform 9**_ _ **3/4**_ _ **– Morning)**_

The noise around them was deafening, but Ron was loving it. Today was the day that they'd all return to Hogwarts for another year of education, and Ron desperately wanted this year to go by without too many issues. Merlin knew that the previous year was nothing short of a nightmare, the Chamber of Secrets being one of the simpler issues that Ron had faced. _How fucked up is that? The King of Serpents petrifying me and three other people was somehow the least annoying thing to happen to me. I'm looking at you, Entity. You rotten prick._

"I guess this is goodbye for now, son" Arthur squeezed his left shoulder, giving him a paternal smile.

"I'll write to you, I promise" Ron said, and Arthur nodded in understanding. _Mum is still ignoring me, but at least dad got her to return my things._

"Just give her some time to get past this" Arthur said, shooting his wife a quick look. She was helping Ginny board the Hogwarts Express, teary eyed at seeing her daughter leave again. "I'd wager three months."

"Six months" Ron challenged his father, who chuckled heartily.

"Five sickles?" Arthur asked, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"You can't actively try and make her come to terms with it" Ron said.

"Too late, you already took the wager" his father laughed, patting his back gently.

"That… was rather Slytherin of you" Ron smirked, earning a light nudge from his father.

"Go on" Arthur said, smiling at Ron's comment. "The train is already blowing its horn."

"Goodbye, dad" Ron said, hugging the man's side. "And thank you for everything." _He spent his 'raise' on new books and supplies, including mine._ Ron then let go of his father, and made his way over to Pandora and Xeno. They were waving at Luna, who was already boarded and on the Ravenclaw Carriage. _I need to hurry up, we showed up here rather late._

"Ron?" Xeno smiled at him. "Why aren't you on the train? It's getting ready to depart."

"Just wanted to say goodbye" Ron replied, giving Xeno a quick hug. And then Ron hugged Pandora, making sure to be gentle. "Goodbye, Pandora."

"Take care of yourself, love" Pandora kissed his cheek. "And make sure that you beat your classmates."

"Oh, I will" Ron chuckled. _Maybe… I haven't read the third year textbooks yet. I'm saving that for my study sessions with Daphne._ Ron felt giddy at the thought of seeing her every day, so much so that he also felt slightly embarrassed. "Take care of yourselves, and please keep me informed on the baby."

"We will" Xeno chuckled, patting Ron's back. "Let me know when you start planning your advertising campaign for the new Quibbler, I'd like to help out in any way that I can."

"No worries" Ron said, heading for the nearest entrance. "I'll see you guys soon!"

"Take care!" Pandora waved at him, and he waved back before entering the Ravenclaw Carriage. _Shame about mum, but it can't be helped. She just needs to get over it, and until she does that, I have no intention of acknowledging her either._ As Ron was making his way towards the Slytherin Carriage, he suddenly felt the train begin to move. _Here we go. Another year at Hogwarts starts now._ Ron quickly made his way over to his friends' usual carriage, eager to see them.

"Hello!" Ron greeted his friends with a massive smile, his volume making some of them jump from fright. "Who's ready for another year at Hogwarts?!"

"Who's ready for Pomfrey to check their eardrums?" Blaise asked in return, making Ron snigger.

"I'm just gonna…" Ron started, shoving his trunk above Theo's head.

"Get your cock out of my face" Theo frowned slightly.

"That's not what you said last night" Ron joked, making Blaise and the girls burst into laughter. "Shhh, it'll be over soon."

"What the fuck, dude?" Theo laughed, shoving Ron back. Ron then took his seat in between the window and Daphne, and he had to stop himself from putting his arm around her out of habit. _Careful old boy, careful._

"How was your party, Theo?" Ron asked his weedy friend.

"It was fun" Theo shrugged.

"Malfoy was there" Pansy pointed out, and Ron nodded in understanding. _Theo's dad and Malfoy Snr are good friends, after all. I mean, why wouldn't they be? I'm sure that you'd bond with someone if you were both trying to bring back a Dark Lord._ "And he was looking… different."

"Different?" Ron asked.

"He's grown his hair out, and Pansy loved it" Millie smirked, earning herself a deep frown from Pansy.

"He looked out of sorts" Pansy explained, deciding to ignore Millie's teasing. "He was jumpy, and he ran off somewhere at the start of the party."

"Who cares about what he was up to?" Blaise said coldly. "Malfoy's business is not our concern, and the moment we make it our concern, we'll invite him back into our lives. I don't know about you lot, but I could really use a calmer year after the last one."

"Agreed" Theo said, giving Blaise a firm nod. Ron nodded slowly, and then he looked to Daphne. _She's being rather quiet._

"Daphne? What are your thoughts?" Ron asked, and Daphne simply shrugged.

"I really don't care about him, or his problems" Daphne replied. "Tori followed him for a bit, and she figured out that he was hiding from Marcus Flint. Whatever is going on between them, it's none of our business. And we should make sure to stay clear of it. If they come after us, then we'll just deal with them." _Noted. I wonder though… Why would Malfoy feel the need to hide from his own goons? At some point, I need to start influencing him to join the Order. I want him to become the person that I saw in my visions. I want him to save people like he saved those kids._

"Then it's agreed?" Ron asked them all. "We're to steer clear of Malfoy and his lot?"

"Yes, fearless leader" Tracey chuckled, making Ron's ear turn slightly red. _I'm not your 'leader'._

"Wait… What's that?" Ron asked her, eyeing the odd device in her lap. "It looks Muggle."

"This is a Walkman" Tracey smiled at him, showing it off to her friends. "And it plays music for you no matter where you are." Tracey then clicked a button, and a Muggle song started playing. _Woah… Neat._ "Also, if you put these in…" Tracey went on excitedly, plugging a cord of some sort into the 'Walkman'. "It plays music only for one person. Here, Pansy. Put these into your ears" Tracy said, handing Pansy the two ends of the cord.

"Um…" Pansy mumbled, slowly putting them into her ears. Her eyes widened, and then she smiled widely at Tracey. "I CAN HEAR IT!"

"Fuck me…" Ron winced because of her shout, while the others just blocked their ears.

"How awesome is that?" Tracey boasted, taking the cord away from Pansy. _Muggles… They're bloody geniuses. It's no wonder that Hermione is so smart, she grew up with them. Wait… No, that can't be right. I know plenty of Muggle-Borns that are morons. Hermione is just special._

"That is pretty awesome" Millie admitted. "Do Muggles have other devices like this?"

"They have weapons built to level entire countries in one go" Ron replied quickly, remembering his conversation with Madam Roberts.

"Pfft…" Theo scoffed. "I'm sure they do…"

"They do, actually" Tracey told them. "They're called Nuclear Weapons, and one of them can completely wipe out a city from the face of the Earth."

"You're joking, right?" Blaise asked, not looking so indifferent now.

"Madam Roberts told me about them" Ron said, deciding to show his friends why hating Muggles was idiotic. "She said that if Muggles wanted to, they could wipe us all out within months. That's why the International Confederation of Wizards was so desperate to make peace with them. A Wizard-Muggle war in our current generation wouldn't end well for us, even people like Dumbledore know that."

"Nuclear Weapons…" Theo repeated slowly, did his father know about this? If this was true, then Muggles could destroy entire planets if they wanted to. What kind of Spell would be able to stop one of these 'Nuclear Weapons'? _All of them except for Tracey look scared. Good. The war is looming ever closer, and I need to start putting ideas into their heads._

"And they have thousands of them" Tracey added on, enjoying the looks on her friends' faces. "It's actually become an issue amongst the Muggles. Nuclear Countries are making more and more 'Nukes', and people are scared that one mishap could end the World."

"End the World?" Pansy asked, her face going pale.

"Once a Nuke goes off, that area is uninhabitable for a **long** time" Tracey told them, and Ron blinked at this new information. _Merlin, what the fuck is wrong with them? Why even make something like that?_ "Do you know what radiation is?"

"No" Daphne said, waiting for Tracey to go on.

"It basically melts people if there's too much of it in the atmosphere" Tracey explained, fighting the urge to smile maliciously.

"It melts people?" Theo asked, he had to tell his father about this.

"Yeah…" Tracey nodded slowly, sounding rather ominous. "Once a Nuke goes off, whatever is unlucky enough to survive the explosion suffers a horrifying death from radiation poisoning. Only two Nukes have been used before…"

"They used them?" Millie asked, horrified at the idea. "On each other? Why?"

"There was a massive war, and two Nukes were fired to put an end to it" Tracey replied. "Two cities were completely decimated, and none of the cities' inhabitants survived. The explosion was so powerful that people's shadows were left imprinted on the walls behind them, while their bodies simply… vanished. No remains, no traces of them ever existing… Just shadows…"

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, clearly he was underestimating the Muggles himself. _We wouldn't have lasted a week!_

"Do you guys want to see pictures?" Tracey asked them, and they all shook their heads. "I could get mum to send me some from a local library."

"No thanks, Tracey" Daphne said, subtly shifting closer to Ron. "Why would they even make something so horrible?"

"Wizarding Kind has made horrible things too" Ron said, breaking out of his shock. _Remember the plan, Ron. Just nudge them into thinking about where they want to stand if a war comes around._ "The Unforgivables, hundreds of Curses made solely for hurting others… The only difference between us and them is that they don't use Magic to wage war, they use their intellect."

"I don't know about you lot, but I'm sending Dumbledore a fruit-basket once we get to Hogwarts" Pansy muttered, thoroughly put off from talking. _If only she knew that it was Dumbledore's idiocy that nearly started that Wizard-Muggle war in the first place. Him, and the Dark Lord._

"I'll chip in" Blaise said, looking both bewildered and shaken. Ron shot Theo a quick glance, and he noticed that his weedy friend was looking rather conflicted. _He's starting to realize just how idiotic war-mongering wizards are. Good. Let him stew in that for a while, and I'll keep nudging them all over time._

* * *

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Hogwarts Express – Afternoon)**_

Ron was trying not to doze off, but his eyes kept closing over and over again. All of them were now doing their own things, trying their best to just pass the time. Tracey was listening to her Walkman with Theo, Blaise was reading a book on 'Advanced Astronomy', Pansy was asleep, Millie was reading yet another book on Boxing, and Daphne was ever so slowly scooting closer to him. Ron feared that if she didn't stop, he'd be pushed out of the fucking window. _Oh, and our friends are right here._

"I'm gonna grab some food from the Trolley" Ron said suddenly, slowly standing up and stretching his legs. "Do you guys want anything?"

"Ham sandwich."

"Five licorice wands."

"Two pumpkin pastries."

"Chocolate frogs, please."

"Two Cherry Pops."

"Okay…" Ron nodded slowly. "Yeah… I've forgotten already."

"I haven't" Daphne said, standing up as well. "Let's go." _Oh, alright. Yay, alone time with Daph!_ Ron followed her out of the carriage, ignoring Blaise and Theo's smirks. As soon as Ron closed the compartment door, Daphne shot him a smirk. "Clever thinking, Ron. Acting like you'd forgotten their orders in order to get me alone, it was very shrewd." _Huh?_

"Yeah… Totally…" Ron nodded slowly, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Wow…" Daphne lost her smirk.

"They all shouted at once" Ron defended himself, a sheepish smile creeping onto his face. "I'm only human, Daph."

"I could debate that, judging from the things I've seen you do" Daphne said, smiling slightly. "C'mon, let's go find that Trolley." Ron nodded his agreement, and then they both began making their way towards the Ravenclaw Carriage first. "So… How have you been?"

"Good" Ron replied. "You?"

"Good" Daphne replied, and then she quickly shot a look behind them. "I missed you."

"I… I missed you too…" Ron said, keeping his eyes forward. _We're in public._ "Sorry about the lack of letters, my mum lost her mind because of me buying The Quibbler. She all but boarded up my windows, and she took most of my things. I only had enough parchment to send you one letter. Thank you for sending the briefcase to Gornuk, by the way. And for sending everyone their shareholder agreements."

"Think nothing of it, Ron" Daphne said, holding back a smile. "Did your parents sign your Hogsmeade form?"

"My dad did, despite my mum telling him not to" Ron replied. "She's really lost it, Daph. She's completely ignoring my existence."

"That sounds healthy" Daphne frowned, unable to hold back her displeasure with how Ron was being treated.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad…" Ron said. "But you know what? I'm not actually that upset about it. Crazy, right?"

"You can only take so much before you become numb" Daphne said, bumping her hand against his. "She'll come around, and then you two can go back to being normal again." _Normal with her? I don't even know what that's like anymore._

"And if she doesn't?" Ron asked.

"Then it's her loss" Daphne replied. "If she can't accept this side of you, then she needs to deal with it by herself. You're you… And I think you're amazing just the way you are." Ron blushed slightly, his eyes looking around for potential eavesdroppers.

"I think you're amazing too" Ron whispered, and Daphne stifled a giggle.

"Your compliments need some work though" Daphne smirked, even though she did like the fact that he tried.

"Remember that time when I complimented your laugh in my room?" Ron reminded her, and she nodded. "I thought that was a pretty good compliment."

"Even a blind man finds gold every now and then" Daphne said, and Ron rolled his eyes. _She wants a compliment? Fine. I'll give her a Weasley special._

"Your arse looks particularly nice in those jeans" Ron grinned, and Daphne's jaw dropped. "How's that for a compliment?"

"There are institutions built for depraved perverts like you, you know that right?" Daphne asked, her face flushing slightly. Did he really mean what he had said? He had complimented her buttocks before, right after telling her that he 'wanted to bury his head in her chest'. She was still trying to work her head around that one. She hated her ever-growing chest, but Ron clearly liked it. Somehow, that made her like her chest a bit too. Maybe there was a reason why Pansy and Tracey always gave her chest jealous looks.

"I'd easily break out of those institutions" Ron scoffed, he hadn't missed her flushing cheeks. They both entered the Ravenclaw Carriage, and sadly, there was no Trolley in sight. "Damn, we have to go to the Gryffindor Carriage now."

"Ron… No violence" Daphne warned him, she really didn't want to serve detention on the first day back.

"I am an advocate of peace, Daphne" Ron feigned being offended, earning a controlled smile from her. "How dare you suggest that I'd commit violence?"

"My mistake, good sir" Daphne said, turning around to head for the Gryffindor Carriage. "I always forget that you are a gentle soul."

"Gentle, but still firm" Ron corrected her.

"And how does that work?" Daphne asked him.

"I'm kind and polite, but if someone disrespects me, I smack them around with 'kindness'…" Ron grinned. "I sometimes even feel bad about it, I swear."

"When was the last time you saw Pomfrey?" Daphne asked him.

"Are you making fun of my condition?" Ron asked her, feigning hurt.

"No, I'm asking you if you've run out of your anti-psychotic Potions" Daphne smirked.

"Jokes on you, they don't even work on me" Ron sniggered, and Daphne visibly held back a smile. "C'mon Daph, you can smile if you want to. We're having good banter, and I know that you want to."

"There are people around" Daphne said.

"Yeah… But they're inside their compartments" Ron countered. "Just a quick smile, please. I really like your smiles." Daphne looked to him with a serious look, and then she smiled quickly. Ron snorted at that, earning himself a playful smack from her.

"Jerk" Daphne said, trying her best to not smile again.

"One more?" Ron asked her, and she huffed indignantly.

"I don't think so, Ronald" Daphne refused. "I'll save my smiles for people who won't snort at them."

"Like who?" Ron asked, captivated by the side of her face. _Look at that face… Hell, just look at all of her. I really lucked out, didn't I?_

"Ernest Macmillan" Daphne teased, shooting Ron a playful smirk.

"Yeah… He'd never snort…" Ron nodded slowly. "Probably because I'd put him in a coma. But yeah, you're right… He wouldn't snort."

"Jealousy doesn't really suit you, Ron" Daphne teased again, secretly liking the fact that Ron would fight for her.

"Didn't you threaten to claw out the eyes of any witch that dared ask me out?" Ron reminded her, and she blinked at him. "Uh-oh… I just trapped you, didn't I?"

"I liked you better when you were a moron" Daphne frowned slightly, she'd walked right into his trap. They both entered the Gryffindor Carriage at that, and Ron praised Merlin when he saw the Trolley.

"I hope you still remember their orders" Ron said, his eyes scanning the line at the Trolley. _Mostly Gryffindors, with a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. No Slytherins though. Damn, we'll stand out in that line._ "Do you want to wait?"

"Do I look like someone who waits for what she wants?" Daphne smirked at him, and he grinned in return. _That's what I like to hear._

"Then lead the way, my Lady" Ron gestured towards the line, and Daphne began walking towards it with her head held high. Ron walked by her side, his broad shoulders square and his posture showing his full height. He was easily the tallest person in his year, and his height was only challenged by the sixth and seventh years. Ron figured that his growth spurt was being helped immensely by his constant training and his large balanced meals, as well as the fact that he had his father's blood running through his veins. Arthur Weasley was just over six feet tall, and Ron knew that he'd probably be taller than his father one day.

"Did you bring your pouch?" Daphne asked him as they got into line, shooting a blank stare at anyone who dared look at her and Ron.

"Yes, I brought my pouch" Ron replied, not really caring about the occasional onlooker. _Yes, we're in Slytherin. Yes, we're here in your Carriage. But give us a break, we're hungry too._ "What did you want, by the way?"

"The Cherry Pops" Daphne replied. "What about you?"

"I'll grab a couple of pies, and maybe a couple of sandwiches as well" Ron shrugged. "Just something light."

"Something light?" Daphne gave him a deadpan look. "How are you not fat?"

"I wear belts around my stomach to keep my blubber in place" Ron chuckled, and the older Gryffindor girl ahead of him gave him a quick look. "Afternoon" Ron grinned at her, and she quickly looked forward again. Daphne shook her head at him slowly, bewildered by his metabolism.

"Ron?" came Harry's voice from behind them, and both Ron and Daphne turned to see Harry, Hermione, and Neville. _And Ginny?_ Ron's sister was accompanying the Golden Trio, much to his surprise. _Is she trying to become a part of their exclusive group? She would be better served by making friends in her own year._

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked him, completely ignoring Greengrass.

"I like the aesthetic of this Carriage" Ron remarked with a smirk.

"Oh…" Hermione blinked, and then she snorted when she realized how silly her question was. "How have you been?"

"Good" Ron replied. "What about you guys?"

"Great" Harry smiled widely. "I've got some awesome news to tell you." Harry then shot a quick look towards Daphne, something that made Ron fight the urge to frown.

"If you have something to tell me, Harry" Ron started. "Then you can say it near Daphne."

"It's alright, Ron" Daphne said, deciding to turn her attention back to the line. "You can go and talk to them, I remember the orders anyway."

"I'm not leaving you here" Ron said firmly, and she gave him a nod of understanding. She was definitely going to reward his show of loyalty to her.

"Harry, just tell him" Neville jumped in. "Everyone will know soon enough anyway. What's the point of hiding it?"

"You're right" Harry nodded. "I'm being an idiot… Anyway, guess who our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is going to be this year?"

"I don't know…" Ron shrugged, wondering which spastic moron Dumbledore had hired this year. _First a servant of the Dark Lord, and then Gilderoy fucking Lockhart. There is a disturbing pattern here._

"Remus!" Harry beamed, and Ron blinked at him.

"Remus? Our Remus?" Ron asked, feeling a pang of guilt for calling Remus a spastic moron by mistake. _What about the Legislation? Wait… Does Harry know about Remus' condition? Probably not. I shouldn't mention it in any case._

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, his excitement making Hermione, Neville, and Ginny smile at him. "He told me yesterday, and I've barely stopped grinning. Can you imagine how amazing D.A.D.A is going to be this year?" _I can. Remus is in the Order, isn't he? I bet he knows some crazy powerful techniques to combat the Dark Arts. I should ask him to give me some private lessons. He'd totally agree to that._

"This is great" Ron laughed genuinely. "Thanks for telling me, mate. My day just got even better."

"I can't wait to learn from a competent D.A.D.A Professor for once" Hermione smiled widely, already imagining herself getting perfect scores on Remus' tests.

"What about Dumbledore last year?" Daphne asked, deciding to not be a mute spectator.

"Oh, he was great" Hermione said quickly. "But he was only a temporary Professor… So he doesn't count." _What kind of logic is that? Oh wait… He didn't really test us on anything. He gave us one test, and then nothing more than some annoying essays._

"Fair enough" Daphne said, deciding to go back to being a mute spectator.

"I bet Remus knows a lot of powerful Spells" Harry said. "He did fight in the Great War, you know." _I know, but please keep that to yourself. There are people around._

"This is great news" Ron repeated, genuinely happy that his favorite subject was getting some justice for once. _Dumbledore hired him despite him being a Werewolf. I… I should thank him for that. And then ask him what his angle is. There is no way in hell that Dumbledore hired him simply out of the goodness of his heart. The old man is making a move, and I want in._ Ron suddenly spotted three very familiar girls approaching the line from behind Ginny and the Golden Trio, and they saw him staring at them. Carey and Samantha smirked at the sight of him, while Clara smiled her seductive smile. _Uh-oh. The New Triumvirate…_

"There you are, Ronald" Carey said as she stopped just behind the Trio and Ginny, her Head-Girl badge gleaming because of the lighting. The Trio and Ginny turned to face her, but she and the other two girls simply ignored them. "Can we please speak to you? This is urgent." _Urgent?_

"Ron, go" Daphne said, and Ron bit back his frown. _No, I'm not leaving her alone in the Lion's den._

"I think I'll get something from the Trolley as well" Samantha said, walking right through the Trio and Ginny. _What?_ Samantha stopped by Daphne's side after shooting Ron a meaningful look. _Now Daphne's not alone… Bugger._

"Lead the way then" Ron said to Carey, who simply turned around and began walking towards the Slytherin Carriage. "Excuse me" Ron said to his Gryffindor friends, all of them just shooting him curious looks. _Why are they approaching me so openly? And what's this urgent business? Are they really The Silver Triumvirate now? What does that mean for me? Shite… Guess I'm about to find out._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: And it's done! I hope you guys enjoyed that! Third commences next chapter, and it's going to be a completely original year. Well, the entire story so far has been quite different. But from here on out, we're on a VERY different timeline.**

 **Now a small hint about this year (My gift to you guys for being so late with this Chapter): Previous Cycles... That's all I'll say. =)**

 **See you guys on Sunday!**


	68. Chapter 68 - Third Year

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 68 is here, and once again, it's a little late. I just got Bloodborne, and Damn it's good! I had to make timetables for everyone, and figure out which classes would need to clash in order to avoid inconsistencies. Not to mention other things like research into subjects and whatnot. But that's all done, so onto Third Year!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 68 – Third Year**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Hogwarts Express – Afternoon)**_

"In you go" Clara said, gently nudging him into their carriage. As Ron took a seat, Clara and Carey followed him inside. "You've gotten taller, Ron" Clara smiled, taking a seat to his left.

"Thank you" Ron smiled back, he was rather proud of his height.

"You don't look like an average thirteen year old, no offence" Clara eyed him, and then she slowly tangled her right arm with his left one. _Tits! Big tits on my arm!_

"How were your holidays, Ron?" Carey asked him, taking a seat to his right.

"They were great" Ron replied, realizing that he was sandwiched between two gorgeous girls. _Carey is slightly more beautiful than Future Daphne, while Clara has a more voluptuous body. Dear lord, Future Daphne is the perfect blend of both Clara and Carey. And she has Samantha's Ice-Queen mentality as well._ Ron smiled to himself, his Future was certainly looking good.

"I think Ron likes sitting between us, Clara" Carey said, gently smiling at Ron's curved lips.

"Huh?" Ron broke out of his thoughts. _Did she say something?_ "Sorry, I sort of zoned out… How were your holidays?"

"They were busy" Carey replied, scooting closer to him.

"Mine were quite exciting" Clara said, scooting closer to him.

"That's… That's good to hear" Ron said, he was basically being squeezed in between them. _Merlin, they smell so nice. Stop it, Ron. Concentrate. Don't let them distract you with their sexy, beautiful, and bountiful bodies._ "Um… Congratulations, Carey."

"Whatever for, Ron?" Carey asked with a smile, he was actually blushing.

"For becoming Head Girl" Ron replied, shooting a look at her badge. "My brother Percy is Head Boy."

"Oh, I know" Carey said, her voice almost a purr. "Is he single?" _What?_

"Um… No, he has a girlfriend" Ron replied, questioning her motives.

"Shame" Carey shrugged lightly. "Guess I'll just have to settle for you."

"Get in line, Carey" Clara hummed, tightening her grip on his arm. "Ron likes girls with… tantalizing assets."

"Is that so?" Carey asked, looking to a bewildered Ron. "Do you prefer Clara's body over mine, Ron?" _Merlin, help me! What am I supposed to say?!_

"Um…" Ron swallowed, deciding to play peacekeeper instead. "I like… I like Clara's body more… But I think that you're more beautiful… And I really like your smooth, blonde hair…" _How did this happen to me? I can't keep up with them._

"Is he suggesting that he would only be satisfied with having the both of us at the same time?" Clara asked, and Ron's jaw dropped. _What the fuck?_

"I didn't say that…" Ron quickly defended himself. _Though that would be awesome._

"Don't be shy, I'm open to the idea" Carey teased him, his reaction making her smile genuinely.

"Open to the idea?" Ron muttered, he was almost certain that his ears were lying to him. _I need to put an end to this before they make a fool out of me._ "Is there something that you needed?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly. _SHITE!_

"Aw… Things were finally getting interesting" Clara cooed, enjoying his innocent reactions.

"Too interesting…" Ron mumbled, but they heard him and giggled.

"You're cute, Ron" Carey said, telling him her honest thoughts. "And yes, you are completely correct. We do need something from you."

"Something that only you can give us" Clara added, and then she blew on his left ear. Ron's entire body tensed, much to her delight.

"Clara, Samantha, and I have been elected as the Silver Triumvirate for this year" Carey went on, and Ron nodded tensely. _I figured as much._ "And we've decided to change things up a little."

"Our House's win streak was destroyed last year under the previous Triumvirate" Clara said.

"And we don't intend to lose the House Cup" Carey added on.

"You need me to rack up House Points?" Ron asked.

"Yes, that's a given" Carey nodded, her gentle smile was making Ron's eyes wander. "But we have a bigger plan that we need to implement immediately. The first years…"

"First years?" Ron blinked. "I thought that the Triumvirate didn't get involved with the first years. Something about letting them settle in, or something." _That's what Victor told me._

"You are correct" Clara said sweetly. "Five Points to Slytherin."

"The Triumvirate allows the first years to… establish themselves" Carey said. "They are kept away from the House's politics for their own benefit. They learn how Slytherin works by observing us older students, and then when their time comes, they know how to behave themselves."

"I see" Ron nodded slowly, he himself had often observed the older students. "But you plan to change that?"

"Correct again" Clara said, giving his left cheek a quick kiss. Ron nearly flinched out of surprise, but she simply smiled her seductive smile at him. "I don't have the authority to handout House Points, that's all." _Sure…_

"We plan to implement our own system…" Carey started, but there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in" Clara called, and Samantha entered the compartment. Her eyes immediately went towards Ron being sandwiched between her friends, and she smiled knowingly as she shut the door behind her. _Wait… If she's here, then where's Daphne?_

"Daphne?" Ron asked, carefully watching Samantha as she took a seat from across him. _A wall to my back, and three temptresses blocking off my other directions. I'm trapped in here._

"Your girlfriend is safely back with your friends, I made sure of it" Samantha replied, crossing her legs in a rather seductive manner.

"She's not my…" Ron started, but Samantha tutted him with a smirk.

"Lying is a sin, Ronald" Samantha told him, and Ron blinked at her. Samantha then looked to Carey, who was just smiling at Ron in amusement. "Have you told him of our plan?"

"We had to get through pleasantries first" Clara giggled. "But we're telling him now."

"As I was saying" Carey restarted. "We plan to implement our own system, and it involves the first years. They are a gold mine of House Points, and exploiting them will put us in a strong position early on in the year."

"Exploiting them?" Ron asked, he didn't like the sound of that.

"When a first year gets the answer right in their first attempt, or shows any noticeable talent within classes, they are bombarded with House Points" Samantha replied. "Surely you know all about that, Ron." _They are right… When I first came to Hogwarts, I was earning a ridiculous amount of points._

"We older students don't have that privilege, the Professors already know just how brilliant we all are" Clara hummed, giving his arm a gentle squeeze with her breasts.

"All?" Ron asked, shooting her a confused look. "Marcus Flint is as dull as dirt…"

"He will play his part, don't worry" Carey said, and Ron nodded slowly. _Guess they have a plan for him as well._

"And what's my part in your plan?" Ron asked.

"You are a Prodigy, **and** you are famous" Samantha replied, her black eyes fixed on his.

"Not to mention that you're rather well-liked in the House" Carey added.

"Both of your parties were massive successes, and you won us the House Cup in your **first** **year** " Clara said, emphasizing her last two words. _Are they…? Are they telling me to tutor the first years?_

"You want me to teach them" Ron figured, and all three girls smiled at him.

"There's the Ron that we love" Clara cooed, giving his left cheek another kiss.

"We want you to take the first years under your wing" Carey told him. "We would do it ourselves, but we have far too many responsibilities."

"You have N.E. this year" Ron said slowly, and they all nodded.

"And since Carey was promoted to Head Girl, I've taken over her prefect duties" Samantha said.

"And I really don't like little brats" Clara said. _Fair enough._

"What do you mean by 'take them under my wing'?" Ron asked.

"Tutor them, teach them about our rules and politics, make sure that they don't lose us House Points by being troublemakers, and make them feel 'involved' within the House" Carey replied. "You will act as their caretaker, and we will hold you responsible for their actions. If they do well, then you will be… rewarded." _Rewarded? I like the sound of that._

"But if they fail to meet our expectations, then you will be punished" Clara said, her voice coming out as rather enticing. _Punished? Why do I also like the sound of that? Ronald Weasley; depraved masochist…_

"There is one more thing that you need to know" Samantha said, and Ron looked to her with rapt attention. "Generally, the Silver Triumvirate picks three people in third year who are most likely to be the Triumvirate when they reach their seventh year. You will not be in that group."

"I won't?" Ron blinked, why wasn't he in this group? _I do more for this House than any of my year-mates._

"Just listen, Ron" Clara said reassuringly.

"Usually, these 'three potential Triumvirate members' watch over the second years in order to report back to us" Carey told him. "Similarly, there are fourth years who watch over the third years, and so on. But this year, we plan to involve the first years. And therefore, we need one person watching over them. You are that person, and in order to help you keep your focus solely on the first years, we've decided to pick three of your peers to watch over the second years instead."

"I see…" Ron said slowly, he would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't made upset by this. _I deserve to be in that trio. Especially considering that I make more House Points alone than what my 'peers' make._

"You will also answer directly to us" Samantha said gently, all three girls had noticed that Ron was genuinely disappointed. "We need someone to exercise our will within, and outside of, Slytherin. We want you to be that person." _Exercise their will? They want me to do their dirty work, right?_

"You've already proven yourself very capable" Clara said, trying her best to sound reassuring. "You handled Diggory and McDean for us last year, and you did it splendidly."

"It wasn't just me" Ron said, trying his best to not sound upset.

"Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott helped you, we know" Carey said. "Ron, I want you to know that you not being in that group means nothing to us, we know just how valuable you are to Slytherin. That's why we're trusting you to watch over the first years all by yourself. And when the time comes, we'll tell the next Triumvirate that you deserve to have a spot within that trio."

"Who have you selected from my year?" Ron asked, and the girls traded quick looks.

"Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, and… Draco Malfoy" Carey replied, deciding that he deserved to know. _Malfoy? They fucking picked Malfoy over me?!_

"You picked Malfoy?" Ron hissed, his temper flaring wildly. "After all the shite he's pulled over the last two years?"

"Yes, we picked him despite his actions" Samantha replied, giving Ron a sympathetic look.

"I can understand Daphne and Theo, but why **him**?" Ron asked. _This is unbelievable!_ _ **I**_ _deserve that spot, not that weak little fuck!_

"He has a way of rallying allies around him" Clara explained, she was surprised by how quickly Ron's mood had shifted. "He's resourceful, sly, and his overall grades are better than anyone in your year… You and that Granger girl not included, of course."

"And his father is a powerful man who expects his son to be a part of the Triumvirate someday" Carey added on. "We are only adding him in because you are needed elsewhere, Ron."

"And because it helps you" Ron said, unable to hide a bit of his bitterness. _They've already made up their minds, and putting Malfoy in the trio is far more beneficial to them as compared to putting me in the trio. Sure, they're trusting me with the first years… But it's not the same. I just figured that after everything that I've done for Slytherin, I'd be a shoo-in for the trio._

"It does help us" Samantha admitted. "We have our entire lives ahead of us, and Lucius Malfoy could do a lot of damage to our futures if we neglect his son. Despite his son being the cause of his own neglect. We know that this isn't fair to you, or to the effort that you've put in over the last two years. But please understand where we are coming from. You, despite only being a third year, will the person that we rely on the most. The next Triumvirate will see that, we'll make sure of it." _I guess hard-work means nothing if your father isn't a wealthy sociopath… Damn. I can understand them trying to protect their futures, I truly can. But this still… hurts._

"Ron?" Carey called to him, trying to get a read on his mood.

"I… I understand…" Ron told them, his voice slightly subdued. _There is no point in telling them that this is unfair to me, they already know it. They're still giving me a far more important role than the trio, so I need to just take it._ "If it helps you three, then I'll follow your plan…" Ron said, he didn't want to lose the power that they **were** giving him by throwing a tantrum.

"Look at me, Ron" Carey said, gently turning his head to face her. "The trio are nothing more than eyes for us, which gives them very little power within Slytherin. You, on the other hand, will speak for us. Don't think for a second that we don't value you. Alright?"

"Alright" Ron replied, looking into Carey's eyes.

"Thank you for understanding our reasons" Carey smiled gently, and the she placed a chaste kiss on his lips. _She… She just kissed me…_ Ron just stared at her, his face slowly warming up. _I know that Pure-Bloods sometimes do this to show affection, but she's not a Pure-Blood._ "You can return to your friends now" Carey said, and Ron nodded dumbly. Clara untangled her arm from his at that, and Ron stood up and began to leave.

"Make sure that you tell them nothing of our plans" Samantha said as Ron began exiting the compartment, and he nodded his agreement. As soon as Ron closed the compartment door, he found himself genuinely baffled. They had given him a very important role, and judging by how handsy they were with him, they clearly liked him. And yet, Malfoy had taken his spot in the trio. _Slytherin politics… The other Houses are lucky that they don't have to worry about this sort of stuff. And what the hell was up with that kiss? It seemed innocent enough, but still… It was kind of weird. This is going to be another insane year, isn't it?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Hogsmeade Station – Late Evening)**_

"You're really not going to tell us what the Triumvirate wanted with you?" Pansy asked for the twentieth time, and Ron audibly groaned.

"Pansy, give it a rest" Blaise said, pulling his luggage off of the train.

"You'll get him into trouble if you keep asking him that" Millie said, frowning slightly when she saw Pansy blow raspberries at her. "Mature…"

"How are we supposed to help him if he won't tell us anything?" Pansy asked Millie and Blaise, who both just rolled their eyes.

"You don't want to 'help him', you're just being nosey" Blaise said, sounding like a complete arsehole.

"There's no need for that" Ron frowned at Blaise, who once again rolled his eyes. _Want me to slap them out of your skull? Shite… Calm down, Ron. It's not Blaise's fault that Malfoy took your spot, it's Lucius Malfoy's fault. Just another thing that he'll pay for eventually._ "Pansy, they're not wrong. If the wrong people hear us, I'll be knee-deep in shite."

"That's gross" came Astoria's voice from behind him, and Ron jumped slightly before turning to face her. "Did I scare you?" Astoria smirked, looking rather pleased with herself.

"Tori, put your wand away" Daphne said, noticing that her sister was once again brandishing her Dogwood wand.

"I'm not using it, I'm just holding it" Tori defended herself, her wand had immediately become her favorite possession.

"Are you sure that you're not just showing it off?" Theo asked her with a smile, and she grinned in return.

"Look at how pretty it is" Astoria beamed, showing them all her wand. "Mr. Ollivander said that Dogwood wands only accept those who are playful and mischievous by nature, and that these types of wands are one of his personal favorites."

"That… fits you rather well" Tracey said, admiring the wand's notched patterns.

"Wand-lore is terrifyingly accurate" Theo told her, and she nodded slowly. "I have a book back at the Manor that covers a lot of Wand-lore. Want me to send for it? We can all read up on our wands, and in doing so, get to know each other better."

"That's rather sweet of you, Theo" Pansy said, visibly surprised. Millie and Daphne nodded their baffled agreements, while Tracey couldn't help but smile at him.

"I **am** rather sweet, aren't I?" Theo smirked, and everyone rolled their eyes.

"And he's an arse again, the World isn't off balance" Ron remarked, earning a snigger from Theo. "But sure mate, it's a pretty decent idea." _My wand is made from Cypress wood, and I'd love to know what the Wand-lore behind that wood is._

"Ohhh, can I join in?" Astoria asked, and Ron nodded.

"Of course, Tori" Ron smiled at her, why would she even ask that?

"First years! Come with me!" came Hagrid's yell from the other end of the train. "You'll all be travelin' to Hogwarts with me!"

"I'll see you guys in Slytherin" Tori said excitedly, shaking slightly from her excitement.

"Good luck in the Sorting Ceremony, sister" Daphne said, cupping both of Tori's cheeks lovingly. "Make the Greengrass name proud, and tell that Hat to sort you into Slytherin."

"I will" Tori said firmly, still grinning from ear to ear.

"I love you" Daphne said, kissing Tori's forehead.

"I love you too, Daph" Tori replied, and then she quickly began making her way towards Hagrid.

"She'll be fine" Tracey reassured Daphne, who nodded absentmindedly. _She wants to keep Tori in her sight, doesn't she? She told me that she knew that Tori was 'unwell', and if Tori is sorted into any other House, then Daphne will undoubtedly go mad with worry._

"We should make our way towards the carriages" Millie said, noticing that people were already departing from the station.

"Merlin, are we going to have to see those things again?" Tracey asked, grimacing at the thought of seeing the ghastly horses that pulled the carriages.

"They're called Thestrals, and they are gentle creatures" Theo said, his father owned a couple of Thestrals. Theo had often spent time with those noble creatures after his mother had died, content that only he and his father could see them. Sharing that trait with his father made him feel… less alone.

"They look like demons right out of hell" Blaise said, and everyone but Theo nodded.

* * *

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

The Sorting Ceremony was done, and Ron had been given eight new charges; Astoria Greengrass, Hestia and Flora Carrow, Lysandra Yaxley, Derek Smith, Sebastian Cunningham, Johnathon Fawley, and Mathew Roberts. They were a… unique looking lot, and Ron was eager to 'lay down the law' on them. Oddly enough, one of them had started crying after his sorting, and was now just staring at his plate in utter disbelief. Johnathon Fawley was truly horrified to be sorted into Slytherin, especially because his Family was well known to be filled with nothing but Hufflepuffs. Ron felt a rather special bond with him already, and he really wanted to cheer the lanky kid up.

"Welcome, welcome!" Dumbledore greeted them all from his podium, a happy smile on his face. Ron hadn't seen the old wizard since his breakdown, and now all he could do was stare at the man. "We are once again all together, no doubt eager to begin another year of learning! I hope you have all forgotten what you learned last year, it gives the Professors something to do when they find themselves at a loss!" The whole Hall began sniggering, while the Professors just gave Dumbledore's back deadpan looks. _Ha! He's actually barmy. Look at Snape. He looks so done with him._

"Now!" Dumbledore clapped his hands loudly, eyeing all the happy faces looking back at him. "This year will be a little different from the previous ones! I thought that a little change would mix things up for the better, so listen closely! This year, we will have a Dueling Club!" The student body broke into loud chatter, most of them extremely excited about learning actual Dueling Skills.

"We're so joining that" Theo told the group, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"I don't know…" Pansy grimaced. "I feel like the older students would just dominate…"

"Ahem" Ron cleared his throat, and Pansy gave him a sheepish smile. _I'll dominate._

"I'm definitely joining" Millie announced, shooting the other three girls encouraging looks.

"Me too" Blaise nodded, not looking very excited however.

"That's enough chatter!" Dumbledore laughed, and everyone ceased talking immediately. "Our new D.A.D.A Professor, Remus Lupin, will be in charge of the Dueling Club alongside your Potions Professor, Severus Snape! Please give Professor Lupin a warm welcome!" The Hall applauded Remus, who stood up and gave them a short bow. _He looks like hell… The Full-Moon was only two nights ago._ Ron let out a loud whistle as he clapped for Remus, who spotted him with a weak smile. _Snape and Remus working together to teach us Dueling Skills… This must be heaven! An Order spy, and an Order veteran!_

"The Dueling Club will commence in a month's time, and your Heads of Houses will give you all the necessary information required!" Dumbledore went on, glad to see how well the students were taking this. "It will be competitive, and House Points will be rewarded!" _Oh, fuck yes!_ The students once again broke into chatter, but Dumbledore quickly 'cleared his throat', effectively stopping everyone from talking. "There is one more thing that I must inform you all on!"

"Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures Professor, sadly retired at the end of last year" Dumbledore said, sounding rather somber suddenly. "He wished to spend more time with his remaining limbs, and he will be sorely missed. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on his new appointment in addition to his Gamekeeper duties. You may now give **Professor** Hagrid a warm welcome!" _He hired the fucking oaf?! The man spills his secret plans to thirteen year olds, and Dumbledore makes him a Professor?!_

Ron joined in on the applause, which was considerably louder than what Remus had gotten. The Gryffindors had decided to turn into wild animals, and were loudly banging on their tables and shouting praise for Hagrid. Ron took the opportunity to shoot a look at Snape, who was giving Hagrid the least enthusiastic applause that Ron had ever seen. _Snape genuinely looks like he wants to fucking retire himself._ Ron then looked to a teary-eyed Hagrid, who was cleaning his eyes with a sizable rag that he had pulled out of his massive trench coat.

"Dumbledore turned a servant into our Professor for Care of Magical Creatures?" Theo asked, clapping with a baffled look.

"Why are the Gryffindors so riled up?" Daphne asked, shooting them an annoyed look. They were now banging their goblets on their tables, and although the Hufflepuffs were smiling at their excitement, the Slytherins and Ravenclaws were frowning lightly. _Bloody hell, my ears are starting to ring._

"Hagrid being hired gives them all hope that even the biggest morons around stand a chance at finding employment" Blaise smirked, making everyone but Ron snigger. Ron was just watching the Headmaster with an analytical eye. _First Remus, and now Hagrid. Both of them have one thing in common; they love Harry. The old man is making a move, I just know it._

"With all of the announcements out of the way, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed, and the tables were suddenly bursting with food. Every student quickly dug in, they were all hungry from their long trip, and Ron's group was no different. As Ron began his first plate, he shot a quick look towards the first years, and he wasn't surprised to see Johnathon Fawley still staring at his empty plate.

"Where are you looking, Ron?" Theo asked, following his friend's gaze to a lanky first year. "Ah, that kid… What's his name again?"

"Johnathon Fawley" Ron replied.

"How does a member of the Fawley Family get sorted into Slytherin?" Millie asked. "They pretty much worship Badgers."

"Same way that a Weasley got sorted into Slytherin" Blaise replied, his eyes fixed on his own plate. _Fawley has a 'God' living inside of his head as well?_ "The Hat clearly saw that kid's potential being fully realized within Slytherin, and now here he is."

"There's a bunch of Hufflepuffs staring at him" Tracey informed them, and Ron shot a look towards the Hufflepuff tables. Most of them were eating and chatting, but a few Hufflepuffs were shooting Fawley worried looks. _At least they're not angry at him for 'betraying them'. They're most likely just worried about his wellbeing._

"He'll be fine" Blaise said, still not bothering to look at Fawley.

"He's not eating" Daphne said, the boy's reaction to being sorted within Slytherin reminded her of Ron's reaction. Ron too had just sat there, staring at his empty plate with a blank look.

"There's always breakfast" Theo said, losing his interest in Fawley as well.

"Sooner or later, he's going to have to eat something" Blaise added on. "Now, who do you think is going to be selected by the new Triumvirate to represent our year?" _Not me, that's for certain. But I do get to mold the first years, and I will be working directly for the Silver Triumvirate. I can use this to influence people, especially the first years._

* * *

 _ **Monday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **August, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

The welcoming feast had been utterly divine, and after Ron too had lost interest in Fawley's mood, he had devoured five plates singlehandedly. Once the feast had ended, all the students had shuffled off to their common rooms. The Slytherins were led down by two fifth year prefects, and then they had waited for Snape to make his appearance. And the man did not disappoint. He had billowed into the common room with his trademark sneer, and then proceeded to give his 'start of the year lecture' to everyone. The first years, not counting Tori, were rightly frightened of the man.

"And those who lose more House Points than they earn will answer directly to me" Snape whispered coldly, his eyes moving between the first years. "I will be keeping my eyes on your actions, and if you ever act in a manner which embarrasses this Noble House, you will spend the remainder of the year cleaning cauldrons with nothing but your personal toothbrushes. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir" Tori replied with a smirk, while the other first years just nodded. Snape eyed her for a second, and then he simply turned around and billowed away. _How does he get his robes to flow behind him like that? I'll ask him the next time I see him._

"First years, proceed to your dorms for the night" Carey ordered, her silky voice replaced with a much more authoritative one. "You are expected to be present at the breakfast table at eight in the morning, and do not be late because you will be given your class timetables at breakfast. Martha, take the girls to their dorms. Septimus, you take the boys." The two fifth year prefects nodded firmly, and then they gestured the first years to follow them. Tori shot Daphne a smile, one that Daphne didn't return because they were in public. Once the first years were gone, Clara and Samantha joined Carey.

"Now that the first years are gone, welcome back to Slytherin" Carey said, smiling politely at all of them. "Clara, Samantha, and I have been chosen to be your new Triumvirate, and if you all play your parts, we'll win the House Cup this year."

"Last year's Triumvirate members were rather… detached" Samantha took over. " **We** will not be making that mistake. Which is why we are implementing a few changes into how this House operates. Firstly, each year will have a weekly quota of fifty House points. Meeting this quota is not optional, and those who fail to meet it will answer directly to us."

"Secondly, in-House fighting will be severely punished" Clara chimed in, her eyes traveling to people like Flint. "You are allowed to argue, and even discuss your differences, but you will do it in a civil manner. We all need to present a united front, and the people who damage that united front by going after their House-mates will be prosecuted. We will not allow last year's mistakes to surface this year, you have all been warned."

"And lastly, our word is law" Carey said firmly. "If we tell you to do something, you do it without question. If you have a problem, you come to us before taking things into your own hands. Chaos will not stand under our rule. Each year will have three representatives, **including** the second years. And these three representatives will report directly to us each week. If you want something to be brought to us, go to your delegates. If it is a private matter, come directly to us."

"Our door will always be open" Clara took over. "And we will give you our best, but only if you do the same."

"With all of that out of the way, listen closely for your name to be called" Samantha said as she took out a piece of parchment from her school robes. "The sixth year representatives are Jack Hughes, Atif Aslam, and Maria Cortez. The fifth year representatives are Martha Hopkirk, Septimus Smith, and Arthur Belmont. The fourth year representatives are Madeline Croxley, Bartholomew Greene, and Susan Wiltshire. The third year representatives are Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, and Draco Malfoy." _And there it is._

There was some faint chatter amongst the Slytherins, and Ron pretended to ignore his friends' shocked looks. Theo had gone from looking extremely pleased to just staring at the Triumvirate in utter disbelief, Pansy and Millie seemed more angry than shocked, Blaise was eyeing Malfoy who was looking rather surprised himself, Tracey looked ready to start an argument, and Daphne was looking at Ron with a look of sympathy and surprise. Students like Flint were smirking at Ron, while most of the other students were wondering why the Prodigy hadn't been named as a representative.

"That's enough!" Clara yelled over the chatter, effectively shutting everyone up. _Merlin, I've never heard her yell before._

"The second year representatives are Boris Grimm, Suzie Ninkovich, and Lilliana Flowers" Samantha finished the list. "Representatives, you will all stay behind to listen to your duties. As for the rest of you, depart for your dorms."

"Let's make this year as successful as we can" Carey said. "Goodnight." Everyone began shuffling out of the common room at that, most of them going back to discussing their plans for the year. Ron and his friends moved towards the dorms, and they stopped before splitting up.

"Malfoy?" Tracey spat out, shooting the still shocked Malfoy a dark look. "They picked Malfoy over you?"

"His father must be behind this" Blaise figured, he wasn't too bothered about not being selected as a representative himself.

"Ron, are you alright?" Millie asked, holding back her anger.

"I'm fine" Ron assured them, and they just blinked at him.

"Why are you fine?" Pansy asked haughtily, all of them had been certain that Ron would be picked as a representative. "They picked Mafloy over you!"

"This is clearly an insult" Tracey sneered at the Triumvirate, who were now speaking to the representatives.

"Maybe…" Blaise said slowly, and then he looked to Ron with a sharp look. "What did they offer you?" The girls looked to Blaise for a moment, and then they looked to Ron.

"I can't tell you that yet" Ron replied. "They have other plans for me, and trust me, they're important."

"That's why they spoke to you on the train" Millie nodded slowly, her anger dissipating.

"So they didn't pick Malfoy over you?" Tracey asked, she still didn't like that arsehole representing their year.

"No, they didn't" Ron replied. "We should split up before they start thinking that we're up to something. Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" the girls said softly, and then they slowly left Ron and Blaise.

"So…" Blaise said as they began making their way towards their new dorm. "What's this important role that they're giving you?" _Should I tell him?_

"I'll tell you when we're in the dorm" Ron said, deciding to get Blaise's advice on how he should run the first years.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"The first years, eh?" Blaise asked, Ron had just told him of the Triumvirate's plan. "I have to admit, it's quite clever of them to exploit the Professors' habit of rewarding the first years more points. And you'd make the perfect tutor for them, considering your Prodigy status."

"Yeah" Ron nodded. "So, any tips?"

"Be firm and fair, and don't let them walk all over you" Blaise replied. "You have a tendency to let people get away with acting spoiled, especially people from the opposite gender."

"I learnt it from being friends with you lot" Ron sniggered, earning an understanding nod from Blaise.

"I won't deny that" Blaise said.

"That's what I like about you, Blaise" Ron smirked, while Blaise cocked an eyebrow. "You never put yourself on a pedestal. And thanks, I'll take your advice to heart. I know for a fact that Tori will try to exploit my love for her."

"You need to show her that she's not in her father's Manor anymore, and that none of us give a fuck about her entitled nature" Blaise said, sounding rather cold and callous.

"That's a bit harsh, mate" Ron said, biting back a frown.

"Maybe, but I'm not wrong" Blaise said, keeping his eyes fixed on Ron's. "She has always been sheltered by her mother and father, so much so that they let her get away with things that they'd skin Daphne for. Being a little harsh with her will truly help her, trust me. I mean seriously, did you see her with Snape tonight? What was she thinking? Smirking at Snape like that…" _Yeah, that was pretty fucking stupid of her. She has no clue just how vindictive Snape is._

"Once I'm in charge of the first years, I'll try and find a way to keep her in check" Ron said, deciding to keep Tori from making herself too many enemies. The door suddenly opened, and Theo stepped inside with a frown. "Theo? What's with the frown?"

"They fucking picked Malfoy over you, and now I'm stuck with that twat" Theo said, walking straight to his trunk. "Daphne and I have to spend time with him while we write a report for the Triumvirate at the end of each week…"

"How long could a report possibly take?" Blaise asked. "All you're doing is making sure that there are no problems within our year level."

"There's always problems in our year level" Theo shot back, and then he looked to Ron. "The Triumvirate is calling you, by the way. They're in the common room. What's that about?"

"Blaise will tell you" Ron said as he stood up, and then he made his way out of the room. Once he had closed the door behind him, Ron quickly made his way into the common room. He noticed that it was devoid of any students except for the Triumvirate, who were sitting in Ron's favorite spot.

"Ah, Ron" Carey greeted him with a gentle smile, her silky voice was rather pleasant on his ears.

"Hello" Ron greeted her back, still wondering why she had giving him that odd kiss.

"Your friends took the news of you not being in the representatives rather well" Samantha noted as she observed Ron's height, he was slightly taller than her now. The boy was growing like a weed, a weed that was clearly jumped up on Potions.

"We expected them to start an argument with us, especially Davis" Clara hummed, basking in the heat from the fireplace.

"They wanted to, but I've put a stop to it" Ron assured them, and they nodded together.

"Thank you, Ron" Carey said, and Ron gave her a polite nod. "So… What do you think of the first years?"

"I only know one of them, so I can't really say" Ron replied. "When do I start working with them?"

"Tomorrow night" Carey replied.

"We will speak to them tomorrow after classes end for the day" Clara explained. "We'll tell them of our roles within Slytherin, as well as theirs. After we finish bringing them up to speed, we'll tell them about you. You may speak to them whenever you deem necessary."

"I understand" Ron said, earning a pleased smile from Clara.

"Oh, and be firm with them" Samantha advised. "They need to understand that they're at the bottom of the food chain in this House, and that their idiocy will not be tolerated. Start by telling that Greengrass girl that smirking at Snape is a big mistake, and that if she's not careful, he'll have her clean the Potions Lab with her tongue." _You know what? He probably would do that._

"I will keep them in check, you have my word" Ron said. "How far can I push them?"

"As far as you like" Carey replied. "As long as they keep earning us a lot of House Points, you can even slap them around if you wish." _I probably won't be doing that._

"Alright" Ron nodded once. "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"No, Ron" Carey smiled at him. "Please get some rest, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight then" Ron said as he began making his way back to his dorm.

"Goodnight, Ron" the girls said together.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"I'm glad that they didn't just forget about you, Ron" Daphne said, fighting the urge to smile from relief. "I was so angry on your behalf, especially because of how much you've done for the House."

"Thanks, Daph" Ron smiled before taking a bite out of his toast.

"It doesn't change the fact that **we're** stuck with Malfoy" Theo sighed, he could already picture the problems that that would create. Malfoy had a way of burrowing his way into people's heads, and he'd no doubt use Daphne and Theo in order to damage their group.

"Or that he's representing our year…" Tracey frowned, shooting a look of disdain towards Malfoy. Ron also looked over quickly, and he saw that Malfoy was barely eating anything. _He's just staring at his plate. What's wrong with him? He looks… slightly gaunt._

"I think something's wrong with him" Pansy pointed out, observing her former crush with a keen eye.

"Don't get involved" Blaise said, reminding them all of what they had discussed. "We need to stay out of his way, and hope to Merlin that he gives us the same respect. The Triumvirate was very clear on what they'd do if they found in-fighting amongst the Slytherins."

"We'll keep our distance" Ron said, speaking for the entire group. "But you two should keep an eye on him as well" Ron said Theo and Daphne, who nodded firmly. _I'm not getting caught off-guard by him, not again._

"Snape's coming…" Millie whispered suddenly, and all of them looked to the Potions Master.

"Good morning" Snape greeted, his voice cold as usual. Snape was carrying their class timetables in his right hand, and he had another stack of timetables in his left one.

"Good morning, Sir" they all greeted back, their eyes traveling to their class timetables.

"Hand these out amongst yourselves" Snape said, handing Ron the timetables for the Slytherin third years. "I expect nothing less than Exceeds Expectations from all of you, is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir" they all said together, and Snape billowed away without waiting another second.

"Ugh… Exceeds Expectations in **every** subject?" Pansy whined, while Ron passed out the allocated timetables. _Shite, he gave me Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's as well. Hmmm, what are they taking? Fuck! Malfoy is taking Care of Magical Creatures and Study of Ancient Runes just like Blaise and I. Great… What are Crabbe and Goyle taking? Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Divination? They can't see their own cocks when they look down, and yet they expect to see the Future?_

"So, what are they taking?" Theo asked with a smirk, he was rather proud of Ron for taking a peek at someone else's timetables.

"Malfoy is taking Care of Magical Creatures and Study of Ancient Runes, while Crabbe and Goyle are taking Care of Magical Creatures and Divination" Ron replied as he stood up. "I'll be right back." With that, Ron walked over to Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting across from Malfoy, and they immediately started glaring at Ron. _Fuck off._

"What do you want?" Goyle demanded, making Malfoy look up from his plate. That's when Malfoy noticed Ron towering over him.

"Your timetables" Ron said, handing over the three pieces of parchment. Malfoy took them without uttering a single word, and Ron didn't bother waiting for one. Ron then walked back to his friends, surprised that Malfoy hadn't even sneered at him. _No sneer, no snarky comments, nothing… What's he up to?_

"That went well" Millie noted, and Ron nodded as he sat down.

"Weird…" Pansy muttered under her breath, keeping her eyes on Malfoy.

"So…" Tracey said suddenly, electing to steer the conversation away from Malfoy. "Who's excited for Charms class?"

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Charms Classroom – Before Lunchtime)**_

"You guys go on" Ron said, his eyes fixed on Flitwick. "I need to ask Professor Flitwick some questions."

"Alright" Daphne said. "Meet us in the Great Hall?"

"Yeah" Ron agreed, and his friends left together alongside the Hufflepuffs. Ron stepped out of his seat and walked over to Professor Flitwick, who was cleaning up the blackboard with some sort of Cleaning Charm. "Professor Flitwick?" Ron called, and the short Professor jumped a little.

"Oh… Mr. Weasley" Flitwick breathed out as he turned to face Ron. "Do you have questions about your assignment?" _I can't believe he gave us an assignment during our first class. Sure, it's not due until the end of the month, but still…_

"No, Sir" Ron replied, trying his best to sound as polite as possible. _He can tell me why the Freezing Charm isn't working without a wand._ "I was hoping to get your help with something, do you have a minute to spare?"

"Certainly" Flitwick smiled, gesturing Ron to sit down. Ron gave him a grateful nod before taking a seat, while Flitwick waited for Ron to go on.

"I was given a special permit by the Ministry that allowed me to practice Magic outside of Hogwarts" Ron started, and Flitwick nodded slowly. "And I've been trying my hand at Wandless Magic."

"Wandless Magic? At your age, Mr. Weasley?" Flitwick blinked, and then he smiled widely. "Please, go on."

"I've mastered the Levitation Charm and the Summoning Charm" Ron said, but Flitwick interrupted him.

"The Summoning Charm? That is a fifth year Spell, Mr. Weasley" Flitwick said, he sounded rather pleased with Ron. "Care to show me?"

"Of course" Ron nodded, and Flitwick pointed to a piece of chalk near the blackboard.

"Summon that for me" Flitwick requested, keen to see Ron perform some Wandless Magic.

"Accio piece of chalk" Ron chanted, aiming his left palm at it. The piece of chalk vibrated in its spot for a moment, and then it flew into Ron's hand. _Thank Merlin it worked, I was worried for a second._

"Outstanding!" Flitwick exclaimed, making Ron smile proudly. "Ten points to Slytherin, Mr. Weasley. Truly outstanding! Wandless Magic isn't even touched upon until sixth year, and it isn't practiced until seventh year. Well done, my boy."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron said, unable to control his smile. _It feels good to be praised. I've spent countless hours practicing this._

"How many hours a day do you usually practice Wandless Magic?" Flitwick asked, the boy was clearly a Prodigy.

"Around two" Ron admitted, and Flitwick beamed.

"Excellent!" Flitwick laughed. "It certainly gets easier over time, doesn't it?"

"It does" Ron nodded. "My hand doesn't feel… heavy… anymore when I perform a Wandless Spell."

"Your body is no doubt getting used to being used as a conduit" Flitwick nodded as well. "Keep practicing, Mr. Weasley. I assure you, Wandless Magic is perhaps the handiest tool in a Duelist's arsenal. I myself won my third British Championship using a Blasting Curse with my free hand." _Third British Championship?_

"You've won Dueling Tournaments?" Ron asked, and Flitwick smiled in return.

"I have earned the titles of Master Duelist and Dueling Champion" Flitwick replied, and Ron's eyes widened slightly. _Interesting. It would be a shame not to learn from him as well._

"That's amazing, Sir" Ron smiled genuinely, surprised that such a short man could earn those titles. _I bet his size is misleading, and he uses it to outmaneuver his opponents._

"Surprising, is it not?" Flitwick laughed. "That someone as small as me is considered to be a Master Duelist."

"I'm sure your size is something that you use as an advantage" Ron said quickly, hoping that his surprise hadn't offended the Charms Master.

"I most certainly do" Flitwick said. "Now, what was your original inquiry?"

"I've been trying the Freezing Charm without a wand, and something isn't right…" Ron replied, and Flitwick smiled knowingly.

"Show me" Flitwick said, and Ron nodded.

"Glacius" Ron chanted, aiming his left palm at the blackboard. And once again, he felt his hand tighten and become cold. _Ow…_ "See?" Ron said, showing Flitwick his ice covered palm. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"This is… outstanding!" Flitwick beamed, clapping his hands in excitement. "Truly remarkable, Mr. Weasley!" _What?_

"But Sir, it's not working" Ron said slowly, he was now utterly confused.

"Oh, but it is" Flitwick smiled, and Ron blinked at him. "Cast it again, and this time, don't lose your focus. Once you feel your hand 'tighten', place your palm upon the table." _Alright…_

"Glacius" Ron chanted, aiming his left palm at the blackboard. His hand tightened as the Magic began to flow out, but Ron ignored the slight pang of pain. Instead, he placed his hand on top of the table. Much to his astonishment, ice began spreading from his hand at an alarming speed. Ron quickly pulled his hand back and hopped out of the chair, eyeing the frozen parts of the table's surface. "Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, and then he looked back down at his palm. _It's… dry._

"Amazing, isn't it?" Flitwick smiled widely, and Ron looked to him with a bewildered look. "Wands were created to channel our Magic, but what most people don't understand is that wands often change the Spell's original form."

"Original form?" Ron asked, eyeing the frozen table surface again. _Bloody hell, I could freeze someone's face off if I wanted to._

"Spells that were created before the introduction of wands were quite different from what you see nowadays" Flitwick replied. "Magic is used to manipulate the forces that make up Creation, Mr. Weasley. It connects us to the World around us, and wizards and witches of old used it to bend the World to their wills. Back then however, Magic was still a huge mystery to everyone. So simple Spells were created after years of hard labor. Spells like Incendio for starting fires, or like Glacius to cool down meats. Basic things like that."

"So 'basic Spells' work differently when cast without a wand? Why?" Ron asked, taking another seat. Flitwick walked over and sat down on a nearby chair, eager to tell Ron more about Old Magic.

"They are not 'basic Spells', but rather Progenitor Spells" Flitwick replied, and Ron started taking mental notes. "Each Magical Community had their own forms of Magic back in the Old Days. The wizards and witches of what is now called Britain were Druids, who learnt their Magic from the…"

"Fairies" Ron interrupted, and Flitwick nodded with a smile.

"You know your History" Flitwick said, sounding quite pleased. "Take another five points for Slytherin for your knowledge."

"Thank you, Sir" Ron smiled. _Daphne's story was real? Damn, I need to tell her that._

"The Egyptians used Ancient Runes in order to cast their Spells, while the Japanese used ancient Herbology to cultivate their fields" Flitwick went on. "These forms of Magic however, were very limited. Many simply gave up due to the time and effort it took to even learn a Spell without the use of a wand. The Druids of Europe realized that they needed a conduit of some sort, and so they turned on their Fae mentors. The Druids cut down the Fae Forests, and used the enchanted trees to fashion themselves the first wands."

"That's horrible" Ron said, feeling rather bad for the Fairies. _They taught them everything that they knew, and what was their reward? Betrayal and death… Oh well, what's done is done. I can't really complain, I love using my wand._

"It was, but the World is often a horrible place for the naïve" Flitwick said, sounding rather gloomy. "The Fae underestimated their students, and they paid dearly for it. This was, of course, a **very long** time ago. We are talking about four hundred B.C here. One of the first Families to make a career out of fashioning wands for other wizards and witches were the Ollivanders, and time has perfected their craft. Wands made casting Spells a breeze, and the Magical World entered its Golden Age. Well, the Magical World that accepted wands anyway."

"Many Magical Communities refused to adopt the use of wands, especially after they learned of how the first wands came to be" Flitwick continued. "And all of this brings us back to Wandless Magic. Wands changed how Magic was cast, and therefore, Spells cast by wands work differently. Instead of your body being the conduit for your Magic, your wand becomes the conduit. Now, most Spells that we use nowadays were created only **after** wands were introduced. But there were some Progenitor Spells, and they work very differently to their wand counterparts."

"I understand" Ron nodded. "So Glacius and Incendio are Progenitor Spells. And when my own body is used as a conduit, they manifest in a different manner."

"Exactly" Flitwick nodded. "They manifest as they were **originally** intended to manifest, and not as a 'mist of cold' or a 'burst of fire'."

"That's so bloody awesome" Ron said, a chuckle escaping his throat.

"That it certainly is" Flitwick chuckled, and then he gave Ron an odd look. "Tell you what, Mr. Weasley… I have a book on Progenitor Spells, and I myself found it very useful when I began learning Wandless Magic. I will have it sent to you in the next couple of days."

"Really?" Ron asked, and then he smiled from ear to ear. "Thank you, Sir! I'd love that!" _Fuck yes! I'm going to read that book immediately!_

"Think nothing of it" Flitwick laughed, hopping off of his chair. "If you're going to practice Wandless Magic, you might as well practice it properly. Now… You should head off to lunch. A boy your age shouldn't skip his meals."

"Thank you again, Sir" Ron said as he stood up, he genuinely wanted to hug the short man. "I really appreciate this."

"You are welcome" Flitwick said, he was more than happy to help a studious student. Ravenclaw demanded as much from all of its members, current and previous.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside History of Magic Classroom – End of the Day)**_

"I'm not getting an Exceeds Expectations in that class" Pansy sighed as they exited the room, most of the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins had fallen asleep during Professor Binns' class. "I can't even stay awake in it…"

"Most of his graded work is homework, Pans" Ron told her. "He only ever gives two or three tests a year, so you only need to get his homework right. We'll all work on that together."

"You'll help me with his homework?" Pansy asked, and Ron nodded.

"Don't I always?" Ron asked, amused by her 'planned whining'. _She's clearly trying to get our attention._

"Thank you, Ron!" Pansy beamed suddenly, and then she gave him a kiss on his left cheek. "I knew that I could count on you!"

"Mate, she just duped you" Theo sniggered, earning a slight frown from Pansy.

"I didn't 'dupe' him, Ron is just kind" Pansy said, linking her right arm with his left one. _Am I being duped if I already know what she's up to?_

"No, you duped him" Tracey chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure he knows what she's up to" Millie said. "We all do."

"Stop making me out to be some villain who manipulates her friends" Pansy said haughtily. "Ron, tell them to stop."

"Stop it you lot" Ron said, though his lack of enthusiasm made everyone snigger at Pansy. "Why don't we get a head start on our homework tonight? Let's just finish up Binns' work, and then get started on Flitwick's assignment."

"It's the first day back…" Daphne said, looking to her less than enthusiastic friends.

"I know" Ron said quickly. "But if we get this stuff done, then we can relax and do our own thing."

"Pass" Theo, Tracey, and Blaise said together.

"I'll join you" Millie shrugged.

"Thank you, Mills" Ron smiled at her, and she just gave him an amused expression. _Binns' homework will take twenty minutes at most, and then we don't have to worry about it at the last second._

"Ron!" came a loud voice from behind them, and they all turned to see Justin Finch-Fletchley running at them. He had a wide smile on his face, and he was being followed by Ernie Macmillan.

"Justin?" Ron smiled back at the Hufflepuff. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if we're still doing the study group this year" Justin started, and just as Ron was about to answer, Justin cut him off. "Crazy day, huh? We have two separate classes with each other today. This is like the 'Hufflepuff and Slytherin day', isn't it? Oh, hello guys" Justin smiled at Ron's friends, who just stared at him with unamused expressions.

"It is a 'crazy day', and yes Justin, we're still doing the study group" Ron answered, oddly amused by Justin's excitement.

"That's great" Justin beamed. "Is Friday still the usual day?"

"It is" Ron nodded. "Tell everyone else, will you? Oh, and ask the other Hufflepuffs if they want to join in as well."

"No problems, mate" Justin nodded. "Thanks for letting me know."

"No worries, take care" Ron said, and Justin and Ernie turned around and left quickly.

"Friday, huh?" Theo muttered, a contemplative look on his face. "You know what? I'll join as well."

"Really?" Ron gave him a surprised look.

"Yeah, why not?" Theo shrugged. "I've heard good things about your study group, much to my surprise."

"Yeah, we all expected it to blow up" Tracey added, and Ron gave them a deadpan look. "What? Bringing all the Houses together usually ends in disaster."

"Ron keeps everyone focused on their studies" Millie told them.

"Actually, Ron just keeps us focused on our studies" Daphne argued. "The Ravenclaws don't need to be told that they need to study, the Hufflepuffs are just happy to be involved, and the Gryffindors are kept in line by Granger. Well, Potter and Longbottom are kept in line by Granger. Brown and Patil seem to dislike Granger's bossy attitude."

"Ugh… Granger…" Tracey groaned. "She's a deal-breaker for me." _I need to increase the size of this group if I'm to create a semblance of a community. And I have four extra bodies that I can add to this group._

"I want you all to join the group" Ron said rather firmly. "I need your support if this is to work. And no, I'm not asking." Ron then looked to Tracey. "You can study with me, Hermione usually stays on the outskirt of the group anyway."

"Fine…" Tracey frowned, deciding to join simply for Ron's sake.

"Oh, and I need you all to interact with the other Houses" Ron added on, something that earned him looks of disagreement. "Just the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs… You can leave the Gryffindors to me."

"Why?" Blaise asked, trying to figure out Ron's plan.

"If Slytherin takes the moral high ground for once, then people will take notice" Ron replied, and Blaise nodded in understanding. "Trust me, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are quite alright."

"Daphne and I can attest to that" Millie said, and Daphne nodded her agreement. "The Hufflepuffs are… kind. Even to us."

"It is rather refreshing" Daphne admitted, and Ron smiled at the two girls.

"See? It'll be fine" Ron told the others, who gave him tired nods. "Now… Let's go and get started on Binns' homework, shall we?"

"Not a chance" Theo refused immediately.

"Eh, it was worth a shot" Ron sniggered.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

They were sitting in their favorite spot within the common room, and while Ron, Millie, and Pansy did Binns' homework, the others were simply relaxing. Daphne was reading a novel written completely in French, Blaise and Theo were playing a game of Wizard's Chess, and Tracey was listening to her Walkman. Ron was feeling rather content at the moment. He had his friends with him, there was a cozy fire keeping them all warm, and Binns' homework was a breeze. But all of that came to a stop when Snape suddenly showed up in the common room, his black eyes immediately fixed on Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, come with me" Snape said in his icy voice, making Ron's friends stare at him. _What? I didn't do anything._

"Yes, Sir" Ron said, quickly hopping onto his feet.

"Bye" Pansy whispered, and after shooting her a quick smile, Ron followed Snape out of the common room. They walked towards Snape's Office in silence, and Ron took the opportunity to think about what Snape wanted from him. _I know I haven't done anything wrong, it's only been a day. He probably wants to discuss some sort of plan with me._

"In you go, Mr. Weasley" Snape said as he opened the door to his Office, and Ron quickly made his way inside.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded as he closed the door behind himself.

"The Headmaster simply wishes to see you" Snape replied, making his way over to the fireplace. _Dumbledore wants to see me? Shite. This is going to be so awkward. I still haven't forgiven him for nearly getting Xeno killed, nor have I forgiven him for nearly starting a damn war due to his carelessness._ "Make sure that you behave" Snape told him, he could see the reluctance on the boy's face.

"I'm not some first year, so don't talk to me like I am one" Ron said, not even remotely amused by Snape's comment. Snape stared at Ron for a couple of seconds, and then he grabbed a pinch of floo-powder and cast it into the fire.

"Headmaster's Office" Snape called, and once the fire blazed green, he stepped through it. Ron followed after the Potions Master, steeling his resolve when it came to seeing Dumbledore again. _Just talk about our plans, and keep your emotional baggage under control. Don't create drama where there is no need for it._ As soon as Ron stepped out of the Headmaster's fireplace, he spotted the old wizard feeding a young looking Fawkes.

"Ah, welcome" Dumbledore smiled at Snape and Ron, both of whom gave him curt nods. _Fawkes looks different. His feathers are more… vibrant._

"Fawkes looks younger" Ron pointed out, and Dumbledore nodded with his smile still in place.

"He was reborn recently" Dumbledore explained, remembering how Tom had impaled Fawkes and then blown the Phoenix's body to smithereens. Fawkes let out a loud shrill, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Hello, Fawkes" Ron smiled at the bird, and Fawkes suddenly flew over and perched himself on Ron's right shoulder. _Ow!_ "Watch the talons, mate…"

"I think Fawkes feels a certain kinship to you, Ronald" Dumbledore mused, genuinely smiling at the two of them. "You, after all, are also reborn via Cycles."

"I guess I am" Ron nodded slowly, and then he scratched the Phoenix's stomach. _I never really thought about that. I am the four hundred and sixty fourth reincarnation of the 'original Ronald Weasley'. Was he possessed by the Entity as well? Or did the Entity show up_ _ **after**_ _he failed to stop the Dark Lord?_

"Can we get started?" Snape asked them as he took his seat. "I have an upcoming meeting with the other Heads of Houses about this 'Dueling Club'."

"Which is a great idea, by the way" Ron said quickly as he took his own seat, Fawkes still perched on his right shoulder. "I'm sure that getting everyone ready as soon as possible will really help us in the Future."

"We are not creating soldiers, Ronald" Dumbledore said, taking his seat in front of Ron and Snape. "This Club will serve to better prepare the students for the war to come. It is for learning self-defense, that's all."

"Of course" Ron smirked. "And if they want to join the Order after they graduate, then we get an abundance of skilled Duelists."

"That is completely up to them" Dumbledore said, slightly impressed with Ron's perception. "Tell me Ronald, when do you think that the war will start in earnest?" _Judging from my visions…_

"I'd say by the start of my sixth year" Ron replied. "I had a vision where my friend Pansy was murdered by own mother for 'siding with the Blood-Traitors', and she looked to be around sixteen at the time."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ronald" Dumbledore said, but Ron simply shrugged.

"I won't let that happen, believe me" Ron said, and Dumbledore gave him a slow nod. _I'll kill Lady Parkinson before I let her hurt Pansy. When the time comes, I'll need to take care of a lot of people like Pansy's mother. And I'll do it all in secret._

"So we have roughly three years before the war" Snape noted. "Which actually means that we have a couple of years at best, maybe even less…"

"Why?" Ron asked.

"The Dark Lord will not lay siege to the Wizarding World immediately" Snape explained. "He will no doubt stay within the shadows in order to amass his forces, and then, he'll attack everyone at once. It's what he did in the last war, and it proved to be an extremely successful tactic."

"And now that the Ministry is weaker than what it used to be, he'll obliterate them" Ron figured, and Snape gave him a nod. "Which is why we need our own army. If the Ministry falls, then we need to stand in its place."

"I agree" Snape said, looking to Dumbledore.

"As do I" Dumbledore said, surprising both Ron and Snape. "I have already begun making inquiries with the other Nations of the International Confederation of Wizards, and all of them seem to be against the idea of another Great War. We can't rely on countries like the United States, mostly because of their distance from us, but I am certain that surrounding Ministries will send us aid. They suffered almost as much as us during the last war, and they will fight to insure that they do not suffer again."

"That's great" Ron smiled widely, glad that Dumbledore was finally on board with making an army. "And I've got something that can help us."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked, both wizards looking to Ron for his input.

"I bought The Quibbler from Xenophilius" Ron told them, and they just waited for him to go on. "I plan to improve it in order to turn it into a genuine News Outlet, one that isn't biased in favor of the Ministry."

"He just gave you his magazine?" Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"No, he was planning to sell it to the Daily Prophet" Ron replied. "I simply swooped in and bought with a much more generous offer. I will be headhunting a staff over the next few months, all the while running an advertising campaign. The new Quibbler will be up and running by the end of March next year."

"You wish to influence the people of Wizarding Britain" Dumbledore nodded slowly, and then he smiled at Ron. "Well done, Ronald. This can truly help us when the time comes."

"The Daily Prophet will not be pleased about being outbid by a thirteen year old" Snape said, though he himself was rather impressed with Ron's foresight.

"I figured, but the pros beat the cons" Ron said, ignoring the fact that Fawkes was nipping at his right ear. _He's much more gentle than Helios, that's for certain._ "If we start showing people that 'everything is not alright', they are more likely to act in a positive way. Well, positive for us anyway."

"And not positive for the Ministry" Snape figured. "You are going to end up making enemies with these people if you aren't careful, and believe me, you don't want that."

"I don't plan to solely target them" Ron assured Snape. "And truth be told, they'll have bigger problems than me in a couple of years."

"And Ronald is only thirteen" Dumbledore added. "I doubt the Ministry is going to start targeting a child, especially when said child has a News Outlet under his control. No, Cornelius would never take such a risk."

"Which reminds me" Snape started, looking right into Dumbledore's eyes. "How do we get rid of Fudge?"

"Get rid of Cornelius?" Dumbledore repeated, while Ron gaped at Snape. _He wants to off the Minister?_

"We don't need a blubbering idiot leading the Ministry when the war begins, we need a strong leader" Snape replied.

"You want to kill the Minister?" Ron couldn't help but ask, and Snape frowned at him.

"Did I say that?" Snape asked in return, and Ron shook his head slowly. "There is no fixed term for a Minister to stay in Office, and elections are held every seven years. We don't have the luxury of waiting four more years, so I suggest that we find a better candidate to replace Fudge."

"Severus…" Dumbledore sighed. "Hogwarts has no business interfering within the Ministry's inner workings."

"I'm not talking about Hogwarts, I'm talking about us" Snape said. "We three might be the only ones who truly know what we're up against, and it is therefore our duty to do everything in our power to win the war. Fudge will either give into the Dark Lord, or he will die and drag the Ministry down with him. He is a weak man, and his incompetency cannot be allowed to destroy the Ministry."

"And who would this new Minister be?" Dumbledore asked, he certainly had no intention of abandoning Hogwarts in her time of need.

"Madam Amelia Susan Bones" Snape replied, and Dumbledore just stared at Snape with an unreadable expression.

"Amelia Bones? Susan Bones' auntie?" Ron asked. _She was at Sirius' trial._

"She is a powerful witch, and she is well-respected" Snape told Ron, who listened closely. "Her Family stood by the Order during the Great War, and were massacred by the Dark Lord himself for rejecting his cause. She holds a great deal of respect for the Order, and if she was Minister, the Order would not need to fight in the shadows. And unlike Fudge, that woman's soul is hardened steel." Snape then looked back to Dumbledore, who was clearly thinking the idea through.

"She has no children, and no husband" Snape went on. "She is completely dedicated to her work, and has served as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for years. **She** is the leader that the Ministry will need, not Fudge."

"You are not wrong, Severus" Dumbledore nodded to himself. "But she will not be deterred from her current job so easily."

"We're really going to stage a coup against the current Minister?" Ron asked, still coming to terms with something so big. "That's just… bloody awesome…"

"Not a coup, a re-appointment" Snape corrected Ron, ignoring his childish comment. "Albus, she respects you. Talk to her about this, plant the idea in her head. You and I both know that under the wrong leadership, the Ministry will not survive the Dark Lord." _Bloody hell, this is insane._ "Not to mention that Lucius has Fudge's ear, and will no doubt manipulate him for the Dark Lord's benefit."

"I will speak with her" Dumbledore conceded, he could hear the wisdom in Snape's words. "And I will 'plant the idea in her head'. She would indeed make a great Minister, in my humble opinion. But we must be cautious. If the Ministry hears of our involvement, they will no doubt slander Amelia's good name. This has to seem like her own idea."

"And if she refuses?" Ron asked.

"Then we will try and put someone else in power" Snape replied, and Ron nodded.

"What about Rufus Scrimgeour?" Ron suggested. "He's the Head of the Aurors Department, and from what I've read, he fought on the frontlines more than a few times." _And he is clearly an amazing wizard, considering that he leads people like Madam Roberts._

"He would make a good Minister too" Snape replied. "But he shares Fudge's need for public contentment. We need someone who is both fair and unafraid of the public's opinions."

"Amelia is the perfect candidate" Dumbledore said. "I will 'run into her' as soon as I'm able. Ronald, your News Outlet will come in very handy if she chooses to run for Minister of Magic. Cornelius will do his best to fight back against her, and he will utilize the Daily Prophet as his weapon."

"Would you look at that" Ron smirked. "Things are beginning to fall into place."

"Indeed they are" Dumbledore chuckled. "Is there anything else that we need to discuss?" _Yes, there is._

"Why did you hire Remus?" Ron asked, and Snape's jaw clenched. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. He was no doubt being subjected to this Umbridge bitch's Werewolf Legislation, and you did a good thing hiring him… But I'm just wondering what your angle is."

"My angle?" Dumbledore asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Of all the people that you could've hired" Ron started. "You hired an Order veteran, who also happens to be Harry's guardian. Not to mention that you also promoted Hagrid to a Professor, and he too sees Harry as his own. Patterns don't lie, Headmaster. You're up to something."

"Are you always so paranoid, Ronald?" Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"The boy makes a good point, and I myself have been wondering the same thing" Snape said, the idea of a damn Werewolf walking the castle souring his mood.

"Harry must be prepared for the Future" Dumbledore told them, and both Ron and Snape listened closely. "I believe that Harry is the only one who can defeat Lord Voldemort, but as he is now, he does not stand a chance. Remus will be giving him private tutoring, while Hagrid will be a good source of emotional support for him." _Private tutoring? Can I get private tutoring too?_

"Why Harry?" Ron asked, trying not to sound jealous. "I mean, I like him… He's a good bloke… But he is…"

"An idiot" Snape cut in, and Ron frowned at him.

"That's not what I was trying to say" Ron said, looking back to Dumbledore. "I'm trying to find out why you believe that Harry is our only hope. You said the same thing to me before you left for Albania, and I've been wondering ever since." Dumbledore exchanged a quick look with Snape, and then he looked back to Ron.

"There is a Prophecy, Ronald" Dumbledore started, and Ron blinked at him. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

"That's the Prophecy?" Ron asked, looking between Dumbledore and Snape.

"Yes" Dumbledore nodded. "There are only two people so far that I've trusted with the entire Prophecy, Ronald."

"Who are they?" Ron asked, looking to Snape.

"Severus, and Sybill Trelawney" Dumbledore replied. "And now, you…" _Wow. I had no idea that Harry was_ _ **destined**_ _to defeat the Dark Lord… Is that why the Entity said that Harry could be the one to potentially kill the Dark Lord. It knew of the Prophecy? Of course it did, it sees all of Time at once._

"Wait… If Harry is some 'chosen one', then why am I stuck with the damn Entity?" Ron asked, his temper flaring at the injustice of it all. "I'm the one who's been stuck in this war since I was eight, and it all comes down to Harry? Are you serious?"

"Ron, calm down" Snape said, eyeing Ron carefully. "The Prophecy doesn't account for a million different things. For all we know, Potter might just be the person who lands the final blow on the Dark Lord. Or he dies in the attempt, thus fulfilling the Prophecy anyway. After that, the Dark Lord is fair game. This Prophecy is utterly useless in essence, and it should not rule our actions."

"Severus is correct, in a way" Dumbledore said to Ron. "This Prophecy would have become null if it weren't for the Dark Lord's own actions. He heard a part of it, and due to his fear of being defeated, he attacked the Potters. He marked Harry himself, thus putting all of this into motion. Prophecies are often self-fulfilling, whereas your visions give you the power to alter the Future."

"And unlike this Prophecy, your visions clearly change to match our 'current timeline'…" Snape said, he still hated thinking about Ron's powers.

"And how did the Dark Lord hear of this Prophecy?" Ron asked, reining in his agitation.

"That… does not matter" Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on Ron's. _What the hell? Of course it matters._ "The only thing that matters is the fact that Lord Voldemort does not know the full extent of this Prophecy, and therefore, he fears it. He fears Harry."

"And Harry has no clue about any of this?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore shook his head. "Shouldn't he? I mean, you're clearly planning to pit him against the Dark Lord. Shouldn't he be told that his Future is… looking rather grim?"

"He is not yet ready for such a burden" Dumbledore said, and Ron blinked at him. "Harry deserves to grow up properly, especially after all of his hardships." _Hardships? What fucking hardships? His Muggle Family were cunts, sure… But I put a stop to that. And who the fuck cares if his life has been hard? Everyone has their own issues to deal with. Pansy's mother literally_ _ **killed**_ _her! Blaise's mother is a murdering psychopath, Theo watched his mother die in front of him, and I've been tormented by a_ _ **God**_ _since I was eight._

"Boohoo" Ron frowned, making Dumbledore blink from surprise. "I don't care if he's 'too young' for this… If he's destined to defeat the Dark Lord, then he needs to be prepared. He needs to spend his time preparing for the inevitable, not flying his broomstick around."

"Ronald… He is not you" Dumbledore said, his expression hardening slightly. "Just because you have learned to endure pain, doesn't mean that everyone around you should as well." _I didn't say that, I'm saying that the 'Chosen One' needs to get his head out of his arse._

"So you just plan to send him off to his death, is that it?" Ron asked. "If you don't prepare him **properly** , then that is exactly what is going to happen. The Dark Lord will destroy him with little to no effort."

"Harry will not be alone, and when the time comes, he will be ready" Dumbledore assured Ron, it was hard to not notice the bitterness in Ronald's voice. Even Fawkes had stop playing with Ronald's right ear, and was now just staring at the boy.

"Fine" Ron said, deciding to stop pestering the old man. This was clearly developing into an argument, and Ron couldn't be bothered with that. _If he wants to send Harry off to his death, then that's his prerogative. I'll just make sure that Harry_ _ **is**_ _ready._

"I need to be on my way" Snape said suddenly, he was already late for his meeting.

"I'll join you" Ron said, staring back at Dumbledore with a blank stare. Snape got up at that, and Ron followed suit. Fawkes flew off of his shoulder and perched himself on top of a book shelf, gazing down at the tension between Ron and Dumbledore. Ron and Snape then made their way out of Dumbledore's Office via the actual exit, and as soon as they stepped past the stone gargoyle, Snape turned to face Ron.

"You will not speak a word of this to Potter, do you understand?" Snape said, his eyes digging into Ron's.

"I wasn't…"

"Do not lie to me" Snape cut Ron off. "You no doubt planned to 'do something about Potter' yourself, Albus and I both know it. This is a partnership, boy… Which means that the majority vote rules. If you can't give up control, then you can go back to being on your own."

"Not telling Harry about this is a mistake" Ron said.

"Potter likes to run his mouth, and he would no doubt tell everyone around him" Snape argued. "Which means that if the Dark Lord captures one of Potter's allies, the truth will be out. We do not keep secrets because we enjoy it, we do it because if the wrong people find out, all of our work will be undone. You must understand that better than anyone, considering your past actions. As for Potter's safety, he has arguably the most powerful wizard in the World watching over him."

"Dumbledore isn't a God" Ron said. "He can make mistakes, and you know it."

"No man is capable of living a life with no mistakes, you included" Snape said, and then he turned back around. "My Potions Club will start tomorrow night, be there."

"Why?" Ron asked. "I thought that the Potions Club idea was just to keep an eye on me when I still hadn't let you two in."

"Just as Lupin will be training Potter, I will be training you" Snape said, making Ron blink at his back. "Albus' orders…" And with that, Snape billowed away in the direction of the moving staircase. _Snape is going to train me?_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Come in" came Remus' voice, and Ron entered the man's Office. "Ron, how are you?"

"I'm well" Ron smiled as he closed the door behind himself, and then he looked around the Office. "Not bad… Not bad at all, Remus. Wait… Should I call you Professor Lupin instead?"

"Remus will do while we are alone" Remus chuckled, gesturing Ron to an empty seat. Ron sat down, his eyes still examining the room. It wasn't very tidy, with parchments and dusty trunks everywhere, but it still felt cozy. "Sorry about the mess, but I'm still unpacking."

"So you're really our new D.A.D.A Professor?" Ron asked, and Remus smiled as if he himself couldn't believe it. "Why didn't you say anything? Mum would have thrown you a dinner party."

"It kind of just happened" Remus sighed. "One minute I was jobless, and the next, I was signing a contract."

"The Headmaster approached you?" Ron asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"He did" Remus smiled. "He has given me a wonderful opportunity." _He conned you into preparing his Golden Boy. Pfft… Harry Potter… The Chosen One… I could kick his arse with my eyes closed._

"I'm really happy for you, Remus" Ron smiled, and Remus smiled back. "How are you feeling? The Full-Moon was only three nights ago." Remus tensed visibly, but then he relaxed slightly.

"I'm… I'm recovering, Ron…" Remus said, not keen to discuss his Lycanthropy Curse with anyone.

"Does Harry know about your Curse?" Ron asked. "I don't want to make a mistake and tell him if you haven't."

"He doesn't…" Remus replied. "And… And I don't want him to know… Not yet, at least." _Fair enough. I can understand wanting to keep a part of yourself to yourself._

"I bet he's really excited that you're here" Ron said, deciding to change the subject. "I know I am."

"He's been here three times already, and he's coming back after dinner to 'help me unpack'…" Remus smiled and shook his head, how did he ever get so lucky?

"That's good" Ron nodded. "What about Sirius though? He'll probably starve to death without you, you know that right?"

"He's a survivor" Remus laughed. "He'll be fine, I promise."

"Really? You're not worried about finding his starved corpse when you get home for the Holidays?" Ron asked, and Remus laughed again.

"If only I was so lucky" Remus joked. "No… No, he plans to spend most nights at your house. Molly will keep him fed, and Arthur will keep him company. And when he gets really bored…"

"He'll chase down a pretty witch" Ron smirked, and Remus shrugged. "Merlin, he's awesome." Remus was about to say something, but the metal trunk behind him suddenly started shaking as if something was trying to get out. "Um… What's in the box?"

"That… is a lesson for one of your classes" Remus said, eyeing the metal trunk.

"A lesson? There's a Dark Creature in there?" Ron asked, eyeing the metal trunk with a curious look. _Please tell me that those aren't Cornish Pixies._

"Indeed" Remus smiled at Ron. "Sirius and I found a lot of Dark things within Grimmauld Place, and although we threw most of them out, we kept a few of them as trophies. Sirius let me borrow a few of them for my classes, and the creature within that trunk is one of them."

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"You'll find out soon enough" Remus smirked, earning a snort from Ron. _I can't wait._

"By the way Remus, have I ever told you just how much I love you?" Ron asked, and Remus blinked at him. "No? Well, let me fix that…"

"What do you want?" Remus asked with an amused look, he could see the greedy glint in Ron's eyes.

"Just some occasional private lessons" Ron grinned, and Remus just stared at Ron in bewilderment. "I bet you know some amazing Magic, and I was hoping that you could teach me some of it." _Snape's tutelage is good, but I want to learn from as many people as I can. I bet Remus knows a few Spells that Snape doesn't, and I'd be a fool to pass up this opportunity._

"Ron, I…" Remus started, but then he trailed off. He was meant to be tutoring Harry, but this was Ron… Surely he could spare a day every other week in order to show Ron some Spells, especially considering the fact that Dumbledore feared the Dark Lord's return. "Why not?" Remus smiled, and Ron smiled back. "Let me settle in first, and then I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Remus" Ron said, glad to have found another source of knowledge. "I'm a quick study, I promise. One or two lessons a month is all I'm asking for."

"I look forward to it" Remus said, happy to see Ron so pleased.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dungeons – Almost Dinnertime)**_

"Hello" Ron greeted his friends, who were on their way towards the Great Hall.

"Ron, there you are" Daphne said. "Where have you been?"

"With Snape, and then with Remus" Ron replied, and she nodded slowly.

"What did Snape want with you?" Theo asked.

"His Potions Club starts tomorrow, and he wanted me to join it" Ron replied.

"Wow, Ron that's great" Tracey smiled at him. "I mean, you constantly copy off of me in Potions, but I'm really happy for you."

"What?" Ron blinked at her, but she just kept smiling at him. "I want a new Potions partner…"

"I'll be your…" Pansy started, but Tracey lunged at Ron and latched onto his right arm.

"Mine" Tracey hissed overdramatically, and then she started dragging Ron away from them. "You can't leave me with Daphne, Ron. She is horrible at Potions."

"I'm right here" came Daphne's voice from behind them, clearly irked by Tracey's words.

"I was only kidding, Trace" Ron chuckled. "We're Potions partners for life." _I'm glad she's over her embarrassment over me seeing her arse. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can still see her yellow panties. And she did have a nice shaped arse, though she could do with a few more pounds._

"Why are you smiling like that?" Tracey whispered, eyeing Ron's crooked smile.

"Huh?" Ron blinked at her, quickly fixing his features.

"Hmmm…" Tracey hummed, eyeing him with a suspicious look. "I bet you were thinking something naughty, Ron."

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked calmly. _MIND-READER!_

"Why else would you smile in such a creepy manner?" Tracey whispered, shooting a quick glance at their friends behind them. They were talking amongst each other, and none of them seemed to be paying Ron and Tracey any attention. "So… What were you thinking about?"

"Tracey, you're being crazy" Ron laughed.

"Is that nervousness I detect in your laugh?" Tracey smirked, tapping her chin with her free hand. "Oh… I know what you were thinking."

"Then please enlighten me" Ron said, was she really onto him?

"You think my chest on your arm feels great" Tracey whispered, shooting him a rather wicked smile. _Wait, I_ _ **can**_ _feel the side of her chest pressed against my arm. Bloody hell, I've gotten too used to the girls cuddling me. Millie is the only one who doesn't do that anymore, but Tracey, Pansy, and Daphne take every chance to latch onto me._ "Um… Hello?" Tracey called, and Ron blinked at her again.

"Sorry, I zoned out" Ron apologized. "And no, Trace… I wasn't thinking about the side of your chest touching my arm, which by the way, does feel nice."

"Thank you" Tracey smirked, glad that her breasts were finally trying to catch up to her body. Daphne had no idea how lucky she was… "So you weren't thinking about that, eh?"

"Nope" Ron smirked at her.

"What else would you be…?" Tracey started, but then she just stopped. "Ron… Were you thinking about my…"

"Look at that" Ron interrupted her, seeing students piling into the Great Hall. "The Great Hall is right there, where **every** student in Hogwarts is currently going."

"Damn…" Tracey frowned at the other students, and then she looked to Ron with narrowed eyes. "This conversation isn't over." _Oh shite._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dungeons – After Dinner)**_

Ron had quickly attached himself to Theo, mostly because he wanted to avoid Tracey. He had no idea whether or not she was actually angry with him for being a pervert, and he had no intention of finding out just yet. Tracey was a hard girl to predict, mostly because she could go from being extremely funny to being extremely serious if someone said the wrong thing. She enjoyed banter, teasing, and being adventurous, but she also hated people crossing lines with her. _And I really don't want her to be pissed with me, I just bought her over a hundred gag items for her birthday._

"By the way, I saw the Triumvirate having a chat with the first years" Theo told Ron. "I think they've let them in on how Slytherin runs."

"You sure?" Ron asked, but Theo just shrugged.

"I just saw them speaking with the first years, but I didn't hear anything" Theo replied. "I reckon you should ask the Triumvirate for permission before you approach the first years, just to avoid any problems."

"Right, I'll do that" Ron nodded. "So… How's it feel to be a part of the representatives?"

"Not as good as I thought, truth be told" Theo replied. "I mean, I thought that I'd play an actual role in things, you know? But the current Triumvirate wants to be a dictatorship… Daphne and I literally have no special duties… We're just meant to be babysitting you lot. Oh, and we'll be the ones who get 'punished' if you lot get riled up."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Ron said, giving Theo a pat on his back. "It's still something though, isn't it? They picked you because they recognized something in you, and that has to count for something." Theo blinked at Ron, and then he gave Ron a weak smile.

"Thanks, mate" Theo said.

"It's no worries" Ron said back. "One step at a time, Theo… One step at a time."

"You're right" Theo nodded. "I just wish that they had picked you, or Blaise, over Malfoy. I'm telling you, Ron. I really don't want to work with him. He has this way of crawling back into people's heads, and I'm dead certain that he'll try some shite with Daphne and me."

"Just keep your guard up" Ron advised. "And… And please keep an eye on Daphne…"

"I will" Theo smirked at Ron, who just rolled his eyes. _I shouldn't have said that._

"Malfoy's called her some pretty disgusting names before, and I don't want her getting hurt" Ron said firmly. "I'd do that for all of you, and you know it."

"We do… fearless leader" Theo sniggered, not missing Ron's ears turning slightly red.

"Have you told your father about being selected by the Triumvirate?" Ron asked, deciding to change the topic. _I should also ask him about his father's whereabouts._ "He's still in the country, right?"

"He is" Theo replied, not thinking too much about Ron's question. _Good._ "And I haven't told him yet. He'll want to know who else got selected, and when I tell him that Malfoy was picked over you, he'll get on my case. I just want your Quibbler business to take off, and then I can prove to him that he's wrong about you."

"Right…" Ron nodded slowly. _Wrong about me? What right does a fucking Death-Eater have to judge me?_

"Mate, don't be like that" Theo said, nudging Ron slightly.

"Be like what?" Ron asked as they followed some other students into the common room.

"You know that it's complicated being friends with you" Theo started, but then he stopped. "Fuck… That didn't come out right…"

"Well, I'm sorry Theo" Ron frowned at him, his temper flaring slightly. "I didn't know that I caused you such an inconvenience."

"I didn't mean it like that, and you know it" Theo said quickly. "I just meant that our Families aren't too keen on us being friends, that's all."

"Yeah…" Ron said, looking towards their favorite spot. _Unlike you, I actually have the balls to stand up to my Family. I nearly lost them while I was trying to fight their decision to Re-Sort me, and I did it for you. The least you could do is to tell your father to treat me better than filth. Wait… Why do I even care about what Nott Snr thinks?_ _He's already a dead man as far as I'm concerned._

"Ron… C'mon mate…" Theo sighed.

" _It's alright, now leave it be_ " Ron hissed, making Theo stop. " _What?_ "

"Parseltongue…" Theo muttered, and Ron blinked at him.

"You guys alright?" Tracey asked them, the rest of Ron and Theo's friends catching up.

"Yeah, we're fine" Theo replied, quickly donning on a mask of calm. _I spoke in Parseltongue again?_

"Right…" Daphne said, eyeing Ron with a curious look.

"Well, don't just stand there" Blaise said, moving past them all. Ron quickly followed after Blaise, wondering why he kept speaking out in Parseltongue whenever he felt vexed. _I need to get a hold on this, otherwise I'll end up speaking Parseltongue to the wrong person._ The moment Ron and his friends sat down, Samantha walked over from behind them.

"Ron, I need you to come with me" Samantha said, and then she immediately left. _Um… Alright then._ Ron got up and followed after her, unaware that his friends were just staring at him leave.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked her as soon as he caught up to her, she was clearly in a hurry.

"Yes, we're just in a bit of a hurry" Samantha replied.

"We?" Ron asked.

"Clara, Carey, and I" Samantha replied. "Snape wants us to let him in our plans for the year, and he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"I see" Ron nodded, following her towards her dorm. "What do you need from me?"

"We have the first years gathered in our room" Samantha replied. "We decided that we should get them involved as soon as possible, especially because they're an idiotic lot."

"An idiotic lot?" Ron asked. _It's been one day._

"That Greengrass girl got herself a detention from McGonagall today, apparently she tried using Transfiguration on a fellow classmate." _Bloody hell, Tori. What the hell is the matter with you?_ "Fawley has already made himself an outcast by distancing himself from his fellow House-mates, and the Carrow twins are already at odds with Lysandra Yaxley. You need to get them all in line before they do too much damage to our goals."

"Consider it done" Ron said firmly.

"Thank you, Ron" Samantha shot him a smile, and he smiled back without even thinking. _I think her smiles are so amazing because she doesn't do them often. Plus, this is a welcome distraction. Ever since I learned about Potter's 'destiny', I've been on edge. The great 'Chosen One'… It's no wonder that the Professors blatantly play favorites with him and his friends. Especially Dumbledore. He can literally cause explosions in the Potions lab, and they wouldn't even suspend him._

"Here we are" Samantha said as she opened the door to her dorm, and Ron and made their way inside.

"Ron!" Tori beamed at him, and he gave her a weak smile. _Human Transfiguration on your first day, Tori? Really?_

"Good, you're here" Clara smiled at him. "First years, this is Ronald Bilius Weasley. And from this day on, you answer directly to him."

"A pleasure to meet all of you" Ron smiled at his charges, but only Tori and Lysandra smiled back. The Carrow twins were just staring at him creepily, while the four boys were openly gawking at him with awe. _Guess they've heard of me._

"Ron is our voice, and our will" Carey told them. "And since we run this House, Ron has complete authority over you lot. You will do as he says, you will listen to him while he speaks, and you will show him nothing but respect." _Stop, you're making me blush._

"And if he hands out work, or punishment, you will not put up resistance" Samantha told them, and then she looked to her friends.

"Ron, we leave them in your care" Carey said, and then both Clara and Carey followed Samantha out. Once the door was closed behind them, Tori skipped up to Ron and hugged his middle.

"Ohhh, can we greet you like that too?" Lysandra asked, shooting Ron a wide smile. The Carrow twins rolled their eyes at her at the exact same time, while the boys kept gawking at Ron.

"You're Ronald Weasley" Derek Smith said suddenly. "You're **the** Ronald Weasley, the one who can resist over fifty Veelas through sheer will alone."

"Yes, that's me" Ron smiled at the boy, who genuinely blushed. "Tori, that's enough."

"But I haven't kissed you yet" Tori whined, making the boys gape at her. Even the Carrow twins and Lysandra were a bit taken aback by Tori's comment, and Ron fought the urge to sigh in defeat.

"Are you two…?" Lysandra started.

"Ron's my Future husband" Tori lied, turning around in time to see the damage that she had caused. The other first years were genuinely shocked, while Ron just frowned lightly.

"Tori, behave" Ron said, but she just sniggered. "I am not her 'Future husband', I am an ally of her Family. Her older sister is one of my closest friends, and I spend a lot of time at their Manor."

"Boo" Tori said before sticking her tongue out at him. "You ruined my joke."

"Good…" Lysandra breathed out. "For a second there, I thought that you weren't single." _What the fuck?_ "My name is Lysandra Yaxley, a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Lysandra said, and then she put her right hand forward for him. Ron took it, kissed her knuckles, and gave her a practiced bow. _Yaxley? I've heard that somewhere..._

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron reintroduced himself. _Time to take charge._ "As I'm sure you now know, the Silver Triumvirate runs this House. Their word is law, and this year, they've decided to change things up a bit. As such, I'm in charge of all of you. So let's have some introductions, and then we can discuss what's expected of you."

"I'm Astoria Greengrass, daughter of Sebastian and Mary Greengrass" Tori immediately introduced herself, shooting Ron a quick smirk. "My father is the wealthiest man in Wizarding Europe, and his reach is ever expanding." _Alright then… She's clearly trying to establish herself as a leader of sorts. I bet that's how Malfoy introduced himself to my friends as well._

"Lysandra Yaxley, first born of Corban Yaxley and Eliza Yaxley" Lysandra reintroduced herself, still smiling at Ron. _Corban Yaxley… Where have I heard the Yaxley name before?_

"Hestia Carrow" Hestia said, her voice was rather subdued.

"Flora Carrow" Flora said, her voice equally subdued. _Merlin, they're so creepy. They have no trace of an expression on their faces, it's just this dull stare._

"Derek Smith" Derek smiled at Ron, his chubby cheeks shooting upwards. _A bit on the heavy side, this one._

"Mathew Roberts" Mathew spoke up, his brown eyes fixed on Ron's.

"Roberts? Any relation to a Madam Jane Roberts?" Ron asked, and Mathew slowly shook his head. _Shame._

"Sebastian Cunningham" Sebastian introduced himself. "My older brother is Fabian Cunningham, and he was a member of the Silver Triumvirate last year." _Neat. This kid already knows just how important the Triumvirate is then._ Ron then looked to Johnathon Fawley, who looked less than eager to speak up.

"Johnathon Fawley…" Johnathon said, sounding even less enthusiastic than he looked.

"Alright" Ron smiled at them all, trying his best to seem pleasant and approachable. "Now that we all know each other, let's have a long chat about what's ahead of you. As first years, you have certain advantages that the rest of us don't. For one, you are new here, and because of that, the teachers will give you a lot of leeway."

"Tell that to McGonagall" Tori frowned. "She gave me a detention, Ron."

"I heard what happened, and you're lucky that Snape hasn't given you one as well" Ron told her, and then he looked back to the others. "Although you'll be given a lot of leeway, don't forget for one second that you're in Slytherin. Being in this House has a lot of perks, but there are also a lot of issues that only we have to tackle. The biggest issue being that the other Houses don't like us very much…"

"Hardly surprising…" Johnathon muttered, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You have a problem with Slytherin, Fawley?" Sebastian frowned.

"Guys, please don't fight again" Derek pleaded, shooting a worried look towards Ron. _Again?_

"You can speak your mind around me, Johnathon" Ron smiled at the lanky boy, he could understand why the boy was less than pleased about his sorting.

"Everyone knows what happened last year…" Johnathon said, looking towards his frowning year-mates. "The Chamber was opened by someone in Slytherin, and people got hurt…"

"The Chamber was indeed opened" Ron nodded. "But it wasn't at the hands of a Slytherin. And as for people getting hurt, I myself was petrified by the monster of Slytherin."

"Were you really?" Lysandra asked, sounding more excited than worried.

"I was" Ron replied. "The 'Heir of Slytherin' was not actually from Slytherin, and they didn't care about who they hurt. They were going after everyone in the school, we were simply blamed because of association."

"Oh…" Johnathon blinked.

"As I was saying" Ron continued. "The other Houses don't like us very much, and sometimes, they are right not to. We have a few people in this House who constantly make things worse for all of us, and I expect you all to **never** take part in that. Any form of slurs related to Blood-Status will be severely punished, and if I ever find out that you're bullying students from other Houses, I will not hesitate to punish you."

"So we can't speak our minds?" the Carrow twins asked. _Speak your minds? I need to keep my eyes on these two._

"There is a time and place for that, and Hogwarts is not it" Ron replied, keeping his eyes fixed on them. "The Professors, like myself, don't tolerate that kind of behavior. And if you are caught participating in such behavior, you will undoubtedly lose us a great deal of House Points."

"But what if **we** get bullied?" Derek piped up, his hands fidgeting in front of him. "Some Gryffindor boy sneered at me today for no reason…"

"If you are being picked on, come straight to me" Ron told them. "I'll find your bully, and I'll feed them their own teeth." Tori sniggered at that, while the others just blinked at him. "As long as I'm in charge of you, you're under my protection. If anyone gives you grief, you come to me. If you are having trouble with your studies, you come to me. If you just want someone to talk to, you can come to me. Is that understood?" They all nodded, and Derek looked particularly happy with Ron's words.

"Now, as I was saying" Ron restarted. "Since the other Houses don't like us very much, and they have a tendency to see us as 'the Dark House', you all **need** to stick by each other. Who can tell me Slytherin's House traits?"

"I can" Mathew said, putting his hand up as if he were in class. "Resourcefulness, cunning, ambition, determination, leadership, self-preservation, fraternity, and cleverness." _He literally recited that from a book, didn't he?_

"Well done" Ron smiled at Mathew, who smiled back proudly. _I found myself a teacher's pet._ "Out of all of these traits, fraternity is perhaps the most important. We Slytherins must always have each other's backs, despite our own differences. It is an unspoken rule in this House that whatever our grievances, we do not bring them out in public. What happens inside the House, stays inside the House. If you begin acting against your fellow House-mates, you will find yourself out in the cold pretty quickly. You are all going to be spending seven years together, so believe me, you don't want to turn yourself into a pariah."

"Now, I know that you all have your differences, and maybe you'll even have a few fights, but remember, your House-mates are your allies against the hate that we all get from the other Houses" Ron went on, his eyes lingering on Johnathon. "You lot are a unit, and if you don't stick together, you'll make for easier targets. Which is why I want you all to shake hands, and put your differences aside." The first years looked to each other, and Ron could sense the tension between Sebastian and Johnathon. "That. Was. Not. A. Request…" Ron said slowly, his gaze becoming rather intimidating.

"I'm sorry about acting… withdrawn…" Johnathon sighed at Sebastian, putting his hand forward for a shake.

"I'm sorry for being an arse…" Sebastian said, shaking Johnathon's hand.

"Girls?" Ron looked to the Carrow twins and Lysandra. "I've heard that there's been some disagreement between you."

"She used our hairbrush" Flora said, looking at Lysandra coldly.

"I told you, I forgot to pack mine" Lysandra shot back. "And what's the big deal? It's just a hairbrush."

"It's someone else's property, and you need to respect that" Ron told her, staring right through her.

"I…" Lysandra started, but her voice hitched when she stared into his pale eyes. "I'm sorry for using your hairbrush…"

"Apology accepted" the twins said together, eyeing Ron carefully.

"And you" Ron looked to Tori, who smiled sheepishly. "No more attempts at Human Transfiguration."

"Since you asked so nicely, I will oblige" Tori said, and Ron gave her a curt nod.

"I want all eight of you to be friends, especially because the Silver Triumvirate has high expectations of you" Ron told them. "Which brings me down to the crux of the matter. You are all a gold-mine of House Points, and we need you to help us get an early lead."

"A gold-mine of House Points?" Mathew asked.

"When first years show skill and understanding within classes, the teachers tend to shower them with House Points" Ron replied, and all eight of them nodded slowly. "I will be tutoring you all personally, and with what I'll teach you, you'll all be at the top of your classes."

"You'll tutor us?" Mathew beamed. "You're a Prodigy!" _How lies have fed my legend…_

"Thank you, Mathew" Ron smiled at the excited boy. "I will be helping you with your classwork, your homework, and if you behave, I'll even teach you a few Spells."

"What kind of Spells?" Sebastian asked quickly, a certain gleam in his black eyes. _A demonstration? Sure._ Ron walked over to Clara's bed, and then he aimed his left palm at one of the four wooden pillars.

"Glacius" Ron chanted softly, and he felt his hand tighten. Ron immediately grabbed the post with his left hand, and ice immediately started covering the post from his hand.

"WOAH!" Ron heard the first years yell.

"That's Wandless Magic, that is!" Mathew hollered, barely able to keep his excitement in check. Ron let go of the post as he turned to face them, their awed expressions brought a smile to his face. _Even the twins looked genuinely awed._

"You'll teach us that?!" Derek asked, his entire face lighting up.

" **If** you behave, then yes" Ron smirked.

"We'll behave!" Tori spoke for the whole group. "Ron is crazy powerful! I saw him nearly best an Auror in single combat!"

"An Auror?" the twins asked, shooting Ron and the frozen post a look of utter disbelief.

"She only barely beat him" Tori replied, and Ron smiled at her for her 'help'.

"Bloody hell…" Johnathon muttered, his eyes fixed on the frozen post.

"The Triumvirate expects me to succeed in my goal, and I expect you all to give me your best" Ron told them. "Our relationship will be a two-way street. If you give me your best, then I will give you my best. I want all of you to collectively earn seventy five points a week, and if that seems like too much, then let me tell you that it isn't. I myself earned fifty to sixty points a day when I first got here, and because of that, I have earned the respect of the Silver Triumvirate itself. This House values excellence, and if you work hard, then you **will** be rewarded."

"What if we earn seventy five points, but then lose them?" Tori asked, hoping to find a loophole.

"If this group collectively loses more than twenty House Points a week, then I will punish **all** of you" Ron told them. "Trust me, there are plenty of disgusting tasks that I can think of."

"So we can't lose more than twenty House Points a week, and we need to earn seventy five minimum" Hestia summarized, and Ron didn't miss Lysandra's faraway look.

"You are correct" Ron told her.

"And if we keep accomplishing this weekly goal, you'll teach us awesome Spells?" Sebastian asked, and Ron nodded. "I'm in."

"Me too" the other boys said.

"Girls?" Ron looked to them, and the twins gave him curt nods.

"Of course I'll help you, Ron" Tori smiled sweetly.

"Me too" Lysandra smiled as well, and Ron nodded at them.

"Great, any other questions?" Ron asked.

"Who's our leader?" Tori asked. "We need someone in charge, right?"

"I'm in charge, and you may call me 'leader' if you like" Ron told her, and she barely held back a frown. "Anything else?"

"When do we study with you?" Derek asked.

"Sundays" Ron replied. "I'm free all day, and we can all sit together and study."

"But that's the weekend" Lysandra stated, clearly shocked by this.

"I know" Ron said, not really caring about her unspoken complain. "Every Sunday morning, at ten A.M sharp, I expect you all to be in the common room with your books. We will study until lunch, and then after lunch ends, we will study until six P.M. You can leave all of your homework for that day."

"So no homework during the week?" Tori asked, and Ron nodded. "YES!"

"I guess that's not so bad…" Lysandra nodded to herself.

"What if we need help with something other than our homework?" Mathew asked. "Like extracurricular stuff?"

"Then you can come to me whenever you like" Ron replied. "I'll make time for you, I promise."

"Great" Mathew smiled widely, this was going to be amazing. He'd no doubt be at the top of his class, especially because he was being mentored by Slytherin's Prodigy.

"Do you guys have any more questions?" Ron asked, and they all traded slow looks. _I guess that's it._ "Alright then… Starting from this moment on, you will not lose any more House Points. Your quota starts next week, and your study sessions with me start on Sunday. You are all dismissed." The first years nodded, and then they slowly began to leave. "Johnathon, stay behind for a moment. I want to talk to you." Johnathon stopped moving, and the other first years shot him quick looks before leaving.

"Um… Did I do something wrong?" Johnathon asked slowly.

"No, mate" Ron gave him a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked.

"About your sorting" Ron replied, and Johnathon gave him a defeated look.

"Look… I get it… I'm a Slytherin now, and I need to show my loyalty to this House…" Johnathon said, he had spent the entire day hiding from the Hufflepuffs. His mother and father were in for a nasty surprise, and he dreaded their reactions.

"I'm glad to hear that" Ron started. "But I want to know if you're doing alright. I know how hard it is to be sorted into a House that isn't your 'Family's House'."

"You…" Johnathon started, but then he trailed off. "I guess you do, don't you?"

"I really do, trust me" Ron smiled at him. "You're probably scared of what your parents might say, and you certainly can't understand how this happened to you, but I want you to know, it isn't the end of the World. You will find friends here, and most of the students in this House don't really care for Blood-Supremacy. Hell, two of the three Triumvirate members are Half-Bloods."

"Really?" Johnathon asked, genuinely surprised by that.

"Really" Ron nodded. "Don't back down from your beliefs, and in time, everyone in your Family will come to accept your sorting."

"Your Family accepted yours?" Johnathon asked.

"Eventually, yes" Ron said, though that wasn't completely true. _But he doesn't need to hear that. He's probably scared, and he needs a friend._ "Just concentrate on your studies, meet and make new friends, and enjoy your time at Hogwarts. This is a wonderful place, and you would be at a loss if you let your sorting ruin that for you. And if you ever need anything, you can always come to me."

"Thanks, Ron" Johnathon smiled weakly. "Wait… Can I call you 'Ron'?"

"Sure thing, mate" Ron nodded his consent.

"Alright… You can call me John, if you like" John said, feeling slightly better about everything. "Are you going to fix that?" John asked as he pointed to the frozen part of the post.

"Fuck no" Ron grinned, and John blinked at him. "Let's get the hell out of here." John chuckled weakly as they both quickly left the room, and once Ron had closed the door, they both departed for the common room.

"Was it hard to make new friends?" John asked. "You being from the Weasley Family, and all."

"I got pretty lucky, actually" Ron replied, remembering how Theo and Blaise had approached him. _They taught me how to say my name 'properly', and then they began following me around._ "But I've had my fair share of fights with morons who wanted me gone. But I just stood my ground, and I weathered it without flinching."

"I don't know if I can do that" John admitted. "A bunch of Slytherins weren't too happy to see me join the Slytherin table this morning…"

"Who?" Ron asked. "Did one of them look like a Troll?"

"Um… Sort of" John replied. "He was around your height, but much bulkier."

"Marcus Flint" Ron sighed. "Keep your distance from him, he's a fucking twat."

"Right…" John nodded, shocked at Ron's language.

"I'm not going to lie to you, John" Ron told the lanky boy. "There will be people who throw their weight around near you, and sometimes, they'll say things that get to you. But you've got support, and if you make yourself valuable to this House, that support will get bigger."

"I understand" John nodded as they entered the common room, and Ron immediately spotted Daphne waiting for him.

"Ron, can I have a word?" Daphne asked, and then she looked to John.

"This is Johnathon" Ron introduced the boy. "He's one of my first years. Johnathon, this Daphne Greengrass. Astoria's older sister."

"Nice to meet you" John gave her a rather shy smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Johnathon" Daphne gave him her hand, and he gave her knuckles a quick kiss. _He's better mannered than I was when I first got sorted._

"I'll take my leave" John said. "Thanks again, Ron." With that, John walked off towards the other first years. _At least they're all sitting together now, no doubt discussing what I told them._

"What can I do for you, Daphne?" Ron asked her, shooting her a crooked smile.

"You can show me your new dorm for a start" Daphne smirked, eager to finally speak with Ron alone.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Alright, how much time do we have?" Ron asked her as soon as he locked the door.

"Theo told me of how he upset you by mistake" Daphne told him, and Ron blinked at her. _What?_ "He didn't mean anything by it, Ron."

"Daph… I'm not even upset…" Ron said, feeling rather let down by the lack of physical contact. _Time to change that. We haven't had a chance to be together since I got grounded._

"I know, but he's convinced that he upset you" Daphne sighed, taking a seat on the edge of Ron's bed. "He mentioned that you started speaking Parseltongue…"

"I like the way it sounds" Ron joked, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Ron… Be serious…" Daphne said, but Ron shook his head.

"Nah… I want to play instead" Ron said, skipping over to her.

"Ron, don't ever skip like that again" Daphne said, her lips twitching upwards. "It was really unattractive."

"How else am I supposed to show off my jolly mood?" Ron asked her. "C'mon Daph, we haven't been alone since that day at the Manor. You remember, don't you? We danced, kissed, cuddled, and then you pretended to be my wife."

"I remember" Daphne said, her cheeks were beginning to turn rosy.

"That was probably best day that I'd had in ages" Ron admitted, slowly kneeling in front of her.

"Me too" Daphne said, she knew what he was up to. "Ron… Our friends could walk in…"

"I locked the door" Ron said as he slowly pushed her onto her back, and then he hovered over her with a smile. "Have I told you about how much I like your hair as it's currently styled?"

"You may have mentioned something about it" Daphne smirked.

"Well, I really like it" Ron whispered.

"You don't think it's too long?" Daphne asked him, and Ron shook his head.

"It's perfect" Ron replied, earning himself one of her smiles.

"What's come over you, Ron?" Daphne asked him, still smiling up at him. "You're usually not this straightforward, not that I'm complaining of course." _That might be because I haven't rubbed one out in two days, or it might be because I love being this close to her._

"You just look really amazing, and my inner bloke is demanding that I do something about it" Ron grinned, making Daphne giggle.

"You're weird" Daphne told him.

"I'm serious Daph, you look really good" Ron told her, genuinely meaning it. _And in the Future, you'll look even better! I'm one lucky bastard!_

"Really?" Daphne asked, her face flushing slightly because of his compliments.

"Yes, really" Ron nodded, and then he planted a kiss on her nose.

"You missed" Daphne giggled.

"Did I?" Ron asked. "Well, time to try again." With that, Ron gave her a kiss that lasted nearly fifteen seconds. When they finally parted, there was a resounding smacking sound. "I think we just set the record for our long kisses."

"Come closer" Daphne whispered, her hands creeping onto his back. She was feeling rather excited herself, and his compliments had made her completely forget about her original goal. Ron placed his weight on his elbows instead of his palms, and because of that, his chest began pressing down on hers. _Soft pillows… One day, I'll rest my head on you. I swear it._

"I'm not crushing you, am I?" Ron asked her, and she shook her head as she locked her fingers behind his back.

"You're a little heavy, but it feels… nice" Daphne whispered, her eyes becoming slightly glazed over. "Bring your face down…" Ron did as he was told, already feeling like he was going to pop an erection. _I'll probably need to get off her before it happens. I'd rather not poke her with it._ "Pansy gave me some of Witch Weekly magazines to read" Daphne whispered, her breath hitting his face. "And I read something that I want to try…"

"What is it?" Ron whispered back, his heart beating hard against his chest.

"It's a type of kiss… Different from what we do…" Daphne whispered, staring into his eyes. She wanted to just blurt it out and save herself the embarrassment, but she didn't want to scare him off either. "We won't try it if you don't want to…"

"Go on…" Ron whispered, he could actually feel her heartbeat with his own chest. _Merlin, I'm actually scared that her heart will explode._

"It's called a French kiss, and it involves using our tongues" Daphne whispered, her eyes still fixed on his. _A French kiss? She means snogging, doesn't she?_

"Are you sure?" Ron asked her, and she gave him a nod.

"I've heard that Brown, Patil, and Dunbar have already tried it, and I want to try it as well" Daphne replied. "Can we?"

"Yeah… Yeah…" Ron whispered, leaning down slowly. _Bloody hell, we're really doing this. Just go for it, Ron. Stop being a little bitch. Fuck, why am I so nervous?_ Ron's lips caressed hers, and the moment he tried to deepen the kiss, the Universe threw a fucking wrench into everything.

"Ron? You in there?" came Theo's voice, and Ron shot off of Daphne with the speed of lightning. Daphne, much to her credit, immediately sat up with a nonchalant expression. _Fucking fuck! Theo, you motherfucker!_

"Get the door" Daphne whispered, fixing her hair into place. Ron quickly walked over and opened the door, coming face to face with Theo and Blaise.

"The door was open" Ron lied, smiling widely at his friends.

"We didn't want to disturb you two" Theo smirked, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Don't be an arse" Ron said, moving back into the room.

"He's not upset with you" Daphne told Theo as soon as the weedy boy entered the room, and Theo gave Ron a sheepish smile. "Can I leave now? Or do you need me to help you with your bra?" _Shite, Daph… At least try to hide your bitterness…_

"That's just mean…" Theo frowned at her, while Ron and Blaise laughed at him.

"Alright then, I'm off" Daphne said as she stood up, she had half a mind to kill Theo and Blaise. "Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight" they said together.

"Oh, wait…" Ron called, and Daphne turned around to look at him. "Tell Millie that we're going for our morning run at six in the morning."

"I'll do that" Daphne said, her expression and tone unreadable. And just like that, she was gone. _NO!_ _FUCKING SHITE FUCK CUNT FUCK!_

"Ron, you alright?" Blaise asked, and Ron smiled at him. "You looked flushed…"

"Migraine…" Ron lied.

"Oh, I've got a Potion for that" Theo said, walking over to his trunk. _Tonight, a weedy boy dies in his sleep._

"There's no need for that, I'm going to tuck in for the night" Ron said, walking over to the bathroom.

"Right" Theo nodded, hopping onto his own bed.

"Are you going to take a shower?" Blaise asked.

"Want to join me?" Ron asked back.

"Just hurry up please, I want to take one as well" Blaise said, and Ron nodded as he closed and locked the door. Ron knew that a shower was the least of his concerns right now, he needed to get the image of Daphne being under him out of his head. _Time to make Madam Roberts proud._

* * *

 **Author's Notes: And there it is! Once again, my bad for the late update. But c'mon, I'm only human. And Bloodborne is damn addictive! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

 **See you on Thursday!**


	69. Chapter 69 - A 'Splitting' Headache

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 69 (heh) is here early! This one is slightly shorter than my usual, only 16,000 words, but it's good =)**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 69 – A 'Splitting' Headache**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Black Lake – Crack of Dawn)**_

"Eight laps?" Millie blinked at Ron, looking rather uncomfortable in her running gear.

"Trust me Millie, it'll be over before you know it" Ron assured her, but she didn't look very convinced.

"And by 'it', Ron means your life" Theo stated, not looking very pleased himself.

"Mate, let's just do five" Blaise suggested. "The Holidays just ended, and we're all out of practice." _You're out of practice, you mean._

"You can do five, I'll do eight" Ron said, and Theo and Blaise looked visibly relieved.

"Then I'll do eight as well" Millie said firmly, and the boys blinked at her.

"You just said that you didn't want to do eight laps" Theo told her.

"I didn't say that I wouldn't do them" Millie countered, frowning slightly.

"Millie…" Blaise started, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to level with you here…"

"Just do as many as you like, that's how I started" Ron cut in, he could tell that Blaise was about to say something that was going to hurt Millie's feelings. "Push yourself as hard as you can today, and then remember how many laps you managed to pull off. That'll be your limit until you improve, understand?"

"I… Alright, you make a good point" Millie nodded slowly, she knew that she wouldn't be able to finish eight laps. Ron's suggestion gave her the opportunity to save face, and she was glad for it.

"Right then, everyone stretch and then do your laps" Ron said, stretching his back. "Oh, and try to keep up."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"Millie, are you sure that you're alright?" Pansy asked, all of the girls were eyeing Millie with worry.

"I'm fine…" Millie groaned. "I just… I just pulled a muscle, that's all."

"You should go to Pomfrey" Tracey suggested, but Millie stubbornly shook her head.

"You couldn't take it easy for once" Daphne frowned at Ron, who just blinked at her. _What the fuck did I do? I ran my own laps, and she only did two. Also, is Daphne mad at me?_

"Ron ran his own laps, so it's hardly his fault" Millie said quickly.

"So he didn't bother supervising you" Daphne huffed, and Ron blinked at her once again. _She's pissed. What did I do? Is she mad about Theo and Blaise interrupting us last night? How's that my fault?_

"What did you do?" Theo whispered to Ron.

"I don't fucking know" Ron whispered back, and then he looked to Millie. "Mills, go to Pomfrey please. You look like you're in pain."

"Fine…" Millie consented, making Pansy and Tracey gape at her.

"So Ron only has to say it once?" Tracey asked Millie, who just shrugged.

"Now we know who Millie favors in this group" Pansy feigned hurt.

"Shut up…" Millie rolled her eyes before going back to her breakfast.

"The fearless leader's word is law" Theo sniggered, immediately earning a smack from Ron.

"Stop it, or you'll talk her out of it" Ron frowned at a sniggering Theo.

"Is it just me, or does Malfoy look like the poster child for depression this morning?" Blaise asked, he wasn't even listening to his friends' conversation. Ron and the others looked to where Blaise was looking, and they all saw Draco Malfoy just staring at his half-finished plate. The Malfoy heir's hair was untidily covering the sides of his face, and the bags under his eyes made it perfectly clear that he hadn't slept last night. _Shite, what happened to him?_

"Look at Crabbe and Goyle" Pansy whispered, and Ron did so. The two burly boys were eating their breakfast with happy smiles, occasionally sniggering amongst themselves. _What the fuck?_

"Something isn't right in this picture" Daphne noted, and they all nodded.

"Eh… Who cares?" Tracey asked suddenly, and all of them looked to her. "What? It's Malfoy, and we agreed to keep our distance from him."

"She is right" Theo nodded, earning a smile from Tracey. "He might just be sick."

"If he were sick, everyone would know it" Blaise said. "He likes attention, remember? No, this is something else."

"You sound concerned for him" Tracey said, and Blaise cocked his eyebrow at her. "Feeling bad about your old friend?"

"Tracey, that's enough" Daphne said, killing the oncoming argument in its crib. "We all agreed to keep our distance from him, and Blaise understands that. And until Ron says otherwise, **none** of us will even approach him. Isn't that right, Blaise?" _Until I say so? Damn, she makes me sound like a dictator._

"I made an observation, that's all" Blaise said, sounding completely uninterested. "Just because we aren't planning to approach him doesn't mean that we should sit around with our eyes closed."

"That's a good point" Millie said, looking to Tracey. "It's better to be prepared than to be caught unaware."

"What do you think, Ron?" Pansy asked, still eyeing Malfoy with a look that looked alarmingly like concern.

"I think that whatever's wrong with him, he deserves it" Ron replied, and Pansy looked to him immediately. "He's been making people miserable for as long as I've known him, and I know a look of defeat when I see it. Remember what Tori told all of us? He was hiding from someone at Theo's party, and judging by that look, he can't get away from them here. He's in trouble, and as far as I'm concerned, he deserves it." _It's about time that he learned some humility._

"Good" Tracey smirked. "Remember what he did to Ron last year?" _The beating that landed me in the Hospital Wing…_

"A wounded animal can be turned if you nurse it back to health" Daphne stated, earning a look of horror from Tracey. "It's just a suggestion."

"It's a horrible suggestion, and we're not doing it" Tracey said firmly.

"You don't speak for this group, Ron does" Pansy quickly reminded her. _Shite, are we about to have a fight?_

"And Ron already spoke" Tracey shot back. "Malfoy deserves to be miserable, just like all the people that he's made miserable over the years."

"Why the hell are we starting an argument over this?" Theo asked the girls, they seriously needed to calm down. "Tracey, c'mon…"

"I'm just saying that he doesn't belong with us, and we shouldn't even think of helping him after all the stunts he's pulled over the last two years" Tracey said, and then she went back to her breakfast. _I need to do something about Malfoy eventually, and it'll probably involve him becoming a part of this group. I've see the good that he can do, and I gave Snape my word._ The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of breakfast.

"Yay… Herbology…" Ron grumbled, earning a look of disbelief from Theo.

"Herbology is arguably the best subject taught at Hogwarts" Theo said, and Ron genuinely laughed. "I'm serious…"

"Herbology is gross" Pansy said. "I have to spend hours cleaning the smell of manure off of me after every lesson." Theo took in a sharp breath, and Ron immediately zoned out of the conversation. His eyes had fallen on Padma, who was currently talking to her friends animatedly. _I should partner with her for the day. Justin has no doubt told all of the Hufflepuffs about my study group reconvening, and Padma can help promote that message in Ravenclaw._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"You mind partnering with me today?" Ron asked Padma, and she quickly turned to face him. Ron gave her his best smile, and she returned the gesture. "It's good to see you again, Padma. How were your Holidays?"

"It's good to see you as well, Ron" Padma replied, her eyes assessing his height. "What do they feed you?"

"What **don't** they feed me is the better question" Ron replied, and Padma giggled.

"My holidays were wonderful" Padma answered his earlier question. "Parvati and I went to India in order to visit our Grandmother, and she told us some fascinating stories. What about you?"

"Mine were eventful" Ron replied.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really hard to read?" Padma asked him, and Ron simply smirked. _Trust me, you don't want to 'read' me._ "Well, what does 'eventful' mean?"

"I got a lot done" Ron shrugged, making Padma click her tongue playfully.

"You're good, I'll give you that" Padma laughed. "And yes Ron, I'll partner with you for the day. But you'd better pull your weight this time."

"I didn't pull my weight the last time?" Ron asked, sounding more curious than amused.

"You spent too long flirting with me" Padma smiled slyly.

"I… won't deny that" Ron shrugged again, and her smile widened.

"Oi Padma, do you want to partner with me for the day?" Michael Corner asked as he walked up to them, and Padma shot him a sorry smile.

"Sorry, I'm partnering with Ron today" Padma replied, and Corner nodded slowly.

"Right… I'll ask someone else…" Corner said slowly, his eyes looking Ron up and down. _Mind your gaze mate, or I'll shove my fist down your throat._ Corner skulked off at that, and Ron shot Padma a sheepish smile.

"I don't want to cause you any trouble in your House" Ron said, and Padma blinked at him.

"Trouble in my House?" Padma asked.

"You know… For pairing up with a person from a different House" Ron replied. _I know for a fact that some people in Slytherin would get their knickers in a knot over such a thing._

"Ron, Ravenclaw isn't like that" Padma chuckled, playfully smacking his right arm. "Ow… What are you wearing underneath your robes?"

"Nothing…" Ron replied slowly. "And I'm glad to hear that your House isn't like that."

"Gather around everyone!" came Professor Sprout's voice, and Ron and Padma joined the class around the massive table. "Today, we'll be doing some quick revision on Mandrakes…" _Fuck! Screeching dirt babies!_ "Now be gentle with these, as they were given to us by a kind benefactor." Daphne smirked to herself at that, and Ron didn't miss it.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"It won't budge" Padma snapped, letting go of the Mandrake's 'head of hair'. "I hate these things…" _What did she say? I can't hear anything with these earmuffs on. She looks like she's having trouble though._

"Allow me" Ron stepped up, slightly nudging her out of the way. Ron then grabbed the Mandrake's leafy top, and he yanked it out in one go. It immediately started screeching at him, its fat face and body making Ron grimace. _Despite the earmuffs, I can still hear it a bit._ Padma quickly replaced the old pot with a new one, and Ron planted the fat dirt baby into it. Ron and Padma then began covering it with dirt, making sure to bury it completely. _There… It's done._

Ron rubbed the sweat off of his brow with his robes' sleeve, slightly irked by the fact that he couldn't take it off like everyone else. _My shirt is no doubt damp from sweat, which might make my scars visible. This is another thing that I hate about this class… It's so bloody humid in here that I'm fucking melting in my clothes._ Padma suddenly nudged Ron, signaling him that it was safe to take the earmuffs off. Ron shot a quick look around the room, and once he saw that the others were taking them off, he did the same.

"That's better" Padma said, massaging the top of her ears. She then looked Ron over, and it was clear that he was extremely hot under his robes. "Ron, why don't you just take off your robes?"

"Ohhh, coming on a little too strong there" Ron joked, hoping to change the topic immediately.

"Oops, that wasn't my intention" Padma giggled, and Ron became slightly unsure of her intentions. _Is she pulling a Pansy on me? Is that it?_ "No but seriously, you look like you're about to have heatstroke."

"I'm fine" Ron lied with a smile, and Padma nodded slowly.

"You're an odd one, Ron" Padma told him, but he simply shrugged. She knew that he was trying to hide something, and the fact that she didn't know what it was bothered her slightly. He was a puzzle, and she wanted to try and figure him out. Which reminded her of her original inquiry. "Ron, why did you partner with me today?"

"I wanted to let you know that my study group is back on" Ron replied, deciding to not insult her intelligence. "Fridays, after classes end."

"I already know that" Padma smiled at him. "Justin went around telling everyone."

"Really?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Well, I didn't see that coming."

"Yeah, he was really excited about it" Padma couldn't help but chuckle, the memory of Justin making the announcement to a bunch of confused Ravenclaws was too amusing. "He told the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but I don't think that he went to Gryffindors."

"That makes sense" Ron nodded to himself, thinking about Justin's actions. "He doesn't want to announce to the Lions that a Snake is hosting a study group for everyone. They'd probably just glare at him."

"See, this is why Ravenclaw is the best House" Padma smirked. "We care about our studies over something as trivial as House rivalry."

"Tell that to your Quidditch Team" Ron sniggered.

"That… is a good point" Padma giggled.

"Well, I'm glad that you already know about the study group" Ron said. "You should invite some of the first years from your House as well. They'd probably leap at the chance to make new friends." _And I'll order my first years to attend as well._

"Your study group is growing ever bigger, isn't it?" Padma smirked, and Ron gave her an innocent look. "Some people are beginning to wonder if you have ulterior motives, Ron."

"I just want peace amongst the Houses" Ron told her, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. _And it doesn't hurt to have friends in different Houses, especially considering that Hogwarts will get attacked someday._

"Like I said, you're too hard to read" Padma sighed. "I'll invite the first years, and some of the second years as well. Luna has made some fast friends with her year-mates due to her father's article on the events leading up to the Inferno."

"Is that so?" Ron smiled widely, feeling rather happy with that bit of news. "That's good, she deserves to have more friends."

"I agree, your sister is the most adorable thing that I've ever laid eyes on" Padma told him.

"Do **I** at least crack the top five?" Ron asked her, and she just blinked at him. And then, she broke into a fit of giggles.

"You're mental, you know that right?" Padma wheezed.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunch)**_

"And she'll bring some of her first years?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded.

"And where is everyone supposed to sit?" Theo asked Ron. "The Library doesn't have any tables that can support so many people."

"It's not that many" Ron said, but his friends just gave him deadpan looks. "Fine… I know that the study group getting a little too large, but that's the point. I want to have as many people in it as possible in order to show the older students that House Unity is accomplishable."

"Why do you even care about 'House Unity'?" Theo asked with a slight frown. "We don't get anything out of it except for some praise from the Professors."

"Ron is 'preparing us all for a war'… Remember?" Blaise said, shooting Ron a bored look.

"Not this again…" Daphne sighed, immediately put off from the conversation. _Wow. Really?_

"A united front is important" Ron told them, but they clearly weren't interested in his mad babbling. Even Millie was trying to concentrate on her food, none of them believed in Ron's warnings about an upcoming war that only he could guess at. They had only humored him because doing so was improving his health, and his mood.

"It's going to happen… And we all need to start getting ready for it" Ron said, not liking their disinterest. "Which reminds me… We need to restart our training within Sanctuary."

"Ron, it's the second day back…" Pansy said, shooting Ron a pitiful look.

"Can't we just settle in first?" Tracey asked, also shooting him a pitiful look. _Settle in? What the hell does that mean?_

"Fine…" Ron consented, and the girls looked visibly relieved. "We'll start next week." _And there goes their relief._ "C'mon, this training will help you in the Dueling Club. Don't you want to win?"

"I'm not joining the Dueling Club, Ron" Daphne told him outright, and he gave her a bewildered look. "Fighting other people for House Points like some betting animal is beneath me."

"Beneath you?" Ron blinked.

"It's not Ladylike" Pansy jumped in. "And I'm with her…" _What?!_

"This Dueling Club is the perfect opportunity for us to establish ourselves" Ron told them. "And self-defense is something that everyone should want to learn."

"Despite his over eagerness to torture us" Blaise started, his eyes fixed on Daphne and Pansy. "He is right… If Slytherin earns a lot of House Points due to our success in the Dueling Club, we'll be remembered for it."

"Not to mention that Gryffindor is probably going to win the Quidditch Cup because of Potter" Theo added on.

"And it'll be fun" Millie said, trying to urge her friends to join.

"We'll get to hex Gryffindors without facing any consequences" Tracey smirked, giving Daphne a weak nudge.

"C'mon…" Ron urged, his eyes fixed on Daphne's. "I'll teach you cool Spells…" _How can someone not be interested in becoming more powerful? Wait… She probably doesn't feel the need to empower herself due to her Family's wealth and influence. That's just… idiotic._

"Fine…" Pansy sighed, deciding to join only because her friends wanted her to.

"Daphne?" Ron asked.

"I'll think about it" Daphne replied, going back to her food. _I'll take that… for now._

"Alright, I'll be right back" Ron said as he stood up, and his friends gave him curious looks.

"Where are you going?" Tracey asked him.

"I need to speak with the Gryffindors about my study group" Ron replied. "Justin didn't speak to them about it, so I'll have to do it myself."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Millie asked.

"Strength in numbers" Tracey said as she put down her cutlery.

"No, there's no need for that" Ron told them. "I don't want the Gryffindors to think that I need people watching my back when I speak to them, it might irk them."

"Ron, stop being so naïve and take them with you" Blaise said, but Ron waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't worry about it" Ron told the two girls. "I'll be fine. And what are they going to do? We're in the Great Hall for Merlin's sake." With that, Ron began making his way over to the Gryffindor tables. _The last thing I need to do is to show up at their table unannounced and with 'bodyguards'. Anyway, I should talk to Hermione, Harry, and Neville. And then casually invite the others. If the Golden Trio agree to rejoin me, the others will be further encouraged to do the same._

"Wait up" Daphne said as she caught up to him, and he gave her a slightly annoyed look.

"Daphne… I said that I could do this alone" Ron sighed.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that you should" Daphne countered.

"What? You're not mad at me anymore?" Ron asked, sounding a little too annoyed. Daphne simply gave him a blank stare, not showing any form of emotion. _She'll play dumb, I just know it._

"What makes you think that I'm 'mad at you'?" Daphne asked him. _And there it is._

"Your attitude this morning is a pretty clear sign that you are" Ron replied, and she simply looked ahead in order to avert her gaze. "I know for a fact that I've done nothing to upset you, so the least you could do is to tell me why you were so snappy with me this morning."

"Alright…" Daphne said, her tone unreadable. _'Alright'… That's it?_

"Are you going to tell me why you were upset?" Ron asked.

"Later…" Daphne replied, this was not the place to discuss her feelings.

"Fine, later then" Ron said, somehow managing to keep his voice civil. "Try to not antagonize the Trio, this is important to me."

"I'm not a moron, Ron" Daphne shot him a slight frown. "I know how to be diplomatic, and I'd even say that I'm better than you at it." _That's fair…_ "You should speak with Longbottom about your group. He's your 'eternal friend', which means that he'll be forced to accept. The other two will join him out of a need to keep their eye on their friend."

"The Trio are my friends, Daphne" Ron told her. "I don't need to manipulate them like that. Not this time anyway…" Ron and Daphne were spotted by the Gryffindors at that, and most of them just eyed the duo carefully. "Hello, you three" Ron greeted the Golden Trio with a smile, one that they returned.

"Hi, Ron" Hermione greeted back, and then she looked to Daphne. "Greengrass."

"Granger" Daphne said, giving her a polite nod.

"Can we help you two with something?" Harry asked them, shooting a quick look towards the watchful Gryffindors.

"I wanted to let you know that the study group is still on at Fridays" Ron replied, and Hermione immediately beamed.

"Really? That's great!" Hermione said, her excitement making the other Gryffindors listen in. "I was going to talk to you about that tonight, but I guess now I don't have to. Are we still meeting after classes?"

"Yes" Ron replied, shooting a quick look towards Neville.

"We'll be there" Neville agreed, giving Ron a pleasant smile.

"Ron, is this about your study group?" Lavender asked from across the table, and Ron shot her a smile. _Perfect timing, Lavender._

"It is" Ron said, making sure that everyone around them heard him. "Fridays, after classes. Everyone is welcome to join it." Most of the Gryffindors just gave him guarded looks, but Ron could see that some of first and second years were listening. _Especially the female population, which feels rather nice._

"No one wants to join your group, Weasley" came the voice of Cormac McLaggen, and Ron looked to see the boy frowning deeply at him. _Didn't I knock this guy on his arse? Wait, I totally did._ "Sod off."

"We'll be there" Parvati and Lavender said together, and Ron fought the urge to grin.

"I'll join too" Fay Dunbar said. "It sounds like fun."

"It's not 'fun', we're all there to study" Hermione corrected her quickly, and Ron genuinely resisted the urge to smack Hermione on the back of her head. _She's putting people off._

"Yeah, we're all there to 'study'…" Ron gave Fay a wink, something that made her lips curl up. Hermione shot Ron a frown, but Ron just ignored her. "There will be first and seconds years there from the other Houses as well, so you lot should consider coming too" Ron said to the first and second year Gryffindors. "Ginny can tell you that it's actually really helpful." The first and second years looked to Ginny, who just blinked at Ron for putting her on the spot. _Tell them that you like it, or I swear to Merlin…_

"It's really helped me with my grades" Ginny admitted, doing her best to sound certain. The first and second years nodded slowly before looking back to a smiling Ron.

"It's completely up to you guys though" Ron told them, and then he looked to the Trio. "I'll see you guys around."

"Bye, mate" Harry shot him a smile, while Neville gave him a parting nod.

"I'll see you in Study of Runes after lunch" Hermione said, and Ron nodded firmly.

"Take care" Ron said as he and Daphne began to leave. _That went rather well._

"That McLaggen boy doesn't like you much, and neither do his mates" Daphne whispered to him. "You should never have hit him, Ron."

"What's done is done" Ron shrugged, ignoring the 'evil eyes' that he was getting. "And if they try anything, I'll have Marty poison their meals."

"That's not funny" Daphne said, unsure about whether or not he was being serious. _It wasn't a joke. I'll give them permanent Diarrhea if they get in my way._

"Ron!" Percy called from behind them, and they both turned to see Percy walking up to them.

"Perce, how are you?" Ron smiled at him, his eyes falling on Percy's clean Head Boy badge. "That badge suits you."

"Thanks" Percy smiled, 'fixing' his badge again. "What was that just now?"

"Oh, I was inviting people to join my study group" Ron replied, and Percy nodded slowly. "You're more than welcome to join as well."

"Thanks for the offer, but us seventh years have our own group" Percy chuckled. "I couldn't help but notice that some people were… sneering at you. They didn't give you any trouble, did they?" _Oh, he's just worried about me._

"It's alright, Percy" Ron assured him. "It was nothing too serious, I promise."

"Alright…" Percy said, shooting a quick look towards Daphne. "Nice to see you again, Greengrass."

"Likewise" Daphne said, giving him a polite nod. "And Ron's telling the truth, it was nothing more than a few looks."

"That's good" Percy nodded, and then he looked back to Ron. "Have you seen the twins?"

"The twins?" Ron asked, shooting a look towards the Gryffindor table. _They're not there. How did I not notice that?_ "I guess I haven't…"

"I haven't seen them since breakfast" Percy sighed. "It's annoying that most of my Head Boy duties revolve around controlling my own brothers…"

"It can't be that bad" Daphne said, trying to sound sympathetic.

"They set off a dung bomb in the Prefect's Bathroom yesterday, and they did it solely to anger me" Percy told her, and she nodded in understanding.

"My sister got herself a detention from McGonagall after she tried to perform Human Transfiguration on a classmate yesterday" Daphne told him, and Percy visibly cringed.

"Is this the start of a beautiful friendship?" Ron smirked, looking between Percy and Daphne.

"Are you jealous?" Daphne smirked at him.

"He sounds jealous" Percy chuckled. "I'll let you two get back to lunch. Keep an eye on him, please."

"I will" Daphne promised, and Percy left after giving her a smile. "I think that out of all of your brothers, he's my favorite."

"That quickly?" Ron asked her.

"He knows the pain of having troublesome siblings, and I can relate to that" Daphne shrugged, her eyes quickly darting towards the staff table. "Snape is watching you."

"I think he likes me" Ron batted his eyes, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards.

"I think he doesn't appreciate you socializing with the Lions so openly" Daphne said, settling for a smirk instead of a smile.

"He can get in line when it comes to that" Ron shrugged, and then they began making their way back towards the Slytherin table. _I'll no doubt hear about it during his Potions Club tonight._ "You have a double free period next, right?"

"I do" Daphne replied.

"I've Potions Club right after my Study of Ancient Runes class, so I need you to do me a favor" Ron said.

"Alright, what's this favor?" Daphne asked.

"I need you to collect your sister from the other first years, I need to speak to her alone" Ron replied, and Daphne nodded slowly. "Make sure that you don't mention me, I don't want the other first years to become suspicious of her."

"Suspicious of her?" Daphne asked, and then she realized what Ron's plan was. "Ron, my sister isn't suited for 'spy work'… She's far too impulsive, and she has a tendency to show off."

"I need to allocate her a task in order to sate her need for attention" Ron said. "She clearly wants to be the leader of the first years, but I don't think she understands that people don't respect your wealth and power if you haven't done anything to deserve them. So I'll give her a task that makes her feel important, and that'll keep her in check."

"Your reasoning is sound, but I think that you're underestimating my sister's ego" Daphne said.

"Maybe…" Ron said, thinking about another way to keep Tori in check. "You should be there when I talk to her…"

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"She listens to you, and if you 'twist her arm a little', she'll think twice before messing up my job for her" Ron replied.

"You want me to bully my sister into submission?" Daphne asked, and Ron swallowed thickly. _It sounded better in my head._ "I'm in."

"Really?" Ron asked, and she simply smirked at him.

"I've been waiting for a chance to show her that she can't always get her way" Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "What time does your Potions Club finish?"

"Around seven" Ron replied.

"Come straight to my dorm from there, I'll have Tori with me" Daphne told him.

"Thanks, Daph" Ron gave her a smile. "And after I've dealt with your sister, we're going to talk about why you were so snappy with me. Alright?"

"Fine…" Daphne said, losing all of her enthusiasm.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Study of Ancient Runes Classroom – After Lunch)**_

Ron was genuinely excited to be in this classroom, it just had a different vibe to it. There were Runes etched all over the walls, the smell of incense was heavy in the air, and Ron found himself captivated by the glowing pink Rune that spanned the ceiling. And there weren't too many students in the class either, which was a nice change. The entire class consisted of Ron, Blaise, Malfoy, Padma, Fay Dunbar, Susan Bones, Morag MacDougal, and Hermione. _Where is Hermione anyway? Is she running late? Well, she'd better get here before Professor Babbling does._

"I like the fact that this class has less people in it" Blaise said suddenly, he was sharing Ron's small table. Each table only had enough space for two people, which was perfect because there were only eight students in total.

"Me too" Ron noted. "And we're the only boys here. Not counting Malfoy, of course."

"Are you trying to pick up girls in Runes?" Blaise smirked.

"No, just an observation" Ron smirked back. _The girl that I want to 'pick up' isn't even here._

"Well, the 'talent' in here is… limited" Blaise sighed, looking towards the girls. "Bones is cute, but she looks far too… innocent. Dunbar seems rather snobby, so I'll pass on her as well."

"Just saying that makes you snobby too" Ron sniggered.

"I won't argue that" Blaise smirked.

"What about Padma?" Ron asked.

"Now there's a girl that I'd go for" Blaise said, eyeing Padma Patil with a soft smile. "Intelligent, beautiful, and not at all vain. She's the ideal girl. It's a shame that she's sitting with that dishrag MacDougal… Otherwise, I might've actually approached her." _MacDougal's not that bad._ Ron shot a quick look towards MacDougal. _Good lord, my eyes… Someone buy that girl some acne cream. And maybe some hair product._

"And Hermione?" Ron asked, curious about his thoughts on Hermione.

"She's… annoying" Blaise said, being careful with his words. "She's intelligent, but that trait is tarnished by her need to constantly show off. She's slightly below average when it comes to looks, which she can easily fix by putting some time into her appearance, but she refuses to do that out of some misdirected sense of pride. Oh, and she seems to relish in taking the 'moral high ground' in every conversation. All of this suggests that her ego is far too big, and it would destroy any chance that she has with anyone. If she decides that she wants a steady relationship, she'll need to date a doormat."

"So… You don't like her?" Ron asked, and Blaise gave Ron a deadpan look. "You've clearly given this a lot of thought, which is rather odd…"

"I observe my surroundings" Blaise shrugged. "And any time that I've been near her, I've seen her ego at display."

"This 'ego' that you're referring to, I'd say that she's earned it" Ron debated, and Blaise waited for him to go on. "Her intelligence is something that she constantly sharpens with knowledge, and everyone wants to be praised for their hard work. You and I included, of course. As for her appearance, she clearly wants to put her time into things that she finds valuable. As for the 'moral high ground', she's a part of a group of people who are seen as 'lesser' by people who don't even know them. So she feels passionate about giving everyone a fair chance…"

"Funny how that ideology of hers doesn't seem to apply to anyone that she dislikes" Blaise cut in. "Her moral compass is clearly skewed in favor of 'the downtrodden', which is just another word for anyone who isn't a Pure-Blood. Oh, or anyone who isn't in Slytherin. You and I both know that she dislikes us greatly, and yet, has she ever really spoken to us? No… She dislikes us simply because we value something that she **chooses** to not understand. I mean seriously, she hated your insides during the start of our first year simply because you were doing better than her academically. And the only reason she likes you now is because you're an anomaly. 'The Slytherin who despises Blood-Supremacy'. She doesn't really know you, not like we do. She simply idolizes what you look like to the outside World, and that's what I don't like about her. She's shallow… But she pretends to be better." _Bloody hell…_

"At least with girls like Pansy, Daphne, Tracey, and even Millie… They are who they are, and they don't pretend to be otherwise" Blaise went on. "I simply don't like people who hide behind masks of 'kindness' or 'purity' in order to preach what's morally right, all the while hiding their real ugly faces from the people around them. I dislike dishonest people, and Granger… She's so dishonest that she herself is blind to her actions. If you ever call her out on her ego, I guarantee you that she'll turn on you. Or… She'll simply blame us for tarnishing her idealistic image of you."

"I… never really thought about her like that" Ron said slowly, going over Blaise's words in his mind. _Hermione can be a little… complex…_ "She tried to drug and kidnap Daphne last year…"

"Exactly" Blaise said, glad that Ron hadn't broken his nose yet. "If one of us had tried to do such a thing to a Gryffindor, she'd knock down our front door. But since **she** was the one breaking the rules, and committing a crime worthy of Azkaban, it was 'morally just'… Don't forget that she was a part of the group that was labeling you as the Heir of Slytherin, and she was doing it simply because you showed her a side of you that she didn't know existed. It didn't matter to her that her betrayal had hurt you, or driven you mad with rage. The only thing that mattered was that you were a Slytherin who hurt her friend."

"I… You make a good argument…" Ron conceded, still thinking about his words.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, mate" Blaise patted his back. "You have a blind spot when it comes to people that you care about. I think it's one of the reasons why you put up with all of us so well. You ignore the bad, all the while putting the good on a pedestal."

"So I'm just a good bloke?" Ron asked with a smirk.

"No, you might the only person in Hogwarts who has a bigger ego than Granger" Blaise replied, his tone dead-serious.

"My ego isn't that big… Oh no, it is…" Ron grinned.

"And you make jokes to shrink away from anything that discomforts you" Blaise added.

"Are you sure that you're not Pomfrey?" Ron asked Blaise, who simply rolled his eyes. "You certainly sound like Pomfrey."

"You wanted my opinion, and I gave it to you nonsense free" Blaise replied. _I guess that's fair. Is my ego really that big? I mean, I deserve to have a little bit of an ego. I've done things that most people could only dream of, and it only cost me countless hours of hard work and pain._

"Sorry I'm late everyone, the Moving Staircase was jinxed by a couple of hooligans during lunch" Professor Babbling said as she burst into the classroom, followed swiftly by Hermione. _A couple of hooligans? Oh shite… Percy's going to be pissed._

Hermione looked towards Ron, and a slight frown came onto her face when she saw that Blaise was already sitting with him. She then looked to the only person who was sitting alone, Malfoy… Hermione quickly took a seat on an unoccupied table, electing to sit alone rather than sharing a desk with a bigoted arse.

"Now, let's get right into it" Professor Babbling said. "I am Professor Bathsheda Babbling, and I will be your teacher for this particularly interesting class." Ron observed the raven-haired witch, who looked rather young for someone who was supposedly in her early forties. She was wearing a thick black robe with golden Runes stitched onto it, and she had a pleasant face to match her pearly white teeth. Oddly enough, her eyes seemed to glow violet due to the lighting. _Either that, or I'm going insane._

"Now… Let me look at all of you" Professor Babbling said, her eyes surveying her newest students. As her 'violet' eyes passed over Ron, they lingered for a second. So she was finally going to be teaching the Prodigy? "Very nice, you all look like a capable bunch. So… Who can tell me what Ancient Runes are?" Hermione's hand immediately shot up, as did Ron and Padma's. "Miss. Patil?"

"Runes are symbols representing various sound values, each of them belonging to a Runic Alphabet" Padma replied, and Professor Babbling nodded with a smile. "They are used to write various Germanic languages in North-Western Europe, including Old English."

"That's not entirely correctly" Hermione spoke up, and Professor Babbling looked to her. "Runes aren't just used to write various Germanic languages, they are used by various other cultures as well. The Egyptians are suspected to be the first Magical Community to make use of Runes in order to communicate with fellow wizards and witches, and there are copies of texts that date as far back as six hundred B.C."

"You are both correct" Professor Babbling said, giving the girls a smile. Ron raised his hand again, and Professor Babbling looked to him. "Yes, Mr. Weasley?"

"Runes aren't just used for writing languages, they are also used in the art of creating various types of wards" Ron answered, remembering the Rune in Pandora's lab. "Certain wards require a Runic symbol which needs to be powered by a witch or wizard's Magical Core in order for it to work."

"Excellent" Professor Babbling smiled widely. "Five points to all three of you. Runes themselves represent Magic, and when it comes to learning how Magic truly works, we must delve into how Runes work. The Ancient Egyptians used Runes as their conduits for Magic when wands were non-existent, and some of the Rune wards that they created are still hard to outclass nowadays. Take a look above you, and tell me what you see." The whole class looked up, their eyes studying the glowing pink ward above them. "What type of ward is that?" _We're in a classroom, so it can't be anything dangerous. I'd say that it's a Ward of Protection._ Ron raised his hand again, and Professor Babbling looked to him.

"Is it a Ward of Protection?" Ron asked, and she smiled at him.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley" Professor Babbling praised, and Ron mentally patted his own back. "And what else can you tell me about this ward?" _Um… It's pretty? Wait… Her eyes aren't 'violet', they're slightly pink… She's powering this ward, isn't she? Samantha's notes highlighted that the eyes can show you when a person is actively powering a Runic Ward._

"You're powering this ward judging by your eye color" Ron said, trying to make his guess sound like a genuine theory.

"Ten points to Slytherin" Professor Babbling smiled widely, and Blaise bumped his knee against Ron's. "Yes, I am powering this Ward of Protection right now. And because my Magical Core is linked to this ward, my eyes are slightly off-color. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the eyes were an extremely instrumental part of the human body, and that the nature of one's Magical Core could be reflected by them. Now observe this carefully" she said as she brandished her wand, and then she flicked it at the ward. The ward powered down, becoming nothing more than a symbol drawn with white chalk. As the ward died down, Professor Babbling's eyes returned to a simple brown color.

"Wicked…" Ron muttered to himself, while everyone else had similar reactions of awe.

"In this class, we will be discovering the power behind Runes" Professor Babbling told them. "And once we have covered the main theories of Runic Magic and learnt how to translate simple Runic Scriptures, we will try our own hand at creating various types of wards. Exciting, isn't it?" The class nodded at that, something that greatly pleased her. "Open up your 'Ancient Runes Made Easy' textbook, and let's have a look at the first page."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Study of Ancient Runes Classroom – End of Classes)**_

Ron planned to thank Samantha the moment that he saw her, she had truly done him a great service by handing over her notes to him. Professor Babbling was left genuinely impressed with how quickly Ron could decipher simple Rune symbols, but little did she know that Ron already knew what they were and was simply pretending to figure them out. Ron's efforts were paid off spectacularly, and he had earned himself thirty House Points in one class.

"That's the end of your first class with me" Professor Babbling said as soon as the bell rang, and everyone began packing their things. "For this week's homework, I want you all to try your hand at translating the second page of your 'Ancient Runes Made Easy' textbook. Don't be discouraged if you find it too difficult, this type of Magic takes times to learn. Goodbye."

"Bye, Professor Babbling" the class said back, all of them making their way outside.

"You killed it, Ron" Blaise smirked, and Ron smiled widely. "Even Malfoy was left speechless, and that's saying something." _You were watching him again?_

"Thanks, Blaise" Ron said, deciding to talk to Blaise about Malfoy at a later date.

"Well done, Ron" Padma smiled as she passed him, and he smiled back.

"Thanks, Padma" Ron said, noticing that Susan, Morag, and Fay were smiling at him as well. _I've seen smiles like those before, they want something from me._ As they all stepped outside, Blaise and Ron were passed by Malfoy who seemed to be in a hurry. _What's his rush?_

"Good job in class today, Ron" came Hermione's voice, and Ron turned to see her smiling weakly at him. "You have a talent for translating Rune symbols."

"Thanks" Ron said.

"I… I was about to go to the library to get started on this homework…" Hermione started. "Do you want to join me?"

"I can't" Ron replied, and Hermione looked slightly crestfallen. "I've got Potions Club with Snape, and it starts right after end of classes. I shouldn't be late on my first day."

"You're in his Potions Club?" Hermione asked, her shock evident on her face. "But only fifth years and above are allowed in… He never makes an exception, everyone knows that…"

"Ron **is** his best student" Blaise quickly jumped in, giving Hermione a smirk. _Mate, what the fuck? That was so unnecessary._ "In our year anyway."

"I… I see…" Hermione muttered, clutching her books more tightly to her chest. "I'll… I'll see you around then…" With that, Hermione simply left. Ron couldn't help but feel like shite as he watched her leave, especially when he saw that her head was bowed down. _She's genuinely upset… Great…_

"Why did you do that?" Ron hissed at Blaise, who simply shrugged. "You hurt her feelings for no fucking reason, Blaise."

"I only stated a fact" Blaise countered. "But it proves my point about her, doesn't it?"

"What point?" Ron seethed, moments away from strangling Blaise.

"Her ego is more important to her than your friendship" Blaise replied, and Ron blinked at him. "When you told us that Snape had handpicked you, all of us were jealous. Extremely jealous… But we swallowed our pride and congratulated you because we know that you deserve it. We've seen you work yourself into seizures in order to be the best. But Granger… She didn't congratulate you, she didn't even acknowledge that you deserve to be picked by Snape. She simply walked off, because at the end of the day, she believes that she deserves it more than you do. So before you knock me around the Hallway, give that some thought."

"You were needlessly cruel, and you know it" Ron said, thinking about Blaise's words. _She did seem genuinely shocked that Snape had picked me… But was her shock due to me being picked, or her not being picked? Fuck, I can't even tell her why he picked me._

"Maybe I was, or maybe I wasn't" Blaise shrugged once again. "I won't pretend like I care about her feelings, I just wanted you to see her reaction. We're in third year now, Ron. And it's about time that you let go of your naivety. It's about time that you start seeing **everyone** around you for who they really are, otherwise, you'll always be the smartest idiot in the room." _Smartest idiot? Me?_ Blaise began to leave, but Ron grabbed him by the throat and slammed his back into a wall. Blaise was genuinely shocked, and his fear was immediately etched onto his face. "Ron… Stop… Calm down…" Blaise wheezed, his eyes going wide.

"I have spent two years building a relationship with the Trio… And I will not have you damage it because you felt like 'making a point'…" Ron hissed, tightening his hold on Blaise's throat. "Don't ever do something like this again, Blaise… There won't be a second warning…" Ron let go of Blaise at that, and Blaise bent over and coughed loudly. _**Fucking maggot…**_

"Alright…" Blaise coughed again before standing upright, a guarded look on his face. "I should've given your 'plans' some thought before doing that, but still… I'd rather you be pissed than to be foolish…"

"Go…" Ron said, taking in deep breaths in order to stay calm. "We'll talk about this later…"

"Good luck in your new club…" Blaise said, lightly massaging his neck. And then, Blaise left for the common room, leaving Ron standing in the Hallway as he worked to calm himself down. _Have I always missed Hermione's ego, or did I just turn a blind eye to it? And what the hell is Blaise's problem with her? Fucking hell, I need to go see Pomfrey tonight… I just need to think…_ A dull headache began emanating from the back of Ron's skull, and he struck his head harshly. His vision blurred for a moment, and he felt like there was fire simmering deep inside of his stomach. _If I lose the Trio because of this, I'll break Blaise's hands. I need Harry's help if I'm to defeat the Dark Lord, and if Hermione stops being my friend, Harry will side with her._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Ron? What are you doing here?" Percy asked, he was standing in front of Snape's Potions lab with a bunch of other students. _Carey, Samantha, a couple of Slytherin sixth years that I don't know, Diggory, McDean, four Ravenclaws that I don't know, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet._

"I've come to join the Potions Club" Ron replied with smile, ignoring his ever increasing headache.

"You're only a third year" Johnson pointed out, eyeing Ron with a cocked eyebrow.

"Professor Snape invited me" Ron told her, taking everyone by surprise. Carey and Samantha smiled slyly at him, while Percy just stared in disbelief.

"He personally invited you?" Cedric asked, and then he broke into a friendly smile. "Congratulations, mate. I'm excited to see you in action myself."

"We've heard some crazy things about you" Max McDean said, mimicking Cedric's smile. Ron was about to reply, but the door swung open and Snape stepped outside.

"You're all here on time" Snape said, his eyes lingering on each of them. "Let's get started, we don't have time to waste." With that, Snape walked back into the lab. Ron and his fellow students followed Snape inside, each of them taking up a workstation. Snape billowed to the front of the class before turning to face his new club members, eyeing them all with a cold stare.

"I don't feel the need for introductions, most of you already know each other from around Hogwarts" Snape drawled. "And we certainly don't have the time for it, so let's get started. A client of mine wishes for a Potion to treat blood-loss, which Potion is most suitable for this request?"

"The Blood-Replenishing Potion" Cedric replied, and Snape nodded curtly.

"Take Mr. McDean with you, Mr. Diggory" Snape said. "You have until the end of the lesson to brew me a cauldron full of said Potion." Cedric and Max nodded, and they immediately set out to work. "Wild dogs have been sighted by the Gamekeeper on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, and he wishes to take care of the mutts without hurting any of the other animals. Which Potion is most suitable for this request?"

"The Dogbane Potion" Percy replied immediately, and Snape once again nodded in a curt manner. _Shite, they answer so quickly._

"Get started on making it" Snape said, and Percy quickly flew into action. _Bloody hell, this is some fast-paced shite._ "A client of mine wishes to fake his own death, which Potion would suit his needs?"

"Draught of Living Death" Ron blurted out, eager to not get left behind.

"Correct… Ms. Ductu and Ms. Selwyn, get started on making it" Snape ordered, his eyes fixed on Ron. _Wait, what? I answered it, so shouldn't I get to help them?_ "As for the rest of you, Madam Pomfrey has handed me a list of Potions that she's already running short on" Snape said, taking out the list and putting it on his table. "There are several items that need to be prepared, choose which you will be brewing amongst yourselves. Mr. Weasley… You will be working with me." Everyone shot quick looks at Ron, while he simply nodded at Snape. _Is this my special tutoring?_ Ron walked over to Snape's desk with the rest of the club members, but unlike them, he made his way over to Snape.

"You and I will be brewing a Dragon Tonic" Snape said, gesturing Ron to follow him. Ron did as he was told, and he followed Snape into his personal storeroom. "Which ingredients are used for a Dragon Tonic? This was briefly covered in your first year." _Shite, I'm not too sure._

"Um… One Eagle-Owl feather, three Peacock feathers…" Ron replied, trying his best to remember the last ingredient. _Fuck me, my headache is getting worse._

"And three Giant Purple Toad warts" Snape finished for him, putting said ingredients into Ron's hands. "Get started on heating up the Cauldron, I will join you shortly."

"Yes, Sir" Ron said, heading back to Snape's desk

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron was done heating the cauldron, but now he was unsure about what he was supposed to do. Ron's first year Potions textbook, which he had recently gone over, didn't explain how to brew the Dragon Tonic. It had merely touched on the ingredients, which meant that Ron didn't even know whether he needed water or spirits for the concoction's base. Snape was simply hovering around the room, checking everyone's work and helping them when necessary. It was odd seeing him like this… The man wasn't sneering, nor was he throwing out petty insults. He was genuinely helping everyone in the room, all the while lecturing them about the exploits of a Potions Master that Ron had never even heard of.

"Is the cauldron heated?" Snape asked as he came back to Ron, and Ron nodded. "Good, let's get started. I need you to crush the warts into a fine powdered state. They are already dried, so it won't take too long. I'll get started on readying the base."

"And what is the base, Sir?" Ron asked.

"A mixture of spirits and water" Snape replied as he got to work, and Ron nodded as he grabbed a mortar and pestle.

"Why are we brewing this Potion?" Ron asked.

"You ask a lot of questions, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied, his voice rather icy.

"I'm here to learn, and I can't learn by standing around silently" Ron shrugged, beginning his task.

"A fair point" Snape noted, much to Ron's surprise. _He didn't tear into me? What sort of trick is this?_ "A client needs this Potion for an Elder Dragon that has come down with a Dragon Flu. Due to this Potion's low demand, he couldn't find it readily in store. So he sent me an Owl, and I accepted his request."

"And you use your clients in order to teach us?" Ron guessed, and Snape nodded.

"I find the hands on approach to be the best sort of tutelage when it comes to Potions" Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Speaking of tutelage… Is this mine?" Ron asked.

"Partly, yes" Snape replied, waving his wand over the mixture inside of the cauldron.

"Brewing Potions counts as my tutelage?" Ron asked, slightly disappointed. "No Spells?"

"There will be time for Spells, Mr. Weasley" Snape replied, resisting the urge to glare at the boy. "Right now… You need to concentrate on your task."

"I understand" Ron nodded, continuing to crush the warts.

"Don't breathe in the powder" Snape warned him. "Giant Purple Toad warts are used in Potions created specifically for large beasts due to their 'numbing effect', one whiff of this will leave you paralyzed for hours."

"Really?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded. "So this can be used as a weapon of sorts? Like a bunch of people on brooms could fly over the enemy's line, all the while dropping bags of this stuff from up high in order to paralyze them." Snape turned around at that, and he gave Ron an odd look.

"I suppose…" Snape said, just staring at Ron. "You certainly have a vivid imagination…"

"Thank you" Ron smiled, maybe learning about this stuff wasn't so bad. _I wonder if there are any other ingredients that cause paralysis._ "Sir, if this ingredient is used to 'numb' big animals, then could an ingredient with a similar effect be used as a replacement for this one? Just in case you didn't have Giant Purple Toad warts on hand."

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley" Snape smirked slightly. "Certain ingredients share enough characteristics to be used in the same Potions, but the dosage would need to be accounted for. For example; A Runespoor's venom causes paralysis as well, however, unlike a Giant Purple Toad's warts, it is extremely potent. Therefore, you'd need to use it in very little quantity. Maybe a drop at most."

"That's neat" Ron nodded. "I should read up on ingredients instead of just Potions and their effects."

"That would be wise" Snape agreed, glad that the boy was genuinely trying to learn. Snape knew that children around Ron's age generally tended to gravitate towards flashy Spells instead of the brilliant craft of Potion making, so he appreciated Ron's attempts to better himself.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Library – After Classes)**_

This was unfair. Hermione hated feeling guilty about her jealousy towards Ron, who was no doubt currently enjoying his time in the most academically acclaimed club in Hogwarts. Her grades were just as good as Ron's, if not better, and yet, Ron was labelled a Prodigy. She spent far more time studying than he did, and yet, he was always rewarded. Professor Babbling had clearly taken a liking to Ron, and despite Hermione raising her hand multiple times, the Runes Professor always picked Ron to answer. It was demoralizing, and it was plain embarrassing. She had spotted Zabini, Dunbar, and even MacDougal smirking at her while Ron was being showered with praise. This was unfair, and despite having a right to feel jealous of Ron for being favored by everyone, she still felt guilty about it for some reason.

Hermione had spent so many hours in her holidays preparing for her extra classes, and now that she finally had the chance to show her knowledge, she was shunted off to the side. Professor Babbling wanted to hear Ron answer her questions… She only wanted to listen to the Prodigy's answers… Hermione had half a mind to go to the Headmaster about this, but she couldn't stack up the nerve to go that far. Ron had earned his House thirty House Points in a single class, while Hermione had only earned a meager five… And it wasn't because he was better than her, it was simply because he was given the opportunity to achieve them.

And now, Ron was a part of Snape's Potions Club. A club that she herself desperately wanted to be a part of. She had made her peace with waiting two more years before joining it, like everyone else in her shoes would have to do, but Ron was simply given free entry. Snape favored the Slytherins, everyone knew that, but this was too much. She had the exact same grades as Ron in Snape's class, and yet, Ron was a part of Snape's exclusive club while she was forced to hold back her tears in the library.

After her disheartening defeat in Professor Babbling's class, Hermione had swallowed her pride in order to ask Ron if he wanted to spend some time together. And what was Ron's response? He outright rejected her… That had hurt, but it was nothing compared to the explanation behind his refusal. She could still picture how pleased Zabini looked when Ron had told her, and she could still hear Zabini's words. 'Ron **is** his best student'… She had been forced to bite back her tears immediately. In that moment, she had felt like all of her hard work had meant nothing.

No matter how hard she tried to look at things logically, she always came back to the same conclusion. She was Ron's equal, but he was more popular than her, and therefore, he was treated better than her. The teachers all liked him, he made friends with people regardless of their Houses, and he simply inspired loyalty. Whereas she was called bossy, ignored for being a know-it-all, and only had three friends. Ron being her first, and Harry and Neville being her best friends.

Hermione sniffled once again as she turned the page of her Potions textbook, eager to read ahead in order to do better in Snape's class. _If I show him that I'm just as good as Ron, he'll ask me to join his club as well._ Her right hand was frantically taking down notes, and she ignored the ever-growing pain in her wrist. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a faint voice was telling her to stop wasting her time. That Snape hated her, and no matter how hard she worked in his class, he'd never see her as anything more than a know-it-all Gryffindor. But she persisted…

"There you are" came Harry's voice, and Hermione looked up from her books. Harry was smiling down at her, but when he saw that she was upset, his smile fell. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Hermione replied, though her croaky voice betrayed her.

"Hermione…" Harry sighed, quickly taking a seat to her right. "Tell me what happened. Please."

"Nothing happened…" Hermione lied once again, but he didn't buy it. _Please just leave me alone._

"Was it one of the Slytherins?" Harry asked, a slight frown appearing on his face. If it was, then he was going to find them and hex them into oblivion.

"I just want to be left alone, Harry" Hermione muttered, going back to her books. "I just… I need to get this done, alright?"

"Alright…" Harry nodded, where was Neville when you needed him? "Do you mind if I join you?"

"You don't have any books" Hermione said, still writing down her notes.

"We're in a library" Harry smiled. "I'll be right back." With that, Harry quickly left for the Records Section. Hermione let out a tired sigh, she really didn't want Harry to waste his time off making her feel better. But Harry was far too noble to listen, and she knew that he wouldn't leave her alone when she was clearly upset.

"I'm back" Harry said as he scooted back into his seat.

"What did you get?" Hermione asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

"A Dragon's Tale" Harry read from the cover of the book, and Hermione blinked at him. _Did he just pick a random book in order to come right back?_

"That's a children's story…" Hermione told him, looking back to her own work.

"Good, it won't make my head hurt then" Harry smiled widely, and Hermione's lips twitched upwards. Harry spotted that, and it made him rather glad. Neville's advice about 'just spending time with Hermione when she's upset' was clearly working.

"I… I don't want to talk about it…" Hermione said, clarifying that she wasn't in a talking mood.

"Alright" Harry shrugged. "I'll just make sure that you're not alone."

"Why?" Hermione asked, looking back up from her books.

"I don't like to be alone when I'm upset, so I'll make sure that you're not alone when you're upset" Harry replied, giving her another smile. _Oh…_

"Thanks, Harry…" Hermione couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Nearly Seven 'o'clock)**_

"Tori, I need to speak to you" Daphne said, keeping her eyes fixed on her little sister. The other first years politely averted their gazes, while Tori hopped out of her seat.

"Sure thing, Daph" Tori beamed, noticing that Daphne had her 'serious face' on. _She'll never control her emotions, will she?_

"Come" Daphne said, beginning her journey towards her dorm.

"Is everything alright, big sister?" Tori hummed, locking her arm with Daphne's. "I can't help but notice that you have a stark expression masking your beautiful features."

"Tori, behave" Daphne said, ignoring the skip in her sister's step.

"So it **is** something serious" Tori said, ignoring her sister's words. "Hmmm… You seem upset about something. I wonder what it is." _I'm not upset about anything._ "Let me guess, there's drama with your friends."

"No" Daphne said.

"There's drama between you and **one** of your friends" Tori took another guess, reading Daphne's expression for any hints.

"No" Daphne repeated, she had no intention of discussing her issues with her little sister. _Knowing Tori, she'll just tell everyone in order to embarrass me._

"You're not making this any fun, you know that right?" Tori pouted. "C'mon Daphne… Talk to me, tell me your woes."

"Astoria… Stop it" Daphne sighed, she was way too tired to deal with her sister's pestering nature. _Not to mention that I need to save my energy for my chat with Ron. I shouldn't have behaved so coldly towards him this morning, he didn't do anything to deserve it._

"Why are you taking me to your dorm?" Tori asked, she was cracking through Daphne's mask and she knew it. "Is this private Family business?"

"No, it's not" Daphne said. "Astoria, can't you just be patient?"

"No" Tori sniggered, hugging Daphne's arm more tightly. "I've missed you." _Where did that come from?_ "You've barely acknowledged my divine presence, and I'm not going to lie Daphne, that wounds me deeply."

"I've been busy getting back into the right mindset for school, something that you clearly need to be taught" Daphne remarked. "First day here, and you got yourself a detention. You're lucky that I haven't told father, he'd burst a blood vessel."

"Oh, I sent him an owl about it already" Tori said, and Daphne blinked at her.

"What? Why?" Daphne asked, genuinely confused about Tori's actions.

"I thought that it'd be funny" Tori giggled. "I bet you ten Galleons that he's pulling his hair out right now." _Merlin, she's utterly mental._

"He's going to blame me for this" Daphne said, unable to control the worry in her voice. "Tori… Why would you do that?"

"He won't blame you" Tori said, but Daphne knew better. _He will. He always blames me for her mistakes. I'm the older sister, and therefore, it's 'my job' to keep her in check._

"You need to grow up" Daphne said, trying her best to not frown at Astoria. "You really just need to… grow up…" _I'm in so much trouble…_

"Ugh…" Tori rolled her eyes. "I keep hearing people mention how you're the 'Ice-Queen'… Do they know that you whine this much?" Daphne bit back her anger, deciding not to yell at Tori. _If I do that, father and mother will both explode on me._ Daphne opened the door to her dorm, and she gestured Tori to go inside. Tori walked inside nonchalantly, looking about the room with a critical eye. "Let me guess, that's your bed" Tori said, pointing to the bed with the neat silver covers on it.

"It is" Daphne said, and Tori ran up and jumped on it. _Great, now I have to make my bed again._

"Ohhh… It's softer than my bed" Tori said, wiggling her bum in a rather disturbing manner. "Did you have the covers from home delivered here?"

"I did" Daphne admitted. "Do you want me to get you yours?"

"Yes please" Tori smiled widely.

"Alright, give me a couple of days" Daphne said, taking a seat at the edge of her bed. Tori quickly scampered behind her in order to put her arms around Daphne neck, all the while pressing her left cheek against Daphne's right one.

"What did you want to talk about?" Tori hummed, giving her sister a loving squeeze.

"Just wait… Ron will be here soon" Daphne said, absentmindedly patting Tori's other cheek.

"Ron?" Tori asked. "He's coming here to talk to me?"

"He is, and he's not happy" Daphne lied, deciding to play a joke of her own. _I deserve the right to be a little petty, don't I?_

"What?" Tori asked, tightening her hold on Daphne. "What did I do?"

"You'll see…" Daphne said, resisting the urge to smirk.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Tori was clearly worried judging by her overly attached behavior. She had gone from asking question after question to resting her head on Daphne's lap, hoping that her big sister would defend her against whatever accusation Ron would throw at her. Daphne herself was rather surprised by how much Tori cared about Ron's opinion of her, and she wondered if Tori's little crush had something to do with that. _Or maybe, Ron promised her something if she behaved. Whatever it is, I'll find out shortly._ The door suddenly swung open, and much to the sisters' surprise, no one was there.

"What the…?" Tori mumbled, slowly raising her head. And then, the door closed. _Ron._

"Hello" came Ron's voice, and then he suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"That's so wicked!" Tori hopped off of the bed, while Daphne just smirked at Ron. _He loves to make an entrance, doesn't he? And I love the way he always just says 'Hello' in that odd monotone sort of way._

"Sorry about the Disillusionment Charm, but I didn't want anyone to see me come in" Ron said, shooting a weak smile at Daphne. That's when Daphne noticed how tired he looked… _But not just tired, he looks unwell._ "Snape made me stay behind to 'clean up' after everyone, which cost me over twenty minutes."

"Am I in trouble?" Tori asked suddenly, and Ron blinked at her. "I had nothing to do with the Moving Staircase, I swear it! I only watched your brothers Jinx it!" _Huh? Brothers? The twins? She was with them?_

"First of all… What the hell, Tori?" Ron frowned at her, and she looked down at her feet. "Didn't I tell you to behave?"

"You did…" Tori mumbled.

"You will not spend time with the twins" Ron told her, and Daphne decided to not intervene. _She clearly listens to him, and it might be because he doesn't care about her privileged lifestyle so far._ "You have a duty to your House to fulfill, and I will not allow you to lose us House Points because they talked you into causing havoc around this school. Am I clear?"

"Yes…" Tori muttered, shifting in her spot. Ron's expression softened at seeing her subdued behavior, and he sighed tiredly.

"Come here…" Ron gestured, and Tori slowly walked up to him. Ron put his arms around her, and she quickly hugged his middle. "Tori… You can't act like this at Hogwarts… There are people here that have their eyes on you, and if you slight them, they will make your life much harder than it needs to be. The Triumvirate are not people that you want to make enemies out of, do you understand?" Tori nodded into his upper stomach, while Ron gave Daphne a sorry smile. _Oh, don't mind me. Please put some sense into her head._

"Now…" Ron said, lightly petting Tori's head. "I have a special task for you."

"Special task?" Tori asked, pulling her head back to see his face.

"Yeah, and only you can pull it off" Ron said firmly. "I need someone to keep their eyes open amongst the first years, and then I need them to report back to me."

"A spy?" Tori asked, her worries slowly fading away.

"In a way… Yes" Ron nodded, glad to see that Tori wasn't hurt by his words. "I want to know what's going on amongst the first years in order to keep them happy, and in doing so, keep them on task. Could you do that for me?"

"Do I get any special privileges?" Tori asked, and Daphne held back a laugh. _She's at least got that in common with the rest of us._

"I'll teach you how become invisible like me at the end of the year… If you succeed in your task" Ron promised, and Tori's face nearly split open.

"DONE!" Tori all but yelled. "I'll be the best spy that you could ever hope for, I swear it!"

"Then you should probably never yell that out" Daphne said, her lips twitching upwards.

"Alright then" Ron nodded, smiling down at Tori. "Are there any observations that you've made so far?"

"Hmmm…" Tori hummed, thinking of everything that she had seen over the last two days. "Fawley is actively avoiding the Hufflepuffs, we've all noticed that. Cedric Diggory tried to speak to him today, but he hid his gaze and just ran off. Yaxley still doesn't have a hairbrush, and the twins won't lend her theirs. So I did that this morning. Oh! And Sebastian wants to join the Slytherin Quidditch Team."

"I see" Ron nodded. "Thank you, Tori. Remember to be careful, and make sure that none of the others suspect you."

"Yes, Sir" Tori gave a mock salute, her voice fully cheerful once again. Ron simply smiled and shook his head, just as amused as Daphne was.

"Off you go" Ron said, gesturing for Tori to go back to her new friends. Tori gave him another hug, and then she skipped out of the room, clearly glad that she wasn't in any trouble. "Why did she think that she was in trouble?" Ron asked Daphne as he closed the door behind Tori.

"I may have played a small prank on her" Daphne smirked, and Ron chuckled in a rather tired fashion. He then proceeded to walk over to her bed, and threw himself on top of it unceremoniously. _Ron?_ "Ron, are you alright?" Daphne asked, rubbing his back from sheer instinct.

"I think I'm sick…" Ron groaned into her sheets. "Daphne… My head hurts…" _His head? Or his brain?_

"Did you have your Nutrition Potion this morning?" Daphne asked, forgetting about what was bothering her for a minute.

"I did…" Ron muttered, clutching his head with his hands. "Fuck…"

"Ron, let's get you to Pomfrey" Daphne said, she was starting to get rather worried. _I knew that he looked unwell. How was he acting alright when Tori was around? His tolerance for pain is insane._

"I don't want to walk around…" Ron muttered. "I just need to sleep…"

"I'll get her for you" Daphne whispered as she leaned down, her face hovering near his right ear.

"Wait…" Ron mumbled, slowly lifting himself off of the bed. He looked paler than before, and she could see that he was starting to sweat. "Marty…" _Marty?_ There was a sudden crack in the room, something that made Ron wince.

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed deeply, and then he looked to Ron. "Master?!"

"I'm alright, Marty" Ron lied, and then he reached into his robes and took out his Gringotts pouch. "I need you to go and buy a hairbrush, the kind that an eleven year old Pure-Blood girl would like."

"Marty understands…" Marty nodded slowly, shooting a look towards Daphne.

"It's for Lysandra Yaxley, a first year Slytherin girl" Daphne figured, and Marty nodded in understanding.

"Make sure that you leave a note behind saying that it's from me" Ron said, handing over the pouch to Marty. "Then you can leave the pouch in my trunk…"

"Marty will get it done, Master" Marty bowed deeply, and then he was gone with another crack. Ron fell back onto the bed, his eyes fixed on the rafters above.

"Ron, when did start feeling sick?" Daphne asked, slowly scooting closer to his side. "You were alright this morning."

"After Runes…" Ron said, closing his eyes. "Something happened after Runes… And ever since then, I just keep feeling worse and worse."

"What happened?" Daphne asked.

"Blaise pissed me off…" Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. "He, for no fucking reason, decided to go out of his way to make Hermione miserable…" _Granger? What did Blaise do to her? And what did Ron do to him? He's been awfully quite ever since classes ended._

"Ron, tell me what happened" Daphne said, making sure to sound patient.

"We were talking about the girls in our class, and when I brought up Hermione, Blaise didn't hold back on his thoughts" Ron started, his entire body relaxing into her sheets. "I didn't mind that, I always enjoy listening to his thoughts… But then, after class was over, she came over to ask me if I could spend some time with her." _She fucking what? Relax, Daphne… Calm down._ "I told her that I had Potions Club, and I swear Daph… She looked so hurt… She looked so damn hurt…" Ron shifted a little, and a groan escaped his throat.

"What did Blaise do?" Daphne whispered, trying her best to not make any noise.

"He decided to throw my Prodigy status in her face, and he did it knowing full well that it would hurt her even more…" Ron replied, a frown creeping onto his pale face. "She left after that… Fuck… She looked so disheartened…"

"Why would Blaise do that?" Daphne asked, she knew that Blaise wouldn't do such a thing without a reason.

"He wanted to prove some point" Ron grit out. "He wanted to show me that 'Hermione's ego was more important to her than our friendship'… He wanted to show me that I am naïve when it comes to people that I care about… I don't know why the fuck he decided to do that out of nowhere, and I just… I bloody lost it…"

"Ron… What did you do?" Daphne asked, she needed to speak with Blaise.

"I slammed him against a wall…" Ron confessed, and Daphne nearly sighed out of frustration.

"Why? Blaise is your friend…" Daphne said. _How could you hit him?_

"So is Hermione…" Ron countered, his voice almost fading away. _He's falling asleep._ "I've gone through so much shite in order to stay friends with the Trio, and you know that they're important to me. To my goals… But he nearly destroyed that to 'make a point'… Why would he do that? He's supposed to have my back, just like I have his… And so what if I'm a little naïve when it comes to my friends? If I wasn't, then I'd probably be in Gryffindor by now… I fought to stay here, Daph. I fought my own Family to stay here. He had no right to potentially damage my friendship with someone else…" _What the hell was Blaise thinking? I need to speak to him. I don't want them both to start fighting._

"I'll talk to him, and we'll sort this out" Daphne whispered. "Why don't you take a nap? I'll come and wake you up after dinner, and then you can go to your own room."

"Don't leave…" Ron said, his eyes opening again. _They're slightly bloodshot._ "I want to talk to you about this morning."

"We can do that later" Daphne said. "Please just rest, Ron."

"Were you angry with me for Theo and Blaise's interruption?" Ron asked, clearly ignoring her advice.

"No… I was just…" Daphne started, but then she trailed off.

"Go on" Ron said, lazily looking at her.

"I was angry with myself" Daphne admitted. "I… We were going too far, Ron. And it was my idea… When Theo and Blaise interrupted us, it hit me that we're not really a couple… That we're just…" _That we're just fooling around._ "I don't want my first proper kiss to just go to anyone… I know that that is a childish thing to want, but it's what I want… I don't like losing control like that, and you were just an easy outlet… That is until you told me to stop taking it out on you, and I realized that I was being foolish. I'm sorry, Ron."

"I… I understand…" Ron nodded, drifting off to sleep. "We agreed to stay in our comfort zones… I'll always respect your limits, Daph…"

"Thanks, Ron" Daphne smiled weakly, watching his features carefully. "Ron?" _He… He just fell asleep._ Daphne gave him a quick peck on his lips, and then she slowly got off of the bed. "I'll see you after dinner."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

"So he's just asleep in our dorm?" Pansy asked, and Daphne nodded.

"I'll wake him up after dinner ends" Daphne replied, and then she looked to Theo. "You mind taking him back to your dorm?"

"Not at all" Theo said, cutting into his steak. "His illness… It doesn't have anything to do with… You know…" _His brain-damage?_

"No, I don't think so" Daphne replied, and Theo gave a relieved sigh. "I think that he's just exhausted."

"Good" Theo nodded to himself. Daphne then looked to Blaise, who was quietly eating his dinner. _Here I go._

"Blaise, how are you feeling?" Daphne asked, and Blaise looked up with a blank expression.

"I feel fine" Blaise replied.

"Is your back alright? Ron didn't hurt you too badly, did he?" Daphne asked, and everyone blinked at her.

"Ron hit you?" Pansy asked, her eyes going straight to Blaise.

"What happened?" Millie asked, genuinely shocked that Ron would go that far.

"Mate…" Theo muttered, looking at Blaise with a baffled expression.

"He didn't hit me…" Blaise frowned at Daphne. "Things got a little heated between us, and he pushed me into a wall… That's all."

"Heated?" Tracey asked. "How could he do that?" _Give him a break, Blaise certainly didn't help in that situation._

"Blaise decided to interfere with Ron's friendship with Granger" Daphne told them, her eyes fixed on Blaise's. "Mind telling us why you would do that? It's completely out of character for you." _Blaise is the last person who would pull a stunt like this, so something is definitely wrong here._

"Interfere with Ron's friendship with Granger?" Pansy repeated, eyeing Blaise with a confused expression.

"I… I made a mistake, alright…" Blaise sighed, looking back to his meal. "He's always heard out my opinions, but this time, I bit off more than I could chew… I just want him to stop being so damn naïve… Did you see him this morning? How he openly paired up with Patil? All the while completely ignoring that Crabbe and Goyle were glaring at him. Or how at lunch he just walked over to the Gryffindor table without a care? Even the Triumvirate were eyeing him with frowns… How many times are we going to let him drag us into all sorts of problems because of his friendship with those three leeches?"

"So you actively decided to interfere?" Theo asked, his confusion had turned into annoyance. "Ron isn't like us, and you bloody well know that. You're lucky that you still have your teeth…"

"He has spent the last two years cultivating that alliance…" Millie pointed out, moments away from smacking Blaise herself. "How could you undermine his efforts like that?"

"That doesn't give Ron the right to manhandle his friends" Tracey jumped in, shooting Blaise a sympathetic look. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm fine" Blaise assured them. "In hindsight, I took things too far. But I can't change the past… What I can do is to advise him properly from now on. Now… Can I go back to my dinner?"

"Don't ever interfere with his business again, Blaise" Daphne said firmly, her eyes digging into his. "When you and Theo still wanted to be friends with Malfoy, Ron respected your choices. Despite how much he hated Malfoy, he never once interfered with your 'friendship' with him. The least you can do is pay him the same respect."

"So we're not going to talk about the fact that Ron thinks that he can throw us around whenever he's upset?" Tracey asked, looking towards the others for support.

"I'll talk to him about that at a later date" Daphne replied. _Millie seems to be pissed off at Blaise, Theo's annoyed with Blaise's poor handling of the situation, and Pansy seems to have zoned out. She really hates conflict, doesn't she?_

"Granger isn't here" Theo pointed out suddenly, and Daphne shot a quick look behind her. _Potter and Longbottom are there, but no Granger. Wait… Is Potter staring at us? Damn. Did she tell him what Blaise did?_

"Great… Now Potter is glaring at us" Millie frowned at Blaise, who simply shrugged in response.

"I'll deal with it on my own" Blaise said. "It was my mistake, and I'll fix it myself."

"No, we'll fix it together" Daphne said. _I can't let this split the group. Ron's not here to give out the orders, so I need to take charge. Just like second year._ "We'll ask Potter what's wrong, and when he tells us, we'll do our best to patch up Ron's relationship with them. Is that clear?"

"We should also play innocent until he throws out an accusation" Theo advised. "We don't know what he knows, and for all we know, he knows nothing." _Do you want to say the word 'know' again?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Girls' Dorm – Dinnertime)**_

" _ **Champion…**_ " came a distant voice, and Ron jerked awake. The first thing he felt was pure agony, and he let out a horrifying cry. _MY SKULL! FUCKING FUCK!_

"Fuck!" Ron snapped, jerking up while clutching his head.

"You shouldn't have crossed me, Black" came an all too familiar voice, and Ron felt like someone was drilling into his temples. "Now look at you… Your Godson dead at my feet, and your miserable life coming to a close."

"AGH!" Ron screamed, rolling off of the bed and landing on the ground with a thud. "What the fuck?!"

"She's just a baby…" a woman cried inside of Ron's head. "Please don't… She's just… NO! DELPHINI!"

"What's happening?!" Ron screamed, his vision fading in and out. "What the fuck?!" Ron tried to stand up, but that burning sensation inside of his stomach exploded, and Ron vomited all over the floor. His nostrils burned, his throat felt like it had been torn apart, and his head was throbbing so much that he feared that something was trying to claw out of it.

"I can't do this anymore…" a boy cried in his mind. "I can't… I can't live like this… Mum… Dad… Gin… I'm sorry…" A sudden jolt of pain fired up Ron's body, and when it reached his brain, it amplified his murderous headache. Ron let out a bloodcurdling scream as he fell into his own sick, flailing about like a fish out of water.

"IT HURTS!" Ron screamed, his eyes already shedding thick tears. "MERLIN! KILL ME! FUCKING KILL ME!"

"You killed someone, Ron" came his mother's horrified gasp, and Ron curled in on himself. "You killed a man in cold blood…"

"HELP ME!" Ron screamed, somehow managing to stand up. He tried limping towards the door, but another jolt of pain sent him spiraling to the floor. Ron grit his teeth in order to hold back another scream, afraid that his throat would tear open if he screamed again. "ENTITY?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!"

"I should've stopped you when I had the chance…" came Dumbledore's voice, it sounded strained and distant. _What is this?!_ Ron crawled towards the door, his entire body trembling from fear and pain. He felt like he was dying, but more than that, he wanted to die. Anything was better than this pain… Anything…

"I'll give you anything… Please… Just don't kill me…" a woman cried inside his head, her voice sounding awfully like Future Daphne's.

"ENTITY?!" Ron screamed again, violently striking his own head. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Another jolt of pure agony hit him as he reached the door, and Ron sobbed so hard that he threw up again. Ron was openly crying now, all while trying to reach up to the door's handle.

"This monster owns me…" his own voice cried. "What else am I supposed to do? I can just… I can just end it… I can just… sleep…"

"Merlin…" Ron wept as he yanked the door open, stumbling out and hitting the nearest wall with a hard thud. "Something's trying to tear itself out of my head…" Ron cried, hitting his head over and over again. "Kill me… Kill me!"

"Potter's already dead, Granger" a man said smoothly, and Ron could hear a woman whimpering. "Longbottom's dead, Brown's dead, Lovegood's dead, Chang's dead, and now… You're dead too… My Cycle may be over, but I'll shed as much blood as I can before I die… You all owe me that much…"

"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" Ron screamed, using the wall to support himself. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" When no answer came, Ron whimpered as he limped towards the common room. _Pomfrey… Pomfrey… Pomfrey…_

"HUFFLEPUFF!" came the hat's excited voice, and Ron felt like someone had stabbed him in the back of the head. He barely managed to stay standing, but his vision completely blacked out.

"I can't see…" Ron cried, going completely hysterical because of the sheer amount of pain that he was in. "I can't see… Help me…" He kept limping forward, the wall being his only guide. He had to get to Pomfrey… He had to reach her, or he was going to die down here. "Where is everyone…?"

"I have seen your heart, and it is mine" came a bone-chilling hiss. "I have seen your dreams, Ronald Weasley… And I have seen your fears… Least loved by your mother, who craved a daughter… Least loved by the girl, who prefers your friend…"

"I don't understand…" Ron whimpered, and then he suddenly lost his footing and rolled down some steps. He was sure that he had bruised himself, but at that point, he barely felt anything but his headache. Ron's vision slowly began to return, and so he looked around the common room groggily. Everything was just a blur, except for a red haired man standing by the fire. "Help me…" Ron called out to him, but the man didn't even acknowledge his presence. "Please…"

"R.A.B" the man muttered to himself, a shiny locket hanging from his right hand. "Who are you?"

"Help…" Ron wheezed, using every ounce of strength in himself to slowly stand back up. "I… I think I'm dying…" Ron stumbled towards the man, and as he got closer, he realized that he could see through the red haired man. _A ghost?_

"All of that for nothing…" the red haired man said, and then he turned around to leave. Ron's breath hitched in his throat… The man in front of him was… him? The other Ron looked older, and far more weathered, but there was no mistaking it. Ron was seeing himself…

"What… What is this?" Ron muttered, forgetting his headache for a moment. But that moment ended quickly as another jolt shot up into Ron's brain, and the red haired man simply vanished as Ron gasped for air. _Pomfrey… Get to Pomfrey…_ Ron twisted his body around and began limping towards the exit, his mind racing at the speed of lightning. "That was me… I saw me…"

"Kreacher lives to serve… Sir…" came disgusting old voice, and Ron yanked at his hair as he bit down on his tongue.

"It hurts… It hurts…" Ron cried over and over, begging for it to just end. His mind had started to go numb, and yet, the pain was so severe that his body simply refused to shut down. "Visions… I'm having visions…" Ron told himself. "Dumbledore needs to know…"

"Your visions aren't real, Ron!" Hermione screamed in his head, and Ron winced because of it. "You need help! You're… You're insane!"

"No… No, I'm not…" Ron muttered to himself, making his way up the stairs. "Dumbledore… Help me…" There was a sudden ringing noise from above him, followed by an explosion of some sort. Ron immediately bent over and covered his head, afraid of falling debris. But rather than debris, a see-through Ronald Weasley crashed down in front of him. Ron eyed the Future version of himself, his… Hufflepuff uniform… torn and covered in his own blood. Ron gagged at the sight of his own visage with its head split open, shards of teeth and bone poking out of its head unnaturally.

"I love you, Ron" came a girl's voice, and Ron couldn't place it.

"Get out of my head!" Ron yelled, squeezing his head as hard as he could between his hands.

"You're my brother, Ron" came Harry's voice. "I know that you've already got five… But to me… You're my brother. My Family." Ron winced from the pain once again, and he clenched his teeth so hard that he feared shattering them. And Ron trudged on, using the wall to his left as support. _Dumbledore… Dumbledore's Office… Fuck! Why is this happening to me?!_

It took Ron almost ten minutes to get up to the seventh floor, and he was dead-certain that most of the portraits that weren't off visiting the other portraits had seen him. But he just didn't care, the pain was somehow getting worse, and it was taking all of his strength to not throw himself down the stairs in order to find relief. His wand was in his robe pocket, and Ron had thought about ending his own life multiple times, but by some otherworldly need to survive, Ron kept trudging up the stairs. As Ron finally turned the corner which would lead him to Dumbledore's Office, he found the scene of a massacre.

"Merlin… What the fucking shite?" Ron gasped, his lungs completely empty of air. Dozens of see-through bodies lay in the corridor, all of them torn to bloody shreds. The entire floor was covered in a thick layer of crimson, and right in the middle of it all was a red haired man in a neat black suit. Ron's eyes widened at the sight of 'himself', looking completely clean and smiling proudly at his handiwork. As Ron limped further into the corridor, avoiding looking at the corpses with all of his willpower, he noticed that the older version of himself was wearing a deep blue sapphire pin on his black tie, and it looked like an eagle.

"I'll have to get these shoes cleaned…" the older Ron said, sighing as he inspected his bloody black shoes. "Who else can I kill today? World-Eater? Any thoughts?" _World-Eater?_

"What the fuck…?' Ron muttered, hugging the wall as he passed by his deranged clone. "What the fuck? What the fuck? Merlin…" Ron gagged as he saw 'Susan Bones' sitting upright against a wall with her head in her lap, absolute shock and horror etched upon her face. "No… Oh no…" Ron muttered, quickly making his way past his hallucinations.

"Ron?" came Hermione's voice.

"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD! FUCK!" Ron screamed, once again yanking at his hair.

"Ron…?" came a frightened voice from ahead of him, and Ron looked up to see Hermione staring at him. Ron blinked at her, she wasn't see-through. "Ron…? What's wrong…?" Hermione whimpered, staring at him with a genuinely terrified look.

"You're real?" Ron asked, but before she could answer him, a horrifying amount of pain seized his brain. Ron let out a throat tearing scream as he fell onto his knees, it was like his head was trying to split open. "KILL ME! JUST FUCKING KILL ME!"

"Oh my god…" Hermione gasped, her back hitting the stone gargoyle as she watched Ron viciously beat himself over the head. There were bruises on his forehead and temples, and quite a bit of his hair had been yanked out. "Ron?!" Hermione quickly ran up to him, trying to grab a hold of him. "What's wrong?! Tell me!"

"Dumbledore…" Ron cried, opening his eyes to look at her. Hermione's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she fell on her arse in an effort to get away from him.

"What are you…?" Hermione muttered, her face losing all of its blood.

" _ **SHE'S SEEN US! KILL HER!**_ " the Entity bellowed, making Ron's head rattle. _What?! What the fuck?! Seen you?! You're back?!_

"Your eyes… Oh my god… You're not him… What… What are you…?" Hermione stammered, slowly crawling backwards.

" _ **Hermione…**_ " Ron started, but he stopped when the Entity's voice rang out from his throat. And time seemed to just stop for him. His brain completely forgot the pain that he was just in, Hermione just sat there with horror marking her features, and Ron just stared at her in equal amounts of horror.

" _ **She will be the end of your Cycle…**_ " the Entity spoke in his mind. " _ **Kill her.**_ "

"Demon…" Hermione cried, her mind completely snapping for a moment. And time restarted. Hermione got up to run, and Ron launched himself at her. _I can't let her ruin everything!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: OH NO! Did he seriously end it like that?! He did... Consider yourselves '69ed'... Actually, please don't.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. The entire Chapter took place in one day, and it was a long bloody day. Now, you're all probably dying with a lot of questions, but you'll have to wait a while to get them. I've decided to go back to my earlier chapters in order to fix them up to the current standard. I feel like a lot of people get turned off by poor** **grammar in the earlier chapters, and I've decided to fix that up. It'll all stay the same, but it'll look better.**

 **I'll be doing the 'repairs' for a couple of weeks... So, I'll see you soon!**


	70. Chapter 70 - Move On

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 70 is here! And I know what I said... But Good GOD! I managed to change one chapter before feeling the need to jump in front of a train... It was just so boring! So I'm just going to leave it as it is. I have a great fan-base, and I'll keep my focus on you guys. So back to it!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 70 - Move On**

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside Dumbledore's Office – Dinnertime)**_

Studying with Harry had been a welcome change. There were moments when she forgot her hurt, and there were even moments when he made her laugh with his odd sense of humor. But somewhere in the back of her brilliant mind, a terrible voice kept persisting that she had been cheated. The she, just like Ron, deserved to be in Snape's elite Potions Club. That despite how Snape felt about her as a person, he had no right to damage her potential by keeping her out of his Potions Club. Snape was a teacher, and she was a top student, and it was unfair that he was punishing her for being different. A person's House shouldn't determine the opportunities that they get, and Hermione had no intention of settling for second best.

The longer she sat in the library, the worse her thoughts became, until eventually, they were too bitter for her liking. Harry clearly wanted to cheer her up, but she understood that he was fighting a losing battle. Hermione didn't want to cheer up, she wanted justice. She wanted someone to apologize to her for the injustice that was being done to her. She wanted some bloody recognition for her hard work.

She had spent most of her Holidays in her room, reading textbook after textbook in hopes of finally beating Ron this year. And no, she didn't want to beat him in order to shame him. She wanted to beat him because he shared her desire to be the best. Harry and Neville, despite how much she loved them, didn't have that drive to be the best. But Ron did. That alone made him a worthy opponent, and she genuinely enjoyed their competition.

What hurt her was that Ron didn't see her the same way. He, despite being kind and friendly, didn't give her the respect that she gave him. He didn't see her as a challenge, he only saw her as his 'friend'. That was something that she had noticed about Ron after spending far too much time staring at him in class and in the study group. Ron didn't see the people around him as competition, and in an odd sort of way, he only saw them as… faces. He was polite to most people, flirty with others, and downright nasty to some. But beyond that, he was always off somewhere else. He was always just… distant.

And yet, despite his aloof behavior, he was being rewarded constantly. The Professors liked him, most of the student-body was intrigued by him, and she herself still harbored some feelings for him. Feelings that she was all but certain that he'd never return, especially with vile girls like Greengrass and Parkinson whispering in his ears. And personally, Hermione wasn't sure that she liked the person that he was quickly becoming. She didn't like how he looked down at people when he spoke, or how his own siblings were scared of upsetting him, or how Luna had once warned her to not talk about Ron behind his back.

And oddly enough, she was slowly coming to terms with the fact that she would never get to 'date' Ron. After all, she wasn't attending Hogwarts to find love. She was here to learn, to acquire knowledge and the power to change the World in a positive and meaningful way. Which is why she was so angered by Ron being selected for the Potions Club instead of her. She had swallowed a bitter pill in order to try and move on, but Ron had swooped in and shown her once again that she couldn't have what she wanted. And unlike Ron's affections, she genuinely deserved a spot in that club.

And this is how she ended up here, pacing in front of the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's Office. She had told Harry that she was going back to her dorm because she wasn't hungry, but in truth, she planned to speak with Professor Dumbledore. She wanted to tell him about what was bothering her, and hopefully, he'd help her out. Was this basically like tattling on people? Maybe… But she didn't care right now. She was the best student in her year, and she was being held down because she wasn't 'popular'. _He'll understand my plight, and he'll help me. I just know it._

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a bloodcurdling scream echo throughout the hallway, and she nearly jumped out of her skin because of it. _What was that?!_ Hermione shot panicked looks around herself, her right hand slowly reaching into her book bag in the hopes of finding her wand.

"Peeves?!" Hermione called, hoping that the Poltergeist was just trying to frighten her. "If that's you, this is not funny!" There was no response, and Hermione slowly felt her panic rising. _This is just like the time that I was petrified… I was alone, and I was unprepared… And Ginny was… No, that wasn't Ginny._

"Merlin… What the fucking shite?" came a gasp from behind her, and Hermione quickly turned to see a red haired boy hugging a wall. Hermione's eyes widened at the spectacle before her. Ron was limping towards her with his back pressed against a wall, his eyes full of fear and panic.

"Ron?" Hermione mumbled, unable to find her voice. _What's wrong with him?_ It was too dark to see him properly, but she could see him staring at something in the corridor. Whatever he was looking at, it was invisible to her.

"What the fuck…?" Ron muttered to himself, averting his gaze in a frightened manner. "What the fuck…? What the fuck…? Merlin…" Ron then suddenly gagged, his eyes fixed on a spot on the wall in front of him. Hermione would be lying if she claimed that she was calm right now. Her skin had started feeling cold, and she could feel her throat closing up. _Something's not right here… I need to leave. I need to leave right now!_ But she couldn't move… This was her friend, and he was clearly in trouble. _Just leave, Hermione. Just run!_

"Ron?" Hermione called again, shutting down her instincts. She had to help him. He was her friend, and she would never abandon the only three friends that she had.

"No… Oh no…" Ron muttered, his voice cracking as he limped towards her. He was openly crying, his entire face was blotchy and covered with… bits of vomit? Hermione's mind quickly went into overdrive, and she lost all notion of leaving him alone.

"Ron?" Hermione called out more firmly.

"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD! FUCK!" Ron screamed, taking her completely by surprise. She felt the stone gargoyle bump against her back, which made her realize that she had taken a step back. _No… Don't run… He needs your help…_

"Ron…?" Hermione called out again, her voice shaking with worry and panic. Ron looked up at that, his eyes bloodshot from crying. They stared at each other for a moment, and while Hermione was watching him with a slightly scared expression, he was staring back at her as if she wasn't even there. "Ron…? What's wrong…?" Hermione asked, doing her best to bite back her own fear.

"You're real?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him. _Real?_ Ron suddenly let out another scream as he fell onto his knees, his voice tearing into her ears viciously. "KILL ME! JUST FUCKING KILL ME!"

"Oh my god…" Hermione gasped, horrified by his words. Her body tried to seize control of her mind in order to get away from him, but she stopped herself via sheer will alone. And when Ron started viciously beating himself over the head, she finally took in his whole appearance. His forehead and temples were badly bruised, and his usually clean cut hair was in ruins. There were entire chunks of hair missing from his head, and judging by his current behavior, he had clearly ripped it out. Complete panic took a hold of her mind, and she flung herself at him.

"Ron?! What's wrong?! Tell me!" Hermione screamed, trying to grab onto his hands. _I have to stop him! He's hurting himself!_

"Dumbledore…" Ron cried, opening his eyes to look at her. That's when Hermione knew that she should've run away from him. Ron's eyes were no longer a shade of beautiful ocean blue, no… They were now the single most terrifying thing that Hermione had ever seen. Ron's eyes looked like the eyes of a toad, and they were blood crimson. Hermione tried to scream as she tried to jump away from him, but her throat had tightened so hard that it hurt. _What the fuck?! What is that?! What is he?!_

"What are you…?" Hermione croaked, the blood in her veins turning to ice. Images of a possessed Ginny attacking her flashed in her mind, and Hermione lost her battle against her own panic. "Your eyes… Oh my God… You're not him… What… What are you…?" _He's going to kill me!_ Hermione tried to crawl away from him, but his horrifying eyes kept her pinned in her spot.

" _ **Hermione…**_ " Ron started, but he stopped immediately. His eyes widened from fear, but she barely registered that. All she could do was stare at him, his 'voice' echoing in her mind. When she was younger, her religious Grandmother often told her stories about Heaven and Hell. And in this moment, she couldn't think of anything else. That voice… it had to belong to the Devil. It had to belong to the foulest Demon in Hell. Ron was a Demon… And he was going to kill her.

"Demon…" Hermione heard her own voice, it sounded so foreign right now. _RUN! RUN! PLEASE GOD, JUST RUN!_ Hermione's body took control of her mind once again, and she quickly tried to get a running start. She managed three steps before she felt a hand grab her hair from behind, and the next thing she knew, her head was sent flying towards a wall. And then, it all went blank.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside Dumbledore's Office – Dinnertime)**_

" _ **End her…**_ " the Entity whispered in his mind, but Ron just stood there. His blurry vision was fixed on Hermione, who was lying face down before him, his mind utterly enamored by the slowly increasing pool of blood around her bushy head of hair. " _ **If she tells other people of what she witnessed tonight, your Cycle will be endangered… End her life, Champion.**_ "

"She won't…" Ron mumbled, just staring down at her. _What have I done?_

" _ **Do it…**_ " the Entity hissed. " _ **Put your hands around her throat, and squeeze…**_ " Ron slowly kneeled down next to her, and with relative ease, turned her over. There was a deep gash on her forehead, and the left side of her face was covered with slick blood. Ron just stared at her unconscious features, his hands slowly making their way onto her throat. _I can't let her ruin my Cycle. Not after everything that I've been through._

"I'm sorry…" Ron mumbled, slowly crushing her throat with his hands. "I'm so sorry, Hermione…" She didn't put up any resistance, and the longer he pressed down, the shallower her already weak breathing became.

"I love you, Ronald Weasley" a woman's voice rang in his head, and unlike the last woman who had 'confessed to him', Ron recognized this woman's voice. _Hermione…_ Ron immediately let go of her throat, his entire body shaking horribly. _What am I doing?! WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING?!_ Ron threw himself away from her, a sob tearing its way out of his throat.

"No…" Ron wept, cradling his head in between his legs. "No…"

" _ **Weak fool…**_ " the Entity growled, sounding much weaker than usual.

"Shut up…" Ron sobbed. "Just shut up…" _What do I do? Someone, please help me…_

"Dark times lie ahead of us, and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right" came Dumbledore's voice, and it seemed to echo inside of Ron's head. _Dumbledore… Dumbledore! He'll help me!_

" _ **We are trying to help you…**_ " the Entity started, but Ron quickly moved back over to Hermione. _Shut the fuck up, you cunt! I'll deal with you soon enough!_

"Hermione…" Ron whispered, gently stroking the right side of her face. "Hermione? Can you hear me?" There was no response, and Ron bit back his fear. He couldn't give into fear right now, he had a job to do. Ron quickly lifted Hermione up as if she were a baby, thankful that she wasn't too heavy. Ron then made his way to the stone gargoyle, begging Merlin that his pain wouldn't return. "Acid Pops!"

The stone gargoyle moved aside, and Ron began rushing up the spiral staircase. _C'mon… Just move…_ Once he finally reached the door, Ron kicked it open. As he began making his way into the Office, his pain returned. It felt as if someone was using a hot knife to slice open his skull from the inside, and Ron immediately began screaming. Hermione slipped out of his hold as he fell onto his knees, and she landed on the ground with a dull thud.

"Not again!" Ron yelled, clutching his head in his hands. "Fuck! Dumbledore! Help me!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

The happy chatter in the Great Hall always brought a smile to Albus' face, and tonight was no different. The students were happily discussing their lives with each other, laughter could be heard constantly, and almost every face in the Great Hall had a smile on it. This is what true peace looked like, at least to Albus anyway. There was no hint of fear in the air, no whisperings of the dark times to come. Just happy, innocent children talking about the upcoming weekend.

Albus had noticed that Ronald wasn't at dinner tonight, which was odd considering the boy's ravenous appetite, but Albus didn't pay it any mind. Judging by the looks on Ronald's friends' faces, nothing was out of the ordinary. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the fact that Harry kept shooting long looks towards the Slytherins, which if Albus was correct about, could only mean trouble. But then again, conflict amongst peers was a part of growing up. _I'll let this play out. It is good that Harry has such an interest in the Slytherins, it will show him that many who walk a different road than him aren't necessarily bad people. It just means that they are different._

Albus' thoughts were interrupted when Fawkes suddenly flashed into the Great Hall, shrieking loudly as he flew down towards the staff table. _Fawkes? What's happened?_ The entire Hall went dead quiet, and every eye was glued to the majestic Phoenix. Fawkes landed right in front of Albus, shrieking loudly at him. _He wants to show me something?_

"Minerva, take over for me please" Albus said, and Minerva nodded firmly. Albus quickly placed his hand on Fawkes' chest, and the Phoenix immediately flashed them out of the Great Hall. "Fawkes, what's happened?" Albus asked as he was brought back to his Office by his companion, but before Fawkes could make a sound, Albus' eyes and ears gave him his answer.

"Get it out! Get it out of me!" came an ear piercing scream, and Albus looked to Ronald with a shocked look. The boy was hitting himself violently, all the while screaming and flailing about. _Ronald?!_

"Ronald!" Albus all but shouted, his usually calm demeanor shattered because of what he was witnessing.

"Dumbledore!" Ron screamed, looking to the old wizard with a terrified look. "The Entity! It's trying to kill me!" _The Entity? Merlin…_

"Get Severus" Albus told Fawkes, who flashed away instantly. "Ronald, stop!" Albus yelled, running down to the boy. "Stop!"

"My head!" Ronald screamed, flailing wildly as Albus tried to grab a hold of him. "It's splitting my head open!" Albus felt his chest tighten from fear, but he didn't let that fear stop him from trying to grab onto Ronald. _I can't let him hurt himself!_

"Ronald… Stop…" Albus grit out, trying his best to hold the boy's arms to his sides.

" _ **Get off of us!**_ " 'Ronald' yelled, and Albus automatically flung himself away. _That voice…_ Terror gripped his heart, the Entity's voice alone was enough to freeze the blood in his veins.

"Headmaster, what is…?" came Severus' voice from behind him, but it trailed off once it saw what was happening in the Office. "Albus…"

" _ **AGH!**_ " the Entity bellowed, and everyone in the room simply froze. Albus just stood there, his eyes widened by the horror of his current situation. Snape too was left frozen, no doubt a similar sense of terror had gripped his heart as well. 'Ronald' flailed from side to side, until he finally looked up and screamed once again. " _ **LET US OUT!**_ "

"By the Gods…" Albus heard Severus mutter, and then he heard his friend rip his wand out of his robes. _Severus?_ And suddenly, Albus could move again. _He's going to hurt Ronald!_

"Severus! Don't!" Albus yelled, throwing himself in between Severus' wand and Ronald. "Don't hurt him!"

"Him?!" Severus yelled, his icy demeanor completely lost to panic and fear. Severus was visibly shaking, his wide eyes fixed on 'Ronald'.

"Help me render him unconscious!" Albus ordered, turning to face the boy. _Forgive me for this, Ronald._ Albus quickly took out his wand, and with a sharp flick, bound Ronald in ever-tightening ropes. The boy lost his balance because of his sudden bindings, and so he fell forward. Albus quickly ran over to him, ignoring the fact that Ronald was thrashing about like a fish out of water.

"SEVERUS!" Albus yelled, looking to the still petrified Potions Master. Snape blinked at him, and then he quickly reached into his robes and took out a vial filled with the Potion for a Dreamless Sleep. Snape then rushed over to them, frantically handing over the Potion to Albus as the older wizard turned Ronald to his side.

"I'll hold him…" Severus muttered, grabbing onto the boy and lifting him into a bear-hug of sorts. Ronald did not make it any easier however, he was clearly in pain that could rival the Cruciatus Curse's effects.

"It hurts…" Ronald cried, still trying to thrash about. "Kill me… Please…"

"Shhh…" Albus shushed, grabbing onto Ronald's cheeks with his left hand. The boy's mouth parted, and Albus quickly poured the contents of the vial into Ronald's mouth. _I can't let him spit it out._ Albus tossed the empty vial aside and then used his right hand to cover Ronald's mouth, while Snape did his best to constrict his movements.

"Drink it, Ronald. Just swallow it" Albus said, still keeping his right hand over Ronald's mouth. The boy struggled for a few more seconds, but slowly and surely, his movements became lethargic as his eyes became droopy. Albus slowly lifted his hand off of Ronald's mouth, glad to see that the Potion was working.

"She… She saw me…" Ronald mumbled, his head swaying back and forth. "Help her…" _Her?_

"Merlin…" Severus muttered, his eyes fixed on something behind Albus. Albus slowly turned around, and his heart fell to the bottom of his stomach. _No… What has he done?_ Severus put Ronald down carefully, and then he rushed over to Hermione's side. Albus just sat there, staring at the pool of blood around the poor girl's head.

"Severus… Is she…?" Albus muttered, unable to say the words.

"She's breathing…" Severus sighed out. "But barely… She needs Pomfrey…"

"No" Albus shook his head, this couldn't get out.

"Albus…" Severus looked to him, a look of genuine shock on his face. "She **needs** Pomfrey's help."

"I will heal her" Albus said, quickly standing up and walking over to them. "Go to your lab, and bring back a Blood-Replenishing Potion. Now!" Severus nodded, and then he ran over to the fireplace. _She saw Ronald, which means that she might've seen the Entity as well. After I heal her, I'll need to extract her memories. I have to know what happened._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Snape had come back with the Blood-Replenishing Potion almost immediately, and Albus had sent him out to get rid of any potential evidence of Ronald's actions. Albus had no doubt that multiple portraits had seen Ronald as he had made his way up here, and he dearly hoped that Hermione was the only student who had found herself in his path.

Healing the injured girl was simple enough, but extracting her memories and replacing them with new ones was rather difficult. She had a concussion, and therefore, her mind was not responding well to Albus' attempts to access it. But eventually, Albus accomplished his goal successfully. The girl's memories of the last hour had been extracted, and then replaced with new ones. When she would eventually wake up, she'd find herself in her bed within Gryffindor Tower. She would not remember running into Ronald, nor would she remember him attacking her. She'd simply remember herself being too tired to go to dinner, and calling in an early night.

"It's done…" came Severus' voice, and Albus looked up from Hermione. Severus walked further into the Office, sweating heavily with a weak tremor in his hands. _He's still shaken, but I can't blame him. I can hardly think myself._ "I used the Spell that you taught me… It obliviated all the portraits in Hogwarts… Even the ones that weren't near the Moving Staircase…"

"And his room?" Albus asked.

"It was clean" Severus replied, moving closer to Albus in order to have a look at Hermione. "I went to every single dorm… He was in the girls' dorms for some reason, and he left behind quite the mess. I've cleaned it up, and as far as I can tell, no one saw him come here."

"He was in the girls' dorms? How?" Albus asked.

"I imagined that he walked there" Severus replied, blinking at Albus.

"The dorms are Charmed so that the boys cannot enter the girls' dorms" Albus reminded him, but he simply shook his head.

"Slytherin doesn't have those Charms" Snape said, and Albus nodded slowly. _Salazar clearly felt no need to keep Pure-Blood girls away from Pure-Blood boys. If anything, he probably wanted them to become… closer._ "Is she alright?"

"Yes…" Albus said, looking back down at Hermione. "I will take her back to her room with Fawkes' help, while you will attend to Ronald. He's… He's done a number on himself."

"Are you sure that that's still him?" Severus asked, shooting a guarded look towards Ronald. Albus hadn't undone the bindings yet, and truth be told, it was because he was afraid of doing so. "Albus… That voice…"

"Horrifying, isn't it?" Albus asked, looking back up at Severus. _I haven't seen him this shaken for a long time._

"Horrifying…" Severus muttered, still staring at Ronald. "Yes…"

"Severus, please…" Albus said, and his friend nodded slowly. "Regrow his hair, heal his bruises, and clean up the mess on him. I will be back shortly."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

"What do you reckon is going on?" Harry asked Neville, who simply shrugged.

"I have no idea, mate" Neville replied. "But it has to be important, right? First the Headmaster, and then Snape… Not to mention that Fawkes looked to be in a panic of sorts…"

"You're right about Fawkes… I've never seen him like that before…" Harry said slowly, his mind quickly trying to come up with a reason behind the dinner's interruption. _The Professors are clearly quite surprised themselves, so they have no clue about what's going on._ "Why Snape?" Harry asked Neville, who once again shrugged. "I can understand Fawkes coming for Dumbledore, but why Snape?"

"Maybe Snape's Potion making skills were required" Ginny suggested, she was sitting in Hermione's spot. _Maybe…_

"I have a bad feeling about this" Harry told them, he could tell that something was very wrong. The school bell suddenly rang out, signaling the end of dinner.

"Hermione never came down…" Ginny sighed, and then she quickly put a couple of sandwiches in a napkin. "I'll give these to her when I see her."

"That's a great idea, Ginny" Neville smiled at her. "I'm sure Hermione will appreciate that."

"Thanks" Ginny smiled back, she had been trying her best to become Hermione's friend. But truth be told, it wasn't an easy task. Hermione enjoyed nagging far too much, and Ginny being who she was, always did the exact opposite of what she was told.

"The Slytherins are leaving" Harry pointed out as he quickly began making his way towards them, he wanted to question them about Hermione's saddened state. _I bet some Slytherin targeted her again, and they're bound to know who it was. And I also want to know where Ron is._

"Harry, wait up…" Neville said as both he and Ginny caught up to Harry. "Just remember to be civil please, I really don't want us fighting with them again."

"I'll be civil" Harry reassured Neville, who didn't really believe him. _As long as they answer my questions, there won't be any conflict between us._ The Slytherins had clearly noticed Harry watching them during dinner, because as Harry and his friends exited the Great Hall, the Slytherins were waiting for them by the Entrance Door.

"Do you want to talk, Potter?" Greengrass asked him, her cold stare going right through him.

"I do" Harry replied, and Greengrass gestured him to follow her. Harry and his companions followed the Slytherins out into the Courtyard, and couldn't help but appreciate the cool breeze. _It feels far too stuffy inside the Castle sometimes._

"Is Ron unwell?" Neville asked them, a friendly smile on his face. "It's just that he never usually skips a meal… You know… Because of his appetite…"

"He was feeling a little under the weather" Greengrass replied, her cold stare still in place. _How does Ron manage to enjoy her company? I'd hate to talk to someone who always wears that expression. Look at them, they all look so… inhuman._

"A little under the weather?" Ginny asked quickly. "Is he alright?"

"He is" Nott assured her, and she nodded slowly.

"Is that all?" Greengrass asked them, and Harry quickly stepped forward.

"Hermione was in a bit of state today" Harry started, ignoring their looks of disinterest. "She was perfectly fine the whole day, but after classes ended, she was rather upset. I was wondering if you lot knew what happened to her?"

"And why would we know about Granger's moods?" Parkinson asked.

"We're just worried that someone from Slytherin targeted her again because of her Blood-Status" Neville replied, taking a step forward in order to stand next to Harry. "And if that's the case, then we were hoping that you guys knew something about it."

"As far as we know, no one has been targeting her" Greengrass replied, but Harry didn't believe her. _She's lying. I don't know how I know, but I'm certain that she is._

"So no one said anything to her that might have upset her?" Harry asked. "Not even Malfoy?"

"We're not exactly friends with him" Davis replied. "We have no idea what he gets up to in his spare time."

"I don't believe you" Harry said, keeping his eyes fixed on Greengrass'. "You're lying, and we know it."

"Harry…" Neville whispered, but Harry ignored it.

"Someone from your House targeted her again, and she was left extremely upset" Harry told them, while they just stared at him. "I want to talk to Ron." _They don't even care, so what's the point of speaking to them about this?_

"He's not here right now" Zabini said. "But we'll pass on the message." _Will you really? I rather doubt it._

"There's no need for that" Ginny said, stepping up to Harry's other side. "I'll talk to him myself tomorrow."

"Good on you" Greengrass smirked, taking all three Gryffindors by surprise. "You should do that instead of wasting our time with completely pointless conversations. Goodnight." With that, Greengrass began to leave. The other Slytherins followed after her, leaving the Gryffindors behind.

"She's such a bitch…" Ginny muttered under her breath.

"What happened to being civil?" Neville asked Harry.

"I was civil" Harry replied, shooting his best mate a weak frown.

"Accusing them of being liars without any evidence isn't considered 'civil'…" Neville sighed.

"They were lying, and you know it" Harry said.

"Yeah… But there's no point in throwing out accusations like that without any proof" Neville said, staring at the Slytherins as they disappeared into the castle.

"Ron will help us out" Ginny told them. "I'll talk to him at breakfast tomorrow… Hermione is his friend, and he'll get to the bottom of this for us."

"Thanks, Ginny" Harry shot her a grateful smile, and she managed a weak smile in return. _And she's going red in the face again, but at least she can talk near me now._

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Past Dinnertime)**_

Ronald had been healed, and then Snape had taken him down to the Hospital Wing to rest up. The boy was no doubt still unconscious because of the Potion, and after Albus viewed Hermione's memories, he planned to spend the night by Ronald's bedside. _Just in case he wakes up, and is still in pain. Merlin… What happened to him? What did that_ _ **thing**_ _do to him this time?_ Albus found himself wishing that he could somehow extract the Entity from Ronald, just so that Ronald would be safe from it. But he knew that this was a wish that would never come true. The being that had placed the Entity inside of Ronald was clearly a God of some sort, and Albus, despite what people claimed about him, was just a man.

"It's done" came Severus' voice, and Albus heard Severus quickly shut the door behind him. "I told Pomfrey that he had a high fever, and that I gave him a small dose of the Dreamless Sleep Potion. She tore me to shreds for administering a Potion without her say so…"

"I see" Albus said, twirling the silvery thread that was Hermione's memories with his wand.

"Albus… What happened?" Severus asked, walking up to stand right behind the older wizard. "What was that?"

"I don't know, Severus" Albus replied, sounding much older than usual. "I really don't…"

"Was that the 'Entity'?" Severus asked, and Albus turned to face his shaken friend.

"It was…" Albus gave a slow nod, and Severus paled even more.

"Its voice… I can still hear it…" Severus whispered to himself, and then his eyes darted towards the floating memory thread. "Whose memory is that?"

"Hermione Granger" Albus replied, turning back to it. "I extracted it after I healed her, and then I modified her memories in order to keep Ronald's secret."

"What was she doing here?" Severus asked.

"We'll find out soon enough" Albus replied. "We need to know what happened, and something tells me that Ronald will not be very forthcoming."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Albus and Snape both pulled out of the memory, both of them rather disturbed by what they had seen and felt. Hermione's emotions were raw, which was to be expected of a girl her age, but her last few moments with Ronald had been almost too much to bear. The sheer amount of terror that she had felt had nearly overwhelmed both men, not to mention how hurt she had been prior to that. Albus and Severus had both awkwardly felt her inner struggle to do something about her not being picked for the Potions Club, and Albus had found himself wondering if he had ever been so passionate about his schoolwork at her age.

"That was… unhelpful" Severus drawled, he had managed to regain his composure over the last hour. "A full hour of her memories, and we got nothing out of it."

"We did get one thing…" Albus pointed out, and Severus waited for him to go on. "Ronald was seeing things that weren't there… Did you see him? Did you see how he was staring at the walls around him?"

"I did…" Severus nodded slowly, Albus was right. "Was he having visions?"

"Most probably" Albus nodded, and then with a flick of his wand, he burnt the silvery thread. _Now there's no evidence whatsoever._

"He beat himself bloody…" Severus said, frowning deeply at nothing. "Does he usually do that when he has visions?"

"I don't know" Albus replied. "When it comes to him, I can never be sure of anything. Write him a note, Severus. I don't want him to attend his classes tomorrow, he needs to rest."

"He won't like that" Severus said.

"I know, but he needs this" Albus said, and then he rubbed his forehead in a tired fashion. _I can still hear him screaming._

"I will go and write one now" Severus said, walking over to the fireplace.

"Severus" Albus called, and Snape turned to look at him. "Don't blame yourself for this. He most likely showed no outward signs of pain during your Potions Club."

"He did…" Snape admitted, his mask of indifference cracking slightly. "I could see that he was tired, and that he was having some sort of headache… I simply… I simply ignored it…" With that, Severus turned around and flooed back to his lab. _I see._

"Fawkes, I will be gone for the night" Albus said to the Phoenix, who stared back at him in understanding. "You did well to fetch me, my friend. Thank you." Fawkes shrieked at that, flapping his wings proudly.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Dream Hogwarts**_

Here he was again, standing in the black and white Courtyard of his worst nightmare. But unlike his previous visits, Ron could already see that something was extremely wrong here. For one, the Dream Hogwarts was… twisted. It looked unnatural, and damaged in some weird sort of way. The castle's towers were crooked, and the main body of the castle was leaning towards the right a bit too much. Secondly, there were visible cracks everywhere. And in between those cracks was a thick, black sludge that was leaking out. It looked foul, and Ron knew what it really was. It was the Entity… Or at least some of the Entity.

He was afraid, there was no point in denying that, but more than that, he was pissed off. He could still imagine the horrible pain that he had been in, and every time he thought about it, he wanted to curl up into a ball and just cry. And then, he'd get pissed off at such an image of himself. Deep down, he knew that this image was the reality of what he truly felt like most of the time. There were far too many times when he just wanted to give up, to just be some ordinary student at Hogwarts. He wanted nothing more than to be normal, something that he used to detest as a child. _I was so fucking stupid. I should've cherished those carefree days._

"Entity!" Ron called out, but there was no response. "I'm here, you bastard! Where are you?!" Ron looked around the Courtyard, fully expecting the Entity to materialize as one of his loved ones. _It loves distorting their visages, doesn't it? It knows that it hurts me to see them like that, and so it does it every time._ "Entity! Why did you call me here if you just planned to hide from me?!"

" _ **We are not hiding, Champion…**_ " came the Entity's voice, and Ron turned to look at the castle. _Where are you? Why do you sound so… weak?_

"What did you do?" Ron demanded. "What have you done to me?"

" _ **Nothing compared to what we have done to ourselves**_ " the Entity replied, and then a crimson toad-like eye opened in some of the black sludge which was leaking out of a nearby crack.

"To yourself?" Ron asked. "What the hell does that mean? I'm the one who nearly died tonight… **AGAIN!** "

" _ **We underestimated the strength of Her barrier…**_ " the Entity growled weakly, sounding like a wounded animal. _Her?_

"Let me guess…" Ron frowned at the Entity's droopy looking eye. "You tried to get out, and in the process, you fucked me over. Am I correct?"

" _ **In essence, yes…**_ " the Entity replied.

"You stupid… moronic… COCKSUCKER!" Ron yelled, kicking some of the sludge near his feet. "I've been doing fine without you! Without you there to haunt me, or to hurt me, I'm actually getting shite done for once! Fuck off back inside the castle! And leave me the fuck alone!"

" _ **We may have damaged your subconscious, but we have also healed what was killing you…**_ " the Entity hissed, losing its temper.

"And what was killing me?" Ron laughed scathingly.

" _ **Your brain-damage was getting out of control, and we spent the last of our strength healing it…**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron blinked. " _ **You foolishly neglected it for too long, and so we were forced to act in order to save this Cycle…**_ "

"You lie…" Ron said, genuinely shocked by the Entity's words.

" _ **Have yourself checked if you wish…**_ " the Entity said, its eye beginning to close.

"Why?!" Ron demanded, thoroughly disgusted by the idea of being in debt to this monster. "You gave me the fucking brain-damage in the first place!"

" _ **We did no such thing…**_ " the Entity hissed. " _ **We have never once said that we did… You simply assumed that it was us…**_ "

"Who else would do it?" Ron asked.

" _ **She wiped your memories once…**_ " the Entity replied. " _ **But She carelessly used too much of her power… She caused the damage when she cured you of your insanity… We healed what we could, but the damage has been there for far too long… We could only heal the damage that you have inflicted upon yourself because of your neglect…**_ "

"I… I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "What insanity? Who is this bitch? Tell me."

" _ **She burned the memories of your madness right out of your skull, and in doing so, She also burned a part of your brain… She knew what She had done, but She refused to heal you out of some self-set sense of principle… And we did not have the power to undo her work, not in our current state…**_ "

"Tell me her name" Ron said, thinking the over the Entity's words. _What insanity? When have I ever been insane? Wait… If the Entity is telling the truth, then I wouldn't remember being insane. Is this another ploy?_

" _ **Fate…**_ " the Entity replied, its eye closing. _Fate? As in 'Destiny'?_

"That's her name?" Ron asked, but there was no response. "Fate? What is she? Is she like you? Entity? Fuck…" Ron looked around the Dream Hogwarts, a million different questions in his mind. "Entity? Great…" Ron then looked up at the colorful sky, and he frowned deeply. "If **it** was telling the truth… then FUCK YOU! You damn bitch! One day, I'll come across you and shove my cock up your arse! And I can already tell that you like it up the fucking arse, bitch!" _Motherfucking arseholes! The lot of them! Death, the Entity… Fate… A bunch of bastards!_ "How the fuck do I get out of here?!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Near the Crack of Dawn)**_

Albus had spent the entire night by Ronald's side, just watching the boy sleep. He looked so peaceful as compared to what Albus had witnessed earlier on in the night. Poppy had no idea that Albus was here, which was alright by him, he didn't want her to throw him out of her Hospital Wing for 'disturbing her patients'.

Albus had run into the other Heads of Houses on his way down to the Hospital Wing, and he had quickly assured them that there was nothing to worry about, and that Fawkes was feeling rather unwell. And when they had asked why Severus had been summoned, he simply told them that Fawkes needed a Potion to help with digestion. It wasn't one his best lies, but considering how shaken he was tonight, he was just glad that he had managed to pull something out of his hat. _I might call it a night soon, Ronald is clearly not waking up any time soon._ Albus slowly began to rise, but just as he did that, Ronald stirred suddenly.

"Ronald?" Albus whispered, slightly impressed by the boy's timing. Ronald's eyes opened slowly, and Albus was glad to see that they had returned to normal. _Thank Merlin._ "Ronald? How are you feeling?"

"Headmaster…" Ronald croaked, looking around in a groggy manner. Albus sat back down and smiled at the boy, genuinely relieved that he was alright. "Where am I?"

"The Hospital Wing" Albus replied. "You gave Severus and me quite the fright, my boy."

"A fright?" Ronald croaked, a look of discomfort quickly taking over his features. "Water…"

"Of course" Albus said as he conjured a glass of cold water with Wandless Magic.

"Damn… Can you teach me that?" Ronald asked, half-joking and half-serious. Albus simply blinked at him, and then he chuckled involuntarily. _This boy… I just can't predict him._ Albus then helped Ronald drink the entire glass down, and when the boy was done, Albus banished the empty glass.

"Better?" Albus asked, taking his seat again.

"Yes…" Ronald replied, his eyes still drooping because of the Potion's effects. "The pain is gone…"

"Good" Albus smiled genuinely. "Very good…"

"Hermione?" Ronald asked, his expression becoming difficult to read. "Is she… Did I… Did I kill her?"

"No, my boy" Albus said, and Ronald visibly relaxed. "She is safe, and her memories have been…" Albus stopped, not keen to bring up memory modification near the boy. _He still hasn't forgiven me for what I did to Xenophilius, and I don't think that he ever will._ "She will not reveal what she witnessed tonight, I promise."

"That's… That's good…" Ronald muttered, his eyes falling down to his sheets. And then, the boy pulled out his arms from underneath the covers, and began staring at his own hands with an odd expression. _What is he thinking?_

"Ronald?" Albus called, but he just kept staring at his own hands. "Do you want to talk about what happened tonight? I often find that a confession every now and then helps absolve the soul."

"No, you don't" Ronald whispered, looking up at Albus with a cold stare. "You've probably spent the majority of your life lying to the people around you, so don't say stupid shite like that near me. I'm not an idiot." Albus was rather taken aback by Ronald's words, and all he could do was to just stare at the boy. "I'm… I'm sorry…" Ronald looked back down at his hands, his eyes glazing over.

"She is alive, Ronald" Albus said, remembering how Ronald had dashed Hermione's head against a wall.

"No thanks to me…" Ronald muttered, clenching his hands into fists. "I… I did something terrible…" Albus decided to not say anything, Ronald needed to come to his own conclusions this time. "I hurt her… I hurt her with these hands… Why aren't you saying anything?" Ronald asked, looking back up at Albus. "I nearly killed one of your students tonight… Don't you care?"

"I care… I care a great deal" Albus replied calmly, his eyes fixed on Ronald's. _He's trying to hold back his tears, I can see it._ "I won't deny that your actions were… disturbing. But I know that you didn't make them with a sound mind. I saw her memories, Ronald. I know just how far gone you were."

"No… You don't understand…" Ronald shook his head, his eyes darting back down to his fists.

"Then tell me" Albus said.

"She… She saw me… She saw us…" Ron mumbled, sounding a bit mad. "I had to stop her… And she ran… Why did she have to run? Why couldn't she just listen to me? I… I tried to stop her… And then she was on the ground… I nearly killed her…" Ron then grabbed his head in between his hands, absolute panic taking over his mind. "I'm a murderer…"

"No, Ronald" Albus said, quickly moving over to the boy's side. "You didn't kill anyone, do you understand? You were in no state to be making decisions. You made a mistake, that's all."

"No…" Ron shook his head, he was starting hyperventilate. _He's having a panic attack._ Albus took out vial of Snape's Calming Tonic from his robes, and he quickly uncorked the lid.

"Ronald, drink this" Albus said, helping him drink down the Potion. "Now listen to me… You are not a murderer."

"You don't understand…" Ron sniffled. "After I hit her… When she was already unconscious… I tried to strangle the life out of her…" Albus blinked at that, he hadn't seen that in Hermione's memories. _He really did try to kill her?_ Albus slowly sat back down in his seat, his eyes fixed on Ronald. "I… The Entity… It told me that she'd end up ruining my Cycle… And I know her… She'd tell her friends… And I couldn't let that happen… When I made that decision, there was no pain… I had my wits, and I chose to eliminate her… Because I know that her life means nothing to me when compared to Ginny's… Or dad's… or anyone else whom I call Family…"

"Ronald…" Albus interrupted, he didn't want to hear any more about this.

"You should expel me…" Ron sobbed, the Calming Tonic was taking far too long.

"I'm not going to do that" Albus said. "And I won't pretend like what you tried to do doesn't disturb me, because it truly does. But in my eyes, you're just as much a victim as her. You did not see the state that you were in, Ronald. I barely recognized you… You were like a wild beast, one that was cornered and fearing for its life. But despite all of that, you didn't give into your baser impulsions. You stopped yourself from crossing that line." Albus stood up at that, far too worn to stay awake himself. "I won't tell you how to feel, because this is something that you must face yourself. The Future will be riddled with similar choices, and just like Harry, you must be prepared."

Albus turned and left at that, while Ron just stared at his retreating back. _He's safe, and so is Hermione. For now, that's all that matters. I imagine that before this Cycle is over, Ronald will have to make many choices that may result in the deaths of others. It is better if he begins preparing himself now._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Before Breakfast)**_

Being completely overwhelmed wasn't a new feeling to him, which in itself was rather sad. But this time, he knew for certain that he couldn't turn to anyone for help. Not that he did that often anyway, but knowing that the choice was there had always helped him push forward. But this time, he was well and truly alone.

The first major thing on his mind was the fact that he had nearly killed one of his own friends, and yet, he had stopped caring after his initial panic had worn off. Maybe it was because Ron didn't really see the Golden Trio as his friends, not anymore. They were useful to him, and so he actively went out of his way to keep them happy. Harry was 'destined' to kill the Dark Lord, and if that really was the case, then Ron knew that Harry had to be pushed in the right direction every now and then. Neville, despite his initial dislike of Ron, had finally warmed up to him. And through Neville, Ron was able to access the Longbottom Family's power and influence. As for Hermione…

A wiser part of Ron understood that he had only become her friend from some innate desire to be liked by everyone around him. During the first weeks of his first year, everyone was enamored by him. Ron was finally the center of attention, and that had felt amazing. But Hermione, who disliked him enough to glare at him openly during classes, was an abnormality. And so Ron had done his best to become her friend, and in the moment, it had felt like the right thing to do. But Ron knew that the person he was now wouldn't have taken Hermione's self-righteous attitude, and if anything, he'd make sure to make her life miserable.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was just a desperate, attention-hungry brat when he had first come to Hogwarts. He had spent so much time trying to gain House Points for Slytherin, and it wasn't just to 'put his House ahead'. Ron did all of that because he wanted to be adored by the people around him, even the Slytherins that he despised. Which is also why he had tried to make peace with Malfoy, and why he had accepted Pansy into the group so easily. It had all felt so… controlled back then. But Ron could somewhat understand his previous actions a little better now, and he wasn't afraid to admit his own shortcomings. Ron had lost that desire to be loved by others somewhere along the way, and now he simply… existed. He loved his Family, and he loved his Slytherin friends. But everyone else… They were just pieces on a board.

Which brought him to the second major thing on his mind… Ron was a massive hypocrite, and although he had always picked up on that, last night had been the last straw. He had been so outraged with Dumbledore for using Xenophilius, but when Ron was put in a somewhat similar position, he had dashed a girl's head against a wall. At least Dumbledore had the decency to at least try and keep Xeno safe, Ron hadn't given his fucked up actions a second thought. In that moment, Ron had only cared about his Cycle. About his Family. About his actual friends. And Hermione, she was in the way.

His actions terrified him. Was he really that fucking detached from reality that he could potentially murder someone because they got in his way? Was this why he had killed Dolores Umbridge in the Future? How many other people had he killed before that? Was he already on his way to becoming some terrifying individual who scared even his own friends? He had so many questions, and perhaps being able to see the Future had made him rather entitled. Ron just wanted to know how to win, and his decisions in between the Present and the Future were his trial-and-errors.

And then there were the God-like Beings who were fucking his life up even more. They were perhaps Ron's biggest headache right now, and more than likely, they'd always be the biggest. Fate. Death. The Entity. All of these beings that sounded like something out of a fairytale were actively involved in Ron's current miserable existence.

From what Ron could determine, all of this had started with Death. The Dark Lord had somehow become immortal, and in doing so, pissed Death off. Death then tried to off this entire Universe, only to be stopped by Fate. She went and found the Entity, and placed a weakened version of it inside of Ron's head. The Entity then began manipulating the events of every Rons life, but it kept failing because it couldn't fucking grasp basic human nature. And so Ron was trapped in an endless Cycle… He'd do his best to help destroy the Dark Lord, and then he'd die horribly, and then it would all restart.

There were still so many gaps in the skull-fuck that was his current predicament, but Ron wasn't sure that he wanted to know any more than what he already knew. Every time he thought about it, he'd start panicking because of how immense it all was. It made him feel like he was just a puppet, and he fucking despised that. He despised the Entity, Fate, and Death. If Ron had to blame anyone for why his life was so fucked up, he'd blame them. Sure, he did some stupid shite that often backfired on him. But these three cunts had started this mess in the first place.

"Mr. Weasley? Are you there?" came Snape's voice, followed by a slight nudge. Ron was ripped out of his thoughts, and he looked to find the Potions Master standing by his bed.

"Sir?" Ron blinked, and then he looked around the room. _How long was I stuck inside of my own head?_

"How are you feeling?" Snape asked, his eyes scanning Ron's face.

"I… I really don't know…" Ron replied truthfully. _Too many thoughts. I don't even know where to begin._

"I understand" Snape said, and then he reached into his robes and took out a piece of parchment. "This is your note."

"My note?" Ron asked, slowly taking the paper from Snape. _Damn, my entire body feels heavy._

"You are not allowed to attend your classes for the next two days" Snape replied, and Ron blinked at him. "You need to rest, Ron…"

"Rest?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded curtly. "I understand…"

"Good" Snape said, surprised that the boy wasn't arguing with him. "Your friends are outside, by the way. I told them that you came down with a fever." _A fever? I guess that's plausible._

"Alright" Ron said, looking down at his note. _I just want to sit here and think, and this helps me do that._

"If you're feeling up to it, come by my Office tonight" Snape said, and Ron looked back up. "I wish to speak with you."

"I understand…" Ron repeated, and Snape turned around and left. As soon as Snape exited the Wing, Ron's true friends quickly made their way in.

"Ron, you're alright!" Pansy smiled widely, and Ron forced on a smile. His smile barely reached his eyes, and it genuinely hurt his face. "We got so worried when we came back and found you missing." Pansy then planted herself by his right side, her eyes and smile fixed on him. _Blaise did mention that she was quite attached to me, and I can see why. My need to be loved by others resulted in me treating her like she had always wanted Malfoy to treat her._

"You look alright to me" Tracey smiled at him. "How do you feel?"

"Tired" Ron replied.

"What's that?" Theo asked, looking to the piece of parchment in Ron's hands.

"This is my note" Ron replied. "I'm not allowed to go to classes over the next two days."

"What?" Tracey blinked. "Ron… We have Potions tomorrow morning…"

"Ahem" Daphne fake coughed before shooting Tracey a frown, while Tracey gave her a sheepish smile. "Just get better Ron, that's all that matters." _What would Daphne say if I told her that I tried to kill someone last night? She may act cold, but I know that she isn't. She'd be disgusted._

"It's a shame that you're missing D.A.D.A this morning" Millie said, shooting him a sorry smile. "I've heard that Professor Lupin apparently knows what he's doing." _Remus? Damn… I forgot that I had his class this morning._

"We can smuggle you in, if you want" Theo smirked.

"How? Ron is exactly hard to miss" Pansy jumped in.

"Is it because of my good looks?" Ron smiled weakly, earning a giggle from Pansy. _I don't want to go to his class. I just want to stay here._

"I'd say it's because you're a lamppost" Tracey sniggered.

"So I brighten any room that I'm in?" Ron asked, resting his head against the headboard.

"Yeah… I can't think of a comeback…" Tracey said, looking to their friends. "That was good." The bell suddenly rang, and Ron wondered what it was for.

"Breakfast time" Theo said, clapping his hands together. "We'll leave you to eat your Hospital mush."

"Blaise, can you stay behind for a second?" Ron asked, looking to his silent friend. Blaise nodded slowly, while the others gave Ron an unreadable look.

"Go ahead, I'll catch up" Blaise said, and then he took a seat by Ron's left leg. The others slowly left the room, with Daphne being the last one to leave. "She didn't look too happy… I think she wants to be the one who gets to stay behind with you."

"Probably" Ron shrugged, and then he observed the distance between them. "Come closer, Blaise…"

"Alright" Blaise said, moving further up on the bed. "Now… What is it?"

"How's your neck?" Ron asked, and Blaise blinked at him. "I'm sorry for losing it like that… I shouldn't put my hands on other people." _I really shouldn't._

"No, you shouldn't" Blaise said, keeping his eyes fixed on Ron's. "But for what it's worth, I may have deserved it a little. I wasn't a very good friend when I went after Granger like that, nor was I a very good ally. I'm sorry for endangering your efforts with the Trio, especially because I asked you to keep the peace with them last year."

"Alright…" Ron nodded slowly, shooting Blaise a weak smile. "Mind telling me why you did that? It's not like you to go after someone like that."

"You should focus on yourself, mate" Blaise said. _Oh, I will. But I just need a break from my own problems._

"Don't hold back on me now, Blaise" Ron said, and Blaise blinked at him. "I **do** value your advice, you know that. So for once, let me try and help you?"

"Fine…" Blaise replied, shifting more of his weight on Ron's bed. "My mother is getting married next month…" _What?_ "She found herself an old and lonely wizard, who also happens to be filthy rich. And I… I'm to attend the wedding… It's pathetic, and it's shallow…" _Shallow? Didn't he call Hermione shallow?_ "She's just using him, just like she used her last six husbands…"

"I'm sorry, mate" Ron said, but Blaise simply shrugged with a scowl.

"This is just what she does" Blaise said bitterly. "He'll be dead within a year…" _Fucking hell, he doesn't deserve to deal with this kind of shite._

"Do you need anything from me?" Ron asked. "Just name it, and I'll do my best."

"I appreciate the thought, Ron" Blaise said, shaking his head slowly. "But it is what it is… I'll go to their wedding, and I'll make sure to not get attached to this one. I'll just… I'll just fucking go there and come right back." Ron nodded slowly, and then he reached over and planted his left hand on Blaise's shoulder.

"I'm sorry that you have to put up with something like this" Ron said, while Blaise just stared at him. "If you ever need to talk, please come to me. Don't bottle it up, that never ends well."

"Speaking from experience?" Blaise smirked lightly, and Ron nodded.

"You know I am" Ron said, pulling his hand back. "You should head down to breakfast now, no need for you to miss out on actual food."

"Before I go…" Blaise started, his expression becoming serious once again. "Potter is looking for you, and he has your sister following him around like some trained pet. They want to know why Granger was too upset to come to dinner last night, and they suspect that someone from Slytherin went after her." _Someone from Slytherin did go after her…_

"I see" Ron said softly.

"Your sister is going to ask you to look into this" Blaise told him.

"There's nothing to look into" Ron said, and Blaise waited for him to go on. "You told her a fact, and she took it as a personal insult. That's it. If they try and make a big deal out of it by coming after you, then I'll put an end to it myself."

"That's… not what I was expecting" Blaise admitted, eyeing Ron carefully. "You usually play the role of peacemaker, Ron. What's different this time?"

"I… I know who matters more to me" Ron replied, and Blaise blinked at him. "The Trio are useful, but that's all they are to me. You're my Family… I'll always put you above them, Blaise."

"Um… Right" Blaise nodded slowly, still eyeing Ron carefully. "Mate, are you sure that you're alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine" Ron lied, putting on a convincing smile. _Yes… Everything is just fine…_

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (D.A.D.A Class – After Breakfast)**_

"So he wasn't at breakfast either" Hermione said, tapping her chin as she wondered about Ron's whereabouts.

"The Slytherins mentioned that he was sick last night" Neville pointed out once again. "He's probably in the Hospital Wing right now."

"We can just ask them" Hermione suggested, shooting a look towards Ron's Slytherin friends.

"Or we go and check for ourselves" Harry countered, he really didn't want to speak to those prats again. "Greengrass made it quite clear that she doesn't want to have 'pointless conversations' with us."

"She said that?" Hermione asked, shooting a frown towards the most arrogant girl in their year. _Even Lavender and Parkinson can't hold a candle against Greengrass. She's almost as arrogant as Malfoy._ Harry shot a quick look towards Malfoy, only to find the platinum haired boy sitting by himself. _What the…?_

"Good morning, third years!" came Remus' voice, and Harry quickly looked to the front of the class. Remus was coming down from his Office with a wide smile, and Harry beamed at him. _Finally! I've been waiting all week for this class!_ "My name is Professor R. J. Lupin, and I will be your D.A.D.A Professor this year. And as all of you already know, I will also be in charge of this year's Dueling Club. Now… Let's go around the room and introduce ourselves, shall we? I'd like to memorize all of your names and faces."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Once all the introductions were done, some being more enthusiastic than others, Remus began looking around the room with a perplexed look.

"We're missing a student" Remus noted, and then he looked to the Slytherins. "Where is Ronald Weasley?"

"He fell ill, Professor" Bulstrode replied, and Harry saw concern flash across Remus' face. "He's currently resting up in the Hospital Wing." _Neville was right. We'll go straight there when lunch starts. Oh, and we should collect Ginny too. Something tells me that she'd want to tag along._

"I see" Remus said slowly, he already knew what he was doing right after morning classes ended. "Very well then… Let's get started with our lesson. The Headmaster has informed me of how inconsistent your education in this particular subject has been over the last two years, and by his direct order, my job is to bring you all up to speed. Therefore, we'll start our first lesson off with a test." _A test?_

"Yay" Hermione whispered, her eyes going wide from excitement.

"Now, it's nothing too difficult" Remus reassured them as he used Magic to pass the papers around. "Just something to remind you all of what you should already know. Try your best, but don't be discouraged if you find some of the questions difficult. This test will take an hour at most, and once it's been completed, we'll throw some Spells around."

"Yes!" most of the class grinned, including Harry.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"That test was so easy!" Hermione chuckled, a bright smile on her face. _No, it really wasn't. I think I flunked it… Oh God, Remus is going to be so disappointed in me._ Harry shot quick looks around the class, and other than Hermione, everyone was grimacing slightly. _Glad I wasn't the only one._

"When did we learn about the Nature of Curses?" Neville asked Harry.

"Never" Seamus replied before Harry could, so Harry simply nodded his agreement.

"Bloody hell, I think I failed that test" Dean mumbled.

"I definitely failed" Neville sighed, his Grandmother was going to kill him for this. His parents were Aurors, and he couldn't even score higher than fifty percent on a 'simple' D.A.D.A test.

"You lot should read your textbooks" Hermione told them, and Harry could tell that she was trying to hold back her smugness. "We covered the Nature of Curses in our first year very briefly, and Professor Quirrell asked us to read up more on it in our spare time." _Professor Quirrell? Why does she still call him that? Try Voldemort's henchman…_

"Some of us have actual hobbies" Lavender shot Hermione a scowl, while Hermione rolled her eyes at the girl.

"And did your hobbies help you when you were failing the test?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't fail it" Lavender replied hotly, and the Gryffindor boys just looked back and forth between the two girls.

"Sure…" Hermione scoffed, looking back to the front of the class.

"You…" Lavender started, but Parvati stopped her.

"Lavender, it's not worth it" Parvati sighed, trying to steer her friend away from a detention. Harry shot Parvati and Lavender a sorry smile, but they both just frowned at him. _Right… I'll just stay quiet._

"You two are brave lads…" Seamus whispered, eyeing Harry and Neville with respect. "Taking Granger off of our hands like that…"

"What?" Neville frowned at him. "It's not like that. She's our friend."

"Don't start with her again, Seamus" Harry whispered, eyeing Seamus with an annoyed look. _He's made her cry before, and we nearly got killed by a Mountain Troll that night._

"These are…" Remus started, and all eyes went to him. He was quickly scouring through the papers, trying his best to get an overall gist of where everyone was. "Well… We clearly have some work to do… Ah, well done Hermione" Remus suddenly shot her a smile, and she smiled widely.

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione replied, her back straightening as she perked up. _Wait… I handed in my paper right after Hermione._ Harry shot a panicked look towards Remus, who was just staring down at the next paper. _No!_ Harry quickly slouched down in his seat, not eager to meet his 'father's' eye.

"I will mark these over the weekend, and have them returned to you next week" Remus said, neatly stacking the papers onto his desk. "So… Who's ready to vent their frustrations?" Everyone exchanged excited looks, including the Slytherins. "Let's move these tables aside, and then we can get started."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The excitement was palpable, and Harry himself was feeling jittery because of it. There was no denying that the few classes that they had with Dumbledore last year had been the highlight of the year. And judging from what everyone had heard of Remus so far, things were certainly looking up. If the fourth years were to be believed, Remus had taken them out by the Black Lake in order to show them 'explosive' Spells, and their class had been interrupted by the Giant Squid.

"As this class is created to teach you all to **defend** against the Dark Arts, we'll start off with something simple" Remus smiled at his eager Gryffindors and Slytherins. "Who can tell me the best strategy against Offensive Spells?"

"The Shield Charm, Protego" Hermione answered quickly, and Remus smiled at her.

"That is certainly a good option" Remus said, and Hermione blinked at him.

"The best strategy is to just move out of the way" Davis answered, and Remus looked to her with a wider smile. "The Shield Charm takes a lot of effort to keep up, and it can 'bog you down'. By just stepping aside, you get to preserve your Magic for your own offence."

"An excellent answer" Remus said, genuinely surprised by the slender brunette. _How did she know that?_ Hermione was just giving Davis a blank stare, while Harry and Neville were just as shocked as Remus. "And yes, Tracey. You are correct."

"Thanks, Sir" Davis grinned, while her friends just smirked to themselves.

"The Shield Charm has many benefits, but its biggest downside is that you cannot cast it on the move" Remus told his students, and Harry began taking mental notes. "Therefore, only use the Shield Charm when you have no other choice. Taking a step to the side is infinitely easier, and will often provide you with an opportunity to strike back. Tracey, why don't you come up here?" Davis nodded before making her way over to Remus' side, while Remus eyed the Gryffindors. "Lavender, you too."

"Yes, Professor" Lavender nodded, eyeing Davis with a slight frown. _Remus has no idea that Davis cheated Lavender out of a win last year by attacking Lavender mid-count. Git._

"Which one of you knows how to cast a proper Shield Charm?" Remus asked the girls, and Davis raised her hand. _What? When did she learn that? Lockhart didn't teach us that, and Quirrell was too busy plotting my murder._ "Alright Tracey, I want you to stand over there. Lavender, go to the other side of room." The girls did as they were told, while Remus gestured the others to stand back. "Now on the count of three, I want you to cast a minor Hex at Tracey. Tracey, you will cast the Shield Charm. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor" the girls said.

"The rest of you should observe this carefully" Remus told them, missing the mischievous glint in Lavender's eyes. "One… Two…"

"Anteoculatia" Lavender chanted, firing the Horn-Growing Hex at Davis.

"Protego" Davis chanted, immediately blocking the Hex. _She saw it coming… Damn. That could've been really funny._

"I said three, girls…" Remus sighed. "But no matter… Did all of you see how Tracey was forced to stay still?" The class nodded, while Davis simply smirked at a frowning Lavender. "Now if Lavender wanted to, she could easily follow that up with more Hexes. This is why the Shield Charm, although a viable strategy, is often passed up by veterans. Let's try another pair, shall we? Who wants to come up here?" Everyone's hands went up, with the exception of Malfoy. _Let me guess, he's too good to be taught by Remus?_

"Theodore and Dean, please come up" Remus said, while the girls rejoined their respective groups. _Aw… I want to have a turn._ "Alright you two, I want you try and disarm one another. Nothing flashy, or dangerous… Just a Disarming Charm, understand?"

"We understand" the boys nodded, taking up their positions.

"Three Sickles on Dean" Seamus whispered in Harry's ear.

"I don't want to bet on Nott…" Harry frowned slightly. "Fine… Three Sickles on Nott."

"One the count of three…" Remus started. "One… Two… Three!"

"Expelliarmus!" Dean quickly chanted, firing the Disarming Charm straight at Nott's head. Nott simple ducked, but he didn't fire anything back. _Wait… What's he doing?_ "Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus!" Dean fired two more Spells, but Nott simply stepped to the right.

"Expelliarmus" Nott chanted, firing the Disarming Charm at Dean's right hand. Dean quickly moved towards his left, but Nott had already sent another Disarming Charm towards him. Dean got hit right in his stomach, and he was sent flying into the wall behind him. _Damn! Wait… I won._

"Pay up" Harry smirked at Seamus, who just frowning at Dean.

"I'll pay you at lunch…" Seamus sighed, watching his best mate standing up slowly.

"That was superb, you two!" Remus beamed at them. "Excellent use of quick firing. And Theodore, very clever of you to mutter your follow up under your breath. Take five points for Slytherin." Nott smirked arrogantly, clearly pleased with himself. "Now, Hermione and… Daphne. Why don't you come up?" _OHHH! Hermione is going to destroy her!_

"This is going to be great" Harry whispered to Neville, who nodded his agreement.

"Same thing as with the boys" Remus told them, and Harry could see just how ready Hermione was. _Knock her down a peg, Hermione._ "One… Two… Three…"

"Expelliarmus!" both girls chanted, and they quickly sidestepped each other's Spells.

"Expelliarmus!" Greengrass chanted again, but Hermione didn't move this time.

"Protego!" Hermione yelled, an ethereal blue shield appearing before her. Greengrass' Spell shattered as it struck Hermione's shield, and Greengrass quickly moved to fire another one. Hermione blocked three more Spells from Greengrass, and just as Harry was starting to worry about his friend, Hermione suddenly swirled her wand through her shield. A jet of scarlet light fired out of Hermione's wand, and Greengrass' wand was sent flying through the air. _Woah! Yes! GO HERMIONE!_ Harry quickly clapped for his friend, followed up by Neville.

"My…" Remus blinked at Hermione. "Non-verbal Magic… Very impressive."

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione beamed, enjoying the look of surprise on Greengrass' face. "I've been practicing Non-verbal Magic in my spare time."

"Well, take ten points for Gryffindor for your initiative" Remus smiled at her as he handed Greengrass her wand back. _And she earned ten points! Go Hermione!_ "We have time for one more. Draco and… Fay. Why don't you two come up?"

"Did you see that?" Hermione beamed at Harry and Neville, while Malfoy and Fay Dunbar took their positions.

"That was brilliant, Hermione" Neville beamed back. "I had no idea that you were learning Non-verbal Magic."

"You were amazing out there" Harry nodded his agreement, and Hermione's cheeks turned rosy from all the praise. "And you showed Greengrass who's the better witch."

"I did, didn't I?" Hermione smirked, her back straightening as she perked up once again. "It was easy to outsmart her. I just figured that if she saw an opportunity, she'd greedily jump at it."

"She does seem like the sort to do that" Harry smiled, patting Hermione's upper arm proudly. "You earned us ten points as well, which is just the cherry on top."

"Well done, Draco" came Remus' voice, and they all looked to the front. Fay was picking up her wand with a slight frown, while Malfoy was just staring at Remus with a guarded look. "Excellent use of your speed to overpower your opponent, I was especially impr…" the bell suddenly rang, cutting Remus off mid speech. "Oh… Time sure flies when you're having fun, eh?" Remus chuckled, and everyone nodded. _Greengrass is actually pouting! Ha!_ "I'll see you all next week then. I have a very special lesson in mind for you all."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"So… How was I?" Remus asked Harry, who simply smiled widely in response. Everyone else had left for lunchbreak, but Harry, Neville, and Hermione had stayed behind to chat with Remus.

"You were amazing" Neville replied, and Remus smiled gratefully.

"I won't lie… I was rather nervous" Remus chuckled.

"Why? You were hands down the best Professor that we've had for this class" Harry said, and Remus patted his right cheek. _Not counting Dumbledore, of course._

"Thanks, Harry" Remus said. "That means a lot to me."

"Harry's right" Hermione piped in. "You even got the Slytherins excited, which isn't an easy thing to do. You almost reminded me of Professor Dumbledore… A younger version of Professor Dumbledore, that is."

"That is high praise indeed" Remus laughed. "You were quite spectacular out there, Hermione. Non-verbal Magic in your third year? You really are the brightest witch of your age." Hermione blushed deeply at that, her smile becoming extremely bashful. "I'm sure that when I was your age, I truly didn't share your passion for your studies."

"Thanks, Professor" Hermione mumbled, her face flushing completely.

"You three should run along now" Remus smiled at the Trio. "And Harry, make sure that you eat properly." _Ugh… The dad-tone…_ Oddly enough though, Harry loved it when Remus spoke to him like this. It was a tone that he was still getting used to, but it was quickly becoming his favorite. "Neville, keep an eye on your best mate for me."

"I will, Professor" Neville chuckled, and then they made their way out of the class.

"Brightest witch of my age…" Hermione sang under her breath, her good mood was contagious.

"We should go and find Ginny, and then drop in on Ron" Harry whispered to Neville, all the while smiling at Hermione's back. _She looks really happy. Good. I hated how upset she was yesterday._

"We'll do that near the end of lunchtime" Neville said, and Harry blinked at him. "What? I don't want Remus to tell me off."

"Fine…" Harry rolled his eyes. "We'll quickly eat some lunch, and then drop in on Ron." _I want him to find out if Malfoy was behind Hermione being so upset yesterday._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Lunchtime)**_

"You should've seen me, mate" Theo boasted. "I was like lightning up there! Thomas was trying to get a hit on me, but I read that guy like a book! A bloody book, mate!" The others just sniggered at Theo, while Ron gave him a proud smile.

"Good on you, Theo" Ron said genuinely, glad that Theo's practice had payed off. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, dad" Theo smiled, and everyone broke into laughter. "Ahem… I mean… Ron…" Theo laughed, clearly pulling a joke.

"I actually showed up Granger with one of my answers" Tracey smirked, and Ron gave her a surprised look. _What? As if…_ "It's true, just ask them."

"It is true" Millie confirmed, and Ron gave Tracey an impressed smile.

"I mean, I just recited what you told us once" Tracey shrugged, still smirking. "But it still felt nice."

"That's great to hear, Tracey" Ron said, but Tracey simply gave him a look of expectation.

"And…" Tracey said slowly. _Really?_

"I'm proud of you" Ron said, mustering up the strength to smile again. _I just want to sleep. Please leave._

"Thanks" Tracey beamed, looking all too happy with herself.

"So… She just stole my moment?" Theo asked the others, who just shrugged in response. "Thanks Tracey… You damn thief…"

"Did anyone else do something amazing?" Ron asked the group.

"Malfoy beat Dunbar" Blaise replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _Um… Alright…_

"So none of the Gryffindors won a single Duel?" Ron asked. _Wow. How did that happen?_

"Granger won one… against me" Daphne said, her expression cold and unfeeling. "She disarmed me with Non-verbal Magic." The others just blinked at Daphne, while Ron just stared at her. _Non-verbal Magic?_

"You lost…" Ron said slowly, his eyes fixed on Daphne's. _Well, that's what you get for being lazy._

"It happens" Daphne shrugged, she had no intention of showing the others just how much losing to Granger had bothered her. And she certainly didn't plan to hide such a thing, especially because Granger would no doubt tell him. _What? What fuck does 'it happens' mean? Is she serious? What kind of excuse is that?_

"No, it doesn't just 'happen'…" Ron stated, just staring at her. "She's better than you, and so she beat you. There is no other way of saying it. It wasn't a fluke, and if you went up against her again, she'd still beat you."

"Mate…" Blaise said, shooting a look towards Daphne.

"Are you done?" Daphne asked him, but he just cocked his eyebrow at her. "I'm leaving… I have Divination next, and I want to get my things ready." With that, Daphne got up and left. _So she really can't see that she lost because, unlike Theo and Tracey, she refused to take my lessons seriously? Hermione no doubt practices whenever her head isnt buried in a book. Whatever… She can keep making her excuses, I don't even care._

"I'll… I'll go join her, I reckon" Tracey said, and then she too left.

"I've also got Divination next, and apparently the classroom is rather difficult to find" Pansy muttered, and Ron gave her a nod. _Go, and take the others with you as well._ Pansy shot him a weak smile, and then she also made her way out of the Hospital Wing. Ron spotted Madam Pomfrey staring at him from two beds over, and when he looked at her, she slowly looked away. _Great, she's probably diagnosing me with something else._

"Ron, what was that?" Millie frowned at him.

"I don't like people making shitty excuses" Ron replied. "It happens… What does that even mean?"

"Mate, she's probably not too happy about losing to that uppity bitch" Theo whispered.

"And instead of giving Hermione her dues, she says 'it happens'…" Ron scoffed. "She's had multiple opportunities to improve herself, but she refused to act on them. The least she could do is to show some semblance of respect to the person who worked hard while she lazed around."

"Yeesh…" Theo muttered, looking towards the exit. That's when he spotted the Golden Trio coming in, followed by Ginny and Luna. "Yay… The Golden leeches are here…" Ron looked over to them, and his eyes were immediately glued to Hermione. _No… Not her… Don't look at her, Ron._ But he couldn't stop.

"Hi, Ron" Hermione smiled at him, but Ron just kept staring. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! _Ron could feel his stomach turning, images of his hands around her throat flashing in his mind. _Just keep it together…_

"Hi…" Ron muttered, looking down at his sheets. _What the fuck are they doing here?_

"You mind sparing us a minute?" Harry asked with a smile. "We need to ask a quick favor of you."

"Wow…" Blaise said, giving Harry a look of disgust.

"What?" Harry asked, frowning at Blaise.

"Usually when you see a sick person, you ask them how they are" Blaise said coldly. "You don't throw your problems at their feet."

"Blaise…" Ron said, shooting him a quick look.

"How are you, Ron?" Luna asked, and everyone looked to her. "Blaise is right, I think. Are you feeling better now?" _No, I'm really not._

"I'm doing alright, Luna" Ron smiled at her, not even surprised by her aloofness. Ron then looked to Harry, making sure to keep his eyes away from Hermione. "What's this favor?"

"We were hoping for some… privacy" Harry said, looking right at Ron. _You mean you want my friends to leave so you can whine about your shitty problems without being told to fuck off._

"They want to know who upset Granger yesterday" Millie said, cutting right through the nonsense. "And for some reason, they think that you know who did it." _Well, I do._

"Harry, I thought that we were just visiting Ron" Hermione frowned at her best friend. "I told you that I don't want to talk about it, and that certainly doesn't mean that you can go behind my back like this."

"Hermione…" Harry started, but her frown shut him up.

"We just don't want you to go through stuff like this by yourself" Neville said, and then he looked to Ron. "Mate, if you can just find and stop whoever is harassing her, that'd be great."

"You two are unbelievable" Hermione frowned at them. _Can you lot just fuck the hell off?! Please?!_

"Ron, you need to do this" Ginny piped in, her voice far too haughty for Ron's liking. "It's the right thing to do." _Need? I don't 'need' to do shite._

"Hermione, do you want me to look into this?" Ron asked, keeping his eyes fixed on Ginny. _I can't look at her. I just bloody can't._

"No, Ron" Hermione replied firmly.

"Then it's settled" Ron said, looking back to his sheets. _And now please leave. I feel like I'm going to vomit, and I haven't even eaten anything all day._

"Mate…" Harry muttered, genuinely surprised that Ron wasn't tracking down the bigot who had gone after their friend.

"Ron? You're just going to let some arse get away with targeting your friend?" Ginny asked, frowning at her brother.

"She doesn't want anything to be done about it, so why should I bother?" Ron asked.

"Wow… You're just… Wow…" Ginny muttered, her frown deepening. _Oh Merlin, I'm going to be sick._

"Are you all disturbing my patient?" came Pomfrey's voice, and then she suddenly walked up behind the Trio. "That's it… All of you out. Just look at him, he isn't feeling well right now. Go on, out." Everyone just exchanged quickly looks, and then they began piling out. Ron's actual friends shot him parting nods, while his little sister made sure that he saw her displeasure. But Ron just didn't care. Hermione had left, and he could finally breathe again.

"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, covering his entire face with his hands.

"Ronald, are you feeling sick?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron nodded weakly. "I'll grab you something for the queasiness." With that, Pomfrey made her way towards her Potions closet. _Damnit… I don't ever want to see Hermione again. I don't know if I feel guilty about my actions, or guilty about the fact that I really don't care about what I did to her. Fuck, what do I do? What the hell is the matter with me?_

"Hey, cub" came Remus' voice, and Ron looked up at him. _I didn't even hear him come in._ "How are you feeling?"

"Sick…" Ron sighed, putting his hands down in his lap. "Sorry that I missed your first class, Remus."

"Don't be" Remus smiled as he sat down on the side of Ron's bed, his warm eyes scanning Ron's pale features. "Getting better should be your only priority. I just thought that I'd drop by and give you something to eat." Remus then reached into his robes and took out a bar of chocolate. "Here, it'll make you feel better."

"Thanks…" Ron muttered, taking the chocolate bar from Remus. _I… I don't want to eat anything._ "I'll hide this for later, otherwise Madam Pomfrey will take it from me."

"Right" Remus chuckled as Ron hid the bar under his pillow. "Where is she, by the way?"

"Another visitor?" came Pomfrey's voice, and both Ron and Remus looked to see her approaching them. She had a slight frown on her face, and a light blue Potion in her right hand. "He's unwell, and he needs to rest. You should come back when he's not as pale as a ghost."

"It's good to see you again, Madam Pomfrey" Remus smiled, the old bird hadn't changed a bit. "And you're right, I shouldn't disturb your patients." Remus stood up at that, and he smiled down at Ron. "Get well soon, Ron. I'll see you when you're feeling more like yourself." Remus then gave Madam Pomfrey a nod, and then he left the Hospital Wing.

"His manners have certainly improved" Pomfrey huffed, handing Ron the Potion.

"You know him?" Ron asked, and she nodded.

"He went to school here, Ronald" Pomfrey replied. "He and his friends were quite the troublemakers." _I can imagine. I bet that Sirius slept with half the girls in Hogwarts during his days here._

"Merlin… You're ancient" Ron smirked, and then he drank down the Potion. _Ugh… At least I'll feel less queasy now._

"Are we really playing this game, Mr. Weasley?" Pomfrey cocked her eyebrow, and Ron shrugged. "Alright then…" Pomfrey nodded slowly, taking the empty vial from Ron. "You were incredibly cruel towards your 'best friend' earlier. Do you often speak to your friends in such a manner?"

"Only when they make stupid excuses about their failures" Ron replied.

"I see" Pomfrey said. "No one should ever fail, right? Everyone should work themselves into a sorry state like you rather than fail. Ronald, do you know what displacement is?"

"I imagine that I'm about to find out" Ron replied.

"It's when someone projects their own feelings onto others" Pomfrey replied. "You strike me as a perfectionist, someone who is terrified of making mistakes. And therefore you constantly push yourself to your limits, and a small part of you is quite bitter about it. And that part of you wants everyone to push themselves to their limits just as you do. You can't stand to lose, and whenever you meet someone who doesn't think like you, you immediately dislike them."

"That… That makes sense" Ron shrugged. "If I can do it, then what's her excuse? She constantly refused to better herself, and now she's gone and embarrassed herself in public. She should have the humility to learn from this, not stick her nose up and say 'it happens'… That's just pathetic."

"Embarrassed herself, or you?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron blinked at her. "Ronald, why don't we go to my Office? I think it's about time that we restarted your sessions." _If it gets me out of thinking about last night, then please lead the way._

"Alright."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Divination Classroom – After Lunch)**_

Ron was such an arse sometimes that it genuinely baffled Daphne as to why she liked him so much. Couldn't he see that she was upset about being beaten by Granger in front of everyone? Of course he couldn't, he was far too thick for that. And he hadn't been there… He hadn't seen how Potter, Longbottom, and every damn Gryffindor had sniggered at her while they clapped for Granger. It had been nothing short of mortifying, and she had barely kept her mask of indifference. That was her only move, and she had somehow managed to pull it off.

"Daphne, you're pouting again" Tracey nudged her, and Daphne fixed her expression.

"Just ignore what Ron said" Pansy sighed. _As if I could. I don't want him to think that Granger is better than me. I never want him to think that._

"This classroom smells" Daphne stated, ignoring her friends' words. "I feel tired already because of all of this incense. And what's with these pouffes?"

"Oh no… She's reached the complaining stage already" Tracey sighed overdramatically, and Daphne shot her a frown. "Whoops…"

"I kind of agree with her though" Pansy said, crossing her legs. "I'm worried that some boy is going to see my knickers. There are no tables to keep our legs under."

"Are you wearing something racey?" Tracey asked, and Pansy smirked.

"Want to have a look?" Pansy asked.

"Sure" Tracey shrugged, and Daphne looked towards Pansy. _These two…_ Pansy slowly swapped her legs, flashing them her pink silk panties along the way. _Wow. Wait… Why did I look?_

"Nice" Tracey sniggered. _I miss Millie already._ The door to the classroom opened once again, and the Golden Trio rushed in. _Of course… Granger_ _ **had**_ _to be in this class._

"Now if only our Professor…" Tracey started, but Professor Trelawney suddenly appeared from behind a beaded curtain.

"Ah, welcome" Professor Trelawney said, her large glasses making her look like a bejeweled insect. The woman was genuinely wearing colorful rags for clothes, and her spindly build made her look quite creepy. "So good to finally see you all in the Physical Realm. I am Professor Sybil Trelawney, and with my help, many of you will see into… the beyond!" _Many? Not all of us?_

"But before we all start our journeys, allow me to welcome you all into Divination" Professor Trelawney went on, placing herself on a winged chair in front of the lit fireplace. "Most of you may not have seen me before, for I find that descending down into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye." _Inner Eye? What's that?_ Daphne couldn't deny that the odd Professor had caught her attention, and judging by the looks that everyone was giving her, Daphne wasn't alone.

"So you have chosen to study Divination? I commend you on taking such a difficult path" the Professor went on. "Divination is by far the most difficult of the Magical Arts, so I feel the need to warn you all that if you do not possess the Sight, there is very little that I can do for you. Books can only take you so far in this field…" For some unknown reason, everyone looked to Granger. The bushy haired girl was just gaping at the Professor, while Potter and Longbottom were sniggering at her.

"It takes no talent to create funny smells, or loud bangs" the Professor 'smiled' at them, her enlarged eyes scanning the room. "But to gaze into the Future itself? Now that takes real power… And a gift that Fate grants only a few. You there" Professor Trelawney said suddenly, pointing her bony finger at Longbottom. "Is your Grandmother quite well?"

"Um… I think so" Longbottom mumbled, shooting Potter and Granger a confused look.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, my dear" Professor Trelawney said gravely, a look of genuine pity on her face. Longbottom simply blinked at Trelawney, while Granger frowned at her. "This year, we will be delving into the basics of Divination. During this term, we will focus on reading tea leaves. And next term will be devoted to palmistry. You there" Professor Trelawney said suddenly, pointing her bony finger at Parvati Patil this time. "A red haired man has his eyes set on you. Be very cautious…" _A red haired man? Is that so?_ Daphne's stare turned rather grim, while Pansy and Tracey sniggered to each other. Patil and Brown both made some odd sort of squealing noise, while Granger genuinely looked annoyed with Trelawney.

"After the summer break, we will turn to our crystal balls" Professor Trelawney suddenly went on, ignoring the atmosphere in her room. "Ah, yes… I can see it… A nasty bout of flu will strike Hogwarts during February, and I myself will lose my voice. And then by Easter, one of our number will leave us forever." _Leave us forever? I think I already know who it is._ Daphne once again glared at Patil, Ron would never set his eyes on her. _I might claw her face off after this class._

"Merlin, Daph…" Tracey muttered, staring at her friend's dark glare. _Ah, yes… I'll scratch that pretty little button nose clean off._

"You there" Professor Trelawney said, pointing her bony finger towards Brown. "Be a dear and pass me that large silver teapot." Brown nodded slowly, and did as she was told. "Thank you, my dear. Oh no… I can see it… That thing that you are dreading, it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October." Brown trembled at the sound of that, while Granger genuinely gaped once again. _Merlin, I hope Trelawney doesn't notice me._ "Now… Let's read some tea leaves, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Just Outside of the Divination Classroom – End of Classes)**_

"What a load of rubbish" Hermione scoffed, genuinely vexed by the bug-eyed Professor. "Harry, don't listen to her. You're not in any danger. She is clearly a crackpot." _Wow. I've never heard Hermione say something like that about a Professor. Not even Snape._ "Books can only take you so far…" Hermione scoffed again, and Harry gave her a deadpan look. _I see that her anger isn't about my upcoming demise._

"I need to write to my Gran" Neville mumbled, and Hermione shot him a deep frown. "I miss her, that's all."

"You lot can pass us if you want" Harry frowned towards the people trailing him. _I can't believe that she prophesized my death from some tea leaves. The Grim… What the hell is the Grim? I've never once come across that 'omen' in my life. And what was that about me having an enemy? Everyone knows about Voldemort's feud with me._

"Keep walking, mate" Dean muttered, and Seamus nodded quickly.

"You're being silly" Hermione told them, but they simply shook their heads.

"She said that you don't have the Gift, so we're not listening to you" Seamus defended himself, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"The Gift… Utter nonsense" Hermione said, her pace quickening. "No resonance with the Future? Me? Nonsense… Utter tripe…"

"At least Parvati had a good time…" Neville mumbled, shooting a look behind them. "She's still giggling to herself about this red haired bloke…"

"While Lavender looks ready to faint…" Harry added, also shooting a look behind them.

"This class is pure rubbish" Hermione snapped, turning the corner way too quickly.

"Ms. Granger, mind your speed" came McGonagall's voice, and they all stopped immediately. "Are you trying to run other people over?"

"Sorry, Professor" Hermione blinked, the old witch had shown up out of nowhere. Harry looked behind him, and he nearly groaned at the fact that everyone had stopped to stare at him. _I'm not diseased. Upcoming deaths aren't bloody contagious._ "We just had Divination, and I was…"

"Merlin…" Professor McGonagall sighed, and the Trio blinked at her. "Who's going to die this year?"

"Um… Me…" Harry raised his hand, and McGonagall sighed again.

"Mr. Potter, think nothing of Professor Trelawney's warnings" McGonagall told him, and Hermione nodded fervently. "I was expected to die from a variety of diseases by now, and yet here I am."

"So… She can't see the Future?" Parvati piped up.

"She can't" Hermione answered for McGonagall.

"Perhaps she can, and perhaps she cannot" McGonagall told Parvati, who looked thoroughly put off. Harry couldn't help but notice Greengrass' lips twitch upwards, and he wondered what that was about. "My advice is to take her words with a grain of salt." McGonagall then went to move past them, but stopped suddenly. "Actually, take them with the whole salt-shaker." And then, she walked off towards her destination.

"See" Hermione told her classmates. "Utter rubbish."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – After Classes)**_

Ron exited Pomfrey's Office with a tired look, they had gotten nowhere. Ron just wanted to talk about anything but his feelings, and so he had spent nearly two hours talking about his Quibbler business. Pomfrey, thankfully, had listened to Ron without complaint. And although she had advised him against putting so much stress on himself, Ron wasn't deterred. It was too late for second thoughts, and Ron knew it. Both Ron and Xeno needed this to work, and neither of them could afford to have doubts.

"Madam Pomfrey, can I please be dismissed?" Ron asked her as she too exited the Office. "I'm feeling much better, and sitting around is genuinely giving me anxiety."

"You look well enough" Pomfrey nodded, noticing that Ron looked much better after moving around. "Take that chocolate bar that you hid under your pillow with you. Oh, and eat it." _Whoops. She saw me._ Ron made his way over to his bed, and he pocketed the chocolate bar. _Not hungry._

"Thanks for taking care of me" Ron said as he began leaving the Hospital Wing.

"I'll see you on Monday, Ronald" Pomfrey said, heading over to make his bed. Ron left the Hospital Wing, but he stopped once he reached the Moving Staircase. _Where should I go?_ Ron thought about heading towards the Sanctuary, but he knew that classes had just ended. He'd definitely run into the Gryffindors if he went up there, and even with the Disillusionment Charm, there was a chance that he'd be spotted.

"Common room it is" Ron said to himself, and then he began making his way down to the Dungeons. It wasn't a long walk, and he was standing in front of the entrance before he knew it. "Dragon's breath" Ron said to the entrance, and it slid open. Ron made his way inside, his eyes darting towards his friends' favorite spot. _Taken… Wait… That's the Triumvirate._ Clara spotted him, and a smile quickly took over her features.

"Ron, come here please" Clara called to him, and Ron made his way over to them.

"Hello" Ron greeted, his voice more monotone than usual.

"We were waiting for you" Samantha told him, and Ron nodded slowly. _Do they need my help? Please say yes. Give me something to do._

"What can I do for you?" Ron asked them, and they all smiled at him. Ron forced on a smile as well, but they noticed how off it looked.

"The first years have been doing well in their classes" Carey stated, and Ron blinked at her. "We wanted to congratulate you."

"I haven't started teaching them yet" Ron admitted.

"No, but whatever you said to them clearly worked" Clara hummed. "Take the compliment, Ron. We're very happy with you."

"I see" Ron nodded slowly. "Thanks."

"Ron, are you alright?" Carey asked, her smile faltering slightly. "Do you still have a fever?" _Of course they know about that, nothing that happens in this House gets past them._

"Sort of" Ron replied, and the girls just stared at him.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Clara asked. "It's nice and warm here by the fire, and a girl's touch can be quite healing." _Tempting, but I'd rather keep moving around._

"I need to speak with Professor Snape soon" Ron said, deciding to use the Potions Master's invitation as an excuse.

"We understand" Carey smiled gently, her silky voice was rather pleasant on the ears right now. "You shouldn't keep him waiting, Ron. We can sit together some other time."

"Alright" Ron said, and then he began to leave. As he reached the entrance, Samantha caught up to him.

"Mind if I walk down with you?" Samantha asked him, giving him one of her rare smiles.

"Not at all" Ron replied, gesturing her to take the lead.

"I spoke with Professor Babbling recently" Samantha started as they stepped out of the common room. "She was extremely pleased with you, Ron."

"That's good" Ron said, keeping his eyes forward. _Runes Class was where it all started._

"She had nothing but praises for you, and I must admit, I was quite happy to hear that" Samantha said, noticing how subdued he looked today. "Were my notes useful?"

"They were" Ron nodded. "Thank you for them."

"Think nothing of it" Samantha said, shooting Ron's expressionless features another look. "Ron, stop for a second." Ron stopped immediately, looking over to Samantha with a calm expression. Samantha suddenly put her hand on his forehead, and then, she pressed her left cheek against his right one. _What is she doing?_ "You're warm, but I don't sense a fever" she said, pulling her face back.

"Pomfrey discharged me" Ron told her.

"You're not feeling overwhelmed with the first years, are you?" Samantha asked, and Ron blinked at her. "Tell me the truth, Ron. None of us want you to burn out, and we really don't want you to land yourself in the Hospital Wing due to exhaustion again."

"The first years are not overwhelming me" Ron replied honestly.

"I want you to come to us if that ever changes, alright?" Samantha said, and Ron decided to nod his agreement.

"I appreciate the concern, Samantha" Ron said, giving her a weak smile. "If anything changes, you'll be the first one to know."

"I'll hold you to that" Samantha smiled again, and then she ran her fingers over his left ear. "Good luck with Professor Snape, try to not land yourself in detention."

"Now that I can't promise" Ron joked, deciding to show her more than his tired expression. _Her fingers feel nice._

"Go on" Samantha chuckled, and then they both parted ways. Ron made his way over to Snape's Office, and he knocked on the door rather lightly.

"Come in" came Snape's voice, and Ron entered the Office and shut the door behind himself. "Welcome, Ron. Take a seat."

"You wanted to speak with me, Sir?" Ron asked, taking a seat in front of Snape.

"I did" Snape replied, his eyes clearly analyzing Ron's features. "You're looking better than you were this morning."

"I don't feel better" Ron shrugged, looking around the Office with a dull look. _There are a lot of ingredients in here. Doesn't he get sick of just being cooped up in here all day?_

"What happened last night?" Snape asked, and Ron looked back to him.

"You know… The Headmaster wasn't so upfront" Ron replied, and Snape just stared at him. "He gave me a cold glass of water before asking me his questions."

"I'm not the Headmaster" Snape pointed out.

"Maybe one day you will be" Ron shrugged again. "Who knows what the Future holds…"

"I… I don't know if you're joking" Snape admitted, the idea of him being the Headmaster was preposterous. "This clearly isn't working, so I'll just come out and say it… The Headmaster asked me to leave you alone because he wants you to come to some realization yourself. But I've elected to ignore his order…"

"Why?" Ron asked, a bit of curiosity sparking to life in his brain.

"I've been at the edge of the abyss before… And there was no one there to pull me back" Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "I don't want that for you."

"Are you afraid of losing me, or my power?" Ron asked, he knew that Snape wasn't just a good soul.

"Your power is valuable, but only because it's you who possesses it" Snape replied, and Ron was rather taken aback. "I imagine that if one of your friends possessed your gift, they'd abuse it for their own gain. And if some average Gryffindor possessed it, they'd run headfirst into their own death. Your strategic mind focuses on caution and preparedness, and that has kept you alive. And your personal values have placed you on our side. So I won't just sit by while you struggle with the darkness, and if I can, I'll even help you. Even if that means just listening."

"I see…" Ron nodded slowly, was this really Snape in front of him? "I… I can't bring myself to feel guilty about hurting Hermione… I know that I should, but I just don't. I just feel… empty."

"Have you eaten today?" Snape asked.

"Not that sort of empty" Ron frowned, wondering if Snape was an idiot.

"Your brain is exhausted, Ron" Snape told him. "Your lethargic state is no doubt induced by your hunger, and your inability to think properly is tied to it as well."

"I'm not hungry" Ron said, he really wasn't. _I feel like I'll just throw up if I eat something._

"You are, but the pain you went through last night is making you believe that you aren't" Snape said, he had seen this before.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, and Snape just stared at him for a few seconds. _Um… Staring contest?_

"The Dark Lord once used the Cruciatus Curse on me…" Snape whispered coldly, his expression unreadable. "I didn't eat for over three days. If it wasn't for Lucius, I would've starved myself to death." _Oh…_

"Why did he do that?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Fear was his weapon, and occasionally, he enjoyed showing us just how much power he held over us" Snape replied.

"Why would you follow a man like that?" Ron asked, staring at Snape with a baffled expression.

"Like I said… I've been at the edge of the abyss before, and unlike you, I took the plunge" Snape replied. _I want to ask him about his story, but I really don't want to overstep with him._ "You enjoyed The Pond's food, didn't you?"

"I did" Ron nodded, he had been there a few times now. _But my first time was with Snape._

"I'll order us food" Snape said, and Ron simply stared at him.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Snape had sent out a House-Elf to fetch the food, and it had returned within ten minutes. Ron had trouble starting his meal, but once he got going, he even ate Snape's sides. Snape, thankfully, was patient enough to let Ron eat in peace, and he had even asked Ron about his plans about The Quibbler. Ron had told him of Priscilla and Victor, and about his unfortunate trip into Knockturn Alley. Ron had even told him about his mother's fury, and about his father's understanding nature. Snape was rather surprised to hear that Arthur Weasley had stood up to his wife like that.

"That was good" Ron admitted, cleaning his lips with a napkin. "A bit spicy, but still really good. Thank you, Sir."

"Think nothing of it" Snape said, hiding his shock at Ron's appetite. It was a quite the sight upfront, the boy had consumed not only his own meal and dessert, but most of Snape's as well. "You'll most likely feel even more tired soon, and I recommend that you call it an early night tonight."

"I will" Ron nodded.

"Now let's talk about what happened last night" Snape said, and Ron gave a reluctant nod. _He fed me out of his own pocket, the least I can do is to show him some respect._ "Why did the Entity attack you?"

"It… It claimed that it was trying to help me" Ron replied, and Snape blinked at him.

"Help you?" Snape asked, clearly as shocked as Ron himself.

"Yeah" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Apparently I neglected my brain-damage to the point of it becoming critical, and in some insane attempt to heal me, it nearly tore my mind apart." _I can't tell him that the Entity had to break out of the barrier in order to heal me, which resulted in my pain. Hell, I'm not even sure that I believe it._ "It mentioned something about damaging my subconscious in the process, but I don't know what that means."

"You spoke with it?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"Do you mind telling me what happened in Dumbledore's Office?" Ron asked. "I don't really remember much after I attacked Hermione…"

"It was… It was rather disturbing" Snape admitted, he had barely slept last night because he kept hearing that demon's voice. "You were… possessed… And the Entity, it wanted to be let out." _Let out? Was it referring to me? Or to the barrier?_ "I heard its voice, and by Merlin, I've never been so…" Snape trailed off.

"Terrified?" Ron asked, but Snape didn't respond. "Yeah… There are nights when I can't even sleep. During the end of the last school year, when it was coming after me constantly, I pretty much got addicted to drinking the Calming Draught. I couldn't even sit in class without taking my dose…"

"Right…" Snape nodded, unable to stop himself from pitying the boy.

"Did you have to stun me?" Ron asked.

"No… Albus didn't want to hurt you" Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _He also spent the entire night by my bed._ "We held you down and drugged you instead, it was the only way to help you. That's when we noticed Granger, and while Albus healed her and removed her memories, I ran around the castle in an effort to wipe out any evidence of your evening stroll."

"Ha, evening stroll" Ron chuckled tiredly. _That's one way to say it._

"You left quite the mess in your friends' dorm" Snape said, wondering what the boy was doing in the girls' dorms.

"Sorry about that" Ron said, though he wasn't really sorry. "Thank you for covering for me like that, I owe you one. So… The Headmaster really removed Hermione's memories?"

"He did" Snape nodded. "We had little choice, she had seen you… And the Entity."

"How did she see the Entity?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Your eyes… They changed…" Snape replied, thinking back to Granger's memories. _Changed?_

"They looked like toad-eyes?" Ron asked quickly, and Snape nodded once again. "Fuck me… I remember my voice changing, but I had no idea about my eyes…" _Is that why the Entity was so knackered? It used every ounce of its strength to try and break through? Fate no doubt left behind some sort of protection in order to stop it from possessing me completely, and maybe the Entity got fucked over in the process as well. It did say that it was hurt._

"Ronald?" Snape called, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, Sir" Ron apologized. "I just… I don't even know what to think anymore. One minute I was fine, and the next, I was screaming throughout the castle. And then, I was trying to kill a classmate… And said classmate, by the way, is walking around like nothing happened last night. I just… I can't deal with all of this… How am I even supposed to look at her? What am I supposed to do?"

"And you still don't feel guilty about attacking Granger?" Snape asked.

"It's… complicated" Ron sighed, trying to work his way through his thoughts. "I know that what I did was wrong, and I know that I nearly killed a person… But I can understand why I did what I did, and that makes it more bearable… Too bearable… I should be feeling guilty, I should be screaming for punishment… But I just don't care… It's fucked."

"I understand" Snape said, he knew all too well what Ron was feeling right now.

"You do?" Ron blinked, and Snape nodded slowly. "I see…" _Who the fuck did he nearly kill?_ "How did you deal with it?"

"I didn't" Snape replied. "I simply… moved on." _Moved on? How?_ "And like you, I understood why I did what I did. The man I killed… My first kill… He was a drunk, and a cruel beast of a man… One that delighted in abusing his Family at every turn… He deserved what he got." _He killed someone?!_ Ron just sat there, his eyes fixed on Snape.

"You killed a person?" Ron whispered.

"I was a Death-Eater, Ronald" Snape replied, deciding to not hold back on the boy. "I've killed many people… And once I became Albus' man, I killed many more from the shadows."

"Merlin…" Ron mumbled, he was dining with a killer. "I had… I had no idea…"

"Yes, you did" Snape told him, and Ron blinked. "You're no fool… You knew that I had spilt blood the moment you found out about my past. You just never gave it any thought because it was easier not to. Just like it is easy to come up with a reason for your actions. You don't feel any guilt for nearly killing Granger because you know that once you let yourself feel it, you'll become undone. So you bottle it up, and you **move** **on**."

"Is that your advice?" Ron asked. "Just move on… Pretend like I didn't dash her head against a wall, or try to strangle the life out of her unconscious body?"

"For now, yes" Snape nodded, and Ron couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. "A war is looming over us all, and by the end of it, all of our hands will be covered in blood. Including Granger's… You can't break down now, you don't have that luxury. Albus doesn't have that luxury. I don't have that luxury. Listen to me, Ron" Snape said firmly, his eyes locking onto Ron's. "Albus and I both know that you have some vital role to play in the war to come, and judging by everything that I've seen so far, some otherworldly force believes so too. You need to keep yourself together. And if you can't do that for yourself, then do it for your loved ones."

"Is this what it's going to be like?" Ron asked. "This war? We just kill one another and not give a damn?"

"You win the war, and then you grieve" Snape replied, and Ron rubbed his face with his hands. _Merlin help us all._ "I know that no thirteen year old should hear such a thing, but you're not just some thirteen year old. You've been in this since you were eight, those were your words. It's about time that you come face to face with the reality of what's to come. Granger… She was just one mistake… You'll make many more, and if you spend months torturing yourself over your mistakes, then you'll die somewhere along the way. And all of this will start again."

"I… I can understand where you're coming from…" Ron said, looking down at the empty plates. "You don't want me to throw the game just because I lost a knight…" Snape blinked at him, wondering if the boy was using Chess to make more sense out of his situation.

"In a manner of speaking, yes" Snape nodded, and Ron looked back up.

"I'll try to… move on…" Ron said, and then he stood up. "Thank you for dinner, Sir."

"My door is always open, Ron" Snape said. "You are not alone. Albus and I will be right by your side."

"The Headmaster…" Ron muttered, coming to a decision. "I need to speak to him." _I need to tell him that I understand now why he used Xeno, and why he Obliviated him. He was doing what I was doing last night… Protecting the Future._

"He should be in his Office right now" Snape said, and Ron nodded. "You may use my fireplace."

"Thank you" Ron said, moving over to the fireplace. Ron then took a pinch of Floo-Powder, and he cast it into the flames. "The Headmaster's Office" Ron called, and once the flames roared to life, Ron stepped through them. As he stepped into the Headmaster's Office, he couldn't help but notice how much warmer this Office was compared to Snape's.

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron looked to find the old wizard sitting behind his clawed desk. "You should be resting in the Hospital Wing."

"I couldn't sit around" Ron said, walking over to the desk. "I felt like I was drowning…" Ron then heard a soft shrill, and then Fawkes flew down onto his right shoulder. "Um… Hello, Fawkes." The Phoenix nipped at his right ear, and Ron took that as his greeting. "May I sit, Headmaster?"

"Of course" Dumbledore smiled kindly, gesturing to a seat. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shite" Ron replied, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Language, Ronald…" Dumbledore 'scolded', his eyes twinkling brightly.

"I've spent the whole day in my own head, and truth be told, it wasn't a fun experience" Ron said, relaxing into his chair. "But it did help me come to a realization."

"And what realization is that?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm a hypocrite…" Ron replied, and Dumbledore blinked at him. "Last night, I found myself in a situation that threatened to undo all of my work. And my response was violence… It just happened. There were no second thoughts, no desire to be better… I saw a potential threat, and I acted immediately. And you know what? I don't feel any guilt over it."

"You don't?" Dumbledore asked, giving Ron all of his attention.

"Not really" Ron admitted. "It's fucked up, but that's just how it is. I… I can't let myself feel it, not yet." _Snape's right. I can't spend the entire year hiding from Hermione._ "The Future is what matters, and if anyone gets in the way of my vision for it, then I won't hold back on them. But saying that… I have to apologize to you."

"Apologize to me?" Dumbledore asked.

"Your actions in Albania" Ron started, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I won't pretend like I appreciate them, because I really don't. But I think I can understand them a little better now. To you, Xeno isn't all that important. And with his help, you were able to track down the Dark Lord. And as for Obliviating him… Your goal was to stop mass panic from breaking out. Xeno would no doubt be locked up forever if he used the Dark Lord as an excuse. You did what you had to, and I had no right to throw a tantrum at you."

"That is rather mature of you, Ronald" Dumbledore smiled kindly, though he wasn't sure that he liked the sound of Ron's plans for the people who'd no doubt get in his way.

"Not really" Ron shrugged. "It was incredibly childish of me to throw that tantrum, especially after what you had just gone through."

"I accept your apology" Dumbledore said, and Ron gave him a firm nod. "And let me apologize to you as well. I shouldn't have broken my promise to you, not after the risk you took in telling Severus and I the truth."

"Apology accepted" Ron said, and he meant it. "Friends?"

"Friends" Dumbledore chuckled, glad to see that the boy was at least trying to get back to normal. _There is still one question on my mind._

"Just one thing…" Ron started, and Dumbledore listened keenly. "Why go after the Dark Lord? If there is some Prophecy that claims Harry to be the only one who can destroy You-Know-Who, then why go after him yourself?"

"Prophecies are tricky things, Ronald" Dumbledore replied. "They are often self-fulfilling, and when they are not, then people make them happen simply because they exist." _What? I don't get it._ "Take the Prophecy regarding Harry as an example. Lord Voldemort is the one who marked Harry himself because he feared Harry to be someone who could one day challenge him. But if he hadn't heard the Prophecy, he would not have attacked Harry's Family."

"He created his own nemesis?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore nodded. "What does that have to do with you going to Albania?"

"I planned to capture Lord Voldemort in his weakened state, and then have Harry destroy him" Dumbledore replied.

"That would fulfil the Prophecy…" Ron realized, and Dumbledore smiled at him. "Can it really work like that?"

"The Prophecy says nothing about **how** the Dark Lord will fall, just that Harry is the one who will do it" Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "In hindsight, my plan was riddled with flaws because it was born out of fear and desperation." _Fear and desperation?_

"It's hard to imagine you in such a state" Ron said, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"I am merely a man, Ronald" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling like two distant stars. "I am not above making mistakes, and I fear that my mistakes often shake the World down to its core."

"Well, you are the most powerful wizard alive" Ron said. "It's only fair that when you fuck up, you fuck up royally."

"Your language is something that I will have Severus fix" Dumbledore joked, making Ron smile a bit. "Care to play a game of Chess with me?"

"Chess?" Ron asked, taken aback by the request.

"I think it'll do us both some good" Dumbledore replied, conjuring his board out of thin air.

"How about you teach me the basics of Conjuration Magic instead?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore chuckled once again. _I was being serious. Teach me Spells, old man._

"How about Friday next week?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron nodded immediately. _I'll take it._

"I won't hold back on you just because you're five hundred years old" Ron smirked.

"Oh Ronald… I wouldn't dream of you doing such a thing" Dumbledore retorted, his calm smile sending alerts throughout Ron's head.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside Dumbledore's Office – Dinnertime)**_

"You cheated, and I know it" Ron frowned as he stepped past the stone gargoyle, and he heard Dumbledore chuckle from behind him. "That bird of yours was giving away my moves…" _Damn, I really underestimated him. He didn't waste any time trapping my king. I'll be more patient next time, and I'll keep my eyes peeled whenever one his pieces are 'in danger'._

"Fawkes is far too honorable to do that" Dumbledore said. The dinner bell had just sounded, which meant that the student-body was already in the Great Hall. They had both lost track of time, and in a way, Ron was grateful for the distraction.

"Shite…" Ron muttered under his breath, his eyes looking around the familiar hallway. _This is where it happened._ Ron looked to his left, his eyes falling on the spot where he had dashed Hermione's head. _It's clean. Not a speck of blood, or evidence._ He could feel his breathing weaken, and judging from his fidgety fingers, he was about to spiral into a panic attack.

"Ronald, let's go" Dumbledore said, ushering the tall boy forward. "Lingering here will not help you."

"Right…" Ron swallowed, and then he took in a deep breath. _I can't describe this feeling…_

"Everyone is entitled to a few mistakes, Ronald" Dumbledore said gently, his hand still on Ron's back. "Otherwise, none of us would ever learn a thing. Don't let the past determine the road ahead." _Right. Right. Don't look back, keep your eyes forward._

They both made their way down the Moving Staircase, and Ron couldn't help but remember his 'visions'. _Should I tell him about what I saw? I should, but after I've recollected everything. I truly saw some weird shite._ As they neared the Great Hall, Ron could hear the happy chatter emanating from inside. Ron suddenly felt an odd sense of dread fill his veins, as if he was a condemned criminal stepping into the light.

"Steady, my boy" came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron looked to him. "We mustn't give anything away… That is our burden."

"I'll be fine" Ron said, somehow managing to steel his expression. They both walked inside at that, and Ron quickly broke away from Dumbledore in order to go towards the Slytherin table. He could tell that the Golden Trio were staring at him, just like most of the other students. _Yes, I came in with Dumbledore. Now fuck off back to your meals._ Ron walked over behind the girls, hoping to sit with them so that his back would be facing the Golden Trio.

"Can I sit here tonight?" Ron asked Tracey, who just blinked at him.

"Sure, I'll move over" Tracey said, stepping out of her seat. Ron quickly sat down between Pansy and Daphne, while Tracey moved around the table to go and sit with the boys. _There. Now I don't have to see her._

"I see how it is" Theo feigned hurt, while Blaise just shook his head slowly.

"I like this arrangement better" Pansy smirked at the boys, and then she clung to Ron's left arm. "It's my new perfume, isn't it Ron? You smelled it, and it brought you straight to me." _New perfume?_ Ron leaned over and sniffed her, and then he nodded his approval.

"It is a nice scent" Ron admitted, while Pansy smiled in a rather arrogant manner.

"Why were you with Dumbledore?" Millie asked as Ron made himself a small plate.

"We were playing Chess" Ron replied.

"Who won?" Tracey asked.

"Dumbledore" Theo and Blaise said together, and Ron nodded.

"So he's better than you?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded again.

"Yes, he is" Ron replied, he knew what game she was playing. And judging by her slight pout, he had clearly thrown a wrench through it. _Maybe I was a little cruel to her, but I'm not going to apologize. She needs to learn that she isn't some special snowflake, and that if she lazes about, other people_ _ **will**_ _pass her._

"How was your free period?" Ron asked Theo, Blaise, and Millie.

"Boring" Blaise replied.

"We went to the Sanctuary in order to laze about" Theo shrugged.

"They lazed about, I actually practiced with the dummies" Millie said, and Ron shot her a smile. _Why can't they be a little more like her?_

"Good on you, Mills" Ron said, beginning his meal.

"You're not hungry?" Daphne couldn't help but ask. "You should eat a little more, Ron. Otherwise you'll get sick again." Ron looked to her, but she was just staring at his meager plate.

"Alright" Ron said, stealing a baked spud from her plate.

"Wow…" Daphne frowned slightly, her eyes fixed on his. "The spuds are right there, Ron. Give me my spud back."

"Nah…" Ron said, while the others sniggered. "I like your spuds." _Ha! I bet no one got that joke._

"They are nice spuds" Theo smirked, and Tracey smacked him instantly. "What? They are!" _Whoops._ Daphne was just giving Ron the most deadpan look that he had ever received, while Pansy and Millie were stifling their laughs.

"Thank you" Daphne said, going back to her dinner. Ron genuinely laughed at her response, he had been certain that she was going to yank his ear off.

"As riveting as this conversation is" Blaise said, a slight smile on his face. "I just think that you should know that Potter keeps looking over at you." _I see._

"By the way, good job on shutting him down today" Theo smirked.

"Shutting him down?" Pansy asked, giving Ron a curious look.

"It happened after you three left" Millie told the girls. "Potter came in asking for Ron's help about Granger being in a mood, and Ron simply shut him down."

"I didn't shut him down" Ron corrected them. _I just really didn't want to deal with their problems. I have my own right now._ "I asked Hermione if she wanted me to look into her 'Slytherin problem', and she said no. So that was that."

"Well, you did the right thing" Daphne nodded her approval. "The last thing we need is Potter and Longbottom finding a reason to come after Blaise. We don't need that kind of attention, especially considering that we're all a part of your study group now." _The study group? Oh fuck, I forgot about it. Damnit… What the fuck do I do now? Should I kick Hermione out? I really don't want to be near her._

"And he's looking over again" Tracey sighed, and then she shot Harry a frown.

"Is he angry with you for denying his request?" Pansy asked.

"No… He's probably wondering why I came in with Dumbledore" Ron replied, concentrating on his food. "He has some issue with people spending time with the old man."

"Alright then" Theo shook his head.

"Just do me a favor" Ron started. "Once dinner ends, let's rush down to the common room. I really don't want to talk to them." _The last thing I want is to have damn panic attack in the middle of the Great Hall._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

"I can't believe that we ran away from the Trio like that" Daphne frowned deeply as they entered the common room. "A Greengrass running away from… peasants… My father would be ashamed of me."

"We didn't run…" Theo quickly corrected her. "We just walked faster than usual…"

"Ron was right, they made a damn beeline for him after the bell rang" Blaise sighed, and then he began heading towards their spot. Everyone followed after him, while Ron lingered behind. _So much for keeping it together. Fuck me, how Snape and Dumbledore do it? Neither of them looked out of the ordinary tonight._

"Ron, are you coming?" Tracey asked, shooting him a look.

"Yeah…" Ron shook his head clear, and then he joined his friends.

"Ron, what was the point of avoiding them like that?" Millie asked. "They're going to be there at the study group tomorrow, so you can't really avoid them." _No, but I can ignore them._

"Mate, what's really going on with you?" Blaise asked. _Fuck me, it's like I'm friends with the Aurors Department. Constant interrogation._

"I just can't be bothered with **their** problems right now" Ron replied, and his friend just stared at him. "What? I can't get sick of being pestered, is that it?"

"No one said that" Daphne blinked at him. "Ron, what's the matter with you?" Why was he being so passive-aggressive?

"I need some air" Ron said, standing back up. _Merlin, I just want to crawl into a hole and sleep._

"Ron…" his friends all called, but Ron ignored them as he made his way towards the boys' dorms.

"Ron!" came a girl's voice, and Ron looked over to see Lysandra Yaxley waving at him. She was sitting with the first years, but there seemed to be some tension between them. _A distraction!_

"Hello, you lot" Ron walked over to them, and they greeted him back. Tori quickly hopped onto her feet and hugged his middle, digging her face into his chest. _That feels nice._ "How are all of you?" Ron asked, putting his arms around Tori's little body.

"We're doing great" Tori mumbled into his chest. "You smell nice."

"Things could be better" Derek Smith shrugged, a cupcake in his chubby hand.

"Everything would be fine if John had a spine" Sebastian Cunningham said, shooting a frown towards Johnathon Fawley.

"Piss off" John frowned back.

"What's this?" Ron asked, looking towards the girls. _Is Tori ever going to let me go? I hope not. It feels nice to be hugged like this._

"Fawley is afraid of the Hufflepuffs" one of the Carrow twins said.

"And we had to rush out of the Great Hall… again" the other Carrow twin said. _Tori told me about this yesterday. Bloody hell, it feels like ages ago for some reason._

"Mate?" Ron looked to John, who was just fidgeting with his hands.

"Cedric knew my older brother" John sighed. "And at my brother's request, he's been hounding me everywhere. I don't want to talk to him, that's all." _Diggory doesn't exactly strike me as a 'hounding individual'._

"I see" Ron nodded. _I should do something about this, right? Yeah, let's just deal with simple issues like this._ "How about you and I speak with Diggory tomorrow? At breakfast?"

"What? Why?" John asked.

"Running away from him isn't going to solve anything" Ron replied. _Wait… Isn't that what I'm doing? Ugh… Fuck it. I'm a hypocrite, might as well own it. Plus, his problems are trivial when compared to mine._ "Or you can go back to being 'hounded' everywhere that you go. Diggory doesn't strike me as a person who gives up."

"What would I even say?" John asked, while the others rolled their eyes.

"Listen to what he has to say, and then think of an appropriate response" Ron replied. "And if you can't think of one, I'll take over. Is that fair?"

"Fine…" John groaned.

"Good man" Ron nodded, and then he looked to the others. "Any other issues?"

"First years aren't allowed to join the Slytherin Quidditch Team" Sebastian replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"That's just Hogwarts tradition" Mathew Roberts said, but Sebastian scoffed.

"Tell that to Harry Potter" Sebastian shot back. "What else are we supposed to do for exercise?"

"There's always the Dueling Club" Tori said, finally letting go of Ron. _No…_

"That won't start for over a month" Sebastian whined.

"You know that you can fly your broom around whenever you want, right?" Ron asked.

"I wasn't allowed to bring my broom with me" Sebastian replied.

"I have a Nimbus 2000" Ron shrugged. "Do you want to borrow it?"

"Can I?" Sebastian blinked, genuinely surprised by Ron's generosity. _It's not like I fly it around. Don't have the time for such nonsense._

"Sure" Ron replied, and Sebastian just stared at him in awe. "I'll give it to you tomorrow. Anything else?"

"I could use a massage" Lysandra replied, and Ron blinked at her. "You look like you have strong hands…" _Is she…? Is she flirting with me? Or is her mind as damaged as Pansy's?_

"Derek, give her a massage" Ron ordered, and the chubby boy gaped at him.

"Aw…" Lysandra whined, but then she shot Ron a smile. "Thanks for the hairbrush by the way, it was really sweet of you." _Marty came through. Of course he did, that Elf is a God amongst his kind._

"Like I said, I'm here to help you all" Ron smiled back at her, he really didn't like the way she was looking him over. "Which brings me to this… I run a study group filled with people from all the Houses. It runs tomorrow after classes, and I expect you all to be there."

"What?" Lysandra blinked.

"I thought that Sunday was our study day" Sebastian said.

"We're at school" Mathew rolled his eyes. "Every day is our study day."

"If you all come down to my study group and behave, I'll take you guys to the Black Lake on Sunday" Ron told them. "Where I will teach you to blow things up. How's that?"

"You'll teach us Magic?" the Carrow twins asked together, and Ron gave them a nod.

"We're in" Mathew quickly spoke for the group.

"Good" Ron said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then. And John, I'll see you at breakfast."

"Right…" John mumbled. Ron then left the first years and headed towards his room, eager to call it a night.

"Ron, wait up" came Daphne's voice, and Ron nearly screamed.

"Yes?" Ron smiled as he turned to face her. _More questions?!_

"Can we talk for a second?" Daphne asked.

"Sure, come right in" Ron said, gesturing towards his room. Daphne cocked an eyebrow at him, and then she walked into the room. Ron followed after her, and he locked the door behind himself. "What can I do for you, Daphne?"

"Actually… The others sent me here" Daphne admitted, and Ron waited for her to go on. "You're acting odd, Ron."

"Am I?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded.

"You forget that we spend pretty much every moment by your side" Daphne told him. "It's not hard to notice when you're acting strange. Do you want to tell me what's got you bothered?"

"Not really" Ron sighed, there was no point in acting stupid. _She's too intelligent for that act._

"Alright" Daphne nodded, deciding to not push him.

"Right… So how was Divination?" Ron asked, trying to change the subject.

"It was… strange" Daphne replied. "Professor Trelawney is quite… Hmm, what's the word? Oh that's right… Insane." _Insane?_

"I'm not even surprised" Ron shook his head. "Dumbledore loves hiring crazy people…" _Wait… Sybill Trelawney? The woman who knows about the Prophecy? Why the fuck would they tell her? No, they would never tell her. She must've made the Prophecy. She's a Divination Professor, after all. I'll ask Snape about this. Just to be sure._

"Ron?" Daphne called, and he blinked at her. "You zoned out on me…"

"Sorry" Ron apologized. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Are you sure that you don't want to talk about it?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "Alright… Like I was saying… What do you think of Parvati Patil?" _What?_

"Um… She's alright" Ron said slowly, reading Daphne's face carefully. _Damn Ice-Queen persona, I can't get a read on her._

"She's the prettiest girl in class, don't you think?" Daphne asked. _IT'S A TRAP! She's trying to trap you, Ron._

"Not to me" Ron replied, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards. _Safe!_

"Good answer…" Daphne said, and then she made to leave.

"That's it?" Ron asked.

"I just came here because the others asked me to talk to you" Daphne replied. "And you were horrible to me today, Ron. I'm not going to just forget that."

"I wasn't horrible to you" Ron said, resisting the urge to frown. "You know what, Daphne? You always tell it to me like it is, so I'll pay you that same respect. Saying things like 'it happens' won't make your problems go away. If anything, it makes you sound incredibly conceited, and personally, I don't like people like that. **Nobody** likes people like that. I'm not upset that you lost to Hermione, why would I be? It's your attitude that vexed me, and you're still doing it. So don't expect me to apologize to you, not this time. Goodnight." Daphne just blinked at him, and then she stormed out of the room.

"Fuck me…" Ron muttered, shutting the door. "I wish I could just say that 'it happens', and then simply move on…"

* * *

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"It'll be fine" Ron assured John, who was looking more and more fidgety. They were currently walking over to the Hufflepuff table in the hopes of talking to Diggory.

"I don't know about this…" John whined. "I haven't told my parents yet… I haven't told anyone…"

"Which is probably why your brother asked Diggory to check up on you" Ron said. "He's a good bloke, John. He's not going to do whatever you think that he's going to do." Diggory spotted them at that, and he's eyes were immediately fixed on John. Diggory then got out of his chair and walked right up to them, a weak smile on his handsome face. "Hello, Diggory" Ron greeted him.

"Hi" Diggory greeted back, still looking at John. "I've been trying to talk to you for ages, John."

"Hi, Cedric" John said, his tone less than enthusiastic. _I'm guessing that they know each other._

"How are you, mate?" Diggory asked John. "Are you… Are you doing well?"

"I am" John nodded weakly. _Ugh… Enough with the angst._

"John here has been dreading his conversation with you" Ron jumped in, and Diggory looked to him. "He thinks that you're going to shame him for being sorted into Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff…"

"I would never do that" Diggory said quickly, shooting John a hurt look. _By Merlin… He's handsome even when he's hurt._

"Which is what I told him" Ron said. "Look… He's trying his best to adjust to his… confusing… sorting, so if you could please just show him some support, he'd be really grateful."

"Anything" Diggory said, shooting John a smile. "John… Your brother was one of my best mates, and I stayed at your house more than once. I've just been worried about you, that's all. Now I might've taken things a little too far, but it's because you kept avoiding me so openly. I was worried that someone was twisting your arm."

"It's not like that" John quickly assured Diggory. "I'm just panicking a little…"

"About your Family?" Diggory asked, and John nodded. "Well, your brother already knows. And he really doesn't care."

"You told him?" John blinked, and Diggory nodded.

"He doesn't care, and neither will your parents" Diggory replied. "They just want to know if you're doing well, nothing more. Just send them a letter… Your brother has been bombarding me, constantly asking me to keep you under my eye."

"There's no need for that" Ron jumped in. "I've been where he is now, and I'm helping him through it."

"He is" John said, and Diggory flashed Ron a grateful smile.

"He's going to be just fine, I promise" Ron swore. "And he'll send that letter as well."

"I… I will" John nodded, and Diggory looked genuinely relieved.

"Slytherin is just a House, and at the end of the day, we're all students of Hogwarts" Diggory told John. "Don't ever feel like you're not welcome with the Hufflepuffs, because you are." _His first line was rather inspiring. I might steal that._

"Thanks, Cedric" John smiled a little more fully.

"Yay, happy ending" Ron joked, earning a chuckle out of the two boys. "Thanks, Diggory. I appreciate you being so understanding. He's been nothing but nerves, and with this, he can finally start enjoying Hogwarts."

"It's no worries, and please, call me Cedric" Cedric smiled, and Ron couldn't help but smile back.

"Damn… You're one handsome bloke…" Ron said, genuinely meaning it.

"Thanks" Ceric chuckled, while John blinked at Ron.

"You've heard of my study group, right?" Ron asked, and Cedric nodded.

"Everyone's heard of it" Cedric replied with a bright smile.

"Why don't you and your friends join us?" Ron asked. "It would mean a lot to Justin and the other Hufflepuffs."

"Um… Sure" Cedric nodded slowly, it wouldn't hurt to show the other Hufflepuffs some support. "After classes today?"

"That's right" Ron smiled. "John and I will see you there."

"Alright" Cedric nodded. "I'll see you there then." And with that, Cedric left for his table.

"There, it all worked out" Ron said to John.

"For both of us" John noted, his blue eyes fixed on Ron. _He saw through that? Clever lad._

"Rule number one, John" Ron started, both of them walking back to the Slytherin table. "A Slytherin uses any means to get ahead. Be it a conversation, a confrontation, or even just a passing look. You always work to make your goals happen, that's how you win."

"And your study group is some sort of… ploy?" John asked.

"Not really" Ron replied. "It is a genuine group that I'm using to promote House Unity, because Cedric was right. We're all just students of Hogwarts in the end, and being divided doesn't help anyone. The fact that my group is actually working proves that point."

"But you get the laurels" John said, and Ron smirked.

"See, you were meant to be in Slytherin" Ron patted John's back, and John smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Ron" John said. "You've been really great during this week…"

"Ron, do you have a minute?" came Harry's voice, and both Ron and John stopped. Harry quickly approached them, followed by his shadows. _For fucks sake!_

"Hello" Ron greeted them, keeping his eyes away from Hermione. _I can't even have breakfast without them showing up._ "This is John Fawley, a first year Slytherin. John, these are…"

"You're Harry Potter" John muttered, staring right at Harry.

"Um… Yeah…" Harry 'smiled', he was clearly uncomfortable at meeting another fan. "Nice to meet you, John Fawley."

"That's me…" John mumbled, a smile creeping onto his face. _Oh look, Harry has another fangirl._

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Hermione asked. "In private?" _She always fucking says that._

"I'm actually spending some time with the first years…" Ron replied, smiling at John. _Go away. Go away. Go away._

"I just wanted ask about Dumbledore…" Harry started, and Ron looked him dead in the eyes.

"We played Chess together, he beat me, and then we walked down here together" Ron said, fighting the urge to smack Harry around the Great Hall. _Jealous cur!_

"Right…" Neville said slowly, giving Ron a guarded look.

"You guys play a lot Chess, huh?" Harry asked, looking rather subdued.

"You play with the Headmaster himself?" John asked, gaping at Ron. "Like Dumbledore… You play Chess with him? Like an equal?" _Thank you for making this worse, John. Superb job. Do you want a gold star? Or perhaps a black eye?_

"Ron, everything alright?" came Blaise's voice, and Ron nearly swooned.

"Yeah, John and I were just about to join you guys" Ron said, ushering John to move. "I'll see you three later." With that, Ron moved past the Trio and joined Blaise. "Nice timing" Ron whispered.

"Figured that you needed rescuing" Blaise whispered back.

"John, why don't you rejoin your mates?" Ron suggested, and John nodded slowly before breaking away from them.

"What did they want?" Blaise asked.

"Same fucking thing I told you about" Ron shook his head. "Harry wanted to know why he doesn't get to impale himself on Dumbledore's wrinkly cock."

"Merlin…" Blaise shuddered. "Too vivid…"

"Whatever…"

* * *

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Classroom – After Breakfast)**_

"Maybe you shouldn't have come, Ron" Tracey whispered to him, while Ron averted his gaze from Snape's.

"I don't want to sit around…" Ron whispered back, looking up to see black eyes digging for his soul. _Oh Merlin._

"You've been acting really off ever since you got sick" Tracey whispered. "Ron, you're starting to worry me."

"It's all fine" Ron whispered back.

"Do you two want to give the lecture?" Snape asked them, glaring right at Ron. "You certainly enjoy talking, so why don't you come up here and give the lecture."

"I mean… If that's what you want…" Ron muttered, making multiple people snigger. Snape grabbed a piece of chalk and hurled it at Ron, hitting him on the right side of his forehead. _Ow._ Even the Gryffindors sniggered at that, while Tracey slowly shifted away from him.

"Silence!" Snape hissed, utterly vexed by how stubborn Ron was. _Motherfucker has the aim of a Professional Quidditch Chaser._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Tracey, can you pass me the Newt eyes?" Ron asked, and he waited. And he waited. And he waited. "Trace, the eyes?" Ron looked to her, but she was eyeing the Golden Trio. "Sweetheart, are you done gazing at Neville's crotch?"

"What?" Tracey looked to him, and he frowned at her.

"Pass me the eyes" Ron ordered.

"Oh… Sorry" Tracey shook her head clear, and then she passed him the eyes. Ron quickly added them to the Potion and began stirring, hoping to Merlin that he didn't wait too long. "I keep noticing them looking at you. Especially Granger… Ron, what happened with them this morning?"

"Nothing happened" Ron replied. "They once again decided to throw their bloody problems at my feet… It's always the same. Never do they come to me for just a simple chat. No… They just come over to complain, or to beg…"

"Alright" Tracey said slowly, shooting a look behind her to see Daphne and Pansy. "And what's wrong with you and Daphne?"

"Crush the snake fangs, please" Ron said, waving his wand over the Potion.

"Well?" Tracey asked, doing as she was told. "I think I heard her crying last night."

"What?" Ron looked to Tracey.

"That was a lie" Tracey smirked, and Ron clenched his jaw. "So you said something mean to her again, didn't you?"

"I… No, I didn't" Ron looked back to the Potion. "I simply told her that I didn't like her attitude when it came to losing."

"Ohhh, not a smart move" Tracey clicked her tongue. "She hates losing more than anything, so you definitely hit a nerve with her."

"If she hates losing, then shouldn't she work to be better?" Ron asked.

"If only human beings were so simple" Tracey sighed, passing Ron the crushed fangs.

"Sometimes, simple is what's best" Ron shrugged. "I'm sick of 'complicated' people…"

"That's rich coming from you" Tracey chuckled. _Is it? Maybe I'm sick of not being simple?_

"Look, she's upset right now" Ron started. "And so she'll pout, and whine, and make sure that I know how hurt she is. But the moment I apologize, she'll just smirk because she got her way. Enough is enough. I want her to just… To just give a damn. You know?"

"Um… No, I don't" Tracey replied. "You think she doesn't give a damn? Are you retarded?"

"I'm not saying that she doesn't care about people, because trust me, I know that she does" Ron sighed. "I just want her to work a little harder at things. To venture out and learn something 'unladylike' for once. I'm not asking for much here, just this one simple thing. Didn't I learn how to be a 'proper Pure-Blood'?"

"You did" Tracey slowly nodded.

"I did that because I needed to improve" Ron said. "I did it because I understood that I wouldn't survive for long if I didn't learn their ways. Even you've done that, Trace. She's clearly bothered by her defeat at Hermione's hand, but she's not making a proactive change. She's just… whining. Making excuses. I just… I don't have it in me to deal with that right now. I just need a fucking second here…" Tracey just stared at Ron, wondering if he was still talking about Daphne.

"Ron?" Tracey whispered, edging closer to him. "You are alright, aren't you?"

"He wasn't meant to kill them!" came his own voice, and Ron's head jerked up. _What the fuck was that?_

"Ron?" Tracey repeated, this time her voice sounded more like a whimper.

"He was just supposed to find the locket!" his own voice echoed, and it felt like it was bouncing around the room. _What locket? What's happening? Oh fuck… Am I about to have another headache? Oh no, no, no…_ "He… He fucking killed them… Oh Merlin… No…"

"Mr. Weasley?" came Snape's voice, and Ron looked to him with a startled look. Something flashed behind Snape's eyes, and then he shot a look towards a worried Tracey.

"Sir?" Ron asked, barely keeping his composure.

"If you are feeling unwell, then perhaps you should go lie down" Snape said, his eyes meeting Ron's.

"I'm… I'm fine…" Ron 'smiled', he didn't want to be alone.

"Very well" Snape said, slowly moving on to another table.

"You're scaring me…" Tracey whispered, her fingers intertwining with his. Ron looked to her, and he noticed that she was trying to keep a straight face. "It's not your brain-damage, is it?" Tracey whispered.

"No, Tracey" Ron assured her. "I'm still a bit feverish, and this lab is hotter than hell. Do you mind taking over the cauldron? I can't take the heat."

"Okay…" Tracey said, pulling his left hand up and kissing it. "You'll tell us if you're in trouble, right?"

"Who else would I tell?" Ron forced on another smile. "C'mon… The Potion might get ruined if we don't hurry up." _What in the actual fuck was that about a locket? What locket? Wait… Didn't I see a Future version of me holding a locket? What did he say? R.A.B… Initials? I need to shift through these thoughts. They're clearly important. And I need to figure out these new types of visions._

* * *

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Classroom – Right Before Lunch)**_

"Only three pairs managed to craft this basic Potion…" Snape hissed at them, his eyes shooting between everyone menacingly. "Are you all that incompetent? Or do you simply get a kick out of ruining my day? Detention! All of you! The three pairs who got the Potion correct, you are exempt from punishment." _Oh thank Merlin._ "Not you, Longbottom" Snape hissed, noticing the idiot boy smiling because Granger made the Potion for him. "Granger is excused from detention, but not you."

"We did it…" Tracey whispered, shooting Ron a victorious smirk. The bell rang suddenly, and everyone began to pack up. Most of them looked rather crestfallen, while Ron, Tracey, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Hermione looked rather relieved. _Neville looks devastated, but then again, Hermione did do all of the work. And yet, he let Crabbe off when Malfoy clearly made the Potion by himself._

"Mr. Weasley, stay behind" Snape said suddenly, and Ron looked up at him. "Granger, you as well." _What the…?_ Everyone else quickly left the room, while Ron just kept his eyes fixed on Snape. _Why is he doing this? Why is he putting me in a room with her?_ Once everyone had scurried away, Snape looked to Hermione with a cold stare.

"Did I do something wrong, Professor?" Hermione asked, looking towards Ron for a moment. He was still ignoring her… She hadn't said anything about it, but she had noticed him ignoring her outright.

"Your Potion was… perfect" Snape said, clearly not happy about admitting that. "Even with that oaf Longbottom sabotaging you, you still succeeded. Color me… impressed. You will attend my Potions Club next week. Don't be late." Hermione blinked at him, his words stunning her completely. "You may leave." _Good for her… But what the fuck?! I'm dropping Potions Club. Fuck it. I don't need his tutelage._

"I… Um… I'll be there, Professor…" Hermione stammered, slowly turning to leave. She then turned back around, her lips curling up uncontrollably. "I won't disappoint you, I promise! Thank you, Professor! Thank you!"

"Thank me by leaving already" Snape frowned at her overly joyous reaction.

"Bye, Professor!" Hermione smiled from ear to ear, and then she quickly left the room. Ron couldn't help but shoot her a look, and he noticed an actual skip in her step.

"That was so kind of you" Ron said once she was gone. "Look, I know that you and I had dinner together last night… But that doesn't give you the right to fuck me!"

"Ten points from Slytherin" Snape scowled at Ron. "And if you take that tone with me again, I'll make you clean Filch's Office with your tongue."

"Why would you put her in your Club?" Ron asked, ignoring Snape's threat.

"I… I have my reasons…" Snape said, not wanting to admit that he had felt slightly guilty about cheating her.

"Great… I'm dropping your Club" Ron said.

"No, you're not" Snape frowned at him. "You will attend it every week."

"I can't be near her…" Ron admitted. "I can't even look at her… Just thinking about her sends me into a panic…"

"So you're just going to tuck tail and run?" Snape asked. "No wonder you've failed four hundred and sixty three times already…" Ron blinked at Snape, and then his temper skyrocketed.

" _ **You DARE?!**_ " Ron yelled, and Snape completely lost his composure.

"Merlin…" Snape muttered as he stumbled back, his wide-eyes looking into Ron's. "Entity…"

"What?" Ron blinked, and then he realized that his voice had changed again. _What the fuck?_ Ron quickly ran over to the closest mirror, and he checked his reflection. His blood froze because of what he saw. _Merlin… What is this…?_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well there it is! Now from now on, there will be an update on every Monday! I'm juggling a lot of stuff at the moment, and I really do need some balance in my life. My social life has taken a bit of a nose dive because of my two-chapters a week commitment, so I'm going to try the weekly chapter thing.**

 **So, I'll see you all on Monday!**


	71. Chapter 71 - A New Lead

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 71 is finished earlier than planned, and instead of waiting until Monday, I figured that I'd upload it now. No one likes waiting, right? Anyway, a couple of things before you can read on:**

 **1\. As it turns out, I've been messing up my punctuation for a while now. Sorry about that. To the reviewer who pointed this out to me, thanks! Starting from the next chapter, I'll do my best to keep the punctuation right and proper.**

 **2\. Criticism is always welcome, especially when it's constructive. So please, don't hesitate to point out any errors that you find. I want to make this story a fun-read, and bad grammar does put people off sometimes. So once again, thank you to the people who are helping me improve my writing. This is a team-effort people!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 71 – A New Lead**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Classroom – Before Lunch)**_

"What the hell?" Ron mumbled, staring at his reflection. The areas around his eye sockets were pitch black, almost as if they were engulfed by shadows. And in the middle of his shadowy features were two crimson, toad-like eyes. "What the hell?" Ron mumbled again, looking towards Snape with a panicked look. "What the hell?!" Snape didn't even respond, he was too busy staring at Ron with a slightly ajar mouth.

"They're back…" Snape suddenly whispered, blinking at Ron as if he had never seen the boy before. Ron quickly looked back into the mirror, and much to his surprise, his ocean blue eyes were back. _What?_

"Tell me that I didn't imagine that" Ron said, looking back to Snape.

"You didn't…" Snape said, still eyeing Ron with a shocked expression. "Ron… What was that?"

"I don't know" Ron slowly shook his head, and then he stared back into the mirror. "I don't know…"

"Has that happened before?" Snape asked, his Occlumency failing him.

"No…" Ron shook his head again. "Not that I know of…"

"The Headmaster…" Snape suddenly said, and Ron looked back to him. "We need to speak with Albus right now."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"This cannot be a good sign" Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his chin. Snape and Ron had all but rushed up here in order to speak with the old wizard, who himself was left rather disturbed by their tale.

"Is **it** trying to take control of the boy?" Snape asked Dumbledore, who simply just sat there.

"The boy?" Ron asked, shooting a frown at Snape. "I'm right here, Sir. And no… It can't do that."

"How do you know this?" Snape asked, looking towards Ron. "This… **demon** … is an unknown variable to us all. None of us know what it's truly capable of."

"It can't possess me" Ron repeated. "Fate would smite its arse into oblivion… Again."

"Fate?" Dumbledore asked, breaking out of his thoughts.

"Um… Yeah" Ron nodded slowly. "I spoke with the Entity yesterday, and it told me that it was bound to me by 'Fate'. I don't really know what that means, but I'm guessing that she won't allow it to possess me."

"Alright…" Dumbledore started, his old features paling slightly.

"This is insane…"Snape muttered under his breath.

"Let's put this 'Fate' business aside for a moment" Dumbledore went on. "You mentioned that the Entity was injured by 'Fate'… When did that happen?" _Shite, I need to be careful._

"Last school year" Ron replied, and both wizards waited for him to go on. "The Entity tried to kill me because we got into an argument, and then out of nowhere, this pillar of light slammed down on it… It clearly hurt the Entity, judging by its screams, and I was sent back to the real World." _That's actually true. Let's just keep its imprisonment to myself._

"Real World?" Snape asked.

"It's a little complicated, and I don't really understand it myself" Ron admitted. "But there's this Hogwarts inside of me…"

"Is it colorless?" Dumbledore cut in, and Ron blinked at him.

"Yeah… How did you know that?" Ron asked, eyeing the old man carefully.

"Is that where you ended up being trapped when you used Legilimency on him?" Snape asked, and Ron quickly caught up. _So that's where he ran into the Entity? Bloody hell._

"It was" Dumbledore nodded. "This makes sense…" _It does?_

"Can you please tell us?" Ron asked. "I'd like some answers about that place."

"In a way, that Hogwarts is your mind Ronald" Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded because he already understood that much. "It seems to me that the Entity has shaped your mind into a fortress, because despite Hogwarts being a school, it **was** created to be a fortress. Perhaps it did this for your benefit, or perhaps it did this to satiate its own ego. But regardless, this 'Hogwarts' is your mind."

"And what if this 'Dream Hogwarts' was… damaged?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore blinked at him.

"Is it damaged?" Snape asked quickly.

"Pretty badly…" Ron said slowly, and Snape looked towards Dumbledore with a grave look. "It's all twisted and cracked…" _What did the Entity say? Oh yeah… It 'damaged my subconscious in an effort to heal my brain-damage'. I need to get a checkup done soon._

"It was in perfect condition when I went there" Dumbledore whispered, his eyes becoming heavy. _He went there after my Duel with Harry. Was I made 'insane' before that, or after? If it was after, then maybe the Entity was right. Fate may have actually caused my brain-damage when she 'healed' me._

"So it's bad, huh?" Ron sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. _Fucking hell, I'm in some deep shite._ Ron suddenly felt Snape pat his back, and he looked to see the Potions Master giving him a serious look.

"We will figure something out, Ron" Snape said, and Ron gave him a weak smile. Dumbledore just watched the exchange quietly, a faint smile coming to his lips. "Albus, how do we proceed?"

"A checkup is needed, in my opinion" Dumbledore replied. "We need to determine if Ronald's brain-damage is getting worse."

"And if it is?" Ron asked. _Didn't the Entity heal the damage caused by myself? Can it still keep doing that? It looked to be in a really sorry state the last time I spoke with it._

"Then we will know that your brain-damage is linked to the Hogwarts inside of your mind" Snape replied. "After that, we'll do everything in our power to keep it from getting worse."

"What if… What if there's nothing that can be done?" Ron asked. _What if it's already terminal? Didn't Healer Bernard say that? That it could kill me?_

"Don't think like that" Dumbledore told him, his expression showing his concern.

"I have to think like that" Ron countered, looking right into Dumbledore's eyes. "I need to be certain of my own Future if I'm to help change everyone else's. And… And if I'm going to be dead before long… Then there are a few things that I need to get in order, don't I?" _I need to tell them about my new visions. Maybe they can find out who R.A.B is. And this 'locket'._

"I have to tell you both something" Ron went on, deciding to let them in. "When I was having my 'headache', I saw things… Visions of myself… But here's the thing, the Entity can't see my Future. I'm an 'anomaly in Time', and therefore, I'm exempt from its power."

"So it shouldn't be able to give you visions about yourself?" Snape asked slowly, trying to get his head around the odd terminology.

"Exactly" Ron nodded. "I don't think that those visions were of me. I think that I was seeing my past lives."

"Why do you suspect that?" Dumbledore asked.

"There was a Hufflepuff version of me that died in an explosion of some sort" Ron replied, and Dumbledore let out a sigh. "And there was another version of me… I think that he was in Ravenclaw… He was killing his fellow students for some reason."

"What?" Snape asked, his eyes widening slightly. _The Ron in the black suit._

"Susan Bones, Cho Chang, Cedric Diggory, Max McDean…" Ron tried to remember some of the bodies. "I could barely recognize them because of how damaged their corpses were. Susan had her head in her lap…"

"Merlin…" Snape breathed out, pinching the bridge of his long nose.

"I'm sorry that you saw something so grotesque, Ronald" Dumbledore piped in.

"I'm used to it" Ron shrugged, thinking back to his other visions. "I'm used to seeing death… Anyway, we're getting off topic. There was one version of me that said something that stuck out to me. R.A.B…"

"R.A.B?" Dumbledore repeated, and Ron nodded.

"I think that those are initials" Ron said. "Whoever this R.A.B was, he wasted that Ron's time and effort."

"R.A.B" Snape muttered. "I know those initials…"

"You do?" Ron asked, looking straight at the perplexed Potions Master.

"Regulus Arcturus Black" Snape replied, and then he looked to Dumbledore. _Black?_

"Sirius' younger brother" Dumbledore remembered, and Ron gaped at him.

"Sirius has a brother?" Ron asked.

" **Had** " Snape corrected, and Ron blinked at him. _He's dead?_ "Regulus disappeared at the end of the Great War. No one knows what became of him, but in my honest opinion, he died."

"He can't be dead" Ron said. "He got in the way of a past version of me. And this version of me was older than I am."

"Perhaps he went into hiding?" Dumbledore suggested, and Snape looked rather bewildered.

"He wouldn't do that" Snape replied. "I was one year above Regulus, and we shared a friendship of sorts. A friendship born from our mutual disdain of Sirius Black." _I'm so confused right now._ "Regulus was a fanatic when it came to the Dark Lord. He worshipped the Dark Lord his entire life. He, like myself, took the brand right out of Hogwarts. But then we began playing our part in the war, and Regulus… He didn't take the reality of the war well."

"He didn't flee?" Dumbledore asked.

"He had nowhere to go" Snape shrugged. "None of us did. I only came to you because of…" _Because of?_ "No, he didn't flee. He went on a mission with the Dark Lord, and then I never heard from him again."

"What was the mission?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"No one knows" Snape replied. "It was something top secret, and Regulus was extremely tight-lipped about it. And then, he was just gone."

"Then he is most likely dead" Dumbledore nodded slowly. _Poor Sirius. I didn't even know that he had a brother._ "But this raises the question… Why was a past version of Ronald thinking about him?"

"Actually…" Ron started, doing his best to recall his 'vision'. "That Ron had something in his hand. A locket…" _A locket?! Same fucking locket?!_

"A locket?" Dumbledore asked, watching Ron's eyes widen as he came to some realization.

"Today, in class, I heard this voice…" Ron started. "It was my own voice, and he was grieving because someone had died because of him. He also mentioned a locket…"

"You had a vision in my class?" Snape asked. "And you didn't tell me?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Ron asked Snape. "Oh hey Professor, don't mind the crowd around us, but I'm hearing things again. I think I'm having a vision, you know, because I'm possessed by an Old God…" _Bloody moron._ "Anyway… I heard this other version of me sobbing about a locket. I think that it might've been the same locket."

"What did this locket look like?" Dumbledore asked.

"Um… It was gold…" Ron remembered. "Yeah… That's all I can remember. Sorry, I was in a lot of pain."

"A golden locket…" Dumbledore mused, rubbing his chin once again. "One that two separate versions of you tried to find. And then there is the R.A.B connection… Severus, we might have another Horcrux on our hands." _A Horcrux?_

"Another one?" Snape asked, the Dark Lord had split his soul twice?

"Excuse me?" Ron raised his hand. "What's going on? I'm kind of lost…"

"Albus, what makes you think that this locket is a Horcrux?" Snape asked, his face dead-serious now. _What is a Horcrux?_

"Why else would two separate versions of Ronald look for it?" Dumbledore asked in return. "It's clear that Ronald's life is tied to the Dark Lord's demise, and therefore, it stands to reason that this locket is tied to the Dark Lord. Perhaps Regulus played some part in its creation… A Horcrux cannot be made without murder."

"That makes sense" Snape nodded slowly.

"Um… Please let me in on this" Ron raised his hand again, and Dumbledore looked to him. "What's a Horcrux?" Dumbledore went to reply, but he stopped himself.

"Lunch will begin soon" Dumbledore said, and Ron blinked at him. "Ronald… Severus… Come by my Office tonight after dinner. We have plans to make."

"I have Astronomy" Ron pointed out.

"Use my note" Snape told him, and Ron nodded slowly. _Guess I'll skip class then._

"Alright…" Ron said. "And what about my appearance and voice changing? What do we do about that?"

"We will discuss that tonight as well" Dumbledore replied. "Come, let's eat."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunchtime)**_

"So he just wants me to get better at Dueling?" Daphne asked Tracey, who shrugged in response. Daphne was currently trying to figure out what Ron's real problem with her was, and thankfully, Tracey had done some investigating for her.

"I think that Ron felt upset with your lack of motivation" Tracey replied, and Daphne blinked at her. "Not that you don't have any… It's just that you… You were a bit snobbish, truth be told."

"Snobbish?" Daphne repeated, and Tracey shrugged again. "I was upset at being embarrassed in front of the entire class. Why can't he see that?"

"Actually…" Tracey started, giving Daphne a sheepish smile. "He knows that you were upset because of your defeat." _So he knows?_ "He just doesn't feel the need to pamper you…"

"Pamper me?" Daphne asked. "He said that?"

"What? No" Tracey shook her head. "Daphne, what do you want to hear? He doesn't like people being lazy, we all know that, and you were, in a way, being lazy. And you know Ron, he has a fetish for people who work hard. And Granger, despite being insufferable, clearly worked hard to learn Non-verbal Magic. He respects that about her, and when you made that comment, he snapped." _Ron does love the concept of hard work. Wait… Is that why he's always friendly with Granger? He doesn't like her, does he?_

"Hello" came Ron's voice, and Daphne jumped a little. _Merlin, my heart nearly exploded._

"Why are you sitting over there?" Pansy asked, staring at Ron as he sat in between Theo and Blaise. "Ron… I put on that perfume again for you…" _This bitch…_

"Theo, move" Ron ordered, and Theo gaped at him.

"Um… Suck my cock?" Theo suggested instead, and Daphne quickly pushed that image out of her mind.

"Theo, you're really vulgar" Tracey sighed, and then she grinned at him. "I love it."

"This is why she's my favorite" Theo told the rest of them, giving each of them a 'sad' look. _Do you two want to start snogging already? The rest of us are just waiting here._

"What did Snape want?" Millie asked Ron.

"Well, he put Hermione in the Potions Club" Ron started, and everyone blinked at him. "So I guess I'll be spending every Wednesday evening with her. We're both the only third years there, so he'll definitely partner us up." _What?_ Daphne felt a tightness in her chest at that, and she barely kept her face straight. _No… I barely get to see him as it is._

"So Granger is officially a part of his exclusive club?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded. "That explains why she's practically bursting with joy." Ron shot a look towards the Gryffindor table, but his expression didn't even change.

"Good on her" Ron said, looking back down at the food in front of him. _Good, he doesn't seem very happy about it. Damn it, Daphne. Get a hold of yourself. Ron likes you, and you alone. He's said that multiple times, and we've already crossed a few lines together._

"Daphne? Are you alright?" Pansy asked, shooting Daphne a look of concern.

"I'm fine" Daphne replied quickly, noticing that Ron was more interested in making his plate than looking at her. _He's still upset with me. He's not going to crack this time, I can feel it._

"So… What do you guys want to do after lunch?" Tracey asked the group. "We all have a free period next, and Astronomy isn't happening until ten tonight."

"We have Ron's study group" Millie said, and then she looked towards Theo. "Make sure that you behave, Theo."

"Me?" Theo asked. "Why me in particular?"

"You have a penchant for being a smart-arse" Pansy replied for Millie, who simply gave a curt nod.

"Your lack of faith disturbs me" Theo stated, feigning hurt.

"You stole that from Star Wars" Tracey blinked at him, and everyone looked to her.

"What is 'Star Wars'?" Ron asked slowly.

"A Muggle movie…" Tracey replied, looking back down at her plate. "Never mind…"

"What's it about?" Theo asked, and everyone looked to him. "It sounds interesting… Mind telling us, Tracey?" _Is he…? Wow. He's actually being really sweet right now._

"I don't know…" Tracey mumbled. "It's a long story, and you probably wouldn't understand it."

"Is it about Stars fighting one another?" Daphne asked, trying to help her best friend open up.

"Um… No" Tracey replied.

"Does it have something to do with the Stars?" Blaise asked. "Like Astronomy?"

"In a way, yeah…" Tracey nodded slowly.

"Go on" Blaise said, his interest riled up.

"Alright…" Tracey said slowly, and then she took in a deep breath. "Basically, it's about…"

* * *

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Sanctuary – After Lunch)**_

Ron had decided to restart his 'Circuit Training' because he had been neglecting it all week, and so everyone had followed him up to the Sanctuary. Tracey, Theo, Blaise, and Daphne were currently doing their History of Magic homework, while Pansy and Millie were just relaxing on the couches. But truth be told, all four girls were focusing their attention on Ron as he started his third set. It was a… thrilling… sight.

"He looks really hot under his clothes" Pansy noted, a sly smile on her face. "Look at him… He's sweating so much." _Uh-huh._ "I'm just saying that he'd find it easier to exercise if he wasn't wearing his top."

"Go tell him that" Tracey said, outright eyeing Ron as if he was a piece of meat. "Please."

"You reckon he'll let me train with him?" Millie asked, watching Ron's exercise with an analytical eye. "I should probably just stick to running for now. Maybe once I get used to that, I can start this 'Circuit Training' with him.

"Tracey, what did you get for…?" Blaise started, but Tracey shushed him with a deep frown.

"I'm trying to watch here" Tracey hissed, and then she looked back to Ron. Daphne figured that she'd feel more jealous if she herself wasn't 'watching' Ron. _I'll be jealous later. Merlin, how many pushups has he done so far?_

"Wow…" came Theo's voice, who was now looking between Ron and the girls. "He's a human being, so stop drooling over him as if he were a morsel."

"Whatever, skinny…" Pansy waved him off, her eyes fixed on Ron's arse.

"Fucking Ronald Weasley…" Theo sighed, looking back to his homework.

"Daphne, go ask him to do some more squats" Tracey nudged her, and Daphne broke out of her intense staring contest with Ron's arms.

"What was that?" Daphne asked, shooting Tracey a quick look.

"Ask him to do more squats" Tracey repeated. "I want to see them again."

"What if he stops?" Daphne asked, watching Ron go up and down.

"Oh… You're right" Tracey nodded quickly, feeling some odd tingle in her stomach as she watched Ron's intense expression. "Doesn't he look like he's in pain?"

"Probably is…" Daphne shrugged, not really caring about that right now. _I bet his muscles are burning up. Hmmmmmm._

"Ron! They're perving on you!" Theo yelled, and Ron stopped mid pushup.

"You fucking prick…" Tracey hissed, all of them looking away from Ron. All of them except for Millie, who wasn't really perving on Ron.

"You're an arse…" Pansy hissed, glaring murder at a smirking Theo. Daphne slowly looked back towards Ron, and he was staring back at her. _Oh no._ Ron's lips twitched into a smirk, and he continued his pushups. _What was that? He doesn't mind? Wait… I think he likes it… That's enough permission for me._ Daphne resumed her watch, glad that Ron wasn't stopping because of such a minor inconvenience.

"And he's back" Tracey grinned, planting her head on her palms.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had finished up his Circuit Training, and now he was practicing against three dummies at once. Daphne could see that he was exhausted, and that he was barely managing to stay ahead of the Jinxes, but he was still trying his best. It definitely impressed her, and oddly enough, it made her feel a bit ashamed. _Maybe making that comment wasn't exactly appropriate. I mean, Granger did perform Non-verbal Magic. And that's no joke. She probably spent hours practicing that, and I probably came across as a bit… bitchy… for neglecting that fact._

Daphne shook her head clear, refocusing her attention on Ron. He was bloody quick, even in his tired state, but Daphne could see him slipping. He was just dodging Jinxes at this point, the combined assault of three dummies was too much for him. But then, Ron suddenly fired a quick Stunner towards one dummy, knocking it to the ground. Daphne's eyes widened as Ron swirled in his spot, a Stinging Jinx flying past his head. Ron then brought up his wand and fired another Stunner, taking down the second dummy. _He's going to win!_

Just as Daphne felt giddy at Ron's incoming victory, the redhead's left foot slipped. Ron immediately took a Jinx to the chest, which sent him rolling onto his back. _Ouch!_ Ron however, rolled back and recovered his footing. Daphne saw Ron's mouth move as he pointed his left hand at the last dummy, and a green ethereal serpent fired out of Ron's hand. _Wandless Magic? Wait… I've seen him cast that Spell before. How did I never notice until now?_ The ghostly serpent bound the dummy, and Ron yanked his left arm back as hard as he could.

"YAGH!" Ron yelled, and the dummy was literally shattered into a thousand pieces. The sound of wood exploding made everyone jump in their seats, and all eyes went straight to Ron. _Sweet Circe…_ Daphne's eyes widened because, for just a second, she thought that Ron's eyes were red. _Was that because of the lighting?_

"Ron?" Millie called, and Ron looked to them. Daphne looked straight into his blue eyes, and her heartbeat relaxed slightly. _I was just seeing things._ "Is everything alright?" Millie asked slowly, and Ron blinked at her. His chest was heaving in and out, and he was glistening because of his sweat.

"Yeah…" Ron said, looking back to the shattered dummy. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Bloody hell" Tracey whispered in Daphne's ear. "Imagine if that was a person…"

"I'd really rather not" Daphne whispered back, Ron was a bit too scary sometimes. _Isn't that the Spell that he used against Madam Roberts? He could've easily killed her if he wanted to. She underestimated him, and he nearly beat her._ A voice in the back of Daphne's head told her that she had underestimated Granger, and that's why she had lost.

"He is going to smash through this Dueling Club, isn't he?" Blaise asked, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"I'm going to go join him" Millie said, but Daphne quickly shot out of her seat.

"Actually… Can I join him instead?" Daphne asked Millie, who blinked at her. "Please?" _What am I doing?_

"Okay" Millie nodded, deciding to let Daphne make up with Ron.

"Thanks" Daphne said, and then she began making her way over to the sandpit. _What do I say? Should I apologize? No, that would just show weakness. What if I ask him to help me learn from my mistake? I really don't want to lose to Granger again, and maybe he'll respect that._

"Ron? Can I talk to you?" Daphne asked, walking right up to his back. Ron turned to face her, his face expressionless and sweaty. There was some sand glued to the right side of his face, and Daphne felt the intense need to clean it off.

"Everything alright?" Ron asked, and Daphne looked to the shattered dummy.

"It's nothing compared to that" Daphne joked, but Ron didn't laugh. _Stop being so nervous, Daphne. You are a Greengrass. Stand tall and show some courage._

"Daphne, I'm trying to train here" Ron said, why was he so damn tall? _No, I like his height. And his broad shoulders. And his arms. Oh! And his arse! It kind of big for a boy, but I can tell that it's all muscle because of his morning runs! Merlin, we haven't kissed in days._ "Daphne? Are you there?"

"I wanted to join you" Daphne told him, straightening her back. "I've thought about what you said, and you were right. I shouldn't make excuses for my shortcomings, not when I can concentrate on fixing them." Ron blinked at her, but his expression didn't change. "So, can I join you?"

"Sure" Ron said, turning to face the shattered dummy. "Depulso" Ron chanted, swiping his wand at the dummy's 'corpse'. A white light fired out of Ron's wand, and the dummy and its pieces were sent flying into a nearby wall. Daphne jumped a little because of the loud clattering noise, while Ron turned back to look at her. "Take off your robes, they'll get in your way."

"I'm wearing a skirt underneath…" Daphne whispered, not keen on giving Theo and Blaise a show. _Theo and Blaise only? I guess I don't mind showing Ron a little… Mother would be so ashamed if she heard my thoughts._

"Fair enough" Ron said, gesturing her to take up position. "One dummy?"

"I can handle two" Daphne lied.

"Let's start with one, and then work our way up" Ron said, walking over to a knocked over dummy. Ron then effortlessly lifted it up, planting it firmly on the sand. "Remember… Shields are a last resort. Dodge, and wait for your moment."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Ow…" Daphne cried, bending over and sticking her left hand into her stomach. _That hurt! That really hurt!_

"Stupefy" came Ron's voice, and the dummy that had hit her with a Stinging Jinx was knocked to the floor. Daphne didn't even bother looking at it, her eyes were already starting to sting as badly as her left hand. This was the fifth Stinging Jinx that she had taken in thirty minutes, and she desperately wanted to stop this torture. _My entire body is hurting!_ "Daphne, you alright?" Ron asked, bending over to look at her hidden hand.

"It's fine…" Daphne replied, her voice cracking slightly.

"Show me your hand please" Ron said, and Daphne slowly did so. Her eyes watered up even more when she saw the red welt on her otherwise flawless pale skin. "Episkey" Ron chanted, aiming the tip of his wand on her injury. Her hand felt really hot, and then really cold. And then, the pain was gone. _Maybe he should use that Spell on my left tit and arse cheek too…_

"I can go again" Daphne panted, and Ron just stared at her. _Please just smile already. Just one bloody smile. Stop looking at me like that._

"I think that's enough" Ron said, walking back over to the dummy. _What?_ Daphne wiped the sweat from her brow, a salty smell burning through her nostrils. _Merlin, is that me?_ Ron lifted the dummy up, and once again planted it onto the sand.

"I can go again" Daphne said more firmly, her wand already at the ready. _But I really don't want to. My thighs are killing me, and my left tit is so sore. Damn perverted dummy._

"Daphne, everyone has already left for the common room" Ron told her, and Daphne blinked at him. She then looked to the couches, and found them empty. "The bell will ring any minute now, and I really don't plan to get caught being on the seventh floor."

"Alright…" Daphne relaxed, doing her best to hide how glad she was. "Any tips for me?"

"You need to watch your left side" Ron replied, pocketing his wand. "You mind your right side because you're right handed, but every time a Spell comes at you from the left, you move too slowly." _That explains my sore spots._

"I'll do that from now on" Daphne said, unsure of what else to say. _He's still not happy with me. Even after I got pelted by that dummy._

"We should head out now" Ron said. "I'm wearing my Training Outfit, and we're both covered in sweat." Daphne felt slightly self-conscious because of that, she didn't want Ron to smell her right now. _How can he not? I'm losing brain cells here because of how bad it is. I need to run straight into a shower._ Daphne made her way over to the giant door, and Ron followed after her. Once she reached the door, she turned around to face him. _Bugger it._

"Are you still angry?" Daphne asked. "I just spent thirty minutes being smacked around by an angry dummy, the least you could do is to talk to me." Ron cocked his eyebrow at her, and she felt her stomach tighten. "Please."

"Why were you training with me?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him. "Was it to appease me? Or was it because you genuinely wanted to practice your skills?"

"I… Both" Daphne replied. "Of course I want you to stop giving me the cold shoulder, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't trying my hardest out there. Look at me, Ron. I have sweat and sand in my damn panties!" _There goes my dignity._

"I see" Ron said, and then he smiled down at her. _He's smiling? He's smiling!_ "I'm proud of you, Daphne. I could see that you wanted to stop five minutes in, but you kept pushing forward. You were amazing."

"Then why didn't you say that?" Daphne asked, her lips twitching upwards.

"I was enjoying the sight of you throwing caution to the wind for once" Ron shrugged, and then he began walking forward. _Is he trying to kiss me?_ Daphne quickly put her hands against his chest, effectively stopping him.

"Don't… I'm really sweaty…" Daphne told him, but he simply cocked his head.

"Me too" Ron grinned.

"Ron, I'm serious" Daphne said. "I smell…"

"And?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him.

"And it's gross" Daphne replied.

"For some odd reason, I really don't think that" Ron shrugged. "Truth be told… I couldn't stop staring at you while you were running around." Daphne felt her face heat up at that. "Just like you were staring at me while I was training."

"I wasn't staring" Daphne lied, her stomach feeling light.

"Theo was a little too late with his warning" Ron chuckled. "I knew that you lot were staring, but I didn't mind."

"Is that why you smirked at me?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded.

"It's not weird, is it?" Ron asked, and she slowly shook her head. "If anything, it pushed me to work harder."

"Trying to seduce your friends, Ron?" Daphne asked.

"Just one of them" Ron replied, and Daphne slowly pulled her hands back. Ron quickly pulled her into his chest, his face hovering just above hers as he bent his neck forward. Daphne tensed when her sore breast pushed into his chest, but her face didn't show any signs of pain. Instead, she just stared up at him with a keen sense of anticipation. "Still don't want me to kiss you?" Ron asked, half-teasing and half asking for consent.

"No, I want it" Daphne whispered, staring into his eyes. Ron leaned down and planted his lips against hers, and she relaxed into his arms. _Finally._ Her head began feeling light rather quickly, and so she broke the kiss with a smacking sound. "I just… I need a second to catch my breath…"

"It's alright, we'd best be off anyway" Ron said, letting go of her. _Aw!_ "Cast the Disillusionment Charm on us, Daph."

"Why me?" Daphne asked.

"Because I want you to do it this time" Ron smiled, and then he took her left hand in his gloved one.

"Alright" Daphne smiled, taking her wand back out. She quickly cast the Charm on the both of them, hiding them from the rest of the World. She then tightened her grip on his hand, and when he did the same, her smile widened. They both exited the Sanctuary at that, and began making their way down to the Slytherin common room hand-in-hand. _Maybe this 'hard work' business isn't so bad. I'll just need to get sand proof panties from now on._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Classes)**_

"Here" Ron said, handing Sebastian his Nimbus 2001. "Don't damage it."

"Woah!" Sebastian cooed, looking the shiny broom over with an awed look. Derek and John were also eyeing it, while Michael just stood there with his book bag around his shoulder. "I didn't think that you'd actually do it, Ron! This is amazing!"

"Don't worry about it" Ron smiled genuinely. "Now take that to your room, and come back with your books. We need to get going." Sebastian nodded quickly, and then he ran towards his dorm.

"He's going to break it, you know" Michael drawled.

"I'm sure he won't" Derek said in a placating manner.

"He looks careful enough" Ron shrugged. _Plus, it's only a broom. I don't even fly it._ "Where are the girls?"

"Here!" came Tori's excited voice, and Ron looked to see her rushing towards him. Ron wheezed slightly as Tori smashed into his stomach, her arms wrapping around him. John and Derek averted their gazes, while Michael just eyed Tori.

"Stop that" the Carrow twins said as they walked up with Lysandra, giving Tori's back their dead-eyed looks.

"From now on, this is how I'm going to greet you as well" Lysandra winked at Ron, and he 'smiled' at her. _Daphne may let Tori get away with this, but you… They won't even find your corpse._

"Alright, that's everyone" Ron said, noticing Sebastian coming back with his books. "Off we go. Oh, and remember to behave."

"Or no Spells?" Michael asked, and Ron nodded firmly. "We'll behave.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Go inside and take your seats" Ron ordered, and the first years nodded before leaving. Ron then looked to his friends, who had been waiting for him to catch up.

"Look at you" Tracey smirked.

"So authoritative" Pansy smirked as well.

"So sexy" Theo chuckled, and the girls eyed him. "What? You got a problem with that?"

"Nope" Tracey and Pansy sniggered.

"So how are we doing this?" Blaise asked Ron.

"You go in, and you study" Ron replied.

"And who do we sneer at?" Theo asked, and Ron frowned at him.

"No one" Daphne replied.

"Why?" Pansy giggled. _These arseholes…_

"Are you trying to give me a headache?" Ron asked, and Pansy nodded.

"Guys, be serious" Millie told them. "This is important to Ron, so it's important to us."

"Thank you, Mills" Ron smiled at her, and she gave him a firm nod.

"Brown-noser" Theo smirked at her.

"You want a red nose?" Millie asked him, and Theo sniggered.

"And she's back" Theo announced, and Ron smacked his own forehead. _Kill me, Merlin. Just fucking end me please._

"How about we group with the Hufflepuffs?" Daphne asked. "They are actually quite welcoming."

"Did Daphne just say that?" Tracey asked everyone.

"They are" Daphne told her. "Just… Just get in the damn library."

"Touchy" Tracey laughed, making her way into the library. Millie, Pansy, Blaise, and Theo followed after Tracey, while Ron took in a deep breath. _Peaceful thoughts. This is going to work. I mean, I've never juggled so many people before. But it'll work. I reckon once we all get past the initial barrier of being in different Houses, people will realize that we're all just students of the same school._

"I'll see you inside?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "Alright." With that, Daphne too headed inside.

"Ron!" came Cedric's voice, and Ron turned to see the handsome Hufflepuff walking over to him. He had Max McDean with him, and two other girls in their year. "We're not late, are we? We were waiting for Justin and his friends, but it turns out that they had already left."

"No, you're right on time" Ron smiled back, unable to resist Cedric's happy face. _What a nice bloke._ "Max, how are you?"

"I'm well" Max shrugged, smiling casually. "Oh, these two lovely ladies are Amanda and Beatrice."

"Nice to meet you" Ron gave them each a nod.

"Nice to finally talk to you, Ron" Amanda smiled at him, she was slightly pudgy but still cute.

"We've heard a lot about you" Beatrice smiled as well, her thick black curly hair done up in a neat bun.

"Then I'm at a disadvantage" Ron smiled his best smile. "I look forward to learning more about you both. Please, head inside and join the others." The girls nodded, and then made their way inside.

"You're a smooth talker" Max pointed out. "Beatrice is my girlfriend, so try to not learn too much about her."

"But Amanda is single?" Ron joked, earning a snort from Max. _I wonder how my Amanda is. I'll send her a letter tonight._

"Uh-oh" Cedric said suddenly, his eyes shooting towards someone behind Ron. Ron turned to see Cormac and his lot walking up to them, and Ron hoped that they just needed to borrow a book.

"So he's really doing it?" Cormac smirked, eyeing Ron up and down. "He's holding a tea party for all the rejects." _So much for borrowing a book. I can't lose my temper here, I don't want people leaving the group._

"Then you'd fit right in" Max chuckled.

"Are you parched?" Cedric asked, both Hufflepuff boys just smiling at Cormac.

"Cormac, mate…" one of Cormac's friends said. "Why are you being an arse? Leave the kid alone." _Oh, so he's the only twat around._

"Didn't you already blow your chances with Katie because of this?" another one of his mates asked, and then he shot Ron an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him, he's just sore about you knocking him down from his perch."

"Right…" Ron said slowly.

"He sucker-punched me" Cormac snapped, glaring at Ron. _Actually, it was a head-butt._

"My, my…" came a devious voice from behind Cormac's friends. "Look at this happy lot, George." _Oh fuck._

"Here for Ronnie's study group" George added, and then both twins made their way to Ron. "Our little brother…"

"The leader of a gang of misfits" Fred smirked at Ron. The twins then turned to Cormac.

"McLaggen!" they both greeted him, identical grins on their faces. "Still trying to sneak your way onto the Quidditch Team?"

"Piss off" Cormac frowned at them, thoroughly put off.

"Piss off he says" Fred sniggered.

"While harassing our dear brother" George added, something shifting behind his eyes.

"Is he bothering you, Ronnie dearest?" Fred asked Ron.

"Not really" Ron lied, deciding to defuse the situation.

"We would certainly hope not" Fred said, looking back to Cormac and his mates. "You've all got memorable faces…"

"Such distinctness" George added on.

"We'd never forget them" the twins said together, and Cormac's friends stepped away from him. "Run along now."

"Tossers" Cormac frowned deeply, and then he turned around and left. His mates followed after him, clearly afraid of the twins.

"Thanks" Ron smiled at his brothers, who just sniggered to themselves.

"Don't thank us, little brother" Fred said, and then he tried to pinch Ron's left cheek. Ron quickly moved his head away, afraid that Fred would pinch too hard.

"We were just… in the neighborhood" George said, his voice rather dangerous. And then suddenly, there was a loud bang from a nearby corridor. _What the fuck was that?!_

"BLOODY MERLIN!" came Filch's yell, and Ron stepped away from the twins.

"That's our cue" Fred laughed.

"You never saw us" George told them, and they all quickly nodded. The twins then left with a quickened pace, their sniggering easy to overhear. _Did they blow up a classroom? Mum and dad are going to go mental about this._

"Your brothers are terrifying" Max noted, watching the twins' retreating backs with a wary look.

"Indeed…" Ron muttered, wondering how Percy was going to take this. _He's going to lose all of his hair at this rate._

"We'd better get inside" Cedric suggested. "I don't want Filch to blame us for this."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Things were going swimmingly, and Ron couldn't be happier. Ron's friends, despite being arseholes outside, were genuinely making an effort. Millie and Daphne had already put the Hufflepuffs at ease by attending the previous study sessions, so the others joining in didn't really bother anyone. Cedric and his group were doing their own work, and occasionally helping the first years, regardless of House. Ron's first years were behaving for the most part, with the only exception being Lysandra who was eyeing all the 'cute' boys.

Oddly enough, it was the Gryffindors that were the only 'problem'. They weren't being rude, or anything of that sort, but they were sort of being… exclusive. Hermione still had her own little group, filled with Harry, Neville, Ginny, and the Gryffindor first and second years. Parvati, Lavender, and Fay had joined Ron's personal group, which consisted of everyone except the Gryffindors who were with Hermione. But all in all, it was all working out. _Except for that arsehole who keeps whistling. Where is he? He's not sitting with us, so it has to be some twat from the higher years. This is a library, go whistle somewhere else._

"Excuse me, can you help me with this?" a female Hufflepuff first year asked Ron. "Everyone else is already busy…"

"Sure thing" Ron smiled at her. "What's your name?"

"Beth…" she replied, sounding rather shy. She was a tiny thing with long blonde hair that was tied up in pigtails.

"Alright Beth, what's troubling you?" Ron asked, moving over behind her.

"I don't know why a Forgetfulness Potion would be useful…" Beth said, her voice barely audible. "Professor Snape wants us to list three uses, but I can't even think of one." _I remember this question._

"Well, let's work it out together" Ron said, and she nodded meekly. _She's a bit shy, isn't she?_ "If something really bad happened to you, wouldn't you want to forget that?"

"I guess…" Beth replied. "Oh…"

"The Forgetfulness Potion is often used by Healers to help patients forget trauma" Ron told her, and she listened intently. "So that's one right there." Beth quickly wrote it down, her neat writing impressing Ron. _My handwriting is utter garbage compared to hers._ "Now, you think of one."

"Okay…" Beth said, biting her bottom lip. "What if I wanted to forget a movie that I watched? So I could re-watch it for 'the first time'?" _Movie? Is she a Muggle-Born?_

"That seems like a good reason to me" Ron chuckled, and she smiled a little before writing it down. "My turn?"

"Yes" she replied, her voice more audible now.

"What if someone saw me do something naughty?" Ron asked. "Like steal something?"

"You'd want them to forget" Beth replied, smiling up at Ron. "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself.

"Thanks, Ronald Weasley" Beth said, and then she wrote down her answer.

"Um… Can you help me as well?" a boy from Ravenclaw asked, he was sitting across from Beth. "I'm from the Muggle World, and I don't even know what Goblins are…" _Goblin rebellions? Binns' first year class._

"Sure, mate" Ron smiled, moving over to him. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Luna smiling at him. _She's getting along well with her new Ravenclaw friends. Xeno's article really helped her out, I hope he knows that._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

He had spent the last hour helping the first years, each of them asking for help on a different matter. Ron had decided to put his own work on hold, he'd just do it in his own time. And truth be told, helping the first years was rather… therapeutic. They were eager to learn, they were polite, and most of all, they seemed to like his method of teaching. He'd help them with their answers, while explaining to them why those answers were right. And then, he'd make them answer a similar question to make sure that they understood the theory behind the question.

That was the one thing that Ron hadn't done until recently, and he had only done it because Daphne had pointed out the flaw in his learning technique. So he made sure that the first years didn't make the same mistake that he had, otherwise they'd have to reread the textbooks again. And slowly but surely, the Gryffindor first and second years had started coming over to his group. They'd overheard Ron helping the others, and while Hermione was more intelligent than him, she lacked his kind demeanor.

He didn't really feel bad about taking members of her group. After all, this entire thing was being done in order to promote House Unity. Not to mention that he was keeping his distance from Hermione, but that was mostly because of his own issues. He hated that he didn't feel guilty about attacking her, and every time he noticed her looking towards him, he wanted to hit himself for being such a coldhearted cunt.

Blaise's opinion of Hermione had gotten to him, and he could now fully see why she was so unpopular with a lot of people. But that didn't mean shite… She was a person, even a good person deep down, and he had nearly ended that. He clearly needed to get his head checked, because he knew that someone who could attack people and not feel a thing, was a person who was extremely dangerous. And yes, he understood that he wasn't in the right state of mind at the time, but that time was long past. So why was he still so unaffected by his actions? Why was it that if he stopped beating himself over it, he'd get over it in a heartbeat?

"I'll be right back with a book on the Ministry's Establishment" Ron told all the first years, and they nodded at him. _I'm like the first year whisperer._ Ron then made his way towards the History Section, eager to get back to 'his students'. As he was picking out a book, he spotted someone follow him into the aisle.

"Can I talk to you?" Ginny asked, and Ron looked to her with a smile. _She's not smiling._

"Sure, Gin" Ron replied. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you avoiding Hermione?" Ginny asked, and Ron blinked at her. _What? How does she know that?_

"Why would I do that?" Ron asked, his composure unshaken.

"Well for one, you're refusing to help find the person who is targeting her" Ginny pointed out, her hands going to her hips.

"I didn't refuse to do that" Ron defended himself. "I asked her if she wanted me to look into it, and she said no. I'm not going to invade her privacy, Ginny."

"Like you care about such a thing" Ginny scoffed.

"As a matter of fact, I do" Ron said.

"You told her to spy on me, remember?" Ginny reminded him, and Ron sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry I did that" Ron apologized. "I was just worried about you, but it was out of line… I've stopped doing that."

"Someone is targeting **your** friend, Ron" Ginny said, a slightly bitter edge to her tone. "Don't you care?"

"Ginny, Hermione has the answers" Ron started. "But she doesn't want us involved in her affairs."

"Friends need to protect each other" Ginny told him.

"At the cost of ignoring each other's wishes?" Ron asked. "Maybe you should have a little faith in her, she's not so easily beaten."

"Someone from your bigoted House is probably mocking her for her Blood-Status, and you just don't care" Ginny accused, and Ron chose to ignore her insult to his House. "Mum and dad raised us to stand against such behavior, Ron."

"No one is targeting her for her Blood-Status" Ron said, and Ginny blinked at him. _Fuck. Nice going there, Ron._

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked.

"Because if they were, then I'd be the first person they'd mock for being her friend" Ron replied, losing some of his patience. "Ginny, allow me to let you in on a secret… I've been targeted dozens of times for being friends with Harry, Hermione, and Neville. But you know what? I put up with it because I do like them."

"Poor you" Ginny rolled her eyes. "If there are people mocking you for being friends with three genuinely kind people, then maybe you should learn to ignore the nay-sayers. You know, maybe grow a spine?"

"I am not a coward" Ron said, and then he took in a deep breath. _Don't ruin your hard work, Ron. The study group is going well. People are slowly getting along. Don't be your usual self for once._ "Why don't you help Hermione if you're so keen? Go on. See how she reacts when she finds out that you're going behind her back like this." Ginny frowned at him, while Ron cocked an eyebrow at her. "No? Not planning to ruin your chances with them?"

"My chances?" Ginny hissed. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please…" Ron drawled. "You're clearly trying to turn the Golden Trio into the Golden Quartet…"

"How dare you?" Ginny demanded, her slender frame shaking with rage.

"How dare I?" Ron asked her. "You're standing there and accusing me of being spineless, when you yourself aren't doing anything to 'help' her. Harry? He's not doing anything. Neither is Neville. But you know what all three of you **are** doing, you're making me into your personal janitor. 'Ron, come here and clean up this mess. We would do it ourselves, but we don't want to anger Hermione'. And trust me, if I do go against her wishes, she'll be pissed."

"So you **are** spineless" Ginny accused again.

"No, I'm just not keen on tying your shoelaces every time you trip" Ron told her. "If Harry and Neville want to help her, then they can do it themselves. But they won't. They're not going to risk angering her. So instead, they came to me."

"Or maybe they came to you because they foolishly believe that you're their friend" Ginny suggested, and Ron bit back his anger again. _She's just insulting me constantly. No argument, no reasoning… Just insult after insult._

"I… I need to get back to the study group" Ron said, deciding to leave before he lost his temper. Ron picked out a book on the Ministry's History, and then began to leave. But he was forced to stop when Ginny stepped into his way.

"If you know who is targeting her, then you can just tell me" Ginny crossed her arms, her resolve showing on her face. _No one targeted her. She's an over-sensitive… individual… Calm, Ron. Stay calm._

"Ron? What's taking you so long?" came Blaise's voice, and both Ron and Ginny looked to him. He was standing at the end of the aisle, his aloof expression fixed on Ron. _Did he overhear us?_ "The first years are eagerly waiting for you to come back. **All** of the first years."

"Right…" Ron nodded.

"I'm talking to my brother" Ginny told Blaise, who simply ignored her.

"Well, are you coming?" Blaise asked, still looking at only Ron. Ron moved past Ginny and made his way over to Blaise, and he heard Ginny mutter something under her breath. _Just ignore it._

"Thanks" Ron whispered once he reached Blaise, who simply turned around and began to leave. Both boys made their way back to the first years, and Ron noticed that some of second years had joined the first years.

"Don't let one person ruin your work here, mate" Blaise whispered, and then he went back to his seat. _So he did overhear us. Great_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"We're doing this again same time next week" Ron said as everyone packed up their books. "Feel free to come back." Most of the first and second years nodded, glad that most of their homework was finished. There were obvious advantages to studying in a large group, especially a group filled with intelligent older students.

"This was good, Ron" Cedric said, shooting Ron a smile. "I feel like it really helped the younger students."

"Who clearly adore you already" Amanda pointed out.

"Thanks" Ron smiled at them. "I'm sorry that we didn't get to talk much."

"It's alright" Amanda chuckled. "This **is** a study group, you know."

"I know" Ron said, glad that the older Hufflepuffs had enjoyed themselves.

"All set" Max McDean said, holding his girlfriend's books as well.

"Right, we'll see you next week then" Cedric told Ron, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Take care" Ron waved them off as they all left, his eyes fixed on the large group of students leaving the library at the same time. _That's everyone, I think._ Ron was left behind with his Slytherin friends, who were all stretching and groaning.

"Two and a half hours of study" Tracey groaned. "I'm actually pretty proud of myself."

"You guys did great" Ron turned to face them, shooting them a grateful smile. "Thank you for behaving."

"Of course we behaved, Ron" Pansy smirked. "Was there ever any doubt in your mind about that?" _Sort of, yes._

"You know, the Hufflepuffs were a decent lot" Tracey said, nodding to herself. "It felt nice to not be hated for once."

"I preferred the Ravenclaws myself" Blaise said. "They were just flying through their work, and because Padma was sitting to my right, so did I."

"Padma, eh?" Theo smirked. "On a first name basis already?"

"Shut up" Blaise smirked, looking all too pleased with himself. _Wait… We're missing a person._

"Where's Daphne?" Ron asked them.

"She went to the bathroom ten minutes ago" Millie replied, jamming her books into her book bag. "She'll be back any second now. So Theo… You certainly looked like you were enjoying yourself."

"It was alright" Theo shrugged.

"Right…" Pansy smirked. "You and Hannah Abbot certainly became fast friends."

"She helped with a question" Theo shrugged again. "And she was incredibly polite about it, so I simply showed her the same courtesy."

"Sure…" Millie smirked, and Theo rolled his eyes.

"Fine… The Hufflepuffs may have won me over a little" Theo admitted, and Ron couldn't help but smile a little. "They were just so… welcoming… It's sort of a new feeling, that's all."

"Theo's finally experiencing love" Blaise chuckled, and Theo smacked his arm.

"Sod off" Theo frowned at his friends.

"Hey…" Daphne whispered from behind him, and Ron quickly turned around.

"Merlin… You scared me" Ron sighed.

"Your sister is waiting outside the library" Daphne told him, and Ron blinked at her. "Ron, she looks pretty annoyed."

"Is she alone?" Ron asked.

"No, the Trio is with her" Daphne replied, and Ron genuinely groaned. "Everyone saw her glaring at you, Ron. It made some of first years pretty uncomfortable. What happened between you two?"

"Nothing…" Ron muttered, rubbing his forehead with his gloved hand. "She just sees me as some spineless coward who doesn't deserve to be friends with the Trio."

"She said that?" Daphne asked, her expression darkening immediately.

"She might as well have" Ron sighed. "I'm going to go put this book back, and then we can head out."

"I'll pack your books for you" Daphne said, and Ron shot her a weak smile. _At least Daphne doesn't think that I'm a coward. That has to count for something._ Ron left for the History Section at that, and as he was putting the book back, he heard faint whistling again. _This arsehole is still whistling!_ Ron had half a mind to find this person in order to smack them over the head, but he held himself in check. _Just ignore it, I'm leaving anyway._ Ron made his way back to his mates, only to find out that they had left without him.

"Are you serious?" Ron frowned at the empty tables and chairs. "They bloody left me?"

"We're right here, Ron" came Pansy's giggle, and Ron blinked. _The Disillusionment Charm?_

"What are you lot doing?" Ron asked the air in front of him.

"Sneaking out" came Tracey's voice. "Too tired for a confrontation."

"That… is an excellent idea" Ron smiled slowly, and then he took out his wand. _Sorry Ginny, but I'm not letting you ruin my good mood._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

"You guys barely finished any of your work" Hermione tutted them, all the while cutting up her kidney pie. Even though she was scolding them, she had a happy smile on her face. _As a matter of fact, she's been smiling ever since Potions ended._

"Hermione, why are you in such a good mood?" Harry asked. "Not that I'm complaining… It's just that you were really upset yesterday…"

"And now you're the giddiest person in Hogwarts" Neville said, shooting Harry a nod. "Did something happen?"

"Alright, I'll tell you!" Hermione perked up, her smile widening. "Professor Snape invited me to join his Potions Club today!" Harry and Neville blinked at her. _And how is that a good thing? Snape is a git._

"Congratulations…" Neville said slowly, and Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

"He only accepts fifth years and above" Hermione told them, and they exchanged looks. "Ugh… I'm a third year that he personally handpicked to join his **extremely exclusive** Club! This is a big deal, you two!"

"So you'll get even more homework?" Harry asked slowly, doing his best to not irritate her.

"I guess, but that's fine with me" Hermione shrugged, smiling once again.

"But you'll be stuck there alone… with Snape" Harry pointed out. "And he probably has a bunch of Slytherins in his 'Club'… This could turn sour, Hermione."

"I can handle myself" Hermione scoffed. "Plus… I won't be alone." _Please tell me that she isn't planning to make us join as well._ "Ron will be there as well."

"Snape picked him as well?" Neville asked, and Hermione nodded.

"What's this about Ron?" came Ginny's voice, and the Trio looked to see the redhead breaking away from her conversation with a classmate.

"Ron will be in the Potions Club with me" Hermione told her, and Ginny nodded slowly.

"It's an exclusive Club" Neville told Ginny. "Only fifth years and above allowed. But Snape handpicked Ron and Hermione regardless."

"Is that why he asked you both to stay behind after class?" Harry asked, glad that she wouldn't be alone. _Ron will keep her out of trouble. Or at the very least, keep trouble away from her._

"Um… Sort of" Hermione replied, and they waited for her to go on. "Ron was already picked for it… I just got picked today." _Then why did Snape ask Ron to stay behind?_

"Don't let that bother you" Ginny quickly assured Hermione. "My brother's in Slytherin, and Snape favors that lot. It's got nothing to do with you, Hermione."

"I know that" Hermione shrugged. "I'm just glad that my efforts have paid off."

"Good for you, Hermione" Harry smiled. "You deserve to be in that Club."

"Thanks" Hermione beamed, and Harry mentally patted his own back. _I said the right thing._

"Weird that Ron didn't tell us about him being in this Club though…" Harry noted.

"I'm sure there's plenty of things that my brother doesn't tell you guys" Ginny said, shooting a frown towards the Slytherin table.

"Like what?" Harry asked, his curiosity piqued.

"He knows who's been targeting Hermione" Ginny said, and both Harry and Neville blinked at her.

"Not this again…" Hermione sighed. "No one is targeting me, alright? Can you all just let it go?"

"He knows?" Harry asked, ignoring Hermione.

"He does" Ginny nodded. "I spoke to him in the library today, and he was really tightlipped about it."

"Ginny! You spoke to him about me?" Hermione asked, feeling slightly angered with the girl. Ginny was the closest thing to a female friend that Hermione had, which only annoyed her more. 'Girlfriends were supposed to have each other's backs'. That's what Hermione had read.

"It's not right for you to be bullied for simply existing, Hermione" Ginny replied. "So I spoke to him about it, but he already knew everything."

"He told you this?" Neville asked.

"I know my brother" Ginny replied. "Trust me, I can tell when he's hiding something." _Why wouldn't he tell us then?_ Harry shot a look towards Ron, who was currently laughing with Nott and Zabini. _Is he trying to protect the person who went after Hermione? He'd only do that if it were one of his 'mates'._ Harry eyed Nott and Zabini, it was probably one of them. _Or maybe one of the girls? They're always nasty towards Hermione._

"You were really upset after Runes, right?" Harry asked Hermione, who lost her smile.

"Harry, stop it" Hermione warned him. "You're being really… You're being rude!"

"We're trying to stand by you, Hermione" Harry told her. "Friends watch over each other." Hermione's frown faltered a bit, she didn't know how to argue against the 'friend card'.

"Hermione, do you really not want us to intervene?" Neville asked her, and she nodded firmly.

"It's my business" Hermione said firmly, and Neville sighed in defeat. _Oh c'mon… Why does he always just give in to her? She clearly needs our help._

"We'll stay out of it then…" Neville said, sounding less than enthusiastic.

"Mate…" Harry gaped slightly.

"She's clearly not upset anymore…" Neville gave Harry a sheepish smile.

"That doesn't mean that she wasn't harassed by someone" Ginny jumped in.

"Thank you, Ginny" Harry said, glad that at least someone could see his point of view. _She was bullied, and if we let it slide, it'll just happen again. I never want to see her that upset again._ "Neville, you know how much it hurts to be bullied…" _I know you do._

"Harry…" Neville sighed, he knew that Harry himself had spent the better part of his life being abused by his terrible relatives. Which is also why he knew that Harry wouldn't let this go. Harry despised bullies, and so it didn't matter to him who was being bullied, Harry would always jump in to help the victim.

"Don't discuss things about me as if I'm not here!" Hermione snapped, and people around the table shot her frowns. "Harry, friends respect each other's privacy. And you're not respecting mine. So until you do, I'm not going to speak with you."

"Hermione…" Harry sighed, he didn't want the cold shoulder from her.

"Hermione, you're being too harsh" Ginny pointed out. "We're only trying to help…"

"The same goes for you, Ginny" Hermione said haughtily, and then she glared at Neville.

"I'm all about respecting privacy…" Neville mumbled, looking back down at his food.

"This topic is closed" Hermione told them. "I don't want to hear anything about it again."

* * *

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower – After Dinner)**_

"I'm going to go down to the library" Hermione said, and Harry and Neville gave her confused looks. "I want to burrow a book on Advanced Potions. I really don't want to give Professor Snape a reason to throw me out of his Club."

"Hermione, it's after dinner" Harry pointed out.

"I'll be quick" Hermione said as she stood up, and then she quickly left the common room.

"We should go with her" Harry said, giving Neville a meaningful look. "It's after dinner, and I really don't feel right letting her go out there by herself."

"You're right" Neville nodded. "Let's go." Both boys followed Hermione out of the common room, and within a few seconds, they were hot on her tail. "Hermione! Slow down!"

"Neville?" Hermione asked, turning to face them. "And Harry."

"Figured that we'd join you on your nightly stroll" Harry shrugged with a smile. "Classes are way over for the day…"

"Actually, the Slytherin third years have Astronomy right now" Hermione pointed out, and Harry blinked at her. _How could she possibly know that?_

"Did Ron tell you that?" Neville asked, wondering the same thing as Harry.

"Um… No" Hermione replied.

"So how would you know that?" Harry asked, giving her a suspicious look.

"Just… I saw their timetables" Hermione 'casually' shrugged. "When Professor McGonagall was helping me with mine, that is. We um… We were trying to figure out where all of my classes would go…"

"Why **did** you need help with that?" Neville asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "I mean, the electives are the only classes that clash. And since you're doing them all, you'd simply have to skip one to go to the other."

"I know that" Hermione 'laughed', and Neville shot Harry a look. _Yeah, she's being weird._ "Library?"

"Sure…" Harry said slowly, and Hermione quickly turned around and began walking towards the Moving Staircase.

"That was weird" Neville whispered to Harry, and Harry nodded his agreement.

"You know… She's being really weird about her classes this year…" Harry whispered back. "I mean, she wouldn't even let us see her timetable…"

"You're right" Neville whispered, but he stopped when Hermione suddenly jolted to a stop in front of a corner.

"Hermi…" Harry started, but she shushed him quickly as she looked around the corner again. _What is it?_

"It's… It's Ron" Hermione whispered, and Harry and Neville cocked their eyebrows. "He's walking towards… He's heading for the Headmaster's Office…" _What?_ Harry quickly walked up behind her, and he too stuck his head around the corner. And there was Ron, walking in the opposite direction of the Moving Staircase and Gryffindor Tower. _What is he doing up here this late? Is he actually heading for Dumbledore's Office?_

"Doesn't he have Astronomy?" came Neville's voice from behind them.

"He does" Hermione replied, her eyes fixed on Ron's back. "Quick… He's turning the corner." Just as Ron turned the corner, the Trio quickly, but quietly, gave chase. _He's heading right towards Dumbledore's Office. What's he up to? It's nearly curfew, and he has a class coming up._

"What is he doing?" Harry whispered, looking around the corner and seeing Ron walk up to the stone gargoyle.

"Doesn't he need…?" Neville started, but he stopped when the stone gargoyle moved aside. "A password…"

"He has the password for the Headmaster's Office?" Hermione asked, speaking more to herself. "Only Professors and staff have that privilege." As Ron disappeared up the spiral staircase, Harry felt an incredibly strong pang of jealousy. _Dumbledore gave him the password? I barely get to see him, but Ron just gets to go up to his Office on a whim? What are they up to? Is this about playing 'Chess'?_

And there it was again… All the questions that Harry had about Ron were once again bouncing around his head. What was Ron's deal? Why was he always involved in things that he had no business being in? Why was it that he was having meetings with people like Neville's Gran? Or Dumbledore? Or Snape? What was that weird document that Sirius had signed for Ron? Why were his parents so angry with him? Why had he taken over Hermione's group? And why was he lying to them about the person who had targeted her?

"Harry?" came Hermione's voice, and Harry broke out of his thoughts. "Are you coming? Madam Pince is going to close the library any minute now?"

"Um…" Harry started, but then an idea popped into his head. _My cloak! I'll use it and wait for Ron to come back out. He and Dumbledore are up to something, and I want to know what it is._ "You guys go on… I'm not feeling too well."

"You sure?" Hermione asked, her features softening.

"Mate, it's probably nothing" Neville nudged him, giving him a sorry smile. Both Hermione and Neville knew about Harry's close bond with Dumbledore, a man whom Harry saw as a Grandfather of sorts.

"Yeah, I know…" Harry lied. "I'm going to head back to the Tower. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

"Alright" Hermione said softly, rubbing Harry's upper right arm in a loving manner. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight." _I need to be quick. I don't want him leaving before I get a chance to follow him._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Past Curfew)**_

"So you're telling me that he exists in more than one place?" Ron asked, this Horcrux business was rather grim. "That's… That's bloody disgusting…"

"It is indeed" Dumbledore nodded, a grave look on his face. _Killing people to make your own life longer? Who the fuck thinks like that? Fucking crazy cunt._

"This locket…" Ron started. "A part of his soul exists in that?"

"That is our suspicion" Snape replied. "Which is why we need to find it as soon possible."

"Alright, where do we start?" Ron asked. "I suggest we follow this R.A.B connection."

"I'm with you on this" Dumbledore agreed. "I did not think it possible that one could split their soul more than once…"

"This **is** the Dark Lord we're discussing" Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "There are no limits with him."

"How many can he make?" Ron asked. "Can he just make hundreds of these?"

"No, that would be impossible" Dumbledore replied. "Even for him… I imagine that he's made around three, or maybe four. The soul can only be split so much before it withers into nothing."

"And it could be **any** object?" Ron asked.

"Indeed" Dumbledore replied, and Ron chuckled mirthlessly.

"We're so fucked" Ron stated, and neither wizards disagreed with him.

"Perhaps" Dumbledore said, and then he reached into his drawer and pulled out a burnt book.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"This was one of his Horcruxes" Dumbledore replied, and Ron went wide-eyed. _What? They've already destroyed one?_ "A Diary that he no doubt was quite attached to."

"How did you find it?" Ron asked, eyeing the burnt Diary with a keen eye. _Bloody hell, that's been there this entire time?_

"It was responsible for the events of last year" Snape replied, and Ron blinked at him. "The Chamber, Ron…"

"I don't get it" Ron said slowly. "What does this Diary have to do with the Chamber?"

"It contained a part of **his** soul, Ronald" Dumbledore replied. "A part that possessed your sister, and then compelled her to unleash the Basilisk upon this school." And then it all clicked in Ron's brain.

"He didn't possess her, but a part of him did" Ron muttered, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Ginny had a Horcrux on her person at all times? How did my sister get a damn Horcrux?!"

"That's… complicated" Snape said slowly, looking to Dumbledore with a meaningful look. _How's that even possible? Where would she find it? Wait… Is that the Diary that she left behind by mistake? The Diary that resulted in Harry and I being late to the Hogwarts Express? And then that Dobby Elf blocked the fucking barrier._

"She had the Diary before we came to Hogwarts" Ron said.

"Then it has to be him" Dumbledore told Snape, who sighed tiredly.

"Who?" Ron asked. "Who gave her that Diary?" There was genuine rage bubbling in his stomach, someone was going to pay for this.

"Lucius Malfoy is our prime suspect" Dumbledore replied, and Ron's face tightened for a moment. _Malfoy? He did this?_

"Lord Greengrass suspected him of being behind the Chamber's reopening…" Ron hissed coldly. "That's why he started targeting his businesses."

"We believe that Lucius delivered the Horcrux into your sister's belonging, and it took a hold of her quite quickly" Snape said slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"That…" Ron started, his fists tightening. " _ **That filthy little mongrel!**_ " Dumbledore went wide-eyed, while Snape shot out of his seat. " _ **He gave Our sister a Horcrux?!**_ "

"Ronald…" Dumbledore called, and Ron looked to him with a murderous glare. "Merlin… It's true then. Ronald, what did you mean by 'our'?"

"Our?" Ron blinked, and Dumbledore looked to a genuinely startled Snape.

"His eyes are back to normal…" Snape said, his wand brandished at Ron's head. _Back to normal? Why is he aiming his wand at my face?_

"It… It happened again?" Ron asked, and then he felt a slight headache start at the base of his skull. "Ow… My head…" Ron grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Did you go to Poppy for a checkup?" Dumbledore asked, his wand ready under the table. Ron's change had frightened even him, he couldn't deny that.

"No…" Ron admitted. "I had my study group today…" Ron suddenly started hearing whistling once again, and he looked around the room with a bewildered expression. _It's that whistling again! Same fucking tune and all!_

"Ron?" Snape called, still standing up.

"Do you hear that?" Ron asked them, and they slowly shook their heads. "You don't hear whistling?"

"No, we do not" Dumbledore replied, he was starting to get worried. "Ronald, why don't we call it a night? You look like you need rest."

"I'm fine, Headmaster" Ron said, he could still hear that fucking whistling. _It's connected to my new visions, isn't it? Fuck me, I'm just the gift that keeps on giving… to myself._ "That Diary… Why did Lucius Malfoy give it to my sister? Why would he do such a thing? She was just eleven years old last year?"

"Your father's Muggle Protection Legislation cost him a large sum of money" Snape replied, slowly sitting back down. _Money?_

"No…" Ron shook his head, he couldn't believe this. "No, she was just eleven. She was tiny and… And completely harmless. Why would he do that?"

"Ronald, you know why" Dumbledore said slowly, he himself was utterly disgusted by Lucius Malfoy's plot.

"He wanted to hurt my father?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a weak nod. "He wanted to hurt my father, so he nearly killed my sister… My little sister, who had never even met him before… A little girl that had never done a wrong to him…" _Dead. He's dead. His Family is dead. He wants to play it like that? Fine._ _ **We will teach him pain. We will tear out his heart and feed it to his Family. And then, We'll wipe every trace of them from this Earth.**_

"The Dark Lord gave him that Horcrux?" Ron asked, his eyes glazed over.

"I believe so" Dumbledore replied. "I imagine that Lucius had no idea what it truly was, otherwise he'd have never given it out. He most likely believed it to be a Cursed Object capable of opening the Chamber, and so he planned to use it to strong-arm me out of the school."

"And to kill Muggle-Borns" Ron added, his glazed eyes fixed on the burnt Diary. "To kill innocent people… Children…" _How is a man like this allowed to walk free? How is he allowed to whisper in the Minister's ears?_

"What matters now is that the Diary has been destroyed" Dumbledore said, his eyes fixed on Ron's expression. Dumbledore had seen that expression before. He had seen it during war-times. He had seen it on the faces of the Aurors, who would break into a Family's home and slaughter them for their affiliation with the Dark Lord. This was not a look that he wanted to see on Ronald's face.

"We are down one Horcrux" Snape said, he too was watching Ron carefully. "And now we have a lead on another."

"I'll look through Grimmauld Place" Ron said, just staring at the Diary. "Sirius' brother no doubt had a room in there, and it may hold some clues. I'll go there next weekend, and I'll need a note."

"I will write you one" Dumbledore said. "If you do find something, bring it straight to us."

"I will" Ron replied, slowly standing up. Ron then turned his neck and cracked his neck loudly, and then he made his way over to the fireplace. "I'm tired. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ronald" Dumbledore said, but Ron had already flooed back to Snape's Office. _**Lucius Mafloy… Just you wait… We are coming for you. It doesn't matter how long We have to wait. By the end of this, you will be dead. We swear it.**_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Early in the Morning)**_

"Millie, you genuinely look like you're about to die" Ron noted, and she frowned at him.

"Thanks, Ron" Millie huffed. "Nice to know what you think of my appearance."

"I didn't mean it like that" Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying that you look utterly spent. Mills… Even Theo and Blaise don't join me on my Saturday morning runs."

"Their loss" Millie shrugged, buttering her toast. "I've made a commitment, and I'm staying true to it." _That's admirable._

"Alright" Ron said, finishing up his eggs. "So… Why are you suddenly into this whole running business?"

"My father wants me to live up to the Bulstrode name" Millie replied, and Ron waited for her to go on. "We Bulstrodes started off as Mercenaries, Ron. An ancestor of mine led a company into one of the first Goblin Wars, and when he singlehandedly destroyed multiple garrisons, he was given a title and land by the other Pure-Bloods. He established our House, and it has stood tall ever since."

"That's… pretty fucking awesome" Ron admitted, and Millie snorted.

"I know right?" Millie chuckled. "Anyway… My father wants me to become a powerful witch, one that's worthy of taking leadership of our House one day. This is the time to prepare for that."

"I'm happy for you, Millie" Ron said truthfully. "If anyone can live up to that standard, it's you." _That explains why she tries harder than the others. Her parents aren't pampering her. They want her to be powerful, and that's driving her forward._

"Thanks, Ron" Millie smiled at him. "It means a lot coming from you."

"From me?" Ron blinked.

"Yeah, you" Millie chuckled. "You've helped me a lot… Probably more than you know." _I see…_

"No worries, I guess" Ron said, deciding to accept her gratitude. _If believing that helps her, then I'll accept._ "Plus, you'll be turning the head of every boy when you're in charge of your House."

"Yeah… Boys…" Millie's smile faltered, and then she turned her attention to her food. _Um… What? Did I say something wrong?_ "Ron, can you pass me the marmalade?"

"Sure" Ron said, doing as he was told. "You alright, Mills?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" she shot him a smile, and then she began putting marmalade on her toast. _Okay then._

"Right…" Ron nodded as he stood up. "I'd best be on my way. Work awaits."

"Enjoy your day" Millie said.

"I will, sweetheart" Ron chuckled, making Millie snort once again.

"Be home in time to put the kids to bed" Millie joked, and Ron laughed as he waved his goodbye. _Yeah, something wasn't right there…_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Lunchtime)**_

"She's behaving now, my Lord" Ron said, trying to defend Tori's earlier behavior.

"She'd better be" Lord Greengrass frowned, walking towards the Dining Room with a quickened pace. "Keep your eye on her, Ron. Please."

"I will" Ron assured him.

"Human Transfiguration…" Lord Greengrass muttered under his breath. "She could've seriously hurt another child…" _It's great that he cares so much, but I'm the one who ended up paying the price for Tori's actions. He's worked me like a mule all day._ Ron wasn't going to lie, Lord Greengrass had been nothing short of brutal today. Conundrum after conundrum, and then multiple games of Chess. Games that Ron had lost for one reason or another, and then listened to lectures that bordered on verbal abuse. "And how is Daphne? Is she focusing on her studies?"

"Daphne is doing well" Ron replied. "And yes, she is trying her best." _She was quite amazing yesterday. Let's just hope that her new attitude sticks._ Ron and Lord Greengrass entered the Dining Room at that, and they both stopped dead in their tracks because of the sight before them. Mary was sitting in her chair, and she was chatting with Sirius. _Sirius? What's he doing here?_

"You're here again" Lord Greengrass frowned at Sirius, and the man looked over to them with a grin.

"Ron! Come here, pup!" Sirius beamed, quickly shooting out of his seat.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" Ron asked, walking up to Sirius. The man quickly pulled Ron into a tight hug, and Ron hugged him back with equal ferocity. _Bloody hell, I've missed him._

"I've missed you, big man" Sirius chuckled, and Ron let go of him.

"I've missed you too" Ron smiled widely. "What are you doing here though?"

"He's been dropping by every second day in the hopes of scoring a free meal" Lord Greengrass answered, taking a seat by his wife's side.

"It's not like that" Sirius grinned. "I just enjoy Mary's company, she's far more likeable than you."

"On that, we agree" Lord Greengrass said, gesturing Ron to sit down. Ron took a seat by Sirius' side, and they both began making their plates.

"So you're scoring free meals off of them?" Ron asked, doing his best to not laugh at Sirius' antics.

"Not just us" Mary chuckled. "He spends his nights at your house, Ron."

"Molly's Kitchen is the best restaurant in England as far as I'm concerned, and I have a VIP pass" Sirius laughed. "By the way, Ron… Your mother wanted me to ask you how you were, and she wanted me to be subtle about it."

"I'm sure she's regretting that request right now" Lord Greengrass quipped, and Sirius gave him a wink.

"I'm doing well" Ron lied, he was anything but well. _I barely slept last night. All I can think about is Lucius Malfoy attempting to murder my sister for something as petty as money._

"You look well enough to me" Sirius nodded, looking at Ron's face with a sharp gaze. "What that growth on your face?"

"Growth?" Ron asked, feeling his face with his gloved hand.

"Oh wait… That's just your nose" Sirius 'relaxed', and Ron rolled his eyes. "That thing's a weapon, pup. Do you need a license to carry that around? Might poke someone's eye out if you're not careful."

"Don't give me any ideas" Ron muttered, focusing on his food. _My nose isn't that big. Is it? Wait… Even Daphne's mentioned that I have a big nose a few times._

"Sirius, don't make fun of him" Mary frowned. "Boys his age are going through certain changes, and they don't respond well to that sort of humor."

"Oh, sorry" Sirius chuckled, patting Ron's back gently. "Puberty's a bitch, eh?"

"Black, language…" Lord Greengrass sighed. "This is a dinner table…" _I don't think Sirius understands the notion of table etiquette._

"Sorry" Sirius grinned. "Puberty's a female dog, eh?"

"I… That's acceptable…" Lord Greengrass rubbed his forehead. It genuinely disturbed him that he was getting used to Black's constant juvenile behavior.

"How is puberty treating you, Ron?" Mary asked, her mirth written all over her face. Ron genuinely gaped at her, his eyes darting towards Lord Greengrass.

"Well?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron gaped even more. _What in the fuck?!_ "Don't keep us in suspense, Ron?"

"Have your balls dropped yet?" Sirius asked. _Wait a second!_

"What?!" Ron exclaimed, looking at every adult in complete panic. "My… My balls… My testicles are… What?"

"His voice is getting deeper" Lord Greengrass noted, and Mary nodded in agreement. "Congratulations, Ron." _FOR WHAT?! WHAT THE FUCK?!_

"And congratulations to your balls" Sirius toasted. _This… This isn't happening… Wait... It wouldn't happen. Lord Greengrass is far too levelheaded for such a conversation._

"You planned this" Ron realized, a shaky breath leaving his lungs. Sirius barked out a laugh, while Lord and Lady Greengrass chuckled to themselves. "This is so not funny… I was literally moments away from a stroke… Why?!"

"My idea" Sirius admitted, still laughing hysterically. "The look on your face, kid… Oh Merlin… Did you see him?"

"We did" Mary chuckled, her left hand covering her mouth. "Ron, you're completely red."

"I'm telling Daphne about this" Ron said, a chuckle escaping his throat.

"Nah! You laughed" Sirius wheezed. "You can't tattle if you laugh as well."

"What the fuck?" Ron let his laughter out as he shook his head. _Alright, that was pretty damn funny._ "I was both embarrassed and terrified… I can't believe you went along with this" Ron said, looking to Lord Greengrass.

"I figured a laugh every now and then is necessary" Lord Greengrass shrugged, smiling kindly at Ron.

"Bloody hell" Ron chuckled, covering his flushed face with his hands. "You got me…"

"So how's school, Ron?" Mary asked, her face completely full of life. "Are my daughters behaving?" _Are they behaving?_ Ron looked to Mary, and he spotted Lord Greengrass eyeing him critically.

"They are" Ron lied. "Tori is settling in well, and Daphne is… Daphne."

"This is wonderful news" Mary sighed in relief, and then she smiled at her husband. He smiled back at her, and Ron knew that he hadn't told his wife about Tori attempting Human Transfiguration in her first class. _She'd probably go insane. Tori has been tormenting Mary for over eleven years now._

"Daphne is Daphne?" Sirius asked with a smirk, and Ron blinked at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means that she's well-behaved, and tries her best in her studies" Ron replied. _Daphne is Daphne means that I have trouble finding something negative about her. She's a bit spoilt, but she is also kind and caring. When it really matters, she puts other people ahead of herself. And that trait alone is something that I can't get enough of. I can't think of how many times she's sat down with me and helped me out when I was in a full blown panic._

"Oi, kid?" Sirius called, and Ron blinked.

"Huh?" Ron mumbled, and Sirius just chuckled.

"How's your… social life?" Sirius asked again, wagging his eyebrows. _This guy…_

"It's pretty good" Ron replied. "I have a lot of friends, and my study group went swimmingly yesterday."

"Uh-huh…" Sirius nodded slowly. "But how's your… social life?"

"Any girls, Ron?" Mary asked, and Ron sighed in defeat. _Yeah, your daughter._ "Or boys?"

"We don't judge" Lord Greengrass added on.

"I'm thirteen" Ron said. "No. No girls. Or boys."

"What?" Sirius asked, looking extremely offended. "Kid… If I had your build at thirteen… I'd be the father of a dozen children by now…"

"There is a Contraception Charm over Hogwarts" Mary told him, and Sirius blinked at her.

"Really?" Sirius asked, and Mary nodded.

"There's a reason why there are no teen pregnancies at Hogwarts, Black" Lord Greengrass said.

"How do you know this?" Sirius asked, and then he smiled slyly. "Personal experience?"

"As a matter of fact, yes" Mary smirked at him. _Wow… Just… Wow._

"Nice!" Sirius grinned at Lord Greengrass, who was just smirking to himself.

"I'm trying to eat here" Ron said, imagining Mary's adventures. _NO! That's your girlfriend's mother and father, Ron. But still… I can imagine those perfect brea… Wait. Did I just refer to Daphne as my girlfriend?_

"He's blushing again" Mary chuckled, and Ron hid his face.

"Why is this happening to me?" Ron asked the Universe.

"Sex is fun, kid" Sirius laughed.

"Alright… That's enough" Lord Greengrass intervened. "I think we've taken this too far. He looks incredibly uncomfortable." _Why did I think of Daphne as my girlfriend just now? It's probably because I can't call her anything else. We're pretty much a couple already, except we pretend like we aren't. Actually, that's not correct. I know that she wants to genuinely date me. It's me that's pretending otherwise. And why am I doing that exactly? I'm not embarrassed by our closeness, not anymore at least. If anything, I love being handsy with her. Hmm… Why not make it official? Then we wouldn't have to hide. And we could… go further._

"Ron?" Sirius called, shaking Ron slightly. Ron looked to him, his thoughts coming to a pause. "Are you alright?" Sirius asked, looking a bit concerned. "Look, we were only joking. There's no need to feel uncomfortable."

"Right…" Ron nodded slowly, looking to Lord and Lady Greengrass. They were just watching him, and he shot them a reassuring smile. "I was doing some homework in my head." _Homework, Ron?_

"Homework?" Mary asked, that was unexpected.

"Yeah" Ron lied. "I'm learning… new Spells… and stuff."

"New Spells?" Sirius asked. "Remus is actually teaching you guys something?"

"Um… I skipped his class" Ron admitted, and Sirius sniggered.

"I'm so proud right now" Sirius admitted, while Mary and Lord Greengrass frowned lightly.

"Ron, your education is not optional" Lord Greengrass said.

"What would your father say?" Mary asked. _Damn, I can't tell them that I was 'sick'. They'll just make a big deal out of it._

"Want to see what I'm learning?" Ron asked them, and Sirius nodded. Ron grabbed Sirius' glass with his left hand, his focus bearing down on it. "Glacius" Ron chanted, and the glass froze completely before shattering.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed, shooting out of his chair.

"Was that Wandless Magic?" Mary asked, while Lord Greengrass cocked his eyebrow at the shattered glass. "Ron, your hand?"

"It's fine" Ron said, showing her his icy palm. "Pretty neat, right?" _I need to test out Incendio Wandlessly as well._

"That's… That's fucking amazing!" Sirius laughed, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the shattered glass. Ron felt his cheeks warm up, it felt nice to be given some recognition for his efforts.

"Wandless Magic at thirteen" Lord Greengrass muttered. "A Prodigy indeed…"

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Slytherin Quidditch Locker Room – Before Lunch)**_

Draco's back hit the wall hard enough that it completely winded him, and as he bent over to wheeze, Flint grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall.

"Twenty three minutes!" Flint yelled in his face, while Draco whimpered without even thinking about it. _His breath is foul… Fuck, it's so foul…_

"Please…" Draco choked, turning his head to the side and shutting his eyes as hard as he could. Maybe if he pretended like he was alone, they'd just disappear.

"Twenty three fucking minutes!" Flint yelled again. "That was your fastest time today!"

"It… It was my best…" Draco wheezed, his lungs refusing to take in air.

"Potter can catch it in **five** **minutes**!" Flint yelled. "How the fuck are we going to beat that with you as our Seeker?!"

"I… I don't want…" Draco started, but Flint punched him in the stomach. Draco's entire stomach twisted, and vomit shot out of his mouth and nostrils.

"Fuck!" Flint yelled, jumping away from him as he fell onto his knees. Draco's meager breakfast was now on the floor, and on his Slytherin Uniform. "Look at this sorry prick…"

"Fucking embarrassing" Cassius Warrington laughed, he was one of the starting Chasers. Draco knew that he was supposed to feel utterly mortified because of how disgusting his current state was, but right now, he could feel little besides fear. _He's going to hit me again._

"You two" Flint looked to Crabbe and Goyle, who were just watching this from a corner. "Kick him around a bit, but only aim for his stomach. No visible bruises, do you understand?" _What?_ Draco managed to tilt his head and look up at his former friends, but they were just giving him dead-eyed looks.

"Don't do this…" he heard his own voice, it almost sounded like the Draco of old. Almost. Crabbe was the first to move forward, and when his boot landed on the side of Draco's stomach, Draco was actually lifted off of the ground for a second. He was winded again, his eyes almost bulging out of his head. _It hurts…_

"Your turn" he heard Flint's voice, and then he felt another kick. He barely registered it because of his desperate need for air, but he did notice that he was lying back down on the floor now. Draco's breathing was completely labored, and he genuinely feared dying because of a lack of oxygen. His blurry vision was suddenly darkened by a shape, and he felt someone grab his lower jaw.

"Next time, you'll find that Snitch in ten minutes" came Flint's voice. "Or I fucking swear to Salazar's ghost, I'll jam a broom up your arse. Got it? Answer me!"

"I'll catch… it…" Draco sobbed, and Flint pushed his head away as he let him go.

"The rest of you…" Flint took in a deep breath. "We're going back out there to practice. This fucking useless piece of shite is our weakest link. If we can buy him time to get his head out of his arse, we might actually beat Gryffindor this year for once. You two, I want you on Potter. Chase him down like a dog, and cave in his skull if you get the chance. The rest of you, you'll be with me. We win with points if we can. And you…" Flint looked down at Draco, who was zoning out already. "Not a fucking word of this to anyone, do you understand? You have no one in this school, and I own you. By the way, your mother's cakes were quite the treat…" _What?_ Draco tried to turn his head, but his vision darkened. And then, he was out.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

He woke up with a jerk, and the first thing he noticed was the rank smell. The smell of vomit… And the smell of piss. Draco turned on his side, and the pain in his stomach made him take in a sharp breath. _Where am I?_ Draco was completely unaware of his surroundings, but slowly, he began to remember. _Flint beat me. Crabbe and Goyle… They…_ Draco willed himself to stand up, his eyes scanning the mess around him.

There was vomit on the ground, but not as much as he had initially thought, which made sense because he had skipped dinner last night and barely eaten this morning. Draco limped towards his school uniform which was on a nearby bench, and he pulled out his wand from it. Within seconds, all the vomit on the ground and on his Quidditch uniform was cleaned up. As he was cleaning up his uniform, Draco noticed a dampness in between his legs and on his thighs. _I… I wet myself?_ Shame gripped his heart immediately, and he frantically cleaned up the mess.

"They probably saw it…" Draco sniffled, his embarrassment amplifying tenfold. Draco grabbed his school uniform and quickly limped out of the locker room, completely forgetting his once cherished broom. The walk up to Hogwarts was excruciating, but Draco did his best to walk as normally as he could. There were only a handful of students outside, no doubt enjoying the Sun and relaxing after a week of grueling classes. Draco didn't pay them any mind, and they in turn ignored him as well. He didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse, but either way, no one bothered to notice just how miserable he looked.

As Draco finally crossed the Courtyard and entered the castle, he could hear loud chattering coming from the Great Hall. It was lunchtime, and Draco was actually starving. But even though his mouth watered at the prospect of eating a hot meal, he turned and left for the Slytherin common room instead. _I'm in no state to show my face to others. If the Professors see me, they'll ask questions. And then Flint will…_ His own powerlessness twisted his heart painfully, but he did his best to numb himself to it. By the time he got in front of the Slytherin common room entrance, his stomach could no longer be ignored.

"Dragon's Blood" Draco gave the password, his stomach twisting from a mixture of pain and hunger. The wall slid aside, and Draco limped inside. _I have food in my room. Mum sent me cakes._ He was genuinely glad that the common room was empty, he couldn't afford to be spotted by his sharp House-mates. He purposefully limped towards his dorm, which felt more like a prison cell, and once he reached the door, he barged right in and shut the door behind himself. _Safe. I made it back._

Draco threw his uniform onto his bed, too far gone to hang it up in a tidy manner. Draco finally relaxed, and in doing so, he let out a pained groan as he bent over. _My stomach… Fuck…_ Draco straightened his back, and then he pulled up his top in order to look at his stomach. It was bruised pretty badly, especially the right side of his lower stomach. Against his unusually pale skin, the dark bruises looked rather terrible. Draco let his top fall back down, he didn't want to look at his stomach for a second longer.

"I'm so hungry…" Draco groaned, limping towards his trunk. His mother had sent his weekly delivery of cakes yesterday which she'd baked herself, and his mouth watered at the thought of them. Narcissa Malfoy, despite being raised to never lift a finger, baked her son cakes with her own hands. No Magic, no assistance from the Elves, and no Charms to amplify the taste. They were completely natural, and she sent them every Friday morning without fail. Draco opened the trunk, but much to his surprise, the box was missing.

"Where are they?" Draco blinked at the empty space in his trunk, and then he started moving his neatly packed clothes around. "They were right here… I left them right here for today…" Draco quickly shot looks around the room, and his eyes spotted a bit of crumpled parchment on the ground. _What is that?_ Draco quickly stood up, and when pain shot up his stomach, he mentally cursed his own stupidity. Draco then limped to the parchment, and after picking it up, he smoothed it out.

 _To my Dragon,_

 _Mum._

Draco stared at the neat handwriting, his mind trying to process what had happened. And that's when he remembered Flint's comment about his mother's cakes. _Crabbe and Goyle… They took the cakes from my trunk…_ Draco reread the note from his mother over and over again, and he only stopped when his eyes were too filled with tears to make out the words. Those were his cakes… His mother had toiled to make them just for him… They weren't meant for Crabbe and Goyle to steal… They weren't meant to satisfy Flint and his gang of thugs…

"I want to go home…" Draco sobbed, crushing the note in his hands. "I hate this school… I hate being here so much…"

He spent the next hour crying on his bed, and he knew that no one was listening. No one cared enough to even try.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Before Dinner)**_

Seeing Sirius had been a treat, and although he wanted to bring up R.A.B, Ron had decided against doing so. For one, it wasn't something that he wished to discuss in front of Lord and Lady Greengrass. But more importantly, if Regulus Black was indeed dead, then Ron didn't want to bring up any painful memories for Sirius. Regardless of who Regulus Black turned out to be, Ron understood that Sirius probably loved his brother. Ron's given mission wasn't as important to him as Sirius, and making the man relive horrible memories was something that he could never bring himself to do.

But sooner or later, he'd have to do something with the information that he had. This Horcrux business was absolutely disgusting, and what disgusted Ron even more was the fact that the Dark Lord's selfishness had put the whole World at risk. He had achieved 'immortality', but it had come at the cost of pissing off Death itself. Ron understood now that he had to find these objects first, and only when they were destroyed, could he act against the Dark Lord. Even Dumbledore couldn't harm the Darkest Wizard of all Time without first dismantling his 'protections'.

"Ronald, I have your results" Pomfrey said as she stepped into her Office, and Ron stood up to greet her. He had come straight to her after his long day, it was well past time that he got a checkup.

"And?" Ron asked, bracing himself for any bad news.

"Your brain-damage has worsened…" Pomfrey said, her own worry written over her face. _I see._

"How much worse?" Ron asked, his throat tightening.

"Not much" Pomfrey replied. "Not enough to harm you… yet. But if the damage keeps spreading… It will become terminal… I'm sorry." _I could potentially die in the middle of the war? No… No, I can't let that happen._

"So it's not terminal yet?" Ron asked, a horrible pit forming deep in his gut.

"No, it isn't" Pomfrey replied, showing him the results of the scan. "The newer damage is miniscule at the moment, but there are far too many factors that can increase its size." Ron stared at the black and white picture of his brain, his eyes fixed on black spots on the front of his brain. _I can count only one extra small dot from the previous pictures. Entity, did you really heal me? Speak to me. Please._

"How… Ahem… How do we proceed?" Ron asked, trying his best to keep his expression controlled.

"The treatment that we are giving you already is our only course of action" Pomfrey replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _I forgot that there's no cure for this._ "I'd like to see you more often from now on, if that's alright with you."

"I can do Mondays and Thursdays" Ron said, and she nodded.

"Very well" Madam Pomfrey agreed. "Come straight here after classes end for the day. I'd also like you to start taking two doses of the Nutrition Potion from now on. One in the morning, and one after classes end for the day."

"Alright" Ron agreed. "Is there anything else that can help me?"

"I'd like you to focus more on yourself from now on" Madam Pomfrey replied, and Ron blinked at her. "Your health should be your only priority, Ronald. I know that you tend to worry about things quite often, but from now on, perhaps a more… detached… outlook may help you."

"Detached?" Ron asked. "You want me to be self-absorbed?" _I can't do that. The war doesn't just affect me, it's coming for everyone. My ability to see the Future is a responsibility that I can't put second. And since the war is my biggest 'worry', that bit of advice is useless to me._

"Not self-absorbed" Madam Pomfrey replied. "Just focus more on your own needs instead of the needs of others. Your friends and Family don't have brain-damage, Ronald. You do. You are the one who needs attention right now."

"I… I understand" Ron lied, he knew that he couldn't just change the way his brain had been operating for nearly six years. _I'll need to tell this to Dumbledore and Snape. My brain-damage affects our work together._

"Do you want me to contact your Family?" Pomfrey asked.

"No" Ron replied immediately. "I don't want them to know."

"Ronald…" Pomfrey started, he cut her off.

"They are going to turn this into some huge deal, and in doing so, cause me a lot of stress" Ron said, and she nodded slowly. "What really stresses me is when people start behaving irrationally near me, and my parents… They have a record of going overboard."

"I understand" Pomfrey admitted, she had seen just how distressed both Weasley parents tended to become when it came to their children's wellbeing. Seeing them in such a state probably wasn't going to help Ron. He was the sort to start worrying about them, and forget about himself in the process.

"Right…" Ron said, taking in a deep breath. "I'll… I'll see you on Monday then…"

"Very well" Pomfrey nodded, and Ron knew that she'd respect patient-healer confidentiality. Ron left the Office at that, heading towards the Great Hall. Dinner would no doubt start soon, and Ron mentally prepared himself for seeing his friends. _I can't give them a reason to worry about this. It's out of their control, and it's already bad enough that they have to deal with_ _ **my**_ _problems._

As Ron made his way down the Moving Staircase, something popped into his mind. _The Nutrition Potion. Daphne is the one who gives it to me every morning since she has my whole supply. Damn. Should I get Marty to go and buy me my own supply?_ Ron's mind jarred to a stop at that. Part of him wanted Daphne to know, and it wasn't because it affected her. He wanted her to know because he wanted someone to talk to. Someone his own age… Someone who'd give him comfort in the form of hugs and kisses. _No! Stop it! Don't put that on her because you're too weak to stand on your own!_

"Ron?" came Harry's voice, and Ron realized that he was almost inside the Great Hall. _Bloody hell, was I just walking around without even looking?_ Ron then looked to Harry, Neville, and Hermione, who seemed to be waiting for him outside the giant doors. Ron's eyes landed on Hermione for a second, and once again, his brain jarred to a stop.

"Ron? Are you alright, mate?" Neville asked, and Ron shook his head clear.

"Sorry, I'm just tired…" Ron replied, looking to Neville.

"Long day at work?" Hermione asked, and Ron nodded. Her smile faltered slightly because he was clearly trying to not look at her. Had she done something to upset him?

"How was Astronomy last night?" Harry asked, he wasn't in the mood to make idle conversation.

"I… I didn't go to Astronomy" Ron replied truthfully. _How do they know that I had Astronomy last night? Maybe they overheard someone._

"Really?" Harry asked. "Why not?"

"I wasn't feeling well" Ron lied. "My fever was acting up again."

"I'm sorry to hear that, murderer" Hermione said, and Ron looked to her with a shocked look.

"What?" Ron muttered, had he misheard her?

"I said that I'm sorry to hear that, Ron" Hermione repeated, eyeing his slightly scared expression with a bewildered one.

"Oh…" Ron blinked. "Right…"

"Were you bedridden?" Harry asked, and Ron looked to him. _My head… I think I'm getting another headache. I swear that she called me a 'murderer' just then._

"Ron, you really don't look well" Neville cut in, this interrogation was over. He had put up with it because Harry was clearly upset with what they had seen last night, but Ron didn't deserve to be questioned like this. "Maybe we should take you to Pomfrey. What do you say?"

"I… I just came from there" Ron replied, not thinking his reply through. _I just need to sit down. I need a moment to collect myself._

"Was it related to your fever?" Harry asked, and Ron nodded slowly. "So you were bedridden last night?"

"I was" Ron lied, and something shifted behind Harry's eyes.

"Right after dinner?" Hermione asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. They had just caught him in a lie.

"Yeah…" Ron lied again, he couldn't really tell them about his work with Dumbledore. "I… I need to go sit down. Excuse me." Ron walked into the Great Hall at that, the base of his skull hurting slightly. _Entity, I need to speak to you. Can you bloody respond? Please?_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"I'm sorry to hear this, Ronald" Dumbledore admitted, his expression softening considerably. Fawkes let out a meek shrill before nipping at his right earlobe.

"It's only miniscule at the moment" Ron said, rubbing his forehead with his left hand. "It isn't terminal, nor does it affect me in any major way."

"But it can if it's left unchecked?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded. "I see…" Snape said, his expression unreadable.

"I need to start taking an extra dose of the Nutrition Potion every day" Ron told them, and then he looked to Snape. "Sir, is it possible if I can pay you to get me some?"

"There will be no need for payment" Snape said. "I'll begin making a batch once this meeting ends. You will get everything that you need." _Oh…_

"Thank you" Ron said, genuinely grateful for the help. "I saw Sirius today."

"You went to Grimmauld Place?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, he was at Greengrass Manor" Ron replied, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I… I didn't bring up Regulus Black…"

"That was probably wise" Snape told him. "Black is a sentimental fool, and he'd start asking questions that you cannot answer."

"Sirius is not a 'sentimental fool'…" Ron frowned slightly, he didn't like Snape badmouthing Sirius like that. "But yes… He'd ask questions that I couldn't answer. I plan to go to Grimmauld Place next Sunday. Once I'm there, I'll excuse myself for one reason or another. And then, I'll find Regulus' room and look for clues."

"I doubt that Black kept the room as it was" Snape pointed out. "It's most likely been cleaned out."

"Any suggestions?" Ron asked them.

"Does Black still have that vile piece of filth Elf?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"Kreacher is his name" Dumbledore added. "And yes, he does. I had the misfortune of running into him when Harry's guardianship was under debate."

"He's a bitter old twat" Ron pointed out, remember the abuse that Kreacher often hurled at him and his Family. "He openly calls Sirius, his own master, a 'filthy friend of disgusting Blood-Traitors'…" _Why Sirius keeps him around is beyond me._

"That Elf often trailed behind Regulus" Snape told them.

"He was loyal to Regulus?" Dumbledore asked, wondering why the Elf would choose to serve the second son instead.

"Fanatically so" Snape remembered. "Regulus was… kind to the Elf, as far as I can tell. He even brought the Elf to some of the meetings, much to the Dark Lord's disgust. If Regulus' room yields nothing, try and speak to the Elf. He might know something about Regulus' fate."

"Alright" Ron nodded. "Let's just hope that he listens to me." _I mean, I did smack him pretty hard. Not that he didn't deserve it._

"If you happen upon anything, no matter how minor, bring it to us" Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded his agreement. "And don't hurt Kreacher, Ronald. He is who he is because of the people that he has been enslaved to. He is to be pitied above all else."

"Yeah…" Ron started. "I don't care about some random Elf… If he talks, I'll listen to him. But if he holds back on me, then I'll beat the information out of him."

"Ronald…" Dumbledore started, but Ron cut him off.

"You do things your own way, and I'll do them my way" Ron said. "I'm not interested in half-measures. I can't afford them."

"I agree with Ronald" Snape piped in, and Dumbledore gave him a slight frown. "That Elf often 'interrogated' Muggle-Borns because his Master lacked the stomach for it. He is no victim, Albus. Ronald… Do what you must. That locket is our only priority." _Great. So Kreacher is not only a bitter old cunt, but he's also tortured people. Sirius needs to get rid of that bastard before he lives to regret it._

"Just be safe" Dumbledore sighed, he was clearly outvoted on this. Ron nodded, and then he stood up.

"I'm going to head to bed" Ron said. "May I?"

"Yes, please rest" Dumbledore replied. "You certainly look like you need it." Ron walked over to the fireplace, and Snape followed after him.

"Severus Snape's Office" Ron called, casting a handful of floo-powder into the fire. Once it blazed green, both Snape and Ron walked through it. "Goodnight, Sir."

"Wait a moment" Snape said, and then he walked towards his storeroom. Ron waited for the Potions Master's return, and when he finally came back out of his storeroom, he had three vials of his Calming Tonic in his hand. "Take these, Ron" Snape said, handing Ron the vials.

"Your Calming Tonic?" Ron asked, pocketing the vials.

"For your use only" Snape replied. "The moment you feel overwhelmed, drink one. Once you run out of them, come back to me and I will brew you more." _That's really nice of him. What's going on here?_

"Won't I get addicted to these?" Ron asked.

"No, but if you drink them often enough, their effects will dull over time" Snape replied. "These aren't exactly as powerful as the Calming Draught, or even the Draught of Peace, but they will provide some relief."

"Thanks, Sir" Ron smiled, and Snape blinked at him. _What?_

"Yes…" Snape said, looking a bit lost. "You may leave now." _Right._ Ron turned to leave, and just as he was at the door, Snape called out to him. "Your promise to me about my Godson… Does it still stand?" _My promise?_ Ron turned around and looked at Snape, who was just staring back at Ron.

"My promise to make sure that he makes it through the war?" Ron asked, and Snape gave a curt nod.

"He doesn't deserve to be punished for his father's actions" Snape said.

"But my sister deserved to pay for my father's?" Ron asked.

"He is not Lucius" Snape replied. "The look on your face yesterday told me everything that I need to know… You plan to kill Lucius Malfoy. Not now, but eventually. I want to know if Draco is now on your list as well." _I… I don't know. Probably. I can't kill his father without him trying to exact revenge._ "If you go after Draco, then I will stop you myself. I will not let you harm my Godson."

"I am not Lucius Malfoy" Ron said, coming to a decision. "I will not become him by killing his 'innocent' son for his actions, but if your Godson does come after me for it… I will defend myself."

"I understand" Snape said, his eyes fixed on Ron's. "Goodnight, Ronald."

"Goodnight, Sir."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Black Lake – Late Afternoon)**_

"Reducto!" Ron yelled, and a streak of blue light shot out from the tip of his wand. It smashed into the tree that Ron was aiming for, and it blew a massive chunk right out of it. The remaining wood cracked loudly, and the tree toppled to its side. _Nice._

"That was so awesome!" Tori squealed, while the other Slytherin first years whistled and cheered. Ron turned to face them with a friendly smile, and much to his surprise, even the Carrow twins seemed excited.

"One Spell!" Mathew cheered, his face flushing from excitement. "One bloody Spell, and he toppled a tree!"

"Is that the Spell you used to kill the Mountain Troll in your first year?!" Derek asked, his chubby hand tightening around his own wand.

"No, the Spell I used to slay the Mountain Troll was far deadlier" Ron admitted, and the first years let out laughs and cheers. _I'm not really surprised by their excitement. I myself went mental when I first tried out this Spell. It does feel nice to have them cheer for me though._

"Can we try it?" John asked.

"In a bit" Ron said, and they nodded eagerly. _They studied hard this morning, but safety precautions need to be set in place._ "First, you will all promise me that you will not use this Curse against your fellow students. Not only will it seriously maim them, but they could potentially die. And you'll be in Azkaban before you know it."

"We're not the stupid, Ron…" Tori frowned slightly.

"This coming from the girl that attempted Human Transfiguration in her first class" Ron reminded her, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Ha! He got you" Lysandra giggled.

"Shut up, Lysandra…" Tori pouted.

"We will be careful" Flora said, while her sister nodded. Ron could tell them apart because of only one feature; their hair. Flora wore hers to the right, while Hestia wore hers to the left. But other than that, they were pretty much the same person. _They even wear the same dresses as each other._

"Secondly" Ron restarted. "What I teach you stays with you. You will not teach it to other people. I don't want people losing hands because you lot decided to teach something that you haven't mastered yet. And lastly, you will follow my instructions to the letter. This is dangerous stuff, and your safety comes first. Understand?"

"We got it" Sebastian replied quickly. "Can we please try our hand at it now?"

"Michael, come here" Ron ordered, and the boy all but ran up to him. "The rest of you watch carefully."

"Why him?" Lysandra asked.

"Because he has the best grades out of you lot" Ron replied, and Michael smirked arrogantly.

"It's been one week" Hestia pointed out.

"And so far, he has the best grades out of you lot" Ron repeated. "Now… Watch."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron watched the first years run around with a smile on his face, they were currently throwing rather harmless Jinxes and Hexes at each other. Ron wasn't really surprised that all of them had managed to cast the Reductor Curse on their first attempts. He himself had managed to do that, and unlike them, Ron wasn't exactly academically gifted. They all wanted to cast it again, but Ron had warned them of the fatigue that resulted in casting powerful Spells at their age. So they had instead settled for skirmishing with each other under his supervision, all of them excited to finally let loose and try out their wands.

"Mind if I join you?" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron turned his head to look at her. She had a silver tray in her hands which looked rather heavy, and Ron immediately wondered what was on it.

"Of course, take a seat" Ron said, and Daphne carefully set the tray on the ground before joining him on his makeshift seat.

"Can't say that I've used a small boulder as a seat before" Daphne said, and Ron chuckled.

"I hear it's good for your back" Ron joked, eyeing the sandwiches and jug of pumpkin juice on the tray. _She brought us food._ "Daph, you didn't have to bring us food."

"I know" Daphne shrugged. "But I figured that Tori and her friends could use some fuel. You do tend to push people to their limits."

"None for me then?" Ron asked, and she smirked at him. "That's just mean…"

"They look like they're having fun" Daphne said, turning her gaze to the first years.

"I'm going with the gentle approach with them" Ron admitted. "Where did you get the food?"

"Marty delivered it to me while I was coming down here" Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"He listened to your orders?" Ron asked.

"He still does" Daphne admitted. "But when it comes to you, his loyalty is unwavering. If I had asked him to tell me where you were, or to look for you, he'd probably just ignore me."

"You told him that the food was for me" Ron figured, and Daphne smiled innocently.

"He thinks that you should eat more" Daphne told him, and Ron genuinely laughed.

"If he got his way, I'd be the size of Crabbe" Ron remarked.

"Can I tell you something strange?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "He calls me Mistress…"

"And that's bad?" Ron asked, unsure of why that was strange.

"You're his Master, Ron" Daphne replied. "And in Elf culture, the wife of a Master is called Mistress."

"He thinks that you're my wife?" Ron asked, and she nodded. _Wow._

"Either that, or he wants me to be" Daphne replied. _Daphne as my wife. That would be something, eh?_

"But you are my wife" Ron smirked. "Or have you forgotten?"

"We were fooling around, Ron" Daphne reminded him. "This is more serious."

"You… You don't like it?" Ron asked, trying to sound casual. _I mean, we are way too young for that sort of commitment. Plus, I really can't imagine having a wife in the upcoming war. Too much to do, and no time for distractions._

"Let's settle for dating first" Daphne chuckled, and Ron managed a weak smile. _Dating? I haven't really given that topic much thought since yesterday. Me dating Daphne. I do like the idea of that._

"Are there any couples in our year?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Um… Yeah…" Daphne replied, trying to think of them. "I've heard that Justin confessed to Lisa Turpin, and they're dating now."

"Justin?" Ron smirked, and Daphne giggled. "You're on a first name basis with a Hufflepuff?"

"The Hufflepuffs are growing on me" Daphne admitted. "They're very polite, and they don't take this House Rivalry stuff too seriously. I kind of like that about them." _Good. I hope the others are starting to think like Daphne as well._

"Remember back in first year, when we used to make fun of them?" Ron asked.

"We never spent any time with them before" Daphne replied. "Your study group, Ron… I'm sorry if I ever doubted it. I can see now why you were trying so hard to piece it together. You're doing a good thing."

"Thanks" Ron smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly. _Why do her compliments turn me into a little girl?_ "Um… Any other couples?"

"Terry Boot started dating Mandy Brocklehurst over the summer" Daphne replied. "Finnegan and Brown were supposedly caught snogging by Filch on Thursday…"

"Snogging?" Ron asked, and Daphne smirked at him.

"Does that bother you, Ron?" Daphne teased, and Ron remembered their attempt to snog. "Anyway… They aren't dating or anything, but they do seem to enjoy playing with each other." _So they're like us, but they've gone further._ "I've heard that some of the older Gryffindor girls have labeled Brown as a slag because of it."

"A slag?" Ron asked. "She's thirteen… Give her a fucking break." _Slag? What a fucking disgusting word. I can't believe that Malfoy once called Daphne that. If he did it now, I'd fucking rip his cock off and shove it down his throat._

"Most of them probably did the same things when they were younger" Daphne sighed. "It's easy to judge the people that we don't know. I'm… I'm starting to see that now. I thought very little of the Hufflepuffs, but after spending a bit of time with them, I can see now that their lack of ambition is made up for by their love of community. They are happy with what they have, and they want to share that with others. Isn't that beautiful, Ron?"

"It is" Ron smiled, genuinely surprised by her actual opinion on the Hufflepuffs. "You know… I didn't think that you held the Hufflepuffs in such high regard."

"I like their way of thinking, but not them individually" Daphne said. "I don't know them enough to have an opinion of them."

"You don't know Hermione enough either" Ron pointed out, and Daphne frowned immediately.

"I know that she threw you to the wolves after the Dragon business" Daphne said. "I know that she turned the Gryffindors against you. I know that she expects you listen to her opinions without having earned that privilege. I know that she orchestrated an explosion in Potions Class that resulted in me having a second degree burn on my chest. And I know that she tried to drug and kidnap me. Those are the actions of someone who thinks themselves above the rules. And since she seems to love preaching the rules to other people, her attitude comes across as nothing short of arrogant."

"You and Blaise really don't like her, do you?" Ron sighed, he didn't even know why he had brought Hermione up.

"We all dislike her, and it's not because we're prejudiced against her" Daphne told him. "Her own House-mates dislike her as well. If everyone can't stand you, then there is something genuinely wrong with you as a person."

"Any other couples?" Ron asked, deciding to stop this conversation. _It's my own damn fault for bringing it up._

"No, not that I know of" Daphne replied, taking the lifeline that Ron had thrown her. "Michael Corner fancies Padma Patil, but she clearly has her eyes on someone else."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Someone unavailable" Daphne replied, and Ron gave her a confused look. "You, Ron… You dolt." _Me?_

"We get along, but that doesn't meant that she fancies me" Ron chuckled, she was way out of his league. _But then again, so is Daphne. I mean, even I know that I'm not the most handsome bloke in our year. Blaise, Malfoy, Anthony Goldstein, Wayne Hopkins, Dean Thomas… Those are the good looking blokes in our year. And Theo, if he isn't sneering or smirking._

"Why wouldn't she fancy you?" Daphne asked, not liking his tone in regards to himself. "You're a foot taller than all the boys in our year. You're thirteen, but you could easily beat the Magic out of a seventh year. Oh, and you are the only boy in our year with muscles. Actual muscles… Have you seen your bum, Ron? It's so round and firm looking."

"Ease up, pervert" Ron laughed, and Daphne giggled at him. _Now I'm shy and whatnot. She likes my arse?_

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Daphne smirked. "To be looked at like that."

"I stand by my words about your physique" Ron quickly told her. "And I'll fight you if you disagree with me. 'My chest is too big'… Utter nonsense. You should've seen it bouncing on Friday, it was…" Daphne smacked his arm, and Ron yelped. "Sorry…"

"Does my father know that you sexually harass me like _**this**_?" Daphne asked, her lips twitching upwards.

"Does your father know that you 'can't hold back on me sometimes'?" Ron smirked, and Daphne's cheeks turned rosy. "Hmmm… I remember that day. You pinned me down and…"

"I remember…" Daphne whispered, something shifting behind her eyes. "Finish up with the first years, and then come up to the Sanctuary." _Huh? Oh… OH!_

"Done" Ron nodded, and Daphne quickly got up and left. Ron stood up and walked closer to the first years. "OI! That's enough of that!" The first years stopped and looked to him, all of them sweaty and panting. "Who's hungry?" Ron asked them, pointing towards the sandwiches.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron all but barged into the Sanctuary, and as the door closed behind him, his Disillusionment Charm broke away. He looked to the couches, and then to the sand pit, and then to the bed… But there was no Daphne in sight.

"Where is she?" Ron panted, slightly out of breath. _I bloody bolted up here. Don't tell me that I beat her up here somehow._

"About time" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron suddenly felt someone jump onto his back. Ron quickly grabbed her thighs as she clung to his back, her arms tied around his neck. "What took you so long?" Daphne whispered in his right ear.

"The first years wouldn't shut the hell up" Ron replied, his body tensing slightly as Daphne started planting kisses on his right cheek. "Were you waiting behind the door?"

"I wanted to surprise you" Daphne replied, kissing up to his right ear. She then did something rather strange… She lightly nibbled on the top of his ear, and a shudder passed through him. _Fuck… That feels really nice for some reason…_ Ron walked over to the bed, and Daphne kept nibbling at his ear. Ron slowly sat down on the bed, and Daphne let go of him. He quickly turned to face her, and she had a challenging smirk on her face.

"Biting isn't fair" Ron smirked back, but she simply cocked an eyebrow.

"Playing fair isn't my thing" Daphne retorted. "Come here…" Ron slowly pinned her down, hovering over her once again. "Closer…" Ron put his weight on his elbows, and now their faces were only inches apart.

"What made you bite me?" Ron whispered, planting a kiss on her lips. "It felt… good. Made my stomach light, and my body tense."

"Do you know what a love bite is?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. _Witch Weekly magazine? Pansy's still letting her borrow her collection?_

"You shouldn't try and leave one on my ear" Ron chuckled. "People would see that."

"So… I can leave one elsewhere?" Daphne asked, her eyes glazing over.

"Uh…" Ron blinked, wondering what had gotten into her. "Wait… Before we do something… new… I just want to be sure that this isn't just you not being able to hold back on me."

"Worried that I might regret it later?" Daphne asked, leaning up and pecking his lips.

"Yes, actually" Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. "Remember our promise? We'd always make sure that we were alright with this sort of stuff."

"You're sweet" Daphne smiled, her right hand slithering up to his left cheek.

"I am?" Ron smiled back.

"You really are" Daphne rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone. "I'm sure about this, I promise." _So we're doing it? Isn't it a bit more risqué than a French kiss? Not that I mind. I really, really don't mind._

"You want to leave your mark on me?" Ron asked, bumping his nose against hers. "Any particular reason why?"

"There is one reason" Daphne whispered, planting two quick pecks on his lips.

"And what is this reason?" Ron whispered back.

"I want you to know that you're mine" Daphne told him, and Ron pulled his face back a bit. _I didn't see that coming. It sounded a bit too… possessive._ Daphne put her left arm around his back, and she stared right into his eyes. "Trelawney made some insane allegation that you had your eyes on Parvati Patil, and that girl is constantly shooting you glances" Daphne whispered, the look on her face was a mixture of naughtiness and anger. "I don't like her looking at you like that, and I don't like that she's building up the courage to ask you out. You're mine, Ron. Only mine."

"Um…" Ron swallowed thickly, both aroused and scared at the same time.

"Please…" Daphne whispered, still stroking his cheekbone with her thumb.

"Will it prove to you that Trelawney is insane for thinking that?" Ron asked, and she nodded. _Fuck it. I really want to try it._ Ron pulled back a bit, and then he undid the top three buttons of his shirt. "Is shoulder alright with you?"

"Yes!" Daphne beamed, and then she pulled him back down. "It might hurt a little, but it should feel good as well." _If you say so._

"Alright…" Ron swallowed again, his entire body jittery with excitement. He felt Daphne move his collar aside, and the air touch his now naked left shoulder. And then, he felt her mouth on him. It was an odd feeling, having someone suck on a part of you. And it did hurt a little, but for some reason, it gave him goosebumps as well. "Fuck…" Ron groaned, doing his best to stay in place. _Her lips are really soft._ He felt her teeth graze him a little, but when he tensed, she stopped doing that. After thirty or so seconds, she pulled her head back.

Ron raised himself at that, he could feel the remnants of her saliva on his left shoulder. Daphne was actually panting, her face and neck more flushed than he'd ever seen them. Ron looked down at his shoulder, and there was a deep bruise in the shape of her mouth in the middle of his shoulder and neck. _There it is. Her mark._ Ron suddenly realized that his breathing was labored, and that his pants were feeling rather tight.

"Did you enjoy it?" Daphne asked, sounding more curious than sure.

"I did…" Ron breathed out, and then he looked to her. She was staring at her mark on him, an odd sort of smile on her lips.

"Do… Do you want to give me one?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded slowly. Daphne pulled the collar of her beige wool jumper aside, revealing her right shoulder to him. Ron just stared at her naked skin, completely transfixed. _This might be the greatest moment in my life. So far._ "Ron?"

"Sorry" Ron blinked, eyeing the green strap on her naked shoulder. "Your bra strap… It's in the way…"

"Oh…" Daphne muttered, using her left hand to move it out of the way. "Your turn…" Ron nodded slowly, and then he leaned down, his face hovering above her bare skin. "Just suck on the skin… Don't bite me please."

"I won't" Ron promised. And then, he planted his mouth in the middle of her neck and shoulder. The first thing he noticed was how soft her muscles were compared to his own, and the next thing he noticed was how nice she smelled. Ron sucked on her muscle as if he were a baby, always making sure to keep himself in check. He didn't want to do anything that would cause her pain, and judging by her breathing and weak moaning, he was doing a good job.

"Use your teeth a little…" Daphne panted, and so Ron scraped his teeth against her skin. She tensed and groaned, her arms tightening around his back. "Keep going please…" Ron did as he was told, and he gave her a minute long love bite. After the minute had passed, he decided to stop before it caused an injury. When Ron pulled back, he came face to face with a bright red Daphne. Her chest was heaving up and down, and her eyes were completely glazed over. "How does it look?" Daphne whispered, smiling rather seductively.

"Like it hurts" Ron replied, eyeing the deep dark bruise on her.

"It does hurt…" Daphne hummed, her hands sliding up to his face. _It does?_

"I'm really sorry… I tried being gentle…" Ron said, feeling a pang of guilt.

"Don't be sorry" Daphne felt up his face with her hands. "I really enjoyed that… Come here…" Ron leaned down, and Daphne moved her hands to the back of his neck. Ron gave her a peck, but she suddenly pulled him down in order to smother his lips with hers. It took less than a second for Ron to do the same, and it felt like pure bliss. There were no Horcruxes here, nor was there any talk of brain-damage. Right now, Ron felt like any other teenager his age. He felt normal, and that feeling brought him to a decision. Daphne was his, and he was hers. And he was done hiding that.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Their lips were bruised, but they were both smiling like idiots. It hurt, but it also felt nice. They had kissed and cuddled for ten minutes, but it was about time that they returned to their friends. Otherwise, people would start asking questions. Ron had decided that he'd first bring up his new decision to Dumbledore and Snape, as his love-life could impact their work. If they gave him the go-ahead, he'd talk to Lord and Lady Greengrass next. Once he had their blessing, he'd ask her out.

"Episkey" Ron chanted, healing Daphne's bruised lips.

"Episkey" Daphne chanted, healing his bruised lips. They both sheathed their wands, still smiling like morons. "Doesn't it excite you to know that your mark is on me? No one will know, not even our friends."

"I think I'm really starting to like your rebellious side" Ron sniggered, giving her another peck. "Let's head back down to the Dungeons."

"Wait…" Daphne said, and then she reached forward and did his buttons up. "I'm not letting some random witch see my merchandise."

" **Your** merchandise?" Ron laughed. "Am I just an object to you?"

"No, but you **are** mine" Daphne smirked. "All mine."

"You're a bit scary, you know that right?" Ron chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. He then began to walk towards the giant doors, but Daphne spanked his arse rather hard. "OW! My arse, woman!"

"Hehe" Daphne giggled, rubbing her right palm with her left hand. "It does feel amazing! I knew it!"

"You couldn't have given me a pinch or something?" Ron laughed, and Daphne smiled slyly. "No… Get back!" Ron ran towards the door, but she quickly cornered him.

"Snip snip" Daphne giggled, pretending like she had crab-hands. _Bloody hell, she can be so cute._

"Daphne, no" Ron said, but the laughter in his voice betrayed him. "My left cheek is actually stinging."

"Then present me with your right one" Daphne laughed. "Give up the cheek, and no one gets hurt!"

"Good lord!" Ron shrunk against the door. That's when he heard someone grab the handle from the other side, and Ron immediately stepped by Daphne's side. The door swung open, and their friends walked in. _Fuck! If they had come in a minute earlier, they'd have caught us on the bed together._

"Oh…" Theo muttered, nearly walking into them. "There you two are…"

"What are you doing up here?" Tracey asked them, while Blaise shut the door behind them.

"Ron's been feeling a bit… out of it" Daphne lied, her expression lacking any emotion. _How does she do that? My heart is beating in my throat._

"Really?" Pansy asked, eyeing Ron with a worried look.

"It's just my Chronic Stress…" Ron lied, giving her a sorry smile. "I sometimes feel… alone…"

"Ron, you're never alone" Millie gave him a comforting smile, and then she nudged Theo.

"Yeah, mate" Theo agreed. _I'm an utter cunt, but it's better than us getting caught out._

"Do you want to do something together?" Blaise asked, clearly trying his best to sound compassionate. _Merlin, that tone really doesn't suit him._

"Let's play cards" Pansy smiled at Ron. "You enjoy playing Wizard's Poker, right?" _Daphne told her about that?_

"Daphne told us that you beat her a few times at it" Tracey smiled at him. _She fucking lied to you. She destroyed me._

"Wizard's Poker sounds nice" Ron admitted, and they smiled at him.

"I'll go and grab my cards" Theo said, promptly leaving the Sanctuary.

"Come and sit with us, Ron" Pansy said, clinging to his left arm. She suddenly leaned up and kissed his left cheek, while Tracey clung to his right arm. The girls dragged him towards the couches, while the others followed after them. Ron managed to shoot a look back, and he saw Daphne smirking victoriously. _She's something else, isn't she?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Care of Magical Creatures – After Lunch)**_

Ron and his friends walked down to Hagrid's hut together, with the exception of Tracey and Theo, both of whom weren't taking Care of Magical Creatures. It was a nice day out, one with a cool breeze and a pale grey sky. A perfect day for an outdoors class. As for Ron, he was rather interested in seeing Hagrid as a Professor. The giant man was rather loud-mouthed when it came to being an agent of the Order, but there was little he could go wrong with when it came to teaching a class. Or so Ron hoped.

"Has anyone tried to open these books?" Pansy asked, staring at her closed copy of 'The Monster book of Monsters'.

"I did…" Blaise sighed, staring at his own copy. It was Spell-o-taped for some reason.

"Ron, how did you open yours?" Millie asked, a jump rope tied around her copy.

"I haven't opened it yet" Ron replied. "I was grounded, remember? It's just been sitting in my trunk until now."

"Well, don't open it" Daphne warned him, a Magical rope tied around her copy. "It comes to life when it gets opened, and then it tries to eat you."

"Really?" Ron asked, staring down at his 'asleep' copy. _Um… I don't want to hold this thing. Death by carnivorous book is not how my Cycle ends._

"Thank Merlin I kept mine closed" Pansy muttered, staring at her book with a squeamish expression.

"C'mon, now!" came Hagrid's booming voice, and they all looked up to see him standing at the foot of his hut. He was wearing his moleskin trench coat once again, and Fang was sitting by his leg.

"Are those dead mole-rats around his neck?" Pansy asked, going slightly green. _They are indeed._ "I think I picked the wrong class, you guys."

"Want to hold my hand?" Millie chuckled, and Pansy quickly took a hold of it. "I was kidding…"

"Huh?" Pansy muttered, giving Millie a slightly scared look.

"Never mind" Millie sighed, holding her squeamish friend's hand.

"Got a real treat for yeh today!" Hagrid beamed at them all. "A great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" Hagrid then began leading them towards the Forest, and the class quietly followed after him. The Golden Trio had quickly taken the lead, walking right behind the giant man. The other Gryffindors followed right behind them, and they were followed by the rest of the students. Ron and his friends stuck closer to the back, just barely ahead of Malfoy and his apes.

"Is he taking us into the Forbidden Forest?" Blaise asked Ron, who dreaded the idea of that. _I'm never going back in there. That place is all sorts of fucked up._ Hagrid suddenly veered off of the path, and he led them into an empty paddock.

"Right!" Hagrid exclaimed, beaming at them all again. _I do like that he's smiling at us. That already makes him a better Professor than Binns._ "Everyone gather around the fence here! Make sure that yeh can see inside! Now! Open up yer books, and we'll…"

" **Professor** Hagrid, how do we open these books?" Hermione asked, her emphasis on the word 'Professor' made Hagrid smile more widely. But all of a sudden, his smile faltered.

"Hasn' anyone been able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked, looking rather crestfallen. Everyone slowly shook their heads, and Ron smiled a little. _That means that no one has read ahead of me. Thank you, Universe._ "Yeh've got ter stroke 'em" Hagrid said, sounding rather patronizing. "Look…" Hagrid took Hermione's book, and he tore away the Spell-o-tape. The book tried to bite him, but he stroked his meaty finger along its spine. The book purred, and then it opened up.

"How were we supposed to know that?" Daphne whispered, and Ron shrugged. _I'm just glad that I didn't open mine._

"Now…" Hagrid smiled slightly. "All of yer do the same…" The class did as they were told, and everyone's books followed Hermione's books' example. _It's like having a pet._ "Sorry abou' yer books… I though' they was funny, was all…"

"They are funny" Blaise whispered. "I opened mine near mother, and she all but leapt up to the chandelier." Ron sniggered to himself, the image of Clementine doing that was rather funny.

"Righ' then" Hagrid said, losing some of his gusto. "Yeh've got yer books, and now yeh need yer Magical Creatures… I'll go and get 'em…" Hagrid then strode off towards the forest, disappearing behind the trees.

"Why do the 'Golden Trio' look so upset?" Pansy asked.

"Hagrid's their friend" Ron replied.

"Of course he is" Millie rolled her eyes.

"Hi, Ron" came the voice of Parvati Patil, and Ron and his friends looked to her. She was smiling at him, and so he smiled back.

"Hello, Parvati" Ron greeted her back. _Is this about Trelawney's nonsense? Also, why are Lavender and Fay giggling to themselves? Wait… She's not about to ask me out, right?_

"Ron, I was wondering" Parvati started, but Daphne jumped in.

"Ron, can you hold my book for me?" Daphne asked, and Parvati blinked at her. "My right shoulder is feeling a little sore." _Right shoulder?! Wow… That's some grim shite. Talk about a power play._

"Sure, Daph" Ron said slowly, taking her book from her. Daphne then gave Parvati a cold look, and the girl backed away slightly. _Tone it down, woman!_

"I… I should get back to my friends" Parvati said, shooting Ron a weak smile. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure" Ron replied, giving her a weak smile in return. Parvati left at that, her friends eyeing her with confused looks.

"Your shoulder was sore?" Millie asked. "You couldn't think of a better lie to get rid of her."

"It served its purpose" Daphne said, looking back into the paddock with an expressionless mask. _Once again, I am both scared and aroused. Though I do feel a bit bad for Parvati. But then again, if some bloke approached Daphne and tried to ask her out, I'd probably start frothing at the mouth._

"Woah!" came Justin's voice. "Look at that!" Everyone looked to see Hagrid coming back out of the Forest, and trotting behind him were a dozen bizarre looking Creatures. _Hippogriffs. Charlie mentioned them a few times. Didn't he help Hagrid with them in his spare time?_ Hagrid led the Hippogriffs into the paddock, and everyone stepped away from the fence.

"Look at their talons" Lavender pointed out, and Ron did so. _Bloody hell. They could shave a spider's arse if they wanted to. They're so sharp that they're gleaming._ All the students eyed the part-horse and part-eagle hybrids with wary looks, but none of them could deny that the Hippogriffs had a regal air about them.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid laughed happily. "Beau'iful, aren' they?" Some of the students nodded, their eyes fixed on the Hippogriffs' regal coats. Oddly enough, Pansy was one of those students. "So… If yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…" Everyone took another step back, while the Golden Trio walked right up to the fence. _Well, if they're doing it, then so can I. I'm sure Hagrid will keep his beasts under control._ Ron slowly stepped up to the fence as well, but his friends didn't join him.

"What can yeh tell me abou' Hippogriffs?" Hagrid asked the class, but none of them replied. Not even Hermione. "Oh wai'… None of yeh read the book yet…"

"They can fly" Neville said slowly, and Hagrid beamed at him.

"They can!" Hagrid roared, making Neville jump a bit. "Five points ter Gryffindor!" _For that? Actually… None of us made that observation. I suppose it's fair._ "Besides flyin', there's plenty tha' yeh need ter understand abou' Hippogriffs. And mos' importan' of all is tha' they are proud beasts. Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don' never insult one, 'cause it'll be the last thing yeh do." _Noted._ "Now! Let's talk abou' approachin' 'em!"

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The Hippogriff burst into a run after Hagrid slapped its arse, and Ron watched with wide-eyes as Harry barely clung onto it. And then, the Hippogriff named Buckbeak flapped his massive wings and took off. _Bloody hell, I hope Harry doesn't fall down and crack his neck._ The rest of the class just watched in awe as Harry rode the Hippogriff towards the castle, most of them hoping that they weren't next.

"Have to give Potter props" Blaise said, watching the Hippogriff fly off into the distance. "His balls are probably made of reinforced steel."

"Brave to the point of recklessness" Ron said. "That's why he's in Gryffindor." The rest of the class broke into chatter, and Ron took the opportunity to hand Daphne her book back.

"Thanks, Ron" Daphne smirked, and Ron chuckled.

"My left shoulder was starting to hurt" Ron quipped, and her smirk turned into a smile. Ron was about to go on, but he suddenly spotted something that completely caught his attention. _Who are those kids?_ Ron narrowed his eyes at them, and much to his shock, it was Harry and him. _Am I seeing things again?_

"Ron? Where are you looking?" came Daphne's voice, but Ron ignored it. His attention was fixed on the two boys, both of whom were wearing the Gryffindor uniform. They looked younger than Ron, and he figured that they were probably second years. _They're walking into the Forest? This has to be one of my past lives. I don't remember ever doing this with Harry._ The two boys were clearly following a trail, judging by how their eyes were fixed on the thinking, Ron started walking towards them.

"Ron?" came Hagrid's voice, and Ron suddenly felt a meaty hand land on his right shoulder. Ron stopped immediately in order to look at Hagrid, who was eyeing him carefully. _What's with that look?_ "Everything alrigh', Ron?" Hagrid asked.

"Yes" Ron replied, looking back towards his past-self. The two hallucinations walked into the Forest together, disappearing into the trees. _Why would two second years go into the Forbidden Forest?_ "Professor… Is there something in that direction?" Ron asked, pointing towards spot where his hallucinations had disappeared. "Something other than the Forest?"

"Probably all manners of beasts" Hagrid replied, deciding to keep Aragog's lair to himself. "Do yeh need ter sit down? Take a break?" _What?_ Ron looked back to Hagrid, and the giant man was looking down at him with genuine concern. "Yer head ain' hurtin', is it?" _My head? Dumbledore told him about my brain-damage?! Why?!_

"My head is fine" Ron replied, seconds away from losing his temper. _Why would he do that? He told Hagrid of all people about that?_

"Alrigh' then" Hagrid nodded, his demeanor relaxing a bit. "Yeh come straigh' ter me if yeh feel unwell, understan'?"

"Yes" Ron replied, and Hagrid slowly left towards the paddock. Ron looked towards Daphne, who was eyeing with a hint of concern. "Dumbledore told Hagrid about my… mental issues."

"Oh…" Daphne blinked. "He probably had to, Ron. Hagrid is a Professor now, and you're taking his class. He needs to know about your condition for your own safety." Ron couldn't really argue against such a valid point, but it still annoyed him greatly. _If he talks to the Trio about my condition, I'll make it my life's mission to have him fired._ Ron suddenly heard two boys screaming from the Forest, and he turned around immediately. _What the hell was that? Is someone hurt?_

"Ron?" Daphne called, now she was starting to get really worried. "Ron, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing…" Ron replied, there was nothing there. _The screams stopped. Was it my past-self and Harry who were screaming? Did they…? Did they get attacked by something?_

"Harry's coming back!" Parvati exclaimed, and both Ron and Daphne looked to the sky. Buckbeak was flying down towards the paddock, and Harry was still on his back. _That's a wind-beaten face if I've ever seen one, but at least he's safe._

* * *

 _ **Monday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"After Harry hopped off of the Hippogriff, Professor Hagrid asked the rest of us if we wanted to have a go" Ron said, he was telling Pomfrey about his day.

"And did you?" Pomfrey asked.

"Merlin, no" Ron replied. "That thing looked dangerous, not to mention that we had to bow to it first. I'm not bowing to an overgrown chicken. Anyway… Hermione and Neville tried to pet the beast, but it started screeching at them. It nearly ripped Hermione's face off."

"Hippogriffs are dangerous when riled up" Pomfrey noted, she was rather shocked that Hagrid would show a bunch of third years a beast with a 'XXX' rating. "I hope no one was hurt."

"No… No, Professor Hagrid stopped the lesson when Hermione started crying" Ron told her. "People were saying that she got scared, but I think that she just felt embarrassed."

"What makes you say that?" Pomfrey asked.

"She wants to be the best in every class, but this time, she failed rather horribly" Ron replied. "Not to mention that a lot of people started laughing at her. My own friends included."

"But you didn't?" Pomfrey asked.

"No" Ron replied. "Why would I? She had the courage to go up and try at least. The people who were laughing at her were also hiding behind a fence. Anyway… We all walked back to the castle after that. And now, here I am."

"Have you had your second dose yet?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron nodded.

"Right before I came in here" Ron replied, telling her the truth.

"Have there been any symptoms?" Pomfrey asked. _If seeing past lives counts, then yes._

"No" Ron replied. "I feel like I usually do. Well, except for one thing… Can I get your advice on something, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Certainly" Pomfrey nodded.

"Would it be alright for me to date someone?" Ron asked, and Pomfrey was rather taken aback by his question.

"You wish to date someone?" Pomfrey asked, the boy had never shown any interest in this field before. _Did I stutter?_

"Yes, I do" Ron replied, keeping his composure. "Would it be alright for someone like me to date a person?"

"Someone like you?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron nodded. "Ron, there is nothing wrong with you."

"We both know that that's not true" Ron sighed. "I'm not trying to be hard on myself, I'm just looking at the facts. Not only do I have brain-damage, but I also have Chronic Stress. I can be a handful, I know that. But what if there was a person who always managed to help me feel better? A person that made me forget about my problems whenever I was near her? Would it be alright for me to date this person?"

"Your friend Daphne" Pomfrey figured, and Ron blinked at her. "Whenever you speak about her during our sessions, you have nothing but praises for her. But if you are upset with her, then you constantly nitpick her in front of me."

"That tells you about my… feelings?" Ron asked, and Pomfrey nodded with a smile. "Well…"

"I personally do recommend that you try your hand at dating" Pomfrey told him.

"You do?" Ron asked.

"Certainly" she replied. "People around your age do start experimenting with the opposite sex, and I think that it's wonderful that you too feel the same way."

"Were you worried that I was going to ignore this part of growing up?" Ron asked, and she nodded once again. "Ye of little faith…"

"Can you really blame me?" Pomfrey chuckled.

"No" Ron smiled. "I'm a little weird, aren't I?"

"Just different, Ron" Pomfrey corrected him. "And yes, I do believe that it would be alright for you to date someone. But the question is, will your friend accept your feelings?"

"She will" Ron said, and Pomfrey waited for him to go on. "She and I have had… a couple of encounters… We flirt a lot. And I mean **a lot**. We've even pecked a couple of times…" _Try a million. Not to mention that we marked each other yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing._

"If you are so certain about her feelings, then why haven't you taken the plunge?" Pomfrey asked. "What held you back?"

"Like I said… I'm a handful…" Ron sighed, and Pomfrey nodded slowly. "I have all these issues, and I don't want to burden her with them. Not to mention that I can't help but feel rather selfish whenever I think about dating her."

"Selfish?" Pomfrey asked.

"I feel like I'm using her" Ron admitted, fidgeting with his hands. "She makes me feel good about myself, and whenever we spend time together, I forget about my problems. But I don't think that she forgets… I think that she is always looking out for any trouble… Is it really fair for me to put her through that just so that I can feel happy?"

"You should speak to her about this, Ron" Pomfrey advised, and something in Ron's gut twisted.

"What if she realizes that she'd be better off without me?" Ron asked timidly, looking down at his hands. _I genuinely can't stand my own issues, so why would she? After a month or so, she might get sick of me always being a burden._

"Rejection is a part of dating too" Pomfrey said, and Ron looked back up. "But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Everything in life comes with a risk of not working out, but that doesn't mean that you should just give up. If you truly fancy her, and I can tell that you do otherwise you wouldn't be thinking so deeply about this, then isn't it worth a shot?"

"It's not selfish?" Ron asked.

"It's only selfish if you force her into this, Ron" Pomfrey replied. "Would you force her to do something like that?"

"Never" Ron replied immediately.

"Then no, I don't think that you're being selfish" Pomfrey smiled, and Ron managed a weak smile in return. "I think that you're trying your best to live a normal life, despite your condition, and that's a worthy endeavor."

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Monday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (St. Mungo's – Late Afternoon)**_

Sirius was genuinely still drunk from last night's escapades. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to go out for a drink, being locked up in Azkaban for a decade gave a man an unquenchable thirst. What was out of the ordinary was for him to pick up an older woman. Personally, Sirius preferred his women in their early twenties. He himself was nearly thirty four years old now, but he had only been twenty two when they had dragged him away. As far as he was concerned, he was still twenty four years old. Which is why it had been rather surprising that he had found himself attracted to an older woman last night.

Rita Skeeter, who was generally known as an overreaching shrew, had somehow caught his eye last night. She had bought him a drink, and as per the gentleman's code, Sirius had spoken with her out of politeness. She had told him that she was taking the night off to be 'herself for a change', and that had led to a conversation about all sorts of things. Oddly enough, Sirius rather enjoyed speaking with her. And after finishing his drink, he had begun ordering them more and more.

She made raunchy jokes, drank as if she were a sailor, and she didn't once bring up Azkaban. She was more interested in his day to day life, and he in turn learned that she had just returned from Albania. As it turns out, she had been there as a reporter when Sirius had incited a mob. He had kept his antics to himself, but she had alluded to seeing him in the frenzied mob. Eventually, the drinks stopped coming and their conversation turned into passion.

Sirius had taken her back to Grimmauld Place, and once the doors were closed, he had shagged her into a sex-coma. She was extremely feisty for a woman in her early forties, but Sirius had his ways with women. He always did. By the end of the night, he had her purring on his chest as she slept without a care in the World. When he had woken up this morning, she had already left. But she had the curtesy of leaving behind a note, one that wished him well with his future endeavors.

"Good morning, Peter" Sirius said as he entered his friend's room, but as usual, there was no response. "You're looking worse than usual, mate. Aren't they feeding you?" Sirius waited for a response, like he always did, and Peter just sat on his wheelchair, like he always did. The former Marauder looked like a breathing corpse, his cheeks and eyes were so sunk in that he looked like a skeleton with skin. Sirius just stared at his former friend, a part of him filling up with rage at just seeing his face. _Every time… Every time I come here, I just don't know what to think._

"They closed the damn curtains again" Sirius groaned, looking to the closed curtains. "I've told them a hundred times that you like the Sunlight, but they never bloody listen. It's not like I'm paying them an insane sum of money to keep you alive. Well… Not alive… Just breathing…" Sirius walked over to Peter's wheelchair, and he pulled it in front of the closed windows. _That was way too easy. He weighs nothing at all now, which is weird because he was always a chunky bastard._

"Now… Let's get some light in here" Sirius said, opening all of the curtains. The brightness of the Sun made his head hurt, and he let out a tired groan. "I had a wild night, Peter… You remember that reporter from when we were younger? Rita Skeeter? We'd joke about 'giving her a story worth publishing'? Well, I lived up to our promises. I fucked her last night, and I fucked her good. Three times, actually. She was a Hell-cat in bed… My back is all torn up from her fingernails, and truth be told, my hip's a bit wonky as well…" Sirius then turned to stare at Peter's hollow face, his own face twisting into a grimace.

"You have nothing to say about that?" Sirius asked, and when Peter didn't reply, Sirius put his index finger under Peter's chin and raised his head. "You spent your freedom hiding as a pathetic rat, while I'm spending mine like some king. Fucking women, drinking, smoking, and eating the best foods. You're nothing compared to me, Peter. You never were…" Sirius let go of Peter's chin at that, and the husk's head dangled forward. That's when Sirius noticed a rash around Peter's neck, and he quickly moved his collar aside.

"Shite, your top is scratching you" Sirius sighed. "I'll get you something softer to wear, Peter. I'll have a chat with them about this. Oh, and I'll also get some more flowers for this room. Just to brighten the room up. Would you like that, mate?" Peter didn't reply, but Sirius was sure that Peter would like that. "Right, I'll go have a chat with them about this. How about we go the gardens together after I'm back? I know that I've been a bit… distant… lately. But with Remus gone, I have all the time in the World to fuck around." Sirius then helped Peter into a more comfortable position, making sure that his head was upright.

"I'll be back in a flash, so don't go anywhere" Sirius chuckled, half-teasing and half-disgusted. Sirius then began making his way out, and he noticed a beetle run past his leg. "What the fuck?! There's a damn bug in here!" The beetle scurried off under the bed, and Sirius felt his blood boil. _I pay them to keep this room in a perfect condition for him! I'm going to tear their fucking heads off!_ Sirius stormed out of the room, looking for someone to yell at. But when he finally came back with the Head Healer, there was no beetle. There was only Peter, whose head was once again dangling. Somewhere in the back of Sirius' mind, alarm bells were going off.

"There are no insects in this Hospital, Sir" the Head Healer sighed. "There are Charms made specifically to target insects in here."

"Oh…" Sirius muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed about yelling at the man.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have patients that **actually** need me" the Head Healer said, shooting a look towards Peter. With that, the Head Healer turned around and left the room. _Fuck, I'm still drunk. And now I'm seeing shite that's not even there._

"Right…" Sirius groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. "Give me a second, Peter. We'll go for that walk soon, I promise. I bet that you're eager to get out of this room."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: And there it is! This was a rather busy chapter, with a lot of important stuff happening. I wonder where Voldemort is right now? Hmmm...**

 **See you guys on the Monday after the next one, but maybe before that... I'll see you when the next chapter is done, but there will be a new chapter every week no matter what.**


	72. Chapter 72 - Unraveled

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 72 is done quite early! I sort of just got on a roll with this one, and once it was done, I didn't see a point of holding out on you guys!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 72 – Unraveled**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Did you really have to tell him, Headmaster?" Ron asked, he was genuinely worried about Hagrid knowing something so important about him. "What if he tells Harry, Hermione, and Neville?"

"I had to tell him, Ronald," Dumbledore replied, giving Ron an understanding look. "Hagrid is a Professor now, and you are taking his class. He has sworn an oath to this school, and I truly believe that he will not break his word. He has even volunteered to go through some training with Madam Pomfrey on how to handle any situations that may arise." _I see. That's pretty nice of him, actually._

"That's really kind of him," Ron started, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement. "But Harry, Hermione, and Neville are extremely nosey people, Headmaster. You know that better than most-"

"I do indeed," Dumbledore chuckled, but Ron wasn't so amused.

"And they are friends with my sister," Ron went on. "And she is even nosier than they are. If Hagrid ever slips up about my conditions, my siblings **will** find out. And I'm… I'm not ready for that yet."

"Why is that, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling brightly. _They won't take it well, and I don't want their lives to be miserable on my behalf._

"I don't want them to go through this with me," Ron replied. "Mum and dad… They haven't taken it well. I could see that every single day during the Holidays. My mum's scared looks every time I did a chore. Or my dad running around the house whenever he hadn't seen me for more than twenty minutes. I don't want my siblings to turn into that."

"Children should stay children," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded quickly. "Are you not a child then, Ronald?" _Huh?_

"I'm spilling my feelings here, and you're playing word games with me," Ron sighed, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"Forgive me," Dumbledore smiled at him. "At my age, there are few things more entertaining than pretending to be wise."

"Whatever," Ron shook his head. "So if you told Hagrid, did you also tell Professor Babbling?"

"I did," Dumbledore replied.

"When?" Ron asked.

"Last Friday," Dumbledore replied. "I brought them both up here, and then I told them about your conditions. They will be keeping their eyes on you during their classes."

"Alright," Ron said, steeling himself to ask Dumbledore about Daphne. _It's why I'm really here._

"I am sorry, but as the Headmaster of this school, I had very little choice," Dumbledore said, he had noticed that Ron was looking tense.

"I understand," Ron said. "And it's already done, so what's the point of worrying about it?"

"That's very mature of you, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled, he had expected more resistance.

"Madam Pomfrey and I worked through it already," Ron told the old wizard, whose eyes twinkled even more at the sound of that. "She and I also discussed another matter… A matter that I need to discuss with you."

"Does it affect our partnership?" Dumbledore asked. "Should I send for Severus?"

"Um…" Ron mumbled, he already knew what Snape would say. _'Dating is for weak fools', or something like that._ "It might affect our partnership, and it might not. It all just depends on me, really… Professor Snape would say no, I already know that."

"Go on, Ronald," Dumbledore said, waiting patiently for the flushing boy.

"I have been thinking about the people in my year," Ron said, and Dumbledore listened intently. "Quite a few of them are… experimenting… with each other. And Madam Pomfrey said that that's only natural. I was hoping that maybe I could also… partake. May I?"

"Are you asking for my permission to date someone?" Dumbledore asked, his amusement evident in his voice. _This is rather embarrassing for me, so could you not enjoy it so much?_

"I am," Ron sighed, and Dumbledore began laughing. "Wow… Seriously? What's wrong with you? I'm baring my soul here-"

"I am sorry, my boy," Dumbledore chortled, covering his mouth with his right hand. "Your tone had me quite worried at first."

"I was… embarrassed," Ron admitted, he was more irritated than embarrassed now. _Crazy old codger._ "Can you please stop laughing? You're supposed to help your students, not laugh at their troubles."

"You are right," Dumbledore said, slowly calming down. "Ronald, if you wish to find yourself a significant other, then please do so. I will fully support you in this."

"You will?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore's eyes began twinkling once again.

"Most certainly," Dumbledore replied.

"Why?" Ron asked, some of his paranoia coming through. _What does he want in return?_

"Because there is nothing more powerful than love," Dumbledore replied, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"I'm just talking about dating here," Ron said quickly, he didn't feel comfortable discussing his feelings so openly. _I mean, I do love Daphne. But not in_ _ **that**_ _way… Not yet, at least. Wait… If you fancy someone, doesn't that mean that you love them? Why can't Hogwarts hold a class for this sort of shite?_

"This is wonderful news, Ronald," Dumbledore said, ignoring Ron's comment. "Many beautiful romances have blossomed within this very castle. This is truly marvelous."

"Let's just ease up here," Ron chuckled nervously.

"Who has stolen your heart, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron gaped at him. "Forgive me, my boy, but I have always been a hopeless romantic." _Is he pulling my leg? No… He looks genuinely happy about this._ "Is it the Heiress of the Greengrass Family?" _FUCK!_

"How did you know that?" Ron asked, but Dumbledore was just rubbing his own chin with a smile on his face.

"I have always sensed something between the two of you," Dumbledore said sagely, making Ron's face heat up. "She often stares at you during lunch and dinner. And yes, I have also noticed you staring at her."

"Pervert…" Ron muttered, and Dumbledore chuckled wholeheartedly.

"You most certainly have my permission, Ronald," Dumbledore told him. "Personally, I feel as though I should have no say in the matters involving your heart. But if my blessing will aid you, then so be it."

"Thanks," Ron sighed, this was harder than it should've been. "Now I just need her parents' blessing, and then I'll…" Ron trailed off.

"You will ask her to be your muse?" Dumbledore asked, his face full of mirth.

"I'm leaving," Ron said as he stood up, while Dumbledore smiled widely.

"I will tell Severus the good news," Dumbledore said, and Ron stopped moving. "He should know about this, Ronald. For it might affect our work someday."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said," Dumbledore cut in, his expression turning serious for a moment. "This is indeed wonderful news, and I am very happy for you, but our partnership requires trust and honesty. Severus has the right to know about this, just as you felt that I needed to know."

"What if he says no?" Ron asked.

"It will not matter," Dumbledore winked. "We have him outvoted on this, do we not?"

"I… I suppose we do," Ron said, his lips twitching upwards. "Thank you for your time, Headmaster."

"Goodnight, Ronald."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Charms Class – Before Lunch)**_

"Mr. Weasley, could you stay behind for a moment?" Professor Flitwick asked, and Ron stopped packing his things.

"Of course, Professor," Ron said, shooting a look towards his friends.

"We'll be right outside," Millie told him, and he gave her a nod. Ron's friends then left the classroom alongside the Hufflepuffs, while Ron walked over to Flitwick.

"I'm sorry that this took so long," Flitwick said, he was reaching into his desk. Flitwick then pulled out a thin book, and he handed it to Ron.

"'A Look into Wandless Progenitor Spells'," Ron read the title, and then he immediately broke into a smile. "Professor, is this the book that you mentioned?" _I completely forgot about this!_

"The very same," Flitwick smiled. "I myself read this very book when I first began dabbling with Wandless Magic. I personally believe that this is a must read for all young wizards and witches. Once again, I am terribly sorry for the wait. I had completely forgotten where I stored it, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I hope it serves you as well as it served me, Mr. Weasley."

"I can keep it?" Ron asked, and Flitwick nodded. "Sir… Thank you for this. Truly! I'll get started on reading this immediately!" Ron had to fight the urge to hug the little Professor, but his face-splitting smile showed just how grateful he was for this gift.

"That's what I like to hear," Flitwick chuckled. "Off you go now, Mr. Weasley. I'm sure that your friends are waiting outside for you."

"Right!" Ron nodded, and then he quickly packed up his things. "Thank you for this, Sir! I really appreciate this!"

"You are welcome, Mr. Weasley," Professor Flitwick chuckled, watching Ron hurry towards the door.

"Bye, Sir!" Ron waved, and Flitwick waved back. Ron then hurried out of the classroom, his new book tucked safely in between his right armpit. _I'm reading this at Lunch today. It's pretty thin, so I should be able to read through it in a couple of days._

"So, what was that about?" Blaise asked him, while his other friends waited for an answer.

"You won't believe it!" Ron laughed, and then he showed them his new book. _Once I'm done with it, I'll hand it over to them. I reckon they should try their hand at Wandless Magic as well._

"What's a 'Progenitor Spell'?" Pansy asked, eyeing the jaded book with a curious look.

"Progenitor Spells are Spells that were used before the creation of wands," Ron replied. "People were forced to use Wandless Magic before wands, and the Spells that they created worked a bit differently than they do now."

"Why did they act differently?" Tracey asked.

"Wands replaced the body as the conduit" Theo replied for Ron, and Ron nodded with a smile. "Can we go down to the common room please? The Triumvirate are expecting Daphne and me."

"Right," Ron nodded, and they began making their way down. "And Theo's right, the body is very different-"

"What do the Triumvirate want with you two?" Tracey asked Theo, who gave her a tired groan in response. _She just cut me off…_

"They want a report on the second years," Daphne replied for Theo. "Theo and I have been keeping our eyes on them, and truth be told, they are a miserable lot. I have never seen so much pointless bickering amongst a group of people before."

"And here's the best part," Theo chuckled mirthlessly. "Malfoy, who is supposed to be our partner on this, hasn't contributed whatsoever."

"Is that really surprising?" Millie asked.

"It should be," Blaise jumped in, his expression not as aloof as usual. "Malfoy isn't the sort of person who shirks his responsibilities, especially responsibilities that **should** make him feel important."

"What do you mean by 'should'?" Tracey asked, she had seen Blaise shooting Malfoy a lot of looks lately.

"Does he look like his usual self?" Blaise asked in return.

"You mean spoiled and arrogant?" Tracey scoffed.

"Just hear him out," Pansy piped in, and everyone but Blaise blinked at her. _Hear him out? Why did she say it like that?_

"You two are unbelievable," Tracey frowned, looking between the two of them. "You've been discussing him behind our backs?"

"He's being attacked by Flint and his gang," Pansy told them. "Tori figured out that Flint was hounding him during Theo's party, and now, he can't hide from Flint. Have you seen him lately? He starts limping when he thinks that no one is looking, he barely eats a thing, and his eyes are always heavy because he clearly isn't sleeping."

"Why do you even care, Pansy?" Daphne asked. "You're one of us now, aren't you?" _We should have stuck with my book. And is Pansy serious? I haven't seen any injuries on him, but then again, I don't pay him any attention anyway._

"I… I am," Pansy replied, shooting a worried look towards Ron. _I didn't say anything._ "I've… I've just noticed these things… And I thought that you should know…"

"And you?" Theo asked Blaise, giving the dark-skinned boy a confused look. "Why are you looking into Malfoy's life? Wasn't it your idea to ignore Malfoy this year?"

"It was," Tracey replied for Blaise, who simply shrugged. "It's obvious, isn't it? Blaise feels bad for his old friend."

"Mind what you say, Tracey," Blaise warned her, but she outright laughed at his warning.

"Or what?" Tracey asked him. _Yeah, this is getting out of hand._

"Enough," Ron said firmly, effectively shutting them all up. "Either discuss things civilly, or don't discuss them at all. Blaise and Pansy, stop looking into Malfoy's life. Tracey, stop making condescending remarks. We all agreed to leave Malfoy alone, and in doing so, keep him away from us. Now, I don't know why you two are looking into him, but it ends right now. Understand?"

"I… I understand…" Pansy muttered, her eyes darting down to her feet.

"And you?" Ron asked Blaise, and Blaise gave him a curt nod in response. "Good… Malfoy has made his own bed, and whether he sleeps in it or not is none of our business." _If Flint really is assaulting Malfoy, then I need to tell Snape. Malfoy may be a prick, but Flint is twice his size._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Snape's Office – After Classes)**_

Ron knocked on the Snape' door, and he waited for a response. _Why am I even involving myself in this? Why should I care about Malfoy being bullied? He certainly didn't care when_ _ **he**_ _was bullying others during the last two years. I mean, he outright assaulted me in the boys' bathroom. Beat me into a bloody pulp with the help of his goons. Not to mention him targeting Muggle-Borns constantly. He's a piece of shite, and he deserves this._

"Ronald?" came Snape's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. That's when Ron noticed that Snape had opened the door, and was now staring at him. "Ronald? Are you there?"

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "I was… zoned out."

"Come in," Snape said, moving back into the Office. Ron followed Snape inside, and after he closed the door, he took a seat across from the Potions Master. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I'm here your sake," Ron replied, and Snape cocked an eyebrow at him. "Malfoy, your Godson, is being assaulted by Flint and his gang."

"Is that so?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked at him. _Is that so? That's what he has to say about that?_

"Pansy and Blaise have been watching him," Ron went on, slightly unsettled by Snape's cold demeanor. "Pansy says that he limps when no one is looking, and judging by his appearance, I'd say that she's right. He looks… He looks like shite."

"And why are you, of all people, interested in my Godson's well-being?" Snape asked. "Your dislike of one another is well-known, not to mention the bad blood between your Families."

"I don't care about Malfoy's 'well-being'," Ron admitted. "I just thought that you should know. You know, because you're his Godfather and all."

"So you're here to help me?" Snape asked, and Ron just stared at him. _What's his deal? Why is he acting like such a cold prick? Doesn't he care about the fact that someone is attacking_ _ **his**_ _Godson?_

"I'm here because I respect you enough to tell you about what your Godson is going through," Ron replied. "Don't you care that he's being bullied in such a manner? Flint is twice his size, Sir. That troll-faced thug is around my height, but he is built like a… Well, a Troll… Whereas Malfoy probably doesn't weigh more than seven stones."

"I am well aware of my Godson's ever decreasing weight," Snape said coldly, his face covered by a mask of indifference. "This doesn't involve you, Ronald. Stay out of it." _Alright…_

"You're right," Ron said, slowly standing back up. "It's none of my business. I just came here to tell you because we're partners. What you do with this information is your business, but something tells me that you won't do anything."

"And if I don't?" Snape asked.

"Then nothing," Ron replied. "I'm just here because I thought that you didn't know about this, but you clearly do. Goodbye, Sir." Ron then turned to leave, all the while wondering why Snape wasn't helping his own Godson. _It's not your business, Ron. Don't get any more involved in it._

"He needs to learn that the World is a brutal and unforgiving place," Snape said, and Ron stopped at the door. "That it doesn't care about his entitlements, or his Family name. What's happening to him now is his lesson, one that he must learn if he is to become a better man than his father." Ron turned around to face Snape, who was watching Ron with a cold stare.

"Like I said, Sir," Ron said. "I don't care."

With that, Ron left the Office and headed for the common room. _Malfoy's problems are just that. Malfoy's. I have no right, or reason, to get involved in them. You know what I need to do? I need to start reading that book that Professor Flitwick gave me. It had a bunch of simple Progenitor Spells in it, and the fact that my body is slowly getting used to acting as a conduit, I should be able to try a few of them._

"Dragon's Blood," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. Ron made his way into the common room, his eyes traveling towards his friends, who were sitting in their usual spots. Ron could see that the tension from earlier on in the day was still there. Tracey was visibly not pleased with both Blaise and Pansy, while Daphne and Millie were both keeping their opinions to themselves. And Theo… Theo, of all people, was trying to be the peacekeeper.

As for Ron, he personally didn't want to do anything to help Malfoy. Why would he? Malfoy had done nothing but target him from the day that he had been sorted. Malfoy had all but spat on him, his Family, and his beliefs from the jump. The platinum haired git had taken every chance to turn the entire House against Ron, and if given the opportunity, he'd happily leave Ron to a lifetime of being an abused outsider. If the tables were turned, Malfoy would rather throw himself off of the Astronomy Tower than to help Ron.

And then there was Lucius Malfoy, a man that Ron truly hated. A man that had served as the Dark Lord's second in command during the Great War. A man who had no doubt killed dozens of innocent Muggles for no reason other than they were different from him. A man who openly preached his hatred for Muggles, Muggle-Borns, and Blood-Traitors. A man who had given an eleven year old girl a Cursed Object in the hopes of hurting her father. A man who wouldn't lose a second of sleep if said eleven year old girl had died in the process of opening the Chamber of Secrets. A man who was currently trying to bring the Dark Lord back, and in doing so, plunging the World into a war.

Ron understood that blaming Malfoy for his father's crimes was not fair, but he couldn't help but do it. Both father and son held the same beliefs, at least at the moment. Both of them were nothing more than hateful pricks who enjoyed putting their boots on people's throats. The only difference between them was that Ron had seen an ember of honor within Draco Malfoy. His vision of Malfoy was the only reason why he had backed off of Malfoy after the boy had nearly beaten him to death. A vision that probably wouldn't even come to pass because Ron had already seen it, and would no doubt end up changing it involuntarily.

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered to himself, rubbing his face with both of his hands. "What if it doesn't come to pass because Malfoy gets murdered by Flint? What if Flint's treatment of him turns him dark? Darker, that is… What am I supposed to do here?" Ron remembered Snape's words at that, and he resolved to do nothing. This was not his business, and involving himself in it was nothing short of stupid.

Ron began making his way towards his dorm, his new book was waiting for him on his bed. _After I read through this one, I'll start reading the Tome that I purchased from Victor. Marty is still hiding it for me, and considering that I spent sixty Galleons on it, I should read through it._ Ron's thoughts were disturbed by loud laughter coming from near his dorm, and upon closer attention, Ron realized that it was coming from Malfoy's room.

"What the…?" Ron muttered. _Isn't he supposed to be miserable? No, Ron. Don't. This has nothing to do with you. Remember Ginny? Remember when you had Hermione spying on her? She was devastated, and she didn't talk to you for months. Just mind your own-_ Ron suddenly heard a heavy thud, and loud laughter erupted from the room. A creeping sense of dread crawled up his spine, and Ron slowly moved closer to Malfoy's room.

"Look at him," came a chortle, but Ron couldn't place the voice. _Maybe a sixth year? Definitely an older student._

"C'mon, Malfoy," Flint laughed. "You can either juggle for us on one leg, or I'll have Vincent belt you again." _Vincent? Crabbe?_ And then it all made sense. Crabbe and Goyle sniggering while Malfoy ate his breakfast quietly, Malfoy working on his Herbology tasks alone while Crabbe and Goyle loomed over him, Malfoy barely speaking in any class because Crabbe and Goyle were sitting near him. _They've turned on him. They've completely betrayed him. He's not even safe in his own room. Does Snape know about this?_

"Pick him up," Flint ordered someone, and Ron heard someone groan loudly.

"I… I don't know how to juggle," came Malfoy's whimpering voice, and Ron froze. He had only heard Malfoy speak like that once; when Ron had nearly crushed his forearms during his party.

"Vincent," Flint said, and Ron heard loud scuffling. And then, another thud. "Juggle, or I'll start throwing the punches myself." _Malfoy would die if Flint seriously hit him._ Ron's gloved hand reached for his wand, while his other hand slowly reached for the handle. "Don't make me teach you another lesson, Malfoy." _Another lesson?_ Ron stopped moving, his left hand inches from the door handle. _Snape wants to teach Malfoy about what the World is really like. And if I burst in there and stop them, I'll be betraying my partner. This has nothing to do with me._

Ron stepped away from the door, what was happening inside of Malfoy's room was none of his concern. Malfoy had clearly made this mess for himself, and he needed to deal with it by himself. _The rest of us have to face the consequences of our actions, and as far as I'm concerned, so does he._ Ron turned around and left for his room, mentally blocking any ounce of guilt that was in his system. The moment Ron entered his own room, he closed and locked the door behind him.

"Fuck me…" Ron muttered, lightly banging his head against the closed door.

"A bit forward, don't you think?" came a sweet voice from behind him, and Ron turned around in a flash, his wand aimed at Clara. _Clara? What is she doing in here? And why is she sitting on my bed?_ "My, my," Clara giggled, a seductive smile on her face. "You really are all nerves, aren't you?"

"What are you doing in here?" Ron asked, slowly sheathing his wand.

"Waiting for you," Clara replied, curling her index finger in order to beckon him to approach her. Ron slowly walked over to her, wondering what her game was. "You look worried, Ron. Is everything alright? You're not in any trouble, are you?"

"No," Ron replied, and her smile widened.

"Sit with me," Clara ordered, and Ron went to sit by her side. "No, not like that."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked at her, but she simply moved further up his bed. And then, she patted the spot right in front of her. "You want me to sit in front of you?"

"I want to hold you from behind," Clara smiled, and Ron blinked once again. "Don't be shy, Ron. Sit." _Right…_ Ron sat down at the edge of his bed, and she quickly had her arms wrapped around his chest. Her incredible bust was now pushing into his back, while her head rested on his left shoulder.

"Clara-"

"You smell really nice," Clara whispered, a mischievous smile on her face. "Most boys your age smell like wet dogs, but not you. You smell even better than the boys in my year. Why is that?"

"My clothes are laundered daily," Ron replied.

"An Elf, eh?" Clara giggled, and Ron tensed. _Fucking idiot! Marty is meant to be a_ _ **secret**_ _weapon, you dolt!_ "You are a clever one, aren't you? Tell me, does you Elf work within Hogwarts?"

"No."

"Liar," Clara clicked her tongue, her arms tightening around his chest. "You're so… mysterious, Ron. What kind of thirteen year old thinks about implementing such a ploy? I know that when I was your age, my only priority was finding myself a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. I was never really picky."

"That's… That's nice," Ron muttered, feeling hot around the collar. _She said girlfriend. Is she bisexual?_ Ron couldn't help but picture her with Samantha and Carey, and that image elicited a raised heartbeat.

"Are you picturing something inappropriate, Ron?" Clara giggled. "I can feel your heartbeat, and I can see your blush."

"What did you want to talk about?" Ron asked, eager to change the subject.

"Not yet," Clara tutted. "First, you play my game. And then, we can talk business. Now tell me truthfully… Were you imagining something naughty?"

"I wasn't," Ron lied, and Clara sighed overdramatically.

"Lying is unattractive, Ron," Clara told him. "Wait, no… Lying **poorly** is unattractive. Now tell me about what you were imagining, and if I like your thought, I might tell you whether it happened or not." Ron tried to shift in his spot, but Clara simply tightened her hold on him. _Her tits are literally melding with my back! Oh Merlin… How did I end up in this situation?_

"I was thinking about you having a girlfriend," Ron whispered, his face feeling hot.

"Any girl in particular?" Clara purred, her head laying lazily on his left shoulder. _Damn her, I really want to know._

"Carey and Samantha," Ron replied, keeping his eyes aimed in front of him.

"You naughty little pervert," Clara laughed, and Ron flushed even more.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, his mind feeling heavy because of her closeness.

"Carey and I have shared kisses," Clara replied, and Ron turned his face towards hers. "A lot of times, actually. It started off with light pecks, but by fifth year, we started kissing with tongue. We still do it, actually. And no, we're not an item. We simply love each other, and there's nothing wrong with friends sharing some intimacy."

"And… And Samantha…" Ron mumbled, his wide-eyes fixed on her lethargic ones. Clara smiled at his adolescent curiosity, and she slowly brought her face closer to his.

"I had my fingers in her twat just yesterday," Clara whispered, and Ron tensed in more than one area. "She's been so stressed because of her workload, and when I caught her stressing herself to death in the library, I 'helped her relax'. You wouldn't believe how loud her moans were. You wouldn't believe how wildly her hips bucked against my arm. And after we were finished, we just cuddled together in a quiet corner." Ron was now just staring at her, his breathing labored and his trousers tightening.

"So… So you two are…?" Ron whispered, and she shook her head. _I was born too late! I want to be in their year!_

"I love her and she loves me, but we're not a couple," Clara replied, utterly enjoying the effect that she was having on him. "Like I said, Ron. There is nothing wrong with friends sharing some intimacy. I've seen Carey and Samantha kissing as well, but they haven't gone as far as Samantha and me. Carey is strictly straight. She only makes an exception for Samantha and myself."

"I see…" Ron mumbled, looking forward once again. "Um… Why do you three do it?" _Fuck business, tell me more stories._

"Because you can only rely on your friends," Clara replied, once again resting her head on his left shoulder. "We know everything about each other. The good, the bad, and the ugly. That's love, Ron. Pure love. So why shouldn't we show that love to each other? Why shouldn't I kiss Carey when she offers to do my homework for me when I'm sick? Why shouldn't I give Samantha an orgasm when she's on the verge of tears from sheer stress?"

"I can sort of understand that," Ron admitted. _They clearly don't understand what boundaries are though. But hey, if it makes them happy, who am I to judge?_

"Can you really?" Clara whispered, her right hand reaching up and turning his head. "Do you really understand, Ron?"

"I… I understand that you love each other," Ron replied, looking into her eyes. "And if showing that love in a more intimate way makes you three happy, then who am I to say otherwise. I have no right to judge you whatsoever."

"Good answer," Clara hummed, and then she planted a quick peck on his lips. _She just… She bloody kissed me. Same as Carey._ "I was jealous that Carey got to kiss you, and now I can claim the same. You have soft lips for a boy."

"Tha… Thanks…" Ron stammered, his eyes fixed on hers.

"I'll be sure to tell Samantha," Clara smiled. "She mentioned that she wanted to try and show you more affection from now on. She has trouble opening up to people. Well… People who aren't Carey and me."

"She wants to show me more affection?" Ron asked, trying his best to regain his composure. "Why?"

"Because we like you, silly," Clara chuckled, resting her head on his left shoulder. "And we appreciate you."

"Appreciate me?" Ron asked.

"It's only Tuesday, and the first years have already made fifty-four points" Clara told him, taking him by surprise. "That's why I'm here. I want to show you just how appreciated you are." _Is it just me, or is it a million degrees in this room?!_

"Who… Who made the most points out of them?" Ron asked, his head turning back forward without his will.

"Mathew Roberts," Clara replied, her hold on him tightening slowly. "Now enough about them, let's talk about you. What kind of reward do you want from me?"

"I get to choose?" Ron asked, looking back to her.

"I find that to be more fun," Clara smiled seductively. "So… What can I do for you, Ron?" _Merlin, I can think of a million things!_

"I… I want to…" Ron stammered, but then he stopped completely. "I want you to kiss Carey…"

"Really?" Clara giggled, and Ron nodded slowly. "And you want to watch?"

"I would prefer that, yes," Ron replied, his mind feeling murky. _I'm not cheating on Daphne if I just watch. I can't do that to her. I would hate myself forever._

"Then come to the library tonight," Clara told him, her smile turning rather sly. "Half an hour before Dinner. Understand? Don't get spotted. Just give me a signal, and watch from behind a shelf." Clara let go of him at that, and then she hopped off of his bed. "I'll see you tonight, Ron. I have to make some arrangements." Once she had left his room, Ron bent over and breathed frantically. _Oh fuck. This is… This is unbelievable. Is she really going to do it?_

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Library – Thirty Minutes Before Dinner)**_

It was rather difficult to find Carey and Clara, both girls were studying in a rather secluded corner of the Library. Ron was currently under the Disillusionment Charm, and he planned to stay under it no matter what. _Mostly because I don't want my view obstructed by a damn bookshelf. Now… How do I signal Clara?_ Ron looked around the girls, but he couldn't really come up with something. _Fuck it, I'll just throw a book._ Ron slowly moved closer to them, far too careful to make a single sound. And then, he smacked one of their books off of the table.

"Clara, can you please get that?" Carey asked. "It slipped off of the edge."

"Alright," Clara said sweetly, getting up and moving over to the book. _What? No! Forget the book, woman! Snog your friend!_ As Clara bent down to pick it up, she stopped completely. Clara then sniffed the air, and a smile creeped onto her face. _What the fuck? Is she a blood-hound?_ Clara picked up the book and put it on the table, and then she walked over to Carey.

"Can I help you with something, Clara?" Carey asked, looking up from her work.

"I spoke with Ron for us," Clara replied, and Ron nearly passed out. _She can't be serious?!_

"How is he?" Carey asked, looking slightly concerned. "He's not looking unwell, is he?" _She's actually worried about me?_

"He's fine," Clara replied. "No visible signs of fatigue, or fever. You can stop worrying now. Anyway… He turned down my reward."

"He did?" Carey asked. _I did?_

"Guess he's not interested in cheating on his girlfriend," Clara sighed, and Ron gaped at her back. _What the fuck is going on here? Where's the girl on girl action?_

"His loyalty is to be admired," Carey smiled to herself. "Don't do anything to hurt either of them, Clara. I'm warning you."

"Ohhh…" Clara cooed, and then she slowly circled Carey's seat. "Will you punish me if I disobey you?"

"If necessary," Carey smirked, her voice as silky as always.

"And how will you punish me, Carey?" Clara asked, and then she quickly straddled herself on top of Carey's lap. _YES! FUCK YES!_ Ron barely managed to keep himself from pumping his fist into the air, but his grin couldn't be stopped. "Uh-oh… I caught the Head Girl unawares."

"We have work to do, Clara," Carey smiled, not at all looking worried.

"I want a break," Clara shrugged, putting her arms around Carey's neck. "I want to kiss and cuddle."

"Then find Samantha," Carey said, her arms wrapping around Clara's back.

"She's at Runes Club," Clara whispered, and then she began planting quick kisses on Carey's lips. _This is Heaven. I fucking died, and I was reborn in Heaven._ Ron slowly moved to the side of the girls, hoping to get a better view. Their quick kisses quickly began to turn passionate, and before long, Carey was using her tongue to probe Clara's mouth. Clara was just as passionate, playfully moaning and grinding on Carey's lap.

Ron just stood there, his mind focused on two things. One, the absolute beauties in front of him. Two, his Disillusionment Charm. _This is just… Bloody hell, I'm about to tear out of my trousers. I can't believe that she's letting me watch this._ Carey slowly began grinding as well, her left hand traveling into Clara's hair. Clara deepened the kiss at that, and Ron heard Carey moan into Clara's mouth. _Their kissing is so different from what Daphne and I do. They're both moaning because of how good they feel doing this._

Watching the two of them was really starting to rile him up, and he desperately wanted to go and find Daphne. He wanted to try this with her. He wanted her to grind on him like Clara was doing with Carey, and he wanted to hear her moan again. _Like she moaned when I gave her a love bite. Yes…_ _ **YES! We must have her! All of her! Body and soul!**_

"Stop," Carey breathed out, pulling her head back from Clara's.

"Why?" Clara asked, her signature smile on her face. "I know you're enjoying this. I can feel you getting wet."

"That's the point," Carey panted, quickly stealing another kiss. "I'm getting close to an orgasm just from this."

"Really?" Clara asked, her tone nothing but sweet. _Really? Just from snogging? Is that possible?_

"I haven't masturbated for a while, Clara," Carey panted, her beautiful features completely flushed. "I've been too busy with getting the House in order." _Now there's a sentence that I never expected to hear come out of her mouth. Is the Charm still in effect?_ Ron looked down at himself, and much to his relief, it was.

"Then let me help you, my sweet," Clara hummed, her right hand slowly creeping down Carey's blouse.

"We've never gone that far," Carey whispered, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Samantha's told me about what you two get up to, but I've never-"

"Do you want me to stop?" Clara asked, her hand stopping just over Carey's stomach. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Just this once," Carey whispered, leaning forward and planting another kiss on Clara's lips.

"Just this once," Clara smiled wickedly. _An exclusive event?! Fuck, should I give them their privacy? This wasn't part of the deal. I only expected to see some snogging._ Clara slowly squeezed her hand into Carey's jeans, and Ron could barely see anything because she was still straddling Carey. _No nudity? Oh well. This is still the greatest thing that I've ever witnessed._

"Fuck…" Carey moaned softly as Clara moved her hand about. _What's happening down there? Let me see!_ "Just keep doing that… I'm already so close…" Clara's hand slowly started moving faster inside of Carey's jeans, an ever-wicked smile on her lips. Carey however, had her eyes closed and was licking her lips. And Ron… Ron was doing his absolute best to keep his mind focused on the Charm.

"Do you hear that?" Clara asked sweetly, and then she leaned forward and began kissing Carey's neck. _Hear what?_ That's when he noticed a strange sound. _It sounds like… splashing?_ "That's you, Carey. That's you reacting to my fingers."

"I can hear it," Carey moaned, her hips moving with the rhythm of Clara's fingers. "I'm so close…"

"Let go," Clara whispered, planting kisses on her friend's jaw.

"Clara…" Carey moaned, and Clara quickly planted her lips onto Carey's. The blonde Head Girl began to jerk and moan into Clara's mouth, while her busty friend was just relentless. Carey's hips bucked upwards, nearly lifting Clara into the air. And then, Carey lost all the strength in her muscles. _She just… Oh Merlin. I just saw… I have to get out of here… My cock is starting to hurt… Ugh, I hate that word so much._ Ron slowly began to move away, and he could hear them whispering to each other. But he didn't care about their conversation. Not right now, at least.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped out of the toilet stall, eager to wash his hands and face. _I will never be the same again. Never._

"Hello, handsome," came Clara's voice, and Ron nearly jumped out of his skin. She was standing by the sinks, her lips curled up in a devious smile.

"Clara?" Ron asked, and then he looked around the boys' bathroom. "You can't be in here… This is the boys' bathroom…" _Wait… How did she know that I was here?_ "Did you follow me here?"

"I didn't have to," Clara giggled. "This is the closest male restroom from the Library, and after the show that I just gave you, I know that you made a beeline for this place. So… How was it?" _How was what? My me-time?_

"The best I've had," Ron admitted, walking over to a sink. _I owe her that much at least._

"Good to know," Clara laughed. "But I was talking about the show, Ron." _Oh…_

"Right…" Ron mumbled, staring at his gloved hand. _Fuck, I can't take it off here. Do I really need to wash it? Actually, yes I do. My hand feels really sweaty in there._

"Not going to wash your hands?" Clara asked, and Ron looked to her. She was smiling wickedly at him, clearly pleased with herself.

"Um…" Ron muttered, his gloved hand clenching and unclenching.

"After what I just let you watch, don't you think that you can show me a little?" Clara asked, and Ron just stared at her. "Everyone always talks about your hand, you know. Most people think that it's a ploy for attention, but I don't think so. I think that you're not the sort of person who needs to employ such petty tactics."

"Do you really want to see it?" Ron asked, and she nodded. _Fine. Fair is fair._ Ron took off his glove, and then he showed her his scarred hand. Clara's smile died immediately, as did her playful demeanor. "Ugly, isn't it? I myself can't bear to look at it for more than a few seconds." Ron then washed his hands quickly, and once he had dried them, he put the glove back on.

"How did it happen?" Clara asked, her voice no longer sweet.

"Magical mishap," Ron lied. "If you saw my other scars, you'd run away screaming."

"Other scars?" Clara's eyes widened, and Ron simply shrugged. "I… I had no idea… I'm very sorry, Ron." _**Save your pity for someone who needs it.**_

"It is what it is," Ron said, giving her a fake smile. "Please don't tell anyone about this, not even Samantha and Carey."

"You have my word," Clara said firmly, he could see the pity in her eyes. It turned his stomach. _Change the topic, Ron. Give her control of the conversation._

"I only expected to see some snogging, but what you did… It was just amazing," Ron said, and she blinked at him. He was trying to change the topic, and she quickly seized that opportunity.

"That will have to be our little secret," Clara told him, her demeanor slowly reverting to a more playful one. "Carey has never let me take things that far, and I couldn't resist the allure of it."

"The allure of it?" Ron asked, and her wicked smile creeped back onto her face. _And she's back._

"You watching us," Clara told him, and Ron could only stare in response. "It gave me a certain thrill that I don't get often. Did you see her, Ron? Did you see how she was putty in my hands?"

"Oh, I saw it alright," Ron chuckled, he could still see it. "Seeing **her** like that… I'll probably never forget it."

"Thank you, Ron," Clara chuckled.

"Wait… If you're here, then where is she?" Ron asked.

"She limped down to the common room," Clara hummed. "She needs her rest after such an intense orgasm. I was scared that she'd break my finger when she contracted."

"Contracted?" Ron asked, he had no clue about what that meant.

"Boys," Clara sighed. "None of you know how a woman's body works, do you?"

"Can't say anything for the other boys, but I myself don't know anything about the female body's inner workings," Ron admitted. "I'll probably buy a book on it someday."

"A book?" Clara asked, giving Ron a curious look. "Ah… For your girlfriend."

"She is not my…" Ron trailed off. _Not yet, at least._

"Stop being such a prude, Ron," Clara giggled, clearly teasing him. "She is gorgeous, and one day, she'll turn a lot of heads. You should be smart and lay your claim now. Otherwise, some other boy will."

"I'd like to see them try," Ron all but snarled, and Clara let out a laugh.

"Possessive," Clara cooed. "I like it. A man should keep what's his to himself." _Why did she make it sound like Daphne's a toy?_ "Here's some advice, Ron. Pleasing a woman is not nearly as simple as pleasing a man. You would do well to learn about it." Clara turned to leave at that, but Ron quickly moved into her way. An insane idea was brewing in his head, one that he quickly began to implement.

"You know how to please women," Ron blurted out, and she blinked at him. "Carey… Intelligent, cold, and ruthless Carey was putty in your hands. I've never seen any woman look like that before… You know what you're doing."

"Well… I am a woman," Clara chuckled. "So of course I know how to please one. I've had a lot of practice… with myself." _Ignore that comment, and that smile. Stay on task._

"You could teach me," Ron said, and Clara cocked her head. "You'd be the perfect tutor in this particular topic."

"And why would I teach you?" Clara asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Tell me, Ron… Why do you want to learn about this?"

"You know why," Ron replied, but she tutted him.

"Say it, and I will consider it," Clara hummed. "What's your goal?" _Is she serious? She wants me to say that I want to make Daphne feel like that when we're dating?_ "Ron, if you don't say it, then I'll walk away."

"I… I want to make Daphne… happy… someday…" Ron grit out.

"That must've been hard for you," Clara giggled, and Ron nodded slowly. "Hmmm, I wonder. Tell you what, Ron. Since I like you so much, I'll help you out."

"Really? Thanks, Clara-"

"But only if the first years keep earning us a lot of House Points," Clara added, and Ron blinked at her. "Nothing in this World is free, handsome. We already planned to reward you for your continued successes, and I've decided that this will be your reward. You keep the first years in line, and I'll teach you how to keep your girlfriend… happy."

"I see," Ron said, this was more than fair.

"Or… I could make you feel 'happy' instead," Clara said sweetly as she walked up to him, but he refused to budge. "You saw Carey, didn't you? I could do the same for you."

"No, thanks" Ron said quickly, doing his best to keep his composure.

"Most boys your age would take this opportunity," Clara whispered in his right ear. "She doesn't have to know…"

"I'll know," Ron said, taking a step back. _I don't betray the people that are dear to me._

"Good answer," Clara smiled genuinely, and Ron blinked at her. "She's a lucky girl, I hope she knows that. Sadly, loyalty is a rare trait in our House. Keep working with the first years, and whenever it's time for your reward, I'll give you a lesson. Is that fair?"

"That's fair," Ron agreed. She gave him a saucy wink, and then she was gone.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside Study of Ancient Runes Class – After Classes)**_

Professor Babbling was at least more subtle than Hagrid, but not by much. Ron had repeatedly caught her throwing sad looks towards him, which was just weird because he had only been her student for a week. Not to mention that she was constantly picking him out to answer her questions, and then rewarding him an unfair amount of points for his efforts. If Ron got something right, he would make ten points. If anyone else got something right, they'd make only five point. So it was no wonder that he was getting odd looks by the end of class, even from Blaise.

"Did you do something to earn her favor?" Blaise asked him, and Ron shook his head.

"She knows about my conditions," Ron whispered, and Blaise gave him a deadpan look.

"That makes sense," Blaise said aloofly. "She is giving you extra points because you're a wounded puppy."

"That's just mean," Ron sighed, but he knew that Blaise wasn't wrong.

"Hey, you made forty House Points by just answering four questions," Blaise nudged him. "Look at the silver lining, mate. The Triumvirate will be pleased by this." _The Triumvirate… Bloody hell, I could barely sleep last night because of what I saw._

"Do you know how Theo and Daphne's report-"

"Hi, Ron," Hermione greeted him, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Do you want to walk down to the Potions Classroom with me? We've both got Potions Club now." _I am aware of that._

"We were having a conversation, Granger," Blaise frowned at her, but she outright ignored him. "It's no wonder-"

"Blaise, stop it," Ron said, giving his friend a meaningful look. "And yes, let's walk down…" Ron began making his way down towards the Dungeons at that, a deep pit slowly forming in his stomach.

"Isn't this exciting?" Hermione asked him as both she and Blaise caught up to him. "I'm positively ecstatic! Can you tell me what it's like?"

"You'll see soon enough…" Ron replied, keeping his eyes forward. He missed Hermione's smile faltering for a moment, but Blaise didn't. _If he pairs me up with her, I don't know if I'll be able to keep my shite together. Seeing her just reminds of that awful night._

"Does he reward House Points?" Hermione asked, the silence not sitting right with her. "You know, if we get things right."

"Not to my knowledge," Ron replied.

"You didn't see him give out House Points last week?" Hermione asked.

"No," Ron replied, his pace quickening without his knowledge.

"All the other clubs reward House Points," Hermione pointed out, and Ron nodded absentmindedly. In the back of Ron's mind, he could hear himself muttering like a madman as he tried to strangle the life out of her. "I'm actually thinking of joining the Dueling Club as well. I wasn't too keen on it at first, mostly because it will cause even more segregation between the Houses. But Harry and Neville convinced me otherwise. Are you joining the Dueling Club, Ron?"

"We all are," Blaise replied for him, his eyes studying his friend's blank stare.

"There's a rumor going around that the Professors finally have all the details down, and that they're going to let us in on them tonight," Hermione told Ron, once again ignoring Blaise. After her run-in with him last week, she knew that he wasn't worth her time and attention. "I heard something about teams… So I was thinking that maybe if we're allowed to make teams with people from the other Houses, you should join ours. I think that it'll-"

"Why would he do that?" Blaise asked her.

"I think that it'll be fun to spend more time together," Hermione continued, her attention focused on Ron. "Harry and Neville would definitely agree to us four being a team."

"And I ask again," Blaise stared at her coldly. "Why would he do that?"

"I'll just stick to Slytherin," Ron stated, he had barely heard anything that Hermione had said. _Are we even going the right way? They're following me, but I'm just walking forward._ Ron then paid closer attention to where he was going, and much to his relief, they were getting close to the Dungeons.

"Why don't we discuss that more?" Hermione smiled at him, while Blaise fought the urge to scoff at how pathetic she was being. "You know, the Gryffindors would definitely take a liking to you now."

"Now?" Blaise repeated. "Oh right… They're not blaming him for being the Heir now. Thanks for stopping your propaganda against him, by the way. We really appreciate it."

"What's your problem, Zabini?" Hermione demanded, she had finally gotten fed up with him. _Are they fighting? Fuck, I zoned out completely._

"Your voice is annoying me," Blaise shrugged, and Hermione clenched her jaw at him.

"At least I don't talk like a robot," Hermione countered, but Blaise just blinked at her.

"What's a 'robot'?" Blaise asked.

"Of course you don't know," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is it too much to ask for you lot to educate yourselves?"

"You lot?" Blaise asked, and then he looked to Ron. "You're fine with that?"

"No, I'm not," Ron sighed, and then he looked to Hermione. "Don't say that again."

"Why? He definitely-"

"Don't argue, just do as you're told," Ron ordered, and she blinked at him. "Blaise, I'll see you after Potions Club."

"Right," Blaise nodded. "Don't let your company ruin your work, Ron." With that, Blaise separated from them. Ron watched his friend leave with a new sense of dread. He didn't want to be alone with the girl that he had attempted to murder. _How selfish can I get? She's the victim, but I'm the one who is having trouble being near her._

"Just do as I'm told?" Hermione asked haughtily, and Ron looked back to her. "Don't speak to me like that, Ron. I'm not one of your lackeys."

"My lackeys?" Ron asked as he began walking again.

"You know who I'm talking about," Hermione replied coldly.

"I really don't," Ron lied, he knew what she was getting at.

"Whatever," Hermione rolled her eyes. "People usually speak to each other with respect."

"Do they?" Ron asked, not really interested in her opinions. "Tell me, do they also say things like 'you lot'? What did you mean by that? Were you referring to Blaise as some Blood-Supremacist?"

"Only because he is one," Hermione replied, and Ron stopped once again.

"He is my friend, and he is not like that," Ron told her, but she simply rolled her eyes. _Why is rolling her eyes like that? I'm making a genuine point._

"I'm sure that's what he tells you," Hermione argued. "Have you seen how he speaks to me? How he looks down his nose at everyone? He's definitely-"

"You don't know him," Ron said firmly. "You've never spoken to each other besides throwing petty insults at one another. He can be an arse, but you assuming something like this about him makes you no better."

"Are you calling me an arse?" Hermione asked, utterly shocked by his rudeness. "What's the matter with you, Ron? You don't speak to people like this."

"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked back, and she blinked at him. "What makes you the leading authority on who's a Blood-Supremacist? Huh? Answer me."

"I… I just… I can see it…" Hermione stammered, why was he speaking to her like that?

"You can just see it?" Ron repeated. "You can just 'see' people for who they really are then? Is that it? You have some gift that the rest of us don't possess? Tell me, what do you see when you look at me?" _A failed murderer._

"Right now…" Hermione said, her voice going up an octave. "A massive jerk!" Hermione then ran past him, clearly too upset to continue this conversation.

"Great…" Ron sighed. "Why is she so damn sensitive? All the intelligence in the World, but she has the mental fortitude of a toddler."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"A client of mine has lost his vision due to his son's misfired Conjunctivitis Curse," Snape told them, his eyes darting between Hermione and Ron. Both of them were on opposite sides of the room, which could only mean teenage drama. "Which Potion will allow him to go hunting with his friends this weekend?"

"The Oculus Potion, Professor," Hermione answered in a heartbeat, beating everyone in the room.

"Correct, Ms. Granger" Snape nodded, and she blinked at him for using a title before her name. "Mr. Weasley will assist you in making this Potion. You have two hours." _Does he mean me, or Percy?_ Snape's eyes turned towards him, and Ron bit back a frown. _He's doing this because of some ulterior reason. No way is he that cruel. He knows how I feel about being near her right now._ Ron walked over to the storeroom, and Hermione joined him.

"We'll need-"

"I know the ingredients, Hermione," Ron said, slowly pulling them out.

"I'll prepare a station then," Hermione huffed, and then she left for a station at the back of the room. As Ron collected the ingredients, he heard Snape drawl on about his other clients. Before long, Ron was carefully placing the ingredients on his shared workstation.

"You can start crushing the Unicorn Horn, while I prepare the Wormwood Solution," Hermione ordered, quickly heating up the Cauldron. "Make sure that you ground-"

"I know," Ron told her. "I'm not Neville, Hermione. I know what I'm doing."

"Neville knows what he's doing," Hermione quickly defended her friend, but Ron just cocked an eyebrow at her. "Sometimes… It's not his fault, alright? It's Professor Snape's. He's always breathing down poor Neville's neck."

"Neville has blown up nine cauldrons in two years," Ron reminded her, and she frowned at him. "He nearly melted his workstation in his first class. Did Professor Snape cause that?"

"Well… No," Hermione replied. "But he certainly didn't help Neville."

"It's not that hard to follow instructions on a page," Ron said, and then he started crushing the Unicorn Horn. "The rest of us can do it, so why can't he?"

"Did I do something to upset you?" Hermione asked, she couldn't take his attitude anymore.

"No," Ron replied, smashing the Unicorn Horn harder than necessary. "Please start the Potion. We only have two hours."

"You're not acting like yourself, Ron," Hermione told him as she began adding water into the cauldron. "You've never spoken to me like this before. What's your problem?"

"I don't have one," Ron lied, deciding to focus on his work. _I feel like I ate lead for lunch. And I think I might vomit. Why is Snape doing this?_

"You clearly do," Hermione scoffed, throwing the Wormwood into the water. "I know that you've been ignoring me, and I have the right to know why. So go on… Tell me. What did I do to you?"

"Nothing," Ron replied. "Just focus on the Potion, alright? Snape will skin our hides if we don't get this right."

"I don't get things wrongs," Hermione said. "Are you done with the Horn yet? How long does it take for-"

"It's done," Ron cut her off, and then he handed her the mortar. "I'll get started on stewing the Mandrake."

"Whatever, Ron," Hermione waved him away.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Club – Nearly Dinnertime)**_

"Acceptable," Snape drawled as he peered into their cauldron, they were the last pair in the lab.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said quickly, while Ron cleaned up the station.

"You are excused, Ms. Granger," Snape said, and Hermione grabbed her things and left. The moment the door closed behind her, Ron ran over to the nearest bin and vomited. _Fuck… I had to swallow it three times…_

"Are you alright?" Snape asked, looking around the empty Potions Lab.

"No…" Ron shook his head, his head still in the bin. "I nearly had a panic attack…"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Granger," Snape drawled, eyeing Ron with a cold look. "I thought you two were friends."

"I… I don't know anymore," Ron admitted, and then he vomited some more. "Ugh… There goes all the food I ate today…"

"And your Nutrition Potion?" Snape asked.

"I didn't get a chance to drink it…" Ron stood back up, cleaning mouth with a nearby rag. "Blaise was with me, and then Hermione… Why did you pair me with her?"

"Appearances need to be maintained," Snape replied. "And Albus asked me to."

"He did?" Ron asked, slowly falling into the nearest chair. _I feel so lightheaded now._

"He wants you to stay friends with Potter's gang," Snape replied. "He clearly has a plan for them, and he wants you involved in it."

"He couldn't tell me that?" Ron asked, his head dropping down to his lap.

"Why are you fighting with Granger?" Snape asked, and Ron looked over to him.

"I'm not fighting with her," Ron replied. "I nearly killed her, in case you forgot."

"But you didn't," Snape drawled. "Move on."

"You know what? No," Ron said. "I've tried to 'move on', but I just can't… Seeing her just reminds me of what I went through… What I did… It's only been a damn week, so just cut me some slack." _And she's constantly showing up everywhere lately._

"Not so easy, is it?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked at him.

"What's not easy?" Ron asked.

"To kill…" Snape whispered coldly. "You have this list in your head, but look at you right now. You haven't even killed anyone yet, but you're already unraveling. All you did was give her a concussion. Tell me, how will you react once you actually take a life? What will you do when you truly go through with your threats?"

"Worried about your friend?" Ron asked, but Snape just stared at him.

"Word is cheap, boy," Snape drawled. "Anyone can run their mouth."

"So you **are** pissed," Ron nodded to himself, and then he stood back up. "Why do you care about someone like Lucius Malfoy?"

"I care about his Family," Snape corrected him. "You plan to destroy that Family."

"No, I plan to get rid of a degenerate," Ron walked over to his things. "A murderer who should be in Azkaban… Attacking Hermione is nothing like my plans for him. She may have a rod of self-righteousness jammed up her arse, but she's not a killer."

"And you're not 'self-righteous', is that it?" Snape asked coldly, his eyes digging into Ron's. "You have the authority to decide who lives and dies?"

"I'm not claiming to be some moral authority, I just don't think that murderers should walk free," Ron replied. "I know that what I plan to do is fucked up, but I refuse to leave loose-ends. It's not the Death-Eaters in Azkaban who are trying to bring the Dark Lord back, it's the ones who got away with murdering hundreds of innocent people. Tell me, what gives them the right to go out and hunt Muggle-Borns and Muggles?" Snape didn't reply to that. "Yeah… I've read about the 'Hunts'. Fucking disgusting. Setting hunting dogs on people, making trophies out of them, raping and pillaging villages… Letting Werewolves infect children? You didn't see anything wrong with choosing a side like that?"

"I had my reasons," Snape whispered, his expression unreadable.

"I'm sure you did," Ron scoffed. "I'm sure you had plenty of reasons to do what you did. How many people have you killed? You told me that your first kill was a Muggle, right? Some alcoholic abuser? And what did you say about him? Oh yeah… 'He deserved it'. Tell me, did your other victims deserve it too?"

"Careful, Weasley," Snape hissed, but Ron merely cocked his eyebrow at him.

"Hiss all you want, but you know that I'm right," Ron said. "You had no problem with killing some abusive alcoholic, but now that someone wants to bring your murdering associate to justice, you're getting emotional. Well, guess what? Lucius Malfoy deserves to die. He **deserves it**. He spent his young years torturing and killing people because he hated their heritage, and now he's trying to assassinate little girls to get at their fathers. If you try to protect this man, I'll put you in a grave right next to his. _**Count on it.**_ "

Snape just stood there frozen, and Ron walked right past him and left the classroom. As he made his way towards the common room, he felt the sudden urge to crack his neck. And so Ron turned his head and cracked his neck loudly, a shudder born from relief passing through him. _Where does he get off telling me about what's right and wrong? He literally became a murderer right out of Hogwarts._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

"What did she say to you, Ron?" Tracey asked, and Ron let out a tired sigh.

"Hermione didn't do anything to me," Ron told them for the hundredth time.

"Then why you are in such a sour mood?" Daphne asked him.

"And why are the Trio clearly discussing you?" Theo pointed out, his eyes fixed on the Trio. Ron looked to where he was looking, and he saw them talking fervently. Occasionally, Neville would shoot him a look of disbelief, while Harry just stared with a furrowed brow. And then there was Ginny, who was clearly listening in and glaring at Ron. A dull headache began to torment him at the sight of his sister glaring at him, and Ron looked back down at his food.

"What's your sister's deal?" Blaise asked. "They're not even talking to her."

"I think that's the problem," Ron groaned, rubbing his forehead with his left hand. "She wants to be their friend, but they-"

"But they want you over her," Millie finished for him, and he nodded weakly.

"It looks to be that way," Ron said.

"That's pretty pathetic," Pansy noted, and Ron shot her a weak frown.

"Don't talk about her that way," Ron muttered. "She's… She's been through a lot…" _Damn this headache._

"Here, drink this," Blaise said, pouring some cold pumpkin juice into Ron's glass. Ron picked up the glass, and he put it against his forehead.

"Merlin…" Ron sighed, the cold glass felt heavenly against his skin.

"I reckon you should go to sleep right after dinner, Ron," Tracey advised, and Ron nodded.

"We'll have to bolt out of here," Daphne told them. "The Trio and Ginny will try to corner him, I just know it."

"Then we bar their way," Theo shrugged. "Ron runs off to safety, while we do our best to run interference."

"I like that idea," Millie agreed. "They won't speak to us, so after he's clear, they'll probably leave for their common room."

"You should eat a bit more," Daphne suggested, and Ron once again nodded. That's when they heard an owl screeching overhead, and everyone in the Great Hall looked up to see a golden brown owl heading straight for Ron. _An owl delivery? At night?_ The owl landed right in front of Ron rather gracefully, and it jerked its right leg forward.

"A letter?" Theo asked, and the owl hooted. "At this hour?" The owl hooted once more, and Ron slowly took the letter from its leg. The owl began to eye Theo's plate, and Theo chuckled. "Hungry, are you? Well, come on then. Uncle Theo will feed you."

"Uncle Theo?" Tracey and Pansy laughed, but Theo simply shrugged as he began to feed the owl from his plate. Ron quickly opened the letter once he saw the Gringotts Emblem on it, this had to be from Gornuk.

 _Mr. Weasley,_

 _I hope this letter reaches you this very day. I have sent our fastest owl. There is a massive issue that has suddenly reared its head, and it affects your business in particular. Please come to Gringotts at your earliest convenience. This conversation cannot take place over letters._

 _Gornuk._

Ron reread the letter multiple times, his headache completely forgotten. _What massive issue? What's happened?_

"What did it say?" Daphne asked, reading Ron's worried expression. Ron simply handed her the letter, and while she read it, he frantically tried to think of what this issue was. _Did one of the investors back out? No, that's not possible. Did someone break into my vault? No, that would be in the news. He said that it affects my business in particular. What does that mean? Shite. I have to go there tomorrow and find out what's happened._

"Bad news?" Millie asked.

"Looks like it," Daphne replied for Ron, and then she handed him the letter back.

"Something bad has happened," Ron told his friends. "Something to do with my business. My Logistics Officer wants me to come down to Gringotts as soon as possible."

"But you're at school," Pansy said. "You should go to the Headmaster about this. Get his permission to leave, you know."

"Pansy's right," Theo agreed. "Isn't you advertisement campaign supposed to start at the beginning of October?"

"It is," Ron replied. "Yeah, I'll talk to the Headmaster about this. I have two free periods after lunch tomorrow, I can use them to visit Gringotts."

"You sure that he'll give you leave?" Blaise asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" Tracey asked.

"Because no teacher is free to take Ron to Gringotts," Blaise replied, and Ron groaned. "He's a student, and so he needs to have a teacher with him if he leaves the premises."

"Take the Headmaster then," Theo suggested.

"Yeah, I'll just convince the busiest man alive to spare me his afternoon," Ron frowned at him.

"Yeah… That was a bad suggestion," Theo nodded to himself. "I was on a roll, and I got too arrogant. Should've pulled back."

"What the hell are you on about?" Millie asked Theo, and then she looked to Ron. "You can always go after classes, Ron."

"I have a session with Pomfrey," Ron said, and then he bit his tongue. _They didn't know that._

"A session with Pomfrey?" Daphne asked. "On a Thursday?"

"You just had one two days ago," Pansy said, looking a bit concerned. "Is everything alright, Ron?"

"Yeah…" Ron lied. "I'm fine. Everything is fine." _No new brain-damage here._

"Sure," Tracey cocked her eyebrow at him. "You've been the picture of health these past few days."

"Tracey, don't bring this up here," Blaise said.

"He's clearly going through something," Tracey said, and everyone shifted in their seats. "Ron… You can talk to us about it. We'll listen, and we'll do everything we can to help."

"Can we please not bring up my health issues on the dinner table?" Ron asked, and Tracey deflated. "There are people around us for Merlin's sake. As for this," Ron waved the letter, "it's my only concern right now."

"The Headmaster is leaving," Theo pointed out, and they all looked to see Dumbledore getting out of his seat.

"Where's he going?" Pansy asked. "Dinner isn't over yet." Dumbledore began heading towards the giant door, smiling and waving at the students as he went.

"Ron, go," Blaise nudged. "You might not get to see him tomorrow." _He's right. Damnit._ Ron quickly got out of his seat and followed after Dumbledore, he could feel multiple eyes on him.

"Ronald," Dumbledore smiled at him as he stepped into the Headmaster's way. "Important letter?"

"Huh?" Ron blinked, and then he nodded. "Yes, yes it is. Can I please speak to you in your Office?"

"Certainly," the old wizard chuckled, gesturing Ron towards the door.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Ronald, I can't let you leave without supervision," Dumbledore said as he handfed Fawkes.

"Headmaster, please," Ron pleaded. "The letter told me to come by urgently, and I only have spare periods after lunch."

"What about after classes end?" Dumbledore asked him. "I can send Severus with you."

"I have a session with Madam Pomfrey," Ron replied. "Headmaster, please. This letter is not good news for me, I can feel it. If it's something to do with The Quibbler, then we'll both affected by it."

"Our plan to put Amelia Bones in power," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded to himself. "Are you sure that you can't wait until this Saturday?"

"He wants me there as soon as possible," Ron replied. "I'll be fine, Headmaster. You know I will."

"As your Headmaster, I can't let you leave without supervision," Dumbledore sighed, turning to face Ron. "And I myself cannot come with you."

"Why?" Ron asked, and then the school bell went off. _Dinner's over._

"I am leaving for Albania tomorrow morning," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Nothing to worry about, Ronald. The Gaia Project is also facing some issues at the moment."

"Issues?" Ron asked.

"We underestimated the costs," Dumbledore replied.

"Do the Muggles know about that?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore shook his head. _Thank Merlin, the last thing that we need is a Muggle-Wizard war._

"I plan to keep it that way," Dumbledore told him. "But the issue remains… We don't have the funds to complete our project. But enough about this. You have your own troubles right now, and you don't need to shoulder mine. You may go to Gringotts tomorrow."

"Really?" Ron asked. "Thank you, Headmaster. Truly!"

"I am putting my faith in you to be responsible, Ronald," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Do not disappoint me."

"I will be nothing short of a saint," Ron grinned, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"I can already see myself regretting this decision," Dumbledore said, turning back to Fawkes.

"Seeing the Future is my gimmick," Ron quipped. "Thank you, Headmaster. I won't let you down."

"I know, dear boy," Dumbledore said. "You should head down to your common room. Severus might already be down there by now."

"Professor Snape?" Ron asked.

"Run along, Ronald," Dumbledore waved him away, and Ron bowed respectfully and made to leave. He quickly descended the spiral steps and made his way past the stone gargoyle, and that's when his path was blocked by a bunch of Gryffindors. Harry, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, and Percy had been lying in wait to ambush him, and he could do little but stare at them. _What's this about?_

"It can't be Ronnie?" Fred sniggered.

"The red hair would suggest that it is," George added, sniggering just like Fred.

"Hello," Ron greeted them all, his eyes lingering on Ginny's narrowed eyes.

"Is everything alright, Ron?" Percy asked. "You looked really rushed and worried."

"Oh… That," Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "Just some trouble with Gringotts. Nothing to worry about."

"Gringotts?" Percy asked, looking even more worried now.

"Did you get caught evading taxes?" Fred asked.

"I'm not old enough to pay taxes," Ron replied, but the twins tutted him. "I have to be seventeen-"

"Our own brother," they both sighed. "A tax fraud."

"Stop it, you two," Percy snapped at them. "This could be serious."

"I assure you, it is not," Ron lied. "Please don't worry about me, Perce. You have N.E. to prepare for."

"Why did you need to see Dumbledore?" Harry asked, and Ron blinked at him.

"I needed his permission to leave Hogwarts after lunch," Ron replied.

"Which teacher is accompanying you?" Hermione asked in a rather snappy tone, one that made Percy give her a confused for.

"None," Ron replied, and even the twins looked surprised. _I can't lie about this. It's way too easy to get caught with something like this._

"None?!" the twins asked.

"Ron, that's not possible," Percy said quickly, while Hermione was genuinely gaping at him.

"He trusts me to be responsible," Ron told them. "Please… Relax. Everything is fine. I'll be back within an hour. Maybe two…" _Or maybe three. It depends on the crisis._

"This is against all protocols," Percy shook his head.

"Do you mind dropping by a certain joke shop?" Fred asked.

"We need stink pellets," George said, and Percy frowned at them.

"Please stop your pranks," Percy requested with a grim tone. "I need to be studying, not cleaning up after you two."

"It's the second week, Prefect Percy," Fred chuckled.

"You need to enjoy life a little," George patted Percy's back.

"Um… Can I go?" Ron asked. "Professor Snape wants to speak with me as well."

"Aren't you busy?" Ginny asked, crossing her arms.

"Is that angst we smell?" the twins laughed, and then they sniffed the air dramatically.

"She's at that age," Ron said, giving her a deadpan look.

"Right," Percy said slowly, looking between Ron and Ginny. And then Percy looked to the Trio with narrowed eyes. _Yeah, she wants to be their friend. So she's treating me like I'm not her brother anymore._

"Neville, can I talk to you?" Ron asked suddenly, a plan forming in his head.

"Me?" Neville blinked.

"Yeah, mate," Ron replied, and Neville looked towards a suspicious Harry. "Alone, please."

"Why alone?" Harry asked.

"It's private," Ron replied, getting annoyed with this pathetic excuse for an interrogation. Ron then looked to Neville with a dead serious look. "Neville, we are allies, are we not?"

"We are," Neville replied, and then he gestured Ron to follow him.

"Nev!" Harry called, staring at Neville in disbelief. Ron fought the urge to smirk at Harry's gobsmacked expression, and he followed after Neville.

"Thanks about this-" Ron started, but Harry, Hermione, and Ginny quickly followed after them.

"Neville, what are you doing?" Hermione asked. "We were supposed to talk to Ron together." _So they did plan to ambush me. Sorry, but I don't have time for your whining. I have work to do._

"I'm in a hurry, Neville," Ron sighed. "I just need a word with you before I run off." Neville looked between Ron and his other friends, and this time, he chose to do right by his Family's name.

"Yeah, Ron," Neville nodded, and then they both left Harry, Hermione, and Ginny behind. "I'm going to be in so much trouble…"

"For what?" Ron asked. "I'm your friend too, mate. Your eternal friend, remember? And I really do need to ask you a few things." _He might know about this crisis that Gornuk alluded to._

"What kinds of things?" Neville asked, shooting a sorry look behind them.

"Your Gran told you about my business, right?" Ron asked, and Neville nodded slowly.

"She told me right before I left for Hogwarts, and then she told me to not tell a soul," Neville replied. _I love that woman._ "Is your business in trouble?"

"Sort of," Ron sighed, and Neville gave him a sympathetic look. "Look, I just want to know if you mentioned it to anyone."

"On my Gran's life, I didn't," Neville swore. "Not even Harry and Hermione." _Wow._

"I appreciate that, Neville," Ron said truthfully. "Has she sent you any letters referring to it?"

"No," Neville shook his head. "Gran's too paranoid to do that. And she really does want to do right by you for what you've done for her Family."

"Alright," Ron nodded. "Thank her for me, please. And don't mention the business to anyone. I need to sort this out quickly and quietly."

"Does your Family know?" Neville asked, and Ron stopped moving. _Ginny._ "They do, don't they?"

"Yes," Ron replied, he really didn't want to believe that Ginny would tell Harry and Hermione.

"Your sister might…" Neville started, but then he trailed off.

"I'll just have to hurry then, won't I?" Ron said, looking back towards his frowning sister. _She wouldn't. Would she? Fuck, she totally would._

"Why don't you just ask her to keep this quiet until you sort it out?" Neville asked. "Or if you want, I can do it for you."

"Really?" Ron asked, looking back to Neville.

"I mean… I can try," Neville said uncomfortably.

"No, don't do that," Ron exhaled, he didn't want Neville getting in any more trouble with his friends. "I'll take care of this by myself. Thanks for helping me out here." _So Neville and his Gran haven't done anything to cause this issue._

"Wait, before you go…" Neville said, stopping Ron from leaving. "Hermione mentioned that you two had a fight of sorts… Actually, she made it sound like you were defending Zabini's prejudiced views."

"Blaise is not a Blood-Supremacist," Ron said, resisting the urge to frown. "Mate, he helped you with the Chamber last year. Remember? I told him about my plan to involve you and Harry, and after I was out of the picture, he fulfilled my wishes. He's a good guy, and I know for a fact that he doesn't care about Blood-Supremacy. He's just… He's quite aloof sometimes. That's all. Merlin, Neville… He didn't even accept any credit for his part in the Chamber's discovery. None of us did."

"I… You make a good point," Neville groaned, looking thoroughly exhausted. "I just want this fighting to stop, you know. I mean, why can't we just sit down and talk? All of us?"

"My friends can be… difficult," Ron admitted.

"Then they already have something in common with mine," Neville joked, and Ron chuckled genuinely. "I'll talk to Hermione, mate. See if I can't sort this mess out."

"Just for the record, she literally thinks that my friends are Blood-Purists because of their House and Families," Ron said. "That's not fair, nor is it morally right. My friends have been there for me in ways that I can't even tell you."

"Hermione is bit… complicated… sometimes," Neville said slowly. "Some of the older Slytherin boys have been…" he trailed off.

"Have been what?" Ron asked.

"You know," Neville shrugged. "They target all the Muggle-Borns." _Flint and his gang? Probably. No one else would be stupid enough to go against the Triumvirate's wishes. I need to tell them about this._ "And then there was the person who upset her last Wednesday." _Blaise._

"Right," Ron rubbed the back of his head. "I'd best be off, mate. Snape will be expecting me."

"Then you'd better go," Neville said, and Ron turned and left for the Dungeons. He could already hear raised voices from behind him, but he ignored them.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Finally," Snape drawled, eyeing Ron as soon as he entered the common room. The entire House was apparently waiting for him, and Ron smiled sheepishly at them. "Go and join your year-mates, Mr. Weasley."

"Sorry everyone," Ron said, giving people sorry nods as he went to his friends.

"So?" Daphne whispered.

"I got permission," Ron whispered back. _Now what's this?_

"Now that Mr. Weasley has finally decided to grace us with his presence, we can continue," Snape said icily, and everyone listened intently. "The Dueling Club's details have been worked out, and upon the Headmaster's insistence, we are to begin the Dueling Club on the twentieth of September. It will take place on every Sunday after that."

"Now, first things first," Snape said, his eyes traveling towards the first years. "First years are not permitted to join, but they can watch."

"What?" Tori gaped at the Potions Master.

"Why?" Mathew called out, and multiple people, including Ron, shushed them.

"Because you have barely owned your wands for more than two weeks," Snape said harshly. "Your lack of experience with your wands is a liability for the time being. All the Heads of Houses have agreed on this, and that is that." _I suppose that's fair. They could really hurt one another if they aren't careful._

"What time does the Dueling Club open up on Sundays?" Flint asked, looking far too eager. _This cunt's going to hurt someone. I don't need the Entity's help to see that._

"After Lunch," Snape replied. "All the tables will be cleared in the Great Hall, and an arena will be conjured up. The Dueling Club will work as an extended Tournament of sorts, so listen carefully. Each year-level will have its own Tournament Set, which means that you'll be competing against **all** the people in your respective year-levels. There will only be one winner from each year by the end of the Tournament Set's run, and that winner will be awarded one-hundred House Points." _We can potentially make six hundred then, but that's unlikely._

"Furthermore," Snape went on. "There is also a Group Set, which will involve each House putting forward a team of five people from each year-level. These teams will face off against the other teams from their respective year-levels, and once it's all said and done, only one team from each year-level will be declared the winners. This team will earn their House one-hundred House Points." _Again, we can only make six hundred if each year's winners are from Slytherin. Again, unlikely._

"And lastly," Snape continued. "There is the Grand Tournament. This Tournament will have four ranks; A, B, C, D. Rank D is the lowest, and rank A is the highest. Each person willing to participate in this Tournament will be ranked according to their skill level, and only four winners will be determined by the end of it. The winner from Rank D will win fifty House Points. The winner from rank C will win one-hundred and fifty House Points. The winner from rank B will win three-hundred House Points. And the winner from rank A will earn five-hundred House Points." Someone whistled loudly at that, making people snigger.

"Thank you, Mr. Bletchley," Snape frowned slightly. "The sign-up sheet will be up tonight, so make sure to sign it immediately if you wish to join any of the three Tournaments. You are not limited to one. For those who wish to join the Group Set, simply write down your names, and the Triumvirate will be in touch with you. Now, one more announcement."

"Since the Headmaster is rushing us," Snape drawled, keeping his irritation with Albus' persistence hidden. "Tomorrow, after classes end, we will be holding the Grand Tournament's ranking matches for the second years. On Friday, after classes end, we will be doing the same for the third years. And on Saturday, the rest of the year-levels will be sorted. Any questions?"

"What if we're not available on Saturday?" Flint asked.

"Then your rank will be determined by your grades," Snape replied.

"Enjoy rank D then, Flint," some fourth year called, and people burst into sniggers. _Ha! Got him!_ Flint glared around the room, but people kept sniggering.

"This Dueling Club can net us the House-Cup," Snape said, and everyone stopped sniggering. "You. Will. Take. It. Seriously. I expect excellence from each of you. Do not disappoint me." With that, Snape billowed out of the common room.

"We're all signing up for all three, right?" Ron asked, his eyes going towards Daphne and Pansy.

"I'm in," Daphne smiled at him. _That's my witch._

"Ugh… fine," Pansy flicked her hair back. "I'll lend you my skills…"

"Friday is going to be so much fun, isn't it?" Theo smirked, looking right at Ron. "You better forfeit if we get matched up. I don't want to embarrass you too much by smacking you around the arena."

"You're so kind," Ron sniggered. _Friday, eh? That's fine. I'll go to Gringotts tomorrow. And then I'll destroy everyone in my year-level on Friday. No holding back. The Weasley name is on the line here._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (D.A.D.A Classroom – Morning Classes)**_

The Dueling Club was already riling up the students, most of whom were either discussing it excitedly or shooting members of different Houses death-glares. Ron wasn't really surprised by this, especially because of how many House Points were on the line. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to fully invest in the competitive energy that was going around. His mind kept travelling towards Gornuk's letter, and the implications that it had alluded to.

He was truly starting to stress about this now, so much so that he had barely slept last night. Instead, he had spent his night reading Flitwick's book on Progenitor Spells in the hopes of it boring him to sleep. It had the opposite effect on him, and he had quickly flown through the first few chapters. As it turned out, people in the older days were a lot more 'hands on' than the wizards nowadays. Pretty much every Spell in that book required physical contact to be made with an object or person, which in turn made these Spells rather redundant.

Not to mention that most of the Spells that he had read about were rather useless, but there were a couple of gems in there. Gems like Glacius, Incendio, Baubillious, Flagellum Inferos, Lumos Solem, Fumos, and Cutis Terra. Gems that could be used both offensively and defensively. The only problem was that Ron couldn't cast a single one last night besides Glacius. He had tried over and over again, but other than a couple of sparks and extremely warm fingertips, none of the Spells had worked properly. He had decided to at least successfully cast these Spells before reading new ones because what was the point of learning Spells that you couldn't even cast.

"I have a great lesson planned for us today," Remus beamed at them, his eyes lingering on Ron for a moment. Ron smiled at him, glad to finally see Remus in action. Professor Lupin had quickly become a favorite of the students, mostly because he **actually** taught them Defense Against the Dark Arts. "But before we get into it, who can tell me what a Boggart is?" Ron quickly raised his hand to answer, driven by some childish need to please the rugged Professor.

"A Boggart is a shapeshifter, Sir," Hermione blurted out eagerly. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." Ron slowly put his hand down, resisting the urge to frown. _I should've called it out. Damn._

"Excellent, Hermione," Remus smiled at her, and she glowed from being praised. "Who can tell me what a Boggart looks like?" Ron once again raised his hand, but Hermione was way too fast.

"No one knows, Sir," Hermione answered, and Theo sniggered at Ron. "There is literally no record of a Boggart being seen in its true form. It can read the mind of its target from a mile away, and because they like to live in dark caves, no one has ever seen one without it turning into their worst fear."

"Correct again," Remus nodded, his eyes darting over Ron and the Slytherins. "A Boggart can be turned into a thousand wisps of black smoke, and many scholars have deemed this to be its true form. However, there is still an ongoing debate about its 'true' appearance. Now, who can tell me what can finish off a Boggart? The Slytherins this time." Hermione blinked at him, the correct answer was already on the tip of her tongue. Ron raised his hand again, and Remus nodded at him.

"Laughter can finish off a Boggart, Sir," Ron answered, and Remus shot him a smile.

"Correct, Ron," Remus said, and Ron felt Theo pat his back.

"How can we laugh at our worst fears, Professor?" Lavender asked, and Remus snapped his fingers.

"Excellent question, Lavender," Remus praised her, and she smiled widely. "The Charm that repels a Boggart is simple, but it requires force of mind. We will practice this Charm without wands first. Now, repeat after me… Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" the class mimicked Remus, and he nodded firmly.

"Good, very good," Remus said. "But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. Since laughter is a Boggart's only weakness, the incantation alone is not enough. You must picture something truly humorous for this Charm to work. So I want you all to think hard on what you fear most, and then picture it as something comical. I will be right back." Remus left for his Office at that, which was located up the stairs behind the blackboard.

The whole room went dead silent, and Ron noticed that a lot of people had gone pale with worry. _My greatest fear?_ Spiders sprang to mind, but they were quickly replaced by a dagger-sharp grin and toad-like eyes. _The Entity…_ A shudder passed through Ron, and his hands clenched tightly. _Oh no. Where did Remus go?_

"I'll skip this lesson, I reckon," Theo whispered, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Really?" Ron whispered, looking to his blank faced friend. _Woah. He's lost his humor completely._

"Yeah…" Theo mumbled, and Ron nodded slowly. _His greatest fear? Probably his mother's last moments. He saw her die, didn't he?_

"I'll join you," Ron nudged him, giving Theo a weak smile. Theo blinked at him, and then a weak smile crossed his features. _He doesn't know that I know._

"Pull the brain-damage card, mate," Theo whispered, and Ron smiled more widely.

"I can already feel a headache coming on," Ron joked, and Theo gave a weak chuckle. They all suddenly heard Remus come back out of his Office, a trembling chest floating behind him. Remus effortlessly placed the trunk at the front of the class, and then he turned to his students.

"Pack your books, please," Remus said. "Today, we will be having a practical class." _If there's a Boggart in that chest, then I need to leave. Merlin knows what'll happen when it looks into my twisted mind._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The chairs and tables had all been moved to the corners, and now the whole class stood in the middle of the room with Remus standing between them and the shaking chest. Ron was starting to panic about what was to come, the last thing he wanted was for that Boggart to turn into the Entity. For one, that would definitely out his secret. Secondly, and more importantly, Ron didn't want to endanger the lives of his classmates. If the Boggart mimicked the Entity even a little bit, then they would all be dead within seconds. _Can it even look into my mind? Won't it run into the Entity? Shite, the Hat told me that my surface thoughts were no longer safe. I need to excuse myself somehow._

"I'm sure that you all know what's in the chest behind me," Remus said, and everyone eyed the chest warily. "Harry, can you tell what advantage we have over this particular Boggart?"

"Um…" Harry started, while Hermione bobbed up and down with her hand in the air next to him. "There's a whole bunch of us, so it won't know what to turn into?" _Oh, he's right. Didn't think of that._

"Precisely," Remus beamed, while Hermione looked both surprised and disappointed. "It's always a smart move to confront a Boggart with company. That confuses it, and in its confused state, it is extremely vulnerable. Don't ever underestimate Boggarts, for if given the chance, they can become a real problem for their victims. What strengthens a Boggart?"

"Fear, Sir," Hermione answered, and Remus nodded. "A Boggart feeds on the fear of its victims, which in turn strengthens it."

"Exactly," Remus said. "The more fear that a Boggart consumes, the more powerful it becomes. The Screaming Bogey of Strathtully was a Boggart in Scotland that consumed so much fear from the local Muggles in the area that it morphed into a massive shadow with burning white eyes. It took several Ministry Officials to contain it, and after a long encounter, one of them successfully trapped it inside a matchbox."

"Who trapped it, Sir?" Finnegan asked.

"Lyall Lupin," Remus replied, and the class exchanged looks. _Lupin?_

"Any relation to you, Sir?" Fay asked.

"He was my father," Remus replied, and the class looked quite impressed. _Lyall Lupin, eh? That's pretty neat. I didn't know that Remus' father worked in the Ministry._

"Good on your dad, Sir," Thomas said, and the class nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Dean," Remus chucked. "I hope you've all given your worst fears some thought-"

"Are we really going to face a Boggart?" Parvati piped up, shooting her classmates a worried look.

"You have nothing to fear, Parvati," Remus assured her, but she simply trembled out of fear. "The Boggart is a cowardly Creature, and it can't hurt you. It will merely attempt to frighten you in order to feed, but with a simple Charm, you can rise above your fear."

"Okay…" Parvati muttered, while Lavender rubbed her back. _I need to get the fuck out of this class. Should I fake a headache? Or maybe a heart attack?_

"Now, please form a line," Remus instructed, and Ron quickly moved to the back of the class. He wasn't at all surprised when his friends joined him, none of them were too keen to show any kind of weakness to the Gryffindors. Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy squeezed themselves in between Ron's friends and the Gryffindors, and Ron saw both Crabbe and Goyle shoving the people in front of them. _Pricks._

"Neville, you're up first it seems," Remus smiled at him, but Neville didn't look too pleased. "There's nothing to worry about, I promise. I will be right here. Now, since you're up first, why don't you help me with the demonstration?"

"Demonstration, Sir?" Neville gulped.

"Why don't you tell us what you fear most?" Remus asked, his voice soft and pleasant. Neville shot a look behind himself, and then he slowly looked back to Remus.

"Professor Snape…" Neville whispered.

"What was that?" Remus asked.

"Professor Snape…" Neville said a bit more loudly, and the class burst into laughter. Even Ron couldn't help but chuckle, Snape was indeed frightening. _Well, to them at least. None of them know that he's the Order's secret weapon._

"Ah, Professor Snape," Remus nodded in understanding, his voice was still soft and pleasant. "He is a frightening figure, is he not?" Neville nodded at that. "Tell me, Neville. You live with your Grandmother, yes?"

"I do," Neville nodded slowly. "But I don't want that Boggart to turn into her either." The class began sniggering again, and the chest started shaking violently. _Neville's Gran is probably scarier than Snape._

"I want you to picture her clothes in your mind, Neville," Remus told him. "And once 'Professor Snape' comes out of that chest, I want you to cast Riddikulus on him with her clothes clear in your mind. Do you understand?"

"I do," Neville nodded, thinking about his Gran's extreme sense of fashion.

"Alright…" Remus said, slowly walking up to the chest. And then, Remus opened it and quickly stepped to the side. The whole class saw Severus Snape slowly rise out of the chest, his black eyes flashing at Neville. Snape then stepped out of the chest, his trademark sneer in place, and Neville took a wary step backwards. "You can do this, Neville," Remus said, and Neville quickly brandished his wand.

"Riddikulus!" Neville chanted, and there was a loud noise like a whip-crack. Snape's black robes were transformed into a long, lace-trimmed dress, and he now wore a towering hat topped with a moth eaten vulture and a bright red purse dangled from his hand. The whole class exploded with laughter, with the exception of Malfoy. The paler than usual boy was just glaring at everyone for disrespecting his Godfather, a frown slowly forming on his face.

"Snape's not going to like this," Blaise whispered, a chuckle escaping his mouth.

"Definitely not," Tracey laughed, her whole face was lit up. The Boggart looked around the room, its expression showing its confusion.

"Seamus!" Remus called, and Finnegan moved up. Neville quickly made his way to the back of the line, a proud smile on his face.

"Good job, mate," Ron whispered as Neville passed him, and Neville gave him a thankful nod. _That was brilliant._ 'Snape' looked to Finnegan, and then it transformed into a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face. _Is that a Banshee?_ The Banshee immediately began to wail, and everyone covered their ears because of the bone-chilling noise coming out of her mouth.

"Riddikulus!" Finnegan chanted, and the Banshee's voice stopped. She grabbed at her throat, and then she looked around as everyone started laughing at her.

"Fay!" Remus called, a massive smile on his face. Fay Dunbar quickly moved up, and the Banshee turned her attention towards the brown haired girl. The Banshee then morphed into a giant wild dog, snarling and barking at her as it bared its sharp teeth.

"Riddikulus!" Fay chanted, and the wild dog turned into a poodle with a rather high-pitched bark. The poodle suddenly yelped, and everyone started cooing or laughing at it.

"Brilliant!" Remus laughed. "Dean!" _This line is moving fast. Fuck me, what do I do?_ As Dean Thomas faced down a disembodied living hand, Ron found himself shooting panicked looks towards Remus. What if the Boggart turned into something other than the Entity? That could work, right? _But what else do I fear?_ And he knew… The answer came to him immediately. He feared failing his Cycle. He feared being knee deep in the blood of the people that he would fail if he wasn't successful in completing his Cycle.

"Parvati!" came Remus' voice, and Ron broke out of his dreadful thoughts. Parvati stepped up to the disembodied living hand which was trapped in a mouse-trap, her face showing her resolve. The hand morphed into a mummy which was poorly covered by bloodstained bandages.

"Riddikulus!" Parvati all but yelled, and the mummy's feet became tangled in its own bandages. It fell forward on its face with a loud thud, and everyone laughed wildly. But Ron didn't laugh, he was too busy being frozen with actual fear. Fear of discovery. Fear of what he might see. Fear of his Cycle being damaged by this moment.

"Hermione!" Remus called, and Hermione quickly stepped up. The mummy slowly stood back up, and it eyed Hermione critically. And then, it transformed into Professor McGonagall. The whole class gaped at Hermione's worst fear, while Hermione's bottom lip began to quiver.

"A failure," McGonagall spat out, a look of disdain upon her face. "I have never seen such a pathetic excuse for a witch in my life." The class stopped gaping, all of them shooting Hermione confused looks.

"Riddikulus!" Hermione chanted in a high-pitched voice, and McGonagall's frown turned upside down.

"Another perfect score, Ms. Granger," McGonagall beamed at her, and Hermione slowly smiled back. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Well done," Remus nodded, shooting Hermione a proud smile. "Harry!" Hermione quickly walked over towards the back of the class, and her eyes landed on Ron's fearful look for a moment. It took her by surprise, but she didn't stop to say anything. Harry stepped up, and McGonagall quickly transformed into a wisp of black smoke. _What the…?_ The whole class shot confused looks towards Remus, who himself was just staring at the black mist.

"Harry… Potter…" came a cold hiss from the smoke, and everyone in the class froze. _Oh no. Oh fuck!_ Everyone knew what this was… Who this was… "The Boy-who-lived… Come to die?" The mist suddenly turned into a face with blazing red eyes, and You-Know-Who's spirit hissed madly as it charged at a frozen Harry. Remus leaped in-between the Boggart and Harry without a second thought, his usually calm demeanor completely gone. The Boggart stopped dead in its tracks, and then it morphed into a floating silver crystal ball.

"Riddikulus!" Remus chanted, turning the silvery orb into a tiny cockroach. Remus then flicked his wand and sent the cockroach flying into the chest, which sealed itself with a loud clank. No one really gave Remus' worst fear any thought, mostly because they were all just staring at Harry. The bespectacled boy was just standing there, still frozen from seeing Lord Voldemort's spirit. _Bloody hell, Harry's fear should've been obvious. Is that what the Dark Lord sounds like?_

"Right, um…" Remus turned to the class, his eyes darting towards Harry. "That's enough for today's class everyone… How about we cut it early today, eh? You're all dismissed to your common rooms for the remainder of the lesson. We'll do the others next week… Harry, could you stay behind a moment?"

The class exchanged looks, and then slowly began to shift out of the room with their books. Neville and Hermione lingered behind, but soon enough, they too exited the classroom. Everyone was quite startled by what had just happened, including the Slytherins. Well, all of them except for Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom had a look of reverence on their fat faces. Lavender, Parvati, and Fay were in tears, while Thomas, Finnegan, and Neville were failing to comfort them. As for Ron's friends, they had gone eerily quiet.

"We should head back to the common room," Pansy whispered, her eyes darting towards the door frantically. "Please? I don't want to stay here."

"You guys go on," Ron said, absentmindedly rubbing Pansy's back. "I'm going to wait with the Gryffindors for Harry. Just to make sure that he's alright, you know."

"Right," Theo nodded weakly. "See you in a bit then."

"Yeah," Ron whispered, and his friends slowly left for the Dungeons. Ron looked around and noticed that he was the only Slytherin here, which meant that Malfoy and his bullies had already legged it down to the Dungeons. _Bloody You-Know-Who springing up in the middle of class… Glad to see that this school is still a deathtrap._ Ron spotted Hermione looking over at him, and after shooting a look at the other girls, Hermione walked over to him.

"Hi," Hermione greeted with a quiet voice.

"Hello," Ron greeted back, matching her voice. "How are you holding up?"

"Just a bit shaken, that's all," Hermione replied as she moved over to his right side. "You?"

"Same as you," Ron replied.

"You sure?" Hermione asked, and Ron looked to her. "That's what **he** looked like that night… Down in the chambers that were protecting the Stone. He attacked you in that form…" _He did, didn't he? I almost forgot about that._ Ron checked to make sure that his arms were covered by instinct, and luckily, Hermione didn't notice his actions.

"I'm fine, Hermione," Ron assured her. "I'm just worried about Harry. You know, in hindsight, putting Harry up there was probably not wise."

"You're not wrong," Hermione said softly. "But he deserves the chance to learn just as much as we do. Professor Lupin was probably already alert… Did you see how fast he moved in-between Harry and the Boggart?"

"I did," Ron replied, shooting her another look. The pit in his stomach was coming back, but he did his best to remain calm.

"Your friends left?" Hermione asked, and Ron nodded.

"They were quite shaken," Ron replied, and she nodded slowly. "Pansy… She didn't want to be near the classroom. So yeah… They left."

"Right…" Hermione muttered, and an awkward silence engulfed them. Ron just stood there with his eyes fixed on the door, while Hermione shifted her feet and shot looks towards Neville. "About last night, Ron… We didn't mean to come across as 'ambushers'."

"Pardon?" Ron looked to her, slightly bewildered by her change of topic.

"Neville said that we came across as overly aggressive," Hermione said, and Ron blinked at her. "We weren't trying to do that. Your sister was just really angry about you defending Zabini…"

"Of course she was," Ron sighed, he couldn't help but shake his head.

"Neville brought up the business with the Chamber, and that seemed to help Harry and Ginny calm down a bit," Hermione told him.

"And you?" Ron asked. "Are you still angry with me for defending my friend?"

"I'm your friend too," Hermione said meekly. "But you've been ignoring me…" _Fuck, she's too smart to not have noticed my distance._ "Did I do something? I've tried to think about what I could've done, but I just can't find a reason for you acting so distant with me." _I nearly killed you. And I'm not strong enough to deal with what could've happened._

"It's nothing to do with you, Hermione," Ron sighed, and she waited for him to go on. "I've been… distant… with everyone lately. I'm just… I'm going through a lot of stuff right now, and I'm a bit scrambled."

"I see," Hermione said slowly. "Stuff like that letter?"

"Yeah, like that letter," Ron replied. "That fucking letter…" _Calm down, Ron. You don't know what's gone wrong yet._

"I thought you said that it was nothing to worry about," Hermione said, slightly taken aback by how agitated Ron's voice had become.

"I don't want my siblings worrying over me," Ron replied honestly. "My problems shouldn't become their problems. Percy has N.E. , the twins have O. , and Ginny is still recovering from the Chamber business. She's trying to act tough, but I know my sister better than anyone. She's not doing well. So the last thing I want to do is to drop my problems at their feet."

"So I didn't do anything?" Hermione asked, and Ron shook his head. _It was me. Just me._

"I only got upset with you yesterday because you were unfairly judging Blaise," Ron said. "He isn't like that. I know that he can be a bit cold, and sometimes, he can even be a prick. But he did right by Harry and Neville last year. He made sure that my wishes were fulfilled. My other friends were against the idea of involving them, especially after the stunt you three tried to pull, but Blaise put my wishes ahead of his own opinion of you three. And if it wasn't for my friends, Harry and Neville wouldn't have figured anything out."

"I didn't know about that," Hermione said, shooting an awkward look towards Neville, who was still talking to Fay. "I mean, I knew that Harry and Neville worked with your friends… But I didn't know that Zabini did that."

"Yeah…" Ron said tiredly. "You missed a lot last year." At that, the door of the D.A.D.A classroom swung open, and Harry stepped out with a bar of chocolate in his left hand. Hermione immediately left to check up by him, while Ron chose to linger in the back.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine," Harry said rather coldly, his expression a mixture of anger and indifference.

"You sure?" Neville asked gently, slowly taking Harry's books into his own hands.

"Was that really You-Know-Who?" Finnegan asked.

"Shut up, Seamus," Lavender hissed, smacking him over the arm.

"Who else could it be?" Thomas asked, a shudder passing through him.

"Do you need anything, Harry?" Parvati asked, and both Fay and Runcorn nodded their support.

"He needs some space," Hermione said haughtily, frowning at the girls for circling Harry.

"I have some lemon cakes in my room," Lavender said. "We can have them now with some tea. Doesn't that sound nice, Harry?"

"Sure," Harry replied, his slightly haunted eyes landing on Ron. Ron gave him a nod, and Harry gave him one in return. _He's just shocked. A bit of food and sleep will fix him right up._ Ron turned and left at that, feeling a bit better now that he knew that Harry was alright. As he turned the corner, he ran into a particular blonde witch.

"Daph?" Ron asked, stopping just in time. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just waiting for you," Daphne replied, and then she began heading towards the Dungeons. _Waiting for me?_ Ron quickly caught up with her, his eyes reading her face. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's just a bit shaken up," Ron replied.

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked, shooting him a worried look.

"Me? Yeah… Why wouldn't I be?" Ron asked.

"I saw the look on your face, Ron," Daphne replied, and Ron blinked at her. "I've never seen you look so… frightened… before." _Well, I was pretty fucking scared._

"Oh, that," Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just panicking a bit."

"Panicking?" Daphne asked.

"I couldn't think of what I fear most," Ron replied, which was partly true. "I didn't want to embarrass myself, that's all."

"I see," Daphne said, her attractive features softening a bit. "Did you at least have an idea of what your Boggart would be?" _Trust me, you don't want to know._

"Sort of," Ron admitted, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "Um…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Ron," Daphne said quickly. "I was just worried." Ron stopped walking at that, and Daphne did the same.

"Do you really want to know what I was worried about seeing?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne nodded slowly. "Come here…"

"What was it?" Daphne whispered, stepping right up to Ron. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."

"It was you…" Ron whispered, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Me?" Daphne asked. "As in me being hurt?"

"Yeah," Ron replied, and she looked genuinely touched. "If I stepped up to that Boggart, it would have turned into you… And then… Its tits would slowly start shrinking until it was flat-chested." _Ha! Got her!_ Daphne's expression morphed into a cold, unfeeling deadpan look.

"Rot in hell, Weasley," Daphne hissed, and then she turned around and began marching down towards the Dungeons.

"No! Wait!" Ron laughed, quickly running after her. "Daph… I'm serious… I was so-"

"Shut up," Daphne snapped. "Damn idiot…" Ron laughed loudly at that, and she shot him an angry glare. "You don't speak to a Lady like that, Weasley. Learn some bloody manners already."

"Are Ladies allowed to say 'bloody'?" Ron asked, and Daphne quickened her pace. "Uh-oh… I'm starting to influence your vocabulary."

"I'm not talking to you until you apologize," Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Sorry," Ron apologized with a grin. "There you go." Daphne didn't reply to that, and Ron skipped around her. "Do I really have to mean it? C'mon, talk to meeeee…"

* * *

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Boys' Dorm – Before Lunch)**_

"Master looks very professional," Marty beamed, fervently nodding his head in approval. "Yes, very professional. And **powerful**."

"Thank you, Marty," Ron couldn't help but chuckle. He had asked his Elf to help him pick out an appropriate set of clothes for this meeting, and Marty had literally gone through every single suit combination. In the end, they had both settled on a slim-fit three piece suit. The pants, jacket, vest, and shirt were pitch black, and to add a bit of color, Marty had picked out a silver tie. Ron was honest enough to admit that he looked quite good, especially because of his clean hair-cut.

"Master should buy more clothes like this," Marty said as he packed up Ron's trunk. "Marty would be honored to create more combinations for Master."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ron smiled at Marty, his eyes scanning Marty's pillow-case… dress. "Marty… I was wondering-"

"Yes, Master?" Marty smiled a toothy smile.

"If I got you a Uniform, would that set you free?" Ron asked, and Marty's big eyes blinked repeatedly.

"Marty… does not know…" Marty replied after a few seconds. "Marty has never been given clothes to wear."

"Not even by Lord Greengrass?" Ron asked, and Marty shook his head. "I see. I was just thinking that I'd like you to wear something that matched your importance. You know, like a uniform that fully covers your body."

"Would that please Master?" Marty asked, and Ron blinked at him.

"Marty, I want **you** to be pleased," Ron replied. "I mean, if you're happy as is, then that's fine too… What I'm trying to say is that I want you to be happy."

"Marty is happy!" Marty quickly told Ron, a smile breaking out on his face.

"And if something was bothering you, you'd come to me right?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded fervently. Ron kneeled down on one knee in order to look Marty in the eyes.

"Master, your suit!" Marty exclaimed, shooting a panicked look towards Ron's right knee.

"Look at me, Marty," Ron ordered, and Marty looked into his eyes. "I want you to understand that I'm here for you just like you're here for me. If anything is ever bothering you, I want to know about it. Alright?"

"Marty… understands," Marty said slowly, his big eyes getting wetter. "Master is too kind to Marty…" _I am?_

"Yeah, I think you've got that the wrong way around mate," Ron chuckled. "Now c'mon, give me a hug." Marty quickly clung to Ron, his thin arms wrapping around Ron's neck. Ron smiled as he gently hugged Marty back, making sure to not squeeze too hard. After a few seconds, Marty let go of Ron.

"Marty is happy as is, Master," Marty said truthfully. "Promise."

"Alright," Ron nodded as he stood up, and Marty quickly snapped his fingers to clean the bit of dust on Ron's knee.

"Does Master require Marty's help in anything?" Marty asked eagerly.

"Actually, yes I do," Ron nodded as he took out his Gringotts pouch. Ron then took out two Galleons, and he handed them to Marty. "Go to a joke shop and buy as many stink pellets as you can with that. You should be able to buy around a hundred because they don't cost much."

"Is Master planning to play some jolly pranks?" Marty asked. _Not really, but my brothers are._

"My brother, Fred and George, asked me for some," Ron replied. "Drop off the pellets in their room, but don't get spotted."

"Certainly," Marty bowed deeply, and then he was gone with a loud crack. Ron couldn't help but notice that he could still feel Marty, and then he remembered that he was bound to Marty. _In a way, we're always together._ Ron liked that thought, and he hoped that Marty could feel him as well. With all of that done, Ron made his way out of the room and towards the common room. As he stepped into the common room, he spotted his friends sitting by the fire.

"I'm about to head off," Ron said as he approached them, and Tracey whistled at him.

"Hello there, sexy," Tracey winked at him, and Ron sniggered.

"Nice suit, mate," Theo said, and Blaise nodded in agreement.

"But don't snigger," Blaise told him.

"Yeah, it takes away from the suit," Millie nodded, eyeing Ron approvingly.

"Wait," Pansy said as she shot out of her chair. She then walked over to Ron and began centering his tie and fixing his collar, and Ron noticed Daphne blinking at her friend's back. _Let me guess, she wanted to do that. But she's still not talking to me. Hehe! A flat-chested Daphne is way scarier than the Entity, and I stand by that wholeheartedly._ "Right, you look perfect!" Pansy beamed, and then she leaned up and kissed his left cheek.

"Thanks," Ron chuckled, and then he kissed her right cheek in return. "I'll be back by end of classes… I hope."

"Good luck, Ron," Millie said, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Don't let that Goblin trick you!" Tracey called out as Ron walked towards the exit.

"I won't," Ron said as he waved his hand over his shoulder, and then he exited the common room. _I'll go to Snape's Office and wait for the bell. Once he's heading out for lunch, I'll ask his permission to use his floo._ As Ron was walking through the Dungeons, a quick pair of footsteps quickly caught up to him. Ron turned around to see Daphne approaching him, and he smiled at her. _Couldn't keep away, could you?_

"Hello there, gorgeous," Ron greeted her, enjoying pulling her tail once again. "Are you still not talking to me?"

"Your suit jacket is done up wrong," Daphne pointed out, and Ron blinked at her.

"Sorry?" Ron asked, looking down at his black coat. "What's wrong with it?"

"It has three buttons, and you've done them all up," Daphne walked right up to him, and she unfastened the bottom button. "When your suit jacket has three buttons, you don't fasten the bottom one. The rule for the buttons from top to bottom is; sometimes, always, never."

"I… I'm not following you," Ron admitted.

"My father taught me," Daphne said, and then she reached up and began 'fixing' his tie. _She can't be serious?_ Ron couldn't help but smile widely at her, she looked adorable as she tried to act nonchalant. Once she was done, she tried to step back, but Ron quickly put his arms around her. She was clearly taken off guard, judging by her entire body tensing.

"Tell me why this 'suit rule' exists," Ron said smoothly, and Daphne relaxed in his arms.

"It's just tradition," Daphne told him, and Ron nodded slowly. "If your suit jacket has two buttons, you only fasten the top one. If you're going to wear clothes like this, then you have to do it properly. Your appearance is a powerful tool, one that can help amplify your presence." _She sounds just like Lord Greengrass right now, with a bit of Mary mixed in._

"And what's your opinion of my appearance right now?" Ron asked in a teasing manner.

"You look handsome," Daphne replied with little to no issue. "As long you keep that foul language of yours in check, I can see you catching the eyes of a lot of witches. Maybe even some wizards."

"I don't want **their** eyes on me," Ron told her, his hold tightening slightly.

"You shouldn't call my breasts 'tits'," Daphne said in a rather subdued voice. "It makes me feel… uncomfortable." _Noted._

"Alright, I won't do that again," Ron promised. _I guess I can understand why she'd be made uncomfortable by that. She's grown up in high society, and even a normal girl might have taken offence to that._ "I'm sorry about being a little too vulgar."

"Thank you," Daphne smiled slightly. "Do… Do you really like… Never mind…"

"Do I like your bust?" Ron asked, and she averted her eyes. "You might be the only person who doesn't like them, trust me. The amount of times I've caught Theo shooting quick looks at your chest…"

"What?" Daphne looked up, and Ron shrugged.

"It's true," Ron told her, and she looked genuinely shocked. "Even Blaise does it sometimes. Actually, I caught Theo admiring Tracey's legs this morning at breakfast. She should really wear leggings, and a slightly longer skirt. Not that I'm complaining of course, she does have nice legs."

"You three spy on us?" Daphne asked.

"Not 'spy', we admire," Ron grinned, and Daphne drew in a deep breath. "Give us a break… We're at that age, aren't we? I've seen you staring at my bum more than once. And Pansy… She's constantly trying to undress me with her eyes."

"We're all turning into immoral fiends," Daphne realized, and Ron laughed loudly.

"I don't think that it's such a bad thing," Ron admitted. "Actually, it's helped me a lot with you."

"Really? How?" Daphne asked.

"We're standing in the middle of the Dungeons, and I have my arms wrapped around you," Ron pointed out, and Daphne blinked at him. "I bet you think nothing of this now, right?"

"You're… right," Daphne said. "Weird, huh?"

"We're all just becoming more… familiar… with each other," Ron said, and Daphne nodded her agreement.

" **We're** becoming a little too familiar," Daphne smirked, and Ron gave her a wink. "You do look **really** handsome right now…"

"Oh no," Ron said quickly. "Daphne, I'm in a hurry right now."

"I just want to wish you good luck," Daphne whispered, and then she leaned up and began planting soft kisses on his face. _Sweet Merlin, those feel so nice._ "And here's one for a bit of extra luck," Daphne said before planting a long kiss on his lips, one that ended too early for Ron's liking.

"Right," Ron mumbled, his head spinning slightly.

"Good luck… gorgeous," Daphne winked at him, and Ron chuckled as he let go of her. They then parted ways, and while Daphne went back to the common room, Ron headed for Snape's Office. The school bell rang just as Ron reached the Office, and he waited outside the Office patiently.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Mr. Weasley," Snape greeted him as he opened the door to his Office, and Ron followed him inside. "I take it that you are leaving before lunch?"

"I am," Ron replied. "This whole business with The Quibbler being in trouble is getting to me, and I want to get it fixed as soon as possible."

"You are welcome to use the floo," Snape said as he walked into his personal storeroom. _Right._ Ron moved to the fireplace, but before he flooed out, he decided to have a quick chat with Snape. "Sir, can I speak to you about something?"

"Out with it," Snape said coldly as he came back out of his storeroom. _I should apologize to him for yesterday. Our conversation became too heated, and I lost control over my emotions._

"I'm sorry for yesterday," Ron said, and Snape cocked his eyebrow as he sat down. "I went too far… I… I shouldn't threaten you. And I shouldn't throw your past in your face. I was-"

"Childish, cruel, and completely out of line," Snape said icily, and Ron nodded in agreement. "The Entity spoke through you at the end, Mr. Weasley. Your eyes… They once again became crimson and toad-like." _What?_

"Really?" Ron asked, and Snape gave a curt nod. "Bloody hell…"

"I don't know what's going on with you and the Entity, but I know for a fact that it's not good," Snape said. "There was genuine hatred in your voice last night, Mr. Weasley. And this whole thing with Granger is unraveling you."

"I know," Ron whispered to himself.

"Despite your behavior, I can understand your reaction," Snape admitted, and Ron waited for him to go on. "You were clearly troubled, and I forced a conversation that you were not ready to have at the time. For that, I am sorry. Let's move past it."

"Alright," Ron agreed. _Should I tell him about Crabbe and Goyle?_ "Sir, Crabbe and Goyle have-"

"I know," Snape interrupted him.

"He's… He's in a lot of trouble, Sir," Ron said, unsure of why he even cared. "His own room isn't even safe for him anymore."

"I know," Snape repeated, his expressionless features bothered Ron slightly. "He asked to be transferred yesterday, and I refused."

"Why?" Ron asked. "Why are you doing this to him? Isn't this going a bit too far for just a lesson? They're hurting him, Sir."

"Tell me, would you be who you are if you hadn't faced hardship at every turn?" Snape asked, and Ron shook his head. "You and Draco started in completely opposite directions of life. He was born into wealth and privilege, while you were born in a Family with neither. His childhood gave him an entitled view on life, and he completely gave into it. I plan to tear him out of that. I will not face my own Godson in the war to come. I want him by my side where I can keep my eye on him. Do you, of all people, not understand that?"

"He's your Family," Ron sighed, and Snape gave a curt nod.

"You take care of your Family, Mr. Weasley, and I will take care of mine," Snape said as he stood up. "Now be off, I am hungry."

"Wait… One more thing," Ron said quickly, and Snape waited for him to go on. "Today in D.A.D.A, we faced a Boggart." Snape's eyes widened slightly. "No, I didn't face it. But Neville did…"

"Longbottom?" Snape scowled slightly, the mere mention of that oaf hurt his brain.

"His Boggart was you," Ron said, and Snape's lips curled upwards. _Of course he's proud of that._ "When he cast Riddikulus on 'you', he dressed you in his Grandmother's clothes. So… Yeah…"

"What?" Snape hissed, his eyes flashing with fury. _Neville is a dead man._

"I just thought that I should warn you," Ron said quickly. "People might… You know…"

"Leave," Snape drawled in an icy whisper, something shifting behind his eyes. _Yeah, I better get out of his way._

"Right," Ron nodded, and then he grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. "The Leaky Cauldron." Ron then tossed the powder into the flames, and when they blazed green, Ron quickly stepped through them.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Gringotts Bank – Late Afternoon)**_

Ron sat quietly in the waiting area, patiently awaiting his turn. Part of him wanted to have his meeting with Gornuk already, but another part of him was dreading it. So he just sat there, his eyes fixed on the busy Goblins who were working tirelessly through the rush hour. Gornuk was literally dealing with three wizards at the same time, all the while putting up with a nasty witch that was calling him foul names for 'not seeing her immediately'. In all honesty, Ron didn't want to burden Gornuk any further. The last thing he needed was for this particular Goblin to throw a tantrum.

"Mr. Weasley?" came a witch's voice, and Ron looked to his left. A cute young witch was smiling down at him, and a little boy was shooting Ron nervous looks from behind her leg.

"Hello," Ron greeted the stranger with a smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"My little brother, Damien, is a fan of yours," the witch replied, she looked to be around nineteen or twenty. "He spotted you while we were waiting, and he wanted to know if you could sign something for him." _Oh…_

"I don't mind at all," Ron smiled more widely, and then he looked to Damien. "Hello, little man. What would you like me to sign?" Damien slowly stepped into view, and he showed Ron his copy of Wizard's Chess Weekly magazine. It had a picture of Ron on the front cover, and Ron remembered that his own mother had this exact same issue framed in the Living Room.

"Here's a pen," the witch said, handing Ron a fountain pen. _Muggle-Borns? No, her brother wouldn't be here otherwise. Half-Bloods. Or maybe really progressive Pure-Bloods._ Ron took the pen, and Damien handed him the magazine.

"Where do you want my signature?" Ron smiled at Damien, and Damien pointed on the white background. "Any particular message?"

"Anything is fine," Damien piped up. _Shite, the pressure is on._

"Alright," Ron said. "Do you play Chess?"

"He does," the sister replied. "He's part of a Club of young kids who want to be Professional Chess players. Our father is the president, and he often talks about you." _Wow. That's nice._

"To Damien, hope to you play against you someday soon," Ron said as he wrote down his message, and then he signed his name under the message.

"Thanks!" Damien beamed, taking the magazine from Ron. "Sis, look at it!"

"It's very nice, Damien," the witch smiled at her brother, and then she smiled at Ron.

"Here," Ron said, handing her the pen back.

"Thank you," the witch said as she took the pen back. "He'll probably show it off to everyone that he knows."

"Nu-uh," Damien denied, but his grin betrayed his lie.

"Damien, why don't you wait for me back at our seats?" the witch asked, and Damien nodded quickly.

"Thanks again!" Damien smiled at Ron, and then he ran off.

"Is there anything that you wanted to talk about?" Ron asked, trying to hide his growing suspicions. _What does she want?_

"A Goblin gave me a Galleon to deliver this to you," the witch whispered, and then she plucked out a note from her robes. "Here." Ron took the note from her, and she smiled pleasantly.

"A Goblin?" Ron asked.

"Thanks for signing the magazine for him," the witch said, and then she turned around and left. Ron quickly opened the note and read it to himself.

"Come to my Office, don't get seen by the vultures around my desk," Ron read in a whisper. _Gornuk?_ Ron looked to his desk, and he noticed that there was a long line of people in front of an empty desk. _Lunch break? Sneak bugger._ Ron quickly walked around a bunch of desks, and then giant pillars, and then he snuck into the corridor that led to Gornuk's Office. Once he got to Office's door, Ron knocked on it twice.

"Come in," came Gornuk's voice, and Ron quickly entered the Office and shut the door behind himself. "Thank the Mine it's you…" _The Mine? Like the Gold Mine under Gringotts?_ "Those people wouldn't stop pestering me."

"Aren't they your clients?" Ron asked as he took a seat, and Gornuk scoffed.

"They barely pay me anything," Gornuk said with a disgusted voice. "Wizard-kind is far too entitled. The higher paying clients reserve the right to be seen first, why is that so hard to understand?"

"I won't argue that," Ron said, and Gornuk nodded firmly. "Now, your letter… It sounded urgent." _Just give it to me straight. I can handle bad news._

"Urgent? It's a catastrophe, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk frowned deeply, and Ron's stomach dropped. "One of your investors couldn't keep their mouth shut, and now Barnabas Cuffe is onto us."

"The Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked, his mind racing already. "Wait… Who talked? The investor's agreement explicitly said that they couldn't say a word about the business until the launch of the advertisement campaign."

"I don't have the identity of the loud mouth, but someone spoke," Gornuk sighed tiredly. "And Barnabas Cuffe has launched an investigation into the person who bought The Quibbler out from under him."

"So he doesn't know that it's me?" Ron asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Gornuk replied. "But that isn't our problem right now, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Cuffe is a cunning man, and he has crippled us with one swift move." _Crippled us?_

"Explain," Ron said quickly, his stomach had tightened painfully.

"He has a lot of influence in the marketing scene, and he has pulled in quite a few favors," Gornuk started. "He understands that the people who purchased The Quibbler will need to promote it, and so he has barred all the advertising firms within Europe from dealing with us."

"He can do that?" Ron asked.

"All of these people are old friends, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk replied. "I managed to get word of this catastrophe before meeting with our advertising firm, and thankfully, I managed to keep your name hidden from them. But if we go to any firm within Europe now, Barnabas Cuffe will know who stole The Quibbler from him."

"Fuck!" Ron snapped, his face twisting from anger. Gornuk immediately seized up, he hadn't forgotten the boy's blazing red eyes. He knew that he didn't want to cross this boy no matter what. "Who talked?"

"I… I don't know, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk replied. "It had to be one of the investors. We told no one else." _I told my parents, my friends, and my investors. Who would talk about this though?_

"I'll look into this," Ron hissed, and then he took in a deep breath. _Someone is going to get hurt for this._ _ **Badly hurt.**_ "Then we need to go to an advertising firm outside of Europe. Right?"

"That is our only option, but it's not possible yet," Gornuk said, and Ron blinked at him. "Mr. Weasley, going to a firm outside of Europe is not going to be easy, most of them will refuse us simply because we are foreigners. Others will refuse us because we're Europeans asking a foreign country's advertising firm to advertise within Europe… That comes across as extremely suspicious."

"There has to be someone, Gornuk," Ron said. "The campaign is supposed to launch in October. I… I don't want to keep waiting around. And I doubt that Barnabas Cuffe will lose his patience any time soon."

"I am looking, but in doing so, I've run into another issue," Gornuk said. "Going to a foreign advertising firm will cost more… A lot more."

"How much?" Ron asked slowly, his face going slightly pale. _Merlin, please help me._

"Around three thousand Galleons extra," Gornuk replied, and Ron hid his face with his hands. _Good lord. Merlin's wrinkly bunghole… I'm so fucked._

"Why so much?" Ron mumbled through his hands.

"These people are not stupid, and they will take advantage of our situation," Gornuk replied. "Mr. Weasley, you don't have the funds for this."

"What about my vault? The Quibbler Vault, that is," Ron asked, his hands falling down in his lap.

"That money is reserved for the costs, and if you dip into it, you'll only hurt your own business," Gornuk replied. "Those seven thousand Galleons already have a purpose. Two thousand for the campaign, and five thousand for the cost of publishing and hiring. Journalists… **Good** journalists have sources, and they'll figure out that you lack the funds to pay them. If you dip into your Quibbler Vault, the advertising campaign won't matter."

"Oh no…" Ron shook his head, the base of his skull was starting to hurt. "My other Vault?"

"Doesn't have the required funds," Gornuk replied, and Ron chuckled mirthlessly. _I'm done for._ "As far as I can tell, you have three options now. One, you ask Gringotts for a loan. Personally, I don't recommend this."

"Why?" Ron asked, looking up at Gornuk.

"I am your Logistics Officer, and I know just how my kin will trap you into a web of debt," Gornuk replied. "Your second option is to ask for help from your investors. Lords Black and Greengrass are extremely wealthy, while Lady Longbottom also holds a sizable estate."

"You want to me to beg them?" Ron asked, his temper flaring up. "Do I look like a beggar to you, Goblin?"

"No, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk replied quickly. "It was only a suggestion."

"I'm not begging for money," Ron hissed. _Priscilla… I can't help her now._ Ron's heart sank at that, and his brain began to turn off. _I failed her, didn't I? What about other people like her? No…_

"Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk called, and Ron blinked at him. Ron's head was starting to spin, and his hands were trembling. A panic attack was coming, he could feel it. "Your final option is to sell The Quibbler in order to save yourself from going into debt."

"Sell?" Ron mumbled, and Gornuk nodded slowly. "What about Priscilla?"

"Who?" Gornuk asked, looking rather taken aback.

"Never mind…" Ron sighed, rubbing his forehead with his gloved hand. "Can I have a week to sort this out?"

"I advise haste, but yes, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk said. "Take some time to weigh your options. I will continue to look for a potential advertising firm that won't attempt to bankrupt you."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron found himself standing at the entrance of Knockturn Alley, but his feet refused to move any further. There were so many emotions holding him back, but the main one was guilt. Ever since he had stepped out of Gringotts, an unbearable amount of guilt had begun to crash down upon him. He knew just how fucked he was, just how much money he had lost, just how disappointed everyone would be with him, just how much Xeno's Family would suffer for his failure. It was far too much for him, but somehow, he had stopped himself from having a panic attack.

Someone had talked, and Ron needed to figure out who it was. _But not today. I'm so tired right now because I barely slept last night._ Ron turned back around and began making his way down Diagon Alley. The people and the shops that he passed looked like blurs to him because his mind was focused on the faraway sign of The Leaky Cauldron. _I need to get to Hogwarts. One step at a time._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron stood in front of Pomfrey's closed door, his eyes fixed on the sign that was hanging against the glass panel. _At the Dueling Club for emergency purposes. Won't be back until right before dinner._ Ron stared at the sign for a few minutes, and then he turned to leave for the Great Hall. As he was making his way towards the Moving Staircase, his legs stopped moving again. He could feel the heat rising in his stomach, and he knew that if he took another step forward, he was going vomit. His head was still spinning, and a mild headache had begun to plague him.

"What do I do?" Ron whispered to himself, but his mind couldn't think of anything. "I… I'll have to ask for money… For charity…" A sense of shame enveloped him, and his eyes began to sting. He had been so sure that he was going to pull this off. He had been so sure of himself that he had convinced Xeno to hand his life over to him. He had taken money out of people's pockets and promised them so much. He had wanted to help people like Priscilla so much.

" _ **You are a failure, always have been,**_ " the Entity hissed in the back of his mind, and Ron immediately struck his own head.

"Shut up…" Ron said to himself. "Leave me alone…" But he knew that those words held merit. He was the epitome of a fuck-up. _A brain-damaged, angry cripple. One that constantly causes problems for other people._ Ron sniffled loudly, and then like a wounded animal, he scurried towards his Sanctuary.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

The Great Hall was abuzz with loud chatter, and most of it was in regards to the second years' Duels. Truth be told, most of them were incredibly incompetent. But Daphne understood why. Professor Lupin was the first real D.A.D.A Professor that they'd ever had, and the second years had spent their first year learning under Gilderoy Lockhart. So it wasn't surprising that they didn't really know what they were doing.

But despite the majority of them being terrible at Dueling, some of them had actual talent. The Ravenclaws, being the academics that they were, knew a wide variety of Jinxes and Hexes. And therefore, they had dominated the other Houses rather easily. The Gryffindors had a couple of strong players on the field, those players being Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey. The Hufflepuffs had tried their best to take part in the matches, but they weren't really into hurting other people. As for the Slytherins… Well, they hadn't won a single match.

Slytherin was currently the laughing stock of the entire school, and Daphne constantly spotted this Gryffindor or that Ravenclaw laughing at her House. Snape was glaring down at his students with utter disgust and contempt, while the Triumvirate looked anything but amused. As for the second year Slytherins, they kept shooting Theo and Daphne pitiful looks. Daphne figured that they wanted someone to help them avoid the consequences of their pathetic display, but she didn't give a damn about them. Her mind was solely focused on her boyfriend's absence, which did not bode well considering why he had left for Gringotts.

"He has to be in the Sanctuary," Blaise said, unable to hide the worry from his voice.

"What if he got kidnapped?" Pansy asked, looking rather jittery. _Kidnapped?_

"Who would kidnap Ron?" Theo asked.

"I don't know," Pansy mumbled. "Someone who wants money?"

"What money?" Theo asked. "Who would pay for his ransom? His Family?" _My Family would. I'd pay in a heartbeat._

"Theo, stop being an arse to her," Tracey snapped. "She's just worried, that's all."

"He's fine, Pansy," Millie assured her friend. "He's probably either in his dorm, or he's in the Sanctuary. We'll check both after dinner ends, alright?"

"What if he isn't there?" Pansy asked.

"Then we need to alert Snape," Blaise replied, shooting a quick look at the Potions Master. "Bloody hell, he looks so pissed off. Someone is going to die tonight, I can feel it."

"I don't blame him," Theo chuckled mirthlessly. "First he gets turned into a schoolwide joke by Longbottom, and then the second years literally take a shit on Salazar's good name. Just look at how pleased the Gryffindors look. Smug twats."

"We'd do the same in their shoes," Daphne said without thinking, and everyone blinked at her. "What? It's true."

"You've been spending too much time with Ron," Theo shook his head. _Not half as much time as I want. Where are you, Ron?_

"If he was in the castle, then why wouldn't he watch his sisters' matches?" Pansy asked, still fixated on Ron's absence. "He'd never miss those."

"He probably got really bad news," Blaise pointed out. "He might be… You know… Having his 'moments'." Daphne gut twisted at the sound of that. _I have his Calming Draughts! Damn! What if he's in real trouble right now?!_ Daphne shot a look towards the clock, and she grit her teeth. _C'mon already! When is that bell going to ring?_

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"He's not in there," Theo told them, he had just come back from the boys' room.

"Then we need to go to the-" Blaise started, but Snape suddenly burst into the common room.

"Second years!" Snape snapped, and everyone jumped out of his way. Snape looked murderous, his eyes flashing in a terrifying manner. _This is bad. Really bad._

"Oh no," Millie whispered. "What do we do now?"

"I'm going up there," Daphne said firmly, no Professor was going to stop her from finding Ron.

"Are you mad?" Tracey whispered. "He'll kill you if he sees you leave the common room."

"And he's not leaving anytime soon," Theo grimaced, watching Snape roughly round up the second years. Daphne quickly stood up and walked into a dark corner, and when she was certain that no one was looking at her, she cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself.

"Brilliant," Pansy whispered. "Let's all-"

"No," Daphne whispered quickly. "Only me. If he notices us all missing, he will definitely start hunting us down."

"She's right," Blaise sighed, unsure of Daphne's real motives for wanting to go alone. "We'll stay here just in case someone comes looking for you two, and we'll make sure to convince them that you're both asleep already."

"We should go to our dorms then," Tracey whispered. "Bring him back if he's up there."

"I will," Daphne whispered, and then she slowly began to creep towards the exit. Snape was yelling at the whimpering second years, all the while hurling abuse at the Triumvirate as well. It was an ugly sight, but it gave her the perfect cover. Once she got to the entrance, she quickly slid through the small gap that Snape had left open in his haste.

Once she was in the Dungeons, she threw caution to the wind and began running for the seventh floor. Her Charm fortunately held, but every time she heard voices, she slowed down to a crawl. After five long minutes of sneaking about, she found herself on the seventh floor. _Damnit!_ A few of the Gryffindors were still roaming the seventh floor, most of them still laughing at the Slytherins for getting decimated at the Dueling Club.

She ignored them as she slowly made her way towards the Sanctuary, making sure to stop her movements whenever someone was near her. It took her nearly ten minutes to reach the wall where the door was concealed, and after shooting multiple looks around the corridors, she paced back and forth for the door to appear. The moment it showed itself, she rushed inside and shut the door behind her. _Merlin, that was really hard._

"Ron, are you-" Daphne started as she turned around, but her voice hitched when she saw the state of the room. Everything was in pieces… The dummies were shattered, the walls had scorch marks on them, the couches were thrown all over the place, and the coffee table was smashed down the middle. And then there was Ron, who was sitting in a corner with his head tucked into his knees. _What the fuck?_

"Ron?" Daphne called, and his head slowly came out from behind his knees. He looked paler than usual, there was a bruise on his right cheek bone, and his eyes were bloodshot. Daphne heart sank into her stomach, and despite the alarm bells going off in her head, she quickly rushed over to him. "Ron? What happened? Did… Did you do this?"

"I did," Ron replied, his voice was rather hoarse. _He's been crying._ Daphne's chest tightened, and she slowly sat down in front of him.

"Why?" Daphne asked softly.

"I had a panic attack," Ron replied, and then his head sunk back between his knees. "I couldn't control myself… So I broke everything…"

"Are you still…?" Daphne started, but trailed off.

"I'm too tired to even move properly," Ron croaked.

"What caused the panic attack, Ron?" Daphne asked slowly. "Did something bad happen at Gringotts? And… And how did you get that bruise?"

"I think I hit myself," Ron whispered, and Daphne's blood froze. _He hurt himself? Why?!_ Daphne felt both horror and anger because of his confession, but she didn't show it. She had to calm him down right now. "As for Gringotts… My business is going to fail, and I'm going to go into debt."

"What? Why?" Daphne asked.

"Barnabas Cuffe turned all the advertising firms in Europe against me," Ron sniffled. "One of my investors talked about my business to the wrong person, and now Cuffe is trying to find out who I am. My only viable options are to beg for money, or to sell The Quibbler." _Beg for money? He'll never do that. He's too proud to do that. Which means that he has to sell The Quibbler._

"What about the Bank?" Daphne asked. "You could get a loan."

"They'll just tie me up in debt," Ron told her, and she nodded in understanding. At that, his face twisted horribly and he started crying. Daphne immediately felt a lump in her own throat, and she quickly scurried to his side.

"No… No, Ron… Please don't cry," Daphne whispered in soothing voice as she put her right arm around him. His shoulders were a bit too broad, but she managed to shift some of his weight onto herself. "Shhh, it's okay."

"No, it's not," Ron cried, and then a heart-shattering sob tore its way out of his throat. "I failed everyone… Xeno and his Family… My investors…" He let out another sob at that, and his body began to tremble. "Priscilla…" _The girl he met in Knockturn Alley? He still has her in his thoughts?_ "My mum was right to be skeptical… I'm so fucking stupid, Daphne…"

"No, you're not," Daphne whispered as she hugged him more tightly, her own eyes were starting to water at seeing him like this.

"I wasted thousands of Galleons on this," Ron wept. "I… I convinced Xeno to give his dream to me… His Family's Future… And then I ruined everything… I convinced them all… I'm so fucking stupid…"

"Stop saying that," Daphne sniffled.

"I fuck up everything I do," Ron sobbed. "Just look at my disgusting scars if you need evidence… Fuck, fuck, fuck… What am I supposed to do? How do… How do I tell Xeno about this? He'll hate me… Pandora will hate me…"

"No one will hate you," Daphne said firmly, finding every last bit of emotional strength in herself. She then used her left hand to pull his head over her chest, and Ron quickly clung to her and started crying loudly into her robes. "Just let it out, Ron. We'll figure out your next move after this. It's alright. I'm right here." Ron shook horribly, and Daphne just swayed back and forth as she ran her left hand through his hair.

"Don't… Don't leave…" Ron managed in between his sobs.

"Never," Daphne whispered, and then she kissed the top of his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

In between his hysterical crying and self-berating, Ron had managed to tire himself out to the point of passing out. Daphne had then, with great difficult, adjusted Ron's body so that she could sit upright against the wall. Ron had curled up like a massive cat by her side, and now his head lay in her lap as he slept peacefully. Daphne absentmindedly played with his hair as she studied his blotchy, tear-stained face, and truth be told, she had barely managed to control her own waterworks. Seeing him like that was something that she never wanted to go through again.

"Let's get this off," Daphne whispered to herself as she pulled her dirtied robes over her head, and then she tossed them away unceremoniously. "I'll have to get them washed in the morning, which means no robes for me tomorrow." Daphne then began playing with his hair again, a weak smile creeping onto her face as he hummed a bit in his sleep. "Do you like that, Ron? I bet you do." The Sanctuary door opened suddenly, and Daphne looked up with a panicked look. _Who's that?_

"Merlin…" Theo muttered as he stepped into the Sanctuary, his wide-eyes eyes traveling around the room. "What the fuck happened in here?"

"Shhh," Daphne shushed as quietly as she could, and Theo looked to her. The rest of the group slowly came in after Theo, and he quickly told them to be quiet. They all looked around the room with genuinely shocked looks, and then they looked to her.

"Is he alright?" Pansy asked as she quickly ran up to them, and then she dropped down on her knees by Ron's side.

"He's asleep," Daphne whispered. "Keep the noise at a minimum please." _I don't want him to wake up until I've thought of a way to help him._

"Did he do this?" Blaise asked, looking around the savaged room with a wary look.

"His knuckles are bloodied," Millie whispered. _They are? I didn't even notice that. Bloody hell, Ron._

"Daph, what happened?" Tracey asked as they all sat down around Daphne and Ron. "Was he… Was he crying? And who bruised his face?"

"He was indeed crying, and he did that to himself," Daphne whispered, and Tracey looked utterly crestfallen. Pansy scooted closer to Ron's face, and then she took out a handkerchief from her robes. "Pans, don't… You'll wake him."

"I'll be gentle," Pansy promised, and then she slowly began cleaning Ron's face. Ron snorted when she tried to clean his nose, and then he smacked Pansy's hand away.

"Fuck off, Theo," Ron growled in his sleep, and then he turned his body around and dug his face into Daphne's stomach. "Damn prick…"

"What the fuck?" Theo gave Ron's back a deadpan look, while everyone else barely held back their laughs. Ron sunk his face deeper into her stomach as he cuddled up to her, and Daphne couldn't help but feel warm under the collar. _His face is really warm, and I can feel it through my shirt._

"He's like a big cat," Tracey smiled a little, and then she ran her hand through his hair. "Daphne, what happened?"

"His business is in trouble," Daphne whispered, and the all nodded slowly.

"Is someone targeting it?" Blaise asked, and Daphne nodded.

"They went after the advertising firms, I think," Daphne whispered.

"You think?" Theo asked.

"He was hysterical," Daphne whispered, and Theo gave Ron a rather sad look. "From what I gathered, he doesn't have the money to advertise his business anymore. Which means that he can either sell it, or ask for money from my father."

"He'll cut out his own tongue before he does that," Blaise said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"He won't sell either," Millie whispered. "Isn't the Lovegood Family's Future earnings tied to his business."

"What do we do?" Pansy whispered as she rubbed Ron's back gently.

"We come up with a plan," Tracey whispered, her face becoming dead-serious. "We help Ron find another way."

"I'm open to suggestions," Daphne whispered. "There has to be something that he can do about this."

"Can't he just publish issues without advertising The Quibbler?" Pansy asked.

"The costs are too high," Theo whispered. "He has a very specific vision for The Quibbler, and without a proper reader-base, his plans won't work."

"He'll have to butcher his business to keep it alive," Blaise whispered.

"I want us to have a solution for him by the time he wakes up," Daphne whispered, and they all nodded.

"We'd better start devising a decent strategy then," Theo whispered.

"What have you come up with so far?" Blaise whispered.

"Nothing at all," Daphne whispered back. "He only fell asleep ten minutes ago."

"This is going to be a long night," Tracey sighed, and they all nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I hope that was an enjoyable read! Much happened in this chapter, including our first smut-like scene ever! Sadly, Ron's a little too young to be participating in such acts, but hey, at least he got to watch some action.**

 **Next Chapter should be up by the upcoming Monday. As I'm sure you know, some intense stuff will be in it.**

 **See you guys soon!**


	73. Chapter 73 - Not Alone

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 73 is here! Sorry about it being a day late. It was my big brother's birthday, so I was back at my dad's house for the weekend. And before you start reading, I want to address a couple of things.**

 **1\. FF, for some reason, keeps turning 'N. E. W. Ts' into N.E, or some nonsense like that. I'm trying a new method of typing it, and I hope that it solves the issue.**

 **2\. Writing Duels for normal thirteen year olds is so hard... I mean, they're kids. I want to make it flashy, but it would just look so unrealistic if Harry was moving mountains while Ron was flying around the place. But nonetheless, I think I did alright. Can't wait to write my battle scenes in the Future! Voldemort tearing ass up, while the Order trying to hold him at bay. Can't wait!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 73 - Not Alone**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Sanctuary – Crack of Dawn)**_

Why was his pillow inflating and then deflating? Also, why was it so warm? Ron slowly opened his crusty eyes only to see a blurry hump of some sort, which only served to confuse him even more. _I'm thirsty, and my face hurts._ Ron groaned a bit as he lifted his head up, and he froze immediately at the sight before him. It was Daphne, and she was fast asleep. _What the…?_ Ron looked down at her stomach, and he then realized why his 'pillow' was moving up and down. _Why was I sleeping on her tummy?_

It all came back to him rather quickly after that. He had had a mental breakdown, he had savaged the Sanctuary in order to just let it all out, she had found him crying in a corner, and he had then proceeded to spill his emotional baggage all over her. _Merlin… I ruined her robes, didn't I?_ Ron just stared at Daphne's sleeping form, guilt slowly creeping into his bones. _I made her sleep on the cold, hard floor. Damn._ Her uniform was badly crumpled, her hair was messy, and her shirt was dirtied by his tears and snot.

"You're awake," came a whisper from behind him, and Ron nearly screamed before quickly turning his head around.

"What the hell?" Ron muttered, his eyes widening at the sight of his friends sleeping around him. Theo, Tracey, and Millie were all bundled under one massive blanket, while Blaise was sitting up against a wall with Pansy slouched against him. She was fast asleep, but Blaise was watching Ron through lazy eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Blaise whispered, but Ron could do little but stare at him. _Why are they all here?_ "Ron, are you there?"

"I um… I feel fine," Ron mumbled, eyeing Theo's creepy smile as he clung to Millie in his sleep. _This is some weird shite._ "Blaise, what's this?"

"I wonder how she'll react when they wake up," Blaise smirked, his eyes were rather droopy. "I imagine he'll crack some inappropriate joke, and she'll attack him."

"Why are you all here?" Ron asked, too surprised to register Blaise's comment.

"Daphne went looking for you after dinner, and when she didn't come back, we went looking for her," Blaise replied. "We found you sleeping on her lap, and she told us about your business."

"Oh…" Ron muttered, his chest tightening at that. _I have to tell Xeno about this. Merlin, he's going to be devastated. I think I'll sell The Quibbler, and then hand over all of my money to him as an apology._

"Ron, it's rude to zone out," Blaise whispered, and Ron blinked at him.

"Sorry… I've got a lot on my mind," Ron sighed, and then he sat up properly.

"Must be a new feeling," Blaise smirked, and Ron chuckled tiredly.

"Yeah," Ron whispered. "Why are you awake?"

"Couldn't sleep," Blaise replied. "I need a bed. This whole sleeping on the ground thing isn't exactly relaxing, not to mention that Pansy is a million degrees."

"You love it," Ron quipped.

"It was fun at first, but then she started snoring," Blaise whispered, shooting the top of Pansy's head a cold look. "By the way, you shouldn't kick people."

"Kick people?" Ron asked, what was that about? _I haven't kicked anyone._

"Millie tried to move you off of Daphne's stomach after you both fell asleep, and you kicked her like a mule," Blaise informed him, and Ron rubbed his forehead. _I did? Fuck._ "For a big girl, she went reeling back pretty far. She was winded and everything."

"Bloody hell," Ron frowned at himself. _I'm such a moron._

"Eh, she was warned by everyone to leave you be," Blaise whispered. "You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked, and Blaise smirked at him.

"You were clinging to Daphne like some needy pet," Blaise told him, and Ron felt his face heat up. "Don't worry, she certainly wasn't bothered by it. If anything, she kept encouraging you to cling to her even more."

"How was she doing that?" Ron asked. "I was asleep."

"Head rubs, soft whispers, scratching you behind the ears," Blaise listed. "It was quite amusing to see you behave like her personal pet."

"Right," Ron said slowly. "So um… Should we wake them?"

"In a second," Blaise replied, his gaze slowly becoming sharper. "So… You're hurting yourself now?" Ron blinked at that, he certainly hadn't missed the anger in Blaise's tone. _Hurting myself?_

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"Your face," Blaise replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _I punched myself if I recall correctly._

"An accident," Ron lied. "It happened when I was… on my rampage. I don't even feel it." _I need to heal this._

"Alright," Blaise said, he didn't believe Ron for a second. "Let's wake the others."

"Okay," Ron said, and then he turned his attention to Daphne. "Hey, Daph," Ron whispered as he gently shook her. "It's time to wake up. C'mon."

"Ron?" Daphne mumbled, her eyes opening lazily. And then, she suddenly sprang up with a worried look. "You're awake? What time is it?"

"Don't know the time, but I am indeed awake," Ron smiled, and she nodded in a tired manner before looking around the room. Blaise was currently trying to wake up Theo, Millie, and Tracey, while Pansy was looking around groggily. "C'mon, let me help you up." With that, Ron lifted her to her feet.

"My back hurts," Daphne whined, her face morphing into a miserable pout.

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean to make you stay with me for the whole night."

"Well, it's a good thing that I can make my own decisions then," Daphne said as she stretched her back, and Ron's eyes quickly drifted to her protruding bust. _Look away!_ "You were in no state to be left alone last night, Ron."

"I know," Ron sighed. "Thanks for not leaving me." Daphne smiled at that, but before she could say anything, they both heard hysterical laughter from behind them.

"Get off of me," Millie snapped, but Theo just kept laughing. Ron and Daphne turned their attention towards the noise, and they saw that Theo was still clinging to Millie.

"C'mon Millie, it's just some cuddles," Tracey laughed, while Pansy was just giggling like a little girl.

"Theo, leave her be," Blaise smirked, but he did nothing to help Millie.

"But I love her," Theo chuckled. "We should do this more oft-"

"That's it!" Millie yelled before grabbing Theo by his neck, and both Blaise and Ron quickly moved into action.

"We… don't… have a safety… word," Theo gasped as Millie strangled him, a cocky smile on his face. Sadly, Blaise wasn't exactly strong enough to help Ron in saving Theo's life, but Ron himself had little difficulty in pulling Millie off of the weedy boy.

"He fondled me in my sleep," Millie accused, while the other girls just laughed at the commotion.

"I just wanted… some cuddles," Theo coughed, still grinning like an arsehole.

"Millie, calm down," Ron couldn't help but chuckle, not to mention that he was rather pleased by how easily he could handle Millie. _My exercises are really starting to pay off. I mean, Millie isn't exactly weak._ "Theo, stop being a jerk."

"How am I a jerk for spreading love?" Theo sniggered as he sat up, and Millie tried to lunge at him again. Ron quickly moved in-between them.

"Ignore him," Ron said, and Millie grunted angrily. "By the way, why are you all here? Why didn't you guys just wake me up, and then go back to the common room?"

"Because Daphne wasn't letting us," Tracey replied, shooting Ron a mischievous smirk. "Not to mention that you were quite… attached to her… last night."

"Too attached," Millie grimaced, remembering Ron's mule kick.

"I'm really sorry, Mills. Blaise told me what I did," Ron apologized, but she just waved a dismissive hand.

"You were asleep, and in hindsight, it wasn't a smart move," Millie admitted.

"We figured out a way to save your business!" Pansy exclaimed, unable to hold it back anymore. _Huh?_ Ron shot a confused look at Pansy, and then he looked towards Daphne.

"It's not a perfect plan," Daphne told him, a proud smirk appearing on her tired face. "But it could work." _They came up with a plan to save The Quibbler._

"You guys spent the night planning on how to save my business?" Ron asked, he didn't know how he felt about that. On the one hand, he felt an overabundance of happiness because of their thoughtful gesture. But on the other hand, he felt rather guilty because they had spent an entire night solving **his** problem while he had slept.

"We're great, aren't we?" Tracey laughed, and Ron nodded slowly. _Is that why they all slept in here? They were too tired to go down to the common room after coming up with a plan? How long did it take them to come up with this solution?_

"You guys didn't-" Ron started, but Daphne quickly cut him off.

"Our plan is actually really simple," Daphne said a bit too loudly, she didn't want Ron to sound ungrateful to the others. The last thing that they needed to hear was that 'they didn't have to do this'. "After thinking of a few different ideas, we settled on you going to one of your allies."

"One of my allies?" Ron asked. _Do they want me to ask Sirius for money, or something like that? If so, then this plan isn't for me._

"Madame Maxime," Daphne replied, and Ron blinked at her.

"Madame Maxime?" Ron repeated, and Daphne nodded.

"We thought of multiple ideas before her, but none of them were viable," Blaise explained, and Ron just listened quietly.

"I still stand by my idea," Tracey grinned, and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I doubt Ron wants to kidnap some old bloke," Theo piped in, shooting Ron a grin. _Kidnap?_

"Like I was saying," Blaise continued. "We then thought about putting money together for you, but we knew that you'd refuse that. Which left only one course of action… Your allies. Lord Greengrass and Lord Black were our first choices-"

"We even thought of Dumbledore," Pansy said, and Ron nodded slowly. _I bet Dumbledore is loaded, but I'd rather not go begging him for money._

"Both Lord Black and my father would attempt to pay for you, but you'd never accept their money," Daphne took over, she was looking rather happy right now. "And that's when I remembered that you have another powerful ally."

"Madame Maxime," Ron said, and Daphne nodded. "You want me to ask her for money?"

"Not at all," Millie replied. "Daphne mentioned that Madame Maxime is rather involved in the politics of her country, and apparently, she likes the Media's spotlight."

"Remember your latest Chess Tournament?" Daphne asked him.

"I do," Ron replied, he was starting to follow their train of thought.

"She had an entire squad of journalists there just for her benefit," Daphne said. "So I figured that it is quite likely that Madame Maxime and Barnabas Cuffe mingle in similar circles. If he has all the advertisement firms under his thumb, then she might have one that you could utilize. And since she owes you for helping her salvage her reputation, I reckon she'll front the costs too."

"This… This is brilliant," Ron muttered, he could feel his burden alleviating slowly. "Guys! This is really fucking brilliant!" _This could work! I didn't even think of Madame Maxime!_

"Why thank you, Ron," Tracey chuckled, while the others simply smiled at him.

"I should've come straight to you guys!" Ron laughed, it felt as if the World was realigned again. _If this works, then Xeno and his Family won't suffer because of my mistake._

"You should've," Blaise said, and then he patted Ron's back. "We're a team, mate. Stop trying to do everything by yourself."

"Don't get your hopes up yet," Theo said quickly, but it was already too late for that. "There's at least a dozen ways that this could not work out."

"True, but it's better than doing nothing," Ron smiled widely, and then he looked to a pleased Daphne Greengrass. "Madame Maxime… That's brilliant, Daphne."

"Thank you," Daphne said. "We also figured that it was best if you actually went to Beauxbatons yourself."

"Sending Helios to ask for such a favor would be quite insulting," Theo told him, and Ron nodded quickly. _Right. I can't insult her._

"My father has a contact within the Ministry that supplies him with quick Portkeys," Daphne reminded Ron. "I'll send father a letter once we're back in the common room, and hopefully, he can sort something out for this weekend." _This weekend? I have work tomorrow, and I was planning to check Grimmauld Place for that locket on Sunday. Shite! The locket! I still haven't thought of a plan yet!_

"Shouldn't I inform Madame Maxime that I'm coming?" Ron asked.

"Maybe," Pansy replied, and Ron blinked at her. _Maybe?_ "I think it would be better if you just showed up. It would take away any advantage that she might try to gain over you, and if you're prepared and she's not, then that definitely helps your chances."

"She's my ally though," Ron said. "Shouldn't I give her at least a warning?"

"You can, but I don't believe that even Helios can fly that far that fast," Millie replied.

"And aren't you in a hurry with this?" Tracey asked him, and Ron nodded.

"Alright," Ron agreed. "I'll just drop in, be charming, and then do my best to convince her to save my arse."

"You should also keep the language under control near her," Theo advised. "She's an extremely respected individual, and apparently, you get belted for 'foul language' at Beauxbatons."

"Right," Ron nodded firmly, and then he looked at them all lovingly. "Guys… Thank you for this. Truly. You lot going this far for my sake… It means a lot to me. You probably have no idea about how grateful I am for this…"

"Just come to us next time," Daphne smiled at him.

"You know, before you rage out on furniture," Tracey chuckled. "Seriously though, what happened in this room?"

"I… I lost it," Ron sighed, and then he looked around the savaged room. "Do the Elves clean this room?"

"Probably," Theo shrugged. "I've never seen any dust or mess in here before."

"I should definitely apologize to them for this," Ron said. "But after I've had a shower."

"I think we all need showers," Millie pointed out, and then she glared at Theo. "Some more than others."

"What can I say?" Theo grinned. "Being around you makes me all sweaty."

"Millie, no!" Ron jumped between her and Theo, while Blaise did his best to pull her back.

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Owlery – Before Breakfast)**_

"Go straight to Lord Greengrass, Helios. Be as quick as you can," Ron instructed his companion, and then he attached Daphne's letter to Helios' leg. The Eagle-Owl hooted loudly, and then he flew away with haste.

"That… takes care of… that," Daphne said from behind him, her voice shivering. Ron turned to face her, and he couldn't help but feel a strong pang of guilt. _I used her robes as a bloody tissue._

"Here, Daph," Ron said as he pulled his robes over his head. "Put these on."

"Ron, I'm fine," Daphne lied, but her clattering teeth gave her away. "I already told you that you don't have to give me your robes."

"It's freezing, and you're literally shaking," Ron said, and then he walked over to her and handed her his robes. "You don't have clean ones because of me, so please… Just wear mine. They have a Fitting Charm on them, so you don't have to worry about them being too big."

"People might notice, Ron," Daphne told him once again.

"So what?" Ron shrugged. "They're just robes."

"What about your scars?" Daphne asked.

"They're hidden," Ron assured her. "You can't see them, right?"

"No, I can't," Daphne replied, and she nodded slowly. "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you," Ron chuckled as she put the robes on, and after a second, they shrank down to her size. "Neat."

"I know right," Daphne giggled, and then she gave him a twirl. "How do I look?" _No different than usual._

"Perfect," Ron smiled, and she beamed at him. "Let's go to breakfast."

"In a second," Daphne said quickly as she jumped in-between him and the exit. "I wanted to talk to you about last night."

"Oh…" Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen… I'm really sorry for doing that to you… I mean, I'm really bloody grateful to you and the others, but I just wish that I didn't spoil your night with my… breakdown…"

"That's fine, Ron," Daphne said, and then she walked up and hugged his middle. _Oh, this is nice._ "Are you feeling better now?"

"I am," Ron replied, and then he wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, Daphne. For everything."

"You're going to have to stop thanking me eventually," Daphne giggled, her arms slowly traveling down to his lower back. "I'm just glad that you're not hurting anymore."

"This Madame Maxime plan is going to work," Ron said as he hugged her more tightly. "I can just feel it, you know."

"I know," Daphne hummed. "Ron… You said some things last night… Things that were a bit jarring." _Things? What did I say?_

"What sort of things?" Ron asked slowly.

"You called yourself stupid… A lot," Daphne replied, and then she looked up at him. "You said that everyone was off better without you, and that everyone's life would be far less complicated if you weren't around." _Shite, I did say that. Or rather, I sobbed it out._ "What did that mean?"

"I was… I don't know," Ron lied.

"Don't lie to me," Daphne said, her eyes digging into his. "Not about this. You physically hurt yourself, Ron. I saw your knuckles, and I saw the bruise on your face. All of us saw. Why would you do that to yourself?" _I was trying to lash out at the God that's possessing me._

"I don't know what to say," Ron admitted, he was starting to feel rather tense. "Can we please not-"

"No, Ron," Daphne cut him off. "We're talking about this right now. I don't care if we're late to breakfast, or even Potions. I want to know why you did something so horrible to yourself. I want to know why you think that everyone would be better off without you."

"Why?" Ron asked as he let her go.

"So I can talk some sense into your thick skull," Daphne replied haughtily, her hands going to her hips. "I can't even imagine why you would think that."

"Because it's true," Ron shrugged, and Daphne blinked at him. "Theo's father is eventually going to make him choose between his beliefs and mine, we all know that. Blaise and Pansy want to help Malfoy, but they can't because I'm here. Millie thinks that I turned her life around, but truth be told, she did it all by herself. All I do is complicate things. I mean, just look at us."

"Alright, one step at a time," Daphne narrowed her eyes on him. "What happens between Theo and his father is between them, it has nothing to do with you. Theo made his own decisions, you've never once twisted his arm. And if you say that you existing caused this issue, I'll smack you. Now, Blaise and Pansy… Blaise feels that he owes Malfoy from back when they were kids, and Pansy's always had a soft spot for him. But you know what? People have to choose to move on sometimes. You fought your own Family tooth and nail in order to stay in Slytherin, and we all know that it was for our sake."

"You landing in Gryffindor wouldn't really change anything for you," Daphne went on, and Ron felt himself shrinking. "But you fought against your Re-Sorting because you didn't want to leave us. Blaise and Pansy should stop eyeing their old friend, and learn to fucking appreciate the one they have now." _She swore… Merlin, she's getting angry._

"And Millie… You didn't even know her two years ago, so let me tell you just how much she's improved," Daphne continued as she slowly walked up to him. "She was the group's punching bag. Everyone… including myself… made comments on her weight and appearance. When she used to put food on her plate, Malfoy would imitate a cow, and everyone would laugh at her. She barely ever spoke, because every time she did, one of us would tell her that she sounded stupid. If any of us were having a bad day, we'd take it out on her. She only spent time with us because her parents refused to let her be an introvert."

"You **all** did this?" Ron asked her, he could feel his temper flaring. If anyone imitated a cow when Millie was trying to eat now, Ron would rip their tongue out.

"We did," Daphne admitted. "It was disgusting and cruel, but it was better to dish it out rather than take it. That's what we were all like before you. And sure, it took a while for us to adjust to your personality, but once we did, things got better for everyone. I mean seriously, if anyone tried to go after Millie now, we'd make sure that they'd regret it."

"If anyone went after Millie, she'd take care of it herself," Ron said, and Daphne smirked at him.

"Exactly!" Daphne exclaimed, and Ron flinched a bit. "The 'old Millie' wouldn't be able to do that, but the Millie we know wouldn't take abuse from anyone. She's confident, and when she speaks, we all listen. That confidence started because you spent hours helping her improve her grades, and you never once berated her when she made mistakes. So tell me Ron, how are things worse off because of you? Millie would be heartbroken if she heard the things that you said about yourself last night. And don't even get me started on Tracey and Pansy… Do you have any idea just how much they love you? You come up constantly when we're all talking."

"I do?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded firmly.

"When you got petrified, it was like the group was slowly dying," Daphne told him. "Your health not counting, our greatest fear was that things would go back to being how they were. That our group would slowly drift apart. That's how important you are. Do you understand? If you do, then you'll never say things like that again. How could you possibly think that I would feel burdened by you? How could you say something like that?"

"I said that?" Ron blinked, and Daphne just glared at him.

"You told me that your brain-damage was your problem, and that I shouldn't have to deal with it," Daphne replied, it was hard to not notice the anger in her voice. "Once again Ron, no one is twisting my arm. I help you because I want to. Because we're friends. Because we're…" _A couple?_ "Don't ever say something like that again, or I swear to Merlin, I'll smack you into another coma."

"What if I still feel like that?" Ron asked quietly. "Sometimes, that is."

"Then you come to me, and I'll talk some sense into you again," Daphne huffed in indignation. "Got it?"

"Got it," Ron mumbled, he couldn't help but stare down at his feet.

"I'm not trying to upset you, Ron," Daphne said softly, she didn't want him to feel hurt by her words. "But it was just so… frustrating to hear you talk about yourself like that. We're having this conversation because I don't want you to isolate yourself. It doesn't help you, and it certainly doesn't help your condition. Don't shut us out. We're all here because we want to be, not because you forced us. As for me helping you whenever you need it, I do it because I love you. The same way you love all of us."

" **Our** love is a little different," Ron couldn't help but point out. _I can't believe I just said that._

"True," Daphne said as she hugged his middle again. _She doesn't mind?_ "But its foundation is the same as with the rest of our group. If Blaise or Theo needed my help like you did last night, then I would be there for them immediately. Just like you would be there for Tracey, Millie, Pansy, and me. Tell me, do you think of us as burdens when you help us?"

"No," Ron said truthfully, and Daphne tightened her hold on him. _She makes a strong point. Maybe I've become too used to doing everything by myself._ "Sorry. I'm just… It's hard for me to accept help sometimes."

"Try always," Daphne said haughtily. "No man is an island, Ron." _Right._

"So… No kissing, then?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne looked up with a deadpan look. _Mistakes were made._

"We can do a few quick ones, or we can do two or three long ones," Daphne replied.

"Long ones please," Ron grinned. _No man is an island. Maybe I should start taking those words to heart._

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"Why are the Gryffindors smirking at us?" Ron asked, it was far too obvious to not notice.

"That is a sad story," Theo sighed, and Ron waited for him to go on.

"The second years had their Grand Tournament ranking matches yesterday, and Slytherin didn't win a single match," Millie informed him, and Ron went wide-eyed from shock.

"Not even one?!" Ron exclaimed, and Blaise shushed him immediately. "Sorry… Not even one? Are you serious?" _How's that even possible?_

"It was mortifying for the whole House," Pansy shook her head.

"Just take a look at Snape," Tracey whispered, and Ron did just that. The Potions Master was eating his breakfast with a scowl on his face, and occasionally, his eyes would dart towards the jeering Gryffindors.

"He yelled at the second years for almost thirty minutes," Blaise said. "All the girls were in tears halfway through his yelling, while the lads were literally shaking from fear." _Bloody hell._

"Not to mention the abuse that he hurled at the Triumvirate," Theo added on. _The Triumvirate?_

"What did he say to them?" Ron couldn't help but ask, he was rather fond of this year's Triumvirate.

"Called them morons, told them that it was 'their job to make sure that the Slytherins weren't so useless', he even gave them detention for 'neglecting the second years'," Tracey replied, and Ron shook his head.

"It's hardly their fault," Ron said, but Tracey simply shrugged.

"He was livid, and the second years were at their limit," Tracey said. "There's a lot of pressure on us tonight. Snape probably expects us to dominate tonight."

"I'm done for," Pansy whined, and Ron looked towards Daphne. She was just eating her food quietly, no doubt still bothered by his words last night. _She still kissed me, but I could tell that she wasn't in the mood for it._

"I don't know about you lot, but I'm probably going to win all of my matches tonight," Theo smirked, and everyone rolled their eyes.

"How many matches per person?" Ron asked his friends.

"Five per person," Blaise replied, and Ron nodded. "Opponents are picked at random before the matches by Lupin and Snape, and while they act as referees, the Heads of Houses watch each match carefully. I'm guessing that winning isn't the only criterion for success."

"Are we doing the study group today?" Daphne looked up. "I was thinking that we should skip it today."

"And use our free period before that to practice a little," Ron nodded in understanding. "I'll get the word out right now. By the way, how did my sisters go?"

"Ginny won four out of five, while Luna won three out of five," Millie told him, and Ron smirked to himself. _Those are good numbers._ "Do you want me to go with you?"

"Sure," Ron nodded, and then they both got out of their seats. "You should go to the Hufflepuffs, while I'll go to the Gryffindors."

"Alone?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded.

"Someone has to talk to them," Ron said. "Plus, they don't really mind me too much. Sometimes…"

"Go to the Ravenclaws first, and then I'll join you at the Gryffindor table," Millie said, and Ron nodded his agreement. _It'll put them at ease, so why not?_ Ron and Millie then left for their respective tables, and while Millie went straight for Justin, Ron walked over to Padma.

"Good morning," Ron smiled at Padma and her friends, his eyes quickly darting towards Luna.

"Good morning, Ron," Padma greeted him back, while her friends gave him polite nods. "Where were you yesterday? Luna was rather worried about you." _I was having a mental breakdown._

"I was really tired, that's all," Ron lied. "Anyway, I'm just here to tell you that the study group isn't running tonight."

"Because of the matches?" Terry Boot asked, and Ron nodded.

"That's a shame," Lisa Turpin sighed. "I was hoping get some homework done tonight."

"Or play footsies with Justin Finch-Fletchley," Anthony Goldstein sniggered, and Lisa shot him a frown.

"I can multitask," Lisa said snootily, and even Ron chuckled at that.

"Right, I'm going to go tell the others," Ron said, and then he walked over to Luna and her friends. "Hello, Luna."

"Ron!" Luna smiled widely, and then she quickly hopped out of her seat and hugged him. "Where were you yesterday? You're not sick, are you?"

"Asleep in my room," Ron lied, and Luna nodded slowly. _She knows that I'm lying, doesn't she?_ "So you won three out five matches yesterday, eh? Not bad little sis, not bad at all."

"Is she really your sister?" one of Luna's friends asked, her glasses were rather massive. _They take up half of her face._

"She is," Ron replied, and the second years exchanged looks.

"Ron and I grew up together," Luna told them, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"Are you really a Prodigy?" a boy asked.

"He is," Luna replied for him. "He's the smartest person I know." _That's just not true, but I'll still take the compliment._

"Thanks, Luna," Ron chuckled. "By the way, the study group isn't running tonight."

"Because of the matches?" Luna asked, and Ron nodded. "Alright. Just don't hurt anyone." Ron blinked at her, while her friends exchanged knowing looks. They all remembered his Duel with Harry Potter last year.

"I'll… try my best…" Ron said slowly, and Luna gave him an airy smile. "I'll see you later." With that, Ron turned around and headed for the Gryffindor table. _Just don't hurt anyone? Does she really think that of me? I mean, I certainly don't plan to hurt anyone. Maybe stun them, but that's about it._ Millie suddenly caught up to him, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"The Hufflepuffs are disappointed, but they understand," Millie reported.

"The Ravenclaws are the same," Ron told her, and he didn't miss her eyeing the Gryffindors warily. "Millie, it'll be fine. And if they start something, we'll just smack them around."

"I like that idea," Millie chuckled, and Ron shot her a smile.

"Thanks for coming with me," Ron said, and she stopped chuckling.

"Um… Don't worry about it, Ron," she said slowly. "You don't have to thank me for something so small."

"I'm just that polite," Ron joked, and Millie cocked an eyebrow at him. "What? I am."

"Sure, Ron," Millie smirked, and Ron 'frowned' at her.

"Some people," Ron scoffed, and Millie nudged him. They approached the third years at that, but the twins had been watching them carefully.

"Dearest brother," Fred grinned at him, and then he looked towards Millie. "Lord Bulstrode."

"Lady Weasley," Millie greeted back, and the twins sniggered immediately.

"She got you good, Fred," George said, while Fred feigned hurt.

"Such a sharp tongue," Fred added on.

"Must be that Slytherin 'wit' that we all keep hearing about," George said.

"Mind teach-"

"Can you two stop?" Ron asked them, and they both shrugged casually. "Did you get the package?"

"We did indeed," Fred smirked.

"You have our gratitude," George smiled at him. "Tell you what, Ronnikins, we won't prank your fellow snakes due to your contribution."

"That's fair, is it not?" Fred asked.

"More than," Ron smiled at them. "Just don't give Percy too much grief please."

"You're right," Fred nodded.

"We should target only him," George rubbed his chin. _That's literally the opposite of what I said._

"Right," Ron shook his head, and then he walked up behind Harry and Neville.

"Hey, Ron," Neville greeted him.

"Good morning, mate," Ron patted Neville's back. "Looking handsome as always." Neville blinked at him, while Harry sniggered. "You have a really nice jawline happening there."

"Sod off," Neville laughed.

"What brings you here?" Hermione asked him, and he managed to give her a smile. _Don't make things weird. You can't change the past._

"We're just hear to let you know that the study group won't be running today," Ron replied, and both Harry and Neville smiled widely in relief.

"What? Why?" Hermione asked, and Ron noticed that some of the Gryffindors were sniggering at him and Millie.

"No study group today?" Lavender asked, and Ron shook his head. "Why, Ron?"

"The matches are after classes," Ron reminded them.

"That's… fair…" Hermione pouted miserably. "I keep forgetting about this 'Dueling Club'."

"Didn't you sign up for all three Tournaments?" Fay asked Hermione.

"I did," Hermione replied bluntly. "So?"

"So how could you forget about the-"

"I'm allowed to forget things," Hermione said haughtily, and Fay frowned at her.

"So um… Can you guys let everyone in Gryffindor know?" Ron asked Harry and Neville, who both nodded.

"We will, Ron," Parvati smiled at him, and he gave her a polite nod. _I can feel Daphne's eyes on me._ Ron then turned to walk over to Ginny in order to congratulate her for winning four out of five matches yesterday, but Harry quickly followed after him.

"Ron, mind if I talk to you?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Ron nodded, and Harry looked towards Millie. "Millie, can you please give me a minute?"

"Sure," Millie rolled her eyes at Harry, and then she left for the Slytherin table.

"Is everything alright, mate?" Ron asked the Boy-Who-Lived.

"I was going to ask you that," Harry replied, and Ron blinked at him. "You were missing all of yesterday."

"Oh that… Yeah, I'm fine," Ron smiled a bit, and Harry nodded slowly.

"Did you get sick again?" Harry asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I fell asleep after I came back from Gringotts," Ron lied. "My friends didn't bother waking me up, and by the time I woke up, dinner was long over."

"Right," Harry said slowly, and then he shot a look towards Dumbledore's empty chair. "Do you know where Dumbledore is? I asked McGonagall, but she told me that 'it was none of my business'." _She does have a point._

"I have no clue," Ron lied once again. "I wasn't even at Hogwarts for most of yesterday, and when I did come back, I took a rather long nap." _Change the topic, Ron._ "By the way, how are you?"

"Me?" Harry asked, and Ron nodded.

"The whole Boggart thing must've been rather horrible for you," Ron said, and Harry took in a deep breath.

"More embarrassing than horrible," Harry frowned at himself. "I froze… I knew that it was going to be **him** , but I still froze."

"That's fine, mate," Ron said, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for Harry. _Poor bastard has to worry about the Dark Lord coming after him. No one deserves that._

"It's not fine, Ron," Harry shook his head. "I can't believe that I was such a… coward."

"It was the Dark Lord, Harry," Ron patted his upper arm. "There's nothing wrong with getting jarred by something like that. I won't lie to you mate, my own arsehole puckered right up." Harry blinked at him, and then a laugh escaped his mouth.

"That's so gross," Harry laughed, while Ron just smiled at him.

"You'll get 'him' next time, I'm sure of it," Ron said, and Harry gave him a grateful smile.

"Remus told me that the Slytherins will be having a turn against the Boggart next Thursday," Harry told him, and Ron held back his dread. _I am not getting in front of that thing._ "I wonder what you'll see."

"A naked Snape," Ron joked, and Harry snorted.

"I think I'll skip the class then," Harry chuckled. "Anyway… I'll let you go."

"See you in Potions, mate," Ron said as he turned to leave, and after a few steps, he was standing behind Ginny and Colin Creevey. "Hello, you two."

"Hi, Ron," Colin greeted him with a smile, and Ron saw that the other second years were also smiling at him. _They must've enjoyed the study group last week. Good._

"Where were you yesterday, Ron?" Ginny asked him as she turned to face him, her expression was a mixture of concern and annoyance. "You missed my matches."

"I know," Ron smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Gin. I heard that you won four out of five. That's really amazing."

"She was superb," Colin piped in quickly, and Ginny smiled proudly. _Is that so, Colin? You certainly seem to be 'happy' for her._ "I only won two… The Ravenclaws were way too eager to win."

"That's hardly a bad thing, Colin," Ginny said, and Colin smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, I only lost to that tall freckled kid from Ravenclaw. What was his name? Robert Hewes? Something like that…"

"Four out of five is still great," Ron smiled at her, and she looked rather happy to hear that. "Congratulations, little sis."

"My name's Ginny," Ginny rolled her eyes, but Ron simply sniggered.

"Right, little sis," Ron said, and Ginny frowned at him. "Are you coming to watch me tonight?"

"Obviously!" Colin said excitedly. "The whole school is coming, Ron! People were talking about last year's Dueling Club, and your name kept popping up. People are-"

"Ahem," Ginny 'cleared' her throat, and Colin blinked at her.

"People are what?" Ron asked him, and Colin shot Ginny a meek look.

"They're saying that you'll beat everyone without any problems, which is mental," Ginny said, and Ron quickly hid his hurt. _Mental? Why would it be mental?_ "It was rather hurtful towards people like Hermione, who have similar grades to yours." _And there it is._ "Not to mention that the Ravenclaws are really smart too."

"But Ron's… Ron," Colin piped in, and Ginny frowned slightly.

"People need to stop putting so much pressure on him," Ginny said, and Ron blinked at her. _So is she on my side? I'm confused now._

"I don't plan to lose," Ron told them, and Colin nodded firmly.

"Good luck, Ron," Colin smiled at him.

"Thanks, mate," Ron smiled back. "By the way, no study group tonight. The matches start right after classes."

"That's fair," Ginny nodded, looking rather relieved. "Best of luck, Ron."

"Thanks."

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Class – Near Lunchtime)**_

"He's really not letting up on Longbottom today, is he?" Tracey whispered to Ron, who nodded as he stirred their Shrinking Solution. "Even I'm starting to feel bad for him…"

"I expected Professor Snape to be angry with him, but this is just wrong," Ron muttered under his breath, and Tracey nodded in agreement. It was no secret anymore that Neville had dressed 'Snape' in drag during D.A.D.A, and after Slytherin's epic loss yesterday, Snape had become nothing short of barbaric towards Neville.

At the very start of class, Snape had separated the Golden Trio. Harry and Hermione were forced to pair up on the other side of the room, while Neville was left with Finnigan, a Gryffindor who was infamous for causing fiery explosions. And then, Snape had begun to float around Neville like a shark. Every time Neville made a mistake, Snape would berate him and deduct a House Point. So far, Neville had lost well over twenty House Points, and was now close to tears. The Gryffindors were fuming, especially Harry and Hermione, while the Slytherins had lost their humor quite early on. The only two people who were enjoying this were Crabbe and Goyle, and Ron was moments away from throwing his boiling hot Solution in their faces.

"Another mistake," Snape hissed at Neville, his black eyes flashing with malice. "Add the roots **after** the Shrivelfig. One more point from Gryffindor for you lack of basic common sense."

"I'm sorry," Neville mumbled meekly, his watery eyes were fixed on his failing Potion. _This is so wrong._ Ron looked around the room, and he wasn't surprised to see that his friends were avoiding looking at Neville. Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering like a pair of children, but oddly enough, Malfoy was just staring at his Godfather with a blank look. _What? He doesn't like bullies anymore? Well, take a good look. You used to do this to people for fun._

"Maybe we ought to do something?" Tracey whispered, and Ron blinked at her.

"Do what?" Ron asked, and she sent a pitiful look towards Neville. _What am I supposed to do? Throw a Hex at Snape? He'll skin me alive._

"Leave it, foolish boy," Snape snapped at Neville, who was over-stirring his Potion. "Congratulations, Longbottom. I asked you to create a simple Shrinking Solution, and you managed to brew the World's deadliest poison. You are truly a Master of this craft."

"Maybe if you taught him properly, he'd get it right," Harry remarked, and Snape sneered at him.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter," Snape said coldly. "And detention on Sunday." Harry's face darkened at that, but Hermione quickly calmed him down by whispering something into his ear. Snape then looked back at Neville, his disgust apparent to all.

"The Gryffindors have lost over forty House Points in one lesson," Tracey whispered, and Ron nodded slowly. "I know that this is good for us, but still…"

"The lesson is nearly at an end," Snape said, and then his eyes flashed again. "Everyone gather around, and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he managed to brew anything close to a Shrinking Solution, then his toad will shrink to a tadpole. But if not, his toad is likely to die from poisoning." _What?!_

"Merlin…" Tracey muttered, her eyes darting to the front of the class. The Gryffindors exchanged frightened looks, while Harry looked ready to tear out Snape's esophagus. Snape then took Trevor the toad into his palm, while Neville trembled with fear and panic. _Fuck it!_

"Tracey, move back," Ron whispered quickly, and Tracey blinked at him. "Now…" Tracey took a step back, and Ron quickly knocked their cauldron over. The cauldron fell with a loud clank, and the boiling hot Solution poured all over the floor. "Bloody hell!" Ron all but shouted, and every single eye darted towards him. "Sir, I spilled my Potion."

"Clean that up," Snape hissed at him, and Trevor hopped out of Snape's palm. The bell rang at that, and Snape looked utterly murderous.

"Sir, it's damaging the bench," Ron pointed out, and Snape blinked at him.

"Clean it up, Weasley," Snape billowed towards him, his face twisting with anger.

"I don't know how," Ron lied, and he spotted Neville quickly packing up his things from the corner of his vision. _Hurry up, Neville. Leave your books, mate. Just take your toad and bolt out of here._

"Move," Snape snapped as he shoved Ron out of the way, and then with a flick of his wand, he cleaned up the entire bench. "Detention, Weasley. On Sunday. Now clean up the floor. There are sponges in the cupboard." Snape then turned to look at the Gryffindors, and much to his surprise, they were already leaving the room.

"Which cupboard, Sir?" Ron asked, and Snape turned around and towered over him. _Yeah, now he's really pissed._

"Don't. Move," Snape grit out, and then he looked to the other Slytherins. "All of you are dismissed." The other Slytherins didn't need another incentive to get out of Snape's way, and before Ron knew what was what, the room was completely empty.

"I'll get the sponges," Ron said, but Snape cleaned the floor with another flick of his wand.

"You must think yourself so clever, Weasley," Snape sneered at him, and Ron smirked.

"I am pretty quick on my feet, aren't I?" Ron asked, he had no reason to act afraid anymore. "Trying to poison your student's pet? Really? Are you trying to get fired?"

"Mind your tone," Snape said icily, and then he walked over towards Neville's Potion. "Look at this garbage… How hard is it to follow simple instructions?" _How hard is it to not be a bitter cunt?_

"He'll tell the other Professors about this, and if he doesn't, then his House-mates will," Ron said, but Snape looked less than concerned. "You could get fired for this."

"I won't," Snape said rather bitterly, and then he cleaned out Neville's cauldron with Scourgify. "You, on the other hand, will serve a detention every single Sunday for the rest of the semester."

"I'm not doing that," Ron told him, and Snape cocked his eyebrow at Ron. "I have to tutor the first years on Sunday. They are making us a lot of House Points, and they're doing that because of me."

"Fine," Snape smirked coldly. "Every Tuesday then." _Shite, he got me. That's one of my only free days._

"You were being cruel," Ron pointed out, but Snape just stared at him. "Even your Godson looked less than impressed with you. But you know who was enjoying your behavior? Crabbe and Goyle. So good job on that. You are the role-model of the boys who are beating your Godson every other day. Congratulations." With that, Ron picked up his books and left the Potions Classroom. _A detention every Tuesday... Fuck. But you know what? I'd do it again._

Ron made his way towards the common room, his mood slightly soured by his endless string of detentions. But a huge part of him was rather happy with his actions. Snape was being a piece of shite bully, and Neville didn't deserve that. So if serving a detention every Tuesday for the foreseeable Future was the price of helping out his friend, then Ron would gladly pay it again.

"Pure," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. Ron made his way into the common room, and he was instantly ambushed by the Triumvirate.

"There you are," Samantha said, her expression unreadable.

"Come with us," Clara added, and then the two girls began walking towards the Slytherin Potions Lab. _Well… Hello to you too._ Ron followed after them, and he couldn't help but notice that they didn't look very happy. Once they all entered the Potions Lab, Ron spotted Carey working on a Potion. Clara sat down on a nearby chair, while Samantha leaned against a wall.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked, and Carey turned to face him. _Merlin, she's sweating to death._

"Where were you yesterday?" Carey asked him, her voice was barely silky right now.

"Out of Hogwarts," Ron replied, his eyes darting towards Clara. _They're pissed off. But what's that got to do with me?_

"So you don't know about the second years?" Clara asked him.

"I do," Ron replied. "I heard this morning."

"Then you know that we're in a bind," Samantha said, she saw no point in beating around the bush. "Snape is livid with the second years, and with us for 'neglecting them'. So from today onwards, we're handing you the second years as well."

"What?" Ron blinked. _I barely have time for the first years._ "I… I can't do that."

"Excuse me?" Carey asked, her brow furrowing.

"I don't have the time," Ron replied, making sure to keep his composure. "I'm barely able to keep my eyes on the first years."

"You're a third year," Samantha frowned at him. "Why are you so busy?"

"I have… health issues," Ron replied, and the girls exchanged looks. "That's all I'm willing to say about that. Not to mention my own studies, and my work on top of that. I'm barely managing to keep my life in order here."

"I see," Carey said, her features softening a bit.

"You're not in trouble, are you?" Clara asked him, and Ron turned to see her looking rather concerned all of a sudden. _She knows that I have scars. If she ever saw them, she'd probably keep her distance from me._ "Health-wise, that is."

"I'm managing," Ron replied, and then he looked back to Carey. "I'm sorry, but I can't take them under my wing as well. Why don't you guys get Daphne, Theo, and Malfoy to do something about this?"

"Those three despise the second years," Samantha sighed. "Your friend Daphne has already threatened the girls, not that I blame her, while your friend Theo is far too selfish to care. As for Malfoy, he has his own problems." _They know about his situation?_

"His own problems?" Ron asked.

"Flint has it out for him," Carey said dismissively as she looked back to her Potion. _They do know._

"Shouldn't you three help him?" Ron asked, and all three girls blinked at him. _Shite, I'm getting involved again._ "I mean, you banned in-House fighting, right? If Flint is targeting a fellow Slytherin, doesn't that count as in-House fighting?"

"Why this 'concern' for Malfoy, Ron?" Samantha asked him.

"It's not concern for him," Ron replied. "Snape is Malfoy's Godfather, and if you let this continue, then he might get even more pissed off." _What am I doing?! Bloody hell, I can't believe that I'm helping Malfoy out like this._

"Well, it's a good thing that we don't know about this," Clara said rather coldly, and Ron blinked at her. "You won't tell him, will you?" _Trust me, he already knows._

"I won't," Ron sighed. "I'm sorry that I can't help with the second years."

"It's alright, Ron," Carey said. "Just take care of your 'health issues'."

"We'll figure something else out for that lot," Samantha told him, and Ron nodded in understanding. "One more thing… How well do you think that your friends will perform tonight?" _In the Dueling Club?_

"Quite well," Ron replied.

"And you?" Clara asked him.

"I doubt that I'll lose," Ron replied truthfully.

"Good," Carey said, and then she walked over to him and cupped his cheeks. _What is she doing?_ He couldn't help but think of what he had seen Clara do to Carey, and that made his face heat up. "Make sure that your friends win most of their matches. We can't afford another shameful display like last night's."

"We won't let you down," Ron promised, and Carey smiled at him.

"Good," Carey said softly, and then she planted her sweaty forehead against his. "We'll be watching you, Ron. Don't disappoint us." With that, Carey let him go and walked back to her Potion. Ron rubbed his forehead, and then he slowly left the Lab. _I guess the pressure is on. I'd better tell the others about this._ Ron then made his way towards his dorm, and once he was inside, he left his books on his bed before heading back out. Ron then made his way towards his friends' favorite spot, and sure enough, they were all there.

"So, how was it?" Tracey asked him as he walked up to them.

"I have a detention," Ron replied, and Tracey gave him a sorry look. "On every Tuesday for the rest of the semester."

"What?" they all asked together, and Ron shook his head tiredly.

"You can't be serious," Daphne said, she looked rather shocked for once.

"He's pissed," Ron sighed. "Want to head to the Great Hall?"

"Sure," Blaise said, he too was looking rather shocked for once. They all began making their way towards the Great Hall at that, but none of them were hungry after that Potions Class.

"Every Tuesday?" Pansy asked him, and he nodded. "That's horrible."

"Was it worth it?" Theo asked him.

"Definitely," Ron grinned, and his friends just looked at him with disbelief. "What? I saved Trevor the toad. That's a win in my books."

"You're mental," Millie shook her head, but then she smiled at him. "And brave. If that was Misty that Snape was trying to poison, then I'd be just as scared as Longbottom was. You did the right thing, Ron."

"You really did," Tracey smiled at him, and then she locked her arm with his. "Was it because I asked you to?"

"If I say yes, do I get a reward?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Yes, Tracey, I did it for you."

"My hero," Tracey chuckled, and then she kissed his left cheek.

"Now it was definitely worth it," Ron sniggered.

"Did he say what you'll be doing in your detention?" Daphne asked.

"No," Ron replied. "He was too busy frothing at the mouth for that, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that I'll be cleaning the cauldrons. **All** the cauldrons."

"Ouch," Theo said.

"Ouch indeed," Ron said, but he wasn't really bothered. "By the way, the Triumvirate will be watching us tonight. They want us to win as many matches as possible."

"That makes sense," Blaise said. "They want us to help them save face."

"And if we lose?" Pansy asked, she looked rather worried all of a sudden. "Merlin, why did I join? I don't even like Dueling."

"You'll be fine," Ron smiled at her. "Why don't you and I practice together after lunch? We have two free periods because Astronomy isn't on until after dinner."

"What about us?" Theo asked.

"You don't need my help, Mr. Lightning," Ron smirked, and the others sniggered at Theo. "What do you say, Pansy?"

"It's a date then," Pansy smiled widely, and Ron gave her a nod. _Daphne and Pansy need the most help. Tracey and Blaise can handle themselves, while Millie and Theo are pretty good. If I had to bet, I'd say that Millie is the best out of them. I'll work with Daphne and Pansy, and I'll also keep my eyes on Tracey and Blaise._

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – End of Lunch)**_

Lunch had been an odd affair. Ron had the misfortune of meeting Snape's eyes multiple times, and judging by the Potions Master's permanent scowl, Snape was not happy with him. The Gryffindors, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with him. Most of them were still sniggering at the Slytherin table, but the third years were sending him smiles and happy waves. Even Finnegan had given Ron a polite nod, which was something rather new.

"Do you guys want to head up to the Sanctuary now, or after the bell rings?" Ron asked his friends as they made their way out of the Great Hall.

"After the bell rings would be better," Theo advised, and the rest of them nodded.

"I wonder if the same rules apply to us as the second years," Daphne mused. _Rules?_

"What sort of rules?" Ron asked her.

"No explosive Spells, no Unforgivables, and you can't attack someone who has been disarmed," Daphne replied.

"What about physical contact?" Ron asked. _Didn't Madam Roberts tell me that there were two kinds of Dueling Tournaments? One without any physical contact, and one with physical contact._

"It's allowed," Blaise replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "I know, it's rather odd, isn't it? They are encouraging physical contact during a Duel. Something feels off about this Dueling Club."

"Like what?" Pansy asked.

"Well, it's really rushed," Blaise replied. "The Professors didn't even have a basic structure for it until recently, and now they're rushing it on the Headmaster's orders."

"You make a good point," Theo agreed. "There's definitely something off about this whole thing. It's like Dumbledore wants people to join up. I mean, why else would the rewards be so high?" _Shite, they're onto the old man's schemes. He probably wants everyone to be able to defend themselves in the war to come, and after my warning, he's taking on a firmer stance on this._

"I don't know about you, but I like that we can make physical contact," Ron said, and they all blinked at him. "I'll get to throw you lot around, maybe even throw a couple of punches for good measure."

"Can you punch Theo?" Tracey asked, and Theo frowned at her.

"Why me?" Theo asked.

"I don't know," Tracey shrugged. "I reckon you'll shatter into a million pieces if Ron hits you as hard as he can."

"I doubt he'll be able to keep up with me," Theo smirked arrogantly. "I'm as fast as lightning."

"And as dull as dirt," Millie remarked, making everyone snigger at Theo. They exited the Great Hall at that, but their way to the Dungeons was blocked by a bunch of Gryffindors. _What's this?_

"Thanks for saving Trevor," Neville smiled at him, and then he walked up and hugged Ron. _Oi! Get off me! This is sexual harassment!_

"No worries, mate," Ron said slowly as he patted Neville's back, and Neville took a step back. Ron could hear his own friends sniggering at him, while Finnegan and Thomas were whispering something to each other. "How's Trevor doing?"

"I left him in my room," Neville replied, he was still smiling widely. "He's a bit shaken up, but he'll be fine."

"You did a great thing, Ron," Hermione smiled at him, and he gave her a polite nod. "I told the others that you knocked over your cauldron on purpose."

"You saw me do that?" Ron asked, and she nodded quickly.

"That was heroic, Ron," Lavender cooed, while Parvati and Fay nodded their agreement. "I hope you didn't get into too much trouble."

"He's got detention with Snape every Tuesday for the rest of the semester," Theo told them, much to Ron's surprise. _Why would he tell them that?_

"What?" the Gryffindors asked, all of them going wide-eyed.

"He was… not happy with me," Ron replied, and the Gryffindors shook their heads.

"He shouldn't be allowed to teach," Harry hissed, he was definitely telling Sirius about this. "He's cruel, and pathetic." _Ease up there. Snape clearly has issues, but he's one of the good guys. I think…_

"Harry, you can't talk about a Professor like that," Hermione scolded him.

"Are you seriously defending him after what he tried to do?" Harry frowned at her, and Ron shot a quick look back to his friends. _Should we leave?_ They seemed to have read his mind, because they all slowly shook their heads. _MIND-READERS!_

"I'm really sorry about your detentions," Neville apologized, his smile was now gone.

"Don't worry about it, Neville," Ron shrugged. "We're friends, and I wasn't going to let Snape kill Trevor. I'd definitely do it again."

"Thanks, Ron," Neville smiled a little, and then he gave Ron another quick hug. "Trevor says thank you as well."

"Tell Trevor that he shouldn't come down to Potions again," Ron chuckled.

"I think he knows that now," Neville gave a nervous laugh.

"We'd best be off to class," Hermione said, she was giving Ron a grateful smile. "Thank you for helping Neville like that."

"Please, don't worry about it," Ron said.

"We'll see you at the Dueling Club, Ron," Parvati smiled at him, and then the Gryffindors slowly departed for their Tower. All of them except for the Golden Trio.

"Ron, you should file a complaint against Snape," Harry said.

"Harry, it's over," Hermione frowned at him. "Ignore him, Ron. He's trying to make things worse by taking action against Professor Snape."

"Why are you defending him?" Harry demanded as he turned to glare at her. Ron exchanged a quick look with Neville, who was looking rather awkward right now. "He's a cruel bully, and he tried to murder Neville's pet. Who does something like that?"

"He wouldn't actually poison Trevor, Harry," Hermione said haughtily. "He's not insane." _Maybe…_

"How do you know that?" Harry snapped, and Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. _This is so awkward._ "You're just defending him because he put you in his 'exclusive club'."

"How dare you say that?" Hermione all but shrieked, and Neville let out a tired sigh.

"They've been going at it for almost an hour," Neville whispered to Ron. "You guys should head to your common room. I'll deal with this."

"Right," Ron nodded slowly, and then he gave Neville a firm pat on his upper arm. "Eternal friends?"

"Eternal friends," Neville smiled gratefully, and Ron began making his way past Neville.

"Sorry about your pet," Tracey whispered to Neville, who blinked at her in surprise.

"Thanks," Neville whispered back, and much to his surprise, Ron's other friends also gave him weak smiles.

"Hope he feels better soon," Millie said, and Neville gave her a shaky nod. _Are they really showing sympathy? YES! Finally! Some bloody progress. I should've had Snape attempt toad murder last year._ Ron and his friends made their way past Harry and Hermione, who were now arguing loudly with each other, and once they were on their way down to the Dungeons, Ron turned around and smiled at his friends.

"You lot were sympathetic," Ron cooed, and they rolled their eyes.

"His toad almost got murdered," Daphne huffed indignantly, but Ron's smile only got wider. "He deserves a break."

"I'm so fucking proud right now," Ron feigned clearing his 'teary' eyes.

"Why did you tell them about Ron's detentions?" Millie asked Theo, she had quickly decided to ignore Ron's teasing.

"He wants to earn favor with the Gryffindors," Theo shrugged. "Now they see him as a martyr, and a true friend to the Golden Trio." _That… was really clever of him._

"Oh…" Millie muttered, and then she gave him a proud smile. "Well done, Theo."

"Thank you," Theo smirked.

"Thanks, mate," Ron said genuinely. "I didn't even think of that."

"I know, but since I'm here, you don't have to," Theo shrugged once again. "Should we head up to the Sanctuary instead? I want to practice my shields as much as I can."

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Sanctuary – Mid Afternoon)**_

"Ow…" Pansy whined from the ground, and Ron quickly ran up to her.

"Pansy, I'm so fucking sorry about that," Ron apologized as he kneeled down next to her. "I thought that you were going to move out of the way."

"I tried," Pansy whined, her eyes were already getting watery. _Oh no._

"Pansy, it's alright," Ron said softly, and then he helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Pansy sniffled, her right shoulder was stinging rather horribly because of Ron's Stinging Hex.

"I'm really sorry," Ron apologized again, and then he hugged her as gently as he could. They were all practicing their own Spellwork, but Ron was working with Pansy because she had been extremely neglectful of Ron's tutelage. Somehow, the Sanctuary had been repaired completely, and Ron figured that he owed the Elves an apology. "Do you want me to heal your shoulder?"

"Yes," Pansy sniffled into his shirt. Ron then let go of her, and she pulled her robes aside to show him her bare shoulder. There was a rather thick welt on it, and Ron grimaced at the sight of his handiwork.

"Episkey," Ron chanted, and Pansy's welt slowly began to disappear.

"Ow…" Pansy whined again, she looked extremely miserable. "Can I have another hug?"

"Of course," Ron said as he hugged her again, and she clung to his chest with a lot more gusto than Ron had expected. "Feel better?"

"I do," Pansy replied as she nuzzled her face into his chest. _I wonder if she's putting on an act in order to score free hugs from me, but at this point, I'm too afraid to ask._

"We should probably get back to it," Ron suggested, but Pansy refused to let go of him.

"Just a bit longer," Pansy hummed. "My shoulder still hurts." _That's literally not possible. She's definitely trying to forgo her training. I might as well give her some tips right now._

"Don't be afraid of incoming Spells," Ron advised, and she nodded against his chest. "When you panic, you freeze. Just take a deep breath before the start of a match, and then be ready to move around."

"I'll get sweaty," Pansy said, and Ron bit back his frown. _Don't be harsh with her. She's not like Theo or Blaise._

"Would you rather get a little sweaty? Or would you rather get hurt?" Ron asked with a gentle voice.

"Neither," Pansy replied.

"Smart-arse," Ron chuckled, and then he decided to go with a different approach. "Some guys like sweaty girls."

"Is that so?" Pansy giggled, and then she pulled her head back in order to look at him. "Do you like sweaty girls, Ron?"

"I don't mind them," Ron smiled down at her.

"Is that why you keep asking Daphne, Tracey, Millie, and me to train with you?" Pansy smirked. "You want to watch us sweat?"

"If I say yes, will you be upset?" Ron smirked back, and Pansy shook her head. "Then yes."

"Pervert," Pansy giggled. "What if we make a deal? I'll get nice and sweaty for you, and at the end of this, you show me your abs."

"Here we go," Ron sniggered, and then he let go of her.

"Just five seconds," Pansy said quickly. "All I need is five seconds."

"I don't even want to know what you mean by that," Ron chuckled. "Now let's restart. I'll throw Stinging Hexes at you, and you dodge them. No blocking with a shield, alright?"

"And then abs?" Pansy asked.

"No," Ron declined, and Pansy pouted miserably.

"You're being so cruel towards me lately," Pansy told him, but he just ignored her as he took a few steps back.

"Step back a bit, Pans," Ron said, and she stomped her feet before doing as she was told. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Pansy frowned at him, and Ron brandished his wand. Ron then began firing Stinging Hexes at Pansy, and she squealed every time she jumped out of their way.

"Pansy, don't squeal like that," Ron said as he stopped his assault. "And don't jump so hard. If you throw yourself out of the way like that, you won't have time to move out of the way of the next Spell. Plus, you're only tiring yourself out. Just take small steps, and keep your wand up."

"Why can't I just use Protego?" Pansy moaned.

"You can, but then you'll get bogged down in one spot," Ron replied calmly. "Remember what I always say?"

"Only use it when you can't move out of the way," Pansy drawled.

"Exactly," Ron nodded, and then he aimed his wand at her. "Remember to take smaller steps, and keep that wand up for a counterattack." Ron then began firing more Stinging Hexes at her, and for the first few Hexes, she moved around properly. But then a Hex flew past her right arm, and she began panicking again.

"Protego!" Pansy chanted, and Ron's Spell shattered against her shield. Ron stopped firing his Hexes, but Pansy kept the shield up.

"Pansy, I've stopped," Ron said, and she slowly lowered her wand. "That was a good block."

"It was?" Pansy blinked, and Ron nodded.

"It's alright to panic sometimes, not to mention that you recovered well," Ron said, and Pansy's lips twitched upwards. _Merlin knows that I put up a hundred shields when I first started._ "Next time you block a Spell, try to counterattack immediately. You might catch out a greedy opponent this way. But if you're worried that they'll fire another one, try to start moving again. You don't want them to trap you in one spot."

"Alright," Pansy nodded, she looked rather pleased with herself. _She likes to be complimented. I should give her more encouragement then. Why didn't I think of this earlier?_

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Everyone was taking a break, and while Ron read Flitwick's book, Pansy told them all about her 'amazing footwork'. Theo and Blaise were rather hyped up for the Dueling Club now, while Daphne looked a bit more confident in herself. Mille had been helping her and Tracey practice their Shield Charms, while also teaching them to move around more often. Ron was rather proud of Millie for working so hard, it certainly made his job easier.

" _The Baubillious Charm was first used as means to entertain the masses, but this Charm's offensive potential was first realized during the Centaur Uprising,_ " Ron read in his mind. " _The jet of white sparks can not only blind an opponent because of their intensity, but some wizards were able to fire bursts of lightning from their fingertips. Due to the Centaurs' heightened eyesight, this Charm was particularly favored by the wizards who were pushing them back._ "

"What are you reading about?" Daphne asked him, and Ron looked up at her.

"A Spell that I want to master," Ron replied with a smile.

"What kind of Spell is it?" Daphne asked.

"A Charm," Ron replied. "I'm going to go try it out now, actually."

"I'll come and watch," Daphne said, and Ron nodded slowly. _What's she up to?_ Ron and Daphne then walked over to the dummies together, while the others discussed the upcoming matches.

"Daph, is everything alright?" Ron asked, and she nodded absentmindedly.

"Yes, Ron," Daphne replied. "You can start practicing if you want. I'll just keep you company." _Right. She looks troubled about something._

"Daphne, what's bothering you?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him.

"Nothing," she lied, and Ron just stared at her. "What?"

"Daphne, I know when you have something on your mind," Ron told her, and then he gave her a reassuring smile. "Talk to me. Please?"

"I was just thinking about the matches," Daphne started, and Ron listened patiently. "They are completely random, so there's a slight chance that you and I could be facing each other. And if that happens, can you not embarrass me?"

"Embarrass you?" Ron asked, and she nodded weakly.

"I'm not asking you to let me win," Daphne said quickly, and Ron noticed that she was rather nervous. "I know that you'd hate that, but just don't go so hard on me. Please?"

"Daphne…" Ron started, but her nervous demeanor made him rethink his response. _Don't be mean. She doesn't want people to laugh at her, and neither do I._ "If I go up against you, I won't go all out."

"I know I'm asking for a lot," Daphne smiled weakly. "But thank you, Ron."

"It's alright," Ron smiled back. "There's nothing wrong with losing sometimes, Daph."

"That's rich coming from you," Daphne managed a full smile.

"I've lost plenty of times," Ron chuckled. "Have you seen how often the dummies knock me around?"

"At least a dozen times a week," Daphne noted. "Maybe you shouldn't fight several at once."

"Nah, that would be too easy," Ron waved a dismissive hand.

"So what's this Spell that you're trying to master?" Daphne asked.

"Baubillious," Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him.

"The Spark Charm?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "Ron, that's a first year Spell."

"I'm trying the Wandless variation," Ron told her, and she immediately got excited.

"Wandless Magic?" Daphne asked, and Ron smirked at her. "Go! I want to see it!" _Alright then._

"Baubillious!" Ron chanted as he aimed his left palm at a dummy, but all he managed were a couple of pathetic sparks from his fingertips. "That's embarrassing…"

"Was that it?" Daphne asked, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"It takes a while to practice Wandless Magic, that's all," Ron said, sounding a little too defensive. _What am I doing wrong?_ Ron quickly looked back at Flitwick's book, but he found no answers. _Damn it. Maybe I should aim my fingers forward._ "Baubillious!" Ron chanted again, and this time, he aimed his left fingertips at the dummy. His entire arm felt jittery for a second, and then white sparks fired out of his fingertips. They were rather useless, if Ron was being honest, but Daphne seemed to like them.

"Those were so much better," Daphne clapped excitedly. _They barely traveled a meter forward before fizzling out. Didn't the book say that people could fire lightning out of their fingertips? I just need to keep at this. Don't give up so easily, Ron._

"Baubillious!" Ron chanted again, and once again, he managed showy sparks that did nothing of value.

"So you'll just keep doing this?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "Won't you get bored?"

"I'm used to it," Ron shrugged. "I do this for an hour pretty much every night. Your body needs to get used to acting as a conduit, and mine is well on its way." _Except Dumbledore mentioned that he mastered most of his Wandless Magic within a year. I've been at this for ages, and I can only perform four Wandless Spells. Maybe I should devote more time to training my Wandless Spellwork?_

"Ron? Are you alright?" Daphne asked, and he blinked at her. "You looked kind of agitated just then."

"Just a little frustrated, that's all," Ron said, and she nodded in understanding. "I think I'll try another Spell."

"Alright," Daphne said, her eyes fixed on him. _Which one should I attempt? Incendio? No, let's try Fumos. The Smokescreen Charm is easy enough to cast with a wand, so maybe it'll be easier than Baubillious._

"Fumos!" Ron chanted as he aimed his left palm at the dummy, but much to his shock, he began choking on something. Ron coughed loudly as he gasped for air, and then thick vapors of black smoke spewed out of his mouth.

"Ron?!" Daphne exclaimed, her eyes widening at the sight of Ron coughing out thick smoke. "HELP!"

"What… the… fuck…?" Ron coughed, and more smoke came out of his mouth. _What the fucking fuck?!_ Ron bent over and coughed some more, and he felt Daphne patting his back rather firmly. His eyes began to sting, and by the time the others got there, Ron was able to breathe a little easier.

"What happened?" Blaise asked.

"He cast a Spell, and then he started coughing out this smoke," Daphne told them, and they blinked at Ron.

"What Spell?" Theo asked.

"Fumos," Daphne replied as she rubbed Ron's back.

"The Smokescreen Charm?" Millie asked, and Daphne nodded.

"How do you fuck up that Spell so badly?" Tracey asked, her eyes fixed on a keeled over Ron. _You think I planned this? How the fuck would I know that?_

"Wandless… variation…" Ron gasped, he was just glad that the smoke had stopped coming out of his mouth.

"Wandless variation?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded. "You're trying Wandless Magic?"

"Trying being the operative word," Ron wheezed. "Not doing that again…" _At least not today. I'll try Incendio next._ Ron got back up on his feet, and he gestured Daphne to step back. Once Daphne was a safe distance away, Ron aimed his left palm at the dummy. "Incendio!" Ron chanted, and he felt his fingertips warm up, but nothing happened after that. "Fuck sake!"

"Are you doing it right?" Theo asked.

"I'll do you right," Ron snapped at him, and Theo sniggered. "Not that way, you sick twat."

"Whatever you say, lover boy," Theo laughed, and the others began sniggering. Ron, on the other hand, felt his temper flare. _Stop distracting me._

"I want to practice alone," Ron glared at them, and they stopped sniggering immediately. "Leave. Now."

"Right," Blaise said, and then he quickly left. The others followed after him, but Daphne stayed behind.

"You as well," Ron told her, and she nodded meekly before scurrying away. _I'm not leaving this room until I get at least one of these Spells right._

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – After Classes)**_

In the end, Ron hadn't managed to get any other Wandless Spell right. He had had partial successes, but in his eyes, partial success was just another phrase for failure. Was he frustrated? Yes. But he didn't plan to take his frustrations out on other people. He just had to keep practicing. Ron was honest enough to admit that he was a bit slower than the people around him, which simply meant that he had to keep working at something until he got it right. Even if that took weeks.

"I'm kind of nervous right now," Theo gave a nervous chuckle, and the others nodded their agreement. "What if I get paired up with Millie?" They were currently sitting on the conjured benches which were overlooking a giant circular arena in the middle of the Great Hall, all of them mentally preparing for their matches.

"Please let that happen," Millie prayed, and Theo frowned at her.

"Why must you be this way?" Theo asked her, but she simply shrugged with a smirk.

"Alright!" Remus yelled over the chatting students, and everyone went quiet. "Third years who signed up for the Grand Tournament, please come here at once." Ron and his friends walked down towards Remus, and they were soon joined by the other third years. _Who didn't sign up for this? I think every third year is here._ Ron spotted Snape standing just behind Remus, and the Potions Master was staring right at him. _Is he still mad at me?_

"Go over the rules, Lupin," Snape drawled, and Remus gave him a nod.

"Professor Snape and I will be refereeing today's matches," Remus started, and everyone listened intently. "Anything is allowed, with the exceptions being any sort of Blasting Curses and the Unforgivables. Physical contact is allowed, but I suggest that you keep the punching and kicking to a minimum. Your rank will be determined by your wins, and your **skill in Spellwork**. I can't emphasize how important that is. Winning alone won't net you a higher rank. You **must** show us that you belong in the higher tiers. Any questions?"

"Are the boys allowed to hit us girls?" Fay Dunbar asked. "Physically, that is."

"Yes," Snape glared at her, and she fidgeted in her spot. _I think I'll refrain from doing that. I don't think any of these girls could take a punch from me. Millie maybe, but I'd rather not hit her either._

"Your names will be called out when it's your turn to Duel," Remus told them, and they all nodded. "Everyone will play five matches, and your opponents will be picked at random. If you are stunned, or disarmed, you lose the match. Winners will be disqualified if they attack a disarmed opponent. Understand?" Everyone nodded, and Remus smiled at them all. "Good luck, and do your best."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron wasn't going to lie, he was rather disappointed with what he had seen so far. Even the Heads of Houses were getting bored, but they did their best to hide their tired gazes and yawns. Every Duel so far was the same; people constantly firing Disarming Charms and blocking with Protegos. There was no variation in Spells, no finesse, and no attempt at strategy… It was just an endless streak of people shouting 'Expelliarmus'.

"Hermione Granger and Lavender Brown, please come down," McGonagall announced, and Ron's head perked up.

"Granger's up," Tracey sighed in relief. "Maybe she'll do something other than the Disarming Charm."

"Keep your eye on her for any weaknesses," Ron advised his friends, and they all nodded. Hermione and Lavender stepped into the sand pit, both girls eyeing each other carefully.

"Take up positions please," Remus said, and both girls got into position twenty feet away from one another. "Ready? Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Lavender chanted, and Hermione quickly put up a shield. Lavender's Spell shattered against the shield, but the blonde girl quickly fired another Disarming Charm. And then another, and another. Hermione simply kept her shield up, and then with a sudden twirl of her wand, she Non-verbally disarmed Lavender. _Non-verbal Magic. I forgot that she could do that._ The crowd clapped for Hermione, especially because of her excellent use of Non-verbal Magic.

"That ended rather quickly," Theo noted. "She didn't even move an inch from her spot."

"She didn't have to," Blaise added. "She used the same strategy on Daphne."

"Blaise Zabini and Parvati Patil, please come down," McGonagall called, and Blaise got up and left.

"Good luck!" Pansy called after him, and he waved over his shoulder. Blaise and Parvati got into position, and Ron spotted Snape eyeing Blaise rather critically. _This is the first Slytherin match-up._

"Ready?" Remus asked the Duelists, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Stupefy!" Blaise chanted, while Parvati fired a Disarming Charm. Blaise was quick enough to move out of the way, but Parvati caught the stunner with her face. The pretty brown girl was sent flying backwards, and she landed rather harshly on the sand. _OW!_ The Slytherins exploded with cheers, while the Gryffindors groaned and called for 'foul'.

"Bloody hell, that was quick," Theo sniggered, while Ron stood up a bit to look at Parvati's unconscious form.

"Is she alright?" Millie asked, and Ron shook his head.

"She's out cold," Ron informed them. "She took a stunner to the jaw…" While Madam Pomfrey woke Parvati up, Blaise walked back to his friends with a victorious smirk.

"Nice work, Blaise," Pansy clapped excitedly, and he sat down beside her. "You just got Slytherin House its first win!"

"Good on you, mate," Ron said as he patted Blaise's back from behind, and Blaise smiled gratefully.

"Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle, please come down," McGonagall called, and Theo's face lit up.

"Goyle!" Theo grinned at his friends. "Easy win!"

"Just don't get caught by him," Tracey said, a hint of worry in her voice. "He'll snap you like a twig."

"I'm way too fast for that," Theo sniggered, and then he ran down to his position.

"He's way too excited," Millie whispered to Ron, who nodded in agreement. "If he lets his guard down, he'll get hurt."

"Goyle certainly wants to hurt him," Ron noticed, his eyes fixed on Goyle's nasty smirk.

"Ready?" Remus asked them, and both boys nodded. "Begin!" Theo went to cast a Spell, but Goyle began charging straight at him. _What the fuck?!_

"Colloshoo!" Theo chanted, and a snot-like substance fired out of his wand and onto Goyle's right foot. The burly boy toppled forward because of his rooted foot, and he slammed face first into the sand. Every student in Hogwarts burst into laughter, including Theo.

"Match!" Remus yelled over the crowd, Goyle had dropped his wand when he fell. Snape was just staring at Goyle with utter disbelief as Madam Pomfrey quickly moved in to heal his nose, and Theo took the opportunity to bow to the laughing crowd. Even the Gryffindors were clapping as they laughed at Goyle. Theo then made his way back to his friends, looking far too pleased with himself.

"That was fucking brilliant," Ron laughed as Theo approached them, and the rest of them said similar things to Theo.

"Great use of the Sticking Hex, Theo," Tracey sniggered, and Theo smiled a little more widely.

"Thanks," Theo said as he took his seat. "What was he trying to do?"

"I think he wanted to jump on you," Pansy giggled.

"Going straight for the kill, eh?" Theo joked, making his friends laugh again. _That was pure genius at work!_

"Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter, please take your positions," McGonagall called, and Daphne tensed at Ron's side.

"Potter?" Daphne muttered under her breath, though her expression remained neutral.

"Just do your best, Daph," Ron whispered to her, and she nodded before leaving for her position. _This is going to be good, I think._ Ron wasn't going to lie, some part of him was already fretting like a little girl. If Daphne got hurt during this Duel, Ron knew that he was going to snap.

"Ready?" Remus asked Daphne and Harry, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Daphne chanted, and Harry quickly dodged it and fired a Stinging Hex at her. Daphne moved to the right before counterattacking with her own Stinging Hex, but Harry was simply too nimble. _Damn athlete. Stay still._ Harry dodged Daphne's attempts to disarm him with relative ease, and occasionally he fired his own Disarming Charm. Daphne managed to dodge them, but just barely. Harry's aim was far too good, and Ron figured that sooner or later, Daphne was going to get hit.

"Flipendo!" Harry shouted as he hopped out of the way of Daphne's tenth Stinging Hex, and much to Daphne's surprise, Harry had aimed the Knockback Jinx at her feet. In a moment of panic, Daphne jumped up to dodge the Spell, but Harry immediately fired another Knockback Jinx at her. The yellowish-blue Spell hit Daphne when she was still airborne, and she was sent flying back. The moment her back hit the sand, her wand escaped her grip. Ron's chest tightened a bit, and he was standing up before he knew it. _Is she alright?!_

"Match!" Remus called, and the Gryffindors erupted into loud cheers. The other Houses clapped for Harry as well, but the Slytherins didn't really make an effort.

"Did you see how she bounced a bit when she hit the ground?" Tracey asked, her face paling slightly. "I think she's hurt." Ron just watched Daphne with a slightly panicked look, but once Madam Pomfrey helped her to her feet, he saw that Daphne was relatively unharmed. The Greengrass Heiress picked up her wand, and she walked back to her friends with her head held high.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked immediately, and she nodded firmly.

"That sand is softer than it looks," Daphne told them, and they all relaxed immensely. Daphne then sat down beside Ron, who was still eyeing her carefully. "Ron, I'm perfectly fine. Potter has a great aim. I think he made sure to hit me in the chest so that I landed on my back."

"So you're fine?" Ron asked anyway, and Daphne nodded. "Good."

"You held on for a while there," Millie smiled at Daphne. "Some really good dodges there, Daph."

"Thanks," Daphne gave Millie a polite nod. _She's a bit embarrassed._ Ron scooted closer to her, and he noticed that she relaxed a bit more because of his closeness. _Should I put my arm around her? I really want to, but the whole school is here._ "Did you see me, Ron? I kept my left side safe."

"I did," Ron smiled at her, and then he lightly rubbed her back. _There. That'll have to do for now._

"Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom, take up your positions," McGonagall called, and Ron's eyes darted straight to the arena. The Gryffindors began cheering for Neville rather loudly, and Ron could see Harry and Hermione yelling through cupped hands. Malfoy, on the other hand, had no one cheering for him. The pale boy simply walked into the arena and took his position, his expression completely neutral.

"Is it just me, or does Malfoy look really… subdued?" Daphne whispered in Ron's ear, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked the two boys, and the both nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Neville chanted quickly, and a scarlet jet of light flew out at Malfoy. Malfoy stepped aside and fired his own Disarming Charm, and Neville lunged out of the way. _What was that?! That's the same shite that Pansy was doing!_

"Expelliarmus," Malfoy drawled as he fired another Disarming Charm at Neville, and by the time Neville saw it coming, he had barely any time to move out of the way. Neville once again lunged out of the way, and Malfoy once again fired another Disarming Charm at him.

"Don't jump so hard!" Harry yelled over the crowd, but Ron knew that it was over. Neville was quickly tiring himself out, while Malfoy was just calmly throwing Disarming Charms at him.

"Malfoy's playing with him," Blaise told the others, and they all nodded. _C'mon Neville… Fight back. Stop jumping around like that._

"Expelliarmus," Malfoy chanted once again, but this time, he fired another two Jinxes in quick succession at Neville's next spot. "Tarantallegra, Cantis." Neville got hit with both the Dancing Jinx and the Singing Jinx, which in turn made his legs start dancing frantically while he also began singing a song from the Weird Sisters at the top of his lungs. The Slytherins burst into wild laughter, and even Ron and his friends couldn't hold back their sniggers. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs started laughing as well, while Snape smirked coldly at Neville. The Gryffindors were just glaring at Malfoy angrily, and judging by Harry's dark look, they all had ill intentions towards the Malfoy Heir.

"Anteoculatia," Malfoy chanted, and two massive antlers sprang out of Neville's forehead. _Bloody hell. He's definitely taking revenge on Neville for dressing his Godfather in drag._ Malfoy then hit the dancing Neville with a Bat-Bogey Hex, and Neville screamed/sang as a couple of bats crawled out of his nostrils.

"Match!" Remus called as he moved in-between Neville and Malfoy, while Snape's lips curled up at Neville's tormented form. Malfoy simply lowered his wand, and after giving Neville a cold glare, he walked back to his lonely seat at the back of the Slytherin stands. It didn't really matter to him that his House-mates were cheering him on, he had set out to embarrass Longbottom the same way Longbottom had embarrassed his Godfather. They were now even.

"He's still dancing," Blaise said, his voice filled with humor. Ron barely held back his own sniggers as Remus and Madam Pomfrey tried to undo the Hexes on Neville. _He didn't drop his wand. He should've dropped his wand. Now he looks like a retarded reindeer._

"Ronald Weasley and Michael Corner, please come down," McGonagall called, and Ron stood up.

"Good luck," Daphne shot him a quick smile, and he gave her a wink. Ron then made his way down to the arena, and he spotted the Triumvirate watching him. Ron and Michael took their spots, and Ron could see the nervousness on Michael's face. _That's right, mate. I'm going to destroy you._

"Are you ready?" Remus asked them, and Ron nodded as he stared at Michael's wand hand. _What's with that flimsy hold? Oh, I know what to do._ "Begin!"

"Expe-"

"Accio wand!" Ron chanted quickly as he aimed his left palm at Michael's wand. The wand flew out of the Ravenclaw's left hand, and it went straight into Ron's left hand. Michael just stared at his empty hand, while everyone else just gaped at the display of Wandless Magic.

"Match," Snape smirked, while Remus just blinked at Ron. The Slytherins suddenly began cheering loudly, and Ron could hear his first years above them all. Ron tossed Michael his wand back, but the jarred boy failed to catch it. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs began applauding as well, while only a few Gryffindors applauded Ron. Ron shot a quick look towards the Gryffindors, and much to his joy, Percy and the twins were clapping as hard as they could. Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were just staring at him in disbelief, and oddly enough, that pleased Ron even more.

"You can go back to your seats," Remus said, his eyes glued to Ron. Ron just smiled at him, and then he walked back towards the Slytherin stands. It didn't take very long for the first years to encircle him, all of them talking above each other.

"Ron, that was amazing!"

"Do you even need a wand, mate?!"

"When will you teach us that?!"

"You'd better win all of your matches!"

"Behave," came Carey's voice from behind them, and they all stopped yelling at Ron immediately. Carey then looked to Ron, and a small smile formed on her lips. "Well done, Ron. Wandless Magic at thirteen… You're definitely going to be in Rank A."

"Thank you," Ron smiled at her, it felt nice to be complimented like that.

"First years, go back to your seats," Carey ordered, and they nodded quickly before running back up the stands. "Don't let them distract you right now. You promised to win every match."

"And I will," Ron assured her.

"Trust me, I believe that now more than ever," Carey smirked, and then she walked back to her friends. Ron waved at Clara and Samantha, and once they waved back, Ron made his way up to his friends.

"You had to show me up, didn't you?" Theo smirked, and Ron grinned at him.

"Couldn't help myself," Ron laughed as he sat down beside Daphne.

"That was brilliant, Ron," Daphne whispered, and Ron scooted closer to her. _Am I a bit too close to her right now? Maybe. But I don't care._

"Thanks, Daph," Ron smiled at her.

"You two mind if we join your conversation?" Tracey sniggered.

"We do," Daphne huffed, her lips twitching upward.

"Lovebirds," Pansy grinned.

"Jealous?" Ron asked, and she nodded with her grin in place.

"Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin, please come down," McGonagall announced, and everyone turned their attention back towards the arena. Ron once again began rubbing Daphne's back, and she scooted even closer to him.

"Not afraid to get caught," Daphne whispered, a playful smirk on her face.

"Right now, I'm not afraid of anything," Ron smirked, an odd sense of empowerment flowing through him. _**We are beyond them all.**_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron's name still hadn't been called, and he was starting to get annoyed. A part of him was wondering if the Professors had taken his name out of the raffle because of his display of Wandless Magic, and if that was the case, the least they could do was to tell him. As for his friends, all of them had played a few more matches.

Blaise had gone up against Fay and Ernest Macmillan, and won both matches. Millie had gone up against Finnegan, Parvati, and Morag MacDougal, and won all three matches. Daphne had gone up against Sue Li, and Hannah Abbot, and won both matches. Pansy had gone up against Lavender, and Susan Bones, and barely won both matches. Tracey had gone up against Lisa Turpin, Morag MacDougal, and won both matches. Theo had gone up against Susan, and Dean Thomas, and won both matches. So far, the Slytherins had the most wins out of all the Houses, much to Snape's delight.

"Ronald Weasley and Seamus Finnegan, please come down," Flitwick called, he had subbed in for McGonagall. _Finally!_

"About time you got off your arse," Theo smirked at him.

"I know right?" Ron chuckled, and then he quickly made his way down. The Slytherins were clearly keen to see what Ron had up his sleeve, while Finnegan and the Gryffindors eyed Ron carefully. Ron even spotted Finnegan tighten his hold on his wand, which made Ron smirk a little. _I'll spend some time showing off my knowledge on various Spells this time. Just to win favor with the Heads of Houses. I want to be sorted into Rank A._

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked them, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus," Finnegan chanted quickly, and Ron stepped to his left and fired his own Disarming Charm. "Protego!" Finnegan yelled at the top of his lungs, and Ron's Spell shattered against the shield.

"Petrificus Totalus," Ron chanted, and Finnegan blocked that as well. _He's not moving. I should target his feet._ "Locomotor Mortis." Finnegan's shield was unable to block the low blow, and he panicked when his legs got tied together. Finnegan mumbled something under his breath as he fell forward, and a bright blue light fired out of his wand. It took Ron a quarter of a second to realize that Finnegan had fired an Expulso Curse at him, and he immediately raised his own shield. But that shield was blown to smithereens, and Ron was sent rolling through the sand.

"STOP!" Remus yelled. "STOP THE MATCH!"

"He bloody used an explosive Curse!" Ron heard Fred yell, while the Slytherins quickly started yelling for disqualification. Ron sat up, his head spinning, and he looked down at his hand. _Still have my wand. Nice. Ow… My back…_

"Are you alright?" Snape asked him, and he looked up to see that the Potions Master had rushed to his side.

"I blocked it in time," Ron replied, and then he slowly stood up with Snape's help. "He fired an explosive Curse at me, Sir."

"Indeed," Snape hissed, something dangerous shifting behind his eyes. "Finnegan!"

"It was a mistake, Sir!" Finnegan told them quickly. "I swear!"

"He's a bloody cheat!"

"No explosive Curses, that's the rule!"

"Disqualify him!"

"Silence!" Remus yelled over everyone, and people slowly piped down. Ron looked towards his friends, and he saw just how pissed they all were. _Bloody Finnegan. What the fuck was that?_ Ron then looked to see Snape and Remus talking to Finnegan, who was constantly saying that 'it was a mistake'.

"Ronnie, are you alright?!" George yelled from the Gryffindor stands, and Ron nodded at him.

"You sure?!" Percy yelled as well, and Ron nodded again. _My ears are ringing. Fuck me, I could've gotten really hurt just then._

"Mr. Finnegan has been warned not to do it again, or he will be permanently disqualified from the Dueling Club," Remus announced, and the Slytherins started yelling again. Ron even noticed some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff calling for Finnegan's disqualification. Snape looked around the room, and then he smirked at Remus.

"If a Slytherin had done that, you'd have kicked them out immediately," some fourth year Slytherin yelled, and the Slytherins yelled out their agreements. _That's kind of true. If we had done that, it would be seen as malicious intent._

" _ **Then show them malicious intent, Champion,**_ " the Entity hissed in the back of his mind, and Ron turned his head and cracked his neck.

"Enough!" Remus yelled once again, effectively silencing the whole room. "Ronald, are you fit to go on?"

"Yes, Sir," Ron smiled at Remus, who just blinked at Ron's calm demeanor. Ron then took his position, and he eyed Finnegan with a dead stare.

"Seamus, take up your position," Remus said, and the Irish boy did so. As Ron stared at Finnegan, he saw the Gryffindor's lips twitch upwards for a second. _I see now. He enjoyed watching me roll through the dirt. I bet he feels really powerful right now._ "Are you both ready?" Remus asked, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Flipendo!" Finnegan chanted, and Ron quickly ducked and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. Finnegan's jaw dropped as Ron disappeared from sight, while the Slytherins started cheering again. It was an odd feeling; watching so many people who couldn't see you. The Ravenclaws were already whispering to each other, while the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors shared Finnegan's reaction.

Ron slowly began moving, making sure to take only one slow step at a time. Finnegan's eyes darted everywhere, and then he began throwing out Charms and Jinxes in all directions. Ron simply moved like a cat, avoiding all Spells because of his low stance. And then, Ron got close enough to grab Finnegan's right forearm with his left hand. The Gryffindor froze from fright because Ron was suddenly looming over him, and before he could rip his arm free, Ron pulled his head back and slammed his forehead into Finnegan's face. The sickening crunch brought a smile to Ron's face, and Finnegan fell on the dirt with a dull thud. He was completely knocked out.

"Merlin!" Remus exclaimed, and then he ran up and crouched by Finnegan's side.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Ron said calmly, and Remus looked up at him with a slightly frightened look. "It was a mistake." With that, Ron left for the Slytherin stands. No one applauded for a few seconds, and then the Slytherins slowly started clapping. No one from the other Houses joined them, and even their applause died rather quickly. Ron didn't really care though, he was just happy to put a cheat in his place.

"You have some blood on your forehead, Ron," Daphne sighed as Ron sat down by her side, and then she quickly took out a handkerchief. Ron took it from her with a smile, and he wiped his forehead clean.

"I heard his nose break from up here," Theo muttered, and the others nodded slowly.

"Did you really have to go that far?" Millie asked slowly, and Ron just stared at her.

"He nearly blew me into pieces," Ron replied, and she nodded meekly. "I showed him mercy. Believe me, I could've done far worse." Ron then looked back to Finnegan, who was now awake and being tended to by a frantic Pomfrey. "See? He's fine. And the next time we go against each other, he won't dare to cheat."

"I don't think that anyone will," Blaise remarked, once again feeling rather scared of being around Ron. _Time to wait for my next match. Hope it won't take an hour again._

"Hermione Granger and Theodore Nott, please come down," Flitwick said, and Theo shot up to his feet.

"Good luck," Tracey waved him off, and Theo walked down to his position quickly. _This is going to be quite good._ Ron spotted Hermione looking up at him with a furrowed brow, and Ron cocked his eyebrow at her.

"Why is she eyeing you like that?" Pansy frowned down at Hermione.

"Because he hurt her precious cheater of a House-mate," Daphne scoffed. "Ignore her, Ron."

"Hope she doesn't take her anger out on Theo," Blaise added.

"She's not like that," Ron said, still staring at Hermione.

"Hermione, take your position please," Remus said, and Hermione stomped over to her spot.

"Are you sure about that?" Millie asked Ron, and he slowly shook his head. _I don't think I am._ Ron leaned forward in his seat, his eyes fixed on Theo. _Please be careful, mate._

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked, and they nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Theo chanted, and once again, Hermione put up her shield. Theo's Spell shattered against it, and the weedy boy frowned at Hermione.

"Here we go again," Blaise sighed.

"Incendio! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Theo fired three consecutive Spells, and Hermione simply blocked them. "Densaugeo! Stupefy! Stupefy! Colloshoo!" Hermione stayed rooted in her spot, and her shield wasn't even cracked yet. _Bloody hell, is her Shield Charm really that powerful?_ "Loco-"

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione suddenly chanted, and Theo froze mid-Spell. And then, he toppled to his side.

"Match!" Remus exclaimed, and the Gryffindors erupted into applause at seeing Theo's winning streak end.

"How do you counter that nonsense?" Daphne asked, and Ron shrugged.

"It's a solid defense, and she is as patient as they come," Ron replied. "Her Shield Charm is extraordinary."

"It's not very Gryffindor-like," Tracey remarked, her eyes fixed on Hermione. "She just hides behind that shield like some coward." _Not a coward. She's using her brain to outsmart people who are faster than her. She's a bookworm, and she knows that she can't outrun Theo. Her only weakness is the ground beneath her feet, but getting a Spell past that shield is damn near impossible._ Madam Pomfrey unfroze Theo, and the weedy boy walked up to his friends with a rather defeated look.

"You did your best, mate," Ron said quickly, but Theo didn't look too happy to hear that.

"That damn shield…" Theo muttered, and then he dropped into his seat. "What the fuck was I supposed to do? She can't be beaten…"

"You've still won three out of four," Tracey said gently as she rubbed his back, but Theo just looked miserable.

"Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass, please come down," Flitwick called, and the two best friends went wide-eyed. _Oh shite. Is this really happening?_

"Ohhh!" Pansy cooed, looking all too excited.

"Let's go, Daph," Tracey managed a weak smile, and Daphne nodded slowly. As Tracey began to walk down to her position, Ron quickly signaled Daphne to watch her left. Once Daphne and Tracey were in their positions, their friends just watched them quietly.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Stupefy!" Daphne chanted, and Tracey ducked under the stunner before firing her own stunner. Daphne quickly moved to her left, while Tracey rolled to the side and sprang back up. _NICE! That recovery was amazing!_

"Did you see that?" Theo laughed, his bad mood already forgotten. "That roll was awesome!"

"Incendio!" Tracey chanted, and a wave of fire went flying towards Daphne.

"Protego!" Daphne chanted, and the fire washed over shield.

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Incendio! Stupefy!" Tracey yelled as she began to bombard Daphne's shield, and much to Daphne's horror, she saw that her shield was starting to crack. "Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!" Daphne chanted as soon as the stunner shattered her shield and went past her head, but Tracey easily sidestepped it.

"Stupefy!" Tracey fired another stunner, and Daphne once again jumped to her left.

"Colloshoo!" Daphne chanted, and with a slash of her wand, she sent snot-like glue at Tracey in an arc.

"Protego!" Tracey quickly chanted, and her shield got covered with the foul substance.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Daphne chanted quickly, and two quick stunners slammed into Tracey's shield. "Expelliarmus!" As the Disarming Charm fired out of Daphne's wand, Tracey did the unthinkable. The slender girl broke her own shield and dived forward, and Daphne's Disarming Charm flew over her head.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Tracey chanted from the ground, and Daphne jumped to her left again. But this time, Tracey fired a quick stunner at her best friend in advance. The scarlet jet of light hit Daphne in the chest, and she was sent flying back. _Ouch!_

"Nice," Blaise nodded, he looked quite impressed.

"Match!" Remus called, and Tracey quickly got up and ran over to Daphne's side.

"They had a nice Duel," Millie noted, and the others nodded their agreement. _Daphne might not be too happy that she lost. But you know what? Tracey did work harder than her._

"Hopefully there's no hard feelings between them," Pansy sighed. "Daphne hates losing."

"She's going two for four at the moment, and that's not so bad," Millie said, while Ron watched Madam Pomfrey reawaken Daphne. The blonde witch got back to her feet with Tracey's help, and both girls walked back to their seats as people applauded them.

"Here," Tracey said as she helped Daphne into her seat, and Daphne gave her a weak smile.

"Thanks," Daphne muttered, and Tracey took her own seat.

"You both fought well," Theo told them, and the others gave the girls their best smiles.

"You alright?" Ron asked Daphne, and she nodded.

"I landed on my shoulder," Daphne said, her face pinching from pain. "Nice dive, by the way."

"Thanks," Tracey smiled widely. "It hurt my chest though."

"Want a massage?" Theo asked, and both Millie and Tracey smacked him. "Sorry!"

"Ronald Weasley and Sue Li, please take your positions," Flitwick called, and Ron stood up with a grin. _Finally!_

"I forfeit!" Sue Li yelled out from her seat, and Ron blinked at her. _What the fuck? Is she serious?_

"Are you sure, Sue?" Remus called out to her, and she nodded fervently.

"I forfeit!" Sue Li yelled again, and then she sat back down with her Ravenclaw friends.

"Add a win for Ronald Weasley," Snape said to Flitwick, who nodded before doing so. Ron sat back down slowly, he didn't even know what to think. _I waited for ages…_

"That right there is the power of fear," Theo began sniggering, and Blaise smirked at Ron.

"I'm doing the same thing if I'm up against you, by the way," Blaise told him, and Ron gave him a deadpan look.

"Why? We'd have a great match," Ron said.

"No, we wouldn't" Blaise shook his head.

"Actually, we all plan to forfeit against you," Pansy pointed out.

"Speak for yourself," Millie scoffed, and then she smiled at Ron.

"Thank you, Millie," Ron smiled back at her. "I hope we get paired up then."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron still hadn't had a turn yet, but he waited patiently. Ron's only worry right now was that his next opponent would forfeit out of fear, so he desperately prayed to be paired up against a Gryffindor. Blaise had just won his match against Terry Boot, which had made his win-streak four out of four. Tracey had lost one match to Padma Patil, which had ended her win-streak at three. And crazily enough, Pansy had beaten Justin Finch-Fletchley and managed to win three out of three so far. Ron had never seen her so smug before.

Ron was just glad that the Slytherins were dominating today, it fulfilled his promise to the Triumvirate. And Snape was looking quite pleased too, while Flitwick and McGonagall's moods were souring. As for Pomona Sprout, she was handing out fresh orange slices and sweets to all the third years.

"Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, please come down," McGonagall called, she had once again taken over the raffle.

"Kick his arse, Pansy," Ron smiled widely, and she nodded with a weak smile. _She doesn't want to, does she?"_

"Be careful," Millie advised Pansy. "He's unbeaten so far. Longbottom, Ernest, and Justin didn't stand a chance against him."

"I beat Finch-Fletchley too," Pansy said, and then she walked down with Malfoy.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked them, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Pansy chanted, and Malfoy stepped to his left with a bored look.

"He's like a zombie," Tracey frowned. "What's with that dead expression?" _He's numb. That's what happens when you're constantly a target. He only fears Flint for now. I became numb too when the Entity kept hurting me._

"Stupefy," Malfoy chanted, and as Pansy moved to her right, he immediately fired another stunner at her. Pansy shrieked as she jumped out of the way, and Ron smacked his own forehead. _There she goes._ "Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Expelliarmus." Pansy jumped back and forth with a frightened look, while Malfoy just fired Spell after Spell with a tired look. And then, Pansy's wand shot out of her hand and landed near Malfoy's feet.

"Match!" Remus said, and Ron let out a tired sigh.

"She panicked… again," Ron shook his head, while the others gave Pansy sorry looks. Malfoy bent down and picked up Pansy's wand, and then he walked over and handed it to her. Pansy took it quietly, and as soon as she had it, Malfoy began walking up to his lonely seat. Pansy followed after him quietly, and she sank down in her seat with a pout.

"Sorry," Pansy mumbled.

"What for?" Blaise asked her.

"For losing like that to him," Pansy sighed, and Ron reached forward and patted her back.

"You did your best," Ron told her, and she managed a weak smile. "You can't always win."

"Daphne Greengrass and Michael Corner, you're up," McGonagall called, and Daphne sprang to her feet.

"Good luck, Daph," Ron smiled at her, and she smirked.

"I've got a scheme," Daphne told them, and then she quickly walked down to her position.

"A scheme?" Tracey sniggered.

"If she wins this, it'll be three out of five for her," Millie noted, and Ron smiled at that. _Those are good numbers._

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked them, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Stupefy!" Michael shouted, and Daphne jumped to her left and threw out her own stunner. While Michael dodged that, Daphne cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself. _SHE STOLE MY MOVE?! Wow…_

"That little thief," Tracey started laughing, while the Slytherins began cheering. Michael looked genuinely baffled, as did Remus. And then, a scarlet bolt flew out of nowhere and smacked Michael's wand out of his hand.

"Match!" Remus called quickly, and Daphne reappeared with her Ice-Queen persona in place. The Slytherins kept cheering for her, while Ron let out an earsplitting whistle. Daphne walked back to her seat with a refined look, all the while nodding at her cheering House-mates.

"That was great!" Pansy beamed at Daphne, and Daphne gave her a soft smile.

"You stole Ron's move," Tracey laughed. "I'm so proud of you."

"I figured that I could cast it too, so why not?" Daphne shrugged as she sat down beside Ron, who was just beaming at her like a moron. "Three out of five is pretty good, right?"

"It is," Ron nodded, and Daphne smiled a little more widely.

"Tracey Davis and Harry Potter, please take your positions," McGonagall called, and Tracey groaned a bit.

"Unbeatable Potter," Tracey sighed, and then she got up and left for her Duel. _Harry's three for three so far. Daphne, then Susan, and then Hannah Abbot. Whereas Tracey's won three out of four. This is her last match._

"That's the fourth girl that he's gone up against," Theo frowned.

"What's wrong with that?" Millie asked him, and both Blaise and Ron sniggered at Theo's frightened look.

"Nothing at all," Theo said quickly, and Millie narrowed her eyes on him.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked, and both Harry and Tracey nodded. "Begin!"

"Stupefy!" Tracey fired a stunner right off the bat, but Harry easily dodged it and fired one of his own.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry chanted, and while Tracey dodged his Disarming Charm, Harry quickly began firing stunners in succession. _He's pretty damn fast for someone who never trains. Guess all that Quidditch practice does pay off._

"Protego!" Tracey chanted, deciding that she couldn't keep dodging his well-aimed stunners. Harry sped up his stunners even more as he began advancing on her. _He's closing the distance? Wait… He wants to cut the time it takes his stunners to hit her shield. She's done for if she doesn't move._

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry fired stunner after stunner, and unfortunately for Tracey, her shield broke under his constant pressure. The slender girl took a stunner to the face, which pretty much sent her back-flipping through the air. And then, she landed roughly on her neck.

"Trace…" Daphne muttered, her face losing all of its blood.

"Match!" Remus called, and then both Harry and Remus ran over to check on Tracey. _Bloody fuck. Is she alright? That landing must've hurt._

"Step aside, Potter," Snape pulled the boy out of Pomfrey's way, who quickly checked Tracey over. And then she began healing Tracey's neck.

"That piece of shite," Theo grit out, while everyone else just stared at Tracey.

"Rennervate," Madam Pomfrey chanted, and after a bright red light, Tracey slowly stirred out of her unconscious state.

"She's alright," Remus announced, and her friends relaxed considerably. The Gryffindors began cheering for Harry at that, but the Boy-Who-Lived looked less than pleased with himself. Tracey got up with Pomfrey's help, and then she slowly walked back up to her seat. _She still looks dazed._

"Tracey, are you alright?" Daphne asked immediately, while Ron shifted over. Daphne pulled Tracey down in-between herself and Ron, her arm quickly wrapping around her droopy friend.

"I don't even know what happened," Tracey mumbled, and then she slowly shook her head. "Ugh… My head's all fuzzy…"

"Potter hit you in the head with a stunner," Blaise told her, and Tracey blinked at him.

"That explains the headache," Tracey groaned, and Ron put his arm around her as well.

"Just breathe," Ron advised, and Tracey nodded weakly.

"I'll get you some water," Theo said, and then he quickly left for Professor Sprout's refreshment stand.

"There are only a handful of people left who haven't finished their matches yet, so please give us a few minutes while we sort them all out," Remus announced, and everyone started discussing the matches so far. _I still have two matches left._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

The Heads of Houses and Remus had quickly put together the last few pairs, and then the matches had recommenced. Blaise had won his final match against Wayne Hopkins, and scored a perfect run. Millie had secured her fourth win in a row against Lavender. Pansy had gone against Fay Dunbar in her last match, and ended up losing. And Theo had secured four out of five matches after he bested Ernest Macmillan. As for Malfoy, he had lost his final match against Padma Patil. So far, the Slytherins were easily dominating the matches tonight.

"Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, please take up your positions," Flitwick called, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Just my fucking luck. I'll end this quickly, and I'll make damn sure to not hurt her again._

"End her win-streak, Ron," Theo said firmly. "She ruined mine."

"It's her last match, make sure that you beat her," Daphne ordered, and Ron nodded as he made his way down.

"Good luck, Ron!" Tori yelled from the back somewhere, and Ron smiled to himself. As Ron stepped into the arena, the Slytherins began cheering him on. Ron turned around and started waving at them with a grin, and Remus quickly walked up behind him.

"Ron, can I have a word with you?" Remus asked, and Ron turned to face him.

"Sure, Professor," Ron nodded.

"No physical contact," Remus said, and Ron blinked at him. "Please, Ron. She'd get hurt if you hit her."

"Handicapping my student, Lupin?" Snape sneered as he joined them, and Remus shot Snape a pleading look.

"Severus, he'll hurt her horribly if he uses even half of his strength," Remus said. "Ron, please stick to Spells only."

"As much as I don't agree with this, Lupin is correct," Snape said icily, and Remus looked genuinely shocked.

"I'll stick to Spells only," Ron promised them, and Remus looked visibly relieved. _I already know how I'm going to beat her. Tom Riddle's ghost gave me some rather neat advice before Petrifying me. The Levitation Charm bypasses shields and Magic Rings._ Ron walked over to his position, and he noticed Hermione looking between him and Remus suspiciously.

"Anything I should know about?" Hermione asked him.

"I'm not allowed to touch you," Ron said, he knew that that would anger her. _Might as well get in her head. It might make her lose focus._

"What? Why?" Hermione frowned at Remus, but he simply raised his hand to silence her.

"We make the rules, Hermione," Remus told her, and her frown deepened. "He's twice your size, and he'd hurt you if he's not careful."

"I can take care-"

"Shut up," Snape snapped, and Hermione flinched a bit. "Lupin, start the match."

"Right," Remus sighed. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes," Ron said, while Hermione gave an angry nod.

"Begin!" Remus announced.

"Stupefy!" Ron chanted, and just as predicted, Hermione raised her shield once again. Ron quickly aimed his palm at the sand under her feet, something that made Hermione focus on strengthening her shield. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron chanted, and then he flung his left hand up. The sand below Hermione's feet shot up violently, and Hermione shrieked out of fright. "Stupefy!" Ron chanted as her shield broke because of her lack of focus, and Hermione took the stunner to her gut.

"Match!" Remus called as Hermione landed on her back. _Good. She didn't land too harshly._ The Slytherins erupted into wild cheers, and Ron heard multiple loud whistles.

"Five bloody seconds!" someone yelled.

"That's twice he's won that quickly!" another Slytherin shouted, and Ron recognized that voice. _John._ The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs began applauding as well, some of them were just relieved that Hermione was still in one piece. Ron turned his focus towards his House-mates, and their loud cheers brought a smile to his face. _I didn't hurt her this time. I did well. I did the right thing._ Ron began making his way up to his seat, and he ignored his House-mates patting him down from excitement.

"You did great, Ron," Daphne smiled proudly, and Ron's smile widened. _I know. She won't even feel sore from that._

"Five seconds," Theo chuckled. "Remember when I said that her defense couldn't be beaten? Well, I was so bloody wrong."

"How did you get past her shield like that?" Millie asked.

"Levitation Charm bypasses shields," Ron replied. "Tom Riddle taught me that before Petrifying me."

"He did?" Tracey asked slowly, and Ron nodded.

"And you remembered that?" Blaise asked.

"I don't forget my losses," Ron shrugged as he sat down beside Tracey. "How do you feel now, Trace?"

"Much better," Tracey smiled at him.

"Good," Ron smiled back, and his friends noticed that something was off.

"Ron, are you alright?" Pansy asked, and he nodded.

"I am," Ron replied, but for some reason, his gut was still feeling tight from worry. _I didn't hurt her this time. Just calm down already._

"Millicent Bulstrode and Neville Longbottom, please come down," Flitwick called, and Millie quickly left for her last match.

"Longbottom's won one match so far," Theo noted.

"She's going to destroy him," Blaise figured, and they all nodded in agreement. Millie and Neville took up their positions, and judging by Neville's fidgeting, he was clearly nervous about his own last match.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked them, and they nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Neville chanted, and Millie easily dodged the Spell. For a big girl, Millie was surprisingly nimble. Ron figured that unlike their friends, Millie wasn't scared of taking a hit. Therefore, she didn't panic and overdo her dodges.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Millie chanted back to back, and Neville barely managed to dodge her well-aimed stunners.

"You've got this, Nev!" Harry shouted from the Gryffindor stands. "Don't dodge so hard!"

"Shut up, Potter!" some Slytherin yelled, and Snape silenced his House with a glare.

"Locomotor Mortis," Neville chanted shakily, he was clearly losing his nerve against Millie.

"Protego!" Millie chanted, effectively shielding her legs. Neville quickly went to cast another Spell in order to bog her down, but Millie dropped her shield without a second thought and fired a stunner at him. Neville's eyes widened for a moment, and then he was sent reeling back into the sand.

"Match!" Remus called, and Millie smirked as she sheathed her wand. _Five for five._ Millie began walking back to her seat as her House-mates cheered loudly for her, and she gave them nervous smiles for their support.

"Well done, Mills," Ron smiled at her as she approached them, and she smiled a bit more comfortably.

"Five for five," Theo smirked at her. "That's my witch." Millie snorted at that, and then she rolled her eyes at him.

"Sod off, you creep," Millie chuckled as she took her seat, and Pansy quickly clung to her side.

"You've been amazing tonight, Millie," Pansy cooed, and Millie patted Pansy's head gently.

"Thank you, Pansy," Millie smiled at the raven-haired girl.

"You mother and father will be quite proud of your performance tonight," Blaise told her, and she gave him a slow nod.

"Thank you, Blaise," Millie said.

"Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, please come down," Flitwick called, and the whole room went silent. "This is tonight's final match…" Flitwick clearly realized now why everyone had gone silent, this matchup had happened last year as well. And it hadn't been pretty.

"Ron, keep your anger in control this time," Daphne said firmly, and Ron gave her a nod. _I'll do my best._

"Break his-"

"Shut up, Theo," Pansy frowned at the weedy boy.

"Good luck," Blaise waved him off as he walked down towards his position.

"Go Ron!" Tori cheered, and the first years joined in quickly. It didn't take long for his entire House to start cheering for him, and Ron took in a deep breath. _This is just another match. Just enjoy it. Remain calm, and make sure that you don't hurt him._ Ron smiled widely as he looked back over to his House-mates, and they began to cheer even more loudly. The Gryffindors cheered with equal gusto for Harry, while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws simply watched both boys intently.

"Take up your position, Ron," Remus said, and Ron turned around with a smirk. As Ron walked towards his position, he shot Harry and the Gryffindors an analytical look. Harry had a resolute look on his face, and he was watching Ron's every move carefully. As for the Gryffindors, they all harbored mixed expressions. Most of them were watching Harry with genuine panic and concern, and this included Ron's own sister and Neville. As for the rest of them, they were eyeing Ron carefully.

"End his streak, Ron!" Theo yelled, and the Slytherins all started shouting again. "Five for five, mate! You've got this!"

"Teach him a lesson, Harry!" Dean Thomas yelled, and the Gryffindors began shouting as well.

"Quiet!" Remus yelled, gesturing the audience to calm down. The shouting died away slowly, and once it had, Remus looked between both boys. "Are you both ready?"

"I'm ready," Harry said with a firm nod.

"Yes, Sir," Ron said calmly, his eyes fixed on Harry. _He's quick. I need to hit him with a Spell that covers a lot of ground. Otherwise, he'll just keep dodging for hours._

"Begin!" Remus announced, and Harry immediately fired a stunner. _Shite, he's faster than me._

"Protego!" Ron chanted, and the stunner slammed against his shield.

"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry shouted, throwing stunner after stunner at Ron's shield. _C'mon, Harry. Close the distance like you did with Tracey._

"Move, Ron!" someone shouted, but Ron simply ignored them. _Madam Roberts, this one is for you._

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus!" Harry chanted as he began to move forward, his expression was nothing but focused. Ron's shield began to crack slightly, but he kept waiting patiently. And then, Harry was around ten feet away from him.

"YAGH!" Ron yelled as he pushed his shield forward, and much to Harry's shock, the shield fired forward in a cone shape. The Slytherin erupted into cheers and whistles as Harry was sent tumbling through the sand. "Brachium Colubrum!" Ron chanted, and as Harry was trying to get back up, an ethereal serpent shot out of Ron's left hand and it seized Harry's wand arm and throat. _End of the line, Harry._

"Those are the Dark Arts!" some Gryffindor yelled, and Ron glared up at the stands. "He's cheating!"

"All Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses are classified as the Dark Arts, moron!" Ron yelled, and the Slytherins burst into laughter. _Dumb cunt._ Ron then looked back to Harry, who was looking rather panicked because of the serpent crushing his arm and throat. Ron turned his left hand upwards slowly, and Harry groaned loudly before his wand slipped out of his hand.

"Match!" Remus yelled, and Ron banished the serpent immediately. Harry keeled forward and began coughing and gasping for air, while Remus did his best to help the boy. The Slytherins howled and cheered loudly, while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs applauded Ron's strategy. Ron raised his arms at his sides as he basked in his House's cheers, he could easily hear his first years shouting his name over and over again.

"Well played, Mr. Weasley," Snape whispered as he walked up behind Ron. "That shield trick… That's an Auror tactic. How do you know how to do it?"

"I fought an Auror once," Ron whispered back, and Snape blinked at him. "I'll tell you later, Sir."

"Right," Snape nodded, his lips curling up as he looked towards Harry, who was still gasping for air. "Go to your seat. I need to make sure that Lupin doesn't give his degenerate Gryffindor the win because you used the Dark Arts." _Didn't he forbid me from using it once? He totally did. Odd that he doesn't seem to care now._

"It's a Curse, and it is legal," Ron said. "If he does cheat me out of my win, I'll go straight to Dumbledore." Ron looked towards Harry at that, and then he looked towards the Gryffindors. Some of the older students were glaring at him, whereas the younger students seemed to be quite impressed with him. _That's right. I'm the strongest wizard in my year. Not Harry Potter._ Ron's eyes drifted towards Ginny, Hermione, and Neville. While Hermione and Neville were watching Harry with a bit of worry, Ginny was glaring at Ron.

"Your sister wished for Potter to win?" Snape asked, he too had spotted the Ginny's angry glare. It was rather difficult not to.

"She has a crush on him," Ron chuckled coldly. "Pathetic, right? She's happy to watch her own blood fail against a boy who doesn't even know anything about her." _**Perhaps We should teach her a lesson in loyalty? Yes… Yes, We certainly should!**_

"Potter looks fine now, you should return to your seat," Snape said, and Ron left without another word.

"Well done, mate!"

"Brilliant!"

"That ghostly snake is bloody terrifying!"

"Good job showing him up like that!"

"Five wins out of five matches! Congratulations!"

"I didn't know you could use the Shield Charm as a weapon! Genius, mate!"

"Thanks," Ron said repeatedly with a smile as he walked up to his seat, he had definitely seen the Triumvirate smiling at him as well. _I am a man of my word._

"That concludes tonight's matches," Flitwick announced. "Please exit the Great Hall so that we can return it to normal in time for dinner. The Grand Tournament's ranking matches will continue tomorrow after breakfast. Well done to the third years for a marvelous showing. Prefects, please help Professors Snape and Lupin in leading people out safely."

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Courtyard – An Hour before Dinner)**_

Ron was lying on the ground with his head in Daphne's lap, and he smiled involuntarily as she played with his hair. Their friends had clearly noticed just how close they were acting all of a sudden, but neither Ron nor Daphne cared. Ron figured that she was more than happy to show her affection for him in public, whereas he planned to be dating her by the end of the weekend anyway. Their friends hadn't made any comments about their closeness, but Pansy was occasionally shooting Tracey a greedy smile.

"Which rank you think that they'll put me in?" Theo asked the group.

"Rank D," Tracey replied.

"C'mon, be serious here," Theo sighed. "I won four out of five, and I showcased a decent knowledge in Dueling. I reckon I deserve to be in at least Rank B."

"I reckon they'll put Millie and Blaise in Rank B," Pansy stated. "They both won all of their matches, and they never lost the upper hand in their Duels."

"But I only lost to Granger, and everyone knows that she's mental about her studies," Theo said.

"Ron beat her in five seconds," Daphne piped in, she sounded extremely happy about that fact.

"Ron doesn't count," Theo waved a dismissive hand, and Ron chuckled with his eyes closed.

"That's just mean," Ron said, though he didn't really mind Theo's comment.

"Plus, Granger wasn't even Dueling," Theo scoffed. "She was hiding behind her shield the entire time."

"If it works, then it hardly matters what she was doing," Blaise shrugged. "Her strategy was good, no one can deny that."

"I know one person who's going to land in Rank D," Tracey sniggered. "Longbottom."

"Poor bloke," Ron frowned a bit. "He's had a horrible day so far."

"True," Daphne nodded, she was still playing with Ron's hair. "First Snape tries to murder his toad, and then Malfoy turns him into a joke. Did you see how some of his own House-mates were pretending to be reindeers around him?" _McLaggen and his lot. They'd better leave him alone._

"Is that Luna?" Millie asked, and Ron's eyes opened immediately. "Hello, Luna."

"Luna!" Pansy squealed, and Luna gave Ron and his friends her usual airy smile.

"Mind if I join you?" Luna hummed, and Pansy quickly patted the spot by her side.

"Come here," Pansy smiled widely, and as soon as Luna sat down, Pansy had her arms around her.

"She's not a-"

"Hush, Ron," Pansy poked her tongue out at him, and then she kissed Luna's right cheek. "Did you enjoy watching the matches, Lu?" _Lu? Wow._

"I did," Luna said, and then she gave Pansy a casual kiss in return. Pansy began giggling like a little girl, much to everyone's amusement. "You were all great."

"Thank you," Blaise smiled at her, which was odd because Blaise hardly ever smiled.

"Wasn't I amazing?" Theo asked Luna, and she nodded.

"I think Millie was my favorite," Luna said airily, and Millie grinned at her friends.

"What about me?" Ron asked with a soft smile.

"I already expected you to win, big brother," Luna hummed, and Ron chuckled. _Big brother? I like it._ "Though I wish that you didn't hurt Seamus like that. That was rather scary."

"Cheaters deserve to be punished," Ron said casually. "Especially cheaters who try to blow you into a million pieces."

"I'm glad you blocked in time, Ron," Luna said genuinely. "All the Ravenclaws got really scared for you."

"Bloody Finnegan," Theo frowned.

"Don't swear near her," Tracey shushed him.

"I know swear words," Luna shrugged.

"Luna, no," Ron said quickly. "We're not repeating that again. My heart can't take it."

"Then I should definitely do it," Luna giggled.

"Ouch," Ron feigned hurt, and then he smiled at her from Daphne's lap.

"Luna, is there a reason why you're here?" Daphne asked her, and Luna nodded.

"Ginny is really angry with you, Ron," Luna told him, and all of Ron's friends rolled their eyes. "I saw her arguing with Percy about you just now. She says that you should be disqualified for using the Dark Arts against Harry." _Great. Why is she doing this? I'm her bloody kin for Merlin's sake._

"That girl…" Daphne hissed, her fingers tightening in Ron's hair.

"Ouch, Daph," Ron complained, and she quickly relaxed her hand. "Don't punish me because of her…"

"Sorry," Daphne smiled down at him, and then she looked back to Luna. "Is she trying to find Ron?"

"They all are," Luna replied, and then she snuggled into Pansy hug. "I figured that I'd just give you all a warning."

"You did so well," Pansy cooed. "Lu, can I style your hair?"

"My hair?" Luna asked, and Pansy nodded with a greedy smile.

"I bet I could make every boy fancy you," Pansy said.

"And I could castrate them," Ron added.

"Shush, Ron," Daphne poked his chest with her other hand. "Luna, ignore your brother please. He's just needy." _Me? Needy? Oh wait… That's true._

"Ron, I see your brothers," Millie said quickly, and Ron turned his head to the side. The twins spotted Ron and his friends, and they grinned at him. As they were making their way towards the Slytherins and Luna, Ron spotted an angry Ginny and an annoyed Percy follow after the twins. _Here we go._

"I should go and speak to them," Ron tried to sit up, but Daphne yanked him back into her lap. _Um… Alright then._

"You're not going anywhere," Tracey said firmly, there was no humor in her voice right now.

"If she wants to scream at you, then we'll be right here as well," Millie told him.

"Ronnie!" Fred greeted him, and then he looked towards Daphne. "I hope his big head isn't hurting your legs too much."

"Also, we knew it!" George grinned, and Ron felt Daphne tense a bit.

"Congratulations, little bro," Fred smiled more genuinely, and Ron smiled back.

"Thank you, Fred," Ron said.

"Wandless Magic at thirteen," George gave Ron a wink.

"Brilliant!" they said together, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"That last Spell though," Fred started, his smile wavering a bit.

"You're still practicing the Dark Arts?" George asked.

"All the time," Ron replied, and his brothers lost their smiles. "I'm kidding, but truth be told-"

"Can I speak to you, Ron?" Ginny interrupted him, and then she blinked at the sight before her. Why was Ron's head in Greengrass' lap? "So you're really dating **her**?"

"Are we dating?" Ron asked Daphne.

"Not that I'm aware of," Daphne replied, and then they both looked to Ginny.

"Whatever," Ginny spat out. "I want to talk to you."

"Ginny, just stop it," Percy caught up to her. "You're disturbing him."

"Disturbing him?" Ginny frowned at Percy, and then she laughed coldly. "Oh, I'm sorry. Lord Weasley, may I speak with you please?" _Wow._ Ron wasn't going to lie, it genuinely hurt him to hear Ginny speak like that.

"I didn't know that the second years were taking classes on how to be bitches," Theo remarked, and Ginny gaped at him.

"Theo, mind your tongue," Ron frowned at him, and then he slowly stood up.

"Careful, Nott," the twins warned the weedy boy, but he didn't look too bothered.

"Ginny, stop making a scene," Percy told her, but she ignored him.

"You used the Dark Arts against Harry," Ginny accused Ron. "He had you, and so you **cheated**."

"He didn't have me," Ron rolled his eyes. "I let him fire out those stunners on purpose. Don't forget what I did to him last year." _He had me? That little girl wouldn't last five seconds if I got serious._

"Ron…" Percy sighed. "Don't say that."

"Seamus is turning everyone against Harry, Hermione, and Neville because of what **you** did to him," Ginny snapped. "They're paying for your sins because they're your 'friends'."

"Did you really have to hurt Seamus like that?" Percy asked Ron. _Yes, I did._

"Bollocks," Fred hissed.

"Finnegan tried to blow Ron up," George added.

"Ronnie, don't listen to them," the twins said. "We'll be teaching that Irish twat a lesson ourselves."

"You two…" Percy hissed. "I'm done with your antics. I've already owled mother and father, so expect their response."

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private?" Ron asked his siblings.

"Ron," Blaise said, and Ron met Blaise's eyes for a second. _Or not._

"You should do the right thing and tell Professor Lupin to give Harry the win," Ginny said harshly. "You used Evil Magic to beat him. How could you do something so vile?" _Keep calm, Ron. She's your sister, and she's just angry._

"All Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses are considered the Dark Arts," Daphne said as she stood up by Ron's side. "Tell me, Ginevra… Are you angry because your brother won with a Curse? Or are you angry because his Curse looked like a serpent?"

"No one is talking to you, Greengrass," Ginny hissed. "Sod off."

"Mind how you speak to her, Gin," Ron warned her. "My friends have been nothing but kind towards you. Disrespect them, and I might feel inclined to teach you some manners." _**No one speaks to her that way. No one.**_

"Ron…" Percy frowned at him, but Ron stared right through a shocked Ginny.

"I beat Harry because I'm better than him, and that's that," Ron told her. "I shouldn't be penalized just because it hurt your fragile sense of what's right and wrong. As for Finnegan… Tell him to leave the Trio alone, or a broken nose will be the least of his problems."

"Well said," Fred nodded. "The part about Finnegan, not Harry."

"That was a little harsh," George added.

"There, all is settled," the twins said together.

"This angst filled showing has been brought to you by the Weasley siblings," Fred said to Ron's friends.

"Please support us in the Future," George chuckled, and Tracey released a snigger before quickly closing her mouth.

"Ginny, why are you siding with Harry over Ron?" Percy asked her. "Even Harry doesn't care that much about his loss…"

"Hermione though…" Fred whistled.

"She's utterly devastated," George told everyone.

"Five second win," the twins suddenly grinned at Ron, and Fred quickly ruffled his hair.

"That trick with the sand was brilliant!" George laughed.

"It was, wasn't it?" Ron smiled, the twins being on his side was making him blush a bit.

"Clever use of the Levitation Charm, Ron," Percy agreed with the twins, and then he looked to Daphne. "And nice Disillusionment Charm. That's a N. E. W. T level Spell."

"We can all do it," Millie piped up, and Percy looked quite taken aback. "Ron taught us."

"Did he?" Percy smiled warmly at his brother. "Good on you lot. There is nothing more important than learn-"

"Snore," Fred rolled his eyes.

"We have a proposition for you lot," George said, and Percy glared at him.

"No, you don't," Percy hissed.

"Right, keep feeding **his ego** ," Ginny snapped, her eyes narrowing on Ron. "Maybe mum and dad were right when they tried to pull you out of Slytherin. The Ron I knew would never use the Dark Arts to cheat his way to victory." _What cheating? I spend more hours a day training myself at Dueling than Harry spends studying a week. I_ _ **earned**_ _that win._

"Does the word loyalty mean anything to you?" Blaise asked her, and Ron shot him a glare.

"Don't," Ron said, and Blaise raised his hands in surrender.

"What would you lot know about loyalty?" Ginny scoffed. "You're all about self-preservation anyway."

"Enough, Ginny," Percy frowned, and then he grabbed Ginny's arm and dragged her away.

"Let go of me!" Ginny yelled, utterly appalled that Percy was laying his hands on her. "I'll tell mum!"

"Don't worry, I'm owling her right now," Percy said darkly, while everyone else just watched quietly.

"Shite, he's actually angry now," Fred sighed. "George?"

"We should definitely clear his room of our traps," George nodded.

"Congratulations again, Ron," the twins said together, and then they both bolted for Gryffindor Tower.

"Come on, Ron," Daphne whispered. "Lie back down." _I didn't cheat. How could she say that to me?_ "Ron, don't think too hard about this."

"Yeah, mate," Theo joined Daphne. "She's just… Yeah, I've got nothing…"

"She's having trouble adjusting to who you are now as compared to who you were when you were younger," Luna hummed, and Theo snapped his fingers at her.

"Lu, you're so smart," Pansy smiled lovingly. "A Ravenclaw through and through."

"Ron, please lie down," Daphne whispered again, and Ron slowly did as he was told. _Countless hours of hard work, and she thinks that I bloody cheated. Was I cheating when I used Wandless Magic too? Fucking hell. How is that fair?_ Daphne pulled his head back down into her lap, and she felt him relax a bit when she started scratching his head.

"Are you alright?" Tracey asked Ron.

"I'm fine," Ron replied, though he wasn't too sure himself. _Ginny clearly prefers Harry over me, and why wouldn't she? She's idolized the Chosen One since she was in diapers. What am I compared to Harry in her eyes? Nothing. I'm just the brother who took her spot with the Trio. And now I'm a cheat._

"She'll cool down, Ron," Luna assured him, and Ron simply closed his eyes. _I'm tired. I didn't even take my second dose of medicine today, and now I can't because everyone is here._

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Snape's Office – After Dinner)**_

Dinner had been quite fun for the Slytherins, especially because their House had dominated the matches. The older students were openly praising the thirds years, while the Triumvirate were eyeing Ron in a way that made his heartbeat increase. As for the rest of the Houses, the Gryffindors were the only ones in a bad mood. Not counting Harry and Hermione, who had both won four out of five matches, the third years had taken quite a thrashing. The Hufflepuffs didn't believe in discouraging each other, while the Ravenclaws had done quite well for themselves. Ron was just glad that no one was mocking his House anymore, and that his friends were being praised by everyone. In his eyes, they deserved it completely.

Once dinner had ended, Snape had marched down to Ron and asked to speak with him in private. And when Snape 'asked' to speak with you, the answer could only ever be yes. Ron was actually quite grateful to Snape for dragging him away, mostly because Hermione and Ginny were staring at him with sour looks. Hermione was definitely angry that Ron had beaten her with little to no effort, while Ginny was still fuming about him 'cheating' against Harry. Oddly enough, neither Harry nor Neville seemed the least bit upset. Which only proved to Ron that women were barmy.

"You did well today, Ron," Snape said as he closed the door behind them.

"Thank you, Sir," Ron smiled at him, and Snape frowned a little. "You're the only person who doesn't like my smile."

"I see no point in 'smiling' needlessly," Snape drawled as he walked up to his seat, and then he gestured Ron to sit down.

"Thank you," Ron said as he took his seat, and once Snape was also seated, Ron smiled at him again. _Ha! He's frowning again._

"Your friends did much better than I expected," Snape admitted. "Tell me, how often do you all practice together?"

"They barely ever do it, but they're quick studies," Ron replied. "Whereas I practice a lot."

"And it shows," Snape smirked. "Your victory against Granger was truly inspiring."

"Five seconds," Ron grinned, and Snape's lips twitched upwards. _And I didn't hurt her. She landed rather softly on that sand. No injuries whatsoever._ "I could've beaten the others just as fast, but I figured that I'd show the Professors my 'Spellwork'."

"You will be placed in Rank A," Snape told him, and Ron pumped his fist into the air. "Don't do that again."

"Sorry," Ron laughed.

"We are still discussing the other students, but you were signed up for Rank A the moment you disarmed Mr. Corner with Wandless Magic," Snape informed him, and Ron nodded along. "I expect you to win this Tournament, Ron. And the others."

"Is it because you want me to succeed in life?" Ron joked.

"I want you to secure those House Points," Snape said, he wasn't even fazed by Ron's joke. "And this Dueling Club will provide you with a lot of experience. Experience that you will need in the Future."

"The war," Ron nodded.

"Indeed," Snape said. "I imagine that Albus and I won't always be around… And when that happens, you might be called upon to lead the Order."

"Don't say that," Ron said quickly.

"It is what it is," Snape said calmly. _I can't accept that. We can always change things for the better._

"What about Harry?" Ron asked. "Won't he lead the Order someday?"

"Albus is fixed on Potter," Snape said coldly. "Far too much time has been devoted on that foolish boy. I would prefer to leave you in charge."

"Really?" Ron blinked, and Snape nodded. "I… Thanks…"

"You work to better yourself every day, while Potter lazes about and barely passes his classes," Snape drawled. "To me, the choice is an easy one to make."

"Harry doesn't have my visions pushing him forward," Ron said, but Snape scoffed.

"He knows that he's the Dark Lord's enemy, that should be motivation enough," Snape countered, and Ron nodded in understanding. "If he's wasting his time now, what makes you think that he won't waste the Order's time down the line? No, I will convince Albus to look to you instead. There can be no half-measures, not anymore."

"How is the Headmaster?" Ron asked. "He still hasn't returned from Albania."

"I imagine he's putting out fires as we speak," Snape drawled, and Ron chuckled tiredly. _Get it? Fires._ "This Gaia Project has drained the entire country's resources. I don't need to tell you just how troublesome this is, do I?"

"No, you don't," Ron shook his head. "Is Minister Fudge really buggering everything up?"

"He's making promises that he can't afford to keep," Snape hissed.

"Why?"

"He wants political alliances," Snape rolled his eyes. "Those alliances won't mean anything when his own Ministry turns on him. Be wary of shortsighted fools, Ron. They are the bane of people like us." _Like us? As in equals?_ Ron had to bite back his happy smile, but Snape noticed his lips twitching upwards.

"You think that highly of me?" Ron asked.

"Sometimes," Snape admitted. "Your strength of character is impossible to deny, especially in regards to the Entity's influence in your life. Not many people could face such evil, and walk away stronger for it. But saying that, you still have a long way to go. You need to discipline your mind, boy. Your mind must be as cold as ice, but as strong as steel. Which is why I plan to start training you in Occlumency on Tuesday."

"Occlumency?" Ron asked excitedly, and Snape gave him a curt nod.

"It will be difficult because I can't use Legilimency on you, but I believe that it will truly benefit you," Snape replied, and Ron smiled from ear to ear. "And at the very least, it will give you a defense against the Entity." _A defense?_

"In my mind Hogwarts?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded. "Great. I'm all for that."

"Excellent," Snape said. "We will use your 'detentions' as cover."

"You sly snake," Ron chuckled, and Snape smirked. "Did you plan all of this?"

"No," Snape replied. "I only thought of it a few hours ago. At first, I truly did plan to punish you, but your words… They got to me. Draco was clearly upset with me, and as much as I hate to admit it, that got to me as well."

"He's starting to understand that bullying people for no reason is wrong," Ron shrugged. "After all, Flint is doing the same thing to him."

"He has taken it rather horribly," Snape admitted. "I think I've made a mistake with his 'lesson'. I underestimated just how entitled and privileged he was, and now that he's lost that, he's turned numb to the World around him."

"That kind of makes sense," Ron nodded slowly. "He had everything, and then suddenly, it was all gone. Do you think that he blames himself?"

"He does," Snape replied. "He told me as much when he asked me to change his room. He told me that he understood that he was behind his current predicament, but I refused to listen. I didn't expect him to break so easily."

"Well, he's never really faced any hardships until now," Ron stated. "I completely became numb last year after the Entity's constant abuse, and then I became reliant on Calming Draughts."

"I remember," Snape said.

"Then maybe you should help him," Ron said slowly, and Snape eyed Ron with a sharp look. _I overstepped, didn't I?_

"Why?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Why do you wish to help my Godson? He has targeted you more than anyone else."

"I've seen the person that he can become," Ron sighed. "And truth be told, I can't help but respect that person. A person who spat in the face of certain death, all the while saving other people instead of himself. I don't want Malfoy to die, but I do want him to become that person. Do you understand that? It sounds a bit weird, but-"

"I understand," Snape assured him.

"And what Flint is doing to him… It's wrong," Ron said firmly. "I can understand going after people who have wronged you, or people who are getting in your way, but hurting random people for entertainment? That is something that I can't stand. Malfoy is in no position to cause anyone problems, and yet, he is being attacked by a student who should know better."

"His powerlessness makes him a target," Snape told Ron.

"And I can't stand the thought of that," Ron admitted. "It's why I hated your Godson in the first place. He wanted to go after me simply because he could, and even after I asked him for a truce, he kept at it. Flint is attacking someone who can't fight back, and that pisses me off."

"Aren't you a saint?" Snape smirked, and Ron snorted.

"I'm not a saint," Ron said. "Saints don't attack people for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Granger," Snape said, and Ron rubbed his forehead.

"I can't breathe near her sometimes," Ron admitted. "She's trying to be friendly with me, but all I can think about is how easily I dashed her head into a wall. And then, I try to make excuses for what I did. I try to justify hurting her… It's sick… She didn't deserve that, but at the same time, what else was I supposed to do?"

"You might have taken an extreme action, Ron, but you still chose to save her even in your horrid state," Snape said, but it didn't make Ron feel any better. "You tried your best, and sometimes, that's all that you can do." _Right._ "As for making excuses… The mind tends to shield itself from things that can potentially harm it."

"So like denial?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded once.

"You might not be feeling guilty because you know that if you let yourself feel it, it will hurt you," Snape replied. "It will hurt you so badly that you'll never be the same again."

"Speaking from experience?" Ron asked, and Snape just stared at him for a few seconds.

"Yes," Snape whispered softly. _Bloody hell, he sounded really sad just then._

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ron gave Snape a weak smile, but Snape just kept staring at him. _Is he thinking about something? Like a bad memory?_ And then suddenly, something shifted behind his black eyes.

"My Godson needs help," Snape said, his voice had returned to normal. "Not my help… But the help of someone his age. Someone who can push him along the right path, while also teaching him that doing what's easy is not always the right thing." _I've heard that before. Dumbledore's voice said that after I tried to kill Hermione._ "That sometimes, the right thing is to turn from everything that you were raised to believe."

"Someone like me?" Ron asked, and Snape gave an extremely weak nod. "I… How am I supposed to do this? My friends hate him, my Family would string me up by my feet, and I'd probably become Flint's next target."

"Please," Snape said, his voice neither cold nor warm. "Please." _He really loves Malfoy that much?_

"I… I'll find a way…" Ron said softly, he was genuinely shocked into a daze at seeing Snape like this. "Just give me some time…"

"Thank you, Ron."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you enjoyed that! Next chapter, Ron will be dropping by Beauxbatons, asking for Daphne's hand in dating, finding out who the leak is, and much more.**

 **I'll do my best to update by Sunday, but things are a little busy for me right now, so I apologize in advance if I become late again.**


	74. Chapter 74 - Le fléau de Vélane

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 74 is finally done! Once again, I'm very sorry for the one day delay. But I'm really sick, and even though that's a lame excuse, I just couldn't think straight with a blocked nose and a headache. I really enjoyed writing this one, so please get started right away.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 74 - Le fléau de Vélane**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

How the hell was he supposed to help Malfoy? The moment he had left Snape's Office, he had realized just what he had promised to do. Ron would soon have to deal with a storm of shite that was going to leave him and his friends covered from head to toe, and all for an entitled brat that **might** one day become a respectable human being.

Deep down, he knew what this really was. This was all about his own need to be some sort of hero. This was all about his need to be seen as the best sort of bloke around. The moment Snape had swallowed his pride and said 'please', Ron couldn't help himself. Some idiotic part of him still wanted Snape to like him, and for all of his wit, Ron couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was because Snape knew who Ron really was? Or maybe it was because he respected Snape? Or maybe he just didn't want Snape to target him? Ron genuinely had no clue as to why he had agreed to help Malfoy, but it was too late now. _I gave my word, and my word is my bond._

"Pure," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. Ron managed to take five steps into the common room before he was ambushed by his first years, who were being led by an overexcited Tori.

"Ron!" Tori squealed, and like always, she clung to his middle as tightly as she could. "Where were you?"

"With Snape," Ron replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. _I'll worry about Malfoy after I fix my own problems. For now, he can deal with Flint on his own._

"Are you alright, Ron?" John asked, and Ron put on a smile.

"Yeah," Ron replied, but the first years simply exchanged looks.

"You're not hugging me back," Tori said haughtily, and then she pulled her head back in order to show Ron her miserable pout.

"Sorry, Tori," Ron apologized, and then he squeezed her into his chest. "What are you lot up to?"

"We were waiting to ambush you," Lysandra smirked. "Notice anything different about me, Ron?"

"She's put on weight," Hestia said before Ron could reply, and both John and Sebastian sniggered.

"How rude," Lysandra huffed, and then she flicked her shortened hair back. _Her hair is shoulder length now… I missed it during the day._

"You got a haircut," Ron said, and Lysandra beamed.

"Do you like it?" Lysandra asked.

"Stop trying to flirt with him," Tori hissed, and then she turned around and eyed Lysandra coldly. "Ron is mine." _Actually, I'm your sister's._

"Doesn't he get a say?" Derek asked, and Tori glared at him. "I was just saying…"

"Grow a spine, Derek," Lysandra frowned, and then she smiled at Ron. "Well?"

"I like it," Ron replied, it did suit her.

"Are you going to teach us new Spells on Sunday?" Mathew asked, and Sebastian smacked his arm.

"What happened to being subtle?" Sebastian asked, but Mathew just shrugged. _New Spells? Shite, I'm not even going to be here on Sunday. I'll either be in France, or at Grimmauld Place. Not to mention the fact that I need to find the person who leaked information about The Quibbler._

"I won't be here on Sunday," Ron told them, and they all looked either shocked or crestfallen.

"What about our study session?" Mathew asked.

"What about you teaching us new Spells?" Sebastian asked.

"Is everything alright?" Flora and Hestia asked together, and Ron smiled at them. _Odd that they would ask that. They don't exactly look empathetic._

"Everything is fine," Ron replied. "Let's go sit down over there for a second. I need to talk to all of you." The first years exchanged worried looks, and then they did as they were told. Ron took a seat around a round table, while the first years moved into the chairs across from him.

"Are we in trouble?" Derek asked, the chubby boy looked quite worried for no reason.

"No, not at all," Ron smiled at him, and he managed a weak smile back. "Is there a reason you would be?"

"No," Sebastian replied quickly, and Ron lost his smile. _He's lying to me._

"Sebastian got into a fight with a Hufflepuff," Lysandra replied, a cruel smirk on her face.

"You bitch," Sebastian hissed, while Lysandra simply kept smirking.

"Language," Ron said firmly, and then he eyed Sebastian. "You got into a fight? Talk."

"That git was calling John a 'Death-Eater in training'," Sebastian replied angrily, and Ron blinked at him. _A Hufflepuff? Which Hufflepuff would do that?_ "So I clocked him one… What's the big deal?"

"You lost us twenty House Points," Tori pointed out, and Sebastian laughed coldly. "And he beat you up."

"You've lost us the most-"

"Enough," Ron said, cutting their argument short. "John, tell me what happened."

"Zacharias Smith just started annoying us while we were going to lunch," John replied, he looked slightly uncomfortable. _Zacharias Smith? Second year, right?_ "I told him to sod off, and that's when he… It's alright though, I don't even care…" _Your tone suggests otherwise._

"Sebastian, no more fighting," Ron said, but he couldn't help but give the sporty boy a quick smile. "Good job on defending your friend though."

"See?" Sebastian smirked at his friends. "I told you that Ron would understand!" _I should speak with Cedric about this. He knows John personally, and it'll show him that I respect him enough to come to him._

"So how many House Points did you lot make in total this week?" Ron asked.

"Counting our losses, we made eighty four House Points," Mathew replied, and Ron nodded in approval.

"We met our quota," the Carrow twins said together.

"Well done," Ron said, and the twins smiled slightly at the same time. _Creepy, but cute._

"Why is our quota bigger than everyone else's?" Tori asked. "It's not fair."

"It really isn't," Lysandra flicked her hair once again. "Can't you do something about this, Ron? Please?"

"He already told us why," Derek piped in, but the girls shut him up by eyeing him harshly.

"It's easy enough to meet," Mathew said to Ron, his brown eyes fixed on Ron's. "I manage to get us to forty points all by myself."

"You're such a kiss-arse," Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"If he's making forty House Points alone, then he deserves to be praised," Ron said firmly. "Why is one person making so many points? What aren't you lot helping him?"

"We're trying," Tori said, her voice slightly subdued. _Don't get angry. Keep your shite together, Ron._

"He keeps answering everything," Lysandra pointed out.

"We tried to discuss a routine," Hestia started.

"But he won't listen," Flora ended.

"You lot are too slow," Mathew scoffed. "You barely ever put your hands up… I'm not going to sit around for you all to catch up. The teachers will pick our year-mates if I wait too long."

"Do you have any advice, Ron?" Derek asked.

"Well, if one person keeps answering everything, then the Professors will stop rewarding him," Ron replied. "Trust me, I learned that from personal experience. And if what Mathew is saying is true, then you lot need to get it together. You can read ahead, or do some work outside of our study sessions. This is a school, not a social club."

"It's boring," Tori groaned.

"You want rewards? Then you'll do the work," Ron stated simply. "The Triumvirate are very happy with you guys at the moment, try and keep it that way. You don't want to get on their bad sides, believe me. Mathew, from now on, you're the leader of this group."

"What?" Tori gasped, she looked utterly betrayed.

"Why does he get to be in charge?" Sebastian demanded.

"He isn't in charge, I am," Ron told them. "But when he tells you to study, you'll study. And if you don't, then I'll **make** you study. Understood?" _This way, I don't have to hover over them constantly. I can deal with my own problems whilst being safe in the knowledge that the first years aren't slacking off._

"Yes," the first years mumbled, while Tori just gave Ron her most miserable look.

"Mathew, don't abuse this power," Ron told him, and he nodded firmly.

"No more than one hour a day," Mathew promised, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"We're in the lead already, but that will change drastically once the year is in full swing," Ron told them. "Gryffindor is most likely going to win the Quidditch Cup, while this Dueling Club has the potential to turn everything on its head. Our quotas have to be met, otherwise, we'll end up losing the House Cup. Tell me, do you want to lose?"

"No," the first years said together.

"Do you want the Gryffindors prancing about the school with their noses held high?" Ron asked.

"No."

"Do you want to be the ones who prance about?"

"Yes."

"Then keep up the good work," Ron smiled at them, and most of them smiled back.

"I'm pretty good at Quidditch," Sebastian added quickly. "Would I be able to join the Slytherin Team?"

"You're in first year, and from what I've heard, they're not holding trials this year," Ron informed him, and he looked crestfallen. "What's your position?"

"Chaser," Sebastian mumbled, while Derek patted his back encouragingly. "Why does everyone just treat us like babies?"

"Respect has to be earned," Ron told him. "If you want influence in **this** House, then you'll have to earn it. Trust me, everyone has been where you are now. But unlike you lot, we didn't have the advantage of the Triumvirate involving us in their plans."

"How's that an advantage?" Lysandra asked. "They're treating us like cows with House Points in their udders…" _That's a disturbing image, but quite accurate._

"They're giving you a chance to prove your value to the House," Ron told her. "They're handing all of you a chance to earn the respect of the older students, who by the way, will pretty much dictate your standing within the House. Look at Malfoy, for example. He has wealth, a powerful name, and for a time, he held quite a bit of influence in the House. But now no one even looks at him. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Flora asked.

"Because he refused to play his part," Ron replied, and they all nodded slowly. "He didn't put the House first, so now, the House refuses to acknowledge him."

"So if we keep succeeding, we'll be treated more like equals?" Mathew asked, and Ron gave a firm nod.

"If a Blood-Traitor can succeed in this House, then you lot definitely can," Ron smiled at them. "Don't be discouraged so quickly, just keep doing what you're doing. Trust me, your House-mates will acknowledge your hard work." _That should be enough motivation, I think._ "Now, do you guys have any more questions?"

"What do we do on Sunday?" Hestia asked.

"You aren't going to be here," Flora added.

"You study just like we discussed," Ron said. "I'm not going to reward you every single weekend, that's just not plausible. When I decide that you've all been good, then I'll teach you something."

"You're kind of mean," Tori huffed. "Do you treat your own friends like this?"

"When I deem it necessary, yes," Ron admitted. _None of us can afford to be lazy. Not with what's coming._ "Anything else?" The first years exchanged looks, and then they shook their heads. "Alright then, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ron," they said together, and Ron got up and left them to talk to each other. _Time to find my own friends._ His group wasn't hard to find, they were all lounging near the fireplace as usual.

"There you are," Pansy smiled at him. "What did Snape want? Was this about your endless detentions?"

"It was," Ron chuckled as he sat down by her feet.

"Well?" Daphne asked, she was sitting in between Tracey and Millie.

"Did you talk your way out of it?" Theo asked.

"Talk my way out of detention?" Ron laughed. "With Snape?"

"They overestimate your silver tongue," Millie sniggered.

"More like lead," Tracey smirked at him, and Ron gave her the bird. "Real mature."

"So what will you be doing?" Blaise asked. _Learning Occlumency._

"Cleaning cauldrons and doing his paperwork," Ron lied.

"Ouch," Tracey grimaced. "Longbottom better appreciate what you did for him."

"Even if he doesn't, it still felt great to piss off Snape," Ron admitted. _Bloody hell, I'll be pissing off a lot of people once I bring Malfoy into this group. Fuck me, why did I agree to this? I was hoping for more time before dealing with that shite._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Early Morning)**_

"You really didn't have to wake up so early, Daph," Ron said, but she just waved a dismissive hand.

"It was past time that I saw you go on your morning run," Daphne smirked, and Ron let out a snigger. "I love your Training outfit by the way. It hugs your figure very nicely."

"My figure?" Ron snorted, and Daphne nodded.

"Your bum was on full display," Daphne teased. "I might join in on your morning runs from now on. Strictly for health purposes, of course."

"I'm sure… Pervert," Ron smiled and shook his head. "And what's the **real** reason that you woke up at the crack of dawn?"

"Shame on you for ruining my game," Daphne stuck her tongue out, which she only did because no one else was in the Great Hall. "I wanted to talk to you about your plan to win over Madame Maxime. Chances are that my father has managed to secure a Portkey already, and if that's the case, you'll be in France before long."

"We only sent Helios yesterday," Ron pointed out. "Even he's not that fast."

"But if he was, then we need to discuss what happens if Madame Maxime refuses you," Daphne said, and Ron felt his shoulders tense. _She won't. I can't let her._

"We can talk about that after I've spoken with her," Ron said, but Daphne shook her head.

"Don't let your emotions dictate how you act in business, Ron," Daphne said. "I know that you're worried about her refusing you, which is why you need to have a backup plan. And… And I've thought of one."

"Does it involve me begging for money?" Ron asked.

"No," Daphne replied, and then she took in a deep breath. "My trust account is-"

"No," Ron outright refused, and she kicked his left shin under the table. "Ow!"

"Don't interrupt me," Daphne frowned. "I'm trying to help you, Ron. My trust account is bigger than all of our friends' combined. And it's just sitting there. If all else fails, then we can use that."

"I'm not taking your money, Daphne," Ron said firmly. "I got myself in this mess, and-"

"Didn't we just talk about this yesterday?" Daphne asked, her features turning cold. "You have friends for a reason, Ron. Why do you have to be so proud all the time?"

"And would you accept charity in my position?" Ron asked, he could feel a fight brewing.

"I'd make the most logical decision in your position," Daphne replied. "Which, in this case, is to accept the help of my friends. This isn't charity. I'm not pitying you, nor am I acting like your better. I just want to help you because I happen to care about you. I know how much this Quibbler business means to you, and I know that Luna's Family needs this to work. See reason, Ron."

"I get it," Ron said coldly. "I know that you mean well, but my answer is still no."

"Why?" Daphne asked, her tone becoming snappish.

"Because I got myself in this mess, and it's not fair that you have to pay for my carelessness," Ron replied. "For me, the most logical decision is to carry the weight of my own mistakes. They are my responsibility, not yours."

"Nonsense," Daphne scoffed. "Your problems **are** my problems, Ron. Tell me, if all of this goes sour, who are you going to take it out on? Are you going to take it out on yourself? No… No, you'll take it out on us."

"When have I ever taken my anger out on you?" Ron asked.

"I've lost count," Daphne replied, and Ron realized just how stupid his question was. "At best, you'll turn cold and distant. And at worst, you'll start snarling and threatening us. We'll spend weeks trying to appease you, and then you'll have some epiphany and come back with an apology. Everyone will accept it because they've missed you, but you know what? I won't. Not this time. I'm giving you a way out, but you're refusing to accept it because your own ego."

"My ego?" Ron asked, his breakfast forgotten. _Does she have to keep insulting me?_

"Yes, your ego," Daphne repeated, her breakfast also forgotten. "I get that you have a lot of pride, I do as well, but unlike you, I don't let my pride blindside me. You **never** want to accept people's help. That's utterly mental, Ron."

"I've done fine on my own so far," Ron said as he pushed his plate forward.

"Bollocks," Daphne said as she did the same. _She's just mimicking me! Is this her way of pissing me off even more?_ "You didn't even know how to eat properly until Theo taught you how."

"I ate just fine," Ron scoffed. "It went in from one end, and it came out the other. Just because you eat 'properly' doesn't mean that your shite doesn't smell."

"What the hell are you on about?" Daphne asked, and Ron stood up.

"I don't know!" Ron snapped. "I'm going to work!"

"No, you're not!" Daphne snapped as well, and then she too stood up. "We're still discussing this!"

"Like hell we are," Ron said, and then he began to march towards the exit. Daphne caught up to him within seconds, and Ron quickened his pace.

"Real mature, Ron," Daphne hissed. "Running away like some five year old who's painted on the walls. Real mature."

"Stop following me," Ron glared at her.

"No," Daphne huffed. "I'll bloody floo back to Greengrass Manor with you if I have to."

"You're insane," Ron groaned. "Leave me alone."

"No," Daphne huffed again.

"I listened to your plan, and I didn't like it," Ron said as he began taking the steps down to the Dungeons.

"You didn't even think about it," Daphne argued. "You just heard that someone else would be giving you the funds needed for your business to work, and you turned into a feral beast. This is not how normal people react to getting help."

"Well, I'm not normal," Ron laughed mirthlessly.

"Believe me, I know that," Daphne snapped. "But here I am… Doing my best to help you even though you don't have the decency to hear me out."

"I heard you out," Ron argued back. "But after I said no, you started kicking me and insulting me. You don't always have to get your way, Daphne."

"Are you calling me spoilt?" Daphne asked, and Ron stuck his nose up into the air. _Don't say it! Don't you dare, Ron!_

"Yes," Ron said, and Daphne stopped walking. _Huh?_ Ron stopped and turned to face her, and her dark look frightened him a little. "What? Are you done following me around?" She just kept staring at him, her bottom lip quivering a bit. "Whatever…" Ron turned to leave for Snape's Office, and that's when he heard her running at him. And then, Daphne was hanging off of his back with her arms wrapped around his neck. "What the fuck?!"

"Take that back!" Daphne yelled into his ear, her hold tightening around his neck. "You take that back right now, Ron!"

"No!" Ron snapped back. "Get off of me, you psychotic bint!"

"BINT?!" Daphne shrieked, and Ron felt his brain rattle. "I'm trying to help you!"

"What sort of fucked up help is this?!" Ron demanded, and then an idea popped into his head. "Here's your help!" Ron started spinning in circles as fast as he could, and Daphne shrieked as she held onto him for dear life.

"Stop!" Daphne squealed. "Ron, I'm slipping!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" came Snape's voice, and Ron stopped immediately. He then slowly turned to see the Potions Master glaring at the fighting couple, and both Ron and Daphne froze. _Oh fuck!_ "Speak!"

"I… Um…" Ron mumbled, while Daphne just flushed crimson. "I was giving her a piggyback ride…" _Yeah, that just made him angrier I think._

"Idiot…" Daphne whispered in his ear, and Ron nodded to himself.

"Get off of him, Greengrass," Snape hissed coldly, his eyes digging into hers. Daphne slowly slid off of Ron's back, and they both fixed up their clothes. "Ten points from each of you for behaving like apes. Weasley, come here." _I don't want to…_ "Now!"

"Yes, Sir," Ron mumbled, and then he slowly walked up to Snape. Snape immediately grabbed Ron's left ear and twisted it, making the redhead squeal a bit.

"Don't hurt him!" Daphne yelped, but Snape's glare shut her up.

"Go back to the common room," Snape ordered. "If I see you both acting this way in public again, I'll Transfigure you both into **actual** **apes**. Go!" Ron gesture Daphne to save herself in a subtle manner, while she looked at him with far too much worry. And then, Daphne slowly skulked off towards the common room. Snape then dragged Ron towards his Office by the ear, all the while ignore Ron's complaining. Once they were at the door, Snape opened it and shoved Ron inside.

"My bloody ear…" Ron moaned, he could feel it throbbing.

"Explain yourself," Snape ordered as he shut the door behind himself.

"We were having an argument," Ron replied as he rubbed his left ear.

"A lover's quarrel?" Snape asked, and Ron felt his face heat up. _Yes…_ "In the middle of the school? At seven in the morning?"

"How did-"

"The Bloody Baron came to my Office," Snape glared at him, and Ron shuffled in his spot. "Half the school probably heard you both. This is not how Slytherins behave."

"Stupid ghosts," Ron mumbled to himself. "Can I go to work now? Or are you planning to twist my other ear as well?"

"Don't tempt me," Snape snarled, and Ron scurried towards the fireplace. "Have you spoken to Draco yet?" _What?_

"It hasn't even been a day," Ron blinked, was Snape serious?

"It doesn't take that long to speak to someone," Snape cocked an eyebrow at him, and Ron laughed in disbelief. "What?"

"You have to give me time here," Ron said, and Snape just stared at him. "First of all, he'll probably tell me to go bugger myself. And if that doesn't happen, then I have to prepare for the backlash which will come from putting Malfoy in my group. My Family, my friends, the Trio, Flint, the Triumvirate… The list is endless. I need at least a couple of months here."

"A couple of months?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"What? You thought that I'd skip down to the common room, find Malfoy, and then weave him a friendship bracelet?" Ron asked, and Snape frowned slightly. "He hates my guts, and truth be told, I can't stand him either. Now I'm willing to swallow my hate for him because I've seen actual evidence of him being a good bloke someday, but the people in my life don't have that luxury. I mean c'mon, our Families have been fighting for as long as anyone can remember. I need to lay some groundwork for this."

"Marcus Flint will not wait around for your 'groundwork'," Snape told him, and Ron felt his temper flare. _Talk about ungrateful._

"You want my help? This is what it looks like," Ron said firmly. "Believe me, I'll leave your Godson to rot in Flint's closet and not give it a second thought. I'm doing **you** the favor here, not the other way around. Do you have any idea about what this will do to me? The moment I let that little shite into my group, he'll start scheming against me. And while he's doing that, I'll be fighting a war against everyone I know just to keep **him** around."

"I get it," Snape said, his hand going up to silence Ron.

"Good," Ron said, and then he took in a deep breath. "I might not like the fact that Flint is bullying him, but I'm not ready to put my neck on the line just yet. Let me fix my own problems first, and then I'll do something about Malfoy's." With that, Ron turned around and took a pinch of floo-powder. "Greengrass Manor," Ron called, and then he threw the floo-powder into the flames. When they blazed green, Ron stepped through them.

"Ron!" Mary called as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace, and Ron looked to his left. She was standing in front of one of the fireplaces, and she had a bright smile on her face. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Ron smiled at her, his body relaxing at the sight of her.

"Are you alright?" Mary asked, her smile faltering a bit. "You look quite tense." _I just had a tense conversation._ "Come here, love." Ron walked over to her, and she cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. "You always look like you have a lot on your mind."

"With both of your daughters at Hogwarts, I certainly have reason to," Ron joked, and Mary chuckled before putting her arms around him.

"You teenagers and your overdramatic tendencies," Mary said as Ron hugged her back. "You keep growing like a weed. Do you ever plan to stop?"

"Not if I can help it," Ron replied, he quite liked his height.

"Merlin, why are you so tense?" Mary asked, and then she pulled back to look at his face.

"I'm not," Ron replied truthfully, what was she on about? Mary nodded slowly, and then she poked his stomach. "Hey!"

"Aren't you the muscular young man?" Mary smirked at him, and Ron couldn't help but blush slightly. _Composure, Ron. Have some bloody composure._

"Were you on your way out?" Ron asked, quickly attempting to change the subject.

"Don't be disheartened, my sweet," Mary pinched his left cheek. "It was a compliment."

"Thanks," Ron smiled a bit.

"And yes, I was indeed on my way out," Mary replied. "I'm heading to the Ministry to secure you a Portkey for tomorrow."

"You got my letter then," Ron nodded. "Thank you, Mary. I really appreciate this."

"Think nothing of it," Mary smiled as she walked over to the fireplace. "My husband was quite… upset… when we got your letter. We'll find the leak, Ron. I promise you that." _Find them? So it wasn't the Greengrasses. Then it can only be Sirius, Xeno, Pandora, or my parents. My siblings have no method of contacting Cuffe._

"Is Lord Greengrass in his study?" Ron asked, and Mary gave him a nod. "Alright. Have a safe journey."

"I'll be back before lunch," Mary said, and then she flooed to the Ministry. _Back by lunch… Should I ask them for permission in regards to dating Daphne? I mean, today is not exactly ideal. This whole business with The Quibbler should be my only concern, right? We'll see how it goes. If they are in a good mood, then I'll broach the subject. If not, then I'll leave till next week._

Ron began walking towards Lord Greengrass' study, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He knew that he could convince Mary to let him date Daphne, but Lord Greengrass… That man was a different story. For all of his coldness, Lord Greengrass loved his daughters above all else. And if Ron planned to become Daphne's boyfriend, the pale patriarch of the Greengrass Family would need to be convinced. Just how Ron was going to accomplish this was a mystery even to him, but there had to be a way.

"Good morning, my Lord," Ron said as he walked into the open study, and Lord Greengrass looked up from his copy of the Daily Prophet. _Something's wrong here._

"It is anything but good," Lord Greengrass said, and then he tossed the copy of the Daily Prophet to Ron. "Read it." _Alright…_

 _ **Sirius Orion Black Exposed!**_

 _Little is known about Sirius Black's Hogwarts days, but through_ _ **a lot**_ _of interviews and firsthand accounts, I was able to put the pieces together for my faithful readers._

 _Sirius Black was a bully. That word came up in every single interview, and after hearing some of the accounts of his victims, I myself could think little else of him. Sirius Black, who incidentally happened to be in Gryffindor, was a menace towards the rest of the student body. In-between his constant pranks and troublemaking, Sirius Black also spent his time physically and emotionally abusing his many 'targets'._

 _The Slytherins, such as the esteemed aristocrat Lucius Malfoy, were often harassed by Black and his gang of Gryffindor lackeys. James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black were notorious troublemakers from the moment they stepped into Hogwarts, and by the end of their education, they had easily established themselves as Hogwarts' number one thugs._

 _Was his childhood in the Black Family responsible for his vile behavior at school? This reporter doubts it greatly. Sirius Black's younger brother, Regulus Arcturus Black, was praised as a gentle soul, one that spent most of his time studying in the Library and helping Slytherin first-years get familiar with their new environment. So what went wrong with Sirius?_

 _Well… There was only one thing that set the Black brothers apart._ _ **Their**_ _ **Houses**_ _. Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, just as the rest of his Family, whereas Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor. Now we all remember our Hogwarts days, don't we? There was teenage drama, dating, rumors, the occasional Duel, and_ _ **House Rivalry**_ _._

 _Sirius and his gang were infamous for only targeting Slytherins, and why wouldn't they? It's not like they were being punished for their behavior. A credible source has informed me that the teachers were quite fond of these four hooligans. Their pranks and constant troublemaking, no matter how damaging to the victims, were always seen as 'jolly old fun'. But was it just 'jolly old fun'? Or was it a statement about how poor Hogwarts' stand against bullying is?_

 _It is no secret that_ _ **some**_ _Houses are favored by the Professors of Hogwarts, and I won't insult your intelligence by stating which one in particular. But the fact that these four boys terrorized the whole school on a daily basis, and got away with it, speaks volumes on the subject. And what did these four boys go on to become, you ask?_

 _They were personally invited to join Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix by the legendary wizard himself. Their inexcusable behavior at school was rewarded by Dumbledore, who himself was a Gryffindor in his much younger days._

 _Now, I won't besmirch the Order's good name. It is no secret that the Order played a pivotal role in protecting this country from the forces that sought to destroy it. But saying that, I must also point out that the Order was a rebel organization, one that refused to work with the Ministry for unknown reasons. So is it really surprising that Black and his comrades joined up with an organization that held no respect for those who were in positions of authority? For me, it isn't a surprise at all._

 _The horrors of the war are still fresh in the minds of many, and writing about them would leave a foul taste in my mouth, so let's skip to the end of the war. After years of fighting against the Dark Lord and his forces, the Ministry prevailed. Most of the Dark Lord's army was scattered when he perished, and with the Order's help, the Ministry began to round up the Loyalists. But where was Sirius Black during all of this?_

 _He was hunting down his former friend, Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord himself. It never once occurred to Black that perhaps the Ministry could've helped him, but then again, he was never one to put much faith in law and order. Instead, he chose to act as a vigilante. And twelve Muggles paid the price for his arrogance._

 _During his confrontation with Peter Pettigrew, the traitor fired off an Exploding Curse that killed twelve innocent bystanders. By the time Ministry Officials arrived on the scene, Black was found laughing hysterically all by himself. When the Ministry Officials couldn't get a statement from him, they did the only thing that they could. They cleaned up the mess, took Black into custody, and sentenced him for his crimes._

 _But in truth, the wealthy Heir of the Black Family was unjustly charged with the murder of twelve Muggles, and his own childhood friend, Peter Pettigrew, who had faked his own death in order to hide from the Order. However, the Ministry has since rectified its mistake and released Sirius Black into the public._

 _But was it the right decision?_

 _This reporter personally doesn't believe so. Through hours of hard work and investigation, I was able to gather a handful of facts about the mysterious man's daily routine nowadays._

 _Sirius Black spends most of his nights in taverns, drinking and gambling with our society's least venerable individuals. And when he's not doing that, he's often seen in the company of_ _ **younger**_ _women. Sirius Black's Grandfather, Arcturus Black, was rewarded the Order of Merlin (First Class) for his services to the Ministry, and yet his Grandson hasn't even spoken with the Ministry since his release._

 _All of this can be excused as the behavior of a man who never learnt to grow up, but do you know what can't be excused? Sirius Black's possession of Peter Pettigrew's hollowed out vessel. That's right. Sirius Black has been keeping his old friend in St. Mungo's Hospital ever since he was kissed by the Dementors for his crimes against Wizarding Kind._

 _According to my sources, Lord Black has paid a hefty fee to the Healers of St. Mungo's to keep his childhood friend 'alive'. And no, this is not because Sirius Black can't part with his old companion. The Nurses have heard Black boasting to Pettigrew's body about his 'adventures with various women', and some have even reported finding bruises on the hollowed out man after some of Black's visits._

 _It's clear, is it not? Sirius Black is tormenting his childhood friend's body, and in hindsight, this shouldn't shock anyone too much. After all, Black has spent his entire life bullying those he deems beneath him. His stint in Azkaban has clearly damaged what little sanity he had to begin with, and Peter Pettigrew is unable to find rest because of it._

 _Now, I'm not defending Peter Pettigrew in any way, but I believe in the sanctity of life. Peter Pettigrew's life is over, and yet his body remains bound to this Earth. And Sirius Black spends his days defiling Peter Pettigrew's corpse. This is_ _ **sick**_ _, and a man who is capable of doing such a thing has no place in our society. Black needs help._ _ **Professional**_ _ **help**_ _. He shouldn't be walking around Diagon Alley, where your children spend their free time. He needs to be St. Mungo's Psych Ward._

 _Always hunting for the truth,_

 _Rita Skeeter._

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, his wide eyes traveling to Lord Greengrass. The pale man was just staring at the Chess board in front of him, a slight scowl on his face. "My Lord, is this true? Sirius really has Pettigrew locked up in St. Mungo's?" _I can't believe this. I thought that he was dead and buried. Fucking hell, is this entire thing for real?_

"Take a seat, Ron," Lord Greengrass ordered, and Ron quickly did so.

"Has Mary read this?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass shook his head.

"The Elves bring the paper straight to my study," Lord Greengrass told him. "But she'll no doubt learn about this during the day. What a mess."

"Is it true?" Ron asked again. "All of this… Is it true?"

"I don't know," Lord Greengrass said, his eyes locking onto Ron's. "Rita Skeeter is a deceitful bitch, one that will say or do anything to get more readers. But… She was right about Black's Hogwarts days."

"No way," Ron muttered under his breath. _Sirius and Remus were bullies? Remus? Sirius maybe, but I just can't see Remus bullying people. He's way too… polite… to do that. And Harry's father as well? Oh shite, Harry… He'll read this paper in an hour or so._

"Lucius and I were in our fifth year when Black and his friends came to Hogwarts," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron leaned forward in his seat. "It was the 1971-1972 year, and believe me, those four boys quickly became well-known around the school. They targeted people constantly, and they often took things too far. Your Potions Master was often their main target."

"Snape?" Ron asked, this was insane. "Who could bully Snape?"

"Believe me, if they tried that with him now, he'd destroy them," Lord Greengrass replied, though he decided to keep Snape's tutelage under the Dark Lord to himself. "But yes, they often went after Severus. They once glued his eyes shut with a Jinx, and it took Madam Pomfrey three days to undo it. He could've lost his eyesight…"

"What the fuck?" Ron whispered to himself. "Why? What did Snape do to them?"

"As far as I know, nothing," Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Severus didn't have any friends, and so he was an easy target. Actually… He did have one friend… A girl… Yes, he was friends with a Gryffindor girl." _A Gryffindor?_

"He had a friend from Gryffindor?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"The Slytherins did not approve," Lord Greengrass remembered. "When Black and his friends weren't targeting him, he was being beaten around by his own House-mates for it. And yet, he refused to stop being friends with her. Narcissa Malfoy, who was a Black then, took a liking to Severus. It's why Lucius took Severus under his wing."

"Lucius Malfoy protected Snape?" Ron asked, his head was starting to hurt. _This is so… surreal._

"We were all very different in Hogwarts," Lord Greengrass replied. "People change."

"So if she was right about Sirius' childhood…" Ron started.

"Then she might be right about Pettigrew," Lord Greengrass finished. "Even she wouldn't make up a lie like this, especially because people can check up on it."

"Why would he do this?" Ron asked as he sunk into his chair. "Why keep Pettigrew's body around?"

"I don't know," Lord Greengrass admitted. "Perhaps revenge?"

"Revenge?" Ron asked.

"Pettigrew was behind the death of the Potters, and he also orchestrated Black's incarceration," Lord Greengrass replied. "Perhaps Black wants to torment him."

"He's dead though," Ron stated.

"Indeed," Lord Greengrass said, and then he took in a deep breath. "Black clearly needs help…"

"Yeah…" Ron muttered. _I had no idea that he had this in him._ "Poor Harry… He's going to read this paper in an hour or so. Everyone at Hogwarts will." Ron didn't know why, but his gut twisted a bit for Harry's sake. It was no secret that the students of Hogwarts could be mean little twats, and this was definitely going to cause Harry a lot of grief.

"She was investigating Black," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron blinked at him. _Did he even hear me? Wait… Why would he care about Harry?_ "Ron, what if she found out that he was investing in The Quibbler during her research?"

"That's not possible," Ron shook his head. "I only showed the papers to the investors, and I haven't mentioned The Quibbler being bought by me to anyone. If she found out about it, then it was because someone told her."

"Alright, who knows about your business?" Lord Greengrass said. "Let's make a list, and work down from there."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

This was unbelievable. Utterly unbelievable. Harry slowly put the paper down, and then he looked to his best friends. Both Hermione and Neville were looking at him with sympathy, and if Harry was correct, shock.

"Harry…" Hermione croaked out, and then she looked around the table. Harry followed her gaze, and unsurprisingly, he was being stared at by his House-mates. _What are they staring at?_ Harry felt his face heat up from anger, but he didn't make a sound. Instead, he looked back down at the Daily Prophet. _This is not true. None of this is true._

"Mate, are you alright?" Neville asked, and Harry glared at him.

"Am I alright?" Harry asked scathingly, and Neville blinked at him. "You read this, didn't you?"

"I did," Neville muttered.

"So you already know that I'm not," Harry grit out. "This thing is lying." _Peter Pettigrew is dead. Sirius told me so himself. As did Remus._

"Harry, Neville's on your side," Hermione piped in.

"This thing is lying!" Harry snapped, making everyone around him flinch. Harry shot a look towards the staff table, and he spotted Remus reading his own copy of the Daily Prophet. Before he could think twice, he was already marching towards the D.A.D.A Professor.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione called out, both her and Neville quickly catching up with him. "Harry, people are staring…"

"I don't care!" Harry snapped again.

"Mate, what are you doing?" Neville asked, his eyes darting towards the staff table. "Harry, don't. Not out here."

"This doesn't involve you two," Harry hissed, and then he was standing right in front of Remus. "Is this true?!" Remus looked up from the paper, his rugged features slightly paler than usual.

"Mr. Potter, mind your tone," McGonagall said, a thin-lipped frown on her face. "You are speaking to a Professor." Harry blinked at her, and then he looked at all the teachers on the table. They were just staring at him, some of them frowning, while others giving him sorry looks. Hagrid looked quite angry on his behalf, his own copy of the Daily Prophet was being crushed by his meaty fingers. _Dumbledore is still not back yet. Where is he?_

"Harry, let's go somewhere more private," Remus whispered, his eyes darting towards the staring student body. Harry glared at Remus for a few seconds, and then he gave the man a curt nod. Remus quickly stood up and gestured Harry to follow him, and they began to walk towards the back exit. Harry's eyes landed on Snape's for a second, and much to his surprise, Snape was just staring at him with an expressionless mask. _I bet he's loving this! Hook-nosed git!_

"Is this true?!" Harry demanded the moment they were out of the Great Hall, and then he heard Hermione and Neville close the door behind themselves.

"Harry, you can't believe-" Hermione started, but Remus cut her off by raising his hand. He then looked to Harry with a sorry look, but that only angered Harry even more.

"So it is true!" Harry yelled at Remus. "All of it is true then! My dad, Sirius, and you were bullies! And Pettigrew is still alive! You told me that he was buried on Azkaban Island! You lied to my face!"

"It's more complicated than that, Harry," Remus said gently as he tried to put his hand on Harry's shoulder, but Harry jerked his shoulder away from Remus' hand.

"No, it's not!" Harry bellowed. "You lied to me! What's so complicated about that?!"

"Telling you about Peter would only hurt you," Remus explained, he was having trouble hiding his hurt from Harry's hostile behavior. "I tried to convince Sirius to let Peter go, but he couldn't do it… I'm sorry, Harry. I made him promise to not tell you."

"Why?!" Harry demanded. "You knew that I wanted to see him! You knew that I wanted to see the man who betrayed my parents!"

"It wouldn't have done you any good," Remus replied, and Harry scoffed bitterly. "Seeing him like that… It wouldn't bring you closure. It would just…" Remus trailed off.

"Scar me?" Harry laughed coldly, and Remus blinked at him. "This sickens me! Is this garbage about Sirius tormenting Pettigrew's corpse true?!"

"I… I don't know," Remus admitted slowly. "I've never been to see him."

"I want to talk to Sirius," Harry told Remus. "Today! I want to go see him right now!"

"That's not possible, Harry," Remus sighed, and Harry's hands turned into fists.

"Why?!"

"Because students can't leave Hogwarts without the Headmaster's permission," Hermione piped up, and Harry shot her an angry glare. "Sorry."

"The Headmaster isn't here," Remus said as he rubbed his face.

"Where is Dumbledore then?" Harry asked, and Remus shook his head tiredly.

"On business," Remus replied.

"Order business?!" Harry asked immediately. "You'd know, wouldn't you?! You and Sirius were both a part of the Order, and so was my dad, but you never told me! More secrets!"

"The Order is a secret society, Harry," Neville all but whispered. "They never talk about themselves… Even I didn't know about them until my Gran told me…"

"You knew about this?!" Harry turned on Neville, who went wide-eyed from fright. "You knew about them being in the Order?!"

"Harry, don't yell at Neville," Remus said a little more firmly. "Your friends don't deserve to be screamed at. They're only trying to be here for you."

"I didn't know about Remus or Sirius, I swear," Neville said quickly. "I only know about the Order because my parents were in it…"

"Frank and Alice…" Remus muttered under his breath, his eyes becoming slightly distant. "Yes… I fought alongside them…"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Harry turned back to Remus.

"Some things are best left in the past," Remus sighed, but that wasn't good enough for Harry.

"I've asked you and Sirius about my dad a million times, and you couldn't have told me even a little bit?" Harry asked, his eyes were starting to sting. "Was my mum in the Order too?"

"She was," Remus replied.

"Is that why they were murdered by Voldemort?" Harry asked as he tried to blink away his tears.

"Yes," Remus replied, deciding to keep the reason behind why they were targeted in the first place a secret. The only thing Remus knew for certain was that some prophecy had been made, which in turn had forced both the Potters and the Longbottoms into hiding.

"Was that so hard?" Harry asked bitterly, and all Remus could do was to avert his eyes. _Look at me._ Harry opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What else could he say? What could he possibly ask Remus at this point? _Nothing. He won't tell me a thing about the Order._ So Harry turned around and left, he needed to owl Sirius **right** **now**. He needed to know why Peter Pettigrew wasn't dead yet.

"Harry, please wait…" Remus started, but Harry completely ignored him.

"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione asked as she followed after him, while Neville just stayed behind with Remus.

"My room," Harry replied curtly, and then he walked back into the Great Hall. Every eye in the room darted to him, and when all the chatter stopped, Harry felt his blood boil. _What are you lot staring at? Piss off!_ Harry marched down towards the giant door, all the while ignoring the ever increasing whispers.

"Harry, let's just talk about this," Hermione whispered to him, but he chose to ignore her as well. Instead, he looked towards the Slytherins. Most of them were smirking at him, a few were even laughing outright, but it was Ron's lackeys that caught his attention. They were talking to each other in whispers instead of smirking at him, which he found rather odd. _Of course Ron isn't here. He doesn't need the Headmaster's permission, does he? He can get away with whatever he wants._

"Harry, are you alright?" Ginny asked as she caught up to Harry and Hermione. "Everyone's talking about this tripe on the Daily Prophet."

"Of course they are," Harry scoffed as he exited the Great Hall. "People love gossiping in this school, don't they?"

"Technically, they're only discussing…" Hermione started, but Ginny cleared her throat loudly. "Oh… Sorry…"

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked him. "Did you even eat anything?"

"I need to owl Sirius, and I'm not hungry," Harry replied as he started climbing the stairs.

"Maybe you should calm down before owling Sirius," Hermione suggested, and Harry felt his jaw clench. "Harry, you should think about what you're going to say to him."

"I already know what I'm going to say," Harry grit out. "I'm going to ask him about why he lied to me. And then I'm going to ask him about seeing Pettigrew myself."

"I don't think that that's such a good idea," Hermione said. "Harry, you'll get nothing out of seeing that man."

"I want to look him in the eyes," Harry said coldly. "I want to see what that coward looks like now."

"I agree with Hermione on this," Ginny piped in. "Seeing him will only hurt you."

"When I want advice, I'll ask for it," Harry snapped, making both girls flinch a bit. "Just leave me alone." Hermione and Ginny slowly stopped following him, and Harry took that opportunity to quicken his pace. _I'm seeing Pettigrew one way or another, and from now on, Sirius better tell me everything!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Lunchtime)**_

"So you really can't think of who spoke about Ron's business?" Mary asked her husband, who simply looked to Ron to answer.

"It could only be Sirius, my parents, or Xeno," Ron replied, and she nodded slowly. "My parents would never do that to me, but they can be a little careless sometimes. Sirius is the most likely candidate, especially because he was being investigated by Rita Skeeter-"

"That foul woman," Mary grimaced. "I can't believe that she hasn't been locked up yet. Sirius is just the latest person that she's done this to. Remember what she wrote about us, love?"

"I do," Lord Greengrass said, but he didn't go on. _She 'exposed' something about them as well? What's this bitch's problem?_ "That particular fiasco cost me several business deals."

"And she can just get away with that?" Ron asked.

"She's protected by the Daily Prophet, who eat right out of the Ministry's hands," Lord Greengrass stated, while Mary looked back down at the article.

"Despicable," Mary huffed. "Poor Sirius… I wonder if he's read this."

"He's probably still asleep," Lord Greengrass rolled his eyes. "Mary, let's get everyone together tonight."

"Everyone?" Ron asked.

"Your parents, the Lovegoods, Sirius, and us," Mary replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "We'd get Remus too, but he's at Hogwarts."

"It's good that you're all friends now," Ron smiled a little, and Mary's features softened into a loving look. "And thank you for being there for Sirius, my Lord."

"My husband is softer than he looks, isn't he?" Mary smiled at Ron, and Ron's lips twitched upwards.

"Ahem," Lord Greengrass cleared his throat. "Can we get back to the problem at hand?"

"Which one?" Ron asked.

"Yours," Lord Greengrass said as he threw the Daily Prophet aside. "Mary, did you get the Portkey?"

"It'll be here tomorrow morning," Mary replied, and then she looked back to Ron. "I've ordered you a very nice outfit as well, Ron. You need to look powerful when you walk into Beauxbatons, and your appearance will play a big part in that."

"I see," Ron nodded slowly, he felt a little guilty that she was even buying him clothes for this. "Thank you for doing this for me. I really do appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it," Lord Greengrass said in his calm, yet kind voice.

"Daphne certainly convinced us in her letter, didn't she?" Mary smiled at her husband, who gave a curt nod. _She did? What did she say? She told me that she was just telling them of what had happened._ "How is Daphne, Ron? Are you two getting along?" _Huh? What kind of question is that?_

"We are," Ron replied calmly. "But… We did have a bit of a fight this morning."

"A fight?" Lord Greengrass cocked his eyebrow, while Mary just waited for him to go on.

"She offered to pay for my business," Ron admitted. "And I… I acted like a moron… I know that she was just trying to help, but she wouldn't hear my refusal."

"Why didn't you accept?" Mary asked, and Ron blinked at her. "She has more than enough in her account-"

"A man has his pride," Lord Greengrass interrupted, his pale eyes fixed on Ron. "She should learn that."

"You men and your 'pride'…" Mary sighed out. "This is why witches live longer than wizards."

"Maybe we call it in early for a reason," Ron joked, and Lord Greengrass chuckled.

"Aren't you cheeky?" Mary tried to frown at him, but her lips kept forming a smile. "You'd better make up with my daughter, Ron. Today."

"I will," Ron promised, though he wasn't sure what Mary's real intentions were. _Why is she so interested in my friendship with Daphne?_ "I should also make up with Tori then."

"Tori as well?" Mary asked.

"I'm in charge of the Slytherin first years," Ron told them, and they both listened intently. "Tori wants to be a leader of sorts amongst her peers, but there's someone better suited for that role. I picked him over her, and she looked quite hurt because of it."

"How is this boy better suited than my daughter?" Lord Greengrass asked, and even though he sounded calm, Ron gulped from worry.

"He has better grades, works harder in his classes, he's always willing to learn, and he's putting the House before his own needs," Ron replied. "Tori, on the other hand, keeps getting in trouble. I think she's lost the House thirty odd points in just two weeks."

"I see," Lord Greengrass said. "You did the right thing then, Ron."

"I did?" Ron asked, and both Greengrasses nodded.

"Respect must be earned," Mary stated.

"It shouldn't be given to you because your parents are wealthy," Lord Greengrass added. "This boy has strong leadership qualities, and the fact that you can see that speaks about your own character. You did the right thing, so do not apologize for it. If Astoria wants to be a leader, then she needs to act like it first."

"As for Daphne, you'd better swallow your pride and talk to her," Mary ordered, and Ron nodded. "Make her understand why you are refusing her. She's a smart girl, and she probably knows that your pride is on the line, but when the people she cares about are in trouble, she tends to rely on cold logic over emotions." _She was pretty emotional this morning, but then again, I doubt that they've ever seen her act that way before._

"The Ice-Queen of Slytherin," Ron muttered under his breath, and then he smiled to himself. _People don't understand just how compassionate she is. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have even thought of Madame Maxime._

"Eat up, Ron," Lord Greengrass said. "We've spent enough time neglecting your training today."

"I hope you're ready to lose," Ron smirked, and Lord Greengrass smirked back.

"I hope you're ready to impress me for a change," Lord Greengrass retorted, and while Ron lost his smirk, Mary broke into a hearty chuckle.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Snape's Office – Before Dinner)**_

In the end, Ron had decided to not ask Lord and Lady Greengrass for Daphne's hand in dating. For one, he had too much on his own plate right now. Secondly, they had had a fight this morning and Ron needed to do something about that first. As far as Ron was concerned, they had both acted quite terribly. Ron was rude because he had been too prideful for his own good, and she was overzealous about 'helping' him. And lastly, Ron just didn't feel right about asking Daphne out when Sirius was knee deep in shite.

"How was your day, Ron?" Snape asked as soon as Ron stepped through the fireplace, and Ron turned to see the Potions Master sitting behind his desk. Oddly enough, Snape was smirking to himself.

"It was fine," Ron replied slowly, his eyes narrowing on Snape. "Why do you look so… cheerful?" _Who died?_

"You haven't read the papers?" Snape asked, and Ron took in a deep breath. _Now I get it. He's clearly glad that Sirius' name has been dragged through the mud by Skeeter._

"I read that garbage that they call 'news'," Ron frowned as he took a seat across from Snape. "How is assassinating a random person's character 'news'? Who does this help? Fucking Daily Prophet…"

"It certainly brightened my day," Snape replied, still smirking to himself.

"I'm not even surprised," Ron rolled his eyes. "If I died tomorrow, you'd probably dance on my grave."

"I have certainly entertained the idea, yes," Snape said icily. "Potter has taken the news of his Godfather's doings rather terribly. No one has seen the boy all day."

"What?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded. "Bloody hell… And Remus?"

"Also missing," Snape gave a twisted smile. "Minerva tells me that Potter has sealed himself away in his room, while Remus has taken to working in his Office. I didn't see either of them since breakfast."

"Which explains your face having a seizure," Ron remarked, and Snape's 'smile' got wider. "Isn't Harry important to our plans? Why not get on his good side? Why torment him?"

"Because he is an arrogant brat that nearly killed my students last year," Snape replied, his face returning to normal.

"You hated him long before he did that," Ron pointed out.

"He reminded me of his degenerate father, and after all the stunts that he's pulled over the last two years, I know that he's just like **James Potter** ," Snape said rather menacingly. "Lazy, arrogant, and self-entitled."

"Whatever," Ron shook his head. "I don't care enough about him to argue with you. I'm just saying that keeping him close will help us, and antagonizing him will hinder us. The Headmaster wants Harry at the helm of this ship, and that won't happen if he hates all of us."

"And I would sooner eat my own tongue than to 'follow' that fool," Snape said. "No, it will be you who leads after Albus and I are gone."

"Stop saying that," Ron frowned at the brooding man. "Plus, they won't follow me. I'm starting to slowly understand that. My own bloody sister came to me after I beat Harry yesterday, and she told me to forfeit my win."

"Really?" Snape blinked, and Ron nodded tiredly.

"I'm just… Ron," Ron sighed. "Whereas Harry is the 'Chosen One'. If my own sister can't stand behind me, what makes you think that **anyone** will when the Dark Lord returns? Harry is the one who 'defeated' **him** , and so people will follow Harry simply because of that."

"A fair point," Snape stated. "We'll just have to wait and see then, won't we?"

"Yeah," Ron relaxed into his chair. "By the way, I can't go to Grimmauld Place tomorrow."

"Why?" Snape asked.

"I need to go to France," Ron replied, and Snape cocked an eyebrow at him. "My Quibbler is in some deep shite at the moment, and Madame Maxime is my shovel."

"You're prioritizing your magazine over a Horcrux?" Snape asked.

"We don't even know if Kreacher has any information on it," Ron replied. "And if he does, then it's not going anywhere. Kreacher will still be there next weekend, my 'magazine' will be ruined by then. I have Barnabas Cuffe trying to crawl into my arse, and the sooner I start my advertisement campaign, the better. Plus, we already plan to utilize my Quibbler, remember?"

"Amelia Bones," Snape nodded. "Very well, go to France tomorrow."

"No permission needed?" Ron asked.

"I will convince the other Heads of Houses that Albus has given you permission," Snape replied, and Ron nodded.

"Thank you," Ron said, and the school bell went off immediately after.

"Let's hope that Potter is still trying to starve himself," Snape smirked, but Ron didn't smirk back.

"A dead Harry is not useful to us," Ron stated as he stood up. "And give him a break… Sirius is his Godfather, and the students of this school can be mean bastards. He hasn't done anything to deserve this sort of negative attention."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

"Everyone's talking about it," Millie told him, and he frowned a little. _Bloody vultures._

"How are you taking this?" Pansy asked him, and Ron shrugged.

"Sirius isn't my Godfather," Ron replied. "So I'm definitely doing better than Harry."

"You're not angry on his behalf?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a weak smile.

"I want to smack the shite out of this Skeeter bitch," Ron admitted. "As far as I know, Sirius hasn't done anything to her. She simply wants more readers, and so she's targeting a famous wizard. I mean c'mon, 'Sirius Orion Black Exposed'? Even her title screams that she wants attention." _Damn bitch, going after Sirius like that._

"Trust me, her readers believe everything that she writes," Blaise piped in. "My mother is an avid reader of hers. We've even hosted Skeeter at our house before."

"Really?" Theo asked, and Blaise nodded. "I didn't know that."

"So does Sirius really keep Pettigrew locked up in St. Mungo's?" Tracey asked, and Ron shrugged once again. _I genuinely think so. Why else would Remus be missing?_

"I have no idea," Ron replied. "And if he does, then that's between him and Pettigrew. What's this nosey bitch's problem with it?"

"It's kind of… twisted, isn't it?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah, sort of," Ron replied, he couldn't deny that. "I didn't know that Sirius had this in him."

"No wonder Potter's disappeared," Millie said. "Lord Black is like his father, and now Potter learns these horrible things about his 'father' all at once… I'd also stay out of the public's eye."

"Is that sympathy I hear?" Theo smirked, and Millie frowned at him.

"No," Millie replied. "I said that I can understand his reaction, not that I care about it."

"You're so mean, Millie," Theo chuckled. "I won't lie, I feel a bit bad for Potter." _Huh?_

"Really?"

"No, you don't."

"Liar."

"Oi, ease up," Theo frowned a bit, and his friends just stared at him. "Skeeter has gone after my father as well, so I know from experience how shitty it feels. Remember when Skeeter reported on my father's mistress?"

"Mistress?" Ron asked, while everyone but Tracey nodded.

"It was before Hogwarts started," Theo shrugged. "My father was feeling lonely, so he tried his hand at 'dating' once again. Skeeter caught wind of it, and she turned my father into a joke. He has never tried it again."

"Sorry that we made fun of you for that," Pansy smiled sheepishly, but Theo simply waved a dismissive hand.

"All water under the bridge, my sweet," Theo smiled at her, and Pansy let out a giggle. "But yeah, I feel a bit sorry for Potter. Skeeter is a proper menace, and no one can touch her. She hides behind her 'freedom to report the news' nonsense, and the Ministry always sides with her."

"And after they pull her out of the fire, she writes a glowing article about them," Daphne told Ron, who simply rolled his eyes. "It's about **who** you know with these people, not **what** you know. Rita Skeeter wouldn't know real journalism even if it hit her in the face."

"I'd hit her in the face," Ron grumbled darkly.

"I'll hold her down," Theo sniggered, making Ron smile a bit.

"Longbottom is trying to get your attention," Blaise suddenly pointed out, and Ron looked to see Neville staring at him. Neville then pointed towards the giant door, and Ron nodded in agreement. _A chat in the moonlight? Why Lord Longbottom, I thought that you'd never ask._

"I'll be right back," Ron said, and then he looked to Daphne. "Care to join me, princess?"

"Don't call me that," Daphne frowned a bit, while Ron just sniggered at pulling her leg.

"And what about us?" Tracey asked.

"You lot should stay here," Ron replied, and they blinked at him. "Whenever I bring all of you with me, you waste time antagonizing the Golden Trio. So from now on, I'll just deal with them with one person by my side."

"Whatever, my Lord," Theo shrugged, and Ron ruffled his hair with a grin. "Oi! Arsehole!"

"Let's go already," Daphne said, while Ron tried to annoy Theo again. The others just laughed at Theo, who was trying to smack Ron's wandering hands away.

"Leave him be," Blaise chuckled as he nudged Ron's back. "Don't keep them waiting."

"Right," Ron said as he pulled his hands back, and then he began making his way towards the giant door. The other Slytherins shot him quick looks, and once they notice Neville, Hermione, and Ginny heading out as well, they frowned to themselves. Ron simply ignored them, he had the Triumvirate watching his back after all.

"What do you think they want?" Daphne asked him as she moved to his left side.

"No idea," Ron admitted. "It's not like I can help Harry with this, the guy is hiding in his room."

"How do you know that?" Daphne asked him, and Ron blinked at her.

"Snape told me," Ron replied truthfully, and Daphne nodded slowly.

"So he's not angry with you anymore?" Daphne asked.

"He's always angry," Ron pointed out with a laugh. "But no, I don't think so. What about you?"

"What about me?" Daphne asked as they stepped outside into the Courtyard. "Wait, hold onto that thought." _Right, we can't be seen arguing in front of other people._

"Did you hear about Sirius?" Neville asked as soon as he and his companions stepped into the moonlight.

"I read the paper, yes," Ron sighed, and both Hermione and Neville nodded in understanding.

"Does **she** need to be here?" Ginny asked, her eyes fixed on Daphne.

"Do **you** need to be here?" Ron asked back, and Ginny glared at him. "Daphne stays by my side, and that's final." Neville nodded once again, while Hermione and Ginny just stared at Daphne.

"I know I'm beautiful, but please stop staring," Daphne smirked at them, and Ron had to bite his tongue in order to not laugh.

"Maybe we should send the girls away?" Ron looked to Neville, who smiled weakly.

"Maybe," Neville said, and Hermione smacked his arm and glared at him. "Sorry."

"Do you believe what this Rita Skeeter wrote about Sirius?" Hermione asked Ron, who quickly rubbed the back of his neck. _At least she's not glaring at me. What was that about last night anyway?_

"I have it on good authority that Sirius, and his friends, were indeed troublemakers," Ron replied.

"Whose good authority?" Ginny asked quickly.

"Lord Greengrass," Ron replied, and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't be rude, Ginny. Lord Greengrass and Sirius are actually friends, even if Lord Greengrass won't admit it openly."

"It's true," Daphne joined in. "My mother has informed me that Lord Black often eats lunch at our Manor."

"I even ran into him last week," Ron told them, and something flashed behind Neville and Hermione's eyes.

"Did you see him today?" Hermione asked.

"Nope," Ron replied. "Though I wish that I had, he's probably not taking this all too well. How's Harry?"

"Locked away in our room," Neville replied. "He put some Locking Charm on the door, and McGonagall forbid us from breaking in. She plans to talk to him after dinner."

"Send him our sympathies," Daphne said, her expression completely neutral.

"Your 'sympathies'?" Hermione asked. "What 'sympathies'?"

"I'm trying to be polite," Daphne replied coldly. "I may not like Potter, but he is clearly having a hard time today."

"Thank you, I'll make sure to tell him," Neville smiled at her, and she gave him a polite nod in return. Neville then looked to Ron, who was smiling at him for being so civil. "He'll probably be out for breakfast tomorrow, and you can talk to him then."

"I won't be around tomorrow," Ron said, and Ginny blinked at him. _Plus, I see no need to talk to him. Though I would love to see Sirius in order to find out how he's handling this._

"Why?" Ginny asked. "You don't have work tomorrow."

"I will be in France," Ron replied, and all three Gryffindors gaped at him. "Please tell Harry that I'm sorry about this, and that Rita Skeeter is a bitch." Neville let out a weak chuckle, Hermione scowled at his language, while Ginny just kept gaping at him.

"France?" Ginny repeated. "Don't you need Dumbledore's permission?"

"Chess related business, and I already have the Headmaster's permission," Ron lied, and they all slowly nodded.

"Another Tournament?" Neville asked, and Ron nodded.

"About the Dueling Club…" Hermione started, but Neville quickly cleared his throat. "What, Neville? Don't be rude." _What about the Dueling Club?_

"Is this the best time to discuss this?" Neville asked her, but she simply moved her hands to her hips.

"Discuss what?" Ron asked. _Is she going to ask me to give Harry the win as well? If so, then she'd better bolt right after._

"How long have you been practicing Wandless Magic?" Hermione asked quickly, and Ron couldn't help but detect a hint of anger in her voice.

"Since his first year," Daphne lied, and Ron barely kept his composure. _Why would she lie about that?_

"First year…" Hermione muttered, her eyes widening a bit. Even Neville and Ginny looked rather impressed, and Ron realized that Daphne was trying to make him look even more powerful than he was.

"Ron held back quite a lot yesterday," Daphne went on, while the Gryffindors just blinked at Ron. "Trust me, if you knew what he is truly capable of, you'd have never entered the arena."

"Is this true?" Neville asked in a whisper.

"It is what it is," Ron shrugged with an easy smile, and the Gryffindors each had a different reaction. Neville looked to be in awe of Ron, Ginny just stared at him as if she didn't even know him, while Hermione looked utterly crestfallen.

"Good on you, mate," Neville patted Ron's upper right arm.

"Thanks, Neville," Ron gave him a wink, something that made Neville snort.

"I'm going to head back inside," Hermione said rather quietly, and then she turned around and left.

"Hermione, wait up!" Ginny called, and then she quickly followed after Hermione.

"What was that?" Ron asked, though he had a pretty good idea. _She's feeling jealous of me. Well, she shouldn't. She should instead appreciate her life as it is. I'd trade anything to have her ignorance._

"Sorry about that," Neville sighed in defeat. "Hermione's a little too competitive sometimes… Don't let that bother you."

"Nothing wrong with a little competitiveness," Ron said genuinely. "I respect her need to be the best."

"I'll let her know," Neville chuckled tiredly, and then he gave Daphne a parting nod. "I'll see you guys around." And just like that, he too was gone. Ron looked to Daphne once Neville was out of sight, and she smiled at him.

"First year?" Ron asked, and she simply shrugged.

"There is power in what people believe," Daphne told him, and Ron cocked his eyebrow. "The next time they go up against you, they'll be scared of what you are 'truly capable of'."

"I understand," Ron nodded, and then he smiled back. "You're not mad at me anymore?"

"No," Daphne replied. "I'm sorry for insulting you, and attacking you. I just got really frustrated because we just had a conversation about you accepting help yesterday. I kind of forgot how prideful you can be, which by the way, isn't always a bad thing. I shouldn't have thrown my wealth in your face like that, it was unbecoming."

"You meant well," Ron said as he held his gloved hand out, and Daphne took it with both of hers. "I shouldn't be so rude to you, especially when you're only trying to help me. If this thing with Madame Maxime doesn't work out, then we can discuss the details of your plan."

"I'm glad that we settled that," Daphne said, and Ron pulled up her hands and kissed her left one.

"Did anything else happen today?" Ron asked.

"Actually yes," Daphne replied, and Ron waited for her to go on. "First, Finnegan tried to start a 'movement' against you and your brothers."

"My brothers?" Ron asked.

"The twins Hexed his eyebrows off last night," Daphne giggled, and Ron let out a laugh. _Nice!_ "Madam Pomfrey regrew them, and then Finnegan tried to rile up the Gryffindors."

"And?" Ron asked.

"And it failed," Daphne replied. "First it was this thing with Lord Black, and then the girls in his year told him to shut up."

"Lavender and her flock?" Ron asked.

"Your study group is quite loyal," Daphne smirked, and Ron smiled to himself. _Good._ "Mostly everyone agrees that Finnegan should have been disqualified outright, not to mention that he has no tact or skill in negotiation. All he's capable of doing is making noise."

"I thought he and Lavender were an item," Ron said, but Daphne just waved a dismissive hand.

"That stopped when the older Gryffindors started judging her," Daphne told him, and Ron nodded. "Hmmm, what else happened? Oh, that's right. My sister was rather upset with you. She told me that you picked some stranger over her."

"Great," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I told her that she needs to learn to follow before she can learn to lead," Daphne said, and Ron blinked at her. "I might have made it sound like it was one of father's lessons, and she thinks that you're trying to groom her. So, that's all settled as well."

"Wow, thanks for that," Ron grinned. "That's one less problem that I need to deal with."

"Actually, I might need your help very soon," Daphne said.

"Name it," Ron said.

"The Triumvirate spoke with Theo, myself, and Malfoy today," Daphne went on, and Ron listened intently. "We need to get them into shape. They not only embarrassed our House on Thursday, but they also failed to meet their quota this week."

"Shite," Ron frowned a little. "The Triumvirate aren't angry with you, are they?"

"They were… displeased," Daphne replied. "Theo and I will be spending more time with the second years, and if they still don't get in line, then I might need you to scare them a little."

"Scare them?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"You can be pretty scary sometimes," Daphne smirked, and Ron nodded slowly. "Don't worry, everyone knows that you only turn scary when someone wrongs you. So, can I count on you?"

"Of course," Ron replied, and Daphne smiled at him. "I'll scare the shite out of them if they don't behave."

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Past Dinnertime)**_

"Here you are," Tom the bartender said as he started putting their drinks on the table. "And a cold water for Pandora."

"Thank you, Tom," Pandora smiled at him, and he gave her a firm nod before looking to Sirius.

"Yours is on the house," Tom said to Sirius, who was still just staring at the Daily Prophet article. "None of us believe that tripe, mate. I'm barring Skeeter from this day on."

"Thank you, Tom," Sebastian said, and Tom made his way back downstairs.

"Sirius, stop reading that please," Arthur said gently, but Sirius just ignored him. _He's been reading it for the last twenty minutes._ Sebastian reached forward and ripped the article away from Sirius.

"That fucking bitch," Sirius suddenly hissed, his face twisting in anger. "She was playing me the entire time!"

"Playing you?" Molly asked.

"I ran into her a few days ago," Sirius replied, his hands traveling up to massage his temples. "We had a few drinks, and then…" he trailed off. _He slept with her? Did she snoop around his house? Is that how Barnabas Cuffe learned about The Quibbler?_

"How much of this is true?" Sebastian asked, and Sirius blinked at him. "We need to salvage your reputation, Black."

"She's not done with you yet," Mary added, and everyone just stared at her.

"She always writes a follow up article to accompany her main pieces," Molly explained, and everyone looked to her.

"Molly is a fan of hers," Arthur told them, and Molly quickly shook her head.

"Not anymore," Molly said firmly. "The gall of this woman… She even disrespected the Order in that article. 'Rebel Organization'…"

"You really didn't get a chance to read that today?" Xeno asked Sirius.

"No, I didn't," Sirius told them again. "I was at a friend's place all day." _Another woman, you mean._ "Harry and Remus have probably read this too. Fuck me, this is bad…"

"Poor Harry," Molly sighed out. "That poor boy doesn't need this sort of thing in his life right now."

"Are you talking about the article, or me?" Sirius asked, his tone turning hostile.

"We're all friends here, Sirius," Pandora said calmly. "I'm sure Molly meant the article."

"Of course I did," Molly defended herself. "I just meant that kids can be… mean. I'll owl Percy and ask him to keep his eyes on Harry."

"Thanks," Sirius said, his voice piping down. "What do I do about this?"

"I suggest that you stop these visits to St. Mungo's," Sebastian replied, and Sirius blinked at him.

"I'm not doing-"

"Black, they will have people looking out for you," Sebastian frowned slightly.

"Then I'll floo in," Sirius said stubbornly.

"This may surprise you, but these people can also go inside the hospital," Sebastian said scathingly, and then he looked to the others. "Talk some sense into this fool."

"Sirius, why even keep him around?" Arthur asked, and Sirius looked down at his pint. "Isn't it a little… grim?"

"You should let them euthanize Pettigrew's body," Molly suggested, and Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not letting them kill my friend," Sirius spoke to his pint, and everyone exchanged slow looks. _That's healthy._

"He's gone, Sirius," Pandora said.

"What's left behind isn't him," Xeno added. "We are our souls, and Pettigrew's soul is no longer with us. You are only hurting yourself by trying to grasp at something that is no longer in reach."

"And boasting to it?" Molly asked, she looked quite disturbed. "Sirius, can't you see how wrong that is? What would Harry think?" Sirius didn't reply to that, instead he just stared at his untouched drink.

"You are a parent now, Sirius," Mary said gently. "Parents need to put their children first."

"This man betrayed Mr. Potter's parents, he'll want to see him," Sebastian added. "Do you want him to see something like this?"

"No," Sirius shook his head weakly.

"Then you should let him go," Arthur smiled weakly, his free hand rubbing Sirius' back.

"I don't know how," Sirius looked up, his eyes looked decades older than his body. "Have any of you been to Azkaban? And I mean inside it, not that tourist shite." _I have._

"I spent a month in lockup before my trial," Sebastian said, and Sirius looked to him as if they were comrades in arms.

"Then you know," Sirius said softly.

"I know," Sebastian nodded, and he felt his wife's hand move onto his thigh. _I'm fine, love. I don't have my nightmares anymore._

"I spent ten years there," Sirius rubbed his face. "Ten fucking years… The screaming never stops, the Dementors turn that place into a tundra, and the food… I had to survive on maggoty bread and… The Dementors… They feed you the dead inmates sometimes… Just because they can…"

"Merlin," Molly whimpered, her face losing all of its blood.

"The Ministry Officials never go inside, and for good reason," Sirius went on. "Do you know how I survived that? I thought about my friends. Remus, James, Lily, and even Peter. They kept me going… And Harry. I thought about Harry every fifth minute. You are asking me to let go of something that kept me sane all those years, and I don't know how to do it."

"You're losing one friend, but you have so many more now," Arthur said as he put his arm around Sirius. "We're always here for you, Sirius, you have to know that. As for Petti… Peter… He's gone. You have to let him go for your own sake, and for Harry's. No child should see death, and that boy has seen more than enough already."

"You can't let Harry see what's left of Pettigrew," Molly said as firmly as she could, she was still quite shaken by Sirius' words. Oddly enough, all she wanted to do right now was to cook Sirius a proper meal. She even felt horrible for Sebastian right now.

"He's at Hogwarts," Sirius sighed.

"But he won't be there forever," Pandora said calmly.

"And if he gets the Headmaster's permission, he'll come down much earlier," Xeno added.

"Dumbledore would never allow Harry to see Peter," Sirius said, but Sebastian could see that the man was beginning to break. _He needs a light push, and I know just how to do it._

"Would that have stopped you? Or James Potter?" Sebastian asked, and Sirius' face fell.

"No," Sirius realized, he knew what had to be done. As much as it hurt him to let his childhood friend die, he'd always put Harry first. It's what a parent was supposed to do, and Sirius knew that Remus would do the same. "Next weekend… I'll go down to St. Mungo's… I'll see it done…"

"You're doing the right thing," Arthur smiled in a rather loving manner, and Sirius sniffled and cleared his watery eyes.

"Look at me," Sirius chuckled mirthlessly, and then he sniffled again. "Crying like a ten year old girl…"

"Letting tears out is good for you, otherwise they poison your brain," Xeno said in a sagely manner, and everyone looked to him. "It's true, just ask my wife."

"It is," Pandora smiled lovingly at Xeno, while everyone else just decided to let it go. _I've never met a stranger man in my life._

"Why don't we finish up here and go back to the Burrow?" Molly asked, shooting Sirius a motherly smile. "There's Sunday Pot Roast back at home, and I'm sure that your 'friend' didn't feed you today."

"She 'fed' me something else," Sirius joked, though his voice proved that he was still upset.

"You really can't help yourself, can you?" Sebastian asked, he had to force his mouth to not smile.

"No," Sirius replied, his lips twitching up weakly.

"Drink up, mate, and then let's get some food in you," Arthur smiled at Sirius, all the while patting his back. _I still need to find out who spoke about Ron's business. It's the real reason why I called for this meeting._

"There is one more thing that we need to discuss," Sebastian said, and everyone looked to him.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Is it about Ron?" Molly asked quickly, and Sebastian nodded. "Is he hurt? Did something happen with his condition?"

"Nothing like that, Molly," Mary smiled at the suddenly jittery witch, who relaxed considerably after Mary's assurance.

"His business is in trouble," Sebastian said, his eyes traveling to the Lovegoods. "The Quibbler is in trouble."

"It is?" Xeno asked, his voice hitching slightly. "What… What's happened?"

"Someone broke their investor's agreement and talked about The Quibbler undergoing management," Sebastian told them. "Barnabas Cuffe caught wind of it, and now he's searching for Ron. The man wants to know who stole The Quibbler out from under him."

"But more than that, the old goat has used his connections to stonewall Ron's advertisement campaign," Mary took over, and everyone listened intently. Even Sirius had stopped sniffling in order to pay attention. "Ron doesn't have the funds to seek outside help, and without the campaign, the costs won't justify the results. The Quibbler **will** go broke if more people don't subscribe to it."

"When did this happen?" Pandora asked.

"He found out on Thursday, and he's trying to handle it," Sebastian replied.

"He needs our help?" Molly asked, and when Sebastian shook his head, she looked rather dejected. _Why doesn't she just write to him already? Weasleys… They're all so damn stubborn._

"Handle it how?" Sirius asked. "If the pup wants money, I've got plenty to give. What's mine is his."

"He doesn't think that way," Mary sighed. "If he did, then we'd have stepped in ourselves. Ron doesn't want anyone's money, he instead wants to fix this himself. 'My business, my responsibility', that's what he said."

"Doesn't that sound just like him, Arthur?" Molly asked, there was obvious pride in her voice.

"It does," Arthur smiled a bit, and then he looked to Sebastian. "What's Ronnie doing about this? And who talked?" _Straight to the point, I like it._

"Ron will be traveling to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic tomorrow in order to seek out Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of the institution," Sebastian replied, and everyone went wide-eyed. "She and Ron are friends, but more importantly, they are allies. With her connections, Ron plans-"

"The pup got in with the Headmistress of Beauxbatons?" Sirius interrupted. "The school full of Veelas? That glorious little-"

"Shhh," Molly shushed, and then she looked to Sebastian. "Ronnie is really friends with someone like that?"

"He has a habit of seeking out powerful allies," Mary smirked, and Molly blinked at her. _Ease up on the pride, love. His parents still have trouble with his sorting._

"She has connections in the Media," Sebastian restarted. "With her help, he'll be able to run an advertisement campaign without Barnabas Cuffe catching on."

"Why is it so important to hide this?" Xeno asked slowly, and Sebastian blinked at him.

"Because Cuffe will try to sink his business," Sebastian replied, his eyes fixed on Xeno. _Don't tell me…_ "It was you?"

"What was him?" Sirius asked, his eyes darting between Xeno and Sebastian.

"Xeno?" Arthur and Molly asked together, while Pandora just stared at her husband.

"I didn't think that it would cause this much trouble," Xeno said weakly, his eyes passing between people. _At least Ron and I were close to the real target._

"You told Cuffe?" Mary asked, and then she looked to Pandora. "Did you know about this, Pandora?"

"No," Pandora replied, her eyes still fixed on Xeno. "Love, why did you talk about The Quibbler to the competition?"

"It wasn't really like that," Xeno replied with a dim voice. "It's just that the Rookery is undergoing construction, and since we're staying at the Burrow, I wanted the owls to stop harassing Molly and Arthur because of me."

"Owls? What owls?" Sebastian asked. _This should be good._

"Those barmy birds were from this Barnabas Cuffe fellow?" Molly asked, and Xeno nodded.

"He wanted to know why I rejected his offer," Xeno replied. "I didn't reply at first because of the agreement, but he kept sending the owls. Eventually, I told him that I had sold The Quibbler to someone else, and that he needed to stop harassing me. I never once mentioned Ron's name, I swear." _Merlin, I could honestly reach across the table and slap him right now._

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused for my apprentice?" Sebastian hissed, and Mary quickly put a calming hand on his upper arm. _Damn idiot! Ron put every Knut that he's earned into this!_

"I… I didn't think that it would…" Xeno mumbled, he looked genuinely devastated.

"Xeno… Mate…" Sirius muttered, he looked both confused and shocked at the same time.

"Ron really doesn't need our help tomorrow?" Arthur asked, deciding that it was better to ignore what had already happened.

"No, he can handle Madame Maxime," Mary replied for her husband, who was still glaring at Xeno. "But once he finds out that Xenophilius was the leak-"

"He'll be angry," Pandora finished, and Mary nodded. "Husband, once he comes back from France, you and I will both speak with him. And we will apologize for putting him through this."

"I should be the only one who apologizes," Xeno started, but Pandora simply shook her head.

"We will both do it," Pandora said firmly, and Sebastian eyed her critically. _She plans to be there in order to 'calm' Ron down. If I was him, I'd fire Xenophilius in a heartbeat. The man broke his contract, and not only that, but he nearly sank the goddamn ship as well._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Breakfast)**_

"He literally owled the man?" Ron repeated, and once again Lord Greengrass nodded. _Are you fucking kidding me?!_

"In his defense, he's never really been part of a business before," Mary said, and Ron blinked at her.

"And I have?" Ron asked, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Let me guess, he probably thought that it was the right thing to do."

"He did mention that, yes," Lord Greengrass replied. "He didn't want your parents to be harassed because of him, and he felt that Cuffe deserved to know why his offer had been rejected. Personally, I think that you should fire him."

"I'm not firing anyone," Ron said quickly, and Lord Greengrass nodded in understanding.

"It's your business, so it's your call," Lord Greengrass said. "And for what it's worth, he is sorry."

"His sorry doesn't do shite for me," Ron grit out, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck. "I… I'll talk to him once I've calmed down… I need to get this business sorted first anyway."

"Your suit is here," Mary told him. "It's in your room. Get dressed, and then we'll take you to the Ministry. Your Portkey should be ready by now." _Right._ Ron stood up at that, and he gave Lord and Lady Greengrass a grateful nod.

"Thank you again for all of this," Ron started, but Lady Greengrass waved a dismissive hand.

"You're one of us, remember?" Mary smiled at him, and he managed a smile in return. "Now off you go. We'll be by the fireplaces."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Mary sure knew how to pick a good suit, even Ron could tell that much. His new grey suit hugged his body rather snuggly, and just as Daphne had taught him, he only did the top button up. On top of that, Mary had even gotten him a light brown trench coat that reached his knees. He felt both warm and confident in his new outfit, which was clearly Mary's goal. As he stepped into the Greeting Room, he spotted Mary and Lord Greengrass talking to each other.

"Ron!" Mary beamed at him, her eyes quickly taking in his appearance. "Look at him, Sebastian! Isn't he the most handsome young man that you've ever seen?!" Ron blushed at that, especially because Lord Greengrass was smirking at him.

"So handsome," Lord Greengrass teased, which in turn made Ron's ears burn.

"Am I wearing this properly?" Ron asked, and Mary walked up to him in order to check. "Why Muggle clothes, by the way?"

"This suit and coat are Burberry, Ron," Mary told him, but he had no idea what that meant.

"Is that a type of material?" Ron asked, and Mary blinked at him.

"It's a brand, Ron," Lord Greengrass informed him, and Ron nodded slowly. _Now that I've embarrassed myself and every Weasley that's ever lived, shall we head out?_ "A British brand to be more specific. It'll definitely catch people's eyes, and that's what we want."

"Right," Ron nodded, and then he looked to Mary. "So, am I wearing this right? Daphne taught me to only do up the top button when my suit has two buttons in total."

"It looks perfect," Mary said as she fixed his black tie to the center of his white shirt. "Do you like how snug it is? It's called a slim-fit, and with your height and build, it looks very appealing."

"Should I be worried?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Mary shot her husband a playful smirk.

"Don't mind my husband, Ron, he's always been the possessive sort," Mary chuckled as she turned her attention back to him. _Possessive? Is that where Daphne gets it? You did this to her?!_ "Don't do up the coat, alright? Let it hang open, but keep your suit buttoned up."

"Understood," Ron nodded once again, and Mary smiled at her handiwork.

"Let's get going then," Lord Greengrass said, and both Ron and Mary made their way towards the fireplace. Lord Greengrass opened a connection to the Ministry, and all three of them stepped through the green flames and into the Ministry's atrium.

"Stay close, Ron," Mary said as they began to navigate the crowd, and Ron did as he was told.

"Once you're done with your business, take the Portkey back to the Ministry," Lord Greengrass instructed. "Try to get back before dark please, or your mother will slit my throat."

"I understand," Ron said, he could actually see that happening. _I wonder if she's still upset with me. Probably. We Weasleys tend to hold onto our anger. Or is it the Prewett in me that acts like that? Dad isn't exactly a vindictive person, and he certainly hates confrontations. Whereas mum has quite the temper, just like us kids._

"Ron, are you listening?" Mary called, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Ron apologized.

"Come straight to the Manor after you're done," Mary repeated. "Xenophilius and Pandora want to speak with you, as do your parents."

"Right," Ron nodded as they got into the elevator.

"Try to be understanding please," Mary said gently, and Ron gave her a slow nod. _I'll try._

"Level six please," Lord Greengrass said to some random wizard, and the man clicked the button. Mary quickly held onto her husband, while Ron grabbed onto a hanging handle. The elevator started with a jerk, and then it sped up far too quickly. And then, it slammed to a stop. _It wouldn't surprise me if this fucking elevator has a mortality rate._

"Ghastly contraption," Mary frowned as they got out of the elevator, while Ron and Lord Greengrass smirked at her.

"Welcome to the Department of Magical Transportation," a woman's voice rang out from the ceiling, and Ron looked around himself.

"It's an Announcement Charm," Lord Greengrass told him, and Ron nodded with an impressed smile. _I should learn it, and then use it to call Theo a twat every time he enters our room._ "We need to head towards the Portkey Office." With that, Lord Greengrass began to guide the way. Ron and Mary followed after him quietly, and Ron took the opportunity to look around the place.

It was surprisingly busy for a Sunday, and Ron knew why. The Gaia Project meant that people were constantly traveling between this Ministry to the one in Albania, which meant that this entire Department was currently overworked. His father had told him in a letter that he himself was spending hours of overtime handling the books, and that every single Department was equally as strained as this one. Oddly enough however, Ron quite enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the workforce. It felt like the building itself was alive, and that each room was a World of its own.

"In here, Ron," Lord Greengrass said as he opened the door of the Portkey Office, and Ron stepped inside with Mary by his side. He immediately spotted dozens of people waiting in line in front of a barred counter, and a portly old witch working behind it. There were dozens of cubicles towards the right side of the room, and each one was currently occupied by a busy worker. There was loud talking, the sound of feet shuffling, and a rather pungent smell in the air.

"Someone vomited recently," Lord Greengrass pointed out, while Mary covered her nose with a white handkerchief. "Let's get in line."

"Is it always this busy, or is it just because of this Gaia Project?" Ron asked as they stepped into the back of the line.

"I'd imagine the Project is behind this," Lord Greengrass replied. "But it does get this busy without it. Wizards and witches like to travel, and Portkey is the easiest option despite its drawbacks."

"You mean nausea that threatens to turn you inside out?" Ron joked, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"You get used to it," Lord Greengrass smiled at him.

"You're Ronald Weasley!" a witch suddenly yelled, and Lord Greengrass stepped out of the way to reveal a pale, heart-shape faced witch with blonde white curly hair.

"Hello," Ron smiled in a friendly manner, while Lord and Lady Greengrass frowned at the witch for yelling so loudly. _Another fan? My word, I certainly have a fair few these days. It kind of feels nice._

"You really are," the witch beamed, her dark twinkling eyes fixed on him. And then, her white blonde curly hair turned light pink and straight. _What the fuck?!_

"A Metamorphmagus," Lord Greengrass said, and the witch blushed a bit.

"Sorry about that," she giggled, her eyes still fixed on Ron. "Can I give you a quick hug?"

"Pardon?" Mary asked, while Ron shrugged.

"Sure," Ron smiled, the witch was pretty enough to warrant one.

"Tonks, stop harassing people," came a familiar voice, and Ron's smile widened. Madam Roberts stepped into view, her signature scowl in place. "Don't you have work to do? Papers to file?"

"Sorry, Madam," the witch named Tonks deflated a bit, and her hair turned a sad shade of blue.

"That's bloody wicked," Ron couldn't help but grin, and the witch gave him a quick wink. _I must learn it._ "How do you do that?"

"She's a Metamorphmagus," Lord Greengrass told Ron, and then he looked to Madam Roberts. "How have you been, Madam Roberts?"

"Fine," Madam Roberts replied curtly, her frown still fixed on Tonks. "Go, now."

"Yes, Madam," Tonks said, and then she looked to Ron. "I'll see you around then. Oh, I'm Sirius Black's cousin by the way." _What? Really? He has cousins?_ "Once removed, anyway. Thank you for what you did for him, my mother and I are eternally grateful." With that, Tonks quickly left the room. _Wait! I have questions!_

"Sorry about her," Madam Roberts looked to Ron, but he just smiled at her. "She's loud, clumsy, and has no tact. But she is also one of my best recruits."

"Loud, clumsy, and has no tact… That's high praise coming from you," Ron joked, but Madam Roberts just stared at him. "Oddly enough, I have missed that dead stare of yours."

"Ron, manners," Mary said, though she sounded quite amused.

"And I have **not** missed that sharp tongue of yours," Madam Roberts shot back. "How are you, Ronald?"

"Quite well," Ron replied, and then he remembered the Dueling Club. "By the way, we're holding a Dueling Club at Hogwarts this year, and I managed to secure the highest rank by winning all of my ranking matches."

"Is that so?" Madam Roberts cocked an eyebrow, and Ron gave her a nod. "Congratulations are in order then."

"Thank you," Ron smiled, his chest puffing out a bit. "And thank you for your tutelage, however brief it was. It really did help me a lot. I'm still doing the Circuit Training."

"Good," Madam Roberts said, her frown being replaced by a very weak smile. "And are you still refraining from eating sweets?"

"No," Ron replied, and her 'smile' disappeared. "I have no one to tell me off, so I've turned a bit lazy."

"Which goes to say that the offer still stands," Lord Greengrass joined in, and Madam Roberts blinked at him. "The contract would be the same, and you'd be able to train a champion just like you wanted to. Just like you promised to." Madam Roberts stared at Lord Greengrass for a few seconds, and then she looked to Ron. _Is she considering it?_

"I won't lie, I have thought about it since our lunch together," Madam Roberts confessed, her amber eyes fixed on Ron's. _PLEASE SAY YES! I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!_

"I have no intention of backing away from my Dueling training," Ron pointed out. "Wouldn't it be **safer** if you could supervise my progress?"

"Ease up on the sell," Madam Roberts said, her lips twitching up for a second. "I suppose we can discuss it next Saturday, if you are free that is. I can come by the Manor." Ron's face split into a grin, one that made Mary chuckle into her hand.

"Come by for lunch, and we can work out the details," Lord Greengrass said, and Madam Roberts gave him a curt nod. "Just out of curiosity, why are you in the Portkey Office?"

"Trouble in Albania," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron's grin fell a bit. _Dumbledore is in Albania. He's safe, right?_ "But it's been handled. I will see you on Saturday then. Goodbye."

"Bye," Ron said as she turned to leave, and just like that, she was gone. "Yes!" _FUCK YES! I can't believe this! I'm so fucking lucky!_

"Volume," Mary laughed, and then she held onto Ron's right arm. "This day is already working in your favor. I'm very glad for you, Ron."

"Let's move up," Lord Greengrass smiled at Ron, and then he patted Ron's back. "We'll get her back, Ron. Don't doubt it for a second. I'll double her pay."

"Thank you, my Lord," Ron smiled at the pale man, and he had to fight the urge to hug the man. "Any advice for getting Madame Maxime to help me?"

"If all else fails, guilt her," Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron blinked at him.

"How am I supposed to guilt her?" Ron asked.

"Your condition," Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron was rather taken aback. "Mention it in slight passing… She's a clever woman, she'll understand that she made matters a hundred times worse because of her Veela scheme. She also happens to love students, and knowing that she hurt a student, regardless of their school, will weigh her down. She'll break, trust me."

"That seems rather… cruel… to me," Ron admitted.

"In business, emotions are deadweight," Lord Greengrass told him.

"But if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then you don't have to," Mary assured him, and Ron nodded to himself.

"I'll… I'll see what happens," Ron said, he really didn't want to play such an underhanded trick with Madame Maxime. _Making her think that she's responsible for my brain-damage is just cruel, not to mention a straight up lie. If I remember correctly, the Entity managed to heal the damage caused to my mind during the Tournament._

* * *

 _ **Fifteen Minutes Later**_

"So you're taking this Portkey to… Wow, right outside Beauxbatons?" the portly witch asked, her tired eyes scanning the documents again.

"I am," Ron replied.

"He will also be taking it back here today," Mary added, and portly witch nodded before putting the papers down. "Follow me." Ron and the Greengrasses followed the witch towards the right side of the room, and once she opened the sealed door for them, they all stepped through. "Just in the back here."

"There's another room back there?" Ron asked as he followed after the witch.

"Of course, handsome," the witch chuckled, and Mary nudged Ron from behind with a mischievous smile. "Right in here." With that, the witch opened the backroom door and led them inside. It was dimly lit, spacious, and there were several buckets next to the spots marked with the Department of Transportation seals. "Just wait here, and I'll bring you your Portkey." With that, the witch went back out of the room.

"So this is it," Lord Greengrass said. "How do you feel?"

"Confident, but slightly nervous," Ron replied truthfully.

"You can do this, Ron," Mary cupped both of his cheeks. "Be polite, be charming, but most of all, don't give an inch."

"I understand," Ron smiled, and she leaned up and kissed his forehead. _She smells really nice._

"Be safe please," Mary said, and then she stepped back.

"When am I not?" Ron joked.

"Whenever you are awake," Lord Greengrass quipped, and then he got rather serious. "If the Veela students start using their allures around you, tell the Headmistress immediately. Promise me that."

"I promise," Ron said with a firm nod, and then shockingly, Lord Greengrass pulled him into a quick hug.

"Come back in one piece, my boy," Lord Greengrass said as he patted Ron's back, and just like that, the hug was over.

"Now I'm getting nervous," Ron blinked at them. "I'll be fine, I swear. I'll Portkey there, get the job done, and then be home in time for a late afternoon snack."

"I'll tell the House-Elves to stock up our larder then," Mary smiled lovingly. "Oh wait, drink this after you land." Mary then took out a vial of Anti-Nausea Potion from her purse, and she tucked it into Ron's trench coat pocket.

"Here we are," the portly witch said as she re-entered the room. Ron noticed that she was carrying a worn out ring in her palm, one that was resting on a white handkerchief. "Please step onto the sign."

"Alright," Ron said, and then he quickly stepped onto the sign on his right.

"This is very simple," the witch told him, and Ron listened intently. "The moment your skin touches the Portkey, it will activate. Make sure that you keep it wrapped with this handkerchief until you need to use it. Simply wrap it up, and then put it in your inner pocket or something. It only holds two charges, and once they're used up, it's useless. So don't touch it by mistake."

"Understood," Ron nodded, and then the witch carefully handed Ron the ring and the handkerchief.

"Whenever you are ready, simply touch the ring with your uncovered hand," the witch said, and then she stepped back.

"I'll see you both soon," Ron promised the Greengrasses, and they waved him off. _Let's do this._ Ron then put his left index finger on the Portkey, and he immediately felt like he was being pulled by the naval with a meat-hook. He felt like the whole World was spinning around him so fast that it had become a blur, and then, he landed harshly on solid ground.

"Fuck me," Ron groaned, his back resting on a bed of grass. He felt a little nauseas, and so he reached into his pocket and took out the vial of Anti-Nausea Potion. Ron quickly uncorked it and drank it down, and he felt his stomach settle as the sweet Potion did its work. Ron then stood up and patted down his clothes, making sure to check if his wand and Gringotts pouch were still there. _Alright, where's the Portkey?_

Ron looked around himself, and he spotted both the handkerchief and the worn out ring lying side-by-side on the ground. He quickly grabbed the handkerchief, and using that, he wrapped up the Portkey carefully before pocketing it. _Right, now where do I go from here?_ Ron looked behind himself and noticed that there was a cobbled pathway leading towards a massive golden gate, and he smiled in satisfaction. _Beauxbatons._

"Here I come, Veelas!" Ron grinned as he fixed up his suit and coat, and then he began walking towards the impressive gate. While Hogwarts had a dull iron gate at the entrance of the school grounds, Beauxbatons had a gate made of solid gold. It was surrounded by an equally majestic wall that circled around the entire school grounds, and much to Ron's confusion, there were hundreds of lemon trees planted just in front of the wall. _Mum could get an endless supply from here. I guess the yellow does match the gate._

"Tiens-toi lá!" came the voice of a witch, and Ron immediately stopped moving. Two witches suddenly apparated in front of him, their wands fixed on his person.

"Hello," Ron smiled at them, doing his best to keep calm. _Merlin, where did they come from?_

"Identify yourself, stranger," the brown haired witch ordered, while the blonde one eyed Ron carefully.

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley," Ron introduced himself, making sure to give them a polite bow. "I'm here to see Madame Maxime."

"An Englishman? Here to see the Madame?" the brown haired witch asked, and Ron nodded. "And you think that you can just walk in here?" _I believe so, yes._

"Marie, put your wand down," the blonde witch said suddenly, her light blue eyes going wide. "That's him! Le fléau de Vélane!" _What? What's Le fléau de Vélane?_

"It is," the witch named Marie realized, her wand slowly going down.

"May I know your names?" Ron asked them.

"I am Marie," the brunette replied, her eyes studying Ron with a hint of… fear? "And this is Alexa."

"Bonjour, monsieur Weasley" Alexa greeted, and then she gave him a concentrated look. Ron immediately felt a very weak jolt of pain shoot up his skull, and he made sure to not show it. _She's a Veela._

"A pleasure to meet you," Ron smiled at them, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were. _I love this school. And by school, I mean its sexy student body. Wait, are they students?_

"He is resisting me," Alexa told Marie, who nodded slowly. "It really is him."

"Why do you want to see the Madame?" Marie asked.

"She and I are friends, and I wish to speak with her about a personal matter," Ron replied truthfully.

"You couldn't send an owl?" Marie asked, and Ron shook his head.

"I need to ask her a favor, and it would be disrespectful to do that over a letter," Ron replied, and both witches nodded in agreement.

"The Madame has claimed him to be her friend, Marie," Alexa pointed out. "Perhaps we should let her decide for herself, no?"

"Don't try anything," Marie warned him, but her voice betrayed her purpose. _Why is she scared of me? I've never even met this witch before._ With that, Marie turned around and waved her wand at the golden gate. It slowly began to dematerialize, and then, it simply vanished from sight. _That's awesome!_

"I will take you to the carriages," Alexa said, and then she gestured him to follow her. Ron did as he was told, and as he was walking past Marie, the witch took a shaky step away from him. _Again, why is afraid of me?_

"I like the lemon trees," Ron smiled at Alexa. "They look quite beautiful during this clear-sky weather."

"They were planted by the school's Founders," Alexa told him, and she was polite enough to smile back at him.

"All of them?" Ron asked, and Alexa shook her head.

"They planted the first one hundred, and every time a new Headmaster or Headmistress is selected, they too plant one," Alexa replied. "It is tradition." _Neat. That explains why there are so many. But why lemons?_

"Why lemon trees? I don't wish to be rude, but I'm simply curious," Ron asked, and Alexa gave him a reassuring smile as they stepped past the wall.

"The Founders were two lovers, you see," Alexa explained. "They met in secret upon these hills because they were both betrothed to people that they didn't love. Their shared love of lemon cakes was the reason why they had met in the first place, and once they had built the school together, they planted the lemon trees to signify their union. The first students of this school were like their children, and for each student, they planted one tree."

"That's quite amazing," Ron smiled to himself, all the while wondering about Hogwarts' Founders. _Four friends that wanted to protect and teach people like them, until one of them went insane and ran off. What did the Hat tell me? Yeah, the others were heartbroken once Salazar was gone. Especially Godric Gryffindor._

"This carriage will take you to the chateau," Alexa told him, and Ron eyed the light blue carriage. "It is not a long ride, but it is certainly beautiful. But be warned, you will be under our constant surveillance."

"I understand," Ron nodded, and then he entered the carriage. "Thank you for letting me in."

"Enjoy your visit, monsieur Weasley," Alexa said as she closed the door of the carriage, and once she had stepped back, the carriage started moving.

Compared to the carriages of Hogwarts, this carriage was clearly far superior. It was lavish, had soft cushiony seats, and Ron couldn't even feel the road's bumps. And best of all, there were refreshments and sweets on a small tray to his right. _Don't mind if I do. This school is the epitome of comfort. No fucking Basilisks, no Philosopher Stones, no House Politics, and no deranged ex-students that turned into Dark Lords._

As the carriage was pulled by the well-groomed horses, Ron took the opportunity to look out the window in order to observe the grounds. They were breathtaking to say the least, and Ron felt a pang of jealousy because of that. Hogwarts was definitely beautiful, but not like this. The grounds of Beauxbatons were like a vast garden, one which was filled with the widest array of flowers and trees that Ron had ever seen. He could see the students mingling with each other under the clear blue sky, and some even noticed his carriage moving along.

And then there were the Magical Fountains. Each of them were created with solid gold, and all of them were Enchanted to play harps and other instruments. Unsurprisingly, he spotted a fair few older students snogging by the Magical Fountains. And much to his glee, quite a few of the couples were pretty girls. _I'm changing schools next year. Hogwarts can kiss my arse, I want to study here. But then again, I can also see a few lads going at it. Oh well, if it makes them happy, then by all means, snog away._

After ten or so minutes, Ron's carriage came to a halt. Ron slowly stepped out and closed the door behind himself, and he immediately recognized where he was. The beautiful chateau was right in front of him, and behind him were the gardens where the Junior League Tournament had been held. As Ron fixed up his black tie, he looked around to see that a lot of students were shooting him quick looks. They were all wearing their pale blue school robes, despite the fact that it was Sunday. _Alright, now what?_

"Excusez-moi, Puis-je vous aider?" an older man asked, and Ron blinked at the man who dressed as a butler.

"Um… Hello," Ron smiled sheepishly, and the older man nodded in understanding.

"May I help you?" the butler asked, and Ron smiled more fully.

"I'm here to see Madame Maxime," Ron replied, and the butler waited for him to go on. "My name is Weasley, Ronald Weasley. She is a friend of mine, and I need to discuss a personal matter with her."

"Monsieur Weasley," the butler said, something flashing behind his pale eyes. "Yes, I do indeed remember you. Please, follow me."

"Thank you," Ron nodded gratefully, and he began following the butler towards the chateau. _You can do this, Ron. You_ _ **have**_ _to do this. Xeno and his Family need this, and so do you._

"Might I take your coat, Sir?" the butler asked. "It is a warm day, after all." _My wand and pouch are in my coat, as is the Portkey._

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine as is," Ron replied, and the butler gave him a nod. "May I ask you a question?"

"Certainly," the butler replied.

"Why are the students wearing their uniforms? Don't they get the weekends off?" Ron asked.

"Our uniforms are compulsory whenever you are moving about the school grounds," the butler replied. "As for getting the weekends off, they each have clubs on the weekends. Every student is required to be a part of three clubs minimum, with a maximum of five clubs. They, of course, do get time to socialize, but this school expects them to put their education and Magical development first. Are things different at Hogwarts?" _He said that he remembered me, so I shouldn't be surprised that he knows which school I'm from._

"Our club involvement isn't compulsory, but it is encouraged," Ron replied. "As for our education… Well, some Professors are more relaxed than others."

"I see," the butler nodded slowly. "What about expulsion?"

"Expulsion?" Ron repeated.

"Are students expelled if they fail to meet a certain level of educational achievement?" the butler clarified, and Ron blinked at him.

"No, not that I'm aware of," Ron replied, and once again, the butler nodded slowly. _I was clearly mistaken, this school has its own set of problems. Change the subject, Ron._ "I couldn't help but admire the grounds, they are quite breathtaking."

"Thank you," the butler said, there was no hint of joy on his face. "They are maintained both Magically and by hand, and I myself am responsible for their care."

"So you're the Groundskeeper?" Ron asked, and the butler nodded. "Well, you are quite amazing at your job."

"Thank you," the butler said, and this time, his lips twitched upwards. They both settled into a comfortable silence at that, and Ron decided to observe the school's interior. It was well-maintained, but instead of feeling like a castle, it felt more like a Manor. _Sort of like Greengrass Manor, but_ _ **much**_ _bigger. I like the hardwood walls, not to mention the paintings and other ornaments._

"This feels more like a home than Hogwarts," Ron admitted as they began climbing the stairs. "Hogwarts feels like a very old castle, whereas this place feels more like a well-kept mansion."

"It was designed to be this way by the Founders," the butler nodded his agreement. "Hogwarts was originally designed to be a fortress built to protect the British Magical community, whereas Beauxbatons started off as the home of the Founders. Once they learned that they couldn't have children of their own, they turned it into a school. Over time, the school has been greatly expanded, but in honor of the Founders, its ambience was kept the same. This was their home, and it shall forever remain so."

"Bonjour, garde-jardin Raphaël," a young witch said as they passed her by on the stairs.

"Bonjour, Yvette," the butler smiled at the witch, and then he continued walking up the stairs. _She looked really young. Like she was eight or something._

"Does Beauxbatons take in students at a younger age?" Ron asked, and the butler nodded.

"If their parents wish it so, then yes," Raphael replied. "This is a boarding school, after all. The students who are younger than eleven are taught basic mathematics and languages, and once they become of age, they become full students."

"Are they allowed to join the clubs?" Ron asked, he rather liked the idea of growing up with his friends.

"Certainly," Raphael replied. "However, the Dueling Club and Quidditch Club are off-limits for them."

"I see," Ron nodded. "I have to admit, I am greatly impressed by everything in this school."

"You are kind to say so, monsieur Weasley," Raphael gave him a polite smile. "Beauxbatons has been the jewel of the French Magical community for centuries, and will remain so for many more."

"I don't doubt it," Ron smiled back. _This place is something else. It lacks Hogwarts' mystery and enormousness, but it makes up for it by being drop-dead gorgeous._

"Here we are," Raphael said as they stepped onto the fourth floor, which happened to be the highest. "Come, Madame Maxime should be in her Office. You certainly picked a good day for your visit, the Madame has been incredibly busy as of late." _She has? No, I shouldn't ask that. I am a guest, not a member of the Inquisition._

"Lady Luck has been on my side today," Ron smiled at the man, who simply nodded in response. _Trust me, I deserve it after the shite I've been through over the last three days._

"Please wait here," Raphael said as he stopped in front of a massive golden crest. Ron couldn't help but admire the school's coat of arms, which consisted of two golden wands crossing over one another on top of a bed of golden flowers, with each of them shooting three golden stars.

Raphael placed his right hand in the middle of the crest, and much to Ron's surprise, the golden stars came to life and swirled in on Raphael's hand. And then, Ron heard a lock open and the crest split open from the middle. _And what do we have? A stone gargoyle. Damn I love this place._ Raphael stepped through the crack and walked to the door behind the crest, and then he knocked on the door lightly.

"Come in," came Madame Maxime's voice, and Raphael entered the room and shut the door behind himself. _Guess I'll just wait around._ Ron whistled to himself as he looked around the hardwood hallway, and his eyes stopped on the statue of a naked Nymph. _Well, hello there._ The statue came to life as it noticed an admirer, and it smiled seductively at Ron.

"Hello," Ron smiled back, and the statue betokened him to her. Ron walked up to the statue, all while doing his best to not look at her stone breasts. _That would be rather rude, right?_ The statue however, had different plans. She stuck her chest out to display her womanly parts to him, and Ron's eyes immediately darted down to her well-carved features. "Awesome!"

"Ahem," Raphael coughed from behind him, and Ron quickly turned around with a sheepish grin. _Caught in the act! Shite!_

"Um… I was just admiring the craftsmanship…" Ron said, but Raphael simply smirked at him.

"The Madame is waiting for you," Raphael gestured towards the Office, and Ron nodded quickly. As Ron began to walk towards it, Raphael moved into his way.

"Is everything-"

"Your tie is not centered," Raphael said as he fixed it for Ron, and then he stepped aside. "Good luck, monsieur Weasley."

"Thank you, Groundskeeper Raphael," Ron smiled at the older man, who gave Ron a polite nod before leaving. Ron then walked past the open crest, and he knocked on the Office door. _This is it._

"Come in, Ronald," Madame Maxime called, and Ron stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. "Isn't this a wonderful surprise? Welcome back to Beauxbatons, my friend."

"Thank you, Madame Maxime," Ron smiled at her, his eyes examining the extremely comfortable looking Office. It was nothing like Dumbledore's Office. If anything, this looked more like a lounge than an Office. There were comfortable looking blue sofas, a lavish fireplace, sculptures of naked men and women, and the whole room smelled like toffee apples. And at the back of the lounge was an extravagant golden desk, behind which sat Madame Maxime on her massive throne-like chair.

"Please, come and sit with me," Madame Maxime smiled at him, and then she gestured to a golden seat in front of her. Ron walked over and sat down on it, his bottom sinking into the blue cushion placed upon it.

"This is a lovely Office," Ron said, and she gave him a grateful nod.

"Most of this furniture was brought in by me," Madame Maxime admitted. "Sadly, my predecessor had rather poor taste. Would you like some honeyed tea?"

"Thank you," Ron said, and Madame Maxime flicked her wand at her golden tea set. It began pouring itself, and then a cup of hot tea floated up to him. Ron took it carefully, and after having a sip, he smiled at Madame Maxime. "I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced like this, but I figured that I owed you a surprise visit after yours on the day of my last Tournament."

"Naturally," Madame Maxime chuckled. "Once again, I thank you for what you said to the reporters. It helped me a great deal."

"What are friends for?" Ron stated, and she smirked at him.

"Judging by your actions and words, you need my help with something," Madame Maxime said, and Ron didn't even bother hiding it.

"I would've sent a letter containing the favor I needed, but I didn't want to come across as ill-mannered," Ron told her, and she waited for him to go on. "I have bought The Quibbler from Xenophilius Lovegood, and in case you don't know what that is, it is a magazine."

"You own a magazine?" Madame Maxime blinked, her composure cracking for a moment. "At the age of thirteen?"

"I do," Ron smiled, and then he took another sip of his tea. _This is really good tea. Maybe I should get some for our room?_

"You are the strangest young man that I've ever come across," Madame Maxime laughed heartily, and Ron's smile widened without his consent. _She has a loud laugh, but it's rather contagious._ "What do you need from me, Ronald?"

"Barnabas Cuffe-"

"That cretin," Madame Maxime hissed, her good humor immediately gone.

"You know him?" Ron asked, and she took in a deep breath.

"Forgive me, my friend," Madame Maxime apologized. "But the mere mention of that entitled, self-serving pig turns my stomach. You are not in business with this man, are you?" _Entitled pig? Did he try something with her?_

"No, if anything, I hate him too," Ron replied, this was looking great. "He has banned every advertisement firm in Britain from working for my business. I stole The Quibbler out from under him in a rather devious fashion, and since he doesn't know who actually bought it, he's banned everyone from helping The Quibbler."

"I see," Madame Maxime nodded slowly. "And why is it that a thirteen year old feels the need to own a magazine?"

"That… is a long story," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime relaxed into her throne-like chair.

"Please, I'd like to hear it," Madame Maxime, and Ron took in a deep breath.

"Well…"

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"And now here I am," Ron finished his story, he had told her **everything**.

"You wish to help girls like this Priscilla then?" Madame Maxime smiled at him.

"Everyone like her, yes," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime nodded in understanding.

"I must admit, I am once again puzzled by you," Madame Maxime said, and Ron waited for her to go on. "I've never met such a… passionate… young man before. You certainly seem to enjoy outshining everyone your age."

"That's not exactly hard to do," Ron smirked. "Most people my age are more concerned with how they look than with the state of things in their countries." _And most of them aren't preparing to fight a war._

"You need not worry about your looks," Madame Maxime stated, her eyes analyzing his sharp grey suit and light brown trench coat. "I sense a woman's touch in your outfit."

"You sense correctly then," Ron chuckled. "Lady Greengrass picked this outfit for me. I won't lie, fashion is something that I still have trouble with."

"As do all boys," Madame Maxime chuckled as well. "No matter, let us discuss what you need from me."

"I was hoping that you had an advertisement firm in your pocket, and if so, then I would like to utilize them," Ron said. "Barnabas Cuffe has made it impossible for me to find one myself, and so I'm looking to my allies for help."

"A favor for a favor then?" Madame Maxime asked. _Is she trying to make me forget the fact that she owes me? Well, I don't forget things like that. Especially considering that I nearly died._

"Indeed," Ron replied. "I helped you with your reporters, and with the people who were besmirching your name in the papers. So yes, I was hoping that you could repay the favor."

"I see," Madame Maxime put on a smile, had the boy seen through her ploy? "Unfortunately, I don't have an advertisement firm in my pocket." Ron's stomach dropped at that, and his disappointment clearly showed on his face because Madame Maxime smiled apologetically. _Fuck… I'm going to have to accept Daphne's money now, aren't I?_

"I… I see," Ron sighed, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Stay calm. Don't fucking panic in front of her._

"But I can make some inquiries on your behalf," Madame Maxime said, and Ron blinked at her.

"Inquiries?" Ron asked.

"I have friends who like to roam around in those circles, and perhaps, they know of a firm that is looking for a suitable deal," Madame Maxime replied.

"I don't wish to sound rude, but how long will that take?" Ron asked. "I'm a bit rushed because of Barnabas Cuffe's ongoing investigation into who I am."

"Give me a few hours, and if such a firm exists in France, then one of their representatives will be here to meet you on this very day," Madame Maxime promised. "The summons of Beauxbatons' Headmistress is not so easily refused."

"I… Thank you, Madame Maxime," Ron bowed his head. "I cannot thank you enough for this."

"Raise your head, my friend," Madame Maxime smiled at him. "I have not forgotten what I put you through… I hope that this can earn me your true forgiveness. Now, why don't you take a tour of the school grounds while I reach out to my friends? I'm sure Amanda is eagerly awaiting for our meeting to finish."

"Amanda's outside?" Ron asked, and Madame Maxime nodded.

"I had Raphael fetch her for you," Madame Maxime replied. "She has been excused from her Club activities for the day, and she'll spend the day showing you around."

"That sounds great," Ron smiled widely, he couldn't deny the fact that he had missed his Tournament companion. "Thank you once again, Madame Maxime."

"I will see you at lunch, Ronald," Madame Maxime gave him a polite nod, and Ron stood up and departed from the Office. The moment he stepped past the golden crest, Amanda ran up and hugged him.

"You're really here!" Amanda laughed, her body tightly pressed against his.

"Now that's a welcome!" Ron laughed, and then he hugged her back. "It's great to see you again, Amanda!"

"You too, Ron!" Amanda exclaimed as she rested her head on his left shoulder. "You've gotten taller than me. What do they feed you down there?"

"I eat a lot," Ron chuckled, and then he realized that he wasn't the only one who had grown. Amanda had grown too, but in a different department. _Sweet Merlin, her chest feels magnificent. And she's surprisingly soft all around._ Ron gave her a tight squeeze, which in turn made her squeeze him back. _Awesome!_

"Why didn't you owl me? I would've planned out the entire day," Amanda said, still holding onto him. _This is a very long hug, not that I mind of course._

"I was trying to be spontaneous," Ron replied, and then he slowly let go of her. Amanda took a step back and beamed at him, and he took the opportunity to fully observe her. She was wearing her pale blue silk uniform, including the pointy blue hat. "Your uniforms are really nice." _Especially how well they are fitted. Yes… This school is heaven on Earth._

"Well, thank you," Amanda chuckled before giving him a twirl in order to show him her back as well. And then, she eyed his clothes with an impressed smile. "Do you always dress so nicely?"

"I wanted to impress you," Ron smirked, and she let out a cute laugh.

"Well, consider me impressed," she smirked back, and then she moved to his right side and tangled her arm with his. "Come Ron, I'll show you around the school."

"We won't disturb anyone, right?" Ron asked as they began walking.

"The Clubs are just starting up, so most of the students will be out of our way," Amanda replied. "Plus, you are the Madame's guest of honor today. No one will dare say a word against you. Now, where should we start?"

"Let's start simple," Ron replied. "What about the place where you all eat?"

"Hungry?" Amanda giggled, and Ron shrugged.

"Food is never far from my thoughts," Ron admitted.

"Then let's go to the Grand Hall," Amanda said as she sped up a bit, which in turn made Ron speed up too. "There always cakes and other sweets laid out during the day."

"This school is quickly becoming my favorite place on Earth," Ron smiled widely.

"Maybe you should move here then," Amanda suggested. "I know a lot of girls who'd be interested in making your acquaintance."

"Trying to set me up already?" Ron sniggered.

"And some boys too, actually," Amanda smiled mischievously, and Ron blinked at her with his smile still in place. "There's nothing wrong with trying new things, is there?"

"If it means that I won't be able to sit down for a while, then I'd rather not," Ron joked, and Amanda let out another cute laugh.

"That was quite the dirty joke," Amanda tutted, but she was still laughing. "So, have you notice anything different about me?"

"Yes, I have, but a gentleman would never say such a thing," Ron replied, and Amanda hugged his arm more tightly.

"As much as I'm enjoying your train of thought, I was actually referring to something else," Amanda said, and Ron thought about it for a second.

"Your English has improved," Ron realized, and she beamed at him.

"I got a tutor after the Tournament, and she's been helping me every week," Amanda told him. "How is your French coming along? You mentioned in one of your letters that you wanted to learn it."

"I'm afraid I never got around to it," Ron said with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to translate for you," Amanda smiled at him.

"Is that your way of saying that you'll stick to me like glue?" Ron asked, and she gave him a wink. "Now I'm glad that I didn't learn French."

"You have a quick tongue," Amanda complimented.

"My friends and I banter a lot, but thank you," Ron smiled at her, and then they stepped onto the first floor.

"The Grand Hall is just around the corner," Amanda said excitedly, and then she sped up again. _She's either really excited to show me the Grand Hall, or she's actually hungry herself._ Amanda led Ron into the Grand Hall, and once they were inside, she stopped in order to let him observe the massive room. It was just as he remembered it, but with a few minor differences. There were no fairies flying around, nor were there any bright lights dancing near the ceiling. But the braziers with the golden flames were still warming up the Hall, and the proud Ice-Knights were still watching over the Hall with piercing eyes.

"I just love this school's atmosphere," Ron admitted, and Amanda smiled proudly. "It just feels… Magical."

"You don't have Ice-Knights in Hogwarts?" Amanda asked as she began leading him towards the food.

"No, but we did have a fifty foot Basilisk," Ron smirked.

"I heard about that," Amanda nodded. "Weren't you… Never mind."

"It's alright, Amanda," Ron gave her a soft smile, and she managed one back. "It was a while ago, and I don't even think about it anymore. Do you ever wonder if there are any secrets in Beauxbatons? Like a secret chamber with a monster inside it?"

"Well, there is a rumor which claims that a demon is sealed underneath this school," Amanda replied, and Ron's ears perked up. "But there is also a rumor about one of the fountains in the gardens being laced with aphrodisiacs."

"That one might be true," Ron chuckled. "I saw dozens of people going at it in the gardens while I was in the carriage."

"That's not that unusual," Amanda said sweetly. "Most of them are just practicing with each other. At Beauxbatons, the Professors let us experiment as much as we want. As long as our grades are good, and we participate in the school's Clubs, we can do as we please."

"Sounds amazing," Ron said. "At Hogwarts, people usually use empty broom closets."

"Broom closets?" Amanda blinked. "But what about the romance? There is no romance in a broom closet."

"What if I lit a nice looking candle first?" Ron asked, and Amanda started laughing. "No? Still not romantic? Alright, what if I cleaned that broom closet before bringing in a Lady?"

"Stop it, Ron," Amanda giggled. "You're making my stomach hurt. No broom closets, alright? Don't you have a room?"

"I share that room with two other boys, and I'm not inviting them to join the fun," Ron said. "That's where I draw the line."

"You have to share a room?" Amanda asked. "What about your privacy? What if you need to relieve some tension?"

"Then you have to wait for the best moment, and then make sure to lock the shared bathroom," Ron replied, his face feeling a little hot. _I'm talking to a girl about getting myself off._

"Ce n'est pas juste," Amanda muttered as she shook her head. "Maybe you really should move here."

"I'm considering it," Ron replied, though he really wasn't. _As nice as this place is, my mission is back home._ "Now, which cake should we start with?"

"Raspberry," Amanda smiled at him.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Am I really allowed in here?" Ron asked again, they had just crossed the gardens and entered the students' dorms. Strangely enough, both the boys and girls shared one massive house together. The boys lived in the left wing, while the girls lived in the right wing.

"It's perfectly fine, Ron," Amanda chuckled as she led him to her room. "All the students live in here, and we all have an unspoken rule. If the door is closed, then don't even knock on it. Trust me, we won't be invading anyone's privacy."

"Alright," Ron said slowly, he couldn't help but observe that the school and the dorm house shared a very similar design. "Is your room on the fifth floor because you're a fifth year?"

"Exactly so," Amanda nodded, and then she opened the door to her room. "Go on, Ron."

"Thanks," Ron said as he entered the room, which was nothing too special. There were a lot of Chess posters around, and Ron's eyes widened when he noticed that he was on one of them. _That's an enlarged photo of my cover shot._

"Um… I hope you don't mind that," Amanda mumbled, her cheeks turning rosy. "I just… I forgot that that was up there…" _Good lord, say nothing Ron. Say nothing!_

"I don't mind," Ron smiled at her, doing his absolute best to not embarrass her any further. Ron then looked to her furniture, which consisted of a single bed, a small study table, and a comfy looking blue chair. On the table was a set of Potions labeled 'contraception doses'. _What the fuck?! Why is this shite just lying around?_

"Sweet Morgana!" Amanda squeaked, and then she ran over to the Potions and hid them inside the study table. She then turned around slowly, her face clearly burning from shame. "I… I didn't know that my friend had dropped those off…"

"Right," Ron said, doing his best to not grin at her. _Don't do it, you cunt! Control yourself!_

"My boyfriend and I are… Oh Gods, this is embarrassing…" Amanda sighed as her head hung low.

"There, there," Ron said as he patted her upper arm. _Look at me, I might as well take over Pomfrey's job._

"Please don't say a word about this," Amanda pleaded, and Ron gave her a firm nod. "I can't believe that Penny just left them there… She's a complete moron."

"I won't say a word, I promise," Ron assured her. "So… what now?"

"Do you want to play a few games of Chess?" Amanda asked weakly, and Ron nodded. "Alright… After that, we can go to some of the Clubs. The Gymnastics Club and the Dueling Club start at one 'o'clock in the Gymnasium."

"Gymnastics Club?" Ron asked, and she nodded.

"Acrobatics, keeping in shape, that sort of stuff," Amanda replied.

"Acrobatics? Veelas doing acrobatics?" Ron asked, and Amanda blinked at him. "I'd like to see the Gymnastics Club please."

"You…" Amanda started, but then she broke into a laugh. "Thank you for making me laugh, Ron. You're very sweet." _Sweet? Woman, I wish to eyeball some Veelas! Take me there at once!_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron had managed to beat Amanda in all of the games, but just barely. Truth be told, she was much easier to read when his mind wasn't being bombarded by the Veelas. Much to Amanda's credit, she was willing to learn from her mistakes. She had explained that whenever she played against him, she had trouble figuring out what to do. Ron had then helped her figure out some of his traps, and she in turn had taught him a new strategy which relied on using both of his rooks to trap the enemy's king. Overall, her embarrassment was quickly forgotten and they both had had a great time together.

"Behind this door is the Dueling Club and the Gymnastics Club," Amanda said as they neared the entrance to the Gymnasium, and Ron stopped walking in order to look to the sky.

"Theo… Blaise… I know that you're not here right now, but the moment I get back home, I will share this experience with you," Ron prayed to the sky, and in his heart, he knew that both Theo and Blaise had heard him. "This is a victory for all three of us, and it will-"

"You are so weird," Amanda laughed, and Ron looked back to her. "It's just Gymnastics, Ron. I'm part of that Club too."

"You are?" Ron asked quickly, and she nodded slowly. "Amanda, marry me!"

"What about your girlfriend?" Amanda giggled.

"We'll get her together with your boyfriend," Ron joked.

"Alright, if you can accomplish that, then I accept," Amanda shook her head with an amused smile. "C'mon, let's go inside. Oh wait… Be warned, Professor Leblanc is a bit of a menace. She loves boasting about Beauxbatons, and since you're from Hogwarts, she might come across as… annoying."

"Does she teach Gymnastics?" Ron asked. "If so, then I already forgive her."

"She teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts, and is therefore our Dueling instructor," Amanda replied. "Why do you like Gymnastics so much, Ron?"

"Can you do the splits?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Bless this school… Bless it…"

"I didn't know that you were such a pervert," Amanda smirked at him. "I like it. Now let's go inside, shall we?"

"Lead the way," Ron gestured, and they both walked into the Gymnasium. The inside of the bulding was massive, and Ron figured that the room was under a similar Charm as Madam Roberts' suitcase. _Definitely the same Charm, I reckon._ Half of it was a makeshift arena for the Dueling Club, while the other half was being used by the Gymnastics Club.

"Which Club do you-"

"Gymnastics please," Ron smiled, and Amanda chuckled before taking his arm again. The blonde witch then guided Ron towards the back of the Gymnastics Club, while Ron subtly ogled the girls who were stretching in their silver leotards. _THEO! BLAISE! HEAR ME, BROTHERS! SEE WHAT I SEE!_

"Let's sit up here," Amanda said as she pulled Ron into the stands, and they took up a vantage point. "Now watch, and be amazed. See that black haired girl?"

"Yes," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the girl who was preparing for a run-up.

"She's a sixth year, and apparently, she enjoys the company of boys who are younger than her," Amanda smirked, and Ron grinned like a fiend. "Want me to introduce you?"

"Yes, please," Ron chuckled, though he had no real interest in her whatsoever. _Looking is fine, but I'd never put a finger on her. Merlin! I should buy Daphne one of these outfits! Fuck yes! I mean, she'll slap me in the face, but on the off chance that she wears it, I'll die happy._ The black haired girl ran up, and then she broke into a series of cartwheels and back-flips. Ron's jaw dropped at the sight of her, and when she landed with her arms raised by her sides, Ron had to fight the urge to whistle. "Merlin, Amanda… That's amazing! Can you do that?"

"Not as well as her, but yes," Amanda replied, and Ron just stared at her. "I've been practicing since I was eight. See? There are younger girls here too." _There are?_ "That's Gabrielle Delacour. You met her at your victory gala."

"The girl that was terrified of me," Ron said as he stared at her, she too was wearing a silver leotard.

"Veelas have some strange beliefs," Amanda sighed. "Some of them are calling you Le fléau de Vélane…"

"The gatekeeper called me that," Ron told her, and she frowned deeply. "What? Does it mean something bad?"

"It translates to 'The Scourge of Veelas'," Amanda replied, and Ron blinked at her. "They have some insane myth amongst them about a crimson eyed demon that eats the hearts of their kind, and since this fairytale monster could resist them like you can, some of the older, and more senile, Veelas have dubbed you with this name. Or title… Whatever…" _The Scourge of Veelas? Crimson eyed Demon? Sweet Merlin, if the Entity shows itself on my features when I'm here, they'll fucking lynch me._

"I didn't know that I was so famous amongst them," Ron said truthfully.

"The Veelas are extremely community orientated," Amanda explained. "Word of your achievement spread like wildfire in the French Veela community, and it's only increased since you left."

"That's why the gatekeepers recognized me, and why one of them was terrified of me," Ron realized.

"Don't let that get to you," Amanda took his left hand into her right one. "It's only the old Veelas who are scared of you, most of the younger ones are rather enamored with you. I've even heard some of them boasting that their allure could pull you in." _I rather doubt it, and if it does happen, then they'll learn that I'm a package deal._

"So you're saying that I have beautiful girls pining for my attention in France?" Ron asked, and Amanda chuckled as she nodded. "What the hell am I doing in Britain then? I should move here immediately."

"Amanda!" the Gymnastics tutor called, and both Ron and Amanda looked to the middle-aged woman. _Not bad, and that leotard suits her nicely._ The tutor went to say something, but when her eyes landed on Ron, her smile died and her eyes widened.

"Oh shite," Ron whispered.

"Regardez!" a random witch called, her finger pointing towards Ron.

"Le fléau de Vélane!" a little girl screamed, and Ron flinched. _This is how it ends, Entity! Lynched by leotard wearing goddesses!_

"I should leave," Ron said quickly, but Amanda was giving everyone a dark look. And then, she stood up far too angrily.

"Il est l'invité d'honneur de Madame!" Amanda told them all, and everyone exchanged looks before eyeing Ron again. "C'est vrai! Il suffit de demander à Raphaël!" _What is she saying?_

"Amanda!" the Dueling tutor called, and then she gestured Amanda to come down to her.

"I'll be right back, Ron," Amanda said firmly. "Don't go anywhere." And just like that, she stormed down and started speaking to her Professor in a rather haughty manner. Ron just sat there with a sheepish grin, while everyone was just staring at him. Some of the looks were genuine looks of fear, while quite a lot of them were looks of intrigue or excitement. That's when he felt a jolt of pain shoot up his skull, and he instantly regretted coming here. _Fucking birds! There's at least fifty in here. I need to leave the moment Amanda comes back._ Ron looked down at his feet as he messaged his forehead, coming here was definitely a mistake.

" _ **Champion, what is the meaning of this?**_ " came the Entity's weakened voice, it sounded as if it just stirred from a deep slumber.

" _Not right now,_ " Ron thought, a bit of panic seeping into his veins. " _They'll fucking lynch me if you show yourself._ "

" _ **They can try,**_ " the Entity snarled. " _ **Leave this place at once. We are in no state to help you right now.**_ "

" _What happened to you? Did you escape the barrier? Also, I'm seeing visions of my past lives… Care to explain that?_ "

" _ **You are?**_ " the Entity asked, and Ron swallowed thickly.

" _It's not you who's giving them to me?_ "

" _ **We are even more injured than we realized…**_ "

" _What does that mean?_ "

" _ **We are bleeding into your mind… This may damage your Cycle...**_ "

" _Bleeding into my mind? What the fuck does that mean?!_ " Ron waited for an answer, but none came. Instead, he felt another jolt of crippling pain. _"Entity? Fucking fuck, I need to get out of here…_ " Ron stood up and started to leave, his face showing the pain that he was suddenly being forced to endure.

"Ron!" Amanda ran to his side, her face a mixture of worry and anger.

"I can't be here… They're using their allures," Ron said, and then he quickly walked towards the exit.

"Arrêtez immédiatement!" one of the tutors yelled at the Veela students, while the other glared around the room. Although it eased his headache, Ron still left the gymnasium behind. The moment he stepped out into the cool breeze, his entire body relaxed. _Merlin, that fucking hurt. Entity? Are you alright in there? They didn't fuck you up, did they?_

"Ron, I'm so sorry," Amanda quickly stepped in front of him, her own panic written on her face. "I'm so sorry about that. The younger Veelas… They can't always control their urges…"

"Not your fault," Ron smiled weakly, and then he took in a deep breath. "Can we please sit down somewhere? Maybe in the gardens?" _Entity? Are you there? Fuck, it's probably even more hurt than it already was. What the hell did it mean by 'We are bleeding into your mind'?_

"Of course, let's go," Amanda said as she took his left arm.

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Knockturn Alley – Afternoon)**_

He walked down towards the Knockturn Alley Potions shop, his tiny body draped in a thick black cloak. No one paid him any mind, mostly because they simply assumed that he was just a Goblin. The thought disgusted the most powerful wizard of all time, but right now, survival was far more important than pride.

Dumbledore, the old crooked-nosed fool, was no doubt hunting him down this very instant. After his encounter with the Headmaster of Hogwarts in Albania, Voldemort had come to realize the error of his ways. He had assumed that since he was in hiding, the old coot would focus on establishing his own reign over the Wizarding World. But then, out of nowhere, the old man had found him Albania. No place was safe, and he understood that now.

And judging by what Dumbledore had done to his previous host's body, Voldemort knew that this was a very different Dumbledore than the one he remembered. Something had changed in the older wizard, and despite how much he hated to admit it, he was now terrified of the Leader of the Order. Lord Voldemort could not afford to be caught again, and so he too had taken drastic measures.

After setting off the Inferno, Voldemort had fled to Riddle Manor for safety. But fear had kept him from staying in the safety of his degenerate father's childhood home. If the old man could find him in the middle of the Albanian Forest, then he could find him in his ancestral home as well. Which left the Dark Lord only one option… He had to become a nomad. He had to scurry from city to city, from country to country, from host to host… No place was safe, not until he had returned to his former self.

"Good afternoon," the shady store owner said as Voldemort stepped into his shop. "What can I do for you, my Goblin-" Voldemort flicked his wrist, and despite his host's rather pathetic Magical Core, he Wandlessly snapped the man's neck. _Goblin… This is what Lord Voldemort has been reduced to…_ The man dropped dead with a dull thud, and Voldemort closed the door behind himself before locking it. Once the drapes had been pulled down, he turned the sign to signal that the shop was closed.

"Now, Bogdan… Where did you keep your secret supply?" Voldemort hissed in a little girl's voice. He knew this shop from when he was still in power, Severus often came here for his ingredients. _Severus. The traitor. Dumbledore's dog._ Lord Voldemort walked around the counter, and he searched Bogdan's corpse for his wand. Once the wand was in his girly little hands, Voldemort creeped towards the back of the store.

"Revelio," the Dark Lord hissed as he aimed the wand at a large cupboard, and just as he remembered, the cupboard vanished from sight. _A Glamor Charm. Pathetic._ With the illusion gone, Voldemort walked into the dark cellar that it was hiding. It didn't take him long before he found the vials of Unicorn Blood, and much to his joy, Bogdan also had a Unicorn Heart in his inventory.

He drank down the vials first, the silvery liquid tasted like the Nectar of the Gods to his parched mouth. And then, he began feeding his stomach with the Heart. Bite after bite, Voldemort devoured the Unicorn Heart with an insatiable hunger. Each bite made his tiny muscles seize up from euphoria, and that only drove him further into his gluttony. And once his meal was over, he felt rejuvenated. This host would last him another two or three weeks, he was certain of it.

"Papa?!" came the voice of a child, and Voldemort glided towards the exit. He then slowly looked around the corner, and he found a tiny boy kneeling by Bogdan's corpse. "Papa? Did you fell?" the boy spoke in broken English. _Younger than five. I can't leave any trace of my presence._

"Your 'papa' is asleep," Voldemort spoke in his host's sweet voice, and the boy quickly turned to face him.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, and Voldemort pulled back his hood to reveal his host's face. The boy relaxed at the sight of a girl near his age. "I'm Sven… What's your name?"

"Abigail," Voldemort lied. "Come here, Sven. I know how to wake up your papa." The boy blinked at his host's cute little face, and then he slowly stepped closer to the Dark Lord.

"His neck is twisted," the boy muttered, his eyes were watery from fear and worry.

"Not twisted, shattered," Voldemort hissed, ditching his alter ego. The boy's eyes widened, but by then, Lord Voldemort had already used Bogdan's wand to enter the boy's mind. It took less than ten minutes to plant the memories that he needed to plant, and five minutes after that, he had wiped away all traces of himself ever being here. When the boy would eventually wake up, he'd find his father's wand in his hands. And then, he'd remember accidently killing his father with a bout of Accidental Magic. No one would be the wiser, and since this was Knockturn Alley, no one would even care about this boy.

With his body rejuvenated, and his presence erased, Lord Voldemort left the shop and traveled down the dark alleyways. _I must find a suitable body. This cannot go on for much longer. The old fool is watching for Unicorn disappearances, I just know it. Without Unicorn Blood, my hosts can't survive for long. I have to find a servant, one that can assist me in creating a new vessel for myself._

"Move aside, Goblin filth," someone hissed from behind him, and he felt someone strike him from behind. His tiny body lost its balance, and he stumbled aside. _WHO DARES?!_ Voldemort glared at his attacker through gleaming red eyes, but the wizard had already walked too far to notice the Dark Lord's wrath. _It cannot be… Lucius?_ That's when Lord Voldemort realized that Lucius wasn't alone, he was being accompanied by Cornelius Nott.

"The state of things," Cornelius spat out as he and Lucius kept walking away. "Damn Goblins everywhere…" _My servants._ Something shifted behind the Dark Lord's eyes, and a terrifying smile creeped onto his face. _My slaves._ The Dark Lord quietly began to follow the two wizards, who were far too self-absorbed to realize that someone was on their trail.

"They want to buy the shops of Knockturn Alley too," Lucius scoffed. "Their greed for our land is never ending."

"If the Dark Lord was still in power-"

"Not here, you fool," Lucius hissed quickly, while Voldemort's mind began to scheme.

"He is out there, Lucius," Cornelius said quietly. "Now that we know that he is alive, we must find him. Our search needs another man." _They've been looking for me?_ That particular thought jarred him slightly, he had thought himself abandoned by his followers. _They believe me dead? FOOLS!_

"We already have Severus," Lucius argued. "We do not need another man." _Severus is helping them? He is still loyal to me? No, I must see him for myself first. He is far cleverer than these two, and he could easily trick them into believing him loyal._

"He has been useless," Cornelius hissed, his face twisting in anger. "Our Lord **needs** us, Lucius… And where is Severus? Kissing Dumbledore's feet." _Lord Voldemort does not need you, he only needs your obedience. You forget your place, Nott._

"We have searched three countries, and we haven't found a single trace yet," Lucius told Cornelius. "He could be anywhere in the World right now. Another man will not help us there. Severus knew the Dark Lord better than most, he can help us."

"Weren't you his second?" Cornelius spat out, his envy clear to all. _My second? He tried to take over my empire once I fell like some filthy bottom-feeder. You are not forgiven… Neither of you are._

"Even if we find him, how do we bring him back?" Lucius asked. "Do you think he will allow us to live if we bring him no solutions to his plight?" The Dark Lord felt his blood boil because of their sheer arrogance. _A_ _ **solution**_ _to my plight?! As if Lord Voldemort can't think of something that these two worms can!_ It took everything in him to not kill the two of them on the spot, instead, he just kept following them.

"I have thought of a solution," Cornelius smirked, and both Lucius' and the Dark Lord's ears perked up. "Have you read this article on Black?"

"I have," Lucius replied, his eyes fixed on Cornelius.

"Then you know of Pettigrew," Cornelius said. _Pettigrew? That rat is alive?_

"Black is keeping him alive in St. Mungo's," Lucius said. "So what? What does it matter?"

"He is an empty vessel," Cornelius drawled. "Think about it… The Dementors ate his soul, and now he's just an empty body with a fully developed Magical Core. We bring the Dark Lord Pettigrew's body, and once he possesses it, he'll be back. And it won't be like with Quirrell either… There is no one in there to fight the Dark Lord's spirit for control."

Lord Voldemort stopped walking, his red eyes fixed on his two scheming servants. This was it. This was his solution. He had finally figured out a way to come back. He would not need a servant if he had a grown wizard's body, but there were two worms right in front of him who were eager to serve. _Pettigrew lives… And he is in St. Mungo's._ Even though the Dark Lord was wondering how Cornelius knew of Quirrell, he decided to focus his attention on Pettigrew for now. _It is past time that Lord Voldemort stepped back onto the board._

His tiny face split into a smile, and he began walking towards the direction of St. Mungo's. By the end of the week, Lord Voldemort would once again rise up to drown the World in blood. By the end of the week, his empire would start anew.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: There it is! To the people who guessed the whole Pettigrew thing early on, well done! (I'm looking at you, Randver, you genius you). Anyway, things are going to obviously going to get out of control very soon. That's all I'll say!**

 **See you guys on Friday/Saturday!**


	75. Chapter 75 - Dark Lord Rising

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 75 is finally finished! No real announcements except for that we're nearly at 900 Reviews! Hot-Damn! Thank you to my reviewers, your support has kept me going through moments of self-doubt, and it's because of you guys that this story hasn't been abandoned. So once again, thank you!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 75 – Dark Lord Rising**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Beauxbatons Grand Hall – Lunchtime)**_

Ron stood alongside the staff as Madame Maxime entered the Grand Hall, and upon seeing him, she smiled slightly. Ron understood why she was smiling at him, and no, it wasn't because she was glad to see him. Raphael had all but ordered Ron to sit by Madame Maxime's side during Lunch, and Ron knew quite well that this was a power move. She wanted everyone to see her sitting by Le fléau de Vélane's side, but more than that, she wanted to show everyone just how friendly they were now. She **needed** to prove to her own students that there was no bad blood between her and Ron.

"You may all sit," Madame Maxime ordered as she herself sat down, and everyone in the Hall took their seats. _It's quite remarkable that they all stand to attention when she walks into a room. Even we don't show Dumbledore that kind of respect._ "How has your day been, my friend?" Madame Maxime asked him.

"Quite wonderful," Ron replied, he had no intention of telling her about the Veela incident. Amanda had told him that Veelas, especially the younger ones, had trouble holding back once they saw a 'worthy mate'. Truth be told, that had alarmed Ron quite a lot. He just wanted to go back home to Daphne already. "Beauxbatons is nothing short of astonishing."

"And Amanda has been a good host?" Madame Maxime asked as she poured herself some soup, and then she passed the soup to Ron. Ron took it carefully, and then he began to pour himself some.

"She's been amazing," Ron replied with a genuine smile, and then he passed the soup to Professor Leblanc.

"Tell me about your day," Madame Maxime smiled, her eyes darting towards Amanda and her friends.

"She gave me a tour of the Grand Hall first, and we ate a lot of cakes," Ron started, and Madame Maxime chuckled to herself. "After that, we roamed the grounds before going back to her room."

"I trust that you both behaved," Madame Maxime smirked, and Ron felt his face heat up.

"We did," Ron assured her, but her smirk only turned more devious. "We played Chess, Madame."

"And who won the most games?" Madame Maxime asked.

"I won them all," Ron replied truthfully, and Madame Maxime nodded. _I hope that won't get Amanda into trouble, but she herself told me to be nothing but truthful. Shite, should I tell her about the Veelas?_ "After that, she took me to the Gymnasium in order to show me the Dueling and Gymnastics Clubs."

"The Gymnastic Club, you say?" Madame Maxime chuckled again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that that was your idea."

"It was, actually," Ron admitted with a sheepish smile. "I just wanted to see some acrobatics, that's all." _And some Veela arse. Which, by the way, was amazing._

"I'm sure," Madame Maxime smirked. "And then what happened?" _Wait… Does she already know? If so, then why is she pretending to be ignorant? Bloody hell, I really don't want to get anyone in trouble here._

"After that, we spent some time in the gardens together," Ron replied, deciding to skip the Veela incident. _Amanda said that the younger ones physically can't control themselves, and if that's true, then they shouldn't be punished on my behalf. I'm the one who showed up here unannounced._

"Professor Leblanc?" Madame Maxime said, her eyes traveling to the Dueling instructor.

"The younger ones tried to seduce him with their allures," Professor Leblanc replied, and Ron's smile died right away. _Caught lying! Fuck!_ "It… It didn't work…"

"Ronald?" Madame Maxime looked to him, her expression unreadable.

"Amanda told me that the younger ones can't help themselves sometimes, and it's my fault for showing up unannounced," Ron said firmly, he'd be damned if he gave her an inch. "I don't blame them, nor do I have any ill feelings on the matter."

"I see," Madame Maxime smiled, and then she looked to her students. "Many of the students who are not of age yet are here because their Veela blood is too strong. Sometimes, not even their mothers can control them. Their beauty comes at a terrible price, Ronald. I thank you for being so understanding."

"You're welcome," Ron said as he looked to the students as well, and unsurprisingly, there were a lot of eyes on him. Some students were whispering to each other, while some were just gawking at him. In all honesty, it made Ron slightly uncomfortable. Particularly when a lad his age sent him a wink. _And a good day to you too, Sir._ The entrance to the Grand Hall suddenly opened, and Raphael came striding in. Within a few seconds, he was hovering by Madame Maxime's right and whispering in her ear.

"I understand," Madame Maxime said, and Raphael quickly began marching towards the exit. _What was that?_ "Ronald, come with me. Your new business partners are here early." _Really?_

"Please, lead the way," Ron said, and then they both stood up. Much to his surprise, everyone in the Grand Hall also stood up.

"Come," Madame Maxime said, and then she began to walk down towards the exit. Ron followed after her, and as he passed by Amanda and her friends, he shot her a quick smile. "My friends recommended the Brodeur brothers to me, and as it happens, they were students here three years ago. Their father recently passed away, and they are trying their best to keep their father's advertisement firm afloat."

"Even if it means dealing with a foreigner," Ron figured, and she shot him a smile.

"Clever boy," Madame Maxime complimented, and Ron smiled back. "You are exactly right. They desperately need a business to promote, and you desperately need promoters. It is a perfect match, is it not?"

"It is," Ron replied. "Thank-"

"Please, Ronald, you have thanked me enough," Madame Maxime said. "Now… I will make the introductions, and then you control the meeting after that."

"Sounds like a plan," Ron agreed as they stepped out of the Grand Hall.

"We will be meeting them for tea in the gardens," Madame Maxime went on as they stepped out into the Courtyard. "The brothers are twins, by the way. Antoine and Oscar are their names, and believe me, they are quite sharp. Both of them had spectacular grades during their time here, and if it weren't for their father's untimely death, they'd no doubt be working within the French Ministry."

"When did their father pass?" Ron asked.

"Around three months ago, but I would advise not bringing that up at all," Madame Maxime replied, and Ron nodded. "This is a business deal, not a social gathering. Don't forget that they need you just as much as you need them, Ron. Don't let them trick you into a better deal."

"I won't," Ron assured her. As they made their way into the gardens, Ron spotted Raphael setting up Madame Maxime's golden tea set by hand. And sitting close to him were two blonde men, each of them wearing a colorful suit.

"Ah, Madame," the man in the bright yellow suit smiled, while the one in the bright blue suit bowed his head in respect.

"Oscar and Antoine Brodeur," Madame Maxime smiled at them, and they both stood up. "It is good to see you both so healthy."

"And you as well, Madame," the man in the bright blue suit said.

"Come, let me introduce you to my friend," Madame Maxime beckoned them, and they both approached Madame Maxime and Ron. "This is Oscar, and this is Antoine. Oscar and Antoine, this is Ronald Weasley."

"A pleasure," Ron said as he put his hand forward, and both men shook it firmly. _Oscar is the one in the yellow suit, and Antoine is wearing the blue suit. I need to remember that. If I mix them up, it'll be really embarrassing._

"How are you, young man?" Oscar asked with a smile.

"I am doing well," Ron replied. "Thank you for coming here on such short notice, I really do appreciate it."

"The sound of Gold can allure many a man, no?" Antoine smiled, and Ron gave him a nod.

"So it was not my summons that brought you here?" Madame Maxime joked, and both men laughed.

"Seeing you again lifts our hearts, Madame," Antoine assured her, and she gestured them to sit back down. They all took their seats at that, with Ron and Madame Maxime sitting across from the Brodeur brothers.

"As you are well aware, my friend Ronald is in need of an advertisement firm," Madame Maxime started. "For personal reasons, he has chosen to come to France in order to find one. And I believe that your firm is exactly what he needs."

"And what are these personal reasons?" Oscar asked, his eyes turning to meet Ron's.

"If there is trouble for you back in Britain, then we deserve to know," Antoine added. "After all, our partnership will only succeed if we both lay our cards on the table."

"Barnabas Cuffe, the Chief-in-Editor of the Daily Prophet, is trying to stonewall my business," Ron replied truthfully, and both men nodded in understanding.

"An angry competitor," Antoine said.

"We have dealt with this before," Oscar added. _Are all twins like this? I wish I had a twin. I'd call him Wonald Reasley. Hehe._

"He is friends with the right people back in Britain, and so I can't use any of the firms there," Ron told them. "Which is why I came to France in order to seek help from Madame Maxime. And she showed me the kindness of bringing us together."

"You flatter," Madame Maxime smiled, and Ron smiled back.

"Tell us about your business, and please, leave nothing out," Antoine said. "We wish to know everything about this 'Quibbler'."

* * *

 _ **One Hour later**_

"All of that brought me here," Ron finished, he had told them everything as well.

"I must admit, my heart aches for this Priscila," Antoine said.

"Pauvre enfant," Oscar added, he looked quite upset about a girl that he had never even met.

"Your business model is very impressive, monsieur Weasley," Antoine said, and Ron gave him a thankful nod. "You are clearly very passionate about this, which pleases both my brother and me greatly. A passionate client always makes our job easier, but saying that… The costs…"

"We currently have a request from another potential client, and as we are a small firm, we cannot handle two giant campaigns at once," Oscar joined in, and Ron felt his stomach drop. "They are willing to pay us up to three thousand and five hundred Galleons, whereas you are only offering us two thousand."

"With all due respect to you, and the Madame, we are trying to run a business," Antoine picked up. "It is not economically viable for us to run a campaign in a foreign country for less money than what another potential client is willing to pay. Unless you can top their offer, we cannot, in good conscience, work for you."

"We must also provide for our own," Oscar finished.

"And what price would secure your service?" Ron asked, making sure to keep his composure.

"Four thousand Galleons," Antoine replied, and Ron's gut tightened painfully. _Fucking hell!_

"Believe us when we tell you that this is the best price that you'll get from a foreign advertisement firm," Oscar said. "If you weren't the Madame's friend, this price would be much higher."

"I understand," Ron said, and then he took in a deep breath. "May I have a minute to think this through?"

"Of course," they both said together, and Ron immediately zoned out. _Four thousand Galleons… It's certainly better than five thousand Galleons, which is what Gornuk estimated. Shite, what do I do?_ Ron took in another deep breath, and then he began plotting. _I'll transfer as much money as I can from my personal vault into The Quibbler's vault, and hopefully, that will make a big difference. And if I still need more… Then… Then I'll ask Daphne for help…_ Ron's chest tightened at the thought, but he swallowed the bitter reality of his situation nonetheless.

"Four thousand Galleons," Ron repeated, and both men nodded. "Then you have a deal."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Beauxbatons Gardens – Late Afternoon)**_

"I am sad to see you go, Ron," Amanda smiled weakly, and he managed a weak smile in return. Truth be told, his gut was still feeling rather tight from his meeting with the Brodeur brothers. "Will you write more often?"

"I will, I promise," Ron said, and then he pulled her into a hug. She squeezed him as tightly as she could, whereas he made sure to not squeeze too hard. "Thank you for showing me around today, I had a really great time."

"I should be thanking you for helping me skip my Club activities," Amanda joked, and then they both pulled back. Ron's eyes darted towards her friends behind her, and he met her boyfriend's eyes for a second. The black haired boy was fifteen, but a foot shorter than Ron. _It was just a hug mate, stop eyeballing me like that._

"Thanks for spending the last hour with me," Ron said to Amanda's friends, and they waved at him with friendly smiles. "I hope your evening activities go well."

"Bye, Ronald," Penny, Amanda's best friend, said. Ron looked back to Amanda with a smile, and then he took a step back.

"See you at next year's Chess Tournaments?" Ron asked, and she nodded quickly.

"I'll be in the Apprentice League though," Amanda mumbled, her eyes getting watery. _She did mention that she hated goodbyes._

"That just means that we'll both come out with a trophy," Ron winked, and she let out a wet laugh. Ron then reached into his coat and pulled out the covered Portkey.

"Send my regards to Daphne Greengrass," Amanda said, and Ron gave her a nod. _I will, after I beg her for money._ Ron uncovered the Portkey, and after giving Amanda one more look, he touched it with his left index finger. He immediately got pulled into a vortex of lights and noises, and then, he landed harshly in the Portkey Office's backroom.

"Ow…" Ron groaned, and then he stood up slowly. "Who made this method of traveling? I hope that they're dead…" His stomach growled loudly, and Ron felt his mouth getting wetter. _Don't vomit! You're fine… Just breathe._ After a few seconds of just breathing, Ron straightened his back and looked around the room. "Hello?!"

"Ah, Mr. Weasley," the portly witch said as she wobbled into the room. "Welcome back to Britain."

"Thank you, Miss…"

"My name is Natalie," the portly witch smiled, and Ron simply nodded. "Right… I'll pick up the used Portkey… Please just sign here." Ron walked up to her, and she handed him a quill and a document. Ron signed his name, and then he handed her the quill and document back. "Have a pleasant day." _Yeah… Thanks…_

"You too," Ron said, and then he left the room. As he was walking towards the elevator, he checked his Rolex for the time. _Twenty past four. I should go to Gringotts first in order to transfer the funds, and then I'll head back to Greengrass Manor. And then, I'll go and speak with Daph._ He knew that he was being far too prideful, and that Daphne would help him without a second thought, but it just hurt him to know that he was making her pay for his problems. It felt as if he was taking advantage of the one person who was constantly in his corner back at Hogwarts, and that made him want to slam his own head into a wall.

"Atrium, please," Ron said to the man near the buttons, and the man clicked the button for the eighth floor.

"Tough day?" the man asked him, and Ron nodded. "Sorry to hear that. This place just sucks the soul right out of you somedays, doesn't it?"

"I… I don't work here," Ron said, and the man blinked at him. "I'm a third year at Hogwarts." The man looked him up and down, and then he looked back ahead. _Whatever…_ "You're a big lad…"

"Thanks," Ron said, and they both decided to settle for silence. Once the elevator stopped on the eighth floor, Ron quickly stepped outside and made his way towards the fireplaces. _I'm glad that it's Sunday, otherwise the crowd would be massive._ Once he reached the fireplaces, he took a pinch of floo powder into his left hand. "The Leaky Cauldron." Ron then tossed the powder into the fire, and once it blazed green, Ron stepped through it.

The change in smell was the first thing he noticed, and truth be told, it was rather foul. And then he realized how noisy and packed the pub was, and it took him almost three minutes to push his way out to the back. Once he was in Diagon Alley, he quickly made his way towards Gringotts. _I hope Gornuk is working today. Do Goblins work on Sunday? Merlin, I hope so. I really don't want to travel out of Hogwarts again._ Once he was halfway there, he noticed that there was quite a commotion happening near the entrance of Knockturn Alley. _What's going on there?_

"You can't just show up in here and do as you please!" a grizzled old man yelled, and Ron narrowed his eyes on the crowd.

"Step away, Sir," a large dark-skinned man said, and Ron recognized him. _Is that Kingsley Shacklebolt? I only met him once, but he's a hard man to forget._

"Where are you taking the boy?!" a dirty witch squealed.

"That is not your concern, citizen," Madam Roberts said, her right hand hovering over her wand holster. "Step back now."

"You've shut the whole district down for one bloody boy?!" an angry shopkeeper yelled, and Ron found himself growing more and more interested in what was happening. "Some of us are trying to go home here!"

"A man was killed, now step back!" Shacklebolt's voice thundered, and everyone took a step away from him. That's when Ron spotted a sleeping boy in Shacklebolt's arms. _A murder happened? In Knockturn Alley? Isn't that… common?_

"Tonks and Bailey, disperse this crowd," Madam Roberts ordered, and Ron spotted the Metamorphmagus and a skeevy looking young man brandish their wands.

"Back off, you lot!" the lad named Bailey snapped. "Crawl back into your holes!"

"Bailey!" Shacklebolt frowned at the overzealous recruit.

"Please, this will only take longer if you hinder our work," Tonks said calmly, though she had a resolute look on her face. Ron couldn't help but notice that her hair was bright pink right now. "Please, just give us a bit more time to investigate the area, and then you can all go about your day." As Tonks was addressing the crowd, both Shacklebolt and Madam Roberts pushed their way through towards Ron.

"Ronald?" Madam Roberts blinked at him, and he gave her a weak wave.

"Hello," Ron said as both Madam Roberts and Shacklebolt got closer to him.

"Why are you here?" Madam Roberts asked, a scowl marking her features.

"Mr. Weasley, shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" Shacklebolt asked, and Ron gave him a firm nod.

"I just have business at Gringotts today, Sir," Ron replied. "After that, I'll be heading straight back to school."

"Business at Gringotts?" Shacklebolt eyed him suspiciously. "And where is your supervision?"

"The Headmaster allows me to go about my business unattended," Ron replied, and Shacklebolt's eyes widened a bit.

"Albus Dumbledore allows you to roam around outside of Hogwarts unattended?" Shacklebolt asked. "Forgive me, Mr. Weasley, but I do not believe you. Not to mention that he is not even in Britain right now."

"Send him an owl then," Ron frowned at the tall man. _Bald cunt._

"Kingsley, take the boy to the Department," Madam Roberts jumped in, her eyes fixed on Ron. "Rufus needs to know about this. I'll deal with Mr. Weasley here." Shacklebolt nodded at that, and then he quickly walked off with the sleeping boy still in his arms.

"Rufus Scrimgeour?" Ron asked, and Madam Roberts gave him a curt nod. "The Head Auror needs to know about some murder in Knockturn Alley? Don't people get killed there often? Wait… Was the victim important to you guys? Is that why you've closed down the whole district?"

"You ask a lot of questions," Madam Roberts frowned at him, and Ron gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I just… need a distraction," Ron sighed out. "Things didn't go well for me today…"

"That is not my concern," Madam Roberts said, and Ron nodded weakly. "Go to Gringotts, and then go straight back to school. The streets are not safe."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ron said, and just as he was about to turn around and leave, Tonks ran up to them.

"We have a problem," Tonks panted, and then she blinked at Ron. "What are you-"

"What problem?" Madam Roberts asked, and then both she and Ron looked towards the dispersing crowd.

"I tried to tell them to wait, but they started inciting the mob," Tonks replied, while Ron's eyes slowly fixed themselves onto Lucius Malfoy. _**Lucius Mafloy… Right before Us…**_ Ron felt his stomach heat up, and his eyes glazed over. _**Miserable wretch… Insignificant speck of feculent scum… He hurt Our Ginny… Our BLOOD!**_ "They want to speak with you, Ma'am."

"What are they doing in Knockturn Alley?" Madam Roberts hissed, a look of disgust marring her features.

"They wouldn't say," Tonks replied. "Cornelius Nott told me to 'know my place' when I asked them."

"Of course," Madam Roberts hissed again, and then she turned to Ron. "You should…" she started, but she stopped immediately when she noticed Ron's murderous glare. "Ronald? Ronald, can you hear me? Ronald?!" Madam Roberts then shook him, and he blinked at her.

"Sorry?" Ron asked, he had completely blacked out. _What the fuck? What just happened?_

"Merlin…" Tonks mumbled under her breath, her eyes darting between Ron and Lucius Malfoy. "If looks could kill…"

"What was that?" Madam Roberts asked him slowly, and he blinked at her again.

"What was what?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards Lucius Malfoy again. His blood boiled at the sight of the man, and Ron knew that he had to leave. _I'll lose control, I just know it. I… I think I already did…_

"Never mind," Madam Roberts said, but her eyes were fixed on Ron's. "Be on your way, boy."

"Right," Ron said softly, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck loudly.

"Ew…" Tonks mumbled, her face grimacing slightly. Ron ignored her as he turned around and left, his pace quickened because of his need to put some distance between him and Lucius Malfoy. _**Not yet, but soon…**_

"Calm… Stay calm…" Ron grit out under his breath, but his teeth were gnashing against each other. And deep down, Ron could feel a hunger of sorts. **A need**. It was so strong that his hands began to tremble, and his face twitched uncontrollably. _**Ginny… He tried to murder Our Ginny…**_ A twisted giggle escaped out of his mouth, and Ron turned his head and cracked his neck again. " _ **Blood for blood…**_ " Ron snarled to himself. " _ **Soon…**_ "

As he was walking up the steps of Gringotts, he made sure to his head down in order to hide his face from the crowd. The last thing he needed today was to get caught in his current state. _Calm down, Ron. Get a hold of yourself._ Ron shoved his trembling hands into his coat pockets, and as an old wizard was stepping out of the bank, Ron quickly slid past him and into Gringotts. _Just get your work done, Ron. Don't let this day get any worse._ Ron walked towards Gornuk's desk, only to find it empty.

"Can I help you?" a Goblin asked him from a nearby desk, and Ron turned to face him. "Are you alright? You look… unwell…"

"Is… Ahem…" Ron cleared his throat. "Is Gornuk here?"

"His shift ended twenty minutes ago," the Goblin replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _Twenty minutes. I was twenty minutes too late._ "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"No," Ron replied, his head was starting to hurt. _This fucking day._

"Mr. Weasley?" came Gornuk's voice, and Ron looked to see the Goblin standing by a pillar with a briefcase. _He's heading home?_

"Gornuk," Ron greeted back.

"What are you doing here, Sir?" Gornuk asked. _Sir?_

"I needed to speak with you, but I just learned that your shift ended twenty minutes ago," Ron replied.

"That's fine, please follow me," Gornuk said, and Ron blinked at him. But instead of refusing him, Ron quickly followed after the Goblin. "I imagine that this is about your business?"

"It is," Ron replied, his body tensing slightly. _Please Merlin, let there be enough in my own vault._

"Please, take a seat," Gornuk said as he opened the door to his Office, and Ron did as he was told. Gornuk made his way to his own chair, and then he stared at Ron with his beady eyes. "Have you found a solution to your problem? I must admit that I have failed to find anyone willing to work for you."

"I have found a solution… Sort of…" Ron replied, and Gornuk leaned forward. "An advertisement firm from France is willing to work for me, they're called Le mot d'or."

"Le mot d'or? The golden word?" Gornuk asked.

"You speak French?" Ron asked back, and the Goblin smirked.

"Of course," he replied. _Of course._

"Anyway, they are willing to run the advertisement campaign for The Quibbler," Ron stated, and the Goblin nodded to himself. "The only problem is that they want four thousand Galleons."

"I see," Gornuk said slowly.

"It's better than what you estimated, and they **will** do the job perfectly," Ron went on. "Madame Maxime knows the owners, and they hold a great deal of respect for her. And since I'm her friend, they'll do right by me."

"You are friends with Madame Olympe Maxime?" Gornuk asked, his eyes widening slightly. "That explains why you picked a French firm. Four thousand Galleons, you say? That's not bad, Mr. Weasley."

"We have two thousand in The Quibbler's vault for advertisement, right?" Ron asked, and Gornuk gave him a nod. "How much do I have in my personal vault? Just tell me about the Galleons."

"One thousand eight hundred and forty three Galleons," Gornuk replied from memory, and Ron rubbed his forehead.

"That little?" Ron muttered, his eyes closing in a tired manner.

"You are a heavy spender, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk replied. "Expensive gifts, clothes, your Elf's pay, various payments made to catering companies-"

"I get it," Ron interrupted. _He's right, I've spent so much money in the last two years. And this Quibbler business was a severe blow to my vault. But still, have I really been so careless with my money? I'm such an imbecile. Didn't I spend over four hundred just on Luna and Ginny's bracelets? And Daphne's new pajamas were… Yeah, just over four hundred on my part. As for my own suits and robes… Merlin, this is not good._

"Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk called, and Ron broke out of his miserable thoughts.

"Here is what we'll do," Ron said, and then he took in a deep breath. "Transfer one thousand from my personal vault into The Quibbler's, and then get in touch with Le mot d'or. Pay them their four thousand Galleons, and get the campaign up and running by the beginning of October."

"That's one thousand Galleons that I'll need to take from the hiring budget," Gornuk pointed out, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I… I have a friend who will send me another thousand… Please transfer that into The Quibbler's vault after it comes in," Ron said, an overwhelming sense of shame enveloping him. _One thousand Galleons… I'm so fucking sorry, Daphne._

"I understand," Gornuk nodded as he began to pull out some documents from his desk. "You certainly have a lot of friends, Mr. Weasley." _Friends that I don't deserve._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Evening)**_

"Pup! Finally!" came Sirius' voice as soon as Ron stepped through the fireplace, and before he knew it, Sirius was pulling him into a hug.

"Sirius, what are you doing here?" Ron asked as he slowly returned the hug. _Was he just waiting for me or something?_

"Waiting for you, obviously," Sirius replied, and then he let go of Ron.

"Merlin, Sirius… Why do you smell like a pub?" Ron asked, and Sirius let out a nervous chuckle. Ron couldn't help but notice that Sirius had a five 'o'clock shadow on his face, and that his eyes looked particularly tired. "Are you alright?"

"I'm doing just fine," Sirius lied, but Ron just stared at him. _The article probably hurt him quite a lot. My own problems can wait for a moment._

"I'm sorry about that article, Sirius," Ron said, and Sirius waved a dismissive hand.

"Fuck that bitch, that's what I say," Sirius said dismissively.

"Still… If you want to talk about it, I'm right here," Ron said, and Sirius simply shook his head.

"Don't worry about me, kid," Sirius assured Ron. "I've been through a lot worse than some spiteful hag's cruel words. Actually… Can you do me favor?"

"Anything," Ron nodded, and Sirius took out a closed letter from inside his crinkled robes.

"Can you give this to Harry tonight?" Sirius asked, and Ron took the letter and pocketed it. "I just want him to know my side of things, that's all." _His side of things? As in why he keeps Pettigrew around?_ "How is he, by the way? And Remus? I hope I didn't embarrass him too much."

"First of all, you didn't do anything wrong," Ron started. "Why you kept that rat alive is your business, and it didn't deserve to be made public knowledge. As for Harry and Remus… They're upset."

"Upset?" Sirius asked, his face falling slightly.

"I won't lie to you, they haven't taken this well," Ron replied, deciding to be honest with the man. "When I went back to Hogwarts yesterday, I learned that they had both locked themselves away. Remus in his Office, and Harry in his room."

"Bloody hell…" Sirius rubbed his face. "He just started a new job, and I'm already fucking it up for him. She called him a damn thug in the article." _Remus? Yeah, she did actually. 'Hogwarts' number one thugs'._ "And Harry… Fucking hell, I bet he's the laughing stock of the entire school."

"I… I don't know what to say…" Ron admitted, and Sirius took in a deep breath.

"It's alright, kid, you don't need to say anything," Sirius said, and then his hands dropped down to his sides. "Just keep an eye on Harry for me, won't you?"

"I will," Ron promised. "And if any Slytherins try to start in on him, I'll cover for him."

"Thanks," Sirius smiled weakly, and then he looked Ron over properly. "How was your meeting with Madame Maxime? You didn't tell me that you were friends with the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, you sly dog."

"There's plenty about me that you don't know," Ron shrugged. "As for the meeting… It could've gone better."

"Shite, what happened?" Sirius asked.

"I got a loyal firm to help me, but it's gonna cost me two thousand Galleons extra," Ron replied, and Sirius grimaced. "Yeah… I know how much money that is. And you what the worst part is? I don't even have it."

"Look… I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I can-"

"Please don't," Ron cut him off, and Sirius nodded tiredly. "I already have someone who wants to help me, and if I go to you instead of her, she'll get really hurt." Ron then rubbed the back of his neck, his shoulders sagging down. "Everything was going perfectly, and now I'm…" _Now I'm begging my girlfriend for money._

"Rough couple of days, huh?" Sirius mumbled, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"Damn the Daily Prophet, and every twat that works there," Ron said.

"I'll drink to that," Sirius chuckled softly. "Come on, pup. The others are waiting in the Living Room."

"The others?" Ron asked as Sirius began ushering him forward.

"Seb and Mary, your parents, and the Lovegoods," Sirius replied. "We've all been waiting for you to get back."

"Merlin, I forgot that Xeno wanted to speak with me," Ron sighed, he really didn't have it in him right now to do this.

"He's pretty broken up about this," Sirius told him. "He'd never do anything to damage your business on purpose, you know that right?"

"Whatever," Ron muttered, his entire body feeling extremely lazy. _I just want to sleep. Or cuddle Daphne. I don't know…_

"Just don't yell at him, please," Sirius pleaded, and Ron blinked at the man. "Look, he's feeling really guilty about this. It took Pandora almost two hours to settle him down last night. And this morning, he was pacing around the Burrow again."

"The Burrow?" Ron asked.

"Oh… Yeah, the Rookery is undergoing construction right now," Sirius replied, and Ron waited for him to go on. "The Lovegoods are staying at the Burrow right now, and I spent last night there as well. Passed out from drinking… Your dad, pup… He sure can drink a lot."

"Well, he is just over six feet tall," Ron stated. "And you're what? Ten inches?"

"Oh, I'm ten inches alright," Sirius laughed, and Ron rolled his eyes. _Fucking ran head first into that one._ "Anyway… We all got here a few hours ago, and we've been waiting ever since."

"Can't I just go back to Hogwarts?" Ron groaned. "My shitty day is far from over…"

"Just let him apologize, and then you can go back," Sirius put his arm around Ron's shoulders. "Plus, your parents are here too. Don't you want to see them?"

"Sorry, Sirius," Ron apologized. "I'm not trying to come across as whiny, but it's just been a long day. Of course I want to see them." _I bet mum is feeling calmer now considering the fact that she's here. I just hope we don't get into another argument._ Sirius led Ron into the Living Room, and Ron spotted the adults sitting on the couches.

"Look who I ran into," Sirius said, and they all looked towards Ron and Sirius.

"Hello," Ron greeted them in his usual way, his eyes lingering on Xeno. _Calm. Stay calm._

"Son!" Arthur exclaimed, and then he quickly got up and pulled Ron into a tight hug. "It's really good to see you again!"

"You too, dad," Ron replied as he squeezed his old man.

"Oof… Getting stronger every day," Arthur chuckled as he pulled back. "Look at you… Molly, come see this. Doesn't he look dashing?"

"He does," Molly smiled from behind Arthur, her eyes scanning her son's expensive looking clothes. "How are you, dear?" _Dear? You haven't spoken to me since the Holidays. Dear, she says…_

"I'm doing well," Ron smiled at her, and her own smile widened because of his. "How are you both?"

"Getting by, as usual," his father replied. "Though we do wish that our children would write more often…"

"Ah, the guilt-trip," Ron chuckled weakly, and his father patted his left cheek lovingly.

"You're doing just fine, son," Arthur laughed. "But I haven't heard a word from Ginny, or the twins."

"Except for Percy's letter," Molly added. "Are you and Ginny really fighting?"

"No, mum," Ron sighed, and then his expression went blank. "Ginny has simply forgotten who her blood is." Molly and Arthur blinked at that, while Ron turned his attention towards Pandora. She was just giving him her airy smile from a loveseat, and Ron's eyes went to her slightly more visible belly. "And how are you?"

"I'm well, Ron," Pandora replied.

"Once again, I was talking to the baby," Ron smirked, and Pandora chuckled before beckoning him to her. Ron walked over and leaned down to hug her, and she planted a quick kiss on his right cheek.

"Let me look at you," Pandora said as Ron pulled back, and he gave her a pose. "I bet the girls at Beauxbatons loved you."

"They did try their allures, yes," Ron admitted.

"Really?" Molly asked, while Lord and Lady Greengrass lost their humor.

"It didn't work, so there's nothing to worry about," Ron waved a dismissive hand, and then he looked to Xeno. The man was giving him a very strange smile, one that was a mixture of guilt and joy. Seeing him made Ron angrier than he had thought it would, but Ron did his best to rein it in. "Hello, Xenophilius," Ron said coldly, his eyes digging into the eccentric man's.

"Can… Can we talk?" Xeno asked, his smile dying on his face.

"Of course," Ron replied with a nod, and Xeno stood up.

"I think it'd be better if we all talked about this together," Lord Greengrass said suddenly, his eyes fixed on Ron. Something wasn't right with his apprentice, he could see it. Ron's demeanor had changed within a second, and truth be told, Sebastian didn't want Ron to do something that he'd later regret.

"Pandora, didn't you want to speak with Ron alongside Xeno?" Mary asked, quickly picking up on her husband's plan.

"I did," Pandora nodded. "Ron, I'd really rather not stand up right now. My stomach isn't feeling too well." _It's not?_

"Do want to me to get you something?" Ron asked quickly, his eyes darting to her stomach.

"No, but let's just talk in here," Pandora smiled at him, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Take a seat, Ron," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron walked over to an empty sofa and sat down. Sirius, his parents, and Xeno all sat down as well.

"How did your meeting go?" Arthur asked him, and Ron lost all of his steam. _It went to shite. Congratulations, dad… Your son is officially a beggar now._

"I secured the service of a French advertisement firm," Ron replied, his elbows resting on his knees.

"That's great, Ron," Molly smiled at him, though she could see that he wasn't happy.

"Not quite," Sirius piped in. "Tell them, kid."

"It's going to cost me two thousand Galleons extra," Ron sighed out, his eyes traveling between everyone.

"Two thousand?! For some ads?!" his mother exclaimed, and Ron rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand.

"It's not just some ads, it's an entire campaign," Lord Greengrass clarified. "Most of his new reader-base will be allured by this campaign. Without it, the business will fail to turn a profit."

"But still…" Arthur said, his face losing some of its color. "Isn't that a little… extreme?"

"Believe me, they let me off easy," Ron told them, and his parents looked utterly confused. Ron managed to spot Xeno shrinking into his chair, while Pandora was giving him a sorry look. "The only problem is that I'm a thousand Galleons short…"

"So you can't do the campaign?" Xeno muttered, his face falling even more. "I'm so sorry, my boy… I… I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"I can do the campaign," Ron said, and then he took in a deep breath. "But… But I'll have to ask for money…" And there it was again, that crippling sense of shame. _A thousand fucking Galleons... That's the price of being my girlfriend. That's what she gets for being there for me. This is how I repay her allegiance to me._

"Ask for money?" Pandora asked, and Ron looked at her with a dead stare. _Beg, not ask._

"Congratulations, Pandora," Ron drawled. "Your husband has turned me into a beggar." The whole room went dead silent, while Pandora's mouth hung open from shock.

"Ron… You can't say that…" Molly managed, her eyes darting towards her husband for support. Arthur Weasley was just staring at Xenophilius Lovegood, whose eyes were already getting watery.

"I… I'm… I'm sorry…" Xeno croaked, but Ron just stared at him. _**Your 'sorry' means nothing!**_

"Not as sorry as I am," Ron replied, not even a hint of compassion on his face. "You're lucky that you're a part of my Family, Xeno. Because if you weren't…" Ron trailed off, his stomach turning from shame and anger. _**We would have broken your hands.**_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron simply stared into the fire, the silence had gone on for ten minutes now. Xeno had closed in on himself, while his pregnant wife comforted him in quiet whispers. Ron's own parents were just sitting around awkwardly, their eyes stealing quick looks at him. Sirius had poured himself another whiskey, and was no doubt thinking about his own problems now. Lord and Lady Greengrass were whispering to each other, and Ron figured that they were thinking up a scheme in order to help him.

As for Ron, he could only stare into the fire. He was angry, disappointed, hurt, and full of shame. Once again, he was quite aware of his own pride, but that didn't stop him from feeling like shite. He knew that Daphne would help him out, but for some reason, that hurt him most of all. She would gladly help her leech boyfriend, who had actually fought with her yesterday because he didn't want to accept her money. Not only did that make him look weak, but it also proved to him that he was a fool.

Daphne had already foreseen that Ron would need to ask someone for money, but in his pride, he had neglected her wise counsel. He had spat upon her kind offer, and now, he was going to return to her with his tail tucked between his legs. And yes, he had thought about going to someone else. But he knew that Daphne would find out, and it would hurt her deeply to know that Ron had turned to someone else even though she had offered to help him first. He knew that going to someone else would result in Daphne feeling like she wasn't good enough for him, and he didn't want her to feel that way. If anything, he wasn't good enough for her.

"Ron, can we talk?" Lord Greengrass whispered, his hand landing firmly on Ron's left shoulder.

"Sure," Ron replied tiredly, and then he stood up.

"Let's go outside," Lord Greengrass gestured, and Ron nodded. As they began making their way out, Xeno quickly stood up and walked in-between them and the exit.

"Ron, I need to talk to you as well," Xeno said, an oddly resolute look on his face.

"About what?" Ron asked, he was now too tired to be angry with Xeno. _I forgot to take my second dose today, and I've literally been in two countries since this morning._

"I'll resign…" Xeno said, and Ron blinked at him. "What I did… It was wrong… I've caused your business so much damage, and… And I betrayed your trust… I'll resign…"

"You'll resign?" Ron repeated, his eyes digging into Xeno's.

"It's what I deserve," Xeno admitted, and something in Ron's head snapped.

"You are not 'resigning'," Ron grit out, and Xeno blinked at him.

"Ron, ease up," Lord Greengrass started, but Ron ignored him. _He says he'll fucking resign?!_ _ **After**_ _fucking me over like this?!_

"You are a shareholder, Xenophilius," Ron explained in a harsh tone. "Tell me, what happens when a shareholder wants to 'resign'?"

"I… I don't know," Xeno swallowed, was the boy always so tall? Ron took a step forward at that, his pale blue eyes glaring down at the shrinking Lovegood.

"I have to give them their shares back!" Ron yelled, and Xeno flinched.

"Ronald!" Molly shrieked, what gave him the right to yell at an adult?

"Six hundred Galleons! That's what I'll have to pay you back! You want me to beg for more money, is that it?!" Ron snapped, and Xeno quickly shook his head.

"You don't… have to pay me…" Xeno managed, and Ron fought the urge to strangle him.

"We have a contract," Ron hissed. "A **Magically Binding** contract… I can't **not** pay you back, that's not how things work. And even if I did fire you, which I can't because of your shareholder agreement, I'd have to find someone else to write in your section. So tell me, how does this help me in the slightest? Lord Greengrass, does Xenophilius 'resigning' help me?"

"No," Lord Greengrass replied, this was not going well.

"Kid, you're going too far here," Sirius stood up, a frown etched upon his face. "We get that you're angry, but yelling at Xeno isn't helping you either."

"You **will not** resign," Ron grit out, his attention focused solely on Xeno. "I get that resigning will make you feel better about betraying me, and yes, what you did is a betrayal, but you will not resign. Is that clear?" Xeno didn't reply, but he did give Ron a shaky nod. Ron then looked back at everyone in the room, and he wasn't at all surprised by what he saw. His mother and Sirius were frowning at him, his father looked utterly shocked, Mary was just massaging her temples, and Pandora… Pandora was looking at him like he was a stranger, as if she had never seen the man who was threatening her husband before.

"Ron, let's go," Lord Greengrass said as he lightly nudged Ron, and Ron turned around and marched out of the room. _Yeah, just label me as the bad guy. It doesn't matter that he fucking betrayed me to Cuffe. It doesn't even matter that his self-righteous 'sacrifice' would put his Family under. I'm the bad guy because I raised my voice. It's perfectly fine to be 'disappointed' in me even though I constantly put all of you first._

"I'm going back to Hogwarts," Ron said as they exited the room, but Lord Greengrass stopped him by putting his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"That was unworthy of you, Ron," Lord Greengrass said firmly, and Ron frowned to himself. "Xenophilius made a mistake, a truly foolish mistake, but he is still your elder. You can't scream in his face like that. Your mother and father will have to apologize on your behalf now."

"You know what?" Ron asked as he turned to face his mentor. "I don't even care about that. If they feel the need to apologize to Xeno, then they can go ahead and do that. But as far as I'm concerned, I let him off easy. Believe me, if anyone else had buggered me over like this, I wouldn't have even bothered with a conversation." Ron and Lord Greengrass held eye contact for a few seconds, and then Lord Greengrass drew in a deep breath.

"Who are you going to ask for money?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Is it my daughter?"

"It is," Ron said, his voice wavering slightly. "I fought with her yesterday because I didn't want her money, and now I have to go and…" Ron trailed off, his stomach twisting again. "I'm such a fucking moron…"

"Don't say that," Lord Greengrass said, but Ron simply shook his head.

"She foresaw this, and I hopped onto my high horse and shut her down," Ron sighed, his head was starting to hurt once again.

"If it is my daughter who you are turning to, then why not just accept my money?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Because she offered," Ron replied tiredly. "If I go to anyone else now, especially after that fight we had, she'll think that the problem lies with her. I can't let her think that, not when all of this is my fault. I'm just… powerless here…"

"We can always keep it a secret," Lord Greengrass suggested.

"She's too smart for that, and you know it," Ron argued, and Lord Greengrass nodded his agreement. "She'll find out that we all lied, and then she'll be even more hurt. No… No, I need to take responsibility for my mistakes. And Xeno… He has to live with his."

"He broke his contract when he talked to Cuffe, you know that right?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded weakly. "You can legally fire him and not pay him single a Knut."

"And what happens to his Family after that?" Ron asked. "My Family…"

"To think that all of this happened because of one damn letter," Lord Greengrass sighed out. "Go back to Hogwarts, Ron. I'll deal with everyone here." Ron just nodded wearily, and then he began drifting towards the fireplaces. _I just want this day to be over already._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Mr. Weasley," Snape drawled the moment Ron stepped through the fireplace, and Ron looked over to see the Potions Master sitting behind his desk. "How was your day?"

"It started off great, but it went down the toilet from there," Ron replied, and then he looked to an empty chair. "May I please sit?"

"Certainly," Snape nodded, and Ron sat down and relaxed into the chair.

"How was your day, Sir?" Ron asked.

"Tedious," Snape replied. "We finally finished with the Dueling Club's rankings, and are now preparing for the Club's launch in October."

"Am I still in Rank A?" Ron asked, and Snape gave him a curt nod. "Thank Merlin, some good news."

"All three of your brothers also made it into Rank A," Snape told him, and Ron blinked at him.

"Percy I can understand, but the twins?" Ron asked.

"They had a variety of Spells that they crafted themselves," Snape replied. "They passed the criterion needed to be accepted into Rank A. Not to mention that they won all of their matches yesterday."

"Good on them," Ron smiled a little, he couldn't help but feel proud of the twins. _I'm glad that they're taking this seriously. This Club can really help a lot of people in the war to come._

"Did you manage to save your business?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded tiredly.

"I did, but it came at a cost," Ron replied. "Please… I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine with me," Snape drawled, he couldn't care less. "The Headmaster returned while you were gone."

"He did?" Ron perked up, and Snape nodded.

"He was under the delusion that you'd be going to Grimmauld Place today," Snape replied.

"Shite," Ron sighed. "Is he angry?"

"With you, never," Snape replied, and Ron blinked at him. "I told him why you weren't at Grimmauld Place for the day, and he simply chuckled like a maniac. 'Isn't he driven?'… That's what he asked me."

"He's so weird," Ron muttered.

"Indeed," Snape drawled, and then he suddenly stood up. "Come, let's go speak with him."

"Now?" Ron asked as he too stood up.

"Obviously," Snape gave him a deadpan look, and then he walked over to the fireplace. "Headmaster's Office." With that, Snape threw a pinch of floo-powder into the fireplace. The fire blazed green, and both Professor and student stepped through it. "Albus, Mr. Weasley has returned."

"Ah, welcome," Dumbledore smiled at them, he was currently fidgeting with one of his silver instruments. "Ronald, you certainly look handsome today."

"Just today?" Ron asked haughtily, and then he managed to give the old man a weak smile. "Welcome back, Headmaster. How was your trip?"

"It did not go well," Dumbledore admitted, though he didn't look too bothered. "And yours?"

"It did not go well," Ron copied the old wizard, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him. "But I did manage to save The Quibbler."

"Let me know when you want to talk about our Horcrux issue," Snape said icily as he walked over and sat down. "It's not like it's important…"

"Why is he like this?" Ron whispered to Dumbledore, who simply chuckled.

"Too many fumes in that lab of his," Dumbledore joked, and then he walked over to his seat. Ron joined them quickly, taking a seat to Snape's right.

"I'll be going to Grimmauld Place next week," Ron assured them, and they both nodded. "What do I do if Sirius catches me snooping around?"

"Stun him, and then come to me," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "We cannot afford to be caught, Ronald."

"Isn't he a part of the Order?" Ron asked, he really didn't want to attack Sirius. _It's kind of scary how easily Dumbledore said that._

"No one can know," Snape said, his cold eyes meeting Ron's. "If the wrong people find out, and then they get captured, our mission will fail. The Dark Lord cannot know that we have knowledge on the secret behind his immortality."

"Severus is right," Dumbledore told Ron. "Our actions must remain a secret until the right moment."

"What happens if all three of us get killed?" Ron asked. "Our secrets will die with us, and the Dark Lord will win."

"The Heads of Houses are aware of the Horcruxes," Dumbledore told him, and Ron was genuinely taken aback. "I had no choice but to tell them. They were there when the Diary was destroyed." _That's right, they helped Dumbledore against the Heir and the Basilisk._ "I have left behind instructions for Minerva in case all three of us perish."

"Wouldn't the Entity just restart the Cycle if you died?" Snape asked Ron, who simply shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ron replied, and Snape blinked at him. "Give me a break, it's not like that thing is my friend. It bloody hates me more than it hates the Dark Lord. If it realizes that my efforts have led to a Future where the Dark Lord eventually dies, then it might not restart the Cycle. But who knows? It has its own agenda."

"Is there a way for me to speak with it?" Dumbledore asked, and both Ron and Snape just stared at him.

"Are you insane?" Snape hissed.

"You have a death wish, is that it?" Ron frowned deeply. _Fucking suicidal old loon._

"This creature is an unknown variable that can undo all of our work," Dumbledore said. "If we can secure its allegiance, then we would surely benefit-"

"No," Snape said firmly, a sneer marking his features. "You are suggesting that we turn to something far worse than the Dark Lord in order to defeat him… I **will** **not** serve another monster."

"I'm with Professor Snape on this," Ron said quickly. "This thing… Headmaster, you don't want this monster as your 'friend'. I don't think that it can understand how we humans think, and if you piss it off, I'm the one who'll suffer its wrath." _Entity, if you're listening in, please ignore the old codger._

"It was just a suggestion," Dumbledore assured them. "Very well, we will leave it be."

"Thank you," Ron breathed out, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's.

"Whilst I was in Albania, I picked this up," Dumbledore said suddenly, and then he reached into his desk and pulled out a black leather pouch with strange white symbols on it. "Here, Ronald. It's for you."

"Me?" Ron asked, and then he reached forward and took the pouch. "What is it?"

"It's a pouch with a dozen different Protection Wards on it," Dumbledore replied, and Ron admired his new Magical Pouch. "If you do find the Horcrux this upcoming weekend, put it inside that pouch. It'll keep you safe from its Dark Magic."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron said, but Dumbledore simply waved a dismissive hand. "But… Do you really think that the Horcrux will just be lying around in Sirius' home?"

"No, I don't," Dumbledore replied. "But if Kreacher has knowledge of its location, and he takes you to it, I want you to be safe. What is that Muggle saying? Ah, yes… Better safe than sorry."

"And if you do run into it, don't try to destroy it on your own," Snape said in his cold voice. "Explaining your death is the last thing that we need right now."

"And I ask again, why are you like this?" Ron frowned.

"Experience," Snape drawled.

"Right…" Ron said slowly, shooting a quick look at an amused Dumbledore. "By the way… I saw Malfoy and Nott today. The older ones, that is."

"In France?" Dumbledore asked, his amusement completely gone.

"Near Knockturn Alley, actually-"

"Why were you at Knockturn Alley?" Snape asked, his eyes narrowing on Ron.

"Can I finish the story? Please?" Ron asked, and they both just waited for him to go on. "Anyway, I was heading towards Gringotts when I saw them. There was a murder in Knockturn Alley, and the Aurors shut down the whole district because of it."

"That's odd," Dumbledore said, his hand traveling to his chin. "Do you know who was murdered?"

"No, I don't," Ron replied. "But whoever it was, they were clearly important to the Aurors. I overheard them saying that Rufus Scrimgeour needed to be told."

"A mole," Snape said. "There's your answer."

"An informant?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded.

"The Aurors have a fair few of them planted within Knockturn Alley, it helps them keep tabs on the shadier individuals," Snape replied. "If they shut down the whole district, it means that one of their own got killed."

"So this informant was an Auror in disguise?" Dumbledore asked. "I must admit, I know very little of what happens within Knockturn Alley."

"No, most likely it was someone who got sick of their lot in life, and so they turned to the Aurors," Snape replied. "The Aurors provide them with protection, and they in turn report to the Aurors. But if someone got to their informant, it means that there's a potential leak. Could just be that the poor fool was killed over the price of a trinket, or he just looked at someone the wrong way. Either way, it hardly matters. What I find interesting is that both Lucius and Cornelius were there."

"Yeah, they were clearly up to something," Ron said. "I mean, they tried to incite a mob instead of answering a few questions."

"Those two need to be dealt with," Snape said, and Ron liked the sound of that.

"Dealt with how?" Dumbledore asked. "We can't just lock them away without any evidence, nor can we eliminate them without giving you away. When was the last time you spoke with them?"

"During the Holidays, right after Nott came back from Denmark," Snape replied.

"Merlin, it's been ages," Ron said. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping tabs on them?"

"Have you been a spy for longer than me?" Snape asked, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. "If I keep showing up in their lives uninvited, they will grow suspicious. None of us particularly like one another."

"Aren't you friends with Malfoy?" Ron asked. "Just go over to his place for dinner, or something."

"I agree with Ronald on this," Dumbledore said, his eyes traveling to Snape. "It's been too long, Severus. We need to know where they'll be looking next. With Voldemort missing, the chances of them finding him before us are exponentially higher now."

"I still say that we get rid of them," Ron piped in.

"And how do we do that without arousing suspicion?" Snape asked.

"We don't," Ron replied, and Snape blinked at him. "We find out where they're looking next, and once they leave the country, we intercept them."

"And kill them?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes analyzing Ron.

"Yes, we kill them," Ron replied, and Dumbledore shook his head. "What? We can't cross that line, is that it?"

"That is exactly it, Ronald," Dumbledore said firmly.

"Those two would have no problem offing you or me," Ron argued. "Hell, Malfoy tried to murder an eleven year old girl just last year. Do you think he cares about that?"

"So we become like them?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron drew in a sharp breath.

"I'm not saying that we find ourselves a fresh Hogwarts first year to murder," Ron replied, and Dumbledore looked to a quiet Snape for assistance. "These two men are **Death-Eaters**! They've killed Merlin knows how many people!"

"Ronald, there's a difference between doing what's easy and doing what's right," Dumbledore told him, his expression hardening. "Now enough of this."

"I have **seen** what happens if we don't stop them," Ron said, his hands clenching tightly. "I've seen what happens to this school! To my friends! To my Family! I watched Pansy get murdered by **her own mother**! These people… They don't think like us… To them, we're not even human. Why should we operate with our hands tied behind our backs, while they go about killing hundreds? Explain that to me. Explain to me why it's wrong to kill one person, but letting dozens get killed by that same individual is right."

"Because it's never just 'one person'," Snape told him. "You think that you're the first person to think like this? Well, you're not. You kill one of them, but then another person shows up to replace them. What do you do then? Do you just stop at one person? No, you don't. It's a slippery slope, boy…"

"So what happens when the war is here?" Ron asked them. "Do we run around throwing fucking Stupefies at people who are firing Killing Curses in return? It's no wonder that the Dark Lord spanked you lot in the first war."

"Careful," Snape hissed, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Snape.

"Four hundred and sixty three Cycles have failed," Ron told them both. "Think about that! You think we keep losing because of bad luck? **No**. We probably keep losing because we are operating in the wrong way. We are dealing with the symptoms, while the cancer is out there trying to bring back the Dark Lord." Ron then looked to Dumbledore, who was pinching the bridge of his crooked nose. "Until Crouch Snr gave the Kill Order, the Ministry was barely holding on. We all know that without that Kill Order, things would have turned out rather poorly for the Ministry."

"And how would your friend Theodore react to you killing his father?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron felt his body tense. "Tell me, what would your parents say if they were in this room with us? Would they be proud of you?"

"I…" Ron started, but then he stopped. His expression darkened, and he stared at Dumbledore coldly. "I don't need their love, I just need them to be safe. That's all that matters. _**That is Our purpose. Our only purpose.**_ "

"Gods…" Snape muttered, his blood freezing at the sight of Ron's crimson, toad-like eyes.

"Ronald," Dumbledore whispered, his hard expression morphing into a one of despondency.

" _ **This conversation is over,**_ " 'Ron' snarled as he slowly stood up, and every candle in the room dimmed as Fawkes began to shriek. Snape slowly reached for his wand, while Dumbledore looked right into Ron's demonic eyes.

"This is not you, dear boy," Dumbledore said, and Ron blinked at him. "Don't turn into this. Don't become what you're trying to protect your Family from."

"Um… What are you on about?" Ron asked, his eyes returning to normal. "What happened to the lights? Wait… It fucking happened again, didn't it?"

"Thank Merlin," Snape breathed out, his goosebumps dying down. It truly terrified him how easily his Occlumency had shattered at the sound of the Entity's voice.

"What?" Ron asked them, Dumbledore's saddened look was starting to worry him. "What did I do?"

"You wanted to kill Lucius and Cornelius," Snape pointed out, his hand coming back out of his robes.

"I remember that," Ron said, and both men blinked at him. "What happened after that?"

"So that was still you," Dumbledore shook his head, it was hard to not notice the disappointment in his voice. "Severus, take Ronald back to his dorm. I think that he'll do well with some rest." _What?_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Seriously?" Ron asked Snape's back as the Potions Master opened the entrance to the common room. "You're not going to tell me what I said?"

"You will come straight to my Office after your classes end on Tuesday," Snape said, and Ron blinked at him. "Your Occlumency lessons will start immediately."

"Thank you for that, but still…" Ron said. "What did I do?"

"It wasn't you," Snape replied, and then he simply walked away. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was scared of being near me._ Ron watched the man billow away, and after he had turned a corner, Ron walked into the common room. He was instantly met with the sound of laughter and loud talking, and he could smell fresh cookies. He looked around the common room, and oddly enough, the relaxed setting helped ease his mind a bit. But then he spotted his friends, and the sight of them made him feel like he was carrying a ton of bricks. _Daphne. I almost forgot about asking her for money._ Ron slowly walked over to them, and they greeted him with wide smiles.

"You're back!" Pansy quickly shot out of her seat in order to hug him, and while he patted her back, the others made room for him. _They're playing Wizard's Poker. Looks like fun… Great, now I'm about to ruin their day as well. Maybe I should just fuck off to my room for the night?_

"How did the meeting go?" Daphne smiled at him, but he couldn't manage one back. _Should I ask her now?_ Ron looked to his friends, who were now quickly losing their happy faces. "Ron, what's happened?"

"Can I talk to you?" Ron asked her, and she nodded slowly. "Alone?"

"Sure," Daphne replied, and then she stood up.

"Ron, did it not go well?" Tracey asked him.

"You look exhausted, mate," Theo pointed out. "Why don't you sit around with us for a bit? And then you can talk to Daphne after dinner?" _What would Theo say if I did kill his father?_

"This is… Ahem…" Ron cleared his dry throat. "This is urgent."

"We can talk in my room," Daphne said, and then she gave the others a meaningful look.

"We'll deal you in for the next game," Blaise said, and Theo quickly rounded up the cards.

"Right," Ron muttered, and then he followed after Daphne. "Sorry about pulling you out of the game, you looked like you were winning."

"That's fine," Daphne shot him a smile. "Pansy and I were cheating anyway. You look really nice in that suit, by the way. And that trench coat is perfect. Is that the outfit that my mother picked out for you?"

"It is, and thanks," Ron said, why couldn't he fucking smile back?

"Did Madame Maxime refuse to help you?" Daphne asked as they began nearing her room.

"No, she helped me," Ron replied, and Daphne nodded slowly. "I even managed to secure an advertisement firm."

"Then what's wrong?" Daphne asked as she opened the door to her room, and Ron stepped inside. She quickly followed him in, and then she closed and locked the door. "Ron, you look utterly spent. Have you looked into a mirror? You're as pale as a ghost."

"I've had a long day," Ron sighed out, and then he looked around the room. "There are panties on the floor…"

"Bloody Tracey!" Daphne squealed as she quickly ran around him and started collecting them. "She just throws them away once she's done with them!" _That's kind of gross._

"Doesn't she own a laundry bin?" Ron asked.

"These aren't dirty," Daphne huffed as she dumped them on Tracey's bed. "She was trying to find a perfect pair for today, and so she ransacked her own trunk. Sorry about this."

"No, it's not your fault," Ron said, and then he walked over to Daphne's bed. "Can I sit down?"

"Of course," Daphne said as she walked over to him. "Ron, you're starting to worry me. What's happened?"

"The firm is going to cost me four thousand Galleons in total," Ron replied as he sat down, and Daphne sat down to his left. "I… I have three thousand Galleons that I can use… I've got another eight hundred in my personal vault, but I want to save that for a rainy day…"

"Alright," Daphne nodded, she was starting to get a picture of why he was so distressed. _How do I say it? Do I just ask her for money? Fuck!_ "You want to discuss my plan?"

"I… I'm really sorry, Daphne," Ron mumbled, his eyes stinging from shame.

"Ron, take a deep breath," Daphne said softly as she scooted closer to him, and then she started rubbing his back.

"I didn't even apologize for our fight yesterday, did I?" Ron sniffled.

"We made up, remember?" Daphne put her left hand on his left arm, all the while rubbing his back with her right one.

"I know, but I didn't say that I was sorry," Ron realized, which only made him feel like a bigger piece of shite. "You were right, and I was wrong. I… I need money…" Merlin, he wanted to keel over and die right now.

"No one has to know about this, Ron," Daphne whispered. "It can just be our secret."

"That's… That's not the point…" Ron sniffled, something that made him angrier with himself. _Stop crying, you weak little bitch._ "I'm… I'm really sorry that you have to…"

"I offered, Ron," Daphne told him. "I offered it to you. You're not forcing me into this."

"But I was so self-righteous about it," Ron muttered as he began to fidget with his hands, a couple of traitorous tears escaping his eyes. "And now here I am…" Ron sniffled again, and then a sob broke out of his throat. "I… I don't… know what's wrong with me, Daphne… I… I don't know how I can be so stupid…"

"People make mistakes, Ron," Daphne hugged his side. "And you're not stupid."

"You were probably having a great day until I showed up too," Ron sobbed out, his hands were starting to tremble again. " _I'm such a fucking burden on you._ " Daphne tensed a bit at his sudden use of Parseltongue, but she didn't let go of him. "I'm really sorry…"

"Just lie down, Ron," Daphne managed, her own eyes were stinging because of how defeated he sounded.

"I can't… I'll fall asleep," Ron sniffled, and then he rubbed his face rather strongly. "I still have to do something…" _Sirius gave me that letter, and I need to deliver it._

"I understand," Daphne said gently.

"I'll pay you back, I swear it," Ron promised, but that didn't make him feel any better. Daphne went to refuse his offer, but she stopped herself.

"Alright, Ron," Daphne agreed. "When your business takes off, you can pay me back."

"Tha… Thanks…" Ron hugged her back, and they just sat there until dinner.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

Harry's eyes were fixed to his meager plate, but occasionally, he fired a look at Remus or Dumbledore. He was meant to have his first lesson with Remus today, but he had skipped it because he was still angry with the man for lying to him about Pettigrew. Voldemort may have killed James and Lily Potter, but Pettigrew had signed their death warrants. _I'll talk to Dumbledore right after dinner. He'll let me go and see Pettigrew. He'd better._

"Harry, eat this," Neville said as he placed another piece of Shepard's Pie onto Harry's plate.

"I'm not hungry, Nev," Harry sighed.

"Harry, you didn't eat breakfast or lunch," Hermione scolded him. "Not to mention that you skipped dinner last night as well. So eat properly right now, or I'll tell Professor McGonagall." Harry let out another sigh at that, he didn't want to argue with her right now.

"Alright," Harry consented, and then he took a bite out of his food. _The food here is always amazing._

"Has Sirius owled you yet?" Neville asked, and Harry shook his head.

"It's only been a day," Harry pointed out. "He'll send one." _He has to. I need to know why he's keeping Pettigrew around._

"We have Charms tomorrow morning," Hermione said suddenly. "Harry, did you manage to finish that essay?"

"No," Harry replied.

"Oh… You can use mine as a template, if you want," Hermione offered, and Harry looked to her. She was giving him a weak smile, and Harry felt a little soothed because of her kindness.

"Thank you, Hermione," Harry managed a smile back, and Hermione suddenly beamed. _She's trying to help, they both are. I should stop sulking, but I can't stop thinking about Pettigrew._ Harry was broken out of his thoughts by the annoying giggling of Lavender, Parvati, and Fay. The Trio looked to them in a subtle manner, and unsurprisingly, they were whispering and giggling to each other as usual.

"What's that about?" Neville asked Hermione, who just frowned at the three girls.

"How am I supposed to know?" Hermione asked back. "I'd have to lose a million brain cells in order to understand those three."

"Ouch," Neville sniggered, while Harry just watched them carefully. That's when he noticed that they were shooting looks at the Slytherin table, and so Harry followed their gazes towards Ron.

"They're giggling at Ron," Harry shook his head, and both Hermione and Neville looked to the redhead as well.

"Nice suit," Neville noted.

"He's back from France," Hermione stated the obvious. "I still don't understand how he got the Headmaster's permission for that. It's one thing that the Headmaster allows him to travel to Diagon Alley without permission, but to go to another country all by himself? That's too much…" Harry just listened to Hermione, a faint feeling of envy settling into his chest.

"They're Chess buddies," Harry said, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. _Dumbledore hasn't even spoken to me since the beginning of this year, but Ron has his permission to run off to France on a whim. There is something going on between those two, and it's not Chess._

"He looks kind of… sick, doesn't he?" Neville pointed out, and Harry shot Ron another look. The redhead looked horribly pale, his eyes were slightly agitated and red, and he was talking with Nott and Zabini with a dead-serious look. _What are they talking about? Nott and Zabini seem to be listening to every word as if it's gospel._

"He does look sick," Hermione said softly, but then she turned her head back to her plate. "Not our problem."

"Hermione… He hasn't done anything wrong," Neville sighed, and Harry groaned to himself. _This again… She lost one match, and she's still angry about it. I lost too, you don't see me throwing a fit._

"I didn't say that he did," Hermione said haughtily. "And it's none of your business, Neville."

"It is when I have to put up with it," Neville said firmly, and Harry couldn't help but agree with him. _She's been having sudden outbursts of anger at us all day. How is it our fault that she lost to him?_

"Put up with it?" Hermione snapped at Neville, but he simply stared at her.

"You're yelling at me, in case you haven't noticed," Neville said, and Hermione's face flushed. "It's just a friendly Dueling Club, Hermione. You don't have to take it so seriously."

"You're only saying that because you lost four out of five matches," Hermione blurted out, and Harry frowned at her.

"Hermione," Harry said, his eyebrows furrowing. "That was a cruel thing to say."

"I'm sorry that I want to **win** , which by the way, will net us House Points," Hermione huffed, her eyes going back to her plate. "Maybe you two should take things like this more seriously? I mean, I wish I was getting free lessons from Professor Lupin. But no, he's offering them to you, and you just skipped them."

"Whatever…" Harry waved her off, he didn't want to deal with her tantrum right now.

"Whatever," Hermione said back, while Neville let out a tired sigh.

"I'm going to go sit with Ginny and her friends," Neville said, and then he got up and left.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Professor Dumbledore, can I please talk to you?" Harry asked as he caught up to the old wizard, who turned around with twinkling eyes. Dumbledore had tried to leave dinner early, but Harry had made sure to follow after him in order to get permission to see Pettigrew.

"Of course, dear boy," Dumbledore smiled at him, and Harry smiled back. "What can I do for you?"

"Um… Have you read the Daily Prophet's article on Sirius?" Harry asked, he didn't know why, but he felt a little embarrassed for some reason.

"I have indeed," Dumbledore replied. "Don't think too much on it, Harry. Otherwise you give people like Miss. Skeeter the power that they crave."

"Right…" Harry said slowly, he had no idea what Dumbledore was on about. "The paper claimed that Pettigrew was still alive, and in St. Mungo's… Is that true?" _I need to know if he knew about this._

"I do not know," Dumbledore replied, his features softening even more. "I have not seen Mr. Pettigrew since his trial."

"Well, Remus told me that he is," Harry said, and Dumbledore nodded to himself. "I was wondering if I could have permission to go to St. Mungo's in order-"

"No," Dumbledore declined, and Harry blinked at him. "I am sorry, Harry, but I cannot give you my consent on this. Seeing Mr. Pettigrew will only hurt you, believe me." Harry just stared at Dumbledore, and then he felt his blood boil.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Harry asked. "I should be able to see the man who murdered my parents if I want to."

"I'm sorry, my boy," Dumbledore said, his empathetic smile only serving to annoy Harry even more. "But as long as you are in this school, you have to follow the rules that we Professors set." _Well, your rules are stupid!_ "Now, is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"No," Harry said coldly, and then he turned around and marched back towards the Great Hall. _Bloody Ron can go all the way to France without supervision, but I can't even go to St. Mungo's? How is that fair?!_ As he turned to walk into the Great Hall, his path was blocked the by redheaded Slytherin himself.

"Hello," Ron greeted him in his usual way, and Harry bit back a frown.

"Hi," Harry said curtly, and then he tried to walk past the taller boy. But Ron stepped into his way, and Harry blinked at him.

"I need to talk to you about something," Ron said, his pale face giving Harry a tired smile. "In private, that is."

"What is it?" Harry asked, but Ron just gestured him towards the exit of the Entrance Hall.

"It's about Sirius, mate," Ron whispered, and Harry's ears perked up.

"You saw him?" Harry asked quickly as they began to head out, and Ron gave him a nod.

"I saw him today-"

"How is he? Did he get my letter? Did he say anything about Pettigrew?" Harry asked, and Ron processed his questions.

"He's having a rough time, but he's managing just fine," Ron started. "I don't know if he got your letter, and he didn't mention Pettigrew."

"You didn't ask him?" Harry asked hotly.

"It's… It's not really my business," Ron replied slowly, and Harry couldn't help but frown at him.

"Don't you care about him?" Harry asked, and Ron shot Harry a rather dangerous look. But it disappeared as soon as it came.

"Of course I do, Harry," Ron replied. "You know that I love him."

"Then why didn't you ask about Pettigrew?" Harry asked as they stepped into the Courtyard.

"Because the bloke didn't want to talk about it, and I'm not going to twist his arm," Ron sighed out, and then he rubbed his face as he came to a stop. "Here, he gave me this for you." With that, Ron took out a letter and handed it Harry.

"This is from Sirius?" Harry asked, his hands quickly breaking open the Black Family seal. Ron said something, but Harry completely ignored it. His eyes were already reading through the letter.

 _Harry,_

 _I know that you're angry, and I don't blame you. This whole mess is my fault, and you're paying for it. I just wanted to check up on you and Remus, I really hope that you two are being there for each other._

 _This is hard. I bloody hate writing letters. I've never been very good at this sort of communication, it was always your dad's forte. His love letters were legendary._

 _Ignore that top bit please. Right… The paper was sort of right, but Harry, we were never thugs. Sure we played some pranks, but it was all just good fun. Nothing more. And no, we were never favored. Not even once. Skeeter is just trying to siphon attention from an age old debate. Ignore her, I know I am._

 _As for Peter, she got that right. I am keeping him alive, but it's not because I like torturing dead bodies. I just needed to. It's hard to explain, but I couldn't let him go. Your mum and dad, Remus, and Peter were all I had in my life. They were always there for me, and I still needed that. With your mum and dad gone, I felt the need to hold onto my old family._ _This is so hard._

 _I know that it isn't exactly healthy, nor is it morally right, but I can't change the past. But what I can do is to fix my mistake._

 _Firstly, I need to apologize to you. And no, not with some letter. I'll meet you during your first Hogsmeade Weekend, and we can talk in person. I shouldn't have lied to you, but I did. Seeing him wouldn't have helped you, just as it didn't help me. He's gone, and we need to move on._

 _Which brings me to the second thing. I'm going to have them euthanize Peter's body. It's about time that I leave my past in the past. You are my Future, Harry, and from this day on, I'll only focus on you._

 _P.S: Hedwig is here, and I'll be sending her back with another letter._

 _Your Godfather,_

 _Sirius Orion Black._

Harry stared at the letter for a few seconds, and then he looked to at the back of it. _That's it?_

"Something wrong with it?" Ron asked, and Harry quickly pocketed it.

"No, it's just…" Harry started, but he didn't know what to say. _I expected more. This letter is… It's not good enough! I'm not waiting for another month before I get to speak with Sirius about this! And what's this about euthanizing Pettigrew?! I want to see him, why can't they understand that?!_

"Did it not meet your expectations?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded. "Sorry, mate."

"No, that's fine," Harry said rather coldly, and then he gave Ron a curt nod. "Thanks for delivering it."

"No worries," Ron said, and then he looked around awkwardly. _What's wrong with him?_ "If want to talk, Harry… Then I'm right here."

"Talk?" Harry asked, and Ron rubbed the back of his neck. _Wait…_ "Did Sirius tell you to 'watch over me'? Or some other nonsense like that?"

"Actually, he did ask me to do that," Ron started, and Harry once again felt his blood boil. "But I wanted to talk to you anyway. I tried finding you yesterday, but you weren't around. If you need anything, you can just come to me. Oh, and I'll keep the Slytherins away from you as well. Some of them can be really-"

"I don't need **you** to babysit me," Harry grit out, and Ron looked rather startled. "I mean seriously, do you have any idea how condescending you can be?" _Does he talk to everyone like this? Well, I'm not one of his lackeys!_

"Woah, ease up there," Ron said, his awkward demeanor disappearing completely. "I'm just trying to be there for you, that's it. Now if you don't want to talk to me, then don't. But there's no need to take your anger out on me. I'm just delivering a message."

"No, you just said that you'll keep your House-mates away from me," Harry argued. "What? You think that I can't deal with them myself? Is that it? Well, I can take care of myself, despite everyone in the World thinking otherwise."

"I didn't say that you couldn't," Ron said, his sickly face getting flushed. "All I offered was some help, but if you don't want it, then that's your prerogative." With that, Ron turned around and left.

"I didn't ask for your help in the first place!" Harry called out after him, but Ron just walked back into Hogwarts without even looking back. _I'm so sick of people constantly making decisions for me! I'm going to go see Sirius this weekend, and I don't care what the Professors have to say about that!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Snape's Office – After Classes)**_

"Madam Pomfrey has informed me that you didn't attend your session with her yesterday," Snape drawled, and Ron nodded. "May I ask why?"

"It's been a rough few days," Ron shrugged. "And she'll make me talk about them when I just don't want to. So, yeah…"

"I see," Snape nodded. "But I must inform you, Mr. Weasley, that in order to learn Occlumency, one must learn to clear their minds of all emotions. Your sessions with Madam Pomfrey are a good way for you to 'unload' your burdens."

"I… I didn't think about that," Ron admitted. "I'm sorry." Snape cocked an eyebrow at Ron's quick apology, this was new. "Is something wrong, Sir?"

"You tell me, Mr. Weasley," Snape replied, and Ron blinked at him. "You seem… distracted." _Oh. Well, I am a little… scattered._

"Like I said, it's been a rough few days," Ron said. "I just took a lot of hits, and I'm trying to recover from that, but believe me, I'm here to learn."

"Good," Snape said, and then he reached into his desk and pulled out a purple hardcover book. "This will be your greatest ally in our lessons. Here." Ron took the book from Snape, and he eyed it critically.

"An Introduction to the Art of Occlumency: Learn to Protect Your Mind from Your Neighbors," Ron read the title on the cover of the book, and then he looked to Snape with a confused look. "My Neighbors?"

"Ignore that," Snape said coldly, his face an expressionless mask. "I will start by giving you a simple introduction into what Occlumency is, and then you will finish the first two chapters of that book. This is, after all, a detention."

"Learning new Magic hardly seems like a punishment to me," Ron stated, and Snape just stared at him. "I mean… Darn it! Not reading! I hate-"

"Shut up," Snape bit out, and Ron nodded to himself. _I kind of asked for that._ "Your 'humor' is not appreciated. Now be quiet, and listen for a change."

"You must be so much fun on dates," Ron remarked, and Snape nearly reached across the table in order to strangle him. "Am I getting to you? I thought you were a Master Occlumens?"

"The fact that you are still breathing is a testament to my skill as an Occlumens," Snape hissed, and Ron nodded firmly.

"Right, let's get started then," Ron sat up straighter, while Snape used his Occlumency to find his center again. _If I can learn to control my temper like Snape, then this could really help me out. Quite a few of my problems start because I can't keep myself in check sometimes._

"An amateur will tell you that Occlumency is simply the Art of resisting Legilimency, but this is false," Snape started, and Ron listened intently. "Occlumency is the Art of disciplining one's mind, and through that discipline, one can learn to protect themselves."

"From Legilimency?" Ron asked, and Snape nodded.

"Legilimency, negative emotions, outbursts of anger, panic… the list is quite long," Snape replied. "But countering Legilimency is Occlumency's greatest gift. In the past, the Dark Lord established himself as the greatest Legilimens to have ever walked this Earth."

"He did?" Ron asked.

"Indeed," Snape replied. "He could destroy a lesser wizard or witch simply by looking into their minds, and once he was in, he'd tear their minds asunder with images of pain and death. I once saw him turn a respected Auror into a blubbering infant within a minute." _Sweet Merlin…_

"We're dead," Ron muttered. "We're so fucking dead…"

"Listen," Snape said coldly. "The traditional way to teach someone Occlumency is with the use of Legilimency, but unfortunately for us, we can't do that with you. So, you will learn it the way I learned it. Meditation."

"As in relaxing?" Ron asked.

"In a way, yes," Snape replied, and Ron was rather surprised that he was right. "You must learn to cast out all emotions and thoughts, and simply… exist. Your mind must become blank and empty, and it mustn't let any noise in. That is how one negates Legilimency. If the attacker has nothing to use against you, then their assault is useless. Can you do that? Can you clear your mind?"

"I've never really tried," Ron replied, and Snape gestured him to try. _Alright, here I go._ Ron took in a deep breath, and after closing his eyes, he sat completely still. _No thoughts. No emotions. I feel nothing. I am empty. Nothing can get in. Wait… No thoughts, right? Is thinking in my head considered thoughts? That's a question for the Ravenclaws, I'm sure. Right, I am completely neutral. I am Snape, only better looking. I am-_

"Stop smirking," Snape hissed, and Ron fixed his face.

"Sorry," Ron said, and then he opened his eyes. "This is really hard. I can't even think?"

"What part of blank and empty didn't you understand?" Snape asked. _Blank and empty, the perfect words to describe Snape's sex life._

"How long did it take you to master it?" Ron asked.

"By the end of my schooling, I was capable of hiding my thoughts from Albus Dumbledore himself," Snape smirked, and Ron was genuinely impressed.

"Well, I did it in my second year," Ron said, and Snape lost his smirk.

"You did nothing," Snape reminded him, but Ron simply shrugged.

"Still counts," Ron said casually, and Snape grimaced because of his tone.

"No… It doesn't," Snape snarled, and Ron smiled widely at him. "Weasley, I'll tear your throat out!"

"Master Occlumens, my arse," Ron laughed, and Snape suddenly brandished his wand and Non-verbally silenced him. "MMM!"

"That's better," Snape smirked, and Ron frowned at him. _Fucking cocksucker._ "Now, try meditating again." Ron pointed to his mouth, but Snape simply kept smirking. _Fine!_ Ron closed his eyes, and then he took in a deep breath. _Nothing is wrong. It's not like my mouth is Magically sealed shut or anything. I am calm. And bored. Merlin, do I just sit here for the next four hours? And this will happen every Tuesday? Good lord, kill me please._

* * *

 _ **Four Hours Later**_

Dinner had already started, and Ron was following Snape towards the Great Hall. The Overgrown Dungeon Bat of Hogwarts still hadn't unsealed Ron's mouth, and as much as Ron hated to admit it, the lesson had gone over more smoothly because of it. He had managed to read both the first chapters the Occlumency book, even if they were quite useless.

They pretty much re-explained what Snape had told him, with a few 'helpful' tips and tricks to use in order to clear one's mind. But the truth was that Ron wasn't exactly an emotionless person. If anything, he was far too emotional. It wasn't that he got upset often, the last few days not counting, but he enjoyed laughing and making jokes. And his temper was easily riled up. And yet, Ron had no intention of stopping these lessons. Even he could see the value of being able to control one's emotions, and that story about the Dark Lord had scared him straight. The last thing he wanted was for his friends to be turned into mindless infants, and so he planned to teach them whatever Snape taught him.

"MMM!" Ron moaned as they neared the Great Hall, and Snape turned to look at him.

"My, my…" Snape smirked, and Ron rolled his eyes. "I forgot that you were even there. Tell me, why shouldn't we make this change permanent?"

"MMM!"

"Nothing to say?" Snape asked, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Is that a yes?" Ron suddenly gave Snape the bird, and Snape lost his smirk. "Thirty points from Slytherin, Weasley!" Ron simply shrugged at that, and Snape had to use his Occlumency to calm himself down. _Yeah, bitch. I don't need my voice to piss you off._ Snape then took out his wand and undid the Silencing Charm, and Ron groaned as he fixed his jaw.

"Two things…" Ron breathed out. "One, you're a jerk. Two, can you teach me that?" _It'd be rather handy during a Duel, I reckon. I'll easily defeat people who can't use Non-verbal Magic._

"It's the Silencing Charm, and if you want to learn it, then learn it on your own," Snape said coldly, and Ron nodded to himself. _Silencing Charm. Remember that, Ron._ "And… Thirty points to Slytherin… For your inquisitiveness…" _Same house, mate. If I lose, you lose._

"Hehe," Ron chuckled, and Snape billowed away towards the Great Hall angrily. "Ow… My jaw…" Ron massaged his face as he walked towards the Great Hall, eager to finally eat some food. As he stepped into the bursting Great Hall, he spotted the twins getting yelled at by McGonagall. They were both sniggering, until McGonagall smacked one of them with a rolled up parchment. _Yeesh. Did they fail one of her tests? Or did they get caught pranking someone?_ Ron shook his head clear, and then he walked towards his friends.

"He lives," Theo smirked at him as he sat down in his usual spot, and Ron gave him a pat on the back.

"So, how was detention?" Blaise asked, while the girls smiled at him.

"Tedious," Ron replied, and then he began making himself a plate. "Anything happen while I was away?"

"They published the rankings for the Grand Dueling Tournament," Tracey replied, and Ron looked up with a curious look.

"Did they really?" Ron asked, and everyone except Daphne nodded. "Well?"

"Shall I?" Millie asked the other, who simply shrugged. "Right… You're in Rank A, which isn't really surprising because of your Wandless Magic. Blaise, Theo, and I are in Rank C."

"Rank C?" Ron asked, and they all shrugged once again. _They won most of their matches though._

"Most of the Rank B's are fifth and sixth years, with a couple of fourth years mixed in," Theo told him. "Rather off-putting really… I deserved a spot in that Rank."

"Whatever you say, 'four out of five'," Blaise smirked, and Theo gave him the bird.

"Damn Granger and her perfect Shield Charm," Theo grumbled, while the girls laughed at his expense.

"Anyway," Mille restarted. "Daphne, Pansy, and Tracey are in Rank D." Ron quickly shot a look towards Daphne, and unsurprisingly, she was simply eating her food. _She's bothered about that, and so she's completely shut down emotionally. Damn, she'd make a great Occlumens._

"The Triumvirate?" Ron asked.

"Carey Ductu and Clara Martyris are in Rank B, while Samantha Selwyn is in Rank A," Pansy replied, and Ron nodded to himself. "Carey and Clara aren't really Duelists, in my opinion. They had the knowledge, but they aren't fighters."

"Pansy, the expert on Duelists," Tracey chuckled, while Pansy smirked at her.

"Jealous much?" Pansy asked, but Tracey simply winked at her.

"And the Trio?" Ron asked, but he already had a good idea about their Ranks.

"Longbottom is in Rank A," Theo sniggered.

"Shite, I'm doomed," Ron joked, and Theo shook his head 'sadly'.

"Potter and Granger are in Rank C, like us," Millie said. "Longbottom is in Rank D."

"Hermione is Rank C?" Ron asked, that was surprising.

"Load of fifth, sixth, and seventh years displayed Non-Verbal Magic, and she only showcased two Spells," Blaise pointed out, and Ron nodded slowly. _I guess that makes sense. Plus, I did hand her a loss._

"Truth be told, they pretty much favored the older students," Tracey said casually.

"Well, they do know more Spells than us," Blaise said, and Tracey sighed overdramatically.

"Must you always be the voice of reason, Blaise?" Tracey asked him, and he shrugged aloofly. "It's a good thing that you're handsome, otherwise you'd just be boring."

"Shame you don't have either things going for you," Blaise smirked, and Tracey feigned hurt.

"Don't listen to him, Trace," Ron piped in. "I think you're pretty."

"Thanks," Tracey smiled at him, and then she poked her tongue out at Blaise.

"Arse-kisser," Blaise whispered to him.

"I'll kiss yours if you're not careful," Ron whispered back, and Blaise scooted away from him. "That's right, Blaise. You skulk away…" Ron's eyes then darted towards Daphne again, and he noticed that she still hadn't looked up from her plate. _Damn, being in Rank D must really be bothering her._ Ron suddenly felt someone kick his shin, and he looked to each of the girls. Pansy was just staring at him, and when he stared back, she nudged her head towards Daphne. _Yes, Pansy, I'm not blind._

"So Millie…" Theo started, and Millie looked to him. "I hear that the Chocolate Frog Cards Club is opening next week." _For fucks sake._

"Theo…"

"Can you not?"

"Leave her be."

"So?" Millie huffed, her eyes narrowing on him.

"Are you going-" Theo suddenly jerked forward, and then he glared at Tracey. "That hurt!"

"I didn't do it," Tracey quickly defended herself.

"It was me," Pansy said sweetly. "Next one lands on your crotch, so think carefully before you say anything."

"Ohhh," Ron and Blaise called out, while Theo crossed his legs.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Boys' Room – After Dinner)**_

"What do you want to talk about?" Daphne asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Lock that," Ron said, and Daphne did as she was told.

"I foresee kisses in my Future," Daphne suddenly smirked, and then she began to walk towards him.

"I wanted to talk about the Rankings," Ron said, and Daphne stopped walking.

"Oh…" Daphne muttered, her smirk dying on her face.

"Are you alright, Daph? You barely said a word during Dinner," Ron said as he sat down on the edge of his bed, and then he patted the spot to his right. Daphne exhaled loudly before walking up to him, but instead of sitting down, she simply hovered in front of him. _Alright then._ She kicked his feet lightly, and once he spread open his legs a bit more, she just stood in-between them with a miserable pout on her pretty face.

"Rank D, Ron," Daphne whispered, her Ice-Queen persona dead and forgotten. "They put me in with the second years…"

"I'm sorry about that," Ron sighed, and then he slowly put his hands on the sides of her hips. _Don't slap me!_ She didn't seem to be bothered by that, and Ron relaxed a little.

"My father is going to hear about this, and once he finds out that you're in Rank A, he'll probably start giving me the cold shoulder," Daphne whined.

"Really?" Ron asked, and she gave a weak nod.

"Greengrasses don't land in Rank D," Daphne said. "This is exactly why I didn't want to join this stupid Club. Rank D… The lowest of the low…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Ron said rather gently.

"Ahem… Is that you, Ron?" Daphne asked, and he blinked at her. "You would usually say something about me 'not trying hard enough', and that I deserve to be in Rank D." _I thought about it, but what's the point? It'd just hurt her needlessly._

"Maybe I'm learning," Ron suggested, and Daphne managed a weak smile.

"Or maybe you're too upset to start another fight," Daphne countered. "Seriously, it's only been two days since your business nearly went under… How are you so fine?"

"I'm not," Ron admitted, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "Every time I think of Xeno, or anything to do with The Quibbler, my blood begins to boil. I mean seriously, he talked to the enemy without a second thought. How bloody naïve do you have to…" Ron trailed off, he was getting heated again. _Calm down, Ron. Daphne is the one who needs to be comforted this time._ "I'm just putting it aside… It's already happened, and I can't do shite about it anymore. Once I've payed you your money back, I'll fully forget this mess. Now, talk to me." _A thousand Galleons… Merlin, I can't believe she gave me that much money. I'm going to pay it back as soon as I can._

"What about?" Daphne asked.

"About how we make you the Champion of Rank D," Ron replied, and Daphne looked rather surprised. "If you're in Rank D, then you might as well win it. Right?"

"Do you ever give up?" Daphne asked, and Ron shook his head rather dramatically. "Stop that, you dolt."

"Was that a cute little giggle in your voice just then?" Ron smirked, and her lips twitched upwards. "So? What do you think of my dastardly scheme?"

"I'm in the same Rank as your sisters," Daphne pointed out.

"You're right, I should teach them instead," Ron joked, and Daphne pinched his right cheek. "Ow… Ow… Stop…"

"Are you really going to show me how to win?" Daphne asked as she let go of his cheek. "What about Pansy and Tracey?"

"Is it really that strange to you that I want **you** to win?" Ron asked, and she simply shrugged. "Yes, Daphne, I want you to win. Do you want to win?"

"Obviously, Ron," Daphne replied.

"Then I'll give you extra tutoring," Ron said. "But you have to promise me that you'll take it seriously. Promise?"

"I promise," Daphne agreed, and Ron gave her his best smile. "Thanks… I know that you'll be going up against the best in the school, so you taking time to help me really means a lot."

"No worries, Daph," Ron said. "I'd do anything for you." Daphne stilled at that, and she just began to stare at him. _What? What's with that surprised look?_ "What is it? Did I… Did I say something weird?"

"You just said that you'd do anything for me," Daphne pointed out, she hadn't seen that coming. "Is that really true?"

"Um… Yes," Ron replied slowly, he really didn't want it to sound creepy. "Was that creepy? If so, then I won't-"

"Stop ruining it," Daphne smiled, and then she leaned forward and kissed him rather strongly. _Oh…_ When she finally pulled back, Ron's lips felt a little sore. "We haven't kissed in ages… Isn't that weird?"

"It's been a busy few days," Ron gave her a wavering smile, while she just smiled her mischievous smile.

"But now we have some alone time," Daphne hummed, and Ron nodded rather eagerly. "Move back a bit." Ron did as she asked, and she put her left knee on the edge of his bed. As Ron smiled excitedly, her knee slipped and she fell forward. Ron had a microsecond to react before her elbow smashed into his gonads, and Ron let out a bloodcurdling howl.

"MY FUCKING BALLS!" Ron screamed, his stomach tightening from pain.

"RON! I'm so sorry!" Daphne shrieked, while Ron turned to his side with his hands covering his abused manhood.

"Fuck sake!" Ron snapped, and then he pushed his face into the mattress and howled once again. _Fuck!_ "My stomach is hurting… What the fuck, Daphne?"

"I'm so sorry," Daphne fussed, her hands patting him down in a panicky manner. "Merlin, Ron… I really didn't mean that… Your face is turning purple…"

"Fuck…" Ron groaned, his eyes were starting to sting. "I think you broke my testicles…" Daphne flushed at that, and then she quickly took out her wand.

"I'll fix them…" Daphne said shakily. "Ron, move your hands…"

"What? No!" Ron hissed. "Get your wand away from mine…"

"What?!"

"I don't know…" Ron groaned again, he could feel the pain traveling up into his stomach. "Move." Daphne hopped off of the bed, and Ron slowly got up and leaned against the post. "Bathroom…"

"Alright," Daphne nodded quickly, her face was completely flushed. She then helped him to the bathroom, and Ron limped inside and locked the door. _Merlin!_ He quickly took off his pants, and then he gingerly checked for any damage. They were incredibly sore, but as far as he could tell, they weren't broken. _Do testicles break? Fuck sake… It's just my damn luck that the first time a girl touches me below the belt, she all but unmans me in the process._

"Episkey…" Ron chanted as he aimed his wand at his sore man-parts, and they suddenly felt very hot and then very cold. "Goo… Good lord… That felt weird…" Luckily, the pain began to subside. Ron let out long breath, and then he pulled his pants up. And then, he stepped out of the bathroom. Daphne was just standing by the door, her face a mixture of guilt and embarrassment.

"Are… Are they alright?" Daphne asked, and Ron just stared at her. "What? They're not?"

"We will never speak of this again," Ron said, his own ears turning bright red. "Ever. To anyone. Got it?"

"Sorry," Daphne gave him a guilty smile.

"Elbow first, Daph… Who the fuck falls elbow first?" Ron asked her, it was taking everything in him to not start yelling. A nervous laugh escaped her mouth, but she quickly planted her hands on her mouth. "This is funny to you? You have potentially murdered my Future children, and even if they survived that onslaught, they will not be coming out right…" Daphne let out a bizarre laugh at that, and Ron's face began to burn. _This witch…_

"Get your wand away from mine!" Daphne wheezed, her laughter never ending. Ron just stared at her as her laughter turned hysterical, and as she bent forward and released a loud cackle, Ron simply began to leave for the common room. "No… Stop…" Daphne laughed, her voice barely coming out. "I can't breathe… HAHAHAHA!"

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Potions Classroom – End of Potions Club)**_

"This is acceptable," Snape drawled as he stared into Ron and Hermione's cauldron in order to assess their Babbling Potion. "You are both excused." Hermione immediately gathered up her things and all but bolted out of the room, leaving behind two rather confused wizards. "Mr. Weasley, what was that?"

"I honestly don't know," Ron frowned deeply. "She didn't speak to me at all, and just went about with her own work. I had to look over her shoulder in order to find out which step she was on. Please stop pairing me with her, otherwise I'll genuinely stop coming to this Club."

"The Headmaster-"

"Did you not just see how quickly she left, Sir?" Ron asked, and Snape shot a look at the open door. "Ever since our Duel, she's been particularly upset with me."

"You did embarrass her in front of the entire school," Snape pointed out, and then he seemingly lost all interest in Ron's strained friendship with Hermione. "Your work here is done, you may leave." _Right… So much for having a chat._ Ron gathered up his things, and after giving Snape a parting nod, he made his way towards the Slytherin common room. _Who acts so shitty after losing a match? I get that she's the smartest person in our year, but shite… Learn to have some damn humility._

"Purity," Ron said to the entrance, and as usual, he rolled his eyes at the absurd password. "It's like they want to people to hate us." As Ron stepped into the common room, he spotted his friends sitting by the fire as usual.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and then he took a seat in between Tracey and Daphne.

"Sure, Ron, sit right between us," Tracey chuckled, and then she hugged his side. "How's my cuddly big man?" _Her what?_

"Ron, we're trying to play a game here," Theo frowned a bit, his eyes narrowing on Ron.

"I just sat down," Ron defended himself, and then he looked around at everyone's sweets. _Betting treats as opposed to money… I like it._ "Daphne, can I have that chocolate frog?"

"No, Ron," Daphne pulled it behind her, and then she handed him one licorice wand. "The frogs are worth a hundred Galleons."

"We made up our own currency," Pansy giggled, though she barely had any treats left.

"How was Potions Club?" Blaise asked, he was more interested in Ron's day with Granger. "Did Granger behave?"

"She didn't say a damn word all throughout the Club," Ron sighed out, and then he devoured his licorice wand. His eyes greedily darted back towards Daphne's pile, and she handed him another licorice wand.

"Last one," Daphne huffed indignantly.

"Thanks," Ron grinned, and then he looked back to Blaise. "But yeah… She wasn't happy with me."

"She spent all of Runes firing glares at him every time he answered something right," Blaise told them others, who all slowly nodded. "And since Professor Babbling **loves** asking Ron questions-"

"She was frothing at the mouth by the end of class," Ron said, and then he blew raspberries. "It's like we're in first year again."

"Cut ties with her," Tracey coughed, and Ron poked her side. "Hey, stop it!"

"No!" Ron hissed as he kept poking at her, while she giggled hysterically.

"And Potter is still upset with you?" Millie asked, and Ron stopped tickling Tracey.

"Yeah, but I think that he's angry about something else," Ron replied. "I was probably just the person he went off on."

"This study session on Friday is going to be so awkward," Pansy sighed dramatically.

"Just stay with the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs," Ron suggested. "The Trio never join the rest of us anyway."

"By the way," Daphne quickly interjected. "Theo and I invited the Slytherin second years to join us. I hope that that's fine with you."

"Sure," Ron smiled at them. "The more the merrier."

"You have to help us with that lot, mate," Theo pleaded. "They are the epitome of annoying and lazy."

"I know what you mean," Ron smirked, and everyone rolled their eyes. "C'mon, that was funny…"

"No," Tracey scolded him. "Bad dog." _Ow._

"I'm not a dog," Ron huffed out. "But sure… I'll help with the second years."

"This really is a three man job, and since Malfoy is missing, we could use the extra hands," Daphne said, and Ron's ears perked up.

"Missing?" Ron asked.

"He disappears after classes," Pansy replied a little too quickly, which earned her a deadpan look from her female friends. "What? Ron asked a question…"

"Stop it, you three," Ron said, and then he looked back to Pansy. "Disappears?"

"He comes back to the common room, but after that, he goes off somewhere," Pansy replied. "It's why none of us have run into him all year."

"Where does he go?" Ron asked.

"No one really knows," Blaise replied. "Actually… It's more like no one really cares to ask."

"He had his chance," Theo simply shrugged. "We tried our best, Blaise. This is on him, and he should learn to deal with it himself. Plus, I really don't want us getting caught up in his problems." _Sorry to break it to you, but I've already fucked that up for us. Still, Malfoy disappearing like this is a little alarming. I'll use the Marauder's Map to find out where he goes._

"Incoming," Millie pointed out, her eyes darting towards an approaching Samantha Selwyn.

"Ron, a word?" Samantha said, her expression blank as usual.

"Sure," Ron said as he stood up.

"Hand me your things, I'll put them in our room," Blaise said, and Ron handed them over with a grateful smile.

"Right, I'm all set," Ron said to Samantha, and she began to walk towards the Slytherin Potions Lab. Ron quickly followed after her, his eyes lingering on her long black hair. _It reaches her bum… How does she manage to keep it so smooth?_

"Eyeing me in public, Ron?" Samantha asked, and Ron quickly looked forward.

"You have nice hair," Ron said, and she smirked at him.

"Thank you," Samantha said, and Ron nodded to himself. "So, we both made it into Rank A of the Dueling Club… Any thoughts?"

"I hope you enjoy the taste of sand," Ron replied, and Samantha chuckled softly.

"We'll see, Ronald. We'll see," Samantha said with a soft smile, which she quickly hid. "Just don't get too physical with me please. I don't mind a little rough play, but I'm still a Lady."

"Rough play?" Ron snorted. "You make it sound rather appealing."

"Flirt," Samantha smirked in an amused manner.

"You started it," Ron shrugged, and then they both entered the lab. Clara was reading a copy of Witch Weekly by a heating Cauldron, while Carey was cutting up some roots.

"Look who I found," Samantha said, and then she walked over and sat down in an empty chair.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and both Clara and Carey gave him their full attention.

"Is that our Prince Charming?" Clara asked sweetly, her eyes fixed on Ron's.

"Depends… Do you need rescuing?" Ron asked, and Clara giggled cutely.

"That was a good comeback," Clara smiled at him.

"How have you been, Ron?" Carey asked in her silky voice, and Ron looked to see her smiling at him.

"I've been managing," Ron replied. _I still get angry every time I think of The Quibbler, Harry and Hermione seem to hate me now, and Ginny hasn't even looked in my direction for a week. But yeah… I'm managing._

"Are you sure?" Carey asked, and Ron blinked at her. "We saw you on Sunday night, Ron. Your eyes were agitated, and we could tell why."

"You can come to us for anything," Samantha added. "Our job is to help the students of Slytherin."

"And we actually like you," Clara said rather kindly.

"I'm better now, I promise," Ron said softly, his eyes still fixed on Carey. "I had just had a rough few days, and… they got to me…"

"Come here, Ron," Carey said, and Ron slowly stepped up to her. She put her soft palms on his cheeks, and then she planted a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. Ron tensed for a moment, but then he relaxed completely. He wasn't going to lie, he did enjoy Carey's odd method of showing affection. "Are you sure that you're better now?"

"I am," Ron replied, while she stroked his cheekbones with her thumbs. "Do you need my help with something?"

"Sadly, yes," Carey replied, and then she let go of his face. "The second years are still causing problems."

"At the rate that they're going, they won't meet this week's quota either," Samantha told him.

"Unlike your first years, who are being praised by even McGonagall," Clara hummed.

"At this point, we're at our wits end with the second years," Carey said smoothly. "We know that you're busy, and we understand that you have responsibilities outside of Hogwarts. But we need your help."

"You want me to take the second years under my wing?" Ron asked, he really didn't have time for that.

"No, we simply need your advice," Samantha replied, and Ron shot her a curious look. "Draco Malfoy is skirting his responsibilities, and as a result of that, your friends are left shorthanded."

"I tried to coax him into doing his job, but he really doesn't trust us," Clara added, and Ron nodded in understanding. _Why would he? He thinks that they're on my side, which they are._

"And because of that, we're removing his status as a third year representative," Carey told him, and Ron was rather surprised.

"What about his father?" Ron asked.

"If he demands anything of us, we will simply tell him that his son refused to cooperate," Samantha replied. "We gave him a chance, and everyone in this House is witness to that."

"Just as they're witness to Malfoy disappearing every day," Clara added on.

"We need your advice on which of your friends to pick," Carey said, and Ron gave it a quick thought. "And… We would appreciate it if you gave the second years an occasional once over. Just check up on them, that's all."

"I… I can do that," Ron agreed, and the girls smiled at him. _I hope I don't regret this. These second years sound like little cunts._

"Thank you, Ron," they said together.

"Now, who should we turn into a representative?" Carey asked.

"Let me think," Ron said slowly, and she nodded gently. _Pansy isn't really good with ordering people around, and something tells me that she doesn't want to bully anyone anymore. Tracey won't take it seriously. I mean, she'll try… and then she'll get bored. Blaise would be good, but he can be very indifferent to people that he doesn't like. Which leaves…_ Ron stopped immediately, he had it! "Millicent Bulstrode," Ron said, and the girls blinked at him.

"Millicent Bulstrode?" Carey repeated, and Ron gave her a firm nod.

"She did do spectacularly at the Dueling Club," Clara pointed out.

"But she doesn't exactly strike me as… cunning," Samantha said. "No offence, of course."

"None taken," Ron said to her, and then he looked to Carey. The beautiful witch was just looking at him with a slightly bewildered look, and Ron took in a deep breath. "Millie isn't a schemer… Actually, she's quite blunt, but in my opinion, that's her main strength. Daphne and Theo are schemers, they know how to manipulate the people around them, but so far, they haven't been able to control the second years. Neither have you three, actually. And that's because you can't motivate lazy people with promises of rewards, at least not always. Sometimes, you need a firm hand. And Millie has firm hands."

"That… makes sense…" Carey said slowly, her eyes traveling to her fellow Triumvirate members.

"You need someone who will boot their arses into gear," Ron said. "I mean, you've tried kind words… You've tried to show them the benefits of cooperation… Maybe it's time you show them what happens when they don't put the House first."

"I like the sound of that," Clara chuckled, while Carey and Samantha nodded their agreement.

"Very well, Ron," Carey smiled at him. "We will speak to her tomorrow."

"I'm not making any promises here, but just don't underestimate her," Ron said. "Give her some time with them."

"And you'll keep an eye on them every now and then?" Carey asked, and Ron nodded his agreement. "Thank you, Ron. We truly do appreciate your input. Samantha will take you back to your friends."

"Happy to help," Ron smiled at her, and then he followed Samantha to the door. As they were climbing up the short few stairs that led into the common room, Samantha stopped him by placing a hand on his right shoulder.

"Thanks for that, Ron," Samantha smiled genuinely, and he couldn't help but smile back. _Merlin, she's so pretty when she smiles. Perfect teeth, and her lips are so… red… compared to her rather pale skin._ "We know that you've had a rough few days."

"I'm fine," Ron shrugged.

"You've been missing meals, and the state of you on Sunday night was… It was hard to watch," Samantha told him. "Carey had to force Clara to stay away from you, and I'm not sure that I agree with her this time. Not to mention that you keep disappearing for entire days at a time. Is it your health?" _It's my business, but in a way, it is fucking with my health._

"I'm getting help, I promise," Ron replied, deciding to keep The Quibbler a secret for now. _Don't need another shite-storm._ Samantha just stared at him, and Ron realized how grim his answer was. _She probably thinks that I'm fucking dying now. Damn it._ "Um… So… I'll head back to my friends then."

"Right," Samantha whispered, and the she cupped his right cheek. _Didn't Clara say that Samantha wanted to show me more affection? I mean, this is quite nice. She doesn't really strike me as a person who like touching people._ "You can always come to us, Ron. You know that, right?"

"I know," Ron replied, though he knew that he wouldn't.

"Alright, off you go," Samantha said, her hand going back to her side.

"I'll see you around, Samantha," Ron smiled at her, and then he made his way back to his friends. _I'll let the Triumvirate talk to Millie themselves. I don't want her to think that they only picked her because I asked them to. Actually, I'll just pretend like this conversation never took place._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside St. Mungo's Hospital – Past Midnight)**_

The Dark Lord stood in front of the red-bricked, condemned department store called Purge and Dowse, Ltd, and it was just as he remembered it from the Great War. Remote, hidden from Muggles, and a truly hideous sight from outside. Why Mungo Bonham had chosen to place the Wizarding Hospital anywhere near the filthy, disease-ridden Muggles was beyond Lord Voldemort, but right now, he cared very little for the answer.

"Five," Lord Voldemort hissed from the shadows, his eyes fixed on the young man who had just exited the Hospital. He had been counting how many wizards and witches exited the premises after midnight, his ingenious mind coming up with a plan for his eventual escape from the Magical Hospital. _Five vermin in the last one hour. But during the day… Far too many to count. I will make my escape past midnight then._

With his mind made up, the Dark Lord walked out of the shadows and approached the entrance. It was the same as it was ten years ago, a window with a broken down female mannequin. _Time to find the rat._ Lord Voldemort pulled back his hood, and then he grabbed onto two of his fingers with his right hand. And then, with a forceful twist, he snapped his host's fingers. He felt no pain, of course, but deep down, he could feel little Abigail thrashing about. _Be silent, girl. This will be over soon._ With that, he stepped through the Magical Barrier.

"Welcome to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies…" the welcome-witch drawled, her young and pretty features marred by a look of utter boredom. Lord Voldemort walked over the reception, his round blue eyes watery.

"Can… Can you help… me?" he 'sobbed', and the welcome-witch was immediately broken out of her boredom. "A man broke… broke my fingers…" The welcome-witch looked down at little Abigail, and once her eyes landed on the girl's mangled fingers, she all but leaped over the counter.

"Let me see those, love," the witch quickly leaned down by the Dark Lord's side, her face twisting into a pitiful look.

"I just wanted… a few… coins…" he wailed in Abigail's voice, and the witch looked like she was in genuine pain.

"Hush, love," the witch pulled him into a soft hug, and then she quickly stood up and took his good hand. "Come, let's get you to a Healer."

"Thank… Thank you, Miss," he croaked, all the while using his little legs to keep up with the witch's quickened pace.

"Healer McTavish is a really good Healer, love," the witch said, her voice wavering a bit. "He'll fix you right up, I promise."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

They had taken away his black robes, and forced him into a white hospital gown. His fingers had been healed, and now he sat on his new bed while Healer McTavish and the welcome-witch discussed the state of little Abigail. He listened in, of course, but he was quickly getting tired of playing the role of a weak little girl. He wanted to find Pettigrew. He **needed** to find Pettigrew.

"She's clearly from the slums of Knockturn Alley," the Healer whispered, but the Dark Lord could easily overhear him. "And judging by the story you told me, I'd wager that she was caught picking someone's pocket."

"What kind of brute would break a child's fingers?" the welcome-witch hissed, her overwhelming compassion had turned into seething rage.

"That doesn't matter right now," the Healer replied. "She's terribly malnourished… I'd say that she hasn't eaten for well over a week," _Two weeks, the Unicorn's heart not counting. Lord Voldemort has no need for food. He is eternal._ "She's probably an orphan…"

"Then we should keep her here," the welcome-witch said quickly.

"Until she is nourished again, yes," the Healer whispered. "But after that… She has to go."

"What? Back to Knockturn Alley? She's no older than eight, Healer," the witch argued.

"We can't keep unpaying patients here indefinitely," the Healer sighed. "I'm sorry, Isabella, but she can't stay for more than a few days."

"I… I understand," the witch muttered, she looked utterly crestfallen.

"I have to check up on my other patients," the Healer said, and then he looked to the Dark Lord. "If you need anything, please ring that bell by your bedside table. A nurse will come and give you whatever you need."

"Okay…" Lord Voldemort replied, making sure to sound scared and alone. It had the desired effect, as both the Healer and the witch swallowed thickly. Healer McTavish left the room quickly after that, he clearly didn't want to overstay his welcome. The welcome-witch, however, moved closer to him. _Damn pest, leave already!_

"Can I ask your name?" the witch asked gently, a soft smile on her face.

"Abigail," the Dark Lord replied.

"That's a really pretty name," the witch said, and Lord Voldemort had to fight the urge to snap the woman's neck. "I'm Isabella, but you can call me Izzy. All my friends do."

"Okay," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Are you hungry, Abigail?" Isabella asked. "Of course you are… Why don't you sit here for a bit, and I'll bring you something from the Healer's lounge? Do you like chocolate?" _I detest it._ Lord Voldemort nodded weakly, and Isabella smiled a little more widely at him before leaving the room.

"Finally," the Dark Lord hissed. _I need time to leave this body, this vessel saw me take possession of her. I'll need to wait until the witch returns, and once she's truly out of my hair, I'll shatter this girl's mind before finding Pettigrew._ While he waited for Isabella to return, he took the opportunity to look around his room. It was more out of boredom than curiosity, but once he spotted a particular magazine, all notions of boredom were forgotten. _Is that…?_

The Dark Lord slid off of his bed, and he quickly walked over to the coffee table. It was littered with old magazines, but only one of them captured his attention. He slowly took the magazine into his small hands, his eyes fixed on the image of a red-haired boy playing a game of Chess on a white background. _Ronald…_

There it was again, that odd feeling in his chest. Whenever he was near one of his Horcruxes, he felt this feeling. Was it a need to be whole once again? Perhaps. Or was this 'love'? He simply did not know. What he did know was that Ronald, like his other Horcruxes, was important to him. To his survival.

Nothing had changed in his plans for the Future. When he was finally at the height of his power again, he would seek out Ronald in order to take the boy under his wing. Ronald was a part of Lord Voldemort now, just as Lord Voldemort was a part of Ronald. They were one in the same, and no harm would fall upon Lord Voldemort. Once he was truly back, he would bring his heir into the fold. Ronald would agree, Lord Voldemort was certain of it. After all, the Dark Lord's death meant the death Ronald, did it not? Yes… The boy would understand. He had to.

As he traced his finger over Ronald's face, he found himself wondering about the **demon** possessing his Horcrux. That **thing** needed to be dealt with, and it needed to be dealt with soon. Lord Voldemort couldn't risk his Horcrux being destroyed, especially because he knew that he couldn't make another one. _The Diary, the Ring, the Locket, the Cup, the Diadem, and Ronald. They are mine, and mine alone! They belong to Lord Voldemort!_

"What have you got there?" came Isabella's voice, and the Dark Lord turned his face to her slowly. "Do you play Chess?" _In a way, I used to._ Instead of replying, Lord Voldemort pointed at Ronald's face. "Do you want to know who that is?"

"Yes," Lord Voldemort replied.

"That's Ronald Weasley," Isabella said with a smile, and then she set down the hot chocolate and sandwiches on the coffee table. "He's pretty famous, actually."

"Tell me about him," Lord Voldemort ordered, and Isabella blinked at his sudden change in demeanor. "Please."

"Alright, but you need to eat first," Isabella said gently. "Deal?" _Wretched whore!_

"Deal…"

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

It was done. The girl's mind was shattered completely, and if she ever did wake up, she'd be spending the rest of her life in St. Mungo's. In a way, Isabella had gotten her wish.

Lord Voldemort had listened to the overly kind witch for nearly thirty minutes, and he had to admit that as he learned more and more about his Horcrux's achievements so far, he had felt quite proud. Ronald's prowess was no doubt a result of him being part Lord Voldemort. However, Ronald's ability to resist over fifty Veelas was a bit… alarming. This was a feat that not even the most powerful wizard of all time could manage, and yet Ronald had done it at the age of thirteen. Lord Voldemort wished to make Ronald his heir, not his replacement. In time, he would need to find a way to keep Ronald in his place.

As he travelled through the Hospital's ventilation system, he thought about what possessing Pettigrew would mean. For one, possessing a fully developed Magical Core meant that his vessel would last longer. But Lord Voldemort knew that Pettigrew wouldn't be able to hold him for more than a year. The Dark Lord was far too powerful, and sooner or later, Pettigrew's body would begin to break apart. This was just another step in the right direction, but it wasn't enough. Lord Voldemort needed to forge his own body, one that could safely contain his spirit without falling apart.

Secondly, the Dark Mark would fire up once he fully took control of Pettigrew's Magical Core. With his previous choice of bodies, this had never been an issue. The Dark Mark required a lot of power on his part, but since it helped him keep track of his servants, he didn't mind using it. But since secrecy was needed for this to work, the Dark Lord would need to cut himself away from the Dark Mark completely. It was rather off-putting, but it had to be done. His servants would all be 'set free' for the time being. But that freedom wouldn't last for long, because after all, service to the Dark Lord was a lifelong duty.

Lastly, he still didn't know how he was going to escape this wretched hospital. Pettigrew was a permanent resident here, and because of Rita Skeeter's article, the whole World knew it. He couldn't just up and disappear, it would arouse far too much suspicion. Especially from the likes of Dumbledore, and his band of Phoenix worshiping degenerates. The idea of human Transfiguration was appealing, but in a hospital full of trained Healers, it was pointless. Someone would figure out his ploy sooner or later, and then a manhunt would start. Lord Voldemort needed secrecy, he needed time.

"Peter," Lord Voldemort hissed in his wraithlike form, and then he slowly phased into the rat's room. There he was, sitting on his bed with his eyes open. The once chubby man was now just an empty husk, and his eyes seemed to have stopped functioning because they were completely white. This did not bode well for the Dark Lord, but right now, he couldn't afford to be picky. "Give me your body, and I will grant you the glory which you always aspired for. As the Dark Lord's puppet, all will fear you." His words were met with silence, but that was good enough for him.

In one swift swoop, the Dark Lord entered Pettigrew's empty vessel. Fresh air filled his barely used lungs, and the Dark Lord wheezed as the body's rigid joints shook from being suddenly used. There was no mental resistance whatsoever, but the body was utterly useless to the Dark Lord in its current state. This was not surprising, as Pettigrew had probably not moved a muscle in well over a year, but it did present another obstacle to be overcome. _I will need to stay within this body for a few days, and heal it using the rat's own Magical Core._

That's when an idea occurred to him. Perhaps the rat's decrepit body was a blessing in disguise. Yes… It certainly was. He would force most of Pettigrew's Magic to focus on healing his body, which in turn would mean that the Dark Mark couldn't be powered. This would give him time to sever his connection from his own Mark for the time being, and come up with a suitable plan to exit the hospital. _Only a few more days. And then, Lord Voldemort will rise._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (D.A.D.A Classroom – Morning Classes)**_

The tension in the room could be read by a toddler. Everyone was feeling uneasy for their own reasons, and that resulted in a cloud of despair hovering over everyone's heads. The Slytherins were not too keen on standing in front of the Boggart, and while some had genuine reasons to fear what would be revealed, others simply didn't want to be made fun of. The Golden Trio seemed to be at odds about something, and judging from Harry and Hermione's haughty looks, it looked like Neville was just caught in the middle of their respective problems.

And then there was Remus, who had been outed as 'Hogwarts' number one thug' not too long ago. Whatever confidence that he had built up over the last three weeks was now shattered, and instead of smiling like he usually would, the rugged Professor was far too subdued. It was as if he was afraid of raising his voice and coming across as unpleasant. All of this doom and gloom resulted in people like Lavender and her friends also feeling out of place.

"Right," Remus said as he levitated the metal trunk into place. "Everyone please clear the tables, and then form a line."

"All of us, Sir?" Parvati asked, and Remus blinked at her.

"Um… No," Remus shook his head weakly. "Just the Slytherins will do." _Shite. Entity, if you can hear me, help me! What do I do?!_ The class slowly did as they were told, and Ron and his friends took their sweet time, but in the end, they were all forced to make a line. _Entity? You fucking tosser… Help me!_

"Ron, do something," Daphne whispered from behind him, and Ron shot her a frown.

"Do what exactly?" Ron whispered.

"Fake a headache," Theo whispered from ahead of him. "Shite… I'm not comfortable with this…"

"Right, Ms. Davis, you're up," Remus called, and she shot a panicked look behind her.

"Sir, could we not do this in front of others?" Blaise asked in his usual aloof tone, and every Slytherin nodded immediately. _Nice! Thank Merlin for Blaise Zabini._

"Pardon?" Remus blinked at them.

"That's not fair!" Dean Thomas all but shouted. "We did it in front of them, so why can't they do it in front of us?!"

"That's right, Professor," Hermione joined in, her eyes darting towards Ron. _Again, get off my case woman!_

"We showed them what we were scared off," Finnegan frowned angrily. "It's only fair that we get to see their fears too."

"This is not a competition," Remus sighed out, and then he looked to the Slytherins. "Do you really want me to send the Gryffindors out for this? The whole point of this exercise is to face your fears, and then overcome them." _Fail us then, but for Merlin's sake, don't put me in front of that thing._

"Sir, we don't feel comfortable being put in this situation," Blaise replied, and Remus rubbed his forehead.

"Bloody cowards," Finnegan spat out, but they all just ignored him.

"Mr. Finnegan, there is no need for that," Remus said.

"If we show them our fears, then they can hold that over us," Theo pointed out, and every Gryffindor frowned at him.

"We wouldn't do that," Harry said firmly.

"We're not like you lot," Finnegan added.

"Just stop being such crybabies about everything," Hermione said haughtily. _Name-calling? Really?_

"No one is talking to you, 'five seconds'," Pansy sneered at the bushy haired witch, who seemed to puff up with rage immediately. _Yeesh, things are turning sour pretty quickly._

"I'll show you 'five seconds' you bimbo!" Hermione shrieked, while Lavender and her lot just gaped at Hermione's sudden outburst.

"Bimbo?!" Pansy shrieked back.

"Enough!" Remus yelled, making everyone flinch. "Gryffindors, please step outside for the next ten or so minutes."

"This is unbelievable," Finnegan frowned at the Slytherins.

"You're all such cowards," Thomas shook his head.

"Out please," Remus said firmly, and the Gryffindors left with looks of genuine disgust and annoyance. _This still doesn't help me. Entity, don't you care if we get caught here? For fuck's sake, respond to me._ "Ms. Davis, step up to the trunk please."

"What was the incantation again, Sir?" Tracey asked, no doubt trying to prolong seeing her worst fear.

"Riddikulus," Remus replied.

"I'm a bit nervous is all," Tracey chuckled anxiously. "It's just that you're really cute, and I like you so much." Despite their worries, most of the Slytherins, including Ron, burst into giggles and sniggers. Remus' lips twitched upwards, but he forced down the first genuine smile that he was about to have in almost a week.

"Ms. Davis, step forward please," Remus repeated, but he didn't sound very stern about it. Tracey drew in a deep breath, and then she stepped forward. Remus waved his wand at the trunk, and an angry looking Daphne stepped out of it. _What the fuck?!_

"Is that me?" Daphne asked, while everyone else, including Malfoy and his bullies, looked genuinely surprised.

"You're so annoying, Tracey," the Boggart spat out, and then she flicked her hair back. "None of really likes you, you know… We just tolerate you… I was, of course, forced to be your friend by my parents because they feel indebted to your parents… Greengrasses beholden to a Mud-Blood and a Blood-Traitor, isn't that the funniest joke ever? It definitely beats your sense of humor, anyway." _This Boggart is a bitch!_

"Riddikulus," Tracey chanted angrily, and Daphne's hair simply fell off of her head. No one really laughed at the bald Daphne, they were mostly just uncomfortable. Tracey stormed off to the back of the line, her eyes watery from sheer embarrassment. Daphne quickly moved to her side, and the two started talking in hushed whispers.

"Right… Mr. Crabbe?" Remus asked, and the fat boy shook his head. "You have to show me that you can do this Spell, otherwise I can't give you a grade for this exercise." Crabbe looked back at the others, who all averted their gazes. _Good lord, this is it… Entity, please… Say something._ Crabbe walked up to the bald Daphne, and she morphed into a truly obese version of himself. _That's a big boy!_

"One more cake," the boggart grumbled, and then it stuffed a cupcake into its disgusting mouth. Ron had never seen such a fat person before, and he was genuinely scared that the Boggart would have a heart attack and scar the entire class.

"Riddi… Um…" Crabbe looked to Remus, who mouthed the incantation. "Riddikulus!" The Boggart suddenly rolled onto its side, and then it began groaning.

"Help…" the Boggart groaned. "I can't stand up…" Once again, no one laughed. Crabbe quietly shrunk to the back of the class, and Theo looked to Ron with a panicked look.

"Please mate, I can't go in front of that thing," Theo pleaded. "I just-"

"Mr. Zabini, please step forward," Remus said, he himself wanted to get this over with. He hadn't expected their fears to be their biggest insecurities, which is why he was glad that the Gryffindors were outside for this. Blaise stepped forward, and oddly enough, he still had an aloof look on his face.

The chubbiest Boggart in existence quickly morphed into a dark green bottle, and it just sat there in front of Blaise. _What the…? He's scared of… bottles?_ Everyone just exchanged looks, and even Remus seemed to be intrigued by the Boggart's new shape. Blaise however, knew all too well what he was seeing. This was the exact same bottle that he had found in his mother's drawers when he was nine, and a day later, his fifth step-father was found dead in his study. And this very bottle was nowhere to be found after. That was the day that Blaise had realized that he was living with a serial killer, one that could potentially poison his meals without his knowledge. That was the day that Blaise had learned to order his meals via Owl-mail, and as a result of this, his obsession with foreign foods had started.

"Riddikulus," Blaise chanted calmly, and the bottle's cork popped open and colored bubbles began to pour out of it.

"Well done," Remus said, his eyes traveling to Blaise. Blaise simply turned around and walked to the back of the line, and Theo began throwing more panicked looks around the room. "Mr. Nott, please step forward."

"Ron, please…" Theo shot another look back, and something in Ron's chest twisted. _Fuck! Me or Theo? Damn it, that's not even up for discussion._ Ron quickly stepped in front of Theo, who quickly tried to move behind Millie. Sadly for Theo, Millie had no intention of going right after Ron. _Entity! Cocksucker! Reply!_

"Very well," Remus sighed, and then he gestured Ron to step forward. _It's over. I'm so fucked._ Ron took a slow step forward, and oddly enough, he knew that his friends were now watching keenly. The bottle just sat there for a moment, and then it began twist and warp wildly.

" _ **What is this intrusion?**_ " came the Entity's tired growl, and Ron nearly broke into a grin.

" _HELP ME!"_ Ron all but begged, and he suddenly felt a pang of pain in the middle of his forehead. But then, the Boggart turned into a thick black sludge. _OH FUCK!_

"Goop? He's scared of goop?" Ron heard Pansy's voice, but Ron knew that this wasn't goop. No, this was something infinitely worse than goop.

"Riddikulus," Ron chanted, but nothing happened. _It didn't work? It didn't work!_

"He messed it up?" came Goyle's voice, and Ron shot an angry glare at the large boy. _I'll mess you up, cunt!_ The goop suddenly began to twist and warp again, and Ron's headache returned.

"How could you fail?" came a sob from the morphing Boggart, and everyone could tell whose voice that was. _That's me, isn't it?_ "We weren't meant to fail…" _Fail? As in failed the Cycle? Fuck no! I'm not failing shite!_

"Riddikulus! Riddikulus!" Ron chanted over and over again, all the while picturing his terrible paintings with Pandora. "Riddikulus!" Nothing happened, and the Boggart kept trying to find his worst fear.

" _ **ENOUGH OF THIS NUISANCE!**_ " the Entity screamed in his mind, and much to everyone's horror, the Boggart exploded into meaty chunks of black blood and mist. Ron immediately heard the screams, and if he had to guess, they were coming from Daphne, Pansy, and Tracey. Remus staggered back with a shocked expression, his back hitting the wall as his wide-eyes traveled to Ron. _How do I explain this?! Think fast._

"Disgusting vermin," Ron growled, quickly twisting his face into a sneer. _Own it. Pretend that that was you._ "Should've just listened to me…"

"Wha… What?" Remus muttered, his eyes traveling to the horrified Slytherins, all of whom were creeping away from Ron. "What did you…? What…? How?" Remus then suddenly shot forward and inspected the remains, but everyone knew that the Boggart was definitely dead.

"Class dismissed, I guess," Ron shrugged, and Remus slowly looked back to him. Ron could see the fear on the man's face, and it took everything in Ron to not lose his composure. _Entity! Did you really have to do that, you fucking psychopath? How do I explain this?_

"Remus, we heard screaming!" Harry shouted as he burst into the room with his wand at the ready. Behind him were Neville, Finnegan, Thomas, and Hermione, and just like Harry, they all had their wands at the ready. Ron turned to face them, and he didn't fail to notice how his friends tensed at the sight of him. _Great work, Entity. Fucking spectacular performance. Bloody moron._ Even Daphne was staring at him with wide-eyes, her bottom lip quivering from sheer terror. _No… No, no, no…_

"What's that?" Hermione asked, her face grimacing at the sight of black goo and dissipating mist.

"That's the Boggart," Malfoy mumbled, he looked ready to bolt. "Weasley… He… He blew it into pieces with his mind…" _Thank you, Malfoy. Thank you for that. Shite, I'm so fucked now._

"Everyone step outside right now," Remus said quickly, and then he put a firm hand onto Ron's right shoulder. "Out now!" The Slytherin students didn't need to be told twice, while the Gryffindors left rather slowly. Ron had never seen such fear and confusion amongst his classmates before, and truth be told, he himself was terrified. _How do I explain this?_ "Ron, look at me," Remus ordered as he turned Ron in order to face him. "What did you do? Tell me right now."

"Occlumency," Ron lied, his mind going into a panic. _Occlumency?! That's my best?! Ah, fuck!_

"Occlumency?" Remus muttered, his jaw hanging loose. "You used Occlumency to shield your mind from that Boggart?" _Hey, that works!_

"I didn't want it in my head," Ron replied, and Remus looked completely lost.

"It couldn't find a shape because you kept pushing it out…" Remus muttered to himself, and Ron nodded rather eagerly. _He's making up the story for me. Go with it, Ron._ "Wait… Occlumency? You know Occlumency? How is that even possible? Occlumency isn't even taught at Hogwarts, and it takes years to master… Ron, tell me the truth right now!" _Shite, there it goes._

"I am," Ron replied as calmly as he could. "I'm no master at it, but I can clearly use it. You just saw me do it." _Down the rabbit-hole we go._

"That's… No, that's not possible," Remus mumbled, his head shaking on its own. "You killed it, Ron… You killed it… And with your mind alone… No, this is not possible…"

"That's what people said about resisting Veelas, but I made history, didn't I?" Ron stated, and Remus just stared at him with his mouth hanging open. _Fucking lies on top of lies. Damn you, Entity!_

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Remus said to himself, and then he gave a shaky nod. "He'll know what to do. Come… Follow me…" Remus then began marching towards the exit, and Ron quickly followed after him. _Dumbledore will definitely help me. Thank Merlin._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I must admit, this is rather intriguing," Dumbledore said from behind his desk, his eyes fixed on Ron's. _I'm so fucking sorry about this, old man. I'm really sorry, but please, lie for me._

"Intriguing?" Remus repeated, his eyes darting between Ron and Dumbledore.

"Mr. Weasley is indeed forming a defense against my Legilimency," Dumbledore lied, and Remus blinked at him.

"You're using Legilimency on him right now?" Remus asked. _Yeah, are you?_

"Indeed," Dumbledore lied. "He is quite adept at defending his mind, actually."

"Unbelievable…" Remus muttered, his eyes analyzing Ron with both shock and awe. "This is just surreal… And the Boggart? Did he kill it?"

"I don't believe so," Dumbledore replied, and Ron kept his face perfectly straight. "I sense no real malicious intent, even through his defenses."

"Then what happened to it?" Remus asked quickly.

"I believe that it destroyed itself in an effort to invade Ronald's mind," Dumbledore explained, though Ron knew that he was just making things up. Remus, on the other hand, was believing every word of this tripe. "Ronald truly does have an impenetrable will, even I am having difficulty with finding any chinks in his armor."

"Even you?" Remus asked, he was moments away from going into complete shock. _Stop selling me so hard, or we'll both get caught._

"Since we have determined that Ronald does indeed know Occlumency, you should return to your class," Dumbledore said, and Remus just sat there with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Remus, I would like to speak with Ronald in private."

"I… Of course," Remus nodded weakly, and then he slowly stood up. "I'll be on my way then…" With that, Remus drifted out of the Office. The moment the door closed behind him, Ron let out a loud sigh.

"What happened, dear boy?" Dumbledore asked. "What **really** happened?"

"The Entity went berserk…" Ron replied, and Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his crooked nose. "I'm so sorry, Headmaster. Really sorry… I didn't want you to lie on my behalf like this."

"This is hardly your fault," Dumbledore gave him a kind smile, but Ron still felt rather guilty. "If anything, I commend you on your quick thinking. Occlumency… Truly clever, Ronald."

"It was just in my head because I had a lesson with Professor Snape a couple of days ago," Ron admitted. "Bloody hell, everyone will be talking about this before lunch is over. I really don't need this attention on me, especially because of what I need to do on Sunday."

"Actually, you might not be able to," Dumbledore said tiredly, and Ron blinked at him.

"Did something happen?" Ron asked.

"Harry wishes to go back to Grimmauld Place for the weekend," Dumbledore replied. "He is adamant about seeing Sirius, and by extension, Peter Pettigrew."

"Is that why he's been so moody in classes?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore simply smiled. "He ripped into me when I delivered Sirius' letter to him. Started raving about how he didn't need my help, and that people were wrong to think that he couldn't take care of himself."

"He is quite headstrong, is he not?" Dumbledore chuckled.

"How is that a good thing?" Ron asked, but Dumbledore's eyes merely twinkled in response. "So we leave Kreacher alone for now?"

"Yes, we must," Dumbledore replied. "Now, if people ask you about the Boggart, simply tell them that it destroyed itself due to it trying to shift forms so quickly. You are lucky that we know so little about these Creatures, otherwise we'd both get caught within days."

"And once again, thank you for saving my arse," Ron smiled sheepishly. "The Entity tends to get angered very quickly."

"Believe me, I am well aware of that," Dumbledore responded.

"So should I head back to class?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore nodded. Ron stood up at that, and after giving Dumbledore a grateful nod, he made his way out. As soon as he stepped past the Stone Gargoyle, he was met with the faces of his classmates. _What they doing here?_ Most of them looked slightly afraid, while some of them looked downright intrigued. "Hello."

"What was that?" Blaise asked him.

"Did you really blow up the Boggart with your mind?" Lavender asked quickly, and disturbingly enough, she sounded almost excited.

"That's not possible," Hermione frowned at her roommate. "I've told you that a dozen times, Lavender. Boggarts can't be killed with mind-"

"Hush," Fay shushed her, and Hermione glared at the three fangirls.

"Ron, a word?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded. _Get me the fuck out of here._

"Oi, we want to hear what happened too," Thomas snapped.

"Ron, tell us what you did," Harry demanded, his brow furrowed.

"I used Occlumency to trap the Boggart," Ron lied, and the people who knew what Occlumency was gaped at him.

"You know Occlumency too?!" Hermione asked a little too loudly, she looked both shocked and upset.

"Yeah, Ron… You know Occlumency?" Theo asked slowly, his eyes drifting towards their friends.

"What's Occlumency?" Harry asked, and as Hermione was about to answer, Ron interrupted her.

"Why aren't you lot in class?" Ron asked. "I was just heading there myself."

"Professor Lupin's gone barmy," Thomas replied. "He told us to leave for our common rooms, and then he ran off into his Office." _Shite, he's no doubt sending a letter to my parents._

"Don't call him barmy," Harry glared at Thomas, who rubbed the back of his neck in a guilty manner.

"How did you kill it?" Millie asked, and Ron knew her well enough to know that she was rather frightened right now. _Fuck you, Entity! You cock-guzzling twat!_

"It um… It killed itself, actually," Ron replied, and everyone just stared at him. "It was trying to shift forms too quickly, all the while trying to find my worst fears… It sort of blew itself up."

"There's no record of that ever happening," Hermione argued quickly.

"It's what the Headmaster told Professor Lupin and me," Ron told them all, and they slowly nodded. _They really do buy everything that Dumbledore says, don't they?_

"So you didn't kill it?" Daphne asked, and Ron looked right at her.

"No, Daph," Ron said gently, and he saw his friends relax a little. "I promise."

"Okay," Daphne nodded weakly, her body easing up a little.

"Right, interview over," Blaise said suddenly. "Ron, let's go back to our common room. I've got your books."

"Right," Ron nodded, eager to get away from people.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

Coming here was a damn mistake, Ron knew it for certain now. He should've just had Marty bring him and his friends their food within the common room, just like he had done during lunch, but no, they had decided to not hide in the common room for dinner as well. So here he was, sitting with his friends as usual, but the atmosphere was far from normal.

For one, his friends were still quite startled. Pansy and Tracey still hadn't said a damn word to him since D.A.D.A, and every time he looked at them, they gave him weak smiles and averted their gazes. Daphne was at least trying to talk to him, but he could see that she was scared of upsetting him. Blaise, Theo, and Millie were constantly asking him questions, and he was forced to keep lying about everything. Unlike the Gryffindors, they had heard 'Ron' sobbing about failing something, and he had told them that he was afraid of failing as a wizard. Luckily, they had bought that nonsense.

Secondly, every bastard with eyes was shooting him quick looks. Some were looks of awe, some were looks of fear, and some were looks of utter disbelief. The whole damn school was talking about Ron's latest 'achievement', and it was all because of Lavender and her flock of gossiping birds. Ron was certain that the Ravenclaws wanted to dissect him, while his own House-mates were no doubt planning to kiss his arse. As for the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, Ron had no idea what they were thinking.

"The Professors are discussing you, I think," Theo pointed out, and Ron shot a quick look at the staff table. And there they were, whispering to each other as they eyed him warily. _I just love how the Entity took a massive shite, and I'm stuck wiping its arse. Again!_

"So when did you start learning Occlumency?" Millie asked for the hundredth time, and Ron gave her a patient smile.

"After the Dark Lord tried to kill me," Ron lied, and she nodded slowly. "I've already told you, Mills, I practice it in my spare time."

"Like you practice Wandless Magic?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded.

"Exactly," Ron smiled at her, but she couldn't manage one back. _Please don't look at me like that, Daph._

"So um…" Theo started. "Are you going to teach us?" _This guy…_

"If you want to learn, then of course," Ron replied, and Theo gave him a pat on the back. "We'll have to start with the basics though." _Mostly because that's where I'm at myself. Oh Merlin, how am I going to pull this off? I have to pay perfect attention to Snape's lessons, that's the only way that this will work._

"We can start tomorrow," Blaise suggested, he was definitely eager to learn it. "We have a free period after lunch."

"After my Circuit Training, sure," Ron said as he screamed internally. The bell rang suddenly, and people began to leave for their common rooms. Ron and his friends slowly made their way out of the Great Hall, but they were ambushed by Ron's own siblings.

"Ron, can we talk please?" Percy asked, while the twins, Luna, and Ginny hovered right behind him.

"Sure," Ron smiled at them, but only Luna smiled back. _Not a good sign._ "Guys, I'll catch up to you."

"Sure thing," Blaise said, and then he led their friends away. _Daphne didn't stay._ Ron's stomach fell because of that, but he didn't show it.

"We should talk in the Courtyard," Luna hummed, her eyes looking right into Ron's. "There's a wonderful breeze out tonight, and it'll sooth our skins." _Luna-ed._

"Sure," Ron nodded, and then he led the way. Once they were outside, Ron couldn't help but enjoy the cool breeze upon his skin. "So…" Ron turned to face his siblings.

"Is it true?" Fred asked quickly.

"You blew up a Boggart with your mind?" George asked right after.

"Sort of," Ron replied, and the twins marveled at him.

"Wicked," they said together, but Ron didn't feel 'wicked'. If anything, he wanted to be the Ron that Daphne wasn't afraid of.

"Lavender Brown and her friends are claiming that you know Occlumency," Percy stated, Ron hadn't seen Percy look so impressed before. "Even Seamus and Dean are claiming it."

"Is that true?" Ginny asked. "You really know Occlumency as well?"

"I do," Ron lied, and his siblings looked both bewildered and impressed.

"How?" Percy asked.

"Doesn't it take years to master?" Fred asked.

"When did you get the time to learn it?" George asked.

"Why would you even want to learn it?" Ginny asked.

"That's really amazing, Ron," Luna hummed.

"One at a time then," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Percy, I studied for it in the Library. Fred, it does take years to master, but I am considered a Prodigy for a reason. George, I practice every day, just like my Wandless Magic. Ginny, I learnt it to protect my mind from attacks. Luna, thank you for your kind words." _Woo… A lot of words there._

"Learnt it to protect your mind from attacks?" Ginny asked, and Ron realized why she had asked that. _Her mind was taken from her last year. Fuck, poor answer on my part._

"After the Dark Lord tried to kill me, I decided to learn it," Ron lied, and they all swallowed thickly.

"I just… This is insane," Percy sighed.

"Our brother…" Fred smirked.

"A Master Occlumens," George smirked as well.

"Try poor apprentice," Ron chuckled. _Try possessed by an angry God._

"So that thing that Greengrass said the other night… That was really true?" Ginny asked slowly.

"What thing?" Percy asked.

"She claimed that Ron was holding back during the Dueling Club," Ginny replied, and they all looked to Ron. _Merlin, it's all piling on now, isn't it?_

"I was," Ron replied, and that was sort of true. He was smart enough to know that if he really wanted to hurt his year-mates, they'd have all left the arena in body-bags. "Kind of had to, actually."

"Well, shite," Fred mumbled.

"Time to request for a demotion, Fred," George said, and Fred nodded in agreement.

"Can't have little Ronnie beating us in front of the entire school," the twins said together.

"Little? I'm taller than you," Ron stated.

"By an inch, and that's only because you're an unnatural sort of person," Fred smirked.

"Or I eat a lot and work out," Ron countered.

"There's no proof of that," George waved a dismissive hand.

"I'm still stuck on the Occlumency part…" Percy whispered, his eyes scanning Ron.

"Upset that you've been dethroned?" Fred sniggered, and Percy shot him a frown.

"Upset that you're not the king of the bookworms anymore?" George asked, smirking just like Fred.

"Why do you two always start with him?" Ginny snapped, her eyes narrowing on them. _That's rich coming from you. You'd actually enjoy watching Harry beat me._

"It's just a joke, Gin-Gin," Fred cooed, and Luna giggled because of his voice. "You like this voice, Luna?"

"I think it's cute," Luna told him.

"Then this how we'll talk to you from now on," George cooed as well, and Luna nodded her agreement.

"So… Can I go down to Dungeons now?" Ron asked, and his siblings nodded. They all made their way inside, and while the twins made Luna giggle hysterically, Percy and Ginny eyed Ron rather critically. Percy looked to still be in shock, while Ginny looked rather wary of him. Ron wasn't sure, but he got the feeling that she wanted to interrogate him some more. Ron was truly glad to finally part from his siblings, he really didn't want to lie to them anymore.

"Purity," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. As he stepped into the common room, a fourth year nearly ran into him. _Damn, I need to watch where I'm going._

"Weasley… Sorry… You go first…" the fourth year mumbled, and then he stepped aside for Ron with a wavering smile on his face. _What the fuck is this?_

"Thanks, mate," Ron managed a confused smile, and then he walked towards his friends. It wasn't hard to miss the looks that he was getting, they made his skin crawl. _What the hell is going on here?_

"Ron, mate…" Theo mumbled as he walked up to his friends. "You won't believe what just happened to us…"

"Some bloke leaped out of my way just then," Ron said, and then he blinked at Theo. "What happened?"

"A couple of fifth years were warming themselves by the fire, but when they saw us, they let us have the spot," Theo replied, and Ron looked to his friends.

"It's true," Blaise confirmed, and Ron eyed his House-mates slowly.

"Actually, they even helped us settle in," Millie mumbled, she looked thoroughly confused.

"I think people are… scared of angering you," Theo pointed out, and Ron gaped at him. "They think that you'll blow them up with your mind." _Damn you, Entity... Damn you..._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another one! I hope you guys enjoyed that! I won't say much about what's to come, but I promise that things are going to start moving faster now that all the groundwork is done!**

 **See you guys on Wednesday!**


	76. Chapter 76 - Exit the Premises

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 76 is finished! It's slightly shorter than my new usual, but I promise that it will still hit the spot. Oh, and we made it past 900 Reviews! Thanks guys! It's hard to believe that this story only started back in January, eh? Anyway, I won't keep you.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 76 - Exit the Premises**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Sanctuary – After Lunch)**_

"Merlin, this is soooo boooring!" Pansy whined suddenly, and Ron stopped mid push-up. "I'm going to go practice Spells instead…"

"Ron, are you sure that we just 'meditate'?" Theo asked him, he looked utterly jaded himself. _I honestly don't bloody know, mate._ "I mean, I don't feel like anything's changed for me."

"Same," Blaise said. "Also, doesn't Occlumency help you control your emotions?"

"It does," Ron replied, and then he restarted his push-ups. _He's going to ask me why I'm such an emotional person then, isn't he?_

"But you're… you know…" Tracey said slowly, and Ron stopped once again. _Well, I was sort of right._

"It does help me stay calm, trust me," Ron sighed, and then he restarted his push-ups. _Even I have trouble believing that._

"Calm, he says," Tracey whispered to the others, but Ron easily overheard her.

"I reckon I'll join Pansy," Millie said, and then both girls stood up. "This Occlumency business isn't really my cup of tea. Ron, can you teach me the Blasting Curse today?"

"Sure thing," Ron grunted, his upper body was starting to burn painfully. _That's the stuff._

"What about us?" Tracey asked, and then she looked to Daphne for support, but Daphne was just watching Ron do his exercises.

"I can teach you," Theo volunteered.

"Ron taught us that Spell back in first year," Blaise pointed out.

"That's a great idea," Ron huffed, and then he shot up to his feet. "Blaise, make sure that Theo behaves."

"Words hurt, Ron," Theo 'sniffled'.

"I'm sure Millie's fist will hurt far more," Ron remarked, and Theo shot the smirking girl a wary look.

"Good point," Theo muttered, and then they all left for the sandpit. All of them except for Daphne, who was patiently waiting for Ron's next exercise.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Ron asked her.

"Do you really know Occlumency?" Daphne asked, and Ron barely kept his composure. _She knows when I'm lying most of the time, so I need to be careful here._

"Don't like my tutelage?" Ron smirked, and then he started his squats.

"It's just that you didn't really give us any proper details," Daphne pointed out, her eyes going up and down. "When you usually teach us something, you give really clear instructions. But this time, you sort of just alluded to what we ought to be doing. I mean seriously… Meditation?"

"You have to empty your mind of everything first," Ron copied Snape's words, but Daphne just stared at him. "Trust me, it's pretty hard to do. I still have trouble with it."

"And yet you can block a Boggart from entering your mind?" Daphne asked, and Ron could feel the sweat on his brow. _Damn her logical method of deducing things._ "Did you use Occlumency when you resisted the Veelas?" _Shite._

"Sort of," Ron grunted, his thighs burning. "Daph, I'm trying to work-out here. Can't we talk about this later?"

"I'm not trying to prod, Ron," Daphne assured him. "I just want some answers about what we all saw yesterday. It was… It was rather ghastly." _At least the girls are talking to me again. Millie didn't really have a problem with me, but the other three were really shaken._

"I'm sorry that you saw that," Ron said as he began his lunges. "I didn't think that the Boggart would blow up like that, I swear."

"You say that… But when it happened, you didn't even react," Daphne said softly, she couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not. "The rest of us… We were horrified… Even Crabbe and Goyle were shaking, Ron. But you? You just shrugged and said 'Class dismissed'…" _That was a mistake, but in my defense, I panicked. Fucking Entity…_

"Like I said, Occlumency can help a person stay calm and collected," Ron lied, and Daphne just blinked at him. "I was already utilizing Occlumency to keep myself in check, so when the Boggart died, I didn't really… feel anything."

"Why haven't you ever mentioned learning Occlumency before?" Daphne asked, and Ron stopped his lunges.

"Daph… What's with the interrogation?" Ron asked, and she let out a tired sigh.

"I'm just trying to make sense of what I saw," Daphne replied. "The others are trying as well, but none of them want to ask these questions."

"What?" Ron blinked, and Daphne slowly stood up. "Daphne, what did you mean by that?"

"We're not stupid, Ron," Daphne said, her eyes looked sort of sad. "Occlumency? We spend countless hours with you, and never once have we seen you practicing it. Not once have you mentioned it. Not once have you even alluded to it."

"I don't tell you guys everything," Ron replied calmly, though he was starting to panic internally.

"Clearly," Daphne said, and then she began to leave for the sandpit. Ron quickly stepped into her way, and she just stared at his face with an expressionless mask.

"Dumbledore tested it himself," Ron told her, but she looked less than convinced.

"I don't even want to comment on your odd relationship with the Headmaster," Daphne responded. "He let you go to France unsupervised? Why would he do that? Why does the Headmaster put so much trust in you? He doesn't even treat Potter with that much favoritism." _Favoritism? More like mutual benefit._ "Like I said, I'm not trying to prod into your affairs. You are entitled to your secrets, just like we all are. I just don't like you treating us like we're stupid."

"I haven't said or done anything to show that," Ron frowned, and Daphne clicked her tongue.

"Someone who is adept at Occlumency wouldn't be so easily angered, Ron," Daphne pointed out, and for a brief moment, Ron felt his blood boil. "Don't worry, we won't say a word about it to anyone. We'd never betray you like that, but just stop this act with us."

"So you all feel this way?" Ron asked. "You've all discussed this? Is that why Theo, Blaise, and Millie didn't join me for our morning run today? You were speaking about me behind my back?"

"You scared people, including us," Daphne replied calmly. "Is it really wrong for us to sit down and talk without you? Theo insisted on 'learning from you', but that's just because he always wants to get ahead. Blaise doesn't feel the need to talk about this, or he simply can't be bothered. Millie believes you, mostly because nothing else makes sense. And Tracey and Pansy… They simply want to forget the horror show that you put on so they can go back to cuddling you."

"And you?" Ron asked, his voice slightly subdued. "You barely spoke yesterday, and the moment I tried to start a conversation with you, you left for bed. You're scared of me, right?" _Please say no. I didn't kill that thing, it was the Entity._

"I'm scared of what you did, and your utter lack of remorse," Daphne admitted, and Ron's face fell. "I'm not scared of **you** , Ron, I'm just trying to come to terms with what you sometimes do."

"I'd never do anything to hurt you lot, you know that," Ron whispered, and Daphne nodded.

"Which is why I'm not scared of you," Daphne said. "But I won't lie blatantly to your face either. There are moments when you terrify the people around you, including me."

"I didn't kill that Boggart, I swear it," Ron whispered in a panicked voice, and truth be told, he himself didn't know why he was getting so anxious. All he knew was that he hated seeing Daphne and his friends being so guarded around him. "Dumbledore said that it-"

"I know, that part I believe," Daphne interrupted, her eyes darting to their friends behind him. Ron shot a look back, and he saw them quickly go back to 'practicing'. "Maybe we should talk outside?" _No. This is_ _ **my**_ _Sanctuary, and I will not be cast out of it._

"So they're all feeling like this?" Ron asked her, and she nodded. Once again, his blood boiled at the thought of his friends behaving this way. "I see… But none of them have the nerve to talk to me about it because I'm mentally unstable, is that it?"

"I didn't say that," Daphne replied quickly, it was hard to not notice the hurt on Ron's face.

"Do you want to know why I didn't react to that Boggart dying?" Ron asked her, and she slowly nodded. "Because I'm not easily shaken. I faced a Mountain Troll at the age of eleven, and I killed it with one Spell. I went up against the Dark Lord at twelve, and I survived. I take regular beatings from those dummies, while the rest of you just watch. I bit open my own bloody mouth in order to win last year's Junior League Tournament, not to mention the pain I endured at the hands of those Veelas. Think about all of that, Daphne. Are you thinking?"

"I… I am," Daphne managed, her eyes darting down.

"Now you tell me…" Ron said as he loomed over her. "Do I strike you as the sort of person who gets rattled easily?"

"No," Daphne whispered.

"There's your answer then," Ron said as he stepped back. "Never once have I treated any person with malicious intent if they didn't provoke me first. Never once have I done anything to harm you, or the others. Hell, I'd throw myself down the Moving Staircase if I hurt you. But if you all want to be scared of me, despite having no real reason to be, then you go ahead. This is just like that time when I showed you girls my ability to speak Parseltongue. Instead of listening to my side of things, you all started avoiding me."

"We're not avoiding you," Daphne said, but she knew that that was partly a lie.

"Yes, you are," Ron said, and embarrassingly, his voice cracked a little. "I wanted to talk to you last night, but you simply walked off. This morning, when the others didn't show up, I couldn't help but wonder if they were upset with me. I didn't mean for that Boggart to die, but you're all acting like I did. And… And that hurts… But I won't twist your arm, or theirs, so you can go and tell them that when they want to talk to me, I'll be right here. Just don't expect me to apologize for something that isn't even my fault."

"We don't want you to apologize, Ron," Daphne told him, and he simply shook his head.

"Then what do you want me to do? Do I just pretend like you're not all scared of me?" Ron asked, and Daphne didn't really have an answer for that. "Just… Just take all the time you need, but don't put that Boggart's death on me. I didn't kill it, and just because I didn't start panicking doesn't mean that I'm a bad person. A person who my own bloody friends should fear…" With that, Ron went back to his exercises. Daphne waited around for a few seconds, but when she couldn't figure out what to say, she left to join the others.

* * *

 _ **Friday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Outside the Library – After Classes)**_

"Hello, Ron," Padma said, and Ron gave her and her friends a polite smile. "Some of the first and second years have been raving about this study group of yours."

"Is that so?" Ron chuckled, his eyes darting towards his own friends. They were all talking to each other again, and just like this morning, Ron wasn't included. He wasn't going to lie, it bothered him greatly that they felt the need to tiptoe around him.

"It's true," Padma smiled, while her friends made their way inside. "I think that they're just glad that they have older students helping them with their studies."

"That's good," Ron nodded. "I remember when we were first years…"

"The older students didn't even acknowledge us," Padma giggled, and Ron smiled to himself. "You're doing a good thing here, Ron. I'm glad to be a part of it."

"Thanks, Padma," Ron said, feeling a little better. "That means a lot to me." Padma then looked around quickly, and once she knew that her friends were out of sight, she quickly walked closer to Ron.

"The Ravenclaws like to keep things within the House," Padma whispered, and Ron blinked at her. "But I made you a promise last year… Some of the older girls have taken to calling Luna names."

"What?" Ron asked, and Padma nodded quickly.

"She's made a lot of friends because of her father's article, but some of the older girls can be a bit… attention-hungry," Padma replied. _Are these the girls that I had a vision about?_

"Which girls?" Ron asked.

"A couple of sixth years, and a seventh year," Padma replied.

"A seventh year is picking on a second year?" Ron asked, though that was hardly surprising. The older students could be real arseholes when they wanted to be.

"Gertrude Swans," Padma replied. "She's sort of a haughty, self-absorbed person, and since she's a seventh year prefect, she tends to throw her weight around. She started calling Luna 'Loony' at the start of the week, and Luna, bless her heart, thinks that it's a nickname. It's starting to catch on." _Gertrude Swans? A Ravenclaw Prefect. Shite, is she the reason why Luna gets targeted in the Future by the other girls?_

"Thanks for telling me," Ron gave her a grateful nod, and she smiled before leaving for the library. _Gertrude Swans._

"Hi…" came the meek voice of a little girl, and Ron shook his head clear. _Think about Luna later, Ron. Focus on the task at hand._

"Hello," Ron smiled at the first year Hufflepuffs, who all smiled up at him while the second years went into the library.

"I don't know if you remember me," Beth started, while the other first years just stood there.

"Beth, I remember you," Ron chuckled, and the little Hufflepuff smiled more widely. "I hope you have a lot of homework to do."

"We do," Beth nodded fervently.

"That's good to hear," Ron gave her a wink, and her cheeks turned redder. "Why don't you guys set up inside, and once I've greeted everyone, I'll join you."

"Okay," Beth nodded once again, and then they all ran off.

"No running in here!" came Madam Pince's shriek, and Ron sniggered to himself. Ron's friends suddenly walked up to him, and Ron spotted Millie speaking with Samantha. _When did she get here?_

"We'll be inside," Daphne told him, and he gave them a nod. The girls made their way inside, while Theo and Blaise stayed in their spots.

"You know what that's about?" Theo asked Ron, his head jerking towards Millie and Samantha.

"No idea," Ron lied. "Can I count on you to behave, Theo?"

"Of course," Theo smirked, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Has Hannah come in yet?"

"Abbot?" Ron asked, and Theo shrugged casually. "Yeah, they're inside. Most of the people are here, I'm just waiting up on my first years and Cedric's crew. Oh, and the Gryffindors."

"Want me to wait out here with you?" Blaise asked. _I don't know, do you want to? I won't give you a heart attack, will I?_

"No, that's fine," Ron said, and Blaise gave him a nod. "Just keep your eyes on the girls please."

"Sure thing, Ron," Blaise said, and then both Theo and Blaise left. Ron waited for almost a minute before his first years came around the corner, all of them laughing and bantering. _They're getting along rather well today. That's great._

"Ron!" Tori squealed when she saw him, and as usual, she was wrapped around him within seconds.

"What took you guys so long?" Ron asked, his gloved hand resting behind Tori's head.

"Professor Binns held us back," Mathew reported. "He didn't hear the bell go off, and so he just kept giving us the lecture."

"Why does Hogwarts not hire an actual Professor for that job?" Lysandra asked, while the others shrugged.

"You don't have to pay a ghost," Ron replied, and then he gestured them to go inside. "Remember to be on your best behavior, alright? And try to work with people from the other Houses."

"Understood," Mathew nodded firmly, while the others rolled their eyes. "Let's go, guys."

"Ugh… He's been like this ever since you made him 'leader'," Tori whined, while Lysandra and Sebastian nodded their agreement.

"You will listen to him," Ron said, not even a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Of course," Derek chuckled nervously.

"Will you teach us this weekend?" Hestia asked, while her sister stared into Ron's very soul. _So damn creepy. They're both dressed the same again._

"I will let you know tomorrow," Ron replied, and the twins smiled at him. _Creepily cute. Yes, that's the best way to describe them._ "Now off you go, except for you John. Stay with me for a moment." John nodded, while the others made their way inside.

"Is um… Are you actually betrothed to Astoria?" John asked, his eyes darting towards the mischievous blonde's back.

"No," Ron sighed. "Is that what she's telling you?"

"Yeah," John replied with a sheepish smile, while Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. _Maybe she really does have a crush on me. Too bad that her sister would end her if she tried anything, not that I want her to. It'd be so weird._

"She likes to lie," Ron told John, and then he smiled at the lanky boy. "Fancy her?"

"What?! No!" John denied, and Ron let out a chuckle.

"It's normal to have a crush on a year-mate, John," Ron patted his back, and John shuffled in his spot. "Despite her bad habits, she's extremely good looking. I don't blame you for fancying her by your third week."

"I don't really fancy her, but she's rather nice to me…" John mumbled, his embarrassment written on his face.

"She is, is she?" Ron smirked, and John gave him a weak nod. "But just a heads up, she's like a sister to me, which means that if you get on her bad side, I'll be forced to… intervene." John swallowed thickly at that, while Ron gave him a reassuring smile. "Just a heads up, nothing more."

"Right," John muttered. "So um… Why am I staying behind?"

"We're waiting for Cedric," Ron replied. "It's past time that I spoke with him about Zacharias Smith."

"Smith?" John blinked. "Ron, he hasn't bothered me since the fight, I swear… Can we not get Cedric involved?"

"Believe it or not, but I've gone up against my fair share of foul-mouthed bullies," Ron started. "They don't just disappear. Sure, they'll skulk away for a time, but sooner or later, they'll show up again to cause you problems. By getting Cedric involved, we'll save our Houses the embarrassment of you two fighting again."

"But Sebastian is the one who fought Smith, not me," John stated.

"He fought for you, which means that he'll probably do it again," Ron responded. "Cedric is well-respected, and he has a lot of friends in this school. One word from him, and Smith will be out of your hair for a long while. And speak of the handsome devil… There he is. Cedric!"

"Hello, Ron," Cedric smiled at him, and then he looked to John. "How are you, John? It's been a while since we spoke."

"I'm doing well," John replied, his eyes darting towards Ron.

"Max, Amanda, Beatrice," Ron smiled at the other three Hufflepuffs, who all smiled back.

"You remembered our names?" Beatrice asked, a pleasant smile on her full lips.

"Not forgetting pretty women is a talent of mine," Ron chuckled, which earned him cute giggles from the two older girls.

"I told you that he was trying to steal Beatrice from me," Max laughed, and his girlfriend gave him a reassuring kiss on his cheek.

"Why don't you guys head inside," Cedric said, his eyes moving between Ron and John. "I'll meet you at our table."

"Boo," Amanda pouted at Cedric, and then the three Hufflepuffs left.

"Is everything alright?" Cedric asked, and Ron was quite impressed with his perception.

"Handsome and clever, why aren't you in Slytherin?" Ron asked, making Cedric genuinely laugh.

"I'm scared of snakes," Cedric replied, and that was actually true. "So, what's the matter?"

"Do you know Zacharias Smith?" Ron asked, and Cedric nodded. "Well, he got into a fight with a Slytherin first year."

"I know," Cedric sighed. "Sorry about him… He's a bit of hot-head…"

"The fight started because he called John here a 'Death-Eater'," Ron told him, and Cedric blinked in surprise.

"Did he really?" Cedric asked John, who nodded tiredly. "Wow… He's been telling people that he got jumped by your House-mate, and people actually believe him." _Hmmm, I see an opening._

"We're in Slytherin, so we're used to being the 'bad guys'," Ron shrugged with a weak smile, and Cedric frowned deeply.

"Getting used to being bullied shouldn't ever be the case," Cedric said firmly. "I'll talk to Professor Sprout about this, and I promise, she'll sort this out. John, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it," John sighed.

"Then he'll just keep doing it," Cedric told John, who looked to Ron.

"I told him that as well," Ron said. "Thanks for doing this, Cedric. It's better if you handle it, otherwise another fight could break out."

"You're right," Cedric agreed. "I'll get this sorted out, and no one has to know. Thanks for letting me know, Ron. I'll see you guys inside?"

"Of course," Ron smiled, and Cedric left to find his friends.

"We're used to being the bad guys?" John asked, and Ron smirked at him. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Ron asked.

"Make older girls giggle, talk Cedric into doing your dirty work while he thanks you for it… That sort of stuff," John replied.

"It takes practice," Ron shrugged. "Trust me, even a year ago I would've found this Smith kid myself. But my friends have taught me to be more… tactical. Why start a fight yourself when you can just use someone else?"

"That's… brilliant," John smiled, he looked quite awed. "So your friends teach you things as well?"

"I was stupid enough to not listen to them back in first year, but now I make sure to," Ron nodded. "Friends are your most important allies, John. And from what I've seen so far, you eight could be a real power in Slytherin one day."

"Are you trying to impress me?" John asked, and Ron chuckled.

"Is it working?" Ron asked back.

"Yes," John whispered with a smile. "I'll see you inside, Mentor Ron."

"Sod off, you cheeky bugger," Ron laughed, and John quickly made his way inside.

"You're really good with them," Millie said, and Ron looked to see her waiting for him. "They respect you, but more than that, they seem to look up to you." Ron nodded at that, while Millie just smiled at him. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Ron replied, giving Millie a confused smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Daphne told us about your conversation with her," Millie replied, and Ron lost his smile.

"It is what it is," Ron sighed. "But for what it's worth, scaring you guys was not my plan. That Boggart dying was not my plan. It just happened…"

"We know that, Ron," Millie told him, and then she walked up to his side. "It was just… Seeing something like that in the middle of a classroom was quite jarring. Even Professor Lupin was horrified. The others will get over it soon, trust me."

"The others?" Ron asked.

"It didn't really scare me," Millie admitted. "It jarred me, sure… But it didn't scare me. You don't scare me, because I know that you always put others first."

"I… Thanks…" Ron smiled a bit, it felt nice knowing that someone saw that about him. "So… What did Samantha want?"

"You already know, don't you?" Millie asked, and she gave him a rather loving smile.

"No, I don't," Ron lied.

"She asked me to be a representative for the third years," Millie said rather softly. "Me, Ron… Can you believe that?"

"I can," Ron nodded.

"Well, I can't," Millie admitted, and Ron fought the urge to frown.

"Well, you should," Ron said firmly. "You're strong, you have a good sense of judgement, and you're not afraid of hard work. They'd be stupid to not recognize your value."

"She said something eerily similar," Millie told him, and Ron mentally smacked himself. _I'm an idiot._ Millie suddenly hugged him, and Ron was actually quite taken aback. _She hasn't hugged me in a while._

"Um… Mills?" Ron asked as he put his arms around her.

"I… I just haven't hugged you in a while, that's all," Millie smiled into his chest, he was honestly too tall. "I've actually really missed it." _Right._

"Well, I'm always open to hugs," Ron said, and then he gave her a light squeeze. Millie then broke the hug, and she gave him another loving smile.

"Thanks for this, Ron," Millie said, and Ron found it difficult to lie after that. _She already knows that it was me who talked the Triumvirate into picking her._ "I won't let you down, I promise."

"This doesn't have anything to do with me, Mills," Ron gave her a soft smile. "You should do this for you, and you alone."

"Ron! Sorry we're late!" came Lavender's voice, and both Ron and Millie turned to see a wave of Gryffindors coming at them. _Sweet Merlin, that's a lot of lions._

"No, you're all right on time," Ron waved at them, his eyes scanning everyone. _First, second, and third years. This is a great turnout. And even Finnegan and Thomas are here._ "I didn't expect so many lions to turn up. We're going to need a bigger space soon."

"Hey, mate," Neville greeted him, while the first and second years walking into the Library. "Can Seamus and Dean join as well?" _Be inclusive, Ron._

"Of course," Ron nodded, and Neville gave the two boys a smile.

"See?" Lavender asked, a smug look on her face. "Told you that he'd let you guys join."

"Thanks," Thomas said, a weak smile on his face.

"Yeah, thanks," Finnegan said right after, and then both boys left with the girls.

"What made them want to join?" Ron asked Neville, who rubbed the back of his head.

"Everyone has homework piling on, and they needed a study group," Neville replied. "But since we're all a part of your study group, they kind of asked me if they could sign up. I hope that's fine, Ron. I know that things aren't exactly good between you and Finnegan."

"I understand," Ron reassured him. "As long as Finnegan doesn't blow anyone up, that is."

"He won't," Neville snorted.

"Where are Granger and Potter?" Millie asked, and Neville gave her a nervous smile.

"They're not coming today," Neville said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Harry's under a lot of stress because of this whole Peter Pettigrew business, so he mostly just flies his broom around these days. And Hermione…" he trailed off.

"Is angry with me?" Ron provided, and Neville let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm really sorry, Ron," Neville said. "She's just really competitive, and she's overworked because of all of her subjects. She barely even spends time with Harry and me…"

"Hey, guys," came Colin Creevey's voice, and all three of them looked to see Colin and Ginny walking towards them. _Huh? They're late? Together?_ Something stirred in Ron's chest, but he quickly pushed it down. "Sorry we're so late, but Filch was telling us off."

"What for?" Ron asked.

"We both tracked mud into the castle," Ginny replied. "It's not our fault that we had Herbology." Ginny then looked to Neville, and then she looked around. "Where are Harry and Hermione? Are they inside?"

"They're not feeling up to it today," Neville replied, and Ginny looked to Ron. _What?_

"First, second, and third years from each House are attending today," Ron started, but Ginny just stared at him. "Harry and Hermione are the only two people not here. So um… Why don't you guys head inside?"

"Alright, Ron," Colin said excitedly.

"You go on, Colin," Ginny said. "I just need to talk to Neville and Ron for a second." _And Millie. Because you know… She right here._ Colin gave her a nod, and then he quickly made his way inside.

"Is everything alright?" Neville asked her.

"What's the real reason behind Harry and Hermione not being here?" Ginny asked them, and Neville immediately looked to Ron. _Wow… He just passed it off on me._

"Hermione's just really busy with her own work, and Harry isn't in the mood to study," Ron said, and Neville nodded along.

"Right…" Ginny nodded slowly, and then she shot a wary look into the library.

"Luna's here though," Ron told her. "You can work alongside her, and… And if you want, I can help you guys with your work."

"Truth be told, Ron…" Ginny started, and Ron's heart fell a little. "I really don't feel like studying in the first place… I might just head towards the Pitch and fly my broom around a bit…"

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "Alright… Have fun, Gin…"

"Sure," Ginny mumbled under her breath, and then she turned around and left. Ron looked back to Millie and Neville, only to find them averting their eyes from him. _Whatever._

"Let's go in?" Ron asked them, and they simply nodded. "Neville, why don't you join us this time, eh?"

"Sure thing, mate," Neville gave him a sorry smile, but Ron chose to ignore it.

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later**_

The study group was going exceptionally well, and despite Ron missing Ginny, he was glad that Hermione and Harry weren't here. Without Hermione here to form her own little group, the Gryffindor first and second years had joined the rest of their year-mates. And without Harry here, Neville was spending time with the Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. Oddly enough, he was really thriving with Padma's help, and when it came to Herbology, he was competing neck-to-neck with Theo. As for Ron, he was overseeing all the first years.

"Any other questions on Yardley Platt?" Ron asked the first years, who were doing their homework on the Serial Goblin Killer.

"So Yardley caused the Goblin Rebellion of 1612?" a Gryffindor asked, he had the same look of awe as the others. Ron was clearly being hero-worshiped by the younger students, who were no doubt amazed by his many achievements. And his most recent feat of blowing up a Boggart with his mind alone was netting him far too much attention.

"He contributed to it, but he didn't cause it," Ron replied. "The fact that he was openly murdering Goblins by the dozens was bad enough, but when the Wizarding Community refused to put him on trial for his crimes, it rightly angered the Goblins."

"Why are the Goblins treated with such hostility?" Beth asked, and Ron remembered that she was a Muggle-Born.

"It's because they control **our** economy with **their** banks," Hestia replied, but that only confused Beth and the other Muggle-Borns.

"Basically, they took over the mines very early on," Flora explained. "And that gave them access to all the precious metals, which at the time, were a highly sought after resource. They then refused to give up control of the mines, and began using them as a way to strong-arm Wizarding-kind. They have even threatened the Statute of Secrecy because of their endless greed for gold as they keep trying to steal Muggle mines."

"And we are forced to clean up after them," Hestia added. "Think about it this way, if they really wanted to, they could shut down half of Diagon Alley simply because they own a piece of paper, which they bought with gold that they refuse to share. And yet, they want us to treat them with nothing but respect."

"They use intimidation and threats whenever they deal with us, but when we retaliate, they start crying about the injustice of it all," Flora said. "If they want respect and acceptance, then maybe they should learn to share."

"But wizards and witches won't even let them have wands," a Ravenclaw pointed out.

"That's because we created the wands, and just as they refuse to give up their mines, we refuse to give up our creation," Hestia countered, and the Ravenclaw nodded slowly. _These two should be on a debate team._

"If they want something from us, then they must give something in return," Flora added. "That's just common manners."

"So… All of this could be avoided if people just learned to share?" a Gryffindor asked, and Ron snorted. "What?"

"Nothing," Ron chuckled, making all the first years smile widely. "In all honesty, if were we all sorted into Hufflepuff, the World would be a much better place."

"We could argue that," the Carrow twins said, and Ron raised his hands in surrender.

"Please don't, I'd rather not get embarrassed in public," Ron said, and the twins smirked at him. "Right, any other questions? No? Since we're done with History of Magic, how about you guys get started on your Astronomy Charts?"

"Alright," some of the first years said, while Ron looked to Blaise.

"Blaise," Ron called out, and the dark-skinned boy looked to him. "A word?"

"Sure," Blaise said as he left Padma's side, and both boys made their way away from the first years. "What is it?"

"Can you help the first years with their Astronomy Charts?" Ron asked, and Blaise blinked at him. "Please? You're much better at Astronomy than me, and I just need a break. I've been working with them for two hours."

"Ron, Padma and I are getting along really well," Blaise said aloofly, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "I don't see why I should stop spending time with her in order to teach the first years-"

"Mate, I just need twenty minutes to myself," Ron said, and Blaise gave an annoyed sigh. _I need to have my second dose, otherwise I'll pass out._ "Just be polite, and give them a gentle push in the right direction."

"Twenty minutes?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded his agreement. "Fine."

"Thanks," Ron said, and Blaise walked over to Ron's previous seat and sat down. Ron then looked towards the second years, and he noticed that they were all studying together. All of them except for the Slytherins, who were clearly gossiping and socializing. _Wow… One of them is painting her fucking nails. Where the fuck are Theo, Daphne, and Millie?_ Ron looked around for the three representatives, and he found them sitting with the other third years. Theo was talking animatedly with Hannah Abbot, Daphne was studying with Tracey and Justin, while Millie was studying with Pansy, Lavender, Parvati, and Fay.

"Great…" Ron muttered under his breath, his head feeling a little light. _I need my Potion._ Ron skulked off towards the Record Section, mostly because he wanted to find a book on the Silencing Charm. Once he was there, he quickly drank down his medicine, which in turn made him feel a little better. _I haven't even touched my own homework, and since I have work tomorrow, I can't do it tonight. Shite, I really need to learn to manage my time better._

"Destroy the snake!" came a man's yell, and Ron immediately brandished his wand. _What the fuck was that?_ "Use the sword to do it, understand?!"

"I've got this, Harry!" Ron heard his own voice, but it was much older. "Just get the others out of here! I'll find you guys when I can!"

"I'm hearing voices again," Ron whispered to himself, and then he rubbed his face as hard as he could. _Merlin, I'm really going insane. What did the Entity say again? Oh yeah… It's 'Bleeding into my mind'. Fuck, what does that even mean?_ Ron dropped his hands from his face, and his breath hitched at the sight before him. "Merlin…"

There he was, or rather, a much older version of him. The gaunt looking redhead was wearing shabby robes, his hair was cut uneven, and he was just sitting with his back against the wall. But none of that meant anything to Ron, all he could focus on were the fresh splatters of blood around the older Ron. Once he had stared at his vision for a bit longer, a horrible realization dawned on him. The older Ron was dead.

"A previous Cycle?" Ron whispered, and then he slowly approached 'his' dead boy. It was disturbingly mangled, almost as if it had been caught in a vice of some sort. Ron slowly kneeled by the body's side, and he examined the dead Ron's face. There were puncture wounds on 'his' face, and 'his' eyes and tongue were bulging out. _Was he crushed to death?_

" _Blood-Traitor_ ," a woman hissed, and Ron looked to his left. His eyes widened at the sight of a gigantic green snake slithering away, it's thick body leaving behind a bloody trail. It didn't take Ron long to realize how one of his predecessors had died, and because of that, his skin crawled. _The snake bit into his fucking face…_ Ron looked back to 'his' corpse, and his stomach turned a bit. The dead Ron's arms were crushed, his legs were bent out of shape, and his bloodied face was purple. As Ron examined the body more closely, he spotted a shiny sword lying by its side.

"Use the sword…" Ron muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the beautiful blade. It was made entirely out of silver, except for the gleaming egg-sized rubies which were set in its hilt. And just beneath the hilt were carvings of some sort, but Ron couldn't recognize the symbols. _I've seen that sort of writing before, but I can't remember where I saw it._

"You really are a nutter, Weasley," came a familiar voice from behind him, and Ron shot up to his feet. _Shite, someone saw me!_ Ron then turned around, only to find Malfoy staring at him in disgust. Malfoy then eyed the spot behind Ron, but when he saw nothing there, he cocked an eyebrow at Ron. _He straight up caught me having hallucinations._

"Enjoy sneaking up on people, Malfoy?" Ron asked, a frown appearing on his face.

"What were you staring at?" Malfoy asked in return. "Use the sword? What was that about?" _Bloody hell…_

"I have no idea what you're on about," Ron lied, and Malfoy scoffed coldly. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Nothing from you, Weasley," Malfoy spat out, and then he planted his book back into the shelf. "Should be locked up in St. Mungo's…" With that, Malfoy turned around and left. Ron waited for a few seconds, and then he shot a look behind him. The boy was gone, as were the blood splatters. _Use the sword to destroy the snake. A silver sword with rubies._ As Ron was pondering the meaning behind his latest hallucination, Tracey came around the corner.

"Ron?" Tracey called, she had a handful of books in her hands.

"Hello," Ron greeted her, and she looked around him with a confused look.

"What are you doing back there?" Tracey asked as she stepped into the section. _Flower picking._

"Looking for a book that can teach me the Silencing Charm," Ron replied, and Tracey nodded slowly.

"People are wondering where you ran off to," Tracey told him, all the while placing her burrowed books back. "Oh, and Blaise isn't doing too well with the first years. He's a bit too… intimidating… for their liking."

"Are you saying that I'm not?" Ron smirked. "Wait… No, I didn't mean that I should be seen… Sorry." Tracey just blinked at him, and then she gave him a sorry smile. "I'll be right back, I promise."

"Ron, come here," Tracey said, and Ron slowly stepped up to her. "Being a little scary sometimes bothers you that much? I've never really seen you as someone who cares about what other people think."

"I don't," Ron responded. "But I care about what you guys think…"

"I see," Tracey smiled a bit. "Truth be told, none of us really thought that you'd be bothered by our reactions."

"I understand them," Ron assured her. "But that doesn't mean that I have to like being excluded…"

"That's not happening, Ron," Tracey assured him, and then she hugged him tightly. "We just needed to talk it out with each other, that's all. C'mon… Hug me back." Ron put his arms around her and squeezed her into his chest, and Tracey released a satisfied sigh. "Feel better?"

"Yes," Ron admitted, and then he kissed the top of her head.

"Oi," Tracey snorted. "Now I have to give you one in return."

"If you can reach that high, then go ahead," Ron chuckled, but Tracey simply planted a kiss under his chin. "Cheater."

"Lamppost," Tracey shot back.

* * *

 _ **Friday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Is this the sword that you saw, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, and then he placed the silver sword on his desk.

"Bloody hell, it is!" Ron grinned. "Talk about lucky!"

"Lucky?" Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling at Ron.

"Well, it's just that things from my visions are hard to follow up on," Ron replied. "But not this time. Can I touch it?"

"You can try," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. The old man was just smiling at him, and Ron narrowed his eyes on the sword. _Is he trying to trick me?_

"It won't explode, will it?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore let out a laugh.

"You are the most paranoid young man that I've ever come across," Dumbledore pointed out, his mirth on full display. Ron shot Dumbledore a frown, and then he took the sword by its hilt. Much to his surprise, the sword turned into a white mist and simply disappeared.

"What was that?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on where the sword had been.

"That was the sword of Godric Gryffindor himself," Dumbledore replied as he took his seat, and Ron gaped at him.

"As in the Founder?" Ron asked. "Wait… Who else would be named Godric Gryffindor?"

"Tell me about this vision, my boy," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded as he sat down.

"Well, it was about one of my past lives," Ron started, and Dumbledore leaned forward. "Actually, it was more about his death… He got crushed by a gigantic snake…"

"A gigantic snake?" Dumbledore asked, his hand traveling to his chin.

"It was massive," Ron replied. "Around fifteen feet long, and as thick as a grown man's leg. Truth be told, it was quite frightening to look at. Do you think that it's related to the Dark Lord? He does seem to have a fetish for snakes."

"A fetish?" Dumbledore blinked, and then he shook his head. "Tom is obsessed with status, and his status as Slytherin's Heir played a key role in his corruption. Snakes, and all things related to them, are a part of who he is. Who he sees himself as."

"Yes, he's a creepy fuck," Ron nodded. "Can we get back to this enormous snake that managed to murder me?"

"You don't seem very bothered by what you saw, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "Most people would be in shock after seeing their own dead body."

"Is it really news that I'm a little unhinged?" Ron asked sarcastically, and Dumbledore sighed.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that you saw something like this," Dumbledore said, and Ron gave him a confused look. _Why is he sorry? This vision could help us succeed in my Cycle._ "Now, what does Godric's sword have to do with this snake?"

"I heard Harry's voice telling the 'me' that 'I' had to use the sword to destroy the snake," Ron replied. "His words sounded like instructions rather than an order. And here's the weird thing… I couldn't find a wand near 'my' dead body. Just the sword."

"This other you never even bothered with Magic," Dumbledore said slowly. "Very 'weird' indeed. He must've been in Gryffindor."

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked. "He looked like he was in his late twenties, and he wasn't wearing anything that would prove which House he was in."

"The sword proves it," Dumbledore said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "The sword of Gryffindor only reveals itself to true Gryffindors, and it can only be wielded by one. If this other Ronald was from any other House, the sword would simply vanish from his hands."

"Like it did with me," Ron said, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "That's just-" A sudden knock at the door interrupted Ron, who quickly got out of his chair.

"Albus, may I come in? I have Mr. Potter with me," came McGonagall's voice, and Ron gave Dumbledore a panicked grin.

"Hide," Dumbledore chuckled at Ron's face, and Ron quickly took out his wand and cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. "Come in, Minerva." As the door swung open, Ron placed himself behind a close-by column.

"Thank you for seeing us, Albus," McGonagall said as she and Harry entered the Office, and Dumbledore gave them both pleasant smiles. "Mr. Potter, here you are."

"Everything alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, and Harry gave him a resolute look in response.

"I want permission to go back home for the weekend," Harry replied, and Ron nearly smacked his own forehead. _I'm trying to break into your house, mate! Pick another damn weekend!_

"Mr. Potter, it is rude to make demands of the Headmaster," McGonagall frowned, but Harry simply ignored her.

"It is quite alright, Minerva," Dumbledore smiled at her, but she didn't seem to agree. "Why is it that you wish to go home for the weekend, Harry?"

"Sirius sent me a letter saying that he was having Pettigrew euthanized this weekend, and I want to be there," Harry replied.

"Pardon?" McGonagall gasped, her eyes widening at Harry. _That's just fucked up._

"Harry, do you truly wish to see this man die?" Dumbledore asked.

"He betrayed my parents," Harry replied, his anger clear in his voice. "I deserve to see him at least once before they put him down."

"And what does Sirius have to say about this?" Dumbledore asked.

"What does it matter?" Harry argued. "It's **my** choice, not his."

"He is your legal guardian, Harry," Dumbledore explained. "In the Wizarding World, things work very differently as compared to the Muggle World. I know for a fact that he doesn't want you to see Peter Pettigrew, and he most certainly doesn't want you to see him die. Seeing death is not an easy thing, Harry. It changes a person completely, and there is no going back." _I can't help but think that he's talking to me as well._

"How do you know what Sirius wants?" Harry asked.

"He sent me a letter detailing his wishes," Dumbledore replied. "One of those wishes was that I **not** give you permission to return home whilst he is dealing with Peter."

"This… This is not fair!" Harry yelled, and McGonagall coughed loudly.

"Volume, Mr. Potter," McGonagall scolded, and Harry grit his teeth.

"What would this achieve, Harry?" Dumbledore asked calmly. "Peter Pettigrew is long gone, and seeing his body be put to rest will not give you any answers. I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to return home this weekend. And this is not simply because your guardian asked me to keep you here, I am doing this because I care about your well-being."

"Then why won't you listen to what I want?" Harry asked, his voice severely weakened after his outburst. "Why don't I even get a say in what happens in my own life?" Ron couldn't help but sympathize with Harry on that, and a small part of him was quickly beginning to side with Harry's plight. _All he wants is a damn choice, and they can't even give that to him?_

"Forgive me, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "But this is out of my hands. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I cannot act against your guardian's wishes." _Shite, he is right about that. When my parents wanted to Re-Sort me, Dumbledore was powerless to stop them._

"I'm owling Sirius right now…" Harry said dejectedly, and then he turned around and marched out of the Office.

"Minerva, please make sure that he finds his way back to Gryffindor Tower," Dumbledore said, and McGonagall left after giving him a firm nod. "Ronald, you may come out of hiding now." Ron mentally broke his Disillusionment Charm, and then he stepped in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Can you really not do anything?" Ron asked him, and Dumbledore blinked at him. "It's just that… Look, all he wants is the right to make his own decisions. Trust me, I know what it feels like to be forced to follow other people's whims."

"I am nothing like the Entity," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"That's not my point," Ron said. "My point is that he deserves the right to choose for himself, we all do. You and Sirius are taking his away simply because you think you know better. I'm sorry, but I think that that's wrong."

"Isn't that what you plan to do to your own Family and friends?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron just stared at him. "You asked Severus and me to lie to them, to trick them into safer missions during the upcoming war. Remember? Don't they also deserve to make their own decisions?" Ron had nothing to say to that, he was once again stunned by his own hypocrisy.

"I… I just don't want them to get hurt," Ron sighed out. _He's dead right about that. I have no right to argue over Harry's rights, not while I'm planning to 'shield' my own loved ones._

"Sirius doesn't want Harry to get hurt either," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded weakly. "Seeing Peter in the flesh will not heal Harry's pain. If anything, it will remind him of it. Sirius understand this because, I think, he himself feels that pain whenever he visits Peter."

"Then why does he do it?" Ron asked.

"That pain is a reminder of his friends," Dumbledore replied. "Of a life before Azkaban Prison. I believe Sirius craves that pain in order to feel closer to what his life used to be."

"That's sad," Ron said, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement.

"Quite so," Dumbledore said softly. "Life should be lived in the present, not in the past… Or the Future."

"The Future?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore smiled at him in a sagely manner.

"Have you asked Lady Greengrass to be your muse yet?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron blinked at him. _Huh?_

"What? What does that have to do with any of this?" Ron asked, he was now thoroughly confused.

"Just as Sirius craves the life that he used to have, you crave a Future where your loved ones are truly safe," Dumbledore replied with a knowing smile. "Neither of you are living in the present, not completely anyway."

"My visions are a responsibility," Ron said, and Dumbledore's smile turned slightly sad. "I have to think of what's ahead, that's my duty."

"The Future isn't determined by certain key events," Dumbledore told him. "It is determined by how you live in the moment, Ronald. If you only ever look ahead, then one day you will trip. Sometimes, it's wiser to just stop and smell the flowers."

"Smell the flowers?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"A Muggle expression," Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "It means that you should stop to enjoy your life once in a while. Take an afternoon off, eat good food, make new friends, and find love."

"Love?" Ron blushed a bit, but Dumbledore just smiled at him. "This conversation is getting a bit too… icky… for my liking. Goodnight, Headmaster."

"Goodnight, Ronald," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling brightly. "Should you see Lady Greengrass tonight, send her my regards."

"Like hell," Ron muttered under his breath, but Dumbledore clearly heard him judging by his hearty chuckle.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Before Lunch)**_

"Merlin's beard, Ron," Lord Greengrass frowned at him, and Ron rubbed his forehead. "This is the twelfth error so far… Where is your head? Did you leave it behind at Hogwarts?"

"No, my Lord," Ron replied. "I'm just… distracted."

"Then why did you bother coming here today?" Lord Greengrass asked, and then he tossed Ron's conundrums sheet into the fire. _Ouch._ "These are easier than the conundrums that you solved last week, so why can't you get these right?"

"I don't have any excuse," Ron replied. _None that I can use, anyway._ The truth was that Dumbledore's words had gotten to him, and he had realized that he was just putting off asking Daphne out. So he had steeled himself to do it today, but the moment he had stepped into Greengrass Manor, his nerves had betrayed him. _Not to mention that Madam Roberts is coming down for lunch as well._ Lord Greengrass eyed his apprentice's defeated state, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"Ronald, look at me," Lord Greengrass ordered, and Ron looked up. "What is going on with you? What has you so distracted? Is it still this Quibbler business?"

"Sort of," Ron replied, because in a way, that was also true.

"I spoke with the other adults on your behalf," Lord Greengrass told him. "I told them just how stressful running a business can be, and that with your conditions, your reaction was not entirely out of place."

"And they bought that?" Ron asked.

"Xenophilius and Sirius did, but your parents are still quite upset with you," Lord Greengrass replied.

"And Pandora?" Ron asked weakly.

"You screamed in her husband's face, Ron," Lord Greengrass sighed, and Ron felt his spirit drain away. "She's still having difficulty processing that. She thinks the world of you, but seeing you like that shook her."

"I see," Ron sighed out. _I'm just 'shaking' people left right and center lately._

"What else is on your mind?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron began fidgeting with his hands. _I want to snog your daughter, that's what's on my mind._

"Husband?" came Mary's voice, and then there was a knock on the door. "Madam Roberts is here."

"She is?" Ron asked as he stood up, while Lord Greengrass cocked his eyebrow at him.

"We will be waiting for you and Ron in the Dining Room," Mary said, and then she was gone.

"Ron, take a deep breath," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron did as he was told. "Let me do the talking, but if she asks you a question, reply truthfully. Understood?"

"I understand," Ron nodded. _Asking for Daphne's hand in dating will need to wait, I have to win over a different woman right now. Wait… Ew… Old…_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"You wish to change nothing on the contract?" Lord Greengrass asked again, and Madam Roberts simply nodded once. "Not even a higher price?"

"Do I look like I'm motivated by money, Greengrass?" Madam Roberts asked coldly, and Mary's lips twitched into a frown. "Same pupil, same contract."

"Very well, I will draw up the same contract tonight," Lord Greengrass agreed, and Madam Roberts stood up.

"Good day to you then," she said, and then she looked to Ron. "I'd like a private word with my student."

"Of course," Lord Greengrass said, and then he gestured Ron to follow her. Ron stood up and followed after the Hit-Wizard, and he had to admit, he was rather blown away by how decisive she was. She had made no small-talk whatsoever, she hadn't even attempted it. She had simply sat down, asked for the same contract as before, and now he was following her out of the Dining Room.

"So do I come in for training tomorrow?" Ron asked as they exited the Dining Room, and she turned to face him. _Merlin, what do I do about the first years now?_

"Not tomorrow," Madam Roberts replied. "I am on assignment tomorrow. But starting from next week, I expect you be here by nine 'o'clock sharp."

"I understand," Ron replied. "So… What did you want to talk about?"

"Your health," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "It is clear to me that I cannot teach you as I teach my other students, but you are promising enough that I wish to try my hand at a… gentler approach."

"A gentler-"

"Do not interrupt me while I speak," Madam Roberts frowned, and Ron gave her an apologetic smile. "Your health will be constantly under my supervision, is that clear?"

"I understand," Ron replied.

"You will not hide things from me, and you will tell me immediately if your conditions are hurting you," Madam Roberts said. "And no, Ronald… You cannot trick me with your conditions. I sift through lies for a living, and believe me, I will see through you immediately." Ron nodded nervously, her gaze was difficult to match. "Instead of a warning system, I will try a different method with you. If you work hard without complaining like some toddler, then I will continue teaching you. But if I think for even a moment that you aren't giving me your best, then we're done. I am not a woman who goes back on her word, but for you, I have made an exception. Do not make me regret this, is that clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Ron nodded.

"Then we are done here," Madam Roberts said as she turned around. "Goodbye for now, Ronald."

"Take care, Madam Roberts," Ron said, and then she left for the fireplaces. Once she was completely out of sight, Ron pumped his fist into the air and started doing a happy dance. "I got her, I got her," Ron sang to himself, a massive grin on his face.

"You are certainly an eccentric dancer, Ron," came Mary's voice, and Ron quickly turned around with a flushed face. She was just smiling at him, but he could see the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Does Daphne know that you enjoy dancing? She's always loved it herself." _I know, we've danced together before._

"I… I don't know what to say," Ron mumbled.

"Say nothing," Mary chuckled, and Ron rubbed the back of his head. "This can be our little secret."

"Thanks," Ron gave a nervous chuckle, and Mary gestured him to follow her back into the Dining Room. They both made their way back to their seats, and once they were seated, Lord Greengrass gave Ron a warm smile.

"That went well, didn't it?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"It did, my Lord," Ron nodded. "Thank you for this, I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"Think nothing of it," Lord Greengrass waved a dismissive hand, which earned him a loving smile from his wife. "It's about time that something worked out in your favor. Come, let's eat." The Greengrasses and Ron began making their plates, and Ron found himself feeling rather nervous. _Should I ask them now? Damn, how do I even do this?_

"Ron, is everything alright?" Mary asked him, and he nodded rather enthusiastically. Both Lord and Lady Greengrass exchanged quick looks, and then they stared at Ron. _Stop it!_

"Something is clearly on your mind, Ron," Lord Greengrass said, his pale eyes focused on Ron's. "You know that you can speak freely with us, don't you?"

"I know," Ron nodded once again, and then he looked down at his plate. _There has to be some strategy that holds the highest chance of success, right? If I just ask them outright, they might simply refuse. After all, they know all about my conditions. They love their daughters above all else, and tying one of them to someone like me might not sit well with them. Then there's the fact that Daphne gave me a thousand Galleons a few days ago, and I don't want them to think that I want to date Daphne out of some obligation. How do I show them that I really bloody want to be with their daughter, but not tell them that we're sort of already together? Merlin, where's Charlie when you-_

"Ron, you are staring at your food," Mary said, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "I know that the lamb looks amazing, but I assure you, you will enjoy it far more once it's in your mouth."

"Right," Ron chuckled nervously as he looked to her, only to find that both Greengrasses were still staring at him. Their curiosity was quickly turning into worry and suspicion, and Ron knew that he had to do this now. "Um… Does Daphne like lamb?" _AHHHH!_

"Excuse me?" Lord Greengrass blinked, while Mary looked rather taken aback.

"She does…" Mary said slowly, and Ron filed that away for later use.

"What's her favorite type of meat though?" Ron asked, and the Greengrasses exchanged looks once again. _What the fuck am I doing?! I already know that it's pork!_

"She's always enjoyed pork dishes," Mary replied, and Ron nodded to himself like an idiot. "The only meat that she doesn't enjoy is raw fish."

"Raw fish?" Ron asked.

"Sushi," Mary replied, and Ron had no idea what that was. "It's a Japanese dish… Ron, are you feeling alright?"

"Totally," Ron lied poorly, and Lord Greengrass frowned at him.

"You clearly aren't," Lord Greengrass pointed out. "Speak your mind, Ronald. The look of a bumbling buffoon does not suit you." _That's just hurtful, but he's right. I need to be confident right now in order to show them my resolve. C'mon, Ron, do this for Future Daphne. And for her ample bosom. And kissable lips. Hmmm, Future Daphne is fucking awesome._

"I've been thinking about dating lately," Ron started, and Lord Greengrass immediately gave him a wary look. Mary, on the other hand, broke into a massive smile. "Actually, I've been thinking about it for a while now, but with everything being so hectic, I was forced to put it on the back-burner. But now that everything seems to be in order once again, I've come back to the topic."

"I'm going to stop you right there," Lord Greengrass said, but Mary quickly smacked his arm.

"Sei ruhig, Sebastian," Mary hissed in a foreign tongue, and Lord Greengrass blinked at his wife's sudden German outburst. "Go on, Ron."

"Right…" Ron said slowly, while Lord Greengrass stared right through him. "Daphne is really special to me, and I really do-"

"Merlin," Lord Greengrass sighed as he shook his head, and Ron swallowed thickly. _Good lord, this is so awkward._

"Keep going, Ron," Mary said, her smile threatening to split her face.

"I want to ask you both for her hand in dating," Ron said, and Mary looked happier than he'd ever seen her. "May I please have your blessing in asking Daphne to be my girlfriend?" _Did I say that right? It didn't sound very formal._

"Yes!" Mary beamed at him, and Ron felt his heart soar. "Das ist Wunderbar! Einfach Wunderbar!"

"Lord Greengrass?" Ron looked to his Mentor, who was now simply rubbing his forehead with his long fingers.

"Does my daughter know that you feel this way?" Lord Greengrass asked, his fingers leaving red marks on his forehead. _Is he pissed? He looks pissed._

"I haven't asked her out yet, if that's what you mean," Ron replied, he could feel the cold sweat in his armpits. "I wanted to get your permission first."

"That's so proper of you, Ron," Mary said with a happy smile, and Ron managed a weak one back. "Isn't it proper, Sebastian? It's what you did with my mother and father as well."

"I remember," Lord Greengrass replied, his hands returning to his cutlery. And then, he simply began eating. _Um… Is that a yes?_

"Sebastian?" Mary asked, while Ron just stared at his Mentor.

"We will discuss this later," Lord Greengrass said, and Mary shot Ron a worried look. "Just us men." _Sweet Circe, he's going to murder me. Wait… I still have to work with him after this… Ron, you idiot!_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Dinnertime)**_

Ron was moments away from bolting back to Hogwarts. Never in his life had he felt so uncomfortable, and Lord Greengrass clearly felt the same way. And yet, they both just sat there. Ron did his conundrums, while Lord Greengrass drank his Apple Brandy. Occasionally, their eyes would meet, and both men would just stare at each other. And then there was the fact that Ron's workday wasn't ending because Lord Greengrass refused to say anything, and so Ron just kept working quietly.

"My Lord," Ron suddenly broke the silence, his eyes going to his Rolex. "I need to head back to Hogwarts." When Lord Greengrass didn't reply, Ron slowly stood up.

"Sit back down," Lord Greengrass ordered from behind his snifter, and Ron planted his arse back onto the seat. _This is it. This is where he pulls out his wand in order to kill me._ Lord Greengrass stood up and walked over to his Brandy table, and Ron just watched him as he poured them both a drink. _Shite, not this again. I honestly prefer juice._ Lord Greengrass then walked back to Ron, and he handed him a snifter. "Let's talk."

"Yes, my Lord," Ron agreed, while Lord Greengrass sat back down in his seat.

"I am not surprised by your decision to court my daughter," Lord Greengrass told him, and Ron nodded slowly. "Both Mary and I have seen how close you two are, and at times, I have suspected that you two are closer than you let on. That being said, I have some questions for you. This is a conversation between two men, not between a Mentor and his pupil. Understand?"

"I understand," Ron replied, and when Lord Greengrass took a sip from his snifter, Ron followed his lead. _My throat… He put so much in here._

"How long have you fancied my daughter?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I started thinking about her differently during the Holidays," Ron replied calmly, though he was starting to panic internally. _How much do I tell him? I can't tell him that Daphne and I fool around quite often, he'll fucking throttle me immediately._

"I see," Lord Greengrass whispered, his eyes fixed on Ron's. "Why are you and my daughter so close?"

"Close?" Ron asked.

"Mary has told me that when you woke up after your victory in France, you immediately asked for Daphne," Lord Greengrass clarified. "And then, after you had your seizure, you once again asked to see my daughter immediately. So tell me, why are you two so close? Why is it that she wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to you, but she acts rationally in regards to everything else? Why is it that two thirteen year olds buy each other such expensive gifts?" _Shite… We really don't hide our feelings for each other very well, do we?_

"She's…" Ron started, but then he stopped. He had to do this right, otherwise Lord Greengrass would reject his request. "I have a lot of trouble opening up to people," Ron admitted, and Lord Greengrass listened intently. "I have a lot of things in my life that I just don't feel comfortable talking about, which of course includes my conditions. But with Daphne, I don't feel uncomfortable. Ever. I used to at first, but now I trust her completely. Whenever something bad happens, or whenever things don't go in my favor, I know that I can rely on her. She and I have each other's backs, and although we argue sometimes, it always comes from a need to watch out for each other."

"You are describing a rather deep bond," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron gave the man a firm nod. "And she feels the same way as you? Does she depend on you as much as you depend on her?"

"She trusts me completely," Ron replied. "As for her depending on me as much as I depend on her… I personally believe that I depend on her far more than she depends on me. I won't lie about that. It's just true. But despite that being the case, there is nothing that I wouldn't do for her."

"You feel like you owe her?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron took a long sip from his snifter. _Once again, I don't want him to think that I feel obliged to date Daphne._

"I do owe her a lot," Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass just stared at him. "But that doesn't mean that I feel obliged to date her. I don't think like that, and I know that you know that."

"And if she refuses you?" Lord Greengrass interrupted.

"Then I will respect her decision," Ron replied. "I want us both to be… closer. And that can only happen if we both share mutual feelings for each other. I'd never force her to do anything that she doesn't feel comfortable with."

"Have you given any thought to what will happen if she refuses you?" Lord Greengrass asked. "What happens to the dynamic of your group? How her rejection will affect **our** working relationship?"

"I have, and I'm willing to ask her anyway," Ron replied.

"I see," Lord Greengrass nodded, and then something shifted behind his eyes. "Have you two acted in a manner that would be considered inappropriate before?" _Bloody hell, I knew that he was going to ask that. Lie, but sprinkle some truth in there._

"We've kissed… a couple of times," Ron lied, and Lord Greengrass' jaw clenched. _I'm so dead._

"I see," Lord Greengrass said once again, his eyes burning a hole through Ron's head. "So you two are clearly attracted to one another…" _He sounds so fucking angry. Merlin, it's that quiet sort of anger as well. I think I fucked up._ "I will not ask you anymore questions about your… interactions… with my daughter."

"Right," Ron nodded weakly, he could barely keep up his eye contact with Lord Greengrass. _Use the snifter to catch a moment of relief._ Ron slowly sipped from his snifter, his throat and eyes burning because of the potent beverage. As Ron lowered the snifter, he realized that there was barely any brandy left in it. _There goes my excuse to break eye contact._

"You may go back to Hogwarts, Ronald," Lord Greengrass said suddenly, and Ron blinked at him.

"Do… Do I have your permission, my Lord?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass simply stared at him for a few seconds.

"Yes," Lord Greengrass said finally, and Ron's lips twitched into a smile. "But if you dishonor my daughter the way young men often dishonor their first 'girlfriends', I'll have you drowned in the River Thames. That's a promise." Ron's smile died on his face, because judging from Lord Greengrass' cold stare, he knew that his Mentor was telling the truth.

"I will always put her first," Ron promised, and Lord Greengrass gave a curt nod before gesturing Ron to leave. Ron put down his nearly empty snifter, and then he quickly left the study. Once he had closed the door behind himself, his entire body relaxed considerably. _Merlin, I did it. I fucking did it._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then another, and another. And then, he slowly made his way towards the fireplaces. His head was feeling light, but slowly and surely, his heart was beginning to soar. He had done it, and they had given him their blessing!

"Ron," Mary called out, she was standing in the center of the Greeting Room. "Well? What did he say?"

"He said yes," Ron replied, a genuine smile breaking out on his face. Mary beamed at him, and then she pulled him into a tight hug. _I don't know why Mary is so happy about this, but right now, I really appreciate it._

"This is truly spectacular!" Mary laughed over his shoulder, her hug tightening even more.

"Thank you, Mary," Ron said as he rested his head on her left shoulder, and he felt her put her hand on the back of his head. "Now I just need to ask Daphne."

"She'll say yes, I just know it," Mary told him, and Ron agreed mentally. "So? When will you do it?"

"Tomorrow," Ron replied, and Mary let out an unladylike squeal. "I'll ask her tomorrow."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped into the Great Hall, despite the fact that Dinner was already coming to a close. _I have ten minutes to stuff my face._ Ron quickly made his way towards his friends, his eyes darting towards Snape along the way. The Potions Master had not missed Ron's late entry, but his gaunt features did not betray how he felt about it.

"There you are," Daphne said as he sat down between Theo and Blaise. "Ron, where were you? Dinner is nearly finished."

"Your father and I lost track of time," Ron replied, his face breaking into an involuntary smile. Daphne simply blinked at it, and then she gave him a slow nod. _Don't give it away just yet! I need to plan out how and where I ask her._ Ron quickly began making a plate, and once that was done, he dug right in.

"Try to not choke please," Pansy said, her eyes widening as Ron snapped a chicken bone with his teeth alone.

"Merlin's ghost, mate," Theo grimaced. "Did that chicken leg piss you off or something?"

"I'm hungry," Ron mumbled with his mouth full.

"Clearly," Blaise said aloofly.

"Did anything happen today?" Ron asked, and Daphne tutted him.

"Please don't talk with your mouth full, Ron," Daphne said, and Ron nodded to himself. "And yes, a couple of things happened."

"Millie smacked a second year!" Tracey said quickly, and then she broke into a laugh.

"I didn't smack him, I merely gave him an incentive to study properly," Millie sighed, while Ron cocked his eyebrow at her.

"No, she smacked that kid straight," Theo sniggered. "Daphne and I were trying to get the second years to finish up their homeworks, mostly because they didn't get anything done in your study group yesterday. And this skinny little bitch starts mouthing off with Daphne, but just as we decided to give up, Millie simply walks up and smacks him across the face."

"Did it work?" Ron asked, and then he swallowed his massive bite.

"Oh, it worked," Daphne replied, and then she shot Millie an annoyed look. "But only for now."

"And the next time they get uppity, I'll smack a different one," Millie shrugged. "Those brats are spoiled rotten, and they need to be taught that they aren't in their parents' villas anymore. The rest of us are working to make sure that Slytherin wins this year, and since they obliviously plan to gloat after we win, they need to bloody contribute to it as well."

"C'mon, Daphne," Pansy smiled at the blonde witch. "Didn't it get results? I mean, you've been trying for three weeks to sort them out. It took Millie an afternoon."

"If it works, then why bother fixing it?" Blaise asked Daphne, who looked to Ron for support.

"Don't at me," Ron said quickly. "You three are the third year representatives, so you need to figure this out amongst each other." _Plus, I agree with Millie here. Those little shites need a boot up the arse._

"I'm glad the Triumvirate removed Malfoy and put Millie in power instead," Tracey stated. "He wasn't even helping Daphne and Theo."

"So they've made it official?" Ron asked, and everyone nodded. "How did Malfoy take it?"

"Honestly, I don't think that he cares much," Pansy replied, her eyes darting towards the Malfoy Heir. Everyone else shot subtle looks towards Malfoy, only to see the pale boy staring blankly at his barely touched food. _His fucking cheek bones look lethal. He seriously needs to eat a proper meal once in a while._ Unsurprisingly, Ron felt a rather strong pang of guilt because of that thought. _I haven't even begun preparing for Malfoy's eventual joining. I should get started on that as soon as I can, I'd rather not have Snape shove his hand down my throat._

"I have to admit, I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for him," Millie admitted, and everyone looked to her. "What? Just look at him… He looks like he got kissed by a Dementor…" There was a sudden noise from the Gryffindor table, and everyone in the Great Hall looked to see the twins laughing madly as Hermione scolded them. _Why are they talking with her? Also, she looks a bit livelier today. Good for her, I guess._

"So, what did you get for Granger?" Tracey asked him, and Ron blinked at her.

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"It's her birthday today, right?" Tracey asked, and Ron blinked once again. "Potter, Longbottom, and your sister gave her gifts during Lunch."

"Oh shite, it is her birthday," Ron frowned at himself, his eyes darting towards Hermione again. "I completely forgot."

"You've been busy, so that's perfectly alright," Daphne said rather coldly.

"And with the way she's been behaving towards you, bugger her," Theo shrugged. "You shouldn't even wish her well."

"That's a bit too much," Ron said to Theo.

"You say that…" Theo smirked. "But we all know that you don't think that she deserves a present from you."

"You're under no obligation to give her gifts anyway," Blaise pointed out. "It's nothing to feel guilty about, Ron."

"It's not about guilt, it's about doing what's right," Ron sighed out. "It's her birthday, and despite our friendship being on a rocky road recently, I should still get her something. It'll just be something less… grand. Maybe a new quill, or something."

"And it'll make her realize that you're being the bigger person here," Theo nodded slowly. "You know what, Ron? I think that you're right." _Merlin, he changed his tone rather quickly._

"Nice to see that you never change," Ron shook his head, but Theo simply shrugged. "I'll get her a new quill, but I'm not going to rub it in. Instead, I'll just hope that she stops being angry with me."

"And if she doesn't?" Daphne asked.

"Then I can say that I tried," Ron shrugged. "In all honesty, I haven't done anything to make her behave this way." _Nothing that she remembers, anyway._ "If she wants to keep giving me the cold shoulder, then that's her problem. I'll just ignore her as well."

"Fingers crossed," Blaise said in a bored voice, but Ron barely heard him because the school bell went off.

"Ugh… I didn't eat a damn thing," Ron frowned. "Thanks for distracting me."

"Just get Marty to bring you food," Tracey said casually, and Ron was stunned by his own stupidity. "Did I just outsmart the Prodigy?"

"No," Ron said quickly, but Tracey simply grinned victoriously. "I would have thought of it… I've just had a long day…"

"Uh-huh," Tracey winked at him, and Ron drew in a deep breath. They all stood up and began making their way out of the Great Hall, and Ron made sure to keep in line with the Golden Trio. As they entered the Entrance Hall, Ron quickly stepped into their way.

"Hello," Ron greeted them with a smile, and all three just blinked at his sudden appearance.

"Hey, mate," Neville broke the silence.

"I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to you," Ron said, his eyes resting on Hermione. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," Hermione said, though she sounded quite unsure. On the one hand, she was happy that Ron had remembered her birthday. But on the other hand, she was still struggling with how she felt around him. Jealousy and admiration didn't mix well together, and Hermione had decided to avoid being around him for now.

"I've ordered your present, and it should be here soon," Ron lied, and she gave him a weak smile.

"You didn't have to do that," Hermione said, but Ron simply shrugged. _I didn't. Not yet at least._

"Not every day that someone turns fourteen," Ron smiled at her. "Happy Birthday again, Hermione."

"Thanks… again," Hermione said, and Ron stepped out of their way.

"I won't keep you guys any longer," Ron said, and both Harry and Hermione nodded before heading towards the stairs. Neville gave Ron a weak smile, and then he patted the redhead's upper right arm.

"It'll pass," Neville said optimistically, and then he followed after his friends.

"Can we go back to our common room now?" Blaise asked as Ron's friends gathered around him.

"Looking for my permission?" Ron smirked at the dark-skinned boy, who simply rolled his eyes. "Do you guys want to play some-"

"Mr. Weasley, a word?" came Snape's voice, and all of them looked to see Snape standing by the giant door.

"We'll play a round before you come back," Pansy whispered, and then they all left Ron with Snape. Ron approached the Potions Master, whose expression was unreadable as always.

"Yes, Sir?" Ron asked, and Snape gestured him to follow. Both student and Professor made their way back into the Great Hall, and much to Ron's surprise, they walked through the back exit reserved only for the staff. "Sir, where are we going?"

"Towards the unused Courtyard," Snape replied, and Ron blinked at his back.

"There's another Courtyard in Hogwarts?" Ron asked, and Snape simply shot him a quick look. "This place is massive."

"This castle has over a thousand years' worth of secrets, Ronald," Snape told him. "As for the unused Courtyard, it is located in the back of the castle."

"Why is it unused?" Ron asked.

"You enjoy the sound of your own voice, don't you?" Snape asked coldly, and Ron smirked at his back.

"It is a nice voice though, isn't it?" Ron asked back.

"Yes, a perfect blend of pubescence and cat screeches," Snape remarked, and Ron lost his smirk.

"At least I'm not the living embodiment of the Weird Sisters' angst," Ron shot back, and Snape shot him a glare.

"I preferred it when your mouth was sealed," Snape stated in his cold voice, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"That was a mean thing to do, even by your standards," Ron said. "My jaw was sore for hours afterwards."

"Good," Snape drawled, and then they stepped into the 'unused' Courtyard. It was perfectly maintained, with rose bushes planted along the path and an apple tree right in the center of it.

"How is this unused?" Ron asked.

"Filch may keep it tidy, but no students come here," Snape replied as they approached the tree. "The North Wing of Hogwarts hasn't been used since the eighteenth century."

"Why?"

"Gods, do you ever stop?" Snape frowned at him, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. _Yeesh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin this morning._

"There is no better way to learn than to question everything, Severus," came Dumbledore's voice, and then he stepped out from behind the tree. He was holding an apple in his right hand, and Ron noticed that Fawkes was perched on his left shoulder.

"Was he seriously hiding behind that tree in order to make his sagely entrance?" Ron whispered to Snape, who smirked a little.

"Just let him have this," Snape whispered back.

"We don't have much time to talk, I am expected back in Albania within the hour," Dumbledore said, all the while pretending to not hear them.

"Albania again?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore nodded. "What is happening in that country? I've heard that **our** Aurors are going there for assignments."

"They are indeed," Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes twinkling like the stars above them. "I fear that where there is misery, many also see opportunity."

"Bandits," Snape frowned, and Dumbledore gave a slow nod.

"Wizarding crime has gone up exponentially, especially amongst the Albanian Wizarding community," Dumbledore told them. "With their own Ministry solely focused on the Gaia Project, the people of Albania are feeling neglected. Left out to starve in the cold. Many have turned to stealing from the villages that are being funded by the Pure-Blood Families, and since those villages are on the borders of the Forests, Aurors from all over Europe are being deployed to maintain order. The Project needs to be finished by the start of next year, because if it is not, we will run out of funds."

"Bloody hell," Ron sighed, while Snape simply pinched the bridge of his hooked nose.

"I have destroyed many lives because of my rash actions," Dumbledore admitted, his expression weakening for a moment.

"What's done is done," Snape said, and then he looked to Ron. "You will not be going to Grimmauld Place tomorrow. Until Albus returns, this mission of ours will need to wait."

"I understand," Ron nodded. "It's dangerous, and far too much can go wrong. How long will you be away for, Headmaster?"

"Only for a few days," Dumbledore replied, and then he looked to Snape. "Severus, show him." _Show me what?_ Snape gave the old wizard a curt nod, and then he rolled up his left sleeve. Ron stared at the faded looking scar on the Potions Master's left forearm, and a shudder passed through him as he made out the skull. _The Dark Mark…_

"Um… Why are you showing that to me?" Ron asked, and Snape quickly pulled his sleeve down.

"It's been cut off, Ronald," Dumbledore told him, and Ron had no idea what that meant. "Do you remember what it looked like before tonight? Severus showed it to you when we discussed him being a spy for the Order."

"It was faint… and red…" Ron remembered. "But now it's just a faded scar… What does this mean?"

"It means that the Dark Lord's connection to the Dark Mark… To **all** the Dark Marks… has been cut off," Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"He's no longer powering them?" Ron asked.

"Exactly," Dumbledore nodded. "I fear what this truly means. For Voldemort to sever his hold over his 'faithful servants'… This cannot be a good sign."

"I believe that he is trying to avoid detection," Snape stated. "Why else would he hide his brand?"

"He was already trying to avoid detection though, right?" Ron asked. "But he hadn't severed his connection to the Dark Mark until… When did this happen?"

"This morning," Snape replied. "I felt nothing whatsoever, but whilst I was making a Potion, I happened to roll up my sleeve." _Shite, does this mean that Lord Greengrass' Mark is also cut off?_ "I'm telling you, Albus… If he has severed his connection to the Dark Marks, it means that he's powerful enough to fully power them again. This is his method of hiding his return to power from the Ministry."

"Return to power?" Ron asked, his stomach tightening painfully. _How is that even possible?!_

"We don't know that yet," Dumbledore sighed out. "But yes, Severus… Your theory is the only one that makes sense right now. Voldemort has somehow managed to regain much of his power. Once I return from Albania, I will work to bring back the Order. We must be prepared."

"And Amelia Bones?" Ron asked. "Shouldn't we try and make her Minister? You know, because Fudge is apparently not strong enough to lead."

"He isn't," Snape said coldly.

"I will speak to her once I have returned," Dumbledore told them. "Ronald, is your business still in play?"

"It is," Ron nodded. "The Quibbler will be fit for our use by the end of March."

"Good," Dumbledore said, and then he looked to Fawkes. "Are you ready, my friend?" Fawkes gave a shriek at that, his massive scarlet wings flapping loudly. "This is where I leave you both. Severus, find out what Lucius and Cornelius are up to."

"I will," Snape nodded curtly, and Dumbledore looked to Ron with a faint smile.

"Try to follow my advice," Dumbledore said to Ron, who simply blinked at him. _His advice? Wait… Is he talking about Daphne? Don't we have bigger problems right now than my dating life?_ Fawkes suddenly burst into a vortex of bright orange flames, and when the fire dissipated, both Dumbledore and Fawkes were gone. _That was awesome!_

"What advice?" Snape asked, and Ron took in a deep breath.

"He wants me to chase after Daphne," Ron replied, and Snape gave him a deadpan look.

"So while I'm putting my life in danger, you'll be chasing a skirt?" Snape cocked his eyebrow, while Ron frowned at him.

"Don't call her a 'skirt', or I'll shit in your favorite cauldron," Ron bit out.

"Colorful," Snape sneered. "Come, let's be on our way."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Finally," Pansy smiled at him. "We've been waiting for ages, Ron."

"Sorry, but I'm not really feeling up to playing Wizard's Poker right now," Ron told them, and they all just stared at him.

"I told you guys that we shouldn't have waited," Theo frowned at Ron, who simply smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, but I'm exhausted," Ron told them. "I just want to sleep right now." _And by sleep, I mean practice Wandless Magic. If the Dark Lord is truly becoming more and more powerful each day, then I need to stop fucking around._

"You sure?" Blaise asked him, and Ron nodded.

"Goodnight, guys," Ron said, and once they bid him goodnight as well, Ron made his way towards his dorm. _I can still only cast four Wandless Spells. That is not acceptable. By the end of next week, I'll cast both Incendio and Baubillious successfully. That's my personal goal. As for Flagellum Inferos, Fumos, Lumos Solem, and Cutis Terra, I'll just need to build up to them. And I need to get that Dark Tome which I bought at Victor's shop from Marty, he's still holding onto it for me. Right. You've got a goal now, Ron. Work towards it._ After Ron entered his room, he close the door behind himself. _Right, let's warm up first._

"Accio, Flitwick's book," Ron chanted, his left hand hanging in the air. Flitwick's book flew off of Ron's nightstand, and he caught it easily enough. "What next?" Ron then looked at his chair, and he smiled to himself. "Wingardium Leviosa." The chair shook for a second, and then it began to float in the air. _Heavy, but not as heavy as before. I'm getting better at this._ Ron held the chair for over ten seconds, but when his left bicep began to ache, he put the chair back down. As Ron flexed his left arm, he thought about his previous attempt at Baubillious. _Pointing my fingers forward seem to help it come out better. Should I keep my entire arm straight? Why not? Let's try it._

"Baubillious," Ron chanted, his left arm and fingers pointing at the ground before him like a straight blade. His entire arm felt rather jittery for a moment, and then hot white sparks fired out of his fingertips. Ron quickly stopped casting the Spell, his eyes widening at the weak scorch marks on the ground. "Oh shite… I really didn't think that through, did I? But… The sparks were stronger this time, I could feel it."

"Ron? Can I come in?" came Daphne's voice, and then she knocked on the door.

"Accio door," Ron chanted, his left palm aimed at the entrance door. It swung open rather violently, revealing a slightly panicked Daphne. "Sorry! So sorry! I was trying Wandless Magic."

"Merlin, that scared me," Daphne sighed as she entered the room, and then she closed the door behind her. "You could've ripped the door out of its hinges, Ron. Be more careful."

"Yeah," Ron mumbled, and then he heard her lock the door. _What's this?_ Despite the news about the Dark Lord potentially becoming stronger, Ron couldn't help but feel excitement at seeing Daphne. _She'll be my girlfriend by tomorrow night! If she accepts, that is._ "So… What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to talk," Daphne shrugged, and then she walked over to his bed and sat down. "Care to sit with me?"

"No problem," Ron said, and then he hopped onto his bed. Daphne bounced up for a second, and once her bum was back on the bed, she fixed her hair back into place. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," Daphne smiled a bit as she shook her head. "How have you been?"

"Um… Good…" Ron replied, giving her a confused look. "How have you been?"

"Bored," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "I've missed you, is what I'm trying to say."

"But we haven't been apart, except for today," Ron said slowly, and Daphne let out a tired sigh.

"You can be so slow, Ron," Daphne huffed. "We've barely spoken since our talk."

"Oh… yeah…" Ron nodded, he had forgotten about that in his excitement. "Are you feeling better now? Around me, that is. Millie, Pansy, and Tracey seem to be doing much better… But it's alright if you're still jarred… I understand…"

"Come here," Daphne beckoned him, and Ron swallowed thickly before scooting closer to her. She grabbed his cheeks with her hands, and then she planted her lips onto his. _That feels nice._ Ron relaxed as he put his hands on her shoulders, both of them planting kisses on each other's faces. "We haven't kissed since Tuesday," Daphne said in between kisses, and then she planted three quick pecks on his lips.

"Tuesday, you say? Oh right… When you attempted to unman me," Ron smirked, and Daphne let out a giggle.

"I'm still sorry about that," Daphne said as she rested her forehead against his. "But you have to admit, it was really funny."

"From your perspective, sure," Ron chuckled, and then he kissed her nose. "I feared becoming Ginny and Luna's older sister."

"You'd make a cute girl," Daphne giggled. "And yes, I would still kiss you."

"That's… I'm not going to lie, that makes me want to be a girl," Ron admitted. "But only slightly…"

"Whatever you say, weirdo," Daphne snorted, but before Ron could make fun of her, she hugged him tightly and pulled him down to his side. They were both just lying down on their sides now, their faces inches apart.

"What's gotten into you?" Ron asked with a smile. "Not that I mind, of course."

"I'll tell you, but only if you promise to not get angry," Daphne whispered, putting her forehead against Ron's once again.

"I promise," Ron said slowly, his eyes fixed on hers.

"Arthur Belmont asked me out today," Daphne told him, and Ron's smile died on his face. _Someone asked her before me?_ Instead of feeling angry, like he imagined that he would, he instead felt his heart tighten in his chest.

"What?" Ron asked weakly, and Daphne blinked at him. "Someone asked you…"

"Ron, I said no," Daphne quickly assured him, and then she scooted even closer to him.

"But…" Ron started, but then he stopped. _I wanted to be the first, but I was a day too late._

"I guess I shouldn't have told you that," Daphne mumbled guiltily. "It's just that when he asked me, I wanted you to be there."

"Why?" Ron managed, all the while unintentionally pulling her torso into his. Daphne snuggled against him happily, her left arm slithering past his side and resting on his back.

"I wanted to see what you'd do," Daphne replied. "But now that I've seen your reaction… I'm sorry that I mentioned it. I remember how wretched I felt when Patil tried to ask you out during Magical Creatures, and she didn't even do it fully."

"You felt wretched?" Ron asked in a whisper, and Daphne gave him a quick kiss in response. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice that. But I swear Daph, if she had asked me fully, I'd have said no immediately."

"I know," Daphne smiled at him, and he managed a weak smile back.

"Arthur Belmont is a fifth year representative, right?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded. "Where did he ask you? What did you say?"

"He asked me while I was coming back from the girls' lavatory, and I said that I was already seeing someone," Daphne replied, and Ron blinked at her. "You, Ron…"

"I know," Ron said quickly. "You know, I'm kind of glad that I wasn't here… I would've just gotten angry and embarrassed you." _But I still wish that it was me who asked you first._

"Actually, I did want you to be a little angry," Daphne said, she couldn't help but smile at his worry over her reputation. "He told me to 'ditch that loser' in order to date him instead. He actually had the gall to order me around, the Heiress of the Greengrass Family. Plus, he called you a loser… I should have his pet killed in front of him."

"Woah…" Ron pulled his head back a bit. "And I'm the scary one?"

"I'm just talking nonsense," Daphne sighed, and Ron slowly rested his head by hers again. "He just really vexed me, that's all. So I spent the entire day waiting for you to come back. I really missed you."

"I missed you as well," Ron said before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I hate it when we don't spend time together like this. Can I admit that?"

"Please do," Daphne hummed, a content smile on her face.

"I don't like it when we… take breaks…" Ron admitted. "Even if those breaks are only for two days. I like being this close to you."

"You're sweet as always," Daphne whispered. "Blaise and Theo are probably still in their game, I gave them my 'money'."

"You bought us more time?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a wink. "You came in here to seduce me, didn't you?"

"Shut up," Daphne giggled, and then she began kissing him again. _Tomorrow. I'll definitely ask her tomorrow._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (St. Mungo's Hospital – Night)**_

It was an odd feeling, just lying in bed all day. For the last decade or so, Lord Voldemort had spent every single moment grasping at life. Barely surviving, barely existing. But now, he was in bedrest. He was being washed and fed by Nurses, who all seemed to look at him with some sort of pity. They would pay dearly for that. Lord Voldemort was to be worshiped, not pitied.

Despite his desire to make his exit already, being in bedrest had provided considerable advantages to him. For one, he had successfully severed his connection to the Dark Mark. Now none of his former friends could betray his survival to the Ministry, and Lord Voldemort could operate in the shadows. He, of course, expected Dumbledore to become suspicious, but that was a small price to pay for him finally being able to rebuild his armies. He would spend the next year gathering his forces, all the while creating a perfect body for himself. One which would be able to bypass that filthy Mud-Blood's Sacrificial Protection.

Secondly, the Dark Lord had used his Occlumency to close himself away from his Horcruxes. This was all due to his connection with Ronald, something that he genuinely feared. He understood that if he left a link open between their minds, there was a chance that the **demon** possessing his Heir could take a hold of his own mind. The last thing he needed was to run into that **monster** , especially when he was so close to his return.

The third advantage to his bedrest was that he was able to comb through Pettigrew's memories. They were terribly damaged because of the Dementor's kiss, but some of the memories were still intact. Mostly memories that the Dementors tended to leave alone, his worst moments. Much to the Dark Lord's joy and relief, Pettigrew had snuck his way into the Potters' home after the Killing Curse had rebounded. Pettigrew had found the Dark Lord's wand by Lily Potter's corpse, and in an effort to hide his own involvement, the rat had stashed the wand away in Godric's Hollow. Lord Voldemort's first step would be to reclaim his treasured wand, it had been away from his side for far too long.

Whilst he had been combing through Pettigrew's memories, he had found himself watching the rat's life within 'The Burrow'. At first, the Dark Lord had sneered in disgust at the filthy Blood-Traitor Family, but then a little red-haired boy had come running down for breakfast. Lord Voldemort had found himself rooted in the memory, and much to his joy, the rat had spent the day in Ronald's care. After all, the boy tended to share his sweets with the filthy rat.

The Dark Lord had watched his Future Heir spend hours alone in his room, always keeping himself occupied with books or his Chudley Cannons Badge. The boy wore filthy second-hand clothes, much like the Dark Lord during his own childhood, and he was alone. Lord Voldemort had found himself seething with rage as the boy's own mother constantly played favorites, while Ronald was left to himself. And when he had seen the boy's father ignore him in favor of Muggle Toys, Lord Voldemort had vowed to skin them all alive. Lord Voldemort understood his Heir's status as an outsider, as much like himself, Ronald was meant for greater things. And those born with a higher purpose were often ignored by the mediocre.

But eventually, Lord Voldemort could not find any more memories involving his Heir. It was a shame, as the Dark Lord wished to know more about Ronald, but it was also out of his hands. The Dementors had destroyed Pettigrew's already feeble mind, and even the Dark Lord's prowess at Legilimency could do little against a hollowed out mind. However, before the Dark Lord had run out of memories to watch, he had seen Pettigrew's capture.

Snape, that filthy traitor, was the one who had dragged Pettigrew to Amelia Bones. There was no doubt left in the Dark Lord's mind anymore, Severus Snape had turned lapdog to Dumbledore. During his time inside of Quirrell, Lord Voldemort had seen Snape threaten his host constantly. The 'Half-Blood Prince' had even managed to stop Quirrell from securing the Philosopher's Stone. And then there was the Albania debacle. Quirrell had only mentioned Albania to the Heads of Houses, never Dumbledore. Snape, who was apparently working with Lucius and Cornelius, had never bothered to mention that to the two Death-Eaters. Instead, it had been Dumbledore who found the Dark Lord first.

All of this made it crystal clear to the Dark Lord that Snape had fully turned traitor. The Potions Master was a Master Occlumens, and for all Lord Voldemort knew, Snape had been tricking him long before his downfall. Why had Snape begged for the life of a Mud-Blood? Why was it that Snape was difficult to get a hold of near the end of the war? Why was it that while all of the Dark Lord's faithful were hauled off to Azkaban, Dumbledore had vouched for Snape? And not only vouched, but even hired the man as a Professor at Hogwarts? Yes… It was all too clear to Lord Voldemort now. Severus Snape had to die, not only for his betrayal, but also because he knew far too much about the Dark Lord's methods. There was no going back on this decision, Lord Voldemort was the only Being that could **live** **forever**. And as long as Snape breathed, that noble goal was under threat.

"Hello, Mr. Pettigrew," came a witch's voice, and the Dark Lord broke out of his thoughts. _Once again I must put up with this pathetic charade._ "I… I'm not allowed to be here, especially not tonight. They told me that you're being euthanized tomorrow…" _What?!_ The witch walked over to his bedside table, and she put down a vase of colorful flowers. "They say that Lord Black sent an owl… I just thought that since this is your last night on Earth, you could do with some fresh flowers." _Last night on Earth? I rather doubt it._

"At least you will finally have peace, you know," the witch went on, while the Dark Lord pretended to be a husk. "My mum always says that everyone deserves peace in the end, no matter who they are. I know that you did terrible things in your life, but I'm also sure that you weren't always like this. Goodbye, Mr. Pettigrew." As the witch turned to leave, Lord Voldemort grabbed onto her wrist. "Mer-" the witch's scream was cut short as the Dark Lord used Blood Magic to bring her to her knees.

"I see that my stay here is at an end," Lord Voldemort hissed as he stepped off of the bed, his legs wobbling slightly. "No matter… I have healed this body enough to make my escape." With that, the Dark Lord glared down at the witch, who was leaking thick blood out of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The look of sheer terror was etched upon her young face, and it brought a cruel smile to his. "What was that about euthanizing me, worm? Nothing to say? Very well." With a flick of his hand, Lord Voldemort twisted the witch's head all the way around. She dropped forward with a dull thud, her horrified face staring up at the ceiling.

The Dark Lord reached down and picked up her wand, and with his bonelike fingers, he felt the material. _Dragon-Heartstring, thirteen inches, Vinewood. Not bad. Not ideal, but not bad either._ Using the witch's wand, Lord Voldemort sent her corpse into the bathroom. Once he had cleaned up the blood, he himself stepped into the bathroom. _It is past time that I left this wretched place._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (St. Mungo's Hospital – Past Midnight)**_

He stared at his gaunt face within the mirror, his blazing red eyes shining off of the reflection. It was time to make his escape, and the only way was to bring fire and death upon this place. He had planned his escape over the last few days, but in the end, he had decided against a subtle approach.

The truth was that if Pettigrew's body simply went missing, it would raise far too much suspicion. Not to mention that Pettigrew was scheduled to be euthanized tomorrow, and if his body up and vanished the night before, there'd be a manhunt for him. No, the Dark Lord needed secrecy right now. He didn't need the Ministry and Dumbledore constantly hounding his steps.

He had, of course, thought of Human Transfiguration, and he even had a ready corpse by his feet. But that wouldn't work either. Despite their unexceptional careers as Healers, the staff of St. Mungo's weren't stupid. They would find out rather quickly that the person they had 'euthanized' was already dead, which in turn would lead to the Ministry finding out. He couldn't even Obliviate Pettigrew out of people's memories because the whole World knew about his existence due to Rita Skeeter's article.

His escape had to be covered up, and the only thing that he could think of was a 'distraction'. Something drastic had to take place for people to not follow up on Pettigrew's flight, and after careful consideration, the Dark Lord had his plan. He would destroy this entire place. He would find the Potion closets and set them ablaze in order to make it look like an accidental fire, one which was fueled by the Potions. By the time he was finished, this would look like nothing but a horrible tragedy. No one would be blamed, and no one would suspect a 'husk' to be behind it. As for the people inside the Hospital, they'd be nothing but ash by the morning.

As he finished Magically Sealing the building, a feeling of anticipation began to grow inside of his chest. It had been far too long since he had felt even half of his real power, and now he was eager to test his new vessel out. Lord Voldemort made his way out of the bathroom, all the while casting Anti-Apparition Jinxes on the building. No one could be allowed to escape, and no one could be allowed to enter. Tonight, Lord Voldemort would strike once again for the first time in over a decade.

He stepped out of his room and into the dark Hallway, his transfigured black silk robes helping him blend in with the shadows. _If I recall correctly, I'm on the fourth floor. There is only one floor above me, but since it's reserved for visitors, I won't have to worry about it this late. And if there is someone up there, then they'll burn nonetheless._ He managed to take five steps forward before stopping once again, his eyes gleaming at the door to his right. _Alice and Frank Longbottom?_ He knew those wretched names all too well.

Lord Voldemort waved his hand, and the door slowly creaked open. The Dark Lord slithered into the room, his wand held loosely in his right hand. Once he had closed the door behind himself, he eyed his surroundings. The room was just like his own, except it had two beds. His red eyes immediately settled on the disgusting husk of Frank Longbottom, who was awake and staring down at his own two feet. As the Dark Lord approached the former Auror's bedside, he could see the emptiness behind the man's eyes. There was nothing left of who he was, an Auror that had bested Antonin Dolohov once.

"Frank Longbottom," the Dark Lord hissed, his own face tightening into a sneer. "Look at me, you wretch." The man simply kept staring at his own feet, his face hosting a blank expression. Lord Voldemort felt nothing but disgust at seeing him. Disgust, and anger. This was the Auror that had denounced him in the middle of the Ministry? Who had fought and bested Antonin Dolohov? "No… This is what you really are. What you have always been. This is the price for defying my will."

Someone suddenly hummed a tune from behind him, and the Dark Lord immediately turned around and aimed his wand at Alice Longbottom. The woman's face was thin and worn, and her long hair was white, wispy, and dead-looking. She simply stared at him as she hummed a tune to herself, she too had the same emptiness behind her eyes as her husband. And then, she began to walk towards him. The Dark Lord slowly stepped out of her way, she was clearly focused on her husband's bedside table.

Alice Longbottom planted what looked to be a gum wrapper by the framed photo of a fat baby, her dry lips twitching into a weak smile. Lord Voldemort just stared at her, she was clearly fond of the chubby boy in the photograph. _Is that her son? Don't worry, he'll join you both soon enough._ As she began to leave for her own bed, the Dark Lord sent a strand of his robes at her. She was quickly brought to her knees as the strand tightened around her neck, her boney fingers trying to loosen the noose around her neck. She did her best to struggle, and Lord Voldemort supposed that even in her current state, she was trying to reject death.

"Very well," the Dark Lord said. "Lord Voldemort will grant you mercy, and make this quick." The strand tightened so harshly that her eyes and tongue bulged out of her head, and then, she simply hung there. Lord Voldemort looked to Frank Longbottom, who was now staring at his wife's dangling corpse. "Nothing to say about that?" Frank looked to the Dark Lord for a moment, and then he went back to staring at his feet. "Avada Kedavra!" The jet of green light smashed into Frank Longbottom's side, and he toppled off of his bed. With his work done, and his revenge exacted, Lord Voldemort left the room.

"Who are-"

"Avada Kedavra," the Dark Lord hissed, and a portly Healer was struck down immediately. Lord Voldemort walked past the Healer's corpse, whose face was still showing his surprise, and he wondered how many staff members were still in the Hospital. _It doesn't matter, Lord Voldemort will not be stopped._ It didn't take him long to find the fourth floor's Potion closet, and once he was standing in front of the full shelves, he toppled them all with a wave of his hand. The pungent smell of the Potions was far worse than the loud noise that he had just made, but he ignored it all.

"Incendio," the Dark Lord hissed, a gleeful smile on his face. The spilled Potions immediately caught fire, and Lord Voldemort used his wand to bind the flames to his will. As the fire began to spread throughout the room, the ceiling suddenly broke apart in order to shower the room with sand. But Lord Voldemort was faster, and with a quick Banishing Charm, he sent the sand back to his former room. _Time to burn away any trace of myself._

Lord Voldemort stepped out of the Potions closet, and his flames followed after him. With each step he took, the fire consumed another inch of the Hospital. He knew that this had to be done as quickly as possible, and that if he spent too much time here, someone would break through his Sealing Ward and call for help. So in order to save himself time, he locked each door that he passed. No one would leave this place alive, no one but Lord Voldemort.

"Fire!" came a shriek from his left, and Lord Voldemort turned to see an old woman in a Hospital gown. His blazing red eyes met her terrified ones, and she let out a loud scream. "DEMON! DEMON IN THE-"

"Confringo!" the Dark Lord chanted, and a bright orange light fired out of his wand. The old patient was blown into pieces, as well as the room behind her. He could already hear people waking up, and as they banged at their doors, Lord Voldemort ignored their cries of panic. The few rooms that he hadn't sealed shut yet sprang open, and panicked patients tried to flee out of them. They were far too slow, which resulted in their immediate deaths at his hands.

"Reducto!" the Dark Lord chanted, his wand aimed at the ground before him. A massive chunk of the ground was reduced to nothing but fine powder, and Lord Voldemort quickly glided down to the third floor. _The Treatment Ward for Potions and Plant Poisoning._ He knew that there had to be plenty of Potions on this floor, and that many of them were volatile. His controlled flames leaked through the hole that he had just made, all the while spreading throughout the fourth floor.

"What the fuck?!" came a loud yell, and the Dark Lord turned to face a handful of Healers and Nurses. Their eyes were popping out of their skulls at the sight of him, and as the flames began to spread around him, they quickly brandished their wands.

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Dozens of bright Spells were fired at him, but he easily blocked them all with a powerful shield. While the terrified attackers continued their assault, patients began to step out of their rooms. _Perfect timing._

"Get back ins-"

"Baubillious!" the Dark Lord bellowed, and a bolt of red lightning fired out of his free hand. It struck one of the Nurses with a thunderous noise, and through her, it spread out and electrocuted most of his attackers. Loud screams emanated from all of them, most of them had survived with severe burns and scarring. The patients flew into a panic, and the screaming amplified. Lord Voldemort quickly utilized the panic to send forth his flames, and despite the efforts of one foolish Healer, the flames violently engulfed the entire Hallway. The smell of burning flesh, and the loud cries, made him like nothing short of a God. They were all so weak, whereas he was beyond their very comprehension.

Lord Voldemort turned around and walked through his own flames, which moved out of his way in order to allow their master free passage. More and more patients stepped out of their rooms as he made his way to the Potions closet, and he cut them all down without hesitation. Most of them were smart enough to try and flee, but a few of them actually tried to attack him. But they weren't just fighting him, they were also forced to fight the inferno that was following after him. If they ever managed to make him block their Spells, the flames quickly reached out with fiery tendrils and dragged them into the inferno.

"HELP! HELP US!" people screamed as they ran from him, but they never made it far. The bloodlust was getting to him, and he had to use his Occlumency in order to stay focused on his task. Once he found another Potions closet, he set it ablaze just like the last one. This time, he didn't bother stopping the sand. The flames were far too rampant to be doused by a bit of dirt, and Lord Voldemort commanded them to spread throughout the floor. Lord Voldemort then made his way into the nearby stairwell, and once he was inside the small room with the stairs, he found several people cowering in the corner.

"Mercy!"

"Please, we have families!"

"Show merc-"

"Diffindo!" the Dark Lord spat out, a bright pink light slashed everything in its way. The cowering fools were severed into meaty chunks, their insides spilling out and filling the stairwell with a foul, metallic stench. Lord Voldemort made his way down to the second floor, his bare feet leaving bloody imprints behind him. As he stepped out of the stairwell, he heard his inferno roar wildly as it followed him down to the second floor. _The Ward for children and Magical Bugs._

Unlike the fourth and third floors, the people on this floor were already out of their rooms. All of them were yelling over each other, and while a few Healers and Nurses were trying to guide them down towards the lower floors, the panic was palpable. Lord Voldemort just stared at the hysterical crowd in his way, but when his flames burst into the floor in order to follow his will, every eye shot towards him. Lord Voldemort smiled at them, his blazing red eyes inspiring absolute horror amongst the crowd.

"What in the-"

"Confringo!" Lord Voldemort chanted, and a fiery explosion echoed throughout the Hospital. It was quickly followed up by bloodcurdling screams, as well the smell of blood and burnt flesh. Lord Voldemort used the mass hysteria to his advantage as he moved through the second floor. People screamed, fought back, ran, or simply held onto their broken body parts, while the Dark Lord slashed, thrust, and waved his wand around in an absolute frenzy.

He could feel how slick his skin was with the blood of his victims, but he didn't relent. He couldn't relent. It was his survival, or theirs. And to Lord Voldemort, the choice was as simple as first year Spells. The more people he cut down, the more violent he became. His flames consumed everything in his wake, quickly making sure that their master left behind nothing to investigate. It hardly mattered that a person was in pieces if the fire left behind nothing but ash.

"Through here, children! Hurry!" he heard a familiar voice yell out, and as he turned the corner, he spotted Isabella, the welcome-witch. She was trying to help around thirty odd children escape down the stairwell leading down to the first floor, but her efforts were ruined when Lord Voldemort sealed the door shut with a flick of his wand. Isabella quickly turned around with a terrified look, and much to the Dark Lord's amusement, she was holding Abigail in her left arm.

"Isabella," the Dark Lord hissed, his flames biting and crackling at the witch as they hovered just behind him. "And little Abigail as well… How touching." Isabella held the unconscious girl tightly to her chest as she moved in-between him and the other children, though her face betrayed her 'bravery'. _Of course she doesn't recognize me, but she knows that it's over._

"Please… Please… They're just children… Have mercy, I beg you," Isabella cried, while a few of the younger ones clutched tightly to her work robes. All of them had soot marks on them, and their eyes were thick with terrified tears.

"Here's your mercy, you wretched woman," the Dark Lord 'smiled' at her, and with his will alone, he sent the inferno forward.

"NO!" Isabella screamed, but by the time she had finished, the flames had engulfed them all. Their screams rang throughout the second floor, and Lord Voldemort even spotted a few of them flailing about like wild animals within the flames.

"Expulso!" Lord Voldemort chanted, his wand blowing a hole into the ground beneath the screaming children. As they all fell through to the first floor, the Dark Lord glided across the Hallway and down into the first floor. His flames had already begun to spread, but oddly enough, they were having trouble getting past two men in uniforms. The Dark Lord knew those uniforms all too well… _Aurors._ One of them was holding the fire at bay, while the other one seemed to be chanting to himself.

"Proudfoot, bring the fucking Ward down already!" the Auror on the right screamed, he could barely keep the flames at bay. _No!_ The Dark Lord flew across the Hallway and right through his flames, and the Auror's eyes widened at the sight of a bloody shadow bursting through the fire. "What the fu-"

"Avada Kedavra!" the Dark Lord shouted, and the Auror was blasted back.

"WILLIAMSON!" the Auror named Proudfoot yelled, and then he quickly aimed his wand at the bloody shadow with the blazing red eyes. "Stupefy!" A jet of red light flew at the Dark Lord, but he quickly slapped it away with his free hand. And then, within a second, the Dark Lord's robes had entangled the Auror's throat and limbs.

"Burn," Lord Voldemort hissed, and then with all of his strength, he sent the Auror flying into the inferno. He heard the sickening crunch emanate from the fire, and he knew that the Auror had died upon impact with a wall.

"Burn them all!" Lord Voldemort commanded, and his flames roared loudly as they fired forward. He stood there for a moment, his entire body drenched in gore, and he simply listened. There was much less noise in the Hospital now, but he could still hear screams emanating from beneath him. Most of the patients, and other residents, had made their way down to the ground floor, but judging by their panicked cries, his Sealing and Anti-Apparition Wards were still in place.

"Umbra Amplectere," the Dark Lord whispered, and his robes began to turn into a dark mist. "AGH!" the Dark Lord suddenly bellowed, and with sheer will alone, he crashed the ceiling down on the people beneath him. The screams immediately reached an all-time high as the Dark Lord crashed down upon his victims on the ground floor, but they ended just as quickly as the Dark Lord's robes exploded violently around him. Massive shards of shrapnel-like shadows impaled dozens of people within a second, and whilst his robes rematerialized around him, he savagely fired out murderous Curses at anything that moved.

By the time his flames burst into the ground floor, Lord Voldemort was ankle deep in blood and organs. He was panting heavily, a proud smile on his face. There were no more screams, only the sound of fire consuming everything. Lord Voldemort turned his head and cracked his neck, he truly felt as if he was close to ascension. As he made his way towards the entrance, he looked at his handiwork. They were now all being consumed by the Magical fire, which smelled heavily like Potions and medicine. _It is done._

Lord Voldemort undid his Sealing and Anti-Apparition Wards as the flames brought down the building around him, and once the Wards were down, he apparated to Godric's Hollow.

The moment he landed in the village where he was nearly destroyed, Lord Voldemort found himself seething with even more rage. This is where his reign had ended, this is where Harry Potter's 'legend' was born. The mere thought of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' turned his stomach, and the Dark Lord prayed for the day when he'd finally get his hands on the last Potter. _In time. For now, I must find my oldest companion._

The Dark Lord glided through the village's dark alleys, making sure to stay in the shadows of the tall cottages. He had to get to the church, which was located not too far from where he had landed. After navigating the village from the shadows, the Dark Lord flew past the street lights in his way with terrifying speed and dexterity. The church was just as he remembered it from Pettigrew's memories, and after landing behind it, the Dark Lord made his way over to the dead tree located near the closest tombstone.

"Revelio," the Dark Lord hissed as he waved his wand at the tree, and its center vanished from sight to reveal a metal box. The Dark Lord took the box into his bloodied hands, and as he slowly opened the lid, his eyes burned red with joy. _Finally, we are reunited._

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Muggle London – Crack of Dawn)**_

He was truly fucking wasted, but despite that, he kept walking towards St. Mungo's Hospital. Today was the day. Today, Peter would be murdered by the same people that Sirius had hired to keep him alive. Everyone kept telling him that it was for the best, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but feel grief. _James and Lily, and now Peter… Only Remus and I will be left after today._

Lily had joined the Marauders only in their last year, but they had all taken to her immediately. James was, of course, madly in love with her. But Sirius, Remus, and Peter also loved her. They had broken so many rules together in their last year, and in doing so, they had all forged an unbreakable bond. Or at least that's what Sirius had believed. But then, Peter had betrayed them all. And yet, Sirius still mourned the man's upcoming death. None of his friends, save Remus, understood that Peter had wept with joy when he had held Harry for the first time, or that he had helped Sirius paint Harry's room by hand. None of them understood that Sirius still loved Peter, despite hating what he had done.

"Look at you," Sirius muttered to himself, his cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. "Should've just let the Aurors take Peter… This is all your fault…" Sirius' eyes stung a bit at that, his heart felt like it was being crushed by some evil hag. Harry was so angry with him, and although Sirius did his best to look past his Godson's angry, abusive letters, he couldn't stop himself from punishing himself. All Harry wanted was to see Peter before he was put to death, but Sirius couldn't let Harry feel that pain. Seeing Peter would only remind Harry of what he had lost, but despite telling Harry that in one of his daily letters, Harry was still unconvinced.

And now, it was too late. Peter's execution was scheduled for eight in the morning, and although it was still too early, Sirius planned to spend at least a couple of hours by Peter's side. He'd be damned as a friend… No, as a man… if he let Peter go through this alone. Sirius took a long drag of his cigarette, his head still spinning from his long drinking session. _What is that smell?_ Sirius sniffed the air around him, and he immediately grimaced. _It smells like… What is that fucking smell?_ That's when he noticed it, there was a tower of black smoke reaching into the sky. _What the fuck?!_ Unbeknownst to Sirius, he had crossed the Magical Barrier that the Aurors had put up.

Sirius tossed his cigarette aside before bolting towards the smoke, he was intelligent enough to understand what this could mean. As he turned the street corner, he found himself rooted in his spot. There were almost fifty odd people standing in front of St. Mungo's, all of them crying and beating their chests. Sirius' eyes moved towards the Hospital, and his heart stopped beating. _By Merlin's beard… No…_ Sirius took a few dazed steps forward, the cries of the parents and relatives echoing through his ears. The red-brick building had collapsed in on itself, and thick black smoke was pouring out of its ruins. He knew what this meant, everyone here knew what this meant.

"Step back please!" a scrawny Auror yelled at the crowd, though he was crying himself. "Please! Move back!"

"My daughter is in there!" a woman cried, and Sirius' chest tightened as heartbreak began to settle in. _Peter… No… Peter…_ His pace quickened by itself, and before he knew it, he was struggling against two different Aurors.

"MY FRIEND IS IN THERE!" Sirius screamed, fighting violently against the two men holding him back. "LET GO OF ME! PETER! NO!" The Aurors managed to drag Sirius closer to the ground, but he still kept screaming at the burning ruins.

"Get Roberts and her recruits back here!" a man yelled over the hysteria, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.

"Sir, they're in Albania-"

"I don't care! You go tell Bones that I want my Aurors back here immediately!" Rufus Scrimgeour snapped, and the lanky Auror nodded before apparating away. Scrimgeour then turned to the mourning crowd, a resolute look on his face. "Silence!" Rufus ordered as he slammed his walking cane on the ground, which resulted in a thunderous noise. "All civilians are to organize themselves into groups for questioning! Shacklebolt, take five men and lock down everything within five blocks! No one leaves without being questioned!"

"Peter…" Sirius wept to himself, his body curling in on itself painfully. "Gods…"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! How was that taste of the Dark Lord's Power? And yes, he's still not at full strength. Get keen for some epic Duels, my friends! The War is officially here! (But it'll mostly be shadow-games for now)**

 **See you guys on Sunday! (Maybe Monday, I've got plans for the weekend) Cya!**


	77. Chapter 77 - Tragedy

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 76 is here, and it's a big one! I felt that a proper chapter was deserved after the last one! I won't keep you all waiting:**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 77 - Tragedy**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

Today was the day! He was finally going to ask Daphne to be his official girlfriend, and in full honesty, he was horribly nervous. His jittery nerves didn't really make any sense to him, especially considering that last night the pair of them had spent over thirty minutes cuddling and kissing. _I mean, we're already a couple, but I'm still so damn nervous. How do I even ask her? Do I just pull her aside and say 'Daphne, be my girlfriend'? No, that sounded too much like an order._

"Ron? Breakfast?" Pansy waved at him, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Earth to Ron," Tracey said as she tapped his foot with hers.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," Ron said, his eyes darting towards Daphne for a moment. She was still smiling lightly, and had been ever since last night. _She clearly enjoyed it a lot considering that she's smiling in public._ "Theo, can you pass the jam?"

"Here," Theo said as he handed Ron the jar. "By the way, are you teaching your first years today?"

"I am," Ron replied. "Why?"

"I was wondering if I could tag along," Theo said, which earned him confused looks from everyone. "I just want some pointers, that's all. The first years bloody worship you, and it's only been three weeks since you became their caretaker. So, can I tag along? I think that it'll help me with the second years."

"Sure," Ron shrugged.

"Millie and I would like to tag along too then," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a smitten smile.

"Of course, Daph," Ron said, and whist she smiled back at him, the others simply exchanged looks. _Look at that smile. It's bloody perfect._

"Right…" Blaise said slowly. "When are you going-"

"St. Mungo's burned down!" someone yelled, and every eye in the Great Hall darted towards the Hufflepuff fifth year. The boy was holding a copy of his freshly delivered Daily Prophet in his hands, a panicked look on his face.

"Mr. Murphy…" McGonagall blinked at him, but the boy began shouting what he was reading.

"They're saying that it was an accidental Magical Fire! Seventy nine people are already confirmed dead!" the boy announced, and the whole Hall went dead silent. "The Aurors are trying to figure out what happened!" The boy then looked to the stunned faces staring him, his hold on his paper tightening. "Did you hear me?! St. Mungo's burned down!"

"Is he… Is he serious?" Pansy muttered, her hands quickly covering her mouth. The Hall suddenly erupted into shouting, whilst the Professors just looked to each other with disbelieving looks.

"St. Mungo's," Ron whispered under his breath, whilst his friends began talking to each other loudly. "It burnt down?" His mind immediately drifted to the timing of this tragedy, which had occurred conveniently after the Dark Mark had been powered down. But then almost immediately after, his mind drifted towards the victims. _Sweet Circe, did he say seventy nine people are confirmed dead already?_

"Please, calm yourselves!" McGonagall shouted, but no one listened to her. Instead, they kept bombarding the Hufflepuff boy with questions. But when the owls suddenly flew into the Great Hall, everyone looked up to them. The yelling got even louder once the owls started delivering Daily Prophet copies to the other students, and when Theo's copy landed in his hands, his friends immediately looked to him.

"Merlin…" Theo breathed out, his eyes fixed on the photo of St. Mungo's Hospital reduced to a pile of smoking rubble. "He's telling the truth… It really did burn down…"

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

The yelling sounded so distant to him right now. All he could really focus on right now was the paper in his hands, his eyes were fixed on the photo of what was left of St. Mungo's Hospital. The photo showed the smoking ruins of the Muggle building which housed St. Mungo's, and Neville stared at the handful of Aurors running around as they controlled the grieving crowd. He already knew what this meant for his parents, who were permanent residents at St. Mungo's, but he couldn't feel a damn thing. All he could do was stare at the photo.

"Neville?" Hermione mumbled weakly from his left, and he slowly looked to her.

"Yes?" Neville asked, and his calm voice made her eyes tear up even more.

"Your… Your parents?" Hermione whispered, her bottom lip was starting to quiver. Neville swallowed thickly, and then he looked back to the photo. Hermione shot Harry a heartbroken look, whilst the Boy-Who-Lived simply stared at his best friend. Hermione slowly scooted closer to Neville, and then she hugged him from the side.

The shouting in the Great Hall was quickly turning into open wailing, with students from each House going into a panic over their Families. The Professors had started moving around the Great Hall, all of them doing their best to calm the students down. The only two staff members who weren't walking amongst the students were Snape and Madam Pomfrey. Snape was just sitting there, his black eyes fixed on his own copy. Whereas Madam Pomfrey was weeping into her copy, clearly mourning the possible deaths of most of her friends and colleagues.

"Neville, talk to us," Harry whispered from across him, but all Neville could manage was a dull stare in response. He felt so drained all of a sudden, like he hadn't slept in over a decade. _Mum… Dad…_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower – Before Lunch)**_

Most of the Gryffindors were sitting around in the common room, all of them staring at their copies of the Daily Prophet. The confirmed death-toll was increasing by the hour, and every time it went up, the students fell deeper into grief. Quite a few of the students were still crying, but not Neville. He hadn't said a word since this morning, mostly because he didn't know what to say. What could he possibly say? He knew that his parents had been killed in the Magical Fire, and his best friends knew it too. He had, of course, sent an owl to his Gran, but that was only because Harry and Hermione had begged him to.

"One hundred and four," Hermione suddenly sniffled, which was followed by pained voices emanating throughout the common room. _That's twenty five more people now…_

"How are they updating the Daily Prophet like that?" Ginny whispered to Hermione.

"The Protean Charm," Percy replied, the Weasleys were currently sitting with Neville and his friends. And no, they didn't know about Neville's parents. Only Harry and Hermione knew, and Neville wanted to keep it that way.

"Lunch is about to start soon," Harry said, his eyes fixed on Neville. "Nev, do you feel hungry?" Neville shook his head, and Harry shot a look towards Hermione.

"Are you sure?" Hermione croaked, and Neville nodded tiredly. _I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now, so I'll just sit here. I'll just wait._ The Weasleys exchanged quick looks, they were no doubt wondering why Neville was so distraught.

"Percy," came McGonagall's voice, and everyone looked to her. She looked quite sorrowful, her usually sharp gaze had been dulled considerably. Before people could start asking her questions, she raised her hand to silence them. "Percy, gather the prefects."

"Yes, Professor," Percy nodded firmly as he stood up.

"Bring them down to the Great Hall," McGonagall said, and just like that, she was gone. Percy quickly began to move around the common room, gathering the prefects or finding out about their whereabouts.

"What do you think that's about?" Fred asked, it was odd seeing the twins without a smile on their faces.

"Whatever it is, it affects this House," George replied. "Why else would **all** the prefects be called into action?"

"It's probably the same with every House right now," Hermione pointed out, and then she looked back to Neville. "Neville, do you really not feel hungry?" Neville simply shook his head, he just wanted to keep sitting here.

"Okay…" Hermione muttered, her eyes welling up again.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Most of the Gryffindors had left to eat lunch, while a few of them weren't really in the mindset for eating lunch with their friends. Neville was one of these people, the people who knew for certain that they had lost someone in the St. Mungo's tragedy. The death-toll had increased to one hundred and eleven now, and would continue to increase as more people reported their lost ones. Neville couldn't help but wonder if his Gran had reported his parents' deaths to the Aurors, who were desperately trying to account for the losses, but were failing miserably because the fire had left behind nothing but ash.

Harry and Hermione had left for lunch, but he knew that they'd only left in order to bring him something to eat. Harry had been adamant about not leaving, but then Hermione had whispered something into his ear, which in turn had made Harry follow her down to the Great Hall. Neville had then left for his empty dorm, he couldn't bear to hear his fellow grievers for another second. And so now here he was, sitting on the floor by his trunk, his eyes fixed on the death-toll number.

He honestly didn't know why he wasn't grieving his heart out, something that was genuinely bothering him. His parents were dead, but he hadn't shed a single tear. He hadn't even opened his mouth since this morning. Instead, he was just… there. Why wasn't he crying like Fay, who was certain that her mother had been working the night-shift last night? Why hadn't he flown into a rage like his fellow grievers when the prefects had announced that dinner was compulsory, and that attendance would be checked off? Was he even a griever?

He was supposed to be, his parents were dead as of last night. Sure, he had never had the privilege of growing up with them. Sure, they didn't even know who he was. Sure, he somewhat hated visiting them and seeing them like that. Sure, the only things that he knew about them had come from the stories his Gran had told him. Sure, they were finally at peace now. There were so many reasons for him to not grieve, but he felt like he had to. They were his parents, despite the fact that they had died not knowing that.

Neville finally put the paper down at that, and then he slid over to his trunk. After unlocking it, he opened it and found the little wooden box that he had snuck into Hogwarts. His Gran hated this box, and she had forbidden him from carrying it around. But he could never bring himself to leave it behind. Neville took the box out and placed it next to the Daily Prophet, his fingers slowly undoing the tiny latches. The moment he opened the box, his breath hitched in his throat.

His mother's gum wrappers were staring back at him, and in that moment, he realized just what he had lost. He'd never hear his mother humming that strange tune to herself. He'd never be given another gum wrapper by her again. He'd never see that curious smile on her face again, the smile that had proved to him that she had been the kindest woman in the World. He'd never get to read his Herbology books to her again. Or just sit by her side for hours on end.

He'd never get to drone on about Hogwarts to his father. He'd never get to see that brief look of recognition that his father tended to give him whenever he'd read to his mother. He'd never get to hear stories of how amazing his father was again, not without his heart clenching painfully. He'd never get to tell his father that he planned to become an Auror one day, while he told his mother his true passion for Herbology. They were both dead and gone, and now he was truly alone.

His fingers slowly reached into the box, and he took out a handful of gum wrappers. The more he stared at them, the more his eyes stung. And then, he finally made a noise. He sounded like a wounded dog at first, but before he knew it, he was crying so hard that his chest hurt. _They're dead… I'll never get to see them again…_ He grabbed more gum wrappers with his hands, and then he shoved his tear-soaked face into his hands.

He could smell the spearmint on the gum wrappers, a smell that his mother was extremely fond of. She never ate the chewing gums, she simply liked to keep the wrappers by her bedside because the smell brought some sort of comfort to her. Which is why he always collected them, even when his Gran told him to throw the wrappers away. Despite not knowing who he was, his mother was willing to share her comfort with him. These gum wrappers were the closest thing he had to his mother's love, and he'd never be given another one from her again. In his pain and grief, he didn't even hear his room door open.

"Neville, we got…" Hermione started, but she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the state of Neville. Hermione quickly ran up and crouched down beside him, while Harry put the plate of sandwiches on a nearby bedside table before planting himself on Neville's other side.

"Nev," Harry whispered as he put his arm around his best mate, who was weeping hysterically into a handful of gum wrappers. "I'm so sorry, Nev."

"Me too," Hermione whispered as she rubbed his back.

"They're dead…" Neville wept into his hands, and then he let out a sob that shook his entire body. "I'll… I'll never get to… see them again… I didn't get to… tell them that I loved them… one last time… They're gone… They're both gone…" His friends hugged him from his sides, and although they were whispering words of comfort to him, he couldn't hear them over the sound of his own pain. Frank and Alice Longbottom were gone, and their son was truly an orphan now.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

The Great Hall was dead silent, except for a few people who were still too panicked to stay quiet. The death-toll had risen to almost one hundred and fifty now, which had resulted in more and more students trying to contact their Families. Neville, on the other hand, had cried himself into a truly sorry state.

Both Harry and Hermione were trying to get him to say something, anything, but he just couldn't do it. He had spent the entire afternoon and evening mourning his parents, and now he was just too tired to do it. His entire face was blotchy and sore, and his eyes felt drier than a desert. All he wanted to do was to go to sleep, and hopefully, wake up to find out that this day had been a nightmare.

"Can I please have your attention?" Dumbledore spoke from the podium, and everyone looked to the Headmaster. He looked rather rugged, and his eyes weren't twinkling as they usually did. Instead, they looked heavy with exhaustion and sorrow. "Firstly, to all those who have been affected by this tragic occurrence, you have our combined condolences. This is truly a dark day… A dark day indeed. I have been told that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes are still investigating the fire that burned down St. Mungo's Hospital, and they have asked me to relay this message to you all. If you have any information regarding this incident, please send them an owl. This, of course, includes details of any persons that you suspect to have been at St. Mungo's last night."

"As of tomorrow morning, the school will be shutting down for two weeks," Dumbledore went on, and the students whispered and exchanged curious looks. "I know that many of you wish to be with your Families right now, which is why your respective Heads of Houses will take down your signatures tonight. If you wish to return to your homes tomorrow, please let your Heads of Houses know. Your Families will be contacted, and the Hogwarts Express will depart tomorrow after breakfast. Now please, continue with your meals." With that, Dumbledore walked back to his seat and sat down. The students went back to eating and whispering to each other, while Neville just stared at Dumbledore's tired expression. _He himself isn't eating._

"Neville, are you going to sign up?" Hermione asked softly, and Neville looked back down at his empty plate.

"Yeah…" Neville croaked, his throat hurt from just speaking.

"Here," Hermione said as she handed him her glass of water. "Please drink something at least." Neville looked to her, and upon seeing her sorry expression, he took the glass and drank it down. The water felt heavenly as it slid down his dry throat, and Neville drank the whole thing in one go.

"We can both sign up together," Harry said, he was unsure on how to act right now. He wanted to give Neville a reassuring smile, but this was hardly the time to smile.

"You're signing up as well?" Hermione asked Harry, while Neville simply poured himself another glass of water. _I'm so thirsty._

"I am," Harry sighed, and Hermione just stared at him for a few seconds. "What is it, Hermione?"

"Are you signing up simply because you want to see Sirius?" Hermione asked, and Harry drew in a deep breath. "Harry…"

"He was keeping Pettigrew alive for a reason, Hermione," Harry whispered, his suddenly guilty eyes darting towards Neville. _I don't care. Do as you please._ Neville drank down another glass, while his friends continued their conversation. "He is probably hurting right now, and I want to be there for him."

"I see," Hermione whispered back, and then she looked to Neville. "Do you want some soup, Neville?"

"No," Neville shook his head, at least his throat didn't hurt this time.

"You should eat something, mate," Harry said, but Neville simply shook his head again. _I wonder how Gran is taking this. I bet that she's heartbroken. I need to be there for her. I need to go back home._

"What about some juice?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine with water," Neville mumbled, his dead gaze fixed on his empty plate. "Please, I just feel like… I just want to go to sleep…"

"We can go up to Gryffindor Tower now," Hermione offered. "Some people are already leaving as well."

"What about the sign up?" Harry asked her.

"I'll sign it for him," Hermione said, and then she looked back to Neville. "Is that alright with you?"

"Thanks," Neville muttered, and she gave him a weak smile.

"Shall we go then?" Hermione asked, and Neville nodded weakly. All three of them stood up at that, and as they were walking past the Gryffindor table, they were joined by a fourth body.

"Neville, are you alright?" Ginny asked him, her eyes darting towards Harry and Hermione. _She doesn't know about my parents._

"No," Neville replied as they exited the Great Hall. "My… My parents were at St. Mungo's…"

"Merlin," Ginny gasped, her eyes widening at him. "I… I had no idea, Neville… I'm so sorry…"

"Yeah," Neville sighed, he didn't know what else to say.

"Guys, wait up," came Ron's voice from behind them, and they all turned to see the red-haired Slytherin catching up to them. His eyes were fixed on Neville, and Neville couldn't help but remember Ron's conversation with his Gran. _He knows about my parents, unlike the rest of his siblings._ "Neville, mate… I'm so sorry about-" Ron's eyes darted towards Ginny, who was just staring at him.

"I just told her," Neville told him, and he nodded to himself.

"I'm really sorry about your parents," Ron said, his gloved hand giving Neville's left shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Are you signing up to go home tomorrow?"

"I am," Neville replied, his mind drifting towards his Gran.

"If I don't see you tomorrow, just know that I'm here for you," Ron said in a rather gentle voice. "Send my regards to your Grandmother."

"I will, Ron," Neville said tiredly, and Ron gave him a weak smile as he stepped back.

"We'll see you around, Ron," Harry said, and then he gently nudged Neville up the stairs. They parted ways with Ron at that, and as they were heading up the stairs, Ginny broke the silence.

"Your parents, Neville…" Ginny started, and he felt his gut tighten at the constant mentioning of them. "I'm really sorry. None of us had any idea… Us Weasleys, that is. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Neville sighed out, and he felt Harry put his arm around him, while Hermione grabbed his left hand. _Gran's all alone at Longbottom Manor right now. I have to get back as soon as possible. She needs me to be by her side more than ever before._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Boys' Dorm – Past Midnight)**_

While Blaise and Theo slept, Ron sat on his bed and stared at the Marauder's Map. The Heads of Houses were finally leaving Dumbledore's Office, all of them except for Snape, which didn't really surprise Ron. They were no doubt suspicious about the timing of recent events, much like Ron himself.

Ron swiftly moved off of his bed, and after he had cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, he made his way out of the dorm. The moment he had seen Dumbledore back from Albania, he knew that he had to speak with him. St. Mungo's had been reduced to a smoldering ruin on the very day that the Dark Mark had been cut off, the very day that they had discussed the Dark Lord regathering his strength. If this was all a coincidence, then Ron would eat his favorite black suit.

In the end, he hadn't asked Daphne to be his significant other. Despite desperately wanting to, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The whole school was in mourning, including a large amount of Slytherins. Daphne, Theo, and Millie had spent their day with the second years, one of whom was inconsolable because her father was a Healer at St. Mungo's. Ron thanked his lucky stars that none of his friends, or his first years, had lost anyone. But that could change at any moment because the death-toll was steadily increasing.

And then there was Ron's own mental state. He was constantly having stress moments because of the implications of this tragedy. The Dark Lord was connected to it somehow, he just bloody knew it. Not to mention just how insane it was that a Magical Hospital had been consumed by a fire started from their own Potions. Why hadn't anyone apparated out? Why hadn't anyone used the floo-network to escape? Why was it that in a building full of grown wizards and witches, not a single person could extinguish the flames?

These thoughts had turned Ron into a quiet, and rather jittery, individual. When he wasn't trying to be polite and considerate to his mourning House-mates, Ron was fidgeting with his hands and barely keeping his own panic at bay. Tracey and Pansy had been a Merlin-send during his day, mostly because they had seen his inability to control his stress. And instead of questioning him, they had simply comforted him in any way that they could. During their fifth hug, or kiss, Ron had realized that they too needed some comfort. All of the school was panicking about their Families, and the girls were no different. Until their parents wrote back, every student in the school was living in fear of losing someone that they loved dearly.

"Cherry Pops," Ron said to the Stone Gargoyle, and it slid aside for him. Ron quickly made his way up the spiral steps, and then he knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Come in," came the Headmaster's voice, and Ron quickly stepped in and shut the door. "Ronald?"

"Hello," Ron greeted Dumbledore and Snape, his Disillusionment Charm shattering. "You came back early."

"I had to," Dumbledore sighed, while Ron walked up and took his seat.

"Please tell me that I'm not the only person who finds the timing of recent events awfully suspicious," Ron said, and both wizards nodded their agreement.

"It is no coincidence," Snape said firmly. "The Dark Lord often used fire as a way to mask his actions."

"Just take Albania's Forests as an example," Dumbledore added, the old man looked a century older than he was.

"But why would he burn down St. Mungo's Hospital of all places?" Ron asked.

"Tell him what you just told me, Albus," Snape said, and Ron noticed that the man was holding his left forearm with his right hand.

"When I fought him in Albania, he said something that stuck out to me," Dumbledore told Ron, who listened carefully. "He mentioned that he couldn't fully possess adults, he claimed that their matured minds and Magical Cores rejected him. But children were different… He could dominate their minds with much greater ease."

"Children?" Ron blinked, his stomach tightening from fear. "So when you fought him… He was possessing a child?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, and Ron's face paled.

"How… How old?" Ron managed. _Does he really have no limits?_

"Around eight," Dumbledore replied, his own face showing his… disappointment?

"Merlin," Snape massaged his forehead.

"Are you saying that he possessed a child at St. Mungo's?" Ron asked slowly.

"I did think that at first, but now I have a different theory," Dumbledore started. "Voldemort severing his connection with the Dark Mark is our greatest clue, and upon deliberating on it, I believe that his new host is an adult. One with a fully developed Magical Core. That is the only reason why he would need to sever his connection to the Dark Mark. He doesn't want people to know that he has regained much of his power."

"But he can't control his new host fully?" Ron asked, this whole possession business was horrifying. _He fucking tried to possess me as well, but he didn't know that I was already possessed._

"I believe that he can," Dumbledore replied, and Ron swallowed thickly. _Does that mean that he's back?_ "I believe that he found an adult with an empty mind at St. Mungo's, one that he didn't need to share his new body with. Only one person fits that description in my mind. Peter Pettigrew."

"Scabbers?" Ron asked, his eyes darting to Snape.

"It's possible that he found out about Pettigrew because of Rita Skeeter's article," Snape told him, and Ron nodded along dumbly. "And once he took control of the traitor's empty husk, his power grew considerably. Which is why he had to sever his connection to the Dark Mark, otherwise it would darken just like the old days. The Ministry would find out about his return because of the Death-Eaters in lockup, and he'd be facing a manhunt."

"So he's really back then?" Ron managed, and then he bent forward and breathed out heavily. _Oh Merlin… It's happening… The war… It's really here…_ Ron's entire body tensed, and his mind immediately drifted to his friends and Family. _I have to protect them. All of them._

"Ronald, breathe," Snape said, his hand patting Ron's back. "We knew that this day was coming. **You** knew that it was coming. This is not the time to panic."

"Severus is correct," Dumbledore said, his expression hardening. "Now is the time for action."

"Action?" Ron breathed out, his body moving back and sinking into his chair. "You mean it's time for war, don't you?"

"Voldemort took the Wizarding World by surprise during the last war," Dumbledore said, and Ron could do little but stare at the old wizard's changed demeanor. "That cannot happen again. We must be prepared this time." Dumbledore then matched the gazes of both Ron and Snape, his own gaze as hard as steel. "It's time to assemble the Old Guard."

"The Old Guard?" Ron asked, and then it hit him. "The Order of the Phoenix."

"Not just the Order," Dumbledore said. "We must gather all of our allies to us, and place them where we need them."

"And the Ministry?" Snape asked. "Albus, we cannot stand against him alone."

"I agree with that," Ron said quickly. "I've always advocated the decision to bring the Ministry in on this. They already have a massive workforce, and with their help, we can track that bastard down before he kills us all."

"We will bring the Ministry in on this, but only after we put Amelia Bones in power," Dumbledore told them. "Cornelius will never believe that the Dark Lord has returned, especially because it will mean the end of his career. People will blame him for the Dark Lord returning simply because he holds the title of Minister."

"Show him your memories then," Ron said. "From Albania, that is. You fought-"

"Memories can be altered with Magic," Snape informed Ron. "It's why they're not used in actual trials. Fudge will simply claim that Albus is 'making things up', or worse, trying to steal his job. This is a weak man, Ron. A truly weak man. Not to mention that Lucius has his ear, and will no doubt sabotage us along the way."

"Why is a damn 'former' Death-Eater even allowed into the Ministry?" Ron rubbed his face. "Wait… What are we going to do about Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott? Those two are still searching for their Master, who is now back in action."

"For now, we can do nothing against them," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Ronald… We cannot act without proof. And no, we can't just make two people 'disappear'. They are not only wealthy, but they hold a lot of sway within Wizarding Europe. People would go looking for them if they went missing, and now that Lord Voldemort is back, he'd figure out that we're taking down his old associates. Our knowledge about his new vessel is an advantage that we cannot afford to lose."

"I say that we tell the Order about his new body," Snape suggested. "We need people looking for him, and if they know 'who' to look for, that makes our jobs easier."

"There is no point in that just yet," Dumbledore shook his head. "You have forgotten about Voldemort's true power. His immortality."

"The Horcruxes," Ron sighed, he still needed to find this damn Locket.

"Until we destroy the Horcruxes, he himself cannot be destroyed," Dumbledore told them, and then he looked to Ron. "Ronald, I have come up with a plan. On Friday, I will invite the Old Guard here. While they are in my Office, you will use Severus' fireplace to floo into Grimmauld Place. Whilst Sirius is here, you will search his home for any clues relating to this Locket."

"What about his Elf?" Ron asked. "I've given it a lot of thought, and I'm not sure that I can take on an Elf. Their Magic works very differently from ours, and I've never faced one before."

"I can help you with that, just give me a few days," Snape said, and Ron nodded slowly. _Just one more important thing._

"Um… About this Old Guard," Ron started, and both men looked to him. "Is it just the old members, or can anyone new join in?"

"Trust me, you're already a bona fide member of the Order," Snape told him, and Ron couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Not me," Ron said, and then he looked to Dumbledore. "The Greengrasses…"

"I see," Dumbledore said, his hardened eyes fixed on Ron's. _Merlin, he's actually quite intimidating._

"Lord Greengrass is the wealthiest man in Europe, and with his help, we'll be bloody well-funded," Ron told them. "And not just him, but also the Davis Family. Mr. Davis rejected the Dark Lord during the last war, and despite being imprisoned, he stayed faithful to his Muggle-Born wife."

"That is true," Snape confirmed. "I saw him spit on Rabastan Lestrange's face once."

"See," Ron smiled at Snape. "Headmaster, just give them a chance. Without your protection, a lot of people from Slytherin will be forced into servitude. Don't leave them out to dry like last time, I beg you."

"Severus?" Dumbledore looked to Snape, who nodded his agreement. "The risk of them spying on us for Lord Voldemort is quite high, you understand that right?"

"I'm not asking you to put the Slytherins in the inner circle, I'm just asking you to protect them," Ron said, he couldn't lose this debate. "We deserve a chance to be on the right side just as much as the other Houses. You keep telling me to do the right thing, and I'm telling you that this is the right thing. How many people were **forced** to join him last time? Don't give him any more soldiers simply because we are in the same House as he was."

"Give me time then, Ronald," Dumbledore agreed, and Ron smiled from sheer relief. "In the meantime, continue your work within Slytherin."

"My work?" Ron asked.

"Your study group is changing more things than even you seem to realize," Snape told him, and Ron just stared at him.

"I'm trying to help increase House Unity," Ron admitted, and Dumbledore smiled faintly. "With the war coming… No, with the war already here… We need to be united. Hogwarts was attacked in my very first vision, and if that happens again, I want us all standing together."

"Keep it up, my boy," Dumbledore smiled more fully, and Ron nodded firmly. _I intend to._

"Do we have anything more to discuss?" Snape asked, and Ron couldn't really think of anything. "Then we should all retire for the night. I need to be awake at dawn in order to help with the Hogwarts Express, and you, Albus, look close to death."

"Sleep would be much appreciated," Dumbledore admitted, his tired eyes blinking slowly. "Let's just recount what we need to do. I need to contact the Old Guard, and somehow tell them about the Dark Lord's 'possible' return."

"And the new members?" Ron asked.

"I will get to them soon," Dumbledore assured Ron. "The old members will more readily believe my words, and I have complete faith in them. Please, give me time to contact the Greengrass and Davis Families. We need to vet them first."

"Fine," Ron agreed, at least they were still going to be invited.

"Severus, have you managed to contact Lucius yet?" Dumbledore asked, and the Potions Master shook his head.

"I managed to contact his wife, Narcissa," Snape replied. "Lucius and Cornelius are on the move, and they did not tell her about their latest adventure. For now, they are out of my reach."

"That is unfortunate," Dumbledore sighed, and then he looked to Ron. "Prepare yourself for Friday, dear boy. I will buy you as much time as I can."

"I won't fail us, I promise," Ron nodded firmly, and Dumbledore gave him a kind smile in return. "What about Amelia Bones?"

"Until she has dealt with this catastrophe, I cannot meet with her," Dumbledore replied. "She is already overworked due to the Albania situation, and with this added on top, she has no time for me. She will need to wait for now."

"Fair enough," Ron nodded. "I'll also make sure that The Quibbler is coming along."

"Very well," Dumbledore nodded, and both Snape and Ron stood up. "Goodnight, my friends."

"Goodnight, Headmaster," Ron said back, while Snape simply walked over to the fireplace. Ron quickly joined him, and they both flooed back to Snape's Office.

"Wait here for a moment," Snape told him, and then he walked over to his desk. Snape then pulled out three vials of his Calming Tonic, and he handed them to Ron.

"What are these for?" Ron asked him, and Snape stared into his eyes.

"There is no time for fear and panic now," Snape whispered in his cold voice, and Ron nodded slowly. "Do not abuse these, understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Ron replied, and then he began to leave. _I'll save them for my venture into Grimmauld Place. Or in case I have a panic attack._

"Ronald, what you said about the Slytherins…" Snape said suddenly, and Ron turned to face him. "You did well." Ron blinked at the man, who was simply watching him with an expressionless face. Ron then simply nodded, and he left the Office in order to head back to his room. _The school is shut down for the next two weeks, and I'm going to spend every single day working on my training. I need to be ready, now more than ever._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (Platform 9**_ _ **¾**_ _ **\- Evening)**_

Harry stepped off of the train first, and then he helped Neville pull out their luggage. Hedwig hooted loudly as her cage was rattled, and Harry shot his bird a sorry look. Once both boys were off of the train, they began to move towards the center of the Platform. All around them, their fellow students were rushing into their parents' arm, many of whom were visibly upset about St. Mungo's fate. Harry figured that all of them had lost someone in the accident, no matter how distant the relation. This in turn made him think of Sirius, who was no doubt mourning 'friend'.

"Neville, there's your Gran," Harry pointed out, and Neville's head perked up for the first time since yesterday. As soon as he saw her, Neville went straight for her.

"Gran!" Neville called, and she quickly spotted her grandson. Harry couldn't help but notice the poorly applied makeup, and the traces of running mascara on her face.

"Neville," Augusta managed, and then she was holding her grandson as tightly as she could.

"They're gone," Neville croaked over her shoulder, while she rubbed his back lovingly.

"Hush, my boy," Augusta comforted him, while Harry simply hovered in the background. "My brave boy… Everything will be alright…" Neville sniffled loudly as he clung to her, and Harry noticed that he was taller than her now. It was an odd observation to make, and Harry figured that he had made it simply because he felt out of place at the moment.

"I'll be on my way then," Harry piped up, and Augusta Longbottom looked to him from over Neville's shoulder. "Sirius is probably looking for me."

"Of course," August said. "Thank you for being by Neville's side today, Harry." Harry gave her a nod, and then he looked to Neville's back.

"I'll make sure to visit," Harry told Neville.

"Be certain that you do," Augusta replied for her grandson, who was crying all over her shoulder.

"Alright, take care," Harry said, and then he began searching for Sirius. It was difficult to concentrate because of the emotional state of everyone, and despite wanting to ignore it, Harry couldn't help but listen to the heartbroken cries of his school-mates and their parents. Roughly a third of the school was here, whilst the rest were staying behind until school recommenced.

"Harry! Over here!" came a familiar voice, and Harry turned to see Molly Weasley waving at him. _What's she doing here? None of the Weasley siblings signed up to come home._

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted her, and then he walked over to her. "Um… I don't think that any of your children signed up to come home."

"I know, I'm here to collect you," she told him, and Harry blinked at her.

"What about Sirius?" Harry asked.

"He's… He's very busy right now, so I volunteered to come pick you up," Molly told him, and Harry couldn't help but feel disappointed at that. "Come along, I'll take you to The Burrow."

"The Burrow?" Harry asked as he began following her.

"Sirius is staying with us for now," Molly informed him, and he nodded slowly. "My husband and I didn't feel right leaving him to… to grieve… by himself. Sirius accepted almost immediately, I don't think that he wants to be alone either."

"He won't be now that I'm here," Harry said, and Molly shot him a motherly smile.

"Good," she said as they reached the fireplaces. "You remember how to use the floo-network, don't you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied, and she gestured him to go first. Harry took a pinch of floo powder, and then he stepped up to the fire. "The Burrow!" Harry called, and then he tossed the floo-powder into the fire. Once it blazed green, Harry stepped through with his luggage in tow. As soon as he stepped into the Burrow's Living Room, he was greeted by the sight of Sirius' body.

"Siri-" Harry started, but he stopped immediately. His Godfather was passed out on the couch, and judging from the open bottle of 'Fire Whiskey' on the coffee table, he was clearly in a drunken stupor. The fireplace suddenly roared from behind him, and Molly Weasley entered her Living Room.

"No…" she muttered under her breath, but Harry heard her clearly enough. He then turned to face her, and she looked extremely awkward for a second. And then, she adorned a motherly smile once again. "Harry dear, why don't we head into the Kitchen?"

"Sure," Harry nodded weakly, and as they were heading out of the Living Room, his eyes darted back towards Sirius.

"Mr. Potter," came Xenophilius Lovegood's voice, and Harry noticed that both Lovegoods were sitting at the Dining Table.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood," Harry greeted them, and they both smiled at him. "How are you?"

"We are well, Mr. Potter," Pandora Lovegood replied, and Harry couldn't help but notice how similar Luna was to her mother. "And please, you can just call us by our names."

"Alright," Harry nodded. "Then you can just call me Harry." The Lovegoods just smiled at him, and Harry wondered why all the Lovegoods were so… aloof.

"Harry, why don't you go up and have a quick shower?" Molly suggested. "I'll move your things into Ron's room, which is where you'll be staying until you head back to Hogwarts." _Ron's room?_ Something clicked in his mind, and Harry nodded his agreement. "Go on then, dinner will be in a couple of hours. Just leave your things here, dear."

"Thanks," Harry smiled at her, and she patted his left cheek. Harry then made his way up the stairs, but he stopped once he was out of sight.

"I asked you to move him," he heard Molly Weasley's voice.

"I tried to, but he started snarling at me," came Xenophilius Lovegood's voice. "Molly, he took a swing at me…"

"Poor Harry…" Molly Weasley sighed out. "Seeing his Godfather in such a state…"

"I think he'll be fine," came Pandora Lovegood's airy voice. "Have you looked into his eyes? He's a strong young man."

The adults began whispering to each other, and Harry did his best to listen in. But sadly, he couldn't really make out their words from the top of the stairs. So instead of waiting around to get caught, he headed up towards the bathroom.

* * *

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

"Here you are," Molly said as she put a plate filled with food in front of Sirius, who looked like hell. "Eat all of that, it'll help with your headache."

"Thanks," Sirius mumbled, while Molly quickly began making Harry a plate. Sirius looked towards the bottle of wine on the table, and then back at his food, and then back at the wine. Sirius then grabbed the bottle of wine and filled up his glass again, while the other adults just watched him quietly.

"Here you go, dear," Molly said as she planted his plate in front of him, and Harry swallowed thickly. _That's enough food to feed an army._ "None of that today, Harry. You look like a skeleton with skin… You eat all of that, understood?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry managed to give her a smile, and she nodded firmly before taking her own seat by her husband's side.

"It's like they don't feed our children at Hogwarts," Molly Weasley huffed, and Harry couldn't help but appreciate her 'outrage'. He quite liked the Weasleys, and that included Ron. _When he's not acting suspicious, that is. Which, incidentally, is always._

"How is school, Harry?" Arthur asked, he had only just returned from work.

"Um… It's quite boring to be honest," Harry replied, and Sirius let out an approving grunt.

"And Remus?" Arthur asked, and Harry's eyes darted towards Sirius involuntarily. His Godfather was just drinking his wine, and Harry couldn't help but notice just how awful Sirius smelled right now. "How is being a Professor treating him?"

"He's actually amazing at it," Harry replied, and the adults looked rather pleased to hear that. "Except he's sort of… shaken… lately…"

"Shaken?" Pandora asked, and Harry noticed Sirius' ears perking up.

"The Daily Prophet article called him a thug, and Hermione reckons that his confidence got hurt by it," Harry replied, and Sirius drank down his entire glass in one go. _Maybe I shouldn't have said that._ Sirius then reached for the bottle again, while Harry turned his attention to his own food. The air of awkwardness was filling up the Kitchen, and even Harry could tell that the other adults didn't approve of Sirius drinking himself to death at the dinner table.

"Rita Skeeter," Molly grimaced. "Disgusting shrew… She had no right to do that to Remus, or Sirius." Harry nodded his agreement, and they all settled into an awkward silence. After five or so minutes of awkwardly eating their food, and drinking in Sirius' case, Molly Weasley finally broke the silence.

"How are the other children at school?" Molly asked Harry, who looked up from his food. "I imagine that a lot of them are hurting right now. Poor souls…"

"A lot of them are," Harry confirmed, his mind drifting towards Neville. "Nev is in a lot of pain right now…"

"Of course," Arthur nodded, while Sirius rubbed his forehead.

"Alice and Frank," Sirius sighed out, and then he drank down his entire glass. "Completely forgot about them…"

"You were in the Order of the Phoenix together, right?" Harry asked Sirius, who blinked at him. But then he remembered that Skeeter had told the entire Wizarding World about his role in the Order.

"They were good friends of mine," Sirius managed, and then he reached for the bottle again.

"Sirius, maybe you should eat your food instead?" Arthur suggested, and Sirius let out a tired breath as he put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Sure, dad…" Sirius grumbled, while Harry felt rather tense because of the room's atmosphere. The other adults seemed to notice this, and they shot Harry weak smiles of comfort.

"You should spend as much time with Neville as you can," Xenophilius said suddenly, and Harry looked to him. "A friend with open ears can be the greatest healing salve in times of turmoil." _Right._

"Invite him here whenever you want, Harry," Molly said, and Harry nodded.

"Thank you, but I reckon I'll just visit him," Harry said. "I don't think that he wants to leave his Gran by herself."

"Augusta Longbottom," Arthur sighed out. "Now there is a woman who's lost far too much."

"We should send her an invitation, Arthur," Molly suggested, and her husband slowly nodded. "Ronnie is an Eternal Friend of the Longbottom Family, isn't he? Then that makes our Families allies. Right, Sirius?"

"Yeah…" Sirius replied, and Molly was glad that she still had a grasp on the Old Ways. It had been far too long since she had even thought about them.

"Harry, could you please pass on our invitation to her?" Molly asked, and Harry nodded. But deep down, he really didn't want to. A part of him hated that Ron had this absurd claim to hold over Neville. _Eternal Friends? What a load of rubbish. It's just a way for Ron to control Neville if he wants to, and judging by his mentality, it's only a matter of time before he starts abusing it._

"Have you seen Ron around the school lately?" Pandora asked, and everyone looked to Harry. _What?_

"I have," Harry replied slowly.

"How is he?" Pandora asked, while Molly seemed to lean forward in her seat. _Shady. Condescending. Manipulative._

"He's doing alright," Harry replied, and they all waited for him to go on. "Um… I don't really see him that much. He's always with the Slytherins, you know…"

"What about Ginny?" Molly asked. "Is she really fighting with Ron?" _Ugh…_

"They seem to be at odds lately," Harry replied truthfully, and Molly Weasley exchanged a look with her husband. "It's something to do with Ron abusing the Dark Arts." The whole table went dead silent at that, and even Sirius looked up from his plate. Harry himself had no idea why he had said that, but for some reason, he felt that it was the right thing to do. Ron's kind and loving Family deserved to know that Ron wasn't like them, and that he was obliviously placed in Slytherin for a reason.

"Abusing the Dark Arts?" Sirius asked, and Harry felt his gut tighten from anger. _He hasn't asked me a single thing all night, but the moment Ron is brought up, he starts talking._

"At the Dueling Club," Harry started. "Ron used the same Dark Spell against me that he did last year… The ghostly serpent Curse, or whatever it is. He used it to beat me in our Duel. Ginny was really angry about that, and it sparked a fight between them."

"And he wasn't disqualified for using the Dark Arts?" Arthur asked, he had lost the color in his face.

"From what I understand about actual Dueling Tournaments," Pandora started, she too looked quite put off by this news. "The only Curses that aren't allowed are the Unforgivables. Everything else is fair game."

"And all Curses are technically classified as the Dark Arts," Xeno added.

"That sounds like an excuse," Molly said, her shoulders slumping down in defeat. _I think I stepped on a landmine here._ "I'm sorry that Ronald did that to you, Harry. Again…"

"It's alright," Harry said quickly, he wasn't really that angry about losing to Ron. But that was mostly because he had come to terms with the fact that Ron was perfectly alright with abusing Dark Magic as long as it served his ambitions. Harry only wished that Ron's own Family could see that, it would save them a lot of disappointment and hurt.

"What about his other matches?" Sirius asked, and once again, Harry felt his blood boil. _What about_ _ **my**_ _other matches?!_ "Did he use the Dark Arts in them as well? Remus wouldn't have allowed that."

"No, he didn't use the Dark Arts in them," Harry replied coldly, and Sirius blinked at him. "Though he did break Seamus Finnegan's nose out of anger."

"Merlin…" Molly Weasley muttered, her head bowing down.

"It took both Pomfrey and Snape to fix up Seamus' face after Ron was done with him," Harry told them. "But in all honesty, I reckon Seamus deserved to be hit."

"Why do you say that?" Xeno asked.

"He broke the rules and threw an Explosive Curse at Ron," Harry replied, he had no intention of distorting the facts. "Ron barely managed to block it in time, but when Seamus wasn't disqualified for cheating, Ron took things into his own hands."

"Violence isn't what I taught him," Molly whispered, but everyone heard her. _Speaking of violence…_

"I don't know if you've heard," Harry started, and they looked back to him. "But Ron actually killed a Boggart in our D.A.D.A class."

"What?" they all asked, and then they looked to each other.

"He blew it into pieces right in front of everyone…" Harry said slowly, they really hadn't heard about that? "Remus didn't tell you?"

"Arthur…" Molly Weasley said weakly, completely ignoring Harry's question. "He's killed another living thing…"

"Harry, tell us what happened," Arthur said, he looked more anguished than anyone else on the table. Xeno and Pandora had just gone dead silent, while Sirius was probably wondering why Remus hadn't sent an owl about this.

"He used something called 'Occlumency' to do it," Harry explained, though he really didn't understand what Ron had been talking about when they had questioned him.

"Occlumency?" Pandora asked, her usually calm demeanor shattering. "Ron? An Occlumens? And one strong enough to destroy a Boggart with his mind alone?"

"I guess," Harry replied slowly, and all the adults looked utterly shocked. "Is Occlumency really that special? I don't really understand what it is. Hermione mentioned that it was Magic used to protect one's mind from outside influences."

"Occlumency is one the most difficult branches of Magic," Pandora replied, though she looked to be speaking to herself. "It takes years to fully master, and only truly powerful wizards can use it effectively. Are you sure that it was Occlumency?"

"That's what he said," Harry replied, he could see that they were just as impressed as they were horrified.

"I… I need… I need a moment," Molly Weasley croaked, and then she got up and walked over to her sink in order to wash her pans. Harry looked to the other adults, all of whom were still too shocked to say anything. _Looks like Ron doesn't tell them much either. What's wrong with him? How could someone like him ever come from a Family like the Weasleys?_

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Ron's Room – Past Midnight)**_

Dinner had turned into a disaster after Harry had revealed the truth about Ron's activities at school, and despite feeling immense guilt for putting the Weasleys and Lovegoods in distress, Harry knew that he had done the right thing. They deserved to know these things about Ron, especially because they all seemed to put him on a golden pedestal.

For the life of him, he couldn't understand why Ron was so selfish. Ron was born into a loving Family, he had been blessed with amazing siblings, and he had parents who loved him unconditionally. Ron had been granted Harry's deepest desire without ever lifting a finger, and it angered Harry to no end whenever he saw Ron treat his Family as an afterthought.

It was clear to Harry that Ron's siblings feared angering him, all of them except for Ginny. Ginny was the only person in Ron's Family that refused to let Ron run rampant, and Harry couldn't help but respect her for it. People like Ron, people who lied and manipulated others, needed to be held accountable. What was really the difference between Ron and the other Slytherins? Most of them bullied members of the other Houses with petty insults, while some of them went as far as to hate people for simply being born. And although Ron clearly stood against the bigotry of 'Blood-Status', he seemed to enjoy his imagined power a bit too much. The fact that he had six lackeys following him around constantly was proof of that.

Truth be told, Harry was secretly glad that Hermione was starting to get sick of Ronald Weasley. A small part of him was just happy that Hermione was no longer comparing Neville and him against Ron, and then telling her own best friends to be better. He was glad that Hermione was no longer believing every word out of Ron's mouth, and that she was genuinely questioning his character. After his assault on Finnegan, Hermione had finally been pushed too far. She had realized, just as Harry had, that Ron was a cruel beast if he didn't get his way.

Harry still couldn't look past the fact that Ron had stolen Hermione's study group idea, and that he had the audacity to go around saying that it was 'his' study group. Everyone in the school, including the Professors, just loved that Ron was so 'inclusive'. But Harry knew the real truth. Ron enjoyed people dancing to his tune, so much so that he constantly lied and told people what they wanted to hear. Hermione was beginning to see that as well, and Harry couldn't be happier. She deserved better than him.

Harry just needed Neville to come around now, and then he could work together with his best friends to bring Ron's true character to light. Neville, being noble-hearted as he was, refused to act against Ron because of his Gran's actions. She had named Ron an 'Eternal Friend' to the Longbottom Family, and because of that, Neville couldn't move against Ron without dishonoring his Family. It was clear to Harry that this Pure-Blood nonsense was nothing but a hindrance, but he didn't want to fight with Neville about it again. Harry knew that, sooner or later, Neville would see Ron for what he really was all by himself. _Just like he did last year._

Harry hopped out of Ron's bed, and then he turned on the room's light. He immediately frowned at the Emerald Green walls, which if Harry was being honest, were an eyesore when paired with the rest of the Burrow. They just didn't fit in with the Burrow's design, which was fair enough because Ron didn't fit in with his Family's image in Harry's mind. _I'm not surprised that he's turned this room green, he clearly enjoys the extra attention._

Harry then began enacting his plan, which was to scour the room for any clues into why Ron was the way he was. He looked under the bed, the bedside table, the mattress, and then went through Ron's clothing drawer. He was surprised to find such worn-out clothes in there, mostly because he only ever saw Ron in expensive clothes. _Except for first year, he used to dress like a normal person back then. Now he struts about in his insanely expensive suits, all the while wearing that weird glove on his hand._

Harry then looked inside the cupboard, and once he spotted an old looking trunk in there, something in his mind clicked. _He had that back in first year._ Harry quickly pulled the trunk out, and once it was resting by his feet, he undid the latches. Something had to be in here, some clue that would answer at least one of the millions of questions that he had about Ron. And much to his excitement, the contents of the trunk were extremely suspicious.

There were ruined clothes inside, and once Harry had moved them out of the way, he found himself staring at the destroyed belongings. His eyes settled on the burnt books first, and he slowly picked them up in order to inspect them. _Some of these are… journals? Damn, this is all unsalvageable._ Harry then picked up the largest book, and after squinting his eyes, he managed to make out one word on the cover. _Curses?_ Harry put the book back quickly, this was clearly a book on the Dark Arts. _Why are all of these burned? Did he burn them after using them? Maybe he was trying to cover his tracks. Studying the Dark Arts can get you expelled from Hogwarts, after all._

Harry then looked to the broken pen and the shattered Chess board, but what really caught his attention was the sliced up white sweater which had a large green 'R' in the center of it. _A Weasley sweater. All of Ron's siblings have different colored ones, their mum knits them for Christmas. Why would Ron destroy his? No… No, I don't think that he would. But then again, he did have a massive falling out with his Family last year when they tried to Re-Sort him. That's what the twins told me, anyway. Maybe he destroyed his sweater in a fit of rage?_ Harry frowned at the contents of the trunk, now he had more questions than before.

He packed the trunk up and put it back inside the cupboard, and then he walked over to Ron's study table. Drawer by drawer, Harry made his way down to the one at the very bottom. Along the way, he found old toys and trinkets, and one Chudley Cannons Badge which Ron had kept in perfect condition. All of it was uninteresting, but when he opened the last drawer, Harry's eyes gleamed. There was a large white envelope inside, and it was labeled as 'Ronald Weasley's MRI Photos'. _MRI photos? Isn't MRI that Muggle medical exam? No, that can't be it. Ron doesn't really know anything about Muggles, nor does his Family for that matter._

Harry opened the unsealed envelope, and then he pulled out multiple black and white photos. As he examined them, he realized that he had no bloody idea what he was looking at. One of the photos' white parts were extremely white, while the others didn't have that issue. The ones with the visible white parts were also too confusing to understand, just what the hell was he looking at here? _What are those black spots inside the white parts? Is… Is this Ron's brain?_ The white parts looked like a brain, only it was hard to tell because the photos seemed to have been taken from the top down. _I think that these are showing his brain, but I can't be sure. This is so weird._

Harry suddenly heard a floorboard creak from outside, and he immediately packed the photos back into the envelope. He then placed the envelope back inside the drawer before quickly running back to Ron's bed. As Harry looked around to make sure that everything was in order, which it was, the door swung open.

"Harry, why are you awake?" Sirius asked as he stepped into the room, and Harry felt his heart beating hard against his chest. _That was too close._

"Couldn't sleep," Harry lied quickly, and Sirius nodded slowly. "I was um… I was thinking about Neville… Yeah…"

"I see," Sirius managed a weak smiled, and then he closed the door behind himself.

"Why are you awake?" Harry asked, and Sirius shrugged as he sat down to Harry's right. _He smells better now, at least. I think he's had a shower, but I can still smell cigarette smoke on him._

"Couldn't sleep," Sirius copied Harry's words. "I just went out to have a smoke, and I noticed that your light was on. Seriously, how is Neville? And don't hold back."

"He… He's a mess," Harry sighed out, and Sirius looked down at the ground. "When he first found out, he didn't even say a damn word about it. He was just quiet… But then, he suddenly broke down. Sirius, he cried so much… He was in so much pain, and I couldn't do a thing to help him. He kept saying that he'd never get to see them again, and I just couldn't figure out what to say. Even Hermione was just… useless… We were both so useless…"

"As long as you two were there by his side, you weren't useless," Sirius said, his left arm wrapping around Harry. "That poor kid… His parents were always too far to reach, and now they're completely gone… And Augusta, she's lost them all over again."

"I'm going there tomorrow," Harry told him. "Why don't you come with?"

"I'd love to, Harry," Sirius said. "But I need to make arrangements for…" he trailed off.

"For Pettigrew?" Harry asked, and Sirius drew in a deep breath. "You want to give him a proper burial? Even after everything he did?"

"Does that make you angry?" Sirius asked, and Harry knew the answer to that.

"It does," Harry admitted. "But… He was your friend once… So I understand why you're doing this. I don't like it, but if it helps you move on, then I think you should do it. I didn't like seeing you drinking like that during dinner…" _I just wish that I got to see Pettigrew at least once._

"Yeah, I didn't like it either," Sirius smiled weakly, and then he pulled Harry into his side. "When did you get so mature, huh?"

"Someone has to be mature between us," Harry chuckled weakly, and then he hugged Sirius' side. Harry couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt to hug Sirius like this, he imagined that hugging one's father felt the same.

"When I was your age, Harry," Sirius started, and Harry knew what was coming. "I was anything but mature. I had just learned that a pretty girl's kiss could wash away my troubles, and that if I played with my-"

"Please stop," Harry pleaded, and Sirius let out his first true laugh since the article.

"I'm only teasing you, kid," Sirius said, and then he kissed the top of Harry's head. "You didn't tell me how your Duels went. Mind sharing a few stories?" Harry beamed to himself, and then he nodded eagerly.

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunchtime)**_

"You should eat up, Malfoy," Crabbe growled at him, and he simply stared at his jailer. "We have Quidditch Practice right after this, and if you don't do as we say, we'll bash you." _We? You mean Flint will bash me, while you get your cheap hits in when he allows you to._ Draco looked back down at his food, and then he started eating. "That's what I thought." _Shut up, you fat tosser._

Every day was the same now. He'd wake up, get treated like dog-shite by everyone who spoke to him, and then he'd occasionally cry himself to sleep. It was odd how quickly a person became used to their situations, and despite not wanting to, he wondered if he had made anyone feel like this. Draco was no fool, he could see the similarities between himself and Flint. He knew that he hadn't been a very 'friendly' individual, especially to the people that he disliked. But none of that mattered anymore.

He had barely spoken in weeks, and whenever he did, it was usually when Flint was tormenting him. Flint, who Draco had in his back pocket last year, was now controlling his entire life. Flint, who apparently didn't care about his own grades, was forcing Draco to practice nonstop. Flint, who was becoming increasingly more violent, was Draco's only real fear now. Every time Draco saw the Troll-faced seventh year, he began trembling with anxiety and fear.

In his misery, Draco had started thinking of a strategy to get himself away from Flint and his gang. First, he had begged his Godfather for help. All he had wanted was for his room to be changed, but Snape had denied him even that. Then, Draco had turned to the Triumvirate for help. He had shown them his bruises, and they hadn't even batted an eye. Instead, they had told Flint about it for their own amusement, and Draco was kicked around by Flint's entire gang while they had watched with smug smiles. According to the Triumvirate, he had disrespected them constantly last year, and this was his punishment.

That's when he had realized that he had no one on his side. Not his Godfather, not the Triumvirate, and not his old friends. He was truly alone, which meant that this would never stop. Not until he figured something out, not until he used his mind to outfox Flint. That's when he had started hiding in Hogwarts' North Wing in-between meal-times. That's when he had started practicing his Dueling skills, which by the way, had netted him four out of five wins and secured his position in Rank C. The only person he had lost to was Padma Patil, but from that defeat, he had learned the value of learning more Spells to boost his arsenal.

He had thought of turning to his old friends for help, of course, but he knew that that would never happen. They had all moved on from him, just like Crabbe and Goyle. They too had found a new leader, just like Crabbe and Goyle. Ronald Weasley, who in Draco's opinion, was a younger and smarter version of Flint. Weasley understood that his size and prowess were extremely intimidating, but he was also wise enough to understand that having friends was more beneficial than having lackeys. That was a method of thinking that Draco desperately wished that he had adhered to. Draco, like Flint, had depended far too much on fear and intimidation.

In a rather disturbing sort of way, Draco could even respect Weasley's ingenuity. He was a thug who was treated as a Boy-Wonder. He had the respect of the older students, the admiration of the younger ones, and the ears of the Professors. Weasley walked around the castle as if he was a king, and no one could claim that he hadn't earned that. Even Draco couldn't disagree anymore, not after some of his realizations about his own shortcomings. Draco should've just shaken Weasley's fucking hand back in first year, because if he had, then he wouldn't be stuck in this situation right now. _Too little too late now… It's rather amusing how being miserable can make you realize just how powerless you really are._

"Marcus is leaving for the Pitch," Goyle suddenly said, his mouth full of pork and gravy. "Let's go, Malfoy."

"Get up," Crabbe sneered at him, and Malfoy slowly got out of his chair. He knew what was going to happen after this practice session. _They're going to beat me like a dog for not being fast enough. Again. I just need to make sure that I protect my head this time. Pomfrey isn't here to heal my concussion like last time. And I rather doubt that a teacher won't question me after I tell them that I fell down that blasted Moving Staircase._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **September, 1993 (Northern Courtyard – Midday)**_

His back was on fire, but he knew that he couldn't go to Professor Sprout for help. She had taken over Madam Pomfrey's Hospital Wing because the Matron herself was currently helping the Ministry in identifying the missing people from the St. Mungo's incident. The death-toll was now just over two hundred and thirty people, which wasn't surprising because the Hospital was quite massive.

But Draco didn't care about some Hospital fire, he knew for a fact that both his parents were safe. Right now, his only problem was his back. He had failed to catch the Golden Snitch in time, again, but this time, Flint hadn't waited to assault him in the locker room. The Troll-faced bastard had smashed a Bludger into Draco's back mid-flight, which had resulted in Draco crashing rather painfully. Flint had realized that he had taken things too far, and in order to protect himself, he had forbidden Draco from talking to anyone about it. And although Draco hated himself for it, he was too afraid of Flint to defy him.

"So it's really true?" came a girl's voice, and Draco's head shot up. A tall Ravenclaw student was standing in front of him, and by the looks of her, she was either a sixth year or a seventh year. "I heard rumors that a snake had invaded the sacred garden, but I didn't really believe them."

"A snake invading the gardens?" Draco cocked his eyebrow as he put his book down, and she flashed him a smile.

"It's from the-"

"Christian Bible, I know," Draco said, Muggle religion was something that his father constantly spat upon. _How Muggles believe that tripe is beyond me, but then again, they are an idiotic lot._

"A Pure-Blood who knows about Muggle religions," the Ravenclaw chuckled, her thick brown hair bobbing up and down. "They told me that you were the worst of the lot, but I'm actually quite impressed right now."

"They?" Draco sneered. "Wait… Let me guess… You're another Mud-Blood? If so, piss off. I don't speak to your ilk." _Filthy thief._

"I'm a Half-Blood," the Ravenclaw told him, and Draco looked back up. "My mother was a Muggle, and once she learned that my father was a wizard, she ran out on us."

"Your father is a Pure-Blood?" Draco asked, and she nodded. "And he mated with a Muggle?"

"That's generally how marriage works," she giggled.

"Right…" Draco said slowly.

"Don't worry, we both despise Muggles now," the Ravenclaw assured him, and Draco gave her an approving nod. "They are a weak-minded lot, and betrayal is in their blood. My father has learned his lesson, and so have I."

"What's your name?" Draco asked her.

"Gertrude Swans," she introduced herself, and then she gave him a respectful curtsy. Draco stood up at that, and his face tightened as pain shot up his back.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself, and when she offered him her hand, he took it and kissed her knuckles.

"Are you feeling alright, Draco?" Gertrude asked him, and Malfoy blinked at her.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"Your expression just then would suggest otherwise," Gertrude said, her smile slowly dying. "Look… I don't want to play a game of cat and mouse with you…"

"Excuse me?" Draco asked, taking a step away from her.

"I started seeing Marcus Flint at the start of the year," she told him, and Draco's eyes widened. _Oh no… Shite, I need to leave._ Draco quickly picked up his book, and he began to leave. But Gertrude stepped in his way with a panicked look. "Please, just hear me out here."

"Leave me alone," Draco hissed, but she grabbed onto his left arm. _She's going to tell him where I've been hiding. Merlin damn her!_

"He told me that he was done being a thug," she said quickly, and Draco blinked at her. _What did she say?_ "When he asked me out, he told me that he was done with his old ways. I accepted, and we started dating. And as far as I know, he's really stopped targeting people." _She has no idea that the Triumvirate have him tied down, which is one of the reasons why they let him assault me. I'm his free pass._

"This has nothing to do with me," Draco said, but her hold simply tightened.

"But it does," she said quickly. "I've… I've heard that he's been hurting you…"

"Who told you something so stupid?" Draco demanded, his panic rising. _He'll blame me for this. If she breaks up with him, he'll kill me!_

"One of my girlfriends was at the Quidditch Pitch yesterday, and she saw what he did to you," Gertrude replied, and Draco's blood froze. "It's why you've been hiding out here, isn't it? He's hurting you, isn't he?" He could hear the anger in her voice, and judging by her expression, she looked ready to burst into tears. "Please, you have to tell me…"

"He isn't doing anything to me," Draco lied, and she shook her head. "Listen to me, I don't want to be involved in your bloody love life. Flint isn't hurting me, and you're starting to annoy me. Leave me alone." Gertrude nodded weakly, and then she let go of his arm. Draco fixed his robes into place, and then he went to leave again.

"We can help you," she told him, and he stopped. "The Ravenclaws… I'm a seventh year prefect, and if I ask my House-mates for help, then we can keep him away from you." Draco slowly turned back to face her, and he noticed that she was clearing her eyes. "You couldn't even stand up properly, so I know that he hurt you. My friend was right, I know it."

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Draco managed, he starting to get tempted. _I can be free of him. If she's telling the truth about her fellow Ravenclaws, then I can be free again. No! Don't be an idiot! The moment she dumps him because of me, he'll find me._ "Please… Just stop it… I don't… I don't want to be involved in this…"

"You're scared," she stated, and all he could do was stare at her. "That's alright… It's alright to be scared. But if you let me, then I can help you."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because he lied to me," she replied, her anger showing on her face. "He's made a fool out of me… He tricked me into sleeping with him… He hasn't changed one bit, and you're living proof of that. Let me help you, and then, you can help me."

"Help you?" Draco whispered, his hold on his book tightening. He could feel hope rising in his chest, this was clearly his way out. _I could outfox him, and then be out of his reach until he graduates._

"He's made a fool out of me, and I want to return the favor," she replied. "Draco, tell me the truth." He just stared at her for a few seconds, and then he swallowed thickly.

"I still have to sleep in my dorm," Draco told her. "How will your Ravenclaws help me then?"

"This entire Wing is unused," she replied, and Draco nodded slowly. "It's mostly used by the older students when they want privacy. We could order you a bed and set it up in one of the classrooms. I know Wards that can keep intruders out, and I'll teach you. He won't be able to lay a finger on you again." _Snape would never approve, but then again, he's abandoned me completely. If he wants to complain, then that's his problem._

"He hasn't changed," Draco told her, and her eyes began to water. "He's just forbidden from losing Slytherin House Points, and so he target only me. He's been lying to you." She sniffled and nodded, and then she walked up to him.

"Show me," she whispered, and he blinked at her. She then unfastened his robes, while he just stood there with a creeping blush. And then, she pulled his robes over his head. "Take off your shirt… I know how to heal injuries…"

"You'll heal my back?" he managed, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yes," she nodded tiredly. "Take off your shirt, Draco." He dropped his book on the ground, and then he began undoing his shirt. He couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed, he knew that he was far too skinny, but his back was killing him. Once his shirt was off, he turned his back to her. She drew in a sharp breath, no doubt seeing the massive bruise in-between his shoulder blades had jarred her. Draco suddenly felt her hand caress his back, and his face began to heat up. _A girl is touching me without my shirt on. Don't show any weakness, Draco. You are a Malfoy._

"Are you ready?" she asked him, and he nodded firmly. And that's when she punched his bruise as hard as she could, and Draco screamed in agony as he fell forward. _FUCK! Fucking fuck! It hurts!_ "I told you that he'd talk, Marcus!" Draco's pain was immediately forgotten, and he looked up to see Marcus and his gang come out of hiding. _No… No, no, no, no… Please Merlin, help me!_ Draco tried to stand up, but Flint ran up and grabbed him by his head.

"Please… Please…" Draco started begging, but Flint slammed him back into the ground. Draco mewled pathetically, his entire back felt like it was on fire.

"Little bitch!" Flint spat out. "You sold us out! I just lost five Galleons because of you!"

"Pay up, love," Gertrude giggled, her smug smile fixed on her boyfriend. Flint reached into his pocket, and he handed her five Galleons. "Thank you." Flint gave her a nod, and then he reached down and grabbed Draco's long hair.

"You fucking cunt," Flint hissed, while Draco started crying his eyes out. _Not again… It's just like with the Triumvirate… I'm so stupid… I'm so fucking stupid…_

"Wow," Gertrude frowned down at him, and he met her gaze through his wet eyes.

"W… Why?" he managed, and she simply shrugged.

"Marcus was boasting about how he'd broken you, and I wagered that I could make you turn on him," she replied casually. "Stop crying, Malfoy… You're spoiling my victory here."

"You really have no fucking balls, do you?" Flint sneered, and then he pushed Draco's head into the grass.

"Please… My back… I think she really… I think she's hurt me…" Draco sobbed, he had never felt so much pain in his life before.

"Yeah?" Flint asked, and then the large boy kicked his bruise. Draco's mouth flew open to scream, but no sound came out.

"There, that's better," Gertrude smirked as she put her wand back into her robes. "Don't worry about hurting him too badly, I volunteer at the Hospital Wing. I'll make him right as rain once you're all through, I promise."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Abandoned Classroom on the Third Floor – Evening)**_

This was his last hope, his one last attempt at finding safety within Hogwarts. If this failed, then he was going to owl his parents and ask them to relocate him to Durmstrang. Personally, he knew that this strategy was probably going to fail, but he had to try it. He was a Malfoy, and he couldn't let that bastard and his whore cast him out of his Ancestral school. _Mother and Father both studied here, as did my forefathers. I have to honor them, or I'll never be able to look Father in the eyes again._ The door suddenly creaked open, and Draco stood up straight.

"Thanks for coming, Blaise," Draco managed a weak smile, but Blaise simply shut the door behind himself with a suspicious look.

"What do you want?" Blaise demanded. "You have one minute, Malfoy. After that, I'm gone."

"I need your help," Draco started, and Blaise cocked an eyebrow at him. "Flint… Marcus Flint, that is… He's been assaulting me all year. No one really knows-"

"We know," Blaise told him, and Draco blinked at his former best friend.

"Right…" Draco swallowed thickly. _Of course they know, they're not stupid. Every single person in Slytherin knows by now._ "Blaise… I need your help with him…"

"Piss off," Blaise sneered at him, and then he turned to leave. _NO! No, please don't leave!_

"Blaise, please!" Draco ran up and grabbed the other boy's arm, but Blaise shoved him away easily. "Please… Please, I'm begging you… I have no one left to turn to… His girlfriend, she's a skilled Healer… He doesn't have to hold back on me anymore… Please…"

"Stop it," Blaise snapped, and Draco barely managed to stop himself. His eyes were already beginning to leak, which didn't really surprise him. He was just so fucking scared… "Why should I help you, huh? You dumb bastard… I begged you all of first year to join us, and you spat in my bloody face. You threw Theo's dead mother in his… Go fuck yourself."

"You owe me!" Draco yelled out as Blaise was opening the door, and after Blaise heard him, he slowly shut the door again. "You… You owe me, Blaise…"

"What?" Blaise asked as he turned around, there was genuine hurt on his face now. "You-"

"I pulled you off of the streets, and I housed you," Draco said as he cleared his eyes, he had to be strong right now. "You owe me a debt, Blaise."

"You…" Blaise started, but then his mouth just hung open. Draco could see just how much damage he had done to Blaise with his words, but right now, his survival meant a lot more to him than Blaise's feelings. "You promised me that you'd never throw that in my face… That you would never use that against me."

"We were friends then," Draco pointed out, but Blaise scoffed in response. "We were!"

"You treated us like dirt," Blaise reminded him. "Millie, she barely ever spoke… The first time you met Tracey, you actually wiped your hand 'clean' after touching her by mistake. I mean, that was the first time that we'd all met her, and you brought her to tears by constantly targeting her 'pedigree'. And we all know that you were referring to her as a dog." _I really did that?_

"We were kids," Draco argued.

"Were you a 'kid' last year?" Blaise asked him. "You beat Ron into a bloody pulp, you started targeting us constantly, you strutted around the school when the Heir petrified Ron, and you called Daphne a whore… I could go on for hours."

"I've made mistakes, I know that," Draco said, but Blaise didn't believe him for a second. "I know that I've burned a lot of bridges, but Blaise… I can't change the past. I'm not a God-"

"No, you just think you are," Blaise grimaced.

"Please," Draco said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "You're my only chance of surviving this school year. Flint's gone mental, and I'm scared. You have to help me… You **must**. You owe me a debt, Blaise… And I'm calling it in."

"How the fuck am I supposed to help you?!" Blaise suddenly yelled, he knew where this was going. He knew that he was about to lose his own friends.

"I need someone to watch my back," Draco replied, and Blaise's face tightened from anger. "If you have any honor in your Family, then you'll pay me back."

"You… You fucking…" Blaise grit out, but then, all of a sudden, he gave Draco a pleading look. "Don't do this to me… Don't bloody do this, Draco…"

"I don't have a choice," Draco mumbled, and Blaise looked around the room in a panic. "It'll be alright. We'll figure something out together. I just… I need someone in the House to watch my back."

"You're just trying to drag me down with you," Blaise bit out as he massaged his temples. "Don't do this to me…"

"I… I don't a choice," Draco repeated, and Blaise could do little but stare at him. "I need your help, and you **have** to help me."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Breakfast)**_

"The floo-network is open," Minerva said, and Albus gave her a grateful smile. "Albus… Why now?"

"We cannot be caught off-guard," Albus replied, and Minerva nodded slowly. "Not this time." _Not in this Cycle._

"If you're bringing the Order back together," Filius started, while Pomona fed Fawkes. "Then that means that **he's** … That he's back." Albus gave them all a slow nod, and their faces paled considerably. "Not again…"

"What about the children of this school?" Pomona asked weakly, she didn't want to see anymore dead children.

"We will protect them," Albus told his three latest Order members, he knew that he had to invite them because of their knowledge on Horcruxes. "We will protect them **all**." The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and Albus stood up to greet his guests. Aberforth stepped through the fire, and Albus' chest tightened at the sight of him. "Hello, brother."

"Why did you call me here?" Aberforth demanded, and then he glared at Fawkes. "I told you that I didn't want your damn bird showing up at my tavern."

"Fawkes was just delivering letters to the Order members," Albus told his younger brother, who blinked at him.

"So your note wasn't a trick," Aberforth realized. "That must be new for you." Before Albus could reply, the fireplace roared to life and Sirius stepped through.

"Welcome-" Dumbledore started, but he stopped when the Weasleys and Lovegoods came through after Sirius. "I see that you decided to bring friends, Sirius."

"Dumbledore," all four of them greeted, and he gave them a welcoming nod.

"I figured that they deserved to be here," Sirius replied, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement. _I was going to approach them myself, but it's good that they're here now._ "Aberforth! You old goat!"

"Black," Aberforth frowned, and Sirius grinned at him.

"I'm surprised that you're still kicking around," Sirius chuckled.

"I could say the same about you," Aberforth shot back. "How was your vacation?" _Why does he have to be like this?_

"Terrible," Sirius replied, his grin dying down a bit. "No room service…" The fireplace blazed to life again, and this time, five people stepped through. _Alastor Moody, Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, and Sturgis Podmore._

"Albus," Elphias smiled at his old friend, and a genuine smile broke out on Albus' face as he walked down to shake his old friend's hand.

"Elphias, it is good to see you again," Albus said, and then he looked to the others. "Welcome, my old friends."

"Why are we here?" Alastor demanded as he limped to the closest corner, and then his Magical eye settled on the Lovegoods. "Why is there a pregnant woman here?"

"You must be 'Mad-eye' Moody," Pandora smiled at the grizzled man, while her husband looked quite nervous.

"And what if I am?" Alastor growled, while the older members of the Order simply shook their heads. _He hasn't changed a bit. Good. I need the greatest Auror in History._

"That eye of yours is fascinating," Pandora hummed. "Mind if I have a look at it?"

"Yes," Alastor bit out, and then he frowned at Albus. "What's this about then?"

"So grouchy," Dedalus chuckled, and Alastor glared at him.

"You're still dressing like a damn moron, I see," Alastor said harshly, but Dedalus simply laughed it off.

"Purple has always been my color," Dedalus remarked, tipping his massive purple top-hat.

"It does match you, my old friend," Emmeline smiled, her usual green shawl wrapped around her. "It's been too long since we all got together like this, hasn't it?"

"That it has," Elphias nodded fervently.

"Sir, why are we here?" Sturgis asked, and then he looked around the room. "Are you really bringing the Order back?" Everyone looked to Albus at that, and he nodded firmly.

"It's time," Albus told them, and they all knew what this meant. But before they could say anything, the fireplace roared to life once again. Hagrid stepped through it in a rather odd manner, while everyone else moved away from the fireplace.

"Sorry, Headmas'er," Hagrid said, and then he stepped aside to reveal Arabella Figg. "I broke her door down by mistake…"

"You!" Sirius suddenly yelled, and Arabella jumped from fright. Sirius then glared at Albus, and Albus let out a tired sigh. "You told me that she was watching over Harry, right?" Sirius then glared at her, and she shrunk in size. "What the fuck were you doing when they were hurting my Godson?!"

"Sirius," Hagrid frowned as he moved in-between the two of them. "Have yeh no shame? Speakin' to an old woman, like that?" Hagrid then quickly apologized to her, and all she could do was to give a weak nod. "What's gotten into yeh?"

"She was supposed to watch over him," Sirius growled, his animalistic nature coming through. "They hurt him every single day, and she did NOTHING!"

"Sirius, old chap, calm yourself," Dedalus said, but Sirius began snarling at him.

"Stop growling you mutt, or I'll shut you up myself," Alastor warned him, and Sirius let out a cold laugh.

"You want to lose your other eye as well? Is that it?" Sirius challenged, and Alastor stood up to his full height.

"Sirius, enough of this," Arthur said as he stepped between the two wizards. "You're amongst friends here. Stop trying to start a fight with everyone."

"Mr. Black, that is enough," Minerva said in her scolding voice, and Sirius blinked at her. He then shot an angry glare in Arabella's direction, but he didn't make another sound. The door to Albus' Office suddenly opened, and both Remus and Severus stepped through.

"Oh…" Remus muttered, he looked incredibly weak. _The full moon is nearly here._ Albus then looked to Severus, who gave him a subtle nod. _Good luck, Ronald. Please be safe._

"We are all here," Albus announced, and they all exchanged looks. "My friends-"

"What's he doing here?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowing on Snape.

"I got lost," Snape drawled, and Sirius frowned at him.

"Sirius," Remus said, and Sirius gave his old companion a weakened look. "Headmaster, please continue."

"I have grave news," Albus told them, it was time to truly begin his plan. "The day that we all feared… It's finally here. Lord Voldemort has returned."

"Gods…" Arthur Weasley muttered, while his wife clung to his side. Albus could see the fear on everyone's face, except for Alastor and Severus, who were both just grimacing.

"How is this possible?" Emmeline asked. "There have been no signs whatsoever."

"I'd beg to differ, my Lady," Sturgis said in his usual polite manner. "This fire at St. Mungo's… Was that his doing?" _Sharp as always._

"Is that why the Ministry hasn't made a statement yet?" Elphias asked Albus.

"Fudge is still in bloody Albania," Dedalus told them. "I saw him whilst I was volunteering there just two days ago. It's Amelia Bones who's spearheading the investigation right now, and I'm certain that Fudge has forbidden her from making a statement."

"Do you have proof?" Xeno asked Albus. "How do you know that he's back? Did you face him once again?" _We both did._

"Severus," Albus called, and the Potions Master pulled his left sleeve back. Every eye was immediately fixed on his bare forearm, even Alastor had limped up to look over the man's shoulder.

"It's dead?" Alastor asked, his normal eye traveling to Albus while his Magical Eye stayed fixed on the faded Dark Mark. "There's no Magic coursing through it."

"He severed his connection to it on Saturday," Snape told everyone. "And that very night, St. Mungo's burned down."

"Why didn't you bloody tell anyone then?" Sirius glared at him in disgust.

"I told the Headmaster immediately," Snape sneered at him. "Just listen, convict… You'll love this next bit." Sirius blinked at that, and then he looked to Albus. _I have to tell them about Peter Pettigrew, they need to know who to flee from._

"He has found himself a body in which to reside, that's how he's returned," Albus told them all, and over half of them paled. "I believe that this body had a perfectly developed Magical Core, but no soul to reject his possession. Peter Pettigrew."

"What?" Sirius went wide-eyed, while a majority of the room looked to him with seething rage. "I… I… It can't be…" Sirius had lost all the blood in his face, and his body had tensed horribly. Albus spotted Snape smirking cruelly at Sirius, and Albus couldn't help but feel disappointed with his right hand man.

"Peter… He's possessing Peter?" Remus asked, both Marauders exchanging disturbed looks.

"You bloody idiot," Aberforth glared at Sirius, and both Arthur and Remus pulled Sirius behind them.

"The enemy is not in here, he is out there," Albus said firmly, his expression hardening just like the old days. "Make no mistake, my friends. We stand on the edge of another Great War, and fighting amongst ourselves will only aid the enemy." _Enough of this childish bickering._

"I knew that this fire made no sense," Sturgis breathed out. "Not one person managed to escape it, or stop it. Now it all makes sense…"

"The Dark Lord must've learned of Pettigrew's body because of Rita Skeeter's article," Elphias said, and mostly everyone nodded. "That hag has doomed us all!"

"The Ministry needs to be alerted, Albus," Emmeline said.

"What will they do about it?" Dedalus asked, his cheery demeanor gone. "Nothing. Fudge is a clown, one that will never believe us."

"I say that we kill his Death-Eaters in lockup," Alastor said, making sure that everyone heard him.

"Right, because murder charges are just what we bloody need," Aberforth scoffed.

"Killin' people in lockup," Hagrid shook his head at Alastor. "That's just plain murder, that is."

"No one is murdering anyone," Albus told them. "But we do need to start watching his old associates without arousing suspicion. Alastor, do you still have your contacts in the Aurors Department?"

"I do," Alastor nodded. "I can already name a handful of people that would be willing to join us at a moment's notice."

"Get in touch with these people," Albus ordered. "I want eyes on Azkaban Prison, Lord Voldemort cannot be allowed to free his Death-Eaters."

"What about the ones walking the streets?" Filius piped in. "People like the Malfoys, Nott Snr, the Greengrasses-"

"Sebastian Greengrass is not…" Arthur started fiercely, but he stopped when everyone looked to him. Arthur then looked to Albus, and for a moment, Albus thought that he was looking at Ronald. "I've spoken with Sebastian Greengrass, and he did not join the Dark Lord out of his free-will. He was forced into service when his wife was kidnapped by the Dark Lord's forces."

"I'm sure that's what he tells everyone," Alastor growled. "I saw him take down three Aurors before Scrimgeour brought him down. And trust me, he wasn't throwing out stunners."

"Three bloody Aurors?" Sirius whispered to Remus, but everyone heard him.

"His wife was the only reason why we were able to de-Petrify our students last year," Pomona told everyone. "She saved four children's lives."

"Please tell me that we're not talking about recruiting that degenerate," Alastor snapped, and everyone looked to Albus.

"Right now, we need to get our eyes and ears out there," Albus told them. _But eventually, I intend to. His wealth is an asset that we cannot hand over to Tom._

"And Harry Potter?" Minerva asked, which earned her approving grunts and whispers. "Where does Mr. Potter fit into all of this? If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is truly back, then Mr. Potter must be protected at all costs."

"He's with Augusta Longbottom right now," Sirius told everyone, he still looked utterly shaken from the knowledge about Peter Pettigrew.

"Good, then he's safe," Dedalus nodded in approval. "That old witch would eat You-Know-Who alive if he ever trespassed on her property."

"Speaking of properties," Pandora piped in. "Should we start using the Fidelius Charm on our homes from now on? I've read that that's what you all did during the Great War."

"I agree with her," Sturgis seconded her. "We all have people that we need to keep safe."

"Please, conjure up a seat," Albus told them all. "We'll be here for a while." _I need to make sure of it._

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Mid Afternoon)**_

"Do any of you have any questions about your jobs?" Albus asked them, and none of them said anything. "Very well, then our meeting is adjourned." Alastor was the first to head out, and after saying his address with the Muffling Charm in place, he flooed away. Aberforth left after that, followed promptly by Emmeline, Sturgis, Elphias, Dedalus, Hagrid, and Arabella. This left behind Severus, the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Filius, and Pomona.

"Dumbledore, might we have a few minutes of your time?" Arthur asked, and Albus nodded with his usual kind smile.

"Speak your mind, please," Albus replied, and Arthur looked to Remus.

"Harry mentioned that Ron killed a Boggart in your class… And we just want some more details about that," Arthur said to Remus, and both Remus and Albus tensed a bit. _Not this again._

"Ronald did not kill the Boggart," Albus told them. "It destroyed itself in an effort to morph into Ronald's greatest fear. Remus told me that it kept morphing into different things frantically, and until eventually, it tore itself apart."

"Why didn't you send an owl, Remus?" Molly asked. "Why did Harry have to tell us about this?"

"Remus has to ask for my permission before discussing any student's school life with adults that are not hired by the school," Albus told them, and Remus nodded slowly. _He didn't know that, did he? Why didn't he send an owl then?_ "Unless, of course, the student in question gives Remus permission themselves."

"Ron is truly an Occlumens then?" Pandora asked.

"He is learning to be one," Albus started, he had thought this through. "When I tested his defenses, I found them to be quite impressive for someone his age. But his will to resist… Now that is something that I have never witnessed before. Truly remarkable, that boy."

"Will to resist?" Xeno asked, while both Arthur and Molly were clearly trying to hide their pride.

"Willpower, in essence," Albus replied, and Pandora Lovegood seemed to have come to a realization.

"His wand," Pandora said, and everyone looked to her. "Its flexibility was Unyielding." _Convenient, but very intriguing._

"As I just said, Ronald has an astounding amount of willpower," Albus told them, and they all nodded slowly. "I got past his shields, of course, but it was hard to see his memories because he refused to give up control."

"Giving up control is something that he really does struggle with," Molly said softly, a dejected look marking her features.

"There is a difference between giving up control and being controlled," Snape said suddenly, and everyone just stared at him. _Now is not the time to make new enemies, Severus._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Molly asked the Potions Master. "You think that I'm trying to control my own son?"

"Mollywobbles, please," Arthur said pleadingly, while Sirius glared murder at Snape.

"The Dark Lord has returned," Snape said. "Are you planning on Re-Sorting my student once again?" Both Arthur and Molly exchanged looks, and then they looked to Albus.

"I don't feel comfortable with him being alone down there," Arthur started, and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Severus, stop it," Pomona scolded the man, and then she grabbed his arm. "Headmaster, we must really be on our way." With that, she dragged Snape out of the Office. Minerva and Filius followed after them, while Albus kept his focus on Ronald's Family.

"During the last war, Slytherin was a prime source of the Dark Lord's recruits," Arthur started.

"It won't be this time," Albus cut in. "This time, we will do better."

"But what if one of them decides to hurt Ronnie?" Molly asked desperately. "He's just a boy." _Truth be told, I'm more afraid of him hurting 'them'._

"And he's been becoming more… aggressive… lately," Pandora pointed out. "He yelled in my husband's-"

"It was my own fault," Xeno said for the hundredth time. "I nearly cost him over ten thousand Galleons, not to mention that he had to go to France just to clean up my mess."

"That doesn't give him the right to yell at an adult," Molly said quickly. "He needs to act his age, and that's that." _I beg to differ. Ronald is truly incapable of acting his own age, the_ _ **monster**_ _inside his head has seen to that._ "And now we find out that he shattered some poor boy's face over a Duel?"

"Things tend to get heated during these sorts of events," Remus replied weakly, and Sirius rubbed the man's back. They were both clearly still shaken from the news about their old friend.

"Remus, you look horrible," Sirius whispered, and Remus let out a weak chuckle. "I'm serious, you need to go lie down or something."

"I recommend that as well," Albus said, and Remus nodded weakly. "Sirius, please escort Remus to the Hospital Wing."

"Um… Gladly," Sirius muttered, he wanted to talk to Remus alone anyway. The two men then left the Office, while Albus mentally patted his own back for keeping Sirius out of Grimmauld Place for longer. _I can think of little else but Ronald's mission right now._

"Is Ron still seeing Pomfrey?" Arthur asked.

"He is, but he couldn't this week," Albus replied. "Poppy is helping with the St. Mungo's catastrophe."

"Are his sessions going well?" Molly asked.

"I do not have the answer to that," Albus replied truthfully. "Ronald's anger is indeed worrying, but truth be told, Ronald tries to be the best he can be. That's what truly matters. Did you know that Ronald hosts a study group at the Library every Friday? It has become quite popular, and all the younger years attend it. Every House studying together with no in-fighting, or House Rivalry. He sits with the first years, **all** of the first years, and he teaches them. He is quite respected, and adored, by them."

"That does sooth my heart," Pandora admitted, she couldn't help but smile proudly at hearing that.

"Perhaps it's time that you all look to his better nature, instead of solely focusing on his shortcomings," Albus said, and they looked quite taken aback by his forwardness. "As you said, Molly… He is just a boy. Let him find his own way. As for his Housing situation, Severus will watch over him. I promise."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Breakfast)**_

"Right, I'm heading off then," Ron said to his friends, and all of them wished him well except for Blaise. _What's the matter with him? He's barely said a word since yesterday._ "Blaise, are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yeah…" Blaise all but whispered, his eyes fixed on his book. "Good luck with the Goblins…" _Right._ Ron looked to the rest of his friends, who were all eyeing Blaise with worry and confusion.

"Daph, can I have a word with you outside?" Ron asked, while he signaled Pansy to speak with Blaise. Pansy gave him a subtle nod, while Daphne began following him out. Once they were both out of the common room, Ron turned to face her. "Have you ever seen him like this? I know that he's the quiet sort, but he didn't even eat last night or this morning."

"Something's bothering him," Daphne agreed, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Fuck me, I'm so bloody nervous about today, and now something's clearly gotten to Blaise. Hopefully Pansy can figure it out before I come back._ _ **If**_ _I come back._ "Ron, are you alright? You've been just as quiet as Blaise."

"Oh, I'm fine," Ron replied. "Just nervous about my advertisement campaign. You know, because of this whole St. Mungo's business…"

"It'll work out, Ron," Daphne smiled reassuringly, and Ron held out his gloved hand. She took it with both of hers, something that Ron rather liked.

"I'm sorry that I've been a bit withdrawn lately," Ron apologized, and she gave him a curious look. "We haven't really spent much time together since Saturday night, and it's because I'm always training up in the Sanctuary." _Which, by the way, is really paying off, even if I can't get the Baubillious Charm to work Wandlessly. But at least I can now perform Incendio's Wandless variation now._

"You know what's funny?" Daphne asked with a genuine smile. "I was going to apologize to you for always being with the second years."

"You're finally getting through to them, so I understand completely," Ron smiled back.

"It's all thanks to Millie, if I'm being honest," Daphne hummed. "They're scared of her, and so they're turning to Theo and me. As long as they keep us happy, Millie doesn't give them her 'murderous stare'. I guess I won't be needing your services anymore, Ron."

"I still get paid though, right?" Ron joked, and Daphne shook her head with a smile. "Damn. Well, now that we've both apologized, I'd best be off. I'll see you soon."

"Good luck," Daphne said, but Ron kept holding her hands in his gloved one. "Planning to drag me to Gringotts with you?"

"Um… Can I get one of your good luck kisses?" Ron asked, and she let out a cute giggle. "Please?"

"Of course, bring your head down here," Daphne smiled, and once Ron had done as he was told, she gave him a rather long kiss. "There, now you'll definitely succeed."

"Thanks," Ron smiled, and then he realized something. "We just kissed right in front of the common room entrance… That was risky…"

"You're right," Daphne blinked, and then she shot quick looks around them. "I think we're getting a little too lax with our secret." _Merlin, why haven't I asked her out yet? I should've just done it on Saturday night, before St. Mungo's burned down. Now we've barely spent a moment alone together, and everyone in the school is so depressed. And it just feels wrong to think about dating with so much going wrong at once._ "Earth to Ron? Are you there?"

"Huh?" Ron blinked, and she gave him scolding smile.

"You'll do fine, Ron," Daphne said firmly, her smile still in place. "Don't stress too much please, not when you know that it doesn't help you."

"Yeah, you're right," Ron nodded, and then he let go of her hands. "I'll see you when I come back."

"We'll be up in the Sanctuary," Daphne waved goodbye as they began parting ways, and while Daphne went back into the common room, Ron headed for Snape's Office. _This is it. Time to find this Locket, or at least find clues that can lead me to it._ Ron stopped in front of Snape's Office, and then he knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Snape's voice, and Ron quickly entered the room and shut the door behind himself. "Finally. The Order members are probably already here. What took you so long?" Ron went to answer, but Snape raised his hand to stop him. "Never mind, I don't care." _Arsehole._

"Have you got something to help me with the Elf?" Ron asked, and Snape pulled a thick leather collar out of his desk drawer. "I knew you were into the dirty fetishes…"

"Silence," Snape hissed, while Ron sniggered to himself. "Take this seriously, Weasley. You **will** be in grave danger, and if you're not careful, you'll end up dead. You're hunting down a piece of the Dark Lord's very soul, do you understand?"

"Trust me, I do," Ron sighed out. "I **am** scared, believe me. Jokes just help me cope with my stress, that's all. Pomfrey told me to have a more… positive… outlook on my problems…"

"Right," Snape said coldly, and then he walked over to Ron. "This is a Slaver's Collar, which are used to nullify a House-Elf's Magic. All you have to do is to put it around the Elf's neck, and it will latch onto him. After that, the Elf won't be able to do anything."

"This is rather… grotesque, isn't it?" Ron asked as he took the collar, it was heavier than it looked. Ron then fit the collar into his inner coat pocket, while Snape walked over to the fireplace. "Do you have a connection open to Sirius' home?"

"No, but I do have one open to the Leaky Cauldron," Snape told him. "Go there first, and then floo to Grimmauld Place."

"Got it," Ron nodded, and then he took a pinch of floo-powder. As he was about to cast it into the fire, Snape put his hand on Ron's right shoulder. "Sir?"

"Be careful, Ron," Snape said, his voice completely emotionless. "If anything goes wrong, forget the Locket and come back immediately. Understand?"

"I understand," Ron managed a weak smile, and then he cast the powder into the fire. "The Leaky Cauldron." Once the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through it.

The smell and sight of the pub hit him immediately, and he looked around to find a lot of people drinking with dejected looks. _People start drinking this early? Wait…_ Ron noticed that there was a number on top of the bar, and he recognized it immediately. _Two hundred and three. That's how many people are confirmed dead since this morning._ Just seeing that number disheartened him too, his thoughts drifting to all the innocent people who had done nothing to deserve their horrible ends. _He'll pay. The Order will make him pay for each and every life that he's ever taken._

"Twelve Grimmauld Place," Ron said as he tossed floo-powder into the same fire place, and once it blazed green, Ron stepped through it. As he stepped into Grimmauld Place's Living Room, Ron absentmindedly checked to make sure that he had his wand on his person. _Right, everything is set._ "Sirius?! Harry?! Anybody home?!" _C'mon, Kreacher… You repulsive little bastard. Show yourself._

When nothing happed, Ron began to make his way upstairs. _Maybe he's out running errands? If so, I should investigate Regulus' room first._ Ron made his way to the topmost floor of Grimmauld Place, where both Sirius and Regulus' rooms were. It wasn't hard to determine which room belonged to who, mostly because Regulus' room had a rather pretentious sign hanging off of it. _Do Not Enter Without The Express Permission Of Regulus Arcturus Black. Wow… This is something that Percy would genuinely admire._ Ron opened the door and made his way inside.

The room wasn't as big as he'd imagined it, but the Slytherin green and silver was there. The Black Family Crest hung over Regulus' old bed, and Ron eyed the old, yellow newspaper clippings stuck to the wall beneath the Crest. Ron walked up to them in order to study them, and much to his disgust, they were all about the Dark Lord. _He made a fucking collage to the Dark Lord over his bed? Disgusting cunt._ Ron read the newspaper clipping which detailed the burning down of several Muggle villages, and beneath it, Regulus had scribbled the word 'Powerful'.

"What a tosser," Ron shook his head, and then he began searching the clean room. Ron, of course, found it rather odd that this room was so clean, especially because its owner had been dead for over a decade. _Sirius probably ordered Kreacher to keep this room clean. Or, Kreacher does it because he wants to. From what Snape told me, the Elf was clearly very loyal to Regulus._ After ten minutes of searching every single corner, Ron let out a tired sigh.

"There's nothing in here…" Ron frowned to himself, and then he brandished his wand. "Accio Locket!" Nothing happened, and Ron put his wand back into his coat. "Yeah, it's never that easy… I need to find the Elf, he might be able to help me." Ron left the room in perfect condition, and once the door was closed behind him, he made his way downstairs. As he was nearing the stairs that would lead him down to the ground floor, an angry hiss came from behind him.

"Filthy Blood-Traitor!" Kreacher hissed, and Ron quickly turned to face him. "Trying to steal the Black Family's belongings?!"

"Ease up there," Ron frowned at the ugly old thing. "I just wanted to see Sirius and Harry, that's all."

"Liar!" Kreacher yelled in his bullfrog-like voice. "Kreacher knows a sneakthief-"

"I'm no thief," Ron frowned, his temper flaring. "And don't call me a Blood-Traitor again… slave." Kreacher blinked at him, no doubt remembering that Ron had smacked him senseless the last time he had fired insults at the tall boy. "Are Sirius and Harry here?" Kreacher glared at Ron for a few moments, while Ron just stared at him coldly.

"No," Kreacher finally croaked, and Ron nodded to himself.

"Then I'll be on my way," Ron lied. "Mind escorting me to the fireplace?"

"Gladly," Kreacher growled, and then he began making his way past Ron. As soon as Kreacher's back was facing Ron, Ron pulled out the Slaver's Collar and put it around Kreacher's neck. The Elf tried to jump away from Ron, but the Collar Magically sealed itself around his neck. _Yes!_ Kreacher turned around with a wild look on his wrinkled face, and Ron flinched when the Elf snapped his fingers loudly. But nothing happened. "Kreacher does not-" Kreacher started, his eyes fixed on his Magicless fingers. "A Slaver's Collar…"

"Uh-oh," Ron smirked at the Elf, who suddenly let out angry scream at Ron.

"What is the meaning of this?! FILTHY BLOOD-TRAI-" Kreacher's yelling was cut off when Ron smashed his fist into Kreacher's face, and the old Elf landed on his arse with his limbs spread out.

"Come here, you little shite," Ron hissed as he walked up and grabbed Kreacher by the throat, and then he began dragging the Elf down the stairs. Kreacher tried to struggle against Ron's ever-tightening grip, but he was far too dazed to put up any real resistance. "Let's have ourselves a chat, eh? If you behave, I might even let you keep your teeth."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron had gripped Kreacher's throat a little too tightly, and in doing so, knocked the Elf out. But instead of panicking over it, he had used Kreacher's current state to his advantage. By using the Incarcerous Spell, he had bound and gagged Kreacher to a chair in the Kitchen. It was time to wake the Elf up in order to begin the interrogation.

"Rennervate," Ron chanted, and after the bright red light had dimmed, he placed his wand on the table.

"MMM!" Kreacher moaned as soon as he woke up, but when his large, sunken eyes landed on Ron, he started glaring at the redhead.

"Good morning," Ron 'smiled' at the Elf, who simply kept glaring. "Sorry about punching you in the head, but in my defense, I did warn you to mind your tongue. I healed the bruise, by the way." Ron then sat down in a chair across from Kreacher, their eyes clashing.

"For the time being, I'll let you stay gagged," Ron told the Elf, whose face tightened from anger. "There's a few things that I want to say, and I know that if you interrupt me while I speak, I'll end up clocking you again. So to avoid unnecessary violence, just be patient and hear me out.

"Now… Let's start with this," Ron leaned forward. "I don't like you. As a matter of fact, no one really likes you. You're rude, lazy, and rather barmy. Not to mention that you hurl out slurs at anything that moves. The first time I had the displeasure of meeting you, you called my father a Blood-Traitor to his face. And don't think that I've forgotten what you call Hermione. I know for a fact that if you had your way, we'd all be dead by tomorrow."

"All of this means one thing," Ron went on. "If you don't help me, I'll kill you. I'll put an end to your miserable existence, and I won't lose a minute's worth of sleep over it. Am I clear?" Kreacher just glared at Ron, who stared back coldly. "Am. I. Clear?" Kreacher nodded slowly, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "Now I'm going to ungag you, so don't start screaming. Don't make me do something that you'll regret." Ron then reached forward and undid the rope binging Kreacher's mouth, and the Elf coughed loudly. "Do you need some water?"

"Not from a Blood-Trai-" Kreacher started, but he stopped when Ron pulled his fist back. _Piece of shite._

"Don't," Ron warned him, and Kreacher shut his mouth.

"No water," Kreacher hissed as he shot Ron a murderous glare, and Ron lowered his fist. "Master Sirius will hear of this…"

"No, he won't," Ron scoffed. "By the end of this conversation, I'll make sure of that."

"Nasty brat plans to murder Kreacher?" Kreacher demanded, and Ron shook his head.

"Killing you is not part of my agenda," Ron replied truthfully. "But don't think for a second that I won't if you piss me off."

"Nasty brat is cruel…" Kreacher croaked in his guttural voice.

"That's rich coming from you," Ron shot back. "How many Muggles and Muggle-Borns have you tortured and killed?" Kreacher's eyes widened at that, and Ron smirked at him. "Yeah… I know what you are. I know what you've done. I know that Regulus Black had you do his dirty work because he himself was too weak to do it."

"Master Regulus was not weak!" Kreacher screamed as he began to squirm in his binds. "Never weak! Master Regulus was never weak!"

"Shut up!" Ron snapped, his brow furrowing. "I told you not to scream, didn't I?"

"Nasty brat spits on Master Regulus' name… Kreacher will destroy the nasty brat once this Collar is off!" Kreacher yelled, and Ron slapped him across the face.

"Yell again, and I'll clap you again," Ron told Kreacher, whose head was now wobbling from side to side. _Shite, I need to watch my strength here. The last thing that I need is this bastard's scrawny neck snapping._

"Master Regulus was never weak…" Kreacher kept mumbling under his breath, his head bowing down.

"You're very loyal to a dead man," Ron pointed out, and Kreacher glared up at him through teary eyes. "Very loyal. Tell me, why are you so loyal to Regulus? Why do you treat Sirius so horribly in comparison?"

"Master Sirius broke my mistress' heart," Kreacher growled. "Master Regulus was a good boy… Kind, gentle, intelligent-"

"Kind, gentle, and intelligent?" Ron sneered, and Kreacher grit what few teeth he had left. "He joined a squad of mass-murdering psychopaths, who were led by a disgusting, deceitful lunatic. The 'Dark Lord'… Did you know that You-Know-Who was a Half-Blood?" Kreacher blinked at Ron, while Ron nodded at him. "That's right… My Blood is arguably less tainted than his in his own sick ideology. But you know what I think? I think he was just a spiteful beast, and he manipulated idiots like Regulus Black into serving him. The only thing that the Dark Lord cares about is himself, the only thing he serves is himself… There is no 'better World' in his vision for the Future. Only him."

"What does the nasty brat want?" Kreacher demanded. "What is the reason behind this?"

"I'm looking for something," Ron started, and Kreacher began to open his mouth. "I'm not a thief, and if you say that I am, I'll pull your fucking tongue out of your head." Ron then drew in a deep breath, and he looked into Kreacher's eyes. "I'm looking for a Locket that's linked to Regulus Black and the Dark Lord." Kreacher's entire body tensed as his eyes lit up, and Ron felt his own excitement grow. _He knows about it!_ "You know something, don't you?"

"Kreacher knows nothing about this golden Locket," Kreacher lied quickly, doing his best to school his features.

"I never mentioned that it was gold," Ron pointed out, and Kreacher's eyes widened. "You know the exact Locket that I'm looking for, don't you? Talk."

"Rot, Blood-Traitor," Kreacher spat out, and then he actually spat at Ron's feet. Ron stared down at the phlegmy saliva, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck.

"I'm not leaving until you talk," Ron said coldly, and then he raised his left hand. "Incendio." Ron's entire left arm felt like it was on fire, and then, it felt like there was hot steam pouring out of his coat's sleeve. Kreacher swallowed thickly as Ron's left hand began to glow orange, his bones and veins becoming visible. "Either you start talking, or I'll pull the skin off of your skull like hot cheese."

"Do… Do your wo… worst…" Kreacher stammered, and Ron slowly stood up.

"Tell me about this Locket," Ron said, his searing hot palm hovering near Kreacher's face. "Kreacher, start talking… I won't ask you again."

"Kreacher will not betray Master Regulus…" Kreacher murmured, his head slowly shrinking away from the heat coming off of Ron's hand. _Will not betray Master Regulus?_ Ron slowly undid the Spell on his hand, and Kreacher looked up at him.

"Why would telling me about this Locket betray your deceased Master?" Ron asked the Elf, who immediately averted his gaze.

"Rot, Blood-Traitor," Kreacher hissed, he would never hand over his Master's Locket." _This again?!_ Ron felt his blood boil, and then something snapped in his head.

" _ **WHERE IS IT?!**_ " Ron shrieked, his hands lunging forward to grab Kreacher's skull. The Elf's eyes widened to a horrifying level, while his jaw dropped open at the sight of Ron's crimson, toad-like eyes. " _ **WHERE IS THE LOCKET?! SPEAK! OR WE WILL TEAR YOU OPEN AND BITE OUT YOUR HEART!**_ " Kreacher let out a horrified whimper, and then he passed out from sheer terror. Ron just stared at the Elf's dangling head in his hands, which he then pushed it away angrily. " _ **Disgusting vermin…**_ "

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

The Elf had pissed himself, and as disgusting as that was, Ron had used Scourgify to clean up the Elf's mess. Disturbingly enough, Ron remembered going full Entity on Kreacher, which was unlike all the previous times the Entity had shown its face. Ron remembered every second of it. For that brief period of time, Ron had felt an overwhelming sense of rage and bitterness. But he had also felt power. Absolute power.

And even though Ron wanted to keep feeling that power coursing through him, he had backed off. He had realized that the power he felt wasn't his own, and that if he gave into it, his Cycle would fail. The Entity itself had told Ron that it 'bleeding into his mind' wasn't a good thing. So after his moment of weakness, Ron had left Kreacher alone for a bit. He had drank one of Snape's Calming Tonics in order to regather his thoughts, and then he had begun planning.

Firstly, the Elf would need to be dealt with after this. Kreacher had seen the Entity, and since he hated Ron's insides, he would no doubt tell everyone about this in order to get Ron killed. Secondly, Kreacher definitely knew about the Locket. And not only that, but he was trying his hardest to not 'betray Master Regulus'. Clearly, Regulus was more connected to this Locket than Ron had previously suspected. Chances were that Kreacher probably knew where it was, and if that was the case, then Ron needed to convince the Elf to give it up. Luckily for Ron, Kreacher was definitely scared of him now.

"Rennervate," Ron chanted, and Kreacher woke up with a bloodcurdling scream.

"Demon! Hell-Spawn! Evil incarnate!" Kreacher howled, and when he spotted Ron, he began squirming wildly in his binds. Ron didn't really feel much from Kreacher's panicked state, the Calming Tonic was doing its job.

"Stop screaming," Ron said coldly, his eyes fixed on the Elf's. Kreacher nodded madly, his body shaking from fear. "I'm sorry that you saw that side of me, Kreacher. I usually try and keep it hidden." _I have to own this for now, it might get him to start talking._

"What… Who are you?" Kreacher whimpered, he could still hear that terrifying voice echoing inside his head.

"I'm Ron," Ron shrugged, and Kreacher blinked at him. "Shall we continue our conversation?"

"Please… Kreacher knows nothing about this Locket," Kreacher lied.

"Yes, you do," Ron countered. "You said that you couldn't betray Master Regulus, not to mention that you know that it's gold. You know which Locket I'm asking about, I know it. Tell me where it is, Kreacher. Don't make me lose control like that again."

"Why? Why does the… Why does Master Ronald seek it?" Kreacher muttered, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at him. _Master Ronald? Hmmm, what should I tell him?_

"I plan to destroy it," Ron replied truthfully, there was a fifty percent chance that the Elf would not tell him now. _Well, fifty percent until I start hurting him._

"Destroy it?" Kreacher asked slowly, something shifting behind his eyes. "Why?"

"My reasons are my own," Ron replied, and Kreacher looked down at the floor. "You're protecting it, and I-"

"Protecting it?" Kreacher repeated rather quickly, his head shooting back up. "Kreacher would never protect it… Never… Kreacher only…" he trailed off, his eyes darting around the room.

"Only what?" Ron asked as he sat back down. "Tell me about your connection to this Locket, and why handing it over to me would 'betray Master Regulus'." The Elf looked back down at the ground, he looked like he was struggling to get the words out.

"Why does Master Ronald seek to destroy it?" Kreacher muttered under his breath, but Ron heard him clearly because of how quiet the Kitchen was. _I'll give him a little, it help him open up._

"It's connected to the Dark Lord, and I want to hurt him," Ron replied, and Kreacher looked back up. "I think that You-Know-Who killed your Master Regulus, Kreacher. Didn't you love Master Regulus? Don't you want to hurt the man who killed your beloved Master?"

"It… It cannot be destroyed," Kreacher whimpered, his eyes welling up. "Kreacher has tried for over ten years… It cannot be destroyed…" _Huh? He's tried to destroy it?_ Ron pulled his seat closer to Kreacher's, who tried to shrink away from him.

"It's alright," Ron said gently, his gloved hand giving Kreacher's shoulder a soft squeeze. "Tell me what you know, Kreacher. It seems to me that we might have something in common here. Tell me about Master Regulus' connection to the Locket." Kreacher gave Ron a pathetic look, he was clearly struggling with confessing. _C'mon, Elf, don't make me hurt you._

"Master Regulus was kind to Kreacher… Ever since he was a boy…" Kreacher started, his voice cracking. "Master Regulus, unlike Master Sirius, always had proper pride. He knew what was owed to the name of Black, and he respected the dignity of his pure blood. For years he spoke of the Dark Lord, who was fighting to bring Wizarding-kind out of the shadows in order to rule over the Muggles and Mud-Bloods-"

"Don't use that word," Ron told him, and Kreacher looked down at his feet. "Continue talking."

"When Master Regulus was sixteen, he joined the Dark Lord," Kreacher sniffled. "He was so proud, so proud, so happy to serve… But things were different from what my poor Master had imagined them to be."

"The Dark Lord wasn't a hero?" Ron asked, and Kreacher sniffled loudly.

"The Dark Lord enjoyed inflicting terror, and he rewarded cruelty," Kreacher hiccupped. "Deep down, my Master was a kind and gentle soul… He could not understand why the Dark Lord was so evil, and so he became a shadow of his former self…"

"He was called 'the Dark Lord' for a reason," Ron pointed out. "Why would Master Regulus join such a man and expect something heroic?"

"The Ministry lies… That is no secret…" Kreacher said weakly, and Ron nodded. _He thought that the title of 'Dark Lord' was a lie?_ "The Dark Lord wanted Master Regulus to do evil things, but Master Regulus couldn't do them… He could not hurt the defenseless, so Kreacher hurt them instead… Kreacher killed them to protect Master…" Ron felt an ounce of anger swell up in his chest, but the Calming Tonic quickly doused the flames. "Kreacher had no choice…"

"Yes, you did," Ron told him, and the Elf looked up with teary eyes. "Sirius was in the Order, and if you and Master Regulus had tried, he'd have accepted you both. But you didn't even try, did you?"

"We were afraid…" Kreacher croaked.

"So were the people you murdered," Ron pointed out, and Kreacher looked down at his feet. "Muggles who had no idea why they were being tortured and killed, Muggle-Borns who were being hunted down simply because they were born. You had a choice, Kreacher, and you chose the wrong one." Kreacher didn't say anything to that, so Ron lifted his head up by his chin. "You can make the right choice now though. I'm giving you that chance, Kreacher. Where does the Locket fit into the story?"

"One night, a year after he had joined, Master Regulus came to see Kreacher," Kreacher cried out, big tears falling down his leathery face. "Master Regulus said that the Dark Lord… that the Dark Lord required an Elf…"

"He needed an Elf?" Ron blinked, and Kreacher let out a painful sob.

"Yes, he did…" Kreacher cried as he shook his head. "Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher for service… He told Kreacher that it was an honor, for him and for Kreacher, and that Kreacher had to do exactly as the Dark Lord commanded… And once the Dark Lord was done with him, Kreacher was to come straight home…"

"So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord, who did not tell Kreacher anything," Kreacher went on, his voice becoming more and more strained. "Instead, he took Kreacher to a cave by the sea… In the cave was a dark cavern, and within the dark cavern was a great lake… A lake with black water… Water that smelled of death and decay… Kreacher and the Dark Lord crossed it using a boat. There was an island in the middle of the lake, and on that island was a basin… A basin filled with Potion…"

"The Dark Lord ordered Kreacher to drink the Potion, and so he did," Kreacher croaked. "And as Kreacher drank it, he saw terrible things… Kreacher's insides burned, and so Kreacher begged the Dark Lord for mercy… But the Dark Lord simply laughed, and kept forcing more of the Potion down Kreacher's throat… Once the basin was empty, Kreacher saw the Dark Lord place the Locket in the basin… And then, he filled the basin with more Potion."

"The Dark Lord already had the Locket?" Ron asked, and Kreacher nodded slowly. _Dumbledore theorized that the Locket was made after Regulus' death, but if not, then how did Regulus die?_ "Tell me more, please."

"Kreacher watched in agony as the Dark Lord sailed away without him," Kreacher sobbed out. "Kreacher called for Master Regulus to save him, for his mistress to find him… Kreacher was in so much pain, and so thirsty… So Kreacher drank from the black lake, but as he filled his mouth, hands reached out for him… Dead hands, which dragged Kreacher into the water… Until Kreacher escaped in order to return home…"

"Escaped?" Ron asked, his mind digesting all of this information.

"Master Regulus had ordered Kreacher to return home," the Elf wept. "Kreacher did as he was told…"

"But how did you escape?" Ron asked. "Didn't the 'dead hands' drag you into the water?"

"Kreacher disapparated…" Kreacher replied, his bloodshot eyes giving Ron a confused look.

"Elf Magic…" Ron nodded slowly, he knew that Marty could apparate almost anywhere. _Even the Chamber of Secrets._ "The Dark Lord underestimated you."

"The Dark Lord thought very little of House-Elves, including Kreacher," Kreacher looked down at his feet.

"Did you tell Master Regulus about this?" Ron asked, and Kreacher let out a pained cry.

"Kreacher was so foolish…" Kreacher began weeping. "Kreacher told him, and it broke Master Regulus' heart… Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to stay hidden, to never venture outside… And then, after a few weeks, Master Regulus returned home. He found Kreacher in his cupboard, and Kreacher could see that Master Regulus was… disturbed… in his mind. He asked Kreacher to take him to the cave, the cave that the Dark Lord had taken Kreacher to…"

"And Kreacher obeyed…" Kreacher cried guiltily. "Kreacher took Master Regulus to the cave, he showed Master Regulus the way inside the cavern… And then, Kreacher took the young Master across the black lake with the dead things…"

"You took him to the basin of poison?" Ron asked, and Kreacher let out a wail. Ron didn't tell him to stop, instead, he chose to wait it out. After a few minutes for self-berating and crying hysterically, Kreacher answered Ron's question.

"Kreacher had told Master Regulus of the Potion," Kreacher managed, massive tears pouring out of his gigantic eyes.

"Did he make you drink it?" Ron asked, and Kreacher sobbed once again.

"Kreacher offered to, but the young Master wouldn't let him," Kreacher sobbed out, and Ron came to a horrible realization. _He drank the poison himself? He didn't want his Elf to suffer its effects again?_ "Master Regulus… He… He drank it all… Even as Kreacher begged him to stop… But the young Master kept drinking… And once the basin was empty, he had Kreacher swap the Dark Lord's Locket with a counterfeit… He ordered Kreacher to never tell his Family, not even his Mistress… And then… And then he ordered Kreacher to leave… To destroy the first Locket…"

"He asked you to leave him?" Ron asked, and Kreacher let out a loud wail.

"The dead things were trying to kill us!" Kreacher cried hysterically. "They were trying to pull us into the water! Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to leave him behind, and Kreacher was forced to obey! Kreacher watched the young Master, the kind Master, get dragged into the water!" Kreacher started crying with raspy sobs, his tiny body heaving violently. "Kreacher left Master Regulus to die alone!"

Ron leaned back in his seat as he watched the Elf howl as if he was in horrible pain, and despite the Calming Tonic numbing him, Ron felt some sympathy for the Elf. And for Regulus Black. _He died saving his Family, I can respect nothing more. He gave his life for Kreacher, just as I'd give mine for Marty. Maybe Kreacher was right about Regulus being kind and gentle. Maybe the man's only fault was his naivety._ Ron couldn't help but wonder if Sirius knew of his brother's final moments, and after thinking a bit on it, he figured that Sirius knew nothing. No one knew just what Regulus had done. He had died alone, with no one to remember his final moments except for Kreacher.

Was it possible that Regulus had learned about the Dark Lord's Horcruxes? It was certainly looking like it was. The Slytherin had ordered Kreacher to destroy the Locket, even in his last moments, Regulus had wanted Kreacher to destroy the thing that made the Dark Lord immortal. Regulus' allegiance had changed, but sadly, he had perished before anyone could learn of his heroic act.

Ron stood up and walked over to the dishcloths, and after taking the cleanest one, he returned to his seat. Kreacher was still sobbing from remembering how his Master had died, but after a few long minutes, his sobbing became weaker and more subdued. That's when Ron reached forward with the dishcloth in order to clean up the old Elf's face, something that the Elf didn't even react to. Once Kreacher was cleaned up into a better state, Ron tossed the snotty dishcloth onto the table.

"Kreacher, where is the Locket?" Ron asked, and Kreacher coughed out another sob. "I want to destroy it, just as Master Regulus did. Let me help you fulfil his final wish. Don't let his death be in vain."

"It cannot be destroyed," Kreacher told Ron, his face showing his heartbreak. "Kreacher spent years trying to honor his Master's final wish, but Kreacher has tasted nothing but failure… It cannot be destroyed…"

"Then let me try," Ron suggested, and Kreacher looked at him through weary, blood-shot eyes. "Please." Ron then undid the Elf's binds with his hands, while Kreacher watched him with a confused and saddened expression. Ron couldn't help but notice the rope burns on the Elf's arms, and so he quickly used his wand to heal the Elf's injuries.

"Why? Why does Master Ronald wish to destroy it?" Kreacher asked once again, it was as if he couldn't understand Ron's motives.

"Because the Dark Lord has to pay," Ron replied, and Kreacher blinked at him. "How many people have died because of one man's selfish desire for immortality? How many more will die in the Future? The Dark Lord still lives, I know that you know it." Kreacher looked down at his feet as he massaged his sore arms. "Your Master changed his outlook on things, Kreacher. He wanted the Dark Lord gone."

"Master Regulus never said that," Kreacher croaked.

"But he did want it, didn't he?" Ron asked, and Kreacher nodded weakly. "Where is the Locket, Kreacher?"

"Kreacher cannot trust anyone with it," Kreacher shook his head. "Kreacher cannot lose it… Not until Kreacher has fulfilled his Master's wish."

"Then how about this?" Ron started, and Kreacher looked back up. "Once I've destroyed it, I'll call you to me. You can hear my summons if you try, can't you?" Kreacher nodded weakly, and Ron gave him a resolute look. "I, Ronald Bilius Weasley, swear this to you, Kreacher. I will destroy the Locket in Master Regulus' name, and once the deed is done, I'll call you to me. I will show you the proof."

"And if Master Ronald cannot destroy it?" Kreacher asked slowly.

"You know that I can," Ron replied. "You've seen a side of me that no one really has." Kreacher swallowed thickly, he could suddenly hear that demonic voice again. "I promise that I will find a way to destroy it, and once I have, I'll show you the remains. Please, Kreacher, help me."

They both stared at each other for a few moments, and then Kreacher slowly hopped off of his seat, while Ron stood up from his. Kreacher then walked towards his cupboard in a subdued and frightened manner, and once he had opened the tiny door, he ruffled through his hoard of relics. Ron simply stared at the tiny cupboard with a light frown, how could the Elf sleep in that dank little spot? Kreacher then slowly stepped out of his cupboard, a polished wooden box in his hands.

"It's in there?" Ron asked, and Kreacher sniffled as he nodded. Kreacher then opened the box for Ron to see, and Ron's eyes were immediately fixed on the golden Locket. The Locket's bright green emeralds seemed to glow in Ron's eyes, and he felt a rather odd feeling. It was as if the Locket was trying to whisper something important to him.

"Close the lid," Ron ordered, and Kreacher did so immediately. _It's_ _ **his**_ _Locket, and I don't want to see it. I don't even want to have it near me._ Ron pulled out his Warded pouch, and he gestured Kreacher to put the box inside it. "It's Enchanted. Go on."

"Kreacher has Master Ronald's word?" Kreacher asked, and Ron gave him a firm nod. Kreacher then nodded back, and he slowly slid the entire box inside the pouch. "Kreacher will wait then…"

"Clean up everything, Kreacher," Ron told the Elf. "No one can know that I was ever here, do you understand?"

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher nodded as Ron put the pouch inside his coat. After that, Ron leaned down and undid the Slaver's Collar around Kreacher's neck.

"I'm sorry that I used this on you, but I didn't know that we shared the same goal," Ron said, and Kreacher rubbed his neck as he stared down at his own feet. "I'll call you soon, I swear it. Master Regulus' death won't be in vain."

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Sanctuary – Before Lunch)**_

"Ron, why are you being so quiet?" Daphne asked, and Ron looked up from Flitwick's book.

"Um… I'm reading?" Ron said slowly. _That, and I have a piece of the Dark Lord's soul in my damn pocket. Merlin, if only my friends knew…_

"Don't you want to practice with the others?" Daphne asked, her eyes darting towards their friends. Ron looked to them as well, and from what he could tell, they were all trying their best. _All of them except for Blaise… He's sort of just standing around._

"I'm just trying to figure out this Baubillious Charm nonsense," Ron told Daphne, who nodded slowly.

"Are… Ron, are you on a Calming Draught?" Daphne asked slowly, and Ron blinked at her. _Is she an expert on Ronald Weasley behaviors? Oh wait… She probably is._

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked, he could still feel the effects of Snape's Calming Tonic.

"You've just been very subdued since you got back, and when I asked you if you wanted to sneak off with me, you barely acknowledged me," Daphne whispered, and Ron could hear the slight hurt in her voice.

"Come here," Ron smiled as he scooted aside, and Daphne looked to their friends. "It's alright, this is a loveseat. They won't suspect anything." Daphne slowly got up and sat down by his side, and when she had settled into her seat, Ron scooted closer to her in order to put his right arm around her lower back.

"Ron, they're right there," Daphne whispered, now she was definitely suspicious.

"You see this Charm?" Ron showed her his book, and she read the description of the Baubillious Charm's Wandless variation.

"Lightning?" Daphne blinked at the page, and Ron hummed in response.

"I've been trying to master this Spell ever since I got this book, but no matter what I do, I can't manage anything but flashy sparks," Ron told her, and she turned her face to his. "I'm starting to get really frustrated with it, which is why I just keep rereading this same passage over and over again."

"Right…" Daphne whispered, her eyes darting towards their friends.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm just a bit distracted," Ron told her. "I didn't mean to come across as cold. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Daphne sighed. "But you didn't answer my question. Are you on a Calming Draught?"

"I had a bit of Calming Tonic," Ron replied, he didn't want to keep lying needlessly.

"Ron… Why?" Daphne asked, her voice showcasing her disapproval. "What happened? Is something wrong with your business?"

"No, I just gave into the pressure…" Ron told her, which was partly true. "I'm sorry… again. I know that you don't like it when I'm on this sort of stuff, but I promise, I didn't have enough to turn me into a 'zombie', as Tracey puts it. I was just scared that things could go wrong, and I didn't want to look weak by trembling."

"Okay," Daphne whispered, and Ron gave her a quick kiss. "Ron? Merlin, you're insane… They could have seen that." Daphne's eyes went to their friends again, and she breathed out in relief when she noticed that no one was even looking at them.

"You remember when you started teasing me in public?" Ron smirked at her. "Back when we first started doing this?"

"Teasing is one thing, but I've never kissed you near people," Daphne whispered, and Ron simply shrugged.

"You kissed me in the middle of the Library," Ron reminded her, and Daphne sighed in defeat.

"Please, just be more careful," Daphne told him, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"I don't want to sound rude here," Ron started, and Daphne looked into his eyes. "But why aren't you training as well?"

"You said that you would teach me," Daphne reminded him, and Ron smiled.

"Alright, let's go then," Ron said, and they both stood up.

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunch)**_

"So he's just not hungry?" Ron asked the group, who all nodded.

"That's what he said, Ron," Tracey sighed out. "Is it just me, or is Blaise being really weird since last night?"

"He's not hungry, and he was tired from our training session," Theo pointed out. "Let the man nap in peace."

"Pansy, did you talk to him?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Pansy started with a sheepish smile. "But he didn't say anything of note. I did notice that he was more aloof than usual, but then again, his mother's sixth wedding is coming up soon."

"You're right," Millie nodded. "That's probably why he's so closed off all of a sudden."

"Should we do something for him?" Daphne asked the others. "Maybe get him a gift? Does he want anything in particular?" The girls looked to Theo and Ron for an answer, but neither of them really had anything to say to that.

"When Blaise wants something, he get it himself," Theo told them.

"He'd never ask us to buy him gifts," Ron added. "That's just not him."

"Boys," the girls frowned, and Ron and Theo gave them deadpan looks.

"Let's order him something foreign?" Daphne asked Pansy, who nodded slowly.

"What about foreign sweets?" Pansy asked the girls. "Blaise loves rice-cakes."

"What's a rice-cake?" Ron asked, but the girls just shushed him. _Alright then…_

"Ha," Theo whispered in his ear, and Ron shot him a frown.

"Has Blaise said anything to you?" Ron asked Theo, who shook his head.

"He's just being Blaise," Theo waved a dismissive hand. "I mean seriously, he acts a bit colder than usual for one day, and everyone is trying to get him to 'smile' again."

"Jealous?" Ron smirked, and Theo scoffed. _Yeah, he's jealous._ "For what it's worth, Theo. I'd be just as worried about you if you were acting off." Theo blinked at that, and then he looked down at his plate.

"You're being weird," Theo said to his plate, and Ron smiled at him. "Thanks, by the way…"

"It's no worries," Ron shrugged.

"Not about this," Theo told him, his eyes still on his plate. "For what you did in D.A.D.A… Thank you for stepping ahead of me like that… I mean it." Ron just stared at Theo for a few seconds, and then he patted his friend's back rather gently.

"Don't mention it," Ron smiled a bit more widely. _Change the subject, Theo is clearly not feeling comfortable right now._ "By the way, you're getting faster at reading the dummies' moves. You did some pretty fantastic dodges today." Theo looked to Ron with a slightly confused look, and then he smirked arrogantly. _There's my mate._

"Want pointers?" Theo asked as he straightened his back, and Ron sniggered.

"Prick," Ron said as he went back to his meal, while Theo took in a proud sniff. As Ron began eating, he decided to look around the Great Hall in order to see if the Professors had returned. _Damn. All the Heads of Houses, Dumbledore, and Hagrid are still missing. I know that I left a note in Snape's drawer, but I just want to get rid of this fucking thing in my pocket. Nightfall can't come soon enough._

Ron then looked towards Luna, and he noticed her talking to Padma about something. That's when he saw an older girl say something as she waved at Luna, and while Luna smiled and waved back, Padma frowned deeply and pulled Luna's attention back to herself. _That girl… Is she this Gertrude Swans?_ Ron eyed the brown haired Ravenclaw, who was surrounded by her sniggering friends. They were all clearly watching Luna, and judging by Padma's ever growing displeasure, they were making fun of Ron's sister. _I can't intervene now. Not when I have this damn Locket in my pocket._

Ron then looked towards Ginny, and just like the previous five days, she was sitting with Hermione. Both girls were engrossed in a passionate conversation about something, and Ron figured that they were talking about clothes or something. _Being friends with only two boys must get tedious for Hermione. At least she has a girlfriend now._ Ron had only spoken to Ginny briefly during this week, she seemed to be quite concerned for Hermione being left alone at Hogwarts while Harry and Neville returned home. So in a way, Ron was proud that his sister was trying to keep Hermione company. The frizzy haired witch didn't really have any other friends beside Harry and Neville, and she was still keeping her distance from Ron. _That fucking quill didn't do anything to appease her. Maybe she just needs time, just like I did after what happened that night._

Ron's eyes then drifted towards his own table, and unsurprisingly, he spotted Tori firing her food from her spoon at Mathew. _That girl…_ Mathew just frowned at her, and then he went back to his book. Tori pouted angrily, and Ron figured that she was trying to get a rise out of the boy. The other first years were listening to Sebastian's tall tales, and judging by how he was moving his hand around, Ron figured that he was telling them about his latest session on Ron's Nimbus 2001. And that's when Ron looked to Crabbe and Goyle, who were just smashing down their food. _No Malfoy? Is he 'hiding' again? Hmmm, no Malfoy… and no Blaise…_ Something began whispering about devious schemes in his mind, but Ron ignored it. _No way. Blaise would never go to Malfoy, despite feeling bad for him._

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Near Midnight)**_

"If what you're saying is indeed true, then I regret never reaching out to Regulus," Dumbledore sighed, his eyes fixed on the box. "To think that Harry has been living in the same house as Lord Voldemort's soul. Or at least, a fragment of it."

"I believe Kreacher," Ron said firmly. "If you had been there, you would've believe him too. And he **did** give me the Locket, didn't he?"

"Even I must admit that Regulus has surprised me," Snape said, he looked more distant than usual. "I never thought that he had it in him. Not to mention that he uncovered the Dark Lord's secret all by himself."

"I think we should let Kreacher tell Sirius about this," Ron said, and both wizards shook their heads. "Sirius probably believes that his brother died a coward… Regulus deserves more respect than that."

"Word of this cannot spread, Ronald," Dumbledore told him. "Sirius would have questions for Kreacher, questions which would endanger our own plans. I am still convinced that we should Obliviate Kreacher after destroying this Horcrux."

"No," Ron argued. "Kreacher's probably as bitter as he is because he's been failing to honor his Master's final wish. If you wipe his mind after this, he'll go back to being a miserable little shite."

"And if you do wipe his mind, you'll have to wipe and alter a decade's worth of memories," Snape pointed out. "It would destroy the Elf's mind completely. Which in turn would raise a lot more questions."

"Merlin," Ron blinked at Snape, and then he gave Dumbledore a firm look. "We are not doing that. I gave him my word that I'd help him complete Regulus' will. Kreacher's done terrible things, but even I can see that he was forced into it because Regulus was a moron in his earlier years."

"Very well," Dumbledore agreed, his eyes fixed on Ron's. "You'll have to bind him to secrecy then. The Dark Lord cannot be allowed to even suspect that we know of his secret. If he finds out, we'll all die." _Trust me, Kreacher won't betray my trust. He's too afraid of me to do that._ Ron hadn't told Snape and Dumbledore about his little 'Entity moment', mostly because he knew that they'd off the Elf in order to keep Ron's secret safe. _No, I'll keep Kreacher around for my own use. If I help him complete Regulus' will, it'll win me the loyalty of another Elf._

"So… How do we destroy that?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards the closed box.

"I have a theory," Dumbledore said, and then he drew out the sword of Gryffindor from beneath his desk.

"Woah!" Ron said, both he and Snape were relatively surprised to see the old man just whip out a sword. "You keep that hidden in your robes or something?"

"Where else would I keep it?" Dumbledore asked, and both Ron and Snape exchanged looks. "I am, of course, pulling your legs, you two."

"Uh-uh," Ron blinked. _Liar! He definitely walks around the school with a fucking sword hilt clenched in-between his cheeks._

"Why the sword of Gryffindor?" Snape asked. "Is it because of Ron's vision?"

"I believe that the snake that killed Ronald in one of his previous lives was indeed a Horcrux," Dumbledore nodded. "Why else would Harry ask that Ronald to specifically use a sword? Why else would that Ronald not use his Magic against the beast?"

"So the sword of Gryffindor can undo the Heir of Slytherin's Magic?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Step back, my friends," Dumbledore said as he reached to open the box, but Snape quickly stopped him.

"Perhaps touching such a Dark Artefact is not the wisest of policies?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded slowly. "Remember Miss. Weasley's experience?"

"Yeah, what if it possess you?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore let out a sigh. "You're holding a damn sword, Headmaster. I don't plan to get stabbed through the face tonight."

"Someone has to touch it, it's protected against all types of normal Magic," Dumbledore told them.

"Then let me," Snape said as he opened the box.

"Severus, don't-" Dumbledore started, but Snape had already pulled the golden Locket out of the box.

"Merlin, he bloody touched it," Ron said as he took another step back.

"You two are more valuable than me in the war to come," Snape told them, and then he placed the Horcrux on the table. _Bloody madman._ "That was… uneventful…"

"Don't do something like that again," Dumbledore scolded, his expression hardening. Ron simply averted his gaze, while Snape stepped back like a scolded schoolboy. Dumbledore then planted the sword on top of the Locket, and then he drew it over his head.

And then, Dumbledore brought the sword down with all of his might. As soon as the blade touched the Horcrux, a shockwave of Magic blasted all three of them off of their feet. Ron was sent reeling down the steps and into one of Dumbledore's contraptions, while Snape bounced off of the pillar behind him before smashing into of the chairs. As for Dumbledore, the old man was sent flying over his chair before landing flat on his back. Ron just lay under the contraption for a few seconds, his ears ringing as Fawkes shrieked wildly.

"My head…" Ron grit out, he could feel his hair getting wet with a warm liquid. Ron pushed the contraption off of himself, and then he stood up on shaky legs. It took a moment before his vision became clear once again, and he felt his blood trickle down his face. _I hit my forehead on that fucking toy! Fuck!_ Ron limped back up the stairs, his eyes landing on the unscathed Horcrux. "You tough little cunt…" Ron then moved past the table in order to find Dumbledore, who was just lying on the ground with a stunned expression. "Headmaster? Are you hurt?"

"I… I am still breathing, my boy," Dumbledore wheezed out, while Ron kneeled down beside him. "Ronald… Your forehead…"

"A scratch…" Ron mumbled, his head was still spinning a little.

"No, it really isn't…" Dumbledore coughed out. "The sword?" _The sword?_ Ron looked around, and he spotted the sword impaled through a wall.

"That's a sharp blade," Ron noted, and then he shook his head clear. "Let me help you, Headmaster…"

"Thank you, dear boy," Dumbledore managed, and then he groaned loudly as Ron helped him to his feet.

"Albus? Ronald?" came Snape's voice, and they looked to see Snape leaning against the pillar he had bounced off of.

"Severus, are you unharmed?" Dumbledore asked as Ron helped him to the table, while Snape just grunted out his response. Ron then picked up the Headmaster's heavy chair, and he placed it behind the old man.

"Headmaster, please sit," Ron breathed out, and as Dumbledore sat down, Ron limped towards his own toppled chair.

"Merlin…" Snape groaned, his eyes landing on the smudge of blood on the pillar. Snape then felt the back of his own head, and when his fingers came out of his greasy hair, they were slick with blood.

"Now you have to wash your hair," Ron laughed weakly, and Snape shot him a murderous glare.

"Your forehead…" Snape muttered, his glare dying immediately.

"Heal him, please…" Dumbledore managed, he was still completely winded. Snape took out his wand, but Ron gestured him to stop.

"Wait… Wait…" Ron mumbled. "Let it stay there for now…"

"Are you mad?" Snape hissed. "Come here, Weasley…"

"I promised to call Kreacher after 'I' destroyed the Horcrux," Ron told them. "He'll be even more loyal to me if he thinks that I got hurt in the process… Which, by the way, I did."

"Did you not just see what just happened?" Snape asked, and then he pointed to the unharmed Locket. "It didn't work… Now come here…"

"It doesn't even hurt," Ron waved a tired hand.

"It's called shock, you imbecile," Snape frowned, and then he began healing his own head.

"Why don't you just destroy that thing like you did the Diary?" Ron asked Dumbledore, who was clenching his teeth as he felt up his ribs.

"Cursed Fire?" Snape muttered, and Ron clapped his hands.

"That… Use that…" Ron said, and then he sunk into his chair. "Fucking hell, my head…"

"Albus, let me attend to you at least," Snape said, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop the Potions Master.

"I am alright, I assure you," Dumbledore said, and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you two can rot for all I care," Snape glowered, and then he glared at the Locket. "So much for Godric's famed blade… A useless relic of the past…"

"On that, I agree with you," Ron said, and then he used his left hand to clear the blood around his eyes. _Fuck, that's starting to hurt._

"Fawkes, come to me," Albus said as he stood up, and the worried Phoenix flew over and landed on Dumbledore's right shoulder. "Severus, grab the Locket. We're leaving Hogwarts for this… Ronald, come stand by me." Snape did as he was told, while Ron got up and walked up to Dumbledore. The old man then grabbed onto them both, and Fawkes burst into hot flames. Ron felt searing hotness wash over his skin, and when he opened his eyes, they were standing on a barren hillside.

"That was awesome!" Ron laughed, and then his legs wobbled a bit. Fawkes let out a proud shrill, and then he took off to enjoy the cool night's breeze.

"Ronald, stay here please," Dumbledore ordered. "Severus, you know what to do." Snape nodded in understanding, and then he tossed the Locket away from them.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked them.

"Observe, this is important for you to learn," Dumbledore ordered, and Ron nodded quickly.

"Finite!" Snape chanted, and then he planted his wand into the Earth. A light blue shield began to engulf the area around the discarded Locket, while Dumbledore walked forward before aiming his own wand at the Locket.

Dumbledore chanted something under his breath, and then a torrent of bright orange flames burst out of his wand. Ron watched with wide-eyes as the shield opened to allow the flames in, and once it reclosed, Dumbledore cut off the Cursed Flames before planting his own wand into the Earth. Ron could hear the flames roaring wildly as they scorched everything within the shield, and judging by Snape and Dumbledore's strained expressions, they were struggling to keep it held in place. And then, there was a loud explosion from within the barrier, and the flames went completely out of control.

"Hold your ground, Severus!" Dumbledore yelled, while Snape let out a struggling yell of his own. Ron took a few panicked steps back as the flames morphed into a skeletal face, and when he heard the Dark Lord's screams emanate from the flames, Ron felt his entire body clench up. _Good fucking Lord…_

"Fucking hell," Ron muttered, he felt so tiny whilst he witnessed the Cursed Flames reach up towards the sky. Dumbledore and Snape kept the shield in place, somehow, and eventually, the Flames began to die due to a lack of air to burn. Once the flames were completely extinguished, Dumbledore and Snape pulled their wands out of the Earth. The shield slowly began to dissipate, while both wizards panted loudly.

"I think I got off watching that," Ron muttered, and Snape shot him a disgusted grimace. "You've got to teach me that… I'm begging you…"

"In time, my boy," Dumbledore stood up fully, his chest heaving in and out. "All in good time…" Dumbledore then fell to one knee, and Ron quickly ran up to help him.

"Headmaster?" Ron asked, while Dumbledore gritted his teeth.

"I might have a broken rib or two…" Dumbledore coughed out, and Ron looked to see Snape walk up to them. "Call Kreacher here once Severus and I leave… I'll send Fawkes back for you…"

"Did you seriously not get healed because you wanted to help me with my plan with Kreacher?" Ron asked, but Dumbledore merely smiled at him.

"It's a wise move, my boy," Dumbledore managed, and then Snape helped him to his feet. Fawkes flew down and perched himself on Snape's left shoulder, while Dumbledore kept his eyes on Ron. "Show him the Locket, and swear him to secrecy… Do you still have the pouch?"

"I do," Ron nodded.

"Don't let him keep the remains," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded once again. "No one can know about this… No one…"

"Fawkes, take us back to the Headmaster's Office," Snape said, and Ron quickly stepped back as Fawkes burst into a vortex of bright flames. And then, he was all alone. _Sweet Merlin, we just destroyed a Horcrux…_ It felt surreal, but at the same time, Ron's face was starting to split into a smile. _Entity, can you hear me? We fucking dealt a heavy blow to the Lord of Serpents tonight._

Ron then made his way towards the Locket, the smell of smoke burning his nostrils and eyes. Ron then took out his wand, and using the Banishing Charm, he blasted the smoke away from him. The Locket lay in the center of the scorched ground, its golden form mangled and twisted. A relieved laugh broke out of Ron's throat at the sight of it, and before he knew it, he was laughing and cheering as loudly as he could. His voice echoed throughout the barren hill, and once he had finally stopped, he let the cool breeze wash over him. _We did it! We fucking took out one more Horcrux! Two down, Merlin knows how many to go. We're coming for you, you fucking prick!_

"Kreacher! Hear me!" Ron yelled out, another laugh breaking out of his mouth. For a few moments, nothing happened. But then, there was a loud crack from behind him. Ron turned to face Kreacher, who was looking around the barren hill with a frightened look. "Come to me, Kreacher!" Ron laughed, and the Elf blinked at him.

"The Locket…" Kreacher croaked. "Kreacher can no longer feel it binding him to Master Regulus' final wish…"

"Come here and see then," Ron gestured, and the Elf slowly walked up to Ron's side.

"Master Ronald… You are hurt…" Kreacher's eyes widened, there was a deep gash on the left side of Ron's forehead. His face was rather bloody, and the left side of his hair was slick with blood.

"Look," Ron smiled widely as he pointed to the mangled Locket, and Kreacher's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"It's… It's done…" Kreacher whimpered, his old face twitching from relief and sorrow. "Master Regulus' will is finally done…" Kreacher then looked at the scorched Earth around them, and then he looked to a smiling Ron with complete awe. "Master Weasley is as powerful as the Dark Lord himself…" _Huh?_

"Um… Not quite," Ron chuckled nervously, but Kreacher just shook his head.

"Master Ronald undid the Dark Lord's work…" Kreacher muttered, and then he threw himself Ron's feet.

"Hey, stop that," Ron said quickly as he crouched down, while Kreacher began wailing like a toddler.

"Kreacher is free… Master Regulus can rest in peace now…" Kreacher wailed. "Thank you… Thank you…"

"If you truly want to thank me, Kreacher," Ron started, and Kreacher looked up with a really odd expression. _He's laughing and crying at the same time._ "No one can ever know about this. Promise me that, please."

"Kreacher swears it!" Kreacher laughed/cried, his hands grabbing at Ron's ankles. "Kreacher will never speak of this, Kreacher swears it! Thank you!"

"And no more of those bigoted slurs," Ron added, and Kreacher just nodded madly as he planted his head on Ron's left foot. "Treat everyone with respect, Kreacher. Especially those that the Dark Lord persecutes. Master Regulus gave his life for yours, so honor him by defying the ideals of the man who as good as murdered him."

"Yes, Master Ronald," Kreacher sniffled loudly. "Thank you…"

"Please, stand up…" Ron sighed, and then he helped the old Elf to his feet. _Not a fan of people worshiping my feet like that._ "Go back home now, Kreacher. And remember… No one can know…"

"No one will know," Kreacher sobbed, and then he gave Ron a gummy smile. Ron gave him a weak smile in return, and after looking at the mangled Locket one more time, Kreacher disapparated. Ron then turned his attention to the Locket's remains, and he slowly reached for it.

"Wait… Glacius!" Ron chanted, and the muscles in his left hand tightened. Ron picked up the Locket with his left hand, and its hot surface sizzled upon Ron's touch. Ron didn't really feel anything, and before he could, he quickly tossed the Locket inside the Warded pouch. A feeling of pure relief settled into his chest, and he let out another joyous laugh. Ron then held his arms out to his sides, tilted his head back, and as the cool breeze washed over him, Ron felt an incredible sense of power flood his veins.

" _ **AAAAGHHH!**_ " Ron roared, and lightning cracked through the sky above him. Birds from almost a thousand yards away began shrieking as they fled their nests, while all the other animals scurried towards their holes.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Boom! I hope you guys enjoyed that! The good guys landed a devastating blow to the Dark Lord in this Chapter, and no, he didn't feel it. That whole 'sensing the Horcrox's death' was a Movie thing. That's two Horcruxes down, a bunch to go!**

 **More from Harry, Neville, Draco, and others, during the next chapter!**

 **See you guys on Thursday!**


	78. Chapter 78 - Change

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapt** **er 78 is finished! Now, before I let you go forward, I just felt the need to say this:**

 **In Defense of Harry Potter:** **(this is for the people who Pmed me in order to call me a basher... I figured that this would be easier.)**

 **I am not trying to bash his character. It's not bashing if a character does something that you don't like. It would be bashing if I exaggerated Harry's flaws to an insane level. As it is, I don't think that I've done that.**

 **Harry has an Auror's mindset, and he's very self-righteous. If he doesn't like someone, or something, he starts investigating. In the first book, he investigated the Stone, Snape, and the Forbidden Corridor. This is a first year who actively begins meddling in affairs way beyond his understanding, and all because he feels like something is wrong.**

 **Second book, he starts hunting for the Heir of Slytherin. Even going as far as to blow up a classroom, kidnap fellow students, steal their identities, break into Slytherin, and spy on Draco Malfoy. (Pretty fucked up shit if you think about it.)**

 **Third book, he actively wants to seek out Sirius Black once he learns of 'Sirius's crimes'. He constantly breaks the rules in order to sneak into Hogsmeade, and no, just because your scummy caretakers didn't sign the form doesn't mean that the rules don't apply to you. There are fucking Dementors out there, Harry. And they want your dick... Soul... I meant soul.**

 **And the sixth book showed this trait of his even more. He began investigating Draco, had him followed, followed Draco himself, used some Curse that he had no clue about on him, and barely acknowledged the fact that he nearly killed a person. Yeah, he felt really guilty... But he faced no real consequences, did he? No expulsion... nothing.**

 **Now this all doesn't make him a bad person, that's just a part of who he is. He is a natural born Auror, in my opinion. So yeah, him investigating Ron like that is quite underhanded, but it's nothing new. Harry's done worse in Canon, but in Canon, he was the protagonist. But since we see things mostly from Ron's POV, people are rooting for our favorite red-head.**

 **It's all about perspective, that's why I have so many POVs. This story isn't just about Ron, that would just be boring. Everyone has their own arcs and story-lines, which sometimes merge with Ron's and other people's story-lines.**

 **Now...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 78 - Change**

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Girls' Dorm – Before Breakfast)**_

"I'm just saying that it wouldn't be weird," Pansy said, her hands going up in mock surrender. _Prudes…_

"It would be weird," Daphne gave her a deadpan look, while Millie was just staring off into the distance. "It would be so weird. Millie, tell her that it would be weird."

"Yeah… Weird…" Millie muttered, her eyes fixed on the bathroom door.

"Why would it be weird?" Pansy asked Daphne, who gave her a genuinely confused look. "The French Wizarding Community do it all the time, as do dozens of others. Why would it be weird for us then?"

"Merlin…" Daphne sighed out. "Pansy, you need to stop reading Witch Weekly. We're all starting to worry over your mental health." _That's just mean._

"Fine, Daph," Pansy smirked at her. "You don't have to take part in it." The door to the bathroom suddenly opened, and Tracey stepped out in nothing but her panties. "Nice!" Pansy catcalled, and Tracey gave them a smirk and a wink.

"Were you just waiting out here to see me naked?" Tracey sang, her wet hair hiding her nipples. "Perverts…"

"You do have a really cute backside," Pansy giggled, while Daphne and Millie just stared at Tracey. This was nothing new, of course. Tracey had zero issues with walking around the room naked, and she did so quite often. But what was new was that Pansy was secretly starting to look forward to it, something that would no doubt give her mother a stroke.

"I'll be waiting in the common room," Millie said as she suddenly stood up, her eyes darting away from Tracey. _What? Why?_ Millie then left the room in a hurry, something that made the three remaining girls exchange quick looks.

"Weird," Tracey said slowly, and then she bent over and started going through her trunk. Pansy stared at Tracey's arse for a few seconds, her heartbeat slowly speeding up. _This again. Is it weird that I want to touch her arse? That's it, I'm going to do it._ Pansy stood up nonchalantly, walked up behind Tracey, and then simply pinched the slender girl's right arse-cheek. _Woah, it's really soft. Just like mine._ Tracey simply turned around with a bemused smile, while Daphne let out a chuckle.

"You have a soft bum," Pansy complimented with a smile, all the while doing her best to not blush. _I've never really touched anyone else's bum before._

"Thank you," Tracey giggled. "Turn around for a second." Pansy blinked at her, but she did as she was told. Tracey suddenly gave Pansy's arse a squeeze, something that made Pansy squeal. "Yours is definitely meatier. I think boys prefer that."

"Really?" Pansy turned around with a wide smile, she liked the sound of that. "I'll have to ask a boy about that."

"Ask Blaise," Daphne laughed. "That'd be an interesting conversation."

"I think his brain would turn off," Pansy giggled as she sat back down. "The boys in our year are so… boring. Where's the romance? Where's the courage? It's dreadfully dull…" _I wonder if a boy would pinch harder than Tracey did. Merlin, I touched her arse! And she enjoyed touching mine in return! Today is already turning out wonderfully! That's one thing off my list!_

"You really want some boy to squeeze your bum out of the blue?" Daphne asked, and Pansy shook her head.

"Of course not, but they could at least try," Pansy replied, and Daphne let out a bemused chuckle. "You don't want that? What if Ron decided to give you a squeeze? Wouldn't you like that?"

"Ha, she totally would!" Tracey laughed as she put on her jeans, while Daphne's face flushed a bit.

"Ron would never grope me in public," Daphne huffed. _In public?_

"Interesting choice of words, Daphne," Pansy smirked at the blonde, who just blinked at her.

"In public?" Tracey grinned at her best friend, who suddenly began frowning.

"We're only kidding," Pansy giggled, while Tracey just laughed loudly. Pansy had to admit that she really enjoyed the sound of Tracey's laugh, it had a way of lighting up the room for everyone. _I can't believe I used to sneer at her for laughing in such an unladylike fashion. Look at that, even Daphne's frown died as soon as Tracey started laughing._ "Tracey, I have a question for you."

"Sure," Tracey said as she put on her bra.

"Here we go," Daphne shook her head with a smile, but Pansy just smiled at Tracey.

"What if we all started showing our affection for each other more openly?" Pansy asked Tracey, who gave her a confused look.

"I don't really understand what you're asking," Tracey admitted.

"Well, in France, good friends kiss each other on the lips whenever they meet," Pansy pointed out, and then she reached for her copy of Witch Weekly. "See? It says it right here that it's a part of a lot of cultures. According to a survey done by Witch Weekly, just over sixty percent of our **own** Wizarding Community doesn't see anything wrong with it."

"You want us to snog in public?" Tracey asked slowly, her eyes darting towards an amused Daphne.

"No, just a quick peck," Pansy said casually, and Tracey nodded slowly. "There's nothing wrong with it, it says it right here."

"That magazine is really turning you into a menace, Pans," Tracey pointed out, which irked Pansy a little. "And are you just talking about us girls?"

"No, we could kiss the boys too," Pansy said as calmly as she could, and Tracey seemed to shift her stance a little.

"Hmm," Tracey hummed, her mind clearly at work. _Yay, I think that worked! C'mon, Trace… Please agree!_ "I wouldn't mind that to be honest…"

"Wow," Daphne blinked at Tracey, her mouth hanging open.

"The boys are all cute," Tracey shrugged. "Blaise is extremely handsome, Ron is just lovable, and Theo is…" she trailed off.

"Striking when he's not smirking or sneering?" Pansy provided, and Tracey nodded a bit too quickly. _I know which boy she's going to kiss first._ "So you agree with me? Why shouldn't we show the boys that we love them? It'll definitely help them open up a bit more, and our group would become even closer as a result. It's just a peck, nothing scandalous."

"Pansy, where is this coming from?" Daphne asked her.

"It's just an idea," Pansy lied, she really didn't want to speak her mind on this. For one, she was increasingly feeling the need for more physical contact, and her friends were all so intimate already. Secondly, Pansy knew that her time at Hogwarts would be the only time that she got to experiment with these sorts of things. Once she graduated, she'd be forced into a loveless marriage by her parents, just as they had been themselves. Pansy would be forced to have Pure-Blood children, and her chance to live her own life would be over. _I have five years, counting this one. Five years to just be me._

"Pansy?" Tracey called, and Pansy broke out of her thoughts. "Are you sure that you're alright? You just zoned out like Ron always does."

"I'm fine," Pansy chuckled as she waved a dismissive hand. "So? What do you think?"

"I don't think that the boys will agree to this," Tracey shrugged. "Personally, it doesn't really bother me much." _Uh-huh. Whatever you say._

"Let's put a pin in this," Daphne said as she stood up. "Breakfast is about to be served, and I'm pretty hungry."

"Alright," Pansy hopped up, secretly glad that her scheme was gaining some traction. _I wonder who I should kiss first. I haven't kissed anyone yet, so it has to be someone important. Oh, I know! Blaise! I've known him the longest, and he's the most handsome boy in the group._ The three girls began making their way towards the common room, each of them preparing themselves for the day. Daphne was schooling her features in order to seem cold and indifferent, Tracey was dancing to her Walkman, and Pansy was humming a tune as she made sure that her hair was in place. However, as soon as they entered the common room, they were forced to stop their preparations.

"What's going on here?" Daphne asked, her eyes fixed on the massive crowd of Slytherins.

"Snape just came through," came Millie's voice, and all three of them looked to her. She had been waiting for them to catch up, and once again, she looked rather tense. _What's wrong with her lately?_ "He and the Triumvirate are reworking the Slytherin Potions Lab…"

"Reworking?" Tracey asked, and Millie gave a nod without looking at her.

"They're turning it into a training room for the Dueling Club," Millie told them. "Extension Charms, dummies, sandpits, the whole works… It's apparently going to take all day, so no one is allowed in the common room today. We'll have to spend the day outside."

"That's awesome," Tracey beamed. "We don't have to go up to the Sanctuary anymore. We can just train down here."

"This is the worst thing that's ever happened," Pansy said, her heart sinking because of her sudden realization.

"Why?" the other girls asked her, and she gave them a sorrowful look.

"Ron's training regime won't be a private show anymore," Pansy told them, and they just stared at her. "What?"

"I'm confiscating your Witch Weekly magazines," Millie said, and Pansy blinked at her.

"Don't act all saintly with me," Pansy huffed at them. "I've seen you all eyeballing him as well."

"I've never done that," Millie frowned, while the other two just nodded to themselves.

"From now on, we'll have to fight just to watch him get all sweaty," Pansy told them. "Oh Merlin… He'll never remove his shirt now… I've just lost my chance at seeing his six-pack."

"Ron has a six-pack?" Tracey asked quickly, while Daphne's eyes blazed to life.

"He told me so himself," Pansy nodded. "Have you ever poked his stomach?"

"It's quite solid," Daphne replied, and Pansy nodded her agreement.

"It's over, girls…" Pansy shook her head. "They've killed our dreams…"

"I might vomit," Millie fake gagged at them. "Ron's a person, not a piece of meat."

"This is stupid!" Pansy stomped her foot. "Stupid Dueling Club… It's ruining everything for me."

"For us, you mean," Tracey said with a deadpan look.

"Yeah… Totally…" Pansy muttered, though she couldn't care less about them missing out.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Courtyard – After Lunch)**_

"I hope Blaise is alright," Millie said as she relaxed on the freshly cut grass.

"It's just a stomach ache," Theo shrugged, he was sitting on a nearby bench alongside Tracey. "Though he's been gone for a while…"

"Maybe Professor Sprout isn't as good a Healer as Madam Pomfrey?" Tracey suggested. "He'll be fine, I'm sure."

"It's just odd that he keeps disappearing like this," Pansy pointed out, and everyone looked to her. "I mean, isn't this what Ron always does? Disappearing constantly? Now Blaise is doing it as well."

"This is his second 'disappearance'," Daphne said, she was reading a Chess magazine of all things. "Dinner last night, and now. It's hardly anything like what Ron does."

"But he's been more quiet lately as well," Pansy said. "I've barely heard him say a word today… Guys, I'm getting worried about him. This can't be about his mother. Blaise would never let her affect him like this, he's too proud for that. I think something else is getting to him." _Not to mention that he looked a bit sad during Lunch. Like something bad was going to happen._

"Like what?" Millie asked.

"I don't know," Pansy replied. "He's not exactly the sort of person who talks about how he feels. Theo, why don't you talk to him?"

"And what exactly do I ask him?" Theo asked in response. "I don't know how you girls behave by yourselves, but we lads don't exactly have heart-to-hearts."

"Your friend could be in trouble, Theo," Daphne looked up from her magazine. "Don't you care?"

"Of course I care," Theo sighed, and then he slowly stood up. "I'll go to the Hospital Wing and find him… You bloody girls…" Theo then walked off, clearly annoyed that he had to put in an effort. _Why do I get the feeling that Blaise won't be in the Hospital Wing?_

"Maybe we should just ask Blaise himself?" Tracey suggested, and 'earphone' in her left ear.

"That'll never work," Pansy told her, she had known Blaise for most of her life. "At first, he'll just make up convincing lies. But once we call him out on it, he'll just shut down. When he doesn't want to talk, no one in the World can make him."

"Boys," Tracey and Daphne said at the same time, both of them rolling their eyes.

"We girls need to help them open up," Pansy said, an idea occurring to her. "It's why I suggested my idea from before…"

"Not this again," Millie grumbled.

"Look at Ron as an example," Pansy started quickly. "He used to be so uncomfortable around us, but after a couple of years of affection, he is extremely open about it. Tell me, how would Theo and Blaise react if we just cuddled them out of the blue?"

"They'd be irritated," Daphne replied.

"And Ron?" Pansy asked.

"He cuddles back…" Tracey replied slowly, and Pansy nodded in a sagely manner. _It's working. Woohoo!_

"I'm just saying that if we make an effort to be closer with each other, there'd be less barriers between us," Pansy told them. "Less secrets."

"You know…" Daphne started. "Ron did once tell me that the boys tend to… eye… each of us." _Oh, I know. I noticed Theo staring at my legs yesterday for nearly five minutes. I should wear skirts more often._

"They do?" Millie asked, she looked more scared than happy.

"Millie?" Pansy called, and Millie blinked at her. "What's up with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" Millie asked in return.

"Well… You're really tense about something…" Pansy replied, and then she looked to Tracey and Daphne for support.

"We've noticed it as well," Tracey said as she pulled her earphone out. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," Millie replied curtly. "Nothing is bothering me. I just… I don't like this kind of talk, that's all."

"Do you not like the boys looking at you?" Pansy asked, and Millie shot her a glare. _Oh Merlin, I think I said something wrong._

"Leave it," Millie growled, and Pansy nodded quickly.

"Sorry," Pansy mumbled, her eyes darting towards Tracey and Daphne. Tracey was giving Pansy a worried look, while Daphne was just staring at Millie.

"There's no need to growl, Millicent," Daphne said, her voice coming out as rather cold. Millie stared at Daphne for a few seconds, and then she looked down at the grass in front of her. "Pansy, stop hassling her for no reason."

"Alright," Pansy sighed out. _I was just worried, yeesh. Millie's the one who would rather act like a beast than a Lady._ They all sat around in silence for five minutes, each of them just waiting for Theo to get back. Pansy made sure that her nails were done up, Tracey listened to her Walkman, Daphne read her magazine, while Millie pulled out the grass in front of her with a sour look.

"He's not there," came Theo's voice suddenly, and they all turned to face him. "I searched the entire Wing, and he's not there. I even spoke to Professor Sprout, and she told me that he never even showed up."

"I knew it," Pansy said as she stood up, and the other girls followed her lead. "Something's not right with him, and this confirms it."

"What do we do about this then?" Millie asked, her sour mood forgotten.

"Split up and find him," Daphne replied.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Library – Late Afternoon)**_

"Neither of them have written to you?" Ginny asked again, and Hermione shook her head.

"No, and I've only sent about a dozen letters," Hermione sighed, this was so typical. _They're my best friends, but Neville and Harry are each other's best friends._

"Those two…" Ginny shook her head, and then she began working on her essay again.

"It's alright," Hermione said, quickly making sure to hide her hurt. "Neville is in a lot of pain, and Harry's probably fixated on helping him. I'm just worried about them, that's all."

"You just wish that you could help too?" Ginny asked, and Hermione blinked at her. "It's alright to want to help them, Hermione. Don't feel guilty about wanting to a part of their lives."

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione smiled weakly, it felt good to have another girl to talk to. The only good thing to happen since last Saturday was that Hermione and Ginny had been forced to spend a lot of time together, which in turn had given them a chance to really talk. Hermione found Ginny to be quite fierce and strong of mind, especially considering what the girl had gone through last year. _As a matter of fact, all the Weasleys are quite amazing in their own ways._

"They'll owl you soon, I'm sure of it," Ginny smiled at her, and then she went back to her essay. "Ugh… I hate Herbology so much."

"You really should take advantage of this break though," Hermione pointed out, she herself was using it to read ahead on **all** her subjects.

"I know," Ginny sighed out. "Do you know any good reference books on Mandrakes?"

"I could just tell you what you need to know," Hermione said, she wanted to hear Ginny's answer to that. _Harry and Neville would immediately ask for my help._

"It's probably best if I learn about this myself," Ginny groaned, and Hermione beamed at her. "What?"

"I'll get you the book I used," Hermione nodded in approval, while Ginny cocked an eyebrow at her. Hermione quickly made her way towards the Records Section, all the while musing on why she hadn't spent enough time with Ginny before. _I've got four friends now. Wait… Four? Harry, Neville, Ginny… and Ron._ She lost some of her steam at that, was Ron even her friend? She certainly hadn't been a very good friend lately, and neither had he.

Their estrangement had started after Zabini had told her about Ron being a part of Professor Snape's exclusive Potions Club, and it had all spiraled down from there. Even though she had planned to be more inclusive of Ron this year, they just kept drifting apart no matter what she tried. At first, he had started ignoring her out of the blue. Then he had gotten extremely aggressive and bossed her around, and now he was trying to be friendly again. Not to mention that she herself hadn't helped the situation because of her conflicted feelings about him.

On the one hand, he was her first friend. He was intelligent enough that she could genuinely respect him, and he was polite unlike most of the boys in her year. And then there was the fact that she had started fancying him back in first year, feelings that she still somewhat harbored. On the other hand, he was a complete mystery. He had a habit of being in places that he had no business being in, and he was incredibly secretive. Not to mention that he had a violent streak whenever he was 'wronged' in any way. She couldn't help but categorize him as an 'intelligent thug', something that really put her off.

But here she was again, trying to find a reason to be his friend again. Last year, after Ron had brutalized poor Harry, Hermione had been utterly disgusted by the red-haired boy. But slowly and surely, she had started finding reasons to be his friend again. That's when he had mentioned how betrayed he felt by the Trio's actions, and despite not wanting to feel guilty, she had given in. He had mentioned that he was 'left scarred for the rest of his life', and that had been more than enough to break her will. Eventually, they had all made up and moved on.

But this year, they were started to split up again. A part of Hermione blamed the school's Housing system, which ensured that people would be separated constantly. Hermione only spoke to Ron maybe once a week, and even those conversations were timed. Ron's horrible friends were always doing their best to keep Ron away from the Trio… From her… It was annoying at best, downright malicious at worst. Hermione had read that a person often learned to act like their friends in order to fit in better, and she was certain that Ron was behaving like a typical Slytherin lately simply to impress his House-mates. _Whatever. I still have time to figure out how to act near him._

As Hermione pulled out the Herbology book, she heard loud shuffling from the aisle behind her. It sounded like someone was fighting, and so Hermione quickly went to investigate. _Who would fight in a…_ Her thoughts stopped the moment she saw two fifth years kissing passionately, and upon seeing this bizarre sight, her entire body stilled. The girl, who was a Hufflepuff, was perked up against the shelf, while the boy, who was a Slytherin, was holding her up by her thighs. It was a grotesque sight in Hermione's opinion, they looked like their mouths were having a brawl. But a part of her could only stand there and stare. _Hermione, you need to stop this. This is a Library… First years could walk in on these two._

"Ahem…" Hermione cleared her throat, and the two lovers shot apart instantly. "This… This is a Library…"

"Oh, well-spotted," the Hufflepuff frowned, she had figured that Pince had found them.

"You can't do… that… in a Library," Hermione said a little more firmly, and both the older students exchanged looks. The Slytherin boy then sneered at her, and she knew what was coming.

"Fuck off, 'five-seconds'," the boy spat out, and Hermione frowned at him. _God, I resent that. But at least he didn't call me a 'Mud-Blood'._

"Fine then," Hermione said as she turned around. "I'll just get Madam Pince to sort you two out."

"We're leaving," the Hufflepuff sighed out. "Septimus, let's just go…" _Hmph, that's what I thought._ The boy grumbled something under his breath, but he left with his girlfriend nonetheless. Once they were out of sight, Hermione released a shaky breath. _Those two were trying to have intercourse right in the middle of the Library. What's wrong with some people? First years shouldn't have to see something like that._ Hermione then made her way back to Ginny, and once she handed the book to the grateful redhead, she dropped heavily into her seat.

"Um… Are you alright?" Ginny asked. "You look really flushed, Hermione." Hermione drew in a deep breath in an effort to slow down her excited heartbeat, while Ginny just stared at her. "What happened?"

"I just saw two older students going at it like animals in the middle of the Library," Hermione shook her head, while Ginny let out a snort. "It's not funny, Ginny. It was disgusting."

"Then why are you blushing?" Ginny asked, and Hermione flushed even more. "It happens all the time at Hogwarts, Hermione. Just ignore it like the rest of us."

"It's not proper behavior," Hermione argued. "They should keep their… affairs… behind closed doors. I wish that your brother Percy had been there to scold them." _And give them detentions. When I become a prefect, I'm going to crack down on this sort of behavior._

"Ha, Percy," Ginny laughed, and Hermione blinked at her.

"What?" Hermione asked, but Ginny just kept chuckling to herself. "What's so funny?"

"Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise me that you won't tell a soul," Ginny said, her perfect face lighting up.

"Alright, I promise," Hermione nodded, and Ginny leaned forward.

"I went to see Percy a week ago, and as I entered his Head Boy Office, I caught him shagging his girlfriend into his desk," Ginny sniggered, whereas Hermione's jaw dropped open. _Shagging? Who says that?!_ "They didn't notice me at the door, so I just quickly ran off."

"Good God, Ginny…" Hermione looked around in a panic. "I… I don't even know what to say…"

"It was pretty gross actually, I saw his arse," Ginny told her, and both girls made a disgusted face. "What I'm trying to say is that Percy really has no right to tell people off for getting frisky with each other."

"Of course he does, he's Head Boy," Hermione countered. "And he was clearly keeping his affairs behind a closed door."

"I guess he was," Ginny shrugged. "But still…"

"So he really doesn't know that you saw him?" Hermione asked. _Wait, why am I gossiping about Percy's personal life?_ "No, never mind… I don't want to know…"

"No, he doesn't," Ginny told her nonetheless. "And yeah, I'd rather not think about that ever again. I had the urge to use Scourgify on my own eyes."

"What's wrong with this school?" Hermione shook her head. "The older students really need to calm down with their… urges…"

"Live a little, Hermione," Ginny chuckled, but Hermione really didn't think that this was funny. "Plus, what do you expect from teenagers? Mum told me that she and dad used to go on 'long walks' all the time. She was trying to be child-friendly, of course, but dad went as red as a beet. Never ask your parents about their dating life, that's a life lesson right there."

"Noted," Hermione grimaced.

"Hmmm," Ginny hummed, a sudden spark of mischievousness glinting in her eyes. "So… Hermione…"

"Yes, Ginny?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you like any boys?" Ginny asked, and Hermione blinked at her.

"Pardon?" Hermione asked, were they about to have a 'girl talk'? _I've never had one before. God, what do I do? Just ask her what she just asked you._ "Do you like any boys?"

"You have to answer my question first," Ginny chuckled, and Hermione mentally smacked herself. _Of course, I'm a moron._

"I don't really… I think…" Hermione managed awkwardly. "What about you?" _We all know who she likes._

"Which boy's taken your fancy?" Ginny asked her, completely ignoring Hermione's question.

"None really," Hermione shrugged lamely, while Ginny just smirked at her.

"Not even Ron?" Ginny asked, and Hermione's face burned with shame.

"Uh… Um… What about you and Harry?" Hermione blurted out, and Ginny lost her smirk.

"Yeah, I don't think that he likes me that way," Ginny said, and Hermione just nodded dumbly. "So everyone really knows that I have a thing for him?"

"It's not hard to miss," Hermione gave a weak smile. "Harry can be a little… thick, but I think he knows too."

"But still nothing, huh?" Ginny sighed out, she looked rather crestfallen all of a sudden.

"No, I guess not," Hermione responded, she really had no idea what to say to Ginny. _Should I just tell her that he's not interested? He's told Neville and me that he doesn't like the way Ginny looks at him. No, Hermione. That would just hurt her feelings. C'mon, use that brain of yours. Figure out a way to help Ginny, whilst also helping Harry._

"Maybe he'll come around?" Hermione suggested. _Why did I phrase that as a question?!_

"Maybe," Ginny muttered. _Alright, time for a new tactic._

"How about you try and find someone else?" Hermione suggested, and Ginny blinked at her. "You know… Go out with someone else until Harry gets wiser, or something…"

"Are you saying that I should move on?" Ginny asked slowly, and Hermione nodded.

"What's the point of pining after someone who doesn't fancy you back?" Hermione asked, and Ginny looked down at her essay. _She's mulling it over. Good._ They both did their work for five minutes, but in all honesty, Ginny was clearly plotting something. Hermione decided that until Ginny started talking, she herself would just stay quiet.

"We should both do it," Ginny suddenly broke the silence, and Hermione looked up from her book.

"Do what?" Hermione asked. _Move on from Harry? Yeah, I can't really do that because I don't see him that way._

"Find someone new, obviously," Ginny said haughtily. "I know you like Ron, Hermione. It's pretty hard to miss."

"I don't…" Hermione mumbled, her eyes going back to her book. _I think. I'm not too sure, to be honest._

"Yes, you do," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Though why you do is beyond me." _Huh?_

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Ha, got you," Ginny grinned, and Hermione mentally smacked herself once again. "But seriously though, why do you like him? Is it for the same reasons as pretty much every girl in third year or lower?"

"What reasons are those?" Hermione asked, hoping to keep the conversation away from herself.

"You know what I mean," Ginny said. "Ron is 'so amazing at everything he does', or 'he's a Prodigy', or 'he's Merlin's second coming'… That rubbish." _Wow, she's clearly not a fan of her own brother's fame._

"No one has ever claimed him to be Merlin reborn," Hermione pointed out, but Ginny simply shrugged. "And Ron is pretty amazing at a lot of things… And he is a Prodigy…" _Even though I get the same grades as him._

"No, he's not," Ginny waved a dismissive hand, and Hermione blinked at her. "Trust me, I grew up with him. I used to get better marks than him in mum's tests, and I swear to Merlin, Ron used to be the slowest person around."

"I don't believe that," Hermione shook her head, but Ginny gave her a meaningful look.

"He started getting Percy to tutor him years before he came to Hogwarts," Ginny told Hermione, who just stared at the red-haired girl. "One day, out of the blue, he started studying constantly. I used to hate it because I wanted to play with him, but he was adamant about 'becoming stronger'. Those were his exact words, believe it or not."

"So one day, a switch just flipped in his brain?" Hermione asked. "And you said that Percy taught him everything?"

"Yeah," Ginny nodded, and Hermione was honestly jarred.

"He already knew everything that we were going to study?" Hermione asked slowly, and Ginny shrugged.

"Probably," Ginny replied. "What else would my brothers teach him?"

"Brothers?" Hermione asked.

"Percy and Charlie," Ginny replied. "Percy taught him schoolwork, I think. Whereas Charlie taught him Spells and stuff." _He had years' worth of advantage over me?_ "Yeah, sorry to break it to you, but my brother is no 'Prodigy'. He's always been good at Chess, sure, but that's it. This whole character that he's built about himself, that's not Ronnie. It's just his way of feeding his ever-growing ego."

"Ego?" Hermione swallowed, this was starting to get to her. _If Ginny's right about her brother, then Ron's a cheat._

"C'mon, Hermione," Ginny gave the confused girl a deadpan look. "The way he's bringing everyone together for this study group, whilst also taking all the first years under his wing… Colin told me all about how much the first years loved him last week. I think he loves the attention they all give him, and so he keeps bringing in more and more people."

"What about his Occlumency? Or the fact that he… that he beat me in five seconds?" Hermione asked quietly. "Or his use of Wandless Magic?"

"That… That is definitely odd," Ginny nodded. "I guess he is really powerful now, but it wasn't always like that. Ronnie was just… Ronnie. Not this would-be Slytherin king that he sees himself as now. Personally, I love the brother that I grew up with. But this version of him, the one who physically abuses people with no remorse, I just can't bring myself to like. I mean, remember what he did to Harry last year? It was disgusting."

"It was…" Hermione agreed.

"And how he used the Dark Arts against Harry this year?" Ginny pointed out, and Hermione nodded along. _She makes a lot of good points… Points that I've deliberated upon myself._ "So yeah… Honestly, what do you see in him? He's not like us, Hermione."

"I guess it's mostly because he's the first friend that I ever made," Hermione replied weakly. "He was kind to me, even when I was really horrible to him. And he saved my life from the Mountain Troll. He even helped us with…" she trailed off.

"With what?" Ginny asked.

"A Dragon," Hermione replied quickly, she couldn't discuss the Philosopher's stone with Ginny.

"Yeah, he did tell us about that," Ginny nodded. "I guess he was still Ronnie back in first year… But now he's almost unrecognizable to me."

"You miss him?" Hermione asked.

"I miss the brother that I grew up with," Ginny sighed out. "Anyway, we're talking about you here."

"I suppose I used to fancy him," Hermione said slowly. "But so much has happened in the last two years, and most of it has been bad. He's too secretive, and there's just too much about him that doesn't make any sense. And what he did to Harry… I'll never forget that. So I guess, I don't really fancy him now. I'm just… attracted… to him… I suppose…"

"Don't be embarrassed, Hermione," Ginny said quickly. "It's just us two girls here. No one will hear of this, I promise."

"Well, there's nothing more to say," Hermione breathed out, 'girl talk' was exhausting.

"So you agree with me? That we should both try and find someone new?" Ginny asked.

"We **can** just focus on our studies instead," Hermione suggested, and Ginny pulled a face.

"Boooriiing," Ginny drawled out, and Hermione let out a giggle. "C'mon, let's think of who's good to date."

"I don't know," Hermione said, her lips twitching up.

"Just do it," Ginny insisted, and Hermione gave a reluctant nod. _Guess we'll show them, huh?_

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

They never did manage to find Blaise, and now Pansy was beginning to panic. All thoughts of her girly schemes were long forgotten, and she couldn't think of them even if she tried to. She knew Blaise better than most, and so she knew that he'd never just disappear like this. Something was wrong with him, even if everyone else kept telling her otherwise. Theo was the only one that believed her, as he too understood Blaise's patterns.

Blaise was quiet, but never solitary. He wasn't as cold as he was observant, something which she had always noticed about him. Even as children, he barely ever took part in the bullying of Millie, and later, Tracey. He was content to simply exist within **a** group. Which is why his sudden disappearances was getting to her. Had he found another group? This group meant everything to Pansy, it was a constant source of support and laughs, something that she never got from her own Family. And Blaise, he was a key member of this group.

"Hello," came Ron's voice, and they all looked to him with relieved smiles. _Finally! He'll figure this out!_ As soon as Ron sat down, he looked to his left. "Where's Blaise?"

"Missing," Pansy said immediately, and Ron looked to her with a confused look. "Ron, we can't find him anywhere. We've spent the whole day searching for him."

"Pansy, please calm down," Millie said gently, but how could she calm down? _This group needs him!_

"Mate, he ran off somewhere after Lunch," Theo told Ron, who suddenly looked towards Crabbe and Goyle. _Why is he looking over there?_ Pansy followed Ron's gaze to the two thugs, and she noticed that Malfoy was missing.

"That's twice now…" Ron muttered under his breath, and then his eyes darted towards the entrance. "He's right there, you guys…" _Blaise?_ Pansy's head turned in the dark-skinned boy's direction, and much to her relief, she saw him walking towards them.

"Where has he been?" Tracey frowned deeply.

"We're about to find out," Daphne sighed out, she too had begun to worry.

"Sorry about my disappearance today," Blaise said coldly as he took his seat, while everyone just glared at him. "I ended up going home to see my mother… Wedding details needed to be worked out…"

"What?" Daphne blinked.

"Wedding details?" Tracey asked.

"You went home?" Millie gave him a deadpan look.

"You're a bitch, Blaise," Theo frowned, and Blaise frowned back. "You couldn't have told us before you left? We spent the whole day looking for you. What a waste of a Saturday…"

"You really went back home?" Pansy asked with a worried tone, and he gave her a curt nod.

"Okay… That's okay…" Pansy breathed out, her nerves were beginning to unwind. _The group is safe._ She knew that she was being selfish in her desire to keep this group in one piece, even if it meant that no one was allowed to make friends elsewhere, but she had learned the hard way what it meant to be 'group-less'. The first half of first year had been so horrible for her that she never wanted to feel that way again.

"So… How was your day?" Blaise asked Ron, his eyes slowly leaving Pansy's relaxed form.

"Odd," Ron replied. "Lord Greengrass gave me a set of problems to complete, and then he and Mary simply left the Manor… Oh, and I found out that Madam Roberts can't train me tomorrow. She's too busy with the St. Mungo's investigation."

"They left you alone?" Daphne asked, that was certainly odd of them.

"Yeah," Ron nodded with a bored look. "They were in a hurry, that much I'm certain of. Anyway, I spent the entire day in your room. I found your diary."

"I don't have a diary," Daphne smirked at him, and Ron frowned deeply.

"Dammit," Ron cussed, looking extremely irritated all of a sudden.

"You'll have to do better than that, Ronnikins," Daphne cooed, and everyone began sniggering. _Ha, Ronnikins. That's adorable. I wonder what he looked like as a baby._

"By the way, you two," Theo started, his eyes fixed on Ron and Blaise. "They've turned the Slytherin Potions Lab into a training ground for us."

"Really?" Blaise asked, and Theo nodded.

"Isn't that great?" Theo smirked. "We don't have to go to the Sanctuary anymore when we want to train. Just a few steps from our couches, and we can start throwing Hexes."

"That is pretty awesome," Ron smiled, and Pansy felt true horror creep up her spine. _NO! My six-pack abs!_

"You know, the other Slytherins will be watching you train," Pansy started, and everyone looked to her. "You're in Rank A, right? Are you really alright with people learning about which Spells you know? It could, potentially, cause you problems down the line." Ron slowly looked to his empty plate, and then he rubbed his chin with his gloved hand. _C'mon, take the bait. Don't force me to stand in line whenever I want to admire your big bottom!_

"You're right…" Ron said slowly, and Pansy barely held back her grin. She felt Tracey's knee bump against hers excitedly, while Daphne shot her a quick, approving nod. "I bet this is just a ploy to find out what people are capable of… Good thinking, Pans. You're really something brilliant, you know that right?"

"I know," Pansy shrugged casually, though her cheeks flushed because of his loving smile. They all missed Blaise shooting a look towards Malfoy, who had just entered the Great Hall. But Pansy didn't miss that Blaise had suddenly shut down again. While the rest of the group began talking about trivial things, Pansy shot a look around to see what had upset Blaise. When she saw Malfoy taking his seat, something clicked in the back of her mind. _It can't be… Blaise would never…_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Common Room – After Breakfast)**_

"I'm heading off," Blaise said, who was once again heading back to his mother's house. Pansy simply watched him leave, her expression completely blank. She had spent all night thinking about Blaise 'going back to his mother's house', and if there was one thing that she knew about Blaise, it was that he hated being near his mother. _And yet, he's helping her plan her wedding?_ Pansy looked to Theo, who too was just eyeing Blaise suspiciously. _Say what you will about him, but Theo is the sharpest person in this group._

"I have to go to the Hospital Wing," Pansy whispered to Daphne, who just blinked at her. "My period is late…" _Had it last week, but she'll definitely buy this._

"Oh, go on then," Daphne whispered back. "I'll make up an excuse for you, I promise."

"Thanks, Daph," Pansy smiled, and then she quickly left the common room. _Alright, time to find out what Blaise is really up to._ Pansy cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself, a Spell that both her parents didn't believe that she could even cast. _Mother actually called me 'delusional' when I told her. What a bitch._ Once she was relatively 'invisible', she walked quickly towards Snape's Office.

As she turned a corner, she spotted Blaise walking up the steps which would lead up to the Moving Staircases. _Snape's Office is further down in the Dungeons. Blaise is…_ An uneasy feeling began to settle into her chest, and so she quickly followed after him. She made sure to stay an entire Staircase behind him, mostly because she wasn't very confident in her Disillusionment Charm. Or any Charm, really. _Where is he going? He just walked right past the Entrance Hall._

Pansy followed Blaise up into the first floor corridor, and much to her shock, he started making his way towards the abandoned North Wing. _Okay, this is starting to worry me._ Pansy's gut twisted from sheer anxiety as Blaise kept traveling towards the abandoned part of Hogwarts, and she couldn't help but wonder what his intentions were. Did he have a secret lover? Was he friends with someone that he shouldn't be friends with? _Granger? Malfoy?_ Her gut twisted even more at the thought of the Malfoy Heir. _No, he would never do that to Ron._ And then, Blaise traveled down some stairs and into an empty Courtyard.

"About time," came Malfoy's voice, and Pansy stopped dead in her tracks. "What took you so long, Blaise?" _No… No, this can't be happening._ Her Disillusionment Charm broke just as her heart did, but luckily for her, she was still halfway down the stairs.

"Don't call me by my first name," Blaise said coldly. "Just sit there with your book, and let's ignore each other."

"We need to talk," Malfoy said, while Pansy felt her eyes sting. _He really did it. He went back to Malfoy._ She knew that Blaise felt bad for Malfoy, just as she did, but this was too much. They had promised Ron that they'd keep away from Malfoy. They had promised the group!

"Talk about what?" Blaise asked harshly.

"Have you told them yet?" Malfoy asked, and Pansy broke out of her thoughts. _Told us what?_

"No, but I'll do it soon," Blaise sighed out. _He's leaving the group?_ Her entire body tensed at the thought of that. "Just give me some fucking time, alright?" _They don't even sound like friends. What is happening?!_

"Alright, but just… Just hurry up, will you?" Malfoy asked tiredly. "Flint is going to start looking for me again, and when he does, I need someone there to watch my back. And not just during the day." _He needs someone to watch his back? Why would Blaise agree to do this?_ Pansy drew in a deep breath at that, something was definitely wrong here. She needed to figure out what was happening before she made any decisions, she needed to use her brain over her emotions right now.

"You're insane if you think that the two of us alone can stop Flint and his gang," Blaise pointed out, and Pansy couldn't help but agree.

"All I know is that I can't do this alone, and you owe me," Malfoy said, while Pansy's ears perked up. "Look, I know that I'm ruining a lot of good things for you… but-"

"Just shut up," Blaise spat out. "I don't care about your 'changed nature'… As far as I'm concerned, you're still the same piece of shite that you were two years ago. I don't care that you feel guilty about doing this to me, nor do I care about how miserable Flint's made you. Just shut up."

"Fine," Malfoy snapped, and then there was silence. Pansy's mind, on the other hand, was anything but silent. _Malfoy said that Blaise 'owed him'? What does he owe…_ That's when it hit her. Blaise owed Malfoy a debt back from when they were kids. She knew the story, of course… They all did. Blaise had been abandoned by his mother in the middle of Diagon Alley, and if it hadn't been for Malfoy taking him in, the little dark-skinned boy would've probably had to spend the night all by himself.

This one thing was the reason why Blaise had always stood by Malfoy's side, even when Malfoy had started becoming his father's mouthpiece. When Malfoy had begun to turn the group into a toxic environment, Blaise hadn't lifted a finger to stop it. Theo had hated Muggles with a passion back then, and so he too did nothing. As for Pansy, she had parroted her crush's behavior in the hopes of getting his attention. She had been the worst of the lot. _Not this time… Not with my new group of friends!_ Pansy stormed down the stairs and entered the Courtyard, her wand already brandished.

"Pansy?" Malfoy squeaked, but he immediately shut his mouth when she aimed her wand at him.

"You degenerate!" Pansy shrieked, her emotions taking over her rationale.

"Pansy, put the wand down," Blaise said as he aimed his own wand at her, but she refused to take her eyes off of Malfoy.

"You promised him that you'd never hold this over his head!" Pansy went on, while Malfoy just raised his hands in surrender. "You did one good thing in your whole life! And now you're using that to strong-arm Blaise!"

"Pansy, just hear me-" Malfoy started, but Pansy's glare shut him up.

"I'll blow your face off if you come near my friends again!" Pansy yelled, her voice cracking horribly. "Stay away from Blaise!" With that, she stormed over to Blaise and took him by the wrist. Pansy then used all of her strength to drag Blaise out of the Courtyard, but he was clearly letting her.

"Pansy, just stop," Blaise started, but she ignored him.

"You don't owe him a thing," Pansy snapped as they walked up the stairs. "Not a single thing! We're going straight to Ron with this, do you understand?" Blaise stopped at that, and Pansy's own body jerked to a halt. "Blaise? Don't stop… Let's just… Let's just go to Ron…"

"I can't do that yet," Blaise told her, and Pansy turned around with a furious look. But her anger died immediately when she saw how defeated he looked. "I **do** owe him, and if I don't honor my debt, I'll shame myself… You know this… Just go back to the common room. I'll talk to you all tonight."

"Like hell," Pansy said quickly, some of her anger returning. "I'm not going anywhere until you come to your senses. I don't care about your debt, you can't leave the group for **him**! He's poison, Blaise! And he's clearly trying to drag you down with him!"

"That's not my intent," came Malfoy's voice, and Pansy glared at the pale boy, who had just come up the stairs. "And I'm sorry that you think so lowly of me, Pansy."

"Don't use my first name," Pansy hissed, but Malfoy just stared right through her.

"Blaise?" Malfoy said, his eyes traveling towards his childhood friend.

"Pansy, please go back to the common room," Blaise said rather gently, but she shook her head stubbornly.

"No," Pansy stomped her foot, she'd be damned if she let Malfoy get his way. "He's manipulating you into betraying your friends, Blaise. Can't you see that? He had his chance to come into the fold, but he-"

"The fold?" Malfoy sneered. "What? You want me to be embraced by the Weasel, is that it?"

"Don't you dare call him that?!" Pansy screamed, her wand aimed at his face again.

"Pansy, just put the wand down," Blaise said as he moved in-between them. "I'm not betraying anyone, alright? I'll talk to the group and tell them of what's happened. And then… Then I'll leave…"

"No, you won't," Pansy hissed. "I'm not going to let you! Ron would never let you!"

"Weasley doesn't own him," Malfoy said coldly.

"And neither do you," Pansy countered. "You really are the most pathetic piece of shite that I've ever met, you know that right?" Malfoy genuinely flinched because of her words, never had he imagined Pansy Parkinson speaking to him like this. "You're ruining Blaise's standing in the House, his friendships, his entire schooling life… And for what? So that you don't get what you deserve?"

"Yes," Malfoy replied, and Pansy blinked at his confession. "I'm done being humiliated by Flint's gang of scoundrels… And if I have to play a little dirty in order to win, then that's what I'll do."

"Malfoy, go back to the Courtyard," Blaise frowned at him, and after giving her a cold glare, Malfoy did as he was told. "Pansy, you need to calm down."

"Stop telling me to calm down," Pansy snapped, and then she shoved him, which only served to hurt her delicate hands. "Ow!"

"Are you done?" Blaise cocked his eyebrow, and Pansy had half a mind to Hex him. "You followed me here, didn't you?"

"Obviously," Pansy replied bitterly. "What? You think that I like to stroll around in the abandoned parts of the school? Of course I followed you. I figured out that your entire story was a lie. Your mother's house, Blaise? Really?"

"Yeah, not my best…" Blaise sighed, his right hand rubbing his forehead. Pansy quickly reached forward and took his left hand.

"Come back with me," Pansy urged. "We'll tell the group about what Malfoy is trying to do to you, and they'll sort him out. You don't have to become an outcast for someone like him."

"It's more complicated than that," Blaise squeezed her hand, something that confused Pansy for a moment. "They've been hurting him, Pans. Really hurting him. And now Flint's girlfriend, who's apparently a skilled Healer, has joined in. They don't have to hold back on him now."

"Why is that your problem?" Pansy asked. "And don't say that you owe him."

"I do owe him," Blaise told her. "You think that he'll just let it go if I don't help him now. He'll tell my mother, who is obsessed with her self-image. I can either help him, or be forced into helping him. Not to mention that I **do** feel bad for him… I know that I'm not supposed to, not after all the shite that he's pulled over the last two years… But I still do. And I know that you do too."

"I do, but I'm not willing to destroy the group for his sake," Pansy argued.

"The group will be fine without me," Blaise sighed, and Pansy felt her blood boil. "Ron will-"

"He'll be devastated," Pansy cut in. "And then, he'll get angry. Do you really want that, Blaise? Do you really want Ron to drag you back into the group?" _I'll make sure that he does._ Blaise swallowed thickly at that, he really didn't want Ron feeling 'betrayed' by his actions. "We'll figure something out, alright? Just come back with me."

"You sound like Malfoy now," Blaise chuckled mirthlessly. "What's there to figure out? Either way, I'm completely buggered. If I don't help Malfoy, I'll shame myself and my psychotic mother."

"She's the reason why you owe him in the first place," Pansy hissed out.

"You really think that she'll see that?" Blaise asked, and Pansy deflated a bit. "I either help him, or I turn into some… failure… that can't even repay his own debts."

"And if you do help him, you'll be an outcast like him," Pansy pointed out, but Blaise just shrugged weakly.

"I'm buggered, Pans," Blaise said in a resigned voice. "The Triumvirate will turn their backs on me, just as they did to him. Flint will start coming after us both, he'll never give up his control over the Malfoy Heir. From what Malfoy's told me, that Troll enjoys his newfound sense of power too much. But none of that even compares to what Ron might do when he finds out. Malfoy has no idea what's coming for him, but I do… And I'll have to stand by his side when it comes."

"We won't think of you as some failure, Blaise," Pansy said quickly. "You're doing this to yourself! Why can't you see that?!"

"I owe him," Blaise repeated, and Pansy grit her teeth. "I repay my debts." _Stubborn idiot!_

"He's using your pride against you," Pansy bit out. "He's trying to drag you down with him. He's a miserable, angry little brat… And he doesn't want you to be happy when he's not. So what does he do? He uses **the one good thing** that he's ever done in his life against you. Why doesn't he just owl his parents, huh? Why doesn't he tell the teachers about this? Why does he have to involve **you**?"

"His own Godfather knows about his current situation, and he's doing nothing about it," Blaise replied, and Pansy blinked at him. _That's got to be a lie._ "The Triumvirate really don't care about him. As for his parents… They don't know about this. He hasn't told them, and he doesn't plan to either. But none of that even matters because he's called in his chit. Pansy, just go already…"

"No," Pansy shook her head, and Blaise frowned at her. "You're not leaving the group."

"You're being unreasonable," Blaise said, and Pansy scoffed at him.

"I'm being unreasonable, he says," Pansy frowned back. "I'm not leaving you here with him. You two don't stand a chance against Flint's group, and once the Triumvirate learn that you've thrown your lot in with Malfoy, they'll come after you as well. Not to mention that you're giving Malfoy a leg to stand on. You and I both know what he's really like, Blaise. He'll turn even the slightest advantage into a problem for our friends. And I won't just let you help him." _Merlin, how am I still going at it? Usually, I'd have tucked tail and run by now._

"Then you do what you have to, Pansy," Blaise said coldly, and then he turned around and left.

"I fucking will then!" Pansy yelled, and then she stormed off towards the common room.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Slytherin Training Area – After Breakfast)**_

The new Slytherin Training Area was quite impressive, and judging by the amount of people using it, Ron knew that this was a smart call. The Triumvirate clearly wanted to secure as many House Points as possible from the Dueling Club, and considering that Snape was incredibly competitive, this was all destined to be. Ron could even see his first years throwing Jinxes at each other, all of them laughing and bonding.

Ron wanted to join them, of course, but there was something that he wanted even more. He had decided that he needed to just grow a pair already, and finally ask Daphne out. He had been putting it off constantly out of some imagined fear of rejection, but judging by how great everything was going with her, she'd definitely say yes. Not to mention that Mary had been a little saddened by Ron's choice to wait, even if she understood his reasons. Lord Greengrass, on the other hand, was clearly occupied with other matters.

Ron had noticed that his Mentor was on edge yesterday, and Ron figured that it had something to do with the man's changed Dark Mark. Lord Greengrass was a smart man, which meant that if anything seemed off to him, he'd start plotting safety measures. Ron had no doubt that his Mentor had run off during their session in order to secure some sort of safety protocol for his Family. That, or he was warning the Davis Family. Either way, Ron just hoped that Dumbledore got his arse into gear sooner rather than later.

"Boo!" Daphne said from behind him, and he turned around with a wide smile.

"Halloween isn't for another month," Ron told her.

"Then why are you wearing such a scary costume?" Daphne smirked, and Ron let out a chuckle.

"Shite, that's a good comeback," Ron admitted. "I've got nothing to say to that."

"What are you doing in here?" Daphne asked as she looked towards Tori. "She shouldn't be running around like that…"

"Daph, let her have some fun," Ron said gently. "It's been a really sad week for everyone. This new Training Area is the perfect way to just let loose for a change."

"Fine," Daphne sighed. "But if she embarrasses herself, I'll tell father that it was your idea to let her run around like this." _Speaking of Lord Greengrass…_

"Daphne, let's go to my room," Ron suggested, and Daphne smirked at him.

"I'll only go there if you plan to make it worth my while," Daphne cooed.

"And what would make it worth your while?" Ron asked her, he did enjoy their games. _No, stop procrastinating. You destroyed a piece of the Dark Lord's Soul not three days ago! You can do this!_

"I want kisses and cuddles," Daphne demanded, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Then let's go, my Lady," Ron offered her his arm, which she took excitedly. They made their way out of the Training Area, and then they quickly went towards his room.

"Let's hope none of our friends saw us," Daphne hummed, her smile getting wider as they got closer to his room. _I don't think that it'll matter much soon._

"In you go," Ron said as he opened the door for her, and once she was inside, he entered the room and locked the door. Daphne quickly walked over and jumped onto his bed, something that made Ron snort. "That wasn't very ladylike."

"Neither is what I'm going to do to you," Daphne smiled seductively, and Ron immediately felt excited. "Now bring that firm bum of yours here, I wish to cop a feel!"

"Merlin, you're so weird," Ron laughed as he made his way to his trunk. "I wonder how our friends would react if they knew that you sometimes act this way."

"They'd never believe you, Ron," Daphne giggled. "No one would ever believe you. But if you ever do bring it up, I'll haunt your bum forever."

"Good lord," Ron mumbled, and then he pulled out the letter that he received from Gornuk this morning. As he was stashing it into his trunk, Daphne crawled up and peered over his trunk's cover. "It was from my Logistics Officer. The advertisement firm is going to spend the first month of the campaign commemorating the dead from the St. Mungo's fire."

"Oh, that's nice," Daphne smiled genuinely.

"Yeah, but Gornuk made it sound like a devious plot to win more people over," Ron shook his head, and then he closed the trunk. "Now… Where were we?"

"I wished to cop a feel," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded as he jumped onto his bed. As Ron was closing the curtains around his four poster bed, Daphne grabbed both of his arse cheeks with her hands.

"Ease up there," Ron chuckled, but Daphne just gave his arse a firm squeeze. _That feels weird._

"It's amazing," Daphne said in awe, and Ron couldn't help but feel proud of himself. _An odd thing to be proud of, but a compliment is a compliment._ "I don't know why, but squeezing your arse feels nice. This is so scandalous!" _Daphne's rebellious streak, of course._

"You know that I get to 'cop a feel' too, right?" Ron asked.

"Seems fair to me," Daphne replied casually, and Ron's heart skipped a beat.

"Really?!" Ron turned around excitedly, and Daphne nodded with a pleased smile.

"I'm wearing jeans, so I don't mind if you want to try it," Daphne told him, and Ron felt his head spin. _No, wait! You have another job to do._

"Actually… Let's hold off on that," Ron said suddenly, and Daphne looked a bit taken aback.

"You… You don't want to?" Daphne asked, and Ron quickly nodded.

"I do, but I need to talk to you about something first," Ron said, and then he sat down with back to his pillow. Daphne moved up the bed in order to sit right in front of him, and Ron quickly took her hands into his.

"Is everything alright?" Daphne asked. _Be confident, old boy. Be nothing but confident._

"Yeah, it is," Ron smiled at her. _C'mon, Ron. Just do it!_ "So I've spoken to your parents about something, and they've given me their blessings." Daphne just stared at him at first, but then her eyes began to widen. "Daphne, do you want to be my girlfriend?" _I did it… Sweet Merlin, that was so nerve-wracking._

"As in openly dating?" Daphne whispered, her lips curling up into a wide smile. _Yes! She's in!_

"As in openly dating," Ron nodded, and Daphne let out a deafening squeal.

"YES! Yes, yes ,yes!" Daphne bounced in her spot, her hands nearly crushing Ron's. All Ron could do was stare at her completely out of character reaction, his own face splitting into a smile. "Finally! What's the date today?! I need to mark it down!" _Huh?_ "Oh, and we can have our first date in Hogsmeade! And we can share a seat in public too! YAY!" _Is all of her crazy just spilling out of her?_ "How did you convince my parents, Ron?!"

"I just told them that I really liked you, and that I wanted to be closer to you," Ron replied slowly, his hands were starting to hurt. "Daph… Ease on the death-grip, please…"

"Sorry!" Daphne laughed, and then she hopped forward and hung off of his neck. "We're dating now!" _Merlin, how long has she been waiting for this?_ "Aren't you excited?!"

"I am," Ron chuckled, and then he put his arms around her back. "I'm just a little surprised by… Never mind… I'm really happy, Daphne." _Don't put your foot in your mouth now, Ron._

"Me too!" Daphne squeezed his neck, and Ron held back his pained squeak. _My neck. Ow._ "I really didn't see this coming! What changed your mind?! And why did you say anything?!"

"I guess **you** changed my mind," Ron replied slowly, he wanted to get this right. "I just really love spending time with you, Daph. As for not saying anything, I wanted to surprise you. Be spontaneous, you know." _Let's not tell her that I held back for far too long._ "I'm just really glad that you said yes."

"Of course I said yes," Daphne laughed, and then she pushed her body forward. Ron tried to stay balanced, but Daphne tied her arms around his back and pushed harder, which made him topple onto his back with Daphne's body landing in-between his legs. _Did she just wrestle me onto my back?_ He could feel her arms being crushed under his back, and so he quickly shifted upwards a bit in order to let her pull her arms out, which she did only to push his body back down.

"Daph…" Ron managed, but the smile on her face was all too familiar to him. She was excited, and not in the mood to 'hold back' on him. Ron wanted to say something, but his throat had closed up. Was she planning to reward him? Merlin, he really fucking hoped so.

"Since we're officially dating now, I reckon we should celebrate with a proper kiss," Daphne whispered, her voice shaking a little.

"A… A proper kiss?" Ron swallowed, while Daphne moved up and straddled herself onto his stomach. Daphne then leaned her head down, her face hovering over his.

"You don't remember?" Daphne asked. "I told you that I wanted my first proper kiss to go to my boyfriend, and since you're my boyfriend now, I get to kiss you like this." Daphne then planted her lips onto his, and after a few light pecks, Ron felt her tongue push against his lips. "Ron, open your mouth…" Ron did as he was told absentmindedly, his heart was beginning to smash against his ribs. And then he felt her wet tongue enter his mouth, and his brain turned off.

It tasted like the raspberry jam that she had for breakfast, and Ron wondered what his tongue tasted like to her. She clearly liked it because she was determined to rub her tongue against his, while her lips were pushing further and further into his own. Some inborn sense of purpose warmed his entire body, and he began to push his tongue against her. She pulled hers back for a moment, but then recommenced her efforts.

He hadn't expected snogging to feel so wet, and so damn good. The more they did it, the more they lost control of themselves. Ron didn't even realize that his arms were wrapped around her back, while she didn't realize that his breathing was becoming labored. She had been waiting for this moment for the longest time, and now all of her efforts had finally paid off. So she no longer had any intention of holding back on him, and judging by his enthusiasm, he felt the same way.

"Daph… I need… a second…" Ron panted as he turned his head to the side, and she pulled her head back as if she herself was dazed. He could feel an abundance of saliva covering his mouth, and the fact that it wasn't just his own made his legs tremble a bit.

"Are you alright?" Daphne whispered, and Ron looked back at her. She looked slightly worried, but her cheeks were completely flushed and her eyes were glazed over. "I can feel your heartbeat…"

"And I can feel yours," Ron breathed out, and Daphne smiled a little. "That was… That was amazing, right?"

"It really was," Daphne licked her lips, and then she started snogging him again. Ron pulled her body down onto his even more, while she moved her tongue around in his mouth with a mixture of curiosity and passion. Neither of them had felt this way before, which only added fuel to their fire. Daphne suddenly moaned into his mouth, and then she pulled her head back.

"Why'd you stop?" Ron panted, and Daphne looked behind herself.

"Your… It's touching my…" Daphne started, but she stopped when Ron's eyes widened. Daphne quickly shifted forward, she hadn't even realized that she had slid back closer to his crotch.

"I'm sorry about that," Ron whispered, but she just shook her head.

"It's okay, let's keep going please," Daphne breathed against his lips, and then she moved his hands and placed them against her thighs. "Just keep me in place, alright?"

"Alright," Ron nodded quickly, and then he leaned up and recaptured her lips. This time, Ron pushed his tongue into her mouth, which she allowed immediately. He could definitely taste how sweet her mouth was in comparison to her tongue, and after a bit of exploring, he found that it was easiest to keep his tongue near hers. Daphne had rather sharp canines, which was an odd thing to know about someone. And then there was the warmth of her mouth, something which Ron hadn't expected at all. He could feel their breaths mingling, and her scent was dulling out his senses. _I could keep doing this forever._

* * *

 _ **Fifteen (Amazing) Minutes Later**_

Ron washed his face in the bathroom sink, and then he moved aside so that Daphne could do the same. As Ron dried his face on his towel, Daphne made sure to fix herself into a presentable state. They then looked to each other, and they both smiled like idiots. Daphne then moved past him and began drying her own face, while Ron fixed his collar and patted down his hair.

"We're never kissing normally again, deal?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded as he laughed. They had snogged for over ten minutes straight, and had only stopped because neither of them wanted to take things too far. _Well, that's what she said anyway. I only stopped because she wanted to._

"So, girlfriend," Ron smiled at her, and she broke into a fit of giggles as she hugged his lower back.

"Yes, boyfriend?" Daphne laughed into his chest, something that greatly pleased Ron. _She's so happy about this. It makes me feel wonderful._

"How do we tell our friends about this?" Ron asked.

"Let's just start snogging in front of them," Daphne replied, and Ron had trouble keeping his laughter at bay. "Can you imagine their reactions? I bet they'd pass out."

"C'mon, be serious," Ron kissed the top of her head, his bigger body swaying side-to-side with hers. "Do you want to tell them?"

"I really do," Daphne said, but then she looked up into his eyes. "But you want to tell them too, right?"

"I mean, I want to tell Theo and Blaise," Ron admitted, and Daphne gave him a firm nod.

"Then you can tell the boys, and I'll tell the girls," Daphne negotiated.

"Alright then," Ron smiled down at her. "I'm still so glad that you said yes."

"Why wouldn't I? I haven't exactly been subtle about my affection for you," Daphne planted her head back onto his chest. "I don't just kiss every boy, you know."

"I know," Ron rested his head on top of hers. "It's just that I convinced myself that you might reject me. Isn't that silly?"

"You're allowed to feel… cautious," Daphne hummed.

"Cautious? You mean insecure, don't you?" Ron asked.

"I was trying to be tactful, Ron," Daphne replied, and Ron let out a chuckle.

"Well, thanks," Ron said. "Daphne…"

"Yes, Ron?" Daphne hummed.

"Thank you," Ron said, and then he squeezed her against himself. "By the way, you're telling your parents about us."

"What?" Daphne pulled her head back.

"No way in hell am I telling your father," Ron replied, and Daphne gaped at him. "The man threatened to fucking drown me in the River Thames. I can't face him again…"

"Okay, first things first…" Daphne started. "If he threatens you again, I'll send him a very angry letter. Maybe even a Howler." _Really? That's it?_ "Secondly, I'm not telling them alone. It's against Pure-Blood traditions, Ron. We both have to present ourselves to my parents, and your parents too."

"Oh, Merlin," Ron sighed out. "Mum and dad are going to embarrass the piss out of me."

"You think my mother will be any different?" Daphne asked. "As for my Lord Father… Gods, he'll ask us how far we've gone." _Oh shite._

"Yeah… That…" Ron muttered, his eyes darting around the bathroom.

"Ron?" Daphne blinked at him, and then her jaw dropped open. "No… You didn't…"

"I told him that we kissed **only** a couple of times before," Ron told her, and her head dropped forward into his chest. "I had no choice, Daph… He was so quiet, and then he was eyeballing my very soul. I couldn't lie to him, not when his blessing was at stake."

"My father thinks that I'm a harlot…" Daphne muttered to herself, and her defeated tone scared Ron. "I seduced his Apprentice… That's what he must think…"

"Well, you did kiss me first," Ron pointed out, and Daphne looked up with a glare. "I'll just stay quiet…"

"We'll need to plan-" A sudden knock at the door cut her off, and they both jumped apart on instinct.

"Wait… Why did we do that?" Ron asked, while Daphne simply shook her head.

"Habit," Daphne smiled weakly, and Ron smiled back.

"Ron! We have a damn problem!" came Theo's voice, and Ron quickly ran out towards the door. As soon as he opened it, he came face to face with his friends. "What were you two up to?"

"Actually, we-" Ron started, but he stopped when he saw Pansy in tears. "Pans? Why are you crying?" Something twisted in his gut, and Ron glared at Theo. "What happened?!"

"Don't take it out on me, it's all Blaise's fault," Theo replied, and then he helped Pansy inside. "Here, sit on my bed."

"Tha… Thanks… Theo…" Pansy hiccupped, while the other three girls quickly sat down beside her. Daphne shot Ron a panicked looked, while he planned to murder whoever had upset Pansy so greatly. _Wait… Theo said that it was Blaise's fault._

"Theo, what did Blaise do?" Ron asked. "Isn't he at his mother's?"

"Nope," Theo frowned deeply. "He's been in Hogwarts this entire time."

"What?" Daphne asked, her left hand holding Pansy's.

"Pansy mentioned that Malfoy is forcing Blaise to be his friend," Tracey told them, her face tightening from anger.

"Blaise owes… owes Malfoy a… debt…" Pansy sobbed out, and Ron blinked at her.

"He used **that** against Blaise?" Daphne asked, and then she spat out a curse in French.

"Tell him… Theo…" Pansy sniffled, and Theo nodded quickly.

"Malfoy helped-"

"Blaise when they were younger, I know," Ron interrupted, and Theo nodded slowly. "He's calling his chit in and forcing Blaise to back him up against Flint's gang."

"Shite, he's pretty quick," Theo nodded in approval.

"That little…" Ron started, but then he stopped. Something clicked in his mind, something that could fix a lot of his problems. _I don't have to be the one who brings Malfoy into the group, I can just use Blaise's situation to my advantage. And then, I can just play the part of a helping friend instead of a moral philanthropist. I can just use Malfoy's selfishness to save him, and in doing so, keep my promise to Snape._

"Ron?" the girls called.

"What are you thinking about?" Tracey asked him.

"What's there to think about?" Millie asked as she stood up, her face red with rage. "We go up there and we get our friend back right now! And if Malfoy tries anything, I'll make him wish for Flint's beatings."

"Blaise won't… listen…" Pansy hiccupped, and Daphne hushed her as she pulled up her hand and kissed it.

"Save your voice, Pans," Daphne whispered, and Pansy quickly clung to her side. Daphne then looked to Ron, her eyes meeting his. "Bring him here."

"Theo, Mills… You're coming with me," Ron ordered. "Where is he?"

"Abandoned Wing… Courtyard…" Pansy sniffled.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

He had to play this right. There could be no mistakes during this confrontation. Ron knew just how angry he was right now, and he had plenty of reasons to just beat Malfoy bloody, but he had given his word to Snape. So while Millie stomped her feet and Theo glared at the air in front of him, Ron made sure to keep his breathing steady.

He planned to make a big deal out of this, while also keeping everyone in line. He would then drag Blaise down to the common room, and once they were there, he'd off-handedly mention bringing Malfoy into the group in order to keep Blaise safe. Perhaps he was being extremely cold about Blaise's situation, but truth be told, he had no intention of leaving Blaise out to dry. If this thing with Malfoy didn't work, then Ron would tie Blaise to his own leg in order to keep him safe from Flint. If anything, Ron was just making the best of a really bad situation, which is something that he had learned to do after countless moronic mistakes.

"There," Millie hissed as they stepped into the Courtyard, while Blaise and Malfoy stared back at them. Millie tried to lunge forward, but Ron grabbed her arm tightly.

"Don't do anything rash," Ron ordered, and then he looked to Blaise. "So it's really true then? Malfoy's put you in this position?"

"Piss off, Weasel," Malfoy glared at him, but Ron simply ignored the pale boy.

"Say that again," Theo threatened, his wand already brandished. "Call him that fucking name again, I dare you."

"Stop it," Blaise jumped in front of Malfoy, his eyes fixed on Ron. "Ron, I can explain this."

"What's there to explain?" Ron asked harshly, his actual anger seeping through. "Malfoy called in his chit, and now you're being forced into exile with him. And you, being who you are, would sooner face said exile than to come to your friends."

"I don't have a choice," Blaise managed, he was genuinely afraid of Ron losing his temper right now.

"Yes, you do!" Millie snapped, and then her eyes narrowed on Malfoy. "You piece of-"

"Shut the fuck up, Bulstrode," Malfoy dismissed her, and she tried to lunge for him again. Ron once again pulled her back, though it was much harder this time.

"Blaise, tell him to keep quiet," Ron hissed, and Blaise quickly did so. "You're coming back right now, do you understand?"

"I can't do that," Blaise sighed out. "I've given-"

"You can either come back quietly, or I can drag you down kicking and screaming," Ron said, his voice coming out as a wild snarl. Blaise seemed to shrink at that, so Ron quickly stepped into his face. "Now, Blaise…"

"You're a thug, Weasley," Malfoy hissed, his wand coming out. Ron's temper flared, and he Wandlessly slapped the wand out of Malfoy's hand. Blaise swallowed thickly at that, while Malfoy just stared at his empty hand with a slack-jawed expression. _**Rotten piece of filth!**_

"Start walking," Ron loomed over Blaise, who could only manage to give a shaky nod.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Get in," Ron ordered, and Blaise walked into their room. Ron, Theo, and Millie followed him inside, and Theo closed and locked the door.

"You really told them," Blaise frowned at Pansy, who was now just red-eyed and pale.

"What choice did you leave her?" Tracey asked, her grip on Pansy's hand tightening. "Blaise, what are you thinking throwing your lot in with Malfoy?"

"You wouldn't understand," Blaise said weakly, and then he walked over to his bed.

"We understand," Daphne told him. "Your Family's honor is at stake… **Your** honor is at stake. But what you can't seem to grasp is that Malfoy knows how you think. He's using you."

"I know, alright!" Blaise snapped. "I know what he's doing! I'm not an idiot!" Blaise then drew in a sharp breath, he hated raising his voice. _I should wait for now. Once they've all argued this out, I'll suggest my own idea._

"You won't survive a day after Flint figures out what you're up to," Theo told him. "Not to mention the damn Triumvirate… You really want to spend the whole year as an exile, is that it? Why didn't you go to them? Why didn't you come to us?"

"I couldn't… Not until I had a way to tell you lot what was going to happen," Blaise replied.

"This is not happening," Millie growled. "You're not paying for Malfoy's mistakes. He's already dead in the water… What's the point of you joining him?"

"I bet he told you that you two could figure something out, right?" Daphne asked him, but he didn't say anything. "Well, guess what? You won't figure out a single thing. There's no scenario here that saves him, and he knows it. He's dragging you down with him because he's too weak to face the consequences of his actions alone."

"Flint will be gone in a year, same with the Triumvirate," Blaise said. "All we have to do is to survive this year-"

"That's a prayer at best, downright stupidity at worst," Theo scoffed. "You think either of those groups will let you go free? Most of Flint's gang is made up of sixth years, who are also going to be a part of next year's Triumvirate. This isn't going to end at the end of the year, mate. This'll keep going."

"Not to mention that Slytherins love taking their own frustrations out on outcasts," Tracey pointed out. "Your problems are only going to stack up. Please, Blaise… Don't be so damn 'heroic'. Just stay away from him."

"Ron? Why aren't you saying anything?" Pansy asked desperately, and Ron gave her a comforting smile.

"Come here," Ron beckoned her, he suddenly really wanted to hug her. Pansy quickly walked up and hugged him, her face disappearing into his robes. While Ron held her to himself, the others turned their attention back on Blaise.

"This is just Malfoy's way of tearing us apart," Tracey told Blaise, who was now staring at the ground beneath his feet. "He's always hated this group, and you know it."

"Blaise, you know that's how he thinks," Theo added on. "There is no way in hell that he didn't think this through. He's not only dragging you down with him, but he's actively trying to hurt this group in the process."

"I bet he wants to pit us against Flint's gang," Millie said, and everyone looked to her. "Think about it… He knows that we would never leave Blaise behind, which means that when Blaise goes up against Flint's lot for **his** sake, we'll be forced to intervene. Then all Malfoy has to do is to watch us tear each other apart, while he gets away with his crimes."

"That's… That makes perfect sense, Millie," Daphne nodded to herself, while the others gave her impressed looks. "Blaise, did you even think about this?"

"The thought didn't occur to me," Blaise sighed out. "But it can be avoided… All you have to do is to leave me-"

"We're not leaving shite," Tracey stood up, her usual mirth nowhere to be found. "What makes you think that we'd leave you to rot? Ron, tell him that we'd never do that."

"We wouldn't," Ron said, his arms still wrapped around Pansy. She had started sniffling into his robes, but he didn't care one bit. "Blaise, you're not going out there alone." _Time to suggest the barmiest idea since my decision to hunt down the Philosopher's Stone all by myself._

"You're my friends, but you can't force me to dishonor myself," Blaise told them, though his struggle to say those words was apparent to all. "I repay my debts."

"I get that, and I really do respect it," Ron said, and Blaise blinked at his sudden understanding nature. "Your word is your bond, I get it. But if you go out there alone, I won't let Flint's gang target you." Pansy tightened her hug at that, no doubt incredibly happy to hear his words. "Which only leaves us with three options."

"One, you abandon Malfoy," Ron went on, and Tracey and Millie nodded firmly. "Two, you keep going with this plan of yours, and we end up at war with Flint's lot."

"Fuck me…" Theo muttered, while Daphne rubbed her forehead.

"Or three, we bring Malfoy into the group," Ron suggested, and everyone went wide-eyed.

"Ron?" Pansy pulled her head back, while Theo let out a cold laugh.

"He's gone mental," Theo told the others.

"Ron, you're joking, right?" Tracey asked.

"Bring Malfoy into the group?" Millie asked, she really hadn't seen that coming. "You're saying that… You? Of all people?" _I need to convince them that this is what's best for Blaise, because truth be told, it really is._

"Malfoy has Blaise where he wants him," Ron said, his eyes darting down to see Pansy's shocked expression. "And Blaise has no intention of **not** repaying his debt, something that we can all empathize with. And since Blaise is our friend… We can't leave him to fight all by himself… We just can't. This last option has a lot of drawbacks, but Blaise would be safer with us than all by himself." Blaise could do little but stare at Ron, he was quickly beginning to feel guilty over thinking the worst about Ron's reaction.

"But this is Malfoy," Tracey said, she was downright horrified at this idea. "You know, the arsehole who's been a thorn in our side since first year. And you're suggesting that we bring him into the group?"

"Ron, this won't stop Flint from coming after us," Daphne told him, she knew that Ron had some ulterior motive behind this suggestion. Her boyfriend was not the forgiving sort, and he definitely loathed Malfoy. "If anything, it make Flint that much angrier with us. He already dislikes you, and if you do this, he'll have reason to target us all."

"So we just leave our friend out to dry?" Ron asked them, and all of them lost some of their steam. "We just let Flint hurt Blaise everyday? I'll let myself be consumed by maggots before I let that happen." _**We'll kill Flint before we let that happen. Blaise belongs to US!**_

"Ron, you're speaking Parseltongue…" Pansy whimpered, and Ron blinked down at her. _Shite, I'm scaring her._

"Sorry," Ron smiled weakly, and then he kissed her forehead. "I just… I don't want Blaise to get hurt because of Malfoy." Ron then looked back to the others, while Pansy clung to him. "We all care more about Blaise than we hate Malfoy, right?"

"Right…" Theo sighed, while Blaise just shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

"Tracey? Millie?" Ron looked to them, and Millie gave him a curt nod. Tracey looked towards Blaise, and her features quickly softened.

"Of course," Tracey said softly. "I can't believe that this is happening…"

"Ron, your Family won't stand for this," Daphne warned him, and he nodded tiredly. _Fuck me, I can't even tell them that I'm doing this for a better Future._ "Your sister, Ginny, is already at odds with you. Your brothers… They hate Malfoy just as much as any Gryffindor. And your parents are well aware of the Blood-Feud between your two Families. Please think about this for a second. How will your parents take this? How will **his** parents take this? Everyone will realize what's happening pretty quickly, and you'll be under constant fire."

"She's right," Blaise finally spoke up, and Ron looked to him. "All of your work with the Gryffindors… The Golden Trio… The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws… You'll lose so much respect if you pledge to protect Malfoy… Not to mention our own House, Ron… Don't do that for me. I'll be fine, I promise."

"I can take it," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Blaise's. "I'm used to constantly fighting everyone and everything around me… Whereas you aren't. This will just be like the Re-Sorting business, only this time, I'll be on the defensive." _My friend, my responsibility._

"We could always play the sympathy card," Theo said quickly, and everyone looked to him. "When people confront us for protecting the school's biggest arsehole, we tell them the truth. We tell them what Flint is doing to him, and then we tell them that Blaise got caught up in it, and that we couldn't let our friend do this alone. That'll definitely win the Hufflepuffs over. As for the Ravenclaws, they respect Ron's mind over his affairs. It's just the Gryffindors who'll be pissed. Especially the Trio… Malfoy's targeted them constantly over the last two years, especially Longbottom." _Neville. He and I were finally getting somewhere._

"That's good, Theo," Daphne nodded. "Let's figure out how Ron will tell his parents." Daphne then looked to Ron, while the others simply sat down in the closest spot available.

"Pans, do you want to sit?" Ron asked, and she tightened her hug in response. _Guess that's a no._

"Ron, I reckon you need to go straight to them," Daphne said. "If they learn about this from your siblings, who will no doubt be angry, it'll skew their opinion on what's really happening. So you need to go to them first, and like Theo suggested, play the sympathy card. You tell them that you want to protect your friend from becoming a pariah, and that you are only helping Malfoy because you love Blaise. Make them believe that you're doing a noble thing-"

"Which you are," Tracey said quickly, and Daphne nodded her agreement.

"Whether you like it or not, you are the leader of our group," Daphne told him. "You're the one who has to face the music… But if you can win over your own parents, then so many of your problems can be avoided."

"What if Malfoy refuses to join?" Millie asked. "You really think that he'll be content to just join us? He has Blaise in his grip, which he'll use to make demands of us. I'm sorry… But I just can't see this working out for us. And I really doubt that he wants his parents to think that he needs a 'Blood-Traitor's' help in order to survive in Slytherin."

"Or anyone's help…" Theo muttered, and then he smirked at Ron. "If he refuses to join us, or if he makes demands, threaten him with his parents finding out. He has a thing for pleasing his father, trust me."

"His father is going to find out anyway," Daphne countered. "He knows that much. Don't underestimate him because he's had a rough time lately. This is still Malfoy, the guy who constantly united people against our group."

"So what do we do?" Tracey asked.

"Malfoy's a coward," Pansy pointed out, her voice vibrating against Ron's chest. "Ron could always just force him into submission."

"I'll deal with Malfoy easily enough," Ron told them. "What we need to plan out is how this new dynamic is going to work. I'm not comfortable with showing Malfoy our lives, and I know that neither are any of you."

"Shite, there's so many secrets in this group that we can never mention again," Theo massaged his forehead. "Let's start making a list then…"

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Great Hall – End of Dinnertime)**_

Their list of secrets was long, and sadly for Ron, most of the groups' secrets revolved around him. He wasn't really surprised by this, mostly because he knew just how paranoid and secretive he really was. They couldn't speak of, or visit, the Sanctuary again. They couldn't bring up Ron's business plans, or his ability to speak Parseltongue. Theo and Blaise could never bring up their Family troubles again, while the girls dreaded losing their comfort around the boys. Even Millie was quite distraught at losing her ever-growing boldness around the male population. Bringing Malfoy into the group meant that they'd all lose the ability to speak their minds in fear of him using their emotions against them.

Tracey and Millie were genuinely disgusted by the notion of being Malfoy's bodyguards, whereas Theo, Daphne, and Pansy had resigned themselves to what was coming. Blaise was… Blaise was quiet. The dark-skinned wizard had shut down from guilt and shame, something that Ron could understand. It hadn't been too long since Ron himself had forced his friends to clean up his mess, so he knew how painful it was to feel like a burden. Blaise was no doubt considering abandoning Malfoy outright, but Ron knew that he'd never do that. _Because I myself would never do that._

"Let's go," Theo sighed out as the bell rang, and they all stood up. They had a plan, of course, one that they intended to execute tonight. The sooner Blaise was out of danger the better. As they made their way into the Entrance Hall, they noticed Ron's siblings and Hermione waiting for them.

"Give me a fucking break," Ron muttered under his breath, the last thing he needed was to hear their problems.

"Ron, I need to talk to you," Percy said, and Ron gave his friends a meaningful look. They all left without saying a word, all of them except for Blaise.

"This is Family business, Zabini," Ginny told him, but he just stared at her through his glazed over eyes.

"Blaise, can you wait here for me?" Ron asked, and Blaise nodded as he planted himself against the wall. _Bloody hell, I don't like seeing him like this._ Ron then followed Percy out of the Entrance Hall and into the Courtyard, all the while wondering what this was about. Luna and the Gryffindors joined the two boys, each of them looking rather bothered about something.

"Mum sent an owl to me halfway during the day," Percy told Ron. "Neville's parents' funeral is on Wednesday." _Oh._

"I see," Ron nodded. "We're all going then?"

"We are," Percy told him. "I asked the Headmaster for permission, and he said yes. We'll be leaving around Midday for the Burrow, and after the Funeral, we'll be going back to Longbottom Manor for a gathering. Wear black, alright?"

"Right," Ron nodded once again. _Guess I'll get to talk to mum and dad sooner than planned._ Percy gave Ron a nod, and then he began to leave. The twins and Luna followed after him, while Ginny and Hermione stayed behind. "Are you going with us, Hermione?"

"No, I'm leaving straight for Neville's house on Wednesday morning," Hermione replied, and Ron gave her a slow nod. _Then why is she here? She wants something from me._

"Well, I'd best be off," Ron said, and then he began to leave.

"What's your hurry?" Ginny asked as she stepped into his way, and Ron gave her an innocent smile.

"No hurry, Gin-Gin," Ron replied. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long day." _And it's about to get longer._

"We were hoping to talk to you," Hermione piped in, and Ron stared at her. "Ginny, can I have a private moment with your brother?" _Shouldn't you ask me that? It's my fucking time that you're wasting here._

"Sure," Ginny replied, and then she walked over to the Entrance Door. _Is she guarding it so that I can't leave? Talk about passive aggressive. Plus, I could easily go through her._

"Hermione, what's this about?" Ron asked politely, he didn't need another headache tonight.

"I've been thinking, and I've come to the realization that I've been a really bad friend lately," Hermione said, and Ron blinked at her. "For that, I'm sorry."

"Right…" Ron said slowly. "Apology accepted."

"Do **you** want to say something?" Hermione asked, a hopeful smile on her face. _Throw her a bone._

"I'm sorry too," Ron apologized, and Hermione's smile got wider. "Things haven't exactly been going well between us, eh?"

"No, but I want to try and get our friendship back on track," Hermione told him, this was her first step to finally getting over him. "I feel like a lot of our troubles happened because I was… I just had a lot of expectations from you, and just because you aren't who I thought you were doesn't give me the right to get angry with you." _Wait… What? What's that supposed to mean?_ "I'm sorry for being unreasonable… sometimes."

"Thanks," Ron nodded slowly. _I should just accept this so that she can fuck off already._ "Hermione, are you alright?"

"I am," Hermione smiled at him. "Thanks for hearing me out, Ron. You can go back to Slytherin now." With that, she turned around and left. Ron just stared at the bushy haired witch's back, and when Ginny met her with a proud smile, Ron was left utterly bewildered. _What the hell just happened? Whatever. I have Malfoy to deal with tonight._ Ron made his way back to Blaise, only to find Luna speaking with him.

"And that's when we found out that the Primarelos were eating my mum's apricots," Luna was saying, and when Ron showed up, she smiled her airy smile at him.

"The Primarelos story?" Ron smiled at her, and she nodded. Ron then looked to Blaise, who was just staring at Luna with a slightly jarred look. _Luna-ed!_

"They really love apricots," Luna hummed, and then she turned her smile towards Blaise.

"Right…" Blaise said slowly, and then he looked to Ron. "We'd best be off."

"Alright," Luna hummed, and then she pulled out her dozen necklaces. _Merlin, she's got even more now._ Luna's habit of wearing odd jewelry was nothing new, Ron was just glad that she never took off the bracelet that he had gotten her. Luna then picked out a green roped necklace with an orange-pink stone attached to it. "Here, Blaise. You should wear this."

"Pardon?" Blaise blinked, while Ron held back a snigger.

"My mother made this for me," Luna told him, while Blaise just stared at the necklace. "This stone is a Sunstone, it's able to lift the spirits of the downtrodden. It will infuse your emotionally drained body with a lighter energy, which will lead to a more positive outlook on everything around you. Here, you should have this."

"But your mother made this for you," Blaise said, his eyes darting towards an amused Ron.

"She'd want you to have this too," Luna hummed, and Ron nodded.

"Um… Okay…" Blaise took the necklace, and Luna stared at him until he put it on.

"Bye, Blaise," Luna smiled more widely, and then she began to skip up the Moving Staircase.

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat.

"Goodnight, big brother," Luna called.

"Goodnight, Luna," Ron called back, and then he smirked at Blaise.

"I… Um…" Blaise stammered, and then he hid the necklace under his shirt.

"You're really going to keep wearing it?" Ron asked.

"Her mother made it… And she gave it to me," Blaise sighed out. "So yeah, I'll keep wearing it."

"It suits you," Ron pointed out, and Blaise gave him a weak nod.

"Let's just go and find Malfoy," Blaise muttered, and then they began heading down towards the common room. Neither of them said anything, mostly because Ron was waiting for Blaise to open up. He could see that his friend was struggling to even keep his head raised, no doubt because he blamed himself for what was happening to the group.

"Before we go inside," Ron said, stopping Blaise from saying the password. "I just want you to know that none of us blame you for this. This is all on Malfoy, do you understand?"

"No, it's not," Blaise sighed.

"Yeah, it is," Ron said firmly, his gloved hand landing on Blaise's left shoulder. "He's the one who's pulled this stunt, not you."

"I'm the one who agreed to help him," Blaise said. "I brought this down on all of you. I should just leave…"

"Stop thinking that," Ron told him. "And even if you left, we'd just follow you around like stalkers. You know that, right?"

"You… Ahem…" Blaise cleared his throat, and Ron knew that Blaise was getting a dry throat. _Just like I did when I went to Daphne for help._ "You should be furious… I thought that you'd be furious…"

"I am, but not with you," Ron smiled weakly, while Blaise rubbed his face harshly.

"Ugh… I feel like shite…" Blaise complained, clearly doing his best to not tear up.

"You want a hug?" Ron joked, but when Blaise didn't say anything, Ron had his answer. _Nothing wrong with a quick hug, I guess._ Ron pulled Blaise into his embrace, and Blaise rested his head on the taller boy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Blaise croaked, his arms tightening around Ron's back.

"Don't be," Ron said gently.

"You'll be the person who everyone blames for this," Blaise said, his voice cracking slightly. "You're paying for Malfoy's mistakes, and it's all because of me."

"It's all because of Malfoy," Ron repeated. "You're my friend, Blaise. Friends stick by each other, right? Fraternity, and all that shite." Blaise released a wet chuckle at that, and he nearly squeezed the life out of Ron. _My spine…_

"I owe-"

"You owe me nothing," Ron cut him off. "I forgive you of all your debts to me, Blaise." Blaise tensed for a second, and then he relaxed considerably. "Long hug, eh?" _Really long hug… It's kind of turning awkward now as well._

"I… I love you…" Blaise suddenly muttered, and this time, Ron tensed. _I know that we've all said that to each other as a group, but Blaise has never said that to me personally. Only the girls say that to me personally. What should I say?_

"I love you too, Blaise," Ron said slowly, and Blaise sniffled over his shoulder.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Blaise had returned to his usual aloof self, but there was still a lot of pain behind his eyes. After letting Blaise compose himself, Ron had made his way inside the common room. Both boys then went straight for their room, both of them hoping that the others had found Malfoy and dragged him inside.

"You ready?" Ron asked Blaise, and once Blaise gave him a firm nod, Ron opened the door and entered.

"Weasley, tell this Troll to unhand me," Malfoy hissed immediately, and while Blaise closed and locked the door, Millie shoved Malfoy down in front of Ron.

"Manners, Malfoy," Ron tutted, and Malfoy stood up and fixed his robes. "And if you call Millie a Troll again, I'll end up losing my temper. And believe me, you don't want that."

"You don't scare me," Malfoy spat out, and then he sneered at everyone in the room. "Just leave me alone! I've done nothing to any of you!"

"This year, that is," Tracey pointed out, and Malfoy glared at her.

"Don't even think about it," Ron said coldly.

"Let me leave then," Malfoy said, and Ron noticed that the pale boy's hands were shaking.

"You can leave after you promise to leave Blaise alone," Daphne said from Ron's bed.

"I can't do that," Malfoy told them, and then he looked to Blaise. "Tell them… Tell them what Flint will do to me if I don't have someone watching my back."

"You really think that Blaise alone can save you?" Theo asked, and Malfoy turned to face him. "No… You're smarter than that. Millie actually figured out your entire plan, Malfoy. You want to pit our group against Flint's. Two birds, one stone."

"I don't know what you're on about," Malfoy hissed. "Just let me leave!"

"Not until you free Blaise," Pansy said firmly, and Malfoy looked to find her sitting on Theo's bed.

"He owes me a debt," Malfoy told them. "I'm not holding him hostage, he's agreed to honor his word. Something that I doubt a Parkinson could ever understand. I bet your mother is so proud of you, Pansy… Throwing your allegiance to this pauper." _I'm not even poor though. Venomous prick._

"Don't you dare insult him," Pansy glared at Malfoy, who let out a cold laugh.

"Tell me, Weasel," Malfoy hissed at Ron. "How did you make her so loyal to you?"

"I've been told that I give really good hugs," Ron smirked, and Malfoy blinked at him. "Just shut the fuck up already, Malfoy. Your voice is grating to listen to."

"What do you want?" Malfoy demanded. "I'm not letting go of my debt, Blaise owes me. And without him, I'll be done for."

"Don't you care that you're putting your former best friend in danger?" Ron asked, and Malfoy scoffed.

"He's made it quite clear that he hates me," Malfoy replied, though he did feel slightly guilty about that. "What would you do in my position, Weasley?"

"I'd stand up on my own feet," Ron replied, and Malfoy gave him a disgusted look.

"An easy thing to say," Malfoy spat out.

"He's done it multiple times, you coward," Daphne piped up. "You constantly turned the older students against him, remember? He's the first Weasley in Slytherin, and he faced down his own Family to stay here. You just don't have a damn spine, that's all."

"Of course you'd say that," Malfoy muttered, his eyes still fixed on Ron's.

"Ron, can we just get on with this?" Blaise whispered in his ear, and Ron nodded.

"What did he say?" Malfoy asked Ron, his eyes narrowing on Blaise.

"Just stop talking, and listen," Ron said firmly. "We're not letting you drag Blaise down with you, that's just not happening. But since you'll never let Blaise go, we've come up with an alternative."

"Is that so?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow, and yet he was still managing to sneer. _That's talent right there._

"You join us," Ron replied, and Malfoy's surprise was immediately written on his face.

"Join you?" Malfoy asked, and then he let out a laugh. "I'm not joining your band of rejects, Weasel."

"You're the only reject here, bitch," Tracey countered, and Malfoy lost his mirth. _Ha, bitch._

"Wake up and smell the shite, Malfoy," Theo started. "You have no real choice in the matter. You're clearly scared of Flint, and we don't plan to let that twat near Blaise. We're not asking you to be our friend, because we really don't want to be friends with you. **No one** wants to be friends with you. Think of this as witness protection. You keep your mouth shut, and we let you sit with us. If Flint comes after you, you'll have more than one person standing in front of you."

"And let me guess, you want money?" Malfoy asked, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Does it look like we need your money?" Daphne asked him in return.

"Weasley could certainly-" Malfoy started, but Ron suddenly backhanded the skinny boy across the face with his left hand. The whole room went dead silent as Malfoy fell to his side in a daze, while even Millie went wide-eyed from shock.

"Fuck…" Malfoy grit out, and Ron noticed that his Serpent Ring had left a cut on Malfoy's jaw.

"I told you to shut up, didn't I?" Ron chuckled, and his friends started shrinking away from him.

"Ron, I think he gets it," Daphne piped up, and Ron blinked at her. She was giving him a firm look, and Ron gave her a nod in response.

"Now just listen, please," Ron said calmly, while Malfoy winced as he felt up his cut. "Trust me when I say that this is your only hope-"

"I won't be bullied by a thug like you," Malfoy hissed, and then he stood back up and eyed Ron. "You want to take another swing at me? Go ahead!" Ron just stared at Malfoy with a slightly bewildered look, and he noticed Theo's look of genuine surprise from the corner of his eye.

"I'm not a thug, Malfoy," Ron told him, all the while making sure to keep his anger at bay. "I'm just a guy who loves his friends. A guy who would do anything for them." Ron then removed Daphne's ring from his left hand, and after pocketing it, he raised his hand up. "Incendio," Ron chanted, and he felt as if hot steam was pouring out of his left sleeve.

"What…" Malfoy muttered, his eyes widening at the sight of Ron's glowing hand.

"Cool, right?" Ron asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You can see my bones, veins, everything… It's like I have a little Sun inside my hand." Ron then grabbed one of his bed's pillars, and after the long sizzling noise, he pulled his hand back. Malfoy trembled at the sight of the scorched handprint left behind, while Ron cancelled the Spell. "Now be quiet, and just listen to me. I'm not Flint… I won't bother healing you after I'm done with you."

"Fuck…" Ron heard Theo mutter, his eyes were also fixed on the scorched handprint.

"We're not offering to be your friends," Ron told Malfoy, who was now genuinely shaking in his boots. "We're doing this for Blaise, not you. You don't have any say in the matter, Malfoy. You lost the right to make demands the moment you went after **my** friend. Now, you'll be a good lad and follow us around. You don't have to talk to us, because we certainly won't be talking to you. I'll even step in when Flint comes after you. All you have to do is to leave Blaise alone. You will not drag him down with you."

"You're… You're trying to put me in your debt," Malfoy managed, and Ron frowned at him. "Tell Blaise that you're repaying his debt to me… Announce it so everyone here can stand witness…"

"Blaise, this is me repaying your debt to Malfoy on your behalf," Ron drawled, and Blaise once again lost his will to stand upright. "Happy, Malfoy?"

"I… I can't sleep in my own room…" Malfoy told him, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _And here comes the requests._

"That's not our problem," Daphne told him, but Malfoy didn't even acknowledge her.

"I won't be safe from Flint in my room," Malfoy told Ron. "Crabbe and Goyle… They've turned on me…"

"Shocker," Theo rolled his eyes.

"What's the point of your 'protection' if I'm not safe during the night?" Malfoy asked Ron. _That's a good point._

"Well, there are only three beds in here," Tracey pointed out. "So you'll just have to sleep on the floor then."

"I'll talk to Snape for you," Ron said, and Malfoy blinked at him. "And if that doesn't work… Then you can enjoy the floor."

"I… I will not-"

"Don't make me smack you again," Ron snarled, and Malfoy shut his mouth immediately. "During the day time, you will go where we go. You won't complain, you won't lash out at us, and you will not do anything to damage this group. The moment I decide that you're more effort than you're worth, I'll toss you to Flint myself. Understood?"

"I agree to your terms," Malfoy said, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"If you ever utter a word about Blood-Supremacy, I'll yank your tongue out of your skull," Ron warned him. "You will never even look at Tracey the wrong way, you will never hassle anyone from **any** House, and you will never discuss this group with your parents. Am I clear?"

"I agree to your terms," Malfoy sighed out, his head barely managing to stay upright.

"Then we're done here," Ron said, and then he looked to Theo. "Theo and Blaise, go with him to his room… Bring his shite in here. I need to go talk to Snape about getting another bed in here." With that, they all left the room. Blaise, Theo, and Malfoy went towards his room, while Ron and the girls headed for the common room.

"This bloody day," Millie broke the silence, and Ron turned to face the girls.

"Tracey and Mills, thank you for agreeing to do this," Ron said, and they blinked at him. "I know that you really hate this, but the fact that you're willing to do this for Blaise means a lot to him."

"We're a team, right?" Tracey tried to smile, but she couldn't even manage that.

"We're a team," Ron nodded. "Goodnight, girls. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Ron," Tracey, Millie, and Pansy said together, but only Tracey and Millie left.

"Pans? Daph?" Ron looked to them, and Pansy suddenly hugged him again.

"Thank you," Pansy spoke into his chest.

"Thank you for bringing this to the group before Blaise got hurt," Ron said as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "You did the right thing, Pansy." Pansy looked up at that, and then she leaned up and pecked his lips. _Huh? Wait… She just… WHAT THE FUCK?!_

"I love you, Ron," Pansy said, and all Ron could do was to nod dumbly. Pansy left at that, while Daphne just stood there.

"I… I didn't… Daphne, I swear to Merlin-"

"It's alright, Ron," Daphne shook her head, and Ron blinked at her. "She wasn't trying to come onto you. She's just had a long day, and she read that in some cultures, a light peck on the lips is a form of showing affection. Just… Just ignore it."

"Was that her first kiss though?" Ron stammered. "Merlin, why would she…? What the fuck?"

"It's alright," Daphne gave him a weak smile. "Just don't make a big deal out of this, alright? You won't believe just how much this group means to her, and seeing you put yourself into the fire like this for Blaise… Here." Daphne then walked up and gave him a peck as well. "You should be really proud of yourself, because I certainly am. As for Tracey and Millie, just give them some time. They're proud of you as well, but they're also really angry about Malfoy."

"We're all doing this, not just me," Ron pointed out.

"But you're the person who everyone will be angry with," Daphne told him, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I can take it," Ron gave her a weak smile. "We… We never got to tell our friends about us… I'm really sorry about that."

"Me too," Daphne said, he could hear the hurt in her voice. "We'll have to wait now too…"

"How long?" Ron asked.

"Until we figure out how to deal with our 'new group member'," Daphne replied, and Ron felt the urge to stomp his feet like some brat. "Goodnight, boyfriend…"

"Goodnight, girlfriend," Ron said back, and after she gave him another peck, they parted ways. _Time to get Snape._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I guess I should thank you for keeping your word," Snape said, Ron had just told him everything.

"It's not a done deal yet, Sir," Ron responded. "Malfoy is as proud as they come, and I know for a fact that he'll try to plot against me. Not to mention how my own Family is going to start acting after this. Oh, and my study group is so fucked…"

"I understand just how much this is going to cost you," Snape said in a rather calm voice. "Thank you, Ron. I will not forget this."

"Yeah," Ron mumbled, and then he rubbed his forehead.

"Are you alright?" Snape asked.

"I can't stop feeling anxious," Ron admitted. "Things are going to change so quickly for my friends, and I'm…" he trailed off.

"Scared?" Snape provided, and Ron shot him a frown.

"I was going to say worried," Ron huffed, and Snape gave him a weak nod. _No, I wasn't. Where do I even start with this fucking mess? My parents, I guess. Daphne's right, I need them on my side._ "So can you fix up an extra bed in our room?"

"I can have the Elves do it," Snape replied, and Ron stood up. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight, Sir," Ron responded, and they began making his way out.

"If my Godson steps out of line," Snape called out, and Ron turned to face him. "Twist his arm a little."

"I'll keep that in mind, Sir," Ron said, and then he left the Office. As he was nearing the entrance to the common room, Ron began feeling more and more lightheaded. _I didn't take my second dose, did I?_ Ron's stomach turned a bit, and he quickly leaned against the wall. _I feel sick._

"Ronnie!" came a little girl's voice, and Ron immediately shot off of the wall. _Ginny?_ "Let's play house! I want to be the father this time!" _Huh?_ Ron looked around himself, was he having another vision. _Ginny sounds so young though._ "You always play the father, Ron! Let me try for a change!" Ron began to smile slowly, he remembered playing house with her. _She always wanted to be the father, but I never let her. Not even once…_ Ron's smile died at that. _I should've let her play the father._

"Ronnie, what's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Far too many things," Ron replied, even though he knew that he was speaking to a memory. It just felt good to hear Ginny's voice without anger attached to it. Merlin, he missed the days when she used to follow him around.

"What do mean you have a headache? I want to play house!" Ginny ordered haughtily. "Fine… I'll get-" Ginny was suddenly cut off by a boy's loud screaming, and then Ron heard an explosion of sorts. He could hear plates shattering, and cutlery clanging. _What was that?!_ "Ronnie…? Ron! Mum! Ron needs help! He blew up the whole Kitchen! Help me!"

"I know what that is… Some version of me just got possessed by the Entity, didn't it?" Ron asked himself, and then he waited for more voices. But none came. "How does this possession thing even work?" Ron could feel a dull ache in the back of his head, but he chose ignore it. Ron then gave the wall its password, and he made his way inside the common room. He spotted Flint's gang look towards him, but when they realized that he wasn't Malfoy, they went back to their card game. Ron ignored them as well. _I need to speak with the Triumvirate soon. I need to tell them about what's happened. But word can't get out until I've spoken to mum and dad._

"Is it done?" Ron asked as he entered the room, and his eyes immediately went towards the fourth bed. The room was much more crowded now, and Malfoy was already lounging on his new bed.

"The Elves came in and just Conjured it like it was nothing," Theo told him, and Ron nodded as he closed the door. "They also fixed up your bedpost."

"Right," Ron sighed out, and then he massaged his forehead.

"You alright?" Theo asked, and Ron gave him a weak smile in response.

"Just tired," Ron replied, and then he looked towards Malfoy. "Malfoy, listen up."

"What is it?" Malfoy asked in an annoyed voice, but Ron chose to ignore that too.

"Until Thursday, none of us are leaving this room," Ron told them.

"What? Why?" Theo asked, while Blaise just nodded like a soulless husk.

"I need to let my parents know about this mess before anyone finds out," Ron replied, and Theo gave him a nod of understanding.

"Need your parents' permission?" Malfoy asked, and Ron just stared at him.

"Trust me, you don't want my brothers finding out about you," Ron told him. "Not until my mother and father are on board with this."

* * *

 _ **Rufus Scrimgeour's POV**_

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Auror Headquarters – Nearly Midnight)**_

The sound of his cane hitting the floor echoed throughout the Offices, which in turn made the rookies step out of his way. They all greeted him, as they always did, and he occasionally shot one of them a nod in response. He personally didn't care much for acknowledging the people around him, unless, of course, they had done something worth acknowledging.

"Head Auror, Sir, Madam Roberts sent this," came the voice of cadet Nymphadora, and he stopped walking. He then balanced his weight on his walking cane, his right leg had been aching terribly as of late.

"Has she returned from Albania?" Rufus asked the pink-haired girl, who quickly shook her head. "Why? I ordered her to get back here."

"Um… The Minister… He told her to stay, Sir," Nymphadora replied, and he frowned at her stammering. Rufus then took the note from her, which he quickly opened.

 _Rufus,_

 _Minister Fudge has put me on his personal security detail._

 _I have sent back Tonks, she is capable. Use her as you wish._

 _Roberts._

"Why the Minister needs his own personal team of Aurors is beyond me," Rufus drawled, and then he crushed the note in his left hand. _Why is he even there? We need him here._

"Well, Albania is quite volatile-"

"Be quiet," Rufus bit out, and Nymphadora quickly closed her mouth. "You don't run your mouth near Superior Officers… Didn't Roberts teach you that?"

"She has, Sir," Nymphadora replied, her mind drifting back to the beating she had received not one month ago.

"She says that you are capable," Rufus went on, and Nymphadora stood up straighter. "Your Metamorphmagus abilities will be handy for this task. I need you to go into Knockturn Alley and find a young man named Victor Burke. He has dealings with quite a few shady characters. You are to watch this man, understood? Do not get spotted."

"May I ask why you need me there, Sir?" Nymphadora asked.

"The lack of Aurors in this country is resulting in more crime," Rufus told her, his tone suggesting that it was the most obvious thing in the World. "Most of that crime is sparking to life in Knockturn Alley. Your assignment starts tomorrow morning. Go." She gave him a firm nod, and then she marched towards the exit. Rufus then made his way towards Amelia's Office, and after tapping the door with his cane, he entered.

"Working late?" Rufus asked her as he closed the door, and she gave him a tired nod.

"Help yourself to a drink, Rufus," Amelia said, her own glass of gin already in her hand. Rufus limped towards Amelia's gin table, and he began fixing himself a glass. "How's your leg?"

"Sore," Rufus replied, and then he limped into the closest seat. He then eyed the square-jawed witch, who looked completely overworked. Her hair was still kept neat, but her eyes and face seemed to be drooping. "The Minister is still refusing to return, I see."

"He wants us to finish up our reports on the St. Mungo's fire," Amelia told him. "It is to be deemed an accident." _Damn._ Rufus frowned at the sound of that, he knew for certain that this fire wasn't natural. _How did no one manage to escape?_

"He didn't read my report on it?" Rufus asked.

"I am told that he had it thrown away after he read the first three lines," Amelia replied, and then she gave him a sorry smile. "Forgive me, Rufus, but I've tried to convince him. He doesn't want the people panicking. First this fire in Albania, and now one in St. Mungo's… Something horrible is at work here, and Fudge fears that the people will blame the Ministry for it."

"I lost two Aurors," Rufus said bitterly, and then he downed his gin in one go.

"Proudfoot and Williamson will be remembered, I promise," Amelia said, and then she leaned forward. "Augusta Longbottom came in yesterday." Rufus' ears perked up at that. "She wants an Auror's Funeral for both Frank and Alice Longbottom." _Frank…_

"You've agreed?" Rufus asked, and she gave him a nod. _Good._

"As Head Auror, she would appreciate your presence there," Amelia told him.

"I will attend," Rufus promised. "Four Aurors in one night… It's like we're back at war again."

"Don't even think that, Rufus," Amelia said, her face paling even more. "The war is over… It's best to just move on." _As long as I have this leg attached to me, I can't move on._ "Has your squad found anything on this Cult of Fanatics yet?"

"They do not exist," Rufus told her. "We have searched every part of Albania, and we have found nothing. They all either died in the Inferno, or they never really existed."

"Xenophilius Lovegood's memories-"

"Could have been altered," Rufus cut in. "Two fires that left behind no evidence whatsoever? This is no coincidence, I know that you know that. I implore you, Amelia, to speak with the Minister again. Ask him to return my Aurors so that I can look into the St. Mungo's fire. Tell him that his own country is suffering."

"I've tried," Amelia sighed out. "Rufus, I've tried… I've brought up the rising crime levels, the lack of funds, the lack of a Hospital for the sick, and the lack of authority within Knockturn Alley… None of it worked. He told me that the Gaia Project is what mattered right now, that the Muggles couldn't be angered further. A part of me agrees with him."

"What about our own people?" Rufus asked. "We don't have a Hospital anymore. The fire killed over the seventy trained Healers and Nurses. Not to mention that we don't have the funds to build another Hospital because Fudge has handed over most of our treasury to Albania."

"He did what the other Ministers did," Amelia said. "But yes, I agree with you. Things are looking… dire. How is the Emergency Hospital doing?"

"Failing miserably," Rufus replied. "Not enough Healers, room, or supplies. Have you thought of a solution yet?"

"I have, but you won't like it," Amelia replied, and Rufus simply waited for her to go on. "The Old Families."

"You want the Ministry to beg?" Rufus cocked an eyebrow.

"We have very little choice, my friend," Amelia replied, and then she yawned. "Forgive me… It's been a long day."

"So which Family do we turn to?" Rufus asked, he could barely hide the bitterness in his voice. "Malfoy? Greengrass? Nott? Selwyn?"

"Rufus-"

"They will have demands, Amelia," Rufus told her, and she nodded in understanding. "They will demand seats within the Wizengamot. They will attempt to secure important roles within the Ministry."

"I know," Amelia said. "But what choice do we have? The Minister wants a solution, and Lucius Malfoy has already offered his help. The Minister sees Lucius as an ally."

"A snake in the grass," Rufus frowned. "I should've killed him when I had the chance." _And his wife too._

"Rufus, don't speak like that," Amelia said firmly. "The war is over."

"They will tarnish the Ministry's reputation," Rufus warned her. "They cannot be trusted."

"I plan to turn to more 'respectable' Families," Amelia assured him. "The Fawleys, the Longbottoms, the Blacks-"

"Black?" Rufus asked. "As in Sirius Black?"

"He was innocent," Amelia replied. "Not only that, but he fought on our side during the Great War. He was a member of the Order, and Dumbledore trusts him."

"Dumbledore…" Rufus scoffed. "Let's completely trust a mad ex-convict because Albus Dumbledore trusts him." _I've seen what the Black Family is capable of. None of them can be trusted._

"The money has to come in from somewhere, and Lord Black needs the good press right now," Amelia said. "Getting a Hospital up and running as soon as possible should be our only priority. I am also attending the Longbottom funeral, as are the Families that I've mentioned. I need you there, Rufus. I need your help." Rufus stared at her for a few seconds, and then he gave her a curt nod. "The Ministry must provide for its people… now more than ever."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Morning)**_

"Please, Nev," Harry pleaded, while Neville just sat on his bed with his eyes fixed on his box of gum wrappers. "Just a little food, that's all. You need your strength today."

"I'm not hungry," Neville repeated in his dead tone, and Harry let out a tired sigh. Neville was just a shadow of himself lately. He barely spoke, barely ate, and he barely left his room. Augusta Longbottom had somehow steeled herself in order to arrange a service for Frank and Alice Longbottom, but Neville's spirit had only deteriorated.

"I'll leave this here then," Harry said gently as he put the plate on Neville's bedside table. Harry then walked over to Neville's plants, and he began watering them. _The Elves aren't touching them now that Neville is here. Can't they see that he's in no condition to take care of these?_

Harry knew that he wasn't exactly the best person to comfort Neville, mostly because he had difficulty expressing his own emotions. But he still came here every day for his best friend's sake. Neville wouldn't really say or do much, while Harry would just stay near him so that Neville wouldn't be alone. Eventually, Harry had fallen back on his old habits of cleaning up after other people. He made sure that Neville showered, ate at least two meals a day, wore fresh clothes, and that his plants were watered. As for Augusta Longbottom, Harry made sure that she had company for dinner. Even if she barely spoke and mostly just drank from her infinite source of sherry bottles.

"Harry? Neville?" came Hermione's voice from outside, and then she knocked on the door. _Hermione!_ Harry quickly made his way to the door and opened it, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

"Come in," Harry said as he moved back, and she quickly made her way straight to Neville.

"Hello, Neville," Hermione said softly, while Harry closed the door. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Neville shrugged, and Hermione nodded in understanding. "How are you?"

"I'm alright too," Hermione replied, and then she sat down and hugged Neville's side. Neville barely acknowledged her, which wasn't really surprising. "Are you ready for today?"

"Yeah," Neville replied in a tired voice. "You're not wearing black."

"Your Gran told me that she had bought me an appropriate dress for the funeral," Hermione said. "I don't really own any black clothes."

"Oh… Right…" Neville said, his eyes still fixed on the box.

"How are things at Hogwarts?" Harry asked her.

"Classes are still shut down, something that some people are enjoying a little too much," Hermione replied. "But most of the school is still shaken by the accident." Hermione then looked to Neville. "Neville, are you coming back to Hogwarts soon?"

"I'm coming back on Saturday," Neville replied. "Gran told me to."

"I've made notes for all of our classes for you," Hermione told him. "And if you ever need my help, please ask."

"I'll be sure to do that," Neville droned, and Hermione shot Harry a quick look. _Yeah, nothing is getting through to him._ Harry gestured Hermione to follow him outside, and she gave him a weak nod.

"We'll be right back, Neville," Hermione said softly, and then she kissed his cheek. Harry led the way out, and the moment he shut the door, Hermione smacked his arm.

"Ow," Harry winced, but he quickly shut his mouth at the sight of Hermione's glare.

"I sent over twenty letters, and you couldn't reply to even one?" Hermione hissed. "What's wrong with you, Harry? I've been going mad with worry." _Going?_

"I've been a little busy taking care of my best friend," Harry frowned at her, all the while rubbing his stinging arm. "He's been like that ever since he got home… I have to beg him to even eat."

"Writing a letter doesn't take that long," Hermione argued haughtily.

"I'm sorry, alright?" Harry sighed out, he really didn't have it in him to argue with her. _Plus, I hate arguing against her. She always wins._ "How are you doing? At Hogwarts, that is."

"I've been spending time with Ginny," Hermione replied, her glare dying down a bit. "I mostly stay out of the common room in order to work at the Library. I've made notes for you as well."

"We don't have any homework though," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, we do," Hermione countered. "We still need to submit the homework that we got before the accident, Harry. I've already done mine, and if you want, you can use it to help you with yours."

"Thanks," Harry managed a weak smile, at least he wouldn't be forced into doing homework right after the break. _Now I can finally ask Hermione about those MRI tests._ "Right… I need to ask you something."

"Yes?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you know about MRI tests?" Harry asked, and Hermione blinked at him.

"What?"

"MRI tests, Hermione," Harry repeated. "Do you know what they are?"

"I know that it's a type of Muggle medical test," Hermione replied slowly. "But that's about it, really. Harry, where did that come from?"

"You can't tell anyone this, but I found 'MRI test results' in Ron's room," Harry started, but Hermione immediately frowned at him. "What?"

"You searched his room? When?" Hermione asked, and Harry blinked at her. _What's with that reaction?_

"Why are you getting angry with me?" Harry asked. "I've been sleeping at the Burrow, and Ron's parents put me in his room. So I used the opportunity to search-"

"Harry, how could you?" Hermione hissed, and once again, Harry blinked at her. "They opened their home to you… And you took advantage of their kindness like that? Why would you search through Ron's personal effects?"

"Because he's not like them," Harry frowned back. "He's a manipulative liar… Hermione, he stole your study group in order to feed his own ego. What kind of 'friend' does that?"

"Stole my study group…" Hermione muttered, her frown disappearing. "Ginny… She said the same thing… Including the part about Ron's ego."

"See," Harry said quickly, he could see that he had gotten past her anger. "Even Ginny, his own sister, doesn't put him on a pedestal. He's hiding something from everyone, and I plan to-"

"He's not entitled to his secrets?" Hermione asked him. "What about us, Harry? We don't tell Ron everything about ourselves, do we?"

"It's different," Harry said angrily, he could feel his temper flaring. _Why is she defending him now? What's wrong with her?_ "His secrets involve us, I just know it. And I can't stand the fact that everyone just puts up with his behavior. He's always up to something… Remember last year? When we found out that he was in Myrtle's bathroom right after Mrs. Norris was killed? We never found out why he was even there."

"Is today really the day that you want to talk about Ron's secrets?" Hermione asked him. "Our friend is mourning his parents' deaths right now."

"I understand how he feels better than you," Harry snapped, and Hermione flinched. Harry immediately regretted his harsh tone. "I'm sorry… Look, I haven't brought it up with Neville, if that's what's worrying you. I just figured that since you're here-"

"That since I'm here, you can go back to investigating Ron?" Hermione asked, her voice laced with anger. "That since I'm here, you can do what you really want?"

"What I really want?" Harry asked, and he barely held back his anger. "I've been by his side every single day… So don't tell me that I'm prioritizing my investigation into Ron over Neville's well-being. I would never do that."

"I'm going back inside," Hermione shook her head. "Shame on you, Harry. Shame on you for abusing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's trust like that." Hermione then went straight back into the room, while Harry just stared at where she had been. _Shame on me? For what? I'm the only person who seems to understand that Ron is bad news. He's a bloody Weasley who got placed into Slytherin for God's sake! I'm not letting this go! Not until I show everyone Ron's real colors!_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Magnus Cemetery – Midday)**_

Harry, Neville, and Hermione watched as the workers set everything up, while Augusta Longbottom gave the workers precise directions. Despite feeling dreadful on Neville's behalf, Harry was glad Neville's parents were getting an Auror's funeral. He, of course, had no idea what that meant, but he could tell that it was important to Neville and Augusta. As such, some Aurors had actually shown up early in order to help set things up.

The funeral service was bound to take around one hour, and after it was finished, they'd all head back to Longbottom Manor for some food and refreshments. The worst part about this, to Harry anyway, was that the Longbottoms' coffins would be empty. The St. Mungo's fire had left nothing behind, and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophe's wasn't letting anyone near the site.

"Hello, you three," came a familiar voice, and the Trio turned to see Nymphadora Tonks smiling at them. She then looked to Neville, and her smile turned remorseful. "I'm sorry for your loss, Neville."

"Thanks," Neville mumbled, his mother's box held tightly in his hands.

"Hermione, this is Nymphadora Tonks," Harry introduced. "She's Sirius' cousin."

"Once removed," Tonks corrected, and then she smiled at Hermione. "Harry's told me a bit about you in his letters. He says that you're the brightest witch in your year." _Brightest student._

"I wish people wouldn't make that claim," Hermione smiled back, and then she looked at Tonks' light blue hair. "I like your hair."

"Do you now?" Tonks winked, and then her hair turned black.

"You're a Metamorphmagus?" Hermione asked in awe.

"She **is** sharp," Tonks smiled at Harry, who simply shrugged. _Told you so._

"Does that mean that Sirius has the Metamorphmagus gene in his blood too?" Hermione asked, and Tonks blinked at her.

"Gene?" Tonks asked.

"Hermione, most wizards don't know what genes are," Harry pointed out, and Hermione nodded slowly. _I bet she's struggling to believe that. Hell, even I had trouble with Biology. Thank God they don't teach that tripe at Hogwarts._

"When did you meet Neville?" Hermione asked, she didn't want Neville to feel excluded whatsoever.

"Shortly after I met Harry," Tonks replied. "Near the end of Holidays, was it?"

"Yeah," Neville nodded absentmindedly. "Thank you for coming. Are you going to be a part of the Auror's farewell?"

"No, I'm just here to pay my respects," Tonks smiled sadly, and then she stroked Neville's cheek lightly. "My mum and dad knew yours from back in the day. They're here too, by the way. They're speaking with your Grandmother."

"I should go and greet them," Neville droned, and then he turned to leave.

"They're coming straight here after," Tonks stopped him. "It's probably best if you let them talk to your Grandmother alone first. They have some old debts to thank her for."

"Old debts?" Harry asked.

"Neville's parents saved a lot of lives during the Great War, my parents' included," Tonks replied, something that saddened the Trio. _Everything I hear about them just proves that they were heroes._

"Young Longbottom," came a rather firm voice from behind them, and Harry saw Tonks' eyes widen. They turned to see a man with a certain rangy loping grace. He was approaching them with a slight limp, and looked rather like an old lion with grey streaks in his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows. He had keen yellowish eyes, which seemed to gleam from behind his wire-rimmed spectacles.

"Neville, this is Rufus Scrimgeour," Tonks introduced quickly. "He's the Head Auror of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." _Head Auror? Woah…_

"Thank you for coming, Sir," Neville shook the man's hand.

"You have my condolences," Rufus said, his voice was rather firm even when he was giving condolences. "Your mother and father were fine Aurors, and I consider myself proud to have fought alongside them." _Didn't they leave the Aurors in order to join Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix though? He must've fought alongside them whilst they were still Aurors._

"Thank you," Neville repeated, it was as if he was a broken record.

"Mr. Potter," Rufus suddenly looked to him, and Harry's eyes widened a bit. "I must admit, I thought that you'd be taller."

"Sorry to disappoint, I guess," Harry responded, and he felt Tonks nudge him from behind. "It's nice to meet you, Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour."

"Likewise," Rufus said, and then he shook Harry's hand. _Ow! Is he trying to break my hand?_ "And you are?" he looked to Hermione.

"Hermione Granger, Sir," Hermione smiled, and then she shook his hand firmly. "It's an honor to meet someone so high up in the Ministry." That seemed to please the tall man, which in turn earned Hermione a quick smile.

"Do you wish to work in the Ministry one day, Miss. Granger?" Rufus asked, and she quickly nodded. "And you two? Can I expect you in the Aurors Academy once your schooling is finished?" _Yes!_

"I've decided to look into Botany, Sir," Neville replied, and Rufus Scrimgeour cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You take after your mother then," he nodded slowly. _He must've known them quite well to determine that._ "Mr. Potter?"

"I'd love to join the Aurors," Harry replied, and Rufus gave him a curt nod.

"I expected nothing less from you," Rufus told him, and then he looked to Tonks. "The Minister has decided to make an appearance for the service. Stay sharp, cadet." With that, the Head Auror turned around and limped away, his golden walking stick reflecting the Sun into Harry's eyes.

"The Minister is coming?" Hermione asked, and then she quickly patted down her black dress. "Do I have any dust on me from the floo?"

"You look fine, Hermione," Harry rolled his eyes.

"I guess I'd better get going then, eh?" Tonks asked, and then she gave Neville a light squeeze on the shoulder. "I'll see you after the service, Neville."

"Alright," Neville responded, and Tonks quickly left to begin guard duty.

"If the Aurors are here, does that mean that the Order members are coming too?" Harry asked, but Neville simply shrugged.

"Most of their identities are a secret," Neville replied. "I'd wager that some will be here, but we won't know who's who. I should go and greet the Tonks… And the other guests… I'll see you two after the service…"

"Alright," Hermione gave him a weak smile. "We'll be right here, Neville." Neville nodded to himself, and then he left to greet the guests. "I can't believe that the Minister is here. Do you think that we'll get to meet him?"

"Probably," Harry replied, but he was certain that the Minister was going to single him out. People always, no matter how much he hated it. Harry checked to make sure that his scar was covered up, and then he looked to Hermione. "Have you given any thought to what we talked about?"

"No," Hermione replied curtly. "Harry, I'm not talking about this at a funeral. Neville should be our only concern right now."

"Fine…" Harry bit out, and then he stared towards the entrance. _He's coming here today. I'll be sure to keep an eye on him from now on. Maybe Ginny knows something about those MRI tests? I'll ask her just to be sure._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed that! Say it with me people; RIP the Slytherin Seven. Now it's the Slytherin 'Eight'? Yeah... Doesn't sound as good...**

 **Sorry about the rant at the start, but I just had to say it.**

 **I'll see you guys on Tuesday!**


	79. Chapter 79 - And then, There Were Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 79 is done! Bloody hell, one more chapter before we reach eighty chapters. To think that we started only in January... Time flies, eh?**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 79 – And then, There Were Eight**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Boys' Room – Near Midday)**_

As macabre as it was, Ron was genuinely looking forward to attending this funeral. The last couple of days had been dreadfully boring, not to mention just depressing. Ron and his friends had stayed shut in with Malfoy in the boys' room, and since Malfoy couldn't be trusted, none of them really spoke. If it wasn't for Marty sending them food directly from the Kitchens, Ron would've probably murdered Malfoy by now.

They each spent their time in their own ways, doing their best to forget the fact that this was their new normal. Pansy read her magazines, Tracey listened to her Walkman, Millie read a book on 'Thai-Boxing', Daphne kept trying on different nail polishes, Theo read his book on flowers, Blaise was still too guilty to say anything, and Ron practiced the Silencing Charm. And Malfoy… He seemed to take some odd sort of pleasure from his handiwork. That is until Ron looked in his direction, because whenever he did, Malfoy would quickly go back to his homework.

"Right, I'll be off then," Ron said as he came out of the bathroom, his all-black suit spotless.

"You look great," Pansy smiled at him, and Ron managed a smile back.

"You're not wearing Funeral Robes?" Malfoy asked coldly, and everyone immediately glared at him.

"Shut up, Malfoy," multiple people bit out.

"I don't have Funeral Robes," Ron told the ponce. "None that fit me anyway."

"Here," Theo said, and Ron noticed that his weedy friend was holding out a glass cube in his direction.

"What's that?" Tracey asked.

"A White Stargazer Lily incased in solid glass," Theo replied as Ron slowly took the cube from him. _It's pretty._ "White Stargazer Lilies specifically symbolize sorrow and sympathy. Longbottom will understand." Ron eyed the white the flower, its pink freckles were rather eye-catching.

"You got this for him?" Ron asked, he was quite surprised by Theo's thoughtfulness.

"I got it for you," Theo shrugged, and Ron blinked at him. "He's your Eternal Friend, right? This will show him that he's been in your thoughts, which in turn will bring you two closer. Don't worry, it didn't cost me too much."

"Always scheming," Tracey smiled at Theo, and he shrugged once again.

"Thank you, Theo," Ron smiled as well. "Alright, I'll be back around dinnertime." Ron then looked to Malfoy, who cocked his eyebrow in return. "If you do anything to piss anyone off while I'm gone, then our deal is off."

"Whatever, Weasley," Malfoy rolled his eyes, and Ron bit back his anger.

"What a bitch," Tracey muttered under her breath, while Millie glared at the Malfoy Heir. Ron then left the room, he had no intention of letting Malfoy get to him.

"Ron, please wait," came Daphne's voice as he was nearing the common room, and Ron turned around with a faint smile. "Hi…"

"Hello," Ron greeted back. "Aren't you that Weasley kid's girlfriend?" Daphne blinked at that, but then she smiled widely.

"I am," Daphne huffed. "You'd better not try and make a move on me, or my boyfriend will beat you up."

"I could take him," Ron sniggered, they had barely spoken since becoming an official couple. "What is it, Daph?"

"I just wanted to ask you something before you left," Daphne replied, and then she showed him her nails. "Which one do you like the most?" _Huh?_

"Um…" Ron hummed, his eyes scanning the ten different colors.

"It's just that… I want to wear the color that you like…" Daphne mumbled, and Ron could smell her embarrassment filling the air. He thought it was rather cute.

"I like the red, because of my hair, but the green suits you more," Ron said genuinely. "Also, my serpent ring matches the green… Actually, no… I reckon you should go with the glittery blue. It matches your tennis bracelet, and if you made it a little darker, it'd match your eyes too."

"Right…" Daphne replied slowly, she was rather taken aback by his attention to detail. "That was quite the answer."

"This is what couples do, right?" Ron smiled at her, and she nodded slowly. "Well, I like the glittery blue."

"It's called Starry Day," Daphne told him, and Ron just nodded for the sake of nodding. _You can't see stars during the day though._ "Thanks, Ron. I'll start using this one more."

"Alright," Ron said, and then he turned to leave.

"Ahem," Daphne cleared her throat, and Ron turned back around.

"Daph, I'm going to be late…" Ron pointed out, but she merely tapped her lips. _Kiss?_ Ron walked up and gave her a couple of quick pecks, which made her smile in a rather pleased manner.

"Good luck with your parents today," Daphne said. "And Ron, don't lose your temper if they refuse you. Promise me that you won't make a fool of yourself at a funeral."

"I'll do my best, Daphne," Ron promised, and she gave him another quick peck.

"Bye," Daphne said, and Ron waved as he turned around and left. _This Malfoy business is ruining my love life. We can't even tell our friends, and I've barely had the chance to speak with her._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Finally," Fred said as Ron entered Dumbledore's Office.

"Sorry, but the Dungeons are quite far away from here," Ron smiled apologetically. He then eyed the people in Dumbledore's Office, his head nodding in approval at seeing his siblings wearing all-black. Ginny was still wearing her bracelet though, but that only served to please Ron greatly. _She still wears it every day. That's good. I'm glad that she likes it so much._

"You look a bit too dapper for a funeral, Ronnikins," George pointed out, and Ron blinked at him. The twins were wearing baggy Funeral Robes, their ties hanging loosely around their open collars. Percy, on the other hand, was wearing clean and pressed Funeral Robes, his tie tied tightly around his closed collar.

"I don't have Funeral Robes," Ron told them. _And I'd much rather wear a tailored suit anyway. Something about wearing them makes me feel confident and in control._

"What's that in your hand?" Luna hummed, her brand new black dress looked rather odd on her. _It's just that she always wears such colorful clothes._

"It's a White Stargazer Lily," Ron replied, while Ginny and Luna smiled at the pretty flower.

"The flower of sorrow and sympathy," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron looked to find the old wizard sitting behind his desk. His eyes weren't twinkling today, which suited his current black and gold robes. _Of course he's attending the funeral, he knew the Longbottoms personally._

"Is it for Neville?" Percy asked, and Ron nodded. "That's very thoughtful of you, Ron."

"Actually… It was Theo's idea," Ron admitted, he wanted his siblings to respect his friends more. _Plus, I would have never thought of this._ "It's from all of us." His siblings gave slow nods at that, except for Luna, who was still just smiling at the flower.

"Sorry, I'm late," came a girl's voice from behind them, and Ron turned to see Susan Bones rush into the room. _Susan?_ "Hello, everyone."

"Hello, Susan," Ron greeted back, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Are you coming with us?" Luna asked, and Susan nodded as she fixed her hair. She was, like always, wearing it in a plait.

"My parents and auntie are attending the funeral, so I asked them if I could come and give my respects as well," Susan told them, and they all nodded approvingly. _Isn't her auntie Amelia Bones? Merlin, I wonder how Susan would react if she knew that I was scheming to put her auntie in power._

"Since you are all here," Dumbledore started, and Ron turned to see the old wizard standing behind Ginny and Luna. "Let's be on our way."

"We're going with you, Headmaster?" Percy asked.

"Indeed, Percy," Dumbledore gave a nod, while Fawkes flew down onto his right shoulder. "I spoke with your parents, and they have allowed me to bring you all to Magnus Cemetery personally. Now come… Join hands so Fawkes can take us all there." _Oh! We're about to do that 'fiery apparition'._ They all made a circle and joined hands, with Ron making sure to hold Ginny and Luna's hands. Fawkes then burst into flames, and after feeling searing heat pass over their skins, they all found themselves at the gates of the cemetery.

"That was wicked," the twins said together, and Fawkes let out a proud shrill. _I know right! Fawkes is bloody awesome._

"Go my friend, enjoy the clear weather," Dumbledore said, and Fawkes took off for the skies. They all let go of each other's hands at that, and then they looked around. _It's greener than I thought it would be._ "Come, the funeral service will begin soon." They all followed Dumbledore at that, and while Percy tried to stick close to the Headmaster, Ron and the others walked a little more slowly.

"I've heard awe-inspiring stories about the Longbottoms from my parents," Susan suddenly whispered, and Ron looked to her. _Is she talking to me?_ Susan was indeed speaking to him, and so Ron moved a little closer to her side. "My uncle was in the Order with them, you see."

"Was?" Ron asked softly, and she gave him a nod.

"He died in the Great War," Susan replied, and Ron gave her a sorry smile. "It's alright though… He fought bravely, and he gave his life in order to save the World from You-Know-Who. He did the Bones Family proud, as my dad always says."

"Was he in Hufflepuff?" Ron asked, and Susan nodded proudly.

"All of us Bones go to Hufflepuff," Susan replied. "Sort of like your… Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's alright," Ron waved a dismissive hand. "I've always had shite luck." Susan blinked at him, and then she let out a weak laugh, which she promptly tried to conceal. The twins, Ginny, and Luna looked back at the two of them, and then they looked forward again.

"Don't make me laugh, we're going to a funeral," Susan 'scolded' him, while he raised his hands in mock surrender. Susan then looked around herself, and so Ron did the same. "There are other people holding funerals here?"

"The death-toll is over two hundred and seventy now," Ron replied, a part of him felt weak because of his own words.

"It's so horrible," Susan sighed out. "So many people just… gone…" _And many more will follow. The Dark Lord and his followers should be the ones getting buried, not innocent people who are just trying to live their lives._

"Did you know about Neville's parents being in St. Mungo's?" Ron asked, and she shook her head.

"Not at first," she replied. "My dad told me that the Longbottoms were 'gone'. I assumed that they had passed away, but now I know what really happened to them. I just want to give Neville a really long hug, you know. I never knew that he had such a difficult life before this. What about you? Did you know?"

"I learned about it last year," Ron admitted. "And yeah, I get how you feel. Poor bloke…" Ron then looked forward and saw that their parents were waiting for them. "I'll talk to you later, Susan."

"Bye, Ron," Susan shot him a smile, and then she walked over to her parents, while Ron and his siblings walked over to theirs. Dumbledore left to find the Longbottoms after giving the parents a somber nod.

"Fred! George! Tuck in your shirts!" Molly hissed at her twin sons. "And tie those ties!"

"C'mon, you two," Arthur frowned at them. "Show some respect please." The twins sighed and did as they were told, while Molly and Arthur checked over their other children. Luna was too busy ogling her mother's belly, and she didn't even notice that Xeno was tying her dirty blonde hair into a neat ponytail.

"Ginny, take off your jewelry please," Molly instructed, and Ginny stepped back with a slightly panicked look. _What's with that bizarre reaction?_

"No," Ginny said, and then she looked to her father.

"Molly, it's fine," Arthur said, and Molly suddenly remembered what Ginny's bracelet really was.

"Alright," Molly consented, and the brothers exchanged confused looks. _She changed her tune just like that?_ Ron eyed Ginny's bracelet, which she quickly hid from his sight.

"What?" Ginny asked harshly, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. _Yeesh… I didn't even say anything._

"Don't take that tone with your older brother," Molly scolded offhandedly, her eyes scanning Ron's suit. "Full-black. Good job, Ronnie."

"Thanks," Ron nodded curtly, he hadn't spoken to, or seen, his parents since his outburst at Greengrass Manor.

"What's that?" Arthur asked, his eyes fixed on the glass cube in Ron's gloved hand.

"A White Stargazer Lily… It was my friend Theo's idea," Ron replied, and then he showed his parents the glass incased flower. "It symbolizes sympathy and sorrow. Theo said that Neville will understand that because he's amazing at Herbology." Molly and Arthur nodded slowly, and then they smiled weakly.

"Theo is certainly a thoughtful boy," Molly nodded in approval, and Ron mentally patted his own back. _He can be when he's not being a proper bastard._ "Come, let's head inside. Pandora, are you ready?"

"We're ready," Pandora nodded, she was still checking Luna over for hidden jewelry. After Luna was thoroughly searched, they all began heading inside together. Ron kept his distance from the Lovegoods, mostly because looking at Xeno reminded him of what he had asked of Daphne. _I'll pay her back. Wait… Does date money count towards my debt? No, that feels really wrong. I'll just pay for the dates because it's the gentlemanly thing to do. As for the debt, I'll wait until I have enough money to pay her back and still have plenty left behind for myself._

"Augusta," Arthur greeted the old witch, whose Grandson was standing to her right. "You have all of our condolences." Arthur then looked to Neville, and he said the same thing again.

"Thank you, Arthur," Lady Longbottom said, and Neville parroted her. "Please make your way inside. Your Family's seats have already been selected for you." Arthur and Molly exchanged looks, and then they nodded. As they began heading inside, Ron approached his Eternal Friends.

"Lady Longbottom… Neville… You have my sympathies," Ron gave them both light head-bow.

"Thank you, Ronald," Lady Longbottom gave him a weak smile, she looked much older than usual.

"Thank you, Ron," Neville said in a rather dull voice, and Ron stepped closer to him.

"Here," Ron said as he held out the glass cube, which Neville took slowly. "Wasn't too sure when to give this to you, but now seems as good a time as any."

"Is… Is that a White Stargazer Lily?" Neville asked, something shifting behind his eyes. Lady Longbottom just eyed the flower, she had no idea why it had coaxed actual words out of her Grandson's mouth.

"Theo said that you'd understand its meaning," Ron replied, and Neville blinked at him.

"Nott got this for me?" Neville asked, and Ron nodded.

"It's from all of us, but yeah… Theo is the one who got it," Ron replied, and Neville managed a weak smile at the flower.

"It symbolizes sorrow and sympathy," Neville told his confused Gran, who gave a slow nod in response. "Thanks, Ron… And send the others my thanks as well."

"I will," Ron nodded, and then he followed after his Family. He could hear the Lovegoods expressing their sympathies to the Longbottoms, and he elected to join his Family instead of waiting.

"Third row, Arthur?" he heard his mother whisper. "She's put us ahead of the Order members?" His parents then looked to him, and something clicked in Arthur's head.

"The Order didn't save her Grandson's life," Arthur said, and everyone looked to Ron. "If it weren't for Ron, Augusta would have nothing today…"

"Is being on the third row a bad thing?" Ron asked, why did they have to make a big deal out of everything? "Because to me, it sounds like a great honor. One that we dare not refuse."

"Ease up on the serpent talk," Fred rolled his eyes. _I'll show you real 'serpent talk' if you embarrass this Family today._

"None of that," Arthur frowned at Fred. "Ron is right. Everyone, start taking your seats. And remember to behave."

"Or there will be consequences," Molly added, and then she looked to the approaching Lovegoods. "Pandora, we're to be seated in the third row."

"Us as well?" Xeno asked, his eyes darting towards Ron.

"Yes," Arthur nodded. _I should thank Lady Longbottom for including the Lovegoods. Neville no doubt told her how important they are to me._

* * *

 _ **Nearly an Hour Later**_

The funeral was currently underway, and Ron found himself enamored by the eulogies being given. The Longbottoms, of course, sat in the first row. Neville, Augusta, Algie, Enid, Harfang, and Callidora Longbottom were all in attendance, with Harfang and Callidora's children being the only exception. The second row was filled with Aurors, Dumbledore, and the Minister himself. And in the third row sat Ron's Family, Sirius, Harry, and Hermione.

Ron was slightly surprised to see that McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick had come alongside Remus, while Madam Pomfrey was also attending. Judging by all of their somber looks, they were truly upset by Frank and Alice Longbottom's passing. Ron also couldn't help but admire the Ebony caskets being used for the funeral service, caskets that were ornamented with white roses. This was, apparently, how every Auror was buried. Truth be told, Ron was rather looking forward to the 'Auror's farewell', which was, according to the twins, quite a spectacle. The only thing that Ron didn't like was the fact that reporters had shown up outside the barrier in order to take photos of the once famous Aurors' funeral.

"Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head Auror, has also elected to share a few words with us," the service provider said, and Ron's ears perked up once again. _I met him once!_ Rufus Scrimgeour limped behind the podium, and then he took off his wire-rimmed spectacles. His keen yellow eyes surveyed the crowd, and they seemed to linger on Neville.

"As many of you are aware, I fought alongside Frank and Alice during the Great War," Scrimgeour started, and many people nodded. "We did not always agree on matters of warfare. We often argued on what the Ministry was supposed to be doing. And when they left to join the Order, I found myself at odds with them." _That's a rather strange start to a eulogy, isn't it?_

"But despite all of that, I truly respected them," Scrimgeour went on, and many of the older Aurors nodded along. _Madam Roberts is here too. The only Auror missing is Mad-eye Moody, which is a shame because I really wanted to meet him._ "They were brave, strong-minded, and powerful. They served their people, as all those from the Ministry should, and for that, I always respected them. I was there on the day Frank Longbottom denounced the Dark Lord in the middle of the Ministry, and like many of the spectators, I listened with open ears and a proud smile on my face. In a time of fear and desperation, Frank Longbottom's words breathed life into many weakened hearts."

"When I learned of what happened to them shortly after the Dark Lord's demise, I gathered a squad of the best Aurors I knew, and we hunted down the culprits without rest," Scrimgeour continued, his eyes travelling to Neville. "One of my only regrets in this life is that I wasn't there to fight alongside them when they needed me most. They both deserved the chance to raise their son, and he deserved the chance to grow up hearing their tales from their own perspectives. May they now find the rest that they deserve, and may we all remember their sacrifice for a better tomorrow. Suis pugna sit tandem transitu laetabantur." _What's that mean?_

Rufus Scrimgeour then limped towards the caskets, where the other Aurors quickly joined him. Dumbledore was beckoned up to the podium by the service provider, while Neville and Augusta walked up and joined the Aurors.

"Please, let us a share a moment of silent remembrance for Frank and Alice Longbottom as they are laid to rest," Dumbledore said, and people quickly noticed that Fawkes was now flying overhead. "Please stand." Everyone stood up, and Dumbledore himself turned around and faced the caskets.

The Aurors began levitating both the caskets into their respective graves, but right before the caskets disappeared from sight, they began to hover in their spots. Neville walked up and opened his father's empty casket, and he placed his father's wand inside. Ron could see that Neville was trying his hardest to not cry, but unsurprisingly, he was failing. Ron knew that he himself would be no different in Neville's shoes, which made him sympathize with Neville even more. _This will not happen to my Family._

Neville then walked over to his mother's casket, and Ron finally noticed that Neville was holding a wooden box in his hands. Neville opened the casket, and then he put the wooden box inside it. After that, he closed his mother's casket and wiped his eyes clear with his sleeves. As Neville rejoined his Gran, the caskets began to sink into the graves. And then, they were both completely out of sight. The Auror's used Magic to lift soil into the graves, while Rufus Scrimgeour himself handed Neville two Auror Uniforms on a white flag with the Aurors Symbol marking it.

Neville wrapped the Uniforms up inside the flag, and he handed it to his teary eyed Gran. Rufus turned to his Aurors at that, who all raised their wands into the air. Crystal white orbs shot out of their wands in perfect unity, and once the orbs had reached a certain height, Rufus tapped his cane against the Earth, which caused the orbs to burst into sparkling dust that rained down on the funeral grounds like the first snows of winter. Dumbledore bowed his head with a saddened look, and everyone followed suit. _Rest in peace, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

"Alright, all of you stay together," Molly instructed the group, which consisted of all the children here from Hogwarts. "Percy, make sure that no one goes missing."

"Yes, mother," Percy nodded, and then he nodded at the other parents. Molly and the other parents left to mingle at that, most of them heading straight for Neville and Augusta Longbottom.

"That was a beautiful service, wasn't it?" Hermione asked the others, and they all nodded.

"I liked the sparkly dust," Luna hummed. "It felt comforting when it touched my skin." _That it did. Was it a variation of the Calming Charm? Or something inspired by it? Anyway… There are a few people here that I want to talk to._

"I'm going to go mingle," Ron said, and then he turned to leave.

"Mum told us to stay together," Ginny spoke up, and Ron turned to face her.

"I'm not going too far, Gin," Ron said, and then he looked to Percy. "We should walk around and speak with people, Percy. It'd be disrespectful if we all just hid ourselves away."

"I agree," Percy said, and the other children blinked at him. However, Percy was too busy eyeing Minister Fudge to pay any real attention to them. "If you all don't want to mingle, or get tired of it, come back to this spot. Alright?"

"Right," Ron nodded, and then he turned around and walked towards Madam Roberts. She was speaking to Tonks about something, and judging by Tonks' serious expression, Madam Roberts was clearly giving her instructions.

"Ronald," Madam Roberts greeted when she saw him, and Ron gave the two witches a smile.

"Good afternoon, Madam Roberts," Ron greeted back, and then he looked to Tonks. "Nymphadora, right?"

"Please, call me Tonks," the black haired witch replied, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Tonks, give Ronald and me a moment please," Madam Roberts said, and Tonks gave her a nod.

"Come find me after, alright?" Tonks said to Ron, and he gave her another nod. _She's Sirius' cousin, right? Well, that alone makes her worth getting to know._ Tonks left to find her parents, while Ron took her previously occupied spot.

"That was a lovely service, wasn't it?" Ron asked Madam Roberts. "Were those white orbs a variation of the Calming Charm?"

"Indeed," Madam Roberts smirked. "How have you been, Ronald?"

"As well as anyone these days," Ron replied. "And you?"

"Busy," Madam Roberts replied. "I am sorry that our lessons have been put on hold."

"It's alright," Ron gave her a smile. "But I must admit, I'm really excited to restart my training with you. Especially now that you'll leave that baton of yours at home."

"It's never too far from my reach, I assure you," Madam Roberts said, and Ron couldn't tell if she was joking. _Knowing her, she'd probably beat my arse right here if need be._ "I hear that you are an Eternal Friend of the Longbottom Family."

"I am," Ron nodded. "I saved Neville's life back in my first year."

"The Mountain Troll, yes," Madam Roberts nodded.

"Did you know Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom?" Ron asked.

"I knew Alice better than I did Frank," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron waited for her to go on. "She served as a Medic and Auror alongside me for almost a year. She was a better Medic than she was a Duelist, unlike her husband. Frank's Dueling prowess was well-known by all, especially after he captured Antonin Dolohov near the end of the war."

"He captured Dolohov?" Ron blinked, and Madam Roberts nodded. "The man who killed my uncles…"

"One of the Death-Eaters that killed your uncles, but yes," Madam Roberts nodded. "To think that at the time of Dolohov's capture, I was genuinely angry with Frank Longbottom. He chose to spare that degenerate, you see. I am ashamed to admit that my friendship with Alice was… strained… because of her husband's mercy. They both deserved better." Madam Roberts then noticed something that Ron had completely missed. "I think Mr. Potter is trying to keep his eyes on you." _Huh?_

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked, making sure to not look in Harry's direction.

"I've noticed him stealing quick looks at us," Madam Roberts replied. "Not to mention that he's just standing at the refreshment table without a plate. Amateur…"

"Why would he be watching me?" Ron asked.

"You tell me, Ronald," Madam Roberts replied. "Go and find Tonks, but keep your eyes on Mr. Potter. If he begins hovering near you again, then that will confirm it."

"And they say that I'm paranoid," Ron smirked.

"It isn't paranoia, it is called experience," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron gave her a parting nod. "Sunday, Ronald. Nine in the morning."

"See you then," Ron said, and then he began looking for Tonks. _Harry is watching me? Why? Did I do something suspicious? I mean, I'm always up to something, but I've done nothing today._

"Over here, Ron," Tonks said as she saw him, and he walked over to her. Her mother and father were standing by her side, and Ron's eyes were immediately glued to Andromeda Tonks' face. _I've seen her before… Yeah, I saw her in the vision where Malfoy died. She was one of the women helping the children escape. Her, and Narcissa Malfoy. They even look alike. Sisters? Or maybe cousins?_ "Mum and dad, this is Ronald Weasley."

"A pleasure to meet you," Ron said, and then he held out his gloved hand. Andromeda Tonks smiled at that, and she gave Ron her hand. He kissed her knuckles lightly, and then gave her a polite bow.

"Can I get one of those?" Mr. Tonks chuckled, and Ron put his gloved hand forward again. _Why not?_ The pot-bellied wizard let out a soft laugh, and then gave Ron his hand. Ron kissed his knuckles with a smirk, and then gave him a polite bow as well. "I like him already."

"Husband, please behave," Andromeda said, though she was thoroughly amused herself. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Ronald. May I call you Ronald?"

"Please, call me Ron," Ron replied, and both Mr. and Mrs. Tonks nodded.

"You may call me Andromeda, and this is my husband Edward," Andromeda introduced herself.

"Call me Teddy," Edward said, and Ron gave him a nod. "We've heard a lot about you from Siri, and all of it is nothing but praises."

"Sirius?" Ron asked, the name 'Siri' was rather cute. _From now on, I shall only call him Siri. That ought to piss him off, hehe._

"I'm his cousin," Andromeda told him. "Thank you for what you did for him, it means the World to me to have Siri back."

"Please, think nothing of it," Ron said. "I'm very happy that I know Sirius myself. He's a great bloke." Ron's eyes drifted around himself for a second, and he noticed Harry 'talking' to Hermione not too far away. _Hermione looks pissed. Is he really fucking following me around? Why? What the hell, Harry?_

"So you really resisted over fifty Veelas?" Tonks asked, and her mother tutted her.

"Nymphadora, where are your manners?" Andromeda asked. "Forgive her, Ron… She is a fan of yours."

"I'm not a fan," Tonks lied quickly, her black hair turning crimson.

"She was rather giddy after meeting you at the Ministry a couple of weeks ago," Teddy chuckled, while his daughter gaped at him. "If you could give her an autograph, she'd be truly grateful."

"I see nothing wrong with that," Ron chuckled, and then he looked to Tonks.

"I… Thanks…" Tonks muttered, her hair practically glowing red.

"I can even give you a hug, if you want," Ron smiled. "I remember that you wanted one when I met you at the Ministry."

"Not a fan, she says," Teddy chuckled, while Tonks shot her father a frown.

"Maybe later," Tonks said, giving Ron an embarrassed smile. "Parents, huh? It's like they're trained to embarrass you."

"On that, we agree," Ron nodded. "And yes, I did resist over fifty Veelas."

"Astonishing," Andromeda said in awe, while her daughter practically glowed at his words. "Do you mind telling us how you did it?"

"I kept my eyes down, and just… resisted," Ron replied. "At first, the hardest part was looking away. But when the pain started-"

"The allures became a mental assault," Tonks told her parents, who nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I just put up with the pain," Ron went on. "Ended up getting a Subconjunctival Hemorrhage because of it as well." Andromeda drew in a sharp breath, while Teddy just blinked at him.

"Why go through that?" Teddy asked.

"I don't like to lose," Ron replied. _And at the time, I think I was channeling my anger at the Entity's control over my life. What does Madam Pomfrey always tell me? Oh yeah, I tend to 'displace' my anger quite often. I really need to work on that. Merlin, is it weird that I miss my Mind-Healer?_

"That's so awesome," Tonks beamed. "Isn't that awesome?"

"Quite so, love," Andromeda replied. "I hope we'll be seeing more of you from now on, Ron."

"I would like that," Ron admitted. "Any friend of Sirius is a friend of mine. By the way, where is he? I haven't seen him since the service."

"He's taking care of a few things," Andromeda replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _What things?_ "He'll be here shortly. Now, if you'll please excuse us, I see that Madam Bones is close-by. Nymphadora, please introduce us to your boss." _I should speak with her as well, but after the Tonks Family._

"Bye, Ron," Tonks waved, and Ron waved back.

"Take care, Tonks," Ron said, and then they parted ways. Ron walked around for a bit, and sure enough, Harry and Hermione were always nearby. Ron spotted Neville along the way, and he wasn't surprised to see that the mourning boy was surrounded by a dozen different adults.

"Mr. Weasley," came a voice from his right, and Ron turned to see Rufus Scrimgeour standing alone near a wall.

"Head Auror, Sir," Ron greeted back, and then he shook the man's hand.

"A firm grip," Rufus nodded in approval, and Ron gave him a pleasant smile. "And very tall for your age. Built, even… Do you train, Mr. Weasley?"

"I do," Ron admitted. "I run every day, practice my Spellwork and Dueling every second day, and even do Circuit Training every third day."

"Are you an aspiring Auror?" Rufus asked, and Ron nodded.

"Hit-Wizard," Ron corrected, he personally wanted to specialize in hunting down Dark Wizards.

"I am glad to hear that," Rufus gave him a thin smile. "Your feats, of course, are well-known to all. I must admit, even I am left impressed. Tell me, how does a thirteen year old achieve something that no wizard in History has ever achieved? What was number again? Fifty Veelas?"

"Just over," Ron replied. "As for how I achieved it… Maybe I just have a lot of willpower." _And an angry God hiding in my head._

"Willpower?" Rufus cocked an eyebrow.

"The pain gave me a Subconjunctival Hemorrhage, Sir," Ron replied. "I even bit open the inside of my mouth in order to keep my focus."

"I see," Rufus said slowly, his yellow eyes fixed on Ron's. _His eyes look like Madam Hooch's._ "Once again, you impress me. I look forward to seeing your application for the Auror's Academy, Mr. Weasley."

"And I look forward to sending it," Ron said, and then he looked around once again. _For fuck's sake, they're both right there! They're not even trying to be subtle!_

"A word of advice before we part ways, Mr. Weasley," Rufus said suddenly, his expression unreadable. "If you are worried that someone is following you, it's often wise to pretend like you are ignorant."

"Following me?" Ron blinked. _He knows?_

"My eyes miss nothing," Rufus whispered rather coldly. "And I will be keeping an eye on you, Mr. Weasley. You would do well to stay within the confines of the Law. No more appearances near active crimes scenes, understand?" _Crime scenes? Kingsley Shacklebolt must've told him about me being in Diagon Alley without supervision._

"I will make sure to do that," Ron said, and then he put his hand forward for a shake. Rufus obliged, and the two wizards shook hands before Ron began making his way towards Amelia Bones. His shadows followed after him, and Ron couldn't help but notice that Hermione was looking more and more sour.

"Madam Bones," Ron greeted the woman, and she turned around to face him. Susan walked over from behind her, a light smile on her face.

"Mr. Weasley," Madam Bones greeted back. "It's been a while. I was at Lord Black's trail, in case you don't remember."

"I do," Ron assured her, and then he put his hand forward. She, of course, knew the customs of the Old Families, and so she gave him her hand. He gave her knuckles a quick kiss before bowing respectfully, and she gave him a deep nod in return.

"I had not realized that the Weasley Family practiced the Old Ways," Madam Bones said.

"Mum and dad know a bit about them, but only I practice them outright," Ron told her.

"Something that you picked up in Slytherin, no doubt," Madam Bones said.

"Auntie!" Susan whispered hotly.

"I meant no offence by it, Susan," Madam Bones told her niece, and then she looked to Ron. _Look at that jaw. I could cut a fucking diamond on it. It's marvelous!_ "Did you take offence by my observation, Mr. Weasley?"

"None at all," Ron admitted, his skin had definitely thickened over the last two years. "And you are, of course, right. My friends sort of roped me into it."

"Just don't let them rope you into something more… outdated," Madam Bones said, and Ron felt a little annoyed at that. _Calm. She's probably just not used to talking to Slytherins. Or maybe she is. That backhanded comment was worthy of Lady Greengrass._

"Auntie, stop it!" Susan whispered hotly again. "Ron is a perfect gentleman at school. Remember what I've told you about his study group? He includes **everyone**."

"Yes, I remember," Madam Bones said. "Though I do have trouble believing it without any proof. Things were very different when I attended Hogwarts myself." _Yes, we've come far since the fifteenth century._

"I'll be sure to send you a photo then," Ron 'smiled' at her, and she smirked slightly. "One of our members, Colin Creevey, always has a camera handy." Susan giggled at that, and she secretly hoped that Ron would follow through with that promise.

"Some steel in you, I can respect that," Madam Bones gave him a nod. "I spoke with your brother Percy just a few minutes ago. He has high ambitions for a Gryffindor. Tell me, why was he not sorted into Slytherin?" _Because he refused the Hat's offer. He didn't want to be rejected any further by his siblings._ "Why were you sorted into Slytherin instead?"

"My ambitions surpass a job at the Ministry," Ron replied, and Madam Bones cocked an eyebrow. "Although I do wish to become a Hit-Wizard, for a time."

"Ron's the only third year placed in Rank A for the Grand Dueling Tournament," Susan added, and Madam Bones' lips twitched upwards for a moment. "He can already use Wandless Magic."

"Wandless Magic? At thirteen?" Madam Bones asked, and for some reason, her surprise pleased Ron. _I broke through that tough act, didn't I?_

"It's true," Susan gave Ron a wink, and he shot her a smile. _She's enjoying seeing her aunt like this, isn't she?_

"A small demonstration, perhaps?" Madam Bones asked, and Ron nodded. _Time to impress the Future Minister for Magic._ Ron removed his serpent ring, and then he hid his left hand in front of his chest. _Don't want Harry and Hermione to see this._

"Incendio," Ron chanted in a calm voice, and his hand began to glow orange. Madam Bones and Susan both went wide-eyed, and Ron quickly turned off the Spell.

"Merlin's beard…" Madam Bones muttered, and then she cleared her throat. "A Prodigy indeed, Mr. Weasley. Truly fascinating. I look forward to receiving your application one day."

"That was so amazing, Ron," Susan beamed, but then she quickly fixed her face when she remembered where they were.

"Thank you, Susan," Ron said. "May I borrow your niece for a moment, Madam Bones?"

"Certainly," Madam Bones agreed, while Susan just blinked at him. _Need to convince her to keep this to herself. Shouldn't be too hard, she seems like an agreeable sort of person._ "Susan, I will be with your mother and father. It was a pleasure to speak with you, Mr. Weasley."

"Please, call me Ron," Ron smiled his best smile. "We'll be working together one day, after all." _And much sooner than you think._

"Very well, Ron," Madam Bones gave him a parting nod, and then she left to find her brother and his wife.

"Are you hungry?" Ron asked Susan, who blushed slightly.

"I could eat," Susan smiled weakly.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

Following Ron so far was… uneventful. Harry wanted to try and find a fault with Ron socializing with important figureheads, but in the end, he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He needed actual proof, not a list of people that Ron was currently socializing with. There was the fact that Ron had surprised Susan and her aunt for a moment, but neither Harry nor Hermione had seen what Ron had done. And speaking of Hermione, his bushy haired friend was starting to get snappy.

"I'm done with this," Hermione suddenly bit out, and Harry blinked at her. "He's just talking to people, like **we** should be. If you want to keep stalking him, then you go right ahead."

"Hermione, I need an extra pair of eyes," Harry pleaded. _Why is she being like this? She was really upset with him the last time I saw her._ "Hermione, what happened between you two during the Break?"

"I made the decision to just move on with my life," Hermione replied coldly. "It's time you did the same, Harry. Ron is only as important as we believe him to be, but the truth is that he's just another student at Hogwarts. What you're doing right now… It's just like last year… Didn't you learn anything from that mess?"

"This is different," Harry frowned at her, he had indeed learned. He had learned that Ron was a violent sociopath who had no problem with beating people half to death. "And the last time I saw you, you were acting quite unhappy with him. So don't pretend like you have a leg to stand on."

"I apologized to him, and he apologized to me," Hermione grit out, her fists clenching. "Grow up, Harry." With that, Hermione turned around and left. _Grow up? How about you grow a spine!_ Harry then looked towards Ron, only to realize that Ron was gone. _Where did he go?_ Harry looked around, and he spotted Susan Bones heading towards her Family. Harry quickly made his way towards her, and once he reached her, he tapped her shoulder.

"Oh, hello," Susan smiled at him.

"Hi, Susan," Harry greeted her back. "I couldn't help but notice that Ron did something that shocked you and your aunt. Mind telling me what that was?" Susan blinked at him, and her smile faltered for a second.

"He just showed us his serpent ring," Susan replied, and Harry slowly nodded. "Have you seen it?"

"I have," Harry replied, and he didn't particularly like it.

"It's no secret that his Family isn't exactly wealthy, but that ring has a sizable emerald in it," Susan went on. "Must've cost him a small fortune at least." _He did show Madam Bones his left hand, which is the hand that he wears it on._

"Did you see where he went? I've been trying to get a hold of him, you see," Harry said.

"He went to the loo," Susan replied, and Harry gave her a grateful nod.

"I'll see you around, Susan," Harry said, and then he made his way towards the closest loo. Once Harry entered the loo, he found himself staring at Remus hunched over a sink. Harry blinked at the sight of Remus cleaning out his mouth with water, and he could smell traces of vomit.

"Remus?" Harry called, and Remus shot him a tired look.

"Hello, Harry," Remus sighed out, he didn't want to be seen like this. "You've caught me at a bad time, I'm afraid."

"Are you alright?" Harry asked as he quickly walked up to Remus. "Are you sick? Should I go and find someone for you? I think I saw Madam Pomfrey in the Living Room." All thoughts of Ron had disappeared from his mind, and Harry found himself rubbing Remus' back before he knew it. _Did he eat something bad? If so, I should warn people to stay away from it._

"There is no need for that, Harry," Remus managed a weak smile, but then he suddenly winced. Harry's heart clenched because of that, and he released a weak gasp.

"Remus, you're in pain," Harry pointed out. "That's it, I'm getting Madam Pomfrey."

"Harry, I'm alright," Remus sighed out. "Please, just don't tell anyone… I ate something bad last night, and it's just giving me a stomachache." _He's lying._

"The food at Hogwarts is always freshly prepared," Harry countered. "Remus, please let me get Madam Pomfrey. She'll fix you up in a second."

"Actually, I think I'll head back to Hogwarts…" Remus smiled weakly. "You need to be here for Neville, alright? Don't worry about me." Remus stood up to his full height at that, but then he hunched over a little. "Help me to a fireplace…"

"Of course," Harry said as he quickly put Remus' left arm over his shoulders. "The closest fireplace is only a couple of minutes away." They both made their way towards the exit, but when Harry tried to open the bathroom door, it didn't budge. _What the…?_

"Push it," Remus said, but when Harry tried that, nothing happened.

"It's locked…" Harry muttered, and then he tried again. And again. And again. "Someone locked us in here!"

"Step aside, Harry," Remus said as he took out his wand, and then he aimed it at the lock. "Alohomora." Remus then tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. "Odd… This isn't an ordinary lock… It's been sealed with Magic…" _Magic? Wait… Susan sent me here, and Ron was just talking to her. Did they set me up?_

"It was Ron," Harry hissed angrily, and Remus gave him a confused look.

"Ron? Why would he do something like this?" Remus asked slowly.

"Because he's sneaky git!" Harry fumed, and Remus blinked at him.

"Harry… Don't be absurd…" Remus shook his head, something that made Harry's blood boil. Remus then began muttered incantations under his breath, and after a few moments, he let out a tired sigh. "Someone extremely skilled put up this Sealing Charm… Sit down, Harry. This may take a few minutes."

"Sealing Charm?" Harry asked, he was going to kill Ron for this. _Remus is sick! He needs to go home and rest!_ "Can you open it?"

"Trust me," Remus smirked a little. "This is child's play compared to what I learned back in Hogwarts. Sirius, your father, and I once sealed the Hufflepuffs in the Kitchens, and it took Dumbledore himself to free them. We never did try that again though… McGonagall nearly murdered us."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

"Thanks again for this," Ron smiled at Madam Roberts. "You were right, I think that Harry was trying to spy on me." _Though why he was doing it is beyond me._

"Are you sure that no one else is in the restroom?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron nodded. _No clue, but I don't really care either way._ "Well, this ought to teach Mr. Potter a lesson in proper behavior. Spying on someone during a Funeral Gathering… Shameless boy. I expected more from the Boy-Who-Lived." _More like the Bitch-That-Lived._

"Did you put a Silencing Charm on the door at the end?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. "Brilliant."

"I'm glad you think so," Madam Roberts said, her face stony as always. "Come, we'd best leave before someone sees us." They began heading back for the Living Room at that, and Ron couldn't help but smile at her. "Stop smiling. Learn to control your emotions."

"Discipline my mind?" Ron asked, and she gave him a curt nod. _I should set her up with Snape. Ha, what a pairing._ "Truth be told, I wasn't sure that you'd help me. You don't exactly come across as a prankster, you know."

"This was not a 'prank'," Madam Roberts shot him a frown. "He was spying on my pupil, and I intervened. Nothing more. Now if you will excuse me, I need to make sure that Tonks doesn't trip over Augusta's best china." With that, she turned into the crowd and disappeared. Ron simply sniggered to himself, he was rather happy with himself right now. _Setting him up was far too easy. Now I can find mum and dad. Ugh… This is going to be horrible._

Ron headed back into the Living Room, his eyes peeled for red hair. He spotted Percy talking to Minister Fudge rather excitedly, while the Minister seemed to be listening intently. As Ron made his way further into the room, he noticed that a tall man with neatly parted grey hair and a narrow toothbrush moustache was speaking with Neville and Lady Longbottom. _I've seen him before, haven't I? Yeah, he's in a lot of photos taken during the Great War. That's Barty Crouch Snr, that is._ Ron felt the urge to go and introduce himself to the man behind the Kill Order, but when he spotted his parents, he decided to wait. _I need to talk to them before someone lets Harry out of his cage. I don't need him to overhear anything about Malfoy._

"Mum… Dad… Can I talk to you?" Ron asked as soon as he approached them, and they turned their attention to him immediately.

"Is everything alright, Ronnie?" Molly asked, and then she planted her palm on his forehead.

"Mum, I'm not sick," Ron tried to move his head back. "I just need to talk to you both in private."

"Of course, son," Arthur nodded, and then he gestured Ron to follow him. Ron and his parents made their way out of the Living Room, and Arthur led them further into the Manor. Once they were in a deserted Hallway, Arthur stopped and turned to face his son. "Now, what's happened? You look tense, son."

"Is everything alright at school?" Molly asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Fuck me, here I go._

"Something's happened… And I feel like I really need to tell you both about it," Ron started, he wished that Daphne was here right now. _I could have 'presented' her to them in order to sweeten them up._

"We know about the Boggart, love," Molly said gently, a motherly smile on her face. _Huh? Damn, Remus must've owled them._

"So you truly know Occlumency then?" Arthur asked, he somehow sounded proud and shocked at the same time. _What? Oh, for fuck's sake. Entity, do you see what you've done? Now I have to lie to them even more._

"I've been delving into it, yes," Ron said, at least that was true. Molly and Arthur exchanged quick looks, and then they looked at Ron expectantly.

"Occlumency at thirteen, eh?" Arthur said. "That's quite the goal that you've set for yourself."

"I felt it necessary," Ron responded.

"Why?" Molly asked. "I don't mean to nag… But shouldn't you focus on your actual schoolwork instead? And with your work and business, don't you think that you're putting too much stress onto yourself? I just don't want to see you get hurt." _Time to use Snape's words to my advantage. Merlin, when did I get so good at lying?_

"It helps me manage my anger," Ron started, and his parents blinked at him. "It really does, trust me… But I mostly practice it because of what happened to me at the end of first year… You know, the Dark Lord's assault…" His parents paled at the mention of the Dark Lord, how were they going to tell their children about his return?

"Did You-Know-Who show you… visions?" Arthur asked, and Ron hid his surprise. "When he attacked you, that is." _Visions? As in what Snape was talking about? Sure, let's use that. I need to make them sympathetic before I bring up Malfoy._

"He… He showed me things, yes…" Ron swallowed thickly, and Molly gasped into her hands. "I saw Fred die… My friend Pansy… Harry, Neville, and Hermione… I even saw my own death."

"Oh, Ron!" Molly cried, and then she pulled him into a tight hug. Ron, however, was busy recounting his actual visions. He didn't even need to put on an act of horror when he thought of those because they genuinely terrified him. _This is the closest that I've ever come to telling my parents the truth about myself…_

"I came across Occlumency in my second year," Ron lied, his body relaxing in his mother's embrace. "I just saw it in a book at the Library, but from then on, I began looking into it."

"Why didn't you tell us about these visions?" Arthur asked, his right hand squeezing Ron's shoulder.

"I don't like to think about them," Ron replied. "And I certainly never want to discuss them. Ever."

"Alright," Arthur nodded weakly. "Just… Just make sure that Pomfrey knows about them, alright? She needs to know about this."

"Sure, dad," Ron sighed out, while his mother kept squeezing him. "Anyway, like I was saying… Something has happened at school that you two should know about."

"It's not the Occlumency thing?" Arthur asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Enough about with the Occlumency thing._

"No, it isn't," Ron started, and his mother finally let go of him. "Do you remember my friend Blaise?"

"Of course," they said together.

"Well, he's gotten himself into some trouble," Ron continued, and his parents exchanged looks. "Actually, he himself didn't get into trouble. **Someone else** got him into trouble." _Shite, where do I even start?_ "Alright, just hear me out completely."

"When Blaise was younger, he found himself owing Draco Malfoy a debt," Ron began, and when his parents went to say something, he stopped them by pressing on. "Now this was a pretty serious debt, and Blaise is too stubborn to not pay it back. He's sort of really honorable when his character is put into question… Now, over the course of this year so far, Draco Malfoy has found himself ostracized by everyone in Slytherin House. This happened mostly because he kept putting his petty vendettas over the House's betterment."

"Ron, what does this have to do with you?" Arthur asked in a serious tone.

"I'm getting there," Ron replied. "Since Malfoy was being shunned by everyone, a certain bully by the name of Marcus Flint started targeting him. Flint's gang beat Malfoy daily, they humiliated him at every opportunity, and all of that made him rather desperate. In his desperation, he called in his chit with Blaise."

"Your friend is now being targeted as well?" Molly asked, she didn't like the sound of children being beaten whatsoever. "Where are the teachers in all of this?"

"Slytherins keep the House's inner politics to themselves," Ron told them. "The rest of the school doesn't really understand us, nor do they ever try to either. Anyway, Malfoy called in his chit, and as a result, Blaise was forced into acting as his 'friend'. I found out what was happening, and for **Blaise's sake** , I decided to intervene. Malfoy is now, in a way, a part of our group." Molly and Arthur just stared at him, and judging by their looks, he could see that they were confused.

"I added Malfoy into the group in order to keep Blaise safe from Flint's gang," Ron clarified. "Blaise didn't want the rest of us to get caught up with Malfoy's problems, so he planned to leave the group in order to repay his debt by himself. When I learned what Blaise was planning, I had to intervene. I couldn't let him go out there alone, but the only way to insure Blaise's safety, and satisfy his debt to Malfoy, was to add Malfoy into the group. It's sort of like witness protection… He's not our friend, we don't even speak to him, but I'm keeping Flint's gang away from him."

"You're putting yourself in a bully's way?" Molly blinked, and Ron nodded weakly.

"Sort of-"

"Not 'sort of', you are," Molly scolded, and then she shot a quick look at her husband. "Arthur… Say something here."

"You should tell the Professors, Ron," his father advised. "Dumbledore is here today, let's go speak with him right now." _Shite! I promised one of the damn Professors that I'd protect his Godson._

"We can't do that," Ron told them. "Like I said, we Slytherins keep our inner House problems to ourselves. It's just how things work, and if I break that unspoken rule, I'll make a lot enemies."

"How old is this Flint boy?" Arthur asked.

"A seventh year," Ron replied, and his parents frowned at him.

"Ronald, you will tell the Professors about this at once," Molly ordered, and Ron blinked at her. And then he frowned back.

"Are you given me orders?" Ron asked coldly, but then he drew in another deep breath. _You promised Daphne, Ron. Don't lose your temper. It's alright._ "Look… There is no danger here because I'm protected in the House."

"Protected?" Arthur blinked.

"The older students respect me, and the younger ones revere me," Ron replied truthfully. "Malfoy knows this, which is why he agreed to accept my protection."

"Your protection?" Molly asked. "Ronald, you are not the leader of some… some gang of criminals!" _Shite, I need to pick better words._

"Molly, let me speak to him," Arthur said, he sounded much calmer than his fiery-tempered mother. "Ron… You're doing this for your friend, right?"

"I am," Ron nodded quickly.

"Then tell the Professors," Arthur advised, and Ron rubbed his forehead.

"I told you that I can't," Ron repeated. "If I do, Flint's gang will be the least of my worries. I am asking you to trust me here. I know what I'm doing. Malfoy is there only for his own benefit, and he knows that he can't spread his filth near me because I'll throw him to Flint's gang if he does."

"He's a Malfoy, Ron," Arthur sighed out. "He's the product of centuries' worth of Pure-Blood Supremacy propaganda."

"He's also a third year who's getting beaten around school by a seventh year," Ron added. "Mum… Dad… My friend's safety is in question, and there is no way in hell that I'm not helping him out."

"Why not ask some of the older students to help Malfoy then?" Molly asked, she didn't like the sound of Ron spending time with a Malfoy. Especially now that the Dark Lord had returned. "Why do **you** have to step in?"

"Because Malfoy's being ostracized," Ron repeated. "No one wants to help him, but since Blaise is being forced into it, I've decided to step in for Blaise's sake."

"Ron, there are certain things that are happening right now," Arthur started, but Molly quickly shushed him.

"Arthur… Don't…" Molly whispered, and Ron eyed them both. _Do they mean the Dark Lord's return? So Dumbledore really did invite them on Friday._

"Please keep your distance from Lucius Malfoy's son," Arthur pleaded.

"What about Blaise?" Ron asked, and Arthur sighed loudly.

"Son, tell the Professors," Arthur advised once again. "Things are a little more complicated right now than Slytherin's 'inner politics'."

"You want me to betray my House's trust, and in doing so, make all of my friends targets?" Ron asked, and Arthur shook his head.

"Ron… Listen to me," Arthur whispered, while Molly simply massaged her temples. "Lucius Malfoy has connections to the Dark Lord, and one day, his son is bound to follow in his footsteps. By being near him, you'll draw a lot of negative attention onto yourself. Attention from the Dark Lord's followers… Please, I'm begging you… Don't associate with Draco Malfoy."

"I get what you're saying, I truly do," Ron said, and he meant it. "But Blaise needs my help here, and I don't leave my friends behind. If I go to the Professors, I'll lose all the respect that I've built up in the last two years. Please, just trust me here. I won't let Malfoy 'influence' me, nor will I get mixed up with the Death-Eaters."

"Don't say their name here," Molly said quickly. "Ron, we're at a funeral."

"Sorry… Sorry…" Ron quickly apologized. "My friend needs my help, dad. I can't just leave him to fend for himself, can I? You raised me better than that." _C'mon guilt trip… Work for me!_ Arthur drew in a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose, while Molly simply shook her head.

"Why don't you convince Blaise to not honor his debt?" Molly asked, and Ron gaped at her. "I'm sorry, but… But you're my son. I don't want you associating with the Malfoys. Period."

"First of all, Blaise is willing to suffer alone if it means that his debt will be repaid," Ron started. "Second, I am capable of thinking for myself. Just because Malfoy will be sitting near me doesn't mean that I'll start thinking like him. Please, just give me a little credit here. I've managed two years within Slytherin without ever once turning my back on our Family's values. Mum and dad… I need you on my side here. Just this once… Please. When my siblings find out that I'm 'associating' with Malfoy, they're going to turn on me. For once, can I not be the person who has to constantly fight to prove his loyalty?"

"Ron, that's never the case," Molly sighed, but when she reached to touch his cheek, he stepped back.

"It's **always** the case," Ron said firmly, making both of his parents blink. "I'm always the person who gets shafted…"

"Ron-"

"It's true," Ron went on. "In full honesty, helping Malfoy is going to damage my reputation with **everyone**. My friends, my House-mates, my study group, the Gryffindors, and even my siblings. But I'm still doing it because I can't let Blaise go down like this. Just please… Please take my side for once. Don't make me feel…" he trailed off.

"Make you feel like what?" Arthur asked, but he already knew what his son was about to say.

"Don't make me feel like I'm not wanted… Again…" Ron said, and Molly quickly pulled him into a bone crushing hug. _I think I just heard my spine shatter._

"Of course you're wanted, Ron," Molly assured him, while Arthur just looked down at his feet.

Ron knew that even a year ago, just saying that would've made him teary eyed. But now? Now he honestly couldn't bring himself to feel sad about it. He was just used to it now. He was used to being at odds with everyone. And deep down, he knew that it was because none of them could really understand him. As Dumbledore had said, Ron didn't exactly live 'in the moment'. Whereas his parents were concerned about Malfoy's influence on Ron, Ron was more concerned with Malfoy not becoming the man that he had seen in his vision.

"This is happening," Ron told his parents, why was he even bothering with getting their permission? "Blaise needs me, and that's all that matters to me."

"Son-"

"When Percy, the twins, and Ginny find out about this," Ron went on. "They'll be furious… Percy will try his best to understand my decision, but he lacks the social skills needed to fully understand why I'm doing this. The twins and Ginny will send you angry letters detailing my 'crimes', and they will turn cold towards me. I've seen this happen time and time again, and quite frankly, I'm past caring. Just wait and see. You'll get those angry letters very soon."

With that, Ron gently pulled himself away from his mother, and then he left for the Living Room. _They'll all understand one day. When this is all over, I'll have proven myself to all of them. They'll see that I've always been loyal to our Family._ As Ron made his way into the Living Room, he was quickly pulled aside by Ginny and Hermione.

"Where have you been, Ron?" Ginny asked, while Hermione just stared at him.

"I was with mum and dad," Ron replied, and then he pointed towards them. Arthur and Molly were quietly entering the Living Room, their expressions slightly stunned. "Why? Did I miss something?"

"Did you happen to go to the loo before that?" Hermione asked, she knew that Ron had nothing to do with Harry's imprisonment. Her bespectacled friend was clearly grasping at straws.

"I was going to, but then mum and dad spotted me," Ron lied, he had thought this through. _So Harry got out, eh? Shame._

"What did they want?" Ginny asked, so Hermione was right. It must've been the twins that locked Harry away in the restroom.

"The whole Boggart thing…" Ron sighed out, and both girls nodded. "They wanted some answers, that's all. What's this about the loo?"

"Fred and George locked Harry in the loo," Ginny shook her head.

"They're pulling pranks?" Ron feigned anger. "Here? Today?"

"Don't tell mum and dad," Ginny said quickly. "Ron, they'll be furious."

"Where are the twins now?" Ron kept up his act.

"Percy's watching them…" Ginny pointed out, and Ron looked to find the twins glaring at Percy. "I had to beg Percy to not tattle on the twins. Mum and dad don't need this right now."

"Fine…" Ron frowned a little, and Ginny gave him an approving nod. "And where is Harry?" _Yes, where is that twat?_

"Minister Fudge dragged him away for a chat," Hermione replied, and then she bit her bottom lip. "Actually… He was looking for you as well… He wanted to meet Slytherin's Prodigy…" _I think I'll pass. I'd rather find Madam Bones again. Or maybe Crouch Snr._

"Is Neville still with his Gran?" Ron asked, and the girls nodded.

"I don't think that he wants to leave her side," Hermione replied.

"That's fair enough," Ron nodded. "And Sirius still isn't here?"

"No," Ginny shook her head. "I saw Remus leave a few minutes before you got back. He got locked away by the twins as well." _Huh? Oh, shite. Guess I'll have to take this secret to my grave._

"Those two…" Ron shook his head. "Utter menaces…" _I think I'll go eat something. And then actually go to the loo. I really need to take my second dose of medicine._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **September, 1993 (The Boys' Dorms – Late Evening)**_

The rest of the Gathering had gone rather slowly for Ron, mostly because both Madam Bones and Barty Crouch Snr had left during Ron's talk with his parents. And just as expected, his parents were quite uneasy with Ron's decision to include Malfoy into his group. All Ron could really hope for was that when the twins and Ginny turned on him, his parents wouldn't make him feel even more excluded than he already did.

He knew that he was being pathetically mopey about his standing within the Family, but he just couldn't help it. And what was so wrong with wanting to be respected by one's own Family? To not have to fight constantly prove one's loyalty to said Family? And the worst part was that Ron himself couldn't tell them why he was so different. Firstly, he had promised Dumbledore and Snape that he'd keep his powers to himself. Secondly, and more importantly, he didn't want the Entity to murder him for damaging the Cycle. And lastly, he really didn't want to deal with the fallout of his confessions. Especially not now.

As he neared his room, he couldn't help but feel utterly spent. He didn't want to sit around in a room where no one dared talk, nor did he want to see Malfoy's face right now. Malfoy… Damn that bastard for ever being born. Harry was clearly turning on Ron again, and after he learned of Ron's latest decision, he was bound to turn Hermione and Neville against him. Ron had not missed Harry's angry frowns during the end of the Gathering, the Boy-Who-Lived was certain that it was Ron who had locked him away. _At least he won't be back until Saturday, same as Neville._

"I'm back," Ron drawled as he entered his room, but he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the Triumvirate. Carey was leaning against Theo's bedpost, Samantha was sitting in Blaise's chair, and Clara was lying down in Ron's bed. _Fuck me._ Ron slowly shut the door behind himself, his eyes fixed on Carey's.

"Four beds," Carey said icily. "Four beds, Ronald. When did you plan to inform us that you went against our will?" _So it's like that, huh?_

"I needed time to get my own affairs in order," Ron replied, his eyes darting between each of them. Samantha was watching him with no emotion on her face, while Clara looked quite disappointed. And Carey… She held herself up with a cold fury. "How did you find out?"

"Flint's been searching for Malfoy," Samantha replied. "We heard word of his… hunt…"

"And since you too had disappeared, it wasn't hard to figure out," Clara finished. "Ron… How could you not tell us?"

"I didn't want word to get out before I spoke with my parents," Ron replied calmly. "The Malfoys and Weasleys have been enemies for a long time. I needed to tell them about this myself. So… Where are Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy?"

"In the girls' room," Clara replied, and then she slid out of Ron's bed. "We may have sealed them inside." _What?_

"We didn't want word to get out," Carey said coldly. "We gave you our trust, Ronald. And this is how you repay us? You undermine our authority by helping an outcast?"

"Technically, he isn't an outcast," Ron replied, and Carey frowned at him. "He's just a prick that no one likes. As for my reasons-"

"Your friends told us already," Samantha cut in, and Ron nodded slowly.

"So you know that I had my reasons," Ron said.

"You didn't think to come to us with this?" Carey asked.

"I did, but then Malfoy told me about what you did to him," Ron replied, and the Triumvirate exchanged quick looks. "He went to you for help, and you handed him over to Flint's gang. You are partly to blame for his stunt with Blaise…"

"Are we?" Samantha asked as she slowly stood up.

"I asked you to help him as well," Ron reminded them. "I am in this situation because you chose to ostracize him further simply because you dislike him. I mean, you could've turned him into an ally by protecting him. But instead, you threw him out into the cold. And then he showed up at my door with his wand pressed against Blaise's temple."

"Don't be so dramatic," Clara rolled her eyes, and Ron felt his temper flare.

"How can we trust you when you decide to keep things from us?" Carey asked him. _Trust me? Again, I have to prove my fucking loyalty._

"And how can I trust you when you have never done a damn thing for me?" Ron asked back, and the girls blinked at him.

"We've given you power-" Carey started, but Ron simply scoffed.

"I gave **myself** power," Ron told them bluntly. "Sure, you made the plans and I went along with them, but at the end of the day, I help **you**. Not the other way around. Don't question my loyalty when I'm in this situation because you three chose to be petty over intelligent."

"Be careful, Weasley," Samantha warned him, and Ron just stared at her.

"You are setting a fire within this House," Carey told him. "Flint is not going to care about who you are, he'll never back off from dominating Malfoy. And he's smart enough to know that if he backs off because a third year, he'll lose his entire reputation. You are-"

"Protecting my friend," Ron cut in. "Would you three leave each other out to dry?" The girls blinked at that, and Ron nodded to himself. "Yeah… You wouldn't. You love each other too much. Well, I love Blaise. He is my friend. When I had no one in this House, he took me under his wing. He saved me from being what Malfoy is today. I'm not abandoning him. And if that means that I have to fight this entire bloody House, then that's what I'll do." _And trust me, I'll win. I always win._

"We're not going to take sides in this, you do understand that right?" Clara asked him. "If we stand by you, the seventh years will be angered. Not to mention our own Quidditch Team. And you can't go around telling people about Slytherin's inner workings either."

"As long as you don't take Flint's side, I can live with that," Ron said, and the Triumvirate gave him curt nods.

"Good luck then," Carey shook her head, and then they all walked past him and left the room. The moment the door closed behind them, Ron's shoulders sagged. _Great. Just great… If they reacted this way, then how are my siblings going to react? Or my study group? Why did Malfoy have to be such a cunt to everyone at this school?_

Ron walked over to his bed, and he dropped down on it unceremoniously. He could smell Clara's perfume on it, which only served to tire him out even more. _I guess she won't be giving me those lessons after all._ He just lay there for a bit, until eventually, the door to his room opened once again. Ron's friends, and Malfoy, entered the room with annoyed looks.

"I can't believe they locked us away like children," Theo spat out.

"I don't recall you resisting when they piled us into the room," Millie reminded him, but Theo merely scoffed.

"Ron?" came Tracey's voice, and Ron sat up.

"Hello," Ron greeted them.

"You're finally back," Daphne managed a weak smile. "How was the funeral?"

"Grim," Ron replied.

"And your parents?" Daphne asked as she sat down by his side, while the others took their usual spots.

"Not pleased…" Ron replied, and then he rubbed his face. "I don't actually know where they stand on this, but I do know that they don't want me associating with Malfoy."

"The feeling is mutual, Weasley," came Malfoy's voice, but Ron just ignored it. _Too tired to bother with that shite._

"As for the Triumvirate," Ron went on. "I think I just lost their respect… They believe that I went behind their backs, which in essence, I did. They won't be supporting us when Flint comes looking for his favorite bitch."

"That would be you, Malfoy," Tracey pointed out, and Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"As long as they don't support Flint, we can make do," Theo sighed out.

"So… We can't eat in the Great Hall?" Pansy asked slowly, and Ron looked to her. He noticed that all of his friends really didn't want to eat in this room again, but he just wanted one more night of peace with his siblings.

"Tomorrow morning, Pansy," Ron promised, and she nodded weakly. "I just can't handle my siblings tonight. Daph, can you wake me up for dinner?"

"Sure, Ron," Daphne said, and then she stood up. Ron noticed that all of her nails were now covered with 'Starry Day', and he shot them a weak smile.

"Nice nails," Ron said, and Daphne blinked at him. And then, she gave him a smile.

"Thanks, Ron."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – End of Breakfast)**_

There were too many eyes on their group, and most of them were from Slytherin itself. Ron's first years seemed to be genuinely confused, especially Tori. The second years made sure to look away whenever Millie turned her head. The older students, especially Flint's gang, were just staring at Ron and Malfoy. As for the other Houses, most of them were simply wondering why Malfoy was sitting in-between Ron and Blaise.

Ron had also noticed his siblings, and Hermione, shooting confused glares in his direction. It hadn't taken long for some of the more righteous Gryffindors to start staring either, especially Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. Ron knew that Malfoy had specifically targeted Thomas in the past because he was a Muggle-Born, which meant that all of Thomas' friends were beginning to get riled up as well. _As soon as the bell rings, we're legging it towards the common room._

"I get that I'm handsome… But all this staring a little too much," Theo whispered, and everyone blinked at him. "Just trying to ease the tension…"

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Pansy whispered.

"We can't spend the rest of our schooling years in the boys' room," Millie countered. "Keep your head up, Pansy. Don't let them see a shred of weakness."

"Okay…" Pansy nodded weakly, and then she straightened her back like Millie.

"We're definitely getting cornered by my siblings," Ron told them. "When that happens, I'll ask them to speak to me in the Courtyard. You lot can then hover in the background somewhere, but don't go too far. I want to keep my eyes on you."

"What are you going to tell them?" Tracey asked. "I reckon you should tell them everything. Theo's idea about playing the sympathy card could really help you out here."

"You can tell them about my debt," Blaise volunteered, and Ron realized that he hadn't heard Blaise speak in a while. "Everything about it…"

"Even about your mother?" Ron asked, and Blaise's head bowed a little.

"Yes," Blaise whispered, his eyes returning to his plate. _He doesn't feel comfortable with that, does he?_ Ron looked towards Daphne, who shook her head in a subtle manner. _She's right. I can't embarrass him for my sake._

"Just put it all on me," Malfoy said suddenly, and everyone eyed him with surprise. "What? They already hate me, right? Why are you all prancing around the topic like headless chickens? I could hardly care for their opinions of me, so use that. Tell them that I used an old debt to get Blaise on my side, and that you 'heroically' stepped in to 'help' your friend."

"Don't make it sound like it happened any differently," Tracey hissed, and Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You put us all in this position."

"I'm looking out for myself, just as all of you did back in first year," Malfoy shrugged, and the girls glared at him.

"Um… guys…" Theo started, his eyes fixed on an approaching Ginny. "We have a problem heading our way." Everyone looked towards Ginny, and Ron drew in a deep breath when he saw that she was glaring at him. _Here we go._ "Don't bring up Flint, alright? The Triumvirate will fuck us up if we do that." _Merlin, how am I supposed to play the sympathy card then?!_

"Ron," Ginny hissed, her eyes darting towards an amused Malfoy. "What is this?"

"Breakfast," Malfoy replied, and Ron kicked his shin under the table.

"Ginny, let's go outside-" Ron started, but she quickly cut him off.

"You're friends with **him** now?!" Ginny yelled, and everyone in the Great Hall went silent. Ron quickly looked around to notice that everyone was staring at them, which only served to embarrass Ron and his friends. Ron quickly got out of his seat, and his friends and Malfoy followed suit.

"Outside, now," Ron said, and then he began making his way towards the Courtyard. Eyes followed them all the way, and Ron spotted Hermione and his brothers quickly following after them.

"You're unbelievable, Ron," Ginny hissed from his side. "You… You just can't help but spit on everything that our parents raised us to believe, can you?" Ron had to fight to hide his hurt, but Ginny wasn't done yet. "Draco bloody Malfoy? Of all the bigots that you could choose to be friends with, you picked him? A Malfoy, Ron? What are you playing at, huh? Say something!"

"How about you show your older brother some respect?" Tracey snapped.

"Shut up, Davis," Ginny snapped back. "This is between Ron and his Family. So sod off."

"Ginny, that's enough," Ron shot her an angered look, which jarred her for a moment. But then, her face tightened with rage.

"You're so pathetic," Ginny said venomously, and Ron noticed his friends' faces darken. Malfoy, on the other hand, was genuinely surprised at what he was witnessing. "I bet Malfoy groveled and stroked your never-ending ego, and you immediately jumped on the chance to be friends with another 'wealthy Pure-Blood'. How could you do this to mum and dad?!" As they stepped further into the Courtyard, Ron stopped walking.

"Go wait by the tree behind me," Ron told his friends, who slowly did as they were told. All of them except for Daphne, who was staring at Ginny with murderous intent.

"Ron, what's going on here?" came Percy's voice, and Ron looked to find his brothers, Hermione, and Luna catch up to them. "Why are you-"

"You're eating with a Malfoy now?!" Fred demanded, while George shot his twin a frown.

"Just hear him out before you all start yelling," George stepped in front of Ron, something that really surprised him. _I thought that he'd be angrier. But then again, he's a lot more patient than Fred._

"Greengrass, this is Family business," Ginny glared at Daphne, who simply walked up and stood by Ron's side.

"Tell that to Granger as well then," Daphne pointed out, and Ginny blinked at her.

"I… I can come back later…" Hermione mumbled, her confused eyes darting between Malfoy and Ron.

"No, Hermione," Ginny said quickly. "You have the right to be here."

"Then so does Daphne," Ron told them all, he'd be damned if he let them push his witch around.

"Ron, just tell us why Malfoy was eating with you?" Percy asked, he looked rather confused himself.

"Because he clearly wants Malfoy's-"

"Ginny, please be quiet," Luna said, her usual aloofness gone. Everyone looked towards Luna at that, while Ginny looked visibly stunned. "You're turning this into a fight when it can be a discussion. So just be quiet." Luna then looked to Ron, who swallowed thickly because, for a moment, he thought that Pandora was staring at him with her piercing gaze. "Ron, what's going on here?"

"Malfoy is a part of my group now, but it's not what you all think," Ron started, he knew that he had to be quick and precise here. "He's here because he needs protection within the House."

"What?" the twins blinked, while Percy gave Ron an even more confused look.

"I can't tell you all the details, but he basically needed help," Ron continued. "And in an effort to gain said help, he called in his chit with Blaise-"

"What 'chit'?" Fred asked. "What are you on about?!"

"Ron, let me," Daphne said, she knew that Ron had a weak spot when it came to his own Family. "When Blaise and Malfoy were younger, Blaise found himself owing Malfoy a debt of gratitude. Now, as you all know, a debt like this has to be repaid, or your Family is left dishonored. Malfoy was forcing Blaise into being his friend, and Blaise was willing to leave the group in order to do that, but we all learned of what was happening. We all agreed to bring Malfoy into the group so that Blaise wouldn't be made an outcast within the House. Ron is protecting his friend, that's all."

"Why doesn't Zabini just not repay his debt?" Hermione asked slowly, and Daphne frowned at her. "It sounds like he's willing to let Ron, his friend, suffer so that he can keep his 'Family's honor'… Which just sounds like more Pure-Blood jargon to me…"

"Pure-Blood jargon?" Daphne repeated, while Ron too frowned at Hermione. "Just because you don't understand our traditions doesn't mean that they are not to be respected, Granger. You are currently standing on the ground built by people who followed the Old Ways. So show some damn respect."

"Well, times change," Hermione argued back, she wasn't going to let Greengrass talk down to her. "We aren't living in the tenth century anymore."

"And **our** Family doesn't believe in the Old Ways," Ginny glared at Ron. "You lot have turned him into this… this pathetic caricature that just looks like Ronnie!" Ron rubbed his forehead at that, when had she started thinking so lowly of him?

"Ginny, control yourself," Percy frowned. "Don't make me drag you up to Gryffindor Tower again."

"I told you lot that Weasley was just another snake!" came Finnegan's voice, and everyone turned to look at the crowd of students walking up to them. _Merlin have mercy…_ "So you're friends with Malfoy now? Is that it?"

"I'm not friends with-"

"He's the worst of the lot," Thomas frowned towards Malfoy, and then he shook his head at Ron. _I'm sorry, but who the fuck are you to shake your head at me? Bloody cunt._

"Finally showing your true colors, eh?!" Cormac McLaggen grinned, his excitement disgusted the people around him.

"McLaggen, shut the fuck up," Alicia Spinnet rolled her eyes, which earned her nods from various students.

"Language," Percy frowned at them. "What is the reason behind this… mob? Don't you all have better things to do?"

"They're here for a show," Daphne whispered to Ron, whose hands were starting to shake. He couldn't lie to himself, he was rather terrified of losing all of his hard-earned respect. _It took me two years to get here, and I might lose it all in one fucking day._ Ron quickly hid his hands in his pockets, he wasn't going to give them a single inch.

"Ron doesn't have to justify himself to any of you," Tracey said as she stepped forward, followed by the rest of Ron's friends. Malfoy chose to linger by the tree, an amused smirk on his face.

"Listen up!" Blaise called, and people blinked at him. _What's he doing?_ "I owed Malfoy a debt of gratitude, which I'm sure many of you can understand the gravitas of! I had to pay him back by being his ally, and I knew that that would turn you all against my friends! So I chose to leave my friends for their own sake's, but Ron chose to help me anyway! Like a true friend would! He's standing here, being gawked at as if he were an exotic beast by you lot, and he's doing it for my sake! That's who he is! So you lot can either respect the strength of his character, or just piss right off!"

Ron shot Blaise a slightly surprised look, he hadn't heard the dark-skinned wizard raise his voice so loudly before. _It's like he was just holding it in for that little speech._ Most of the crowd just exchanged looks, while some of them nodded slowly. Ron spotted his first years break out from the crowd and join his side, which then resulted in the other first years nodding in approval.

"I don't know about you lot, but what he does is none of our business," came Cedric's voice, and Ron gave him a nod. _The Hufflepuffs will listen to him._ "Is the study group on for this Friday, Ron?" Cedric asked, a very serious look on his handsome face. "It's just that classes are starting next week, and some of us need to get back in the studying mood."

"Yeah, it's on," Ron replied, deciding to take Cedric's lifeline.

"My friends and I will see you there then," Cedric said, and then he turned around and left with his friends. The other Hufflepuffs slowly followed his lead, with little Beth giving Ron a shy smile and wave. _Saved by Cedric Diggory. Again._ The crowd slowly started to dissipate at that, with Ron's study group giving him understanding nods and smiles. And soon enough, the students of Hogwarts had returned to their own daily lives. But the third year Gryffindors decided to stay behind, especially an angered Finnegan.

" **We're** not going to your study group, Weasley," Finnegan bit out.

"Speak for yourself," Fay Dunbar frowned at her House-mate, who genuinely gaped at her betrayal. "He's protecting his friend, and as far as I can tell, that's pretty noble of him."

"We'll be there on Friday, Ron," Parvati said, while Lavender nodded her agreement. "Seamus doesn't speak for the rest of us."

"Are you lot seriously buying this nonsense?!" Finnegan exclaimed. "They're **Slytherins**! They know how to lie!"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your display of House-Antagonism, Seamus," Percy said immediately. Ron bit back a relieved laugh, Ginny and Hermione frowned at Percy, Lavender's group glared at Finnegan, and the twins kept their eyes on Ron. "Go back to your dormitories. Now." Finnegan and Thomas stormed off angrily, while the Lavender and her friends waved Ron goodbye. Ron waved back, a smile appearing on his face. _They all stood up for me? Bloody hell! Haha! YES!_

"So it's really true then?" George asked. "That piece of shite is blackmailing you?"

"Not blackmailing me…" Ron sighed out. "He made a good move, and I can't do anything about it."

"Can't? Or won't?" Ginny asked.

"What is your damn problem?" Pansy asked Ginny. "Does Family loyalty mean nothing to you?"

"Ron doesn't need to justify himself to you," Tracey added, she looked extremely pissed off all of a sudden.

"He can tell Malfoy to sod off, but he isn't!" Ginny argued hotly. "He's simply playing one of his games again!" _In a way, she's right, but she's also starting to anger me as well._

"What games, Ginny?" Ron asked, and then he looked to his brothers. "Say something to her. Why are you just standing there?"

"I don't like the idea of you fraternizing with a Malfoy," Fred sighed out. "Ron… They're a bunch of bigots… And Malfoy, he's the worst of the lot."

"And like I said, he's only there for his own benefit," Ron told them. "I'm not his friend, nor do I listen to a word that he says."

"He's called every Muggle-Born in this school a…" Ginny trailed off, and then she looked to Hermione. "Tell him."

"It's true," Hermione said, she was still shooting wary looks towards Malfoy.

"And who defended you the first time he called you that slur?" Ron asked.

"You…" Hermione sighed out, and Ron nodded to himself.

"He won't be using those slurs," Ron assured them. "I've given him a warning, and he's respected it so far."

"And if he doesn't?" Luna asked, her sharp gaze moving towards Malfoy.

"Then he's out," Ron replied.

"I think that's fair," Luna nodded. "Ron is protecting Blaise, and he is staying true to his beliefs."

"How?" Ginny asked. "Why do you always just kiss his arse, Luna? Am I the only person who can't stand who he is now?"

"That's it!" Tracey suddenly yelled, making everyone flinch. Her eyes narrowed on a startled Ginny, and Ron quickly tried to calm her down.

"No, Ron!" Tracey bit out, and then she glared back at Ginny. "You're such a little bitch!"

"Oi!" the twins yelled, while Ginny just blinked in shock.

"You knew all along that your brother was innocent last year, but you never once uttered a word in his defense!" Tracey snapped, and everyone went wide-eyed. "You're a little self-righteous hypocrite! What makes you the moral authority on anything?! Huh?! What makes you even fit to comment on Ron's business?! If you were my sister, I would've slapped your fucking head off by now! How he puts up with your constant berating is beyond me! You let your brother get shamed by Granger and her dogs just so that you could keep your little secret! You nearly killed four people out of sheer fucking stupidity, and yet you dare speak to **him** like that?! Fuck off, you little tart!"

"Merlin…" Millie muttered, and then she grabbed Tracey from behind and tried to take her back to the tree. Ron and his other friends were quite shocked at Tracey's outburst, especially because it didn't suit her whatsoever.

"And fuck you too, Granger!" Tracey yelled as Millie carried her away. "Frizzy haired, buck-toothed bitch!"

"What the hell?" Ron looked towards Daphne, who quickly rushed over to calm Tracey down alongside Pansy. _What the fuck was that?!_ Ron looked to his startled first years, and oddly enough, Astoria was grinning as widely as she could. The others, on the other hand, were genuinely scared of Tracey. Ron then looked to his stunned siblings, and unsurprisingly, Ginny was close to tears. _Tracey just threw all of Ginny's trauma in her face…_

"Gin…" Ron started, but Ginny glared at him through teary eyes.

"Go be friends with Malfoy then!" Ginny spat out, her voice cracking. "Fucking traitor!" Ron was genuinely shocked into silence at that, but then a familiar rage began stirring in his stomach.

"Ginny, you take that back right now!" Percy yelled, but Ginny had already started running away in tears. Hermione quickly ran after her, while the twins just glared at Tracey. _Shite, they'll go after Tracey now._

"Stay away from Tracey," Ron said as he moved in the way of their glares.

"Did you not hear what she just said to Ginny?" Fred snarled.

"I heard it, and you know what, she's right," Ron said bitterly. _Me? A fucking traitor? Fuck that!_ "You're all just so damn ungrateful, aren't you? I'm a 'traitor' for defending my friend? Is that it? After everything I've done for Ginny, this is how she repays me?" _**Ginny called Us a traitor. She's turned on Us like some venomous serpent.**_

"Ron, let's just go," Theo said gently. "Don't get so angry over something like this."

"This is all Potter's fault," Ron spoke to himself, his face twitching slightly. "He's turned her against me…" Percy and the twins exchanged slow looks, and then they looked to Theo and Blaise. "He was spying on me during the Funeral Gathering…"

"He was?" Percy asked slowly, what was wrong with Ron's face? "Ron… You're starting to worry me…"

"What's wrong with his face?" George asked.

"Just go, alright?" Blaise said quickly. "Go now." Ron felt Theo pull him towards the tree, but he chose to ignore it. _She called me a fucking traitor. Ginny called me a fucking traitor. What the fuck? What the fuck?!_

"Just breathe, Ron," Theo whispered, he was starting to get scared of Ron's jittery behavior.

"This has to be Potter's doing," Ron told himself. "Theo, they're turning my sister against me."

"Fucking hell, you're starting to scare me," Theo swallowed thickly, and then he reached into his robes and pulled out a Calming Draught. "I always carry one around… Drink it. Please…"

"I'm the only reason why they're even alive…" Ron hissed, and Theo jerked him to a stop.

"Fuck me…" Theo looked between Malfoy and Ron's brothers, and then he quickly undid the cork. "Here, mate." Ron just drank down the Potion without a second thought, his body shaking with from adrenaline.

"What's the matter with him?" Fred called out.

"What are you giving him?" George added.

"It's a Calming Draught," Theo replied, and everyone looked to him with shocked looks. Ron felt his body loosen a bit as the Potion began to cool down his stomach.

"What?!" Daphne snapped, but Theo gave her a look that surprised her silent.

"Ron has trouble with anger, and stress," Blaise told Ron's siblings, and Percy's eyes widened for a second. He knew about Ron's Chronic Stress, and he hadn't even thought of that. Did Ron's friends carry around Calming Draughts for his sake?

"Fred… George… Let's go find Ginny," Percy said quickly, his eyes fixed on Ron. "Luna, you as well."

"But Ron's clearly going through something-" George started, but Percy cut him off.

"His friends will take care of him," Percy said quickly. "Let's go find Ginny. **Now**!"

"Alright, alright…" the twins muttered, their eyes darting between Ron and Percy. Ron's brothers began to leave, but Luna just stood in her spot.

"Luna, we're-"

"I'm staying," Luna told Percy, who drew in a deep breath. And then, he yanked the twins after him. Luna then walked up to Ron, who was just staring past Theo. _Why am I even getting so worked up about this? Ginny clearly needs to sort through her own issues. Let's not forget that she went through a lot of 'Slytherin related' problems last year. But I doubt that she knows that it was Lucius Malfoy who planted the Diary on her person. If she knew that, then she'd probably lash out even more at my current predicament._

"Are you there, Ron?" Theo called, while everyone surrounded him. Ron nodded, and then he looked to Tracey.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked her rather coldly, and she cleared her eyes. "Angry tears?"

"Yeah…" Tracey mumbled. "I'm sick of your 'Family' treating you like that, Ron. Sick of it…" _I should reward her loyalty._

"I appreciate you standing up for me, Tracey," Ron 'smiled', and Tracey nodded slowly. "Why don't we spend some time together after this? I'll help you with anything that you need."

"Ron? Why are you speaking like that?" Lysandra asked, and Ron turned his 'smile' towards the first years.

"You eight did well," Ron told them. "I'll teach you a new Spell tomorrow before the study group. Is Midday alright with you all?"

"Yes!" they all quickly agreed, even Mathew was openly excited.

"Why don't you lot go and enjoy the rest of your day?" Ron suggested. "I just need to take care of a few things."

"Are you sure?" Mathew asked, and Ron nodded. "Alright then. Let's leave him be for now, guys." _Yes, scurry away._ As the first years left, Luna exchanged quick looks with Ron's friends. Pansy gestured her to leave as well, much to her surprise.

"Do you drug Weasley often?" Malfoy asked, and Millie immediately tried to smack him.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Daphne hissed, and then she looked to Ron with a wary look. "Ron, let's go to the Black Lake."

"Black Lake?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded with a smile. _She's forcing a smile at me? Does she think that'll work?_ "Stop smiling like an idiot, I'm not a toddler." Daphne flinched a bit at that, while Malfoy looked utterly gobsmacked. "But I see what you're trying to do. You don't want me going into Slytherin like this, right?"

"Right…" Daphne whispered, while Pansy slowly took her hand.

"Then say that next time," Ron rolled his eyes, and then he moved past them. "It'll be nice, I suppose. I'm just glad to be outside for a change. Keep up, Malfoy. We don't want Flint kidnapping you, do we?" _Plus, I can use this time to think of a strategy against Flint. He'll no doubt be pissed off about Malfoy joining my merry band. Now, how do I deal with a Troll?_

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Black Lake – Afternoon)**_

Draco couldn't deny that he had no idea what to even think right now. Weasley had gone from being a thug to being a complete sociopath, one that the others were genuinely afraid of. The last few days had been oddly fun for Draco, not only did he finally feel safe for once, but he also got to make his former friends extremely uncomfortable. He, of course, knew that sooner or later, his amusement was going to end. He would have to explain himself to his parents, after all. But that didn't matter much to him right now because he was just glad to sleep with both eyes closed for a change.

And then, Weasley was cornered by his Family and Granger. Draco could barely keep his smile hidden as everyone ripped into Weasley, and when Finnegan had shown up, Draco had nearly burst into laughter. But then Blaise had to go and ruin everything. Draco's fun came to an abrupt end as people from the other Houses stood up for Weasley, and the way that the younger students looked at him bothered Draco quite a bit. Weasley had their genuine respect. He was adored by his 'study group'. Even Lavender and her gossiping crows had stood by Weasley.

Draco's smile had died on his face, and he was filled with a sickening amount of envy. Weasley had everything that Draco wanted. And the worst part was that if Draco had been smarter in his earlier school days, he could've had the same type of respect as Weasley. The way that Davis had stood up for Weasley had left Draco utterly surprised, and once again, green with envy. She had screamed and fought to defend Weasley's honor… No one had ever done that for Draco.

And then there was the fact that Davis, in her rage, had let slip something rather outrageous. Ginny Weasley was behind the attacks last year… Ginny Weasley was the 'Heir of Slytherin'… Draco's jaw had dropped open, and when Ginny Weasley had started throwing her tantrum, Draco knew that Davis was right. It had jarred him into utter silence. Weasley and his friends were somehow connected to the 'Heir of Slytherin's' downfall last year, and Draco couldn't deny his curiosity. But now was not the time to bring it up, not with Weasley acting so… off.

The red-haired menace was simply enjoying the cool breeze, acting as if his own blood hadn't just labeled him a 'fucking traitor'. Weasley was at peace, but everyone else was now tense. Greengrass, Bulstrode, and Pansy seemed to be keeping their eyes on Weasley. Theo and Blaise were just skipping rocks, but they too shot occasional looks at Weasley. As for Davis and Lovegood, both girls were talking to each other in hushed whispers.

"Isn't this nice?" Weasley suddenly asked everyone, and Draco broke out of his thoughts. _His smile isn't even reaching his eyes. He's forcing it on. Fuck, it's really creepy._

"It is," Pansy nodded. "I'm just glad to be out of that room. I swear you boys were farting constantly."

"It was Theo, I think," Weasley shrugged, and Theo gaped at him.

"I would never fart… in the presence of Ladies," Theo argued. _It's odd. They speak so freely with one another. It's like they've forgotten how our parents raised us. Pansy talking about 'farts' so openly… Her mother would die if she saw this. Good riddance, I say. Her mother is a complete bitch._

"Malfoy, isn't this nice?" Weasley asked, his 'smile' turning towards Draco. _He's talking to me?_ Draco looked to the others, and he noticed Pansy nodding her head at him.

"It is," Draco replied, and then he looked towards the Lake.

"I bet you feel really glad that you don't have to worry about Flint anymore," Weasley went on, and Draco looked back to him. "No more bullying for little Draco…" _What's he up to?_

"Ron, do you want to listen to my Walkman?" Davis asked quickly, but Weasley simply shook his head. The redhead's cold gaze was fixed on Draco, and despite trying to keep his composure, the hairs on the back of Draco's neck were starting to rise.

"You look just like your father," Weasley told Draco, something that made Draco blink. "It's your long hair…"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Draco said, something was not right here.

"Is everything alright, Ron?" Lovegood asked slowly, her eyes darting towards everyone. _So she's picked up on it too. There's venom behind every word that's coming out of his mouth._

"Of course," Weasley replied. "Everything is just fine…" Weasley then looked towards Pansy, and she managed a weak smile at him. "I reckon Draco needs a haircut." _What? And when did I allow him to call me Draco?!_

"Pardon?" Pansy blinked, while Bulstrode and Greengrass seemed to have frozen in their spots.

"I don't need a haircut," Draco stood up, his face twisting in anger. "How dare you-"

"Either Pansy cuts your hair, or I do," Weasley 'smiled' at him.

"Ron, stop it," Blaise spoke up, but one look from Weasley shut him up.

"Pansy, give him a nice new haircut," Weasley ordered, his pale blue eyes fixed on Draco's.

"I… I don't…" Pansy muttered.

"Fine, I'll do it," Weasley shrugged, and then he took his wand out. Draco quickly reached for his own wand, but by the time his hand had reached into his robes, Weasley had bound and gagged him with the Incarcerous Charm. Draco lost his balance and fell to his side with a dull thud, and he heard one of the girls squeal.

"I'll do it!" Pansy quickly spoke up, and then she rushed over to Draco's side. "I'll give him a haircut." _Fucking psychopath!_

"Thanks, Pansy," Weasley nodded in approval. "Something short, but stylish, will do. Not an undercut though, I still use that look."

"Alright," Pansy nodded fervently, and then she looked to Theo and Blaise for help. Draco groaned in protest as the two boys sat him up, his eyes darting towards everyone. Lovegood was just staring at Weasley with wide-eyes, while Bulstrode and Greengrass had started averting their gazes. _WHAT THE FUCK?! HE'S INSANE!_

"Ron, stop it," Lovegood suddenly said, but Weasley ignored her as he approached Draco.

"You think I didn't notice you smiling whilst this group was under attack?" Weasley asked in a cold whisper, and Draco swallowed thickly. "You've been enjoying yourself, right? Making us miserable. Thinking that you've outmaneuvered me. Believing that as long as you own Blaise, you can do as you please." Weasley then reached forward and undid Draco's gag.

"You fucking psycho-" Draco started, but a quick slap shut him up. Draco was honestly dazed by the force behind Weasley's blow, but he could hear Lovegood gasping in horror.

"I've thought of a plan, you see," Weasley drawled. "I'll make you as miserable as us. I think that's fair, don't you? Yes… It is, indeed. Since we can't talk openly anymore, then neither will you. No more smirks, no more amused smiles, no more arrogant remarks…"

"You promised to… to protect me," Draco blinked repeatedly. _What the fuck is happening?!_

"From Flint, yes," Weasley said coldly. "But not from me." Weasley then stood up to his full height, and Draco could do little but stare up at him. "Pansy, do your work please." With that, Weasley left enjoy the cold breeze again. Theo and Blaise gave Draco odd looks, and then they too left. _They're just going to ignore this?!_

"Pansy, don't…" Draco whispered frantically, but he felt her grab his ponytail. "Please…"

"Either I cut it, or he does," Pansy replied weakly, and then she drew in a deep breath. "And don't use my first name." And that's when he felt her cut his ponytail off.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunchtime)**_

Weasley was worse than Flint. Draco had made a deal with the Devil in order to get away from a Demon. Once again, Draco was left disgusted by his own lack of foresight. He had given into his petty nature once again, and because of that, he hadn't seen Weasley's true face in time. He desperately wanted to believe that his former friends only followed Weasley around because they were scared of him, but the truth was that they revered him. They were scared of him, and yet they loved him completely.

Draco just couldn't figure it out. What had they all gone through together that made them so close to one another? Was it the fact that they had played some part in the Heir's downfall? If so, then why was Ginny Weasley not in Azkaban? He had a burning desire to find the truth, which was a feeling that he himself couldn't figure out. Why was Weasley so different from his siblings? Was his current state his real self? If so, then Draco knew that he had to be careful from now on.

Lunch was an odd affair, mostly because Weasley kept insisting that 'Malfoy needs some meat on his bones'. In one sitting, Draco had eaten more than he had all week. Quite a lot of people gave Weasley odd looks, but no one really said anything. It was no secret that Draco had lost a lot of weight due to his recent hardships, so people just assumed that Weasley was being thoughtful. Because of this, Draco knew why Weasley had made Pansy give him a very decent haircut. Draco looked much better than he had in weeks, which meant that no one would believe him when he told them that Weasley had completely humiliated him.

"Here, Draco," Weasley 'smiled' as he put another piece of pie on Draco's plate. "Eat this as well. It's really good."

"I… I can't take another bite…" Draco managed, he was filled up to his throat.

"Ron, I think he's eaten enough," Greengrass said, her eyes fixed on Draco's pie. "I think you-"

"Eat the pie!" Weasley hissed, his fist slamming down on the table. Draco's entire body tensed, while the rest of the group went dead silent. "Eat it, or I'll force it down your gullet." _Fuck…_ Draco took a spoonful, and he put it in his mouth. "Good, right?"

"Yeah…" Draco nodded, making sure to chew slowly.

"Have my juice," Weasley smirked, his left eye twitching. It was an odd thing to witness, but it terrified Draco nonetheless. _He looks fucking unhinged._ Draco took a sip of the pumpkin juice, his eyes darting towards Lovegood, who was watching him with a sorry look from the Ravenclaw table. _She'll never tell anyone the truth about what he did to me. And I don't blame her. Her 'brother' is a sociopath._

"I like this hairstyle on you," Weasley noted, and then he looked towards Pansy. "What's this one called, Pans?"

"A short faux hawk cut," Pansy replied, she looked much calmer than the others for some reason. _She doesn't want to give him a reason to turn on her? Yeah, that has to be it._

"Very sharp," Weasley nodded, his eyes darting down towards Draco's pie. Draco quickly took another spoonful and put it in his mouth, and he prayed to the Gods that he wouldn't vomit in public.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"This looks suits you much better, Draco," Snape said from behind his desk, his head nodding in a curt manner. "You look alive again." For some reason though, Draco's heart sank at his Godfather's compliment. Weasley had escorted him right here after lunch, but only because Snape had asked him to.

"Thank you, Godfather," Draco said softly.

"Is something on your mind?" Snape asked, and Draco just stared at him for a bit. "Draco… You can speak to me." _I've made another mistake, I think._

"My move against Weasley…" Draco started. _Has backfired._ "It's working. I am no longer in danger from Flint." Oddly enough, his own pride had stopped him from admitting his newest blunder. _What would Godfather say if I told him that I was once again in need of his help?_

"It was a good move," Snape nodded. "Well done, Draco."

"I broke my promise to Blaise," Draco pointed out.

"No one can dig out of a grave without getting their hands dirty," Snape told him. "You did what was best for you, and it seems to have worked out for everyone. Well… Everyone but Mr. Weasley. The whole school is talking about his sister's 'tantrum'."

"It was surprising," Draco admitted. "To hear his own sister call him a traitor…" _But not as surprising as what followed._

"The Weasleys are a temperamental lot," Snape said coldly. "It's one of their biggest weaknesses, but also one of their greatest strengths."

"Strengths?" Draco blinked.

"Rage can fuel a man when nothing else will," Snape replied, and Draco nodded slowly.

"You're giving me lessons again," Draco said, his lips twitching upwards. "Does that mean that you are no longer angry with me?"

"It means that you've earned my forgiveness by finally utilizing your mind," Snape replied, and Draco managed a smile. "Now, what do you plan to do about your parents?"

"I will tell them that I plan to dismantle Weasley's group from the inside out," Draco replied, he had been plotting this ever since Weasley had accepted him. "I will tell them that I've turned Flint's gang against Weasley, and while Weasley tackles that Troll, I'll rebuild my strength and influence within the House." _Which is my actual goal anyway._

"That will have to serve," Snape nodded. "I will, of course, give your plan credibility."

"Thank you, Godfather," Draco bowed his head respectfully.

"How is Mr. Weasley treating you?" Snape asked, and Draco blinked at him. _What do I say?_ "I saw him feeding you as if you were a child during lunch. Care to explain that?"

"He said that I needed more meat on my bones," Draco replied, and Snape nodded slowly.

"I see," Snape whispered coldly. "You are excused, Draco." Draco stood up at that, and then he made his way towards the exit. "If he hurts you, you must tell me immediately." Draco stopped and turned around, a slightly surprised look on his face.

"Hurt me?" Draco asked, but Snape didn't say anything back. Instead, his Godfather just stared at him. _Does… Does he know what Weasley's really like?_ When Snape didn't say anything more, Draco slowly left the Office.

"Finished?" Weasley asked, and Draco nodded as he closed the door.

"Flint will be waiting for us at the common room," Theo pointed out, and everyone nodded in agreement. "How do we handle this?"

"We ignore him," Weasley said, his voice was far too monotone for Draco's liking. _How do they deal with this?!_

"Ignore him?" Greengrass asked, while the others just exchanged looks.

"I reckon that'll piss him off the most," Weasley shrugged.

"Shouldn't we try to **not** piss Flint off?" Draco asked, and everyone frowned at him. _Fine… I'll just stay quiet then._

"He is right though," Davis sighed out. "Starting a fight with Flint isn't the smart call here."

"There won't be a fight," Weasley told her. "We'll ignore him, he'll get angry, I'll tell him that Draco is no longer his to torment, and then like the Troll that he is, he will get riled up." _Why is he calling me Draco? I hate it… It makes me feel so uncomfortable… Wait… This bastard._

"You want him to hit you?" Blaise asked, and Weasley 'smiled'. "Ron, let's just go to the Courtyard until this Potion wears off… This isn't you, mate…"

"Once he hits me, I'll be 'defending' myself," Weasley told them, he was clearly ignoring Blaise's advice. "Think about it. If we let him walk all over us, or if we try and avoid him, it will only serve to embolden him. He's a bully, and bullies go after the people that they believe to be weak. I'll show him, and the Triumvirate, that we are not to be crossed." _Is it weird that a part of me wants Weasley to beat Flint senseless? They're around the same height, and although Flint has more strength, Weasley's clearly the stronger wizard._

"Ron, I want to talk to you," Greengrass said firmly, and Weasley gave her a curt nod. As soon as Weasley stepped away with Greengrass, Bulstrode glared at Theo.

"Why did you give him a Calming Draught?" Bulstrode hissed, and Theo signaled her to lower her voice.

"I didn't have a choice," Theo whispered, and then he looked towards Draco. "Malfoy, go away for a second." Draco rolled his eyes, and then he gave them their space. Theo was clearly explaining himself to the others, while Greengrass was talking animatedly with Weasley. Truth be told, Draco was quite interested in the conversation happening between Weasley and Greengrass. _Those two are clearly involved. Or at least, they both want to be._ After a few minutes, Weasley and Greengrass joined the others, and Draco took that as his signal to return to the group.

"We're going to the Courtyard until dinner," Weasley told them, and then he simply turned around and started to leave. _Right. Let's follow the deranged bastard._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

This was it. They were finally heading into the common room. Weasley was still a bit out of it, but at least he had eased up on making Draco miserable. Whatever Greengrass had said to him had worked, and Draco was truly grateful for it, even if he would never show it. As they stepped into the common room, Draco's eyes darted around the room. _There he is._

"He's sitting in our spot," Davis frowned deeply, while Draco worked to steady his nerves.

"I bet he thinks that he's being clever," Theo shook his head. "Trying to get to us by taking our spot… What a moron."

"What do we do?" Greengrass asked Weasley, who was just staring at Flint.

"Let's go play cards in our room," Weasley shrugged, and Draco's mouth dropped open. _He's still out of it! He's gone from being terrifying to just not caring about anything._ Weasley began heading towards the boys' dorm, but lo and behold, Flint's gang quickly got up and moved into their way. _Oh Merlin, it's happening._ As Draco slowly moved his hand closer to his wand, he noticed that the rest of the common room had gone dead silent.

"Going somewhere, Weasley?" Flint asked, while Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles at Draco.

"We were, until you stepped in our way," Weasley replied calmly. "Mind stepping aside?"

"We will, after you hand over that little rat," Flint replied, his eyes landing on Draco. "You little bitch… Running to Weasley for protection? Really?"

"Fuck, you're so ugly," Weasley suddenly said, his aloof voice making even Flint blink. _Wow…_ "Don't sneer near me please, I don't want nightmares tonight."

"Hand Malfoy over, Weasel," Flint snarled, his face tightening in anger. Bulstrode slowly moved in front of Draco, much to his surprise. _We're about to fight? Oh, fuck me…_ "That's our Seeker that you're stealing." Flint then looked to the other Slytherins. "Weasley here is ruining our chances of winning the Quidditch Cup this year. As Captain of the Quidditch Team, I have the right pick whichever student I think is best for a position."

"Malfoy, do you want to play Seeker this year?" Weasley asked, all the while ignoring the whispers around them.

"No," Draco replied.

"And Flint is forcing you into it?" Weasley asked.

"He is," Draco replied.

"Flint clearly doesn't understand that bullying is a terrible motivator," Weasley told everyone. "He's the one damaging our Quidditch Team's chances by forcing an **unwilling** individual into arguably the Team's most important role. And not only that, but he is blatantly abusing his position as the Quidditch Captain by not holding Quidditch tryouts. He just wants to torment Malfoy, and he's risking this House's victory in order to please himself." The people in the common room began nodding and whispering, while Flint glared murder at Weasley.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Flint hissed. "Fucking Blood-Traitor." Draco looked towards the back of Weasley's head at that, his mouth feeling a little dry. Was Weasley finally about to lose it?

"Are you done?" Weasley simply asked. "Mind stepping out of the way?"

"Flint, that's enough," Carey Ductu spoke up, and everyone looked towards the Triumvirate.

"You're taking his side?" Flint demanded.

"No, but you're ruining our evening with your little tantrum," Clara Martyris smirked. "Since Malfoy clearly doesn't want to be your Seeker, you'll need to hold tryouts. Ronald makes a good point, no one can deny that."

"Now let them pass," Samantha added. "You're a seventh year, at least act like one." Flint glared at the Triumvirate, and then at Weasley, and then he slowly stepped aside.

"This isn't over," Flint spat out, his eyes fixed on Draco. "Graham sent his owl to your parents' Manor, Malfoy… Expect to hear from them soon." Draco tensed even more, but he didn't show Flint any weakness. They all quietly moved past Flint's gang, and once they were in the dorms, they rushed to the boys' room.

"That went well," Weasley noted as he entered the room, while his friends just shook their heads.

"Really?" Bulstrode asked, and Weasley nodded to himself.

"We didn't get into a fight," Weasley noted, and then he shot a smile at Greengrass.

"You didn't have to call him ugly, Ron," Greengrass sighed out.

"But he is ugly," Weasley chuckled as he sat down on his bed. "Malfoy, what are you going to do about your parents?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Draco lied, and he sat down on his own bed. "But I'll think of something…"

"Alright then," Weasley said coldly. "You do that… By the way, from now on, you go wherever I go. Flint will take every opportunity to get you alone, and since I gave you my word, I don't plan to leave anything to chance. Which means that tomorrow morning, I'll be waking you up at the crack of dawn."

"What? Why?" Malfoy frowned.

"I want to see how long you can run for," Weasley replied, and Draco just blinked at him.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Library – Late Afternoon)**_

He wasn't proud of his actions yesterday, nor was he proud of how much joy he had extracted from tormenting Malfoy. But if he had the choice to go back in time, he'd change nothing. The only way to keep Malfoy from running his mouth was to make him afraid, to make him realize that Ronald Weasley could be far worse than Marcus Flint.

The Potion had done its job perfectly. Ron had been freed from his hurt and anger for a time, and in that time, he had done some much needed plotting. His first goal, which was to make Malfoy afraid of him, had succeeded quite wonderfully. His second goal, which was to show Flint's true motivations to the rest of the House, had also succeeded. And his final goal, which was keep the loyalty of his first years, had also succeeded this morning.

But ever since the Potion had worn off, Ron had begun to struggle with his own negative emotions. Ginny's words had cut deep, so deep that Ron lost his strength at the mere thought of her. Compared to the rest of his siblings, Ron arguably cared about Ginny the most. Especially after last year's events. He wanted to be as close to her as he was when they were younger. He wanted her to respect and love him, just as he did her. But she clearly didn't feel the same way.

Ron couldn't really blame her either. Her first year at Hogwarts was a Slytherin themed horror show, and in her mind, her big brother was slowly descending into the 'evil' rabbit hole. The addition of Malfoy into the group had clearly pulled out the emotions that she had been hiding away, and in her anger, she had shown Ron just what she thought of him.

Ron, of course, kept up a façade of strength, especially because he couldn't show Malfoy any weakness right now. But his friends could see that he was struggling to even smile, and that whenever things got too quiet, Ron would drift away into happier memories. He was hurt… No, he was utterly devastated because of Ginny's words. He could still picture just how terribly her face had twisted before she cut him to shreds. He could still see her running away in tears, her body shaking because of her angry sobs. He desperately wanted to find her and apologize, to convince her that he wasn't a traitor. That he was, and always would be, loyal to their Family.

And yet, a darker part of him wanted to hurt her. A very small part of him wanted to pin her down and beat her into submission. Why was he always the one who had to apologize? Why was it that no one from his Family ever understood his point of view? Why was he never given the benefit of the doubt? Had he not told them the truth this time? Sure, he hadn't told them all of it, but he hadn't left out anything important either. He had put his own lifestyle at risk in order to protect his friend, and yet she couldn't see the virtue in that. Percy, Fred, and George clearly did, even if they didn't approve of Ron's actions. The twins hated Malfoy more than they respected Ron's character, which wasn't even surprising because they could be cruel without intention.

And then there was Harry fucking Potter. Ron was now sure that Harry had once again turned on him, but try as he might, Ron couldn't figure out why. Was Harry really that jealous of Ron's alliance with Dumbledore? Had Ron done something stupid without even realizing it? What possible reason could Harry have to go after Ron now? Ron wasn't foolish enough to overlook the fact that Harry had been spying on him during a Funeral Gathering, nor was he willing to overlook just how often he spotted Ginny following the Trio around. Had Neville and Hermione turned on him as well? Probably, now that Malfoy was a part of Ron's group.

"Ron, what's this?" Beth asked, her thin little finger pointing at a picture of a Puffapod.

"That would be a Puffapod, Beth," Ron replied, his thoughts jarring to a halt. "Their spores can cause dizziness, and I hear that they make Trolls sneeze as well."

"Are you sure about the Troll thing?" a Gryffindor first year asked, and Ron gave him a wink.

"I wrote it down on my homework once, and I got full marks," Ron told them, and every first year immediately wrote it down.

Hermione, Ginny, Finnegan, and Thomas weren't here today, but the rest of his study group had shown up. Despite his misery, he couldn't help but feel happy with this turnout. _I had expected the study group to die because of Malfoy being here._ Much to the blonde ponce's credit, he was quietly doing his own work. No one spoke to him, and he didn't bother asking anyone for help either. He was simply… there.

"Ron, a word?" came Pansy's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to face her. She was looking quite serious, so Ron quickly stood up.

"Keep working, you lot," Ron said to the first years. "Mathew, once again, you're in charge until I get back."

"Understood," Mathew nodded, while the Slytherins rolled their eyes. Ron then followed Pansy behind a bookshelf, and when she turned around with an angry glare, Ron cocked his eyebrow.

"Pans, what's wrong?" Ron asked.

"Ernie Macmillan is what's wrong," Pansy huffed out, and Ron blinked at her. _What?_ "Ron, he's trying to flirt with Daphne." _Huh?_ Ron just stared at Pansy's angry face for a few seconds, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"What do you mean that he's flirting with her?" Ron asked, a part of him was getting riled up. "Is she flirting back?"

"No, she's not," Pansy replied, and Ron immediately calmed down. "But she might if he doesn't stop. He's a cute boy, Ron. Think about that." _She won't flirt with him though, so I really don't have to think about how 'cute' he is._ "Ugh! What are you doing with the first years when Daphne could be stolen away from you?"

"Pansy, take a deep breath," Ron said slowly. "How many pages of Witch Weekly did you read this morning?"

"What?" Pansy frowned, and Ron bit back a smirk. "You're making jokes?!"

"Shhh," Ron quickly shushed her. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean anything by it."

"Daphne is being… being seduced by that Badger… And you're making jokes?" Pansy hissed, while Ron's lips twitched upwards.

"What are you two doing?" came Daphne's voice from behind them, and Ron turned to see Daphne putting a book back into place.

"Daphne, come here a moment," Ron beckoned, and Daphne walked up with a suspicious look. "I hear that Ernie has seduced you."

"What?" Daphne blinked, and Ron laughed inside of his mouth. "Seduced?" Daphne then looked towards Pansy. "What nonsense are you telling him, Pansy?"

"Not nonsense," Pansy huffed. "Ernest plans to ask you out today… Susan Bones told me so herself." _Is that so?_

"He already did, and I said no," Daphne told them, and both Ron and Pansy blinked at her. "He took it very well, and now we're just studying together."

"What did you tell him?" Ron asked, failing to sound even a little casual.

"I told him that I was already seeing someone," Daphne replied, and Pansy's eyes widened.

"You're cheating on Ron?!" Pansy nearly shrieked, and Ron quickly put his gloved hand over her mouth.

"Pansy, control yourself," Ron ordered, all the while doing his best to lower Pansy's accusing finger.

"We're not even dating, Pansy," Daphne bit out, and Ron shot her a confused look. _Oh wait… We haven't told anyone._ "Merlin, you need Pomfrey's help."

"Mmm…" Pansy mumbled against Ron's hand, so Ron slowly pulled his hand back. "Who are you seeing then? Huh?"

"No one, you deranged banshee," Daphne rubbed her forehead, while Pansy nodded slowly. "Ron, can I have a moment alone with Pansy?"

"Sure," Ron muttered, and then he quickly left the two girls behind. As he made his way towards his study group, Ron spotted a head full of bushy brown hair. _Hermione?_ She was currently hovering behind the corner of a book shelf, her eyes clearly searching for him. Ron calmly walked up behind her, and he tapped her shoulder. She turned around frantically, making Ron jump back in surprise.

"Oh… It's you…" Hermione breathed out, her left hand resting over her chest. "God, you nearly scared me to death…"

"What are you doing?" Ron asked slowly, his eyes darting towards his study group.

"I… I um… Oh Ron, I'm terribly sorry about this…" Hermione bowed her head, something that made Ron cock his eyebrow. "Ginny… She sent me here to see if Malfoy was in the study group…" _Ginny sent her here?_

"Ginny sent you?" Ron managed, his throat tightening.

"She's gone mental," Hermione sighed out, and then she gave him a sorry look. "I'm sorry for what she said to you yesterday, I really am. She hasn't calmed down a bit, especially after what Davis did to her."

"You mean after my friend defended me from Ginny's bile?" Ron asked coldly, and Hermione blinked at him. "Sorry… I'm just… I'm not feeling too well…" _I need to stay calm. I need to get my emotions under control before I make an even bigger mess._ "How's she doing? Besides being angry with me, that is."

"She's nothing but angry, Ron," Hermione replied. "Malfoy, Ron? Really?"

"Don't," Ron said firmly. "I'm not explaining myself again, alright? It's bad enough that I have to deal with that cunt, I don't need to put up with all your judgement as well."

"Language…" Hermione murmured. "I won't say anything about it then. What you do in Slytherin is your business."

"Good," Ron nodded, his tone slightly harsh.

"Ginny… She um… She tried to talk the other Gryffindors out of your study group… Especially her year-mates…" Hermione told him, and Ron's jaw clenched. "They chose you over her, Ron. She hasn't taken that well…" _Ginny's always the victim, isn't she?_ _Stop it… Calm down._

"She trying to turn people against me?" Ron asked, and Hermione quickly shook her head. "Then what would you say that she's doing?"

"She worried about you, obviously," Hermione argued, and Ron had to fight the urge to gawk at her. "This is Malfoy that you're 'befriending', Ron. Harry told us that it was Lucius Malfoy who gave Ginny the Diary, something that you probably didn't know about."

"I know," Ron told her, and Hermione nodded slowly. "So I should let Blaise go because he owes Lucius Malfoy's son a debt? Is that Ginny's argument?"

"She's not thinking clearly right now," Hermione told him. "Percy isn't exactly helping by telling her to apologize constantly-"

"Yes, my sister never feels the need to apologize," Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Even when we were children, she'd always get away with everything simply because she was Ginny Weasley."

"You sound just as bitter as her, Ron," Hermione frowned, and then her eyes darted to someone behind Ron. Ron turned to see Pansy and Daphne staring at Hermione.

"I'm alright," Ron told them. "Please go back to the study group."

"Call us if you need anything," Daphne said, her eyes fixed on Hermione. The two Slytherin girls left slowly, and only when they were gone did Ron look back to Hermione.

"If I sound bitter, Hermione," Ron started. "It's because I **am** bloody bitter. My own sister called me a fucking traitor in front of a dozen people."

"She didn't mean it, I'm sure," Hermione said, and Ron shook his head slowly.

"People don't say things like that unless they mean them," Ron told her. "She thinks that I'm some traitor to our Family, when in truth, I've done more for this Family than she ever will. And now she's throwing a tantrum, like she always does, in the hopes of getting her way. I bet she thought that our brothers would side with her, but they didn't. Hell, even I'm surprised by that. So now she's lashing out by trying to rally other people against me, but that's also failed."

"Ron, just talk to her," Hermione advised. "She only needs an explanation."

"I've given her one," Ron said firmly. "She **wants** an apology, but this time, she is the one who has to apologize. I'm tired of being the person who always asks for forgiveness."

"You don't **always** ask for forgiveness," Hermione pointed out haughtily. "Did you ask for Harry's forgiveness after you beat him bloody? I know that you two made up, but did you ever truly apologize?"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Ron asked her, and she immediately frowned at him. "Are you that used to acting as a moral authority on what's right and wrong that you can't even understand that what you and your friends were doing was far worse than what I did?"

"We didn't hurt anyone, Ron," Hermione snapped.

"You gave Daphne's second degree burns, you self-righteous hypocrite," Ron hissed as he got into her face.

"What… What are you talking about?" Hermione muttered, her back pressing against the shelf.

"What did you think happened after you blew up a cauldron full of **boiling** Solution?" Ron asked, his eyes digging into hers. "She had second degree burns all over her chest, while my other friends had similar burns elsewhere." Hermione just blinked at him, and then all she could do was stare at the ground. "Did you ever even think about that? No… No, I doubt that you did… After all, it was **you** who was behind the explosion, so how could it possibly be a bad thing?"

"I just don't understand," Ron chuckled coldly as he moved back. "I… I don't… What do I even say to you, Hermione? I've tried to be your friend… I really have… But you just can't get over the fact that I'm in Slytherin…"

"It's not like that at all," Hermione said quickly. "Ron, we **are** friends."

"Are we?" Ron asked her, his temper flaring up. "Then why were you spying on me at the Funeral Gathering?" Hermione's eyes nearly popped out of her head, while Ron just stared at her with a slightly hurt look. "Yeah… I noticed you and Harry following me around. And yes, I'm the one who locked him away."

"He was right," Hermione muttered.

"There you go again," Ron rubbed his face. "You immediately think that Harry was the victim of some cruel crime, but you gloss over the fact that he was spying on me at a **Funeral Gathering**. What the fuck is the matter with you people? Am I just an arsehole that deserves to be treated like shite?"

"Of… Of course not, Ron," Hermione muttered, her eyes were starting to well up.

"Then why?" Ron asked. "Why do you always do this? What did I do to Harry this time? Did… Did I do something that I shouldn't have?" Hermione shook her head, and then she sniffled. "Clearly I did something wrong… Why else would he start spying on me? Why else would he turn Ginny against me?"

"He has done nothing of the sort," Hermione quickly defended Harry. "Ginny was… Ginny was showing her… confusion… about your character long before we became friends with her…" _LIES!_

"She has this stupid little crush on him," Ron muttered to himself, while Hermione cleared her eyes. "He's the 'Chosen One'… The great Harry Potter… He can do no wrong in her eyes…" _**Perhaps We should prove his mortality to Ginevra?**_ "If he tells her that I'm not to be trusted, she'll happily believe him… After all, I'm just her stupid older brother… What am I compared to the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Hermione could do little but stare at Ron's sudden trance-like mood. Part of her knew that Ginny was questioning Ron's character long before she started spending time with Harry, but Hermione also knew that Harry had done little to help Ron out. If anything, both Harry and Ginny had fed off of each other's doubts about Ron's character, and now that Malfoy was a part of Ron's group, both Harry and Ginny would no doubt get far worse. And then there was this whole 'MRI' thing…

"Ron… Are you… unwell?" Hermione asked slowly, she could no longer hide her interest in this 'MRI' business.

"Unwell?" Ron blinked, while she nodded slowly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Hermione quickly lied. "You just went into a trance of sorts…"

"I'm fine," Ron told her. "Are you going to tell me why Harry is spying on me?"

"I… I really don't know why," Hermione lied. The truth was that both Neville and Hermione knew that Harry felt jealous of Ron's relationship with Dumbledore. Her friend had never met a decent adult until Hagrid and Dumbledore, and so he was quite possessive of them both. Ron's odd 'friendship' with Dumbledore had put Ron on Harry's radar, and things were starting to spiral out of control once again.

"Fine then," Ron said, and then he turned to leave. "Tell Ginny that until she apologizes to me, I won't even acknowledge her presence. This time, I'm not apologizing. I've done nothing wrong."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Friday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Davis Residence – Dinnertime)**_

He had decided that it was past time that he fulfilled his promise to Ronald. It was past time that he began searching for former Slytherins who had either stood against Tom's reign, or had been forced to serve him. Albus could, of course, see the benefits of having wealthy Pure-Bloods backing the Order, which was something that was sorely needed during the last war. But Albus also understood that those who valued ambition often served only themselves. _A lesson that I myself learned through many of my great failures._ The door suddenly swung open, and Susana Davis greeted him with a lovely smile.

"Good evening, Susana," Albus smiled at her, and her mouth dropped open from shock.

"Hea… Headmaster?" she blinked, no doubt wondering if she was seeing things. "What… What are you doing here?"

"May I please come in?" Albus asked gently, and she nodded slowly as she moved aside. Albus entered the Muggle home with twinkling eyes, his senses picking up traces of Magic everywhere. "Forgive my intrusion at this late hour, but I desperately needed to see you and your husband."

"Right…" the former Hufflepuff said slowly, her mouth still hanging open slightly. "Um… What about?" And then her eyes widened. "Is it Tracey? Is she hurt, Headmaster?"

"Not at all," Albus quickly assured her. "Your daughter is quite well, I promise."

"Good… Good…" Susana nodded, and then she gestured him towards the Living Room. Albus followed her with a smile, his eyes darting towards all the Muggle items with childish glee. _Arthur would no doubt have a field day in here._ "Husband… The Headmaster is here to see us."

"The Headmaster?" James Davis looked up with a confused look, but when he saw Albus, his mouth too dropped open. "Good heavens… Headmaster?" James quickly got up to his feet, and Albus gave him a genuine smile.

"Good evening, James," Albus greeted the former seventh year prefect. "Once again, I'm terribly sorry for bothering you two."

"No… No, not at all," James shook his head, and then he gestured Albus to sit down. "Love, please get the Headmaster something to drink." Susana nodded, but Albus quickly stopped her.

"I fear that I will not be staying here for long," Albus told them, and they just blinked at him. "Is your fireplace connected to Greengrass Manor?"

"Yes…" James replied, this was perhaps the most bizarre thing that he had ever witnessed.

"Could you please take me there?" Albus asked them. "I wish to speak with the Greengrasses as well."

"Sebastian was right…" James realized, his face losing all of its color. "The Dark Lord…" _So they already suspected_ _ **his**_ _return. Good, this will make things easier._ James' eyes darted towards Susana, and Albus saw genuine fear cross the man's face.

"James, take me to Greengrass Manor," Albus said gently, and the man gave a shaky nod.

"He's back…" Susana trembled, while her husband ran over to prepare the floo. "He's truly back…"

"Not quite," Albus told her, and then he put a calming hand on her shoulder. "I will explain everything. Come."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"But the Mark has died," Mary said in a frantic voice, her eyes fixed on her husband's faded Dark Mark. "Look at it…"

"It died on the same day as the fire," Sebastian said, and then he covered up his left forearm. "He cut the Mark off to hide his return."

"I can't believe that you were right, Sebastian," Susana muttered, her face sinking into her hands. "He's returned."

"Is that why you sought us out, Headmaster?" James asked, and Albus nodded.

"Whether we like it or not, another war is imminent," Albus told them, which only served shake them even more.

"The Ministry has to be warned," Susana said quickly, her beauty marred by her fear. "The Aurors, the Minister, everyone…"

"Sadly, things are not quite so simple," Albus said, and everyone except Susana nodded.

"No one will want to believe that the Dark Lord has returned," James told his wife. "Especially not the Ministry."

"They'll be blamed for this, and in order to avoid that, they'll refuse to acknowledge their lack of oversight," Mary added, and then she drew in a deep breath. "Sebastian, the girls…"

"My daughters will not grow up in a war," the pale man hissed to himself. "I have already begun making arrangements for Australia… We will **all** go there, and not-"

"Forgive me for saying this, Sebastian, but that will not save your daughters," Albus cut in, and Sebastian glared at him. "This war will engulf the entire World if left unchecked."

"And I'm not leaving," James said abruptly, and his wife drew in a sharp breath.

"What do you mean by that?" Sebastian asked James.

"I'm not running away," James clenched his fists against the dining table. "I didn't before, and I won't now."

"Don't be mad, James," Mary started, but the brown haired man simply shook his head.

"He'll never stop hunting people like my wife," James said as he took his wife's hand. "I am not going to bury my head in the sand, not while my Family is being threatened. And he'll never stop hunting you either, Sebastian. That Mark on your arm… It's a death sentence."

"Which is why I'm here," Albus interjected, he needed to make his offer while the fear was fresh. "I have reignited the Order of the Phoenix in order to fight back against Lord Voldemort." Everyone on the table shuddered, and Albus decided to not use **his** name again.

"That name is not allowed in this house," Sebastian frowned, he could feel his Dark Mark stir for a moment when it heard the name of its Master.

"Forgive me," Albus nodded, and then his expression softened. "During the last war, I made the mistake of not seeking out former Slytherins. And many paid the price for my foolishness. I humbly ask for your forgiveness." The others exchanged slow looks, and then Susana nudged her husband.

"It… It was a… difficult time, Headmaster," James sighed out, and Albus looked to Sebastian. The pale man was just staring at Albus, and Albus could see no mercy in his eyes. _Sebastian Greengrass does not forgive, nor does he forget. I wonder if he understands that his influence on Ronald is one of the factors twisting his apprentice._

"We may be bitter about it, but we understand, Headmaster," Mary said, her eyes resting on her husband for a moment.

"I have vowed to do better this time," Albus promised them. "Which is why I have come to you four. I wish to extend an invitation to you all."

"You want us to join your 'Order of the Phoenix'?" Sebastian asked, even he hadn't foreseen this.

"Arthur Weasley speaks highly of you, Sebastian," Albus said, and Sebastian nodded slowly. _As does your apprentice._

"Arthur Weasley? Your apprentice's father?" James asked Sebastian, and the pale man nodded.

"We have become… allies," Sebastian told James. "I have told you this, my friend."

"I know, but to hear that he recommended you to Albus Dumbledore…" James smiled weakly. "I must meet this delusional fool."

"And you will, if you choose to fight by our side," Albus said, and everyone looked to him. "War is coming, there is no denying it now. All of our lives are in danger, and unless we come together, everything we hold dear will be ripped from our chests. The Dark Lord will show no semblance of mercy, for he does not understand it."

"Our children?" Susana asked, and Mary quickly nodded.

"Will be protected, just like all the children of Hogwarts," Albus replied. "And once they come of age, they can decide on their own Futures."

"And how much of our wealth do you need?" Sebastian asked.

"Enough to stockpile rations and secure multiple safe-houses," Albus replied, and Sebastian nodded at his honesty. "The Order was not funded well during the last war, and so our defense suffered greatly at the hands of the Dark Lord's never-ending horde. But with your help, we can prepare for a war from within the shadows. And when the time comes, we will also involve the Ministry."

"We?" Mary asked, and Albus smiled at her. _I need to be careful with them. They're not like the others._

"The Order," Albus replied.

"Do the other members know that you are here?" James asked. "Forgive my bluntness, Headmaster, but the Order is notoriously filled up with Gryffindors. We will not be accepted, nor trusted."

"Hearts can be swayed with time, James, as I'm sure you know," Albus smiled at the man and his wife, who managed weak smiles in return. _He spent weeks making a fool of himself for Susana's attention, while Horace was nearly driven mad with frustration._ "I will not force your hands in this. And if you need time to think this through, then I will patiently await your owls."

"We're in," Susana said firmly, and her husband nodded his agreement. "We see very little choice, truth be told. The Dark Lord will burn this World down, and we have a daughter to protect."

"Sebastian? Mary?" Albus asked, and the two of them exchanged looks.

"Sebastian, mate… Australia is not the way forward," James urged, while Sebastian rubbed his left forearm under the table. "Just as Germany wasn't the way forward… If you run, the Dark Lord will fire a Curse straight into your back."

"I'll stay," Mary volunteered, and Sebastian looked to her immediately. "If they want to put me in another cage, then they can certainly try. A lot has changed since the last war." Sebastian stared at his wife for a few moments, and then he looked to Albus.

"I will lend you my wand, and my vaults," Sebastian said curtly. "And in return, you will keep our children safe. **All** of our children."

"I will do my best, but I will not lie to you either… War is never without casualties," Albus told them, and they all nodded. "Wait for my Phoenix. He will come to you before our next meeting."

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Friday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Potrebbe (Tuscany) – Nightfall)**_

Lord Voldemort stared at his reflection in the water, and despite his modifications via Human Transfiguration, he was not be satisfied. He had shortened his teeth, made his skin more translucent, lengthened his fingers, grown his body to his former height, and shaved his head clean of Pettigrew's dead and wispy hair. But he was still not satisfied. This was not **his** body… It was the body of a rat, one that had groveled at Lord Voldemort's feet once. _In a way, I am still possessing vermin in order to survive._

The Dark Lord had tracked Lucius and Cornelius to Tuscany, which wasn't very hard to do. Cornelius had made the mistake of trusting his Head-Elf with the information, and the Dark Lord had ripped that information out of the Elf's mind whilst it was shopping. In truth, Lord Voldemort planned to punish both men for their failure to find him when he needed them most. Cornelius clearly only yearned for Lord Voldemort's return **after** his wife's death, whereas Lucius had attempted to take over the Death-Eaters himself. They would both suffer at his hands, but not yet. For now, he needed to rebuild his army. He needed to free his true servants.

The Dark Lord waved his hand over the water, and ripples fluttered across the small lake. And then, the water showed him visions of Cornelius and Lucius. They were so very close. Both men were residing in an inn not far from the Magical village of Potrebbe. _Your Lord comes for you, my slippery friends._

The Dark Lord glided over the water, the moonlight glistening off of his pale, translucent skin. And then, he took to the skies. He had missed flying in an actual body, but it still didn't feel right. He couldn't feel the wind against his skin, that pleasure was reserved for the husk of Peter Pettigrew. The Dark Lord felt nothing in his host's body, which only served to remind him of his current state. He was simply wearing another man's skin, and sooner or later, that skin would begin to decay. He knew how to create his new body, all he needed now were the ingredients.

The Dark Lord landed in front of the inn without a sound, his dark robes coming to life in order shield his visage from prying eyes. With a wave of his hand, he opened the door and slithered in. The inn was teeming with wizards and witches, all of them drinking heartily as they sang something in Italian. No one payed him any mind as he moved towards the stairs, dark robes were nothing new within these sorts of establishments. As he reached the top floor, he felt that he had passed a Ward. _A Detection Ward? They do not wish to be disturbed._

"We told you that we did not need your services," Lucius hissed as he exited his room, his cane gripped tightly in his left hand. Cornelius stepped out from behind Lucius, his old face tightened in an outraged sneer. _They rented the entire top floor… Arrogant fools._ Both men stopped sneering at the sight of the cloaked figure, their wands slowly coming out.

"Identify yourself," Cornelius ordered, his wand suddenly aimed at Lord Voldemort.

"Put away your wand, Cornelius," Lord Voldemort hissed, and the two men exchanged slow looks.

"You know who we are?" Lucius demanded.

"You are my servants," Lord Voldemort said, and then he pulled back his hood. Lucius and Cornelius froze in their spots, their faces turning blank from sheer terror. _Finally, some respect._

"My… My… Lord…?" Lucius stammered, while Cornelius fell to his knees and bowed his head. Lucius quickly followed suit, and Lord Voldemort's lips curled into a smile. Both men were shaking slightly as the Dark Lord glided across the hallway, and once he was standing over them, they bowed their heads even lower.

"My Lord, I prostate myself before you," Cornelius spoke, his voice a mixture of glee and fear. "I am your most faithful!"

"And you, Lucius?" Lord Voldemort hissed, his eyes burning like hot coals. "Are you… faithful? I hear that you have not renounced the Old Ways, though to the World you present a respectable face. You even possess the Minister's ear."

"I am ever your servant, my Lord," Lucius spoke to the floorboards.

"And yet, not once did you attempt to find me," Lord Voldemort whispered dangerously. "Neither of you."

"We have been searching without rest, my Lord," Cornelius managed, his glee completely gone.

"My Lord, we were constantly on the alert," Lucius said, and Lord Voldemort's eyes burned brighter because of his growing rage. _Lies!_ "Had there been any sign, any whisper, of your whereabouts, I would have come to your side immediately. Nothing would prevent-"

"There were signs, my slippery friend," Lord Voldemort hissed. "There were whispers. I have heard tales of your grand surrender, Lucius. And I must confess myself… disappointed. I expect more faithful service in the Future."

"Of course, my Lord," Lucius said quickly. "Of course… You are merciful, as always… Thank you…"

"And you, Cornelius? Do I have your word?" Lord Voldemort asked, and Cornelius reached forward and touched his Lord's feet. The gesture pleased the Dark Lord, he could sense the old wizard's devotion.

"You have my word, my Lord," Cornelius promised. "Allow me the honor to fight by your side once again, and I will cut down your enemies without remorse."

"You have my sympathies for your wife's murder, Cornelius," Lord Voldemort spoke in a calmer voice. "I assume that the Muggle filth who dared to spill Magical Blood has been dealt with."

"I killed him myself, my Lord," Cornelius admitted. "I skinned him alive and fed him to my dogs, just like the old days."

"Well done… Well done…" Lord Voldemort nodded. "I will need your rage in the coming days, my old Knight."

"You have it," Cornelius looked up with a proud smile, he was the last remaining Knight of Walpurgis. Lucius slowly looked up as well, and Lord Voldemort could sense that his smile was forced.

"We have work to do," Lord Voldemort told his servants, who nodded obediently. "Come… There is nothing in Tuscany for us."

"Where do we go, my Lord?" Lucius asked.

"To War," Lord Voldemort replied, his eyes burning with blood-lust.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed that! I would give you hints, but I've been up all night finishing this chapter up. I'm exhausted!**

 **See you guys on Sunday for the EIGHTIETH Chapter!**


	80. Chapter 80 - The Stormbringer

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 80 is here! Man, we're almost up to a 100 Chapters! Goddamn! With this Chapter done, we are quickly approaching 1.5 million words! Just three and a half million words left to go!**

 **Ron may be bashed to death in this fandom, but we'll give our boy the longest character driven fic on this site! #GiveRonJustice! #SayNoToBashing!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 80 – The Stormbringer**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Early Morning)**_

"Blaise," Ron whispered, and then he shook the sleeping boy. "Blaise, wake up."

"Huh?" Blaise muttered, his eyes opening groggily. "Ron? What is it?"

"I'm about to head off to work, and I just wanted to give you a quick kiss," Ron replied, and Blaise blinked at him. _Hehe._

"What… the fuck?" Blaise muttered, and then he sat up with an exhausted look on his face. "Let me go brush my teeth first…" _What?_

"This wasn't part of the plan," Ron took a step back, and Blaise shot him a smirk.

"What is it, Ron?" Blaise yawned. "Something wrong?"

"Kind of," Ron nodded. "I won't be at Hogwarts today… or tomorrow. Which means that you guys will need to keep Malfoy away from Flint's lot."

"Shite…" Blaise sighed as he rubbed his face. "I forgot about your weekend commitments."

"Take him to the Sanctuary," Ron said, and Blaise looked up at him with a surprised look. "I've thought this through, and it's the only way to keep Flint away from you guys. He knows that I work on Saturdays, so he no doubt plans to make his move then."

"But the Sanctuary…" Blaise said slowly. "What if Mafloy tells people?"

"Just remind him that the Sanctuary is the only place where he'll be safe during the weekends," Ron replied. "It's a sacrifice, I know… But we have to make it. We gave Malfoy our word."

"If you think that's best, then I'll get it done," Blaise nodded, and then he drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry about all of this…"

"Don't, Blaise," Ron said calmly. "It is what it is… Plus, your words helped convince people that I'm 'noble'. You saved me by telling people about your debt, and for that, I'm really grateful." Ron then fixed his tie, and he shot Blaise a smile. "Take him up there, and teach him the Disillusionment Charm as well. Alright?"

"Right," Blaise nodded, and Ron turned to leave. "Your sister was dead wrong, Ron. You're the most 'noble' person that I've ever met." Ron stopped at that, and then he gave Blaise an awkward smile.

"You've been saying some really nice things lately," Ron pointed out, and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Just go to work," Blaise said, sounding more like his aloof self. Ron chuckled lightly, and then he began heading for Snape's Office. He resented that he had to give up **his** Sanctuary for Malfoy's sake, but at the end of the day, he didn't want Blaise to feel even worse than he already did. So Ron had forced on a calm demeanor and just handed over the one place where he felt at peace. It was a sacrifice that had to be made.

"Mr. Weasley," Snape drawled as Ron neared the Potions Master's Office, the dark-robbed wizard was waiting for him at the door. "You're late."

"Not by much," Ron shrugged. "I had to take care of something first."

"I see," Snape nodded curtly, and then he gestured Ron to follow him inside. Ron did as he was told, and once he was inside, he headed straight for the fireplace. "Before you depart, there is something that Albus wishes for you to know."

"The Headmaster has a message for me?" Ron asked as he turned to face Snape.

"He spoke with the Davis and Greengrass Families yesterday, and they have accepted his invitation to join the Order," Snape replied, and a genuine smile broke out on Ron's face. _This is fantastic!_

"I won't lie, I was starting to get worried that he wouldn't approach the Slytherins," Ron admitted, and then he let out a relieved laugh. "And they accepted, which is great news."

"They had demands," Snape told him, and nodded in understanding. "Their children are to be kept in the dark for now."

"What?" Ron blinked.

"They don't want to scare their children," Snape went on. "It's a reasonable request, and Albus has promised to honor it. Make sure that you do nothing to jeopardize that."

"But if they know what's coming, they'll take their training more seriously," Ron pointed out.

"Ron, just do as you're told for once," Snape said coldly. "This alliance is the building block towards a more… tolerant… Order. Don't endanger that. When the time comes, they will be told of the war by their own parents. Understood?"

"Fine," Ron nodded, Snape did make a good point. _I'm sure there are other Families that will want to join the Order as well. The Greengrass and Davis Families will definitely add credibility to the Order's 'inclusiveness'._ "I'll be on my way then."

"Just one more thing," Snape said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Marcus Flint has lodged an official complaint against you for 'disrupting the Quidditch Team's efforts'. How do you want me to handle it?"

"You should expel me," Ron said sarcastically, and Snape frowned at him. "Obliviously I want you to tell Flint to go fuck himself… It's your Godson that's causing me these issues." Ron turned around and grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. "Greengrass Manor." As Ron tossed the floo-powder into the fire, Snape put his hand on Ron's right shoulder.

"Don't bring up the Order with Greengrass," Snape said, and Ron gave him a nod. "I will see you at dinner."

"Goodbye, Sir," Ron said, and then he went through the fire.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Greengrass Manor - Lunch)**_

"My Lord?" Ron called for the third time, and his Mentor suddenly broke out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Ron?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron gave him a curious look. _He's been so zoned out today. Guess the Order invitation is the only real thing that he can focus on._

"Time for lunch?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass nodded.

"Of course," Lord Greengrass said as he stood up. "Come, let's get some food in you." Ron followed his Mentor out of the study, and in full honesty, he was quite hungry right now. "How are my daughters, Ron? Are they doing well?"

"They are, my Lord," Ron replied, his mind drifting towards Daphne. _Merlin, I haven't kissed my own girlfriend since… Since the funeral._ "Astoria is putting more effort into her education, while Daphne is… Daphne."

"Daphne is Daphne?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Have… Have you two started…?" _Oh shite, what do I say?_

"Not yet," Ron lied, and unsurprisingly, Lord Greengrass looked relieved. "We've both been really busy."

"With young Malfoy?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Your parents told me." _Of course they did._

"So… Are you angry too?" Ron asked.

"I don't like that boy, I will not deny that," Lord Greengrass started. "But if he really did go after Blaise like that, I can understand why you've chosen this path." _They told him about Blaise as well._ "I must also confess that I did not think the Malfoy brat to be capable of such a move. He always came across as a cowardly imp to me."

"Desperate people do desperate things," Ron shrugged, and Lord Greengrass managed a weak smile.

"Well said, Ron," Lord Greengrass nodded in approval. "Just make sure that he stays away from my daughters. I want you to watch over them both, do you understand?" _He's scared for them._

"I will, I promise," Ron said as they entered the Dining Room, and Ron's eyes immediately went towards the two heads of red hair. _Mum? Dad?_ Ron and Lord Greengrass both cocked their eyes at the Weasleys, Lovegoods, and Sirius, who were all sitting on the table with Mary.

"We have guests, husband," Mary announced, while Ron and Lord Greengrass walked over to their usual seats.

"Hey, kid," Sirius smiled at Ron, but Ron didn't smile back. _His fucking Godson is another headache that I need to deal with._

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked everyone, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable because of the sorry looks that he was getting from everyone. "Um… Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Percy sent this…" Arthur spoke up, a slightly crumpled letter in his hands.

"And Ginny sent this," Molly added, she too had a letter.

"Great…" Ron rolled his eyes, and his parents blinked at him. "So? What did they say? Have I contaminated the Weasley Bloodline by simply being born?" It was hard to hide the bitterness in his voice, though he did try to for their sakes.

"Percy told us what happened," Arthur sighed out. "And Ginny told us what happened. The problem is that their letters are both telling us different stories…"

"Did Ginny really call you a traitor?" Molly asked, ignoring her son's previous comments.

"No," Ron shook his head, and she looked visibly relieved. "She called me a 'fucking traitor'."

"Ron, language!" Pandora and Mary scolded at the same time.

"It's what she said," Ron told them calmly, while his parents both rubbed their faces. "They've turned on me… Again."

"How could she say something like this, Arthur?" Molly muttered, while her husband was simply too disturbed to answer.

"Siblings have fights," Sirius said gently.

"I'm sure they do," Ron said. "But my siblings just need a bloody reason to start calling me a 'Snake', or a 'traitor'." Ron then looked to his parents. "I told you that this would happen. It always happens." _And I just can't be bothered with that drama. I've got more important things to worry about than their 'feelings'._

"She says that your friend said some really-" Molly started, but Ron rolled his eyes.

"She deserved what she got," Ron said coldly, making Molly's mouth drop open. "People around the school stood up for me, they called me noble for helping my friend… But my own sister spat on my face. What Tracey did, she did for my honor. My friends are sick of my siblings treating me like dirt, and quite frankly, so am I."

"Have you tried talking to her?" Arthur asked with a tired voice. "You two have always been really close, Ronnie." _Don't call me Ronnie. It's Ron, or Ronald._

"We were, until Harry Potter started turning her against me," Ron frowned at Sirius, who blinked at him.

"Harry?" Sirius asked slowly, his eyes darting towards the other confused adults.

"He has once again decided to betray me," Ron told Sirius. "He was spying on me during the Funeral Gathering."

"Shite…" Sirius sighed. _You knew?_ "He mentioned that you locked him in a restroom… I thought that he was just confusing you with the twins."

"You locked Harry away in a restroom?" Molly asked. "At a funeral?!"

"He was following me around like some would-be spy, so I locked him away," Ron shrugged. "And no, I'm not sorry."

"Nor should you be," Mary frowned at Sirius. "Sirius, why is your Godson following Ron around?"

"I… I don't know…" Sirius admitted. "I'll talk to him about this, but I'll need to send an owl. He's on his way towards Hogwarts right now."

"Mr. Potter has an odd way of repaying his debts," Lord Greengrass noted, and Ron frowned a little.

"You'd think me saving his life would make him be a little grateful," Ron all but hissed. "But no… Instead, he's spying on me. And before that, he outright tried to kidnap one of my friends."

"Damn…" Sirius massaged his temples. "I don't know what to do with him sometimes… He's just so… angry all the time… When I didn't believe him about Ron locking him away, he all but yelled at me. Told me that 'no one wants to admit that Ron is'…" he trailed off.

"Is what?" Pandora asked, while Xeno just sat there. _Is he holding something under the table?_

"He thinks that Ron is 'bad news'… Or some nonsense like that…" Sirius shook his head, and then he looked to Ron. "I'm sorry about this, pup… I'll talk to him, I swear it." _**Teach your Godson some manners, or We will.**_

"Just tell him to stay away from Ginny," Ron frowned, and Sirius nodded weakly.

"How are things going with Mr. Malfoy?" Mary asked, she didn't like where this particular conversation was going.

"Horribly," Ron replied. "Every time he opens his mouth, I want to slap him. But at least he hasn't uttered a word about Blood-Supremacy, so that's progress."

"He is simply too weak to speak his mind," Lord Greengrass told Ron. "Don't let your guard down near him, Ron."

"I won't, my Lord," Ron nodded.

"What do you want us to do about Ginny?" Arthur asked, and Ron blinked at him. _What does that mean?_

"Am I the parent now?" Ron asked in return.

"Ron," Lord Greengrass said blandly, and Ron raised his hands in mock surrender.

"What would you do if **I** had called Ginny a traitor?" Ron asked his father, who simply looked down at the table with a tired expression. Ron then looked to his mother, who seemed to have already made up her mind.

"We'll write her a letter," Molly told her husband. "She has to apologize for this." Ron cocked his eyebrow at his mother, was she serious? _Ginny is not apologizing just because she gets an angry letter._

"Ron, you seem very different today," Pandora noted, she couldn't help but notice his unfriendliness.

"I've just started noticing a pattern lately, that's all," Ron shrugged.

"A pattern?" Xeno asked.

"Nothing seems to go right for me," Ron replied, though he didn't sound very angry about it. And in a way, he wasn't angry. He was just fed up with it. "I try my best in everything, I think of others before I think of myself, and I even sacrificed my favorite place in Hogwarts today for a venomous prick who hates my guts. And yet, despite all of my efforts, people are just so damn… ungrateful…" The adults exchanged slow looks, and then they looked back to Ron, who was just staring at his empty plate. "It's as if people enjoy getting in my way… Or at least, they enjoy getting on my nerves."

"I'll talk to Harry, pup," Sirius reassured him. "Don't take this so personally, it'll only make things worse."

"It's difficult to not take it personally when this rubbish happens on a monthly basis," Ron gave Sirius a deadpan look. "I'm sure that once all of this blows over, Harry will find another reason to start acting like a twat."

"Ron, your language is out of control," Molly snapped. "Stop acting this way at once."

"And I rest my case," Ron turned his deadpan look towards his mother. "Do you people need anything else? Or can I finally continue on with my **workday**?" Molly stood up at that, a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"We won't keep you any longer then, Ronald," Molly said, and everyone but the Greengrasses stood up. _Good, sod off then._ Pandora and his father had sorry looks on their faces, while Sirius seemed to be rather upset with his own Godson's actions.

"Here," Xeno said as he handed Ron a black brochure, a weak smile on his face. "It came in the mail this morning." Ron stared the brochure, his eyes fixed on the gold lettering that spelled 'The Quibbler'. _The advertisement campaign has started? I… I almost forgot about this._ As Ron read the names of his benefactors on the back, the adults slowly left the room. _The Longbottom Family. The Greengrass Family. The Zabini Family. The Nott Family. The Lovegood Family. Managed and owned by Ronald Bilius Weasley._ Ron missed Mary jerking her head towards Ron, and he also missed his Mentor's gaze fixed on him. _Guess Barnabas Cuffe knows now who 'stole' The Quibbler from him. Another fucking headache to deal with…_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Near Dinnertime)**_

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lord Greengrass," Ron said as he handed in his conundrums sheet. "I have to admit, I'm really excited about continuing my training with Madam Roberts again."

"Actually…" Lord Greengrass started, an oddly sympathetic look on his face. "She sent me an owl yesterday. Ron, she's been called back to Albania… Something about a riot taking place near the excavation site."

"She…" Ron started, but then he quickly hid his disappointment. "I understand… I'll just wait another week…" _The Universe once again fucks me over. I might actually kill someone if I don't catch a break soon._

"Ron, when was the last time you spoke with Madam Pomfrey?" Lord Greengrass asked as he stood up.

"It's been a couple of weeks," Ron replied. "What's Madam Pomfrey got to do with this? Wait… You think I'm getting depressed?"

"Your lack of enthusiasm is hard to miss," Lord Greengrass replied. "And Pandora was right, you have been acting very… different… today."

"It's been a rough month," Ron told his Mentor. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

"Don't lose heart, Ron," Lord Greengrass said in his soft voice. "True indifference can destroy a brilliant mind like yours. Just promise me that you'll start seeing Madam Pomfrey again, alright?"

"I… I promise," Ron said slowly, why was his Mentor acting so… compassionate? "I'll be on my way then."

"Very well," Lord Greengrass nodded, his eyes fixed on Ron's. Ron slowly turned around and left the study, only to be stopped by Mary at the fireplaces.

"Ron, do you have a minute?" Mary asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"For you, always," Ron said, though his dead-tone diminished his charm greatly. "Is everything alright, Mary?"

"I was going to ask you that," Mary smiled at him. "How is school, Ron?" _Stop with the pity already. I can't even feel tired without someone crawling into my arse._

"Still shut down," Ron replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "I'm not depressed, alright? I'm just a bit run-down, that's all. It's been a long month, and my problems keep stacking up by the day. But I'll be fine."

"Alright," Mary nodded, and then she walked up and hugged Ron. Ron just stood there for a second, but when she started rubbing his back, he relaxed considerably. "Pandora was right, you do enjoy being petted."

"I didn't even ask Pandora about her pregnancy," Ron realized, something that made him feel rather guilty.

"It's going well, Ron," Mary assured him, her hand still moving up and down his back. "Your mother is making sure that Pandora wants for nothing."

"That's good," Ron said as he put his arms around her. "I haven't asked Daphne yet…" _I have, but honestly, it's like I haven't. We haven't even started talking about us yet. Everything has gone to shite because of Malfoy's presence._

"Take your time, my sweet," Mary said gently. "You two have plenty of time on your hands." _No, we don't, and you know it. The war is at our fucking doorstep._

"I should head out," Ron whispered, and Mary slowly let go of him. Ron managed a weak smile for her sake, and then he walked over to the nearest fireplace. "Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts," Ron called as he tossed the floo-powder into the flames, and when they blazed green, he stepped through them without looking back.

"Why this Blood-Traitor boy, Severus?" came a woman's voice as soon as he stepped into Snape's Office, and Ron looked to see that Snape had a guest. An angry guest, actually. The tall, slim, and beautiful witch turned her blue eyes towards Ron, and her beauty was instantly marred by a look of disgust. _Hmmm. A sneering blonde… Must be a Malfoy._ Ron, of course, recognized the woman from his vision of Malfoy's death.

"Ronald, this is Narcissa Malfoy. Draco Malfoy's mother," Snape introduced, and Ron gave her a polite bow. _I might as well enjoy jarring her. I bet she thinks that I'm some uncouth savage._

"Are you sure, Professor?" Ron asked with a smile. "She looks far too young, and beautiful, to be anyone's mother." Snape's lips twitched upwards for a second, while Narcissa Malfoy's sneer was weakened by her shock. Ron then walked up to her and presented his gloved hand, his eyes fixed on hers. _She was helping those children escape in my vision, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She clearly isn't as insane as her husband._

"I would rather not sully my hands by touching you, boy," she suddenly sneered once again, and Ron lowered his hand. "Where is my son?"

"I have no earthly idea," Ron lied calmly. "I have only just returned from work."

"Draco, and your friends, have been missing all day," Snape said, his black eyes scanning Ron. "Where are they? Narcissa wishes to see her son." _Is that so?_ Ron raised his gloved hand again, and the blonde witch blinked at him.

"I'll find your son for you, but not until you give me your hand," Ron said, his tone turning cold. Narcissa Malfoy looked towards Snape, who was just staring at Ron.

"Ronald-"

"If she wants my help, then she needs to show me some common courtesy first," Ron told Snape, who was slightly taken aback by the boy's harsh tone. Ron usually never displayed his colder side in the presence of other people.

"Give. Me. Your. Hand," Ron ordered. Narcissa Malfoy gave him a rather surprised look, and then she slowly put her hand in his. Ron leaned forward and kissed her knuckles, and then he bowed respectfully. The Malfoy matriarch had the decency to give him a tiny curtsy in return, and Ron let go of her ever-tensing hand. "I will go and find him for you." With that, Ron left the confused witch with Snape.

He had rather enjoyed jarring the arrogant witch, especially because he knew that she would no doubt tell her degenerate husband about this. _I'll give her a chance to see the light, and if she spits on that chance, then I'll put her in the same shallow grave as her husband. The World would be better off without people like the Malfoys anyway._ Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself as he neared the Entrance Hall, and then he made his way up to the seventh floor.

He could hear that the castle was now much livelier, which meant that the students who had left for home were now back. He easily dodged the students moving about the seventh floor, most of them were heading towards the Great Hall for dinner. Once Ron was in front of his Sanctuary's entrance, he paced back and forth. The moment the door appeared, he stepped through it.

"Ron?" the girls called as he shut the door, and once it was closed, he broke his Disillusionment Charm. His friends and Malfoy were sitting in the chairs, and Ron frowned when he saw that Malfoy was sitting in his favorite chair. _I'll get Marty to clean that out._

"Weasley, how did you find this place?" Malfoy asked, he almost sounded impressed.

"Your mother is here," Ron said, ignoring Malfoy's question. Malfoy blinked at his response, while the others smirked at Malfoy.

"This should be fun," Tracey said, her smirk turning into a cruel grin.

"Malfoy, you're coming with me," Ron said, and then he looked to his friends. "We'll join you in the Great Hall after Malfoy gets yelled at by his lovely mother." Everyone in the room seemed to be enjoying Malfoy's discomfort, and Ron couldn't blame them. _We're all already tired of him hovering around us._ They all then walked over to Ron, with Malfoy taking his time. "Did you teach him the Disillusionment Charm?"

"It's only been a day," Blaise replied, but Ron still frowned at Malfoy. "It's not an easy Charm to learn, Ron."

"I'll cast it on you then," Ron told Malfoy, who clenched his jaw at the ground. _Feeling humiliated again, cunt? Good._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Snape's Office – Dinnertime)**_

As soon as the door closed behind Ron, Narcissa turned to face Snape with a mixture of shock and disgust. _I should have intervened during that. He's becoming more and more unstable by the day._

"Severus, what was that?" Narcissa asked, he could hear the confusion in her voice. "How is that boy in Draco's year? He's almost as tall as my husband."

"Ronald is… different…" Snape replied in his usual voice. "He is nothing like his Family, is he? Except for the red-hair, and the wild temperament."

"A Weasley in Slytherin," Narcissa grimaced. "I'm sorry that you have to put up with such filth, Severus." Much to his own surprise, he felt a little irritated by her comment.

"It is what it is," Snape drawled, making sure to mask his emotions. "Ronald is useful to the House, and for that, he is well-respected. The boy once earned seventy House Points in one day."

"Seventy?!" Narcissa went slightly wide-eyed.

"Indeed, and no, he is not favored like Potter and his ilk," Snape replied, and Narcissa gave a slow nod.

"Why is my son associating with this boy, Severus?" Narcissa asked. "Tell me the truth." _Doing so would betray Draco._

"Draco wishes to dismantle Ronald's standing in the House," Snape replied. "He has already pitted Marcus Flint against Ronald, and will continue to cause disruptions within Ronald's life. And when the time is right, Draco will regain his desired standing within the House." _I hope for Draco's sake that he isn't actually planning to go behind Ron's back like this. It will not end well for him._

"So Blaise Zabini was correct," Narcissa sighed. "My son has been usurped by a filthy Blood-Traitor."

"Your son was outmaneuvered, not usurped," Snape pointed out, and Narcissa frowned slightly.

"You don't need to play the role of an unbiased Professor near me, Severus," Narcissa assured him.

"There are ears everywhere," Snape whispered coldly, though he was telling her nothing but the truth. _Love blinds people to the truth, just as it turns them into fools._ "Since we are friends, I will give you this bit of advice. Do not make an enemy of that boy, he is nothing like his weak-willed father. And he does not forgive easily."

"You make him sound like a threat," Narcissa noticed. _For people like you, he is a threat. One that no one has taken any notice of._

"He beat Harry Potter bloody in front of the entire school, and then used Greengrass to strong-arm the Headmaster," Snape told her, and she simply stared at him. "Your son did not tell you this?"

"No, he did not…" Narcissa replied slowly. "He defeated the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Decimated is the more appropriate word," Snape replied, and Narcissa's eyes darted towards the door.

"And Draco is trying to go up against this… person?" Narcissa asked, her motherly concern coming through. "I thought that the Weasleys were allies of Potter, considering their unyielding love for Dumbledore."

"Like I said, he is not like his Family," Snape told her. _He is unlike any human being on this planet. After all, who else can claim to be possessed by a God? I need to work harder on him during our Occlumency lessons._

"You will watch over Draco, won't you?" Narcissa asked, her head turning to face him. "Promise me, Severus."

"I swear it," Snape promised, but she didn't look relieved by his words.

"It's seems that my husband and I are criminally uninformed about the youngest Weasley son," Narcissa said.

"Are you informed on the other Weasley children then?" Snape cocked his eyebrow.

"They are not worth being informed on," Narcissa replied. "They are not in Slytherin, therefore, they are not worth knowing. Tell me, does this boy follow the Old Ways? I couldn't help but notice that he greeted me as a true Pure-Blood would." _He did that to get under your skin._

"If you are asking me whether or not he shares our beliefs, I am sorry to inform you that he does not," Snape replied, and Narcissa immediately looked disappointed. "He is still a Weasley, despite his different outlook on things."

"What a waste," Narcissa drawled. "Imagine Arthur Weasley's horror if his youngest son turned out to be one of us."

"Us? I am not a Pure-Blood, Narcissa," Snape reminded her.

"You're as good as," Narcissa told him. Snape stared at her for a few seconds, and then he looked towards the door. _How do I even begin to turn her Family against the Dark Lord? Lucius will never abandon his beliefs, while Draco and Narcissa will never abandon him._ "Severus, what are you thinking about?"

"When will Lucius return from his trip?" Snape asked. "It's been too long since we shared a meal together."

"The moment he returns, I will send you an owl," Narcissa smiled at him, and he gave her a curt nod.

A sudden knock at the door stopped their conversation, and Snape noticed Narcissa suddenly composing herself.

"Professor Snape, it's me," came Ron's voice. "I found him."

"Come in," Snape said, and the door swung open. Oddly enough, no one was there. _The Disillusionment Charm. It seems to be a favorite of his._ Ron suddenly appeared in the middle of the Office, and then, so did Draco.

"My word," Narcissa blinked at the two boys. _He has once again broken through her calm demeanor. He's doing this on purpose._

"Hello, mother," Draco said calmly, and Snape mentally approved of his tone.

"I will wait outside," Ron said, and just like that, he turned around and left the Office. The moment the door closed behind him, Narcissa walked up and hugged her son.

"My little Dragon," she whispered, her worries forgotten for a moment. "Let me look at you." Narcissa then looked Draco over, a smile appearing on her face. "Your hair looks much better now, Draco."

"Thank you," Draco managed a smile back, though it looked forced. "How are you, mother? And how is father?"

"I am well, and your father is still out of the country," Narcissa replied, her hand caressing the side of her son's face. "You are looking even more frail, my love." She then looked to Snape. "How much does he eat?"

"Mother…" Draco sighed, but she merely tutted him.

"He has been neglectful of proper nutrition," Snape replied truthfully, and Narcissa shot her son a disapproving look.

"You will take better care of yourself, Draco," Narcissa ordered. "Or I will inform your father. Understood?"

"Yes, mother," Draco gave a weak nod. "Can we talk about Weasley now? Dinner's already started, and I'm quite hungry."

"Severus has told me of your plan," Narcissa said, and Draco shot a quick look towards his Godfather. Snape gave him a subtle nod, and so Draco looked back to his mother.

"I will do to him what he did to me," Draco told his mother. "Once I'm done, I'll have the respect owed to the Malfoy name, and Weasley will be shunned by the House."

"This plan can work, Narcissa," Snape assured her, though he knew that it wouldn't. _I can't let it._ "Ronald is distracted by Marcus Flint, and Draco will have my help."

"I just hate the thought of you being near that Blood-Traitor," Narcissa told her son.

"You have to convince father for me, mother," Draco beseeched. "I can't have him interfering with my affairs, or my plan could fail."

"Interfering?" Narcissa blinked.

"Draco is trying to stand on his own," Snape cut in, and Narcissa looked to him. "He wishes to be himself, and not just his father's clone. You must let him do this alone, Narcissa." The blonde witch looked back to her son, and his firm expression took her by surprise.

"Very well," Narcissa couldn't help but smile, her son was growing up so quickly. "I will do what I can, my love."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

She kept thinking about her conversation with Ron, despite the fact that her two best friends had finally returned to Hogwarts. It was a jarring experience for her to be called out in such a manner, which is why it had left such an impression on her. Ron had told her some rather disturbing facts about her actions last year, and even though she didn't think highly of Ron's friends, the fact that she had hurt them didn't sit right with her.

How had she not realized that they may have hurt people with that explosion? Hermione knew of her own intelligence, and yet she hadn't figured out such a simple thing. At the time, none of them had even thought about the consequences of their actions. The Heir of Slytherin was rampaging through the school, and they had decided to put an end to it. The explosion was meant to be a distraction, and so none of them had really thought about the consequences. It was a means to an end, but now she was struggling with a heavy amount of guilt.

She had caused second degree burns on people… She, Harry, and Neville had hurt their fellow students horribly, and yet, none of them had thought of that. How many other stunts had they pulled over the last two years which had resulted in problems for other people? Hermione had made a short list of her worst sins so far, and surprisingly, she could see a pattern that disturbed her.

They had involved Ron in their Dragon business, and even though he offered to hand himself over, they had prioritized the Stone's protection over their friend. They had decided to go after the Stone themselves, which had ended with Ron being left in a coma. They had decided to investigate their own friend before even approaching him, which had strained their relationship with said friend ever since. They were guilty of labeling Ron as the Heir, especially Neville and Harry, which had caused Ron and his friends considerable issues. They had caused injuries to Ron's friends, and when he had lashed out in response, they had seen only his crimes whilst ignoring their own.

Ron was right to call her a 'self-righteous hypocrite', because right now, she definitely felt like one. Ron, of course, wasn't blameless either, but not everything was his fault. She was starting to see that, and judging by Neville's behavior this year, her friend had also come to see that. Was this the reason why Neville had become so tolerant of the Slytherins so suddenly? Hermione and Harry had figured that Neville was just a kindhearted individual, but maybe the real reason why he had become so tolerant was because he had come to understand something that Hermione and Harry had never even considered. That maybe, just maybe, they weren't the 'good guys'. Everyone was the protagonist of their own story, right?

It made sense to blame Ron's ever-changing behavior on Slytherin House, but maybe he was drifting closer to Slytherin because everyone else kept pushing him away. His friends, despite being obnoxious and rude, were clearly very loyal to him. Maybe they weren't really his 'lackeys', but rather a never faltering source of support and comfort. Which would also explain why he was so protective of them. After all, if anyone went after Harry or Neville, Hermione would make it her life's mission to go after the culprit.

After spending a day looking at herself objectively, she couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself. And it wasn't only because she had hurt people and never apologized for it, but also because she was acting no better than the bigots that she was so keen to prove wrong. She was, God help her, prejudiced against an entire House of people simply because a few of them had hurled hurtful slurs at her. She was behaving like the Muggle-Born version of Draco Malfoy, and that sickened her. She didn't even know anything about Ron's friends, and yet she disliked them. And now that she thought about it, it completely boggled her mind.

In a way, this realization had also helped explain her recent anger towards Harry. Some part of her, even if it was unknown to her at the time, couldn't condone what her friend was doing. Harry was deluding himself into believing that he alone had a deeper understanding of who Ron 'really was', and Hermione knew that his actions stemmed from an ugly emotion.

Harry was jealous of Ron's bond with Dumbledore and Sirius, and so he was acting like some territorial beast in response. She, of course, could understand her friend's hurt because he clearly felt neglected by two of the only three adults that he had ever looked up to, but now she was starting to realize that Ron wasn't to blame for this. Ron was just living his own life, and Harry was the one going after him.

Harry was the only one out of the 'Golden Trio' that hadn't begun to realize that they too were prejudiced. Harry's distaste when it came to Slytherin rivalled Hermione's own, and that distaste was evident in all the members of Gryffindor. That thought bothered her greatly, especially because it challenged her pride in her House. _Ginny called Ron a traitor, while members of the other Houses respected Ron's decision to protect his friend. The only people who are angry with Ron are from Gryffindor, and they don't even know him. I… I was angry too…_

"There, see," came Ginny's voice, and Hermione broke out of her thoughts. "He's now chums with Malfoy of all people…" Hermione looked up to see Harry staring at Ron and Malfoy, both of whom had just entered the Great Hall.

"Harry, I've told you why he's invited Malfoy into his group," Hermione spoke up, but Harry just kept staring at Ron and Malfoy. "He's looking out for his friend, something that we'd do ourselves." Hermione then looked towards Neville, who was just eating his food quietly.

"What if this story about Zabini's 'debt of gratitude' is a hoax?" Harry asked, his eyes landing on Hermione.

"Harry, you're trying to grasp at straws here," Hermione told him. _His conspiracy theories never end._ "I've asked some of the Pure-Blood Gryffindors, and they told me that no Pure-Blood would ever lie about such a debt. And no, don't say that Slytherins are natural born liars, Harry… That's just insane." Harry blinked at her, and then he looked back towards Ron.

"Hermione, what's gotten into you?" Ginny asked, she looked genuinely confused. "You've been acting so strange ever since yesterday. You told me that you didn't like Ron being friends with Malfoy, but now you're just ignoring it. What happened yesterday?" _I looked in the mirror, that's what happened._

"I just don't feel like dismantling Ron's every decision anymore," Hermione replied. "Maybe you should just talk to him, Ginny."

"What's there to talk about?" Ginny frowned. "He clearly wants to befriend the enemy… He's even brought Malfoy into 'his' study group." Something clicked in Hermione head at that, and she immediately looked towards Ron. _The study group… He invites everyone to join, no matter which House they're from. Is he really trying to promote House Unity? I mean, he comes from a very tolerant Family, and his experience in Slytherin might have shown him the prejudices faced by_ _ **everyone**_ _. After all, he did show me how hypocritical I've been._

"Hermione? Are you there?" Harry asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "I know that look… What did you just figure out?"

"I'm rejoining the study group next week," Hermione said, and both Harry and Ginny gaped at her. _I want to be part of the solution, not the problem._ Hermione then looked to Neville with a soft smile, and he slowly looked up from his plate. "Do you want to come with me, Neville? I don't want to be alone there."

"Yeah, I'll come," Neville nodded weakly, and then he went back to his food. _Unlike me, Neville identified and confronted his own bigotries all by himself. He didn't need anyone to point out his hypocrisy._ Hermione's smile grew a little wider, she could feel her respect for her best friend growing. Neville had been bullied the most by the Slytherins, and yet he was the first to take on a more tolerant stance. That alone proved just how brave Neville really was. _To think that I was angry with him for standing up for Ron's friends. Neville was being nothing but fair, and even kind._

"You can't be serious, Nev," Harry said, his eyes fixed on his best friend.

"I don't plan to talk to Malfoy, so what's the harm?" Neville shrugged tiredly. "I'll just study with Hermione."

"Or we could join the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs?" Hermione suggested, and even Neville looked slightly confused by her words. "We'd get more done with other people, right?" _Why didn't I join the others back when this group first started? God… It was because I didn't want to be near Ron's friends._ She wanted to yank her own hair out right now, how could she have never seen this? _It's no wonder that Ron's been drifting away from us, we keep pushing him and his friends away._

"Hermione, are you alright?" Neville asked slowly. "You look quite… distraught…"

"I'm… I'm fine," Hermione muttered, though she felt like someone had dunked her in a tub filled with ice-cold water. Why was it so difficult for her to admit that she might have been wrong about something? "How are you doing, Neville? I never asked."

"I don't know," Neville all but whispered. "I'm just trying to manage… I'm actually looking forward to doing my homework tomorrow, isn't that weird?"

"There's nothing weird about wanting to be distracted," Hermione assured him, and Neville gave her the tiniest of smiles. "Let's study together, alright?"

"Sure," Neville nodded, and then he looked to Harry. "You should join us. We've still got homework from before the break."

"I can't," Harry said. "We have Gryffindor tryouts tomorrow. Oliver wants to get a head start on the other teams this year."

"But the break hasn't even ended yet," Hermione said. "Shouldn't he wait until…? Until everyone is better coping with everything that's happened?" _I should think before I speak about the fire near Neville._

"That's what we all thought too, but he's really enthusiastic about Quidditch," Harry sighed, though he was looking forward to flying his broom again. "Ginny, are you going to try out? You're a second year now, so you're allowed to join the Gryffindor Team."

"I… I don't know about that," Ginny replied weakly.

"You practice all the time," Harry reminded her. "What's the harm in trying out?"

"You should do it," Hermione encouraged. _Maybe it'll help her channel her anger in a positive way._

"I… Alright," Ginny nodded weakly, she suddenly looked quite unsure of herself. Hermione couldn't help but notice that Ginny's right hand was now frantically massaging her left forearm. _Actually, I've noticed her doing that a lot. What an odd habit._ Ginny's eyes darted towards the Slytherin table for a moment, and then she hid her left arm under the table. _Yeah, that's definitely weird._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – End of Dinner)**_

"I'm just saying," Theo went on as they began exiting the Great Hall. "If they wanted to keep us in Hogwarts, they could easily Conjure up a massive fence. But nooo… They had to put a bloody Forbidden Forest around a school full of children."

"At least you've never been forced to enter it," Malfoy said, and Theo frowned at him for talking. Ron, however, shot Malfoy a knowing look. _The Dark Lord. That's when I first faced him._

"Maybe you should've stayed there," Millie said to Malfoy, who clearly bit back a savage retort. _I wonder if Marty had time to fulfil my request from this morning. Probably. He's never once let me down._

"Ron, can I talk you?" came Hermione's voice, and Ron stopped near the steps leading to the Moving Staircase. _What now?_ Ron turned to see Hermione and Neville looking at him, while Ginny and Harry hovered in the back with frowns aimed at Malfoy.

"What can I do for you?" Ron asked, ignoring the students walking past them all.

"I wanted to apologize," Hermione said, and then she looked at everyone but Malfoy. "To all of you, that is…" _Huh?_

"What?"

"Pardon?"

"Why?"

"Please, do grovel," Theo smirked, and Ron shot him a frown. "What?"

"Hermione, please go on," Ron said, he liked where this was going. _I see a chance at peace between our groups._ Ron's eyes darted towards Neville, who had originally brought up the idea of a 'peace talk'. _Is this his doing?_

"I'm sorry about the cauldron explosion last year," Hermione said, and Ron could hear that she was struggling. "Ron told me that you all got hurt, and I never thought about that. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry as well," Neville added on, and Ron's friends looked to Ron. He simply looked back at them, accepting Hermione and Neville's apology was their choice. Daphne suddenly drew in a deep breath, and then she looked to the Gryffindors.

"We accept your apology," Daphne said, and the two Gryffindors merely nodded. "Shall we go, Ron?"

"Right," Ron said, and he shot Neville and Hermione a weak smile. With that, the Slytherins departed for their common room.

"That was… odd…" Tracey noted, and the others nodded their agreement. "When did you talk to her, Ron?"

"Yesterday," Ron replied, he felt a little better because of their apology. _Hopefully we can maintain this sort of behavior._

"Just yesterday?" Tracey asked, and Ron looked to her. "It's just… Well, she apologized the day after then. That's… That's quite responsible of her."

"How could she possibly not think that an explosion could have hurt people?" Theo asked.

"She probably didn't give it a second thought," Millie shrugged. "But now that she knows, she's apologized. We should just take it and put this Trio problem to bed. We already have enough problems to deal with as it is."

"I second that," Ron said, and the others simply nodded. _But Harry is the real problem here. Hopefully his friends will help him move past spying on me. If I antagonize him now, Neville and Hermione might change their tunes again. And then, there's Ginny…_

"Still… I never imagined that Hermione Granger of all people would ever apologize to me," Pansy said. "It felt nice."

"You just enjoyed the sight of her humbling herself," Blaise said, and Pansy gave him a wink.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying someone apologizing to you," Pansy smirked, and then she looked to Ron. "Are we going to start being friends with them now?"

"If you want to be friends with them, then go ahead," Ron replied. "Just don't be hostile. Ever. I'm tired of the Trio finding reasons to get in our way."

"Ron, are you alright?" Daphne asked. "You seem a little cold today."

"That's what I've been told," Ron sighed out. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Blood," Theo said to the entrance, and it slid aside for them. "She's got a point, mate. You barely spoke during dinner."

"Had nothing to say," Ron shrugged, his eyes darting towards their spot. Flint and his gang were once again occupying it, and Ron couldn't even bring himself to frown. _Is this seriously his way of 'getting under my skin'?_

"There you are," Clara said as she suddenly walked up in front of them. "Come with me."

"Just me?" Ron asked, while his friends just stared at her.

"All of you," Clara replied, and then she looked to Malfoy. "Even you." _Even Malfoy? What's this about?_ They all began following Clara towards the new Training Area, and once they were inside, they found Carey and Samantha waiting for them.

"Where have you all been today?" Carey asked them, her voice wasn't silky this time around.

"I was at work," Ron replied, and then he looked to Daphne.

"We were in the abandoned North Wing," Daphne lied, her entire demeanor as cold as ice. "May we ask what this is about?"

"The Group Tournament," Samantha replied. "We've picked the teams, and Professor Snape has signed off on them."

"So the Dueling Club is about to start?" Ron asked, he suddenly felt a little excited.

"It starts on the twenty-fifth of October," Carey replied, her eyes didn't show her usual fondness for him. _They're cold. Whatever._ "Professor Lupin has decided to hold the Year-Based Tournament first, and the second years will be the first to compete. After that, it'll be you lot. And so on. The first set of the Tournament will determine the quarter-finalists from each year, and the second set will determine the winners. Your year level will have twelve quarter-finalists."

"Once the Year-Based Tournament is completed, the Group Tournament will begin," Samantha told them. "And we've picked each year's teams. Your year's team will consist of Ronald, Theodore, Blaise, Millicent, and Malfoy." _Malfoy?_

"I didn't put my name down for the Group Tournament," Malfoy told them.

"That's weird," Clara giggled. "Your name was on the sheet when it was handed in. Isn't that odd?" _Wow._

"You displayed decent skill in the ranked matches, Malfoy," Carey said coldly. "We are giving you a chance to fall back into our good graces. You ought to take it."

"He will," Ron told everyone, and then he looked to Malfoy. _Please, you cunt, make my life a little easier._

"Fine," Malfoy frowned at Ron, who just looked back to the Triumvirate.

"That's all you need to know for now," Clara said, her usual smile on her face. "Goodnight." Ron and his friends, and Malfoy, turned to leave, but the Triumvirate had other plans.

"Not you, Ronald," Carey said, and Ron turned back to face them. "We need a word with you."

"Alright," Ron said, and then he shot Daphne a meaningful look. _Don't go too far._

"We'll be right outside," Daphne said, and then she led the others outside. _Mind-reader._ Ron looked back to the Triumvirate, and he decided to wait until they spoke up.

"How confident are you in your ability to win the Rank A Grand Tournament?" Carey asked.

"Pretty confident," Ron replied, his eyes darting towards Samantha. "I was surprised to learn that only Selwyn made it into Rank A, I had all of you pegged for it."

"Selwyn?" Samantha cocked an eyebrow.

"You called me 'Weasley', remember?" Ron reminded her. "You want to act cold, I can act cold too."

"We deliberately lost a match each, and we held back," Carey told him, and Ron was a little surprised by that. "This way, Clara and I can work to secure three hundred points from Rank B, while you and Samantha work to win us five hundred points from Rank A."

"Divide and conquer," Ron said, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Smart. And if we end up going against each other?"

"Then let the better witch, or wizard, win," Clara replied, she looked as though she wanted to smile at him but was holding back.

"How are things with Malfoy?" Carey asked, and Ron blinked at her. _She only cares about the Group Tournament, doesn't she?_

"He'll be ready when the times comes, so don't worry about that," Ron said, and she nodded slowly. "Anything else?"

"No, Ronald," Carey said in barely a whisper. "Goodnight." Ron turned around and left at that, his mind set on winning all of his matches. _And it's not for them. I'll help them when they decide to help me for a change._

"What did they want?" Tracey asked him as he came up the small steps.

"They have a plan, and I'm to play the good little soldier," Ron shrugged. "I'm tired, so I'm heading off for the night." Ron then looked to Malfoy. "That means you too, Malfoy."

"You're giving me a bedtime now?" Malfoy frowned.

"I'll give you a fucking broken jaw if you frown at me again, you little cunt," Ron suddenly snapped, something that made everyone take a step away from him. "Ungrateful fuck." With that, Ron started heading for his room. _Constantly frowning at me while I'm getting treated like shite on his behalf. I can't even celebrate Daphne and me dating because of his mess._ He could hear Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy walking behind him, and once he entered his room, he went straight for his bed.

"Goodnight, Ron," Theo said.

"Goodnight, Theo and Blaise," Ron said, and then he closed the curtains of poster-bed. Ron then sat down on his bed and massaged his forehead, he could feel a headache coming on. _Let's see if Marty delivered it._ Ron then reached under his pillow, and much to his joy, he felt a leather tome. Ron pulled it out, and he eyed it carefully. _The tome on Curses that I bought from Victor. It is past time that I started learning from it. I mean, I did spend sixty Galleons on this._

"I bet this would satisfy Harry and Ginny," Ron whispered to himself, his left land feeling the black leather. "Ronald Weasley… Aspiring Dark Wizard… That's what they'd label me…" Ron's eyes blazed red for a moment, though he didn't realize it. "I'll show them all when I've saved them. I'll prove my loyalty a thousand times over. 'If you can't have their love, then you better have their respect'."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Midday)**_

"Ron, wake up," came Daphne's voice, and Ron grunted as he turned on his other side. "Seriously, Ron… It's midday. Wake up!" She began shaking him, and Ron frowned as soon as his eyes opened.

"What? What is it?" Ron mumbled as he leaned up on his elbows.

"It's midday, Ron," Daphne repeated, her blurry image slowly becoming clearer. _Midday?_

"I missed breakfast?" Ron yawned, and Daphne nodded. "Fuck…"

"Don't cuss so casually," Daphne scolded. "I really dislike it."

"Uh-huh," Ron nodded as he cleared his eyes with his right hand. _No glove?_ Ron's eyes shot wide-open at that, and he looked to his bedside table in a hurry. _Where is it?!_

"Here," Daphne said, she was holding the glove in her hand. "The others aren't here, by the way. They're up at the Sanctuary."

"Right," Ron said as he took the glove, and then he put it on in a hurry. _That's better. That's so much better._

"You know, I don't mind the scar…" Daphne whispered, and Ron blinked at her. The look on her face was a mixture of understanding and sympathy, but it only served to irritate him.

"I mind it," Ron said, and then he fully sat up. "You all went to breakfast without me?"

"Theo tried to wake you up, but apparently, you took a swing at him," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "Don't worry, Flint would never be so bold as to come after us in public."

"He's an idiot," Ron reminded her. "Idiots do idiotic things."

"My boyfriend the philosopher," Daphne giggled, and despite feeling tired and grumpy, his lips jerked upwards. "That's better, Ron. You should smile when you wake up, it'll make your day much better."

"Do you wake up with a smile?" Ron asked.

"I usually wake up because Tracey starts singing in the morning," Daphne replied. "So no… I usually wake up with a pained expression." Ron snorted at that, his smile widening. _Wait… I can't kiss her. I have morning breath. That'd be so gross for her._

"I'm gonna go freshen up," Ron said as he slid off of his bed, and Daphne was quite taken aback by his sudden actions. "I'll take a shower and get ready…" _I was talking to her with morning breath!_ "I'll be right back!"

"What the…?" Daphne muttered, but Ron had already entered the bathroom.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ronald Bilius Weasley was a fool. No… He was the king of fools. A moronic twat that couldn't even think twenty minutes ahead. He had run away from Daphne because of his 'morning breath', but now he was standing in front of the bathroom mirror in his towel, with no fresh clothes in sight. He could, of course, wear his pajamas again, but he really didn't want to. He had just washed up, and wearing his sweaty pajamas again would defeat the purpose of showering.

"Marty," Ron called, and a soft popping sound emanated from behind him.

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed deeply, and Ron turned to face him. Marty was kind enough to keep his eyes fixed on Ron's, the Elf clearly understood that Ron hated the scars marring his body.

"Marty, this is going to sound stupid, but I need you to get me something fresh to wear from my trunk," Ron said, and Marty beamed for some reason.

"Marty is happy to help!" Marty said a little too loudly.

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice from outside, and Ron's panicked eyes darted towards the door. "Is someone in there with you?"

"It is just Marty, Mistress!" Marty called out, and Ron slapped his own forehead. _Merlin, why?_

"Marty?!" Daphne called. "What are you doing in there?! Isn't Ron showering?!"

"Master has no fresh clothes to wear!" Marty called out, and Ron quickly shushed his Elf.

"Marty, don't tell her that," Ron whispered frantically, his face heating up.

"Oh… Apologies, Master," Marty whispered back. "Marty was lying Mistress! Master does have-"

"Marty, please stop," Ron begged, and Marty closed his mouth.

"Ron, I know that you didn't take any clothes with you," Daphne said, and Ron felt the need to dunk his own head in the toilet. _I'll fucking drown myself. That'll save me from this moment._

"Marty, please get me some clothes," Ron groaned, and Marty disapparated immediately. Ron turned to stare at his reflection again, his slightly wet hair hanging just over his eyes. _My sides and back are short enough, but the hair on top of my head is getting a little long. Maybe I should get another haircut from Pansy?_ Ron then looked to his chest, and much to his surprise, he noticed that the scar on his chest looked… agitated.

"What the fuck?" Ron whispered, his left hand tracing the long diagonal scar. The outskirts of the scarred tissue was red and slightly swollen, and when Ron pressed a little, he felt a jolt of pain spread throughout his chest. "Ow… What's wrong with it?" _I'll show Pomfrey tomorrow when we have our session._ "Bloody hell…" Marty suddenly popped into the bathroom, fresh clothes held in his hands.

"Marty has picked this out, Master," Marty bowed as he presented Ron with his clothes.

"Thanks, Marty," Ron said as he took the clothes. "It's perfect."

"Marty is happy to help, as always," Marty said, and then he shot a quick look towards the door. "Mistress saw Master's undergarments…"

"Huh?" Ron blinked, and Marty gave him a sheepish smile.

"Marty made a mistake," Marty whispered, and Ron sighed in defeat. _Fantastic start to my morning. Wait… My midday?_

"It's alright… Thanks for the save, Marty," Ron said, and Marty nodded fervently. "Enjoy the rest of your day, mate."

"You too, Master," Marty beamed at being called 'mate', and then he disapparated with a deafening crack. _The noise… He gets so excited so quickly._ Ron quickly dressed himself, and after brushing his teeth, he made his way outside. Daphne was sitting on his bed, her hands resting in her lap.

"You have pink underwear?" Daphne suddenly asked with a shocked look, and Ron blinked at her.

"No, I don't," Ron replied.

"I saw it, Ron," Daphne sighed dramatically. "I'm not judging you… To each their own, I say."

"Come off it," Ron shook his head, while she shot him a playful smirk. "Sorry about the wait, Daphne."

"It's alright," Daphne shrugged, and then she beckoned him towards her. Ron walked up and sat down to her left, and she quickly clung to his side. "Finally! I've been waiting for days to do that!"

"I get what you mean," Ron said, he immediately felt better because of her hug. "I'm sorry that we haven't had the chance to tell anyone."

"I hate it, but I understand," Daphne replied. "I personally don't believe that we should be making a big deal about it right now… Especially with Flint and the Triumvirate being unhappy with us."

"Yeah…" Ron muttered. "I just figured that you'd want to tell everyone." _I want to._

"I do, but we need to focus on the problem at hand," Daphne replied, and then she let go of him. "By the way, something really fantastic happened this morning."

"Really?" Ron asked, his disappoint immeasurable at being let go of. _I'm so clingy that it makes me sad._

"Owls flew into the Great Hall, and they dropped The Quibbler's brochures everywhere," Daphne smiled at him, and Ron let out a weak chuckle. "Everyone's talking about The Quibbler, and its new owner. Poor Luna was interviewed by half of the school right outside of the Great Hall, and your brother had to pretty much kidnap Luna to save her from her interrogators."

"Whoops," Ron smiled weakly. _Wait… Just my brothers?_ "And… And Ginny?"

"She was helping Luna as well," Daphne said softly, and then she scooted over and planted herself in his lap. Ron quickly put his arms around her to steady her, the last thing he wanted was for her to fall over. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Ron asked, but he knew what she meant.

"About you being really sad ever since your fight with Ginny," Daphne replied, she knew that he was playing ignorant.

"I'm not sad," Ron quickly denied. "Why would I be sad? She's the one with the problem." _I'm not sad whatsoever. I'm just not._

"So you don't want to talk about it?" Daphne asked, and Ron shook his head.

"No, I don't," Ron replied, and Daphne gave him a nod. "I'd much rather talk about us." _Please let me change the subject._

"Really?" Daphne asked. "And what do you want to talk about?"

"Why don't we just tell our friends?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him. "Who cares what Malfoy thinks? I don't like how things are going… I want to sit with you, and stuff…" _Didn't stick the landing there, Ron._

"And stuff?" Daphne smirked, and Ron just nodded like a moron.

"You know… Hold hands, and stuff…" Ron muttered. _Once again, nice landing…_

"You're so cute," Daphne couldn't help but giggle, and Ron felt his ears burn. "You don't want to give me kisses in public?"

"Well, not in front of a crowd… But maybe just a peck when we see each other… Like the other couples at this school…" Ron replied with an embarrassed look. "Ugh… Forget it…"

"And how do we tell our friends?" Daphne asked, she hadn't teased him for too long. "I still like the idea of just snogging in front of them out of the blue."

"I'm trying to be serious here," Ron whispered. "I… I don't like that Ernie asked you out, Daph… That's two people now, and since you're… you, there will be a lot more in the Future…" _Ronald Weasley, the woman in this relationship. I should start wearing a dress._

"Are you saying that I'm beautiful?" Daphne hummed, her playful smirk still in place.

"I don't really have to say it," Ron sighed out, and Daphne's smirk turned into a smile. "Everyone can see-" Ron tried to go on, but Daphne surprised him with a kiss. _Oh. Well, that was nice._

"Want to snog?" Daphne asked, her smile almost predatory.

"Yes," Ron said immediately.

"Alright, we've got about ten minutes before people start looking for me," Daphne told him. "I told the group that I'd bring you straight up to the Sanctuary."

"How could you limit us like this?" Ron smirked.

"Shush, snogging time," Daphne shushed him, and then she planted her lips against his. After a few quick pecks, they both threw caution to the wind.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron had regained some of his spirit, and although he was embarrassed to admit it, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of the day with just Daphne. Sadly, they had both decided to keep their relationship a secret for a few more days. Just until they figured out how to tell people. Ron found it quite odd that he was pushing so hard for this, when at the beginning, he had been delaying it as much as possible. There was only one explanation for this. _Daphne is using a Love Potion on me!_

"Ron, why are you staring at me like that?" Daphne asked, they were both standing in front of the entrance to the Sanctuary. The Gryffindors had their Quidditch tryouts today, which meant that most of the Gryffindors had deserted the castle.

"I'm onto you," Ron narrowed his eyes on her, and she blinked at him. "I'm onto you…"

"You're so weird," Daphne giggled, and Ron's lips twitched upwards. _Damn, her giggling is so infectious._ "C'mon, let's go inside."

"Ugh!" Ron groaned loudly, and Daphne sighed.

"Ron, we can't spend the day hidden away from them," Daphne told him.

"I want to spend my day with you," Ron said miserably. "I don't want to see Malfoy's cunt face near me."

"Merlin, Ron… Language…" Daphne grimaced, no normal person spoke like this.

"I bet all vaginas resemble Malfoy's face…" Ron said in disgust, and Daphne had to hold back a gag.

"That's enough for me," Daphne said, and then she quickly made her way inside. Ron sulked for a few seconds, and then he followed her inside.

"Finally!" Pansy called, and Ron put on a smile. "We've been waiting for ages!"

"Ron wanted to take a shower," Daphne told them. "I'm pretty sure he fell asleep in the bathroom." Ron and Daphne then walked up to the sandpit, where everyone was. Malfoy was currently Dueling against a dummy, and Ron couldn't help but nod at his quick dodges. _Need to teach him to not cast Shield Charms against Death-Eaters._

"He's not bad," Blaise pointed out.

"He never attacks though," Millie said, and then she looked to Malfoy. "Hurry up! The rest of us want a turn too!" _Actually, I do want to try that Curse I read about last night. The Bone Shattering Curse: Rumpere._

"Stupefy!" Malfoy chanted as he ducked under a stinger, and his 'opponent' toppled onto its back.

"Try to counter attack after your dodges, Malfoy," Ron advised. "Trust me, I used to keep dodging as well, but it never ends well. Against an actual person, you won't only be dodging stingers." Malfoy didn't say anything, but he did give Ron a curt nod. _It's progress, I suppose._ Malfoy then walked over to the other side of the pit, making sure to stay away from the others.

"Who wants to go next?" Tracey asked, and Ron stepped forward.

"I want to try out a Spell," Ron said as he used his wand to lift the dummy onto its feet. _Now, what was the wand movement again? Pull back, and then thrust forward. Aim for the 'ribcage' for maximum damage._ The dummy fired a stinger at him, and Ron stepped to the left as he pulled his wand back. The dummy quickly fired another stinger at him, and this time, Ron stepped to his right as he thrust his wand forward.

"Rumpere," Ron chanted, and a violet jet of light flew out of his wand and struck the dummy's lower stomach. _Damn, I missed the ribcage._ The dummy's entire torso suddenly collapsed in on where the Curse had landed, and the sound of wood shattering echoed throughout the room. The dummy crumpled onto the ground, its torso twisted and mangled horribly. _Merlin! I can't use this in the Dueling Club, it'll kill someone!_

"Mother of fuck…" Tracey muttered, all of them were now just staring at the dummy's corpse. "What was that?!"

"Where did you learn that Curse?!" Theo asked, his face showing both his shock and awe.

"From around," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the dummy's corpse.

"What did it do to the dummy?" Millie asked, she definitely needed to learn this one.

"Basically, the Curse enters the victim and creates a gravitational pull wherever it lands," Ron said, his mind going back to the tome. "And as you can all see… It shatters everything with how much force it uses. It's called the Bone Shattering Curse, or the Bone Crusher Curse, and it's used to mangle one's opponent."

"You can't use this on people, Ron!" Daphne protested. "Look at the dummy! The sides of its stomach are caved in!"

"Well, if I hit someone's leg, it'll be fine," Ron countered, and Daphne just stared at him in utter disbelief. "That was a joke. I won't be using it again." _Except on Death-Eaters. Yes…_ _ **On them, We will definitely use this Curse.**_

"I just lost my will to train, I think," Pansy muttered, her head slowly shaking. "Poor dummy…"

"Reparo," Ron chanted, and the dummy shook violently as its body started to repair itself. Chunks of wood flew back into their original places, and before everyone knew it, the dummy was standing upright again.

"Yay!" Pansy laughed, her face lighting up like a child. _Ha, that was cute._ "Can I destroy it next?"

"That's not healthy," Tracey averted her eyes from Pansy, who simply shot her a wink. Ron looked towards Malfoy, and he spotted the Malfoy Heir just staring at him.

"Go on, Pansy," Ron said, his eyes still fixed on Malfoy. "Remember to keep your dodges in check, jumping aside only hinders you. You can do this, Pans. Good luck." _She learns best from encouragement and praise, I've got to keep that in mind._ Pansy shot him a smile as she took her place, while Ron walked over to Malfoy.

"That Curse you just used," Malfoy started. "That was pure Dart Arts."

"Is that so?" Ron asked with a smirk, but Malfoy wasn't amused.

"I've seen that Curse before, Weasley," Malfoy told him, and Ron lost his smirk.

"Where? Did your father use it on some poor bastard?" Ron asked, a hint of venom in his voice. Malfoy just stared at him for a few seconds, Weasley was quite close to the truth. Draco had seen his father use the Bone Crusher Curse on a disrespectful Elf, and much to Draco's horror, he had seen the mess that was left behind. He had only been six at the time.

"Where did you learn it?" Malfoy asked in response. "There is no way that that old codger would let something this Dark be left in the Library." _Old Codger?_

"First of all, Malfoy," Ron frowned deeply. "You will speak of the Headmaster with nothing but respect, or there will be consequences. Secondly, why do you care where I learned it from?"

"I don't," Malfoy lied. "What do you want? Why are you talking to me?"

"Are you Malfoys naturally so ungrateful? Or did your parents sign you up for 'How to be a bastard' classes before Hogwarts?" Ron asked, and Malfoy frowned deeply. "Didn't I warn you about frowning at me last night?"

"What do you want, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, his frown disappearing.

"The Triumvirate has given you, and by extension, us, a chance to win back their favor," Ron started. "We need to win the Group Tournament and secure an extra one hundred points for Slytherin, because when we do, they might be willing to help us with Flint."

"I didn't take you for someone who seeks the help of other people," Malfoy baited.

"Which is why you became the House bitch, while I became the favored son," Ron smirked at him. "But, in a way, you're right. I'm fond of the Triumvirate, and their help with Flint would be handy, but if push comes to shove, I'll gladly teach them that their 'status' means nothing to me. Think about it, Malfoy. They're just students at the end of the day, no matter how special they might think themselves."

"My thoughts exactly," Malfoy admitted, and Ron gave him a subtle nod.

"This group's wellbeing is my only concern," Ron went on. "Which is why I'm willing to play by their rules. Having three more enemies doesn't help us, but having three allies does. So, for the group's benefit, you'll start training with us. None of this standing away and brooding in a corner shite, alright?"

"You give a lot of orders, don't you?" Malfoy said, and Ron just stared at him. "You say that the Triumvirate are just students, but you forget that you are one as well. So why do you expect me to listen to your orders, while you blatantly defy other people's authority?"

"Because unlike the Triumvirate, I am helping you," Ron reminded him. "The Triumvirate threw you to Flint, while I've stuck my neck out for you. The least you can do is contribute once in a while."

"You're doing this for Blaise, not me," Malfoy sneered. "I owe you nothing." _I need to make him believe that I am, otherwise I'll never get to move on with my own life._

"You know what my first plan was when I heard about your stunt?" Ron asked him, and he waited for Ron to go on. "I planned to beat you bloody, and then leave you in the Forbidden Forest." Malfoy blinked at that. "It's true… Some filthy beast would fill its belly with your corpse, and I'd finally be rid of you. But since murdering people isn't my thing, I thought about scaring you away from Blaise. And believe me, I could do that. I'd tie Blaise to his bed in order to keep him safe, all the while terrorizing you in ways that would make Flint's skin crawl. But despite all of that, I accepted you into the Group. I was the one who convinced **my** friends to help **you**."

"You did no such-"

"Ask them," Ron cut him off. "Ask Blaise. It was my idea to bring you into the group."

"Why?" Malfoy glared at him.

"I don't like bullies," Ron shrugged, and Malfoy blinked repeatedly. "Sure, I can be a bully sometimes… But I don't go after people. I only defend myself, and my own, from people who cause me problems simply because they dislike me, or my Family, or my beliefs, or my House."

"You cut off my hair," Malfoy hissed. "You humiliated me, and you used Pansy to do it. She and I have been friends since we were babies."

"I cut off your hair because I dislike your father," Ron told him. "He has wronged me, and my Family. I cut off your hair because I knew that if I ever lost my temper, I'd fucking strangle if you came near me. As for Pansy, I chose her simply because she cuts my hair. I know that she's skilled at it, and I didn't want you to look like some degenerate. And let's not forget that you were quite happy to laugh at the people helping you, all the while hiding behind us like some coward. You might think that you've made some genius move to trap me, but you haven't. I could easily force you into giving Blaise his freedom."

"Then why don't you?" Malfoy demanded, his pale face was turning scarlet.

"You might be a bigoted, selfish, and pompous brat, but you don't deserve to be tortured by a legal adult," Ron replied, everyone knew that Flint had been held back a year. "Flint was taking things too far, and no one was doing anything about it."

"You're so noble," Malfoy scoffed, though his spirit was clearly weakening.

"No, I'm really not," Ron admitted, and Malfoy just stared at him with a slightly bewildered look. "There was a time when I wanted to be, but being noble doesn't get results… Being noble is for people like Harry Potter, who are seen as a symbol of some sort, even when they haven't done anything to earn the respect that they're shown. People who inspire blind loyalty from little girls who turn on their own kin for their hero's attention…" _Get a grip, Ron._

"Weasley… What are you on about?" Malfoy asked slowly, his eyes darting towards the others. They were shooting 'subtle' looks towards Ron and Malfoy, and when Malfoy looked to them, they turned their attention towards Tracey's Duel.

"I'm saying that I'm not looking for your 'love' and 'devotion', but I **will** have your respect," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on Malfoy. "I **am** helping you, and if you don't start contributing to this group, that help will cease to exist. Whether you like us or not, you are a part of this group now. So… Contribute." Malfoy went to say something, but then he closed his mouth. After a few seconds, Malfoy gave him a curt nod.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Sanctuary – Late Evening)**_

He was moments away from an apocalyptic rage, and everyone knew it. His friends were, of course, used to seeing Ron's outburst of pure frustrated frenzy when he couldn't get something right even after a hundred tries. The last time this had happened was when he was attempting to perfect the Wandless version of Incendio, and in his rage, Ron had start flinging furniture at the walls.

Right now though, he had half a mind to set fire to the Sanctuary. The Wandless Baubillious Charm was giving him more trouble than any Spell before it. He had been trying for weeks to get this damn Spell to work, but all he could manage was white hot sparks that barely traveled further than three meters. Was the increasing distance of the sparks a good sign? Probably. Did Ron give a fuck about having sparky fingers? No! He wanted lightning! He was promised lightning by that accursed book, and he wasn't going to stop until he got it.

"Ron, just give it a rest," Theo said in a calming manner, while Ron just glared at his own left hand. _WHY WON'T YOU WORK?! CUNT!_

"We've spent the whole day in here," Pansy said, her hair disheveled. "We could all use a break."

"You've been taking a break for the last hour!" Ron yelled at her, and she quickly pretended like she hadn't said anything. "I'm not leaving until this motherfucking Spell works!" Ron then glared back at the dummy, and the blank look on its carved face boiled Ron's blood. _Fuck you, you bitch!_ His friends just looked to each other and shrugged, while Malfoy was genuinely shocked by the fact that they were so used to this sort of behavior.

"We'll be resting on the couches," Millie said, her face marred by grime. As his friends, and Malfoy, left to relax on the couches, Ron once again aimed his left fingers at the dummy.

"Baubillious!" Ron chanted, and his entire left arm felt jittery. And then, the dummy was showered with white hot sparks. "Fuck! Fucking fuck cunt arse fucking bastard bitch boy! FUUUCK! WORK, YOU CUNT!" Ron then let out a throaty roar at the dummy, while his friends held back their laughter at the sheer level of his temper. Sure, they were terrified that he might take it out on them, but when it came to perfecting Spells, Ron's anger was usually reserved solely for the dummies.

"What am I doing wrong?!" Ron yelled at his left hand, the veins in his head popping to the surface. _That fucking useless book doesn't even explain how to do it properly! FUCK FLITWICK FOR EVER HANDING IT OVER TO ME! MIDGET CUNT!_ Ron hurled his wand aside, and then he began pacing side-to-side like some crazed animal. Never in his life had he been so frustrated before.

The scar on his chest had started hurting sometime in the afternoon, and from the moment that dull ache had started, everything was just setting him off. His friends were clearly amused by his lack of progress, and Ron was starting think terrible things. He wanted to put Theo's smirking face in front of him and fire the Reductor Curse at it. He wanted the Entity to show its fucking face to his amused friends, and scare them shitless. He wanted this fucking Spell to just work already!

Ron glared back down at his left hand, and he felt the irrational need to break his own bloody fingers. _I fucking deserve it! I've been trying to get this right all day! Weeks wasted on a single fucking Spell that just refuses to work!_ The pain in his chest suddenly spiked for a moment, and Ron irritably punched his own chest, which only served to cause him even more pain. _I'm getting this Spell right this time! Or so help me Merlin, I'll set this fucking room on fire!_

"BAUBILLIOUS!" Ron screamed at the top of his lungs, his left hand thrusting forward like a blade. He suddenly felt as if he had a pulsating Sun inside of his chest, and within a flash, he felt all of this Sun's power pass through his left arm. The sound of thunder boomed throughout the Sanctuary, nearly deafening everyone inside, while Ron was hurled back by a searing hot shockwave. By the time Ron stopped rolling through the sand, his ears were ringing so loudly that he couldn't even process a thought.

He then heard muffled yells from all around him, and so he sat up with a dazed expression. He could feel… wind? Yeah, that was definitely wind. Ron looked around the room, but all he could see was darkness. Darkness and muffled screams… That was his entire World right now. _Why can't I see anything?_ Ron blinked repeatedly, his head bobbing back and forth due to his inability to balance it. That's when he suddenly felt someone's hands on him, accompanied by the sound of people screaming something at him.

"I can't see anything…" Ron muttered, his head falling back. "My ears are ringing so loudly…" Whoever was shaking him clearly wanted him to be panicking, but Ron couldn't even think straight. It was as if his brain had been left in a barrel of Lord Greengrass' Apple Brandy for a few years. Ron tried to push his attacker away with his left hand, but it wouldn't move. So Ron tried again. And again. And again. "I can't move my left arm… I… I can't even feel it…"

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Quidditch Pitch – Late Evening)**_

Something wasn't right with him today, and everyone knew it. Harry had woken up to a dull headache, and upon closer inspection, he had found out that his scar was the cause. The skin around it was agitated, and whenever he touched it, it sent a jolt of pain throughout his skull. He knew that his scar was somehow connected to Voldemort, and that whenever it hurt, it meant that the Dark Lord was near.

So Harry had gone to Dumbledore in order to alert him of the possible danger, but Dumbledore had simply assured him that Hogwarts was safe. Harry had believed him, of course. The old wizard had shown Harry nothing but kindness, and in a way, Harry saw him as the Grandfather that he never had. If Voldemort showed his face near Hogwarts again, then Dumbledore would defeat him. Harry was sure of it.

But despite Dumbledore's assurances, the pain in his scar had only gotten worse as the day had progressed. He felt agitated by everything, and everyone. He didn't even understand where his anger was coming from, but it was constantly eating away at him. Hermione's overexcitement about Ron's 'Quibbler' had sent wild waves of annoyance through him, and the fact that Neville had known about it all along made Harry extremely upset. Why wouldn't Neville tell him about this? They were supposed to be best friends! Harry told Neville everything, even when he really didn't want to. He knew that Neville would be hurt if Harry kept things from him, so why couldn't Neville understand that himself?

By the time he had taken to the Pitch for the tryouts, his face was marred by a permanent frown. McLaggen was also there, and he was trying out for Keeper. Keeper! The git wanted to steal Oliver's position, and when Oliver had beaten him in the amounts of goals saved, McLaggen had tried out for Seeker. Harry had easily bested him, but then McLaggen had tried to take the position of Chaser. People kept telling him that he could only tryout for one position, but McLaggen refused to listen. In the end, McLaggen had been made the reserve Chaser simply because he was bigger and stronger than Ginny.

Ginny was obliviously embarrassed, mostly because it fed into her previous insecurity of not being good enough. The twins and Harry had spent the rest of the tryouts glaring at McLaggen, who was trying to be chummy with an annoyed Alicia Spinnet. Harry had even fired some angry glares at Oliver, who had allowed McLaggen to do as he pleased simply because Oliver wanted nothing more than to win the Quidditch Cup. Ginny would have definitely qualified as a reserve Chaser if McLaggen hadn't stolen her spot after failing to secure his own.

"There's always next year, Gin," George patted her back, but that didn't help the miserable look on her face. Her shoulders were slumped forward, her cheeks were hot with embarrassment, and she kept fiddling with her left forearm. _I've noticed that she does that quite a lot._ They were all walking back towards the Courtyard currently, the weather had turned sour rather quickly.

"I shouldn't have tried out…" Ginny muttered. "What was I thinking?" Harry went to say something, but McLaggen's loud laugh made him grit his teeth. He turned to see McLaggen talking animatedly at Oliver, who was looking quite annoyed with McLaggen's never-ending 'advice'. _What a damn tosser._ Harry felt his blood boil, but he quickly tried to calm himself down. _What's wrong with me? I… I just want to punch something!_

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Angelina Johnson piped in. "I thought that you were quite brilliant."

"You've got a solid arm for someone your age," Katie Bell added.

"McLaggen only got it because he has more experience," Fred gave her a comforting smile. "Trust me, you'll definitely get it next year."

"I don't I'm going to try again," Ginny told them. "I'll wait until I'm a little older…"

"Sure, Gin," George nodded, and then he shot a look towards McLaggen. "That damn-" George was cut off by the deafening sound of heavy rocks shattering apart, followed by a thunderous noise which bellowed throughout the school grounds. The entire Gryffindor Team looked towards the seventh floor, their eyes widening in horror as white hot lightning cut through the grey sky like a sharp knife. Large debris collapsed down on top of the castle's balconies, while smaller pieces rained down upon the Courtyard, pelting the screaming students underneath.

Harry had only a moment to quickly shield Ginny, who was right next to him, out of sheer instinct before he felt a rock hit his left shoulder blade. A scream tore out of his throat as his entire back burned from the pain, the rocks were as hot as burning coal. Harry then felt two hands grab him and drag him towards the nearest covered area, while Fred bolted past him with Ginny secured in his arms.

"Harry?! You alright?!" George yelled, and Harry nodded frantically. _What just happened?!_ Harry looked around wildly, his eyes skimming over dozens of panicking students. Most of them were just scared, but some, like Angelina, were clearly hurt.

"George… What was that?" Harry managed as he looked towards the red-haired boy, but the moment he saw George's face, Harry's blood froze. There was trickles of blood sliding down the right side of George's face, something that George himself hadn't even noticed. "George! You're hurt!"

"I got grazed by a rock," George grimaced, and then he shook his head clear. "Fred? Is Ginny alright?"

"What the bloody fuck was that?!" Fred yelled in response, Ginny still hanging from his long arms. _She looks fine, just terrified._ The shouting was getting louder, with some people slowly taking peaks up at the castle. Harry, unable to resist his curiosity, quickly joined them. _Good God…_ There was a hole on the side of the castle, and the area around the hole was scorched black. _That's the seventh floor… Gryffindor territory… Neville and Hermione?!_

"Everyone get inside," Harry heard Oliver's voice, but unlike the others, Harry had already started running towards the entrance. He didn't even realize that he had left his broom outside, and right now, he couldn't care less. The moment he entered the Entrance Hall, he found himself rooted in his spot. There were scared students everywhere, all of them shouting over one another.

"Move! Get in the Great Hall!" he heard Percy yelling, while the prefects helped him guide people into Great Hall. The Gryffindor Quidditch Team, and the other students who had been outside, caught up with Harry.

"What's going on?!" Oliver yelled out at Percy, who looked towards the newest arrivals.

"Don't know!" Percy yelled back. "Help me get people inside!" Oliver, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, the twins, and McLaggen started helping people through, while Harry pulled Ginny towards the side so that she wouldn't get trampled.

"I'm going up!" Harry told her, and her eyes widened from shock.

"You can't do that!" Ginny yelled over the crowd. "The school's under attack!"

"Neville and Hermione could be up there!" Harry yelled back, and then he started carving his way through the crowd. He got shoved, pulled, and smacked along the way, but eventually, he was standing on the steps of the Entrance Hall.

"Wait!" Ginny called, and Harry turned to see her stuck between a pair of large boys. Harry quickly took a hold of her hand and pulled her out, much to her relief. "Alright, let's go!" Ginny exclaimed, and Harry gave her a nod before he turned around and began bolting up the steps. There were a few stragglers on the higher levels, but Harry and Ginny didn't get that far. As they were running past the first floor, Ginny suddenly stopped by digging her heels into the ground.

"What is it?" Harry quickly turned to face her, but her eyes were fixed on the Hallway leading towards the Hospital Wing.

"Ronnie?!" Ginny suddenly screamed, and then she bolted into the Hallway. _What? Ron?_ Harry jumped down the steps and looked into the Hallway, his eyes landing on Ron's group. Ginny was catching up to them, and Harry immediately spotted Ron dangling from Bulstrode and Blaise's shoulders. _He got hit with debris?!_ Harry quickly ran towards the group, and he caught up to them just as Ginny did.

"What happened to him?!" Ginny demanded, and Ron's friends shot her startled looks.

"Not now!" Greengrass snapped, her face was the picture of fear and panic. _Where's Nott? And Malfoy?_

"Did he get hit by the debris?" Harry asked, his eyes scanning Ron's dazed expression. The tall redhead was just staring blankly at the ground under his feet, and he didn't even respond to Ginny or Harry's voices. But none of that mattered because both Harry and Ginny quickly went into a panic when they saw that Ron's ears were bleeding, and that he had some very odd marks running up the left side of his face. _They look like… red lightning?_

"What happened to him?" Ginny asked again, her voice sounded more like a pained cry this time. "Ron, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"An accident happened," Bulstrode grit out, she and Zabini were clearly struggling with carrying the tall boy. "Potter, run ahead and find Theo and Malfoy! They went to get Pomfrey!"

"Right…" Harry nodded, and then without another thought, he bolted towards the Hospital Wing. His feelings on Ron were completely forgotten right now. All that mattered was that someone was hurt, and they needed medical attention as soon as possible. As he turned the corner, he saw two red faced boys running towards him, and behind them was Madam Pomfrey, who was also running as fast as she could.

"He's just around the corner!" Harry called to them as he waved them over. "Over here!" Harry then turned around and ran back towards Ron's group. "She's coming!" Harry told them as he approached them. He couldn't help but notice the terrified looks on the faces of Ron's friends, except for Bulstrode and Zabini, both of whom looked hell-bent on carrying Ron all the way to Hospital Wing.

"Set him down!" Madam Pomfrey called as she spotted them, and both Zabini and Bulstrode quickly eased Ron down. "What happened?!"

"A Spell backfired on him!" Davis blurted out, her teary eyes fixed on Ron's dazed expression.

"You have to do something!" Parkinson begged, while Madam Pomfrey ripped out her wand.

"Locomotor," Madam Pomfrey chanted, her wand aimed at Ron. The tall redhead began floating up into the air, something which startled him greatly.

"What in the… fuck…?" Ron mumbled, his head wobbling from side-to-side. "Put me down, you bloody arseholes…"

"He can't see anything!" Greengrass quickly told everyone. "He can't even hear us!"

"He's blind and deaf?!" Ginny shrieked, her face going even paler.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Pomfrey asked as Ron floated to her side. "Was anyone else hit with this 'Spell'?"

"We don't know…" Bulstrode panted.

"A hole got blown into the side of the castle," Harry told Pomfrey, whose eyes widened to an absurd level. "Debris hit people in the Courtyard."

"Alright, I'll take Mr. Weasley to the Hospital Wing," Pomfrey started, her expression suddenly becoming stern. "The rest of you need to go and find everyone who got injured, and bring them to the Hospital Wing. Understood?"

"We can't come with you?" Greengrass sniffled. "Please…"

"I'll go get the wounded," Harry volunteered, his eyes darting towards a frantic Ginny.

"We'll go with him," Nott panted, his face red and blotchy from sprinting around. Malfoy and Zabini simply nodded their agreement, which surprised Harry a little. _I can't think about this right now. I need to go and find the others who got hurt. And then I need to find Neville and Hermione._ A jolt of pain shot through his scar, but Harry quickly ignored it. _Find the people who got hurt, and then find Neville and Hermione. That's all that matters._ With those thoughts, Harry bolted towards the Great Hall with three Slytherin boys hot on his tail.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Library – Late Evening)**_

A familiar sense of melancholy had taken a hold over his mind, especially after the Longbottoms' funeral. War was coming to Magical Britain once again, and with it would come death and destruction. Albus' gut tightened every time he saw his students going through their regular routines, and he couldn't help but ask himself the same question every time. How many of them would be dead by the end of the war?

Harry had come to him this very morning in order to tell him that his scar was burning, which meant that Lord Voldemort was near. Albus, despite his concern, had assured Harry that the school was safe. Once Harry had left for his Quidditch tryouts, Albus had quickly started thinking about Harry's scar. It had an odd connection to Lord Voldemort, one that Albus truly wanted to understand. Harry and Tom were linked in ways that just seemed surreal. There was the Prophecy, the fact that Harry and Tom shared Wand Cores from Fawkes himself, their similar backgrounds, their Blood-Status, and now the scar. What kind of scar alerted a person that their mortal enemy was nearby?

Albus had ordered the Heads of Houses, Remus, and Hagrid to scour the grounds and Hogsmeade for any signs of Lord Voldemort. None of them had returned so far, which was only making Albus more and more worried. Something was wrong, he could just feel it. As he himself began patrolling the school, he had quickly found himself in the Library.

"Just add the Moonstone powder, and then stir clockwise," came the voice of Hermione Granger. _Miss. Granger? Always in the library._ Albus smiled to himself, she was a good influence on Harry and Neville. He then walked around the shelf, and found himself observing Hermione tutoring Neville. The boy looked less than happy, but that was understandable.

"Studying Potions?" Albus asked them, and they both looked up at him immediately.

"Headmaster?" Hermione blinked, while Neville nodded. "I was just helping Neville with his homework… But I was only giving him hints… We weren't cheating…"

"It sounded like you were, Miss. Granger," Albus said, deciding to amuse himself a little. Hermione's face fell, while Neville just stared at Albus.

"I… I… I wouldn't…" Hermione stammered, and Albus smiled as his eyes twinkled.

"Forgive me, Miss. Granger," Albus chuckled, taking both students by surprise. "I was only… How do you young ones say it? Ah, yes… I was simply pulling your leg." Hermione just blinked at him, her shock written on her face. Neville at least tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. _Poor boy._ "How are you, Mr. Longbottom? Are you settling back into Hogwarts?"

"I am," Neville replied, and then he looked towards Hermione. "Hermione was just helping me catch up with my homework."

"What of Mr. Potter?" Albus asked them. "Does he not have homework to catch up on?" _He wouldn't choose Quidditch over his grades, would he? He is already, without a doubt, Oliver Wood's choice for Seeker this year._

"He's at the Quidditch tryouts, Headmaster," Hermione replied, a slight frown on her face. "But yes, he does. I've been telling him to just do it, but he never listens." _First he skips his lessons with Remus over some fight, and now he is neglecting his studies for Quidditch._ A part of Albus felt slightly bothered by this, but a stronger part of him forgave Harry immediately. The boy had suffered for eleven years, surely he deserved to enjoy his schooling life.

"I'm sure Mr. Potter will get it done before it's due," Albus nodded to himself, while Hermione subtly shook her head. "How are you subjects treating you, Miss. Granger?"

"I am keeping on top of them, Headmaster," Hermione perked up, her frown turning into a smile immediately. "All of them." _Good, the Time-Turner is serving her well then._

"Don't let this old man keep you any further," Albus smiled at them, and then he turned to leave. And that's when he heard sound of thunder reverberate throughout the Library, followed by the sound of heavy debris slamming down just outside the Library. _What in Merlin's name is going on out there?!_ Every student in the Library looked around frantically, while Albus tackled with a worrying prospect. Was the school under attack? Harry's warning, and the fact that his Professors still hadn't returned from their mission, propelled Albus into action.

"Madam Pince, keep the students safe inside the Library," Albus ordered as spotted her head pop out from behind a shelf.

"Yes, Headmaster," she quickly responded, her wand already brandished. "Children, follow me at once!" Albus heard Hermione and Neville quickly get out of their seats, but he didn't bother looking back. He had to get out there and find out what was happening, and if his school was under attack, then he needed to protect his students. With his wand at his side, Albus quickly made his way towards the Moving Staircase. As he made his way out of the first floor, he came upon a large body of panicking students.

"SILENCE!" Albus bellowed, his voice amplified by his wand. The students all froze in their spots, and then they looked to him. Every single face showed immediate relief at the sight of him, while he searched for the faces of his prefects. "Percy! Come here, my boy!"

"Yes, Headmaster?" Percy asked as he ran up to him. "What do you need me to do?"

"Gather every prefect you can find, and then get these students into the Great Hall," Albus ordered. "Lock the door behind you, understand?" The young Weasley looked so full of questions, but he simply gave Albus a firm nod before turning towards the crowd.

"Gertrude! Martha! You're both with me!" Percy ordered, and his prefects nodded quickly. "The rest of you… Follow me into the Great Hall! Samantha, go and find Carey! Tell her to get every Slytherin from the Dungeons into the Great Hall!"

While Percy controlled the terrified students, Albus began making his way up the Moving Staircase. He could feel that Hogwarts was damaged on the seventh floor, where the entrance to Gryffindor Tower was located. He had to make sure that Harry wasn't up there. As he made his way up, he couldn't help but wonder who could get past his Wards. All the Heads of Houses, and Albus himself, had placed copious amounts of Wards around Hogwarts, and yet not one of them had signaled this attack? _Whoever the culprit is, they are already inside the castle. I must act quickly!_

Albus made his way onto the seventh floor, and he felt as if a presence moved past him. Before he could cast the Human-Presence-Revealing Charm, dozens of Gryffindors flooded the Hallway. All of them were shouting, shoving, and causing mayhem in their panic.

"Silence!" Albus shouted once again, and just like before, everyone froze in their spots. "All of you will make your way towards the Great Hall in an orderly fashion! Older students will each grab onto a younger student, and they will be in charge of said student! Is that clear?!" The students nodded, and once they had found their partners, all of them rushed past Albus. _I don't see Harry, or any of the Gryffindor Quidditch players. Good._ Albus made his way past the students, all the while using his Mastery over Hogwarts to pinpoint where it was injured.

"Headmaster!" came the voice of Helena Ravenclaw, and Albus looked up to see her floating down from the ceiling. The Bloody Baron and Peeves flew down after her, and Albus couldn't help but notice the grin on Peeves' face. _He's feeding off of this chaos._

"Hogwarts is besieged, Headmaster!" the Baron roared. "We must defend her in her hour of need!"

"Baron's gone Barmy!" Peeves laughed madly, which earned him a quick smack from the angry Baron.

"Be silent, jester!" the Baron boomed, and then he looked to Helena. "Beloved, stay by my side!"

"Be gone, Baron," Helena said coldly, but the Baron ignored her spite. "Headmaster, there was **lightning**. I saw it from my Tower. It cracked through the sky, and much to my horror, it came from inside the castle."

"Show me," Albus ordered, and she began floating in the direction of the left corridor. Albus, the Baron, and Peeves followed after her, and eventually she led them to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Much to his surprise, he noticed that there was a small door opposite the tapestry. _When did that get there?_ That's when he remembered the room full of chamber pots, a room that he had never found since.

"It had to be from around here," Helena guessed. "My Tower faces this side of the castle."

"Your intelligence is truly your most beautiful trait, my love," the Baron said proudly, and Helena shot him a hateful glare in response. It simply didn't register to the Baron that she hated him. Albus moved towards the door, and once his wand was at the ready, he pushed the door open. He was slightly stunned to find a broom closet behind the door, but his real surprise came from the hole on the back wall.

"Who would do such a thing?!" the Baron demanded, his hand gripping the hilt of his ghostly blade. Albus just examined the hole, his eyes fixed on the scorch marks. _Lightning? From inside the castle?_

"Did you manage to see the culprit?" Albus asked Helena, and she quickly shook her head. "What did the lightning look like?" _Some Spells simply look like lightning._

"It was like ordinary lightning," Helena replied. "Bluish-white, and so bright that I had to look away. The lightning was even accompanied by thunder."

"I shall hunt down this 'Stormbringer', and bring them to justice!" the Baron vowed, and then he looked to Peeves. "Jester, come! We have a hunt to conduct!" Peeves laughed madly, and then they both flew through the ground.

"Dear Lady, find Sir Nicholas and the Friar," Albus requested politely. "Ask them to rally the ghosts. We must search this entire castle at once."

"I will find them, Headmaster," the Grey Lady said, and after giving Albus a curtsy, she flew towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Fawkes," Albus summoned his Phoenix, and Fawkes flashed into existence. "Find the Professors searching the school grounds and Hogsmeade, and bring them back to the school. Leave no stone unturned." Fawkes let out a shriek, and then he disappeared in a vortex of flames. Albus quickly began making his way back down to the Great Hall, he had to stay near the students if he was to protect them.

"Headmaster!" came the voice of Filius, and Albus looked down to see the Charms Master on the fourth floor staircase.

"Filius!" Albus called down. "Where are the others?!"

"Pomona is inside the Great Hall!" Filius called back, while Albus began making his way down. "We were near the Owlery when we saw the lightning! Are we under attack?!"

"The Spell came from inside the castle," Albus told the Charms Master as he walked down to the steps. "Someone on the seventh floor fired the lightning, and it's left a hole on the side of the castle. I detect no foreign presence within the castle, but someone skilled could easily hide themselves from me. There is far too much Magic within the school for me to pinpoint a single intruder." Albus then spotted Pomona leading students towards the Hospital Wing below, and his eyes quickly darted towards Harry Potter, who was running up towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Mr. Potter!" Filius called, and the Boy-Who-Lived stopped immediately. "Where are you going?! Join the other students at once!"

"My friends might be-" Harry started, but Albus quickly cut in.

"Your friends are safe in the Library," Albus said, and Harry blinked at him. "Go and join the other students, Harry. This is not the time to be exploring the castle alone." Harry gave him a quick nod, and then he began running back down the steps.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry suddenly stopped, and Albus looked back up to him. "Ron was hurt really badly. He's in the Hospital Wing… I think that he caused the explosion when a Spell backfired on him." _Ronald?_

"A third year couldn't possibly summon such a powerful lightning strike," Filius muttered to himself.

"This is not just some third year," Albus sighed out, and then he began making his way down towards the Hospital Wing. Filius followed after him, while Harry came back down from the other side.

"Ron had these red marks on him…" Harry started as he joined the two Professors. "They looked like lightning. And his ears were bleeding as well… Greengrass told us that he was left both blind and deaf after the accident. Madam Pomfrey has taken him to the Hospital Wing." _Red Marks? Lichtenberg scars?_

"If he cast such a powerful lightning strike in a closed space, it would make sense for his eardrums to burst," Filius noted. "As for his blindness… I've seen flash-blindness occur as a result of bright Spells before."

"He'll be fine though, right?" Harry asked.

"Madam Pomfrey has healed worse," Albus assured Harry, though his mind was fixed on Ronald's actions. _When did he learn such a powerful Spell? And why did he cast it inside the school? Lightning like that can't be cast with a wand. This was genuine lightning, powerful enough to destroy a chunk out of Hogwarts._

"Why was Ron on the seventh floor?" Harry asked. "Slytherins don't ever go up there, and since his friends were with him, it's obvious that they were all up there together."

"The only person who can answer that is Ronald himself," Albus said.

"Or his friends," Harry suggested. "We can question them about this as well."

"Harry, you need to get your back looked at," Albus said gently, he had noticed that the back of Harry's uniform was slightly torn. "Leave the questioning to the Professors."

"Is that from a Quidditch injury?" Filius asked, while Harry looked quite surprised by Albus' words.

"I was hit with a rock," Harry replied slowly, his eyes fixed on Albus' back. "Professor Dumbledore-"

"Harry, your back needs attention," Albus said calmly. "Filius and I will get to the bottom of this." They then entered the Hospital Wing, and Albus observed the crowd with keen eyes. The students were more scared than they were harmed, and the injured were being tended to by Pomona, Cedric Diggory, Max McDean, Gertrude Swans, Percy Weasley, and Carey Ductu. _Where is Ronald?_ "Harry, go and get treatment."

"Yes, Professor," Harry sighed out, and then he walked over to Pomona. Albus and Filius made their way towards Ronald's friends, who stood up at the sight of the Headmaster.

"Where is Ronald?" Albus asked them.

"He's behind there," Daphne Greengrass replied, her finger pointing towards a curtained bed. Albus and Filius made their way past the curtain, and they found Ronald unconscious on the bed with Poppy tending to him. Filius made sure to close the curtain behind, making sure that no one saw Ronald without his clothes on.

"Poppy, what's his condition?" Albus asked calmly, his eyes observing the Lichtenberg scars all over the left side of Ronald's body.

"Not good at all," Poppy frowned at the unconscious boy. "He has flash-blindness and burst eardrums, which I can heal easily enough. But what's really bothering me is the left side of his body. See these scars? They were caused by lightning coursing through his body. Albus, quite a lot of his flesh has been… cooked." _Oh, Ronald. What am I to do with you?_

"Merlin…" Filius sighed out. "Can you heal this?"

"I can, but it will take me a few hours," Poppy told them. "However, I need a Spell-Burn Potion… A Potion that I don't have in my inventory."

"I'll go find Severus," Filius said with a resolute look, and then he quickly left to find the Potions Master.

"Albus, what caused this?" Poppy asked, her wand healing Ron's right ear. "I heard thunder… Did lightning really strike him?"

"Quite the opposite," Albus replied, and Poppy shot him a curious look. "Ronald fired the lightning, and judging from the left side of his body, he cast it Wandlessly."

"Wandlessly?" Poppy repeated, her shock evident.

"Ronald is right handed," Albus explained. "And yet the left side of his body is damaged. If he had used his wand, there would be no damage whatsoever. However, with a wand, the Spell would be considerably weaker due to relying on an outside conduit. Judging by his scars, Ron used his own body as the conduit for this Spell. And since his body is not used to so much power coursing through it, the Spell pretty much hit him as well."

"This boy… He'll be the death of me…" Pomfrey sighed out, her face a mixture of concern and paternal anger. "Where did he learn such a Spell?"

"That is a question that only he can answer," Albus replied, and then his lips twitched upwards. "He actually managed to blow a hole through Hogwarts."

"You sound far too proud of that, Headmaster," Poppy frowned at him, while Albus' eyes twinkled at Ronald. _I am proud. Especially now that I know that no one will have lasting injuries._

"Take your time with him, Poppy," Albus said, and then he turned to leave. "I will tend to the other students myself."

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Hungarian Wilderness – Near Midnight)**_

He wanted to murder Lucius Malfoy right now, and then he wanted to travel to Magical Britain and end the Malfoy line once and for all. Lucius, the fool that he was, had handed Lord Voldemort's Diary to an eleven year old girl… Lord Voldemort had given Lucius the Diary in the hopes that he would somehow smuggle it into Hogwarts one day, and in doing so, help the Heir of Slytherin complete his destiny. But the petty fool had given it to a little girl in the hopes of hurting her Muggle loving father. Lucius, of course, didn't know what the Diary really was, but he had still failed his Master over such a petty reason.

Lucius also had no idea what became of the Diary, or so he claimed anyway, but Lord Voldemort knew. His Horcrux had been destroyed by the Professors of Hogwarts. Cornelius' son had told him that the Professors had found the Chamber, and then destroyed the Basilisk within. If that was the case, then his Horcrux was destroyed as well. Lord Voldemort also feared that Dumbledore may have figured out what the Diary really was, but that was unlikely. The old fool was too righteous to delve into the Dark Arts, and Horcruxes were the pinnacle of the Dark Arts.

Lord Voldemort now only had five Horcruxes left, excluding what was left within his current body. The Locket was safe in the Cave, the Cup rested within the Lestrange Family vault at Gringotts, his Family Ring was stashed underneath the Gaunt Shack, the Diadem was hidden within the Room of Hidden Things, and Ronald was currently being watched over by Albus Dumbledore himself. Lord Voldemort's plan to exist in Seven parts was now ruined, as his soul could only exist in six.

He knew that he could not create another Horcrux, his soul was far too unstable to survive the process, which left him powerless in the matter. Lucius had made him powerless. Lord Voldemort's rage was bubbling just beneath the surface, and because of that, he was having trouble keeping his mind closed off from Ronald. Lord Voldemort had to get his emotions under control, or he would risk opening a connection to the **monster** that rested within Ronald's mind.

But despite trying to douse his rage, it felt as if the Universe itself was trying to make him snap. Lucius had suggested that they find Fenrir Greyback, who had broken out of his confinement within the Ministry's Dungeons once again. Tracking the dog down wasn't difficult, one only needed to follow the missing children reports. Fenrir was still turning children and stealing them from their homes, his absurd belief that he would overpower Wizarding-kind with his army of flea infested mutts was still running strong.

The dog's trail had led them to Hungary, and eventually, into the Hungarian wilderness. A beast like Fenrir could never hope to exist within the civilized parts of Hungary, much to the Dark Lord's annoyance. They had spent the last day trekking through the muddy forest, and Lord Voldemort was already tired of his 'companions' constantly slowing him down. Cornelius was the same age as Lord Voldemort, both of them had attended Hogwarts together, so the Dark Lord could at least understand that hiking wasn't Cornelius' strength. But Lucius had no excuse. He was far too used to his comfortable lifestyle, which he had enjoyed while Lord Voldemort had suffered. _He will pay for his abandonment soon. I need him for now, but when his usefulness comes to an end…_

"My Lord, there is a camp not far from us," Lucius said as he returned from his scouting, his perfectly blonde hair disheveled.

"Describe this camp to me, Lucius," Lord Voldemort hissed, his temper flaring at the sight of the cur.

"I believe that it's a Werewolf camp," Lucius replied quickly, his gut tightening from fear. "Most of the residents, including the children, had facial scars. And they seemed to smell my presence, despite my Disillusionment Charm."

"Is it Greyback's horde?" Cornelius asked, his feet were killing him. The Dark Lord had not allowed them rest, or food, for the last two days.

"I did not see him," Lucius replied. "But if he is indeed in Hungary, those mutts will know where. Their kind enjoy running through the forests together."

"Come, let us introduce ourselves," Lord Voldemort ordered, his eyes gleaming red.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

None of them had any wands, but the Dark Lord could sense Magic amongst them. Some of them had been actual wizards and witches before they were turned, which only served to disgust the Dark Lord. Werewolves were a plague on this World. They infected every person that they bit during the Full moon, which in turn had resulted in Worldwide hatred against their kind, and in Lord Voldemort's opinion, they deserved to be hated. They were less than human, and they only lived to drag others down with them.

"We do not hide our faces here, traveler," an older man spoke up as the Dark Lord approached the center of the camp. He was a weathered man in his mid-thirties, yet he looked to be nearing his fifties. _The camp leader, I suppose._ "Remove your hood, my friend. None here will judge your appearance, I swear it."

"How kind of you," the Dark Lord spoke, his voice slow and smooth. The Dark Lord then pulled his hood back, and every person in the camp went wide-eyed at the sight of his pale, translucent skin. And when they saw his blazing red eyes, they all took a step back.

"Who… Who are you, traveler?" the camp leader asked, and the Dark Lord gave him a curled smile.

"I have many names," Lord Voldemort said smoothly, he could feel Lucius and Cornelius tensing behind him. _Is it fear, or excitement? Probably both._ "My companions and I are searching the Hungarian wilderness for a Werewolf by the name of Fenrir Greyback." The men burst into whispers at that, while the women ushered their children into the tents.

"And what is your goal, 'traveler'?" a young woman asked, and Lord Voldemort looked to his left. The young woman had short blonde hair, and the fierce look on her face displeased him. _Another 'brave' fool. Too young to understand that her tongue can get her killed._

"Vexxa, go join the other children," the camp leader ordered, but the young woman stomped over to the camp leader's side.

"No, father," Vexxa refused, and her father let out a tired sigh.

"Forgive my daughter's boldness, she has her mother's spirit," the camp leader spoke, and his daughter shot him a haughty look. "My name is Abraham, traveler. Might I know yours?"

"Cornelius," the Dark Lord lied. _If I speak my true name, they'll all flee._ That thought put a smile on his face again, no wizard had ever commanded fear and respect like Lord Voldemort.

"Well, Cornelius," Abraham started, while his daughter eyed the Dark Lord suspiciously. _Barely fifteen, and yet she is tempting Death._ "Fenrir Greyback is not here, nor do we want him to be. He has given into the beast, and therefore, he has no place amongst us."

"But you know where he is?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"Why do you want to find him?" Vexxa demanded, and the Dark Lord felt Cornelius' Magic spike. _Be at ease, my Knight._

"Vexxa, be silent," Abraham ordered. "This man's business is not ours. Remember my teachings. We do not interfere with the outside World, and so it does not interfere with us."

"Father, this man-"

"Enough!" Abraham scolded, and Vexxa shot the Dark Lord an angry glare. _Brave, and self-righteous. A Gryffindor through and through._ "Fenrir Greyback approached our camp before the Full Moon… He wanted us to attack a nearby village with his pack. We refused, and our packs quarreled. We won, and he ran off into the nearby mountains. We have not seen, nor smelled, him since."

"I see," Lord Voldemort 'smiled'. _These Werewolves are useless to me then. No… Perhaps I can turn some of them._ "You all choose to hide yourselves away from the World?" Abraham blinked at him, while some of the younger men looked a bit annoyed.

"We are a danger to people, so we have no choice," Vexxa replied, what was this stranger playing at?

"But are you not also human?" Lord Voldemort asked, making sure that everyone heard him. "Don't you deserve to live ordinary lives? Why let your condition hinder you in such a way? Why not find a different way to exist? Why not strive for a World where you would be treated as equals?"

"We have all asked ourselves those questions, Cornelius," Abraham said firmly, his eyes darting towards the 'new-borns'. "But such a World does not exist… At least, not yet."

"Then help me build it," Lord Voldemort suggested, and people started exchanging looks. Lord Voldemort then looked to a young man who had barely any scars on him, and when their eyes met, Lord Voldemort saw the desperation within him. _He was recently turned, wasn't he? He doesn't want this life._ Lord Voldemort gazed into the young man's mind, and he felt his fear and loneliness. "What is your name, boy?"

"Kurt," the young man replied slowly. "Kurt Varga."

"It's just Kurt," Vexxa frowned at Kurt, who quickly looked down at his feet. "We have no last names in this camp. We are one pack!"

"Vexxa, we do not speak like that to our own," Abraham frowned at her.

"Tell me, Vexxa," Lord Voldemort spoke in a gentle voice. "Were you born with your affliction?"

"I was," Vexxa replied defiantly. "I've lived with it my whole life, and I understand that we are **dangerous**. Your words will not sway me, stranger." Her father sighed once again, no doubt struggling with his daughter's haughty behavior. _Children… Disgusting creatures…_

"So you would rather just hide in the woods?" Lord Voldemort asked. "Instead of being part of the solution, you would isolate yourself, and others like you, to a lonely existence?" Lord Voldemort then looked to Kurt. "You don't have to hide, Kurt. If you come with me, I will help you secure a place within this World. A place where you will be loved, accepted, and appreciated."

"Why would you help us?" some other young man called out.

"Because like you, I too have been shunned by the World," Lord Voldemort looked to him, and he noticed that this young man had a gang of teenagers behind him. "I was thrown away… Forgotten… Left to die alone… The World will never change, not unless we force it to."

"You speak of war?" Abraham asked, his frown now fixed on Lord Voldemort.

"I speak of rebellion," Lord Voldemort replied. "Rebellion against those who spit on you. Rebellion against those who hunt you down like animals. Rebellion against loneliness and misery. Rebellion against Death." Lord Voldemort then looked back to Kurt, who was already in awe of the Dark Lord's words. "If Fate has dealt you a poor hand, then you should throw that hand away. Don't lose the-"

"Leave!" Vexxa suddenly yelled, and then her eyes darted towards her camp members. "Father, this man is trying to turn the others against you! Can't you see that?!"

"You don't speak for all of us," Kurt managed, but an angry glare from the Alpha's daughter made him look back down.

"Kurt's right," the other young man spoke up, he had more fire in his voice. "Why do you always think that you know best, Vexxa?"

"Being Abraham's daughter gives you no authority over us!" one of the teenage girls spoke up.

"Silence!" Abraham shouted, which only angered the riled up teenagers.

"I'm sick of living in these fucking forests!" the young man yelled, and his gang nodded their agreement. "We barely survive each month-"

"Then why did you join, Alexander?!" Vexxa demanded.

"Because I had nowhere to go!" Alexander yelled back. "I had no one to turn to! And this old bastard convinced me to become a hermit for other people's benefit!"

"Leave then!" Vexxa shouted, her face turning red. _Foolish girl. She is ruled by her heart._

"Vexxa, be silent!" Abraham ordered, but it was too late. Alexander, and his gang, had begun to walk up towards the Dark Lord.

"Kurt… Join us, brother," Alexander called, and Kurt looked to Abraham with a conflicted expression.

"All of you, go back inside your tents," Abraham said, his eyes fixed on Lord Voldemort. "This… devil… is trying to use you."

"I am offering them hope, something that everyone deserves to have," Lord Voldemort countered, and then he looked to Kurt. "I am offering you hope, Kurt Varga. Stand by my side, and help me help others like you. There must be hundreds of people in your position right now, and they have no one to turn to. You can be the person who saves them."

"I… I…" Kurt stammered, his eyes darting between Abraham and Lord Voldemort.

"Kurt, just grow a pair," one of the girls snapped. "We're all sick of this, aren't we? I've spent more than half of my life living in caves and bushes… I'm done with it, and I know that you are too."

"Why are you searching for Fenrir Greyback?!" Vexxa yelled at the Dark Lord. "He is a monster! Can't you all see that this… thing… is trying to recruit you just like Fenrir?!"

"Some of us agreed with Fenrir," Alexander frowned. "But the old man refused to listen to us, and then he made us fight against another pack. We lost friends because of him!"

"I am the Alpha of this pack, and you will heed me when I speak!" Abraham roared, making Alexander's group flinch. "And you! Leave this camp, or I will-" Lord Voldemort used a Non-verbal, Wandless Summoning Charm to yank the 'Alpha' Werewolf's entrails out, he had reached the end of his patience. Screams tore throughout the camp as the Alpha bellowed in agony, his form rolling frantically through the dried leaves.

"Father!" Vexxa screamed, while the others could only watch in horror as their Alpha's squealed like a pig. Vexxa was on her knees within a flash, doing her best to hold down her father.

"She is now the Alpha, is she not?" Lord Voldemort looked to a startled Alexander, and the young man gave a terrified nod. "Kill her. Become the Alpha of this pack, and then join in me in my war against those who wish to oppress you."

"You… killed him…" one of the girls whimpered. _Not quite, but he will die soon enough._

"Just as he killed your friends by turning you against your own," Lord Voldemort said calmly, and then he looked back to Alexander. "War is not without casualties, Alexander. You have strength in you, I can see it. **You** should be the Alpha of this pack."

"Here, boy," Lucius said, and then he handed Alexander a heavy rock. "Use this." Alexander took the rock with shaking hands, and then he looked towards Vexxa, who was screaming and crying over her father's dying form.

"Show them strength, Alexander," Lord Voldemort hissed, and the boy nodded in a panicked manner. And then, he began making his way towards Vexxa. Lord Voldemort made sure to keep his smile hidden, this particular dog would prove useful.

"What are you all doing?!" Vexxa yelled at everyone, her teary eyes darting towards everyone. "Help me! He's dying!" _No, he's already dead._ As Alexander near Vexxa, her eyes widened at him. "Alexander… What are you doing…? Get away… Get away from me!" Vexxa tried to stand up and run, but Alexander grabbed her by the hair in a panic. "NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO-"

"AGH!" Alexander screamed as he brought the rock down onto her skull, and the sound of bone cracking echoed throughout the camp. The girl collapsed down onto the ground with a dull thud, her extremities twitching as she began to gurgle.

Alexander kept screaming as he smashed the rock down onto Vexxa's skull over and over again, and after a few seconds, the young man's own body was covered in gore. Lord Voldemort simply watched the execution, his ears listening to the gasps and cries in content. _Once I've joined this pack with Fenrir's, I will have him grow his numbers while I search for other allies. Didn't Cornelius mention meeting a Blood Lord within Romania? To think that one of_ _ **them**_ _even exists in this day and age. I must secure his allegiance._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Breakfast)**_

Ron eyed his reflection with a bemused expression, a majority of his body was covered in foul smelling bandages. The bandages completely covered his left arm, his left leg, his torso, and the left side of his face. Even his left eye was patched and bandaged. He wasn't really bothered by it, mostly because Pomfrey had left him a note which informed him that the bandages were soaked in a Potion that would heal his 'lighting scars' by the end of the day. He apparently had nothing to worry about as his injuries were mostly healed already.

Ron had fired lightning! He had blown a hole through Hogwarts! Judging by how empty the Hospital Wing was, no one had gotten seriously injured because of his actions, and so he could feel nothing but pride. He wouldn't be using that Spell indoors again, but he was still really proud of himself. Hours of hard work had finally paid off, and even though his body wasn't capable of handling that Spell yet, he knew that he'd keep working to strengthen his body. The fact that he had managed to get actual results reinvigorated his spirit, and Ron couldn't wait to try out the other Spells from Flitwick's book.

"Marty!" Ron called, and a sudden crack made him turn around.

"Master called?" Marty bowed deeply, but when he looked up at Ron, his smile died on his face. "Master…?"

"Hello," Ron smiled at his Elf, who just stared at him. And then, Marty's lips began to quiver as his eyes welled up. _Oh no…_

"Master!" Marty wailed, and before Ron knew it, his Elf was clinging to his right leg. Ron had to balance himself before he tripped over, his Hospital gown constricting his movements. "Master!"

"Easy, Marty," Ron said as he leaned on his left leg, and pain immediately shot throughout it. _OW! Motherfucker!_ "Marty, I'm falling over…"

"A thousand apologies, Master," Marty leaped back, and Ron quickly regained his balance. "Master was hurt by the lightning strike! And Marty was too busy with his Kitchen chores to help Master!"

"It's alright, Marty," Ron said gently, and then he sat down on his bed. "Come, sit with me." Marty sniffled and wiped his eyes, and then he sat down to Ron's right, his head bowed in shame. "Hey… Don't be sad… I'm not angry at all."

"Marty failed… failed Master…" Marty hiccupped, and Ron quickly put his right arm around the little Elf.

"None of that," Ron whispered as he pulled Marty into his side. "You didn't do anything wrong, Marty. How could you even know that I was hurt? I never called you. C'mon, don't cry please. Shhh." Marty coughed out a heartbreaking sob, and then he clung to Ron's side. "I'm alright, Marty. The left side of my body hurts, but I'm mostly healed up."

"Master has lost… his eye…" Marty trembled, and Ron quickly rubbed his little back.

"I haven't," Ron assured him. "It's just patched and bandaged because I had 'lightning scars' on the left side of my face. My eyes are fine, Marty."

"Marty will kill this 'Stormbringer'… Marty swears it…" Marty sobbed, while Ron blinked repeatedly. _Stormbringer? Who the fuck is that?_

"The Stormbringer? Who's that?" Ron asked as gently as he could.

"He is the one who summoned the lightning… The Blood Baron has told everyone of him," Marty replied. "The Bloody Baron was so angry at first, but now he is boasting about the Stormbringer's prowess… The Elves are all so confused…" _I summoned the lightning though._

"Marty, tell me everything," Ron said, his hold easing up.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Just… Just keep holding that up…" Ron groaned, and then he slid his left arm through his white collar shirt. _Merlin… That hurt so much._ As it turned out, Ron was now known as 'Stormbringer' by the Elves and Ghosts of Hogwarts. The Bloody Baron had been boasting about his House, and about Ron, to anything with ears.

"Marty will do up the buttons, Master Stormbringer," Marty beamed, and Ron gave him a nod. As soon as Ron had confessed that he was the one who had summoned the lightning, Marty had gone from crying to beaming with pride instantly.

"Stormbringer…" Ron whispered as Marty stood on Ron's bed in order to do up his Master's shirt buttons.

"It is a fitting name, Master," Marty nodded happily. "It commands respect, does it not?"

"It certainly is… grand," Ron nodded his agreement. "So the Elves and the Professors fixed up the entire castle?"

"They did indeed," Marty nodded. "The Come-and-Go room is also fixed, thanks to us Elves."

"The what?" Ron blinked.

"The Sanctuary, Master," Marty clarified, and Ron breathed out a breath of relief. "Done. Marty will get the sling."

"Thank you," Ron said, the left side of his body aching slightly. "Why did you call the Sanctuary the Come-and-Go room?"

"It's what we Elves call it, Master," Marty replied, and then he put the sling around Ron's head. Ron fixed his left arm inside it, and once it was lodged in, Ron relaxed his left arm completely. _That's so much better._

"An odd name," Ron commentated, and then he made sure to check the bandages on the left side of his face. _Still there. Good._

"Is it wise for Master to be out of bed?" Marty asked, and Ron shrugged in response.

"I'm hungry, and I don't like the idea of my group being alone today," Ron replied. _I'll just pretend like I didn't read Pomfrey's note._ "Marty, do you mind apparating me near the Great Hall? I don't want to walk down there."

"Marty is proud to serve, Master," Marty beamed, and then he held out his hand. Ron took it with his gloved one, and Marty apparated them both. As soon as Ron came out of the teleport, he leaned forward and released a shaky breath.

"Ugh… How do you stand doing that all the time?" Ron asked, and Marty released a childish giggle.

"Master will get used to it," Marty promised. "Does Master require anything else?"

"Well, you've dressed me and helped me get down here," Ron chuckled. "I reckon I've asked enough from you today. I'll see you soon, Marty."

"Goodbye, Master," Marty smiled a toothy smile, and then he was gone with a crack. _Right… Let's limp into the Great Hall. Breakfast is almost over, and I just know that Flint will try something stupid because I'm not around._ Ron limped towards the doors leading into the Great Hall, his left leg already starting to ache. _Why is this damn door closed? Fuck._

"Depulso," Ron chanted lightly, and the large doors slid open. Ron sheathed his wand, and then he limped into the Great Hall. His eye immediately landed on his group, and much to his anger, Flint was standing right behind Malfoy, who was frowning down at his plate. _What the fuck? Right in the middle of the Great Hall? Are the Triumvirate seriously letting this slide?_

"It's Weasley!" some lad called, and every head turned towards him. Most of the students gaped at his appearance, while others looked outright awed at the sight of him. Ron, however, kept his right eye fixed on Flint, who too was just staring at him now. _Damn moron is going after my group right in front of the whole school. So much for keeping Slytherin business in Slytherin._ Ron began limping towards his seat, his face tightening a little because of the pain in his leg. The whispers grew louder and louder, but Ron simply ignored them.

"Hello, Flint," Ron frowned at the seventh year. "Mind fucking off? My right foot is still working, you see… And I'll happily ram it into your arse." Tracey let out a wheezing laugh, while the other girls smiled at Ron's arrival.

"What a shame," Flint sneered at him. "Rumor had it that-"

"Shut the fuck up," Ron frowned, and Flint's lips curled up from anger. "I don't care about whatever cunt words come pouring out of your cunt mouth. Piss off." Flint swallowed his rage, and then he stormed off towards his own group. _That's what I thought, bitch._

"Nice timing, mate," Theo grinned at him as he sat down, while the others just looked relieved to see him walking around.

"What's that smell?" Pansy asked, her nose scrunching up.

"My bandages are soaked in some Potion," Ron replied, and then he grabbed some toast. "Sorry about the smell." _Wait… I can't put anything on this toast. My left arm is useless._ "Theo, can you please spread some butter on this?"

"Of course," Theo said as he took Ron's toast, while Ron looked to Malfoy.

"What was he saying?" Ron asked, but Malfoy just stared at him as if he was a ghost. "Malfoy? Anyone in there?"

"He's still shaken by what he saw yesterday," Daphne smirked, and Ron gave her a slow nod. "Ron, should you really be walking around? You look like a mummy…"

"I figured that Flint was going to try something since I wasn't around, and I was right," Ron shrugged. "A little pain is nothing."

"You're in pain?" Millie asked, her smile turning into concern.

"That explains why Pomfrey is glaring at you from the staff table," Tracey whispered, and Ron made sure to not look at Pomfrey. _She's going to be so pissed off in our session today._ "She told us that you were going to be just fine, but it would take a couple of days."

"Here's your buttered toast, Stormbringer," Theo smirked, and Ron let out a chuckle. _The Troll-Slaying Stormbringer… They can put that on my gravestone._

"Thanks, Lightning Feet," Ron said as he took the toast, and Theo patted his back. A jolt of pain shot through Ron's back, and Ron let out a wince. _Ow… I'm so sore…_

"Sorry," Theo quickly apologized, while the girls bombarded him with cusses.

"It's okay…" Ron sighed out, and then he looked to Blaise. "Mate, what was Flint saying to you guys."

"He was mostly just threatening Malfoy," Blaise replied, he too was just staring at Ron with awe. "Ron… You blew a hole through the Sanctuary…" _Not my finest moment, but I'm still very proud of it._ "Every single person in this school has been talking about you as if you're some…" Blaise trailed off.

"As if you're some God," Malfoy finally spoke up, his eyes still fixed on Ron. _He's never really seen me pull shite like this off before._ "How did you learn such a powerful Spell, Weasley?"

"Didn't you see me training all of yesterday?" Ron asked in return. "Believe me, I've been trying to get this Spell right for weeks now." Ron then moved his left arm around in his sling, it was really starting to ache.

"Ron, you shouldn't have come down here," Daphne sighed out. "You look terrible."

"Thanks," Ron feigned hurt, and Daphne frowned because she knew what was coming. "Goodbye what little self-esteem I had left."

"Ha, that was good," Tracey giggled, and Ron shot her a wink. _Tracey just gets my humor, mostly because we have a very similar sense of humor._

"Why **did** you come down here?" Malfoy asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Weasley was clearly in pain, and instead of resting in a hospital bed, he had limped all the way down here.

"To keep Flint away from this group," Ron replied, his right eye meeting Malfoy's. Malfoy just stared at him with a blank expression, and then he looked down at his plate. _Right…_

"The Gryffindors want a word with you, by the way," Blaise informed him, and Ron waited for him to go on. "You blew a hole in their territory, and they want to know what we were all doing up there."

"Do they now?" Ron smirked. "Well, I don't plan on giving them an answer. I'll just ignore them."

"Your siblings too?" Pansy asked, and Ron nodded.

"I'm a traitor, remember?" Ron reminded them, his voice turning slightly bitter. "I'm not beholden to tell them shite." _Plus, I'm not talking to Ginny until she apologizes. Either she can swallow her pride, or she can spend the rest of her life without hearing a word from me. I'll do my duty to her and keep her safe, but I won't be pushed around by a brat who never bothered to learn her manners._ "Forget the Lions, we have Snakes to worry about right now. The Sanctuary has been fixed by the Elves, and all of you need to go up there after classes end. Pomfrey won't let me out of her sight until I'm fully healed up, especially after this."

"That's great news," Tracey beamed. "I meant the Sanctuary, not Pomfrey being angry with you. Wait… Pomfrey being angry with you is kind of funny." Ron went to respond, but the school bell suddenly signaled the end of breakfast. _I didn't even eat anything!_

"Quick, make me a bunch of sandwiches!" Ron ordered, making everyone jump a little. "Pomfrey's going to feed me that tasteless paste that she calls food!" Everyone but Malfoy quickly started making sandwiches, while Ron shot a quick looks towards Pomfrey. She was glaring daggers at him, and Ron gave her an innocent smile. _I have to convince her that I didn't read her note._

"Let's go," Daphne said, three buttered toasts in her hands. They all got up at that, and as they made their way towards the exit, people kept trying to catch Ron's eye. But since Ron's limp was slowing him down considerably, pretty much everyone was forced to pass him by.

"Here you are," Blaise said as he handed Ron a piece of toast with strawberry jam on it, and Ron quickly devoured it. "Merlin… Fucking animal."

"Next, please," Ron grinned, his limp making him look like a crazy person. Blaise handed him another piece of toast, and Ron scarfed that down as well. _So damn hungry._

"Careful, or he might eat your fingers as well," Millie chuckled, she was just glad to see Ron up and about. As Ron was eating the toast that Theo just handed him, he spotted over a dozen Gryffindors waiting for him by the exit. _UGH! Fuck off, you twats. I'm actually in a lot of pain right now._

"Brace for impact," Tracey whispered.

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Percy asked, the twins grimacing at Ron's appearance from behind Percy.

"No," Ron replied flatly, making his older brother blink. _Ha!_ "Sorry, that was a joke… I'm kind of in pain here."

"You shouldn't be walking around, Ron," Hermione scolded, and Ron nodded to himself.

"Here," Pansy said, handing him another piece of toast. Ron began munching on it immediately, while the Gryffindors just stared at him. _She put way too much marmalade on this. Still tastes good though._

"Are you just going to stare at him?" Blaise asked the Gryffindors. "Or do you have something to say?"

"Mr. Weasley," came Pomfrey's voice, and Ron turned around slowly. The Matron's nostrils were flaring, and she was clearly staring into Ron's soul.

"Madam Pomfrey," Ron mumbled, his mouth full of toast. "How are you this-"

"Be quiet," she hissed, and then she glared at the Gryffindors. "Stop hovering over my patient. Don't you all have classes to go to? Go!" The Gryffindors quickly began to depart, but Ron's siblings lingered. Ron's siblings, and the Golden Trio… "Did I stutter?"

"Let's go, you two," Hermione said quickly, and then she dragged Neville and Harry out with her. _Harry's eyeing me again… Great._

"We just want to see if he's alright," Percy told the Matron, whose expression softened a little.

"He just needs some rest, that's all," Pomfrey assured them all.

"He hasn't lost his eye?" Luna asked, her hands tugging at the side of his shirt.

"I haven't," Ron gave her a smile. "Don't worry so much, little sis. I've had worse injuries."

"Which is nothing to be proud of," Pomfrey frowned at him.

"I'm a little proud," Ron mumbled, something that made Tracey and the twins snigger.

"Ronald," came Dumbledore's voice, and everyone looked to see him approaching the group. "I need to have a word with you. In my Office."

"Headmaster, your Office is on the seventh floor," Pomfrey pointed out. "Does he look like he can go up seven floors?" _She's actually going to murder me during our session today, isn't she?_

"We can talk in the Courtyard," Ron suggested, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "Can I bring my breakfast?" Dumbledore waved his hand, and Ron's breakfast floated out of his friends' hands.

"Brilliant," Theo said, his eyes fixed on the floating pieces of toast.

"Thank you, Theodore," Dumbledore chuckled, and Theo was left amazed by the fact that the Headmaster had called him by his first name. "Now off to class, all of you." Ron's group, and his siblings, slowly left the Great Hall. Ginny lingered behind as much as she could, but when Ron refused to even look at her, she skulked away with her head hanging low.

"Come straight to the Hospital Wing after you are done, Mr. Weasley," Pomfrey ordered, and then she looked to Dumbledore. "I will hold you accountable, Headmaster." With that, she stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Why must you anger others, Ronald?" Dumbledore sighed dramatically.

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd have a much happier life, Headmaster," Ron sighed as well. "Shall we go?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore said, and then they both made their way out. As Ron limped out into the Courtyard, he noticed a ghost flying overhead.

"Lightning Lord," the ghost greeted, and Ron blinked at him. _What?_ The ghost simply flew into the castle without another word, and so Ron looked to Dumbledore.

"Lightning Lord? Stormbringer?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore let out an amused chuckle.

"The Bloody Baron has been gloating to all the other ghosts about you," Dumbledore told him. "He is quite fond of giving powerful titles to his students. He even named himself, by the way." _The Bloody Baron is an intimidating name._

"First 'Troll-Slayer', and now this," Ron said, his limp getting worse. "Headmaster, can we please stop? My leg is starting to really hurt."

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled at him. "Would like some of your toast?"

"Yes, please," Ron replied, and then he reached for the nearest one. But as soon as Ron reached for it, it floated out of his reach. Ron shot Dumbledore a frown, only to notice the old man smiling at him. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling with amusement, much to Ron's annoyance. "Stop that."

"Stop what, Ronald?" Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"This is why Professor McGonagall doesn't return your love letters," Ron bit out, and Dumbledore let out a roar of laughter.

"Temper, temper…" Dumbledore laughed, a proper smile on his face. Ron quickly grabbed one of the pieces of toasts while Dumbledore was distracted, and then he shot Dumbledore a victorious grin.

"I win," Ron gloated, but Dumbledore simply kept laughing to himself. Ron's own lips twitched upwards, it was nice to see the old wizard laugh so openly. "What did you want to talk about, Headmaster? Also, where was Professor Snape? I didn't see him this morning."

"He is most likely in his lab already," Dumbledore replied, his laughter dying down slowly. "You should thank him when you see him next. He worked around the clock to make the Potion that your bandages were soaked in." _Oh._

"I'll be sure to do that," Ron promised, and then he took a bite out of his toast.

"You see that area up there?" Dumbledore asked, his finger pointing up at the top of the castle.

"Yeah," Ron nodded, his mouth full of toast. _I bet Daphne made this one. It tastes the best so far._

"That's where you blew a hole into my castle," Dumbledore told him, and Ron shot him a sorry grin. "Students down in the Courtyard were pelted with debris, your brothers and sister included. I healed the gash on George Weasley's head myself." _Oops. I should probably apologize to him for that._

"Sorry," Ron apologized.

"Ronald… What were you thinking?" Dumbledore asked, his amusement gone. "You could have died, my boy."

"I didn't think that it would be so… powerful," Ron said softly, the mood had shifted far too quickly for his liking. "And I was just so angry… The Spell kept refusing to bloody work…"

"Where did you learn the Wandless variation of Baubillious?" Dumbledore asked. _I'm not even surprised that he figured that out._ "It is far too rare for most people to know just how dangerous the Wandless variation of that Charm is. Who gave you this knowledge?"

"Professor Flitwick gave me a book on Wandless Magic," Ron replied truthfully, and Dumbledore nodded to himself. "I've just been practicing some Spells in there, that's all."

"Ronald, Wandless Magic is highly unstable," Dumbledore said gently. "You must be more than just careful if you wish to practice it. Certain Wandless Spells are dangerous to the castor himself if his body isn't powerful enough to act as a suitable conduit. A majority of your left arm was cooked, dear boy… It took us hours to heal it."

"Sorry," Ron apologized again. "It's just that… How am I supposed to know when my body is strong enough?"

"If a certain Wandless Spell refuses to work properly for a long time, it generally means that your body isn't able to output the power needed for it," Dumbledore told him, and Ron nodded slowly. _Need to remember that._ "Don't force Magic, Ronald… It does not bend to the will of any individual. It must be respected as the gift that it is."

"I understand," Ron replied, he had forgotten all about his breakfast. "You know, if I had a teacher who had told me about the dangers of forcing Magic, I wouldn't have blown a hole in the castle."

"And what are my staff, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked.

"I want to learn things from you though," Ron replied shamelessly. "Don't think that I've forgotten your promise to me about Conjuration Magic."

"Do you ever turn off?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling once again.

"We can't afford to slow down, Headmaster," Ron replied, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement.

"That we can't, dear boy," Dumbledore said softly. "Come by my Office on Friday, and I will uphold my promise to you."

"Yes!" Ron grinned, while Dumbledore let out a soft chuckle.

"Would you prefer to finish your breakfast out here, or in the Hospital Wing?" Dumbledore asked.

"Out here," Ron replied immediately. "I think Madam Pomfrey wants to hurt me."

"Probably," Dumbledore nodded. "But I assure you, she will heal you right after."

"On which World is that a good thing?" Ron gave Dumbledore a deadpan look, and then he began eating the toast in his hand. Dumbledore reached up and took one of the sandwiches, and then he happily bit into it. "Wow… Stealing food from a cripple…"

"Sharing is a virtue, Ronald," Dumbledore chuckled, clearly amused by his own actions.

"And thievery is a crime," Ron frowned, though he wasn't really upset. They both proceeded to eat up the pieces of toast together, and when they were done, Dumbledore helped Ron back into the castle.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Another one! I hope you guys enjoyed that! Sorry that it took five days instead of the usual four, but life is pretty busy for me right now. I'll try and get the next Chapter out by Thursday, but it might be delayed until Friday. It just depends on my volunteering work because we're sort of really busy right now.**

 **#GiveRonJustice!**

 **I just started using this # thing because a friend of mine is always saying it, and it's just lodged in my head.**

 **See you guys on Thursday (maybe Friday)!**


	81. Chapter 81 - Agendas

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 81 is here, and we have officially passed 1.5 Million words! Fucking milestone, eh? Thank you all for staying tuned thus far, and I hope that you continue to enjoy this Fic until the very end!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 81 - Agendas**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Pomfrey's Office - After Classes)**_

"And you haven't told anyone yet?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron gave her a miserable nod. Her anger at his blatant disregard for her orders had worn off quickly once Ron had started talking about how much stress he was feeling lately.

"She says that it would be better to wait, but I really want to tell our friends," Ron sighed out, his body sinking into the couch.

"And why does she want to wait?" Pomfrey asked, her eyes scanning Ron's defeated state.

"None of us trust Malfoy," Ron shrugged. "Things in the House are not going well for us, especially because Flint is constantly trying to get a rise out of us. Daphne wants to keep our focus on the issues at hand, while I'm just… I'm being a little girl…"

"Showing emotions is not a weakness, Ron," Pomfrey reminded him, something that she had to do quite often now. "It's clear to me that you enjoy spending time with your girlfriend, and due to your high levels of stress, you see it as an escape as well."

"I'm not using her," Ron quickly defended himself. _Though I do feel like I am sometimes._

"I never said that," Pomfrey said calmly. "What I **am** saying, however, is that you see Daphne as the one good thing in your life right now. You want more of this good thing, but you won't tell her about it because you believe that you are being 'weak' when you wear your heart on your sleeve. Communication is key in relationships, especially one this young. If you don't share your thoughts with her, then you will both be on different pages. Right?"

"Right," Ron nodded slowly, she did make a good point. _Daphne's not an actual mind-reader._ "So I just tell her that I want to tell people? I mean, I've done that before… But we just deviated from that conversation because it wasn't going anywhere." _That, and snogging time was on the line._

"Tell her how you **feel** , Ron," Pomfrey corrected him. "Instead of telling her **what** you want, tell her **why** you want it."

"And that'll work?" Ron asked.

"Maybe… Maybe not," Pomfrey replied, and Ron gave her a deadpan look. "There are no easy answers in these sorts of situation. You must learn through trial and error. Both of you. From what you've told me, she's never once treated your emotions as a weakness."

"But what if she's right?" Ron asked, he was genuinely terrible at this. _Learning sbout Magic is so much easier than learning about girls._ "What if we should be focusing on our group instead of ourselves?"

"What if you're right?" Pomfrey asked in return. "What if celebrating some good news is what your group needs right now?"

"But it's only good news for Daphne and me," Ron countered.

"When your friends accomplish a set goal, do you not feel happy?" Pomfrey asked him.

"I do," Ron nodded to himself, he knew where this was going.

"Your friends will be happy for you, Ron," Pomfrey assured him. "And that happiness will elevate everyone's mood. I highly recommend that you talk with Daphne about this."

"Right… I'll do that," Ron said, although he wasn't sure when he'd get the chance to. _Now I have to resort to kidnapping my own girlfriend. Great…_

"Now, let's talk about your Family," Pomfrey said, she knew that she couldn't push him too far in one direction. Ron had a tendency to become stubborn whenever he felt like someone was giving him orders.

"My Family?" Ron asked, he didn't want to have this conversation. "My Family's doing fine. The Quibbler-"

"Ron," Pomfrey said gently, and Ron blinked at her. "I have heard the rumors of what happened between you and your sister." _People in this school need to learn when to shut the fuck up._ "How do you feel about what happened? Is your fight with Ginevra a key factor of your current stress levels?"

"It's not," Ron lied, though his dead expression gave him away. "I feel fine. She yelled at me, and as usual, I took it on the chin without uttering a word back. I don't even care about it."

"Are you sure?" Pomfrey asked, and Ron frowned deeply.

"Why would it bother me?" Ron snapped, but Pomfrey didn't even flinch. "She's just following in her mother's footsteps, isn't she? I don't give a fuck about that nonsense anymore. If they want to call me a fucking traitor in front of the whole school, then they can go right ahead. I don't care anymore. I'm done defending my honor from my own Family. They can either learn to appreciate me, or they can stay out of my way. They have no say in what sort person I turn out to be."

"You said that Ginny is 'following in her mother's footsteps'. What did you mean by that?" Pomfrey asked, he clearly needed to vent this venom that he was building up.

"I've told you about mum's letter after my sorting, haven't I?" Ron asked in return, and she nodded. "Well, what I haven't told you is that, to this day, she has never once apologized for it. Not even once. She simply pretends like she never sent it in order to avoid a difficult conversation. And no, this isn't anything new. My mother never apologizes… For **anything**! The only other person in my Family who pulls this shite is Ginny."

"And sure, I've seen Ginny apologize to mum and dad whenever she does something stupid," Ron went on, a permanent sneer on his face. "But she has never… ever… felt the need to apologize to the rest of us. Let me just tell you what her childhood was like… She was pampered from the moment she was born. New clothes, new toys, new room, new coat of paint on said room, the rights to steal our toys without retribution, the ability to throw tantrums in order to get whatever she wanted, and my own personal favorite, protection from my mother's worst chores. While we brothers fought against bloody Garden Gnomes, my sister drank cold pumpkin juice in the shade."

"But she certainly tried to be 'one of the boys'," Ron scoffed. "She'd start yelling if we didn't include her in anything, including chores, and would even go as far as to tattle on us. The few times that she helped us de-Gnome the Gardens, she was just a hindrance. But none of us could say a damn word about it, because we all knew that if we did, mum would go completely mental on us. Do you see the picture I'm painting? Are you beginning to see what I mean?"

"She has your mother's favor," Madam Pomfrey stated, and Ron gave her a curt nod.

"Ginny, despite being born in a Family poorer than dirt, has never wanted for anything," Ron hissed, his old jealousies sparking to life. "And I can understand why she'd need different clothes, she's a girl after all… But that didn't stop her from stealing my disgusting secondhand clothes when she wanted to roll around in the mud with us. She basically did as she pleased, whenever she pleased, and no one was allowed to tell her different. Percy wasn't allowed to scold her, the twins were too scared to prank her, Bill and Charlie were too old to spend time with her, and so I was left 'in charge' of her. But I was just a glorified nanny. It didn't matter that I was only a year older than her… All that mattered was that Ginny had a fucking slave to push around."

"Wait…" Ron suddenly laughed coldly. "I just remembered something… When I was eight, Luna and Pandora came over for my birthday. I was excited, of course, because Pandora always gave me these amazing honey pastries, while Luna actually spoke to me about Chess unlike my own siblings. But when the Lovegoods showed up, Ginny spent the entire day occupying Luna's attention. It was my **birthday** , and yet Ginny's only concern was that I was trying to steal her friend."

"Or perhaps she wanted you to spend your special day with her, and not the Lovegoods," Pomfrey spoke up.

"I spent every day with her!" Ron snapped, his face twisting in anger. "I sat quietly on a couch for most of my 'special' day, while Ginny and my mother spent theirs with the Lovegoods! It was the other way around!" Ron then took in a deep breath, he hated yelling in these sessions. "Ginny is just like mum… Stubborn, easy to anger, self-righteous, never apologetic, and just so damn sure of herself without even earning the right to be. My mum has spoiled Ginny for pretty much her entire life, and this is the result. Ginny always has to get her way, and instead of working hard to achieve her goals, she just expects things to go her way. Like they always have… She all but impersonates our mum, and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being people's punching bag… The next time someone from my Family badmouths me, I'll fucking knock their head off."

"Ron, violence will achieve nothing," Pomfrey advised. "I understand your anger, and I understand your growing feelings of disillusionment, but violence will not solve anything. If anything, it will only serve to hinder you further."

"I don't care," Ron shook his head, his right eye fixed on the ground. "I'm just sick of it… I'm always the bad guy. Every time I decide to do anything, I have to spend hours wondering how my actions will piss off my Family this time around. When I bought The Quibbler, I saved Xeno from making a truly terrible mistake. Every single person saw that. Everyone but my mother, who screamed at me before outright just ignoring me. I'm thirteen, and I own an actual business now… But my Family just don't give a damn."

"I thought that your mother was supporting you now," Pomfrey said, and Ron simply shook his head again. _I'm so tired… I need another dose of my medicine, or I'm going to fall asleep._

"She's just gone back to acting like everything is normal again," Ron mumbled, his gloved hand was starting to shake. "She didn't even apologize to me for her behavior… Again. She's just acting like it never happened. Just like Ginny is pretending like she doesn't see me as dirt."

"Ginny was in quite the state when you were brought in yesterday," Pomfrey told him. "I had to ask Cedric to keep her from spiraling into further panic when you were taken away."

"I was hurt," Ron shrugged tiredly. "She was worried in the moment, that's all. Pretty soon, her worries will fade. She'll forget all about yesterday and go back to hating me." _I've seen this pattern too often now to simply ignore it. At this point, I'm the idiot who just won't learn._ "I'll be a traitor in her eyes again before long… Trust me."

"Perhaps you should talk to her about this," Pomfrey suggested.

"No," Ron outright refused. "I'm always the one who goes back with his tail tucked in-between his legs. Either she apologizes to me, or she can just go…" Ron trailed off, his shaking hand rubbing his forehead. "Madam Pomfrey, I feel really tired all of sudden…" Madam Pomfrey blinked at him, and then she walked over and put her palm on his forehead.

"You're burning up," she told him, her features showing her concern. "Did you take your second dose today?"

"No…" Ron replied, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I never got the chance to, that's all."

"Come, let's get you your Potion," Madam Pomfrey said, deciding to cut their session short. She was just glad that Ron had expelled some of his anger and frustration on her instead of his Family and friends. "We can also take off these bandages now."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Once the bandages had been taken off, Ron nearly vomited due to the pungent smell coming off of his previously covered body. As it turned out, sweat and Spell-Burn Potions didn't mix well together. And on top of all of this, he had to drink down a Nutrition Potion as well. The only plus side was that he wasn't feeling as tired as he was during the end of his session, but he still felt rather miserable. _I'm no doubt going to get cornered again after dinner._

"You should go to your room and take a shower, Ron," Madam Pomfrey advised, and Ron quickly nodded. "But I must say… Your body has healed astonishingly quickly."

"Well, I did have the best Medi-Witch in Britain looking after me," Ron managed a weak smile, and much to his delight, Madam Pomfrey's lips twitched upwards.

"Be that as it may," Pomfrey started. "I have to admit that your body clearly did a lot of the work. It's truly fascinating. We have countless reports of children healing themselves unintentionally via Accidental Magic, but not much data has been collected on people with developing Magical Cores. Your exhaustion may be linked to your body using your Magical Core to finish healing itself." _Entity. I see that you're still up there. It's been a while, you barmy bastard._

"Guess I'm just lucky," Ron shrugged, and then he finished closing up his shirt. "I'll be off then, Madam Pomfrey. Um… Thanks for listening to me. I promise that I won't use violence… I was just talking nonsense when I said that… And I exaggerated a lot of things about Ginny… I was just getting my anger out." _I do feel a lot lighter right now. I'm just glad that she let me get angry, unlike everyone else._

"I'm glad to hear that, Ron," Madam Pomfrey gave an approving nod. "You come straight to me if you ever start feeling overwhelmed again, alright?"

"I will," Ron managed a weak smile. "I'll go take that shower now." With that, Ron began to leave for the common room. His left leg didn't hurt enough to cause a limp, while his left arm felt perfectly fine now. He had decided to not use Baubillious again until he was certain that his body could handle it, nor would he force his Magic to work when it didn't want to. _Remember what Dumbledore said, Ron. Magic is a gift, not a tool._

"Finally," came Fred's voice as soon as Ron exited the Hospital Wing, and Ron turned to see his siblings waiting for him. _Um… I smell like the Entity's farts right now. Wait… Does it fart? And if it does, isn't that terrible for my brain?_ Ron's eyes then landed on Daphne, who was waiting patiently behind his siblings. _Why is she here? She's meant to be at the Sanctuary._

"We've been waiting out here for almost an hour," George started, but then he noticed the smell coming off of Ron. "Sweet Merlin…"

"What's that smell, Ron?" Luna asked, her face scrunching up.

"It's probably the Potion that Madam Pomfrey used on his bandages," Percy told the others, though his disgust was visible as well. Ron looked at them all with a slight grin, and that's when he realized that Ginny wasn't amongst them. _I guess she got lucky._

"Yeah, I'm not talking to him when he smells like Aunt Muriel's armpits," Fred shook his head as he stepped away from Ron.

"That's just fucking mean," Ron frowned at his brother, and then he looked to George. "I heard that you got hit by some of the debris. I'm really sorry, George. I never meant for that to happen."

"It's alright," George wheezed, clearly doing his best to hold his breath. "If you're really sorry, please go take a shower."

"That's probably for the best," Percy nodded his agreement, and then he stepped aside. "We'll talk to you later, alright?" _Even Percy can't hide his disgust, and I don't blame him._

"Right," Ron nodded, and then he moved past them. Luna literally ran behind Fred and George as he passed her, while Daphne already had her handkerchief over her nose. "Hello…"

"Hi," Daphne spoke through her handkerchief. "Ron, why don't you go on without me? I'll just follow you after a few minutes, alright?"

"Right," Ron repeated, he was starting to feel a little self-conscious now. _I'm going to take the longest shower in Hogwarts' history. Also, I'm using the Disillusionment Charm. There is no way that I'm going to let people associate this smell with me._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped out of the bathroom with a content smile, no longer did he smell like Death itself. And when he saw Daphne sitting on his bed, his smile grew even wider. _This is my chance to talk to her!_

"Wow, you look much better now," Daphne smiled at him, one of his Chess Magazines in her hands. She was sitting against the head of his bed, her legs stretched out in front of her. She was even polite enough to take off her shoes.

"Daphne!" Ron howled as he ran up to his bed, and before she could react, he had jumped onto the bed and latched onto her legs. _Now she can't leave!_

"What was that?!" Daphne burst into laughter, while Ron nuzzled his head into her stocking covered thighs. "Ron! I'm wearing a skirt!"

"The days are starting to get colder," Ron spoke into her thighs. "Why aren't you wearing appropriate clothing?"

"Because I didn't know that my boyfriend was such a freak," Daphne giggled, her hands scratching his head. Ron looked up with a grin, which only made her laugh harder. "Stop making that face!"

"You love it," Ron snorted, and then he quickly moved up and latched himself onto her torso. "This is the second day in a row where I've found you waiting for me after a shower. Are you up to something, Daphne?"

"Maybe," Daphne kept giggling, her arms wrapping around him. Ron used his strength to move her to the side a little, just so that he could lie on top of her. "My legs are now hanging off of the bed, Ron. What's gotten into you?"

"How about you tell me of your schemes first, witch," Ron smiled, his chest pressing down on hers.

"What can I say?" Daphne smirked playfully, some laughter still in her voice. "I'm trying to get a peek at those abs of yours. Pansy's constantly fantasizing about them."

"Hmmm," Ron hummed, his face hovering over hers. "Maybe I'll let you see them someday."

"Someday?" Daphne pouted. "You should take off your shirt whenever I want you to."

"I'll take that deal, but only if the same rules apply to you," Ron smirked back.

"I'm a Lady, Ron," Daphne tutted. "You can't say things like that to a Lady."

"But you're **my** Lady, so it's fine," Ron countered, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards. "Don't hide your smile, Daph. I just charmed you, I know it."

"And just like that… The Magic was gone," Daphne sighed out, making Ron snigger. "I'm really glad that you're not hurt anymore." Ron's sniggering stopped at that, and he noticed that she looked quite relieved to see him like this. "I was really scared yesterday, Ron… We all were."

"I'm sorry about that," Ron whispered, and then he gave her a quick peck. "I was trying something way out of my league, and it nearly hurt everyone in the Sanctuary. I nearly hurt you." Only now had he realized this, and that made him feel rather guilty.

"Accidents happen," Daphne gave him a soft smile. "Just don't try anything like that indoors again, alright? I'm genuinely surprised that you didn't even get a detention."

"That's because I paid the price for my stupidity," Ron responded. "Not to mention that I had to put up with that smell."

"Ugh… Don't bring that up, please," Daphne said, her face scrunching up a little. And then she leaned forward and sniffed his neck, something that made Ron snort.

"That was so weird," Ron chuckled. "You just sniffed me."

"And you smell great," Daphne winked. "Jasmines and sandalwood… Marty is the God of laundering clothes, I'm sure of it."

"Want to hear something hilarious?" Ron asked, and she nodded with a smile. "I used the Disillusionment Charm in order to stay hidden on my way down here, and I walked past these two Slytherins. They were snogging at the base of the stairs, and as I passed them, the lass gagged into the bloke's mouth."

"Ew!" Daphne laughed. "What about the boy?"

"He thought that she had vomited inside his mouth," Ron chuckled. "He literally flew away from her as if she had the Dragon Pox."

"Ron, that's so horrible," Daphne kept laughing.

"It made my day," Ron sniggered. "I had to cover my mouth because I was moments away from bursting into laughter right then and there. It was just so damn funny."

"You ruined someone's relationship," Daphne told him, her laughter dying down slowly. "Merlin… I haven't laughed so much in ages."

"You're welcome," Ron smiled proudly. "So… Why weren't you in the Sanctuary?"

"I came down to check up on you," Daphne replied. "I figured that if you got discharged, you'd want to join us."

"I see," Ron nodded slowly, and then he gave her another kiss. _Her lips are so bloody soft._ "I'd rather stay down here with you though."

"The others will wonder where I've run off to," Daphne pointed out.

"The others…" Ron said slowly, and then he drew in a deep breath. "We should tell them about us."

"You know that I want to, Ron," Daphne said softly. "I really, really want to… But with the Triumvirate no longer favoring us, and Flint being stupid and vicious enough to be considered dangerous, we can't lose our focus." _Tell her how you feel, Ron. That's what Pomfrey suggested._

"Everything is going to shite," Ron sighed out, and Daphne gave him a sorry look. "Everything except **this**. I just want more of it, you know. I hate pretending like we aren't dating, and I know you hate it too. I mean, it was fun last year… Sneaking around and outfoxing people so that we could share a few kisses. But now? Now it just feels like we're letting Flint, and the Triumvirate, get to us. We're making ourselves miserable because of other people's problems."

"So you're saying that **this** is the only good thing in your life right now?" Daphne whispered.

"No," Ron shook his head. "But it's the only thing that makes me relax. I've told you before, Daph, that whenever I'm around you, everything is just… better." _Merlin, this is embarrassing._

"I feel the same way," Daphne smiled at him, and Ron immediately felt a lot better.

"Then why hide it?" Ron asked her. "We're letting Malfoy and Flint's feud ruin things for us. You're a Greengrass, and I'm a Weasley. Our Families don't let others dictate anything for us."

"Low blow," Daphne kept smiling, and Ron smiled back.

"So you agree?" Ron asked hopefully, and Daphne drew in a long breath.

"You're right," Daphne nodded, and Ron's face almost split open because of his smile. _Yes! Finally!_ "Malfoy's ruining enough things for us already. Letting him ruin this as well is just plain wrong. Plus, Hogsmeade Weekend is coming up soon, and I don't want any other witch getting any ideas. I've already made a booking at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for us."

"Madam who's what?" Ron blinked, this was unexpected.

"Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop," Daphne repeated, and all Ron could do was nod slowly. _I guess I don't mind tea._ "It's where all the couples go for their dates, and since this is the first Hogsmeade Weekend of the year, I had to make a booking a month in advance. You'll love it, Ron. They've got cakes, teas from all over the World, scones, and ice-cream."

"I… Damn, Daph… When did you do all of this?" Ron asked, he hadn't done anything for her yet.

"The day after you asked me out," Daphne admitted, her voice showing some of her embarrassment. "I may have gone a little… crazy… I also made plans for Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, and a walk past the Shrieking Shack." _Good lord… All of that in one day?_ "We can do the last three with our friends, but I want to go to Madam Puddifoot's with just you."

"Okay," Ron agreed, a small chuckle escaping his throat. _I can't believe that she's been planning this without me even realizing._

"What?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing," Ron smiled widely. "Thanks for doing all of that. I've had my head lodged into my own arse, and so I didn't even think of our first date."

"You've had a rough few weeks," Daphne said softly. "I absolve you of your sins."

"Thanks," Ron sniggered, and then he kissed her again. "So, how do we tell our friends?"

"I think we should just go up to the Sanctuary, sit them down, and tell them," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded his agreement. "Just one thing though… Let's not tell them about our sneaking around. I don't want them to think ill of me. Or you."

"They wouldn't do that," Ron assured her.

"I know," Daphne said meekly. "But I just don't want them to know. I want to keep that secret just between us. It's a perfect way to end our 'perfect crime'."

"You've been reading your father's romance novels, haven't you?" Ron grinned.

"Shut up," Daphne giggled, which made Ron even happier. _Pomfrey was right._

"We'll tell them that I finally summoned the courage to ask you, and you agreed," Ron whispered, and she nodded her agreement. "Something simple, and believable. We'll leave no part up to questioning."

"Thank you," Daphne smiled gratefully. "I don't want the girls to think that I was lying to them, which I was… It's just easier this way. For both of us."

"Agreed," Ron nodded. "So… No time for snogging?"

"Come here," Daphne beckoned, and Ron did as he was told.

* * *

 _ **Monday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – After Dinner)**_

Ron and Daphne had decided to tell their friends after dinner, mostly because they had lost track of time during their latest snogging session. Their story was quite simple, and quite boring in Ron's opinion. But it was what Daphne wanted, and so Ron was happy to go through with it. Ron would tell his friends that he had been plucking up the courage to ask Daphne out for a while, and today, he finally had. She had happily agreed, and now they were both a couple. Simple and straight to the point, that's what Daphne wanted.

Dinner had been pleasant enough, they had all found a new rhythm when it came to making small talk. All of Ron's friends, and he himself, made sure to keep their secrets hidden, while Malfoy didn't bother asking any questions. The pale boy would only speak when he was spoken to, which wasn't often because only Ron, Theo, and Blaise ever spoke to him. Malfoy's presence was still bothersome, of course, but they were finding ways to ignore it.

"Ugh… We have History of Magic tomorrow," Pansy groaned.

"Ladies don't groan Pansy," Millie smirked, clearly pleased with finally getting Pansy with her own words. They were all exiting the Great Hall right now, and Ron was starting to feel a little nervous. _What if they have questions that we didn't think of? What if they don't approve?_ Ron shot a subtle look towards Daphne, and her calm expression made him smack himself internally. _Daphne has bigger balls than me… Fred and George were right, I'm the first born daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley._

"Hey, Ron," a fourth year Slytherin girl waved, and Ron waved back with a polite smile. Unsurprisingly, his latest stunt had reignited his popularity within the student-body. Especially the female students around his age. Not to mention that Ron's Quibbler had made him bait for greedy witches, and wizards, who wanted to be featured in an actual Magazine.

"You look much better now," another fourth year girl smiled at him.

"Madam Pomfrey is the best at her job," Ron smiled at them, while his friends just eyed the people staring at him.

"It's like he's an exotic animal," Tracey sighed, and then she looked towards her best friend. Oddly enough, Daphne had a smug smirk on her face.

"Do your siblings always ambush you, Weasley?" Malfoy asked with a cocked eyebrow, and Ron looked to find his siblings waiting for him by the exit.

"Lately, yes," Ron replied, his eyes searching for Ginny. _She's not there. Was she even at dinner tonight?_

"There you are," Percy waved him over, and Ron decided to be friendly. After all, he was in an overall good mood right now.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, his eyes skimming over the Golden Trio. _Why are they always inserting themselves into my Family's business?_ "Do you want to talk to me?"

"We do," Percy said, his eyes darting towards Ron's friends. "You can all come as well, if you want." _Huh?_ Ron, and his friends, were genuinely baffled by this invitation.

"Sure," Theo said slowly, what was the Head Boy up to?

"Let's not block the way for other people," Percy suggested, and then he began walking towards the Courtyard. Ron and the others followed after him, and Ron noticed Hermione staring at him as if he was a rare book. _She wants to know which Spell I used yesterday, I'm sure of it._ As they stepped out into the clear night, Ron and his friends faced Ron's siblings and the Trio.

"So… What can I do for you?" Ron asked them politely.

"Which Spell did you use yesterday?" Hermione fired, her expression dead-serious. _And there it is._

"Telling you would give away my plans for the Dueling Club," Ron replied with a playful smile.

"You can't be serious?" Hermione gasped. "You have to tell me, Ron. I want to try it as well."

"No… You don't…" Ron sighed out. "Hermione, I cooked the left half of my body."

"What?" the twins asked together, their jaws dropping open. Even Neville and Harry just gaped at him, while Hermione looked genuinely disturbed.

"You did?" Luna asked weakly, and Ron immediately felt bad for telling them that. _I'm an idiot._

"I'm alright now, Luna," Ron quickly assured her. "Come here." Luna walked up and hugged Ron's middle, while Ron shot the others a sheepish smile.

"Ron, how could you be so careless?" Percy scolded, but Ron simply shrugged.

"Learning Spells has its risks," Ron reminded Percy. "I won't be casting that Spell again any time soon. The Headmaster has forbidden me from even speaking about it."

"He has?" Harry asked, and Ron nodded. _He hasn't, but I can just tell him to pretend that he has._

"He said that it was too dangerous," Ron told Harry, and due to his good mood, he was even able to sound civil.

"Where did you learn it?" Percy asked. "I've never come across a Spell like that, Ron. And I've been studying Magic for far longer than you."

"I learnt it from a book," Ron replied, and Percy blinked at him.

"Ron…" Percy started, but Ron interrupted him.

"What's with the interrogation?" Ron asked, his casual tone not matching his words. "I mean, the twins know plenty of Spells that none of us have heard about before, but no one questions them. So why do I have to explain everything I do?"

"He's got a point, you know," Fred stated.

"We do know plenty of Jinxes that none of you have heard about before," George added, and Percy shot them a frown. "What? We do!"

"They want to know if you brought lightning down on the school using the Dark Arts," Luna said as she pulled her head back, and Ron just blinked at her. _Dark Arts?_

"Wow," Tracey muttered under her breath.

"First of all, I didn't bring the lightning 'down'," Ron started, his mood slightly soured for a moment. _Forget it, Ron. You get to start dating Daphne tomorrow in earnest. Focus on the positives, just like Madam Pomfrey always says._ "I fired the lightning myself. And no, it wasn't a Dark Spell. It's a Charm that they don't teach at Hogwarts." _Well, they teach it… But not the Wandless variation of it._

"So it wasn't the Dark Arts… Good," Percy nodded, and Ron bit back a frown. _Who are you to tell me what to do, eh?_

"Which Charm was it?" Hermione asked again.

"Hermione, I can't tell you that," Ron gave her a smile, but she just pouted angrily. "The Headmaster himself told me to never mention it."

"Why would he do that?" Harry asked.

"Because, like I said, it cooked my flesh," Ron replied, and he felt Luna tense in his arms. "Now, if any of you were to cast it, it'd kill you outright." _None of you have trained your body to act as a conduit, after all._

"But not you?" Luna asked slowly.

"Well, I am stronger than everyone here," Ron smiled down at her, and she smiled back.

"Careful, Luna," Fred rolled his eyes. "He might crush you with his ego if you stand too close to him."

"Haha," Ron faked a laugh, and then he gave Fred the bird. Fred snorted at that, while Percy shook his head with displeasure.

"Ron, you shouldn't do that," Hermione scolded, but Ron simply moved his bird in her direction. Hermione's jaw dropped open, while the twins and Ron's friends burst into laughter. "Ronald!"

"It's a joke, Hermione," Ron chuckled, his hand returning to Luna's back. _She so tiny and huggable._

"Lighten up, Granger," Tracey sniggered, while George gave the bushy haired witch a pat on the back.

"It's not very funny," Hermione bit out. "Just plain rude…"

"Are you coming to the study group on Friday?" Ron suddenly asked her, and Hermione blinked at him. _Go on, take the bait. I know you want to._

"Of course," Hermione nodded. "Neville and Harry are coming too." Harry gave her a slight frown, while Neville just nodded weakly.

"How are you doing, Longbottom?" Daphne asked, but her eyes were fixed on Potter's frown.

"Fine," Neville all but whispered. _Poor bloke. Look at the state of him._ "Thank you all for the White Stargazer Lily. It was a really thoughtful gift." Neville then looked to a surprised Theo. "Ron mentioned that it was your idea."

"It was," Theo said, all the while wondering why Ron would do that.

"Thank you," Neville managed a weak smile, and Theo gave him a deep nod.

"So, did you guys want anything else?" Ron asked, he had better things to do than to stand out here in the cold.

"There's just one more thing…" Percy said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Ginny."

"What about her?" Ron asked calmly.

"Mum sent her a Howler this afternoon," Fred told Ron, who nodded slowly. _A Howler? Mum sent Ginny a Howler? Bloody hell, I didn't expect that._

"Apparently it went off in her dorm room," George added. "She's not taken it well, Ron. We talked to her roommates, and they said that Ginny was crying in their bathroom for a good while. She even skipped lunch and dinner."

"I see," Ron said. "You guys should talk to her."

"It's you two that need to talk, Ron," Hermione said, and Ron shot her a deadpan look.

"This is Family business, Hermione," Ron said bluntly. "Don't interfere." Hermione looked genuinely shocked, as if she literally couldn't understand that she had no right to interfere with other people's business. _She may have apologized for her previous actions, but that won't excuse her from her current ones. Not in my eyes._

"He's right," Neville spoke up, earning a confused looked from both Harry and Hermione. "Hermione, remember what we talked about…" _Huh?_ Hermione blinked at Neville, and then she gave a reluctant nod. Harry just looked between his best friends, he clearly had no idea what they were talking about. "We'll be on our way, Ron. I'm glad that you're not hurt anymore."

"Thanks, mate," Ron smiled. "If you ever need anything, or just want to talk, you can always come to me."

"I'll remember that," Neville managed one more weak smile, and then he turned around and left. Hermione quickly followed after him, while Harry just stared at Ron.

"You're not going to go with them?" Ron asked Harry, making sure to keep his voice civil.

"Why were you on the seventh floor?" Harry asked in return.

"I wanted to enjoy the view," Ron smirked, but Harry looked anything but amused. "But a wall happened to be in the way of my view, so I made myself a 'window'." Ron could hear his friends holding back their laughs, something that made Ron grin at Harry. _Sirius better send him a letter soon._

"Ron, you're being rude," Percy pointed out, a frown on his face.

"And it's not rude to interrogate people?" Ron asked Percy. "To corner them, and then ruin their night with your own problems?" Ron then looked to Harry, his mirth completely gone. "Stop sticking your nose in my business, Harry. Trust me, you don't want to piss me off."

"I'm not scared of you, Ron," Harry narrowed his eyes on Ron.

"You should be," Ron whispered coldly, and he felt Luna tense in his arms. _**You really should be.**_

"Right, that's enough," Fred cut in.

"Bloody hell, you both need couple's counseling," George grimaced, and then he looked to Harry. "You should go with Hermione and Neville, mate. We need to talk to Ron about Ginny." Harry gave a curt nod, his eyes still narrowed on Ron. And then, he slowly disappeared into the castle.

"Guys, why don't you wait for me in the Entrance Hall?" Ron looked to his friends, and they simply nodded before leaving as well. "Alright, Luna… We've set the World record for the longest hug ever given, time to let go." Luna let go of him and took a few steps back, but she clearly didn't want to stop hugging him.

"Why are you trying to make Harry into your enemy?" Fred asked Ron. "Harry's actually quite a decent bloke, Ron."

"He's the one who's coming after me," Ron told them. "He was following me around during the Funeral Gathering, and I've seen him eyeballing me constantly. I've given him no reason for this sort of behavior, but he's still doing it."

"He was following you around at the Funeral Gathering?" Percy asked, a look of disbelief marking his features.

"Why would he do that?" Fred asked.

"Wait… You locked him the restroom!" George accused, and Ron simply shrugged. "Mum blamed us for that, Ron!"

"She spent over thirty minutes yelling at us!" Fred added, a scowl on his face.

"Sorry about that," Ron sighed out. "But in my defense, I never put the blame on you two."

"But you didn't say anything either," George huffed, his head shaking in disappointment.

"Why was Harry following you around?" Percy asked, deciding to ignore the twins' tantrum.

"Sirius says that Harry believes me to be 'bad news'," Ron rolled his eyes. "That apparently, I'm not someone to be trusted."

"Why would he think that?" Fred asked, his scowl still on his face.

"Harry feels threatened, I think," Luna hummed, and everyone looked to her.

"Threatened?" Percy asked. "Go on, Luna." For a small moment, Ron felt really glad that Luna was here. She was officially in a Family meeting, where she always belonged.

"It's just something that I noticed at Grimmauld Place," Luna replied airily. "Sirius mentions Ron a lot more than he mentions Harry, and I don't think Harry likes that very much."

"He's jealous?" George asked.

"Maybe," Luna replied. "He's been alone for most of his life, and even though he has a Family now, he still feels like he's the second priority. It's quite sad, really." Luna then looked to Ron, her expression becoming a little serious. "Put yourself in his shoes, Ron. He's always been neglected, and I know that you know how that feels." Percy and the twins looked a little uncomfortable at that, while Ron just stared at Luna.

"But he's not being neglected now," Ron said, but her words struck a chord with him. _I do know how that feels, and considering that Harry was locked away when Sirius and I found him, he's had it a lot worse than me. But still… He needs to back off._

"If he feels neglected, then that's all that matters to him," Luna said in a sagely voice. "You should talk to Sirius about this, Ron. If you convince him to always concentrate on Harry whenever they're together, you'll solve two problems instead of one. Harry will feel loved and included, while you will be freed from his intrigue. And the best part is, all of this will end peacefully."

"She's right," Percy nodded immediately. "Ron, fighting will just get you into trouble."

"And we quite like Harry," the twins added. _Two birds, one Spell… I'll just need to tell Sirius to not bring me up whenever he's with Harry, and that'll be that. Hmmm._

"Alright," Ron nodded, and Luna smiled at him. "I'll talk to Sirius about this. Just one thing though… What if he doesn't stop?"

"We'll keep an eye on him for you," Fred volunteered, and Ron cocked his eyebrow at him. _Really?_

"And what do you want in return?" Ron asked, something that made Fred blink in confusion.

"Um… Nothing," Fred said slowly, his eyes darting to his other siblings.

"Really?" Ron asked just as slowly.

"Yeah, really," Fred frowned a little. "We can be helpful without expecting a reward, Ron."

"Your lack of trust in us is kind of unwarranted," George added, while Percy just stared at Ron.

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "It's not that I don't trust you… It's just that things are done differently in Slytherin. Favors are a currency, you know?"

"Favors are a currency, he says," Fred shook his head. "Just don't forget your roots, little brother."

"Trust me, I haven't," Ron responded, and then he looked to Percy. "Now… You mentioned that Ginny was quite upset?"

"She's gone completely mental," George replied for Percy. "Or at least that's what we've heard."

"And you didn't check up on her?" Ron asked.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Fred asked in return. _What?_

"Go to her bloody room, you ponce," Ron replied, his expression suggesting to all that Fred was an idiot.

"Ron, the stairs would turn into a slide," Percy told him, a slightly confused look on his face. _Wait… Didn't Charlie mention that back before I joined Hogwarts?_

"Gryffindor Tower doesn't allow the boys go into the girls' dorms," Ron nodded slowly, and the twins blinked at him.

"Slytherin doesn't have that rule?" Fred asked.

"You can just waltz into the girls' dorms?" George asked right after.

"Well, yes," Ron replied, and the twins gaped at him.

"Lucky bastard," the twins muttered together, while Percy clicked his tongue.

"Ravenclaw is the same as Slytherin then," Luna hummed, and the twins let out exaggerated groans. "Knowledge is hindered by barriers, after all." _Right…_

"So we're the only ones who can't sneak a peek?" Fred asked, his disappointment written on his face.

"Ahem," Percy cleared his throat, and the twins gave him sheepish grins. "I'll ignore that because we have other pressing matters, but just know that I'll be watching you two from now on."

"Bugger off," the twins rolled their eyes.

"Ron, you need to talk to Ginny," Percy said, his eyes travelling to him. "She's not doing well… Your friend Tracey brought up some really painful memories for her, and she's not been the same since."

"And you think I have?" Ron asked, his temper flaring. "She called me a fucking traitor to my face. Me! I'm the guy who took the blame for her actions last year, and I've never once complained about that. Instead, I've been nothing but supportive. I was the one who was there for her whilst the rest of you stepped on eggshells around her."

"She said something venomous, and it hurt her as well," Luna said calmly. "She doesn't believe her own words, Ron, so neither should you."

"So once again, I'm the one who has to fix everything?" Ron asked bitterly. "I'm the person who has to take all the hits, and then patch things up as well?"

"That's just your pride talking," Percy said gently, and Ron turned his gaze to his older brother.

"Maybe…" Ron admitted. "But you know what? What she said really fucking hurt… People who aren't even my Blood understood my actions, and even commended me on them. But Ginny… She's been treating me like shite for almost a month now. I'm sorry, but this time, I'm putting my foot down. If she wants to talk to me, then she can come and find me. But I **will not** go to her, no matter how 'hurt' she is right now."

"Mum sent her a Howler, Ron," Fred sighed.

"A bloody Howler," George sighed as well. "Mum's never gotten so angry with her before."

"That alone should tell you just how wrong Ginny was," Ron responded. "You know, ever since she started spending time with Harry Potter, she's become increasingly more hostile towards me. That little bespectacled cunt-"

"Ron!" Percy frowned deeply. "Mind your language, for Merlin's sake."

"That little bespectacled git," Ron corrected himself, while Luna nodded in approval. "He's been talking to her about me, and since we all know that Ginny worships the ground that Harry Potter walks on, she's been listening to him. Now… Usually, I would fix this issue in my own way. But for the sake of Ginny's friendships, I haven't… Instead, I've just endured her doubts and angry glares quietly. So don't tell me that I haven't tried to fix this, because I have."

"You don't have to apologize to her," Luna said. "Just talk to her."

"I will, but only if she comes to me," Ron told them. "I'm sorry, but I will not change my stance on this. There comes a time when you just have to preserve your self-respect, and if I let her off the hook, again, I won't have any self-respect left. No one gets to talk down to me like that. Not anymore."

"Great, so this was a waste of time," Fred said, while George just sighed in defeat.

"Hardly," Ron said. "I now know what must be done about Harry, and you'll be keeping an eye on him for me."

"You're welcome," George said with a deadpan look.

"Luna, you should reach out to Ginny," Ron suggested, and Luna nodded. "Introduce her to your friends. It'll do her good to be friends with people her own age, instead of just following the Golden Trio around."

"I'll do that, Ron," Luna agreed.

"I guess we'll need to talk to her then," Percy said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Fred and George, any suggestions?"

"We can try to cheer her up," Fred suggested.

"Let her in on one of our pranks," George nodded, while Percy shook his head.

"You're not turning our sister into a delinquent," Percy said firmly.

"Then what do you suggest, Head Boy?" Fred asked scathingly. _Do none of them know how to interact with her?_

"Here's an idea," Ron started, and everyone looked to him. "Take her out to the Pitch, and let her score some goals on you. Ginny enjoys being included in our brotherly games, she always has. Just pretend like you're going out to practice for Quidditch, and just invite her on the way. Don't bring up mum, don't bring up her fight with me, and don't make her feel like you're doing this for her benefit. She's just as stubborn and proud as the rest of us, and if she feels like you're giving her charity, she'll lose her temper."

"Ginny tried out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, Ron," Fred told him. "And she didn't get in." _I see. That's… That would have really hurt her._

"I don't think that she wants to see a broom right now," George said.

"Like I said, she's stubborn and proud," Ron repeated, he knew his little sister better than anyone. "Sure, she must be feeling quite down right now, but in a week or so, she'll get angry about it. That's when you approach her. If she says that she doesn't want to join in, just give her a disappointed look. That'll piss her right off, and she'll join you just to teach you both a lesson. Then, you let her score a couple of goals on you, all the while making sure to not look incompetent. Once she's feeling a little better, Luna will approach her with her friends in tow."

"Merlin, when you did you become like this?" Fred asked, and Ron shot him a frown.

"No offence, of course," George added. "If anything, it's quite refreshing."

"What they mean to say is 'Thank you'," Luna smiled at Ron, and Ron gave her a curt nod.

"If she does come to you," Percy started, he was quite taken aback by just how manipulative Ron could be. "You'll talk to her properly, won't you?"

"She won't come to me for a while, Perce," Ron replied. "She'll start ignoring me out of pride and anger, and because of that, she'll start distancing herself from the Trio as well. I interact with Hermione and Neville far too often now… That's why Luna needs to be there for her. Ginny can't be left alone, or she'll just become like she was last year."

"That's not happening," Fred suddenly spoke up, he never wanted to see Ginny like that again.

"We won't let it," George nodded firmly. _That's what I like to hear. Family must always come first._

"You didn't answer my question, Ron," Percy said. "I need your word that you'll keep that temper of yours in check."

"If she comes to me, I will listen to what she has to say," Ron replied. "But I will not just stand by if she decides to start throwing accusations again. I'm not a punching bag. Ginny needs to learn that."

"Percy, that'll have to do for now," George said, while Fred just nodded his agreement. "But Ron, you need to send mum an owl. Tell her to not send another bloody Howler on your behalf, alright?"

"Mum's temper needs to be looked at," Fred added, and all the Weasley brothers nodded in agreement.

"I have two free periods on Thursday," Ron started. "I'll have a chat with the Headmaster, and see if I can't get permission to go home for an hour or so. I'll talk to both Sirius and mum on Thursday." Ron then looked to Percy. "Percy, just cut Ginny some slack for the time being. Hermione mentioned that you kept asking her to apologize to me. It's not helping us right now, it's only making her more upset."

"Alright…" Percy exhaled. "We all have a plan then."

"Well, look at us," Fred smirked, and the he put his right hand forward. "Put it on there." _What?_ George put his hand on top of Fred's, and then he looked to the others.

"Oh, come on then," George said, and Luna giggled before placing her hand on top of George's. _Fuck it._ Ron placed his hand on top of hers, and they all looked to Percy. Percy just stared at them in disbelief, and then he rolled his eyes before placing his hand on top of Ron's.

"Go Team Weasley!" Fred chanted.

"And Lovegood!" Luna laughed, and they all shot their hands up into the air. _That was so cringe worthy, but I still enjoyed it._

"We'll have to work on our Team name," Fred sniggered, while George ruffled Luna's hair.

"Stop it," Luna giggled, though she didn't even try to dodge George's hand. Ron and Percy just smiled to themselves, both of them secretly happy due to feeling included. They all began heading back inside, and once they entered the Entrance Hall, they found Snape waiting for them. _Oh, fuck._

"Curfew is nearly in place," Snape hissed at them, his face showcasing his trademark sneer. "Get to your common rooms… Now!" _He sent my friends away? Shite! I need to get down there right now!_

"I'll see you guys around," Ron said quickly, and then he burst into a sprint.

"Ron, no running!" Percy called after him, but Ron just ignored him. _I bet Flint's cornered them already! Damn Snape!_ Ron hopped down the last few steps, and then he sprinted towards the common room entrance.

"Venom!" Ron yelled in advance, and as he neared the opening common room wall, his friends suddenly appeared before him. Ron let out shriek as he slid to a halt, his heart leaping into his throat. _Fuck me!_

"Ha, got him!" Tracey laughed, while Ron bent forward and wheezed. "I told you that that would work!"

"Oh, you bastards," Ron panted, while they all burst into laughter. Even Malfoy was sniggering, no doubt pleased to see Ron in such a state. "You fuckers…"

"We didn't expect you to come running, Ron," Millie said, her laughter hidden behind her hands. "Why were you in such a rush?"

"I fucking thought that you all went into the common room without me," Ron sighed out, and then he stood up to his full height. "I didn't want Flint cornering you…"

"We're not stupid, mate," Blaise breathed out, he was clearly trying to find his center again. Ron shot a quick look at Daphne, and like all the others, she was just laughing at him. _Ice-Queen my arse._

"C'mon, Ron," Tracey laughed. "That was funny, and you know it. The way you shrieked… I'll never forget it."

"So very funny," Ron frowned, and then he fixed up his clothes. "Can we go inside now, you twats?"

"Aw, he's angry," Pansy giggled, her eyes lit up with mischief.

"Be a good sport, Ron," Theo patted his back, and so Ron fixed his frown.

"Yes…" Ron whispered coldly. "So very funny… Well done, Tracey."

"Thank you," Tracey sniggered as she gave him a curtsy, and then she looked to Daphne. "Did I do that right, your Ladyship?"

"Go a little lower next time," Daphne smirked at her, while Tracey rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

"Let's go inside before Ron bursts a blood vessel," Blaise said, he had already managed to calm down. Ron decided to just lead the way, and he ignored his friends cackling behind his back. _That was pretty funny, but I'll be damned if I give Tracey the satisfaction of getting one on me. I shall have my revenge._ Ron looked to see Flint's gang occupying their spot again, but this time, Flint's mates looked rather uncertain of their actions. _No arrogant smirks this time, eh? Guess they're smarter than Flint._

"Let's just ignore them," Daphne whispered from behind him. _Right, fuck them. Daphne and I have an announcement to make._ Ron quickly started walking towards the boys' room, because despite his nervousness, he really just wanted to make it official. _Ronald Weasley has a girlfriend! Yay!_ Ron made sure to hide his giddiness, but his lips twitched upwards every three or four seconds.

"In you all go," Ron said as he opened the door, and they all passed him with confused looks. Daphne was the last one through, and once she was inside, Ron quickly entered the room and closed the door. Everyone took their usual spots, while Daphne and Ron just stood near the entrance.

"What are you two doing?" Theo asked from his bed, his Herbology book already in his lap.

"Do you want to start?" Ron whispered to Daphne.

"No, you can start," Daphne whispered back, and Ron gave her a quick nod. He then looked to his friends, and Malfoy, and found them all staring at him.

"What's happened?" Blaise asked, his face dead-serious. _Merlin, do we get bad news that often?_

"So… Um… Daphne and I spoke today," Ron started lamely. "And for last couple of months, I've been trying to gather up the courage to ask Daphne out-"

"YES!" Pansy suddenly squealed as she shot off of Theo's bed, while the others just gaped at Ron and Daphne. "YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Everyone just blinked at Pansy, who was now doing some sort of happy dance to herself. _Why is she more excited than both Daphne and me?_

"Pansy, love, calm down," Millie spoke gently, and then she looked to Ron and Daphne. "So um… Go on…"

"Right," Ron said slowly, his eyes lingering on Pansy's ever-growing grin. "So we talked, and I asked her out."

"And I said yes," Daphne told them, a pleasant smile on her face. "Ron and I are a couple now."

"Woohoo!" Pansy wooed, and then she grinned at Tracey. "Pay up, bitch!"

"Bitch?" Tracey muttered, her eyes widening slightly.

"Sorry, I'm just really excited!" Pansy laughed. "I told you all, and yet you all doubted me! Start of third year I said, but you were all naysayers!" _What the hell?_

"Ahem," Millie cleared her throat loudly, and Pansy blinked at her. Mille jerked her head towards Ron and Daphne, who were both just staring at Pansy's outburst with genuine shock. Pansy gave them a sheepish grin, and then she ran up and hugged Daphne. "Congratulations, you two! We've all been waiting for this to finally happen!" _You have?_

"This is great news," Millie nodded, and then she walked up and shook Ron's hand. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, Ron."

"Thanks…?" Ron mumbled, and Mille gave him a nod. She then walked over hugged Daphne, while Tracey got up and joined the girls.

"Congratulations, Ron," Tracey smiled widely, and Ron managed to give her a smile in return. "We're going to kidnap your **girlfriend** now for some thorough questioning. Goodnight, boys." _Wait… What?_

"I thought that we'd-" Ron started, but the excited girls literally carried a startled Daphne out of the room. Once the door had closed behind them, Ron found himself just staring at it. _What just happened? I… I expected that we'd at least talk about it… They just fucking snatched her away. What the fuck?!_

"So…" Theo spoke up, and Ron turned around with a confused expression. "That just happened."

"They carried her away," Ron muttered, his eyes traveling between the boys. Blaise was just smirking at him, Malfoy looked bored, while Theo was just staring at Ron. "Why did they do that?"

"No doubt to ask her various embarrassing questions," Blaise replied. "Congratulations, Ron. I'd say that I'm surprised, but we all saw this coming."

"You did?" Ron asked slowly, a jarred look on his face.

"Even Malfoy saw this coming," Theo pointed out, and then he looked to Malfoy. "Didn't you?"

"It was pretty obvious," Malfoy shrugged, he truly looked bored by this development. "I thought that you two were already a couple."

"They pretty much were, it's just official now," Blaise said, and all Ron could do was stare at them. He didn't want to admit it, but he was rather disappointed by their reactions. He had expected excitement, questions, and far more happiness, but his friends just looked so… normal… about it.

"Have you two snogged yet?" Theo asked in a calm voice, which made Ron's jaw drop open.

"No, we haven't," Ron quickly denied, he had a plan to follow. "I just asked her, Theo."

"Alright… Ease up," Theo chuckled. "Have you two fooled around at all?"

"What the fuck, Theo?" Ron frowned, which only served to make Theo and Blaise snigger. "No… I just asked her."

"So you're telling me, that after you asked her out, you two didn't even kiss?" Theo asked, and Ron felt his face heat up. "Tsk, tsk, tsk… I'm actually disappointed, Ron." _Disappointed?! Well, I'll have you know that my tongue was… I shouldn't think such a thing about Daphne. That's just disrespectful, that is._

"Theo, stop pushing his buttons," Blaise laughed from his bed, while Malfoy just went back to his book. "We're happy for you, Ron. You two will make a fine couple."

"Right…" Ron muttered, and then he slowly walked over to his bed.

"Ron has a girlfriend," Theo sang in a childish manner, and Ron shot him a glare.

"How is that an insult?" Ron frowned.

"Is it pissing you off?" Theo smirked, and Ron just stared at him for a few seconds.

"Yes…"

"There's your answer," Theo burst into laughter.

"I'm going to bed," Ron sighed, which only made Theo laugh harder. _I hope Daphne's having better luck than me._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Night)**_

"Unhand me, Millicent Bulstrode," Daphne hissed, but the bigger girl just carried Daphne towards her bed.

"Put her down, Millie," Pansy ordered, her demented glee written all over her face. Millie put Daphne down on her bed, and when Daphne tried to sit up, the girls jumped onto her limbs. _My fucking ankle!_

"Millie, you're bending my ankle!" Daphne squealed, and Millie quickly adjusted herself. "Get off me! What are you all doing?!"

"We want answers, Daphne," Pansy cooed, her smile looming closer to Daphne's face. _I'm actually scared right now…_

"Tell us how it happened," Tracey ordered, she too was starting to resemble Pansy. "Don't you dare leave anything out, alright?"

"You don't have to pin me down for this," Daphne scowled. "My skirt's riding up, you freaks!"

"I call that a bonus," Pansy giggled, which earned her a confused look from both Tracey and Daphne. _She's bloody mental!_

"Let's ignore that," Tracey shook her head, and then she looked back to Daphne. "Talk, Daphne! Give us the goods!"

"It just happened," Daphne sighed out. "Look, I met him after he got discharged from the Hospital Wing, but his bandages had left a foul stench on him-"

"Did that get you going?" Pansy asked excitedly, and Daphne's mouth dropped open. "I've read that some witches like a pungent, manly smell." _Merlin's beard!_

"After this, we're going to do something about you, Pansy," Millie promised, and then she got off of Daphne's legs.

"Millie, don't let go of her," Pansy shrieked.

"She's not going anywhere," Millie rolled her eyes, and then she reached forward and fixed Daphne's skirt.

"Thank you," Daphne said curtly. "You two can let go off me as well."

"Let her go," Millie said, and then she took out her wand. _What is she doing?_ "Trust me, she won't be going anywhere."

"That's the spirit!" Tracey laughed, and then both girls let go of Daphne, who slowly sat up and rubbed her arms. _Savages! Attacking a Lady in such a manner. Everyone in the common room was staring at us… It was so mortifying._

"Right, go on then," Millie said, a smile creeping onto her face. "I must admit, I too wish to know all the details." _Pansy's gotten to her._

"You were at 'foul stench'," Tracey reminded her, and Daphne gave her best friend a deadpan look.

"Right…" Daphne exhaled. "He had this terrible smell on him, and no, it didn't 'get me going'." Pansy let out a giggle at that. "He wanted to take a shower, so I joined him."

"In the shower?!" Pansy gasped, and Daphne grit her teeth.

"I'll smack you, Pansy," Daphne warned her lust-fueled friend. "I waited for him in the boys' room while he showered, and after he was done, we started talking."

"About what?" Tracey asked. "Was he shirtless? Did you see his abs? Are they really there?"

"You see what you've done," Daphne frowned at Pansy, who was clearly picturing Ron's abs again. _I don't know how I feel about my friends lusting after my boyfriend. He better show me his abs before he shows them!_ "No, Tracey, he was not shirtless. He was dressed, but his hair was still a little wet."

"What did you talk about?" Millie asked.

"About Malfoy, and Flint, and the Triumvirate… Just all the nonsense that we're all dealing with right now," Daphne replied. "He told me that he was feeling increasingly… sad… about the state of things."

"Ron's sad?" Pansy whispered, something shifting behind her eyes.

"He's had a rough month, we all know that," Tracey said, her smile faltering for a moment. "He's the one who's taking the brunt of the disapproval, while Malfoy is strutting about like some prince. Anyway… Go on, Daph."

"So while we were talking, he suddenly started acting weird," Daphne went on, it was time to tell them the story that she had concocted. "He told me that he was really grateful for my support, and other things like that. And then, he just asked me."

"He just asked you?" Millie blinked. "Just out of the blue?"

"Well, I think that he was trying to bring up the topic, but he wasn't doing it very well," Daphne lied, Ron had done spectacularly in truth. "And yeah, he just asked me."

"And how did you react?" Pansy beamed, her head already in the clouds.

"I was taken aback for a moment, and then I said yes immediately," Daphne replied, a smile forming on her face. _Best day ever. Sunday the twenty-seventh of September. I'll never forget it!_

"How did he react to that?" Tracey smiled, her hands taking Daphne's left one.

"He was a bit surprised by my reaction," Daphne couldn't help but chuckle, which only made the other girls smile more widely. "But in the end, he said that he was really happy that I had accepted."

"Only Ron would be surprised by that," Millie chuckled, and then she sat down on Daphne's bed.

"So… Did you two seal the deal?" Pansy asked excitedly.

"Are you asking if we kissed?" Daphne asked in response, and Pansy nodded fervently. _Oh, we kissed alright. And it was amazing!_

"No, we didn't kiss," Daphne lied, and all three girls lost their smiles.

"What?"

"Why?"

"You didn't even try?"

"One at a time, please," Daphne said, and then she looked to Tracey. "You first."

"Why didn't you kiss him, Daph?" Tracey sighed out. "It was a perfect opportunity, and you wasted it." _No, I really didn't._ There it was again, that excitement she felt from tricking her friends. _Ron and I will never get caught now. Hehe._

"It just… didn't happen," Daphne shrugged.

"But you tried, right?" Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head. "Daphne! He wanted you to kiss him!"

"He made no mention of it," Daphne told her, but Pansy threw a mini tantrum right then and there. _Wow. She's beyond the help of mere mortals, isn't she?_

"He was shy!" Pansy fumed, which seemed to amuse Millie.

"There, there," Millie rubbed Pansy's back, while Pansy pouted angrily at Daphne.

"Let's go and get him," Pansy said, and Daphne quickly grabbed Pansy's hand with her free one.

"Don't you dare, Pans," Daphne warned. "I don't want to push him too far too fast. This is still Ron, alright?" _It took me months to get him here, and if she ruins it, I'll eat her face!_

"But you'll kiss him soon, won't you?" Tracey asked quickly, and Daphne nodded. "Ohhh. You have to tell us everything about it! Promise?!"

"I… I promise," Daphne conceded.

"And none of that lip pecking either," Pansy quickly added. "I want tongue!"

"Merlin," Millie cringed, while Tracey burst into laughter.

"What?" Pansy asked, while Daphne did her best to not scold her. "It has to be a proper kiss, doesn't it? I mean, I've pecked Ron's lips already." _No need to sound so damn proud of that, Pansy._

"You what?!" Tracey exclaimed, her laughter dying immediately. "Pansy! How could you do that?!"

"It's alright, I was right there when it happened," Daphne told them, which earned her shocked looks from both Tracey and Millie.

"And you didn't kill her?" Millie asked slowly.

"I've grown as a person," Daphne smirked, but Tracey and Millie weren't convinced. _This isn't good._ "Look, it was right after the whole Malfoy thing… Pansy was in a terrible state, and Ron had just taken all the responsibility on his own shoulders. Even I wanted to give him a peck."

"Right…" Tracey nodded slowly. "I have to admit, I couldn't get angry with Ron after he put Blaise first like that."

"We are getting off topic here, Ladies," Pansy spoke up. "Daphne has to seal the deal with a proper kiss, or else, their relationship won't count."

"Pansy, for the love of Merlin, please stop reading that Magazine," Millie pleaded, but Pansy merely rolled her eyes.

"That Magazine helps me understand things that will benefit all four of us in the Future," Pansy said haughtily. "I do what I do for the betterment of this group!"

"And now she's delusional…" Daphne sighed out. "I'll give him a 'proper kiss' when I feel ready for it, alright? And if he doesn't feel comfortable with it, then I'll just have to wait."

"He's a boy," Pansy scoffed. "Trust me, he's already comfortable with it."

"Wait…" Millie suddenly said, and everyone looked to her. "He's your father's Apprentice, Daphne. Lord Greengrass might not take this well."

"Actually, Ron asked me the old fashioned way," Daphne smiled, he really was the sweetest person sometimes. "He went to my mother and father, and he asked for their blessing first."

"Aw!" Pansy cooed, her hands clapping excitedly. "That's so romantic!"

"So he got their blessing?" Tracey asked, and Daphne nodded. "Then it's truly official, isn't it?! I'm so happy for you, Daph!"

"Thanks, Trace," Daphne smiled, and then she wondered if Ron was getting as much support as she was.

"Since you two are an official item now…" Pansy started, a devious smile creeping onto her face. "We must spread the word."

"Spread the word?" Millie asked, and Pansy nodded firmly.

"Ron is prized meat in this school," Pansy said, and Daphne felt her blood boil. "He's powerful, tall and well-built for his age, quite famous, has connections with influential Lords and Ladies, and now he owns a Magazine of his own. Every greedy witch is going to try and get his attention, so we need to act fast. By talking to the appropriate people, Brown and Patil, we can start rumors about you two dating. That will put the focus on you both, and when people see you walking around with your hands held together, it'll land a swift, and crushing, blow to all the competitors." Daphne, Tracey, and Millie exchanged slow looks, Pansy had clearly thought this through.

"They will still, of course, try and get his attention," Pansy went on. "But we know that Ron would never step out of line. He's too noble to dishonor you, or himself, in such a manner. Our main problem is the fallout when it comes to girls like Granger, or even little Tori, who clearly fancy Ron."

"Tori…" Daphne muttered, she had forgotten about her own sister. _Damn it, I let my guard down._

"Just be straightforward with her, Daph," Tracey suggested. "She's your sister, and even if she'll never admit it, she loves you to bits. She'll understand. Plus, her crush on Ron is superficial at best. She just enjoys the attention that he gives her. I've seen her ogling at least a dozen boys over the last month."

"And Granger?" Millie asked. "She's apologized to us, and from what I can tell, she's really trying her best to make up with Ron. This could punch a hole in that."

"Granger can just sod off," Daphne hissed, she was going to make sure that Granger knew who Ron belonged to. _And if she tries anything, I'll make sure that she never finds a job in Europe after Graduation._ "His desire to be friends with the Trio is just… baffling."

"It is what it is," Tracey shrugged. "Forget them, Daph. Let's talk about seating arrangements."

"Seating arrangements?" Daphne asked slowly.

"Well, you have to sit with him from now on, don't you?" Tracey asked, and Pansy nodded.

"There's a loveseat at the Sanctuary, and one in our usual spot," Pansy said. "As for the Great Hall, we'll move Theo to sit between Tracey and myself. He won't mind that." _Merlin, this is just the beginning, isn't it? They're going to keep me awake all night._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"Theo, sit with us," Pansy smiled, and Theo cocked his eyebrow at her.

"Why?" Theo asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Daphne and Ron should sit together," Tracey said, and both Ron and Theo exchanged looks. _I'm so sorry, Ron. They wouldn't listen to me._

"Right…" Theo said slowly, and then he walked past Daphne and took her usual seat. The others all began sitting down at that, and Daphne sat down to Ron's right with a calm expression. She immediately felt Ron tap her left foot, and so she tapped his foot in return. _Just bear with it._

"Let's eat," Blaise said, his smirk fixed on Theo.

"Is this going to be a thing now?" Theo asked the girls. "I just give up my seat for Daphne whenever she wants?" _Trust me, I didn't ask for this._

"You don't want to sit next to me?" Tracey asked, and Theo blinked at her.

"I never said that," Theo put on his trademark smirk. "I get to sit with two Ladies during every meal. I'm living the dream here."

"You're so cute," Pansy hummed, and Theo straightened his back. _And they got him._

"Malfoy, can you pass the butter please?" Ron asked, and Malfoy handed it to him.

"You should butter Daphne's toast first, Ron," Pansy said, and Ron blinked at her.

"There's no need for that," Daphne said coldly. "Ron, just enjoy your breakfast." Ron looked between the two girls, and then he slowly started buttering his own toast. Pansy clicked her tongue and shook her head, while Tracey let out an exaggerated sigh. _I'm going to kill them. Yeah… Today's the day I go to Azkaban._

"What happened to chivalry?" Tracey asked, and Blaise barely held back a laugh. Both Ron and Daphne looked in his direction, and they saw him trying to hide his laughter.

"Stop it," Daphne said to Tracey and Pansy, who gave her confused looks. "Ron, I can make my own toast. Just enjoy your own breakfast, alright?"

"You know, in some cultures, it's the women who make the men toast," Theo pointed out, and all the girls just gave him venomous looks. "But not in ours, of course… In ours, people make their own toast. I mean, what's the World coming to if people can't make their own toast, eh?"

"Nice save," Malfoy drawled.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Theo muttered, his eyes going down on his own plate.

"Daph, I don't mind buttering your toast," Ron said, she could see that he wasn't certain of what he should be doing.

"Buttering her toast…" Blaise suddenly wheezed, while Tracey let out a cackle. "You butter that toast right up, Ron." Even Millie started laughing at that, much to Daphne's annoyance. _They're going to piss him off! He hates people interrupting his meals!_

"Ignore them, Ron," Daphne whispered. "They're just trying to have fun at our expense."

"Of course they are," Ron sighed, and then grabbed the jug of pumpkin juice.

"You should pour her a glass as well," Pansy told him, and Ron stopped mid pour. "It's good manners, Ron."

"Daphne… Would you like some pumpkin juice?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. He poured her a glass, and then he finished pouring his own.

"Daphne? You're not eating," Millie pointed out, and Daphne shot her an icy glare.

"She's waiting for Ron to get a clue," Tracey sighed.

"Ron, it's not that hard to make your girlfriend a plate," Blaise said, and Ron's face suddenly turned cold. _And now he's pissed. Great._

"Any other advice?" Ron asked, his eyes darting between everyone. "What about you, Malfoy? Am I doing anything else wrong?"

"I'm just trying to eat here," Malfoy said blandly. "I suggest you ignore them and do the same."

"Ron, he's right," Daphne said, her foot rubbing his shin. "They're just having some fun. It's alright." Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he went back to his breakfast. Daphne shot her friends an angry glare, and they smiled sheepishly in return. _It's like they want to be verbally abused first thing in the morning._

"So…" Theo said, his eyes traveling to Millie. "We missed you at our morning run."

"Sorry about that," Millie said. "We had a late night." Daphne rolled her eyes at that, and then she began making her own plate. _Late night, she says. They kept me awake until two in the morning. As soon as I get a boyfriend, they all become dating experts. Pansy at least has some credibility, but the other two just kept droning on._

"We've decided that our class pairings should stay the same," Tracey told the boys. "You know, for consistency…" _You just want to keep Ron as your Potions partner._

"Actually, I'll be pairing with Malfoy for Herbology and Potions from now on," Ron told them, and Tracey gaped at him.

"But I'm your Potions partner," Tracey said, her amusement replaced by slight hurt.

"He can't pair up with Crabbe and Goyle anymore, so it has to be one of us," Ron said, his voice cold and matter-of-factly. Malfoy kept his eyes focused on his plate, while Tracey glared murder at him.

"I pair with Goyle during Potions," Theo sighed out. "I'll partner with Malfoy for that class."

"You sure?" Ron asked, and Theo simply shrugged.

"He can't be worse than Goyle," Theo pointed out. "Goyle would just stand there like a boulder, while I did all the damn work. At least with Malfoy, I'll get some help."

"Alright," Ron nodded, and then he looked to Tracey. "Partners?"

"Yes," Tracey nodded, and then she shot Theo a sweet smile. _Why can't Theo be like that all the time?_

"And Herbology?" Millie asked.

"I'll do Herbology with him," Ron replied. "I usually just pair up with one of the Ravenclaws, so it should be me." Daphne looked towards Malfoy at that, and she couldn't help but frown at his lack of gratitude. _You're welcome, you toad._ "How's your Herbology, Malfoy?"

"I got an O in last year's exam," Malfoy replied, and Ron gave a satisfied nod.

"Well, that's settled then," Ron said, his attention returning to his meal.

"You two can sit closer, we won't say anything," Pansy spoke up, and Ron gave her a deadpan look. _Well, I tried to keep him calm. See you in the afterlife, Pansy._ Ron drew in another deep breath, and then he scooted closer to Daphne. _Huh?_ Daphne just blinked at him, while Pansy and Tracey grinned.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Charms Classroom – Before Lunch)**_

"Mr. Weasley, could you stay behind a moment?" Professor Flitwick called, and Ron gave him a nod. The others students gave him quick looks, but they didn't slow down in leaving the classroom for lunch.

"We'll be right outside," Blaise said, and then he joined the others in leaving the classroom.

"Is everything alright, Professor?" Ron asked, he was certain that he hadn't done anything to warrant a scolding. _Or did I? No, I paid attention in class and took down copious amounts of notes. I mean, I can already cast the Banishing Charm, but it was still nice to learn about it from Professor Flitwick._

"How are you recovering from your accident, Mr. Weasley?" Flitwick asked, and Ron immediately knew what this was about. _He gave me the book which taught me how to shoot lightning._

"All healed," Ron put on a smile, while Flitwick simply nodded.

"I must admit, I never thought that you'd learn the Wandless variation of the Baubillious Charm so quickly," Flitwick said, a smile appearing on his face. "Ten points to Slytherin, Mr. Weasley, for your hard work and dedication." _Oh. That's nice._

"Thanks, Professor," Ron smiled genuinely. "But the truth is that I won't be casting it again anytime soon. The Headmaster forbid me from it." _And I don't think that I could even if I wanted to. It felt like a… fluke._

"He did that on my suggestion," Flitwick admitted, and Ron nodded slowly. "I was very careless, Mr. Weasley, and for that, I'm sorry."

"Careless, Sir?" Ron asked, and Flitwick walked closer to Ron and took a seat.

"Wandless Magic is… dangerous," Flitwick said slowly, and Ron immediately started paying attention. _Another lesson?_ "May I share a story with you?"

"Certainly, Sir," Ron nodded, and Flitwick couldn't help but smile at Ron's attentiveness.

"When I started learning Wandless Magic in my youth, I wasn't nearly as committed as you," Flitwick told him. "I am ashamed to admit that my arrogance, which at the time was growing unchecked, blinded me. After all, I had mastered everything that my peers and I were being taught at Hogwarts, and I always mastered things before my peers. So when I began delving into Wandless Magic, I went in expecting great results."

"It didn't go well?" Ron asked, and Flitwick let out a chuckle.

"It most certainly did not," Flitwick replied. "I found that I had to relearn all the Spells that I had already mastered, which only served to vex me. And when I couldn't even lift a table without my wand by the end of my first week, I grew sour and impatient. And because of this, I tried a 'flashier' Spell from that book I gave you."

"Which Spell, Sir?" Ron asked, he hoped that it wasn't Baubillious.

"Flagellum Inferos," Professor Flitwick replied, a shudder passing through him.

"The Hell-Whip? That's what it means, right?" Ron asked, he had been planning to try out this Spell himself.

"An apt name," Flitwick nodded slowly. "My body was not properly prepared to act as a conduit yet, something that I had simply glossed over, and when the Spell refused to work because of this, I grew angry and even more impatient. That was the day I learned just how dangerous Wandless Magic can be, and why it is no longer practiced within European schools."

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"I lost control of the flames, and I hurt my friends," Flitwick replied, and all Ron could do was nod weakly. _I nearly killed my friends. If they hadn't moved away from me, they would have been caught up in the blast._

"I really should've been more careful, right?" Ron asked, his voice scolding himself.

"Indeed," Flitwick sighed. "And I shouldn't have let my excitement get in the way of explaining the dangers of Wandless Magic. You see, Mr. Weasley, Wandless Magic is Magic in its purest form. It is Magic that is not altered by a wand's Core. It is simply… pure energy. And since this energy has to pass through your body, it can do a lot of damage if your body is not prepared for it. Now… Certain Spells, like the Levitation Charm, don't require much raw energy. But Spells like Baubillious… Well, they require **a lot** of energy."

"I ended up cooking the left side of my body," Ron grimaced, and Flitwick simply nodded.

"I know," Flitwick sighed, he was still chiding himself for his lack of foresight. "Due to the dangers that Wandless Magic poses to the host, most people don't even attempt to learn it. I myself never tried my hand at the more dangerous Spells, not after my accident. My body is not built for such a thing, sadly. But yours is, which is why I want you to think about these words. Wandless Magic can be very difficult to control, and in full honesty, it is outright dangerous."

"I'll be more careful from now on, Professor," Ron promised, he had no intention of stopping due to one accident.

"Just don't force a Spell if it isn't working, Mr. Weasley," Flitwick advised. "Mastery can only be achieved through patience and dedication. There are no shortcuts to success."

"I understand," Ron nodded. "Thank you, Sir. I'll keep your words in mind moving forward." _I really will._

"Good man," Flitwick smiled, and then he hopped off of his chair.

"Sir… Did you ever try the Wandless variation of Fumos?" Ron asked, and Flitwick let out a chuckle.

"Did you choke?" Flitwick asked, and Ron nodded. "Here's a tip then. Make sure that your lungs are full of fresh air, and then cast the Spell. Choking is still a hazard, but having a lot of air in your lungs does help quite a lot." _I'll remember that._

"Thanks, Professor," Ron smiled, and then he stood up. "I'm really grateful for the help."

"You are welcome, Mr. Weasley," Flitwick said. "Now, off you go."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Before Lunch)**_

"You should at least hold his hand," Pansy whined as she tossed her books onto her bed, and Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _If these 'tips' don't stop, I'm going to drown myself in the Black Lake._

"It's only been a day, Pansy," Daphne told her, and Pansy let out an annoyed hiss.

"Holding hands isn't event that big of a deal," Pansy shot back.

"We've all held his hand before," Tracey quickly pointed out. "What's the harm in it, Daph?"

"I know that there's no harm in it," Daphne said, and then she looked to Millie. "Can you please say something to these two?"

"Bad," Millie smirked at Pansy and Tracey. "Stop it." _Great._

"Just try it, alright?" Pansy suggested, and Daphne let out a defeated sigh.

"I'll try it after lunch," Daphne conceded, which made Pansy smile widely. "Happy?"

"Hey, we're trying to help you here," Tracey tutted, but Daphne knew that Tracey was just taking the piss out of her.

"Let's just go to lunch," Daphne said, and they all began making their way out.

"Oh, Tori's right there," Tracey pointed ahead of them, and Daphne looked to see Tori laughing loudly as she made her way towards the common room with the Carrow Twins. "Daphne, you should talk to her now." _I really don't want to. I haven't even planned what I'm going to say._

"Tracey's right," Pansy said. "We plan to be 'overheard' by Patil and Brown during lunch today. Those two will pretty much tell everyone in Hogwarts by tomorrow morning. It'll be better if Tori hears it from you."

"Why are you two in such a rush to tell everyone?" Daphne demanded.

"We already told you," Pansy replied, a slightly confused look on her face. "Hogsmeade Weekend is coming up, and Ron will get approached nonstop unless we show people that he's off limits. Haven't you seen the fourth year girls gawking at him whenever he's around?" _Oh, I have. And I've got their names filed away in my mind._

"I'm calling her over," Millie said, they were running out of time. "Tori!"

"Yes?" Tori called back, her head turning to face the girls. "Well, hello there!" Tori gestured for the twins to go on, and then she walked backwards to the girls. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you, little sister," Daphne said, making sure to sound calm and collected.

"Little sister? Am I in trouble?" Tori asked, her smile being replaced by a suspicious look. "If so, I don't want to talk to you."

"You're not in trouble, Astoria," Daphne sighed, what had Tori done this time? "You girls go on without me, Tori and I will follow you shortly."

"We'll be waiting outside the common room," Millie said, and then she all but pulled Tracey and Pansy with her. Tori just watched the others leave, and once they were gone, she turned her stare towards Daphne. _Just get this done, Daphne._

"Let's go back to my room," Daphne said, and Tori nodded slowly. Daphne began making her way back, and Tori followed after her slowly. _Why is she so suspicious? Merlin, what has she been up to?_ Daphne opened the door to her room, and then she signaled Tori to go inside.

"You first," Tori smiled, but Daphne's stare made her rethink her words. "Alright…"

"You're not in any trouble," Daphne assured her, and then she followed her sister inside. Once the door was closed, Daphne gestured Tori to take a seat.

"Just tell me what's happened," Tori groaned, much to Daphne's annoyance. "I'm hungry, Daphne." _It's best if I just say it._

"Ron asked me out, and I said yes," Daphne told her sister, who just blinked in response. "We're dating now." An awkward silence filled the room, with both sisters just staring at each other. "Tori?"

"Ron asked you out?" Tori spoke up, and Daphne nodded. "And you said yes?"

"I did," Daphne replied, her tone as cold as usual.

"And you're dating now?" Tori asked, and Daphne gave her a nod. "Do mother and father know about this?"

"He asked for their permission first," Daphne replied, and Tori nodded slowly. And then, Tori frowned deeply. _Here it comes._

"But I like Ron," Tori stomped her foot, and Daphne let out a tired breath. _Here comes the tantrum._ "You know that I like him, and you still said yes? Why would you do that?!"

"Tori, he asked me," Daphne said calmly.

"Why?" Tori demanded.

"Because he and I have feelings for each other," Daphne replied. "And he's always seen you as a little sister."

"But he gives me hugs and kisses," Tori huffed, her face turning slightly red.

"Just as he does with his other sisters," Daphne told her, and then she drew in a deep breath. "Tori, you don't even know him. Not really. You just enjoy the attention that he gives you, and I promise that he will still treat you the same way. Nothing will change between you two, I'll make sure of that."

"But I've told my friends that Ron likes me back!" Tori argued, her voice reaching a higher octave.

"You shouldn't have done that," Daphne rubbed her forehead. "Tori, you can't speak on other people's behalves."

"I don't want a lecture, Daphne," Tori stomped her foot again. "I want you to break up with him."

"I'm not doing that," Daphne said firmly. "Tori, this isn't up for debate. Now… I've always given you whatever you wanted. When you wanted my dolls, I handed them over. When you bought the dresses that I had my eyes on, I let you have them. When you wanted my jewelry, I gave you the entire set. I've always given you whatever you've wanted, but not this time. Ron is a person, and he's made his own choice. And I really, really like him… So please don't ruin this for me."

"I really like him too," Tori said petulantly, and Daphne decided to try a different tactic. _Why does she always do this? Every time I want something, she tries to steal it._

"What's Ron's favorite color?" Daphne asked, and Tori blinked at her.

"What?"

"Answer me," Daphne said.

"Green," Tori said, though she sounded rather unsure of herself.

"It's blue," Daphne told her. "What's his favorite food?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Tori asked back, she was starting to get annoyed.

"What's his favorite food?" Daphne repeated.

"I… Pork sandwiches," Tori grit out.

"That's my favorite," Daphne said. "Ron's favorite is Shepard's Pie. You don't even know something so basic about him." _What would you do when he starts having a panic attack? Or when he breaks down from his stress?_

"What is this?" Tori asked. "Are you trying to prove that you know him better than me? Of course you do, you follow him around everywhere." Daphne felt her temper flare, and her stare turned hard.

"Why must you always do this?" Daphne asked in a cold whisper. "Why is it that every time I want something, you have to steal it from me?"

"I don't do that," Tori waved a dismissive hand.

"Yes, you do," Daphne frowned. "You know that you do. And whenever I try to keep what I want, you throw a tantrum. Well, it's not going to work this time, Astoria. Mother and father won't just force me to give into your demands this time around. You can either be happy for me for once, or you can stay angry. But either way, I'm dating Ron."

"We'll see about that," Tori narrowed her eyes, and Daphne decided that enough was enough. Daphne calmly walked up to Tori, and then she put her hand against Tori's right cheek.

"I have never once struck you, little sister," Daphne whispered, and Tori blinked at her. "Despite your abhorrent behavior over the last ten years, I've never once raised my hand against you. But I **am** your older sister, and you will show me the respect that I am due. We believe in the Old Ways, Astoria. You will **not** challenge me in such a way, especially not in this House. Do you understand me?"

"I'm going to tell father about this," Tori mumbled, her eyes welling up.

"Then you go and do that," Daphne loomed over her. "But if you challenge me, I will leave my handprint on your face for the rest of your life. You need to grow up, Astoria. And don't bother making threats about father's power. **I** am his Heir, not you. We are done speaking about this. Now, tell me that you understand my words." Tori looked down at her feet, and for a moment, Daphne felt the need to apologize and hug her. "Astoria, you will answer me when I speak to you."

"I… I understand," Tori sniffled, and Daphne nodded slowly.

"I don't enjoy speaking to you like this," Daphne said gently. "But Astoria… You're not a child anymore. You need to start acting your age, or one day soon, you will truly anger mother and father. I already know for a fact that father is reaching his limit with your antics, and if you keep pushing him, then you will learn just how harsh he can be."

"What does that have to do with Ron?" Tori sniffled again.

"The point is that you don't really like Ron, you just like that he treats you like a princess," Daphne replied. "But Ron, like father, does not respect people who act so spoiled. Trust me, I learned that the hard way… With both of them." Daphne then raised Tori's head in order to meet her eyes. "I've had feelings for Ron since I was in first year, Astoria… And he's finally asked me to be his girlfriend. You will not take this away from me."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Near the End of Lunch)**_

Tori was pouting miserably at her plate, and every time Daphne looked in her direction, her pout seemed to worsen. Daphne knew that this was something that Tori did quite often in order to get her way, but it still made Daphne feel dreadful. Daphne hated that she had resorted to such cruel words with her little sister, but Tori needed to just grow up already. And Daphne had to make sure that Tori wouldn't do something that would embarrass the Greengrass name.

Besides her miserable sister, Daphne had to put up with a lot of looks being shot her way. Tracey and Pansy had been 'caught' speaking of Daphne and Ron's relationship by Patil and Brown, who had then proceeded to tell everyone on the Gryffindor table. Some of the boys on the Gryffindor table looked disappointed that she was off limits, but that didn't really bother her. What did bothered her were the angry glares being sent her way by a bunch of jealous witches. Daphne knew that this was just the start… Once word traveled all around Hogwarts, these glares would multiply exponentially. _Damn Ron for being so popular. Why couldn't he just be normal?_

"Are you alright?" Ron asked her, and she blinked at him. _Huh?_

"Pardon?" Daphne asked, she was too absorbed by her own thoughts.

"You're staring at me," Ron said slowly. "And not in a good way. Did I do something wrong?"

"If you have to ask that, then you probably have," Tracey sniggered, making the others chuckle.

"You've done nothing, Ron," Daphne assured Ron, her cold eyes darting towards Tracey. "I was just thinking." Ron went to say something, but the school bell cut him off.

"History of Magic…" Pansy whined, her happiness dying on her face.

"Professor Binns…" Theo frowned deeply. "Blaise, you have to keep me awake during this class."

"I was going to ask you that," Blaise said aloofly, and they all stood up to leave. _Should I grab his hand now? Ugh… Why am I even thinking about this? I've held his hand a hundred times already. For Merlin's sake Daphne, are you a Greengrass or not?_ Daphne held her head high, schooled her features, and then she took his gloved hand in her left one. Ron blinked at her, and then he gave her a happy smile. _See! Easy!_

"She's doing it…" Pansy whispered excitedly, and both Ron and Daphne shot her frowns.

"Let's just go, Daph," Ron sighed out, and Daphne gave him a nod. They all began exiting the Great Hall, and Daphne completely ignored the looks that the other Slytherins were giving the new couple. _Yes, we're dating now. Nothing to see here._

"What's wrong with Tori?" Ron suddenly asked, and Daphne looked to see her sister pouting miserably as she walked behind her friends. _Seriously, Astoria? You're going to mope around like this in public?_

"I talked to her about us," Daphne told Ron, and he nodded in understanding.

"She didn't take it well then," Ron said, and Daphne tightened her hold on his hand.

"She'll get over it," Daphne said coldly.

"Shite…" Ron suddenly muttered, and Daphne looked at him. He was staring at the exit of the Great Hall, and when she followed his gaze, she found his twin brothers smirking at them. "I'm about to get embarrassed in public."

"Just ignore them," Daphne suggested.

"Easier said than done," Ron whispered, and then he put on a smile for his brothers. "Fred. George."

"Hello, lover," Fred cooed, and Daphne bit back a frown.

"Before we say anything else," George started, his eyes fixed on Daphne. "We're terribly sorry that he's done this to you."

"He isn't blackmailing you, is he?" Fred smirked.

"We mean, how else did he get you to accept this torture?" George asked, the twins were now walking side by side with Ron and Daphne. Daphne could hear their friends sniggering in the background, and she elected to ignore them for now.

"Guys, can you not do this?" Ron asked his brothers, but they just shook their heads.

"We have to do this, Ronnikins," the twins said together.

"By the way, you have our blessing, of course," Fred said, and then he patted Daphne's head. _Did he just…?_

"Don't touch me like that," Daphne snapped. "Ill-mannered buffoon." _Was he raised by dogs?_

"You don't touch a Lady's head like that, Fred," Ron frowned deeply, and Fred raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Where are your manners, Fred?" George sniggered.

"He has clearly lost them," Daphne said coldly, she had half a mind to slap Fred Weasley for his disrespectful gesture. And judging by Ron's frown, he was thinking the same thing. As they neared the stairs leading down to the Dungeons, Daphne quickened her pace.

"Damn…" the twins frowned a little.

"We'll talk again after dinner, Ronnie," Fred promised.

"Welcome to the Family, Lady Greengrass," George cackled, and his twin joined him. _Ugh…_

"Sorry about them," Ron sighed as they began descending towards the Dungeons. "I'll tell them to not touch you like that again." Daphne shot a look up at the twins, but instead of seeing them, she saw the Golden Trio. Potter and Longbottom were having a conversation, while Granger was looking down at Ron and Daphne. Her expression suggested that she didn't really care, but when their eyes met, Granger quickly looked away.

"Granger was just looking at us," Daphne whispered, and Ron looked around. "She still has her eyes on you."

"Daph, I don't even think about her that way," Ron smiled at her, but that didn't stop Daphne from plotting Granger's murder in her mind. "Oh no, I know that look."

"What look?" Daphne asked.

"That dead-eyed look," Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. "Just ignore them, Daph. Who cares what they all think, anyway?"

"There were girls glaring at me during lunch," Daphne whispered, and Ron pulled up her hand and kissed it. Daphne heard a squeal from behind her, but she chose to ignore it. _Damn you, Pansy…_

"I had a few lads glare at me too," Ron smiled at her. "It's just how people are… They love talking about and looking down on other people. I personally couldn't care less about their opinions, and I know that you're the same."

"You're right," Daphne said, and then she drew in a deep breath. "This is just very different, that's all."

"I get what you mean," Ron nodded his agreement. "But I'm glad that I'm doing this with you." Daphne couldn't help but smile at that, he really was the sweetest person when he tried.

"Want to go for a walk after classes?" Daphne asked.

"Um… I have detention with Snape," Ron reminded her, and she clicked her tongue. "We can go for a walk tomorrow though."

"Tomorrow then," Daphne smiled, and Ron gave her a happy nod.

"Oh wait… I have Potions Club…" Ron said suddenly, and Daphne blinked at him. "And I've got a session with Pomfrey on Thursday…"

"Friday then," Daphne said, her smile dying down a little.

"I promised to play a few games of Chess with the Headmaster, not to mention the study group," Ron mumbled, his eyes darting forward. _Chess? Is he serious?_ "And I have work on Saturday, and Dueling Training on Sunday… Monday I've got a session with Pomfrey, and then detention on Tuesday… Potions Club-"

"I get it," Daphne interrupted, her tone slightly snappish. "Merlin, Ron… Are you really that busy?" _How have I not taken notice of his commitments this year? He really doesn't know when to turn off, does he?_

"How about I skip my session with Pomfrey on Thursday?" Ron suggested, and Daphne shook her head.

"You are not skipping your sessions with her," Daphne said firmly, and then she put her brain to work. "We have a free on Friday, right?"

"Right," Ron nodded.

"We'll go for a walk then," Daphne said, and Ron nodded once again. "And we'll try and make more time for each other in-between classes and our commitments."

"I'm in," Ron said, and then he gave her a sorry smile. "Sorry about my busy schedule, Daph."

"We'll work around it," Daphne promised, and she planned to keep that promise.

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Potions Lab – After Classes)**_

Daphne Greengrass… That's who Ron had settled on? Hermione had promised herself to not judge Ron's friends without getting to know them, but despite her vow, she felt rather bitter about Ron's most recent decision.

Jealousy was a feeling that she was starting to get used to, which was the last thing that she wanted. But try as she might, she just couldn't help it. He had picked Daphne Greengrass?! Why was she the only person in the Golden Trio who was surprised by this? Harry and Neville had both mentioned that they knew that Ron and Greengrass were far too close to one another, but Hermione hadn't listened to them. They had no proof of Ron's affection for Greengrass, but now they did. Everyone was now talking about Ron and Greengrass. Most people had the gall to claim that they had seen this coming for 'ages', while a few were either annoyed with Ron, or annoyed with Greengrass. Hermione, as sad as it was, was annoyed with Greengrass.

"Hermione, are you there?" Ron called, and Hermione broke out of her thoughts. "Can you please pass me the crushed fangs?"

"Oh… Here," Hermione said as she passed him the mortar, and Ron looked at the fangs with a confused look.

"Hermione?! You didn't crush them?!" Ron asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "Bloody hell, hurry please!" Hermione quickly took the mortar and began crushing the fangs, all the while mentally scolding herself. _I need to stop getting distracted. So what if Ron likes girls like Greengrass? It's none of my business, remember? I promised to move on, and to concentrate on my studies. For the love of God, I'm at a school! I should only focus on my studies._

"Sorry about that," Hermione sighed out, and then she passed him the mortar. Ron took a look at the 'crushed' fangs, and then he added them in with a slight frown.

"Those will have to do," Ron shook his head, and then he looked to Hermione. "You take over the cauldron, and I'll prep the ingredients. You seem a little distracted today." _What?_

"It was one mistake, Ron," Hermione said haughtily. "I'll prepare the ingredients, and you stay on the cauldron."

"Alright," Ron said slowly, his eyebrow cocking at her.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing…" Ron replied, his eyes going back to the cauldron. Hermione drew in a sharp breath, and then she walked over to the Newt Eyes. As she began preparing them, Ron shot her a quick look.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not only are you distracted, but you're also moody," Ron pointed out, and Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. _Moody? That's so rude._ "Do you want to talk about it?" _I'd rather dunk my head in that cauldron._

"It's just some Gryffindor business," Hermione lied, and much to her surprise, Ron seemed to relax a little. _He looks relieved… Why?_

"Well… Do you want to talk about it?" Ron asked once again. "Maybe I can help out?" _Trust me, you don't want to help me this time. Not unless you plan to dump Greengrass anytime soon._

"It's nothing to worry about," Hermione said, and then she began slicing the Newt Eyes. They began working in silence after that, much to Hermione's relief and annoyance. She was relieved that he had bought her lie, but she was annoyed because she was now stuck in her own head again. Five minutes passed, but the silence seemed to elongate them to an absurd level. Eventually, she got fed up with just working quietly.

"So… You and Greengrass…" Hermione spoke before thinking, and they both tensed because of her words. _I'm an idiot! Why did I say that?!_

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat. "Yeah… I asked her out, and thank Merlin, she said yes." _Damn, so he was the one who asked her._ A part of Hermione had hoped that Greengrass was the one who had asked Ron, mostly because that would result in Ron not being as serious about the relationship as Greengrass.

"I don't mean to overstep, but shouldn't you focus on your schooling right now? Both of you, that is," Hermione said, and Ron blinked at her. _I'm digging myself into a hole…_ "I mean, you seem really busy to me. You have work, your studies, and this business of yours… To add a relationship on top is kind of overkill, isn't it?" _God, what am I doing?!_

"Daphne makes my work, studies, and business feel less troublesome," Ron said, his eyes going back to the cauldron. _Less troublesome?_ Hermione stared at Ron for a few seconds, he was focusing on the cauldron's heat.

"Did she know about your business?" Hermione asked suddenly. "It's just that you kept it a secret from everyone but your 'investors'."

"Daphne knew," Ron replied, and Hermione felt a pang of anger. _Of course he told her. Why wouldn't he?_ "My Family, my Slytherin friends, and Neville knew about it."

"Why did you just tell Neville?" Hermione asked, making sure to not sound bitter about it. "Why not Harry and me as well?"

"Neville found out because his Gran told him about it," Ron replied, why did he sound so calm and collected? "She helped me a lot with getting the business up and running."

"Right," Hermione nodded, and then she passed him the sliced Newt Eyes. "Just out of curiosity, what's your business really about? I've heard that The Quibbler is mostly just filled with tall tales. Things like monsters that don't even exist."

"I'm rebooting The Quibbler," Ron told her. "It'll focus more on news."

"But the Daily Prophet already does that," Hermione pointed out.

"The Daily Prophet lies and twists facts in order to spread its own agenda," Ron said, and Hermione cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And what agenda is that?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"That everything is perfectly alright," Ron replied, something that made Hermione feel slightly confused. "That the Ministry isn't a corrupt institute which no longer serves its people. That instead of serving the masses, it only serves a select few who kiss the proper arses to get ahead in life."

"The Ministry is the government, Ron," Hermione frowned a little. "You shouldn't talk about it like that. You could get in a lot of trouble for saying things like that."

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Ron chuckled, and Hermione blinked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, but Ron didn't reply. "Ron? What do you mean by that?"

"I want to help people who don't have a voice," Ron said, a soft smile on his face. "People like Werewolves who can't get jobs anymore, or Squibs who are mistreated and forgotten simply because they don't have Magic." _That… That actually sounds very noble._ "I didn't even know about any of this, but now that I do, I just feel the need to do something about it. But it's going to cause me problems."

"Problems?" Hermione asked slowly.

"My dad says this Muggle saying sometimes," Ron started. "You can't make breakfast without cracking a few eggs." Hermione couldn't hold back her chuckle at that, and Ron gave her a bemused smile. "What?"

"The actual saying is that you can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs," Hermione corrected him, and Ron nodded to himself.

"An omelette, eh?" Ron said to himself. "I'll have to tell dad about that. He's been saying it wrong for years."

"So you're going to report on people who are not being represented properly?" Hermione asked, and Ron nodded. "That's quite noble of you, Ron. Everyone should be treated equally."

"Not everyone," Ron whispered, his smile disappearing. "Just those who deserve it." _What?_ "I mean, I don't plan on representing people who want to spread hate, no matter what the degree is."

"You mean the Pure-Bloods?" Hermione asked, and Ron shot her a frown. "What?"

"I'm a Pure-Blood," Ron reminded her, and she couldn't help but detect pride in his voice. It immediately made her feel uneasy, especially because **his** Family didn't care about that sort of nonsense. "I meant everyone who uses their power to needlessly abuse others."

"But it's mostly the Pure-Blood Families that abuse their power," Hermione said firmly. "People like the Malfoys."

"And?" Ron asked.

"And what?" Hermione asked back.

"List another Pure-Blood Family that abuses its power," Ron said, and Hermione just stared at him.

"Well, the Families that served the Dark-Lord," Hermione said.

"Most of his forces were made up of Dark Creatures," Ron drawled. "Vampires, Werewolves, Banshees… As for the humans that served him, most of them were Half-Bloods. I mean think about it… The Sacred Twenty Eight are just that… Twenty Eight. Around half of those Families ran away from Europe, which means that only around ten of the Sacred Twenty Eight stood by the Dark Lord. The rest didn't want a war, they just got caught up in one. Judging the Sacred Twenty for the actions of around ten Families isn't fair. After all, my Family is a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight as well. So is Neville's, actually."

"Of all the Pure-Blood Families that can abuse their power, the Malfoys are the only ones who actively stick their fingers into politics," Ron went on, and truth be told, she didn't like this conversation very much. She had no clue what he was even on about anymore, she didn't care enough about the 'Pure-Bloods' to learn about them. "And sure, some Pure-Blood beliefs are just idiotic, but to judge them all for the actions of the few would be the definition of bigotry. It's the same as hating all the Slytherins simply because a few of them are morons, or calling all the Ravenclaws 'bookworms' just because their House values knowledge and intellect."

"You've given this a lot of thought," Hermione said, mostly because she didn't know what else to say.

"I've had to," Ron shrugged. "I'm a Blood-Traitor in Slytherin… That means that people from both sides hate me. I have bigoted Slytherins wishing me dead, and I have Gryffindors who call me a traitor." Hermione froze at that, Ron's words were starting to make a lot of sense. _He's talking about Ginny?_ "No matter what I do, someone is always pissed off." Ron then shook his head clear, and he gave Hermione a smile. "Sorry about the rant. I don't usually think out loud like that."

"It's alright," Hermione said slowly. "Ron… About Ginny-"

"It's alright," Ron patted her arm with his gloved hand. "All I wanted to say was that you don't have to be a Pure-Blood to hate others. Everyone is capable of hate. **Everyone**."

"You mean the Muggle-Borns?" Hermione asked, her tone becoming curt.

"Don't you hate Malfoy?" Ron asked her, and Hermione blinked at him.

"No, I don't," Hermione replied, though her voice gave away how she felt about the boy who had constantly targeted her friends. He had also been the first person to call her a 'Mud-Blood', an action which had made her a regular target for that slur by the other Slytherin bullies.

"Yes, you do," Ron said softly, his eyes fixed on hers. "I saw how you glared at him in the Courtyard… I saw how confused you were that I was even associating with him."

"I don't hate him," Hermione lied, but her meek voice betrayed her again.

"Ginny hates him," Ron said, and Hermione felt the need to avert her gaze from his. "Does that make Ginny a bad person?" Hermione shook her head weakly. "Does Ginny's hatred of Malfoy make the rest of us Weasley's bad people?" Hermione once again shook her head. "Everyone is capable of hate, Hermione. People aren't just 'good' or 'bad'… They are simply the product of their choices."

"You sound like the Headmaster," Hermione whispered.

"That's because I'm repeating his words to me," Ron told her, and Hermione nodded slowly. _Everyone is capable of hatred… I do hate Malfoy, or at least I think I do. I know that I can't stand to even look at him, just like he can't stand to look at me._ "All of this is to say that 'equality' isn't what I'm trying to achieve with The Quibbler. I just want people to know more about the World around them, because I know that there are people out there who will choose to help their fellow human beings if they know just how bad some people have it. If I wanted 'equality', then I would have to represent **everyone**."

"So you have an agenda as well," Hermione said, she was beginning to understand his point.

"Exactly," Ron said. "Everyone has an agenda, just like everyone is capable of spreading hate. You just have to choose which agenda you can stand behind, and which agenda you want to contest."

"That… is a lot to think about," Hermione admitted. "I never have conversations like this with Harry and Neville." _Harry is so sure of what he believes in, while Neville tends to avoid any form of confrontation._

"Well, if you ever want to discuss things, I'm always here," Ron smiled, and Hermione smiled back.

"I'll take you up on that, Ronald Weasley," Hermione said, and Ron just nodded in response.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Potions Lab – End of Potions Club)**_

"Mr. Weasley, stay behind a moment," Snape ordered, and Ron gave him a nod.

"I'll see you at dinner, Ron," Hermione waved goodbye, and he waved back. _Let's hope that she takes my words to heart. And even if she doesn't, I've at least given her something other my relationship with Daphne to concentrate on. The last thing I need is Hermione turning sour against me again._ Once the whole lab was empty, Ron let out a long groan.

"I'm so bloody tired," Ron told Snape, who merely cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Granger," Snape said, and Ron let out a chuckle.

"Couldn't help it?" Ron asked. "I saw you actively hover around us for over fifteen minutes, Sir."

"How observant of you," Snape drawled, his tone suggesting boredom. "You have an interesting take on agendas. I'm glad to see that you are learning something from Albus."

"Not just him," Ron said. "I'm learning from you as well, Sir."

"Is that so?" Snape said icily.

"I came into Hogwarts fearing you, did you know that?" Ron asked, and Snape just stared at him. "My brothers told me horror stories about you, and after you made me cry that one time, I started sharing their opinion of you. But now… Now I respect you. Actually, I respect you just as much as I respect the Headmaster." _Maybe a little less, but he doesn't need to know that._

"You really shouldn't," Snape said, and then he walked over to his desk.

"Maybe," Ron shrugged. "You can be quite the bully sometimes, and you do tend to enjoy scaring students on purpose… But you're also a member of the Order. You risk your life for the greater good of Wizarding-kind, and you never say a word about it. That's quite heroic of you, if I might say so myself."

"It is anything but heroic," Snape sneered, and Ron couldn't help but wonder if Snape hated being called a 'hero'.

"Either way, I've come to the conclusion that I can't just judge people by association," Ron said. "I actually believed Regulus Black to be a weak coward, and then Kreacher told me the truth, and it was like I got slapped in the face. I… I like to think that if Ginny knew the truth about me, she wouldn't have been so harsh with me. Her, and the rest of my Family."

"If only life was that fair," Snape said, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Well, my Family is slowly coming around," Ron said hopefully. "Maybe Ginny will too."

"You want to learn from me? Then learn this… The person who tries to please everyone is the person who has no conviction," Snape said. "People are indeed the product of their choices, and you have chosen your path."

"So I should just give up on a Future where my Family understands me?" Ron asked, he was never going to do that.

"I never said that," Snape replied. "What I'm saying is that you need to focus on the war, not on your little sister's latest tantrum. As for using The Quibbler to 'help the needy', just make sure that you don't make too many enemies. We need The Quibbler for our plans, remember?"

"I remember," Ron nodded. "But I also remember vowing to help as many people as I could along the way. I didn't buy The Quibbler to put Amelia Bones into power. I bought it so that I could do something good for other people. People like Priscilla…" _It's been months, but I still think about her. I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing._ "Anyway… Hermione seemed to listen to what I had to say."

"Mind sharing your scheme?" Snape asked, his intrigue masked by his expressionless face. _Why not?_

"The Headmaster wants me to be allies with the Golden Trio, right?" Ron asked, and Snape gave him a nod. "Well, Neville is already very understanding. Somehow, being bullied often has made him rather accepting of others. Hermione and Harry, however, are a lot more… stubborn. Hermione recently apologized to my friends after I called her out on her hypocrisy, which made me realize that she's not beyond reason."

"You are trying to influence her?" Snape asked.

"If Harry can influence my sister, then I can influence his friends," Ron shrugged casually. "I'll keep Hermione and Neville close to me, and by extension, Harry himself. Maybe they'll get through to him, and he'll finally get his head out of his arse."

"Not bad," Snape smirked, and Ron smiled at him. "Not bad at all, Ron."

"Why… Thank you," Ron said, it felt rather satisfying to hear those words from Snape.

"And how are things with my Godson?" Snape asked.

"Progressing slowly," Ron admitted, but Snape gave him an understanding nod. "He really hates me, you know. I can see it… Whenever he thinks that no one is looking, he gives me this look of utter disgust and contempt. He barely talks, but he makes sure that we know that he's there. Things in the group are a little strained because of his presence. We don't openly talk to each other anymore…"

"I am sorry to hear that," Snape said.

"Are you?" Ron asked, his gaze meeting Snape's.

"I am," Snape replied. "He plans to regain his favor within the House through you, and while you go up against Marcus Flint, he'll attempt to turn the House against you."

"The House? You mean the Triumvirate," Ron said, and Snape nodded. "He knows that the Triumvirate are currently unhappy with me. Clever bastard…"

"Fix your relationship with them, and his plans will be delayed," Snape advised.

"Or I can just make him submit," Ron countered, and Snape just stared through him. "That was a joke, of course. You're right about the Triumvirate. I might not like them throwing their weight around near me, but they are infinitely better as allies than enemies. I'll talk to them tomorrow at some point." _And oddly enough, I do miss them. They were genuinely kind towards me._

"You do that," Snape said, and Ron stood up. "Don't forget to meditate tonight, Ron. Half an hour, that's all."

"I'll do that, Sir," Ron promised. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Indeed," Snape drawled, his eyes darting down at his work. "Close the door behind you."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Lunch)**_

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron opened the door and entered. "What brings you here during your spare periods, Ronald? And why are you dressed so fashionably?" _I like wearing nice suits._

"I wanted to talk to you," Ron replied as he closed the door, and then he approached the Headmaster's desk. "I need permission to go back home for around thirty minutes."

"Today?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron gave him a nod. "May I ask why?"

"My mother sent my sister a Howler, and I want to ask her to not send another one on my behalf," Ron replied, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "And then, I plan to go to Grimmauld Place. I want to talk to Sirius about Harry's ever-growing interest in my comings and goings. If I can get Sirius to take up Harry's attention, then I should be able to secure a brief respite from said intrigue."

"I see," Dumbledore said, and then he smiled his kind smile. "You have my permission then."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron smiled back. "May I use your fireplace?"

"Certainly," Dumbledore replied, and Ron turned to leave. "But before you go…"

"Yes?" Ron turned back around.

"This letter came to me this morning," Dumbledore said, and then he reached into his desk and pulled out said letter. "It is from Barnabas Cuffe."

"He sent you a letter?" Ron asked, he hadn't seen that coming. _He definitely knows that I stole The Quibbler out from under him by now._

"He asked me to arrange a meeting with you," Dumbledore replied, and Ron frowned at the letter. "He wishes to speak to you on Saturday."

"Well, you can tell him that I have work on Saturday," Ron said. "Oh, and tell him that if he wants to meet me, then he should send **me** a letter. He clearly thinks that if you order me to attend this meeting, then I'll be forced to attend. He wants to remove the choice from my hands."

"My thoughts exactly," Dumbledore chuckled. "He clearly has no idea that you're not just another thirteen year old. I won't deny that I feel pity for him, he is, after all, in for a nasty surprise."

"Are you suggesting that I'm a nasty person?" Ron laughed.

"I would never suggest such a thing," Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes filled with mirth. "One more thing before you go, dear boy. Remus told your Family about your accident."

"I was wondering about that," Ron admitted. "Why didn't they come see me?"

"He assured them that you were safe on my orders," Dumbledore replied. "I hope you don't mind, but I decided that you had enough on your plate as is. Your parents' worry and anger would only serve to vex you, and in doing so, hinder your recovery."

"You know me so well," Ron smirked. "Thank you, Headmaster. I really appreciate you letting me recover in peace."

"And now that peace will end by your own hands," Dumbledore said, his eyes darting towards the fireplace. "Take your time, Ronald. And please, try not to lose your temper. If they do scold you, it is because they love you."

"I understand, Headmaster," Ron nodded. "I'm actually doing a lot better recently. Things are looking up for me again."

"Yes, they certainly are," Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron blinked at him. "Feel free to buy the young Lady Greengrass some flowers on the way back. Girls, no matter their upbringing, always love flowers."

"You really held onto that for our entire chat?" Ron frowned, while Dumbledore just smiled at him.

"I really did," Dumbledore replied, he was clearly enjoying this far too much. _Turn the tables on him, Ron._

"You have bread crumbs in your beard," Ron lied.

"No, I don't," Dumbledore chuckled. "I haven't eaten bread in two days, my boy."

"I hate you," Ron drawled as he turned around and walked towards the fireplace, all the while ignoring the old man's laughter. _Damn crazy old codger._ Ron took a flinch of floo-powder, and then he cast it into the fire. "Twelve Grimmauld Place," Ron chanted, deciding to visit Sirius first. The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it.

"You left your floo open, Black?!" a man growled as soon as Ron stepped into Grimmauld Place, and Ron found himself staring at a man with a scarred and mangled face. The man's vivid, electric blue Magical Eye focused on Ron, and before Ron could even react, he found himself being pinned against the chimney via a Levitation Charm. _What the fuck?!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! This Chapter was a little shorter than the recent ones, but that's mostly due to my busy schedule these days. Anyway, Ron vs Moody in the next Chapter! Some more Voldemort, Order of the Phoenix, a little time skip, Harry POV, and maybe even Ron and Daphne first date!**

 **See you guys on Wednesday!**


	82. Chapter 82 - Return

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 82 is finished! (Finally). Sorry about it being late by a day, but I got really busy during the week and sort of had to put the story on the back-burner. A lot of stuff I hinted at didn't happen in this Chapter, and that's mostly because I decided that rushing things wouldn't feel natural. I decided to 'show' instead of 'tell'.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 82 – Return**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Afternoon)**_

Panic set into Ron's chest as hung off of the chimney, his eyes fixed on the sneering man. _Who the fuck is he?! Why is he in Sirius' house?! And where the fuck is Sirius?!_ The man's grisly features filled Ron with dread, and while the man was clearly analyzing the 'intruder', Ron took the opportunity to turn his left palm in the man's direction, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Accio Coffee Table," Ron grit out, and the small table behind the man flew up and hit the man's back. The dark grey haired man fell forward with a cuss, while Ron dropped down in front of the fireplace. Ron quickly shot up to his feet, his gloved hand reaching for his wand.

"Stupefy," the man growled from the floor, he had already composed himself before Ron could even react.

"Shite!" Ron squealed as he dove to the right, his own wand now aimed at the man.

"What the fuck is happening in here?!" came Sirius' thundering voice, and both Ron and the stranger looked to see Sirius glaring at them from the doorway. "Ron?!"

"Sirius!" Ron relaxed immensely, Sirius hadn't been killed by this stranger. "Who the fuck is he?!"

"Who the fuck are you?!" the stranger roared, his Magical eye darting between Ron and Sirius.

"Mad-Eye, why the fuck would you attack a kid?!" Sirius snapped, and Ron blinked at the stranger. _Mad-Eye Moody? Fuck me, he has a Magical Eye… I'm an idiot…_ Sirius quickly ran up to Ron's side, and then he helped the redhead to his feet. "Bloody hell, I was gone for five minutes… Are you alright, pup?"

"Kid?" Moody frowned as he stood up with great effort, his wooden leg had been knocked loose. "That's no kid. Look at the size of him."

"He's thirteen," Sirius hissed, his body moving in-between Ron and Moody. "You need to calm the fuck down, Moody, you paranoid menace."

"I'm alright, Sirius," Ron said, though his right knee was hurting pretty badly. _I bloody landed right on top of it. Merlin, that hurts._

"Thirteen?" Moody blinked, both of his eyes fixed on Ron. "He's thirteen? Hogwash! Why isn't he in Hogwarts then?"

"Why aren't you in Hogwarts?" Sirius asked, his body turning around to face Ron rather quickly.

"I needed to speak with you," Ron replied. "I got the Headmaster's permission, and I came here straight from his Office."

"Right," Sirius nodded, and then he turned back to Mad-Eye. "That's why the floo worked, Moody. I have the channel to the Headmaster's Office always open."

"I'm Ronald Weasley," Ron told Moody, who gave him a very slow nod. "My dad is Arthur Weasley… I think you two know each other."

"That at least explains your absurd height," Moody said, his tone was rather bitter.

"Why would you attack someone without even looking them over?" Sirius demanded, and Ron couldn't help but nod at that.

"I looked him over," Moody replied, his eyes scanning Ron. "He's tall, he's dressed like one of them, and he showed up here even after you told me that you had shut down your floo."

"Dressed like one of them?" Ron frowned, he hadn't expected his first meeting with Mad-Eye Moody to go down like this. _It's just my fucking luck that I got into a fight with a War Hero._

"Can't say that I've ever seen a Weasley dress like that," Moody remarked, and then he limped towards the closest chair and sat down. Moody then began to fix his wooden leg back on, while Ron and Sirius exchanged looks.

"You owe me a damn coffee table, Moody," Sirius sighed out, his eyes traveling around the room. "Great… You put a hole in my chimney as well."

"Stop whining, Black," Moody said, his voice was rather hard on the ears. And then, with a flick of his wand, Moody repaired all of the damages. "There… I owe you nothing."

"Sorry about hitting you with a table," Ron piped up, and Sirius gave him a curious look.

"You broke the table?" Sirius asked, and Ron smiled apologetically.

"Wandless Magic from a thirteen year old," Moody shook his head, and then he gestured Ron to take a seat. _I can't really say no to him, can I?_ Ron sheathed his wand, and then walked over and sat down in front of Moody.

"I'll go get myself that tea," Sirius said, his annoyance evident to all. "Ron, you want tea?"

"Sure," Ron replied, though his eyes were fixed on Moody. "Where's Kreacher?" _I haven't seen him since we destroyed the Locket._

"At the shops," Sirius replied, and then he left the room without another word. Ron and Moody just stared at each other, and Ron had to admit, Mad-Eye Moody made for a terrifying figure.

"It's nice to meet you," Ron said, he was doing his best to ignore Moody's Magical Eye. _It's just darting around the room… It's so damn creepy._

"Why are you really here?" Moody demanded, and Ron blinked at him.

"I need to talk to Sirius about a personal matter," Ron replied, he had to remain calm and collected. _I want him to respect me. Not only is he in the Order, but he's also the greatest Auror in British History._

"You couldn't send an owl?" Moody asked, and Ron couldn't help but feel like he was being interrogated.

"I don't send owls when I have something important to discuss," Ron replied. "Chatting through owls takes too long."

"And it's unsafe," Moody pointed out, and Ron simply nodded for the sake of agreeing.

"Might I ask why you're here?" Ron asked, and Moody let out a grunt. _Guess that's a no._

"Who taught you Wandless Magic? I know for a fact that it isn't even touched upon until seventh year," Moody said.

"I taught myself," Ron replied truthfully.

"You taught yourself?" Moody said, he clearly didn't believe Ron. _Why is he so passive aggressive?_ "So… You really are a Prodigy, eh?"

"I don't claim to be one, other people have labeled me as such," Ron replied. _If only they knew the truth… I just keep practicing like some madman until I get things right. The amount of time I've spent inside the Sanctuary is just absurd._

"Trying to sound modest, are you?" Moody narrowed his eye on Ron, and Ron felt the urge to roll his eyes. _Right, he's starting to annoy me._ "Tell me, where did you get clothes like that?"

"I bought them with my money," Ron replied, making sure to keep his voice polite and steady.

"What money?" Moody asked immediately, and Ron's left eye twitched. "Your parents gave you money to buy those fancy clothes, did they?" _My parents can't even afford a bloody fence around their house. I bought these with money that I_ _ **earned**_ _._

"I have a job," Ron replied. "You've never heard of me?"

"I've heard bits and pieces," Moody said, his Magical Eye darting towards the Kitchen. "The boy who can resist fifty Veelas at once… The Prodigy from Slytherin… Mind telling me how you ended up in that viper's den?"

"Just got lucky, I suppose," Ron shrugged, he was starting to calm down from his little Duel. _Moody's a scary looking bloke, but compared to the Entity, he might as well be a little girl in pigtails._

"I don't believe in luck," Moody whispered coldly. "The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes." _Let me guess, you hate us Slytherins as well._

"Do you have a problem with my Sorting?" Ron asked. _I tried playing nice, but this guy's a prick._

"I would say that I have a problem with your House's history," Moody said bluntly, he wasn't one to mince words.

"Moody, that's enough," came Sirius' voice, and Ron turned to see Sirius walking into the Living Room with a tray in his hands. "Ron's a great kid, so don't even start with that tripe." Sirius then put the tray on the fixed coffee table. "Are you sure that you don't want tea?"

"I'll live, Black," Moody said, his Magical Eye fixed on the teapot and cups.

"No sugar for me, Sirius," Ron said, and Sirius poured him a cup and handed it over to him. "Thank you."

"No worries," Sirius said as he made himself a cup, and then he gave Ron a smile. "What brings you here, kid? Is everything alright?"

"It is," Ron replied, while Sirius sat down on the couch. "I just needed to talk to you about something private, that's all."

"Well, I was just leaving," Moody said as he stood up, and then he looked to Sirius.

"Right," Sirius nodded, and then he took out a piece of parchment from his robes. "Here it is."

"Goodbye," Moody said as he snatched the parchment out of Sirius' hand, and right after that, Moody limped out of the Living Room. _What was that? Order business? Probably._ Ron heard the front door close rather loudly, which was followed up by Sirius letting out a tired breath.

"He's a bit mental," Sirius told Ron, who nodded his agreement. _And rude, but oddly enough, it suits the stories that I've heard about him._ "I can't say that I like him much, but he's a reliable old dog."

"He's more than reliable from what dad's told me," Ron said, and then he took a sip of his tea. _No need to beat around the bush, I'm here to get something done._ "Sirius, I need to talk to you about Harry."

"Merlin, what's he done?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing… Yet," Ron replied quickly, and Sirius waited for him to go on. "I'm guessing you heard about me blowing a hole through Hogwarts?"

"Oh, I heard," Sirius suddenly laughed, much to Ron's surprise. "Bloody hell, pup… Even I never took things that far back in my day."

"It was an accident," Ron defended himself, though he was still mentally chiding himself for his mistake.

"Your mum and dad nearly lost it," Sirius chuckled, and Ron honestly had no idea why Sirius found this funny. _People got hurt._ "If Remus didn't assure them that you were alright, they would've marched right into the Hospital Wing. He even asked them to let the accident slide. Said that you needed to recover in peace." _Dumbledore's words._

"Well, he was right," Ron said, and then he put his cup down. "Everyone in the school, including the teachers, know that it was an accident… Everyone except for Harry, who thinks that I was 'up to something'. You never did send that letter, did you?"

"I… No, I haven't yet," Sirius sighed out. "He's like a dog with a bone, isn't he? Just like his dad…" _Well, it's somewhat reassuring to know that this is a Family trait, and that Harry isn't just a loon._

"I know why he's being like this," Ron said, it was time to channel his inner Luna.

"Why?" Sirius asked, he was suddenly paying full attention.

"He's jealous," Ron replied, and Sirius blinked at him. "But he's not jealous of me, he's jealous of the attention that I get."

"The attention that you get?" Sirius asked slowly.

"From you, from the Headmaster, from the Professors, and even from Remus," Ron replied. "You and I both know that he's had a pretty rough childhood…"

"Fucking Dursleys," Sirius frowned deeply.

"But now Harry finally has a proper Family," Ron went on, and Sirius nodded firmly at that. "He's very protective of said Family, almost territorial, I'd say. So whenever he feels like said Family is paying more attention to me than him, he takes it out on me."

"You're saying that he feels… neglected?" Sirius asked, and Ron nodded. "Bollocks… Remus and I love Harry like a son. I'd fucking die in a heartbeat to keep him safe."

"I'm not saying that you wouldn't," Ron said quickly. "But just because you think that you're doing everything right doesn't mean that you are. Luna mentioned that whenever she visited Grimmauld Place, you tended to bring me up quite often, and Harry didn't seem comfortable with that. I mean, think about it… He's never had any adult care for him until he reached Hogwarts, but now that he finally does, he still feels like he's in second place. And I know that you don't want him to feel like that, but he still does."

"Shite…" Sirius rubbed his forehead. "Why wouldn't he say anything?"

"Were you big on having heart-to-hearts with your parents?" Ron asked in return, and Sirius shook his head. "Look, I don't know why he hasn't brought this to your attention, but now it no longer matters. I've brought it to your attention, and I plan to talk to Remus about this as well."

"What do I do about this, pup?" Sirius groaned, a guilty look crossing his features. "I'm no good at this…"

"No good at what?" Ron asked, he hadn't expected Sirius to fall prey to melancholy so quickly.

"Parenting…" Sirius muttered, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "I literally went from Azkaban to being a 'dad'… I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing half the time, and the other half I'm just constantly fucking things up… If it weren't for Remus, Harry would've been better off with the Dursleys."

"That's not true," Ron started, but Sirius just shook his head.

"It's completely true," Sirius whispered. "Remus cooked the meals, washed Harry's clothes when Kreature disappeared, helped Harry with his homework, and even took Harry shopping no matter how sick he felt from his transformations. And me? I just don't know how to do that for him…"

"Don't think like that," Ron said a little sternly, he needed Sirius' help right now. "All he wants is some acknowledgement, nothing more. So, here is what you need to do." Sirius looked to Ron at that, he was clearly waiting to hear a plan. "The Quidditch Season is about to start, and Harry bloody loves Quidditch."

"Just like James," Sirius managed a pitiful smile. _Will you stop comparing him to your deceased friend?_

"Buy Harry that new Firebolt broom that just came out," Ron went on, he had spent the last couple of days planning this. "Everyone's talking about it, but no one can really afford one."

"They're quite expensive," Sirius nodded slowly, and then he gave Ron a curious look. "You might be the only thirteen year old alive that refers to **The Firebolt** as 'that new Firebolt broom'… Kid, flying a broom is one of the highlights of being a wizard."

"I don't even have the time to sit down for more than thirty minutes a day," Ron shrugged. "I used to love flying, but compared to my responsibilities, it just isn't that important to me anymore." _Why waste time on a broom when I need to be preparing myself for the war? I'm not endangering my cycle for a few minutes of pleasure._

"Anyway…" Ron restarted, all the while ignoring Sirius' sorry look. "Get him the Firebolt as a gift, and promise him that you'll come to all of his matches. Parents are allowed to attend the matches, and I'm certain that the Headmaster will let you come. And start sending him letters as well. And no, I don't mean weekly letters… Just start a conversation with him that keeps going through multiple letters. That'll make him really happy, Sirius, trust me."

"You've given this a lot of thought…" Sirius said softly, he was clearly thinking over Ron's plan.

"It's purely selfish, I assure you," Ron smirked, deciding to lighten the mood a little. "If he feels like he comes first in your eyes, it'll help him move on from 'investigating' me. I'm doing this for myself, that's all."

"Bloody snake…" Sirius managed a weak smile, and Ron gave him a wink. "I'd better go to Diagon Alley then, eh?"

"If your tiny brain forgets the plan, just send me an owl," Ron said as he stood up, and Sirius followed suit. Ron then walked over to the fireplace, and Sirius followed after him.

"Wait a moment, pup," Sirius said, and Ron turned to face him. "You're in a hurry to leave."

"I've got to talk to mum about something, and then I need to talk to Xeno about The Quibbler," Ron responded. "And then I've got a session with Pomfrey. I don't have much time to spare… Thanks for the tea, Sirius."

"Not even thirty minutes to sit down," Sirius repeated Ron's words, and Ron shot him a grin. But oddly enough, Sirius didn't even smile back. Instead, the older wizard put his arms around Ron. _What is he doing?_

"Um… Sirius… Why are you being so weird?" Ron asked, but Sirius only squeezed him in response.

"Thanks for coming here, and thanks for telling me about Harry," Sirius whispered, and Ron relaxed a little. Ron then put his arms around Sirius' back, it was a little awkward because Ron was nearly Sirius' height, but he still managed it. "You're doing alright, aren't you? No dizziness? Or headaches?"

"No, none of that," Ron replied. "I'm doing just fine, I promise."

"Good," Sirius said, and then he kissed the side of Ron's head. _Um… Alright then…_ Sirius then let go of Ron and took a step back, an awkward smile on his face. "Just remember to take care of yourself, kid… Alright?"

"Um… Right…" Ron nodded dumbly. "I'll… I'll be on my way then. Is the floo open to the Burrow?"

"Yeah, I lied to Moody," Sirius replied. "I forgot to turn it off, and then he just showed up at my front door. I didn't want him going off on me…"

"Why would you need to turn it off?" Ron asked, but he already knew why. _They're all getting ready for the war._

"Um… I…" Sirius stammered, and Ron decided to bail him out.

"Never mind, it's none of my business," Ron said with a smile. "I'll be on my way, Sirius. Remember to get Harry the Firebolt, and from now on, just don't bring me up near him. Understood?"

"Yeah, pup," Sirius nodded. "Thanks for the help."

"Like I said, you're the one helping me," Ron told him, and then he turned around and grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. "The Burrow." With that, Ron tossed the powder into the flames, and once they blazed green, Ron stepped through them. The smell of the Burrow immediately widened his smile, his mother had just cooked something. Ron drew in a deep breath through his nose, and then he walked into the Kitchen.

"Ron?" came Pandora's voice, and Ron smiled at the occupants of the Kitchen. His mother was setting bowls on the table, while Xeno was handling a pot of stew.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, his eyes lingering on his mother's confused expression.

"Ronnie? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?" Molly asked, while Ron walked over to the table.

"I have two spare periods right now, and I'm here because I wanted to speak with you," Ron replied. "I got the Headmaster's permission before coming here." _I should've probably said that immediately._ "Oh, and I need to talk to Xeno as well."

"Me?" Xeno asked, and Ron nodded. "Is it about Barnabas Cuffe? He's been sending me letters…"

"Yeah, he sent one to the Headmaster as well," Ron sighed.

"Why did he owl Dumbledore?" Pandora asked, her left hand resting on her bump. _Merlin, she's getting bigger every day._ "Yes, Ron… I'm pregnant. There's no need to stare."

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly, his eyes darting to her face. She was just smiling in her usual airy manner, and Ron figured that she was just teasing him. "How's your pregnancy going? Is everything as it should be?"

"Everything is fine, Ron," Pandora assured him, much to Ron's relief. "Why did Barnabas Cuffe owl Dumbledore?"

"I think he wanted to convince the Headmaster to set up a meeting between him and me, a meeting that I would be forced to attend," Ron replied.

"He's been asking Xenophilius for a 'meeting' as well," Molly shook her head. "Forget that nonsense for now, Ronnie. Come and eat with us, I made beef stew."

"I already had lunch," Ron started, but his mother shushed him as she pulled him into a seat.

"Look at you… You're becoming gangly," Molly said, despite Ron being in great shape.

"Gangly?" Ron blinked, while his mother set a bowl in front of him. "Mum, I need to talk to you about-"

"We can talk while we eat," Molly said, and then she gestured Xeno to pour Ron some stew. Xeno filled up Ron's bowl to the brim, an amused smile on his face. "You eat that up, Ron. No fussing."

"Alright," Ron consented, the stew did have a mouthwatering aroma. _One bowl can't hurt, right?_

"Do you know what Mr. Cuffe wants?" Xeno asked as he poured his wife a bowl.

"He probably wants to make a deal, and if that doesn't work, he'll no doubt try to get in our way," Ron replied, and then he had spoonful of stew. _Damn, that's amazing! Mum should open a restaurant!_ Something clicked in Ron's brain, and he decided to put a pin in this new plan of his. _I think she'd love the idea of feeding other people. I mean, she already does it all the time._

"Ron?" his mother called, and Ron shook his head clear.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something," Ron said quickly, and then he looked to Xeno. "Just ignore his letters for now, I plan to meet him soon enough."

"Should I join you when you do?" Xeno asked, and Ron shrugged.

"If you want to, sure," Ron replied. _I see no harm in it._

"Then I'll join you," Xeno smiled as he set the pot down.

"Mum, this stew is amazing," Ron said, and his mother blinked at him. "I really do mean it. Is this from your recipe book?"

"It is indeed," Molly beamed. "Your Grandmother taught me how make this when I was your age." _Her restaurant could be called 'Weasley and Prewett'. Or something like that. Hmm… I should start saving up after I repay Daphne._ "You're certainly… happier… today, Ron. I take it that school is going well?" _I have an official girlfriend now!_

"It is," Ron admitted, much to Pandora and Molly's joy. "I've started seeing Madam Pomfrey again, and she's helped me clear my head a little. I'm… I'm sorry for how I acted at Greengrass Manor. I was still reeling from Ginny's words, and I 'displaced' my anger onto all of you. I'm sorry."

"Think nothing of it," Molly said quickly, and then she reached forward and rubbed him behind the ear. _Oh, that feels nice._ "You just keep seeing Poppy, alright?"

"I will," Ron promised. _Why haven't they brought up my accident yet? Don't tell me that they're avoiding it in order to keep me in a good mood. Well… That works for me._

"Has Ginny apologized to you yet?" Molly asked, her eyes darting down to his bowl. Ron quickly had another spoonful, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"Ginny hasn't spoken to me since our fight," Ron replied, and his mother immediately puffed up. _Oh shite! The end times are upon us!_ "It's alright, mum… Just relax… I'm actually here to talk to you about that Howler you sent Ginny."

"I will not have my children calling each other traitors at Hogwarts," Molly said, her voice getting louder with each word. "And she used foul language to boot! No… No, this will not stand!"

"Ahem," Pandora cleared her throat, and both Ron and Molly looked to her. "Sorry, the stew is a bit hot." _Huh?_ Pandora was clearly giving Molly a meaningful look, and Ron decided to get a few words in before his mother went back to raging.

"Luna, the twins, Percy, and I have decided to give Ginny some space," Ron said quickly, and his mother looked back to him.

"Space?" Molly blinked.

"She's been through a lot, and from what Luna's told me, she's struggling to even make friends," Ron replied, and he wasn't even surprised to see his mother deflate immediately.

"She has no friends?" Xeno asked, while Molly stared into Ron's eyes.

"Not really," Ron replied.

"What about Luna?" Pandora asked. "Why isn't Luna being friends with her?"

"We're all trying, but like I said, Ginny's been through a lot," Ron replied in a calming voice, and then he looked to his mother. "I know that you, as a parent, feel the need to discipline her… But as the person who knows her best, I recommend that you never send her another Howler. She apparently had a breakdown after she got it…" Molly Weasley looked like she had been slapped, much to Ron's discomfort. _I'm a dumb cunt for saying that. C'mon, Ron… Channel your inner Luna so that you can sound wiser than you actually are. Merlin, why didn't I ask her to write me notes?_

"She's starting to get better, I promise," Ron told his mother. "Just don't send her any letters, please. We, her siblings, have a plan to make Ginny more like herself again. You know, that stubborn redhead with a flair for mischief? The Ginny that we haven't seen since the start of last year…" Molly's bottom lip quivered at that, while her eyes welled up. _Fuck! What am I doing?! Why am I so bad at this?!_ "Mum… Mum, don't do that, alright? I promise that we'll take care of it."

"What's your plan?" Pandora asked.

"The twins will focus on playing Quidditch with Ginny, while Luna will slowly integrate Ginny into her own group of friends," Ron started. "Meanwhile, Percy and I will give Ginny her space. She's currently unhappy with me, and as for Percy, he can come across as a mother hen sometimes. Ginny is stubborn, and like the rest of us Weasleys, she tends to give into her temper. What she needs right now is to feel like she belongs, because once she does, she'll slowly come back around."

"You're the one making the plans, aren't you?" Xeno asked, and Ron gave him a nod. "Then we should sit this one out, Molly. Ron will take care of it." _Um… Thanks for the vote of confidence. It feels nice._

"She really had a breakdown?" Molly asked weakly. "Because of me?"

"I said 'breakdown', but what I meant was that she cried… a little… For a few hours…" Ron replied slowly. _Ronald Weasley, a word magician._ "Ugh… I'm not very good at explaining this sort of stuff. Look, she's fine now, but if send her another letter or Howler, she'll go back to being hurt and upset. Just let us handle it, mum. We're keeping an eye on her, and by the end of next week, hopefully, she'll be friends with Luna's group. Can you promise me that you, nor dad, will interfere with this?"

"I… I promise," Molly sighed out, she never wanted Ginny to be hurt. She just wanted to teach her daughter that she couldn't behave in such a manner, especially when it came to her own Blood.

"Right," Ron nodded firmly, a smile appearing on his face. "Let's eat, shall we? I feel like I've shown up and ruined your lunch."

"I'd say that your appearance has had the opposite effect," Pandora said airily, a pleasant smile on her face. "We've been worried about you."

"When aren't you?" Ron chuckled. "Yeah… Sorry about that too."

"Just out of curiosity," Xeno started, and Ron turned his smile towards the eccentric man. "Which Spell did you use to blow a hole into Hogwarts?"

"The Baubillious Charm," Ron replied.

"The Baubillious Charm?" Pandora repeated, she suddenly looked very confused.

"The Wandless variation of the Baubillious Charm," Ron told them.

"Wandless variation?" Molly blinked. "You know Wandless Magic?"

"Glacius," Ron chanted, and once his left hand felt tight, he placed his index finger on the table. Ice began spreading out of his finger, and Ron quickly undid the Spell. All three adults just stared at the icy spot, and then they stared at Ron. "That's right… I'm awesome."

"Brilliant," Pandora muttered, even she couldn't use Wandless Magic so easily. "Ron, how often do you practice Wandless Magic?"

"Roughly one or two hours a day," Ron replied truthfully. "I'm starting to get the hang of it now. It just requires… determination."

"A Slytherin House trait," Xeno nodded, the look on his face suggested that everything was falling into place for him.

"My boy," Molly smiled proudly, her hand rubbing his back.

"Mum…" Ron groaned, why did she have to act sappy so suddenly? "Can you not call me 'boy'? It's a little demeaning…"

"My little man," Molly corrected herself, but Ron found that even more disheartening.

"I'm taller than you," Ron grumbled, but the smile on his mother's face sapped him of all indignation. "Whatever…"

"Eat your stew before it gets cold, Ronnie," his mother said, and Ron mumbled under his breath as he ate his second lunch. _I'm not little. Didn't she call me gangly just before?_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Just After Classes)**_

"I remember you saying that you would only take thirty minutes, Ronald," came Dumbledore's voice as soon as Ron stepped through the fireplace. "You've been gone for nearly two hours."

"Sorry, Headmaster," Ron apologized, though his eyes were fixed on the red roses that he had bought for Daphne from Diagon Alley. _Good, they're not burned._ "I took a little detour, just like you advised."

"Ah, wonderful," Dumbledore nodded his approval, and Ron felt his ears burn a little. "It's so pleasant to see a young man do right by his witch."

"Don't make me toss these away," Ron frowned at the old man. "It was embarrassing enough buying these… The witch selling them bloody winked at me, and she wished me good luck…"

"Good luck, Ronald," Dumbledore's smile widened, and Ron's left eye twitched. "The bell just sounded, so I'd hurry down if I was you. Don't you have a session with Poppy today?"

"I do," Ron nodded. "I took care of the 'Harry problem', by the way. And I'd appreciate it if you occasionally invited Harry up here… Just for a chat, you know. It'll help him move on from investigating me."

"I understand," Dumbledore said. "Tell me, are you doing this for your benefit? Or for Harry's?"

"Mine," Ron replied. _I have too many secrets that can be uncovered._

"I don't believe that," Dumbledore said in a sagely voice, and Ron blinked at him. "I think, deep down, you don't want Harry to fall victim to jealousy. An emotion that you are quite familiar with."

"I'm a Saint, aren't I?" Ron smirked, but Dumbledore's smile was putting him off.

"I think you're much softer than you let on," Dumbledore told him. "I understand that hard times create hard men, but compassion should never be forgotten. I'm happy to see that you have held onto your compassion. Why else would you go out of your way to buy flowers for the young Lady Greengrass?"

"Why is everyone acting so sappy today?" Ron asked, he was genuinely baffled.

"Forgive me, Ronald," Dumbledore relaxed in his chair. "I am but an old man who cares very much for both you and Harry. I don't like that you two are at odds at the moment." _He cares about me?_ Ron quickly made sure to hide his oncoming smile, he wasn't planning on giving Dumbledore the satisfaction.

"Right…" Ron said slowly. "I'm going now… You're boring my fresh flowers to death." With that, Ron made his way towards the exit.

"Let me know if she likes the flowers," Dumbledore said from behind him, and Ron could hear the laughter in his voice. _Crazy old loon._ Ron quickly made his way down the spiral steps, and once he was past the Stone Gargoyle, he made his way towards the Moving Staircase. _She'll like these, right? I mean, Charlie told me that girls like gestures like this. And Daphne_ _ **loves**_ _getting gifts. I shouldn't overthink this. I'll just give her the flowers, and then I'll go straight to the Hospital Wing._

"Ron?" came Hermione's voice, and Ron looked down the steps to see the Gryffindors approaching. _Fuck, I didn't use the Disillusionment Charm._ "Why are you on the seventh floor?"

"Um… I just came from the Headmaster's Office," Ron replied, while everyone eyed the bouquet of roses in his gloved hand.

"Did he give you flowers?" Parvati asked slowly, a jarred look on her face.

"What? No," Ron denied quickly. "I had to visit my mum because of my accident, and he let me use his fireplace."

"So your mum gave you the flowers?" Lavender asked slowly.

"No one gave me these, I bought them," Ron told the Gryffindors. _Why am I even explaining myself to them? Fucking flowers… I shouldn't have listened to Dumbledore._

"You went to Diagon Alley alone?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing on Ron. _I need to turn the tables on them._

"I… I wanted to surprise you," Ron said bashfully, he knew what he had to do.

"What?" Harry blinked, while the others looked quite taken aback.

"I know that we've been fighting lately… But I really like you, Harry," Ron 'murmured', his lips twitching upwards. _Don't laugh yet!_ "Here…"

"What the…?" Harry blinked again, his mouth hanging open a little.

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Ron asked, he could see that the others were beginning to catch on. Even Hermione's face was lighting up, while the others girls were already grinning. Even Finnegan and Thomas were beginning to chuckle.

"I… What?" Harry stammered, a look of genuine dread crossing his features. That was enough to make the other Gryffindors burst into laughter, much to Harry's surprise. Ron himself began laughing like a madman, his bouquet of flowers still aimed at Harry. Harry frowned deeply at him, and then he marched past Ron.

"Harry?!" Ron called after him, his voice filled with mirth. "Harry, come back! Don't walk away from love, Harry! It's all we've got!"

"Stop it," Hermione burst into laughter, her left hand quickly covering her mouth.

"Oh, that was great," Lavender wheezed, and Ron grinned at the Gryffindors.

"I'll go check up on him," Neville said, he was clearly trying to hold back his own laughter. "That was really mean, Ron." And then, Neville let out a strained laugh. "Damn… That was so funny though… Right, I'll go…" Neville then walked past Ron, his face slightly red.

"Neville just laughed," Parvati whispered, her own laughter forgotten for a moment. "Did you guys hear that?"

"He hasn't laughed since the fire," Hermione told Ron, she looked both elated and shocked. _Really? Well, I'm rather happy about this then._

"Just in a day's work for me," Ron smiled widely. "Bringing joy and laughter on beautiful faces." Ron then shot a wink in Lavender and Parvati's direction, something that made both girls beam. Both Finnegan and Thomas didn't look too pleased about that, but they didn't say anything.

"Are those flowers for Daphne?" Fay asked, a rather excited look on her face. _Did she just call Daphne by her first name?_

"They are," Ron replied, and he noticed Hermione's smile dying from the corner of his eyes. "I'll be on my way then." With that, Ron moved through the Gryffindors and began his journey down to the Slytherin common room.

He couldn't deny that he was in a good mood right now. Not only had his day been productive, but he had spent it helping other people. He had made sure that Harry wouldn't feel neglected anymore, he had made sure that Ginny wouldn't receive any more hurtful letters, he had made Neville laugh after three weeks of misery, and now he was on his way to surprise his girlfriend. In his mind, this was the definition of a successful day. _Now all I have to do is to practice Fumos at some point._

"Sleeping Dragon," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. Ron began making his way towards the girls' dorms, all the while ignoring the odd looks being sent his way. _Yes, I have a bunch of roses in my hand. Nothing to see here, people._ Once he was standing in front of the girls' door, Ron drew in a couple of deep breaths. _She'll like it._ Ron then knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, it swung open.

"Hello, Ron," Tracey greeted him with a smile, and then her eyes landed on the roses.

"Is Daphne-" Ron started, but he was cut off by an excited squeal from Tracey.

"Just stay right there!" Tracey grinned from ear to ear, and then she shut the door in his face. _Um… What the fuck?_ He could hear Tracey's squeals from inside the room, and almost immediately, Pansy's squeals began to overpower Tracey's.

"Just don't go anywhere, Ron!" Pansy called out. "She's in the bathroom!"

"Right…" Ron mumbled to himself, and then he took a step away from the door. Ron then checked his Rolex, and upon seeing the time, he clicked his tongue. _Pomfrey's not going to be happy about this. I'm running late._ After a minute or so of waiting, the door slid open. Daphne stepped through it with a slightly confused expression, and upon seeing him, she closed the door behind her.

"Ron," Daphne greeted, her eyes fixed on the roses.

"Surprise," Ron smiled awkwardly, he hadn't really thought this through. _What do I even say?_ "Um… These are for you." Daphne simply gestured him to stay quiet, and Ron blinked at her. After a couple of seconds, Daphne slapped the door loudly. Ron jumped a little from surprise, mostly because he heard both Tracey and Pansy scream from behind the door. _Merlin…_

"You got me flowers?" Daphne smiled at him, and Ron nodded dumbly. _Is her palm alright? That was a bloody loud slap._

"I know that I could've just conjured some up with Orchideous, but buying them felt more… romantic…" Ron all but whispered the last word, but Daphne heard him.

"This is really sweet, Ron," Daphne smiled, and then she walked over to him. "May I?"

"Sure," Ron said, and then he handed them over to her. She took them carefully, her smile widening as she smelled them.

"They're fresh," Daphne noted.

"I made sure of it," Ron said a little proudly. "Do you like them?"

"Of course I do," Daphne nodded. "You're very, very sweet." _Dumbledore is better at relationships than me… That's a thrashing to my self-esteem that I'll never forget._

"I'm glad you like them," Ron said, and then he looked at his Rolex again. "I'd better head off for my session with Pomfrey."

"Wait," Daphne whispered, and then she leaned up and kissed him. "We'll have ourselves a proper kissing session tomorrow."

"Promise?" Ron smiled excitedly, and she gave him a wink. "Awesome."

"I'll see you at the Sanctuary after your session," Daphne said. "Thank you for these, boyfriend."

"No worries, girlfriend," Ron chuckled, and then he began making his way back towards the common room. _She liked them! And she's promised me a proper kissing session! What a great day!_ As he passed through the common room, he once again ignored the curious looks being sent his way. There was no way in hell that he was going to let someone ruin his mood right now. Within five minutes, he was entering the Hospital Wing with a wide smile on his face.

"Finally, Mr. Weasley," Pomfrey said when she saw him, but his wide smile caught her off-guard.

"Sorry for being late, Madam Pomfrey," Ron apologized. "I was giving my girlfriend some flowers." _Damn, it feels nice to say 'girlfriend' out loud._

"Come, let's start your session," Pomfrey said, and then she gestured him to follow her. They both made their way into her Office, and while she pulled out his patient notes, Ron planted himself on the couch.

"How was your day, Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked.

"Quite slow, which is a good thing," Madam Pomfrey replied as she sat down. "How was yours?"

"Productive," Ron replied, and she waited for him to go on. "I solved two dilemmas today, made Neville Longbottom laugh after weeks of grief, and I pleased Daphne greatly. And I did all of that in the last three hours."

"I'm glad to hear that you're having a good day today," Pomfrey admitted.

"Actually, things have been going well since our session on Monday," Ron told her. "I'd forgotten how… freeing… it feels to just talk to someone without a filter. After I ranted about Ginny and my mum, I slowly realized that I was just bottling things up again, and in doing so, letting every small thing get to me."

"That's very good to hear, Ron," Madam Pomfrey said. "Now, what would you like to talk about today?"

"I was hoping to discuss the concept of neglect," Ron replied, and Madam Pomfrey nodded slowly. "I have a friend who's been feeling like he comes second, and because of that, he takes his frustrations out on other people. I have some experience in that field, but my friend's had a much lonelier childhood than me. I want to help this friend, but I don't want him to know that it's me that's helping him. He'd never accept a solution if it came from me." _With her help, I'll definitely get Harry off of my back._

* * *

 _ **Friday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Black Lake – Free Period)**_

"Ron, I really think that it's going to rain," Daphne said, her eyes fixed on the grey clouds above them. "Maybe we should just go back inside."

"But we just got away from them," Ron responded, his gloved hand tightening around hers. "Just five more minutes. Please?"

"Alright," Daphne consented. "I guess I should just enjoy being away from them for a bit. Tracey and Pansy have lost it, and Millie is starting to join them."

"At least they don't insult you at every turn like Theo and Blaise," Ron sighed. "Theo called me 'Daphne's bitch' this morning."

"And you didn't hit him?" Daphne asked, she was quite surprised with Ron's restraint.

"Oh… I wanted to," Ron frowned. "But we were all just joking around, and he didn't really mean it."

"They're just jealous," Daphne told him. "You have a girlfriend, while they've never even kissed a girl before."

"According to them, neither have I," Ron said, he was enjoying the fact that Daphne was swinging their hands back and forth.

"Well, you can tell them that we kissed today," Daphne smiled at him, and then she got serious. "Only light kissing, that is. No snogging."

"What's light kissing?" Ron asked, he really had no clue about that.

"You know…" Daphne started, she clearly had no idea either. "Oh, just tell them that we kissed without tongue. Sort of like our long kisses. I'll tell the girls the same, they're constantly telling me to kiss you."

"You should listen to them," Ron said in a 'spooky' voice. "They speak with wisdom…"

"Stop that," Daphne snorted. "You'll definitely get your kisses. I promised you, didn't I?"

"I'm not going to lie, I've been looking forward to it," Ron beamed as a cool breeze flew past them. _It's getting colder every day. It'll probably start raining a lot more often now, and then we'll get snow._

"Me too," Daphne said, her body moving closer to his.

"Are you cold?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. "Alright, let's go inside."

"I thought you wanted to enjoy the open space?" Daphne asked him.

"Not if it makes you miserable," Ron said, and then he let go of her hand in order to remove his cloak. "Here, put this over your cloak."

"You won't get cold?" Daphne asked as she took the cloak, and after Ron shook his head, she put his cloak over hers. It was much bigger than hers, which allowed her to wrap herself in it completely. "Thanks, Ron."

"Think nothing of it," Ron smiled, and the he put his right around her. _Damn, it's much colder now that I don't have a cloak. Don't bloody shiver, old boy. If you do, she'll know that you're just trying to act manly._ "So, where should we go?"

"The Broom Shed isn't too far from here," Daphne smirked.

"The Broom Shed?"

"Think about it, Ron," Daphne whispered. "It's isolated, no one will be there because classes are on, and we'll be safe from the cold."

"Isolated, you say?" Ron smirked back, and Daphne nodded before tugging him along.

"Let's go," Daphne laughed, and they both began moving with a much quicker pace. Before they knew it, they were both laughing wildly and sprinting towards the Broom Shed. Ron made sure to keep his speed in check, mostly because Daphne seemed to be enjoying beating him, but as they got closer to the shed, Ron quickly overtook her in order to reach the door first. _Yeah, I don't lose!_

"Damn your long legs," Daphne laughed, her hair slightly disheveled. "I nearly had you!"

"Whatever you say, Daph," Ron sniggered, and then he opened the door for her. "C'mon, let's go snog already!"

"Let me just catch my breath," Daphne giggled as she ran inside, and Ron quickly followed after her. Once they were inside, Ron shut the door.

"There's no lock on the door…" Ron frowned. "Do you know the Sealing Charm?"

"No… Do you?" Daphne panted, and Ron shook his head.

"I haven't really looked into it yet," Ron told her.

"The door opens inwards, right?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a quick nod. Daphne then walked up and pushed his back against the door. "There…"

"We're using me as a barrier?" Ron asked, but Daphne just leaned up and started peppering his face with kisses. Ron tried kissing her back, but he was struggling to match her passion. "Daph… Slow down a little… What's gotten into you?"

"Flowers," Daphne whispered, and then she all but licked the corner of his mouth. Ron's limbs felt like jelly at that, and he released a throaty groan. "You bought me flowers… You've been so sweet lately…"

"Right…" Ron breathed out, but before he could say anything else, she sealed his mouth with hers. Ron quickly felt her tongue playing with his, and he all but melted against the door. Daphne deepened the kiss even more, it was almost as if she wanted every part of her to be touching him at once. And then, she suddenly tripped forward into his arms. The kiss broke with a smacking sound, and Ron felt genuinely light-headed.

"Can you please lean down for me?" Daphne breathed out, her eyes glazed over. "You're too tall…"

"Wait here," Ron said, his eyes landing on a tall stool near the dusty old brooms. Ron then walked over to it, and once he had his hands around it, he brought it back and placed it against the door. Daphne eyed the dusty stool, while Ron took his cloak off of her.

"Ron, your cloak-" Daphne started, but Ron had already placed his cloak over the stool's dusty surface. Ron then put his hands under Daphne's armpits, and he lifted her up and placed her on the stool. Daphne let out a childish giggle at that, her back now resting against the door. "Merlin, you're really strong…"

"Do girls like that?" Ron asked as he placed his body between her legs, he just wanted to start snogging again.

"I don't know about other girls, but I really like it," Daphne smiled widely, her arms wrapping around his torso.

"That's all that matters then," Ron said before planting his lips on hers. Daphne noticed that he had to lean his neck forward to reach her mouth, so she quickly pulled his body against hers. Ron didn't even notice it, mostly because he was too busy enjoying the feel of her tongue against his. Her breath was slightly minty, and Ron figured that much like himself, she had used a Fresh Breath Charm on herself before they had left for their walk. For some odd reason, that made Ron chuckle into her mouth. _We were both planning on this happening._

"What?" Daphne breathed out, while Ron smiled against her lips.

"Nothing," Ron whispered, and then he planted several quick kisses around her mouth. _I should kiss her neck. She liked it when I gave her a love bite._ Ron moved his head down towards her neck, making sure to leave a trail of kisses along the way. Daphne simply let him do as he pleased, she was enjoying this far too much to protest. Ron suddenly licked her neck, and she burst into giggles.

"That tickles, Ron," Daphne laughed, but Ron simply did it again. She pulled her right arm back before planting her hand behind his head, while he nuzzled his face into her neck.

"You smell so nice," Ron breathed out, his mind felt completely wild. There were so many things to focus on right now, but he just couldn't concentrate. She smelled amazing like always, her skin felt so warm against his, and he just couldn't get over how soft she felt in his arms. He wanted to hug her into pieces. _**Ours… All Ours.**_ Ron released a growl against her throat, his teeth scraping her neck a little.

"Do you want to give me another love bite?" Daphne asked, her voice giving away her excitement. Ron nodded into her neck, while she planted a kiss on the side of his head. "Let me open my shirt a little."

"Hurry," Ron panted as he pulled his head back, why did he feel such an urgency to bite her? _**We must leave our Mark on her. WE MUST!**_ Daphne, in her haste, missed Ron's eyes turning toad-like for a moment, and much like her, Ron was keeping his eyes fixed solely on her erratic fingers. But when she opened one too many buttons, Ron suddenly felt jarred at the sight before him. _I can see the top of her cleavage!_

"Damn," Daphne whispered quickly, her hands covering her cleavage. She looked up with a slightly vulnerable look, only to see her boyfriend staring at her chest. His blue eyes were wide open and unmoving, which made her feel even more embarrassed. "I… I can't show you my shoulder without opening more of my shirt…"

"Cop a feel…" Ron mumbled to himself, he had only just noticed how big Daphne's bust looked in her school shirt. _It's because she's always wearing her robes, or her cloak. Look at it… It's amazing!_

"Cop a feel?" Daphne muttered, her eyes fixed on Ron's face.

"Can I?" Ron asked weakly, his eyes meeting hers.

"I don't know about that, Ron," Daphne whispered, and Ron blinked at her. _I'm taking things too far._

"Never mind," Ron shook his head clear. "I'm just a bit… overwhelmed. Let's just go back to kissing."

"Wait…" Daphne bit her bottom lip, and she immediately saw excitement flash over his face. "I felt up your arse, didn't I?" Ron nodded slowly at that. "You never got the chance to try it…" Daphne then drew in a deep breath, she really wanted to do something nice for him. Not only had he been extremely kind and sweet lately, but he had been so understanding as well. She had made an insane amount of demands from him, and he had fulfilled each and every one of them. "Twenty seconds, alright?"

"Really?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open.

"Twenty seconds, and don't be rough," Daphne whispered meekly, her heart was close to bursting. _Merlin… Sweet Lord, it's happening… Alright, be gentle. I can do that._

Ron raised up his shaky hands, his eyes focused on her chest. He could see the outline of her green bra, which only served to rile him up even more. And then, before he knew it, his hands were resting on her chest. A shaky breath escaped his mouth, which was followed by a powerful feeling of achievement. _Move your hands, you dunderhead. The clock's ticking._

"Just tell me whenever you want me to stop, alright?" Ron said, his eyes meeting Daphne's. "I'll stop right away, I promise."

"Okay…" Daphne nodded weakly, both of their faces were completely flushed. Ron quickly turned his attention back to her chest, which felt a little firm due to the bra. Ron couldn't help but wonder what her breasts would feel like without any form of barrier, he imagined that they'd be really soft. Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he gave them a squeeze. Daphne made a sound as soon as he did it, and he looked back at her face.

"Did that hurt?" Ron asked.

"They're developing… Don't put so much force on them…" Daphne replied, her face crimson.

"Developing?" Ron blinked. "They'll keep getting bigger?" _Please say yes! I already know that you'll grow into them!_

"I think so," Daphne sighed out. "My mother told me that the women from her side of the Family have always been 'big breasted'… She says that I shouldn't be embarrassed just because my chest is outgrowing my body…"

"She's right," Ron smiled at her, his hands still resting on her chest. "I think you're perfect, Daphne. I really do mean that."

"I feel disproportionate all the time, Ron," Daphne confessed, her voice sounded hurt. "I hate it…"

"I get that," Ron said, and then he kissed her nose. "I'm a foot taller than most of my classmates… Sometimes, I feel like the kid who flunked his classes and was held back."

"Really?" Daphne blinked, and Ron nodded. "Ron, that's awfully silly…"

"I know, but I still feel it sometimes," Ron told her.

"I get that," she copied his words, a weak smile appearing on her face. "So you really like my chest? You don't think that I look uneven?"

"I do like your chest, and if I ever do think that you're 'uneven', you can slap me in the face," Ron kissed her left cheek, and then he quickly kissed her right cheek as well. _She's soft all around._ He suddenly felt Daphne grab his face, and then she gave him a smothering kiss on the lips. For a moment, Ron forgot that his hands were still on her chest.

"I'm really glad that I met you, Ron," Daphne smiled against his lips. "I love you." Ron tensed for a moment, but then he quickly relaxed completely as his face lit up.

"I love you too, Daphne," Ron couldn't help but laugh, and then he moved his hand behind her back in order to hug her. "And I'm really glad that I met you too."

They stayed like that for a few moments, both of them just holding each other. Ron understood that they were far too attached to one another, especially for people their age, but he wouldn't have it any other way. His life was increasingly becoming darker by the day, but whenever he was with her, none of his problems mattered. He didn't think about the Future, or the Entity, or Fate, or the Dark Lord. Whenever he was with her, everything just felt so… normal. He felt so normal.

"Ron, can move your hips to the side a little?" Daphne whispered in his right ear. "Your penis is getting a little too close to my…" she trailed off. _Oh… OH! Fuck, I'm stiff as well!_

"Sorry," Ron whispered back, and then he repositioned himself. "Is that better?" Daphne kissed the side of his head in response, while he felt a little flustered. _Traitorous snake! Ha… Snake. The one-eyed snake of Ronald Weasley. I should get a sign made. Wait… What the fuck am I thinking?_

"What's it like to have a penis?" Daphne asked suddenly, and Ron released a shocked cackle. "I'm serious, Ron. Tell me."

"You really want to know?" Ron sniggered, and Daphne nodded as she tightened her hug.

"Who else can I talk to about this stuff?" Daphne asked in return. "And if you say my father, Ron, I'll turn you into a girl." _Shite, I was just about to say that._

"Well, it's a little inconvenient," Ron started. "It sort of has a mind of its own."

"Really?" Daphne asked, her disbelief evident.

"It feels like that lately," Ron admitted, he had no idea why he didn't feel shy right now. _It's just me and her, and I know that she'll never tell the others._ "I'll be minding my own business, and it just decides to… wake up."

"You get erect randomly?" Daphne asked slowly, and Ron nodded into her neck.

"It's not just me…" Ron replied. "Don't tell anyone this, but this morning, Theo wouldn't get out of bed because he woke up hard as a rock." Daphne released a giggle at that, while Ron just planted a kiss on her neck. "Blaise and I started teasing him, and that's why he called me your bitch. He got really embarrassed about it."

"You shouldn't tease each other about these things," Daphne said, though she was still giggling like a little girl.

"Tell me what it's like to have breasts," Ron said, and Daphne stopped laughing.

"I should've seen this coming," Daphne sighed, and then she began rubbing the back of his head. "It's different for every girl, I think. Mine feel heavy, and sometimes, they make my back hurt after a really long day. I think it's because the rest of my body isn't the right size for my chest… Anyway, they're sort of just there. Each girl has a unique pair. For example, Tracey's are a little more… athletic."

"You've seen Tracey naked?" Ron quickly asked, while Daphne planted another kiss on the side of his head.

"She's seen me naked as well," Daphne told him, her voice slightly scandalous.

"Wicked," Ron grinned against her neck.

"Actually, all of us girls have seen each other naked," Daphne told him, and Ron felt truly giddy at that. "Tracey actually sleeps naked, and whenever we're in the dorm, she usually doesn't wear anything but her panties."

"That's amazing!" Ron laughed, much to Daphne bemusement.

"You're so weird," Daphne giggled, her right hand still massaging the back of his head. "Wait… You haven't seen Blaise or Theo naked?"

"Fuck no," Ron lost his amusement.

"Not even once?" Daphne asked, and Ron made a gagging noise. "Seriously? How is that even possible? You live in the same room, and you lot only have one bathroom."

"Um… We respect each other's boundaries?" Ron countered. "If I woke up to find Blaise walking around naked, I'd kick him in the head. Plus, we just have an unspoken rule amongst us. We don't mention penises, we definitely don't mention **our** penises, and if we ever do, it's usually to tell the other person to suck said penis." _Stop saying penis, Ron!_ Daphne went to say something, but the sound of hail suddenly pelting the shed stopped her.

"Oh no…" Daphne muttered. "Ron, go look out the window."

"Okay," Ron agreed, and then he kissed her neck again before doing as he was told. "Fuck… It's really pouring out there…"

"Ugh…" Daphne groaned in an unladylike manner. "I can't get wet, Ron… I spent over thirty minutes on my hair today."

"Uh-huh," Ron nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on her completely disheveled hair. Daphne blinked at his stare, and then she felt up her hair.

"Merlin…" she sighed out, her hair was a mess. "I still don't want to get wet."

"We can just cuddle until the rain stops," Ron suggested, he definitely liked that idea.

"Boys usually don't ask for cuddles," Daphne pointed out, and Ron looked quite taken aback. "Well, that's what Pansy told me anyway."

"Really?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne quickly began shaking her head.

"Forget what I just said," Daphne said as she got off of the stool. "I love cuddling with you, Ron. Come here." _It's not weak of me to want cuddles, right? I mean, I really enjoy hugging her._ "Ron, I just said something stupid, please don't think too much on it." Daphne then placed both cloaks by the door, and then she beckoned him forward. Ron simply shrugged and walked up to her, why should he care about what other boys liked? He enjoyed holding onto girls, especially the blonde one in front of him.

* * *

 _ **Friday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Broom Shed – Nearly End of Classes)**_

"Daphne, I'm about to say something that might actually piss you off," Ron said, and Daphne turned her head to look at his face. "Marty…"

"Marty?" Daphne blinked, her back resting against his chest. "Wait… Ron, you dolt!"

"Yeah…" Ron mumbled, while Daphne shot up to her feet.

"We've been sitting here for nearly an hour, Ron!" Daphne exclaimed, her expression a mixture of frustration and disbelief. "And not once did you think to summon your House-Elf?! A House-Elf that literally works at this school!"

"I am not a smart man, but I am a loving man," Ron said in a sagely voice, which earned him a baffled look. "Not a good time to crack jokes?"

"Calm down, Daphne…" Daphne whispered to herself. "You knew what you were getting into…"

"For what it's worth, you didn't think of it either," Ron pointed out. "But I did. Eventually."

"Just call him, please," Daphne sighed out.

"You did enjoy the cuddling though, right?" Ron asked, and Daphne managed to give him a nod.

"I did," Daphne told him, she had no intention of turning him off of cuddling. "Now please call him. We've been gone for so long, I can't even imagine what the others might be thinking."

"Marty!" Ron called, and Marty suddenly snapped into the Broom Shed.

"Master called?" Marty bowed deeply, and then he looked around with a puzzled look. "Why are Master and Mistress in the Broom Shed?"

"We got trapped here because of the rain," Daphne replied quickly, and Marty gave her an understanding nod. "Do you mind taking us to the castle?"

"Of course not, Mistress," Marty smiled a toothy smile.

"Somewhere hidden will do, Marty," Ron said as he collected the cloaks. "I don't want anyone seeing you."

"Marty understands the need for secrecy," Marty nodded, and then he held his hands out. Ron and Daphne each took one, and then Marty apparated them back to Hogwarts. As soon as they landed, Daphne released a shaky breath and bent over. Ron, on the other hand, just felt a little lightheaded.

"I don't like that much," Daphne admitted, while both Marty and Ron rubbed her back.

"It gets easier with time, Mistress," Marty assured her. "Master used to get sick from it, but now he only looks dazed."

"C'mon, let's get you to the common room," Ron said, and then he looked around. "Marty, where are we?"

"An abandoned classroom on the third floor," Marty replied, and then he suddenly perked up. "Marty is being summoned to the Kitchens… Marty left his dish unattended."

"Oh, go on then," Ron said quickly, and Marty apparated away with a sorry grin. _Shite, I hope I didn't get him into any trouble._ "Daphne, can you walk?"

"Yes, I'm alright," Daphne stood upright, her hair disheveled again. "Let's just get back to the common room before the bell rings."

"We've got time," Ron looked at his Rolex. "Let's go." With that, they both began making their way out. When the entered the corridor, Daphne took his gloved hand in hers, and Ron had to remind himself that they could hold hands in public now.

"This is what we tell our friends," Daphne started. "We were enjoying a nice walk along the Black Lake, and then the rain started, which forced us to seek refuge in the Broom Shed. We spent most of the time talking, and then we kissed, but we didn't snog, and then you finally remembered that Marty could bring us back inside the castle."

"Got it," Ron gave her a nod. "Only one problem… Malfoy doesn't know about Marty. We'll just tell them that the rain stopped for a bit, and we both rushed in."

"Have you given any thought to our talk?" Daphne asked, and Ron let out an exaggerated groan. "Ron, the sooner we present ourselves to our parents, the sooner we can get on with our dating life."

"But tomorrow?" Ron whined. "Daphne, I have work with your father… After you go back to Hogwarts, I'll be stuck in a room with him for the rest of the day. It'll be so damn awkward between us."

"Please, Ron," Daphne pleaded. "For me?" _Get those big blue eyes away from me, woman!_

"Fine…" Ron said, his body deflating.

"Thank you," Daphne smiled widely, and then she quickly hid her smile.

"The portraits won't tattle on you, Daph," Ron said.

"You don't know that," Daphne said quickly, her eyes narrowing on the portrait of a woman spinning yarn. The woman gave Daphne a confused look, which only worsened when Daphne's eyes narrowed even more.

"I'm dating a crazy person," Ron joked, and Daphne tried to crush his hand. "Cute." Daphne simply stuck her nose up and huffed in indignation, much to Ron's amusement. They made their way down into the Dungeons, and once they were in front of the entrance, Daphne gave the password.

"Remember the plan, Ron," Daphne said, and Ron nodded.

"There you two are!" Pansy all but shrieked at the sight of them, something which made both Ron and Daphne jump. "Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?! Nearly two hours!"

"Pansy, please calm down," Millie sighed, her eyes fixed on her anxious friend.

"She's been biting her fingernails for the last thirty minutes," Blaise told them, he looked more bored than usual.

"Why wouldn't I be worried?" Pansy frowned at the others. "Nearly two hours! I was certain that the Giant Squid had eaten you both."

"You realize that I can kill that squid, right?" Ron asked her, which earned him wary looks. "Look, we got caught in the rain, and in order to keep dry, we hid in the Broom Shed."

"Hid, he says," Tracey sniggered, a proud smile on her face. "Ron left as a boy, but he's come back as a man! I just know it!"

"He does seem to be glowing," Theo smirked, while Tracey shot Ron a wink. _These two…_

"Can we sit down now?" Daphne asked Pansy, who gave her a strict nod. Daphne went and sat down with the girls, while Ron planted himself by the fire. _Finally, some fucking warmth._

"Well?" Pansy asked, and Ron turned his head to face her. "Did you two at least kiss?"

"We kissed," Daphne said rather coldly, but it didn't matter to Tracey and Pansy, who both squealed in excitement.

"How was it?" Tracey asked quickly, while Ron turned back to stare at the fire. This was a conversation that he wanted no part in. He himself had wanted a more direct approach in shutting down his friends' intrigue, but Daphne had cautioned him against it. _She wanted to handle this 'diplomatically', then she can deal with Tracey and Pansy._

"It was quite fun," Daphne told the girls. "Ron's a very good kisser." _As if… Neither of us know what we're doing, we just enjoy doing it._

"That's always a plus," Pansy nodded, and Ron couldn't help but roll his eyes at the flames. _She's never even kissed anyone besides me._ And then, much to Ron's surprise, Malfoy joined him by the fire. Ron shot Malfoy a curious look, only to see the boy staring at him with his dead-eyed expression.

"Can I help you?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards his friends. All of them had noticed Malfoy's move, but none of them made any comments on it. _They must know what he wants, which means that he spoke to them before he spoke to me._

"Hogsmeade Weekend is coming up," Malfoy said.

"I already have a date, Malfoy," Ron smirked, while Malfoy looked anything but amused. "Ask Theo, he's the desperate sort."

"Fuck you, mate," came Theo's voice.

"You probably would, you desperate twat," Ron shot Theo a grin, which made Theo snigger.

"Are you done?" Malfoy asked, and Ron simply shrugged. "I've decided to stay behind in the castle. You can all enjoy your day out without me."

"How noble of you," Ron said, his voice losing all of its mirth. "Tell me, Malfoy… If one of Flint's lackeys decide to stay behind, then what? Are you going to fight them off alone?"

"Nothing will happen," Malfoy said coldly. "I plan to stay in that secret room of yours for the whole day."

"Do you really want to?" Ron asked.

"What does that mean?" Malfoy asked in return.

"Do you want to miss out on Hogsmeade?" Ron clarified, and Malfoy just stared at him. "I'll take that as a no. Cut the heroic act, Malfoy, it doesn't suit you." _Not yet, that is._ "You're coming with us, and that's final. You don't get to make any decisions. Now… Go and get your books ready for the study group." Malfoy lips twisted into a frown, but one angry look from Ron sent him packing.

"Why did you do that?" Tracey asked once Malfoy had disappeared, and Ron looked to her. "He was offering to leave us be… Why did you refuse him?"

"I don't trust him to be out of my sight," Ron replied, while his friends just exchanged looks. "The first and second years are staying behind, aren't they? I don't want him talking to them."

"You're being a little paranoid, Ron," Daphne couldn't help but point out. _Hello, I'm Ronald Weasley. Haven't we met before?_

"Yeah, leave him here," Theo added. "We'll all be happier for it." Theo then looked to Blaise, who was just staring at Ron. "Blaise? Got anything to say?"

"If Ron doesn't trust him, then neither do I," Blaise said, his eyes traveling to the others. "I'll stick with Malfoy at Hogsmeade. The rest of you can go about your day-"

"What? No," Millie shook her head. "We all stick together, including Malfoy. Why even take the risk of running into Flint's gang alone?" _Flint's gang… I'm really getting sick of that Troll-faced cunt. I have more important things to worry about than Flint._

"Flint won't be a problem for long," Ron promised his friends, who all blinked at him.

"What do you mean?" Pansy asked. "He's not going to let us third years walk all over him. And he's stupid enough to take things too far, Ron… You know that."

"Don't worry about it," Ron told his friends. "Just go and get your books for the study group." _Flint… What a nuisance. I need to speak with the Triumvirate tonight. If I can win them back, it'll definitely help me get Flint off of our backs._

* * *

 _ **Friday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Study Group)**_

"Hello, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted, while Ron shut the door behind himself. "How was your study group today?"

"It went well," Ron smiled at the old man, and then he walked over and took a seat. "Just a couple of problems, but nothing that I can't solve."

"Problems?" Dumbledore asked.

"My girlfriend's little sister, Astoria, spent the whole session pouting miserably, while Hermione got into an argument with Fay and Padma for sharing answers," Ron replied. "Hermione meant well, of course, but she has a tendency to nag people into a rage. Oh, and Harry and Ginny didn't show up. Ginny doesn't want to face me right now, but Harry openly refused to join Neville and Hermione."

"Harry is still displeased with you?" Dumbledore asked, he sounded far too calm for Ron's liking.

"He is," Ron shrugged. "And no, I'm not going to go out of my way to befriend him right now. I have my own problems to deal with, and Harry's tantrum is pretty low on my list of priorities."

"You can't expect him to take the first step if you aren't willing to, dear boy," Dumbledore said.

"I have taken the first step," Ron told the old wizard. "I haven't beaten the piss out of him yet, that's my first step… Anyway, once Sirius and you start treating him like the princess that he is, he'll forget all about me."

"And if he doesn't?" Dumbledore asked, he didn't like Ron's cold words very much.

"Then I'll bend him over my knee and spank him," Ron smirked. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to jeopardize your plans for him. Even if I still believe that you should let him in on them."

"Harry deserves a chance at a normal childhood," Dumbledore told Ron.

"Does he now?" Ron frowned a little. _Harry Potter 'deserves' happiness, does he?_ "And why is it that you believe that?"

"He's lived a very difficult life, Ronald," Dumbledore replied. "And his path grows darker by the day."

"Everyone's path grows darker by the day," Ron countered. "You think the Dark Lord only wants Harry's life? Everyone in the World is at risk, not just Harry. As for his childhood… He isn't the only orphan from the war. There are orphans who still live on the streets, and orphans who were shipped off to other countries because our own orphanages were full."

"Ronald-"

"I know that it's a cold thing to say, but it's the truth," Ron cut in. "Yeah, he lost his parents… He grew up with Muggles who hated him… All of that is terrible, and I do feel sorry for him. But what I don't understand is why you put him on this pedestal. Why you constantly overlook his self-absorbed behavior, all the while calling me out on mine. Harry's nothing special. He's a slightly above average wizard, a slightly below average student, and he cares more about flying his broom than he does about preparing for a war that he knows is coming. So why? Why does Harry Potter deserve this bias treatment from you, and from everyone in this country?"

"Harry is the only one who can defeat the Dark Lord," Dumbledore replied, and Ron realized what Dumbledore meant.

"You want him to love you so much that he just blindly follows your orders?" Ron asked, and for a moment, Dumbledore looked ashamed. "I wonder what Harry would think about that. I wonder what my Family, who worship you, would think about that."

"Where is this coming from, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron simply shrugged.

"I just don't like people like Harry," Ron admitted. "He's done nothing to earn his laurels, nor does he have any right to interfere in other people's business. He thinks he does, but that's only because people like **you** let him believe that. I mean, just think about it. He openly breaks the rules, and you reward him for it. My friends and I found the Chamber, but you gave Harry and Neville four hundred House Points, and in doing so, handed them the House Cup. He was labeled the school's savior, while I was left petrified at my own sister's hands. He now believes that snooping around in other people's lives will always work out for him, just like it has over the past two years."

"Your sister's absence from your study group bothers you," Dumbledore noted, now it all made sense. "You believe that Harry is responsible for her recent coldness."

"I do believe that," Ron said coldly. "He's been telling everyone in Gryffindor that I'm 'not to be trusted'… My sister believes Harry to be this 'savior', and so she's happily turned against me in order to garner his attention."

"Harry speaks to the other Gryffindors about you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Parvati mentioned it today," Ron said, his eyes digging into the Headmaster's. "He saw me returning from your Office yesterday, and that was enough to set him off again. Apparently, even Neville and Hermione tried to shut him down, but people like Finnegan and McLaggen voiced their own concerns about me. They told the Gryffindor first years about my 'dubious nature', something that made them rather wary of me today. His obsession with me is starting to get in my way, Headmaster."

"I will do something about this, Ronald. You have my word," Dumbledore promised, his left hand pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Please do," Ron said, why was he even taking his anger out on Dumbledore? _It's not like the old man has owns Harry._ "I've worked very hard to bring this study group together, Headmaster… I've endured insults, scorn, mistrust, and even open hostilities from my fellow Slytherins. And now Harry Potter is becoming a threat to it, and as you know, I really dislike threats. Please just do something about him."

"I will," Dumbledore said, and Ron gave him a quick nod. _I guess it's out of my hands for now._ "You seem tired, Ronald. Perhaps we should postpone your lesson?"

"No, let's not do that," Ron quickly sat up, and then he reached into his robes and pulled out his second vial of Nutrition Potion. "I just haven't had my second dose today." Ron then quickly drank down the potion, his face twisting from disgust. "I swear to Merlin… This Potion's flavor just keeps getting worse."

"Here," Dumbledore said, and then with a wave of his hand, he Conjured up a goblet full of pumpkin juice. _Now that, I want to learn._

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he quickly washed down the taste of the Nutrition Potion. _So much better._ "It's weird, but lately, I just can't stay awake without my second dose. I just lose all the strength in my body if I don't have it."

"It is a side-effect of the Potion," Dumbledore told him. "Your body relies on the extra nutrients from the Potion. If you keep having it on time, then it will keep you strong and healthy. But if you forget to take it, then your body begins to burn through nutrients that it doesn't have."

"So I'm addicted to this?" Ron asked, why hadn't he questioned Pomfrey about this?

"Not addicted, just reliant," Dumbledore replied. "The difference is subtle, but also quite glaring."

"Can we get started?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave him a nod.

"Very well," Dumbledore started. "Conjuration is an advanced form of Transfiguration, and it is considered to be one of the most difficult branches of Magic to master. Whereas simple Transfiguration requires an object to be present, Conjuration has no such limitations. The only form of Transfiguration that is more difficult than Conjuration is Human Transfiguration. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes," Ron nodded. "Though it does sound like you're trying to intimidate me."

"I just want you to go in with realistic expectations," Dumbledore assured him. "The most important thing to understand about Conjuration is that it is limited by the rules of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Do you know what that is?"

"Nope," Ron shook his head.

"It simply refers to what Magic is capable of creating," Dumbledore explained. "The only thing that you need to understand about Gamp's Law is that it has five exceptions. These five exceptions cannot be achieved, no matter how skilled a wizard or witch is. The first exception is food. No one can create food out of thin air, it can be summoned, but it cannot be created. The second exception is money. Money, especially Wizarding Money, cannot be created out of thin air. You cannot even transfigure an object into a pile of Galleons, because upon closer inspection, your Transfigured Galleons would not share the qualities of Gold. Not one hundred percent, at least. There are dozens of safeguards built to avoid the creation of money, and most of them were created by the Goblin Kings of Old. This rule cannot be cheated."

"The third exception is the reversal of Curse Damage," Dumbledore went on. "Dark Magic always leaves behind traces, which is why if one is left scarred by it, they cannot be completely healed. Scars will forever remain."

"Is that why I look like a Werewolf's chew toy underneath my clothes?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore grimaced.

"Not how I would describe you, but in essence, yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Poppy did her best, but even with her prestigious skill in the Healing Arts, she could do very little when it came to your scars."

"What are the last two exceptions?" Ron asked, he didn't want to discuss his scars at all.

"The fourth exception is Death itself," Dumbledore replied, and Ron listened intently. "Bringing the dead back to life is impossible. It cannot be done."

"But I've technically died four hundred and sixty three times," Ron said, and Dumbledore drew in a deep breath.

"The powers behind your Cycles are beyond our very comprehension, Ronald," Dumbledore started, he always felt uneasy whenever he thought about them. "From what you've told me, the Rules of Creation are at their beck and call. I imagine that there is nothing that they can't do. They are only limited by the rules that they have set upon themselves, which is something that we should all be grateful for."

"Too bad one of those rules wasn't 'Leave Ronald Weasley's arse alone'…" Ron sighed out.

"Let us not dwell on such matters, because at the end of the day, there is nothing that we can do about it," Dumbledore said, and Ron simply shrugged. _Once my Cycle succeeds, maybe I can live a normal life._ "The fifth, and final, exception is that one cannot create life that does not exist."

"That one seems slightly… obvious," Ron noted.

"And yet, it is perhaps the one exception that most ambitious wizards and witches often forget," Dumbledore told Ron. "No one can Conjure up a being that does not exist, be it man or animal. Now, if Conjuration is performed poorly, one can Conjure up a mixture of two or more creatures, but these 'new' creatures die very quickly. There is only one wizard in History that may have potentially broken the final exception… A truly Dark Wizard by the name of Ekrizdis, who is rumored to have created the Dementors of Azkaban out of sheer malice alone. But then again, these are just rumors. Ekrizdis died alone, and any answers that he may have provided the Ministry died with him."

"He created the Dementors?" Ron blinked.

"May have," Dumbledore repeated. "However, he did create Azkaban as his own personal fortress. He lured Muggles onto the island in droves, and then he experimented on them. When the island was first discovered after Ekrizdis' death, the Ministry's investigators were driven mad by what they saw within. According to the few who could even manage to speak, Dementors were one of the least terrifying things inside. The island was purged of all life, except the Dementors, who cannot be destroyed."

"Azkaban… Fucking hell on Earth…" Ron muttered, he never wanted to see that place. _To think that Sirius survived ten years in that place. The sheer fucking willpower of that man is astounding._

"I find it difficult to disagree with you on this, Ronald," Dumbledore said, even he dreaded going to that place. "But we are veering off topic. Just make sure that you understand, and respect, these five exceptions."

"I promise, Headmaster," Ron agreed, and Dumbledore shot him a warm smile.

"Good man," Dumbledore said in a kind voice, and Ron couldn't help but smile back. "Now, there are some Conjurations that have been… streamlined… over the years."

"Streamlined?" Ron asked.

"Made very simple for everyone's use," Dumbledore clarified. "For example, Aguamenti."

"The Water Making Charm?" Ron asked.

"Not 'making', Ronald," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and Ron nodded in understanding.

"You can't make food," Ron stated.

"Exactly, my boy. Exactly," Dumbledore beamed, and Ron beamed too. _I like his lessons, he's so… nice… about it._ "Aguamenti merely Conjures up drinkable water from a drinkable water source. It can be from any random drinkable water source around the Globe, and you'd never even know which country the water came from. The Spell was created solely because it was widely needed at the time of its creation. Why don't you tell me of a Spell that could be considered Conjuration?" Ron thought about it for a few seconds, and then he had answer.

"Serpensortia," Ron replied, though it sounded more like a question.

"Ten point to Slytherin," Dumbledore nodded, and Ron mentally patted his own back. "With Serpensortia, you are Conjuring up a random serpent from around the Globe. You have no idea where it comes from, nor do you know what kind of serpent it will be, but the Spell finds you what you need. Now, what would happen if you needed a glass full of salt?"

"I'm guessing there's no Spell for that," Ron said.

"There isn't," Dumbledore said, and then he waved his right hand in front of him, and a glass full of salt appeared out of thin air.

"Woah!" Ron exclaimed, his face lighting up. "Bloody hell! That was so damn wicked! How did you do that?"

"What you just witnessed is called 'True Conjuration'," Dumbledore chuckled, Ronald was certainly an excitable young man. "Basically, Conjuration is the Art of Summoning what you need out of thin air. It is **not** creation, merely summoning. The object of your needs must already exist, otherwise it cannot be summoned. Many Spells have been created to make Conjuration easier, but True Conjuration is very difficult to master. It requires creativity, but more importantly, knowledge of **what** you need and **where** to find it."

"Take this glass full of salt for example," Dumbledore went on, and Ron hung off of his every word. "The glass is from the Hogwarts Kitchens, it used to sit on a shelf by the third fireplace from the entrance. I knew where it was, and I knew that I wanted it filled with salt."

"So the salt also came from the Kitchens?" Ron asked.

"It did," Dumbledore replied. "Now listen closely, because this is the tricky part. If I wanted a glass full of salt, which item would I summon first?"

"The glass," Ron replied immediately. "Otherwise, there'd be no place for the salt to go, and it would just make a mess."

"Ten more points for Slytherin, dear boy," Dumbledore smiled proudly, and Ron felt like a giddy toddler. "This is where your creativity comes in. You must understand the properties of what you are Conjuring, because if you don't, you will undoubtedly fail. In order to summon a glass full of salt, I first summoned the glass from a place where I knew one was being kept. And then I immediately summoned enough salt to fill said glass, because I know the glasses dimensions."

"So you needed to know where the salt and glass were, and you also needed to know what kind of glass you wanted," Ron summarized, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "But you Conjured it in less than a second…"

"Years of practice, my boy," Dumbledore chuckled, while Ron just gave him an awed look. "Conjuration is very difficult to master, but its uses are infinite, just like a person's imagination. I once saw an African Wizard Conjure up a flaming carriage, one that flew away once he took his seat. And yes, he did it without a wand."

"Firstly, that African Wizard has my respect," Ron started. "Secondly, how do I go about actually summoning something? I mean, if it doesn't have a Spell associated with it, how do I Conjure it up?"

"I will teach you a method now," Dumbledore replied, and Ron wished that he had brought a quill to take down notes. _I'll be able to Conjure one someday!_ "When I was the Transfiguration Professor here, I devised a particularly helpful method of teaching Conjuration."

"You used to teach Transfiguration?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore nodded with a nostalgic smile. "Odd… I had you pegged as more of a D.A.D.A Professor."

"Fighting was something that I actively avoided in my younger years," Dumbledore told Ron, who just blinked at him.

"But you defeated Gellert Grindelwald," Ron stated.

"Yes… I did…" Dumbledore said, his voice losing some of its cheer. "And then I returned to my post as the Transfiguration Professor of Hogwarts. We're veering off topic once again."

"Right," Ron nodded slowly, he could see that something had gotten under Dumbledore's skin. _It happened as soon as I mentioned Gellert Grindelwald._

"The method that I devised was as follows," Dumbledore started, his mind banishing any fond memories of Gellert. "You must learn to cast the Avis Charm both Wandlessly and Non-verbally."

"Avis?" Ron asked, he didn't know what Spell that was.

"Whereas Serpensortia summons a serpent, Avis summons a flock of birds," Dumbledore told him. "It is significantly more difficult than Serpensortia, but in this case, that's a good thing. Master the Avis Charm with your wand first, and then begin learning to summon the birds without the aid of a wand and incantation. It will create the perfect building block for you to learn how to summon things that don't have an incantation attached to them. After you've mastered the Avis Charm, come back to me to continue your training."

"Are you going to show me how to cast Avis?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied, and Ron quickly pulled out his wand.

* * *

 _ **Friday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

"There goes Carey Ductu," Blaise said, and they all looked to see Carey Ductu leaving for the girls' dorms. "I can come with you, Ron. It's my fault that-"

"Nothing is your fault, Blaise," Tracey said quickly, while the others nodded. "It's **his**." Tracey then glared at Malfoy, and he merely cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Go to our room," Ron said, and then he looked to Millie. "If Flint or his gang try anything, teach them a lesson."

"Oh, I will," Millie smirked, and then she gestured the others to follow her.

"Daphne, wait a moment," Ron said, and Daphne stopped. The others shot them quick looks, during which Pansy smiled in a scandalous manner, and then they all left.

"What is it? Do you want me to come with you?" Daphne asked.

"Did you send Marty to alert your parents?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod.

"It'll be fine, Ron," Daphne said reassuringly, though her cold expression didn't change whatsoever. "I'll be right there with you, I promise. There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You don't know my mum," Ron grimaced, Daphne had insisted that Molly and Arthur be there as well.

"I'd like a chance to," Daphne said, and Ron felt his heartstrings tighten. _Damn her cuteness!_

"Sorry, I'll stop being a little girl now," Ron sighed.

"Finally," Daphne smirked, and Ron gave her a deadpan look.

"Can I have a good luck kiss?" Ron asked, and Daphne looked around them.

"We're surrounded by people," Daphne replied slowly.

"But we're a couple now," Ron countered. "C'mon, Daph… I'm about to go fight a war to keep us safe. To keep our children safe."

"Did you just refer to our friends as our children?" Daphne asked, and Ron suddenly grinned.

"It does feel that way sometimes," Ron told her. "Actually, you're all like my children… Even you."

"I'm going to stop this disgusting conversation right here and now," Daphne said firmly, and then she leaned up and pecked his lips. "There, now go and win Carey Ductu over."

"All I do is win," Ron gave her a wink, and her lips twitched upwards. "I'll see you soon, girlfriend."

"Bye, boyfriend," Daphne gave him a quick smile, and then she left for the boys' room. Once she was out of sight, Ron lost his grin and rubbed his face. _This is going to be so awkward. Not to mention demeaning. I'm basically going back to them with my tail tucked between my legs._

Ron then thought about the fact that his friends were being forced to skulk around the school, and how much they dreaded being separated. That gave him some much needed strength to toss his pride and self-respect aside, he was doing this so that they could start enjoying Hogwarts again. He himself didn't mind spending most of his time inside the Sanctuary, but he knew that his friends were starting to hate it. Especially Pansy, Tracey, and Theo, all of whom preferred the open space of the Courtyard. Even Daphne was getting sick of the Sanctuary, which is why she wanted to go on long walks around school.

Ron then began making his way towards the Triumvirate's room, he could only pray that they wouldn't make this too hard on him. Ron wasn't as oblivious as most people thought, at least not when it came to potential threats. The Triumvirate were kind and even loving towards him, but he knew what they were. They were the three most ruthless students in Slytherin, and they had Snape standing behind them. Tradition was everything in Slytherin, and by tradition, the Triumvirate held all the power in the House. Ron could certainly intimidate them, or even hurt them, but that would only serve to alienate his interests from theirs. No, the only strategic thing that he could do was to realign his goals with theirs, and just hope that they didn't embarrass him too much.

"Ronald?" came Carey's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. Carey was standing with a sixth year student, both girls staring at him. "What are you doing in the girls' dorm?" _Making Fred and George proud…_

"I was hoping to talk to you," Ron replied, and Carey gave him a nod.

"Tanya, we'll speak about your job tomorrow," Carey said, and the sixth year girl gave her a nod and left. "Follow me." With that, Carey began making her way towards her room, and Ron followed after her. They walked in silence, and despite wanting to break it, Ron had no idea how to start. Carey opened the door to her room, and then she gestured Ron inside. Ron entered the room quietly, and much to his relief, Clara and Samantha weren't there.

"Where are Clara and Samantha?" Ron asked.

"Clara and Samantha?" Carey asked as she closed the door, and Ron turned to look at her. "Not Selwyn and Martyris?"

"Not my finest moment," Ron admitted, and Carey waited for him to go on. "I was… not in a good place… when we talked about the Dueling Club. Actually, my mind was fixed on my little sister throughout that conversation."

"Ginevra Weasley," Carey said, and Ron nodded. "For what it's worth, Ronald, I'm sorry that she spoke to you in such a manner."

"It is what it is," Ron sighed, this wasn't the time to bring up Ginny.

"Indeed, it is," Carey said, and then she walked over to her bed and sat down on its edge. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about Flint," Ron started. _Just do it, Ron. Do it, and then tell the others that everything went perfectly well._

"Now you want to talk about him, do you?" Carey asked, her voice slightly bitter. "You… I'm just so…" Carey just stopped at that, a look of anger and hurt crossing her face. "Apologize right now, Ronald."

"I'm not apologizing for helping my friend," Ron said, and once again, anger and hurt crossed her face.

"I'm not asking you to apologize for that," Carey told him, and Ron was a little taken aback by that. "Apologize for not trusting us… For not trusting **me**."

"For not trusting you?" Ron asked slowly.

"I have never given you reason to doubt me," Carey said. "You were in trouble, and instead of coming to me, you took things into your own hands. You decided that causing instability within the House was preferable to trusting me. Isn't that right?" Ron just stared at her, she had turned cold because she was hurt? "Don't even try to deny it, just say it."

"I… I didn't trust you to help me," Ron admitted, and Carey's face became slightly somber. "Malfoy told me what you did to him, and so I decided to keep it all away from you."

"I used to defend you last year, you know," Carey told him, and Ron blinked at her. "After you made that speech about 'kicking the Heir's arse', so many people wanted to string you up. The Triumvirate wanted to string you up… But I talked them all down one by one. I told them just how valuable you were, and that you were one of **us**. I told them that just because you had red hair didn't mean that you weren't a Slytherin."

"You did that for me?" Ron asked, a slight feeling of shame waking up in his mind.

"Clara and Samantha were right there with me," Carey looked away from him, her expression cold again. "And yes, we defended you because we wanted to keep you on our side. But we also did it because we are fond of you. You're different, just like us. You value loyalty and friendship over ruthlessness and needless cruelty. And no, Ronald, what we did to Malfoy wasn't cruel. He had it coming for a long time, something you yourself believe. The worst part about this mess is that you thought that we'd turn on you. That I'd turn on you, when in truth, I would have helped you. I would've convinced Professor Snape to set Malfoy free from his Quidditch responsibilities, and instead of this decision coming from a third year, it would have come from the Triumvirate itself."

"But now…" Carey went on, while Ron just stood quietly. "Now we have to rely on people like Tanya, who is completely spineless, to keep the peace. The other three Houses already have their Quidditch Teams set up, while Flint is still searching for a worthy Seeker for Slytherin. People are getting anxious, none of us want to be turned into a joke, but you don't even know that because you and your friends disappear after classes every day. You hurt this House instead of trusting me. And then, you had the gall to call me more petty than intelligent."

"I'm sorry for not trusting you," Ron apologized. "I didn't know that you protected me last year, nor do I believe you to be petty. I gave into my anger and said something stupid, and I'm sorry if that hurt you. Is the House really in that much trouble?"

"Not anymore," Carey replied. "We've taken care of most of the damage."

"The damage?" Ron asked, and Carey just stared at him.

"What do you think happens when the prized employee rebels against management?" Carey asked. "Humor me."

"I don't know," Ron admitted, he couldn't really think of anything.

"Alright, then let me rephrase it," Carey said. "If you were the king on a Chessboard, and out of nowhere, your queen decided to up and leave, what do you think would happen?" _Oh._

"You'd lose the match," Ron replied, and she gave him a slow nod.

"We gave you a lot of power, Ron," Carey told him. "And yes, you definitely earned it, but it was still us who put you above others. We told you of our plans before we told anyone, and we did that because we trusted you. But when the time came for you to trust us, you chose to go astray. How do you think that makes us look to the others?"

"Not good," Ron replied.

"We have sixth years openly questioning our judgement, while the younger years still want you to be in charge of them," Carey shook her head. "While Flint is making far too much noise about his 'gutted' Quidditch Team. And where are you for all of this? Hiding away on the seventh floor." _She knows?!_ "Don't worry, most people haven't caught onto your hiding place. Even I don't know where it is, all I know is that you blew a hole into the seventh floor, so I can only assume that it's somewhere up there." Carey then stood up and walked over to Ron, and he made sure to keep eye contact with her.

"You and your friends have abandoned your posts," Carey said, her voice was just cold. "The first years are still doing splendidly, and the second years are finally starting to shape up, but neither group has a leader at the helm. It might be working right now, but without a decisive force driving them forward, they will crumble. Do you understand?"

"You want us to come back," Ron replied, and Carey gave him a nod. "What about Flint?"

"Despite being a brute, he's still doing his part for the House," Carey replied. "He's holding Seeker trials almost daily, and he's only ever in the common room after dinner. I'm not promising you help, Ron. I'm merely telling you to come back. You have a job assigned to you, and if you don't complete it, then we will take Flint's side in your little pissing match."

"So I'm still on my own," Ron realized.

"You did this to yourself by running away," Carey told him. "Did you really expect us to take your side after you openly undermined our authority before fleeing? The rest of the House would not stand for it, they'd accuse us of favoritism, which would be followed up by tantrums and rebellion. When you come back, we'll make sure that Flint keeps the peace, but we won't take any sides. No more favoritism, Ron."

"I understand," Ron said, he knew that she wasn't going to change her mind. _I know that I wouldn't._

"You are dismissed then," Carey said, and then she walked back to her bed. Ron turned around and walked up to the door, but he stopped before opening it.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you," Ron apologized one more time, and then he opened the door, only to come face to face with Samantha and Clara. Both girls stepped aside for him, and Ron walked past them in order to rejoin his friends. _So we come back to go about our usual lives, but nothing's changed with Flint. Fuck… At least she promised me that she'll tell Flint to keep the peace. At this point, I can only take her word for it._

"Ron, wait," came a voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Clara approaching him.

"Hello," Ron greeted her, and she gave him a soft smile.

"So you're coming back?" Clara asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "Good. I've missed seeing you around the common room."

"You have?" Ron asked, his face mimicking her smile.

"Sammy and Carey have too, but they're too proud to admit it," Clara whispered, and then she put her hand on his cheek. Ron leaned into her soft touch, and she began to stroke his cheek with her thumb. "Just give them a little time, alright? It's hard for them to open up to other people, especially Sammy."

"I'm sorry for calling you three petty," Ron apologized.

"You were being pushed into a corner, and when we pressed you, you lashed out," Clara said with an understanding voice. "I forgive you, and so do the others. They'll come around, I promise."

"Okay," Ron nodded weakly, and Clara held his face with both hands.

"We've all been discussing your business, Ron," Clara told him, and Ron blinked at her. "The brochure didn't really explain what 'The Quibbler' was going to be about, but we all still want to know more about you is what I'm getting at. You haven't been forgotten."

"Thanks, Clara," Ron managed a weak smile. "You've always been really kind to me." Ron couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at his own words, he shouldn't have lashed out at them just because he was in trouble. _It was foolish, and it's wasted my time._

"What can I say? I'm powerless against cute boys," Clara hummed, and Ron let out a soft chuckle. "Once you come back, make sure that you do an exemplary job with your first years. Carey and Sammy want you back, Ron. They're just waiting for a reason to embrace you again."

"I won't let you down," Ron promised, and Clara leaned up and kissed his forehead. Ron didn't even tense this time, he knew that Clara preferred to show affection quite openly.

"I know," Clara smiled, and then she let go of him. "Goodnight, Ron."

"Goodnight, Clara," Ron said, and then he turned around and left.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Snape's Office – Early Morning)**_

'And you will both be gone for the entire day?" Snape asked, and both Ron and Daphne nodded. "Very well, I will sign your papers, Mss. Greengrass." Snape then proceeded to write up her absence.

"Thank you, Sir," Daphne said, her Ice-Queen persona in place. _She's dreading this now, isn't she?_ Ron knew now that Daphne only became the Ice-Queen when she was either nervous, or downright pissed off.

"You may both leave now," Snape said, his eyes still on his work. _Right._

"Let's go," Ron said, and then he walked over to the fireplace. Daphne followed after him slowly, which only strengthened Ron's belief that she was starting to lose her nerve. Ron took a pinch of floo-powder, and he cast it into the fire as he called for Greengrass Manor. The fire blazed green, and Ron looked to Daphne.

"C'mon," Ron smiled, and then he held out his gloved hand. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can move on with our dating life."

"I know, I'm the one who said that," Daphne said, and she took his hand. "It's just that…" she trailed off.

"You're worried about what they may say?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a nod.

"Ahem," Snape cleared his throat, and Daphne quickly took Ron's hand. _What a prick._

"Let's go," Daphne said, and they both stepped through the fire. The moment they stepped into the Greeting Room, they saw Mary waiting for them with a smile. Her eyes immediately darted to their joined hands, and her smile widened.

"Good morning, mother," Daphne greeted, and then she let go of Ron's hand.

"It's good to see you again, love," Mary greeted back, and then she looked to Ron. "Welcome back, Ron."

"Thank you," Ron smiled at her. "Are my parents here yet?"

"No, and they won't be here until the afternoon," Mary told him. "I thought it best to do this over lunch in the Gardens."

"That's a great idea, mother," Daphne said, she sounded rather relieved. _This was her idea in the first place._ "Is… Is father in his study?"

"Don't be so nervous, love," Mary said as she walked up to Daphne, her hands immediately fixing up her daughter's hair. "Ron and your father will join us for lunch."

"Oh," Daphne muttered. "He's not angry with me, is he?"

"No, and if he was, I'd set him straight," Mary replied, a motherly smile on her face. "Ron, why don't you go about your day with Sebastian? I wish to take my daughter to Diagon Alley."

"Diagon Alley?" Ron asked.

"I wish to spend the day with my daughter," Mary replied, and Ron could only give her a nod. _Daphne's in for a 'talk', isn't she?_

"I'll see you at lunch then," Ron said, and after shooting Daphne a quick look, he began making his way towards the Study. _Merlin, time for the most awkward training session of my life._ The closer he got to the Study, the more nervous he became. Once he was at the door, he drew in a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in," came his Mentor's voice, and Ron entered the Study.

"Good morning, my Lord," Ron greeted as he closed the door behind himself, while his Mentor stood facing the fire.

"Good morning to you as well, Ron," Lord Greengrass responded, and then he turned to face Ron. "My daughter came with you?"

"Mary has taken her to Diagon Alley by now," Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass gave him a nod. "We're to have lunch with them, and my parents, in the Gardens."

"I am aware," Lord Greengrass said, his eyes fixed on Ron. "Take a seat, we have work to do." Ron quickly made his way to his seat, and once he was sitting down, Lord Greengrass handed him a new book.

"Advanced Chess Tactics: The Art of Warfare on a Board," Ron read the cover, and then he looked to Lord Greengrass.

"The exercises inside this book are significantly harder than what you've done so far," Lord Greengrass told him. _Really?_ "I expect twenty of the first ones done in the next three hours."

"Three hours?" Ron asked, that was nowhere near enough time.

"Did I stutter?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron slowly shook his head. "Get to work." _Fuck me._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Lunch)**_

"Let's just get this done," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron nodded his agreement. _My fucking brain hurts._ In the end, Ron had only managed to complete twelve exercises out of the twenty, which had earned him some rather hurtful words about his 'incompetence'. It was obvious that Lord Greengrass was very possessive of his daughters, and Ron found it incredibly unfair that he alone was paying the price for Daphne and Ron's decision to date. _Just be man, Ron. Think about Daphne, and just be a man._

They both exited Greengrass Manor and stepped out into the Gardens, theirs eyes traveling towards a round marble table set up specifically for this lunch. Ron immediately froze at the sight of his parents sitting by Daphne's side, his mother had a bunch of photos in her hand. _AGHHHH!_ He could see the laughter on Daphne's face, which only served to horrify him. _What's on those photos?!_

"Ron!" his father called, a bright smile taking up his face. Molly looked up at that, and she too smiled at him.

"Let me see those pictures," Ron demanded as soon as he approached them, his gloved hand extended.

"Don't be so rude, Ron," Daphne frowned at him, which made both Molly and Arthur chuckle. Lord Greengrass simply walked up to his wife's side and sat down, a dead expression on his face.

"These are just pictures of you when you were little," Molly told him, and Ron narrowed his eyes on her.

"Baby pictures?" Ron asked, and she handed them over. Ron quickly scanned through them, and his heart stopped when he saw a naked three year old version of himself. "Mum! I'm naked in this one!"

"It's perfectly alright, Ron," Molly waved a dismissive hand, a motherly smile on her face. She then looked to Daphne, who was just smiling in utter glee. "Ronnie used to run around the House naked, it was his favorite way of getting my attention."

"That's a bloody lie!" Ron yelled at Daphne, and then he looked to his laughing father. "Dad! Tell Daphne that that's not true!"

"I can't really lie to her, Ron," Arthur chuckled, which only widened Daphne's smile. "He used to run away screaming if one of us tried to put some trousers on him. He even hated underpants." _Good Lord… Daphne's seen my cock. My tiny toddler cock…_ Ron felt his head spin, and he handed the photos back to his mother because he knew that he was about to drop them. _Kill me, Entity. End this Cycle. I'll do better in the next one._

"Don't worry, Ron," Mary smiled at him. "When Daphne was three, she used to pick her nose constantly, and then flick whatever she dug up at the walls." Daphne's smile died immediately, while Ron's face twisted from disgust.

"Why?" Ron asked his girlfriend, who looked horribly shaken all of a sudden. Ron couldn't help but imagine the current Daphne picking her nose, and then flicking her boogers at a horrified Theo. A laugh broke out of his throat, which made Daphne's face burn with shame.

"Aren't children just adorable," Molly said, a nostalgic smile on her face. "They grow up too fast though."

"That they do," Mary smiled at her daughter, though her smile was more teasing than loving.

"Can we start lunch now? Or do you both wish to keep embarrassing them?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I reckon we've done enough for now, Mollywobbles," Arthur said, and Ron cringed at the nickname. _For now?! They have more ideas to shame me!_

"Please, take your seats," Mary said, and both of Ron's parents sat down. The only seat left was by Daphne left, and so Ron took that one. He immediately felt her tap his right foot, and while the parents began making small talk, Ron looked to Daphne.

"Let's make a pact?" Daphne asked in meek voice.

"A pact?" Ron repeated, and she gave him a subtle nod.

"We'll never discuss today with our friends," Daphne said, and Ron quickly nodded his agreement. "Whatever is said or heard today will remain between us."

"I agree," Ron said.

"I… I never picked my nose, okay?" Daphne mumbled, and Ron was quite stunned by just how embarrassed she was. _It makes sense though. Image means a lot to Daphne._

"And I never ran around the house naked," Ron said, and Daphne gave him a nod. "Daph… How hell does this 'introduction' business work?"

"We basically just talk, and then the parents give us their blessings," Daphne replied. "Your mother and father seem to be on board, but a little confused by all of this. They've never done this before, have they?"

"Not that I know of," Ron replied. "I mean, they don't really care about who we date. Bill's had plenty of girlfriends, and from what I know about Charlie, he slept with over a dozen witches at Hogwarts. Or so he claims. And Percy's girlfriend hasn't even been to our house, despite Percy dating her for well over a year now."

"Lucky," Daphne said, but Ron just shrugged.

"So, when did this happen?" Molly asked them, and they both put on smiles. Ron tapped Daphne's foot, she had a clearer idea of what she wanted them to believe.

"Ron asked me on Monday," Daphne replied. "It was right after he was discharged from the Hospital Wing."

"Using the sympathy card, eh?" Arthur chuckled, much to Ron's embarrassment. _Why would he say that?_

"Whatever works," Molly joined her husband, and Ron closed his eyes and wished them to disappear.

"Will your dating lives interfere with your studies?" Lord Greengrass asked, not a hint of joy on his face.

"No, father," Daphne quickly denied, her eyes darting down to her plate. Lord Greengrass suddenly jerked in his seat, and then he shot his annoyed wife a glare.

"You're only third years," Mary said to Ron and Daphne. "Sometimes it's better to follow your hearts rather than the pages of a book."

"Daphne and I will always keep our education in mind," Ron said, though he was mostly talking to Lord Greengrass.

"That's good to hear, dear," Molly said. "Now, I'm going to ask something, and I don't want either of you to take any offence by it…" _Oh shite, what's this?_ "Ronnie's condition-"

"Molly, perhaps we should talk about that at a later date?" Arthur suggested quickly, while Ron felt Daphne tapping his foot again. _I know, I know._

"No, Molly is right," Lord Greengrass spoke up, much to Molly's own surprise. "Daughter, you understand that Ron's health takes priority over everything, don't you?"

"Yes, father," Daphne replied, of course she bloody knew that. Unsurprisingly, Ron felt a little agitated by that question. It was mostly on his girlfriend's behalf, who had always been a pillar of support for Ron during his worst moments. _Fuck it, I'm not letting them believe that Daphne doesn't understand my condition. She's the person I think of going to whenever things get too much for me, not them._

"Over the last year, Daphne's always been the person who's helped me," Ron started, and everyone looked to him. "She's helped me through several panic induced moments, and has even read several books on how to deal with my condition. She's done more research into Chronic Stress and Brain-Damage than I have, not to mention that she's always making sure that I have my Potions on time. Daphne understands my condition, and she understands it better than all of you put together." He felt Daphne tapping his foot again, and he decided to pull back his flaring temper.

"Really?" Molly asked, both of Ron's parents looked a little surprised. "How many books have you read, dear?"

"Thirteen, Mrs. Weasley," Daphne replied, much to Molly's astonishment. The only adult who didn't look surprised was Mary, even Lord Greengrass hadn't expected that. "They're not very big book, and most of them have similar things to say about Ron's conditions, but they've helped me help him." _Damn right, you tell them._

"A lot," Ron added with emphasis. "She's been there for me in issues that I've never even mentioned to you all before." Once again, he felt Daphne tapping his foot, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Calm down, Ron. Ugh… It's just annoying that she's not being given her dues._

"Some of the books that I lent you were Daphne's, Molly," Mary said, while Molly just smiled at Daphne. "She bought them in Paris right after we learned of Ron's conditions."

"Well…" Molly said, her eyes darting towards her son. He had a slightly stern look on his face, which only served to please her. "Hearing this makes me very, very glad. What about you, Arthur?"

"I feel the same way," Arthur replied, though he couldn't help but wonder just how close Ron and Daphne were. Ordinary thirteen year olds didn't make such efforts on each other's behalves.

"I can see why my son asked for you right after his seizure," Molly nodded in understanding, and Daphne shot Ron a curious look. _The seizure? Oh wait, she's talking about the time when the Entity tried to end my Cycle._ "Do you remember, Mary? The first person he asked to see was Daphne here."

"He did the same after his first day at the Tournament," Mary noted, and Ron shrunk into his seat a little. "I think that that's very sweet."

"It is," Arthur agreed, his eyes lingering on Ron. _What's with that look?_

"Shall we eat?" Mary asked, and both Ron and Daphne nodded. _Yes, let's just fucking eat. No talking, only eating._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Lunch had been a rather dull affair, or at least Ron thought so anyway. His parents had asked Daphne questions about her hobbies, aspirations, and embarrassingly, her feelings about Ron. Daphne, being who she was, had prepared a thorough response to each question, all the while complimenting both Arthur and Molly in the process. Daphne had even asked Arthur about his Muggle obsession, which had led to a twenty minute rant on lightbulbs. Daphne had then promised to introduce Tracey to Arthur, who was keen meet a Slytherin who lived in Muggle London.

"Mum, put the measurement tape away," Ron pleaded, they were all in the Gathering Room. The Greengrasses were speaking with Arthur, while Ron had been pulled aside by his mother for a quick chat.

"Ronnie, I have to know her size," Molly countered. "She seems to have quite the bust on her, doesn't she? Don't tell me that's why you like her, Ron? I will be very disappointed with you if that's the case."

"Oh, Merlin…" Ron released a shaky breath. "Mum, I'll ask Mary to send you Daphne's measurements, so please, for the love of Godric and Salazar, put the measurement tape away. **Please**?"

"It'll only take me a few seconds, Ron," Molly frowned. "And she's right over there."

"Mum, you're going to give me a fucking panic attack if you keep this up," Ron told her, and she smacked his arm.

"Honestly, your mouth is as bad as Charlie's," Molly scolded, and then she put her measurement tape in her purse. _Thank you!_ "Does she like baked goods? What are her favorite nuts? How does she feel about chocolate?"

"She likes cookies and cakes," Ron replied. "Her favorite type of nuts are Macadamia, and she loves chocolate. If you do decide to send her some, send them to me instead. I will give them to her."

"No, you won't," Molly scoffed. "I'm not sending you someone else's treats, Ron. You'll just eat them yourself."

"That's just not true," Ron shook his head. "Mum, if the other Slytherin girls see Daphne getting cookies delivered to her, they'll say hurtful things about her."

"Then you have to defend her," Molly said firmly.

"What? You want me to clock every girl in Slytherin?" Ron asked, he was looking at his mother as if she had sprouted three extra heads. "Mum, the kids at Hogwarts love spreading rumors and lies. Just send me the cookies, and I'll give them to Daphne."

"Fine, but if I find out that you've devoured them yourself, I will pull your right ear off," Molly warned, and Ron gave her a nod. _Fair enough._

"And please, no more naked pictures of me," Ron requested.

"Ronnie, you were a toddler then," Molly rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's grown since then." Ron felt his eyeballs cringe into the back of his skull, much to Molly's amusement.

"I might vomit," Ron muttered.

"Oh, I think your father is talking about Muggles again," Molly said, and Ron turned to see his father holding his hands out and making a 'vrooom' sound. _What the fuck?_ Mary and Daphne were listening to Arthur with entertained smiles, while Lord Greengrass was just staring at Arthur as if he was insane.

"What the hell is he doing?" Ron asked his mother, who quickly made her way over to her husband.

"Molly, I was just telling the Greengrasses about the 'Lawnmower' that I picked up," Arthur said with a happy smile.

"That's lovely, dear," Molly said, though she wasn't too pleased that Arthur kept bringing up Muggles instead of learning more about Daphne. "Daphne, do you prefer dresses, or sweaters?" _If she pulls out that measuring tape, I might commit matricide._

"I prefer dresses, Mrs. Weasley," Daphne replied politely, a pleasant smile on her face.

"I'll remember that," Molly smiled.

"Ron, we should probably get back to work," Lord Greengrass suggested, and Ron quickly nodded his agreement.

"We should probably head off then," Arthur said, and then he looked to his wife. "Xeno's probably burned down our Kitchen by now."

"He'd better not feed Pandora his cooking," Molly said haughtily. "She needs nutrition, not poison."

"How is Pandora?" Mary asked, and Ron's ears perked up.

"Doing quite well," Molly replied. "I don't let her put any strain on herself."

"While poor Xeno has started doing all the housework," Arthur added. "Without the Quibbler, he really doesn't know how to occupy his time."

"You should both drop by tonight," Molly invited the Greengrasses. "It's only fair that we give you our hospitality as well."

"We'd like that very much," Mary agreed, and then she looked to her husband.

"There'll be beer," Arthur enticed Lord Greengrass, and Ron held back laugh. _Lord Greengrass doesn't strike me as a beer drinker._ "We can celebrate our children getting together." Ron jerked back, it was as if he had been slapped by the cruel hands of embarrassment.

"We'll be there," Lord Greengrass said, his voice as monotone as they came. Daphne shot a quick look to her mother, she was genuinely annoyed with how cold her father had been today when compared to the excited, and accepting, Weasleys. Ron's parents then said their goodbyes to Ron and Daphne, and after asking Daphne what her favorite color was, they both flooed back to the Burrow. _It's over… I'm free!_

"Sebastian, a word?" Mary frowned at her husband, who cocked his eyebrow in response.

"Ron, go wait in my Study," Lord Greengrass ordered, but Mary gestured him to stay right where he was.

"You can go to the Study after I speak with my husband," Mary said, and Ron just looked to Daphne for help. Daphne, however, was frowning at her father, her face slightly flushed. _Guess I'll just stand here then._ Lord Greengrass and Mary left towards the Study, leaving Ron and Daphne behind.

"So… That was fun…" Ron said, and Daphne just gave him a deadpan look. "Yeah… Let's never do this again."

"Or better yet, let's not invite my father next time," Daphne huffed, and then she stomped her foot angrily. "He ruined everything!" Ron flinched because of her sudden increase in volume, and then he tensed when he saw her eyes welling up.

"Daph…" Ron muttered, he was genuinely caught off-guard by this. "It wasn't **that** bad."

"That's because your parents were kind and accepting, while my father barely spoke a word," Daphne snapped, her face twisting from anger. "He didn't show an ounce of support, Ron!" _I think mum and dad are just happy that I'm being normal for once._

"He's given us his blessing, that's all that matters," Ron said, and Daphne shook her head.

"Not to me, alright?!" Daphne argued. "He couldn't manage one damn smile?! He didn't want to be there, and he made sure that everyone knew it!" _Hell, I didn't want to be there either._

"Well, he'll just have to get over it," Ron said, deciding to take Daphne's side over Lord Greengrass'. "Remember our plan, Daph?" Daphne gave a tired nod. "We've done the introduction, and now, we don't have to worry about our parents. You and I can just date in peace."

"What about the Holidays? Or Family gatherings?" Daphne asked, her anger dying down a little.

"That's a problem for Future Ron and Daphne," Ron shrugged. "For now, let's just enjoy the fact that we made it through today."

"You realize that you still have to work with my father, right?" Daphne asked.

"I do, but I care more about 'officially' dating you," Ron replied truthfully. "He'll come around, Daphne. I'm sure of it. He's just unhappy with seeing his princess dating someone."

"But you're not just 'someone', Ron," Daphne argued. "He knows you, and he likes you. What if I had brought someone else here? Then what?"

"Then I'd be really upset," Ron replied. "You'd see me staring longingly at you lot through windows."

"I'm being serious here," Daphne frowned at him. "Stop making jokes about it."

"Sorry," Ron apologized, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Calm and steady does it._ "I'll keep winning him over, Daph. We saw this kind of resistance coming, didn't we?"

"But it's **all** coming from **my** Family," Daphne whined. "First Tori, and now my father… Neither of them want us to date."

"You father isn't opposed to us dating, he just doesn't like it very much," Ron assured her. "As for Tori… Well, she's just acting a little spoiled again. But something tells me that she'll get over it the moment another boy starts giving her attention."

"Or they'll both conspire to ruin our relationship," Daphne crossed her arms. _What?_

"Daphne, this isn't a romance novel," Ron said slowly. "Come here."

"What?" Daphne mumbled crossly as she walked up to him. Ron opened up his arms, and after staring at him for a few seconds, Daphne shuffled into his embrace.

"Tell me about Madam whatsherface's shop again," Ron said, his hands rubbing her back.

"Her name is Madam Puddifoot," Daphne told him.

"If someone had named me Puddifoot at birth, I would have killed myself," Ron sniggered. "When's the booking?"

"Half past one," Daphne replied into his chest. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Really? And what am I trying to do?" Ron asked.

"You're trying to distract me," Daphne replied.

"Is it working?"

"A little."

"Good, tell me about the cakes that we'll be trying there," Ron said, and he felt her arms slither around his back.

"We'll be trying all of them," Daphne told him, she had the whole thing planned out.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunch)**_

"I've made you both a study calendar!" Hermione beamed at them, and then she pulled the study calendars out of her book bag. "If you two follow these, you can get all of your work done on time!"

"Study calendars?" Neville asked as Hermione handed him his.

"It's just a timeline of when to do which subject," Hermione replied excitedly. _When did she get the time to make these? She's always so busy with her own studies._ It was true, over the last few days, they had begun to see Hermione less and less. She was either in the Library, or she was surrounded by books in a secluded corner of the Gryffindor common room. "Here, Harry."

"Thanks…" Harry said as he took his calendar, his eyes quickly scanning through it. Harry then looked up to see Neville looking a little overwhelmed at his, and when their eyes met, Harry realized that Neville's calendar was just as packed as his. _We won't get a minute of freedom if we follow this._

"So? What do you think?" Hermione asked, a bright smile on her face. Harry wanted to hand the calendar back to her, but he could tell that she had put a lot of effort into making it. _She even marked my Quidditch practice sessions._

"I think these are brilliant," Harry told her, he really didn't have the strength to refuse her act of kindness. Neville's mouth dropped open, while Hermione beamed at him. "Thank you for making these, Hermione."

"It's no worries, Harry," Hermione laughed, she sounded a little… relieved? "I've made sure that we get to study together on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays." Hermione then looked to Neville, who quickly fixed his face into a weak smile. "What do you think about this, Neville?"

"I'm with Harry, Hermione," Neville said, and Hermione shined even more. "Thanks for doing this for us, especially when you're so busy with your own studies."

"Oh, I always have time for you two," Hermione said, she was certainly in a great mood now. Her efforts weren't for naught, and that felt amazing. Hermione's eyes then landed on Ginny, and her smile died a little. Both Harry and Neville noticed this, and so they looked to where Hermione was looking. _Oh…_

"She looks right miserably these days, doesn't she?" Neville asked, and both Harry and Hermione nodded.

"Why don't we invite her to sit with us?" Harry asked, his eyes going over the other second years. "They're not even talking to her…"

"I don't think that she'll say yes, Harry," Hermione told him, and Harry blinked at her.

"Why wouldn't she?" Harry asked.

"I think she's avoiding us because of our association with Ron," Hermione replied, and both Harry and Neville exchanged slow looks. "Oh, isn't it obvious? She's obliviously really hurt by their fight, and so she's trying to stay clear of anything related to Ron."

"Makes sense," Neville nodded slowly. "I haven't seen much of her since the break ended."

"So she's being distant with us because she thinks we're friends with Ron?" Harry asked for clarification, and Hermione nodded.

"And we are friends with Ron, Harry," Hermione said a little haughtily. "It's just you who doesn't trust him."

"Because he's not very trustworthy," Harry mimicked her tone, but then he just decided to stop. _What's the point? Neither of them want to understand my point of view._ "Whatever… I still don't think that she should be left alone. She looks downright miserable."

"On that, we agree," Hermione said, she was just glad that they hadn't started arguing about Ron again. "Word around the girls' dorms is that she got a Howler from her mum, and after she opened it, it went off on her. She spent the entire day crying in the bathroom."

"What was the Howler about?" Neville asked, he could truly sympathize with Ginny over this. His Gran had a stash of Howlers in her Study specifically reserved for him.

"Her fight with Ron," Hermione replied. "It was about what she said to him…" _She called him a traitor, right?_

"In her defense, he **is** walking around the school with Malfoy in tow," Harry pointed out. _I still haven't looked into this MRI business. I should go check for it in the Library before I ask Ron's siblings._

"I… I really don't think that Ginny should have any say in what her brother does," Hermione all but whispered, and both Harry and Neville looked to her in shock. "What? Ron's business is his business…"

"Seriously, what happened between you two?" Harry asked with a frown, while Neville just waited for her to answer. "You've gone from fighting him to being his mouthpiece in less than two weeks."

"Mouthpiece?" Hermione repeated, righteous anger flashing on her face. "I'm nobody's mouthpiece, Harry Potter!" People around them shot them frowns for yelling, but the Trio ignored said looks like they usually did. "I just don't see the point of interfering with someone else's life when I've got my own problems to worry about!"

"Hermione, please don't yell," Neville pleaded, and her features quickly softened at the sight of him pleading.

"Sorry, Neville," Hermione apologized, her hand quickly rubbing his upper arm. Hermione then shot Harry a frown, her eyes narrowing on him. "Don't call me a mouthpiece again."

"Fine…" Harry said. "Sorry… I just want to know what he said to you that made you apologize to his lackeys."

"His friends," Hermione corrected curtly, and Harry bit back a frown. _Not one week ago she was calling them all his lackeys, and now she's pretending like she never did that._ "And I told you already, Harry. We hurt them with our stunt in Potions last year. Neville and I decided to own up to it, as should you." Harry's eyes drifted towards the Slytherins, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. He had never meant to hurt anyone, but he also couldn't bring himself to apologize to them.

"Just do it, mate," Neville said, and Harry looked to him. "It'll take ten seconds, and then you can stop feeling guilty."

"I…" Harry started, his eyes darting towards the Slytherins again. _Second degree burns…_ "I'll do it once Ron and Greengrass come back."

"Good," Hermione said haughtily, and Harry felt the urge to take back his words.

"What's that?!" came someone's voice, and everyone on the Gryffindor table looked up to see a massive owl flying down with an even larger parcel attached to its feet. _Is it carrying a broom?_ Harry's eyes widened as the owl dropped the broom over him and his friends, but with his sharp reflexes, he was able to catch the broom before it landed on Hermione's head. _Damn, that's a bit heavy._

"Nice catch, Harry," Neville muttered, and then he checked a frightened Hermione over. "You alright?"

"Yes," Hermione said, and then she shot a frown at the owl that had nearly injured her. Harry, meanwhile, inspected the parcel over. _Definitely a broom, but it's much bigger than my Nimbus 2001._ Harry looked around to see people staring at him, most of their eyes fixed on the package in his hands.

"Is there a note?" Neville asked Harry, while Harry placed the packaged broom in front of himself.

"There is," Harry replied, his hands freeing the note from one of the ropes holding the packaging together. Harry opened up the note, and he began reading it.

 _Harry,_

 _I figured that since the new Quidditch season was starting, you deserved an upgrade to keep those Slytherins in check._

 _This here is a Firebolt, arguably the best Broom on the market! I'm sure you know all about it, however, considering that you always have your head buried in those Seeker Weekly Magazines._

 _After you're done trying out your new Broom, send me a letter detailing when your games are going to take place. I'd love to come and watch._

 _Love,_

 _Sirius_

Harry handed the note to Neville, but his eyes were fixed on the packaged broom before him. _A Firebolt? There's no way…_ Harry quickly began to undo the wrappings, while the other Gryffindors all stared at Harry with keen eyes. And once Harry had revealed the diamond-hard polished ebony broomstick, gasps of awe echoed throughout the Gryffindor table. _God! Look at it!_ Harry's face split into a smile without his knowledge, while Hermione just looked around with a confused expression.

"A new broom?" Hermione asked Harry, who just nodded dumbly.

"Not just a new broom… That's the bloody Firebolt!" Harry heard Seamus yell. "Look! Harry's got a Firebolt!" More loud gasps were heard, and Harry was quickly surrounded by his excited House-mates. Harry did his best to understand what they were all saying, but he was far too stunned to think of anything but his Godfather's gift. _He sent me a Firebolt! Each one costs a fortune! And he wants to come to all of my games?_ Harry quickly made a mental note to send Sirius a letter detailing the dates of his games, and he promised himself that he'd catch the Snitch in all of them.

"Who sent it?" he heard Oliver ask, and then he felt his body being shaken. Harry looked to his left and saw a flushed Oliver Wood staring down at him, there was a manic glint in the Quidditch Captain's eyes.

"My Godfather," Harry replied, and that's when he realized that the Quidditch Team had made their way to the front of the crowd. "It's for the new Quidditch season."

"Really?!" Oliver asked, a grin forming on his face. "Merlin! Our Seeker has a Firebolt! We've already won then!"

"Step aside," came Snape's voice, and the Gryffindors quickly shifted out of the Potions Master's way. Harry looked to see Remus, McGonagall, and Snape step into view.

"Is that a…?" McGonagall started, her widening for a moment. She then suddenly composed herself, but some of the Gryffindor's were already sniggering at her well-known obsession with Quidditch.

"Who sent you that, Harry?" Remus asked, and Neville quickly handed him the note.

"It's from Sirius," Harry said defensively, his left hand slowly gripping the handle. _It feels so smooth._

"Black sent you this broom?" Snape sneered, his black eyes digging into Harry's.

"He's telling the truth," Remus said before Harry could reply, and then he handed McGonagall the note. "It's Sirius' handwriting."

"Which has not improved since his youth," McGonagall noted, though she was too excited to frown. "Well, everything seems to be in order here." Snape, however, was not convinced.

"It could be Cursed," Snape said, and every single person looked taken aback.

"Why would Sirius send me a Cursed Firebolt?" Harry asked, his temper taking over. _He wants to take it away from me so I don't beat his Slytherins with it._

"Tone, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said sternly, but Harry kept his eyes fixed on Snape. _He shouldn't even be allowed near children._

"Handwriting can be copied easily enough," Snape said to McGonagall. "We should have it stripped and checked for Curses."

"Strip a Firebolt?" George demanded.

"That's just criminal, that is," Fred added.

"Professor McGonagall, you can't strip down a Firebolt!" Oliver spoke up, and most of the Gryffindors piped in their support.

"Is everything alright here?" came Dumbledore's voice, and everyone looked to see the Headmaster approaching them. Harry's spirit was elated at the sight of the old wizard, he would no doubt let Harry keep the Firebolt.

"Albus, take a look at this," McGonagall said, and then she handed Dumbledore the note from Sirius. Everyone waited with baited breath, and once Dumbledore looked to Harry, not a sound could be heard.

"I will confirm this with Sirius right after lunch," Dumbledore told them, a kind smile on his face. "But personally, I see nothing wrong with Harry's new broom." The Gryffindors erupted into cheers, while Harry shot Snape a smug look. Snape just gave Harry a look of disgust, and then he billowed away towards the exit. _Yeah, go back to your Dungeon, you git._

"Harry, wait until the Headmaster confirms this with Sirius," Remus said, and Harry gave him a nod.

"I'd best be off then, shouldn't I?" Dumbledore asked, and after giving Harry another smile, Dumbledore left for his Office.

"We should all go up there with him," Katie Bell suggested. "The moment he confirms this with Harry's Godfather, we can see the Firebolt in action!" Everyone quickly nodded, while Harry got out of his seat and picked up the broom. People stepped out of his way, making sure to not lay a finger on the Firebolt's polished ebony handle.

"Be careful, Harry," Oliver said slowly, his eyes fixed on the Firebolt. "Everyone, stay clear of his way! We can't let it get damaged!"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

Ron and Daphne stepped into the Great Hall, their hands held together. The day was finally coming to an end, and Ron couldn't be happier about that. Lord Greengrass hadn't pushed Ron as hard after lunch, though he was still a little cold towards him. Ron figured that his Mentor would come around sooner or later. The fact that Lord Greengrass had given his blessing to Ron was a good sign, the man clearly trusted Ron with his daughter.

"Where are the Gryffindors?" Daphne asked, and Ron looked over to the Gryffindor table. Most of the table was absent, save for a few people who were all sitting together. _What the…?_ Ron spotted Ginny sitting with Hermione, and when his eyes landed on the two girls, they looked to see who had just entered the Great Hall. Both Hermione and Ginny noticed Daphne holding onto Ron's hand, and so they quickly went back to their food.

"Maybe the others know where the Lions have run off to," Ron said, and then they began making their way towards their friends. _Most of the people on the Gryffindor table are girls. No Harry or Neville, and the twins are missing as well. But Percy is there._

"Welcome back, you cuties," Tracey smiled at the sight of them. "Look, they're holding hands again."

"Please stop," Daphne sighed out, and then she and Ron sat down together. "Where are the Gryffindors?"

"They're still at the Quidditch Pitch," Theo replied, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Potter was sent a bloody Firebolt from his Godfather, and he's letting anyone who's brave enough to use it have a go on it." _Sirius came through for Harry. Good. Let's just hope that Harry's new toy keeps him busy._

"Not counting the Slytherins, of course," Blaise added. "Though you really can't blame him for that. Some of the Slytherins want to destroy that broom already."

"So he got a new broom?" Daphne asked. "And that's why most of the Gryffindors are skipping dinner?"

"It's not just a broom," Theo told her. "It's **the Firebolt**! The best broom out there!"

"Quidditch is boring," Pansy drawled, which earned her a dead-eyed look from Malfoy. "I'd much rather know about your day! Did you get Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's blessings?"

"I did," Daphne nodded, and Pansy smiled widely.

"Congratulations," Millie said with an easy smile.

"I've taught you well, Daphne," Tracey said, and Daphne shot Tracey a deadpan look. "What?"

"As much as I want to hear about Ron and Daphne's budding love story, we have a problem on our hands," Blaise said, and Ron looked to him with a tired look. _Of course we do._ "Flint's lost it."

"It happened right after Potter got his Firebolt," Malfoy said, his lips curling in disgust. "Flint still hasn't found a Seeker, and now that the Gryffindor Seeker has a Firebolt, Flint's blaming everything on Weasley."

"Why Ron?" Daphne asked, her tone showing her annoyance. _Technically, I am at fault for this. But I'll be taking this secret to my grave._

"Slytherin had a Seeker until Ron interfered with Quidditch business," Millie pointed out.

"A Seeker that didn't want to be there," Ron frowned, his eyes darting towards Flint's lot. Flint was glaring right at Ron, much to Ron's annoyance. _I'm in for it tonight._

"He's been trying to rile up his teammates," Malfoy told Ron.

"Is that concern I hear, Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Not concern. Self-preservation," Malfoy replied, which earned him deep frowns from Millie and Tracey. "He's in the mood for a fight, and judging by his glare, he plans to have one tonight."

"Well, shite," Ron said, and then he began making his plate. Oddly enough, he wasn't worried at all. _Either the Triumvirate will step in, or I'll show Flint that I'm not the kind of person you fuck with._

"Then we'll just spend the night at the Sanctuary," Daphne said, but Ron clicked his tongue.

"No, we won't," Ron told them. "I've told the Triumvirate that we're coming back into the fold, and so that's what we're doing."

"But Flint is-" Pansy started, but Ron cut her off.

"Flint is a moron," Ron said firmly. "His teammates know it, the Triumvirate knows it, and we know it. It's past time that we put him in his place."

"And how exactly do we do that?" Daphne asked.

"By not backing off just because he's getting in our faces," Ron replied. "Enough is enough. I will not be pushed around by someone as stupid as Flint."

"About fucking time," Theo nodded his approval.

"Ron, this isn't smart," Blaise told him. "We're already in trouble for causing strife within the House."

"I'm with Ron on this," Millie said. "Enough is enough. If he starts something, then we need to show strength. Otherwise, he'll keep at it."

"Flint is like a bloodhound," Malfoy added. "He won't stop if we turn our backs to him."

"We?" Daphne frowned at Malfoy. "This is all your fault in the first place." Daphne then looked to Ron. "Ron, it's just one night."

"One night?" Ron blinked at her. "We've been hiding away for the last two weeks. I haven't spoken to my first years outside of the study group this week."

"And we haven't been doing our jobs with the second years," Theo added. "Ron, let him start the fight. If he throws the first punch, you'll just be defending yourself."

"Punch?" Tracey's eyes widened. "What are we talking about here?"

"We're talking about us returning to our ordinary lives," Ron replied. "We're all sick of hiding away, aren't we?" No one said anything to that, but Ron knew that he was right. "Then this discussion is over. If Flint wants a fight, I'll give him a fight. And when he can't even sit on his broom without help, he'll know that he should've backed the fuck off." _I will not be cast out of Slytherin, not after everything I've been through to secure my place in it._

* * *

 **Author's Notes: There it is! A little bit of a slow chapter, but a few of you wanted me to NOT gloss over certain events like the introduction lunch. I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Next Chapter will get things moving along, especially plot-wise. More on Voldemort, the Order, a Lucius POV, a Ginny POV, Ron and Daphne's Date, Madam Roberts, and the beginning of the Dueling Club.**

 **It should be done by Tuesday, but it could be a day late. Sorry about the inconvenience, but when things get really busy, I can't really promise a specific day.**


	83. Chapter 83 - The Rising Flames

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 83 is done! I found the best music to listen to when I'm typing up Chapters, it's called Weightless by Macroni Union. Just helps me concentrate.**

 **One more thing before you all start. A reader told me about this video on Youtube, and I really think Ron fans should watch it. It's called What went weird with Ron Weasley. Shout-out to Persian Guy, the video was really educational, mate!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 83 – The Rising Flames**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – After Dinner)**_

"Ron, what are you doing?" Pansy asked, her eyes darting around them. Ron, however, paid her no mind. His eyes were fixed on the House Hourglasses. _Slytherin has two hundred and ninety points, while Ravenclaw, which is in second place, only has eighty points. We're dominating the other Houses, and it's mostly because of my first years._

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice, and he felt someone tugging at his gloved hand. Ron turned to face his friends, all of whom were just staring at him.

"Care to share your thoughts?" Blaise asked.

"We're dominating the other Houses," Ron replied, and they all nodded.

"Not really a secret," Theo shrugged. "Even the Professors know that we're doing really well this year."

"And Gryffindor is on sixty five points," Ron stated, and they all nodded. _In one month, we've taken such a_ _ **huge**_ _lead._

"Weasley, are you only just realizing this?" Malfoy asked, and Ron simply turned back to the Hourglasses.

"Ron, people are already back in their common rooms," Tracey spoke up. "I don't like standing out here."

"Give me a minute," Ron said, a strategy was forming in his head. "I'm planning something."

"What are you planning?" Millie asked as she stepped up to his side, her eyes now fixed on the Hourglasses as well.

"Blaise, how many House Points are given to the winner of the Quidditch Cup?" Ron asked.

"It depends on their season," Blaise replied slowly. "From what I understand, it's all based on how many points a team scores per match. All in all, winning the Quidditch Cup can net a House around three hundred and fifty House Points." _Hmmm…_

"And yet, winning the Year-based Dueling Tournaments can potentially earn a House six hundred points," Ron said to himself.

"Expecting Slytherin to win in each section of the Year-based Tournament is idiotic at best," Malfoy said. "The Professors understand that each year is different, and that no single House will dominate the others. You might win the third year Tournament, Weasley, but the second years stand no chance."

"You're right," Ron agreed, and Malfoy was quite surprised by Ron's civil agreement. "But there's one thing that you fail to understand."

"And what is that?" Malfoy asked.

"I'm Ronald fucking Weasley, and I don't bloody lose," Ron replied, a strategy had made its nest in his mind. "Let's go, I have a plan to implement." _And a would-be thug to put in his place._ They all began following Ron, with Daphne quickly walking up to his side. She was about to say something, but a cheering crowd entered the Entrance Hall. Ron and his friends quickly turned to see that the Gryffindors were coming back into the castle, and Harry was at the head of the crowd. _Back from testing his new broom, eh? You're welcome, by the way._

"Time to move, people," Theo said, and they all quickly began to make their way into the Dungeons. When they could no longer hear the Gryffindors singing, they all slowed down a bit.

"Potter is going to catch the Snitch in every single game, isn't he?" Millie said, and everyone but Malfoy nodded their agreement.

"I certainly hope so," Theo said. "If he doesn't, I'm going to lose a lot of Galleons."

"You're still placing bets on Potter?" Tracey asked, while Ron and Blaise sniggered. _Ah, Theo… Always looking to benefit himself._

"Easy money," Theo shrugged.

"But you're already loaded," Tracey pointed out.

"You can always have more money, Trace," Theo gave her a wink.

"You're not worried about our House-mates stringing you up for betting on Potter?" Pansy asked, and Theo snorted.

"Half of them are doing the same thing," Blaise told Pansy.

"And I have Ron on my side," Theo smirked, and then he patted Ron's back. "You'll protect me, won't you?"

"Of course," Ron replied, an amused smile on his face.

"Wow…" Millie muttered as she grimaced at Theo, who simply grinned at her.

"Ron, what's your plan?" Daphne whispered.

"You'll see," Ron replied, he was still thinking of a way to present it. "I'm just refining it right now, Daph. Just make sure that you keep the others behind me. I don't want you all getting involved in a fight."

"Ron, don't fight him," Daphne whispered again. "Please?"

"I'm sorry, but if Flint raises his hands against me, then I will defend myself," Ron told her. "That's who I am. I'm not taking shite from someone who is used to bullying his way through Hogwarts. I don't get bullied, nor do I get looked down upon." _Especially from those who are beneath me._

"Here we are," Pansy sighed as they neared the entrance. "Do we really have to go in there, Ron? Flint's lot are all in sixth and seventh year…"

"Blaise, you're in charge of keeping Pansy and Tracey safe," Ron ordered, and Blaise quickly pulled both girls behind himself. "Millie, you'll keep guard over Malfoy."

"I don't need-" Malfoy started, but a rough tug from Millie shut him up.

"Theo, you're with Daphne," Ron went on, and Theo gestured Daphne over to him. Once they were all in place, Ron put on a happy smile. _Just be confident, and if anything happens, show Flint that you're far worse than him._ "Are you all ready?"

"No," Pansy whined, while the others nodded.

"Dragon's Blood," Ron said to the wall, and it slid aside for him. Ron began making his way inside, and his friends slowly followed after him. As soon as they entered the common room, Ron's eyes darted towards their favorite spot. _And there he is._ Flint and his gang were once again occupying the couches, and Ron decided to shoot Flint a smile. _I'm just being friendly, I'm not provoking him at all._ As Flint's face twisted from rage, Ron began heading towards the boys' dorms. He only managed to get halfway through the common room before Flint cut him off, his gang circling Ron's friends.

"You've had your fun, Weasley," Flint spat out. "Hand Malfoy over right fucking now!" The whole common room went dead silent, with every eye fixed on the commotion.

"No," Ron replied bluntly.

"Listen here you little fuck," Flint hissed, his face getting right into Ron's. "Quidditch is about to start, and we need a fucking Seeker in order to compete."

"Then you should go find one," Ron replied, his tone suggesting that it was the most obvious thing in the World.

"I had one!" Flint roared, but Ron just stared at him. Flint then looked to Malfoy, only to find Millie blocking his view. "Malfoy, you're coming back to the Team, and that's final!"

"Don't you have a reserve Seeker?" Ron asked, and Flint turned his glare back to Ron. "I mean, Terence Higgs is still listed as the 'Reserve Seeker'…"

"Malfoy's better than him," Flint countered, and Ron shook his head.

"Malfoy doesn't want to play, and you already have someone in the Team who can play Seeker," Ron said, making sure that everyone heard him. "But despite that, you're still chasing after Malfoy. Why is that?"

"I'll fucking beat the shite out of you, Weasley," Flint warned, he was moments away from beating the redheaded tumor into another coma.

"I think you care more about having someone to torment over winning the Quidditch Cup," Ron said loudly, his ears peeled for whispers. "I think that you're just throwing a tantrum because I've taken your favorite toy away from you." _C'mon, you twat. HIT ME!_

"You've got a big mouth on you," Flint whispered dangerously, his eyes darting towards the whispering Slytherins. "Hand him over, and I'll leave you and yours alone. I'll even give you back your favorite spot."

"Favorite spot?" Ron blinked, and then a chuckle escaped his throat. Flint's face turned awfully cold, but Ron couldn't help but laugh at him. "You think I care about some couches? Are you really that daft?" _What the fuck? This guy's brain never developed, did it?_

"Flint, that's enough," came Carey's voice, and everyone looked to find the Triumvirate standing by the entrance of the girls' dorms. Ron also noticed that the Carrow twins were standing near them, and judging by their flushed faces, Ron figured that they had run off to find the Triumvirate. _That's rather sweet of them. I guess that even they've taken to me._

"No, it isn't," Flint sneered at the three girls, who just cocked their eyebrows at him. Flint then looked to the other students in Slytherin, his cheeks getting heated. "Weasley is directly damaging this House's chances of winning the House Cup this year, and the 'Triumvirate' are constantly protecting him. He runs off to Merlin knows where, even abandons his duties, but they still defend him. How is that fair to the rest of us?!"

"We're not taking his side," Carey said, her eyes fixed on Flint. "We're just telling you, a seventh year, to stop harassing third years."

"Third years? Or just Weasley?" Graham Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, spoke up. "Flint's right, we're not going to win the Quidditch Cup without a Seeker! Weasley took our Seeker away, and then he went into hiding!"

"What about Terence Higgs?" Clara asked. "He was the Slytherin Seeker before Draco Malfoy, and he's still on the Team." Everyone looked to Higgs, who just shrunk in his spot. _He's Flint's bitch, isn't he?_

"Malfoy is better on a broom than Terence," Flint argued, his voice getting louder with each word. "These three favor Weasley, we all know it! If anyone else in this House had pulled the same stunt as Weasley, they'd have taken our side! But since it's their precious redhead who's behind this, they keep pretending like they're 'keeping the peace'!" Ron noticed some people nodding slowly, which annoyed him greatly. _He's sparking rebellion, and all for the sake of keeping his chew toy. I need to put my plan forward._

"Slytherin is not going to win the Quidditch Cup this year!" Ron announced, and everyone went silent.

"What did you just say?" Flint asked, his face twisting from anger again.

"The Slytherin Quidditch Team is utter garbage compared to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Team!" Ron went on, which earned him angry looks from pretty much everyone. "And now that Harry Potter has a Firebolt, our Team is royally fucked! Think about it! When was the last time our Team defeated the Gryffindor Team?!"

"You're a damn Gryffindor sympathizer, Weasley!" some random yelled, but Ron ignored him.

"Ravenclaw won the Quidditch Cup two years ago, and last year, we didn't have a single victory against the Gryffindor Team!" Ron continued. "Malfoy was the Seeker last year, and despite him having a better broom than Potter, he still lost! So you all tell me, why do you think that the outcome will be any different now that Potter has a damn Firebolt?! You're all in the House of the Cunning, right?! So you can all see my point here! The Quidditch Cup is already lost!"

"That's his excuse for taking our Seeker away?!" Flint roared up. "He thinks that we're not good enough, and so he can just do as he pleases?!"

"Yes, let's all listen to the guy who actually managed to fail **all** of his classes!" Ron laughed coldly, and Flint just went dead-quiet. _He's going to hit me any minute now._ "In Chess, when one of your pieces gets cornered, you don't throw the whole game in an attempt to save it! Let Gryffindor win one battle, while we win the war! I have come up with a plan that will secure the House Cup this year! And it doesn't involve us putting all of our efforts into the failing Quidditch Team that we're 'blessed' with!"

And that's when Flint's fist landed on Ron's face, which was followed by distorted shrieking. Ron landed on his back, he hadn't expected Flint's punch to have so much weight behind it. Ron's brain was genuinely rattled by the impact, and judging by the warm liquid he felt on his face, he either had a broken nose or a split lip. He could hear people yelling in outrage, but he couldn't care less. He had gotten what he wanted. _Now I can end this._

"Ron?!" he heard Daphne call, and Ron sat back up. He could feel her fussing over him, all the while whispering words of comfort into his ear. But those words died when Ron smiled to himself, Flint was so fucked now.

"Nice punch," Ron said as he stood back up, while Daphne did her best to 'help him up'. "Great punch, actually." _But nowhere near the Entity's level. I didn't even lose a single tooth from this one._

"Ron, are you alright?!" came Tori's scared voice, while Ron spat out the blood pooling in his mouth. _I bit my own cheek?_

"He hit a third year!" Sebastian yelled. "He's attacked his own House-mate!"

"Shut up!" Flint yelled at the first years, who all just glared at him defiantly.

"Go get Professor Snape," Carey ordered someone, but Ron raised up his left hand.

"It's alright!" Ron laughed, much to everyone's surprise. Ron then looked to a slightly startled Flint. "I tried being peaceful, but since you want to use violence, I'll show you violence. Incendio!" Ron's left hand felt like hot steam, and within a second, he grabbed onto Flint's right hand. The large boy let out a bloodcurdling scream, which was mimicked by most of the spectators. The smell of burning flesh filled Ron's nostrils, and he quickly let go of Flint's hand.

"FUCK!" the Quidditch Captain screamed as he fell onto his back, his burned hand curling into his stomach. "FUCK!"

"Someone get Professor-" Clara started, but Ron's yell cut her off.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ron ordered, his voice booming throughout the common room. Everyone flinched, but they did as they were told. The Triumvirate were just staring at Ron, their horror etched onto their faces. "No one will leave this common room, or I'll burn their fucking faces off!"

"Samantha, heal his hand!" Carey suddenly broke out of her stupor, though she couldn't look away from Ron. In all of her years at Hogwarts, she had never seen something like this before. Samantha quickly ran up to Flint's side, her wand already aimed at him.

"Do you lot still feel like fighting me?" Ron turned to glare at the Quidditch Team, who all stepped back with jarred looks. Ron noticed his friends just staring at Flint's writhing form in utter disbelief, while Daphne was staring at Ron with a quivering bottom lip. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then he looked to Flint. The large boy was mewling like a baby, while Samantha was trying to numb his right hand.

"The next time one of you decides to speak out against me, you will remember this!" Ron told everyone, his eyes scanning every face in the room. Much to his delight, every single person looked completely terrified. _**Good. Fucking kneel before a God!**_

"Ron, stop…" Daphne whispered, but one look from him shut her up.

"Now, like I was saying before I got clocked by Flint!" Ron started, his eyes landing back on Carey and Clara. "I have come with a plan to secure the House Cup this year! You all want to win, right?!" No one said anything, much to Ron's annoyance. "You will answer me when I speak to you!"

"Yes…"

"Fuck me…"

"He's a monster…"

"Ron, enough," Carey managed, but Ron ignored her. _She wanted me back… Well, I'm back!_

"My friend Blaise tells me that the Quidditch Cup tends to net around three hundred and fifty House Points for the winning Team," Ron said, Flint had stopped making noise due to Samantha currently healing his hand. "We are **not** winning the Quidditch Cup this year, not with this idiot playing the role of Captain. So instead, we'll win the Dueling Club. Just by winning the Rank A Tournament, I'll secure five hundred points for this House. Think about that! If we win most of the Dueling Tournaments, we'll win in a land slide!"

"So here is my proposition!" Ron went on, he enjoyed the fact that no one was brave enough to interrupt him. "Those who are in Rank A will train those who are in Rank C, while I will personally train those who are in Rank D! Those who are in Rank B will practice their skills to perfection before the Dueling Club starts! Professor Snape has given us a Training Room, and we would be foolish to not fully utilize it! I don't expect us to win each and every section, but we will win the majority of them, and in doing so, secure most of the House Points in favor of Slytherin!" Ron then looked to Flint again, who was gritting his teeth with teary eyes. "How's his hand?"

"Second… Second degree burns," Samantha stammered, her eyes wouldn't look up at Ron. "I can heal this in ten minutes."

"Good," Ron said, and then he kicked Flint's side as hard as he could. Samantha jerked away from her 'patient', while Flint let out a sob. "Heal that too." Ron then looked back to his terrified House-mates. "If word of this ever gets out, I'll fucking find out who talked! Whatever happens in Slytherin, stays in Slytherin! And from now on, anyone who questions my loyalty to this House will answer directly to me! Now go to your rooms!" People quickly started moving out of the common room, not a single person wanted to be near Ron right now. "First years! You'll stay right where you are!" The first years stopped immediately, all of them looking at the departing Slytherins with frightened envy. Once the common room was all but vacant, Ron looked to his friends.

"Let's go," Blaise mumbled, his hands jerking Pansy and Tracey into action. Ron just watched them skulk away, especially a shaken Daphne, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care about their fear right now. _From now on, no one will ever speak out against them for fear of pissing me off._ The only people left in the common room now were the Triumvirate, Ron's first years, and Flint.

"Flint," Ron said as he kneeled down beside him, and Flint tried to jerk away from him.

"Stop moving," Samantha said quickly. "Your hand will be just fine."

"Terence Higgs will play Seeker for you," Ron told Flint, and then Ron reached forward and placed his left palm on Flint's forehead. "You will never go after me again, and that includes Malfoy and my friends. Oh, and you'll give me back my favorite spot. Am I clear?"

"I'll tell Snape about this," Flint managed, his eyes bloodshot from tears. "I'll tell the whole fucking school…"

"No, you won't," Ron said slowly. "Because if you do, I'll make sure that everyone knows just how much you hurt Malfoy. How you beat him into pissing himself, or how you knocked him off of his broom with a Bludger. What do you think Lucius Malfoy will do to you once he finds out about your crimes against his only Heir?" Flint didn't say anything back, but Ron knew that he had gotten through to him. "Don't. Ever. Look. In. My. Direction. Again." With that, Ron stood up and looked to Samantha. "Once he's healed, come and join me in your room. We have plans to make. Oh, and make sure that Flint gets back to his room." Ron then walked over to his shaking first years, his tall frame looming over them.

"How many House Points did you make this week?" Ron asked them, and everyone looked to Mathew.

"Forty… five…" Mathew stammered, his eyes darting down to his feet. _They've grown lax in my absence._

"You didn't meet your quota then," Ron said, much to their dread.

"Tori lost us twenty points on Friday," Mathew said quickly, and Ron looked to the frightened little Greengrass. "The Professors don't give us as many points anymore, and Tori got in trouble right after the study group…"

"Ron…" Tori muttered, her eyes were welling up already. Daphne had mentioned Ron's anger before, but Astoria had never imagined it to be so… malicious.

"Explain yourself," Ron said coldly, his face hovering down to catch her gaze. _Enough is enough. She'll either learn to swim, or she can drown._

"Ron, that's enough," Carey said firmly, and Ron turned to face her. Her face was flushed, and her usual beauty was marred by an extremely wary look. "Stop it right now."

"You wanted me back, right?" Ron asked calmly. "Well, this is me coming back. Now let me do my job." Ron then looked back to the first years. "I will lower your quota to forty points a week, just so that it's more manageable. But from now on, I will be checking your grades personally. If any of you score lower than Exceeds Expectations in any subject, you will all be sorry. Do I make myself clear?" The first years quickly nodded. "Astoria?"

"Yes, Ron," Tori said meekly, and then she sniffled loudly.

"Your father is not here, but he has given me permission to keep you in line," Ron told her. "Your childish behavior will cease, or so help me, I'll make it my life's mission to make you grow up." Ron then drew in a deep breath, his eyes scanning the ever-shrinking first years. "I will be away tomorrow until the afternoon, so you will all study with each other until my return. Now go to your rooms." The first years all but ran out of the common room, with Astoria looking particularly frightened.

"Flint, let's go," came Samantha's voice, and Ron turned to face them. Samantha was helping Flint up, and Ron couldn't help but notice that the wizard's right hand looked as good as new. _She's quite capable in Healing Magic. I will ask her to teach me some, it should come in handy during the war._ The war… Why was he being forced to deal with these trivial confrontations when he had a fucking war to prepare for? _No more clever ploys to keep my reputation unsullied. I'll drag them all into line if need be, and if they resist, I'll break their kneecaps._

"What was that?" Clara demanded, while Samantha dragged Flint into the boys' dorms.

"That was me reaching my limit with this House constantly questioning me," Ron replied, and Clara blinked at him. "Every third month, I have to prove myself to the people in this House. I'm done with it. From now on, anyone who questions me will leave with broken limbs. And that includes you three as well." Carey and Clara exchanged slow looks, while Ron walked right up to Clara.

"I thought about your words, Clara," Ron told her, and she just stared at his face with a slightly scared look. "Carey and Samantha are just waiting to embrace you again… At first, I really liked what I heard, but then I realized what it meant. 'Carey and Samantha are waiting for you to play the good little soldier again'… That's what you really meant, right? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't blindly follow orders from people who are weaker than me. I enjoy winning, so I'll make sure that Slytherin wins this year. You can either help me, or you can step aside while I win this House another House Cup."

"We are not your enemies, Ron," Carey said, she was finally starting to regain her composure.

"No, but you don't own me either," Ron looked to her. "You want my help? This is what it looks like. I've just quashed a rebellion for you three, and you should thank me for it. If you three had your way, Flint would only get bolder and bolder. You can't expect him to understand your long-term plans, because he only understands violence. Some people just aren't worth bargaining with."

"You could be expelled for this," Clara told him, and Ron didn't miss the fact that she took a step back.

"I won't be," Ron replied, he knew that Dumbledore had his back. _He can't afford to send me away._ "I have powerful friends. Plus, Slytherins are infamously cowardly. No one will dare cross me again, I assure you."

"You're generalizing a lot of people," Carey said, never had she imagined that a third year would frighten her.

"I'm really not," Ron replied. "Mostly everyone in this House grew up in luxury, much like my own friends. They're all just used to things going their way, but you know what I've learned?"

"What?" Carey asked.

"Things never go your way," Ron replied. "You have to work every fucking day to keep what you have, you have to put countless hours into perfecting your skills, and you have to toil and suffer in order to gain more. That's what most of the Slytherins can't understand. They have no idea how hard I've worked to be where I am now, and so they have no clue about how far I'll go to keep what I have. But after what they just witnessed, they've got a vague idea. Always getting what they want has made them soft, which is why they'll never cross me."

"You can't behave this way, Ron," Clara spoke up. "There are rules… How are we going to explain this to the delegates of the higher years?"

"You're not going to explain a thing," Ron replied. "Who are they to question you?" _Who are they to question me? I might let Ginny's lack of faith slide, but that's only because she's my Blood. I won't be questioned by these 'Noble-born' twats._

"That's not how things work," Carey said, but Ron simply shrugged.

"It is now," Ron said in response. "From today onwards, I'll be right by your side during these meetings."

"What?" both girls blinked.

"You wanted me to be your will, right?" Ron reminded them. "So from now on, I'll keep everyone in line for you. If anyone even thinks of rebelling, I'll put them in their place."

"And what do you want in return?" Carey asked, she seized the opportunity to negotiate.

"I want your respect," Ron replied, and both girls exchanged looks again. "I will no longer slave away for you just for a pittance. I want you to declare me as the person in charge when you three aren't around."

"You're a third year…" Clara started, but Ron clicked his tongue.

"I'm a third year with a lot of power and influence," Ron told her. "Do you want to know what The Quibbler is? It's a magazine that will start reporting weekly news. In a few months, I will control a portion of this country's media." Both girls went wide-eyed, and Ron knew that they had caught on. "My reach extends far out of Hogwarts now. And with people like Lord Greengrass by my side, I am a force to be reckoned with. You tell your delegates that before I start joining your meetings. That'll shut them right up."

"So from now on, you want to act as an unofficial fourth member of the Triumvirate?" came Samantha's voice, and everyone looked to find her standing by the entrance of the boys' dorms.

"If that's how you want to put it, then sure," Ron replied. "If taking charge of this House is what it takes for people to leave me and my friends alone, then that's what I'll do. You've all driven me to this."

"We've driven you to this?" Carey asked. "I told you that we've been helping you."

"Barely," Ron all but spat out, much to Carey's shock. "I've done a lot more for you than you've done for me. So don't try and guilt me into seeing your side of things, because it won't bloody work. At the end of the day, my interests are more important to me than your interests. But if we align our interests, then we all benefit. And no, I don't mean that you benefit while I buy myself another three months of peace and quiet. If you're looking for a hero who'll throw himself in front of you when things get out of control, then go to Gryffindor. This whole dance that's become a routine for me and my friends ends today. Now… What do you think about my plan?"

"We're already in favor of it," Samantha told him. "We already know that we won't be winning the Quidditch Cup this year."

"What do you think of the training idea?" Ron clarified.

"You can't expect the people in Rank A, who are mostly in sixth or seventh year, to just drop everything," Clara said.

"I'm not asking them to," Ron responded. "But if they can't bring themselves to spare an hour every three days, then they have no right to complain if we lose the House Cup. You either put in the fucking effort, or you bloody fail." _If I can do it, then so can they._

"What about people with N.E. ?" Carey asked.

"Are you telling me that you're so swamped with your studies that you don't even have an hour to spare?" Ron asked in return, and Carey slowly shook her head. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Soft… And weak. That's what you all are, but don't worry, I'll help you shape up." _And one by one, I'll drag you all to the side of the Order._

"You're going to train the people in Rank D all by yourself?" Samantha asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"The second years need a firm hand, and since Rank D is filled with their numbers, I'll take charge of them," Ron replied. "You and the other Rank A students need to help the people in Rank C, while Carey and Clara will focus on those in Rank B. If we win all the Ranked Tournament sets, we'll make **one thousand House Points**. That's enough to trump the Quidditch Cup twice over. But it'll take effort on all of our parts."

"If this plan of yours backfires, we'll lose our seats," Carey told him.

"Then we better make sure that it doesn't fail," Ron responded. "Fear is a great motivator, especially for cowards. I'll take care of Rank D, just focus on doing your part." _I bet they're wishing now that I stayed in hiding. Well, too late. I'm back, and now I'm never leaving._ "Now, when's your next meeting with the other delegates?"

"Tomorrow," Clara replied, her eyes darting towards Carey and Samantha. "After lunch."

"Move it to after dinner," Ron ordered. "I want to be there for this one." All three girls looked like they had taken a swig from Ron's Nutrition Potion, but none of them argued. "You will introduce me to the delegates, and I'll make sure that they stay loyal to you. No more rebellions, no more tantrums, and no more self-entitled brats. Everyone will do as we say. Oh, and after the meeting, you'll announce me as your second in command to the entire House."

"Any more demands?" Carey frowned deeply.

"These are not demands," Ron corrected her. "This is the price for my loyalty. I can easily make everyone in this House my bitch, but I'm letting you three stay in charge. I'm even willing to help whenever you want, but not when people in this House have the gall to call me a 'Gryffindor Sympathizer'. **I will be respected**."

"This is not like you, Ron," Clara said softly, her hand touching his left shoulder. _Oh, but it is. This is the side of me that I don't show you people._

"Didn't you once say that you find a 'dark side' sexy in a man?" Ron asked her, not even a hint of amusement on his face. "I am very fond of you three, which is why I haven't hurt you. But there are times when I just don't bother keeping my temper in check. If you don't give me what I want, then I'll take it myself."

"You'll get what you want tomorrow," Carey spoke up, which earned her a slightly annoyed look from Samantha. "It's not like you've left us a choice."

"You did this to yourself by not taking my side," Ron told her. "You made the wrong call, just like I did by not trusting you. So… Here we are. Goodnight." With that, Ron walked past them and into the boys' dorms. He could hear them talking, but he couldn't be bothered with their second guessing. _They'll do as they're told if they know what's good for them._ Once Ron reached the door to his room, he drew in a deep breath. And then, he walked into the room.

"Ron, what the fuck was that?" Daphne demanded immediately, they were all wondering the same thing.

"Mind your tone with me," Ron bit out, and she quickly closed her mouth. Tracey and Pansy just hid their gazes, while Millie seemed to be controlling herself quite well. As for Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy, Ron could see that they were smart enough to not ask any questions.

"What I just did, I did for **us** ," Ron said, his voice much calmer now. "From today on, none of us will be looked down upon. We won't have to defend ourselves from our own House-mates, nor will we feel the need to go hide in the Sanctuary. Flint, the big bad bully, cried like a little bitch at my feet. People will remember that."

"And the Triumvirate?" Blaise asked, he for one, was already coming to terms with Ron's actions.

"They have agreed to make me their unofficial fourth member," Ron replied, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.

"What?" Daphne blinked.

"Are you serious, mate?" Theo asked.

"I am," Ron replied, his eyes landing on the wide-eyed Malfoy. Ron then walked up to Malfoy, it was time to take care of this would-be traitor. "I know all about your plan to turn the Triumvirate against me, Malfoy."

"What… What are you on about?" Malfoy stammered, but the look in his eyes gave him away.

"I am much smarter than you," Ron whispered coldly. "I've known for a while, but I've said nothing. I've sheltered you, I've defended you, and today, I took a punch to the face for you. Your plots and schemes against me end today, Malfoy. Flint will no longer come after you, nor will anyone else in this House. You have two choices before you now. You can leave us and go back to your isolated life, or, you can stay and start pulling your weight. Choose now."

Draco looked to the others, none of whom dared utter a word. This was it, wasn't it? His time with Weasley's group, his old friends, was at an end. And yet, Weasley had given him a choice nonetheless. Draco had no idea why Weasley had offered him said choice, but he didn't really care right now. It was either an uneasy alliance with Weasley's group, or complete isolation once again. If he chose isolation, he'd have no one to talk to and no one watching his back. But if he chose to stay on, then he'd be stuck under Weasley's rule. After a few moments, Draco had his answer. Under Weasley's protection, he'd actually have weight and voice in the House.

"I'll stay," Malfoy said, and Ron put his gloved hand forward.

"I'm offering you a hand in friendship… again," Ron said, his cold blue eyes digging into Malfoy's. "This is the last time that I will ever do that." Malfoy looked down at Ron's hand, and then he took a hold of it. Ron gave him a firm shake, a grin appearing on his face. "Welcome to Team Ron."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Breakfast)**_

"Who did that to you?" Lord Greengrass asked, a deep frown on his face. Ron had a split lip from Flint's punch, and despite Daphne's attempts to heal it, Ron had decided to keep the wound as a reminder to himself. A reminder of what he had done, and of what he still needed to do.

"Marcus Flint," Ron replied, and both Lord and Lady Greengrass waited for him to go on. "I took care of it though. Flint will never even look in my direction again, nor will he raise his hands against another student in Slytherin."

"What did you do?" Mary asked, they were all waiting for Madam Roberts in the Living Room.

"I gave him second degree burns," Ron replied calmly, much to Mary's shock.

"You did what?" Lord Greengrass frowned even more. "Ron… Are you insane?!"

"No, I'm not," Ron sighed out. "After teaching Flint a lesson, I was enlisted as the Triumvirate's unofficial fourth member."

"That's not possible," Mary said slowly. "You're a third year."

"I am, but I'm also the most powerful student in the school," Ron said. "Both in terms of Magic, and influence. I have a great deal of respect from the other Houses, and pretty much all the first year and second year students look up to me. And unlike Flint, I can actually use my brain. In a way, I took over Slytherin last night."

"And you're sharing your new found power with the current Triumvirate?" Lord Greengrass asked, he had gone from frowning to looking slightly astonished.

"They know how to run the House, while I don't," Ron admitted. "Plus, I'm busy enough as it is. This way, I get to keep on going with my own life, whilst also being a leader in the House. No one will dare go after my friends now."

"And this Flint boy struck you first?" Lord Greengrass asked, and when Ron nodded, his face turned cold. "Then you did the right thing. He needed to be reminded of his place. The Flints… A weak, diluted Family." _Diluted?_ For a second, Ron felt his blood boil.

"What do you mean by diluted?" Ron asked, deciding that he wasn't going to let this slide. _If he talks like that in the Order, they'll throw him and his wife out._

"Years of inbreeding has left them addled," Lord Greengrass replied, but Ron knew that he was just now thinking of that.

"Right," Ron said, his eyes fixed on his Mentor's. The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and Mary stood up to greet Madam Roberts. But Ron kept eye contact with his Mentor, who was now just staring back at him.

"Madam Roberts," Mary gave a polite curtsy, while the Hit-Wizard simply gave a curt nod.

"You're here on time," Madam Roberts said to Ron, who finally looked away from Lord Greengrass. _Even after getting branded by the Dark Lord, he still hold his beliefs? Isn't he really close with Tracey's parents? Let me guess, Tracey's mother is exempt from his bigotry._

"Good morning, Madam Roberts," Ron stood up, while Madam Roberts put down her suitcase.

"Let's get started," Madam Roberts said curtly as she opened the suitcase, and Ron walked over to her. "We will see you around midday."

"Just ease him in," Lord Greengrass said, he was rather taken aback by Ron's earlier stare. Sebastian made a mental note of never giving into his old beliefs near the Weasleys again, they were all far too hotheaded to forgive such an outlook.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Are you warmed up?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron gave her a nod. She had made him stretch and run around, just to get his blood flowing. "Good, start your Circuit Training. I want to see how much you've improved."

"Understood," Ron said, he planned to do whatever she said whenever she said it. _I can't give her an excuse to leave._ Ron stretched his back, and then he got down to start his pushups.

"How much do you remember from our previous lessons?" Madam Roberts asked, her eyes scanning his form for any errors.

"Pretty much everything," Ron grunted, his body moving up and down. _Keep a steady pace, Ron. Don't overexert yourself._

"Then you remember me telling you that your Circuit Training is only half of what my Auror Recruits go through?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron let out another grunt. "After today, you will be adding four new exercises into your Circuit Training. The jumping rope, bicep curls, chest presses, and shoulder presses. I have brought the necessary equipment with me, and from now on, it's yours."

"Thank you," Ron said as he finished up his pushups. _Next one._

"These new exercises focus on strength building, and they mostly focus on your upper body," Madam Roberts went on. "We will also begin working on your form. As I said before, you're quite large for your age. The sooner we figure out a comfortable form for you, the sooner we can start training you in Dueling Techniques. Do you remember what I told you about the three styles of Dueling?"

"Aggressive, reactive, and opportunistic," Ron said mid-lunge.

"Very good," Madam Roberts gave a curt nod. "These three styles are just the basic templates, but each Duelist creates their own style from one of them. Have you given any thought to which one suits you best?"

"I prefer to be aggressive, but against some people, it's better to be opportunistic," Ron replied. "At the Dueling Club, I found that being aggressive is quite easy for me. But in my Duel against Harry, I chose to be defensive until he got close enough for me to strike. The Duel lasted for longer, but I caught him off-guard quite easily."

"I see," Madam Roberts said. "Over the next month, we'll work to find a style that fits you best. But enough distractions, keep going with your Circuit Training. I will get the dumbbells and the jump rope." _Right._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"I must say, you've improved quite a lot," Madam Roberts smirked. "Not a single complaint so far."

"My legs hurt," Ron whined, and Madam Roberts lost her smirk. "What? That was funny."

"Very funny," Madam Roberts said blandly, and Ron shot her a grin.

"So what's next?" Ron asked excitedly. "Circuit Training is done, including the new additions."

"Now, you take a seat and open your ears," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron quickly sat down in the sand. "Over the next hour, we will work on your form. But before we start that, I want to talk to you about the Dueling Styles a bit more. When you and I Dueled, I found your style to be… wild. You used strategy early on, but as the Duel progressed, you gave into your temper and became wild. That cannot happen. Ever."

"Is it because I'm more liable to make mistakes when I'm angry?" Ron asked.

"Yes, and because you could seriously hurt someone," Madam Roberts replied. "Dueling Tournaments are a place to showcase skill and strategy, they are not a fight club. If you enter the arena in hopes of hurting someone, then you'll quickly find yourself banned from them. You must be disciplined, and clearheaded during a Duel. Magic is not something to take lightly, because all it takes is one mistake. I have exercises planned for you, and if you do them properly, they will help you stay clearheaded during your next Duel."

"What sorts of exercises?" Ron asked.

"Today, we'll be focusing on breathing," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron blinked at her. _Breathing?_ "Breathing is, in my opinion, an incredibly important part of Dueling. For one, it keeps you from losing your breath while you're running about. Secondly, having air in your lungs is necessary for when you want to say incantations. Lastly, and most importantly, it gives you something to focus on."

"Focus on?" Ron asked for clarification.

"When you're actively paying attention to your breathing, you're completing a task," Madam Roberts told him. "You are concentrating on something other than your Duel, and because of that, you're less likely to become impatient and frustrated. Your focus on breathing will keep you out of your own head."

"But won't I be distracted?" Ron asked.

"At first, you will be," Madam Roberts replied. "But with practice, it will become a habit for you."

"Got it," Ron nodded.

"Now, let's go back to the Dueling Styles," Madam Roberts said. "Like I've said before, every person Duels in their own way. Some are aggressive, some hide behind shields, and some simply bide their time in hopes of finding their moment to strike. A good Duelist focuses on one of these styles, but a great Duelist incorporates elements of all three into their own Dueling style. Each Duelist is different, so you need to be versatile in your own Dueling style in order to come out on top. Before we start working on your Dueling style, we'll talk a little about each style."

"Aggressive Duelists are the easiest to spot," Madam Roberts went on. "As the name suggests, they are purely on the offensive. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. In some Duels, it is better to be aggressive than it is to be reactive. For example… If you know that your opponent is slow and easy to corner, then being aggressive is the perfect strategy. Not to mention that aggressive Duelists tend to win simply because they scare their opponents into making mistakes. Can you tell me what the disadvantages of being overly aggressive are?"

"You'd have poor defense," Ron replied, and Madam Roberts waited for him to go on. "You're also likely to get tired more quickly. You could potentially stop paying attention in your anger, which would lead to you getting stunned." _What else?_ "Oh, and you'd probably excel in Curses rather than the other branches of Magic."

"Good," Madam Roberts gave a curt nod. "An aggressive Duelist can easily be defeated by a composed opportunistic Duelist. If a Duelist is more opportunistic than they are aggressive and reactive, they can usually be spotted by their conserved demeanor. Unlike the reactive Duelist, an opportunistic one will rely more on dodging and retaliation instead of just putting up shields. This method of Dueling is all about being adaptive, and those who are skilled at it tend to win more often than not. In order to defeat them, you have to make sure that they don't get a chance to adapt. If there are no weaknesses in your style for them to exploit, they'll make a mistake much sooner than you will."

"And this brings us to the last style; Reactive Duelists," Madam Roberts continued. "A reactive Duelist is the person who will put up a shield at the beginning of a Duel, and then, they'll just wait out the storm. We call them 'reactive', but the word 'defensive' is a far more accurate description. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this kind of Dueling. Some people tend to call reactive Duelists cowards, but I am not one of them. A powerful reactive Duelist controls the tempo of the Duel. By being on the defensive, they let you burn through your own stamina and Magical Core, and when you're at your weakest, they end the fight."

"I've faced a reactive Duelist before," Ron told her, and curiosity flashed across her face. "Her name is Hermione Granger, and just like you said, she put up a shield at the start of the Duel. And this shield was damn near impenetrable, much stronger than my own. She won four out of five Duels simply by tiring her opponents out. Not to mention that she can disarm people Non-verbally."

"And you defeated her?" Madam Roberts asked.

"In about five seconds," Ron replied.

"Five seconds?" Madam Roberts repeated. "How?"

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron chanted under his breath, and then with a flick of his left hand, he made some sand shoot up into the air. "I did that right under her, and her shield dropped because she got startled."

"The Levitation Charm," Madam Roberts nodded slowly. "It bypasses shields… I must admit myself impressed, Ronald. Very clever."

"Thanks," Ron smiled proudly.

"This Hermione Granger has a much stronger shield than you? And she can cast the Disarming Charm Non-verbally?" Madam Roberts asked, she was also quite impressed with this girl.

"Oh, Hermione's a genius," Ron replied. "She's doing every elective subject, and from what I know, she's pretty much dominating her classes. Except the ones that I'm in, of course. But truth be told, she answers most of the questions in them as well."

"And yet you defeated her in five seconds," Madam Roberts noted, and Ron simply shrugged. "Think, Ronald. What is the most glaring disadvantage of a reactive Duelist? Your friend Hermione is clearly a victim of it."

"They're not very good at being offensive?" Ron asked, and Madam Roberts slowly shook her head. _Damn._

"Most reactive Duelists are far too… relaxed," Madam Roberts told him. "They fall into the trap of complacency, which in turn puts their minds at ease. So when someone does something out of the ordinary, or gets past their defenses, they panic. You should **never** fall into this sort of thinking, Ronald. It is a death sentence."

"Death sentence?" Ron blinked, and Madam Roberts' lips pursed.

"Auror Academy habits," Madam Roberts told him, and Ron nodded in understanding. "What I'm saying is that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. The reactive Duelists who tend to win tournaments never give into it."

"So you want me to be aggressive against weaker opponents, reactive towards stronger opponents, and opportunistic against opponents who are on my level?" Ron asked, and gave him a curt nod.

"Hit-Wizards employ their own type of Dueling style, and believe me, it works," Madam Roberts said. "We study the opponent, and then we adapt. In a way, it is more seeped in opportunistic Dueling, but I like to think that it's a completely different style. Depending on our opponent, and environment, we employ different methods to come out on top. From what you've told me about your Duel with Hermione Granger, you have a suitable mind for our style. Over the next month, we'll pinpoint which style is best for you." _I like the sound of this Hit-Wizard style the most. Reactive is probably my least favorite, while being aggressive has far too many disadvantages. Especially for a short-tempered bloke like me._

"Stand up," Madam Roberts ordered, and Ron jumped to his feet. "Today, I want to focus on your form." Madam Roberts then walked up to him and turned his body side-ways, her eyes assessing his height. "Merlin, boy… Will you stop growing?"

"I can't really help that," Ron commented. "My dad's side of the Family are all massive."

"Only a blind person would fail to hit you," Madam Roberts frowned a little, her knuckles digging into his back. _Ow! She's doing that again!_ "Back straight, Ronald. And bend your front knee a little." Ron did as he was told, his wand hand facing where the opponent would be. Madam Roberts then moved in front of him, her eyes scanning every part of him. "Good. Now you're a thinner target."

"I can't really move backwards in this position," Ron stated. "And my left hand is behind me… I use that hand to cast Wandless Magic."

"I see," Madam Roberts gave a curt nod. "Show me the stand that you used during the Dueling Club." _I didn't really use one during the Dueling Club. I'll just show her my stand when I'm practicing against multiple dummies._

"Alright," Ron said, and then he got into position. His hands were slightly raised at his sides, and his knees were both bent so that he could dodge either way with relative ease. Madam Roberts circled him, an unreadable expression on her face.

"This form reminds me of how wrestlers in the Muggle World stand," Madam Roberts told him. "Your knees are too bent." Ron quickly fixed that, and he immediately felt taller. "Keep your wand hand ahead of your left one." Ron titled his body into position, his right hand and foot now ahead of his left hand and foot. "Back straight, Ron. You're not actually going to be wrestling." Ron straightened his back, and Madam Roberts gave him a nod. "How does this form feel?"

"It feels a lot more natural to me," Ron replied truthfully. "This way, I can use both of my hands, I can dodge more readily in either direction, and I feel more… grounded… Like I won't lost my footing."

"I see," Madam Roberts said. "Well, being a little lower to the ground does make you a smaller target, and if you feel comfortable with it, then that's what matters. Let's test this form out."

"Are we going to Duel?" Ron asked, his face lighting up.

"Yes, Ronald," Madam Roberts smirked. "And this time, I won't be underestimating you." Madam Roberts then walked twenty feet away from him, and when she turned to face him, he noticed just how serious she looked. "First, we bow."

"Right," Ron whispered to himself, and then he bowed just as she did.

"Get into position," Madam Roberts instructed, and they both took their stances. Her stance was an awful lot like what she had shown him, and Ron couldn't help but note that it was going to be more than difficult to hit her. _She's not very tall, nor is she wide. I'll have to aim, which will buy her more time to get her own Spells out._ "Are you ready?"

"I am," Ron nodded, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"Begin!" Madam Roberts announced, and Ron quickly fired a stunner at her. She dodged it with a simple step to her left, and Ron immediately fired a Disarming Charm at her. Much to his surprise, she shattered his Charm by stabbing it with the tip of her wand. _What the fuck was that?_

"Stupefy," Ron chanted once again, but just like with the Disarming Charm, she shattered his stunner with her wand.

"Stupefy," Madam Roberts muttered under her breath, and jet of red light barely missed Ron's head. By the time Ron recovered from his well-timed dodge, a scarlet light was already flying at him. _Shite._ Ron once again dodged to his right, but this time, a Knockback Jinx came straight at him. Ron was shocked by her speed in Spellcasting, but not shocked enough to just stand there. He kept dodging, his eyes fixed on her wand movements. _How is she doing this? The moment she finishes firing a stunner, she twirls her wand and fires a Non-verbal Disarming Charm. As soon as I dodge that, she slashes her wand and fires a Knockback Jinx. It's fucking unrelenting!_

"Protego!" Ron chanted, he couldn't keep dodging like her assault indefinitely. Madam Roberts continued her chain of Spells with a dead look on her face, and Ron felt his shield tremble because of her endless barrage of Spells. _What do I do? I can't even fire a single fucking Spell. And she's too far away for me to push her back with my shield._

"Finite Incantatem," Madam Roberts chanted, and a sparkly red light fired out of wand. The moment it hit Ron's shield, it caused a minor explosion that completely shattered his shield. _Oh fuck!_ And once again, Madam Roberts began her endless assault. Ron began dodging again, and he even managed to fire a couple of stunners in between, but she easily dodged them due to her thin frame. Before long, Ron was barely keeping up with her Spells.

"Protego!" Ron chanted again, and his shield was immediately bombarded with Disarming Charms, stunners, and Knockback Jinxes. _Think, Ron! How do I take charge?!_ An idea occurred to him, and though it was risky, Ron figured that he might as well try it. He drew in a deep breath through his mouth, and once his lungs were full of air, he implemented his plan.

"Fumos," Ron said clearly, and then he began blowing air from his mouth. But instead of just air, thick black smoke poured out of his lungs. Madam Roberts' assault stopped just as Ron and his shield disappeared behind a veil of thick smoke, but instead of celebrating, Ron quickly ducked in order to dodge any incoming Spells. _I did it! C'mon, what's next?_

"More Wandless Magic," came Madam Roberts' voice, and she definitely sounded impressed. "I didn't know that the Smokescreen Spell could be cast in such a manner. Truly impressive."

"Expulso!" Ron chanted, while Madam Roberts banished the smoke with a Non-verbal Depulso. The moment she spotted the blue light heading for her feet, she used her wand to interrupt the Exploding Curse with a gust of sand. _Damn, the Spell went off as soon as it touched something. Move, Ron!_ Ron quickly regained his footing and began his own barrage of Spells, which Madam Roberts dodged rather easily. Even to Ron, it was clear that he stood no chance at this distance.

"Incarcerous," Ron said, and as Madam Roberts blocked the oncoming ropes with a Shield Charm, Ron began closing the distance between them. Step by step, Spell after Spell, Ron made his way closer to her. _Now!_

"Brachium Colubrum," Ron chanted as he aimed his left palm at her, and an ethereal green serpent fired out of his sleeve. But much to his horror, Madam Roberts grabbed the serpent by its throat with her free hand, and then with a swift slash of her wand, cut the serpent's head clean off. The Spell disintegrated right before Ron's very eyes, and before he could even process what had just happened, a stunner sent him reeling through the air.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron woke up with a jerk, his nose filled with the aroma of burning wood.

"Easy, Ronald," came Madam Roberts' voice, and Ron's eyes slowly adjusted. _I got hit…_ Ron relaxed back into the couch, a dreadful feeling filling his chest. _I lost without even making her sweat._

"I got destroyed…" Ron muttered to himself. _If she was a Death-Eater, my Cycle would be over by now._

"You did quite well," Madam Roberts assured him, though the look on her face suggested that she didn't care at all. "You adapted to my technique, and you even managed to catch me off-guard twice. Your use of Fumos was quite brilliant, as was your aimed Expulso. If you and I were the same age, I would have lost then and there."

"Right…" Ron sat up, he was truly disappointed with himself. _I've gotten far too used to dummies, haven't I? She had me by the balls for the entire Duel._ "I couldn't do anything against you…"

"Chin up, boy," Madam Roberts ordered. "Have enough strength to lose with some dignity." Ron flinched a bit because of her words, but he knew that she was right.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, and then he stretched his aching back. _Ouch._ "Did I land badly?"

"Quite so," Madam Roberts replied. "Relax, it's time I healed your muscles from today's exercise."

"Oh no," Ron sighed out, he had forgotten about the muscle treatment.

"Try to not thrust at me this time," Madam Roberts smirked, and Ron felt his whole face burn. _If she asks me whether or not I've been keeping my pipe clean, I'll actually punch her in the head._ "Now don't move too much, otherwise I might end up injuring you."

Ron stilled his movements, while Madam Roberts aimed her wand over his left foot. The moment he felt that familiar cool feeling wash over his foot, Ron bit down on his tongue. _Don't fucking moan, cunt. Don't even make a sound._ She was much slower this time, and by the time she had reached his left thigh, Ron felt the urge to break the silence.

"What was that technique that you used?" Ron asked with a shaky breath, his toes curling a bit. "You fired Spell after Spell, and I honestly couldn't find a chance to retaliate."

"It's called Chaining," Madam Roberts replied, her eyes fixed on her work. "You blend your wand movements into a never ending 'chain'. Stupefy's upwards slash turns into the Disarming Charm's twirl, which then leads to a slash for the Knockback Jinx. Rinse and repeat."

"Chaining…" Ron spoke to himself. "Bloody hell, Madam Roberts. I've never seen someone cast Spells so quickly. You were firing three Spells in three seconds."

"It is a difficult technique to master, but I will teach you," Madam Roberts promised, and Ron felt a little better. "You could have disrupted me if you knew how to parry Spells."

"Parry Spells?" Ron asked. "Wait… Is that what you did to my Spells at the start of the Duel?"

"Indeed," Madam Roberts replied, and then she started on his right foot. "How familiar are you with the Counter-Spell Charm?"

"Finite," Ron nodded to himself. "I know about it, and I noticed that you used a variation of that to dismantle my shield. Is that how you 'Parry'?"

"In essence, yes," Madam Roberts replied. "As soon as the Spell is about to strike the tip of your wand, you cast Finite to dismantle the Spell completely. This is a very advanced technique, and it takes years to perfect. If you are off by even a little bit, it won't work. It is perhaps the only way of 'blocking' the Killing Curse. Though I highly recommend that you just move out of the way when it comes to the Killing Curse."

"You undid my Spells," Ron said, and she gave him a curt nod. "Brilliant… Is that how you cut off my serpent's head?"

"Yes," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron released an awed sound. "Finite is a very handy Spell, so don't be fooled by its lack of panache. It has saved my life more times than I can count, and I will help you learn its many benefits. You are very adept with Wandless Magic, and so you should be able to cast it with your free hand."

"I could slap Spells out of existence?" Ron asked, his voice rising a little.

"Don't be foolish," Madam Roberts replied curtly, but Ron grinned to himself. _I feel so much better now. Imagine me doing that at the Dueling Club! People would go wild!_ "Stop moving around, Ronald."

"Sorry, sorry," Ron quickly apologized, though he was still grinning. "Hit-Wizards really are the best of the best, aren't they?"

"We have to be," Madam Roberts replied, she wasn't even fazed by his compliment.

"So when will you teach me these techniques?" Ron asked.

"Once we've worked on your discipline a bit more," Madam Roberts replied. "Did you remember to focus on your breathing?"

"Um… No," Ron admitted.

"Once you've learned the basics, then we'll proceed to the more advanced topics," Madam Roberts told him. "You also forgot about your form when I put you on the defensive. It showed me that you were getting frustrated, which only made me continue my assault. You cannot give yourself away like that, Ronald. You must show no signs of weakness, especially against an opponent of greater skill. Remember what I told you about minds during a Duel?"

"Yes," Ron replied. "Half of the battle is fought in the mind."

"We will work on you controlling your emotions over the next few months," Madam Roberts said, and then she moved onto his right hand. "Your muscles are horribly tense… How much stress are you under?" Ron didn't reply to that, mostly because he didn't know what to say. "You will answer me when I ask you a question, boy."

"I have Chronic Stress," Ron told her. "You know that… I just… I'm always stressing about something, alright? I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop…" _For my unfortunate luck to Curse me even more._

"Merlin," Madam Roberts frowned at him. "Next week, I'm taking you to a massage specialist in Diagon Alley." She then squeezed the muscles above his right collar bone, and her frown deepened. "Knots everywhere… It's a damn miracle that you haven't torn something yet." She then stopped her work on him, much to his surprise. "I can't do anything about this. I don't have the training for it, and I could do more harm than good at this point. Until we get your muscles healed up by a professional, you will **not** attempt any form of exercise. Understand?"

"I can't train for a week?" Ron asked, his eyes widening.

"You can either give up a week, or you can tear something and be in bedrest for a month," Madam Roberts replied. "Go and take a cold shower, our day is at an end."

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Sunday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Lunch)**_

She was still shaken by what Ron had done last night. Every time she closed her eyes, she could hear Flint screaming his lungs out. Tracey, of course, didn't like Flint whatsoever, but that didn't mean that he deserved to suffer like that. The group was divided about Ron's recent actions, with Tracey and Daphne being the only ones who were against Ron's barbaric methods. Pansy and Millie were, as usual, Ron apologists through and through. Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy were in open support of Ron, which was hardly surprising because Ron's actions had elevated him in the House, and by extension, them as well.

Was Tracey glad that they no longer had to hide away? Yes. Was she happy about the fact that Flint had been keeping his distance from them all day? Of course. But try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to condone Ron's cruelty. She did love him, probably more than it was normal, but she also knew that her stalwart friend was mentally unwell. What was normal to Ron was not normal to ordinary people. And increasingly, she had been finding herself feeling scared of him at times. When he was angry, it was hard to even speak near him. That's the kind of fear he inspired, and she couldn't help but wonder if he enjoyed dominating others in such a manner.

Her father, a man who had let himself be imprisoned and tortured instead of betraying his morals, had raised Tracey to stand by what she believed in, but around Ron, she found it best to stay quiet whenever he lost control. This was so unlike her, because unlike the rest of her friends, she was more prone to giving into her emotions. She hadn't been raised to be a quiet Lady, and most of the time, she was proud of that, but when Ron was in a foul mood, her voice refused to leave her throat.

And when it came to Ron's recent barbarism, Tracey found herself ashamed of her friend. He had burned another person's hand, and judging by his speech afterwards, Ron clearly didn't even care about how far he had taken things. There was no regret, no empathy, and no guilt in him. Tracey was saddened to admit that Ron had even looked proud of himself, as if he had done the World a service by torturing another person.

She knew that she had to say something about this, because if she didn't, Ron would do something like this again. He had a lot of people who despised him out of jealousy alone, and if those people tried to get in his way, he'd hurt them. People like Potter didn't understand that they were playing with fire, so unless they all found a way to calm Ron down, he'd seriously hurt someone down the line. Tracey despised violence, she always had, and it hurt her to see her beautiful friend use it as a means to control others.

"He listens to you," Tracey said Daphne, who was just looking over to their friends. Tracey had dragged Daphne aside for a 'quick chat', but her real goal was to convince Daphne to talk Ron down. "You have to tell him that he can't do this again, Daphne."

"I know that," Daphne sighed out, her eyes still fixed on their friends. "But it's hard to talk to him sometimes… You know that."

"Daphne, he burnt a person's hand last night," Tracey said, her voice becoming urgent. "He kicked Flint like a dog, all the while threatening everyone in this House. He's never gone this far before."

"It got results, didn't it?" Daphne frowned at Tracey, while Tracey looked at Daphne as if she were an idiot. _Is she serious?_

"You don't mean that," Tracey shook her head. "Don't try to sound like Pansy and Millie, alright? You and I both felt disgusted by what he did."

"Then why don't you speak with him?" Daphne asked. "Why does it have to be me?"

"Because you're his girlfriend," Tracey replied. "And out of all of us, he only listens to you or Blaise. This time, Blaise is showing Ron his full support. So it has to be you, Daphne."

"I… I just started dating him," Daphne whispered to herself. "I'm not ruining that by taking Flint's side over his."

"Flint's side?" Tracey muttered. "Daph… No one is taking Flint's side. This is about Ron, and about what he did to another human being."

"He won't see it like that," Daphne told Tracey. "He'll see it as me chastising him, while he's doing his best to keep us all together. At the end of the day, he did what he did because he wants us to be **here**. In this common room. Not hiding away from the World." _I know that, but that's not an excuse._

"He meant well, I get that," Tracey started. "But he physically assaulted a person. He could be sent to Azkaban for what he did."

"Have you looked around today?" Daphne asked Tracey. "People are moving out of our way. The second years stood to attention when Theo, Millie, and I spoke to them this morning. There were no arguments, no tantrums, nothing… Our seats were left vacated by people, and not one person has looked at us the wrong way since last night. No one in this House has the courage to cross Ron right now. Not even the Triumvirate. Merlin, Tracey… Ron's made us untouchable. We no longer have to deal with things like petty politics."

"It was wrong," Tracey said firmly. "Ron was wrong." At that, her eyes noticed someone walk into the common room. _He's back._ Tracey felt her gut tighten, especially when his eyes landed on her. For some reason, Tracey felt like he was staring at her rather than Daphne, which only served to scare her a little. And then, Ron's eyes landed on the first years, all of whom were studying on a nearby table. Ron smiled at that, which calmed Tracey down a little. _He's not angry anymore._

"No more of this, alright?" Daphne said to Tracey. "Just don't push him, not when he's only looking out for us."

"Daphne, please don't stay quiet about this," Tracey pleaded, but Daphne simply walked over to greet Ron. _Shite! She's putting her new relationship over Ron's wellbeing!_ Tracey just stared on as Daphne greeted Ron with a kiss, while everyone else in the common room seemed to tense at the sight of him. Not knowing what else to do, Tracey walked over to her friends and took a seat by the fire. After a few seconds, Theo joined her.

"What was that about?" Theo asked, and Tracey simply shrugged.

"Girl stuff."

"Girl stuff?" Theo repeated, and Tracey nodded. "You two looked like you were arguing about something."

"What do you want, Theo?" Tracey asked.

"So many things," Theo smirked, but Tracey wasn't in the mood for their usual banter. "Right… Something is definitely wrong with you."

"Do you really not feel bad for Flint?" Tracey couldn't help but ask, and Theo lost his smirk in favor of an understanding look.

"It was ugly, but what's done is done," Theo said, his eyes traveling to the fire.

"Why am I the only person who doesn't agree with Ron on this?" Tracey asked herself.

"Because you're the sort of person who starts screaming when her friends are under attack," Theo shrugged casually, and Tracey looked to him with a confused look. "You don't like injustice, which probably comes from the fact that you're in a House filled with people who would find fault with you simply due to your parentage."

"But Flint is a cruel beast," Tracey argued, even though she had no idea why she trying to justify Ron's actions. _Maybe it's because we love him, and that love is blinding us to what Ron is capable of._ "I hate Malfoy, that's no secret, but even I felt horrible for him when he told us of what Flint had put him through. Shouldn't I be glad that Ron gave Flint a taste of his own medicine?"

"I don't feel glad about it," Theo confessed. "If anything, I wanted to flee the room when it was happening…"

"But you're… But you're happy about the results, aren't you?" Tracey asked slowly, her eyes darting towards Ron, who was still talking to Daphne.

"Of course I am," Theo replied. "We're finally back, and so far, no one has dared to even look at us the wrong way. I mean, my second years practically jumped at their homework when I told them to study."

"That's from fear, Theo… Not respect," Tracey said, her eyes also traveling to the fire.

"I don't care about the second years enough to earn their respect," Theo said calmly. "I want them to play their part, and now, they're doing just that. And once Ron is announced to be the Triumvirate's second in command tonight, we'll have a real voice within this House. What I'm trying to say is that Ron did something terrible, but a lot of good came from it. We can either be grateful to him, or we can stand in his way. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be in Ron's good books."

"He could get into so much trouble…" Tracey sighed out. _I don't want him to be expelled._

"Ron's a survivor," Theo looked to Tracey. "Fifty Veelas, exploding Boggarts, killing Trolls… He's not like us, Trace. Ron always finds a way to win."

"But what if he can't this time?" Tracey asked. "What if he gets taken away?"

"He's too stubborn for that to happen," Theo smiled. "Remember the Re-Sorting debacle? Ron will be just fine." Tracey looked towards Ron again, only to see him sitting down with his first years. _They look terrified… God, they're just first years._ Daphne walked back into the group, and once she sat down, she shot Tracey an ice cold look. _She didn't speak to him, nor will she. Not when her first date is coming up._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Tracey listened to the lyrics of 'Tainted Love' from Soft Cell on her Walkman, her eyes fixed on her friends, all of whom were playing Wizard's Poker. Pansy and Daphne had returned to normal, but Tracey knew that it was just an act. Millie, Blaise, and Theo were much harder to read, but she knew that they were still shaken by the burning of Flint's hand. The only person who seemed happy about Ron's actions was Malfoy, and currently, he was reading a book with a content smirk on his face. _Why is he still around? Why didn't Ron toss him away?_ Tracey suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder, and she looked up to see Ron looking over her shoulder.

"Ron? What is it?" Tracey asked slowly, her earphones coming out of her ears. The others looked to Ron, but his focus was only on Tracey.

"Can I talk to you? In private?" Ron asked, and Tracey felt her mouth dry up. _Alone? Why? Did Daphne tell him that I'm against his actions?_ "Trace?"

"Sure," Tracey replied, and then she slowly stood up. Her eyes landed on Daphne, who just looked back to her cards again. Tracey then followed Ron towards the boys' room, and with each step, she found herself growing increasingly worried. She didn't want Ron to feel like she was ungrateful, because she really wasn't, but at the same time, she wanted to make sure that Ron understood the consequences of his actions.

"This should be far enough," Ron said, and then he turned to face her. "I wanted to talk to you about something, Tracey. Please just hear me out."

"Okay," Tracey said slowly.

"Malfoy…" Ron said, and Tracey felt her entire body relax. _He isn't upset with me._ "I know that you really dislike him, I just caught you staring at him. I've decided to keep Malfoy around, and I didn't really consult any of you. I'm really sorry about that. It's just that I don't want him taking advantage of the current climate in the House."

"The current climate?" Tracey asked.

"You know… People are scared of me, and some of them want me gone," Ron replied, and that's when it hit Tracey. _He knows everything already. He saw it coming._ "If we let Malfoy go now, he'll just come back as a problem down the line. But if we integrate him into the group, his interests will be tied to ours. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"You're protecting the group from future attacks," Tracey replied, and Ron gave her an eager nod. _Should I tell him about how I feel? That I don't want to see him do something so horrible again?_

"Things will settle down soon, and with Malfoy not hindering us, we might actually take over the House next year," Ron whispered, and Tracey blinked at him.

"What about the next Triumvirate?" Tracey asked, what was Ron planning?

"I'm not going to wait around for them to become friends with me," Ron replied. "Everyone in this House is after their own goals, and I won't just sit around anymore. No… If we are to finally be free of the stigma attached to me, I have to take charge."

"The stigma attached to you?" Tracey couldn't help but ask, this conversation was nothing like she had imagined it to be.

"It's my fault that all of you are constantly treated like garbage in this House," Ron admitted, a slightly shameful look on his face. _What?_ "I'm a Weasley, and my Family are proud 'Blood-Traitors'. And people like Flint and Malfoy use that to turn the other students against all of you. I won't let that happen anymore."

"Ron…" Tracey muttered, her eyes fixed on his. "What people like Flint and Malfoy do isn't your fault… How can you even think like that?"

"Because over the last two years, you've all had to endure their spite," Ron said softly. "They came after me time and time again, but you all suffered as well. While we were hiding away in the Sanctuary, I noticed how sad you looked." Tracey closed her eyes at that, she had indeed been miserable. _We all were._

"Ron, that was Flint's fault," Tracey sighed out, but when she opened her eyes, she found Ron staring down at his own feet.

"It was my idea to invite Malfoy into the group, remember?" Ron asked weakly. "All my fault… But while I was standing in front of the Hourglasses, I realized that our House was winning because of the first years. **My** first years. And then I remembered that we found the Chamber last year… That **we** saved the school. Enough is enough. We can't let other people ruin our happiness just because their opinions differ from ours."

"I get that," Tracey nodded her agreement. "But Ron… People are scared of you. Doesn't that bother you?"

"They're scared of me, and me alone," Ron whispered, a tired smile on his face. "They're not scared of you guys, but they won't ever hinder you either. It's alright if they hate me…"

"What?" Tracey blinked, she couldn't believe this. _He's throwing himself under the bus?_

"What's their hatred compared to my own Blood's?" Ron asked, though he was clearly talking to himself. _His own Blood? Ginny Weasley… Fuck me, that bitch has no idea just how much she's hurt him._ Tracey felt her hands clench from anger, she wanted nothing more than to smack Ginny Weasley over the head. "Anyway… Please give Malfoy a chance… If he ever says something that hurts you, I'll kick him out of the group myself." Ron then began to leave, but Tracey grabbed his left forearm.

"Um…" Tracey managed, she had no idea what to say to him. _Should I really tell him that I dislike what he did to Flint? Even though he clearly did it for us. He knows that people hate him now, but he's still pushing forward._

"Tracey, are you alright?" Ron asked, his gloved hand rubbing her upper arm. Tracey just stared at his worried face, and then she had her answer.

"I'm fine, Ron," Tracey gave him a smile. "And even if everyone in this House hates you, I still love you. We all do." Ron nodded slowly, a smile appearing on his face.

"I love you too," Ron said, his voice sounding much lighter now. _I hope I don't regret this down the line._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

"Ronald, these are the delegates of fifth and sixth year," Carey introduced, they were having the meeting in one of the classrooms in the Dungeons. "The sixth year delegates are Jack Hughes, Atif Aslam, and Maria Cortez. And the fifth year delegates are Martha Hopkirk, Septimus Smith, and Arthur Belmont."

"Why is he here?" Maria Cortez asked, her amber eyes fixed on Ron. "He's a third year."

"A third year who can knock your teeth down your throat," Ron smiled at her, and everyone just exchanged slow look. "Carey, please continue."

"Ronald will now sit in these meetings," Carey told the others, and they all began bickering immediately. _C'mon…_

"That's enough!" Clara yelled over the others, and everyone piped down.

"Ronald is powerful, and he has a lot of influence," Samantha said, while Ron just stood by the door with a smile on his face. "Members of the other Houses respect him, and **all** the first and second years look up to him. He's right where he belongs."

"This is against our traditions," Atif Aslam shook his head, he was clearly quite upset about this. "He's… He's a third year… He has no place amongst us."

"Be careful, Atif," Carey whispered coldly. "You forget that the Triumvirate makes all the decisions. You are simply here because **we** allow you to be here."

"I've been a representative since third year," Atif frowned deeply.

"But without our consent, you'll never be a Triumvirate member," Clara said sweetly, and Atif frowned down at the table. "Ron, why don't you take a seat?"

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he sat down on the opposite end from the Triumvirate.

"And what's his role here?" Arthur Belmont asked.

"Ron will act as our second," Carey replied, and everyone but Ron and the Triumvirate looked scandalized. _Here we go._

"You're giving him power over us?!" Maria Cortez shot out of her seat.

"You three **do** favor him!" Martha Hopkirk accused.

"I will not accept a third year having power over me!" Jack Hughes bellowed, and the other delegates nodded their agreements. Ron simply watched them all, his forearms resting the handles of his chair. _They're going to storm out of here._

"Brachium Colubrum," Ron chanted softly, and two ethereal serpents slithered out of his sleeves. The left one slid onto the table, hissing angrily as it passed by the now frightened delegates. The right one wrapped itself around Ron's upper body, its green glow lighting up Ron's cold face. "Sit. Back. Down."

The delegates all exchanged panicked looks, but they did as they were told. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, much to their bewilderment. Ron then crossed his legs, his glowing face scanning everyone in the room. His ethereal serpents continued to hiss in an intimidating manner, which kept even the Triumvirate quiet.

"I am here because I'm the most powerful student in Slytherin," Ron told everyone. "Not only am I more powerful than all of you, but I also hold more influence than you. The Triumvirate understand that, and they have decided that they wish to value results over 'traditions'. I secured us the House Cup in my first year, and if you help me, we can do it again." Ron's left serpent raised its head, its ethereal eyes glowing at Martha Hopkirk.

"Ron's first years have given us a huge lead in just one month," Clara spoke up, and everyone looked to her. "Sure, it was our plan to involve them, but without Ron, it wouldn't have worked. He has never failed us, which is more than we can say for the rest of you."

"The fifth years haven't met a single quota so far," Samantha frowned at the fifth year delegates. "Failure will no longer be rewarded with power and position. Not while we're the Triumvirate. From now on, your results will speak for you."

"This… This is unheard of," Jack Hughes piped up, but Ron's left serpent shot across the table in order to hiss into the frightened boy's face. _Easy. Don't hurt anyone, just scare them._

"You were saying, Jack?" Carey asked, and Jack Hughes hid his gaze from the ghostly serpent.

"We have been far too lenient with all of you," Samantha frowned at the delegates. "That ends today. If you want to win the House Cup this year, then you will respect our decisions. You will obey, as is tradition. No more talk of rebellion, no more half-measures, and no more excuses."

"Are we understood?" Carey asked, and the delegates nodded slowly. "You need us far more than we need you, just remember that. One word from us, and you'll all be washing pots in the Kitchens." _They're turning my inclusion to their advantage. They're acting like this was all their idea. I guess that's good for me. If the Triumvirate are openly declaring for me, no one can really question my new position._

"Now, let's talk business," Clara smiled at the delegates, much to Ron's amusement. "Ron, I understand that you have a plan to put forward."

"I do," Ron said, his right serpent rubbing its head against Ron's temple.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

As soon as the delegates left the room, Ron cancelled his Spell. _Damn… Finally._ He had to admit that he had barely managed to keep his Spell going, especially near the end of the meeting. Ron had told them all of his plan again, and this time, the delegates had paid complete attention. They had even agreed to implement it, despite the fact that they clearly didn't want Ron around.

"That went well," Ron said to the Triumvirate, who all just stared at him in response. "What?"

"You got what you wanted," Carey said coldly. "Leave." Ron blinked at her, and then he looked to the others. Samantha was giving him the same cold stare as Carey, while Clara was looking towards the door with a slightly saddened look.

"Not yet," Ron stayed in his seat. "You have to announce me to the rest of the House."

"What's happened to you?" Clara asked him. "You aren't like this, Ron…"

"Clara, don't," Samantha said firmly, and then she looked back to Ron. "We will announce you once we return to the common room."

"Why are you so upset?" Ron asked them, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with their stares. "Is it because you don't like someone else giving the orders? Or is it because you had me pegged as a simple minded moron who would let you get away with everything just because you're attractive?"

"We underestimated your ambition," Carey replied. "We won't make that mistake again."

"Ambition?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "You think I'm doing this because I want people kissing my feet? No… I'm doing this because I'm tired of being an outsider. I'm a Slytherin, just as much as you. I'm tired of forcing my friends into exile every time some other Slytherin decides that I'm not 'good enough'. And sure, you may have talked some Slytherins down from coming after me, but that's not good enough. Not when I bend over backwards to help you three." Ron then stood up. "I want to be announced now. Get up."

The Triumvirate stared at him for a few seconds, and then they did as they were told. They all made their way back to Slytherin in silence, and Ron did his best to ignore the disheartened look on Clara's face. At the end of the day, Ron's friends were more important to him than her feelings. He liked Clara, but he didn't love her. As soon as they entered the common room, every eye was fixed on them.

"Listen up," Carey said firmly, and the chatter died away immediately. "From today onwards, Ronald Weasley will act as our second!" People burst into chatter again, but Carey silenced them by raising her right hand. "His words are our words, and you will all show him the same respect that you show us. He is our will, our plans are his plans, and whenever we can't be reached, you will go to him for direction."

"You can all return to your days now," Samantha said, and people slowly began talking about Ron in hushed whispers.

"Thank you," Ron said, but the Triumvirate left without saying anything back. Clara shot him a quick look, and when Ron met her eyes, he felt a strong pang of guilt. _It is what it is… Think about your actual friends, Ron…_

Ron began making his way towards his smiling friends, his eyes surveying the entire room. Most of the students either gave him nods or averted their gazes, while the rest of them didn't look surprised at all. Flint, and his gang, didn't even have the balls to meet his gaze, and for that, Ron was grateful. The last thing he needed right now was another fight. _I'm tired, and I just want to sleep. It's been a long weekend._

"Congratulations, Ron," Daphne smiled at him, and he managed a weak smile back as he sat down beside her. She squeezed herself into his side, something that greatly pleased Pansy.

"So… You're officially a leader in this House now," Malfoy said, and Ron could see the jealousy on his face. "What now?"

"Now… Nothing," Ron replied, and everyone waited for him to go on. "Millie, Theo, and Daphne will keep working with the second years, while the rest of you will make sure to impress the Rank A students during your training. Oh, and don't abuse my new position too much. The older delegates aren't completely on board yet, and I don't want them to find an excuse to come after us." Ron then looked to Malfoy. "Keep away from Flint's gang, they still might try something stupid."

"Sure, King Weasley," Malfoy said, and then he returned to his book.

"Fucking prick," Tracey hissed, but Malfoy ignored her.

"Ignore him, he's just jealous of Ron's new standing in the House," Millie said, and then she shot Ron a smile. "Congratulations, Ron. You've done really well." _Then why do I feel like shite?_

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he closed his eyes. _I'll just sleep off my guilt. Clara, Carey, and Samantha will come around in time. You can't please everyone, that's what Snape said._

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Monday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Hungarian Forests – Late Afternoon)**_

Merlin, he missed his wife. For the last few days, all he could think about was Narcissa. Narcissa, and Draco. He hadn't heard a single word about his son in what felt like forever. Was he eating properly now? Was he still troubled by whatever had gotten under his skin during the Holidays? Had he finally gotten himself a haircut?

Lucius had been living inside of his own head ever since the Dark Lord had found him. As much he feared to think it, Lucius couldn't help but feel great regret over finding the Dark Lord alive and well. War was coming, and this time, Lucius knew that if they lost, he wouldn't live to see the end of it. The Dark Lord seemed so much more vicious now, and judging by his startling stares at Lucius, the Dark Lord was displeased with him. Lucius feared for his own life, but more importantly, he feared for the lives of his wife and son, both of whom were no doubt going to meet the Dark Lord soon.

They had been camped with the Werewolves for the last eight days, much to Lucius' displeasure. The Dark Lord had completely taken over the horde, but kept insisting that Alexander was the new Alpha. The boy was foolish and power hungry enough to believe the Dark Lord's words. After taking over the camp, Alexander had riled up his fellow dogs to the point of savagery. Women were raped, naysayers were murdered, and once the camp had pinned under the Dark Lord's heel, Alexander was sent away with his best hunters to search for Fenrir Greyback.

"Lucius, why do you look so disheartened?" came Cornelius' voice, and Lucius turned to see the older wizard walking up to him. Lucius looked back towards the woods, he just wanted to bathe with his wife in his arms.

"I am not disheartened, my friend," Lucius replied. "I am simply waiting for Alexander's return. I grow tired of living with these animals."

"You and I both," Cornelius chuckled, much to Lucius' irritation. _He's been so chipper ever since we got enslaved again._ "I must admit that I miss my cellar, and the other comforts of my Manor. But we are doing good work here, Lucius. Take pride in that." _Good work? We're teaching savages how to act as people._

"Where is the Dark Lord?" Lucius asked.

"Meditating," Cornelius replied.

"He's still meditating? It's been two days," Lucius pointed out.

"The Dark Lord plans our next venture," Cornelius shrugged. "We are to travel to Romania in order to make contact with the Blood Lord-"

"This is not a wise move," Lucius interrupted, and Cornelius blinked at him. "A Blood Lord, Cornelius… We cannot associate ourselves with a monster like that. Those things… If even half the rumors of their power is true, then we are making a big mistake by involving him."

"Are you questioning our Lord, Lucius?" Cornelius asked dangerously.

"I am questioning you, Cornelius," Lucius turned to face the older wizard. "If the man we met in Romania was indeed a Blood Lord, then you should be glad that he let us leave the tavern alive."

"We have the Dark Lord by our side now," Cornelius waved a dismissive hand. "With **his** power, that Vampire will be put in his place." _I can't help but doubt that. I can't afford to show my doubts, not ever. I must change the topic._

"Is your son still friends with the Blood Traitor boy?" Lucius asked, and Cornelius blinked at him. "Have you told the Dark Lord yet?"

"Theodore will do as I say," Cornelius said promptly. "His days of associating with Blood Traitors are now over."

"For your sake, I hope so," Lucius smirked, while Cornelius just stared at him.

"Excuse me," came a meek voice from behind Cornelius, and they both looked to see a young boy waving them over. "He wants to speak with you." With that, the boy quickly scurried away. _He was afraid of us. Good. Filthy beast._

"Come, Cornelius," Lucius said as he began making his way towards the Dark Lord's tent. "I believe that our time here is coming to an end." They both made their way through the camp, and Lucius couldn't help but notice how the beasts shrunk at the mere sight of them. It pleased him greatly. As Lucius entered the tent, he spotted the Dark Lord sitting on his throne like seat, his blazing red eyes fixed on his Death Eaters.

"Welcome, my friends," the Dark Lord hissed coldly, a terrifying smile on his face. Lucius quickly strengthened his Occlumency in order to hide his doubts from his Master, he knew the price of doubting the Dark Lord.

"My Lord," they both said as they kneeled before the Dark Lord.

"You may rise," the Dark Lord said, and they both stood back up. "Our time in this… fleapit… is coming to an end. I have sensed Fenrir through my Wards, Alexander bring him to me as we speak."

"Might I inquire about your plans for Greyback, my Lord?" Lucius asked, and Lord Voldemort gave him a regal nod.

"Fenrir will unite the disheartened Werewolves of Hungary under him, they are particularly vulnerable due to all of Europe enacting a Legislation against them," Lord Voldemort replied. "Once he has done that, he will bring his horde to Great Britain."

"Can he be trusted, my Lord?" Cornelius asked. "His plans for a World ruled by Werewolves is well-known."

"Fenrir is a dog, one that can't plan something as ambitious as 'World Domination'," the Dark Lord replied. "Let him keep his dreams… Once he has played his part in our plans, we will get rid of him." Both Lucius and Cornelius nodded their agreement. "As for you two… You will return home for now."

"Home, my Lord?" Lucius blinked, while Cornelius looked genuinely hurt.

"I have a task for your sons," the Dark Lord replied, and both men immediately tensed up. "Theodore and Draco… I have need of them." _No… No, no, no, no… Not my son! He's just a boy!_ "Lucius, do you have something to say to me?" Lucius felt his stomach turn to lead, and he quickly kneeled before his Master.

"Draco is only thirteen, my Lord," Lucius said, his voice shaking slightly. _Control, Lucius._ "He is too young to take the Mark…"

"As is Theodore, my Lord," Cornelius spoke up, he too was kneeling now.

"I will not give them the Mark," the Dark Lord said, and both men relaxed immensely. "I need them to befriend someone… Someone very important."

"Who, my Lord?" Lucius asked.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley," the Dark Lord replied, and both men looked up with genuinely confused expressions. _The Blood Traitor? Why? Wait… The Dark Lord thinks the Weasley boy important?_

"My… My son is already friends with Ronald Weasley, my Lord," Cornelius spoke up, though he sounded a little scared to admit that. The Dark Lord's eyes blazed to life, and a small smile creeped onto his lipless face.

"And how close is your son to Ronald?" the Dark Lord asked, while both Cornelius and Lucius couldn't help but notice that the Dark Lord was referring to Weasley by his first name.

"Quite close, my Lord," Cornelius replied. "Theodore counts Ronald Weasley amongst his closest friends and allies."

"And does Ronald share that sentiment?" the Dark Lord asked.

"I believe so, my Lord," Cornelius replied. _What's happening here? Why does the Dark Lord care about some Blood Traitor's spawn?_

"What of Draco?" the Dark Lord looked to Lucius.

"Draco and Weasley are not friends," Lucius replied, his gut tightening once again. He didn't know why, but right now, he really wished that the Dark Lord wouldn't refer to Draco by his given name.

"By the time I return to Britain, I expect them to be," the Dark Lord said coldly, and Lucius could do little but nod. "Your sons will aid Ronald in whatever he sets his mind to, and if they don't, then I will hold you two responsible. They will protect Ronald from harm. That is my command."

"Yes, my Lord," both men said, their confused eyes darting towards each other. They heard footsteps from outside the tent at that, and so they both stood up and moved to the Dark Lord's side. Lucius was still thinking of Ronald Weasley's importance to the Dark Lord when Fenrir Greyback entered the tent, his towering body taking up a large amount of space.

"Kneel, Fenrir," the Dark Lord said, and the musclebound Werewolf sniffed the air.

"It is you," Fenrir said, his voice as animalistic as ever. As the Werewolf kneeled, Lucius couldn't help but take notice of his clothing. _He's wearing animal hides… Disgusting creature._ Fenrir looked quite different from what Lucius remembered. His teeth were now sharper, especially his canines, his grey hair was overgrown and wild, his nails resembled yellow claws, and his eyes were rather wolf-like. _He looks more like a beast than a man._

"You have given into the wolf, Fenrir," the Dark Lord commented.

"He and I are the same, my Lord," Fenrir grinned, his sharp, yellow teeth on full display. "I had thought you dead all these years."

"Death has no hold over Lord Voldemort," the Dark Lord said, his eyes blazing red. Fenrir lost his grin and bowed his head, which seemed to appease the Dark Lord. "I have work for you, Fenrir."

"War?" Fenrir looked up, and the Dark Lord gave him a nod. "And our deal still stands?"

"You may turn the impure children," the Dark Lord said dismissively. "But you will not lay a hand on those who are Pure."

"And Half-Bloods?" Fenrir asked.

"No," the Dark Lord replied, and Fenrir bowed his head again. "You will also take Alexander under your wing. He is capable, and if pushed in the right direction, he can be quite useful."

"That little mutt?" Fenrir snarled.

"Mind your tone, dog," Cornelius brandished his wand, but the Dark Lord stopped him by raising his hand.

"You will take this camp, and merge it with your own," Lord Voldemort ordered. "After that, you will build a sizable force, which you will then smuggle into Britain."

"Britain is quite far away, my Lord," Fenrir said. "Smuggling an army through that much land will be difficult."

"But you will get it done," the Dark Lord told him. "Feel free to recruit other Werewolves along the way, but if you are discovered, then you will suffer at Lord Voldemort's hands."

"I understand," Fenrir said, even when kneeling down he made for an intimidating figure.

"Time is of the essence," the Dark Lord said. "Go. You have work to do." Fenrir stood up at that, and then he barged out of the tent. "You will both return to Britain for now, while I travel to Romania. Remember my orders."

"Yes, my Lord," they both said together, and then they walked out of the tent. _Ronald Weasley… What's so special about Ronald Weasley?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Evening)**_

Lucius watched the grime pool around his feet, the hot water from the shower washing away the memories of his dreadful trip. In a bizarre sort of way, Lucius was glad that his trips with Cornelius were at an end. The Dark Lord had found them, and very soon, he would be in Britain. A part of Lucius was glad for the chance to Purify the Wizarding population of England, but another part of him dreaded losing his Family in the war to come.

The Elves had told Lucius that his wife was out shopping once again, and that during his absence, she had begun renovating the guest living quarters. This was a particularly odd habit of Narcissa's. Whenever she grew restless, she'd redecorate the Manor. He knew that once she was back, she'd show him her work with her usual excitement. But that excitement would die the moment he told her about his trip.

The Dark Lord was back, and he already had a task for Draco. Narcissa was not going to take this well, Lucius was certain of it. He himself was quite shaken by the fact that Draco would be serving the Dark Lord at the young age of thirteen, but what could he do about it? If he refused the Dark Lord, his Family was as good as dead. The Dark Lord was merciless, and right now, he was displeased with Lucius.

"Love, you're back!" came Narcissa's voice, and Lucius steeled his resolve.

"I'm in here, Cissy," Lucius said, and he immediately heard the bathroom door open. His wife had a bright smile on her face, and upon seeing him, it widened even more.

"You're safe," Narcissa whispered to herself, while Lucius turned off the shower.

"I am," Lucius said as he wrapped a towel around his waist. The moment he stepped out of the shower, his wife clung to his chest. "Narcissa… Your dress… I am still wet…"

"I have been going mad without you," Narcissa spoke into his chest, and he slowly put his arms around her.

"I have missed you too, beloved," Lucius kissed the top of her head.

"How was your trip?" Narcissa asked, and Lucius struggled to even reply to her. _Just tell her._

"He's back…" Lucius managed, and he felt his wife tense up immediately.

"He is?" Narcissa looked up, her face showing her dread. "You… You found him?"

"He found us," Lucius replied, he had to be strong for her. "He's back, Cissy… We have a chance to cull the Bloodlines once again."

"You mean war?" Narcissa asked as she took a step back, and Lucius gave her a nod. "Merlin…"

"Cissy, we cannot show any doubt," Lucius said firmly. "Do you understand? The Dark Lord has changed… He's far more deadly now. Years of isolation have driven him mad with rage, and I believe that he'll kill us all if we resist him."

"I don't want my son growing up in a war, Lucius," Narcissa said weakly. " **Our** son." Lucius closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, he had to tell her.

"Think of what we could accomplish, Cissy," Lucius started. "A World without Mud-Bloods and Blood Traitors… If we serve him well, we'll be royalty in the World that he creates. Even the Dark Lord cannot hope to control the entire World by himself, he will need people like us. Pure wizards and witches… Draco could be a king someday."

"I have to tell you something, Lucius," Narcissa said, and her tone made Lucius stop.

"Is he hurt? What's happened?" Lucius blurted out. Narcissa simply gave him a sorry smile, which made his heart skip a beat.

"He's allied himself with Ronald Weasley," Narcissa said, and Lucius just stared at her. _He has?_ "He plans to use the boy, Lucius, nothing more. Once he's done with him, Draco will turn the House against that little Blood Traitor."

"No," Lucius interrupted, and Narcissa looked quite taken aback. "If he betrays Weasley, we'll all be dead within a week."

"What?" Narcissa muttered, he had never seen her so confused before. "Love, what are you…? I don't understand…"

"The Dark Lord… He has an interest in Weasley," Lucius told his wife.

"An interest?"

"I don't understand it either, Narcissa," Lucius replied, he really didn't. "But the Dark Lord… He commanded me to make sure that Draco befriends Weasley. That he protects Weasley's interests." Narcissa looked like she had been slapped, and when Lucius tried to reach out to her, she recoiled away from him.

"Thirteen…" Narcissa whimpered. "He's thirteen…"

"I could not refuse **him** , Cissy," Lucius said gently. "It is a very simple task… Draco is in no danger."

"That Weasley boy **is** dangerous," Narcissa said frantically, and Lucius was the one who was taken aback now.

"Explain," Lucius said slowly, his brow furrowed.

"There's something not right with that boy," Narcissa told him. "I met him by chance, and just being near him made my skin crawl… That boy is not normal, Lucius… He's nothing like his Family, I could see it."

"Tell me everything," Lucius said, he had clearly missed a lot whilst he was in Hungary.

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Gryffindor Common Room – After Classes)**_

Ginny sat in her little corner, her book on Herbology open in her lap. This corner had become her safe haven as of late. It was in the far right corner of the common room, and from here, she could watch all the Gryffindors quite easily.

Right now, she could see her brothers arguing with each other, the twins had once again blown something up. Harry and Neville sat by the fire, their books forgotten as they played a game of Exploding Snap. Without Hermione there to keep an eye on them, they both tended to just relax and play games. If Hermione saw them right now, she'd no doubt scold them for not working hard enough. Oddly enough, Hermione was the person that Ginny missed most out of the Trio.

She liked Neville, and she was infatuated with Harry, but it was Hermione that Ginny missed most. Ginny couldn't help but note how weird that was, especially when she had disliked Hermione all of last year. The bushy haired witch was bossy, nosy, and a complete know-it-all, but she was also kind and understanding. Right now, Ginny really needed some understanding.

Ever since her fight with Ron, things had gradually gotten worse for her. Ron wouldn't even look at her anymore, his friends sneered at her whenever they saw her, and even her mother had lashed out at her. Luna had her own friends now, which Ginny didn't want to interfere with. Luna looked happy with her new friends, and despite wanting to talk to her, Ginny couldn't bring herself to ruin Luna's happiness with her own problems.

As for her own 'friends', Ginny had quickly learned that they preferred her famous brother over her. The only person in her year who even spoke to her now was Colin, but lately, the other girls were pressuring him to stop associating with her. Ginny, for all of her faults, didn't want Colin to become a pariah like her, so she simply left him with the other second years, all of whom worshiped Ron.

As for the Trio, she couldn't stand being near them right now. Harry brought up Ron constantly, and every time he did, his words were laced with mistrust and suspicion. Ginny could see that Harry wanted to discuss Ron with her, but she couldn't bring herself to think about Ron without feeling crippling guilt. Davis' words rang through her head constantly. Ginny had, in essence, let Ron take the blame for her actions last year, something that she had never really considered before. Suffice it to say that whenever Harry mentioned Ron, Ginny's eyes welled up and she was forced excuse herself.

Neville and Hermione, on the other hand, wanted her to talk to Ron. They genuinely believed that Ron would just forgive her if she spoke to him, but they didn't understand her brother like she did. Ron was extremely emotional, much more than the rest of his siblings. He was angry with her, she could see it. And she, despite being a Gryffindor, was too cowardly to speak to him. What if he never wanted to speak to her again? What if he was done with her?

She herself didn't even know why she had said those words to him. All she knew was that Ron was no longer 'Ronnie', and that killed her. The brother who used to chase after her was now surrounded by people who constantly chased after him. Ron had respect, power, money, and even titles. Ginny had nothing. She was jealous of him, and yet, she wanted him to spend time with her. She wanted to go back to the days where she and Ron played around in the Burrow. She just wanted to go back to a time before the Diary.

"What are you reading?" came Fred's voice, and Ginny broke out of her miserable thoughts.

"Herbology," Ginny replied, and then she noticed that the twins were holding their brooms. "Quidditch practice?"

"Not really," George replied. "We were bored, and since Percy is upset with us, we figured that we'd fly around a bit."

"Care to join us?" Fred asked, and Ginny looked down at her book.

"I don't feel like it," Ginny replied.

"Why not?" George asked, and Ginny looked back up at him. _Because Ron gave me my broom. Looking at it makes my heart sink._

"I have homework," Ginny lied.

"Nice excuse," Fred sniggered, much to Ginny's confusion. "Hear that, George. **Little** Ginevra has homework."

"You don't have to make excuses with us, Gin-Gin," George sniggered, much to Ginny's annoyance. _Go away._

"Why would I make excuses?" Ginny frowned at them.

"Because you know that we're better on a broom than you," Fred shrugged, a smirk on his face.

"That's never been proven," Ginny hissed, her book closing loudly. "I'm younger than you, so you've just had more practice."

"Sure," George nodded in a patronizing manner. "Whatever you say, **little** sis."

"What's your problem, huh?" Ginny shot out of her seat, her temper flaring.

"Do we have a problem, George?" Fred asked, and George shook his head. "See, no problem. Let's go, brother mine. Ginny has homework to do." _I'll show you homework!_

"First person to score five goals wins," Ginny challenged, and the twins shot her smirks.

"We're Beaters," George told her, and this time, she smirked at him.

"Scared?" Ginny crossed her arms defiantly, and the twins snorted.

"You're on," the twins said together, and Ginny marched past them to get her broom. _I'll show them who's 'little'!_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

"You got lucky, Gin-Gin," George rolled his eyes, but that didn't put a damper on Ginny's smug smile.

"Sure," Ginny nodded in a patronizing manner, much to the twins' amusement. "Just admit it, I'm the better Chaser amongst us three."

"We're beaters," the twins repeated, but Ginny just kept smiling at them.

"Fine," Fred sighed. "You are the better Chaser."

"And don't you forget it," Ginny chuckled. She had beaten the twins with a score of two to five, much to her delight. _All that practice has really paid off. I should keep at it, and maybe next year, I can be on the Team as well._ The thought of winning the Quidditch Cup with her brothers made her giddy.

"You guys played Quidditch?" came Harry's voice, he was sitting a few seats away from the Weasleys.

"I beat the twins," Ginny shrugged casually. "It was no big deal." _I finally got a win._

"Has she always been so arrogant, Fred?" George asked.

"Clearly," Fred sniggered, and then he looked to the Trio. "Why don't you three join us?"

"Sure," Harry said, and Ginny immediately tensed up. _They'll bring up Ron again._ The Trio moved down the table, with Hermione sitting down besides Ginny with a smile.

"How are you, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"I'm doing well," Ginny lied. "I just beat the twins at Quidditch, even though they believed that I couldn't."

"It was first to five," George waved a dismissive hand. "We're Beaters, not Chasers."

"A loss is a loss," Harry chuckled, and Ginny couldn't help but poke her tongue out at the twins. "Good on you, Ginny. I still think that you would make a great Chaser for Gryffindor." Despite it being a compliment, Ginny felt a little disheartened at being reminded that Cormac McLaggen had taken her position. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Ignore him, Ginny," Hermione shot Harry a frown, who looked even more confused now. "He's lost most of his brain cells because of Quidditch."

"It's alright," Ginny put on a smile. "There's always next year, right?" _I beat the twins today. If I keep practicing, I'll be in the Team for certain next year._ "How was Potions Club, Hermione?"

"Oh!" Hermione perked up, making everyone flinch from surprise. "We got to make a Draught of Living Death today! It's a sixth year Potion, and it was so difficult!"

"And yet, you are clearly quite happy about it," Fred smiled at her.

"Of course I am," Hermione laughed, while everyone else just exchanged looks. _She's mental._ "Professor Snape himself helped us throughout it!"

"Snape…" Harry and the twins pulled a face, while Ginny and Neville just shook their heads. _Snape is the worst person in this school. Not even Professor, just the worst_ _ **person**_ _._

"He was a little cold, as usual, but he didn't discourage me at all," Hermione said sharply. "Though he did yell at Ron for five minutes straight…"

"Ronnie got yelled at?" George laughed, and Hermione nodded. Ginny just sat there quietly, Ron had become the focus of the conversation. Again. _It's alright. Maybe Hermione can tell me how he's been doing._

"He kept insisting that he could smell something burning," Hermione noted, and then her brow furrowed. "Actually… He was quite off today. It was like he couldn't pay attention for some reason. He kept looking around as if someone was talking to him."

"He's finally lost it," Fred sniggered, and Ginny shot a look towards Ron. _Please don't be looking at me._ She saw Ron talking to his friends, and as usual, they were all laughing while Ron was telling them some story. His hands were making dramatic gestures, and even Malfoy was laughing for a change. _So he's really friends with Malfoy now…_ For some odd reason, she felt upset at the fact that Ron was no longer upset. _I'm insane._

"In the end, Professor Snape pretty much made the Potion for us, but we got to watch," Hermione shrugged. "So to answer your question, Ginny, Potions Club was great!"

"Right…" Harry said slowly, and then he looked to the twins. "Can I join you guys next time?"

"For Quidditch?" Fred asked, and Harry nodded.

"I need to practice on the Firebolt," Harry replied. "I'm not used to its speed, and it turns a lot faster than my Nimbus 2001."

"We see no harm in it," George smiled, and then he looked to Ginny.

"Of course you can join, Harry," Ginny said softly, and Harry gave her a smile. _Just please stop bringing up Ronnie…_

"Actually," Fred started. "Why don't you come out too, Neville?"

"Me?" Neville blinked, and the twins nodded. "Um… No thanks… The last time I tried to fly a broom, I nearly died."

"We'll teach you," Ginny offered, and Neville gave her a wary look. "It's not so hard, I promise. You can try it on my Comet, it's not as ferocious as the other brooms. Perfect for practicing."

"Then it's settled," the twins grinned.

"We'll teach Hermione and Neville how to fly," Fred said, and Hermione gaped at him.

"No," Hermione refused curtly.

"Yes," the twins nodded.

"No," Hermione refused again.

"Yes," the twins nodded again.

"I'm scared of heights," Hermione admitted, there was a little shame in her voice. "I don't like brooms, nor do I like flying. So my answer is no."

"Hermione, please?" Ginny prodded Hermione's side. "Don't leave me with just boys…" Hermione blinked at Ginny, and then her face scrunched up a little.

"Alright…" Hermione sighed dramatically, and the twins laughed loudly.

"Well played, little sis," Fred commented.

"Very clever," George added.

"I was being serious," Ginny frowned at her brothers, and then she looked to Hermione. "Thanks, Hermione. We can talk while they teach Neville… It's been a while…"

"I'd like that," Hermione smiled at Ginny, she too had missed her red-haired friend. Ginny couldn't help but feel a little optimistic at that. She had beaten the twins, she had finished her homework, and now Hermione had agreed to talk to her away from Neville and Harry. _It's been a good day._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Empty Classroom – Near Lunchtime)**_

The smell of burning wood was still lodged in his nose, and it seemed to be psychosomatic. Or at least that's what Pomfrey had told him. Ron, however, had come to a different conclusion. This smell was related to his visions, there was no other explanation. _That, or I'm literally losing my mind._

"Where are they?" Ron groaned as he began pacing, he hated staying in one spot for too long. Lord Greengrass had cancelled his work day due to a business crisis in America, which Ron understood to be Order business. Ron knew that right at this very moment, the Order was holding a meeting in Dumbledore's Office.

"Sorry about being late," came Fred's voice, and Ron turned to see the twins, Percy, and Luna enter the room.

"About time," Ron said, his eyes darting down to his Rolex. "I have plans today, you lot… Be a little more punctual next time."

"Ronnie sure is a busy man," George smirked, and Fred nodded in agreement.

"You need to relax a little, Ronnikins," Fred said, and Ron frowned at them.

"What plans?" Percy asked. "You said that your work had been canceled."

"Barnabas Cuffe has asked me to meet with him today," Ron replied. _I have thirty minutes to spare, and then, I'll finally meet this fucker._

"Is that why you're wearing a brand new suit?" Luna asked, her head cocking to the side. "It's very nice, Ron. It makes you look older."

"Thank you," Ron gave Luna a wink, and she smiled at him. "And it's not new, I just haven't used it yet."

"That makes it new," Luna hummed.

"She's right, you know," Percy said.

"Please tell me that you're not about to recite the meaning of 'new' to us," Fred said, while George pretended to snore.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Percy said blandly. "I know that you two only have a finite amount of space left in those melons that you call heads."

"Melons," Luna giggled, and the twins gasped in 'shock'.

"Traitor," they said together, but Luna simply shrugged.

"Great banter," Ron said. "Now can we talk about Ginny? I really am in a rush here." Ron then looked to the twins. "Did you let her win?"

"We did," the twins said together.

"It wasn't too difficult either," Fred said. "She's quite skilled, our sister."

"Easily better than McLaggen," George added.

"She has been in a good mood lately," Percy noted. "I even saw her talking to Colin again."

"Luna?" Ron looked to her.

"I spoke to my friends, and they're quite happy with her joining us," Luna replied airily. "I've told them to not bring you up, and that Ginny is really amazing once you get to know her. They're on board."

"Well done," Ron gave her a smile.

"I'd just like to point out that Ronnie is giving us all orders," Fred said, an amused smirk on his face.

"He knows Ginny best," Percy said, while Ron checked his watch again. "So far, she's reacted exactly as he predicted." Percy then looked to Ron. "I'm getting busier with my N.E. , so I won't be around as much for the Family meetings. Try to keep the twins from ruining everything."

"Ahem," George cleared his throat. "You haven't even done anything so far."

"He's kept himself from telling Ginny off," Fred corrected his twin. "For Percy, that's the hardest thing to accomplish."

"Luna, just find a suitable moment to approach Ginny," Ron said, and Luna gave him a nod.

"Are you alright, Ron? You look tired," Luna said, her eyes fixed on the bags under his eyes.

"I didn't sleep well last night," Ron shrugged, the smell of fire kept waking him up last night. "Is that everything?"

"Harry is also joining us for our weekly Quidditch games," George said, and Ron pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are you serious?" Ron asked.

"What?" the twins asked together.

"What part of don't let Harry near Ginny didn't you two understand?" Ron asked scathingly.

"Ron, he's not a Demon from Hell," Fred rolled his eyes. _I'll show you a Demon from Hell if this backfires!_

"Plus, he was right there," George added. "He asked us if he could join us, and if we said no to him, that would've been awfully rude."

"Now they care about being polite," Ron said to Percy, who just shook his head. Ron then looked back to the twins, and he drew in a deep breath. "Don't let him talk to Ginny about me, alright? He'll fill her head with nonsense, and our plan will fail."

"Understood, my Lord," Fred saluted, while George began laughing.

"These two are going to give me a bloody ulcer," Ron told Percy, who smacked George over the arm. That's when Ron heard someone screaming his name, and his eyes darted towards the door.

"Fire!" came a man's yell, and Ron realized that he was hearing things again.

"Crabbe's set the whole bloody corridor on fire!" he heard his own voice scream, followed by the screams of dozens of people. Ron's ears began to ring from all the screaming, and he felt extremely lightheaded. _I'm going to faint…_

"Ron?" he heard Fred call, and that's when he realized that Fred was holding him up. "Ron, are you alright?!" Ron's lightheadedness got worse, and suddenly, he was somewhere else entirely.

* * *

Ron found himself standing in store of some sort, a store filled with black and white toys and gags. _I'm… I'm having a vision? Merlin! My visions are back!_ Ron let out a laugh at that, he was no longer operating in the darkness. _I can see again!_ Ron quickly began looking around the store, his eyes marveling the many gags on the shelves. _Demon Dung, Thor's Thunder Cracker, U-No-Poo! What is all of this?!_ Ron then found himself staring at a calendar, and he quickly jotted the date down in his mind. _April 26_ _th_ _, 1997._

"Where am I?" Ron asked himself, and then he stuck his head through the nearest wall. "Diagon Alley? Near the Upper District." Ron pulled his head back into the store, and then he began looking around again. _Where's Fred? This vision is about him, right?_ After climbing some stairs, and laughing at a tiny wooden Snape balancing himself on a monocycle, Ron found himself on the second floor.

"This place is massive," Ron chuckled, he was beginning to catch onto what his vision was showing. "Fred and George own this, don't they? Fucking brilliant!" Ron stopped in front of a product labeled as 'George's Compendium Box of Pyrotechtrix', and that confirmed his suspicions.

"They really went ahead and opened a bloody Joke Shop!" Ron couldn't help but laugh once again. "I bet mum was furious at first, but judging by the size of this place, they've done well for themselves. This is great!"

Ron then began making his way around the second floor, his eyes scanning all the wonderful gadgets and gimmicks that his brothers had made. _Luna's Loop Luminators? They named fireworks after her?_ Ron smiled even more brightly at that, all the while wondering if anything in this shop was named after him. _Probably not, but I can hope._ As Ron turned the corner, he saw two feet sticking out from behind a shelf. His smile died immediately, and he felt all of his happiness simply drain away.

"Oh…" Ron muttered, his now blank face fixed on the brown dress shoes. "I see… Fred's dead."

Ron just stood there for what felt like hours, his unblinking eyes staring at Fred's shoes. And then, he finally decided to walk over to the body. _I might as well figure out what happened, eh?_ As Ron turned the corner, he spotted a girl quivering in a corner. _Who's that?_ She looked wild, and utterly lost as to where she was. She had a wand in her left hand, and Ron couldn't help but notice that she was wearing a uniform of some sort.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Ron read the tag on her crumpled shirt. Ron then looked down at Fred, who was just laying there with his eyes wide-open. There was no blood, no signs of struggle, and not even a scratch on Fred's magenta suit.

"She killed you?" Ron asked his dead brother, and then he looked to the whimpering witch. "She doesn't look like a killer to me. April 26th, 1997… I need to remember this date." Ron looked down at Fred again, and then without hesitation, he began to look around the shop once again. "Clues… That's what I need. Maybe a copy of the Daily Prophet?"

Ron made his way back downstairs, and he stepped behind the serving counter. _C'mon. They don't even have a single copy of-_ Ron's eyes landed on a copy of the Prophet, it was stashed away between two folders. Ron quickly reached for it, but his hand passed through the folders. _Fuck my arse!_ Ron let out a tired groan, and he sat down on the floor.

"Fred died early…" Ron whispered to himself, his dead-eyes fixed on the folders holding the copy of the Prophet hostage. "Great job, Ron… Great job. With a brother like you, he was always doomed to die…" Ron felt his eyes sting at that, but he quickly cleared them. _Fuck crying!_ Ron stood back up, there had to be another copy of the Daily Prophet somewhere.

Ron made his way through the wall behind him, and once he found himself standing in the streets, he couldn't help but note how empty they were. _Where is everyone? I've never seen Diagon Alley so deserted before. Stop getting distracted!_ Ron began looking around for a stand selling the Daily Prophet, and eventually, he found one. The young boy who was selling the copies looked awfully down, and Ron decided to pay him no mind.

"The Hunt for the Magic-Stealers Continues…" Ron read the title. "What's a fucking Magic-Stealer?" Ron then read the article quickly, and by the time he had finished the first paragraph, he felt bile rise at the back of his throat. _This is not from the Ministry… Muggle-Borns being labelled as Magic-Stealers? No…_ It was all dawning on him now. _He won, didn't he? He destroyed everything, and everyone, who stood in his way._

"We lost," Ron said to himself, his eyes still scanning the Daily Prophet for clues. _It's 1993 right now, and by 1997, he won. In nearly four years, everything ends._ Much to his own horror, a laugh escaped his throat. And within seconds, Ron's back was on the ground as he laughed hysterically. "We fucking lost, Dumbledore! He fucked us up! Four fucking years!" Ron then grabbed his hair and let out a scream, one that carved up his throat due to the intensity of it. "HE KILLED FRED! AGAIN!"

* * *

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Empty Classroom – Near Lunchtime)**_

"Ron?" came Fred's voice, and Ron just blinked at him. _I'm back…_ Ron looked around the room, only to find his siblings hovering around him.

"Are you okay?" Luna asked gently, a worried look on her face. _No…_ Ron looked back to Fred, and the alive look on his brother's face calmed Ron down immensely. _The Future's changed, Ron. You saw it, and now it'll be different._

"I'm fine," Ron lied with an embarrassed smile. "Just really tired, that's all."

"Maybe you ought to skip this meeting with Barnabas Cuffe?" Percy suggested, and Ron shook his head.

"I can't refuse him again," Ron said, and then he fixed the buttons of his suit. "I have work to do. I'll see you all at dinner." With that, Ron just walked right past them and exited the room. Once again, the smell of burning wood overwhelmed his senses, and Ron rubbed his face rather harshly. _I'll go talk to Cuffe, and then I'll come back and sleep._

"Ron, wait up!" came Percy's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see his older brother catching up to him. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Ron asked, and Percy shot him a frown.

"You nearly fainted, Ron," Percy said a little harshly. "And then, you just walked off like it was nothing. What's the matter with you?" _I have to think about what I just saw, mate._

"I told you, Percy," Ron said in a calming manner. "I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night, and I'm also pretty busy with my own studies. It was just a little lightheadedness, that's all. It happens to me all the time."

"What?" Percy's eyes widened, and Ron the urge to smack himself. _I'm an idiot._ "Is… Is it because of your Chronic Stress?"

"Yes," Ron replied, his eyes darting behind Percy.

"I sent them away," Percy said quickly, and then he looked at Ron's face with worried look. "You do look really tired, Ron… You really should just stay at Hogwarts today."

"I'll be gone for thirty minutes at best," Ron assured Percy. "After that, I'll come right back."

"Ron, I'm just worried about you," Percy said, his hand landing on Ron's right shoulder. "You've just been so… distant… lately."

"Well, our common rooms are quite far apart," Ron joked.

"Don't be like that," Percy clicked his tongue. "I'm being serious, Ron. How have you been lately?"

"I've been fine," Ron replied. "Things in Slytherin are going well, my classes are going well, and my business is being advertised daily. Oh, and I have a girlfriend! One that is arguably the most beautiful girl in my year, the Patil twins not counting. I'm doing just fine."

"And your condition?" Percy asked, and Ron could hear the hesitation in Percy's voice.

"I'm managing it," Ron replied. "Anything else, Perce? I really do need to get going here."

"Just… Just say hello once in a while, alright?" Percy asked, and Ron gave him a nod.

"Hello," Ron said dryly, and Percy's lips twitched upwards.

"You're an arse," Percy managed a weak chuckle, while Ron just smiled at him.

"I'll see you tonight, Perce," Ron said, and then he turned around and left.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Rosa Lee Teabag – Lunchtime)**_

Ron entered the teashop, and he immediately noticed Barnabas Cuffe stand up to greet him. _So that's him, eh?_ Ron walked up to the older gentleman, who was dressed in brown Wizarding robes topped off with a bowler hat. The man looked much younger than Ron had expected, and judging by his well-kept appearance, Ron figured that the man was in his early forties at best. _Very nice moustache too. Nice and thick._

"Mr. Cuffe," Ron greeted with a smile, there was no need to be hostile towards the older wizard. Yet.

"Mr. Weasley," Barnabas greeted back, and they both shook each other's hands. "A firm handshake, I like that."

"Thank you," Ron said pleasantly, and then he breathed in the shop's exotic aroma. _I can't smell burning wood? Weird._

"I must say, you dress quite sharply for someone your age," Barnabas smiled at him. "Please, take a seat." Ron did as he was told, and Barnabas sat down in front of him. "Do you like tea?"

"I do, but I'm no expert on the matter," Ron replied. "I will get whatever you're getting."

"Then I must order my favorite," Barnabas chuckled, while Ron just smiled at him. _He seems quite different from what I imagined. I need to be careful here._

"Please order three cups," Ron said, and Barnabas nodded slowly.

"Mr. Lovegood is coming to join us?" Barnabas asked, and Ron gave him a nod. "Very well. Rosa!"

"Yes, Barnabas?" the woman named Rosa called back.

"Three cups of Masala Chai, please," Barnabas ordered, and Rosa left for the back of the store. "Do you know what Masala Chai is, Mr. Weasley?"

"I do not," Ron admitted.

"It is a tea brewed with a mixture of Indian Spices and Herbs," Barnabas told him. "It is an extraordinary creation of the Muggles, one that I can't find anywhere but here."

"In some ways, we can learn a lot from the Muggles," Ron said calmly, a soft smile fixed on his face.

"On that, we agree," Barnabas chuckled again, his graying moustache catching Ron's eye again. _So luxurious._ "When will Mr. Lovegood be joining us?"

"Xenophilius isn't a punctual man," Ron replied. "Some people would even say that he has no grasp over time."

"He is an eccentric fellow, no doubt," Barnabas nodded his agreement. "You are… different… from what I imagined. I hope you take no offense to that."

"I don't," Ron admitted. "You too are different from what I imagined."

"And what did you imagine me to be like?" Barnabas asked, he was clearly enjoying their conversation.

"I expected an older gentleman, one who would yell at me for outmaneuvering him," Ron replied. "One that would use my age and inexperience to bully me into handing The Quibbler over."

"You describe a nasty person, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas replied, his black eyes fixed on Ron's. "I expected to find a young brat with too much money on his hands. One that would happily sell out Mr. Lovegood if he was offered a higher sum than The Quibbler's worth."

"Then we are both pleasantly surprised, aren't we?" Ron smiled a little more widely.

"Indeed," Barnabas smiled back. "When you rejected my offer for a meeting arranged by the Headmaster, I knew that I was dealing with a different sort of animal altogether. You are nothing like Mr. Lovegood, are you, Mr. Weasley?"

"I'm not like anyone you've ever met, Mr. Cuffe," Ron replied.

"You certainly aren't," Barnabas said. "Your feats are… historic. If we weren't here to discuss business, I'd ask you for an exclusive."

"Maybe we'll have time for that after," Ron said, and Barnabas simply smiled at him. They both heard the shop door open at that, and they looked to see Xenophilius step inside. _Bright yellow robes? Merlin, Xeno…_ Both Ron and Barnabas stood up, while Xeno walked over to them with a sorry smile.

"Apologies," Xeno said. "I got lost on the way here."

"No worries, my good man," Barnabas shook Xeno's hand, and when his eyes darted down to their joined hands, Ron knew that he wasn't pleased by Xeno's soft handshake. _Xeno is a gentle person, that's his greatest quality._

"Ron," Xeno smiled at him, and Ron smiled back.

"How are you, Xeno?" Ron asked as they took their seats.

"Quite well, and you?" Xeno asked.

"I'm doing great," Ron lied, it was disturbing just how easy it was for him to lie now. He no longer felt any guilt over it, nor did he hesitate for even a split second.

"How is your wife, Mr. Lovegood?" Barnabas asked, his eyes darting towards three floating cups. They all made space on the table, and the cups floated down onto the table.

"Pandora is coming along nicely," Xeno smiled to himself. "All of her exams show that the baby is in excellent condition."

"Congratulations," Barnabas smiled at the man. "Shall we commence?"

"Certainly," Ron sat up straighter. _I can't give him an inch._

"Mr. Lovegood and I had a deal," Barnabas said, all of his pleasantness replaced by professionalism.

"Which wasn't written down, and therefore, was a plot at best," Ron countered, while Xeno just blinked at the sudden change in atmosphere.

"It was a verbal agreement," Barnabas said firmly. "Your actions caused me a lot of money, Mr. Weasley."

"You repaid that kindness, Mr. Cuffe," Ron said, his tone turning slightly bitter. "We have both damaged each other's businesses, but unlike you, I didn't try and sink your business."

"I may have acted rashly, but it was only because I wished to find out who Mr. Lovegood's benefactor was," Barnabas said, while Xeno took a sip of his tea. "Mr. Lovegood had no right to tell you of our deal."

"Did you make him sign a contract which forbid him from doing so?" Ron asked.

"He didn't," Xeno spoke up.

"Well, there you go," Ron said bluntly. "You made a mistake, and I took the opportunity presented to me."

"I am willing to offer you five thousand Galleons for The Quibbler," Barnabas said, and Xeno went wide-eyed.

"Why?" Ron asked, and Barnabas Cuffe just stared at him. "Oh, I know… It's because in the long run, five thousand Galleons is a small price to pay for taking out your only competitor. Witch Weekly, Seeker Weekly, and Chess Weekly… None of these magazines report the news, but The Quibbler does. It siphons readers from your paper, and the sooner you get rid of it, the sooner you get more subscribers."

"This is how business works, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas told him. "I have no ill will against you, or Mr. Lovegood."

"I know, which is why I will never sell you The Quibbler," Ron said, his eyes digging into Barnabas'.

"I don't follow," Barnabas admitted.

"The Quibbler isn't just a business to me and Xeno," Ron clarified. "The Quibbler is Xenophilius' life's work. He built it from the ground up, and he loves it dearly."

"And you?" Barnabas asked.

"I believe that news shouldn't be considered a business," Ron replied. "I believe that matters of importance should be reported on, rather than them being pushed under the rug."

"So you are an altruistic soul?" Barnabas asked, perhaps Ronald Weasley was just a boy after all.

"No… Quite the opposite," Ron replied, much to Barnabas' intrigue. "But I have principals that I wish to stay true to. I understand that just by coexisting, our businesses will clash. But despite that, I'm willing to stick through with my decisions. The Quibbler is not for sale, nor will it be in the Future. What I can promise is that I won't actively besmirch, or hinder, your product, but only if you agree to extend that courtesy to me as well."

"I see," Barnabas nodded slowly, and then he smiled at Ron. "A different animal… Very well, Mr. Weasley. Shall we shake on it?"

"We may," Ron stood up and put his gloved hand forward, and Barnabas followed his lead. "I will have some papers sent over for you to sign… Just to bind us in this agreement."

"I understand," Barnabas said, his eyes fixed on Ron's. _I'm not Xeno, and that trick won't work on me. If I don't bind him to his words, he'll fucking shaft me again._

"Thanks for the tea," Ron said, even though neither of them had had a sip of it.

"I'll be seeing you around, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas promised, and Ron gave him a nod before heading for the exit. _I'll make sure to word the document so that no one from the Daily Prophet, or anyone associated with it, can come after my business. Leave no weaknesses, Ron. Being paranoid is better than being dead._

"Ron, wait up," came Xeno's voice, and Ron stopped just outside the shop. "You didn't even drink the tea. Also… Was that it?"

"Pretty much," Ron said, and then they began heading for the Leaky Cauldron. _Wait… Shouldn't he be at the Order meeting?_ "As for the tea, he didn't drink it either. He made me spend a lot of money, Xeno. Consider this my petty revenge."

"You Slytherins…" Xeno shook his head.

"Slytherins?" Ron asked.

"Mr. Cuffe was in Slytherin when he was younger," Xeno told Ron, who nodded slowly. "He's quite proud of that fact. Always favors up-and-coming Slytherins like yourself."

"That's good to know," Ron smiled at Xeno. "We won't be favoring anyone with The Quibbler. Just pure, honest news."

"That's great to hear," Xeno patted Ron's back. "By the way, the advertising campaign is still commemorating the victims of the St. Mungo's fire."

"They'll be doing that until November," Ron told Xeno. "I've been told that people are taking well to our gesture of respect. By November, we'll be returning to the original advertising plan."

"And hiring?" Xeno asked.

"Hiring won't start until January, I think," Ron replied. "Gornuk, our Logistics Officer, is already looking into skilled and unbiased journalists, but apparently, this is a very difficult task. I've asked Lady Longbottom for help, and she too is getting in touch with her contacts. We don't necessarily have to hire from just Britain. I was thinking of going to France eventually, Madame Maxime is a very powerful witch within France. She'd know who's looking for a job within the Media section, and whether or not they can be trusted."

"Merlin, you've really thought this through," Xeno couldn't help but say, and Ron gave him a wink.

"It's my job now, isn't it?" Ron said, and Xeno just smiled at him.

"I've been writing pieces in my spare time, just to be ready for when the time comes," Xeno told Ron. "They're shorter than what I'm used to, but that's fine because we'll be releasing four issues a month instead of just one. In a way, I'm still doing the exact same amount of work."

"I'd love to read them whenever they're ready," Ron said, and then he stopped walking.

"What is it?" Xeno asked, his gaze following Ron's towards Flourish and Blotts.

"They have all sorts of books in there, right?" Ron asked, an idea forming in his head.

"Pretty much," Xeno nodded.

"Do you mind if we take a little detour?" Ron asked, and Xeno shook his head.

"What are you looking for?" Xeno asked as they began to make their way inside. "Ugh… You smell that, Ron? Nargles have made their nests in here… Probably in the older books… They love the smell of fresh new minds coming and going."

"Fair enough," Ron said, mostly because he had no idea what else to say. Ron then walked up to the counter, where a young man was cataloguing books. "Excuse me, Sir."

"Oh, welcome," the young man beamed at Ron, much to Ron's surprise. _His face just became half gum and half teeth._ "We don't see many youngsters come in during the school year. Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"

"I'm actually eighteen," Ron lied. "I just have very young features…"

"Sorry, Sir…" the young man blinked, his smile falling because of embarrassment. _He believed that? I guess Luna was right about the suit making me look older._

"Do you have any books on dating?" Ron asked, making sure to keep his voice leveled. _Please just say yes. Don't ask me any questions._

"Dating?" Xeno and the young man asked together, and Ron nodded. He could already feel his ears burning, but he decided to suffer through this anyway. _Without Clara helping me, I need to research proper dating behaviors myself. Ugh… Why don't they teach these things at Hogwarts?_

"We do," the young man said slowly. "They're just in the back there…" _Why are_ _ **you**_ _blushing, cunt?!_

"Thank you," Ron said, and then he walked over to where the young man had gestured.

"Dating, Ron?" Xeno chuckled, and Ron gave him an annoyed look. "Molly's been going on and on about Daphne Greengrass. Did you receive her cookies?"

"She sent cookies?" Ron asked.

"Just yesterday," Xeno nodded, and Ron let out a groan.

"They'll be here by dinner then," Ron muttered. "What's the matter with her? So fucking embarrassing…"

"She's just glad that you're growing up," Xeno said, his eyes surveying the many books before him.

"Growing up, or growing up normal?" Ron asked, and Xeno gave him a sheepish smile. "Whatever… If she wants to help me, then she should teach me how to treat Daphne on our first date. It's been causing chaos within my brain."

"Just be yourself," Xeno said. "I did that with Pandora, and she loved it."

"What was your first date like?" Ron asked.

"I took her to the Black Lake after midnight," Xeno replied, and Ron didn't want to hear anymore.

"Please don't," Ron grimaced, and Xeno let out a laugh.

"We behaved ourselves, Ron," Xeno assured Ron. "I wanted to show her the Merpeople. They come out at midnight to bask in the moonlight. Pandora said that it was best night of her life. The Merpeople even gave her a wreath made from seaweed. They were quite fond of me." _Daphne would never wear a wreath made from seaweed._

"Why can't I think of romantic gestures like this?" Ron sighed out, and then he pulled out a book that caught his eye. "Dating for Teenagers: How to Treat your Partner." _This might be it._

"A bit short, that book," Xeno commented, while Ron shuffled through the pages.

"It has instructions for the first date," Ron said. "Pull her chair back for her? Why? Are her arms broken?"

"Merlin," Xeno laughed. "Ron, you have to put in the effort. It may seem embarrassing, but since everyone does it, it's completely alright."

"Right," Ron said, and then he began heading for the counter. "I'll take this one, and no, I'm not eighteen. That was a lie."

"Um… Okay…" the young man blinked. "That'll be two sickles."

"Here," Ron said as he handed the clerk two sickles from his Gringotts pouch. Ron and Xeno then left the shop, and once they were in Diagon Alley again, they began making their way towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"When's your first date?" Xeno asked, and surprisingly, there was no teasing undertone.

"Hogsmeade Weekend," Ron replied. "First weekend after Halloween. You know what's funny? I have the Dueling Club on before my first date… I just hope that I don't get matched up against Daphne."

"Scared that you'll lose?" Xeno chuckled.

"Scared that she'll take the loss really hard," Ron replied. "She's really competitive, and if she loses, she tends to take it out on the victor."

"A sore loser, eh?"

"A harsh way to put it, but yes," Ron nodded.

"Well, if that does happen, don't be a sore winner," Xeno told Ron. "Everyone hates a sore winner, Ron."

"Really?" Ron asked sarcastically. "I was thinking that after I beat her, I'd put up signs all over Hogwarts celebrating my victory."

"Please don't do that," Xeno said seriously, and Ron blinked at him. _I was being sarcastic._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – Lunchtime)**_

"This is a mistake, Albus," Moody grit out, his Magical eye fixed on the Greengrasses. "These two **cannot** be trusted!"

"Moody, just back off," Black argued, he had taken it upon himself to defend the Greengrasses. _It's just like him to want to be the 'hero'. Foolish Gryffindor._

"Enough of this," Minerva snapped. "You two are both wasting time."

"Sirius, old dog, why don't you calm down?" Diggle said, and Black shot him a frown.

"Alastor, let them make their case at least," Vance said pleasingly, and then looked to Sebastian and Mary. "Please, speak up. You are amongst friends now."

"And I don't need to make my case?" James Davis asked, which made Snape smirk from his corner. _Unlike Sebastian, James was always headstrong._

"Your story is well-known amongst us, Sir," Podmore replied. "You stood against the Dark Lord even after he tortured you. Lord Greengrass, however, aided our enemy."

"To protect his wife," Arthur Weasley spoke up.

"Sebastian, Mary… Why are you both so quiet?" Albus asked, and Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at the old man.

"I see no need to 'make my case'," Sebastian replied, much to Moody's annoyance. "You invited us here, and so here we are."

"I see," Albus smiled at the pair, while Moody grumbled to himself.

"We have begun investing in properties throughout Europe, just as you asked," Sebastian went on. "The Order will have its safe-houses by the end of the month, and all of them will be filled with rations. None of you will go hungry this time around."

"We've also made sure that these safe-houses will be fitted with the Fidelius Charm, as well as other protective Wards," James added.

"Thank you," Albus smiled at them, and then he looked to Moody. "Alastor, we must be better prepared this time."

"I still don't trust them," Moody growled, and then he limped off towards the nearest corner.

"Did you find your recruits, Alastor?" Lupin asked.

"I found two," Moody said sourly. "Hestia Jones, and Nymphadora Tonks. Andromeda Tonks and Edward Tonks have also agreed to help the Order, but they don't want to fight on the frontlines."

"Why aren't they here?" Filius asked.

"Nymphadora is in Albania, while Hestia is hiding away her parents in the States," Moody replied. "As for the two older Tonks, they don't want to be involved in our plans. The last war is still haunting them." Moody then looked to Doge. "Did you find Mundungus?"

"No, he's quite crafty," Doge replied. "He's gone into hiding since the call-to-arms was sent out."

"I'll find him," Podmore volunteered. "Mr. Doge, please don't trouble yourself with a man like him. I'll go to Knockturn Alley on your behalf."

"Thank you, my boy," Doge smiled gratefully, he was too old to visit that place.

"Alastor, I may have a recruit for you," Arthur Weasley said. "Kingsley Shacklebolt. I've worked with him at the Ministry, and he holds a great deal of respect for Dumbledore."

"I know him," Moody nodded curtly. "A bit too straight for my liking, but I'll look into it."

"I've sent my sons Bill and Charlie letters, just like you asked," Molly Weasley said. "Bill is asking for a transfer to Gringotts as we speak, while Charlie has agreed to stay on in Romania as your liaison."

"Thank you, Molly," Albus said, his smile turning slightly sad. "Forgive me for asking after your sons, but we are in dire need of more allies." _Allies? Or foot soldiers? Ronald will not be pleased about this._

"They want to fight," Molly said proudly.

"What are we doing about Harry Potter?" Aberforth asked. "I understand that Hogsmeade Weekend is coming. He shouldn't be allowed to wander around anymore, not with Lord Voldemort prowling the shadows again."

"We can't just lock him away," Lupin said quickly. "Harry is just a boy. He deserves the chance-"

"Spare us your speech, Lupin," Snape finally spoke up, he could no longer stomach this same speech. "Potter now has a target on his back, and the Dark Lord is not to be underestimated."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Black spat out, and Snape felt his annoyance spike. "Tell us, have you bent over for him yet?"

"Sirius, that is enough," Albus spoke up, but Black just shot Snape a look of utter contempt. _You'll get what's coming to you, Black. Just you wait._ "Severus has earned my trust, and you will both put this rivalry to bed."

"He earnt your trust by betraying his fellow Death Eaters," Black said. "What's to stop him from betraying us?"

"Sirius, enough," Lupin said, and everyone just stared at Black.

"What if we visit Hogsmeade as well?" Vance suggested, and everyone now looked to her. "If a few of us were at Hogsmeade, Mr. Potter could enjoy the day with his friends."

"I'll volunteer for that," Diggle nodded, a happy smile on his face.

"I would also like to volunteer, Headmaster," Podmore said politely, and Black shot Snape a smirk. _As if they could stop the Dark Lord. Whatever._

"Do not make contact with him," Albus ordered, and the volunteers nodded. "Harry must not be thrust into the war, not yet."

"Poor boy," Molly Weasley shook her head, while the others shared her sentiment. The Greengrasses, James Davis, Aberforth, Moody, and Snape did not share the sentiment. _Once again, they all act like only Potter will suffer through the war. I wonder how Molly Weasley would feel if she knew that her youngest son has been in this war since he was eight._

"There is one more order of business that we need to discuss," Albus said. "I've heard whispers of Werewolf activity being on the rise in Hungary. Apparently, a ferocious leader has risen within their community, one that is merging packs at an unprecedented rate. In the last five days, several Alpha's have been brutality murdered by this new Pack Master. Murdered, and eaten…"

"Eaten?" Lupin asked, his eyes widening.

"This new Pack Master is a cannibal," Albus replied, and everyone exchanged slow looks. _Fenrir Greyback. It has to be him. I once saw him take a bite out a young witch whilst he was in human form._ "I believe that this Pack Master is Fenrir Greyback, who was last sighted within Hungary itself. As you all know, he is an associate of Lord Voldemort from the first war, and time has not made him any softer."

"He's rebuilding his army," Moody said, and Albus nodded. "Then we need to do the same."

"I can hire mercenaries to take care of Greyback," Sebastian spoke up.

"Mercenaries? You mean assassins," Vance frowned a little.

"I still have contacts from the First War," Sebastian told her. "One word from me, and Greyback will be taken care of." _And the Dark Lord would lose one of his lieutenants. Not a bad strategy at all. Greyback was the primary source of the Dark Lord's Werewolves, and without him, the Dark Lord's army will be severely weakened._

"We don't operate in this manner," Doge shook his head. "Albus, tell this man that he is no longer working for the Dark Lord."

"Assassinations…" Hagrid frowned deeply. "Killin' is killin', yeh can't just pretend otherwise."

"It was only a suggestion," Mary said rather calmly. "My husband and I are unfamiliar with your esteemed organization, but we are eager to learn." _Nice save, but I agree with Sebastian._

"Sorry I'm late!" Xenophilius Lovegood said as he burst through the fireplace. Lovegood then looked around the room for his wife, who was not in attendance.

"She was feeling a bit sick," Molly told him, and Lovegood nodded slowly.

"Please, take a seat," Albus said, and Lovegood quickly sat down with the Weasleys. "Sebastian, see if you can report Fenrir Greyback to the Hungarian Ministry anonymously. They are quite harsh on their Werewolf denizens, and would no doubt look into it." Sebastian merely gave Albus a nod, he clearly didn't think that this plan was going to work. Snape just looked at Albus' face, and he knew then and there that Albus was on board with Sebastian's plan. _Can't break the illusion, can we?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Black Lake – After Lunchtime)**_

Ron stood in front of the Black Lake, his eyes fixed on the water. He could smell fire once again, which had resulted in him thinking about his vision about Fred. He had to tell Dumbledore and Snape about what he saw, especially that the Dark Lord would bring down the Ministry by April 1997. Now that he thought about it, it was a rather harrowing vision. The girl who had killed Fred clearly wasn't sane, or at least, she'd been forced to do it.

And the fact that Diagon Alley was all but deserted didn't sit well with Ron. The Dark Lord had clearly broken everyone's spirits by then. _Four years._ Ron looked down at the book that was supposed to help him with his dating life, and he suddenly felt his blood boil. _Fuck this book!_ Ron tossed the book into the lake with all of his strength, what the fuck was he doing? He had no right to waste his time on dating, not while everyone was in so much danger.

"Selfish…" Ron hissed, his fists clenching. "Self fucking prick…" Ron suddenly struck his own head, which he immediately regretted. "What am I doing? I need to be getting ready for what's to come." Ron put his hands over his face, and he closed his eyes. _Think, Ron. What else can you do right now?_

He knew that he to go train the Rank D students very soon, but right now, he just couldn't bring himself to leave the Black Lake. It was quiet here, and he could just think. _Four years… I won't have even graduated by then. How could he win so quickly? Did our efforts change nothing? Can he even be beaten?_ Ron suddenly heard a loud scream from behind him, and he quickly turned around with his wand at the ready. What he saw froze his blood, and his wand slipped out of his gloved hand. _By the Gods…_

The whole Forest around him was on fire, and off in the distance, Hogwarts was burning. The smell of fire and smoke burned his nostrils, and Ron's jaw dropped open. _Hogwarts…_ Ron could do little but stare at the collapsing castle, its corpse engulfed in large yellow flames.

"I'M HALF-BLOOD!" a girl screamed, and Ron slowly looked to his left. Five burly men were dragging a young girl behind them, her Ravenclaw robes torn to shreds. "PLEASE! I'M FOURTEEN! PLEASE STOP! HELP ME! PROFESSOR FLITWICK!"

"It's just a vision, Ron," Ron spoke to himself, but his gut still twisted painfully. The men were laughing as they kicked and dragged her around, while a couple of them were giving her lecherous looks.

The girl kept screaming, even when one of the men pinned her down. Ron looked away at that, but as soon as his eyes landed on the lake, he wished that he had looked elsewhere. Dozens of boats were capsized, and around them were the bodies of drowned students. All of them just floating as if they were as light as leaves, their cold blue faces made Ron's face twist from horror. And the girl kept screaming, while the men grunted loudly and cheered.

Ron just stared at the water, his hands covering his ears. _No… Please stop. I can't take this anymore._ Ron's eyes landed on the floating body of Johnathan Fawley, and his eyes began to burn. _John? They got him too?_ Ron knew that this was a vision of one of his past lives, but mixed in with what he saw in Fred's vision, he knew that this was his own Future too.

" _ **Failure…**_ " the Entity hissed in the back of Ron's mind, and Ron sniffled.

"Shut up," Ron managed, but his throat was closing up.

" _ **Kill, or be killed,**_ " the Entity continued. " _ **Burn them all, Champion. Kill those who wish to wrong you.**_ "

"Stop it," Ron begged, his eyes darting towards the Ravenclaw girl. She had stopped screaming, and was now just being defiled with a vacant look on her face.

" _ **She is your sister, your mother, your Daphne,**_ " the Entity growled. " _ **She is every person that you will fail.**_ " Ron lost the strength in his legs, and he fell down onto his knees. His eyes were just fixed on the girl, and when he noticed how proud the men looked with what they were doing, he released a pathetic sob.

"Stop…" Ron pleaded. "Just stop it…"

" _ **Kill. Them. All.**_ " Ron picked up his wand, and he aimed it at the smug rapists.

"Confringo!" Ron yelled, his face marred by rage and sorrow. The explosion was deafeningly loud, and when Ron reopened his eyes, everything had returned to normal. Ron quickly stood up and looked around, and much to his relief, his vision had ended.

"Entity?" Ron called, but there was no answer. Ron then looked to the scorched land not too far from him, and his gut twisted again. _Who was she?_ Ron wiped the tears from his face, and then he looked back to the lake. _No dead bodies…_

"Oi! You there!" came a loud yell, and Ron turned to see a seventh year Gryffindor student frowning down at him. "What do you think you're bloody doing?! Setting off explosions like that!" Ron just looked back to the lake, his head swimming from his visions. _This is not my Future. Hogwarts won't burn… But my enemies will._ _ **They will all burn.**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that, and I'll leave you all to speculate on where the story is going! It gets a little crazy because of how many plots are happening at once, and mixing them all together is quite fun.**

 **Next Chapter will be out on Sunday! Until then, enjoy your week!**

 **Also, CHOICES is back! WOHOO! If you enjoyed that story, get back onto the hype train!**


	84. Chapter 84 - Bishop takes Rook

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 84 is done!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 84 – Bishop takes Rook**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Slytherin Training Area – Evening)**_

"Don't jump so hard," Ron said, and the second year named Roger nodded fervently. _All of them are so damn nervous around me, which is not helping._ "Let me show you guys again, alright?" Ron then looked to Tracey, and she gave him a nod.

"Stupefy!" Tracey chanted, and Ron took a short step to his left. The red light flew past him and struck the wall behind him.

"See?" Ron said to the second years. "Just a small step is all it takes. Spells like Expelliarmus and Stupefy don't have large hitboxes, and since most of the people in Rank D depend on them, all you need to worry about is small steps. That's what we'll focus on today. Everyone find a partner, and then take turns dodging Spells. Only use stunners or the Disarming Charm, nothing dangerous." Everyone began looking for partners, with Daphne quickly sliding up to Ron.

"Partners?" Daphne smirked, but Ron found it difficult to smile at her. He was still so bloody shaken by his visions, and just looking at her made him feel guilty. _Instead of taking her out on dates, I should be teaching her how to defend herself. If what happened to that Ravenclaw girl happened to Daphne, I think I'd die from heartbreak._ "Ron? Hello?"

"Yeah, partners," Ron nodded, and Daphne gave him a slightly baffled look.

"Hey, are you alright?" Daphne asked gently. "You weren't at lunch, and you've been off ever since you got back from your meeting. Did something happen with Cuffe?"

"No… Daphne, I'm just… I'm having an episode…" Ron whispered, and Daphne blinked at him. "Mood swing… I just feel really down… But other than that, I'm perfectly fine."

"Oh," Daphne whispered back, and then she looked around at everyone in Rank D. Pansy and Tracey had paired up, while the second years had paired up with each other. "Maybe you ought to teach us another time?"

"No," Ron said quickly, this was helping him stay distracted. _After dinner, I'm going straight to Dumbledore and Snape. They need to know about what I saw._ "C'mon, I made you a promise, remember? You're going to win Rank D."

"The Ranked Tournament is a long way away," Daphne couldn't help but smile a little.

"Practice makes perfect," Ron said with a weak smile. "Don't let my mood get you down, alright? This just happens to me sometimes…"

"Alright," Daphne agreed, she didn't want to overstep with him right now. "But I'm here if you want to talk, or if you want kisses." Ron reached forward and took her left hand with his gloved one, and after giving it a squeeze, he took a few steps back.

"I'll throw the first Spell," Ron said, and Daphne gave him a nod. "Stupefy!" Daphne took a late step to her left, and the stunner missed her by an inch. "Don't wait so long to react."

"Right," Daphne nodded. "Stupefy!" Ron easily moved out of the way, and Daphne made sure to observe his movements. "You dodge in such a fluid manner."

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he aimed his wand at her. "Stupefy!" This time, Daphne dodged in time. "Very good, Daph. Just like that."

"Thanks," Daphne smirked, she looked quite pleased with herself. They both exchanged Spells for around ten minutes, during which no one was hit. But eventually, Ron heard a squeal from behind him.

"What happened?" Ron asked Rogers, who was just staring at an unconscious Bethany. Ron walked up to the slightly chubby brunette, his eyes focused on her face.

"I got her with a stunner," Rogers said guiltily.

"It's alright, mate," Ron shot the guilty boy a reassuring smile, which seemed to jar the second years. "Rennervate!"

"Ow…" Bethany groaned as she woke up, but once she saw him, her eyes widened. "I'm sorry! My foot slipped, and I couldn't-"

"It's alright," Ron said gently, he didn't want to frighten them during training. _What I did to Flint was a necessary evil. These second years might be lazy, but they don't deserve my anger._ "Here, let me help you up."

"Th… Thanks…" Bethany muttered, and then with Ron's help, she was on her feet in no time.

"Mistakes happen," Ron reassured her. "It's part of the learning process." Ron then looked to Tracey. "How many times have you seen me take a hit, Trace?"

"More times than I can count," Tracey replied, she was quite glad that Ron was being soft on the second years. She had expected fire and rage, not soothing words and pleasant smiles.

"See?" Ron managed a smile at the brunette. "It's fine. Practice makes perfect. Ready to get back at it?"

"I am," the brunette nodded, her confused eyes darting towards her equally confused partner.

"Alright, let's keep going!" Ron said to the second years, all of whom quickly got into their positions. Ron then walked back to Daphne, who gave him an approving smile. "What?"

"You'll win them over if you keep at this," Daphne hummed, and Ron simply shrugged.

"Making them miserable would serve no one," Ron said. "I learnt that from teaching all of you…"

"It is true that you're a lot gentler with us now," Daphne noted. "Especially Pansy." Ron shot a look towards the raven-haired witch, who was currently dodging a stunner from Tracey with practiced perfection. _Very nice dodge._

"I'm growing as a person," Ron joked, but Daphne just nodded her agreement. "C'mon, let's get back to it."

"Yes, Sir," Daphne smirked, and her words made him feel a tiny bit better.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Nearly End of Dinner)**_

"Why don't you ask the first years to join us next time?" Pansy asked, her eyes darting towards them. "I reckon they'll stop being scared of you if you show them just how good you are with the second years."

"I'm teaching them tomorrow," Ron shrugged, his eyes fixed on the Gryffindor table. He had noticed that Lavender's lot were eyeballing Hermione quite angrily, while Hermione was glaring right back at them.

"You haven't heard, have you?" Blaise asked, and Ron looked to him.

"Heard what?" Ron asked.

"Granger's made herself some enemies," Malfoy smirked, and Ron looked back towards Hermione. _Enemies?_

"Lavender found out that her pet rabbit died last night," Millie started, she felt quite bad for the girl. They had made an odd bond over each other's cats, and despite being a little airheaded, Lavender wasn't a bad person at all.

"Binky died?" Ron asked, Lavender had told him all about her pets during the earlier study group sessions. Theo, Malfoy, and Blaise shot him confused looks, why would Ron even know the rabbit's name?

"Eaten by a fox," Millie sighed. _Ouch._

"The thing is… Professor Trelawney predicted her rabbit's death," Pansy spoke up, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at her. _Divination? She did make that Prophecy about Harry…_ "What was it that she said again?"

"The thing that you are dreading will happen on the sixteenth of October," Tracey said spookily. "And lo and behold, her rabbit died. Rest in pieces, Binky, you will be missed."

"Tracey, don't be rude," Millie frowned a little, which only made Tracey snigger.

"Sorry, I forgot that you actually like Brown," Tracey said, and Millie frowned more deeply.

"Granger was apparently less than tactful about Binky's death," Daphne told Ron. "Apparently, she even went as far as to prove why Professor Trelawney is a 'con-artist'. Turns out, Granger doesn't like our Divinations Professor very much."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Why are you so interested in Granger, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, and Ron just shot him a frown. Daphne just stared at Ron, she clearly wanted an answer as well.

"If I know about her problems, then I can help solve them," Ron told Malfoy. "Which in turn improves my standing with her friends and House-mates." _That, and I don't want someone to smother her in her sleep._

"Professor Trelawney told us that books won't be much help when it comes to Divination, and ever since then, Granger has been moody during class," Pansy told Ron, who nodded slowly. "Either way, Granger isn't on good terms with her House-mates right now. I suggest that you take Brown's side on this, mostly because only Potter and Longbottom are with Granger on this."

"And they're quite reluctant about it as well," Theo pointed out. "Pansy's right. Siding with Brown helps you more."

"I'll get her something tomorrow and give her my condolences," Ron decided. "She's quite popular in Gryffindor, so that should net us some goodwill."

"Get her chocolates," Pansy advised. "I hear that she has quite the obsession with chocolate, and as it happens, Sugarplum's Sweets Shop sells rabbit shaped chocolates. They hop around and put on a show for the eater, which ought to cheer her up a bit."

"Thanks, Pansy," Ron smiled at her, and she perked up immediately. "You're brilliant, especially when it comes to gifts." _Rabbit shaped chocolates… I would've never thought of that._

"Why, thank you," Pansy beamed, her entire face lighting up. Malfoy looked between the two of them, and he looked back down at his plate. Weasley certainly knew how to keep people in line. The bell rang loudly, and people began to shuffle out of the Great Hall. _I'll go to Snape's Office, and from there, to the Headmaster's Office._ As they made their way up the steps leading out of the Entrance Hall, Ron spotted a Gryffindor seventh year pointing him out to Percy. _Shite, that's the bloke who saw me fire off that Confringo._

"I need to go see Snape," Ron told his friends, and then he picked up his pace. His friends quickly followed after him, while Percy got bogged down by the students in his way. As they entered the Dungeons, Ron began to slow down.

"What was that?" Blaise asked, while Ron let out a relieved breath.

"I caused an explosion today, and a Gryffindor saw me commit the crime," Ron replied, much to their surprise.

"An explosion?" Theo asked.

"A Confringo," Ron replied, and they all nodded slowly. "Long story short, I was just practicing."

"Why do you need to see Professor Snape?" Malfoy asked, his eyes narrowing on Ron. _If he starts getting jealous like Harry, I'm going to throw him off of the Astronomy Tower._

"He's heard about my new role in the House, and he wants to talk to me," Ron lied, he knew for certain that no one had told Snape a thing. _Because if they had, then he'd have cornered me already._

"We'll be in the common room, Ron," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Wizard's Poker?" Tracey asked, and everyone but Malfoy nodded.

"Blaise, please keep my portion safe until I get back," Ron said. "And keep it away from Theo."

"Why me?" Theo asked with a smirk.

"Because you're a bastard," Ron smirked back, and then he began heading for Snape's Office. After a minute or so, he found himself standing in front of Snape's door. Ron knocked on it loudly, and Snape suddenly pulled the door open with a frown. _He must've been by the door._

"Kick it down next time," Snape hissed, and Ron blinked at him.

"Okay… But I won't be paying for the damages," Ron said, and Snape tried to shut the door in his face. "Wait! I need to talk to you about the Future." Snape reopened the door, and he gestured Ron to get inside. Ron quickly made his way inside, and after Snape shut the door, they both turned to face each other.

"What's happened?" Snape asked.

"I had two visions today, and you need to know about them."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron sat in his chair, and he simply watched Dumbledore and Snape come to terms with what he had just told them. It never ceased to surprise him that his visions took such a toll on both men, who were both much stronger than he was. Snape seemed to be taking refuge in his own mind, while Dumbledore had begun pacing behind his desk.

"1997, you say?" Dumbledore looked to Ron, and Ron nodded.

"April, 1997," Ron replied, and Dumbledore closed both of his eyes. _He looks like he fell asleep whilst standing up._

"Four years," Snape finally spoke up, and Ron immediately looked to him. Snape looked more gaunt than usual, and Ron knew that the vision of Hogwarts burning had gotten to him. "Let's dissect these visions." Ron gave him a nod, while Dumbledore just stood there with his eyes closed. "You watched Hogwarts burning… And a lake full of dead students… Was there anything else?"

"There was a fourth year Ravenclaw," Ron started, he had left this out until now. "She was being attacked by five men, all of them well-built and in trench coats."

"She was Dueling them?" Snape asked, and Ron swallowed thickly.

"She… They were defiling her," Ron all but whispered, and Snape's face became stone like.

"Snatchers," Snape said to Dumbledore, who just gave a solemn nod.

"Snatchers?" Ron asked.

"Snatchers were Muggle-Born hunters," Snape told Ron, and Ron genuinely felt disgusted. _Hunters? Of people? Merlin…_ "They mostly acted as the Dark Lord's foot soldiers, but their main goal was to line their own pockets and bask in the slaughter. As for the students in the Lake…" Snape looked to Dumbledore.

"A contingency plan," Dumbledore told them. "Should Hogwarts be attacked, her students would be vacated towards the Lake via secret passages. From there, the Groundskeeper would ferry them towards Hogsmeade for protection."

"I didn't see Professor Hagrid in my vision," Ron commented.

"The water most likely pulled him in," Snape told Ron. "Hagrid is quite large, and quite heavy."

"I see," Ron nodded slowly.

"And the entire castle was on fire?" Albus asked, and Ron nodded once again. "Peculiar. Hogwarts is filled with Wards designed to keep her safe, but if Lord Voldemort was to attack the castle, he'd bring down those Wards. The only problem being that he would never do that."

"He wouldn't?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"To him, Hogwarts is the only place that ever felt like home," Dumbledore replied, a distant look on his face. "He even tried to become a Professor here right after his graduation, and then again after a few years passed." _He was still Tom Riddle Jnr back then. Theo's report told us as much._

"This is the Dark Lord we're discussing," Snape joined in. "You forget that he is capable of anything should his life be threatened."

"You are right, Severus," Dumbledore nodded. "Of course, this second vision was from one of Ronald's previous lives. The vision that we need to be focusing on is the one involving Fred Weasley's death." Ron felt his stomach turn at that, but he kept his face in check. "By April, 1997, the Ministry will have fallen. Diagon Alley will have been deserted, and Snatchers will be openly hunting Muggles and Muggle-Borns without any resistance. This… This is truly disheartening."

"The Order might still be active," Snape said, but Ron just shook his head.

"What does that matter?" Ron asked. "With the Ministry gone, and people dying by the thousands, what's it matter?"

"It matters," Snape argued. "The night is always darkest before the dawn. You might still be fighting the Dark Lord in April, 1997."

"I wouldn't be," Ron shook his head, and Snape blinked at him. "The moment I lose a member of my Family, I will commit suicide and restart the Cycle." Both Dumbledore and Snape went dead silent, their eyes fixed on Ron.

"Ronald…" Dumbledore said after a few seconds, he looked quite shocked for once.

"I've told you, I'm not losing the people that I love," Ron said firmly. "My job is to keep them safe, and I'm not above using my Cycles to my advantage."

"You…" Snape started, but then he simply stopped. Ron couldn't quite figure out Snape's expression, but he knew that it was a mixture of anger, shock, and shame. "Forget Fred Weasley's death, let's focus on the finer details."

"Severus-" Dumbledore started, but Snape stopped him with a meaningful look.

"In just four years, not only will the Dark Lord have returned to the height of his power, but he will have devastated the country," Snape continued. "That means that he'll be in open warfare against the Ministry between 1996 and 1997. Maybe even as early as 1995. The war is approaching much faster than any of us anticipated."

"What is the Order doing about it?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Snape frowned, and Ron just blinked at him. "We spend more time bickering about morals than we do planning."

"Are you fucking serious?" Ron asked, and Snape looked to Dumbledore. "Headmaster?" Dumbledore merely shook his head, he truly didn't know how to proceed. "For Merlin's sake… What's wrong with you people?"

"Things are more complicated than they appear," Dumbledore said. "The addition of the Greengrasses has split the Order…"

"Split the Order?" Ron fumed, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck. " _ **We have watched Our brother die twice, and yet, you do nothing with the information that We provide.**_ " Ron suddenly felt lightheaded, and when he looked back to the two wizards, he found them just staring at him with startled looks.

"You just-" Snape started, but Ron cut him off.

"I know," Ron frowned deeply. "I remember it." _I just felt so fucking angry right now that I nearly attacked them._

"You remember being possessed?" Dumbledore asked slowly, and Ron nodded curtly.

"Gods…" Snape sighed out, and then he rubbed his forehead. "Can nothing go right?"

"Don't worry about my mental state," Ron told them, and then he looked to Dumbledore. "Do you know why the Order is split? It's because you allow them the privilege to become split. If I was you, I'd fucking clap anyone who stepped out of line. You're their leader, not their friend. Tell them to get in line, and tell them to get shite done!"

"You'd have me become a dictator?" Dumbledore asked, his expression hardening.

"I'd have you lead," Ron matched the old wizard's gaze. "I didn't risk my life by including you two, only to watch you squander whatever information I pass onto you. The Dark Lord is on the move, he has two powerful Pure-Bloods who are dying to meet him, and now we find out that he not only amasses an army in the next four years, but he fucks up all of his enemies using said army. And what is the Order doing? Nothing… What's this about arguing about morals?"

"Sebastian Greengrass wishes to assassinate Fenrir Greyback, a known associate of the Dark Lord," Snape replied, and despite not liking the boy's tone, he somewhat agreed with Ron. "Greyback is a Werewolf, one who is currently building an army of Werewolves for the Dark Lord." _Huh?_

"What? Since when?" Ron asked, he had clearly missed a few things. "Is that what your meeting was about today?"

"Indeed," Snape replied, his eyes darting towards Dumbledore. "In the end, we accomplished nothing. Sebastian offered to have Fenrir killed in Hungary, but the plan was killed in its crib by most of the Order members, including your parents."

"He's already building his army," Ron spoke to himself, and then he glared at Dumbledore. "And you're not doing anything about it. Why?"

"I cannot just do as I please, Ronald," Dumbledore replied. "If I pin the Order under my heel, then I'm no better than Lord Voldemort." Ron just stared at Dumbledore for a few moments, and then he slowly stood up.

"Our enemy has moved his rook, and he has no idea that we are already onto him," Ron said clearly, but softly. "He thinks that he's got the upper hand, while we have a way of disturbing his stratagems. You can either take his rook now, or you can watch as his rook takes your bishops, or your knights, or your rooks. This whole debate about being better than the Dark Lord is just in your head… People joined the Order not because they worship you, but because they want to defeat the Dark Lord. You're letting your own pride blind you, and until you get your head out of your arse, I will not stand in the same room as you. You don't have to kill this Fenrir Greyback, but the fact that you couldn't rein in your own soldiers is just pathetic."

With that, Ron turned around and walked up to the fireplace. He flooed straight to Snape's Office, but just as he was reaching the door, Snape flooed in behind him.

"Wait," Snape said, and Ron turned to face the Potions Master. "You were more than just distrustful of him, you were quite rude as well."

"I spent the whole day thinking about my brother's corpse," Ron said, his eyes glazing over. "And when I got back, I saw the rape of a fourteen year old girl… I watched a lake full of dead children… My school-mates… My friend John… I swallowed all of that horror, because I knew that once I told you two, we could come up with a plan. But the Order is so incompetent that it can't even come up with a strategy without 'bickering'. Why don't you understand?"

"Understand what?" Snape asked rather gently, he had never seen Ronald so numbed.

"That we didn't fail four hundred and sixty three times because of just bad luck," Ron replied, his head felt so heavy that he feared he might fall over. "We failed because unlike us, the Dark Lord doesn't second guess himself. He merely acts, while we're too 'noble' to act. A good offence is the best defense sometimes, but all you lot want to do is to be on the defensive. I'm no expert at war, but if you don't make a move against Fenrir Greyback, then we'll be outnumbered by the end of the year. **His** numbers will only swell after that, while we'll be stuck with a handful of defenders. And then, we'll die." Ron then drew in a deep breath, and he rubbed his face in a tired manner.

"I have to go and sit with my friends now," Ron went on. "And I'll pretend like everything is just fine… That I don't know what's going to happen to us in just four years. I want to tell them, but they'll never believe me. And even if they do, we're just kids. It's you adults who have all the power. Just… Just stop wasting time, Sir."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Snape's Office – Past Curfew)**_

Snape watched Ron leave the Office, he honestly didn't know what to say. Perhaps this wasn't the time to say anything, instead, it was perhaps the time for action. Snape turned around and flooed back to Albus' Office, only to find the Headmaster waiting for him.

"Ronald?" Albus asked, his face showing his concern.

"He's had a tiring day," Snape replied. "Most grown men wouldn't be able to endure what he saw today… We can't forget his age, Albus. What he said to you… He didn't really mean it."

"I fear that he did," Albus said weakly, and then he walked over to Fawkes' perch in order to feed the Phoenix. "He is right, but at the same time, he is wrong. We must move against Fenrir, but Ronald wishes for bloodshed."

"You don't know that," Snape said, but Albus just shot him a weary look. _I know…_

"He wants someone to pay for the crimes that he sees in his visions," Albus said, his hands feeding a hungry Fawkes. "He yearns to see justice for the atrocities that are yet to happen, but his pain blinds him. Revenge is not justice, and until he learns that, he will never find peace."

"He is thirteen," Snape said, he didn't even know why he was defending Ron. Maybe it was because he felt sorry for the boy, despite not wanting to. "He watched his brother die today, Albus. The same brother that he began his quest for. I… Perhaps we should take his words into consideration."

"I want to," Albus admitted. "Merlin help me, Severus… I truly want to. The tales I have heard about Greyback's recent activities truly disgust me, but if I have him murdered in the night, Ronald will be convinced in his ever-growing resolve."

"I think you underestimate him," Snape said, and Albus turned to face the Potions Master. "I think that Ron understands just how damaged he is. And yet, he keeps pushing forward. You want to save him, I can understand that, but Ron doesn't wish to be saved. Didn't you hear him? He plans to kill himself if his dream of what the Future ought to be is damaged beyond repair. As disturbing and selfish as that is, it shows just how much love he has in him. He would rather die than fail his loved ones." Albus was stunned silent for the second time tonight, he had never heard Snape speak like that before.

"You keep praising Potter's affinity to love, and yet, you don't seem to hold the same faith in Ron," Snape pointed out. "Ron has risked his life far more often than Potter, and whether you like it or not, he **should** lead the Order once we're both gone. Not Potter. Not Black. Not Moody. Unlike the three people that I just named, Ron isn't held down by prejudice. He may be angry, even vengeful, but he only ever blames those who are responsible."

"He will kill Lucius," Albus told Snape, and Snape nodded slowly.

"Lucius was my protector in my darkest years," Snape said softly. "But much like myself, he's made his bed." Snape then used his Occlumency to calm himself down. "Ron is right about Fenrir, Albus. He needs to die. You and I both know why the Dark Lord is building his army of Werewolves first."

"Azkaban," Albus nodded.

"The prison holds his strongest pieces, and he will sacrifice his pawns to break them free," Snape said, deciding to use Ron's analogy of Chess. "Once Dolohov, Bellatrix, Mulciber, the Lestrange brothers, all of them… Once they get out, the war **will** begin. Each of them is more dangerous than even you know. You might not have ever faced them Albus, but I saw what they were capable of up close. Half the Ministry was under Mulciber's Imperius Curse, while Bellatrix singlehandedly killed **seven** Aurors in one night. Fenrir Greyback is the key to their escape."

"I understand that you want Ron to be a better person than he currently is," Snape went on. "But this war is bigger than Ron. It's bigger than you, or me, or the Order. Don't lose sight of what's truly at stake here." Albus looked conflicted for a moment, and then he drew in a long breath.

"Tell Sebastian to do what he must," Albus conceded, and then he walked off towards his bedchambers. Snape walked back to the fireplace, and after calling for Greengrass Manor, he stepped through the floo.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Madame Tessa's Massage Parlour – Morning)**_

"Ronald, where is your head today?" Madam Roberts asked, they were both waiting for Ron's appointment. "Ronald? Boy!"

"Pardon?" Ron broke out of his thoughts, only to see Madam Roberts frowning at him. "Sorry, Madam Roberts, but I'm a little… anxious… today."

"Your scars will mean nothing to your massage therapist," Madam Roberts assured him. "This place is used by many Aurors as a treatment center, and believe me, we all have scars." _I didn't even think of my scars. I just feel really guilty about speaking to the Headmaster like that last night. Merlin, I hope he wasn't hurt by my words. I was so out of line. I need to apologize to him._

"Mr. Weasley!" the wizard at the reception called, and both Ron and Madam Roberts stood up. They then walked up to the receptionist, who gave Ron a yellow ticket. "Head to the back, Madam Roberts knows the way."

"Thank you, Bradley," Madam Roberts said curtly, and then she pulled Ron after her. Once they were in a room drowning with the smell of incense, they were greeted by a witch in her late twenties.

"Madam Roberts, welcome back!" the witch smiled brightly, while both Ron and Madam Roberts felt uneasy with her ever-growing smile. "And who's your handsome companion?!" _Why is she so excited?_

"This is Ronald Weasley, Nina," Madam Roberts introduced, she really disliked this particular witch.

" **The** Ronald Weasley?!" Nina exclaimed, and Ron felt the need to run away. _One of my fans is going to see my scars. Fuck!_ "Must be my lucky day!"

"Nina, is there anyone else on duty today?" Madam Roberts asked bluntly, but the peppy witch shook her head. "Very well… Ronald, go and change behind the curtains." Ron gave Madam Roberts a pitiful look, but she wasn't fazed by it. "Go. Now." _Aw!_ Ron quietly walked to the purple curtains, and once he was hidden behind them, he came face to face with a pair of white boxers.

"Wear these," Ron read the sign over them, and his face immediately burned. "Fuck my arse…" Ron changed out of his clothes, and once he was in his provided boxers, he desperately wished to be saved from his fate. All of his scars were on full display, and Ron found himself frozen in his spot. _What if she tells people? How can I trust her?_

"Hurry up, boy," came Madam Roberts's blunt voice, and Ron grit his teeth. _Fucking bitch!_ Ron then slowly came out of hiding, his eyes darting towards the white massage table. _If she tells anyone, I'll find a way to make her life miserable._ Much to his surprise however, he found Nina just staring at him with a calm smile.

"Just plant yourself on the table, Mr. Weasley," the raven-haired witch said, and Ron nodded slowly. _She's not disturbed by my scars?_ Ron looked to Madam Roberts, who was already reading an old copy of Seeker Weekly by the waiting area. _She talked with Nina?_ Once Ron was lying face down on the padded table, Nina put a white towel over his bum.

"Um… Don't tell anyone about my scars," Ron said dumbly. "Please."

"I wouldn't be working here if I ever thought of doing something so crass, Mr. Weasley," Nina told him, and then her cold hands touched his back. Ron tensed for a moment, and then he forced himself to relax. She felt up his back for a few moments, and then she let out a sigh.

"Something wrong?" Ron asked.

"Madam Roberts, I can't heal this with a wand alone," Nina said to the Hit-Wizard. "I've never seen someone with such a tense set of muscles. He has knots all over his back, and I haven't even started checking his other muscles." _Shite, that doesn't sound good._ "I'll need to 'dig' these knots out of him, and only then can I use my wand to heal his muscles."

"Take all the time you need, Nina," Madam Roberts said coldly. "It is a Sunday, after all."

"I'm really sorry about what I have to do, Mr. Weasley," Nina whispered to him, and Ron turned his head to face her.

"Is it going to hurt?" Ron asked, and she gave him a sorry nod. "I'll do my best not to cry then." Nina blinked at him, and then her lips twitched upwards.

"Good man," she commended, while Ron returned to his former position. "We'll start with your shoulders."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Midday)**_

"Merlin, I feel so light," Ron grinned, his entire body moving fluidly. "This feels fantastic!"

"I'm glad that you enjoyed wasting my morning," Madam Roberts said, they were nearing the Leaky Cauldron.

"This was your idea," Ron chuckled, which earned him a frown. "What?"

"You don't talk to your Superior Officer in such a tone," Madam Roberts told him. "You want to be a Hit-Wizard one day, don't you?"

"I do," Ron said slowly.

"Then learn to show some respect," Madam Roberts said, and Ron stopped walking. Madam Roberts stopped after a few steps, and when she turned to face him, she found him staring right at her.

"I'm your student, not your punching bag," Ron told her. "And I do respect you, but don't expect me to kiss your arse." Madam Roberts just stared at him, and he decided to match her gaze. _I refuse to be treated like that ever again. I won't let anyone look down on me again._

"You have a spine, I'll give you that," Madam Roberts finally broke the silence.

"Do you want to tell me why you've been so snappish today?" Ron asked.

"No," she replied.

"Alright, just don't take it out on me," Ron said. "I've got my own shite to deal with."

"Are you done?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Are you?" Ron asked back, and silence ensued once again. After a few moments, Ron decided that he was done with her for the day. "I have some business to attend to in Diagon Alley. I'll see you next week." Ron turned around and left at that. After a few minutes, he found himself within Sugarplum's Sweets Shop.

"Can I help you, young man?" a plump witch waved him over, and Ron walked up to the counter.

"Good afternoon, Madam," Ron gave a polite bow, and she let out a chuckle.

"Good afternoon, young Sir," she gave him a bob. "Looking for anything in particular?"

"I am," Ron nodded. "Do you have rabbit shaped chocolates? The sort that dance around for the eater?"

"Ah," she nodded in understanding. "Witch Greene's Easter Bunnies! I've got a few boxes stashed in the back. I'll go grab you one." _Easter? That's ages away._

"Thank you," Ron said politely, and once the witch was gone, Ron heard the front door open.

"A sweets shop?" came Madam Roberts' voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see her frowning at him.

"They're not for me," Ron said truthfully. "A friend of mine lost her pet rabbit, and she happens to like chocolate."

"Here you are, young Sir," the plump witch said as put the box of chocolates on the counter.

"Could I also please grab a Sugar Quill?" Ron asked, and she pulled one out of thin air. "True Conjuration…" _What the fuck?_

"My, you're certainly a well-read young man," the witch chuckled. _TEACH ME!_ "That'll be two Sickles and three Knuts." Ron reached into his pouch, and then he handed her the money. "Have a pleasant day!"

"You too, Madam," Ron gave her a respectful nod, and then he picked up the sweets. Ron then began to walk towards the door, which Madam Roberts opened for him. Once they had stepped back out, Ron pocketed the Sugar Quill.

"Is that for your friend as well?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Different friend," Ron replied, his eyes darting towards the inside of the shop. "That witch just used True Conjuration… Did you see that?"

"I did," Madam Roberts nodded curtly. "It is a difficult branch of Magic, but everyone can learn it if they are resolute enough."

"I've been trying to learn it," Ron admitted, and she wasn't even surprised. "I can't even cast Avis properly… All I get are headless birds, or worse, birds with bits missing." _I can't use that Spell near Pansy again, she nearly burst into tears._

"The trick is to clear your mind of birds," Madam Roberts told him. "The Spell summons a **random** flock of birds, so if you think about it, your own expectations damage the Spell's work."

"Oh," Ron blinked. _The Headmaster failed to mention that._ "So… You followed me."

"You are my charge, Ronald," Madam Roberts said as she began to walk towards the Leaky Cauldron. "I don't leave my charges unattended." Ron followed after her, but he made sure to stay a few steps back. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Ron replied.

"My treat then," Madam Roberts said, and Ron couldn't help but wonder if this was her way of apologizing. Either way, he smiled a little to himself. _Softie._ As they made their way into the Leaky Cauldron, Madam Roberts signaled Tom the bartender to bring over a couple of menus. They sat down in a secluded corner, and Ron placed Lavender's chocolates on the seat to his right.

"You know, after that massage, I've worked up quite the appetite," Ron smiled at her.

"Good," Madam Roberts responded, she clearly didn't understand that he was making a joke. "A boy your age needs a full stomach. Get whatever you want."

"Thanks," Ron decided to say. "How's work?"

"Increasingly more dangerous," Madam Roberts replied. "If I have to go to Albania again, someone is going to get hurt."

"Bandits are still at it?" Ron asked, and she gave him another curt nod.

"We can't even disperse them," Madam Roberts frowned a little, while Tom walked up with the menus.

"Usual, Jane?" Tom asked.

"I'll have the fish pie today, Tom," Madam Roberts replied, and he wrote it down.

"And you, Mr. Weasley?" Tom asked, and Ron blinked at the fact that Tom referred to him as if he were a casual.

"I'll have the steak, medium rare," Ron started. "I'll also grab a bowl of chowder, the Tropical Salad, and a pork sandwich."

"Right," Tom chuckled. "We'll fill you right up, Mr. Weasley." With that, Tom left for the kitchens.

"I feel sorry for your mother," Madam Roberts said, though she sounded a little pleased for a change.

"You shouldn't," Ron shrugged. "She gave me my eating habits. We might be poor, but my mother always made sure that our stomachs were full. Anyway… Why can't you disperse the bandits?"

"Civil rights," Madam Roberts rolled her eyes. "Our Minister has forbid us from using any force against the Albanian population."

"That's fair though," Ron countered. "I mean, he probably doesn't want an International Incident on his hands."

"Tell that to the Albanian Aurors," Madam Roberts said. "I saw their Head Auror break a man's fingers with her mace."

"A mace?" Ron went wide-eyed.

"She prefers Close Combat," Madam Roberts told him. "Basically, you use offensive Spells to close the distance to your enemy, and then you hit them with a Magically Enhanced weapon. In her case, an unbreakable mace."

"That's pretty cool," Ron admitted. "I'd like a sword, I reckon. Or maybe an axe."

"You can't bring that to a Dueling Tournament," Madam Roberts pointed out.

"Really?" Ron asked. "What if I Conjured it?" Madam Roberts blinked at him, and Ron's face split into a grin. "Ohhh. Did I just blow your mind?"

"I must admit, I've never seen that done," Madam Roberts said slowly, a smirk appearing on her face. "Nor do I know if that's illegal."

"We'll figure it out," Ron laughed. "Pretty soon, I might be chasing someone down with an axe in my left hand."

"Now that… I'd like to see," Madam Roberts admitted, and then she got serious. "You mentioned that you have your own problems to deal with. Are your conditions causing you trouble?" _One of them is, and that condition is nicknamed 'The Entity'._

"I get lightheaded sometimes, and I had… mood swings… yesterday," Ron said, though that wasn't entirely true. "I became really sad, and then I bottled it all up, but eventually, I exploded on a friend of mine. And then, I got really tired. Basically, I'm as hormonal as a pregnant woman." _Xeno mentioned that Pandora's been having bouts of sadness and anger lately. I hope she's alright._

"You are getting help, aren't you?" Madam Roberts asked.

"I am, but it's mostly internal," Ron replied. "I can learn to cope with my stress, but sometimes, I just don't have the strength to resist…"

"Describe it to me," Madam Roberts said. "I wish to know more about what I'm dealing with."

"Um…" Ron made a face, he really didn't want to talk about this. "Having you ever felt like there's something wrong near you? Like someone is watching? Or that something terrible is coming your way?"

"I have," Madam Roberts replied.

"It's always like that for me," Ron replied.

"Always?" Madam Roberts asked seriously.

"Always," Ron nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the table. "It's gotten so messed up that I just ignore it now. But it's always there in the back of my head, making my stomach feel full of lead, but I just go about my day. I eat, I socialize, I study, I practice my Spellwork, and I solve my Chess conundrums… But it's always there in the background. A feeling of… dread. Like cold tendrils trying to suffocate me…" Ron closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, he could almost feel the Entity looming over his shoulder.

"Is your Brain-Damage to blame for this feeling of 'dread'?" Madam Roberts asked.

"I don't know," Ron replied, but he knew that it wasn't. "My Chronic Stress does impact my Brain-Damage however, which is not good. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Certainly," Madam Roberts said slowly.

"I don't think that I'm going to live past the age of twenty," Ron confessed, and she just stared at him. And then, she drew in a sharp breath through her nose.

"Don't think like that," she ordered. "Things will get easier, Ronald. I'm sure of it." _No, they won't. From here on out, things will only get worse._

"I've never confessed that to anyone," Ron told her, he could feel his mood becoming somber. _Damn mood swings…_

"Then why tell me?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Because you don't treat me like damaged goods," Ron replied. "Everyone who knows about my conditions does, but not you. You treat me like I'm a normal bratty thirteen year old." _Even Daphne sometimes turns into a nanny._

"It's because you are one," she said, but he knew that she didn't mean it. "Just do me a favor, and don't take any Spells to the head."

"I'll do my best, Ma'am," Ron couldn't help but laugh. "Merlin, where is that steak?"

"I think Tom went to catch my fish for the pie," Madam Roberts smirked, while Ron shot her a smile.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Seventh Floor – Before Lunchtime)**_

"How do you know where our common room is?" Angelina Johnson demanded, Ron had run into her as he was waiting for Lavender Brown. "Did Fred tell you?"

"I know where all the common rooms are," Ron replied, he owned the Marauder's Map after all. "Can you please send Lavender out here? I heard that Binky passed away."

"Stay here," she said, her eyes narrowing on him. _So passive aggressive._

"Thank you," Ron 'smiled' at her. She shot him a frown, and then she disappeared around the corner. Ron waited around for nearly five minutes, and just as he was about to walk away, all the Gryffindor third years turned the corner. Unsurprisingly, most of them looked extremely suspicious of him.

"How do you know where our common room is?" Hermione asked immediately, she sounded more intrigued than upset.

"Good afternoon, Hermione," Ron said politely, and her face seemed to flush.

"Don't expect manners from her, Ron," Parvati said in disgust, and Hermione shot the beautiful girl a murderous glare.

"Who told you about our common room?" Harry stepped up, his emerald eyes burning with mistrust.

"It was Finnegan," Ron lied, and everyone looked to Finnegan with utter disbelief.

"What?! No, it wasn't!" Finnegan roared. "Guys! He's lying to you! I'd never!"

"It was joke," Ron chuckled, why were they so gullible? "Anyway… Lavender, can I talk to you? In private?"

"Sure," Lavender nodded a little too quickly, while Hermione looked aghast.

"You can talk to her near us," Finnegan started, but Parvati and Fay shushed him harshly. Ron merely stepped away from the group, and Lavender followed him. Once they were out of hearing distance, Ron turned to face her.

"I heard about Binky," Ron said, and her face immediately dropped. Ron noticed Hermione glaring at him and Lavender, while Neville and Harry were trying to stop the girls from arguing with Finnegan and Thomas.

"He was so little," Lavender whimpered, her eyes glazing over. "Mum and dad couldn't find enough of him to bury."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ron said genuinely, he knew that if Helios got hurt, he'd be left in a right sorry state. "I got you these." With that, Ron pulled out the box of chocolates from his robes. "They apparently dance for the eater, and I figured that you'd probably enjoy that." _Merlin bless Pansy Parkinson._

"They're chocolate rabbits," Lavender said slowly as she took the box, and then she looked up with slightly wide-eyes. "You got these for me?"

"I was in Diagon Alley today," Ron said, her look of awe was kind of disconcerting. "My friends also send their regards."

"Even Daphne Greengrass?" Lavender asked, her tone slightly teasing.

"She knows that we're friends," Ron gave her a smile. "Again, I'm really sorry about Binky."

"Thanks," Lavender managed a smile, and then she quickly latched onto him. Ron was a little surprised, while Hermione's jaw dropped open. Ron decided to return her hug, mostly because the other girls seemed to be quite excited by what they were seeing. _Finnegan is going to kill me, I just bloody know it._

"Take care of yourself, Lavender," Ron said as they broke apart, and she gave him a shaky nod. _Embarrassed now? Fair enough._ Ron turned around and left at that, while Lavender rushed over to her friends in order to show them what Ron had gotten her. He could hear their loud squeals even as he turned the corner, but what caught his attention were the footsteps following him. _Hermione is pissed off. Good thing I bought a Sugar Quill just for her. Ronald Weasley is not taking any sides here._

"So you're taking her side?" Hermione demanded, and Ron turned to face her. Neville and Harry rounded the corner at that, both of them giving Hermione's back wary looks.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, because there are no 'sides' to take," Ron told her, and she scoffed angrily. "She lost her pet rabbit, and since she's my friend, I gave her my condolences."

"Hermione, Ron's right about this," Neville spoke up, but Hermione just scowled at Ron. "There are no sides in this… Lavender lost her rabbit, and she's clearly struggling with it."

"I never said that she wasn't," Hermione bit out. "I just think that she's deluding herself into believing that her rabbit's death was predicted by the worst Professor in this school! I mean honestly! Why would she even dread her rabbit's death?! Not to mention that her rabbit died before the sixteenth!"

"Hermione…" Harry sighed out.

"What? I'm right!" Hermione turned to face her best friends.

"Being right isn't even important in this situation," Neville countered. "She lost something that she loved, and you're refusing to understand that."

"I understand it perfectly," Hermione said haughtily, while Ron just watched the argument with an amused expression. _This is turning a little ugly. I should give her the Sugar Quill now._

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat, and when Hermione turned back to face him, he presented her with the Sugar Quill. "This is for you, Hermione."

"What?" Hermione blinked, her fire was seemingly extinguished by Ron's sudden actions.

"It's a Sugar Quill," Ron told her, while she just stared at it. Both Harry and Neville seemed to be quite surprised as well. "I'm not taking Lavender's side, or yours. I have no business involving myself in Gryffindor affairs. I was simply expressing my sympathies to my friend."

"That's for me?" Hermione asked, and Ron couldn't help but wonder if she had ignored his little speech. "You got me a Sugar Quill?"

"I did," Ron nodded. "Do you know why?"

"Why?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Because you're a little bookworm," Ron said teasingly, and Hermione just stared at him. _Right._ Ron took her right hand with his left one, and then he planted the Sugar Quill in her palm. _She has really soft hands._ "Don't be upset with me, alright?"

"Alright," Hermione nodded dumbly, and Ron gave her a smile before he turned around and left. As he neared the Moving Staircase, he cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. _I should go see Dumbledore before lunch starts._ Apologizing to Dumbledore had been on his mind all day, especially because his anger at the old wizard was unwarranted. Dumbledore wasn't like the Dark Lord, and to fault him for it was just unfair.

"Lemon Sherbet," Ron said to the Stone Gargoyle, and it slid aside for him. Ron quickly traversed the spiral staircase, and then he knocked on Dumbledore's door.

"Enter," came the Headmaster's voice, and Ron made his way inside. "Ronald."

"Hello, Headmaster," Ron greeted Dumbledore, his Disillusionment Charm shattering. As Ron closed the door, he steeled his resolve. _Just be like Daphne, Ron. Just apologize without beating around the bush._ "Can we talk?"

"Take a seat," Dumbledore gestured, his eyes going back to his work. Ron walked up and sat down, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. _Just do it._

"I'm sorry about my behavior last night," Ron apologized, and Dumbledore looked back at him. "I had no right to take my fear out on you. I was scared, still am, but using you as my lightning rod was extremely unfair." Ron then shifted in his seat a bit, the old man's gaze was hard to match. "I sometimes forget that you're just a human being, and not this God that everyone sees you as. When I realized that, I figured that much like myself and Professor Snape, maybe you're scared as well."

"Terrified," Dumbledore admitted, and then he leaned back in his clawed chair. "I am petrified, Ronald…"

"Me too," Ron said, though hearing Dumbledore admit that really hurt Ron. "Do you… Um… Do you want to talk about it? I mean, we're both in the same boat." Dumbledore smiled tiredly, while Ron just sat there with a sorry look.

"Sebastian Greengrass has set things into motion," Dumbledore told Ron. "You were right… Inaction will be the death of us."

"And the Order?" Ron asked. "What will they say about this?"

"Sebastian is willing to take the blame for us," Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "He will claim that he went ahead with his plans despite the Order's refusal. He understands that bloodshed is inevitable, and he is willing to bear that burden."

"I don't think that he really cares about what the Order thinks," Ron said. "I know that I sometimes have a blind spot when it comes to him, but I'm not stupid. He, and his wife, are both very dangerous people." _And they no doubt want revenge on the Dark Lord._

"The World is more grey than black and white, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "I have often forgotten that fact, and it has cost me dearly. The Order has followed me in my blindness, and because of that, they have become rooted in their ways. At the end of the day, our enemies believe that their cause is sacred, just like us."

"The Dark Lord has a cause?" Ron asked. "He's a Half-Blood who preaches Blood-Purity."

"Lord Voldemort serves only himself," Dumbledore clarified. "But many of his followers believe in his poisoned words. He has infected them like a disease, and turned them rabid."

"They allowed that to happen," Ron said, his body relaxing into his chair. "There are Pure-Bloods out there who resisted, who chose to value tolerance over fury. I will not, and cannot, feel any sympathy for the Dark Lord's followers. If they wish for violence, then we'll give them violence. When a dog turns rabid, you put it down. You don't wait for it to bite someone."

"I wish that you wouldn't think like that," Dumbledore said, but Ron merely shrugged.

"I'm not your project, Headmaster," Ron said softly. "I'm my own person. In the end, I'll have to answer to myself. Same as you and Professor Snape."

"You are quite wise for your age," Dumbledore smiled in a kind manner, and Ron snorted.

"Not really," Ron replied. "I just understand that you can't win Chess without taking your enemy's pieces. And despite not wanting to, I'll leave the glories for Harry Potter." Dumbledore lost his smile at that, mostly because he heard genuine jealousy in Ron's voice.

"Harry's legend inspires hope, Ronald," Dumbledore started, but Ron decided to forgo the speech.

"I know, and I understand," Ron told the Headmaster, who gave him a weak smile. "I'm not the Boy-Who-Lived. I'm just a guy who really loves playing Chess. Speaking of which… Care for a game?"

"Certainly, dear boy."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 21**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Dungeons – After Potions Club)**_

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Hermione asked, a pleasant smile on her face.

"It was," Ron admitted. "I'm glad that for once, we finished before everyone else."

"Well, we did have the easiest assignment," Hermione said. "Odd that Professor Snape asked us to just prepare ingredients." _Odd indeed. What's he up to, eh?_

"I'm kind of glad," Ron admitted. "After the Draught of Living Death debacle, I'm just glad that I didn't get yelled at again." They both stopped near the stairs, and Ron waited for Hermione to be on her way.

"Do you want to spend some time together?" Hermione asked, and Ron blinked at her. _Pardon?_ "You know, as friends. In the library. Doing study." _Doing study?_ "I mean homework, that is! Which is technically still studying…"

"I'd love to, but I've got some Slytherin business to attend to," Ron said, he had to teach the second years about Shield Charms. Hermione's smile fell a little, and then she gave him a nod.

"Some other time?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Ron replied, and Hermione quickly left the Dungeons. _I wonder what Daphne is up to?_

Ron made his way to the Slytherin common room, and once he had given the password, he made his way inside. Just like the last few days, people stayed clear of him. A few eyes followed his every move, but the number of people leaving the room whenever he entered had dwindled greatly. Flint's lot were nowhere to be found, and Ron figured that they were on the Quidditch Pitch again. Oddly enough, Flint had started working harder at being Captain just to prove Ron wrong. Ron, however, welcomed this change.

For one, Flint was no longer around to cause strife within the House. Without Flint and his gang around to back up rebellion, the older delegates had quickly started to weaken in resolve. The Triumvirate already had them on a tight leash, and now with Ron as their 'muscle', the Triumvirate had seized complete control over Slytherin once again. Secondly, Flint's refocus on his duties had been mistaken as cowardice by many, which only served to benefit Ron's ever-growing reputation as the strongest wizard within Slytherin.

As Ron stepped into the Training Area, he was greeted by a rather odd sight. His first years were practicing with Shield Charms alongside the second years, while his friends walked around making sure that everyone was putting in an effort. _What's going on here?_ Ron decided to cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself in order to snoop around, this was rather intriguing.

"Fawley, don't just stand in one spot after blocking," Millie instructed, and John nodded fervently. _He's actually sweating. Tori?!_ Ron quickly looked around for the younger Greengrass, he already knew that she had a frail health. It took him a few seconds to spot her, and much to his relief, she looked quite alright. _A little sweaty, but not exhausted._ Ron then spotted Daphne hovering near her sister, which further eased Ron's mind.

"Mathias, relax your grip on your wand," Theo told the second year. "It's not your cock, mate."

"Ahem," Pansy cleared her throat, while the second year girls looked scandalized. The lads, however, started cracking up at a slightly embarrassed Mathias.

"Alright, switch partners," Blaise ordered, and everyone quickly found new partners. "Five more minutes, and then you can take a breather."

"You're all doing great," Tracey quickly added, which had a positive effect on everyone. Ron circled the Training Area with a smile on his face, he was rather proud of his friends right now. _Would you look at that? Even Malfoy is here._ Ron spotted the blonde wizard teaching an uncertain Lysandra how to keep her footing whenever she blocked a Spell. Eventually, Ron managed to sneak up behind Daphne, who was overseeing Astoria and Derek exchanging stunners.

"Whose idea was this?" Ron whispered as he hugged Daphne from behind, and she let out a squeak. The first years shot her a surprised look, but her Ice-Queen persona was already back in place. They quickly went back to practicing, while Daphne frowned deeply.

"You scared me," Daphne whispered, her voice coming out as a whine. "Ron, what are you doing?"

"Watching," Ron whispered.

"Pervert," Daphne said curtly, and Ron snorted.

"Seriously though, what's going on here?" Ron whispered.

"Malfoy decided that we needed to show leadership qualities ourselves," Daphne whispered. _He did?_ "He made a great point about us being seen as your underlings." _Ah, he doesn't want to be seen as being beneath me. Well, if it helps everyone in the long run, who am I to argue?_

"But you're not my underlings," Ron whispered.

"I know, but people like to talk," Daphne whispered, and Ron rested his head on her left shoulder. "Plus, this eases your burdens."

"Thank you," Ron whispered, and then he kissed her sweaty cheek. "Ew…"

"Sorry, we've been at this since classes ended," Daphne whispered, and Ron kissed her cheek again. "Really?"

"I like my meat salted," Ron grinned, and Daphne stepped on his foot. _Ow…_ Ron didn't make a sound, but he did clench his teeth. "It was a joke…"

"Pervert," Daphne's lips twitched upwards.

"I'm going to keep looking around," Ron muttered, he was just glad that his Disillusionment Charm hadn't broken. Ron then limped past a couple of second years, and he was quite pleased with their blocking skills. _They're lazy, not academically challenged. And they respond to praise above everything._

"Just one more minute," Blaise called out.

"I've got fresh orange slices!" Pansy announced, much to everyone's excitement. _Courtesy of Marty, eh? The ninth member of our squad._ As the minute came to an end, Ron spotted Samantha and Clara step into the Training Area. Their eyebrows were immediately cocked at the sight before them, and they quietly observed Ron's friends.

"Can we help you?" Daphne called out to them, while Ron stopped beside Sebastian and Mathew.

"Where is Ronald?" Clara asked, her eyes scanning the room. _They need my help._

"Here," Ron said as he broke the Disillusionment Charm, which resulted in Sebastian and Mathew screaming from fright. Ron barked out a laugh as the first and second years stared at him in astonishment, while Sebastian and Mathew bent forward and wheezed. "Sorry, lads!"

"Did you see that?!" Rogers exclaimed, his eyes wide with awe. "He just appeared out of thin air!"

"You were all doing an exceptional job, and I didn't want to disturb you," Ron smiled at them, which they all seemed to enjoy. Ron then patted Sebastian's back, and he shot Mathew a grin. "Keep up the good work everyone." With that, Ron walked up to Samantha and Clara.

"The second years are coming along," Samantha noted, and Ron gave her a nod.

"It was slow at first, but they're getting there," Ron told them. "I'm focusing on defense, mostly because second years don't really need much more than that. As long as they can dodge, block, and throw stunners, they'll do well."

"Carey and I tried to speak to you during the Potions Club, but you were a little busy with Miss. Granger," Samantha started.

"We have a problem," Clara finished.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"Your brothers," Clara replied, and Ron blinked at her. "The twins… They've been targeting the Slytherin fourth years ever since Monday, and it needs to stop."

"They're just playing pranks," Ron said.

"Embarrassing a Lady by Hexing off her eyebrows in public is not funny," Samantha said firmly. "Sure, Madam Pomfrey can fix it. But your brothers used Colin Creevey's camera to take photos, which they no doubt plan to release all over Hogwarts."

"They'll be praised by the other Houses for being ingenious 'pranksters', while a Slytherin girl will lose face within the school," Clara frowned deeply. "They will never listen to us, but you're their brother."

"I'll get onto it right now," Ron said, and both girls gave him grateful nods. "Dinner is almost about to be served, I'll talk to them after. Who is the girl that they took photos of?"

"Barbara Miller," Clara replied, and Ron decided that he needed to talk to her first. "She's in the common room right now, and be warned, she's quite cross."

"Noted," Ron said as he moved past them. He knew what Barbara Miller looked like, of course, but he had never spoken to her before. As such, he had no idea about how she felt when it came to Blood-Traitors. Once he spotted her sitting with her friends on a round table, Ron walked up to them with a pleasant smile.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and they tensed at the sight of him. "Barbara Miller, might I have a word with you?"

"Um… Sure," Miller said slowly, her eyes traveling towards her companions. They quickly got up and left, and Ron couldn't help but notice that Miller seemed even tenser now.

"You aren't in any trouble," Ron assured her as he took a seat. "I've heard that my brothers played a rather cruel joke on you."

"They did," Miller frowned, her voice was rather high-pitched for a girl her age.

"And why would they Hex you?" Ron asked.

"Because they're jerks," Miller frowned even more deeply.

"I'm on your side, Miller," Ron said gently. "The twins once burned a hole through my tongue as a joke. They can be so barbaric sometimes that I just…" Ron trailed off. _Now that the sad story is out of the way._ "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I'm blaming you, that's not my intent. Tell me what happened, and I'll find a way to solve this issue before it escalates."

"They Hexed my eyebrows off," Miller all but shrieked. "And then, they used that creepy boy's camera to take a photo of me! They told me that they were going to spread the photo around in order to teach me a lesson!" _A lesson? Also, did she just call Colin 'that creepy boy'?_

"You were picking on Colin Creevey, and the twins showed up," Ron figured, and she looked down at the table with an angry pout.

"He takes photos without permission…" Miller glowered. "He took one of me and my friends, and I had enough of it. He says that he just wants to send pictures back to his parents, but I don't believe that for a second." _Trust me, he was telling the truth. But I can understand why she feels annoyed._ "He's a little pervert, so I took his camera away. That's when your brothers showed up…"

"I'll take care of it," Ron promised her as he stood up, but she said nothing in response. _Guess I'm tangling with the twins tonight. Shite._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 21**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – After Dinner)**_

"Fred! George! Hold on a second," Ron caught up to the twins, who turned to him with identical smiles. Ron recognized those smiles far too easily, the twins had been up to no good today. "Can we talk in the Courtyard? Just us?"

"Of course," Fred sang. "Come along, Ronnikins." Fred then put his arm around Ron's shoulders, and the three brothers exited the castle. Once they on the far end of the Courtyard, Fred finally let go of Ron. _Merlin, I'm a little tense at seeing Fred right now._

"Great breeze tonight," George said, and then he took in a deep breath. "Just smell that air!"

"You two are in a great mood," Ron noted, and the twins laughed merrily. _Well, I'm about to ruin it._

"We locked Filch in a bathroom today for nearly three hours," Fred sniggered.

"Without his cat running around, no one even went looking for him," George added.

"Right…" Ron said slowly. "I hear that you also Hexed the eyebrows off of a Slytherin girl today." The twins stopped sniggering at that, but they still looked rather proud of themselves.

"And what if we did?" Fred asked.

"Are you here to defend her honor?" George smirked.

"No, but I am here to defend her reputation," Ron replied, and the twins cocked their eyebrows at him. "You took a photo of her… Can I please have it?"

"No," the twins refused. _Bugger._

"Look, she learnt her lesson," Ron started, but Fred just tutted him.

"I doubt that, dear little brother," Fred wagged his finger in Ron's face.

"We caught her harassing poor Colin," George added. "She was quite happy with herself at the time, and if we hadn't intervened, she would've broken his camera."

"So, we're using that camera to knock her down a peg," Fred finished.

"From what I've heard, Colin was taking photos of her and her friends," Ron argued. "He's been known to do that." _Doesn't Pansy call him Colin Creepy?_

"Yeah, and he sends those photos to his Family," Fred countered.

"But Muggles can't see Hogwarts," Ron said, and Fred rolled his eyes.

"McGonagall Charmed his camera, Ron," George told Ron, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Still, he took photos of Barbara Miller and her friends," Ron said. "They acted terribly, and so did you. Let's call it even. There's no need to ruin a Lady's reputation over something like this."

"A Lady, he says," Fred laughed, and George joined in. "You don't talk right anymore, little brother."

"Be that as it may," Ron said, he had no idea why that stung so much. "Please hand the photo over. I'm asking you this as a favor, one that I'll gladly pay back."

"Why do you care about Miller so much?" George asked.

"Are you cheating on young Daphne?" Fred asked, and Ron grit his teeth. _Everything is a damn joke to these two._

"I would never do that," Ron said as calmly as he could. _Remember to breath, old dog._ "I have… risen… within Slytherin recently."

"Risen?" the twins asked quickly.

"In popularity," Ron said, and the twins narrowed their eyes on him. "If I help Miller, people will take note of that. So please, as your brother, I'm asking for your help."

"Tempting…" Fred started.

"But no," George finished.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because you're trying to charm us," Fred said, a smirk on his face. "That might work with everyone else, but we know you better than that."

"You're only saying what we want to hear," George added. "That's no way to treat your Family, Ronnie."

"We'll be making multiple copies of the photo tomorrow," Fred said, and Ron's ears perked up. _Tomorrow? They haven't duplicated it yet._

"Guys, please?" Ron asked again, but they merely walked off in laughter. _Fuck!_ "Fucking identical twats…" Ron waited until the twins had entered the castle, and once they were out of sight, he walked into a dark corner. "Marty!"

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed right out of his apparation.

"I did," Ron smiled at his Elf. "I have a job for you."

"Truly?!" Marty beamed.

"Yes, and it's a little dangerous," Ron replied, and Marty clapped his hands.

"What does Master need from Marty?!" Marty asked with a toothy smile.

"You can apparate into the Gryffindor dorms, right?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded quickly.

"We Elves can apparate anywhere in Hogwarts," Marty told Ron.

"Are you familiar with my twin brothers?" Ron asked, and Marty pulled a face. "What?"

"Master's brothers set off Dung Bombs in the Kitchens once… Marty's bed smelled of Dung for days, Master," Marty replied. "Enchanted Dung Bombs!" Ron felt his temper flare at that, but he didn't show it.

"I'm very sorry, Marty," Ron said as he kneeled down in front of his Elf.

"This was before Marty met Master," Marty said quickly.

"Still, I'm sorry," Ron patted the Elf's upper arm. "How would you like some revenge tonight?"

* * *

 _ **Thursday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Past Midnight)**_

Ron sat by the fire, his head drooping from side to side. He was utterly spent, but Marty had yet to show up with the twins' trunks. The plan was quite simple, and yet, brilliant. Once the twins were asleep, Marty would travel to their rooms and steal their trunks, which he would then deliver to Ron. Ron had figured that the twins had set up protections to keep their trunks safe from the other Gryffindors, but with Samantha's help, Ron knew that he could get them open.

"Master!" Marty whispered from behind him, and Ron quickly turned to see his Elf hiding behind a sofa.

"Marty, no one is here," Ron assured the Elf, and Marty quickly hopped into view. "Did you get the trunks?"

"Marty brought them!" Marty beamed, and Ron grinned in response.

"Well done, mate," Ron said excitedly, his tiredness forgotten. Ron then walked up to Marty, and he spotted the trunks sitting behind the sofa. "And you didn't open them… Excellent work!"

"Thank you, Master," Marty bowed deeply, and Ron nudged Marty lightly.

"You don't have to bow to me, Marty," Ron said. "We're friends."

"Friends?" Marty asked, he looked a bit confused by that. "No bowing?"

"As in partners," Ron clarified, and Marty nodded slowly. "And if you don't want to bow, then don't. I mean, Blaise doesn't bow to me, and I still love him."

"Marty will keep bowing," Marty said, and Ron decided to let it go. _Too tired to refuse him._ "But… Thank you, Master friend." _Master friend?_

"You're welcome, Marty friend," Ron said, and Marty giggled like a child. "Right, I need to get these opened."

"Marty shall await Master's call," Marty said, and then he disapparated. Ron turned to the trunks, and he felt truly giddy. _I've got you two now!_

"Locomotor," Ron chanted, his wand aimed at the trunks. Both trunks began to float a few inches off of the ground, and Ron quickly began making his way towards the Triumvirate's room. He knew that it was really late, but he also knew that they would help him. After all, these trunks belonged to the most infamous duo in Hogwarts. Once he reached their door, he knocked on their door a little too loudly. After a few seconds, he heard movement from behind the door.

"Who is it?" came Clara's tired voice.

"Prince Charming," Ron replied, and the door slowly opened. "Hello."

"Ron?" Clara blinked at him with her tired eyes, her hands securing her bright pink robes. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I need your help," Ron replied. "More specifically, I need Samantha's help. She's the best at Runes between you three, right?"

"Runes?" Clara asked. "In the middle of the night?" Ron looked to the twins' trunks at that, and she followed his gaze. "What the…?"

"The twins' trunks," Ron looked back to Clara, who cleared her eyes in order to get a better look.

"Circe's song," Clara muttered. "How did you get those? Wait… Your Elf…"

"Shhh," Ron shushed her, he didn't want anyone hearing that. _It's so annoying that she figured that out._ "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Clara said as she stepped back into the room, and Ron made his way inside with the trunks hot on his trail. "Carey! Samantha! Wake up!"

"What?" Carey groaned from her bed.

"Ron's here," Clara said, and Ron immediately heard shuffling.

"You let him in?!" came Samantha's voice, and then a lamp turned on.

"He needs help with something, and I couldn't refuse him," Clara smirked at her disheveled friends, while Ron averted his eyes.

"We're decent, Ron," Carey sighed out as she stepped out of her bed. _Ron? Not Ronald? I guess she's a little too jumbled right now._ Ron looked to Carey, his eyes lingering on her silver sleeping robes.

"Clara, explain yourself," Samantha frowned deeply, and as soon as Ron looked at her, he averted his eyes again. _A black tank top and tiny shorts! Make yourself decent, woman!_

"Ron broke into Gryffindor Tower and stole his brothers' trunks," Clara told them, and both girls gaped at Ron.

"Ron?! What were you thinking?!" Carey demanded, her eyes landing on the floating trunks.

"You needed my help, remember?" Ron said quickly. "The twins refused to hand over the photo, so I decided to try a different approach. Samantha… Do you want to wear something else?"

"They're just legs, Ron," Samantha rolled her eyes, and then she began inspecting the trunks. Ron slowly looked back to her, and he made sure to not stare at her long legs. Unlike Clara and Carey, Samantha's hair was still relatively neat and tidy. She had it done up in a very long plait, one that reached her bum.

"The twins probably have some protections on their trunks, and I don't know how to get past them," Ron told them. "We touched on breaking Enchantments in Runes class, but we didn't really delve into it. I figured that since you're really good at Runes, you could help me out here."

"Put them down," Samantha said, and Ron did as he was told. Samantha walked over to her bedside table, and after retrieving her wand, she kneeled down in front of the trunks. "Which one do you think has the photo in it?"

"Try George's," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the trunk with the massive 'G' on it. "He's cautious, and generally plans the pranks."

"Specialis Revelio," Samantha chanted, her wand rapping smartly. Ron leaned forward a little, his mind memorizing the Spell.

"Does that Spell help you figure out which Enchantments are on an object?" Ron asked, and Samantha gave him a nod.

"An Anti-Theft Charm, a Concealment Charm, the Impervious Charm, the Intruder Charm, and even a couple of Hexes," Samantha told them.

"Can you open it?" Carey asked, and Samantha looked back to the trunk.

"It'll take a few minutes," Samantha replied. "I'm a bit disappointed with the Protections on these trunks, I expected a lot more."

"Well, they have to use these every day," Clara pointed out. "It'd be impractical of them to add too many safeguards." Samantha started muttering some incantations under her breath, and Ron leaned in closer to hear what she was saying.

"Ron, I'm trying to concentrate here," Samantha gave him a deadpan look, and Ron gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry," Ron said as he took a step back.

"He was trying to look into her cleavage," Clara teased, and Ron quickly shook his head.

"I'd never do that," Ron denied. "I swear. I just wanted to hear which incantations she was saying."

"Quiet down, you two," Carey shushed Ron and Clara. "Let Samantha concentrate." With that, Carey walked over to her bed and sat down on its edge. "Ron, a word?" Ron walked over to Carey and stood in front of her, and Clara decided to join them.

"I can't believe that you brought these down here," Clara chuckled, and Ron couldn't help but notice that the girls weren't being cold to him. _Probably because they're really tired. And shocked._

"How did you manage this, Ron?" Carey asked, and then she yawned. "Sorry…"

"Now I feel like yawning," Ron said, he too was utterly spent. "I had some help with the trunks, that's all I'll say."

"Well, I feel the need to commend your efforts," Carey said. "You are taking your duties very seriously, and people are taking note of that."

"Thanks," Ron said.

"How do you think the second years will fare on Sunday?" Clara asked.

"They'll do better than before, but other than that, I'm not too sure," Ron admitted. "I wish I had more time with them."

"As long as they don't embarrass this House again, it's enough," Carey said, and Ron couldn't help but agree. "How's the trunk coming along?"

"Getting there," Samantha replied.

"Are you going to return their trunks?" Clara asked Ron.

"I mean, I have to," Ron replied. "The last thing we need is the twins getting angry."

"Maybe we ought to confiscate their toys," Carey said, a smirk appearing on her tired face.

"Hogsmeade weekend is coming up," Clara started. "They'll just buy more prank items from Zonko's, which they'll then use on us. Let's just take the photo, copy it, and then let Ron send it all back."

"Copy it?" Ron asked, he wasn't expecting that.

"Call it insurance against Barbara Miller," Clara replied.

"You mean blackmail," Ron frowned. "I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. She's one of us, and she's clearly scared of that picture going out. We're supposed to protect the House."

"You burned Flint's hand without hesitation," Carey cocked an eyebrow.

"Flint has a history of bullying people," Ron countered. "For Merlin's sake, he nearly killed Malfoy when he shot him out of the sky. Not to mention that Flint attacked me first. Barbara Miller hasn't done anything to us."

"Yet," came Samantha's voice.

"I can understand the advantage of having something on her, but I'm not comfortable doing something like this," Ron told them. "It's wrong."

"Fine," Carey said. "But just remember this… Being noble isn't always the smart move."

"I'm not being 'noble', I'm just not keen on blackmailing another person," Ron said calmly. "A person who hasn't even done anything to wrong us. Imagine if someone had an embarrassing photo of you, and they used it to strong-arm you into being their slave."

"Slave?" Clara asked. "Ron, we're not going to do that. The photo will just be a tool to keep her in line."

"Please don't do this," Ron said to Clara, and she looked a little taken aback. He knew that he could just order her to not do such a despicable thing, but that would only serve to strain their partnership even more.

"Alright, Ron," Clara said slowly, her eyes darting towards Carey.

"If she does step out of line, I'll deal with it," Ron promised. "But not like this."

"It's done," Samantha called, and the three of them made their way towards the trunks. "Who wants to open it?"

"Did you get rid of all the Protections?" Carey asked.

"Maybe," Samantha replied.

"Maybe?"

"The twins are crafty," Samantha shrugged. "They might have left behind other traps." _Shite… That does sound like them._ "So… Who wants to open it? I've already done my part." Ron shot Carey and Clara quick looks, and then he let out a sigh. _If they get hurt, it'll be on me._

"I'll do it…" Ron volunteered, while Clara and Carey sighed out in relief. Ron slowly kneeled down in front of George's trunk, and after drawing in a deep breath, he undid the latch. "Fuck! That hurts!"

"What happened?!" Samantha asked quickly, while the other two girls tried to pull Ron away from the trunk.

"Hehe," Ron chuckled, and he was immediately smack by Clara and Carey. "Sorry… Sorry… Just trying to ease the tension."

"Honestly…" Samantha frowned deeply. "You scared me half to death…"

"That wasn't funny, Ron," Clara glared at him, and Ron let out a guilty laugh. Her lips twitched upwards, but she refused to give him the satisfaction.

"Back to it," Ron said, and then he quickly flung the trunk open. Ron immediately spotted the photo of Barbara Miller sitting on top of George's clothes, and Ron couldn't help but note how disturbing she looked without eyebrows.

"Right on the money, Ron," Carey smirked, while Ron pocketed the photo.

"I'll give this to her," Ron told the others. "That ought to prove to her that we can be relied upon."

"What's that?" Clara pointed towards an envelope in the far corner, and Ron picked it up. It was marked with a lipstick kiss, and Ron quickly put it back. "C'mon, Ron… Don't you want to know who's sending your brother love letters?"

"I do, but…" Ron started, but then he stopped. _It would be wrong to do this to George. But what's wrong with a quick look? The twins have always pranked me, so maybe I should get back at them for a change. Still… This wouldn't really be a prank._

"Just a quick read," Clara hummed. "That's all."

"The twins would never do that to me, so I can't do that to them," Ron said, though his voice gave away his temptation. Ron closed the trunk quickly, and then he let out a shaky breath. _Who was it from though? Maybe Katie Bell? She's quite the looker. Or maybe Alicia Spinnet? Either way, George is probably seeing someone in secret._

"Boring," Clara booed.

"Respectful," Samantha corrected, and then she patted Ron's right shoulder. "Good on you, Ron. Don't listen to Clara, she was dropped on her head as a child."

"Probably," Clara shrugged. "I'm going back to bed. Ron, want to join me?" _She's flirting with me again?_ Ron smiled a little at that, and then he shook his head.

"My night isn't over yet," Ron said as he stood up. "Thank you for your help. Goodnight." With that, Ron cast Locomotor on the trunks, and then he began to head towards the door.

"Make sure to hand that photo over to Miller," Carey called out, and Ron gave her a nod. _Time for Marty to return the trunks._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Outside the Slytherin Common Room – Before Breakfast)**_

"Here," Ron said as he handed Miller the photo, which she all but snatched out of his gloved hand.

"Is this the only one?" she asked, her voice barely audible. _Merlin, she looks like she wants to run away._ "No copies?"

"It's the only one," Ron replied, and she just stared at him. "What is it?"

"You aren't hiding any copies for later, are you?" Miller asked meekly. "To blackmail me?"

"I swear on my Family's honor that I am not," Ron promised, and she gave him a weak nod. "What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to burn it," Miller said a little angrily. "Um… Thanks… Weasley. You're alright…"

"Take care, Miller," Ron gave her a smile. "And if the twins hassle you-"

"I'll come to you," she nodded more surely, and then she left in the direction of the Dungeon Bathrooms. Ron decided to join his friends at that, they were waiting for him by the stairs that led out of the Dungeons.

"You did the right thing, Ron," Daphne smiled at him, and he quickly took her free hand with his gloved one.

"Good on you," Pansy said firmly, while Tracey gave him a slap on the arse.

"Easy, Trace," Ron chuckled, but she just wagged her eyebrows at him. As they began making their way towards the Great Hall, Ron noticed that Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy weren't too pleased with Ron for throwing away an asset. "What?"

"She's popular in Slytherin," Theo clicked his tongue. "You made a mistake by letting it go, mate."

"If she ever sides against you now, you have no way of stopping her," Blaise pointed out.

"Not to mention that you could've turned her into a spy for us," Malfoy added.

"Blaise, why are **you** of all people defending blackmailing?" Millie frowned. "You honestly don't remember what Malfoy did to you?" Malfoy drifted off at that, and Ron figured that he was done with this conversation.

"Just because I don't like being blackmailed doesn't mean that it's not a valid strategy," Blaise said coldly, and even Ron frowned at him. _There's a limit, Blaise._

"Creeps," Pansy all but hissed, which earned her eye rolls from all three boys. "Ron's leader, so he gets to decide what happens."

"Don't call me leader," Ron sighed out, but Pansy just clung to his free arm. "Merlin, Pans… I nearly slipped."

"Pansy's right," Daphne started, and then she shot Pansy a cold look. The raven-haired witch quickly let go of Ron, and then she gave Daphne a sorry smile. "The Triumvirate asked Ron for help, not you three."

"We can disagree with him, you know," Theo frowned deeply.

"Not about something like this," Tracey narrowed her eyes on Theo, and he quickly fixed his frown. "Honestly, what if someone had taken a photo of us?"

"Again, it's a valid strategy," Blaise told them. "What's done is done, I suppose. We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out."

"But before that…" Millie said, her eyes landing on the twins.

"I'm in deep shite," Ron said as they stepped into the Entrance Hall.

"All of you, scram," Fred ordered upon seeing Ron and his friends.

"Go on, guys," Ron said. "I'll join you shortly."

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "Alright." As Ron's friends left for the Great Hall, Ron followed the twins out into the Courtyard.

"How did you do it?" George asked as he turned around with a manic grin. _Huh?_

"Did you pay someone off?" Fred asked, his tone much lighter now. "Was it Lee?"

"Don't play dumb, Ronnie," George laughed. "How did you do it? You've got to tell us." _These two are insane._

"You're not angry?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Why would we be?" the twins asked together.

"You pulled a really sneaky one on us," Fred smirked.

"We're actually proud," George nodded along. "Surprised… But still proud." _What the fuck?_

"I think I'll keep my methods to myself," Ron decided to say, he didn't want the twins to figure out his tricks.

"Did you use the Marauder's Map?" Fred asked, and Ron didn't make a sound.

"He couldn't have bribed anyone," George said, his fingers rubbing his chin. "People fear us too much."

"Can I go and eat breakfast? Please?" Ron asked, he was just glad that the twins weren't angry.

"He has bags under his eyes," Fred went on, and Ron began to head back inside. The twins followed after him, their theories endless.

"He clearly had to stay awake for his plans to work," George mused. "Wait… Did you sneak into Gryffindor last night?"

"No," Ron replied.

"He could be lying, brother mine," Fred said quickly. "How did he get past our Protections?"

"Easily," Ron smirked, and the twins felt slightly annoyed by that.

"Very curious indeed," George said slowly.

"Have you been talking to Bill?" Fred asked, and Ron gave him a confused look. "Never mind then…"

"He helped you with your trunks?" Ron asked, and George smacked Fred's arm. _I should get him to help me with mine, but I haven't seen him since before I started Hogwarts._

"Ignore that, Ronald," George ordered. "Now tell us how you got the photo."

"Otherwise, we might ruin your little date on Hogsmeade weekend," Fred smirked, and Ron stopped walking. _How do they know about that?_

"Oh, yes," George sang. "We've heard rumors of a certain teashop being booked by Daphne Greengrass."

"You wouldn't," Ron turned to face them, and their smirks suddenly boiled his blood. "Don't you bloody dare, you two. Daphne's put a lot of effort into planning the day, and if you ruin things for her, I'll hurt you."

"Ohhh," the twins pretended to be frightened.

"I'm serious," Ron warned. "This is my first date with her. Don't ruin it." Ron began to head into the Great Hall at that, while the twins just grinned at his back.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Slytherin Training Area – After Lunch)**_

While Ron's friends lazed about during their free period, Ron and Malfoy sparred against each other. So far, Malfoy hadn't managed to land even a stinger on Ron, whereas Ron had disarmed him multiple times. Ron had also decided to practice his 'breathing' exercise during the Duels, which he always kept forgetting about.

"Stop panicking when I get the upper hand," Ron frowned at the panting wizard. "Stay focused, and you'll find an opportunity."

"That's easier said than done, Weasley," Malfoy snapped. "You don't relent!" Ron felt annoyed by his tone, but after a deep breath, Ron decided to let it go. _Yelling won't help him, I know that now._

"Don't yell at him when he's clearly trying to help you," Millie snarled from behind her book, and Malfoy's jaw clenched in response.

"Malfoy, just relax," Ron said calmingly.

"Don't tell me to relax," Malfoy grit out. "You're so condescending… Every time you talk, you're looking down your massive nose."

"Doesn't feel very good, does it?" came Theo's laugh, and Ron shot a frown at the weedy boy. "What? He's a prick."

"Stop angering him," Ron scolded, and then he looked back to Malfoy, who was now pacing angrily. "Take a breather, Malfoy. We can try again later."

"Sod off," Malfoy hissed, and then he stormed off to go sit by himself. _What an arsehole._ Ron took in a few more breaths, mostly just to forget Malfoy's comment about his big nose. _I just hope my face catches up to it someday._ Ron then decided to just practice on his own for now, it had been a while since he tested out a new Wandless Spell. Ron walked over to his friends, and he took a seat by Blaise.

"Why are you even helping him?" Blaise whispered.

"Sparring with a person is much more challenging," Ron shrugged, and then he pulled out Flitwick's book on Progenitor Spells.

"He really despises you, mate," Blaise said, and Ron nodded.

"I know," Ron said, his eyes looking for a useful Spell.

"No, you don't," Blaise whispered, and Ron looked to him with a curious look. "You've become an actual leader in this House, and that's done his head in. Not to mention that he's forced to rely on you as well."

"What am I supposed to do?" Ron asked.

"Cut him loose," Blaise replied, and Ron just looked back to his book. "You're keeping a snake in your bed, Ron. One day soon, he'll bite."

"If I cut him loose, he's probably going to come after me sooner," Ron said. "At least this way, I can keep my eyes on him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new Spell that I want to try out."

"Merlin… Should we vacate the premises?" Blaise smirked.

"Think of it this way," Ron smirked back. "Since our common room is located within the Black Lake, blowing a hole through a wall will result in our immediate death. Then, we don't have to worry about Malfoy's schemes."

"Then by all means, drown us all," Blaise chuckled, while Ron made his way back to the sand pit. _Cutis Terra. Roughly translated to 'Earth Skin'. Similar to the Unbreakable Charm, but can be applied to the caster's very skin. Used by the ancient Druids of Britain to greatly enhance their strength and durability. A truly difficult Spell to Master, it leaves a slivery shade on the caster's entire body during its application._

"Alright, let's try it," Ron whispered to himself, he couldn't help but feel a little trepidation at the prospect of this Spell backfiring. _Just don't force it, and I should be alright._ Ron aimed his left palm forward, and he chanted the incantation. His entire left arm seized up, as if it was being incased in stone. _Shite! OW! FUCKING OW!_ Ron quickly tried to undo the Spell, but judging by the skin on his left hand, it had never really worked in the first place.

"Fuck, that hurt," Ron grit out as he bent forward, his left arm seeking refuge in his stomach.

"Ron, are you alright?" came Blaise's voice, and Ron nodded his head quickly.

"I'm okay," Ron breathed out, and then he checked his left hand again. The skin had become red and agitated, much to Ron's bewilderment. _So much for that…_ "I… I need to go see Pomfrey."

"Did the Spell backfire?" Millie asked quickly, her book coming down.

"I think so," Ron groaned, the bones in his left arm were starting to ache. "Don't worry, I'll see you guys shortly." With that, Ron began making his way out of the Training Area, but he was quickly followed by Millie, Theo, and Blaise.

"Let us see your hand," Millie said, but Ron just shot her a smile.

"I'm fine, I swear it," Ron said, but the look on her face made him think twice. "Fine…" Ron showed them his left hand, and they just observed it with curious looks.

"It's a bit red," Theo said. "Sort of like before a bruise."

"What were you trying, Ron?" Millie asked.

"A Wandless Spell called Cutis Terra," Ron replied, his right hand massaging his left forearm. _Shite, it's really starting to ache._ "I need to go." Ron quickly began making his way towards the Hospital Wing, while his friends just frowned and shook their heads. Ron was truly insane to keep doing this to himself.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"I've had it, Ronald," Pomfrey frowned at him, while he just sat there without a shirt. His entire left arm was beginning to bruise, and the ache in his bones was getting worse. "You have become a weekly patient because of your constant need to injure yourself. What was it this time?"

"Cutis Terra," Ron replied sheepishly, she looked genuinely pissed off.

"Pardon?" Madam Pomfrey blinked, she hadn't heard of this Spell before.

"It's a Wandless Spell," Ron started, and she immediately frowned again. "It's supposed to make my body stronger while it's active… But it didn't work."

"Clearly," Madam Pomfrey bit out, her eyes scanning his left arm. "Look at the state of your arm, Ronald. It's completely bruised."

"And it hurts, so please heal it," Ron said, but a dark look from her shut him up. _I guess I'll just sit here. In pain._

"Whatever this Spell is, it's not good for your muscles," Madam Pomfrey started, the tip of her wand tracing his arm. "Your muscles contracted far too quickly, and that's caused them to swell. Do you know what a muscle spasm is?"

"A spasm of muscles," Ron replied, and Madam Pomfrey gave him a deadpan look. "I like being cheeky."

"Well, I have half a mind to give you swollen cheek," Madam Pomfrey said, her eyes darting back to his arm.

"That was a good one," Ron noted, a weak grin on his face. "I mean, I'm a little too old for a spanking, but if it's you who-"

"Be quiet," Madam Pomfrey snapped, and Ron sniggered to himself. _Got her! Ow! My arm…_ "Judging from your **latest** injury, I'd say that you were far too relaxed."

"So I needed to tense my arm?" Ron asked. _Make a mental of that, Ron._

"Perhaps," Madam Pomfrey said off-handedly. "Lie down for me, Ronald. This will take a while."

"My arm hurts," Ron whined.

"Good," Madam Pomfrey said with a tinge of annoyance, but she still numbed his arm with her wand.

"Oh… That's so much better," Ron relaxed as he lay down. "Which Spell is that?"

"Torpor," Madam Pomfrey replied. "The Numbing Charm. It is quite useful for treating injured patients."

"Torpor…" Ron said to himself. "The Numbing Charm, eh? Haven't heard of it before. It could be useful in a Duel too. Imagine using it on a person's leg mid-Duel."

"I don't need to imagine it," Madam Pomfrey told him.

"Oh, I sense a good story. Mind sharing it?" Ron asked, a full smile on his face.

"There was a particularly nasty girl in my youth," Madam Roberts said calmly, her wand slowly healing his upper arm. "One day, she decided to throw a Hex at me, and I numbed both of her feet in response. She simply crumpled then and there, and afterwards, she never dared to come after me again."

"I expected more… But good on you, Madam Pomfrey," Ron nodded his approval.

"It's not something to be proud of, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey said curtly. "I stooped to her level, which made me no better than her. She stopped coming after me because she thought that I was worse than her, and that made me feel truly ashamed. Violence shouldn't be met with violence, it becomes a vicious cycle otherwise."

"Right," Ron said slowly, his mind thinking of Flint. _No. He got what he deserved. No half-measures._

"Do you have something on your mind, Ronald?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron shook his head.

"No," Ron replied. "Just a passing thought not worth thinking about."

* * *

 _ **Fenrir Greyback's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Hungarian Forest – Near Midnight)**_

The last few days had been exquisite. With his old Master returned, Fenrir had unleashed his bestial strength upon Hungary's Werewolf community. Getting all the Pack Master's under one roof hadn't been difficult, singlehandedly disposing of them all, however, had left its mark on Fenrir.

The fight for dominance had left Fenrir bruised and battered, which slowed down his new 'army' considerable. As such, they had yet to cross over into Austria. Not to mention that Fenrir was quite out of practice when it came to leading small armies, and this one needed to pass through entire countries unnoticed. The truth was that rumors of a massive Werewolf community moving through Hungary were already spreading around, which only made Fenrir uneasy. Sooner or later, the Hungarian Ministry was going to get involved.

Fenrir was woken up by the sound of an explosion, which was then followed up by loud yelling. _What is going on?_ Fenrir sat up, and his sharp senses immediately pointed out that a massive fire had started within the camp. He sprung to action, grabbing his wand off of the floor as he ran out of his tent. His woman made a squeak behind him, but he completely ignored her. _A fight? Which pack is it now?!_

"Help! There are men in the woods!" came a yell, and Fenrir turned to his right. _The fire!_ One of the larger tents was ablaze, and after shaking his head clear, he realized that most of the yelling was coming from the direction of the fire. Fenrir snarled and broke into a sprint, his muscled legs carrying him through the camp at optimal speed. _Men in the woods? Are we under attack?_

"You!" Fenrir bellowed at a scrawny lad, who gave him a frightened look. "You've got a wand! Come with me!"

"Oh… Oh, alright!" the boy yelled back before giving chase, his frightened look still in place. _Only a third of our number have wands, and most of them are uneducated in using them. We won't be able to beat the Hungarian Ministry's Aurors._ Once Fenrir reached the fiery tent, he found complete chaos. People were screaming and yelling, with some of them trying to put out the fire while the others cried about there being 'men in the woods'.

"Quiet down, you mongrels!" Fenrir roared, and everyone looked to him with panicked looks. "Put out the fire! We can't afford to be seen!"

"There are men in the woods, Greyback!" an older witch called out. "I saw them!"

"Someone fired a Spell at the tent from the woods!" came Alexander's voice, who then looked to the scrawny lad who had followed Fenrir here. "Kurt?! What are you doing here?! You're meant to be with our-"

"Shut it!" Fenrir yelled, and then he gestured to the tent. The other Werewolves quickly began to control the fire. "Bloodied Claws! Go search the woods ahead of-" A red flare flew past his head, only to explode not twenty feet ahead of him. Fenrir was left dazed for a second, and then he spun around with an angry glare. A squad of wizards had flanked them, which had effectively left them cut off from the rest of the camp.

"They're behind us!" an old man roared. "They've cut us off from the elderly and children!" _It all makes sense! The fire lured the fighters to this side of the camp, while they separated the weak folk! They mean to kill us all!_

"THEY WON'T HOLD BACK!" Fenrir bellowed, he knew now what was happening. "IT'S NOT THE MINISRTY! THEY'RE MERCENARIES!"

"I can't smell how many!" someone yelled out, but they were quickly silenced by a Killing Curse. _Not ordinary mercenaries either! It's a Death Squad! They lit the fire to fuck with our senses, and so they could pick us out!_

"Fight!" Fenrir ordered, and then he fired a Confringo at his closest target. Shields quickly went up from both sides, and within seconds, Spells were being exchanged between the attackers and defenders.

Fenrir took every opportunity to strike back, but his injuries put him on the defensive. Which was for the best, mostly because his 'army' was filled with incompetents. The Death Squad, however, knew what they were doing. Half defended, while the other half fired Killing Curses, and before long, even Fenrir began to panic. Screams of disarray echoed all around him, while his wolves were cut down at an alarming rate. _We're completely outmatched!_

"FLEE!" Fenrir commanded. "Run to the woods behind us!" Fenrir himself turned to flee, but he only got a few feet forward before Spells came flying towards them from on ahead.

"They've got us surrounded!" a woman screamed. "The men in the woods were-' A Reductor Curse blew her side clean off, while Fenrir felt the ground shake from behind him. He turned to see Exploding Curses flying at them, and he quickly pulled the lad named Kurt out of the way of a Reductor Curse. It struck an older man in the chest, who was sent reeling back with a massive chunk of his chest missing.

"They're culling us!" Fenrir told his shattered fighters. "Flee to the sides! Run for the cliffs!" Fenrir dragged Kurt with him, all the while shoving people out of his way. Alexander followed after them, but unlike Fenrir, he was ordering the other wolves to follow him. A great many of them were shot down before Fenrir found himself nearing the end of camp, at which point he broke into a sprint.

There was shame in running, but dying here was never part of the plan. He had been doing just fine before the Dark Lord had reentered his life, and right now, he couldn't help but Curse his old Master. If it weren't for the Dark Lord, he wouldn't be in this position in the first place. He could've been creating more of his kind instead of watching them get massacred by a Death Squad.

"Keep running, runt!" Fenrir yelled as he shot a look behind himself, only to see Alexander fall to a Killing Curse.

"Alex!" Kurt screamed, but he didn't stop running. The wolves tried to scatter out, but the Death Squad gave chase. From above them, wizards on brooms rained death down upon the wolves. _Apparate!_

"Apparate to safety!" Fenrir yelled, but when he tried it, a Ward blocked him.

"They've got Anti-Apparation Jinxes in place!" a wizard yelled, and then he screamed as an Expulso Curse blew up the witch just ahead of him. Fenrir was bombarded by thick chips of wood as he dodged the Curses aimed for him.

"Just run then! Apparate when you're out of range!" Fenrir yelled, and then he fired a Non-verbal Braking Charm at one of the flying wizards. The witch's broom halted to a stop, which sent her flying down to the Earth. As she landed on her head, Fenrir managed to make out her outfit due to his heightened eyesight. _Two sickle shaped wands on her back? Death's Hand! What the fuck are they doing in Hungary?! They're a German Mercenary group! Someone rich must've hired them! No Ministry would pay for their fees!_

"What about the others?!" Kurt yelled, he could barely keep up with Fenrir despite the bigger wolf's injuries. "They killed Alex!"

"They've got the camp locked down by now! We won't be seeing any of them again!" Fenrir yelled back, and then he barely dodged a Killing Curse. "Just run, you fool!" Fenrir could feel his blood leaking out of his bandages, but he grit his teeth and kept running.

"I don't know how to apparate!" Kurt called out, he was slowly falling behind. "Slow down! I'm begging you!" Fenrir did no such thing, he was not dying for the sake of a weak little runt. _I might cover his escape if I pass the Wards, but nothing more!_ After a minute of running, Fenrir felt himself cross past the Wards. _I'm through!_ But he didn't apparate, instead, he turned to cover Kurt's escape.

"Avada Kedavra!" Fenrir snarled, and a jet of green light struck down one of the chasers. Kurt and a few other managed to reach him, and Fenrir quickly grabbed the runt mid-run before apparating to a lake a few miles behind them. As soon as they came out of the apparation, Kurt and Fenrir tumbled down into the lake's cold water.

The cold water knocked the air out of his lungs, and he barely managed to swim back to the surface. Kurt had a similar experience, but he didn't have the strength to stay afloat. Fenrir spotted the runt trying not to drown, and so he grabbed him by the collar before swimming for the nearest shoreline. The cold seemed to numb his pain a little, and he managed to get both himself and Kurt to safety. As he dragged the runt onto the beach, Fenrir founding himself too weak to even stand anymore. And so he collapsed into the sand, his body drenched in freezing cold water.

* * *

 _ **Friday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **October, 1993 (Hungarian Forest – Dawn)**_

Fenrir woke up with a start, and he quickly looked around himself.

"Don't move too much," came Kurt's voice, and Fenrir grit his teeth. _Death's Hand?_ Fenrir slowly sat up, only to find himself in a pack of five wolves including himself. There was a small fire going, with two women and a man warming themselves nearby.

"Fire?" Fenrir snarled. "Put it out, you damn fools!"

"They're gone, Greyback," one of the women said, her dull-eyes landing on him. _Bernadette the Red? I left her in charge of the Timberwolves._ "They're fucking gone…"

"Who were they?" Kurt managed to ask, his voice sounded strained.

"Death's Hand," Fenrir lay back down, his sides were killing him. "A fucking Death Squad from Germany…"

"Death squad?" the other woman squeaked.

"Why us?" the weary man by the fire asked.

"Don't you get it?" Bernadette hissed bitterly, her eyes fixed on Greyback. "They came for him! The wolf who wanted an army!"

"Shut your mouth, woman," Fenrir spat out, and then he felt a jolt of pain run through his left leg. "My leg…"

"A piece of wood was sticking out of it," Kurt said quickly. "I carried you for a bit, and then I ran into them. Bernadette, Casey, and Yolk. They apparated near the lake as well. We patched you up, but none of us know Healing Magic." _And neither do I… Fuck…_

"You fucking did this to us!" Bernadette accused, her wand suddenly aimed at him. Fenrir merely cocked an eyebrow at her, while Kurt aimed his wand at Bernadette.

"He saved my life!" Kurt managed, but his voice cracked quite loudly.

"Step aside, runt," Fenrir snarled as he sat back up, his eyes fixed on the angry witch. "Go on then, bitch. Try and kill me… But just know that when you fail, I'll tear your fucking throat out." Bernadette kept glaring at him, but then, her wand slowly began to lower.

"What are we going to do?" Casey cried out. "We've got no food… They could still be out there… And I broke my wand… Gods, save us!"

"Yolk…" Fenrir grit out as he stood up, and the weary man looked to him with a dull expression. "We need food… Go and get some…" _My wounds are too severe. We can't leave this spot for at least a couple of days._ Yolk stood up slowly, and then he drifted off towards the lake. Fenrir limped to the fire's side before kneeling down from exhaustion, and Kurt quickly helped lower him to his side.

"They killed us like animals…" Kurt sniffled, and Fenrir grabbed the runt's left forearm tightly.

"Grab a hold of your cock and be a man," Fenrir growled, and then he tossed the skinny lad aside.

"What do we do now?" Casey asked again, her face showing her lack of hope. "They got my father… I saw… saw it…"

"Be quiet, girl," Bernadette sighed out. "Thinking of it will only make it worse. Focus on surviving." Bernadette then looked to Fenrir. "Your army is routed, Greyback. What now?"

"Britain…" Fenrir replied weakly, his strength was fading again. "Go through Austria… Find more wolves…"

"Why?" Bernadette demanded. "This wasn't enough for you! They'll never stop hunting our kind!"

"Death's Hand?" Kurt asked slowly.

"The Ministries!" Bernadette snapped, her face twisting from anger. "Who do you think hired that Death Squad?"

"It wasn't the Hungarian Ministry," Fenrir shook his head. "They'd never spend that much money just to attack Werewolves. Not to mention that they can't explain this form of violence to the population. No… The Death's Hand was hired by someone wealthy… Someone who knew of our movements…"

"One of the men accompanying the Red-Eyed Lord?" Kurt suggested, and Fenrir let out an angry grumble. _Lucius and Cornelius… Maybe… They do hate our kind… But they don't have the backbone needed to defy the Dark Lord. No one does._ Fenrir felt dread at the prospect of meeting his Lord now. He had failed to build an army, and would no doubt need to settle for a much smaller number of wolves. If he was being hunted by the Death's Hand, then he couldn't afford to leave behind a trail.

"Two days… And then we move…" Fenrir managed, his vision was beginning to darken. "Austria…"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

The Hungarian Ministry had found a battlefield littered with the dead, and upon closer inspection, they had identified many Werewolves from their Werewolf Registry. This had resulted in the Hungarian Ministry reporting the battle as a spat between rivaling packs, which had only increased the fear of Werewolves in Hungary.

The Order had all learned of this massacre this morning, and a meeting between the leaders of the Order was quickly arranged. The Order knew that it was Sebastian Greengrass who was behind the attack, just as they knew that Fenrir Greyback had been the real target. Elphias and Alastor were adamant about dismissing Sebastian and Mary from the Order, while Aberforth suspected Albus' own hand to be behind the massacre. This time, Albus' brother was right about his crimes.

"He disobeyed your command, Albus," Elphias shook his hand. "He has forever shamed the Order's good name, and it only took him a week."

"My sources in Hungary say that all the dead Werewolves had wands on them," Alastor pointed out. "No children were killed. Instead, they are rumored to be hiding out in the wilderness. Even now, the Hungarian Ministry is finding stragglers from Greyback's army." _No mercenaries have been found then? They cleaned up after themselves._

"Are you defending this?" Elphias asked, a cross look on his face.

"No, Greengrass needs to go," Alastor growled. "But his actions have helped us greatly, there is no denying that." Albus looked to Aberforth, only to find his brother just staring through him. A pang of guilt passed through Albus, but he didn't show it.

"I have summoned him here to explain himself," Albus told the three wizards.

"The whole Order should be here to send that man away," Elphias said coldly. "I never trusted him, Albus. He's not like us. No respect, and no morals."

"He is a cold man, there is no doubt about that, but we must hear him out first," Albus said, and Elphias gave a weak nod. As if being summoned by Fate herself, Sebastian flooed into the Office.

"You!" Elphias stood up, while Sebastian just cocked an eyebrow at the older wizard. "Shame on you, murderer!"

"What murder?" Sebastian asked calmly as he stepped closer to the Order's leaders.

"Don't play dumb, Greengrass," Alastor snapped. "You sent mercenaries after Greyback even after you were ordered not to."

"I did no such thing," Sebastian lied, and Albus just stared at him. _What's he doing? He told Severus that he'd take the blame._ "I followed Albus Dumbledore's orders." _What's your game, Sebastian?_

"What?!" Aberforth demanded, his face twisting in anger at Albus. Albus kept a calm demeanor, his blue eyes fixed on Sebastian Greengrass.

"Liar!" Elphias dismissed Sebastian.

"I alerted the Hungarian Ministry, just as I was told," Sebastian said, and everyone waited for him to go on. "They hired the mercenaries, not me."

"Is that so?" Alastor asked, his Magical Eye darting between Sebastian and Albus.

"I wanted to hire assassins, not a group of mercenaries," Sebastian told them. "This is the Hungarian Ministry's ploy to hide their dirty work. If you had all listened to me and hired one good assassin, all of this could've been avoided. This is your fault, not mine."

"The nerve of this… This Death-Eater!" Elphias spat out. "He commits mass murder, and then he blames us for it."

"I fear that he speaks the truth," Albus said calmly, and everyone looked to him.

"Albus… My old friend, you cannot be serious," Elphias said in disbelief.

"The Hungarian Ministry is quite cruel to its Werewolf denizens, which is no secret," Albus said, he had figured out Sebastian's game. _He means to discredit me in order to keep his place here, while I can't afford to send him away._ "Why else would they report this as a Werewolf spat over turf?"

"And why is it that you haven't shared your opinion until now?" Aberforth demanded, his eyes narrowing on Albus.

"I wished to see Sebastian before making any presumptions," Albus replied. "He is telling the truth, I can see it."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Sebastian said, his cold eyes landing on Alastor and Elphias. "Am I to be expelled for following orders?"

"No one is being expelled, Sebastian," Albus said, and he noticed Elphias shaking his head. "Please, give me some privacy with Sebastian. I need to speak with him about his Future amongst our numbers." Albus then looked to Alastor. "Sturgis has found Mundungus in Knockturn Alley, he is hiding away in the White Wyvern Pub. Do accompany him tonight, Alastor."

"I'll get it done," Alastor nodded curtly, and then he limped to the fireplace. Aberforth and Elphias followed after the retired Auror, and while Elphias eyed Sebastian, Aberforth eyed Albus. _He was supposed to hire one assassin, not a Death Squad. And now he's made it all look like it's my fault._ Once Alastor, Elphias, and Aberforth had flooed away, Sebastian took a seat in front of Albus.

"You lied to Severus," Albus said calmly, while Sebastian just stared at him. "Why?"

"I didn't lie," Sebastian replied. "I thought of a better strategy after our talk."

"A better strategy?" Albus couldn't help but frown. "You sentenced nearly a hundred people to death."

"Savage wolves, not people," Sebastian said coldly.

"Isn't Remus Lupin your friend?" Albus asked. "He's told me that you know of his Curse."

"Remus Lupin is not a savage," Sebastian said, there was no hint of emotion in his voice. "As for my strategy, it's more beneficial for us in the long run."

"How so? You've just made me look like a fool," Albus said, though he didn't sound very angry.

"I've made you look human, which I suppose is a new feeling to you," Sebastian countered. "The Order will believe that I went to the Hungarian Ministry, just as you asked, and it resulted in this massacre. So the next time I bring up the notion of using a knife in the dark, there won't be as much opposition to the idea. Blood **has** to be shed, but I've served to limit that."

"And Greyback?" Albus asked, he was quite impressed with Sebastian's foresight. Impressed, but disturbed. _He is truly as cold as they say. This man is also molding the mind of Ronald._

"He was not found amongst the dead," Sebastian replied.

"So he lives," Albus sighed out. "That is unfortunate."

"I've put a bounty on his head," Sebastian said. "If he tries to amass another force, the Death's Hand will find him. For now, he is off of the board." Sebastian then drew in a deep breath. "Some of the people who were captured told the Death's Hand something rather peculiar."

"Peculiar?" Albus asked.

"They claimed that a 'Red-Eyed Lord' had approached them," Sebastian started, and Albus leaned forward. "A Red-Eyed Lord, and two Englishmen. One older gentleman who drank a lot, and one young and fair gentleman who carried a serpentine walking cane. The descriptions match Cornelius Nott and Lucius Malfoy." It all hit Albus then. Lord Voldemort had already made contact with the two Pure-Blood wizards, which meant that he had the backing of two powerful Families already. _Should we have stopped them when we had the chance?_

"What did the Death's Hand do with the captured?" Albus asked.

"Erased their memories and set them free," Sebastian replied. "They didn't kill the elderly and children, I made sure of it. And they only lost a handful of their own. Greyback's horde was mostly filled with unschooled savages, who didn't really know how to use their wands. Now… What is this about Cornelius Nott and Lucius Malfoy?"

"It appears that the Dark Lord has made contact with them," Albus replied. "They are back in Britain now, which means that he could be as well. I will send out word to the Order after this. We must hide our homes with the Fidelius Charm."

"I'll invest in more Safe-Houses then," Sebastian said as he stood up. "James has found more properties in Muggle London for us to use. I suggest that we start furnishing them as soon as possible."

"I will leave that to you," Albus said, and Sebastian gave him a nod.

"Before I leave… Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy spend their time near my own," Sebastian started. "You will keep your eyes on Daphne, Astoria, and Ron, won't you?"

"Your children, and Ronald, will be kept safe," Albus promised. "This also applies to the other Slytherins."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Past Curfew)**_

"We should've stopped Malfoy and Nott when we had the chance," Ronald said, a bored expression on his face. "Now they're working for the Dark Lord again. Not to mention that their sons are always around me."

"Lucius would never involve his son with the Death-Eaters," Severus said, and Albus couldn't help but doubt that. "Not until Draco is of age."

"Lord Voldemort would not ask, Severus," Albus said. "He only knows how to command. Either way, keep an eye on them." Ronald and Severus nodded at that, while Albus leaned back in his chair. "Fenrir Greyback is still a threat. Sebastian's plan to kill him failed, but he's bought us some time. Fenrir is no longer a threat, and won't be for some time."

"How many people died?" Ronald asked. "The Daily Prophet was quite unclear on the matter."

"Nearly a hundred," Albus replied bluntly, and then he watched Ronald's expression. There was little to no change, which truly disturbed Albus. _He's turning into Sebastian Greengrass. No… Sebastian holds much influence over Ronald, but a lot of this coldness is from his lifestyle. He's become numb to conflict. That's… unfortunate._

"Were they all fighters as the Daily Prophet suggests?" Ronald asked, and Albus gave him a nod. "Alright… What do we do about Malfoy and Nott?" Severus and Albus exchanged glances, but neither of them said a word. _He completely compartmentalized all those deaths._ Albus knew that children were quicker to adapt to their lifestyles, but this was unprecedented.

"Severus, you must speak with Lucius," Albus said, and Severus nodded. "Get him to invite you before Lord Voldemort."

"I understand," Severus said coldly, while Ronald eyed Severus for a few seconds.

"You'll be careful though, right?" Ronald suddenly asked Severus.

"No, I plan to announce my betrayal to the Dark Lord," Severus replied scathingly, and Ron shot him a frown.

"No need to be a jerk," Ronald huffed. "I was just asking out of politeness."

"I don't think that you were," Albus said, and Ronald just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…" Ron said blandly. "Is there anything else?"

"No," Albus replied, and both Ronald and Severus stood up. "Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, Headmaster," Ronald said, while Severus just left for the fireplace. Ronald caught up to Severus, his eyes fixed on the Potions Master's face. "You will be careful, right?" Snape simply frowned in response, and then they both flooed away.

Albus leaned forward in his chair once they were gone, his hand stroking his chin. _What is_ _ **his**_ _next move? Where would Tom go after Hungary? Would he return to Britain in order to plan an assault on Azkaban? Or would he seek more allies? Why send Cornelius and Lucius back to Britain? Where are you, Tom?_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Ardeal (Transylvania) – Late Night)**_

The Dark Lord had always enjoyed Romania. Or at least, Magical Romania. It was perhaps the most simple of places within Europe, mostly because the Romanian Ministry largely ignored the darker aspects of its country. This had resulted in Romania acting as a safe haven for the rejected and the downtrodden, who often made for loyal servants.

Romania had its own underground system, which was governed by the rich and the corrupt. All of whom were of Pure Blood and Old Families, but right now, they weren't the Dark Lord's priority. Over the last few days, he had been tracking down the Blood Lord who was apparently roaming throughout Romania. People knew him only as Gaspard, and no one was foolish enough to speak too much of the Blood Lord.

Lord Voldemort had to admit that he was rather excited to meet a creature of Gaspard's quality. Vampires were already dangerous enough, but with age, they grew even stronger. The only real weakness that they had was that they were slaves to their endless thirst. This meant that a majority of Vampires didn't live past the ages of sixty to seventy. Most of them died at each other's hands, while a few of them were culled by wronged wizards and witches.

But Blood Lords were different, they were the eldest of the Vampires. It was true that Vampires could live up to three hundred years without aging, but eventually, their bodies simply broke apart. Their dead halves would always conquer their living halves. This meant that Gaspard was most likely well over two hundred years old, but younger than three hundred. No matter how Lord Voldemort looked at it, Gaspard was probably the longest lived creature that he would ever meet.

Lord Voldemort landed behind a thick tree, his scarlet eyes scanning the Thief's End Tavern. Unsurprisingly, the tavern was utterly deserted. The Dark Lord's inquiries had all led him here, to this deserted tavern in the forgotten parts of Transylvania. _A Blood Lord… How terribly intriguing._ The Dark Lord glided to the door of the tavern, and with a wave of his hand, unlocked and opened the door. With his hood still in place, he stepped inside.

His eyes immediately landed on five children, all of whom were dressed in colorful robes which contrasted against their pale skins. The 'children' sat around a dusty table, large red goblets sitting in front of them. Their bored eyes landed on the Dark Lord, but none of them moved from their chairs.

"Can I help you, stranger?" the bartender asked, and the Dark Lord looked to him. He was an old man, one who probably lived out here by himself. _And he only has six customers, five of whom are clearly Vampires._

"Avada Kedavra," Lord Voldemort hissed, and the bartender's horror was left etched on his face. This only served to intrigue the 'children', while the blonde haired man sitting at the bar shot the Dark Lord a curious look.

"You killed my bartender," the man spoke calmly, his eyes were orange and cat-like. _Fascinating. He must be Gaspard._

"You must be Gaspard," the Dark Lord hissed from the door, and the Blood Lord looked back to his drink. _You dare turn your head while conversing with Lord Voldemort?_

"Leave," Gaspard spoke in a dismissive tone, which only served to enrage the Dark Lord. _I must be calm._

"I only seek words," Lord Voldemort started, and then he pulled off his hood. "One of my followers approached you not too long ago."

"Cornelius Nott," Gaspard said, and then he looked the Dark Lord over with a dull expression. _He is as fair as Fenrir is savage._ "Lord Voldemort, I presume?"

"You are brave to speak my name," Lord Voldemort's eyes flashed red. "Or quite foolish." Lord Voldemort then glided across the tavern, and stopped near the Blood Lord.

"Then what shall I call you?" Gaspard asked, his glass of Magical Blood swirling in his left hand. _Master._

"How about ally?" Lord Voldemort suggested, his body looming over a seated Gaspard. "I am rebuilding my army, and a Blood Lord would prove quite the asset. Join me, and I will give-" The Dark Lord's offer was interrupted when a fist collided with his face, and the overwhelming force sent him rolling across the dirty floor. Before he could make sense of what had happened, Gaspard had grabbed him by the neck and thrown him right through the front door. The Dark Lord just lay there on shattered wood and glass, he could feel that some of his bones were not in their proper places. _He attacked me?! Without provocation?!_

"Your first mistake was to think that I would care about your 'crusade'," came Gaspard's voice, while the Dark Lord fixed his body's bones back into place. "Your second mistake was to kill my bartender." Gaspard stepped out of the tavern, his tall frame casting a shadow over the Dark Lord. "And your final mistake was to look down at me."

"You will regret your course of action," the Dark Lord said as his black robes lifted him to his feet. "I will not kill you, but you **will** serve me." Scarlet red eyes clashed against orange ones, and both Lords stood up to their full height.

"Come then," Gaspard spread his arms, his expression now manic.

"Crucio!" the Dark Lord hissed, his wand aimed at the Vampire. Gaspard ran forward at an alarming speed, his body crouched and his sharp nails outstretched. The red light of the Cruciatus Curse flew over Gaspard's head, and before the Dark Lord could apparate away, sharp nails dug into his chest. Lord Voldemort felt no pain from this assault, but he was still left dazed after Gaspard slammed his body into the Earth. Three powerful blows landed on the Dark Lord's serpentine face before he managed to restrain the Blood Lord with his robes.

"Filthy beast," the Dark Lord hissed as he tossed Gaspard through the wall of the tavern. The sound of wood shattering echoed into the night, and the Dark Lord felt his mind being clouded by bloodlust. He had been struck not once, but multiple times. Each blow could have killed a normal man, which only angered the Dark Lord even more. _I cannot lose this body just yet! I must subdue him before he does any more damage to my vessel!_ A plank of wood came flying through the hole in the wall, and the Dark Lord readied himself.

"Depulso," Lord Voldemort chanted, and with a wave of his left hand, he sent the plank flying elsewhere. Gaspard stepped out of the tavern, a piece of wood sticking out of his upper right chest. With a pained grunt, the Blood Lord yanked the wooden spike out of his chest.

"The 'Darkest Wizard in History'," Gaspard laughed, his sharp features twisting from sick amusement. As Gaspard tossed the wooden spike away, the Dark Lord found himself reaching his limit for diplomacy. "Beaten by a little boy in Godric's Hollow…"

"You don't have a wand," Lord Voldemort hissed.

"I haven't used a wand since I was turned," Gaspard circled the Dark Lord, his fangs on full display. "And that was over two hundred years ago."

"A monstrous brute then," Lord Voldemort said in disgust. _Vampires are highly resistant to Spells, and if I use powerful Curses, he could die. This will not be easy. He has far too much strength, and if I'm not careful, he'll destroy this body beyond repair._ "How did you acquire your title without a wand?"

"My title? You mean 'Blood Lord'?" Gaspard asked, his eyes glowing in the dark. "We Vampires have our own hierarchies, but that doesn't matter right now. Give me a worthy fight!"

"Immobulus!" the Dark Lord chanted just as Gaspard ran at him, and the Vampire's momentum was slowed down considerably. The Dark Lord once again bound him with his robes, and Gaspard snarled violently as one of the strands tied itself around his throat. "You cannot beat me, Vampire. No one can."

Much to the Dark Lord's shock however, Gaspard yanked himself back with ferocious strength. Lord Voldemort was pulled forward, and the Vampire charged him again. But before he could lay a hand on the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort took off for the skies. He could feel Gaspard struggling to break free from his binds, so the Dark Lord obliged him. The Blood Lord fell to the Earth from around forty feet, which no doubt left him greatly injured. Lord Voldemort flew back down with the speed of a bullet, and as Gaspard was standing back up, Lord Voldemort grabbed him and flew him threw the tavern. They came out of the other side covered in wood and dust, with Gaspard's back shred up.

"Serve me," the Dark Lord hissed as he tossed the Blood Lord's ragged body away with the help of his tendril like robes. "There is nothing to be gained from fighting Lord Voldemort. Resistance is futile."

"That was good," Gaspard said as he stood up slowly, and Lord Voldemort could hear the Vampire's bones healing themselves. _That quickly?! His age must be the reason behind his incredible vigor._ "After I kill you, I'm going to find your followers. The old man, the platinum haired coward, and the man who reeked of Potions. I'll eat them whole."

Gaspard suddenly threw a knife from his black robes, one that the Dark Lord batted away without even blinking. But what caught the Dark Lord by surprise was the flash bomb that Gaspard set off in immediate succession. The Dark Lord quickly put up a Silvery Shield to defend himself while his eyes readjusted, and Gaspard slammed into the shield with the strength of a Mountain Troll. Lord Voldemort had to dig his heels into the ground to keep himself from losing his footing, while Gaspard snaked past the shield's radius as if he were as flexible as a serpent.

The Dark Lord found himself being slammed into the wall behind him, which was then followed up with two mind-numbing haymakers. His vessel's jaw was clearly dislocated, and a molar had been knocked right out of his mouth. _Enough of this!_ Before the third haymaker could land, the Dark Lord reached into the Vampire's veins and seized his blood. Gaspard grunted from the pain, and once the Dark Lord's eyes had readjusted, he came face to face with the struggling Blood Lord.

Lord Voldemort lifted the Blood Lord off of his feet, and Gaspard twitched wildly from the agony. That twitching quickly stopped as the Dark Lord slammed Gaspard skull-first into the ground, and then he did it again and again. The Vampire crumpled onto himself when the Dark Lord let him go, his head had split open. While the Dark Lord fixed up his damaged vessel, the Blood Lord's skull slowly began to heal.

"You feel no pain," Gaspard gurgled from the ground, a sick grin on his pale face.

"Lord Voldemort is beyond pain," the Dark Lord hissed, his mind still slightly rattled.

"I've lost then," Gaspard sat up, and the Dark Lord aimed his wand at the Vampire's back. _His skull is still broken, and yet, he seems to have recovered. Astonishing._ "Not only are you holding back, but you feel no pain… My chances of victory are nonexistent."

"Have I earnt the 'privilege' to speak with you now?" Lord Voldemort asked, his wand lowering to his side.

"I have no interest in your schemes," Gaspard stood up. "But a war… Now that is tempting…" The Blood Lord turned to face the Dark Lord at that, his orange eyes glowing with excitement. "A chance at a violent death."

"Then you concede to join my army?" Lord Voldemort demanded.

"I concede to shed blood for your side, that's all," Gaspard said bluntly. "Until we meet again, Lord Voldemort." And just like that, the Blood Lord stepped back into the tavern through a broken wall.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase - Midday)**_

"You did well today," Madam Roberts commented, her wand healing his left leg. "Just remember to focus on your breathing, and make sure that you don't break your stance."

"I understand," Ron replied, his left leg twitching a little. Despite Madam Roberts' words, Ron knew that he had been distracted all day. His mind kept drifting off to the 'Hungarian Werewolf Massacre', and his role in it. In a way, Ron was to blame for all the deaths that had happened. He, a thirteen year old boy, had helped orchestrate so much death. The thought jarred him, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite grasp it yet.

He felt guilty, of course, but not guilty enough to despise his actions. Snape and Dumbledore seemed to be coping well enough with what had happened, as was Lord Greengrass, and so Ron found it a little easier to cope with it all. At the end of the day, they had struck a fierce blow against the Dark Lord's army. An army that would have no doubt done a lot of damage in the Future. Ron couldn't help but wonder what his Family would say about his actions. How would they react if they knew who Ron really was? _They'd be disgusted, wouldn't they?_

"I understand that we won't be seeing each other next Sunday," Madam Roberts said, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"I will be competing in the Dueling Club," Ron said, and she gave him a curt nod. "I'll do you proud, Madam Roberts." She cocked an eyebrow at that, but she didn't stop his treatment.

"Remember to stay clearheaded," Madam Roberts ordered. "Do not lose control."

"I'll do my best," Ron promised, and somehow, he knew that he would manage that.

"How is your Wandless training coming along?" Madam Roberts asked, her wand moving to his right leg.

"Slowly," Ron admitted. "It's actually quite difficult… I don't know which Spells my body is ready for most of the time, and every time I try out a new Spell, something goes wrong."

"Don't rush yourself, Ronald," Madam Roberts advised. "You have no reason to be pushing yourself so hard." _Except I do._

"Right…" Ron said, his mind drifting off again. Madam Roberts just shot him a quick glance, but she didn't say anything. She had noticed that the boy wasn't completely present today, but he had done well enough that she didn't feel the need to berate him.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Black Lake – Late Afternoon)**_

The cool breeze felt divine, and Ron found himself just staring at the lake's black water. He had initially planned to go watch the second years in action, but in the end, he had decided against it. The thought of watching people throw Spells at each other filled him with anxiety for some reason, and so he had wound up here, even if he feared seeing dead bodies floating in the lake.

He needed to do something. **Anything**. He had to keep himself occupied, or he was going to start thinking about the Werewolves again. _Nearly a hundred… And yet, Greyback managed to survive. It's only a matter of time before he tries to create another army, which will result in even more death._ He understood that death was going to become a norm in the upcoming years, but it still jarred him. Or was it that the deaths of the innocents that jarred him? Would he care if Greyback or Malfoy died? No, he really wouldn't. That in itself was an odd thing.

"I figured that I'd find you here," came Blaise's voice, and Ron turned to see Blaise walking down to the shore. "The second years were hoping that you were there to watch them."

"I doubt that," Ron said, his eyes traveling back to the water. "They're scared of me."

"Everyone's a little scared of you," Blaise smirked as he stopped by Ron's side. "Merlin… That's a nice breeze."

"How did they go?" Ron asked.

"Six out of eight have qualified for the quarterfinals," Blaise replied, and Ron was quite surprised by that.

"Really?" Ron asked, and Blaise gave him a nod. "Wow… Give me the summary."

"Thirty two people started, and only sixteen are left," Blaise started. "Six out of sixteen are ours, four are from Gryffindor, two from Hufflepuff, and four from Ravenclaw. The whole school is quite shocked, including the Slytherins. Turns out that knowing how to dodge, block, and retaliate is quite the handy technique. Most of the second years Duel like morons, so the focus on defense worked out for us."

"This is great news," Ron managed a smile.

"The Triumvirate definitely think so," Blaise patted Ron's back. "They were nothing but smug about it."

"Thank you for your help with them," Ron said, but Blaise just waved a dismissive hand. "I'm serious, mate. They were listening to me, but they were too nervous to do well. You and the others managed to turn that around. So thanks."

"Yeah… Well, we're a team," Blaise said nonchalantly. "Ugh… Pansy would swoon if she heard me say that."

"Then you ought to say it near her," Ron chuckled.

"Actually… I asked Padma Patil out today," Blaise said, and Ron blinked at him. _What? Did I change the timeline again?_ "She said yes."

"Good on you, mate," Ron congratulated Blaise, who merely shrugged in response. "Look at us… Both of us have girlfriends now."

"Don't be weird," Blaise said aloofly, and Ron just sniggered. _Does that mean that Pansy won't die by her mother's hand? I don't even fucking know anymore._

"So… How did Pansy take it?" Ron asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise asked in return.

"Well… You two seem to get along…" Ron said awkwardly, and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"I haven't told them," Blaise said rather calmly. "Yet."

"You figured that you'd come to me for advice first?" Ron smirked, and Blaise simply shook his head. "Here's some advice for you… No means no, Blaise."

"Shut up," Blaise shoved Ron, while Ron just grinned at him. "By the way, your sister Ginny made it into the quarterfinals."

"I see," Ron lost his grin. "And Luna?"

"She won the first match, but lost to Colin Creevey of all people," Blaise replied. "People are already betting on Ginny Weasley to win the second years' tournament. She's quite good with her Hexes."

"She won't win," Ron said, and Blaise waited for him to go on. "I'll make sure of it. We need to dominate the Dueling Club, Blaise. Otherwise, we'll be knee-deep in shite. I've put everything on this."

"Well, so far, people are starting to see that you were right," Blaise offered. "The second years are proof of your plan being sound."

"We have more time with them now," Ron said. "Over the next few weeks, we'll get them up to par with people like Ginny."

"Your sister is all aggression," Blaise pointed out. "There's no strategy, no forethought, nothing… Can I be blunt with you?"

"Aren't you always?" Ron asked.

"She was angry," Blaise told Ron, who nodded slowly. "She was bloody fuming, Ron. Her first match was against Rogers, and she hit him with a Bat-Bogey Hex that made even my stomach tense."

"We Weasley's have tempers," Ron shrugged. "And she's been having a rough go of it lately."

"Whatever her reasoning, she's quite hateful towards **our** House," Blaise said. "You might want to do something about that."

"Of course," Ron exhaled. "Ginny's issues should always be my first priority…"

"I didn't say that," Blaise said aloofly. "But sooner or later, you'll have to deal with it. She's your kin, mate… You're stuck with her."

"I know," Ron said softly, his eyes scanning the water. _She would've been one of the students being evacuated, right?_ "Honestly, Blaise… I'm sort of scattered right now."

"Really? I couldn't tell," Blaise smirked. "What is it? Why are you brooding out here whilst the rest of us are enjoying the second years' performances?"

"I'm not brooding," Ron frowned a little. "I'm just thinking about my next move."

"Move?" Blaise asked.

"In Slytherin," Ron lied, and Blaise bought it.

"My advice would be to keep being you," Blaise said, and Ron shot him a curious look. "Barbara Miller speaks quite highly of you now, mate. You were right to not blackmail her. And now that the second years have surprised everyone, people are taking you more seriously."

"I see," Ron said, his head turning to the Black Lake again. "Thanks, Blaise."

"Are you alright, Ron?" Blaise asked, and then he followed Ron's gaze to the water. "What are you looking at?" _A lesson in failure._

"Anything else happen today?" Ron asked, ignoring Blaise's questions.

"Theo and Malfoy got letters from their fathers, Tracey danced all day to her Walkman, Pansy and Millie-"

"Theo and Malfoy got letters?" Ron asked, and Blaise stopped listing things.

"Yeah… From their fathers," Blaise replied. "They both said that it was just their fathers letting them know that they were back in the Country."

"Right," Ron said slowly, he didn't believe that for a second.

"We didn't really question them," Blaise said. "After all, who cares what their fathers are sending them?"

"I care about what Malfoy's father is sending him," Ron stated. "And you should too. Don't forget that Malfoy hates me."

"Then toss him like I suggested," Blaise said. "And by the way, I don't buy that whole 'keep your enemies closer' tripe that you've convinced the others of. You've got plans for Malfoy, don't you?"

"Maybe," Ron shrugged. "I'll just have to wait and see." _From now on, I'll keep a closer eye on Malfoy. Theo I can trust, but I should also be careful around him. Nott Snr is a Blood-Supremacist, and eventually, he'll ask Theo to join him. I cannot let that happen._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you guys enjoyed that! I should've named this Chapter 'The Order strikes back'. Hehe.**

 **See you guys on Thursday/Friday!**


	85. Chapter 85 - The Wait

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 85 is here! I won't lie, the Dueling Club was a real piece of work to put together. I used an actual Tournament Maker tool to compile forty names into a singles elimination Tournament. It was completely random, even for me. So yeah, it was really fun to write that out.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 85 – The Wait**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

He had no earthly idea of where he was, he only knew that it was somewhere in Ottery St. Catchpole. Judging by the low hills around him, he was somewhere close to Stoatshead Hill. He was all alone out here, the Sun shining down on him. There was an odd sense of… acceptance… around him. It was as if the hills themselves were glad that he was here.

Ron enjoyed the cool breeze with closed eyes, his body and soul feeling lighter than ever. There was no anxiety here. There was no stress here. There was no war here. Ron had nothing to worry about, because everything was as it should be. As if tempted by the cool breeze, Ron took in a deep breath through his nose, and his face split into a content smile. _Home._

Ron reopened his eyes in order to take in his surroundings again, and upon seeing the countryside, his smile got wider. _Why am I here? Wasn't I at Hogwarts?_ Ron felt an odd sort of pull in the back of his mind, a pull that he couldn't resist. As Ron reluctantly gave into the pull, he saw flashes of the Slytherin common room. _The celebration… That's where I was. How did I get here?_

Ron wondered if he was dreaming, but that was probably not the case. He felt far too in control of his mind for this to be a dream. _Maybe it's a vision? Did I touch someone by mistake? No… Everything is in color._ Now he knew for certain that something was wrong, but he didn't panic. If anything, he didn't even care. He liked it here. It was peaceful, quiet, and isolated. It was what he had been craving. _There's nothing to fix here. No one to protect. No fighting. Just me._

Ron lay down on the grass, his eyes fixed on the cloudless sky. _Blue._ Ron chuckled to himself because of his bizarre observation, of course the sky was blue. _Blue, and serene._ Merlin, even grass smelled amazing. It smelled of Earth, and of fresh rain. He wanted to lie down here for eternity. He wanted to feel this way forever.

"Peaceful, isn't it?" came a boy's voice, and Ron slowly sat up. He then turned to see a pale young boy staring at him, his jet-black hair gelled and combed.

"It is," Ron smiled at the unfamiliar boy. "What's your name?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," the boy replied, a light smile on his handsome young face.

"Do I?" Ron asked, and then he thought about it. _I can't say that I do._

"Don't linger here," the boy told him, and Ron blinked from confusion. "My sister is coming here soon."

"Your sister?" Ron asked as he stood up. Despite not being alone anymore, Ron felt nothing but calmness.

"She's chosen you," the boy shrugged casually. "Though even I can't tell why."

"Who are you?" Ron asked again, but the boy merely vanished from existence. Ron just stared at the spot where the boy had been, his mind feeling that pull again.

"Ron, stop taking time off," came Blaise's voice, and Ron looked around for his beloved friend. "What's your next move?"

"Blaise?" Ron called out, but he saw no traces of the dark-skinned wizard.

"My father's back home," came Theo's voice. "He wants to know if you've really taken over The Quibbler. Weird, right?"

"A little," Ron answered, his eyes scanning the empty hills.

"I've booked us a corner table with a curtain!" Daphne squealed, and Ron broke into a smile. "We're going to try everything! Aren't you excited, Ron?!"

"I really am," Ron laughed. "I'll have to tell Madam Roberts though. She's banned me from eating sweets, you see." Ron suddenly felt that pull again, and this time, he completely gave into it.

* * *

 _ **Monday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Boys' Room – Past Midnight)**_

Ron woke up with a jerk, his mind jumbled from his dream. He couldn't really remember it, but he knew that it had been a good dream. He could faintly remember Stoatshead Hill, which was odd because he had only gone there once before. Ron looked to side table, and his eyes lingered on the Daily Prophet issue detailing the Werewolf Massacre. _Seventy eight confirmed dead, over one hundred found and imprisoned for questioning._ He felt the dull ache in his stomach begin anew, and his palms immediately felt sweaty.

As Ron wondered what time it was, his body moved to hide the Daily Prophet from his sight. He found his wand hidden beneath the issue, and Ron slowly picked it up. It felt a little heavy in his hand, but powerful nonetheless. Its warmth eased his jittery mind a little, and so Ron held it to his chest in order to feel more of its heat. _When was the last time that I just held my wand? How could I have forgotten its warmth?_

He knew that he wasn't going to fall asleep again, and a small part of him didn't want to. He preferred being awake simply because it made him feel like he was accomplishing something. When he was awake, he could plan and learn. Sleeping only felt like a waste of precious time.

Ron slid out of his bed, and once he passed through his curtains, he noticed a dim light coming from Malfoy's bed. _Still awake? Probably reading something._ Instead of checking up on Malfoy, Ron decided to leave the room. Malfoy no doubt heard him leave, but he didn't even acknowledge it. Ron wandered into the common room, and from there, he walked into the Training Area. _Just a bit of practice, and then I can think about my next move._

Ron spent the next ten minutes sparring with a dummy, just to get his blood moving. Once he was feeling much more awake, Ron decided to practice his stance and breathing. Despite his initial doubts about focusing on his breathing, he was quickly coming to realize the wisdom in Madam Roberts' teachings. Breathing kept his mind occupied, which in turn kept his emotions at bay. And since he was calmer whilst Dueling, he found that he could focus on the smaller details. Details like the terrain, or his opponent's style of Dueling, or his own footing.

"Only you would be caught practicing in the dead of night, Weasley," came Malfoy's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to face the blonde wizard.

"And only you would be caught spying on other people in the dead of night, Malfoy," Ron smirked lazily. Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at him, and then he looked towards the dummy.

"Can't sleep?" Malfoy asked almost casually, but Ron could detect a hint of resentment in his voice.

"No, I can't," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on Malfoy. "You've brought your wand… Want to spar?"

"No," Malfoy declined, and then he turned to leave.

"Why did you come out here?" Ron asked before Malfoy could take a step to leave. Malfoy turned back to face Ron, his pale face expressionless.

"I wanted to see what you were up to," Malfoy replied.

"Interested in my comings and goings?" Ron asked.

"Try suspicious," Malfoy replied coldly. "There's something not right about you, Weasley. The others might be blind to it, but I'm not. You're not the person that they all seem to worship." _Trying to get dirt on me? Join the queue, bitch._

"No one worships me," Ron said, his voice becoming dull. "You only think that because **you** want to be worshiped. As for me being 'suspicious'… So what? I feel no obligation to share my life story with other people. Do I ask you about your personal life?"

"No, I suppose not," Malfoy replied. "And I don't want to be worshiped…"

"Yes, you do," Ron said, his eyes scanning Malfoy. "Why even bother to deny that?"

"You don't know me, Weasley," Malfoy hissed, his temper flaring. "So don't make accusations against me."

"And what was it that you were doing not even a minute ago?" Ron asked, and Malfoy blinked at him. "Yeah… That's what I thought…" Ron then drew in a deep breath, there was no reason to get angry with Malfoy's hypocrisy. "How did your father take it?"

"What?" Malfoy asked, clearly confused by Ron's change of topic.

"He sent you an owl yesterday, right?" Ron asked, and Malfoy visibly tensed. "He didn't take it well?"

"Take what?" Malfoy asked, his body relaxing.

"Our friendship, of course," Ron replied, an amused smirk gracing his lips. _What did that vile piece of filth want from you?_

"We are not friends!" Malfoy declared. "As for my father, he merely questioned why I would stoop so low as to ally myself with something like you." _Something?_

"Did you tell him that I protected you from Flint?" Ron asked, but Malfoy said nothing. "I guess not…"

"What's the matter with you?" Malfoy asked, his eyes narrowing on Ron. "You're acting weirder than usual. Why were you whimpering in your sleep?" _Huh?_

"Whimpering?" Ron asked, his curiosity taking over. _I don't recall having another nightmare. If anything, I think that I had a good dream tonight._

"Yes, whimpering," Malfoy said. "I heard it loud and clear, Weasley."

"I don't know what you're on about," Ron decided to say. "I don't 'whimper'."

"Oh, is whimpering beneath 'King Weasley'?" Malfoy scoffed, and then he simply shook his head. "There's something really wrong with you, I hope you know that. Poor Greengrass really knows how to pick them, eh?"

"Now you're crossing a line," Ron said dangerously. He could take any insult to his person, but Daphne was off-limits. "The only thing wrong with me right now is my sudden increase in patience… But if you insult Daphne in any way, I'll drown you in the Black Lake."

"And there he is," Malfoy smirked coldly. "The intelligent thug…" _The what?_ "One day soon, Weasley… People are going to see you for what you really are, and just like me, they'll be sickened. You're nothing but a violent brute, one that doesn't deserve to be in this House." With that, Malfoy turned around and left. Ron wanted to chase after him in order to cuff him, but he didn't budge from his spot.

"One day…" Ron whispered to himself, his mind drifting off towards the Werewolf Massacre. "Truer words were never spoken…" Ron looked back to the dummy, his eyes slightly glazed over. "Throw a stinger at me…" The dummy obliged, and Ron took the hit on his chest. The pain made him step back with a clenched jaw, but he didn't fall. "Again."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Monday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Remus' Office – After Classes)**_

"So Kreacher's been acting off?" Remus asked, a pleasant smile on his face.

"According to Sirius, yeah," Harry nodded, he had dropped by to say hello. "Apparently, Kreacher's much… kinder… now."

"Kreacher? Kind?" Remus blinked, and Harry nodded once again.

"He cooks and cleans without complaint, and a couple of days ago, he made Sirius breakfast in bed," Harry told Remus, who was truly shocked by this. "Sirius tossed the food, of course… He thinks that Kreacher is trying to poison him."

"Very odd," Remus said slowly, his eyes becoming distant. _Does he have a theory?_

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked, and Remus shook his head clear.

"Nothing," Remus replied, but Harry knew that Remus was lying.

"Ugh… Don't do that," Harry groaned.

"Do what?" Remus asked.

"Don't pretend like you don't have any suspicions," Harry frowned. "I'm not a child, Remus. I also want to know why Kreacher, the Elf who hates us all, is being so kind all of a sudden. It affects me too."

"I really don't know what to say, Harry," Remus lied, he had to tell Dumbledore about this. Kreacher had ties to the Malfoy Family through Narcissa Malfoy, and he could very well be spying on Sirius now. "How is Sirius, by the way? He doesn't send me enough letters, you see." _Changing the topic? Really?_

"He's doing well," Harry replied, though he was a little vexed by Remus' diversion. "He's coming to watch me play against Slytherin on the second weekend of November. You can catch up with him then. Now, about Kreacher-"

"Harry," Remus gave him a deadpan look.

"What?" Harry asked in return. "Kreacher is being shady, Remus. What if he's really trying to poison Sirius?"

"Sirius has a sharp sense of smell," Remus said, and Harry blinked at him. "Poisoning that fool isn't a simple task. Plus, Kreacher can't directly harm his Master. Don't worry so much, cub."

"What do you mean by 'Sirius has a sharp sense of smell'?" Harry asked, but Remus simply let out a laugh.

"You're very inquisitive, Harry," Remus said. "Just like your father." _My father was inquisitive?_ Harry liked the sound of that, and he liked being compared to his old man. "Don't worry about Sirius, alright? He'll be just fine. It's actually Kreacher that I feel sympathy for."

"Really?" Harry cocked an eyebrow, he himself had grown to despise the Elf. _He called Hermione a Mud-Blood to her face… Sirius went utterly mental with fury._

"If he's finally cleaning up after Sirius, then he's in real trouble," Remus said, and Harry smiled at him.

"You're right," Harry chuckled. "Anyway… I'd best be off."

"Really?" Remus asked, while Harry got out of his chair.

"Hermione's making do Potions homework," Harry pulled a face, and Remus nodded in understanding. "I don't even see the point… Snape's just going to belittle me anyway."

"Professor Snape," Remus corrected, but Harry just rolled his eyes. _He's a cruel git._ "And you're not learning for Professor Snape's benefit, Harry. You're learning for yours."

"I don't even like Potions," Harry waved a dismissive hand. "I prefer D.A.D.A."

"Well, you are doing very well in my class," Remus smiled at him. "But please try in other classes as well. Promise me."

"I promise," Harry sighed, and then he walked towards the exit.

"Oh, and come by after classes tomorrow," Remus said, and Harry turned to face him. "I think we ought to start your personal training."

"Right," Harry nodded. "I'll see you after classes then. What will we be doing?"

"Just some basic Shield Charms and defensive Spells," Remus replied. "You're competing this weekend, aren't you?"

"You know I am," Harry smiled widely, he was quite excited about the Dueling Tournament. "Bye, Remus."

"Take care, Harry," Remus waved goodbye, and Harry left the Office. He began to make his way towards the Gryffindor common room, he still needed to grab his Potions textbook. As he made his way up the fourth floor staircase, he spotted Ginny and the twins coming down the steps.

"Hello, Harry," the twins greeted him, and Harry noticed that they were all carrying brooms.

"Hello, Fred and George," Harry greeted them back, and then he looked to Ginny. "Hello, Ginny. How have you been?"

"I'm doing well enough," she replied, and Harry was pleased to see that she didn't feel awkward around him anymore. "We're just about to practice a little. Want to join us?"

"Um… I do, but I promised Hermione that I'd do Potions with her," Harry said slowly.

"Potions?" Fred grimaced.

"Snape," George rolled his eyes.

"Git," the twins said together, and Harry nodded his agreement.

"Forget that tripe, mate," Fred smirked at him. "You're a third year, after all."

"And you need the practice," George added. "We're facing Slytherin pretty soon." Harry couldn't deny that he was tempted, but he also didn't want to leave Hermione and Neville hanging.

"I've heard that the Slytherin Team have been putting in a lot of work at the Pitch," Ginny stated. "They've got a Seeker now."

"They got a new Seeker?" Harry asked, and Ginny nodded. "What about Malfoy?"

"He's off the team," Ginny said, her tone becoming cold. "Colin said that he was taking photos of the Pitch for his little brother, and he saw them practicing."

"Did he take a photo of their formations?" George asked quickly.

"I don't know," Ginny shrugged. "Anyway… They've got someone else as their Seeker now."

"I'll go grab my broom," Harry said, and the twins grinned at him.

"Good on you, Harry," the twins said together.

"If they've got a new Seeker, then we've got to be sharp," Harry said firmly. "Ginny, do you want to compete for the Snitch against me?"

"Um… Yeah, sure," Ginny nodded, and Harry quickly ran past them. _A new Seeker? Who? And why would Malfoy leave the Slytherin Team? Is it because he's allied himself with Ron?_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Harry flew after Ginny, she had clearly spotted the Snitch. He had to admit that she had sharper eyes than he did, but he was much better at giving chase. He had learned a nifty trick over the last two years. If he flew right behind the other Seeker, he could not only intimidate them, but the lack of air resistance easily helped him catch up.

They both soared over the Quidditch Pitch, and as Ginny went to dive for the Snitch, Harry quickly maneuvered himself by her side. She shot him a smirk, and then she pushed her body forward. Harry followed suit, and due to the Firebolt's speed, he easily took the lead. They both played this game of cat and mouse over the Broom Shed, but it finally ended when Harry caught the Snitch on the outskirts of the Black Lake.

"That was a good run," Harry beamed as he steadied his broom, and Ginny stopped by his side.

"It was," Ginny smiled as she steadied herself, both of them floating high up in the air. "You're amazing, Harry! I can't keep up, no matter what I try!"

"It's the broom," Harry said, he suddenly felt a little anxious. Ginny's fiery hair was flowing behind her because of the cool wind, and Harry couldn't help but notice how flawless her skin was. _Hermione's put that in my head, but she was right. Ginny doesn't even have freckles like her siblings. She's almost… glowing…_

"Why are you staring at me?" Ginny asked, her smile wavering. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No… No," Harry said a little too quickly. "It's nothing…" Ginny gave him an awkward nod, while Harry found himself feeling a little flushed. He knew that he wasn't very good around girls, especially girls that clearly fancied him. Or rather, they fancied the Boy-Who-Lived. "That's a nice bracelet…"

"Pardon?" Ginny blinked, and Harry mentally smacked himself. _Her bracelet, Harry? That's what you chose to comment on?_

"The bracelet on your left wrist," Harry clarified, and Ginny's eyes grew slightly panicked. _What? Did I say something wrong?_

"Thanks," Ginny all but whispered, and then she fixed her sleeve to hide her forearm. "It… It was a gift."

"Is someone trying to win you over?" Harry asked, deciding that teasing was better than bumbling like a moron. "Maybe a boy?"

"Ew!" Ginny laughed, and Harry blinked at her. "It's from my brother, Harry! Ron gave it to me!" _I'm hopeless, aren't I? I can't even tease properly._

"It looks quite…" Harry trailed off. _DON'T BRING UP THEIR WEALTH, YOU IDIOT!_

"Expensive?" Ginny smirked, she could see that he was quite uncomfortable. It was a nice change. "It was really expensive, but Ron insisted."

"Right…" Harry nodded dumbly. "It's very nice…" _I already said that._ "So… Um… Want to fly some more?"

"Sure, Harry," Ginny said, and Harry let go of the Golden Snitch. It quickly came to life, and after buzzing in their faces, it took off for the Black Lake. Harry chased after it eagerly, he really didn't want to show Ginny his poor conversation skills again. When he really thought about it, he **only** had two proper friends. He didn't really get on with people outside of Neville and Hermione, with the Weasley siblings being the exception.

"Where is it going?!" Ginny laughed from behind him.

"You can turn back whenever you want!" Harry shot her a grin, and she shot him a defiant look.

"You wish!" Ginny called out, and they both pressed on. After a couple of minutes, Harry spotted the Snitch flying just over the lake. He dove down, and Ginny quickly chased after him. They both flew side by side over the water's surface, and Harry felt a rush come over him. _One mistake, and we'll both be drenched._

"Still want to keep going?!" Harry challenged her, and she sped up in response. Harry grinned as he pushed his broom to its limit, and within seconds, he was nearing the Snitch. _I've almost got it!_ That's when he spotted someone by the shore, and his eyes lingered on the red-haired Slytherin. _Ron?_ Harry slowed down considerably, and Ginny shot past him at an alarming speed. _What's he doing by the Black Lake all by himself?_

"Harry?! What was that?!" Ginny rounded on him, a frown on her face. "We could've crashed! Why did you slow down like that?!"

"What's your brother doing?" Harry asked in response, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"My brother?" Ginny blinked, and then she followed Harry's gaze. She lost her frown when she saw Ron, who was just staring at the water with a blank expression. "Weird… What **is** he doing?"

"He's just… staring," Harry said slowly, and then he looked to where Ron was staring. _There's nothing there but water._

"He hasn't seen us," Ginny whispered, her feet dangling just above the water. "Let's go…"

"What?" Harry asked, his eyes landing on her.

"I… I'm going," Ginny said, and then she shot Ron another look. _She doesn't want him to see her._

"Um… I know that it's none of my business… But maybe you should talk to him," Harry said awkwardly, and Ginny gave him a tired look.

"You sound like Hermione now," Ginny whispered.

"Hermione's a smart girl," Harry managed a weak smile, but Ginny didn't look too pleased with his comment. _Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Can't-Talk-To-Girls…_ "Don't you miss him?"

"No, I don't," Ginny lied stubbornly. "He wants to be friends with Malfoy, Harry. He's the one who needs to explain himself." _I won't argue that. He does have a lot of explaining to do._ Harry looked back to Ron again, and much to his surprise, Ron was staring back at him.

"Um… Ginny…" Harry managed, Ron's blank stare was quite unnerving. Ginny looked to Ron at that, and Harry noticed her broom waver.

"Great…" Ginny sighed out. "Let's just go, Harry." With that, Ginny flew off towards the Quidditch Pitch. Harry, however, lingered in his spot.

The two boys just watched each other, neither of them moving a muscle. Harry imagined that Ron was probably wondering what Harry was doing, just like he was wondering what Ron was doing. It was as if they couldn't break eye-contact, which only made Harry feel uncomfortable. But then, all of a sudden, Ron began to stare at the lake again. Harry followed his gaze, and when he saw nothing but water, he also decided to leave.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"He was just standing there," Ginny told the twins, they were all packing up the equipment.

"Just standing there?" Fred frowned a little.

"Alone?" George asked, he sounded a little concerned.

"Completely alone," Ginny crossed her arms.

"He was also staring at the water," Harry told them, and they both nodded slowly. "It was pretty weird."

"So weird," Ginny agreed, though he could tell that she was forcing herself to sound haughty. _Her voice has cracked three times since we saw Ron._ "And the way he stared at us… It was genuinely creepy. Like he wasn't all there." _Not all there…_ Harry suddenly remembered the MRI photos that he had found in Ron's room, how could he have forgotten about that? _I guess I have too much on my plate with Quidditch just around the corner._

"Do you guys know what MRI scans are?" Harry asked, and the Weasley's blinked at him.

"What?" the twins asked together, while Ginny looked thoroughly confused. _That's a no._

"What's an MRI scan?" Ginny asked. "It sounds Muggle…"

"Never mind," Harry waved a dismissive hand. "I'm just thinking about something else."

"Right," Fred said slowly.

"Did the Firebolt rattle you?" George chuckled, and Harry nodded dumbly. He knew that the photos that he had found in Ron's room were quite serious, and his instincts told him that Ron would never tell anyone if he was sick. Oddly enough, the thought of Ron being sick troubled Harry more than he thought it would. _I'll ask Pomfrey about this. She's a Healer, after all._

"Uh oh," came Fred's voice, and Harry broke out of his thoughts. "Harry, mate, it's time for you to run." _What?_ Harry looked back to see what was going on, and his entire body tensed at what he saw. Hermione Granger was stomping over to him with a rage induced look on her face, while Neville ran after her with their books.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione all but shrieked, and Harry braced himself for impact. "How dare you lie to me and Neville like that?! We waited for over an hour for you! And here you are! Playing Quidditch!"

"Hermione, please calm down," Neville said calmingly, though he shot Harry a disappointed look. Harry's insides tensed even more, and he knew for certain that the Weasleys were trying to sneak away.

"Stop right there!" Hermione yelled at the Weasleys, it was almost as if she had read his mind. "I'll get to you three in a second!" Hermione looked back to Harry, while he just avoided eye-contact like a scolded child. "You could've sent word! Or better yet, you could take your education seriously! You won't get a job based on your Quidditch skills!"

"He might," Fred started, but Ginny and George shushed him.

"You promised to do Potions with us!" Hermione went on, her bushy hair flying all over the place. "It's bad enough that I put all of my other subjects on hold for you, but you not showing up is the last straw! Don't ever come to me for help again!"

"You're being a bit too harsh," Ginny spoke up, and Hermione shot her a glare. "It's just homework, Hermione… You don't need to yell at him for it."

"It's just homework?" Hermione laughed scathingly, which made the Weasleys frown a little. "It's just homework, Neville!" _She looks like a lunatic right now._

"Hermione, you're kind of scaring me here," Neville said as he put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Never mind that I have a completely full schedule," Hermione suddenly snapped. "But I shouldn't scold my friend after he lies to me and wastes both of our time! And why shouldn't I scold him?! Because Ginevra Weasley, a mediocre student at best, thinks that I'm being too harsh!"

"Hermione," both Harry and Neville gasped, while Ginny glared murder at Hermione.

"I could've finished my own work instead of wasting my time!" Hermione yelled at Harry, and then she turned around and stormed away. Harry, Neville, and the Weasleys just stood there for a few quiet moments, until the twins broke the silence with a whistle.

"Mental," the twins said together, and both Harry and Neville frowned at them.

"She's doing every subject this year, give her a break," Neville defended Hermione, while Harry felt overwhelmed with guilt.

"That doesn't give her the right to yell at Harry," Ginny said defiantly. "Or me. She needs to calm down."

"Harry, what's the matter with you?" Neville whispered, completely ignoring Ginny's comment. "You're the one who kept complaining about Snape's homework…"

"I didn't think that she'd get so angry," Harry mumbled.

"She has a million things to do, but in order to help you, she put her own work on hold," Neville shook his head. "She's already done the assignment from Snape… We both have."

"When?" Harry asked, he was a little surprised by that. _He didn't tell me?_

"At the study group," Neville told him. "This was just for you, mate."

"Damn," Harry sighed out.

"You couldn't have sent word?" Neville asked, and Harry shifted in his spot.

"Slytherin has a new Seeker, Nev," Harry started. "I just found out, and I figured that I could use more practice on the Firebolt."

"Which is a smart move," Fred added.

"Can't let those slimy gits steal the Quidditch Cup, can we?" George asked Neville.

"Just…" Neville started, but then he trailed off.

"Nev… I'm really sorry," Harry apologized.

"I'm going to go talk to her," Neville said as he began to walk off. They both knew that Hermione tended to break down in tears whenever she got extremely angry, which only served to make Harry feel even more guilty. _I wouldn't really know what to say to her right now. Damn… I'm not having any luck today._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Snape's Office – Nearly Dinner Time)**_

"Fuck…" Ron groaned, his head dropping down into his book.

"Language, Weasley," Snape frowned from behind his desk. "Stay focused on your task."

"I've read this book twice," Ron said, and then he tossed the book aside. Snape didn't even spare a look at the tossed book, his eyes were simply fixed on Ron's. "It's not helping me, alright? I've been at this for ages, and so far, I have made no progress. This isn't working." _All I do is read that book. I can't even use most of the techniques listed in there because no one can look into my mind._

"Occlumency is a difficult branch of Magic to master, it takes time," Snape said coldly.

"I get that," Ron said quickly. "I know that powerful Magic takes time to master, believe me. But this… It's a waste of time. I can't even use most of the techniques in that book. Who is going to help me learn 'Shields'? You? You want to risk meeting the Entity?"

"You've had no problem with this over the last few weeks, so why now?" Snape asked, and Ron blinked at him.

"Because I'm not getting anywhere," Ron replied as if it were obvious. "I could be learning something else, or better yet, figuring out where the Dark Lord is." _Is he back in Britain? Or is he still out there looking for an army?_

"Now I understand," Snape said slowly, his features softening a little.

"Understand what?" Ron asked impatiently.

"What you're feeling right now, Ronald… It's called 'The Wait'," Snape said, and Ron gave him a confused look. "It's a well-known phenomenon of war. Everyone in the last war experienced it."

"I don't follow," Ron said, and then he leaned forward in his seat.

"You feel like time isn't moving fast enough, or sometimes, it's moving far too fast," Snape started, and Ron simply listened. "There's so much that needs to get done, but you don't know where to start. Every second feels precious, but at the same time, you can't stand it. Sleeping, eating, resting, and even talking feels pointless. That's 'The Wait'."

"I…" Ron started, but then he stopped. _He's right on the money._ "Why? Why do I feel like this? I've been feeling like this ever since the Werewolf Massacre."

"We made a move, one that hurt the Dark Lord severely," Snape replied. "And now, it's his turn. We don't know where he is, or what he's planning, or when he'll strike next. So… We wait. There are no moves to ponder on, no actions to take, and nothing to keep our minds occupied with."

"So you feel like this as well?" Ron asked, and Snape shook his head. "So it's just me…" He didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed by that.

"I got used to it during the last war," Snape told him. "As did Albus, and the Order. It gets easier with time, Ronald. There will come a time when you will even crave for this feeling."

"I doubt it," Ron said.

"You will," Snape promised. "When everything is on fire, you'll miss the calm."

"Be more ominous," Ron huffed, and then he relaxed in his seat. "I need to do something, Sir… I… I need to keep busy. Or I'm going to lose it."

"Ron, discipline your mind," Snape said, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "Think of nothing. Let the emptiness of your mind shield you." Ron closed his eyes and listened to Snape's icy voice. "You are protected. Your mind is a fortress, one that can only be unlocked by you. Curb all thoughts."

Ron meditated for over a minute, all the while clearing his mind of all thoughts. It was difficult to think of nothing, mostly because thinking of nothing meant that you were still thinking of something. So instead of doing that, he pictured himself on Stoatshead Hill. For a moment, he felt completely tranquil. And then, it was gone.

"Woah…" Ron breathed out, and Snape waited for him to go on. "I just felt really… calm… all of a sudden. But now it's gone."

"Well done," Snape smirked, and Ron nodded dumbly. "Where did you go? No… Don't tell me. Don't tell anyone."

"Did I just perform Occlumency?" Ron asked.

"The basics, but yes," Snape said, and Ron let out a weak chuckle. _I did it? I fucking did it!_

"Why did I feel like I was somewhere else?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"You went to your 'happy place'," Snape shrugged, and Ron just stared at him.

"Is that a joke?" Ron asked, and Snape lost his smirk. "Right… Fair enough…" _My happy place is Stoatshead Hill? I've been there once in my entire life. Bill and Charlie took us there for a picnic. That was a really good day._

"Next week, we'll try and get you there again," Snape said, and then he stood up. "Come, Ron… Dinner is almost upon us."

"Okay," Ron said as he followed after the Potions Master. "Thanks, Professor."

"For what?" Snape asked.

"For helping me," Ron said. "I mean it. I really do appreciate it."

"I'm merely doing my job, nothing more," Snape said coldly, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Why do you always do that?" Ron asked, and Snape shot him a cold look.

"Do what?" Snape asked in a cold whisper.

"Say unfriendly things," Ron replied.

"Unfriendly things?" Snape sneered. "Did I hurt your feelings, Weasley?"

"No, but you sound like a prick," Ron said bluntly, and Snape used his Occlumency to stop himself from cuffing the boy. "I'm thanking you, and you just shit all over it. Why?"

"I don't need your thanks," Snape looked back ahead.

"You know, if you treated the other students like you sometimes treat me, you might actually be respected," Ron pointed out.

"I don't need the respect of brats," Snape said.

"These brats are going to fight by your side someday," Ron countered, and Snape stopped walking. "Think about that."

"Fight by my side?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded firmly. "No, they won't. My fight is elsewhere."

"So when the Dark Lord marches on Hogwarts, you'll just stand by?" Ron asked, and Snape didn't answer. "No, you'd probably do something about it. I don't know why you're like this, but trust me, it's gonna cost you. You might not think yourself important, but you are. If the Headmaster and I both die, then you'll be what's left. So do us both a favor, and try to be a little more human once in a while. Otherwise, some Gryffindor is going to stab you in the back."

"Are you done?" Snape asked.

"Yeah, I'm done… Whatever," Ron sighed, and then they both began walking again. As they neared the Entrance Hall, Ron stopped Snape.

"What now, boy?" Snape demanded.

"Your Godson is pissed off with me," Ron replied. "Lately, he's acting more and more rash. Just yesterday, he all but told me that I disgusted him. He called me an intelligent thug. Now… I can take his shite quite easily, but if he doesn't stop, my friends will string him up. Talk to him, and tell him to calm down. He's only hurting himself by coming after me like this."

"That boy," Snape drew in a sharp breath. 'I'll talk to him."

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Night)**_

"Who is it?" Sirius demanded, his wand at the ready.

"It's Sturgis, Lord Black," came Sturgis' voice.

"And Alastor Moody," Moody growled, and Sirius opened the door. "Just like that, Black? No actual questions?"

"I did ask-" Sirius started, but Moody shoved him out of the way as he limped inside. _Prickly old bastard._

"Sorry for the late night disturbance, Lord Black," Sturgis smiled politely, and Sirius shot him a smile. That's when Sirius noticed that Sturgis was holding onto a man with a bag over his head.

"Mundungus?" Sirius asked, he recognized the short stature of the man.

"Evenin', Black," Mundungus said from under the hood. "Fancy a quick chat?"

"What the fuck?" Sirius blinked at Sturgis, who simply shoved Mundungus into the house. Moody limped back in order to grab Mundungus by the collar, and then he dragged the short man after him. "Sturgis… Mate, what's this?"

"Apologies once again, Lord Black," Sturgis stepped into the house, and Sirius quickly closed the door. "But the thief insisted that we go somewhere safe. He believes that men are after him."

"Men?" Sirius asked as he took Sturgis' coat.

"Being a criminal has its dangers, Lord Black," Sturgis smiled in his usual polite manner. "Thank you."

"You don't need to call me 'Lord Black', Sturgis," Sirius chuckled. "You're two years older than me."

"It is your official title now, is it not?" Sturgis asked, and Sirius nodded. "Then I'll address you properly."

"You're too polite, mate," Sirius patted the taller man's back. "In you go, I've got a bottle of Firewhiskey with your name on it."

"Much obliged," Sturgis said as he walked towards the Kitchen, and Sirius followed after him.

"Can I take off this fuckin' rag now?" they heard Mundungus complain, but he was silenced when Moody smacked him over the head.

"You'll shut your gob, or I'll let Sturgis belt you again," Moody growled, and Sirius looked to Sturgis.

"He resisted," Sturgis smiled and shrugged, and Sirius couldn't help but laugh. _What a bloke._

"Take a seat, you two," Sirius said as he walked over to the new bottle of Firewhiskey. As he opened the cork, he heard Mundungus shuffling in his seat.

"Is that Odgen's Finest?" Mundungus asked. "Pour us a glass, mate. 'M parched…"

"Sure," Sirius said as he made four glasses. "Moody?"

"No," Moody refused, and Sirius drank down his glass. _Merlin, that's strong stuff._

"Here you are," Sirius said as he handed Sturgis a glass.

"Thank you," Sturgis took the glass, and Sirius gave him a nod before putting a glass in front of Mundungus.

"Take that hood off," Moody said, and Sirius yanked it off of Mundungus' head. The old crook still had dirty ginger hair, and he was supporting a bruise over his right temple.

"Oh… Much better, that is," Mundungus smiled his golden smile. "Yer lookin' good for yer age, Black. What's the secret?"

"Showering," Sirius smirked, he could smell stale tobacco and alcohol off of Mundungus' dirty robes.

"Showerin'? What's that?" Mundungus grinned, and then he quickly drank down his Firewhiskey. "Ohhh… That's quality shite, that is. Mind gettin' us another?"

"Not at all," Sirius said, and then he summoned the bottle with his wand. "Here."

"Now that's how yeh greet an old mate, Black," Mundungus grinned, and then he looked to Sturgis. "This one prefers to crack fuckin' bottles over people's heads."

"You threw a Hex at me," Sturgis said calmly. "I could've done worse, Mr. Fletcher."

"Bloody menace," Mundungus grimaced.

"Enough chit-chat," Moody limped up to Mundungus, his Magical Eye fixed on the criminal. "Who are these 'men' who are after you?"

"Oh… That… That was a lie," Mundungus smiled sheepishly. "I didn't have the rent, yeh see…"

"Mr. Fletcher, are you saying that you wasted our time because you didn't have rent money?" Sturgis sighed out, while Sirius just sniggered. _I've missed this old crook._

"Business has been slow," Mundungus shrunk from Moody. "People are becomin' more and more savage out there, that's Merlin's honest truth. Fuckin' Aurors up and left for bloody Albania, and the peace went with 'em. How's a man supposed to make an honest livin' in these times?"

"I shall return to the White Wyvern Pub tonight in order to settle your debts," Sturgis said. "The innkeeper has a Family, and your deceit has hurt them too."

"Good lad," Mundungus grinned. "We've got to stick together, eh? Bein' Order members and all."

"Speaking of Order members," Sirius walked over to his seat at the head of the table. "Why didn't you answer the summons?"

"The summons?" Mundungus played innocent. "What summons?" Moody grabbed Mundungus by the back of his throat and shoved his head forward. "Stop! 'M sorry, alright! I bloody panicked!" Moody let go of Mundungus, who shot Moody a groveling look.

"Talk," Moody ordered, while Sirius and Sturgis sipped their Firewhiskey.

"What was I supposed to do?" Mundungus pleaded. "Bloody Phoenix shows up, lights my trinkets on fire, and then fucks off without a care. I bloody panicked, that's all… I figured if the old man was sendin' his bird out again, then You-Know-Who's back."

"So you ran and hid," Sturgis shook his head.

"Listen here, pretty boy," Mundungus started. "Not all of us are fighters, right? I'm a poor old fence, nothin' more. What can I even do to help? Nothin'."

"My heart bleeds for you," Sirius rolled his eyes. "We don't keep you around for your tremendous fighting capabilities, Mundungus. We need information directly from Knockturn Alley, and you know every thief and scarlet woman in that district."

"Fuckin' shite…" Mundungus muttered, his eyes fixed on his glass of Firewhiskey. "Another fuckin' war…"

"Master has guests?" came Kreacher's voice, and Sirius looked to find the ugly old Elf standing in the doorway. "Shall Kreacher make some sandwiches?"

"Not now, Kreacher!" Sirius bellowed. "Away with you!"

"Yes, Master," Kreacher whimpered, and then he quickly disapparated away. _He's becoming increasingly nosey every day! I need to get rid of him somehow._

"Sorry about that thing…" Sirius frowned. "It's been driving me mad over the last few days…"

"It?" Mundungus cocked an eyebrow. "He's an Elf, mate… Not a fuckin' toy…"

"You're telling me how to treat my own Elf?" Sirius asked scathingly. "You?"

"Meant no offence, mate," Mundungus quickly fixed his tone. "Just a little surprisin', that's all. I figured yeh were the soft sort of bloke."

"I could eat," Sturgis piped up, and Sirius blinked at him. _Right._

"Kreacher!" Sirius called, and the Elf apparated into the room.

"Master called Kreacher?" Kreacher bowed.

"My friend Sturgis is hungry, fix him some sandwiches," Sirius ordered without looking at the Elf.

"I haven't eaten in days, mate," Mundungus said quickly.

"And some for Mundungus," Sirius said with a deadpan look. "Go."

"Yes, Master," Kreacher said, and then he was gone with a crack. _Master… I resent that._

"What's the word on the streets, Mr. Fletcher?" Sturgis asked.

"The word?" Mundungus 'laughed'. "It's fuckin' chaos out there… The Aurors have fucked off, in case you didn't know, and with St. Mungo's burnt to ash, the sick and injured have flooded even Knockturn Alley. There is no word out there. No one knows what the fuck is going on anymore. I haven't been able to make a single deal ever since the fire… To think that I actually miss the Law… And now, **he's** back? Fuck that… I want nothin' to do with this country."

"If you run off, thief, then I'll make sure You-Know-Who himself knows your name," Moody loomed over Mundungus.

"For Merlin's sake," Mundungus shrunk into his seat again. "It's all gone to shite… I had a big deal lined up, and even that's gone now…"

"What big deal?" Sirius asked out of curiosity.

"A Goblin's movin' Basilisk parts through the country, says that he got 'em from overseas," Mundungus shrugged tiredly. "I was plannin' on relievin' him of his goods… But some Pure-Blood swooped in and bought everythin'… I don't even have the money to buy a fuckin' meal anymore…"

"A Basilisk?" Sirius looked to Moody, and then to Sturgis.

"Wasn't there a Basilisk under Hogwarts?" Moody asked. "Albus mentioned that, didn't he?"

"A Basilisk under Hogwarts?!" Mundungus gaped. "Are yeh pullin' me leg, mate?"

"Shut it," Moody ordered, and Mundungus put his hands up in surrender. Moody then began to pace up and down, he was clearly planning something. "Fletcher, you'll be returning to Knockturn Alley tomorrow."

"For fuck's sake," Mundungus sighed out.

"We need eyes and ears in that cesspool," Moody said. "During the day, you'll get reacquainted with your old contacts. And at night, you'll sleep here."

"I'm alright with that," Sirius said. "As long as he doesn't steal anything."

"We're mates, Black," Mundungus laughed nervously. "I'd never pull a fast one on yeh." _That's a damn lie, and you know it._ Kreacher suddenly apparated into the room, a tray of sandwiches and tea in his bony hands.

"Food for Master's friends," Kreacher said as he put the tray on the table.

"Thank you, good Elf," Sturgis smiled kindly, and Kreacher bowed even more deeply than usual.

"Yes, yes… Go away," Sirius waved a dismissive hand, and Kreacher left with a crack.

"Speakin' of going back to Knockturn Alley…" Mundungus started as he reached forward and grabbed a sandwich with each hand. "I've got no money to me name…"

"I'll give you money," Sirius frowned at the old crook.

"Thanks, Sirius," Mundungus flashed his golden front teeth.

"Sirius?" Sirius repeated.

"We're friends, mate," Mundungus laughed. "And yeh know how friends are with debts, right? They forget 'em."

"Whatever," Sirius shook his head, and then he looked to Moody. "This Basilisk business… It's a bit shady, isn't it?"

"Albus said that the Chamber's entrance can't be accessed by anyone," Moody said. "Probably a different Basilisk from overseas, just like the Goblin claims, which means that it's not our problem. Fletcher, I want a list of your old 'friends' the next time we meet. Understand?"

"Right, boss," Mundungus nodded, his mouth filled with Kreacher's cooking. _I guess I have a house mate now._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Snape's Office – After Classes)**_

In his entire life, Draco had never felt so confused before. On the one hand, he fucking despised Weasley. But on the other, he was envious of him. Weasley had respect, strength, intelligence, and powerful allies. Draco only had intelligence, which he often squandered in the past. If only he had used his intelligence early on in first year, his entire life could be different right now.

But he hadn't. And because of that, he was stuck under 'King Weasley'. His father, of all people, had urged him to keep the Blood Traitor close by, just to keep tabs on him. Draco understood that his father had plans for the Weasel, but he had not shared them with his son and heir. That had hurt, but Draco knew that he was unworthy. His father no doubt knew about his shame by now, and yet, he had elected to forgive Draco. He was even willing to help him with Weasley. All Draco had to do was to keep an eye on the psychopath, which in itself was a difficult task.

"He's insane, Godfather," Draco hissed, while Snape just stared at him. "An utter maniac! He has no shame in flaunting his power over others!"

"And you didn't?" Snape asked, which jarred Draco.

"Are… Are you taking his side?" Draco asked, his spirit taking a severe blow.

"No, I am merely showing you your hypocrisy," Snape replied. "Remember what I told you about looking in the mirror, Draco?"

"I do," Draco nodded slowly. "I may have been a little rude, but I was never physically violent. Weasley, on the other hand, is both rude and abusive."

"And yet, he has respect," Snape said. "Why is that?"

"It's not respect, it's fear," Draco said dismissively.

"Draco," Snape said coldly, and Draco frowned to himself. "Do not think with your heart, it will only weaken you. Tell me why Weasley has respect."

"He's… He's honorable…" Draco all but whispered, his words tasted like ash in his mouth. "In his own way…" _Even I can't refute that. Not anymore._

"He's protected you without fail?" Snape asked, and Draco couldn't lie to his Godfather.

"He has…" Draco replied, and Snape merely gave him a nod. "I can't understand this person, Godfather. I'm trying to, but I just can't."

"What can't you understand?" Snape asked calmly.

"Everything," Draco replied, his frustrations marking his features. "He's so… peculiar! Do you know that he checks my plate at every meal?"

"He does?" Snape asked.

"Yes!" Draco said in utter disbelief. "Every single meal, he makes sure that I eat my food. And if I don't eat enough, he forces food onto my plate. Who does that?!"

"You are looking much healthier now," Snape looked his Godson over, he needed to thank Ron for this as well.

"That's not the point," Draco frowned. "I never asked for this, but he's taken it upon himself to babysit me. And that's not even the weirdest thing about him."

"Go on," Snape said.

"I've heard him whimpering in his sleep," Draco said, and Snape cocked an eyebrow. "He says names… Fred, Daphne, Ginny, Priscilla, Pansy… Draco…"

"He speaks your name?" Snape asked, and Draco nodded.

"He speaks a lot of names," Draco replied. "He's been doing it every night since Saturday."

"Odd," Snape said curtly.

"Wait till you hear this," Draco started. "Monday night, he woke up in the middle of the night and went to the Training Area. I followed him, and after we had a spat, I left. But then, I slowly snuck back to see what he was up to. And this is no lie, but he was asking the dummy to hurt him."

"What?" Snape asked, something flashing behind his eyes.

"It's true," Draco said firmly. "He told the dummy to hit him with stingers, and he just took them. After that, he told the dummy to throw stronger ones at him, which he also just took. He was hurting himself for no reason, Godfather. I swear… He doesn't belong at this school. He needs to be locked away in a Psych Ward somewhere far away from civilized people."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Draco," Snape said, a dark scowl on his face.

"Another thing that I've noticed are his frequent disappearances," Draco went on, it felt good to vent about Weasley. "Every Monday and Thursday, he disappears after classes. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he comes to you. On Friday, he has his study group. I asked the others where Weasley goes on Mondays and Thursdays, but they wouldn't say a word about it. So, I've been thinking of following him with the Disillusionment Charm after classes end. Blaise taught it to me at Weasley's command. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I would advise against that," Snape said, and Draco blinked at him. _What? Why?_ "I've heard about what he did to Flint."

"You have?" Draco asked.

"People forget that there are portraits in the Slytherin common room," Snape replied, and Draco just stared at him. "What is it, Draco?"

"Why haven't you told the Headmaster?" Draco demanded.

"Tone," Snape warned, and Draco quickly cleared his throat.

"Why haven't you told the Headmaster?" Draco asked more calmly.

"He would not be expelled," Snape replied. "He'd get a slap on the wrist, but that's about it. After that, he'd come after you. Do you want that?"

"No," Draco heard himself speak, which genuinely surprised him. _Wait… Why am I surprised? Weasley is terrifying._

"Instead of antagonizing him, why don't you learn from him?" Snape suggested.

"Learn? From a Blood Traitor?" Draco blinked, and Snape frowned deeply.

"Not here, Draco," Snape ordered, and Draco quickly apologized. "You could become more than you are now under his tutelage, and then when the time is right, you dethrone him. Why make him your enemy while he holds all the cards?" Draco nodded in understanding. "Think with your brain, Draco, and not with your heart. Let go of your anger, or it will destroy you."

"I… I understand, Godfather," Draco said softly. _Learning from a Blood Traitor… I don't deserve to be called a Malfoy._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **October, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – After Dinner)**_

"Ron's been suffering from nightmares, and now Draco tells me that he's hurting himself," Snape paced back and forth, while Albus just sat in his clawed chair. "He's becoming unraveled, Albus. Unhinged. I mean, I can understand why he wanted to attack the Werewolves. I did too, after all. But this? This is too much."

"Do you remember when he had that outburst about Xenophilius being involved in Albania?" Albus asked, and Snape stopped pacing. "He struck himself over the head. Quite hard, if I remember correctly."

"He did," Snape remembered. "Why?"

"I am no Mind-Healer," Albus started. "But perhaps it's his way of not feeling numb, or to punish himself for his mistakes. Either way, he is in pain. This is truly grave news, Severus. I cannot even imagine the burden that he is carrying."

"The Entity, Fate, Death… All of that nonsense," Snape shook his head, a cold shiver passing through him. "What are we going to do about this? He is our partner, and if he falls off of the edge, then our plans will suffer."

"That's what you care about?" Albus asked, there was no judgement in his voice.

"It's what matters," Snape replied. "This war is bigger than him, which is something that he agrees on. So, what do we do?"

"Perhaps we should do nothing," Albus suggested, and Snape just blinked at him. "Perhaps we should let Ronald find his own way."

"You are joking, right?" Snape asked, and when Albus did not reply, Snape frowned deeply. "Are you insane? He's a danger to himself right now, and you want to do nothing?"

"You told me yourself that Ronald didn't need my protection," Albus said calmly. "I've thought about your words, Severus, and they made sense to me. Ronald does not need another controlling hand in his life, it would only harm him."

"This is different," Snape said, he couldn't believe this. "I told you to stay away from his 'soul', but now he's hurting his own body. It is completely different. You realize that the Dueling Tournament is in three days, don't you? What if he loses control? What if the Entity comes through?"

"If you force him to sit this out, it will raise too much suspicion," Albus sighed. "Not to mention that Ronald would never agree to such a thing."

"Then we tell Pomfrey," Snape said. "She's his Mind-Healer, and she can help him. She can talk some sense into that… that fool!" Snape had to use his Occlumency to calm himself down, while Albus just watched him. "He is jeopardizing everything for a moment of respite."

"It's alright to admit that you care about him, Severus," Albus smiled, and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Not now, Albus," Snape said coldly. "Not when so much is at stake."

"What better time is there?" Albus asked, and Snape simply decided to leave. _I'm not in the mood for his lectures. Not tonight. If Ron doesn't stop this behavior, then I'll show him what real pain looks like._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Great Hall – Halloween Feast)**_

Ron had a recurring dream about Stoatshead Hill. Every night, he found himself on the isolated hills. He'd bask in the Sunlight, smell the grass, and enjoy the breeze. And then, he would wake up sweating and filled with dread. He had started putting the Silencing Charm on his curtains at night, just to be safe. Malfoy hadn't told anyone about his whimpering, and for that, Ron was truly grateful. The last thing he needed was to have people on his case, especially when he was pretending to be perfectly fine.

Maybe he was just weaker than Dumbledore and Snape. Maybe he was even weaker than Lord and Lady Greengrass, both of whom were perfectly alright with what had happened to the Werewolf army. Or maybe it was the fact that Ron had just had a taste of what the war was going to be like. Maybe he had seen what kinds of choices lay ahead, and he was scared… Scared for his friends, his Family, his school-mates, for all the living things…

Every day he found himself standing by the Black Lake, his eyes peeled for the corpses that he had seen. He just wanted to count them, just to make sure that what he was doing was right. Merlin, he didn't want to hurt people. He hadn't wanted so many people to die. He thought that Lord Greengrass would only hire assassins, and not a private army. _Seventy eight people. Seventy eight people, on top of the St. Mungo's victims and the people of Albania. So much destruction has happened, and no one has even taken notice that everything is connected._

"Say 'Ah'," Daphne hummed, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Pardon?" Ron asked, and he noticed that Daphne was trying to feed him a Cauldron Cake. Ron quickly took a massive bite out of it, and then he shot embarrassed looks to his friends, all of whom were just smirking at him.

"What?" Daphne asked them, and they quickly fixed their faces. "I can feed my boyfriend some cake, you know."

"No one said that you couldn't," Tracey said, her voice filled with mirth. "It's just odd seeing you do something like that." _Oh no._

"Odd?" Daphne asked a bit too calmly.

"Yeah, kind of embarrassing even," Tracey smiled.

"I think it was cute," Pansy said, and Millie nodded her agreement. Daphne looked to Ron, who just smiled at her like a moron. _It was embarrassing, and quite unlike her. Well, at least publically, that is._

"Fine, I won't do it again then," Daphne huffed in indignation, and then she ate the rest of the Cauldron Cake herself.

"Hey, I didn't mind," Ron quickly whispered, and just like that, they were both cut off from their friends again. Ron had noticed that whenever they started whispering to each other, their friends tended to just let them have their privacy.

"Well, the others clearly did," Daphne whispered back, she was close to sulking. "I've seen the other Slytherin girls doing it, so why can't I?"

"Well… You usually aren't one for public displays of affection," Ron scooted closer to her, his right arm wrapping around her waist. "Besides holding hands, I don't think we've ever been 'coupley' in public before."

"Coupley is not a word," Daphne huffed, and Ron simply shrugged. "It wasn't weird, alright?"

"No, it really wasn't," Ron whispered as he picked up a Licorice Wand, which he then held close to her mouth. "Say 'Ah'." Daphne shot him a smile, and then she took an appropriate bite.

"Thank you," Daphne said after she swallowed her bite. "Do you want to spend some time together after this? It's been ages since we just talked."

"Talked?" Ron asked, and Daphne elbowed him lightly.

"Talked, yes," Daphne said. "Plus, I need help planning out our Hogsmeade Weekend. Blaise says that he has some new plans, but he didn't tell me what they were." _Padma Patil. They were quite cozy together at the study group, but no one even noticed them. No one but me._

"Then we'll make some plans," Ron gave her side a squeeze, and they both returned to their friends' conversation.

"It's one night, Blaise," Malfoy said blandly. "Let it go…"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Malfoy is right," Millie said.

"It's just not very nutritious," Blaise said, though he didn't sound like he cared very much. "I mean, they're serving nothing but sweets?"

"He complained about the same thing last year," Pansy rolled her eyes.

"He totally did," Theo realized. "Blaise… Why are you such a little bitch?"

"Fuck off," Blaise said bluntly, and Theo sniggered at him.

"Touchy, touchy," Theo tutted. "That's no way to speak to your friend, mate. Especially one that knows your secret."

"Secret?" Pansy and Tracey perked up, while Ron shot Blaise a quick look.

"There is no secret," Blaise said, though his sudden sneer proved otherwise.

"You might want to work on your poker face, Blaise," Daphne said, and Blaise fixed his face.

"What's the secret?" Pansy asked Theo, who simply smirked at Blaise.

"Theo, stop it," Ron ordered. "If it's a secret, then you shouldn't spill it."

"You know what it is?" Tracey asked Ron.

"Huh?" Ron blinked.

"You totally do!" Tracey grinned. "Tell us!"

"I don't know anything," Ron quickly denied, while Blaise just shook his head.

"I'm dating Padma Patil," Blaise said, and everyone went quiet.

"You are?" Pansy asked slowly, and Blaise merely shrugged.

"There, now you all know," Blaise said dismissively. "We haven't gone public because, unlike her sister, Padma isn't an attention seeker. Any other questions?" Ron shot Pansy a quick look, and surprisingly, she looked quite alright.

"Well… Good on you, mate," Theo started. "But I had a different secret in mind… I had no clue about Padma." _Yes, you did. You just enjoy stirring the pot too much._

"What other secret?" Millie asked.

"Blaise has a massive pet snake," Theo replied, and the girls just blinked at him. Ron, Malfoy, and Blaise just stared at Theo with blank looks. "I saw it… It looked lethal. Poisonous, even."

"You got a new pet?" Daphne asked, and Blaise simply went back to eating his sweets. "Don't ignore people, Blaise. It's rude." Blaise just kept eating, while Theo looked thoroughly amused with himself. _Someone is going to stab Theo to death one day. I just fucking know it._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **October, 1993 (The Boys' Room – After Dinner)**_

"Where is it?" Daphne looked around the room, and Ron felt the need to strangle Theo.

"Daphne, there is no pet snake," Ron sighed. "Theo was just stirring the pot, as usual."

"So he was lying about the pet snake?" Daphne turned to face him. _I don't know, I haven't seen Blaise's cock._

"Daphne, he was talking about Blaise's manhood," Ron told her, and Daphne just blinked at him.

"Ew…" Daphne suddenly grimaced. "Theo can be really gross sometimes. Why would he say that at the dinner table?"

"Because he enjoys word games," Ron shrugged. "Now, can we please talk about anything other than Blaise's penis?"

"Sit up against the head of your bed," Daphne said, and Ron decided to do as she asked. Once he was sitting with his back against the head of his bed, Daphne carefully planted herself in his lap. Ron put one arm around her back, and the other around her bent knees. Daphne let out an adorable giggle as she snuggled her side into his chest, her head resting on his left shoulder.

"Well, this is nice," Ron said softly. "Cozy?"

"Yes," Daphne hummed, and Ron planted a kiss on her head. _She smells so nice._

"So, what are our plans?" Ron asked, and Daphne looked up at his face.

"Well, I've told you about Madam Puddifoot's Teashop," Daphne started. "Since that's after midday, we'll have a couple of hours to kill before that. I wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks in order to try out their famous Butter-Beer, but Tracey wants to go to Zonko's before all the good joke items are bought out. Millie, on the other hand, wants to go see the Shrieking Shack."

"Well, why don't they all go do that?" Ron asked. "I mean, we can just do as we like, right? Flint won't try anything, and neither will anyone else."

"No, Ron," Daphne whined. "We all agreed that we need to spend the day together."

"You mean the girls agreed," Ron chuckled. "So let me get this straight… You all want to do different things, but at the same time, you don't want to separate."

"It's quite simple, Ron," Daphne said. _I'm sure it is in 'Crazy-Land'._

"Tracey's right about Zonko's," Ron started. "The twins say that everyone goes there first in order to buy as many joke items as they can. The Shrieking shack isn't going anywhere, and seeing it in the evening would beat seeing it in the middle of the day. As for the Three Broomsticks, we can go there right after Zonko's. I mean, it'll only take Tracey half an hour at best to buy whatever she wants."

"And when will we explore the village?" Daphne asked. "There are so many shops there, Ron."

"We'll just have quick looks," Ron said, and Daphne pouted.

"Quick looks? That's not very fun," Daphne told him. "Pansy wants to go to the Cutter's Hairdressing Salon, which will probably waste heaps of time."

"She wants a new haircut?" Ron asked.

"Worse, she wants us all to get new haircuts," Daphne replied, and Ron just blinked at her. "She thinks that since we've moved up in Slytherin, we need to stop 'looking like kids'. And the thing is, she's completely right. Our image should reflect our standing, but it will take so long."

"But I like my haircut," Ron said slowly.

"You've had it for a while, Ron," Daphne said.

"Wait… Do you want me to get a haircut?" Ron asked, and Daphne shot him a sheepish smile. "Great… Just great…"

"It looks good, I swear," Daphne leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth, but he was too downtrodden to take notice. _I like my hair…_ "But a fresher look would suit you better now. Maybe we can have them grow your hair out? Put it in a ponytail?"

"Should I buy a dress too?" Ron frowned deeply.

"Don't be upset," Daphne whispered, her left hand stroking his right cheek. "Just have a look, please? You know that Pansy's really good at these things."

"Just a look," Ron huffed out, and Daphne kissed his left cheek. "Wait… What about Honeydukes?"

"Now you see the problem," Daphne sighed. "There's so much to see and do, but no matter how we look at it, we can't do everything."

"What if we only do a few things this time, and then try out the others on a different Hogsmeade Weekend?" Ron asked.

"But it won't be as good as seeing it for the first time," Daphne complained. "And now Blaise wants to run off with his girlfriend, which means that he probably won't be with us."

"You're right," Ron nodded slowly. "But then again, we're running off too."

"You reckon they'll be at Madam Puddifoot's?" Daphne asked. _I fucking hope not._

"You got us the corner table with the curtain, right?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded. "Then we'll have our privacy."

"I know," Daphne shifted a little. "Did you get Madam Roberts' permission to eat sweets? I mean, you ate sweets tonight."

"I sent her a letter, but she didn't respond," Ron grimaced. "I don't think that she's very happy about this, but it is what it is."

"Maybe I should've booked a restaurant?" Daphne wondered, and Ron squeezed her tightly. "Ron? What is it?"

"I want to go to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop," Ron smiled down at her, and she smiled back. "You made the right call, Daph."

"Thanks," Daphne said, and Ron noticed that her cheeks were quite rosy. "So, what are we going to do about Hogsmeade?"

"I think we should **all** talk about this," Ron replied. "Not just us two, but everyone. Maybe we can all settle for one place each?"

"Alright, I'll go and get them," Daphne said, but Ron just tightened his hold on her. "Um… Ron?"

"Don't go," Ron whispered. "Please?"

"What is it?" Daphne asked him, concern flashing across her face.

"I… Can we just sit together?" Ron asked weakly. "We haven't cuddled, or even kissed, in ages."

"You're right," Daphne relaxed, and Ron quickly fixed his hold on her. "We have more schoolwork, I have to keep the second years from becoming lazy, and you're running the entire House. It all feels surreal, doesn't it? It's like we have jobs now."

"I do have a job," Ron chuckled lightly.

"No one likes a showoff, Ron," Daphne giggled, and then she just stared at his face.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Cuddling is fun, but I prefer kissing," Daphne smirked, and Ron just smiled. "Which do you prefer?"

"I get a choice?" Ron asked.

"No," Daphne replied, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck before straddling his thighs. "That's better, now we're on eye-level." Ron put his hands on her waist, while she planted tender kisses on his face. "Why don't we do this more often?"

"I was just wondering that," Ron smiled widely, his troubles completely forgotten.

"From now on," Daphne started, and then she stopped to kiss his nose. "We're going to do this at least once a week. Deal?"

"Deal, but let's not put a limit on it," Ron said as he pushed his body forward a bit, and Daphne kissed him deeply. _Finally._

"Your lips taste like Cauldron Cakes," Daphne laughed as she pulled back. "Let's see what your tongue tastes like."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dueling Tournament (Midday))**_

The excitement was palpable, and after his long snogging session with Daphne last night, Ron was able to get into the spirit of competition as well. Every third year was eyeing each other, while the rest of the school took bets on who would win and who would lose. The twins' shouts could be heard throughout the Great Hall as they took down bets from their schoolmates, while Lee Jordan compiled the money and ran the numbers. Ron wasn't too sure about this, but apparently, Albus Dumbledore had placed a bet on his victory.

This had only riled up the Gryffindors, much to Ron's own excitement. He wanted some damn good Duels, especially because he had a new Spell to show off. He was banned from using Baubillious, but no one had said anything about Cutis Terra. Over the last week, Ron had taken brutal beatings from the dummies as he mastered the Earth Skin Spell. The trick was to tense one's muscles, think of where the Spell would be applied, and then cast it. And just like that, Ron could shrug off stunners like they were nothing. The only problem with this Spell was that if he used it too much, his body began to bruise from the strain just like it had the first time he had tried it.

"Settle down," Dumbledore spoke up, his eyes twinkling at the excited students. Everyone went dead quiet, but that didn't stop the smiles and glares. "All students are to take their seats while Professor Lupin makes an announcement!" People began to move to their stands, and once they were seated, Remus and Snape took the stage.

"Since there are forty third years, and this is a single elimination Tournament," Remus started.

"What's that mean?" Pansy asked.

"You lose, and you're out," Theo whispered in her ear, and she nodded in understanding.

"There will be a total of three sets," Remus went on. "Some of you will be forced to compete three times in order to reach the Quarterfinals."

"How's that fair?" came a voice.

"The draw is random," Remus said calmly. "Professors McGonagall and Flitwick are currently pulling out the names. It is up to chance, and if you're good enough to be named the victor, then you have nothing to worry about." Some Slytherins smirked in Ron's direction, and he gave them a wink.

"Look at that," Theo smirked, he was sitting in front of Ron. "They know I'm going to win." _This guy…_

"Professor McGonagall will now read out the names of the first competitors, who will have to win three Duels in order to get to the Quarterfinals," Remus announced, and everyone looked to her. Professor Flitwick pulled out two names from a raffle, and he handed them to her.

"Blaise Zabini vs. Hannah Abbot," McGonagall announced, and Ron reached forward and patted Blaise's back.

"Good on you, mate," Ron beamed, while Blaise gave him a firm nod. Flitwick handed McGonagall two more names, and when she saw them, her face dropped a little.

"Ronald Weasley vs. Harry Potter," McGonagall announced, and Ron's face split into a grin. Even Malfoy smirked at that, watching Potter get tossed around was always fun.

"THAT'S RUBBISH!" Oliver Wood called out, and the Gryffindors joined him.

"That's the third time they're Dueling!"

"Do it again!"

"It's rigged!"

"Silence!" Snape ordered, while Flitwick gave McGonagall a sorry smile. _It's nice to see that Gryffindor has so much faith in Harry. Talk about getting kicked in the self-esteem._

"It is random, and you will all honor that," McGonagall said sternly, and every Gryffindor went dead quiet. "If any of you start yelling again, I will escort you out. Am I clear?"

"Is it just me, or did the temperature drop?" Tracey gulped, and Millie nodded slowly.

"To me, she's even scarier than Snape," Millie admitted. "See the respect she demands? It's quite amazing." _Millie is a fan of McGonagall? Fair enough._

"Hermione Granger vs. Roger Malone," McGonagall went on, but her eyes were fixed on her Gryffindors. "Wayne Hopkins vs. Daphne Greengrass."

"Ohhh," Ron smiled at his girlfriend, who simply sat beside him with perfect posture and a cold look on her face.

"Behave," Daphne said, and Ron fixed his features. _Right, image is important. Buffoons smile constantly._

"Lavender Brown vs. Sui Li," McGonagall announced. "Tracey Davis vs. Millicent Bulstrode."

"Fuck…" Tracey's head dropped, while Theo broke into a cackle.

"Bye, Tracey," Theo laughed.

"None of that," Millie frowned at Theo, and then she smiled at Tracey. "It's just a Duel, Tracey. It's not even important."

"Just don't hurt my face," Tracey said dully.

"Theodore Nott vs. Dean Thomas," McGonagall said, and Theo stretched his back and smirked.

"And lastly, Lily Moon vs. Seamus Finnegan," McGonagall finished.

"Alright!" Remus smiled at the students. "Hannah and Blaise, please come down!"

"Good luck, Blaise," they all said, and he walked down and took his position. Hannah was being cheered on by the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, while Blaise was being cheered on by the Slytherins.

"Look at Padma," Daphne whispered, and Ron followed her gaze. Padma, and her friends, were cheering for Blaise, which made Ron smile. _Blaise's new relationship can be of use to us. Why didn't I think of that earlier?_ "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ron?"

"I believe I am," Ron hummed.

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked, while Snape stood by at the ready. "Begin!"

"Stupefy," Hannah chanted quickly, and Blaise stepped aside with a calm expression. "Expelliarmus!"

"Aguamenti," Blaise chanted as he dodged the Disarming Charm, and a jet of water fired out of his wand.

"Protego," Hannah quickly put up a shield, and as the jet of water bounced off of the shield, Blaise cast Glacius and froze the water on her shield. _Woah! What's this?_

"Depulso!" Blaise chanted, and the frozen shield cracked completely.

"Did you see that?!" someone yelled, while Ron just stared at Blaise. _When did he learn that? I didn't teach that to him._

"Prot-" Hannah started, but a Non-verbal stunner sent flying through the air.

"Match!" Remus announced, and the Slytherins erupted in cheers.

"What the fuck was that?" Theo looked back to Ron, who was still staring at Blaise. _Non-verbal Magic as well? What the fuck?_

"He's been practicing," Millie smirked, and Ron simply nodded. Blaise walked up the stands, all the while shaking hands and giving nods. Once he reached them, Tracey quickly pulled him down by her side.

"Blaise, where did you learn that?" Tracey beamed. "You were amazing!"

"I took a page out of Ron's book, and I asked my mother for some tips," Blaise said, and when Tracey clung to his arm, he shifted in his spot a little. "She's the creative sort… Tracey, I can feel your…" he trailed off.

"You don't like them?" Tracey laughed, and Blaise looked quite uncomfortable for once. "You **do** like them!"

"Tracey, behave," Daphne said, and Tracey let go of Blaise with a laugh. "We're in public."

"Ronald and Harry, please come down," Remus called, and Ron stood up with a wide grin. _Sorry, Harry, but I need to show off a little. The Slytherins are watching, and I need to show them my strength._ As Ron made his way down, he was encouraged by his House-mates.

"Floor him, mate!"

"Do Slytherin proud, Ron!" Clara cheered, and then she let out a loud whistle.

"Teach Scarhead a lesson, won't you?"

"You've got this, Ron," came John's voice, and Ron looked to see his first years cheering loudly. Ron smiled at them before making his way onto the sand, at which point he looked to the Gryffindors. They were cheering on Harry, with many of them patting him down as he walked down the stands.

"Ron, remember what we discussed," Remus walked up to Ron, and Ron blinked at him. "No physical violence, alright?" _Huh?_

"That was for Granger's sake, not Potter's," Snape walked up, his eyes fixed on Remus. "Ronald, if you get close to him, send him to Pomfrey."

"Snape…" Remus sighed. "They're kids… Don't encourage him."

"Do not handicap my student for your boy's sake, Lupin," Snape hissed coldly, and Ron looked to see Harry walking over to them.

"Anything I need to know?" Harry asked calmly, though his eyes narrowed on Snape.

"Professor Lupin wants me to hold back on you," Ron lied, and Harry's eyes shot wide open.

"What?!" Harry demanded, and Remus drew in a deep breath.

"That is not what I said," Remus started, but Harry was already marching off.

"Just do your best, Ron," Harry said as he took his position. "No holding back, just a fair match." _Good man._

"You heard him, Lupin," Snape smirked. "Potter wants a fair match."

"Ron," Remus gave Ron a meaningful look, but Ron decided to ignore it. _I have intention of hurting him. This is more of a popularity stunt than a match to me._ Both Remus and Snape left Ron at that, while Ron watched Harry's eyes dart towards Dumbledore. Ron followed his gaze, and he saw that the old man was watching them with an amused smile.

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked, and Ron looked back to Harry. They both nodded, and Ron tensed his chest. "Begin!"

"Cutis Terra," Ron whispered, and he felt his chest being incased in stone. _Damn, that feels so fucking weird._

"Stupefy!" Harry chanted, and Ron took the stunner to his chest. It shattered on impact, and Ron was pushed back a little. _Oof… That nearly winded me. Don't keel over, Ron._

"Mat-" Remus started, but he stopped when he noticed that Ron was still on his feet.

"That was cute!" Ron laughed, and then he pretended to swat dust off of his robes. The Great Hall erupted at that, with most people calling Ron a cheat. Ron looked to find his siblings gawking at him, including Ginny.

"Stop the match!" Remus announced, while Harry just gaped at Ron.

"He's cheating!"

"What was that tripe?!"

"He took a stunner and didn't even budge!"

"Ron, are you wearing something under your robes?" Remus asked as both he and Snape walked up.

"You can check," Ron offered, and Snape quickly patted him down.

"Nothing," Snape said slowly, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Disqualify him!" Finnegan called out, and Ron frowned at the irony of that. _Didn't he try to blow me up?_

"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Weasley?" came McGonagall's voice, and Ron turned to see both her and Flitwick approaching them.

"Cutis Terra, Professor Flitwick," Ron said to the Charms Master, who immediately adorned a look of awe and pride.

"You actually did it?" Flitwick asked, and Ron nodded. _He's the one who told me that I could withstand stunners with it, but he warned me that it would be very difficult._

"I spent hours taking stingers to the body," Ron told the Professors, and he noticed Snape blinking at him. "It was… horrible… but it helped me master a very powerful Spell."

"I've never heard of this Spell," Snape started, while everyone in the Great Hall tried to listen in.

"Neither have I," Remus said.

"Cutis Terra is a Wandless Spell, and I must confess, I am in awe of you, Ronald," Flitwick beamed, and Ron couldn't help but smile. _Yay! He looks so happy with me._ "He is not cheating at all."

"That's all that matters then," Snape said as he walked off, he planned to question Ronald about this later. "Lupin, we don't have time to waste."

"Right," Lupin said slowly, and then he walked back to his position. As McGonagall and Flitwick left, Ron spotted Harry looking at him with a wary look. "Are you two ready?!"

"You can't be serious?!" McLaggen called out. "He's clearly wearing something under his robes!"

"Yeah, I'm wearing your mother's stamp of approval!" Ron yelled back, and most of the Great Hall burst into laughter.

"Ronald," Snape frowned, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. "Remus, restart the match."

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked again, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Accio Harry's glasses," Ron chanted as Harry threw out a Disarming Charm, and Harry's glasses flew off of his face. Ron caught them as he sidestepped the scarlet Spell, and he quickly pocketed them. _How's his eyesight?_

"Protego!" Harry chanted, this was going to be difficult because of his poor vision. _He put up a shield? His eyesight must be quite poor then, otherwise he'd just dodge._

"Play fair, you cheat!" Angelina Johnson yelled.

"How about you Gryffindors shut the hell up and let us watch the match?!" came Tracey's voice. "Kick his arse, Ron!"

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron chanted, his left palm aimed at Harry robes. _And pull!_ Ron grunted as he yanked his left hand back, and Harry was pulled headfirst into his own shield, which broke due to his sudden lack in concentration. "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand was knocked out of his hand as he lay on the sand, a dazed expression on his face. Ron caught the wand easily enough, while the Slytherins began howling and cheering.

"Match!" Remus announced, and Ron quickly made his way over to Harry. Harry stood up slowly, the front of his robes covered in sand.

"Sorry about that," Ron said as he handed Harry his glasses and wand, which Harry took with a blank expression. "Are you alright? You hit your head on your shield." _I pulled too fucking hard._

"Nice match…" Harry muttered, and then he turned around and left for the exit. _He's leaving? Shite, he's probably embarrassed because Dumbledore's watching._

Ron could hear the Slytherins cheering wildly, and even a majority of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were applauding Ron. As for the Gryffindors, only a handful of them clapped for Ron, while most of them just watched Harry leave the Great Hall. Hermione and Neville looked rather upset for Harry, but they didn't take it out on Ron.

Ron then spotted Ginny walk down the stands and follow Harry out, which genuinely jarred him. _She's leaving? Just like that? Why?_ Ron turned around and walked back to the Slytherin stands, a practiced smile on his face. _She left because I didn't lose?_ Ron noticed Dumbledore watching him, his eyes twinkling as usual. _Sorry for embarrassing your golden boy, Headmaster, but If I don't dominate, the Slytherins will get ideas._

"How did you take that stunner without falling over?" Carey asked, while the other Slytherins tried to listen in.

"Want to feel my pecs?" Ron smirked, though his voice barely came out. _She just leaves because Harry lost? She's probably going over to console him, which is fucked because who walks off after losing? Fuck._

"I shall take this risk," Clara said quickly, and then she poked his chest repeatedly. "They're quite defined for someone his age!"

"Nice!" a fourth year girl laughed, and Ron spotted Daphne glaring murder down at Clara.

"Enough of that," Ron chuckled as he batted Clara's hand away, and she let out a whine.

"You did well, Ron," Samantha nodded her approval, and after returning her nod, Ron walked up to his friends.

"Before you all ask why I can take stunners, just know that I've got abs of steel," Ron joked, and then he took his seat next to Daphne.

"Prove it," Pansy said quickly, and Ron rolled his eyes. "You damn tease…" _Did she just snarl at me?_

"Seriously though, how did you do that?" Millie asked. "Are you wearing something under your robes?" Before Ron could answer, Daphne started feeling his chest.

"Um… Hello?" Ron blinked at her.

"No, I feel nothing," Daphne said casually, and Ron was certain that she was trying to one up Clara.

"So you can just take stunners?" Malfoy asked, and Ron smirked at him.

"This Tournament is fucked… I'm going back to Slytherin," Theo sighed out. _I see no need to give up my advantage just yet. This is a competition, after all._ "But only after I watch Millie destroy Tracey."

"Ahem, fuck you, bitch boy," Tracey frowned, and Theo wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Hermione and Roger, please come down," Remus announced, and they both walked down.

"He's about to get destroyed," Blaise said.

"He's a Ravenclaw, he might surprise us," Daphne countered. "Plus, we all want to see the Know-It-All bite the dust." _I don't. Kick his arse, Hermione!_

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Roger chanted, and Ron wondered why everyone started with a Disarming Charm or a stunner. Surprisingly, Hermione decided to dodge the Spell instead of blocking it.

"Stupefy!" Hermione chanted, and Roger quickly moved out of the way. Hermione followed her assault up with three Non-verbal stunners, most of which he barely managed to dodge. _He's already panicking, isn't he? Stop jumping and retaliate, you moron._ "Incarcerous!" Thick black ropes fired out of her wand, and they managed to snare Roger's left leg.

"Prot-" Roger started, but a Non-verbal Disarming Charm knocked his wand out of his hand. _Bloody hell, I need to work on my Non-verbal Magic. It's so much quicker._

"Match!" Remus announce, while Snape banished the rope on Roger's leg with a flick of his wand.

"Damn," Daphne frowned deeply, and Ron shot her a grin.

"Scared of a bookworm, Daph?" Ron asked, and she stuck her nose up.

"Not at all," Daphne replied, she was mostly just annoyed because Ron looked pleased with Granger's performance.

"Daphne and Wayne, you're up!" Remus called, and Daphne stood up with a calm expression.

"You've got this," Ron gave her a thumbs up, and she smirked a little. With that, she walked down and took her position.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked. "Start!"

"Expelliarmus!" Wayne chanted, and Daphne easily dodged the scarlet Spell.

"Ventus Tria!" Daphne twirled her wand, and a powerful gust of spiraling wind engulfed Wayne. Sand blew everywhere, and Wayne shielded his face on extinct, which resulted in him taking a stunner to the chest.

"Match!" Remus announced, and Tracey let out a whistle. _Damn, that was quick._

"Ventus Tria," Theo nodded slowly. "Smart… She took advantage of the terrain." As Daphne walked back to her friends, she was greeted by a rather happy looking Ron. She made sure to keep a calm expression, but once she sat down, she subtlety scooted closer to him.

"That was really good, Daph," Millie said, while Ron put his arm around Daphne's lower back. "I didn't even think of using the sand as a weapon."

"Thank you," Daphne smiled a little.

"Lavender and Sue, please come down," Remus called.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Match!" Remus announced, and Ron let out a grateful sigh. _Thank Merlin!_

"That was the worst Duel that I've ever seen," Theo said, his eyes judging Lavender and Sue.

"I have no idea how Li won that to be honest, she barely fired any offensive Spells," Millie said, and Blaise nodded his agreement.

"Brown was no better," Malfoy said. "She squealed like a stuck pig the entire match."

"Tracey and Millicent, please come down," Remus called, and Tracey groaned loudly.

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Millie helped Tracey up, and they both left for the sandpit.

"Bets?" Theo asked.

"One Galleon on Tracey," Blaise said, and Ron cocked his eyebrow.

"One Galleon on Millie," Ron challenged.

"I'll go with Millie as well," Theo said.

"Are you three serious?" Pansy frowned at them. "They're our friends."

"Malfoy?" Ron asked, while Daphne and Pansy shook their heads.

"One Galleon on Davis," Malfoy wagered.

"You're betting on Tracey?" Ron asked.

"She's more athletic," Malfoy shrugged. "And from what I've seen, she's good at dishing out Hexes."

"But Millie is decisive and never loses control," Ron countered.

"The match is starting," Daphne shushed them, and they all looked to Tracey and Millie.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked, and they nodded. "Begin!"

"Colloshoo!" Millie chanted, her wand aimed at Tracey's feet. Tracey spread her legs apart and fired a stunner at Millie, which she dodged with a precise movement.

"Steleus!" Tracey chanted right after her stunner, and Millie sidestepped the sickly green light. The two girls exchanged multiple stunners, which they both dodged quite well. Ron, however, noticed that Millie wasn't getting tired like Tracey was. Upon closer examination, he realized that Millie barely moved whereas Tracey dodged fully. Millie's movements were short and precise, and that was saving her stamina.

"Incarcerous!" Millie chanted.

"Incendio!" Tracey chanted immediately after, and the ropes from Millie's wand caught fire. The spectators cheered, while Daphne and Pansy gasped. With a flick of her wand, Millie cut off the ropes from her wand, but by then, Tracey had started throwing stunners at Millie.

"Protego!" Millie chanted, her face tightening from the strain of Tracey's onslaught. _Tracey's damn quick. I think I just lost a Galleon._

"Impedimenta!" Tracey chanted as soon as Millie tried to move, and the turquoise light hit the bigger girl's side. Millie's movements slowed down to a crawl, and Tracey fired a stunner at her.

"Protego," Millie managed, and her shield appeared just in time to stop Tracey's stunner. That's when Tracey broke into a sprint around the sandpit, much to everyone surprise. _She's trying to bypass the shield? Millie still can't move… Smart._

"Stupefy!" Tracey panted, and Millie barely ducked in time. The stunner flew past her face, and its Magic left a Spell Burn on her left cheek. That's when the Impediment Jinx wore off, and Millie rolled to the side and sprang to her feet.

"Oppugno!" Millie chanted as she flicked her wand upwards, and Tracey was pelted by the sand in front of her. "Flipendo!" Tracey didn't even have the time to squeal before the Knockback Jinx sent her flying into the Hufflepuff stands, but before she could land on someone's head, Snape had stopped her with a Non-verbal Spell.

"Tracey is out of bounds, and that's match!" Remus announced, and the entire school applauded the two girls for their performance. Snape lowered Tracey slowly, and some of the Hufflepuffs helped her to her feet. She looked more embarrassed than hurt, something which Daphne looked truly grateful for.

"Now that was a Duel," Ron nodded in approval, and then he looked to Blaise and Malfoy. "You can pay Theo and me after the Dueling Club." Ron then looked to see Tracey approaching them, while Millie was being tended to by Pomfrey.

"That was intense," Pansy smiled at Tracey, who managed a weak smile at her.

"Guess I'm out, eh?" Tracey said as she sat down beside Blaise, and Blaise patted her back. _A human reaction from Blaise? It's the end times._

"You still did well," Blaise reassured her. "Halfway through the Duel, you even managed to gain the upper hand."

"Thanks," Tracey said, she did feel a little better knowing that she had given Millie a run for her money. "Are you being nice because you know what my tits feel like?" _Ha!_

"And she's back," Blaise said as he pulled his hand back, while Pansy tutted Tracey.

"Don't say that, Trace… You're a girl…" Pansy frowned, and Daphne just sighed in defeat.

"Don't let them change you," Theo said quickly. "You should cuddle me-"

"Stop it, pervert," Daphne smacked Theo on the back of his head.

"Ron, control your boyfriend," Theo remarked, and this time, Ron smacked him.

"Theodore and Dean, please come down," Remus called, and Theo quickly got out of his seat.

"If I lose, it's because you two hurt me beforehand," Theo said to Ron and Daphne, and then he marched off.

"I don't think Snape's going to care either way," Pansy said, and they all nodded their agreement.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron was starting to get bored, mostly because the Duels seemed to grow less exciting as time went on. There was no innovation for the most part, and everyone constantly fired stunners and Disarming Charms. Ron, of course, understood that these Spells were effective and easy to cast, but seeing the same thing over and over again was mind-numbing.

All of Ron's friends had had their first matches since the starting matches, and all of them had won rather easily. Blaise had disarmed Lisa Turpin, Ron had ripped the wand out of Terry Boot's weak grip, Hermione had stunned Crabbe within seconds, Daphne had outmaneuver Fay with the Disillusionment Charm, Neville had somehow managed to stun Stephen Cornfoot, Millie had smashed through Oliver Rivers' defenses, Malfoy had turned Ernest into a joke with Hexes, Theo had secured an easy victory against Sally-Anne Perks, and Pansy had just returned victorious against Megan Jones.

"We'll be taking a small recess of ten minutes," Remus announced. "Contestants, please feel free to stretch your legs and go to the loo if you need." The Great Hall erupted in chatter, and Ron's friends were no different. Tracey had moved on from her loss completely, and was now talking to Millie about boxing of all things.

"Who's keen for Millie vs. Malfoy?" Theo asked everyone, and everyone looked to Millie or Malfoy.

"I know I am," Tracey smirked at Malfoy, who simply ignored her. "Oi… Don't ignore me."

"Do you all hear a noise?" Malfoy asked the others.

"Malfoy…" Ron chuckled. "Did you just crack a fucking joke?"

"There it is again," Malfoy clicked his tongue.

"Well… Fuck you too then," Ron rolled his eyes, and then he looked to Daphne. "Excited for your match against Sally Smith?"

"If I win this, and Granger wins her match against Anthony Goldstein, we'll be facing off in the Quarterfinals," Daphne said, she looked like she was in deep thought.

"And I might be facing Blaise," Ron shrugged. "Worry about the Quarterfinals later, Daph. We've got time to prepare."

"Ron, she knows Non-verbal Magic," Daphne whispered. "And her Shield Charm is absurdly powerful."

"What if I told you that I learned a trick against Shield Charms recently?" Ron scooted closer to her, and then he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What sort of trick?" Daphne asked, her eyes fixed on his.

"The sort only an Auror can teach," Ron smirked, his arms snaking over her stomach.

"You'll teach me?" Daphne asked.

"For a price," Ron winked, and Daphne smirked at him.

"Chivalry is dead," Daphne said, and then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Ron."

"No worries," Ron hummed.

"As romantic as this is," came Theo's voice, and both Ron and Daphne looked to him. "The Gryffindor brigade is trying to get Ron's attention." Ron's eyes darted down to the front of the Slytherin stands, and there stood his siblings, Hermione, and Neville. _What do they want? I see that Ginny hasn't returned yet. Whatever._

"Ignore them," Daphne whispered. "They're just going to nag you like always."

"Why don't you come down with me?" Ron asked her.

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked, and he smiled at her. "Alright, but if they start nagging, I'm going to leave."

"That's fair," Ron said as he stood up, and she followed suit. "We will be right back." With that, Ron and Daphne made their way down. Daphne made sure to entangle her arm with his, which he thought was rather amusing. "They're not going to kidnap, Daph."

"But what if they do?" Daphne smirked.

"Fair enough," Ron chuckled.

"We just want to talk to him," Percy was saying to Carey, while Fred and George waved him over. _Yes, I see you._

"Hello," Ron greeted the Gryffindors pleasantly. "No Luna?"

"She's with her friends," Percy said.

"That, or she doesn't feel the need to pester Ron constantly," Daphne 'smiled' at Percy, who just blinked at her. Ron noticed that Hermione looked quite uncomfortable, and that her eyes kept darting towards Ron and Daphne's joined arms.

"Why don't you lot just leave?" Carey asked the Gryffindors. "You're riling up the other Slytherins." She then looked to Ron. "Ron, why don't you accompany them?"

"Alright," Ron smiled at her, and she smirked before leaving. "Come along." Ron and Daphne moved closer to the sandpits, and the Gryffindors followed them.

"Right, enough," Fred said quickly.

"How did you do it?" George asked excitedly. "You took a stunner, Ron… And it didn't even faze you."

"I'm in excellent shape," Ron chuckled, he was never going to tell them his secrets. "Plus, Harry's stunners lack strength." _No, they don't. Cunt almost winded me despite my defenses._ "Where is he, by the way?"

"Um… About that…" Neville started slowly. "He's not upset with losing to you, it's just that… You know, because Dumbledore is watching." _So it's perfectly fine for him to throw a tantrum, is it?_ Ron felt his temper spike, but he kept himself in check.

"The Headmaster," Ron corrected Neville a little harshly. "Speak with some respect, he isn't your friend." _Calm down, Ron. It's not Neville's fault that your own sister prefers Harry over you._

"Ron…" Hermione frowned a little, but then she looked to Neville. "He's right though."

"What?" Neville blinked. "But you also-"

"Was it a Spell?" Hermione asked Ron.

"No," Ron lied.

"So, you're wearing something under your robes," Hermione said, and Ron shook his head.

"Professor Snape looked me over," Ron reminded them.

"Yeah, but he's a git who wouldn't mind cheating," Fred scoffed.

"Fred," Percy sighed. "I'm Head Boy, and you can't talk about Professors like that near me."

"Is there a point to this?" Daphne asked everyone, she was getting bored of this back and forth. "You've interrupted our conversation, and now you're wasting our time."

"In a hurry to snog our brother, eh?" George smirked, and Daphne smirked back.

"At least he has someone who wants to snog him," Daphne replied politely, and the twins sniggered.

"Finally, someone who enjoys banter," Fred grinned.

"Or enjoys being rude, at least," Hermione muttered under her breath, but they all heard her.

"Something to say, Granger?" Daphne asked far too politely.

"No," Hermione frowned at her, and then she just walked away towards the Gryffindor stands.

"Why are people walking away from me today?" Ron asked.

"It's because you're a prick," George remarked.

"Noted," Ron chuckled. "Neville?"

"Sorry about that too," Neville sighed in defeat.

"It's not your fault, Longbottom," Daphne said, but he simply shrugged.

"Hermione's been a bit… agitated… lately, and Harry's no better," Neville told them.

"They had a spat," Fred clarified. "Over Quidditch of all things."

"And whose fault was that?" Percy asked the twins.

"Ginny's," they both said together.

"She invited him to play Quidditch, not us," George said, and Fred nodded along. _But you're supposed to keep them apart. Why don't people fucking listen to me?_

"Can we go now?" Daphne asked Ron, and he gave her a nod. "Congratulations on your win, Longbottom."

"Um… You too, Greengrass," Neville smiled shyly. "On both of them, that is."

"Good luck in your next match," Ron said, and Neville gave him a nod.

"You too," Neville said, and then he left to go find Hermione. Ron and Daphne went to leave, but the twins hopped into their way.

"Not so fast, lovebirds," Fred wagged his finger. "You haven't told us how you took a stunner to the chest and laughed it off."

"Excuse me, Daphne," Ron said, and then he untangled their arms. Ron then walked up to Fred, and he tensed his entire torso as he did so.

"Cutis Terra," Ron whispered under his breath, and when his entire upper body felt stone-like, he simply lifted Fred up like a baby. _Merlin, this Spell makes Fred feel as heavy as a grape._

"Oi! What the fuck?!" Fred wobbled in Ron's grip, but since Ron had his hands under Fred's armpits, his older brother couldn't do anything but just wriggle. George, Percy, and Daphne went wide-eyed as Ron smiled as if he was under no strain whatsoever, and when Ron planted Fred aside, the taller boy could do little but stare at Ron.

"Come, Daph," Ron said, and she slowly took his gloved hand.

"He just… Did you see that shite?!" Fred looked to his brothers, who were now gawking at Ron's retreating back.

"Ron, what was that?" Daphne whispered, her Ice-Queen persona shattered by shock. "It's not possible for you to have that much strength…"

"I thought you liked my strength," Ron smirked.

"I'm serious, Ron," Daphne said a little more firmly. "What was that?"

"A Spell that I've learned recently," Ron whispered to her, and she nodded slowly. "I haven't mastered it fully yet, but I will eventually. Don't anyone, Daphne. It's a secret."

"I… I understand," Daphne said, and Ron felt her relax considerably. "For a minute, I thought that you weren't human."

"Who says that I am?" Ron smiled, and Daphne poked his stomach with her free hand. "You're dating an Old God, Daphne."

"An Old God?" Daphne blinked. "What's an 'Old God'?"

"Nothing, just a stupid joke," Ron shrugged, and she nodded slowly.

"Mr. Weasley, a word," came Snape's voice, and Ron turned to see the Potions Master staring at him.

"Of course, Sir," Ron said as he let go of Daphne's hand. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Alright," Daphne said, her features schooled once again. As Daphne left for the stands, Ron followed Snape to Dumbledore's chair.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" Ron asked, but Snape didn't reply. _It's not?_

"Congratulations on your victories today, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled at him as he approached. "Remarkable use of Wandless Magic, my boy. You've done this old man proud."

"I… Thanks…" Ron flushed a little, but his Slytherin brain told him that something was wrong. "Wait… That was quite the compliment… You never say things like that in public…" Ron then looked between Snape and Dumbledore, both of whom looked slightly uncomfortable. "What did you do?"

"I fear that we may have called wolf," Dumbledore replied, his eyes darting towards Pomfrey.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked slowly.

"This Spell of yours… Cutis Terra… Did it really require you to take stingers to the chest?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded.

"I spoke with Professor Flitwick last Sunday, and he told me that the Spell enhanced ones strength and durability," Ron started. "I already knew that, but what I didn't know was that it could help one withstand weaker Spells. So I spent pretty much every night this week facing dummies. I let them pelt me with stingers, while I worked to pin down the specifics of the Spell."

"So… Self-harm was never involved?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron was quite taken aback.

"Self-harm, Headmaster?" Ron asked, and both Snape and Dumbledore exchanged looks. "I used Episkey to heal myself whenever it started to hurt too much."

"You can take this one," Snape said, and then he billowed away. Ron just watched him leave with a furrowed brow, and then he looked to Dumbledore.

"Headmaster… What did you do?" Ron asked.

"Severus was informed that you were allowing the dummies to harm you," Dumbledore started, while Ron just watched his face. "Given the terrible things that are currently happening in the World, we both assumed that you were hurting yourself to feel control over your life. We grew worried… So worried that we told Poppy…"

"You told Madam Pomfrey that I was self-harming…" Ron said slowly, and then he rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand. _Bloody hell, she must be so angry with me._

"An honest mistake, my boy," Dumbledore said calmingly. "One that we will rectify this very day."

"Wait… Who told Professor Snape?" Ron asked suddenly. "I practiced in the dead of night…" And that's when it hit him. "Malfoy. He must've seen me, and like a venomous snake, he turned on me."

"This is all a misunderstanding, Ronald," Dumbledore said gently. "Do not turn it into something worse, promise me."

"I… I promise," Ron said. "But you better tell Madam Pomfrey today, alright? And you could've come to me if you were so worried, Headmaster. Then at least I could've explained myself to you."

"Lesson learnt, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled in his kind manner. "You should rejoin your friends, I believe that Remus wishes to end the recess."

"I'll see you later then, Headmaster," Ron said, and then he began to walk back to his friends. On the way, he couldn't help but steal a glance at Madam Pomfrey, and he saw her looking at him with a slightly saddened look. _Bloody hell, she's not angry… She's sad. That's worse!_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Blaise and Michael, please come down," Remus announced, and Blaise quickly made his way down the stands.

"Look at him," Tracey smirked. "He's off to avenge his girlfriend's sister."

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked. "Alright… Begin!"

"Expeliarm-" Corner started, but Blaise fired a Non-verbal stunner at the weedy Ravenclaw. Corner managed to duck it, but Blaise fired stunner after stunner. Ron was rather impressed with Blaise's aim, as were the other Slytherins considering how loudly they were cheering. It didn't take long for Corner to lose his footing, which resulted in him taking a stunner to the ribs.

"Match!" Remus called, and the Slytherins howled and whistled. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs applauded, but the Ravenclaws looked less than enthusiastic. All of them except for Padma, who was waving at Blaise with a happy smile. Blaise gave her a curt nod, and then he walked back to the Slytherin stands.

"What was that?" Daphne asked Blaise, and he blinked at her. "You couldn't wave back?"

"I saw no need for it," Blaise said aloofly. "She was trying to get my attention, and I gave it to her. What would be the point of overindulging her? She'd just get used it."

"Yeesh, you make her sound like a dog," Tracey grimaced, while Pansy and Millie decided to stay clear of this conversation.

"Blaise, the romantic," Theo chuckled. "I feel bad for the poor girl. She doesn't know that she's dating a Dementor." _Hehe, that was good._

"Whatever," Blaise said as he sat down.

"Ronald and Susan, you're up!" Remus called, and Ron quickly shot out of his seat. _Finally! This should be a fun match._ As Ron entered the sandpit, he spotted Susan coming out of the Hufflepuff stands. She looked genuinely nervous, while Remus was once again giving Ron 'the stare'. _I should put her at ease first, and then we can Duel. I don't need to show my strength anymore. I just need to win._

"Has your aunt mentioned me?" Ron asked Susan with a grin.

"She found the photo amusing," Susan replied, and her nervous look was slowly replaced by a smile.

"She wanted proof, and I obliged," Ron chuckled as they got into position.

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked, and they both nodded. _Easy does it, Ron. Breathe._ "Begin!"

"Oppugno,' Ron chanted, stealing a page out of Millie's book.

"Protego!" Susan blocked the incoming sand, and Ron took in a deep breath as he got into his stance. _Knees bent and back straight, Ron._ "Expelliarmus!"

"Stupefy," Ron chanted calmly as he dodged the Disarming Charm. "Expelliarmus. Flipendo. Stupefy." He tried to mimic the Chaining technique, but he was **much** slower than Madam Roberts. Susan, however, had little experience in Dueling, and so she failed to capitalize on Ron's open windows. _She'll figure out my pattern though. I need to change it up._

"Use more Wandless Magic, Ron!" came Astoria's yell, and Ron decided to grant her wish.

"Don't give him the chance, Susan!" Ernest yelled in response.

"Stupefy!" Susan shouted, while Ron made sure to keep as calm as he could. His heartbeat was getting faster, but his breathing was steady.

"Protego," Ron chanted, and the stunner shattered upon his shield. Ron drew in a deep breath, while Susan tried to pin him down with stunners. "Fumos." Ron breathed out black smoke from his mouth as if he were a Dragon, and the Slytherin stands erupted in ecstatic cheers. Susan clearly panicked because of what Ron was doing, and so she put up her shield to defend herself.

"Glacius," Ron chanted after refilling his lungs, and then he slammed his left palm on the sand beneath him. A couple of stunners flew over his head, and Ron figured that Susan was casting blind. _My body's hidden by the smoke. Don't panic, and just stay crouched. Let the ice reach her._ Ron suddenly heard a shriek, and then the sound of thin ice shattering.

"Match!" Remus called, much to Ron's surprise.

"Depulso," Snape chanted, and with a wave of his wand, he banished the smoke. Ron spotted Susan sitting up on some shattered ice, her wand a few feet away from her. _She slipped?_ Ron stood up, while the Houses applauded them both.

"My bum…" Susan moaned as Ron walked up to her, the ice crunching beneath his feet.

"Here, let me help you up," Ron smiled, and then he gently helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I think I bruised my-" she stopped abruptly, it was as if she had remembered who she was talking to.

"Your wand, Susan," Remus said as he handed it to her, while Snape banished the thin sheet of ice.

"Thanks, Professor," Susan said weakly, she looked a little embarrassed because of her tumble.

"Head over to Madam Pomfrey if you need," Remus said with a smile. Susan gave him a nod, and she slowly walked over to Madam Pomfrey. Ron, on the other hand, began to walk back to the cheering Slytherins.

"No lightning, Ron?" Clara pouted, while some random Slytherins patted him down. "I wanted to see the 'Stormbringer' in action."

"I'm actually banned from using that Spell," Ron told her. "Plus, it's too dangerous. What if I missed and hit the Gryffindor stands?"

"Now that would be a terrible tragedy," Carey said smoothly, a pleasant smile on her face. _It's weird. Sometimes she's completely cold, and other times she's her usual self again._ "Well done, Ron. That's two Slytherins who have qualified for the Quarterfinals."

"Hermione and Anthony, come on down!" Remus called, and Ron slowly turned to face the sandpit.

"Ron, sit with us for a moment," Samantha said, and Ron turned back around.

"Of course," Ron smiled, and then he followed them to their seats. He noticed his friends giving him nods, and Ron figured that they wanted him to behave.

"Sit here," Clara smiled sweetly, and Ron sat down between her and Carey. "You've got so many tricks up your sleeve, Ron. How does a third year accomplish that?"

"Trial and error mostly," Ron shrugged, though he did like the fact that she was talking in her sweet voice. "The first time I tried to cast Fumos Wandlessly, I nearly choked to death." _Merlin, I still remember Daphne's panic. I really should stop trying Spells near the girls. Pansy still hasn't forgiven me for the headless birds._

"Fumos," Carey nodded slowly. "The Smokescreen Spell."

"Quite ingenious, Ron," Samantha said, her expression cold as usual. "Can you perform every Spell Wandlessly?"

"No," Ron chuckled. "It's taken me this long to learn just a handful of Wandless Spells, and even those I haven't fully mastered. Wandless Magic takes a heavy toll on one's body, and I'm no different." From the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione hammering Anthony's shield with stunners. _She's pissed._

"Just try to not hurt yourself, alright?" Clara said softly, and Ron gave her a smile. _She's quite fond of me, isn't she?_ Ron still felt guilty over how rough he had been with the Triumvirate, but he knew that it was necessary. He needed to slowly bring the Slytherins into the fold, and he couldn't do that if he was getting pushed around all the time.

"Flint has been watching you," Carey suddenly whispered, and Ron blinked at her. "Don't turn around." _Right._ "And it's not just him. You remember Atif?"

"The sixth year delegate?" Ron asked.

"His girlfriend told us that he's planning to embarrass you in public," Samantha said, and Ron was even more confused now.

"His girlfriend told you?" Ron asked.

"She's a fourth year, and after Miller sang your praises to them, they've all become a little infatuated with you," Clara hummed. "You're quite the heartthrob, Ron."

"Really?" Ron whispered guiltily.

"Power and influence are the new sexy," Clara winked at him, and Ron felt his cheeks heat up a little.

"Not to mention that you were surprisingly noble, which is a breath of fresh air for many," Carey said in her silky voice. "The constant schemes and backstabbing can get dreadfully boring. Plus, Atif is a constant cheater." _You could just say that I was right to not abuse that photo._

"Right," Ron said. "So… What's he planning?"

"She didn't know the specifics, but whatever it is, it's not happening," Samantha said. "Your image in the House is extremely important now, and any insult to you is rebellion against us. We can't allow people to start getting ideas, Ron. It only takes one person to open the floodgates."

"A lesson that we've learned from Flint's little tantrum," Carey added. "You'll take care of it, won't you?"

"I'll fix this, Carey," Ron promised, he needed to win her over. _Samantha is the coldest of the three, but if Clara and Carey go back to being my friends, she'll follow. I can't afford to rush them. That'll only cause more friction between us._

"Your girlfriend has improved over the last month," Clara stated, and Ron shot her a confused look. _Where did that come from?_ "Look." Ron followed her gaze to the sandpit, and he saw Daphne disarming Sally Smith. _I missed her match!_

"You should go apologize to her," Carey smirked. "Who misses their own girlfriend's Duel, Ron?"

"You three-" Ron started, but then he stopped himself. "You're jerks." Ron got up and left at that, while the Triumvirate looked quite pleased with themselves.

"Daph," Ron greeted her at the bottom of the stands. "I missed your match… I'm so bloody sorry. The Triumvirate were-"

"Relax, Ron," Daphne's lips twitched upwards. "I won, and that's all that matters."

"But still…" Ron sighed out, but Daphne just took his gloved hand.

"I was amazing, so it's your loss really," Daphne smirked. "Let's go up, and then you can tell me what the Triumvirate wanted."

"Okay," Ron managed a weak smile. They both walked up to their friends, who congratulated Daphne on her stellar victory.

"What did the Triumvirate want?" Malfoy asked, completely ignoring Daphne's win.

"Neville and Justin, take your positions!" Remus called out, he was starting to look rather tired. _Neville's up?_ Ron's eyes went to the sandpit

"Weasley, what did the Triumvirate want?" Malfoy asked again, and Ron looked back to him.

"Someone is trying to humiliate me from the shadows," Ron smirked as he sat down, his arm going around Daphne's waist on instinct.

"Who?" Tracey asked, while Ron looked to the sandpit.

"Atif Aslam from sixth year," Ron replied.

"An angry delegate then," Theo said, his finger tapping his chin. "You need to kill this plot in its crib, mate. If one delegate starts rebelling, the other unhappy ones will follow."

"Any suggestions?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on Neville and Justin. _Merlin, they're both tripping over their own feet._

"Don't use violence," Daphne said, and Ron looked to her. "Using violence now will just convince people that you're a brute, which is simply not true. You got their attention with violence, Ron. Now keep it with negotiation and compromise. Show them that you are a Slytherin, and not some hot-headed Gryffindor."

"She's right," Blaise said. "What you did to Flint was the right call, but repeating it will just hinder us."

"Maybe you should find out what Aslam wants," Pansy suggested, and Ron nodded slowly. "Why else would he start rebelling? He clearly wants something, right?"

"He wants Weasley gone, that's his reason for rebelling," Malfoy said, and everyone looked to him. "He doesn't feel the need to bow to a third year, and since the Triumvirate are forcing him to, he's acting out. It isn't that hard to realize that his pride is hurt."

"Is that how you feel?" Ron couldn't help but ask, but Malfoy chose to ignore Ron's question.

"If he is as annoyed as Malfoy thinks, then we ought to be careful," Millie said.

"Desperate people do desperate things," Tracey nodded her agreement. "Why don't you make a deal with him that gets him what he wants? If it's respect that he's after, maybe you should to just show him some."

"My respect is earned, not given," Ron said firmly. "I'll talk to him, but I won't let him walk all over me. If I show him weakness, he's bound to exploit it." Their conversation was interrupted when the Gryffindors suddenly broke into cheers, and they all looked to see Justin lying in the sand with his limbs sprawled apart.

"Longbottom made it into the Quarterfinals," Theo chuckled. "Lucky bugger."

"He's a bit clumsy, but he tries his best," Millie said firmly. "That's what matters most."

"You seem to enjoy defending Gryffindors," Malfoy pointed out. "First Brown, and now Longbottom…"

"Unlike you, I see no point in putting others down for the sake of enjoyment," Millie said bitterly.

"Draco and Millicent, please come down," came Remus' voice, and Tracey let out a giddy giggle.

"Have fun, Millie," Tracey grinned maliciously.

"I will," Millie said with a smile, and then both Millie and Malfoy went down to the sandpit. Pretty much everyone was cheering for Millie, which was a testament to how hated Malfoy was as a person. Even some of the Gryffindors were asking Millie to teach the 'blonde ponce' a lesson.

"Merlin, I hope she manages to grab him," Tracey all but licked her lips.

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked.

"Stupefy!" Malfoy chanted, and Millie didn't even have time to react before the stunner hit her in the face.

"Did I give you the signal?" Remus asked as he ran up to Millie's side, while everyone just went dead silent. "You're disqualified, Draco." Mafloy merely smirked, and then he walked off towards the exit. _Motherfucker!_

"What a fucking prick!" Tracey grit out, while the others shared her anger. "Cowardly piece of shite!" People booed Malfoy as he left the Great Hall, but he just smirked to himself without a care. He knew that he wouldn't be able to beat her in a Duel, but wiping that smug smile off of her face had been far too tempting to simply forfeit.

"She got hit in the face," Pansy fretted. "Is she alright?"

"She'll be really dazed, but she'll be fine," Ron said, a scowl on his face. _Fucking Malfoy… A pathetic piece of garbage, just like his father._ "I'm going to go talk to Malfoy."

"Do us all a favor," Theo looked back with a frown. "And slap the shite out of him." _I just might._ Ron started walking down the steps as Madam Pomfrey helped a dazed Millie towards the Slytherin stands.

"Millie, are you alright?" Ron asked.

"Huh?" Millie blinked slowly, her head swaying back and forward.

"She is fine, Mr. Weasley," Pomfrey said. "Now please move out of the way, she needs to sit down." _Right._ Ron quickly moved aside, and Madam Pomfrey let the Slytherins help Millie up the steps.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron barged into his room, and the moment Malfoy saw him, he jumped off of his bed and aimed his wand at Ron.

"Fuck off, Weasley," Malfoy warned, his wand shaking slightly.

"Put that away, and I might not hurt you," Ron grit out, he had half a mind to throw Malfoy out of the group. _My promise to Snape be damned, I just can't stand this bastard._ "What the fuck was that?!"

"That was me knocking her down a peg!" Malfoy snapped, and Ron charged him. "Stupe-" Malfoy didn't get a chance to finish the incantation because Ron grabbed him by the collar and slammed his back into the wall. Malfoy whimpered from the impact, and his wand slipped out of his grip.

"You piece of shite!" Ron screamed in Malfoy's face, while the pale boy gasped for air. "You hit her on the head! You could've hurt her!"

"You… You all treat me like dirt…" Malfoy wheezed painfully, his eyes becoming teary. "All the time… Every time I say something… you all ridicule me…"

"It's because you're a little cunt!" Ron yelled, and then he slammed Malfoy's back against the wall again.

"You're… hurting me…" Malfoy managed, his voice cracking. "Stop…"

"Why?!" Ron demanded. "Why should I stop?! Huh?! You fucking deserve to be hurt!"

"Get off me…" Malfoy sniffled, his hands trying to break Ron's grip over his collar. Ron yanked Malfoy's body, and tossed him towards his bed. Malfoy's shins hit the bed's edges, which resulted in him tumbling over to the other side. _**Death Eater junior… We'll send pieces of you to your father.**_

"Get up!" Ron ordered as he rounded the bed, but Malfoy just let out a sob as he curled in on himself, his hands rubbing his sore shins. Ron reached down and grabbed Malfoy by the back of his neck, and then with all of his strength, he dragged Malfoy to his feet. "Why did you do that to her?!"

"Because I'm sick of it!" Malfoy cried. "I'm sick of being under attack all the fucking time! I just want to go home!" Ron blinked at him, but his face was still twisted with rage. "I just want to go home…"

"Home?" Ron asked, his breathing had become harsh from sheer anger. "What the fuck does that have to do with you attacking Millie like that?"

"I'm nothing here…" Malfoy started crying hysterically, much to Ron's confusion. _No. Don't forgive him._ _ **Hurt him!**_ Ron just stared at Malfoy, and he found himself filled with both rage and… pity.

" _ **He is your enemy…**_ " the Entity whispered, and Ron turned his head and cracked his neck. " _ **Break him. Make him your servant.**_ " Ron grabbed Malfoy by his collar, while Malfoy just kept crying.

"I'm use… useless…" Malfoy hiccupped, his hands covering his face. Ron's eyes became crimson and toad-like, and they were fixed on Malfoy's throat. _**We should repay Lucius Malfoy for his crimes against Ginny. Against Us.**_

"I don't deserve to be a Malfoy…" Malfoy let out a raspy sob, his fingers digging into his forehead. Ron blinked at that, and his grip on Malfoy's collar weakened. "A fucking failure… I'm… useless…" _He doesn't deserve to be a Malfoy?_ Images of Malfoy's Future flashed in Ron's mind, and Ron swallowed thickly.

"Malfoy, look at me," Ron said, his own voice shaking because of his conflicting feelings. _Calm down. Breathe. Just breathe._ "Malfoy, look at me."

"Leave me alone… I just… I just want to go home…" Malfoy wept. "Everyone despises… me… They spit on me…"

"Draco, sit down," Ron said as he guided Malfoy to his bed, and that's when Ron spotted blood dripping out of Malfoy's trousers. _Fuck._ Ron quickly kneeled down and pulled up Malfoy's trousers, and Malfoy let out a sharp cry. His shins were badly scraped, and already bruising. Ron felt a pang of guilt at that, he had taken things too far. _Stop feeling guilty and heal him._ Ron quickly took out his wand and aimed it at Malfoy's right shin.

"Episkey," Ron chanted, and Malfoy breathed in sharply. "It's alright, I'm just healing your legs. Episkey." With Malfoy's shins tended to, Ron lowered the crying boy's trousers. Ron then stood up and observed Malfoy, who was crying in earnest now. His face was still buried in his hands, and occasionally, he muttered the words 'disgrace' and 'useless'.

"Go… Go away…" Malfoy cried out, and he genuinely sounded like a wounded animal. "I'm done… I'm leaving this… this school…" _Leaving this school?_ It didn't take Ron long to understand that if Malfoy left Hogwarts, he'd eventually follow in his father's footsteps. The man from his vision would never come to exist, and Snape would lose his Godson in the war.

"Where will you go?" Ron asked as he sat down beside Malfoy, who tensed immediately. "I'm not going to hurt you… Again. I'm sorry."

"No… You're not…" Malfoy rubbed his eyes clear harshly, but then he started crying again. He was trying his best to regain his composure, but knowing that his enemy, Weasley, was seeing him like this only served to spiral him out of control.

"I am sorry," Ron apologized again. "I… I took things too far. Millie's not even hurt that badly, but I still completely lost it." Ron then looked to Malfoy, and he made sure to keep his face expressionless. "Why did you do that to her? What was the point?"

"I was going to lose…" Malfoy coughed out, his hands running into his hair. " **Everyone** wanted me to lose… Even the fucking Gryffindors cheered for her…" Malfoy then bent forward, his head hanging just above his knees. Ron could see thick tears and snot running down his face, and when he began pulling at his own hair, Ron grabbed his left wrist.

"Stop that," Ron said sternly.

"I don't know why I'm like this… All my fault…" Malfoy broke down again, and Ron genuinely had no idea what to do. The door swung open at that, and Tracey marched in with a murderous glare.

"Where is-" Tracey started, but she stopped immediately when she saw them. Millie, Daphne, and Blaise were right behind Tracey, and they too stopped dead in their tracks. _Millie still looks a little loopy._

"Go," Ron ordered, and they all just stared at Malfoy's heaving form. "Go!"

"C'mon, Tracey," Millie said as she pulled the confused girl out of the room, and Blaise shot Ron a meaningful look before he shut the door.

"Malfoy, just breathe," Ron advised, the pale boy looked hysterical again. "You're going to have a fucking panic attack if you keep going. Just breathe, aright?" Malfoy just started sobbing again, much to Ron's confusion. _Did I fucking stutter?_

* * *

 _ **Fifteen Minutes Later**_

Malfoy had spiraled into an anxiety attack, during which he raved about how much of a failure he was. Ron could do little but listen, and occasionally, Ron would rub his back. It was clear to Ron, however, that Malfoy had been bottling everything up, and after seeing the entire school call out for his blood, he had reached his breaking point.

Eventually, Ron had had enough. Malfoy wasn't calming down, and if he kept going, he was going to pass out from exhaustion. And so Ron had asked Daphne for a Calming Draught, which he had then poured down Malfoy's throat. As the Potion did its job, Malfoy became more and more subdued, which helped Ron in convincing Malfoy to lie down. The Malfoy Heir was drained of his spirit and strength, but he didn't fall asleep. He just lay there, his glazed eyes watching the ceiling.

"I'll be right back, Malfoy," Ron said calmly, but Malfoy barely registered his words. _I think I gave him too much. At least he's not hysterical anymore, which is a good thing._ Ron walked over to the exit, and as soon as he stepped outside, his friends circled him.

"What happened, Ron?" Daphne asked. "What really happened?"

"He had an anxiety attack," Ron sighed, he himself was really tired now. _Is this how my friends feel every time they're forced to help me?_

"What if he was faking it?" Tracey asked, and Ron shot her a deadpan look. "Yeah… He wasn't faking it…"

"Why did he have an anxiety attack?" Theo asked, and Ron realized that the Dueling Club was done for the day.

"How did your match go?" Ron asked, and Theo blinked at him.

"I won," Theo replied.

"And I lost to Padma," Pansy added. "Now tell us what triggered his anxiety attack? Was it because he hurt Millie?"

"I rather doubt that," Blaise said.

"I think it was the fact that everyone in the school wanted him to get hurt," Ron sighed out, and his friends just stared at him. "C'mon… You all saw it, right? Even the Gryffindors were cheering for Millie, and they were only doing that because they wanted him to get hurt. Hell… Even the Hufflepuffs were keen to see Malfoy hit the sand."

"That can't be it," Daphne said, she had done extensive research on the matter. "The Dueling Club served as the trigger. There has to be more, Ron."

"He ranted about being useless," Ron said slowly, he didn't want to say too much. _It feels wrong._ "Look, I think he's been feeling pretty… lonely… for a while. Isolated, you know. Today was just the last straw."

"He didn't say more?" Pansy asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"He did, but I… I don't want to say anything more," Ron told them. "He was not in his right mind, alright? It feels wrong to talk about it." Ron then looked to Millie. "How are you doing?"

"My head feels heavy, but I'm fine," Millie assured him. "What do we do about him?"

"I have no idea," Ron admitted. "He's got some issues, and we're not equipped to deal with them. He doesn't trust us, and we don't trust him. He needs help from someone else."

"What about Professor Snape?" Theo asked. "Malfoy is his Godson, and from what I remember, Malfoy looks up to him."

"That won't work," Daphne shook her head. "Malfoy will pretend to be fine in order to 'prove himself' to Professor Snape. He needs Pomfrey, Ron. He needs a professional."

"And who's going to convince him of that?" Tracey asked, she was still a little jarred from seeing Malfoy in such a state. Despite hating the git, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

"I will," Ron volunteered. _I need to talk him into staying at Hogwarts. With the Dark Lord back, he could end up getting enlisted if he's not careful._ "I have experience with Mind-Healers, and I'll share that with him."

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked. "Ron, once you tell him, he'll have that over you."

"I know, but it's the right thing to do," Ron replied. "I know how he feels… It's not a fun experience. It'll only get worse if he doesn't do something about it."

"Lunch is about to start," Pansy said. "If you want to talk to him, now would be the time."

"You guys go on," Ron said. "I'll get Marty to bring me and Malfoy some food, and while he eats, I'll talk to him. Oh… And don't hold this over him, alright? It won't get you anything."

"It was just a stunner," Millie shrugged, and Ron gave her a smile. "And it was a pretty weak one at that."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Are you hungry?" Ron asked as he walked into the room with a tray full of food, only to find Malfoy sitting up. "Malfoy?"

"Did you have a good laugh at my expense with the others?" Malfoy asked, his face completely serene.

"No," Ron replied as he used his foot to close the door. Ron then walked over to Malfoy's bed, and he planted the tray by his feet.

"Where are they?" Malfoy asked.

"Gone to lunch," Ron replied, and then he walked over and picked up Malfoy's wand from the floor.

"Then why are you here?" Malfoy asked, while Ron placed the wand by his bedside table.

"To talk to you, and to make sure that you eat," Ron replied.

"Why? Why do you do that?" Malfoy asked.

"Do what?" Ron asked in return, and then he sat down on the edge of Malfoy's bed.

"Force feed me," Malfoy replied.

"I don't force feed you," Ron frowned a little. "I'm just making sure that you don't fall over every time there's a breeze. Plus, I hate it when people don't eat properly."

"Why?" Malfoy asked out of curiosity. _He's being so civil. Maybe I should dose him more often._

"My mother, despite our poverty, worked her arse off to keep seven children fed," Ron shrugged. "I have an appreciation of food, and so I don't like it when people disrespect a good meal."

"So because you're a pauper, you appreciate food more?" Malfoy asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"I am not a pauper," Ron said firmly. "I've made something of myself."

"It's a shame that your father lacks your ambition," Malfoy said.

"Don't think that I won't clap you because you're on a Potion," Ron warned, and then he drew in another deep breath. "Don't disrespect my father."

"It was a compliment to you, Weasley," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Even I can't deny your achievements."

"Right…" Ron said slowly. "Look, Malfoy-"

"Why did you call me Draco?" Malfoy asked, and Ron blinked at him. "I heard you when I was hysterical. You used my given name."

"You weren't responding to Malfoy," Ron replied. "Every time I said it, you started spiraling even more."

"Fair enough," Malfoy looked down at his lap, his face emotionless.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ron asked.

"No."

"Alright," Ron sighed out.

"You told the others, didn't you?" Malfoy looked back to him.

"I didn't," Ron replied, and Malfoy blinked at him. "What? Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, it isn't," Malfoy admitted, his eyes fixed on Ron's. _I should wipe his face before he eats. He's a mess._ "I don't know what to think about you anymore. I hate you so much, but at the same time, I can't deny that you're not what I expected."

"Care to elaborate?" Ron asked.

"You could've left me to spiral on my own," Malfoy replied. "After all, I'd have done the same in your shoes. But you stayed… You're still here. Why? Why do that?"

"Trust me, if you saw the state that you were in, you'd have stayed too," Ron replied.

"No," Malfoy shook his head. "I wouldn't have. When you got hurt using that Lightning Spell, my only concern was that Flint was going to come after me after your death." _Merlin, that's just fucked up._ "So why, Weasley? Why stay?" _I guess it's now or never._

"Because I know how it feels," Ron replied, and Malfoy just stared at him. "I… I have had multiple panic attacks, and during each one, I felt like I was going to die. It's horrible, isn't it?"

"Theo gave you that Calming Draught," Malfoy said, it was as if he hadn't heard Ron's words. "Now it makes sense… I was wondering why he was carrying around a Calming Draught. It was for you."

"Yes, they all carry one," Ron replied, this was harder than expected. "I sometimes need them to… stay afloat."

"What have you got to worry about?" Malfoy asked. "You have power, influence, respect… Even love. You have everything."

"Do you think it all just fell into my lap?" Ron chuckled tiredly. "Last year, I was hated by the entire school. The Slytherins hated my status, thanks to you, while the other Houses labelled me as the Heir. Not to mention that my own parents turned on me while I was at my weakest."

"Turned on you?" Malfoy blinked.

"They wanted me out of Slytherin," Ron replied, much to Malfoy's surprise. "You can ask the others, it's true. I had to fight my own Blood to stay in this House, all the while dealing with the hatred of said House."

"Why fight to stay in a House that despised you?" Malfoy couldn't help but ask.

"My closest friends are Slytherins, and I want to stay by their side," Ron shrugged weakly. "So… I fought everyone. And then, I got petrified."

"By the real Heir," Malfoy nodded slowly, he was quite taken aback by this revelation. "Your sister…" _What?!_ Ron felt like someone had shaken him awake, and his face twisted from renewed anger. "I haven't told anyone, nor do I plan to. I see no advantage in it. No one would take me seriously anyway. Your sister's secret is safe with me."

"Is that so?" Ron grit out.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Malfoy asked.

"It is," Ron replied.

"That's fair," Malfoy said calmly. "There's too much bad blood between us. To you, I'm probably the worst person alive."

"No," Ron shook his head, his anger dying down a bit. "You're a prick, but you're not evil. I've seen evil. And… So have you." Malfoy tensed at that, and his eyes met Ron's. " **He** was going to kill us both that night, remember? And then, Firenze saved us."

"Firenze," Malfoy muttered. "That was his name… I've been trying to remember that name for so long."

"You forgot your savior's name?" Ron asked.

"I was a bit banged up, Weasley," Malfoy reminded Ron.

"Oh, yeah," Ron nodded. "Can you believe it, Malfoy? We, two first years, ran into the fucking Dark Lord? And not only did we run into him, but we both survived."

"Harry Potter would be proud," Malfoy smirked a little.

"Another joke? That's two today," Ron smiled.

"It's the Potion," Malfoy shrugged. "Usually, I never think of that night."

"Fair enough," Ron said, while Malfoy looked back at his lap. "Malfoy… Have you had panic attacks before?"

"Just two," Malfoy replied. "One in the Holidays, after Flint attacked me, and one after his girlfriend joined in on the fun."

"Gertrude Swans," Ron frowned a little. _The bitch who is jealous of Luna, a second year._

"She's been absent from our conflict with him," Malfoy stated. "That's not a good sign."

"Let her come," Ron said darkly. "Just because she has a cunt between her legs doesn't mean that I won't knock her teeth out." Malfoy stared at Ron, and then he shook his head. "What?"

"You… are a damn enigma," Malfoy replied, and Ron blinked at him. "I can't figure you out… I've been trying, but every time that I get close, you show me a side of you that leaves me even more confused. You have no qualms about beating women?"

"If they come after me or my own, then I won't show mercy," Ron replied. "It's quite simple, Malfoy. I treat people the way they treat others. Flint is a violent thug who enjoys causing others pain, so I caused him pain. I don't like bullies."

"But you bully bullies," Malfoy cocked an eyebrow.

"If someone only speaks French, then speaking to them in English is idiotic," Ron said calmly. "Have you seen me go after those who are just minding their own business?"

"No," Malfoy replied. "I… I used to do that…"

"And look where it landed you," Ron said, and Malfoy averted his gaze.

"Everyone hates me," Malfoy whispered to himself.

"Right now," Ron added, and Malfoy slowly looked back at him. "It's never too late to do better, Malfoy."

"You sound like the Headmaster," Malfoy said, and Ron shrugged.

"He's the wisest man I know," Ron admitted. "Even you can't deny that Albus Dumbledore is a great old bloke. Anyway… Just because people don't like you now doesn't mean that it will last. I'm proof of that. If you try to be better, and if you try to be kind, people will gravitate to you."

"Shall I make flower wreaths for all the Mud…? Muggle-Borns…" Malfoy asked with a weak smirk. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"Did I ask you to?" Ron asked, and Malfoy waited for him to go on. "You don't want to respect Muggle-Borns? Then don't. I'm simply asking you to tolerate them. This school is filled with Half-Bloods and Muggle-Borns, so being hostile to any one of them is just stupid. Plus, why do you even care about tormenting them? It just makes you into a bully, which results in people like Flint gravitating to you."

"I am a Malfoy," Malfoy said weakly. "Or at least… In name…"

"And I am a Weasley," Ron rolled his eyes. "And yet, I fought to stay in Slytherin. I even fought to keep you around. Don't forget that my own sister called me a 'fucking traitor' in the middle of the Courtyard because I chose to keep you around. You asked me why I stayed… Well, I stayed for the same reason why I've chosen to keep you around. I don't like seeing people suffer, despite my occasional ruthlessness. You don't have to be a one-sided Galleon, Malfoy. You can be compassionate **and** strong at the same time."

"I'm tired…" Malfoy whispered. "I want to sleep…" _Damn, I was getting through to him._

"Alright," Ron nodded. "But before I leave you, I need to speak to you about something important."

"What?" Malfoy asked, his eyes fixed on the tray of food.

"Your panic attacks… They won't leave," Ron said, and Malfoy looked to Ron with a slightly startled look. "Not until you get help."

"Help?" Malfoy blinked.

"Professional help," Ron clarified. "Madam Pomfrey is a qualified Mind-Healer, and-"

"No," Malfoy refused.

"Malfoy, trust me here… She can help you," Ron said firmly. "Like she helps me." Malfoy seemed to come to a realization at that.

"Mondays and Thursdays…" Malfoy said, and Ron swallowed his pride. _Just do it, Ron. Your pride isn't worth his suffering._

"I go to her, and she helps me," Ron told him, his voice slightly strained. "There is no shame in it, I promise. With her help, you can feel strong again. Confident. I have a session with her tomorrow, and if you'll let me, I'll talk to her about you. You can even come with me and speak to her yourself."

"I don't need to spill my woes to a woman that I barely know," Malfoy said, and Ron felt the need to smack his own forehead.

"She is bound to keep your secrets," Ron assured him. "Just… Just fucking come with me and talk to her, alright?"

"Is that an order?" Malfoy asked.

"Don't start a fight," Ron said in response. "I'm not trying to belittle you, or boss you around. I just know how terrible anxiety and fear can be, and she's helped me tremendously. I'm just passing on the good word." Ron stood up at that. "Make sure you finish all of that food." With that, Ron left the dorm. _Merlin… That was probably the most civil conversation that I've ever had with him._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Evening)**_

"What do you want, Weasley?" Jack Hughes frowned at him, while Aslam just looked away in disgust.

"I was hoping for a moment of Atif's time," Ron replied, his eye settling on the brown boy.

"What do you want?" Aslam asked, a bored expression on his face.

"Triumvirate business," Ron replied, and both Hughes and Aslam scoffed. "Please don't be rude, I'm trying to be civil here. I just want a conversation."

"Fine," Aslam said as he stood up, and then he walked towards an unoccupied corner. Ron followed him, and they both sat down in a couple of empty chairs. "What does the Triumvirate want?"

"They want peace and stability," Ron replied, and Aslam just stared at him. "And they want the House Cup."

"Don't we all?" Aslam remarked. _If you want it, then why are you causing problems?_

"Probably," Ron shrugged. "But we won't get it if we're divided."

"Then maybe the Triumvirate should appreciate usdelegates a bit more," Aslam said bitterly. "All they do is bark orders at us, all the while favoring you." _Wow, he's such a little bitch. He wants their attention without even earning it. He feels entitled to it._

"They don't favor me," Ron said calmly. "I've proven my worth, whereas you haven't."

"How dare you, Weasley?!" Aslam sprang to his feet, and people shot them curious looks. "I've been proving my worth since my third year! What have you done besides bully your way into power?!"

"I secured the House Cup in my first year," Ron replied, and Aslam shook his head dismissively. "Did you know that I was working for Victor Burke in my first year?"

"What?" Aslam blinked.

"It's true," Ron replied, and then he gestured Aslam to sit down. Aslam did as he was told, his black eyes fixed on Ron. "He approached me near the end of my first year, and in exchange for a powerful Spell, I helped him by securing House Points. We, of course, had that mess with Malfoy, but in the end, I managed to save the House Cup. So yeah, I've proven my worth."

"You are a third year," Aslam grit out. "You have no place being in those meetings, and you certainly have no right to give **us** orders. It's against our traditions!"

"So this is about your pride then," Ron said, even though he already knew that it was. "You don't like me because I make you feel inept."

"Shut up…" Aslam hissed.

"I am sorry that you feel that way, it was not my intent," Ron said, making sure to keep his focus on breathing. "What I did to Flint was cruel, I won't deny that. But… It was necessary. Flint was putting himself first, all the while condemning this House's Quidditch Team to a Seeker who didn't even want to play."

"So you did it for the House, is that it?" Aslam scoffed.

"I did it because I like to win," Ron replied, and Aslam blinked at him. "If the House loses, then I lose. And I don't lose."

"Right…" Aslam said slowly. "What do you want from me, Weasley?"

"I want to help you," Ron smiled.

"Then get Re-sorted into Gryffindor," Aslam stood up.

"What if I help you with the Triumvirate instead?" Ron asked, and Aslam stopped moving.

"Help me with the Triumvirate?" Aslam looked at Ron. _I mention three pretty girls, and he's immediately interested. Didn't Carey say that he's a 'constant cheater'? I guess he likes girls a bit too much._

"I propose an alliance between us," Ron replied. "We work together to keep this House under our control, and when the Triumvirate ask me how I'm doing such a great job, your name will be the first thing that I say."

"And what do you get out of this?" Aslam asked.

"I get peace of mind," Ron replied. "I'm trying to limit conflict as much as I can, and with the help of a **sixth year** delegate like **you** , my odds become favorable. We will both benefit, but only if we set aside our differences." Ron stood up at that. "What do you say, Atif? Do you want to the Triumvirate to rely on you like they rely on me?" _Ugh… That sounded shady._ Aslam looked to be thinking it over, and Ron decided to wait.

"How would this partnership work?" Aslam asked slowly. "Will you just order me around?"

"No," Ron replied. "Everything will be as it was for you before my ascension. The only difference being that occasionally, we'll work together on some issues. If you need help, you can come to me. And if I need help, I'll come to you."

"An equal partnership then?" Aslam asked, and Ron smiled at him.

"An equal partnership," Ron put his gloved hand forward for a shake. "If it works out, then the Triumvirate will certainly be grateful to you. I'll make sure of that." Aslam eyed Ron carefully, and then he shook Ron's hand.

"I'll hold you to that, Weasley," Aslam said.

* * *

 _ **Monday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – After Classes)**_

"I'm not sure about this," Malfoy complained, and Ron let out a groan. Malfoy had become disturbingly subdued since his breakdown yesterday, and although no one even brought it up, he was clearly very ashamed of himself.

"Just talk to her, alright?" Ron said. "You want to feel better, don't you?" Malfoy just stared down at his feet in response. "There's no shame it, Malfoy. I come here too."

"Does your Family know about this?" Malfoy asked, and then his cold gaze landed on Ron.

"My parents do, but not my siblings," Ron replied.

"Why don't your siblings know?" Malfoy asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Don't let him bait you, Ron._

"Because they would grow worried, and then, they'd constantly pester me with unwanted concern," Ron replied. "They're better off just enjoying their own lives instead of fretting over mine."

"So noble…" Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Not noble," Ron frowned a little. "You don't have siblings, so you wouldn't understand. Siblings can be… difficult." _Sometimes even cruel._

"Ronald, you are right on time," Madam Pomfrey said as she came out from behind a curtain, and both Ron and Malfoy stood up. Madam Pomfrey looked to Malfoy, and then she looked back to Ron.

"Good afternoon, Madam Pomfrey," Ron smiled at the Matron. "Before we start my session, could you please talk to Malfoy about Mind-Healing? He's been having a hard time at school lately."

"A hard time…" Malfoy frowned at Ron.

"Do you mind?" Ron frowned back, and then he looked back to Madam Pomfrey. "Please?"

"Certainly," Madam Pomfrey said, and then she gestured Malfoy to follow her. "Ronald, we won't be long." _Right._ Ron sat back down, while Malfoy followed Madam Pomfrey into her Office.

Ron waited for about five minutes, and then he began pacing back and forth. He truly despised just sitting around, especially when there was work to be done. Ron wanted to discuss his ongoing dreams about Stoatshead Hill, and the fact that he always woke up in a cold sweat. He had mentioned his odd dreams to Madam Pomfrey last Thursday, and she had said something about his 'subconscious mind' trying to show him something. Ron knew that his 'subconscious mind' was most likely the Entity, and that truly scared him.

Ten more minutes passed before the door to Madam Pomfrey's Office opened, and both she and Malfoy stepped out. Ron quickly walked over to them, his eyes fixed on a downcast Malfoy. _He looks like he's grieving._

"Well?" Ron asked.

"Tuesdays and Wednesdays…" Malfoy all but whispered, and then he just walked away with his head hanging low.

"Don't worry, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey said gently. "You used to leave my Office with a similar look about you."

"Really?" Ron asked, he couldn't remember that. _But then again, the last few months of second year were horrible for me._

"Come inside," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron followed her in. While she closed and locked the door, Ron made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Do I get a reward for bringing you more business?" Ron joked, and Madam Pomfrey just smiled at him.

"You've done a good thing, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked to her seat, and Ron lost most of his humor.

"Yeah… Well, I know how he feels…" Ron said offhandedly.

"Shall we start your session?" Pomfrey asked, she could see that he was feeling a little embarrassed. Ron gave her a nod, and she pulled out his file from her desk. "How have you been, Ronald?"

"Same as usual," Ron shrugged weakly. "A little… distracted… My dreams are still focused on Stoatshead Hill. Every night, I find myself there… And they're not normal dreams either. I feel so awake in them."

"Perhaps a lucid dream?" Pomfrey suggested.

"Maybe…" Ron said slowly. "I can feel the grass beneath my bare feet, I can smell the fresh air, I can feel the Sun warming my skin, and I feel this sense of peace there that I've never felt before. It's just… surreal. But when I wake up, I'm covered in sweat and I can barely breathe."

"Very interesting," Madam Pomfrey jotted down some notes. "Do you still cry in your sleep?"

"I don't know," Ron replied. "I've started using the Silencing Charm on my bed curtains… I don't want my friends to hear me…"

"Tell me more about Stoatshead Hill, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey said. "The **real** Stoatshead Hill."

"Well, I've only been there once," Ron started, his mind traveling back to his childhood. "It was a really good day, I think. I was around seven and a half, and both Bill and Charlie had come back from Hogwarts. They were being really kind to me, mostly because the twins had recently murdered my Puffskein."

"Murdered your Puffskein?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Yeah…" Ron sighed, he remembered just how much he hated the twins after that. "After the twins pranked me one night, I tattled on them out of spite. The twins were furious, and so they stole my pet and used it for Bludger practice."

"My word…" Pomfrey gasped.

"I was heartbroken… I loved that ratty old thing so much… He was my first pet…" Ron smiled sadly. "At night, he'd sneak onto my bed in order to eat my bogeys with his long tongue. I always caught him in the act, but instead of shooing him away, I'd snuggle him until we both fell asleep. I really did love that Puffskein… But you know what's weird? I can't remember his name. I found him in our gardens, I adopted him immediately, I fed him food from my own plate, and I even let him sleep in my bed… And yet, I can't remember his name. All I know is that after he was killed, Bill and Charlie helped me bury him on Stoatshead Hill."

"That's why we were up there," Ron went on. "I never told mum and dad… I was too scared of the twins. I thought that if I tattled on them again, they'd kill me too. Bill and Charlie only found out because Ginny wanted to play with my Puffskein, and when I started crying, she ran off to find our big brothers. I told them what happened, and after Charlie was done with the twins, we all went to Stoatshead Hill to bury my pet. The twins apologized to me for the first time in their lives, and me being the desperate attention seeker that I was, forgave them immediately. Even if I spent the next few days crying myself to sleep."

"What else happened on Stoatshead Hill?" Pomfrey asked.

"We had a picnic, and I was the center of attention for a change," Ron replied. "Ginny held my hand, the twins did whatever I asked of them, Percy even hugged me, and Bill and Charlie told me stories about Hogwarts. They were all there for me, and I was really happy. Sad, but happy."

"You felt cherished," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron nodded.

"I felt really cherished," Ron looked down at his feet.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 4th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Greenhouses – After Breakfast)**_

"Diffindo," Ron chanted, and a pink light emanated from his wand. The Vampiric Plant was defanged, and Ron quickly collected the fangs and handed them to Malfoy.

"I'll give these a wash," Malfoy said as he walked off, while Ron grabbed the potted plant and set it on the table. His eyes landed on Padma and Blaise, both of whom were working in dead silence. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Theo scolding Anthony Goldstein for hurting the plant with a badly aimed Severing Charm. _Poor Theo… Forced to work with a Ravenclaw because Blaise wants to work with his girlfriend._

"Wish I had that privilege," Ron whispered under his breath, his eyes darting towards Daphne. She saw him looking at her, and she shot him a wink. Ron smiled like a bashful little girl, his stomach feeling light and floaty. _Our date is coming up! Saturday can't come fast enough!_ She smiled back at him, and he could tell that she was failing to school her features. _She's just as excited!_

"Weasley, do you mind waking up?" came Malfoy's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"I am awake," Ron frowned at him, and Malfoy cocked an eyebrow in response. "What? I am!"

"Really? Because you and Greengrass keep eyeballing each other every ten minutes," Malfoy stated. "I've done most of the work here. Now clean up the plant already."

"Fine," Ron rolled his eyes. _Annoying twat._ Ron started washing the plant with Aguamenti, and after a few seconds, it began to dance happily. _You like that?_ "Who's a cute little plant?"

"Hardly cute," Malfoy sneered at it. "It bit me…"

"Its teeth were agitating it," Ron smirked. "But now look at it. It's so happy!"

"Your good mood is revolting," Malfoy stated, but Ron simply ignored him. _Three days, counting this one, and I'll be with Daphne for the whole day. Yay!_

And that's when he felt it… A sudden pull at the back of his mind. It jarred the smile off of his face, and his wand stopped Conjuring up water. Time seemed to slow down for him, or maybe his mind had started working at a much faster rate. His heartbeat rang in his ears, while his lungs refused to take in air. Cold tendrils wrapped themselves around his limbs, numbing his flesh as they went.

" _ **Champion,**_ " the Entity whispered, and Ron felt his body seize up. He could hear Malfoy scolding him in the background, but the pale boy's voice was severely distorted.

" _Entity?_ " Ron thought, and he heard it growl weakly. " _What is it? Why can't I feel my limbs?_ "

" _ **Come to us…**_ " the Entity whispered. " _ **Give into the pull… We must speak…**_ " Ron felt his head spin, and his eyes moved around the Greenhouse slowly. Professor Sprout was rushing towards him, while the students all looked terrified. _What's wrong?_ " _ **Come to us…**_ "

Ron fell back, and his vision was overtaken by darkness.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Bam! Another one! I hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it. We've reached 1.6 million words now, I think. Crazy, right?**

 **Thank you for following this story, and for your never ending support!**

 **I'll see you all on Sunday for the next one!**


	86. Chapter 86 - No Rest for the Wicked

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 86 is here! Sorry about being late, life got busy af! I'm looking for a job, so there's that mess to deal with. Real life sucks butthole, doesn't it?**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 86 - No Rest for the Wicked**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Dream Hogwarts**_

"Entity!" Ron called as he walked into the Courtyard, his eyes scanning the colorless surroundings. "Where are you?!"

" _ **Champion, come closer…**_ " the Entity spoke, and Ron immediately stopped moving as he spotted the Entity's form. It was a horrible amalgamation of human body parts and toad-like eyes, and Ron immediately vomited as his mind began to process what it had just seen. _What the fucking fuck…?_

"Change… Change forms…" Ron managed before he completely emptied his stomach.

" _ **Approach…**_ " the Entity whispered, and Ron stumbled away from his mess. _Ugh… I'm going to vomit again… What did I just see?_

"What was that?" Ron muttered, his back turned to the Entity.

" _ **Turn around…**_ " the Entity growled, and Ron felt his body resist his brain.

"I'm trying… I can't think…" Ron blinked repeatedly, it was as if his brain was forcing itself to shut down. "This has… has… never… happened…" Ron fell to his knees, his stomach twisting from absolute fear and anxiety. "What's… happening…? Why… am I here?" _It was Xeno… Or maybe Luna… An open chest cavity filled with unblinking eyes… Mangled appendages… Gaping pores leaking pus…_ Ron gagged again, but nothing came out.

" _ **Champion… You are killing yourself,**_ " the Entity spoke, and Ron curled in on himself. His body began to shake, and he wasn't sure if he was breathing anymore. _Bloodied flesh… Maggots feasting…_ Ron's vision began to darken, and then, he was gone.

* * *

" _ **WAKE UP!**_ "

Ron jerked awake, his breathing erratic. _Where am I?_ Ron stood up in a hurry, but his legs felt weak and wobbly, which caused him to stumble to his side. Ron just lay there, his face pressed against the cold stones of the Courtyard.

"I can't remember… What did I see?" Ron whispered to himself. He was certain that he had seen something that had nearly driven him mad, but try as he might, he couldn't remember it.

" _ **You saw Us,**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron heard himself whimper. " _ **Or at least, a very small part of Us. Your mind tried to conceive an image for you, but it was overwhelmed by the unimaginable. We have wiped the memory from your mind for your safety.**_ "

"My safety?" Ron whispered, his face still pressed against the ground.

" _ **We are too weak to assume a proper form… A mistake on Our part…**_ " the Entity's voice echoed around him, and Ron rolled onto his back with great effort.

"A mistake?" Ron asked, he was surprised to hear the Entity admit fault for once. "Are you still hurt?"

" _ **We are savaged…**_ " the Entity replied, and Ron wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Fate hasn't helped you?" Ron couldn't help but ask, his eyes marveling the colored lights in the sky. _They're back?_

" _ **She observes, and Chronicles,**_ " the Entity replied. " _ **Of all the Aspects of Creation, she is the most indifferent.**_ "

"Aspects of Creation?" Ron asked.

" _ **Death… Fate… Time… Dream… Love… Destruction… The Beings spawned at the Beginning of Creation,**_ " the Entity said, its voice suddenly filled with malice and bitterness. " _ **The Beings that serve as the Foundation of the Infinite Realms, and who keep it in balance. Enemies of the Void…**_ " _Fucking hell… What the fuck is it talking about?_

"I don't know what you're on about…" Ron muttered to himself, he just wanted to go back to the real Hogwarts. "Just stop… I don't want to know… It's too much… I have no place in this…"

" _ **Very well,**_ " the Entity obliged. " _ **There is something that we must show you, Champion.**_ "

"What is it?" Ron asked, his eyes glazed over. _Such pretty lights. What do they represent in my mind?_

" _ **The Beginning of the Cycles.**_ "

* * *

Ron found himself standing over a very familiar hill, and after glancing around, he realized that he was on Stoatshead Hill again. The only difference this time was that it was nighttime, and there was no feeling of peace. If anything, Ron felt cold and alone.

" _Useless_ …" a cold voice whispered, and Ron shot panicked looks around himself. _Who the fuck was that?_ " _Cowardly. Weak. You are not needed here. They are better off without you. Look at them. They don't need to involve you because they understand that you have nothing to offer. You are a burden to them. You are a burden to_ _ **her**_ _._ "

"Who the fuck are you, bitch?!" Ron yelled, his temper flaring.

" _I thought you knew what you'd signed up for,_ " came Harry's voice, it was rough and strained. _Harry? Am I hearing a past life's experience?_

" _Yeah, I thought I did too,_ " came his own voice, it was laced with bitterness. _That answers that._ Ron decided to listen quietly, maybe he could hear something useful from this memory.

" _So what part of it isn't living up to your expectations?_ " Harry demanded angrily. " _Did you think that we'd be staying in five star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you'd be back to Mummy by Christmas?"_

" _We thought we knew what you were doing!_ " his own voice yelled, and Ron flinched from the sudden increase in volume. " _We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!_ "

The voices became distorted, and Ron felt the back of his head begin to ache. The wind around him began to howl, and before long, Ron was shielding his face from the stormy winds. He could feel a presence near him, but when he looked around through squinted eyes, he saw nothing.

" _Take off the Locket, Ron,_ " came Hermione's voice, it was unusually high. " _Please take it off. You wouldn't be talking like this if you hadn't been wearing it all day._ "

" _Yes, he would,_ " Harry spat out. " _D'you think I haven't noticed the two of you whispering behind my back? D'you think I didn't guess you were thinking this stuff?_ "

" _Harry, we weren't-_ " Hermione started, but his own voice cut her off.

" _Don't lie!_ " his voice bellowed, and Ron shielded his ears. " _ **You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you'd thought he had a bit more to go on then-**_ "

" _ **I didn't say it like that- Harry, I didn't!**_ " Hermione cried, and Ron found himself getting irritated.

"Stop fighting each other, you idiots!" Ron yelled into the night. "What kind of friends are you three?! Throw away the Locket! It's Dark Magic!"

" _So why are you still here?_ " Harry hissed.

" _Search me,_ " his own voice spat out.

" _ **Go home then!**_ " Harry roared.

" _ **Yeah, maybe I will!**_ " his own voiced roared back. Golden lightning thundered above Ron, and he look up to see the clouds forming a maelstrom.

"Oh, fuck!" Ron yelled in panic, and then he tried to bolt towards safety. A golden light could be seen in the middle of the maelstrom, and as Ron ran towards the trees on top of the hill, the light kept growing in intensity. By the time Ron reached the trees, the night had given way to a golden hue that engulfed the hills. "What's happening?! Fate?!"

Golden lightning cracked through the sky once again, and a low hum began to emanate from the golden light. Ron felt as if the Earth was vibrating under his feet, and so he steadied himself by holding onto the nearest tree. Ron couldn't deny that he was genuinely frightened right now. It was as if the entire planet was trembling from fear, and the howling wind served as its scared voice.

" _ **Leave the Horcrux!**_ " came Harry's voice, and Ron barely managed to hear it.

" _What are you doing?_ " his own voice came.

" _What do you mean?_ " Hermione cried.

" _Are you staying, or what?_ " his voice questioned bitterly.

" _I…_ " Hermione muttered. " _Yes- yes, I'm staying. Ron, we said we'd go with Harry, we said we'd help-_

" _I get it. You choose him,_ " his voice said bitterly.

" _Ron, no! Please come back! Come back!_ " Hermione wept and screamed, and Ron heard a crack much like Disapparating. " _I love you... Don't leave me…_ "

That's when Ron heard a whip-like crack from behind him, and when he turned around, he saw an older version of himself marching out of the trees. The older Ron was rugged, badly shaven, wore tattered clothes, and looked terribly pale. Ron couldn't help but notice that his counterpart was wearing his arm in a bloody sling, and that he was clutching onto a wand with his free, trembling hand.

"He left them to come here?" Ron asked himself, but his musing was disrupted by golden lightning and thunder. The older Ron suddenly stopped walking, and he began to look around with wide-eyes.

"Notice something different, did you?!" Ron yelled at his counterpart, all the while holding onto a tree for dear life. "Fucking run, you imbecile!"

"Mum… Dad…" the older Ron muttered, his shocked eyes darting in the direction of the Burrow. "What's going on?!"

"Run!" Ron yelled at his counterpart, and much to his surprise, his counterpart did exactly that. The older Ron began to run as fast as he could down the hill, his eyes fixed in the direction of the Burrow.

"What the fuck is going on?!" the older Ron yelled, and just as he finished, a golden lightning bolt struck him.

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelled as his counterpart simply crumpled. "Oh, shite… Oh, fucking shite…" Ron slid down the tree's side, his scared eyes fixed on his smoking counterpart. "She fucking killed him…"

"Not quite," came a voice from behind him, and Ron jerked around. A young boy stood right behind him, his handsome young face supporting a half-smile. "I told you not to linger here, didn't I?"

"What? Who are you?" Ron managed, the wind had picked up even more and Ron could barely keep his eyes open. The young boy, however, didn't even seem to register the wind.

"Just watch, Ronald," the young boy said softly, his sharp black suit flapping in the wind. "My sister is about to do something very cruel."

"What the fucking shite are you talking about?" Ron whimpered, his heart beating in his ears. "Stop this! Please!"

"Don't be afraid, mortal," the boy said in a gentle voice, and then his blue eyes began to glow. "She is here."

Ron looked back to his counterpart, who was twitching weakly, and Ron found himself wanting to shelter his dying counterpart. Something terrible was coming, Ron could feel it in his bones. And that's when the golden light in the sky exploded, and Ron quickly hid his eyes from the blinding light.

"Watch," the boy said, and Ron somehow managed to look back to his counterpart.

Ron's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight of a golden woman descending down from the heavens. Her beauty was indescribable, but if Ron had to choose one word, he'd choose 'Divine'. Her golden hair flowed behind her as she descended, its length was twice the size of her body. And within her hands was a black flame, one that was filled with crimson, toad-like eyes. _Entity?_

Ron slowly stood up, his eyes fixed on the most beautiful being that he had ever seen. And then, without even thinking, Ron began to walk towards her. He could feel the Earth calming down because of her presence, just as he was, and the closer he got to her, the safer he felt. She had an air of tranquility about her, and although her face showed indifference, it did nothing to mar her beauty. As she landed beside his counterpart, Ron fell to his knees in awe.

"Champion, you have doomed this Universe," Fate spoke, her voice was as soft as the clouds that she had descended from. "Why did you abandon your post?"

"They fought," Ron told Fate, but she didn't seem to hear him. Her golden eyes were fixed on his counterpart, who was still twitching from the lightning bolt. "He left them…"

"Harry Potter will drown, and the Lord of Serpents will continue to live," Fate spoke to his counterpart. "The balance between Life and Death has been broken. You will fix what you have shattered." The black flame in her hands began to resist her, but to no avail. "The World-Eater will guide you. See through its eyes, Champion. Redemption awaits you."

"Redemption?" Ron asked Fate, but once again, she didn't seem to hear him. _She can't see me, can she? I'm in the past, right? Fuck, this is so confusing._

The black flame was pulled into his counterpart's back, which resulted in his counterpart screaming and thrashing about. Ron quickly got off of his knees, the indifferent look on Fate's face shattered his illusions about her 'Divinity'. His counterpart screamed so loudly that Ron had to cover his ears, he had never seen a creature in so much pain before. And then, the older Ron just stopped. _He's… dead…_

"A bit harsh, don't you think?" came the young boy's voice, and both Ron and Fate looked to him.

"Dream," she greeted, and the young boy shot Ron a wink. Fate followed her brother's gaze to Ron, but she saw nothing. Ron, on the other hand, froze as her golden eyes lingered in his direction. It was a terrible feeling; being in awe of something that frightened you unlike anything ever had.

"This Universe is coming undone," Dream hummed, his young face harboring a calm smile. "Destruction's handiwork, no doubt."

"Why are you here, brother?" Fate asked, while Ron just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"I merely followed a dreamer here," Dream chuckled, his blue eyes glowing just as brightly as Fate's golden ones. "It matters not, beloved sister. All that matters is that you have done something terrible."

"Terrible?" Fate asked, her face completely indifferent.

"Poor boy…" Dream said softly, his expression became saddened as he looked at Ron's counterpart.

"His selfishness has put the balance in danger," Fate said coldly. "He will fix his mistake, and balance will be restored to this Realm."

"He dreamed of becoming something more than he was," Dream said, his voice filled with sadness. "I truly enjoyed his dreams."

"You can keep enjoying them," Fate said as she began to float into the air. "The Cycles will keep my Champion alive until his work is done. Time has helped me trap this Universe within a loop, one that will start once Destruction finishes his work."

"His dreams will never be the same," Dream sighed, and then he looked up to his ascending sister. "They deserve better than us."

"They are specks of sand within Time's Hourglass," Fate said, her body beginning to glow golden. "The balance must be preserved."

With that, Fate's body vanished in a bright golden light. Ron covered his eyes, he really had no idea what he had just witnessed. Once the golden light had dissipated, Ron looked around for Fate. She was gone, and Ron's sense of fear and awe left with her. He felt completely hollow now, and because of that, his eyes began to sting.

He was so confused, but at the same time, he understood what had just happened. His counterpart had abandoned his friends, which had resulted in Harry's death. Without Harry alive to fulfill the Prophecy made by Trelawney, the Dark Lord had emerged victorious. His Horcruxes made him immortal, which disrupted the balance of Creation. Death, in turn, decided to destroy this particular Universe, but Fate intervened for her brother's sake. Ron didn't know how he understood this, but he just did. All the clues that he had received over the last two years simply formed a picture in his mind.

As Ron stood on Stoatshead Hill, he felt his Universe crumbling out of existence. Life was coming to an end, and it was all his fault. He had abandoned his friends in the middle of a war for some comfort, and this was his punishment. The Cycles were his punishment, and only when he succeeded would he be redeemed. He couldn't describe the pain he felt right now. It was as if his soul was mourning its own weakness. It was as if it was ashamed to even exist.

"There is nothing here for you," Dream looked to Ron, who was silently sobbing to himself. "You are not just a speck of sand, Ron."

"I did… did this…" Ron hid his face in his hands, and then he fell to his knees. "I'm to blame… No one but me…"

"The Star of Madness has bled into your mind," Dream said, and then he walked up and cradled Ron's head into his small chest. Ron knew that he was speaking to a Being like Fate, but in this moment, he didn't care. He desperately clung to the boy, his shame and fear overwhelming him. "I am so sorry, Ron."

"Sorry?" Ron cried out.

"Your dreams were so beautiful once," Dream whispered, his small hands comforting Ron. "I am so sorry that we did this to you, and I am so sorry that they are seeing you suffer like this."

Ron tried to clutch onto Dream even harder, but the World fell apart beneath him. A terrified scream tore out of his throat as he fell into the darkness beneath him, his sense were bombarded with the sight and sound of Worlds colliding and Stars dying. The Universe had come undone.

* * *

Ron landed on his back, and the wind was knocked out of his lungs. His eyes ached because of the sudden Sunlight, while his lungs were suddenly filled with fresh air. He knew this smell. _Home._ Ron was emotionally exhausted, his mind had reached its limits. He felt as if a Dementor had devoured his soul, but he knew that that wasn't the case because he could still feel it mourning.

"Kill me…" Ron begged, his voice cracking. "I don't want this…"

"Fred! Give that back!" came his own voice, only it was high-pitched. Ron turned his head to his left, and he saw an eight year old version of himself chasing after Fred in the gardens. Ginny and Luna stood by watching, and Luna seemed to be holding Ginny back. Ron let out a weak sob at the sight of his new vision, he knew what was about to happen. _Why aren't they in the Kitchen?_

"Give it back to him!" Ginny screamed at Fred, while little Luna jumped with fright. "He's got a headache!"

"Little whiny baby Ronnikins," Fred laughed, his body easily dodging his frustrated attacker.

"I'm telling mum and Miss. Lovegood," Ginny warned. " **It's his birthday, Fred!** Stop being a prat!"

"Fine, fine…" Fred stopped dodging, and then he handed his little brother the icepack. "I was only trying to lighten his mood."

"You're not funny, Fred," his younger self hissed, and then his face contorted from pain.

His younger self dropped the icepack at that, and then he clutched his head and began to scream. The others all jerked into a panic, but Fred somehow managed to grab his little brother before he collapsed. A loud ringing sound filled Ron's ears, and he knew that only he and his child counterpart could hear it. And then, there was an explosion of Magic which sent the concerned siblings reeling back.

Ron let out a pained wail because of what had just happened. He knew that the little red-haired boy had been sentenced to a life just as miserable as his own. He knew that the Entity would abuse this boy for the rest of his remaining life. He knew that this boy was doomed to failure already. The first Cycle had begun.

"What happened?!" came his mother's shriek, and Ron heard footsteps emanating from the other direction. "Ginny?! Are you hurt?!"

"Mum… Ronnie did it…" Ginny looked to her approaching mother.

"Did what?" Pandora asked as she and Molly moved into Ron's view. Both women checked on their daughters, while Fred had moved back to his brother's side.

"Mum, he's hurt!" Fred called, and Molly Weasley was beside them in a second.

"Pandora! St. Mungo's!" Molly Weasley cried, and Ron saw Pandora run back to the house. "My baby! Ronnie! No, no, no, no! What happened?!"

As the children began to blurt out their explanations, Ron found himself staring at his younger self. He knew that he was still crying because his vision was blurry, but he couldn't hear himself. Images of a pale-blue redhead hanging from the rafters of his room flashed in Ron's mind, and he released another wet sob.

"Four hundred and sixty three," Ron coughed out, and his eyes shut tightly. "Four hundred and sixty four…"

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 4th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office - Near Midnight)**_

"How is he, Severus?" Albus asked as Snape stepped into the Office.

"Still out of commission," Snape replied, and then he shut the door. "Poppy has retired for the night, there is nothing more to be done. He will wake up when he wakes up."

"His Brain-Damage?" Albus asked, his expression was hardened.

"Same as before," Snape sat down in his empty chair, his eyes darting towards Ron's empty chair. _I always sit on the left, while he sits on the right._ "Poppy informed me that his seizure was a result of exhaustion, and that his Magical Core was rather drained. However, his brain was also inflamed. Poppy found that to be very strange."

"The Entity?" Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his crooked nose.

"Most likely," Snape said. _I wonder if Ron is suffering at that monster's hands as we speak._ The thought jarred him more than he expected, and Snape looked back to Ron's empty seat.

"Has Poppy informed his Family?" Albus asked.

"No, but the entire school has heard about his seizure," Snape replied. "His siblings have most likely informed his parents."

"Then we should expect them to barge into the castle tomorrow," Albus said.

"Good, you can ask them about their two eldest sons then," Snape said, and Albus blinked at him. "We have yet to hear from them, Albus."

"You…" Albus started, but then he adorned a calmer expression. "You are right, Severus. We should focus on what we **can** change, as opposed to obsessive over Ronald's predicament." _I am not obsessing over anything._ A sudden crack in the room pulled Snape out of his thoughts, and quirky House-Elf ran up to them.

"Headmaster, Ronald Weasley has woken up!" the House-Elf reported.

"Ah… Wonderful news, Mimsy," Albus said as both wizards stood up. "You can go back to the Kitchens now. Thank you for watching over him."

"Mimsy is happy to serve, Headmaster," Mimsy bowed, and then she disapparated. Snape and Albus quickly made their way out of the Office, and then they rushed to the Hospital Wing.

"It is fortunate that we will be the first faces that he sees," Albus said as they began walking down the Moving Staircase. "We can talk to him about what **really** happened."

"I'm not sure that I want to, Albus," Snape admitted. _The less I know about the Entity, the better._

"He must be shown that he is not alone," Albus said firmly. "Don't speak if you don't want to, but don't leave his side."

"I understand," Snape said calmly, though he was beginning to dread what state Ron was going to be in. As they entered the Hospital Wing, Snape took the lead. Ron's bed was at the back of the Hospital Wing, and it was sealed away with thick white curtains. "In here, Albus." With that, Snape stepped through the curtains. He stopped at the sight of Ron, who was just staring ahead of himself with a blank look as he sat up against the head of his bed.

"Dear boy," Albus said, but Ron didn't even respond. His blotchy, tear soaked face was completely expressionless, and his glazed eyes weren't even moving. Albus moved past Snape and sat down by Ron's bed, his old hands taking Ron's scarred one.

"What happened to you, my boy?" Albus asked softly, his left palm traveling to Ron's forehead. Snape moved to the end of the bed, and he couldn't help but wonder if Ron could even see him. _What did it do to him this time?_ Snape used his Occlumency to help himself regain his focus, he needed to stay on task.

"Ron, are you there?" Snape asked, and Ron suddenly blinked. His bloodshot eyes traveled to Snape, and then to Albus.

"Speak to us, Ronald," Albus said with a kind smile.

"First Cycle…" Ron croaked, and then he looked down at his own lap. "All my fault… I started the Cycles…" _Does this mean what I think it does?_

"You saw how your Cycles began?" Albus asked, while Snape moved a bit closer.

"I saw too much…" Ron whispered, fresh tears leaking out of his eyes.

"Show us," Albus said, and Snape couldn't help but detect a bit of intrigue in Albus' voice.

* * *

 _ **In the Pensieve**_

"This is unwise," Snape warned as they landed in the memory, his eyes quickly scanning the bright woods. Albus had extracted the memory from Ron's mind, with his consent, and both Snape and Albus had travelled back to the Headmaster's Office to view it. Ron had become unresponsive after giving them the memory, and after waiting for him to say anything at all, both wizards had taken their leave.

"I wish to see this, Severus," Albus responded, and then his gaze became fixed. "Ronald. There he is." Both wizards began to walk towards the redhead who was hugging a tree for stability, but a force stopped them from moving mid-step.

"You shouldn't be here," a young boy stepped out from behind a nearby tree, his neat appearance illuminated by the golden light. _What is this?! This child… He can see us within a memory?! And not just see us… He even has control over us?! Who is he?!_ Snape's entire body was frozen, and he knew that Albus was in a similar situation. Panic began to sink in, and Snape tried to will himself to move. The young boy then looked to Ron, and a sad smile graced his face.

"You must wait to see this, just like the others," the boy told them, and Snape was genuinely lost. _I don't understand…_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office - Past Midnight)**_

Both wizards were hurled out of the Pensieve, and while Snape landed on a chair, Albus was sent reeling to the floor. They both just lay in their spots for a while, both men were completely jarred by what had just happened.

"Gods…" Albus broke the silence, and Snape began to stand up at the sound of his voice. "We just met one of them, Severus…"

"One of who?" Snape asked as he helped Albus up, his eyes scanning the old man's slightly awed expression.

"The Higher Beings…" Albus said, and Snape's blood turned to ice. _No…_ "He saw us within a memory, Severus… He cast us out…"

"How?" Snape demanded, his confusion and uncertainty filled him with anger.

"He spoke of others… We weren't alone in that memory… Did you feel it?" Albus went on, his eyes turning a little manic. Snape shook the old wizard out of his thoughts, and Albus blinked at him.

"What just happened, Albus?" Snape asked, his heartbeat increasing. "Explain…"

"The golden light… The presence of a Higher Being… We must speak with Ronald," Albus said, and then he walked past Snape in a hurry. Snape followed after his Mentor, but he found himself slightly hesitant. Albus had a look about him that didn't sit well with Snape.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had told them of what the memory was supposed to show them. Snape couldn't believe what he was hearing, while Albus had listened to every word with complete focus. The first Cycle had begun because the original Ron had abandoned Granger and Potter, which had resulted in Potter's death by drowning. The Dark Lord had won the war as a result, and his immortality was set in stone.

That is until Fate interfered, and now Ron was trapped in an endless loop of suffering and hardship. The boy's story was difficult to grasp, but Snape knew that it was the truth. After all, 'Dream' had just spoken with them within someone else's memory. Snape could only imagine the power it would take to be completely omniscient, and the fact that he had met a Being that **was** omniscient frightened him. It made him feel so small. _Like a speck of sand within Time's Hourglass._

"All my fault," Ron muttered, he looked utterly spent. "Honorless coward… A traitor… A fucking traitor…" A storm waged on outside, and after Ron stunned them with his bitter words about himself, Snape and Albus just sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Ronald, can you hear me?" Albus suddenly whispered, and then he looked to Snape. _Give me minute, old man._ Albus looked back to Ron, and then he took the boy's scarred hand in his own. "Dear boy, listen to my voice. Let go of your thoughts. You are longer within your vision. Don't keep traveling back to it."

"Albus, stop," Snape broke his silence, and Albus looked to him. "He's done for the night. Let him sleep."

"Do you have a vial of Sleeping Draught?" Albus asked, and Snape reached into his robes and pulled out a dark purple vial. He handed the Potion over to Albus, who carefully fed it to Ron.

"What was that?" Ron broke out of his stupor, his voice was slow and cracked.

"Something to help you rest, Ronald," Albus replied with a gentle voice, and then he eased Ron into his bed. Snape just stood by as Albus whispered comforting things to the drowsy boy, and as Ron finally closed his eyes, Snape turned to leave. "Severus-"

"I am retiring for the night," Snape said without looking back. "I need to think…" _When did everything become so… large? And what did Dream mean by 'You must wait to see this, just like the others'. What others?_

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Before Breakfast)**_

Daphne and her friends made their way into the Hospital Wing, and they stopped at the sight of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaw. Ron's siblings and the Golden Trio were speaking with Pomfrey, and from what Daphne could hear, they were arguing with the Matron.

"Great," Pansy frowned deeply. "We didn't get here before them." _I see that Ginevra has finally seen sense._

"Then we should cut the line," Theo said, and then he led them towards the other visitors.

"Why can't we see him if he's awake?" one of the twins demanded.

"Madam Pomfrey, just a quick look," Percy added. "Please? We just want to see if he's fine."

"Is something wrong?" Theo asked the Matron, and the other visitors turned to see the Slytherins.

"Ronald is not up to seeing visitors," Madam Pomfrey told them all. "He has just been sedated, and company seems to agitate him. Come back when he's feeling better." _Company agitates him? And why did she need to sedate him?_

"If he's feeling lousy, then you should let us see him," the other twin argued. "We'll cheer him up." That's when it hit Daphne, she had seen this habit of Ron's before. _He craves isolation whenever he's severely stressed, which leads to him feeling lonely and depressed. He inadvertently makes himself more upset._

"Let me see him," Daphne stepped forward, she would be damned if she didn't see what state her boyfriend was in. "Just me, and no one else." Madam Pomfrey blinked at that, while everyone else just stared at her.

"Fat chance, Greengrass," Ginny said haughtily.

"Oh, you're back now?" Tracey asked Ginny, who lost all of her defiance immediately. "What makes you think that you even deserve to see him after all the misery you've caused him?"

"Back off, Davis," Potter warned, while Granger pulled Ginny behind herself. Daphne decided to ignore the pointless chatter, and she walked up to Pomfrey.

"I've dealt with his breakdowns before," Daphne whispered, but the twins heard her.

"Breakdowns?!" the twins exclaimed, and all the chatter died. _Shite! They were listening in!_ While everyone just stared at the twins' outburst, Daphne felt the urge to slap them both.

"He has breakdowns?" Granger asked, her mouth hanging open. Even Luna looked quite surprised for a change, while Daphne's friends looked genuinely annoyed with her.

"Be quiet," Daphne hissed at them all, much to Granger and Ginny's irritation. "He can hear you." Daphne then looked back to the Matron. "Please let me see him, I know how to get through to him when he's like this. He shouldn't be left alone."

"It's true," Blaise spoke up. "Daphne always helps him feel better."

"And he opens up to her," Tracey added, her eyes fixed on Ginny and Granger.

"Miss. Greengrass, I cannot-" Pomfrey started, but Daphne cut her off.

"Please? Just thirty seconds, and if he tells me to leave, I'll go," Daphne said, making sure to keep her voice strong and steady. Madam Pomfrey looked back to Ron's curtained bed, and then she gave Daphne a curt nod.

"Just thirty seconds," Madam Pomfrey said as she turned around and made her way to Ron's bed, and everyone followed after her. _Are they seriously following me?_ "The rest of you will stay out here. Miss. Greengrass… Come with me." Daphne followed Madam Pomfrey past the curtains, while some of Ron's visitors muttered incoherently behind her.

"What did you give him?" Daphne couldn't help but ask when she saw Ron's bored expression. _What is he staring at?_

"A small dose of Calming Draught and Sleeping Draught," Madam Pomfrey replied. "He was spiraling towards a mental breakdown this morning, and in order to keep him in check, I had to sedate him." _Merlin, Ron…_

"Was his seizure at fault?" Daphne asked, her voice becoming weaker.

"Perhaps," Madam Pomfrey said uncertainly. "He hasn't spoken a word to me." _My turn then._ Daphne walked up beside Ron, and she quickly noticed that his right hand wasn't covered.

"Where is his glove?" Daphne whispered, and Madam Pomfrey gestured to the bedside table. Daphne carefully picked it up and put it on Ron's hand, which got his attention. "Hello, Ron."

"Hi," Ron croaked, his dull eyes fixed on hers. Daphne felt the urge to pull him into a hug, but she physically restrained herself from doing so. _I can't be overbearing right now. Ron hates that._

"Your hand's covered," Daphne said as she took it into hers. "How are you?"

"Dulled," Ron said bluntly, his eyes lax and unblinking.

"Must be nice," Daphne smirked, and Ron shook his head. "It's not?"

"No," Ron replied in a whisper. "My head feels heavy."

"Want to rest it on my shoulder?" Daphne matched his voice, and Ron gave her a nod. Daphne slowly positioned herself by his side, and Ron leaned against her. _Sweet Circe, he's really heavy._

"I'll send some breakfast here," Pomfrey said, her eyes fixed on the duo. "I'll also write you a note excusing you from your classes. Stay with him if you feel it necessary." _I do feel it necessary._

"Thank you," Daphne said, and Pomfrey left without another word.

"Off to breakfast, all of you," came Pomfrey's voice from outside. "No arguing, let's go."

"Who came?" Ron asked in a slow voice.

"Me and the others, not Malfoy though," Daphne replied. "He said that you wouldn't miss his absence."

"Fair enough," Ron rested his head on her left shoulder. "You smell nice." _Huh?_

"Thanks," Daphne smiled a little. "Your siblings were here too, including Ginny."

"Only because I'm hurt," Ron said, and Daphne gave his gloved hand a squeeze.

"That just proves that she still cares," Daphne told him, and Ron shifted a little in his spot. Daphne herself may not have liked Ginevra Weasley much, but there was no denying that Ron held her in high regard.

"Who else?" Ron asked.

"The Golden Trio," Daphne replied truthfully.

"Harry and Hermione were here," Ron muttered, and she felt him tense a little. _Odd._

"Does that bother you?" Daphne asked out of curiosity.

"No," Ron replied, and Daphne couldn't tell if he was lying. _He sounds too monotone right now._ "My Brain-Damage didn't get worse, Daphne. So please don't worry."

"I'm not worried, Ron," Daphne lied, she had barely kept herself in check since Herbology yesterday. One minute Ron had been smiling at her, and the next, his nose and ears were bleeding as he fell victim to a seizure. The whole school was abuzz with speculation, especially Slytherin.

"Are you sure?" Ron looked up. "What about the others?"

"I'm sure," Daphne smiled in a comforting manner. "You haven't worried us at all, I promise. Madam Pomfrey told us yesterday that you were really exhausted, and that your Magical Core was running empty. We all understood that you were going to be alright."

"Good… Good," Ron said as he closed his eyes. "Wake me up when breakfast comes, alright? I just need a nap."

"Okay, Ron," Daphne kissed the top of his head.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"There's three pieces of bacon left," Ron said, his dull eyes fixed on the plate of bacon. An Elf named Mimsy had brought them breakfast, along with the Headmaster's well wishes. "I've had five, and you've had four. So only one of us gets to have two pieces of bacon, right?"

"Right…" Daphne said slowly, she had no idea what Ron was on about. "We can just tear one piece of bacon in half, Ron." _Honestly, those mixed doses have done him in._

"Don't you want two?" Ron blinked at her, and she blinked back. "I've had five, you've had four… So if you have two, we'll be even."

"You want us both to have six?" Daphne asked, and Ron's entire body moved back and forth as he nodded. And then, it hit her. "Were you trying to be sweet, Ron?"

"No," Ron shook his head, a guilty smile forming on his face. His smile, although mischievous, made him look quite drunk. _He's so adorable!_

"Well, I think it's sweet that you want to share evenly with me," Daphne couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Daphne," Ron put his hands on his heart, his smile widening. _He is definitely drunk._ "And now that you think I'm sweet, can you reward me with an extra slice of bacon?"

"Wow, Ron," Daphne giggled, and he laughed like a baby. "Very Slytherin of you."

"I'm just joking," Ron shrugged, his body swaying side to side. "I want you to have it."

"Thanks," Daphne said as she took the bacon, a smug smirk on her face.

"No, thank you," Ron gave her a relaxed smile. "I'm really glad that you're here."

"Where else would I be?" Daphne smiled back.

"I feel really happy because of it," Ron hummed.

"I think the Potions are behind that," Daphne chuckled. "Try to not fall over the bed, Ron."

"Then I'll fall back **on** the bed," Ron said, and he lay back down.

"Not hungry?" Daphne asked, and Ron shook his head.

"It's making me feel nauseous," Ron replied, and Daphne moved the tray to the side table. "I reckon I'll sleep a bit more. Breakfast will be finished soon, and you can go to your classes." _What? I'd rather stay here._

"I'd rather not leave you alone," Daphne said.

"It's Thursday, Daphne," Ron said as he closed his droopy eyes. "That means that D.A.D.A is on first thing in the morning. That's an important class… You have to go to it." Daphne went to argue that, but Theo burst in through the curtains. Both Ron and Daphne looked to him, while he approached them with a parcel in his hands.

"Hey, bud," Theo smiled at Ron, his voice far too tender. Ron sat up and eyed the weedy boy, while Theo just stood there with his smile intact.

"No need to be so polite," Ron gave Theo a tired smile. "I'm doing a lot better now. They gave me Potions."

"Right," Theo relaxed a little. "This came in for you at Breakfast. It's got the Gringotts Seal on it, so I figured that I'd bring this to you immediately."

"It's Thursday…" Ron said, he seemed to have made a realization of some sort. "Gornuk sent over the deal for Barnabas Cuffe." _Deal? What deal?_

"What deal?" Daphne asked.

"Actually, it's more like an agreement," Ron replied. "He won't go after me, and I won't go after him. Plus, it's a list of other things that we can and can't do. I had Gornuk write up some Magically Binding Contracts, and he's sent me the drafts. I'm supposed to look them over, and add anything else that I want."

"When are you meeting Cuffe?" Theo asked, and then he put the parcel on Ron's lap.

"Tomorrow," Ron replied, his dull eyes now fixed on the parcel. "I was supposed to go over this during lunch, and then go down to Gringotts during my free periods today. I guess I'd better get started."

"Nope," Daphne said as she swiped the parcel, and Ron just blinked at her. "These look important, Ron. You're in no state to work on something this important right now. You'll make a mistake, and then you'll regret it."

"Daph… I already set the dates," Ron said in response. "I **have** to do this. Gornuk needs to write up the actual contracts before tomorrow."

"Why don't you sleep until lunch, while I go to D.A.D.A," Daphne started. "I'll come back at lunch and wake you, and after you've eaten, we can go through them together. You need to be rested for this sort of work." _I can't let him make a mistake on this, he'll be really upset if this backfires._

"You do look out of sorts, mate," Theo added, and Ron groaned.

"You'd better come back at lunch, Daph…" Ron said as he lay back down. "Once these Potions wear off, I need to work. I'll go insane otherwise." _Right._

"Theo, give us a minute," Daphne said, and Theo waved goodbye to Ron as he left. "I'll take these with me, just to make sure that you don't do something silly. Alright?"

"Alright," Ron closed his eyes. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Daphne chuckled, and then she planted a kiss on his forehead. _Is it weird that I want to snog him right now? Judging by his current state, I think that he'd really enjoy that._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Beginning of Lunch)**_

"There you are," Madam Pomfrey said when she saw Daphne and the others enter the Hospital Wing. "He's been waiting for you."

"He's awake?" Daphne asked, the parcel secure in her hands.

"He is," Madam Pomfrey replied, though she didn't sound very happy about it. "He was… a handful… when he woke up, and so I administered a Calming Draught to keep him in check."

"He had another episode?" Tracey asked, while Pansy's face just fell.

"Indeed," Pomfrey sighed.

"Did you give him another mixed dose?" Daphne asked.

"Just the Calming Draught," Madam Pomfrey frowned. "He refused to drink the Sleeping Draught, no matter what I said." _So he's just on a Calming Draught?_

"I'm going to lunch," Malfoy said, and then he turned around and left. Everyone watched him leave, and Daphne could see that her friends were now rethinking visiting Ron. She herself wanted to turn around and leave, mostly because Ron was no longer Ron.

"You guys can go," Daphne whispered, her eyes darting towards Ron's curtained bed. "I promised to bring him the parcel, you didn't." Malfoy suddenly walked back into the room, an annoyed look on his face.

"His siblings, and the Trio, are coming," Malfoy announced.

"Great…" Daphne sighed out, and then she made her way towards his bed. _I'll get him started on his work before he gets annoyed with his Family._ Daphne moved past the curtains, only to see Ron waiting for her on his bed.

"You brought the parcel," Ron stated, his face expressionless. "Bring it to me." _Merlin, not again._

"Here," Daphne said as she handed it over, and Ron quickly opened it. A dozen pieces of parchment slipped onto his lap, and he carefully put them in a stack. "Lunch should be here soon."

"Are you staying?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning the top page.

"Do you want me to?" Daphne asked in return, and he looked up at her.

"We'd get more done together," Ron said coldly. "Take a seat." Daphne sat down on the side of his bed, and when he beckoned her closer, she moved right up to his thighs. Ron handed her half the documents, which she took as carefully as she could.

"So what do you need-" Daphne started, but she was cut off by the sound of Gryffindors arguing with Pomfrey.

"She's seeing him, so why can't we?" came Granger's voice, and Daphne immediately frowned. _Maybe it's because he_ _ **wants**_ _to see me, unlike you._

"It's just for a minute, Madam Pomfrey," Percy said. "We just want to make sure that he's up and about."

"Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey," one of the twins said.

"Just one minute," the other twin added. Daphne looked to Ron, and she found him looking back at her.

"What is it?" Daphne whispered.

"They are saying one minute, but once they get in here, they're not going to leave," Ron replied, he felt no need to whisper. Ron then began to move off of the bed, and Daphne followed his lead. "I'll show them that I'm fine, and then we can get back to work."

"Is that smart?" Daphne whispered, her hands grabbing his left one. Ron stopped moving, and then he looked back to her. "Ron, you're on a Calming Draught. You can be… cruel… when you're under its influence. I don't want you getting into a fight with your Family, that's all."

"I'd regret it later," Ron nodded slowly, as if he had just figured that out.

"Exactly," Daphne smiled in a soothing manner. "Lie back down, Ron. I'll send them on their way."

"Make up some story if you need to," Ron said, and then he moved back to his bed. _Great. Time to go fight with Ron's Family._ Daphne drew in a sharp breath, and then she walked past the curtains and approached the Weasleys. _Luna's here as well. Wait… Where are her shoes?_ Daphne looked Luna over, and much to her confusion, the blonde witch was walking around barefoot.

"Luna, why aren't you wearing shoes?" Daphne blurted out, and everyone looked to her. That's when Daphne realized that her friends had all left, no doubt because they didn't want to deal with the Gryffindors.

"I couldn't find them," Luna wiggled her toes, an absentminded smile on her face. _So you start walking around barefoot?_

"Luna, you'll catch a cold," Daphne told the younger blonde, who just shrugged in response.

"I'll get you something to put on," Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue. "Honestly…" With that, she left to find some hospital slippers.

"Quick, let's go see him," one of the twins said, but Daphne quickly moved between them and Ron's bed.

"Can't let you do that," Daphne said apologetically. "He doesn't want to see anyone."

"He's seeing you," Granger pointed out, and Daphne gave her a deadpan look.

"I am always the exception when it comes to Ron," Daphne said, and Granger rolled her eyes. _Just sod off, he doesn't want to see you._ "He's not feeling like himself, and he wants to be left alone."

"What's wrong with him?" one of the twins asked. _I wish I knew._

"I haven't asked him," Daphne replied truthfully.

"Then what are you even doing back there?" Ginny frowned deeply.

"Keeping him calm," Daphne replied.

"Calm, eh?" one of the twins sniggered, and everyone just frowned at them. "What?"

"Not the best place to crack jokes, you know," Longbottom replied, and then he looked back to Daphne. "He'll be fine though, right?"

"You will have your eternal friend back before the day is out," Daphne replied, and she couldn't help but notice that Potter suddenly looked vexed. _Forgive me, Ron, but I can be petty sometimes._

"I guess that's all that matters in the end," Longbottom managed a weak smile, while Daphne made sure to keep her cold demeanor. _I like Longbottom. I remember that he stood up for us when Potter tried to start a witch-hunt._

"This is his third seizure in three years," Potter suddenly spoke up. "One in first year, one in second year, and one now."

"And?" Daphne asked. _If he doesn't leave Ron alone, I might hire someone to break his legs. Wait… What am I thinking?_

"What's wrong with him?" Potter asked.

"What's wrong with **you**?" Daphne asked in return, and Potter blinked at her. "Ron's life is his own, and he doesn't owe you anything. Why don't you focus on your own life, Potter?"

"Why are you so rude?" Granger snapped, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I'm rude? Isn't it rude to spy on someone during a Funeral?" Daphne asked in response, and everyone looked to Potter.

"Funeral?" Longbottom asked slowly, his eyes fixed on his best friend. _Longbottom doesn't know?_

"I wasn't spying…" Potter started, but everyone just looked uncomfortable. _Good. Go away please._

"I'm going to see him," Ginny broke the uncomfortable silence, but once again, Daphne got in the way. "Move out of the way-"

"I will slap you right across your face," Daphne said bluntly, and Ginny's mouth hung open. "Ron might put up with your disgusting, spoilt behavior, but I won't. I'll slap you right across your face."

"What is going on here?" came Pomfrey's voice, and everyone looked to see her approaching with white slippers in her hands.

"Greengrass is threatening to physically assault another student," Granger tattled, much to Daphne's boredom. Even the twins looked at Granger with a shade of annoyance, though they looked annoyed with Daphne as well.

"Enough is enough," Pomfrey frowned at them all. "This is my Hospital Wing, and I will not allow you all to disturb its peace. Out!" Pomfrey handed Luna the slippers, and then she pointed to the exit. "All of you out this instant!"

"And me?" Daphne asked, while the others quickly moved to leave.

"You may stay, but only because he wants you to," Madam Pomfrey said curtly, and then she followed after the Gryffindors and Luna. Daphne smirked to herself, and then she walked back to Ron's bed.

"You shouldn't threaten people," Ron said as she walked past the curtains.

"I know," Daphne said as she walked up to his side and sat down. "They can be such a headache to deal with, especially Granger and Ginevra."

"You just hate Hermione, while Ginny can be too forceful," Ron said, his cold eyes landing on her. "Leave the threats to me, Daphne. I don't want you getting into trouble on my behalf." _That's almost sweet, but his coldness makes it sound like an order._ "You can start on this half."

"What am I doing?" Daphne asked as she accepted the papers.

"Look for any statement that-" Ron started, but a woman's voice disrupted him.

"Where is he, Poppy?" came Molly Weasley's voice, and Ron closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"More fucking disturbances," Ron whispered coldly, while Daphne let out a tired sigh.

"You can't just barge in here," came Madam Pomfrey's voice, which only seemed to irritate Ron. "All of you need to leave. I've told you that he's fine, and that he wishes to be left alone."

"We can't even say hello?" came Lord Black's voice, and Ron and Daphne exchanged looks.

"They're **all** here," Ron told her, and she nodded her agreement. "I bet they all got together to discuss my life before barging into the school like they fucking own the place."

"Ron, don't you dare start a fight with them," Daphne said firmly. "Just show them that you're fine, and let Madam Pomfrey handle the rest."

"Kid?" came Lord Black's voice, and then they all burst in through the curtains. Lord Black, Ron's parents, and the Lovegoods flooded the space around Ron's bed, their eyes scanning the pair of Slytherins. Daphne's own parents walked in with Madam Pomfrey, who was looking quite cross.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, his eyes traveling between his visitors.

"How are you feeling, love?" Molly Weasley asked, her voice sweet and soft.

"I feel fine," Ron replied. "My Brain-Damage has not worsened, so you have nothing to worry about. The seizure happened because I was exhausted, that's all. You can all leave now." _For Merlin's sake, Ron!_

"Leave?" Arthur blinked, and then he looked to the others.

"I have work…" Ron started, but then he stopped. His cold eyes suddenly became sharp, as if he were planning something. "Dad, you're really good at finding loopholes in contracts, right? I mean, you tricked the Ministry into letting you keep your Enchanted Ford Anglia."

"You did what?" Daphne's father asked, while Lord Black grinned at Arthur Weasley.

"I wouldn't say that I'm good at it, Ron…" Arthur said slowly, his eyes traveling to his frowning wife.

"You are," Ron simply stated. "You looked over my contract with Lord Greengrass as well."

"He was quite thorough," her father said, his eyes traveling between Ron and Daphne. _Agh! It's not what it looks like, father!_

"Since you're all here, you might as well help me," Ron said, a 'smile' forming on his face. "Daphne, Pandora, mum, Mary, and I will look through these contracts-"

"Ronnie-" Molly started, but Ron cut her off.

"Don't interrupt me while I speak," Ron said harshly, much to Molly's horror.

"What is he on?" Pandora Lovegood asked Madam Pomfrey.

"A Calming Draught," Madam Pomfrey replied, her eyes fixed on Ron. "He's not himself, so please, be on your way. As you can see, he is perfectly fine."

"I could use their help, Madam Pomfrey," Ron said. "They're already here, and I have a lot of work to get done."

"You ought to be resting, Ron," Mary said, and Daphne knew that her mother was now wary. _She's seen him on a Calming Draught before._

"I've rested plenty," Ron shrugged. "I have work to do, and it's important that it gets done today. I will do it either way, but I'd appreciate it if you could all pitch in."

"What work?" Xenophilius asked, and then he looked to the contracts. "Is this something to do with The Quibbler?"

"Yes," Ron replied. "Barnabas Cuffe and I have a meeting tomorrow, and I plan to come to an agreement with him. These draft documents list conditions that we will both follow. I am to go over these today and hand them in with any changes to my Logistics Officer."

"Ron, slow down a moment," Arthur said, he looked quite concerned now. "You're still recovering from your seizure… Perhaps you should rest for the day." _That'll never happen._

"You can either help, or you can leave," Ron said in a cold whisper. "Pick one."

"Daphne, dear…" Molly Weasley sighed out, her head shaking from disbelief. "Hand over those documents, please. Ronnie needs his rest. He doesn't know what's good for him." _Oh, no. Why would she say that?!_

"I will put you in one of these beds, mother," Ron warned, and everyone went dead silent. Daphne just gaped at her boyfriend, who was staring at his own mother as if she were nothing. "Get out. You are only getting in my way. As a matter of fact, why don't you all leave? You're all nothing but headaches anyway. Go on. Get out." Ron reached forward and took Daphne's half. "You as well." _What?_

"Ronald Weasley-" Molly Weasley puffed up, but Madam Pomfrey decided that enough was enough.

"You've seen him, now leave," Madam Pomfrey told the stunned adults. "He is not fit for company right now, and you're distressing him. Out." Madam Pomfrey then began to herd them all out, and one by one, they all found themselves outside the Hospital Wing. Daphne couldn't deny that she felt quite angry with the adults right now, she had everything under control until they showed up and started ordering Ron around.

"Did you hear him, Arthur?" Molly Weasley fumed, though her voice also showed her hurt. "He just threatened me! His own mother?!"

"That wasn't Ron," Daphne told them, and they all looked to her. "The Calming Draught makes him a horrible person, one that can't even understand normal social etiquette." Daphne then drew in a deep breath. "Why did you all have to show up like that? Why couldn't you just listen to Madam Pomfrey?"

"Daphne, tone," her father said, his icy gaze fixed on her. _No._ Daphne matched his gaze, much to his surprise.

"I had everything under control until you lot burst in," Daphne frowned at her father, and then she looked to Ron's mother. "And why would you impose on him like that? 'He doesn't know what's good for him'? Really? Was that a smart thing to say?"

"Daphne Greengrass, you will remember your manners," Mary ordered, but Daphne simply turned around and left for the Great Hall. _Everything was going just fine until they showed up. All of my efforts wasted because the adults feel like they know what's best. Bloody fools._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Boys' Bathroom – During Afternoon Classes)**_

The cold shower had helped him regain his focus, but not as much as his Calming Draught, which had helped Ron realize what the true message of his vision was. The Entity wanted to show him that it was his own actions which had caused Fate to interfere with his life, and that it was his own weakness that had caused the Cycles. Ron knew now that pointing fingers was a useless action. He had landed himself in this mess, and only he could pull himself out.

As Ron put on his black suit, he found himself enamored with his own reflection. He, in another life, had abandoned his friends to their doom. The thought sickened him, but due to his current clarity, it also made him feel resolute. The actions of a previous Ron meant nothing to him. He didn't care about those Rons, or about their failures. The only Ron that mattered was him, and him alone. If he wasted his time mourning for their failures, then he was bound to repeat them. No, the only sensible thing to do was to keep moving forward.

Dream, Fate, Death, and the Entity… They were Beings of a cosmic scale, which meant that worrying about them was pointless as well. They could destroy entire Universes on a whim, and even if that frightened Ron, he could do little about it. Things were the way they were, and if he wanted to make a positive change, then he just needed to keep working harder and harder. He could do that. He could keep pushing himself to his limits. After all, he was quite used to it now.

"Are you sure that you'll be alright?" Millie asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"I'll be just fine, Mills," Ron said as he walked over to his briefcase, his face expressionless. _I'll get these to Gornuk now that I've read them through._ Ron picked up the briefcase, and then he looked to the occupants of the room. Millie looked concerned, Theo and Blaise were keeping their emotions at bay, and Malfoy looked quite wary.

"Are you sure that the Headmaster will allow you to leave?" Blaise asked.

"I'll convince him," Ron replied, and then he walked out of the room.

"Take care," he heard Millie call out, but he chose to ignore it. _I'm going to Diagon Alley, not a warzone._ As Ron made his way up to Dumbledore's Office, he began to wonder how the Headmaster was doing. _He told me that Dream spoke to them in my memory, which is a really terrifying thing. How could Dream see me whilst Fate had no clue that I was even there? Does he exist everywhere? Even in Memories?_ Ron shook his head clear, he was only going to spiral if he kept thinking about this. _It's way out of your league, Ron. Focus on your own life._

"Cauldron Cakes," Ron said to the Stone Gargoyle, and it moved out of his way. Ron made his way up the spiral staircase, and then he knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron made his way inside.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster," Ron greeted out of politeness, and then he shut the door.

"Ronald? Poppy discharged you?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron knew that he was slightly surprised. _He hides it well._

"I discharged myself," Ron told him as he stepped further into the Office. "I have work to do, and I can't do that work from the Hospital Wing."

"Work?" Dumbledore asked, he looked intrigued now.

"The Quibbler," Ron replied. "Barnabas Cuffe cannot be trusted, and I want to secure an agreement with him before I start looking for a staff."

"Ronald… After what you saw yesterday…" Dumbledore said slowly, his eyes showing his concern.

"Here's some advice, Headmaster," Ron said coldly. "Don't think about that shite. Dream, Fate, Death… Those Beings are so far out of our understanding that it's not even funny. Thinking about them will achieve nothing. So do what I do. Take all of that tripe, put it in a box, and then hide the box away. Once that's done, get to work on securing the Future. Understood?"

"That sounds very healthy, Ronald," Dumbledore said, and Ron simply shrugged.

"Being healthy is for people who don't have to deal with this sort of shite," Ron said. "You, Professor Snape, and I don't get to be healthy, we have too much work to get done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to meet a Goblin."

"Your mother and father were just here," Dumbledore said as Ron turned to leave.

"And?" Ron asked without turning around.

"Did you threaten your mother?" Dumbledore asked, though Ron knew that he already had his answer.

"She overstepped with me," Ron replied. "She interrupted me, spoke of me as if I'm a toddler, and she gave no respect to the urgency of my work. She, like always, tried to control me by belittling me. Do I look like I'm in the mood for such behavior?"

"She was quite upset, Ronald," Dumbledore said, his voice anything but judgmental.

"She has upset me a lot more over the years," Ron said. "She'll get over it, just like I have."

"You don't sound like you have," Dumbledore countered, and Ron turned to face him.

"What do you want of me?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore relaxed in his chair.

"I am only worried for you, my boy," Dumbledore replied. "You were utterly lost in grief yesterday, and now, you're entirely detached from reality."

"I got over it," Ron replied with a deadpan look. "The Ron who abandoned his friends was weak, whereas I am not. His actions mean nothing to me, and thinking about his death is utterly pointless. Now… I'm sure that the Entity has some ulterior motives for showing me the Beginning of the Cycles, but you know what, I'm better off without its schemes. I know my mission, and that's all that matters."

With that, Ron walked over to the fireplace, but he didn't floo away. _Not yet._

"I wish to discuss Order business once I return," Ron looked back to Dumbledore. "With you and Professor Snape, that is. Will you both be free?"

"We will be," Dumbledore said, he almost looked crestfallen. Ron grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and he cast it into the fire.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Ron called, and when the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through it.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"I must say, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk started. "I did not expect you to read through these documents on the very same day they arrived."

"I told you that I would do it, and my word is my bond," Ron replied, his eyes examining the tiny office. "Why have they given such a great employee such a small office, Gornuk?" The Goblin looked pleased with Ron's words, but also bitter about Gringotts' dismissal of him.

"Ambition is frowned upon in our society," Gornuk all but spat out. "I do not have the 'Pedigree' to reach beyond my station."

"Pedigree?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Could it be that just like us wizards, you Goblins have your own 'Purity' issues?"

"Not Blood Purity, Mr. Weasley, we have Family Ties holding us down," Gornuk clarified. "The older Families are considered nobility, while the rest of us are treated as dispensable garbage. If a Goblin from the 'right' Family wants a job, Gringotts simply hands them an employment check."

"And if you're not from the 'right' Family?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"Then you're nothing," Gornuk said bitterly, his beady eyes gleaming with contempt. "You have to work for years and years to get this tiny office, while your 'inferiors' are showered with luxury. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted to get ahead, then I needed to forge my own path."

"Then we have that in common," Ron told the Goblin. "Fuck letting other people dictate what your life ought to be."

"Here, here," Gornuk nodded approvingly, and Ron stood up to leave.

"I've added only one more condition to the drafts," Ron said. "No employee can work at our companies at the same time, and if they are let go, then they must wait six months before applying to the other company."

"Scared of spies, Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk asked, a sharp-toothed smile on his face.

"I don't trust this man," Ron replied without taking offence. "Oh, and Gornuk… Once we've hired a building to act as our headquarters, I'll make sure to get you a proper office."

"I plan to keep working for Gringotts as well," Gornuk reminded Ron.

"I know, but **your** office will await you always," Ron 'smiled' at the confused Goblin. "I understand, and cherish, your value, my friend." With that, Ron turned around and left the pleased Goblin. _I have to keep him pleased, he knows too much about my business. If Cuffe ever approaches him, then I don't want his loyalty coming into question._

As Ron made his way down Diagon Alley, he was stopped by a pleasant aroma. _The Pond._ Ron's stomach grumbled at that, and he realized that he hadn't eaten lunch today. _Hmm. It's certainly tempting. Fuck it. I'll spoil myself a little._ Ron walked into The Pond, where he was greeted by a familiar waiter. _I know him, he's greeted me at the door every time I've been here. What did Snape say his name was?_

"Mr. Weasley," the waiter greeted him. "Taking the day off from school, are we?"

"I got lost," Ron smirked, which earned him a chuckle from the dark skinned man. "Forgive me, but I can't recall your name."

"Rudolph, Sir," Rudolph introduced himself. "And there is nothing to forgive."

"Well, I'll make sure to remember your name from now on," Ron promised. "Could I grab a table for one?"

"Certainly," Rudolph bowed his head a little, and then he gestured Ron to follow him. Ron walked behind the taller man, his eyes taking in the prestigious décor. _Never did I imagine eating alone in such a place. I've come so far, but I still need to keep going._ "Here you are."

"Thank you," Ron 'smiled' as he took a seat, while Rudolph handed him a menu. "Any recommendations?"

"You must try the Honey Glazed Lamb," Rudolph smiled politely. "We have a new chef, and cooking lamb is her specialty."

"Then that's what I'll have, and a glass of sweetened water," Ron ordered, and Rudolph took the menu back.

"A waitress will bring you the water immediately, Mr. Weasley," Rudolph said.

"Please, call me Ron," Ron matched his polite tone. "I'll be dining here as often as I can."

"A wise choice, Ron," Rudolph chuckled humorously. "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Ron said, and Rudolph left to give in Ron's order. _Now, what else can I do today? The Quibbler business is handled, I've done my homework except for the classes that I missed, and the first years are doing quite well. What else can I do? Oh… That's right. The Order business._

Ron had been thinking about the Dark Lord's captured Death Eaters, and a thought had occurred to him. Why were they still alive? The Headmaster, Snape, and Ron all knew that the Dark Lord planned to free his followers, and yet, they hadn't done anything about it. All of them were currently in one place, and they were utterly defenseless. _If we get rid of them now, then we won't have to worry about them in the Future._

"Here is your sweetened water, Sir," a young waitress said as she planted the glass in front of him.

"Thank you," Ron smiled at the waitress, and much to his confusion, she lingered in her spot.

"You're Ronald Weasley," she finally said, and Ron gave her a nod. _A fan?_ "My name is Tiffany Wiltshire, I used to attend Hogwarts just last year."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember you," Ron admitted.

"That's alright, I never really approached the Slytherins," Tiffany told him. "I'm a Hufflepuff, you see. And Muggle-Born." _Right._ "But my sister Beth is in Hogwarts now, and just like me, she's a Hufflepuff."

"Little Beth is your sister?" Ron gave her a faint smile, and she nodded. _I can see the resemblance now. Blonde hair, shorter than average, green eyes._

"She was really scared of going to Hogwarts alone," Tiffany said. "She's always had trouble making friends. But she seems to be doing really well at Hogwarts, and if her letters are anything to go by, then you've been a big part of that." _I have?_

"She's mentioned me?" Ron asked, making sure to sound polite and interested.

"Almost in every letter," Tiffany laughed. "She's really grateful for your study group, it's helped her immensely. She's told me that you tutor all the first years yourself."

"It helps them make friends with people in other Houses," Ron said, and Tiffany smiled widely. "And I'm quite fond of Beth. She's one of the more vocal first years."

"Trust me, that's only because she wants your attention," Tiffany giggled, and then she quickly composed herself. "Thank you for helping my sister, I was genuinely worried for her when she got her letter."

"I'm happy to help," Ron smiled, and Tiffany gave him a warm smile.

"That's on the house," Tiffany said, her eyes darting to the glass of sweetened water. "It's the least that I can do."

"Thank you," Ron lifted the glass, and she left with a happy smile on her face. _Beth's sister, eh? I have my study group tomorrow. Maybe I should tell Beth that her sister loves her. That ought to make her happier._ Ron took a sip from his water, and its cold sweetness made him smile in content. _Just one step at a time, that's how I'll win. That's how I'll save as many people as I can. People like little Beth._

"Excuse me, Ron," came Rudolph's voice, and Ron turned to see the man standing right behind him. "Another patron would like your company for lunch."

"Who?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning the room.

"Madam Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Rudolph replied, and Ron was quite surprised.

"She's here?" Ron asked.

"She is downstairs, which is reserved for our oldest patrons," Rudolph replied. "Would you like to join her?"

"I can't really refuse a witch of her standing, can I?" Ron asked as he stood up.

"No, you certainly cannot," Rudolph stepped back. "Follow me, please." Ron followed after Rudolph, all the while wondering what Amelia Bones wanted from him. _Why is she even here? Doesn't she have work?_ As Ron was led downstairs, he noticed that the décor changed quite dramatically.

"Welcome to the Bottom of The Pond," Rudolph said, while Ron observed the darker, and much more gothic, interior design. "Madam Bones awaits you."

"Thank you, Rudolph," Ron said, and then he walked over to her table. She was sitting in the corner, her stern gaze fixed on him. "Good afternoon, Madam Bones."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley," Madam Bones said, her demeanor similar to that of a judge. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you," Ron sat down in front of her, his glass of sweetened water near his lips. "How did you know that I was here? I didn't see you come in."

"A waitress squealed 'Is Ronald Weasley really here?'," Madam Roberts replied. _Tiffany._ "A fan?"

"Her sister is in my study group," Ron replied, and Madam Bones nodded once. "Did you like the photo?"

"I found it amusing," Madam Bones replied, her grey eyes fixed on his. "An inclusive study group led by a Slytherin, who also happens to be a Blood Traitor. Fascinating."

"Aren't I?" Ron smirked, he was too calm to take offence from such a comment.

"A bit too fascination, Mr. Weasley," Madam Bones told him. "I keep hearing your name everywhere. One of my Hit-Wizards is teaching you, one of my Aurors is a huge fan of yours, your Quibbler brochures have flooded my Office and home, and now I find you here in the middle of a school day. Oh, and my Head Auror claims that you were near the scene of a murder."

"I was in Diagon Alley," Ron said calmly. "Not near where your informant was killed."

"I never mentioned an informant," Madam Bones said, her stare intensifying.

"Why else would you lock down an entire district?" Ron asked. _I'm too calm, I need to be careful._ "Let me guess, you suspected a leak, and your Head Auror thinks that a thirteen year old boy was involved. Solid detective work."

"You have a sharp tongue," Madam Bones said. "I like that. You are not a suspect, Mr. Weasley, your name was merely brought up. Tell me, where is your supervision?"

"I don't have any," Ron replied, and Madam Bones blinked at him.

"Kingsley was right then, you have the Headmaster's permission to go about as you please," Madam Bones said, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Did he really owl the Headmaster?" Ron asked.

"He did indeed," Madam Bones replied. "How did you convince the Headmaster of Hogwarts to let you break the rules?"

"I simply asked, and he said yes based on my stellar record," Ron replied. "That, and he trusts me completely."

"Is that so?" Madam Bones asked.

"I'm a trustworthy person," Ron 'smiled' at her. "Might I ask a question now?"

"Certainly," Madam Bones said as she fixed her monocle.

"Why are you here, Madam Bones? Don't you have work?" Ron asked.

"I do have work, but my Head Auror banished me from the Offices," Madam Bones frowned slightly.

"Two orders of Honey Glazed Lamb," Tiffany said as she approached them, and then she placed the plates in front of them. Ron eyed the thinly sliced lamb cuts on a bed of mashed potatoes with genuine excitement, the food smelled delicious. "Please enjoy." Once Tiffany was gone, Ron looked to Madam Bones.

"We ordered the same special," Ron said to Madam Bones, and she gave him a nod. "Isn't that peculiar?"

"They have a new chef, and I wish to see her skill for myself," Madam Bones replied. "Merely a coincident, nothing more." They both began their meals at that, and Ron had to admit, this chef was really skilled. "She is better than the last chef."

"You mentioned that your Head Auror banished you from the Offices," Ron restarted their conversation.

"He believes that I need to take a break," Madam Bones replied. "Despite how much work needs to get done."

"Don't you hate that?" Ron asked, and Madam Bones cocked an eyebrow.

"Hate what?" she asked.

"When people don't understand that until your work is finished, you can't enjoy anything," Ron clarified. "Time just doesn't move right when there is work to be done."

"I see that we share a similar attitude," Madam Bones gave a light smile, much to Ron's delight.

"Might I inquire about your work?" Ron asked, and she studied him for a few moments. _What?_

"I suppose I can mention this to you," Madam Bones started, and Ron listened intently. "There is a plan in place for the restoration of St. Mungo's, and it involves your Family." _Huh?_ "The Ministry will be asking the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families for donations of up to five hundred Galleons."

"Just the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families?" Ron asked. "I'm sure you know that some of those Families have died out, such as the Gaunts." _Tom Riddle Junior's Family. The_ _ **Dark**_ _ **Lord's**_ _Family._

"Anyone can donate, of course," Madam Bones told him. "But the Old Families are the richest, and if we throw them a gala, they'll pay up."

"Can't say that my Family is rich," Ron smirked at her. "Well, I'm doing quite well financially… But my Family isn't. They refuse to accept my money."

"Your father is a proud man," Madam Bones responded.

"Proud, but unwise," Ron said a bit too coldly, and Madam Bones picked up on that. "Five hundred Galleons you say… I'd be willing to donate that much on behalf of the Weasley Family." _Sorry, Daphne, but you'll need to wait a little longer now. I have to secure alliances with people like Madam Bones._

"Really?" Madam Bones asked, an amused half-smile on her face.

"We are part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, aren't we?" Ron asked in return. "We will do our part." _I will do our part._

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Madam Bones said. "But shouldn't I speak to the Head of your Family instead of you?"

"Do you think my father has five hundred Galleons to spare?" Ron asked in return.

"A fair point," Madam Bones smirked. "My old friend, Augusta Longbottom, told me to owl you directly for this donation business, and now I can see why."

"I really do come up quite often, don't I?" Ron couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sorry that you are plagued by my constant presence."

"She speaks highly of you," Madam Bones went on. "She believes that you have a proper head on your shoulders, unlike her Grandson and his friends." _Harry and Hermione? Harry maybe, but Hermione's a hard worker. Though she is quite judgmental of people who are not like her._

"Lady Longbottom has been a true friend to me," Ron smiled. "If it wasn't for her, my Quibbler business wouldn't even exist. Speaking of which, why don't I advertise this donation plan to the public for you. One letter from me, and my brochures will make sure to emphasize the importance of donating to St. Mungo's restoration. The more people that know about it, the better."

"Forgive me for asking, but what is the price of this offer?" Madam Bones asked.

"An invite to the gala would suffice," Ron replied. "For me and my girlfriend, that is." _It can be a date night. I think she'll like the sound of that._

"You'd already be invited due to your donation," Madam Bones told him.

"Then an acknowledgement to my generosity will have to do," Ron said, and Madam Bones seemed to be studying him again.

"You don't want money?" Madam Bones asked.

"Money for helping a good cause?" Ron blinked, now he was a little confused. "Wouldn't that be counterproductive on your end?"

"So just an acknowledgement at the gala?" Madam Bones asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "Very well, Mr. Weasley. We have a deal then." _Really? Well, look at me. I'm getting shite done._ "The plan is to be announced on Monday, and letters will be sent out to the Old Families at the end of the day."

"I'll send an Owl to my advertisement firm when I get back to Hogwarts," Ron told her. "They'll be in touch with you about the details over the weekend."

"Excellent," Madam Bones nodded firmly. "That's one less thing on my plate. Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"I'm happy to help, Madam Bones," Ron smiled at her. "And please, just call me by my given name."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Until we meet again, Ronald," Madam Bones said, and Ron gave her a parting nod. She left in the direction of Gringotts, while Ron began to make his way back to The Leaky Cauldron. He was rather pleased with himself right now, he had seen an opportunity, and like any decent Slytherin, seized it immediately. _Now I have a reason to propose an alliance to her when the time comes._ Once Ron found himself before a fireplace, he flooed straight to the Headmaster's Office.

"Welcome back, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted just as Ron stepped into the Office. Ron looked over to him, and he saw that the Headmaster was alone.

"Where is Professor Snape, Headmaster?" Ron asked as he walked to his usual seat.

"Classes are just about to end, so he'll be here shortly," Dumbledore replied, his eyes scanning Ron's blank face.

"Why is everyone staring at me today?" Ron asked. "Is it the suit?"

"It is alarming to speak to a person who sees you as prey," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "It's your eyes, my boy. The Calming Draught gives you a very dark look about you."

"It'll wear off in a few hours," Ron told Dumbledore.

"And then what?" Dumbledore asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Then… Nothing," Ron replied. "I will go back to living my life, and I suggest that you do the same. Thinking about the 'bigger picture' is just pointless. We'll never understand **their** games."

"I'm afraid you're right, Ronald," Dumbledore sighed, and then he gave Ron a kind smile. "I am becoming far too intrigued by these Higher Beings. To think that they actually exist… It's a marvelous thing to wonder about."

"They don't care about us," Ron said a little bitterly. "We're just toys to them." _Specks of sand in Time's Hourglass. Fucking bitch._

"What took you so long?" Dumbledore asked him. "You were gone for a while."

"I ran into Madam Bones," Ron replied, and Dumbledore waited for him to go on. "We had lunch, and then I promised her that I'd advertise her plans to restore St. Mungo's. She, in turn, agreed to send me the Donation Letter meant for the Weasley Family."

"She'll send it to you? Not your father?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes were beginning to twinkle.

"My father can't do anything with that letter," Ron shrugged. "So yeah, she'll send it to me."

"I see that you're still making allies," Dumbledore chuckled.

"If she's going to be the Future Minister, then I want her on my side," Ron said bluntly. "Which reminds me… Have you spoken to her yet?"

"I have not," Dumbledore replied.

"May I ask why?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. _I'm doing it again, aren't I?_ Ron fixed his expression, much to Dumbledore's amusement.

"Talk of a coup is not a good idea at the moment," Dumbledore replied. "The Ministry is suffering, my boy. Their coffers are drained, their Aurors are constantly away, and right now, people are reeling from their losses. Once the people turn angry, then we'll strike."

"You want the people turning on Fudge before you act?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave him a nod.

"I have nothing against Cornelius, but he cannot withstand Lord Voldemort's will," Dumbledore said. "And Amelia will not abandon her post until she sees a clear need for it."

"I'll leave it to you then," Ron said. "Also, is she a member of the Order?"

"She is not," Dumbledore replied. "I did ask her once, and even though she respected the Order greatly, she chose to stay with the Ministry."

"That's fair, but what if the Ministry and the Order worked in unison?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore leaned forward. "At the end of the day, both parties will have the same goal. The destruction of the Dark Lord. We are natural allies, so why not make it official eventually?"

"Once she is the Minister, we will see to that," Dumbledore replied. "Until then, we must find other allies."

"I have a few in mind," Ron started. "Madame Olympe Maxime, Madam Jane Roberts, Rufus Scrimgeour, some of the graduating students of this year…"

"Like who?" Dumbledore asked.

"My brother Percy," Ron replied. "He respects authority above all else, and who demands more respect than Albus Dumbledore."

"You want to keep your eyes on him," Dumbledore figured.

"I can't just have my Blood running around without protection, now, can I?" Ron stated. "I have three more students in mind. Clara Martyris, Samantha Selwyn, and Carey Ductu."

"The Selwyns are known Death Eaters, my boy," Dumbledore told him.

"Does their daughter bare the Dark Mark?" Ron asked. "No, she doesn't. Her friends are Half-Bloods, and she's told me personally that she cares very little for Blood-Supremacy. And I believe her. These girls are sharp, Headmaster. We need sharp people on our side." _Sharp, and young. There's too many old people in the Order._

"We can discuss them when Severus gets here," Dumbledore said, and then he pulled out his Chessboard. "Want to play a game?"

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Come in," Dumbledore called, and Snape entered the room. His eyes landed on the back of Ron's head, and he quickly shut the door.

"Shouldn't you be in the Hospital Wing?" Snape asked as he walked up to his chair.

"I got tired of sitting around," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the board. "How were your classes, Professor Snape?"

"Same as usual," Snape replied slowly, his eyes scanning the side of Ron's face.

"Did you make any children cry today?" Ron shot him a smirk, and Snape frowned at him. "Wait… What am I saying? Of course you did."

"What is this meeting about?" Snape asked, deciding to ignore Ron.

"We aren't doing enough," Ron replied for the Headmaster, and Snape looked back to him. "The Dark Lord is out there, doing Merlin knows what, and we're just sitting around. And no, I don't care about 'The Wait'. I want to keep making moves."

"Moves?" Dumbledore asked.

"Azkaban," Ron looked to the Headmaster. "How many Death Eaters are just waiting for their Lord to come and rescue them?"

"You want us to assassinate the Death Eaters in captivity?" Snape asked, and Ron nodded. "It would be a wise move, but it's impossible."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"The only thing more difficult than escaping from Azkaban is breaking **into** Azkaban," Snape replied. "They have hundreds of Charms around the Island Prison, all of which will alert the Aurors immediately. Not to mention that you can only get onto the Island via Ministry provided Portkeys, which are all under heavy security at all times. And then there are the Dementors… No sane assassin will go into the building for fear of them."

"Damn, so we really can't do anything about them?" Ron asked. "What about the Dark Lord? He plans to break them out."

"Unlike him, we can't afford to break so many laws and just get away with it," Dumbledore replied. "He plans to go to war with the Ministry, and if we try to break into Azkaban, then we'll be fighting the Ministry as well." _Damn, the Ministry is inadvertently protecting its Future enemies._

"I have something to put forward," Snape spoke up, and both Ron and Dumbledore looked to him. "Ron's visions have shown us that at some point in the Future, the Ministry has the potential to fall. If that were to happen, and Muggle-Borns start getting hunted down, we should turn Hogwarts into a bastion."

"A bastion, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, while Ron nodded his approval.

"Hogwarts is a fortress unlike any other," Snape started. "It is almost as well protected as Azkaban, but it is significantly larger. We have entire Wings that are not being utilized. We have a staff of House Elves who would happily feed and protect those who have nowhere to go, and they in turn could help the Order."

"An army, you mean," Ron said, and Snape gave a curt nod. _I like this idea. Muggle-Borns, and anyone else running from the war, would be safe here._

"What about the students?" Dumbledore asked.

"At that point, more people will benefit from shelter than education," Snape replied. "If things become sour, then we should turn Hogwarts into the Order's Headquarters. Ron can use The Quibbler to spread the word about Hogwarts being a safe haven for all. We could save a lot of lives, Albus."

"Ronald?" Dumbledore looked to Ron.

"I like this plan," Ron replied. "It's very practical, and it can be achieved quite easily."

"Then let's put a pin in it," Dumbledore said. "Now, let's discuss Order members."

"I proposed a few before you came in," Ron told Snape. "Madame Maxime, Madam Roberts, Rufus Scrimgeour, Clara Martyris, Carey Ductu, Samantha Selwyn, and my brother Percy." Snape nodded slowly as he leaned back in his chair, his mind clearly at work.

"Madam Roberts and Rufus Scrimgeour will never join the Order," Dumbledore told Ron, who waited for an explanation. "I asked them during the last war, and they refused me outright. They both respect the Ministry too much to join a 'Rebel Organization'. They believe that without the Ministry being on the frontline, people are more inclined to panic and hysteria. To them, only the Ministry has the right to deal with threats like Lord Voldemort."

"Great…" Ron rolled his eyes. "What about my other suggestions?"

"Madame Maxime is perfect," Dumbledore replied, and Ron was glad to hear that. "She was very outspoken during the last war, and even supplied the Order with aid from the shadows. She also happens to be a good friend of mine. How would you like to go to France again, Ronald?"

"If it helps the Order, I'll go right now," Ron replied, and Dumbledore chuckled heartily.

"Next Thursday, during your free periods, come to my Office," Dumbledore instructed. "Fawkes will take you to the Heart of Beauxbatons, which is bound to impress many young Ladies. You can also further your alliance with Madame Maxime, whilst also delivering a letter from me."

"And you look respectful by sending your favorite pupil," Ron smirked.

"Are you my favorite, Ronald?" Dumbledore chuckled.

"I better be," Ron joked. "One thing though… She'll question why **I** , of all people,am delivering a message regarding Order business."

"She will, but she will not speak a word of it," Dumbledore told Ron. "She respects you, Ronald, and she'll need to be convinced of the Dark Lord's return." Dumbledore stopped and took in a deep breath at that. "She also happens to know that we were hiding the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts. After all, she is friends with Nicolas Flamel."

"Wait… You want me to show her my scars as proof?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a grave nod. _Are you serious?_

"She is an intelligent witch, and she will not hand over her allegiance without proof," Dumbledore sighed. "Forgive me, my boy… But you might be required to make this sacrifice."

"So your word isn't enough," Ron bit out.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore replied. "War is a terrifying thing, and before she agrees to join it, she will demand proof."

"Fuck," Ron muttered under his breath. "Whatever… I'll make sure that she keeps everything to herself."

"Clara, Carey, and Samantha are good choices," Snape suddenly piped in. "The three girls are extremely clever, and they will no doubt stand against the Dark Lord when the time comes."

"Even the Selwyn girl?" Dumbledore asked.

"She despises her parents," Snape replied, and Ron nodded his agreement. "Whereas Carey Ductu's father is a Muggle, and Clara Martyris' mother is a Muggle-Born. When the time comes, they'll need help."

"Plus, we could use some younger blood in the Order," Ron said, and Dumbledore blinked at him. "Too many old people, Headmaster. All of them living in the last century… All of them useless when it comes to making morally debatable choices. We need some… greyer… people in the Order. People who won't shy away from dirty work."

"So more people like us?" Snape asked, and Ron gave him a nod.

"We're just three people," Ron said calmly. "And sure, we're manipulating events on a continental scale. But we are also quite detached from the foot soldiers. People like Clara, Carey, and Samantha can help us with the things that normal Order members would refuse. Things like rallying the Slytherins, or even helping us implement our plans."

"The Order could certainly use more Slytherins," Snape told Dumbledore. "These three girls could be the start of that."

"I will speak with them then," Dumbledore conceded. "When the time is right, that is." _Great._

"And Percy?" Ron asked.

"I will speak with him before he graduates," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you," Ron 'smiled'.

"Speaking of your siblings," Snape started. "Your brothers William and Charles have agreed to join the Order."

"That's good," Ron nodded. "You'll keep them away from danger, won't you?"

"Do we get a choice?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, you don't," Ron replied. "My help comes at a cost." Dumbledore and Snape gave understanding nods, and Ron was glad that they weren't arguing this point anymore.

"William has asked for a transfer to Gringotts," Dumbledore told Ron. "He will be working in England by the end of the month according to your parents." _Really? That's neat. I haven't seen him in over two years._

"I'll probably see him at his work then," Ron nodded to himself. "Very nice."

"Do we have anything else to discuss?" Dumbledore asked.

"Has Greyback been found yet?" Snape asked.

"No," Dumbledore replied. "Sebastian's hired private army is searching for him, but he's gone underground."

"What about Malfoy and Nott Snr?" Ron asked. "Do we know what they're up to?"

"I have been invited to a dinner at Lucius' home on Sunday night," Snape replied. "He no doubt wishes to discuss the Dark Lord's return."

"Do be careful, Severus," Dumbledore smiled a little sadly.

"I will be fine," Snape said dismissively.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Black Lake – Evening)**_

Ron practiced his Occlumency as he sat on the lonely shore of the Black Lake, his already calm mind felt even more relaxed because of the atmosphere. The air was a little cold, and the breeze had a way of keeping you awake, but Ron loved it. Right now, he was beginning to close in on his 'happy place'. Ron found that if he just focused on feeling the tranquility of his dreams, he could somewhat shut out the outside World.

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice, and then Ron was shaken out of his meditation. _Damn, I was so close._ Ron looked to his left, and he spotted Daphne standing over him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was meditating," Ron replied. "Working on my Occlumency."

"Oh… Did I disturb you?" Daphne asked. _You know you did._

"It's alright," Ron tried to give a genuine smile. "Sit with me." Daphne slowly sat down by his side, her eyes fixed on his face.

"You're still feeling the Calming Draught," Daphne noted.

"I took it around five hours ago, Daphne," Ron said. "It takes time to wear off."

"Right…" Daphne said, her demeanor becoming cold. "Should I leave you alone then? I'd rather not give you a headache." Ron just looked to her, and he found her staring at him.

"I'm sorry for my outburst," Ron apologized. "I was having a wonderful time with just you, but then they all showed up…"

"You need to apologize to your mother," Daphne huffed in indignation. "How could you go that far, Ron? It was not only rude, but I found your behavior disgusting." _She sounds genuinely angry with me._

"She just… gets on my nerves," Ron said, his calm expression facing the water. "Did you hear her? 'He doesn't know what's good for him'… As if I'm a toddler that needs his mummy to wipe down his chin. She belittled me once again, and then she tried to enforce her 'care' on me. I don't need it, and I don't appreciate it. She had her chance when I was younger."

"You're too unforgiving, Ron," Daphne sighed out, her head shaking. "One day, you'll regret that."

"You know what I would definitely regret?" Ron asked. "Not doing my job."

"Your job?" Daphne asked. "You mean The Quibbler business?" _No._

"Yes," Ron lied. "Why can't she just understand that her babying me stresses me the most? I mean, I've told her multiple times, and yet, she keeps doing it. Do you know why she keeps doing it?"

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Because she thinks that if she keeps making noise, she'll be heard," Ron replied. "It's always been like that. Every time our Family has a disagreement, my mum is the first person to start yelling. Well, I don't respond well to that sort of behavior."

"So you're not going to apologize?" Daphne asked with a frown.

"I'll apologize when she apologizes for that letter, or for smacking me without hearing my story, or for screaming at me when I saved Xeno's business, or for the countless times that she made me feel like I didn't exist," Ron replied. "Or better yet, I'll apologize when she apologizes for crying when I was born."

"What?" Daphne blinked, her anger forgotten.

"My mother wept with disappointment when I was born," Ron 'smiled' at Daphne, which made her feel quite uncomfortable. "She wanted a daughter… She wanted Ginny… Not me."

"How do you know this?" Daphne asked. "Did she tell you?"

"The twins used to remind me off it all the time," Ron shrugged. "It was their way of making me cry quickly."

"That's dreadful," Daphne hissed. "Those two… degenerates!"

"Eh… It is what it is," Ron shrugged. "I just wanted to do my work, Daph. I felt like I was finally moving past my breakdown, and then they all showed up. They started asking questions, telling me what to do, and just ignoring what I had to say. I suddenly wanted to be sedated again, but since I had work to do, I knew that it would be stupid to just rest. So I bloody lost it. I just didn't want to spiral anymore." _All I wanted was to get my work done. To have some control over my fucked up life._

"Ron, why did you have that breakdown?" Daphne asked, her voice a little gentler than before.

"I was scared…" Ron admitted.

"Scared of what?" Daphne asked. "The seizures?"

"Of being insignificant," Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. _Ease up, Ron._ "I think the seizure triggered my negative thoughts… It doesn't matter. I feel much better now. I listened to my gut, and everything worked out today. I got the papers in, I ran into Madam Bones, and we came to an agreement."

"Madam Bones? The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Daphne asked quickly.

"The very same," Ron replied. "We had lunch together, and I'll be promoting a Project that the Ministry will announce on Monday. It's sort of an unofficial deal between us, but she's the honorable sort so I should be fine."

"What do you get?" Daphne asked like any Slytherin would.

"Her alliance, I hope," Ron replied. "But also a public acknowledgement from her at the gala."

"The gala? What gala?" Daphne perked up, and Ron smiled at her.

"It's for the people who will be donating for the restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital," Ron replied. "Do you want to go with me?"

"Wouldn't I get invited because of my parents' contribution?" Daphne asked. "Usually, at these events, the whole Family is invited."

"I know, but I want you to go with me," Ron said, and she just stared at him. "I want you there as **Daphne** , not Lord Greengrass' daughter. I want you to go with me, and I'll go with you. It'll just be Ron and Daphne."

"Aw… You're so cute sometimes," Daphne melted into an adorable mess, but then she perked up again. Once her expression was schooled, she looked him dead in the eyes. "I'll go with you, but I'm still upset with you." _And they say that I suffer from mood swings._

"Will you be upset during our date?" Ron asked calmly.

"I don't know," Daphne huffed. "You're really not going to apologize to your mother?"

"No."

"Then I'll be a little upset," Daphne sighed. "I just don't want them to think lowly of you, Ron. But sometimes, you just make it really easy for people to dislike you."

"I know," Ron admitted. "I… I don't like being this way, but I am…" Daphne nodded slowly, and they both settled for silence. Ron began to reimagine his vision of the Black Lake, his eyes scouring the lake for any familiar faces. _John, Derek, Susan, Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Hannah, Justin-_

"You can move closer, if you want," Daphne suddenly whispered, and Ron looked to her with a blank stare. "Ron, I'm cold."

"Oh…" Ron muttered, and then he shifted right next to Daphne. She snuggled into his left side, while he draped his arm around her. "Better?"

"Rub my left arm," Daphne whispered, and Ron did as he was told. _Soft, and she smells so nice. I remember that I wanted to snog her this morning._

"Daphne, sit in my lap," Ron said, and Daphne blinked at him. "You'll be warmer that way."

"Really, Ron?" Daphne gave him a deadpan look. _Caught red handed._

"Please?" Ron asked, and Daphne moved over and planted herself on his thighs. _Her back is facing me. I can't kiss her like this._ Ron wrapped his arms around her, and then he pulled her body back.

"Oh, this is nice," Daphne giggled, and then she snuggled her back into his chest. _It is._ Ron kissed her right cheek slowly, and then he began to leave a trail of kisses to her neck.

"What's gotten into you?" Daphne hummed.

"I want kisses," Ron whispered. "Do you not feel like it? I can stop."

"Don't stop," Daphne whispered back, and when he kissed her lower jaw, she let out a squeak. Ron turned her face to his with his gloved hand, and then he kissed her lips. She quickly reacted to his lips, her right hand moving up to the back of his skull. _She wants to snog?_

Ron used his tongue to ask for permission, which she quickly gave. Despite his mind being under the effects of the Calming Draught, Ron found himself enjoying the feeling of his tongue against hers. Daphne, as usual, was a lot more passionate about exploring his mouth, but today, Ron decided to throw caution to the wind. He tightened his hold on her, and then he deepened the kiss even more. Daphne let out a weak moan into his mouth, but neither of them dared to stop.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

They walked up to Hogwarts hand in hand, Daphne seemed to be in a much happier mood than before. Ron, on the other hand, was confused as to why his black suit pants felt a bit damp around his crotch. _That's where Daphne was sitting. Wait… What did Charlie used to say about girls?_ Ron looked at Daphne's arse, his eyes traveling down her skirt and stockings.

"Ron?" Daphne called, and Ron looked up at her. "Do you like watching my bum?"

"I do," Ron replied bluntly, and Daphne just shook her head. "My pants are feeling a little wet-"

"Ahem!" Daphne cleared her throat loudly, and Ron blinked at her. _What?_ "Ron! We're nearly at the Courtyard!"

"And?" Ron asked.

"That Potion…" Daphne sighed out. "Ron, I got… excited… That's all. When girls get excited, we get… wet…"

"I know, it's just never happened before," Ron said, his eyes looking ahead again.

"It has…" Daphne sighed. "Today just got a bit out of hand… We snogged for a long time, and your thing was poking into my bum the entire time."

"It was?" Ron asked, and she gave him a weak nod. _She's blushing. Cute._ "Sorry, I didn't really realize it."

"That's fine," Daphne tightened her hold on his hand. "I… I didn't really mind…"

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"I'm sure," Daphne smiled a little. "I really enjoyed your kissing today. You didn't hold back as usual."

"You know that I hold back?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave a nod. "Why haven't you said anything?"

"I don't want to rush you," Daphne shrugged. "Usually, you try to keep yourself in check a little too much. I don't mind that, but this was a nice change." _Noted. I should be more open with what I want. Within reason, of course._ As they entered the Courtyard, Ron found himself being stared at by the other students.

"Why are they staring?" Ron asked Daphne, who rolled her eyes.

"Rumors, Ron," Daphne said, her expression turning cold. "This is your third seizure at Hogwarts, and everyone knows that you spend a lot of time at the Hospital Wing. There are rumors about you being sick."

"Since when?" Ron asked.

"Since yesterday," Daphne replied. "Most of the younger girls are talking about it, while the older students feel rather bad for you. We haven't stopped the rumors, mostly because we decided to see where the wind was blowing."

"The wind?" Ron asked, his eyes landing on a Gryffindor fourth year who waved at him with a sad look on her face.

"Sympathy is a powerful emotion, and we figured that we could exploit it," Daphne replied, and Ron looked to her. "Sooner or later, people are going to find out about your conditions. We should set up the groundwork beforehand, just in case. Theo wants to make you look like a brave soul, who despite being ill, is doing his best every day."

"Theodore fucking Nott," Ron frowned a little.

"We won't outright say that you're sick, but we won't do anything to stop the rumors either," Daphne whispered. "We just go about our lives as usual, while all the soft-hearted students look at you with favor."

"Pity, you mean," Ron said.

"You can shut down the rumors if you want," Daphne told him. "We're just offering you advice, after all. Oh, and your siblings know that you had a breakdown this morning."

"I know, I heard the twins shouting," Ron said blandly. "I just hope that they haven't told anyone else."

"I'm sorry about that," Daphne said, and Ron looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "I was talking to Pomfrey, and they overheard me."

"I see."

"You're not angry?" Daphne asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"It was a mistake," Ron gave her a comforting smile. "I know that you'd never do something like that on purpose. I trust you completely." Daphne smiled genuinely at that, her left hand nearly crushing his gloved one.

"I love you," Daphne whispered, and Ron just smiled at her. "And I'm really glad that the Potion is starting to wear off. You're becoming you again." Ron went to say something, but someone called his name as they entered the Entrance Hall. Ron and Daphne looked to see a bunch of first years coming down the steps, and much to Ron's surprise, the Slytherin first years were mingled with first years from other Houses.

"Ron!" Tori beamed, and she ran up and clung to his middle. "You're alive!" The other first years quickly surrounded him, with most of them looking him over with worried expressions.

"I'm alright," Ron assured them all, while he used his left hand to rub Tori's back.

"Are you sure?" Mathew asked.

"We heard that you were dying," Tom from Ravenclaw said.

"People have been saying terrible things," Lysandra added, she didn't look flirtatious for once. Daphne just looked around herself, and she found herself wondering when Ron had become so important to the first years. Oddly enough, it made her feel rather proud of him.

"I just had a tumble," Ron smiled.

"A tumble?" Derek blinked, while the others waited for an actual answer.

"Mate, we've been worried sick," John said, and a bunch of them nodded in agreement.

"Ron, are you actually sick?" Beth from Hufflepuff piped up, and Ron felt Tori tighten her hug. _Tori knows that I'm sick. Looks like she hasn't uttered a word about it to the others though._

"I'm…" Ron started, but then he stopped. _What do I say?_ Ron looked to Daphne, who was still holding his right hand. "I'm perfectly fine. Please don't worry about me." _My job is to worry about you, not the other way around._

"Are you sure?" Flora asked.

"People keep telling us that you've had seizures before," Hestia added.

"You lot are stuck with me, I promise," Ron said calmingly. "Don't worry about me, alright?" The first years looked anything but relieved, especially because of Ron's look to Daphne. "I expect you all at our study group tomorrow."

"Wouldn't miss it," Randal from Gryffindor put on a brave face, and his fellow Gryffindors nodded their agreement.

"Good lad," Ron smiled at him, and he puffed out his chest a little.

"We were just heading out to play tag," Sebastian started. "Do you want to play?" _Tag? Since when are they so close?_

"All of you?" Ron asked the first years, and they nodded. _I should join them, and then make sure to include everyone._ "Sure, I'll join you."

"Really?!" Christian from Hufflepuff beamed.

"Why not? Sun's still out for a bit," Ron shrugged. "Where are we playing?"

"Near Professor Hagrid's Hut," Derek answered quickly.

"Only Jinxes and Charms allowed," Robert from Gryffindor said, his eyes narrowing on the Slytherins.

"Alright, I'll meet you all there," Ron said, and the first years excitedly made their way out of the Entrance Hall. "Tori, you should join them. I'll be right there."

"Your brain?" Tori looked up, her eyes welled up with tears. _Shite._

"There's been no change, little sister," Daphne moved closer, her free hand fixing Tori's hair into place.

"Like I said, just a tumble," Ron kissed the top of Tori's head.

"You're lying," Tori sniffled, and Ron blinked at her. "You bled from your nose and ears… We all heard about it…"

"Who told you that?" Ron asked.

"The Ravenclaws were in the Greenhouse as well, Ron," Daphne sighed. "It started from them, and now everyone is talking about it." Daphne then rubbed Tori's back. "You are a Greengrass, and we don't shed tears in public. Be strong, Tori."

"Can't have my little spy crying, now, can I?" Ron smiled, and Tori released a wet chuckle. Her face twisted a little at that, and she planted her face into his sternum again. _She's crying. Damn._

"Shhh, everything is okay," Daphne whispered, while Tori's little body trembled from silent sobs. "Ron, why don't you go to the other first years? I'll take Tori to the common room."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a nod.

"C'mon, little sister," Daphne said as she put her arms around Tori. "I know where Tracey hides her sweets."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Outside Hagrid's Hut – Late Evening)**_

"Colloshoo!" Lysandra chanted as she fired the Shoe-Sticking Hex at Ron's feet, and Ron quickly jumped over it.

"That's a Hex, you little cheat!" Ron laughed, and she squealed as he tagged her.

"Not fair!" Lysandra laughed. "He's got longer legs than us!"

"That's got nothing to do with my skills," Ron smirked as he ran away from her, and the other first years did the same. Lysandra looked around for an easy target, and when her eyes landed on Derek, she bolted in his direction.

"Why do you always come after me?!" Derek yelled as he broke into a sprint.

"She fancies you, mate," a first year joked, and his comment was met with resounding laughter. Once Ron was a safe distant away, he fixed up his suit and watched the first years running about. Hagrid had come out to see what the commotion was, but after seeing the game of tag, he had smiled widely and left the first years to enjoy themselves.

"Psst," someone whispered, and Ron looked back to see a couple of girls hiding behind Hagrid's massive pumpkins.

"You can come hide with us," Poppy from Ravenclaw whispered, and Ron walked up to them and crouched down.

"Hello, Ladies," Ron smiled, and both Beth and Poppy smiled back. "Why are you hiding here?"

"Beth got a bit winded," Poppy replied, and Ron noticed that Beth was looking rather flushed.

"I'm not used to running around like this," Beth panted, though she looked quite happy. "Oh, this is-"

"Poppy, I know," Ron said, and Poppy blinked at him.

"See!" Beth exclaimed, and Poppy shushed her. "Sorry… But see. I told you that he remembered everyone's names."

"I helped you with your star chart," Ron reminded Poppy.

"I know… I just didn't think that you'd remember me…" Poppy muttered, she looked rather shy all of a sudden. _Trust me, Pansy made me go over your names for an entire day. I really ought to listen to her more often._

"Why are you wearing a suit?" Beth asked out of the blue.

"I went to Diagon Alley today," Ron replied. "I had some work to do."

"My sister works at Diagon Alley," Beth said, and Ron suddenly remembered Tiffany.

"Tiffany, right?" Ron asked, and Beth's jaw dropped. "I had lunch at The Pond, and she introduced herself."

"She did?" Beth blinked, while Poppy sniggered to herself. "What… What did she say? To you, that is… About me…"

"Nothing too embarrassing," Ron teased, and Beth hid her tiny face behind her hands. "Letters, huh?"

"She's so embarrassing…" Beth whined, while Ron and Poppy just laughed. "Oh my God…" _God? Ah, Muggle-Born. Need to remember that._

"It's alright," Ron said, an amused smile on his face. "I'm glad that you think so highly of me."

"I'm going back out there," Beth said quickly, and then she ran off to join the others.

"Did I tease her too much?" Ron asked Poppy, who just smiled widely.

"She's a bit shy, but she'll be fine," Poppy replied. "Oh, and she has a massive crush on you."

"Her sister alluded to as much," Ron said. "Want to join the others?"

"Sure," Poppy stood up, and Ron followed suit. "Someone has to watch her back, right?"

"You two seem to be good friends," Ron noted.

"Different Houses, but I really like her," Poppy shrugged. _Good. Hopefully, the other first years take after your example._

"Are yeh lot hungry?!" Hagrid's voice boomed, and everyone looked to see him coming out of his hut. "I've made some brownies for yeh! Yeh'll need yer strength if you plan on runnin' about like that!" Before the giant Professor knew it, he was already cornered by excited first years. "One at a time! Chew before yeh swallow!"

"Go on," Ron said to Poppy, who quickly joined the others. While the first years mugged Hagrid, Ron looked towards Hogwarts. His smile died as he remembered the flames engulfing the castle, and for a fleeting moment, he was filled with melancholy. _I won't let that happen in my Cycle. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it gets me killed._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 5th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – After Dinner)**_

Dinner had been a rather odd affair, mostly because people kept looking over at him. Ron, for the most part, focused on chatting with his friends, but occasionally, he spotted sad looks being shot at him. It didn't really bother him, but after obsessing over secrecy for so long, Ron found the limelight to be unnerving. This feeling of being unnerved increased when Hagrid told the other Professors about Ron and the first years, which earned him all sorts of looks from the staff.

The girls had been a blessing, especially Tracey, who constantly made him laugh and feel at ease. Pansy droned on about different makeup kits that she wanted to buy, just like any other day. Millie discussed Dueling tactics with him, and she promised him that her father was sending over a Scroll with a powerful Spell on it. And Daphne just held his hand under the table, which calmed his nerves. Blaise and Theo mostly talked about their plans for Hogsmeade, while Malfoy just sat beside Ron quietly. The pale boy looked a little troubled, but Ron elected to ignore that for now.

"I'm not getting a haircut," Theo told Pansy as they all made their way out.

"Theo, you've had that haircut for too long," Pansy frowned. "I'm sorry, but it's got to go. We have to show our change to the other Slytherins. We can't be seen as little kids anymore."

"I get that, but why a haircut?" Theo complained, and then he looked to Blaise. "Blaise, mate… Tell her to stop."

"I think she's right," Blaise shrugged, and Pansy smirked. "It's just a haircut, Theo."

"I look good with **this** haircut though," Theo groaned as they entered the Entrance Hall, and that's when the twins hopped into their way. _Damn. Here we go._

"Ron, can we talk to you?" Ron said before the twins could, and they both frowned at him. Tracey and Theo sniggered, while the others smirked. "Sure thing, you two. Is the Courtyard good?"

"It is," came Percy's voice from behind him, and Ron knew that they had surrounded him. _Well played._

"I'll see you guys at the common room," Ron said, and his friends nodded before leaving. Daphne, like usual, was the last to leave.

"Let's go," Percy said, and Ron followed him outside. The twins trailed after Ron, and Ron was certain that they would attempt to block him if he tried to do a runner. _As if they even could._

"Really?" Ron asked when he spotted the Golden Trio waiting besides Luna and Ginny. "They have no business being here."

"Ron, they're just worried," Percy whispered. _No, they're just nosey. I mean, why else would Harry be here?_

"Hello," Ron greeted everyone, and his eyes immediately spotted Luna's white slippers. "Um… Luna, where are your school shoes?"

"I misplaced them," Luna hummed, and Ron blinked at her. _Misplaced them?_

"Someone stole them, you mean," Ginny frowned. "Was it that older girl that calls you 'Loony', huh? Was it her?"

"Ginny, she doesn't mean anything by it," Luna smiled airily, but Ginny's expression became dark. _Gertrude Swans. That fucking bitch is still going after Luna? Why?_

"Gertrude Swans," Ron frowned deeply, and Luna blinked at him. "That's her name, right? The prefect?"

"Gertrude isn't a bully," Percy said dismissively. "She's a prefect, Ron. She wouldn't-"

"What? Abuse her power?" Ron cut him off. "As if those in charge haven't abused their power before."

"Hear, hear," the twins said, while Percy and Hermione looked quite vexed.

"I know her," Percy said firmly. "She takes her job very seriously, and she even helps out at the Hospital Wing." _Oh, I know. Malfoy's told me all about her 'Healing Skills'._

"I don't really care," Luna shrugged, her smile back on her face. "My friends don't call me Loony, so it's alright."

"Gertrude Swans," George said. "Remember that name, Fred."

"Oh, I already have," Fred said, and the twins smirked at each other. _Good, I hope they fuck her up._

"You can't go after a prefect," Hermione finally spoke up. "You should talk to a Professor instead."

"We plan to," Fred chuckled. "Professor Zonko." _Ha!_

"There's no Professor Zonko," Hermione blinked, and then she caught up. "That's not even funny."

"We're all getting sidetracked," Harry said firmly, his green eyes fixed on Ron. "Ron, what happened to you?"

"I had a seizure from exhaustion," Ron replied. "It's happened-"

"After that," Harry said quickly, and Ron couldn't help but wonder why Harry was so interested in his injury.

"Madam Pomfrey mentioned a mental breakdown," Percy added, and Ron let out a groan. "Ron, take this seriously."

"Mate, we're just worried," Neville piped in. "People are saying that you're… sick."

"I'm dying," Ron told them, and everyone went dead quiet. "That was a joke."

"How the fuck is that funny?" Fred lost his humor. "What's the matter with you?" _Clearly, I have issues._

"Just a bit of gallows humor," Ron raised his hands in mock surrender, and even Luna frowned at him. "What does it matter to any of you?"

"What?" Ginny blinked, while the others looked quite taken aback.

"Oh, you're back are you?" Ron frowned at her, and she seemed to shrink immediately. Ron then looked to Percy, he really didn't want to keep looking at Ginny. _I'll do something stupid, I just know it._ "I have a lot on my plate, and it stressed me out. Madam Pomfrey sedated me, and Daphne helped me cheer up again. I'm fine now."

"That's it?" George asked. "That's all you have to say?"

"Why do you make it sound like I owe you an explanation," Ron frowned at George.

"Maybe because you do," George frowned back. _What? What the fuck?_

"And how do you figure that?" Ron asked. "I just told you what happened. I got panicky, and people that I trust pulled me back. End of story."

"People that you trust?" Hermione asked. "What? Greengrass?"

"She happens to be my girlfriend," Ron said in disbelief. "And trust me, she's been there for me in ways that you can't even imagine." Hermione didn't like the sound of that, but Ron didn't really care.

"We just wanted to see you, Ron," Percy spoke up.

"And I couldn't handle seeing you," Ron told him. "I was in a bad place, and the fact that you're upset over me choosing my own mental health over your feelings is just pathetic. **I** needed help, alright? And I got it. Why have you dragged me out here?" No one said anything, but Ron already knew the answer. _Nosey twats._ "You lot are making me angry with your misguided concern… I'm leaving."

"Misguided concern?" Hermione fumed. "You're being rude, Ron!"

"I'm being rude?" Ron asked, and then he looked to Harry. "Why is he here?"

"What?" Harry blinked.

"Yeah, why are **you** here?" Ron asked. "You don't give a shite about me, and I know it. Are you still looking into me, eh?" Harry frowned deeply, while the others just felt uncomfortable. "Spare me your nosiness… All of you. I don't need it. I mean, I don't delve into your lives, do I? Why can't you all show me the same respect? Why do you have to drag me out here, and then ambush me with invasive questions? What makes you think that I owe you anything?"

"Something is definitely wrong if you're being this defensive," Fred snapped. _Merlin, just leave me alone. I don't need this attention on me._

"Yes, let's corner the person who had a mental breakdown this morning, and then yell at him," Ron laughed scathingly. "All because he isn't spilling his guts to you about his personal issues. I mean, fuck that guy for wanting some privacy, eh? Piss off." Ron turned around and began to leave at that, but the twins jumped into his way.

"Are you sick, or not?" George demanded.

"I'm not sick," Ron lied. "If I was, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me go to Diagon Alley today."

"You went to Diagon Alley today?!" Percy exclaimed. "Is that why you're wearing a suit?! Merlin, Ron… You just had a mental-"

"I know," Ron stopped him. "But like I said, I have a lot on my plate."

"You're overworking yourself," Luna finally spoke up. "Your seizure was because of exhaustion, we all believe that. But we're just worried, Ron."

"Some of you are worried," Ron shook his head. "Others are just here because they enjoy being nosey. I'll let you lot figure out who is who." Ron then looked to the twins again. "Step aside, you're making me anxious."

"Anxious?" the twins asked, and Ron felt a ball of anxiety in his stomach.

"Just… Just move, please," Ron said, he hated the feeling of being outnumbered.

"Move out of his way," Percy sighed, but the twins just stared at Ron. "Now!"

"Fine," Fred sneered at Ron. "Go ahead and have another seizure, see if we care." Ron just walked past the twins and entered the castle again, his hands were beginning to tremble. _C'mon, Ron! Don't let their words get to you. They don't know about your conditions, so just relax._ Ron put his hands in his pockets, and just as he was walking up to the stairs leading into the Dungeons, Percy caught up with him.

"Wait, Ron," came Percy's voice, and Ron grit his teeth.

"What?" Ron asked without looking back.

"Your Chronic Stress… It caused the breakdown, right?" Percy asked.

"Please… Please don't talk about it," Ron sighed out. "Don't you understand that you all make me feel worse when you remind me of it?"

"All?" Percy asked gently.

"Doesn't matter…" Ron said, and then he looked back at Percy. "I got help, alright? I'm moving on."

"You should tell the others," Percy started, and Ron closed his eyes. "What? Ron, they'll help you."

"Have you helped me?" Ron asked, and Percy blinked at him. "What do you know about Chronic Stress?" Percy just stared at Ron for a bit, and then he swallowed thickly.

"I… I've had… N. E. W. Ts," Percy muttered, he felt like he had been slapped.

"I'm not blaming you, Perce," Ron said. "I just understand that people have their own shite to worry about. Telling the others will just make them worry about me needlessly. Not to mention the pity parade… I'm not some drooling toddler who doesn't know what's good for him. I know my limits, and I know that right now, I can be better than I am. All of you just need to understand that, and if you can't, then stay out of my way."

With that, Ron walked down to the Dungeons. He made sure to think about anything but his stresses, and he mainly focused on his accomplishments today. He had made a deal with Madam Bones, he had given Gornuk the documents, Daphne and he had enjoyed each other's company, and the first years didn't feel constricted by House Rivalry because of his study group. He had done his best today, and that's all that mattered. And yet, he had also made mistakes… _Fuck, now I can't stop feeling anxious._

"Purity," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him. Ron made his way into the common room, and he immediately felt eyes fixed on him. _Just find your friends, Ron._ Ron began to walk over to them, but Clara moved into his way.

"Ron, a word?" Clara asked, and Ron put on a smile.

"Sure," Ron said, and she smiled softly.

"Come on," Clara said, and then she led him towards the Training Area. Ron smiled at anyone who was looking at him with a worried expression, and most of them were content with that. As they stepped into the Training Area, Clara tangled her arm with his.

"We're doing this again?" Ron asked, a smile on his face. "I **have** missed it."

"Me too," Clara smiled a little more fully. "That, and I want to make sure that your muscles are developing nicely."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Most wizards rely too much on Magic," Clara sighed dramatically. "I prefer it when boys have some natural strength."

"There you are," came Carey's voice, and Ron looked ahead to see her standing with Samantha. "How are you feeling, Ron?"

"Much better now that Clara's chest is squeezing my arm," Ron joked, which earned him a smirk from Samantha. "I'm doing fine. Nothing to worry about, I promise."

"People are saying that you're sick," Carey reminded him, and Ron nodded slowly.

"It won't affect my job," Ron decided to say, and Clara's face fell. _They probably have their suspicions already, and I could really use their sympathy._

"You… You're really sick?" Clara asked, her flirty demeanor completely gone.

"Three seizures in three years, and his constant appointments with Madam Pomfrey," Samantha sighed. "We already knew this, Clara."

"You know about my appointments with Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked, though he wasn't really surprised.

"Come here," Carey said softly, and Ron slowly walked up to her. She cupped his cheeks, and then she looked into his eyes. "Is your illness fatal, Ron?"

"It… It has the… potential to be," Ron whispered, and Carey's eyes dulled immediately. _Shite, I shouldn't have admitted that._

"I… I see…" Carey muttered, her hands leaving his face. "I'm sorry…"

"What can we do for you?" Samantha said, her voice still reliable. "We can lower your responsibilities if it helps."

"I promised to help, and I will keep my word," Ron said firmly. "Thank you for the offer, but it's not necessary." _This is a little awkward._ "I'm actually feeling a bit spent… May I be excused?"

"Go and rest, Ron," Samantha said, while Carey just stood there with a dull expression.

"Goodnight," Ron whispered, and then he turned around and began to leave.

"Wait," Clara caught up to him by the stairs.

"Yes?" Ron asked, and he was rather taken aback by her firm expression.

"You're proud, I can respect that," Clara started. "But pride is not worth an early grave. If you ever feel like we're asking too much of you, you come straight to me. Understand? You come straight to me, and I'll sort Carey and Samantha out."

"I understand," Ron said, and Clara hugged him tightly. _Those tits!_

"Don't get worse for us, okay?" Clara whispered. "This House business isn't as important as you."

"Important as me?" Ron blinked, his arms returning her hug.

"I told you, Ron… I read people," Clara whispered in his right ear. "People like you are special."

"People like me?"

"People who put others first, even if it hurts them," Clara replied, and Ron just stood there. "You're special… Haven't we always told you that?"

"I… I don't understand… Where is this coming from?" Ron asked, his ears turning red.

"I want you to come to me if you ever need help," Clara ignored his question. "If Daphne Greengrass isn't available, I'll help you until she arrives." Ron pulled back at that, and he noticed that Clara looked quite sad. "Don't get worse for our benefit. We'll never forgive you for that." Ron nodded slowly, and then he looked towards Carey and Samantha. Much to his surprise, Samantha seemed to be comforting Carey. _They really do care about me that much? Why?_

"I'll come to you if Daphne isn't around…" Ron said, and then he quickly left. _I shouldn't have told them. I'm so fucking selfish! Look at them… They're genuinely scared for me now. Fuck!_

* * *

 _ **Friday 6th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Rosa Lee Teabag - Afternoon)**_

"I must admit, this agreement is a bit too thorough for my liking," Barnabas said, while Ron finished his second cup of Masala Chai. "You've taken the fun out of this."

"Ruining your fun is fun for me," Ron smirked from behind his teacup, and Barnabas let out a chuckle.

"Which Goblin put this together for you?" Barnabas asked. "I must meet him."

"What if there was no Goblin?" Ron asked in return.

"This is a Goblin's handiwork," Barnabas smiled at Ron. "They have a way of sealing loops that is just… irritating. Instead of saying that **I** can't besmirch your magazine, this Goblin made sure to write down me **and** the Daily Prophet. He even included all of our subsidiaries, past and present. Not to mention our printing companies as well. Too thorough…"

"These rules apply to me as well," Ron pointed out. "You and I can coexist in peace."

"What if I don't sign it?" Barnabas smirked, his thick moustache shining because of styling products.

"Then I win," Ron smirked back.

"This round, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas added, he looked anything but annoyed.

"Can you really stand that though?" Ron asked playfully. "I outmaneuvered you when you tried to block my advertisement campaign as well."

"The point wasn't to block you, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas said pleasantly. "It was to wound you."

"Wound me, Mr. Cuffe?" Ron asked.

"You don't shoot the rabbit right out of his hole, you give it a chance to run," Barnabas said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "It's just more sporting that way."

"Do I strike you as a rabbit?" Ron asked. "I'm a damn Basilisk, Mr. Cuffe. Don't make me turn my gaze on you." Barnabas let out a throaty laugh at that, while Ron just smiled at him. In an odd sort of way, this back and forth was fun.

"You and I must have dinner soon, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas said. "The things I've heard about you… They beggar belief."

"If you sign the agreement, we can have dinner next week," Ron said calmly.

"Very well," Barnabas chuckled, and then he took out a Muggle pen from his robes.

"Please, use mine," Ron said as he pulled out the Gringotts Quill from his briefcase. Barnabas blinked at it, and then he put his own pen away.

"Paranoid?" Barnabas asked as he accepted the Golden Quill.

"Just wary of intelligent people," Ron replied.

"Smart," Barnabas said, and then he signed the agreement. _Finally. I was worried for a bit. The ink from that Quill is binding._ "Here you are, young man."

"Thank you," Ron said as he took back the papers and Quill, which he stored away in his briefcase.

"Have you ever gone hunting, Mr. Weasley?" Barnabas asked, his teacup hiding his mouth. _I've hunted down a piece of the Dark Lord's soul, mate._

"No," Ron replied. "Is it enjoyable?"

"Depends," Barnabas replied.

"On what?"

"Whether you're the hunter, or the prey," Barnabas replied.

"And am I your prey?" Ron asked, and then he finished up his tea.

"Not quite," Barnabas replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Welcome to the game, Mr. Weasley."

"The game?" Ron asked.

"Politics," Barnabas clarified. "Thirteen years old, and already playing with the **men**."

"I have no interest in politics," Ron lied.

"Yes, you do," Barnabas simply smirked. "What time are you free next week?"

"Thursday night," Ron replied.

"The Pond? I hear you enjoyed the Honey Glazed Lamb," Barnabas said, and Ron tensed immediately. _What the fuck? That was yesterday! He's watching me?!_ Ron just stared at Barnabas, his amusement completely gone. "Come now, Mr. Weasley… Don't be so upset. You didn't respect the fact that I have eyes everywhere, and this is the result." _Does he know about my deal with Madam Bones? No, that was a private conversation. But still…_

"I don't enjoy being followed, Mr. Cuffe," Ron said, making sure to keep his temper at bay.

"Then you should be more careful," Barnabas said coldly. "A Basilisk isn't hard to miss."

"A Basilisk can also kill you if you anger it," Ron said as he stood up. "Perhaps we should both be a little more careful."

"I'll see you next week, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas said, and Ron gave him a parting nod. _What the fuck have I gotten myself into now?_

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Friday 6th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower – After Classes)**_

She couldn't care less about Greengrass, or her 'special bond' with Ron. Why should she care? She was ten times smarter than Greengrass, who was nothing but a vain brat with too much money. _Just another airheaded bimbo at Hogwarts. If Ron prefers girls like that, then more power to him. It has nothing to do with me. Nothing._ And yet, Hermione was eagerly awaiting her Duel with Greengrass.

"Hermione, are you coming?" came Neville's voice, and Hermione broke out of her thoughts. She was sitting in a secluded corner, her books from class surrounding her.

"Coming where?" Hermione asked.

"The study group," Neville replied, his brow furrowed. "Are you alright? You've got this scary look about you ever since yesterday."

"I'm fine," Hermione said haughtily. Neville slowly sat down in front of her, his eyes fixed on hers. "What is it, Neville? What do you want from me?"

"I'm a friendly," Neville said calmly, and Hermione blinked at him. _Did I just snap at him?_

"I'm… I'm sorry," Hermione sighed out. _What's wrong with me?_ "I'm just a bit stressed…"

"Want to talk?" Neville asked, and Hermione shook her head. "Shame… I could really use a conversation right now." _Really?_

"Why?" Hermione asked, and Neville smiled a little sadly.

"Harry and I got into an argument…" Neville replied, and Hermione quickly sat up to attention. "I questioned him about the Funeral thing, and he told me everything."

"Everything?" Hermione swallowed, she had spied on Ron too.

"He broke into Ron's private things," Neville shook his head, and quite selfishly, Hermione felt relieved. _I'm not in trouble. Wait… What am I thinking?_

"I um… I followed him too…" Hermione confessed, it was the right thing to do.

"I know," Neville said, he sounded a little disappointed. "Why didn't you two tell me?"

"You were mourning, Neville," Hermione replied quickly.

"No… No, you knew that what you were doing was wrong," Neville said, and Hermione felt herself shrink a little. "Merlin, you two… Didn't you learn from my stupidity last year? I made mountains out of molehills, and it nearly destroyed our friendship with Ron. Why are you two making the same mistake as me now?"

"I'm not," Hermione denied quickly. "I left Harry, Neville. He was doing something wrong, and I told him as much."

"He went on about something called an MRI," Neville said, his tone almost scolding. "What's that about? He said that he needs to find out what it could mean."

"I… It's…" Hermione muttered, when did Neville get so intimidating? _It's because you're feeling guilty, Hermione. You should've stopped Harry, but you chose to ignore it._ "It's a Muggle health test… It's used to scan for any internal injuries… I think…"

"Internal injuries? Like a brain?" Neville asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "Harry said that the pictures he found in Ron's room looked like a brain."

"I… I guess," Hermione said, her own brain quickly creating theories. _Ron got a brain scan? But a Muggle one? Doesn't make sense._ "What do you think Ron was trying to hide yesterday?"

"Pardon?" Neville asked.

"Ron… He was trying to hide something yesterday," Hermione said. "Didn't you notice how defensive he got? You don't think that he's actually sick, do you?" Hermione and Neville both felt a little tense at the thought.

"Hermione, he wasn't hiding anything," Neville sighed. "He wants privacy, and he deserves that."

"But if he's sick, then we need to know about it," Hermione argued quickly. "We're his friends, and we deserve to know if he's in trouble."

"Why? What are we going to do?" Neville asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "Nothing…"

"Brain injuries can be serious, Neville," Hermione frowned deeply.

"You think I don't know that?" Neville frowned back. "You forget that I lost my parents to a brain injury of sorts…" Hermione froze in her spot. "Yeah… If Ron is actually hurt, then we need to respect his privacy. He clearly doesn't want to talk about it with us, and if we keep prodding into it, he'll cut ties with us. I'm his eternal friend, Hermione… I can't betray him again. I can't shame my Gran, not after all the pain she's been through over the last month."

"Neville… Why are we having this conversation?" Hermione asked meekly.

"Harry needs to be stopped," Neville said firmly, and Hermione looked down at her lap. "You should've stopped him outright, but you didn't… He's crossed lines, and he doesn't even realize it. I get that he feels neglected, I really do, but Ron's not to blame for that. We're Harry's friends, and we need to bring him back before he does something that he regrets."

"Regrets?" Hermione asked.

"Ron isn't a person that you cross… Everyone knows that…" Neville said, and Hermione couldn't help but agree.

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Friday 6th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Thief's End Tavern – Evening)**_

Incompetence. Lord Voldemort was so sick of incompetence. Fenrir had one job to do, and he had managed to botch that up. The disgusting dog had given into his baser nature, and his savagery had resulted in a bitter defeat. The Dark Lord's first campaign since his return would be forever marred by defeat. Fenrir would pay for that.

Over the last few days, the Dark Lord had turned the Thief's End Tavern into his base of operations. His body was severely strained after his fight with Gaspard, and so traveling was out of the question. Gaspard's 'children' had devoured the bartender during their fight, and occasionally, he'd see them spending time together. They unnerved the Dark Lord for some reason. They never spoke. They didn't even acknowledge his presence. They simply… existed. All he knew about them was that they were older than even Dumbledore, and that if they didn't get fed regularly, then they'd try to eat him as well.

As for the Blood Lord, he had been making inquiries on the Dark Lord's behalf over the last few days. Gaspard was unlike anyone that the Dark Lord had met before, and begrudgingly, the Dark Lord had decided to treat him with respect. Gaspard seemed to relish the idea of another war, but only because he wished to fight for the sake of fighting. According to Gaspard, the World was losing its splendor due to civilization. The Dark Lord didn't understand what that meant, nor did he care to learn.

The door to the Tavern creaked open, and the Dark Lord looked to see Gaspard entering the tavern. He was dragging a mewling man behind him, and upon seeing his children, he tossed the man to them with ease. Within seconds, blood and entrails flew across the room. The man's screams were muffled when one of the children crushed his windpipe with a strong punch. The Dark Lord felt disgusted by these savage monsters, but he didn't show it. _Filthy animals._

"As requested," Gaspard smiled at the Dark Lord, and then he placed a bottle filled with Unicorn Blood on the table. The Dark Lord eyed the bottle, and Non-verbally, he determined that the contents weren't tampered with.

"Where did you find it?" Lord Voldemort asked, his thin lips curling into a smile.

"He had some in his inventory," Gaspard gestured to the man being ripped apart, and then he sat down in front of the Dark Lord. "He was peddling women and children too… Disgusting man."

"Did you kill them?" Lord Voldemort asked, and Gaspard just stared at him.

"I set them free," Gaspard replied truthfully.

"You left witnesses?"

"I did," Gaspard shrugged. "Do you have a problem with that?" Scarlet eyes clashed against orange ones, but neither of them made a move. _One day, I'll kill this thing._ The Dark Lord took the bottle of Unicorn Blood, and he quickly drank it down. He immediately felt life course through his strained body, and his sudden resurgence of power made every bottle in the bar explode.

"Excellent…" Lord Voldemort smiled, his eyes blazing red. "You've done well, Gaspard."

"While I was out, I tried to find your dog's whereabouts as well," Gaspard said. "He's gone underground. No one has seen him, or anyone sharing his description. He might even be dead."

"He'll die when I allow him to," the Dark Lord hissed.

"The Hungarian Ministry had nothing to do with that massacre," Gaspard went on. "I know the Hungarian Minister for Magic, and he's as stumped as you." _Stumped? Disrespectful cur!_ "I think that someone hired a private army to spank your wolves."

"Who would dare?" Lord Voldemort demanded.

"Someone rich, I'd say," Gaspard said, he sounded rather bored. "And someone who either wanted to hit you where it hurt, or they just hate wolves. Or both." _Who? Who could amass such a force so quickly? Lucius? Cornelius? No, they would never dare betray me. Who would come after me like this? Not Dumbledore, it isn't his way._

"Now that I've… recovered… my strength," Lord Voldemort started. "I will be departing for Russia. I have contacts there, and with their help, I'll replace Fenrir's army."

"I'll go to England, I think," Gaspard smirked. "It's been a while since I enjoyed the delights of Knockturn Alley."

"Delights? Is that what you plan to do?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"I plan to find Order members," Gaspard said, and the Dark Lord was a little taken aback. "They will all meet… unfortunate ends. We'll hit them before they hit us."

"They are under Albus Dumbledore's protection," the Dark Lord warned.

"That just makes it more fun," Gaspard smiled, his orange eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I met Albus Dumbledore once."

"You did?" Lord Voldemort asked out of curiosity.

"He was a young man, and I was passing through Godric's Hollow," Gaspard replied. _Godric's Hollow?_ "I should've killed him then and there. What a shame." Gaspard stood up at that, and then he looked to his children. "Christina, take your siblings to our fort. I will be gone for a while. Hecate will watch over you all in my absence."

The children just looked at him, their mouths and bodies sullied with blood. And then, they simply departed without uttering a single word.

"They will not be joining you?" the Dark Lord asked.

"No," Gaspard smiled a little sadly, much to the Dark Lord's confusion. "They know that they'll never see me again." _I cannot understand this creature._ "Come, Lord Voldemort… Death awaits."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed that! Sorry again for being late, and also sorry for not including Ron and Daphne's date. I want to make it special, you know? Tacking it on at the end didn't feel right.**

 **I'll see you guys on Friday!**


	87. Chapter 87 - Hogsmeade

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 87 is here! Now, a couple of things!**

 **1\. Happy Birthday ClassyUlysses.**

 **2\. A small story in this chapter is inspired from Windschild8178's Least Loved. If you don't know who that is, then please go check them out! They write some amazing Ron stories, and I mean amazing! Stay Standing is one of my favorites!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 87 – Hogsmeade**

 _ **Millicent Bulstrode's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Crack of Dawn)**_

A loud buzzing woke her up, and she tossed in her bed with a deep frown. The buzzing consisted, despite her best attempts to block it out, and after a few more seconds, she sat up with a tired expression on her face. _Morning run time, Millicent. Just get out of bed._

She picked up her wand and stopped the Alarm Charm, and then she rolled out of her bed with great effort. She desperately felt the need to keep sleeping, but she knew that the boys would be forced to wait for her if she didn't get into gear. So, in order to not hold the others back, she pushed herself towards the bathroom.

Her eyes lingered on each of the beds in the room. Daphne's curtains were closed, as usual, while Tracey and Pansy's curtains were wide open. Pansy slept in her usual pink pajamas, her Witch Weekly magazines littering her bed. And Tracey, much to Millie's discomfort, slept completely nude. Tracey's bare arse was aimed at the ceiling, and try as she might, Millie couldn't stop shooting glances at it. _Why does she have to display herself like this?_

Millie shook her head clear, and then she quickly ran into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, she rubbed her face a little harshly. _Girls… Why do I find girls more appealing to look at than boys?_ Millie wanted to blame Tracey for her own uncomfortable thoughts, the girl was a constant source of eye-candy, but Millie knew that Tracey wasn't doing anything wrong. It was Millie who felt drawn to Tracey's body, and her confidence in it.

"Just get a move on," she whispered to herself, and then she washed her face with cold water. It was refreshing, but it did nothing to stop images of Tracey's bare arse. _Maybe I should ask her to stop walking around naked? No… She'll have questions that even I don't know the answers to._

Millie went about preparing herself in silence. She already had her running gear set out last night, and once she changed into it, she tied her black hair in a rough ponytail. And then, she looked to the one object that all teenage girls despised; a weighing scale. Every Saturday since the start of this year, she checked her weight in order to track her physical changes. She was still a little overweight, but she had no intention of staying that way. _Hard work pays off, just look at Ron._

Millie stepped onto the scale, her eyes fixed on the numbers. _One hundred and twenty nine pounds._ Millie felt her face morph into a smile, she had lost a pound in the last week. _Yes! YES!_ Millie hopped off of the scale, her resolve strengthened by her progress. She had always excused her weight because all Bulstrode were stocky by nature, but now she knew better. Laziness and overindulgence was the real cause of her weight, not her Blood. After all, her father used to be 'as strong as an ox' in his younger days.

Millie stepped out of the bathroom, and on instinct, her eyes traveled to Tracey. _Still naked._ Millie drew in a deep breath, and then she walked over to the slender girl's bedside. Millie grabbed the crumpled blanket, straightened it out, and then she began to cover Tracey. Her finger brushed against Tracey's bare back, and Millie felt a jolt of panic and excitement. _Don't do it again._ And yet, Millie slowly reached down and traced her finger on Tracey's back, all the while scolding herself. _Her skin is so smooth…_

"Hmmm," Tracey groaned, her eyes opening slowly. Millie quickly covered her with the blanket, her own face burning with shame. _What am I doing?!_ "Hey…"

"Just covering you up," Millie whispered quickly. "You um… You looked cold…" _Smooth._

"Oh," Tracey gave a lazy smile, her eyes drooping shut. "Thanks… Love you…" And just like that, Tracey dozed off again. _That was close._ Millie just stared at Tracey's face for a few seconds, and then she left the room.

Sexuality wasn't that big a deal in Wizarding Society, especially amongst younger witches and wizards. It was all about preference, and being trapped in a castle with likeminded people all year was bound to illicit certain thoughts. Millie understood this, and she knew that everyone in Slytherin did too, but it still jarred her.

Every time she found herself staring at Lavender in the study group, she felt jarred. Whenever Pansy clung to her, she felt jarred. Every single night, when Tracey removed all of her clothing, Millie felt jarred. Whenever Daphne smiled at her, she felt jarred.

She also had a responsibility as the Heir of the Bulstrode Family to further their lineage, but she just didn't want that. She wanted to be herself, not just her parents' Heir. Maybe that's why she was increasingly feeling attracted to other girls? Maybe this was just a rebellious phase? _Merlin, why can't there be a book about this sort of thing? I just want to stop feeling uncomfortable around my own female friends._

"There she is," came Ron's voice, and Millie realized that she had entered the common room. Her red-haired friend was smiling at her, as usual, while the other three boys were barely awake.

"Good morning, you guys," Millie smiled at them, she was still feeling a bit drowsy.

"Good morning, Millie," Theo groaned, while Blaise simply hummed in response.

"Let's get moving, eh?" Ron beamed at everyone, and the other boys frowned at him. "C'mon! The Black Lake awaits!"

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Merlin, her sides were killing her. Her forehead was covered in sweat, her ponytail had come undone, and her feet ached every time they made contact with the ground. _Almost done… I'm almost done…_ Malfoy passed her by, and she noticed that he looked just as miserable as her. Seeing him seemed to rile her up, and she pushed herself forward. Malfoy shot her a miserable look, and she made sure to stay on his side. _I'm not losing to you of all people._

"You guys are doing great!" came Ron's voice, and they both looked back to see Ron approaching them. And then, he ran right past them. _HOW?!_

"That's his ninth lap…" Malfoy wheezed. "What the fuck? He's not human…"

"For once, I feel the need to agree with you…" Millie panted, she was just about done. _Five laps… That's been my limit in every run so far._

As she and Malfoy neared Theo and Blaise, who were resting after finishing their seven laps, Millie felt the urge to overtake Malfoy. However, her body refused to cooperate, and so they finished at the same time.

"Welcome," Theo extended his arms, his expression showing just how tired he was.

"Ron's still going?" Millie asked as she fell on her arse. _My lungs… My everything…_

"He's aiming for ten from now on," Blaise breathed out, thick beads of sweat on his face and neck. "He's almost done."

"Did you enjoy your five laps, you two?" Theo asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Do I look like I enjoyed them?" Malfoy hissed, while Millie couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious and guilty. "Why am I being forced into this?"

"You're in the Group Tournament, Malfoy," Blaise pointed out. "All five of us are, and so Ron wants us all in proper shape."

"Take off your jumpers, it'll make it easier to breathe," Theo advised, and Millie noticed that both Blaise and Theo were jumper-less. Millie and Malfoy quickly took off their own jumpers, and despite feeling a little uncomfortable, she did it anyway. _That's so much better._ Millie was filling her lungs with fresh air when Ron suddenly stopped behind them, a manic grin on his face.

"That was amazing!" Ron laughed, his breathing strained. "Merlin!" Ron bent forward, and then he breathed in deeply. _Even his hair is slick with sweat, and yet, he looks so happy. What a weirdo._

"Why are you like this?" Theo frowned at Ron, who just sniggered like a happy child. "And why do Blaise and I have to run seven laps, while Millie and Malfoy get away with five?" There it was again, that feeling of guilt.

"Don't complain so much, mate," Ron chuckled, and then he kneeled down. "You have to run more laps because you've been doing this for longer." Ron then smiled at Millie and Malfoy. "They'll be running the same amount of laps as you soon enough, I just know it." His vote of confidence alleviated some of her guilt, but not entirely. _I know I can do better._

"Can we go inside now?" Blaise asked, he sounded genuinely bored. "I just want a bloody shower."

"That depends, are you lot up for walking?" Ron smirked as he stood up to his full height, and everyone else did the same. "Let's go then." Millie grabbed her jumper, and then she began following the boys' lead. _My feet are killing me._

"So… Hogsmeade Weekend is finally here," Theo broke the silence. "Do we have a set plan yet?"

"The girls have one, I think," Ron replied, and they all looked to Millie.

"I um… I don't know anything," Millie told them. "Pansy, Tracey, and Daphne have the plan… I wasn't really interested in it."

"Understandable," Blaise said. "Pansy nearly bored me into an early grave with her talk about haircuts."

"Millie, have you thought of where you want to go?" Ron asked with a smile. "Besides the Shrieking Shack, that is. We're all going there near the end of the day, I think."

"Tomes and Scrolls," Millie replied, and they all waited for her to go on. _I want to get a book on proper dieting for a girl my age._ "I wanted to look for any Spell Tomes that could be useful. You know, for the Dueling Tournament."

"Not a bad idea," Theo nodded.

"Malfoy, what about you?" Ron asked, and the pale boy suddenly looked slightly subdued. _He gets a choice? Why?_

"I get a place of my choosing as well?" Malfoy asked, his grey eyes fixed on Ron.

"Of course," Ron replied. "You're a part of this group now, aren't you?" Malfoy looked forward at that, while Theo, Blaise, and Millie felt slightly annoyed. She had no idea why Ron was keeping Malfoy around, and his explanation was weak at best. _He has a plan for Malfoy, I just know it. That, or he just feels bad for Malfoy._

"Spintwitches Sporting Needs…" Malfoy all but whispered.

"I'll let Daphne know," Ron said, his good mood unfazed. As they began to head into the Courtyard, Millie felt herself lagging behind. Her feet were sore, her thighs were burning, and she was terribly hungry now.

"Is it my turn to take the first shower?" Theo asked.

"It is, but you'd better hurry," Blaise replied. "We're going to Hogsmeade right after breakfast, which starts in an hour. No long showers." While Millie focused on keeping up, she failed to notice that Ron had slowed down to match her pace.

"Are you alright?" Ron whispered, and Millie blinked at him.

"Oh… I'm fine," she lied quickly.

"You're not sore?" Ron asked, a small smile on his face.

"Nope."

"Millie," Ron said softly, and she let out a tired breath.

"My entire body is hurting, alright?" Millie said a little defensively. _Wait… Why am I complaining? He ran ten laps, while I only ran five._ "Sorry… I'm not complaining. I just feel sore."

"That means that you're doing something right," Ron grinned, and Millie let out a weak chuckle. "My left arse cheek is genuinely trembling, and I can't stop it."

"Really?" Millie asked, and Ron nodded. "Then why did you run an extra lap?"

"To get used to it," Ron shrugged, and Millie nodded slowly.

"I'll… I'll run six laps next time… I promise," Millie whispered, and Ron blinked at her. And then, he gave her **that** smile. Whenever someone pleased Ron by meeting his standard of hard work, he smiled in a different sort of way at them. This particular smile could only be described as his usual grin, mixed in with a tender and proud gaze. It was a smile that had to be **earned** , so whoever he gave it to felt oddly proud of themselves.

"Good on you, Mills," Ron said, and Millie felt her guilt vanish immediately. "I think you're doing a splendid job." _Really?_

"Thanks, Ron…" Millie couldn't help but smile. _I am, aren't I?_ Once again, she felt strengthened in her resolve. She was bettering herself every day, and that felt amazing.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Crack of Dawn)**_

"Here's the plan," Daphne started, while Ron buttered his and her toast. "First, we all go to Zonko's so Tracey can get 'the good stuff'. After that, we'll go to Gladrags Wizardwear, which is the place that I want to visit." _Why is she wearing lipstick right now? It'll just get ruined when she eats._

"Big surprise," Theo smirked, and everyone but Malfoy chuckled.

"After that," Daphne cleared her throat. "We all go to Honeydukes."

"Who picked that?" Blaise asked.

"It's a unanimous thing," Pansy replied. "Go on, Daph."

"Right," Daphne went on, and Ron poured her and himself some pumpkin juice. "After Honeydukes, Pansy wants to go to Cutter's Hairdressing Salon, where we will all get haircuts."

"Yay…" Malfoy drawled, and Ron sniggered.

"Ahem," Pansy narrowed her eyes on Ron, who just smiled at her. _She looks adorable with that angry pout._

"By then, it'll be around Midday," Tracey took over. "At that, Daphne and Ron will run off for their date. Good riddance, I say."

"Jealous much?" Ron asked, but Tracey ignored him.

"Blaise, have you made arrangements with Padma?" Tracey asked.

"We will be out of your hair," Blaise said bluntly. "I'll be back after an hour or so."

"While the lovebirds are away, we will have lunch at Madame Mill's Bakery," Tracey went on. "We'll all reunite at the Three Broomsticks, where we will drink a couple of Butterbeers each. From there, Theo wants to go to Dogweed and Deathcap."

"I can't wait to see it," Theo said, a genuine smile on his face. _Can't wait to see what?_

"From there, we will go to the Hogsmeade Post Office," Tracey said.

"Post Office?" Blaise asked. "Why?"

"I want to get Helios some tastier treats," Ron shrugged, his eyes fixed on the bacon sandwich that he was making for Daphne.

"That's your place to visit?" Millie asked, and Ron shrugged again.

"Helios deserves better treats," Ron smiled to himself. "I mean, he likes his current ones, but they're from a generic brand. I want to get him some that are fit for a bird of his pedigree."

"Do you reckon they sell treats for cats?" Millie asked.

"At a Post Office?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah, that was a stupid thing to ask," Millie smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway," Daphne said. "From the Post Office, we'll go to The Magic Neep."

"Thank you," Blaise said. _What's The Magic Neep?_

"From there, we go to Spintwitches Sporting Needs," Daphne said, and Ron felt Malfoy shift in his seat a little. "Our second last stop for the day will be Tomes and Scrolls, for Millie, and that should be everyone."

"It is," Theo said, while Ron and Blaise nodded.

"Our last destination will be… The Shrieking Shack," Pansy said ominously. "I get to hold onto Ron, by the way."

"What?" Daphne blinked, while Ron barked out a laugh.

"I called it," Pansy smirked smugly, while Daphne just stared at her like she was an idiot.

"I have two arms," Ron said.

"This guy…" Theo shook his head.

"That's not the point, Ron," Daphne huffed. "I get to hold onto you. Just me."

"Daph, learn to share," Pansy goaded, much to the others' amusement. "I'll hold onto Ron's left arm, while you-"

"Pansy, I will claw your face off," Daphne warned, and Pansy started giggling.

"Can I have his left leg?" Tracey asked, and Daphne glowered at her.

"Legs are on the table?" Theo asked. "I'll take the right one then, while Blaise can have what's in-between." _Huh?_

"Fuck you very much," Blaise rolled his eyes, while Tracey and Theo cackled to themselves.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Road to Hogsmeade – After Breakfast)**_

They had all been searched by Filch, and once he had shot every student a look of utter contempt, they had boarded the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. Disturbingly enough, even though these carriages were different from the ones that brought them to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade Station, they were being pulled by the same creepy winged horses. Ron recalled Theo calling them 'Thestrals', but he didn't care enough to learn about them. Even the mere thought of them made him shudder.

"Are you ready, Trace?" Pansy asked, and Tracey edged closer to the door. All eight of them were packed in one carriage, which meant that Daphne had taken it upon herself to sit in his lap. Ron, of course, didn't mind at all, but every time they hit a bump, he worried about getting too excited.

"The moment these doors open, I'm running straight to Zonko's," Tracey said, and Theo scooted away from her.

"Good luck," Daphne smiled at her. "We'll meet up with you at the shop."

As soon as the doors opened, Tracey burst into sprint. Theo and Pansy cheered her on, and then they too began to leave the carriage. They were followed by Blaise, and then Millie, and then Malfoy.

"Go on," Ron said to Daphne, and she looked back with a smirk.

"I don't want to," Daphne wiggled her hips, and Ron's lips twitched upwards.

"Come on, Daph," Ron said, his hands tapping the sides of her thighs. "We can't miss our date, now, can we?"

"I guess," Daphne sighed dramatically, and then she exited the carriage. Ron checked to make sure that he had his wand and Gringotts Pouch, and once he felt them under his robes, he too exited the carriage.

Ron quickly recognized the little thatched cottages and shops of Hogsmeade from his first visit during his first Junior League Tournament, but this time, they were all covered in a layer of crisp snow. There were Holly Wreaths on all the doors, strings of Enchanted Candles in the hanging trees, and the denizens were happily greeting the excited Hogwarts students.

"Let's go," Daphne smiled at him, her cherry lipstick garnering most of Ron's attention. Ron took her left hand with his gloved, and they began to make their way towards Zonko's Joke Shop.

"There's actual stalls!" Pansy beamed, her eyes lingering on stall selling ice-cream.

"I've heard that various businesses set up stalls whenever Hogsmeade Weekend rolls around," Blaise told them.

"Smart move," Malfoy added. "They make easy money off of students who are living far from civilization."

"This opens up so many venues," Daphne whispered to Ron. "Do we follow the plan?"

"Sure," Ron said, he had no idea why the girls were so fixated on staying together. "We can just browse the stalls as we walk around."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Daphne said, and then she schooled her features completely.

"Daph… We're in Hogsmeade," Ron said, though he was genuinely impressed with her discipline. _I can't stop myself from smiling, while it took her a few seconds to become the Ice-Queen._

"All the more reason to show no weakness," Daphne straightened her back, and Ron mimicked her absentmindedly.

"Merlin… Look at that line!" Theo announced, and both Ron and Daphne looked to see a massive line in front of Zonko's.

"I don't see Tracey," Millie said. "She must be inside."

"I'm not waiting in that line," Blaise told them outright.

"Neither am I," Daphne said, while Pansy already looked bored.

"Weasley, your brothers are nearly in," Malfoy said, and Ron looked to see the twins grinning ear-to-ear.

"So?" Ron asked.

"So… Go in with them, and keep your eye on Davis," Malfoy frowned at Ron.

"Aw! He's worried about Tracey!" Pansy laughed, and Malfoy clenched his jaw.

"No, I'm not," Malfoy grit out, while the others just chuckled.

"Ease up, Malfoy," Ron patted his back, which only vexed the blonde even more. "Your idea is actually pretty good, and I'll do it." Ron and Daphne let go of each other's hands, and after a quick farewell, Ron walked up to the twins and Lee Jordan.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and the twins blinked at him.

"What do you want?" Fred frowned, and this time, Ron blinked at him. _Oh wait… We had an argument just on Thursday. Shite… What is the state of my life that I would outright forget a fight with my own siblings so easily?_

"Can I join you?" Ron asked calmly.

"No," the twins said together. _Bribery it is then._

"I'll give you five Galleons each," Ron rolled his eyes, and the twins' ears perked up.

"Really?" Lee Jordan grinned.

"Not you," Ron dismissed him without even a glance, and Jordan's grin just died on the spot. "What do you say?"

"Step in, little brother," George said quickly, whereas Fred still looked conflicted. Ron pushed himself into the line, and when the Slytherin behind the twins tried to say something, Ron shut him up with a dark glare.

"Sorry, Weasley," the fifth year muttered. "Didn't know that was you… Wasn't looking…" _That's what I thought._

"Um… What?" George whispered, his eyes moving between Ron and the Slytherin.

"Ignore it, it's nothing," Ron said, and then he took a small step forward. "How come you two are stuck in line? Aren't you regulars here?"

"We are, which is why Bilton hides some of our favorite gags under the counter for us," Fred told him. "We have no need to rush down here."

"And yet, you still come here first," Ron stated.

"Well, Bilton's got a business to run, doesn't he?" Jordan told Ron. "He's likely to sell of our goods if we take too long."

"I know that we would," George smirked.

"Fair enough," Ron said, there was only a couple of Ravenclaws in front of them. "How many people are in there?"

"Around ten at most," Fred shrugged. "Bilton doesn't like thieves, so he only lets in around ten students at a time." The Ravenclaws ahead of them went in, while three Hufflepuffs came running out with manic grins. The twins and Jordan began discussing their shopping list again, while Ron waited around for the line to move. Eventually, all four boys were let in by a burly wizard.

"Ah, you three," the wizard chuckled at the sight of the Gryffindors, and then his eyes lingered on Ron. "You with them?"

"Yes," Ron replied, and the man gave him a grin. _Right._

"Money, Ronnikins," George said as they made their way inside, and Ron pulled out his pouch and handed over ten Galleons.

"Five each," Ron said, his eyes scanning for Tracey.

"Let's go treat ourselves," Fred smirked, and then the Gryffindors ran off to collect their items. Ron walked around the store, and he couldn't help but be reminded of Fred and George's shop from his vision. As Ron turned the corner, he spotted Tracey eyeballing three different types of Dung-bombs.

"Which ones stink the most?" Ron asked as he approached her, and she turned around with a grin.

"How did you get in so quickly?" Tracey asked.

"I have my ways," Ron winked, and Tracey sniggered to herself. Tracey then turned around and took the box on the far left, which she then dropped into her basket. _Sweet Circe, it's almost full._ "Um… Trace… Are you planning on starting a war anytime soon?"

"Half of these are for Tori," Tracey told him, and Ron blinked at her back. "Don't tell Daphne, alright?"

"You realize that **I'm** the one who's watching over Tori, right?" Ron asked, and Tracey stopped moving. "Yeah… Not so smart, eh?" Tracey turned around with a sheepish grin, and upon seeing Ron's deadpan look, she batted her eyes at him.

"Don't be such a prude, Ron," Tracey said smoothly, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"I'll keep quiet," Ron smiled a little. "But she better not get caught."

"She won't," Tracey laughed, and then she resumed her shopping. Ron followed after her, and he even picked up some stink pellets for himself. After a few more minutes of browsing, they paid for their respective items.

"Tracey, are you going to carry those bags around all day?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him.

"No, I'm just going to ask for a mail order," Tracey replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "Didn't you see the sign at the front of the store? They have an area where you leave your items, and after you sign your name and pay ten Knuts, they send everything straight to the castle."

"Fair enough, I'll meet you outside then," Ron said, and they parted ways. Ron made his way past the people in the line, and after spotting his friends near a stall which was selling toffee apples, Ron walked over to them.

"Where's Tracey?" Daphne asked him, she already had a toffee apple saved for him.

"Thanks," Ron said as she handed him his toffee apple. "Tracey's just putting in a mail order. She'll be right out." Ron began enjoying his toffee apple at that, all the while looking around at the happy people of Hogsmeade. Most of the older denizens were just handing out cakes and treats to the students, and Ron figured that they probably enjoyed that sort of relationship with the students.

"Hey, guys," Tracey smiled at them as she walked up, and Pansy handed her a toffee apple. "Oh! Thanks!"

"Alright, what's next?" Ron asked.

"Gladrags Wizardwear," Daphne smiled at him, her left hand taking his gloved one. "Let's go!"

"Don't they sell novelty socks there?" Millie asked.

"They do, but they also sell some really elegant dresses," Pansy said quickly, while Daphne led the way.

"I think us lads will just wait outside," Blaise spoke for the boys, who all nodded. Daphne shot a quick look back at Ron, and he knew what that meant.

"Enjoy Hell, brother," Theo laughed, while Malfoy and Blaise smirked at him. _Shite._

"There it is," Pansy said, and Ron eyed the pink shop with the blue signs. ' _Two hundred and forty five years of dressing the Elegant Wizard'._

"Did you lot use a map to form your plan?" Theo asked.

"We did," Tracey smirked. "This way, we only need to keep moving forward. We figured that this method would save us time, whereas running back and forth would be inefficient." Ron looked back to the boys, and he knew that they were wondering the same thing. _Are all girls this barmy?_

"Finish up your apple, Ron," Daphne said impatiently, and Ron took massive bites out of it. _So sweet… Forgive me, Madam Roberts._ Once he was done, Daphne dragged him inside, while Tracey and Pansy helped shove him through the door.

"Easy, you three," Ron frowned a little, his eyes darting back to the boys. Theo was waving at him with an amused grin, while Malfoy and Blaise were just enjoying the sight of Ron being dragged away. _HELP ME!_

"Let's start over there," Daphne said, her dark blue eyes gleaming with excitement. Once again, Ron trailed after her. Tracey and Pansy went off to find 'cuter underwear', while Millie looked for a thicker scarf.

"Look at these, Ron!" Daphne beamed, her free hand feeling up a grey women's jacket.

"It's… nice," Ron said, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "I um… I'm sorry, Daph… I don't know anything about women's clothing."

"That's fine," Daphne smirked, and Ron blinked at her. "You can ask me to model it for you… If you want." _Model it for me? And why did she make it sound so naughty?_

"Okay… Try it on," Ron said slowly, and Daphne let out a sigh. "What?"

"I was trying to be sexy, you dolt," Daphne told him, and Ron barely held back a laugh. _Whoops._

"Sorry," Ron grinned. "Daphne, I'd like to see you in that jacket."

"If you insist," Daphne stuck her nose up, and then she quickly found one her size. "Let's keep looking around for more clothes, and then I'll model them all for you."

"What about underwear?" Ron asked nonchalantly. _Please say yes!_

"I'll do it if you extend me the same courtesy," Daphne winked, and Ron felt his ears burn. "Nothing to say, boyfriend?"

"You got me there, I won't lie," Ron said, mostly because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Ohhh, I like that dress!" Daphne suddenly squealed, her left hand nearly crushing Ron's. Ron then looked to the green strapless dress, and he immediately liked it. _That will definitely show some cleavage! Yay!_

"I'd like to see you in that," Ron said, and Daphne beamed at him.

"Okay, I'll grab that one as well!" Daphne said, and then she let go his hand. As Daphne collected the dress, Ron looked around the shop. Most of the customers were girls, whereas a majority of the boys were in similar situations as him. _Is that Malfoy?_ Ron looked over to Daphne, and he noticed that she was just grabbing whatever caught her eye. Ron then made his way to Malfoy, who was looking at a pair of black gloves.

"Weren't you smirking at me for being dragged in here?" Ron asked, and Malfoy shrugged.

"I enjoyed the sight of you being manhandled," Malfoy replied with a smirk.

"Yes, by three pretty girls," Ron smirked back.

"Are you one of those submissive men?" Malfoy asked bluntly.

"Are you one of those jealous ones?" Ron asked back.

"That was your best?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow at him. _Damn it._ "Poor form, Weasley. Very poor form."

"Looking for gloves?" Ron tried to change the subject, which only amused Malfoy. "Might I recommend a bag for your head as well?" Malfoy lost his smirk at that. "You'd be doing a public service, mate."

"Why aren't you following after your owner?" Malfoy asked.

"I'm a wild one," Ron grinned. "I broke off my leash." Malfoy's lips twitched upwards, but he kept himself in check. "Seriously though, why are you in here voluntarily? Where are Theo and Blaise?"

"They ran off to gorge themselves on sugar," Malfoy started. "As for me, I enjoy nice clothes. Not counting the novelty garbage in this shop, they have some very nice items for men. Like these gloves."

"I suppose," Ron said, his eyes scanning them. Ron then looked back to Malfoy, only to see him just staring at the gloves. "Are you in love?"

"Why don't you wear gloves?" Malfoy asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Two gloves, that is."

"Because I prefer using my left hand in Duels," Ron replied. "And the right glove is just for show."

"You don't remember, do you?" Malfoy asked, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "I saw your right hand when I attacked you, Weasley…" _Fuck._

"Ah… That…" Ron sighed. "Last year really was the worst… Wait a minute. You haven't said a word about my scar. Why?"

"I'm not exactly proud of that moment," Malfoy admitted. "It came up in my last session, and Pomfrey wasn't too pleased with me." _Right._

"You're really not proud of beating up a Blood Traitor?" Ron asked.

"I was, but then I had a chat about it with Pomfrey," Malfoy all but whispered. "And now, I see it as just another mistake in a long line of mistakes."

"Don't be so mopey, Malfoy," Ron said, and Malfoy frowned at him. "We're in Hogsmeade for the day. Leave your problems at Hogwarts, and just enjoy the bloody day. Trust me, your problems will be waiting for you when you get back."

"Ron! There you are," Daphne walked up, her arms filled with different garments. "When did you run off?"

"Sorry, Daph," Ron smiled. "Just spotted Malfoy looking at these gloves, and I figured that I'd give him some advice." Daphne nodded slowly, and then she looked at the gloves.

"I saw a pair on the other end of the aisle that would suit your complexion better," Daphne told Malfoy, who gave her a curt nod. "Let's go, Ron." Ron gave her a nod and followed after her, and before they walked around a corner, he shot Malfoy a meaningful look.

"So… You've been busy," Ron said, and Daphne shot him a smile.

"C'mon," Daphne said, and after passing by some singing socks, they came upon the change rooms.

"Am I allowed in here?" Ron asked.

"There are seats for the second opinions," Daphne told him, but he had no idea what 'second opinions' were. They entered the horribly pink change rooms, and just as Daphne had said, there were a dozen seats available.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked.

"I asked the clerk," Daphne replied. "I don't plan to get thrown out, Ron." _I guess that's fair._ "Now, you take a seat while I change outfits, and when I come out, you can tell me if you like them." _That sounds more like a chore than 'sexy time'._

"Alright," Ron said, and then he made his way over and sat down. Daphne quickly disappeared behind one of the curtained stalls, and Ron decided to relax in his seat. _I'll just wait here then._

"First time?" came a voice from his right, and Ron looked to see an older student smiling at him.

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"Is this your first time being dragged into a changing room?" the wizard asked, and Ron nodded slowly. "Here's some advice, Weasley. When she comes out, tell her that she looks amazing. Then pick out one thing that you like about her dress, and comment positively on it. Oh, and don't forget to smile."

"Who are you?" Ron asked.

"Patrick," the wizard introduced himself. "I'm from Ravenclaw, so we've never actually spoken before."

"Fair enough," Ron said. "Nice to meet you, Patrick."

"Likewise, mate," Patrick smiled at him.

"What do you think about this, Patrick?" came a girl's voice, and they both looked to see a witch showing off a purple skirt. "It's not hard on the eyes, is it?" _No, it most certainly is not._

"It looks great on you," Patrick said, a bright smile on his face. "It's professional, and racy, at the same time. You should get it."

"Okay!" the brunette beamed, and then she disappeared behind the curtain. _Wow, her face almost split open because of her smile._

"Bloody hell," Ron whispered to himself, while Patrick just chuckled. "Any other advice?"

"If they don't like the clothes that they're trying to show off, they won't wear them in front of you," Patrick replied, and Ron made sure to remember it. "Whatever she's wearing when she comes out from behind that curtain already has her seal of approval."

"Understood," Ron nodded. "Thanks, mate. I really appreciate it. I've got no clue on what to say about women's clothing."

"We all have to start somewhere, right?" Patrick shrugged, and Ron smiled at him. _Good bloke. Patrick from Ravenclaw. I'll find out more about him, and then I'll befriend him. Maybe he can help me with this Gertrude Swans business._

"Ron?" came Tracey's voice, and Ron looked to see her and Pansy entering the changing rooms.

"Hello," Ron greeted them with a smile, his eyes noticing the lace stockings in Tracey's hand. "Nice."

"I thought so too," Tracey smirked.

"C'mon, Trace," Pansy pulled the slender girl behind her. "We're on a schedule here." She then looked to Ron before disappearing behind a curtain. "Stay right there, Ron. We have some clothes that we're unsure about." With that, both girls disappeared into the same curtained stall.

"You have my condolences," Patrick chuckled. _Why? Three pretty girls want to model clothes for me? This is a win in my books._

"Let's go, Pat," the girl from before came out, several dresses hanging on her arm.

"Enjoy your day," Ron waved Patrick off, who gave him a parting nod before disappearing into the store. Ron sat around for a couple of minutes, and then Daphne popped out of her changing room in the green strapless dress.

"So, what do you think?" Daphne smiled, and then she gave him a twirl. _Yay! Look at that bust!_

"Wow, you look amazing," Ron smiled back, and Daphne's own smile widened. "Green really looks amazing on you, Daph." _I said amazing twice… I should use a variety of words._

"You really think so?" Daphne glowed, her hands straightening the dress.

"I really do," Ron replied truthfully.

"Then I'll definitely get this one!" Daphne laughed. "Thanks, Ron!" And just like that, she was gone. Ron sat around for a bit, and then he realized that behind the curtains, Daphne was probably wearing very little clothing. _No, Ron. Fucking behave. No scummy shenanigans._

"Hello, handsome," came Pansy's voice, and Ron looked to see her smiling at him. "What do you think of these?" Ron looked at her legs, and then he quickly looked away. _Fishnet stockings?! REALLY?!_

"Pans… I don't think that you should be showing me so much skin…" Ron muttered, which only turned her smile mischievous. "Also… That skirt is a bit too short… You can't wear that."

"Why not?" Pansy sang.

"Because it's freezing outside," Ron replied lamely, his eyes fixed ahead of him.

"You're cute," Pansy giggled, and Ron felt his cheeks heat up. "I'm not actually buying these, Ron. I just saw them, and decided to try them on."

"Okay…" Ron mumbled.

"Pansy, stop making him uncomfortable," came Daphne's voice, and Ron nodded his agreement. Pansy put on a false pout, and then she shot Ron a wink before rejoining Tracey. He could hear the two girls giggling from behind the curtains, much to his embarrassment. _I didn't handle that well… But c'mon, I've never seen her in something like that before. Actually, I've never seen any girl in something like that before._

"Okay, what do you think about this outfit?" Daphne asked as she stepped out from behind the curtain, and Ron looked her over. She was wearing the grey women's jacket, accompanied with a white T-shirt and blue jeans. "A bit too Muggle, right?"

"It is, but it suits you," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on her legs. _She should wear those fishnet stockings._ "Maybe if we go to Paris again, you can wear this outfit."

"I was just thinking that!" Daphne beamed at him, and Ron gave her his best smile. "I'd fit right in, and since this jacket is quite suave, you could accompany me in a suit!"

"I like the sound of that," Ron said, and Daphne quickly ran off to try something else.

* * *

 _ **Forty Minutes Later**_

Ron was beginning to get bored. Both Tracey and Pansy had shown off their outfits, and then run off to purchase them. Daphne, on the other hand, had a never ending supply of clothes in her changing stall. She had shown him dresses, jackets, shirts, skirts, and sweaters, but none of these had been racey. Ron now knew what 'second opinions' were, and he didn't like being one.

"Daph, we need to get going," Ron called. "We've got a schedule to follow, remember?"

"Alright," Daphne said, and Ron smiled from relief. _Finally._ "Ron, can you come in here for a second?" _Huh?_

"Um… Am I allowed-"

"Please? I need help," Daphne called, and Ron quickly made his way over to her changing stall.

"I'm coming in," Ron said, and then he moved the curtains aside and stepped in. Daphne was already dressed in her Hogsmeade clothes, and judging by her smirk, she was playing one of her games again. "Daph… Really?"

"What?" Daphne asked innocently, her lips curling up. "Close the curtain before someone sees you."

"We shouldn't be breaking the rules like this," Ron said, but he closed the curtain anyway. "We could get kicked out of Hogsmeade…"

"Only if we get caught," Daphne slid up to him, her arms wrapping around his lower back. _Rebellious Daphne strikes again._ "Don't you want to be in a closed space with me?"

"You know I do," Ron's lips twitched upwards, his hands resting on her back.

"Come here," Daphne leaned up, and Ron leaned his head down. Daphne planted rapid kisses on his lips, and then she pulled back with a content smile. "Lick your lips."

"Okay…" Ron said slowly, and then he tasted his own lips. _Woah._ "Cherry…"

"Flavored lipstick," Daphne finished. "A little surprise for our date, but I couldn't keep it hidden any longer. Do you like it?"

"I do," Ron chuckled. "Is there any left on my lips?"

"Just a bit," Daphne hummed. "Lean down again, and I'll lick it off." Ron leaned down so quickly that he nearly head-butted her, an excited grin on his face. Daphne stayed true to her words, and Ron felt his knees wobble as she cleaned the corner of his mouth with her tongue.

"Bloody hell, Daph…" Ron groaned, and upon seeing the opportunity, she moved her tongue into his mouth. Ron was a little startled at first, but he quickly relaxed as her tongue played against his. Ron slowly moved her against the wall, his arms wrapping around her. They quickly lost track of time, and they only stopped because the flavor of Cherry had run out.

"That was fun," Daphne giggled breathlessly, though her lips felt a little sore.

"Yeah," Ron panted, his left cheek pressed against hers.

"We should get moving though," Daphne said, but neither of them moved. "C'mon, Ron… We've got to keep moving. There's so much left to see."

"Alright," Ron whispered, and after giving her a kiss on the cheek, he let go of her.

"Here," Daphne said as she pulled out a white handkerchief from her sleeve. "Clean up with this." Ron took the handkerchief, and he wiped off any remaining lipstick from his mouth.

"Thanks," Ron said as he handed her the handkerchief, and she cleaned herself up as well.

"I'm going to reapply my lipstick, and then pay for the clothes," Daphne started, a happy smile on her face. "Thank you for coming here with me, Ron."

"Happy to help," Ron smiled in a goofy manner. _Totally happy to help._

"Aren't you a gentleman?" Daphne giggled, and then she drew in a long breath. "I'll see you outside the shop, boyfriend."

"Alright, girlfriend," Ron kept smiling as he rubbed the back of his head, and Daphne fought the urge to cuddle him. Ron made his way out of the changing rooms, and then he stepped out of the shop with a happy smile on his face.

"Finally!" Theo exclaimed, and Ron blinked at him. They all had boxes of beer-battered chips in their hands, and Ron figured that they had been looking around the stalls as they waited for Daphne to finish up.

"Here, Ron," Millie smiled at him as she handed him his chips, a brand new scarf around her neck.

"Thanks," Ron accepted the chips. "Nice scarf, Mills."

"You have to share yours with Daphne," Pansy said, and Ron blinked at her. "It's punishment for making us wait so long."

"Mature," Ron sighed out. Ron made sure to eat the chips as slowly as he could, and after five minutes, Daphne stepped out of Gladrags Wizardwear with a content smile. She had reapplied her cherry lipstick, much to Ron's delight. _I can't wait for Madam Puddifoot's Teashop!_

"Where to now?" Malfoy asked, he was wearing the gloves that Daphne had recommended.

"Honeydukes!" Tracey announced. "Let's go stock up on our currency for Wizard's Poker!" They all began making their way towards Honeydukes, and Ron walked hand in hand with Daphne. He knew that he couldn't actually buy anything for himself from Honeydukes, after all, Madam Roberts had banned him from eating sweets, but he was still looking forward to seeing the shop.

"Is that Potter?" Malfoy asked, and they all looked around. _Where?_ "Look at Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop's window."

"It is," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Harry and Neville.

"Wow… They're looking out with such miserable looks," Pansy grimaced. "Why don't they just come outside?"

"I'll give you one guess," Tracey smirked.

"Granger," everyone but Ron said, while Ron just felt sorry for the two boys. _I bet Percy's in there as well._ Harry spotted Ron and his friends staring at him, and he quickly alerted Neville. Neville simply waved at him, and Ron waved back. _Friendly chap._

"Oh shite, look away," Theo said quickly, and they all looked forward again. "Quick, get into the shop."

"Calm down," Ron chuckled. "It's just a wave."

"That's how it starts, Ron," Daphne said ominously. "You just wave at them, and the next thing you know, you're a Gryffindor."

"Wow…" Ron shook his head. "You make being a Gryffindor sound like a disease."

They walked into Honeydukes at that, and Ron quickly forgot what they were discussing. There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees, and hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows. The store was filled with excited students, all of whom were chatting loudly about their favorite treats. Ron felt his mouth water at the sight of a barrel filled with Every Flavor Beans, but he resisted the urge to buy anything.

"Meet back here?" Blaise suggested, and they all nodded before splitting up. Ron walked around with Daphne for a bit, but since he wasn't buying anything, he figured that he'd just take in the sights. Before long, he found himself staring a bunch of Ice Mice, his hungry eyes following the Enchanted 'mice' as they scurried away from him. _You sugary bastards… Hmm._

"You could just buy yourself some," came Neville's voice, and Ron turned around to see Neville, Hermione, and Harry walking up to him. _Where's Daph? I was just with her? Oh, she's on the other end of the aisle._

"I don't eat sweets," Ron smiled at Neville. "I see that Hermione finally set you two free."

"Ha!" Neville laughed, while Hermione frowned deeply. Ron noticed that Harry clearly didn't want to be near him, but Ron chose to ignore it.

"We all needed new Quills, Ronald," Hermione crossed her arms.

"Hermione, you spent twenty minutes talking about the 'subtle difference' between Eagle feathers and Eagle-Owl feathers," Harry said, he still looked dulled from the Quill shop. _Yeesh, I'd have thrown myself out of the window if that happened to me. Wait… It did happen to me._

"Daphne made me sit around for almost an hour as she tried on different clothes," Ron told the boys, both of whom shuddered at the thought. _It was worth it though._

"She let you watch as she changed?!" Hermione gasped, and people around them looked at Hermione as if she was barmy.

"What? No," Ron chuckled, he could see Daphne approaching them from the corner of his vision. "She changed behind a curtain, and then she asked me if I liked her outfits."

"That's quite narcissistic, but it sounds just like her," Hermione huffed immediately, and Ron felt the sudden need to slap Hermione across the face. _Take a deep breath, Ron. Hermione's different, that's all. But if she insults Daphne again…_

"I wanted to see if he liked them," came Daphne's voice, and then she was by Ron's side. "I plan to wear those outfits whenever Ron and I go out together." _Is it just me, or did the temperature just drop?_

"Hello, Greengrass," Neville greeted, his eyes darting between the two girls. "Enjoying your day?"

"I am, Longbottom," Daphne replied, her eyes fixed on Hermione. "How is your day going?"

"It's going great," Neville said, he was starting to feel awkward. "And you, Ron?" _Yeh, he's feeling awkward._

"It's going great," Ron replied, he was doing his best to hide his oncoming grin. "And you, Harry?"

"Um… Yeah… Great," Harry said, he definitely felt awkward. "Hermione, how's-"

"We've spent the day together, Harry," Hermione frowned at him, and Daphne smirked at Hermione for breaking eye contact first.

"This is fun," Ron grinned, and everyone frowned at him. "What? It is."

"Let's go," Hermione said, and then she just walked off. Harry followed after her, while Neville lingered awkwardly.

"Go on, Neville," Ron gave the boy a wink.

"Sorry… Enjoy your day, you two," Neville sighed.

"You too, Longbottom," Daphne said, and Neville left to go find his best friends.

"You and Hermione need to sit down, and sort out your problems," Ron smirked at his girlfriend. "I'll ask Pomfrey if she does Couple's Counseling."

"She fancies you," Daphne said darkly, and Ron blinked at her. "She **still** fancies you…"

"Daphne-"

"I'm not narcissistic," Daphne said, her cold eyes following the Golden Trio. "I only got the clothes that you liked." _She took that to heart?_

"Daph, forget it," Ron said gently, his left arm draping over her shoulders. "Just because Hermione thinks you're narcissistic doesn't make it so. **I** know that you're not narcissistic. Don't listen to her, alright?"

"Why didn't you tell her off?" Daphne finally looked at him.

"It wouldn't achieve anything," Ron whispered. "She'd get angry, we'd have a spat, and it would achieve nothing. But if I'm being completely honest, I nearly lost my temper when she said that."

"She's so damn uppity," Daphne frowned to herself. "And she calls me narcissistic? There's a reason why no one can stand her, and the fact that she doesn't see it proves just how narcissistic **she** is." _She's just making herself angrier._

"C'mon, let's go find you some more sweets," Ron said, and Daphne gave him soft nod. "I think you're perfect."

"Perfect?" Daphne asked.

"For me, that is," Ron said, and Daphne just stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Daphne relaxed a little. "Thanks."

"Did I say something sweet?" Ron smirked.

"And he's ruined it," Daphne rolled her eyes, but she was smiling again.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Cutter's Hairdressing Salon – Near Midday)**_

"Ease up there," Theo whined from the chair to Ron's right. "Ow! Are you trying to scalp me, woman?!"

"Hush, fussy boy," the strong-handed witch shushed, while Ron bit back a laugh.

"Please don't move your head, handsome," the flamboyant wizard cutting Ron's hair tutted.

"Sorry, mate," Ron smiled at him through the reflection.

"I still think that a long mane would suit you," the wizard told Ron. "You've been kissed by fire, and you should show it." _Kissed by fire?_

"Alright," Ron said, and the wizard smiled widely. "Just make the top a bit longer. I still want my sides and back to be really short."

"The undercut does suit you, but trust me, you'll look much more suave this way," the wizard said as he began to lengthen the hair on top of Ron's head. "We just gel your longer hair back, just to look more business savvy, but when the ladies are around, you just let it hang. You're into girls, right?"

"I have a girlfriend," Ron said.

"The pretty blonde?" the wizard asked, and Ron nodded. "Head."

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly.

"She'll love it," the wizard promised, and Ron couldn't help but smile more fully. The girls had been taken to the back of the store, so Ron had no idea what Daphne was doing to her hair. "Is this length good?"

"It reaches my chin," Ron said. "Won't it get in my eyes when I'm Dueling?"

"You Duel often?" the wizard laughed.

"Yes," Ron replied, and the wizard slowly stopped laughing.

"Well… You've got the build for it," the wizard joked. "Don't worry about your hair being too long on the top, I've got the perfect gel for it. Trinity's Severe Holder! Trust me, handsome, your hair won't even budge!" _I know that he's just being polite by calling me handsome, but it still feels nice to be complimented._

"I'll hold you to that," Ron chuckled.

"I take my job very seriously," the wizard shot Ron a wink through the reflection, and Ron decided that he liked this guy. _He's funny, and he's making sure that I'm comfortable. Poor Theo is just getting manhandled._ "Are the back and sides short enough for you? Or do you want a complete fade?"

"Complete fade, please," Ron replied, and the wizard began using his wand to carefully style Ron's hair. Once Ron's haircut was nearing its end, the wizard slathered up some gel in his hands.

"Watch carefully," the wizard said, and then he began combing his fingers through Ron's hair. "Just run your fingers back, positioning the hair on top of your head back like I am. Don't use a brush, or a comb, because that'll slick your hair to your scalp, which is a look that suits only older gentlemen. Using your fingers lets your hair be a little messy, but with the gel, it won't fall into your face."

"Understood," Ron said, he was liking what he was seeing.

"And… Done!" the wizard said, his eyes marveling at his handiwork. "You look ready for business, but also fun and approachable! What do you think?" Ron looked at his reflection, and he liked that his red hair was a bit more noticeable now. _I guess the undercut made it too short._

"I like it," Ron smiled approvingly. "Thanks, mate."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Hogsmeade – Midday)**_

"Stop pacing, Weasley," Malfoy said, he had grown his hair to neck-level. "You're giving me anxiety."

"We're going to miss our appointment," Ron checked his Rolex. "It's twelve!"

"I'm going to head off," Blaise said. "Padma's probably on her way to the Pumpkin Patch."

"Pumpkin Patch?" Theo asked.

"They specialize in pumpkin dishes," Blaise said, and then he turned to leave. "I'll see you at the Three Broomsticks."

"Try to smile a little for once!" Theo laughed, and Blaise shot him the bird before disappearing.

"C'mon, Daph…" Ron began pacing again, and Malfoy frowned at him. _What if Madam Puddifoot doesn't let us in?_

"Calm down, there they are," Malfoy said, and the girls came out of the Hairdressing Saloon. Ron quickly looked to them, and he was genuinely surprised. Daphne's hair looked a lot lusher, but her hairstyle was still the same. Pansy and Tracey, however, looked completely different. As for Millie, she had gotten an efficient look ponytail.

"So?" Pansy beamed at the boys. "What do you think? It's called a French Bob!" _Her hair barely reaches her shoulders, but it does look nice. Very… bouncy._

"I like it," Malfoy said, and then he looked back to the stalls. _Smooth._

"And you two?" Pansy asked.

"It suits you perfectly," Ron said.

"Were you always this beautiful?" Theo smiled, and Pansy giggled. "And Millie… You look ready for anything." Millie's lips twitched upwards, and she looked a little bashful for once.

"Thanks," Millie said, her right hand 'fixing' up her ponytail.

"Stop it, Theo," Pansy smiled happily, and then she looked them all over. "Very nice! You all look much more sophisticated now."

"Tracey, is that silver in your hair?" Ron asked, and she grinned at him.

"I got silver highlights," Tracey flicked her wavy hair back. "Slytherin Pride at its finest, don't you think?"

"As fun as this is, Ron and I should get going," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a nod. "We'll see you guys at the Three Broomsticks."

"Don't do what I wouldn't do," Tracey smirked at Daphne, who just smirked back.

"Let's go," Ron said as he took Daphne's hand, and they both began to head towards Madam Puddifoot's Teashop.

"I like your new hair," Daphne smiled at him, and Ron smiled back. "Messy, but on purpose. I forgot how red your hair is."

"Thanks," Ron said, his eyes scanning her hair.

"Feel it," Daphne said, and Ron used his left hand to touch her hair.

"Woah… How is it so soft?" Ron asked.

"Magic," Daphne winked. "I decided to keep my current hairstyle, so I just had them tidy it up a bit."

"You made the right call," Ron pulled up her hand and kissed it. "I really like your hair."

"Are you trying to be sweet?" Daphne smirked.

"Is it working?" Ron asked.

"Definitely," Daphne giggled, and then she spotted the teashop. "Oh! There it is!" Ron looked to see a bright pink storefront, and his eyes lingered on the colored cakes decorating the windows. _Madam Roberts would have a stroke if she saw this place._

"Are you ready?" Ron asked, he could barely hold back his excitement.

"I really am," Daphne beamed, deciding not to hide her excitement for once. "It's finally happening!" _Woah, did she just squeal?_ "Sorry."

"Don't be," Ron chuckled. "I'm really glad that you're so excited." Ron then moved forward and opened the door for her, and once she was inside, Ron followed after her.

"It's really warm in here," Daphne said, her eyes looking around the shop. The teashop was quite cramped, and no matter where Ron looked, he saw pink bows and golden frills.

"Welcome to Madam Puddifoot's Teashop," a young witch in a bright pink dress greeted them. "Have you made a reservation?"

"Yes," Daphne replied. "Daphne and Ron."

"The corner table," the witch checked them off of her list. "Please, follow me." Ron and Daphne followed after the witch, and Ron couldn't help but notice that most of the couples were snogging outright. _And I can barely move. It's so cramped in here. And look at that bloke! He's fucking feeling her up in public!_

"Don't stare," Daphne whispered, and Ron quickly looked forward.

"Here you are," the witch said, and then she pulled the curtains aside to reveal a bright pink table. "Just slide into the booth, and make yourselves cozy. I'll bring your order around in a jiffy." The witch left at that, while Ron and Daphne took off their jackets and scarves.

"You go first," Ron said, and once she had slid into the booth, Ron joined her. "She knows our orders?"

"I told you," Daphne smiled. "I've prepared everything! She'll bring us a platter with two bites of each of their cakes, and we'll try them all. She's also bringing us their very own chocolate tea, accompanied with strawberries and cream."

"Wow," Ron chuckled, though he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Thanks for doing all of this. And I'm sorry that I didn't help at all."

"Don't worry so much," Daphne scooted into his side. "You've been busy with the first years, working with my father, the study group, your sessions, your detentions with Snape, the Potions Club, running the House, Dueling practice, and The Quibbler… Bloody hell, Ron… You do a lot of things." _Yeesh, that list gave me anxiety._

"Say bloody hell again," Ron put his left arm around her.

"Bloody hell," Daphne smirked, and Ron grinned at her. "See what you've done? You've corrupted my vocabulary."

"That was always my goal," Ron sniggered. "The first time I saw you, I decided that I'd turn you into a foulmouthed Lady."

"No, the first time you saw me, you didn't even bother acknowledging my existence," Daphne reminded him. "And when you finally spoke to me, you yelled at me."

"Just giving you the 'Ronald Weasley Experience'," Ron smiled sheepishly, which earned him a cute giggle. "I apologized for that, right?"

"You did, but only after Blaise and Theo convinced you to," Daphne replied, her head resting on his left shoulder. "Do you remember how often we fought?"

"We used to be so mean to each other," Ron nodded. "You'd always glare at me, while I'd always be ready to jump down your throat."

"I wasn't used to your noise, that's all," Daphne smiled. "You were quiet outspoken back in first year. I swear that you were always fighting with someone."

"Yeah, I really did need some thicker skin," Ron admitted. "I still do sometimes."

"I think you're doing just fine," Daphne hummed, her arms wrapping around his stomach. "Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there anything about me that you don't like?" Daphne asked, and Ron immediately tensed.

"Is this a trick?" Ron asked slowly, and she shook her head. "Daph, where did that come from?"

"Nowhere," Daphne lied, and Ron narrowed his eyes on her. "Don't give me the suspicious look."

"Tell me," Ron said gently, making sure to fix his face.

"You don't think I'm narcissistic, do you?" Daphne asked, and Ron resisted the urge to groan.

"Daph… Hermione doesn't even know you," Ron started. "Don't let her words get to you, alright? I don't even know what compelled her to say that, and I think that she's dead wrong."

"But everyone thinks that," Daphne sighed out.

"Who? Tell me their names," Ron said a little too sternly.

"Are you going to go fight them?" Daphne asked, half-teasing and half-unsure. _Probably._ "I've heard a lot of other girls talking about me, and even a lot of boys, and they all say the same thing… I know that I'm a little… snobby… and even cold… but that's only towards people that I don't know."

"I don't think that you're narcissistic," Ron replied truthfully. "Narcissistic girls don't spend so much time looking after their stress ridden boyfriends, nor do they put others first. Do you remember what you told me about Tori last Christmas? The pot plant story?"

"I do," Daphne nodded weakly.

"She left a scar on your foot, and you took all the blame because you didn't want her getting into trouble," Ron said, and then he gave her a squeeze. "That's one of my favorite stories because it proves that you're a good person, and an even better sister. Not to mention just how much you've helped me over the last two years. You're the only one who I turned to whenever something bad happened with my Family, or whenever I was close to losing it. I don't care what anyone says, because to me, you're amazing." _Merlin, that was a bit sappy._

"You're sweet," Daphne smiled, and then she nuzzled her head into his neck. "Sorry about making you say sappy things, I know that you don't enjoy that."

"I don't mind it when it's with you," Ron said slowly, though he did feel a little uncomfortable. _If the twins saw me talking like this, they'd tell the whole planet._

"I love you, Ron," Daphne hummed against his throat.

"I love you too, Daphne," Ron planted a kiss on her head, and he quickly regretted it. "Your hair tastes funny…" Daphne laughed into his throat, while Ron just licked his lips.

"It's the hair product," Daphne pulled her head back. "Here." Daphne gave him a quick kiss. "Better?"

"Can you wear this lipstick all the time?" Ron asked, and then he licked his lips again. "Better."

"Here you are," came the waitress' voice, and both Ron and Daphne looked to the waitress. She had a massive tray full of bitesize cakes floating behind her, while a pot of chocolate tea and its sides floated to her left. "I'll close the curtains for you two, alright?"

"Thanks," Ron and Daphne said together.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"What did you do after that?!" Daphne laughed.

"Nothing," Ron chuckled. "Aunt Muriel was so angry that she stormed out of the House and disapparated away, while mum yelled at the twins for nearly an hour. The rest of us just sat there and listened, the smell of shite filling our lungs."

"Poor Aunt Muriel," Daphne kept laughing.

"Oh, she's a piece of work," Ron laughed, his eyes fixed on how red Daphne's cheeks were from laughing. "She wrote them out of her will, and she hasn't set foot in the Burrow since. Truth be told, I'm really glad about that."

"Because she's a piece of work?" Daphne asked.

"Because she's a massive bitch to everyone," Ron replied, and Daphne tutted at him.

"You should respect your elders," Daphne said, but her tone was anything but scolding.

"Trust me, if you met her, you'd hate her immediately," Ron pulled her closer. "Even mum and dad don't like her, but since she's Family, they always send her an invite."

"Surely she has some redeeming quality?" Daphne asked, and Ron thought on it. _She does have one._

"She once scolded my mum on my behalf," Ron remembered, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "It was when I was six, I think. It's not a very good story though…"

"Tell me," Daphne said softly, her head resting on his shoulder again.

"Well…" Ron started, he was quite ashamed of this one. "She came to visit us one day, so mum made us put on our best clothes… The only problem was that I only had secondhand clothes… Percy's old stuff…" _Ah, I really don't like this story. Why did I bring it up?_ "Mum got Ginny a new dress, and it was a genuine dress from Madam Malkin's… You know, cute blue bow and all."

"Go on," Daphne whispered.

"Aunt Muriel came around, and as usual, looked us over critically," Ron all but whispered, his gut tightening. "When she got to me, she just stopped. It was dreadful… She just stared at me, and then at my clothes, and then… She looked to Ginny and started frowning. My mum got worried and asked if everything was alright, and that led to a massive fight."

"Why?" Daphne asked, she had lost her humor.

"It was my fault…" Ron sighed, he still felt ashamed of his behavior. "I was pouting like some miserable brat, all the while glaring at Ginny's dress. I was so jealous of her, and everyone knew it. Aunt Muriel demanded to know why I wasn't wearing decent looking clothes, and my mum had to explain that they couldn't afford to get me new ones. Bill was the oldest, Charlie was too bulky for hand-me-downs, Percy needed his own things because Bill and Charlie were still using theirs, and the twins needed two of everything… And Ginny was a girl. Which is why I was always left with the secondhand things."

"Oh…" Daphne muttered, she couldn't imagine wearing someone else's clothes.

"I was a fucking prick for doing that to my parents," Ron said bitterly, and Daphne flinched a bit. "I shouldn't have behaved like that, and because of my actions, Aunt Muriel offered to pay for me. Mum got offended, and they started yelling at each other. Eventually, Aunt Muriel told mum to 'stop pumping out brats when she clearly couldn't afford it', and then she left. I think mum was really hurt by that, so the next day, she returned Ginny's dress and bought me some new clothes from the thrift shop. I got my wish, and everyone in my Family paid for it. At the time, I was actually happy with myself… Can you believe that?"

"You were six, Ron," Daphne said quickly, but Ron just shook his head.

"Age is not an excuse," Ron told her. "I behaved like a brat, and my Family was looked down upon because of it. Ginny actually cried her heart out because she loved that dress, while mum and dad had to explain to a five year old that they were poor. And do you know what I was doing? I was trying out my new clothes with a happy grin." Ron drew in a deep breath at that. "So there it is… The one good thing Aunt Muriel ever did for me. She meant well, so I don't blame her for what happened. I'm the one who ruined everything."

"I'm sorry, Ron," Daphne smiled sadly, and Ron shrugged. "I mean it. I can't even imagine how you feel about that memory."

"I don't think about it," Ron said. "We all moved on, and eventually, I realized that I was the person behind that mess. I never complained about my clothes after that. Sure, I hated it sometimes, but I never told mum and dad that I was upset with my ill-fitting clothes. The only time I lost it about my belongings after that was when mum and dad couldn't afford to buy me a wand."

"And so Mrs. Lovegood bought you your school supplies," Daphne remembered.

"Yeah."

"You'd have started Hogwarts without your own wand…" Daphne muttered, and Ron nodded. Ron didn't realize that Daphne felt wretched because of his story, and that all she wanted to do now was cuddle him.

"Excuse me," the waitress popped her head through the red curtain. "We have another couple coming in very soon, and they've book this table for half past one." _Half past one? Merlin, where did the time go?_

"We'll be right out," Ron said, and the witch smiled and left. "Let's go, Daph."

"We didn't even kiss," Daphne said as they both began to exit the booth.

"We kissed a couple of times," Ron noted, and then he handed her jacket to her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad that we shared stories," Daphne put her jacket on. "I feel like I know you better now."

"Do you?" Ron smirked.

"I do," Daphne said seriously, and then she began to close his jacket for him. "I think I understand now why you work so hard." _Huh?_ "And I'm ashamed for thinking ill of you whenever you pushed us too hard. I'll never dismiss your efforts from now on, I swear it."

"Daph… What're you on about?" Ron asked, but Daphne just shook her head clear.

"Nothing," Daphne gave him a quick peck. "Let's go?"

"Okay…" Ron said slowly, and then they both began to depart. _That was a bit weird._ They made their way past the cramped tables, and after Ron paid for their date, they left the teashop. The moment they exited the teashop, they heard a booming voice and a cheering crowd.

"What's going on?" Daphne asked, her eyes scanning the crowd.

"Come on down, lovebirds!" a man announced to the crowd. "Test the strength of your love, and win amazing prizes!"

"Want to check it out?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a nod. They approached the crowd, and Ron was able to see that there was a competition of some sort.

"What do you see?" Daphne asked, she was too short to look over the crowd.

"People lifting things," Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Ten seconds!" the announcer called out. "Keep your grip for ten seconds, and win your Lady Love a nice present!" _Present?_

"Excuse me," Ron said as he and Daphne cut through the crowd, their eyes scanning the competition. There were a bunch of lads lifting heavy weights with their hands, while two wizards conducted the entire affair.

"Look at the size of that teddy bear," Daphne whispered to Ron, and he followed her gaze to a man sized teddy bear. _Damn! Who made that thing?!_

"Lift two hundred and fifty pounds for ten seconds," Ron read the label under the white teddy bear. _Cutis Terra…_ "Daph, do you want that bear?"

"Don't be absurd," Daphne chuckled. "Let's go before you break your back." _Break my back? Is that a challenge?_

"Excuse me!" Ron called to the announcer, and Daphne tried to shush him. "Is anyone lifting the two hundred and fifty pound weight?!" The announcer looked at Ron with a manic grin, and then he burst into laughter. _What the fuck?_

"Ron, let's just go," Daphne whispered.

"How old are you, boy?!" the announcer laughed, and the crowd joined him. _Old enough to beat you to death, you old fuck._

"Old enough to try my hand at it," Ron replied, and the announcer beckoned him. Ron let go of Daphne's hand, while she schooled her features in order to not show her worry.

"How old are you?" the announcer asked.

"Thirteen," Ron replied, and the announcer held back a laugh.

"You're a big lad, but don't be an idiot," the announcer whispered. "Getting hurt will only embarrass you and your date. Try going-"

"My girlfriend likes that white teddy bear, and so she's getting it," Ron said bluntly.

"Fine," the announcer sighed. "Kenneth! Take the kid's wand and check him for Potions." The burlier wizard walked up, and Ron handed in his wand. Kenneth aimed his wand at Ron's head, and an orange light emanated from it.

"He's clean," Kenneth said told the announcer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, someone's finally stepped up to take on the 'Bear Challenge'!" the announcer called, and people began to cheer and laugh. Ron spotted some Slytherins in the crowd, but they weren't cheering or laughing. Instead, they were watching keenly. "Right this way, young man!"

The announcer led Ron to the block of metal with '250' inscribed on it, and then he aimed at the handle.

"You grab that, and you hold the weight above ground for ten seconds," the announcer whispered. "Don't drop it on your foot if you do manage to lift it, alright?"

"I understand," Ron said, his eyes scanning the crowd. Daphne was just staring at him, and when Ron spotted Percy and his girlfriend in the crowd, he smiled at them. _Percy looks pissed._

"Since this lad's only thirteen, let's make it five seconds!" the announcer called out, and people let out whistles. "Go on then, boy! Impress your Lady!" Ron grabbed onto the handle, while the announcer stepped away.

"Cutis Terra," Ron whispered under his breath as he tightened his muscles, and he immediately felt his body tense. Ron let out a loud groan as he pulled up the weight, and much to the announcer's horror, Ron managed to lift it. _Sweet Circe, I made a mistake!_ It was quite heavy, but Ron kept holding onto the bar. Everyone stopped making noise, and Ron spotted Daphne gaping at him. _Challenge that, Daph! I'm doing all ten seconds!_

"What the fuck…?" the announcer muttered, his eyes darting to Kenneth, who was just as shocked as his partner.

"And that's ten!" Ron roared, and then he dropped the weight down. "Wooo! Fuck yeah!" Ron then grinned maniacally at the announcer, adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Get that bear!"

The announcer just drifted towards the huge toy, and he brought it over to Ron, who quickly put the bear over his shoulder. _Fuck, my muscles are burning nicely._ Much to Ron's amusement, the announcer stepped away from him quite quickly. Ron shot him a wink, walked over to Kenneth, collected his wand, and then began to head towards Daphne. People moved out of the way as if he had the Dragon-Pox, including Percy and Penelope Clearwater.

"Let's go," Ron said to Daphne, who was somehow controlling her features again. Ron took her hand, and they began to leave the crowd behind. Just as they were exiting the crowd, Ron spotted Flint and his girlfriend staring at him. _Gertrude Swans._ Ron stopped walking, his eyes fixed on her.

"Stay away from my sister," Ron whispered dangerously, his humor completely gone. "Do you fucking understand?" Flint looked to Swans, who went wide-eyed and nodded weakly. At that, Ron and Daphne continued on their way. After they put some distance between themselves and the group, Daphne stopped them.

"Ron, your hands are shaking," Daphne looked down at his gloved hand.

"Adrenaline," Ron told her, making an effort to stop his shakes. _That, and the Spell's made me kind of sore. Ten seconds is the limit then._

"Two hundred and fifty pounds…" Daphne muttered.

"You remember that Spell I mentioned?" Ron asked, and Daphne immediately nodded. "It's a Wandless Spell."

"You… You little cheat," Daphne laughed, though she sounded quite confused and shaken.

"Shhh," Ron shushed with a smile. "Let's take our prize and go, alright?"

"Alright," Daphne kept laughing, and they began to head towards the Three Broomsticks. "You didn't have to do that for me, but thank you."

"I did it for us," Ron told her. "Did you see that crowd? It was filled with students from each House, and now, they'll tell everyone about this."

"You never turn off, do you?" Daphne smirked, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Never," Ron chuckled. "There's the Three Broomsticks! Let's go in!" They both made their way inside, and once they entered the warm and smoky inn, they looked for their friends.

"Ron! Daphne! Over here!" Theo called, and both Slytherins spotted their group in the back of the inn. Ron and Daphne made their way over, while the others cocked their eyebrows at Ron. _Yes, I have a giant teddy bear on my shoulder._

"What are you carrying?" Tracey asked, while Blaise and Malfoy tried to look at the bear's face.

"This is Ezekiel," Daphne said as she sat down. "Ron won him for me at a competition."

"Aw! That's so romantic!" Pansy smiled approvingly, while the boys shook their heads at Ron. _I need a seat for 'Ezekiel'. I can't believe she's named him already._

"Excuse me," Ron looked to a nearby group of students. "Are you using this chair?"

"Um… No," an older girl said, her eyes fixed on the bear.

"Mind if I steal it?" Ron asked, and they shook their heads. "Thanks." Ron grabbed the seat, moved it to the Slytherins' table, and then he planted the giant white teddy bear on it. After that, Ron took his seat between Daphne and 'Ezekiel'.

"So, how was the date?" Pansy asked Daphne, while Theo slid two tankards of Butterbeer in front of Ron and Daphne.

"It was amazing!" Daphne beamed, and Ron mentally patted his own back.

"When did you lot get here?" Ron asked the boys, while the girls talked to Daphne about her first date.

"Just a few minutes ago," Blaise replied.

"How was your date with Padma?" Ron asked.

"Hehe," Theo sniggered, and Blaise frowned at the weedy boy. _It went badly?_

"She kept talking about her research project for Ravenclaw," Blaise sighed. "And then, she asked me about my parents."

"Oh…" Ron grimaced.

"It got pretty awkward after I told her that I didn't know who my father was," Blaise said in a bored voice. "She kept asking about my mother, even after I asked her to stop. Apparently, she couldn't comprehend that my mother is a terrible woman."

"Did you at least try to find out more about her?" Ron asked.

"I did, but all she did was complain about her sister," Blaise frowned a little. "I'm going to breakup with her tomorrow. All that beauty and intelligence is wasted on her."

"That's a little mean, don't you think?" Ron asked, he quite liked Padma.

"Maybe," Blaise shrugged. "But I just don't feel a connection with her. She's too… plain."

"You mean she's normal, and you're a walking compendium of issues?" Malfoy asked, and both Ron and Theo burst into laughter.

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Blaise frowned deeply, while Ron patted Malfoy's back.

"That was a good one!" Ron wheezed, and Malfoy's lips twitched upwards. The blonde boy quickly fixed his features, but it was too late. "Don't hide that smile, Malfoy! Cheer up! We're away from all of our troubles today, remember?"

"Right," Malfoy said, his face hidden by his tankard.

"I can see his lips curling from here," Theo chuckled, much to Malfoy's annoyance.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Dogweed and Deathcap – Afternoon)**_

"It's a nice tree," Ron nodded his approval, and Theo looked at him like he was an idiot.

"A nice tree?" Theo repeated, and Ron nodded again. They were all a little tipsy because they had spent too much time at the Three Broomsticks, and they had drank far too much Butterbeer.

"Yeah, it's pretty," Tracey said, and Theo drew in a sharp breath.

"This 'tree' is known as the Seraph's Gift, you two," Theo started. "See how the leaves are silver, but the apples are golden?"

"Yeah," Ron replied. _It's a tree, mate. Nothing special._

"No one in History has been able to figure out why that is," Theo told them.

"Like ever?" Tracey asked, her eyes scanning gardenlike shop for the others.

"Never," Theo puffed up. "There are only five Seraph's Gifts in the entire World! This one, the one at Castelobruxo in South America, the one in the dead center of Australia, the one at the very bottom of Madagascar, and the one at Mahoutokoro School of Magic! Just five in the entire World!"

"Can't we just plant more seeds from them?" Tracey asked.

"No, you can't," came Neville's voice from behind them, and they all turned around. "The golden apples don't have seeds, and no one has found a way to remove the leaves without them wilting away immediately. The Seraph's Gift is a mystery that no one can figure out. It's always been like that."

"Finally," Theo clapped his hands. "Someone with an ounce of appreciation for the beauty of flora. Join us, Longbottom."

"Sure," Neville said as he walked up.

"Where are Hermione and Harry?" Ron asked.

"They're at the Three Broomsticks," Neville replied. "I just wanted to see this really badly."

"And they didn't?" Theo asked, he sounded offended.

"They're with Fred, George, and Lee," Neville shrugged. "I don't really like crowded places very much, so I went ahead without them. They'll be here shortly." Neville then marveled at the Seraph's Gift. "Just look at it."

"I know right," Theo smiled widely, while Tracey shot Ron a smirk. _Theo's in love._

"Did you know that Hengist of Woodcroft loved this tree, and it was why he decided to settle here?" Neville asked Theo.

"Of course I know," Theo said. "He built Hogsmeade here because he thought this land was blessed, not to mention that he attended Hogwarts and often came down here to read by this very tree. Rowena Ravenclaw herself tried to study the Seraph's Gift, but even she couldn't figure them out."

"Wait… They built this shop around the tree?" Ron asked.

"Haven't you been listening to me?" Theo frowned deeply, while Tracey sniggered at Ron. "These trees can't just be planted… The shop was built to protect the Seraph's Gift."

"But there's no sunlight in here…" Ron said, he didn't like being scolded.

"That's the beauty of it, Ron," Neville smiled from ear to ear. "The Seraph's Gift doesn't need sunlight. It just… exists. You could cut this tree down root and stem, but after a few decades, it will return." _What the fuck? Weird fucking tree._

"So it's like a weed," Ron said, and Tracey let out a cackle.

"I'll fucking stab you, Ron," Theo warned, while Neville lost all of his humor.

"Tough crowd…" Ron muttered.

"Do those apples taste nice?" Tracey asked.

"You can have one, but it'll cost you around two thousand Galleons," Theo told her.

"Wow…" Tracey drawled, while Neville just stared at her.

"Your hair is different," Neville said. "It looks really nice." _Pardon?_ Neville suddenly realized what he had said, and his face began to turn red. "I… I'm sorry… I was just-"

"Don't be sorry," Tracey giggled. "Thank you, Longbottom. I appreciate your words."

"Ri… Right…" Neville swallowed thickly, while Ron just grinned at Neville's embarrassment. "Your hair reminds me of the Seraph's Gift… Brown with silver…" Tracey blinked at him, and then she smiled genuinely.

"That was pretty smooth, Neville," Ron said, and Neville looked even more embarrassed. "Trying to court my friends, eh?"

"Um… No… I was just being…" Neville stammered. "I'll go…"

"Nonsense," Tracey frowned at Ron, and then she tangled her arm with Neville's. Neville looked utterly shocked, but he didn't utter a word. "Just ignore Ron, alright? Stay and tell me more about this tree."

"Yes, Ron," Theo frowned. "Go away."

"Fine," Ron shrugged, his grin still in place. As Ron made his way to the front of the store, he heard Theo and Neville telling Tracey about the mysteries of the Seraph's Gift.

"Ron?" Pansy waved at him.

"Hey, Pans," Ron smiled at her. "Since we're falling behind schedule, I'll head to the Post Office myself. I'll meet you guys at The Magic Neep after."

"Okay, I'll let the others know," Pansy said, and Ron made his way out.

The Post Office wasn't too far, and after dodging a few excited students along the way, Ron made his way inside. He was immediately hit with the smell of bird droppings, and the sounds of Owls hooting. As he made his way to the reception desk, he eyed the hundreds of Owls with awed eyes. _Merlin, this place makes the Owlery look like a joke._ The Post Office was built as a spiraling tower filled with little sections for different Owls, each of them color coded depending on their speed.

"May I help you, young man?" an older wizard asked from behind the desk.

"This place is massive," Ron commented.

"Indeed," the old wizard laughed. "The Undetectable Extension Charm is the key to our success, I always say!"

"Right," Ron said. "I'm not trying to offend you, but how do you stomach this stench?"

"I lost my sense of smell in an accident when I was younger," the wizard laughed again, and Ron nodded slowly. "Potions were never my forte!" _He's so loud._

"Do you sell Owl treats here?" Ron asked, deciding to cut the chitchat. "I have an Eagle-Owl, and I want to treat him." _He should be in France by now._

"Ah, I have just what you need," the old man said, and then he hobbled into a nearby closet. Ron waited for a couple of minutes before the wizard returned, a golden packet in his hands. "The Hunter's Delight, we call them. Perfect for Eagle-Owls, though a bit pricey."

"How much?" Ron asked.

"Ten Galleons," the wizard replied.

"For a pack of treats?" Ron asked, he was quite surprised. "Why?"

"Trust me, young man, your Owl will fall in love with these," the old wizard assured him. "A perfect blend of rabbit, fox, and mice!" _Ugh…_ "But be warned, feeding him more than three a week isn't good for his health. These are highly nutritious, and they'll fatten him up if you're not careful."

"Okay," Ron said. "And you're sure that he'll love these?"

"I bet my job on it," the old wizard laughed once again.

"Alright, I'll take them." _Helios deserves a gift._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Spintwitches Sporting Needs – Late Afternoon)**_

Ron stared at the Dragon-Hide Quidditch armguards, and he wondered if Ginny's armguards were still fit for service. He had bought her everything she needed, but it had been while since then. _They're on sale for twenty Galleons, which is nothing compared to the safety of her hands._

Ron knew that she was still angry with him, especially since he had lost his temper at them all after his seizure. But Ron also knew that one day, she was going to be a Professional Quidditch player. If that particular vision was to come true, then Ginny needed actual equipment to practice with. His parents couldn't provide that, but he could. He, as her older brother, had a duty to provide for her, even if she wanted nothing to do with him. _Your job is to serve, Ron. To protect them._

"Weasley, you've been staring at those for almost ten minutes," Malfoy said as he walked past Ron, a pair of Seeker Gloves in his hands. "Hurry up." Ron shot the pale boy's back a frown, and then he looked back to the armguards. _She'll never accept them from me. She's as stubborn as her brothers. Brothers…_ Ron picked up the armguards and walked over to the counter.

"Just these?" the clerk asked, and Ron gave him a nod. "That'll be twenty Galleons."

"Here you are," Ron said as he paid for the armguards. The clerk packed them up, and once Ron had the package, he stepped out of the shop.

"You got something?" Millie asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Armguards for Ginny," Ron replied, and everyone gave him curious looks. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay then," Daphne said, her teddy bear floating behind her. "Since we're all here, let's go to our final stop."

"The Shrieking Shack," Tracey said in spooky voice, and they all began to make their way out of Hogsmeade.

"According to the map, we're to go off track at the first right out of Hogsmeade," Daphne led the way, while Ron chose to linger in the back. "It's not terribly far, so we'll have enough time to look around before we have to come back."

"Why did you get her armguards?" Blaise whispered to Ron, who just blinked at him. "It's not like she'll thank you, mate. Plus, she's been a right prat lately."

"Don't speak about her like that," Ron frowned, and Blaise raised his hands in surrender. "My sister is in a lot of pain, and even if she doesn't want my help, I'll still offer it."

"I didn't mean to anger you, Ron," Blaise said rather gently. "I just don't want you getting your hopes up, that's all. How much did those cost you? Didn't you tell me that you were going to be more careful with your money?"

"They were on sale, and Ginny's worn her old ones out," Ron shrugged. "Look, I'm not going to give her these. I'll have Percy give them to her, and he'll tell her that these are from him. Sort of like a 'Cheer up gift', you know." _Plus, I owe her for the dress that I took away. I never apologized for that._

"Why not give them to her yourself?" Malfoy asked from his right.

"Are you listening in?" Ron asked, and Malfoy shrugged.

"You whisper poorly," Malfoy replied. "Now, answer my question."

"I know my sister, and she'll think that I'm trying to buy her," Ron replied. "She'll throw these in my face, and then she'll storm off upset."

"And why does she need armguards?" Malfoy asked. "She's not on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."

"She loves Quidditch," Ron replied. "She practices all the time, and I don't want her breaking her arms because of old armguards. So… I got her new ones."

"Blaise was right," Malfoy looked forward. "Your sister is a prat." Ron frowned at Malfoy, but he picked up his pace and walked out of talking distance.

"Prick…" Ron muttered under his breath.

"I think you're growing on him," Blaise whispered, and Ron just shook his head. "Trust me, I know him. That was his way of saying that you're a good brother."

"Oh, is that so?" Ron asked. "So the next time he insults one of my siblings, I should pull him into a hug?"

"There's no harm in it," Blaise smirked, and Ron nudged him away.

"Surrounded by pricks," Ron's lips twitched upwards.

"I bet you love it," Blaise sniggered.

"Shite, I walked into that one," Ron chuckled, his mood elevated once again. _I shouldn't mope, especially on a day like this. Percy will give her the gloves, and she'll put them to good use._

"There it is!" Tracey squealed, and they all looked ahead. There, off in the distance, was a lonely, battered wooden shack. Its windows and doors were boarded up, and judging by the horrible state of it, Ron figured that no one had entered the building in decades. _Creepy._

"Hold me, Ron!" Pansy swooned, and then she clung to his left arm. Daphne turned around with a murderous glare, while the others burst into laughter. Ron's laugh died when Daphne's eyes landed on him, and he quickly tried to shrug Pansy off. "This isn't the time to fondle me, Ron! Save that for later!"

"You'll get us both killed, you crazy bint," Ron said frantically.

"Hmph," Daphne huffed in indignation, and then she turned to face the shack again.

"Pans…" Ron whispered, and she smirked at him.

"What? I want to feel safe, that's all," Pansy said innocently. Ron went to say something, but a snowball hit Pansy in the chest. The raven-haired witch let out a squeal, while Ron looked to see Daphne smirking at them. "Daphne! That was mean!"

"It just occurred to me that despite being in the snow, none of us have thrown snowballs at each other," Daphne said, and everyone went dead still. "Odd, huh?"

"Yeah… Odd…" Theo said, his eyes moving to the others. _What's with that look?_ Ron looked to Blaise, who was looking at Tracey, who was looking at Millie, who was looking at Malfoy. Pansy slowly stepped away from Ron, a distrustful look on her face.

"Why are you staring at me, Greengrass?" Malfoy demanded, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards. "Don't…"

"What did you say about me again?" Blaise asked Malfoy. "Oh, that's right… A walking compendium of issues…"

"Guys…" Millie started. "Let's not get any ideas… Someone could get hurt…"

"Scared?" Tracey asked, and Millie smirked.

"For you," Millie retorted.

"Millie's right, this is silly," Ron said. "We're not children anymore." They all exchanged looks at that. _Oh fuck._ Ron aimed his left palm at the snow in the middle of them. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Ron yelled, and then he yanked his left arm up. Screams and yells went off as the snow on the ground shot up, and Ron quickly ran for some cover.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 7th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Near Hagrid's Hut – Evening)**_

"Perce," Ron caught up to his brother, who turned to face him. All the students were making their way up to Hogwarts, most of them exhausted from their outing.

"Ron," Percy greeted back, and then he looked to his girlfriend. "This is Penelope, by the way." _I know._

"A pleasure to finally meet you," Ron smiled at her, and then he held his hand out. She looked to Percy, and then she gave her hand to Ron. Ron took it gently, and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

"Hello, Ron," Penelope said, her voice filled with mirth. "You were right, Percy, your brother isn't like the twins."

"Thank Merlin for that," Ron joked, and both Percy and Penelope chuckled. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two, but could I please burrow my brother for a moment? This is urgent."

"Of course," Penelope smiled. "I'll be waiting by the wooden bridge, Percy."

"Alright," Percy said, and Penelope left after giving them a parting nod. "So, what is it?"

"Here," Ron said as he pulled out the package from his robes.

"What is it?" Percy asked as he took it.

"Dragon-Hide armguards for Quidditch," Ron replied. "They're for Ginny."

"Ron… You didn't have to get these," Percy sighed. "You should be saving your money."

"Her old ones are probably worn out by now," Ron countered. "She's a Chaser, Perce… Do you want her to shatter her arms from a Bludger strike?"

"No," Percy said. "You want me to give these to her?"

"I want you to pretend like they're from you," Ron replied, and Percy nodded in understanding.

"She'd never accept these if you gave them to her," Percy said, and Ron nodded. "When are you two going to settle this idiotic feud?"

"When she apologizes to me," Ron replied firmly. "I'm sorry, Perce, but I can't just let her say something so poisonous to me. She needs to learn that she's not a child anymore."

"Fair enough," Percy sighed out. "I'll give these to her when I see her next."

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he began to leave.

"Wait!" Percy called, and Ron turned to face him. "How did you lift that weight?" _Oh yeah, he was in the crowd._ "Ron, even Charlie can't lift that much."

"Oh, trust me, he can," Ron chuckled, he had seen Charlie without a shirt.

"Whatever… How did **you** do it?" Percy asked.

"It's like I told you," Ron shrugged. "I'm the strongest student in Hogwarts." With that, Ron left to rejoin his friends. Percy watched him leave, he was still quite shaken by what he had seen.

"Is it done?" Daphne asked him, and Ron noticed that Ezekiel was still floating behind her.

"Yeah, let's go inside," Ron took her hand. The others all chatted to each other, and surprisingly, even Malfoy was involved in the conversation.

"I had a great day, Ron," Daphne whispered, and Ron smiled at her.

"Me too," Ron told her. "So… What's the verdict on our date?"

"Passable," Daphne smirked, and Ron feigned hurt. "In all seriousness, I can't wait for the next one."

"Me too," Ron kissed the side of her head. "I haven't had such a pleasant day in a long time. I know that I'll always cherish it."

"Me too," Daphne hummed.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Near Midday)**_

Madam Roberts was pissed, and Ron knew it. He had told her that he had consumed vast quantities of sugar yesterday, and despite his reasoning, she didn't care. According to her, champions didn't take days off whenever they felt like it.

And so, she had been pushing him harder than ever before. After his exercises had finished, she had made him do an extra set of each. After that, she made him Duel against multiple dummies. When Ron had easily defeated them due to his prior experience, she had vowed to bring in the 'proper training dummies' next time. And now, she was throwing stingers at him in order to test his dodging abilities. Ron had dodged roughly fifty stingers so far, and gotten hit a couple of times.

"Stop breaking your form, Ronald," Madam Roberts stopped her onslaught. _Show some mercy, you old bat._

"Sorry," Ron apologized, thick beads of sweat on his face. "It's just hard to get back into it after a dodge."

"It's only hard because you lose your focus," Madam Roberts frowned. "You can dodge extremely well, but after every dodge, you just forget what you were doing before. That only serves to show me that you lack discipline. Control your emotions. Discipline your mind."

"Okay," Ron said, making sure to take in a deep breath. Madam Roberts continued her assault, and Ron moved left and right as he dodged the stingers. _Form. Remember the form._ She seemed to be giving him enough time to find his form after each dodge, and he made sure seize the opportunity. But then, instead of throwing a stinger to the right, she threw it to the left. Ron dodged left on instinct, and the stinger hit him in the chest. _OW! Fuck!_

"Don't fall into a pattern," Madam Roberts scolded, while Ron rubbed his chest. "In a real Duel, people won't make themselves predictable."

"But this is training…" Ron wheezed, he was definitely going to bruise.

"You must always be alert," Madam Roberts bit out. " **Always**. Do you understand?"

"Yes…" Ron panted, he was exhausted. _Can we just stop for the day? Please?_

"Again," Madam Roberts ordered, and Ron got into position. His mind suddenly felt dull, as if all the blood had rushed into his head and muddled his brain. Madam Roberts aimed her wand at him, but she didn't fire the stinger. "Ronald?"

"Sorry," Ron muttered as he shook his head, but that only made his head feel heavier. "My head feels heavy…" Madam Roberts was by his side in an instant, her amber eyes scanning his face. "I'm fine… Just give me a second…"

"No," Madam Roberts said, her right arm snaking around his back. "I think we've done enough for today. Come and sit down." With her help, Ron made it to the couch without falling over. Once he was seated, Madam Roberts put her palm on his forehead.

"I'm sweaty…" Ron told her, but she just ignored him.

"You don't seem to have a fever," Madam Roberts stated.

"Don't worry, it's just something that happens to me," Ron told her. "Sometimes I get lightheaded, and other times I feel like my head is full of rocks. I just need a nap."

"I see," Madam Roberts said, perhaps she had pushed him too hard. "I will heal your muscles for the day, and after you take a shower, you can go back to Hogwarts and take your nap." _Sorry, but I'm taking a nap in the Living Room. I'm not going to tumble into Slytherin in this state._

"Sorry about this," Ron apologized, while she began healing his left foot. _Oh, Merlin. That feels incredible._

"You did well today, Ronald," Madam Roberts said.

"Really? It looked like you were pissed off with me," Ron said, and Madam Roberts said nothing in response. "You were pissed…"

"At first," Madam Roberts said curtly. "But you did well, and you didn't complain. I merely wished to keep your momentum going." _Oh._ "I've noticed that you are keeping your breathing in mind, which is excellent. Now we just need to work on your form, and then we can delve into Dueling styles once again."

"Sound like a plan," Ron smiled at her, a shiver passing through his body. He could feel his manhood stirring, but he chose to ignore it. He had found that if he didn't acknowledge it, then neither did she.

"How is the Dueling Club going?" Madam Roberts asked.

"I'm in the Quarter Finals," Ron told her, and she gave him a curt nod. "The fourth years are competing today, while my friends are taking notes for me."

"For you?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Strengths and weaknesses of everyone," Ron replied. "I plan to make sure that Slytherin wins, so I'm sort of keeping an eye on everyone who's competing."

"I see," Madam Roberts said, her wand moving up to his left thigh. "Make sure that they also note down which Spells are being used. Far too many witches and wizards rely on only a certain amount of Spells, and you can take advantage of that as well."

"Thanks," Ron said, and it sounded far too much like a moan. _Shite!_ "Sorry…"

"Just stop tensing," Madam Roberts ordered. "You are making my job difficult. Keep breathing, and relax."

"Okay," Ron said. They were both silent for a few minutes, but as Madam Roberts began healing his chest, she finally broke the silence.

"Madam Bones approached me yesterday," Madam Roberts said, and Ron opened his eyes.

"Madam Bones? What did she want?" Ron asked.

"She asked after you," Madam Roberts told him. "She's mentioned that you are helping her with her plans for the restoration of St. Mungo's."

"Yeah, I ran into her and we sort of came to an agreement," Ron smiled a little.

"You didn't ask her for any money or favors, which left an impression on her," Madam Roberts told him. "Well done, Ron." _Ron?_

"Thanks," Ron smiled more fully. "What did she ask about?"

"Just my opinion of you," Madam Roberts replied. "I told her that you are a hard worker, but also prone to giving into your emotions."

"What? Madam Roberts…" Ron lost his smile.

"She asked for my **honest** opinion, and I gave it," Madam Roberts told him. "She is not the sort of woman who enjoys embellished stories. Anyway… My degenerate pupil overheard our conversation, and she wouldn't shut up about you. Half of the Auror's Office now knows about your work with Madam Bones, including the Head Auror."

"That's fine," Ron sighed. "Tomorrow, my brochures will be filled with information about the St. Mungo's restoration plan, and everyone will know of our partnership. As for the Head Auror… He's a bit weird."

"He is a good man," Madam Roberts told Ron. "Battle-hardened, stern but fair, and like you, he can't turn off his mind."

"Wait… Madam Bones told me that he kicked her out of the Office because **she** wouldn't stop working," Ron stated.

"He is also prone to hypocrisy," Madam Roberts smirked, and then she got serious. "Ronald, try to slow down once in a while. You are too young to be helping the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"People are suffering, Madam Roberts," Ron said, and she stopped to looked at him. "Everyone knows just how much this country is suffering because of the horrible events that have befallen us. And I know that the Ministry's coffers are running dry." Madam Roberts blinked at him. "If my contribution helps make a positive difference, then I'll do my best. I didn't accept her offer to pay me because I want her to use that money to help the people on the streets."

Madam Roberts stared at him for a few seconds, and then she went back to healing his muscles. Neither of them said a word, but Ron was certain that he saw her mask her smile with indifference.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 8th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Abandoned Classroom on the Third Floor – Midday)**_

Harry just stared at the page in front of him, his mind felt utterly rattled. For the last ten minutes, he had been staring at the same passage and picture, and a large part of him desperately wanted this information to be wrong.

Yesterday, Harry had noticed that Hermione and Neville were acting a little distant in regards to him. It wasn't blatant, but he could feel their reservations. Harry had no earthly idea why they were acting that way, but it stopped as the day progressed. While Neville was at Dogweed and Deathcap, and Hermione had returned to the Quill Shop for some last minute shopping, Harry had made his way to Tomes and Scrolls.

There, he had bought a book on 'Modern Wizarding Medicine' in the hopes of learning more about MRIs. He had decided not to go to Madam Pomfrey, mostly because he didn't know how he would bring it up without looking suspicious. And now here he was, staring at a passage and picture that made his stomach twist painfully.

The picture was that of a brain, much like the pictures he had seen in Ron's room, and according to this book, the little black spots were signs of Brain-Damage. Ron had Brain-Damage. At first, Harry had refused to believe it. Ron was far too normal to have Brain-Damage, but as time went on, Harry's mind began to make certain connections. Things began to fall into place, and Harry felt his panic grow with each passing revelation.

Harry now understood why the Professors always kept an eye on Ron. Harry now understood why even Hagrid always kept his eyes on Ron. Harry now understood why Sirius sometimes asked if Ron was doing well, despite being able to ask the redhead himself. Harry even understood why Ron had seizures now. Ron's 'friendship' with Dumbledore was most likely a result of Ron's damaged health, which genuinely made Harry feel like scum. He had been so jealous of Ron, he could no longer deny it, but now that he knew that Ron was sick, and that the adults knew about it, Harry felt sick.

"TBI… Traumatic Brain Injury…" Harry read, his right palm planted on his forehead. "Symptoms… Headaches, seizures, depression, mood swings, trouble communicating, bouts of uncontrollable anger, difficulty with logic and reason, poor motor skills…" Harry slammed the book shut, his eyes were beginning to sting. "No…"

Ron was sick, and judging from what Harry had just read, his life was in genuine danger. Harry felt so many emotions right now, and they only served to make him feel completely out of sorts. Why had he looked into Ron's personal life? Jealousy. Why had he been so obsessed with finding Ron's secrets? Jealousy. Why did he feel under attack whenever he saw Ron talking to Dumbledore? Jealousy. Why did he feel the need to ask Sirius to stop associating with Ron? Jealousy.

But now, he felt nothing but guilt and panic. Dumbledore was only looking out for a sick student, one who could potentially die before graduating. _Ron could die before graduating…_ Harry's stomach turned, and he quickly ran to the nearest bin and vomited out his breakfast. Sirius definitely knew about Ron's situation, which explained why he always rushed to the school anytime Ron got hurt. Remus also knew, which explained why he had his eyes fixed on only Ron during their Duel. _He was looking for any symptoms… Symptoms of Brain-Damage._ A bit more vomit dribbled out of his mouth.

It was all making sense now, and Harry couldn't help but feel stupid for not seeing this sooner. Ron's secretive nature, Pomfrey's unyielding resolve in sending everyone away, Greengrass being allowed to see him instead of his siblings… All of it made sense now, but Harry wished that it wouldn't. Ignorance was bliss, was it not?

Harry pulled his head out of the bin, and after casting the Fresh-Breath Charm, he walked over to his book. He picked it up, his body completely lethargic, and then he made his way out of the abandoned classroom. _I'm the worst person who ever lived. I went after a sick person._ Harry wiped his eyes clean, fixed his glasses, and turned to walk up the Moving Staircase.

"Harry!" came Ginny's voice, and Harry's entire body tensed painfully. He looked to see her walking down to him, she was wearing her Quidditch gear and had her broom in hand.

"He… Hello, Ginny," Harry said, but his voice barely came out. _She doesn't know. None of his siblings know. He hasn't told them, but he's clearly told Greengrass._

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked, her brow now furrowed. "What's that book?"

"Oh… Nothing," Harry said. "Just something I picked up at the Library… Why aren't you watching the Duels?"

"Why aren't you?" Ginny asked, and Harry found it hard to even speak. _I've done something terrible, Ginny._

"I… I have homework to do… Hermione wants me to get it done…" Harry said, and then he cleared his throat. "Enjoy practicing."

"Wait," Ginny said as he began to walk past her. "Do you um… Do you want to join me?" _I just want to go and lie down._

"Some other time," Harry said, his eyes landing on her new armguards.

"Percy got me these," Ginny beamed, and Harry could do little but nod. "Dragon-Hide armguards! Can you believe it?! I think this is the sweetest thing that he's ever done for me!"

"They suit you," Harry managed. "I'm going to go…"

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny asked as he began to walk up.

"I'm just feeling a little sick…" Harry lied, but when his words registered to himself, he genuinely felt sick. "I'll see you later."

"Okay…" Ginny said, her eyes fixed on Harry's retreating back. Harry picked up his pace, and within five minutes, he was lying face down on his bed.

What was he supposed to do now? He felt the need to tell Ron's siblings the truth, but he knew that they'd be extremely upset by it. He didn't want to cause any more damage, and that thought made him feel angry with himself. Why had he done something so callous? Hermione had been right, but he was too blinded by Ron's false crimes to see it. Harry Potter felt like utter scum, and he knew for certain that his parents would be ashamed of him if they knew what he had done. _I'll talk to Ron first. Yeah, that's the right call here._

"There you are," came Neville's voice, and Harry quickly sat up.

"Nev… Hermione… What are you doing here?" Harry asked, and they both blinked at him from the door.

"Looking for you," Neville replied, his eyes fixed on Harry. "Harry, are you alright? You seem… jittery." _Should I tell them?_ He wanted to, but now that he knew the truth, he couldn't bring himself to.

"I'm feeling a little off…" Harry said. "I'm just going to take a nap…"

"Your nap will have to wait," Hermione said haughtily, and then she walked into the room and stood by his bed. "Neville and I want to talk to you. We decided to wait yesterday because it was Hogsmeade Weekend, but now that it's over, there's something that we have to say."

"What is it?" Harry asked, he suddenly felt even more anxious.

"It's about Ron," Neville started, and Harry's head began to swim. "Hermione and I have talked it out, and we've decided to stop your investigation into him. I'm sorry, Harry, but you're in the wrong here. I'm your best friend, so I have to do right by you. I have to tell you that what you're doing, what you've done, is nothing short of appalling." _I know… I know._

"This behavior will stop at once, Harry James Potter," Hermione scolded, her arms crossed. "Or so help me, I will tell Sirius and Remus about your actions. They'd be very interested in knowing that…" she trailed off. Harry blinked at her, and then he followed her gaze to his book. _Shite!_ They both lunged for it, but Hermione got to it first.

"Hermione, give that back!" Harry yelled, and Hermione glared at him.

"Don't raise your voice at me!" she shrieked, his book held behind her back.

"Don't steal my things then!" Harry yelled as he lunged for the book, but Hermione ran behind Neville. "Neville, stop her!"

"What's gotten into you two?" Neville asked, he was clearly startled by their yelling. "Harry, stop!" Neville held Harry back, while Hermione quickly looked through the book.

"Hermione, stop it!" Harry shoved Neville aside, and then he ripped the book out of her hands. "What's the matter with you?!"

"What's the matter with you?!" Hermione yelled back, and then she helped Neville stand back up. "Why did you shove him?!" Harry ignored her as he walked over to his trunk, he was going to burn this book as soon as he could. "Petrificus Totalus!"

"Hermione?!" came Neville's voice, while Harry felt himself stiffen and fall back. "You… You Cursed him…" Hermione ignored him as she picked up the book, her eyes quickly moving through it. Harry tried to move, but it was over. _She… She fucking Cursed me? Wait… The book!_

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

The moment Hermione undid her Curse, Harry shot up to his feet and charged in her direction. Neville was fast enough to intercept him, but the look on his face frightened Hermione. Hermione had read the section on MRI tests out loud, and judging by how distressed both Neville and Hermione were, Harry knew that they had caught on. Ron's secret was now out, and it was Harry's fault. And yet, it was also Hermione's.

"You Cursed me…" Harry glared at her, and she swallowed thickly.

"Ron's sick…" Hermione started.

"You Cursed me!" Harry snapped, making her flinch. "Your own friend!"

"Harry, calm down," Neville said as he held Harry back, though he himself was quite upset with Hermione.

"I saw the MRI page… I had to know…" Hermione muttered. "I'm his friend, and I deserve to know what's wrong with him…"

"So our talk really meant nothing?" Neville turned to face her, disappointment written across his face. "All it took was a book, and you completely changed your view on the matter of investigating Ron? You gave me your word, Hermione. And how could you attack Harry like that?"

"Why would that even matter now?" Hermione asked, her voice rising. "Ron's sick, and no one knows about it. We have to help him."

"The adults know," Harry fumed, he really wanted to Hex her right now. "Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius, his parents, the teachers… Greengrass…"

"What makes you think he told **her**?" Hermione asked defiantly, and Harry felt his blood boil.

"Because she's his girlfriend, and you're not!" Harry yelled, and silence engulfed the room. Harry knew that he had just hit Hermione where it would hurt, but as far as he was concerned, she bloody deserved it for Cursing him.

"Harry…" Neville whispered, a shocked look on his face.

"What? It's true!" Harry snapped at Neville. "She was all high and mighty about not investigating Ron, but the moment she got the chance, she fucking Cursed me in the back!" Hermione glared at him through teary eyes, and then she stormed out of the room. _And she's run off. Great._

"What's the matter with you?" Neville frowned. "How could you say that?"

"How could she Curse me?!" Harry yelled in response, and Hermione suddenly burst back in.

"Apologize to me right now!" Hermione screamed at him. "You have no right to-"

"Right to what?!" Harry cut her off. "Tell you the truth?! So you have the right to attack your own friends, but we can't even say something that you dislike?! Is that it?!"

"Just stop it," Neville said as he kept them apart. "Friends don't behave this way!"

"You only found out the truth because you're jealous of Ron!" Hermione lashed out, and her words stung, but he had already come to this realization.

"At least I was right about him," Harry whispered dangerously. "Do you really think you'd have ever found out if it weren't for me? No! He would never tell you! And why would he?! You're just another girl that follows him around! Nothing more! He hasn't even told his own siblings, so why would he **ever** tell **you**?!" Harry turned his head and cracked his neck, and for a moment, he felt relieved of his personal guilt. "You're a delusional know-it-all, nothing more. You are entitled to nothing."

Both Neville and Hermione stepped back, their eyes wide open.

"What?" Harry grit out.

"Parseltongue…" Neville muttered, and Harry blinked at him. "You started speaking Parseltongue…"

"I did?" Harry mumbled, and he felt his scar burn. "Ow…" Harry shook his head clear, and then he managed a weak frown at Hermione. "You attacked me… How could you do that?"

"I… I had to know…" Hermione said weakly. "I saw the book, and I had to know." Neville walked up and closed the door, and then he looked at them both with an almost angry glare.

"If Ron hasn't told anyone about it, then neither can we," Neville said firmly.

"What?" Hermione blinked. "We have to tell his siblings, Neville. They're worried about him."

"Don't you two realize how wrong this is?" Neville demanded. "Do you not realize what you've done?" Harry felt his fire die out, and once again, he began to feel like utter scum. Hermione, on the other hand, frowned and puffed up.

"Not telling his brothers and sisters is wrong, Neville," Hermione started.

"No, **this** is wrong!" Neville said fiercely, and even Harry flinched. _He raised his voice?_ Neville quickly looked apologetic. "I'm sorry… Look… He hasn't told them because he doesn't want them to worry, alright? I mean, look at us… We're not even that close to him, and look what it has done to us. How do you think **they're** going to take it? You think Ginny needs this? You said so yourself that she's 'fragile right now'."

"So you want us to lie?" Hermione shook her head.

"What I wanted was for you two to respect his privacy," Neville sighed out. "But here we are… Neither of you deserve to be his friends… I don't deserve to be his eternal friend… If Gran were here, she'd be disgusted with me…"

"Neville, you don't mean that," Hermione started.

"I do," Neville said, and then he looked to Harry. "He knows it too, Hermione." Hermione looked to Harry, who just stared down at his feet. _I'm the worst… I did this because I was so damn jealous, and I lied to myself about it. I was so sure of myself… Ron's sick, and he could die if his injury gets worse. What are we supposed to do?_

"What do we do?" Harry asked, his entire body felt like jelly.

"If we can't tell his siblings, then we help him ourselves," Hermione said.

"No, we do nothing," Neville countered, and Hermione and Harry blinked at him. "He didn't tell us because he doesn't want our help. We only found out because we betrayed him."

"You didn't," Harry said quickly. "Nev, you didn't do anything… You can plead innocence if this ever gets out."

"You think I'll abandon you?" Neville chuckled mirthlessly. "You two are my best friends… I'm in this with you… I could've done more to stop you two, but I didn't… I excused my terrible actions all throughout last year, and I vowed never to do that again."

"I'm sorry…" Harry mumbled as he sat down on his bed, his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry…" _Ron has Brain-Damage. Why didn't I listen?_

"Ron could die," Hermione muttered, and then she crouched down and sniffled. Their adrenaline was now gone, and they all felt raw.

"What we've done here…" Neville started. "It's nothing short of a monstrous betrayal of someone who trusts us. Someone who saved our lives. Until Ron decides to step forward himself, we will do nothing. We will not interfere, we will not offer him our 'help', and we won't go to his siblings. And if either of you do, then I'll tell Ron everything. I'll tell everyone of our crime." Neville then drew in a deep breath. "You should both be ashamed of yourselves."

Harry felt like he had been slapped, but he didn't dare utter another word. He was ashamed, and he knew that he'd never see Ron the same way again.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 9th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"So everything is going swimmingly for you?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron shrugged with a smile.

"Not swimmingly, but I've got a handle on everything," Ron replied.

"So nothing is wrong?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron blinked at her. _What's this?_ "You've been here for nearly an hour, and you haven't mentioned a single thing that might be amiss. You've been nothing but smiles and laughter."

"Well…" Ron said slowly. "The 'Golden Trio' were acting a little strangely during Care of Magical Creatures… I think they were avoiding even looking at me… But other than that, things are going well." _Plus, I don't really care about whatever's crawled up their arses this time. It might be the fact that everyone is talking about me lifting that weight at the competition._

"Ron… Have you heard from your parents?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron realized what was going on. "Have you heard from your mother?"

"No," Ron replied.

"I have been in contact with her," Madam Pomfrey told him, and he waited for her to go on. "I stopped by your house on Saturday at her request."

"I see," Ron said, his mood greatly dampened. "And?" _Here comes the complaining._

"She was distraught, as were the Lovegoods and your father," Madam Pomfrey replied. "They want to set up a Family Counseling session with you." Laughter tore its way out of his throat, but he quickly controlled himself. _Calm down, Ron. Calm down._

"Sorry," Ron said, while Madam Pomfrey looked quite jarred by his reaction. "Sorry… A Family Counseling session, you say? And when do they want to have this session?" _It doesn't even matter because I have way too much on my plate._

"Thursday," Madam Pomfrey replied. _I have to go to France, and then I have dinner plans with Mr. Cuffe._

"Sorry, can't do Thursday," Ron told her.

"May I ask why?" Madam Pomfrey asked calmly.

"I'll be in France," Ron replied, and she blinked at him.

"France?"

"Quibbler business," Ron lied. "I'm trying to start a massive business here. A business that has the potential to help a lot of people. People who are **actually** suffering. You know, the ones who have no one to turn to."

"You don't think that your mother and father's pain is valid?" Pomfrey asked.

"I never said that," Ron replied. "I just have more important things to do. Things that matter." Ron stood up at that. "If they want Counseling, then more power to them. Just don't expect me to waste my time, I already have too much going on." Ron walked to the door, and as he opened it, Pomfrey called out to him.

"You will lose your parents if you keep traveling down this road," Madam Pomfrey warned, and Ron turned to face her. _What did you just say?_

"I'll lose my parents?" Ron asked, his entire demeanor changing. "I'll lose my parents… Why is that you people can't keep your whining to yourselves?"

"Pardon?" Madam Pomfrey blinked.

"Everyone is the victim," Ron shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I do, someone is always the victim. I mean, did I ask for Family Counselling when they both turned on me? Or when mum hit me? Or the when she told me that I had humiliated her with my sorting? Or when dad chose to play around with his toys when I wanted to learn how to fly?"

"I understand that your relationship with your parents is strained, but until you-"

"Strained? It's fucking toxic," Ron said harshly. "Every time I hear their voices, or see their faces, I want to leave. All they do is complain. **Constantly**! What the hell do they want from me?! When I was just another Weasley, they never once put me first. But now that I'm trying to become someone, they keep getting in the way. They **never** help, they just **complain**! It doesn't matter that I am putting our Family Name on a map… All that matters is that they get to 'play parent'… Fuck off with that shite." Ron turned to leave again. "This fucking Counselling session is just another way for them to eat my ears off. You tell them that I have better things to do than to hear about why I'm no longer their little Ronnie." Ron left the Office at that.

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 10th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"You feel conflicted," Madam Pomfrey said, and Draco nodded weakly. "That's perfectly alright, Draco."

"Is it?" Draco asked, and then he sniffled. "I don't know what to think sometimes… I just… I don't understand what I'm feeling…" Draco then drew in a deep breath. "I was grateful for Weasley's presence at Hogsmeade… Me… A Malfoy… When he came back from his date, I felt like I could talk again…" Draco trailed off, his father would be ashamed. "I made a joke… And he laughed… It felt too nice…"

"Tell me more," Madam Pomfrey said, she wanted him to keep exploring this.

"The others… They don't like me very much," Draco looked down at his lap. "Blaise and Pansy are keeping their distance from me on purpose. Theo constantly thinks that I'm up to something. As for Greengrass, Davis, and Bulstrode… I burned those bridges a long time ago. If it were up to any of them, I'd be out in the cold again." Draco shuddered at the thought of isolation. "You get used to being alone, you know… I don't want to be alone…"

"We humans are social creatures," Pomfrey said. "And you, Draco, are also human. Your feelings are not wrong, don't ever think that."

"Why is he helping me?" Draco's voice cracked, and he quickly hid his face. "He treats me like… like a person… I keep trying to distance myself, but he still helps… Why?"

"Maybe he's been through similar experiences," Madam Pomfrey said suggestively, even though she knew that he had. "Maybe he understands that being alone is too painful for some people."

"I've done terrible things to him," Draco rubbed his face. "I attacked his friend, and he went out of his way to set this up. Who does that?" _And he never asks for a damn thing. I can't understand him!_ "I was certain that he was going to cast me out, but instead, he chose to help me…"

"Are you afraid, Draco?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and he nodded weakly. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of…" Draco started, but he forced himself to stop. "Everything…"

"Tell me one fear, and we'll work on that for today," Madam Pomfrey said, and Draco shuddered as he breathed in. "Draco, I can only help you if you talk to me." _I know, just give me a minute._

"I'm afraid of the fact that if Weasley turns against me, my life in Slytherin is over," Draco admitted, and he nearly passed out from confessing such a thing. "I… I need him…"

"Need?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I have no one to talk to…" Draco chuckled mirthlessly. "No one wants to even look at me… No one but him." _And father wants me to spy on him. Why do I feel like I'm doing the wrong thing? He's a fucking Blood Traitor._

"Draco?" Madam Pomfrey called, she had noticed that Draco kept vanishing in his own mind.

"Is it weird that I…" Draco trailed off. "I feel better whenever he's around… Is that weird? It feels weird… It feels wrong…"

"You two have a bad history, but now, you live in the same social circle," Madam Pomfrey said. "Conflicted feelings are completely understandable, especially because of your conflicting beliefs."

"Beliefs… Look where my beliefs led me…" Draco muttered, and he immediately felt guilty. "Ignore that, please… I'm not feeling like myself."

"Alright," Madam Pomfrey conceded, she didn't want to push him too fast.

"After he came back from his work on Sunday, he did something that really got to me," Draco started. "The others were playing Wizard's Poker, and I wanted to join them… But I already knew that if I asked, they'd laugh me off. And then, Weasley shows up. They deal him in, while he just stares at me… I don't know how he knew, but he asked me if I wanted to join."

"And you said yes?" Pomfrey asked.

"I told him to fuck off," Draco swallowed thickly, and Madam Pomfrey waited for him to go on. "Davis went off, while Bulstrode and Pansy glared murder at me. You know what he did? He just sniggered like a kid, and ordered me to join. No one said no, and we played for nearly four hours. Those were the best four hours I had on Sunday…" Draco felt a strong pang of guilt at confessing that, he really was the weakest Malfoy to ever breathe.

"And why did that get to you?" Pomfrey asked.

"Because when he went off to take a nap, I really didn't want him to go," Draco confessed, his eyes were starting to sting again. _Don't cry, you weakling._

"And the others?" Pomfrey asked.

"We stopped playing after Weasley left," Draco replied. "The girls ran off to do whatever they do in their room, while Blaise and Theo started playing Wizard's Chess. I just read my book."

"The same book that you always read?" Pomfrey asked, and Draco nodded.

"I don't know what else to do around them," Draco admitted. "So I just wait around for them to talk to me… Isn't that pathetic? I just wait for someone to acknowledge me." _And no one ever does. No one but Weasley. Does he pity me? Probably. But I don't care… It just feels nice to talk to someone._

"Draco?"

"Can we stop for today?" Draco asked. "I don't want to keep talking about this anymore."

"Are you sure?" Pomfrey asked, and he nodded quickly. "Alright, Draco. We can stop for today." Draco quickly got out of his seat, and he made his way towards the door. But before he left, he turned to face her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Madam Pomfrey," Draco all but whispered, and she gave him a kind smile.

"Good," Madam Pomfrey said, and Draco left for the common room.

There was no denying that he felt lighter right now, but his negative thoughts were still there. Eventually, his father was going to learn of his weakness, and there would be hell to pay. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just be a Malfoy? Why couldn't he just be a man? Draco did his best to shut out his negative thoughts, and to a degree, he succeeded. He was a weak person, and he could no longer deny it. _Didn't Weasley say that I could be strong? What a joke…_

As he neared the Moving Staircase, he heard heated voices get closer and closer. And then, he came upon a peculiar scene. Lysandra Yaxley and Astoria Greengrass were berating Zacharias Smith, while Derek Smith sniveled behind them. _What's this?_

"Fat prick needs two bints to defend him?" Smith laughed, and Draco frowned a little. _A Hufflepuff is picking on Slytherins? Really?_

"Leave him alone," Astoria narrowed her eyes on Hufflepuff.

"I will when he apologizes to me," Smith countered.

"You bumped into him," Lysandra hissed. "It's not his fault that you tripped."

"I didn't trip!" Smith suddenly fumed. "That fat prick pushed me!"

"You tried to trip him, but you lost your own footing! Be more pathetic!" Astoria yelled back. _This is the Ice-Queen's sister?_ Draco decided to ignore this conflict, it had nothing to do with him. Draco started walking again, and as he neared them, Derek noticed him approaching. _Not my problem. Just keep walking._

"You Slytherins are all a bunch of tossers," Smith hissed, and Draco stopped right behind him. _Don't do it, Draco._ "What kind of first year walks around like they own the place? Huh?"

"I wasn't," Derek mumbled. "You walked into me on purpose…"

"Shut it," Smith said bitterly, and Draco tapped his shoulder. Smith turned around with a frown. "What?"

"Hospital is that way," Draco pointed, and Smith blinked at him.

"What's that supposed to-" Smith started, but Draco clocked him on the nose. _Fuck, my hand!_ Draco barely held back a pained squealed, while Smith nearly fell on top of Lysandra. Both girls squealed as they jumped out of the way, and Smith groaned loudly as he held his face. There was no blood, which told Draco that nothing was broken. _Except my fucking hand._

"You three, let's go," Draco ordered, and he began to walk again. By the time he reached the stairs, he heard their hurried footsteps behind him. Draco quietly hid his right hand in his pockets, punching someone hurt way too much. _I should've used my wand._

"You hit him!" Astoria laughed, and Draco ignored her. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"I hit no one, do you understand?" Draco shot her a frown, and the two girls smirked at him. _Ugh… First years._

"Of course," Lysandra giggled. "We saw nothing at all."

"But thanks," Derek piped up. "I didn't walk into him, I swear."

"Derek, we were right there," Astoria said calmingly. "Smith picks on **all** the first years when no one is around. Don't let him get to you."

"Astoria, let him thank his savior," Lysandra tutted, and Draco quickened his pace.

"Slow down," Astoria said, all three first years matching his speed. "Why'd you hit him?"

"I hit no one," Draco repeated. "Now stop talking to me."

"You really are mean, aren't you?" Lysandra chuckled, much to Draco's annoyance. "Hogwarts' least wanted." Draco felt his gut tighten, but he didn't show any weakness. _She's right. I am Hogwarts' least wanted._

"Lysandra, that's not funny," Derek piped up. "He helped us."

"I was only joking, Derek," Lysandra kept laughing. "I thought it was brilliant."

"Blood," Draco said to the entrance, and once it slid aside, he quickly made his way inside. _Now stop following me._ The first years left to go join their year-mates, while Draco headed towards his. As he neared them, he spotted no signs of red hair. _He's at detention with Godfather._ And there it was again, that feeling of being an outsider.

Draco drew in a deep breath, and then he took a seat not too far from the others. They all looked to him for a moment, and then they went back to their own activities. _Should I greet them?_ Draco swallowed thickly.

"Is Weasley with Professor Snape?" Draco asked, and none of them even bothered looking at him. Draco felt a ball of anxiety in his stomach, but he kept his expression calm. "I'll take that as a yes."

No one said anything, and Draco decided to copy their indifference.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 10th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Before Dinner)**_

He spotted a flash of red hair from the corner of his vision, and he had to hold back his sigh of relief. Weasley was here.

"Welcome back, Ron," Greengrass greeted him, but he walked right up to Draco without uttering a word. _Um…_ Draco looked up from his book, and Weasley was staring right at him.

"What is it?" Malfoy asked, Weasley was clearly still agitated from his session yesterday.

"You punched Zacharias Smith?" Weasley asked, a stern look on his face. The others looked a bit taken aback, and then they finally looked to Draco. "Don't bother lying to me, Malfoy. The Bloody Baron showed up in Snape's Office, and he told Professor Snape. Why? Why did you do it?"

"I was helping your first years," Draco frowned deeply, and Weasley blinked at him. "You're welcome." He didn't know why he felt so defensive, he just knew that he didn't want Weasley to be angry with him. _Get a hold of yourself… Why are you so pathetic?_

"Helping the first years?" Bulstrode asked, and Draco decided to ignore her. "Oi, I'm talking to you." _Yeah, it doesn't feel good, does it?_

"He's telling the truth," came Mathew Roberts' voice, and everyone looked to him. "Derek told me what happened, Ron."

"Well?" Weasley asked.

"Tori, Lysandra, and Derek were coming back from the Library, and Zacharias Smith tried to trip Derek," Mathew started. "He ended up falling over himself, and when the girls laughed at him, he got into their faces."

"He got into my sister's face?" Greengrass asked, and her stare made the first year shrink a little.

"Um… Yeah…" Mathew said. "Malfoy showed up, and he knocked Smith on his arse. He's telling the truth." The others looked quite stunned, including Draco. He had no idea why this first year had just crossed Weasley when he was clearly annoyed, but Draco was grateful nonetheless.

"Thanks, Mathew," Weasley said, and the first year shot Malfoy a nod before leaving. _Um… Right._

" **You** stood up against bullying?" Davis asked, and Mafloy shot her a frown.

"I stood up for Slytherin," Draco said coldly. "Am I still under interrogation? Or can I read my book in peace?" The others just stared at him, and then they slowly stood up.

"Dinner's almost here," Pansy said, her eyes darting to him. _What's with these looks?_

"You guys go on," Weasley said. "I want to have a chat with Malfoy."

"I'll save you a seat," Greengrass said, and then she led the way out. Once the others were gone, Draco stood up to follow them.

"Hold on," Weasley said, and Draco stopped.

"I'm hungry," Draco said.

"I'm sure beating on second years is extremely taxing," Weasley's lips twitched upwards, and Draco made sure to keep his expression in check. "I need to talk to you about something important. Come with me." Weasley began to head towards the boys' room, and Draco followed after him. Once they were inside their room, Weasley shut the door.

"What do you want?" Draco asked.

"Don't be so hostile," Weasley smirked. _Why doesn't he get fazed by me anymore? It really pisses me off._ "Firstly, well done."

"Of course you'd praise me for being a thug," Draco rolled his eyes, though he enjoyed Weasley's words. _Stop it. Stop feeling this way, you fuck. He's not your friend._

"I'm praising you for helping the first years," Weasley said. "I put a lot of pressure on them, which is probably why they were in the Library. Thank you for being there when I wasn't. I really appreciate it."

"Whatever…" Draco said. "What did you want to talk about?"

"This," Weasley said as he pulled out a letter.

"The letter from the Ministry?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. _It came this morning, and he hid it quite quickly._

"Here," Weasley handed it over, much to Draco bewilderment. "Read it." Draco nodded slowly, and then he looked down at it.

 _Mr. Weasley_

 _As you are aware, our Community has been under a lot of pressure as of late. Many have questioned the Ministry's ability to govern their citizenry. We, ever your servants, understand your doubts._

 _Over the last sixth months, Wizarding Kind has been dealt a dark hand. First the Inferno in Albania, and then the Accidental Fire within our very own St. Mungo's Hospital. We are all in pain and mourning, and so we must come together in this trying time._

 _The Ministry needs your help, Mr. Weasley. Without St. Mungo's Hospital, our Community is suffering. Hundreds are going untreated, while the emergency clinic is overwhelmed due to its limited capabilities._

 _Your Family is counted amongst the Sacred Twenty Eight; the Families that helped shape our Community. The Ministry understands, and respects, just how much the Old Families have done for the British Wizarding Community._

 _And yet, we must ask for more. The Ministry needs your help with the Restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital. This letter is both a call for aid, and an invitation. The Ministry will be hosting a Gala at the Minister for Magic's home on the Twenty-Eight of November, and your Family is invited to join us._

 _We request that all the Sacred Twenty Eight Families in attendance donate a maximum of Five Hundred Galleons, which will be put to good use. Help us ease the pain that we are all in._

 _We hope to see you there,_

 _The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement,_

 _Madam Amelia Bones._

"Shouldn't this be sent to your father?" Draco asked, and Weasley took the letter back. "I mean, he's the Head of your Family. Right?"

"I'm the Head of my Family," Weasley said bluntly, and Draco blinked at him. "It doesn't matter… What matters is that your parents will be there." Draco's gut tightened, and Weasley saw it. "Calm down."

"If you tell them about Madam-"

"I will never do that," Weasley cut in. "Malfoy, I would **never** do that." Draco clenched his jaw, and he gave a weak nod. "I just figured that I'd give you the heads up, alright?"

"Alright," Draco muttered.

"While we're there, stay clear of my Family," Weasley said. "And I'll stay clear of yours. Understood?"

"I understand," Draco said a little more firmly.

"Good," Weasley nodded. "Now… Let's go eat? I want to hear all about your skills in hand-to-hand combat."

"Piss off, Weasley," Draco rolled his eyes, and then he walked past the taller boy.

"So grouchy," Weasley sniggered from behind him, and Draco's lips twitched upwards.

* * *

 _ **Gaspard's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 10th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Dinnertime)**_

The foul stench of London hadn't changed whatsoever, much to Gaspard's liking. He walked down the cobbled street, his round black shades hiding his eyes from his prey. Wizards were not an inquisitive lot, so no one questioned why he was wearing shades at night. This too pleased Gaspard, he despised unnecessary questions.

"Welcome to the Pond, Sir," the host greeted as Gaspard stepped into the warm restaurant.

"Good evening, my good man," Gaspard greeted. "Are Lord and Lady Malfoy here? They are expecting me." _No, they really aren't. I've been following them all day._

"Ah, they just stepped in," the dark-skinned man smiled, while Gaspard took in his scent. _Barely any Magic in this one. A Squib._ "Please, follow me."

"Please, don't leave your post on my account," Gaspard smiled, and the man gave him a thankful nod.

"They are seated at the corner table, Sir," the man informed him. Gaspard gave him a parting nod, and then he made his way over to the corner table. He easily singled out Lucius Malfoy's scent, and it told him that the man was aroused. _Enjoying his day long date, no doubt._

"Husband, behave," he overheard Lady Malfoy giggle.

"Let's go home, Cissy," the Malfoy patriarch whispered. "I want you…" _How adorable. The sheep wish to procreate._ The Malfoys didn't even take notice of him as he approached them.

"Good evening, Lord and Lady Malfoy," Gaspard greeted them, and he was met with cold eyes.

"We already gave our order," Narcissa Malfoy said, while Lucius Malfoy just stared at him.

"I'm no waiter, Lady Malfoy," Gaspard said, and then he took off his glasses. Lucius Malfoy's eyes widened, while Narcissa Malfoy blinked at the Blood Lord's peculiar eyes.

"You…" Lucius Malfoy whispered, and his wife looked to him with a confused look.

"Husband, do you know this man?" Narcissa asked.

"He owes me his life," Gaspard told the witch, who looked genuinely confused now. "After all, I chose to spare him in Romania."

"Spare him?" Narcissa Malfoy asked, her confusion quickly suppressed. "You dare speak in such-"

"Narcissa, stop," Lucius said, his eyes fixed on Gaspard. _Good, he understands that I can kill him and his wife within seconds. This will make this conversation much quicker._ Gaspard sat down beside Narcissa, while her husband began to reek of fear.

"Who are you?" Narcissa asked, why was her husband afraid of this man?

"You may call me Gaspard," Gaspard replied. "Now stay quiet while I speak to your husband." Gaspard then looked to Lucius, who was clearly holding back a murderous glare. "I met your Lord, Lucius."

"Let us go elsewhere," Lucius began to stand up, while Narcissa was shocked by Gaspard's boldness.

"Sit down, or I will put my hand through your wife's ribcage," Gaspard said, and Lucius froze. "I killed **him**."

"You killed **him**?" Narcissa asked, while Lucius' mouth hung open.

"Is that relief I hear?" Gaspard suddenly moved his face right in front of hers, and she tensed horribly. "Hmm… It is… Not so loyal, are you?" _Poor Voldemort, he's surrounded himself with snakes. It hardly matters, we'll both be dead by the end of this war._

"I… I…" Narcissa stammered, her eyes darting towards her husband.

"What do you want?" Lucius hissed, and Gaspard backed away from the terrified woman.

"I'm sorry for lying," Gaspard started. "I just wanted to see your reactions. They were exactly what I was expecting. You fear him, nothing more."

"We are loyal," Lucius said firmly, his eyes darting around them.

"You have nothing to worry about," Gaspard said calmly. "I will not say a word to him. If I did, he'd kill your son." Both Malfoy's barely held themselves in check, but Gaspard could smell their fear. _Now I know why they fear him. They love their boy._

"How do you know about my son?" Lucius finally asked.

"I had you looked up after your friend ruined my dinner," Gaspard told them. "I planned to hunt you and your companions down eventually, but now things have changed. I have a more fun game to play now."

"Game?" Lucius asked, while his wife's fear nearly did Gaspard's head in.

"Tell me about the Order," Gaspard said, his eyes gleaming orange.

" **He** sent you here?" Lucius whispered.

"I don't take order from him," Gaspard smiled in an amused manner. "He left for Russia, while I decided to hunt birds."

"Hunt birds?" Narcissa asked.

"What do you want to know?" Lucius asked, he desperately wanted this thing to leave.

"Names, addresses, descriptions," Gaspard replied. "Family members."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – After Lunch)**_

He had made up his mind. Today, he would show Madame Maxime his scars if need be. He had given this meeting a lot of thought, and he had concluded that Hogwarts wasn't the only school that needed to be protected. If anything, Beauxbatons needed even more protection. After all, most of Beauxbatons was attended by Non-human witches and wizards. The Dark Lord would come after them for sure, and so they needed to be prepared. His pride was nothing compared to that.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron entered the Office. "Ah, Ronald."

"Good afternoon, Headmaster," Ron greeted back, and then he shut the door.

"I see you are dressed to impress," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and Ron walked up to his desk. "Very good, my boy."

"I'm ready to go to France, Headmaster," Ron said firmly.

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled in his kindly way, and then he pulled out a letter from his desk. Dumbledore then stood up and walked over to Ron, his smile still in place. "Here you are."

"Thank you," Ron said as he grabbed the letter, but the Headmaster held onto it. _Um… What?_

"If you feel uncomfortable with this task, I can send someone else," Dumbledore said gently.

"I… I do feel uncomfortable," Ron admitted. "But I will still go. If my scars are the proof that she needs, then I will do what is necessary. I won't let you down, Headmaster. I promise." Dumbledore's smile faltered, and then he placed his free hand on Ron's right cheek. _Huh?_

"Thank you, dear boy," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded slowly. Dumbledore let go of the letter and stepped back, while Fawkes flew onto Ron's left shoulder. "Good luck, Ronald."

"Goodbye, Headmaster," Ron managed a weak smile, and he was suddenly engulfed in bright orange flames.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that! I know that this was a bit of a fluffy chapter, but I really wanted to show that Hogsmeade has a way of making everyone happy. Plus, it's always calm before the storm... *Play the ominous music.**

 **See you on Wednesday!**


	88. Chapter 88 - Their Problems, not Mine

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 88 is done! I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a lot of you enjoyed the Hogsmeade Visit, and that you all appreciated Ron having a grand old time. I enjoy giving him a break sometimes, because Lord knows, I love making him miserable as well!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 88 - Their Problem, not Mine**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Beauxbatons – After Lunch)**_

A vortex of bright orange flames erupted in the courtyard of Beauxbatons, and from it emerged Ronald Weasley. Fawkes let out a loud shrill to announce their arrival, which was followed up by loud chatter amongst the students who were heading towards their classes. Ron looked around with a smile, because in an odd sort of way, he enjoyed the fact that he had caught everyone off-guard. _Except for the people who are aiming their wands at me._

"Monsieur Weasley?!" came Raphael's voice, and Ron spotted the butler approaching him with a surprised look on his face. The students moved out of his way, but their widened eyes never left Ron.

"Raphael," Ron beamed at the butler. "It's been a while! How are you doing?"

"Monsieur Weasley, what is the meaning of this?" Raphael demanded, and then he noticed that the students were loitering. "Va dans tes cours!" The students jumped a little, and then they all began to hurry away. Ron tried to look for Amanda in the dispersing crowd, but all he saw were the surprised faces of strangers.

"I'm here to see Madame Maxime," Ron told Raphael, who frowned at him.

"This intrusion borders on being offensive," Raphael said, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Madame is a very busy woman, and you should have the courtesy of sending word before you trespass on private property." _Motherfucker, I will slap you._

"Headmaster Dumbledore sent me," Ron whispered, and Raphael blinked at him. "This is Fawkes, his Phoenix." Fawkes let out a shrill at that, and then he flew away to explore the grounds. "This is very urgent, Raphael. The Madame's reputation is at stake." _That ought to get him moving._

"Madame's reputation…?" Raphael muttered under his breath, and then he looked to Fawkes with something akin to astonishment. "Come with me, Monsieur Weasley."

Ron followed after the Groundskeeper of Beauxbatons, his eyes once again taking in the beauty of Beauxbatons. Hogwarts had a special place in Ron's heart, but this school just impressed him greatly. It felt like a ginormous Manor where all the beauties of the World lived, and even though he loved Daphne, he didn't mind having a look. As they made their way up the stairs, Ron felt a dull ache in the back of his skull. _Veelas._

"Le fléau de Vélane," Ron heard a young girl whisper, and he looked to see three tiny brunettes eyeing him with exalted smiles. _They must be too young for classes._ Ron shot them a wink, and they burst into giggles and began waving at him. Ron waved back before turning the corner, while Raphael kept up his pace.

"Wait here," Raphael said as they reached the Golden Crest, and Ron stood by as Raphael unsealed the Crest. After that, the Groundskeeper walked up and knocked on the door.

"Entrer," came Madame Maxime's voice, and Raphael quickly made his way inside and shut the door. _Right, I'll just wait here. Again. Wait a minute._ Ron slowly turned to look at the statue of the naked Nymph, and just like last time, it came to life when it noticed an admirer.

"Hello again," Ron smiled at the statue, and she beckoned him to her. Ron walked up with his smile in place, his eyes fixed on her face. _Don't stare at her nakedness, Ron. Be a gentleman._ "Are you capable of speech?" The Stone Nymph shook her head. "But you can understand me." The Stone Nymph smiled at him, and then she held the sides of his face with her stone hands. _Um… Let go, please._

The Stone Nymph leaned forward and pecked his lips with her cold lips, and then she let go of him. Ron just stood there, his confusion rivaled only by his shock. The Stone Nymph shot him a wink, and then she took on a seductive pose before freezing in place.

"Kissed by sculpted rock…" Ron muttered under his breath, and then he walked back towards the Crest. "That was so fucking weird…" Raphael exited the Office at that, and Ron quickly cleared his mind.

"She will see you," Raphael told him, and then he looked over Ron's appearance. "All is in order, please go on."

"Thank you," Ron smiled at the older man, who gave Ron a polite nod before leaving. Ron made his way to the door, and he knocked on it rather firmly.

"Come in, Ronald," came Madame Maxime's voice, and Ron entered the lavish Office. _The smell of toffee apples, just like last time._

"Good afternoon, Madame Maxime," Ron greeted as he closed the door, and then he made his way over to her extravagant golden desk. "It is a pleasure to be in your presence again."

"Likewise, my friend," Madame Maxime smiled, and then she gestured to a chair. "Please, take a seat." Ron sat down, while she flicked her wand at her golden tea set. "Raphael tells me that you've come to save my reputation. Might I ask who is targeting me?"

"Forgive me, but I told Raphael what he needed to hear," Ron admitted, and Madame Maxime's smile faltered for a moment. "I'm not here to save your reputation, I'm here to save the lives of your students."

"Pardon?" Madame Maxime lost her smile, and Ron took out Dumbledore's letter.

"The Headmaster asked me to give this to you," Ron said as he passed on the letter, and Madame Maxime took it slowly.

Her eyes never left Ron as she slowly opened it, and then, she began to read Dumbledore's words. A cup of honeyed tea floated in front of Ron, and as he began to drink from it, he kept his eyes on Madame Maxime. He had no idea what the letter consisted of, but whatever was written on it seemed get to Madame Maxime. Her expression had gone from being wary to being shocked to being dead serious, and once she was done, she looked to Ron with a coldness that he had not seen since the Tournament.

"Is this a joke?" she demanded, her voice devoid of any friendliness. _Shite, she didn't take it well. What did the old man write?_

"You know that it's not," Ron started, he wasn't going to let her intimidate him. _The old man is counting on me._ "The Headmaster sent me here with his Phoenix, and that's his handwriting on the letter."

"Have you read this?" Madame Maxime asked, her expression almost angry.

"No, but I imagine that it's about the Dark Lord's return," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime sprang out of her chair. Ron flinched a little, but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she began to seal off her Office with powerful incantations. The lights dimmed, the fireplace turned cold, and the windows slammed shut. _What's she doing?_

"The Dark Lord is dead," Madame Maxime finally looked to Ron, her graceful demeanor was completely gone. _Merlin, she's tall._ "His armies were scattered."

"Most of his lieutenants were pardoned when they pleaded to being under the Imperius Curse," Ron started, while she looked back at the letter. "Most of them are now considered the 'Elite', and once they rejoin his cause… Their cause… We'll be knee deep in a war."

"And why would Dumbledore send a child to deliver such a letter?" Madame Maxime questioned suspiciously, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "Why not come himself?"

"Because I'm proof of the fact that the Dark Lord has returned," Ron replied, and he felt an odd sensation in the middle of his forehead. And then, Madame Maxime stepped back with a frightened look. _What just happened?_

"What are you?" Madame Maxime muttered, and then she aimed her wand at his head. _Woah!_

"Hey! Calm down!" Ron stood up quickly, his hands extended in front of him.

" _ **Champion, she attempted to enter your mind… We blocked her trespass…**_ " the Entity snarled in Ron's mind, and Ron closed his eyes and grit his teeth. _Shite! How could I forget that she's a Legilimens?_

"A dead mind… Pure emptiness… The Abyss…" Madame Maxime muttered under her breath, her expression hardening. "Answer me, creature. What are you?"

"You tried to use Legilimency, and I blocked it," Ron lied. "Listen to me… I'm Ronald Weasley, and I was sent here by Dumbledore. He has brought back the Order, and he told me that in the last war, you were his ally. He needs your help again, that's all." _She looks so pissed off. Fuck me, this was a mistake._

"You… A child… Blocked my attempt at Legilimency without even flinching?" Madame Maxime questioned. "Don't make me laugh, creature. What you used was not Occlumency."

"Fifty Veelas," Ron reminded her. "I'm not some ordinary 'child', now please put down your wand. I am Dumbledore's man, and he's counting on me to show you proof."

"Proof?" Madame Maxime asked, her wand still fixed on him. _Just do it, Ron. Do it before she blows your fucking head off._

"Nicolas Flamel gave Dumbledore the Philosopher's Stone," Ron started, and she blinked at him.

"Nicolas and Perenelle told no one but me this," Madame Maxime said. "Me, and those involved in hiding the Stone."

"He hid it at Hogwarts," Ron said quickly. "I think his plan was to lure out the Dark Lord, and then trap him somehow… But it didn't work. The Dark Lord had a servant who smuggled him into Hogwarts, where he attempted to steal the Stone. I tried to stop him-"

"And why would a boy interfere in such matters?" Madame Maxime frowned deeply, she was still unconvinced.

"It wasn't just me," Ron replied. "Harry Potter was with me."

"Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived?" Madame Maxime asked.

"Yeah… Yeah, he was there," Ron replied, his heartbeat had increased due to the circumstances. "If you ever meet him, ask him about it. Anyway… The Dark Lord was unable to retrieve the Stone, and while he was making his escape, he saw me. He attempted to possess me."

"Human possession?"

"He was like a wraith," Ron replied. "I managed to cast him out-"

"Your story keeps becoming more and more unbelievable," Madame Maxime interrupted.

"I have proof of it," Ron swallowed thickly. "On my skin…" Madame Maxime just stared at him, and so Ron slowly pulled back his left sleeve. Her eyes lingered on his serpent-trail scars, but she showed no signs of revulsion.

"He did that to you?" Madame Maxime asked, and Ron nodded slowly. _No, he didn't. But it was still his fault. His, the Entity's, and mine._

"I was in a coma for a month, as I'm sure you already know," Ron said calmingly. "You've researched me, right? So you know that my story lines up with me being in a coma. Everyone was told that my coma was because I had conducted an ill-planned experiment, but that was a lie."

"Your Headmaster hid the truth," Madame Maxime stated. "A very Dumbledore thing to do… To lie."

"He had his reasons," Ron said. "Reasons that I now understand, and even respect. I am telling you the truth, Madame Maxime. That letter in your left hand is telling you the truth. The Dark Lord has returned. The Inferno in Albania… The Accidental Fire at St. Mungo's… Our country is already under attack. And soon, yours will be too."

"Sit," Madame Maxime ordered, and Ron slowly sat back down. She moved to her own chair, her wand still aimed at him. "Talk."

"The Headmaster faced him in Albania, but he escaped by setting the Forest on fire," Ron told her. "Xenophilius Lovegood was helping the Headmaster, but in order to keep the panic in check, the Headmaster Obliviated him. The Dark Lord went on the run again, and eventually, he found his way into St. Mungo's, where he possessed the soulless Peter Pettigrew. The Dark Lord then massacred everyone in the Hospital, and set the fire to hide the truth."

"How do you know this?" Madame Maxime asked. "All of it."

"The Headmaster told me," Ron replied. "As for how he knows about St. Mungo's, the Dark Lord cut off his connection with his Mark before he made his escape from St. Mungo's. Possessing a complete body with no soul returned a great deal of his power, so he severed the connection in order to stay hidden."

"What is your role in this? Why does the Headmaster of Hogwarts trust you with such sensitive information?" Madame Maxime asked.

"Because, like I told you, I'm no ordinary child," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime began to lower her wand. "I am a secret member of the Order… No one knows of my role except for the Headmaster, and now, you. That's the truth. The whole truth." _Dumbledore was right, if it hadn't been for my story, she wouldn't have believed him. Dumbledore was also right about people choosing ignorance over the truth in this matter._

"Another war is coming?" Madame Maxime asked, her anger slowly crumbling away.

"It's already here," Ron breathed out. "But we have time to prepare. That's why I asked Dumbledore to reach out to you."

"He takes your counsel?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He does," Ron replied, and then he made up a reason as to why. "Once I woke up from my coma, I was smart enough to figure out that a war would come eventually. So I started making powerful friends… Alliances."

"Which is why a thirteen year old boy forgave my actions without a single complaint," Madame Maxime realized.

"The Headmaster caught onto my plan, and instead of stopping me, he offered his hand in partnership," Ron said, and Madame Maxime slowly looked back to the letter. "He sent me here because not only do I have proof, but also because we are friends. As your friend, I beg you, please believe me. Don't ignore your instincts. It will only hurt us all down the line."

"What do you want from me?" Madame Maxime asked, her eyes fixed on Ron's. "I cannot go to the French Ministry with this, they will strip me of my position. I will be labeled as a madwoman, and a warmonger."

"I understand," Ron said, though he still felt vexed by it. "People don't want to believe that he's back, so if someone says that he is, they will be cast out. The Headmaster has not spoken to the British Ministry for the very same reason. I have come here to invite you into the Order. You are intelligent, clever, and you have resources and standing. We need allies like you."

"If the Dark Lord has indeed returned, why should I risk his ire by joining you?" Madame Maxime asked.

"The same reason why you helped in the first war," Ron replied. "How many students in this school are part-Veela? I'd say at least over a hundred. The Dark Lord will kill them all. His Pure-Blood fanatics will burn this school down in his name."

"Merde!" Madame Maxime grit out, and then she stood back up. Ron tensed a little, but he relaxed once she began pacing. _She's reading it again._ "It says here that he wishes for me revoke my vote for the Triwizard Tournament. I cannot do that. The contracts have been signed, and the French Ministry has already begun preparations for it." _I'm sorry… What?_

"The Triwizard Tournament?" Ron asked, and then he remembered something that his father told him. "There hasn't been a Triwizard Tournament in just over two hundred years."

"Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Madame Maxime asked, and Ron shook his head. "Barty Crouch Snr, the British Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, the British Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, have worked together with their opposite numbers to revive the Tournament. It is to be held at Hogwarts next year."

"Bloody hell," Ron shook his head. "We don't have the time for this sort of idiocy."

"Your Headmaster was the only person who spoke out against it, but he was outvoted," Madame Maxime told him.

"Outvoted by who?" Ron asked.

"By Igor Karkaroff, and myself," Madame Maxime replied. "In the end, the decision lay with the Principles of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The dice has been cast, Ronald, and it cannot be taken back."

"Tell me more about this Tournament," Ron leaned forward.

"It is an Old Tradition," Madame Maxime explained. "Three European schools compete to find the most worthy student in Europe. Each school gives only one champion, each of whom must complete three tasks. The Winner is named the Triwizard Champion, which provides them with prestige and eternal glory. That's the summary of it. Oh, and the Tournament lasts all year long."

"Why do you think that Dumbledore wants you to renounce your vote?" Ron asked.

"If the Dark Lord has indeed returned, then the Ministries will be too distracted to notice him," she replied. "He'll stay hidden for as long as he is able. That's how he nearly won the last time. By the time people realized that war was upon them, the Dark Lord had devastated the country with his shadowy machinations."

"Do you know any French Families that would be interested in helping the Order?" Ron asked, deciding to take the risk of reaching for more.

"This is England's war, not theirs," Madame Maxime adorned a stern look.

"I beg to differ," Ron said firmly, he had to do more. "The Dark Lord doesn't care about England, he cares about winning. Once he's done here, he will attack the rest of the World. France included."

"I'm not sure that I even believe you," Madame Maxime said, her expression returning to normal.

"I'll bring the Headmaster here if that's what it takes," Ron told her. "Now, please answer my question. Do you know any French Families that would be interested in helping the Order?"

"Any Old Family with Veela Blood will reject that tyrant," Madame Maxime replied. "But of all of them, I can only think of a handful who would even believe me. Families that lost many to the last war."

"Then you should talk to them," Ron said, and Madame Maxine clicked her tongue. "What? You should if you care about them. This war isn't just England's problem, it's **everyone's**. You and I can work together bring the Old Families of our respective countries to the table. Wars are not cheap, nor are they won without soldiers. While the Ministries laze about, we can make sure that people are getting prepared."

"And how much French Blood will be spilled to pay for England's mistakes?" Madame Maxime asked, and Ron was left dazed by her question. _Blood? French Blood? England's mistakes?_

"What is the matter with you adults?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Pardon?" Madame Maxime frowned.

"This type of xenophobic and uncompassionate thinking is exactly what the Dark Lord relies upon," Ron told her, an indignant look marking his features. "He wants us to be disconnected from each other. He wants his soldiers to hate anyone who isn't like them. Xenophobia and hatred are his weapons, and yet, you all think in a similar way."

"Do we now?" Madame Maxime challenged.

"People are… people," Ron said. "It doesn't matter which country you're born in, or which language you speak, or what type of Blood runs in your veins. We all dance, sing, cry, fight, hate, and love. We all feel the same emotions, and have the same daily problems. So what does it matter that the Dark Lord was born in England? He will kill **everyone** who is not on his side, whether they be French or English. You don't want French Families to spill their blood in fighting an 'English tyrant', but when he comes after you all after he's done with us, their blood will be spilled anyway. But if we're united, and if we're prepared, we stand a better chance at winning."

"I… I will need time to think," Madame Maxime sighed, and Ron decided to back off for now. "Enjoy the grounds before you leave. I asked Raphael to call your friend Amanda once again. She is outside." _Is that why she sealed off this Office?_

"Before I go, I'd like to put forward an idea," Ron said, his mind coming up with a scheme. "On the Twenty-Eighth of November, the British Ministry is hosting a Gala at Minister Fudge's Estate. At the Gala, the Old British Families will be asked to donate five hundred Galleons each for the restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital. If you could convince some of the Old French Families to attend and donate, I could get them all invites. The British Ministry needs the help, and a French donation would serve as a lovely gesture of goodwill."

"Now you want to involve them in British Politics?" Madame Maxime asked.

"I want the French and English to have a better relationship in order to unite us against a **great threat** ," Ron replied, he was reaching again. "You and I can bring this alliance together, which will earn us both great favor with a lot of powerful people."

"And great annoyance from others," Madame Maxime added.

"Think of the good press, Madame Maxime," Ron influenced. "Our friendship is already established, and even well known. If we do this together, it will make us both look saintly." _And with that influence, I can bring in more people. I can turn the Weasley name into something to be truly proud of._ "Not to mention that these Families will then have reason to keep contact with Britain, where the Order is located."

"You and I would act as the bridge," Madame Maxime said to herself. "Madame Olympe Maxime and Le fléau de Vélane." _She's buying it!_ Ron stood up at that.

"Please think it over, and contact me with the details if you agree," Ron said, and she gave him a curt nod. "May I inform the Headmaster that I've secured your alliance?"

"You may," Madame Maxime said. "Gods help us all."

"We should help each other before we turn to the Gods," Ron smiled at her, and then he turned to leave. _Trust me, the 'Gods' are a bunch of uncaring twats._ As Ron neared the exit, Madame Maxime called out to him.

"I will be in contact with Dumbledore, Ronald," Madame Maxime said. "This better all be true."

"It is true, and you'll believe that soon enough. I will wait for your letter, my friend," Ron said, and then he left the Office.

"Ronald!" Amanda beamed, she was waiting just outside the Crest.

"Amanda," Ron smiled widely, and then he walked into her embrace. "It is good to see you."

"You too!" Amanda laughed over his shoulder. "Welcome back to Beauxbatons! Why didn't you send word? You promised me, remember?"

"This visit came from urgency," Ron squeezed her before letting go. "I'm sorry that you're missing class on my behalf."

"I despise Transfiguration, Ron," Amanda tangled their arms together. "You've done me a service."

"Oh… Then you're welcome," Ron chuckled, and they began to head towards the grounds.

"Rumor has it that a Phoenix brought you here," Amanda said. "Is it true?"

"His name is Fawkes," Ron replied, and she looked utterly awed. "Do you want to see him? I can call him, you know."

"Is he yours?" Amanda asked quickly. "You have won a Phoenix's companionship?"

"No," Ron replied. "He is Albus Dumbledore's companion, but he has taken a liking to me. That's still something, right?"

"More than," Amanda tightened her hold on his arm. "I can't say that I know any student who has such a marvelous ally. And yes, I would love to meet him. An actual Phoenix… I've read so much about them! Wait… Why would the Headmaster of Hogwarts give you his Phoenix?"

"I asked nicely," Ron smirked, and Amanda smirked back.

"I was being serious," Amanda said.

"As was I," Ron countered. "How have you been, Amanda?"

"You'd know if you sent a letter once in a while," Amanda teased. "I have been busy with my studies, and with training. I go to my Mentor's Villa every second week for tutelage, and I don't want to brag, but my skills have definitely sharpened." _Her Mentor allows her a week off? Lord Greengrass, where is your compassion?_

"Any Tournaments coming up?" Ron asked.

"No," Amanda sighed. "My Mentor wishes to see me reach a certain level before competing. He only accepts victory."

"He and Lord Greengrass should meet," Ron laughed.

"They are both Chess Masters, so I'm sure they already have," Amanda smiled at him. "What about you, Ron?"

"I've never been busier," Ron admitted. "School, work, training, my business… I barely have time to relax."

"Your girlfriend doesn't mind?" Amanda asked, she knew that she would.

"I think it does bother her, but she doesn't say anything," Ron replied slowly. "She can be very understanding, especially when it comes to me." _Maybe she doesn't want to stress me by adding another thing on my plate? I really hope she doesn't think like that._ They made their way outside at that, and Ron breathed in the fresh air.

"Let's go to the Gardens, and then you can introduce me to Fawkes," Amanda glowed.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"So your Family has no Veela Blood whatsoever?" Ron asked, while Amanda scratched Fawkes' chest.

"None," Amanda replied. "Mother and father are very proud of that fact. Not because they dislike Veelas, it's mostly because it sets our Family apart. Though we're not prominent enough to really have much say in Politics. Father has a nice business, and my mother is friends with a few French Wizengamot Officials."

"Tell me a little more about Veelas in French Politics," Ron requested, and Amanda let out a laugh. _If they are not completely human, they can be my allies against the Dark Lord._

"You're a very strange thirteen year old," Amanda told him, and he just smiled at her. "Well, Veelas have **always** been respected in France. They've been around since before Wizarding Kind settled in France, and because of their beauty, they were quickly integrated within Wizarding Society. Wizards Dueled each other for their favor, while witches worked tirelessly to copy their beauty and grace. Most Wizarding Families in France have Veela Blood in them, some more than others."

"However, it's not all rainbows and sunshine for them," Amanda went on. "Many Pure Wizarding Families see them as 'impure'. Half-Breeds they call them… It's disgusting. If you are even a quarter Veela, you cannot hold a position of real power in the French Ministry."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Sadly, yes," Amanda replied. "They can't become Heads of Departments, or run for Minister. They are even banned from using their allures on Ministry Officials. Although the allure restriction has its merits. A few Veelas have attempted to control politicians within French History, and it has never ended well."

"So Veelas are well-respected, but not always seen as equals," Ron summarized, and Amanda gave him a nod.

"Their roots are deep, but we wizards have a habit of being wary of those who are different," Amanda said. "That's what my father always says."

"What about you?" Ron asked. "What do you think of Veelas?"

"I don't mind them, though they can be very unpleasant sometimes," Amanda replied. "They have a habit of going after other girls' boyfriends. It's an impulse of theirs…"

"An impulse?" Ron asked.

"They gravitate to what they can't have," Amanda sighed out. "That, or they see a strong wizard and dub him a worthy mate."

"What?"

"Yeah, they can be quite animalistic," Amanda told him. "I understand that they can't help it, especially the younger ones, but it still bothers me. Did I tell you that a Veela once stole my ex-boyfriend?"

"You did," Ron nodded. "Speaking of which, how is your current boyfriend? I completely forgot about him."

"He isn't my boyfriend anymore," Amanda shrugged. "He was awfully jealous of my friends. If I ever spent time with anyone but him, he'd complain and pout all day. It grew old very quickly. Oh, and he kept pestering me about sex." _Sex?_ Ron shifted a little in his spot, and Amanda noticed. "Oh! Sorry! I forgot your age, Ron!"

"It's alright, I know what sex is," Ron said quickly, his cheeks heating up. "I'm not a child." They shared an uncomfortable stare, but it ended when they both began to snigger out of embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"No need to apologize," Amanda kept laughing. "I just remembered that you saw a contraception Potion in my room the last time you were here." _Yeah, that was awkward._

"I have to admit, Beauxbatons seems to be very open about sexuality," Ron noted.

"They have to be when there are so many Veelas here," Amanda shrugged. "The younger ones need to be taught about such matters before they make a mistake. They can be a handful, especially when they get riled up. They don't exactly have great impulse control. We actually have sexual health lectures quite often."

"I wish we had that at Hogwarts," Ron said. "I mean, it's not a big problem, but it'd be nice to have some sort of knowledge on it."

"All you have to know is that when you feel ready, you should try it," Amanda smirked. "But don't rush yourself." _Noted._ Ron suddenly felt a weak jolt of pain in the back of his skull, which made him look around. "What is it?"

"Allures," Ron replied, and then he spotted a young girl looking at him from behind a hedge. "Hello there!" The girl shrunk away from sight, much to Ron's bewilderment.

"Excuse me, Ron," Amanda said, and then she got up and walked over to the hedge. Ron watched Amanda disappear behind the hedge, and then he heard her talking to a bunch of children. _I wonder what this is about._

"What do you think, Fawkes?" Ron asked, and the Phoenix let out a shrill. "Helpful." Fawkes flapped his wings in indignation, while Ron grinned at him. "I'm just pulling your feathers, mate. No need to get riled up."

"Ron, some of the younger students want to feed Fawkes," came Amanda's voice, and Ron looked to see her surrounded by children. "They're not very good at English, and your reputation frightens them." _Oh. I'm_ _Le fléau de Vélane._

"Of course," Ron smiled at them, but only the boys smiled back. Ron felt another jolt of pain, and he decided not to say anything. Amanda started speaking to the children in French, and all of their faces lit up before they ran over to Fawkes, their hands full of treats. Fawkes let out a shrill before he began to select which treats he wanted. Amanda joined Ron with a smile on her face, both of them watching as Fawkes was treated as royalty.

"Are their allures still on?" Amanda whispered.

"Some…" Ron looked down at his feet.

"Rien de cela!" Amanda ordered, and Ron jumped a little.

"Amanda? What was that?" Ron asked, his headache subsiding.

"You can't let them get away with that, Ron," Amanda told him. "They have to understand that they can't do that to other people. Madame Maxime always does her best to reinforce this lesson. Their allures are a dangerous thing, even for them."

"Le fléau de Vélane?" a girl with silvery-blonde hair walked up to Ron, a look of awe on her face. "Montre-nous ta Magie?" _I remember her._

"This is Gabriella Delacour," Amanda reminded him. "She's asking you to show her your Magic."

"My Magic?" Ron asked, while Gabriella looked at him expectantly. "As in Spells?"

"No," Amanda sighed. "The Veelas believe that you have special powers that ordinary wizards don't have… It's another silly rumor, one that really intrigues the Veela children." Amanda then looked to Gabriella, and she began to explain that Ron was just an ordinary wizard in French. _Hmm, I could show them some Wandless Magic. That'll impress them, and my reputation would only increase._

"Very well," Ron stood up, and Amanda stopped midsentence.

"Ron?" Amanda blinked, while Gabriella excitedly began calling over the other children. They flooded Ron, looks of awe and wariness etched on their faces. Ron spotted Fawkes sitting on a girl's shoulder, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Can you tell them to step back?" Ron asked, and Amanda translated quickly. The children took a step back, their eyes unblinking.

"Ron, you don't have to entertain them," Amanda started.

"They're kids," Ron smiled at her. "Plus, I don't want them to fear me."

"Alright," Amanda smiled a little, while Ron looked back to the children. _What first? Oh, I know._

"Incendio," Ron whispered, and his left hand began to glow orange. The children let out excited squeals, while Amanda went wide-eyed.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

He was getting really exhausted. He had shown them Glacius, Incendio, Brachium Colubrum, Accio, Wingardium Leviosa, and now he was demonstrating Cutis Terra. The children were genuinely bordering on hero-worshiping him, while Amanda too looked immensely impressed.

"Zat!" a girl said excited, her little finger pointing to a stone bench. _Bloody hell… That looks heavy._

"Sure," Ron put on a smile, and the children cheered him on. _I'm going to pass out at this rate._ "Cutis Terra." Once Ron felt his body feel incased in stone, he grabbed the bench from its sides.

"Ron, you can't possibly lift that," Amanda started, but when he lifted it with a grunt, her jaw dropped open. _My fucking spine!_ Ron carefully put the stone bench down, and then he wiped the sweat rolling down his brow. The children cheered on in French, and so Ron looked to Amanda for translation.

"What are they saying?" Ron panted.

"They're saying that you're really strong…" Amanda replied, her jaw still hanging open. "Ron, how are you doing this?"

"I'm really strong," Ron smirked, he had been making sure to say the Spells under his breath.

"More!" a young boy yelled.

"One more," Ron decided. "After that, I need a break." Amanda quickly translated for him, and the children waited for him to show them more of his 'powers'. Ron drew in a deep breath, and once his lungs were full, he whispered 'Fumos'. Ron then breathed out black mist into the air, and the children squealed before running away from him.

"Il est comme un Dragon!" Gabriella shouted, and the others nodded fervently.

"They're saying that you're like a Dragon," Amanda translated, she was utterly shocked by what she was seeing. She had never seen Magic like this before. Ron grinned at the children as the black mist began to descend, but it was suddenly banished by someone.

Ron turned to see Madame Maxime staring at him, a curious look on her face. Before Ron could say anything, she was surrounded by the excited children, all of them shouting over one another. _It's like she's their mum, and they're all trying to get her attention._

"She must've seen us from one of the windows," Amanda whispered to him.

"Really? The Gardens are pretty far from the school," Ron said.

"Madame has very sharp eyes," Amanda told him, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I reckon I should be on my way," Ron whispered, but Amanda grabbed onto his gloved hand.

"They are telling her of your powers, Ron," Amanda whispered. "Look at her, she looks impressed."

"Really? She stares blankly when she's impressed?" Ron whispered, and Amanda frowned a little. "No offence, of course."

"Just wait," Amanda whispered. Ron did as he was told, and eventually, Madame Maxime told the children to return to the school. They all waved at Ron and Fawkes as they left, and Ron waved back with a friendly smile.

"Explain yourselves," Madame Maxime said as she walked up to Ron and Amanda.

"They wanted to see my 'powers', so I showed them some Wandless Magic," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime nodded slowly.

"Wandless Magic at thirteen… You continue to bewilder me, Ronald," Madame Maxime said, and then she looked him over. "You are exhausted."

"I could use a nap, yes," Ron admitted. "And a shower." _Plus, it's past time that I went home. I have homework to get done, and then dinner with Mr. Cuffe._

"Are you really about to leave?" Amanda asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"I have homework to do," Ron smiled at her, while Madame Maxime took a step back to give them privacy. "It was great seeing you again, Amanda."

"You too," Amanda smiled a little sadly, and then she pulled him into a hug. "Goodbye, Ron."

"Take care, Amanda," Ron gave her a squeeze, and then he let go of her. She gave him a parting nod, and then she left the Gardens with a glum look. Once she had disappeared from sight, Madame Maxime handed Ron a letter.

"Give this to your Headmaster," Madame Maxime instructed, and Ron pocketed the letter. "Tell him that I wish to meet in person."

"I'll do that," Ron promised, and Fawkes flew onto his right shoulder. "I'm sorry for bringing such bad news."

"No… I am sorry for how I reacted," Madame Maxime said softly, she had a cloud of melancholy hanging over her head. "Our peaceful days have come to an end."

"I know," Ron said, and then he took a step back. "Goodbye, Madame Maxime."

"Goodbye, my friend," Madame Maxime managed a weak smile. "I will speak to the appropriate Families about this Gala, and eventually, about what's to come. Give me time."

"I understand," Ron smiled at her, he liked the sound of that. "Fawkes, take us to the Headmaster's Office."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Seventh Floor – After Classes)**_

Something was definitely up with the Golden Trio, and both Pansy and Tracey had also realized it. Throughout Divinations, they had spotted Granger and Longbottom looking in their direction. Even Potter had spared the three Slytherin girls some looks. This added in with the fact that Granger had skipped Potions Club yesterday greatly intrigued Daphne.

Granger, as far as Daphne knew, was no slacker. Nor would she disrespect Professor Snape by skipping his club on a whim. According to Ron, Granger had made no excuse for her absence yesterday. Ron knew this because Snape had apparently taken offence to Granger's absence. Daphne's instinct told her that something was afoot, but she also knew that Ron didn't need the Trio getting upset with her. So for now, she decided to let go of her suspicions.

Once Divination had ended, Professor Snape had pulled her out of the common room and sent her to the Headmaster's Office. According to Professor Snape, the Headmaster needed to see her for an opinion, which rightly baffled Daphne. And so, she had made her way up to the Seventh Floor, given the password to the Gargoyle, and now waited at the door.

"…Don't know what to do anymore, Dumbledore," came Arthur Weasley's voice, and Daphne stopped just before knocking. "…So cold to us." Daphne placed her ear on the door. _What are they talking about? Why is Ron's father here? Doesn't he have work?_

"I tried to write a letter to him, but I can't think of the words," Molly Weasley sniffled, and Daphne's heart clenched. _Ron… They're discussing Ron, aren't they?_ "It's like hearing from us angers him…"

"Did you speak with him?" Arthur asked.

"I did indeed," Dumbledore replied. "He finds your efforts to slow him down… tedious. They bother him greatly, I imagine."

"He's making himself more sick," Molly countered. "He's thirteen, but he's in such a hurry to grow up. It isn't right."

"I can't think of anything anymore, Dumbledore," Arthur admitted. "I can't think of a single way to reach him. And I can't even blame Slytherin anymore… I've met his friends, and they are good children. It's just him." _Ron, look at what you're doing._ Daphne drew in a deep breath, and then she knocked on the door.

"Enter, Miss. Greengrass," came Dumbledore's voice, and Daphne did so slowly. Her eyes met Ron's parents' as she closed the door, and then she approached them with her head held high.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," she greeted with a short smile. "Before I say anything, please let me apologize for being so rude to you the last time we were in each other's company. It was wrong of me to raise my voice, and for implying that you weren't intelligent. I was frustrated, and I gave into my baser nature." Molly and Arthur looked quite taken aback, while Dumbledore just wore his usual smile.

"Tensions were running high," Arthur smiled weakly. "We were all not ourselves. There is nothing to apologize for, Daphne. Please, come join us." Daphne gave him a grateful nod, and then she took her seat by Molly's right.

"Arthur and Molly here want to ask you some questions relating to Ronald," Dumbledore explained. "Is that alright?"

"Of course," Daphne agreed.

"Has he mentioned that we asked Pomfrey for a Family Counseling session?" Molly asked quickly, her eyes were slightly puffy. _What?_

"No, he hasn't," Daphne replied truthfully. "Is that why he was so bothered after his last session?" _He didn't tell me about this. Why?_

"He didn't take it well then," Arthur sighed deeply, as if some theory of his had been validated. "Pomfrey told us that he felt that he was too busy for extra counselling."

"Why is he being like this?" Molly demanded, and Daphne swallowed thickly. _She's so distraught._ Daphne stared at them for a few seconds, and then she drew in another deep breath.

"He feels that you don't respect him," Daphne gave her personal thoughts. "He's achieved so much, but you still treat him as if he's a child."

"He **is** a child," Molly interrupted. "My child."

"I don't think Ron is proud of who he used to be," Daphne said, and the Weasley's blinked at her. "So when you coddle him, he's reminded of 'Little Ronnie', and that's what sets him off. These are just my thoughts, however, so take them with a grain of salt."

"Why do you think this?" Dumbledore asked, he was quite interested to hear her answer.

"He says things sometimes," Daphne replied slowly, she didn't want to give away Ron's secrets by mistake. "At our date, he brought up a story about Ginny's dress and Aunt Muriel's anger with it."

"He told you that?" Molly asked, she sounded a little embarrassed.

"He told me that he hated himself for it," Daphne replied.

"What?" Arthur asked immediately.

"He believes that he stole Ginny's dress, and that he embarrassed your Family's name," Daphne replied. "To him, that's who 'Little Ronnie' is… 'A weak brat'… He says that sometimes as well. You remind him of 'Little Ronnie' whenever you try to make him slow down." Daphne then stopped, she needed to tell them his side too.

"Look, he works so hard," Daphne restarted. "He studies constantly, trains, works, plans for The Quibbler, and he even runs the largest study group in the school. Just ask the Headmaster. Ron is quite famous around the school for his kind and approachable demeanor."

"He was recently seen playing tag with **all** the first years," Dumbledore told them. "He is a true advocate for House Unity." _Because he believes that a war is coming, but I can't tell them that, they'll think that Ron's insane._

"He does all of this every single day," Daphne said a little too proudly. "It's nothing short of amazing. And here's the thing, he's happiest when he's busy. But when people tell him to stop, or bring up his conditions, he feels like he's not being given his dues."

"So us telling him to act his age insults him?" Molly asked. "How do we fix that?"

"Do you really want to?" Daphne couldn't help but ask. "I mean, aren't you proud of him?"

"Of course we are," they said together.

"All he wants is respect from you two," Daphne told them. "He even asked Mr. Weasley to help him with his Quibbler work, but Mrs. Weasley tried to shut him down. Once again, he was 'Little Ronnie' in her eyes. A little boy who doesn't know what's good for him. That's why he lashed out. That, and the Potion makes him forget human decency."

"So we just stand by as he runs himself into an early grave?" Molly asked in a defeated manner, and Daphne felt a strong pang of guilt. Her boyfriend was wrong to treat his parents so coldly, despite his reasons being understandable.

"If you want, I can talk to him," Daphne offered. "It might take a while, but maybe I can convince him to sit down with you and Pomfrey."

"He'd listen to you?" Molly asked quickly, she'd do whatever it took to get Ron to sit down with her.

"I'm not promising-" Daphne started, but she was interrupted by a fiery vortex. Both Daphne and Ron's parents stood up quickly, their eyes widening at the fire behind them. _Ron?_ Daphne's jaw dropped open at the sight of her boyfriend, while the Weasleys looked surprised to see each other.

"Ronnie?!" Molly exclaimed, while Ron looked quite taken aback.

"Mum? Dad? What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"Is that… Is that Fawkes?" Arthur asked, and the Phoenix shrilled loudly. _The Headmaster's Phoenix took him to France? I thought he was catching a Portkey… How did he convince the Headmaster to let him borrow Fawkes?_

"Welcome back from France, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted, and Ron's parents looked back and forth.

"France?" Molly asked, and Daphne could see this going downhill. _Say something, Daphne. Don't let Ron say, or do, anything foolish._

"Did you take care of The Quibbler issue?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Everything is back on the rails," Ron told them all, his eyes darting towards Dumbledore.

"I allowed Ronald to borrow Fawkes," Dumbledore explained. "He said that he was in a hurry, and I saw no harm in it."

"He went alone? To France?" Molly asked Dumbledore, she sounded angry all of a sudden.

"He went straight to Beauxbatons, Molly," Dumbledore assured her. "There was no danger whatsoever. Fawkes watched over him during his trip." _Danger? Watched over him? What are they on about?_

"Dad, don't you have work?" Ron asked, while Fawkes flew onto his perch. "Why are you both here? And why is Daphne here?" And then, he seemed to realize something. "I have dinner with Mr. Cuffe tonight, and I've got homework to finish. Can we please not do this today?" _Wow, Ron._

"Ronald…" Dumbledore sighed out, while his parents just stared at him.

"I'm not trying to start anything, but please… I'm very busy today," Ron said, his face devoid of any emotion. Daphne signaled him to shut up, and Ron blinked at her.

"Ronnie, please just listen to us," Molly started, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "You are hurting yourself…" _Didn't I just tell her not to do this?_

"Molly, let's go," Arthur said, much to everyone's surprise. "Ron is busy, and he needs to focus on his homework."

"Arthur…" Molly started, but he hushed her.

"Let's go, love," Arthur said, and then he herded his wife towards the fireplace. "It was good to see you, son. Please write once in a while." And then, after giving Daphne a quick look, Arthur Weasley took his wife home via floo. Daphne couldn't help but notice that Ron looked relieved, and that immediately pissed her off. _Those are his_ _ **parents**_ _! I don't care how they've treated him, he owes them a certain amount of respect._

"Well… That was weird," Ron said, and then he looked to Dumbledore. "Thank you for letting me borrow Fawkes, Headmaster. Is our game still on for tonight?" _Chess?_

"It is, Ronald," Dumbledore replied. "Please, don't let me keep you both."

"Let's go, Daph," Ron smiled at her, but Daphne didn't return his smile. _They were so hurt, and he couldn't care less!_ Ron led the way out, and Daphne followed after him quietly. Once they were past the Stone Gargoyle, she grabbed his arm and began to drag him towards the Sanctuary. She needed to have some words with him.

"Daph… Where are you taking me?" Ron asked quickly.

"Sanctuary," she all but hissed.

"What's gotten into you? Daph, I have homework to start," Ron said, and she shot him a dark look. "Woah… What did I do?"

"Be quiet," Daphne snapped, her temper flaring. As they reached the Sanctuary's entrance, Daphne began to pace back and forth angrily. _His mother had been crying!_ Once the door had appeared, she dragged her boyfriend inside and shut the door. "Why didn't you tell me that they wanted to have a Counselling session with you?"

"Pardon?" Ron asked. "Daphne, what's this about?"

"It's about you treating your parents with nothing short of malice," Daphne got riled up. "How dare you speak to them like they're beneath you?!" Ron flinched a bit because of her volume, and she quickly tried to steady herself. "They brought you into the World, Ron… You owe them respect for at least that much. They fed you, clothed you, and raised you. They're your parents, not your whipping boys."

"What malice? What are you on about?" Ron asked, his own temper flaring. "I didn't do, or say, anything to upset them. I just got back to Britain."

"You literally told them to leave you alone because you had other things to do!" Daphne snapped.

"Don't yell at me!" Ron snapped back.

"I'll yell all I want!" Daphne bellowed. _Damn it, Daphne! Calm down!_

"What the **fuck**?!" Ron roared, and Daphne felt her heart stop for a moment. He quickly took in a deep breath, while Daphne regained her composure. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Ron broke the silence. "I've had a long day… I don't need this…" Ron turned to leave, but Daphne ran between him and the door. "Daphne, stop-"

"You didn't even wait for them to explain themselves," Daphne told him. "You just assumed the worst about them. Can't you see how much that must've hurt them? Ron, they're trying to reach out to you."

"They're finding ways to get in my way," Ron frowned deeply.

"Your father clearly skipped his work to be here," Daphne ignored his delusions. "He came all the way to Hogwarts just to reach out to you! You're dead wrong here, Ron, and I won't just let you get away with it! I know just how much you hate your current relationship with your parents, and until you do something about it, it won't get fixed!"

"Daphne, I'm leaving," Ron said, and she jumped in his way again.

"No!" Daphne barked. "I'm still talking to you, Ronald Weasley! Ugh… You make me so angry sometimes!"

"Yeah, well leave me alone then!" Ron snapped, he had clearly reached the end of his rope.

"No!" Daphne clung onto his right arm.

"Get off me!" Ron ordered, but he didn't jerk himself away.

"You're only hurting yourself by hurting them!" Daphne tried to tell him, why was he so thick sometimes? "You're letting your anger ruin things for you, and you can't even see it! I'm trying to help you!"

"How is this helping me?!" Ron demanded. "Let go! Your fingernails are hurting me!" Daphne immediately let go of him, and he checked his arm over with a frown. "It's always the same with them! I was having a good day today, and they ruined it with just their damn faces! What the fuck do they want from me?! Why can't they just leave me alone?!"

"Is that what you want?" Daphne hissed. "To be left alone by everyone?"

"Sometimes, yeah!" Ron barked. "Right now, definitely!"

"You're so… shortsighted!" Daphne nearly screamed, and Ron just froze. "All you have to do is see them once a week, and that could be enough for you three to find peace, but you just don't want to put in the work. You're the one who's being lazy this time, no one else."

"Lazy? Me?" Ron scoffed. "Shortsighted? Me?"

"Why are you talking like that?" Daphne huffed in indignation.

"I just secured French aid for this country," Ron told her, and she blinked at him. _What is he on about?_ "Do you understand that? **I'm helping this country**! That's how far my reach goes now! You think I got this far by being lazy and shortsighted? Give me a break." With that, Ron tried to move past her.

"Stop walking away from me!" Daphne grabbed his stomach from behind, her heels digging into the ground. "I'm your girlfriend, and you owe me the respect of hearing me speak!"

"Speak? We're just fighting because of them!" Ron stopped and turned around, his entire face had gone red. _I bet mine has too. He's so frustrating sometimes!_

"We're fighting because I hate the way you treat your parents!" Daphne corrected. "I understand just how much they've hurt you, I really do! I've been there for all of it, and I hate that they did that to you! But you're the one who's hurting them now! You are being your own worst enemy! Again!"

"So what? I just start seeing them every fucking week?" Ron asked haughtily. "I'm completely swamped right now, but I'm just supposed to drop everything for them? When did they do that for me? Huh? Where were they when I wanted to spend time with them? Oh, I know! Putting my 'brilliant siblings' first! Or playing with Muggle toys!"

"You have the opportunity to show them that," Daphne tried again. "You have the chance to fix this problem once and for all, Ron. I know that it's bothersome, and that it stresses you out, but in the long run, it's the right thing to do. Just listen to me, please! I'm trying to help you!"

"Fuck me…" Ron muttered, and then he shook his head clear. Daphne blinked at him, while he cleared his throat and took a step back.

"Ron?" Daphne said, her voice strained from the yelling.

"I used a lot of Magic today…" Ron sighed, his fingers massaging his forehead. "I'm too tired for this… I just want to do some homework, and then attend my dinner. I'm leaving. Yell all you want." With that, Ron turned around and left.

"Fine," Daphne followed after him. "But this isnt over. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you," Ron muttered, and Daphne vowed to bring this up again. _I don't care if we keep fighting, I'll make him realize that he's being stupid about this. He's just hurting himself._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Near Dinnertime)**_

He had done his homework, taken a shower, drank his second dose of Nutrition Potion, and he was still pissed. His day had been going so perfectly, and despite being only thirteen, he had a chance to really help with the restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital. If his plan with Madame Maxime worked, then Ron's name would spread throughout the Ministry. His entrance into Politics would be supported with an admirable achievement, one that would no doubt attract many potential allies to him.

Ron was putting the World first. He was working himself into exhaustion every single day, and what was his reward? Constant badgering and doubts. Everything had been going so well, and then his parents had shown up with their 'hurt feelings', and now Daphne and he were fighting. His girlfriend had refused to speak to him after their fight, and knowing her, she wasn't going to relent any time soon. Everything had been perfect, but his parents had ruined that with **their problems**. _Why can't I just be left alone? All I want to do is my job, nothing more. I'm not asking for the World here, just some fucking peace._

"Come in," came Snape's voice, and Ron entered the Office.

"Good evening, Sir," Ron greeted unenthusiastically. _Why did she have to yell at me?_

"Off to your dinner?" Snape asked from behind his desk.

"Yes, Sir," Ron replied as he moved towards the fireplace. "I'll see you at the Headmaster's Office after I return."

"Before you go, do you care to tell me why Granger skipped the Potions Club yesterday?" Snape asked, and Ron looked to Snape with a confused look.

"I honestly don't know," Ron admitted. "Maybe she was sick?"

"She wasn't, I checked with Poppy," Snape said coldly.

"Well, it's not like her to skip something like this," Ron told Snape. "She's too serious about her academics to skip your exclusive Club."

"My thoughts exactly," Snape said, and then he frowned to himself. "Perhaps I should show her that skipping my Club results in consequences." _Consequences?_ Ron turned to the fireplace to leave, but then he decided to give his opinion.

"Don't kick her out because she skipped one meeting," Ron looked back to Snape. "She's brilliant at your Club, and you know it. Kicking her out for such a minor offence is just… petty. She works her arse off at your Club, Sir. I think you should follow up with her, and let her explain her absence."

"So… You are back to being their friend now?" Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"Hermione and Neville aren't investigating me, only Harry is," Ron sighed. "And Hermione is an amazing lab partner. She does her work, and she does it brilliantly. And sometimes, she even teaches me tricks that I didn't previously know. She deserves the chance to explain herself, that's what I believe."

"Even I cannot argue her commitment to her studies," Snape said, and then he gave Ron a curt nod. "I shall find her after dinner." _He will? He actually took my advice? Don't gloat! Just take the win and go._

"Goodbye for now, Sir," Ron said as he took a pinch of floo powder.

"Goodbye, Ron," Snape looked back to his work, while Ron cast the powder into the flames.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Ron said, and once the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through it.

Oddly enough, the moment he walked into the Leaky Cauldron, Ron felt calmer and more in control. He simply stood by the fireplace, his eyes surveying the busy tavern. _No pointless arguments here. Just me, and my work._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and he shut out his frustrations with his parents and girlfriend. _Fucking Hogwarts…_ He began making his way towards the exit, his mind slowly focusing on his dinner with Barnabas Cuffe. As he neared the door, he nearly walked into a tall, blonde man.

"Sorry," Ron stopped right before the collision. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Please, you go first." _Seriously, Ron, wake up._

"Thank you," the man smiled at Ron, his black round shades catching Ron's eye. _It's nighttime… Why is he wearing shades?_ The man stepped through the exit, and Ron slowly followed after him. "You were in quite the hurry, young man."

"Again, I'm sorry," Ron apologized, and they both began walking in the same direction. "And yes, I was in a bit of a hurry."

"A date?" the man smiled at Ron.

"Merlin, no!" Ron grimaced, and the man held back a laugh. "A business meeting with an old man at The Pond." _Speaking of which, there it is._

"I see," the man said. "Well, I wish you good fortune."

"Thanks, have a nice night," Ron managed a half-smile, and they parted ways as they neared The Pond. Ron watched the tall man walk off into the night, and after shaking his head clear, he walked into the restaurant.

"Mr. Weasley, welcome back," Rudolph greeted with a pleasant smile.

"Good evening, Rudolph," Ron smiled back, though he still felt bogged down by his fight with Daphne. _Stop thinking about that right now._

"Mr. Cuffe has been awaiting your arrival," Rudolph said, and then he led Ron towards a table near the center of the restaurant.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas smiled and stood up, and Ron gave him a polite nod.

"Mr. Cuffe," Ron greeted back.

"Thank you, Rudolph," Barnabas looked to the dark skinned man. "Mr. Weasley and I can take it from here."

"Your food will be here momentarily," Rudolph said, and then he left for his post. _Food? He ordered without me? That's just fucking rude._

"I ordered you the Honey-Glazed Lamb," Barnabas said as they both sat down. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm in a bit of a rush tonight."

"Do you have somewhere else to be?" Ron asked.

"My daughter is returning from the States tonight," Barnabas smiled genuinely. "She went there to study Wampus Cats, and now that her paper is published, she wishes to come home."

"Congratulations," Ron said, he wasn't sure about what a Wampus Cat was. "Please, send her my regards."

"I will," Barnabas said, and then he leaned back in his seat. "The Headmaster allows you to roam free even at night then." _Here we go._

"Am I in danger, Mr. Cuffe?" Ron asked in response.

"Not at all," Barnabas replied. "I just find it very peculiar that the Headmaster abuses his power in such a manner. I mean, the Headmaster of Hogwarts is not meant to have favorites."

"Trust me, I am no one's favorite," Ron said, and he quickly regretted his words. _For fuck's sake, stop moping already._ "Is there anything that you wished to discuss tonight? Or is this just a social dinner?"

"I prefer to have conversation before I talk about business," Barnabas replied.

"And I prefer to get down to business immediately," Ron said.

"Very well," Barnabas said, a calm smile on his face. "You've struck a deal with the Ministry."

"The brochures?" Ron asked, and Barnabas gave him a nod.

"The restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital," Barnabas started. "I must admit, your advertisement agency knows how to do their job. Everyone at the Daily Prophet found those brochures in their homes and offices, myself included."

"Well, I am paying them an obscene amount of money for their services," Ron said.

"And how much is the Ministry paying you?" Barnabas asked.

"Nothing," Ron told him.

"Really? You expect me to believe that you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart?" Barnabas asked.

"Frankly, I don't care what you believe in," Ron said coldly, and Barnabas just stared at him. _What?_

"You are not in the mood for conversation today, are you?" Barnabas asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "Shame… I rather enjoy our banter." _Honestly, I just want to go to sleep._

"Two order of Honey-Glazed Lamb," Tiffany walked up, and Ron shot her a quick smile. _Beth's sister._ "Please, enjoy your meals." With that, she made her way back to the other customers.

"Let's eat first," Barnabas suggested. "Maybe that will lighten your mood a little?"

"If this dish is as good as I remember, then it'll definitely help," Ron picked up his cutlery.

* * *

 _ **Gaspard's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Knockturn Alley – Dinnertime)**_

"Password?" the Vampire asked, and Gaspard removed his shades. The younger Vampire gazed at Gaspard's eyes, and then he slowly stepped aside. _Clever lad._ Gaspard moved on and entered the dingy building.

"Just as I remember it," Gaspard smiled to himself as he put his shades back on. The building was rundown on the outside, but inside, it was probably the most well-maintained establishment in Knockturn Alley.

This particular Den was known as the Fanged Grotto, a name that Gaspard didn't particularly like, though he appreciated the need for this place. Every Vampire was cordially invited to this Den, and should they feel the need to find companionship, the Fanged Grotto never disappointed. It was the perfect place to establish his roots for the oncoming war. _A fresh supply of soldiers will stroll right through the front door._

Gaspard made his way to the bar, where he was greeted by a young, pale bartender.

"Are you new?" the woman asked over the noise.

"No, I was actually here when they first established this fine institution," Gaspard replied truthfully, his eyes admiring the Gothic Architecture from behind his shades.

"Of course you were," the bartender rolled her eyes, she clearly didn't believe him. Vampires had a tendency to lie about their age amongst their ilk, it provided both respect and safety. "This place is nearly two hundred years old, mate. You might want to come up with a better lie next time. Now… What are you having?"

"Who is the current Leader of this Den?" Gaspard asked, he wasn't exactly hungry right now.

"The Leader?" the vampire blinked, and then she looked towards a group of rowdy Vampires. "You see that bearded one? His name is Robert the Strong." Gaspard eyed the muscled and bearded Vampire, who was currently laughing far too loudly.

"Is that his name?" Gaspard couldn't help but laugh, why did younger Vampires feel the need to give themselves titles?

"He's almost a hundred years old," the bartender told him, her dark eyes moving between the two. "Just enjoy your meal, and be on your way. He's got a violent streak."

"And what is your name?" Gaspard asked, and the bartender stared at him.

"Arietta," the bartender replied eventually, and then she drew in a deep breath. "Let me guess, you're about to challenge Robert for leadership?"

"I plan to stay here for the foreseeable Future," Gaspard stood up, while Arietta began to hide the bottles of blood under the counters. _Trust me, there won't be a fight._ Gaspard walked towards Robert's gang, and the smell of strong perfume infiltrated his nose. That's when he spotted a thin brunette girl sitting in Robert's lap, she looked quite uncomfortable and unsure of herself. _Very young, most likely a prostitute. And judging by her strong perfume, I'd wager that she's never been in the company of Vampires._

"Robert the Strong?" Gaspard asked, and the Vampire grinned at him.

"That's me," the bearded Vampire laughed. "Who are you? I haven't seen you in my Den before."

"You may call me Gaspard," Gaspard said, he quite liked this name at the moment. "I wish to take over this Den. Will that be a problem?" Robert's gang stopped making noise, while the bearded Vampire lost his grin.

"Are you daft?" Robert asked, his eyes scanning Gaspard's smaller frame. "Fuck off."

"Is that a forfeit?" Gaspard asked, and Robert lost his humor completely.

"Forfeit?" Robert repeated, and then he pushed the young brunette off of his lap. She fell into the arms of another Vampire, who quickly began to reach into her dress. The girl didn't even react, though Gaspard could smell her fear. _Foolish girl. They plan to eat her tonight._

"This Den belongs to me now," Gaspard told Robert. "If you want to keep it, then you will face me in combat."

"Who is this idiot?" Robert asked his posse, who just shook their heads. "You want a fight? Fine." The bearded Vampire stood up and towered over Gaspard. They were around the same height, but Robert was far more muscled. "Let me guess, you want to use wands?"

"No wands," Gaspard replied, and Robert grinned from ear to ear. _He thinks that he's stronger than me. Good._

"Everybody move back!" Robert bellowed as they moved to the center of the Den. "Get those tables out of the way! I don't want to pay for too many damages after this!" While Robert riled up the spectators, Gaspard watched him with a calm look. _I'll have to kill this one. If I let him live, he'll try and take this Den back through treachery._

"No wands, no Magic!" Arietta the bartender announced, her eyes lingering on Gaspard. "Winner takes over the Fanged Grotto!"

"Come on then, skinny!" Robert laughed as he tore off his robes, revealing a mass of hairy muscles. "I'll rip off your arms, and then I'll beat you to death with them!"

Gaspard just smiled at him, which only served to anger the other Vampire. Robert ran straight for Gaspard, and the two Vampires clashed hands. Gaspard dug his heels into the ground, while Robert did the same, both of them trying to overpower the other. _He is strong for his age, I'll give him that._ Gaspard tightened his hold on Robert's hands, and soon enough, he could hear the larger Vampire's bones cracking.

"FUCK!" Robert yelled as he tried to pull loose, but Gaspard kept his grip with little to no effort. There was a sickening crunch as Gaspard's hands crushed Robert's, and then, Gaspard yanked his hands back. Robert screamed in agony as his fingers, and chunks of his hands, were ripped clean off. _And that's that._

"Shhh," Gaspard shushed as he quickly grabbed onto Robert's skull, and with a little effort, his fingers cracked through Robert's skull. The larger Vampire twitched and gurgled uncontrollably, which stopped as Gaspard caved in his skull completely.

The silence was deafening as Robert's body fell face first onto the ground, and as Gaspard shook the blood off of his hands, Arietta slowly walked up to him with a clean towel.

"Thank you, Arietta," Gaspard smiled as he took towel. _That was thoughtful of her._

"Who are you?" Arietta whispered, her wary eyes darting towards the other stunned Vampires. "Where have you come from?"

"I am your new Den Master," Gaspard replied. "That is all you need to know about me. Now… Please go and grab me a glass of water. 'Tonight's special' has passed out from shock."

"The girl?" Arietta asked, her eyes darting towards Robert's 'date' for the night. The brunette had slipped into unconsciousness from the horror of seeing such a brutal murder.

"Whilst I am here, no Vampire will touch children," Gaspard told her. "Make sure that the others know."

"I understand," Arietta said as she bowed her head a little. "I'll get that water…" she trailed off.

"Gaspard," he said. "You may call me Gaspard." Arietta nodded quickly, and then she ran to the counter to get him a glass of water. Gaspard looked to the other Vampires, his eyes still hidden behind his shades. "Eat him! Leave nothing but bones behind!" The other Vampires looked utterly jarred by his order, but some of the older ones understood.

"It is the Old Way," one of the Vampires nodded. "Come… Do as your Den Master says."

"What?! Robert could still heal!" one of Robert's 'friends' spoke up. "Just get him some blood!"

"Be quiet, New Blood," one of the older Vampires hissed. "He'll kill us all if you don't shut it!" _Yes, I will._ Gaspard made his way over to the unconscious girl, while the other Vampires slowly circled Robert's bloody form. Many of them were hesitating, but in the end, their bloodlust took over.

"Here's the water," Arietta walked up just as Gaspard took a seat by the unconscious girl. "I'll join the others." He understood that the smell of blood was taking away her senses, just as it used to do to him.

"Go," Gaspard said as he took the glass of water, which he planted on the table. Gaspard sat the unconscious girl up, and then he fixed up her revealing dress. _She's a Squib. I can barely smell any Magic in her veins._ Gaspard used his slightly bloody fingers to flick some water onto the girl's face, which slowly brought her back to the land of the living. She looked around with a confused look, but when her eyes landed on his blood stained face, she screamed and tried to flee.

"Scream again, and I'll eat you," Gaspard lied as he pulled her back down, and the girl began sobbing immediately.

"Please don't kill me…" she begged, her face sinking behind her hands. "I'm not even… even sixteen yet… I won't tell anyone… about this…"

"No, you won't," Gaspard said, his right hand still wrapped around her skinny wrist. "Because if you do, then I'll find you. Do you understand?"

"Please…" the girl shook in her spot, thick tears rolling down her face. "Please… People depend… on me…" _Is that so? Let me guess, more Squib orphans. She might be the leader of a pack of strays._

"If you ever tell anyone about this, then I'll find them as well," Gaspard said, and she let out a pained sob. Gaspard then reached into his robes, and he pulled out his pouch of money. "This has nearly fifty Galleons inside it. Take it."

"Wha… What?" the girl sniveled, and Gaspard found his patience draining quickly.

"Take the money, and use it to move yourself and your orphan friends to The Leaky Cauldron," Gaspard ordered. "If you stay in Knockturn Alley, you'll all be dead soon enough. So here, take it." Gaspard put the pouch in her trembling hand. "Now be on your way, girl. Find employment fit for your age, and keep your friends away from the sex trade. Oh, and don't forget, I have your scent memorized." The girl nodded fervently, and after sobbing again, she ran for the exit with alarming speed.

Gaspard relaxed in his chair, his eyes drifting towards the other Vampires. The floor was stained with Robert's blood, and even his former friends had given into their bloodlust. They gorged themselves on their previous Den Master's corpse, and the sight of them disgusted Gaspard. _What a pathetic lot. I hope my son and daughter get here by tomorrow, otherwise, I might lose my temper and kill everyone in this Den._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Pond – Night)**_

Ron had finished his meal in nearly fifteen minutes, and he had to admit, he felt a little more like himself now. Whilst eating, he had decided to be more tactful with Barnabas. After all, the man had done nothing to upset Ron. Not yet, anyway. _Except for the fact that he eats at a snail's pace._

"That was certainly delicious," Barnabas said as he finished his meal, and then he wiped down his moustache. _And it's shining once again. Marvelous._

"It was," Ron agreed. "Sorry that I ate so quickly, but I was quite hungry."

"Shall we discuss business now?" Barnabas asked, and Ron gave him a nod. _Finally._ "As you are no doubt aware, the Ministry and the Daily Prophet have an alliance of sorts."

"I think the whole World knows that," Ron said.

"It is a… lucrative… partnership," Barnabas said. "For both parties, that is. However, The Quibbler threatens that partnership."

"It does?" Ron asked, feigning ignorance.

"Of course it does, and you know it," Barnabas replied. "Madam Bones was no doubt going to come to us before you approached her, and because of that, we lost business. Now, here's the thing, Mr. Weasley. Losing business is understandable, but losing it to someone who gives away any chance of making a profit is just insulting."

"You're upset that I didn't exploit Madam Bones?" Ron asked.

"It's the message that bothers me," Barnabas replied, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Why go to the Daily Prophet when you have Ronald Weasley handing out freebies? Do you understand?"

"I didn't ask for money because I want her to spend her money on the Hospital," Ron told Barnabas. "This deal was never meant to put money in my pocket."

"So, in the Future, you won't be as benevolent?" Barnabas asked.

"It depends on the situation," Ron shrugged. "Did you think that I was just going to bankrupt my business with charity?"

"The thought crossed my mind," Barnabas replied. "You are, after all, a child." _That's a backhanded comment if I've ever seen one._

"Well, you have nothing to worry about," Ron 'smiled'. "My business is here to stay."

"That remains to be seen," Barnabas said, and then he reached for his briefcase. _What's this?_ Barnabas opened the briefcase, and then he pulled out a thick file. "Take a look at this." Barnabas handed Ron the file, and Ron looked at the cover.

"Marietta Angel," Ron read the name on the file. "What is this?"

"That right there is a young witch from the States," Barnabas replied, and while Ron opened the file. "Have a read." Ron looked through the file, his eyes skimming through the information.

"Why have you handed me a file on a twenty three year old witch?" Ron asked, he was thoroughly confused. "It says here that she wants to be a journalist, but all of her articles were rejected by you."

"Not by me," Barnabas said firmly. "She was rejected by the Daily Prophet. I am the Chief-Editor, not the hiring team. This girl had real talent, and now she's working as a barmaid in London. Has a dirty little apartment, and a noisy housemate."

"Please just get to the point," Ron requested. "Why was she rejected if she was so talented?"

"She is Muggle-Born, which gave her a little too much sympathy for the 'downtrodden'," Barnabas replied. "She wished to report on the dangers that wizards pose to the World around them. You know, Dragon butchery… Centaur relocations… The fear of Werewolves and Vampires… Disgusting Merpeople… I happened to look her work over, and although I did not agree with all of it, I couldn't help but admire her work. She has talent."

"But the Daily Prophet, which favors Wizarding Kind, didn't want her type of journalism," Ron figured.

"Indeed," Barnabas gave a nod. "You will need a staff soon-"

"I am not hiring her," Ron said bluntly. "I don't trust you, or your 'help'."

"Mr. Weasley, listen to me," Barnabas started. "The Daily Prophet is far more complicated than you think. Hundreds of people have their fingers in the pie, so to speak. I am the Chief-Editor, but when it comes to reporting on news that could be considered controversial, I have no power. I worked **years** to get to where I am, only to find out that the Old Families and The Ministry plan to use me as their puppet for the rest of my life."

"Yes, I'm sure your life is so difficult," Ron cocked an eyebrow. "You're wearing silk, Mr. Cuffe."

"I said that I was a puppet, not a pauper," Barnabas smirked. "I wanted to buy The Quibbler in order to abuse a loophole that I found in the Prophet's contracts. I was going to use The Quibbler to hire people like Miss. Angel, but you swiped The Quibbler from under me."

"You were going to dismantle The Quibbler," Ron stated.

"No, I wasn't," Barnabas told him. "I told the higher ups that I was, but in truth, I planned to convince them to let me use it after I had it in my grasp. Since The Quibbler isn't the intellectual property of the Daily Prophet, it would instead work as its own form of 'free journalism'. Sort of like how Witch Weekly, and Seeker Weekly, write small articles in our paper. With The Quibbler in hand, I could give people like Miss. Angel a chance. I could have changed the Prophet for the better."

"You expect me to believe this mind-boggling tale?" Ron asked. "You expect me to believe that you planned to bring integrity to the Daily Prophet? I'm sorry, Mr. Cuffe, but I just don't trust you. And I certainly don't trust this Marietta Angel. For all I know, she could be a spy."

"A spy?" Barnabas blinked. "Mr. Weasley, you are being awfully paranoid."

"Maybe, but I don't care," Ron said. "I mean, I 'steal' The Quibbler from you, and you in turn bring me potential staff members? I dare you to tell me that that doesn't sound mental."

"Then allow me to be frank with you," Barnabas leaned forward a bit. "I am not happy with the Daily Prophet, or the chains that I am bound in. Our country is on the brink of collapse, and yet, the Daily Prophet will not report on it. And those who wish to report on such matters are **never** hired. Our fellow wizards become more ignorant by the day, and if nothing is done about it, then this country is doomed to collapse." _What is he on about?_

"So you want to help me because **you** can't report on our country's problems?" Ron asked.

"I would not only lose my job, I'd lose all credibility," Barnabas replied.

"So you want to do a 'good thing', but you can't because you love your money," Ron put the file down on the table.

"I won't refute that," Barnabas told Ron, who was now planning to be on his way. "You and I can help each other, Mr. Weasley. I have experience and contacts that would be very valuable to you."

"So you and I work together to change the country's outlook on everything? Is that it?" Ron asked. "And tell me, why should I trust you? You've had me followed, you've cost me a lot of money, and you've actively attempted to bring down my business. And now, you want me to help you while you get to keep making large sums of money from the Daily Prophet."

"I can understand your doubts about me," Barnabas sighed, and then he picked up the file and stowed it away. "Please think more on this before you make any decisions." _Bloody hell, I just don't trust this man. And he's story is barmy at best._

"I think I should be heading back to Hogwarts now," Ron said, and they both stood up. Once they made their way to the pay counter, Ron made sure to pay for his own meal. He had no intention of letting Barnabas 'treat' him. After that, they both made their way out of The Pond.

"Before we part ways, I'd like your permission to send you more dossiers," Barnabas said, while Ron breathed in the night air. "There are many young talented journalists out there, and all they need is opportunity."

"And who would they be loyal to?" Ron asked the older wizard. "Me, their employer, or you, the man who put them in my business."

"What will it take to convince you that I truly wish to work with you?" Barnabas asked. _You want me to take the hits, while you keep making absurd amounts of money._

"Time is a start," Ron turned to leave.

"I will be in contact, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas called out, and Ron didn't bother replying. _I can't trust him. I'll have Gornuk look into this Marietta Angel, and if Cuffe sends me any dossiers, I'll have them all checked out as well._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"So, what does it say?" Snape asked Dumbledore, who was reading Madame Maxime's letter.

"It contains a summary of what Ronald told her, and of what they discussed," Dumbledore replied. "And it contains her home address, she wishes to meet me in person."

"Yeah, she did mention that," Ron said. "Does she still have doubts?"

"I imagine so," Dumbledore replied, and the he hid the letter in his desk. "Well done, Ronald. I knew you were up to the task."

"Thanks," Ron smiled. "I mean, I nearly ruined it when she pulled her wand on me, but it all worked out in the end."

"Olympe loves her students, so she would never dare disbelieve us completely," Dumbledore smiled in his kindly manner. "However, getting the French Families involved was risky."

"Yeah, sorry for reaching," Ron said. "I saw an opportunity and decided that it would be wrong not to take it. With this Gala for St. Mungo's restoration coming up, I figured that we could use their help as well. By the way, are you both attending?"

"I was not invited, nor do I wish to attend," Snape replied. "However, Albus will be there."

"Why don't you want to attend? There'll be free food," Ron said, and Snape just stared at him. "Maybe we can buy you a sense of humor on the way home. If you behave, that is."

"Ronald," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Lucius and Cornelius will be there," Snape told Dumbledore, he clearly planned to ignore Ron. "Lucius refuses to speak of the Dark Lord, and I think that Cornelius is behind his silence. The old man doesn't trust me, so I'm being kept out of the loop." _Or maybe the Dark Lord doesn't trust him?_

"Severus, we need to know where Lord Voldemort is," Dumbledore said.

"I will speak to Narcissa," Snape said. "Maybe she will be more forthcoming than her husband."

"Still no word on Greyback?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore shook his head. "Well, shite… The man just up and disappeared in a puff of smoke…"

"He will resurface, and when he does, we will be ready," Dumbledore assured Ron. "Sebastian has extended his contract with the Death's Hand, and they've agreed to keep searching for Fenrir. The moment he resurfaces, they'll find him for us."

"And what is the Hungarian Ministry doing?" Snape asked.

"As far as I know, nothing," Dumbledore replied. "They are forcing their population to believe that this was all a Werewolf turf war, which is only increasing Werewolf persecution throughout Europe."

"Should we do something about this?" Ron asked, a strong pang of guilt flooding his mind. "I mean, we were behind that massacre… The Werewolves are paying for our choices…"

"They made the choice to follow Fenrir Greyback," Snape said dismissively. "Their deaths are on them, not us. As for them being persecuted, they all deserve to be kept in kennels." _Woah!_

"Please tell me that that was your 'Death-Eater persona'," Ron said, while Dumbledore just shook his head.

"They are a danger to every single person that they are near," Snape whispered in his cold voice. "They don't belong to live and work near us. One mistake on their part, and your life is over."

"Wow…" Ron muttered under his breath, while Dumbledore just watched Snape. "Are you sure that you're not missing your old loyalties?"

"Careful, boy," Snape said dangerously. "I was serving the Order when you couldn't even wipe the drool from your chin."

"Enough, you two," Dumbledore said, this was a topic that was best avoided. _Whatever… I just forgot that Snape can be a massive git sometimes._

"When are you meeting Madame Maxime?" Ron decided to change the topic, he hated thinking about the Werewolf Massacre.

"Tonight," Dumbledore replied. "After this meeting, Fawkes and I will go to her private residence. She is waiting for me."

"Then we won't keep you," Snape said as he stood up, and Ron followed suit.

"Ronald, stay a moment," Dumbledore said, and Ron slowly sat back down. _What's this? I didn't do nothing!_ Snape billowed towards the fireplace, and then he flooed back to his Office. Once they were alone, Dumbledore just eyed Ron with an odd look.

"Headmaster? What do you need from me?" Ron asked, he was starting to feel uncomfortable. _The old man is looking into my soul, I just know it._

"Your parents-" Dumbledore started, and Ron let out a groan.

"This again?" Ron asked. "For fuck's sake, give me a damn break here. You know how busy my day has been, right? I secured Madame Maxime's alliance… I convinced her to find us French allies, who by the way, are going to help England restore St. Mungo's. Hopefully. I'm working my arse off out there, and the only thing that my parents care about are their own hurt feelings. Give me a damn break."

"Do you feel better now?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron blinked at him.

"No," Ron replied bluntly. "I just… Please, I don't want to deal with this shite. I'm not going to change, nor am I going to stop pushing myself. So just tell them to get over it." Ron stood up at that.

"Madam Bones informed your father that she sent you the Weasley Family letter instead of him," Dumbledore told Ron, who nodded slowly. "She told him that it was per your request."

"So?" Ron asked.

"He is the Head of your Family, Ronald," Dumbledore said calmly. "Shouldn't you discuss such matters with him?"

"Why? So he can give the Ministry the only twenty Knuts in his vault?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore said nothing in response. "He can't do anything to help St. Mungo's, but I can. So why should I even involve him in the matter? All he's going to do is give useless advice which I'm not going to follow, and then we'll have another angst filled encounter. Fuck that shite, I'm done explaining and apologizing. They can either get on board, or they can just leave me alone." Ron walked over to the fireplace at that, his mood slightly soured.

"Honestly," Ron looked back to Dumbledore. "Shouldn't he be focusing on securing the Burrow? After all, Pandora is living with them right now, and she's pregnant. Tell him to get his shite together." Ron grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and then he tossed it in the fire. "Professor Snape's Office." The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it. _Glad to be out of there._

"I take it that your talk did not go well," Snape said from behind his desk, and Ron looked to the Potions Master.

"You knew about it?" Ron asked.

"Albus mentioned it before you got back," Snape replied.

"Thanks for the heads up," Ron frowned, and then he began to make his way towards the exit.

"I spoke to Granger," Snape called, and Ron stopped. "Do you want to hear her excuse?" Ron slowly turned back around. "She told me that she forgot about the Potions Club." _Huh?_

"Yeah, that's a lie," Ron told Snape. "I called out after her once Study of Runes had finished. She outright ignored me and ran off." _Which was really weird._

"So, what would you have me do with her?" Snape asked.

"Um… Nothing," Ron replied slowly. "She missed one meeting, and I still stand by what I said. She is amazing at Potions, and she works her arse off to impress you. Just let it slide this time."

"Let it slide?" Snape asked, a slight frown on his face.

"Yeah, let it slide," Ron said. "What's the matter with you adults? Why do you all make mountains out of molehills? I mean, Hermione is apparently doing every subject available to us third years, so she's clearly busy and stressed out. Why are you taking this so personally? Why do you want to punish her for pushing herself to her limits? Give us kids a break, we're doing our best here." _What the fuck am I even saying?_ Snape just stared at Ron, who decided that he needed some fucking sleep.

"I'm going to bed," Ron sighed out, and then he left the Office. _I'll try and talk to her at the study group tomorrow._

* * *

 _ **Friday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Library – After Classes)**_

Ron sat with the first years as usual, but his attention was focused on everyone. Harry had decided to join Hermione and Neville this time around, and the Golden Trio currently sat together. Neville, who had taken to pairing up with the other members of the group, was once again working with only Hermione and Harry.

But that wasn't even the most annoying thing to Ron. What truly annoyed Ron was the fact that Ginny was here today, which was coincidently the very same day that Harry had reentered the study group. She currently sat with Luna and her friends, and from what Ron could see, she was pulling her own weight.

As for his friends, things were running smoothly for the most part. The only problems were that Daphne was still angry with him, while Padma seemed to feel uncomfortable due to Blaise's indifferent behavior towards her. Millie had asked Lavender to partner up with her personally, which was a little odd, but nothing to be suspicious of. Pansy, Tracey, and Theo were working with the Hufflepuffs, and from what Ron could tell, they were all getting along nicely. As for Malfoy, he was sitting alone in a corner, his presence all but forgotten.

"What's the Wiggenweld Potion used for, Ron?" Lysandra asked, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"It's a Healing Potion used to treat quite a few minor injuries, and it can also reverse the effects of the Sleeping Draught and the Draught of Living Death," Ron recited from memory, and all the first years who didn't know the answer jotted it down.

Ron looked back to his own homework at that, while the first years exchanged answers and discussed their classes. For the next ten minutes, Ron focused on the study of Undetectable Poisons and occasionally answering questions for the first years. During these ten minutes, he spotted the Golden Trio, specifically Hermione, shoot him quick looks. Ron ignored them at first, but as the looks became more frequent, he decided to talk to them.

"I'm going to roam around a bit," Ron the first years. "Mathew, make sure that everyone stays on task."

"I understand," Mathew gave a firm nod, while the others rolled their eyes. _He's like a Slytherin version of Percy._ Ron got out of his chair, and he walked over to the Golden Trio.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and they all gave him meager smiles. _Is Harry smiling at me? What the fuck?_ "How are you guys going?"

"We're doing just fine, Ron," Neville answered, while Hermione and Harry looked back to their work.

"Is everything alright?" Ron asked them, but Hermione and Harry kept their heads down.

"Everything is just fine, Ron," Neville replied, and Ron blinked at him. ' _Just fine, Ron'? Why is he talking like that?_

"You sure? It's just that you three are sitting by yourselves," Ron started.

"We always sit together," Hermione looked back up.

"I know," Ron said slowly, why was she being defensive? "It's just that Neville was getting along really well with the Hufflepuffs, and even some of the Ravenclaws."

"I know, but I just figured that I'd work with Harry and Hermione today," Neville all but whispered. "We're doing the same homework…" _Right._

"Fair enough," Ron said, and then he looked to Hermione. "Hermione, can I talk to you?"

"About what?" Hermione blurted out, while Neville and Harry looked to Hermione with expressions akin to worry. _Seriously, what is wrong with them?_

"About the Potions Club…" Ron replied slowly. "Are you three alright? You're acting off…"

"Actually, Ron, can we talk about that some other day?" Hermione asked, completely ignoring his question. "I'm terribly swamped right now."

"It'll only take a second," Ron said, and Hermione drew in a deep breath.

"Oh… Okay," Hermione whispered to herself, and then she slowly stood up. "Let's just go over there." With that, Hermione quickly made her way away from the group. Ron followed after her, and he spotted both Daphne and Ginny staring at him. _Both of them are pissed with me. I swear that my face just pisses people off._

"So what happened?" Ron asked. "I missed you at the Potions Club, Hermione. I had to work with Professor Snape because I didn't have a partner, and he can be… difficult."

"I just forgot that we had it," Hermione lied.

"But I reminded you after class," Ron said, and Hermione blinked at him.

"I don't think I heard you…" Hermione muttered.

"Hermione, you all but broke into a sprint at the sound of my voice," Ron reminded her, and she shifted in her spot. "Are you upset with me?"

"What? No, Ron," Hermione said quickly, and Ron managed a weak smile. "None of us are upset with you."

"Good," Ron said. "I wasn't really sure if I had said, or done, something to upset you."

"Why would you think that?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"Lately, I've been pissing people off unintentionally," Ron shrugged.

"Greengrass?" Hermione asked.

"So you've noticed the angry glares," Ron chuckled mirthlessly.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"It doesn't matter," Ron replied, he didn't want to involve Hermione in his personal business. "We just had a spat, that's all. I'll let you get back to your study. Just don't skip Potions Club again, I really don't like partnering with Professor Snape." _Plus, Snape will kick you out if you skip it again._

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked before Ron could leave.

"Pardon?"

"How are you feeling? No signs of another seizure, I hope," Hermione said, and Ron blinked at her. _Seizure?_ "Are you taking care of your health, Ron?"

"Um… Yeah, I'm fine," Ron replied. "How is your health?"

"My health?" Hermione asked, and Ron just stared at her. "Oh, my health is fine. How's yours?"

"Hermione… You just asked me that," Ron gave her a confused look, and she seemed to realize her mistake.

"I… Um… I'm glad you're feeling better," Hermione mumbled, and then she walked past him and rejoined her friends. Ron was left genuinely confused, and when he looked to her, she looked away awkwardly. _What the hell just happened? We were having a normal conversation, and then she went mental out of nowhere. Am I missing something?_

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later**_

"See you next week, mate," Cedric waved as he left with his friends.

"Definitely," Ron smiled and waved back, all the while wondering how Cedric got his hair so perfect. _He's so damn handsome._ One by one, everyone began heading back to their common rooms. Ron made sure to smile and thank them for coming, and eventually the Golden Trio stopped by. Ron waved at them, but instead of leaving, they started to linger around awkwardly.

"Are you guys alright?" Ron asked once again, now he was getting suspicious. _Why is Harry acting like the other two as well?_

"We're fine," Hermione said, her eyes clearly scanning him.

"You three are being weird," Ron couldn't help but point out, and they looked like deer caught in headlights. "Are you sure that you're alright?" _What are you hiding from me, eh?_ Neville nudged Harry forward, and so Ron looked to the bespectacled boy with a furrowed brow.

"I was wondering if you wanted to fly sometime…" Harry started, and Ron was genuinely taken aback. "We used do that, and I was wondering if you wanted to restart that… With me, that is…" _What in the…?_

"I'm not trying to be rude here, but you've been a right prick to me for the last couple of months," Ron said unapologetically.

"I know…" Harry shot a quick look back at his friends. "I'm really sorry for how I've been acting… I was wrong to act that way. It's just that I was going through some personal problems, and I blamed you for them… I'm sorry." Hermione and Neville seemed pleased with Harry's apology, while Ron just stared at him. _Something is definitely wrong with them, and it's obviously got something to do with me._

"I see…" Ron said, his eyes digging into Harry's. _What are you hiding from me, Harry Potter?_ "I'll think about it."

"That's fair," Harry said, and then the Trio left together. Ron watched them leave, his eyes fixed on Harry's back. Something was definitely wrong, and because of that, Ron felt a small amount of anxiety course through him.

"I'm glad that you two are starting to heal your friendship," came Luna's voice, and Ron turned to see her smiling at him. Her friends were with her, including Ginny.

"Yeah… Healing our friendship," Ron muttered to himself, his eyes lingering on Ginny. _Why does she have that unhappy look on her face? Whatever._

"We'd best be off," Luna hummed. "We're going to show Ginny our favorite part of the castle."

"You do that, Luna," Ron said, he was glad to see her finally bringing Ginny into the fold. Luna and her friends left at that, while Ginny lingered back for a moment.

"Why didn't you accept his apology?" Ginny asked him, and Ron rolled his eyes. "And why did you have to call him a prick?"

"He didn't seem to mind," Ron said coldly. "Why do you?"

"Who says that I do?" Ginny took on a defiant stance.

"Well, you've been ignoring me for a while now, but as soon as the Boy-Who-Lived speaks to me, you show up," Ron pointed out. "Do me a favor, and go away. I don't have it in me to deal with your shite right now." Ginny glowered at him, while Ron left to go find his friends. It didn't take him long to find them, they were all cleaning up after the study group.

"You guys don't have to do that," Ron told them. "I'll take care of it, alright?"

"We don't mind," Pansy smirked at him. "You have other problems right now."

"I do?" Ron blinked, and that's when he spotted Daphne just staring at him. _Fuck me dead…_

"Let's go, Ron," Daphne said as she walked past him.

"Have fun fighting," Tracey laughed.

"Shut up," Ron frowned at her, but that only served to make the others snigger.

"I'll take your books back for you," Blaise smirked, and Ron didn't even bother to respond. He instead followed after his agitated girlfriend, who was no doubt going lecture him about his shortcomings.

"Daph, I don't know why you're being so pushy about this," Ron said as they exited the Library.

"Pushy?" Daphne huffed.

"Aggressive," Ron replied. "Unpleasant. Forceful. Hostile."

"I get it," Daphne frowned deeply. "Let's just wait until we get to an unoccupied classroom." _Or, I can just fuck off. No… That'll only make this worse._ Ron followed after her quietly, and soon enough they found an abandoned classroom to fight in. Once Ron closed the door, Daphne drew in a sharp breath.

"Before we start," Ron said. "Let's not resort to yelling this time."

"Alright, no yelling," Daphne said. "Have you thought about what I said?"

"I have, and I've decided that I don't care about what you have to say," Ron replied, and Daphne looked quite shocked. "You said that 'you've been there for all of it', right? That you've seen just how much they've hurt me? Well, you're dead wrong. You've only seen a couple of letters, a few spats, and some hurtful words being exchanged. But that's nothing…"

"You weren't there on the day that I was born," Ron went on. "My mother wept with disappointment because I wasn't what she wanted. So do you want to know what she did? She got herself pregnant just months after I was delivered, and when Ginny was born, she stopped having children. Of all my siblings, I've always been the least wanted. That's not me whining, that's **fact**. I spent years skulking around the house, doing outrageous things to get their attention, but never quite enough to be seen."

"I constantly felt unwanted, unloved, and never quite good enough to deserve either," Ron continued. "I fucking hated myself for it, and eventually, I got used to it. That's what they did to me. Now you can make all the excuses that you want for them, but at the end of the day, they could have **done better**. I was always put last, but when Pandora began to put me first, my 'saintly' mother began throwing jealous fits. At the time, I loved that they were fighting over me. But now… I'd fucking slap her for being so twofaced." Ron then walked over to Daphne, his figure looming over hers.

"I have my own problems, my own 'demons', to deal with," Ron told her. "I am constantly scared for my health, my stress makes me want to give up on life sometimes, and my dreams haunt me. I'm… I'm done with their badgering. I really am. It hurts me to be near them because I just know that sooner or later, they're going to start acting like they own me. Quite frankly, I'm through with that shite. I am done being the person who gives in. I don't have time to coddle them through their angst. I have work to do."

"They're your parents," Daphne finally spoke up.

"I will act like their son when they finally realize that I'm my own person," Ron said, making sure to keep his voice calm and steady. "I'm not theirs to shape and form as they see fit. I know what I want, and I'll keep fighting to secure it. And if anyone tries to hinder me, I'll put them in their place." _The Future is all that matters._

"I just don't like how your own Family sees you," Daphne told him. "And recently, you're the one who's pushing them away. Even last year, I would have told you whatever you wanted to hear… But I've learned not to. If I just keep saying whatever you want to hear, then you'll keep growing apart. I don't want you to lose your parents, Ron. You've nearly lost Ginevra…"

"And what did I do to lose Ginny?" Ron asked. "What was my crime?"

"Malfoy…" Daphne replied.

"I helped a kid who was being beaten and humiliated every day," Ron clarified. "Sure, he is a prick most days, but he didn't deserve to be beaten by an adult. My sister is so caught up in her own trauma that she can't see that. She hates all Slytherins, and by extension, a part of me as well. I tried explaining, I tried to calm her down, and I even kept quiet when she labeled me a 'fucking traitor'… Tell me, what would you do if Tori called you that?"

"I… I don't know," Daphne sighed.

"You don't know because your Family doesn't expect you to be their bitch," Ron told her, and she gave him a slightly confused look.

"What?" Daphne muttered under her breath.

"Ginny wants her 'big brother' back, but what she really wants is for me to give in to her every whim like I used to," Ron started. "Mum and dad want me to be their 'little Ronnie' again, but what they really want is a son who will just shut up and obey. Actually, it's why mum always yells at the twins. They do as they please, and she can't bear that. She wants her children to be exactly how she pictured them when she first got married, and when they're not, she becomes upset and forceful. It's why Percy is her favorite, not counting Ginny."

"Why not tell them this at the Family sessions?" Daphne asked him.

"Because right now, I just don't want to deal with **their problems** ," Ron replied. "I mean, look at us… We were both genuinely happy with our lives, and then they show up. They spill their shite all over the place, and now everything stinks. These 'Family sessions' are just another way for them to reinforce their control over me, but I won't fucking have it. You don't know how… **disheartening** … it is to be doubted by your Family."

"Then tell me," Daphne said gently.

"It's like there's this… stigma… attached to you," Ron said, he couldn't quite explain it. "No matter what I do, I'm the bad guy. If I focus on my career and business, then I'm just 'hurting' myself. If I excel in my studies and House, I'm a fucking traitor. If I don't behave like I used to, then I'm clearly under too much stress and need 'help'. And if I do act like I used to, then I need to grow up. It's just never ending, and I'm sick of it. So… I'm going to just be me, and if my Family can't love that, then it's their problem. I'll settle for the respect of strangers rather than bend to a Family that doesn't appreciate my efforts."

"You don't feel appreciated?" Daphne asked.

"Not by my Family," Ron admitted. "But my friends appreciate me, which is why I'd do anything for you guys. It's why I refused to leave Slytherin, I think. Do you remember the advertisement firm issue?"

"Of course," Daphne replied, most of her fire had burned out before any fighting had even started.

"If I had gone to my parents with my problems, I'd have been met with patronizing shite like 'Well, you are just a kid, Ronnie'," Ron said. "And yet, when I told you about it, you helped me. All of you helped me. There was no judgement, no second-guessing, no doubts, nothing… You all **actually** helped me."

"My Brain-Damage and Chronic Stress aren't my weakness, my true weakness is that I'm seen as a broken thing when I'm not," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "That's why I haven't told my siblings anything… I already know that, just like my parents, they'll start mollycoddling me. They'll start treating me like something to be fixed. I don't want that. I don't **need** that. What I truly need is for people to just leave me to my work."

"Fine…" Daphne sighed out. "If that's what you want, then I can't force you." Daphne made to leave at that.

"Are you still angry with me?" Ron asked before she left the room.

"No, Ron," Daphne said without turning around. "I tried to make you see reason, but now I see that I'm not equipped to deal with such deep-seated issues. I'm your girlfriend, not your keeper."

"You still want me to go get Family Counseling," Ron determined.

"I do," Daphne admitted. "I want you and your parents to be a Family, even if it's an imperfect one."

"Why?"

"Because if I lost my Family, I'd regret it forever," Daphne replied. "Let's go, Ron… Dinner will be on soon." _I guess the cold shoulder is better than outright anger. Bloody hell, what a mess._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Friday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Moscow (Minister's Backyard) – Dinnertime)**_

"Fly?" the little boy laughed, and the Dark Lord levitated him up in the air. The boy squealed and laughed excitedly, and after floating him around for a few seconds, the Dark Lord brought him back down. "No! Fly! Pl… Um… Peze?"

"Please?" the Dark Lord whispered from behind his hood, and the boy nodded wildly. _Very well._ The Dark Lord levitated the boy again, and this time, he allowed the boy to mimic a bird. The boy was no older than five, but the Dark Lord still couldn't excuse his simplemindedness. After all, what sane creature would actively try to befriend a cloaked figure who flew into their backyard? _This stupid child apparently._

"Alexei! Время ужина!" came a woman's voice, and the Dark Lord's lips curled up.

"Мама, иди сюда!" the boy laughed loudly, and the Dark Lord brought him within touching distance. "Я сделал нового друга!"

"Новый друг?!" came the woman's voice, and then she walked out into the backyard. The sight of a cloaked man jarred her, and before she could reach for her wand, the Dark Lord rested his right hand on the floating boy's back.

"Мама?" the boy blinked at her, and she quickly put on a smile for her son's sake. _She is still quick on her feet, I see._

"Кто ты?" the woman asked with a calm voice, but Lord Voldemort could sense her motherly fear.

"You know who I am," the Dark Lord hissed, and the raven-haired witch froze in her spot. "I'm your son's new friend, Samara."

"Friend!" the boy laughed, his arms and legs flailing excitedly.

"It's time for his supper," Samara said, her voice cracking a little. _Are those tears in her eyes? Already? She has changed…_ The Dark Lord was filled with disappointment, and he knew that this brat was to blame for Samara weakening in her resolve.

"Of course," the Dark Lord said, and then he brought the child down. "Иди поужинай, Alexie."

"Bye, friend!" the boy hugged his right leg, and the Dark Lord ran his long boney fingers through the boy's black hair. Alexie then ran over to his mother, all the while shouting out praises about his new friend. _The boy is clearly lonely. It's hard to believe that Samara became an overbearing mother._ Samara ushered her son inside the house, and then she closed the door rather quickly.

"If you reach for your wand, Samara, I'll skin him alive," the Dark Lord hissed, and Samara stopped moving.

"I heard that you had died…" Samara slowly turned to face him, her dark eyes showing her fear.

"Your Master is beyond death," Lord Voldemort responded, and then he glided towards her. "You have changed… You've become weak." Samara flinched a little, and the Dark Lord felt the urge to Crucio her.

"I have not forgotten your teachings, Master," Samara bowed her head.

"No… You merely use them to further yourself within the Russian Ministry," Lord Voldemort spat out in disgust. "The youngest Minister in Russian History… Bah. I gave you **real** power, and you have squandered it. Tell me, who sired your bastard boy?"

"An Australian Delegate," she replied, making sure to keep her voice steady. If she showed her Old Master any weakness, he'd hurt her son. "He was Pure, like me, and I enjoyed his company."

"Not enough to marry him, obliviously," the Dark Lord taunted. "Or perhaps, he didn't plan to enjoy your company for more than a night." The Dark Lord then circled her, his sneering face hidden by his large hood. "Why didn't you look for me after my fall?"

"Lucius Malfoy told me that you had died," Samara replied. "He wanted me to keep your Russian Forces on hold while he subdued the Loyalists, but then, he surrendered himself. The war was lost, and you were presumed dead."

"You broke your oath to me," the Dark Lord whispered dangerously. "You abandoned me."

"Never, Master," Samara said firmly, though the Dark Lord could see that she was starting to tremble.

"Bring your son to me," the Dark Lord ordered, and her head shot up.

"Please… He's just a boy… Please, don't hurt him," Samara pleaded, and the Dark Lord struck her across the face.

" **Weak** ," Lord Voldemort frowned in disgust, while Samara was left dazed. "He has made you weak."

"Please," she repeated, her voice almost a sob.

"Very well… Lord Voldemort is not without mercy," the Dark Lord said, and he saw a flash of hope in her eyes. "He will make a fine soldier one day."

"Soldier?" Samara blinked, and the Dark Lord smiled at seeing her hope dashed to pieces.

"War is coming, Samara," Lord Voldemort said. "The Russian Ministry will aid me. **You** will aid me. Together, we will create a Pure World. A better World."

"I…"

"Don't show any more weakness," Lord Voldemort warned. "You are smart enough to know that you cannot hide from me. No amount of Wards, Aurors, or Ministry Officials can hold me at bay. Serve me, and one day, your son will rule Russia in my name. In the name of Lord Voldemort."

* * *

 _ **Gaspard's POV**_

 _ **Friday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Fanged Grotto – Near Midnight)**_

Gaspard reread the article on Sirius Black, and he found himself rather amused. This Rita Skeeter woman was clearly a shrew, but her writing was certainly enjoyable. _Enjoyable, and informative. So Black and his gang joined the Order during the last war, and now, he is Harry Potter's legal guardian. Interesting._

Gaspard's eyes darted towards his son and daughter, both of whom were arguing over which Order member to attack first. Michael wanted to attack Sirius Black himself, while Natalia wished to attack Elphias Doge. It was a shame that Lucius Malfoy knew so little about the Order, the man had only given Gaspard three names of already known Order members. _Sirius Black, Elphias Doge, and Remus Lupin. We need more information, but even I don't know where to start looking for it._

"Sirius Black is literally acting as Harry Potter's father," Michael hissed, his orange cat-like eyes gleaming with malice. "If we're going to war against the Order, then we should hit them where it hurts."

"How is that strategic?" Natalia frowned, her orange cat-like eyes filled with annoyance. "You kill Sirius Black, and the Order will immediately hide Harry Potter. If we're to win this war, we need to be subtle."

"Subtle…" Michael rolled his eyes. "War is hardly subtle. I say that we hit them as hard as we can, and while they're grieving, we hit them again! Father, surely you agree with me?"

"Elphias Doge is an old man, father," Natalia looked to her father, who was just staring at them with an amused smile. "Not to mention that he has proclaimed himself to be Dumbledore's oldest friend, and even goes as far as to talk about his involvement with the Order. We can make his death look like an accident, and then, when the Order gathers to put him to rest, we can see who is who. We need to know more about our enemy, father." _I agree._

"We do need to know more about our enemy," Gaspard leaned back in his chair.

"Of course you take her side," Michael grit out, and Natalia let out a tired breath. _And here comes his tantrum._

"Brother… Please…" Natalia said calmingly, her annoyance forgotten.

"Fine, go after the old man," Michael shot out of his seat, and then he stormed out of the room.

"Michael…" Natalia called out, but her brother was already in one of his moods again.

"Leave him," Gaspard said, and Natalia shot her father a sorry look. "Don't give me that look, Nat."

"He's just confused… As am I," Natalia told him. "Father, why are we involving ourselves in this war? During the last two Wizarding Wars, we kept our distance. Why pick a side now? And why pick the side of the Dark Lord? Neither of us understand your actions. And why did you leave the little ones with Hecate? You know that she fills their heads with nonsense." _I need to tell them._

"Come here," Gaspard smiled warmly, and his daughter walked over to his side. Gaspard took her hands, and he gave them a light squeeze. "Daughter… My time has come." Natalia blinked at him, and then, her demeanor weakened.

"What?" Natalia whispered. "Father, you still have fifty years left in you. Your time isn't-"

"I have grown tired, my love," Gaspard said gently, but his daughter still flinched because of his words. "I wish to die as my mother did… A sword in my hand, and my skin slick with the blood of my enemies. I want an end that is worthy of my life, and this war is the perfect opportunity for that."

"You're here to die?" Natalia muttered under her breath, her eyes welling up with drops of blood.

"No tears, Nat," Gaspard smiled lovingly, and then he stood up and put his hands on her cheeks. "Everyone dies, my love… Even us 'immortals'. Don't weep for me, I beg you."

"Michael will be heartbroken…" Natalia told him. _I know._ Natalia had walked this Earth with Gaspard for well over a century, but Michael was only fifty one years old. He was a young Vampire, and just like Gaspard in his youth, Michael was prone to giving into his bloodlust.

"You will be there for him," Gaspard said. "Once I am gone, I want you to take him far from this country. Teach him as I taught you."

"He wants to learn from you," Natalia's voice cracked. "All he wants is for you to treat him as you treat me. Don't leave us, father… Please…" Gaspard felt his heart ache for a moment, but he didn't show her any signs of his pain.

"I have made up my mind," Gaspard stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I will turn England into my Funeral Pyre, and once the Dark Lord falls, I will die too. The World will move on, as it always does, while you and the others will live on." Gaspard then let go of her. "Go to your brother, and calm him down before he kills someone. We will speak more tomorrow."

Natalia gave him a weak nod, and he sensed that she wished to embrace him, but in the end, she chose not to. Instead, she left to go find her brother before he gave into his temper. Gaspard looked back at the Daily Prophet, his eyes fixed on a photo of Sirius Black. _Not yet, but soon. First, I need to know who I'm hunting down._

And that's when a thought occurred to him. Didn't Albus Dumbledore have a brother?

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Greengrass Manor - Lunchtime)**_

Slytherin was still dominating the other Houses in House Points, especially now that the second years were making an effort. If they kept this up, then the House Cup would be theirs without a doubt. Was Ron worried about the Quidditch Team? Of course he was. Harry was unbeatable on a broom, and now that he had a Firebolt, Gryffindor was going to win the Quidditch Cup rather easily. But doing so would only earn Gryffindor around three hundred and fifty points, which was nothing compared to the points available for the Dueling Club. Ron couldn't help but wonder if Dumbledore had done this on purpose. Maybe the old man wanted people to focus on the Dueling Club if they wanted to win the House Cup, which in turn would prepare them for the Future.

The second years had dominated their year-based Tournament, as had Ron and his friends. The fourth years had been average, but with a little work, they too stood a chance at winning. The fifth years were sadly doomed to fail tomorrow, as they had to face people like the twins and Cedric Diggory, all of whom were A Rank Duelists. The sixth years were an unknown variable to Ron, while he felt quite confident in the seventh years. All in all, Ron was certain that if he kept at it, he could help secure the House Cup for Slytherin.

"Ron, are you not hungry?" Mary asked, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, I spaced out," Ron said, and then he gave her a smile. "The food is really good, Mary."

"What has you so distracted, Ron?" Lord Greengrass asked from the Head of the table. "I've noticed today that you are… disorganized." _You already know why I'm 'disorganized'. I know that you two have spoken to my parents._

"Is everything alright at school?" Mary asked, she was hoping to see him open up a little. "How are things with Daphne?" _Why would you ask that?_ Ron noticed that Lord Greengrass had lost all interest in the conversation at the mere mention of his daughter dating Ron.

"Things are… rocky," Ron admitted, and Lord Greengrass suddenly grew interested.

"Rocky?" Mary asked.

"We had a spat, and things haven't been the same since," Ron replied. _First she was angry, and now she's just upset with me._ "But we'll work it out."

"Here's some advice, Ron," Lord Greengrass said, surprising even his wife. "Fighting is a part of every relationship, but the ones that last don't focus on the fighting, they focus on working through the rough patches. Give my daughter some time, and then sit down with her. Be honest, and speak true. Things will work out." Ron gaped at his Mentor, while his wife just stared at him. "What? I might not like that Daphne is in such a rush to grow up, but I am still her father." _Rush to grow up? Is that why he's so upset by this?_

"My husband is right," Mary smiled at him. "As long as you both respect each other's differences, things will work out." _Right._ "After all, nothing can be achieved by fighting with your loved ones." _Wow._ Ron felt a ball of anxiety in his stomach, which only served to irritate him. _Pestered at every turn… This is getting ridiculous._

"That was subtle," Ron sighed out, deciding to focus on his meal.

"Ron, we truly don't want to get involved in your personal affairs," Lord Greengrass started. "But your mother and father are growing worried. And try as we might, we can't help but agree with them."

"I am here for work, not for counseling," Ron said, his tone changing completely. "You're my Mentor in **Chess** , so let's stick with that." Lord Greengrass stared at Ron, who matched his Mentor's gaze.

"If that is what you want," Lord Greengrass said, while Mary deflated a bit.

"Are there any Tournaments coming up?" Ron asked. "I think that it's past time that I started competing again." _And I could really use the money._

"I agree," Lord Greengrass said, his eyes focused on his meal. "I will find something for you." _Good. After I give five hundred Galleons to the St. Mungo's project, I'll have less than three hundred Galleons left in my personal vault. I really need to start making a bigger income._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Quidditch Pitch – Afternoon)**_

Harry held up the Golden Snitch as the Gryffindors cheered maniacally, he had caught it in seven minutes. His teammates flew to his side, all of them cheering and patting his back. Harry, however, had his eyes focus on the stand where Remus and Sirius sat. Seeing Sirius cheer wildly as he shook the life out of Remus brought the widest smile to Harry's face, he had completely forgotten about his guilt for the moment.

"That's one win down!" Oliver cheered, and then he shot the sulking Slytherin Team a smug look. "They stood no chance against us! We keep this up, and the Quidditch Cup is as good as ours!"

"We should throw a party tonight!" Angelina suggested, her hair disheveled and her face wind beaten.

"That's a given, beautiful!" Fred laughed.

"Let's go to the change rooms!" George said, and they all began to descend.

Harry quickly waved at Sirius, and then he pointed towards the change rooms. Sirius nodded fervently, and then he began exiting the stands. Harry flew down towards Madam Hooch, and once he had handed over the Snitch, he flew towards the change rooms. The Gryffindors cheered his name, and Harry waved at Hermione and Neville. They both waved back with wide grins, the excitement of seeing Harry secure Gryffindor's victory seemed to have freed them of their own guilt.

As Harry descended in front of the change rooms, he spotted Marcus Flint yelling at his teammates. The sight brought a smirk to Harry's face. _Keep fighting, and we'll keep beating you lot._ Harry hopped off of his broom, and he waited for Sirius to come down. After waiting for a couple of minutes, he saw both Remus and Sirius walking to him with wide smiles.

"Kid! You were brilliant!" Sirius ran over, his arms pulling Harry into a hug. "Seven fucking minutes! That's got to be a record!"

"I actually caught the Snitch in five minutes once," Harry spoke into Sirius' chest, and then he wrapped his arms around the man. It felt so fulfilling to hug him, and when Sirius gave him a squeeze, Harry felt safe and loved. _I bet hugging dad would have felt the same._

"Harry, you were wonderful out there," Remus smiled, his hands ruffling Harry's hair. "Though that dive nearly stopped my heart."

"He takes risks on a broom, just like his dad," Sirius laughed. "It's why he beat that Slytherin kid, Remus! Harry's got spirit!"

"Thanks," Harry said, his already good mood increasing. Sirius suddenly let go of Harry, and then he reached into his robes.

"Here, Harry, I got you this," Sirius said, and then he handed Harry a Black Snitch.

"What's this?" Harry smiled widely.

"Just something to help you practice with," Sirius told him. "The shopkeeper told me that all the Professionals use these. It helps them improve their eyesight, and apparently, this thing is deadly fast."

"Thanks, Sirius!" Harry beamed, and then he pocketed his gift. "And thanks for coming, it really means a lot to me."

"Where else would he be?" Remus chuckled. "I've got to return to the castle with the other Professors. I'll see you at dinner, Harry. Oh, and well done again."

"Thanks, Remus," Harry said, and Remus left towards the exit.

"How's school going, kid?" Sirius asked. "Is Remus a dreadful teacher?"

"Not at all," Harry said quickly. "He's actually become everyone's favorite, despite that article wounding his confidence a little." _Wait… I shouldn't bring that up._

"Yeah…" Sirius said, and then he shook his head clear. "Remus is the toughest man I know, and an article from a bitter old hag isn't enough to bring him down. By the way, he told me that he's tutoring you. How's that going?"

"Oh, I've only had two lessons with him," Harry replied. "He's just teaching me some useful Spells, and 'the benefits of dodging'. Truth be told, we spend too much time talking about the theory behind Spells. It's dreadfully boring… I prefer a more hands on approach, you know."

"I get that," Sirius nodded. "Tell you what, Harry. I'll subtly give Remus some hints, and before you know it, you'll be casting Spells rather than discussing them."

"Really?" Harry asked, and Sirius shot him a wink. "Thanks, Sirius! I reckon I'll learn more if I actually use Magic." _I should ask him about his daily life._ "How are things with you? Is Kreacher still being weird?"

"Merlin, that fucking Elf…" Sirius sighed. "He scared my date half to death when he showed up in my bedroom at the crack of dawn…" _Huh?_ Harry felt a little uncomfortable with Sirius' openness, but he dared not stop him. He just knew that he didn't want Sirius to stop talking. "And just this morning, I caught him polishing my shoes without me even asking. Something's not right with him, and I've had it. He needs to go."

"He's a bit too old to be let go, isn't he?" Harry asked. "I mean, where will he go?"

"I don't rightly care, to be honest," Sirius shrugged. "You've spoken to him, haven't you? He's a cruel little bugger, and now he's just being shady. I'll get another Elf, I reckon. One that isn't as old as sin. But enough about that, why don't we go for a walk? I want to hear all about those girls who were cheering for you."

"What girls?" Harry asked as Sirius put his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Pretty much all of them except for the Slytherins," Sirius laughed. "Honestly, Harry… Where is your head sometimes?"

"I was focusing on the match," Harry said as they began to walk towards the Pitch.

"Yes, I'm sure that you had your eyes peeled for balls," Sirius smirked, and Harry's lips twitched upwards. "But now that you've won, it's time to celebrate, isn't it? Tell me, are there any girls that strike your fancy?"

"No…" Harry lied. He wasn't blind, he knew that there were pretty girls in his House. _I just don't know how to talk to them, nor do I really want to learn._

"Boys?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not gay, Sirius!" Harry said a little too loudly, which made Sirius bark out a laugh.

"You're young, Harry," Sirius said. "Learn to live a little. C'mon, tell me about the girls in your year. I'm positive that a lot of them would love to get to know you."

"You want me to take advantage of my fame?" Harry asked.

"You're damn right I do!" Sirius laughed. "Now, speak up." _I guess it won't hurt to talk about it. I mean, my year-mates are already trying their hands at dating._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

Ron stepped into the Great Hall, and he immediately heard the Gryffindors being far too loud. He knew what that meant, Slytherin had gotten its arse handed to it on the Quidditch Pitch. _Yeah, Terence Higgs never stood a chance against Harry._ Ron began making his way towards his friends, his eyes scanning the sulky looks on the Slytherins' faces. _It's just Quidditch, they need to get over it. Our focus should be on the Dueling Club anyway._

"Welcome back, mate," Theo greeted him, and Ron noticed that Daphne was sitting with the girls. _Great…_

"Hello," Ron greeted them as he sat down between Theo and Malfoy. "I see that we lost today."

"Lost?" Malfoy sneered at the Gryffindors. "Potter stole the Snitch in seven minutes. The Slytherin Team was laughed off of the Pitch." _Ouch._ Ron shot a look towards Harry, and surprisingly, he saw Harry talking to Fay Dunbar of all people. They both seemed to be enjoying their conversation, and Ron spotted his own sister focusing on nothing but her food. _Yeah, she's not happy about Harry's new friend._ Ron suddenly spotted Hermione waving at him, and he waved back.

"Stop encouraging her," Daphne said without even looking back.

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"Stop waving at her," Daphne said coldly, and the others felt a little uncomfortable because of her tone.

"I'm not encouraging her, I'm being polite," Ron countered.

"She doesn't see it that way," Daphne met his gaze. "You're just making it harder for her to move on."

"I agree with Daphne," Pansy piped in. "She obviously fancies you, and she won't stop until you let her move on."

"I guess everything really is my fault then," Ron said, and then he began making his plate. "Can't even fucking wave at someone without causing problems…"

The others exchanged looks, but no one said anything else. They all ate in silence for a few minutes, and then, Millie decided to break the silence.

"My father sent me that Spell today," Millie told Ron. "It's called the Shockwave Charm, and I reckon it could be really handy in a Duel." _Shockwave Charm?_

"What's the incantation?" Blaise asked.

"Fluctus Inpulsa," Millie replied. "The wand movement is a little weird though, I'll show you guys after dinner. Basically, you have to twirl your wand before sticking it into the Earth. There's pictures, so that should help us."

"You're willing to teach all of us?" Theo asked. "Didn't your father send that Spell just for you?"

"He did, but we can all benefit from it," Millie shrugged, and Ron smiled a little to himself.

"What Theo meant to say was 'Thank you, Millie'," Tracey said, her elbow nudging Millie lightly.

"You're welcome, Theo," Millie said to the weedy boy, who just snorted to himself. "Ron? Do you want to try it out tonight? Or are you too tired from work?"

"I'll try it with you," Ron replied. "Thanks, Millie." _Maybe while we do that, I could try perfecting Avis again. I_ _ **still**_ _can't summon an uninjured bird yet. I need to focus on my Conjuring and Non-verbal skills. As for Wandless Magic, I think I can take a small break from it for the time being._

"Ron, are you listening?" Tracey called, and Ron shook his head clear. "Theo's trying to tell you something."

"Sorry, I missed what you were saying," Ron said.

"While you're at Greengrass Manor tomorrow, I wanted to hold a session for the first and second years," Theo told him, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Like another training session?" Ron asked.

"Not quite," Theo replied slowly. "The first years have been working pretty hard, and we all figured that they deserved a break. I wanted to hold a training session, but Pansy suggested that we take the first and second years out on a picnic. Sort of like a treat for their hard work, you know."

"It'll be good for them, I think," Pansy spoke up. "A reward will show them that their hard work is being noticed, and that they are valued."

"And who will do their homework?" Ron asked them. "And what hard work have they done? They study and answer questions in class, that's it." _'Hard work'… Apparently, studying in a school is considered hard work now._

"Ron… They've been busting their arses for you," Tracey said, she was quite taken aback by his response.

"For me?" Ron asked. "It's the other way around."

"You're being a prick," Malfoy said bluntly, and Ron just stared at him. Malfoy shrunk back a little, while Ron drew in a deep breath. _Ugh… Whatever._

"Fine, take them on a picnic," Ron said dismissively, his eyes focused on his food.

"What's crawled up your arse?" Blaise asked, and Ron decided to ignore him. _Fuck it, I'll ignore all of them. I need to come up with a plan regarding Madam Bones anyway. If Madame Maxime does manage to convince the French Families to pitch in for St. Mungo's, then I need to convince Madam Bones to let them. And as I do that, I need to make sure that Madame Maxime and my efforts are made public. I only have two weeks before the Gala, so time is of the essence._

Ron missed his friends just staring at him as gave his food a vacant look, something wasn't right with their red-haired friend.

* * *

 _ **Gaspard's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Falmouth – Night)**_

Gaspard walked through the snowy settlement, his shades and walking cane giving him the persona of a blind young man. Falmouth was a pretty little town, and currently the hometown of Elphias Doge. The old wizard had picked a town full of Muggles for his home, and that would be his undoing.

As Gaspard turned the corner, he spotted an old man walking towards him. _That must be him. Natalia's information was spot on as usual._ Gaspard made sure that the street was empty as he kept walking towards the old man, who was wearing an eccentric hat and carrying a bag of groceries. _I smell apples, meat, and milk. He even shops at a Muggle store? How open-minded of him. Though he still dresses as a wizard._ Gaspard walked into the old man, who wheezed as he dropped his bag of groceries.

"Watch where you're going," Doge snapped, this young man had clearly walked into him on purpose.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Gaspard looked around, pretending to be blind. "I… Did you drop something? I'll grab it for you. I'm really sorry." Elphias stared at the blonde man as he knelt down to pick up Elphias' shopping, and once Elphias saw that the young man was fumbling about, he realized why they had collided.

"You're blind," Elphias sighed. "I'm sorry for my sour outburst, young man. Here, let me help you." Elphias knelt down beside the young man, his hands putting apples inside the bag. As Elphias reached for the last apple, he felt a hot white burning sensation fill his chest.

"Shhh," Gaspard shushed, his blade had sunk in deep. "Don't move, Elphias Doge. Your body will go into shock very soon, and once it does, there will be no more pain. Don't struggle." The old man slowly looked down to the side of his chest, and his eyes widened when he saw the blade.

"Who… Why…" Elphias tried to speak, but a spurt of blood leaked out of his mouth. _That's one down._

"Your comrades will join you soon," Gaspard promised, and then he twisted and pushed the blade further. Elphias Doge let out a weak cry before his face fell in the snow, he had lost control over his own body. "Forgive me for this, but I need to make it look like a Muggle mugging." Gaspard then turned out the old man's pockets, and once he had found a pouch filled with Muggle and Wizarding money, he yanked the blade out.

Dark red blood pooled around the old man's dying form, its enticing visage on the bright white snow made Gaspard reveal his fangs. _No. Stop. This has to look like a Muggle attack._ Gaspard pocketed the pouch, picked up his cane, and began to walk away. He could hear the old man wheezing for air as his life poured out of him, and before Gaspard turned the corner, the wheezing had stopped. Elphias Doge, Dumbledore's oldest friend, was dead.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! R.I.P Elphias Doge... Press F to pay respect. I wonder how the Order will take this turn of events. I imagine a lot of anger, and even sorrow, will grip them.**

 **As for Ron... Well, he's about to be proven right. The Enemy has no intention of second guessing themselves, and it's past time that the Order do the same.**

 **See you all on Sunday/Monday!**


	89. Chapter 89 - Truth Will Out

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 89 is finished!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 89 – Truth Will Out**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Morning)**_

"This is the Auror Trainer P-12," Madam Roberts said as she revealed a manlike dummy. Ron looked it up and down, and he had to admit that this dummy looked a lot more threatening than the normal ones that he was used to.

"Auror Trainer P-12?" Ron asked.

"Prototype-12, to be exact," Madam Robert clarified. "We get these from Australia, and they are the top of the line. This thing can run, adapt, and even outsmart most Auror Rookies. It is deadly fast, barely misses, and it's adept at Counter Curses. Defeating this epic piece of craftsmanship is a compulsory test for every Auror."

"It's animated by Magic?" Ron asked, he was quite awed by this wooden man. "Also, how did you get permission to bring it here?"

"I'm in charge of the Rookies," Madam Roberts smirked. "And no one would dare question me, especially in the Auror Offices."

"Wicked," Ron smiled a little, and then he eyed the dummy again. "Can I Duel it?"

"That's the plan for today," Madam Roberts told him, and Ron immediately felt excited.

"Wait… What if I break it?" Ron asked.

"Confident, I like it," Madam Roberts gave a curt nod. "Don't worry about damaging it. This thing repairs itself automatically."

"It comes with a Repairing Charm as well?" Ron whistled. "How much does it cost?" _I might invest in one._

"Around a hundred Galleons each," Madam Roberts replied. _Yeah, fuck that. I'll stick with the poor man's dummies._ "Now go get warmed up, while I set this thing up."

Ron gave her a nod, and then he ran off to run a lap. He was already warmed up from his Circuit Training, but he didn't want to disobey Madam Roberts. _Especially when she brought this amazing dummy just for my benefit._ As Ron finished up his lap, he spotted the dummy pacing back and forth.

"What's it doing?" Ron asked as he came to a stop.

"Getting a feel of its legs," Madam Roberts replied. "Take up your stance, Ron. This thing is not to be underestimated."

"Understood," Ron said, his voice almost giddy. Ron got into his stance, and he drew in a deep breath. _Focus on your breathing, and stay calm. Keep your form throughout the Duel, Ron. You can do this._

"Ready?" Madam Roberts asked, and the dummy turned to face Ron.

"I'm ready," Ron nodded, his eyes fixed on the dummy.

"Begin!" Madam Roberts announced, her own wand at the ready.

"Stup-" Ron started, but the dummy fired three stunners back to back with little to no difficulty. Ron duck and weaved the stunners quickly, making sure to keep his knees slightly bent. _Shite, it's fast. Non-verbal Magic!_ Ron went to cast another stunner, but the dummy fired a wave of flames at him. _Can't dodge that! It fucking figured me out!_

"Protego!" Ron chanted, and the flames washed over his shield. Ron quickly shoved his shield forward, knowing full well that the dummy would counter this move. As the dummy sliced the oncoming shield in half, Ron began his assault. "Stupefy. Expelliarmus. Flipendo."

The dummy duck and weaved just like Ron had, much to Ron's bewilderment. _Cheeky cunt copied me._

"Protego!" Ron chanted, he had to come up with a new strategy. _I can't trade Spells with it, it's too fast due to Non-verbal Magic._ Ron's shield blocked three stunners, while Ron aimed his left hand at the dummy's wand. "Accio wand!"

Much to Ron's horror, his Summoning Charm didn't do anything. _What the fuck?!_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he shoved his shield forward again. Once again, the dummy sliced it in half.

"Incendio!" Ron said clearly, and jets of yellow fire poured out of his wand. Ron slashed his wand from side-to-side, and the fire came at the dummy in bursts of wide flames. He had learned this trick from the book that he had bought from Victor, and he knew that the dummy would be forced to block it. Ron's prediction came true, and the dummy put up a large shield to block its entire body.

"Finite Incantatem! Stupefy!" Ron chanted back to back. The dummy was still blocking the flames when Ron's Counter Magic Spell shattered its shield, and the dummy immediately rolled to dodge the flames and stunner. Before it could get up, Ron had already aimed his wand at the dummy. "Confringo!"

An orange light shot out of Ron's wand, and just as Ron was certain of his victory, the dummy stabbed the Blasting Curse with its wand, and in doing so, parried it with Finite. _Fuck! Why didn't I aim behind it?! Stupid!_ The dummy stood up with an onslaught of its own, and Ron quickly began dodging stunners and Disarming Charms. This was bad, and Ron knew it. He had fucked up, and now the dummy was going at him with complete abandon.

"Protego!" Ron chanted again, he couldn't keep dodging because of its inhuman precision. Stunners, Disarming Charms, stingers, and waves of flames slammed into Ron's shield, and he had to grit his teeth in order to keep up his shield. _Fuck it! I can fight with abandon too!_

"Cutis Terra," Ron grit out, and he felt his entire body being incased in stone. Ron shoved the battered shield forward again, and just like before, the dummy went to dismantle it. Ron, on the other hand, had different plans. He burst into a sprint towards the dummy, and due to his enhanced body, he reached the dummy just as the shield did.

"Fuck you, cunt!" Ron bellowed as he slammed his left fist into the dummy's side, and chunks of wood flew everywhere as the dummy was sent rolling through the sand.

"Stop!" Madam Roberts ordered, while Ron grinned at his handiwork. A massive chunk of the dummy's side was all but blown off, and Ron could even see his fist's distorted print on the dummy's body. Madam Roberts ran up and inspected the dummy with a shocked expression, and then she looked to Ron. "What the fuck was that?"

"I had to improvise," Ron panted, his exhaustion catching up to him. Ron bent forward and focused on his breathing, it had been a bloody difficult Duel. "It kept figuring me out, so I decided to surprise even myself."

"Show me your hand," Madam Roberts walked up, and Ron did as he was told. "Not even a scratch…"

"I'm awesome," Ron laughed like a child, but Madam Roberts looked anything but amused.

"Explain," Madam Roberts ordered.

"Cutis Terra," Ron said. "It's a Wandless Spell… Translates to Earth Skin. It enhances the caster's body to superhuman levels, but if the caster keeps it going, it fucks them up pretty badly. I actually ended up in the Hospital Wing the first time I used it."

"Cutis Terra?" Madam Roberts cocked an eyebrow, and then she looked to the shattered dummy. "My word… Where did you learn this Spell?"

"Professor Flitwick gave me a book," Ron stood up to his full height. "Shite, Madam Roberts… That thing is crazy strong." _I kind of feel like I cheated. It was kicking my arse with little to no effort._

"I… I don't know what to say," Madam Roberts just stared at the dummy. "I was certain that it would defeat you."

"Wow… You brought this thing here to kick my arse?" Ron chuckled. "Why are you so mean?"

"Go run another lap," Madam Roberts ordered, she had to come up with something else for this lesson now.

"Okay," Ron nodded, and then he burst into a jog. _Easy does it, Ron. Just breathe._ As Ron ran his lap, he decided to think on his mistakes during the Duel. The dummy had overpowered him with Non-verbal Magic, he had paid the price for an ill-aimed Blasting Curse, his Summoning Charm hadn't worked, and he had lost his form after the dummy had caught him off-guard. _Four mistakes, and I nearly lost to a bloody dummy. I need to rectify them._ As Ron finished up his lap, he came upon Madam Roberts and the dummy.

"Hey, it healed itself," Ron smiled at the dummy, and it looked in Ron's direction. "Sorry about the fisticuffs, but you were a tough bastard."

"It's made of wood, Ron," Madam Roberts gave him a deadpan look.

"Shhh," Ron shushed. "You'll hurt its feelings."

"Are you an idiot?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Definitely," Ron grinned at her, and she seemed to rein in her temper. _I should stop pushing her buttons, especially after ruining her lesson._ "Madam Roberts, can you teach me Non-verbal Magic? Or at least the basics of it? It's just that this dummy nearly beat me because it could cast faster than me."

"Non-verbal Magic," Madam Roberts spoke to herself, and then she gave him a nod. "Work on your form and quick dodges while I lecture you."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ron said, and then he did as he was told.

"Non-verbal Magic isn't as difficult to master as Wandless Magic," Madam Roberts started. "Can you tell me why?"

"I still use my wand as the conduit for my Magic," Ron replied, that was quite obvious.

"Very good," Madam Roberts said. "Non-verbal Magic only requires imagination and a decent knowledge of the Spell being cast. The incantations of Spells are crutches for beginners because their job is to tell your wand what you want. But a skilled wizard communicates with his wand through thought."

"So I still think of the incantation?" Ron asked, his body ducking and weaving.

"At first, yes," Madam Roberts replied. "The incantation provides the spark, as it were. You provide the fuel through your Magical Core, and your wand is the conduit. So at first, we must train you to cast Spells by thinking of the incantation. Which, of course, is still faster than saying the word."

"How long do you reckon this'll take me?" Ron asked.

"Not long, mostly because you can already cast Wandless Magic," Madam Roberts replied. "Tell me, what are the two things that you need to perform Wandless Magic?" _Two?_

"Well, I have to visual what the Spell does, and then I train my body to act as the conduit," Ron replied.

"So you need knowledge and imagination, right?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron figured out her meaning. _Oh, nice._

"I already have knowledge of the Spells, and I've gotten good at visualizing their effects," Ron smiled.

"Let's get to work, Ronald," Madam Roberts ordered.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Midday)**_

"That was a great session, Madam Roberts," Ron said as he exited the suitcase, his hair was still a bit wet from the cold shower. "Though I wish that I at least managed a Non-verbal stunner."

"Time and practice, Ron," Madam Roberts said as she followed after him. "Time and practice. You managed some red sparks, which is a good sign."

"Thanks," Ron smiled. "I'll keep practicing, and by our next session, I'll have the Non-verbal Stunning Charms downs."

"I look forward to seeing that," Madam Roberts said as she packed up her suitcase. "Are you off to school?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded. _I'll just go to the Training Area to practice my Spellwork._ "Actually, can you explain something before you leave?"

"Of course," Madam Roberts replied. "What is on your mind?"

"My Summoning Charm didn't work on the Auror Trainer," Ron replied, and Madam Roberts nodded in understanding.

"The Anti-theft Charm," Madam Roberts told him, and he had no idea what that was. "Custodia."

"Custodia?" Ron repeated, and she gave him a smirk.

"What's to stop a wizard from Summoning a merchant's wares?" Madam Roberts asked.

"An Anti-theft Charm," Ron figured. _Didn't Fred and George have this Charm on their trunks? They totally did. Hmm, I should use it too._

"Every single store in Diagon Alley employs this handy Charm," Madam Robert said. "Casting it is quite simple. Merely aim your wand at the object that you wish to protect, and chant 'Custodia'. There will be a silvery light if it works."

"Thanks, Madam Roberts," Ron said gratefully. "I'll cast it on my wand and items."

"Goodbye, Ron," Madam Roberts walked towards the fireplace.

"Wait… Since I defeated the dummy, am I now an Auror?" Ron grinned.

"You can be an Auror when your balls drop, Ron," Madam Roberts said without turning around, and Ron sniggered to himself. _That was good._

"You have an odd obsession with my manhood!" Ron called, and she flooed away instead of responding. Ron then walked over to the fireplace, and he grabbed a pinch of floo powder. "Severus Snape's Office, Hogwarts." With that, Ron cast the powder into the flames. The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it.

"Ronald," Snape greeted, and Ron looked to see the Potions Master sitting behind his desk.

"Sir? Shouldn't you be at the Dueling Club?" Ron asked.

"Take a seat, I need to tell you something," Snape said, and Ron slowly walked over and sat down. "A member of the Order was murdered last night." Ron's stomach fell, and his mouth sealed shut. "Relax, you didn't know this person." _Thank Merlin…_

"Oh…" Ron breathed out, and then he felt a strong pang of guilt because he felt genuinely grateful. _Shite, what's wrong with me?_ "Who was it?"

"Elphias Doge," Snape replied. "A very old friend of Albus."

"Damn," Ron sunk into his seat. "Is the Headmaster alright?"

"He has left to go see Doge's body," Snape replied. "As for his mental state, I truly cannot comment."

"How did Elphias Doge die?" Ron couldn't help but ask. In the back of his skull, some odd sense of paranoia was already growing. On some random Saturday, an Order member had been murdered. _We never saw it coming._

"He was stabbed with a long blade," Snape replied.

"A blade?" Ron asked.

"His pockets were apparently looted, so the Ministry suspects that he was mugged by a Muggle," Snape explained. "But we know better… This was assassination."

"Fucking hell," Ron closed his eyes. _I didn't even know him, but I still feel bad for him. And the Headmaster… He lost an old friend._

"The Order has gone into lockdown," Snape told Ron. "We were too lax in security protocols, and this is the result."

"Lax in security protocols?" Ron asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that despite discussing the Fidelius Charm, and creating a plan to stick in duos, barely anyone followed the plan," Snape replied, and Ron was genuinely baffled. "From now on, the streets are not safe for us."

"Bloody hell," Ron frowned a little. "Why would the Order not take security seriously? I'm not trying to blame the dead, but what the fuck?"

"Doge was too… morally upstanding," Snape leaned back in his chair. "The concept of a knife in the dark didn't register with him, and he has paid the price for it. The best we can do is to learn from his mistake."

"What do you mean by the Order is in lockdown?" Ron asked. "Where are my parents? What about Pandora and Xeno?"

"All the Order members are currently at Grimmauld Place, including Lupin," Snape replied. "Plans are no doubt being discussed."

"And why aren't you there?" Ron asked.

"I will not step foot in Black's house," Snape's lips curled in disgust. "Albus will inform me of the plans when he returns." _Why does he hate Sirius so much?_

"Wait… How many people know of Elphias Doge's death?" Ron asked.

"The entire country," Snape replied. "His death was reported on the front page of today's Daily Prophet. There is bound to be uproar about this."

"Why?"

"Doge was a Pure-Blood," Snape replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "And not only that, but he also served as a Special Advisor to the Wizengamot. Whoever killed him made it look like a Muggle attack on purpose. They understand that the Pure Families won't take this hit lightly. There are bound to be protests within the Ministry, and maybe even violence."

"Which we don't need because this country is already so unstable," Ron sighed out. "Fuck… Things just keep getting worse."

"This is how war starts, Ron," Snape whispered coldly. "I imagine that there will be more assassination attempts in the Future, and if we're not careful, people will die." Ron felt his gut tighten, and despite being at odds with his parents, his mind drifted to them. _The Burrow wouldn't survive an onslaught… They can't stay there._

"I have to go," Ron stood up, his hands were starting to tremble at the thought of his Family getting hurt.

"Ronald?" Snape cocked an eyebrow, but Ron had already walked over to the door. _What if dad had been stabbed on his way home from work? Or mum on her shopping trips?_ Ron closed the door behind him, and he began to walk towards the common room. His pace increased and increased, and before he knew it, he was all but running. _Fuck… I can't breathe… What if the killer had gone after my Family? We're Blood Traitors, so it would be completely understandable._

"Leg… Legacy," Ron wheezed, and the entrance slid open. Ron did his best to draw in a deep breath, hid his trembling hands in his pockets, and then he made his way into the common room. He immediately spotted his first years sitting around a round table, their textbooks wide open as they worked to finish up their homeworks. _They're not at the picnic?_

Ron felt a shudder pass through him, and he felt the urge scream into his pillow. _It's getting worse…_ Ron quickly made his way towards his room, and despite hearing Astoria call out to him, he didn't stop for even a second. Passing through the common room felt surreal to him. It was as if there were eyes everywhere, and they were following his every move. _Crimson eyes… Toad eyes…_ Ron gagged a little as he entered the boys' dorms, which only served to speed up his pace. Once he finally reached his room, he burst in and slammed the door shut behind him. As he rested his forehead against the door, he heard movement from behind him.

"Ron?" came Blaise's voice, and Ron quickly turned around with a spooked look. His friends were all sitting in a circle, and judging by the cards and the sweets, they were playing Wizard's Poker.

"Mate? You alright?" Theo asked with a worried look, and Ron felt his gut tighten. _Did his father plan the assassination?_

"I'm… I'm… fine…" Ron managed, and then he made a beeline for the bathroom. Tracey and Pansy moved out of his way, while Malfoy watched Ron from his bed.

"Ron, what happened?" Daphne followed after him, but he closed the bathroom door in her face. And then, before he knew it, he was gagging into the toilet. "Ron?! Are you alright?!"

He heard the bathroom door open, and he cursed himself for not locking it. _You're so fucking stupid, Ron! A fucking moron!_

"Please… go away…" Ron managed, and then he all but projectile vomited into the toilet. He felt someone rubbing his back as he vomited some more, and he assumed that it was Daphne.

"Does anyone have a Calming Draught?" Daphne asked, while Ron wished for his friends to leave. _Look at you… How are you going to save anyone? Didn't Elphias Doge deserve your protection as well?_

"Here," came Blaise's voice. "Quick, give it to him."

"He'll just throw it up," Tracey spoke up, and Ron could swear that their voices were becoming monstrous in his ears.

"Let him finish," Millie added.

"Get… Get out…" Ron mumbled, but only the polluted toilet water heard him. "I'm… okay…"

"He's shaking like a leaf," Daphne told the others, her hand still rubbing his back. _Isn't she still angry with me?_

"Here, clean him up with this," came Theo's voice, and Daphne suddenly had a towel in her hands.

"Ron, just pull your head out once you're done," Daphne said gently, and Ron did as he was told. He tried to take the towel with his shaky hands, but Daphne began cleaning his mouth for him. Ron's panic immediately turned to rage, and he ripped his head away from her. "Ron…"

"I'm not… a baby… Give me the towel…" Ron coughed out, and she quickly handed it to him. Ron wiped his face down, and then he fell onto his side and curled up into a ball. "Get out… All of you… Please…" Despite feeling like his skin was on fire, he couldn't stop shivering. He genuinely felt like he was going to have a heartache, which only furthered his panic.

"Right, show's over," Blaise spoke up, and then he began herding everyone but Daphne out. "You too, Pansy. Let's go."

"We'll be right outside, Ron!" Pansy called out before she was escorted out by Blaise, who closed the bathroom door after exiting it.

"Ron, I've got a Calming Draught," Daphne said as she rested her hand on his upper arm. "Please, drink a little of it."

"It could've been them…" Ron curled up even more. _I wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing…_

"Let me help you," Daphne said, deciding to calm him down first. Daphne let out a grunt as she tried to move him, but he didn't even budge. "Ron, please… I'm here for you, so please sit up." Ron slowly moved off of the floor, and then he managed to rest his back against the wall. Daphne removed the cork from the vial, and she placed the vial against his lips. "Just a small sip, alright?"

"Alright," Ron managed, and then he took in as much as he could before Daphne pulled the vial back.

"Do you need more?" Daphne asked, while Ron felt his mind slowly drift into numbness. He shook his head, and then he hung his head as he tried to breathe in as much as he could. _Stop panicking, and come up with a plan. You can always do more, Ron. Think._ The dose, although small, was enough to stop his anxiety from muddling his mind. He had given into weakness for a moment, but now he was back.

"Ron?" Daphne called, and he slowly looked up.

"Yes?" Ron asked, and Daphne tried to give him a comforting smile.

"Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" Daphne said, and Ron gave her a nod. He slowly began to stand up, and Daphne groaned as she helped him to his feet.

"It's alright, Daphne," Ron said as he stretched his back. "You shouldn't try and lift me, it could hurt your back."

"Are you calling my boyfriend fat?" Daphne tried to lighten his mood.

"He could afford to lose a bit of weight," Ron decided to say, he still retained enough of himself to know that she was just trying to help him.

"You wash out your mouth, and I'll get rid of the mess," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a weak nod before he made his way over to the sink. While Ron washed out his mouth, Daphne flushed the toilet.

"Thank you," Ron said, and then he washed his face with cold water. _That's so much better. Now let's make a list of tasks, and complete them all._

"Ron, what happened?" Daphne asked as she walked up behind him, her hand rubbing his back again.

"Stress moment," Ron replied. "It spiraled out of control, and I couldn't stop it."

"What was the trigger?" Daphne asked.

"Believe it or not, it was Elphias Doge's death," Ron replied, and Daphne blinked at him. "Have you read about his death?"

"It was in the morning paper," Daphne nodded slowly. "Theo was quite distressed by it, and he told us all about it." _Distressed? Did Theo know Doge? No… His mother died in a similar way, didn't she? Damn… He's probably remembering some horrible shite right now._ "Did you know Elphias Doge?"

"No," Ron shook his head, and then he turned to face her. "My mind convinced me that it could have been my parents who were murdered."

"What? Ron, why would you even think that?" Daphne asked, her expression a mixture of confusion and concern. _Because they are all Order members._

"Because I'm insane," Ron lied, and Daphne frowned at him. _Damn, I promised her that I wouldn't make jokes about my mental health._

"Don't ever say that again," Daphne said sternly, and then she hugged him tightly. "You scared the life out of me." Ron slowly put his arms around her.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, though he didn't feel guilty due to the Potion. "Thanks for helping me, even if you're still upset with me."

"I'm not upset…" Daphne sighed out, her arms moving to his lower back. "I'm just frustrated with this feud that you have with your parents. And no, I don't completely blame you. I know that I said differently, but I was just angry. They do try to overprotect you a little too much, but you always react so harshly." _What do I do about their safety? I'll have Dumbledore convince them to stay hidden for the most part. Oh, wait… Daphne's still talking._

"…I shouldn't be interfering in your personal life like this, right?" Daphne finished, and Ron was genuinely lost. _Say something sweet, it's better than saying the wrong thing._

"I want us to be like we were after our date," Ron said. "I don't like it when we fight."

"I agree," Daphne said softly. "Just please don't be so angry with them. They just want to be a part of your life." _A part of it, or to control it? It doesn't matter, I need to find a way to keep them safe. I need to do my job._

"Let's go," Ron said. "The others are no doubt waiting by the door."

"Okay," Daphne broke away from him, a weak smile on her face. She took his gloved hand, and then she led him to the door. Ron opened it, and he immediately came face to face with the others.

"Mind moving back a little?" Ron asked, and they all stepped back further into the room. Ron and Daphne exited the bathroom, and Ron quickly surveyed their expressions. Blaise, Theo, and Millie looked calm, Pansy and Tracey looked concerned, and Malfoy looked wary. "Sorry about bursting in like that, but I was having a panic attack."

"Why?" Pansy asked.

"I just had a stressful moment, and I gave into it," Ron shrugged. "They come and go for me, and usually, I'm able to control myself." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Can I have your wands?"

"What?" they collectively asked, while Daphne cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Can I have your wands?" Ron repeated. "I want to put a Protective Charm on them." The others exchanged looks, but no one went to hand over their wands. _They need proof? Fine._ Ron let go of Daphne's hand, and then he walked over to his trunk. He pulled out his Chessboard, which he placed on top of his trunk. _Just aim, and say the incantation. There should be a silvery light._

"Custodia," Ron chanted as he aimed his wand at the Chessboard, and a silvery light engulfed it. _Nice._ Ron took a step back, and then he aimed his left palm at the Chessboard. "Accio Ronald Weasley's Chessboard." Much to Ron's pleasure, it didn't even move a little.

"See," Ron said to the others. "It's the Anti-theft Charm, and it blocks the Summoning Charm completely. If I can cast the Summoning Charm, then so can other people." _Especially Death-Eaters._

"Here's my wand," Blaise stepped up, Ron clearly needed to do this. Plus, it was a handy protection to have.

"Thanks," Ron took Blaise's almost black wand, and the others slowly began handing Ron their wands. In the end, Ron had everyone's wand but Malfoy's. "C'mon, Malfoy. Hand it over."

"I don't like the idea of handing over my wand to you, Weasley," Malfoy said. "Especially when you're on that Potion."

"He's trying to help you, Malfoy," Pansy frowned. "Just hand over your wand."

"It's alright," Ron said, he wasn't going to help someone who didn't want it. "It's up to you, Malfoy." With that, Ron began to cast the Anti-theft Charm on everyone's wands. After he was done, he tested out the Summoning Charm, which failed to do anything.

"So no one can Summon our wands now?" Theo asked, a smirk planted on his face.

"If they undo the Anti-theft Charm they could, but otherwise, no," Ron replied. "Blaise, can you cast it on mine? Just aim your wand and say 'Custodia' clearly."

"Sure," Blaise said, and then he took Ron's wand.

"Why aren't you guys at the picnic?" Ron asked, while Blaise secured his wand.

"Oh, the Dueling Club got cancelled for the day," Millie replied. "We figured that we'd go at lunchtime. Do you want to join us?" _Should I? I'd rather practice some Non-verbal Magic._

"I'm not feeling like myself," Ron replied. "You guys go ahead without me. Tell the first and second years whatever pleases them most."

"Right…" Daphne said, while Ron packed his Chessboard away. _What else can I focus on today?_

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Midday)**_

Elphias was dead, and other than Moody, everyone was rattled. He had been murdered so randomly that it genuinely jarred the rest of the Order. This was so unlike the Dark Lord, who had a flair for the dramatic. This felt like more like murder than assassination, if that made any sense.

Currently, the Order had stuffed itself inside Grimmauld Place's large Kitchen. Moody paced up and down, his Magical Eye constantly scanning the room. Mundungus hid in a dark corner, he clearly didn't want to be here. The Weasley, Lovegood, Greengrass, and Davis Families all sat near the end of the table, while Sirius paced behind them. Remus had decided to sit with the Heads of Houses, who seemed to be bothered by the fact that Snape had elected to not attend. The only Professor who wasn't sitting with them was Hagrid, and that was only because he was trying to calm a jittery Arabella Figg.

"Enough waiting," Moody suddenly snapped. "When Albus gets here, I'll fill him in on the plan."

"Shouldn't he make the plans?" Emmeline asked.

"My brother's plans got Elphias killed," Aberforth said bitterly. "Go on, Alastor."

"Wait… Why are you blaming Dumbledore for Elphias' death?" Dedalus demanded. "They were proper friends, they were. Dumbledore is clearly in mourning, you old goat." Remus closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh, another argument was about to break out.

"Stop this at once!" McGonagall stood up, and even Remus flinched a little because of her harsh tone. "Are you all children that you must bicker like this? One of our numbers was killed last night, so if Alastor has a plan, open your ears and listen!" Silence followed her declaration, and McGonagall sat back down with a stern expression. _Why do I feel like a scolded student?_

"Elphias' death is only Elphias' fault," Moody started, and his comment earned him a few frowns. "He refused to find himself a partner, and he decided not to use the Fidelius Charm. He was not vigilant, and he was murdered for it. So our first order of business should be to strengthen our security."

"What do you propose?" Hestia Jones asked, she was sitting with Nymphadora Tonks.

"Firstly, find a partner and stick with them," Moody started. "Those who are at Hogwarts will keep their eyes on Snape-"

"Severus is a good person," Pomona spoke up, her face adorning a semi-offended look. "Why do you all doubt him constantly?"

"Maybe because he was a Death-Eater?" Sirius countered, and Remus shot his friend a frown. _He always starts a fight._

"Sirius, don't start with that again," Remus all but ordered, and Sirius rolled his eyes. "If Dumbledore trusts him, then so should we. Moody, go on."

"Right," Moody grumbled, and then he looked to the Davis Family. "You can't stay in Muggle London anymore."

"Why?" James Davis asked.

"Because you're too far away from us," Moody replied. "If your involvement in the Order is discovered, then we won't know when to help you. So, I suggest that you pack your bags and move into Greengrass Manor. I'm sure they have space for you."

"We do," Mary spoke up, and then she smiled at James and Susana. "Let's not repeat the last war's mistakes."

"Thank you," Susana smiled back, and then she nudged her husband.

"Thanks," James smiled as well.

"Weasleys and Lovegoods, ward the Burrow completely," Moody ordered. "Put the Fidelius Charm into effect as well, which is something that we should all do."

"That might not be the wisest thing to do," Arthur spoke up, and everyone looked to him.

"Why?" Sturgis asked, though he had his eyes fixed on Mundungus.

"Well, if we put the Fidelius Charm into effect, then everyone will forget where we live," Arthur started. "Sooner or later, someone will wonder where one of us lives, and when they can't remember it, they'll ask others. Before you know it, everyone will figure out that the Fidelius Charm must be in effect. Our enemies will easily pinpoint who works for the Order, especially because there is 'no reason' for us to be hiding right now."

"You're right," Moody grumbled. "I just remembered that the Ministry uses this exact method to keep track of shady Pure-Bloods." Sebastian exchanged a quick look with his wife, but neither of them said anything. _They must have hidden properties._

"And the Ministry definitely knows where we all live," Nymphadora spoke up, and Remus met her eyes for a moment. "If the enemy has a spy in the Ministry, they will tell them whose residence has just up and vanished."

"Might I offer some insight?" Filius asked, and everyone nodded quickly. _He'll know what to do, he's the Charms Master here._ "We choose one central location, and we turn that into the Order's Headquarters. This way, only one residence goes into hiding. We all then move into that residence, which we can expand with the Undetectable Extension Charm."

"So we all just live in one house?" Emmeline asked. "That could work…"

"We don't necessarily have to live there, but it could be a place to stay safe," Filius advised. "To stay hidden."

"A safe house, and a base of operations," Remus said, and then he nodded his agreement. "You can protect your homes using powerful Wards, but not hide them away from the World. Only our Headquarters remains hidden, which will help keep suspicion off of the rest of you."

"Why are you saying 'you' instead of 'us'?" Nymphadora asked.

"Rita Skeeter told the entire World that Sirius and I were members of the First Order," Remus replied. "Our identities are already compromised."

"He's right," Sirius said, and then he drew in a sharp breath. "I offer Grimmauld Place as Headquarters." _What? What about Harry?_ "The Ministry and I don't see eye to eye, which is well known. So… I'll hide this place away from the World. Not to mention that it's big enough for the Order's needs. And since Harry lives here, we can all protect him together." _I see._ Remus couldn't help but smile a little, Sirius was finally thinking of Harry first.

"I hope you're not suggesting that we indoctrinate him into the Order's business," Molly spoke up.

"If Harry wants that, then I will support him," Sirius said firmly. "This is his war too, and since the Dark Lord is after him, he deserves to at least be in the loop. Now… I've kept quiet because Dumbledore's asked me to, but I don't want to see my Godson murdered like Elphias. The enemy is coming for us, so it's pastime that our children know that." _Our children? Good on you, Padfoot, you old dog._

"Let's discuss the children later," Pandora said. "Alastor, please keep going."

"From now on, we stay off of the streets," Alastor went on. "No shopping trips, no picking up wenches in bars, no drinking at the Leaky Cauldron, no sudden disappearances, and make sure that your partners don't leave your sight. If you work at the Ministry, you go straight home from work. Don't dawdle, and don't mingle with strangers."

"That's harsh, but it's fair," Dedalus sighed out. "Shall we pick partners now?"

"Forgive my lateness," came Dumbledore's voice, and every eye went to the entrance of the Kitchen.

"Headmaster," Hagrid greeted, a look of sincere sympathy on his face.

"Good afternoon," Kingsley Shacklebolt said from behind Dumbledore, and then they both entered the Kitchen.

"Everyone, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt," Dumbledore introduced, and everyone picked up on his somberness.

"Alastor," Kingsley gave a polite nod, and Moody returned a curt nod. Kingsley then looked around the room, and his eyes stopped on a young woman who was hiding her face from him. "Nymphadora? You're here too?"

"Don't call me Nymphadora," she pouted, and her hair turned bright red. "And yes, I am here. Alastor invited me personally." _Why is she being so defensive?_

"Elphias?" Emmeline asked, and Dumbledore bowed his head a little. Suddenly, it felt as if they had just learned of Elphias' death once again.

"Did he have any Family, Headmaster?" Sturgis asked.

"No," Dumbledore replied. "Just us."

"Then we should arrange his funeral," Dedalus said, his voice missing its usual cheeriness.

"I will do that, and I will attend alone," Dumbledore told them, much to everyone's surprise. "Whoever killed him might be planning to 'attend' the funeral in the hopes of discovering our identities. It is a risk that we cannot take. From today on, secrecy is key."

"Secrecy, and constant vigilance," Moody added.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – After Lunch)**_

Ron and Malfoy made their way towards the Dungeons together, while the others were out on their picnic.

"Want to join me in the Training Area?" Ron asked, his voice slightly monotone.

"Do you ever stop?" Malfoy asked in return.

"A no would have sufficed, you twat," Ron replied. _I was just trying to be polite._

"No."

"You…" Ron started, but then he stopped. "You can be really cheeky when you want, you that right?"

"It's in my Blood," Malfoy smirked, but then his smirk died when he realized what he had said. _Great, here he goes again with that self-pity. I should distract him before he closes in on himself._

"So all Malfoys are twats?" Ron asked, and Malfoy glared at him. _Mission accomplished._

"Just like all Weasleys are poor," Malfoy retorted.

"Oh, no… Malfoy called me poor, so it must be true," Ron rolled his eyes, and then they followed some older students into the common room. "This is where we part ways, 'my Lord'."

"Right…" Malfoy said, his eyes drifting between Ron and the boys' dorms. _What's he doing?_ Malfoy then straightened his back, and he marched towards their room. _So dramatic. Let me guess, he's too proud to admit that he actually wants to join me. Whatever, it's not my problem._

Ron went to enter the Training Area, but he suddenly stopped himself. _Wasn't he sitting alone while the others played Wizard's Poker?_ Ron went to take a step forward, but his body refused to listen. _Damn Daphne for giving me such a small dose. Fuck it._ Ron turned and walked towards his room, and once he entered it, he found Malfoy just sitting on his bed. _Look at this gloomy bastard._

"Weasley?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow, making sure to hide any ounce of relief at seeing the redhead. "What are you doing here?" _Being soft._

"I honestly don't feel like training right now," Ron lied. "I'm kind of spent, you know."

"Fair enough," Malfoy said, and then he reached for the same book that he had been reading for the last month.

"Do you play Chess?" Ron asked as he walked up to his trunk.

"I've played once or twice with father," Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly.

"Want to play with me?" Ron asked as he pulled out his Chessboard.

"You're a Professional Chess Player," Malfoy frowned.

"Scared of losing?" Ron goaded. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

"Save your pity for someone who needs it," Malfoy sneered, and Ron decided to pull back a little.

"Well, I can't play alone," Ron said. "I mean, I could… But it's not optimal. C'mon, just one or two games."

"If you insist," Malfoy drawled, and Ron walked over to Malfoy's bed and hopped on. "Easy, Weasley… You'll ruin my sheets."

"These are nice," Ron noted. "You brought them from home?"

"Mother insisted," Malfoy replied, and he scolded himself internally for divulging that information.

"How nice of her," Ron said as he began setting up the pieces. "Which color do you want?"

"I'll take black," Malfoy replied.

"No, I want black," Ron said, and Malfoy frowned deeply.

"Why even offer then?"

"I was being polite," Ron smirked, and Malfoy's lips twitched upwards.

"You're acting… different… than what I expected," Malfoy couldn't help but say. "The last time you were on that Potion, you were a freak of nature."

"A little cold, sure… But a freak of nature?" Ron asked.

"What's different this time?" Malfoy asked.

"Daphne gave me a smaller dose," Ron admitted. "She all but pulled the vial away from me as soon as I tasted the Potion."

"She's trying to figure out your dosage?" Malfoy asked.

"I reckon so," Ron shrugged. "Your move, Malfoy." Malfoy moved a pawn forward, though his eyes were fixed on Ron.

"You two are strangely close," Malfoy pointed out.

"You figured out that we're dating?" Ron acted shocked, and then he moved his own pawn forward. "Malfoy, how are you so insightful?"

"Don't try and change the topic, Weasley," Malfoy said. "Why are you and Greengrass so dependent on each other?"

"We're not dependent on each other," Ron frowned a little. "We just… We just have each other's backs, that's all." _Plus, who cares if we're too close? I love that about us, and I know that she does too._ "Trust me, it's not always sunshine and rainbows between us. We do fight, and when we do, things get… loud."

"Somehow, I have trouble believing that," Malfoy told him. "Greengrass isn't exactly the emotional sort." _Oh, my poor, naïve Blood-Supremacist._

"You certainly have a lot of questions today," Ron tried to change the topic. "Are you trying to get dirt on me?"

"What?" Malfoy blinked, his hand stopping just before moving his piece.

"I was joking," Ron said, and Malfoy frowned at him. "You shouldn't frown so much… You'll get wrinkles."

"You're such an arse," Malfoy shook his head.

"And you're too fucking glum," Ron shrugged. "By the way, you shouldn't put your rook there." Malfoy stared at Ron, and then he put his rook down. "Really? You're that spiteful?"

"You're trying to get into my head," Malfoy said, and Ron grinned at him.

"I'm already in there, Malfoy," Ron said ominously. "And pretty soon… I'll get into your pants."

"Fuck off, you disgusting weirdo," Malfoy grimaced, and Ron sniggered.

"Let the psychological warfare begin," Ron announced, and then he killed Malfoy's rook with his bishop.

"Shite," Malfoy frowned at the board. "Why isn't this board Magical?"

"Lord Greengrass forbid me from using actual Wizarding Chess Pieces," Ron replied. "In a Professional match, they're not allowed either."

"What? Why?" Malfoy asked.

"Because they give hints to the players," Ron replied. "Trust me, if you endanger them, they tend to throw tantrums. And therefore, they're not allowed."

"So we're playing Muggle Chess?" Malfoy asked, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Chess is Chess, Malfoy," Ron replied, deciding not to smack Malfoy. "Just like people are people."

"Of course you'd say that," Malfoy said, his eyes on the board. _Give him a little scare, Ron. Teach him not to speak like that near you._

"If I stabbed you in the leg, Malfoy," Ron started, and Malfoy immediately looked up. "What would your reaction be?"

"Pardon?"

"Answer the question," Ron said coldly.

"I… I'd scream… There would be pain," Malfoy replied slowly, where was this coming from?

"Now tell me, if I stabbed a Muggle in the leg… What would their reaction be?" Ron asked.

"They'd scream…" Malfoy replied.

"People are people," Ron repeated. "We're all made up of bones, blood, and organs. We experience pain the same way, just as we feel joy the same way."

"But they don't have Magic," Malfoy countered.

"Lots of people don't have what others do," Ron said calmly. "Everyone is different in their own way. If the rule was to kill anyone who is different, then we as a species would be long gone. And before you say that we're not the same species, just know that Muggle-Borns exist. Children of Muggles who have active Magical Cores."

"They come from Squib ancestors," Malfoy told Ron.

"So their roots are based in the Magical World," Ron smirked. "Shouldn't you treat them as long lost relatives who are finally coming home?"

"I… No, that's not…" Malfoy said, and then he went into deep thought. Ron waited for nearly a minute before Malfoy broke the silence. "They bring change to our World. They want to enforce their ideologies on us."

"You mean they don't want to be bullied or ostracized," Ron countered. "Are you forgetting what that feels like, Malfoy? You know how lonely it is to not be accepted… We both do." _Time for a little lie, just to make him feel guilty._ "I caught Hermione crying in the Library once. It was right after you and your 'friends' cornered her, and then proceeded to make her feel unwanted and alone." Malfoy just blinked at Ron, who just made his next move. "Your turn."

"I bet she felt just like you did whenever Flint put you in a corner," Ron added, and Malfoy stopped mid-move.

"I…" Malfoy started, but then he stopped. After a couple of seconds, he tried to speak again, but this time, he was stopped because their door burst open. _Shite! I was getting somewhere, I think._

Ron and Malfoy looked to see the others march in, and everyone but Tracey was frowning. _What happened?_

"Ron, go find my sister and yell at her," Daphne stomped her foot, and both Ron and Malfoy grimaced because of the smell.

"Why do you smell like shite?" Ron asked, and Daphne shook with rage.

"Daph, it was funny," Tracey chuckled. "Don't be so dramatic."

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"Tori blew up a fucking dung bomb in the middle of the picnic," Theo frowned, and then he left for the bathroom.

"Hurry up," Blaise called out after him. "Damn menace ruined my good shirt…"

"Poor Derek vomited…" Millie sighed out.

"On the sandwiches that I made myself…" Pansy rubbed her forehead.

"Shite, Malfoy," Ron broke into a laugh, while Malfoy was clearly biting back his own laughter. "We fucking missed a great show!"

"Ron!" Daphne pouted angrily. "Go tell her off!"

"I will when you take a shower, stinky," Ron chuckled, and Daphne's look turned murderous. "Alright… Alright…" Ron hopped off of the bed. "Where is she?"

"Probably in her room," Tracey sniggered.

"Stop laughing," Daphne snapped. "I know you got her those dung bombs, Tracey."

"I would never be that irresponsible," Tracey feigned hurt. "How dare you sully my good name, Madam?"

Ron just sniggered as he walked out of the room, he could hear Pansy, Millie, and Daphne going off on Tracey. _This smaller dosage is actually much better. I feel calm, but not numb. Shame that I missed that picnic though, but then again, I think I got to Malfoy a little. Take your wins where you can, Ron._ As Ron neared Tori's room, he fixed his face into a stern expression. And then, Ron knocked on the door.

"Tori! Get out here!" Ron called, and the door swung open. Ron pinched his nose at the sight of a grinning Tori, and he spotted the Carrow twins giving Tori's back murderous glares.

"Hello, Ron," Tori greeted sweetly, and then she reached for a hug. Ron quickly stepped back, and Tori pouted miserably.

"You can hug me when you don't smell like your grades," Ron told her, and she broke into laughter.

"That hurt here," Tori pointed to her head. "And here." She then pointed to her heart.

"Tori, your sister is furious," Ron sighed out.

"She's so proper all the time," Tori rolled her eyes. "She needs to lighten up."

"I get that," Ron started. "But my friends put in a lot of effort to make you younger students feel appreciated, and you spat on that gesture. Tori… Pansy made those sandwiches herself." _What a waste of good food._

"I was funny," Tori tried. "C'mon, you know I was."

"I do," Ron admitted. "But Slytherins don't use dung bombs when they could be making allies. The second years were there, and now they know that you're not a reliable ally to have. Plus, they're probably pissed off with you now."

"The second years are morons."

"They were, but now they've come into the fold," Ron told her. "Look… I don't want to scold you, but I do want you to understand that you're not a little kid anymore. We don't attack our own. Unless they attack us first, that is."

"So I can use my dung bombs on the other Houses?" Tori asked. _This little demon._

"Tell you what," Ron started. "If you're cunning enough to never get caught, I will not say a word. But no more pranks on Slytherins, understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Tori grinned.

"Oh, and tell Daphne that I gave you an earful," Ron added before leaving.

"I will!"

* * *

 _ **Sunday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Night)**_

Dumbledore had just informed Ron and Snape about Mad-Eye Moody's plan, and despite the somber mood, Ron was glad to hear that Moody and he shared a similar method of thinking. His Family would be going into hiding, and Ron didn't need to convince or manipulate anyone.

"And you'll be attending Doge's funeral alone?" Snape asked.

"Yes, that's the plan," Dumbledore replied, he was missing his usual flair.

"Isn't that a little dangerous, Headmaster?" Ron asked. "I mean, the killer could be there just as you said."

"If the person who murdered my friend wishes to confront me, then I will welcome the challenge," Dumbledore said rather calmly, and yet, Ron felt himself shrink a little. _I shouldn't forget who I'm talking to. Dumbledore doesn't need protection._

"How was your meeting with Madame Maxime?" Snape asked, deciding to stay clear of Doge's death.

"I showed her my memories of Albania," Dumbledore replied. "She is… scared, but we can rely on her aid." Dumbledore then looked to Ron. "She has no doubt approached some of the Old French Families by now, so expect her owl."

"I understand," Ron nodded. "Speaking of Old Families, I was hoping that we could approach Lady Longbottom."

"I have already done so," Dumbledore told them. "She knew Doge, and she was at the Ministry today. I told her that war is coming, and she believed me instantly."

"Why?" Snape asked.

"She has lost much, and she needs to believe that there is a reason for her suffering," Dumbledore replied. "It is easier to confront pain when it's caused by an actual entity, instead of it just being the will of the Universe."

"So she'll join the Order?" Ron asked.

"To avenge her son and daughter-in-law's deaths, yes," Dumbledore replied. "She has even offered me her Grandson's wand." _What?_

"Neville is thirteen," Ron pointed out. _And honestly, he's not that skilled with his wand._

"As are you," Snape reminded Ron.

"I know, but unlike Neville, I know how to cast the Disarming Charm without tripping over my own feet," Ron countered. "Plus, Neville can't join without you telling Harry and Hermione everything. Those three are inseparable."

"I believe that we should at least inform Potter of the looming danger," Snape said, and both Ron and Dumbledore looked at him. "An Order member was killed in the middle of a street, Albus. Potter needs to understand that the Dark Lord is coming for us all. Your desire to 'protect' him is now a liability. He can't be allowed to wander around Hogsmeade anymore, nor should he be allowed to leave the castle." _Harsh, but it could save his life._

"I agree," Ron piped in. "I said the same thing ages ago… Harry really does need to be brought in. Or at least be told that his life is in genuine danger. Having him fuck around constantly is no longer an option. If he is as important as you say, then he needs to be prepared for his job."

"Leave Harry to me," Dumbledore said, and Ron decided not to push further. _The old man is so… quiet. It's unnerving._ "Do we have anything else to discuss?"

"Just one last thing," Ron replied. "Madam Bones… I think that we should try and convince her like we did Madame Maxime."

"No," Snape said.

"That is not wise, Ronald," Dumbledore added.

"Why? Am I missing something?" Ron asked. "We can't just rely on the French, we need people like Madam Bones. She's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Which is exactly the problem," Snape told Ron. "Madame Maxime is an influential woman, but she has no binding ties, or loyalty, to her Ministry. Amelia Bones is different. She has always put the Ministry first, and if we go to her, she'll inform Cornelius Fudge. At best, she'll be ridiculed for believing us. At worst, she will lose her position and we'll all be declared delusional warmongers."

"Is the Minister really that daft?" Ron asked.

"He embodies the worst traits of a politician," Dumbledore replied. "He is power hungry, and he is afraid of being seen as incompetent. His policies are driven by his own insecurities, and that makes him dangerous to us. Amelia is a stoic and powerful witch, but her loyalties have always been tethered to the Ministry. During the last war, while her brother joined the Order, she respectfully declined in order to join the Ministry."

"So when do we approach our own Ministry?" Ron asked. "You remember my vision, right? In four years' time, the Ministry will have fallen. At some point, we're just going to have to risk it."

"I will speak to Amelia at this Gala," Dumbledore said. "We need to slowly convince her to run for Minister, which won't be an easy task. Once she has declared her desire to be Minister to the public, I will tell her about Lord Voldemort's return."

"But you'll keep our manipulation a secret, right?" Ron asked.

"That's a given," Snape said. "She's an honest woman, and so she despises backroom politics. We will tell her what she needs to know, nothing more."

"Alright then," Ron conceded, he was clearly outvoted. "I think that's everything for now." Snape and Ron stood up at that.

"Goodnight, you two," Dumbledore said, his mood still somber. Snape left without another word, but Ron lingered behind as the Potions Master flooed away. "Ronald?"

"I'm sorry about your friend, Headmaster," Ron said, and Dumbledore gave him a weak smile. Ron walked over to Dumbledore's side, and after hesitating, he put his gloved hand on Dumbledore's shoulder. Dumbledore seemed to relax a little as Ron gave his shoulder a light squeeze, and then he patted Ron's hand gently.

"Thank you, dear boy," Dumbledore whispered.

"Goodnight, Headmaster."

* * *

 _ **Monday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Boys' Room – Past Midnight)**_

Fire and death woke Ron up, and he found himself just lying there. _It was just a dream. The same dream…_ Once again, Ron had found himself on the shore of the Black Lake, the corpses of his schoolmates haunting him to no end.

Ron pushed off his blankets, and then he slid out of his bed. Once he had his wand in his scarred hand, Ron looked for his glove. _There you are._ Ron picked it up, and he quickly hid away his greatest failure. Now that he was up, he knew that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. In truth, he didn't want to go back to sleep. He knew that once he did, he'd be on that shore again.

"Fuck that…" Ron whispered as he cleared his eyes, and then he left for the Training Area. _I might as well train my Non-verbal Magic._

As he made his way into the common room, his tired eyes lingered on a window which showed the dark depths of the Black Lake. For a moment, Ron thought that he saw a young red-haired girl sinking into the darkness. He felt jarred, but just as quickly, he recovered his composure. _It's just your mind, Ron. It's trying to get to you._ Ron walked into the Training Area, and he prepared himself for a long session of Spellwork.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

They weren't doing enough, and because of that, Ron couldn't stop thinking about the Black Lake. He could do more. He **had** to do more.

"Marty!" Ron called, his mind made up.

"Master called Marty?" came Marty's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see a very tired Elf rubbing his eyes.

"I woke you," Ron sighed. "I'm sorry, Marty."

"Think nothing of it, Master," Marty bowed, and then he gave Ron a tired smile. "What can Marty do for Master?"

"Take me to the Chamber of Secrets," Ron replied, and Marty woke right up at that.

"The Chamber?" Marty whispered, and Ron gave him a nod. _Stop thinking of doing more, and just_ _ **do more**_ _._

Marty put his hand forward, and Ron took it. Ron suddenly felt himself being pulled through a straw, and then, he was standing in the dark, damp lair of the Basilisk. Marty lingered by Ron's leg, while Ron looked around the ruins. _Merlin, I forgot just how damaged this place is._ Ron began to walk towards the damaged face of Salazar Slytherin, while Marty summoned a thick ball of light. Marty then tiptoed behind Ron, his big blue eyes peeled for danger.

"The really did a number on this place, didn't they?" Ron asked, his eyes landing on the skeleton of the harvested Basilisk. _One of the Professors cracked its skull in the fight?_

"Master, why are we here?" Marty asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _Take the plunge, Ron. Otherwise, you'll keep feeling like this._

"Marty, I trust you completely," Ron started, and Marty blinked at him. "So I'm going to tell you something that I've told my friends as well." Ron then looked to Marty. "There is a war coming."

"A war?" Marty asked slowly.

"Yes, a war," Ron nodded. "One that will destroy everything that we hold dear."

"Why does Master believe such a thing?" Marty couldn't help but ask.

"You've seen my scars, haven't you?" Ron asked, and Marty gave a shaky nod. "The Dark Lord gave me those." Marty looked stunned, but Ron decided to keep going. "It was also the Dark Lord who reopened the Chamber last year. And now… He has returned."

"The Dark Lord… has returned?" Marty whimpered, he felt guilty because he didn't want to believe his own Master.

"Only a few people know this," Ron told Marty. "My friends don't… But the Professors do. The Headmaster knows as well. The Order of the Phoenix has been reconvened, and I'm a part of it."

"Master is a member of the Order?" Marty's eyes widened even more.

"A secret one," Ron told him. "No one can know, Marty. I am telling you this because I trust you with my life completely. You have always shown me kindness, and you have proven yourself more times than I can count."

"Forgive Marty, but he does not understand why Master is saying these things," Marty said, he didn't know whether to smile or be worried.

"I can't do everything alone, I know that now," Ron knelt down. "I am only one person, and not a particularly talented one. I need help, and you're the one I want by my side."

"Master can count on Marty for anything!" Marty said quickly, and then he looked worried again. "But what does Master need?"

"I need someone who can go to places that I can't," Ron started. "I need someone who can do things that I can't. I need you." Ron then stood back up. "The war will reach Hogwarts eventually, and all the students of this school will be butchered like animals." Marty felt dread creep into his bones, he didn't like his Master's current demeanor. "Unless… Unless you and I make sure that that never happens."

"How?" Marty asked, and Ron finally smiled a little.

"By bearing the burden so that they don't have to," Ron replied. "I know I'm being selfish by putting this on you, but I can't do it alone. I've tried to bring in others, but everyone has different… barriers… that they can't cross. I need more allies, or I will fail to do my duty. Do you understand?"

"No," Marty shook his head. "But if Master needs Marty, then Marty will not disappoint." Ron felt his heart swell, and he smiled lovingly at his friend.

"Thank you," Ron said genuinely.

"Why are we here, Master?" Marty looked around.

"This place is the answer to my nightmares," Ron said. "The current contingency plan should Hogwarts be attacked is problematic. Do you know what it is?"

"Students are to be escorted to Hogsmeade via the Black Lake," Marty replied.

"They'll be stuck in boats like sitting ducks," Ron said. "But down here… No one will be out in the open. No pointless casualties, no need for them to even leave the school."

"Master wishes to create a bunker?" Marty asked, and Ron gave him a nod.

"I want to fix this place up, install beds and furniture, and then store rations away just in case," Ron replied. "But I don't even know how much that will cost."

"This Chamber is quite large, Master," Marty thought about it. "If it is to be made habitable, it could cost roughly six-to-seven hundred Galleons. Maybe more." _I'll find a way to get the money then._ "One thing, Master… Will you inform the Headmaster of this?"

"Once it's complete, yes," Ron nodded. _I'll have to show him that I'm a Parseltongue too, but that's okay. I trust him._ "So… Where do we start?"

"The rubble," Marty looked around.

"And the Basilisk corpse," Ron added. "We'll also need light down here, and some form of exit that doesn't lead back into the school. Merlin… This could take a while."

"Then Marty would advise getting started as soon as possible, Master," Marty managed a weak smile.

"Do you remember the Elves that helped you harvest the Basilisk?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded. "Get in touch with them, tell them that I have another job for them. Ask them to come meet us here after midnight tomorrow."

"Marty understands," Marty nodded.

"Now… Let's have a bit of a look around, shall we?" Ron asked, and they began to navigate the Chamber together.

* * *

 _ **Monday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Outside Hagrid's Hut – After Lunch)**_

"Just aim the shredded lettuce on the end with the mouth, yeh?" Hagrid said as he showed them how to feed a Flobberworm. "Look at tha'… He's eatin' it right up, he is."

"It's so gross," Daphne whispered to Ron, who couldn't help but nod his agreement. _Merlin, I'm so tired. I wish I got more sleep last night._

"Now!" Hagrid clapped his hands together, his voice booming loudly. "Each of yeh will be given a Flobberworm of yer very own, and yeh will take care of the little blighter for the remainder of the term. It's not hard, mostly because they just want to be left alone. But yeh have to feed 'em, or I can't pass yeh. Any questions?"

"I've read that they can die if you overfeed them," Hermione spoke up. "What happens if we make that error?"

"Trust me, Hermione," Hagrid chuckled. "Yeh'd have to work very hard to overfeed 'em. Now, come and grab yer worms!"

"Ew…" Pansy grimaced.

"Just use the Locomotor Spell so you don't have to touch them," Theo told the others. "They're not so bad, actually. I use them in my Gardens, they eat all the dead plants and weeds for me." The students all formed a line, with most of the girls grimacing at the prospect of having such an ugly pet.

Ron just stood between Millie and Daphne, a tired and bored look on his face. _I just want a nap, that's all._ Ron suddenly heard the loud cawing of crows, and he looked to the sky. Above them were almost thirty crows, and Ron was shocked that he hadn't noticed them before. _What the hell? Why are they circling us?_

"Ron?" Daphne whispered. "What are you looking at?" _You don't see that shite?_ Ron quickly realized that only he could see it, which meant that this was yet another vision of a past life. _Why crows though?_

"It's nothing," Ron lied. "I just wanted to look at the clouds."

"Right," Daphne said slowly, and then she too looked up. "I think it's going to rain soon." Ron nodded along, his eyes tracking the crows.

And then, they all suddenly shot towards the ground. Ron flinched a little as they began slamming into the Earth, each of them exploding into black mist upon impact. _What in the fuck?!_ Ron's eyes widened when out of the black mist stepped out an older version of himself, his red hair slicked back and his body covered by a crisp black suit. As soon as Ron saw the sapphire eagle pin on the older Ron's suit, he knew who this Ron was. _The Ravenclaw version of me who killed all those students._

The Ravenclaw Ron fixed his suit into place, and then he began whistling a familiar tune. _I know that whistle… I heard it in the Library constantly for a while._ The Ravenclaw Ron began to walk towards the castle, and Ron felt the urge to follow him.

"Ron? Move forward already," Daphne nudged lightly, and then she followed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"The castle," Ron muttered as he took a step forward, his eyes fixed on his previous life. Ron suddenly felt very lightheaded, and the Ravenclaw Ron vanished from existence. _Damn… I'm going to fall over._ Ron grabbed onto Millie, who looked back with a confused look.

"Ron?" Millie asked.

"I need to sit down…" Ron sighed out, and then he stepped out of the line. His entire head spun, and he quickly sat down on the slightly wet grass.

"I'm telling Professor Hagrid," Daphne said, and before Ron could say otherwise, she began cutting the line.

"Are you okay?" Millie asked, while the others just shot Ron curious looks.

"I'm just tired, I think," Ron replied, and then he shook his head clear. His vision became a little blurry, but it quickly fixed itself. _What was that Spell? Was he those thirty odd crows? I've never seen anything like it. It was… bloody brilliant!_

"Ronald, yeh alright?" came Hagrid's voice, and Ron looked to see the giant man walking over to him. Everyone except for his friends were giving him odd look, with the exception of the Golden Trio, who seemed to understand something that the others didn't. _Odd. Something is definitely not right with them lately._

"May I please be excused, Professor?" Ron slowly stood up. "I feel sick."

"Oh," Hagrid blinked. "Of course, go on. Go straight to Madam Pomfrey, alright?"

"Thank you," Ron said, and then he turned around to leave. _I'm going to find the nearest bed, and then I'm taking a long nap._

"Ron, yer books…" Hagrid said, and Ron realized that he didn't have them with him.

"I'll take those back for him," Theo spoke up. "Go on, Ron."

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he walked off towards the castle. _That Ravenclaw Ron was clearly extremely powerful. How did he fail his Cycle?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Hospital Wing – Near Dinnertime)**_

"Ron, wake up," came Madam Pomfrey's voice, and Ron jerked awake. He then groaned loudly as he looked around, his groggy eyes stopping on Madam Pomfrey.

"What a wonderful sight to wake up to," Ron grinned with droopy eyes. "I could get used to it."

"Yes, yes… You are very charming," Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Let's go, I won't have you missing dinner. You are clearly suffering from fatigue, and a healthy diet is the key to combating it."

"Bedside manners could use some work, but other than that, you're perfect," Ron sat up, and then he moved his hair out of his face. "I missed our session, didn't I?"

"It's alright," Madam Pomfrey helped him out of the bed. "You looked like you needed the sleep. Are you not sleeping well at night?" _No, I am not._

"I couldn't get much sleep last night," Ron told her. "I just wouldn't doze off, you know."

"Is something bothering you?" Madam Pomfrey asked as they began to head towards the Great Hall.

"Not really," Ron lied. "I just couldn't sleep, that's all. By the way, did you stay behind just for me?"

"Hardly," Madam Pomfrey replied. "I have a lot of work to do, which you spoiled with your snoring."

"Snoring?" Ron scoffed. "I don't snore."

"You sounded like you were gargling small rocks," Madam Pomfrey smirked.

"Do you enjoy spreading lies, Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked her. "Are you a gossip?"

"No," Madam Pomfrey replied bluntly.

"And she's killed the banter," Ron chuckled.

"Your morning breath killed the banter long ago, Ronald," Pomfrey told him, and Ron quickly checked his breath. _Did some small animal crawl into my mouth and die while I was asleep?_

"Now that's embarrassing…" Ron mumbled, and then he used the Fresh-Breath Charm on himself. "How is my breath now?" Ron tried to breathe in her direction, and she shot him an annoyed frown.

"Breathing on people is exceptionally rude," Madam Pomfrey scolded. "And your breath is fine…" As they neared the Entrance to the Great Hall, she stopped him from entering.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Drink this," Madam Pomfrey said, and then she pulled out a vial of Nutrition Potion from her robes.

"Are you serious?" Ron took the vial. "You know how I said that you were perfect… I was lying."

"Blame your girlfriend," Madam Pomfrey smirked. "She left me clear instructions, and that Potion." _Damn you, Daphne Greengrass._ Ron drank down the Potion, and it forced his face to tighten from disgust.

"I could eat a bowl of shite, and still not be able to tell the difference," Ron commented.

"Let's go, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey ushered him to the giant door. "And make sure you eat a balanced meal. I will be watching."

"Pervert," Ron mumbled, and she ignored him. Once they were inside, they parted ways. Madam Pomfrey headed for the staff table, while Ron made his way to his friends.

"You're awake," Daphne smiled at seeing him. "I saved your seat."

"Hello, everyone," Ron smiled lazily as he sat down between Malfoy and Daphne. "How was the rest of class?"

"Boring," Tracey waved a dismissive hand. "Those slugs do nothing…"

"They're Flobberworms, and what do you want them to do?" Theo asked, and Tracey shrugged.

"They smell like excrement," Pansy grimaced.

"You can just say shite," Ron chuckled, and then he began making his plate.

"I am a Lady, Ronald," Pansy rolled her eyes. "Daphne, teach Ron some new words please."

"How are you, mate?" Blaise asked, deciding to put the banter on pause. "Nothing to worry about, I hope."

"I was just sleepy, you guys," Ron assured them. "Trust me, I feel great now that I've had a nap."

"Are you sure?" Millie asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Ron replied, and he felt Daphne tapping his foot. Ron leaned over to her, and the others knew that they wanted some privacy. As they began their own conversations, Ron waited for Daphne to start.

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Daphne whispered, and then she scooted closer to him. "You were acting odd before you got lightheaded."

"I was acting odd because I was lightheaded," Ron smiled at her.

"Oh, that makes sense," Daphne blinked, why hadn't she thought of that? Daphne then leaned closer and sniffed him, much to Ron's bewilderment.

"Alright then," Ron bit back a laugh.

"Your breath smells minty fresh," Daphne pointed out.

"Pomfrey likes it that way," Ron smirked.

"First of all… Ew," Daphne said, while Ron sniggered. "Secondly, I wonder if she'll be able to heal her own legs after I pay someone to break them."

"Merlin…" Ron's laughter died. "I am both scared, and aroused. I'm scaroused."

"Just keeping you on your toes," Daphne winked, and then she gave him a quick peck. "I'm glad that you're alright."

"Can you two not defile the dinner table?" Theo grimaced at them.

"Shush, Theo," Pansy frowned. "Don't ruin their romance." _Romance?_

"I think you just did that," Daphne sighed, and then she scooted back to her original spot. Ron began eating his food, while Theo teased Pansy about her lack of tact. As he was taking a bite, he spotted a head of red hair in the Ravenclaw section. Ron focused on it, and he saw a younger version of himself sitting in the far corner. _Motherfucker… It's happening again._

The younger Ron was eating slowly and timidly, and Ron couldn't help but notice that his robes were rather worn out. _Second hand robes._ The young boy seemed to be using his meal as an escape, his demeanor made Ron think that he was a solitary kid. _I probably looked the same after my own sorting. Is this the same Ron that I saw today? If he is, then he clearly went a long way. And then eventually, he started murdering innocents._

"Ron? Why are you staring at the Ravenclaw fifth years?" Daphne nudged him, and Ron broke his gaze.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?" Ron asked, and then he realized that his friends were just staring at him.

"You zoned out again," Daphne said, now she was worried.

"I didn't zone out…" Ron started, immediately thinking of a suitable lie. "Does anyone here know Patrick?"

"Who?" Malfoy asked.

"Patrick Wilson, he's an older Ravenclaw," Ron said, while Daphne just stared at him. "He was in Gladrags Wizardwear with us, Daph."

"The boy you spoke to?" Daphne asked, and Ron nodded. "Sorry, Ron. I didn't really see him."

"Patrick… I think Padma mentioned him once…" Blaise started, and Ron looked to him. _I can't believe that worked. I'm a genius! Wait… Why am I so proud of the fact that I can lie to my friends so easily?_

"Well?" Ron asked.

"I'm thinking," Blaise frowned a little. "He's the sixth year Ravenclaw Boy Prefect… Yeah, that's him. Your brother's girlfriend is the Girl Prefect, and he's the Boy one… That's what Padma told me. Oh, and apparently, he's a decent enough bloke, though he can be a bit too nosey."

"A valuable ally," Ron spoke to himself. _Just imagine it, Ron. Cedric in Hufflepuff, your brothers in Gryffindor, and this Patrick in Ravenclaw. Older allies in each House… I could really use that._

"Are you scheming again?" Theo smirked, and Ron nodded slowly. "Where is your shame, Ron?"

"I think I've neglected Ravenclaw for far too long," Ron said with a smile.

"Spreading your influence, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.

"I've reached all the first and second years of each House, so now I'm moving onto the older ones," Ron replied, he didn't mind telling Malfoy as much. _He'll find out anyway._ Ron then shot another look at the Ravenclaw table, and when he didn't see the red haired boy, he went back to his meal.

Dinner went on as usual after that, with all of them making small talk and teasing each other. Even Malfoy made a couple of jokes, but they were all at Ron's expense. Ron didn't mind though, he was just glad that no one was making a big deal about his leaving class today. Soon enough, the bell signaled the end of dinner. Students began to leave for their common rooms, and Ron decided that he'd do a bit more research into Patrick before approaching him.

"We should play some Wizard's Poker tonight," Pansy suggested. "All of us, that is."

"Why?" Ron asked, he wanted to practice his Non-verbal Magic.

"Because it helps build unity," Pansy replied, and Ron shot a look towards Theo and Blaise. "I'm serious, Ron. Plus, it's so much fun with all of us there."

"I can't even eat the sweets that I win though," Ron sighed out.

"But I can," Daphne tangled her arm with his. "You can win them for me." They began to head into the Entrance Hall at that, where the Golden Trio were waiting for Ron.

"Hey, Ron," Hermione waved at him, and Ron smiled at her.

"Hello," Ron greeted them. "Were you waiting for us out here?" Ron noticed that his friends looked less than excited to see the Trio, but none of them complained about it.

"Can we talk to you about something?" Neville asked. "I actually need some advice from you." _Oh?_

"Sure," Ron agreed, now he was curious. "Why don't you guys go on?"

"Alright," Daphne said as she let go of his arm. "We'll wait for you."

"Thanks," Ron said, and one by one, his friends left for the Dungeons. "Courtyard?"

"Sure," Neville said with an odd smile, and they headed out for the cool night. _What are these three up to?_

"So… What do you need, Neville?" Ron asked as they entered the Courtyard.

"My Gran sent me this," Neville said, and then he pulled out a letter from his robes. "It's about the Gala for the restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital, the one that you've been promoting in your brochures."

"And?" Ron asked.

"Well, she told me that you're attending," Neville started. "She wants me to take care of this business, which is quite unlike her."

"And you're not sure about what to do?" Ron asked, and Neville nodded. "Well, it's quite simple. Just donate five hundred Galleons, attend the Gala, socialize with the other Old Families, and then come back to Hogwarts."

"You make it sound easy," Neville sighed. "By the way, Harry is going too."

"Sirius has been invited, and he sent me an owl today," Harry said. "Are all the Weasleys going?"

"I don't know," Ron replied. "I haven't decided yet."

"You haven't decided yet?" Neville asked. "Shouldn't your father make that decision?" Ron just stared at Neville, who realized that he was treading on thin ice. "Right… Um… Thanks for the advice, Ron. I'll owl Gran and let her know that the Longbottom Family will do their part." _Is she trying to groom him to be her successor? That would make sense considering that he's the Heir of the Longbottom Family._

"Happy to help," Ron said, and then he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Hermione called out, and Ron turned back around. "How are you feeling today?" _Huh?_

"This question again?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow, and the Trio exchanged looks. _Odd._ "I'm doing just fine…"

"It's just that you looked really out of sorts during Care of Magical Creatures," Hermione said.

"I didn't sleep well last night, and it caught up to me," Ron told them. "I had a long nap in the Hospital Wing, and now I feel perfectly like myself."

"That's good," Hermione managed a weak smile, and the two Gryffindor boys mimicked her. _Bloody hell, they look so creepy right now. Just standing there and smiling at me like that. The Carrow twins could learn a thing or two from the Golden Trio._

"Are you free on Thursday?" Harry asked, and Ron blinked at him. "I thought that maybe we could go flying… If you want, that is."

"Sorry, but I'm busy," Ron said slowly, his eyes fixed on Harry. _He just wants to be friends again? Just out of the blue? What the fuck?_

"Oh… That's fair," Harry nodded in understanding. "Maybe next week?" _No._

"We'll see," Ron replied. "Are you three alright? You've been acting… odd."

"Odd?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, odd," Ron said, his eyes digging into hers. "Is there something that you need to tell me?"

"No…" Neville tried to smile, and Ron decided that enough was enough.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, his demeanor turning cold. "Nothing has changed between us?"

"No, Ron," Hermione replied quickly. "We're friends." _Liar. They are hiding something from me, aren't they? Why else would they be acting so strange so suddenly?_

"Good," Ron said, deciding to keep an eye on them. "Goodnight." With that, Ron turned around and left. His mind quickly tried to figure out why Harry would change his attitude so quickly. As nice as his apology had been, Ron couldn't care less for it. _I forgave his betrayal last year, but I won't make that mistake again. They're up to something, and it involves me. Fucking nosey twats… What do they know about me that would illicit such behavior?_

As Ron began descending into the Dungeons, a terrible thought occurred to him. _Hermione keeps asking about my health…_ Ron stopped walking, dread slowly creeping into his mind. _Harry goes from being openly hostile to being soft-spoken and friendly… He was investigating me, wasn't he? He called me 'bad news'. And Neville… He can't even meet my gaze._

Ron just stood there, his breathing becoming erratic. _Why are they so interested in my health all of a sudden?_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he clenched his jaw. The Trio knew something about him that they shouldn't, which meant that Harry had uncovered some secret of his while investigating him. _He told them, and now they're all acting weird. What did he learn? Which secret did he uncover?_

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Chamber of Secrets – Past Midnight)**_

He had managed to keep his anger in check, and so his friends didn't know that he was now fixated on the Golden Trio. They had learned something which had not only jarred them, but also made them start asking about his health. Ron wasn't stupid enough to not realize what that could mean. _They either know about my Chronic Stress, or… Merlin help me… My Brain-Damage. I need to know how they found out, and what they plan to do with that information._

"Chivvy doesn't usually take jobs like this," Chivvy the Elf spoke up, he was a rather gruff looking Elf. "Chivvy is a hunter, not a maid."

"Chivvy, speak with some respect," Marty narrowed his eyes on the other Elf.

"It's alright," Ron put on a smile. "I understand your hesitation, Chivvy. You and your friends are used to working with animal carcasses, whereas I am asking you to repair this massive Chamber to its former glory. It's not your expertise, I get that. So… I'll pay fifty Galleons for these repairs."

"Fifty?!" Chivvy exclaimed, while his Elves went wide-eyed.

"Twenty for the job, and thirty for your secrecy," Ron clarified.

"Secrecy is more important to Mr. Weasley," Chivvy noted, and Ron gave him a nod. "That's a lot of money… Very well, Mr. Weasley has a deal."

"Excellent," Ron put his hand forward for a shake, and Chivvy blinked at it. _What?_ Chivvy slowly shook Ron's hand, his eyes darting towards a smirking Marty. "How long do you think the repairs will take? I'm not trying to rush you, I just want an estimate."

"A month," Chivvy said firmly. "Chivvy will fix the Chamber, install Magical Braziers, clear out all the sewage, block off any unnecessary pipes, and strengthen the general structure of the caves." _That sounds great._

"Alright, I will leave you and your friends to your work," Ron said, and Chivvy nodded before turning to the other Elves.

"Let's get rid of that skeleton first!" Chivvy ordered. "Then find the weak spots and start fixing them up!" Ron and Marty stepped away from Chivvy and his Elves, all of whom were now scurrying around the Chamber.

"Here's my Gringotts Pouch, Marty," Ron said as he pulled it out. "Give Chivvy his payment after he's done for the day, and then return the pouch to my trunk."

"Marty understands," Marty said as he took the pouch. "Does Master require anything else?"

"Just one more thing…" Ron whispered. "Bring me Harry Potter's trunk."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron stared at Harry's trunk, an odd sense of worry filling his gut. Marty had left to go help Chivvy with the repairs, while Ron had found himself just staring at the delivered trunk. _Just do it, Ron. If he's learned about your health issues, he can use that against you. You need to be prepared._

Ron kneeled down and opened the trunk, his eyes scanning the contents inside. _Clothes, Quidditch Gear, Seeker Magazines, and… Letters from Sirius?_ Ron decided to ignore them for now, instead he looked further inside the trunk for anything that would confirm his suspicions. As he neared the bottom of the trunk, he found a book which caught his eye.

"Modern Wizarding Medicine," Ron read the title, and his gut twisted instantly. Bright colored tags stuck out from the side of the book, and Ron recognized them as Hermione's handiwork. _She uses them to make notes… She's seen this book as well then._ Ron slowly opened it using the tags, and he found himself staring at a page about MRI tests.

Ron's heart sank into his stomach, and he found his mind drifting away from him. They knew his secret. The Golden Trio had learned of his Brain-Damage, and there was nothing that he could do about it. How did they find out? How did **Harry** find out? Had Ron said, or done, anything to give himself away? _No. No, I'm far too careful for that. Someone told him… Someone who knows…_

Ron's eyes blazed red, and he sneered down at the page. Murderous rage filled his veins, and he struggled to even think clearly. They had gone behind his back again? What had he done to piss Harry off so much? Why was the Boy-Who-Lived constantly doubting him? There were a few reasons, of course, but none of them seemed to justify such an investigation. _And now they know about my Brain-Damage?! How is that fair?!_

Ron's eyes scanned the page, and he saw that many words were underlined by Hermione. _Used to test for Brain Injuries. Black spots. Traumatic Brain Injury. Headaches. Seizures. Uncontrollable anger. Difficulty with logic and reason._ Ron's head spun a little. They had figured it all out. They knew his symptoms, they knew the name of his injury, and they knew about the MRI tests. _Wait… MRI tests? Why were they researching that?_ Ron looked back to the picture, and he noticed that Hermione had left little notes under it. _'Pictures resemble Ron's tests.'_

This made no sense. They had seen pictures of Ron's scans? How? No one had those… No one but him. _How did they find my MRI scans?_ Anger turned into confusion, and Ron's body relaxed a little. He thought back to where he had left the scans, and then wondered who could access that place. _My room… Which Trio member could access my room?_ Another thought occurred to him at that. _My siblings could have. What if one of them found the scans, and then told the Trio about them? No, they haven't been home since the Holidays._ Why was this happening to him? Why did the Trio have to know about his embarrassing injury?

He now knew why they had made their peace with him, and then proceeded to talk to him with pitiful looks. What the fuck had he done to deserve this? _I dashed Hermione's head against a wall. Maybe that's why this is happening?_ Did his siblings know about this as well? _No… No, they'd have confronted me by now. That's who they are._

Feeling hollowed out, Ron sat down, and then he began reading the whole page from top to bottom. He'd learn the truth behind this, and only then would he make a decision.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron sat on his bed, Harry's book on Modern Wizarding Medicine clutched tightly in his hands. His anger had evolved into something else entirely overnight. Now, instead of being filled with murderous rage, he was almost calm.

Maybe it was because he felt trapped right now. The Golden Trio knew about his Brain-Damage, which gave them actual power over him. The threat of exposure terrified Ron, which in turn made him furious, but Ron had also learned his lesson last year… If he lashed out and attacked the Trio, then he would be the bad guy in this mess. So Ron waited for his friends to wake up, he needed their advice. He needed them to comfort him. _No, not that. Don't make them go through that first thing in the morning. Deal with your emotions yourself, Ron._

"You're up," came Blaise's voice, who was groggily looking around the room. Ron felt a bit of relief at hearing his friend's voice, but he said nothing. Blaise moved out of his bed, and then he left for the bathroom. Ron waited patiently, and after a few minutes, Blaise came back out. "Ron? Why are you just sitting there?"

"Blaise, I need you to wake everyone up," Ron said, and Blaise blinked at him. " **Everyone** , alright? Bring them here… I need your help." Blaise just stared at Ron, and then he gave a slow nod before walking over to Theo's bed.

Ron began to reread the marked page on MRIs and Traumatic Brain Injuries, while Blaise focused on waking the others. Theo and Malfoy woke up easily enough, they were used to going on morning runs after all. Blaise then left for the girls' room, and Ron found himself in the company of Theo and Malfoy.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Malfoy yawned.

"We're not running today," Ron told him.

"Really? Then I can go back to sleep," Malfoy looked relieved.

"Go sit outside, I need to discuss something personal with the others," Ron said bluntly.

"Personal?" Theo asked, while Malfoy frowned deeply.

"So you wake me up just to toss me out of the room?" Malfoy asked, and Ron closed the book and stood up.

"You can either leave, or I can break your kneecaps," Ron loomed over Malfoy, who quickly took a step back.

"Ron… Mate…" Theo said calmingly, though he sounded more confused than anything else. "What's happened?"

"Go, Malfoy," Ron ordered, and the Malfoy Heir clenched his jaw before storming out of the room.

"Ron, tell me what's happened," Theo said as soon as Malfoy disappeared, and Ron tossed him the book.

"Read the marked page," Ron said, and Theo quickly looked through the book.

"I don't get it," Theo said after a few seconds. "Is this one of your books? What am I meant to be seeing here?"

"Seriously, Ron?" came Pansy's voice, and both Ron and Theo looked to see Blaise escorting the girls inside. Millie looked ready for the morning run, while the other three looked like angry corpses.

"It's so fucking early…" Tracey yawned, her yellow pajamas were an eyesore. "Why are we here?"

"Theo, hand Daphne the book," Ron said, and the weedy boy did as he was told.

"What's this?" Daphne asked, her free hand rubbing her droopy eyes.

"A book which explains what Brain-Damage is," Ron replied, and everyone gave him odd looks. "And no, it's not mine. It belongs to the 'Golden Trio'…"

"What?" Daphne jerked awake, and then she quickly began to read the marked page.

"The Golden Trio?" Blaise asked. "Why would they have a book like this? And how did you get it?"

"I had Marty bring me Harry's trunk," Ron hissed, his temper flaring. "They've been acting really weird around me lately, and Harry even apologized to me for being a cunt. It made no damn sense, so I started thinking about why they were acting this way. Why did Hermione keep asking after my health? Why did Neville feel the need to keep his eyes on me during classes? It's because they know about my Brain-Damage… It's because they feel sorry for me."

"Merlin…" Daphne muttered. "Is this Granger's handwriting? She's underlined some of your symptoms, Ron."

"They've been studying me," Ron grit out, and he didn't even realize that he was pacing.

"How the fuck did they find out?" Theo asked, and then he looked to the others. "No one said anything, right?"

"No," they all replied.

"How long have they known?" Millie asked, she was reading over Daphne's shoulder.

"I have no earthly idea," Ron shook his head. "Daphne, read the notes under the MRI picture."

"Pictures resemble Ron's tests," Daphne read, and then she looked to Ron with a shocked expression. "Your MRI scans?"

"They've seen them somehow!" Ron snapped. "Only I have copies of my scans, and yet the Trio have seen them!"

"Where are your copies?" Pansy asked. "Do you have them here?"

"They're 'safe' in my room back home," Ron replied, and he felt a pinching sensation on his nose. _Don't tear up! Don't give them the satisfaction by panicking!_

"So one of them got into your room," Tracey clicked her tongue, they were all wide awake now. "And not only that, but they actively searched for your scans."

"I think they were just trying to find some dirt on me, but then they happened upon the scans," Ron said, his voice cracking a little. "They know everything, and I can't do shite about it now…"

"Ron, stop pacing," Blaise said calmly, and then he walked over and put his right arm around Ron's shoulders. "Come and sit down for a second."

"They could tell the whole World if they wanted to…" Ron muttered as Blaise sat him down on his bed. "They could tell my siblings, my study group, the other Slytherins… They could tell everyone… And then everyone will start acting just like they are… What do I do?" _Please, just give me a plan before I do something that I'll regret._

"Theo, do you have a Calming Draught in your trunk?" Daphne asked, her eyes fixed on her boyfriend's trembling hands. She knew that he was going to start spiraling any moment now, which meant that a panic attack was on its way.

"I do," Theo said, and then he quickly searched through his trunk.

"They're not going to tell anyone," Blaise whispered, his right hand now rubbing Ron's back. "I might not like them very much, but even I know that they wouldn't spread this around. Just breathe, Ron."

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Pansy asked gently, and Ron shook his head. His eyes were starting to sting out of sheer anger, and he had to clench his jaw just to keep his mouth shut.

"Here," Theo said as he handed Daphne the Calming Draught, and she quickly kneeled in front of Ron.

"Drink this, alright?" Daphne said. "All of it." Ron drank down the Potion, and then he handed the empty vial back to her. "Now, let's figure this out."

"Okay…" Ron nodded, his entire body relaxing slowly. The change to a calmer state came rather quickly, and Ron now felt more tired than upset. "Thanks."

"Everything's going to be alright, Ron," Tracey said as she sat down on his other side.

"How do you feel now, mate?" Theo asked.

"Mostly just tired," Ron shrugged, and then he cleared his eyes. "My money is on Harry."

"Pardon?" Millie blinked.

"I think Harry is the person who found my scans," Ron clarified, the Potion had taken hold. "Hermione and Neville have never been to the Burrow."

"When was Potter at the Burrow?" Blaise asked.

"That's what we have to figure out," Ron replied.

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"Draco, you're not speaking," Madam Pomfrey said, and Draco broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry…" Draco apologized, his demeanor showed his exhaustion. Weasley had taken the day off because he wasn't 'feeling like himself', and oddly enough, both Professors Flitwick and Binns had allowed him to. "I think that someone I know is sick…"

"Sick?" Madam Pomfrey blinked, where had that come from?

"That's what I said," Draco sighed out, his head hanging near his knees. "I'm positive that someone I know is sick, and even though I don't like him very much, it still bothers me. I don't know why this is happening to me…"

"Him?" Madam Pomfrey asked, she knew what this was. "Are you referring to the rumors about Ronald's health?"

"I don't think that they are just 'rumors'," Draco looked up. "I know you can't tell me anything, but I'm certain that he's sick. I was right there when he had his seizure, and on Sunday, I saw him have a panic attack. And today, he was extremely pissed off in the morning. I noticed that he had a medical book in his hands… So yeah, I'm certain of it."

"Whether he is ill or not does not matter," Pomfrey said, and Draco felt himself getting riled up for some reason.

"Him being sick doesn't matter?" Draco frowned deeply. _Wait… Why am I getting so angry about it?_

"You should let me finish," Pomfrey went on. "What matters is how you feel about it." _I hate how I feel upset about it… I should be glad, not upset._

"I feel… bothered…" Draco replied lamely, and she waited for him to go on. "I don't like him as a person… But still, I would rather that he weren't sick…"

"You feel empathy then," Pomfrey said in a suggestive tone.

"For a bloody Weasley…" Draco closed his eyes. "Why should I care about his health?"

"Maybe you just don't like the fact that someone is struggling," Pomfrey said. "Maybe this isn't just about Ronald, but about you as a person. There is nothing wrong with showing empathy, Draco. It's what makes us human." _Father would disagree._

"There's something not right with me," Draco shook his head. "I don't know why I'm so different from my father… I try and try, but I just keep falling short… Imagine if he knew that I was feeling sorry for a Weasley. The same Weasley that I spent two years going after."

"Do you wish to discuss your father today?" Pomfrey asked, and Draco shook his head. _Never._

"I just don't want to care about Weasley," Draco told her, he was just done. "I don't want to look forward to our talks… I don't want his words to make sense… I just don't want him near me anymore."

"Change can be hard, Draco," Pomfrey started. "It can be frightening, and it often incites internal conflict… But it's necessary. No one can stay thirteen forever. We have to learn and grow."

"So I should just adopt his Blood Traitor way of thinking then?" Draco all but spat out, he suddenly felt so bitter. "I mean, I should, shouldn't I? Look at how well it's working out for him. He has respect and authority, while I don't even have anyone to talk to besides you two. My views have to be wrong, right? What I grew up believing was wrong, right?!" Draco shot out of his seat and went for the door, his head felt like it was going to explode.

"Draco, wait…" Madam Pomfrey called, but he was already exiting the Hospital Wing. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to discuss his traitorous feelings, and he certainly didn't want to learn more about Weasley's sickness. Draco Malfoy did not care about the fact that Ronald Weasley was just a sick young man.

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Black Lake – After Classes)**_

Blaise found himself grimacing at the mere thought of his mother's latest letter, it couldn't have come at a worse time. _A Christmas Wedding… I guess my Holidays are ruined then._

There were so many reasons as to why he didn't want to see his mother, but the main one was the fact that she knew everything about the Malfoy debacle. Blaise, in his stupidity, had asked her for advice before going to his friends. She had advised him that the Family Name lived on, and that he needed to think of that first and foremost. Her advice had helped him find the courage to live an isolated existence, but then his friends had come through for him.

Now Malfoy was a part of the group, and it was all due to Blaise's mistakes. Sure, Ron was keeping Malfoy around for some reason, but Blaise had been the one to open the gates. He had allowed Malfoy to get here, and his 'blessed' mother had forgotten her role in all of this. The next time Blaise met her, he was in for a lecture about not being good enough, and considering how he felt about his mother, he really didn't want to hear it.

On top of all of this, Ron was now backed against a corner. Blaise didn't even know how to feel about that, so he had allowed his anger to take over. The Golden Trio had gone too far this time, and Blaise felt the urge to release his frustrations on them. By what right had they done such a terrible thing to his friend? Ron had been hysterical in the morning, and he didn't even seem to realize it himself. He was sniffling, teary eyed, and even sounded desperate, which had only served to worry everyone. After Daphne had managed to convince Ron that he needed to sleep, the others had found themselves plotting revenge.

Ron had managed to hold onto his anger long enough to ask for counsel, and Blaise did not want to disappoint. They needed to be methodical, and in order to do that, they needed information. So Blaise had sent a second year to go find Longbottom, who Blaise planned to question. Longbottom was from an Old Family, and he was also Ron's 'Eternal Friend'. Blaise would learn the truth of this mess, and he'd report it back to Ron. That's how Blaise would repay the group for his mistakes. He'd protect them just like they had protected him.

"Zabini?" came Longbottom's voice, and Blaise controlled his expression. Blaise then looked to find Longbottom walking up to him, a confused look on his face. "Where's Ron? One of your House-mates found me on the seventh floor, and he told me that Ron wanted to see me out here."

"Ron's at his detention with Snape," Blaise told the Gryffindor. "I called you out here."

"Why?" Longbottom asked, his expression becoming wary.

"Do you know what this is?" Blaise asked as he showcased the book on Medicine. Longbottom started at it, and when he saw the colored tags, his eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?!" Longbottom demanded, and Blaise's gaze turned cold.

"You betrayed him again, you fucks…" Blaise hissed, while Longbottom swallowed thickly. "Is this how the Longbottom Family repays its debts? You investigate your 'Eternal Friends' behind their backs? You learn their secrets, and then you tell others?" _Talk, you twofaced scum._

"We haven't told anyone, nor do we plan to," Longbottom said quickly, and Blaise made sure to store that away. _So it's just them for now._ "Wait… You know about his Brain-Damage?"

"Of course I know," Blaise said coldly. "You arrogant little shite… You really think that Ron wouldn't tell his **actual** friends about his injury? Let me guess, you figured that **we** didn't know because **you** didn't know. Am I right?" Longbottom looked incredibly uncomfortable, and Blaise wished that Ron was here. _He'd have slapped the shite out of Longbottom by now._

"So it's not just Greengrass who knows," Longbottom said to himself.

"You don't even know how fucked you are, do you?" Blaise couldn't help but smirk maliciously. "Ron is done with you three… Permanently." _Thank Merlin for that._

"What? Why?" Longbottom asked.

"This is why," Blaise almost taunted, the book on Medicine on full display. "You've broken his trust… Again. You investigated him, and you learned something that he wanted kept private. This time… He won't forgive you, I'll make sure of that."

"Look… We wish that we never found out, alright?" Longbottom started.

"Spare me your 'regrets'," Blaise scoffed. "I'm not Ron, and I don't care about your side of the story. To me, you three are a cancer that Ron needs to get rid of."

"What's your problem with us? We're his friends too," Longbottom frowned deeply.

"Some friends…" Blaise rolled his eyes. "I mean, look at this book… You actually went out of your way to snoop in someone else's personal life? Why? What was the reason behind this intrusion?"

"I need to talk to Ron," Longbottom said, and then he turned to leave.

"It was Potter, wasn't it?!" Blaise called out, and Longbottom stopped. "That jealous, attention-hungry bitch… He's the one who found the scans, right? Did he stay at the Burrow after St. Mungo's burned down? Is that when he tried to find some dirt on the **Slytherin** Weasley?" Longbottom turned to face Blaise, who read Longbottom like a book. "It was… Potter's investigation led to this discovery, and he told you and Granger."

"It's more complicated than that," Longbottom said, he sounded almost desperate.

"Tell me the truth then," Blaise said. "Tell me everything."

"I'd rather tell Ron," Longbottom said.

"He's not going to talk to you, Longbottom," Blaise reminded the Gryffindor. "He's done with you three… If you don't believe me, then by all means, go find him in the Dungeons. He won't even bother to hear your side because he's just done with you. Instead, he'll beat you three senseless." Longbottom looked thoroughly shaken at that. "Why did Potter do this? What was Ron's crime?"

"I… I can't tell you… I need to talk to Ron," Longbottom muttered, and then he left rather quickly. _So Potter found the scans when he snooped around in Ron's room, and he hasn't told Ron's siblings yet. Also, judging by what Longbottom just revealed, Potter regrets his actions. All three of them do. Well… That's not good enough. They should never have done this to start with._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I was right about Longbottom," Blaise told Ron, who was just sitting on his bed. Ron had told Snape of why he couldn't attend detention, and surprisingly enough, Snape had been rather understanding. "He gave me a clear enough picture of how they found out."

"Well?" Ron asked, he was still dulled from the Potion and his long nap.

"Potter looked through your things while he was staying at the Burrow," Blaise told him. "He's the reason why Granger and Longbottom found out as well. All three of them feel 'terrible', and they don't plan to tell anyone."

"They feel terrible?" Ron asked.

"That's the impression that I got from Longbottom," Blaise replied. "I told him that you had detention with Snape, so he'll probably ambush you after dinner. Oh, and he won't be alone."

"Do you know why he did this to me?" Ron asked a little too calmly. "Harry, that is."

"You mentioned jealousy…" Blaise replied slowly, Ron had clearly sent the others away. _The Potion is wearing out, and he's starting to get angrier._

"He didn't like the fact that Dumbledore wasn't paying him all of his attention," Ron explained. "He hated that a Slytherin was getting more attention than him, the Golden Boy… So he deemed me a 'bad guy', and that allowed him to delve into my personal affairs. He only feels guilty now because he can't justify his actions to himself… It's not genuine guilt, Blaise. It stems from his own warped reasoning."

"Where are Theo and Daphne?" Blaise couldn't help but ask. _Why did they leave him to marinate in his foul mood?_

"I sent them away," Ron replied.

"Why?" Blaise asked.

"Because I don't want to be calm right now," Ron slid out of his bed, and then he began looking through his trunk. "The last time something like this happened, I settled for the wrong approach. This time… I'm going straight to the adults. I'll let them deal with the Trio, while I focus on things that actually matter."

"The Gala, and your business?" Blaise asked.

"And my friends," Ron stood up, a brown suit hanging from his arm. "Theo told me that your mother sent you an Owl this morning, and that you were bothered by what you read."

"Ron, don't think about that," Blaise waved a dismissive hand. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked calmly. "Once I return, we can talk about it… If you want."

"You've got your own problems to deal with," Blaise said. "You deal with yours, and I'll deal with mine."

"But we help each other should the other person need it?" Ron asked, and Blaise gave him a nod. "Alright, Blaise. I'll see you at dinner then."

"Just think before you act," Blaise said, and then he left the room.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Late Evening)**_

"So all three of them know then," Snape frowned, while Ron just sat there. He had washed up, put on a nice suit, and now he was plotting his moves. He should've already had some form of contingency plan in place, but it was too late now. _All I can do is learn from this._

"It was Harry," Ron said bitterly. "He broke into my things in order to prove that I'm some terrible human being, and now he's discovered my secret." _One of them, at least. I'm so glad that I listened to the Sorting Hat and burned my old 'vision journals'._

"Potter…" Snape hissed coldly. "Just like his father…" _Huh?_

"Was his father a jealous cunt too?" Ron asked, the Potion still made him sound dull and uninterested. Snape glowered in his chair, but he didn't say anything. "Whatever… I need permission to go back home, and then to…" _Wait… Where does Sirius live again?_ Ron blinked to himself, this was odd.

"The Fidelius Charm," Snape said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Black has turned his home into the Order's Headquarters, remember? Albus told us."

"Shite," Ron sighed. "So I can't go there then."

"Albus is the Secret Keeper, and he can tell you where to go," Snape informed him, and Ron slowly stood up.

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he walked to the fireplace. Ron grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and he cast it into the flames. "The Headmaster's Office." With that, Ron stepped through the blazing fire.

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's voice, he was sitting behind his clawed desk. As Ron approached the Headmaster, he noticed that the old man was eyeing Ron's clothes. "Going somewhere, my boy?"

"I need to go home, and then to…" Ron trailed off. "Where does Sirius live?"

"Ah, the Fidelius Charm," Dumbledore said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Might I know why you wish to leave Hogwarts?" _I guess that's fair._

"Harry Potter knows about my Brain-Damage, and so do Hermione and Neville," Ron replied, and the Headmaster didn't even react. "You knew?"

"Not until a few moments ago," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Harry and his friends were just here. They told me everything, and I must admit, I am quite disappointed with them."

"That's it?" Ron asked. "You're disappointed? Nothing else?"

"They regret their actions," Dumbledore said, and Ron grit his teeth. _My Potion has nearly worn out… Just breathe, Ron._ "Your friend Blaise led them to believe that you are 'done with them', so they came to me directly. They want to apologize to you, and offer you their aid."

"Fuck their aid," Ron hissed, and then he turned and cracked his neck. "I want points deducted off of them for stalking a fellow student. At least twenty each… And then, I want Hermione kicked out of the Potions Club. I want Harry to stay the fuck away from me, and my Family. I want Neville to write to his Grandmother, detailing his latest betrayal. "

"Ronald…" Dumbledore sighed. "Why must you always be so severe?"

"Don't you dare act like they're the victims here," Ron warned. "You better be on my side, old man. After everything I do for you, you'd better take my side in this. Your Golden Boy broke the Law with the shite that he's pulled. **Again**. I want some actual punishment, understand?"

"I will deduct the House Points, but the rest is not up to me," Dumbledore said, there was no room for argument because of his tone. "Severus holds dominion over his Club, I can't order Harry to obey my commands, and the same goes for Neville." _Fine, I'll settle for their House Points. For now._

"I want those House Points gone by the time I return," Ron said, and Dumbledore gave him a curt nod. "Now, where does Sirius live? I need to have a chat with him."

"What kind of chat?" Dumbledore asked.

"The kind where I give him a piece of my mind," Ron replied, and Dumbledore reached into his desk. The old man then produced a small piece of parchment, which he then handed to Ron. "Twelve Grimmauld Place…"

"You will not be able to pass this information on," Dumbledore told Ron, and Ron handed the parchment back. "But be warned, if someone Apparates alongside you into the Order's Headquarters, they will also learn of Grimmauld Place. They can then bring in others with them."

"I'll be careful," Ron said as he walked over to the fireplace.

"For what it's worth, they really do wish to help you," Dumbledore said, and Ron ignored him. _Help me? I don't want their fucking help. I wanted my privacy to be respected._ Ron took a pinch of floo powder, and he cast it into the fire.

"The Burrow," Ron called, and when the fire blazed green, Ron stepped through it. _I need to find my scans first._ As Ron entered the Living Room, he immediately realized that no one was home. _They must all be at Headquarters._ Ron quickly made his way up to his room, a permanent scowl on his face. _My parents gave him shelter, and he spat on their kindness. Fucking brat…_

Ron entered his room, and he couldn't help but note that it was much cleaner than how he had left it. His eyes traveled to his bed, and Ron felt his stomach turn. _He slept in my bed right after he went through my personal things. I'll need to get rid of that too._ Ron walked over to his study table, and he quickly pulled out the large envelope that held his scans. As Ron counted them, he heard a wooden board creak from beneath him. He wasn't alone.

Ron put the scans back in the drawer slowly, and then he brandished his wand. _Is it mum? Or dad?_ Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he creeped towards the door. _Should I call out to them?_ Suddenly, Ron was no longer thinking about Harry's actions. Instead, he found himself growing paranoid. _What if it's the person who killed Doge?_ That thought made him feel tense, and Ron regretted not drinking another Calming Draught before coming here.

Ron exited the room, and he was careful enough to avoid the creaking boards. Unlike this intruder, Ron knew the Burrow like the back of his hand. As Ron made his way down the stairs, he heard some more boards creaking. The closer Ron got to the Kitchen, the more he realized that his parents weren't home. None of the lights had been turned on, and whoever was walking around didn't know where not to step.

And then, Ron finally entered the Kitchen. He managed two careful steps before a shadow rushed him and pinned him against the wall, taking Ron completely by surprise. _The Disillusionment Charm as well?! Fuck! How did they even see me?!_ Ron's Disillusionment Charm had been broken due to his shock, and so his attacker also undid their Disillusionment Charm. _It's a man…_

"Who…" Ron started, but a wand was quickly pressed against his throat. _Where is mum? Where is Pandora?!_

"Why aren't you in Hogwarts, young man?" the shadow spoke, and Ron desperately wished for some light. "Don't move your wand… Drop it right now." Ron clenched his jaw. "Drop right it now, or I will be forced to stun you." _Stun? He's not the killer?_ Ron dropped the wand, and his attacker kicked it away. Ron slowly grabbed at the arm that was pinning him against the wall, and once he had a firm grip, Ron tried to calm down. "Why aren't you in Hogwarts? Are you really Ronald Weasley?"

"I am," Ron replied. "And I am not in the mood to be fucked with… So let go of me, and I'll let you walk away with your teeth intact."

"Save the bravado, young man," the shadow said, and Ron smirked a little. _You really should have kept your distance, cunt._

"Cutis Terra," Ron chanted, and he felt his entire body being incased in stone. Ron clamped down on the attacker's arm, and the man let out a pained yell. _Was that bone I heard crack?_

"Stupefy!" the wizard roared, and the stunner shattered on Ron's throat. Ron wheezed for air, but not before slamming his left fist into the man's chest. _Fuck… He hit me in the fucking throat!_ Ron coughed wildly as he massaged his throat, while his attacker lay not too far from him.

"I can't… breathe…" the attacker gasped, and Ron drew in a sharp breath. _Fuck, that still hurt!_

"You'll live," Ron sneered at the man's shadowy form, and then he walked over and grabbed the man's throat with both hands. With one swift motion, he yanked the man to his feet. Ron then slammed his right fist into the man's side, and the wizard collapsed back on the ground. "That's at least a few broken ribs… I'm not sure about my own strength, you see… I've never used this Spell against people. But judging by what I did to that dummy, I'd say that you're done."

Ron then undid the Spell, and he walked over to his discarded wand. After a bit of searching, Ron used it to illuminate the room. _Now, let's see to this intruder._ Ron examined his attacker, who was curled in on himself and gasping for air. _Who is he?_ The man had thick straw-colored hair, and he looked to be in a great amount of pain.

"Who are you?" Ron asked, but the man simply groaned. "Talk, you fuck… Or I'll start breaking your other bones." Ron suddenly heard the fireplace roar to life, and he turned off the light from his wand. Ron then quickly hid behind a wall, his wand at the ready. _He has friends?_ Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself again, and he hoped that it would work this time.

"Sturgis…" came a whisper from the Living Room. "Sturgis, are you in here? Was it a false alarm?" _What?_ The man named Sturgis tried to talk, but he only managed a pained moan. Ron heard footsteps getting closer, and then, the shadowy form of a woman made its way into the dark Kitchen. She lit her wand and looked around, and Ron saw that she was a rather stately-looking witch. Ron waited patiently for her to turn her back to him, and when she saw her ally collapsed on the ground, she rushed to his side.

"Sturgis?" the woman whispered frantically. "Merlin's beard… Who did this to you?" Ron slowly walked up behind her, his eyes fixed on her green shawl. _Another stranger in my house. Should I cast a Spell? What if she reacts in time? Get a little closer, and then tie her up._ Ron neared the witch, who was fretting over a moaning Sturgis. "Your ribs… Don't talk, Sturgis. I think you've got internal bleeding. Is your-"

"Incarcerous!" Ron chanted, and thick black ropes seized the witch. She let out a frightened squeal before falling to her side, and Ron immediately kicked the lit wand out of her hand. It rolled under the Dining Table, and its Spell stopped functioning as a result.

"Who are you?!" Ron demanded.

"Who are you?!" the witch demanded in return. "Why have you broken into the Burrow?!"

"Broken into?! This is my fucking house!" Ron kneeled down on the witch's chest, and she groaned and wiggled. "Keep moving, and I'll beat your friend to death!" She immediately stopped, and Ron lit his wand. The witch hid her eyes from the bright light, but when she finally looked back, her eyes widened.

"You're a Weasley…" she whispered.

"Like I said, this is my house," Ron hissed dangerously. "Who are you?"

"My name is Emmeline Vance, and I'm a friend of your mother and father," the witch replied. "You should be in school…"

"I got permission to leave from the Headmaster," Ron said, and then he grabbed the witch's face with his left hand. She suddenly looked frightened of him, and Ron strengthened his hold on her jaw. "Where are my parents, Emmeline Vance? How can I trust you?"

"Your father is at work… And your mother is at…" she trailed off. "I can't tell you where she is… I'm sorry."

"Can't, or won't?" Ron asked.

"Can't," she replied, and Ron let go of her jaw.

"Is she with Sirius Black?" Ron asked, and Emmeline just stared at him. "Don't stay quiet… You'll piss me off, and then I'll be forced to hurt your friend."

"What's the matter with you?" the witch looked horrified. "The Weasleys don't behave this way…"

"This one does," Ron leaned down, his face hovering over hers. "Start talking, or I'll make your friend 'Sturgis' sing."

"Please… You hurt him badly… I need to take him to the others," Emmeline said, her eyes darting towards Sturgis, who was now unconscious. "What did you do to him?"

"Relax… I only punched him twice," Ron slowly stood up, and then he pocketed his wand. Ron then grabbed the witch by her bindings, and he yanked her up. Ron then dragged her towards the Living Room, which required little effort on his part.

"What are you doing?! We can't leave him there!" she tried to move about.

"First, you prove your story," Ron started. "And then, I'll help your friend." _Don't let your guard down, Ron. You don't know these people._ Once they were inside the Living Room, Ron noticed that she had left the floo open. "You left it open?!"

"I…"

"You dumb bitch," Ron snarled as he tossed her in front of the fireplace. She landed with a loud thud, while Ron examined the green fire. "Is my mother on the other side?!"

"They all are…" Emmeline groaned.

"And you left it open?!" Ron turned on her. "Are you fucking stupid?!" _If I was a Death-Eater, I could have waltz right through! Fidelius Charm be damned!_

"This is all a misunderstanding," she snapped. "What is the matter with you?!" Ron grabbed her again, and he yanked her up.

"Time to prove your story, Emmeline Vance," Ron hissed in her face. "I'm going to toss you into the fire, and you'll send my mother and Sirius through. They can help your friend… Oh, and if anyone else comes through the fire, I'll end him." The woman just stared at him, her expression a mixture of shock and fear. Ron then used all of his strength to toss her into the fire, and she disappeared with a scream. Ron quickly ran back into the Kitchen, and he positioned himself behind the unconscious Sturgis.

"Sorry, mate," Ron whispered as he sat the man's body up. "But you'll be my shield in case your friend was lying." Ron heard the fireplace roar from the Living Room, and he aimed his wand at the Kitchen Entrance.

"Kid?!" came Sirius' voice, and Ron breathed out in relief. _Wait… I just attacked the Order… Shite. I need to feign ignorance here, otherwise I'll be hated by the entire Order._

"I'm in here!" Ron called, and then he cast Sturgis aside. Sirius stuck his head around the corner, and once he saw Ron, he quickly made his way inside.

"Sturgis?" Sirius eyed the unconscious man. "Merlin, kid! What did you do to him?!" Sirius then ran up and checked on his friend, while Ron pocketed his wand. "Ron, what the fuck?!"

"He attacked me," Ron told Sirius. "I come to my house, and then some stranger pins me against a wall… I went easy on him, believe me."

"Easy?" Sirius asked, and then he shook his head. "I left the floo open… Go… Your mother is waiting for you."

"I need to talk to you," Ron said.

"Later," Sirius frowned at him. "I need to bring Sturgis back with me, alright?"

"You bring him back, and then you come and find me," Ron said, and Sirius gestured him to go on. Ron made his way into the Living Room, and from there, he stepped into Grimmauld Place.

As soon as he walked out of the fireplace, he found himself at the end of several wands. Pandora, Xeno, Molly, some shady looking bloke, and Andromeda Tonks had their wands aimed on him.

"It's me," Ron said, his hands going up.

"Where are Sturgis and Sirius?" Emmeline demanded, and Ron noticed that she was no longer bound. _She scraped her face._

"Right behind me," Ron said, while the others lowered their wands.

"Ronald Weasley…" Molly grit out. "You attacked them?! You gave Mr. Podmore internal bleeding?!"

"He'll live," Ron said dismissively, much to his mother's horror. "I need to talk to you, mum. I came to the Burrow looking for you, and I was attacked by a man that I had never seen before. I thought that he had harmed you and Pandora, so I might've lost my temper."

"Molly, he doesn't know," Pandora whispered, though she was quite shaken by the fact that Ron had threatened Sturgis' life. The fire roared from behind Ron, and he quickly stepped out of the way. Sirius came through the fire, and he had Sturgis hanging off of his shoulder.

"Dromeda, help me," Sirius grit out, and Andromeda quickly cleared the nearest couch. Sirius set Sturgis' wheezing form on the couch, while Andromeda began looking him over. "He's not breathing right… He keeps making that whistling sound…"

"His ribs are broken," Andromeda sighed out, and then she looked to Ron. "Which Spell did you use?"

"None," Ron replied truthfully. "I punched him. Once in the center of his chest, and then in his side."

"You punched him?" Andromeda frowned, and Ron just stared at her. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Leave it," the shady man spoke up. "Just heal the poor bastard, will yeh?"

"You…" Sirius glared at Ron. "Start explaining yourself right now… Why aren't you at school?"

"Let's have that conversation in the Kitchen, shall we?" Xeno suggested. "Some tea will ease the growing tension…"

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Twelve Grimmauld Place – Before Dinner)**_

The tea hadn't helped at all, especially once Ron started explaining what Harry had been up to. Unsurprisingly, no one believed him until he threatened to drag Harry into Grimmauld Place. His mother was utterly shocked at misreading Harry, Pandora and Xeno just looked disappointed, and Sirius had gotten riled up.

"So he just broke into your things and found out?" Sirius paced, and Ron nodded.

"He found my scans, and then he looked further into them," Ron repeated. "I told you, Sirius. He's been investigating me."

"Bloody hell," Sirius shook his head, a scowl on his face. "Harry… I swear to Merlin, I never thought that I'd be so disappointed in him. Look at me… I sound like my father now…"

"Ronnie, are you sure about this?" Molly asked. "This doesn't sound like Harry at all." _Why am I not surprised by her reaction?_

"Do you really know Harry?" Ron asked, and she slowly shook her head. "The Boy-Who-Lived is a fairytale, nothing more. He's an annoying pest who has no respect for other people's privacy. And don't call me Ronnie… My name is Ron, or Ronald."

"Ron," Pandora said, and Ron looked to see her staring at him with her piercing gaze. Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he offered her a weak smile.

"Sorry, Pandora," Ron apologized. "I've had a long day…"

"He broke into your things?" Sirius asked again, and Ron just nodded. "And he did it while he was staying at the Burrow?"

"I've already said so, yes," Ron replied, and Sirius rubbed his temples. _He's not taking this well._ "This also explains why he was following me during the Longbottom Funeral. He found my scans, and like a bloodhound, he tried to find out more. Look… Instead of taking action myself, I've come here. I've told you adults everything. It's all on you now."

"You did the right thing," Xeno smiled at him. _That remains to be seen._

"Sirius, you better tell Harry to keep this to himself," Ron stood up, he needed to get back to Hogwarts. "And tell him to stay away from me, and my siblings."

"Siblings?" Sirius asked. "Kid… They're Harry's friends…"

"I don't care," Ron said, and Sirius let out a sigh. "You have no idea how hard I've worked to keep myself in check, Sirius. He has been spying on me simply because I'm in Slytherin, and I'm very tired of this same old dance. Either you punish him for his actions, or I will." With that, Ron left for the exit.

"You're going back to Hogwarts?" Molly called, and Ron stopped.

"I am," Ron replied. "Dinner will be served soon, and my friends are expecting me."

"You can eat here," Molly suggested. "I can make you something." _That is tempting… Mum's cooking is unmatched in my opinion._

"I appreciate the offer, mum," Ron turned to face her. "But I really ought to get back to Hogwarts. My friends are waiting for me, and I still need to deal with Harry and his friends."

"Alright…" Molly said, looking a bit crestfallen. "Just no fighting… Please, Ron." _Trust me, I learned my lesson._

"Talk to him, Sirius," Ron looked to him. "Tell him to just leave me alone, and make sure that he doesn't tell anyone else."

"I'll talk to him," Sirius sat down, a tired look on his face.

"You did well by not lashing out, Ron," Pandora commended, and Ron gave her a nod before leaving the Kitchen.

As Ron made his way into the Living Room, he found Andromeda, Emmeline, and the shady bloke hovering over Sturgis. They all looked to him, while Ron stared at the unconscious Sturgis. _This is what the Order is capable of? Fucking useless… And that Emmeline idiot left the damn floo open. How fucking stupid is that?_

"He'll be fine," Andromeda told Ron. "Don't worry about it."

"Do I look worried?" Ron asked her, and then he walked over to the fireplace. Before he flooed away, he looked to Emmeline Vance. "The next time you leave Grimmauld Place, close the damn floo network." The adults gaped at Ron's back, while he tossed some floo powder into the fire. "The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts." The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it.

"Welcome back, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted him, and Ron looked to see the Headmaster near the exit. "Just in time for dinner."

"I just met some of the Order," Ron walked up to Dumbledore. "I broke Sturgis' ribs, and I also manhandled Emmeline Vance."

"Pardon?" Dumbledore blinked.

"I'll tell you on the way," Ron sighed, and they began to head down to the Great Hall.

"You fought them?" Dumbledore asked, his expression had hardened. _He hasn't been the same since Sunday, but I can't really blame him._

"I went to the Burrow, and my Family weren't there," Ron started, and then they passed by the Stone Gargoyle. "So I went to go check on my scans, and while I was doing that, Sturgis entered the Burrow. He thought that I was an intruder… There were clearly Alarm Charms on the house, and I set them off. As I was coming down, he jumped me and pinned me against a wall. I didn't know that he was an Order member, so I fought back."

"And Sturgis was hurt in the conflict?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "Emmeline Vance then showed up, and I caught her off-guard. Headmaster, she left the floo to Grimmauld Place open…"

"I see," Dumbledore said calmly, his expression returning to normal.

"If I was a Death-Eater, I could have strolled right into Grimmauld Place," Ron frowned deeply. "Is she mentally challenged?"

"The last war was over a decade ago, Ronald," Dumbledore replied, deciding to calm Ron down. "Many are still finding their legs again."

"She put my Family in danger," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "This day, Headmaster… It just keeps getting more annoying…"

"Then it's a good thing that it's almost over," Dumbledore patted Ron's back. "How did your talk with Sirius go?"

"I told him everything, and it's all up to the adults now," Ron replied.

"So you will not take action against Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, I won't," Ron gave Dumbledore a bland look. "Why is it that Harry can do no wrong in your eyes?"

"Ronald, that is simply not true," Dumbledore told him. "What he did was wrong, I won't deny that. I just don't want you two fighting each other."

"Because you want me helping him later on," Ron said, they were nearing the Great Hall.

"We must always think of the Greater Good," Dumbledore counselled. "Harry will need you, and you will need him. I truly believe that, dear boy."

"I… I understand, but for now, I just want him to stay away from me," Ron sighed out. "He disrespected my parents' hospitality, he spat on our alliance, and now he has power over me."

"He will not tell a soul," Dumbledore promised, but Ron didn't believe him.

"I just can't take that risk," Ron said as they began to enter the Entrance Hall. _Wait… The House Points._ "Did you remove the House Points from Gryffindor?"

"I did," Dumbledore said, while Ron walked up to check the Hourglasses. _Slytherin has four hundred and ten points, Ravenclaw has one hundred and seventy points, Hufflepuff is on one hundred and ten points, and Gryffindor is on fifty points now. Good. The House Cup is all but secured for us._ "I must say, Slytherin has been doing a splendid job this year."

"I know, right?" Ron managed a proud smile. "You might as well hand over the House Cup at tonight's dinner."

"I can't do that, my boy," Dumbledore smiled a little. "I have placed my money on Ravenclaw this year."

"The Professors take bets?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "Do they just bet on their own Houses?"

"Sadly, yes… I am the only one who changes his bet each year," Dumbledore replied. "Their lack of change makes for poor sport, but it is what it is. Come, let's eat." Ron and Dumbledore made their way inside, and Ron immediately went for the Slytherin table. _I won't even acknowledge the traitors. As far as I'm concerned, they don't even exist for the foreseeable Future._ As Ron neared his friends, he noticed that Malfoy wasn't at dinner.

"Hello," Ron greeted them in his usual way, and then he sat down between Daphne and Blaise.

"You're back," Daphne smiled a little. "How did it go?"

"I told them everything that Blaise was able to find out," Ron replied, and then he looked around the table. _Why is everyone so excited?_

"You didn't hear this, but Gryffindor lost sixty points today," Pansy smirked. _Oh, I know._ "There's even talks of a party being held by the Triumvirate this weekend!"

"Twenty each then," Ron said to himself.

"So it was you," Theo chuckled, and Ron shrugged.

"I saw an opportunity to put Gryffindor in the last spot, and I took it," Ron told them, and his friends nodded their approval.

"This came for you a couple of minutes ago," Blaise said, and then he handed Ron a letter. "It's got the Beauxbatons Seal on it, mate." _Madame Maxime. She sent me the list of Old French Families?_

"Before you open that, we need to tell you that Malfoy hasn't been seen since his session with Pomfrey," Millie spoke up, and Ron stopped opening the letter.

"What?" Ron asked. "So he's not at the common room?"

"Nope," Tracey shook her head. "We tried to find him after you left, but we couldn't. He's just… vanished." Ron immediately looked to Flint, who was currently ripping into Crabbe and Goyle. _If he did anything to Malfoy…_

"They had practice after classes," Daphne told him. "I don't think they did anything to Malfoy."

"Then where would he run off to?" Ron asked the others. "Did you check the North Wing?"

"We did," Pansy replied. "He wasn't there." _Shite, where did he go? I'll use the Marauder's Map to find him after dinner._

"He'll turn up," Daphne rubbed his thigh under the table. "I'll make you a plate, okay?"

"Thanks, Daph," Ron relaxed a little, and then he opened the letter.

 _Ronald_

 _As discussed, I have managed to find several Old Families who are willing to donate Five Hundred Galleons each to the St. Mungo's Charity Event. They are awaiting an invitation from your Ministry, so act fast, my friend._

 _The Abadie Family_

 _The Ancar Family_

 _The Beaufort Family_

 _The Beaumont Family_

 _The Bisset Family_

 _The Couture Family_

 _The Delacour Family_

 _The Donadieu Family_

 _The Heroux Family_

 _The Lenoir Family_

 _The Travers Family_

 _Your Ministry will know their address._

 _Your Friend and Ally,_

 _Madame Olympe Maxime_

Ron smiled to himself as he handed the letter to Theo, who read it to the others. While Theo was reading the letter, Ron began his meal. _I'll need to ask Snape if I can ditch his Potions Club tomorrow. I need to get this letter to Madam Bones as soon as possible._

"So it's really happening?" Tracey cocked an eyebrow. "You and Madame Maxime are going to bring the French Families to England?"

"If Madam Bones allows it, then yeah," Ron nodded.

"This is quite amazing, Ron," Theo handed the letter back. "But be warned… There's a lot of bad blood amongst the Old Families."

"Right…" Ron said slowly. "Tell me about it, Theo."

"Well, it's mostly just ego," Theo started. "Each Family **has** to up the other, and it always turns into a pissing match between them."

"Mix in alcohol, and you've got a fight on your hands," Pansy added, and everyone but Tracey and Ron nodded along. _It makes sense, Tracey and I didn't grow up attending Galas and Pure-Blood Parties._

"Then there's the war…" Theo sighed. "No matter how you look at it, they will blame each other for even existing back then. Some are angry because others joined You-Know-Who, while the others are angry that some didn't."

"I'm sure Madam Bones will keep everyone in check," Millie added. "But just know that she might not like this idea very much."

"I'll convince her then," Ron shrugged, and then he looked to Blaise. "Now… Tell me about the letter that you got today."

"Seriously?" Blaise gave him a deadpan look. "I told you not to worry about that."

"We're a team, Blaise," Ron smiled a little. "We help each other."

"See," Tracey smirked at Blaise. "Now stop being a baby and tell us."

"Fine…" Blaise sighed out. _After this, I'll find out where our other teammate ran off to._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Next Chapter will have Voldemort, and more information on things happening outside of Hogwarts.**

 **See you guys on Friday!**


	90. Chapter 90 - Shadow and Mist

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Let me just start off with a massive apology... My Laptop's Hard-drive got knocked loose, and I kept getting the 'No Disk Found' error, which always turned off my computer. I lost a lot of progress on the Chapter, and I had to get the laptop fixed. Sorry, folks, it shouldn't happen again. Also, I wrote this out in like two days, and I didn't have a chance to read through it for errors. If you see anything immersion-breaking , let me know.**

 **To all the people who emailed me, sorry that I was late on the replies.**

 **Alright! Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 90 – Shadow and Mist**

 _ **Ronald**_ _ **Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – After Dinner)**_

"Professor Snape, can I please talk to you?" Ron approached the Potions Master, who merely cocked an eyebrow at him. "Please, read this letter." Snape took the letter, and his black eyes quickly scanned through it.

"I assume that I will not be seeing you in my Potions Club tomorrow," Snape said, and then he handed the letter back to Ron.

"No, Sir," Ron replied. "Is that alright?"

"This time… Yes," Snape said in his usual icy voice, and then he looked to Ron's friends. "You'd best be off, Ron."

"Actually… Can you escort us down?" Ron asked, and Snape just stared at him. "The Golden Trio plan to ambush me in the Entrance Hall, I just know it. Please, Sir? I've had a long day, and I don't want to argue and fight."

"If it annoys Potter, then I will play bodyguard," Snape smirked a little. _Yes!_

"Thank you," Ron said, and they both began walking towards the exit. Ron's friends quickly joined them, all of them making sure to stay behind Ron and Snape.

"Where was Mr. Malfoy tonight?" Snape asked.

"Um… He apparently disappeared," Ron replied, and Snape looked back to the others.

"We tried to find him, Sir," Theo spoke up.

"But he didn't want to be found," Pansy added.

"I see," Snape looked back ahead.

"I'll find him," Ron promised, and Snape didn't even react. _Of course he wouldn't, he has an image to maintain._ As they exited the Great Hall, Ron immediately spotted the Trio. "Any new Potions that you're working on, Sir?"

"Just the usual," Snape replied, he too had spotted Potter and his shadows. "Though I have received a peculiar order recently, which I will be showcasing in my Club tomorrow. It's a shame that you'll miss it."

"Peculiar, you say," Ron made conversation, while the Trio tried their best to step in. _They wouldn't dare, not while Snape is talking to me. Tracey is a genius for suggesting this._

"Is it a Poison, Sir?" Blaise asked.

"It is indeed," Snape replied, and Blaise kept his features calm. His mother's Wedding Day was set, and now Snape had received an order for a Poison?

"What type of Poison?" Blaise couldn't help but ask.

"It's called the Hag's Tears," Snape replied. "It is not studied at Hogwarts, or any other school. One drop can cause permanent nerve damage, while two drops will send you into a coma."

"And a third drop?" Pansy shuddered.

"A painless death," Snape looked back with a dark glare, he was clearly enjoying frightening Pansy. They began their descent into the Dungeons, and Ron felt himself relax considerably. _No more conflict tonight. I hope._ The rest of the way was spent in silence, and once they reached the Dungeons, Snape left without uttering a single word.

"Good job, Tracey," Millie smiled at the slender girl, who gave a mock curtsy.

"Avoiding trouble is my forte," Tracey sniggered, and Ron couldn't help but chuckle. After such a harrowing day, it was nice to just laugh about something. _The adults will handle Harry. I need to focus on the 'Greater Good', as Dumbledore says._ They made their way towards the Slytherin entrance, and after Ron gave the password, they made their way inside.

"Are you going to go find Malfoy?" Daphne asked from Ron's right.

"Yeah," Ron took her left hand. _Merlin, she has such little hands._ "You have little hands."

"Pardon?" Daphne blinked, and then she checked her right hand. "My hands are normal, Ron. Your hands are abnormally large."

"It's because I have a massive-"

"Please spare me your vulgarity," Daphne clicked her tongue, and Ron sniggered to himself.

"I was going to say wand, Daph," Ron lied.

"Yes, I'm sure," Daphne said, and then she smiled at him. "You're handling your emotions really well, Ron. I just feel the need to tell you that. I half expected you to go after the Trio like you did last year."

"That wasn't very smart of me, was it?" Ron asked. _Though the thought did cross my mind… Several times, in fact._

"No, but I'm glad that you learned from it," Daphne tightened her hold on his hand. As they neared the boy's room, they all spotted Clara waiting for them outside.

"Hello, Clara," Ron greeted, and she smiled at them.

"Hello, you seven," Clara greeted in her sweet voice, and they all greeted her back. "May I borrow your redhead for a moment?"

"We'll see you inside," Blaise said to Ron, and they all entered the room. Once they were gone, Clara gestured Ron to follow her. Oddly enough, they began heading further into the boys' dorms.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked, and she suddenly stopped them both.

"I heard that you didn't attend your classes today," Clara said, and Ron blinked at her. "And that yesterday, you were excused from Care of Magical Creatures because you were feeling unwell."

"Who tells you three these things?" Ron asked genuinely. "Do you have spies everywhere?"

"People like to run their mouths, and I like to listen," Clara replied, she looked more worried than seductive right now. _I don't like it. I prefer banter over concern._ "Carey and Samantha are worried too, Ron. I know that we don't always show it, but we do care about the students of this House. And we like you in particular, even after recent events." Ron felt a little guilty for making light of her concern, so he decided to help ease her mind.

"I've had a rough couple of days, but I'm on the mend," Ron assured her. "There is nothing to worry about, Clara. I won't drop dead on your watch, I promise." Clara stared at him for a few moments, and then she smiled at him.

"Good, it would look terrible on my record," Clara joked, her voice had returned to being sweet.

"Now I see her true face," Ron chuckled.

"And?" she asked.

"And it's very pretty," Ron replied, and she gave him a wink. "But not as pretty as Carey's…"

"You little shite," Clara laughed. "That was good, I'll give you that."

"Thanks," Ron said, his laughter dying down. "It feels nice to laugh… I didn't think that I was going to laugh today…"

"Have I made your day brighter?" Clara asked, she clearly wanted him to say yes.

"You, my friends, and a certain letter," Ron replied.

"A letter?" Clara asked, and Ron simply smiled.

"You'll hear about it in the news," he said, and she nodded slowly. "Anyway… I heard that the Triumvirate are planning a party for this weekend."

"We are," Clara lit up. "We have passed four hundred points, Ron! We're dominating the competition, and today, Gryffindor got butchered!"

"You're welcome," Ron grinned, and she blinked at him.

"That was you?" she asked slowly.

"Let's just say that three people crossed me, and I made them hurt," Ron replied. "Twenty House Points each, which in my opinion, wasn't enough."

"The Golden Trio…" Clara spoke to herself. "I heard that they were looking for you." Her expression suddenly became serious. "Are they coming after you?"

"No," Ron replied. "They just kept poking their noses into my business, and I found out." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "It doesn't matter… It's all out of my hands now, and I'm actually really glad about that. I'm already spread too thin, and I don't need any more problems."

"That's a shame because we wanted your help with the party," Clara sighed dramatically, and Ron's lips twitched upwards. _I'm sure that many lads have fallen for that._

"I always have time for you three," Ron said, and she smirked immediately. "But… I don't think that I'll be much help."

"What? You've thrown really nice parties before," Clara said.

"Actually, I had a lot of help," Ron admitted. "I think that you should talk to Pansy Parkinson, she's quite brilliant when it comes to social events. She helped Daphne plan her birthday party, she helped me plan the parties in Slytherin, and she knows Pure-Blood customs better than I do."

"Pansy Parkinson," Clara said. "Samantha mentioned that her mother is quite good at throwing large parties for her friends."

"She probably taught Pansy everything," Ron said. "Seriously, get Pansy involved in this. I think she'll do great."

"You were right about Millicent Bulstrode," Clara noted. "Alright, I'll be stealing your friend for a bit then."

"Just return her unspoiled," Ron said as they began walking back.

"Unspoiled? I'm offended," Clara giggled.

"I'm serious," Ron chuckled. "Pansy sort of reminds me of you."

"How so?" Clara asked.

"Witch Weekly has really turned her into a menace over the last two years," Ron replied. "When we were at Hogsmeade, she modeled fishnet stockings for me out of the blue."

"Out of the blue?" Clara cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it was bizarre," Ron said, while Clara smirked to herself.

"Did you like it?" Clara asked, and Ron swallowed thickly. _You walked into a trap, Weasley._

"I… Of course, I'm a bloke," Ron said a little defensively.

"Then that's all that matters," Clara hummed, and then they stopped at the door. "Tell her to come to my room, we'll be waiting for her." With that, Clara left for the girls' dorms. Ron watched her leave, his eyes fixed on her swaying hips. _Snap out of it._ Ron shook his head clear, and then he entered the room.

"I have returned," Ron announced, and he found his friends playing a game of Wizard's Poker. _We really need a new game._

"We started without you," Tracey smirked at him, and he feigned hurt.

"That's fine, I already told you that I intend to find Malfoy," Ron said, and then he looked to Pansy. "Pans, the Silver Triumvirate need your help."

"What?" Pansy blinked, while the others waited for Ron to go on.

"I volunteered you for the party planning," Ron started. "I told them that you were amazing at it, which you are, and that under your direction, this party will be one to remember."

"Seriously?" Pansy asked, and Ron blinked at her. _What? This is good news._

"I think you built her up too much, mate," Theo laughed, while Pansy shot Theo a frown.

"I just have faith in her," Ron countered, and then he smiled at Pansy. "Just do your best, and I'm sure everything will work out. Oh… And don't let them walk all over you, alright? They may be older, but that doesn't mean that they're always right. If you have a good idea, then you make sure that they implement it. Oh… And make sure to keep us in the loop. We don't need nasty surprises."

"It's party planning, Ron," Daphne sighed. "Pansy's not going to war." _I like to give speeches. It's my thing now._

"I guess I'll head out then," Pansy said, and then she gave all of her treats to Millie.

"Hey! Not fair…" Tracey grimaced.

"You're more than welcome to win them, Tracey," Millie smirked, while Pansy walked towards Ron.

"Wait outside for a moment," Ron said to Pansy, and then he walked over to his trunk. He pulled out the Marauder's Map, and then he hurried over to her.

"What's that?" Pansy asked, while the others tried to get a look at it.

"This is my secret weapon," Ron smirked, and then he hid the Map in his robes. "Let's go."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Blaise called.

"No, you lot enjoy yourselves," Ron said as he closed the door behind him.

"Did you really build me up like that to the Triumvirate?" Pansy asked as they began making their way towards the common room. "Ron, I don't want them to think the World of me…"

"I simply told them that you helped me plan my parties," Ron assured her, and then he put his arm around her. "Pansy, you'll do great. Daphne told me that without your help, her party wouldn't have been so successful. And I know for certain that mine would've failed without your guidance."

"Are you exaggerating to make me feel better?" Pansy smiled at him.

"Pansy, I didn't even know how to approach the then fourth years…" Ron reminded her.

"I guess I did help you, didn't I?" Pansy said, and then she drew in a sharp breath. "This is a great opportunity, and I should seize it."

"Exactly," Ron gave her a squeeze before letting go. "Have fun, Pans."

"Good luck on your search," Pansy said as they stepped into the common room, where they split up.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Finding Malfoy had been easy enough thanks to the Marauder's Map, the blonde wizard was hiding in an abandoned classroom in the North Wing. Ron stood at the door of said classroom, his mind coming up with a plan. It was obvious that something had bothered Malfoy during his session, and as a result, he had hidden himself away from the World. Ron understood how that felt… _Sometimes, after my own sessions, I just want to be left alone._

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he made his way inside. The classroom was dark, dusty, and overall uninviting. _A perfect lair for Malfoy._

"Malfoy, I know you're in here," Ron called, the map had shown him that the Mafloy Heir was sitting in the far right corner. Ron pretended to look around, Malfoy was clearly using the Disillusionment Charm. "Really? You're just going to pretend like you're not here?" Ron then looked to the far right corner. "Malfoy, please just show yourself. I'm not in the mood for dramatics."

"Fuck off, Weasley," came Malfoy's voice, and Ron was rather taken aback. It had been a while since he had heard actual hatred in Malfoy's voice. "Just leave me alone…"

"What happened?" Ron asked as he began walking towards Malfoy's voice. "Was it Flint?"

"So now you want to talk to me?" Malfoy asked bitterly, and then his Disillusionment Charm fell apart. Ron was jarred at just how horrid Malfoy looked. The ponce who usually spent over thirty minutes each morning fixing up his appearance was now rugged and blotchy faced, and judging by his dirtied robes, he clearly hadn't bothered with finding a clean spot to sit down.

"Malfoy…" Ron stared at him, and then a thought occurred to him. "Did someone attack you? Tell me the truth, and I'll the fucker." _I gave him my word, and someone still hurt him._

"No one attacked me…" Malfoy pulled his knees to his chest, his head hiding behind his thighs. "Just go away…" _What happened in his session? He looks terrible._ Ron slowly walked up to the blonde wizard, a small pang of pity coursing through him. "Didn't you hear me? I want to be left alone…"

"From what I'm seeing, you need company," Ron said gently, and then he kneeled in front of Malfoy. "Talk to me, Malfoy… What happened?" Malfoy said nothing. "What did you mean by 'So now you want to talk to me'? Are you upset with me for sending you away this morning?"

"Why would I be upset?" Malfoy spoke from behind his thighs, his voice was a little hoarse. _He's been crying. Fuck, I shouldn't have been so harsh with him this morning._ "You don't trust me with sensitive information about yourself, just like I don't trust you with information about me."

"It's not like that…" Ron sighed, and Malfoy slowly looked up. "Sorry… I don't know why I just lied. You're right, I don't trust you." Ron then moved over and sat down on Malfoy's left, both of their backs resting against the dusty wall. "I shouldn't have kicked you out of your own room like that… I'm sorry."

"Why are you here?" Malfoy all but whispered. "How did you even find me?"

"I'm here because I don't like the idea of you being alone at night," Ron admitted, and Malfoy looked to him with a tired expression. "I gave you my word, Malfoy. If you're out here alone, and Flint ends up finding you, then I'll become a liar. Plus, I don't want to see you end up in the Hospital Wing."

Malfoy went back to sulking at that, while Ron just sat there. As hard as it was to admit, Ron couldn't deny that he didn't mind Malfoy so much anymore. There were times when his dry wit was even funny, and unlike the others, Malfoy was vicious in his banter. Disturbingly enough, Ron enjoyed that sort of crude banter a lot more. _Look at me… The Weasley who somehow enjoys a Malfoy's company. Mum and dad would be horrified if they saw me right now._

"No one is going to find me here," Malfoy finally broke the silence. "You can leave…"

"What if I told you that I still don't want to?" Ron asked.

"What is your deal, Weasley?" Malfoy sneered at him. "Why are you so fucking… so fucking annoying?!" Ron flinched a little due to Malfoy's sudden yell, while Malfoy shot up to his feet. "You think you're being noble right now?! Well, you're not! I don't want you near me! I don't want you talking to me! And I certainly don't need your pity!" With that, Malfoy began to march towards the exit. _Where did that come from?_

Ron quickly shot up to his feet, and before Malfoy could reach the door, Ron was standing in his way. Malfoy glared murder at Ron, who just frowned in response.

"I don't know what happened to you in your session, but don't take it out on me," Ron said firmly. "And I'm not trying to be noble, I just happen to give a shite about you."

"Why?!" Malfoy yelled. "I don't want you to! Fuck off already!" Ron felt his temper flare up, but he quickly focused on his breathing. _Snape better name me in his fucking will for this shite._

"You really hate me that much?" Ron asked, and Malfoy clenched his jaw. "No matter what I do, you just assume that I'm working some angle with you? What? You think I have nothing better to do than to get inside your head? Is that it?"

"I think that you enjoy acting like some saint!" Malfoy snapped. "Oh, look at Weasley! He's taken pity on his former enemy! Look how fucking saintly he is!"

"Are you done?" Ron asked, his tone turning cold.

"Yeah, I'm done," Malfoy spat out. "I'm done with your group, I'm done listening to you, and I'm done doubting myself." Malfoy stormed past Ron and exited the classroom, leaving Ron to glower in the dark. _No, fuck that._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he chased after Malfoy.

"So you're just going to go back to being Flint's bitch?" Ron caught up to Malfoy. "I promise you, without me there to protect you, he'll come straight for you." Malfoy stopped and turned around, an almost desperate look on his face. "You know what I think… I think you're scared."

"Scared?" Malfoy jeered. "Scared of what?"

"Of the fact that I'm not some evil Blood Traitor like you imagined," Ron said. "That you and I aren't so different!"

"We are nothing alike," Malfoy hissed as he grabbed Ron's collar. "You and I are not alike in any way, Weasley! So don't ever say that again!" _Don't clock him, Ron, don't fucking give in._

"We are alike," Ron gave voice to his recent thoughts. "We both struggle to live up to our Family Names…"

"Shut up," Malfoy shoved Ron back.

"You can't even stand the mention of your Family, can you?" Ron asked. "Every time someone mentions them, you feel like you aren't good enough… Your mind just turns in on itself."

"Just shut up right now…" Malfoy warned, he was moments away from lashing out.

"I feel the same way about mine," Ron went on. "From the day that I was sorted, I feel like I've just been fighting every single day. I feel like I'm trying to live up to an impossible standard…" Before Ron could go on, Malfoy lunged forward and punched Ron in the jaw. The sudden impact, and the fact that Malfoy had thrown his entire body into it, dropped Ron onto his side. _What just… happened?_

Ron rolled onto his back, a dull ache spreading across his left cheek. Then it clicked in his head, Malfoy had fucking punched him across the face. Ron slowly sat up, only to see Malfoy springing to his feet. _He really threw himself at me, didn't he?_

"You… You actually hit me…" Ron stood up, his eyes narrowing on Malfoy.

"I'm nothing like you…" Malfoy croaked, his eyes had welled up. "I am the Heir of Lucius Malfoy…" Ron slowly walked up to Malfoy, and once he was looming over the shorter boy, Ron felt his blood boil.

"You are the Heir of a murderer…" Ron whispered coldly, while Malfoy shrunk a little.

"My father-"

"Is a Death-Eater," Ron interrupted. "You feel proud of that, Malfoy? You feel proud of the fact that your father has probably murdered scores of people?"

"Don't say a word against my father," Malfoy stood up straighter.

"Could you do it?" Ron asked, and Malfoy blinked at him. "Could you kill someone?"

"You're sick in the head, Weasley…" Malfoy swallowed thickly.

"You will never live up to him," Ron sneered. "Until you start killing those who are different from you, you will never be the son that he wanted." _And if you do follow in his footsteps, I'll kill you as well._ "Is your father's approval worth your soul?"

"Stay away from me…" Malfoy muttered, and then he went to leave. Ron quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him back, his face inches from Malfoy's.

"We both know that eventually, the Dark Lord will return," Ron whispered, his eyes digging into Malfoy's. "After all, you and I have faced him before… Tell me, once he has returned, are you going to murder your schoolmates? Hermione Granger? Colin Creevey? Beth Wiltshire? Justin Finch-Fletchley? Are you going to hunt them down with your father?"

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Malfoy blinked repeatedly. "Let go of my arm… You're hurting me…" _I'm hurting him? Wait… Look at his face, he's almost crying._ Ron just stared at Malfoy for a few seconds, and then he weakened his grip.

"You're no killer…" Ron said almost gently, his expression softening. "I just don't see it in you."

"My father is not a murderer…" Malfoy denied weakly, but he knew the truth. Deep down, Draco had always known what his father was. _I need to reach out to him, and not just because I promised Snape. I don't want to see him die before he even turns seventeen._

"Don't leave the group," Ron whispered. "Don't run away because things are getting difficult."

"Why? None of you even want me there," Malfoy sniffled, why was he tearing up again?!

"I want you there," Ron admitted, though the words burned his throat.

"Why…?" _I've seen the good that you can do._

"I… I enjoy our banter," Ron replied lamely. "When our beliefs aren't being brought up, I enjoy talking to you… Debating with you. Hell, I even find your humor refreshing." Ron then let go of Malfoy's arm. "We don't have to be our parents, Malfoy… We can be whoever **we** want to be."

"That's easy for you to say…" Malfoy straightened his robes, and then he cleared his eyes. "You don't know what it's like to doubt yourself… To doubt everything…"

"I've been doubting myself since the day I was sorted into Slytherin," Ron said. "When I first started Hogwarts, I utterly despised Blood-Supremacy and anyone associated with it."

"And yet, you remained friends with Theodore Nott," Malfoy remarked in a tired voice.

"I did, and I also began to doubt my 'black and white' outlook on things," Ron told him. "And no, I will never defend Blood-Supremacy… But I do understand where it comes from now. It was terrifying when my World view began to change, but I didn't run away. You also have that strength, Malfoy. You don't have to be Lucius Malfoy… You can be you, for better or worse."

"You sound just like my Godfather," Malfoy sighed out, and then he began to leave. Ron rubbed his sore jaw, and then he followed after Malfoy.

"Are you going to leave?" Ron asked, and Malfoy exhaled loudly. "I don't want you to leave."

"I'm never going to be your friend, Weasley," Malfoy all but whispered.

"Who knows what the Future holds," Ron responded, he was just glad that he had talked Malfoy out of leaving.

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – After Dinner)**_

"You were overpowered by a thirteen year old?" Moody snarled, while the others processed Sturgis and Emmeline's words. Sirius, on the other hand, could think of little else besides his Godson's actions. What had Harry been thinking? Why was he so determined to prove Ron false? _Why can't there be a training manual for teenagers with severe childhood trauma?_

"I'm sorry," Arthur said, his eyes fixed on Sturgis and Emmeline, both of whom were sitting together. "Especially to you, Sturgis… Ron is a very troubled young man. When I see him next, I'll make him apologize to you in person." Sirius broke out of his thoughts at that, and just in time to see Pandora frown while Molly adorned a defeated look.

"He didn't know who they were," Pandora spoke up, and then she looked to Sturgis. "I'm sorry that he hurt you, but in his defense, strangers had broken into his Family's house. Not to mention that we were all missing."

"He threatened to kill Sturgis in front of me," Emmeline said, while Sturgis just sat there. "Sturgis, say something."

"Forgive me, Miss. Vance, but this Pain Relief Potion is making my head spin," Sturgis finally spoke up. "Also, I'm still processing Ronald Weasley's unnatural strength… I feel like I was kicked by a Hippogriff. Twice."

"Most likely a Spell," Moody paced, and then he stopped behind Mundungus. "And where were you in all of this?"

"I was waitin' by the floo, as ordered by Mrs. Tonks," Mundungus said defensively. "Good thin' too, I reckon… I'd hate to run into that little blighter meself." Mundungus then looked to Arthur and Molly. "No offence, of course."

"Don't call my son a blighter," Molly puffed up.

"You said that he was troubled?" Nymphadora asked Arthur, she had arrived just in time to see her mother depart. Sirius looked to Arthur at that, while Arthur looked to his wife. "Oh… You don't have to tell me if it's private. I was just curious…"

"Nonsense," Moody said, his Magical Eye focused on the Weasleys. "What's wrong with him? Is he deranged in the head?"

"The only person who's deranged in the head is you," Sirius glared at the former Auror.

"Sirius… Don't talk to him like that," Nymphadora whispered. _You're his protégé, not me. I can speak to him however I want._

"Are we about to fight again?" Xeno asked, and everyone looked to him. "I'll make us some tea. Pandora, can I get you anything in particular?"

"Tea is fine, love," Pandora smiled at her husband.

"I'll take a glass of Odgen's," Mundungus said, and Moody shot him a murderous look. "I'll have tea…" Xeno looked between the two men, and then he simply left for the Kitchen. _Yeah, Moody seems to despise Mundungus._

"You'll have nothing," Moody told Mundungus. "You, Tonks, and I are heading to Knockturn Alley. Tonks has found us a lead."

"There are rumors that an Ancient Vampire has arrived in England," Tonks told everyone. "The Auror's Office is also looking into him, but he's an elusive bugger. He always manages to slip his tails, but I reckon Moody's eye will change that." _Unless he Apparates._

"Do we have a reason to be suspicious of this Vampire?" Pandora asked.

"According to the Ministry's sources, he was seen speaking with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy," Tonks replied, and everyone perked up. "This was just days before poor Elphias was murdered."

"You-Know-Who's recruiting Dark Creatures again," Emmeline shook her head. "Do you need my wand? I don't feel right just sitting here."

"Go home for the night," Moody ordered. "Dedalus is heading for Albania tomorrow, and since you're his partner, you'll be going with him."

"Albania?" Sturgis came back to reality. "Is that wise? If someone is targeting Order members, then we should all remain in England, right?"

"Mr. Diggle is part of the Gaia Project," Tonks replied. "He'll be surrounded by Ministry Officials."

"I see," Sturgis said, his eyes were becoming droopy.

"Sturgis… Mate… Why don't I help you to your room?" Sirius asked. "You've had a long day, and you need to rest up."

"Don't worry about me, Lord Black," Sturgis slowly stood up, and Emmeline quickly moved to help him. "My room isn't too far."

"I'll help you there before I floo away," Emmeline volunteered.

"Thank you," Sturgis smiled a little, and then they both left the Living Room.

"We should also head out," Tonks stood up, and Moody gave her a curt nod.

"Be careful, cousin," Sirius said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sirius," Tonks smiled, and then she looked to Molly and Arthur. "Sorry about asking such a private question before… I really didn't mean to overstep."

"It's alright, Tonks," Arthur smiled a little. "Please take care." Tonks gave them a nod, and then she flooed away to The Leaky Cauldron. Moody followed after her, while Mundungus dragged his feet before he too flooed away. This left Sirius with the Weasleys and Lovegoods, all of whom he felt the need to apologize to. _I'll wait for Xeno to return._

Molly and Arthur began talking to each other about their days, while Pandora rested with her hands on her protruding belly. Eventually, Emmeline walked back into the Living Room. She bid them goodnight, and then flooed back to her home in Birmingham. After a few minutes, Xeno walked into the Living Room with multiple cups of tea floating behind him.

"Everyone left," Xeno blinked. "Do people not like my tea?" Sirius bit back a laugh, while the others felt no need hide their amusement.

"Your tea is marvelous, love," Pandora smiled in her usual aloof manner. "Come, sit down with me." Xeno seemingly forgot his troubles at his wife's call, and he quickly had his arm around her. Sirius's eyes watched the tea cups float onto the table, while his mind plucked up the courage to apologize on Harry's behalf. _Just do it, Sirius. Harry is your responsibility._

"Arthur… Molly…" Sirius stood up, and both Weasleys looked to him. "I am sorry for what Harry did… Truly. I'll go to Hogwarts tomorrow and talk to him, and I'd like you to come along."

"Um… What's he on about?" Arthur asked, and Sirius realized that Arthur hadn't been told of Harry's actions yet. _Molly was too busy explaining what happened to Sturgis._

"Harry looked through Ron's things when he was staying at the Burrow," Molly sighed out, and Arthur looked quite surprised.

"Harry? Are you sure?" Arthur asked.

"He learned of Ron's Brain-Damage," Pandora informed him, and his face fell. "He also told his friends. Ron was livid, but he came to us instead of taking action himself."

"Which shows maturity," Xeno quickly added.

"What Harry did was… shameful…" Sirius said, he didn't even know what to say. "I'll make him apologize to you both for abusing your hospitality…" _When I couldn't even stop drinking, they stepped up to take care of him. And this is how he repays them…_

"What made him do something like this?" Arthur couldn't help but ask.

"Ron mentioned that Harry feels neglected," Sirius sighed out. "He's never had any adult care for him, not until he reached Hogwarts… And now that he finally does, he feels like he's in second place because we all fret over Ron. Apparently, he even feels jealous of Ron's relationship with Dumbledore and the Professors." The adults exchanged sorry looks, they knew just how horrid Harry's life had been before Sirius.

"Ron told you this?" Arthur asked, and Sirius nodded.

"When?" Xeno asked.

"Around a month ago," Sirius replied. "He told me to start putting Harry first, and that I should never mention him near Harry again. He even advised me to buy Harry his Firebolt…"

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Molly asked immediately.

"Because it was a private conversation between Ron and me," Sirius replied. "I'm only telling you now because I need you to understand that Harry isn't a terrible kid… He did something terrible, and I'm not excusing that, but he's just… I don't know…" _I don't want to call him 'troubled'._ "Come with me tomorrow, and I'll make sure that Harry explains himself to you."

"I have work, but Molly will join you," Arthur gave Sirius a comforting smile. "Trust me, we know that children can be a handful, Sirius. Especially teenagers…"

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Transfiguration Classroom – Morning Classes)**_

He had ruined everything. Ron had somehow gotten into his room, stolen his trunk, and learned of his actions. Harry couldn't even bring himself to care about Ron's breaking and entering, after all, he had done the same thing not so long ago.

The worst part about all of this was the guilt that he felt over Neville being blamed for Harry's crimes. He felt bad for Hermione as well, but she had gone out of her way to involve herself in this. Neville, unlike his two best friends, was completely blameless. _Though he blames himself for not doing enough. How could I do this to him?_

And then there was the guilt that he felt for going after a sick person. Ron, for all of his faults, hadn't really done anything to warrant such an investigation. Harry understood that now. At the time, it had been so easy to aim his ill feelings on someone else. Ron had been the perfect scapegoat, mostly because he was the 'catalyst' of said feelings. But now that Harry understood why Ron was seen as a priority, he couldn't help but think of himself as a needy brat. _Just like Dudley._

"Harry, you're not taking down notes," Hermione whispered, and Harry broke out of his thoughts. "Professor McGonagall's noticed it, and you know that she's angry-"

"Would you two prefer to give the lecture?" McGonagall suddenly glared at them, and Hermione let out a weak squeal. "Or are you done talking?" McGonagall had, of course, learned of why Harry and his friends lost Gryffindor sixty points yesterday, and she had not been pleased.

"Sorry, Professor," Hermione apologized immediately, while Harry ignored the sniggering students.

"I suggest that you two open your ears instead of your mouths," McGonagall said, and then she looked to the others. Everyone stopped sniggering immediately, and McGonagall went back to giving her lecture. Harry shot Hermione a quick look, and he noticed that her eyes were getting watery. _Damn, I wish Neville was sitting next to her. He knows how to comfort her._

"I'm sorry that you got told of because-" Harry started.

"Shhh," Hermione shushed, and Harry bit his tongue. _Why am I so bad at this?_ "Just take notes."

As soon as Harry inked his quill, there was a knock at the door. McGonagall pursed her lips, and then she opened the door with a flick of her wand. Filch quickly made his way up to her, and they began talking in hushed whispers. Flint then aimed his finger at Harry, much to the boy's surprise. _I bet he did that on purpose so that everyone will know that I'm in trouble. Wait… Am I in trouble?_

"Mr. Potter, go to the Headmaster's Office," McGonagall instructed. "The entrance has been left open for you." _Dumbledore wants to see me? Is this about Ron?_

"I'll take your things to Gryffindor Tower if you're not back in time," Hermione whispered, and the look on her face told him that she'd question him later. Harry shot Neville a quick look, and then he left for the Headmaster's Office. As Harry made his way up, he noticed that Filch was following after him. _I'm not going to run away… Where would I even go?_ Harry shot a subtle look back, and he saw that Filch had a cruel smirk planted on his face.

Filch followed Harry all the way up to the Stone Gargoyle, and only when Harry began to climb up the spiral steps did Filch back off. Harry stopped at the entrance in order to compose himself, and then he knocked on the door.

"Come in, Harry," came Dumbledore's voice, and Harry slowly made his way inside. As soon as he saw the Weasley matriarch, Harry froze in his spot. "Come and take a seat, please." Harry closed the door, and then he walked up to the clawed table. Sirius and Mrs. Weasley were clearly here because Dumbledore had told them everything. As Harry sat down, he shot a guilty look towards his Godfather. _I can't read his expression, but he looks really disappointed._

"Before we start, I have to ask for myself," Sirius said, his eyes fixed on Harry. "Is it true? Did you really break into Ron's things?" Harry could only nod once, and when Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose, Harry wanted the Earth to swallow him.

"Harry, and the others, have promised Professor McGonagall, and myself, that they will never reveal Ronald's condition," Dumbledore said to Mrs. Weasley, who nodded slowly. Harry shrunk into his seat a little, what was he supposed to say to her?

"Harry, apologize to Molly right now," Sirius said, and Harry had never heard him sound so stern before.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry managed.

"Do it properly," Sirius said, his voice less stern this time.

"Sirius, it's alright," Mrs. Weasley spoke up, she was starting to look quite uncomfortable. "I accept his apology."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, and she gave him a quick nod. Her forgiving nature made Harry feel twice as worse, and he decided to just be scolded in silence. "Harry, you understand that you can't tell anyone, don't you?"

"I understand," Harry replied. "I won't tell anyone, I-" A sudden knock at the door stopped him, and Harry was smart enough to realize who was at the door.

"Come in, Ronald," Dumbledore said, and sixth Weasley son entered the Office.

"Sorry for tracking shite into your Office, Headmaster," Ron said as he made his way in, but when he realized that they weren't alone, he stopped immediately. _Shite? He swore in front of the Headmaster…_

"Ronald Weasley… Is that any way to speak to the Headmaster?" Mrs. Weasley gaped at her son, she was too shocked to be upset. Ron just stared at his mother with a slightly jarred look, he was clearly trying to think of an excuse.

"I… Yeah, I can't think of anything," Ron shrugged, and then he walked further into the Office. Harry sat up a little, but Ron was clearly ignoring his presence. _He was in Herbology, judging by gloves and dirty robes._ "Can I help you with anything, Headmaster?"

"Take a seat, Ronald," Dumbledore gestured to the only free seat available, which was to Harry's right. Ron looked at the seat, and then he looked back to Dumbledore.

"I'm fine right here," Ron said, and Harry felt himself deflate a little. _I wouldn't sit with me either if I were him._

"Very well," Dumbledore said, and then he looked to Harry. Harry slowly looked to Ron, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry apologized. "I didn't know that you were… sick…"

"So it would've been fine if I wasn't?" Ron asked, he sounded completely uninterested.

"No… I didn't mean to imply that," Harry shot a quick look towards Sirius.

"Spare me," Ron said dismissively, and then he looked to Dumbledore. "May I be excused?"

"Ron, Harry is trying to apologize to you," Mrs. Weasley said, a slightly stern look on her face.

"Pup, we can resolve this today," Sirius added. "Before it gets any more serious."

"Harry, Hermione, and Neville have promised to keep your condition to themselves," Dumbledore said.

"We won't tell anyone, I promise," Harry spoke up. "We also want to do anything that we can to help you, if you'll have us. I think Hermione's already planning to learn more about Brain Injuries." Ron just stared at Harry, who began to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Say something."

"I don't need their help," Ron told his mother, and Harry wasn't really surprised. _I think he really is done with us. Damn… I need to tell him that Neville had nothing to do with this. His Gran is already dealing with so much, she doesn't need to feel ashamed of Neville because of my actions as well._ "All I want is for them to leave me alone, nothing more."

"Are you sure?" Dumbledore asked.

"For now, yes," Ron replied, a familiar look passing between the two. Sirius and Mrs. Weasley didn't look too pleased with that, but neither of them said anything.

"You may return to your class then," Dumbledore said, he didn't want to prolong this uncomfortable exchange. Neither boys needed it, at least not right now. Ron gave Dumbledore a nod, and then he left the Office.

"Professor Dumbledore, might I be excused?" Harry asked as soon as Ron closed the door behind himself.

"Certainly, but don't go too far," Dumbledore replied. "Sirius still wishes to speak with you." _He does?_ Harry felt a bit anxious, but he decided to face the music nonetheless. Harry quickly made his way out of the Office, and once he was past the Stone Gargoyle, he spotted Ron heading for the Moving Staircase.

"Ron, wait!" Harry called as he chased after the redhead, who turned around with a frown.

"What part of leave me alone don't you understand?" Ron asked.

"I do understand," Harry stopped in front of the taller boy. "And I will stay away from you, if that's what you want. But Neville… He isn't to blame for this. This was all my doing…"

"So Neville didn't know that you were looking into me? You expect me to believe that tripe?" Ron asked.

"He didn't," Harry replied. "I swear it… He didn't know what I was up to until it was too late. I mean, I told him of my dislike of you…" _Why did I say that?_ "Wait… I don't actually dislike you, I just thought I did. Look… Please don't blame Neville for my actions. This whole 'Family Eternal Friend' business is important to him, and he's been making sure to honor it. When he learned of what I was up to, he tried to stop me."

"He tried to stop you, did he?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Go on."

"I had already figured it out…" Harry told him. "I bought that book in Hogsmeade, and I learned about your…" he trailed off. _I don't want to say it. It still feels surreal._ Ron seemed to dislike Harry's reluctance in mentioning Brain Injuries.

"Tell me, do you even understand how wrong your actions were?" Ron asked, and Harry blinked at him. "No… I don't think you do. You crossed a fucking line, Harry, and this time, I'm not going to forgive you."

"I do understand."

"No, you don't," Ron said coldly. "I think you just feel sorry for me, and since you can't justify your misguided dislike of me to yourself anymore, you feel 'guilty'. Well… I don't care about how bad you feel. I just don't. Last year it was you three accusing me of being the Heir, and now this. It's a damn pattern with you three."

"Neville didn't do anything this time," Harry urged, he really didn't want Neville to pay for his mistake.

"Why just Neville?" Ron asked. "What about Hermione? Why aren't you claiming her innocence as well?"

"Hermione… What happened with her was different…" Harry replied slowly, and Ron waited for him to go on. "She knew of what I had done, and even though she reprimanded me, she still Cursed me in order to find out about your condition."

"What?"

"Um… When I found out, I planned to get rid of the book," Harry explained. "I was never going to mention anything to anyone… But then Hermione and Neville came into the room, and she saw the book… Her curiosity got the better of her, and she tried to read it. When I took it away from her, she cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on me."

"Are you serious?" Ron asked, he was a little surprised by that.

"Neville only found out because she told him what the book said," Harry replied. "He made us promise that we wouldn't tell your siblings, and that until you came forward, we'd never bring it up. Hermione decided to go through the book, just in case it had important information on how to help you… I swear, we never planned to say anything about it. Not until you told us yourself." Once Harry had finished, Ron just stared at him for a few moments. And then, he turned around and left for Herbology.

Harry wanted to say more, but it was obvious that Ron was done listening. Since there was nothing more that he could do, he began to head back to Dumbledore's Office. _I just hope that Ron believes me about Neville. As for me and Hermione, we'll have to figure something out ourselves._ As Harry neared the Office, he spotted Sirius waiting by the Stone Gargoyle. Harry's gut tensed, but he kept walking forward.

"Well?" Sirius asked. "Did he accept your words?"

"I'm not sure… I told him the whole truth, and explained that Neville had nothing to do with this," Harry sighed, and then he shifted in his spot.

"Harry, how could you do this?" Sirius asked, and Harry just stared down at his feet. "First this Heir business, and now this? Not to mention that you abused Arthur and Molly's kindness… They fed and housed you when I was too busy wallowing in grief."

"I know… I just… I didn't think of the consequences at the time," Harry spoke to the ground.

"No, you didn't," Sirius sighed, he wasn't even sure if had the right to scold James' son. "Harry… I just need you to understand that you crossed a line, and not just with Ron. His Family has been extremely kind to you, much like your dad's was to me. And if I'm being perfectly honest, both your mum and dad wouldn't be proud of you right now." Harry swallowed thickly at that, he now felt worse than ever.

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had nothing to say, nor did he feel right making excuses. The only thing that he could do now was to learn his lesson, and to never let jealousy cloud his judgement again.

"Does Remus know of what you did?" Sirius asked, and Harry shook his head. "You will tell him, and once you're done, you will ask him for detention. Tell him that it was my idea, and that you are to serve a month's worth of detention." _A month?!_

"What?" Harry blinked.

"I would ground you, but you're staying at Hogwarts," Sirius said, he didn't enjoy being a stern father figure. "So… Remus will ground you for me. He's as much your guardian as I am, and he's in a position to… punish you…" Sirius then rubbed his forehead, while Harry felt like a spanked toddler. "Go on, Harry… Go back to your class…"

Harry nodded weakly, and then he left with his head hanging low. _I swear to God, I will never look into other people's lives again… Nothing good can come out of it._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Moscow (Minister's Home) – Lunchbreak)**_

Word of Elphias Doge's death had reached Russia, and although the Russian people weren't even fazed by it, the Dark Lord was certainly pleased. Doge was Dumbledore's oldest friend, which only made this sweeter for the Dark Lord. The old man was no doubt grieving right now, and his accursed Order was likely doing the same. As for who had killed Doge, the Dark Lord already knew the answer to that. It had taken Gaspard less than a week to do what the Death-Eaters couldn't accomplish for years. _I was wise to recruit him._

"Master, it is done," came Samara's voice, and then she entered the Living Room. _More good news._ "Russia will no longer aid the Gaia Project, which will slow it down considerably."

"Was there much resistance?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"Only two young men," Samara replied. "The older Officials understand that this Project is taxing our country considerably. We will tell Europe that we must put our own citizenry first, which will only serve to make Russian wizards happier."

"Well done, Samara," the Dark Lord smiled, and she quickly bowed her head. Unsurprisingly, Samara had sent little Alexie away to live with his tutor. _Which works for me. I can't have her distracted by that little simpleton._ "Have our old allies answered your call?"

"They have," Samara replied. "But this will take time, my Lord. The Russian Ministry has grown quite… tolerant… over the last few years. I have found a direct correlation between age, and sympathy for the Mud-Bloods. The younger Officials, who are rising in the ranks, are quite outspoken against 'bigotry'."

"That is… disturbing… to hear," the Dark Lord hissed. "You have surrounded yourself with weakness."

"I will change that, my Lord," Samara promised.

"For Alexie's sake, I hope you do," the Dark Lord whispered coldly. "Do you remember my promise?"

"I do, my Lord."

"Say it," Lord Voldemort slowly levitated out of the chair.

"You will cut off my eyelids, and then you'll make me watch as you skin my son alive," Samara said, her voice controlled due to her prowess in Occlumency.

"You have two years, Samara," the Dark Lord floated into the middle of the room. "In two years, I will return to Russia. Cut out your weaknesses, and bring Russia into my grasp." With that, the Dark Lord began to morph into shadow and mist. "Two years… Do not fail Lord Voldemort."

He reappeared on the outskirts of Moscow, he wished to see the city one last time before he left. _In two years, Russia will serve as my main supply of trained soldiers._ His plan was quite simple, but it would take time to come to fruition. Far too many people needed to be removed from places of power, or at least be put under the Imperius Curse. It was times like these in which the Dark Lord found himself missing Mulciber Jnr's services.

The Dark Lord took to the skies after his eyes had had their fill, while his body vanished from sight. It was time to return to England. So much needed to be done, and the Dark Lord could not rely on Lucius and Cornelius alone. He needed to find all of his former 'friends', and then bend them to his will. _But not before removing Severus… He has no doubt convinced the others of his 'loyalty', and just like Lucius, they most likely believe him. I cannot let that traitor report my movements to Dumbledore. After all, I'm certain that he has counseled Dumbledore about my ways. He will pay with his life._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Dungeons – After Classes)**_

If what Harry had said was true, then Neville's only crime was ignorance, which in Ron's books, was hardly Neville's fault. However, Ron found himself doubting Harry's story. What if this was some ploy to keep at least one member of the Trio involved with him? _No, that's just absurd. I know for a fact that the Trio don't think like that. They, like most Gryffindors, are forthright and direct. I shouldn't act on my feelings, but rather on my logic. Neville, and his Grandmother, are valuable allies. So… I'll speak with him soon. I'll get the truth._

"Ah, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall greeted him by Snape's door.

"Professor McGonagall," Ron greeted politely. "What brings you down here?"

"You do, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall replied, and Ron blinked at her. _What did I do?_ "Albus tells me that you need to visit the Ministry today, I will be your escort."

"My escort?" Ron asked. "The Headmaster usually allows me to go about as I please."

"Times are becoming dangerous, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said. "Come, let's be on our way." _Yeah… She won't give me a choice. Damnit._ Ron and McGonagall entered Snape's Office, which was empty due to Snape being at the Potions Club.

"While we're out, do you mind if we stop by Gringotts as well?" Ron asked. "I have some important business to take care of there."

"We will floo there from the Ministry," McGonagall agreed, much to Ron's relief. _Good, I can ask Gornuk to look into this Marietta Angel. Cuffe is a shady bastard, and I really don't trust his story._ McGonagall prepared the floo to the Ministry, and once she was done, she gestured Ron to go through. _Should I make a snarky comment? No… She'll give me the back of her hand._ Ron stepped through the fire, which led him into the Ministry's Atrium. He quickly cleared the way for McGonagall, who stepped into the Ministry with a stern look.

"Have you made an appointment with Madam Bones?" McGonagall asked.

"The Headmaster told you who I'm visiting?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. _Don't show your annoyance with that, Ron._ "No, I have not made an appointment. I only learned yesterday that I needed to see her."

"I see," McGonagall said, and she didn't question him further. They made their way towards the elevators, and once they were inside, Ron clicked on the required button. The elevator jerked to life, as usual, and then it rushed down towards the second floor.

"We should get these in Hogwarts," Ron said to McGonagall. _She's not very talkative. I wish Snape had come instead. Wait… Am I seriously wishing for Snape's company? Merlin… I've lost my marbles._

"Do you not enjoy using the Moving Staircase?" McGonagall asked.

"No one enjoys using the Moving Staircase," Ron pointed out. "Especially us Slytherins, who have to creep out of the Dungeons every day."

"A little exercise has never killed anyone," McGonagall said dryly, and Ron couldn't think of anything to say to that. The lift came to an abrupt stop, and the floor was announced. Ron and McGonagall stepped out of the elevator, and then made their way towards the Auror Offices. The journey was made in silence, which was broken the moment they entered the Offices. Immediately, they were surrounded by loud chatter and the sound of papers being filed away.

"You certainly picked a busy day, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said, while Ron looked around himself. _Is that Tonks? It is. Oh, and there's Madam Roberts!_

"Professor McGonagall?" came a booming voice, and both Ron and McGonagall looked to see Kingsley Shacklebolt looking at them. "And Ronald Weasley…" Shacklebolt then walked up to them. "Might I inquire about your visit?"

"Ronald wishes to speak to Madam Bones about their partnership," McGonagall replied.

"Is she expecting you?" Shacklebolt asked Ron.

"No, but this is an emergency," Ron smiled at the man. "She and I have a deal in place, and something very important has come up."

"She is an extremely busy woman," Shacklebolt said. "And she doesn't see people unless they make an appointment. I can direct you to her secretary, if you want." _Alright, fuck being subtle._

"Alright, but after that, you can tell her that you're the reason why five thousand and five hundred Galleons didn't make it to the restoration of St. Mungo's," Ron said, and Shacklebolt blinked at him. Even McGonagall's ears perked up at the sound of so much money. "Well? Where is this secretary?" Shacklebolt frowned at him, and then he gestured towards a few spare seats.

"Go and wait over there, while I inform Madam Bones of your presence," Shacklebolt said, and then he left for the large Office in the back. Ron and McGonagall took their seats, and Ron smiled to himself. _That was quite easy, but then again, I am bringing a lot of money to the table. And since the Ministry is struggling, everyone is smart enough to understand the need for this project to work._

"There were more tactful ways of getting your way, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall stated. "Kingsley is a reasonable man, he would have understood your need for urgency."

"Maybe, but why take the risk?" Ron asked. "I dealt with him in a way that I'm familiar with. Plus, I really don't have time to waste. This deal that I'm putting together requires efficiency instead of soft words." McGonagall stared at him for a few seconds, and then she looked towards the back Office.

"You act very differently in class," she said suddenly.

"Well, to be fair, the only time that we talk is when I'm answering your questions," Ron shrugged.

"I suppose that is true," McGonagall said.

"Professor McGonagall?" came Tonks' voice, and Ron noticed the white haired witch nearly smash into another Auror. "Oops… Sorry, Gawain."

"Watch where you're going, Tonks," the Auror named Gawain frowned, while Tonks apologized again. As Gawain returned to his work, Tonks approached Ron and McGonagall.

"What brings you two here?" Tonks asked, her eyes lingering on Ron. After yesterday's events, she wasn't sure how she felt about Ron. Her mother was certain that Ron had felt no remorse for hurting Sturgis, not to mention what his own father had said about him.

"I'm here to see Madam Bones about something," Ron replied with a smile, he rather liked Sirius' cousin.

"Oh, is it something to do with your brochures?" Tonks asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "I'll be attending too, of course, but just as the security."

"Sirius is not taking you?" Ron asked.

"He hasn't even thought to ask my Family," Tonks rolled her eyes. "I mean, I would still have to attend as security, but my mother would've liked to attend. I told her to just ask him, but she doesn't want to impose on him." _I saw her aiding Malfoy in his vision, alongside Narcissa Malfoy. They're sisters, right? Maybe Draco should meet his unbigoted Aunt?_ An idea formed in Ron's head, and he stored it away for later.

"Mr. Weasley, she'll see you now," came Shacklebolt's voice, and Ron stood up to leave.

"He might come around," Ron smiled at Tonks, and then he left the two witches to talk. As Ron neared Madam Bones' Office, he spotted Rufus Scrimgeour's yellow eyes in an adjacent Office. The Head Auror had a file open in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on Ron. _He looks actually creepy._ Ron turned his back on the man, and then he knocked on Madam Bones' door.

"Enter," she called, and Ron stepped into the Office. Ron was left slightly jarred at how packed it was, there were files and stacks of parchment everywhere. "Please, take a seat."

"Good Afternoon, Madam Bones," Ron fixed his expression, and then he took a seat in front of her.

"Kingsley tells me that you plan to donate 'five thousand and five hundred Galleons' to the cause," Madam Bones started. _He misunderstood me, but then again, I didn't really tell him much._ "I'm sorry to inform you that you can't. We have set a limit on each Family out of courtesy, and if you break that courtesy, then the other Old Families won't be too pleased. They'll feel pressured to give more, which will result in them getting offended."

"The Weasley Family will be paying five hundred Galleons," Ron assured her, and then he pulled out Madame Maxime's letter. "Here, please read this." Madam Bones took the letter with a curious look, and then she began reading it.

"Madame Olympe Maxime…" Madam Bones whispered to herself as she finished, and then she looked to Ron. "You went to her?"

"I did," Ron replied. "We both felt the same way about this charity event, and I asked her if she knew any likeminded people. This is the result of my idea. Eleven Old Families from France who all want to pay five hundred Galleons. Oh, and Madame Maxime will also donate five hundred. So the total is six thousand Galleons."

"You came up with this?" Madam Bones asked, and Ron nodded.

"We're partners in this, right?" Ron asked. "I'm just trying to help."

"I won't lie, this is impressive work," Madam Bones admitted. "How a thirteen year old pulled it together on such short notice is beyond belief, but that doesn't matter." Madam Bones looked back to the letter. "The Travers Family…"

"What about them?" Ron asked.

"You don't know their history?" Madam Bones asked, and Ron slowly shook his head. "You should do your research, Ronald. The Travers Family was forced out of England by the other Old Families not too long ago. You see, the Heir of the Travers Family sided with the Dark Lord." _What? Why would Madame Maxime reach out to them then?_ "The rest of the Family rebelled and aided the Ministry, which fractured the Family as a whole. The Heir, Augustus Travers, held the Family Wealth due to the Birthright Laws of the Goblins of Gringotts. In a way, the Travers Family aided both sides of the war. So once it was all done and wrapped up, neither side wanted them around, so they relocated to France."

"Wait… They helped you, and you didn't stand up for them?" Ron asked. "It was just Augustus Travers who was the Death-Eater, right?"

"Hatred is a terrible force," Madam Bones replied. "They have been trying to return to England ever since, and now you've hung that thread of hope in front of them. This is their ticket back here." _Hence why they're willing to pay a measly sum of five hundred Galleons… Does Madame Maxime know of their ploy? She would, right?_ "Personally, I don't hold any ill will against the Travers Family, but the other guests won't be too pleased."

"This event isn't about them, it's about St. Mungo's being restored," Ron cleared his head, he had to stay on task.

"The Old British Families are the reason why we even have a Ministry, Ronald," Madam Bones said. "This entire floor was funded by Tobias Malfoy when the Ministry was still being established. Displeasing the Old Families is never a wise decision."

"I get it," Ron said, Theo and Blaise had taught him quite a lot. "The Old Families pretty much built Wizarding Britain, and as such, they hold a lot of power and influence… But right now, people are suffering in the streets. The Ministry is failing this country, and soon enough, ordinary people are going to start realizing that. St. Mungo's is just the first step towards healing this country, and you can't fix anything without money. This 'alliance' will bring in a lot of money."

"Our donations are estimated to net us over **fifteen** thousand Galleons," Madam Bones countered. "St. Mungo's will be restored easily enough with that much."

"And what about your empty coffers?" Ron asked. "Why not stash away the extra money for the next project? I mean, the Gaia Project is still ongoing, right? And Minister Fudge is apparently spending more than any other Minister in Europe… He loves the good publicity. But what he doesn't seem to understand is that this country is getting taxed due to his 'generosity'. This extra money can help ease your burdens. Plus, it helps promote unity between our countries. I know for certain that our Ministry would like to improve relations with the French Ministry."

Madam Bones looked back to the letter, she could see the sense in his words. There were so many benefits coming from this deal, not to mention that Russia had pulled out of the Gaia Project this morning, which meant that all of Europe would be under even more pressure than before. While Madam Bones considered his proposal, Ron thought of anything else to add.

"The Ministry needs to serve its people, Madam Bones," Ron broke the silence. " **All** of its people, not just a select few. I know that the other Old Families give so much to the Community, but right now, you need extra help. You need **my** help." Madam Bones looked between him and the letter, her lips pursing in thought. "I might be thirteen, but my friends and allies are not. Don't underestimate my contributions because of my age."

"I will speak to the Minister, and convince him of this plan," Madam Bones conceded, after all, the original plan was to start bringing money into the Ministry's vaults. "You've done the British Ministry quite the service, Ronald." _I know, and I expect repayment._

"I'm happy to help," Ron said, he was glad that she was so easily convinced. _Beggars can't be choosers, eh?_ "Though this isn't exactly free help…"

"It isn't?" Madam Bones asked.

"No," Ron took on a more serious tone. "This deal was not easy to put together, for me or for Madame Maxime. Both of us would like some sort of acknowledgement at the Gala, just something that tells everyone present of our efforts."

"You want good press?" Madam Bones asked. "Don't you own a magazine?"

"I can't just sing my own praises now, can I?" Ron chuckled. "I want you, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to sing my praises."

"You are a peculiar young man," Madam Bones said. "Very well, I will give you what you want. Anything else?"

"I want to act as the Ministry's Official Delegate to the French," Ron added, and Madam Bones looked genuinely surprised.

"Pardon?" she blinked. "We don't hire thirteen years old to act as International Diplomats, Ronald."

"Is there a rule against it?" Ron asked. _There isn't._

"Well… No, but it is quite the absurd demand," Madam Bones said, her square jaw clenching. "And I don't have the authority to give you what you want."

"The Minister does, and you have his ear," Ron countered. "Madame Maxime and I wish to act as a bridge between our two countries, and if either of us don't get what we want, we'll take our ball and go home."

"So it's blackmail then, is it?" Madam Bones frowned.

"I'm negotiating," Ron corrected her. "I can help you fill your coffers, but not for free. I want what I just asked for, and if you don't give it to me, I won't help you. Oh, and Madame Maxime is on board with this. She's probably negotiating with her own Minister right now." Madam Bones put the letter on her desk, her eyes scanning Ron's face.

"And please tell me why the Headmistress of Beauxbatons has such fondness for a student of Hogwarts?" Madam Bones asked. _I brought her into the Order, I forgave her for nearly killing me, and she's felt the Entity's presence._

"I'm efficient, I work harder than most, I have decent principles, I can be very shrewd sometimes, and I honor my debts," Ron listed. "She and I are kindred spirits who both want what's best for our respective countries. Not to mention that I forgave her for her Veela ploy. She has plenty of reasons to be fond of me." Ron then straightened his back. "You can send the invitations, but until we get what we want, none of those Old Families will RSVP. Except for maybe the Travers, but five hundred Galleons isn't really worth it. Especially because it will anger the Old British Families."

"I'm being strong-armed by a teenager," Madam Bones cocked an eyebrow at him. "What's stopping me from just throwing this letter away?"

"Nothing," Ron shrugged. "But if you do throw it away, I'll tell every single person in this country of what I brought to the table. And then, I'll tell those who are suffering in the streets that Madam Amelia Bones cares more for her ego than doing what's best for the masses. I do own a magazine, you know."

"This offer… You made it in order to trap me," Madam Bones realized.

"I know that you'll put the many over your own pride," Ron smiled at her. "But just in case you don't, I made a copy of that letter." Ron then stood up, he had more work to get done today. "I didn't want to strong-arm you, but it's obvious that you underestimate me because of my age. Take this offer to the Minister, and get him to sign off on it. Time is of the essence, and if you don't give me what I want by Sunday night, I'll tell Madame Maxime that the British Ministry doesn't need help."

"And then you'll ruin my reputation," Madam Bones just stared at him. _No, I need you to be the next Minister._

"If you take this to the Minister, and try your best to get me what I want, I won't say a word about you in my magazine," Ron said. "But I will crucify Cornelius Fudge for being a shortsighted fool, while Madame Maxime tells everyone in France the same. Image is quite important to the man, so I think he'll bite." _No matter what you do, I'll benefit._

"You are bold, I'll give you that," Madam Bones' left eye twitched.

"I will be waiting for your response, and for the contract of my new job," Ron said, and then he turned around and left. _Merlin, that was kind of scary… But it had to be done. Once Madame Maxime and I take up our new positions, we'll work to unite France and Britain against the Dark Lord. And when the time comes, we'll be ready._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Nearly Evening)**_

"Barnabas Cuffe is lying," Gornuk said, his beady eyes gleaming. "A man as materialistic as him doesn't care a lick about this country's current state. He's trying to weasel into The Quibbler."

"I suspect the same thing, but I still want to make sure," Ron said, he really didn't like this tiny Office. "Please tell me that you know some shady bastard who will look into this Marietta Angel."

"Oh, I know plenty of people who would," Gornuk grinned, his tiny, sharp teeth on full display. "The real question is, how much are you willing to pay?"

"You're my Logistics Officer, you tell me," Ron said. _I have no earthly idea how much I should pay. It's not like I've hired a spy before._

"I know this Elf, his name is Tiny," Gornuk said.

"An Elf spy?" Ron asked, that sounded quite cool actually. _Sort of like Marty._

"Their Magic is very different from Wizard-Kind's," Gornuk stated. "They can get into places without anyone being the wiser, and this particular Elf is quite talented at it. And the best part is, he'll only ask for a pittance. Elves are a foolish lot when it comes to money, nor do they have the spines to demand more."

"How much?" Ron asked.

"Five Galleons ought to do," Gornuk laughed, much to Ron's surprise. "Trust me, Mr. Weasley, within a week, you'll know everything about this woman."

"Give him twenty, and tell him to stick to her for the next two weeks," Ron said. "I don't want him working any other jobs, understand? He'll stick to this woman constantly."

"I'll get in touch with him," Gornuk nodded. "When he's ready to report back, I'll send you an owl."

"Take the money from the company vault, I need to save my own money just in case," Ron stood up. "Thank you, Gornuk. You keep delivering without fail."

"As long as the money keeps flowing, I'm your man," Gornuk said, a greedy look in his eyes.

"Have a pleasant night," Ron said as he left the Office, now he only had one last errand to run. As Ron made his way back towards McGonagall, he quickly drank his second dose of medicine. It tasted horrible, as always, but Ron needed the energy. _Especially because McGonagall is putting me to sleep. Not only does she not speak, but she's slowing me down with her presence._

"All done?" McGonagall asked as Ron approached her.

"Just one more errand to go," Ron replied, and she just stared at him. "Sorry for wasting your time, but this is why I usually travel alone."

"It's quite alright," McGonagall said. "Where to next?"

"I need to speak to Sirius Black," Ron replied. "The Headmaster has already told me of his address." _I know that you know it too, after all, you're an Order member just like me._

"Did he now?" McGonagall suddenly sounded very interested.

"You know about the Fidelius Charm too then?" Ron feigned ignorance. "He told me because Sirius and I are very close… Why do you know about it?" _Turn this on her, Ron. Don't let her question your knowledge._ McGonagall just stared at him, so he decided to stare back. _C'mon, give me a good lie._

"I am to take any messages from Mr. Potter to Sirius," McGonagall said. _Wow… That was lame._ _This is fun._

"But why is the Headmaster the Secret Keeper?" Ron asked. "Also, can't he just tell Harry?"

"Enough questions, let's just be on our way," McGonagall said, and then she left for the exit. _Haha, she can't talk about the Order to me._ Ron followed her outside, an amused smile on his face. Once they were outside, McGonagall offered him her arm. "We will Apparate there, so hold on."

Ron took her arm, and he suddenly felt the World shift around him. His body was squeezed through a thin pipe, and before he knew it, he was standing in front of Twelve Grimmauld Place. _Ugh… That was nasty._ Ron shook his head clear, he was almost used to this.

"Just breathe, it will pass," McGonagall said, and Ron decided to not tell her that he had Apparated before. While Ron 'regained his composure', McGonagall walked up and knocked on the door.

"Let's hope that he's home," Ron stopped behind her, and then he heard someone on the other side of the door. Whoever was on the other side of the door clearly saw Ron and McGonagall through the eyehole, but they didn't open the door.

"Password?" came Sturgis' voice.

"Flaming feather," McGonagall replied, and Sturgis unlocked the door. _Secret passwords? I like it._

"Come in, Professor McGonagall," Sturgis smiled at his old Transfiguration Professor, and then he looked to Ron. _On your feet already? Healing Magic is a wonder._

"Hello," Ron greeted, and Sturgis gave him a nod before stepping aside. Ron and McGonagall made their way inside, and Sturgis quickly closed and locked the door.

"Lord Black and the others are in the Living Room," Sturgis said, his wand tracing the door's sides. "Please, make your way inside while I seal off the door." Ron followed after McGonagall, and an idea popped into his head. _Hehe._

"What are all these security measures for, Professor?" Ron asked. "Is something wrong?"

"They are just precautions against the rising crime rate," McGonagall lied, and Ron nodded dumbly. _I shouldn't put her on the spot, but it's just too much fun._ They entered the Living Room, and Ron's eyes immediately darted towards the shady man in the far corner. _Who is that? He was here yesterday too._

"Kid? Minerva?" Sirius looked to them, while Molly and the Lovegoods stopped mid-conversation to look at Ron.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" his mother asked.

"I'm here to talk to Sirius about something," Ron replied.

"Is it about Harry?" Sirius stood up. _No._

"Yes," Ron lied, and Sirius shot a quick look to the others.

"We can talk in the Kitchen," Sirius said as he quickly walked past Ron and McGonagall.

"I'll be here when you wish to return," McGonagall said to Ron, and then she planted herself on an empty seat. Ron followed after Sirius, and once he entered the Kitchen, he closed the door behind himself.

"Well? Have you thought about Harry's apology?" Sirius asked. "Kid, he really is sorry."

"Yes, just like he was sorry last year," Ron rolled his eyes.

"He made a mistake," Sirius sighed out.

"A mistake?" Ron asked. "He went out of his way to find dirt on me… He had dozens of chances to stop, but he kept at it. That's not a mistake, it's a string of choices." Ron then drew in a deep breath. _Don't get distracted._ "Is he attending the Gala with you?"

"The Gala?" Sirius asked, where had that come from?

"Is he?"

"He is," Sirius replied slowly. "My entire Family was invited, and since I'm his Guardian, Harry got invited as well."

"Your entire Family?" Ron asked, pretending to be 'just curious'.

"All members of the Black Family," Sirius clarified. "But I'm the only Black left…"

"Oh… So you can't invite your cousin?" Ron asked. "I mean, she's still your Family, right? Shouldn't that qualify?"

"I… I didn't really think about that," Sirius admitted. "Technically, I could take Nymphadora with me…"

"You could take her parents too then," Ron said offhandedly. "Actually… That might cause some issues…"

"Issues?" Sirius asked.

"Well… The Gala will be filled with Pure-Bloods, and her husband is Muggle-Born," Ron explained, he knew Sirius well enough to know that he'd take Andromeda and Teddy just to piss off the other Pure-Bloods. "Not to mention Narcissa Malfoy… Andromeda is her sister, right?"

"She is," Sirius said to himself. "Andromeda was cast out of the Family for marrying Teddy… She hasn't spoken to Narcissa ever since."

"Yeah, ignore what I just said," Ron said. "Andromeda and Teddy being there would just stir the pot…" Sirius stared at Ron, and then his lips twitched upwards. _Got him._ "Anyway, back to my original reason for being here. I don't want Harry bothering me at the Gala, or any other Weasley. Please tell him to stay with Neville for the entire night."

"Ron… Are you serious?" Sirius lost his amusement.

"I am," Ron replied. "Sirius… This night is important to me, and I don't want to be distracted."

"Important?" Sirius asked.

"You'll see… Now, do I have your word?" Ron asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Sirius rubbed his forehead, he didn't want to make things worse.

"Alright, I'd best be off," Ron turned to leave.

"Already? You just got here," Sirius followed Ron back to the Living Room.

"I don't want to waste too much of Professor McGonagall's time," Ron replied, and then they entered the Living Room. "Professor McGonagall? I'm ready to leave." McGonagall gave Ron a nod, and then she handed Pandora a silver ring. _Is that… a Protection Ring? I never wear mine now, not since Madam Roberts told me to lose it._

"These are superb, Pandora," McGonagall said, and then she stood up. "Let's be on our way then, Mr. Weasley."

"Wait… Ron just needs to do one thing," Molly said quickly, and then she looked to Sturgis. The straw-haired man blinked at her, and then they both looked to Ron. "Apologize to Mr. Podmore for yesterday, Ron. You really hurt him." _Huh?_

"Mrs. Weasley, there's no need for that," Sturgis said, but Molly just tutted him.

"Ron," Molly gave her son a meaningful look. _I should apologize, but only because I need the Order to approve of me. In truth, he attacked me first._

"I'm sorry for attacking you," Ron apologized, and Molly nodded in approval. "By the way, how did you detect me?"

"The Human-Presence-Revealing Spell," Sturgis replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "The incantation is Homenum Revelio." _It counters the Disillusionment Charm. That could be really useful to me._

"Homenum Revelio," Ron repeated, he was going to practice this Spell tomorrow. "What's the wand movement?"

"This sounds more like an interrogation than an apology," Sirius chuckled weakly, but Ron ignored him.

"Just point your wand, and say the magic words," Sturgis replied. "The Spell will make your eyes see any hidden humans." _Neat._

"Thank you," Ron smiled at the man. "I'm sorry for hurting you, and for my threats against your life."

"You already apologized," Sturgis chuckled.

"I know, but this time, I mean it," Ron said, and everyone just blinked at him. "That was a joke." _It wasn't._ "Let's go, Professor. I've wasted enough of your time today." Ron made his way over to the fireplace, and he opened the floo to the Headmaster's Office.

"Oh, before I head off…" Ron looked to his mother. "Tell dad that I have the invitation to the Gala with me. I'll come down here and collect you both on the twenty-eighth. Please, wear your best." Ron then looked to the Lovegoods. "I'd invite you, but then you'd have to donate five hundred Galleons, which isn't smart because the baby is almost here."

"Oh," Pandora muttered, her right hand resting on her protruding belly. _My Godchild will need that five hundred Galleons._ Ron felt a little giddy at the prospect of finally meeting the little bugger.

"Why don't you send over the invitation to us?" Molly suggested. "Your father and I will keep it safe."

"That's not necessary," Ron assured her. "Plus, I'm donating the five hundred Galleons on behalf of the Weasley Family."

"You are?" Molly asked, when was that decided? "Ron, that's a lot of money. Your father and I decided that we'd donate what we could, and that's it." _Um… Twenty Knuts isn't going to achieve a damn thing._

"The Weasley Family will pay five hundred Galleons, just like all the other Old Families," Ron said firmly. "Mum, do you really want to go there and only hand over a pittance? How will that make us look to the other Families?"

"The other Families?" Molly looked taken aback, and then she frowned. "Ronald Weasley, I've raised you to be proud of what we have."

"I bid you goodbye, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said. "Come through once you are done." And with that, McGonagall flooed away. _For fuck's sake… Arguments at every turn._

"This has nothing to do with me 'not being proud'…" Ron sighed out, why couldn't people just listen to him? _Instead, they start getting emotional._ "It's about the Family Name, and our reputation. The World looks down on us, mum, and I'm not going to turn a blind eye to that. Old Families like the Longbottoms and Fawleys share our beliefs, but unlike us, they hold respect and influence within Britain, and even beyond. And why is that? It's because they use their wealth to benefit the country."

Molly looked to Pandora, then to Sirius, and then to Xeno, all of whom just stared at Ron.

"Sirius, how much are you donating?" Ron asked, why was his mother so thickheaded? _Too much pride, and not enough sense._

"Five hundred…" Sirius said, his eyes darting towards Molly.

"And why are you donating that much?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on his mother.

"It's the proper thing to do…" Sirius replied. "And it's expected…"

"See, mum," Ron jerked his head towards Sirius. "It's the proper thing to do, and it's expected. You're letting your 'pride in your Family' get in the way of changing things for the better." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "The Weasley Family will pay five hundred Galleons, and if you bring this up again, you and dad won't not be attending. Is that clear?"

"Clear?" Molly Weasley nearly shrieked. _Poor choice of words, Ron._ "You're giving me ultimatums now?!" _I might burst a blood vessel…_ Ron just stared at his mother, harsh words on the tip of his tongue. _Breathe… Don't give into your temper. Don't be a cunt._

"Mum… You're turning a good deed into a fight," Ron said almost gently. "Why do you always start with me? Why is it that, despite all the good I do, you always find the negative? Why must you always be a hindrance?" Molly blinked repeatedly. _It's because you can't stand not being in charge, can you?_ "Enough is enough. I'm done with this dance, alright? You don't want to help? Fine… You don't have to help, but at least stop getting in the way." With that, Ron turned around and stepped through the floo.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Black Lake – Evening)**_

"Was it really wise to strong-arm Madam Bones like that?" Daphne asked, they were taking a walk along the shore.

"I had little choice," Ron shrugged. "She was starting to hang up on the fact that I'm just thirteen. I mean, I understand her reservations… But I really need this deal to work."

"So you can be an International Diplomat?" Daphne smirked. "My boyfriend, the International sensation." Ron chuckled at that, he loved that she was impressed with him. "Are you blushing?"

"No," Ron denied immediately, and then he snorted. "Stop it, Daph. This is serious business. And remember, you can't tell anyone. Not even the others." _They know about the Old Families, but not much past that._

"I know," Daphne swung their hands back and forth. "You know, my father has this saying… What was it again? Oh, yeah! Influence breeds influence."

"Influence breeds influence, eh?" Ron repeated, he liked the sound of that.

"Think about it," Daphne hummed. "Once your new position is announced, everyone will be talking about you. They'll wonder how a thirteen year pulled this off."

"He met the right people," Ron stated.

"But they don't know that," Daphne gave him a wink. "To them, you must be something truly fascinating. They won't even think about the fact that you worked yourself to the bone to get this far, they'll only see your elevated status."

"And so they'll listen to me," Ron finished.

"Exactly," Daphne said. "It's not different at Hogwarts either. Every time someone accomplishes something, the whole school discusses it. But you know what they don't discuss?"

"How hard it must've been," Ron replied.

"The people who **have** worked as hard as you will know about your struggles, and they'll respect you for it," Daphne went on. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm proud of you."

"I… Thanks," Ron said a little bashfully, and then he cleared his throat. _It's been a while since someone said that to me._

"By the way, I have that green strapless dress ready," Daphne told him. "It's the one that I bought at Hogsmeade. The one that you really liked for disgusting reasons."

"There is nothing disgusting about **these**!" Ron eyed her chest, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, you two. She doesn't know anything."

"I know where to kick you if you keep at it," Daphne smirked at him, and Ron decided to relent. "So… Are you taking your entire Family?"

"Mum and dad are a given," Ron started. "Percy and Ginny are also okay in my opinion."

"And the twins?"

"Ugh…" Ron groaned. "I don't know about them. They're not made for this sort of stuff. First of all, they're troublemakers. Secondly, they are extremely attention hungry. And lastly, I know that they'll just embarrass the Family with their antics. This Gala, Daph… It's my chance at starting something special for my Family. The Weasley Name needs to be… cleaned up."

"Cleaned up?" Daphne asked.

"We're not exactly a prominent Family, despite how old we are," Ron sighed. "We're literally known for our poverty, and excessive children… I don't like that. I want us to be respected, like your Family is."

"My Family?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "Ron… We aren't respected by many."

"True, but when your father speaks, no one dares oppose him," Ron explained, and Daphne nodded slowly. "How many charities does your mother run?"

"Four, including a Creature Preservation Site," Daphne replied. "I get what you mean now. People might not like my Family, but they don't look down on us."

"Exactly," Ron smiled at her. "I've seen your father stare down Madame Maxime and the French Minister at the same time, Daph. No one in my Family could've done that. And sure, certain Families respect our values, and therefore, us by extension… But it's not enough. I want those who would oppose us to be wary of our prestige."

"You want respect **and** power for your Family," Daphne figured, and Ron nodded fervently. "I can understand that, I was raised to think the same way. We all were. 'The Family must always be furthered'."

"I know," Ron moved in front of her. "It's why I think about these things now. All of you have taught me to think like this."

"So we're to blame for this?" Daphne chuckled.

"The word 'Blame' implies that I'm wrong to think this way," Ron countered, and then he put his free hand on her waist. "Do you want to dance?"

"Out here?" Daphne asked.

"No one else is here, and the breeze is amazing," Ron replied, and she put her free hand on his shoulder.

"There will be dancing at this Gala, so I might as well teach you a little," Daphne smiled. "Just follow my lead, and don't step on my feet this time."

"Okay," Ron said, and then began swaying side to side.

"Should we expect a Weasley Minister eventually?" Daphne asked him, and Ron let out a laugh.

"No," Ron said with mirth. "Not for a while, at least." _If Percy really does want to be Minister, then I should introduce him to Madam Bones. After all, if he learns under the next Minister, he'll be a shoe in for the job._ Ron's smile turned coy, and Daphne clicked her tongue.

"Scheming, are you?" Daphne asked. "You shouldn't ignore your amazing girlfriend, Ron. Scheme in your own time."

"That's fair," Ron kissed her left cheek. "What about a Greengrass Minister?"

"Like that'll happen," Daphne giggled. "Plus, I don't want to work in an Office. I plan to work directly under my father once I graduate, and eventually, take over his businesses. Father can then retire and travel the World with mother, which has always been a dream of hers."

"And Tori?" Ron asked.

"I'll let her run some of the businesses, but I don't think she wants that," Daphne replied. "Her interests lie elsewhere." _The twins' Joke Shop… If they're planning to open it eventually, they'll need investors. Another good plan, Ron. You're on fire today._ "Earth to Ron."

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly. "What if little Tori started her own business?"

"Go on," Daphne said.

"My brothers, the twins, plan to open up a shop like Zonko's eventually," Ron said, he knew that she wouldn't tell anyone. "What if we brought them together? I mean, Tori has more than enough in her savings to help the twins, and with their genius, all parties will benefit greatly. Plus, it might give Tori a push in the right direction."

"When did you become this conniving?" Daphne laughed. _When I was eight… After all, I've been lying and hiding things since then._

"I've honed my craft, love," Ron sniggered, and then he twirled her before pulling her close again.

"And when do we implement this dastardly scheme?" Daphne asked.

"When the twins need money," Ron replied. "Trust me, I'll know when the time is right. While I bring in the twins, you can convince Tori to step up."

"I'll tell her that she'll make father proud," Daphne locked eyes with him. "She'll jump at the chance to be taken more seriously by him, especially due to his increasing annoyance with her antics."

"Look at us," Ron grinned from ear to ear. "Plotting and scheming together."

"Plotting and scheming are the same things," Daphne corrected. "But yes, I love it!"

"What else can we scheme about?" Ron mused.

"The Trio?" Daphne asked. "They do need to be dealt with, Ron. You can't let their actions go unpunished."

"I'm not," Ron assured her. "The adults are punishing them for me. Think about it… Harry has never had Family, and now his Godfather is extremely disappointed in him. How do you think that feels?"

"Like a hot knife," Daphne replied, she knew how horrible it was to disappoint a father figure. "Is that why you went to the adults?"

"Yes, and no," Ron shrugged. "I just don't feel the need to immerse myself in school drama. My attention needs to be on the bigger picture."

"On your growing influence, you mean," Daphne said, and Ron nodded gently.

"The 'Golden Trio' aren't even in my league, Daph," Ron said. "Why should I bother with them myself? It's pointless because they'll never learn if **I** scold them, they need to be set straight by their parent figures." _But what about Neville?_ "Actually, there is something that we can discuss."

"More scheming?" Daphne smirked. "Yes, please."

"Neville…" Ron said, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "Harry told me that Neville had no clue about his activities. All Neville apparently knew was that Harry disliked me, and that's it."

"Seriously?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "Potter expects you to believe that?"

"I know, but he was so… persistent… about it," Ron said slowly. "It's just making me think, you know… Neville, and his Gran, are powerful allies to have. What if Harry is telling the truth, and I'm simply throwing away a great asset due to association?"

"That would be quite foolish," Daphne noted, she knew just how powerful Augusta Longbottom's word was. "Honestly, when I really think about it, Longbottom doesn't seem the type to pull off something like this. I know that last year he was horrible to you, but you told me that he apologized for his behavior. He's even stood up for the rest of us before, which I can't just ignore."

"So what do I do?" Ron asked for guidance.

"Talk to him," Daphne replied. "And do it before he owls his Grandmother, and ends up painting himself as guilty as Potter. Throw him a lifeline, and then get the truth from him. The **full** truth." Daphne's grip then tightened on his hand. "What about Granger?"

"What about her?" Ron asked, a sly smirk on his face.

"Don't tease me," she narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing about Granger? What did Potter say about her?"

"Harry planned to destroy the book," Ron started. "But Hermione saw it, and she let her curiosity get the best of her. She cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on him, and then she read the book. That's how Neville found out."

"Granger Cursed Potter?" Daphne asked, even she had a hard time believing that.

"People can do crazy things," Ron shrugged. "I'll listen to Neville's story, and if it lines up with Harry's, then she's just as guilty as the Boy-Who-Lived."

"What then?" Daphne asked.

"Then… nothing," Ron replied. "To me, she'll become nothing more than another face at Hogwarts. I'm done with people who keep getting in my way."

"She could tell people if you upset her," Daphne said.

"Which is why I'm so… disgusted… by this," Ron admitted. "They went out of their way to learn something so personal about me, and now they hold power over me. They probably won't use it, but it's still there."

"You'll overcome it," Daphne gave him a peck. "And what's the worst that can happen if they do use it? We'll turn the whole story into whatever we want, Ron. We'll tell the whole World that you are just a sick young man who's trying to get by, and the Trio will be vilified. 'You can turn your weaknesses into your armor, and then, they can never be used to hurt you'. Father taught me that when I was just a tiny little girl, and I've always remembered it."

"Is that where your Ice-Queen persona comes from?" Ron asked.

"It's my shield against those who would target me," Daphne replied. "Your scars and conditions immediately make you sympathetic, which isn't the same as being pitied. Plus, most people in this school like you. The first and seconds years worship you. The older students respect you. If the Trio do tell other people, and this information spreads, I'll make sure that everyone stands by you."

"You'll turn me into a tragic hero?" Ron asked, her words seemed to resonate with him.

"I'll create you impenetrable armor," Daphne smiled. "We're a team, aren't we?"

"Always, Daphne."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Courtyard – After Dinner)**_

Ron waited patiently for Derek to bring Neville over. His talk with Daphne had been… eye opening. Firstly, he still needed the Longbottoms, and if Neville was innocent as Harry claimed, then pinning the blame on him through association was quite unfair. After all, hadn't Ron been doubted due to association before?

Secondly, Neville was shareholder in The Quibbler, which meant that being on peaceful terms with him was just a necessity. If Ron cut off ties with the Longbottom Heir, then The Quibbler could potentially suffer unforeseen issues down the line. And lastly, Ron, and most his friends, actually liked Neville. Ron had always held some respect for Neville after he had confessed his jealousy and apologized for it, while Ron's friends had truly appreciated Neville standing up for them while Ron was incapacitated. If something could be salvaged from this mess, then it was Ron's duty to do so.

"Ron?" came Neville's voice, and Ron turned to face Neville and Derek.

"Thank you, Derek," Ron smiled at the chubby boy, who smiled back. "I'll see you in the common room."

"Alright, bye," Derek nodded, and then he quickly left to chase after his friends. Ron and Neville stared at each for a few moments, and Ron waited for the Gryffindor to start.

"I'm sorry about everything," Neville finally broke the silence, but Ron just stared at him. "Ron?"

"'I'm sorry about everything' ought to be your middle name," Ron said coldly, his ill feelings coming through for a moment. _Breathe, and think properly._ "Harry told me everything that happened, Neville."

"He did?" Neville blinked. "What… What did he say?" _So Harry hasn't told him yet?_

"I'll keep that to myself for now," Ron replied, and Neville shifted in his spot a little. "Tell me your side of things, and if your versions line up, we can talk. Oh, and if they don't, then you and I are also done. I'll send your Grandmother an owl right after as well." Neville swallowed thickly at that. "Start from the start, Neville."

"I… Um…" Neville muttered, he wasn't sure about what to say. He wanted to help his best friends, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie and make things worse. What had Harry told Ron? "I didn't know what Harry… what Harry, and Hermione, were up to. Not until a few days ago. I spoke to Hermione, and she promised to help me stop Harry… But then we found Harry with that book. Hermione… She just wanted to help you, but she went too far… That's how we all found out. Ron, we promise, we won't tell a soul." _His story lines up with Harry's._

"You all keep saying that, but I see no reason to believe you," Ron walked up to Neville.

"I promised to keep your secrets," Neville said. "I convinced Harry and Hermione to keep what they learned to themselves."

"Harry told me that he wanted to forget what he read, and that he never meant for anyone to find out," Ron said. "Where does Hermione sit?" _She's definitely my worst problem in this mess. She's socially inept as it is, and she tends to do radical things when she gets riled up._

"She… She wants to tell your sibling… She wants to help…" Neville confessed, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "But she won't, I promise."

"Fuck your promises," Ron hissed in Neville's face, who immediately went wide-eyed. "You think I'm just going to trust you three now? Why? Because you're 'sorry'? Well, I'm not the forgiving sort… You three crossed a line."

"We know…"

"Do you?" Ron asked. "Do you really understand how… how cruel… this was? What was my fucking crime, Neville? Being in Slytherin? Being on good standing with the Headmaster? What did I do to warrant this?"

"Nothing…" Neville looked down, he had said the same to Harry and Hermione.

"You Gryffindors are just as bad as us," Ron shook his head, and then he took a step back. "We can be conniving, self-serving, and some of us are bigoted idiots… But you Lions? You think you own this fucking school. You do as you please, you never face any real consequences because the Professors shelter you, and your self-righteous attitudes are mistaken for 'bravery'. House of the Chivalrous my arse…"

"So… We're done?" Neville looked up with a crestfallen look. _Throw him a lifeline, just like Daphne advised._

"Your story lines up with Harry's," Ron said, and Neville seemed to relax a little. "As angry as I am, I can't blame you for your friends' actions. You were just there when they found out, which isn't a crime…" Ron then looked to the Entrance. "Where are Harry and Hermione now?"

"Probably in the Entrance Hall," Neville replied. "Hermione wanted to come and talk to you, but Harry forced her to stay back." _Good, I only invited you._

"You and I can continue as normal, but tell the other two that I'm done with them," Ron said. "From today on, I will not approach them. I will not speak to them. I will not help them. They are also banned from my study group, whereas you can still attend."

"I…" Neville started, but then he stopped. He wanted to argue this, but he really had no leg to stand on. Ron was the wronged party, Neville really did understand that, but he also didn't want Harry and Hermione to be tossed out into the cold. "I understand…"

"Alright then," Ron gave a curt nod. "You can leave, and take your friends with you. I don't want to see their faces." Neville stared at him for a few moments, and then he turned around and left. As Neville disappeared into the castle, Ron found himself rubbing his forehead. A part of him wanted to make the Trio suffer for their sheer nerve, but at the same time, a part of him understood that escalating things would only cause problems. He had learned his lesson last year, and he wasn't planning on repeating past mistakes.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Defense Against Dark Arts Classroom – After Morning Classes)**_

"Ron, can you please stay behind?" Remus asked, and Ron stopped packing his things. The lesson on Grindylows had been quite pleasant, though their yellow toad-like eyes had jarred Ron a little too much.

"We'll be outside, mate," Blaise gave Ron's back a pat, and then he joined the vacating students. Once everyone was gone, Remus gave Ron a sorry look. _Um… What?_

"Ron, I'm really sorry about Harry," Remus apologized, his guilt extremely evident. "He told me everything, and I've given him a month's worth of detention. He'll be here every day after classes, I promise."

"Oh…" Ron said, and then he slid out of his seat.

"I'm sorry that he did that to you," Remus apologized again. "I… I know what it's like to want to keep a condition to yourself… Harry had no right to snoop through your things."

"Remus, it's alright," Ron gave the man a weak smile. "It's not your fault. Harry is his own person, and he made his own choices. I don't blame you for this, and I never will." Remus let out a sigh and gave a weak nod, he had been so shocked, and disappointed, to learn of Harry's terrible behavior.

"I just can't believe that he'd take things this far," Remus said, his eyes darting towards where Harry had been sitting. "Well done for not taking action yourself, by the way. It was very mature of you."

"Thanks," Ron said. "I really wanted to, but it didn't work out very nicely for me last year.

"You did the right thing by coming to us," Remus walked up and patted Ron's right shoulder. "I've made Harry promise to keep your conditions to himself, and I'm told that Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore have done the same."

"What about Hermione? Did he tell you how she found out?" Ron asked.

"Yes…" Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. "She also received talks from Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, and as far as I know, she's taken their words to heart. She won't tell anyone, I'm sure of it."

"Right," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Relax, and don't get riled up._ "It just feels… unfair… Last year it was the Polyjuice Potion, and this year, it's this… Both times, I didn't do anything to warrant their suspicions." _That I know of._ Remus stared at Ron, and then he gave him a comforting smile.

"Kids make mistakes," Remus started. "When I was a student here, I did some terrible things as well. At the time, they didn't feel wrong, but now I understand better. I was far too proud of my House, and far too timid to stop my friends. What I'm trying to say is that we can only learn from our mistakes. Harry, Hermione, and Neville will learn from this, we'll make sure of it."

"Alright," Ron nodded. "I leave it you adults then." _Plus, you're saving me time and effort._

"Good," Remus smiled at him. "Now if I recall correctly, I offered you some private lessons at the start of the year." _Oh, he did… I completely forgot about them._

"You did promise me that," Ron smiled more fully. "But then you forgot all about me… It's alright, I get it… You don't like me all that much."

"Get out of it," Remus chuckled. "When are you free?"

"Well…" Ron thought about it. "I've got my session with Pomfrey after classes today, I've got my study group tomorrow, and I have work on Saturday and then Dueling Training on Sunday-"

"Merlin," Remus laughed. "Are you always that busy?"

"Rest is for the weak," Ron smirked. "I'm free Sunday afternoon though."

"Alright, drop by my Office during the evening," Remus instructed. "I'll teach you some handy tricks that I've picked up over the years." _Now that sounds like a plan._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Training Area – After Lunch)**_

"Homenum Revelio," Ron chanted, and he felt the presence of everyone in the room. No one was under the Disillusionment Charm at the moment, of course, but Ron still knew that the Spell had worked. It was an odd sensation, to feel exactly where everyone in the room was without even looking. _Wicked, and it's quite simple too. Just point and say the incantation._

"Did you lot feel that?" Theo asked the others, and both Blaise and Millie nodded.

"Felt what?" Ron looked to them, they were practicing their own Spellwork.

"It was like something swooped over me," Millie replied, and Theo clicked his fingers and nodded.

"Same," Theo said, while Blaise eyed Ron.

"What did you do?" Blaise asked, and Ron raised his hands in mock surrender. _Don't tell them yet. You might be Dueling one of them at the Tournament, and this Spell could give you a huge advantage._

"I didn't do anything," Ron lied. "I'm just practicing the Bird-Summoning Charm." _Which I still can't cast properly. How am I supposed to learn Conjuring Magic if I can't even summon some bloody birds?_

Blaise went to say something, but he stopped when he spotted Malfoy enter the room. Ron followed his gaze, and he saw the Malfoy Heir skulk to a corner in order to practice his Magic by himself. _He's been so… distant. I don't think I've heard him speak since our chat, but at least he didn't leave._ The others went back to their Spellwork, but Ron kept his eyes on Malfoy. _Why did he come here? He could just practice at the Sanctuary if he wants to be left alone._

"Fluctus Inpulsa," Millie chanted as she drove her wand downwards, and a bright blue light emanated from beneath her feet. Everyone looked to her in time to see her float into the air, and as she squealed, the Spell was undone. Millie landed with a dull thud, but instead of just laying there, she quickly sprang up to her feet. "That didn't work right… Ow…"

"Are you alright?" Theo asked. "Are you trying your father's 'Shockwave Charm'?"

"Trying being the operative word," Millie groaned, her free hand rubbing her lower back. "My tailbone…"

"Be more careful, please," Ron called.

"That's rich coming from you…" Millie mumbled, and then she walked over to a chair to sit down. Blaise and Theo smirked at her, and then they returned to their own training. _Look at us… Hiding Spells from each other in order to win the Dueling Tournaments. I love it._ Ron shot a look towards Malfoy, and against his better judgement, decided to join him.

"What are you working on?" Ron asked in an almost friendly voice.

"Nothing," Malfoy lied.

"Then you're in the wrong room," Ron teased, while Malfoy shot him an annoyed look. "C'mon, Malfoy… I'm trying to reach out here."

"For Merlin's sake…" Malfoy drew in a sharp breath. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Then why are you here?" Ron asked. "Why come here instead of seeking solitude at the Sanctuary?"

"I can go where I please, Weasley," Malfoy said abrasively. _He doesn't want to be alone, but he doesn't want to talk to me either. Hmmm… I'll leave him be for now._

"Alright, I get it," Ron said, making sure to sound slightly hurt. "I'll leave you be…" With that, Ron turned around and left quietly. He didn't see regret cross Malfoy's face for a moment, but he already knew that the Malfoy Heir would regret choosing isolation. _The others don't even look in his direction when I'm not around, so he'll come around eventually. Until then, I'll just make sure to keep my eyes on him. I don't want him getting caught up with Flint again, or falling back on his previous behavior._

As Ron neared his old spot, he decided to practice his Non-verbal Magic. It wasn't as hard as he imagined it to be, and as of right now, he could produce a rather weak stunner. _Practice makes perfect, Ron. Just keep at it._

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Triumvirate's Room – After Classes)**_

How did Ron deal with these three? They were so damn demanding, and they were never satisfied. Sure, they gave her a voice, and if her ideas were good, the Triumvirate implemented them immediately, but it was just so taxing to treat party planning as a job.

Of the three older witches, Pansy liked Clara the most. Clara was approachable, spoke with a kind voice, and she also preferred making jokes rather than dishing out orders. It was a wonder that these three were even friends. Samantha was extremely cold, and she never minced her words, much to Pansy's dislike. And Carey… Carey was the perfect blend of Samantha and Clara. She had Clara's approachable demeanor, but Samantha's coldness if she didn't approve of something.

Working under them had made Pansy appreciate Ron's efforts even more, mostly because she knew that she wasn't cut out for such grunt work. Actually, none of them were. Theo was too self-serving, Blaise was too indifferent, Daphne was too proud to be an underling, Tracey would turn this into a joke, and Millie hated things like party planning. So how did Ron deal with these three so often? _He does the grunt work, while we reap the rewards. We've all thought that before, but now I've got a clearer picture than before._

"Pansy," Samantha clicked her fingers in Pansy's face. "Wake up, we're not done yet."

"Sorry," Pansy apologized to the raven-haired witch, she was oddly frightened of displeasing Samantha. "I missed what you were saying."

"We were asking after the punch that Ron served at his party," Clara smiled at her.

"The apricot one?" Pansy asked.

"That's the one," Carey nodded to herself, her voice was so smooth on the ears. "We should serve it at our party. After all, it was a favorite."

"Actually, I think that we should serve something new," Pansy said. "Serving the same punch as Ron doesn't give a very good message to the people in this House."

"They'll think that we're stealing from him," Samantha figured, and Pansy nodded.

"This party is being hosted by you three-" Pansy started.

"And you, Pansy," Carey interrupted. "Don't sell yourself short, we certainly won't." Pansy didn't know why, but her cheeks burned due to the compliment from the beautiful witch. _Control yourself, woman!_

"Thanks," Pansy all but whispered, a bashful smile on her face. Carey stared at her for a couple of seconds, and then she gave Pansy a warm smile. _I think I'm definitely into girls as well…_

"Please, go on," Carey said smoothly.

"Ahem," Pansy cleared her throat. "This party is being hosted by the Silver Triumvirate, so we can't copy anything from Ron's parties. Everything has to be different, especially the refreshments. I personally suggest Strawberry Storm, a cocktail made by the White Wyvern Pub in Knockturn Alley."

"Knockturn Alley?" Clara blinked.

"Trust me, it's just amazing," Pansy assured them. "My mother served it in one of our parties, and not a single adult left the Manor sober. They make the cocktail away from Knockturn Alley, and they only sell it in bulk."

"Which saves us money," Samantha looked to Carey and Clara. "We're already burning through our meager budget on the food and decorations." _Snape is a little cheap, isn't he? But then again, he probably doesn't care much for parties._

"Pansy, order the Strawberry Storm," Carey looked between Clara and Samantha, while Pansy wondered about their silent conversations. _They communicate by just looking at each other… It's quite unnerving._ "We three will reimburse you from our own pockets, so make sure to order a lot."

"Planning to get someone drunk, Carey?" Clara giggled. "Should I be jealous?"

"Just because we're throwing a party doesn't mean that I can't use it to my advantage," Carey smirked. "Don't forget that I've seen you pounce a few drunk boys."

"And girls," Samantha added with a knowing smile, while Clara shot her a wink. _Girls? So she's… She's like me?_

"I'll go order that punch now," Pansy spoke up, and Carey gave her a nod.

"We'll finish up the rest," Samantha told Pansy. "You can go about your day after you've ordered the punch." Pansy gave her a nod, and then she left the room a little too quickly. As she began making her way to her room, a certain busty witch quickly caught up to her.

"Don't move so fast, Pansy," Clara hummed as she tangled her arm with Pansy's. "Some people might take offence at your hurry to leave their presence." _What?_

"No, it's not like that," Pansy said quickly, while Clara just smiled at her. "I was… I just wanted to order that punch…" _Salazar just rolled in his grave because of how lame that lie was._

"It's that good, is it?" Clara chuckled.

"Um… I don't know what to say…" Pansy admitted, her face heating up.

"Then say nothing, and listen," Clara hummed.

"Listen?" Pansy asked as they neared Pansy's room.

"I couldn't help but notice your long looks at Carey," Clara teased, and Pansy's mouth dropped open.

"I…"

"Shhh, it's alright," Clara assured her quickly. "I think she's gorgeous as well." Clara then pushed open the door, and they both entered together. Both girls realized that the room was empty, which meant that Pansy's roommates were with the boys. "Do you have a brochure?"

"Pardon?" Pansy blinked, her arm still tangled with Clara's.

"For the punch, Pansy," Clara said, and Pansy nodded quickly. "You're quite adorable."

"Adorable?" Pansy blinked.

"When you first came to Slytherin, I wrote you off as just another Pure-Blood brat, but I was wrong," Clara went on, while Pansy just stared at her. "You are much more interesting than that."

"I am?" Pansy mumbled, she was thoroughly confused.

"Certainly," Clara replied, and then she moved them to Tracey's bed. They sat down on the edge of the bed, their arms still tangled.

"Why do you think that I'm 'interesting'?" Pansy asked slowly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Clara smiled sweetly. "I see much of myself in you, after all." _Huh?_ "Oh, don't look so shocked, it's not an impossible thing. Like you, I too felt… different."

"I don't feel different…" Pansy said, but deep down, Pansy knew that she was different. She didn't care about House standing, or her grades, or about making Pure-Blood children. She used to, but her friends had changed her outlook on things. Now she simply wanted to embrace herself and live in the moment, nothing more. _Which is easier said than done._

"Don't you?" Clara asked. "Don't you ever feel out of place? Don't you ever feel like you're holding back? Don't you ever feel like you're not being you in order to satisfy someone else?"

"Um…" Pansy swallowed thickly. "What is this?"

"It's just a friendly chat," Clara hummed. "As a member of the Triumvirate, I have to make sure that all of Slytherin's students feel safe and comfortable." Clara then smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Do you prefer girls over boys, Pansy?"

"Pardon?" Pansy was visibly taken aback.

"Well?"

"I… I prefer boys…" Pansy replied awkwardly. "But…" she trailed off.

"You also find girls attractive?" Clara asked, her smile becoming warmer. Pansy didn't say anything, which only gave her away. "Me too."

"I got that," Pansy muttered under her breath.

"See? We are alike," Clara squeezed her arm. "Let me just tell you that there's nothing wrong with that, and if a pretty girl strikes your fancy, then you should take the leap."

"I haven't even taken any 'leaps' with boys yet," Pansy said lamely.

"Really?" Clara asked, and Pansy nodded weakly. "Not even a kiss?"

"I… I gave my friend Ron a peck on the lips once…" Pansy admitted, and something gleamed behind Clara's eyes. "But that was mostly because he had done something really selfless, and I really wanted to show him that I love him. I wasn't making a move on him." _Even Daphne understands that._ "Honestly, I'm not sure that he liked it…"

"Did he tell you that he didn't?" Clara asked, and Pansy shook her head. "Then trust me, he didn't mind it at all."

"I read that in some cultures, friends kiss all the time," Pansy said. "I just thought that I'd try it."

"What a coincidence, I read a similar thing when I was your age," Clara told her. "And one day, I plucked up the courage to kiss Samantha. Not as a lover would, but more as a greeting."

"Really?" Pansy whispered, she sounded almost scandalized. _Why did I get so excited just now?_

"After I did so, she asked me why I had kissed her," Clara remembered. "I told her everything, and she understood that I just wanted to be closer to her. And now, it's just something that we do without thinking twice." Pansy felt her heartbeat increase a bit, her old plan was now at the forefront of her mind. _I remember that Tracey was on board, but I never brought it up to the boys._

"And Carey?" Pansy swallowed thickly.

"She also plays along," Clara replied.

"So all three of you…" Pansy started, but then she stopped herself.

"You should express your love the way you want, not how others expect you to," Clara advised. "If your friends don't mind, then what does it matter what others say? People will always find reasons to criticize you, but if you ignore them and just be yourself, you'll be too happy to care." Clara stood up at that, her arm untangling from Pansy's. "Hogwarts will end for you in five years, so enjoy it as much as you can. Create friendships that will last a lifetime, and live each day as you want. And if anyone tells you to live differently, then cut them out of your life. Don't let someone else decide what your life ought to be."

With that, Clara shot Pansy a wink and left the room. Pansy just sat there, her mind working faster than it ever had. _Five years, and then I won't see my friends every day. Instead, I'll be living with my Family…_ The thought made her gut twist a little, she really didn't want that to happen. Pansy stood up and patted her cheeks, Clara was dead right.

"I'm Pansy Parkinson," Pansy hyped herself up. "I am **Pansy** , and I'll do whatever I want!" _At this party, when we've all had some alcohol, I'll bring up my old idea. They'll all agree, and we'll be closer than ever._ Pansy smiled like a Cheshire cat, now she couldn't wait for this party.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

Ron munched on his toast, all the while listening to Tracey's rant on the banning of certain joke items. All of them were listening to her impassioned speech, and none of them knew enough about joke items to start a discussion.

"And now, the Ministry wants to ban Magical Fireworks too?" Tracey scoffed. "It's just so stupid… We have bigger problems in this country than people potentially breaking the Statute of Secrecy by mistake."

"Plus, we can always Obliviate Muggles," Theo added, and Tracey nodded fervently.

"Exactly!" Tracey exclaimed, making everyone flinch a bit. "They have a team at the Ministry who are literally called 'The Obliviaters'. I swear, they just want to suck the fun out of being Magical. They want us all to work under them, slaving away so they can keep getting richer."

"So… You won't work at the Ministry once you graduate?" Pansy asked.

"Never," Tracey replied, it sounded like a promise. "I plan to take over my father's business, and then spread it to the rest of the World. And when I'm loaded, I'll use my money to fight these ludicrous bans and regulations."

"That's money well spent," Blaise said sarcastically, he had zoned out for the whole speech.

"If that makes her happy, then she should do it," Pansy said, and Tracey smiled at her. "We should all do whatever makes us happiest, right?" Ron and Daphne exchanged looks, why was Pansy constantly reinforcing the idea of 'happiness' to them? _I swear, it only just started yesterday._

"What do you think, Malfoy?" Ron looked to his left, and the Malfoy Heir kept his eyes on his plate.

"He asked you a question, Malfoy," Theo said, but Malfoy ignored him as well. His quietness was starting to piss the others off, mostly because it was now bordering on being creepy.

"It's alright," Ron said calmly, while the others frowned at Malfoy. "If not talking makes him happiest, then he ought to do it. Right, Pansy?"

"Exactly," Pansy nodded, but then she blinked at him. "Wait… What? No…"

"Oh, too late," Ron sniggered. "I got you!"

"You…" Pansy frowned at him, while the other chuckled at her expense. "Arse."

"Bitch," Ron grinned, and her lips twitched upwards.

"There's an owl coming at us," Blaise pointed out, and Ron looked up to see a brown owl flying straight for him. Ron spotted a letter being carried in its talons, which the owl dropped before flying back out. Ron caught the letter, and then he stared at the owl as it flew out of the Great Hall.

"Wow… It didn't even bother landing," Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "I don't think that was an ordinary owl."

"Who is it from?" Blaise asked, he was suddenly interested in chatting. Ron looked the letter over, and once he saw the Ministry's Seal on it, he quickly opened it.

 _Mr. Ronald Weasley,_

 _Madam Bones has come to me with your proposal, and I must admit, it has caught me off-guard. It sounds too good to be true, especially considering how young you are._

 _The French and British Ministries have too much bad blood between them, so I am taking this proposal very seriously. If you have indeed convinced Madame Olympe Maxime of Beauxbatons to stand by you, then I must take your request into serious consideration. As Minister, I must put the betterment of our Ministry ahead of precedent._ _(The betterment of our Ministry? So not our people, eh?)_

 _I have recently returned from Albania in order to attend the upcoming St. Mungo's Charity Gala, and I'd like to meet you. We can discuss your role in further negotiations with the French over some tea. Meet me at The Leaky Cauldron on Sunday evening, and we will negotiate terms and conditions._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Your Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge._

Ron pocketed the letter with a smile on his face, his plan was coming to fruition. _I must inform Madame Maxime that things are looking good on my end._

"Ron? Who was that letter from?" Theo asked. "It had the Ministry Seal on it."

"Was it Madam Bones?" Millie asked.

"It was the Minister," Ron told them, much to their disbelief. "I am to have tea with the man on Sunday evening."

"Really?" Tracey blinked at him, while Daphne made sure to hold back her smile.

"Why does the Minister want to meet you?" Malfoy asked, and Ron smirked at him.

"Now he talks…" Pansy shot Malfoy a quick look. "But seriously, why does he want to meet you?"

"Are they really taking your proposal that seriously?" Blaise asked, and Ron blinked at him. "What? I just didn't think that they would… Ron, you're thirteen years old, and these people are extremely proud. I can't see them letting you run rampant."

"I'm sure they don't want to," Ron shrugged. "But beggars can't be choosers, Blaise. The Ministry is hurting, and I happen to have bandages. They can either take me seriously, or they can bleed out." _Wait… Sunday evening… I'll have to cancel with Remus. Damn._ Ron stood up and backed out of his seat, while the others just stared at him. "I have things to take care of, so I'll see you lot in class."

"Don't be late, or Snape will have your hide," Daphne bid him farewell, a hint of pride in her voice. Ron leaned down and gave her a peck, and then he left for the staff table. _I'll just tell Remus that I'm not feeling well enough to push myself too much. I can't have him telling my parents about my meeting with Fudge, they'll only get in my way again. After that, I'll send Helios to France with a message for Madame Maxime. I need to know if her Minister has given into our demands._

* * *

 _ **Friday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Dumbledore's Office – Before Dinner)**_

"This is quite the opportunity, Ronald," Dumbledore said as he finished reading the letter, Ron had told Snape and Dumbledore everything. Dumbledore then handed the letter back to Ron, who pocketed it quickly.

"It is an opportunity for Fudge as well," Snape pointed out. "If he becomes known as the Minister who helped settle the bad blood between the French and the British, removing him from Office will become difficult. I'm sure that he knows this, which is why he's even considering it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ron feigned hurt, and when Snape frowned at him, Ron grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Fudge might be a fool, but even a blind bird finds a worm occasionally," Snape said coldly. "Don't underestimate him, or you will hinder our plans for Amelia Bones."

"The people will understand that it was Amelia's mind that gave birth to this Gala, not Fudge's," Dumbledore said, his hand rubbing his chin. "All we have to do is speak to the right people, and they'll spread the word. While Ronald brings Madame Maxime, and her allies, into Britain, you and I must work to credit Amelia, Severus. Cornelius' involvement will be evident to all, but we must make sure that the people know who's really behind this event."

"I can bribe a few speakers in Knockturn Alley," Snape said, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. "They'll get the word out, and by the time the event's success hits the papers, everyone in Knockturn Alley will know who to thank."

"I will speak to the proper British Families attending the Gala then, while Ronald speaks to the French Families," Dumbledore looked to Ron, who gave him a nod. "We must, however, be extremely cautious. Cornelius cannot know of our… treason."

"It's not treason to dethrone a fool," Snape said.

"Incompetence should not be met with blind loyalty," Ron added. "Plus, I didn't vote in this attention hungry twat."

"Cornelius was elected due to happenstance," Dumbledore told Ron. "Many wanted me to take the position of Minister, but I refused it. They then looked to Barty Crouch Snr, who was shamed soon after due to his son's actions. Cornelius was then elected, and he's always had a chip on his shoulder ever since. This is where his need for approval comes from, and it has festered for too long. If he even suspects that we are after his Office, he will retaliate."

"Won't he take action if everyone is crediting Madam Bones?" Ron asked.

"Her reputation in the Ministry rivals his own, and her strength of character is well known," Dumbledore replied. "He will not risk attacking his own employee for doing her job."

"And if he does, then that only makes our job easier," Snape stated, and then he looked to Ron. "How far along is your magazine?"

"Not very," Ron sighed out. "I still haven't started looking for a staff, I don't have a location for the Offices, and Barnabas Cuffe is trying to crawl into my arse."

"He wants to use your magazine to promote himself?" Dumbledore asked.

"Worse, I think he wants to control all the Media in Magical Britain," Ron replied. "Honestly, every single person in this country has some scheme going, and it's starting to vex me."

"Cuffe has deals with the Ministry," Snape spoke to himself. "He has deals with Fudge…"

"Which is why I just don't trust him," Ron said. "He gave me some sympathetic tripe about wanting to do the right thing, but he genuinely came across as arrogant."

"Arrogant?" Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"He thinks that he can use my inexperience to tug on my heartstrings," Ron rolled his eyes. "Dumb bastard has no idea that I have my own plans to implement." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "He told me that he has eyes everywhere in order to intimidate me, but I've taken it as a lesson. My movements are limited in Diagon Alley, and possibly even Knockturn Alley, so I can't just do as I please anymore."

"Severus and I don't have Barnabas' attention," Dumbledore said. "If certain things can't be done by you, we'll take over your duties. You need to stay focused on getting The Quibbler prepared, it is vital to our Future endeavors."

"I understand," Ron said.

"Your brochures have done a marvelous job of highlighting Amelia's efforts," Dumbledore went on. "But the people of Knockturn Alley need to be told of who is trying to help them the most. Severus, can you find these speakers tomorrow?"

"I can," Snape gave a curt nod. "The Gala is next Saturday, and by then, everyone in Knockturn Alley will know the truth. I'll even tell the speakers to discredit Fudge for wasting so many resources on a foreign country's problems."

"What if someone recognizes you?" Ron asked.

"I am a Potions Master, Ron," Snape drawled, a deadpan look on his face. "I have Polyjuice Potion on hand."

"Oh… Forget what I said then," Ron said.

"I often do," Snape remarked, and Ron let out a snigger.

"The Potions Master? More like the 'Cheek Master'," Ron grinned at Dumbledore, while Snape used his Occlumency to control his anger.

"That's five points from Slytherin," Snape scowled a little, while Ron just sniggered to himself.

"Ronald, stop bullying Severus," Dumbledore chuckled, this was the first time that he had managed a proper smile since Elphias' murder, but as soon as that thought hit him, his smile withered away.

"Are we done?" Snape asked curtly.

"Just one last thing," Ron spoke up. "Headmaster, are you still planning to attend Elphias Doge's funeral alone?" _It's happening tomorrow, isn't it?_

"I am," Dumbledore replied, his voice completely controlled. "There will be other attendees, of course, but no one from the Order will attend. We cannot take such risks anymore. As Alastor always says, we must be ever vigilant."

"Who else is attending?" Ron asked.

"Members of the Wizengamot," Dumbledore replied. "Cornelius is also attending, and so are Amelia and Augusta."

"Augusta Longbottom?" Snape asked. "I thought that you said that no Order members will be there."

"She is not exactly a member," Dumbledore replied. "She wants to help, and she believes my claims about Lord Voldemort, but she is no soldier. She will aid us in her own way."

"Money and influence, you mean," Ron said, and Dumbledore nodded. "Our financial situation is looking great, by the way. Lord Greengrass, Mr. Davis, and now Augusta Longbottom… Not to mention Madame Maxime and the French Families who believe her. At this rate, we could buy an army."

"We are certainly better prepared than last time," Dumbledore smiled a little. "Thank you, Ronald." _What?_ Ron blinked at the old man, what was he being thanked for?

"Um… You're welcome?" Ron looked towards Snape, who just looked bored now.

"You two should get some rest," Dumbledore advised. "This next week will be quite long, I imagine." _Right…_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Friday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Near Midnight)**_

He was impressed with the Wards that were protecting Malfoy Manor, but in the end, he had undone them within thirty minutes. Lucius relied far too much on the Dark Lord's own teachings, which only served to aid his Master. Once the Wards were deactivated, and no one was alerted, Lord Voldemort's shadowy form hovered over the Manor.

"Essentia Revelio," the Dark Lord hissed, and his eyes blazed red. He could now see every single lifeform within the Manor through its walls, and he found Lucius sitting in his library alone. The Dark Lord's body morphed into shadow and mist, and he found himself rematerializing right behind an unaware Lucius.

"Lucius…" the Dark Lord whispered, and Lucius Malfoy jerked out of his chair. The Death-Eater turned around and kneeled immediately, much to the Dark Lord's pleasure.

"My Lord," Lucius spoke to the ground. "You have returned from Russia." _He knows about Russia?_

"And how do you know of where I've been?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"The Blood Lord… He came to me," Lucius replied, while Lord Voldemort circled his follower.

"Go on," the Dark Lord whispered.

"He wanted to know the names of Order members, but I could only tell him of Elphias Doge, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Alastor Moody," Lucius said. "The others are… unknown."

"Elphias Doge," the Dark Lord's lipless mouth curled upwards. "Dumbledore's 'oldest friend'… His death has pleased Lord Voldemort. Well done, Lucius."

"I live to serve, my Lord," Lucius said, a hint of pride coming through. _Do you, wretch?_ Lord Voldemort maintained his composure, Lucius would suffer for his mistakes eventually. _But right now, I need his wealth and influence._

"You live to serve," the Dark Lord ran his fingers through the back of Lucius' long hair, and he felt his follower tense immediately. "There is one other who claims the same… Severus Snape."

"Severus?" Lucius all but whispered. "My Lord, he is your loyal follower. He has deceived even Dumbledore for you, and he-"

"Spare me of your fondness for that filthy traitor, Lucius," the Dark Lord hissed, and Lucius ceased his chatter. "He was the only one who knew of my presence in Albania, and he handed that information over to the old fool! He has been disloyal since the day I planned to attack the Potters!"

"The Potters?" Lucius muttered.

"His love for that Mud-Blood was revolting enough, but his betrayal is his true crime," Lord Voldemort's eyes blazed with murderous intent. "We must get rid of him, Lucius. He is a cancer that will undo our work." _Lord Voldemort's work._

"You… You wish to kill him," Lucius seemed to deflate a little.

"Call him here," the Dark Lord instructed. "Bring him to me."

"I… My Lord, please reconsider-"

"Crucio!" Lord Voldemort shrieked, and Lucius let out a startled scream as he began thrashing about like a fish out of water. The Dark Lord held the Curse for a moment, but just as he was about to undo it, his former protégé let out a meek sob. _Not even ten seconds?!_ "CRUCIO!" Lucius began thrashing about with renewed vigor, though he was trying his best to take the Curse without giving in. However, after five more seconds of the Dark Lord's amplified Torture Curse, Lucius' will failed him.

"My Lord! Please!" Lucius screamed, and the Dark Lord cut off the Curse. _Weak fool!_ Lucius was struggling to even breathe, but when he heard his wife's hurried footsteps, he grit his teeth and tried to stand up.

"LOVE?!" Narcissa Malfoy burst into the room, only to freeze in her spot when she saw the Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort acted without hesitation, and with a flick of his wand, he yanked the witch into the room and pinned her up on the ceiling.

"My Lord… I'll call him… I'll call him right now, please don't harm her…" Lucius whimpered, much to the Dark Lord's disgust. _To think that I held him in such high regard once. How was I so blind to his weakness?_ The Dark Lord's time in isolation had taught him that he was far too lenient with the fools that surrounded him, and that he put too much faith in worms like Severus and Lucius. _Bellatrix should've been my second, not this coward. She was loyal even when they locked her away in Azkaban, whereas Lucius and Severus both turned traitor._

"Bring him to me…" the Dark Lord ordered, and then he sent Lucius flying towards the door with a wave of his hand. "You have twenty minutes, Lucius. I'll paint the ceiling with your wife's blood if you fail me."

"I understand… I understand," Lucius mumbled as he willed himself to his feet, his hysterical eyes traveling up to his terrified wife.

"She can't even open her mouth, Lucius," the Dark Lord looked up at the teary eyed witch. "My Spell is crushing her even as we speak. Go…" Lucius all but ran out of the Library at that.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Friday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Near Midnight)**_

Snape finished bottling up Lupin's Wolfsbane Potion, the Full Moon would be upon them soon. Personally, he wanted Remus Lupin gone from Hogwarts, but Albus had insisted that Hogwarts needed Lupin's skills. _Lupin's skills… He picked a filthy mongrel over me. Under me, the students of this school could actually learn something that will save their lives._ As Snape finished putting Lupin's Potion away, his fireplace blazed to life.

"Severus, are you here?" came Lucius' voice, and Snape stepped out of his store.

"Lucius? What brings you here?" Snape asked, and then he noticed his guest's state. Lucius looked composed enough, but his hair and clothes were disheveled. _When is he not immaculate? Something is wrong._ "What's happened?"

"Narcissa… She's become ill," Lucius rasped, and then he cleared his throat. "My Elves can't do anything for her, so I've come to you."

"What were her symptoms?" Snape frowned at the man, he didn't like the idea of Narcissa falling ill.

"She didn't have any," Lucius replied. "She was perfectly fine one moment, and then she collapsed."

"Might be something she ate," Snape guessed, and then he collected the appropriate Potions from his store. "Take me to her."

"Come, she's in my library," Lucius said as he walked through the fire, and Snape followed after him.

"Does she have a fever?" Snape inquired, and Lucius nodded. _A fever, and she collapsed without any symptoms… Poison? No, but it must be some sort of reaction to what she ate._ "Did she have pale greenish skin?"

"I… I don't know," Lucius sped up a little, which Snape thought was completely out of character. _I didn't feel the Anti-Apparation Wards… Why is that? Lucius never removes those._ Snape studied the man ahead of him, and he noticed that Lucius' left hand had a tremor. _Odd… Is he that worried over a fever?_ Snape kept following his old ally, but eventually, he could no longer deny that something was off.

"Lucius, what's really going on?" Snape stopped, and Lucius quickly turned to face him.

"Pardon?" Lucius asked, his left hand moving behind him.

"We're nearly at the Library, but I don't hear anything," Snape said. "And your left hand is trembling. What's going on here?"

Lucius went to say something, but then his eyes widened at something behind Snape, who felt a rush of air flow past him. Snape turned around with a curious look, only to spot blazing red eyes staring back at him from the shadows. _Is that-_

Snape's thoughts died the moment something seized his blood, and he howled in pain as he was sent flying into the ceiling. He hovered in the air for a moment, his mind reeling from the impact, only to be slammed back down into the hardwood floor. From his ringing ears, he heard Lucius rush off towards the Library.

"Severus…" the shadows hissed, and then the Dark Lord emerged. Snape managed to look up through blurry vision, and his heart skipped a beat. There stood the Dark Lord, his long black robes spawning shadows all over the hallway. "My traitorous pupil…"

"My… My Lord…" Snape managed to kneel up, he had to act right now.

"Silence!" the Dark Lord ordered, and Snape's throat all but closed up. _The Silencing Charm? He cast it with mere thought?_ "Spare me your false tales of loyalty, Severus. Your betrayals will not be forgotten, nor forgiven."

Snape barely managed a thought before he was sent flying through a nearby door, chips of thick wood scratching his side to pieces. _He's trying to kill me…_ Some primal instinct awoke in Snape, and he completely ignored the pain as he stood up and bolted for the safest exit. After a few turns and twists, Snape ended up in the currently unlit Ballroom. He secured himself behind a thick column, his wand at the ready. That's when he felt the Anti-Apparation Jinx go up, and Snape cursed his own foolishness.

"Severus…" the Dark Lord hissed in his mind. "I know you can hear me. Come out, traitor, and Lord Voldemort will be merciful. Come out, and death will find you swiftly."

Snape undid the Silencing Charm placed on him, and then he thought to bargain with the Dark Lord. _I have to convince him of my loyalty. If I don't, we will lose a major advantage in the war._

"I know that you are false," Lord Voldemort spoke into his mind, and Snape felt the urge to cover his hears. "Quirrell told only you of Albania, so imagine my surprise when Dumbledore came to kill me. You told him, didn't you? You handed Pettigrew, a valuable ally, over to the Ministry without a second thought. You've become Dumbledore's man, Lord Voldemort knows."

A part of Snape knew that he needed to appeal to the Dark Lord, but something about this set up told him that he was never leaving this Manor alive. _Fawkes!_ Snape went to call out to the Phoenix, but then he stopped himself. _Lucius has Wards against Phoenix's, even he knows of Fawkes._ Then there was only one option… He had to sneak out of the Manor, and then run past the Wards. Snape knew that if he faced the Dark Lord in combat, death was all but guaranteed. _My ribs are at least fractured, and I can barely stand up straight._

Snape cast the Human-Presence-Revealing Spell Non-verbally, and he felt that a presence was above him. _What?_ Snape looked up at the ceiling, and he saw two bright red eyes staring down at him from the darkness. Both wizards fired Curses at each other, escape was no longer possible.

He felt something extremely hot barely miss his right shoulder, while the Dark Lord's mist-like form began flying around the Ballroom. Snape rushed towards the door, his eyes peeled for Curses, which came by the dozens. Snape blocked and dodged the onslaught as he ran towards the door, but a Blasting Curse collapsed the ceiling down, effectively blocking off Snape's exit.

Snape turned around quickly, and the red light of the Torture Curse flew past his left ear. Snape was quickly put on the defensive, he could not keep up with the Dark Lord's ferocity.

"My Lord, I am loyal!" Snape tried, but a Killing Curse was his response. Snape ducked the Curse instead of attempting a Parry Maneuver, he couldn't take any risks. _He's not listening… It's over for me…_ As Snape realized that this was his end, he decided to fight back with everything that he had. If he was going to die, he'd at least hurt Lily's murderer.

Snape fired a Non-verbal Killing Curse at his old Master, who dodged it with inhuman speed. The two traded several Curses, but neither of them hit their marks. Snape knew that the Dark Lord was holding back, which only made Snape speed up. He had to injure this thing before it grew tired of playing with its food.

"Sectumsempra!" Snape chanted, and the Dark Lord batted away the thin white light. And then, with a twirl of his wand, the Dark Lord transfigured the rubble behind Snape into a large serpent. Snape barely had any time to react before the monstrous serpent seized his legs, which Snape tried to free with a slash of his wand. But as he raised up his hand, warm blood splattered on Snape's face. He heard his sliced wand hit the floor, and then he felt his fingers detach from his right hand.

A scream tore its way out of his throat as he realized that the Dark Lord had sliced off three of his fingers, and his wand, before he could bring his hand down. Snape fell to one knee, and he clamped his mouth shut. The pain was excruciating, but he wouldn't give the Dark Lord the satisfaction. _Albus_ _…_ _Ron… I've failed…_

"Crucio!"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know it's dickish to leave on a Cliffhanger, especially after the delay. But, I'm doing it anyway.**

 **See you guys on Friday! (hopefully)**


	91. Chapter 91 - The Phoenix's Wrath

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 91 is done! Only nine more before we hit the One-Hundredth Chapter! Isn't that crazy?!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 91 – The Phoenix's Wrath**

 _ **Ronald**_ _ **Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Early Morning)**_

"Professor Snape?" Ron called as he stepped into the Office, his eyes darting around the room. _He's not in his store then. Odd. He always greets me before I leave for work._ "Did he leave to find the speakers already?"

Ron shrugged to himself, and then he made his way over to the fireplace. _Wait…_ Ron stopped mid-step, his eyes fixed on the unlit fireplace. _Why isn't that lit?_ Ron carefully examined the ash and blackened wood, no one had touched this fireplace this morning. _Now that is weird. How did Snape leave Hogwarts if he didn't floo away?_ Ron looked around the Office again, something seemed really off to him. _Am I just being paranoid? Probably._

"Marty!" Ron called, and there was a loud crack from behind him.

"Master called Marty?" the Elf bowed, and Ron turned to face him.

"I did," Ron replied, and Marty smiled up at him. "Marty… Can a person leave Hogwarts without flooing away?"

"The Headmaster is the only one who can Apparate in and out of Hogwarts," Marty replied. "Besides us Elves, that is." _Maybe he used the Headmaster's fireplace?_ "One could walk past the Wards to Apparate away, but they'd have to go very far."

"Marty, Apparate me outside the Headmaster's Office," Ron ordered, and Marty nodded before taking Ron's hand. Ron suddenly felt himself being pulled into a crushing vortex, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of the Stone Gargoyle. "Ugh… That wasn't pleasant…"

"At least Master isn't winded this time," Marty said, and Ron shot him a weak smile.

"Thank you for your help, Marty," Ron said. "How is our project going?"

"Progress is slow, Master," Marty replied. "The caves are very unstable, and the damage to the Chamber is significant. However, Chivvy is determined to fix everything."

"He is?"

"Master is paying a very large sum of money, and he shook Chivvy's hand as an equal," Marty smiled a toothy smile. _I see._

"Make sure to tell Chivvy, and his crew, that their lives are more important than securing a pillar," Ron said. "If something is beyond repair, just leave it be. No unnecessary risks, alright?"

"Marty will relay the message," Marty bowed, and once Ron walked up to the Stone Gargoyle, the Elf Disapparated.

"Ice Mice," Ron said to the Gargoyle, and it slid aside for him. Ron then made his way up the spiral staircase, and he knocked on the Headmaster's door.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron swiftly entered the Office. "Ronald? What are you doing here?"

"Professor Snape isn't in his Office," Ron reported as he closed the door, and then he walked further into the Office. _Did he just wake up? Or did he not sleep last night?_

"He's most likely in Knockturn Alley right now," Dumbledore said, his right hand massaging his eyes. Dumbledore then put on his half-moon spectacles, he was quite exhausted.

"He could be," Ron said slowly. "But here's the thing… His fireplace is burnt out. It looks like no one has touched, or even cleaned up, last night's fire. I'm guessing that he didn't use your fireplace to floo away."

"He did not," Dumbledore said, his brow furrowing a little. "This is… peculiar."

"Maybe he used another Professor's fireplace?" Ron suggested, and Dumbledore just stared at him. "Yeah… Not likely…"

"Why don't you head off to work, Ronald?" Dumbledore suggested. "I'll find our missing friend before I leave for Elphias' funeral." _Right, that's today._

"Take care, Headmaster," Ron said in an almost comforting voice, and Dumbledore gave him a weak smile. Ron then walked over to the fireplace, took a pinch of floo powder, and cast it into the fire. "Greengrass Manor." The fire blazed green, and Ron stepped through it.

As Ron came out of the fireplace, he found himself in Greengrass Manor's Greeting Room. Oddly enough, Mary was not there to greet him as usual. _Wow… Maybe people are just avoiding me?_ Ron shook his head clear, he was being stupid. He then made his way towards his Mentor's Study, he still hadn't decided if he wanted to tell Lord Greengrass of his meeting with Fudge, and everything that entailed it. _I should, mostly because I work for Lord Greengrass, and now I'm looking for a new job._

"Ron, I was just heading towards the Greeting Room," came Mary's voice, and Ron looked to see her coming down the stairs with Tracey's mum by her side.

"I missed your usual warm greeting," Ron smiled at them. "Truth be told, it's why I even come here somedays."

"Welcome back then," Mary approached him with a smile, and then she pulled him into a tight hug. Ron hugged her back, while internally thanking Merlin for Mary's bust. "You just keep growing, don't you?"

"It's a blessing, and a curse," Ron chuckled, and then he let her go. "It's good to see you again, Mrs. Davis. How are you?"

"I'm quite well, Ron," Susanna replied, she had an odd smile on her face. _She looks so much like Tracey. Wait… It's the other way around, isn't it?_ "I haven't seen you since Tracey's birthday party, and I can't help but agree with Mary. Are all Weasley men like you? I've met your father, and he is quite tall as well." _She's met my father? Of course, she's in the Order now. You're welcome, by the way._

"My brothers are all like me as well, except for Charlie," Ron replied. "Though mum thinks that I'll be the tallest Weasley yet."

"And how is school going for you? Are you getting top grades as Tracey always boasts?" Susana asked. _Tracey's boasts about me?_

"I don't know about top grades, but it's going well," Ron replied. "And Tracey is doing well, Mrs. Davis."

"Didn't I tell you to call me Susana when we met?" Susana laughed.

"Probably," Ron shrugged.

"Don't mind it too much, I had to force him into calling me Mary," Mary told her, and then she pinched Ron's left cheek. _Ow!_ "See? Just do this, and he'll be calling you Susana before long."

"Really?" Susana asked, and then she pinched his other cheek. _OW! Child abuse!_ Ron moved his head away from their claws, while they chuckled in an amused manner.

"I'm running late for work," Ron rubbed his sore cheeks with a pout, but the two witches just laughed to themselves. "Excuse me, Ladies. I'll see you at lunch." With that, Ron maneuvered past them, while also dodging Mary's attempts to pinch him. When he finally reached the study, he knocked on the door rather gently.

"Come in, Ron," came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron entered the Study.

"Good morning, my Lord," Ron greeted as he closed the door, and then he took up his usual seat. Lord Greengrass was standing by the fire, as usual, and he looked to be in deep thought.

"Good morning, Ron," Lord Greengrass turned to face him. "Before you get started on your work, I have to tell you something. I've found you a competition to compete in, though it's nothing major. It'll be on the fifth of December." _What's the prize for winning?_

"Nothing major?" Ron asked.

"Chess isn't exactly Quidditch," Lord Greengrass said, and then he looked back to the fire. "The International League of Wizard's Chess Club tends to save its money for their annual tournaments instead. Winning this particular competition will net you two hundred Galleons, which is nothing to scoff at considering that only eight people will be competing." _Only eight? So I only need to win three matches. I'd better start concentrating on upping my game. It's been a while since I competed, and I don't plan to get caught off-guard._

"I won't let you down, my Lord," Ron promised, and Lord Greengrass shot him a smirk.

"Then let's get started," Lord Greengrass said. "I want us to focus on your high risk stratagems today."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (St. Jerome's Graveyard – Afternoon)**_

Severus was nowhere to be found, and after searching for him for nearly an hour, Albus had left to attend his old friend's funeral. The service hadn't been anything special, it was certainly less than what Elphias deserved, but Albus still found solace in the fact that Elphias' wishes had been met.

Many Wizengamot members had attended, including Amelia Bones and Augusta Longbottom, but not a single member of the Order had come. Cornelius had arrived late, and so he had lingered in the back for the duration of the service, but as soon as it had ended, Cornelius had started speaking to reporters from the Daily Prophet. The same reporters had tried to speak to Albus, but he chose to ignore them. Instead, he stood by Elphias' grave and mourned for the small boy who had come to Hogwarts with Dragon Pox.

"I'm sorry for your loss," came a man's voice, and Albus noticed that a tall blonde man was standing to his right. _I didn't even sense him. Wake up, Albus._ "You and he were childhood friends, were you not?"

"We were," Albus replied, his tired old eyes lingering on the man's round shades. "You were sitting in the back row… Did you know Elphias?" _He looks… familiar._

"No, but I felt that I should attend," the man replied, and Albus blinked at him. _What an odd fellow._

"And why did you feel the need to attend?" Albus asked. "Forgive my forwardness, but you've made me curious."

"I'm the one who killed him," the man replied, and time seemed to freeze. _What did he say?_ Albus just stared at the man, he had sensed truth in those words. _He killed Elphias?_ "If you reach for your wand, or make any moves, I'll kill you as well. At this distance, you don't have a chance at surviving."

"Who are you?" Albus asked, his expression hardening as he used his Occlumency to regain his senses.

"You once knew me as… What was it again? Ah, yes… Deckard," the man smiled to himself, while Albus felt rage fill his chest. "Albus, don't be foolish. Just listen."

"Why are you here? How did you get in?" Albus demanded, his eyes darting towards the other guests. _All of them are oblivious of my predicament. This man bided his time before approaching me._

"I simply walked in," the man shrugged, his calm demeanor greatly bothered Albus. "As for why I'm here… I came to meet you."

"You killed my friend, and now you wish to exchange words?" Albus asked, his eyes fixed on the man's shades. _Does he not know who I am? No… He definitely does, and yet, here he is._

"I wanted to catch you off-guard," the man told Albus. "You won't blast me into oblivion with all of these people around, not to mention that I'm mere inches away from you right now."

"Who are you?" Albus asked again, and the man tipped his head down in order to reveal his eyes for a moment. Albus immediately recognized them, and he felt his left shoulder blade tingle. _He hasn't aged a day…_

"How's your shoulder, by the way?" Deckard asked. "Did it heal after I left Godric's Hollow?"

"You…" Albus managed, it wasn't often that he was shocked beyond words. And then, it all clicked. _The Ancient Vampire that Nymphadora was looking into… It's him._ "Where did Voldemort find you?"

"In Romania," Deckard replied, he felt no need to hide anything. _Romania? Wait… Severus mentioned running into a Blood Lord in Romania. Lucius and Cornelius must've told Tom about him._ " **He** was a pupil of yours, wasn't he? I must admit, it's not often that a wizard impresses me."

"So you serve him now?" Albus prodded for more information.

"Serve?" Deckard smirked. "No, I don't serve anyone. I'm merely here to enjoy myself, sort of like a vacation."

"A vacation?" Albus looked ahead. "He will kill your kind after he is done with us."

"He'll be dead soon enough," Deckard countered, much to Albus' confusion. "Trust me, I've seen plenty of 'Dark Lords' in my time, and they've all failed."

"He is different," Albus said. "You have made a grave mistake, Deckard."

"He is just like you and your friend," Deckard smiled a nostalgic smile, while Albus fought the urge to cringe. "You remember, don't you? What evil plans you two were concocting in that pub." _I ended up with a broken shoulder blade as I attempted to pull this thing off of Gellert._

"That was a **long** time ago," Albus said, he would not let this monster get under his skin.

"Indeed," Deckard nodded. "I was quite amazed to hear of your war against your own partner. Why did you two fall apart?"

"Enough of your games," Albus decided to change the subject. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to give you a warning," Deckard replied. "The next time you set Mad-Eye Moody on me, I'll send you his corpse." Albus looked back to Deckard, who was now staring at Elphias' fresh grave. "You wizards really underestimate us Vampires. I smelled your friends before they even set their eyes on me, and now I know their scents. Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, and Mundungus Fletcher." _Merlin… He's looked into them. That's three more members of the Order that he knows of._

"How old are you?" Albus asked.

"Over two hundred and fifty years," Deckard replied, and Albus felt his stomach drop.

"And why are you giving me this warning?" Albus asked.

"To make the hunt more entertaining," Deckard replied. "So far, I am not impressed with your Order of the Phoenix. So… I'm here to give you a wakeup call. Give me a challenge, Albus, or I'll litter the streets with corpses."

"You are insane," Albus stated.

"No, I am just bored," Deckard said, and then he turned to leave. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I swear, he felt no pain. I gave him a clean death. The others won't be so lucky." Albus felt his blood boil, but he didn't attack the departing Vampire. _I'll never be able to explain it, not to mention the danger I'll put everyone in._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Very Late Afternoon)**_

"It's impossible," Alastor frowned deeply. "I made sure to mask our scents, and we were under my Invisibility Cloak. Whoever this man is, he is lying to you." Besides Albus and Alastor, the Living Room was also being occupied by the Weasleys, Lovegoods, Sirius, and Sturgis.

"Then how does he know about you three?" Sirius asked, he didn't like the fact that some murderer knew his cousin's name. Albus simply looked between the current occupants of the room, he had calmed down considerably since meeting Deckard again. ' _Deckard'. Is that even his real name?_

"He most likely has spies all over Knockturn Alley," Albus said, and then he looked to Alastor. "Where is Mundungus right now?"

"Watching Tonks' back in Knockturn Alley," Alastor replied. "The Ministry has her watching Borgin and Burkes for intel gathering on one Victor Burkes." _Victor? He only graduated from Hogwarts recently._

"She can't stay there," Molly spoke up. "If what Dumbledore is saying is true, then none of us should enter that vile place."

"I am in agreement with you, Molly," Albus said. "But if the Ministry has stationed Nymphadora there, then there is very little that we can do without getting her sacked." _And her position as an Auror is too valuable._

"We can't just leave her and Mundungus out there," Xeno said. "Not when this Ancient Vampire knows them by name. They could lose their lives at any moment."

"Headmaster, why don't Sirius and I also watch over Nymphadora alongside Mr. Fletcher?" Sturgis suggested. "This Vampire does not know our scent, which could work to our benefit."

"I'm with Sturgis here," Sirius agreed immediately.

"Don't be foolish," Alastor grumbled, and then he looked to Albus. "This could be a trap, Albus. Why would he come to you today if not to set you up? For Merlin's sake, he confessed to murdering Elphias in the middle of his funeral. This Vampire wants you to send more of us into Knockturn Alley… He wants to gather information on his 'prey'."

"So we do nothing?!" Sirius snapped. "My cousin is out-"

"Shut up," Alastor snarled. "The adults are speaking, Black, so do us a favor and get out of the room."

"Alastor, this is his home," Albus said, while Arthur pulled an angered Sirius back down. "Sirius, Alastor is right. This enemy has not survived over two hundred years with blind luck. His cunning cannot be underestimated." _I believe that Elphias' murder was just a stepping stone in his plan to 'hunt' us all down. The fact that he attended the funeral is proof that he was trying to lure us out._

"What about Tonks and Fletcher?" Arthur asked, while his wife soothed Sirius in hushed whispers. "No matter what the circumstances are, we can't just leave them out there."

"Nymphadora must ask her superiors for reassignment," Albus started. "Once she is moved away from Knockturn Alley, both Mundungus and she will not return to that place. And neither will you, Alastor. We will need a new informant."

"Who?" Pandora asked. "Other than Mundungus, none of us have any contacts in Knockturn Alley."

"Severus does," Albus said. "He will find someone suitable." _If I can find him. Where did he run off to?_

"And what's to stop Snivellus from feeding information about us to his 'informants'?" Sirius asked. "He can't be trusted, how many times do I have to say it?"

"I trust Severus with my life," Albus told Sirius, who just rolled his eyes. "For today, Alastor, I want you to join Mundungus. Use your Magical Eye to scan for any potential Vampires, and if you see one, get everyone out of there." Alastor gave a curt nod, and then he limped out of the room. "Arthur, I have a task for you as well. Come, I'd like to disclose it in private." With that, Albus made his way into the Kitchen. Arthur followed after the older wizard, and before long, they were far from the others.

"What can I help you with, Dumbledore?" Arthur asked.

"Christmas is almost upon us," Albus started, and Arthur blinked at him. "I want you to host Harry at the Burrow."

"Harry? At the Burrow?" Arthur asked. "Headmaster… Things with Harry, and my own son, are very complicated…"

"The enemy understands that Harry is living with his Godfather," Albus said. "They are no doubt searching for this place even as we speak. Harry cannot stay here. Invite Sirius if you must, but no one else can know. Not even the Order. Do you understand? Harry's safety is essential."

"I understand," Arthur sighed. "I'll make sure that he spends the Holidays hidden away at the Burrow. Both Bill and Charlie will be there as well. We'll all watch over him."

"Thank you, Arthur," Albus smiled. "I know that things are complicated for you and Molly right now, but the war is bigger than all of us. Harry is the key to saving our World, and we cannot afford to lose him." _Without Harry, this World is doomed to repeat Ronald's Cycles._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – Late Evening)**_

Ron stepped into the Headmaster's Office, his mind was utterly spent due to Lord Greengrass' training regimen. _I need to focus on my game around the twenty minute mark. Lord Greengrass is right, I make most of my mistakes during that period._

"Welcome back, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted, and Ron shot the Headmaster a smile. _He is probably still hurting from the funeral. I should make sure that he's alright._

"Good evening, Headmaster," Ron greeted back, and then he walked up and took his usual seat. "How are you? How was the funeral?"

"The funeral was… interrupted," Dumbledore replied, something shifting behind his eyes.

"Interrupted?" Ron asked.

"The murderer came to me, Ronald," Dumbledore told him, and Ron was quite taken aback. _Is he serious?_

"At the funeral?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave him a somber nod. "And? What did you do?"

"I could do very little," Dumbledore replied. "He approached me while many of the attendees were close by. He confessed his crime to me, and he then gave me valuable information."

"Wait… What?" Ron blinked, he was now genuinely confused. "Why would he do that?" _Who is this moron?_

"He is a very different animal from Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore replied. "I met him almost a century ago, when I was still a very young man." _WHAT?!_ "Bear with me, Ronald. Elphias' murderer is an Ancient Vampire, and he is loyal to no one. My brief encounter with him has given me the impression that he is here only to mete out carnage."

"An Ancient Vampire… How Ancient?" Ron asked slowly.

"Over two hundred and fifty years," Dumbledore sighed, while Ron was truly stunned.

"They can get **that** old?!" Ron asked.

"Worse… The potency of their power, and Curse, is directly aligned with their age," Dumbledore explained. "In other words… The older they are, the more dangerous they are."

"Fuck me dead…" Ron muttered. "And where did the Dark Lord find this thing?"

"In Romania," Dumbledore replied. "Severus has actually met him as well."

"Professor Snape's met him? When?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards Snape's empty chair. "Where is he, by the way? Did you manage to track him down?"

"I have not," Dumbledore replied, which made something itch in the back of Ron's mind. _Something is really wrong, I can feel it._ "I searched the entire castle, and then I had the Elves do it. He is not on the premises."

"The other Heads of Houses?"

"They have not seen him either," Dumbledore rubbed his chin. "Ronald, I do not wish to worry you, but I fear that something is terribly amiss."

"What if he's still in Knockturn Alley?" Ron asked. "He wanted to secure some speakers today, remember?"

"Knockturn Alley…" Dumbledore whispered, and then something in his face changed. "Albus, you fool…" _What?_

"Headmaster? What did you just realize?" Ron asked, while Dumbledore stood up and began pacing. "Headmaster?"

"Nymphadora told us that an Ancient Vampire had taken up residence in Knockturn Alley," Dumbledore said, though it sounded like he was speaking to himself. "The Ministry was curious about this Vampire because he was seen speaking to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy days before Elphias was found murdered. And after meeting him today, I'm certain that he has spies all over Knockturn Alley. Vampires follow strength, Ronald, and this Vampire is perhaps the strongest of his kind."

"Spies all over Knockturn Alley?" Ron asked, and then he understood why the Headmaster was pacing. "You don't think that he… kidnapped… Professor Snape, do you? I mean, this Vampire would know that Professor Snape is under your employment, right?"

"I don't know what to think," Dumbledore confessed. "Severus does not just disappear. He is meticulous, and he always keeps me informed. For him to just vanish into thin air is unheard of."

"If this Vampire is working for the Dark Lord, then why would he kidnap Professor Snape?" Ron asked, now he too felt the urge to begin pacing. _Breathe, Ron. Just breathe, and use your head._ "Isn't Professor Snape still a 'Death-Eater'?"

"Perhaps Voldemort does not trust Severus yet," Dumbledore mused. "After all, Severus has worked in Hogwarts ever since the Great War ended." _Which is genuinely suspicious._

"Wait… His fireplace was unlit this morning," Ron remembered. "Headmaster, he didn't floo away from his Office. And we both know that he would never use someone else's fireplace."

"Do you believe that he flooed away last night?" Dumbledore asked.

"I… I don't know," Ron rubbed his forehead. "Maybe… Why the fuck wouldn't he tell us before leaving? What was so urgent that he would just leave?"

"Urgent, you say?" Dumbledore stopped pacing, his hand on his chin again. "Something so urgent that Severus broke his habit of keeping me informed." _What is he thinking now?_

"I'm not a mind reader, so do you mind sharing your thoughts?" Ron frowned, his increasing worry was agitating him.

"Fawkes, come to me," Dumbledore ordered, and Fawkes flew off of his perch and landed on Dumbledore's shoulder. "Ronald, take my arm at once."

"Where are we going?" Ron asked as he quickly made his way over to Dumbledore.

"Fawkes, take us to Severus' Office," Dumbledore said, and both wizards were engulfed in orange flames. The change from Dumbledore's warm Office to Snape's cold one jarred Ron a little, mostly because he was starting to worry about his favorite Professor. "Look around, Ronald. Find anything that may hint at his whereabouts."

"You want me to look through his things?" Ron asked apprehensively. "Headmaster, he'll shove his foot up my arse…" _After he Curses my face off._

"I will take the blame if we are worrying over nothing," Dumbledore said, and then he walked over to the fireplace. Ron drew in a deep breath, 'steadied' his mind with his pathetic level of Occlumency, and then he walked over to Snape's desk. _Just relax, and stay focused. If Snape is indeed in trouble, then panicking will only hinder us._

Ron went through Snape's drawers, his eyes scanning each document and object. The inside of Snape's desk could only be described as the epitome of being organized. Each document was listed chronologically, and they were even marked with how important they were. After a bit of looking, Ron realized that all of these were school assignments, which only served to annoy him. _He's a spy, Ron. Why would he keep actual important information in his fucking desk?_

"Headmaster, these are all just assignments," Ron looked up, only to see Dumbledore eyeing the fireplace. "What is it?"

"Someone has Cleaned this fireplace…" Dumbledore said slowly, and Ron blinked at him.

"Cleaned?"

"I cannot determine which network this fireplace has previously tapped into," Dumbledore explained. "Someone has used a powerful Spell to wipe the record clean."

"Is that even possible?" Ron asked as he walked around the table.

"It is, but it must be done after each floo," Dumbledore replied. "Severus would need to cast Obculte on the fireplace on the other side, which would not only clean that fireplace's record, but also this one's because it's connected to the other one."

"What?" Ron blinked. "English, please."

"Wherever he went, he never came back," Dumbledore said, his expression hardening. "Ronald, Severus was not alone when he left. Whoever he went with might have been the one to Clean this fireplace. Severus is indeed missing."

"Oh, fuck…" Ron swallowed thickly.

"He went with someone he trusted, and he never returned," Dumbledore went on. "He didn't inform me because his departure was 'urgent', as you said before… Someone came here, and they convinced him to leave without sending me word. Who would Severus trust enough to do that?" Dumbledore then reignited the fireplace with a flick of his wrist. He then reached forward and grabbed a pinch of floo powder. "Mafloy Manor." With that, he cast the floo powder into the flames. They blazed red, and then died down immediately.

"The floo is closed?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his crooked nose. "That's not… Headmaster, I've seen Narcissa Malfoy in this Office before."

"You have?" Dumbledore asked, something gleaming behind his eyes.

"She was standing right over there," Ron pointed. "She flooed into this fucking Office from her home, I'm certain of it. There is no way in hell that Professor Snape's fireplace isn't connected to Malfoy Manor." _That means…_ "He went with them, and now he's missing. They sealed off their connection to this Office after 'Cleaning' it."

"Lucius and Narcissa are old friends of his," Dumbledore stated. "And Lucius trusts Snape above all others."

"Lucius Malfoy is also the Dark Lord's bitch," Ron countered, and Dumbledore just stared at the fireplace. "Headmaster, you said that the Dark Lord might need convincing to trust Professor Snape again, right? What if Lucius Malfoy, who we know of being in contact with the Dark Lord, took Professor Snape right to him?"

"That is a troubling thought," Dumbledore said, he looked genuinely worried for a moment. Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he walked over to the empty chairs and collected two. He then placed them in front of the fireplace. "Ronald?"

"I am not leaving this fucking room until he comes through that fireplace, and if he doesn't, then I'll find my way into Malfoy Manor," Ron grit out, and then he took his seat. "If they've hurt him… _**We will end them.**_ "

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Malfoy Manor Dungeons)**_

The pain was so overwhelming that Snape had no idea where his wounds were. He knew that his right hand was lost, and that his face had been mangled with a sharp blade, but other than these two injuries, Snape truly didn't know how much damage he had taken. After all, he had blacked out several times during the Dark Lord's questioning.

Spying on the Dark Lord was no longer a possibility. His old Master was convinced of his betrayal, and Snape was only being kept alive for one purpose. The Prophecy. The Dark Lord had questioned him about it for almost an hour, and failing that, attempted Legilimency, and then taken to torturing. But Snape refused to give up anything. He would be damned if he betrayed Lily's memory to the monster who had murdered her. He would be damned if he betrayed Albus and Ron. He would be damned if he let Lord Voldemort kill Lily's son.

Snape suddenly heard his cell door open, and he braced himself for death. _Let it come… I will never give him what he wants…_

"Severus?" came Narcissa's cracked voice, and Snape managed to lift his head up for a moment. "By the Gods…" _What is she doing here…?_

"Leave…" Snape rasped, and he immediately began coughing. Spurts of blood shot out of his mouth, and he remembered that half of his teeth had been yanked out.

"The Dark… The Dark Lord sent me," Narcissa managed, the fear in her voice turned Snape's stomach. She then walked up to the chair that he was bound to, her eyes fixed on the stump where his right hand used to be.

"Fingers… weren't… enough…" Snape wheezed, and then he vomited into his own lap. His head dropped down, and his vision began to darken. _Cold… I wish I had a blanket…_

"Severus… Please, give him what he wants," Narcissa pleaded as she kneeled in his mess. "Lucius is trying to convince the Dark Lord even as we speak. Please, for the love of Merlin, do as he says… Severus… He means to kill you…"

"Good…" Snape managed, his mind turning off. "I… deserve it…"

Darkness took him, and the last thing he heard was Narcissa's sob.

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Dinnertime)**_

"Well?" Lord Voldemort asked, his blazing red eyes fixed on Narcissa Malfoy.

"He said nothing, my Lord," she bowed her head. The Dark Lord looked to Lucius, who had been pleading Snape's case all day.

"What more proof do you need, Lucius?" the Dark Lord hissed, while the Malfoy patriarch looked quite out of sorts. _Foolish man._ "Severus turned traitor long before I put down his Mud-Blood… I would even dare to say that he set me up that night. He told me only half the Prophecy, and then pleaded that I spare the woman. I gave her three chances for his sake, and when she refused to step aside, it triggered the Protection of Love. Severus was behind my fall." _Filthy traitor. Lord Voldemort gave him so much, and this is how he repays his debts?_

"What will you do with him, my Lord?" Lucius asked, his Master was clearly insane for thinking of such a conspiracy.

"I will give him until tomorrow to confess his crimes, and to give me the complete Prophecy," the Dark Lord replied. "If he does so, then his end will be swift and merciful. But if he persists on being silent, then I have other plans in mind. Lucius, you will call the loyal ones here tomorrow night for dinner. Once we have dined, I will string Severus up for their entertainment." _And it will be a much needed lesson. No one betrays Lord Voldemort._

"Master… Mistress…" came the voice of a timid Elf, and they looked to see a tiny Elf hovering by the door.

"What is it?" Lucius spat out, making the Elf flinch. "Didn't I tell you slaves that we were not to be disturbed?"

"Let it speak," the Dark Lord ordered.

"There are men and women at the gates… They are being led by a man with cat-eyes," the Elf reported. _Gaspard. He finally makes his reappearance._

"Let them in," the Dark Lord ordered, and the Elf Disapparated. "Perhaps the Blood Lord knows how to loosen a man's tongue."

Within ten minutes, Gaspard and two other Vampires with cat-like eyes stepped into the room. The young woman was a beautiful foreigner with long black hair, while the young man was as rugged as Gaspard was fair.

"Gaspard," the Dark Lord greeted with a lipless smile. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."

"Voldemort," Gaspard greeted back, and both Lucius and Narcissa went slightly wide-eyed at his casual greeting. Lord Voldemort, on the other hand, reined in his anger. _I need him for now, so I'll put up with his insolent behavior._

"This woman smells disgusting," the other male Vampire said.

"Take care with how you speak to my wife, beast," Lucius hissed.

"Beast?" the younger Vampire snarled.

"Michael, we are guests here," Gaspard said, and the other Vampire stopped snarling immediately. "Forgive my Progeny's lack of manners, he is still very young."

"I believe that introductions are in order," the Dark Lord said, his eyes fixed on the Vampires. _If they are anything like their 'father', then they will both need to be dealt with eventually._

"This is Natalia, my eldest daughter," Gaspard introduced. "And this is Michael, my youngest son. They will be aiding me during the war." _No, they will be aiding_ _ **me**_ _._ "Natalia and Michael, this is Lord Voldemort."

"You dare speak his name?" Lucius glared at the Vampire.

"Lucius," Lord Voldemort raised his hand, while Lucius sneered at the Vampires. "We are all friends here, are we not? Let us discuss the war instead of bickering, and in doing so, learn more about each other. Please, take a seat." Gaspard smiled at the Dark Lord, and then the Vampires made themselves comfortable.

"I will change out of my sullied clothes," Narcissa said, and the Dark Lord gave her a nod. She left the room rather quickly, while Lucius and Michael just stared at each other.

"Gaspard, well done on ending Elphias Doge's life," the Dark Lord broke the silence. "That old man was a hindrance that needed to be removed, and you have done fine work."

"Your man Lucius provided me with the information that I needed," Gaspard said, and the Dark Lord looked to Lucius. _Well, at least he's still useful for something._ "I've also learned the identities of three more Order members. Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Mundungus Fletcher."

"Tonks?" the Dark Lord asked. "Daughter of Andromeda and Edward Tonks?" _Bellatrix' wayward sister._

"Yes," Natalia replied. "After we determined her scent, Michael and I trailed her to the Ministry. She's an Auror in training."

"You have outdone my expectations of you, Gaspard," the Dark Lord commended. "If only my other followers were as capable as you."

"Follower?" Gaspard laughed, much to the Dark Lord's annoyance. "I'm sorry, but I don't follow anyone. I'm here because I really have nothing better to do. Let's not pretend to play this game, Voldemort. Our paths may have intertwined, but that does not make us friends. It just makes us… partners in crime. Is that the saying, Nat?"

"Yes, father," Natalia replied, her amusement rather evident. _I'll kill you three, I swear it._

"Very well," Lord Voldemort said, his voice terribly calm. "We were told that you did not come alone."

"We have brought thirty Vampires with us," Michael said boastfully. "These thirty are friends of mine, and you could not ask for better killers. They're keen to start the bloodshed."

"Then they'll have to wait," Lord Voldemort said. _Michael is clearly the foolish one._ "Bloodshed will draw too much attention on us. We need to bolster our forces before we cry for war." Michael's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. "For now, they can stay in Malfoy Manor, but only if they follow orders. If Lucius and Narcissa want them to do something, they will do so without question."

"I've brought fighters, not slaves," Michael hissed.

"Mind your tone," Lucius whispered dangerously. "It's your 'father' who we're dealing with, not you."

"Armies need commanders," Lord Voldemort said coldly. "Your father is a commander. Lucius is a commander. You may one day be a commander. But these 'friends' of yours… They are foot soldiers. If they don't like that, then I'll kill them all in the next five minutes."

"Michael understands," Natalia spoke up. "He's just very loyal to his friends, and they've traveled far to answer his call."

"Lucius will find them suitable accommodations," Gaspard said. "Natalia, why don't you go with him? Make sure that Michael's friends know their place."

"Their place?" Michael glared at his father.

"The oldest Vampire amongst your friends is twenty two years old…" Gaspard sighed. "They are not worthy of even being foot soldiers as far as I'm concerned. Now, do as I say."

"Lucius," the Dark Lord said, and the Malfoy patriarch stood up.

"Take me to them," Lucius said to Natalia, and they both left the room.

"Perhaps Michael should join them," Lord Voldemort suggested, he wished to speak with Gaspard alone. "Just to ease things over."

"Trust me, none of them have the courage to defy Natalia," Gaspard said, and then he looked to his son. "I want to speak with the Dark Lord in private. Go find yourself a room." Michael stood up and left, his anger evident in his march. Once they were alone, Gaspard relaxed in his chair. "Children… They can do your head in."

"Your son is a liability," the Dark Lord stated.

"He is violent, but that will come in handy," Gaspard shrugged. "Natalia knows how to ease his mind, so don't worry about him eating your 'commanders'."

"You don't know my commanders," the Dark Lord's eyes blazed red. "Bellatrix would turn your son inside out."

"Too bad she's eating some Dementor's cock as we speak," Gaspard said dismissively, and the Dark Lord's face twitched for a moment. _I hate this creature._ "The smell of blood is on you, Voldemort. Care to explain that?"

"I have captured a traitor," Lord Voldemort replied. "He has secrets that I need in order to win the war, but his spirit has yet to break. Perhaps you can loosen his tongue?"

"I don't torture," Gaspard refused.

"And why is that?"

"There is no honor in wounding an enemy who can't wound you back," Gaspard replied. "And I find the act… perverse."

"A shame," the Dark Lord said. _I'll do it myself then. Severus will surrender to Lord Voldemort's will, or he will die._ "What are your plans then?"

"Michael and Natalia will leave for Rome tonight," Gaspard replied. "I have powerful friends in the Vatican, and they will send us aid."

"Aid?

"Money, soldiers, information," Gaspard listed. "I will stay here for the night, and then return to Knockturn Alley tomorrow. I have become the Den Master of Britain, which will help me recruit eager Vampires to your cause. Oh, and I've sent out a party to collect your dog."

"Fenrir…" Lord Voldemort sneered. "Foolish wretch… Is there any word on the force that dismantled Fenrir's army?"

"None," Gaspard replied. "Whoever they are, they're good. They left no trace behind, none of them have boasted of their victory in taverns, and not even the Hungarian Ministry knows what to think. The only thing that I'm certain of is that whoever hired them is quite wealthy, and that they have contacts in the darker corners of the Wizarding World."

"We will find them, and they will pay for their crimes," Lord Voldemort said. "They will all pay."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

"Get me another bottle, boy!" _You've had enough…_

"Do as he says, Severus." _He'll just beat us again. Is that what you want?_

"Magic… Fucking freaks… That's what you both are!"

Images of his mother's bruised face bombarded his mind, why had she never defended herself against Tobias? Why hadn't she defended her own son against his father's fists? _She was weak, and she never changed. She died as she lived… A faceless nobody._ His mind distorted the images in his mind, and Snape found himself sitting by a tiny Lily Evans near a lake.

"I'm a witch?" _Yes, and one day, you'll change the World._ "And you're a wizard?"

"I am." _Look where that got me._ "Here, look at this."

"Wow! How did you do that?! You're amazing!" _It's just some floating grass, but that was the only good first impression that I ever made._

"You're both freaks!" _Petunia… Bitter little brat…_ "Look at his mismatched clothes, Lily! Stay away from him! He probably hasn't washed in months!" _Weeks…_

"Leave him alone, Petunia! Why are you so nasty to other people?!"

"I'm telling mother about this! Stay away from her, you little freak!"

Lily had chased after her sister, leaving him alone to berate himself as he stared at his own reflection in the water. Why was his life so miserable? Why didn't he have a single memory worth remembering? _It's what you deserve. How much pain and suffering have you caused others?_ The World broke apart, and he found himself staring at the Hogwarts Express in awe. He was finally free of his Family. _At least for a while._

"Sev! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! We were supposed to meet outside, remember?" She had dragged him into an empty compartment, and then began questioning him about Hogwarts. Merlin, he had talked for hours on end. _My throat hurt, but I couldn't stop…_ But then **they** had shown up.

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart! Just like my dad!" _So arrogant. He didn't even look at me for the entire conversation._ "What? You got a problem with that?" _So now I exist?_

"No. If you'd rather be brawny instead of brainy-" _I should've stayed quiet._

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" _Black… Damn you for being born._

"I don't think that's funny at all. You barge in here, and you insult my friend? Sod off!" _Friend? I don't have friends, just people who tolerate me._

The compartment transformed into the Great Hall, and Snape watched as Lily was sorted into Gryffindor. He put on a fake smile and waved at her, while James sniggered from behind him.

"Slytherin!" _As expected… I was never brave, nor loyal._

"Your robes are rather… old, aren't they?" _They're my mother's… We couldn't afford new ones, nor were we allowed to leave for Diagon Alley. 'Too many freaks in one place'._

"Why are you wearing Muggle pants?" _Would you rather see me in a skirt?_

"Leave him alone, or I'll string you up right here and now! What's your name, little one?"

"Severus…"

"I'm Lucius Malfoy, and I'm your Prefect. If you work hard and prove yourself, your clothes won't make much difference. We Slytherins value excellence, and fraternity." _Fraternity? Where was this fraternity when my classmates were beating me?_

The Great Hall became the Library, and Snape found himself studied side by side with Lily. _She was a slow learner at first, but she worked harder than anyone else. Hiding away from the World in a Library never suited her._

"They're staring at us…" _So what? Why are you so self-conscious?_

"Sev, just ignore them."

"But they're **your** House-mates… I don't want to get you into trouble…"

"Do I look afraid?" _Never._ "I get it, you just don't want to teach me your secrets in Potions."

"What?! No! I'll teach you!" _So pathetic… A friendless fool dragging down the closest person to him._

"I was joking, Sev, there's no need to yell. Madam Pince will throw us both out if she hears you."

Once again, his memories led him away to another place. He found himself surrounded by his fellow Slytherins, with Avery pinning him against a wall.

"Severus, friend of Mud-Bloods."

"Fucking traitor."

"Belt him again, Avery." _Just another day in Slytherin… I should've stood up for myself._

"I'm not her friend… I promise…" _Spineless._

"We've seen you two together a hundred times, you liar!"

"Tell you what, 'Sev'… You do our homework, and teach us some of your Curses, and we'll be your friends. You don't need that fucking Muggle."

"What is the meaning of this?!" _Narcissa… She was too good to me._ "Get off of him, or I'll make you a permanent resident of the Hospital Wing!"

Darkness took him, and he realized which memory this was. _They took my sight away, and trapped me the girls' bathroom._

"There you are, Snape. Lucius has been searching the entire school for you, and here you are… No doubt being a creep." _Greengrass was always cold. There is no pity in that man, just like me._

"I… I can't see…" _Stop sobbing. Why didn't you block the Curse?_

"Let me see your eyes… Merlin… Who did this to you?"

"Potter…"

"I see. Stop crying, you're already irritating me. Come on, I'll lead you to Pomfrey." _Three days in intensive care, and Potter didn't even lose a single House Point._

Snape found himself trying to steal his notebook back from Lucius, who laughed loudly as he used to whenever he teased Snape. _Some Prefect…_

"Merlin, Severus… There's at least fifty Curses in here! You know all of these?"

"Why else would they be in there? Now give it back, or I'll show you what I know!"

"Fine… Fine… Here, take back your 'Forbidden Tome'. You know what, Severus? You should spend time with me and my friends. Narcissa already adores you, and after I tell the others about this book of yours, they will welcome you as well." _Say no… This is where it all went wrong._

"I'm a first year…"

"So what? You've got talent, and I can work with that. Plus, it'll get Avery's mob off of you."

"I… Alright…" _Foolish boy._

"One day, Severus, we'll be working side by side. I just know it."

The common room warped into the Black Lake, and Snape found himself walking by Lily's side. The school year was coming to a close, and Snape felt utter dread at the prospect of going home again.

"You can stay with us, if you want…" _If only…_

"Mother needs me at Spinner's End."

"Sev… Please don't go back home…"

"Not this again, Lily."

"I saw the bruise on your lower back after Christmas! Don't go back there! I'll convince mum and dad to let you stay with us!"

"I can defend myself now… It'll be different." _It won't be, and no amount of Curses will change that._

"If it isn't Snivellus!" _Black… Just like a bloodhound, he'd always find me at my weakest._

"Curse anyone recently, you creep?"

"Leave him alone, Potter! What's your problem?!"

"James, let's just leave it…" _Ugh… Filthy Werewolf…_

"Evans, stop taking pity on this weirdo. You're just ruining your own reputation by spending time with him." _Why did that hurt so much at the time? Potter was right, I was turning her into an outcast._

Once again, Snape found himself covering his head as his father tossed an empty bottle at him. Albus had learned of Snape's plan to Curse his own father, and so the old man had forbidden him from doing so under the threat of expulsion. _Every single day, I wanted nothing more than to be rid of him._

His father's yelling faded into nothing, and Snape found himself in Slytherin again. He was in third year now, and both Lucius and Narcissa had left Hogwarts. He had no one… No one but Lily, who had become extremely popular due to her success in her studies. Snape was proud of her, but a part of him hated the fact that it was **his** mind that had given her the means to distance herself from him. _She always had a pack of Gryffindors around her, and I could never fit in. I couldn't stand them, and they couldn't stand me._

"Get this done by tonight, Snape, and I might not smother you in your sleep." _Why did I become their slave? I should've used my knowledge as a bargaining chip._

"Oh, and get my Potions essay done as well. I fucking hate Slughorn so much." _Slughorn… He was so busy 'collecting' brilliant students of note that he never once cared about a 'creep' like me. Even when I was a part of his Slug Club, I was just in the background. He was right though, I never amounted to anything._

Snape found himself having a heated debate with Lily, this was their first fight.

"Stop spending time with Avery's group, Sev! They're not good people!" _I know, but I just wanted safety. Why couldn't you see that? Why didn't I just tell you?_

"They're my friends!" _No, they're not. You're just too proud to admit that you're scared of them. She isn't being impressed with your false bravado, it's turning her against you._

"Avery sent Black into the Hospital Wing last night! Why would you be friends with someone like that?!"

"He was defending me against your precious Gryffindors! LOOK AT THIS!" _Don't show her the Spell Burn… Don't blame her for this._ "At least Avery is loyal to his friends… Unlike some…" _Petty._

"What?! I'm not loyal to you?! You have no idea what I had to go through in first year because I was friends with you!"

"Boohoo! I haven't had it easy either, but do I complain? No!" _You're complaining right now…_

"Fine! Be friends with Avery then!"

The sound of a door slamming shattered the World, and Snape found himself lecturing the Slytherins in the Library. _They came to respect my knowledge, and even began learning from me. I knew why, of course, but I didn't care. I was just glad that I was no longer their target._ He could see Lily and her friends in the corner, and when their eyes met, she stood up and left the Library. Her friends sneered at him, and he sneered back out of petty revenge. _They didn't steal her, I gave her away._

"So… Hogsmeade is coming up… Do you want to go together? We promised in first year that we would…" _Yes, I want nothing more._

"No. Go with your 'friends'… And I'll go with mine."

"Sev… I really…"

"No."

"Alright… Is… Is it because of my Blood-Status?" _Yes. My 'friends' would have turned on me, like I turned on you._

"What? Of course not…"

"I've heard that you've been targeting the other Muggle-Borns… You and Mulciber both…"

"Who told you that?"

"Potter." _He was right._

"He's a liar, Lily! You know that, don't you?! He's always had it out for me!"

"Alright, I believe you… Just don't become like them, please?"

"Like them? Let me guess, you think all of us Slytherins are evil as well…"

"I meant Potter and Black…" _I became worse._

"Oh…"

Snape found himself in a Muggle restaurant, he had saved up enough money from selling answers to buy his mother a luxury meal for Christmas at the restaurant that she always had her eyes on. _I managed to ruin even this, didn't I?_

"Severus, how can you afford this?"

"I've been saving up." _Boasting… Why was I so proud of myself in this moment?_ "Mum… I'm turning fourteen in January, and there's this program…"

"Program?"

"Professor Slughorn told me about it… I'd basically Apprentice under a Potions Master, and make a small amount of money on the side. I was thinking that I could help you move."

"Move?" _Just let her enjoy the one good meal she's had all year. Why can't you stop yourself?_

"Away from **him**. I could get you a small apartment in Diagon Alley…"

"Severus… What's brought this about?"

"Mum… He's getting worse… I saw the bruise on your wrist…"

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Please, just listen to me. I'll be at Hogwarts, so I won't need the money. I can give it to you, and you can be free of him."

"Free of him? I love him, Severus." _Love… That word turns my stomach._

"Are… Are you serious? I'm trying to help you here…"

"I don't need help, now stop it. You're ruining our day…" _Here it comes._

"I'm ruining your day? I'm trying to help you, but if you want to spend the rest of your life being beaten around, then go right ahead. When he finally puts you in the dirt, I won't even bother showing my face at your funeral."

His mother's wounded expression was the last thing he saw before he found himself in the Forbidden Forest. He was dead certain that he had seen Black collecting ingredients for a Potion, which had made him quite curious. _Admit it, Severus, it wasn't curiosity that led you down there. It was a need to hurt them like they hurt you. Have the courage in death that you didn't have in life…_

"Following me, Snivellus? I spotted you ten minutes ago." _To think that I would eventually become a spy…_

"What are you up to, Black?"

"Me? I'm enjoying the cool breeze."

"Save it, I'll be telling the Headmaster about this."

"Will you now? And how will you explain your own presence here?" _Azkaban dulled his wit, that's for certain._ "Yeah… Go right ahead, snake. Fucking tosser."

Dark trees were replaced with by cold stone, and Snape found himself writing in his Advanced Potions book. People passed him by, most of them ignoring his presence. He was used to it, of course, but it still got to him sometimes. _Creep. Freak. Death-Eater. Potter and his friends wasted no time in turning me into a pariah._

"What are you up to, Sev?"

"Nothing." _Creating my signature Spell._

"Really, then why did you hide that book so quickly?"

"Please stop…"

"Hmmm, no."

"You're being awfully mean to me lately, Lily."

"Am I? I guess I should make up for that. How about we go to Hogsmeade together this weekend? Maybe we can get you some sunlight."

"Sunlight?"

"Yes, sunlight. Now forget about your book, we haven't talked in ages!"

"Lily, our exams are coming up. I need to get top marks in Potions, or I'll lose my apprenticeship."

"But we barely spend time together…"

"How about we get together in the Holidays? I'm free from my Apprenticeship, and we can avoid our parents."

"Fine, but you better not pull out of this one, Sev." _Fate had other plans._

Snape found himself standing over his mother's fresh grave, she had 'fallen down' the stairs. No one had attended her funeral except for the Evans, not even his father, who was no doubt drinking away his 'sorrow'. A terrible darkness had taken hold in his heart that day, and Snape had shut himself away from a World that caused him nothing but pain. _I wish I hadn't made her cry during our last meeting… The Half-Blood Prince… Taking her last name didn't honor her, I tainted her memory to feed my own ego._

The World was changing, and Snape gave into his darker nature, despite Lily beseeching him not to. He would never be powerless again. _I thought that she'd be impressed by my determination, but it only drove her further away. What was I thinking? I openly praised the Muggle killings, all the while hoping that my father would die in one of those raids. I didn't even think about how that would make her feel._

"Kill any pets lately, Snivellus? I swear, you get creepier every year."

"I haven't killed any pets, Black. Now go away, I don't want to deal-"

"Could've fooled me! James, look at this cunt! Just writing away in his little black book… Probably writing his fantasies over joining You-Know-Who." _I was making plans… Black had no idea how right he was._

"You really are pathetic, Snivellus. Wait… Are those new clothes that you're wearing?! Remus! Peter! Come have a look at this! Snape stole himself some new clothes from Madam Malkin's!" _I earned those… I worked my fingers to the bone for those… What would you know about hard work, Potter? You were given_ _ **everything**_ _in life, while I had nothing._

Snape found himself rushing out of the Great Hall, his O. W. Ls were finally finished, and he could now concentrate on his Apprenticeship. _I wanted to save enough money to rent out a small room in Diagon Alley. I couldn't bear the thought of going home, not with mother gone. If I saw her murderer, I knew that I'd kill him._

"There you go… You're lucky that Evans was here, Snivellus-" _No… Not this…_

"I don't need help from filthy little Mud-Bloods like her!"

Snape zoned out the rest of the memory, he couldn't bear to think about it. This was the day that he lost everything, and Potter only received one detention. Lily never spoke to him again, despite his many apologies. She had reached her limit with him, and he couldn't even blame her. After all, he was mostly a burden on her at this point. His fellow Slytherins mocked him at every turn, most of them reminding him of how Potter had removed his trousers in front of the whole school. Snape had nothing left.

Now that he thought about it, he was the one who had given up. These were his final moments, and so finally, he understood what Albus had always preached. _I gave up everything for power… And this is where it's led me. I'll die as I lived… Alone in the dark._

Images of sharp claws and fangs rushed into his mind, and the visage of a Stag saving his life turned his heart cold. This had been the final straw.

"You will never speak a word of this."

"Albus, they nearly killed him!"

"Minerva, please…"

"No! They deserve to be expelled! Potter may have intervened, but Black set this whole thing up!"

"And Remus? Does he deserve expulsion as well? Does he deserve to lose everything over someone else's actions?"

"I… No…"

"Severus won't say a word, you have my word, Albus."

"Thank you, Horace. Severus, do I have yours?"

"Yes…" _Once again, I gave up. If I had pressed a little harder, I might have achieved something. I might have avoided this Fate._

Snape found himself roaming Knockturn Alley, he was collecting ingredients for his Master. This was his last year at Hogwarts, and his final year of Apprenticeship. From here, he could've become anything that he wanted. His entire life was ahead of him, but the past seldom stays buried.

"Severus?"

"Lucius?"

"It is you! Look at you!" _He really used to laugh a lot back then. Or maybe he only did that with me._ "My word, you've grown quite tall, haven't you?"

"I… Yes, I have."

"You didn't come to my wedding… I sent you an invitation. Narcissa was quite bothered by your absence."

"My mother passed away… I was putting her to rest…"

"Oh… I'm really sorry, Severus. Are you returning to Hogwarts soon?"

"I have the day off."

"Come then, I'll buy you a drink." _I should've run in the opposite direction, but I knew about Lucius' allegiance to the Dark Lord. I chose the wrong side…_

He had told Lucius everything about his murderous, Muggle father. Even though he had vowed never to speak of the man again, the moment he was offered a shoulder to cry on, Snape had spilled his guts. For one day that entire year, Snape had a friend. For just that one day, he wasn't completely alone.

"And what about that Evans girl that you used to chase after?"

"She's with Potter now…"

"With Potter? Your tormenter? Aren't you two friends?"

"No, we're not friends. She means nothing to me whatsoever. If she wants to be with an arrogant prick like Potter, then she can go right ahead."

"It's in their Blood to betray their betters, Severus. Forget her… Tell me, what do you think of Muggles?"

"Muggles? I don't care about them. My father is a Muggle, and he's given me a perfect picture of what they're all like." _And what about the Evans Family? Who held you while you cried for your mother? Who let you spend the Summer in their home? Who took you to Diagon Alley so you could buy your new clothes?_

"When you graduate, Severus, come find me. I want to introduce you to someone."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **November, 1993 (Malfoy Manor)**_

"Crucio!"

Snape jerked back to reality as thousands of hot blades sliced his skin off, and he immediately began thrashing about in his chair. The Dark Lord severed the Curse, leaving Snape to whimper and shake like a newborn. _So cold…_

"You cannot hide from me, Severus," the Dark Lord hissed, his eyes resembled two burning coals in the darkness. "Tell me what I want to know, and I will ease your passing." Snape hung his head in response, his stroll through his memories was over. _At least I managed to secure them… He won't get anything from me…_

"Look at yourself," the Dark Lord spat out. "I gave you power. I gave you purpose. You could've ruled Britain in my name." Snape remained silent. "What has Dumbledore given you? A death sentence… Was it worth it, Severus? Betraying your Lord and Master for an old fool?"

Snape felt the urge to laugh at the Dark Lord, he genuinely wished that he had betrayed this madman sooner. _Or better yet, never sided with him… Albus doesn't treat me like a slave… He's… He's my friend…_ And there it was, Snape did have some good memories. His nightly games of Chess with Albus. The first time he had held Draco. His growing fondness for a sharp-tongued redhead. His rivalry with Minerva. Pomona bringing him food in his lab whenever he missed a meal. Filius often forgetting that Snape was no longer a student. The respect and admiration of his Slytherins. _Once again, you realize the truth too late… It wasn't all bad…_

"Answer me, wretch!" the Dark Lord bellowed, and Snape felt something dig into his right leg. He bit the inside of his cheeks, he would not scream for this monster. "Damn you, Severus…"

"This one won't break," came a voice from behind him.

"He will," the Dark Lord hissed.

"No, he really won't," the voice said, and then orange eyes moved in front of Snape. _You…_ "Look at him. You've torn him to pieces, but he won't even acknowledge you. He'll never break. You could spend days doing this, but he'll die before he talks." The Dark Lord attempted Legilimency once again, but Snape managed to redirect the assault into the empty recesses of his mind. _You'll see nothing…_

"Very well," the Dark Lord whispered too calmly. "I'll leave him to the mercy of his former friends." _So that's his plan? He'll have them murder me? Fear… That's all he understands. I finally understand you, Albus. I finally figured it out…_

"You'll… lose…" Snape rasped, and the Dark Lord just stared at him. Snape looked up with a fierce look, his eye digging into the Dark Lord's. "I'll see you… in hell… **Tom** …"

"CRUCIO!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Just Past Midnight)**_

He knew that he had to be strong right now, but he was beginning to weaken in his resolve. Severus still hadn't returned, which could only mean two things. Either he was dead, or he was being tortured for information. Surviving two wars had taught Albus that when soldiers went missing, it was usually because their time had come to an end. _No. Not yet… Severus cannot die before me. I can't bury another friend, especially one as young as Severus._

"Enough of this!" Ronald snapped, and then he shot out of his chair. "We're just sitting here doing nothing! For all we know, Professor Snape is already rotting in a shallow grave!"

"Ronald, please remain calm," Albus sighed out, he hadn't slept for nearly two days now. _What's gotten into him all of a sudden? He hasn't uttered a word for the last two hours._

" _ **Tell us to remain calm again, and we'll fill our belly with your soul!**_ " 'Ronald' barked, his face distorting horribly. Albus just stared at him, his mind was too filled with worry to fear the monster inside Ronald. " _ **They've taken him from us…**_ " Ronald suddenly began pacing, his crimson toad-like eyes darting around the Office. " _ **They've taken our friend… They will burn…**_ " _Friend? Is this really the Entity speaking?_

Albus found himself following Ronald's every move, his hand already moving closer to his wand. And then, Ronald suddenly stopped moving. His eyes returned to the color of the sky, and he looked to Albus with a look of revelation.

"Ronald?" Albus said calmly.

"Kreacher… He's been to Malfoy Manor, hasn't he?" Ronald asked, and Albus blinked at him. "Remember what Professor Snape said about Regulus Black? He didn't have the stomach to torture his enemies… He had Kreacher do it for him." _Is he suggesting that we use Kreacher to invade Malfoy Manor?_

"Go on, my boy," Albus stood up, he too was done waiting.

"How often did Regulus take Kreacher to Malfoy Manor? I mean, it was a base of operations for the Dark Lord, right?" Ronald asked.

"It was."

"So Kreacher knows that place inside out!" Ronald exclaimed, something akin to hope sparking in his eyes. "Headmaster, let's please do something! I can't sit around while he's missing… I truly believe that he needs our help." _I feel it too, Ronald._

"Follow me," Albus ordered, and they both walked over to Severus' desk. Albus called forth some parchment with a flick of his hand, and he began drawing up a large oval. "Let's just say that this is the entire Malfoy property. Where would you start?"

"Fuck the property, start in the Manor," Ronald said, and Albus waited for him to go on. "Malfoy Manor probably employs an army of Elves, which means that the Manor might not be secure against their Apparition Magic. I mean, Elves can get into places that people can't, right? And the Elves of Malfoy Manor probably run errands all day."

"What if Lord Voldemort has sealed the Manor away?" Albus asked. "He is nothing if not prepared, Ronald."

"He left Kreacher in that cave," Ronald countered. "Kreacher told me so himself. He literally left Kreacher to die, and Kreacher simply Apparated back home. The Dark Lord is prepared against **people** , not Elves. He doesn't understand that they're actually stronger than most wizards."

"He cannot even fathom such a thing… His arrogance won't let him," Albus nodded slowly. "Are you sure about Kreacher's tale?"

"I'm certain of it," Ronald nodded firmly. "We start at the lowest level, far away from any bedrooms. We search as we go up, he's bound to be in there somewhere."

"The lowest levels… The Dungeons," Albus remembered, Severus had often described the Malfoy holding cells. _This could work. If Severus is indeed in danger, that's where he'll be._

"They have Dungeons?" Ronald asked. "Of course they fucking do…"

"Dungeons that have Silencing Charms on them," Albus remembered. "No voice can travel out of these Dungeons, and so even Elves can't be summoned."

"Well, he might be in there," Ronald said quickly. "Let's just get in there, save him, and run away!"

"Ronald, I will go alone," Albus said firmly.

"What?"

"You are a child, and I cannot put you in such danger," Albus replied, while Ronald looked genuinely offended. "If the Dark Lord is present, I will be forced to prioritize your safety. Ronald… Even I cannot hold him at bay **and** protect you at the same time."

"I… I see…" Ronald swallowed thickly, and then he shook his head clear. "No, you're right… I'd just get in the way. Sorry… I just assumed…" he trailed off, something darkening behind his bright eyes.

"Your time will come, my boy," Albus patted Ronald's cheek. "But for now, let me take care of this."

"I'll get in your way, but the Order won't," Ronald looked into his eyes. "Headmaster, you went to Albania alone, and look how that turned out. Don't go alone this time… Take the Order with you."

"That is easier said than done, Ronald," Albus sighed. _None of them will risk their lives for Severus, but I can't tell him that._

"Why? Because they don't like Professor Snape?" Ronald asked, and Albus didn't even bother replying. _He's certainly become more observant._ "Fine, they don't like Professor Snape… But you know what? Fuck their opinions of the man. He's out there right now, probably dead or dying, while they sit around and wait for his Intel." Ronald then drew in a deep breath, and then another, and then another. "Just… Give me a second…"

"Right," Ronald restarted, his anger clearly stored away for later. "The Order is meant to help the helpless, right?"

"Yes."

"Then it's past time that they put their money where their mouth is," Ronald stood up straighter. "Go to them, and tell them of our worries. Give them the chance to do the right thing. If they still won't volunteer for such a mission, then you can go alone, but something tells me that they won't let you down. I mean, they stood by you during the last war, didn't' they? Give them a chance to prove their valor." Albus stared at the young man before him, and he felt something shift in his mind. _A chance…_

"Let us work on our plan for now, while Fawkes collects all the members of the Order currently in Britain," Albus looked back to the parchment. _Tonight, the Order will move against its enemies._

"You hear that, Fawkes?" Ronald looked to the Phoenix, who was simply perched up on one of Severus' shelves. "Go and get them."

Fawkes let out a loud shrill, and then he burst into a vortex of orange flames.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Past Midnight)**_

A vortex of orange flame revealed Hestia, who quickly looked around the Living Room. _That's everyone._ Fawkes flew over and perched himself on Albus' right shoulder, his eyes scanning the room. Hestia slowly sat down near the Greengrass and Davis Families, her eyes fixed on Dumbledore.

"That's everyone, now we can talk," Albus said.

"What about Emmeline and Dedalus?" Aberforth asked.

"They're in Albania, and I can't afford to alert the Ministry of what we're about to do tonight," Albus replied, while his brother exchanged a look with Alastor.

"And what are we about to do, Headmaster?" Sturgis asked, his left hand rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, why are we awake at this ungodly hour?" Sirius asked. _There is no time to mince words. Ronald and I have devised a good plan, one that will work if we're united._

"Severus is missing," Albus told them, and a deafening silence followed his words.

"Missing?" Minerva asked suddenly. "Is that why he wasn't at Hogwarts today?"

"I hope nothing terrible has happened," Pomona said, her eyes immediately showed her worry.

"Missing? Or run off to join his Master?" Sirius asked. "This is why you woke us up?"

"Sirius, be quiet," Remus ordered, and then he looked to the Headmaster. "How long has he been missing for?"

"Sometime on Friday night, he was taken by Lucius Malfoy," Albus started. "I have spent the day investigating this trail… I hoped that Severus would return, or at least send word, but neither has happened. This is not like him at all. I fear that our spy no longer has his cover."

"Then he's dead," Alastor said roughly. "The Dark Lord doesn't just let people leave his service, Albus."

"Dead, or being tortured," Kingsley spoke up. "After all, a spy's main job is to have secrets, right?"

"Severus has many," Albus said. "Though he would never reveal them to the Dark Lord. He is better than that."

"Are you sure about this, Headmaster?" Filius asked, he really didn't want this to be true. Despite Snape's coldness, he was rather fond of the young Potions Master. "What if he's not really missing?"

"Then we will capture Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, effectively cutting off Lord Voldemort's source of wealth," Albus replied, and the whole room gaped at him. _At least for the time being._

"Capture?" Nymphadora said, her eyes darting towards the others.

"You mean kidnap two powerful Pure-Bloods," Sebastian scoffed. "We'll all end up in Azkaban by the end of the night."

"Listen to me, and listen well," Albus said firmly, his expression hardening. _I won't lose another friend today._ "The war is here. There is no more time for debate, or to fight amongst ourselves. Elphias was murdered in the streets, not twenty feet away from his house. And now, Severus is missing. He's… He's most likely dead…" Albus then looked to his comrades, all of whom looked a little shaken. "We have grown weak because of the peace that we helped secure, but our enemy has only become more dangerous. Now we can either fall divided, or we can **stand together** against this terrible foe. Either way, he'll come for us."

"Tonight… I will infiltrate Malfoy Manor," Albus went on, his voice was the only sound in the room. "If Severus is still alive, then I will bring him back. And if he isn't, then I will make his murderers pay for their crimes. I know that many of you look upon him with contempt, but he has proven his bravery to me a dozen times over. Will I be going alone?"

Silence… People exchanged looks, but no one spoke. Albus understood their hesitation, he had summoned them all in the middle of the night to conduct a raid on Malfoy Manor of all places. Many of them feared the Dark Lord's powers, while the others weren't on board with kidnapping two wealthy aristocrats.

"I'll go with yeh, Headmaster," Hagrid stood up, and Albus smiled at him. "Professor Snape… He saved Fang's life not long ago… Dumb dog ate some poison mushrooms. I'll honor my debt."

"We're with you as well," Minerva said, while Pomona and Filius gave him firm nods.

"For Elphias Doge," Sturgis said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "And for Severus Snape, if he has passed."

"I'll go too," Nymphadora stood up.

"Tonks… Sit back down…" Sirius urged.

"No, cousin," Tonks refused, her eyes traveling to Kingsley of all people. "We Aurors don't leave our own behind, right?"

"Better to die with your comrade than to abandon him," Kingsley nodded slowly. "I'll go as well."

"I volunteer as well," Remus said, and Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shite…" Sirius muttered. "I'm in too then, someone has to keep this idiot alive."

"And I'll keep you alive," Arthur smiled at Sirius, and then he looked to Albus. "I will help as well." _Ronald was right. Their valor was hidden just beneath the surface. Perhaps I've spent too much time hiding behind my plans._

"Are we really going to volunteer one by one?" Alastor snapped. "We're all going, and that's that. Can't leave a man behind, even if it's just his corpse." Albus felt his heart swell, and he held back his smile. _Look at them… If only Severus and Ronald were here._ Albus looked to the Davis and Greengrass Families.

"I know their Dungeons quite well," James stood up, and his wife quickly followed suit. "Sebastian?"

"The Manor has four levels," Sebastian sighed. "Not counting the Dungeons, which are underground."

"Does that mean that you're coming as well?" Albus asked. _This is quite the surprise, even for me._

"Only if my wife stays here," Sebastian said. "Mary is adept with Healing Magic, and I imagine that many of us are going to need help in that department very soon."

"I will go to our Manor and bring back as many supplies as I can carry," Mary said.

"We'll help," Pandora volunteered for the job. "Molly and I, that is."

"You should concentrate on the child's health and safety," Susana said. "I will join Molly and Mary."

"Fawkes, go and find Poppy," Albus ordered, and Fawkes vanished in a gust of flames. "Mundungus, I will not ask you to come with us. I know that your debt to me only involved information."

"Much obliged," Mundungus gave a weak grin.

"He can go to my mother's house," Nymphadora said. "Both of my parents know the Healing Arts."

"Mundungus?" Albus looked to the man, and he gave a shaky nod.

"This is all very touching, but how do we even get in?" Aberforth asked. "If the Dark Lord is there, then we won't even be able to see that place."

"We will Apparate in," Albus said, much to everyone's shock. "We will turn his arrogance against him, and in doing so, show him that we will not abandon our way of life without a fight. Tonight, Lord Voldemort will bleed."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

The plan had been shared, and everything was in place. The only problem now was Sirius' mistrust of his own House-Elf, something that both Albus and Ronald had foreseen. Luckily for the Order, Kreacher owed Ronald a great favor. Amidst the planning, Albus had secretly slipped the old House-Elf a note from Ronald himself, and Kreacher had changed his tune immediately, which only furthered Sirius' suspicions. _It hardly matters now, not even Tom could stop Kreacher from aiding us in our endeavor._

"Everyone clear on the plan?" Alastor paced the room. "Tonks, repeat the plan."

"Why me?" Nymphadora flushed a little, her hair turning a sickly pink.

"Because I caught you and Jones chatting away!" Alastor snapped, and the two witches exchanged sorry looks.

"We are to move in teams of four, with each Order member having a partner," Nymphadora started. "You and Professor McGonagall will aid Kingsley and myself in securing the first floor. Professors Flitwick and Sprout will secure the Ballroom, while Mr. Weasley and Mr. Lovegood will find their way outside and Ward the Manor so that no one can escape. Sirius and Sturgis will work with Remus and Hestia to secure the second floor. Mr. Davis and Mr. Greengrass will partner up with Hagrid and Aberforth to secure the third floor. And lastly, Headmaster Dumbledore will secure the fourth floor."

"Where the Dark Lord is most likely to be," Hestia added, and Nymphadora nodded quickly.

"And you?" Alastor looked to Kreacher.

"Kreacher will assist anyone who calls him," Kreacher bowed. "Kreacher will also make sure to capture Lord and Lady Malfoy, and then confine them in the attic."

"And we'll be here to heal anyone who is brought back by Kreacher," Poppy said, she was still wearing her sleeping gown. _I will face her wrath tomorrow. I should have brought her in long before this._ Andromeda, Edward, Molly, Pandora, Susana, Mary, and Mundungus were currently stacking all manners of Potions on the Conjured tables.

"Then this is it," Albus said. "Say your farewells, we leave in five minutes."

Albus then moved to the fireplace, while the others said their goodbyes to their loved ones. Alastor limped to his side, his Magical Eye swirling in its socket.

"Last chance to rethink this madness," Alastor said. "A raid, Albus? This isn't exactly your style."

"I buried my oldest friend only a few hours ago," Albus replied. "All those men and women in St. Mungo's… So much death has happened, Alastor. I will not stand by any longer. Inaction is worse than failing." _To think that a child showed me the error of my ways… Fate is certainly behind all of this._

"Good," Alastor smirked. "About time, you old bird." Albus shot Alastor a weak smile.

"I am putting you all in danger for one man," Albus whispered.

"Piss off with that," Alastor frowned. "We're not here because you've forced us. We're here because we know just what that evil bastard is capable of. As for Snape… I'm not fighting to save him. I'm fighting because that's what I do when I see a Dark Wizard. It's in my blood, Albus. Saving Snape, **if** he's still alive, is just a bonus."

"Then let's raise wands together once again, Alastor," Albus patted his back. "Try not to lose a limb this time." Alastor barked out a laugh, which also served as the signal to the others.

"Albus, we're ready," Minerva said, and Albus turned to face his Order.

"Stay together, and stay strong," Albus said, his eyes scanning the room. "Our enemy will not show you any mercy, so act accordingly. But remember, no Unforgivables. The Ministry has Traces on your wands, and they'll hunt you down if you cross that line."

"And for Merlin's sake, don't break ranks if one of us is killed," Alastor added.

"Kreacher, come," Albus stepped forward, and the old House-Elf quickly stepped forward.

"No tricks, Kreacher," Sirius warned.

"Kreacher will do his duty," Kreacher bowed to Sirius, who just exchanged a look with Remus. Albus drew in a deep breath, and then he offered the Elf his left hand.

"Take me to the Malfoy Dungeons," Albus said, and Kreacher took his hand.

The World twisted in on itself, and Albus found himself standing in a dark, damp room. _It worked. Ronald, you brilliant boy!_

"Bring the others," Albus looked to Kreacher, who Disapparated immediately. "Lumos." Darkness gave way to light, and Albus peered into each Dungeon Cell with the eyes of a hawk. And then, he saw Severus. For a moment, Albus feared for his own heart, but that moment was short lived as Kreacher brought in the first team. Albus moved into the Cell, his eyes scanning Severus' unconscious form. _My dear boy… What have they done to you?_

Albus had survived two wars, faced two of the most powerful Dark Lords in recent memory, and endured other horrors his entire life. But this moment… It brought tears to his eyes. There was hardly anything left of his friend. His right hand was gone, blood caked his torn robes, his hair had been shaved off, his face was badly carved up, and there was a black blade sticking out of his right leg. Albus heard footsteps behind him, and then a gasp.

"Severus…" Pomona whispered, and then she ran up and kneeled in front of him. "Look at what they've done to him…"

"Gods…" Filius looked away, while Minerva stood by Albus' side.

"Monsters…" Minerva whispered, her body already shaking from rage.

One by one, the Order piled into the Dungeons. And one by one, they happened upon Severus. No one said a word, and so Pomona's silent weeping echoed throughout the room. As for Albus, he just stood there as if he were made of stone.

"Kreacher, take him back to Grimmauld Place," Alastor ordered, and the Elf quickly stepped up to Severus, who suddenly awoke with a jerk. Albus moved to his side without even thinking, while the Potions Master whimpered and looked around.

"Easy, Severus," Albus managed, the lump in his throat was beginning to ache.

"You… think… this… illusion will… work?" Severus wheezed, and everyone went dead silent. "You'll get… nothing… **Tom** … Nothing… Rot, you filth… I'll… see you… in hell…" Pomona let out a sob, while the others could do little but stare. _My brave friend._

"This is no illusion, Severus," Albus whispered, he was too afraid to touch him. "We have come for you." Severus stared up at Albus, though his left eye wasn't moving. And then, his head dropped forward.

"Kreacher, take him back now," Remus suddenly spoke up, while Sirius looked to be in a trance.

"Go," Albus said as he took a step back, and the Elf Disapparated away with Severus. Silence once again reigned in the dark Dungeons, with only the sound of Pomona forcing herself to regain her composure filling the void.

"Let's go hunt some fucking Death-Eaters," Alastor snarled, and one by one, they all moved towards the exit. Albus just stared at the bloody chair where Severus had been, and an old flame ignited in his chest. He had felt this rage before. _Albania, St. Mungo's, Elphias, Severus, the countless others…_ Albus slowly stepped out of the Cell, there would be no mercy tonight. _No quarter given._ Albus moved past the Order members until he was at the head of the pack, his eyes fixed on the large metallic door.

"There's at least forty people in this Manor," Alastor said, his Magical Eye moving about frantically. "Most of them are awake and roaming the Manor."

"Good, let's go fuck them up," James grit out.

"The Wards have probably alarmed the Dark Lord," Sebastian said.

"Then we hit them before they can rally their troops," Kingsley said, his eyes fixed on Albus' back.

"Stay in formation, and kill if necessary," Albus ordered. "Tonight, we avenge those who have suffered at **his** hands. Tonight… We show **him** that he's not beyond our reach."

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Battle of Malfoy Manor)**_

He was afraid, he would not deny it. Arthur had so much to live for, and as a result, so much to fight for. His only regret tonight was that he might depart this World without bidding his children farewell. _If I am to die, then I'll die protecting my Family. One day, they might live in a World free of this darkness._ As Dumbledore unlocked the large metallic door, Arthur drew in a deep breath and braced himself. _Fabian… Gideon… This is for you._

"Move quickly, but be vigilant," Moody ordered, and they all followed Albus out.

"Who-" a man started, but Dumbledore yanked him towards the Order with a flick of his left hand.

"Incarcerous," Moody chanted, and thick black ropes bound and gagged the pale man. Moody then studied the man, while the other got into their squads. "Albus… This one's a Blood-Sucker."

"Deckard is here," Dumbledore said. "No one is to approach him alone, understood?" Everyone nodded, and Dumbledore looked to Sebastian. "Directions?"

"The Ballroom is to the right, while the stairs up are to the left," Sebastian replied. "There is a back door in the Ballroom that leads outside, it's impossible to miss."

"Filius will lead the way to the Ballroom," Dumbledore ordered. "The others will follow my lead."

"Let's go," Filius said, and his squad followed after him. Pomona stayed right behind Filius to provide support, while Arthur and Xeno protected the rear. "Homenum Revelio."

"Well?" Xeno asked.

"Four men around the corner… Damn, they're moving towards us," Filius prepared himself. "Get ready."

"Who goes there?" came a voice, and all four of them rushed around the corner.

"Stupefy!" Arthur chanted, while the others unleashed their own Spells. His target took the stunner to the chest, but it didn't even knock the man down. _More Vampires?_ Shields quickly went up, and the ambush turned into a proper fight.

"Use Severing Charms!" Filius ordered. "Diffindo!"

"Avada Ke-" a Vampire began, but his left arm was swiftly cut off by Filius. Arthur felt jarred at the sight, and he knew that Xeno was just as shocked by the Charms Master's ruthlessness. The sounds of battle suddenly engulfed the Manor's every corridor, and Arthur broke out of his daze with a Severing Charm of his own.

"Incendio!"

"Diffindo!"

"Protego!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Crucio!"

Spells after Spell went out, until finally, only one Vampire remained. Pomona sent the poor bastard flying across the Hallway, while Filius smashed a Reductor Curse into his chest. Only a bloody smear was left behind, one that Arthur quickly looked away from.

"Move!" Filius ordered, and they began running for the Ballroom. Arthur ignored a screaming Vampire who was trying to reach for his wand, while Xeno shot a stunner into his head. They rounded the corner and raced forward, only to run into two more Vampires.

"Incendio Diabolica!" Filius chanted, and a jet of bright blue flames engulfed everything in sight. Arthur and Xeno covered their eyes, and when the screaming stopped, they found only charred remains behind. _By the Gods… This man teaches my children?!_

"Protego!" Pomona suddenly chanted, and a purple Curse shattered right behind Arthur. Arthur and Xeno quickly turned around and began firing their own Curses, and they easily overpowered the Vampire that Xeno had just stunned with several Severing Charms. "No more stunners! These are Vampires, they will get right back up!" _No stunners… No stunners…_ Arthur drew in a deep breath, while Xeno looked to be in quite a panic himself.

Arthur, of course, understood that he and Xeno weren't like most Order members. The others, including Sirius, were war veterans who had survived multiple large battles during the last war. _They know that it's kill, or be killed. C'mon, Arthur. This is not the time to second guess yourself. If you want to see your Family again, then fight!_

"There's a stray not far from here," Filius told them. "We can't let any of them escape, they'll call for reinforcements!" All four of them broke into a sprint, and after smashing through a large door, they entered the Ballroom.

"Bombarda!" the Vampire in the Ballroom bellowed, her Spell was aimed at the ceiling right above them. Pomona immediately stopped the falling debris, while Filius began Dueling against their attacker. With a loud grunt, Pomona sent the debris flying at the Vampire, who had a second to shriek before she was crushed under wood and stone.

"That's the exit," Arthur looked to the giant glass door. "Xeno, you're with me!"

"We'll secure this room," Filius said as both men ran for the door. "Pomona, seal off all the entryways except for the one we just came from. The others might need our aid."

Arthur burst through the door, his breathing frantic and his heart beating in his ears. _I really miss my desk._

"I'll start sealing the Manor, while you take down the Ward keeping Fawkes out," Arthur said, his wand already moving in complex movements. _Once Fawkes can freely flash in and out of this Manor, we'll win!_

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Battle of Malfoy Manor)**_

"What the fuck?!" Sirius yelled, and a Killing Curse barely missed him. "There's fucking Vampires everywhere!" He could hear the fighting happening all over the Manor, and he hoped the others were having better luck than Sirius' squad.

"Diffindo!" Sturgis yelled from his right, while Sirius fired bursts of flames Non-verbally. "Remus, use the side rooms!"

"We'll cover you!" Sirius yelled as he increased his assault. Hestia and Remus ran into the room on their right, several Curses barely missing them. "I'll work offence, Sturgis. You take defense!"

"Protego Maxima!" Sturgis summoned a massive shield.

"Confringo!" Sirius bellowed, and an orange light burst out of his wand. _Block that, you fucks!_ The Blasting Curse exploded right above the six Vampires, bringing down the ceiling on them. At that, both Remus and Hestia flanked the Vampires. "Go, Sturgis!"

Both men began throwing every Curse in their minds at the Vampires, but they made sure to stay by the stairs. Whoever controlled the stairs controlled the battlefield, especially due to the need to secure all the floors.

"Expelliarmus!" Sturgis chanted, snatching the last Vampire's wand from his hand.

"Reducto!" Sirius followed up, and the Vampire's brains were splattered all over his fallen comrades.

"Kreacher!" came Remus' voice, and both Sturgis and Sirius froze. _Hestia?_ There was a loud crack on the other side of the Hallway, but neither men could see due to the smoke and embers. Another loud crack swiftly followed, and Remus ran through the smoke to rejoin Sirius and Sturgis.

"Hestia?" Sturgis asked immediately.

"Took a stunner to the chest," Remus told them. "She also hit her head on the way down, so she's out of this fight."

"A stunner… Alright…" Sturgis nodded.

"She'll be fine, mate," Sirius said, and then he looked to Remus. "Is the floor secure?" Remus smelled the air, and then he frowned. Sturgis blinked at them, but he didn't say anything.

"Too much Magic… Too much smoke…" Remus shook his head. _Fuck, I can't smell anything either._ There was a sudden yell from above them, and Sebastian burst through the ceiling and crumpled in front of them. _Seb?!_ Sirius managed to see two orange eyes staring down at them, but they vanished just as quickly as he saw them. _What the fuck was that?!_

"Sebastian?!" Remus kneeled by his side, but Seb didn't even move a muscle. Sirius' heart stopped, this man had daughters. "He's barely breathing… Kreacher!" There was a loud crack, and a bloodied House-Elf appeared. _What the fuck happened to you?_

"Take him back," Sirius ordered, and Kreacher immediately Disapparated away with Sebastian. Sirius then looked back up at the hole, and then back to Remus and Sturgis. "There's something up there! I saw… eyes…"

"Lord Greengrass was a part of Aberforth's squad," Sturgis panted. "If he's out, then maybe they're in trouble."

"I'll go join Aberforth's squad," Remus said, and Sirius gave him a nod. "Keep the damn stairs under our control, or we'll be cut off from the middle!"

With that, Remus ran up the stairs. Sirius and Sturgis both kept their eyes peeled, but the lack of something to do began eating away at Sirius immediately. _We're just standing here…_ He could hear the fighting upstairs, and when he heard Remus' screams, all sense went out of the window.

"Remus?!" Sirius yelled, and then he burst into a sprint.

"Sirius!" Sturgis called out, and then he ran after the man.

"Remus!" Sirius yelled again as he reached the third floor, only to find Aberforth lying unconscious by the stairs. The old man had a dazed look on his face, and his right leg was twisted in a disgusting angle.

"Aberforth?" Sturgis kneeled by the old man's side, while Sirius looked around the Hallways. What he saw genuinely jarred him, and he found himself standing around like an idiot. Hagrid was currently slamming a blonde man from wall to wall, a frenzied expression on his face.

"Sirius! Sturgis! Run!" Hagrid managed to yell, and then, much to Sirius' shock and horror, the tiny blonde man sent the gigantic Hagrid flying through a wall. _What the FUCK?!_

"Sturgis, there's a fucking demon up here!" Sirius yelled, while the blonde man grinned in their direction. His orange cat-like eyes gleamed in the dark, and Sirius immediately fired a Blasting Curse in his direction. In a terrifying maneuver, the blonde man began crawling on the walls and ceiling, his finger tearing chunks of wood as he crawled in their direction. _Sweet Circe's cunt! What the fuck is that?!_

"Immobulus!" Sturgis chanted, but the blonde 'man' shot off of the ceiling and landed on all fours.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Sirius followed up, but once again, the blonde man dodged with inhuman speed. _He doesn't have a wand?_ Sturgis and Sirius fired Curse after Curse, but nothing hit their target, who seemed to be dancing as he dodged their Spells. And then, the Vampire threw a silver dagger out of his coat. Sirius ducked immediately, but that gave the Vampire the opening he needed to rush them.

"Protego Maxima!" Sturgis bellowed, and a massive blue shield appeared between the Vampire and them. But it did not matter. The Vampire slammed right through the shield with terrifying strength, and a swift backhand sent Sturgis rolling down the stairs.

"Flipen-" Sirius started, but the Vampire grabbed his right wrist and broke it with extreme ease. A scream tore its way out of Sirius' throat, and he suddenly felt white hot pain shoot up his left arm. The Vampire hauled Sirius against a wall, his dagger had dug deep into Sirius' left shoulder. _My wand… Fuck…_

"Sirius Black," the Vampire laughed. "The Godfather of the Boy-Who-Lived…"

"FUCK!" Sirius bellowed as the Vampire twisted his blade.

"I'll take good care of your boy," the Vampire whispered. "After I eat you, I'll turn him into my own."

"Harry…" Sirius grit out, the pain was unbearable. _Fucking… Stay away from my kid!_ Sirius grabbed the Vampire's wrist with his left hand, and he partially morphed into Padfoot. The surprised Vampire tried to back away, but Padfoot's fangs tore right into the Vampire's neck. With a swift motion, Sirius tore out the Vampire's throat. Blood splattered all over the place, and Sirius found himself falling onto his side. _Don't just lie there, get your wand._

As his head began to morph back, Sirius crawled to his wand, the pain making his vision blurry. His right hand was now useless, and his left one was burning with pain. Gurgling laughter echoed from behind him, and Sirius looked to see the Vampire standing up slowly. _Motherfucker…_ Sirius crawled faster, and just as the Vampire grabbed his ankle, Sirius grabbed his wand and aimed it at the Vampire.

"Expulso!" Sirius bellowed, and a bright blue light exploded in the Vampire's gut. The monster was sent flying back, a good chunk of his side missing. "Turn that, you monster…"

Sirius lost all strength in his body, and he just lay there. The fighting still echoed throughout the Manor, but it was now distorted and distant. Darkness began to take him, but a loud crack brought him back.

"Master!" Kreacher ran to his side, and Sirius looked to his Elf with a bewildered look. _He came back for me?_

"Sturgis… The others… Remus… Find them…"

"That actually hurt!" came a laugh, and Sirius' blood froze. _This thing… What in the fuck…?_ Sirius heard hurried footsteps coming his way, but Kreacher removed the floor with a snap of his fingers. The Vampire fell to the lower floors with an angry roar, while Kreacher grabbed Sirius and Disapparated.

And suddenly, the noise was so much closer.

"Master was wounded!" Kreacher announced, and Mary was immediately by his side. Her dress was bloodied, but her expression was steady.

"Merlin… Another stabbing?" Mary looked to Kreacher.

"Cunt Vampire…" Sirius coughed out, while Kreacher simply Disapparated again. "Remus?"

"He's here," Mary told him, and then she shot him a weak smile. "This will hurt Sirius, I'm sorry." And just like that, she swiftly pulled the knife out.

"You fucking bitch!" Sirius howled, while she quickly began to heal the wound. "Oh… fuck…"

Kreacher suddenly Apparated into the room, an unconscious Sturgis in his grasp.

"Broken jaw!" Kreacher announced, and then he Disapparated.

"Molly, tend to him!" Pomfrey ordered, and Sirius heard loud footsteps.

"Remus…" Sirius looked up at Mary, he was losing consciousness.

"His back was slashed open with a blade," Mary told him.

"Seb…" Sirius managed, and Mary sniffled.

"Broken bones… But he'll live…" Mary said, and then she shook her head clear.

"Good… I feel like I'm finally starting to get to him…" Sirius managed a drowsy grin, and then it all faded to black.

* * *

 _ **Alastor Moody's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Battle of Malfoy Manor)**_

"Tonks… Kingsley… Go and get Pomona and Filius," Alastor ordered, his Magical Eye was following a monster being right above them.

"What about this floor? You need-" Tonks started, there was a Spell Burn on her forehead.

"Do as I fucking say!" Alastor snapped, and both Order members ran off towards the Ballroom.

"Alastor… What do you see? Is it the Dark Lord?" Minerva asked, she had a massive cut on the right side of her face.

"No… It's something else," Alastor replied, his Magical Eye moving towards the stair. "This one fucker has taken down two squads almost singlehandedly." _It's the Ancient Vampire, isn't it?_

"Taken down?" Minerva asked. "Are they dead?"

"Kreacher pulled them out, thank Merlin," Alastor said, and then he began limping towards the stairs.

"Alastor?"

"This floor is secure," Alastor told her. "I see no one else down here. We need to set up an ambush by the stairs. Don't hold back on this thing, Minerva, or it'll kill us both." They made their way to the stair, while Alastor kept his Eye on the Vampire. "It's coming… Get ready."

And then, the Vampire burst through the ceiling and landed right in the middle of the two.

"FUCK!" Alastor managed before a kick sent him reeling into a wall. The air in his lungs evaporated, and Alastor found himself wheezing for more. _He… knew? Fuck… He was luring us into a trap._ Alastor coughed out a bit of blood, and then he looked back to where he had been. "Minerva…"

"An old woman?" the Vampire grinned, he had Minerva by the back of her throat. "That's who Albus brought to face me?"

"Unhand me… monster…" Minerva grit out, and the Vampire sent her flying through a wall with such force that even Alastor went wide-eyed. _No!_

"You bastard…" Alastor got to his feet, and he summoned his Staff with Wandless Magic.

"Alastor Moody," the Vampire grinned, his orange eyes gleaming with malice. "Did you like how I used your Magical Eye against you?"

"You've done your research on me," Alastor bought time.

"I know your scent," the Vampire said as he pulled out two shiny daggers from his coat. _Goblin forged. That's not good._ "You like?"

"Who did you steal those from?" Alastor snarled, his left hand hovering near his wand as he aimed the Staff at the Vampire.

"Steal? They were forged specifically for me," the Vampire replied. "Now… Enough talk. I have been waiting for this. The greatest Auror in British History against the most powerful Vampire on this continent."

"Come on then, filth," Alastor snarled. _Those blades were made to cut through Spells. Damn, I need to keep him away from me at all costs. One hit, and I'm done for._

The Vampire suddenly moved forward, but Alastor was faster. With one fluid motion, Alastor had his wand out as well, which he used to begin Chaining Spells with his Magical Staff. Even the 'Blood Lord' was taken aback by the unnatural speed of Alastor's barrage, and the battle was immediately turned in Alastor's favor. A majority of Alastor's Spells were cut in half by the Vampire's daggers, but the former Auror didn't lose heart. _All it takes is one mistake, and I'll have you._

"Confringo! Expulso!" Alastor chanted back to back, and as the Vampire dodged both Exploding Curses, Alastor used his Staff to smash a table into the Vampire's side. _Don't stop yet._ "Relashio! Oppugno! Orbis!"

The Vampire managed to dodge the Revulsion Jinx aimed at his daggers, and even the debris sent his way, but when the Orbis Jinx transfigured the hardwood floor into quicksand, Alastor saw his chance. With both wand and Staff, Alastor seized the slipping Vampire's body, and slammed him into the ceiling. And then the floor. And then the ceiling again. And then the walls. And then through several pieces of furniture.

"Die already!" Alastor bellowed as he sent the Vampire flying through the corridor with ten times the force that he had used on Minerva. _Minerva!_ "Kreacher!"

The Elf Apparated to Alastor's side, his clothes slick with blood and a chunk of his right ear missing.

"Master Moody?" Kreacher croaked.

"Minerva was sent through that wall," Alastor grit out, the pain in his ribs was catching up to him. "Take her back to Grimmauld Place now." Kreacher Disapparated immediately, while Alastor used his Eye to scan for the Vampire. _He's getting back up already? Bloody hell, where did_ _ **he**_ _find this thing?_ Alastor began limping towards the Vampire, he had no intention of waiting for reinforcements now.

"Ugh…" the Vampire groaned, his form mangled and bloody. As Alastor neared him, the Vampire suddenly shot up in his direction. Alastor slammed his Staff into the ground, and a shockwave of raw energy sent the Vampire crumpling into the wall behind him.

"Flagellum Inferos!" Alastor chanted as he flicked his wand like a whip, and a fiery tendril wrapped itself around the Vampire's neck. The beast howled in agony, while Alastor flicked his wand upwards, effectively latching the fiery tendril onto the ceiling. With sheer will and mind, Alastor shortened the fiery noose until the Vampire was strung up and flailing wildly. "Incendio Diabolica!"

Two jets of blinding blue flames fired out of Alastor's wand and Staff, and Alastor didn't even blink as the strung up Vampire's flesh was melted off of his bones. What remained behind was nothing more than a charred, dangling corpse.

"Come back from that," Alastor spat, and then he turned around and left. As he neared the stairs again, he saw Tonks and Kingsley limp in his direction. They were far more injured than they had been before they left for reinforcements, which only served to confuse Alastor.

"What happened?" Alastor asked.

"The Ballroom…" Tonks wheezed as she leaned against a wall, there was a nasty gash on her side. "The Malfoy Elves… They've taken the Ballroom…"

"Filius' squad is pinned down outside… They need help," Kingsley grit out. "We couldn't get past the Elves. Hagrid is trying to break through, but even he can't take too many hits now." _Hagrid? He came down?_

"Kreacher," Alastor called, and the Elf appeared immediately. "Get these two back to Grimmauld Place, and then rejoin me immediately."

"Come," Kreacher hobbled to them, and then he took them away. Alastor began making his way towards the Ballroom, his Magical Eye scanning for the Elves. Kreacher suddenly reappeared by his side, Alastor had never seen such a weary Elf before.

"Status?" Alastor asked.

"The Manor has been conquered," Kreacher croaked. "Most of the enemy's forces have destroyed or routed…"

"And us?" Alastor asked.

"Master's squad, and Aberforth's squad, have been evacuated… Too many injuries, Sir," Kreacher replied. "The giant man refused to leave, and Kreacher could not convince him." _Hagrid, he'll be the last to leave._

"Malfoys?" Alastor asked, and Kreacher grinned at him.

"Kreacher managed to take Mistress Narcissa back to Grimmauld Place," Kreacher reported. "Kreacher has sealed her in the attic."

"Well done," Alastor nodded firmly. "And her husband?"

"He injured Kreacher as Kreacher took away Mistress Narcissa," Kreacher replied. "When Kreacher returned for him, Kreacher could not stop his escape."

"Escape?"

"Elves, Sir," Kreacher replied. "Lucius Malfoy has abandoned his Manor." _Good, that'll teach him._

"And where is Albus?" Alastor asked.

"Kreacher has not seen him since he engaged the Dark Lord," Kreacher replied. _Albus… Where did you go? Why can't I see you?_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Battle of Malfoy Manor)**_

"Damn old fool!" the Dark Lord spat out, and a Golden Beam of light was his response. The Dark Lord summoned an equally powerful shield of shadow, and the Golden Beam was redirected into the wall to the Dark Lord's left, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

"Aveda Kedavra!" Lord Voldemort hissed, and Dumbledore raised debris in the way. "Crucio!" Dumbledore merely stepped aside and fired another Golden Beam at him, which the Dark Lord absorbed with his very own Silver Shield. As the Dark Lord sent the Golden Beam back, Dumbledore twirled his wand and attempted to crush Lord Voldemort with the surrounding debris. Shadows engulfed the Dark Lord mere moments before the surrounding debris crashed into him, and as a result, he did not see Dumbledore get grazed with his own Spell. _He'll crush me at this rate!_

"Agh!" the Dark Lord bellowed as he fired his shadows outwards, and the entire Hallway was leveled. Windows shattered, walls were torn apart, and the entire Manor shook. Dumbledore blocked the shockwave and flying debris with a powerful shield, which quickly became a raging inferno. With a murderous glare, Dumbledore sent the inferno forward, but the Dark Lord extinguished the flames with a wave of his wand.

"This is bold, even for you…" the Dark Lord said, but once again, Dumbledore didn't even acknowledge his words. _Something is different. This is the Albus of old._ "Tell me, is your pet the reason for this invasion?"

Dumbledore suddenly slammed his wand into the ground, and the entire Hallway began to collapse in on itself. _Mass deconstruction?!_ The Dark Lord became shadow and mist as he flew towards the old man, but it did not matter. Within a second, the walls and debris crashed into his sides, and the ceiling collapsed on top of him.

The Dark Lord found himself falling down onto the third floor, dust and embers everywhere. Silence followed his fall, and while the Dark Lord pushed the debris off of himself with Wandless Magic, Dumbledore looked down at him from the fourth floor. The Dark Lord had a second to put up a shield, which was immediately bombarded with a powerful concussive blast that sent the Dark Lord crashing through yet another floor.

If he was a mere mortal, his death would have been guaranteed. He could feel that his bones were broken, and that his vessel was beginning to wear thin. _At this rate, I'll lose this vessel. Damn him, and damn his Order. How did they even get in?_ The Dark Lord put these thoughts aside, he had to escape. Even he understood that this battle was lost before it even began. _Thirty blood-fueled Vampires are no match for Dumbledore's ilk. I need my own soldiers._

The Dark Lord managed to stand back up, and then he flew across the second floor. The Manor was utterly destroyed, and oddly enough, quite barren. The Dark Lord, of course, spotted dead Vampires everywhere, but not a single Order member. _A common tactic of theirs… Guerilla Warfare. They attack in the night, and then they flee once their job is done._

As the Dark Lord neared an open window, a Golden Pillar of light suddenly crashed down on top of him. The Dark Lord wasn't even able to make a sound as he crashed all the way down into the Ballroom, the debris crashing down on top of the Malfoy Elves. Screams and moans emanated from around him, and as the Dark Lord slowly stood back up, he heard a battle cry from outside.

Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Arthur Weasley, and Xenophilius Lovegood rushed back inside, all of them supporting minor injuries. Their battle cries died on their lips when the Dark Lord looked in their direction, these fools had walked into their own tomb.

"Geminio!" Sprout chanted quickly, doubling the debris around the Dark Lord. Flitwick immediately used the Oppugno Jinx to send the multiplied debris in the Dark Lord's direction.

"Arthur! Xeno! Run!" Flitwick ordered, while the Dark Lord stopped the debris with nothing but his free hand. With a loud grunt, he sent the debris back at the Professors, who both raised a large barrier to protect their allies. _Mistake._ With relative ease, the Dark Lord transfigured the lower half of his body into that of a massive serpents.

His victims went wide-eyed at his terrifying speed as he slithered in their direction, his right hand throwing out Curses while his left hand helped him navigate. As he drew closer to them, a Blasting Curse exploded to his right. The Dark Lord was sent rolling through the debris and dead Elves, and when he looked up, he saw Alastor Moody, an Elf, and Hagrid storm the Ballroom. _Mad-Eye._

"Kreacher, get the injured!" Moody barked out as he limped towards Flitwick and Sprout. The Dark Lord slithered back up, his serpentine body towering over the Order members. He could sense their fear, which served to bolster his shaken confidence. _Without Dumbledore here, I'll make short work of them._

"Tom!" came Dumbledore's booming voice, and the Dark Lord hissed in his direction. Dumbledore stepped into the Ballroom, his bright blue eyes almost glowing with murderous wrath. Even his Order members went dead silent as he moved further into the room.

"Look upon your leader…" the Dark Lord grinned, and the battered members of the Order did just that. "Look at the death that he has wrought…"

"You dare speak of death?" Dumbledore questioned. "All the people I've murdered… by letting **you** live!"

The Dark Lord let out a loud laugh, even he could not deny the rush of such combat.

"Lord Voldemort's will is to dominate," the Dark Lord smiled a lipless smile. "You cannot kill me, Dumbledore. I am immortal!"

"You are craven!" Sprout yelled, and the Dark Lord glared at her. "What you did to Severus… I'll kill you myself!"

"Severus?" the Dark Lord suddenly smiled once again. "Ah… You are fond of that traitor, aren't you? Is that why you've come here? To rescue him?" The Dark Lord then looked to the collapsed archway. "That is where I took his hand! That is where I shattered his right knee! He didn't even put up a fight! He begged me for mercy like a dog!"

"Enough of your games," Dumbledore ordered, and the windows exploded as his Magic poured out him with ravenous hunger. "You hide behind poisonous words… You always were a coward." _A coward?! Me?!_ "From the moment I saw you in that orphanage, I knew that you would amount to nothing."

"Lies!" the Dark Lord bellowed, his own Magic pouring out of him. The room's gravity increased exponentially, and everyone but Dumbledore was pinned to the ground almost immediately. "I AM A GOD!"

The Dark Lord sent forth a wave of shadows while Dumbledore sent forth Golden Light, and their Magic was locked in a battle for supremacy. Lightning and gusts of wind engulfed the Ballroom, and the Dark Lord threw caution to the wind. He would not be spoken down upon by a dying old man.

"DIE, ALBUS!" the Dark Lord laughed maniacally, his eyes blazing brighter than ever. For a moment, he began to overpower the Headmaster of Hogwarts, but his body's limitations quickly became apparent as Dumbledore regained his footing with a roar. Light began to devour the shadows, and the Dark Lord witnessed his right arm begin to rot. _No! NOOO!_

That's when they heard it… An ear-piercing shriek that made even the Dark Lord wince. The wall behind Dumbledore and the Order exploded, and a massive Bat-like Demon flew into the room. _What is that?!_ Claws and fangs came for Dumbledore, but Alastor Moody threw himself in the way without hesitation. The Demon's claws ripped into Moody's flesh, and it sent the screaming ex-Auror flying into Dumbledore.

The Dark Lord's body nearly collapsed due to the strain of Magic being removed, but the Demon had other plans. It shrieked wildly as it dodged Curses, and within moments, it had the Dark Lord in its grip. That's when the Dark Lord realized that this monster had bloody sacs where its eyes were supposed to be, and that it was actually skinless. With another loud shriek, the Demon flew out of the Manor with the Dark Lord in its grip.

Curses followed after them, but the Demon's speed easily outmaneuvered them. Lord Voldemort simply hung in its grip, his consciousness fading. _My vessel… It's finished…_ The Dark Lord managed to look up at the Demon's fanged face again, and he knew who this was. _Gaspard…_

Malfoy Manor had been conquered, and the Dark Lord's final thoughts were of his devastating defeat.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – In the Dead of Night)**_

"Poppy, help us!" Albus called as soon as Kreacher brought them all back, and with Poppy and Susana's help, he set a bloodied Alastor on a Conjured bed. _They expanded the room._

"What happened to him?" Poppy went wide-eyed at the sight of Alastor's right side, which was almost shredded open.

"A Demon from hell…" Xenophilius mumbled, and Poppy blinked at them. Albus could only shake his head in disbelief, he himself had no idea what that thing was. _Whatever it was, it was loyal to Tom._ As Poppy began tending to Alastor with Susana's help, Albus looked around the room. _Minerva?_ Albus quickly moved around the beds and reached hers, his eyes scanning her pale features. _Gods, no…_

"She's still alive," Remus groaned from his bed. "But she's in critical condition…" _Where is Fawkes?_

"Fawkes?" Albus called, and his Phoenix flew into the room. "Stay by her side, my friend. Heal her if you can." Fawkes landed by her bedside, his tears falling on her face. While Minerva's skin absorbed the tears, Albus walked over to Arthur, who was already helping his wife with reattaching Pomona's middle finger. "The Wards, Arthur? What happened?"

"The Elves caught us off-guard," Arthur replied, while Pomona nodded tiredly. "They could Apparate, while we couldn't. Not to mention that they outnumbered us three to one…"

"I understand," Albus said as he began looking around again. "Molly, do we have any dead?"

"None, but some are quite close," Molly replied with an almost sorrowful voice. "Snape… Poor man… Poppy isn't sure that he'll survive the night."

"Where is he?" Albus asked, his eyes flashing for a moment.

"Hestia and Kingsley helped us move him into Sirius' brother's room," Molly replied. "Pandora is with him, but she can't do much. That blade in his leg was poisoned… He might lose his leg as well." _Not if Fawkes and I can help it._

"Molly, once you're done here, tend to Kreacher," Albus said, and she gave him a quick nod. Albus moved back towards Fawkes, and he spotted Kreacher hiding himself in a corner. _After I help Severus, I need to thank him. Judging by his injuries, he did more than what we expected of him._

"Fawkes, to me," Albus said, he could already see Minerva's color returning. "Flash me into Regulus Black's room." Fawkes let out a shrill, and Albus vanished in bright orange flames.

"Headmaster?" Pandora gasped, the Headmaster's fiery entry had spooked her.

"Severus?" Albus asked immediately, and then he saw his friend on Regulus' bed. Some of the blood had been cleaned off of him, the cuts on his face were now just faint scars, and he was covered in bloody bandages that smelled rather foul. But there was one bandage that jarred even Albus. "His left eye…"

"Poppy had to remove it," Pandora all but whispered. "There was so much rot in it… Some Dark Spell…" Albus' heart twisted, but he didn't show any emotion.

"Show me his leg," Albus said, and Pandora pulled the blanket back with a flick of her wand. Albus grimaced at the sight of his infected leg, while Pandora looked away. Severus' right leg was already turning black, and the smell was so pungent that even Fawkes began to shriek. "Fawkes, help him."

The Phoenix flew down to Severus' leg, and he cried the last of his tears into Severus' wound. There was a sizzling sound, and an even more horrid stench filled the room. _I hope that will be enough… Forgive me, dear boy. I led you into such peril._

"Pandora, you-"

"He's my charge, and I'm not leaving," Pandora cut him off, her eyes suddenly piercing through him.

"Very well," Albus sighed, and then he clutched his own ribs.

"Headmaster?" Pandora asked. "Please, sit down. You're clearly hurt."

"It is nothing," Albus shook his head. "Do anything you can to help him, I beg you." Pandora stared at him for a few moments, and then she gave him an understanding nod.

"I think you should go to the attic," Pandora said, and Albus waited for her to go on. "Narcissa Malfoy is locked up there, and Sirius is standing guard."

"And Lucius?"

"He apparently escaped with one of his Elves," Pandora replied.

Albus shot Severus one last look, and then he left the room before his heart broke any further. The attic was only a few short steps away from Regulus' room, and as Albus turned the corner, he found Sirius sitting against a wall.

"Dumbledore," Sirius greeted tiredly, his right arm was in a sling while his left shoulder was bandaged up.

"Sirius, my boy," Albus approached him. "Your injuries?"

"They are nothing," Sirius shook his head, he sounded extremely distant. "If you want to talk to the Queen Bitch, be my guest…"

"That is why I'm here," Albus replied, he felt no need to correct Sirius. _She and her husband… They lured Severus into that Dungeon._ Albus quickly climbed up the steps, and he entered the room without knocking.

"YOU?!" Narcissa shrieked, she was still in her night gown. "YOU WILL-"

"Keep your fork tongue behind your teeth," Albus ordered, and the dusty vase to her left exploded. The Malfoy matriarch quickly sealed her mouth, her expression could only be described as pure fear. _Don't go down that road, Albus. Don't become_ _ **him**_ _._ "Sit down."

"You will all go to Azkaban for this…" Narcissa warned, but she did as she was told.

"Will we?" Albus stepped further into the room. "And why is that?"

"You have destroyed my home… Kidnapped me…"

"Your home full of murderous Vampires?" Albus asked. "The home where you hosted the Dark Lord? Tell me, girl… Who would send us to Azkaban? When the Wizengamot asks for proof, who will they truly sentence?" Narcissa Malfoy remained silent, and Albus knew that he had her. "This is what comes of war, Narcissa. Broken Families and death."

"My husband-"

"He will not do a thing," Albus promised her. "The Dark Lord requires secrecy above all else, and so he'll keep your husband on a leash. Like a dog." Narcissa glared at him. "Tell me, Narcissa, what will happen to your son now?"

"What?"

"What will happen to your son now?" Albus asked again, and something changed in her expression. "Where will he go? You know, don't you? He will go to your husband, and by extension, the Dark Lord." _Ronald, this better work. We have taken a huge risk by bringing her here. It's a true shame that her husband escaped._

"No!" Narcissa stood back up, and then she went wide-eyed at her own outburst.

"Yes," Albus said, he felt no pity for this woman right now. "He will follow in his father's footsteps, and one day, he will come across me."

"No… You… **You** don't do this…" Narcissa stammered, her eyes welling up.

"People like you have driven me to this savagery," Albus told her. "You want death and destruction? Then I will oblige you. Your home was only the beginning. This time… In **this** war… We will not sit idly by as your Master burns the World to ash."

"Draco is just a boy…"

"As was the Dark Lord once," Albus replied as coldly as he could. "Your beliefs created **him** , and even you must understand that one day, Draco wishes to join his father's side. He wishes to join Voldemort." Narcissa flinched at the name, and then she fell back on her seat. "But there is an alternative…"

"Alternative?" Narcissa looked up with teary eyes.

"I will allow you to keep your son," Albus said, and Narcissa just stared at him in disbelief. "You can choose, Narcissa. Do you want him to be just like his father? Or do you want him to live?" With that, Albus turned around and left the room. _Let her ponder that for a few days._

"Well?" Sirius asked as Albus came down the steps. "Are we handing her over to the Ministry?"

"I fear that with her wealth and influence, she will rejoin her Master's side before long," Albus replied. "We will keep her here."

"In a fucking attic?" Sirius asked slowly. "Dumbledore… I hate her, I won't deny that, but this is very… odd. You don't operate this way, not even in the last war."

"We won the last war due to luck," Albus said bluntly, much to Sirius' shock. "James and Lily… They bought us time with their sacrifice, but **we** did nothing. The Dark Lord was winning, my boy, even you must understand that. We can't make the same mistakes again. Not in this war." _Not in this Cycle._

"I… I understand…" Sirius said, his eyes becoming distant again.

"Speak your mind, Sirius," Albus said, and oddly enough, it felt like Sirius was trying to hide his gaze. "Sirius? What has happened?"

"It's been a long night…" Sirius exhaled. "I… I just need time to think…"

"Think about what?" Albus asked.

"Snive… Snape…" Sirius swallowed thickly. "Kreacher… I…" he trailed off. _He has seen their bravery tonight, a trait that he never expected to see in them._

"I understand," Albus gave him a soft smile. "Take your time, Sirius. These thoughts require a delicate approach."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Well?" Albus asked as Poppy approached him, and she gave him a sorry look.

"The infection has been purged, but the damage is too great," Poppy whispered. "He'll need a walking cane for his right leg… But with his right hand gone…" Albus lowered his head, a tired breath escaping his mouth. _I'm so tired._ "Nymphadora mentioned prosthetics, and if you want, I can start finding one for his right hand."

"I will leave that up to him… I've made enough decisions for him," Albus said, and Poppy rested her hand on his right shoulder.

"When was the last time you slept?" Poppy asked.

"My insomnia hasn't returned," Albus whispered.

"I didn't ask you that, Albus."

"It's been two days," Albus replied.

"Give your speech, and then find a bed," Poppy instructed, and then she left to rejoin the others. The expanded Living Room was filled with wounded Order members, while the truly injured had been moved to different rooms for silent recovery. _Severus, Sebastian, Alastor, Minerva, and Aberforth… I will check on them tomorrow._

"Gather around!" Albus said as he stood up, and the chatter died immediately. "Tonight, we dealt a heavy blow to the Dark Lord. And yes, I know that he escaped… But his vessel has been damaged beyond repair. Tonight, we have brought ourselves time." Albus then looked around, his eyes lingering on each member. "Many of us were injured, and some are circling death's door, but make no mistake, we achieved victory tonight."

"What about Narcissa Malfoy?" Mary asked, she was spoon feeding Sturgis, who had suffered a broken jaw, some soup.

"She will be used to keep Lucius Malfoy in check," Albus replied.

"A hostage, you mean," James said, and Albus gave him a nod. "And what happens when Lucius Malfoy talks to the Ministry?"

"He won't do that," Sirius replied for Albus. "What is he going to tell them? 'Oh, the Order stole my wife because I was helping the Dark Lord'?"

"Sirius is correct," Albus added. "His Master will force him to keep his silence."

"We should take Professor Snape to the Minister," Nymphadora spoke up. "His memories could truly turn the tide, and no one could argue them because of his injuries."

"I will not be taking him to Cornelius," Albus told them. "Instead, I will take him to Madam Bones."

"Amelia?" Kingsley asked, his head wrapped in a bloody bandage.

"Who are the Aurors truly loyal to?" Albus asked. _Plus, we plan to put her in power. We need a Minister who understands the Dark Arts, and who isn't a coward._

"But the Minister could-" Hestia started, but Remus interrupted her.

"Fudge only cares about his image, Hestia," Remus told her. "Think about it… What happens to him when the people find out that the Dark Lord returned during his watch? What happens when people question this country's current state due to his choices? Fudge is no fool… He'll find a way to lock us all away."

"Which is why I will go to Amelia," Albus said. "She is an honorable woman, and she holds much sway within the Ministry. With her by our side, we'll gain a stronger foothold in this war." Albus then drew in a deep breath. "Eat, rest, and celebrate. You have all done exceedingly well tonight."

"What about you?" Pomona asked.

"I must return to Hogwarts," Albus replied. "Severus' condition will be explained as a Potioneering accident."

"Will the Slytherins buy that?" Filius asked.

"They have very little choice, I'm afraid," Albus sighed. "The truth of his injuries would only serve to frighten them, or worse, give them ideas."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Snape's Office – Crack of Dawn)**_

As the Headmaster finished his tale, Ron found himself just sitting there. He hadn't said a word through any of it, mostly because he didn't know what to say. His exhaustion, mixed in with his hurt over Snape and Lord Greengrass' severe injuries, had turned him numb. So, he just sat there and listened. Dumbledore was obliviously struggling as well, but Ron couldn't bring himself to comfort the old man.

"Will…" Ron finally broke his silence, but his voice cracked immediately. "Ahem… Will Professor Snape be returning to Hogwarts?"

"Not for a while, my boy," Dumbledore replied, and Ron swallowed thickly.

"May I see him soon?" Ron asked.

"We will figure it out later," Dumbledore promised. "For now, I suggest that you get some rest. You look quite sickly."

"And you?"

"I will sleep after the announcement," Dumbledore replied, though he knew that he wouldn't.

"Alright," Ron said blandly, and then he finally began to leave the Office.

"Ronald," Dumbledore called, and Ron turned to face him. "Your idea of using Kreacher… Well done, my boy. I will not forget who the architect of our victory was tonight." Oddly enough, Ron didn't feel proud of Dumbledore's words. Instead, he felt something very different.

"I'm just really glad that you all made it out alive," Ron admitted, and then he left the Office. _I did nothing at all._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and he shut every single thought away. His mind traveled to Stoatshead Hill for a few moments, and Ron felt peace wash over him. And then, he knew what to do.

"Marty," Ron called, and his Elf appeared immediately.

"Master called Marty?" Marty bowed deeply.

"Go to Greengrass Manor at nine 'o'clock, and find Madam Roberts," Ron started. "Tell her that my conditions are taking a toll on me, and that I will not be attending my lesson today." _In my current state, I'd just be wasting both of our times._

"Marty understands," Marty replied, and then he Disapparated. _I'll rest, and prepare myself for my evening plans with the Minister. Snape wouldn't want me wallowing in grief when there is work to be done._

Ron began making his way towards the Slytherin common room, but as he neared the entrance, he stopped. _Slytherin without Snape… It just doesn't feel right._ Ron released a shaky breath, and then he turned back around. He needed a place to think. He needed Sanctuary.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! The first Battle has taken place! (The massacres don't count, I reckon)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that! The Order finally kicked some arse, which was so much fun to write. I honestly see the Order as this massive dysfunctional Family, which is made up of all types of people, united under Father Albus Dumbledore. They may fight and bicker, but when the going gets tough, they're the ones who rise up to fight.**

 **See you guys on Thursday!**


	92. Chapter 92 - Torn to Pieces

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 92 is here! It's a long, and emotional, one!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 92 – Torn to Pieces**

 _ **Daphne Greengrass'**_ _ **POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Common Room – Before Breakfast)**_

"It's Sunday, Daphne," Tracey said. "Ron's probably with his tutor right now."

"Maybe…" Daphne said, making sure to not sound distressed. _He never came back from work, and I just have a bad feeling about his absence._

"Did he show up later in the night?" Pansy asked Blaise, who shook his head. _See? Something is definitely wrong._

"I was up well past midnight, and he never showed up," Malfoy broke his silence, and the girls exchanged looks.

"He's fine," Theo waved a dismissive hand. "Just because we didn't see him yesterday doesn't mean that something is wrong. It just means that he was busy doing what he does."

"Doing what he does?" Millie asked, and Theo clicked his tongue.

"You know… Ron stuff," Theo shrugged.

"Ron stuff?" Daphne stared at the weedy boy.

"Scheming, running errands, training, brooding…" Blaise listed offhandedly. "Ron stuff." _My boyfriend doesn't 'brood'. I mean, he does… But only I get to say that._

"Wow," Tracey scowled at the boys. "You two almost sound jealous."

"Jealous?" Theo scoffed immediately. "Why would we be jealous?"

"Keep blowing air out of your arse, Davis," Blaise rolled his eyes. _Really? They're going to argue first thing in the morning?_ Daphne went to say something, but the school bell beat her.

"Let's just go to breakfast," Millie said, while Pansy stopped Tracey from escalating things.

"Jealous, she says," Theo smirked, and Daphne felt the urge to roll her eyes. _We're all a bit jealous of Ron's increasing status. He's doing what we were raised to do, and he's had no formal training. It's kind of sad, really. What will our parents think of us at this Gala? Not to mention that I'm the only person who knows about his plans to become a diplomat. Everyone else is in for quite the surprise._

"You lot go on, I just need to grab something from my room," Daphne said, and then she left without another word. The others exchanged looks, and then they left for the Great Hall. _Marty might know where Ron's been._ Daphne quickly made her way to her room, and once she was inside, she called her boyfriend's Elf. Marty cracked into the room with a wide smile, and he bowed at the sight of her.

"Mistress called Marty?" Marty asked. _Mistress again? Yay!_

"Ahem," Daphne cleared her throat, she needed to behave. "Have you seen Ron, Marty? He never came back from work yesterday, and I'm starting to get a little worried."

"Master was not feeling well this morning," Marty told her. "Master told Marty to cancel his appointment with Madam Roberts as well." _Now that's weird. Ron would never do that unless he was feeling really unwell._

"Do you know where he is? Is he at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked.

"Master is resting in his Sanctuary," Marty replied.

"I see," Daphne relaxed a little. "Thank you, Marty. You've been a great help."

"Marty lives to serve," Marty bowed deeply.

"Go back to your duties," Daphne ordered, and Marty cracked out of the room. _So he's resting in the Sanctuary, eh? I wonder what's wrong with him._ Daphne began making her way towards the Great Hall, she was actually quite hungry.

As she climbed up the stairs, she decided that she'd visit Ron after breakfast. _I just want to make sure that he's alright, that's it. No shenanigans._ Daphne smiled to herself. _Maybe a few shenanigans. Ron loves cuddles, and I'm sure he'll feel better afterwards. Wait… What about the others?_ Daphne lost her smile immediately. _They'll want to see him too. Ugh… I don't want to share. It's been ages since we got handsy with each other._

Daphne stepped into the Great Hall, her eyes immediately darting towards her friends. _I should tell them about Ron's whereabouts, just so they don't worry. But after I do so, I'll convince them to let me go up there alone. I'll just make something up in order to scare them away._ Daphne began making her way towards them, and she could see that Tracey and Theo were having a spat.

"What's going on here?" Daphne asked as she took her seat between Tracey and Pansy.

"Theo's being an insensitive jerk," Pansy frowned.

"Why? Because he's not walking around with a sorry look?" Blaise asked, while Tracey eyeballed a 'bored' Theo. _She'll never get under his skin, he's too conniving to let that happen._

"He's not acknowledging that something might be wrong with his friend," Tracey countered. "And worse, he's patronizing us for doing so."

"Ron is fine," Theo said blandly. "Leave the bloke alone, will you? He can't even fart without you girls cornering him."

"Ron is up in Sanctuary right now," Daphne told them, she had no patience for bickering before breakfast.

"He didn't attend his lesson?" Millie asked.

"He's feeling unwell," Daphne told them.

"How did you divine this information, Greengrass?" Malfoy asked.

"I looked into my Crystal Ball," Daphne smirked at him. "A talent I picked up in Divinations." _There's no need to tell him about Marty._ "After breakfast, I'll go up and talk to him. Alone."

"Is he in one of his moods?" Millie asked slowly. _I have no earthly idea._

"Yes," Daphne lied. "It's best that I go alone, otherwise you'll all spend the day recovering from his tongue lashings." _There is no denying that whenever Ron is pissed, someone goes to sleep feeling savaged._

"Taking one for the team, are you?" Pansy whispered with a slight smirk, and Daphne gave her a cold stare. "Oh… He's really upset then?"

"You can go up if you want," Daphne said, and Pansy shook her head.

"No thanks," Pansy swallowed thickly. "The last time he was in one of his moods, he actually screamed in my face."

"In his defense, you kept messing around while he was trying to help you finish **your** homework," Millie pointed out.

"It was still mean," Pansy said haughtily.

"I don't remember you having this attitude back then," Theo chuckled.

"I don't remember you being such a tool," Pansy shot back.

"Ohhh, Pansy's got claws, Blaise," Theo whistled.

"Meow, bitch," Pansy smirked, while Theo and Blaise sniggered. _Odd. The moment I mention Ron being in one of his moods, we're all on the same page again._

"So what's our plan for today?" Tracey asked. "I was thinking that we'd laze about, watch the fifth years' Duels, and then spend some time near the Black Lake."

"In this cold?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow. "No thanks, I'll hibernate in my room instead."

"I reckon that while Daphne deals with Ron, we should train the first and second years some more," Theo suggested. "I mean, think about it… The fifth years are going up today, which means that in three weeks' time, the second years will be having their Finals."

"That lines up, actually," Blaise nodded. "In three weeks, it'll be the thirteenth of December."

"And the term ends on the twentieth," Tracey added. "I think they're planning to have **all** the Finals on the thirteenth. Or at least, that's what I heard." _Thirteenth?_ Daphne made sure to look completely calm, while she panicked internally at the prospect of losing to Granger. _Ron still hasn't taught me that trick he mentioned. I know that he's really swamped right now, but I really don't want to lose to Granger again._

"I like Theo's plan," Millie piped in. "If the second years lose their Tournament, we'll all have egg on our face. Plus, I don't like the fact that they're all becoming lazy again. We need to crack down on them before it's too late."

"Just don't crack someone's skull, Millie," Daphne added. "No physical violence, alright? We need them to listen to us, not fear and hate us."

"What about you, Malfoy?" Blaise asked. "Will you be joining us?"

"The first years would certainly like that," Daphne looked to Malfoy, who was just eating quietly. "After all, you made quite the impression on them." _Especially my foolish little sister._

"I have homework to get done," Malfoy said without looking up. _Right… 'Homework'. Whatever, we're better off without him._

"May I have your attention?" came Dumbledore's voice, and everyone stopped their breakfasts. Daphne looked to the staff table, and much to her surprise, most of the Professors were missing. "I have an announcement to make, so listen well. Yesterday, Professor Snape was injured in a terrible Potioneering accident." _What?_

"Snape got hurt?" Theo whispered, while everyone in the Great Hall began whispering as well. While Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, Daphne spotted a look of genuine concern on Malfoy's face.

"His injuries were quite severe, I'm afraid," Dumbledore went on, his eyes darting towards the Slytherins. "He has been relocated to a Hospital in France, and will not be returning for the remainder of the term. As such, I will be taking over his classes." Excited chatter came from the Gryffindor table at that, and every single Slytherin looked to them. _Are they excited to have Dumbledore teaching us? Or are they glad that Professor Snape got hurt? Probably both._

"Furthermore," Dumbledore went on. "Professor Snape's Potions Club will not be running anymore, at least not until he returns. His planned tests and exams are also cancelled, with the exception of the O. W. L and N. E. W. T students, who will be studying under me as they did with Professor Snape. As for the Dueling Club, Professors Lupin and Flitwick will be returning to Hogwarts shortly. They will run the Dueling Club for today. That is all, you may recommence your breakfasts." With that, Dumbledore sat back down in his chair.

"Bloody hell, is this why he wasn't around yesterday?" Theo asked, while Malfoy just stared at Dumbledore.

"An accident…" Pansy all but whispered. "They had to move him to France for treatment? It must've been a horrible-" Daphne elbowed Pansy in her side, and then she jerked her head towards Malfoy. "Oh…"

"I have to go," Malfoy stood up and left, and no one said a word. _He's probably running off to send a letter to his Family. Everyone knows that Snape is quite close with the Malfoys._

"Damn… I'm going with him," Millie said, and everyone blinked at her. _Pardon?_ "What? Ron's not here, and Flint is watching Malfoy leave."

"He really is," Theo frowned at the seventh year. "He still hasn't learned his lesson?"

"Stupid people do stupid things," Daphne reminded them. "Just be careful, Millie. People like Flint don't forget their enemies."

"Let's all go down," Blaise suggested. "One person isn't enough."

"What about breakfast?" Theo asked.

"Just get Marty to bring you food, but don't let Malfoy see him," Daphne instructed. "I'll go find Ron, he probably has no idea that Professor Snape was in an accident." _He's not going to take this well. Despite their differences, I know that he looks up to Snape._

"What about the first and second years?" Tracey asked. "Are we still dragging them off to train after that announcement?"

"Snape might not be here, but that doesn't give them a free pass," Millie replied. "You heard the Headmaster, right? The Dueling Club is still happening, which means that our goals haven't changed. Ron would say the same, you know it." _Millie is laying down the law. I like it._

"Alright, let's split up," Daphne said, and they all got out of their seats. Their fellow Slytherins eyed them as they left, but no one said anything about it. Daphne shot a subtle look towards the Gryffindor table, and much to her annoyance, she found quite a few of them grinning. _Look at the twins… They seem far too pleased about Snape's accident._

As they entered the Entrance Hall, Carey Ductu caught up to them.

"Hold it right there," Carey called out, and they all stopped immediately. "Where are you six off to?"

"Malfoy left to owl his Family about Professor Snape's accident," Blaise stepped up. "We spotted Flint eyeing him, and so we decided to stick with him."

"Flint's acting up again?" Carey asked.

"We're not taking any chances, that's all," Daphne replied, and Carey gave her a curt nod.

"When Ron returns from his… business… tell him to come find me," Carey ordered. "Professor Snape's accident is going to have some ramifications for us all." _Of that, I have no doubt._

"I'll let him know," Daphne said, and Carey left without another word.

"You don't think that the party is off, do you?" Pansy asked her friends.

"Yeah, it's not happening," Theo gave her a sorry look. "I'm sorry, Pansy, we all know how hard you worked on that." Pansy pouted miserably, and they all began making their way towards the Moving Staircase.

"I'll see you guys later," Daphne said as she broke away from the pack.

"Good luck," Tracey waved her off.

Daphne quickly made her way up towards the seventh floor, she didn't need any pesky Gryffindor spotting her. As she neared the Sanctuary, Daphne found herself at a loss. Telling Ron about Snape was definitely important, but she knew that once she did, her boyfriend would quickly lose his interest in her. _Am I being clingy? Maybe… But for Merlin's sake, I barely see him as it is. A girl has her needs!_

Daphne paced in front of the invisible door, and like always, it appeared out of thin air. Daphne quickly made her way inside, and once the door was sealed behind her, she looked around for Ron. He wasn't brooding in his favorite chair, nor was he destroying dummies in the sandpit. _Which means…_

Daphne crept towards the bed as stealthily as she could, and within seconds, she was staring down at a sleeping Ron. _Aw! Look at him! He's so cute!_ Daphne smiled at Ron's peaceful features, he was sleeping on top of the blankets. _He probably fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. Should I wake him up? If he skipped his tutoring, it probably means that he's exhausted and needs his rest._

While Daphne pondered on what to do, her eyes scanned Ron's body. He was still wearing yesterday's clothes, which wasn't a good sign, and he had dark circles under his eyes, which meant that he hadn't slept well. The more she stared at him, the more she realized that she needed to leave. And yet, she just stood there. _Don't do it, Daphne, don't bloody do it._ Daphne slowly put one knee on the bed's edge, and when Ron didn't stir, she crawled up on the bed. Slowly, and carefully, she slithered closer to Ron. _Daphne Greengrass, you're being extremely creepy. Just let him sleep._

Daphne cuddled his middle as she rested her head on his sternum, and Ron showed no signs of waking up. _YAY!_ Daphne smiled like a mischievous toddler as she smelled in his scent, he always smelled so nice. She knew that it was wrong to disturb him while he slept, but the allure of cuddling her sleeping boyfriend was too strong. _I bet mother would have a stroke if she saw me right now. How exciting! This is so much better than cuddling Ezekiel at night!_

Daphne's mind was still debating her actions, but after a while, she simply closed her eyes and relaxed. Instead of focusing on how weird she was, Daphne found herself listening to his steady heartbeat. She concentrated on the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed, and she noticed that some of his breaths were longer than others. _This is actually really nice._ Daphne nuzzled her face into his chest, and he still showed no signs of waking up.

But then, he tried to turn in his sleep. Daphne's hold stopped him, and as a result, his eyes began to open. _Oh, shite!_ Daphne found herself staring into his bloodshot eyes, and neither of them said a word. _Tell him that it's a dream. Wait, that'll never work. C'mon, Daphne. Think._

"Um… Hello," Daphne broke the silence, while Ron just blinked tiredly.

"Daph?"

"This isn't what it looks like," Daphne whispered.

"It looks like you found me sleeping, and decided to fondle me," Ron groaned, and then his head dropped back on his pillow.

"Well, it's exactly what it looks like then," Daphne chuckled nervously. _Caught red-handed… This is kind of embarrassing._ "I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's alright…" Ron sighed out, his gloved hand moving to the back of her head. "What time is it?"

"Around nine 'o'clock," Daphne replied.

"Barely three hours then…" Ron mumbled, his eyes closing again. _Pardon?_

"You were up all night?" Daphne asked, and Ron merely nodded. _Now I feel worse._ "Um… Do you want me to leave?"

"No," Ron replied. "Come up here instead." Daphne blinked at him, and then she smiled widely. _Woohoo!_ Daphne quickly moved up, and he adjusted his body to its side so that they were facing each other. He even moved the pillow so she could rest her head on it as well. However, much to Daphne's disappointment, he kept his eyes closed. _He's going back to sleep?_

"Do you want me to sleep next to you?" Daphne whispered, and Ron gave a slow nod.

"I'm too tired to do anything… Sorry," Ron apologized. _Disappointing, but it is what it is. This is still pretty great._ Daphne scooted closer to him, and he placed his left arm over her side. Their faces were inches apart, so Daphne placed her forehead against his. _I was up quite late last night with the girls, so a nap wouldn't be so bad. Just ten minutes._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Common Room – Nearly Midday)**_

The bright light of a camera flash woke him up, and he immediately heard Tracey curse herself. _What the fuck?_ Ron opened his eyes, only to realize that he was basically attached to Daphne.

"Tracey?" Daphne groaned. "Is… Is that a camera?"

"Um… No," came Tracey's voice, and Ron suddenly felt his girlfriend shoot up. _Ugh… These people…_ Ron sat up groggily, while Daphne fired out of the bed.

"You two!" Daphne snapped. "Give me that!"

"It's just a picture," Pansy jumped between Tracey and Daphne.

"This is not funny," Daphne fumed, her long blonde hair suffering from a severe case of bedhead. "Give it here right now!" Ron watched the three girls through blurry vision, a dull expression on his face.

"It's a really cute picture, Daphne," Tracey grinned, while Daphne grit her teeth. "Shame that you can't see Ron's face though."

"It was too busy snuggling into her neck," Pansy laughed. "We figured that Ron had killed you, but here you two are, sleeping in each other's embrace." _They figured that I had killed her? Why would I do that?_ Ron cleared his agitated eyes with his palms, what was the time?

"What time is it?" Ron croaked, his throat incredibly dry.

"Around midday," Tracey replied, while Pansy kept Daphne at bay. "It's time to wake up, sleepyheads."

"Yeah, yeah…" Ron waved a dismissive hand, and then he yawned long and hard. As he began to move out of the bed, Ron remembered the past day's events. _Snape…_ Ron immediately felt the strength leave his bones, while his mind drifted to the state of his friend. _They took his hand, his eye, and he might never walk properly again._ Righteous wrath stirred in his chest, but he was too spent to give it life. Instead, he just sat there and watched the girls fight over Tracey's camera.

"Ron! Tell her to give me her-" Daphne started, but she stopped when she saw his face. "Look at what you did, Tracey. He was asleep, and now look at him."

"He does look rather… ghastly," Pansy grimaced, and Ron rolled his bloodshot eyes.

"Thanks," Ron said in a bored manner. "Can you three fight somewhere else?"

"We're not fighting," Tracey denied. "This is just how we talk to each other."

"That's fucking healthy…" Ron drawled, and then he massaged his face. _I'm up, so I might as well do something productive._ Ron slid out of the bed, his legs feeling slightly wobbly.

"Ron, you look like shite," Tracey pointed out.

"Again… Thanks for the commentary," Ron said as he stretched his back. He then looked to Tracey's camera, which she quickly hid behind her back. "Mind explaining yourself?"

"Well… Daphne mentioned that you were up here, and she left to collect you," Pansy started, and then she looked to Daphne. "We waited for three hours, but she never came back. So Blaise sent us up here to see what was going on."

"And you just happened to have a camera on you?" Daphne questioned.

"No, we went back down to get it," Tracey said a little too proudly.

"You two looked really cute, and we figured that it would make a nice photo," Pansy said. "Trust me, when you see it, you'll love it."

"That photo will not see the light of day," Daphne hissed with narrowed eyes.

"I need a shower," Ron spoke to himself, and after he picked up his wand from the side table, he began making his way towards the exit.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tracey called as the girls caught up to him. "We need to tell you something important."

"What is it?" Ron asked as he reached the door.

"Daphne?" Pansy asked.

"Ron, the Headmaster made a troubling announcement this morning…" Daphne started, her eyes fixed on his.

"Was it about Snape's accident?" Ron asked, and Daphne just stared at him. "I already know." _At least people are believing Dumbledore's story._

"How?" Tracey asked. "You weren't even there."

"I found out yesterday," Ron replied. "After I came back from work."

"Is that why you disappeared?" Pansy asked, and Ron simply turned around and opened the door.

"How did the school take it?" Ron asked, while Tracey closed the door behind them.

"The Slytherins are quite shocked by it," Pansy replied. "I mean, no one can believe that Professor Snape was careless enough to get caught up in such a terrible accident. But then again, why would the Headmaster lie? No one really knows what to say."

"And the rest of the school?" Ron asked, his every step feeling heavy.

"The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws are… Well, they don't really care much for Professor Snape," Tracey replied. "I saw a few of them looking rather concerned, but the majority were indifferent."

"Let's be realistic here," Daphne said. "Professor Snape has made quite the reputation for himself, so their indifference isn't unwarranted. However, what I do find annoying is that the Gryffindors seemed almost pleased about his injuries." _Injuries? Dumbledore told them that much?_

"What injuries?" Ron asked quickly.

"Actually, we don't know," Daphne replied. "We just know that he had to be moved to France for treatment."

"We really need St. Mungo's back," Pansy added.

"You said the Gryffindors were pleased?" Ron asked, something shifting behind his eyes.

"Your brothers… The twins, that is," Daphne said slowly. "I saw them laughing and making jokes." _Fuckers._ Ron grit his teeth, but he didn't say anything.

"They're competing today, by the way," Tracey added. _The fifth years are Dueling today… I completely forgot._

"Though we're not watching them," Pansy said.

"Are you lot still training the first and second years?" Daphne asked, and Ron's ears perked up.

"Yeah, and it's going quite well," Pansy replied. "Turns out, they actually missed our lessons. Isn't that adorable?"

"They like the attention," Daphne noted as they entered the Dungeons. "This is good news. I was worried that we'd have to twist their arms a little."

"You lot decided to continue their training?" Ron asked, he rather liked the sound of that.

"It was Theo's idea," Tracey said, she almost sounded prideful. "He mentioned that the Finals are getting closer each day, and that we haven't been doing enough to secure the wins."

"Open," Ron hissed, and the entrance slid aside. The girls exchanged looks, but they didn't say anything. "I'll take a shower, and then join you lot."

"And I'll join you after I clean up a bit," Daphne added.

While Daphne went towards the girls' dorms, and Tracey and Pansy went towards the Training Area, Ron made his way to his room. _I'll take a shower, help out with the training, and then prepare for my meeting with Fudge. I need him to accept my help, and to offer me the position that I want. It's past time that I made my way into the Ministry._ Ron entered his room and shut the door, and immediately after, he spotted Malfoy sitting on his bed.

"I heard about Professor Snape," Ron said, and Malfoy spared him a quick look. _He's holding together quite well, but then again, he doesn't know about the injuries yet._ "I'm really sorry."

"Godfather would never make a mistake like that," Malfoy said almost angrily. "The old man is lying to everyone. There is a good reason why Godfather has no rival in the Art of Potion Making." _Shite, it makes sense that he wouldn't buy the lie._

"What else could it be?" Ron asked.

"I don't know…" Malfoy looked back to his book. _I guess that's the end of our conversation. I'll need to warn Dumbledore about him. The last thing we need is him snooping around for the truth. At least not yet._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Common Room – Afternoon)**_

While the first and second years finished up their sandwiches, Ron was approached by Daphne on the steps.

"Mind if I sit next to you?" Daphne asked, but he knew that she already planned to.

"Please do," Ron replied, and Daphne sat down to his left.

"I noticed that you're just hanging back, while Blaise and Millie have taken over the training," Daphne said.

"I honestly can't be bothered," Ron admitted. "My presence is enough, I think."

"According to Theo, it's more than enough," Daphne said. "Apparently, before you showed up, they were all quite laidback."

"Which is why I'm still hovering around," Ron told her.

"Ron, are you sure that you're alright?" Daphne asked. "You're very quiet today."

"I'm just worried about Professor Snape," Ron replied, which was actually true. No matter how hard he tried to put it out of his mind, he kept thinking about the horrors inflicted upon his friend and mentor. _Lucius Malfoy hurts the people I care about once again. I don't care when it happens, but he will die for his crimes._

"Me too," Daphne said. "I mean, we're not close or anything, but he's sort of like our Guardian here."

"He is, isn't he?" Ron smiled a little.

"A really mean, cold Guardian," Daphne said, and Ron lost his smile. "But still… I just hope that he's alright." _He's not._

"Is there anything you need?" Ron asked, he didn't want to talk about Snape.

"I was just wondering if you were planning to teach them yourself," Daphne said. "Ron, some of them really want you to, but they're afraid to ask."

"I'm that intimidating, am I?" Ron said, not a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Your temper is well known, and right now, you look extremely uninviting," Daphne replied.

"Blaise and Millie are doing just fine, though your sister needs to stop interrupting them," Ron shot a look towards Tori.

"I'll let her know," Daphne sighed. "I swear, she just ignores my advice at this point. And yet somehow, she's able to keep her reputation."

"She's funny, and extremely friendly," Ron shrugged. "People tend to enjoy the company of individuals like her. Plus, her father is the richest man in Magical Britain." _And he's also severely injured._ Ron drew in a deep breath, maybe he needed a Calming Draught. _No, that'll just make me cold. I need Fudge to like me, not throw me into Azkaban._

"Her antics will catch up to her, I promise," Daphne said. "Well… Since you're not keen on teaching the first and second years, why don't you show me that trick with shields?" _What trick?_ Ron gave her a confused look, and she figured that he had forgotten about his promise. "You remember the promise you made me, right? You said that you'd teach me a method of taking down Granger's unbreakable shield." _I did promise her that, and then I forgot._

"Shite, Daph… I'm really sorry," Ron grimaced. "I completely forgot about that."

"It's alright, you've been really busy," Daphne said, but Ron felt a strong pang of guilt. _I shouldn't make promises, and then just forget about them._

"Let's go find a secluded spot," Ron stood up, and Daphne followed suit. They made their way to a corner, and once they were there, Ron and Daphne brandished their wands.

"This is exciting," Daphne smirked.

"Take a few steps back, and I'll show you the trick," Ron said, and Daphne did as she was told.

"This won't hurt, will it?" Daphne asked.

"Only if I do it wrong," Ron shrugged, and she gave him a deadpan look. "Right, put up a shield please."

"Protego!" Daphne chanted, and Ron noticed some eyes traveling towards them.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Expelliarmus!" Ron chanted back to back, making sure to be as precise, and quick, as he could be. Daphne's shield blocked the stunners, but the Anti-Magic Spell shattered her shield right before the Disarming Charm knocked her wand out of her hand.

"Woah! Did you see that?!" came Sebastian's voice, but Ron chose to ignore them. Instead, he picked up Daphne's wand and approached her.

"See? Quite simple, but effective," Ron smiled at her, making sure to have his back facing the others.

"Finite Incantatem, eh?" Daphne smirked as she took her wand back. _Did she just say 'eh'? Weird, she doesn't usually talk like that. I talk like that._ "We learnt it back in first year, and to be perfectly honest, I thought it was a useless Spell."

"I thought so too, but then Madam Roberts proved me wrong," Ron said. "I recommend that you bombard Hermione's shield with a few well-placed stunners, and when she's about to do that Non-verbal Disarming Charm of hers, you move aside and cast Finite Incantatem. Her shield will break, and she'll be in the middle of concentrating on her Non-verbal Spell. That's when you attack."

"And I'll be able to stun her in the face," Daphne hummed, making Ron cock an eyebrow. "Why stunners though?"

"The wand movement for a stunner is really simple," Ron replied. "It's about saving yourself time in-between Spells. If you cast complicated Spells, it'll give her time to put you on the defensive. Trust me, you don't want that. So use stunners as a way to get her shield up, and right after you cast the Anti-Magic Spell, twirl your wand and fire a Disarming Charm. Again, it's the fastest option because the wand movements Chain together."

"Chain?" Daphne asked.

"Um… They flow into each other really well," Ron explained. "You go from flicking your wand up to pointing it, and then you twirl it right after. Say the incantation at the right times, and you'll get her." Daphne nodded slowly, she honestly didn't think like that in Duels.

"Neat trick, Ron," Daphne said. "Now… Do you mind teaching me a trick against you?" _Wow._

"Just pull your top up mid-Duel, and I'll go slack-jawed on the spot," Ron replied, and Daphne smacked his arm.

"Damn pervert," Daphne scolded, though her lips formed a rather cute smile. Ron leaned forward and kissed her, completely ignoring the first and second years' stares.

"I'm sorry for forgetting," Ron whispered, and Daphne just patted his cheek. "You should practice that against a dummy first, just to get the timing right. After that, you can try it on me."

"Thanks," Daphne said. "I'm actually really glad that this trick is so simple. I've got three weeks to master it."

"Three weeks?" Ron asked.

"Tracey heard that the Professors plan to have **all** the Finals on the thirteenth of December," Daphne replied.

"And where did she hear this?" Ron asked.

"I have no idea," Daphne replied. "Some Professor probably slipped up to a student, who then told others, until eventually, Tracey overheard someone talking about it." _This school and its rumors._ "I'm going to go find myself a dummy to practice on."

"Alright," Ron nodded. "Just find me if you need help."

"Will do," Daphne smirked, and then she left towards the others. Ron decided to return to the steps, mostly because he could keep his eyes on everyone from there.

"Break time is over," Ron said as he passed by the younger students. "C'mon, get back to work."

"Will you be teaching us?" Lysandra asked quickly, and Ron stopped walking.

"That trick was really neat, but we have no idea which Spells you were casting," Mathew said, while the others packed up their things. Ron looked towards his friends, all of whom waited for his decision. _I really don't have it in me to tutor so many people right now._

"I will train you next time," Ron told them. "For now, I want you all to practice on your aiming skills. Most of you miss the simplest of Spells, and that can't happen during the Tournament Finals. Blaise and Theo will help you with that, while Millie and Tracey will teach you how to dodge effectively. No more jumping, understand?"

"We understand," Hestia said.

"And we'll remember your promise," Flora added.

"And I'll be watching," Ron told them all, his eyes scanning each person's face. "Now go on."

The younger years rejoined his friends to continue their training, while Ron walked over to the steps and sat down. As he fixed his sight of Astoria, who was looking more spent than her friends, Pansy approached him and sat down.

"Is there a reason why you're not helping them?" Pansy asked. "Most of them are only here because you're here, Ron."

"I'm not really in the mood, Pans," Ron shrugged. "I didn't sleep well last night, and I've got this meeting with Fudge coming up. I'm not in the right mental state to be teaching them." Ron then looked to her. "Is there a reason why you're sitting here and not helping?"

"I'm not a Duelist," Pansy mimicked his shrug. "They know that, so they don't take me very seriously. Plus, I just did my nails this morning, and I don't want to get them dirty." _Nails? Really?_

"Right," Ron said, and then he heard the common room entrance open. Loud chatter emanated from within the common room, and Ron figured that the Dueling Club was finished for the day.

"By the way, Carey Ductu mentioned that you should find her," Pansy said.

"Pardon?" Ron blinked at her.

"She wanted to speak with you," Pansy replied.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Ron asked.

"I forgot," Pansy smirked. "Seeing you and Daphne cuddled up distracted me."

"Pans…" Ron sighed out, and then he stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Pansy waved him off, and Ron left for the common room. He managed only a few steps inside before Clara spotted him from near the entrance. _No Carey and Samantha though._ Clara waved him over, and Ron quickly made his way over to her.

"Clara," Ron greeted, while she gave him a bright smile. "I heard that Carey wanted to speak with me."

"We're having a meeting with the older delegates right now," Clara told him. "Come on, I came here to fetch you." With that, she began to leave the common room. Ron followed after her, he was quite pleased with the fact that they had gone out of their way to include him. _The Triumvirate know better than to disregard me now. Good._

"What's this meeting about?" Ron asked. "Also, how did the fifth years do?"

"The meeting is about coming up with a strategy to optimize our House Point intake," Clara started. "And the fifth years…" She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Only one fifth year made it into the Quarter Finals."

"What?" Ron went wide-eyed. "What the fuck?"

"Martha Hopkirk is the only Slytherin who made the cut," Clara told him. "The rest tried their best, but they were beaten out by better students. As shocking as this is, Hufflepuff dominated today."

"Hufflepuff?" Ron frowned. _I don't give a shite about their best, they fucking failed the House._

"Cedric Diggory and his friends," Clara clarified. "Your brother Fred lost to Diggory, while your brother George got disqualified for using his own variation of the Explosive Curse. He figured that he'd get away with it because he technically didn't break any rules, but Professor Lupin was in no mood for games today." _Of course he wasn't, he fought in a battle last night._

"We only managed one…" Ron drew in a deep breath.

"Have you heard about Snape?" Clara asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "Everything that could go wrong is going wrong." As they neared the meeting room, which was an abandoned classroom, Clara stopped him. "Try not to yell at the fifth year delegates, alright? Not only are they sore from their losses, but they still don't like the fact that you're above them in the Hierarchy."

"I'll be epitome of kindness and understanding," Ron rolled his eyes, and then he entered the room.

"Good, you found him," Carey smiled at the sight of him, and he gave her a nod before taking his seat on the opposite end of the joined tables.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started," Samantha said, while Clara took her seat by Carey's left. "The first order of business is Professor Snape's absence. With him gone, our House Points will take a hit."

"It's no secret that Professor Snape grants Slytherin quite a few House Points, while also making sure to deduct Points from the other Houses," Carey said. "Each Head of House, except Professor Sprout, openly favor their own House. With Professor Snape gone, we'll be earning Points at a declined rate."

"As it is, the first and second years are being given less Points due to Slytherin's massive lead," Clara said. "The Professors have figured out how Slytherin got so far ahead so quickly, so they're being careful in handing us House Points."

"Which is utterly unfair," Maria Cortez scoffed. "They're punishing us for taking the lead…"

"It is what it is," Ron said, and Maria frowned at him. "The Professors want a competition, not a massacre. If the other Houses feel dejected by Slytherin's massive lead, they won't work as hard in their classes. What we need to figure out is a new method of earning House Points. My first years have gotten us the lead, but they can no longer bring in vast amounts of Points."

"And with Snape gone, we're in deep shite," Atif added, and Ron gave him a nod. _He's still honoring our deal and keeping the peace. I'll be sure to throw him a bone soon._

"What about the Quidditch Team?" Jack Hughes asked the Triumvirate.

"A lost cause," Carey replied. "They lost to Gryffindor in almost record time, and I doubt they'll beat Diggory and Ravenclaw's new Seeker."

"Who is Ravenclaw's new Seeker?" Septimus asked.

"Cho Chang," Arthur Belmont replied. "Her friend, Marietta Edgecombe, told me. It's being kept secret for now, they plan to surprise Hufflepuff next Saturday. Apparently, she's quite good on her broom."

"Ravenclaw is the only House still in our league this year," Clara said. "Let's get the word out and ruin their surprise. Hufflepuff is at the bottom of the ladder, so their victory will do little to damage our own standing."

"I'll get on it," Arthur gave her a nod.

"I thought Gryffindor was the lowest House," Martha said.

"Check the Hourglasses," Ron said. "Their Quidditch winnings, plus some shady Points from McGonagall and the other Professors, have moved them back to third place."

"Fucking favoritism," Jack frowned deeply. "Why does the Headmaster keep handing them freebies?"

"Now you see our dilemma," Carey said smoothly. "With Professor Snape gone, we have lost the only Professor who favors us. I predict that by the end of this term, we'll only have made around one hundred Points outside of the Finals. And I'm being extremely generous here." _Fuck me._

"The other Houses have a great chance at catching up to us now," Samantha said. "Winning the Dueling Tournaments is now vital to ensure our victory this year."

"Nice going, fifth years," Maria frowned at the fifth year delegates.

"None of that," Clara shut her down. "Concentrate on your own year-mates, Maria. Let us worry about the fifth years."

"Are the rumors true?" Ron asked. "Are **all** the Finals for the year-based Tournaments happening on the thirteenth of December?"

"What?" Atif gaped at Ron, while the others looked to the Triumvirate.

"It's true," Carey said, her eyes fixed on Ron. "I spoke with Professor Snape, and he told me as much. The Professors are even planning to make an event out of it. They're thinking of inviting parents, and using the Quidditch Pitch as the staging ground."

"We only have three weeks?" Martha rubbed her forehead.

"Each of you need to get your year-mates into the Training Area," Samantha ordered. "Why is it that I've only seen Ron and his charges training down there? What are the rest of you doing?"

"If I recall correctly, it was the job of the A-ranks to train the C-ranks," Jack replied. "You're in A-rank, aren't you, Samantha?" _Isn't he also in Rank A?_

"Weasley is doing his part with the D-ranks, so why aren't you?" Maria looked to Samantha. _Again, she's in Rank A as well? They're just blaming Samantha for their own lack of action._

"We thought we had more time, but now that we know the situation, plans have been made to address the issue," Carey said. "The C-ranks will be training with the A-ranks over the next three weeks, while Clara and I work with the B-ranks."

"And before you pass on the blame, Jack," Clara started. "Just remember that you're in A-rank as well, and I haven't seen you lifting a finger." Ron rubbed his forehead, why was he surrounded by lazy incompetents?

"Hughes, Cortez, and Atif…" Ron said, his features turning cold. "You're all A-ranks as well, right?" They all gave a nod. "Were you waiting for Samantha to take the initiative, or were you three just too lazy to do anything yourselves? Stop blaming the person who is running the House, and take up the initiative yourselves."

"What's done is done," Carey sighed. "Fighting amongst ourselves won't achieve anything. I need you delegates to go around Slytherin, and bring me the class schedules of every student. We need to set compulsory training dates as soon as possible." _Don't give them time to fuck around._

"Get it done by tonight," Ron ordered, his eyes scanning each delegate member. "Carey, you can borrow my friends to help you three. I mean, going through that many schedules will take time, so share the burden with them."

"Thank you, Ron," Carey gave him a nod. "Now, the next order of business. We need to optimize our House Point intake. Dueling Tournaments not counting, we are in dire need of a new strategy. The first years have run into a wall with the Professors, which means that their quotas will need to be lowered."

"We will also need to limit how many Points we lose from now on," Samantha added. "If we keep losing Points at our current rate, we'll lose more Points in the next month than we'll gain."

"Why do we lose so many House Points?" Ron asked, though he already knew the answer. _Idiotic behavior like bullying, and not turning in homework on time._

"Right now, the fourth years lose the most amount of Points," Clara said. "We need to have a chat with them before they become worse than the second years were."

"We can do that," Atif volunteered. "Most of them are suffering from end of term fatigue, so giving them an incentive to do better will bring them around."

"Which reminds me," Hughes piped in. "What's happening with the party? I don't think that we should have it tonight, especially after what we just learned about Professor Snape. It'll be in poor taste. Instead, I recommend that we wait until the last Saturday before the Christmas Break."

"That could be our incentive," Martha said. "We can announce that if we meet a certain objective, then we can have this party."

"All in favor?" Carey asked, and everyone nodded. "Very well, that's what we'll do then. However, unfortunately, the food and alcohol were delivered this morning."

"The Elves were kind enough to store and preserve the food for us," Clara told them. "But we can't expect them to hide the alcohol as well. Elves, as we all know, can become addicted to alcohol." _They can?_ "Plus, we can't have the other Professors find out that we're allowing minors to drink."

"We need a place to stash the alcohol where it won't be found," Carey said. "Any suggestions?" _The Chamber of Secrets._

"I can take care of that," Ron volunteered.

"And where will you hide it?" Samantha asked.

"In a secret room that only I know about," Ron replied, and everyone gave him curious looks. "Trust me, it will never be found."

"Alright," Clara smiled at him. "We will place Preserving Charms on it to keep it fresh and cool, and you can take the three barrels from our room." _Three barrels?! Are they trying to get all of Hogwarts drunk?_

"How is he going to smuggle barrels of alcohol without being seen?" Arthur asked.

"Ron broke into Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night, and no one even knows about it," Carey told them, and they all looked quite taken aback. "He can take care of it."

"You broke into Gryffindor Tower?" Cortez asked him, and Ron gave her a nod. "How?"

"Magic," Ron replied, and both Carey and Clara's lips twitched upwards. "Is there anything else that we need to discuss?"

"No, I think that's everything," Samantha said. "Everyone has jobs to do, so get to it. We need to put in our best over the next month, otherwise we'll damage our lead."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Seventh Floor – Nearly Evening)**_

The Triumvirate had made their announcement, and then sworn everyone to secrecy over the rumors being true. The plan was to train everyone over the next three weeks, while the other Houses waited for confirmation from their own Heads of Houses. Despite the fifth years standing no chance of winning their year-based Tournament, Ron felt confident in the rest of the House.

"Ice Mice," Ron said to the Stone Gargoyle, and it slid aside for him. Ron made his way up the spiral staircase, and he knocked on the Headmaster's door.

"Come in," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron made his way inside.

"Ron?" Remus looked back from his chair, while Ron closed the door. _Remus? What's he doing here?_

"Hello, Remus," Ron greeted, and then he stepped further into the Office.

"You look… sharp," Remus eyed Ron's tailored black suit.

"This is my best suit," Ron gave him a half-smile, and then he looked to the Headmaster. "I'm heading off for my evening plans, Headmaster."

"Evening plans?" Remus asked before Dumbledore could say anything. "Are you heading into Diagon Alley?"

"Um… Yes," Ron replied, and Remus looked to the Headmaster.

"He's going alone?" Remus asked, and Dumbledore gave a simple nod. "Headmaster… It's not safe. He needs supervision." _Fuck, not this again._

"Ronald is only going to the Leaky Cauldron," Dumbledore told Remus. _Plus, I'll be with the Minister._

"I'll be having tea with someone," Ron added. "I really don't need a Professor hovering over my shoulder." _Should I tell him that I'm meeting with Minister Fudge? No, he'll tell my parents, and they'll just bother me with their shite. I'd rather get this done as efficiently, and as quickly, as possible._

"Headmaster, the streets are not safe," Remus said with a meaningful look, and Ron shared a quick glance with Dumbledore. _I'm not supposed to know about Order business. This is… inconvenient._ "I have nothing going on right now, so I'll accompany him." _Ugh._

"Very well, Remus," Dumbledore said, and Ron shot the old man a frown. Dumbledore ignored it, while Remus got out of his chair. "Ronald, you are to do as Professor Lupin says."

"I understand," Ron fixed his features before Remus turned around. "Shall we head off, Professor?" Remus gave a slow nod, and then he looked between Ron and Dumbledore. Ron made his way over to the fireplace, and he took a pinch of floo powder. "The Leaky Cauldron." With that, Ron cast the powder into the flames. They roared to life, and Ron stepped through them and into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Mr. Weasley," a tough-looking wizard greeted, the man was literally standing in front of the fireplace. Ron eyed the man's short and wiry grey hair, while Remus entered the Leaky Cauldron from the fireplace behind Ron.

"Have we met before?" Ron asked the wizard.

"No," the man replied curtly. "My name is John Dawlish, I'm to escort you to the Minister."

"The Minister?" came Remus' voice, but Ron chose to ignore him for now.

"Can I see some proof of identity?" Ron asked 'John Dawlish', who quickly showed Ron his Auror's Badge. _You can never be too careful, Ron._ "Right… Please, lead the way."

Dawlish gave Ron a nod, and then he began heading for the stairs. Ron and Remus followed after him, and Ron could sense Remus creeping ever closer to his side.

"The Minister, Ron?" Remus whispered, and Ron gave a nod. "You're meeting with Minister Fudge?"

"Yes, Remus," Ron looked to the man, only to see a look of complete bewilderment. John Dawlish sped up a little, he was clearly giving them their privacy.

"I… Wait… What?" Remus blinked. "Why?"

"I'm making new friends," Ron smirked a little.

"Friends? With the Minister?" Remus asked. "What are you up to, Ron?"

"Slytherin stuff," Ron said as they made their way towards the upper floors.

"Ron, be serious here," Remus whispered. "Why is the Minister meeting with you? Is this about The Quibbler?"

"Maybe," Ron shrugged, he had no intention of revealing a thing. _I didn't tell even Lord Greengrass about this, so why would I tell Remus? Plus, Remus will run straight to my parents, and I don't need that headache._ "Remus, this meeting is meant to be a secret. No one can know about it, understand?"

"A secret meeting with the Minister…" Remus muttered under his breath, this was unbelievable. Wasn't Fudge supposed to be 'extremely busy'? Why was he meeting with Ron, a child, in the first place?

"The Minister is waiting inside," Dawlish gestured to a black door. "I'll be standing right outside, so don't try anything foolish."

"Professor, would you mind waiting with Mr. Dawlish?" Ron asked, though it didn't come out as a question. Remus simply gave a slow nod, his puzzled eyes fixed on Ron's. Ron walked up and knocked on the door, it was time to focus on his mission.

"Come in," came Fudge's voice, and Ron entered the room with a bright smile. "Ah, Mr. Weasley. We meet at last." Ron closed the door behind himself, his smile aimed at the portly little man with the grey rumpled hair.

"Minister Fudge, it's an honor to meet you," Ron walked into the room, and then he shook the Minister's hand firmly.

"An honor?" Fudge laughed, he had to lean back a little to look at Ron's face. "My word… Do all you Weasleys grow so tall? I remember the first time I met your father, I had to ask him to lean down a little!" Fudge laughed at his own joke, while Ron just smiled more widely. "Come, come… Take a seat, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, Minister," Ron said as they both sat down from across each other. "And please, just call me Ronald."

"Pea soup, Ronald?" Fudge offered, and Ron looked to the steaming hot dish of soup on the coffee table. "Tom's soup is a guilty pleasure of mine, he makes it fresh just for me."

"Thank you, I would love some," Ron accepted Fudge's polite offer. Fudge flicked his wand, and the ladle began to pour soup into two clean bowls. "I've eaten here before, and quite honestly, Tom's a great cook. Does he make all of his meals?"

"He does indeed," Fudge said as he handed Ron his bowl, and then he had some from his own. "Ah, perfect." Ron tasted the soup, and he had to admit, it was pretty good. _But no meat, which is a shame._ "Let's have a chat before we get down to business, Ronald. The truth is, I'm very interested in the tales that I've heard about you."

"Tales?" Ron asked, though he knew which tales Fudge was referring to.

"Resisting Fifty Veelas, buying The Quibbler out from under Barnabas Cuffe, slaying a Mountain Troll and saving Harry Potter's life in the process," Fudge listed, a hint of excitement on his face. _The Quibbler? Why would he list that as an accomplishment?_

"Did Mr. Cuffe tell you about The Quibbler?" Ron smiled.

"He did!" Fudge laughed once again. "He is an old friend of mine, and he rushed into my Office demanding that you be forced to hand over The Quibbler to him. He was in a right state, he was. But I told him no! After all, you broke no laws whatsoever. Barnabas was simply outmaneuvered by a clever young man who kept himself hidden until the right moment." _Fucking Cuffe… He threw a tantrum to the Minister himself, and he expects me to believe his story?_

"I'm sorry that I bothered your friend so much," Ron chuckled, and he mentally noted that Cuffe and Fudge were 'old friends'. _They probably scratch each other's' backs often._

"Oh, forget him," Fudge said humorously. "He has always been a sore loser, and you certainly hit him where it hurt. Though I must say, I did not believe him when he first came to me. After all, what would a young man such as yourself need a magazine for?"

"I've always loved stories," Ron replied, and Fudge laughed once again. _He is certainly … excitable._ "The Quibbler is my ticket into the big leagues, Minister. I won't refute that."

"I figured as much," Fudge said. "The name 'Ronald Weasley' comes across my desk quite often now. The things I hear beggar belief, but I do enjoy hearing them. Oh! Could you sign this before you leave?" Fudge suddenly produced a Chess Weekly cutout from his robes, and Ron made sure to keep his composure. "It's for my secretary, you see… She only graduated from Hogwarts last year, and she's an avid fan of yours. I swear that she sneaks your brochures into my Office."

"Do you have a quill?" Ron asked. "I can sign it right now so that I don't forget."

"Certainly," Fudge smiled, and then with a flick of his wand, he summoned a quill and an inkpot. Ron took the cutout, and he signed his name on the blank white space under his exclusive picture. "Her name is Rebecca, by the way. Did you know her? She was in Hufflepuff, I think."

"I can't say that I did," Ron replied as he wrote down 'to Rebecca'. "Here you are, Minister."

"Thank you," Fudge took the cutout. "You can never keep your staff happy enough, Ronald." _Staff? Or your secretary? It's obvious that she handed him the cutout personally, otherwise, this weird cunt carries around a picture of me wherever he goes._

"Do you have anything else for me to sign?" Ron smiled. "Perhaps a contract?"

"I see that you are keen to get started," Fudge said. "I was hoping to pick your brain a little more before we started discussing business."

"We'll have other opportunities, Minister," Ron said. "After all, neither of us are going anywhere. Not to mention that I have to be back at Hogwarts before dinner." _I don't have to, but I want to. I think they're serving Shepard's Pie tonight._

"Very well, I won't keep you out of school longer than necessary," Fudge smiled, and then he set his bowl of soup down. Ron followed suit, while Fudge pulled out a long piece of parchment from his other pocket. _Is that my contract?_

"You have deep pockets, Minister," Ron joked, earning a chuckle from the older wizard.

"I have my suits lined with Expansion Charms," Fudge told him. "As Minister, I often have important documents on my person." _Is that so? That's useful information, and I need to remember it._ "Madam Bones was quite impressed with your work, as was I. Tell me, how did you convince the French Families to help you? They generally want nothing to do with Britain, or its problems."

"I convinced Madame Maxime, and she convinced the Families," Ron replied, he saw no need to lie. _Plus, she deserves the credit for this._ "She is quite loved in France, and the Older Families respect her greatly."

"And she is your friend," Fudge nodded slowly. "Well, on behalf of the British Ministry, I thank you. This Gala is shaping up to be an International sensation, and its success will benefit us all tremendously. But… I cannot give you what you want." _Fuck._ "Not exactly, that is."

"And why is that?" Ron asked, making sure to sound civil.

"I cannot justify making a thirteen year old into an International Diplomat, the public wouldn't understand," Fudge said apologetically. "Despite said thirteen year old's accomplishments." _Once again the Universe rams its cock in my arse._ "However, I have personally thought of a solution. Here, please read this." Ron took the piece of parchment, his eyes scanning the document.

"Special Diplomatic Consultant," Ron read, and then he looked to Fudge. _It sounds respectable, at least._

"It's a new position, one that will have the same pay and benefits as the Officials working within the Department of International Magical Cooperation," Fudge said rather proudly. "You will serve as a 'consultant' in the negotiations with the French, while Madame Maxime will represent her own country as a Diplomat."

"So I'm to have a boss?" Ron asked, this wasn't good enough.

"Not at all," Fudge replied, much to Ron's confusion. "Ronald, you will get what you asked for, while we use your new title to justify your role within the Ministry. No sane adult will understand why a thirteen year old is being given such an important role, but with this position, we can you justify your new role within the Ministry. You will act as an International Diplomat, and we will skirt any bad press along the way." _I see._

"The only thing that I'm not getting is the status of an International Diplomat," Ron summarized, and Fudge nodded.

"You will be paid a salary of three hundred Galleons a year, which is less than the average adult, but it's fair considering that you will only be helping with the French," Fudge explained. "You will also be granted the same privileges and benefits that come from being an International Diplomat."

"Could you please elaborate on these benefits?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Fudge said. "Let's say that you want a Portkey… Now normally, you'd be put on a waiting list, but since you work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, you'll be given your Portkey on the spot. If you want information on someone, we have entire records at your disposal. If you want to holiday overseas, the Ministry will pay for your trip. You will also be given access to the Ministry's resources should you need to put together an International Gala." _Bloody hell, this all sounds rather useful._

"You're making me an International Diplomat without giving me the title," Ron said. "Instead, I'll be a Special Diplomatic Consultant. I have to admit, you are beginning to convince me."

"Beginning?" Fudge asked, he had been certain that the boy would be pleased.

"Yes, beginning," Ron adorned a more serious expression. "You see, it's the title that I wanted. I wanted the World to know of my new position, and how I had managed to procure it."

"I understand that," Fudge said. "You want your efforts to be recognized."

"I do," Ron replied. "I took the initiative, did the work, and now I'm not being given what I deserve. Tell me, which other Diplomat is bringing aid to our country?"

"There are a few-"

"There are none," Ron said firmly, and Fudge blinked at Ron's changed demeanor. "We're the ones who are helping someone else's country, so no Diplomat is focusing on Britain. Now I, a 'thirteen year old', am bringing thousands of Galleons into your depleted coffers, whilst also strengthening the bond between the French and the British. A bond which has yet to recover from the Great War." Ron then drew in a deep breath, he needed to remain calm.

"Minister Fudge, how would you feel if the Albanian Minister refused to properly acknowledge your contributions?" Ron asked.

"I would say that that's his prerogative," Fudge lied.

"There are no cameras in here, just us," Ron's eyes dug into Fudge's. "I'm being honest with you, so please pay me the same respect."

"I would not be pleased," Fudge admitted, making sure to keep eye contact.

"I want what I asked for, not this made up position that no one will respect," Ron handed the contract back.

"The public will have my hide, Mr. Weasley," Fudge sighed. "How do I explain hiring you as an International Diplomat without you having any prior experience in the field?"

" **We** tell them the truth," Ron replied. "I own a magazine, Minister. And right now, we're in the middle of sending brochures and adverts everywhere. I can easily print the whole story on these brochures, which will find their way into people's homes. I already have quite the reputation all over Europe, and this will only spread it further. Now… You can either be known as the man who gave into non-existent peer pressure. Or, you can be known as the Minister who rewards hard work no matter a person's background. Which one do you want?" Ron then stood up.

"You have until Tuesday to write up a new contract for me," Ron fixed his suit. "I know that you need my help, and I want to give it to you… But not for free. Just like you, I want my efforts to be recognized."

"I will be leaving for Albania tomorrow, and I won't be back until Friday night," Fudge told him.

"Then have Madam Bones take over," Ron suggested. "She and I know each other, and if she has your permission, she can make this happen. Just think of our mutual success, Minister Fudge. We could save this country from economic collapse if this Gala accomplishes its goals. Plus, the people need some good news. Otherwise, they'll start rioting in the streets."

Fudge stared up at Ron for a few moments, and then he let out a long breath.

"Go to her Office on Tuesday after your classes end," Fudge conceded, and Ron held back his grin. "She will have a contract ready for you."

"I'll also take the same salary and benefits that you were willing to offer," Ron said. "Thank you for your time, Minister. I will see you at the Gala."

"Indeed you shall, young man," Fudge stood up, and after they shook hands, Ron exited the room with a victorious smile. _The moment I brought up mutual success, he changed his mind. In the end, everyone just wants to further themselves._

"Goodnight, Mr. Dawlish," Ron said as he closed the door behind him, and the Auror gave him a curt nod. "Professor, let's get going." With that, Ron began to make his way back down to the fireplace. Remus quickly caught up to him, his brow furrowed.

"You're not going to explain this meeting to me?" Remus asked, his voice slightly stern.

"Pardon?" Ron shot a quick look back. _Since when do I answer to you?_

"Ron, you just met with the Minister for Magic, and you are acting like it's not a big deal," Remus said.

"Because to me, it isn't," Ron told him. "Remus, I'm friends with powerful people, and I've gotten used to meeting people like Fudge. Trust me, they're nothing special."

"Do your parents know about this meeting?" Remus asked. _And there it is._

"No, they don't," Ron replied. "And you're not going to tell them either."

"Ron…" Remus sighed. "Why are you pushing them away like this?"

"I'm pushing them away?" Ron frowned, why did people always blame him? "Have you seriously forgotten all the shite they've pulled over the last two years?"

"No," Remus said tiredly. "But Ron, they're your parents-"

"Spare me your emotional tripe, I have no use for it," Ron said harshly, much to Remus' shock. "You are a Professor of Hogwarts right now, and not my parents' spy. If you tell them about my personal affairs, there will be consequences." Remus looked utterly jarred, and he stopped walking immediately. Ron shot another look back, but he decided not to stop. _He can catch up when he wants._

Ron flooed back to the Headmaster's Office alone, an annoyed look on his face. Dumbledore looked at him from behind his clawed desk, and when he didn't see Remus, his eyes became fixed on Ron.

"Will I be needing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, while Ron walked up and took a seat.

"No, he'll be here soon enough," Ron replied, his expression softening. _Was I too harsh? Fuck me, I need to get my shite together._ "Pull out your chessboard, Headmaster. I need to talk to you about something."

"Very well," Dumbledore said, and then he reached into his desk and produced a chessboard. Ron began placing the pieces on the board, and he heard the fireplace roar to life from behind him. "Remus, all is well?"

"Yes, Headmaster," Remus replied, his eyes lingering on Ron's back. "I will be in my Office should you need me." With that, Remus left the Office quietly.

"Ronald, what happened?" Dumbledore asked once Remus was truly gone.

"I might have been a little… cruel," Ron sighed out, the pieces falling out of his hands. Dumbledore watched quietly as Ron leaned back in his chair, his red hair falling over his face.

"Severus is on your mind," Dumbledore stated, his voice sagely.

"Constantly," Ron admitted. "I just want to see him for myself, that's all."

"He has not woken up yet," Dumbledore told him. "When he does, Fawkes will return to me immediately."

"I'll still have to wait though, right?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, his features softening. "Be patient, dear boy. Severus will return to us in time, and once he does, we'll be there for him." Dumbledore then leaned back in his own chair. "What else troubles you?"

"Draco Malfoy knows that you were lying," Ron replied, and Dumbledore didn't even looked surprised. "None of the Slytherins really believe you. We all know just how skilled Professor Snape is, and getting caught in an accident is far too unlike him."

"And yet, they'll have to settle for my words," Dumbledore said, and Ron gave a slow nod. "As for Draco Malfoy…" Dumbledore pulled out a letter from his robes. "He was trying to send this to his father."

"You stole his mail?" Ron blinked.

"I used the Confundus Charm on his Owl," Dumbledore replied. "A terrible breach of privacy, I know, but we must be vigilant in these times. Do you wish to read it?" _Not really._

"Just give me a summary," Ron said, his eyes lingering on the letter.

"He does not believe me, as you said, and he wishes to visit Severus in France," Dumbledore started. "He has also included a small report about you in this letter."

"What?" Ron frowned deeply. _I'm not even surprised, actually. His father no doubt put him up to it._

"He planned to alert Lucius of your meeting with Cornelius Fudge, and of your plans to control Slytherin from the shadows," Dumbledore went on. "He mentioned something called the Silver Triumvirate…" _Shite._

"It's a Slytherin thing, please ignore it," Ron said quickly. "And yes, I am indeed controlling Slytherin, but not from the shadows. After all, we have plans for the House of the Cunning." _I can't let them follow their parents into a life of death and evil, especially the younger ones. They deserve a chance to find their own identities, just as I have._ "What do you plan to do with that letter?"

"I will Magically remove everything about you from it, and then hand it over to Narcissa Malfoy," Dumbledore replied.

"It's a shame that her husband escaped," Ron said, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement. "Has she given into our threats? Is Malfoy to stay with her?"

"Give her time, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "It hasn't even been a full day yet."

"The sooner she decides to keep her son to herself, the sooner I can work on him," Ron said. "A person's surroundings help shape them, and if he begins living with people who despise the Dark Lord, he'll see that bastard for what he truly is."

"You are going well out of your way to help Draco Malfoy," Dumbledore smiled a little, while Ron just shrugged.

"It's the right thing to do," Ron said, his eyes moving down to his own lap. "Malfoy is a prick, but I just don't see him as a murderous lunatic. And… He's had it rough lately. The next few months will be even worse for him, but at least he'll be far away from You-Know-Who."

"That alone is worth all the risk," Dumbledore stated. "The less people that Tom can corrupt, the better." Dumbledore then looked to the Chess pieces. "We have some time before dinner, shall we play a game?"

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **William Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Ministry of Magic – Early Morning)**_

The hustle and bustle of the Ministry didn't sit well with him, he genuinely preferred breaking Curses placed on the damp, dark dungeons of Ancient Wizards. His mother and father had not easily accepted his passion for Dungeon diving, but now that he was sitting here, he was truly glad that he had chosen his own path. _I'd hate to become a paper pusher… Seriously, how do these people not get bored of their jobs?_

"There he is," came Charlie's voice, and Bill's face lit up. "My long lost brother."

"Charlie," Bill smiled from ear to ear as he stood up, his muscular younger brother had just entered the waiting area. Behind Charlie was a smiling witch, one with short black hair and deep brown eyes. The brothers embraced each other, and Bill felt a feeling of bliss wash over him. _It's been too long._

"I've fucking missed you," Charlie whispered, and Bill tightened his hold.

"I've missed you too," Bill breathed in his brother's scent. _He smells like the outdoors, as always._ After a few seconds, the brothers broke apart with content smiles.

"Bill, this is Kirsten Domitor," Charlie introduced, and the black haired witch stepped forward.

"A pleasure to finally meet you," Bill smiled at her, and she shook his hand. _Oh, she's got quite the grip._ Bill wasn't really surprised by the fact that Kirsten was quite muscular, after all, she and Charlie tussled with Dragons for a living. "Charlie has told me so much about you through his letters."

"Is that so?" Kirsten shot a teasing smile at her boyfriend, who just grinned in response. "Well, he's told me quite a lot about his 'cool' big brother."

"Cool?" Bill chuckled, he already liked this witch.

"I never once said the word 'cool'," Charlie denied immediately. _Uh-huh._

"Don't listen to him," Kirsten giggled. "Whenever he speaks of you, his entire face lights up."

"Are you done?" Charlie groaned, while Bill let out a genuine laugh. _He did always love following me around, even at Hogwarts he found any excuse to approach me._ "Bill, where are your things?"

"In my pocket," Bill replied, and Charlie cocked an eyebrow at him. "Shrinking Charm, Charlie. All of us Curse-Breakers modify our trunks. You never know when you'll need to spend weeks inside a Dungeon."

"Fair enough," Charlie laughed as he shook his head. "Let's get out of here, eh? Just being inside this building is giving me anxiety." _Me too._

"Actually, let's drop by and see dad first," Bill suggested. "It's Monday, so he should be in his Office." Charlie and Kirsten exchanged quick looks, and Charlie adorned a more serious expression. "Do mum and dad not know about her yet?"

"No, they don't," Kirsten replied a little haughtily. _Bloody hell, Charlie… How long are you going to put this off?_

"Let's go meet dad," Charlie said. "All of us."

"Are you sure?" Kirsten asked, adorning a softer voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Charlie nodded, and they all began to head towards the elevators. Bill moved to Charlie's right, his eyes lingering on Charlie and Kirsten's trunks. _Those are quite large, which can only mean one thing._

"You two planning on staying for long?" Bill asked.

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "At least until New Year's Eve." _That's great!_

"How did you two manage to get so much time off?" Bill asked.

"We didn't," Kirsten replied. "Augusta Longbottom has partnered with the Fawley and Shafiq Families in order to open up a Dragon Reserve here in Britain. Our Reserve asked for volunteers, and we both signed up immediately."

"So you'll still be working," Bill nodded to himself.

"Hardly," Charlie smirked. "We're just helping set up things, and maybe training the British Dragonologists a bit. I mean, Britain has never had a Dragon Reserve before, so they only know theory."

They entered the elevator, and Bill clicked the second floor button. The elevator jerked to life, and it began descending down to the second floor.

"So, where are you two planning to stay?" Bill asked, and the couple exchanged unsure looks.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Kirsten replied.

"The Burrow," Charlie replied at the same time.

"Charlie…" Kirsten sighed. "I don't mind staying at the Leaky Cauldron again."

"It's not safe, and you know that," Charlie countered, and Bill blinked at his brother. _Has he told her of the Order?_ "I'll convince mum, trust me. And we'll only stay there for a few days, just to appease mum. After that, we can stay at the Leaky Cauldron together."

"Right," Bill smirked. "Good luck with that, little brother."

The elevator jerked to a halt, and they all stepped out.

"Now if I remember correctly, dad's Office is that way," Bill pointed, and they began heading towards the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

"Where are you staying, Bill?" Charlie asked.

"With mum and dad, at least until I can get my own apartment," Bill replied.

"Ha! You didn't find a place before coming back?" Charlie laughed. "Rookie mistake, brother." _Yeah, I know, but things have been really hectic, and the Goblins weren't happy about my transfer._

"You both sound like you don't want to stay at the Burrow," Kirsten noted, and both brothers exchanged knowing looks.

"We love our parents, and our childhood home," Bill started.

"But the Burrow can get overcrowded," Charlie added.

"Plus, we're too used to living by ourselves," Bill piled on.

"Mum and dad will just mollycoddle us, not to mention the lack of any freedom," Charlie finished. "I've already told you everything, love. We won't be allowed to drink, or sleep in the same bed, or share a smoke, or stay up late doing our own thing. Trust me, it can get to a person's head rather quickly. Which is why I was hoping that Bill had found an apartment."

"I tried, but the Goblins left me out to dry," Bill sighed. "They weren't pleased with my request to transfer here." _Ah, there's dad's workplace._ "I'll tell you guys later."

They entered the tiny Offices, and just as Bill remembered, barely anyone was working in here. They made their way towards Arthur's Office, and once they entered it, Bill was shocked to find towering pieces of parchment. _Bloody hell, what happened in here?_

"Dad?" Bill called, and Arthur Weasley's head popped up from behind a man-sized stack of dusty papers.

"Bill?" Arthur's eyes widened, and then he looked to Charlie. "Charlie?"

"Surprise!" Charlie said loudly, a wide grin on his face. Their father let out a happy laugh as he rushed to them from behind his work, and before they knew it, both of them were being pulled into a loving embrace.

"My sons," Arthur laughed happily. "When did you get here? Why didn't you send any word of your arrival?"

"Charlie and I wanted to surprise you and mum," Bill replied, he was just a bit shorter than his father.

"Consider me surprised," Arthur kissed their heads, and while Charlie tried to move away from his father's love, Bill was just content to be near the man again. _I've missed him terribly._ "And who is this?"

"Dad, this is Kirsten Domitor," Charlie introduced as he took a step back. "She's my girlfriend."

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Arthur's eyes flashed with excitement, while Bill grinned at Charlie and Kirsten. _Here it comes!_ "I like your hair, can't say that I've met many witches who wear their hair so short."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Kirsten smiled and shook the man's hand. "Short hair is a must against Dragon Fire, a lesson that I learnt the hard way."

"Of course," Arthur's smile grew wider. "Now that you mention it, it makes complete sense. I assume you two met at the Reserve."

"We did," Charlie replied, this was going well. "Kirsten is actually a couple of years older than me, and she's the leader of our team."

"She certainly looks… formidable," Arthur joked, though there was a hint of bemusement in his voice. In all of his life, he had never seen such a muscled witch. _Don't laugh at them, just enjoy Charlie feeling uncomfortable._ Charlie shot a look towards Bill for help, but Bill just shot him a wink.

"She is quite formidable, but also very gentle and kind," Charlie said, clearly trying to talk up his girlfriend.

"And how long have you two been dating?" Arthur asked Kirsten.

"Almost a year now, but we were seeing each other on and off ever since Charlie arrived at the Reserve," Kirsten replied truthfully, while Charlie just closed his eyes. Arthur Weasley clearly understood what 'on and off' meant, and he shot Bill a quick look. _Yes, dad, they were having casual sex._

"Well…" Arthur smiled awkwardly. "You're practically a Weasley already then, eh?" Bill let out a strangled laugh, while Charlie smacked his own forehead. "What?"

"Dad… Really?" Charlie sighed out, while his girlfriend looked thoroughly amused.

"I'm really happy to finally meet you, Mr. Weasley," Kirsten smiled at the man. "Charlie has told me such amazing, and funny, stories about you. Is it true that you tricked the Ministry into letting you keep a flying Ford Anglia?"

"I did indeed," Arthur chuckled. "I'll show you when you stay at the Burrow with us. You are staying with us, aren't you?"

"She is," Charlie said quickly, he had recovered in time to seize the opportunity. "But only for a little bit. We're actually going to be working at a Reserve here in Britain, so we'll be away from home a lot." _Liar. He wants to stay at the Leaky Cauldron with his girlfriend, but also save face with mum._

"How long are you two staying for?" Arthur asked.

"Until New Year's Eve," Charlie replied. "After that, we have to go back to Romania."

"Can't you get a transfer here like Bill?" Arthur asked, he already looked upset over the thought of Charlie leaving.

"Not really," Charlie looked to Bill again, and this time, Bill decided to step in.

"Dad, remember what I told you about the Goblins?" Bill asked.

"They weren't happy with you," Arthur nodded slowly.

"Getting a transfer is no simple task, especially on such short notice," Bill explained. "Charlie's entire life is in Romania right now, so he can't just pack his bags and leave."

"But you pulled it off," Arthur said.

"Gringotts is a massive business all over the World," Bill said. "Dragon Reserves are rare enough as it is, and there's only one in all of Britain."

"Which is extremely new, and not hiring," Charlie added.

"Arthur! You in here?!" came a voice from outside, and Arthur quickly popped his head out of the door.

"What is it, Jordan?!" Arthur called out.

"Gaia Project team needs extra hands again," the wizard named Josh replied. "We drew the short straw. Again." _Gaia Project? Dad is helping with that? That's not even his Department._

"I'll be right there!" Arthur called out, and then he looked back to Charlie. "We'll talk about this tonight, alright?"

"Right," Charlie sighed out, he knew that he was in for a 'work at the Ministry' talk.

"It was nice to meet you," Arthur smiled at Kirsten, and then he looked to Bill. "Bill, come outside for a second. I need to talk to you before I head off." Bill gave a nod, and he followed his father outside. Once Bill had closed the door behind himself, he joined his father near an empty cubicle.

"What is it, dad?" Bill asked.

"We're not staying at the Burrow at the moment," Arthur replied, and Bill blinked at him.

"Why? What's happened?"

"A lot," Arthur replied with a distant look. "One of the Order's members, Elphias Doge, was murdered in the streets. The war is here, son, and we can't afford to be careless."

"Right," Bill gave a firm nod. "Where are we staying then?"

"I can't tell you," Arthur replied.

"The Fidelius Charm?" Bill asked, and Arthur gave his bright son a proud smile.

"Go to the Headmaster's Office in Hogwarts," Arthur instructed. "He'll send you to where your mother and I are staying currently. Now… One last thing. Does Charlie's girlfriend know about the Order?"

"I'm not sure," Bill replied. "But knowing him, probably."

"Take her with you then," Arthur said. "She shouldn't be left alone, especially in Diagon Alley."

"Is Diagon Alley not safe as well?" Bill asked, he dearly wished that he knew more about the Order's movements and plans. _Now that I'm back, I'll be right by dad's side for everything._

"No place is safe, son," Arthur replied. "Especially for us Weasleys, and our loved ones. You take care of them both, Bill, do you understand? I'm leaving them in your care."

"You can count on me, dad," Bill smiled, and Arthur patted his right cheek.

"I know, son," Arthur said proudly. "Welcome home."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"This is a terrible idea," Bill stated, they were waiting in line to grab three pints.

"Don't be such a girl," Charlie smirked. "It's just one pint each."

"We're going home to mum, Charlie," Bill reminded him. "How do you think she'll react when she finds out that we stopped for a pint before coming home?" _She'll tear us new ones._

"Here's a thought," Charlie pretended to think. "Let's not tell her."

"She'll smell it," Bill said blandly, he had been caught by his mother before. "She's like a bloodhound, and you know it. Not to mention that it's so early in the day… I haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

"Merlin, do you have a twat between your legs?" Charlie asked. "We have one pint, talk a little, and then we can go home."

"Fine," Bill sighed. _When we do get caught, I'll get blamed for this._ Bill shot a look back to see Kirsten securing a free table for them. "Charlie, have you told her about the Order?"

"Um… Yeah," Charlie replied offhandedly.

"Bloody hell, Charlie… What were you thinking?" Bill frowned at his little brother. "You've put her in danger by telling her about the war."

"She's agreed to join," Charlie told him. "Look, I really love this witch, Bill, and I don't want to lie to her. And she's stronger than you think. When I brought it up, she agreed to fight by my side immediately. Plus, Dumbledore ordered me to recruit potential members, and that's what I've done."

"Charlie, people are going to get killed out there," Bill said gently.

"I work at a Dragon Reserve," Charlie rolled his eyes. "Our lives are constantly in danger, and trust me, I've seen idiots get burned down." _Really?_

"Alright," Bill relented. "I'm sorry, little brother. I just don't want you to regret telling her when things get really hairy."

"She's the one who agreed to join, and I'll always respect that," Charlie said, much to Bill's surprise. _He's grown up._ Bill smiled a little to himself, he was truly glad to be home once again. "There is one thing though…" _Huh?_

"What?" Bill asked slowly.

"I might have mentioned Ronnie's run in with You-Know-Who…" Charlie all but whispered, and Bill immediately lost his smile. _That was meant to be a secret._

"You bloody moron-"

"It just came out," Charlie interrupted. "And then I… blathered on… about Ronnie's other issues." _Oh, for fuck's sake._

"Merlin, Charlie," Bill felt the urge to smack his brother.

"We were both drunk, and I needed proof of the Dark Lord still being alive," Charlie said quickly. "As for the rest, I just needed to talk to someone about it…"

"You just told me that she agreed immediately," Bill said in a scolding tone. "So which one is it?"

"She did… After I told her everything," Charlie swallowed thickly. "You can't tell anyone, Bill. Dad will have my hide if he finds out, and I don't even want to think about what Ronnie will do."

"What? You're scared of Ron?" Bill frowned. "Honestly, I have half a mind to smack you right now. You spilled Family secrets to some… Some girl that none of us even know."

"Careful," Charlie frowned immediately. "If things keep going the way they are, she'll be a Weasley someday soon." Bill was a bit taken aback, but he didn't lose his frown.

"So she knows everything about Ron?" Bill asked. "His conditions? His scars?"

"Yeah…" Charlie deflated. "She's promised not to say a word about it, but I don't think Ron will care much about that. He's not the forgiving sort."

"Honestly, why do you all make him sound like such a terror?" Bill asked. For the last two years, every time someone sent him a letter about Ron, it was riddled with negative things. _Especially Ginny's letters. Honestly, what the hell happened to those two? They were always so close._ "He's got problems, I can understand that, but none of us are perfect either."

"Trust me, you haven't met him since he left for Hogwarts," Charlie moved up in the line. "Three pints of whatever is cheapest."

"Here you are," Tom the Bartender poured the beers. "Six Knuts."

Bill paid the man, while Charlie took two pints. Bill took his own, and they began walking towards Kirsten. Bill felt the urge to question Charlie more about Ron, but he decided to hold off on his interrogation.

"Here you go, love," Charlie said as he handed Kirsten her pint. "Enjoy cheap British beer."

"If it's anything like cheap Romanian beer, I'll love it," Kirsten smirked, and then she took a massive sip. "Perfect. It tastes just like piss." Bill couldn't help but smile, he quite liked this witch. _She's literally a female version of Charlie._

"I told Bill," Charlie said as they both sat down, and Kirsten gave a slow nod.

"Is that why he was scolding you?" Kirsten asked Charlie, who just took a sip from his beer. Kirsten looked to Bill, a resolute look on her face. "I didn't come here to teach the British on how to handle Dragons. I'm here to fight for what I believe in. I'm glad that Charlie told me everything, it gives me the chance to stand up against the coming darkness. And, with me watching his back, your brother might not die doing something stupid."

"Yeah, no one has the power to stop that from happening," Bill said, his features softening. "I'm glad that you're fighting with us, Kirsten. But Charlie had no right to spill Ron's personal issues to you. Not even our siblings know about them, and we're forbidden from mentioning them."

"I understand that," Kirsten said. "Your little brother has had a rough go of things, and you're clearly very protective of him. I won't say a word to anyone, but if you ever need my help, you can count on it." Bill gave her a nod, there was no point in arguing about this. _What's done is done. All we can do now is keep moving forward._

"We'll tell the Family that you're here to fight the Dark Lord," Bill said. "We won't mention you knowing anything about Ron, alright?"

"We understand," Charlie gave a nod. "So… Where do you think mum and dad are staying?"

"Probably in an Order safe-house," Bill figured. "We'll find out soon enough."

They drank their beers and talked more about each other's jobs. Bill told them about the latest tomb that he had explored, and about the Ancient Seals used by the wizards of old to hide their Arcane Knowledge. He even told them about the mysterious tablet that they had found hidden within the treasure, and about the Dark Beings that were described on said tablet.

Once they were done with their beverages, they made their way to the fireplace.

"Just tell Dumbledore that you're on board, and he'll accept you," Charlie advised his girlfriend. "He's a bit loony, but there isn't a wizard alive who can compare to him."

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Bill said clearly, and then he tossed the floo powder into the fireplace. It blazed to life, and Bill stepped through first. He immediately found himself back in Hogwarts, which brought a nostalgic smile on his face. Charlie and Kirsten stepped into the Office, while Bill looked around for the Headmaster.

"He's not here?" Charlie asked. "Headmaster Dumbledore!"

"Don't yell," Bill clicked his tongue.

"Yes, please don't yell," came Dumbledore's voice, and he stepped into view from the back of the Office. Both Weasleys smiled at their old Headmaster, while Kirsten eyed the old man with awe. "William and Charlie Weasley, it is good to see you both again."

"Likewise, Headmaster," Bill gave a polite nod.

"You're looking younger these days," Charlie joked, earning a chuckle from Dumbledore.

"I certainly don't feel like it," Dumbledore smiled his kind smile, and then he looked to Kirsten. "I know your presence. You helped smuggle a certain Creature out of Hogwarts once." Kirsten's eyes widened, and she shot a panicked look towards Charlie. "I owe you a debt of gratitude for that. Hogwarts is no place for a Dragon. After all, they live happier lives with their own kin." _He hasn't changed a bit._ "I am Albus Dumbledore."

"Kir… Kirsten," she introduced herself. "Kirsten Domitor. I studied at Durmstrang, and I'm here to join the Order." Bill and Charlie bit back their chuckles, she looked quite flustered and intimidated. "If you'll have me, Sir."

"There is always a place for the brave in our ranks," Dumbledore said soothingly. "I look forward to fighting alongside you." Kirsten gave a quick nod, while Dumbledore looked to Bill. "Twelve Grimmauld Place is your destination, William. Your mother, and the others, are all there. We are using it as our Headquarters." _I swear, he reads people's minds._

"Thank you, Headmaster," Bill said. "Who else knows about 'Twelve Grimmauld Place'?"

"Just the Order," Dumbledore replied. "Oh, and your brother Ronald." _Really?_

"Ron knows about the Order's Headquarters?" Bill asked, while Charlie cocked an eyebrow.

"I told him about it due to his frequent departures from Hogwarts," Dumbledore told them. "As for the Order, Ronald has not been informed on such matters." _Good, he's just a kid._

"Grimmauld Place," Charlie suddenly spoke up. "That's Sirius' home. Bloody hell, I completely forgot about it."

"The Fidelius Charm is an extremely powerful Spell," Bill told his brother. "And the Headmaster is the Secret-Keeper. Only he can divulge the whereabouts of the Order's Headquarters."

"And what happens if he is killed in action?" Kirsten asked.

"Then everyone he's told become the Secret-Keepers," Bill replied, while Dumbledore just smiled at him. "Do we have any other safe-houses? What about the Burrow?"

"For now, we only have one," Dumbledore replied. "But our new allies are quickly securing more. You will meet them soon, I imagine. Now, be on your way. Someone is coming towards my Office." Bill shot a look towards the door, while Charlie prepared the fireplace. _I always suspected that the old man could 'sense' presences, and this confirms it. Is it because he's the Master of Hogwarts? It must a Line-of-Succession Charm, or at least a variant. Whoever is the Master of Hogwarts can sense the castle's-_

"Bill, let's go," Charlie called, and Bill broke out of his thoughts. _Right._

Bill gave Dumbledore a parting nod, and then he followed Charlie and Kirsten through the green flames.

"So this is where Sirius Black lives," Bill said as he entered the empty Living Room. "It's nice." _I only met him briefly while Ron was in his coma. He seems like a decent enough bloke._

"Trust me, brother, Sirius is great," Charlie smiled widely. "He's an adult, but he's more like us than them."

"We're adults too," Bill pointed out.

"True, but we don't have rods up our arses," Charlie chuckled. They heard footsteps coming towards them, and then, Xenophilius Lovegood and Molly Weasley entered the Living Room.

"Charlie? Bill?" Molly blinked at them, and then she burst into a wide smile. "You're finally home!" She quickly embraced Charlie, who let out a grunt due to his mother's bone crushing hug. "Why didn't you send word?!"

"We figured that we'd surprise you," Bill replied, while Charlie hugged their mother.

"You two…" Molly hummed, and then she broke away from Charlie in order to pull in Bill. _Ow! My back!_ "Bill?! You're nothing but bones!"

"Mum, that's not-"

"Clearly they feed Charlie at the Reserve, while those nasty Goblins starve you," Molly tutted, and Bill shot a frown at a smirking Charlie. _Clearly he eats other people's meals. Fat bastard._ "Why do you both smell like a tavern?" _Oh, shite._

"Tavern, mum?" Charlie laughed. "It's not even Midday yet."

"Don't you two lie to me," Molly huffed, and then she pulled away from Bill. "And your hair… Bill, what do they say at work?"

"That I'm incredibly handsome," Bill grinned, and Molly eyed his fang earing.

"And you still have that ungodly thing hanging from your ear," Molly shook her head. That's when she spotted Kirsten, who was just waiting to be acknowledged. "And who are you, dear?"

"I'm Kirsten Domitor," Kirsten smiled at the smaller witch. "I'm Charlie's better half."

"Really?" Molly's eyes twinkled. "Let me have a look at you… You're certainly pretty, but why the short hair?"

"Dragon Fire," Kirsten laughed. "My hair caught fire once, and I've kept it short ever since."

"You two met at the Reserve then," Molly figured, a motherly smile on her face. "Let's get you all settled, and then we can get to know each other better."

"Where's your trunk?" Xenophilius asked Bill, who patted his front pocket. "The Shrinking Charm. I also use it when I travel, it's quite handy."

"That it is," Bill shook the man's hand. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Lovegood. Oh, and congratulations about Mrs. Lovegood. Dad told me about the good news a few weeks back."

"Please, call me Xeno," Xenophilius smiled aloofly. "And thank you."

"Mum, where's Sirius?" Charlie asked as they began heading into the Kitchen.

"It's still morning," Molly replied. "You won't be seeing him any time soon."

"He's a heavy sleeper," Xeno added.

"Kreacher," Molly called, and a sudden crack emanated from behind them.

"Lady Weasley called Kreacher?" came a croaky voice, and Bill turned to see an old, rather ugly, House-Elf. The Elf eyed the new residents, and then bowed deeply. He had bandages on his boney fingers, and his right ear was missing a large chunk. _Bloody hell, how old is this Elf?_

"I did," Molly smiled at him. "We have more guests, can you please find them spare rooms?"

"Kreacher will take their luggage," Kreacher croaked, and then he walked up to their trunks. Once he had his bandaged hands on them, he Disapparated.

"Lady Weasley?" Charlie looked to their mother, a confused look on his face. "Last time I was here, that thing was nothing short of cruel."

"He's changed," Molly told Charlie. "And over the weekend, he has won me over. Did you know that he has hundreds of recipes locked away in his head? I don't care what anyone says, Kreacher is a good soul." Charlie gaped at his mother, while Bill and Kirsten had no idea what was going on.

"What did you mean by cruel, Charlie?" Bill asked.

"He's a bigoted little twat," Charlie frowned, which earned him a light smack on the arm from Molly.

"He's proven himself to us all, and I'll hear none of that language, Charles," Molly scolded. "Now take a seat at the table, you three. I'll fix you something healthy." They all sat down together, while Molly began searching for ingredients.

"Kreacher was instrumental in our success during a recent mission," Xeno told them, and Molly quickly shot a look towards Kirsten.

"Xeno-"

"She already knows, Molly," Xeno smiled at Kirsten. "Why else would Dumbledore send her here?"

"If this is about the Order, then Mr. Lovegood is right," Kirsten told Molly. "I'm here to fight by Charlie's side, and to help you all in any way that I can." Molly blinked at her, and then she gave Charlie's girlfriend an approving smile. _I'm not surprised, Kirsten seems like a perfect fit for Charlie._

"Xeno, why don't you catch us up on everything?" Bill asked. "I want to become useful as quickly as possible." _Now that I'm here, I'll keep this Family safe._

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Monday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Behind the Owlery – After Classes)**_

Hermione slashed her wand upwards, and in doing so, unleashed a Non-verbal stunner. It was bright red, and much larger than before. _Yes!_ She did it again, and again, and each time, her stunners came out stronger. After three days of practicing, she had finally managed to master Non-verbal Stunning Charms. And although mastering Non-verbal Magic of any type was difficult, that's just who she was.

Hermione Granger was the smartest witch in her year, and probably the other years as well. Unlike her fellow witches, she valued knowledge and hard work over makeup and impressing boys. Somewhere down the line, she had lost sight of who she was, and it had ruined her friendship with Ron. Hermione had become exactly like the girls that she frowned upon, and that needed to change. She needed to change.

Neville was dead right, she and Harry were the cause of their current problems. Harry's insatiable need for the truth, and her obsession with knowledge, had driven Ron away from them. And in complete honesty, Hermione couldn't even bring herself to blame him. Ron was extremely sick, and they had invaded his privacy. And although Harry was the instigator, Hermione too had given into temptation when the time had come. _Only Neville resisted, but he paid for our sins nonetheless._

She wasn't angry over being cast out of her own study group, nor was she upset with Ron's cold demeanor. She was mature enough to understand that she had crossed a line, despite her good intentions. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she accepted it without hesitation. Did she still want to help Ron? Of course, he was her first friend. _But I won't. Not until he asks for help. I should listen to Neville more often, he's not the same anxious boy who I helped on the Hogwarts Express._

And then there was the matter of Ron's friends, all of whom, according to Neville, knew of Ron's illness. It had been hard to accept that Ron relied on them instead of her and her friends, but it was also understandable. Neville had shown her how mental her thinking had been, and in hindsight, she was surprised at herself for not realizing sooner that Ron's friends were obliviously closer to him than she could ever be. _Honestly, what was I thinking? How could I be so stupid?_

Hermione sheathed her wand and drew in a deep breath, emotions had a way of negating logic, and Hermione detested that. She was an academic, and she had never been good with people. _I'm still not, actually. After all, I only have two friends, both of whom are boys._ Hermione drew her wand and fired a Non-verbal stunner, she was getting quicker each time.

With her match against Greengrass on the horizon, Hermione had turned her focus on her Dueling Skills. She knew her weaknesses, and she planned to work on each of them. She wouldn't panic if she got caught off-guard, she wouldn't rely on her shields as much, and she'd actually run around a little. She had seen Blaise Zabini destroy a shield with Aguamenti and Glacius, which had made her realize that her peers were surpassing her. It was one thing to lose to Ron, but she'd be damned if she lost to someone else.

Hermione already had a massive arsenal of Spells stored away in her mind, and if she tried hard enough, she could come up with creative ways of displaying said Spells. Her reliance on her shields, which she stubbornly clung to because Davis had out-answered her in class, was a mistake. It had resulted in her being ranked in Rank C, whereas she deserved at least Rank B. _Learn from your mistakes, Hermione, and come out stronger._

She moved swiftly, her mind focused on her wand movements. She fired Non-verbal stunners and Disarming Charms, all the while making sure that she didn't trip over her own two feet. She was not an athlete, she knew that better than most, but she did have decent stamina. Logically speaking, using simple Spells, which required less wand movements, and running about, would yield the best results. She needed to be quick, but precise. Showing off would get her stunned, or worse, injured.

After she was done with her routine, she sheathed her wand and drew in another deep breath. _Again. I need to keep at this until I see no mistakes._ Hermione drew her wand, and restarted her routine. Stunners and Disarming Charms flew out of her wand, while she moved from side to side as if she were dodging Spells. Her hair got in her face, but that didn't stop her. _I'll be sure to put it into a ponytail next time._

"There you are!" came Ginny's voice, and Hermione stopped mid-Spell. _Ginny?_ Hermione turned around to see Ginny hovering above her, she was wearing her Quidditch gear. Ginny flew down and landed rather gracefully, her features were wind beaten, but she was clearly happy. "So this is where you disappear off to."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione said, her wand going into her pocket.

"C'mon, Hermione," Ginny smirked. "Over the last few days, you've barely been around in the common room. Everyone figured that you were in the Library, but I knew better."

"Is that so?" Hermione's lips twitched upwards. _I was wrong. I have three friends, and one of them is a girl._

"It is," Ginny winked. "If you were going to the Library, you'd drag Harry and Neville with you."

"I would not," Hermione denied.

"Yeah, you would," Ginny snorted. _She's looking so much happier nowadays. Luna was smart to invite Ginny into her group of friends._ "What are you doing back here? Are you training?"

"I am, but you can't tell anyone," Hermione replied. "I want to win, and in order to do that, I need to keep my stratagems hidden."

"Stratagems?" Ginny laughed. "Hidden?"

"Ahem," Hermione cleared her throat. "Don't Quidditch Teams do the same?"

"That's a good point," Ginny tapped her chin, while Hermione smirked.

"Are you flying around with your brothers?" Hermione asked.

"No, I'm flying with my friends," Ginny replied. "I convinced Professor McGonagall to let me steal some brooms from the Shed, and I'm giving them free lessons. Luna's terrible on a broom, but I'll make a Quidditch Star out of her yet." _Professor McGonagall… Is it just me, or does she look like she's in pain?_ "Hey! Why don't you join us?!"

"No thanks," Hermione refused immediately. "Flying is terrifying, and flying on a broom is just nightmare fuel. I'd rather stay on the solid ground."

"Suit yourself," Ginny sighed dramatically.

"You're looking quite happy today," Hermione pointed out.

"Of course I am," Ginny beamed. "I had a Potions Essay due, and since Snape is not around to collect, I got away with it!"

"It's Professor Snape," Hermione corrected her. "And Ginny, you're not pleased about his accident, are you?"

"Um… Everyone is," Ginny said casually.

"I'm not," Hermione stated, which earned her an eye roll. "Ginny, he must be really hurt if they sent him all the way to France for treatment."

"Good, he's a mean git," Ginny said. "He has always been nasty to us, and no one is going to miss him. Hermione, you're the only one who isn't celebrating."

"The Slytherins aren't celebrating," Hermione huffed.

"Of course they're not," Ginny said. "Their Head Snake isn't around to favor them anymore, which means that we'll catch up to those cheaters in House Points. Hermione, why aren't you pleased about that?"

"Because a man got hurt," Hermione replied, her brow furrowed. Ginny sighed and adorned a guilty expression.

"Don't be upset with me," Ginny said softly. "I'm not trying to sound callous-"

"Could've fooled me," Hermione said haughtily. "Professor Snape might be… harsh… but he's a great Professor. He's only in his thirties, and he has earned the title of Potions Master. Do you know how brilliant that is?" _Why am I defending him? He's made me cry multiple times._

"Yeesh," Ginny grimaced. "You won't be happy tomorrow morning then…" _What was that?_

"What does that mean?" Hermione questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"Um…" Ginny mumbled, her eyes widening. "Nothing… I have to go…"

"Ginevra Weasley, if you mount your broom, I'll Hex you," Hermione said quickly. "Tell me what you meant by 'I won't be happy tomorrow morning'?"

"It's nothing…" Ginny lied terribly.

"Ginny, talk," Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"It's the twins…" Ginny shrugged weakly. "They're planning something big for tomorrow morning. You haven't been around the common room much, so you haven't seen them scheming and giggling to each other. Without Snape around, they can target the Slytherins all they want. They plan to start tomorrow morning with their 'best prank yet'." _Those two… Why can't they be like Percy?_

"They told you this?" Hermione asked.

"They told Harry, but I was around," Ginny replied. _Harry James Potter, I will have words with you soon._

"Ginny, you need to tell the Professors," Hermione said, and Ginny let out a scathing laugh.

"And end up on their list myself?" Ginny asked. "No thanks."

"Fine, I'll do it!" Hermione declared.

"Hermione, don't," Ginny warned. "The twins are not to be antagonized, everyone knows that."

"The Slytherins are probably worried about their Head of House, and the twins are taking advantage of that," Hermione frowned. "Imagine if Professor McGonagall was hurt, and the Slytherins started coming after us."

"Which they totally would," Ginny pointed out.

"You don't know that," Hermione said in a frustrated manner. "Ginny, I get that our Houses are rivals, but this is pathetic behavior." _It's almost as bad as mine._ "I'm going to put a stop to it before it turns ugly."

She knew that she was partly trying to redeem herself to herself, but this felt like the right thing to do. Right now, the Slytherins were in a corner, and Hermione wanted her House-mates to be better than vultures. _If the twins find out that it was me who ratted them out, they'll come for me instead. But you know what? I'm not scared of their foolish behavior._ Hermione began marching towards the castle, and Ginny caught up to her.

"Hermione, why do you always ruin people's fun?" Ginny asked frantically. "It's just some minor jokes-"

"Fun? It's fun to target other students now?" Hermione asked in return. "Ginny, someone has to put the right foot forward, and I want it to be us. I mean honestly, did you see how happy our House-mates were when the Headmaster announced Professor Snape's accident? It was disgusting. Even Harry and Neville seemed happy about it, which actually turned my stomach."

"Are you sure that you're not just upset about this Potions Club being shut down?" Ginny asked.

"Of course I am," Hermione said haughtily. "The fact that Professor Snape picked me, despite his hatred of me, proves that he's not without some virtue. And truth be told, he's very different at the Potions Club. He never yells at people, except for Ron, and he never berates me. He's even complimented my skill at prepping ingredients."

"Bloody hell, she's smitten with Snape," Ginny 'gagged', and Hermione shot her a frown. "Look, I'll help, but only because I don't want you becoming the twins' next victim. Telling the Professors might seem like the right idea, but it's not. They'll just haul the twins off to detention, which will only solidify their resolve. We need to warn the Slytherins, and as it happens, we both know a Slytherin who will listen to us."

* * *

 _ **Almost One Hour Later**_

"I'm boooooreeeed!" Ginny groaned loudly, and Hermione felt the same way. _He doesn't want to see me, but I can't tell Ginny why._ "Honestly, where is that oaf?"

"Don't say that," Hermione said without thinking. "He's still your brother."

"Pfft," Ginny blew raspberries. "He's turned into a pompous git, and you know it. I mean seriously, look at us. We've been sitting in this classroom for an hour, and he's still not here. No one has the right to summon **Lord** **Weasley**."

"Ginny, just stop it," Hermione rubbed her forehead. _She's becoming increasingly bitter towards him, and he hasn't done a thing to earn her spite._

"Whatever," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Look, let's just go already. I doubt that chubby snake went looking for Ron as we asked."

"Why do you keep calling them snakes?" Hermione asked. "You sound just like the twins, and all the snobby brats in our House."

"Everyone knows that Slytherin is filled with the worst sort of people in this school, and even you can't deny that," Ginny pointed out. "I mean, how many other people come after you for your Blood-Status?"

"None," Hermione sighed, she couldn't argue that. "Let's go, he's not coming…"

As she stood up to leave, a small part of her felt extremely sad and hurt. She had selfishly agreed to Ginny's plan to involve Ron, but only because she saw that as her way of approaching him. Despite her guilt and regret, she still wanted to fix things with him. That's just who she was. If she saw something broken, she began fixing it without thought. Just as they neared the door, it was pushed open. Ron stepped into the room, his face cold and expressionless. _He's here? He's here!_

"Finally," Ginny frowned at him, but he just cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry for the wait, but I had other engagements," Ron said coldly, his eyes fixed on Hermione. She swallowed thickly, and then she forced herself to calm down.

"We need to tell you something, so please close the door," Hermione said, her voice cracking a little. _Don't get intimidated by him, Hermione. You made a mistake, but you're trying to fix things now._ Ron shut the door, and then he waited for them to talk.

"Well?" Ron asked after a couple of seconds. "What is it?"

"The twins are planning to target the Slytherins," Hermione replied quickly, and Ron blinked at her. "Ginny told me, and I decided to do something about it." Ginny shot a look at Hermione's back, did she seriously just take the credit for this idea? "I wanted to go to the Professors, but Ginny convinced me to tell you instead. They're planning something big for tomorrow morning, and it won't stop there."

"The twins are planning to target us?" Ron spoke to himself, and then he frowned. "Of course they are… Damn vultures can't help but target people who are defenseless. I should've seen this coming."

"Oi!" Ginny scowled at him. "Don't talk about them like that! They're your Blood!"

"That's rich coming from you," Ron said, his tone completely indifferent. "And don't raise your voice at me again, or I'll slap the taste out of your mouth." Hermione shot a quick look towards Ginny, who looked gobsmacked. With that, Ron turned around and left the room.

"Wait here," Hermione whispered quickly, while Ginny just stood rooted to her spot. Hermione followed Ron outside, and she shut the door behind her. "Ron, stop for a second."

"What is it?" Ron asked without turning around.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized, and Ron stopped walking. "I'm sorry about everything." Just saying the words was enough to clog her throat, but she wasn't one to back down easily. "I should've done better… I let my need to help you cloud my judgement, and I understand why you're upset. You have every right to be-"

"I do, do I?" Ron turned around, his eyes digging into hers. And then, he walked up to her slowly. Hermione felt tiny as he loomed over her, and when he put his hands on her cheeks, Hermione's body seized up. "You ever do something like this again, and I'll crack your skull like a walnut."

Hermione just stood there, her entire body felt like it was being crushed from shock and fear. She knew that he was angry, but this was something completely different.

"You and Harry need to stay away from me," Ron pulled his hands back. "After everything I've done for you two, you keep coming after me. And no, I don't care about your inquisitive natures. I'm not the sort of person that you fuck with. Remember that, Hermione. For your own sake, remember that." Hermione nodded shakily, and Ron turned around and left.

Hermione just stood there for a few seconds, and she broke out of her stupor when Ginny burst out of the room.

"Where is he?!" Ginny fumed. "Slap me?! I'll show him!"

"He's gone, Ginny," Hermione released a shaky breath. "Let it go…" _I feel like my heart is about to explode… That was really scary…_

"When I tell mum…" Ginny grit out. "Fucking snake… We should've let the twins go after them!"

"He's angry, and neither of us have been very good to him," Hermione admitted, despite not wanting to.

"Why do you always defend him?" Ginny glared at her.

"I don't," Hermione replied. "Ginny, just stop it, alright? One of these days, you'll regret how you treat him." _Just like I do._ "Let's just go…"

"One of these days, my 'Lord Brother' is going to realize that he's an egomaniac," Ginny spat out, and both girls began heading for Gryffindor Tower. "Slap me? I should slap him. Maybe then, he'll finally become normal again." _I don't think he'll ever be normal, not according to the books I've read. Merlin, how long has he been sick for? Is that why he's become so… cold?_

Hermione pushed all thoughts of Ron out of her mind, she had learned her lesson. She'd be patient, and when he was ready to forgive her, she'd be waiting. _Forcing myself into his affairs got me here, and if I don't learn from that, then I really am an idiot. From now on, my focus will be on my studies. And my friends._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Evening)**_

"Did you really have to say those things?" Daphne sighed out, they were both sitting together in a dark corner.

"I just had my session, and I wasn't in the mood to be yelled at," Ron rubbed his forehead, his meeting with Hermione and Ginny had left him with a sour taste in his mouth. _Not to mention the twins and their schemes._

"Ron… Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Daphne asked. "It can't just be Professor Snape, you two aren't **that** close to each other." _You'd be surprised._ "Is it the pressure of this Gala?"

"Both," Ron scooted into her side. "Maybe I did take things too far…"

"You definitely did," Daphne said firmly. "There is a time to be cold and ruthless, Ron, and this wasn't it. You need to apologize to Ginny."

"Piss on that," Ron frowned. "Why do I always have to apologize? She still hasn't shown an ounce of regret over her words. If anything, she's become increasingly bitter towards me." _Clearly Harry wasn't pushing her into it. She's doing this all by herself._ The thought actually hurt Ron, but he refused to show it.

"That's her problem," Daphne countered. "Ron, think of the Gala. You are about to take this entire thing by storm, and you need your **Blood** standing beside you. A Family has to show unity, otherwise, it won't be respected." _Damn, she's right._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and he imagined himself on Stoatshead Hill. Peace washed over him for a moment, and Ron felt his focus realign. _Think of the bigger picture, Ron. Listen to wise counsel, and then make your moves._

"What should I do?" Ron asked gently, how did she always get through to him? Daphne smiled at him for putting his anger aside, and she took a hold of his gloved hand.

"Buy her a nice dress for this Gala, and tell her that you didn't mean what you said," Daphne advised. "Tell her that you are under a lot of pressure, and her raising her voice got to you. There's no need to make a huge declaration, but just say enough to get your point across. If she still keeps behaving like an ape, then at least you'll know that you did your best."

"Can you order this dress?" Ron asked. "I don't know much about these things."

"I'll order it tonight, and it'll be here within a day," Daphne promised.

"I'll pay you back," Ron said, and then he kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"You can thank me by taking me on another date," Daphne smiled smugly, and Ron blinked at her. "What? We had so much fun on the last one, and I want more."

"I'll get right on it," Ron couldn't help but smile, and he pulled her closer. _She's so soft and warm._

"You better," Daphne huffed, though she looked quite pleased.

"At this Gala… Can you be there with me?" Ron asked. "I know you have to be with the Greengrass Family, but just for a bit?"

"We'll sneak away," Daphne giggled. "And I have my own plans for the French Families who will be attending."

"You do?" Ron asked.

"Do you remember our Holiday House in Paris?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave a nod. "Father wanted one in Magical Paris, but he was refused because the French still blame us for the Great War. I want to expand our businesses in France, and these Families are my ticket."

"Wow," Ron chuckled. "Your father would be quite proud of that, I imagine."

"I'm doing this for me," Daphne told him. "You're thirteen, and you're not letting your age stop you from accomplishing great things. I won't lie, it kind of makes me jealous."

"Why?" Ron blinked.

"Because I want to be successful too," Daphne replied. "We all do, Ron. Look at Millie, she's been working her arse off for this Tournament, and it's not because she wants to impress the Slytherins. She wants to achieve something, and so she's giving it her all. I'm not a Duelist, or an academic, but I'm clever and I have a head for business. I want to prove that to father, and then make a name for myself. I want to be **Daphne** , not just Daphne **Greengrass**."

"Well, if that's how you feel, then you should go for it," Ron smiled.

"You'd better introduce me to Madame Maxime," Daphne said quickly. "She can make all the difference for my plans."

"I'll be sure to do that," Ron promised her, and they both relaxed into each other's sides.

Ron rested his head on her hair, while his mind traveled to the Future. _Once I'm in the Ministry, I'll start implementing meaningful changes. First order of business is to make myself invaluable, and then, I can start working on Madam Bones' promotion. I also need to make sure that she's not angry with me after our last meeting. I was harsh with her, but only because I needed to be._

"Ron, there's Samantha," Daphne whispered suddenly, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"I need to tell her about the twins," Ron said, and then he let go of Daphne. "I'll see you after, alright?"

"I'll be with the others," Daphne stood up, and they parted ways after a quick peck. Ron followed after Samantha, who was heading towards the Training Area.

"Samantha!" Ron called, and she stopped and turned around.

"Ron? What is it?" Samantha asked, her face expressionless as usual. "I'm just about to help Clara and Carey with the B-ranks."

"Something urgent has come up," Ron said as he gently guided her aside.

"What is it?" Samantha asked, he had her full attention.

"My brothers, the twins, are planning something," Ron started. "A couple of Gryffindors told me that they have some scheme cooking up for us Slytherins. Without Professor Snape here to shield us, they're planning to come after us all. Apparently, they have a massive prank lined up for tomorrow morning."

"Shite," Samantha frowned. "Honestly, Ron… What is the matter with your brothers?"

"They've always been like this," Ron admitted, he now understood why he was their favorite target. _The strong like to prey on the weak, and I was the weakest creature in sight._ "They know that they can get away with coming after us, and that's incentive enough for them. Seriously, these two murdered my pet once without an ounce of regret. At least not until my older brothers belted them."

"Merlin, your Family is terrifying," Samantha just stared at him, and Ron blinked at her. "Are you all that ruthless, or is it just you and the twins?"

"We all have… tempers…" Ron looked around awkwardly. _And unlike me, my siblings are brilliant enough to really fuck shite up._

"You Weasleys…" Samantha drew in a deep breath, and then she caressed his left cheekbone with her thumb. "I'll tell Carey and Clara, while you talk to your brothers. Ron, we don't need this right now. If the twins start a fight, we'll be the ones who lose. We have to do everything we can to keep the House Points that we have, and your brothers are a danger to that. Get them to back off, and if you can't, then we need to go to the Headmaster."

"That won't paint us in the best light," Ron told her. "The twins are extremely popular, and if we turn them in, every other House will see us as rats."

"Good luck," Samantha gave him a rare smile, and then she left for the Training Area. _I'll need more than luck on this. How do I convince them to back off without turning into their target?_

* * *

 _ **Monday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Courtyard – After Dinner)**_

"Ronnie!" Fred smiled as they approached him.

"Ickle Ronnikins!" George smiled as well. "You could've just approached us yourself, there's no need to send your peons." Ron went to say something but Fred cut him off.

"Of course he had to send his peons, brother mine," Fred said. "Lord Weasley must exercise his power once in a while, or he'll go barmy."

"Barmier than usual, that is," George snapped his fingers. _Merlin, give me the strength to not smack one of them._

"I sent my first year because you two were sitting near Percy," Ron stated. "If I went myself, he'd follow us out here. Is that what you want?"

"No," they both said together.

"I love it when you act so clever," Fred grinned. "Gives me goosebumps, little brother."

"Now, why are we here?" George asked. "It's cold, and we have things to do."

"Things?" Ron asked. "Are you planning your massive prank for tomorrow morning?" The twins just stared at him, and then they adorned innocent looks.

"What prank?" they asked together.

"Look, I know what you're up to," Ron said. "And I'm here to ask you not to follow through. Please, we don't need this right now. Our House is going through a lot, and you-"

"Going through a lot?" Fred smirked.

"Are you all missing King Snake?" George smirked as well. _King Snake?_ Ron just stared at them, and then his face changed.

"Don't talk about Professor Snape like that," Ron took a step forward, his shoulders broadening.

"Easy there, Ronnie," Fred chuckled. "No need to look so fucking grim, alright?"

"We're just joking around," George said. "Don't take it so personally."

"Why are you planning to target us?" Ron asked them. "As far as I know, we haven't done anything to warrant your attention."

"True, but we work in mysterious ways," George grinned. "Plus, it's been a while since we pulled one on you lot."

"Fred… George… As your brother, I'm asking you to not do this," Ron said calmly. "Right now, a lot of us are worried about our Head of House, and you could start something really ugly if you come after us."

"Is that a promise?" Fred asked.

"Please, this is not a joke," Ron said, he was getting annoyed with their lack of moral fiber.

"Bloody hell, why are you such a killjoy now?" George groaned, while Fred clicked his tongue. "Fred, have you noticed that about him as well? All he does is complain." _Complain? When do I fucking complain?_

"Everyone has noticed," Fred pointed out. "Do you mind explaining yourself, Grandpa?"

"I'm trying to stop you two from starting a massive fight between our Houses," Ron started, but then he stopped. _Wait… The twins aren't idiots._

"Go on, Ronnie," Fred smiled at him.

"Tell us what's on your mind," George leaned forward.

"You two are unbelievable," Ron shook his head. "You want to start a fight, don't you? Let me guess, you want us to retaliate."

"We know you will," Fred grinned. "House of the Cunning, my freckled arse."

"Snape might have boosted you cheats into the lead, but without him here to help you, it's open season on snakes," George sniggered. _They're just arrogant enough to admit their motives._

"You're that desperate, are you?" Ron asked them, his jaw clenching.

"What? Only you deserve to win?" Fred frowned a little. "Classic Slytherin mentality."

"We thought you better than that, Ronnikins," George added. "And you know what? You have no authority over us. We have been playing pranks long before you showed up, and we intend to keep at it."

"Everyone else might dance to your tune, little brother, but we know you better than them," Fred said. "This person in front of us… That's not you."

"Lord Weasley is just your ego," George shrugged. "Now, please excuse us. We have things to do."

"Oh, and if you tattle on us, then we'll teach you just what we're capable of," Fred warned. "Instead, I reckon you should just brush that chip off of your shoulder, and laugh once in a while." With that, the twins turned around and sauntered off. Ron just stared at their backs, a part of him wanted to catch up to them and beat them bloody. _Lord Weasley… Fucking degenerate cunts._

Ron rubbed his face harshly, what the fuck was he supposed to do now?

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

It was disturbing how quickly Ron had come up with a strategy, but then again, his mind had become his greatest asset of late. He had his size, and his Dueling prowess, but it was his mind that had helped him rise up the ranks. Ron understood strategy, and he knew the twins, that was his greatest strength right now.

"Excuse me," Ron said, and the Elves stopped working immediately. "Might I speak with Head Chef Flippy? I'll only take up a few short moments, I promise."

"Marty, take over please," Flippy said, and then he ran up to Ron. "Yes, Sir?" Ron's gaze lingered on his Elf, who was pretending to not know him personally.

"Please, just call me Ron," Ron smiled at the Elf. "I have a request to make of you, and it's a bit unorthodox."

"Flippy will help however he can, Sir," Flippy assured him. _So no Ron, then?_

"I was wondering if you could send food to the Slytherin common room from today on," Ron started. "As you know, Professor Snape's accident has changed much in the school, and we don't feel comfortable being inside the Great Hall without him there."

"Flippy understands that," Flippy nodded.

"The Weasley twins, my brothers, plan to target us with their terrible pranks," Ron went on, Marty had mentioned that the Elves weren't fond of the twins' jokes. "They know that without Professor Snape, we have no one left to stand up for us. I would really appreciate it if you could help us out."

"Flippy doesn't have permission to do such a thing, Sir," Flippy said slowly. "All students must dine in the Great Hall, those are Flippy's instructions."

"I know," Ron sighed, and then he knelt down. "Please, Flippy… I am begging you for help. My House is hurting, and the twins want to take advantage of that. I went to them to sort this out, but they refused to back off. I can't turn them in, as that will only anger them. I have no one to turn to right now, no one except you and your workers."

Flippy made a sorry face, and then he shot a look backwards.

"Flippy will arrange something," Flippy promised slowly, and then he gave Ron a toothy smile. _I fucking love Elves._

"Thank you," Ron smiled in return. "I don't forget my debts, friend. If you ever need anything, I'm your man." Flippy gave a nod, and then he ran back to his dishes. Ron stood up, and with one final grateful nod, he left the Kitchens. _Now I just need to convince the House, which is another beast entirely._

Ron began making his way towards the Dungeons, his mind coming up with a speech. He needed to be firm, but at the same time, he needed to be persuasive. Pride was Slytherin's greatest sin, and his House was infected with it. If Ron told them to tuck tail and run, they'd only lash out at him and his brothers. He needed to show them that it was the cunning thing to do, despite how cowardly it was. _I know the twins, and we don't stand a fucking chance against them at their own game. We have to sacrifice a few pieces in order to win the game._

As Ron entered the Dungeons, a sudden fatigue gripped him. For a moment, Ron's head spun terribly and he felt his stomach tighten. _What the fuck?_ Ron massaged his forehead, and oddly enough, there was no pain. He simply felt… drained. _Don't be a bitch, Ron. You have work to do._ Ron shook his head clear, stood up tall once again, and kept moving forward. His lightheadedness persisted, but by the time he reached the common room, he felt more like himself again.

He made his way over to the Triumvirate, who were working on some homework together near a book shelf.

"Ron," Samantha looked up first. "Come, take a seat." Ron sat down across from them, a slightly grim look on his face.

"The twins won't be backing off," Ron told them, and Carey let out a tired breath. "Shite, Carey… When was the last time you slept?"

"I could ask the same of you," Carey said in response. "Go on, Ron. Tell us about the twins' plans."

"Our House Points," Ron started. "That's what they're after. They plan to rile us up with pranks and mean jokes, and when we retaliate, which we will, our Hourglass will get butchered. Professor Snape isn't here to keep them in check, and the other staff members don't particularly like us."

"He's right about that," Clara said, her usual sweetness nowhere to be found. "The twins are well-loved, despite their behavior. When they start pulling pranks, it'll be cute and funny. But when we do the same, we'll be painted as vile and vindictive."

"Great," Carey frowned. "That's just great…"

"I've thought of a strategy, and it might help us," Ron said. "I've spoken with Flippy, the Head Chef of Hogwarts, and he's agreed to send food down to the common room."

"Wait… You plan to hide from them?" Samantha asked. "Ron, no one in this House will tuck tail and run, especially from the twins, who have been a thorn in our sides for years."

"Listen to me," Ron leaned forward. "My brothers are far better at this than we are. There is no scenario in which we outfox them, or out-prank them. The school loves them, while they don't particularly like us. If we Slytherins go to war against the twins, we'll be the bad guys. We will lose all the goodwill that I've built up with my study group, not to mention our lead. Do you really think that Flint will just prank people? Or anyone in this House for that matter? So yeah… We hide from them, and we avoid trouble."

"Damn them both," Carey grit out. "It's like Professor Snape was the wall that kept all the sewage out, and without him, we're just fucked." Ron grimaced a little, he didn't like here cursing like this. _She's clearly burning the midnight oil._ "There's shite everywhere, and we're drowning in it."

"Ron is right," Clara said gently, her hand rubbing Carey's back. "The twins are unbeatable in their game, so it's best that we not play at all."

"How do we convince the others to hide within the common room for a damn month?" Samantha asked. "The Quidditch Team needs to practice, people have to study for midterms, and the younger ones want to enjoy the snow season."

"Winning takes sacrifice," Ron said, and once again, his head felt weightless. He swayed back and forth, while his eyes blinked repeatedly. Black spots appeared in his vision, and they refused to leave.

"Ron?" Clara called, and Ron shook his head clear. _Fuck me, I need to wake the fuck up._

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "Like I was saying, we need to preserve our lead. We're not that far ahead, and if the twins have figured out such a strategy, I promise you, someone else has as well." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Look, we lose a lot more House Points than we earn, and it's our own fault. We have bigoted cunts who throw disgusting slurs out daily, which constantly hurts our Hourglass. Now Professor Snape kept us even, while also deducting Points from the other Houses. He's not here right now, which makes us the Head of Slytherin. Right now, we need to show **strength**. Be decisive, and leave the scheming for another day."

"I'm with Ron," Clara voted. "I'm sorry to admit it, but he's dead right about our House-mates. Our own actions have left us in such a pitiful state, and right now, mistakes can't be made. The Professors aren't giving the younger years enough Points, and we're choking to death."

"People won't be happy about this," Carey said. "Ron, your brothers' actions will put you on blast. They'll all blame you for this." _I know. Everyone blames me for everything… And you know what? Maybe they're right to._

"I can take it," Ron smiled weakly. "I'll give the speech, while you three keep the peace."

"Ron-" Samantha started, but Ron stood up.

"I'm the unofficial member," Ron told them. "You three are running this House. They need you, not me. So for now, I'll take the blame."

"Go on," Carey gave him a sorry look, while Clara slammed her book shut. Ron made his way to the front of the common room, his eyes darting towards his friends. Tracey smiled and waved at him, while the others gave him curious looks.

"Everyone!" Ron called, and people gave him curious looks. "Can I have your attention please?!" More people looked to him, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "From today onwards, we will be dining within the common room!"

"What?" some random scoffed. "What are you on about?"

"Be quiet, and listen," Samantha ordered, and then she gave Ron a nod.

"My brothers, the twins, have us all in their sights!" Ron announced, and people frowned at him. "They wish to goad us into engaging them, which will result in a lot of damage for us! Besides their terrifying capacity to cause damage, they're clever enough to know that, right now, they have a free pass on us! Without Professor Snape here to protect us, we're going to be their targets!"

"Are you joking?" Jack Hughes stood up. "Your brothers want to start shite, and your response is to run away?"

"My response is to protect the House," Ron countered. "You will not beat them, or outsmart them, or even get near them. I know my Blood, and those two are beyond us in this game. They have the advantage, and if we don't respect that, we'll get fucked."

"Why don't we just prank them in return?" Astoria spoke up, and people shot her annoyed looks. "You know, make a fun-"

"First years don't get to have a voice," Maria Cortez told her. "Be quiet."

"Don't you dare disrespect my first years," Ron glared at her. " **They're** the reason why we're winning. If she wants to speak, **you** will shut the fuck up and listen." Cortez gaped at him, while Clara shot her a warning glare. "Tori, we can't prank them for various reasons."

"Why?" Tori asked a little timidly, she wasn't sure if she should speak now.

"For one, we have a terrible reputation in this school," Ron explained, though his eyes traveled all over the room. "If we prank them, we'll be vilified. The twins are adored by everyone, while most people just barely tolerate us. Secondly, the twins can't be beaten at their own game. These two have been at this since they could walk, and they managed to secure Rank A simply because they have created so many Jinxes and Hexes. And lastly, we can't afford to lose any House Points. We are in a terrible bind, and the only way to win is to persevere."

"He's just trying to protect his own brothers," Flint stood up. "Weasley has a soft spot for the Gryffindors, we all know that. They plan to come after us, and like a coward, he wants to hide."

"You certainly are bold now, Flint," Ron cracked his neck. "Come here and say that, if you have the fucking balls." Flint nearly took a step forward, but when Ron's left hand began emitting a faint orange glow, he stopped immediately. "Do you all want to win?! I know you do! We Slytherins crave excellence, that's just who we are! But sometimes, you have to lose a little in order to win big!"

"We have midterms coming up," a fifth year spoke up. "We need the damn Library, Weasley!"

"I know," Ron said, his voice dying down a little. "Which is why you will borrow your books, and then come straight back here. The twins will catch onto us quite quickly, and if you give them the chance, they will make you a laughing stock."

"What about the snow?" Lysandra asked, and Ron gave her a sorry look.

"No snow, Lysandra," Ron said almost gently, and she pouted miserably. "I am sorry about my brothers, but like us, they want to win. And they're-"

"Fuck your fake apologies," Cassius Warrington glared at him. "I have O. W. Ls this year, and I can't fuck around in here! My damn Future is worth more to me than some Cup!"

"You can borrow your books," Ron started, but more and more people began glaring at him.

"Why don't you put them in their place?" Graham Montague asked. "I mean, you had no problem burning Flint's hand, so why not them?"

"They're his siblings, you dolt," Daphne gave him an icy look.

"So it is his fault," Graham scoffed. "Weasley would rather hurt us than his precious Gryffindors! He has no problem terrorizing this House, but when push comes to shove, he wants to hide in here like a bitch!"

"Have you even spoken to them?" a fourth year asked.

"I have, and they won't relent," Ron replied. "I'm not their keeper, and I can't force them to stop. These two don't take well to threats, and if I piss them off, you'll all pay the price."

"Fuck off, Weasley," some annoyed sixth year said. "We're not going to hide in here for your benefit."

"It's for our benefit," Samantha said firmly. "And you will do as you are told. Do you want to be targeted? Fine, go right ahead. I promise you, the twins won't care about your age or gender. They don't see things that way. Either we stay united and win, or we fall apart and lose."

"Professor Snape would want us to win," Carey followed up. "He might not be here, but his lessons are with us! We don't rely on brute strength, we use cunning and tactics!"

"And the best tactic right now is to avoid trouble," Ron said firmly.

"Trouble that your siblings want to start!" Flint said loudly. "What about the Quidditch Team?! Do we just stop practicing because you said so?!" People began speaking to each other loudly, while also shooting frowns in his direction. Ron listened to their increasingly louder voices, he watched their angry glares, and something snapped in his head.

"Enough!" Ron yelled, and a nearby bookshelf all but exploded. The entire room went dead silent, and Ron's eyes moved between each member. "You are all so fucking stupid! You want to win, but none of you want to put in the effort! All you do is complain, and then boast when people like me earn you the win! You all want to hate me?! Fine! Fucking despise me all you want! But you will do as I say, and if you don't, I will show you terror!"

Something warm began to trickle out of Ron's nose, and people gasped loudly. Even Ron's friends had gone wide-eyed, while the Triumvirate seemed to be holding their breaths. Ron adorned an almost feral look, he genuinely wanted to hurt these morons right now.

"You…" Ron's head spun. "You will obey… Ssstay…" His vision blurred again, and those pesky black spots returned to taunt him. "Winning is hard… Put some effort…" Ron leaned against the wall to his right. _I can't feel my legs…_

He felt his friends circling him, with Blaise and Theo trying to help him stand.

"Ron?" Theo whispered in a panicked voice, but Ron just looked around with a furrowed brow.

"Hospital Wing…" came Blaise's distorted voice, and Ron suddenly felt life rush into him again. _Not yet, Ron. You have to finish what you started._ He stopped them from pulling him along, and as he raised his head, he towered over his worried friends.

"He really is sick," someone said, but Ron ignored them.

"The rumors are true…"

Ron wiped the blood off of his upper lip with his left hand, and he gave his House-mates a resolute look.

"The next month is going to be harder than we expected, but we will push on," Ron said, his breathing was still erratic. "We will win the House Cup, and we will offer it to Professor Snape." _To my friend…_ "Are you with me, or against me?" No one said anything, they were clearly too jarred by his outburst. "You can blame me for the twins… You can throw insults at me… You can sneer and hiss in my direction… But I will not lose. **I don't lose!** Tomorrow morning, breakfast will be served in the common room. If you're not here, then you can fend for yourself."

With that, Ron began to head for the exit, he clearly needed Pomfrey. His friends followed after him, including Malfoy. Ron managed five steps outside before he started swaying again, but his mates steadied him. Both Blaise and Theo had firm grips on him, while the girls trailed after them.

"Ron?" Daphne moved in front of him, her eyes scanning his face. "Ron? Talk to me. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" Ron mumbled. "Just fine…"

"He needs Pomfrey," Malfoy said, he was worried despite his dislike of Weasley.

"Stop," Ron said. "Let me down…"

Blaise and Theo helped him down onto the steps, but they didn't let go of his arms. Ron just stared at his own lap, his brain had convinced him that the World was changing forms around him.

"Is he alright?" Clara rushed out of nowhere. "And why aren't you taking him up to Pomfrey?"

"Just give us a second," Blaise frowned at her, and then he kneeled down by Ron's side. "Ron… Talk to me, brother. Why are we sitting here?"

"My head is spinning," Ron whispered. "Just stop…. Stop moving, and stop talking…" While Ron tried to steady his breathing, the others exchanged scared looks.

"Clara, go back to the common room," Pansy broke the silence. "Help your friends convince the House." Clara just stared at Ron, he had never seen her look so worried. "Please, Clara. We can take care of him." Clara gave Pansy a quick look, and then she left for the common room.

"Enough sitting around," Millie said. "Let's just take him up there."

"He'll vomit if we move him too much," Tracey said. "Wait… Use the Locomotor Charm. C'mon, let's go."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron could hear them outside. He lay in his hospital bed, his mind was muddled and his body had lost its strength. Pomfrey had made him drink some foul concoction, and Ron's mind had become dull because of it. As it turned out, Ron's brain was inflamed due to severe stress and exhaustion, and truth be told, he should've seen this coming. He was working himself to death, and unsurprisingly, Death had noticed.

"I'm sorry, but you can't disturb him," came Pomfrey's voice. "He just needs his rest. He will rejoin you all tomorrow."

"But his nose was bleeding," Daphne said, and Ron turned his head towards his curtains. "Please, can't I see him for a moment?"

"His nose was bleeding due to Hypertension," Pomfrey told them. "High Blood Pressure, that is. You may see him tomorrow, when he is fully rested. Now, all of you need to leave. It is past curfew, and I need to make sure that he sleeps."

He heard his friends whispered, but then they all began to shuffle out. Pomfrey entered through the curtains, a frown on her face.

"Still awake?" Pomfrey shook her head, and Ron just stared at her. "Ronald… Never in my life have I met a patient who can't seem to grasp common sense. Even the mentally insane understand self-preservation, but you… You are intent on killing yourself."

Ron didn't say anything, instead, he just looked away from her. She stood there for a few moments, and then after letting out a tired sigh, she left him alone. _She'll never understand… I can't turn off. I've forgotten how to stop._ Ron closed his eyes, his mind wandering towards Snape. _Why hasn't he woken up yet? Is he in a coma?_ The thought tightened his heart, and Ron felt his eyes burn.

Despite the man's coldness, and his harsh insults, Ron found himself missing the Potions Master terribly. The fact that the entire House was crumbling without his presence proved just how important Snape was to them all, and to someone like Ron, Snape was more than just important. Even in his coldness, Snape had been there for him. The man wasted every Tuesday teaching Ron, a thickheaded moron, the art of Occlumency. _And I'm finally getting somewhere with it. He's the only reason why._

"You must truly love these beds, Ronald," came Dumbledore's voice, and Ron looked back to the curtains. The Headmaster was smiling at him, though it wasn't a happy smile.

"You must truly love creeping up on young boys," Ron stated, and Dumbledore held back a laugh. "Why are you here, Headmaster?"

"I came for a Sleeping Draught," Dumbledore admitted. "But then, I sensed your presence."

"My presence?" Ron cocked a wobbly eyebrow.

"The smell of rotten eggs, to be exact," Dumbledore teased, and then he walked up and sat down by Ron's side. "Quite a putrid smell, if I'm being honest."

"Careful," Ron smirked. "I'll stick Madam Pomfrey on you."

"Now that would be a shame," Dumbledore smiled his kind smile. "I can't imagine that there are many Headmasters who have been murdered by their Hospital Matrons."

"Another record for you to break," Ron smiled weakly. "You need a Sleeping Draught?"

"Severus usually provided me with one," Dumbledore replied.

"So you're just like us…" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "You depended on him, and now that he's gone, everything's turned to shite." Dumbledore stared at Ron for a few moments, and then he moved himself to the edge of Ron's bed.

"What's brought you here, my boy?" Dumbledore asked gently, his palm resting on Ron's forehead. "You're burning."

"Brain Inflammation," Ron replied, and Dumbledore pulled his hand back. "I'm being torn apart, Headmaster…" _Piece by piece, I'm just dying._

"And what is tearing you apart?" Dumbledore asked.

"Me," Ron replied, his eyes turning droopy. "I can't stop… I can't stop…" _My head… What did she give me?_

"I see," Dumbledore all but whispered. "May I tell you a secret?"

"Go right ahead," Ron stared at him.

"I fear that my insomnia has returned," Dumbledore sighed. "Foul images invade my dreams, and sleep has become my enemy."

"I'm not surprised," Ron admitted. "You have heavy bags under your eyes. You look even older than usual."

"Not one to mince your words, are you?" Dumbledore smiled a little. "I respect that about you, Ronald. You no longer allow norms to hold you back."

"Yes, I'm to be envied…" Ron's head dropped back onto his pillow. "Lord Ronald Weasley… A piece of shite who is hated by his entire Family…" Dumbledore's expression softened, and he took Ron's left hand. "I wish I was never born… I wish that I would just cease to exist… I wish my friend was still here…"

His vision darkened, and the last thing he saw was Dumbledore's sorry expression.

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Monday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November, 1993 (Malfoy Manor – Night)**_

He moved through his destroyed Ancestral Home, his eyes lingering on the charred and bloody corpses. Everything that his forefathers had built was in ruins, and despite being a grown man, his heart ached at the sight of this destruction.

His Elves had taken him to Nott Manor, even though he had screamed and resisted in a mad attempt to save Narcissa. His love had been taken by Kreacher, the Black Family's House-Elf, and Lucius had been powerless to stop it. The Elves had chosen to save their Master over their Mistress, and Lucius wanted nothing more than to trade places. She deserved better than to be a hostage, and every moment without her felt like a lifetime.

He wanted the Dark Lord gone, he could no longer deny it. Peace had softened him, but he didn't care. He wasn't a young man anymore, and although he despised the lesser beings, he valued his Family's safety more than his beliefs. He shuddered to think of his son's predicament, and although he'd never admit it, he wanted Draco far away from his Master.

Unfortunately, Gaspard had saved the Dark Lord from certain destruction, and both of them were currently seeking refuge in Nott Manor. Gaspard's children had returned to their father, and Lucius suspected that he was connected to them telepathically. That monster was full of surprises, but for now, he was out of the fight. His children had told them that Gaspard had gone into a 'slumber', and that he would not awaken for weeks. The last Lucius had seen of him, he was tied up to several blood bags, his body skinless and crippled by his transformation. It had been a disgusting sight, and neither Lucius nor Cornelius could stomach it.

As for the Dark Lord, he had killed Lucius' Elves in a fit of rage. After that, he had forbidden Lucius from giving them away. Lucius' only job now was to fix up his estate, and then offer it back to the Dark Lord. Lucius had, of course, agreed to his Master's demands, despite the Dark Lord's weakened state. From what Lucius had gathered, the Dark Lord's vessel was rotting from the inside out. Dumbledore had done a number on the Dark Lord's 'invincibility', and Lucius was glad for it. He despised the old wizard, but it felt good to see the Dark Lord suffer. _Just as Severus suffered._

Lucius found himself standing in his son's destroyed room, his eyes scanning the clutter. They stopped on a Dragon plushy, a toy that Draco used to cuddle as he slept. _He was so small back then._ Lucius leaned down and picked up the slightly charred toy, he didn't know that Draco had kept his old toy. _He told me that he threw it away. It was days after I scolded him for sleeping with it._ His grip tightened on the toy, and he pulled it into his chest. _Why did I do that to him? He was only five._

Lucius sat down on his son's damaged bed, the toy still close to his heart. This attack felt so… different. Dumbledore was not one for such bold actions, the old wizard was subtle in his manipulations. _The Dark Lord is right. Someone else's hand was behind this. This destruction comes from someone far more dangerous than Dumbledore. But who? Who would push Dumbledore to such action? Mad-Eye? No… They are all followers. Someone else has appeared, and this is the result._

In truth, Lucius was glad that he had been banished to his ruined home. He wanted to be away from his crazed Master. _Let Cornelius beg at that madman's feet, I want nothing to do with him._ Despite Severus' clear betrayal, Lucius had still fought for his young friend. And now, he didn't even know if the man was alive. _Draco will be devastated, he adores Severus._

What was he supposed to do without his wife and son? A part of him wanted to surrender to the Order, just so they would throw him in the same cell as Narcissa. _At least then, I'll be by her side, which is where I belong._ And yet, he knew that would never happen. Instead, they'd be kept apart, and Lucius would lose the opportunity to get her back. _Since when does Dumbledore take prisoners? None of this makes any sense! Who is whispering into the old loon's ears?!_

Lucius buried his face into his son's toy, and he breathed in the burnt smell. There were still hints of Draco's scent, and that made the burning sensation in his nostrils worth it. _Where will he go? What am I supposed to tell him? Who will he blame for this ruin?_ Lucius knew the answer to the last question. _He will blame me, and I would deserve it. My past has destroyed everything that I've built, and now she's gone too._ Once again, he was tempted to surrender himself to the Order.

"You sought war, Lucius," he whispered to himself. "Here is your prize."

At that, he stood up. He would meet Dumbledore at this Gala, and demand that his wife be returned. And failing that, he'd demand that Draco be sent to her. _**He**_ _will not have my son as well. Draco will not die because of my past._

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **In the Dead of Night**_

He woke up slowly, and pain seized him immediately. It was everywhere, and the darkness seemed to be smothering him. Snape gasped for air, his right eye burning due to panic and desperation. He couldn't die yet. His promise was unfulfilled, and there was a war to win.

"Help…" Snape managed, his voice was torn to pieces. "Help… me…"

He tried to move his body, but it refused to respond to his will. That's when he felt a fabric covering half of his face, and he reached to move it away. Instead of a hand, a stub landed on his face. For a moment, he was bewildered, but then his memories flooded his mind. His hand was gone, wasn't it? His hand, his wand, his eye, his legs… Snape had died in that Dungeon, and only his corpse had been rescued.

A painful sound, which was akin to a child being born, escaped his throat. He was now as ugly as his soul, and there was nothing to be done about it. No misguided hope for redemption, and no shield to hide behind. The World would see him for what he truly was. A monster.

And then, light flooded the room. His right eye burned with pain, and he shut it as tightly as he could.

"Get Madam Pomfrey, Sirius!" came a woman's voice. "Go! Tell her that he's awake!" Snape heard heavy footsteps running away, and not long after, a soft hand caressing his scarred face. "You're safe, Severus. You're safe. No one will harm you anymore."

He didn't believe those words, but for now, he would cling to them as if they were gospel.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Snape is back (Partly), Ron is spent, and Dumbledore needs a nap. The True Triumvirate is wearier than ever, and the week just started.**

 **Next Chapter will have the Gala, I promise.**

 **See you on Wednesday!**


	93. Chapter 93 - Terrible Truths

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 93 is finished! Sorry about the delay, but Jedi Fallen Order came out and I was playing through that. If anyone is interested, it was bloody amazing! Finally a good Star Wars game! Check it out if you have time, it's great!**

 **Anyway, sorry again for the delay!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 93 – Terrible Truths**

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Past Midnight)**_

Pomfrey had sedated Snape, mostly because he was muttering nonsense and trying to shove people away from himself. According to the Matron of the Hospital Wing, Snape was showing severe signs of hysteria and PTSD. Sirius had thought about lending a hand, but in the end, he had found himself standing idly by in the corner of the room.

For the first time in his entire life, he didn't despise Snape. Throughout their entire schooling days, Sirius had wished nothing but ill on Snape. Even when Sirius was in Azkaban, his mind would come up with scenarios of the former Death-Eater's demise. But over the last couple of days, Sirius couldn't even bring himself to mock his childhood nemesis within his own mind. And he wasn't alone in feeling this way. Snape's resistance against the Dark Lord himself had made the man untouchable. Even Moody had praised Snape's mental fortitude, which was completely out of character for the ex-Auror.

"Let me through," came Pomona's voice, and Sirius looked to see the portly witch barge past the Weasley boys. Behind her were Filius and Minerva, both of whom were wearing gloomy expressions. "Severus…"

"Severus, can you hear us?" Minerva asked, all three Heads of Houses hovering near the man's bed. Snape didn't say a word, instead, he kept staring down at his missing hand. _He's not even blinking… What did Pomfrey give him?_

"He's not being responsive," Pomfrey told the latest arrivals. "Where is Albus?"

"On his way," Minerva replied, though her eyes didn't leave Snape. "Fawkes is about to begin his Cycle of Reincarnation. As it turns out, the Phoenix was holding off in order to look after Severus." _Really?_

"What did you give him?" Filius asked Pomfrey.

"A strong mixture of the Sleeping Draught and the Draught of Peace," Pomfrey replied. "I had little choice… He was not responding to anything else, and whenever we tried to get close, he lashed out."

"Severus, talk to us," Pomona whispered as she sat down by his side. "Tell us what happened."

Everyone went dead quiet, and even Sirius leaned forward a bit. There was no denying that people wanted answers, and this could be their one chance to get them. _Talk already. Tell us how the Dark Lord figured out that you were a spy._

"Where is Albus?" Snape finally looked up, his expression dull and uninterested.

"He's on his way," Pomona smiled a little, she knew that she could get through to him.

"Why did you come after me?" Snape whispered, and Pomona blinked at him. "It was foolish, and you could've been killed." _What? We bloody saved you._

"Perhaps, but it was the right thing to do," Filius stepped in. "You're one of us, Severus, and we don't leave each other behind."

"How noble," Snape drawled, and then he closed his eye. "I will wait for Albus… Leave me."

The Heads exchanged looks with Pomfrey, who just shook her head slowly. Sirius felt the urge to frown at Snape's dismissal, but he kept himself in check. If there was one thing that he was trying to master, it was self-control and patience. _Plus, I know why he wants to be left alone. I was the same after my release from Azkaban._

"Alright, everyone out," Pomfrey said, and then she beckoned Sirius. "He needs privacy, let's go."

One by one, everyone shuffled out of the room. Sirius followed behind Arthur, who was keeping Molly from coddling the crippled Potions Master. The Heads of Houses, and Pomfrey, were the last to leave the room.

"Shouldn't you stay in there?" Sirius whispered to Pomfrey. "You know, just in case he tries something…"

"Tries something?" Pomfrey asked, a slight frown on her face. Sirius looked to the others, who were already descending down the stairs.

"Self-harm…" Sirius whispered to Pomfrey. "When I got back from Azkaban, I tried it… I don't know what got into my head, but I just wanted out. I didn't want to be a shell of what I was, and so it felt like the right thing to do…"

Pomfrey's frown slowly disappeared, and she gave him a weak smile.

"I'll stay by the door," Pomfrey told him, while Sirius rubbed the back of his head. _What am I even doing? Why should I care if he slits his wrists?_

"Right," Sirius mumbled. "Call me if you need anything." _Again, what are you doing, Sirius?_

Pomfrey gave him a nod, and Sirius quickly followed the others down. Due to his Animagus Senses, he could hear them all whispering to each other. Most of them were concerned about Snape's mental state, while Molly was convinced that Snape needed a hot meal and some rest. Eventually, he found himself within the Kitchen. Molly was already putting together some soup over the stove, while Arthur and his sons sat with Sturgis on the dinner table. The Heads of Houses were waiting for Albus in the Living Room, and Sirius found himself conflicted on where to go.

"Sirius, are you alright?" came Pandora's voice, and he turned around to see Pandora and Xeno enter the Kitchen.

"I'm fine," Sirius replied. "I just… I'm not sure on what to do."

"For now, there is nothing that we can do," Xeno told him. "Everything is in Dumbledore's hands for now."

"Yeah… You're right," Sirius nodded slowly, and then he sat down besides Sturgis.

"How did the Dark Lord figure out that Professor Snape was a spy?" Bill asked everyone. "I mean, the Headmaster was certain that he could infiltrate the Death-Eaters, right?"

"Obviously, we've all underestimated You-Know-Who," Sturgis said with a distant look, he too felt unsure about leaving Snape alone. "Perhaps Mr. Moody is right… We've all become far too lax in our vigilance."

"Mum, he's not going to eat your cooking," Charlie said to his mother's back. "He can barely function with those sedatives in his system, and he's missing a hand."

"Then I'll feed it to him," Molly huffed. "Did you not see how sickly he looked? He hasn't eaten since he was captured, and if we don't get any food in him, he'll get sick."

"Your mother is right," Arthur told his son. "Food and rest are essential."

Once again, Sirius found himself lost for words. Merlin, he hated feeling this way. What was he supposed to do? How could he have been so wrong about a person for so long? _No, he was a Death-Eater. He might have changed over the years, but he was still a murdering bigot once. I didn't misjudge him. James didn't misjudge him. Lily didn't misjudge him. She was right to talk about him with disgust._

"Does Lady Weasley require assistance?" came Kreacher's croaky voice, and Sirius broke out of his thoughts. _And then there's him._

"Yes," Molly shot a soft smile towards the Elf. "Please dice the chicken up, and heat up some carrots."

"Kreacher understand," the Elf croaked, and then he walked further into the Kitchen.

Sirius' eyes followed the Elf's every move, while his mind tried to figure out why Kreacher was being so helpful. _He went from being insane to being extremely helpful out of nowhere. It just doesn't make any sense, what changed him so much?_ Sirius couldn't argue the Elf's true motives anymore, especially after his participation in the battle, but old wounds still lingered. Kreacher had been a cruel, and disgusting, little monster for as long as Sirius could remember, and yet, he was clearly brave and loyal as well. The Elf had even captured Narcissa Malfoy, and at the cost of losing most of his right ear.

"Lord Black, why are you staring at Kreacher?" Sturgis whispered, and Sirius broke his gaze.

"Just call me Sirius, Sturgis," Sirius sighed out. "And I wasn't staring, alright?"

"Right," Sturgis gave a slow nod.

"Do you need a drink?" Sirius asked as he stood up. "I need a fucking drink. Arthur? You want one?"

"No thanks," Arthur shook his head. "I've got work tomorrow."

"I'll have one," Charlie said.

"No, you won't," Molly glared back at her son. "Where is Kirsten?"

"Still asleep in her **own** room," Charlie sighed out, his mother had forced them to sleep two floors apart.

"Not wise, Charlie," Bill nudged his brother. "Just leave it, yeh? Now's not the time."

"Whatever," Charlie leaned back and rubbed his face, while Sirius shot him a sorry look. As he was making his way towards the Firewhiskey, he heard the fireplace roar to life. _Dumbledore is here._

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Past Midnight)**_

"Albus, it's good that you're here," Minerva said as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"He sent you all away?" Albus asked, his eyes scanning his Heads of Houses.

"Poppy gave him a powerful sedative, and he's still not responding," Filius explained.

"He keeps staring at his missing hand," Pomona added, there was clearly a lump in her throat.

"I'll go and talk to him," Albus started making his way out of the room. "The rest of you should return to Hogwarts."

"Are you sure?" Minerva asked, and he gave her a nod.

"Severus needs rest, and we still have a school to run," Albus said, and then he parted ways with his Heads of Houses. As he neared the stairs, he spotted Sirius lurking near the Kitchen's entrance. _He looks plagued once again._ "Sirius, accompany me upstairs please."

"Yeah… Sure," Sirius replied, and then he drank down his glass of Firewhiskey. Sirius left the glass on a nearby table, and they both began making their way up.

"Inform me of the night's events," Albus ordered, and Sirius drew in a sharp breath.

"Not much to say," Sirius started. "Pandora left some sort of Alarming Charm in the room, so when Snape finally stirred, it went off. Fawkes was gone by then, and I was first on the scene. I tried to floo you, but I was told by an Elf that you were asleep. So I had your Elf fetch the Heads of Houses." _And Minerva ordered Zinny to wake me up with force if necessary._

"You did well, Sirius," Albus commended.

"Didn't do much," Sirius shrugged, and Albus watched the man's ever slowing stride.

"You are still bothered by recent events," Albus stated, and Sirius immediately looked uncomfortable.

"Forget about my 'feelings', Dumbledore," Sirius sighed out. "I just need to get my head on straight… Just focus on him, alright?"

"Very well," Albus said, Sirius looked like a confused child at the moment. "But if you need to talk, Sirius, I am always here."

"I… Thanks," Sirius stopped walking. "I'll head back down, I think… Good luck."

Albus didn't stop his progress upwards, while Sirius hurried back downstairs in order to get another drink. _I sense a change coming in Sirius' behavior, and I think I should encourage it. After all, whatever benefits Sirius also benefits Harry._ Albus reached the top floor, and he found Poppy guarding the door to Regulus' old room.

"Albus," Poppy greeted, a look of relief washing over her features.

"Poppy, how is he?" Albus asked, his eyes fixed on the door.

"He needs time," Poppy replied. "He's been through something extremely traumatic, not to mention his injuries." She drew in a deep breath. "He might not even talk to you, just know that."

"You may return to Hogwarts, if you wish," Albus said, and she gave him a nod.

"I've given Pandora his sedatives, and she's promised to stay nearby," Poppy said, and then she left for downstairs.

Albus used his Occlumency to organize his lethargic mind, he was still recovering from his disturbed slumber. Once he had regained control, he opened the door and entered the room. Severus was sitting up on the bed, his right eye fixed on his missing hand.

"Severus," Albus all but whispered as he sat down on the bed's edge. "My boy… I am so sorry."

"You're sorry?" Severus looked up, the scars on his face were faint enough that Albus could barely see them. "What are you sorry for, Albus?"

"For sending you to him," Albus replied, his eyes fixed on Snape's only eye. "For demanding far too much of you."

"Spare me, Albus," Severus scoffed. "I have made my own choices, and this is the price that I have to pay for my numerous crimes. I offered you my help, and I knew the risks. So spare me your act of falling on your own sword, I have no patience for it."

"I see," Albus gave a weak smile. "You truly are the bravest man that I've ever met, Severus."

"I doubt it," Severus looked back down at his missing hand. "I can't work for you anymore, Albus."

"Do you wish to resign?" Albus asked, making sure to mask his own opinion on the matter.

"No, but look at me," Severus said tiredly, the sedatives were putting him under. "My eye… My face… My hand… I even lost my wand…"

"Then we'll get you another," Albus reached forward and placed his hand on Snape's left shoulder. "I know that I have no right to say this, but I still need you, Severus. Ronald and I both need you. The war has only just started, and I need you by my side." _I trust you above all others._

"The boy… How is he?" Severus asked. "Has he done something stupid yet?"

Albus blinked at his young friend, and then he understood what Severus was referring to. _Ronald is still ruled by his emotions._

"He's the one who truly saved you," Albus said without thinking. "He noticed that your fireplace was out, and he brought it to my attention. We then followed the clues and discovered that you were missing. He, of course, wanted to rush into Malfoy Manor in order to rescue you, but I cautioned restraint. That's when he came up with using Elf Magic to get past the Wards of the Manor."

"He planned the rescue?" Severus asked, his expression softening a little.

"We both did, but he made it all possible," Albus replied. "Even I discounted the Elves, much like the Dark Lord."

"Elves… I could've called a Hogwarts Elf when I was running from him…" Severus muttered to himself. "I'm a fool…"

Albus felt the urge to refute that, but he held his tongue. In truth, he didn't know what to say to Severus. Albus felt guilty, relieved, proud, and angry at the same time, and he was not used to letting his emotions run free.

"How did Voldemort know of your true allegiance?" Albus finally asked, this question had been festering in his mind ever since the rescue.

"He…" Severus started, but then he stopped. Snape knew that Albus' trip to Albania had been the last straw for the Dark Lord, but he couldn't bring himself to say that. The old man would blame himself even more, and that would only serve to hinder the Order. "He has gone mad in his exile, Albus. I never had a chance of infiltrating his Death-Eaters."

"Mad?" Albus asked, was he not to blame for Severus' capture?

"He has changed for the worse," Severus clarified, his right eye becoming distant. "He is angry… And unlike before, he craves nothing but vengeance against us all. He has no plans for World Domination anymore, he only seeks to deal out death. He'll kill us all, including his own Death-Eaters. And then, he'll kill everyone else."

"Until he is the only being alive?" Albus asked slowly.

"Until his immortality can never be challenged," Severus said, and Albus felt slight dread in his bones. _An enemy that seeks to undo all of Humanity, that's who we're dealing with. To think that I had high hopes for Tom once._

"Did he tell you this?" Albus asked.

"No, but I felt it," Severus replied. "I felt his… hatred… And his malice… He is no longer a man, Albus. We're fighting against a monster."

"No, Severus," Albus said, a look of certainty on his face. " **Tom** is a man, don't give him the satisfaction by thinking otherwise. He is the most base of all of us, but he is still human. And like any man, he can be killed."

Severus went to say something, but a knock at the door stopped him.

"Come in," Albus called, and Molly Weasley entered the room. Behind her was a floating platter of fresh soup and bread, and Albus knew that his conversation with Severus was at an end. _Save your questions for later, Albus. Let him rest and recover first._

"I've brought food," Molly said, her eyes moving between the two of them.

"I am not hungry," Severus looked away, a bitter expression on his face. "Feed your poison to Black, if you must, but leave me alone."

"Severus, you must eat," Albus advised. "You haven't eaten since your capture."

"You will get sick," Molly added, choosing to ignore his insults. "Just have as much as you can stomach, at least." Severus didn't say anything, and a cross look flashed across her face. "My husband could've died in the mission to rescue you, so you will eat this food whether you like it or not. I will not allow you to die of a fever, not after you survived that madman."

Molly stomped over to the bedside, while Albus got out of her way. After she sat down, the platter landed in her lap, and she began to break the bread up into smaller bits.

"He needs his rest," Molly shot Albus a quick frown. "Your questions will need to wait, or we'll be burying him before long."

"And this soup will save my life, will it?" Severus asked coldly. _Despite his medication, he still can't help himself._

"It will," Molly said in a challenging tone. "Now open your mouth."

"What?" Severus glowered.

"The sedatives have a numbing effect, Poppy told me on her way out," Molly explained as she hovered a spoonful of soup near Severus' face. "You will spill it on yourself, so I'll feed you."

"Albus," Severus frowned in his direction, but Albus saw the sense in Molly's words.

"Severus, eat and rest," Albus said gently. "Please."

"I can feed myself," Severus sneered at them, and then he reached for a spare spoon with his missing hand.

And just like that, silence engulfed them all. Severus had frozen mid-reach, his right eye fixed on his bandaged stub. Even Molly had lost her challenging frown, and was now just looking hurt on Severus' behalf. As for Albus, he felt his heart clench for a moment, but then a familiar rage burned through him. _Lord Voldemort will pay, I'll make sure of it._

Severus pulled his arm back slowly, a cold and uninterested expression gracing his features. Neither Molly nor Albus dared utter a word, but the Weasley matriarch somehow regained her focus before Albus could.

"Please," she said as softly as she could. "Don't give up now, not after everything you've been through. You have to eat. You have to live."

Severus swallowed thickly, and then he slowly took the spoon in his mouth. Albus decided to leave at that, he knew that Severus was too proud to have him there during such a moment. As Albus shut the door, he shot Molly a grateful smile. Once the door was closed, Albus released a shaky breath. _Just one more thing before I leave._

He made his way up towards the attic, he had made sure to collect Draco's letter on the way here. _She has to make her decision tonight, I will not be so patient with the likes of her._ Albus climbed up the steps, and he entered without knocking. Narcissa Malfoy sat by the tiny window on the other side of the attic, her eyes fixed on the street below.

"Have you made your decision?" Albus asked as he approached her.

"Will my son be sleeping in this attic?" Narcissa asked without looking at him.

"No," Albus replied. "He will be given his own room."

"And yet, you'll all treat him like an animal," Narcissa hissed as she looked at him. "My son will be a prisoner, just like his mother."

"You have made these choices, Narcissa, not I," Albus said without a hint of pity. "And we are not base animals like you. Draco will be treated with kindness, no one here blames him for the crimes of you and your husband."

"What crimes?" Narcissa stood up. "We wish to preserve our heritage, and our traditions-"

"By killing those who are different," Albus finished. "Spare me your bitter rant, I have come here for a decision. Will Draco be staying with you? Or your husband?"

"I… He will… be staying with me," Narcissa said, and then she sneered at him. "But mark my words, old man, there will be justice for this."

"Justice?" Albus asked. " **This** is justice. You being locked away from the World is justice for what you did to Severus."

Her hateful mask cracked for a moment.

"Severus is dead?" she asked, her voice devoid of any venom.

"No, but he will never be whole again," Albus replied. "Your 'traditions' caused you to betray your own ally and friend, your own son's Godfather, so please tell me, is your hatred worth it?" She didn't reply. "What will your son think of you when he learns the truth?"

"We had no choice," she hissed, the mention of her son had clearly agitated her.

"Yes, you did," Albus said coldly. "You chose to serve a madman, while many others like you resisted. You opened your homes to him, gave him political power, and then killed in his name. You created Lord Voldemort." She flinched at the mention of her Master's name. "Your son **will** learn the truth, I will tell him myself, and unlike you, he will chose the right path. Draco's soul can still be saved from your poison."

"I am his mother," Narcissa glared at him.

"I am not refuting that," Albus said, and then he pulled out Draco's letter. "Here, it's from your son."

She approached him slowly, but then she snatched the letter from his hands. As she read through it, Albus simply studied her features. _She is scared for her son's Future, but so am I. If Draco does follow in his father's footsteps, then he will not survive the war. But if kept away from the Dark Lord, then he might even save lives._

"You steal his mail?" Narcissa said hatefully.

"Yes," Albus replied, he saw no need to lie. "You will see him soon, I promise."

"I can't write to him?" she asked.

"No," Albus turned around to leave, but she followed after him.

"He does not believe your lie about Severus," she said.

"Good, it will make my job easier," Albus said without acknowledging her. "I will tell him of what you and your husband did to Severus, and then I will let him decide his own Future."

"You will manipulate him against me," Narcissa spat out. "Do not try to fool me with your 'nobility', old man. You wish to control my son, just like the Dark Lord. You two are more alike than you think."

"I am nothing like your Master," Albus said as he neared the door. "If Draco chooses to go into hiding instead of fighting, then I will shelter him. Tell me, what would your Master do in my position?" With that, Albus exited the attic and shut the door. _I must speak with Draco before the Gala. His father cannot be given a chance to see him._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Morning)**_

Ron woke up feeling uncomfortable, something had pinned his left arm down to the bed.

"Ugh…" Ron groaned as his eyes opened, his entire body felt heavy. _Why is my arm so numb?_ Ron eyed the head of blonde hair which was resting on his left forearm, his girlfriend had snuck into the Hospital Wing in the dead of night. She was sleeping in a chair, and truth be told, she looked extremely uncomfortable. _What time is it?_

Ron slowly tried to pull his arm away from Daphne's grasp, which resulted in the blonde witch shooting up in her chair, her eyes wide-open and some drool on the corner of her mouth. They just stared at each other, and then Ron looked to his wet sleeve. _She drooled on my arm._ Daphne's eyes followed his, and she let out a startled yelp.

"That's not from me," she lied blatantly, while also cleaning up the corner of her mouth face her own sleeve.

"That's not from you?" Ron blinked at her, a bemused look on his face. "Daph…"

"I don't drool in my sleep," Daphne lied again, her embarrassment written on her face. Ron just looked between his arm and her face, while Daphne avoided eye contact.

"So… Pomfrey did it?" Ron asked slowly, his bemusement was quickly turning into amusement. _What an odd thing to lie about, especially considering the overwhelming evidence._

"I… Look… You can't tell people… Please?" Daphne stammered, her exhaustion catching up to her.

"Of course I won't," Ron sat up. "But honestly, everyone drools in their sleep, Daphne."

"Ladies don't…" Daphne sighed, and then she rubbed her lower back. "Ow…"

"You could've asked me to scoot last night," Ron smiled a lazy smile. "I enjoyed sleeping with you in Sanctuary."

"Don't say that so loudly," Daphne looked scandalized. _Say what? I was trying to be sweet._ "People could misunderstand that sentence, Ron." _Oh…_

"You can join me, if you want," Ron moved over to the side, and then he patted the bed. A greedy look crossed her face, and she quickly hopped onto the bed. "That wasn't very ladylike."

"Oh, hush," Daphne rolled her eyes, though her lips twitched upwards.

"You snuck in here," Ron stated, while Daphne rested her back on his left arm.

"How did you figure that out?" Daphne gasped, and then she shot him a teasing smile.

"Don't be mean to me, I just woke up," Ron kissed the side of her head. _This is how simple life should be._

"As did I," Daphne shrugged. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Ron replied. "Though my left arm is numb and wet…"

"I wonder how that happened," Daphne feigned ignorance.

"It was Pomfrey," Ron chuckled.

"Had to be," Daphne tapped her chin. "But seriously, Ron, how are you? Madam Pomfrey told us that your blood-pressure was too high, and it caused the nosebleed. Not to mention your brain being inflamed, which always scares me to death."

"I've got a lot going on right now, but you already know that," Ron said. "I feel a lot better, I promise. I just needed a good night's rest to get my strength back." _A good night's rest… I wonder what that's like._ "Now… Tell me about you."

"There's nothing to tell," Daphne replied. "Oh, I ordered Ginevra a very nice dress."

"You did?" Ron blinked. "Even after my… episode?"

"I made you a promise, didn't I?" Daphne smirked smugly. "A Greengrass' word is written in stone, Ronald."

"I can see that," Ron smiled. "I love you, Daph."

"Where did that come from?" Daphne giggled, while Ron just gave her a smitten look. _I love that she kept her word, despite the mess of things. I should learn from that._ They suddenly heard footsteps approaching, and Daphne hopped off of the bed with the agility of a cat. Madam Pomfrey pushed herself past the curtains, her brow furrowed as she examined where the noise was coming from.

"Ms. Greengrass?" Pomfrey eyed her. "When did you arrive? It's not even time for Breakfast yet."

"I just wanted to see him as early as possible," Daphne lied, though her wrinkled clothes and slightly gunky eyes told a different story.

"You broke curfew and snuck in here, you mean," Pomfrey frowned. "Five points from Slytherin for breaking school curfew, Ms. Greengrass." _Shite, we need those._ "Ronald, it's nearly time for breakfast, and you are discharged."

"Thanks," Ron said awkwardly, while Daphne showed zero emotion.

"Try to stay out of here for at least three days this time," Pomfrey shook her head at him, and then she left to wake up her other patients. Ron slid out of his bed, fixed up his clothes, and then put his gloved hand forward for Daphne.

"I'm sorry about that," Ron said as she took his hand.

"Sorry about what?" Daphne asked. "Nothing happened, Ron. I didn't lose Slytherin a single point."

"Oh, of course," Ron sniggered as they began making their way back to the common room. "I was just hearing things."

"Exactly," Daphne smirked. "You really ought to get your hearing looked at, Ron. Anyway, do you want to know which kind of dress I ordered for your sister?"

"Um… Yeah, go ahead," Ron replied.

"Don't worry, I'll show you a picture later," Daphne assured him. "It's a crimson Long Ruffled V-neck, and it will match her hair perfectly."

"It won't show much skin, will it?" Ron asked.

"Just her arms," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded his approval. "Don't worry, I was very careful with my selection. If she doesn't like it, then she has no taste."

"And how much did it cost?" Ron asked.

"Forty Galleons," Daphne replied.

"For a dress?!" Ron gaped at her, and she looked quite taken aback. "Daphne…"

"What? I get most of my formal dresses from there," Daphne told him.

"And where is 'there'?" Ron asked. _I mean, I can understand jewelry costing a lot of money, but a damn dress?_

"It's a shop called the Dancing Maiden," Daphne replied. "In Germany." Ron blinked at her. "Look, I know that it's a bit high-priced, but that's the norm in these events. Your Family needs to look perfect when you are addressed, Ron. There will be journalists there, and rich nobles love to gossip."

"You're right… You're right…" Ron said. "I was just a little jarred by the price, that's all."

"It'll be worth it in the long run, I promise," Daphne reassured him.

"I ought to do something about the rest of my Family as well," Ron realized. "The twins hate dressing up, Percy should be fine, and Ginny is sorted."

"What about your parents?" Daphne asked.

"I'll ask them to show me their chosen clothes," Ron replied. "If they need something more Gala worthy, then I'll do something about them." _That'll be a fun conversation, right?_

They made their way into the Dungeons, and from there, into the common room. Once they were inside, Ron spotted a few early risers moping about the common room. When they saw him and Daphne, they just frowned in his direction.

"I take it that the Triumvirate failed to convince our House-mates," Ron whispered.

"Actually, they did manage to convince them, but people aren't happy," Daphne told him. "To be honest, Ron, I personally don't like this plan of yours."

"What?"

"It's just that we're running away from **two** arseholes," Daphne replied, and Ron waited for her to go on. "I mean, we can do so much more damage to them than they can do to us, but you want us to go into hiding. I'm sorry, but a lot of people don't agree with that."

"The twins are geniuses-"

"No one is refuting that, but we're not so slow ourselves," Daphne told him. "I understand that they're your brothers, and that you don't want to move against them, but they clearly have no problem with going after you. If they're as smart as you claim them to be, then they know that their actions will turn this House against you. They want you to get into trouble."

"They play pranks, it's what they do," Ron tried to explain.

"Pranks? Ron, your brothers are targeting us because we don't have Professor Snape here to protect us," Daphne said. "To me, that's quite a cowardly act. They have no problem kicking us when we're down, and yet, they claim to be 'proud Lions'." Ron thought about her words, and he found it hard to disagree with her. "It's just my opinion, and you don't have to agree with it. I'll see you at breakfast, alright?"

"Alright," Ron nodded slowly, and Daphne left for the girls' dorms.

Ron began making his way towards his room, just the mere thought of the twins bogged down Ron's mind and spirit. Why were they such arseholes to him last night? He had begged them to back off, but they had mocked and laughed at him in response. _And what Daphne said is true. They didn't have the balls to come after us when Snape was around, but now that he's gone, they immediately pick up their wands. What am I supposed to do about them? I can't just beat them into submission, they're my Blood._

Ron entered his room, and he shut the door behind himself. Theo and Malfoy were still asleep, and Ron frowned at the both of them. _I was gone one day, and they chose to sleep in instead of running their laps. All of them still find ways to take the easy road._

"You're back," came Blaise's voice, and Ron looked to see the dark-skinned wizard come out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. _He's got nice shoulders, and I can almost see some abs. Wait… What am I thinking? Quick, make a joke._

"Nice," Ron grinned, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Blaise. "You've got nice-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Blaise chuckled. "Fucking weirdo."

"Just trying to be polite," Ron smirked. "Did you go for your morning run?"

"Yes, Sir," Blaise gave a mock salute. "Millie and I went together, and she ran six laps today. She's improving." _Good. That's really fucking good._ "How are you feeling, brother? Everything alright up there?"

"Up there?" Ron snorted. "No. Things are definitely not alright up there, but at least I'm not exhausted right now."

"You'll change that soon enough," Blaise smirked.

"True, but first I need a shower," Ron said, and then he made his way to his trunk. While Ron picked out his undergarments, Blaise quickly got dressed for the day. "Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"Wait," Blaise called as Ron neared the bathroom. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

"Um… Sure," Ron nodded, and then he made his way inside the bathroom. Blaise followed after him, and once the bathroom door was closed, Blaise gave Ron an odd look. "Well? What is it?"

"The twins," Blaise replied, and Ron nearly groaned.

"The fucking twins…" Ron shook his head. "What about them?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Ron, like always," Blaise started. "You're making a mistake by running away from them-"

"I'm not running away from anyone," Ron frowned a little. "First Daphne, and now you? Why do you both think that I'm running away?"

"Because you are," Blaise replied. "Actually, Tracey brought this up last night."

"Tracey?" Ron asked.

"She hates the way your Family treats you, and she hates that you have a soft spot for them," Blaise explained. "Last night, we were trying to come up with ways of dealing with the twins, and Tracey just went off. She pointed out that you have a habit of letting your siblings run all over you, and that instead of hiding, we should fight back. The twins are targeting us right now because they think we're weak, and you are proving them right."

"So what? We just go to war with my brothers?" Ron asked. "How does that help us? We'll lose more Points than they will."

"You don't care about the Points," Blaise pointed out. "I know you, Ron. I know you better than most, and you don't take shite from anyone. Remember Flint? Or Madame Maxime? Or even Dumbledore himself? Remember what you did to Potter?"

"That was different-"

"No, it wasn't," Blaise said. "In all of those situations, you were being targeted by someone, and you did everything you could to win. But when Ginevra called you a traitor, you didn't say a word in retaliation. And now, the twins are trying to run rampant, and you want to hide down here. Tracey was dead right, mate, you allow your siblings to get away with too much."

"Look…" Ron drew in a deep breath. "I'm currently under a lot of pressure, and dealing with the twins is a waste of time. They're not going to stop, so we should just ruin their fun by walking away. They want attention, Blaise, and I don't want to play into their hands."

"You say that, but it doesn't change the fact that those two idiots are hurting your good name," Blaise countered. "Ron, the Slytherins don't want to stay down here for a month. It's completely mental for you to think that they'll listen to such a plan, especially when they all see your plan for what it truly is."

"And what is my plan?"

"You would have us hide away down here in order to protect your brothers, and that's not fair," Blaise said bluntly. "I don't want to spend a month down here, no one does. The twins are just two people, and sure, they're better at this 'pranking' nonsense than we are, but shouldn't we at least try something? Is running away really the best option? You are giving them a chance to get away with their terrible behavior once again, and it'll bite you in the arse eventually."

"What would you have me do then?" Ron asked, he was starting to get annoyed.

"Talk to Tracey," Blaise replied. "She might slack off most of the time, but when she focuses on something, she's a force of nature. She's already come up with a solid plan to shut the twins down for a while."

"Shut the twins down for a while?" Ron repeated. _What is she planning to do?_

"Talk to her, brother," Blaise said. "You've worked hard to get to where you are now, but if you don't fight back, the twins will ruin everything for you. People are already calling you weak-willed, and it hasn't even been a day yet. When Professor Snape was leading the House, we had a firm hand guiding us. We never had to hide away from two Gryffindors."

"I'm not Professor Snape," Ron sighed out.

"No, you're actually more frightening," Blaise pointed out. "I don't remember seeing Professor Snape burn a person's hand before." Blaise then gave Ron a meaningful look. "This is not you, Ron. You don't run away from bullies, you face them and shut them down. Fight back against the twins, or at least, let someone else do it." _Fuck me…_

"Let me just have a shower," Ron said, and Blaise gave him a nod. "I'll talk to Tracey after Breakfast."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Common Room – After Breakfast)**_

"Tracey, can I talk to you for a second?" Ron asked, and she broke away from her conversation with Millie.

"Yeah, what do you need?" she smiled at him, while Ron stood up.

"Follow me," Ron said, and then he made his way towards the boys' dorms. On the way, Ron made sure to avoid the unsatisfied looks of his House-mates, all of whom seemed quite annoyed with him. _Bloody hell, my reputation is already taking a beating._

"Ron, am I in trouble?" Tracey asked as they disappeared from sight. "Because whatever you think I did, I didn't do it."

"What?" Ron turned around, and Tracey shot him a sheepish smile. "No, you're not in any trouble."

"Oh, thank the Lord," Tracey giggled. "For a second there, I was worried that you had discovered one of my schemes."

"Schemes?" Ron blinked.

"It's nothing," Tracey waved a dismissive hand, and Ron just stared at her. _What schemes, woman?_ "What do you need from little old me?"

"Um… Blaise mentioned that I should talk to you about the twins," Ron said slowly, deciding to forget about Tracey's 'schemes'.

"The twins…" Tracey frowned immediately, and then she drew in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry about this, Ron, but I don't agree with your plan. Only Pansy and Millie support your tactic, while the rest of us are against it."

"You think I'm hiding," Ron stated.

"Because you are," Tracey replied, there was no amusement in her voice anymore. "The twins might be genius pranksters, but that isn't the reason why we're down here. We're down here because you don't want to fight your own kin, and as much as I admire that, I'm not willing to support it. Not when the twins want to hurt you."

"They don't-"

"Yes, they do," Tracey cut him off. "Ron, you have a blind spot when it comes to your Family. Remember last year? Your sister was the culprit all along, and although Theo suspected her, you wouldn't hear it. Even now, you allow her to spit venom in your direction without any retaliation. You're not thinking straight here, and everyone knows it. The Slytherins are already pissed off about Snape, and this is going to cause an uprising. You could lose your position within this House if you don't show some spine."

"So what am I supposed to do then?" Ron asked tiredly. "I can't go after the twins like I go after my other enemies, mum and dad will have my hide…"

"That's just another excuse," Tracey sighed. "Look, I don't want to sound rude, or disrespect you in any way, but you're being too cautious."

"You mean cowardly, don't you?" Ron frowned at her.

"I'm only saying this because I love you," Tracey shrugged weakly. "The twins might love you too, but right now, they're aiming to hurt you. They are all jealous of you, and this is their way of getting to you."

"Jealous of me? Who would be jealous of me?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. _I'd give up my Magic just to be another normal kid._

"Not me, that's for certain," Tracey admitted. "I know what you go through in order to succeed, and I know that I can't do that to myself. Your siblings, however, don't care enough to give you your dues. They'd rather label you a traitor than watch you succeed without them, and quite frankly, that disgusts me. Your siblings disgust me." _Bloody hell…_

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Ron rubbed his forehead.

"Because I don't want to see you like **this** ," Tracey walked up to Ron. "None of us do, Ron. It's why no one badmouths your Family, despite their shitty attitudes. We want you to be happy and hassle-free, and that won't happen if we push you to confront your Family."

"But now you want me to fight the twins," Ron drew in a deep breath. _Like I don't have enough going on right now. Seriously, fuck Fred and George, the slimy cunts._

"No, I want you to let **me** fight the twins," Tracey corrected him. "Enough is enough, Ron. I won't stand by while they all come after my friend, that's not who I am. I've kept my silence so far, but nothing's gotten better. You might not want to put them in their place, but I bloody do. Someone has to knock them down a peg, because until that happens, they'll never change. They'll always disrespect you." _Damn, what do I even say to that? She really means those words._

"Blaise mentioned that you had a plan," Ron muttered, and Tracey gave him a nod.

"You told us that the Triumvirate gave you the barrels of alcohol for safekeeping," Tracey started. "My plan is simple. We start rumors that the twins are planning something big, but we make the rumors vague. This way, we can piggyback on the rumors already flying around about them, which will add credibility to the next step. Once everything is in place, we get Marty to plant a barrel in their room. We get Carey, the Head Girl, to speak to your brother Percy. She'll feed him some lie about hearing rumors of a party being planned by the twins, and that they plan to provide alcohol to minors at said party."

"And knowing Percy, he'll crack down on them and find the barrel," Ron figured.

"Exactly," Tracey nodded. "Percy will no doubt involve Professor McGonagall, who is quite strict with her Gryffindors. The twins will lose a lot of Points for breaking the Law, while Carey will also counsel that the twins' contraband be confiscated."

"They'll lose their arsenal," Ron nodded slowly, this could work. _But is it the right thing to do? The twins are jerks, but this will really hurt them. I know for a fact that they've spent all of their money on those prank items._

"Not only will they lose their arsenal, but they'll also be given detentions," Tracey clarified. "Gryffindor will lose the scant few Points that they have, which the twins will be blamed for, and we come out clean."

"They'll blame me for the fucking barrel though," Ron pointed out.

"True, but the House will prosper," Tracey told him. "We'll make sure that the Slytherins know that it was you who stopped the twins, and things will go back to normal. Well, almost normal."

"But it's your plan," Ron blinked. "You should get the credit."

"Like I said, I want you to be happy and hassle-free," Tracey smiled. "I don't want to see you pressed into a corner, especially because of your Family. I don't want to think about your raised blood-pressure, or see you get nosebleeds from sheer stress."

"Trace…" Ron shifted in his spot, he didn't know what to say. _Fucking hell, I'm stressing my friends by stressing myself._

"I'm amazing, aren't I?" Tracey smirked at him. "Who knew I could be such a team-player?" _Trust Tracey to start making jokes immediately._

"Certainly not I," Ron smiled a little, and Tracey gave him a light shove.

"Sod off," she snorted. "You're meant to be sweet to me in a moment like this. After all, I don't get sappy with the other boys I know."

Ron smiled more fully, and then he opened up his arms. Tracey grinned before hugging him tightly, and then she took a deep sniff of his school robes. Ron thought that was rather odd, but he didn't say anything.

"Mmm, you smell nice," Tracey hummed into his chest. "You're like the perfect cuddling specimen."

"Thank you, Tracey," Ron gave her a squeeze, he was genuinely lost for words. "Let me talk to the twins one last time, and if they don't back off, then you have my blessing." _And I'll make sure that you get the credit for this plan, not me. If it works, then you deserve the laurels._

"Good," Tracey said. "You keep saying that we're a team, but you also keep doing everything by yourself. You know that you can rely on us sometimes, right?"

"I… I know," Ron whispered. "I just have trouble asking…"

"Well, you never have to ask me," Tracey said softly. "You just let me know when you need me, and I'll be there."

"Likewise," Ron said.

"Likewise? C'mon, Ron, be a little sweeter," Tracey teased.

"I love you," Ron managed. "How's that?"

"Better."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Courtyard – Lunchtime)**_

"I brought them, Ron," Luna waved at him, and Ron gave her a smile. Behind Luna were the twins, Ginny, and Percy. _Time to tell them about the Gala, and after that, I need to talk to the twins._

"Ron, where are the Slytherins?" Percy asked immediately, while the twins grinned at Ron.

"We're dining back in the common room," Ron replied, and Percy waited for him to go on. "Without Professor Snape in the Great Hall, we just feel more comfortable in our common room."

"What?" Percy frowned. "Ron, that's insane. All students must be present at the Great Hall for meals, that's the rule."

"If they want to eat in their Dungeon, then you should let them," Ginny said haughtily, she was still angry with Ron for threatening to hit her.

"Their tables are certainly a better sight without them," George sniggered.

"Too true," Fred added.

"Why are we here?" Ginny asked. "You're making us miss lunch." _Right, just get to it, Ron._

"You've all heard about the upcoming Gala for the Restoration of St. Mungo's, right?" Ron asked.

"Yes, we've read your brochures," Fred replied.

"Well, we're all invited to attend the Gala," Ron told his siblings.

"Really?" Percy's eyes flashed, while the twins and Ginny gave him curious looks. "We're invited to attend a Gala at the Minister's home?"

"We are," Ron replied. "Madam Bones sent me a personal invite, and I want you all there."

"Why would she send it to you?" Ginny asked.

"Can I come?" Luna asked right after.

"Of course, Luna," Ron smiled at her. "I'll talk to Pandora and Xeno, and after I get their permission, I'll take you with me."

"Mum and dad weren't invited?" Luna tilted her head.

"The event is aimed at the Sacred Twenty Eight, so no," Ron said gently. "But you can still attend, if you want."

"I'll attend," Luna smiled widely. "Thank you, Ron."

"Wait… Sacred Twenty Eight?" Percy blinked. "Shouldn't the invite be sent to the Head of the Family then?"

"Under normal circumstances, it would be," Ron replied. "But Madam Bones sent it to me because I'm donating a lot of money to the Charity."

"How much money?" George asked.

"Five hundred Galleons," Ron replied, and the twins gaped at him.

"You're throwing away that much money?" Fred asked in utter disbelief.

"He's not throwing it away," Ginny suddenly frowned at the twins. "He's helping rebuild St. Mungo's, you morons." _Did she just stand up for me?_ "But let me guess, you used the Charity Event to further yourself like always." _Fuck._

"What does that even mean?" Ron asked her. "Where is this coming from?"

"Shouldn't you donate to a Charity because you want to help?" Ginny asked him. "Instead of doing that, you're just using the Gala as a way to put yourself on a pedestal. I mean, why else would you have this invite be sent to you instead of dad?" _Because dad can't do shite about it, but I can._

"Ginny, not now," Percy sighed out. "Just stop it, alright? I've had it with your attitude."

"My attitude?" Ginny sounded shocked. "What about him?! He's clearly scheming to further his own position, all the while pretending to care about doing the right thing!"

"And what are you doing to help St. Mungo's, Ginny?" Luna asked, her voice was too aloof to take seriously. "Just because Ron has plans of his own doesn't mean that he's not helping St. Mungo's. You are judging him unfairly."

"I'm glad that he's helping St. Mungo's, I just don't like his scheming," Ginny said defensively. "The brother I grew up with didn't scheme behind people's backs, nor did he ever threaten to slap me."

"Wait… What?" Percy looked to Ron, who was quickly feeling more and more detached.

"I was angry, and I'm sorry about that," Ron apologized, but Ginny just rolled her eyes. "Look… What do you want from me? I invite you all to a formal party, and this is your reaction? You put me up for trial?" _What the fuck is wrong with you lot?_

"Here he goes with his complaining," Fred whispered to George, who nodded along with a smirk.

"I don't complain," Ron frowned at them. "Are you four coming or not? Just give me a plain answer."

"I'll go, of course," Percy replied, and Ron gave him a nod. _Finally, a straight fucking answer._

"Of course," George mimicked Percy. "I wonder how many arses you can kiss in one night, Perce."

"Let's take a bet, George," Fred added, and then he looked to Ron. "We'll go to this Gala as well."

"And you?" Ron asked Ginny.

"I'll go," Ginny said. "I mean, everyone else is going, right?"

"Right," Ron said tiredly, he really was at his wit's end with her.

"Are we dismissed, Lord Weasley?" Fred asked, and Ron had to bite his tongue. _They want you to react, Ron. Don't give them that._

"Don't call him that," Percy frowned at Fred. "What's the matter with you lot? Are you fighting?"

"Not at all," George replied.

"Why would you suggest such a thing?" Fred added, while Percy looked to Ron.

"We're not fighting," Ron told Percy. "They're always like this, Percy, you know that better than most."

"Ouch," the twins feigned hurt.

"I'm going back inside, it's cold out here," Ginny turned around and left. Luna shot Ron a grateful smile, and then she too left for the Great Hall. _Honestly, Luna is actually my favorite sibling. I should've gotten her the dress. Wait, I still have time. I'll have Daphne order something for Luna, and then pay her back._

"Fred and George, can I talk to you?" Ron asked, and the twins just smiled at him. _So smug…_

"I'll be inside," Percy looked between them all. "Thanks for the invite, Ron, and I'd like to discuss this Gala more with you. Is that alright?"

"Sure, Perce," Ron agreed, and Percy left to find shelter from the cold. Once he was out of sight, the twins grinned at Ron.

"You convinced all of Slytherin to run away from us?" Fred laughed.

"How did you pull that off?" George asked.

"I gave a heartwarming speech," Ron said dryly, making the twins snigger. "I'm here to ask you two to stop this."

"This again?" the twins groaned.

"Please," Ron said calmly. "You have to understand that this is hurting me, right? You two are turning everyone in Slytherin against me."

"I see that as a win, Ronnie," Fred said, and Ron blinked at him. "You don't need to be like them."

"What?" Ron asked. "This isn't a joke, Fred. Slytherin is very different from Gryffindor. I've worked myself to the bone to get to where I am, and you are damaging my reputation."

"Your reputation?" George asked. "Ron, why do you even care about that?"

"Why do I care about my reputation?" Ron asked, now he was confused.

"Why do you care about what the Slytherins think of you," George clarified. "You're a Weasley, don't be so quick to forget that." _I know that I'm a Weasley, you fuck. It's you who's forgotten that._

"I have to live in Slytherin," Ron told them, he was moments away from losing his marbles. "Just stop doing this, alright? It's not funny, and it's really fucking me over."

"It **is** funny," Fred said. "And it's not fucking you over. Not everything is about you, little brother."

"How is this funny?!" Ron snapped. "You are targeting us simply because we have no Head of House… You two are actual cowards."

"Watch it, Ron," George said, his amusement gone.

"Unlike you, we got sorted into Gryffindor," Fred added, and Ron made sure to hide his hurt. _They still can't get over my sorting? No, they know that_ _ **I'm**_ _not over it, so they're using it against me._

"You are only coming after us because Professor Snape isn't around," Ron repeated. "I'm your brother, and you are causing me problems for a laugh. Please, just stop it. This is going to turn ugly if you keep persisting."

"Ohhh," Fred feigned being terrified.

"Ron, just learn to have a laugh, alright?" George said, he was considerably less amused than Fred. "We shouldn't have to change just to appease you, or your absurd need to earn favor from the snakes."

"I'm one of them," Ron reached his boiling point. "You can't call them all snakes, and just skip me, understand? Why are you Gryffindors so fucking arrogant? You two are bullies, plain and simple. And I'm sick of you two getting away with it because of your House."

"Bullies?" Fred asked, he looked quite taken aback. "Yeah, sure… We're bullies… Can you believe this, George?"

"Let's go, Fred," George shook his head. "And Ron, pull that rod out of your arse when you get a chance. You used to be a funny bloke."

With that, the twins left for the Great Hall. Ron just stood alone in the cold, his mind was already feeling strained from yet another confrontation. _Why are they treating me this way? Maybe Tracey is right, and they are jealous of me. Fucking morons… There is nothing to be jealous of. I'm fucking miserable most of the time._

"Fuck!" Ron yelled at the wind, and then he rubbed his cold face harshly. "Fuck it… Tracey can have at them."

Ron began marching down towards the Slytherin common room, he had had enough. _I gave them ample warnings, but they just won't listen. Fine… I'll fucking teach them a lesson, and if they keep trying to fuck me over, I'll knock their heads off. I'm not 'Ronnie', and I should have shut their shite down last night. Instead, I fucking turned myself into a joke. Fuck those two cunts!_

"Brotherhood," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him.

Ron made his way inside, a pissed off sneer on his face. The Slytherins, who were eating their lunch, shot him quick looks, but when they saw his expression, they quickly looked away. _Yeah, I'm still Ronald fucking Weasley, so keep your eyeballing to a minimum._

"Everyone! I need your attention!" Ron announced, and people shot him wary looks. He could see his friends staring at him, and they could tell that Ron was clearly pissed off. "There's been a change of plans! Tonight, we eat in the Great Hall!"

The Triumvirate just stared at him from near the Training Area, all three of them had furrowed brows. _Ignore them for now._

"Seriously, Weasley?" Maria Cortez spoke up. "Last night, you were convinced that we should stay down here."

"Pick something, and stick by it, Weasley," a fourth year boy said.

"You're right," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Last night, I made the wrong call. I convinced the Triumvirate to back me up, and I told you all to hide from my cunt brothers. I was wrong, and I won't pretend like I wasn't. The truth is, I didn't want to fight my siblings, and I didn't realize that that's not fair to any of you. None of you deserve to be sealed away just because I want my siblings to be on good terms with me. My friends showed me the error of my ways, and I'm sorry."

It was clear that no one had expected him to apologize for his moment of weakness, and judging by their looks, he now had their undivided attention. _I'm not Ronnie, and I don't back off from a fight. Just because Snape isn't here doesn't mean that I revert back to my weak-willed attitude, I have too much shite to get done._

"Tracey, come up here please," Ron looked to her, and she went wide-eyed. "Please?"

Tracey slowly stood up, and after giving awkward nods to her puzzled House-mates, she stood by Ron's side.

"Tracey has come up with a great plan to shut the twins down," Ron told the House, while Tracey looked even more flustered. "Tracey, why don't you fill them in?"

"I… um…" Tracey looked between Ron and her House-mates, she wasn't one to give speeches. _Encourage her, Ron. You know that she can do this._

"I'm right here," Ron whispered as he subtly rubbed her back. "Go on. Your plan is solid, Trace. You can do this."

"Um… Right," Tracey cleared her throat. "Basically, we need to frame the twins for a crime that everyone will believe them to be capable of committing."

"Crime?" some fifth year asked.

"No… Not crime…" Tracey drew in a sharp breath. "Rule-breaking! That's the word! Let me start again! The twins are known for their over-the-top humor, and their penchant for rule-breaking. I suggest that we use that against them."

"How?" Clara asked.

"We have a lot of alcohol on hand," Tracey replied. "Ron is currently the only person who knows where it is, and no Professor in this school is even aware of its existence. We start by spreading rumors that the twins are up to something truly mischievous. Knowing them, they'll go along with it. Plus, there are already rumors going around about their 'prank-war'. That'll add credibility to this plan. Once word is out, we sneak a barrel into their room and Carey tips off Percy Weasley about it. She will tell him that there are rumors about the twins throwing a party, and that alcohol to minors is forbidden."

"Percy will crack down on the twins," Ron promised.

"Exactly," Tracey nodded. "It'll be a Gryffindor who punishes them, while McGonagall will no doubt take off Points and give the twins detentions. Carey should then counsel McGonagall to take the twins' contraband as well, which will put an end to their arsenal."

"It could work," Samantha spoke up. "But this plan is going to take a few days to set up. What do we do in-between then?"

"So third years are now making our House-plans?" Cassius Warrington interrupted.

"Do you have a plan?" Clara asked him. "We are open to suggestions, and right now, she's making a suggestion. Now be quiet." Clara then gestured Tracey to keep talking.

"Um… That's it," Tracey finished awkwardly. "The twins lose their arsenal, the Gryffindors blame them for losing House-Points, they get detentions, and we get peace of mind for a while."

"And I'll replace the barrel of alcohol free of charge," Ron added at the end. "So? What do you think?"

"It's good, but what do we do in-between?" Samantha asked again.

"Oh, we'll have to endure it," Tracey replied. "Sorry for forgetting that."

"Endure it?" Hughes asked. "So we just quietly take a beating for a week?"

"No, we persevere through an unforeseen hindrance," Ron corrected. "I told you last night that winning is what's important, and we won't win if we can't endure a little hardship. Oh, and it won't be a week, it'll be three days at the most."

"Don't you want the twins to pay for putting us all in this position?" Tracey asked. "This plan will make them pay, and it'll buy us more time. When Professor Snape returns, the twins will never dare launch an assault of this magnitude."

"Don't forget that they're only coming after us because our Head of House is injured," Carey finally spoke up, her eyes fixed on Ron. "It's a low blow, and we shouldn't let them get away with it."

"Weren't you telling us to hide in here last night?" Flint asked.

"That was my fault," Ron admitted. "I gave them bad advice because my head wasn't on right. Carey, Samantha, and Clara, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Carey gave him a nod. "Are we all agreed on this plan?"

Mostly everyone nodded, and Ron patted Tracey's back. _She did great._

"Alright, the motion is passed," Carey announced. "Start spreading the rumors that Tracey tells you to spread, and then wait patiently. Go about your lives, don't let the twins get under your skins, and remember not to lose House-Points."

People began chattering to each other at that, and Ron guided a slightly dazed Tracey back to their friends. Once they sat down, Tracey eyeballed Ron.

"You arse," Tracey grinned at him. "Why did you call me up there? I hate public speaking."

"It was your plan, Tracey," Ron shrugged. "I don't deserve the credit for it."

"You did well, Tracey," Millie added.

"A lot of people like the fact that you want to fight back," Pansy smiled at Tracey.

"And nice apology," Theo smirked at Ron. "Very gripping. Oh, and totally believable."

"I meant it," Ron told them. "You were right about the twins, and I was wrong."

"Sorry," Daphne nudged him lightly.

"You know what they said to me just now?" Ron muttered as he looked into the fire. "They said that I used to be a funny bloke… What they meant was that I was only funny when I just put up with their constant pranks. I was funny because I was the joke."

Ron's friends exchanged looks, Ron was in one of his moods again.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Ministry – After Classes)**_

Ron waited patiently in the waiting area for Madam Bones' summons. He was still feeling scattered in the mental department, but oddly enough, he was also feeling resolute. His run-in with the twins, and his friends' loyalty to him, had reminded Ron of a very important fact. He wasn't Ickle Ronnikins anymore, and he was never going back to being that naïve foolish boy.

Little Ronnie had started Hogwarts with the desire to be some fabled hero who would save the Future, but at the end of the day, he was ignorant of how the World worked. Little Ronnie was sheltered, and all too used to being disregarded. He didn't have any strength in his soul, which is why he had died at the end of his first year.

Ron had been reborn after his coma, and for the first time in his life, he saw the World for what it really was. A terrible place filled with even worse people. Even Dumbledore, who was the face of the Light, was a man who pulled strings from the shadows. Ron had realized that bringing about change meant making new enemies, and he had vowed to change the Future itself. _The mission is still the same, I've just adapted to the World around me. If my own Family can't support me, then I'll support myself. I can't second guess myself because of them, they just want Ickle Ronnikins back._

"Mr. Weasley, she will see you now," Shacklebolt called out, and Ron made his way towards her Office. _Be strong, Ron. Do what must be done, and don't show any weakness._

Ron knocked on her door, and he could feel Rufus Scrimgeour's eyes on his back. _Of course he's suspicious of you, Ron. You are making tidal waves of change, and that ignites intrigue. Just look at Harry and Hermione, they couldn't help but stick their noses into your life._

"Come in, Mr. Weasley," came Madam Bones' voice, and Ron entered the Office.

"Good afternoon, Madam Bones," Ron smiled politely as he closed the door.

"Good afternoon," she gave him a nod. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you," Ron said as he sat down, his eyes were fixed on hers.

"I have your contract right here," she said as she pulled it out of her desk. _So much for a friendly chat._ "The youngest International Diplomat in British History… I'm not even surprised that you rejected the Minister's solution."

"You're not?" Ron asked.

"You strike me as an ambitious young man, one that has a considerable ego," Madam Bones replied bluntly.

"I have an ego because I get things done," Ron said with equal bluntness.

"I didn't mean to offend, I like that you have a spine," Madam Bones admitted. "And despite your forcefulness, I understand that you've done your Ministry a great service. I asked the Minister to simply give you what you wanted, but he was quite worried about the Daily Prophet's opinion of him. I'm glad to see that you have managed to calm him down." _He's an attention-whore, and I promised him good press._

"He just needed the right incentive," Ron shrugged. "May I see the contract?"

"Here," Madam Bones passed it to him.

Ron's eyes scanned through the papers, taking in any information that they could. _There might be loopholes in here like with dad's policies. I should give this to Gornuk, and have him take this contract apart piece by piece._

"I won't be signing this today," Ron told her.

"You want someone to go through the contract?" Madam Bones asked.

"Yes."

"You don't trust many people, do you?" Madam Bones cocked an eyebrow. "Smart."

"I'm glad you think so," Ron smiled at her. "Can I keep this?" She gave him a nod, and Ron pocketed the contract.

"Congratulations, Mr. Weasley, you got what you wanted," Madam Bones said.

"Not quite," Ron said, and she blinked at him. "There is still the topic of me being addressed at the Gala. I want the Minister to inform the other guests of what I and Madame Maxime have accomplished, and I would like it if the Minister could thank the French Families for their kindness as well."

"And you want your new position to be announced?" Madam Bones asked.

"Yes, I do," Ron replied.

"Done," Madam Bones accepted. "It's not uncommon for Pure-Bloods to want to stand out at these events."

"This has nothing to do with Blood-Status," Ron told her. "I did the work, and so I expect the credit. Plus, it will explain how the French Families found their way into a British Gala."

"You and Madame Maxime will be addressed later on in the evening," Madam Bones promised.

"Good," Ron gave a nod, and then he stood up. "I will see you there, Madam Bones."

"Indeed," Madam Bones said. "Oh, your father was here today."

"He was?" Ron asked. _Why?_

"He wished to know why you had been sent the invitation instead of him," Madam Bones replied. "I told him that you and I came to an understanding, and that it was nothing personal."

"I see," Ron said as he turned to leave.

"He has no idea of what you're up to, does he?" Madam Bones asked, and Ron stopped. "Tell me, Mr. Weasley, what kind of thirteen year old acts the way you do? I can only describe your behavior as… bizarre."

"Again, you bring up my age," Ron turned to face her. _Was one spanking not enough?_

"Your age is an important factor that cannot be overlooked," Madam Bones said, there was no expression on her face. "Many in this very Department are growing interested in your comings and goings-"

"You mean your Head Auror," Ron stated. "I'm nothing special, Madam Bones, I'm just not incompetent. Instead of snooping around me, maybe you ought to learn from my example?"

"Pardon?"

"There are people starving in the streets," Ron turned to face her. "Underage prostitution has a big market in Knockturn Alley, which is mere yards away from Diagon Alley. And what do you all do about it? Nothing. You pass Laws to target your own population, and then you have the Daily Prophet pat you on the back." _Pathetic cunts, the lot of you._

"You speak of matter that you have no understanding of," Madam Bones told him.

"I understand the difference between right and wrong, and I won't let what's considered 'normal' stop me from making a positive change," Ron countered, and then he left the Office.

He made sure to eyeball Scrimgeour on his way out, much to the Head Auror's annoyance. _Fuck you, and fuck your yellow eyes._

* * *

 _ **Forty Minutes Later**_

"This contract is clean," Gornuk finally looked up, his beady eyes were gleaming. "Whoever put this together clearly doesn't want to hurt you in any way, Mr. Weasley." _Madam Bones isn't that type of person, but I'm still glad that I had Gornuk look through the contract._

"Thank you for this, Gornuk," Ron said genuinely. "I'm grateful that you chose to stay behind just to help me."

"Our partnership has been a… lucrative… one," Gornuk said.

"And it'll stay that way," Ron told him.

"I certainly hope so," Gornuk said as he handed Ron the contract. "You are quickly moving up in the World, Mr. Weasley, and I hope that you will remember your friends."

"I will," Ron promised. "Might I borrow a quill?"

"Here you are," Gornuk passed him an inked quill, and Ron signed the contract.

"Have this sent to Madam Bones in your outgoing mail, please," Ron said, and then he handed the contract back to Gornuk.

"I'll do it right after our meeting," Gornuk said, his beady eyes looking through the contract again. "An International Diplomat… Congratulations, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, Gornuk," Ron smiled, he did feel quite proud of himself right now. _I need to send Helios to Madame Maxime again. Poor bird is constantly flying between countries._ "Is everything with The Quibbler on track?"

"Yes," Gornuk nodded. "I expect us to start hiring in late December, which is when you have your school Holidays. Is Mr. Cuffe still sending you dossiers?"

"No," Ron replied. "But I imagine that he'll come around very soon. Has the Elf discovered anything?"

"He is still following Ms. Angel," Gornuk replied. "We must be patient with him, Mr. Weasley. After all, Elves are a foolish lot on the best of days." _One of my closest friends is an Elf, so be careful. Oh, and didn't Marty con another two thousand Galleons out of you?_

"Keep me posted," Ron said as he stood up. "Thank you again, Gornuk. You have yet to let me down, and I won't forget that."

"That is my only request," Gornuk smiled a greedy smile.

Ron made his way out of the Office, and he decided to head for the fireplaces in order to floo over to Grimmauld Place. _Wait… I can't go to Grimmauld Place from here. Sirius has probably shut down his connection from the outside World. I'll need to return to the Headmaster's Office first._

Ron stepped out of the bank, maybe he needed to learn Apparation? _Yeah, I think I'll start looking into it. Plus, I have people like the Headmaster who can help me as well._ With that idea planted in his mind, Ron made his way towards the Leaky Cauldron. He knew that he needed an Apparation license to actually use that skill, but there were plenty of rules that Ron broke regularly. _Just add it into the pile, Ron. If something is useful, then you need to utilize it._

Ron entered the famous tavern, which was oddly devoid of a crowd at the moment. _I guess it's too early for drinking._ Ron began walking towards the fireplace, but a certain person caught his attention. There, by the bar, stood Priscilla. Ron stopped walking immediately, his eyes were fixed on her as she spoke to Tom the Bartender. _It's really her…_ Something shifted in his mind, and for a moment, Ron lost his coldness.

Tom noticed him staring at Priscilla, and he gestured her to have a look. She did so slowly, and upon seeing him, her eyes widened a little. Ron gave her a dumb wave, and she returned it with equal confusion. _Go talk to her, you imbecile._ Ron shook his head clear, and then he quickly walked up to her and Tom.

"Good evening," Ron said to them.

"Mr. Weasley," Tom gave him a nod, while Priscilla just stared at him. "You two know each other?"

"Yes," she replied. "Um… Hello, Ronald."

"It's good to see you again," Ron said. "Do you have a moment to catch up?"

"I…" she looked to Tom, and then she let out a sigh. _Is something wrong?_ "Sure, I can talk."

"Can we please have two Butterbeers?" Ron asked Tom, who gave Ron a nod before looking to Priscilla.

"I'm sorry, girl, but I have a business to run," Tom said, much to Ron's confusion.

Once Tom left to get their orders, Priscilla gestured Ron to take a nearby seat. They both sat down across from each other, and Ron realized that he didn't know what to say. _Bloody hell, why didn't I think before I approached her?_

"So…" Priscilla broke the silence. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since Borgin and Burke's."

"I'm doing well," Ron replied. "I have a business planned out, and it's been keeping me busy."

"A business?" Priscilla asked. "Aren't you too young to have a business?"

"That's what everyone keeps telling me," Ron chuckled nervously. "How have you been?" _Are you still…? Fuck, I can't ask that._

"I'm surviving," she shrugged, she sounded a little upset.

"That's good to hear…" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Here you go," Tom said as he put the Butterbeers on the table, and Ron handed him six Knuts.

"Thanks," Priscilla said as she took a big sip from her Butterbeer. "That's really good."

"Yeah…" Ron nodded dumbly. _Fucking concentrate, Ron! Wake the fuck up!_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and after taking a sip from his own Butterbeer, he eyed Priscilla. _Her dress is less revealing, but it's still not fit for the current weather._ "What are you doing here?"

"I was just speaking to Tom," Priscilla replied. "I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron now, alongside my friends."

"Friends?" Ron asked.

"Children who are like me," Priscilla clarified, and Ron gave her an understanding nod. "But our stay here has come to an end…"

"Why?" Ron asked. "Is that what you were discussing with Tom?"

"Yeah," Priscilla looked down at her drink. "The other guests don't want Squibs running around the place, and so they've complained to Tom. We have to pack our things and leave…" _Fuck me._ "I have the money to pay Tom, but it doesn't matter. We don't belong near wizards."

"That's pure tripe," Ron told her.

"It's alright," she smiled a tired smile. "We're all used to it. I'll take them all to another tavern, and then another, and then another. I'll keep them off the streets for as long as I can."

"You're their leader?" Ron asked softly, no one deserved to live like this.

"I'm the oldest," Priscilla shrugged. "So they all follow me around… And no, I never let them enter my 'field of work'. They usually stole things and pawned them off, while I brought in consistent income. But I can't do that now, so we're just moving around." _They're like a Family of unwanted kids._

"Do you mind if I ask you what's changed?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley isn't safe," Priscilla all but whispered. "I mean, it's worse than ever… I can't let them stay there, so I'll keep moving around with them."

"I see," Ron looked down at his drink. "Is there no place where you could just… stay?" _A home?_

"The Muggle World is an option, but they'll split us all up," Priscilla replied. "The youngest one out of us is only nine, and she doesn't want that to happen."

"Nine?" Ron looked up, there was a pit growing in his stomach.

"She showed no signs of Magic in her orphanage, so they sent her away," Priscilla replied, her voice was slightly bitter.

"They just tossed out a kid into the streets?" Ron asked, he couldn't believe this.

"Worse, they sent her to a Muggle orphanage," Priscilla replied. "She never fit in, so she ran away, and somehow, she found her way back into the Magical World."

"And you found her in Knockturn Alley?" Ron asked, and Priscilla nodded.

"I took her in," Priscilla told him. "Actually… I've taken them all in one by one, now that I think about it."

"You protect them," Ron gave her a weak smile.

"Not really," Priscilla looked crestfallen. "I can barely protect myself…" She suddenly drew in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry for raving on about my problems… I just… don't have anyone to talk to… I mean, I do… But I can't talk to my friends about this… They look to me for solutions, not whining…"

"It's alright," Ron said, his gut twisting painfully. _Do something about this, Ron. The Quibbler will take months to be ready, and people like her are suffering right now._ "Priscilla, I don't want to overstep any boundaries here, but can I just say something?"

"Um… Sure," Priscilla blinked at him. _Think carefully, and then talk._

"How long do you think that you can keep moving around with your friends?" Ron asked.

"We have just over forty Galleons left," Priscilla replied. "A… friend… gave me a pouch full of them…" _A friend? Whatever, it's not important._ "I'd say that maybe a couple of months, if we ration our money properly… But problems tend to appear out of nowhere, so I'm not sure. I'm looking for a more… decent… job, but being a Squib isn't exactly helpful…"

"Again, I'm not trying to overstep here, but maybe I can help?" Ron asked, and she just stared at him. "With finding you all a home, that is. You know, just a place where you'll all be safe." _Safe from the war. The Dark Lord will kill people like her, and no one even cares about that._

"You don't have to do that," Priscilla looked down at her lap. "I'm serious, don't worry yourself over us. I'll figure something out."

"Priscilla, this isn't pity," Ron leaned forward a bit. "I mean, I do feel bad for you, but that's not where this is coming from. What you, and your friends, are suffering through is wrong. It is cruel, and unjust. Just because you're a Squib doesn't mean that you don't deserve a home, or a decent job. Please, let me help you somehow."

"How?" Priscilla asked.

"Give me some time, please," Ron pleaded. "I'll think of something, and then I'll find you. Just don't go too far from the Leaky Cauldron, alright?"

"Ronald… You don't need to waste your time-"

"I don't think that you are a waste of time, Priscilla," Ron cut in. "I want to help you, and your friends. It's the right thing to do, and I truly believe that." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Please, give me some time, and I'll come through. I swear it."

She looked quite uncomfortable due to his offer, but at the same time, she knew that she was running out of options. At this rate, she was going to lose her friends to Knockturn Alley again. Or worse, to the Vampires who had begun taking over the dark corners of Knockturn Alley.

"I… I can't accept…" Priscilla managed, her voice cracking a little.

"You're proud, I understand that," Ron sighed. "You think that I'm only trying to help you because I feel sorry for you, and while that is true, it's not the whole truth. I understand how it feels to be disregarded, and although it's nothing compared to what you have faced in life, it's still something. Priscilla, please accept my offer. Don't end up back in Knockturn Alley." _Don't start selling yourself again._

"And you want nothing in return?" Priscilla looked up, she looked extremely upset. "I'm sorry, but I just can't buy that. I have never met a selfless person in my life, and it's because they don't exist…"

"I want to do the right thing," Ron started. "Mostly because I don't feel like a good person anymore."

"What?"

"I'm a horrible person, actually," Ron confessed to her, despite his words hurting his own pride. "I keep thinking that I'm a good person, but even my own Family can't stand me. So you're right, I'm not selfless… If anything, I'm quite selfish. I want to help you because it'll make me feel better about myself. Can you buy that?"

"I… Give me a moment…" Priscilla looked away from him.

"I'll give you a few days," Ron said. "Meet me here on Sunday afternoon, and then give me your answer. I'll come up with a way to help you and your friends during that time, and we can discuss things further."

"Alright," Priscilla cleared her eyes quickly, while Ron stood up. "I'll… um… I'll see you on Sunday, then."

"On Sunday," Ron nodded weakly. "Goodbye, Priscilla."

"Goodbye, Ronald."

Ron left at that, his mind already coming up with various ideas on how to help Priscilla. _I can't believe that she and her friends are being thrown out of the Leaky Cauldron, despite having money to pay for their stay. Wait… Money… Fuck, I only have around two hundred Galleons left after those dresses. Shite! I can't help her without money._

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Ron called, and then he tossed the floo-powder into the flames. Once they blazed green, Ron stepped through them and into the old wizard's Office.

"Ronald, welcome back," Dumbledore greeted, his eyes were fixed on his work.

"I'm actually heading to Grimmauld Place from here, Headmaster," Ron said. "I need to speak to my parents about this Gala, and also ask Pandora and Xeno for permission to take Luna with me."

"I see," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Before you depart, I need to tell you something important. Please, take a seat."

Ron nodded slowly, and then he walked up and took his usual seat.

"Is everything alright, Headmaster?" Ron asked.

"Dear boy, Severus has woken up," Dumbledore replied, and Ron immediately felt a little excited.

"He has?!" Ron asked. "Truly?!"

"Yes, but he is not the same," Dumbledore replied. "Ronald, do not forget about his injuries. He is unable to even leave his bed without aid at the moment."

"I… You're right," Ron pulled himself back. "I'm just glad that he's not… dead…"

"Do not mistake my intentions, Ronald," Dumbledore started. "Severus' reawakening is a joyous thing, but I don't want you to be let down. Severus will need time to recover, and even then, he will never be the same again."

"Right," Ron said. "So… Did he say anything to you?"

"Nothing that I didn't already know," Dumbledore decided to say. "The Dark Lord had no intention of letting him live, and I made the mistake of not realizing that."

"Not just you," Ron said. "All three of us were too sure without any proof. It should've been obvious that the Dark Lord has no tolerance for traitors, but we still fucked up." _And Professor Snape is the only one who paid the price for it._ "Can I see him?"

"Not yet," Dumbledore replied gently. "He is being watched over by the Order members day and night, so you can't see him without alerting them."

"Damn," Ron sighed out.

"Be patient, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled his kind smile. "Severus will return to us before long."

"He's too stubborn not to," Ron agreed, a slightly nostalgic look on his face. _I keep expecting him to barge into the common room in order to scold us._

"There is one more thing that we need to discuss," Dumbledore said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Draco Malfoy."

"Has Narcissa Malfoy already made a decision?" Ron asked, he had expected her to take her time.

"I urged a response out of her," Dumbledore said, and Ron eyed the old man. _Urged?_ "She wishes to keep custody of Draco, and I have promised her that he can stay at Grimmauld Place. There will be contingencies in place, but the boy will grow up safe and away from the Dark Lord."

"That's good to hear," Ron smiled a little. "Thank you, Headmaster. I know that you didn't agree with capturing her, so I really appreciate this." _Maybe this is how Malfoy becomes a part of the Order. He grows up away from the Malfoy Family's traditions, and learns to make a name for himself. Only time will tell._

"You were right," Dumbledore said. "Our actions may have been close to Voldemort's, but it seems to have worked out in our favor."

"Do people still disagree with her capture?" Ron asked.

"Most of the Order is not keen on taking war prisoners," Dumbledore replied.

"Shame… I was hoping that we could blackmail money out of Lucius Malfoy," Ron said, and Dumbledore shook his head. _What?_

"The Order will not stand for such tactics, and neither will I," Dumbledore told him. "Some roads only lead further into the darkness, Ronald, so you must be careful." Dumbledore's features then softened. "I have decided to take Draco to Severus."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"I wish for Draco to see what the Dark Lord did to his Godfather," Dumbledore clarified, while Ron just stared at him. "Once I have Severus' permission, I will speak with Draco before taking him to Grimmauld Place."

"Headmaster, if Professor Snape is indeed in such a sorry state, is it wise to show Malfoy something like this?" Ron asked.

"And you still claim to not care about him," Dumbledore's lips twitched upwards.

"I'm being serious here," Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please don't start making speeches about love and rainbows."

"Noted," Dumbledore chuckled a little. "Sooner or later, Draco must be brought in. We cannot let his father get in contact with him."

"You're right, but still…" Ron leaned back in his chair. "Malfoy's not exactly stable, you know? He has a fair few issues, and he's even seeing Pomfrey. Something like this could really hurt him."

"Change can often be painful, but it must never be feared," Dumbledore told Ron.

"Normal people don't talk like you," Ron pointed out, and then he drew in a deep breath. "If Professor Snape agrees, then who am I stop this from happening. Just… Just be gentle with him, alright? Don't bombard him with terrible truths all at once."

"I will be careful with your friend, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled, and Ron felt the urge to slam his own head against a wall. _He's trying to wind me up, I swear._

"Is there anything else?" Ron asked.

"No, you may leave if you wish," Dumbledore said, and Ron stood up. "And remember, you don't know anything about Severus. If you see him at Grimmauld Place, act shocked."

"I know, I'm not an imbecile," Ron said, and then he walked over to the fireplace. "Twelve Grimmauld Place."

With that, Ron cast the powder into the fire. It roared loudly as it turned green, and Ron made his way into the Black Family home. The first person he saw was Charlie, followed immediately by his eldest brother, Bill. _Wait… What?_

"Ron?" Charlie blinked at him, while Bill fired out of his seat.

"Ron!" Bill laughed loudly, and then he pulled a confused Ron into a tight hug.

"Bill? Charlie?" Ron said as he returned Bill's hug. "You're both back in Britain?" _The old man didn't mention them on purpose, I know it. Crazy old loon wanted to surprise me, no doubt._

"Only got back yesterday!" Bill squeezed Ron tightly. "Merlin, look at how much he's grown, Charlie! He's taller than you!"

"Everyone's taller than Charlie," a witch chuckled, and Ron noticed that Charlie wasn't alone. _Kirsten Domitor, right? Charlie's girlfriend. If she's here, then I can assume that she's joined the Order as well._

"Let me have a look at you," Bill pulled back, a wide smile on his face. "Shite, you look completely different from what I remember."

"You still look the same," Ron smiled at Bill. "Though your hair's gotten much longer."

"The Ladies love it," Bill patted Ron's shoulder, his voice full of humor and joy. It was enough to pull Ron out of his troubled thoughts, and Ron found himself smiling without effort.

"What Ladies?" Charlie snorted. "That earing of yours suggests that you chase down a different demographic." Charlie then walked up and hugged Ron, nearly crushing the younger Weasley to death. "It's good to see you again, little brother."

"He feels firm, right?" Bill asked Charlie, much to Ron's confusion.

"You've been exercising, I can tell," Charlie said approvingly, and then he let go of Ron. "Thirteen years old, my ginger haired arse."

"Thanks," Ron said a little bashfully, it felt nice to be praised by his two eldest brothers. "I exercise every day, even when I don't want to." _Don't talk yourself up, Ron. Be humble. That way, they can't find reasons to mock you._

"Ron, you remember Kirsten, right?" Charlie gestured his girlfriend to approach.

"I do," Ron smiled at her, and then he put his gloved hand forward. She gave him her hand, and he kissed her knuckles and gave her a polite bow. "It's good to see you again, Kirsten. I hope my brother isn't giving you too much grief."

"Oh, he is," Kirsten smirked. "Are you sure that you two are related? You seem really well-mannered."

"Easy there," Charlie chuckled. "And Ron, don't go around kissing other people's witches."

"Don't listen to him, that was smooth," Bill laughed. "Come here and sit down, I want to hear everything about you!"

Bill all but dragged Ron to the sofa, and then he planted Ron down to his left. Charlie quickly sat down to Ron's left, effectively trapping him in-between his brothers.

"I'll let your mother know that you're here," Kirsten told Ron. "She's upstairs with Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood." _With Snape… Control, Ron. Don't give anything away._

"Thank you," Ron smiled at Kirsten, and she left with a parting nod.

"So?!" Bill smiled at Ron. "Tell me about you! How have you been?"

"I've been well," Ron said a little awkwardly, he didn't like being trapped. _If something goes wrong, then I can't move properly. I resent that._ "Just busy with school and my business."

"The Quibbler," Bill nodded quickly. "I can't believe you own a business, Ron. That's fucking amazing considering your age!"

"Thanks, Bill," Ron relaxed a little.

"How did you get Mr. Lovegood to hand it over?" Charlie asked.

"He needed help, and I gave him an out," Ron replied. "Just lucky timing, that's all."

"Don't sell yourself short," Bill patted Ron's back. "Word of your achievements has reached even Egypt, little brother. Fifty Veelas, and you didn't drop your trousers? You fucking legend!"

"Thanks, Bill," Ron repeated. "I just powered through…" _Easy, Ron… Don't boast, despite your need to impress them. Just change the topic to them._ "What about you two? Why didn't you send word?"

"Well, we wanted to surprise you lot," Charlie replied, he had noticed Ron's closed off behavior immediately. "Mum and dad were over the moon when we just showed up."

"I'm sure the others will be too," Ron said. "They've missed you both."

"And you haven't?" Bill teased.

"Of course I have, I didn't mean to say that I hadn't," Ron corrected himself, and Bill let out another laugh.

"I'm only teasing you, Ron," Bill assured him. "I've missed you, you overgrown weed."

"I've missed you too, Bill," Ron smiled.

"Kid!" Sirius walked into the room, and Ron spotted Sturgis right behind him. "I see that you've run into these two scummy fucks."

"Sod off, Sirius," Charlie grinned.

"Watch your mouth, mate," Sirius chuckled. "Or I'll tell your mummy that you had a glass of Firewhiskey with me last night."

"That's low," Bill smirked, while Charlie shushed Sirius. "Ron, this is Sturgis Podmore."

"I know," Ron replied, and then he looked to Sturgis. "How are your ribs?"

"Healed, young man," Sturgis replied.

"That's good to hear," Ron gave him a nod. "Again, I'm sorry for that little debacle."

"Ribs?" Charlie asked with a confused look. "Debacle?"

"I broke the right side of his ribcage," Ron replied a little too calmly, and the room went dead quiet.

"What?" Bill blinked repeatedly.

"It was a massive misunderstanding," Sturgis told them. "In his defense, I shouldn't have pinned him against a wall. Anyway, it's all in the past now, right?"

"Right," Ron nodded.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" came Molly's voice, and Sirius and Sturgis moved out of the way. Behind Molly were Pandora, Kirsten, and Xeno. Ron quickly stood up at the sight of the three of them, he had a job to do. _Enough distractions. I promised to train the first and second years at half past six, and it's almost time._

"Mum, I just needed to speak to you really quickly about the Gala," Ron said. "But first, I need to ask Pandora and Xeno for permission."

"Permission, Ron?" Pandora smiled at him as she took a seat.

"Luna," Ron replied, and Pandora gave him an understanding smile.

"Oh, of course," Xeno chuckled. "You have our blessing, Ron. Just keep your eyes on her, she has a tendency to disappear."

"I will be like a hawk," Ron promised.

"I don't doubt it," Pandora said truthfully. "I'll find her a nice dress to wear."

"I've actually ordered her a dress already," Ron told them. "Well, Daphne ordered the dress, but I'm paying for it. It was a team-effort."

"Daphne?" Bill asked. "Is that your girlfriend?"

"Secret girlfriend," Charlie corrected.

"Actual girlfriend now," Ron smirked at Charlie, who gave Ron a grin. "Anyway, the dress will arrive by Friday, so don't worry about that."

"How much was it? I'll pay you back," Xeno said.

"Thirty seven Galleons," Ron replied, and everyone but Sirius gaped at him. "It's coming from some boutique in Germany… Really high-end stuff."

"Ron? That much on a dress?" Molly asked him.

"Actually, he did the right thing," Sirius told them. "It's what's expected at these events. Trust me, you don't want to disappoint those elitist twats."

"I've ordered one for Ginny as well," Ron told his mother.

"You bought her a dress? I was going to go get her one tomorrow," Molly said, she looked a little uncomfortable at the prospect of Ron taking over her duty to her daughter.

"There is no need for that," Ron told her. "It's all taken care of. Now… What will you and dad be wearing?"

"I was just going to put on my best dress," Molly replied. "And your father is wearing that grey coat of his."

"That grey coat?" Ron asked, and she nodded. "The one with the patch on its side?" _Why? And let me guess, she's also wearing some rag._

"I'll fix that up before the Gala, of course," Molly huffed, while Sirius pulled a face.

"Molly, let me give Arthur one of my robes," Sirius said. "It's just one night… If he goes there with that grey coat of his, it'll damage his reputation. These people are savages when it comes to that sort of tripe." _Not to mention my reputation…_

"My husband might not wear the best robes, but his reputation can never be sullied by those people," Molly told Sirius, who just put his hands up in surrender.

"Mum," Ron called, and she looked at him. "Let Sirius borrow dad one of his robes." _I would buy dad some new robes, but I need to save money right now._

"What?" Molly blinked at him.

"Image is important, and there will be reporters there," Ron explained. "People like Rita Skeeter will turn dad into a joke if he shows up in that coat of his, and we can't let that happen. Plus, this night is extremely important, and I want us to look our best." Ron then looked to his brothers. "All of us."

"Charlie has a nice brown suit that he can wear," Kirsten told Ron. _Good._

"Do you have a dress?" Ron asked her.

"Nothing Gala worthy," Kirsten replied slowly.

"Get one," Ron said.

"I'm welcome to come?" she asked him.

"Of course," Ron replied like it was the most obvious thing. "You're not from Britain, so you won't be forced to donate at the Gala. Put on a nice dress, and you can enjoy the night with us. There'll be free food, champagne, dancing, and other distractions."

"Thanks," Kirsten smiled at him, while Charlie looked all too pleased.

"Bill? Robes?" Ron looked to his eldest brother, who was still in awe of Ron's sudden presence in the room. "Bill? You awake?"

"Sorry… Um… I've got nice robes," Bill replied, while Charlie smirked at him from behind Ron.

"Anyone you want to bring along?" Ron asked, and Bill shook his head. _What's the matter with him? He's turned mute all of a sudden. Whatever, back to the task at hand._ "Mum, I'll order you a new dress as well." _Something good, but not ridiculously expensive._

"I already have one," Molly told him.

"Mum, this is an important night for me," Ron told her, and then he drew in a deep breath. "At this Gala, I will be named an International Diplomat to the French. The youngest in British History, in fact."

"What?!" multiple people exclaimed. _That was expected, just keep going._

"Due to my efforts in the background, eleven Old French Families will be attending the Gala as well," Ron told them, it was time to come clean. _The contract is signed, and they can't stop me now._ "They will be donating the maximum amount of Galleons, and that will help pull our country out of the hot water. For now, at least. The Minister, who I've had a meeting with, will be rewarding my efforts by making me the British Diplomat to the French."

"What in the fuck…?" Sirius just stared at him, while everyone else was just lost for words. "Are you serious, Ron? When did you pull this off?"

"I've been putting this together over the last couple of weeks," Ron replied. "Madame Olympe Maxime of Beauxbatons is a good friend of mine, and with her aid, I've started rebuilding our ties with the French. This Gala is the perfect opportunity for a reconciliation, and the Minister is behind me."

"Ron…" Molly just looked dazed.

"We Weasleys need to look our best," Ron told his Family. "We will go there and be respectable guests. We will mingle, we will make polite conversation, and most importantly, we will not make fools of ourselves. Is that understood?"

"Yeah," Charlie nodded dumbly, while Kirsten felt a little under pressure.

"Good," Ron looked at his Rolex. _Good Lord, I'm late. The Triumvirate will have my hide if I don't pull my weight, especially after my fuckup in regards to the twins._ "I need to be on my way-"

"Wait a second," Bill started. "We just met after two years, Ron… Can't we talk for a bit?"

"We can talk at the Gala, I've got an appointment to get to," Ron said as he began making his way over to the fireplace.

"Let me pay you for the dress," Xeno quickly began looking for his pouch.

"There's no need for that, Xeno," Ron smiled at the man. "Consider this my gift to Luna. I mean, it's been a while since I got her a present."

"Right," Xeno said, while Ron tossed the floo-powder into the fire.

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Ron called, and the fire blazed green. _I know that I'm in a hurry, but I just need to make sure of something._ "Mum, let Sirius borrow dad one of his robes. Please?"

Molly just stared at Ron in utter disbelief, and then, she simply turned around and left the room. _What the fuck? She just walked off… Let me guess, she's not happy once again. You know what? I don't give a fuck. She's not happy, then she doesn't need to attend._

"Sirius," Ron looked to the man. "Talk to her?"

"Yeah, sure," Sirius sighed out. "I'll see what I can do."

"If she doesn't listen to reason, let me know," Ron said. "At least then, I won't waste my money on a dress that she'll never wear."

With that, Ron walked through the fire.

* * *

 _ **William Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Late Evening)**_

Even five minutes after Ron had left, no one had said a word. Bill was so gobsmacked that he couldn't even think. What the fuck had just happened? Whoever that red-haired bloke was, it wasn't Ron. Ron was almost timid, and he was always looking to please and make people laugh. The person who was just in the room was giving out orders with complete focus, and the adults were listening to him as if he was one of them.

"Your mouth is hanging open," Charlie nudged him, and Bill shook his head clear.

"What the fuck just happened?" Bill looked around the room. "He… Ron… He just went from being this slightly reserved kid to being a damn drill sergeant…"

"That's Ron for you," Pandora told him. _That's not Ron… Shite, Charlie was right._

"He's gotten worse," Charlie said to Pandora, while Bill opened his ears.

"Not worse," Pandora said a little too quickly. "He's growing up, but deep down, he's still Ron."

"Very deep down," Sirius sighed out. "Pandora, can you talk to Molly for me? She'll never listen to me, and she looks completely done with Ron's latest scheme."

"Latest scheme…" Bill whispered to himself. "Was he telling the truth just now? He's actually becoming some sort of Diplomat at thirteen?"

"He was telling the truth," Xeno sat down by his wife's side. "Couldn't you hear it in his voice?"

"All I heard were orders," Bill leaned back in his seat. _And he just… left. I haven't spoken to him in person for over two years, and he couldn't care less. What the fuck happened to him?_

"Pandora, do you need my help getting up there? Mrs. Weasley is probably in **his** room," Kirsten said.

"I'll go up in a bit myself," Pandora smiled at Kirsten. "I honestly need a break from that man."

"Alright," Kirsten said, she was slightly intimidated by Pandora's sharp gaze.

"I'm going up to the roof," Sirius said nonchalantly, and then he left the room.

"Does anyone want a sandwich?" Sturgis asked, and then he looked to Pandora.

"Thank you, Sturgis," Pandora said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it, Mrs. Lovegood," Sturgis said before he left to make some food.

Bill was still in his thoughts when Charlie kicked his shin, and Bill looked to his brother. Charlie looked up towards the ceiling with his eyes, and Bill knew what that meant.

"We'll be around," Bill said as they both got up. "Kirsten, want to join us?"

"Sure," Kirsten replied, and all three of them left the Living Room.

"Alright, let's sneak up there," Charlie said, and they began their journey up.

They all made sure to be as quiet as humanly possible, especially near Professor Snape's room. Bill hadn't liked Snape as a Professor, but from what he had heard from Sturgis, Snape was a damn hero. Not only had the man endured torture from the Dark Lord himself, but he hadn't spilled even one secret. According to Sturgis, Snape had been defiant even after they had found him in his bloodied cell. _Another Slytherin who's completely surprised me in the last two days._

"Sirius? You up here?" Charlie whispered as they got up to the roof, and Sirius waved them over from near the balcony.

"Shut the door quietly, I don't want your mother coming up here," Sirius told them, and Kirsten shut the door as slowly as she could. Once that was done, they circled around Sirius, who was smoking a cigarette. "You lot want one?"

"Thanks," Charlie grinned.

"Yes, please," Kirsten said at the same time.

"Right, there's a shop that sells them not far from here," Sirius chuckled, and Charlie let out a snort. "Nah, I'm just fucking with you. Here, grab one. Fuck it, grab two if you want." Sirius moved his pack around, and both Charlie and Kirsten grabbed a smoke. "What about you, handsome?"

"I've never smoked before," Bill told them, he was still lost in his own head.

"You look fucking shaken, mate," Sirius told him. "Here, have one. It'll ease your mind a bit." _Right._

Bill grabbed a smoke and put it in his mouth, he had seen a couple of Muggle-Borns smoking at his workplace. Charlie lit Bill's cigarette with his wand, and Bill took in a long drag. _Oh, shite!_ Bill coughed loudly, while the others laughed at him.

"It tastes terrible," Bill told them, the back of his throat was already agitated. _Why would someone smoke these?_

"Just keep at it," Charlie encouraged. "Trust me, it'll give you a nice lightheaded feeling since it's your first time."

Bill took a smaller drag this time.

"Inhale it," Sirius said, and Bill did just that. "Now let it out."

"Better," Kirsten rubbed his back as he blew out the smoke.

"Thanks," Bill wheezed a little.

"So…" Sirius smiled at him. "How did you enjoy the typhoon?"

"Typhoon?" Bill asked. "Oh… You mean Ron…" _I didn't enjoy it at all. If anything, I was too shocked to even say a damn word._ "I've clearly been out of the loop for too long."

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen," Charlie said, and then he took a drag. "You kept insisting that we were all overreacting, but now look at you."

"Now look at me…" Bill whispered to himself.

"An International Diplomat," Sirius smiled to himself. "That kid… He never stops making things interesting."

"Interesting?" Kirsten asked. "Did you not see Mrs. Weasley? She just walked away from him…" _Yeah, I've never seen mum do that before. And Ron… He didn't care one bit. If anything, he looked bored with her._

"She's clearly reached her limit with him," Charlie sighed out.

"I think it's the other way around," Sirius told them.

"Ronnie's reached his limit with mum?" Bill blinked. _He used to sit around the Kitchen for hours just to talk to her and Ginny. How could he be done with her?_

"I shouldn't say anything," Sirius clicked his tongue. "It's not my place."

"Sirius," Charlie said. "C'mon, mate. Last time we were both up here, you helped me understand him a little. Help us out, yeh?"

Sirius went to say something, but then he stopped. _What's he doing?_ Sirius was clearly thinking about his words, and then he nodded to himself.

"I love your mother, she is a remarkable woman," Sirius started. "But by Merlin, she is the most stubborn person that I've ever run into."

"What?" Bill and Charlie asked together.

"Did you not see what happened in there?" Sirius asked them.

"She was adamant about Mr. Weasley's clothes, despite being advised against it," Kirsten replied, and Sirius snapped his fingers.

"Give her the prize," Sirius said, and then he took a long drag. "Sometimes, your mum just refuses to listen to anyone else's opinion. If she thinks she's right, then woe be unto the sorry cunt who crosses her path."

"Yeah, mum has always been a little… willful," Bill said, he was feeling a bit lightheaded already. _I like it._ Bill took another drag, making sure to inhale the smoke properly.

"Ron has that in common with her," Charlie pointed out.

"Ron is ten times more willful than your mother," Sirius told them. "And a hundred times shrewder. Trust me, he's already signed on the dotted line for his new job."

"He didn't ask their permission?" Bill asked. "Not even dad's?"

"Permission is not a word in Ron's vocabulary," Sirius replied, and Bill nodded slowly. "Ron acts, and if you can't keep up, then that's your problem. He saved Xeno's business before he even told anyone about it, he travels to France without any supervision, he apparently has shady contacts in Knockturn Alley-"

"Does he really?" Kirsten asked. "Isn't Knockturn Alley a den of criminals? Even in Romania, we know about it."

"It's not a nice place, that's all I'll say," Sirius said. "He mentioned traveling to Knockturn Alley once to Pandora, and when she called him on it, he changed the subject. After that, he's never mentioned Knockturn Alley again."

"Bloody hell," Bill looked to a perplexed Charlie. "What the fuck?"

"Look, he's a hard working young man," Sirius sighed out. "I'm starting to think that his only problem is that he doesn't know when to turn off. And… I know I shouldn't be saying this to you lot, but I really think that people just need to leave him alone. I chased after him myself, and it only served to irritate him. Fuck me, even my Godson needs to back off of Ron…"

"Harry?" Charlie asked, and Sirius waved a dismissive hand.

"Forget it," Sirius said. "Just do me a favor, and don't chase the pup down like all the adults do. It'll just piss him off. Honestly, just leave the kid to Pandora. When she speaks, Ron listens immediately. And she has a way with him that none of us can even grasp." _Charlie did mention that in his letters._

"So we just do nothing?" Charlie asked.

"I didn't say that," Sirius said. "What I said was that you should leave the kid to Pandora. Don't tell him what to do, and don't get in his way. If you want to have a chat with him, or do what brothers do, then approach him. But don't bother trying to 'help him', it'll just get you torn a new one." Sirius then finished up his cigarette. "He's got his issues, but he's still a good lad. I mean, he invited Kirsten to this Gala, didn't he?"

"I suppose," Bill rubbed his forehead.

"Charlie mentioned what Ron was like to me a while back," Sirius said. "Sadly, he's not that person anymore, but that's not a bad thing. Your father is starting to understand that, but your mother… She just finds every reason to start with him. If she keeps at it, she's going to lose him. The rest of us have tried telling her so ourselves, but like always, she 'knows her baby'…"

"Maybe one of you should talk to her?" Kirsten looked to the brothers.

"Bill should do it," Charlie looked to him.

"What?" Bill frowned at Charlie. _You bastard._

"You're the eldest, and I don't want her getting angry with me," Charlie said. "She's already not happy about me keeping Kirsten a secret for so long, I don't need to give her another reason to murder me in my sleep."

"She won't listen to me," Bill told them. "I barely know what's going on myself."

"You're her kids, you shouldn't have to step in like this at all," Sirius said. "Leave this shite to the adults, alright? Just be Ron's brothers, nothing more. He already has enough people worrying about him constantly."

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Lunch)**_

The sound of a small explosion startled him out of his thoughts, and he looked down the table to see the fifth years drenched in pumpkin juice. The Great Hall burst into boisterous laughter, while the Slytherins all clenched their jaws. _Fucking pricks… They're relentless. How are they doing this?_

"Ignore it, and eat your food," Weasley ordered, though his eyes were fixed on the laughing Gryffindors.

"Even the Hufflepuffs are laughing, Ron," Pansy grumbled.

"I know, but just endure it," Weasley said.

"How are they managing to be so effective?" Theo asked Weasley. "It's like they're everywhere."

"I told you already," Weasley said. "The twins have been at this for a long time. Our best hope is to let them get cocky, and then, we knock them on their arses. You have to lose some pieces in order to win the game. Tracey's plan will work, but only if we keep moving forward."

"Quiet down!" McGonagall said as she approached the fifth years. "Who is responsible for this?!" _You already know who, you old hag. It's your twin 'lions'… If Godfather was here, they'd never dare such a thing._

And just like that, Draco's mind drifted back to his missing Godfather. Merlin, he missed the cold-hearted man so much. It was clear that all the Slytherins missed Snape, but Draco definitely missed him the most. Despite his loneliness, Snape was still there for Draco. _But now that he could use my help, I don't even know where he is. And why are mother and father not replying to me? I've sent five Owls in two days!_

"Mr. Filch!" McGonagall called. "Please clean up this mess." She then looked around the Great Hall. "Whoever is responsible for this, I expect you to come by my Office after classes! If you don't, I will start investigating myself, and the punishment will be ten times worse!"

With that, she began making her way towards the Slytherin third years.

"Say nothing," Greengrass whispered quickly.

"Mr. Malfoy, come with me at once," McGonagall stopped right behind him, and Draco was genuinely surprised. _Me? What did I do?_ Weasley suddenly nudged his side, and Draco stepped out of his seat. "Let's go."

Draco quickly followed after her, and students from every House jeered and made booing sounds in his direction. Draco, of course, kept his head held high and pretended to ignore them. But despite his armor not showing any signs of weakness, deep down, he couldn't help but feel even more demoralized. _They all hate me, and yet, I still care about what they think. What's wrong with me?_

It was no secret that he was the most hated student in this school, and he understood now that it was his own actions that led him down this road. _But still… It's been months since I went after anyone, and I'm still universally hated. Honestly, the only three people in this school who still talk to me are Weasley, Pomfrey, and Godfather._ That's when he remembered that his Godfather wasn't here anymore, and Draco felt even smaller than before. _And I've pushed Weasley away… He's waiting for me to talk to him first, but I just can't do it. I'm so pathetic._

"Mr. Malfoy? Are you there?" came McGonagall's voice, and Draco broke out of his miserable thoughts. "Up the stairs, go on. The Headmaster is expecting you." _Headmaster?_

"Am I in trouble?" Draco asked.

"I have no earthly idea," McGonagall replied. "The Headmaster asked me to come and find you after you had eaten some food, which is what I've done."

And just like that, McGonagall left for the Great Hall. Draco watched her leave with suspicious eyes, and then he slowly started climbing up the spiral staircase. A part of him was worried about getting into trouble, but another part of him knew that he hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, Draco had been extremely careful in avoiding trouble. With everyone out to get him, Draco couldn't afford to make a single new enemy.

"Come in, Draco," came Dumbledore's voice just as he was about to knock, and so Draco entered the Office and shut the door behind himself. "Please, come and take a seat."

"Am I in trouble, Headmaster?" Draco asked as he sat down, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's hardened expression. _I've never seen him look so… serious._ A ball of anxiety stirred in Draco's stomach, but he kept his own expression indifferent.

"You are not in any trouble, Draco," Dumbledore said, and then he pulled out a handful of letters from his desk and put them in front of Draco. "These are yours, I believe." _What?_

Draco looked at the letters, and his eyes widened when he realized that these were the letters that he had sent to his parents. _Why does he have them?!_ Draco grabbed one and checked the seal, and much to his irritation, the seal was broken.

"You stole and read my letters?" Draco asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"I did," Dumbledore replied, not a hint of regret in his voice. _He's starting to scare me… He's not even blinking._

"And you just confess to committing this… crime?" Draco asked slowly, he was starting to get bewildered already.

"The time for lies is over, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said. "Draco, I want you to listen to me, and listen well. The Dark Lord has returned." Draco just blinked at the old man, what was happening? "Your mother and father are once again serving under him, which has caused major developments in the shadows." _The Dark Lord is back…?_

"My mother and father don't serve the Dark Lord," Draco lied on instinct. "You are sullying-"

"I laid waste to your home," Dumbledore told him, and Draco's tongue stopped moving. "I have also taken your mother prisoner for her role in Lord Voldemort's return." Draco flinched at the name, his breathing was becoming erratic.

"I… I don't understand… Where is this coming from?" Draco managed. _Mother is a prisoner?_

"Your mother and father have aligned themselves to the Dark Lord once again," Dumbledore told him. "And because of that, I moved against them. Your manor was put under siege, and your mother was captured while your father escaped. The Dark Lord has also gone into hiding, and your father is most likely by his side."

The World was starting to close in around him, and Draco found himself just staring at the old Headmaster. Unlike usual, Dumbledore had no hint of amusement on his face. His usually twinkling eyes were sharper than any dagger that Draco had seen in his father's collection. And worst of all, there was a certainty in Dumbledore's voice that frightened Draco beyond words.

"I did all of this because I wanted to save a man's life," Dumbledore went on, he knew that Draco was listening. "That man… is your Godfather."

"Godfather?" Draco croaked.

"Your mother and father betrayed Severus, and he was led into a trap by your father," Dumbledore informed Draco. "There was no Potioneering accident, and he has not been sent to France for treatment. Your Godfather, who was tortured by the Dark Lord himself, is under my care at the moment."

"You're lying…" Draco's mind became numb. "You are a liar, just like father told me…" _Does he think that I'll believe this? Mother and father love Godfather, he was one of the first people to hold me when I was born._

"I will not argue against your words, because partly, they are true," Dumbledore stood up. "Come with me, and I will show you the truth. I will take you to your Godfather."

Dumbledore moved towards the fireplace, while Draco just sat on his seat. He wanted to get up and follow the Headmaster, but his muscles refused to respond. What if this was a trap to capture him? What if Dumbledore was trying to trick him? _What if he's telling the truth?_ Draco stood up slowly, and he dragged his feet towards the Headmaster, who had readied a floo.

"Once you step through that fire, you will never be the same again," Dumbledore warned, and Draco shifted in his spot like a scared toddler.

Right now, he felt smaller than ever, and despite trying his best to hide it, he was really scared. Seeing the Headmaster like this had jarred him, while the man's words had terrified Draco into silence. _Should I go through? Fuck, I don't know what to do…_

"My Godfather is on the other side?" Draco all but whispered.

"Yes, and so is your mother," Dumbledore replied, and then he stepped through the fire.

Draco waited for a few seconds, and then he brandished his wand and followed after Dumbledore. He stepped into an unfamiliar Living Room with his wand aimed forward, though his shaking hand made it impossible for him to aim. Inside the Living Room was a pregnant woman, a man with candy floss colored haired, and two men who resembled Weasley in more than a few ways.

"Is that… a Malfoy?" one of the red haired men asked.

"This is Draco Malfoy," Dumbledore told the denizens, who all looked rather taken aback. "Draco, lower your wand, or I will take it from you."

Without thinking, Draco lowered his wand. He could do little but stare at the people inside the room, and similarly, they stared back at him. _Who are they? Is this the Order of the Phoenix? Father told me that they were all jumped up criminals, but these people don't look like criminals._

"God… Godfather?" Draco looked towards Dumbledore. _This was a trap, wasn't it? And I walked right into it._

"Follow me," Dumbledore said, and then he left the Living Room.

Draco's legs moved on their own, though his eyes lingered on the pregnant woman who had a sharper gaze than even Dumbledore. Oddly enough, she looked worried for him. _Did they not know that I was coming here? So this isn't a trap, right?_ They made their way up quietly, and Draco felt extremely uncomfortable because of the narrow staircase. _Whose home was this?_

"Dumbledore?" came a man's voice as they reached the third floor, and Draco looked to see Sirius Black walking over to them. _Sirius Orion Black… Mother's first cousin. We're in his house, aren't we?_ Black looked to Draco, and he just stopped walking immediately. "Is that…?"

"This is Draco Malfoy," Dumbledore introduced. "He is here to see Severus."

"You brought him to our…" Black started, but then he stopped. He shot one more look at Draco, and then he quickly made his way over to Dumbledore and began whispering. Draco couldn't hear much, but he did hear a few words. _Seizure… Aftereffects of the Cruciatus… No place for a kid…_

"Sirius, this has to happen," Dumbledore told the man. "The die is cast, and we must play our parts now. Draco, keep following me."

"Dumbledore, don't," Black jumped in their way, his eyes darting towards Draco. "Come back tomorrow-"

"Step aside," Dumbledore said, and the lights in the hallway dimmed immediately. Black went wide-eyed, while Draco felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Black slowly shifted to the side, his back pressed against the wall. "Draco, come."

They began making their way up again, and Draco couldn't help but look back at his first cousin once-removed, who was just staring at Draco with something akin to pity and bewilderment. _I'm really scared now… Just breathe, Draco. Do what Weasley always says whenever you start panicking._ They made their way up to the top floor, and Dumbledore stopped in front of a door.

"He is inside, Draco," Dumbledore looked back at him. "Are you sure that you want to step through this door? You can still turn back." _I doubt that greatly, old man._

Draco didn't say anything, and Dumbledore gave him a nod before opening the door. They both made their way inside, and Draco immediately felt the chill of the room creep into his bones. _Why is it so cold in here?_ And that's when he saw them.

A woman, who Draco knew to be Molly Weasley, was rubbing a wet towel against a bedridden man's forehead. Draco just stared at the bedridden man, and quite honestly, he didn't know who this stranger was. The man had a badly shaven head, very faint scars on his face, a bloody bandage over his left eye, and he seemed to be struggling to just breathe properly. _Where is Godfather?_

"Dumbledore?" Molly looked to the Headmaster, and then her eyes moved towards Draco. In an instant, her eyes widened to size of dinner plates, and she stepped between Draco and the stranger. "What is **he** doing here?"

"He is here to see his Godfather," Dumbledore told her, and she looked extremely puzzled. And then, she looked outraged.

"He is just a boy!" Molly Weasley shrieked, making Draco flinch. "Why would you bring him-"

"Draco…" the bedridden man rasped, and Draco's blood froze. He knew that voice, though right now he wished that he didn't.

Draco slowly walked around Dumbledore in order to look at the bedridden man, and when he finally saw him fully, Draco felt bile rise at the back of his throat. There was no mistaking it now, his Godfather was the man in the bed. Dumbledore had told him the truth, hadn't he? The Dark Lord had indeed returned, and he had tortured Snape beyond recognition. _But if that's true… Then so was the other stuff…_

Draco ran to the corner behind him, and he vomited out his meager lunch rather forcefully. He heard movement behind him, and he was suddenly wrapped in a warm blanket.

"How could you do this to a child?!" Molly Weasley demanded as she rubbed Draco's back.

The voices became distorted, and Draco kneeled in front of his own mess. His eyes were fixed on the vomit, and everything seemed to be swaying from side to side. Dumbledore had told him the truth. His Godfather was tortured by the Dark Lord, while his mother was turned into a prisoner. _Mother… She would never betray Godfather… Dumbledore lied about that… I know it…_ He felt Molly Weasley leave his side, and he heard her storm out of the room and slam the door behind her.

"Draco," came Dumbledore's voice, but Draco refused to turn around. Instead, he just sat there and stared at his mess. He needed a break. He needed it so badly that if he didn't get it, he was certain that he'd go mad.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Dumbledore had left the room after cleaning up Draco's mess, but Draco still refused to turn around. His brain had just turned off, and Draco himself refused to restart it. But that all ended when he heard loud, pained coughing from behind him, and Draco found himself shooting up to his feet. He quickly made his way over to check on Snape, whose right eye were barely open.

"Godfather…" Draco croaked as he hovered over the man. "Is that really you?"

"Sit down, Draco," Snape whispered, and Draco's body followed the instructions.

"The Dark Lord…?" Draco started, but then he stopped himself. Instead, he reached forward and touched the man's face lightly, just to make sure that this wasn't an illusion. "It's really you?"

"Yes," Snape whispered, and Draco felt a sob escape his throat. "No, Draco… Don't…"

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Draco tried to stop himself, but he was just too overwhelmed. _Why is this happening to me?_

Snape went to say something, but he decided to conserve the little strength that he did have for later. So, he let his Godson cry like the child he was. Draco tried to stop multiple times, but each time he saw Snape's horrible visage, his pathetic demeanor worsened. After nearly twenty minutes of crying, Draco was too weak to go on.

"Mother and father did this?" Draco croaked, he couldn't look at the man.

"Yes, and no…" Snape said almost gently. "The Dark Lord did this to me, Draco… The Dark Lord, and myself…"

"Yourself?" Draco looked back at Snape, and his heart clenched painfully.

"My choices in life," Snape whispered, his right eye struggling to stay open. "I've done such horrible things, Draco… I've murdered innocents… I was the reason why my only true friend in life was butchered… I… I killed my own father…"

Draco just stared at the barely conscious man, his own throat had clogged up. Draco knew that his Godfather was telling the truth, but by Merlin, it was difficult to hear him confess to such things. Snape had always been a mystery, and although Draco had ideas about the man, he had never tried to pry too much into Snape's background.

"Why am I here?" Draco asked, his voice cracked terribly. "I don't understand…"

"I wanted to see you," Snape replied, and Draco leaned closer to the Potions Master's side. "You're the closest thing to Family that I have left, Draco… I just wanted to see you."

"Did father betray you?" he heard his own voice. _Tell me it's not true… Please._

"He led me… right into the Dark Lord's hands," Snape replied, and Draco felt his entire face hurt as it contorted.

"No…" Draco sobbed into his hands. "Father loves you… He'd never do this to you…"

"The Dark Lord no doubt tortured him into it," Snape gave his thoughts. "Draco, look at me…"

Draco shook his head in his hands, and then he sniffled loudly as he held back another sob.

"Listen," Snape reached forward with his right hand, which had been under the sheets thus far. Draco's weeping died at seeing the bandaged stub where his Godfather's hand used to be, while Snape rested his arm back on the bed. He could still feel his hand, despite it not being there.

"Your hand?" Draco coughed out. "Your eye?"

"And my right leg," Snape said, he didn't sound even half as panicked as he should have. "I have paid dearly for my sins, but not enough…"

"Not enough?" Draco couldn't help but ask. "Please… Stop it…"

"Listen to me," Snape said. "The Potions are putting me under… You have to choose, Draco… Choose today…"

"Choose what?" Draco asked.

"Your side," Snape replied, his right eye closing. "This is what awaits you if you choose the Darkness… Like I did… The Dark Lord will kill us all, Draco, just as he tried to kill you in the Forbidden Forest. He is death itself, and he is beyond reasoning… Your father is his prisoner, make no mistake… Your mother is safe here, I swear it… You were raised to believe in a madman…"

"Why is this happening?" Draco asked himself desperately. "I… I shouldn't be here…"

"But you are here," Snape said with his old strength. "The World doesn't care about your privilege… Remember? Do you remember my lessons?"

"I… I do," Draco sniffled.

"Good," Snape drawled as his body relaxed. "I will be here for you… Always… Just know that…"

And just like that, his Godfather stopped moving. If not for his shallow breathing, Draco would have thought him dead from his injuries.

"Godfather?" Draco nudged him lightly, but the man didn't even stir.

Draco felt the urge to rest his head on the man's chest, but he resisted. Snape was clearly injured all over, and Draco didn't want to cause him any more pain. _Father did this? Father led him into a trap because the Dark Lord tortured him into it?_ Draco didn't even know what to think or do, all he felt was this weight on his shoulders that was threatening to crush him.

After a few minutes of just staring at his Godfather's sleeping form, Draco skulked away towards the door. As soon as he opened it, he saw Molly Weasley and Dumbledore waiting outside. Without a single word, Molly Weasley rushed into the room to take care of her charge. Draco lingered by the door, his eyes fixed on the Weasley Matriarch as she checked up on Snape.

"Draco," Dumbledore said, and Draco looked to him with a tired and hurt expression. "Do you wish to see your mother?"

"She's here?" Draco asked, he couldn't even recognize his own voice.

"She is," Dumbledore replied, and Draco gave him a weak nod. "Follow me."

Dumbledore led the way towards the back of the Hallway, and they both climbed up a few steps which led them to a sealed door. _Is this an attic? That's where they're keeping her?_ Dumbledore opened the door and led Draco inside, and it took Draco a mere second to see his mother sitting by a small window.

"Mum?" Draco croaked, and she immediately looked in his direction.

"Draco?" Narcissa shot up to her feet, she was wearing a ghastly white dress that was too large for her.

Draco and Narcissa quickly approached each other, while Dumbledore closed the door and lingered in the back. She embraced him tightly, but he didn't have the strength to return her love.

"What did you do to him?" his mother hissed in Dumbledore's direction.

"They did nothing," Draco spoke without thinking. "I… I saw Godfather…" His mother tensed immediately, which only made Draco's chest hurt even more. _She knows, Draco… It's all true…_ "Did you and father do that to him?"

"No," Narcissa denied immediately, a torn look appearing on her face.

Draco had never seen such a look on her face before, and it only served to send him further down the rabbit hole.

"No, Draco," she whispered, her features softening immensely. "It wasn't us who did that to Severus."

"It was the Dark Lord…" Draco muttered, and she shot a furious look in Dumbledore's direction.

"Don't listen to these people-"

"Godfather told me everything," Draco cut her off, and then he pulled himself away from her.

"Draco…" Narcissa whispered, a surprised look on her face.

"Father gave him up to the Dark Lord," Draco rubbed his face harshly. "I don't know what to think…"

"Please, listen to me," his mother urged. "They attacked us in the middle of the night… They destroyed our home, and took me prisoner… They want you to turn against everything that we believe in…"

Draco shot a look back at Dumbledore, but all he saw was an old man with a sorry look on his face. The Headmaster's hardened expression had weakened over time, and now even Draco could see that he didn't want to do this. _But he still did it, didn't he? Mother's right, they want me to turn against them._

"Draco," Dumbledore said, and Draco broke out of his thoughts. "Once Severus has recovered, he wants you to live with him in Spinner's End. He doesn't want you to fight and die in this war."

"War?" Draco swallowed thickly.

"Yes, Draco," Dumbledore said. "A war is upon-"

"Don't talk to him," Narcissa moved between Draco and Dumbledore. "Keep your poisonous words away from my son. You want him to die for you!"

"Your Master wants that, Narcissa, not me," Dumbledore said calmly. "Draco, ask your mother what the Dark Lord did to her in order to lure Severus into a trap."

"What did he do?" Draco heard himself ask, but his mother didn't say a word. "Mother?"

"The Dark Lord is a Half-Blood," Dumbledore told Draco, who just blinked repeatedly. "He does not believe in what you believe in. He is using people like your parents, who have given into hatred, to secure his place at the top of the food chain. Lord Voldemort is evil incarnate, Draco, and you will die if you follow him. Severus knows this, and so does your mother." _She does?_

"And what will happen to him if he follows you?" Narcissa demanded. "The Dark Lord cannot be stopped! Death has no power over him, don't you understand that?!"

"Your Master is no God," Dumbledore told her. "He is a man who fancies himself a God, but he will die like any ordinary man." Dumbledore then addressed Draco. "I will not ask you to fight against him, Draco. If you wish to live with your father, then I will not stop you. But if you chose to live with Severus, I will protect you."

"Why did you attack my house?" Draco asked. "Was it to save Godfather?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Draco asked, his eyes moving between his mother's back and Dumbledore.

"Because he is my friend, and the bravest man I know," Dumbledore replied, and Draco found himself dazed by those words. _I didn't even know that they were friends._ "Draco, it's time to choose."

"No," Narcissa grit out.

"Draco, what is your decision?" Dumbledore asked.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – Evening)**_

He had made his choice, and it had left him hollowed out. In the end, Draco had chosen his Godfather over the Dark Lord. He understood the gravity of his decision, but after what he had seen today, he wanted nothing to do with the Dark Lord. The monster who had tried to kill him in his first year, and who had haunted Draco's dreams for months, had destroyed his Godfather.

Draco also understood that he wouldn't see his father for a very long time, but for some odd reason, he didn't feel any pain over that. Maybe it was because he was beyond feeling pain right now, or maybe it was because he was genuinely angry with his father for the first time in his life. Either way, Draco was just numb all over.

Draco had lingered behind with his mother for a bit, but none of her words entered his ears. He was beyond exhausted, and all he wanted was for Snape to return to normal, but since that would never happen, Draco had settled for sleep. He had fainted from being so overwhelmed by everything, and he had woken up in the Living Room. Black had offered him food, but Draco had refused to even speak.

"Draco, you may rest here if you wish," Dumbledore said as they entered the Office through the fireplace, but Draco just drifted towards the door. "Draco?"

"Leave me alone…" Draco rasped, his throat felt so dry.

He left the Office and made his way down the spiral staircase, and then, he found himself drifting through the Hallways of the seventh floor. It was like he was in a trance of some sort, and everything in the corners of his vision were blurry. He didn't even realize that he had reached the Moving Staircase until he was nearing the entrance to the Entrance Hall.

As he drifted past some students, he heard a loud popping sound which spooked him. And then, before he knew it, he was drenched from head to toe in a gooey, red liquid. His mind barely registered what had happened before the twins ran around the corner, and they blew gold confetti all over Draco.

"We have our new Gryffindor mascot!" the twins cheered, and everyone around Draco burst into laughter.

As for Draco, his lethargic mind was still trying to make sense of what had just happened. The red liquid was cold, and it felt disgusting against his skin. The gold confetti was prickly, and some of it had gotten into his mouth. _A prank? Yeah… The twins got me._ He could hear loud laughter all around him, and he found himself being pulled back into reality.

"Look at him!" Angelina Johnson wheezed. "He's stunned silent!"

Draco just looked around at the people mocking him, and he saw yellow, blue, and red. _No Slytherins? They're all avoiding public places, aren't they?_ The laughter got louder and louder, and Draco watched as the twins were patted on the back and congratulated. The ones who weren't laughing were sneering at Draco, and telling him to 'piss off back into the Dungeons'.

Draco felt so small that his mind convinced him that everyone was towering over him. Their laughing faces became twisted, and the sounds of their joy turned horrifying. _I'm all alone… My mother and father are both prisoners, and my Godfather is on his deathbed. I have no one left… No one to turn to…_ The reality of his situation hit him like a brick wall once again, and Draco felt his eyes sting. His breathing became erratic as the laughter echoed in his ears, and he found it impossible to keep his head raised.

"Wait…" one of the twins shushed everyone. "Wait a second!"

"Oh, shite," the other twin laughed. "He's… He's crying! Look at him!"

Unsurprisingly, people started laughing once again, and this time, it was even louder than before.

"It's a joke, Malfoy!" some Hufflepuff laughed. "Don't be such a bitch about it!"

More people joined in, and before he knew it, he was being called all sorts of names. _Move… What am I doing?_ He wanted to just vanish from sight, and yet, he was rooted to his spot. Like a child, he was just sniveling to himself. _My life is ruined… What am I even supposed to do…?_

"STOP IT!" came Granger's haughty voice from somewhere. "Can't you see what you're doing?! What's wrong with all of you?! I'll call the Professors on you lot!"

"Here we go," the twins laughed.

"Little Miss Prefect is here to spoil everyone's fun," someone drawled.

As the laughter died down, Draco felt a rush of strength flow through him. _Run… Just run away…_ Draco turned around and bolted for the Dungeons, which only reignited the laughter behind him. Step by step, Draco hurried towards safety, until eventually, he was all alone. Just as he was about to head for the common room, Weasley came running in his direction.

"Malfoy!" Weasley skidded to a stop. "Are you alright?!"

Draco just stared at him through blurry vision, while Weasley looked him over with a pissed off expression. _He was running? Why? Did he know about this?_

"Fucking twins…" Weasley grit out, and then he noticed that Draco was crying. "Malfoy… What did they do?"

"Fuck… Fuck off," Draco rubbed his eyes clear. "Leave me alone…"

Draco tried to move past him, but Weasley stepped in his way.

"You can't go into Slytherin looking like this," Weasley said.

"Your brothers did this!" Draco screamed suddenly, making Weasley flinch. "Your Family is a cancer, Weasley!"

Weasley went to say something, but he clearly bit his tongue.

"Malfoy, come with me," Weasley said, and then he grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him along.

Draco thought about resisting, he thought about shoving Weasley away and then Hexing him, but in the end, he just didn't have the strength to do anything. So, he just started crying to himself as Weasley dragged him into an empty classroom. _Stop crying already… What's wrong with you? Why are you so weak-willed?_

"Sit down, please," Weasley guided Draco into a chair, and Draco quickly buried his face in his hands.

"You knew…" Draco coughed out. "You came running… You knew they were there… You set me up…"

"No, Malfoy," Weasley sighed as he kneeled down in front of Draco. "I… I can't explain it…"

"Fuck you…" Malfoy sobbed out, and then he heard Weasley pull out a piece of parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Weasley whispered, and Draco look up at him. _What did he just say?_

The parchment in Weasley's hands turned into a map, one with names and dots everywhere. _What…? What is that?_

"This is how I knew where you were," Weasley told him, and then he showed Draco the map more clearly. "See? There's the twins, and Hermione's got them cornered. And look, Harry, Ginny, and Neville are lingering in the back, no doubt too cowardly to step in."

"What… What is that?" Draco tried to control his voice, but it just kept cracking.

"A map of the school, and I can see where everyone is at any given moment," Weasley replied, and Draco couldn't help but go wide-eyed. "Actually… No one knows that I have this. Not even Daphne. The twins gave this to me a while ago."

"But you are showing me?" Draco rubbed his tears and snot away.

"I… I don't want you to think that I set you up," Weasley admitted tensely. "I just had a quick look to see where the twins were, and I saw you in a crowd. That's why I came running… I wanted to get you out of there because you weren't moving. I figured that the twins had strung you up." _Right…_

"I made a joke out of myself…" Draco put his hand on his forehand, his face contorting painfully. "I fucking cried like a…" _Fuck!_

"I'm sorry to hear that," Weasley said as he hid the map into his robes.

"The whole school will know by tonight…" Draco sniffled, and then he realized something. "You have this map, but you're not using it?" Draco looked at Weasley, who just stared back at him. "You could use that to stop the pranks… Or at least, help us avoid your brothers…"

"I know, but I'm not going to do that," Weasley said, and Draco blinked at him. "The twins have united Slytherin against a common enemy, I see that now. We were scattered after Professor Snape's disappearance, but now, we're all in the same frying pan. Our House is united once again, Malfoy, and the twins are to thank for that."

"You…" Draco croaked, but then he stopped himself. _He's ahead of his brothers, isn't he?_ "Why didn't you fight back? We could've avoided this mess if it wasn't for you…"

"I… I'm poorly made," Weasley swallowed thickly. "The twins have terrorized me for my entire life, but I still want them to love me like a brother. In their own way, I suppose they do love me, but it's not good enough. I was wrong to force you all into hiding, and for that, I'm sorry."

"You already apologized…" Draco hiccupped.

"I know," Weasley sighed out. "Malfoy… Why did you break down like that?" _I can't say anything, Dumbledore was clear about that. They have my mother, and if the truth comes out, it'll be my father that the Ministry hunts down._

"I… I don't know…" Draco lied, he was just done with everything.

"Do you want me to leave?" Weasley asked, and Draco thought about it.

"No…" Draco whispered.

"Alright," Weasley stood up and pulled a chair.

"Don't talk to me… But don't leave…" Draco looked down at his red feet.

"I understand," Weasley sat down, his eyes fixed on Draco.

For the first time today, Draco didn't feel completely alone. He made sure to ignore Weasley, and he expected the red-head to leave after an hour, but Weasley just stayed with Draco in silence.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry, but no Gala this time! I did write it down, but then I felt like I skipped all this good drama, so I went back and re-wrote the Chapter. Next chapter, I'll have the Gala, and it'll be an improved version of the current one. It didn't come out right because I skipped important things.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed that, and sorry for the delay. Life gets busy, and I'm trying my best to stay afloat.**

 **See you guys on Monday for the next one!**


	94. Chapter 94 - The Road Ahead

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 94 is here! I just scanned through it for errors, but I'm really sleepy, so I might have missed some of them. It's like 3 A.M right now, so please, forgive the errors. Let me know if there is something that breaks immersion, as always.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 94 - The Road Ahead**

 _ **Ginevra Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Entrance Hall – Evening)**_

"He was in tears, and you two kept going," Hermione chastised the twins, while Ginny hovered behind with Neville and Harry. "What's the matter with you?!"

"Hermione… It's Malfoy," Harry spoke up, and Ginny took a step away from him. _It was nice knowing you, Harry._

Hermione turned around with an angry scowl, and Ginny heard Harry draw in a sharp breath.

"What difference does that make?!" Hermione snapped. "It was barbaric, and cruel!"

"Look, we didn't know that he was going to start bawling," Fred started.

"But you still kept going," Ginny spoke without thinking, and the twins frowned at her. "What? I'm just… saying…"

"Go on, Ginny," Hermione ordered.

"Well, it felt… slightly… mean," Ginny all but whispered, but they all heard her. _The truth is that I didn't enjoy that half as much as I thought I would. Malfoy sounded like a kicked puppy._

"Slightly mean?" George just stared at his sister. "This coming from the girl who has openly spoken out against Malfoy." _Yeah, I don't have a leg to stand on._

"And we didn't know that it was Malfoy who was around the corner, we were just waiting for a Slytherin," Fred said defensively.

"So that makes it alright?!" Hermione exploded once again.

"It was just a joke," the twins said together.

"Why are your knickers in such a twist over that spoilt little brat?" George asked Hermione.

"Is it because he's easy on the eyes?" Fred asked right after, and even Ginny frowned at the twins.

"That's taking things too far," Harry stepped forward, his emerald eyes fixed on the twins.

"How can you say that to her after what Malfoy used to call her?" Neville asked.

"Again, it was a joke," Fred groaned, and then he looked to George. "Why are we even listening to them?"

"I have no earthly idea, brother mine," George replied.

"Because I'm going to tell Professor McGonagall about what you two are up to," Hermione said haughtily, and the twins went dead quiet. _Uh oh. If there's anything that the twins can't stand, it's a tattletale._

"Hermione, don't," Ginny said, while the twins just stared at Hermione.

"I'm not scared of them," Hermione glared at the twins.

"You'll tell Professor McGonagall, will you?" Fred asked, there was not a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I will," Hermione challenged, while Harry and Neville just let out tired sighs.

"Leave her alone," Ginny moved in-between the twins and Hermione. "Your joke was funny, but it became cruel when you started humiliating Malfoy despite his state. Hermione's not wrong, even if she's being a little too uptight."

"Uptight?!" Hermione nearly shrieked. _For Merlin's sake, just be quiet, and let me deal with them._

"You've had your fun, now move on," Ginny stared right into Fred's eyes.

"Fine," George said, and then he patted Fred's arm. "Let's go, Fred, we have plans to make."

Fred eyed Ginny for a few seconds, and Ginny matched his gaze. _I'm not backing off here, so you can keep staring all you like._ When Fred realized that Ginny had no intention of being intimidated, he and George left for Gryffindor Tower without another word. Once they were gone, Ginny felt her knees wobble a little. _I've never stood up to the twins like that before. I mean, we've argued and fought, but this was different._

"I'm not being uptight," Hermione huffed, and Ginny turned to face her.

"If you turn the twins in, we'll lose third place," Ginny told Hermione. "Just look at the Hourglasses, Hermione… Slytherin is dominating every House, and the twins want us to win. They might take things too far every now and then, but they're just trying to help Gryffindor the only way they know how."

"Plus, you'll just make them your enemies," Neville added, and then he patted Hermione's back. "Let's get some fresh air, alright?"

"Alright…" Hermione immediately lost her gusto, and Neville guided her out to the Courtyard. _Wow… I say all that, and she immediately listens to Neville?_

"You're right about the House Cup," Harry said, and Ginny looked to see him standing in front of the Slytherin Hourglass. "I can't understand how they got so far ahead… It's not even halfway through the year, and we're miles behind."

"Knowing them, they came to school this year with a scheme of some sort," Ginny said, she still felt slightly uneasy around Harry. _But not when we're flying together. When we're soaring through the sky, I feel completely at ease._

"A scheme?" Harry looked to Ginny, who simply shrugged.

"I have no idea," Ginny admitted. "I honestly can't think like them."

"That's fair enough," Harry smiled at her. "Thanks for what you did just then, by the way."

"Pardon?"

"Hermione can be… passionate," Harry said. "Too passionate, even. Thanks for standing up for her like that, I didn't even think about where it was all headed."

"The twins aren't as rotten as she thinks," Ginny said, her face felt a little hot. "They want to win, just like the rest of us, but they're not interested in academics. And since Quidditch isn't enough to bring us back, they're trying to pitch in the only way they know how."

"You really know your siblings, huh?" Harry looked back to the Slytherin Hourglass. _Most of them._

"Harry, are you alright?" Ginny asked as she walked up to his side. "You've been acting… odd… lately."

"Odd?" Harry asked.

"Reserved, withdrawn, quiet, subdued-"

"I get it," Harry sighed, and Ginny smirked at him. _Just pretend like your flying around, and remember Luna's advice. Harry is just Harry._ "I'm just trying to sort through some personal issues."

"I won't probe," Ginny decided to back off. "But I will say this… You're not alone, Harry. You've got Hermione and Neville, and even us Weasleys."

She saw Harry tense a little at the mention of her Family name, which she thought was quite peculiar. _I think that he's at odds with Ron… All three of them are._ Ginny herself was quite distracted these days, especially because she was trying to come out of her shell, but she had still noticed that the Trio seemed to be avoiding Ron at any cost. If he was in the room, they wouldn't even look in his direction. _Not to mention the study group… Did he throw them out? No, he wouldn't do that. Would he? Damn, why can't I predict him anymore?_

"Ginny?" Harry called, and Ginny blinked at him. "You alright? You just zoned out completely."

"Sorry," Ginny shook her head clear. "I was thinking about Slytherin's strategy."

"Well?" Harry asked. _Bloody hell! I lied without thinking things through!_

"I… came up with nothing," Ginny said lamely, but Harry bought it. "Do you want to join Neville and Hermione outside?"

"Sure," Harry agreed, and they began heading outside.

"By the way…" Ginny started, her voice suddenly filled with mischief. "What's going on between those two?"

"Excuse me?" Harry blinked.

"Did you not see what just happened?" Ginny asked. "She was all hyped up for a confrontation, but he calmed her down with one sentence. Trust me, that wasn't normal behavior."

"Oh… I don't know," Harry said uncomfortably. "They're friends… I mean, we all are… Neville just has a way of calming people down…" _Boys. They're so clueless sometimes._

"Right," Ginny sniggered. "Neville is the Hermione Whisperer, is he?"

"I… I don't know what to say…" Harry admitted, he hadn't even noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm just joking around, Harry, don't be so tense," Ginny teased, she liked that she had turned the tables on him for once. _Be confident, Ginny. Harry is just Harry._

As they approached Hermione and Neville, who were talking to each other on a bench, Ginny couldn't help but picture them as a couple. _I think it could work. Hermione is brilliant, but temperamental. While Neville is quite ordinary, but has a comforting presence. Actually, Neville is getting taller… And even handsome. He'll have a nice strong jawline in the Future, I can tell._

"It's the right thing to do, Neville," Hermione finished as Harry and Ginny stopped in front of them.

"What's the right thing to do?" Harry asked.

"She wants to turn the twins in," Neville told them, and then he looked to Hermione. "Hermione, you're not thinking things through. Sure, they'll get in trouble and the pranks will stop, but you'll be next on the chopping block."

"I'm not scared of them, Neville," Hermione narrowed her eyes on him.

"I know that," Neville said gently. "You're not scared of anyone, but you are being impulsive. Getting the twins into trouble will only hurt Gryffindor."

"So we just let them terrorize other students?" Hermione asked, while Harry and Ginny looked between the two. _Yeah… I sense sparks. It's a real shame that Hermione only has eyes for my brother. Oh, and her books._

"Neville's right, Hermione," Harry said. "We won't win the House-Cup at this rate."

"The Slytherins aren't retaliating though," Hermione told them bluntly. "The only thing that the twins are accomplishing is unnecessary mayhem."

"Why aren't they retaliating?" Harry suddenly asked. "They're a mean lot, and yet, they're just taking the twins' pranks without even raising a finger."

"Yeah…" Ginny muttered. _Odd, I didn't think of that._ "I honestly can't imagine why they haven't retaliated."

"Maybe it's because Snape's not here?" Neville suggested. "Without his favoritism, they know that they can't get away with their actions."

"See?" Hermione perked up. "I'm right! The twins aren't helping Gryffindor, they're just being cruel to the Slytherins."

"Why do you even care about them?" Harry rubbed his forehead.

"Did you honestly enjoy watching Malfoy in tears?" Hermione demanded.

"Well… Only at first…" Harry admitted slowly. "But I don't see the need to turn the twins in for it. Malfoy just needs thicker skin, I mean, he has said and done worse things."

"That's not the point," Hermione said. "The point is that the twins aren't accomplishing their 'goal', and as a result of that, their pranks are just cruel. Honestly, playing a couple of pranks a month is alright, but in the last two days, they've played over a dozen. And you know what the worst part is?"

"No, but you're no doubt about to tell us," Ginny sighed, making Harry snigger a little. _She really does love her rants, doesn't she?_

"The worst part is that the Professors know who is behind these pranks," Hermione laughed scathingly. " **Everyone** knows who's behind this insanity, and yet, the twins are still not being punished. It's absurd!"

"Hermione, it's got nothing to do with us," Neville said. "And although I agree with you somewhat, I don't want to turn in my own friends." Hermione blinked at that. "Yeah, Hermione… The twins are your friends, and you're threatening to turn them in. You've never even considered turning in the Slytherins for all the terrible things that they say and do, but you're willing to turn in your fellow Gryffindors."

"We should be better than the Slytherins," Hermione told Neville. "I don't tell on the Slytherins because most of them are bigoted morons who will just keep at it anyway."

"Turning the twins in won't be much different," Neville countered. "If anything, it will just make things worse."

"He's right," Ginny said. "The House will turn on you for doing something like that to the twins, especially when people realize that you did it to protect the Slytherins." _Plus, you're already not very popular, while the twins are adored. Even the other Houses might jump at the chance to come after you._

"I… I don't care," Hermione said stubbornly, and all of them rubbed their foreheads. "I'm sorry, but I know that I'm right here."

"We're not denying that," Harry frowned, he hated when she got like this. "We're just asking you to not turn in our friends."

"I won't turn them in," Hermione said, and they all relaxed a bit. "I'll just give Professor McGonagall a hint." _Shite._

"Let's make a compromise instead," Neville said, he could see that Harry was getting annoyed. "Instead of turning the twins in, we get them to stop."

"That's a neat plan," Ginny smiled. "After we accomplish that, do you want to cure World Hunger?" _The twins don't listen to anyone but each other._ "You'll never get them to back off… Except…" _Hold on a second, I've got something._

"Ginny?" Harry looked to her. "What is it?"

"Shhh," Ginny shushed him, a plan was currently gestating in her mind. "I might be able to change the twins' hive mind…"

"How?" Hermione asked.

"By appealing to their common sense," Ginny replied, and then she turned around and began heading for Gryffindor Tower. _It all comes down to money._

"Wait!" Hermione chased after her, while Neville and Harry chased after Hermione. "What's your plan? Tell me."

"Money," Ginny smiled at Hermione, who blinked at her. "The twins are the only ones in our Family who don't get an allowance. Mum forbid dad from giving them money, so they constantly scrape together as much as they can from various sources. If someone wants a prank done, they pay the twins-"

"They run a pranking business?" Hermione gasped.

"The twins secure money from various sources," Ginny said. "It's not a crime to turn your passion into a business, Hermione."

"But their passion is-"

"Wrong?" Ginny cut in, and Hermione didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but you don't get to decide what's right and wrong. The twins are arseholes more often than not, but at the end of the day, they love making people laugh. It's how they've always been."

"Ginny, the plan?" Harry asked, now she was ranting.

"Right," Ginny shook her head clear. "I'll talk to the twins, and I'll make sure to tell them that they're just wasting their money at this point. The Slytherins aren't retaliating, which means that their plan has already failed. Instead of wasting their money on getting more prank items, they should just go back to perfecting their many products."

"Products?" Neville asked. _Damn, I shouldn't have said that._

"Don't tell anyone this, but the twins practice making their own joke items and Spells," Ginny told them. "They want to start a business, I think. A **genuine** business."

"Like Zonko's?" Neville asked, and Ginny nodded. "That's quite neat."

"They need their money," Ginny said as they all made their way up. "So, we remind them of that little fact. It might work because it's something that the twins can understand. Threats of tattling will just anger them, and they'll stubbornly persist with their pranks." _Wow, I can't believe_ _ **I**_ _managed to think of such a plan. I'm a genius!_

"Ginny, this is really good," Harry smiled widely.

"It really is," Neville patted her back. "Good on you, Ginny."

"Do we all talk to the twins?" Hermione asked her.

"Um… Just me," Ginny said. "Sorry, Hermione, but they're not exactly happy with you."

"Fine," Hermione said a little coldly. "I'll just do something else in the meantime, then." _Slightly passive aggressive, but that doesn't matter. I should think about what to say to the twins. I know that they'll never dare prank me, but the Trio are a different story._

As they neared the seventh floor, Neville and Harry started discussing their plans for the upcoming Gala. Ginny listened a bit to their conversation, but her mind was fixed on convincing the twins to stop their prank-war. Personally, Ginny didn't really care much for the Slytherins, but she did care about Hermione, who was adamant about stopping the twins. It was no secret that Hermione wasn't exactly well-liked in her previous schools, or even at Hogwarts, so Ginny understood why Hermione was so against bullying.

"Heart," Hermione said to the Fat-Lady, and the portrait slip open.

They all made their way inside, the warmth of the common room washing over them. People were laughing, playing games, hanging up their feet, or just enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. The twins sat in a corner on the far side of the common room, both of them sniggering with Lee Jordan. _Their unspoken partner in crime._

"We'll be with Seamus and Dean," Harry told Ginny. "Find us after you're done."

"And I'll be in my room," Hermione added.

"You can join us for once, Hermione," Neville offered.

"I don't like Seamus very much," Hermione told Neville. "He's really rude."

"It's a part of his charm," Neville chuckled, and Hermione's lips twitched upwards.

"Some other time, I promise," Hermione said, and then she left for the girls' dorms.

Harry and Neville wished Ginny luck, and then they left to join their roommates. _I can't believe I'm doing this… Damn you, Hermione._ Ginny approached the twins and Lee, a resolute look on her face.

"I need to talk to you three," Ginny said with a firm voice, and all three boys cocked their eyebrows.

"Take a seat, beloved sister," George said, while Fred just stared at her. _He's upset… Great. Now I feel bad as well._

"Are you three cooking up another prank?" Ginny asked as she sat down.

"Prank?" Lee asked her. "Why would we plan such a thing?"

"Don't be like that," Ginny smiled at him. "We're all on the same team."

"Are we now?" Fred asked. "So Hermione's changed her mind, then?"

"No," Ginny replied. "She's too stubborn to do that, but I've convinced her to not tattle on you."

"Right," George rolled his eyes. "What's the catch?"

"Stop the pranks," Ginny replied, and all three boys laughed at her. "I'm being serious here. Stop the pranks."

"Or what?" Lee asked.

"Or nothing," Ginny shrugged, and they waited for her to go on. "How much money have you three spent on this prank-war of yours?"

"Pardon?" George asked.

"How much money have you three spent on this prank-war of yours?" Ginny repeated slowly.

"Not that much," Fred replied, while Lee's expression told a different tale. "Alright… We've spent a fair bit, but so what?"

"So… You're wasting your money," Ginny told them. "The Slytherins have yet to lose even a single House-Point in retaliation, and so your plan isn't working. You're just wasting your money."

"Hardly," George said. "We get to try out our products on the snakes, which saves us the trouble of finding volunteers." _Shite, I didn't even think of that._ "Tell me something, Ginny dearest, why are you really here?"

"Don't try to be coy with us, we're smarter than you," Fred reminded her, and Ginny scratched her hidden scars under the table. _So much for 'Confident Ginny'… Why am I the stupid one in our Family?_

"Hermione will tell the Professors about you three, and then, you'll start targeting her," Ginny confessed, her posture deflating.

"As is our right," the twins said together, and Ginny looked down at the table.

"She's my friend," Ginny told them, and they just stared at her. "I don't have many of those…" _Maybe I only managed to come up with this idea because I wanted to impress them, but Ron's right, I'll never be one of them. Just the fourth shadow…_

Something shifted behind Fred's eyes, while Ginny felt wretched about herself once again. No matter what she tried, her brothers were her superiors in everything. _Friends, popularity, academics, Quidditch, everything… The only thing of note that I've done is to get possessed…_

"Lee, can you give us a minute?" Fred asked, and Lee left with a parting nod.

"Ginny?" George called, and she looked up from the table. "Do you want to tell us something?"

"No," Ginny replied, she didn't want them thinking ill of her. _They'll call me insecure, or worse._

"Even if we do start pranking little Miss Would-be-Prefect, she wouldn't stop being your friend," Fred told Ginny, both twins knew that Ginny was struggling to make friends. After all, 'Team Weasley and Lovegood' were trying to help Ginny come out of her shell.

"It's not that," Ginny said defensively. "I just… I told them that I'd get you two to stop, okay… Look, your plan isn't working, and at this rate, even I can't help but think that you're going too far. I mean, how pranks have you two actually pulled in the last two days?"

"Twenty one," the twins said together. _Sweet Circe… They've done that many without being caught?_

"The Library is a hot-spot," Fred added.

"Twenty one pranks, and not one House Point lost," Ginny said, and the twins couldn't disagree with those numbers. "You could lose your products if you get caught, so why not just go back to willing test-subjects? Why target the Slytherins, who will no doubt tattle on you at some point?"

"It's a matter of dignity at this point," George sighed. "We thought that they'd retaliate, but we were wrong. Someone's told them to ignore us, and even hotheads like Flint are just taking it."

"Someone?" Ginny asked.

"Our little Ronnie, we think," Fred replied, and Ginny was a bit taken aback.

"They'd obey Ron like that?" Ginny asked.

"We don't know, which is why we're not sure," George replied. "Whoever it was, we can't let them win."

"So your pride is hurt," Ginny realized.

"Getting Slytherins into trouble is one of our favorite pastimes," Fred said. "But now, it's ruined."

"You're not trying to help Gryffindor anymore," Ginny said, and for some reason, that really bothered her. "You're just being nasty for the sake of being nasty."

"Nasty?" George asked. "Please tell me that you're going to call us bullies as well." _As well?_

"Are the Slytherins calling you two bullies?" Ginny asked.

"Ron called us bullies, which is pure tripe," Fred said with distaste.

"Hermione thinks the same, but I told her that you were trying to help the House," Ginny told them. "I stood up for you, but it turns out, I was wrong." _I'm so fucking stupid… I can't even read people better than Hermione, which happens to be her weakest trait._

"Hermione needs to learn to have a laugh," Fred said, while George just stared at his little sister.

"Like Malfoy was having 'a laugh' today?" Ginny asked. "Congratulations you two, you actually managed to make me feel sorry for a Malfoy."

"Sorry?" Fred asked.

"Fred, enough," George said, and both Ginny and Fred blinked at him.

George leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Ginny's. _Um… What's he doing?_ Ginny shrunk back a bit, she didn't like him staring at her like that. _It's like he's trying to read my soul._

"Do you feel like we're bullying the Slytherins?" George asked her. "Answer me truthfully."

"Right now, yes…" Ginny admitted. "Twenty one pranks in two days, and not for some greater good… You're just going after them for fun, and you've crossed the line."

"I see," George said, while Fred frowned a little to himself. "Fred, no more pranks on the Slytherins, alright?"

"Agreed," Fred groaned, and Ginny was left genuinely baffled. _What just happened? Did they do their weird 'twin mind' thing?_

"Tell Hermione that we'll stop, Ginny," George smiled at her, which only confused her even more. "Tell her that you talked us out of it." _Really? I did? I did!_

"You'll really stop?" Ginny asked just to be sure.

"We'll stop," the twins replied together.

"You made some good points, little sister," Fred said reluctantly.

"And we're not bullies," George told her. "Now, be on your way."

Ginny quickly left before they could change their minds, and she found herself waiting by the girls' dorms entrance. She looked to Harry and Neville, and then up towards the dorms. _Who do I tell first?_ She wanted to tell Harry, but since she had regained her footing, she decided to tell him **after** Hermione. _She'll be so happy to hear this!_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Nearly End of Dinner)**_

Hermione had been so proud of Ginny, but that pride had turned into righteous anger when they all reached the Great Hall. A majority of the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors had started laughing at the sight of Malfoy, who had just avoided eye contact with **everyone**. Ron, as usual, sat by his side, and for once, Ginny didn't mind that. It was a testament to the twins' pranking skills that Ginny actually felt sorry for Malfoy.

As for the twins, they were clearly keeping their word to Ginny. Not a single incident had occurred during dinner, much to the Slytherins' shock. Even some of the Gryffindors were shocked, but most of them were just disappointed. They had all come to dinner expecting entertainment, but tonight's dinner was just the usual affair.

"Quick, they're heading out," Hermione said, and they all followed after her. _She really wants to tell Ron that we've stopped the pranks, doesn't she?_

The four of them quickly made their way past their fellow students, and they caught up to Ron and his friends in the Entrance Hall. Each and every Slytherin looked suspicious, and they all seemed to have their eyes peeled for danger.

"Ron, can you spare a minute?" Neville called out, and Ron's gang stopped immediately.

"Neville," Ron turned around with a smile, his eyes didn't leave Neville for a second. "What can I do for you?"

"We just need to tell you something," Neville smiled back. "It's really important."

"Ron," Zabini cut in, and then he started whispering in Ron's ear. _What's he saying?_

"It's not a trap," Hermione told them all. "We would never do something like that."

"Your actions in the past suggest otherwise, Granger," Greengrass pointed out. _Ugh… What does Ron see in this bimbo? I can't wait for Hermione to thrash her in their Duel._

"It's alright," Ron spoke up, and then he gave Zabini a meaningful look.

"Your call," Zabini said indifferently, and then he turned around and began heading for the Dungeons. "Let's go, you lot. Ron will catch up to us."

"Courtyard?" Ron asked Neville, while his friends left for the Slytherin common room.

"Sure," Neville nodded, and they all made their way out.

There was no denying that something felt off about this whole affair. Hermione and Harry had gone far too quiet, which only furthered Ginny's suspicions about them all being at odds. _Not to mention that Ron's only addressing Neville. He hasn't even looked in my direction at all._ That thought annoyed Ginny greatly, but she decided not to say anything. _Right now, we just need to tell him that we've saved the Slytherins. That'll show him not to underestimate us._

"Alright, what did you want to talk about, Neville?" Ron asked as they reached the Courtyard. "Please be quick about it, it's cold out here."

"Well…" Neville looked to Ginny, who drew in a deep breath.

"I convinced the twins to stop the pranks against the Slytherins," Ginny told her brother, who just blinked at her.

"You did?" Ron asked.

"Hermione wanted to stop them by turning them in, but we all came up with a different plan," Ginny replied.

"Actually, Ginny came up with the plan on her own," Harry spoke up, but one cold look from Ron shut him up. _What was that? Did he just silence Harry with a look?_

"So you two really are fighting," Ginny looked between Harry and Ron, a slight frown on her face. _And Ron seems to have the upper hand somehow._

"Tell me more about the twins," Ron said, completely ignoring Ginny's statement. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm your sister?" Ginny suggested scathingly.

"So you do remember that little fact," Ron said coldly, an indifferent look on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny demanded, why did he infuriate her so much? _Because he doesn't even talk like Ronnie anymore! There's not a hint of happiness around him! This is not him!_

"We're veering off topic," Neville jumped in. "Look, the twins have agreed to stop wasting their resources on the Slytherins. Their plans failed, and Ginny showed them that." _Hardly, they just decided to stop for some unknown reason._ "The 'prank-war' is over, Ron, and that's all that matters."

"I see," Ron said, something shifting behind his eyes. "Thank you, Ginny. I appreciate your help."

"Right…" Ginny said slowly, something was off here. _I can feel it. He doesn't look pleased at all._

"So I have your word about the twins?" Ron looked to Neville. "They'll really stop?"

"They already have," Ginny replied for them all. "They didn't play a single joke during tonight's dinner."

"Good," Ron gave a curt nod. "Thank you again, I'll let the Slytherins know." _You could smile, you know. We went out of our way to help you, after all._

And just like that, Ron walked right past them all and disappeared into the castle.

"Was it just me, or did he look… unhappy?" Harry asked.

"Harry, that's silly," Hermione said. "He was probably just surprised that the twins agreed to stop."

"And he looked unhappy because that's just how he is now," Ginny huffed. "Lord Weasley feels no need to smile at us plebs." _One day, he's going to regret the way he behaves around his own kin._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

He had half a mind to slap all four Gryffindors… Even when they were trying to help him, all they managed to accomplish was to get in his way. The twins' pranks had united Slytherin, but now that unity was in jeopardy. It was quite laughable that Ron, and the Triumvirate, were relying on the twins' mean-streak to keep their House from infighting.

Without the twins' pressure, Slytherin would go back to being without purpose. Not to mention that Ron didn't want to let the twins off easy this time. Over the last two days, Ron had come to multiple realizations. He wanted to punish the twins. By getting them into trouble, Ron could take care of multiple issues at once.

Firstly, the twins needed to be taught a lesson. They needed to understand that Ron was not a person that you could fuck with. Secondly, Ron wanted to damage Gryffindor's Hourglass. If the twins were caught with a barrel of alcohol, Gryffindor would lose a vast amount of House Points. Thirdly, the twins' actions would damage Gryffindor's unearned reputation of being the House of the Brave. Ron wanted the other Houses to see that Gryffindor wasn't exactly perfect, and that shitty people existed in each House. And lastly, Ron had realized that if the twins were caught with alcohol, they would not be allowed to attend the Gala.

The last realization was the most important one to Ron. Despite them being his kin, Ron didn't trust them to behave at this Gala. He refused to let the twins embarrass the Weasley Name with their idiocy. This Gala was the Weasley Family's reintroduction into High Society, and a pair of idiots weren't going to ruin that. Not while Ron had anything to say about it. _I should never have invited them. Fuck, one mistake after another._

Ron entered his room and shut the door, his eyes spotting his friends playing a game of Wizard's Poker. Malfoy was sitting on his bed with a distant look, and Ron decided to leave him be for now. _I asked the Headmaster to take it easy on him… I need to speak to the old man._

"Ron," Daphne smiled at him. "Come and sit with me, we're just about to start."

"Actually, the game will have to wait," Ron told them.

"What happened with the Gryffindors this time?" Theo sighed out. "Did they do something stupid?"

"Worse… They did something noble," Ron leaned against the door.

"That **is** worse," Blaise put his cards down. "Well? What happened?"

"They convinced the twins to stop their prank-war," Ron said, and even Malfoy looked in his direction.

"Um… What?" Tracey blinked.

"The twins are going to leave us alone," Ron clarified. "No more pranks, no more jeering, and no more problems."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Millie asked. "The last two days have been horrid."

"This is bad," Theo spoke to himself, and Ron nodded along. _He gets it._

"This is really bad," Pansy swallowed thickly. _She gets it as well._

"Why is it so bad?" Tracey asked them.

"Right now, the House is united against the twins," Ron replied. "There is no infighting whatsoever because we all share a common enemy, and a common goal. Take that away, and we'll go back to bickering again. Not to mention what this means for **us**. I mean, I convinced the House to go into hiding, and then we convinced the House to put up with the pranks."

"People are going to be pissed when they find out that there is no retaliation," Theo took over. "Ron's right about this, people need to see the twins pay. And we promised as much."

"Think of it this way, Trace," Ron said. "You spend an entire game of Chess being outsmarted, but eventually, you start making a comeback. And just as you're about to topple the enemy's king, they surrender."

"It would be anticlimactic," Tracey realized. "Damn…"

"All those pranks that we suffered through in silence will have been for nothing," Daphne rubbed her forehead. "Ron, I really don't like your sister."

"She meant well," Ron said a little too defensively. "But yes… They've just fucked us."

"Can they be trusted?" Malfoy asked Ron. "What if they're just lying to you?" _At least he's talking now. Poor bastard, he's had a horrible day._

"Say what you will about Potter and his lot, but they aren't exactly evil masterminds," Millie replied for Ron. "The twins, however…"

"They wouldn't lie to Ginny," Ron told them. _After all, we're all still trying to help her get back on her feet._ "Plus, there were no pranks tonight, remember?"

"Dinner was just as usual," Pansy said. "What are we going to do about this, Ron? The Triumvirate have put their faith in you and Tracey… The whole House has."

"I knew that public speech was a mistake," Tracey frowned at Ron. "Thanks, mate. You've done me in as well."

"Sorry," Ron gave a sheepish smile.

"What if the pranks didn't stop?" Theo asked, and everyone looked to him. "What if the pranks kept happening? Only a handful of people know about the twins backing off, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Blaise asked. "You want to goad the twins?"

"Not at all," Theo replied. "I'm suggesting that we keep the pranks alive, but let the twins take credit for them."

"Go on," Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"We pull a couple of big pranks on our fellow House-mates tomorrow, and in doing so, keep the House united against the twins," Theo said. "The twins will deny it, of course, but that's not good enough. People expect them to prank the Slytherins, and so they'll just figure that the twins are lying."

"But it's us who are pranking the Slytherins," Tracey said, and Theo gave her a nod. "I don't know how I feel about that… These are our House-mates, Theo."

"Most of them are pricks," Blaise said coldly. "I'm with Theo already. It's better if the twins pay for their dozens of pranks instead of us."

Tracey looked around the room, and then she let out a sigh.

"Guess I'm outvoted, then," Tracey said, and Pansy rubbed her back with a sorry look. "Keep going, Theo."

"After our pranks, Tracey can tell Carey that it's time," Theo went on. "Carey speaks to Percy Weasley, while Ron gets the barrel into the twins' room. Percy goes over to their room, finds the barrel, gets McGonagall involved, and Carey urges that the twins' contraband be taken away. Not only will the twins pay for their actions, but the House will stay united in victory. We save our face, and things go on as normal." _And I get to keep the twins away from the Gala._

"Ron, what do you think?" Daphne asked, and Ron found himself at a fork in the road. _They're my brothers… But… I gave them an out, and they spat on my face. Not once, but twice. The only downside to all of this is that Ginny will be hurt. But she'll blame the twins, not me. That… could work for me. I could play the wounded brother, and she might come back around. If I play this right, Ginny might even apologize for her behavior._

"Ron? What are you scheming?" Blaise asked.

"We're doing this," Ron stood up to his full-height. "Let's plan a couple of pranks, and get things into order."

"First things first," Daphne started. "When is Carey supposed to talk to Percy? The twins can't be in Gryffindor Tower when Percy snoops around their room."

"Lunch?" Blaise asked.

"Dinner might be better," Malfoy suggested. "The Prefects roam the school together during the evening hours."

"But they have schedules for that," Pansy countered.

"Ductu can just approach Weasley, can't she?" Malfoy asked. "While everyone is at dinner, Weasley does exactly what we want him to. He then gets McGonagall involved before the twins even realize that something's wrong."

"And we'll all be at dinner, so the twins can't pin the blame on us," Tracey nodded her agreement.

"They'll never tattle," Ron told them. "The twins will do their best to prove their innocence, but they won't throw someone else under the bus. It's not their way."

"So we have our time," Blaise said. "What about the pranks?"

"I already have a couple of ideas," Tracey replied, she still looked a bit unsure. "We'll also need to fall victim to these pranks though, just to avoid suspicion."

"Let's hear it," Ron said, he was eager to achieve his own ends.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"I don't see why I couldn't pretend to be sick," Daphne pouted at him, and Ron smiled widely.

"Because we all have to suffer," Ron chuckled, and Daphne narrowed her eyes on him.

"You're having too much fun," Daphne huffed in indignation.

"True," Ron admitted, and then he put his left hand on the table.

Daphne reached across and took his hand in hers, her pout disappearing. They were both currently sitting on the far end of the Slytherin table, the group had split up in order to cover the entire Slytherin space. Millie and Theo sat with their second years, pretending to lecture them about House Politics. Pansy, Blaise, Malfoy, and Tracey sat with the first years, no doubt doing the same as Theo and Millie. Ron and Daphne were pretending to have a lovesick conversation far from any distractions.

"Is it in place?" Daphne whispered, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Everything is ready," Ron gave her a wink, and she drew in a deep breath. "What are you doing?"

"I'm holding my breath," Daphne replied, and Ron grinned. "Stop that, Ron… You'll make me laugh."

Any minute now, they were going to detonate three Dung Bombs, given to them by Tracey, and the entire Slytherin table was going to smell like shite for the whole day. It was worse than anything that the twins had pulled so far, but Tracey wanted to make up for the peaceful dinner last night. _That, and she wants to let loose for once._

"If I vomit, I'll be aiming for you," Daphne told him. "Do you understand?"

"Why must you do these things to me?" Ron sniggered. "All I do is shower you with love, and this is how you repay me."

"You should be honored, Ron," Daphne smirked. "I've never done something like this to a boy before."

"I'll pass," Ron said, and then he shot a look towards Tracey, who was on the far end of the table.

She gave him a nod, and Ron looked back to Daphne. _Time to set them off, I guess. Merlin, I'm nervous and excited at the same time._

"Sweet Circe…" Daphne sighed, and then she held her breath.

Ron flicked his wand under the table, and the Dung Bomb exploded beneath his legs. Tracey and Theo set off their respective Dung Bombs right after Ron, and the Great Hall was silenced by the loud booming noise, which was followed by a loud hiss as the Dung Bombs released their fumes.

The entire Slytherin student body let out loud shrieks and yells, all of them shooting out of their seats. Ron pocketed his wand as he too shot out of his seat, the pungent smell made his nostril burn painfully. Daphne was already gagging, so Ron quickly moved around the table and took a hold of her shoulders. He began guiding her out of the Great Hall right after, while the other Slytherins did the same. He could hear the Professors demanding for silence, while the other Houses laughed their arses off at the 'twins' latest prank'.

"I'm going to vomit…" Daphne gagged, and Ron felt a strong pang of guilt. "Courtyard…"

Ron made sure to shoot a glare towards the twins on his way out, and they stared back at him with bewildered looks. _I've got you two now._

Ron guided Daphne out into the Courtyard, and as soon as they reached their destination, she all but projectile vomited all over the cobbled ground. _Shite!_ Ron tried to hold back her hair, but she gagged violently and kept vomiting. _Ew! Oh no…_ Ron gagged a little himself, but he managed to hold in his breakfast.

"I'm really sorry," Ron apologized.

"I… I hate you…" Daphne breathed out, her stomach heaving. _Yeah, I deserve that._

"Ron?!" came Ginny's voice, and Ron readied himself. _Showtime._

"You?!" Ron turned around with a glare, and Ginny stopped mid-approach.

Behind her were the Golden Trio, all of whom had their eyes fixed on Daphne.

"You four are so clever, aren't you?!" Ron snapped, making them flinch. _Be more dramatic, Ron._ "You got me! You're so fucking clever!"

"Ron…" Ginny whimpered. "I didn't-"

"You tricked me into telling the Slytherins that we were safe, and so we all let our guards down!" Ron accused scathingly, his angry glare washing over them. "You got me! Now I look like a fool in front of my entire House! Is that what you wanted, Ginny?! For 'Lord Weasley' to look stupid?!"

"No!" Ginny denied in a panicked voice. "Ron, I didn't know-"

"Good on you, Ginny," Ron spat out. "Good on you for outsmarting your snake brother…"

"Ron, she tried to help you," Hermione spoke up, her eyes still fixed on Daphne and her mess. _Yes, get riled up and tattle on the twins. They'll mete out justice on my behalf. One Spell, several birds._

"The twins promised her that they'd stop," Neville added, he looked quite disturbed.

"Is that what they did?" Ron laughed coldly. "They outsmarted you! You imbeciles! Fuck! I'm the real idiot here for believing you!" Ron then took a hold of Daphne, and began guiding her back inside. "Stay away from me!"

"No! No, Ron!" Ginny called out, she sounded genuinely pained. "I wasn't trying anything, I swear!"

"Save it," Ron hissed as he disappeared into the Entrance Hall. _That went well._

"Nice… acting…" Daphne coughed. "Ew… I've got vomit on me…"

"Sorry, Daph," Ron said gently.

"It's alright," Daphne sighed out. "The plan worked, and you also got what you wanted. Thanks for telling me, by the way." _Sarcasm?_

"Sorry, I should've told you that I planned to guilt Ginny," Ron apologized. "And to get the twins to turn on the Trio."

"It's alright… You seized an opportunity to get them all back," Daphne said. "I'm happy for you, and also quite proud."

"Thanks."

* * *

 _ **Percy Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – Dinnertime)**_

The twins were behind these pranks, and everyone knew it. Percy had gone straight to Professor McGonagall the moment this madness had started, but instead of punishing the twins, she had asked him to gather evidence first. Percy understood the need for procedures, but Merlin help him, he just wanted to shut the twins down for good.

His own two brothers were the reason why he wasn't respected. Percy was Head Boy, and before that, he had been a Prefect. He had earned twelve O. W. Ls without the use of a Ministry provided Time-Turner, despite the Headmaster's insistence. He was at the top of his class, and although he wasn't exactly built for Dueling, his vast knowledge on Spells easily made him one of the strongest A-ranks.

But despite all of these accomplishments, Percy was disregarded by even the youngest of the Gryffindors. They sneered and booed at him whenever he told them to do something, or worse, they outright ignored him. And it was all because of the twins. His brothers constantly ridiculed him, made fun of his quirks, laughed in the face of his authority, and passionately urged their House-mates to reject Percy.

Was it fair to hate one's own kin? If not, then Percy was an unfair person. He hated the twins. He hated their smug grins, their lack of respect, and their need to turn everyone around them into clowns. Even before he started Hogwarts, he despised the twins. He despised the power that they held within the Family.

For as long as Percy could remember, he was the weak link of the Family. And sure, his mother always proclaimed that he was her favorite, but that was often just her way of keeping the others inline. Whenever she stated that Percy was her favorite, she actually meant that the others needed to behave like Percy. Her words always brought trouble with them, mostly because Ginny would start sulking and the twins would start targeting him. Percy simply couldn't wait to get away from his Family. _Except for dad, Ron, and Bill._

"I see that my message reached you," came Carey's voice, and Percy looked to see her stepping into the Entrance Hall.

As usual, she had that smooth smile on her face, and an air of confidence swirling around her. _I bet her House respects her. I bet that when she speaks, people listen with rapt attention._

"It did," Percy said, he could hear the other students in the Great Hall. "What do you want, Carey?"

"Tsk, tsk," Carey walked up to his side. "That's no way to talk to your colleagues, Percy."

"Sorry," Percy said coldly. "I'm just… not myself… right now."

"I can see that," Carey looked him up and down, her gaze made him slightly uncomfortable. _Why does she keep flirting with me? Before this year started, we barely even acknowledged each other._

"What did you want to talk about?" Percy turned to face her.

"All business and no play," Carey said smoothly, her smile still in place. "You really should let me give you a massage, Percy. I've been told that I have the hands for it." She then took a step closer. "Or you can give me a massage, if you want. You look like you have strong hands, and my shoulders are aching from all of our responsibilities."

"Tempting, but no," Percy dismissed her, but for some reason, her smile only widened. "Talk, or I'll leave."

"Then by all means, be on your way," Carey hummed, and without hesitation, Percy turned to leave. _People just love wasting my time, don't they?_ "I had thought that you'd be interested in stopping your horrible brothers, but I guess I was wrong."

Percy stopped mid-stride, and he quickly turned to face her. _Stopping my horrible brothers?_

"Did that get your attention?" Carey asked, and then she beckoned him to come back. _Damn._

Percy slowly approached her, he definitely wanted to hear her out now. _If she has something on the twins, then I need to know. I mean, it's her House that they're targeting, right? That makes us natural allies._

"What do you know about the twins?" Percy asked her. "Why are they targeting the Slytherins?"

"You don't know?" Carey asked.

"They are careful around me, and my House-mates help them stay hidden," Percy replied, there was clear bitterness in his voice. _I think Hermione wanted to tell me something, but Harry and Neville kept stopping her. Also, why was Ginny glaring murder at the twins all day? I'm so out of the loop on everything, and I hate it._

"Well, I only have rumors," Carey told him.

"I'll take what I can get," Percy said, making sure to hide his eagerness.

"And what are you willing to pay for my words?" Carey asked, her finger caressing the side of his arm.

"You're Head Girl," Percy reminded her, but she just chuckled at his words. "It's your sworn duty to help me stop troublemakers."

"It's a good thing that you're cute," Carey smiled like a Cheshire cat, and Percy blinked at her. _Cute? No one has ever called me cute. I'm not cute._ "What about a massage? I tell you what I know, and you give me a nice massage the next time we're in our cramped little Office."

"I have a girlfriend," Percy said.

"It's just a massage, Percy," Carey said, her eyes fixed on his. "Nothing inappropriate, I promise." _I doubt that._ "Don't you want the twins to finally be caught? You're intelligent, Percy, so I know that you can use my information to finally put them in their place."

"I…" Percy started, but then he stopped. "One massage."

"Thirty minutes," Carey whispered seductively.

"Thirty minutes?" Percy frowned. "I don't have that much time to waste."

"It won't be a waste," Carey promised. "Do we have a deal?"

"Fine…" Percy all but snarled. "This better be good, Carey."

"It is," Carey assured him. "As you know, your brothers are constantly pranking us Slytherins. As a result, we have our ears peeled for any information regarding the twins. And today, I heard something a little too… repulsive… for my tastes."

"Repulsive?" Percy cocked an eyebrow. _The twins are indeed repulsive._

"I hear that Gryffindor is quite happy about Professor Snape's accident," Carey said. "Is that true?" Percy didn't say anything, and she understood the meaning behind his silence. "Shame on all of you."

"Don't lump me in with them," Percy said, he was a bit taken aback by her sudden seriousness. "I happen to be the only Gryffindor who respects Professor Snape. Now tell me about the twins."

"So impatient," Carey suddenly went back to her usual demeanor, which once again threw him off. "Your brothers are planning a party to celebrate Professor Snape's absence."

"What?" Percy asked. "The twins wouldn't do that. Firstly, they don't have the funds. And secondly, not even they'd go that far."

"Are you sure?" Carey asked. "Are you truly sure of that, Percy? Explain these pranks to me then."

"It's what they do…" Percy replied, his voice showing his uncertainty.

"They're taking advantage of Professor Snape's absence," Carey told him, her expression darkening. "They know that no one will punish them now that Professor Snape isn't here to stand up for us Slytherins. And they're right… Not a single Professor has stepped forward for us."

"They're investigating-"

"They are doing nothing of the sort," she cut him off. "They are waiting for the twins to slip up, but we both know that that will never happen." _She's right… Even Professor McGonagall isn't stepping forward. She's completely distracted by something else, even I can see that._ "Listen to me, Percy. I heard that the twins are planning a party of some sort, and at this party, they will provide alcohol."

"Alcohol?" Percy frowned deeply.

"To minors," Carey added, and Percy's frown deepened. _They've never done this kind of thing before._ "They are planning this right underneath your nose. Tell me, what happens if someone else catches them before you do?" _I'll look like the biggest fool in Gryffindor._

"Where did you hear this?" Percy asked, he had to be sure.

"I'm not going to give you my source, but I will say this," Carey stepped right in front of him. "The twins underestimate you because you let red-tapes hold you back, Percy. If I was you, I'd tear their room apart for evidence, and then have them punished for their constant rule breaking. I'd take away their toys, and I'd pin them under my heel."

"But you're not me," Percy stated, and she took a step back.

"True, I don't have access to Gryffindor Tower," Carey said smoothly. "But you do."

With that, she walked right past him and entered the Great Hall. Percy stood in his spot for a few moments, and then he looked to the Moving Staircase. _What if she's right? What if they are planning to provide alcohol to minors?_ The thought turned Percy's stomach, because if this was true, then the other Gryffindors had hidden this from him. _Carey heard about it before I did… I'll lose my Head Boy Badge if someone else turns them in._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

He was absolutely livid! In all of his years, Percy had never felt like such a fool! Carey Ductu, a Slytherin, knew more about the happenings of Gryffindor than he did. Percy was not fit to be Head Boy, and it was all the twins' fault.

In the end, he had given into Carey's words, and made his way into Gryffindor Tower. While his House-mates dined, he searched the twins' room for evidence of their crimes. And just as Carey had said, he found a barrel of alcohol hidden behind Fred's night stand. If he hadn't been so through, he would've completely missed it.

Percy had half a mind to barge into the Great Hall in order to grab the twins by their ears before throwing them at Professor McGonagall's feet. They had gone too far this time, and Percy wanted to make them hurt… Just as they made him hurt from the moment they showed up in Hogwarts.

And yet, he had managed to pull his wrath back. Instead of making a scene, and embarrassing all of Gryffindor in the process, he had sent an Elf to fetch Professor McGonagall. Despite being disregarded by most, Percy had the respect of the Hogwarts Elves. They valued his position, and he in turn respected the work that they did for all of Hogwarts. Sure, it was their job to serve, but at least they were kind to him. _Unlike most people._

"Percy?" came McGonagall's voice, and he looked to see her entering the room. "What is the meaning of this? An Elf told me that you wished to speak to me in the fifth year boys' dorm."

"Professor McGonagall, I found you the evidence that you wanted," Percy said, making sure to straighten his back.

"Evidence?" McGonagall asked, her expression stern as always.

"That barrel right there," Percy pointed to it. "It's filled with some sort of cocktail."

"Percy, explain everything," McGonagall demanded. "Why are you breaking into other people's rooms? You don't have the authority to do that, despite your position of Head Boy." _I know, but Carey is right. Red-tape was protecting the twins, and I'm sick of letting them beat me._

"I heard rumors of the twins planning a party of some sort," Percy lied, deciding to keep Carey out of this. _Why else would she come to me?_

"Party?" McGonagall asked.

"To celebrate Professor Snape's accident," Percy frowned, and much to his shock, he saw her stern mask crack a little.

"What?" she asked in a cold whisper, and Percy felt slightly intimidated. _Um… What is this?_

"Ahem," Percy cleared his throat. "The twins are behind the pranks, Professor. It's their way of celebrating Professor Snape's absence, and these pranks are no doubt leading up to this party."

"And this slipped past you?" McGonagall asked.

"With all due respect, Professor, I did come to you immediately," Percy stood his ground, he was too angry to take the blame for this. "You sent me out to find evidence, despite my claims of the twins' resourcefulness. But as you can clearly see, I caught onto them in time."

"This is unbelievable," McGonagall frowned at the barrel, and the school bell went off. _Dinner's over. They're all coming up here._ "The twins have never shown this level of… disrespect… before."

"I'm also quite shocked by this," Percy agreed with her. "But the evidence is right here, Professor. I didn't want to believe the rumors, but now I can't deny the truth behind them."

"Who told you these rumors?" McGonagall asked.

"My source doesn't want to step forward," Percy lied, using some of Carey's words. "They're scared of the twins, and rightly so."

"Was it Ms. Granger?" McGonagall asked, and Percy blinked at her. "She's been trying to talk to me, but Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom keep stopping her. I just thought that they were being foolish."

"It's not her, but she's been trying to speak out against the twins," Percy told her. "Professor, I urge you to take their joke items away. Their trunks are no doubt filled with them."

"I will be taking away more than just their toys, Percy, I assure you," McGonagall said darkly, and then she approached the barrel.

She waved her wand over it, and then she eyed the tap at the bottom of the barrel. With a flick of her wand, she made the tap turn. Some of the cocktail poured out, but instead of spilling onto the ground, the liquid floated in the air. Her expression darkened even more, and with a flick of her wand, she sent the alcohol back inside the barrel.

"I know this concoction," McGonagall frowned deeply. "It comes from the White Wyvern Pub."

"The Pub in Knockturn Alley?" Percy asked.

"The very same, Percy," McGonagall said. "Though I doubt your brothers went down there themselves."

"They ordered it," Percy assumed.

"Most likely," McGonagall looked to him. "And Lee Jordan? Was he a part of this?"

"I don't know, but I'd wager that he was," Percy replied. "I've seen him skulking around with the twins all throughout the week."

"Circe's mercy…" McGonagall drew in a deep breath, and then she regained her composure.

They heard the common room entrance open, and a wave of happy voices rang throughout the Tower. Percy and Professor McGonagall waited patiently for the twins and Lee Jordan, all three of whom walked into the room with puzzled looks on their faces. _I've got you now._

"If not us, then who?" Lee Jordan was asking. "This makes no sense…"

"Hello, you three," McGonagall said coldly, and the three boys stopped mid-stride.

"Professor McGonagall," Fred smiled at her, and then he looked to Percy. "Brother dearest, what are-"

"Silence!" McGonagall shut them up, and even Percy flinched a bit. _She's reached her limit with them. Finally._ "Explain this!"

McGonagall aimed her wand at the barrel, and all three boys blinked at it. Percy had to give them props, they pulled off the innocent act quite well. _They're used to lying, aren't they? It's what they do._

"Um… We don't know what that is," George told them.

"Never seen it before," Fred added.

"Really?" McGonagall asked. "We're going to play this game?"

"Professor… We don't know what you're talking about," Lee spoke up, he had shrunk behind the twins.

"Open your trunks this instant," McGonagall ordered. "Now!"

All three boys quickly did as they were told, and Percy glared at his brothers. _They still have the audacity to act shocked? I'll owl mother and father right after this, and I'll make sure that these two are punished accordingly. This time, I'm the one who will win._ After a minute or so, all three trunks were open.

"Percy," McGonagall said, and Percy quickly began to go through their trunks.

"This is an invasion of privacy," Fred started, but one look from McGonagall shut him up.

"Dung Bombs," Percy said as he pulled out joke item after joke item. "Like the ones used this morning."

"That wasn't us!" Lee denied.

"Red paint, gold confetti, Stink-Pellets, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, fireworks," Percy listed as he pulled out item after item, he was truly enjoying this. _I have them at my mercy for once._ "What is this?"

"That's ours!" Fred hissed at him.

"Ah," Percy nodded slowly, and then he looked to McGonagall. "The twins make their own products, Professor. This is all contraband, if you ask me."

"What?" the twins gaped, while Lee Jordan closed his eyes.

"Take it all out," McGonagall ordered, her eyes fixed on the three boys.

"But we've never used it," George tried to argue.

"Do you intend to use it?" McGonagall asked, and George said nothing. "Take it all out, Percy. All of this is to be confiscated, and discarded."

"You're joking…" Fred muttered, he looked horrified. "We spent months… **years** … making that stuff. You can't do this…"

"Oh, I can," McGonagall told them. "You should thank your lucky stars that I'm not sending you home on suspension."

"What for?" George asked.

"We know that it's been you who's been pranking the Slytherins," Percy told them. "And you did it because you wanted to take advantage of Professor Snape's absence."

"Is that true?" McGonagall asked, her voice almost bitter. "Do not lie to me, or there will be even more dire consequences."

"It's not true," the twins lied.

"Very well," McGonagall frowned, she knew a lie when she heard one. "Percy, take everything that you consider contraband to my Office. I will destroy it tonight."

"Destroy it?" George glared at McGonagall, which took even Percy by surprise. "You can't do that! We spent years making those!"

"I'm sure you can do it again," McGonagall said. "Once you have left Hogwarts behind, that is. And since you three lied to me just then, you are suspended from Hogwarts until the end of the Yule Break." _YES!_

"We have O. W. Ls," Lee Jordan piped up, while Percy hid his eager grin.

"I will owl you the necessary assignments," McGonagall assured them. "Tomorrow morning, you will be going home via Floo. I will owl your parents, and tell them why I have suspended you. Now, follow me." McGonagall then looked to Percy. "Get rid of that barrel at once."

"Yes, Professor," Percy gave a firm nod, and McGonagall left the room without another word.

"You piece of shite…" Fred hissed at Percy, he had gone red from rage.

"Get out," Percy ordered. "If you keep her waiting, you'll only damage this House further."

"Let's go, you two," Lee dragged the twins out, even George looked murderous. _I finally did it. I beat the twins. I'll give Carey the best massage that she's ever had!_

Percy cleared his throat and refocused on his duty, he could hear McGonagall questioning his House-mates outside. Once he had all the items laid out, Percy called a House-Elf.

"Head Boy called Flippy?" Flippy bowed, and Percy perked up.

"Flippy, take all of these to Professor McGonagall's Office," Percy ordered, and then he looked to the barrel. "And take that barrel as well. Be careful with it, it's quite heavy."

"Flippy understands," Flippy nodded, and Percy left to follow after McGonagall.

As he entered the common room, he found McGonagall glaring at her students. Everyone was dead quiet, and no one had the courage to look at her when she was this displeased. The twins and Lee stood behind McGonagall, there was not a hint of smugness about them. For once, they knew that they were done for.

"Well?" McGonagall demanded. "Who else knew about this?"

No one said anything, not even the Prefects.

"Angelina?" Percy looked to her. "You're the fifth year Female Prefect, are you not? Did you know about the twins' plans?"

"I… No, not at all," she replied, and Percy frowned at her. _Liar. She clings to the twins constantly, so how could she not know?_

"You haven't seen them playing their pranks?" Percy asked, and she shook her head. _You don't deserve your Badge._

"I see," McGonagall stared at everyone. "I am clearly the Head of the House of the mute." McGonagall looked back at the twins and Lee, her lips twitching downwards. "Fifty Points… from each of you." _FIFTY EACH?!_

"Professor!" multiple student called out, while the others looked like they had been hit with the Cruciatus.

"You can't do this to us!" Lavender cried out. "We're already so far behind!"

"Not another word!" McGonagall ordered, and everyone shut their mouths immediately. "To those who knew about this conspiracy, and still chose to stay quiet… You have shamed Gryffindor's good name, and you have embarrassed me in the process."

"What about Quidditch?" Oliver asked, and Percy frowned at him. _Then there's this idiot… All he can think of is Quidditch._ "The twins are-"

"Use the substitutes," McGonagall cut him off. "As far as I'm concerned, Gryffindor has proven that they don't deserve to win anything this year." Even Percy felt hurt by her words. After all, she was like their parent here. "I am deeply ashamed of all of you."

No one dared utter a word after that, not even Percy. He could already see people glaring in his direction, which wasn't at all surprising. _The twins commit the crime, but I'm the one who gets their scorn for doing my duty. Popularity rules this school, and I'm so sick of it. I can't wait to get a job, and finally be free of these people._

McGonagall left the common room with a look of pain and disgust, which made the younger years extremely upset. The House remained quiet for almost a full minute, they all understood that Gryffindor was finished in the race for the House Cup.

"You…" Fred glared at him. "You fucking bastard!"

"Fred!" George quickly held his twin back.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Fred yelled at the top of his lungs, all the while struggling against George.

"Shut up!" Percy yelled, taking everyone by surprise. "Don't pin the blame on me! You did this! All of you!" Percy then looked to Angelina, who went wide-eyed. "I will be speaking to the Headmaster about your Prefectship, do you understand? I know for a fact that you knew about this, and you actively hid it from me."

"Fucking traitor!" Fred accused. "You set us up!"

"Set you up?" Percy looked to Fred like he was insane.

"That barrel of alcohol wasn't ours," Lee Jordan hissed. "You put it there!" _They're still denying it? But not only that, but they're blaming me for it?_

"You're pathetic," Percy sneered at the three boys. "You three really are the most pathetic people that I've ever met. Even after you just ruined this House, you're putting the blame on me." Percy then looked to everyone else, his eyes lingering on Hermione. "I know that you hide things like this from me… All of you do! If you had come clean early on, I could've stopped this from happening. But no! You chose to protect these three, and now we're undone."

"How could you turn in your own brothers?!" a voice demanded. "You got Fred, George, and Lee suspended!"

"What about the Quidditch Team?" Oliver growled at him. "Why would you do this?!"

"Because the Badge on my chest means something," Percy told them, and most of them looked at him with disgust. _Stand by what you believe in, Percy. Fuck the lot of them._ "You want to act like brats, then you'll be treated as brats." Percy then look to the three fuming boys. "Pack your bags."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – Just before Breakfast)**_

"RON!" came Fred's yell, and Ron turned around just in time for his brother to grab him by the collar. _The plan worked, I see._

Before even Ron knew it, seven wands were aimed at Fred's head. People around them stepped back, and Ron signaled his friends to lower their wands.

"Let him go," Millie snarled, while Ron just stared at Fred's face. "Let him go right now, or I'll Hex you in the face." _Even Malfoy pulled his wand out. I'm touched._

His brother looked mad with rage, and for some reason, he was wearing casual clothes. Standing behind Fred were George and Lee Jordan, both of them looked equally pissed off with Ron. _They're also wearing casual clothes… Odd._

"I know that it was you, you little shite," Fred hissed in Ron's face, some spittle coming out of his mouth. "You fucking cunt… You've gone too far this time…"

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, he could see that people were circling them.

"Don't lie!" Fred shook Ron, who resisted the urge to grin. "You put that barrel of alcohol in our room! I thought that it was Percy at first, but he doesn't have the balls to do something like that!"

"OI!" came Ginny voice. "LET HIM GO!"

"Stay back," George glared at her, much to her shock.

The older students were already getting hyped up for a sibling fight, while the younger students looked extremely worried for Ron. Ron's friends were still aiming their wands at Fred, who couldn't care less, while the Golden Trio were pushing past some of the crowd.

"Whatever you think I did, I didn't do it," Ron told Fred. "Let go of my robes."

"Fuck you," Fred hissed. "You got us suspended! We lost one hundred and fifty House Points because of you!" _Really?! Fuck yes! Tracey, you beautiful witch!_

"Drop your wands," Angelina Johnson ordered the Slytherins. "Fred, let go of him! You're making things worse for yourself!"

"I'm not dropping my wand because you said so, Johnson," Malfoy glared at her. "I remember you being there yesterday… Some Prefect…"

"Guys, lower your wands," Ron said calmingly, his eyes lingering on a furious Daphne. "Do it, alright? There's no need for violence."

"You smug shite," Fred laughed in a rage-induced manner. "I ought to beat the piss out of you for this. We just lost years of work because of you, and now we're suspended!" _The suspension wasn't planned, but it's a fitting punishment._

"Draco, lower your wand," Ron said, deciding to ignore Fred. "Just do it, alright?"

Malfoy lowered his wand first, and the others slowly followed. As usual, Daphne was the last one to back off. _She looks apoplectic… Yeesh. This is not how I expected my morning to go._

"I didn't do anything," Ron looked at Fred, not a hint of worry on his face. "I have no earthly idea about Gryffindor's problems. Now… Let me go, or I'll get upset."

"Ron, it's for the best that you keep your mouth shut," George advised him. "Fred, let him go. He's not worth it." _Not worth it, eh? I'll show you what I'm worth._

"Yes, Fred, let me go," Ron said calmly, which only enraged Fred further. "Fine. I warned you."

Ron grabbed both of Fred's wrist, and he muttered 'Cutis Terra' under his breath. His entire body felt besieged by stone, and Ron knew that he could now tear off Fred's arms if he wanted to. With a focused mind, Ron began squeezing Fred's wrists. _Be careful, Ron. Don't break them, just hurt him a little._

"Shite…" Fred's face morphed into a pained expression, and Ron kept squeezing until Fred was on his knees.

"Let him go!" Lee tried to step forward, but Blaise and Theo had their wands aimed on him instantly.

"Fucking… Shite…" Fred clenched his teeth, while Ron loomed over his brother. _So weak._

"The next time you put your hands on me," Ron grinned at Fred. "I will rip off your cock, and ram it into George's arse. That way, you two will be forever together, eh?"

The crowd watched in stunned silence, but their excitement was written all over their faces. Ron understood why the Slytherins were pleased to see Ron dominating Fred, but the others were clearly just vultures who were starved for entertainment.

"Kick his arse, Ron!" Tori called out, and the Slytherins began cheering.

"What's going on here?" came Cedric's voice, and the handsome Hufflepuff barged through the crowd. "Ron?! Break that up right now!" _Be quiet, bitch, or you'll be next._

Ron let go of Fred's wrists, but before his Spell could start becoming a strain on him, Ron seized his brother's throat. With his right arm alone, he lifted a choking Fred into the air. People gasped loudly, and even the Slytherins stopped cheering. Cedric, who was trying to move past George and Lee, stopped and gaped at Ron's abnormal strength.

"Take a good look, bitch," Ron grinned at George, while his own friends stepped away from him.

"Ron… Let him go…" Ginny muttered, he had never seen her look so shocked before.

Fred struggled about in the air, but with Ron's boosted strength, he could do little but wiggle about.

"Ron, stop," Daphne quickly whispered in his ear. "Let him go right now, Ron. Please." _Why? I should throttle him right now. With all the misery that he's caused me, this is exactly what he deserves._

Ron let go of Fred, who flopped onto the floor and began wheezing for air. George and Lee were immediately at his side, while Ron fixed up his robes. The Spell broke, and Ron felt his muscles ache slightly. _I held it too long. Oh well, at least I'm getting better at using it._

"Does anyone else plan to ruin my morning with insane babble?" Ron asked the crowd, none of whom answered him. "I'll take that as a no." Ron suddenly clapped his hands loudly and grinned even more, the plan had worked better than even Tracey had imagined. "Get the fuck inside and eat your breakfast! Or I'll get annoyed with you!" _**We win. We always win.**_

People slowly began to disperse, most of them looking thoroughly shocked and amused at the same time. After all, despite Ron's vulgar language, he had provided them with some morning entertainment. The Golden Trio, Ginny, George, Lee, Fred, Ron's friends, and Angelina stayed behind, while Cedric helped organize the crowd. Once the majority of the crowd was gone, Ron looked down at his brothers.

"Now… Do you mind explaining yourselves?" Ron asked, he had to keep pretending to be ignorant.

"You're the one who needs to explain himself," Angelina snapped. "Bloody psychopath!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ron looked to her.

"I'm-"

"Wait… I don't care, shut the fuck up," Ron dismissed her, and her offended look pleased him greatly.

"Ten Points from-" she started, but then she stopped when she saw Cedric bring out the Headmaster.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore asked everyone in the Entrance Hall, behind him were McGonagall, Percy, and Carey.

"He strangled Fred, Headmaster," Angelina accused, while Ron just put his hands up in surrender.

"That's not the full story," Pansy stood up for Ron. "Ron was minding his own business, and then his brother showed up and took him by the neck."

"Ron only defended himself," Tracey added.

"Defended?" McGonagall looked down at Fred. "Percy, take your brother to the Hospital Wing. I'll send Madam Pomfrey."

McGonagall left for the Great Hall quickly, while Percy and George helped a coughing Fred up.

"Ronald, come with me," Dumbledore instructed, and then he began heading towards the Moving Staircase. _I'm in for a lecture, no doubt. Damn, I'm pretty hungry._

"Save me some toast," Ron looked to Blaise, who gave him a curt nod.

With that, Ron began following the Headmaster out of the Entrance Hall. On the way, he made sure to frown at Ginny for her previous 'betrayal'. His little sister shrank away from his disapproving look, while Neville and Hermione avoided eye contact. Harry, however, was just staring at Ron with a furrowed brow. _No, he's not one to look away from a fight, is he? You'll get yours, Harry, I promise._

The trip up to the Headmaster's Office was carried out in silence, and Dumbledore only spoke to give the password to the Stone Gargoyle. Ron was led up into the Office, and then told to sit down in his usual chair. Once Ron was seated, Dumbledore took his own seat across from him.

"Well?" Dumbledore asked. "Tell me what happened."

"I was entering the Great Hall, and Fred seized me by my robes," Ron replied truthfully. "He started babbling on about his suspension, and he accused me of some crime that I have no clue about."

"No clue, you say?" Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "So you don't know that your brothers were planning to throw a party for Gryffindor? Or that they planned to provide alcohol to minors?"

"Not at all," Ron lied.

"Ronald…" Dumbledore sighed out. "I have not slept, and so, I have very little patience for this sort of behavior. Tell me the truth." _Shite._

"The truth?" Ron lost his innocent demeanor. "Alright, here's the truth. You Professors are a bias lot, and I'm sick of your shite." Dumbledore blinked at him. "For the last three days, Slytherin has been viciously targeted by my brothers. All of you know who was to blame for these 'pranks', but not one of you lifted a finger to help us."

"We were waiting for evidence, Ronald," Dumbledore told him.

"Spare me your excuses," Ron waved a dismissive hand. "If you wanted evidence, then you could have easily procured it. I know for a fact that you aren't the simple old man that you pretend to be." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "You left us out to fend for ourselves, and this is the result."

"You would have your own brothers, and Lee, suspended?" Dumbledore asked. "Not to mention what you did to Fred."

"I gave him a wakeup call," Ron said coldly. "Although I want to keep them safe, I will not stand idly by while they blatantly disrespect me. Not anymore. The twins have treated me like their personal punching bag for years, but now I've reached my limit. With **all** of them. They can either get inline, or I'll break their knees."

"My boy, this is extreme," Dumbledore shook his head. "I had hoped that you would rise above such petty squabbles."

"I'm a petty person," Ron shrugged. "Just like Harry Potter."

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "You are still angry with him?"

"Still?" Ron laughed scathingly. "You might let him get away with murder, but I won't. He's a piece of shite, as are his degenerate friends. The 'Golden' Trio… I spit on them." Ron cracked his neck loudly, and his entire body relaxed. _That's nice._ "Let the twins be suspended, and don't you dare give them their Points back. I'm sick of your favoritism. People like you cause the rift between the Houses, and you're making my job harder than it needs to be."

"Where is this anger coming from, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Why shouldn't I be angry?" Ron demanded. "I'm trying my best to prepare for a war, but I'm surrounded by idiotic cunts. All they want to do is to fuel drama, or to have confrontations, or they just want to piss me off. I mean, look at the twins. I begged them to stop their prank-war, and they laughed in my face. They made boasts about Professor Snape being unable to help us, and when I asked them to stop for **me** , they laughed even harder. And now, they're angry with me. Piss on that!"

"You call me petty, but you ignore the twats who constantly come after me," Ron told Dumbledore. "Your precious Boy-Who-Lived tried to turn my Family against me, and for what? What did I do to him? I'll tell you, he was jealous of me because you and I are friends. Seriously, what the fuck? I'm minding my own business, and some prick starts snooping through my life because **he** believe that I'm not good enough to be a Weasley. So why shouldn't I be angry?"

"Because those who wear their hearts on their sleeves do not survive long in war," Dumbledore told him.

"Unlike you, I haven't had a hundred years to practice Occlumency," Ron countered. "I'm thirteen, and yet, I do more for this World than most. But you know what I get in return? I get treated like shite by my Family. My House-mates turn on me whenever it suits them. I constantly have people telling me what to do, even when I know better. And people like you use me without giving me my dues."

"Ronald, I do respect you-"

"Do you?" Ron asked. "You don't really show it. Why is it that I feel like you'll drop me to save Harry Potter if it came down to it? Go on, deny that." Dumbledore said nothing, though he looked a little sorry. "I'm the extra, right? Fuck the lot of you. The only people who genuinely give a shite about me are my friends, and I'm done pretending otherwise. They're my **real** Family." _It's them that I should be protecting, not Molly fucking Weasley. It's people like Priscilla that I need to go out of my way for. If I'm strong enough to help someone who is powerless, then that's what I'll do. That is my duty. If my Family can't understand that, then fuck them._

"I've reached my limit," Ron repeated, he was mostly speaking to himself at this point. "From now on, I don't care about people's angst, or their hurt feelings. I just don't care. You either help me, or you stay out of my way. My duty is to end the 'Lord of Serpents', and by Merlin, I'll do just that."

"There is more to life than war, Ronald," Dumbledore leaned forward.

"Not for me," Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "I have been at war since I was eight, and guess what, I'll die before I get out of it. My Brain-Damage, my Chronic Stress, the Death-Eaters, the Dark Lord, the Entity, the Higher Beings… I'm not going to survive them, and we both know it. I imagine that I'll be dead well before I'm even twenty."

"I…" Dumbledore started, but then he gave Ron a pitiful look. "Please, my boy, don't think like this."

"It's true though," Ron shrugged, and Dumbledore couldn't argue that. "I'm not scared, mind you."

"You're not?" Dumbledore asked.

"Why would I be?" Ron asked in return. "When I'm dead, I won't constantly feel this miserable. I'll be… free. Free from my burdens. Free from the Entity. Free from the people in my life."

"And what of your friends?" Dumbledore asked, this conversation had turned quite grim.

"They'll mourn, and then they'll move on," Ron replied. "Daphne won't take it well, but she'll be just out of Hogwarts… She'll have her entire life to find someone normal." Ron stood up at that, he didn't like thinking this way. _Especially not out loud._ "Send the twins home, and don't take away Slytherin's victory because you prefer the Gryffindors over us. If you do, I will never forget."

"I understand," Dumbledore gave a slow nod, he felt torn because of Ron's words. "Ronald, don't be so quick to give up on life. The night is always darkest before the dawn."

"I've waiting for the dawn since I was eight, and it's still nowhere to be found," Ron turned to leave. "Don't worry, I won't die until I've got everything planned out. This Cycle will **not** fail, that's a promise."

* * *

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Classes)**_

As Ron and his friends made their way inside the common room, a wave of enthusiasm and glory washed over them. The Slytherins were laughing, patting each other's backs, and all around enjoying their hard earned victory. Unlike anything before, this victory was achieved by **everyone** in the House. They had **all** suffered in silence, and now they would celebrate as loudly as they could.

"This is neat," Blaise smirked, while the second years entered the common room from behind them.

"Is everyone here?!" Clara called out, a massive smile on her face.

"Here!" people called, while Ron and his friends made their way towards their usual spot.

"Quiet down, then!" Clara laughed, while Carey and Samantha talked behind her with happy smiles on their faces. "It's time for a speech!"

People clapped and cheered, and Ron found himself feeling hyped as well. _My study group is on in twenty minutes, so why not enjoy the speech? Plus, I like this atmosphere. This is what being united looks like._

"When **I** first thought of this plan-" Clara started, and people began laughing. _This witch!_

"Sod off with that!" Septimus laughed loudly, and Clara broke into laughter herself.

"Alright, I'll be serious," Clara wheezed, gesturing for everyone to quiet down. "Firstly, let's thank Tracey Davis, and the third years, for their excellent plan!" People cheered and clapped loudly, and Ron nudged a grinning Tracey. "Secondly, let's pat each other's backs once again for staying true to each other! The last three days have been truly horrible, but we persevered!"

The students let out three cheers, and even Ron let out one cheer.

"The entire school was against us!" Clara reminded them, a manic look about her. "They laughed at us!" People booed loudly. "The Professors ignored our humiliation!"

"Fuck 'em!" Jack Hughes yelled, and people cheered him on.

"The twins terrorized us without mercy!" Clara went on. "We had no one standing up for us!" Clara then drew in a deep breath, a proud look on her face. "What **did** we have?"

"Each other!" multiple students called out, and she nodded approvingly.

"We had each other!" Clara announced. "And by Merlin, we fucking outmaneuvered them all!"

"Salazar would be proud!" Maria Cortez added, and Theo let out a loud whistle.

"Thank you, Theodore," Clara laughed, while he gave a happy shrug. "You have all made Slytherin proud, as Professor Snape would say." _Yeah, he does say that._ "Today, the twins were suspended from Hogwarts, as was their toad, Lee Jordan! Today, Gryffindor lost one hundred and fifty House Points, which has marked the end of their chances of winning the House-Cup!"

People cheered once again, but this time, it was much louder than before. Ron and his friends cheered with everyone else, with the exception of Malfoy, who wasn't even smiling. _His head is somewhere else, and I can't blame him. Wait… Is he coming to the Gala? I don't think that it's wise, considering that Lucius Malfoy will be there._

"I know that we're all on top of the World right now!" Clara said, and the cheering died down. "But our fight isn't over just yet. We still have the Dueling Tournament coming up, and we need four of the six years to win. Martha Hopkirk is, sadly, quite badly outnumbered, but the rest of us still have a great chance! When Professor Snape returns to Hogwarts as our Head of House, we will show him our triumphs!"

"You're damn right we will!" Ron yelled, and people cheered and stomped their feet.

"We will show him that, in his honor, we stayed together, and we overcame our trials!" Clara roared. "We didn't let the other three Houses break our will! We honored Slytherin's traits to the letter! Determination! Cunning! Ambition! And most importantly, fraternity!" Clara then smiled in her usual, mischievous way. "That party that we promised is still on the table. You know that we have the materials needed, except for one barrel-" Students laughed loudly at that. "Ron, are you still covering that?"

"Of course," Ron gave her a smile, and she shot him a wink.

"One last push, and then we can spend the night partying until the sun rises!" Clara promised, and everyone looked thoroughly excited. "One last push! Can you do it?!"

"YES!" there was thunderous applause, accompanied with whistles and howls.

"Enjoy the win!" Clara laughed. "And then, onto the next!"

With that, the excited students went back to chatting with each other. Ron spotted Carey signaling him to come over, and so he gave her a nod.

"The Triumvirate want to talk to me," Ron told his friends, and then he beamed at Tracey. "Good on you, Trace."

"Our savior," Daphne kissed Tracey's cheek, making the slender girl snort.

"Just doing my part," Tracey smirked, sounding all too pleased with herself.

Ron's friends put their books down in order to relax before the study group, while Ron made his way over to the Triumvirate. _Even Samantha looks genuinely happy, which is a sight to see._

"Ladies," Ron smiled at them.

"Come with us for a second," Carey gestured with her head, and Ron's smile turned into a grin.

"More scheming?" Ron asked, while Clara took his arm.

"No rest for the wicked, Ron," Clara said sweetly, and they all made their way into the Training Area.

"How are you holding up?" Samantha asked Ron. "We've all heard that your brother attacked you in the Entrance Hall."

"He threw a bitch-fit," Ron said dismissively. "The twins aren't used to losing, especially to me. By the way, was all of their contraband taken away?"

"Not only taken, but destroyed by McGonagall herself," Carey smiled at him. "Turns out that your brothers were stealing contraband back from Filch, so McGonagall decided to take no chances."

"Good," Ron nodded in approval. "With their lack of income, it'll take them a while to get back on their feet. Plus, they'll never fuck with me again."

"And if they do?" Clara hummed.

"Then I will spank them again," Ron shot her a wink.

"I like that imagery," Clara giggled.

"There is one thing that makes little sense to us," Samantha smiled at him. "The twins claimed that they had stopped their pranks."

"Is that so?" Ron asked. "Well, they'd say anything to escape trouble."

"True, but they kept claiming their innocence even after their punishment was meted out," Carey said, her eyes were sharp despite her smile. "They claimed that they didn't set off those Dung Bombs during Breakfast, or spike our drinks during Lunch with Rainbow Dye." _Well, Marty did that for me._

"How odd," Ron shrugged casually.

"Yes… Odd," Carey's smile widened a little.

"It matters little now," Clara said, and the other two girls gave her nods. _They might be onto me, but who cares? They want to win, and so do I._ "How are the D-rank students looking, Ron?"

"Much better," Ron admitted. "The second years have trouble against a barrage of Spells, but I plan to keep at it. They're lazy, but not talentless."

"I hear that they're not so lazy with you around," Carey said in her silky smooth voice. _I want her to read me lullabies before I sleep every night._ "Any advice that you wish to share?"

"Hit them," Ron replied.

"Really?" Samantha asked.

"Not hit them physically," Ron clarified. "But don't be scared of stunning someone who keeps fucking up. They need to understand that in a Duel, mistakes cause injuries. Even the smallest mistake, if capitalized upon, can lead to a loss. You need to make them see the benefits of being focused, and most of all, decisive. Cowardly acts like shrieking at oncoming Spells needs to be beaten out of them. Oh, and wow them with 'cool' Magic. People respect strength, so don't be afraid of showing off." _Be like Madam Roberts, but not half as severe._

"We're thinking of having some collective training before the Tournament Finals," Clara told him as she cozied up to him. "You mind lending us a hand?"

"Of course not," Ron replied, making sure to not touch her chest by mistake. "Whatever you three need."

"That's what we like to hear," Samantha moved some of his hair away from his left ear, while Carey stepped up to him. _Wait… I've just realized that they've circled me._

"You've done well, Ron," Carey whispered, and then she gave him a soft peck on the lips. "Thank your friends for us, especially Tracey."

"I'll… do that," Ron swallowed thickly, now he was feeling hot under the collar. "I need to go… Study group."

"Of course," Carey smiled a genuine smile. "We'll see you at Dinner, Ron."

"And be sure to rest at some point," Clara added. "No more accidents, please."

"I'll try my best."

* * *

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Outside the Library – After Classes)**_

One by one, his study group filled the Library. Madam Pinch had actually ordered them new desks, and even reserved a spot for just them. Ron had thanked her profusely, but she kept insisting that she was only doing her job. Either way, Ron was grateful for her kindness.

The brand new tables served as a reminder that his efforts were paying off. Each meeting of the study group was more exciting than the last, mostly because it resulted in no animosity between the Houses for a short while. When the study group was together, they were all simply students of Hogwarts, and not different animals.

"We're not late, are we?" Luna hummed as she skipped up with her friends.

"Not at all," Ron smiled at them all, and they gave him slightly bashful waves. _Cute._ "Madam Pinch ordered us new desks, so be sure to thank her on the way in." Luna gave him a nod, but before she could leave, Ron stopped her. "Ladies, do you mind if I steal Luna for a moment?"

"You can keep her," Daisy Thompson giggled, and they all left to find the new tables.

"Did you hear that Luna?" Ron chuckled. "I can keep you."

"Are you going to carry me away to Slytherin?" Luna smiled airily.

"Would that be so bad, little sis?" Ron asked.

"I don't think that I'll fit in," Luna admitted.

"Nonsense," Ron 'scoffed'. "You're my sister, which basically makes you royalty."

"Are you a King now?" Luna giggled.

"It **is** my favorite piece," Ron sniggered. "Anyway… I just wanted to let you know that I've ordered you a dress."

"You have?" Luna asked, her head tilting to the side.

"It's a bit late," Ron replied. "It was meant to get here today, but sadly, it never showed up."

"I'm sure it will turn up," Luna said a bit too certainly. "Thank you, Ron. I'll make you a necklace for the event." _Um… Please don't._

"Fair enough," Ron couldn't help but smile.

"And Ginny?" Luna asked, and Ron blinked at her. "Did you get her a dress as well?"

"I did," Ron replied. "But don't tell her. I'm still upset with her."

"Alright," Luna agreed immediately. "But someone has to step forward, Ron."

"Step forward?" Ron asked.

"Yes, step forward," Luna told him. "I want it to be her, but she's not herself anymore. I don't think she'll ever be, but that's not a bad thing. After all, you've changed too, and it was a good change."

"Was it?" Ron asked. "Many would disagree."

"They miss who you were, but I know for certain that you haven't changed in the ways that matter," Luna hummed. _I swear, her mind exists on a plane that we mortals can't grasp. What kind of twelve year old talks like Dumbledore?_

"Are you sure that you're a twelve year old girl?" Ron asked, and then he poked her side.

"Stop that," Luna giggled as she dodged his fingers. "Ron, I'm ticklish!" _I know, and it's hilarious._

"Are you harassing another student?" came Percy's voice from behind him, and Ron turned around with a guilty look.

"Not at all," Ron replied. "I was merely checking to see if Luna was human."

"I am human," Luna said aloofly. "Are you human, Ron?" _**No.**_

"Luna, why don't you head inside?" Ron suggested.

"He didn't answer my question," Luna told Percy, who gave her a nod. "Suspicious."

With that, Luna skipped off to join her friends, while Ron looked over Percy.

"Where's your Badge?" Ron asked, and Percy fixed his glasses.

"Someone stole it," Percy said calmly.

"Stole it?" Ron asked.

"In the night, while I slept," Percy replied. "Don't worry about it, Ron. Can I talk to you? In private?"

"Sure," Ron nodded, who would steal Percy's Head Boy Badge? _I'll ask around, and see if I can't locate it for him._ "There's a classroom just down the Hallway, we can talk in there."

"Let's go," Percy said as he started leading the way.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ron asked.

"Well… I have a couple of things on my mind," Percy replied. "Let's just get inside first, alright?"

"Oh… It's one of **those** talks, eh?" Ron asked.

"Don't say 'eh'," Percy sighed, while Ron smirked at him. "I'm serious, Ron. Your vocabulary can reveal a lot about you as a person."

"Well fuck me bloody, I had no fucking idea," Ron grinned, while Percy closed his eyes.

"I just lost a year of my life hearing that sentence," Percy said, and Ron let out a laugh.

"A joke? From you?" Ron asked.

"It's a nice day," Percy shrugged, an easy smile on his face. "One or two jokes are warranted, I'd say."

"Two?" Ron pretended to be shocked. "Easy, Percy. People might realize that you're a funny bloke if you go that far."

They made their way inside, and Percy shut the door behind them. Ron looked around for a couple of seats, and he set them up for their use. They sat down across from each other, and Ron couldn't help but think of Madam Pomfrey. _This is how we do our sessions, except she sits further away._

"Well?" Ron asked. "What's on your mind?"

"Firstly… Ginny," Percy said. "Have you seen her? She was so angry with the twins yesterday, and today, people told me that she looked quite upset. No one has seen her since her classes ended. She's not at your study group, is she?"

"No, she isn't," Ron replied.

"You don't sound… bothered… by her being missing," Percy pointed out.

"Why should I be?" Ron asked. "She's been nothing but cruel to me for over a month, and I still don't know why."

"Last year changed her, Ron," Percy said. "Just be patient, please. She's our sister, and we can't just forget about her."

"I… I know," Ron drew in a deep breath. "You and Luna haven't been scheming together, have you?"

"No," Percy chuckled. "But Luna's a smart girl, you ought to heed her words."

"Ginny will turn up, I'm sure of it," Ron said. "She's a Weasley, which makes her a three-quarters stubborn, and one-quarter fiery temper."

"If you say so," Percy said. "Anyway… The other thing on my mind are the twins."

"Go on," Ron leaned back in his seat.

"They were so adamant about their innocence," Percy said, a slightly puzzled look on his face. "Even as they were being sent home, they claimed that the barrel wasn't theirs."

"Barrel?" Ron asked.

"Oh… Sorry," Percy shook his head clear. "A barrel of alcohol for a party that they planned to throw. Honestly, I don't know what to think… The twins have never thrown a party before, but all the evidence can't be refuted."

"But some part of you can't believe it?" Ron asked, and Percy nodded. "They're your brothers, Percy. Maybe you don't want something like this to be true simply because of that."

"I… suppose," Percy said slowly. "I did feel a bit sorry for them, despite my anger at their antics. They kept claiming that the alcohol wasn't theirs, but they also never mentioned anyone who might've set them up." _The twins never tattle… That's almost admirable. Almost._

"How long are they suspended for?" Ron asked.

"Till the end of Yule Break," Percy replied. "Mother is going to be so damn angry with them."

"Well, they brought it on themselves," Ron shrugged. "What more can you do?"

"Why didn't you tell me that the twins were targeting you?" Percy asked.

"Tell you? Perce, they blew Dung Bombs in the Great Hall itself," Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Every single person at this school knew what was happening to us, but no one lifted a finger. Not until you caught them." _Not until we saved ourselves._

"Why did none of you retaliate?" Percy asked.

"Because… I asked the Slytherins not to," Ron admitted, much to Percy's surprise.

"And they listened?" Percy asked.

"When I speak, people listen," Ron stared at his brother. "Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm not afraid of challenging them," Ron replied. "You and I were always so passive, Perce. We spent so long being taunted, and being made a joke of, that we forgot to fight back. But now, I've relearned the basics. At first, you should be peaceful and even kind, but if people refuse to listen, then you **make** them listen."

"You make it sound easy," Percy sighed out.

"Sorry," Ron smiled a little. "It's not easy, and it causes a lot of headaches, but in the end, you have to stand up for yourself. Especially when the higher ups don't care enough to help you."

"Higher ups?"

"Professors, parents, Family friends, Ministers," Ron listed.

"Ministers?" Percy blinked.

"Yes, even Ministers," Ron said. "Governments should fear their people, not the other way around."

"You really believe that?" Percy asked. "You're a bit too young to think of such things, Ron."

"I own a Media Outlet," Ron reminded his brother. "I have to think like this. Plus, Slytherin has taught me that respect has to be earned, and that you shouldn't just hand it out because someone has a certain position."

"But they got to that position because they deserve respect," Percy countered.

"Really? Fudge deserves respect?" Ron asked, and Percy blinked at him. "What for? He's given away most of our country's wealth in order to help Albania-"

"He did that to help Albania's people," Percy interrupted.

"What about our own people?" Ron asked. "Have been to Diagon Alley in the last month?"

"Well… No," Percy replied.

"It's not the same," Ron told his brother. "Knockturn Alley is overrun with crime, and it's spilling out into Diagon Alley. Our Aurors have been sent off to protect Albania's population, while our own crime rate has skyrocketed. And what is Fudge doing? Nothing. He spends his time peacocking in front of cameras, while people like Madam Amelia Bones come up with strategies to fix the country. Now you tell me, Perce, who deserves respect out of the two?"

Percy didn't say anything, instead, he seemed to be thinking about Ron's words.

"Anyway… We've veered off topic," Ron shook his head clear. "Do you want to talk about anything else?"

"Actually, I want to talk about this Gala," Percy said, he looked a little bothered by Ron's previous words. "Ron, I have never been to one of these events, and I don't know what to expect."

"I see," Ron nodded. "It's nothing like our Family events, that's for certain. They may call this a party, but in truth, it's a very civilized affair. There is a time for dancing, for eating, for mingling, and loud behavior is deeply frowned upon. Tell you what, Perce, why don't you stick with me for a bit? I want to introduce you to a few people."

"Introduce me?" Percy asked.

"Madam Bones, for one," Ron replied.

"The Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Percy said.

"The very same," Ron smiled at him. "She's a person that you just have to meet. You still want to work in the Ministry, right?"

"I do," Percy replied. "Right after Hogwarts, I'll apply for a minor position and work my way up."

"Or… I introduce you to Madam Bones, and you can show her just how brilliant you are," Ron suggested.

"I'm not though," Percy sighed.

"Um… Yes, you are," Ron blinked at him. "Twelve O. W. Ls, top of your class, Prefect then Head Boy, and the Professors respect you. Hell, even Professor Snape respects you. That exclusive Potions Club will help too."

"Right," Percy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just talk to her, and tell her about your accomplishments," Ron leaned forward. "We'll embellish things a little, and see if you can't work under her."

"As an Auror? No thanks," Percy shook his head.

"Not an Auror," Ron chuckled. "But maybe as her personal assistant. She's as respected as Fudge in the Ministry, and she could use a smart young man helping her." _Plus, you'll be safe in the middle of all of those Aurors._

"I was thinking of working under Crouch Snr," Percy admitted, he hadn't even told their father this. _Crouch Snr? He's a pariah now, thanks to his son._

"Percy, listen to me," Ron all but whispered. "Madam Bones is the person you want to work for."

"Why do you say it like that?" Percy blinked. _Because I want her to be Minister, and after her, you can take over. We Weasleys will run this country._

"Alright, just listen, and don't ever speak of this again," Ron became dead serious, much to Percy's surprise. "The Dark Lord is still alive, you already know that."

"What?"

"Listen," Ron said firmly. "He attacked me, remember? Now… It's only a matter of time before he returns, and once he does, who will be leading this country? Fudge? Crouch Snr? Or Madam Bones?"

"History would suggest that a person with knowledge against the Dark Arts would take over," Percy said slowly, he suddenly had no idea who he was speaking to.

"Madam Bones is the next Minister for Magic, Perce," Ron told his brother. _He's always been good to me, and I want him to succeed and be happy. He deserves it._ "She might not know it yet, but she's going to be leading the people of Magical Britain very soon."

"Ron? What are you…? What are you implying?" Percy leaned forward and whispered.

"I want you to jump onto the right horse," Ron whispered. "If we work together, we can navigate the Ministry's bureaucracy in order to reach our goals sooner. I have already made a move on the Ministry myself, and once you join it, we can combine forces. With my fame and contacts, and your intelligence and diligence, we could do great things."

"Wait a minute," Percy mumbled, he looked rather perplexed. "Just… What do you mean that you've made a move on the Ministry?"

"At this Gala, I will be named an International Diplomat to the French," Ron replied, and Percy just stared at him.

"Pardon?"

"I have worked with Madame Olympe Maxime, and together, we are bringing eleven Old French Families to this Gala," Ron said, and Percy looked even more shocked. "They will be donating **a lot** of money to the Ministry, and so, for my efforts, Fudge has given me my new position."

"You'll be working for the Ministry… At thirteen…" Percy said, and Ron gave him a nod.

"I'll be 'working' for the Ministry," Ron leaned back. "You and I, Perce, we can take the Ministry by storm. I'll be in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, while you'll be working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. **Together** , we'll show the Ministry that us Weasleys are worth respecting. That we may not have outrageous amounts of money, but we work our arses off in order to further ourselves. No platinum spoons, or insanely large vaults at Gringotts. Just hard work, and ingenuity."

At that, Ron stood up. Percy just stared up at Ron, who put his gloved hand forward. Percy took it slowly, and Ron pulled his brother to his feet.

"Are you in?" Ron asked, he was quite excited at the prospect of working with Percy.

"I… I feel like I should be the one who makes this offer to you…" Percy admitted slowly, there was no denying that he felt a little jealous of Ron's new position.

"That's fair," Ron smiled. "But it is what it is, Perce. What matters now is what you choose to do with the information that I have just given you."

"How certain are you about Madam Bones?" Percy asked slowly, his brow slightly furrowed.

"It might take a while, but Fudge's days are numbered," Ron replied. "We need a stronger leader, and Madam Bones is that leader. Just wait until you meet her, brother. You'll see what I'm talking about."

They began making their way towards the exit, and Ron could see that Percy was quite shaken due to Ron's plans. _Maybe I came on a little strong, but it was necessary. I want him to work under someone who will protect him, but at the same time, elevate him. Madam Bones is that person._

"Percy, remember, not a single word of this to **anyone** ," Ron said as they made their way out, and Percy gave him a weak nod.

"I just… I didn't know that you were so…" Percy stopped. "When did you get involved in such matters, Ron?"

"Influence breeds influence," Ron shrugged. "I seized opportunities that came as a result of my Chess career, and now here I am. Anyway… Enough about this for now. We can't be overheard."

"I'll be heading off then…" Percy looked dazed.

"Actually, why don't you come to the study group?" Ron asked, and Percy broke out of his stupor.

"No thanks," Percy refused.

"Why not?" Ron nudged him. "Just one day, please? You can tutor the first years for me."

"I'm not a teacher," Percy looked hesitant.

"Really? Who taught me then?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, that was you. C'mon, just one lesson."

"Ron, they don't want to learn from me," Percy sighed, why was Ron so persistent?

"They will after I tell them to," Ron chuckled. "Trust me, Percy. It'll be fun."

Percy groaned, and then he followed after Ron. In all honesty, Percy wasn't quite sure that he had just spoken to Ron. But at the same time, it made sense that Ron was doing these things. Maybe that's why he was placed in Slytherin? Maybe if Percy had taken the plunge, he too could've been in Ron's shoes? That thought bothered him, and it even made him jealous. And yet, he liked the idea of one of his siblings having his back. Everyone, except his parents, groaned whenever Percy brought up his ambitions, but Ron hadn't groaned. Ron had offered his hand in partnership, which was something that no one had ever done for Percy.

"Look at these new tables," Ron smiled as he approached his study group, and the first years beamed at him.

"You're here!" Beth said excitedly.

"Honestly, where did you go?" Lysandra asked, she was sitting next to Beth. _A Pure-Blood sitting side-by-side with a Muggle-Born. Good. This is how it should be._

"I went to fetch Percy, my older brother," Ron replied, and then he gestured to Percy. "Today, he'll be teaching you first years."

"What?" Tori blinked.

"Here's a secret," Ron smiled at them. "Percy is the one who taught me everything."

" **You** had a tutor?" Mathew asked, and then he eyed Percy. "You're Head Boy, right?"

"I am," Percy replied.

"Percy is a **genius** ," Ron told his first years, while the rest of the study group just watched in amusement. "He earned twelve O. W. Ls without even breaking a sweat, and as of right now, he is the top student of Hogwarts when it comes to academics. Trust me, you couldn't ask for a better tutor."

"Twelve O. W. Ls?" Hestia cocked an eyebrow.

"How did you manage that?" Flora asked Percy.

"I studied… A lot," Percy replied, and Ron sniggered.

"Percy can be a bit… dry… but trust me, he's great," Ron said, and then he gestured Percy to take a seat with the first years. "Make sure to take advantage of him, alright? This sort of opportunity is very rare. You're learning from the Master today." _This should be fun to watch. Percy has no idea how overwhelming the first years can be._

While the first years gathered around Percy, who was acting even more serious than usual, Ron made his way over to Daphne. As he took a seat, he saw her smirking at him.

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Master?" Daphne said, and Ron shrugged with a smile.

"I'm allowed to boast a little about my siblings, aren't I?" Ron asked, and she tapped his foot under the table.

"I'm glad that you brought him here," Daphne said.

"You are?"

"Of course," Daphne smiled. "Now you can help me with **my** homework."

"Wow…"

* * *

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Evening)**_

"Is anyone home?!" Ron called out from the empty Living Room. _Odd. Where are they?_

Ron made his way out of the Living Room, and into the Kitchen, where he found Sturgis Podmore making a sandwich. _Seriously, where is everyone?_

"Mr. Podmore," Ron called out to the man, who turned around with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," Sturgis greeted.

"Mr. Weasley," Ron snorted. "Please, just call me Ron. Also, where is everyone?"

"Oh," Sturgis put his sandwich on a plate. "Sirius is still asleep… Yes, I know, it's quite terrible. He got horribly drunk this morning, and then passed out."

"Drunk in the morning?" Ron took a seat, and Sturgis joined him.

"Here, have half," Sturgis pushed the plate forward, the sandwich was cut diagonally.

"Thank you," Ron accepted the offer, and then he took a bite of his half. "Bloody hell, this is really good." _I like that he put beetroot in there._

"I'm glad you think so," Sturgis smiled. "As for Sirius, he's in a bit of a mood."

"Why?"

"It's this upcoming Gala, I think," Sturgis decided to say. "He's not very excited to attend as 'Lord Black'."

"I guess that's fair," Ron shrugged. _It's no secret that Sirius didn't get along with his Family._ "And what about the others? My parents?" _The twins?_

"They have returned to the Burrow, alongside Mr. and Mrs. Lovegood," Sturgis replied. "Your brothers came in this morning… It was not a pretty affair."

"I see," Ron pulled a face, making Sturgis chuckle. "So… How did mum take it?"

"Not well," Sturgis replied truthfully. "Her screaming sent Kreacher into a panic, the poor thing. He left to go 'shopping', and I know for a fact that he's still hiding out in Diagon Alley." _Oh, shite._ "I do not wish to offend, but your mother frightens me."

"No offence taken," Ron finished up his half of the sandwich. "My mother's temper is something that I'm quite familiar with."

"I'm sure," Sturgis gave a knowing smile. "I feared for your brothers' safety at one point. She really didn't take their suspension well."

"It's their crime that sent her off the handle," Ron figured, and Sturgis gave a nod. "So… You're here alone, then? Where's that shady bloke who's always hovering in the background."

"Mr. Fletcher?" Sturgis asked, and Ron nodded. _Is that his name?_ "He comes and goes as he pleases, I suppose. And with Sirius asleep, I guess I am the only person around."

"Did Sirius get a chance to talk to my mother about her dress?" Ron asked.

"He… put it off," Sturgis sighed out. "And now, no one will dare approach her."

"I guess I'll have to talk to her myself," Ron stood up.

"Good luck," Sturgis smiled.

"I'll need it," Ron sighed, and then he headed for the Living Room. "Thanks for the sandwich, Mr. Podmore."

"Take care, Mr. Weasley," Sturgis gave a wave. _I guess he'll only call me Ron when he's comfortable around me. That's fair enough. I did hurt him pretty badly._

Ron entered the Living Room, grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and cast it into the fire.

"The Burrow," Ron called, and when the flames blazed to life, Ron stepped into his Family Home. He immediately spotted Charlie and Bill, both of whom were talking in hushed whispers.

"Ron?" Charlie looked to him, while Bill stood up for some reason.

"What are you doing here, little brother?" Bill smiled, and Ron smiled back.

"I got lost," Ron sniggered. "Are you two alright? Why were you whispering?"

"Hardly," Charlie shook his head. "Here's some advice, Ron. Go back to Hogwarts."

"Is **she** that angry?" Ron asked.

"She's gone mental," Bill said bluntly. "The twins are locked up in their rooms, she even took away their wands."

"Not to mention her threats," Charlie added.

"Threats?" Ron asked.

"She's warned the twins to never step out of line again," Bill replied. "She's tossed out any joke items that they had left in their rooms, and she expects them to get perfect grades. They argued against working within the Ministry, and that was her last straw."

"The twins working at the Ministry…" Ron shuddered.

"Britain would burn," Charlie agreed.

"Ron?! Is that you?!" came Molly Weasley's voice from the Kitchen, and Ron had half a mind to go back to Hogwarts.

"It's me!" Ron called out, and then he stepped into the Kitchen. _Oh, Xeno and Pandora are here too. Wait… Then who's taking care of Professor Snape? Probably Kirsten, seeing as she's not here._ "Hello, everyone."

"Ron! Did the twins target you at school?! You tell me the truth, young man!" Molly looked him over, she was both pissed off and concerned.

"Um…" Ron looked to the letter in his father's hand. "Sort of…"

"Sort of?" Arthur asked, while Ron let out a sigh.

"They got me once, or twice," Ron said vaguely, he was no rat. "I don't really remember…"

"He's trying to protect them," Molly drew in a sharp breath. "Those two… terrors… What are going to do with them, Arthur? I say that we hold onto their wands until their suspensions end."

"You've already taken away their wands, love," Arthur reminded his wife. _Merlin, she's_ _ **that**_ _pissed?_

"Oh… Then we ground them as well," Molly said, and then she looked back at Ron. "And you? Why did you 'manhandle' Fred?"

"Manhandle?" Ron asked, had they tattled on him?

"Minerva McGonagall told me that you apparently manhandled your brother," Molly narrowed her eyes on him. _That letter also mentioned me… Damn._

"Well… He sort of came at me, and I defended myself," Ron replied. "Nothing that warrants the word 'manhandle'. Can we please talk about the upcoming Gala? I have to go back to Hogwarts soon."

The mention of the Gala reminded Molly of her sixth son's latest stunt, and she immediately looked distant. Arthur, on the other hand, stood up, and walked over to Ron. _What's he doing?_

"Son, can we talk outside?" Arthur asked, a hint of urgency in his voice. "It won't take long."

"Sure," Ron moved to the front door, and his father followed him out. "Is everything alright?" _Knowing you, Ron, it's not._

"I want to show you something in the shed," Arthur led the way, and Ron followed after him slowly.

"You're not planning to off me, are you?" Ron asked, half-joking and half-serious.

"In a shed? Never," his father managed a weak smile, he looked almost defeated. _This is serious._ "In you go."

Ron eyed his father, who just blinked at him. Arthur then gestured Ron to go inside again, but Ron just stared at him. _Why the shed? Something's off here._

"Ron…" his father muttered, he couldn't believe this. "You really think that…" he stopped.

Arthur closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and then he entered the shed first. _Can't be too careful. What if he locks me in here to keep me 'safe' until the Gala ends?_ Ron followed his father inside, his eyes peeled.

"I would never lock you in…" Arthur started, but once again, he stopped himself.

"Why are we here?" Ron asked, and his father turned to face him.

"I… I found something… the other day," his father said weakly, and Ron found himself getting worried for another reason. _Why is he so overwhelmed?_ "See that?"

Ron looked to a broken lightbulb.

"You brought me that when you were little," Arthur reminded Ron.

"I… don't remember," Ron told his father.

"You were quiet young," Arthur said. "Bill and Charlie took you to the markets in the nearby village, and you came back with that. You wanted to give it to me, because you knew that I loved Muggle things."

"Was it broken then?" Ron asked.

"No, but it was pretty banged up," Arthur replied. "I spent a whole day trying to turn it on, and once I finally did, I showed you first. Merlin… You were so happy. You **actually** ran a lap of this shed, all the while clapping and laughing." _Touching. What's your point?_ "I know now that you were only so happy because I had put you first for a change."

"Dad…" Ron sighed. _Not now. I have things to do. I have yet to plan something for Priscilla-_

"Please, just hear me out," Arthur requested, and Ron couldn't refuse because of the look on the man's face. _Nostalgic, and sad. This is uncomfortable._ "Your mother told me about your new job, Ron. I **am** proud of you, I promise."

"But…" Ron said.

"But I'm scared too," Arthur admitted. "You told no one about this, even though it's such a big decision. You didn't even tell Sebastian…"

"He would've told you," Ron explained. "I know that he tells you everything now, despite his very first promise to me."

"He cares about you," Arthur told Ron. "You have no idea how much it pains him to break your trust, but he does it because he cares."

"We have a different definition of help, then," Ron said, his eyes darting to the broken lightbulb. _Ronnie brought that lightbulb back, not me._

"What is 'help' to you? Please, tell me," Arthur asked.

"To me, help is when you aid me in my plans," Ron replied. "Help isn't you interfering with my life constantly. Whenever you, and mum, get in my way, it stresses me to no end. You don't 'help' me, none of you do."

"To me, help is watching over you," Arthur shared his own definition. "I can't watch over you if you keep running away."

"Running away?" Ron asked.

"I… I feel like you're miles away, Ron, and I can't catch up to you," Arthur sat down on his weathered stool, his shoulders slumping. "I keep trying to chase you, but you keep running away. I can't help you deal with your Brain-Damage, or your Chronic Stress, and it's killing me slowly. And I can't understand why you do **these** **things**."

"These things?" Ron asked, his voice calmer now. _I might be upset with him, but I don't like seeing him like this. Damn._

"Professional Chess… This new job… Making powerful allies… Your need to change this Family into something that it's not," Arthur listed. "I keep trying to justify it in my mind, but for the life of me, I can't."

"I… I'm insane," Ron replied, he couldn't explain his character without giving away the burdens that he carried. _I don't have time to deal with the fallout. Plus, it's insane babble at best._

"Don't say that," Arthur all but pleaded.

"I can't help myself, dad," Ron leaned against a dusty shelf. "I will never stop, because I **can't** stop. I don't know how turn off, and at this point, I don't want to learn. I am helping people, and that's what matters to me."

"Helping people?" Arthur looked up.

"Eleven Families, Madame Maxime, and myself," Ron replied. "Five hundred Galleons each… That's six thousand Galleons that I'm bringing to the table at this Gala. Imagine how much that helps the people who are suffering due to our country's current state."

"You're **thirteen** ," Arthur pleaded, a pained look on his face.

Ron was silenced by such a look, and he couldn't help but look away. _Shite, he's almost teary eyed. This is so much worse than mum's reaction._

"Ron… You are just a young man, but you're putting the weight of the World on your shoulders," Arthur said. "Sooner or later, it will break you in half. Your mother and I don't want to see our son kill himself, that's all. You're not a parent, so you don't understand the **need** to protect your child. We don't want to get in your way, we want you to be happy. Like you used to be."

"Used to be," Ron muttered, and then he frowned to himself. _Ronnie…_ "You just miss Ronnie, is that it?"

"Of course I miss who you used to be," Arthur confessed. "That little boy, who lit up like a Christmas Tree, was my son. I haven't seen that boy in years, so why wouldn't I miss him? Your Family can't help but miss who you used to be because they loved that person. But despite all of that, we **do** love who you are now. You've just convinced yourself that we don't, and you're cutting us out."

"You've given me plenty of reasons to think that, so don't act like it's all my fault," Ron stood up to his full height. "That hateful letter… No apology for venomous words… Treating me like an outsider… Trying to rip me away from my friends… Trying to take my Chess career away… Not showing an ounce of support, or even respect." Ron then stopped for a moment. "Telling Lord Greengrass to not let me play Chess."

"What?"

"You think I don't know **why** Lord Greengrass hasn't entered me in a competition since the Break?" Ron asked. "Why is it that I had to ask my Mentor to further my career?"

"I… He only did as we asked…" Arthur looked down at his feet.

"When you do things like this, that's when I decide to not trust you," Ron shook his head weakly. "You plot things behind my back, and when I overcome your plots, you become angered and offended. That's my problem with you and mum, you don't know that you're hurting me more than helping me. I've tried to explain it, but you just never listen. Which is fair enough, I mean, you're used to ignoring me, right?"

"You don't know how sorry we are for that," Arthur told Ron. "Every day, I regret that I didn't see it sooner."

"It's not even the neglect that bothers me," Ron clarified. "It's the sheer lack of respect that you all demonstrate near me. Ginny calls me a 'fucking traitor' to my face, and she sees nothing wrong with that. I barely have any decent memories of the twins, mostly because they live to torment me. My virtuous side is completely overlooked by my own Family, despite me being respected by **everyone** else. Bloody hell… When I told mum about my new job, she didn't even think of how many people I had just helped. She only saw that I had gone behind her back, and now she's throwing a fit."

"Throwing a fit? Why do you speak with such contempt in regards to us?" Arthur swallowed thickly, there was a lump in his throat.

"Why do **you** think I do that?" Ron asked coldly.

"You're angry with us," Arthur replied.

"Yes… I am angry with you," Ron nodded. "Why shouldn't I be angry when you do **these things**?"

Arthur said nothing, and they both just stared at each other in silence. After nearly a minute of waiting, Ron drew in a deep breath and began to leave. _I have work to do._

"Are you ashamed to be my son?" Arthur asked, and Ron stopped and turned around.

"Pardon?"

"Are you ashamed to be my son?" Arthur repeated. "Tell me the truth, I won't hold it against you."

"Am I ashamed…?" Ron thought for a moment, and then he told the truth. "No, I'm not ashamed." His father released a held breath. "I'm proud to be your son, because since I'm your son, I know the difference between right and wrong. You gave me the ability to stay true to what I believe in. I just wish that you would stop doubting my character, because I have never doubted yours… That is, until recently. Enough is enough, dad. I love you, but you don't own me. If one day you decide to help me instead of hindering me, then I will make amends. Until then, I'll keep running away."

With that, Ron left the shed, and his father, behind. It hurt him to know that his father had such doubts, and that he was struggling alone, but enough was enough. If Ron didn't stand up for himself now, then he'd be stuck in this dance forever. _You can only move forward, so keep your eyes on the road. Forget what's behind, that's not where you're going._

Ron entered the Burrow, and he immediately looked to the adults. All of them were looking at him, and Ron knew that they were all in on this. _This is their one last push, right? One last chance to get Ronnie back._

"Tomorrow, I'll return here for lunch," Ron said to his mother, and he saw something spark behind her distant eyes. "We will go to Diagon Alley, and I will buy you and dad something suitable for this Gala." _And the spark is gone…_ "If you refuse, I will go without you."

Arthur entered from behind Ron, and he gave his wife a subtle nod. She didn't say anything, and Ron decided to be on his way before this got any more uncomfortable.

"Xeno, Pandora, it was nice to see you again," Ron said, and then he left for the Living Room.

His brothers eyed him carefully, and he figured that they knew everything as well. Ron said nothing as he walked up to the fireplace, and they decided to stay quiet themselves.

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Ron called, and then he threw the powder into the flames.

Once they roared to life, Ron stepped through as quietly as he could. He hadn't expected such a confrontation when he had stepped into his childhood home, but now that it was behind him, Ron felt slightly upset with the fact that his father was feeling so… powerless. And yet, Ron would not give an inch. _The Cycle must succeed. So many lives hang in the balance, and my happiness is nothing compared to that. Even if I lose my parents' love, I must keep fighting._

"Ronald," Dumbledore greeted, and Ron looked to find the old man resting in his chair.

"Headmaster," Ron greeted back. _And then there's him… I spilled my crazy all over him this morning, and it was such a relief. That's hardly fair on him, though._

Ron walked up to the Headmaster's side, and he leaned against the clawed-desk. Dumbledore stared up at him, but he didn't say anything.

"This morning…" Ron started. "I didn't mean to sound so… grim. I don't want you to worry about me, alright? Worry about yourself right now."

"I fear that I will worry about you until my dying breath, my boy," Dumbledore admitted, a soft smile gracing his face.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, giving Dumbledore a sorry smile. "What I said about Harry… I was just angry, and my bitterness got the better of me. I know that you care about me, even when you don't have to."

"You are only human," Dumbledore said in an understanding manner.

"Some would disagree with that," Ron stated.

"They do not know you as I do, then," Dumbledore responded. "My own approach to your words was… foolish. You spoke from your heart, and all I managed was some vague advice."

"You really should sleep," Ron looked at the old man's baggy eyes. "It'd be a shame if you died from exhaustion."

"Exhaustion," Dumbledore smiled more widely. "If only, dear boy."

"If only," Ron repeated. "Your words were fine, Headmaster. I didn't feel upset by them, or even patronized. You were hardly prepared for my lack of self-control."

"Did you mean what you proclaimed?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes."

"I see," Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I can't see the Future, but I hope that you get proven wrong… **I** would like to see you be proven wrong. After all of this is over, I want you to finally find peace, Ronald."

"That day is far away," Ron stopped leaning on the desk, and then he put his gloved hand on Dumbledore's shoulder. "I understand that Harry is the key to the Dark Lord's defeat, and I'll do whatever is needed of me. Even if that means always being hidden in the shadows."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said, though he didn't look happy with himself. "I know it's not fair, but life seldom is." _Harry inspires hope in a way that I can't._ _ **He**_ _is the symbol behind which all of the Dark Lord's enemies can rally, not me._

"I know that life's a mean bitch," Ron said, while Dumbledore gave his hand a squeeze. "I'll see you at dinner, Headmaster. Please, take a nap at least."

"I will try, my boy."

* * *

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Near Midnight)**_

Ron sat in front of the fire, his ears absorbing the sound of the crackling fire, while his skin was protected by the fire's warmth. To his left sat his sisters' dresses, and to his right sat a list of scrapped plans for Priscilla and her friends.

His friends, and House-mates, were all asleep by now, but Ron was wide awake. He had to come up with something before Sunday, but none of his plans were plausible. He had thought to hide them away in the Chamber itself, but in the end, he had ruled against that. Sending them from a life on the streets to a life in a dank bunker was hardly helpful. He had thought of giving them money over time, but that too didn't sit well with him. _They deserve a home, just like everyone else. They deserve to go to school, and to have a chance at a normal life._

Ron frowned at the fire, his thoughts were useless anyway. Ron had barely any money left, and he knew nothing about building homes for orphans. What he needed was help, and so he first needed to overcome his pride for the Greater Good. _It's the only way, and you know it. You can't do everything by yourself, Ron, despite your desire to._

The question wasn't about whom to go to, but rather who he could trust. He had thought about his friends, but in the end, he knew that they wouldn't understand. Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy didn't see Squibs as people, which wasn't so uncommon. _Mum and dad don't like them either, even if they won't openly admit it._ Daphne, Pansy, and Millie weren't exactly right choices either, as they had their own distrust of Squibs due to their traditions. _Tracey is the only one who would see Squibs as people, but she's not rich like the others. Well, not rich enough._

Maybe he ought to go to a Pure-Blood Family? No… The Pure-Blood Families, despite their differing beliefs, all saw Squibs as Non-Magical stains, and therefore, not worthy of note. _Merlin, imagine being completely alone in the World. To live in a World of your dreams, but be unable to ever experience it fully._ All of this meant only one thing, Ron had to go to someone who would understand his need to help the Squibs, and this person needed to have experience and the means of creating a home for orphans. _Albus Dumbledore. He is the Headmaster of a school, and I bet he has the means to pull this off. Plus, he can help me hide the orphans from the war._

Ron grabbed the scrapped plans, and he tossed them into the fire. His mind was set, he needed his friend's help, and knowing Dumbledore, he'd be all for it. _It is what it is, Ron. Your pride shouldn't even enter a matter like this._

"I say, do you brood often?" came a familiar voice from his right, and Ron jumped in fright.

"Fucking hell, Sorting Hat…"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: And there it is! Sadly, no Gala, but technically, this is all part of the Gala Arc. Plus, a lot of you want the Gala to have a lot of coverage, so I'll give an entire Chapter on it. Well, at least 10,000 words, if not more!**

 **Next chapter should be up around Saturday. I've decided to give a semblance of a date, rather than an actual day. I'm busy af right now, so an actual day makes me rush the chapters. So, I'll see you guys on Saturday, or Sunday.**


	95. Chapter 95 - What Would Ronnie Do?

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 95 is finished! Five more to go before we reach the big 100!**

 **Now, just a quick word... Imagine my surprise when I was bombarded with angry emails after posting the last chapter! Lol, it was quite surprising, mostly because I thought that I had established Ron as an extremely troubled individual.**

 **Well, I only have one thing to say to the people who were left unhappy by the last chapter. I respect your opinion, and I won't douse fuel on your understandable anger. There is a reason why I showed the twins backing off before Tracey's plan was put into action.**

 **The characters in this story won't be vilified needlessly, I despise that trope. I could have easily made the twins even more antagonistic, which would serve to put Ron on a pedestal for defeating them. But I didn't do that, because at the end of the day, the twins do have a line that they don't want to cross. They don't see themselves as bullies, and when Ginny gave her opinion, they realized that they had gone too far. Their main flaw is that they are too used to being praised for their antics, and as a result, they don't know when to stop.**

 **As for Ron, this is not Canon!Ron. Not anymore, at least. I have spent nearly two million words developing his character, and I will continue to do so as planned. If I change the plan I have, then other characters' arcs will suffer, and I'll have a steamy mess to deal with. Plus, I don't want to make an MC who is always on the right side of things. That's for you all to decide, I can't pick and choose who I want you to like. I just write the story as I planned it, and you are free to love whichever character you want.**

 **I like to think that my diverse cast is one of my story's strengths, and something that really sets my story apart from most other stories. No one in this story is perfect, and many characters have to deal with the consequences of their actions. If Hermione were to scar Marietta Edgecomb for life in this story, then there will be believable consequences for such actions. No one gets a pass in my eyes, especially Ron.**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 95 – What Would Ronnie Do?**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Near Midnight)**_

"You scared the shite out of me…" Ron sighed out, and then he stared at the Sorting Hat. "It's been a while, Hat."

"Too long, I'd say!" the Hat chuckled. "Do you mind putting me on your melon?"

"My head's not a…" Ron started, but then he stopped. "Sure, come here."

Ron picked up the Hat, and he put it on his head. The Hat hummed to itself as it began perusing Ron's mind, and then suddenly, it clamped down on his head. Ron was startled by its vice-like grip on his skull, and he quickly grabbed it by its sides.

"Take me off!" the Hat bellowed, and Ron ripped the Hat off without hesitation. _Ow! My fucking melon!_

"Hat?!" Ron eyed it within his hands, while the Hat let out whimpering noise. _What happened?_ "Hat… What happened? Talk to me."

" **It** was not pleased to see me…" the Hat muttered, and Ron frowned to himself. _That fucker tried to hurt the Hat?_

"Shite… I should've warned you, I'm sorry," Ron apologized. "It got out…" _I'm an idiot._

"Please, put me back down on the couch," the Hat requested, and Ron gently placed it by his side.

"Are you alright? What did it do?" Ron asked.

"It tried to destroy my Magic…" the Hat replied, and Ron blinked at the Hat. "It wanted to undo my Charm, and if it had succeeded, I'd be nothing more than a weathered old hat… Helga's Mercy, Ronald, how did it get loose?"

"It broke free," Ron replied. "My Brain-Damage was getting out of control, and it broke out of its cage to save me. In the process, it got butchered by Fate's Magic."

"Fate?" the Hat perked up.

"She started the Cycles," Ron swallowed thickly. "I saw her in a dream, and I met one of her siblings. Trust me, you don't want to know… I personally don't even want to acknowledge that shite."

"I understand," the Hat said thoughtfully. "I suppose that we'll have to converse like ordinary people, then."

"Probably for the best," Ron agreed, and then he smiled a little. "How have you been, Hat? I've missed you."

"And I've missed you, my boy," the Hat said back. "As for how I've been… Well, Albus really ought to clean the top of his shelves. I have been swimming in dust for far too long."

"Right…" Ron nodded slowly, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Hat… I'd like to apologize to you."

"You are not responsible for the Entity, Ronald," the Hat said, and Ron shook his head.

"I want to apologize for our last conversation," Ron clarified, and the Hat waited for him to go on. "I should never have asked you to spy on the Headmaster, and I definitely shouldn't have gotten so angry when you refused. I was asking for far too much, and I was being thickheaded to boot. I'm sorry." _There, that's been on my chest for a while._

"Do you want to know why I truly refused you?" the Hat asked, and Ron gave a nod. "Trust has to be built, Ronald. If a partnership is marred by underhanded tactics from the very start, then it will always collapse. You both needed to trust each other, and then grow from there." Ron thought about the Hat's words, and then he smiled a little more widely. "I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I believe that I made the right call."

"You did," Ron patted the Hat gently. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it," the Hat said. "I have been watching over you three, and I must admit, I am quite amazed by your dynamic. You have dealt heavy blows to the Dark Lord, and the war has yet to start in earnest."

"He's done a lot of damage as well," Ron said. "Probably more."

"Indeed, he has," the Hat agreed. "Poor Severus… Albus has not been the same since. And little Elphias… Even I feel wounded at his passing. He and Albus were inseparable when they were students here."

"Yeah, things are looking worse than ever," Ron leaned back in his seat. "So… What brings you here? I mean, you sort of just disappeared."

"I was not needed," the Hat said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "What I mean is that despite my worry over the coming war, I could offer little aid. Albus, Severus, and you have become pillars for each other, and for the Order."

"They're the pillars, while I'm a stepping stone," Ron chuckled. "You are giving me too much credit."

"You still challenge my wisdom?" the Hat asked, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. "Good."

"So you're back because you are needed now?" Ron asked. "Do you have information for me?"

"Albus is distracted by recent events, while Severus is in no position to help anyone," the Hat replied. "And you… You have begun to give in to the Darkness."

"The Darkness?" Ron asked, was he about to get lectured?

"I heard everything, my boy," the Hat sighed, while Ron felt anxious about the Hat's thoughts. "Death is not something that you should long for… It is the climax of one's life, not the goal. The journey is the most important part, my boy, so don't let it pass you by."

"The journey?" Ron asked. "Hat, my life is miserable…"

"Everyone has their troubles, Ronald," the Hat told him. "Overcoming said troubles **is** the journey." The Hat then perked up again. "Do you have time for a story?"

"A story?" Ron asked slowly.

"Believe me, you can relate to this one," the Hat said.

"Sure," Ron agreed, he was just happy to have the Hat's company after so long. "What's this story about?"

"It is about a woman who was revered by all, and yet, despised by her own daughter," the Hat replied.

"How can I relate to a revered woman-"

"Ronald, I will bite you if you interrupt me," the Hat warned, and Ron snorted before shutting his mouth. "This revered woman was born from nothing. Her father was a shallow and greedy man, while her mother spent her time in the arms of travelers rather than with her Family. When this woman was thirteen, she ran away from her home in glen. She wished to see the World, to uncover lost knowledge, and mostly importantly, she sought greatness."

"From glen?" Ron asked. "Rowena Ravenclaw… That's who you're talking about." _Percy recited the Hogwarts Song for me before I came here._

"Well done," the Hat said, though it sounded a bit somber. "I am indeed telling you the tragic tale of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Tragic?" Ron blinked.

"Yes… Tragic," the hat whispered. "So tragic, that I myself don't like to think about it. And yet, you must hear it."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because you are traveling the same road, my boy," the Hat told him. "If I had to compare you to any of the four Founders, I'd compare you to Rowena. Now… Listen. In her travels, Rowena unearthed Magic long forgotten, and word of her accomplishments spread far and wide. One day, during her travels, another young witch crossed paths with Rowena. This new witch refused to leave after seeing the state of Rowena, who barely ate and slept due to her undying need for knowledge."

"Was it Helga Hufflepuff?" Ron asked, and the Hat smiled.

"Kind Helga fed Rowena, and cared for her despite Rowena's cold demeanor," the Hat went on, and Ron relaxed completely. "They became unlikely friends, and soon, they set out together to continue Rowena's quest. That is when they met two young wizards, who were brothers in all but blood. Fiery Godric was brave, but bloody minded-"

"What?" Ron asked. "That's not right… Godric Gryffindor was the greatest of the four Founders."

"That is debatable, but in his youth, he lived for battle," the Hat explained. "No wizard was his equal in Spell-Work, and no Muggle could match his skill with a sword. A sword which was won through bloody conquest against the Goblins of Old, who were far more aggressive in regards to wizards than they are now. Wait… Stop distracting me!"

"Sorry," Ron sniggered. "Go on, please."

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes," the Hat remembered. "Fiery Godric was brave, but bloody minded, while his brother Salazar was ambitious, but despised violence. Together, they made a powerful duo. The four Founders took a liking to each other, and so, they traveled with Rowena. Although she was surrounded by friends, Rowena's heart belonged to her quest. Years passed, and the four Founders never left each other's sides. They were Family, and yes, that includes Salazar, whose mood hadn't darkened yet."

"Of all the Founders, Rowena was the most distant," the Hat told Ron. "She put her quest above all things, and it was she who first proposed the idea of a Wizarding School."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Really," the Hat replied. "But her intentions weren't exactly pure. You see, she wished to store her knowledge in a safe place, and even share it. Helga had always wanted children, and so she agreed instantly. Godric, who had begun to grow weary of battle, sought to train wizards and witches to protect themselves. While Salazar, who had begun to despise the prosecuting Muggles, seized the opportunity to hide wizards and witches from the World."

"And so, they built Hogwarts," the Hat continued. "They worked tirelessly, and after much struggle, they created this beautiful place. This would be their home, and for Rowena, it was her own personal Library. She filled the school with books, and she created the Forbidden Section for herself only. One day, a passing scholar came to the school, and Rowena took him to her bed."

"Nice," Ron grinned, and the Hat growled.

"That is my mother that you speak of…" the Hat frowned.

"She did the nasty," Ron giggled to himself.

"Yes…" the Hat sighed. "Rowena bore a daughter, and she named said daughter Helena."

"And the scholar?" Ron asked.

"He left," the Hat replied. "Rowena had no time for people, sadly. Helena was raised in this castle, and the Founders were like her parents. Helga was the kind mother who doted on her, Godric enjoyed sharing his exploits with her, and Salazar taught her how to read and write."

"And Rowena?" Ron asked slowly.

"Rowena's true love was her quest for knowledge, and so she neglected her daughter," the Hat said sadly, and Ron lost his own humor. _Shite… That's terrible._ "It was not out of spite, mind you, but Helena was deeply wounded by it. As Helena grew, her mother became more and more distant. When it was time for Helena's Sorting, Rowena took her into Ravenclaw simply because of her last name. It broke Helena's heart, and a bitter jealousy engulfed her."

"And then?" Ron asked.

"And then, Helena did the unthinkable," the Hat replied. "She studied under her mother, and as soon as she came of age, she stole her mother's Diadem, an artifact that Rowena treasured above all things. It had the power to enhance one's intelligence tenfold, and Helena wished to use it to outdo her own mother."

"Did she?" Ron asked, but deep down, he knew the answer.

"She may have someday, but she never got the chance," the Hat replied. "After her theft, Helena ran away from Hogwarts. Rowena learned of her daughter's actions, and it dawned on her that she had made a terrible mistake. Her coldness had driven her daughter to thievery, and now, she was gone. Desperate to make amends, Rowena sent a man who loved Helena to go fetch her."

"Why not the other Founders?" Ron asked. "I mean, they were the greatest of all Wizards, right? They'd find her in no time."

"Rowena was proud, and she hid her shame from her 'Family'," the hat sighed deeply. "The man who was sent to fetch Helena ended up killing the poor girl, and when she returned to Hogwarts as a Ghost, Rowena's failing health could not endure it. She died, Ronald, of heartbreak. She died surrounded by her many books, her last thoughts filled with regret. She had put her quest above all else, and it killed her in the end."

"I see…" Ron rubbed his face, he could now see why the Hat had compared him to Rowena Ravenclaw.

"I only sat on your head for a few moments, Ronald, and yet, I felt overwhelmed by the conflict raging inside you," the Hat told him. "You are lost, my boy, now more than ever."

"I know," Ron admitted weakly. "It's just… hard… It's so damn hard…" _I keep trying to do good, but things keep getting worse._

"Nothing worth having comes easy," the Hat said. "Rowena accomplished her quest, but it meant nothing in the end because she regretted her choices in life. She wished that she had been a better mother, a kinder friend, and a less demanding teacher. I do not wish to see History repeat itself, and so, I come to you. It's not too late, Ronald. There is time to achieve your goals, **and** to open your heart."

"My heart is open," Ron sat up, a stern look on his face.

"Is it?" the Hat asked. "That is not what I saw inside of you. I saw rage, agony, bitterness, and a need for vengeance. I saw a boy long-forgotten, crying as the shadows surrounded him."

"Ronnie?" Ron looked to the Hat.

"You've abandoned him," the Hat said with deep sorrow. "The boy who I Sorted into Slytherin… The boy who was my friend."

"I don't need him," Ron frowned a little. "He was weak, and a fucking joke. I have accomplished so much since I cut him off from myself."

"He may have been naïve and passive, but he was also kind and selfless," the Hat countered. "And you miss him dearly, despite your venomous words. You do not have to be exactly like him, dear boy, but you cannot deny that he is a part of you. Find him, Ronald. Or you will die as Rowena did; full of regrets and all alone."

With that, the Hat disappeared from sight. Ron stared at the empty spot for a few moments, and then he looked into the fire. The Hat's words echoed in his head, and Ron turned and cracked his neck.

" _ **Ronnie…**_ " Ron growled to himself, his gloved hand massaging his forehead. _What would Ronnie do in my shoes?_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – Early Morning)**_

"Headmaster, I'm coming in," Ron called, and then he entered the Office.

He had, of course, knocked multiple times, but there had been no response. As Ron shut the door, he figured that the old man was off on some errand. However, when Ron moved further into the room, he spotted the Headmaster sleeping in his chair. _Merlin, he finally dozed off. I should leave before I wake-_ Ron's thoughts stopped as he noticed that the old man looked cold, despite the fireplace being lit. _Not just cold, but defeated._

Ron decided to ignore it, and he walked over to the fireplace in order to floo to Greengrass Manor. _Stop… What would Ronnie do?_ Ron closed his eyes, and he drew in a deep breath. _What if the Hat's right? Damn…_ Ron looked to the Headmaster, and after deciding to help, he tiptoed towards the Headmaster's chair. He looked around for anything that could serve as a blanket, and after spotting a golden cloak nearby, Ron carefully covered the old man's torso with it. _There, nice and warm._

As Ron turned to leave, his eyes landed on the piece of parchment sitting right in front of Dumbledore. On it were the names of the Order members, and beside those names were certain Runes that Ron couldn't recognize. _Wait… The one next to Sirius and dad's names is the Symbol of Protection. We went over it a couple of weeks ago in Study of Ancient Runes. This is… odd._

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's groggy voice, and Ron fought the urge to smack himself. _I fucking woke him up._

"Sorry, Headmaster," Ron gave the old man a sorry smile, while Dumbledore eyed the cloak covering him. "I um… You looked cold… Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It is quite alright," Dumbledore assured him. "I have made certain plans, and I could use an extra pair of eyes."

"And you will have my eyes," Ron gently stopped Dumbledore from sitting up. " **After** I come back from work. Please, just get some sleep. You can't go to the Gala looking like this."

"I… Yes, of course," Dumbledore closed his bloodshot eyes, and Ron secured the cloak around the Headmaster once again.

"Sleep well, I will be back before you know it," Ron said, and then he made his way back to the fireplace.

"Enjoy your work," Dumbledore mumbled, and Ron smiled to himself.

Ron reached the fireplace, grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and he hurled it into the fire.

"Greengrass Manor," Ron called, and he then walked through the roaring fire.

Once again, Mary was not there to greet him in the Greeting Room, and Ron wondered where she was. _No doubt with Tracey's mother. Wait… I just realized something._ Ron looked around the Greeting Room, and he felt his stomach tighten. _Yule Break is almost here, which means that this bizarre situation will need to be explain. Tracey, Daphne, and Malfoy will be safe, but what about the others? Theo especially… The Dark Lord is no doubt seeking refuge in Nott Manor._

And just like that, Ron found himself staring off into space. _Blaise will be with his mother for her wedding, while Millie and Pansy will be with their parents, who, like Cornelius Nott, are devoted followers of the Dark Lord. Oh, fuck me… Why didn't I realize this sooner? What am I going to do about that?_

"Ron?" came Mary's voice, and Ron looked in her direction. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Ron greeted back, and he noticed Mary's furrowed brow.

"Are you alright? You looked lost in thought," Mary approached him. _I'm fucked._

"I'm doing great," Ron smiled. "I was just thinking about where you were. I mean, you always greet me here."

"I didn't know that you looked forward to my greetings," Mary smiled.

"Which man wouldn't want you to greet them?" Ron asked, and Mary let out a chuckle.

"Rascal," she smacked him lightly. "Come, I will walk you to the Study." _Think, Ron. What are you going to do about the Yule Break?_ "I believe congratulations are in order."

"They are?" Ron asked.

"Your new job, Ron," Mary said, and Ron nodded slowly. "My husband was… thrilled."

"He's pissed, isn't he?" Ron asked.

"He doesn't like surprises, but no, he is not 'pissed'," Mary replied. "Honestly, Ron… You can't speak like a commoner at this Gala. You must be refined, and charming."

"I can do that," Ron said. "Easy as taking a piss."

"Why does my daughter put up with you?" Mary shot him a smirk.

"I'm refined, and charming," Ron grinned.

"Please don't grin…" Mary closed her eyes and shook her head. "Just give him an explanation, alright? He will never admit it, but your secrecy hurt him a little."

"I see," Ron lost his grin. "I will give him an explanation, have no doubt about that."

"This is where I leave you for now," Mary stopped in front of the door. "I will be joining you when you leave for the Burrow."

"You will?" Ron asked.

"Your parents told me about your upcoming shopping trip with them, and you could use my expertise," Mary replied, but Ron knew what she really meant. _She wants to play peacekeeper. Fair enough, I could use her help in choosing something for mum._

"Thanks," Ron said, and she left with a parting nod.

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he knocked on the door.

"Come in, Ron," came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron stepped into the Study and shut the door.

"Good morning-" Ron started, but he stopped when he saw that his Mentor was using a walking cane to stand upright. _Weren't his injuries healed? I know it hasn't even been a week, but still…_

"Ron, you are gawking," Lord Greengrass informed, and Ron shook his head clear. "I had a nasty fall down the stairs, that's all."

"You weren't healed?" Ron asked.

"I was, but my bones ache sometimes," Lord Greengrass replied in a calm tone. "Please, take a seat."

Ron did as he was told, while Lord Greengrass walked over and took his own seat. He then eyed Ron, who just stared right back at him.

"May I ask why you didn't tell me about your new job?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"I knew that you'd tell my parents," Ron replied, and Lord Greengrass nodded slowly. "You made a promise to me when I first started working with you, and you've broken that promise by sharing things about me without my consent. Trust runs both ways, Lord Greengrass."

"I… see," Lord Greengrass leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "I understand." _Just like that?_

"You do?" Ron asked.

"As long as you make sure to give me your best, as always, I see nothing wrong with your new position within the Ministry," Lord Greengrass replied, and Ron shot him a grateful smile. "If anything, I am very impressed with your maneuvering. This Gala is shaping up to be quite the event."

"Thanks," Ron said.

"Have you practiced Castling like I asked you to?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron nodded.

"I did," Ron replied. "Though your daughter thought that I was trying to cheat her." _She was already losing, and so she got really upset with me._

"Speaking of my daughter," Lord Greengrass smiled a little. "I want you two to stay by each other's sides tonight. I wish to make a display of the growing friendship between our Families."

"Is that wise?" Ron asked, though he loved the idea. "I mean, most of the Old Families despise us Weasleys."

"That is their prerogative," Lord Greengrass said. "I have grown fond of your Family, and I wish to further our alliance." _Further our alliance?_

"Do I want to know what that means?" Ron asked slowly.

"Probably not," Lord Greengrass smirked, and then he leaned forward. "Come, let's start with a game. I hear that you wish to leave halfway through the day, so we have little time to waste."

"Alright," Ron leaned forward.

"And Ronald..." Lord Greengrass said, and Ron looked up. "I am sorry for breaking my promise. I will make amends, I promise."

"Thank you, my Lord."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – Early Morning)**_

"All set to go?" Mary asked Ron, she was waiting by one of the fireplaces.

"Yeah," Ron smiled at her. "Thanks for doing this, by the way. I really appreciate the help."

"Think nothing of it," Mary smiled back. "Truth be told, I've been dying to get Molly into a proper dress. Maybe a nice necklace too." _I only have a couple of hundred Galleons, not counting the five hundred I've saved up for the donation._

"I won't lie, money is tight for me at the moment," Ron said. "So let's not be too ambitious."

"Shopping is a hobby of mine, Ron," Mary prepared the floo. "Believe me, I have everything planned already, and your pouch won't suffer too much damage. The Burrow."

With that, she cast the floo-powder into the fire. As it blazed green, Mary stepped through with perfect posture. Ron drew in a deep breath, stretched his back and arms, and then he followed her through the fireplace. As he entered the Burrow, he saw Fred and George sitting with Bill and Charlie. _Shite._

"Ron," Charlie greeted, while the twins glared at him. "Mrs. Greengrass is in the Kitchen with mum and dad."

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he began heading for the Kitchen.

"Ron, wait," Bill called, and Ron stopped walking.

"Yes?" Ron asked as he turned back around.

Bill shot a look towards the twins, and then he let out an annoyed sigh.

"Do you have a minute to spare?" Bill asked. _No, I don't._

"Sure," Ron said. "Want to talk outside?"

"That'd be great," Bill stood up, and he gestured Ron towards the front door.

Ron made his way out, and he spotted his parents speaking with Mary with slightly subdued looks. _This fucking house is a pit of anxiety._ Once he was outside, Ron breathed in the fresh air, and it helped him relax a little.

"It's oddly nostalgic, right?" Bill asked, and Ron turned to face him. "The smell around the Burrow, that is. It smells like home."

"You're right," Ron agreed. "What do you want to talk about, Bill?"

"The twins… They told me everything," Bill said, much to Ron's surprise.

"They tattled?" Ron asked.

"No… They didn't tattle, Ron," Bill denied. "They're devastated, and demoralized. Charlie and I tried to cheer them up, and they broke at the seams." _Oh…_ "Did you really plant that barrel?"

"No," Ron lied. "How would I do that, Bill? I'm not even in Gryffindor."

"You're lying," Bill rubbed his face, he couldn't believe this.

"Am I?" Ron frowned a little. "You can divine the truth from others now? Did you learn this skill in Egypt?"

"Ron, how could you do this to them?" Bill asked. "Talk to me… Man to man. I won't say a word to mum and dad, I swear it."

"How could I do this to them?" Ron asked himself, and then his expression turned cold. "Easily."

"Easily?" Bill blinked.

"Yes, quite easily," Ron admitted. "I thought that I'd feel a bit guilty, but I don't."

"Merlin…" Bill shook his head. "Ron, mum's taken their wands away. She's not letting them attend this Gala, which they were genuinely looking forward to. Not to mention her ban on joke items and pranks. The twins live for that stuff, and you've taken it away from them. They're your brothers… Don't you care about that?"

"Do **they** care that I'm their brother?" Ron asked in return. "I asked them to stop not once, but twice. The second time, I **begged** them to stop their 'prank-war'. I told them that they were alienating me from my House-mates, and that I was quickly becoming a pariah because of **their** actions. You know what they said? They told me to pull the rod out of my arse."

"They… didn't mention that," Bill admitted.

"Why would they?" Ron asked. "In their eyes, they were just having a laugh, but then their 'psychotic' brother ruined their lives for no reason whatsoever. They were just trying to help Gryffindor, and they were wrongly struck down by a Slytherin." Ron then shook his head to himself. "If I help my House, they take it as a personal insult to them. Even though I'm in Slytherin, they expect me to take the side of the Gryffindors."

"They do?"

"Yes," Ron nodded. "After I beat Harry in a Duel, Ginny had the gall to demand that I ask Remus to hand the win to Harry. Can you believe that?"

"I… Why would she do that?" Bill asked.

"She didn't approve of my Spells," Ron's features softened a little. "That, and she worships Harry Potter. And here's the best part, Harry just wants to be seen as Harry, and not some legend." Ron then bit his bottom lip, maybe he ought to share his plans with Bill? _I don't want another Weasley to hate me._ "I do try, you know… But no matter what I do, I always step on someone's toes. Look, I don't plan to leave the twins out to dry, alright? Don't tell them this, but I will pay them back soon. They will have more than enough money to restart their business plans, but for the time being, I want them to feel powerless." _Plus, I_ _ **do**_ _want them to own that shop that I saw in my vision. They'd be happy to work in such a place._

"Why?" Bill asked slowly.

"Because that's how they've made me feel countless times," Ron replied. "I just want them to know what it feels like to be hurt, and alone. Once they learn their lesson, I will make peace with them." _I just need to find the money somehow. I'm such a moron for wasting my wealth on stupid trinkets and gifts._

"Alright… I'll hold you to that, little brother," Bill said, and then he stepped out of Ron's way. "Dad talked mum into agreeing with your plans for the Gala, Ron. She's not exactly thrilled, but she's going to try for your sake. Just know that." _I see. Dad must've talked to her about our chat yesterday._

"I'll see you later, Bill," Ron walked back into the House. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yes," his father gave a weak smile, he had to bury his pride for his son's sake. After all, Ron had admitted that he was proud to be Arthur's son, and so Arthur knew that he had to keep trying.

"Then let's be on our way," Ron said, and then he moved into the Living Room.

As he prepared the floo, he felt the hate coming off of the twins from behind him. Ron decided to ignore them, he really didn't want to fight at the moment.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Ron called, and then he tossed the powder into the fire.

As soon as the flames roared to life, Ron stepped through them and into the Leaky Cauldron. His parents, and Mary, followed after him, and Ron quickly eyed his mother. She looked cold and distant, which did wound Ron a little. _She's proud, Ron, just remember that. She can't bring herself to accept help from her own child, but she's here nonetheless._

"Let's start with Madam Malkin's, and then make our way to Twilfitt and Tatting's," Mary smiled at the Weasleys. _Yes, let's stay away from the Upper District. That place is beyond my price range._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Awkward. This was so fucking awkward. Ron had expected tensions to be high, but this was worse. His parents were extremely quiet, especially his mother, while Ron felt like an adult who was taking his kids shopping. Mary was trying to be cheerful in order to ease things, but it wasn't exactly working. None of the Weasleys wanted to be here, and yet, Ron understood that this was a necessity.

"Your mother looks good in that, doesn't she?" Arthur smiled at Ron, they were sitting by the windows while Mary and Madam Malkin helped Molly.

"Um… Yeah," Ron looked down at his feet. _Merlin, please let this speed up._ "Very good."

Arthur gave a slow nod, and then he looked back to his wife.

"Ron… About yesterday…" Arthur started, while Ron tensed a little. "Thank you."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"I was scared of what you would say when I asked you if you were ashamed of me," Arthur said. "I was certain that you'd feel-"

"Dad… We're in a public store…" Ron drew in a deep breath.

"I know, I just wanted to say thank you," Arthur fidgeted with his hands. "It means a lot to me that you're proud to be my son, despite our differences." _Merlin…_

"Of course I'm proud," Ron all but whispered. "Being a Weasley means everything to me…" _You have no idea just how much it means to me. Everything I do, I do for this Family._

"That's good," Arthur nodded, a genuine smile crossing his face. "That's… really good."

"Dad, I know I can be… cold," Ron said as he fixed his slouching posture. "And I know that we've been at odds for a long time, but I do love you. I don't always show it, but it's the truth. Now… Can we stop?"

"I love you too, son," Arthur whispered, and then he sniffled. _Is he…? Good Lord._

Ron decided to say nothing while his father worked to regain his composure, and after Arthur had steadied himself, they went back to watching Mary and Madam Malkin play doll with Molly. _She looks really unhappy…_ Ron rubbed his forehead, he was starting to feel lightheaded. _I haven't had lunch, nor do I have time to. I still need to give Luna and Ginny their dresses._

"Ron?" Arthur eyed his son. "Are you alright?"

"I feel lightheaded," Ron admitted. "It will pass."

"Oh…" Arthur muttered, he had to bite his tongue in an effort to not bombard Ron with questions. "Do you feel lightheaded often?"

"No," Ron replied. "I didn't eat lunch, and I've yet to take my second dose of medicine. I'll be fine."

"We can grab something to eat from the shops," Arthur suggested.

"That's alright," Ron refused. "We still need to sort you out, and then I need to give Luna and Ginny their dresses. Plus, I need to make some plans with my friends." _What am I supposed to do about the upcoming Holidays? Maybe I should invite them to spend the Break with me? Hmmm… Maybe after my position is announced, their parents will take me more seriously. I could try, at the very least. Failing that, I'll come up-_

"Ron? Are you there?" Arthur patted his back, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry… Did you say something?" Ron asked, and Arthur gave him a worried look.

"You disappear in your head often, don't you?" Arthur pointed out, and then he smiled a little. "Plotting something?" _Yes._

"Dad, would it be alright with you if I asked my friends to join me for the Yule Break?" Ron asked, and Arthur blinked at him.

"Join you? At the Burrow?" Arthur asked. "Son… We will already be quite packed…"

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Sirius, Harry, and Remus will be joining us," Arthur told him, and Ron's left eye twitched. "Your mother has also invited the Greengrass and Davis Families, not to mention the Tonks. Oh, and the Lovegoods will be there, of course."

"The Davis Family?" Ron asked. "Tracey's parents?"

"Um… Yeah…" Arthur looked ahead, he couldn't tell Ron about the Order. _It seems that mum and dad have made friends with them as well. Good. We need more allies._ "Plus, Sirius says that Harry wants to spend the Break with Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom, so they'll be there as well."

"Merlin, dad…" Ron sighed. "How are we going to fit so many people into the Burrow?" _Also, why are the Golden Trio spending Christmas with us? I can smell Dumbledore all over this._

"We'll figure it out," Arthur smiled sheepishly. "I asked Molly to ease up on the invitations, but you know how she can be when it comes to Christmas."

"What if my friends spend their nights at Greengrass Manor, but come around to the Burrow to spend time with me during the day?" Ron negotiated. "Or I can go there."

"That could work," Arthur agreed. "And if they want, they can join us for Christmas dinner. Your mother has quite the feast planned in her head." _Step one, complete. Now I just need to figure out a way to invite my friends without their parents spitting on my face. Theo has to be my priority right now. I can't let him go back to Nott Manor while the Dark Lord is there._

"Thank you," Ron smiled genuinely. "I know you aren't exactly keen on having them there, but I promise, they're a good lot. They've helped me a great deal, and I love them."

"We'll figure it out," Arthur smiled at Ron. "They're not their parents, right? That's what you told me."

"Exactly," Ron nodded far too quickly. "Thanks, dad, I really appreciate this." _And I won't forget it._

"Ron, we're all sorted here," Mary waved at him, and Ron stood up immediately.

As he approached the witches, he eyed his mother's black dress. _Not very showy, but it looks sophisticated nonetheless. And it suits her stout figure. I like it._

"Mum, are you happy with it?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. "Then we'll take it."

"Come with me," Madam Malkin led the way to the register, and Ron followed after her. "That'll be twenty five Galleons, young man." _Thank you, Mary._

"Done."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Oddly enough, finding something for Arthur was much harder than finding something for Molly. Not only was Ron's father quite tall, but he felt extremely uncomfortable in fine dress robes. Mary, luckily, had a great sense of fashion, and so she had taken over completely. Ron was now just the person with the pouch, while his parents were Mary's personal dolls.

"It's a bit tight," Arthur told Mary, who looked to the clerk. "And purple isn't really my color…" _No, it most certainly is not._

"I'll find something else," the Clerk said, and he left to find robes for taller gentlemen.

While Mary and Arthur discussed which color he preferred, Molly stood up and left the shop. _Where is she going?_ Ron looked to his father, who was now staring at the door with a slight frown. _Bloody hell, I can't let her run off._ Ron stood up, gave Mary and Arthur a meaningful look, and then he exited the shop. _Where did she go?_ Ron looked around the shop, and when he heard sniffling coming from the alley behind the shop, he fought the urge to groan loudly. _What is the matter with her? She's_ _ **that**_ _fucking proud?_

"Mum," Ron stepped into the alley, and he spotted her as she cleared her eyes. "Mum… Seriously?"

"I'll be right inside…" Molly told him.

"I can't leave you in this alleyway, not with the current crime rate being what it is," Ron looked around. _I don't see anyone. Good, this would be hard to explain._ "Mum, why are you crying?"

"I'm not," she said rather childishly, and Ron felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Please stop," Ron requested. "Mum… It's just one dress… Why can't you just see it as a gift instead of charity? I'm your son, so I can't very well give you charity, right?"

"That's the point!" Molly suddenly yelped, and Ron barely stopped himself from flinching. " **I'm** your mother, and yet, you're buying **me** a dress? Don't you see how wrong that is…? Why can't you understand?" _Why is it that I'm the only person with their shite together?_

"You feel that ashamed of me?" Ron couldn't help but ask, and Molly blinked at him. "You can't accept **one** thing from me without crying in the streets?"

"Ashamed?" Molly asked slowly, and then she sniffled loudly. "I'm **not** ashamed of you…"

"Whatever," Ron shook his head. "Just finish up, and then we can be on our way."

"Why would you say that I'm ashamed of you?" Molly demanded a little too angrily.

Arthur had mentioned Ron bringing up Molly's rage-induced letter in their chat yesterday, and that had stuck with her despite her attempts to forget it. She had never meant those words, they had come out as a result of shock and anger. Why was Ron so hung up on a letter that she had sent well over two years ago?

"I don't want to fight," Ron said. "Let's just go back inside."

"No, you explain yourself right now," Molly puffed up. "Whatever you may think of me, I am still your mother. You owe me an explanation for what you just said. I have **never** given you reason to believe such a thing."

"What?" Ron frowned at her. "You've never given me reason to…" Ron stopped, and then he drew in a deep breath. "You really think that you've done nothing wrong?"

"I was upset with your Sorting, but I moved past it," Molly defended herself. "That letter wasn't me-"

"But it was you," Ron took a step forward. "I'm proud to be in Slytherin, mum, despite everything that's happened. Slytherin gave me the tools that I needed to succeed. I get that I'm not succeeding in the way that you envisioned, but guess what? I'm not your property. You don't get to choose what I do, or don't do."

"There you go again!" Molly snapped. "You can't say two things without disrespecting me!"

"And you're not disrespecting me?" Ron asked, making sure to control his volume. "You called me a humiliation… You broke my heart with that fucking letter, and then you just started pretending like you never sent it."

"You didn't say anything before…" Molly lost some of her own gusto.

"Why would I?" Ron asked. "Why would I say anything? That letter all but confirmed my worst fears… It scared me, and then, it turned me bitter. I felt all alone because of **you** … I mean, I got sorted into Slytherin!" _Volume, Ron._ "I was shocked myself, while the twins did nothing to hide their disgust. I was all alone, and then you sent that damn letter… I cried myself to sleep for over a week… Even now, two years after you sent it, I still think about it…"

Molly looked taken aback by that, and she swallowed thickly.

"I didn't mean those words," Molly muttered. "You have to know that."

"She didn't mean them, she says," Ron said to himself, and for a moment, he felt utterly wretched. "I've always felt unwanted, and unneeded, and that letter confirmed my feelings. You say that you didn't mean what you said, but you've never apologized. You've never taken responsibility for the worst thing that you've done to me. And yet, you constantly hound me for the smallest of disagreements. You take every chance you can to have a go at me, and for the life of me, I'm just about done with it."

"I understand that you're a proud woman," Ron stood his ground. "But that doesn't excuse you in my eyes…" Ron then chuckled like a lunatic, he was quickly losing control over his emotions. "The twins… They used to corner me… I just remembered… That's why that letter got to me…"

"Ron?" Molly blinked.

"Mummy cried because you were such an ugly baby," Ron remembered Fred's words, and Molly went slightly pale. "She should've thrown you away, we'd all be better off without you… All you do is cry, and bother everyone in the house…" _I tattled on them for hiding Ginny's jewelry, and they were livid._

"Which one of them said that to you?" Molly asked in a horrified voice.

"What does it matter?" Ron spoke to himself, and then he eyed his mother. "I wish you had thrown me away." Molly went wide-eyed. "In a dumpster, that is." _I'd have died, and someone else would be Fate's bitch. Someone else would have to deal with the Entity, and the Dark Lord, and all the cunts in-between._

Ron turned around and began to leave, if she wanted to follow him, then she was most welcome. _I just want to get this done… The sooner this is behind me, the better._ As Ron neared the end of the alleyway, he heard a rush of footsteps from behind him, but before he could turn around, Molly had latched onto his back with ungodly strength. _Fuck! Ow!_

"Mum…" Ron grit out, and she squeezed the air out of his lungs. _I think she broke my ribs…_

"Don't ever say that again!" Molly spoke into his back, while Ron wheezed for air. "Do you hear me?! Don't ever say that again! If you do, I'll… I'll beat some sense into your thick skull!"

"Mum, let go…" Ron tried to wiggle out of her hold, but she just tightened her grip. _I can't even use force… Fuck, she's hurting me._

"I'm sorry for the letter, alright?!" Molly said, and Ron stilled immediately. _She actually apologize?_ "Please, don't ever say that again. I'm so sorry! Please don't say such things!"

Ron just stood there, his ribs being crushed by his hysterical mother. _It took her two years, but she finally apologized to me._ An odd form of relief washed over him, and his heart felt significantly less burdened. Molly was still speaking into his back, but Ron was too occupied with his own thoughts to listen. _Stop enjoying yourself, you moron. She's crying again. What would little Ronnie do?_ Ron grabbed his mother's hands, which were locked against his chest.

"I forgive you," Ron said, he had finally closed the door on that letter.

"You do?" Molly sniffled, and Ron nodded.

"I do," Ron replied. "Thank you, mum…"

Molly loosened her grip a little, and so Ron was able to turn and hug her into his chest. He couldn't explain why he felt so happy considering his mother's condition, but right now, he could almost imagine everything being alright. _Should I apologize as well? I should… It'll go a long way, I can tell. Plus, if we start fixing things, they won't hinder me as much._

"I'm sorry too," Ron apologized, and his mother began squeezing him again. _Ow…_ "I **do** love you… More than you'll ever know. I know it's hard to believe that after all of our fighting, but it's the truth."

"Really?" Molly asked, her voice was a mixture of joy and disbelief.

"Yes," Ron said truthfully. "I don't want to change this Family, mum, I just want to elevate it. I want to see you wear dresses that bring a smile to your face. I want to see you dance with dad in a Grand Hall. I want you **all** to enjoy a carefree life. And… I don't want anyone to look down on this Family."

"And what about you?" Molly asked. "You'll be there, right?" _Not for long, I imagine._

"Of course… I'll always be there."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"I'll head back to Hogwarts from here," Ron said.

"Are you sure? Let me make you a sandwich at least," Molly offered, her eyes were still a bit puffy from crying.

"Sure," Ron agreed, he had decided to do whatever it took to capitalize on this opportunity to start reconciling with his parents. _I've made progress with them today, and I should build on that without fail. Madam Pomfrey would be proud._

His father prepared the floo, while Mary use a different fireplace to floo back to the Manor. Ron was grateful for her help today, and he promised himself that he'd give her a dance tonight. _I'll probably be terrible, but at least she will be amused by my attempts._ Ron shot a quick look to his mother, and he saw her just staring at him.

"Mum, you're staring again," Ron stated, and she smiled weakly. _I shouldn't have made that comment about throwing me away. It really got to her._

"We'll be alright," she said as she rubbed his back, though she was clearly talking to herself.

"Let's head home," Arthur said, and then he stepped through the fire with Molly.

Ron rubbed his face harshly, making progress was a difficult thing, especially after all this fighting. In a way, Ron was feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of putting in so much effort, but he knew that it was worth it. He didn't like being this bitter, and he knew for certain that no one around him liked it much either. _Just keep fighting, Ron. It'll be over eventually._

Ron walked through the fire, and he found himself in an empty Living Room. _No twins, thank the Gods._ Ron made his way into the Kitchen, and he was surprised to see Pandora and Xeno sitting around the dining table.

"Hello," Ron gave them a smile, and they smiled back.

"Good afternoon, chap," Xeno greeted back, and Ron blinked at him. _What did he just call me?_

"Love, the word 'chap' does not suit you," Pandora chuckled, and both Ron and Arthur exchanged a look. _It really doesn't._

"Nonsense," Xeno laughed. "It suits me just fine, Sirius said so himself." _Of course… Classic Sirius._

"Taking vocabulary lessons from Sirius of all people…" Molly shook her head. "Ron, I won't be long. I'll make you a nice sandwich. We've got corned beef… You enjoy that, don't you?"

Pandora closed her eyes, while Ron watched his mother fly into action. _Corned beef… The Universe can't help but finger my arse every now and then._

"I… Thank you," Ron said, deciding to appreciate her efforts instead of whining. _It's the thought that counts, right? Isn't that the saying?_ "Pandora, Luna's dress came in last night."

"Oh, that's good," Pandora smiled her airy smile, she was glad that Ron wasn't making a fuss. "Thank you for looking after her, Ron. If left to her own devices, she'd wear something… different… from everyone else."

"I like her sense of fashion," Xeno said. _Not surprised there._

"As do I," Arthur admitted. "It suits her."

"That may be true, but we must adapt to expectations sometimes," Pandora said, her sharp gaze moving around the room.

"Do you want the corners cut off?" Molly asked Ron.

"Corners are fine," Ron said, and then he looked to the Lovegoods. "Where are my brothers?"

"With Sirius," Xeno replied. "He's 'preparing' them for the Gala."

"Excuse me?" Molly looked to Xeno, and then she looked to Arthur with an annoyed look.

"I'll go fetch them," Arthur sighed. "Sirius Black, and his never ending quest to corrupt those around him…"

"Here, give this to Ron," Molly handed Arthur the packaged sandwich, and Arthur handed it to Ron on the way out.

"I'll head off too, then," Ron said, and his mother shot him another meaningful look. _Yeah, I really shouldn't have made that comment._ "I'll see you tonight."

"We're meeting at Greengrass Manor first," Molly called out after him. "Bring Harry with you."

"Understood," Ron said, and then he entered the Living Room.

His father was preparing the floo, and when he noticed Ron, he shot his son a smile.

"Good luck on your mission," Ron smiled a bit himself.

"I might even join them," Arthur chuckled. "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts." _Huh?_ "You go first, son."

"Thanks," Ron said, and then he made his way over to the fireplace.

"I'll see you tonight," his father said as he patted Ron's back, which Ron thought was a bit forced. _It's like he doesn't want me to leave._

"Bye, dad," Ron said, and then he stepped through the fire.

As soon as he entered the Headmaster's Office, he looked to Dumbledore's chair. _He's still there._ Ron smiled a little as he stared at a sleeping Albus Dumbledore, he didn't look so intimidating right now. _He looks like any ordinary old man._ Ron walked over to Dumbledore's side, and he lightly shook the man.

"Headmaster, wake up," Ron whispered, and Dumbledore's eyes opened slowly.

"Ronald? What time is it?" Dumbledore sat up, his eyes were no longer blood-shot.

"It's nearly five," Ron looked at his Rolex. "Would you like some tea?"

"Thank you, kind boy," Dumbledore said as he rubbed his face. _He probably hasn't eaten since dinner last night._

"Here, eat this," Ron said as he handed over his own sandwich. "It'll give you some strength."

With that, Ron walked over to Dumbledore's tea set, and he began to make a cup of Earl Grey. Dumbledore rubbed his weary eyes, put on his half-moon spectacles, and then he went over his plans for the Order. As Ron finished pouring the tea, Dumbledore began eating the sandwich.

"Do you take sugar?" Ron asked.

"Four spoons," Dumbledore replied, and Ron shot him a confused look. _Four?!_ "I've always had a sweet tooth, I'm afraid."

"Alright," Ron chuckled, and then he finished preparing two cups. _No sugar for me, thanks be to Madam Roberts._

Ron took the two cups of tea over to Dumbledore, who was carefully studying the piece of parchment in front of him.

"Be careful, Headmaster, it's hot," Ron said, and Dumbledore smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, my boy," Dumbledore handed Ron half of the sandwich. "Please, sit with me. I wish to go over some plans that I made."

"Of course," Ron nodded, and then he took his usual seat.

"I have decided to bring Harry into the fold," Dumbledore said, and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Finally," Ron said. "Thank you, he really can't go around being blind anymore. Too much danger."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, while Ron took a bite of his sandwich. _A bit dry, but I've got tea to help with that._ "Sirius will inform Harry about the Order during the Yule Break, and explain all that has transpired in the last two months. After that, Harry will be moved to the Burrow for safety. Arthur and Sirius will protect him, while Remus searches for any Werewolves who wish to fight alongside us."

"Is that why you put the Symbol of Protection by their names?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore smiled at him.

"I'm glad that you pay attention in class," Dumbledore said, and then he adorned a more serious look. "I know that things are strained between you two, but you must-"

"I will do what is needed, I swear," Ron assured the Headmaster. "Harry must be kept safe, and if the Dark Lord does come looking, he'll start with Sirius."

"My thoughts exactly," Dumbledore said. "Sirius will stay at the Burrow, of course, but I want you to keep an eye on Harry. Report back everything, even if it seems mundane."

"Understood," Ron gave a nod. "Does Remus have a partner for his mission?"

"Nymphadora Tonks, and Sturgis Podmore," Dumbledore replied. "Alastor is still recovering, but if he feels up to it, he may accompany them." _Good, Mad-Eye will keep Remus safe._ "Now… About Severus… He has agreed to speak to Madam Bones, and even give her some of his memories as proof. Once he is ready, he will let us know."

"That's big of him," Ron smiled a little. "What will he be doing for the Yule Break?"

"He wishes to return to Spinner's End with Draco," Dumbledore replied. "His mood is beginning to sour due to his confinement, and I fear that he will lash out at his caretakers very soon." _That's a given._

"Will I be able to see him? Even for a few minutes?" Ron asked hopefully.

"I will arrange something," Dumbledore promised, and Ron felt relieved to hear that. "And speaking of Draco, he will not be attending tonight."

"I see," Ron said slowly. _He can keep Tracey company. Oh wait… That's not a good idea._ "Does he know that he's not attending?"

"He has been informed," Dumbledore replied. _Strange, he made no mention of it._ "How is he, by the way?"

"Quiet," Ron replied. "I've seen tears in his eyes a few times… He looks incredibly lonely, even."

"Perhaps I should have-"

"No doubts, Headmaster," Ron said, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "We cannot second guess ourselves after every decision."

"You are right, of course," Dumbledore agreed. "Just keep your eyes on him, and make sure that he doesn't do anything to harm his person." Ron gave another nod. "Now, for tonight, I have a specific assignment for you."

"Ohhh, go on," Ron grinned. _A secret mission? I'm in already._

"I want you to find a man named Horace Slughorn, and I want you to impress him," Dumbledore said, and Ron blinked at him.

"Huh?"

"Not very glamorous, I know, but it is essential," Dumbledore told him. "Horace was the Professor of Potions before Severus, and he was also the Head of Slytherin House. The Dark Lord, when he was still known as Tom Riddle Jnr, was quite taken with Horace. They were almost friends, and I believe that Horace may have key insight about the Dark Lord."

"What makes you think that?" Ron asked.

"Horace 'collected' students whom he deemed to be of note," Dumbledore replied. "Tom Riddle Jnr was one of his personal favorites, and during the last war, Horace was repeatedly approached by the Death-Eaters."

"Did he join them?" Ron asked.

"No, he most certainly did not," Dumbledore replied, and Ron felt happy to hear that. "I believe that Lord Voldemort wished to have his old mentor by his side, which was extremely odd behavior on his part. I believe that Lord Voldemort was trying to protect himself by recruiting Horace, who grew ever more frightened by Lord Voldemort's advances. I almost felt that he knew who the Dark Lord truly was, and it bothered him a great deal. Once the war was over, Horace abruptly resigned his post, and he left to 'travel the World'."

"Which is code for 'I'm hiding dark secrets'," Ron smirked.

"You must impress this man, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "And take Harry with you."

"What?" Ron asked.

"The Boy-Who-Lived is legend personified," Dumbledore said. "And your own reputation added to Harry's might tip the balance."

"How am I supposed to convince Harry into this?" Ron asked.

"You're a smart lad, you'll figure it out," Dumbledore smiled.

"Cock…" Ron muttered under his breath. "I'll try my best."

"I will, of course, be nearby should you need my aid," Dumbledore offered, and Ron gave him a nod. "Do you have anything to add?" _I should ask about Priscilla now._

"I do, but it's not about the Gala," Ron said, and Dumbledore waited for him to go on. "Headmaster, do you remember Priscilla? The girl I mentioned when I told you about why I bought the Quibbler?"

"Vaguely," Dumbledore said. "You only mentioned her in passing."

"Well, she's a Squib," Ron started. "And an underage prostitute… Actually, she **used** to be an underage prostitute, but now she's out of Knockturn Alley."

"Good," Dumbledore said.

"Not quite," Ron said right after. "You see, she has a group of Squib children with her. She's like their big sister, or something. Anyway, I ran into her a few days back, and I offered to help her stay off of the streets. As you know, times are difficult right now, and the crime rate is steadily increasing."

"Where do I fit into this?" Dumbledore asked.

"I want to create a home for these kids," Ron sat up straighter. "A big home… Sort of like an orphanage, but governed by Priscilla herself. They don't want to split up, but they have little money and no one to watch over them. I would create this home myself, but I just don't have the means. I don't have the money, or the experience, needed to pull this off. I thought about going to my other allies, but Squibs are not seen as people by pretty much everyone."

"I understand," Dumbledore gave a nod. "You can count on me, dear boy."

"Really?" Ron smiled widely, he was ecstatic to hear those words. _I knew he'd understand!_

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled as well. "Each life is sacred, and these children will not survive the war without aid. I have the money needed, as well as the experience."

"I know that I'm making an unorthodox request, but thank you," Ron said genuinely. "I am meeting her tomorrow, and once I tell her that **you** have agreed to help, it will go a long way in earning her trust. Now we just need a location for said home, and everything will start falling into place."

"Leave that to me as well," Dumbledore said, he was quite proud of Ron's initiative. "We will create a hidden home for these children, and any others that we come across."

"You've just made my life so much easier," Ron couldn't help but laugh from relief. "I'll talk to her tomorrow, and maybe after everything is sorted, you can meet them too."

"I would like that," Dumbledore agreed. "But for the time being, my presence will only inspire unwanted attention."

"Yeah," Ron nodded fervently. "Thank you again, Headmaster. I won't forget this kindness, I promise."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Luna! Ginny!" Ron called out as he approached his sisters, who were currently sitting by the Black Lake with Luna's friends.

"Hello, Ron," Luna smiled airily, and Ron smiled back at her.

His eyes darted towards Ginny, who looked rather distant. _Is she feeling guilty? I should talk to her, and hopefully, start fixing things between us._

"Can I talk to you two?" Ron asked, and then he gestured towards the two boxes in his hands.

"Are those our dresses for tonight?" Luna stood up, while Ginny seemed thoroughly put off. _Odd._

"They are," Ron said, and Luna helped Ginny to her feet. "Let's talk over there, yeh?"

"Alright," Luna hummed, and she dragged Ginny with her. _Alright, now I'm concerned. She doesn't look guilty at all. If anything, she seems to be angry. Does she believe the twins?_

The three of them made their way down the shore, and when they were far from Luna's friends, Ron turned to face them.

"Alright, the top one is Luna's," Ron smiled as he handed Luna the box. "Ravenclaw Blue, with bronze ornaments."

"Thank you," Luna laughed as she peered into the box. "It's beautiful, Ron!"

"It's nothing compared to the witch wearing it," Ron gave her a wink, and she giggled like she always did whenever someone complimented her. _Cute._

"Thank you," Luna thanked him again, and then she gave him a tight hug. "Daisy promised to do my hair for tonight as well! I'm so excited!"

"I'm glad," Ron said genuinely, and Luna let go of him. "And for Ginny-"

"Can I talk to you alone?" Ginny interrupted, and Luna looked between them.

"Sure," Ron nodded.

"I'll go show my friends the dress," Luna told Ron. "I'll see you at the Gathering, Ron."

"See you later, Luna," Ron said, and Luna skipped off to show her friends her new dress. "Now… Here's yours." Ron handed Ginny the box, but she didn't look inside. "It's a crimson-"

"I'm not stupid," Ginny stared at him, and Ron blinked.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not stupid like you think I am," Ginny said coldly, her face expressionless.

"I don't think that-"

"You set the twins up," Ginny said with perfect certainty. _Shite…_ "I know you did."

"Ginny, I did nothing of the sort," Ron denied.

"I've seen the twins be defensive before, but never like this," Ginny said. "I know my brothers, Ron. Everyone else is certain of their guilt, but I could see their innocence written on their faces. It took me all night, but I'm certain that they were telling the truth. The twins save money like Nifflers, and yet, you convinced people that they were throwing a party to celebrate Snape's absence." _Fuck me dead._

"Ginny, how would I even-"

"Just shut up," Ginny spat out, and Ron was quite taken aback. "You put on an act in order to convince even me of the twins' 'guilt'. Hermione feels utterly wretched for not stepping in sooner, and both Harry and Neville also feel terrible for not stopping the twins. You see, unlike you, they actually care about the twins."

"Careful," Ron warned.

"Or what?" Ginny asked. "You'll grab me by the throat as well? I bet you felt so powerful when you hurt Fred… All the snakes cheering you on, while your friends aimed their wands about."

"Fred attacked me first," Ron reminded her.

"You deserved it," Ginny said, and then she tossed the box on the ground. "You're **scum** , Ron. Keep your dress, I'll wear something that mum got me instead."

"Ginny…" Ron looked down at the discarded box, his heart clenching painfully. "I got that for you… I don't even have enough money for myself, but I still got you-"

"You betrayed your own kin for Slytherin," Ginny said with utter disgust.

"It's more complicated than that-"

"Not to me," Ginny hissed. "Don't worry, I won't tell the Professors. I tried to tell the Trio, but even they didn't believe me. Hermione defends you like you're some Messiah, after all. I don't know why they even like you, because I certainly don't. Not anymore."

"You don't mean that…" Ron managed, and then he took a step forward. "Gin, just hear me-"

Ginny pulled her right hand back, and she slapped Ron with as much strength as she could muster. The sound echoed through the air, and Ron lost his balance for a moment. He was honestly dazed, and it wasn't until his left cheek started burning that he realized what had just happened.

"That's for Fred," Ginny grit out, her eyes were becoming watery. "Go back to your Dungeon, and stay away from us. **You are scum, and a fucking traitor**. You got Fred and George suspended, ruined years of their hard work, and you grinned from ear to ear as you hurt your own brother. You ruined their plans for their business! A Weasley would never do that, which suits you just fine, I bet!"

Ginny kicked the box, and the crimson dress flopped out of its container. Ron just stared at her as she turned around and marched off, his left touching his burning cheek. _She hit me…_ He didn't know what to do right now… Ronald Weasley had no idea on how to react, which only jarred him further. In the deepest part of his stomach, Ron could feel his rage bubbling. For a shameful moment, Ron felt the urge to chase her down and beat her bloody. _**No… We could never do that. We'd sooner drown ourselves.**_

He looked towards Luna's friends, all of whom were gushing over Luna's new dress. As if in a trance, Ron looked at Ginny's discarded dress, it was caked with wet sand, and that hurt Ron deeply for some reason. Like a confused toddler, Ron sat down in order to clean the dress up as best as he could. _It won't come off… It's all dirty now…_ He carefully packed the dress back inside the box, and then he found himself walking towards the castle.

His face was hurting. It was really bloody hurting.

He was so stupid. When had he ever managed to have his cake and eat it too? Never. The other shoe always dropped, and Ron had forgotten that basic lesson. _Only in a dream World could I humiliate the twins, and mend bridges with Ginny at the same time. Things don't work like that, right? You can be the smartest man alive, but there will always be unknown variables. Ginny's not stupid, and she knows the twins better than most. Of course she figured it all out. I underestimated her, and she earned the right to slap me._

Ron found himself walking through the common room, and people were giving him odd looks. He ignored them, his fingers tightening around the box. _When did I give the password for the common room?_ Ron shook his head in order to clear it, but that didn't help whatsoever. If anything, it hurt his face even more. _Man up… It was just a slap…_ His vision blurred a bit, but he kept his composure. Ginny had actually hit him. _The twins, Charlie, and now Ginny. Only Bill and Percy to go, eh, Ron?_

Ron entered his room quietly, and he spotted Theo gelling his hair in front of a mirror. As usual, he looked far too pleased with his own reflection. As Ron stepped further into the room, Theo turned around with a smirk.

"How do I look?" Theo asked.

"You look good…" Ron replied, though he hadn't really looked Theo over.

"At least have a look-" Theo stopped abruptly, his smirk disappearing. "Who did that to you?"

"Pardon?"

"There is a handprint on your face," Theo walked up to Ron with a hurried pace. "Fucking hell… Ron, some of the skin broke… There's a smudge of blood to boot. Who did that to you?"

"I did," Ron handed Theo the box, who just blinked at him. "You can give this to a pretty girl as a gift, if you want. It shouldn't go to waste."

Ron went to leave for his trunk, but Theo grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him.

"Not good enough," Theo frowned. "You tell me who fucking hit you, and I'll sort that shite out."

"Just leave it," Ron pulled his arm free. "I'm going to go take a shower…"

"Sit down," Theo ushered Ron to his bed, and Ron did as he was told. "Let me at least heal that… Fuck me, they have an arm on them, I'll say that much." _She's a Quidditch Star in the making, so it makes sense._

"Where are Blaise and Malfoy?" Ron asked, while Theo began using Episkey to heal Ron's face. _Oh, that's nice. That feels really nice._

"Malfoy was acting off, and when we asked him why he wasn't getting ready, he stormed off," Theo sighed. "He looked… upset. Anyway… Blaise went looking for him. Now, answer my question. Who did this to you?"

Ron didn't say anything, and so Theo opened the box in order to have a look.

"That little tart…" Theo grit out, and Ron suddenly felt a rush of energy.

"Mind your tongue," Ron frowned at Theo.

"Fuck that," Theo glared at the dress. "What is this? Sand? What happened, Ron?"

"Leave it," Ron sent the box flying with an angry swipe. "I don't care… Just fucking leave it."

"She hit you? Why? Because you got her a dress?" Theo demanded, he had half a mind to go tell Tracey right now.

Ron said nothing, but his face contorted painfully. _No, don't fucking cry. Don't be a bitch!_

"Hey…" Theo sat down by Ron's side, his arm wrapping around Ron's shoulders. "No, don't do that… I'll leave it. I'm sorry for prying, alright? Don't cry…"

"I'm not," Ron rubbed his face harshly. "Get me a Calming Draught… Just a couple of drops to help me refocus." _I lost this one, but I can't lose at this Gala. I have to do better._

"Just a couple?" Theo made sure, and Ron nodded. "Good. I'll hold you to that."

At that, Theo quickly pulled out a vial of Calming Draught from his dress robes.

"You're carrying one?" Ron sniffled.

"Daphne's orders," Theo smiled gently. "Here."

"Thanks…" Ron muttered, and then he took the vial.

He had a quick sip, and he could feel Theo's eyes on the vial. Staying true to his words, Ron handed the vial back with most of its content still inside. A cool feeling began emanating from his stomach, and Ron felt himself become slightly numb. _Focus on the Gala. I need to make a good impression. I can think about Ginny after._

"Better?" Theo rubbed his back, which Ron thought was very unlike him. _He's trying to comfort me. I should show him my appreciation._

"Thank you," Ron sat up straighter. "I do feel better." Ron then looked to Theo. "Not a word about this to anyone, Theo. The girls will retaliate against Ginny, especially Tracey."

"She deserves-"

"Promise me," Ron said, and Theo let out a tired sigh.

"I promise," Theo agreed reluctantly.

"Thank you, brother," Ron said, and then he kissed the side of Theo's head. _That hair product smells nice._

"Whatever… You're being far too lenient with her," Theo voiced his discontent, while Ron stood up.

"I'll take a shower and get ready," Ron said, while Theo pocketed the vial.

"You've got around forty minutes," Theo stood up. "I'll let it slide this time, but only because I don't want to anger people before this Gala… But if she ever hits you again, Tracey can have her."

Ron gave a slow nod, while Theo walked over to the dress. He dusted it, and then he packed it back inside the box.

"Keep it," Ron said a little too coldly. "Give it to some girl who strikes your fancy."

"A dress like this would at least get me a good tugging," Theo joked, but Ron didn't smile. _Yes, I'm sure._

"I'll see you when I'm ready," Ron walked off towards the bathroom.

"Yeesh…" Theo muttered under his breath, but Ron still heard him.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – Evening)**_

"I love that suit, but why not wear dress robes?" Blaise asked, he was eyeing Ron's full black suit with approval.

"I prefer suits," Ron replied as he centered his silver slim tie, the shower had dampened the Potion's effects a little. "Robes are too… loose." _Plus, suits highlight my physique, and I really like that. I feel more confident wearing this sort of attire._

"They're meant to be comfortable," Theo explained.

"To each their own, I guess," Blaise shrugged, and then he looked around. "Honestly, where are the girls? People are getting ready to be on their way."

Those who were counted amongst the Sacred Twenty Eight were all waiting within the common room, and Ron was quite pleased to see how excited everyone was. _Once my position is announced at the Gala, my name will hold even more power within Slytherin._

Ron looked at his fellow Gala attendees, and he made sure to note them all. _The Carrow twins. Johnathan Fawley. Astoria Greengrass. Lysandra Yaxley. Samantha Selwyn. Marcus Flint. Blaise is the only one attending from Slytherin who isn't a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, but his mother is a 'personal' friend of the Minister. That woman has fingers in all the proper arseholes._

"There they are," Blaise said, and the boys looked to see the girls enter the common room.

Ron's lips perked up at the sight of Daphne, who was wearing the emerald strapless dress with a white fur stole wrap. _Look at her! She looks amazing!_ Ron stood up straighter without even thinking about it, his eyes fixed on no one but Daphne.

"Look at you four," Theo smiled genuinely for a change, while the girls smiled back. "Aphrodite would claw her eyes out in jealousy."

"Stop it, you," Pansy giggled, and then she did a twirl for the boys. _A short, pink, sleeveless dress, and it's also quite low cut. Not surprised at all, she looks great._

"You said four, Theo," Tracey said, she was wearing casual clothes. "I'm not wearing anything out of the ordinary."

"Which is a testament to your beauty, no?" Theo gave her a wink, and Tracey snorted.

"What about you two?" Pansy asked Ron and Blaise. "How do we look?"

Ron and Blaise eyed the girls, and Ron noticed that Millie was wearing a grey, formfitting dress which fully covered her physique. _She looks… firmer… But not bigger. She's becoming stronger every day. Good. I'm so proud, I could sing a limerick._

"You all look good," Blaise shrugged. "Very pretty."

"Extremely pretty," Ron smiled at Daphne, who held back her smile.

Pansy just stared at the boys with a dull look, and then she shook her head. Right after that, she took Theo's arm and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You're my date for the night," Pansy said, and Theo sniggered.

"I lucked out then, didn't I?" Theo asked, and Pansy nodded in approval.

"We should get going," Millie said, her eyes following the Slytherins out. "Where's Malfoy?"

"Not attending," Ron said, taking the girls by surprise. "He's feeling unwell. Tracey, take care of him for us."

"The night gets worse," Tracey gave a miserable look. "Fine… I **might** take care of him, if he behaves." _Trust me, he's quite docile right now._

"Let's go," Daphne walked up and took Ron's arm, and then she gave Tracey a small wave. _She smells nice._

"Enjoy your night," Tracey waved them off, and they followed the other Slytherins out.

"About Tracey-" Ron started.

"I did invite her," Daphne assured him. "But she can be stubborn about these things. Truth be told, the only reason why she's not attending is because her parents refused to attend. Mr. Davies was sent an invitation because he donated five hundred Galleons, **and** because he is my father's friend, but he really doesn't care much for the Sacred Twenty Eight." _Why would he? They locked him away for marrying the woman he loved._

"That's fair enough," Ron said, and then he gave her a nervous smile. "I really do think that you look amazing… I'm not as eloquent as Theo, but I'm really glad that you're my date tonight."

"Theo's always been an arse-kisser," Daphne giggled, and then she kissed his right cheek. "Thank you, Ron."

"You said arse," Ron sniggered childishly.

"I did, didn't I?" Daphne smirked. "How scandalous!"

"Let the 'Weasley corruption' take over," Ron said ominously, making her giggle again.

"Speaking of Weasley corruption," Daphne said.

"Nice transition," Ron complimented.

"Thank you," Daphne smiled. "Did you give your sisters their dresses?"

Ron stomach tightened a bit, but the Potion's weakened effect kept him in check. _Deal with Ginny after, Ron. Right now, just stay focused on the task at hand._

"I did," Ron replied. "Luna loves her dress, but Ginny returned hers."

"Excuse me?" Daphne blinked. "She 'returned' it?"

"Um… She didn't feel comfortable with it," Ron replied. "We Weasleys are not used to sophistication…" _Now that was just pathetic, Ron._

"And what's the real reason?" Daphne asked with an annoyed look.

"Please, don't give me that look," Ron sighed. "Look, she's not happy with me. She caught onto the fact that I set the twins up, and she refused to accept my gift, which is in her rights." _Though I do wish that she didn't slap me. It's still hard to believe that she did that._

"Brat," Daphne said coldly. "A complete, annoying brat."

"What did I ever do to you?" Ron asked.

"I meant her, you dolt," Daphne looked at him like he was an idiot, but Ron just smiled at her. "Oh… Fine, Ron… I'll leave it. Tonight is your night, and we won't let Ginevra Weasley ruin it."

"Thanks," Ron gave a grateful nod, and then he eyed the fur covering her shoulders.

"It's Yeti fur," Daphne told him. "Feel it, it's quite soft."

Ron ran his left hand through the fur, and he had to admit, it was indeed quite soft. _She smells so bloody good tonight. Is that a new perfume?_

"When was the last time we snogged?" Ron whispered, and Daphne let out a chuckle.

"So romantic, Ron," Daphne shook her head.

"I'm serious," Ron smiled. "It's been ages, Daph. I miss being alone with you."

"If this Gala is like any other Pure-Blood Party, we'll definitely sneak off at some point," Daphne promised in a whisper, and then she blew air on his ear.

Ron shivered a little, and his smile widened into a grin. _Awesome! This is exactly why I should forget about Ginny for tonight. I'll make new allies, steal the show, and enjoy Daphne's company. Plus, mum and dad will be showing me their support for a change, which is a major win._

As they neared the Headmaster's Office, Ron saw students from the other houses, all of whom were wearing colorful robes, make their way past the Stone Gargoyle. _I bet the Office is getting packed. This is exciting._

"Your father wanted you to stay by my side for the night," Ron whispered to Daphne.

"I figured as much," Daphne whispered back. "He no doubt wants to make a show of our Families' alliance."

"Oh, and here I thought that he was finally on board with us dating," Ron 'gasped'.

"Who cares what he thinks, right?" Daphne smiled at him, and Ron was a little surprised. "What? It's what you said."

"I know," Ron nodded. "I just… didn't expect you to take it to heart." _Rebellious Daphne strikes again. Merlin, I hope she makes a reappearance later tonight._

They all made their way up the spiral staircase, and then they entered the open Office. Ron immediately spotted Dumbledore sitting behind his desk in flashy purple and gold robes, a happy smile on his face as he looked over his excited students. Remus stood by the steps in his usual attire, and he seemed to be checking students off as they entered the Office.

"Headmaster, that's everyone," Remus said as he finished counting the Slytherins.

"Excellent," Dumbledore stood up, and then he walked over to Remus' side. "You all look splendid!" The students stopped chattering, and they looked to the Headmaster. "Now, this Gala is a party first and foremost, so please enjoy yourselves. However, I expect you all to behave responsibly as you are also students of Hogwarts. Remus, if you will do the honors."

"When I call your name, please come to the fireplace," Remus smiled at the students, and then he walked over fireplace. "Your parents have told us where to send you all. Hannah Abbot, please come forward."

Ron looked around the Office, and much to his surprise, he spotted Cedric Diggory having a chat with Ernie Macmillan. _What's he doing here? The Diggory Family is not a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Merlin, look at him. He's glorious. I could cut glass on that jawline._

"Ron, stop ogling him," Daphne said, her voice filled with mirth.

"I'm not ogling," Ron denied. "I was just wondering why he's here."

"Amos Diggory, his father, is friends with a lot of Ministry Officials," Daphne told Ron. "I'm not surprised that he's here, his father was no doubt invited by the Minister himself."

"We should talk to him tonight, then," Ron said.

"If we do, congratulate him on his win today," Daphne said. "He outflew the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, who were winning until he caught the Snitch." _Hufflepuff won? Good, that works for us. Ravenclaw is still second, and we need to keep them there._

"Look at us," Ron smirked. "Scheming and shite."

"I love it," Daphne gave him a smitten smile.

"Ron," came Luna's voice, and Ron looked to his right. _Woah!_

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ron grinned, and Luna giggled.

"Luna, you look beautiful," Daphne eyed the girl.

"Thank you," Luna looked down at her dress, her bronze ornaments clinking like chimes. "You look beautiful as well, Daphne. I love your fur coat. Is it Yeti?"

"It is indeed," Daphne smiled. "You have a sharp eye."

"Did the Yeti donate his fur?" Luna asked. _Ha! Like hell he did._

"Of course," Daphne replied.

"Good," Luna smiled, and then she looked to Ron. "I'm sorry that Ginny returned your dress, Ron. She said that it didn't suit her." _Oh, is that what she said?_

"What is she wearing?" Ron asked as he looked around, and he spotted her speaking with Harry and Neville.

Their eyes met, and she looked away with a revolted look. Ron couldn't help but feel a little disheartened, but he didn't show it. _At least that dress is… passable. I'm not even surprised by that, mum always did get Ginny the best clothes out of us all._

"That is one hideous dress," Daphne eyed Ginny. "Who wears a large bow on their back nowadays?"

"Ease up there," Ron said. "She's still my sister." _And she has a mean swing._

"No Granger?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow at Neville and Harry.

"She's a Muggle-Born," Luna stated.

"True, but if Harry Potter invited her as his date, she'd be more than welcome," Daphne said.

"I don't Harry thinks like that," Luna hummed. _Even if he did, Hermione wouldn't come to such an event. She's not particularly fond of Pure-Blood Families, and she has valid reasons thanks to the pricks who mock her for being born._

"Lu!" came Pansy's voice, and Luna was seized by a handsy Pansy. "Look at you! I could eat you up!"

"Please don't," Luna smiled at her, making Pansy blink.

"I didn't mean literally, Lu," Pansy said, while Ron bit back a laugh. _Luna-ed._

"Oh, alright then," Luna nodded. "You look very sexy, Pansy."

"Pardon?" Ron and Daphne blinked, while Pansy nodded in approval. _This witch…_

"Pansy, stop teaching her your filth," Ron frowned, while Daphne just stared at Pansy.

"Filth?" Pansy smirked. "Lu, your brother can charm the panties off of most witches, but he can't give a genuine compliment to save his life."

"That's true," Daphne nodded, while Ron turned his frown in her direction. "What?"

"Some teamwork? Please?" Ron requested.

"Bad Pansy," Daphne 'scolded'. "No more of that." _Betrayed._

"Consider me scolded," Pansy kissed Luna's cheek, who squealed a little.

"Theo, control your date," Ron looked to Theo, who was having a chat with Blaise and Millie.

"I have him wrapped around my finger already," Pansy shot a wink at Ron.

"Pansy Parkinson," Remus called, and Ron smirked at Pansy.

"Bye, bitch," Ron said, and Pansy blew him a kiss before walking off.

One by one, the Office became more and more empty of people. Ron spent his time talking to Daphne and Luna, until eventually, there were only seven people left. _I guess we're all going to Greengrass Manor together._ Ron looked at Daphne, Percy, Luna, Ginny, Astoria, and Harry, all of whom were waiting for their names to be called, and then he looked to Dumbledore.

"The last group," Dumbledore smiled at them. "You will all be going to Greengrass Manor, where you will meet your parents."

"Greengrass Manor?" Harry spoke up. "Shouldn't I be going to…" he stopped.

Harry looked visibly confused for a moment, and then he just stared at Dumbledore. _He can't remember Grimmauld Place because of the Fidelius Charm. That's kind of sad, why hasn't Dumbledore told_ _ **him**_ _of Grimmauld Place? I swear, the old man shelters Harry a bit too much for my liking._

"Sirius is waiting at Greengrass Manor for you, Harry," Dumbledore assured him. "Now, off with you. And remember, I expect responsible behavior from you all."

Dumbledore finished as his eyes landed on Ron, where they lingered for a short while. _What the fuck? I'm responsible… Sometimes. Once or twice. Alright, I admit it. I fuck up a lot._ Remus turned the floo on, and then he gestured them over.

"I'll see you there," Ron said, and Daphne gave him a nod before joining her sister.

One by one, people went through the floo. Ron was the second last to leave, while Harry was the last because Remus had taken it upon himself to fix Harry's poorly tied tie. As Ron walked into Greengrass Manor's Greeting Room, he spotted his mother talking to Ginny with a confused expression. _Mum and dad are wearing the robes that I bought for them. Awesome!_

"Dad," Ron greeted his father with a smile, who was talking with Sirius in hushed whispers.

"Ron," Arthur looked to his son. "Can you give me a minute-"

"Kid," Sirius laughed, and he patted Ron's back rather harshly. _Ow! Cunt!_

"Sirius, what's the matter with you?" Ron asked, and then he noticed that his eyes looked a bit glassy. "Is he… drunk?"

"Guilty as charged," Sirius grinned. "Where's my Godson? I haven't kissed his head in a while."

"Oh, shite," Ron mumbled, while Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What is he going to think when he sees you like this, Sirius?" Arthur asked.

"He won't care," Sirius shrugged. "James always said that I'm great company when I'm tipsy."

"He's not-" Arthur started, but then he stopped. "Just go wash your mouth, at least. I can smell the Firewhiskey on you."

"Harry!" Sirius beamed, completely ignoring Arthur.

"Sirius!" Harry beamed back, and Ron stepped out of the way as the two of them embraced.

Staying true to his words, Sirius kissed the top of Harry's head with a loud smack.

"Ew… Why?" Harry pulled back, while Sirius just sniggered.

"I see that Gryffindor Tower is devoid of combs," Sirius looked at Harry's unruly hair.

"Sirius… Are you alright?" Harry looked Sirius over, while Ron slowly slunk away from the conversation. _Too awkward for my liking._

"Ron, come here for a second," Molly beckoned him, while Ginny glared at him from her mother's side. _Out of the frying pan, and into Hell itself._

"Mum, you look divine," Ron smiled as he approached them, but Molly wasn't amused.

"Ginny is saying that you put that barrel of alcohol in the twins' room," Molly said, and Ron acted surprised. _She even tattled on me…? And I just started fixing things with mum to boot._

"This again?" Ron sighed out. "Ginny, stop spreading that tripe around…"

"Ron," Molly said sternly.

"Mum, how would I even get into Gryffindor Tower?" Ron asked, and Molly looked to Ginny.

"I don't know how, but he did," Ginny said coldly.

"Solid," Ron looked to his mother, who just let out a sigh.

"Ginny, stop it," Molly said, and Ginny looked genuinely shocked. _She took my side?_ "You don't have any proof, and I believe Ron. How would he get into Gryffindor Tower?"

"He bribed someone," Ginny grasped at straws.

"Enough," Molly said. "I want you both to be on your best behavior tonight. Especially you, Ginny. Don't ruin your brother's night."

"Fine," Ginny eyeballed her mother, who immediately puffed up. _Oh shite, mum's never shut Ginny down like this. And this is how Ginny responds immediately after?_

"Mum, we're in someone else's home," Ron said, his eyes darting towards the Greengrasses.

"We will speak later, Ginevra Weasley," Molly said, and Ginny walked off to join Arthur. "That girl… Why is she wearing that dress? I thought you bought her a forty Galleon dress." _Please don't remind me._

"I did, but she tossed it away," Ron sighed out.

"Tossed it?" Molly looked flabbergasted.

"She's convinced that I set the twins up, and I have no idea why," Ron protected himself. "I mean, I asked them to stop attacking the Slytherins, but that's it. They refused me." _Wait a second, someone is missing._ "Where are Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten?"

"Your oaf brother, Charlie, stepped on poor Kirsten's dress, and it tore at the bottom," Molly replied. "Pandora is fixing it for her, so they'll join us at the Minister's home."

"Mum, you look very nice tonight," Percy walked over to them, and Molly let out a happy noise.

"Look at you two," Molly clapped her hands. _Um… Wasn't she just annoyed?_ "My handsome boys!"

"Mum…" Percy looked a little embarrassed at being called a boy, while Ron centered his tie. _A compliment is a compliment._

"Oh, it almost slipped my mind," Molly suddenly spoke to herself. "Your Great-Aunt Muriel is attending this Gala as well." _FUCK!_

Percy and Ron exchanged panicked looks, how did they not see this coming? _She's a damn Prewett, who are a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight! Fuck my arse with a Troll cudgel!_

"Don't be like that," Molly tutted them. "She's Family."

"She's a demon-spawn," Ron muttered, and Percy nodded his agreement.

"Ron," Molly warned, and Ron raised his hands in surrender.

"If she insults me, I'll be very upset," Ron said. _Just because she's a fossil doesn't mean that I won't smack the shite out of her._

"She called me an unmanly ponce the last time I met her," Percy fixed his glasses into place.

"She doesn't mean those things," Molly said. "Sometimes…"

"Is everyone ready to go?" Lord Greengrass looked around, and Molly called Luna over to her side. "Mary has opened the floo, so please, let's be on our way."

The Weasleys, and Luna, quickly found each other, while the Greengrasses joined their side. Sirius and Harry were the first to go through, followed by Arthur, Ginny, Molly, and Luna.

"Daphne, go in with Ron," Lord Greengrass ordered, and Daphne took Ron's right arm. _He's left his cane behind, I see. Probably doesn't want to worry his daughters._

"Percy," Ron gestured to the fire, and Percy stepped through. "Let's go, Daph."

"Keep your back straight," Daphne reminded, and Ron did as he was told.

They stepped through the fire, and found themselves in the Minister's Greeting Room. The first thing Ron noticed were the ungodly amount of balloons, followed by Enchanted Snowflakes that never made it to the floor. Ron almost got the feeling that this was a Christmas Party of sorts, especially when he saw the red and green ornaments hanging from the walls.

"Thank Merlin, people are making their way inside already," Daphne put on a half-smile. "The wait is always the worst part about these parties." _I know, I remember my victory Gala in France. I spent two hours greeting guests._

"Ahem," came a cough from behind them, and Ron and Daphne looked behind them.

"Ron, you haven't complimented me yet," Tori smiled, clearly showing off her yellow and black dress. _It's cute, and it suits her._

"You look like a Hufflepuff," Ron grinned, and Tori lost her smile.

"Ron," Lord Greengrass frowned a little. "Behave yourself."

"It was a compliment," Ron turned his grin to his mentor. "I happen to like the Hufflepuffs, they're my second favorite House."

"It's true, father," Daphne said. "Ron spends a lot of time tutoring the Hufflepuff first years."

"Look at that, husband, she's already joining in on his lies," Mary smiled at her husband, while Daphne looked ahead again. _But I wasn't lying. I actually do like the Hufflepuffs, they're usually very kind._

"Tori, you looked perfect, I mean it," Ron shot her a wink, and she smirked smugly. _Wow._

"Arthur, let's start moving in," Lord Greengrass said, his left leg was starting to ache already. "Please."

"Oh… Yeah, c'mon kids," Arthur began moving the herd, and everyone followed.

Sirius was dragged off by Harry in an effort to find Neville, or at least that's what Ron hoped. _Harry probably took him to a restroom to freshen up. Bloody hell, Sirius… Arriving drunk is just-_ Ron spotted Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten waiting for the Weasley, and Arthur waved at them.

"Is that…?" Ginny started, and then she squealed in excitement. "Percy, there's Bill and Charlie!"

"They're home," Percy smiled at his parents, who smiled back at him.

Both Percy and Ginny quickly moved ahead of the pack in order to greet their long absent brothers, while Ron kept moving at his slow pace.

"You knew they were back?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Come, I'll introduce you," Ron said.

"Which one is Charlie? The one who called our kissing 'bumping lips'," Daphne whispered, and Ron gave her a sorry smile. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. I just want to know what he looks like. After all, he attacked you, didn't he?" _What's with that crazy glint in her eyes?_

"Daph, don't," Ron said, and she drew in a slow breath. "I've moved on, and so has he. Let's forget it."

"We never forget, Ron," Daphne told him. "We may forgive, but we never forget." _And they call us Weasleys stubborn._

As Ron and Daphne approached Ron's siblings, who were excitedly talking to each other, Bill smiled at the both of them.

"Oh, he's handsome," Daphne whispered, and Ron felt a pang of jealousy. _He's wearing a stupid earing… Handsome, she says._

"Bill, Charlie, Kirsten," Ron greeted them, his eyes lingering on Kirsten in her purple ballroom gown. _She pulls it off. That's good._ "This is Daphne Greengrass, my better half."

Ginny rolled her eyes, but no one noticed her.

"Daphne, these are my older brothers; Bill and Charlie," Ron introduced, and Daphne put her left hand forward.

"Nice to meet you," Charlie beamed as he shook her hand, much to Daphne's surprise. _Don't bloody laugh, Ron. Charlie did that on purpose, and you know it._ "I've heard so much about you."

"A pleasure to meet you, Charlie," Daphne 'smiled' at him, but he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"And this beautiful Dragon Tamer is Kirsten Domitor," Ron introduced. "She is Charlie's girlfriend. I invited her here because we are old friends." _And smuggle buddies._

"Domitor… That is a Romanian Wizarding name," Daphne smiled properly.

"It is," Kirsten couldn't help but smile back. "You have an ear for this sort of thing?"

"I do," Daphne replied, and then she looked to Bill. _Don't ogle my brother, woman! I'm right here!_ "You must be Bill, then. Is that short for William?"

"It is, but you can just call me Bill," Bill kissed her hand, and Daphne's smile widened. _I will kill everyone in this building, and then myself! Stop it!_ "Ron tells me that he's head over heels for you, and I can see why. You are very beautiful." _This motherfucker!_

"I feel the same way about him," Daphne tightened her hold on Ron's arm, which immediately made him feel better. _Yeah, she's mine. Suck a cock, you handsome prick. Wait… She's way too young for him, and they're just being friendly. What's wrong with me?_

"My word, is that little Luna?" Charlie smiled at Luna, who waved at him shyly. "You look lovely."

She'd never admit it, but she had a small crush on Charlie because of how nice he was to her the last time they had met. He had included her in everything, and even let her catch him in a game of tag.

"Thanks, Charlie," Luna smiled more fully, making sure to lose her airy demeanor. _What an odd smile._ "I'm happy that you're back. Oh, and you look very handsome."

Ginny and Ron cocked an eyebrow at Luna, while the others were completely oblivious.

"Kids, we're moving up," Arthur called.

"Kids…" Percy shot Bill and Charlie a bored look, but Bill just smiled and patted Percy's back.

"Tell me about your tenure as the Head Boy, Perce," Bill put his arm around Percy's shoulders.

They all began moving in an orderly fashion, and Ron couldn't help but notice eyes lingering on them. _I see the Parkinson, the Fawleys, the Selwyns, the Macmillans, the Carrows-_

"Ignore them, Ron," Daphne whispered. "If you stare back at them, you'll only validate their reasons for staring at you all."

"Some of them look surprised to see us," Ron whispered back.

"Can you blame them?" Daphne asked. "Weasleys are notorious for their disdain of the Sacred Twenty Eight title."

"Plus, our financial situation is frowned upon," Ron added, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Buckle up, bitches, Ronald_ _ **Weasley**_ _is going to steal the spotlight at this Pure-Blood Party._

"You're giving a lot more than they are," Daphne smirked. "Trust me, after your efforts are announced, they'll all be jealous."

"I know that most lads here are already jealous of me," Ron smiled at Daphne, who smiled back. "I mean, I look dashing in this suit, don't I?"

"I hope someone stabs you," Daphne looked ahead with a bored look, while Ron patted his own back. _Got her._

As they waited to be let into the Ballroom, a thought occurred to Ron. _Does being a Minister pay this much? How could Fudge afford this mansion? I mean, he doesn't come from a wealthy Family._

"Daph, is this really the Minister's home?" Ron asked.

"It is," Daphne replied, and Ron looked around the decorated Greeting Room. "Minister Fudge has done well for himself, hasn't he?"

"Quite well," Ron agreed.

"Bribes, lining your own pockets, and selling out to the Daily Prophet has its benefits," Daphne whispered. "Minister Fudge even had the gall to award **himself** an Order of Merlin: First Class for his work as Minister back in 1991. It sparked a lot of controversy, actually, and even the Old Families felt vexed by such arrogance." Daphne's eyes then lit up. "Maybe you'll be given an Order of Merlin: Second Class, Ron…"

"Pardon?" Ron chuckled. "What for?"

"You're eligible for it, trust me," Daphne said excitedly. "It's awarded for 'Achievement, or endeavor, beyond the Ordinary'. What you've accomplished here, bringing in the French Families to aid our country in our time of need, is quite extraordinary, especially considering your age. You should apply for it! Actually, I'll apply for you tomorrow! This is very exciting, isn't it?!"

"Daph, slow down a bit," Ron couldn't help but blush a little. "I didn't do much… Madame Maxime brought the Families-"

"Because **you** convinced her to," Daphne reminded him. "Just let me apply for you, please?"

"Apply?" Ron asked. "Isn't it awarded randomly? You know, sort of like on merit?"

"Awarded randomly?" Daphne giggled. "You're so cute and naïve, Ronald."

"Ahem," Ron 'cleared' his throat.

"You **apply** for it, and the Wizengamot deliberate on the matter," Daphne told him, and then she looked around to make sure that no one was listening in. "Arcturus Black was given an Order of Merlin: First Class for his 'bravery', but everyone knows that he just gave the Ministry a lot of Gold. Gilderoy Lockhart, may he rot, was given an Order of Merlin: Third Class for his many entertaining contributions to Wizarding Kind, but it was revoked after the truth of his character came out. Do you see where I'm going with this?" _Lockhart was a bastard?_

"It's rigged?" Ron frowned a little. _Is everything in the Ministry corrupt?_

"Not rigged exactly, but you deserve it more than the people that I just mentioned," Daphne whispered. "I'm applying for you, it's already decided. All you need is half the votes of the Wizengamot, and you'll be given the award."

"Daph…" Ron sighed out.

"No, Ron," Daphne smiled to herself. "This is happening, and you definitely stand a chance at getting it. Oh, and we won't tell anyone, of course, just in case you don't get it. How positively thrilling!" _Trust me, I won't be getting it._ "Wait… Isn't the Headmaster the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot? He is! I can give him the application in person, and everyone knows that he favors you! Ron, this is great!"

"Good Lord…" Ron swallowed thickly, he was suddenly feeling very anxious. "If you really are doing this, then can you also mention Madame Maxime? She's done most of the work on this, and she **actually** deserves it."

"Fine…" Daphne rolled her eyes. "I'll mention her to the Headmaster, but nothing more." _I see that her enthusiasm is reserved only for me. Is it bad that I really love that?_

Their group moved forward, and Ron spotted the Minister smiling at the large group. _Finally, time to be let in._ Lord Greengrass, Mary, Molly, and Arthur greeted the Minister first, while the children waited in the back for their turn. After they were done with the pleasantries, they beckoned their children to step forward.

Ron waited patiently for his siblings to be introduced, while Daphne made sure to tighten her hold on Ron's arm. _I wonder if the others are already inside. I know that Pansy is behind us somewhere, but I don't see the others._ Percy took the longest, as he decided to strike up a small conversation with the Minister, who didn't seem to mind at all. Eventually, it was Ron and Daphne's turn to introduce themselves.

"Minister Fudge," Ron smiled at the portly little man, and the Minister shook his gloved hand with a wide smile.

"Mr. Weasley, welcome to my home," Fudge said, his voice laced with pride. "I hope everything is to your liking thus far."

"More than, you have a beautiful home," Ron said, and the Minister seemed very pleased to hear that.

"And you must be Daphne Greengrass, Sebastian's eldest daughter," the Minister turned his smile to Daphne.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, Minister," Daphne put her hand forward, and Fudge greeted her the proper way.

"The Heiress of the Greengrass Family is always welcome here," the Minister said, and Daphne gave him a curtsy.

"Your kindness will not be forgotten," Daphne said smoothly. "I hope that we can talk more once the Gala is in full-swing."

"I would like that very much," Fudge agreed, and then he looked to Ron. "Might I speak to you alone for a moment?"

"Please, speak freely near Daphne," Ron said. "She and I have no secrets between us."

"I see," Fudge looked between them, and then he smiled once again. "A lovely young couple."

"Thank you," Ron and Daphne said together.

"The French Families will be arriving shortly, and once they are here, things are likely going to become tense," Fudge told Ron, who nodded slowly. "Too much bad blood, sadly…"

"Have the appropriate measures been taken?" Daphne asked.

"Certainly," Fudge replied. "The French Families are only bringing one or two members per Family, and I have been promised that said members speak fluent English. This is no doubt their attempt to avoid any form of… ridicule. Furthermore, I have Aurors deployed all over the Manor for safety reasons."

"What about their allures?" Ron asked. "Some of these Families are part-Veela." _Madame Maxime promised me that the Veelas would behave, but I can't bring myself to believe that._

"Madame Maxime has promised me that only Veelas who can control their… urges… are coming here," Fudge replied, and Ron was relieved to hear that. "The last thing we need is an International Incident."

"Everything seems to be in order then," Ron said. "Thank you, Minister. I can tell that this is very important to you."

"It certainly is," Fudge said. "Now, please make your way into the Ballroom. I hope you both enjoy the party."

"We no doubt will," Daphne said, and then they made their way into the Ballroom.

Just like the Greeting Room, the Ballroom shared a Christmas-like theme. Enchanted Snowflakes floated through the air, red and green ornaments lined the walls, a large crystal statue depicting a dancing Nymph sat in the middle of the Ballroom, and Ron could even see Enchanted Harps playing themselves for the attendees. _This is nice._

Ron looked to his Family members, all of whom were awed by the beauty of the Ballroom, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He wanted them to enjoy things like this, even if they didn't exactly fit in. The Weasleys were one of the Oldest Families in Britain, and they had been denied proper respect for far too long. _I'll change that myself. Filth like Lucius Malfoy don't have any right to look down their noses at us._

"Arthur!" Molly suddenly exclaimed. "Look! It's Madam Celestina Warbeck!"

Ron followed his mother's gaze, and he spotted the 'Singing Sorceress'. _She's mum's favorite singer, isn't she? I hope mum gets to speak to her tonight, it'll make her night for sure._ As for the famed singer, Ron couldn't help but admire her beauty. She looked older than she sounded on the radio, but she held herself with an air of regality. Her dark-skin made her stand out in the crowd, and Ron was quite enamored with her pearly white smile as she laughed with her entourage.

"Molly, dear, volume…" Arthur winced as his wife nearly crushed his hand.

"Would you like to speak with her?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Molly Weasley looked genuinely flustered. "Come, Molly. I'll introduce you to her."

"You know her?" Molly asked, and Lord Greengrass gave a nod. "Arthur, let's go!"

Molly began dragging her husband behind her, but then she suddenly stopped.

"Children, be on your best behavior. Bill, I'm leaving you in charge of them all," she said quickly, and before they could say anything, Molly ran off with her husband and Lord Greengrass.

"Astoria, why don't you show Ginevra and Luna around," Mary smiled at her youngest, who smiled mischievously in response. "I want all of you to mingle tonight, understood? We present a united front tonight, so be mindful of each other."

With that, Mary left to go join her husband, who was currently introducing Molly Weasley to her idol. _Mum looks like she's going to pass out._

"Charlie, can we join them?" Kirsten asked. "I actually love Celestina Warbeck's latest album."

"Sure, let's go," Charlie took his girlfriend's hand, and they left the group as well.

"We should find the other," Daphne whispered to Ron, who gave her a nod.

"Bill, Daphne and I are going to head off," Ron said, and Bill gave him a thumbs up.

"Find me if you need anything," Bill said, and Ron and Daphne left with parting nods.

Ron noticed Percy giving him a meaningful look, and Ron shot him a wink. _Later, mate. Just enjoy yourself for a bit._

"Your sister doesn't like my sister much," Daphne noted as they began moving through the Ballroom, which was still being filled.

"Ginny is stubborn, and she no doubt hasn't forgiven Tori for stealing Harry's attention during that one dinner we all had together," Ron said.

"My sister stole nothing," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a smile. "Potter enjoyed her company more than your sister's."

"Sorry, poor choice of words," Ron apologized. "Honestly, Tori can handle Ginny. And if Ginny misbehaves, she'll be reprimanded by mum." _I hope._ "Now, let's just find our friends, eh?"

"I still can't believe she refused that dress…" Daphne muttered.

"Daph, let's just enjoy our night," Ron kissed her cheek, and she smiled for a moment. "Tell me about your plans for the night. Maybe I can help?"

"My plans?" Daphne smirked a little. "Well, I plan to speak to the Travers Family first. We were allies before the war, and they have a large Milling Business in France. If they do indeed plan to slowly integrate themselves back into Britain, maybe they can bring their business here?"

"And you could invest in said business," Ron nodded along.

"They will need allies here, or they'll be chased out again," Daphne said. "There's just one problem…"

"Go on," Ron paid her his full attention.

"Emilia Travers, who is currently the Head of the Travers Family… I've heard some troubling things about her in my research," Daphne said.

"Troubling?"

"Scary things, Ron," Daphne said, and Ron waited for her to go on. "She is only twenty years old, but she managed to seize control of her Family rather harshly. Her Great-Aunt was the Head of the Family, but when Emilia came back from Japan-"

"Japan?" Ron asked.

"She completed her education at Mahoutokoro School of Magic," Daphne told him. "They say that she walks the 'Path of the Warrior', or something like that. Japan is very traditional, and she excelled in her studies despite being a foreigner. They even say that she's a single-minded Prodigy, kind of like you. Anyway… When she returned from Japan as a young woman, she demanded that she be put in charge of the Travers Family, as was her right by birth. Her own Great-Aunt refused to honor Emilia's birthright, and so Emilia killed her without a second thought."

"Killed her?" Ron asked. _What in the fuck?!_

"In a Duel," Daphne clarified, but Ron still felt uneasy. "She severed her Great-Aunt's head with her Oni-Blade."

"Oni-Blade?" Ron mumbled, he didn't want Daphne doing business with a lunatic.

"It's a Japanese Magical Tradition," Daphne explained. "Those who prove their worth are presented with the honor of wielding an Oni-Blade. They forge their own sword by hand, and an Honored Priest, also known as Shinshoku, melds the individual's wand into the Blade." _Woah…_ "The Blade acts as a Conduit from then on, but its capabilities are limited to warfare." _Hence the 'Path of the Warrior' nonsense._

"Alright, I've heard enough," Ron shook his head. "We should stay away from this lunatic."

"Trust me, I have half a mind to agree with you, but she has the respect of many," Daphne told him. "Not to mention that she is determined to bring her Family back to Britain. The Travers were one of the first Magical settlers in Britain, and she wishes to restore her Family's honor."

"And you want to be on her good side," Ron figured.

"Look, she's not planning to leave anytime soon, so I might as well try," Daphne said. "Our Families can help each other, and if she agrees to do business with me, then that will add credibility to my own efforts. My personal vault is bursting with gold, and I want to start making a name for myself. Just like you."

"Just be careful," Ron sighed. "And don't overstep with this madwoman. The last thing you want is for her to pull her 'Oni-Blade' out."

"They say that she carries it everywhere she goes," Daphne said, and Ron wasn't even surprised. "It makes sense, considering that her Blade is her wand, but still…"

"You don't think she'll bring it here, do you?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I know she will," Daphne replied, and Ron couldn't deny that he wanted to see said Blade.

"Ron! Daphne!" came Blaise's voice, and they both looked to see Blaise standing with his mother. _Sweet Circe… Blaise's mother looks amazing!_

She smiled at Ron, and Ron immediately smiled back like an idiot. _Look at that low cut white dress, it shows the perfect amount of skin._ Daphne guided them over to Blaise, while Ron made sure to keep his eyes from wandering.

"Mother, you remember Ron and Daphne, don't you?" Blaise introduced, and Clementine smiled at the couple.

"Of course I do," Clementine stepped forward, her smile was breathtaking. _Careful, Ron, she's a dangerous woman. Stay focused._ "How could I ever forget your friends, my gem?"

"It is good to see you again, Clementine," Ron said, and she brushed her fingers on his jawline. _Yay!_

"You remembered to use my first name," she sounded rather pleased. "Good." _Where is her husband to be? Not dead already, I hope._ "And look at you, Daphne. You have grown even more beautiful since the last time I saw you. You are almost a woman now."

"Thank you, Lady Zabini," Daphne put on a smile, and Clementine gently took Daphne by the chin.

"It has been far too long, my dear," Clementine all but whispered. "You must let me kiss you."

And just like that, she gave Daphne a quick peck on the lips. _WOW! FUCK YES!_ Ron could see Blaise rolling his eyes from behind his mother, but Ron couldn't care less, this was a sight that he never planned to forget.

"How are your parents?" Clementine asked a slightly dazed Daphne.

"They are well," Daphne recovered quickly. "I believe that they are still with Celestine Warbeck."

"Then I should go and greet them, no?" Clementine said, and then she looked to Ron. "Blaise tells me that you two have become a couple, and I can see that my treasure told the truth. Congratulations, you both suit each other."

"Thank you, Clementine," Ron said.

"Mother, may I join my friends for now?" Blaise asked, he sounded a little too distant.

"Of course, love," Clementine replied. "I must go and find Sebastian, we have not spoken in ages. Enjoy the party, you three. And please, forget about being responsible." _What?_

With that, Clementine sauntered off to find Daphne's father, much to Daphne's annoyance. _She's a damn tornado, I swear. She blows in out of nowhere, and knocks everyone on their arse._

"Sorry about her, Daphne," Blaise stepped forward, a slightly tired look on his face.

"Sorry?" Ron asked. "That was the greatest thing that I've ever witnessed."

"It's alright, Blaise," Daphne smiled at him, whilst also kicking Ron's shin. _Ow._ "You are her son, not her keeper. I don't blame you whatsoever."

"Thank you," Blaise gave a curt nod. _Oh, maybe I shouldn't make jokes. He looks a little bothered by his mother's presence._

"Let's go find the others, and forget about her," Daphne rubbed Blaise's arm.

"I would like that," Blaise gave her a weak smile.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Minister's Greeting Room – Evening)**_

Coming here was a mistake… He should have never accepted Sirius' offer to accompany him for the night. From the moment they had entered the Greeting Room, Harry had quickly become the subject of everyone's attention. The Weasleys had made their way into the Ballroom without Harry and Sirius, mostly because Sirius had to go to the loo due to being drunk.

While Harry waited for Sirius to freshen up, he was constantly eyeballed by the passing elitists. Many of them gave him wary looks, no doubt intimidated by his legend, while others stopped what they were doing in order to shake his hand. They would prattle on about their everlasting gratitude to him for defeating Lord Voldemort, and the Fawleys had even given him their 'hand in allegiance' without him uttering a single word.

All of it made Harry feel sick to his stomach.

He now understood why he didn't have many friends, Harry despised crowds. But more importantly, he despised people constantly reminding him of Lord Voldemort. His admirers spoke of the night that his parents died with complete disregard to how he felt, and they even laughed and joked about the whole thing. To them, Harry wasn't Harry. To them, Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived. _I should've stayed in Gryffindor Tower. Wait… No, that would be worse._

Unfortunately for Harry and Neville, Hermione had become a Banshee. Percy and McGonagall's words had gotten to her, and she accused Harry, Neville, and Ginny of 'stopping her from doing the right thing'. Harry had argued what the 'right thing' was in such a situation, and she had lost her damn mind due to being challenged after everything. It didn't even occur to her that the twins were their friends, and turning on one's friends was a lesson that they had all learned repeatedly.

Harry was not stupid, and neither were his best friends. They all knew that Ron was behind the whole thing. After all, he had snuck into Harry's room somehow and stolen the Medical Book, hadn't he? But when Ginny had come to them with her own suspicions about Ron, the Trio had feigned ignorance. They couldn't tell her anything about the Medical Book for fear of tipping her off to Ron's condition, but despite their efforts to dissuade her, Ginny left feeling convinced that Ron was behind the whole mess.

The Trio weren't happy with Ron, especially Harry. The sixth Weasley son had devastated Gryffindor's Hourglass, ruined his own brothers' plans for a Future Business, turned McGonagall against her Gryffindors, and had even manhandled poor Fred in front of a cheering crowd. If anything, Harry was disgusted by Ron's actions. But at the same time, Harry knew that Ron had asked the twins to stop not once, but twice. The twins had refused to listen to him, and so Ron had taken things into his own hands.

A mess… That was the only way that he could describe recent events. _Not to mention the twins being removed from the Quidditch Team until Yule Break ends. We're going up against Hufflepuff next Saturday, and our best Beaters are gone._

"Mr. Harry Potter…" came an awed voice, and Harry fought the urge to groan.

Harry looked over to see Ernie Macmillan, and two adults who looked incredibly like him, staring at Harry. Ernie was only looking because his parents were, and Harry couldn't detect any sense of awe from him. His parents, however, had gone wide-eyed, and were smiling from ear to ear.

"Mr. Potter, it is an honor to meet you at last," Mr. Macmillan took Harry's hand, while his wife just smiled lovingly at Harry. _Please stop staring at me like that, it's really weird._

"Hello," Harry greeted back.

"My name is William Macmillan, and this is my wife, Apolline," Mr. Macmillan said excitedly. "I had not expected to meet you of all people tonight. It **really** is an honor." _Let go of my hand already._

"Um… Thanks, it's nice to meet you as well," Harry tried his best, despite his discomfort.

"Firstly, allow me to thank you for defeating the Dark Lord for us, we wouldn't be here without you," Mr. Macmillan said, and Harry tried to keep his smile in place. "True shame about your parents, but at least you survived that… monster."

"You must've been so brave," Apolline added. _My parents were brave, I was just a toddler._

"Yes, certainly brave," Mr. Macmillan patted Harry's arm, whilst still shaking Harry's hand. "A Gryffindor through and through!"

"Thank you," Harry said again, mostly because he didn't know what else to say to such overwhelming gratitude.

"Are you here with Sirius Black, perchance?" Mr. Macmillan asked. "I have been inviting him to have dinner with us, but he never returns my owls." _Nor will he… He despises 'Pure-Blood customs'._

"He's here with me," Harry said. "Though I don't know where he ran off to. You'll definitely meet him inside at some point, I'm certain."

"Excellent!" Mr. Macmillan laughed.

"We never believed him to be guilty, I assure you," Apolline added. _Really? Then why didn't you say something when they threw him away without a trial?_

"We'll talk some more inside," Mr. Macmillan promised, and Harry felt his gut twist.

"Alright, then," Harry gave a nod, and Mr. Macmillan finally let go of Harry's hand.

While Harry massaged his sore hand, the Macmillans left to join the other Pure-Bloods within the Ballroom. He could hear them talking excitedly about the Boy-Who-Lived, and Harry felt the urge to leave already.

"Are they gone?" came Sirius' voice from behind him, and Harry turned around and stared at the restroom door.

"Yes, they're gone…" Harry frowned at the door, and Sirius stepped out with a wide smile.

"Thank Merlin, those two have been hounding me ever since my release," Sirius said. "I have to avoid them tonight, no matter what."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Trust me, Harry, it always starts with one dinner," Sirius shook his head. "I go over to their House, and every other Pure-Blood will expect the same. And then before you know it, I'm a freak-show for them all to gawk at."

"Why are they all so damn weird?" Harry frowned to himself. "I should've stayed at Hogwarts." _I don't belong here._

"Now, don't be like that," Sirius put his arm around Harry. "This is a party, Harry, and there are always people who ruin the fun of others. Why don't we head inside, and then you can find Neville."

"I would like that," Harry smiled for Sirius' sake.

"Good lad," Sirius gave Harry a squeeze. "Let's go."

They began making their way towards the Ballroom, and Harry easily noticed people going wide-eyed at the sight of him. Whispers and pointing fingers quickly followed, and Sirius gave Harry's shoulder's another squeeze. _I'm glad he's here, it makes this Gala bearable._

"Don't worry, it'll pass," Sirius whispered. "You've never really attended an event like this, and most of these people have only heard about your legend. Seeing you makes them excited, or upset, depending on the Family."

"They're too enthusiastic," Harry whispered back. "It makes me feel like a 'freak-show'."

"Once we're inside, find Neville, alright?" Sirius whispered. "After that, you can just enjoy the night with your best mate. Have a bit of champagne, eat good food, meet pretty girls, and just relax. Nothing to it."

"Why do you always insist that I find girls?" Harry asked.

"You can find lads, if you want, I won't judge," Sirius grinned, and Harry's lips twitched upwards. "Trust me, Harry, a girl will make you forget all about being a freak-show. Plus, you're **Harry Potter**. Believe me when I say this… If you give any one girl your attention, she'll be all over you."

"You want me to abuse my fame?" Harry asked.

"Not abuse, **utilize** ," Sirius corrected. _That's just a prettier word._ "These Pure-Bloods may act like their farts don't smell, but they forget all that once the party drags on. If anything, they get a little too… excited… around each other."

"You mean…" Harry felt hot in the face suddenly.

"People sneak off, and then the real fun begins," Sirius said almost excitedly. "Getting through the first half is the hard part."

"I'll just stick with Neville…" Harry looked around, and he spotted Samantha Selwyn speaking to her parents.

She was wearing a form fitting black dress which covered everything but her left arm, and Harry found himself staring at her. _She has nice… skin… There's no way that I could get a girl that pretty to notice me._

"That's the spirit, kid!" Sirius laughed, and Harry looked away immediately.

As they approached the Minister, Harry put on a smile for show. The portly man looked over to them, and he immediately beamed at Harry. _Oh no… Not again._

"My friends!" the Minister walked over to them. "Welcome! I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

"That's kind of you, Fudge," Sirius patted the Minister's arm, making the man jump a bit. "You look good! The Minister's Office suits you!"

"Why, thank you," Fudge couldn't help but laugh, while Sirius just stared at him with a false smile. "And by the Heavens… To have you here at my house, Mr. Potter… Words fail me. Welcome!"

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said as respectfully as he could, despite not liking Fudge very much. _He sent Hagrid to Azkaban because Lucius Malfoy ordered him to._

"Have Edward and Andromeda Tonks arrived yet?" Sirius asked. "They are my personal guests for the evening."

"They are here," Fudge said. "Though some… No, never mind! They are inside already, my friend! Please, I won't keep you any further!"

"Thanks, old boy," Sirius gave a nod, and then he guided Harry inside.

"Mr. Potter, do come and find me whenever you get the chance," Fudge waved him off, and Harry decided to give him a nod.

"Fat prick," Sirius muttered under his breath, and Harry sniggered to himself. "What sort of Minister owns a damn Manor?"

"Lucius Malfoy probably bought it for him," Harry replied, and Sirius chuckled.

"I bet he did, the slimy bastard," Sirius said. "Do you want to go find Neville now? I need to go look for my cousin and her husband."

"I can come with you," Harry offered, and Sirius eyed him with a smile.

"Go on," Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, and Harry gave his Godfather a grateful smile.

They parted ways at that, and Harry began searching for his best friend. _He's probably with his Grandmother, so he shouldn't be hard to find._ Along the way, Harry spotted Ginny standing by a crystal statue, and he decided to approach her. _Why is she all alone?_

"Hey, Ginny," Harry greeted, and she looked visibly relieved to see him. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking at this statue," Ginny replied. "I've never seen anything like it before, not even at Hogwarts."

"It's pretty," Harry looked at the smiling statue. "Why are you all alone?"

"Ugh… 'Lady Greengrass' stuck me with her bratty daughter, so I bailed," Ginny replied.

"What about Luna?" Harry asked. "I don't see her anywhere."

"She wanted to see the Gardens, so Greengrass smuggled her out of the Ballroom," Ginny replied. "They're probably still outside… I don't get why Luna's even pretending to like her."

"What makes you think that she's pretending?" Harry asked.

"Because Greengrass is a rude little… Never mind," Ginny shook her head clear, and then she stared up at the statue. "Why aren't you with Neville?"

"I'm actually looking for him," Harry replied. "Want to tag along?"

"Yes, please," Ginny said. "Besides this statue, I see nothing special about this Pure-Blood Party."

"You and me both," Harry couldn't help but smile. "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

Something was off with his father, Theo could tell.

The first sign of something being wrong was the fact that Theo had travelled directly to the Minister's Manor, and his father had joined him there. The second sign was the fact that his father was not drunk prior to the event, which was just unheard of. And the final nail in the coffin was the fact that his father had just now refused a drink from a passing waiter.

"Father, are you sure that you're alright?" Theo asked, and his father smiled at him.

"Yes, Theodore, I am quite alright," his father chuckled, and then he kissed the top of Theo's head. _What the fuck?! He never kisses my head in public!_ "I feel two decades younger, in fact."

"Is that so?" Theo asked, and then he looked his father over. "Nope, still an old codger."

"You wound me," Cornelius chuckled. "Don't let this old skin fool you, I am still in my prime."

"If you say so," Theo smirked. "What agrees with you?"

"Nothing to worry yourself over," his father replied.

"Have you found yourself a lover?" Theo enquired, and his father just laughed. "Fine, keep your secrets."

"All will be revealed in due time, my son," Cornelius said, and then he looked back to the other attendees. "Is your friend Ronald here?"

"Um… Yes," Theo replied, making sure to fix his posture. _Bloody hell, I knew this question was going to come up._

"You must introduce us," his father said, and Theo stilled immediately. _What?_

"You want to meet Ronald Weasley?" Theo asked slowly, now he was truly suspicious.

"Is he not one of your closest allies?" Cornelius asked, and Theo nodded slowly. "Then I will meet him, and be civil, even."

"Are you dying?" Theo asked with genuine worry.

"I have come to realize that I have not been a very good parent to you," his father said, his voice becoming soft. _Now I'm fucking scared._ "My drinking was the start of my decline as your father figure, and I know now that I was wrong to interfere with your life. I wish to make amends, son, if you'll have me."

"I… Of course…" Theo said. _Something is off here, Theo, and you know it. Play along for now, and see where it all goes._ "Do you want me to go find Ron for you?"

"There is no need," Cornelius smiled. "I see him right now."

Theo followed his father's gaze, and he spotted Ron, Daphne, and Blaise wandering around the Ballroom. _They must be looking for the rest of us._

"Bring only Ronald," Cornelius said. "I wish to see this boy prodigy for myself."

"I'll be right back, father," Theo said, and then he began making his way over to his friends. _Whatever father's reasons for wanting to meet Ron, I need Ron to behave. He no doubt knows about my father's past, and he has a tendency to lose his temper in the face of such beliefs._

"My friends," Theo smirked, and his friends looked to him.

"Theo!" Ron smiled widely. "We were just looking for you!"

"And here I am," Theo said, his eyes fixed on Ron's smile. _His sister slapped him so hard that she broke skin, and he doesn't even look bothered. It can't be the Calming Draught, after all, that smile is genuine. How does he just move past this sort of stuff on a whim?_

"Do you want to join us?" Daphne asked. "We're looking for Millie and Pansy, after which we will get some food and drinks."

"I will join you, but before that, I want to introduce Ron to my father," Theo said, and both Blaise and Daphne just stared at him.

Theo kept his eyes on Ron, whose smile had dwindled a bit. _Honestly, I expected worse._

"Sure, I'll meet him," Ron said, his voice turning slightly cold.

"Just you, then," Theo said, and Daphne whispered something in Ron's ear. _Merlin, ever since they started dating, they constantly whisper in each other's ears. I don't know why, but I hate it._

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked Theo, who merely shrugged.

"Let's go, Ron," Theo turned around and began heading back, and Ron followed after him. "I don't want to state the obvious, but please don't embarrass me."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ron smirked, and Theo let out a tired sigh.

Cornelius straightened up at the sight of Ron, his Master's interest in the Weasley boy had inspired great intrigue in the old wizard. After looking more into the youngest Weasley son, Cornelius had grown even more intrigued. What kind of boy could resist fifty Veelas? Or slay a Mountain Troll at the young age of eleven?

"Father, this is Ronald Bilius Weasley, my friend and ally," Theo introduced, and both wizards looked each other over. _C'mon, Ron… Shake his hand._

"It's good to finally put a face to the name," Ron put his gloved hand forward, and Theo's father took it. _Thank the fucking Gods, I was close to having an aneurism._

"Likewise, Mr. Weasley," Cornelius said, and Theo was surprised by his father's sudden alertness. "I am Nott, Cornelius Nott. Theo speaks very highly of you."

"Does he?" Ron 'smiled', and Theo noticed that familiar malicious glint in Ron's eyes. "I'm sorry to say that Theo hasn't told me much about you, but I have heard things from other sources." _He has?_

"You have?" Cornelius asked.

"I am sorry about your wife," Ron said, and Theo was a little surprised. _So he does know about my mother's murder… I always suspected, but I just wasn't sure._ "You have my condolences, despite how late they are."

"Thank you," Cornelius gave a grateful nod. "Is your Family also in attendance?"

"They are," Ron replied. "Would you like to meet them?"

"I am sure I will, when the time is right," Cornelius replied, and Theo couldn't help but feel like he was just a spectator. "Might I ask how the Weasley Family is paying the required amount tonight?" _Fuck me, he couldn't help himself, could he?_ "As far as I know, your father has not been promoted for some time."

"You are right," Ron said. "My father has indeed been passed for promotion for some time, but that hardly matters for tonight. I am the one who is paying the required sum."

"You are paying? Not your father?" Cornelius asked, his smile widening a little.

"We Weasleys are an unorthodox lot," Ron replied. "And we wish to help in any way that we can."

"How admirable," Cornelius said.

"I am glad you think so," Ron responded. "We Weasleys are also excellent hosts, and so I was thinking of hosting your son at my Family home for the upcoming Holidays. Do I have your blessing, my Lord?" _Wait… What?_ "As you know, Theo has invested in my business, and I wish to thank him properly."

"I see," Cornelius said, and then he decided to seize the opportunity to put Theo closer to the Weasley boy. "Theo has my blessing, of course." _I do? What is happening?_ "I have no doubt that you two will enjoy your time together, and grow ever closer."

"Thank you, Lord Nott," Ron smiled properly. "Please, enjoy the Gala."

"Same to you, Mr. Weasley," Cornelius said.

"Oh, I will," Ron said, and then he turned around and left.

Cornelius gestured his son to follow after Ron, and Theo left with a slightly confused look. _He just pawned me off for the Holidays? Something is definitely not right with him. I expected him to laugh in Ron's face, not thank him._

"You know about my mother's murder?" Theo couldn't help but ask immediately, and Ron gave him a nod. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Did you want me to?" Ron gave Theo a weak smile.

"No, not really," Theo admitted. "I… I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself."

"You don't owe me anything, Theo," Ron nudged Theo.

"The others all know, and I told Tracey myself," Theo told Ron. "It's only you that I never told, and I don't even know why."

"It's a painful memory, and I'm glad that you didn't relive it for my sake," Ron shrugged. "No harm done, Theo. I still love you."

"Sod off," Theo smirked, while Ron just smiled to himself. _I love you too, Ron._ "So… I'm to spend my Yule Break with you, then? Would have been nice to know, by the way."

"Quite honestly, I expected your father to laugh in my face," Ron said, his eyes becoming a little distant. "Odd that he allowed it without any convincing, right?"

"You're damn right it's odd," Theo said as they approached the others.

"What's odd?" Daphne asked Theo.

"I'm spending the Yule Break with the Weasley Family," Theo told Daphne and Blaise, both of whom cocked eyebrows.

"I'd invite you as well, Blaise, but…" Ron stopped.

"My mother's 'wedding'," Blaise said with a bored look.

"Is her fiancé here?" Theo asked, and Blaise shook his head. _That can only mean one thing… She plans to enjoy another man's company tonight. Shite… Blaise looks particularly cold right now. Poor bastard._

"Let's find Millie and Pansy, and then get some food," Daphne said, no doubt trying to change the subject. "I am starving."

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

Merlin, where were her friends?

Her father was drunk already, while her mother had wasted no time in showing her disgust at Pansy's new hairstyle. _She said that I looked like of those whores in Witch Weekly…_ Pansy wasn't going to lie to herself, her mother's comment had cut deep. Despite her dislike of her mother, Pansy thought she looked quite eye-catching in this haircut. After all, she had even seen her male friends give her lingering looks as of late. But no, according to her own mother, Pansy looked like a whore.

She wanted nothing more than to leave her parents' side, but her mother refused to let her leave. Even now, she was droning on about Pansy's faults. _My dress is shameful, my haircut makes me look like a whore, my mascara could be applied better, I still don't have a boyfriend, and I've gained weight._ Pansy felt demoralized already, and it hadn't even been an hour yet.

"This is no doubt because of the company she keeps," her mother shook her head, and then she looked to her husband. "It's that wretched Blood-Traitor… He's infected her with his bile." _Blood-Traitor?_

Pansy suddenly felt awake again, and she frowned at her mother.

"Don't speak about him that way," Pansy said, and both of her parents stopped moving. _Oh no… What did I just do?_

"What did you just say to me?" her mother sneered, while her father quickly hid behind his fourth goblet.

"I… I um… Don't speak about my friends… like that," Pansy looked down at her feet. _She's going to hit me… I'm so stupid._

Pansy's mother raised her hand to slap some sense into her, and Pansy tensed down to her toes.

"Pansy!" came Millie's voice, and Pansy shot a quick look behind her, while her mother lowered her hand. "I've been looking everywhere for you." _Really?_ "Lord and Lady Parkinson, it is good to see you again. You are both well?"

"Happy as clams," her father laughed, while Pansy felt extremely hurt by her father's lack of care.

"That's good to hear," Millie stopped by Pansy's side. "Might I borrow your daughter for a moment? I told my mother that Pansy did my hair, and she wants to ask for some tips."

"From her?" Pansy's mother asked, and Pansy felt even more dreadful. "Very well, tell your parents that I will find them soon. It's been a while since we spoke."

"I will let them know," Millie smiled, and then she gestured Pansy to follow her.

Pansy didn't hesitate for a single moment before following after Millie, who took her hand with a rather firm grip. _She wasn't looking for me, was she? She saw my mother berating me, and felt the need to pull me out of the fire._

"Sorry…" Pansy apologized in a meek voice, and Millie squeezed her hand.

They quickly approached Millie's parents, who had their eyes fixed on the two girls.

"Pansy," Lady Bulstrode smiled. "You look very pretty tonight."

"Thank you, Lady Bulstrode," Pansy said, not a hint of joy in her voice. "How is your evening progressing so far?"

"Quite well," Lady Bulstrode replied, and Pansy felt rather out of place. "Keep your head up, my dear."

"I… Thank you for sending your daughter…" Pansy swallowed thickly, now she knew why Millie had shown up so abruptly.

"Millicent, you will not leave Pansy's side for the remainder of the night," Lord Bulstrode ordered.

"Yes, Sir," Millie gave a firm nod.

"My mother wishes to speak to you both," Pansy told them, and Lady Bulstrode gave Pansy's bare arm a rub.

"We'll go and find them, then," Lady Bulstrode said. "Enjoy the night, Pansy. Don't let your mother ruin your fun. Find a cute boy for the night, and worry about things tomorrow."

"I will…" Pansy couldn't help but smile a little.

Lord and Lady Bulstrode left at that, leaving Millie and Pansy behind.

"Did she hit you before I came?" Millie asked, her expression becoming dark.

"No… Thank you, Millie," Pansy felt the urge to tear up. "Ugh… I feel like I'm going to cry…"

"You'll ruin your make-up," Millie tried to make a joke, but her voice was rather somber.

"What would that change?" Pansy pressed the corners of her eyes. _How could she call me a whore without a second thought? Why is she so bitter? And father… He didn't say a word in my defense._

Pansy felt her eyes sting even more, and she tried her best to keep her composure.

"Don't say that… I… I think you look very beautiful…" Millie said, and Pansy couldn't help but notice that Millie sounded nervous all of a sudden. "Even without make-up…"

"Really?" Pansy asked slowly.

"Yes," Millie all but whispered, and Pansy just stared at Millie for a few seconds. _She's not looking at me… Does she feel awkward giving me compliments? Or does she feel like I won't think much of her opinion?_ "Let's go find the other, yeah? They're no doubt looking around for us."

"Sure…" Pansy said slowly.

Something was off about Millie just then, Pansy was sure of it.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

The guests were now piling in, but there was still no sign of the French Families. Ron, being who he was, was growing paranoid and restless. Not to mention his little chat with Cornelius Nott… _I'm going to fucking murder him in cold blood. He had the gall to look down at my father, while he kisses the feet of a madman._

"What did that piece of chicken do to you?" came Cedric's voice, and Ron looked away from the buffet table. "You were glaring bloody murder at it." _I was imagining it to be Cornelius Nott's face as I carved it._

"Good evening, Cedric," Ron smiled at the Hufflepuff, who was now making himself a plate by Ron's side. "You look extremely handsome tonight." _Truer words were never spoken._

"Thanks," Cedric laughed genuinely. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Oh, hush," Ron sniggered. "How are you enjoying the party so far?"

"It's just the usual affair," Cedric shrugged casually.

"Have you been to many Galas, then?" Ron asked.

"A few," Cedric popped a grape into his mouth. "My dad is friends with a lot of Ministry Officials, so we get invited often. What about you? How is your evening so far?"

"Truth be told, not so exciting," Ron replied. "But I'm sure that's going to change now that I've found all of my friends. They're right over there." Ron pointed them out, and Cedric looked to see Blaise Zabini lecturing the others on palates. "If you get bored, you can come join us."

"Sure, that sounds like fun," Cedric accepted.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Ron remembered. "Congratulations on beating the Ravenclaws. Daphne tells me that you were superb on your broom today."

"It was our Beaters who did all the work," Cedric said truthfully. "That Cho Chang girl is an excellent flier, and she definitely caught me off-guard."

"Are you being humble?" Ron asked with a smirk.

"Maybe just a little," Cedric smiled. "But it was the Beaters who came through for us. I'm just glad that I spotted the Snitch before Cho did."

"You won't have such 'luck' against Harry," Ron said. "He's got some unnatural gift when it comes to catching balls." _Hehe._

"True," Cedric chuckled. "And that broom of his is a real threat."

"You'll figure something out, I'm sure," Ron said. _At this point, the Gryffindors beating the Hufflepuffs benefits us more. With their lack of House Points, one victory won't change a damn thing._

"I assume that you won't be attending? I never see you at the Quidditch Games," Cedric said.

"I work on Saturdays," Ron informed Cedric. "Chess training with Lord Greengrass."

"I see," Cedric nodded. "I saw him just before, he was limping alongside your father. Is he alright?"

"He fell down some stairs," Ron lied. "Don't worry about him, he's not one to go down so easily." Ron then smiled at Cedric. "So… What's the real reason behind you approaching me while I was isolated?"

"Caught onto that, eh?" Cedric smiled sheepishly, which only made him look cute in Ron's eyes. _It's not fair that the Universe beat me bloody with the ugly stick, while the Gods shaped this bastard with their own hands._ "I just had a question, that's all."

"Go on," Ron said.

"What happened between your brothers and you?" Cedric asked, much to Ron's surprise. "We all know what they were doing, of course-"

"And yet, you did nothing," Ron's eyes became slightly cold. "As a Prefect, you should know better."

"I… I know," Cedric sighed. "Not my finest moment… I was going to step up and report them, but the twins are worshiped by the Hufflepuffs. I mean, Slytherin has a habit of looking down at us, and the twins aren't afraid to stand up against the worst people in your House." _He's right. Slytherin House has given people plenty of reasons to hate them. Idiots like Flint, Crabbe, Goyle, and the others do too much damage to their own House._

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to pin the blame on you," Ron lost his coldness. "I'm just annoyed that this whole thing happened in the first place."

"Is that why you…?" Cedric stopped, but Ron knew where he was going.

"Fred is impulsive, and he needed to be taught that I don't take well to threats," Ron shrugged. "It must have been a real surprise to him… I've never stood up for myself like that before. At least, not against the twins." _If anyone but my kin had grabbed me by the collar, I'd have broken their hands._

"Right… There's always some bad blood between siblings, I can understand that," Cedric nodded. "I was just wondering about that choke hold… I mean, you lifted a fifth year into the air with one hand… It was quite frightening." Cedric finished with a nervous laugh.

"I'm in good shape," Ron deflected the unspoken question.

"We should get you onto the Quidditch Pitch, then," Cedric said. "I won't pry any further. I just came here to tell you that I'm sorry for not stepping forward. If I hadn't given into peer pressure, most of this could have been avoided."

"You're a good bloke, Cedric," Ron couldn't help but say. "It's a shame that things went the way they did, but I will never blame you. Nor will the other Slytherins, I promise."

"I'm glad we got that out of the way," Cedric smiled, and then he patted Ron's back. "I was thinking of inviting some of the Hufflepuff fourth years to the study group, is that alright with you?"

"Of course," Ron replied immediately. "Bring whoever you want, mate. The more the merrier."

"I'll let them know," Cedric gave a nod. "Thanks for hearing me out, mate. Enjoy the party."

"You too," Ron said. "And remember, you can always come and join us."

"Thanks," Cedric said, and then he left to go find his mother and father.

Ron went back to making his plate, his worries slightly lessened due to his chat with Cedric. _Merlin, look at the dessert table… It looks amazing, but I can't taste a thing on it. Madam Roberts is no doubt here, and I'm bound to run into her._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"What are you two doing?" Ron asked Theo and Blaise, who seemed to be eyeing the different bottles of liquor being carried by the waiters.

"Ron, don't give them away," Pansy whispered, and Ron raised his hands in surrender.

"They're scouting for us," Daphne told Ron, who looked even more confused.

"Tell him," Millie smirked.

"Tell me what?" Ron asked Daphne.

"It's just something that we do at these parties," Daphne smirked as well. "The parents drink throughout the night, and as a result of that, they become far less observant."

"And so, we steal a bottle to share amongst ourselves," Pansy said excitedly. "When the Gala starts dragging on, we'll sneak out to the Gardens and have a good time."

"A good time?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Fair enough, enjoy yourselves."

"Pardon?" Pansy blinked, while Millie lost her smirk.

"What? I have to stay focused tonight," Ron told them. "I have goals to meet." _The French still aren't here, I don't even know what Horace Slughorn looks like, and I can't be named an International Diplomat whilst being drunk. Plus, I don't even like alcohol. It tastes like hot piss._

"Goals to meet?" Pansy frowned deeply, and then she looked to Daphne. "He has to come, Daph. He hasn't attended a party like this with us before."

"Ron, this will be at the end of the night," Daphne pulled his arm closer to her chest, something that he didn't miss. _Succubus! Unhand me!_ "We will wait until all the official nonsense is out of the way. Believe me, the adults will be far more intoxicated than us."

"Look around," Millie took over. "They're already drinking heavily, it's just how these parties go. By ten 'o'clock, there won't be a sober adult in the room. Besides the Aurors, of course." _You mean Madam Roberts?_

Ron looked even less convinced than before, which seemed to greatly displease Pansy.

"He has to come," Pansy huffed like an angry toddler, and Daphne pulled Ron away from the others.

"Ron, please?" Daphne smiled mischievously, making Ron feel hot under the collar immediately. "It'll be so much fun, I promise." Daphne then leaned up in order to whisper in his ear. "Once we're tipsy, I'll sneak us away from the others for some alone time."

"Alone time?" Ron's ears perked up.

"Kisses and fondling," Daphne whispered, and Ron's lips twitched upwards. "Lots of fondling… We haven't really tried it before, have we? I want to try, Ron, don't you?"

"What kind of fondling?" Ron swallowed thickly. _Is she serious about this? I mean, she let me touch her breasts once before, and it was absolutely amazing._

"We'll make it up as we go along," Daphne kissed his cheek. "We always do."

"Can I touch your… you know…" Ron whispered, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. _That answers that! Fuck it, I'm doing this!_

"Ronald," came Dumbledore's voice from behind him, and Ron nearly screamed.

"I didn't do it," Ron turned around quickly, while Daphne sealed her mouth and looked away from the Headmaster.

Dumbledore just stared at Ron, and then he looked to Daphne. _We weren't being wicked, I swear._

"What can I do for you, Headmaster?" Ron asked, failing to fix his spooked expression. _He fucking heard us, didn't he? He's onto us both!_

"There's someone that I want you to meet," Dumbledore smiled at Ron. _Horace Slughorn?_

"Oh, of course," Ron put on his best smile, while Daphne subtly left with a blush on her face. "Please, lead the way."

"Come," Dumbledore said, and Ron followed after him.

He shot Daphne a quick look, and she shot him a wink and a smirk. _Best girlfriend ever!_

"I hope you two will act within reason," Dumbledore smiled to himself, and Ron nearly fainted.

"I don't know what you mean," Ron said, and Dumbledore shot him a knowing smile. _Yeah, he definitely overheard us._ "If you ever mention this to anyone, I'll throw myself into the Black Lake."

"Your flair for the dramatic is always amusing, Ronald," Dumbledore chuckled. "You have my silence, of course, but I still caution restraint. At your age, these things can spiral out of control quite quickly." _Good, that's what I want._

"Are we meeting Horace Slughorn?" Ron changed the subject.

"We are indeed, my boy," Dumbledore said. "Have you seen Harry since your arrival?"

"No, actually," Ron replied. "Knowing him, he's probably with Neville."

"I spoke with Augusta, and she told me that Neville and Harry were with your sister," Dumbledore told him. "I have tried to sense their whereabouts, but there are too many people here."

"Sense their whereabouts?" Ron asked. "With a Spell?"

"I will teach you," Dumbledore said, he knew all about Ron's greed for new Spells. _Yes!_ "How is your Conjuration coming along? I believe that another lesson is in order." _He's offering without me asking?_

Ron didn't know why, but he felt really happy with that thought.

"I can summon the birds now, but they don't chirp," Ron replied truthfully. "And most of the time, they arrive dead. Is that weird?"

"Yes, it most definitely is," Dumbledore patted Ron's back. "I will give you some pointers during our next lesson, Ronald. The Avis Spell is difficult to Master, so don't be discouraged."

"Is that why you want me to perfect it before learning about True Conjuring?" Ron asked.

"You touch it with a needle, my boy," Dumbledore replied. "Despite its difficulty, I am certain that you will make short work of it soon." After Ron's confession, Dumbledore had vowed to reach out to Ron at every possible opportunity. "There he is, Ronald. Horace Slughorn."

Ron followed the Headmaster's gaze towards a short, pot-bellied man. Horace Slughorn was enormously fat, bald, and had a silver, walrus-like moustache. _I don't know why I thought that he would look like Snape. Maybe I was being a bit stereotypical._ Presently, Horace Slughorn was laughing loudly as he spoke with Barty Crouch Snr, who looked anything but humorous.

"Horace, my old friend," Dumbledore smiled, and Horace's gooseberry-colored eyes lit up.

"You found him, eh?" Horace eyed Ron with a greedy look, and Ron smiled at the man. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Weasley. I've read all about you in the papers! Slytherin finally has its own prodigy!"

"The pleasure is all mine, Sir," Ron shook the man's hand firmly, and then he looked to Barty Crouch Snr. _I didn't get a chance to meet him at the Longbottom Funeral._ "Mr. Crouch, it's good to finally make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Mr. Weasley," Crouch said coldly, and then he shook Ron's hand. "I hear that you and I will be working together very soon."

"Working together?" Horace looked between the two, a big smile on his face.

"Mr. Weasley has been made an International Diplomat to the French for his efforts," Crouch replied, and Ron couldn't help but detect mild annoyance in the man's tone.

"At thirteen?" Horace laughed. "Another win for your books, eh, Ronald?"

"Please, call me Ron," Ron chuckled, he liked that Slughorn was a happy fellow. _But Professor Snape is better._

"Please excuse me, I need to find the Minister," Crouch said, and then he left without another word.

"Terrible company, that man," Horace sighed out once Crouch was truly gone.

"Barty has never been one for conversation," Dumbledore said. "I believe that's why he excels at his work."

"You just defend everyone," Horace smiled once again. "That man nearly sent me running for the door with his stony demeanor." Horace then looked to Ron. "What efforts was he talking about, Ron?"

"I convinced Madame Maxime to bring eleven Old French Families to this Gala," Ron replied. "They will be donating the maximum amount, which will help immensely, I hope." _And I hope that the Ministry use that money to help lower the crime rate._

"Madame Olympe Maxime? From Beauxbatons?" Horace asked, a greedy glint in his eyes. "Making friends with all the right people, I see. Very good. I myself consider her a personal friend. Just two months ago, I had dinner with her in a lovely Muggle restaurant in Paris. The looks on the Muggles' faces…" Slughorn laughed loudly. "A truly remarkable woman!"

"That she is," Ron smiled genuinely. "And quite powerful as well."

"Will she be bringing Veelas with her?" Horace asked. "I ask because I need to prepare myself against their allures. I'd rather not make a fool of myself… Again." _Ha! The way he said that was great._

"I'm sure that they will all behave, Horace," Dumbledore chuckled. "Now… Tell me more about your travels. I'm sure Ronald here would love to hear about African Fire Mages." _Um, yes please. That sounds fucking awesome already._

"Would he now?" Horace puffed up, his moustache twitching in excitement. "Does foreign Magic strike your fancy, Ron?"

"Magic in general does," Ron replied. "The flashier, the better."

"Very good," Horace laughed, and then he drank down his entire goblet in one go. _Yes, get drunk and let me take advantage of you. Wait… What the fuck am I thinking? Don't be a creepy cunt, Ron._

"Now…" Horace said as he handed the empty goblet off to a passing waiter. "I found myself traveling to Uagadou School of Magic because their Headmaster personally invited me, he is an old friend of mine, after all. We were passing through the Glittering Caves created by the Goblins under Uganda, and I met the most eccentric of Mages. Five of them, to be precise."

"I tell you, and this is completely true," Horace went on excitedly, and Ron listened with a smile on his face. "These Mages could morph into a firestorm at will!"

"A firestorm?" Ron's smile widened, his excitement quite evident. _Sort of like that Ravenclaw Ron who could turn into a murder of crows. I_ _ **need**_ _to learn some sort of Spell like that._

"It was the most exciting display of Pyromancy that I've ever seen," Horace told them, and even Dumbledore looked impressed. "They told me that they needed five people to pull off this Spell, which they refused to share with me."

"A joined Human-Transfiguration?" Dumbledore asked, and Horace shrugged with a wide smile.

"I have no earthly idea," Horace replied. "The way their bodies morphed into fire was astonishing! I was left in complete awe of them! And here's the best part! These Fire Mages were quite young! Early Twenties, I'd say! When I questioned Headmaster Kaikara about their age, he told me that Uagadou students begin learning Human Transfiguration at the very start of their education! Can you believe that, Albus?!" _Hogwarts is so lame compared to these other schools. I want a fucking Oni-Blade. Or to turn into a firestorm. Or to be surrounded by Veelas._

"I once met a young man from Uagadou who could transfigure himself into a variety of beasts," Albus told them. "He turned himself into a horse when I grew weary of walking, and he let me ride him to our destination."

"Extraordinary," Horace laughed, while Ron wondered if that tale was true. _Just go with it._ "I must admit, I did feel quite jealous of Uagadou School of Magic. They don't even use wands, I tell you! All of the children I met were adept with Wandless Magic! Can you believe that?!" _Opportunity shows its beautiful face._

"Wandless Magic, you say," Ron smiled, and Horace nodded fervently. "I myself have been learning Wandless Magic in my spare time."

"Is that so?" Horace looked to Albus. "Do you mind showing us?"

"Incendio," Ron chanted, and he felt hot steam rush through his left sleeve.

Ron carefully raised his glowing, orange hand, and Horace gawked at it with a look of genuine excitement. _Careful, Ron, don't fucking touch someone by mistake._

"Merlin's beard," Horace laughed loudly. "Albus, do you see this?!"

"I do indeed, my friend," Dumbledore smiled, this was going exceptionally well. "Ronald here actually blew a hole into Hogwarts with a Wandless Baubillious."

"He did?" Horace's eyes gleamed, while Ron turned off the Spell.

"It wasn't without consequences," Ron laughed. "I was severely injured in the process, and the Headmaster made me promise not to use that Spell again."

"Severely injured, you say?" Horace asked.

"The left half of his body was… cooked… for lack of a better word," Dumbledore replied, and Horace's smile faltered.

"It was totally worth it, though," Ron grinned at Dumbledore, who just smiled in return.

"I must admit… I wish I had been there to see such a thing," Horace said, his smile slowly reappearing. "Alas, I still have much traveling to do… I plan to go see the Magical Tribes in the Far North. They have promised to show me their art of Hydromancy, and I plan to write a book about it." _More cool Magic! I'm buying that book._

"Let me know when you publish the book, Sir," Ron said. "I'd love a copy."

"I'll have one sent to you personally, my boy," Horace patted Ron's right shoulder.

"Thank you," Ron beamed, this was exciting.

"Ronald, why don't you promote this book in your Magazine?" Dumbledore suggested, and Ron internally thanked the old man for reminding him. _He's on the money._

"I'd love to," Ron agreed, and then he looked to Horace. "Free of charge, of course. Consider it a favor from a friend."

"Excellent!" Horace seemed far too pleased by that. _I'm probably saving him a lot of money._ "And let me just say that I **never** forget my friends."

Ron was about to respond, but he spotted Harry walking around with Neville and Ginny. _He's right over there._

"Headmaster, I think I see Harry wandering about just over there," Ron said, and Horace looked back with an almost manic look.

"Harry Potter?" Horace looked around, and then he drew in a sharp breath. "Merlin's beard… There he is. He looks just like James." _James? That's Harry's father, right? So Horace taught Harry's parents, that's good to know._

"Do you wish to meet him?" Ron asked. "He's a friend of mine as well."

"Certainly," Horace looked back to Ron, while Dumbledore patted Ron's back. _That's my cue._

Ron left the two older wizards behind, and he made his way over to Harry and company. After dodging a few excited guests, Ron approached the three Gryffindors. _Don't think about Ginny, or that slap. Just stay on task, the Headmaster needs you._

"Hello, you three," Ron greeted them, and they turned to face him.

"Hello, Ron," Neville greeted with little enthusiasm, while Ginny looked disgusted by his presence. _Focus, Ron. The Headmaster is counting on you to be competent._

"Could I borrow Harry for a moment?" Ron asked, his eyes landing on Harry. "I want to introduce you to someone."

"Who?" Ginny asked coldly.

"He's a friend of the Headmaster," Ron said, his eyes fixed on a reluctant Harry. "And he says that he knew your parents."

"What?" Harry's green eyes blazed to life. "Really?"

"Yeah, mate," Ron smiled, and Ginny frowned at Ron's choice of words. "C'mon, I'll introduce you."

Harry quickly walked up to Ron, and his companions made to follow.

"Just Harry," Ron told them. "Headmaster's orders."

"Headmaster's orders?" Ginny scoffed, while Neville looked quite taken aback. "Why would Dumbledore give **you** -"

"Let's go, Harry," Ron guided Harry away from his friends. "He taught your parents when they were still at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Harry asked as he shot a look back at his friends, though his voice betrayed his excitement. "Wait… Why can't Neville and Ginny come with?"

"Do you really want them there for this?" Ron asked. "I mean, he's probably going to tell you all about **your** parents." _Don't make my job harder, please._

"Right…" Harry nodded to himself.

"He said that you looked just like James," Ron added for good measure. "That's your dad, right?"

"He said that," Harry couldn't help but smile, now he really wanted to meet this man. "Alright, where is he?"

"Right over there," Ron pointed out. "He's with the Headmaster."

Harry eyed the wide man, and his pace quickened.

"Mr. Slughorn, please meet Harry Potter," Ron introduced, and Horace Slughorn turned around with beaming smile.

"Mr. Potter," Horace said, while Harry smiled back. "You really do look just like your father… Except for the eyes, of course… Lily's eyes." _He sounded almost sad just then._

"You really knew my parents?" Harry swallowed thickly, his face lit with anticipation.

"I taught them both," Horace shook Harry's hand. "James… Always on the Quidditch Pitch, or getting into trouble with his friends. And Lily… She was my personal favorite. A truly spectacular witch. I was very saddened to hear about their fates. You have my deepest sympathies, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry put on a smile, he was glad to see that at least this man didn't worship him. "Could you, perhaps, tell me more about them? It's just that I don't really know much about their school lives."

Ron shot a look towards Dumbledore, who gestured him to be patient. _Fair enough… I guess it's only natural that Harry wants to know more about his parents._

"Mr. Weasley," a waiter approached them, and they all looked to the waiter. "The Minister sent me to fetch you. He needs you at the Greeting Room." _The French are here?_

"The Minister needs him?" Harry looked to Ron, who just smiled at Harry.

"Please excuse me," Ron said to his companions. "Mr. Slughorn, it was great to meet you. Please, don't forget about the book."

"Oh, I won't," Horace assured him. "Go on, Ron, you shouldn't keep the Minister waiting."

Ron gave a parting nod, and then he followed after the waiter.

"Are the French Families here?" Ron asked.

"They are, Sir," the waiter replied. "The Minister wishes for you to be by his side when he greets them. Plus… Some of the guests within the Greeting Room aren't too pleased… Madam Bones has also arrived, and she's smoothing things over." _I see. Time for the Gala to start in earnest then._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you all enjoyed that! The next Chapter will continue the Gala, of course, and Ron will continue meeting various individuals and Families.**

 **Sorry about the rant at the start, but I just wanted to get my point across without emailing a dozen different people. As for the Review Section, let's keep it civil, please. I don't mind a bit of anger directed at me, and I want you all to enjoy the story without me creating any sort of divide between us.**

 **See you guys on Thursday, or Friday!**


	96. Chapter 96 - The Gala

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 96 is here! The Gala continues!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 96 - The Gala**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

"Do me a favor, and fetch the Headmaster," Ron told the waiter, who gave Ron a confused look.

They were currently making their way down to the Greeting Room, and Ron wanted to make an impression with the French Families right out of the gate. _They need to understand that my age means nothing, and that I have powerful friends behind me. Two Headmasters of esteemed Magical Schools, and the British Minister for Magic to boot._

"The Minister asked only for you, Sir," the waiter said.

"And **I'm** asking **you** to fetch Albus Dumbledore," Ron said a bit too firmly. "The French will appreciate the gesture." The waiter looked a bit reluctant in disobeying the Minister, and Ron resisted the urge to berate him. "Think about it this way… The Greatest Wizard alive comes down to greet you at the door with a smile on his face, while the other guests throw you contemptuous looks. Which of the two things would you remember at the end of the night?"

"The Headmaster…" the waiter replied slowly, and Ron nodded. "I will go and find him, Sir." _Good. Let Harry have some alone time with Horace, who is no doubt giving Harry some valuable information about his parents._

As the waiter departed in order to do as he was told, Ron overheard a displeased couple talking about the 'filthy Frenchman'.

"They have no right to be here," the man hissed, and Ron subtly looked him over. _I think that's Thorfinn Rowle… Didn't he claim to be under the Imperius Curse at the end of the last war? I swear I read that somewhere during my research._ "Fucking Half-Breeds in the Minister's very home, Agatha. Can you believe this?"

"Hush, love," the woman named Agatha, who Ron assumed to be Thorfinn's wife, said. "Let's just stay away from them. We can't be the ones to start a scene at such an event. Let's just find Lucius and Narcissa, and they can do something about this. Lucius has the Minister's ear." _Ha! Good luck with that._

Ron made his way into the Greeting Room, and he was immediately spotted by the Minister, who walked over with a quickened pace.

"It's good that you are here," the Minister said, a hint of urgency in his voice. "I expected some form of animosity between the French and us, but things are spiraling out of control far too quickly."

Ron looked around the room, and he could smell the discontent of the Old British Families.

"Keep your nerve, Minister," Ron smiled at the portly man. "No one said that this was going to be easy. The French have promised Madame Maxime that they will behave, remember? We just need to keep the British from making a scene." _People like the Rowle Family._

"Come, let's get them inside," the Minister said, but Ron stopped him.

"Not yet," Ron said, earning a confused look from the Minister. "I've asked a waiter to bring Headmaster Dumbledore here."

"Dumbledore?" Fudge asked, he didn't sound too pleased about that. "You and I are more than enough, I'd say." _Is he comparing us to Dumbledore? Is he mental? No… He's grown far too arrogant because of his position, and his expensive Manor._

"The Headmaster is an old friend of Madame Maxime, and he is respected all over the Magical World," Ron said. "The French will appreciate the gesture, don't you think? Especially considering the reception that they're getting at the moment."

The Ministry stared at Ron, and then he nodded weakly to himself.

"One more happy face couldn't hurt, especially in the current climate," Fudge realized, and Ron nodded.

"This is your home, Minister, and they will no doubt speak of your hospitality to the other French Families," Ron said. "So we have to do this right, no matter what."

Ron then looked back to the French Families, and he could see Madame Maxime towering above everyone. Oddly enough, seeing her made Ron feel far more at ease. _I'm not alone in this, I need to remember that. She's got my back, and I have hers._

"I will go over and introduce myself," Ron said to the Minister. "Join us once Headmaster Dumbledore shows up." _I'd rather him talk to them instead of you._

"A united front," Fudge spoke to himself, but Ron ignored the man.

Without another word, Ron navigated past the confused and annoyed British guests, and Madame Maxime's black, liquid-like eyes landed on him. Ron shot her a pleasant smile, one that she returned immediately. _All of our work is going to pay off tonight._

"Madame Maxime," Ron greeted with a wide smile, and she put her hand forward.

"Ronald, my young friend," she greeted back, while Ron kissed her knuckles. _I think I'll steal Theo's line in order to appear more charming._

"Look at you," Ron said as looked her over, she was wearing a lovely black gown with opal jewelry. "Aphrodite herself would be jealous of you." _And he sticks the landing._

"You are too kind," she laughed, she sounded quite pleased with his words. "You yourself look very handsome, if I might so say. I respect that you are wearing a suit instead of Wizarding Robes, it highlights your physique very nicely."

Ron gave her a polite nod, and then he looked to the French Families behind her. _Most of the women are fair, with long, silver-blonde hair. Veelas._

"Is everyone here?" Ron asked Madame Maxime.

"We are still waiting for Gabriel and Pauline Bisset, and Emilia Travers," Madame Maxime replied. "Come, I'll introduce you to the others. Many of them are dying to meet you."

"Are they?" Ron chuckled as he began following her.

"Many of them wish to test the legend of Le fléau de Vélane," Madame Maxime replied, and Ron gave her a meaningful look. "Don't worry, they have given me their word. They will all behave, even the younger ones."

"The younger ones?" Ron asked.

"The Ancar, Beaumont, Couture, Delacour, and Lenoir Families have brought their eldest daughters," Madame Maxime replied. "They are young, but they will obey their parents' commands."

"I trust you," Ron said, and she gave him a grateful smile.

As they neared the French Families, who were all speaking to Madam Bones, Ron eyed the younger Veelas. _There's Fleur Delacour, and she looks quite amazing, despite her bored demeanor._ From just looking them over, Ron figured that Fleur was the youngest Veela in attendance. _She's tried her allure on me multiple times, which isn't a good sign. If she tries it tonight, I'll have to tell Madame Maxime immediately._

"Once again, the British Ministry cannot thank you enough for your contributions to our worthy cause," Madam Bones was saying, and both Madame Maxime and Ron stopped behind her.

The French immediately turned their gazes to him, with most of them looking him over critically. Every single French witch smiled at him, and Ron smiled back as pleasantly as he could. _Careful, Ron, remember what Amanda told you. Some of these Veelas are threatened by your ability to resist them._

"Ah, Ronald," Madam Bones looked back at him.

"Madam Bones," Ron gave her a polite nod, and she looked back to the French.

"Please, enjoy the Gala, and should you need anything, find either Mr. Weasley or myself," Madam Bones said. "I hope to speak to you all individually as the night progresses."

With that, Madam Bones left in the direction of her Aurors, who were all watching the French with sharp gazes. _Is that Tonks? It is. And Madam Roberts too._

"My esteemed friends," Madame Maxime stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce you all to Ronald Bilius Weasley, my partner in this endeavor. It was Ronald who set this whole thing in motion, so please, treat him as if he were one of our own."

"Monsieur Weasley, it is an honor to finally meet you," one of the men stepped forward in order to shake his hand, and Ron tried to remember his name. _C'mon, Ron… You spent all week putting their names to their faces. Think._

"My Lord Abadie," Ron smiled as he shook the man's hand, and Lord Abadie smiled in a pleased manner. "Welcome to Britain, we are honored to host you tonight."

"And we thank you for your hospitality," Lord Abadie said, while his wife walked up to his side. "This is my wife, Poppy Abadie."

"A pleasure," she smiled at Ron, her age did nothing to hinder her Veela beauty.

"Poppy, a beautiful flower," Ron smiled back, and then he kissed her knuckles. "A fitting name if I've ever seen one."

Ron couldn't help but notice that the French were almost lining up, and he figured that he was going to meet them all one by one. _You prepared for this, Ron. Just remember Theo and Pansy's teachings. My focus tonight needs to be on them. They need to see that I respect them, and that I want them to be here._

"You are too kind," Lady Abadie laughed in a controlled manner. "I must admit, your height, and broad shoulders, have taken me by surprise. Are you truly thirteen?" _Her husband has taken the backseat. Daphne mentioned that in Veela Families, it is the women who are in charge._

"I am," Ron replied, and something sparked behind her pale blue eyes. "Actually, I am closer to fourteen than thirteen."

"Remarkable," she smiled at Madame Maxime. "A perfect specimen of British Blood." _What?_ "Tall, and of sturdy stock."

"Not to mention his mental fortitude," Madame Maxime added. "Even I cannot invade his mind, despite my many years of training in the Art of Legilimency." _She's trying to talk me up? Fair enough, her name is now tethered to mine._

"I must admit, I am tempted to try my allure on him," Poppy looked back to Ron. "I am, after all, three-quarters Veela, and I have honed my allure for decades." _Three-quarters Veela? Does that mean that her father was part-Veela, while her mother was full-Veela?_

"Please do," Ron decided, much to Madame Maxime's surprise. "Just once won't hurt."

Poppy looked into his eyes, and then she smiled in an almost predatory manner. _She looks like a hawk that has just spotted prey._ Ron felt a dull ache in the back of his skull, but it was nothing compared to what he had gone through previously. _Entity, don't get angry. This is all for our mission._

"Is it on?" Ron asked, despite knowing that it was.

"Astonishing," Lord Abadie muttered, while his wife blinked at Ron.

"You felt… nothing?" Lady Abadie asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Forgive me for asking, but are you not into women, Monsieur Weasley?" _That didn't come across as arrogant at all…_

"I am seeing the Heiress of the Greengrass Family," Ron told Lady Abadie, who nodded slowly. _Yeah, she's not happy, even I can see that. Well, too bad. Daphne trumps_ _ **all**_ _Veelas in my eyes._

"As I said, he has tremendous mental fortitude," Madame Maxime stepped in. "I would dare say that no other British wizard can compare to his willpower." _Ease up, please. Don't make me sound so grand, I'll just disappoint them once they learn more about me._

"I see," Lady Abadie said, Madame Maxime's words eased her annoyance. "Please, come and find me during the night, Monsieur Weasley. I would love to continue our conversation."

"As would I," Ron smiled at her, and she stepped aside with her husband.

The Couture Family stepped forward, and Ron noticed their daughter looking him up and down. _Apparently, the French Families don't understand that eyeballing someone is rude. At least be subtle about it._

"Lord and Lady Couture," Ron gave a polite bow, and then he kissed Lady Couture's knuckles. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Welcome to Britain."

"Thank you, Monsieur Weasley," Lady Couture smiled at him, she looked quite similar to Lady Abadie. _The Veela traits always come through in their children, despite the father's appearance. That's quite neat, actually. No wonder they all look so appealing._ "I couldn't help but overhear that you just now resisted Poppy Abadie… That is no small feat. Tell us, how do you do it?"

"It's quite simple, I just resist the urge to give into my need to please," Ron lied. _I have an Old God in my head, and it despises Veelas. Actually, it despises everyone and everything._

"If only I had your gift," Lord Couture chuckled, and his wife joined him. _Their daughter is staring at me._

Ron looked to their daughter, who looked to be around nineteen, or twenty, years old, and she stepped forward immediately.

"Christina Couture," she put her hand forward, and Ron kissed her knuckles. "Your… body… pleases me greatly." _Pardon?_ "Are you attending this Gala alone?"

"Forgive my daughter's bluntness," Lady Couture gave her daughter an odd look.

"There's nothing to forgive," Ron assured them, and then he looked to Christina. "I have come here with my girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass." Christina looked bored immediately. "I will be sure to introduce her to you all once we're inside."

"Please… Do not trouble yourself," Christina said, while her parents looked a little annoyed with her. _Are all Veelas so temperamental? Probably… I'm guessing that they're too used to men bending over backwards for them._

"Christina," Madame Maxime said, and Ron felt the temperature drop. _Uh oh._

"She will behave herself, Olympe, I promise," Lord Couture said, while his wife whispered something in French to Christina.

One by one, Ron began meeting the other Families. They all had the same things to say to each other, and Ron noticed that even Families that weren't part-Veela tended to let the women do the talking. He found that to be an odd custom, and figured that this was another thing that he needed to learn about French Wizarding Culture.

After he finished speaking to the Beaumont Family, who had brought their daughter, Tanya, with them, Ron was approached by the Delacour Family. _Now, if I remember correctly from my own victory Gala, the mother's name is Apolline Delacour. As for the husband, his name is… Oh, fuck… I don't remember. Shite! Just call him Lord Delacour._

"Lord and Lady Delacour," Ron smiled at them, and they both chuckled.

"Please, we are not counted amongst the Old Blood, despite our status as one of the most prominent Families in France," Monsieur Delacour said. _Fucked it up, Ron… You damn idiot._ "My name is Abraham Delacour, and this is my wife, Apolline Delacour." _This is a bit embarrassing. Adapt, Ron._

"Forgive my blunder," Ron kissed Apolline's knuckles, while she just smiled at him. "Far too many Lords and Ladies in one place…" _Didn't I refer to her, and her daughters, as Ladies the last time I spoke with them? Fuck, they were probably too kind to correct me in my state then._

"It is quite alright," Apolline excused him. "I myself sometimes forget who is who. It is good to see you again, Monsieur Weasley. I trust that you have fully recovered from your ordeal?" _You mean when your kind fried my brain?_

"I have indeed recovered," Ron assured them, while Madame Maxime became eerily quiet.

"You remember my daughter, Fleur, don't you?" Apolline asked, and Fleur Delacour stepped forward.

"Eet ees good to see you again, Monsieur Weasley," Fleur said, her accent was incredibly thick. _I'm guessing that she hasn't trained herself in English like the others here. Oh well, I can't judge her, I don't speak a lick of French._

"Fleur insisted on attending this Gala in order to thank you, Ronald," Madame Maxime said, and Ron made sure to hide his surprise.

"Thank me?" Ron smiled at Fleur.

"Gabriella, my sœur," Fleur replied. "She said zat you were kind to her."

"Little Gabriella has been raving on about your 'Powers' for weeks," Abraham laughed. "My daughter, like most young Veelas, is positively infatuated with you." _Oh, yeah… I showed the younger ones Wandless Magic, and Gabriella was there._ "She was truly upset when she wasn't invited to come, but alas, she has trouble controlling her urges due to her young age."

"I understand completely," Ron kept his smile up. "And you are welcome, Fleur. Gabriella is a lovely girl." _I say that, but I don't know a thing about her._

"Merci," Fleur smiled. "I am also sorree for my past…" she stopped.

"Behavior," Madame Maxime provided, and Fleur nodded immediately.

"Sorree," Fleur repeated, and Ron gave her a genuine smile.

"Water under the bridge," Ron assured her, and she looked confused.

Her mother whispered the meaning in French, and Fleur smiled and nodded at him.

"Merci, Monsieur Weasley," Fleur said, and then she reached into her purse and produced a letter. "From Amanda… A reply to your last letter."

"Thank you," Ron took the letter, and he stored it inside his coat pocket. _I'll read it later._ "Have you two become friends?"

"Friends," Fleur nodded. "I apologize to her too." _She's clearly matured quite a lot._

"We shall meet you again inside, Monsieur Weasley," Apolline promised, and Ron gave her a polite nod.

As the Delacour Family began making their way towards Fudge and Dumbledore, who were speaking to the other French Families by the entrance to the Ballroom, Ron and Madame Maxime were approached by an odd young witch. _Who is this?_

The witch was wearing some form of foreign uniform, and after Ron noticed the silver-hilted Blade hanging from her belt, he knew who this was. _Emilia Travers._ She stood out immensely due to her short, black, combed-back hair, and her soldier like posture made Ron question whether or not she was a woman. _If it weren't for her delicate facial features, and slightly wider hips, I'd have assumed that she was a slender man._

"Ronald, this is Emilia Travers," Madame Maxime introduced, her eyes traveling to Emilia's sheathed Oni-Blade.

"Mr. Weasley," Emilia shook Ron's hand, she had a rather firm grip.

Ron couldn't help but admire her white and red uniform, especially the short red cape that hung off of her left metallic pauldron. _She looks so fucking cool. I want on one of those uniforms. Her uniform is almost like light armor, and she wear it extremely well._

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Travers," Ron smiled, though her jet black eyes were a little intimidating. _She has Lord Greengrass' dead-eyed look about her._

"You brought your sword," Madame Maxime pointed out, her voice losing some of its politeness.

"And?" Emilia said, her eyes fixed on Ron's.

"And… It's a concealed weapon," Madame Maxime said. "This is a party, Emilia."

"Mr. Weasley, do you have your wand on you?" Emilia asked, and Ron blinked at her.

"Of course," Ron replied.

"Does that answer your unspoken question?" Emilia looked to Madame Maxime, who said nothing in response. _Yeah, this one isn't afraid of anyone, I can just tell. I like her._ "Mr. Weasley, when you have the time, come and speak with me. I will thank you properly for your help."

Before Ron could say anything, Emilia walked past them and made her way towards Fudge and Dumbledore. _Bloody hell… She's not one for small-talk, is she?_

"Forgive her, Ronald, she is an uncouth barbarian," Madame Maxime frowned to herself.

"What was she wearing?" Ron asked.

"A ceremonial uniform given to Japanese wizards and witches once they get inducted into the Ronin Order," Madame Maxime replied, and Ron had no idea what she was on about. "I shouldn't have invited her, but she insisted."

"She wanted to come to Britain, no doubt," Ron said. "Madam Bones told me about her Family's past."

"Yes, her uncle shamed the Travers Name when he sided with the Dark Lord," Madame Maxime said. "Her Family sided with your Ministry, but after the Great War ended, the public only cared about Phillip Travers' actions. The Travers Family was chased out of Britain by the other Pure-Blood Families, and if the rumors are true, the British Ministry itself."

"The Ministry probably wanted to look competent, and the Travers Family were made scapegoats," Ron frowned a little. _That's really unfair on the Travers Family. They no doubt lost their own in the Great War, and their reward for standing by the Ministry was excommunication._ "Why didn't they fight back?"

"They tried, but Phillip Travers spent most of their wealth funding the Dark Lord's war," Madame Maxime replied. "The other Families began invading their properties, while the Daily Prophet butchered their reputation. They had no means of fighting back, and so they fled to France. The French Ministry only welcomed them because it made them look forgiving."

"They too were having trouble with the public," Ron figured. "The Great War destroyed so much."

"And now, we stand at the edge of another one," Madame Maxime shook her head, she still couldn't believe Ron's involvement in the Order.

"Why do you think that she wanted to be back in Britain so badly?" Ron asked.

"Only she knows the answer to that, Ronald," Madame Maxime replied. "Personally, I believe that she has come to restore her Family's Honor. Emilia Travers has a strange method of thinking, and she is completely ruthless. Rumor has it that she has sworn Blood Vengeance on those who murdered her father, and those who stole her Family's lands."

"Her father was murdered?" Ron asked.

"When she was very young," Madame Maxime replied. "It was at the beginning of the Great War, I believe. Come, let's join your Minister and Headmaster Dumbledore. All the others have begun making their way inside."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

"Oh, and Lily was so gifted in Potions," Horace Slughorn went on, a nostalgic smile on his face.

Harry had been listening intently to every word, and as he did so, he painted mental portraits of what his mother and father were like at Hogwarts. Sadly, Sirius and Remus didn't like talking about James and Lily Potter that often, mostly because it made them long for simpler times, so Harry was truly grateful for this opportunity.

"My mother was gifted at Potions?" Harry asked, there was a lump in his throat.

"Incredibly so," Horace replied, even he could see the longing on Harry's face. "I personally invited her to my Slug Club, which consisted of all the top students in sixth and seventh years. She fit right in, I should add. Lily had a lovely air of familiarity around her, and her kind demeanor brought out the best in people."

Harry's heart was filled with pride at hearing that, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel horrible for never getting the chance to be with her. _Everyone has memories of my parents, but I didn't even know what they looked like until Hagrid gave me that picture of them._

"Was my father in the Slug Club?" Harry asked.

"I invited him after he became Head Boy, but your father was never one for that sort of thing," Horace replied. "A real shame… I'd have loved the set." _Set?_ "Actually… Lily did bring your father to one of my parties in seventh year, but that ended terribly."

"Why?" Harry blinked.

"Your father got into a fight with another guest," Horace Slughorn said. "Severus Snape."

Harry stilled at hearing that name, his father knew Snape?

"Professor Snape was in the Slug Club at the same time as my mother?" Harry asked, and Horace nodded.

"Brilliant boy, that Severus," Horace smiled to himself, but Harry was thoroughly put off. _Wretched scum, more like._ "He and your mother were inseparable as children, actually."

"Excuse me?" Harry cut in without thinking. "Snape knew my mother?" _That's not possible… Why would she associate with someone like that?_

"They were very close," Horace tried to remember. "But sadly, they had a falling out before joining my Club. I did spot Severus apologizing to Lily quite often about something, but she was cold to him… Which was quite unlike her." _I'm really… confused… now. Snape was friends with my mother? And she was cold to him?_ "Anyway… Your father struck Severus quite hard, and I had to send him and Lily away."

"Why would my father hit Snape?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "What did Snape do?"

"Well, here's the thing…" Horace said reluctantly. "As far as I know, Severus attempted to apologize to Lily whilst being drunk, but before she could say anything, your father lashed out." _What?_ "Your father and his friends were enemies of Severus from the very start of their schooling, actually."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea," Horace replied. "But I imagine that it was just school rivalry. You know how competitive Hogwarts can be, don't you?" Harry nodded slowly. "Anyhow, I wouldn't think too much on it. It's all in the past now, my boy." _Right… It's in the past now._

Harry was going to question Sirius about this as soon as he got the chance.

"Merlin's beard," Horace suddenly went wide-eyed at something behind Harry, and Harry quickly turned around. "It's really true… He actually managed to bring the French here?"

Harry eyed the latest guests with a slightly confused look, why were so many people shocked to see them? _Also, why are the women so beautiful? Silver-Blonde hair, and they seem to be glowing almost. Who are they?_

"Sir, who are they?" Harry asked.

"The French, my boy," Horace eyed the Veelas, his walrus-like moustache twitching. "Veelas, to be more precise." _Veelas? Like the ones that Ron got famous for resisting?_

"Is it bad that they are here?" Harry asked, looking at the sneers being sent by the British.

"Not bad, just very strange," Horace replied, and then he looked to Harry. "Have you not been taught about politics?"

"Um, no," Harry replied. "I mean, Remus tried once, but I don't really like to think about such things." _It's none of my business, I just want to be left alone with my friends._

"I… see," Horace said slowly. "Well, the French and the British have a lot of bad blood between them. It's been like that ever since the Great War, mind you, but over the last couple of years, it has gotten worse."

"Why?" Harry asked, though he wasn't really interested. _I just want to know why the Pure-Bloods are so agitated all of a sudden._

"Land disputes, too much pride on both sides, and a failure to find common ground," Horace listed. "Not to mention the Veelas… You see, in French Culture, the women usually lead the Families. For a long time, this custom only existed in Veela households, but over time, most of the Old Families began practicing said custom. It really is quite odd, and the British Families look down on such a custom."

"Odd?" Harry asked, he saw nothing wrong with it.

"Well… What kind of man lets a woman make all the decisions?" Horace chuckled nervously, but Harry wasn't amused.

"I… I can't really comment on that," Harry decided to evade the question. _The smartest person I know is a_ _ **witch**_ _, and she's usually spot on with her thinking._ "Who brought the French here?"

Horace gave Harry a bewildered look, much to Harry's own confusion.

"Your friend, Ronald Weasley," Horace replied, and Harry blinked at him. "He has powerful friends, and he pulled strings from the shadows to bring the French here without anyone's knowledge." _What?_ _ **He**_ _did that?_ "As far as I understand the situation, only the higher-ups in the Ministry knew about this. Well, them, and Ron, of course."

"Ron works for the Ministry?" Harry mumbled, what the hell was going on?

"He does now," Horace replied, a greedy glint in his eyes. "He has been made an International Diplomat to the French!" _WHAT?! WHEN?!_ "You didn't know?"

"Ron… likes his secrets…" Harry all but whispered to himself, while Horace seemed pleased to hear that for some reason. _Does his Family know about this? No… Ginny would've told us._ "Wait… Is that why the Minister needed his help?"

"I imagine so," Horace nodded, his eyes traveling back to the Veela. "Pardon me, Harry, but I need to use a restroom to freshen up."

"Oh… Sure," Harry nodded.

"Can we continue our conversation later?" Horace asked, and Harry nodded dumbly. _Ron is going to be an International Diplomat? But he's only thirteen. Is that even legal?_

Horace left to make sure that he looked his best for the Veela guests, and Harry found himself drifting towards Neville and Ginny. _Should I tell Ginny and Neville about Ron? I mean, they're going to find out eventually, right? Still… How did Ron manage something like this? Did Dumbledore help him?_

Harry felt a pang of jealousy at the thought, but he buried it immediately. He had learned his lesson, but try as he might, he couldn't help but feel alienated because of Ron and Dumbledore's friendship. _They really are friends, though, aren't they? Professor Dumbledore barely ever talks to me, whereas Ron and he even play Chess together._

"Harry, there you are," came Neville's voice, and Harry broke out of his thoughts. "Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah…" Harry replied, his eyes darting back to the French, who were now spreading out into the Ballroom.

"That's Lord and Lady Heroux," Neville said, his eyes scanning the French. "Gran has a partnership with them regarding fine silks. Oh, and that over there are the Donadieu Family! They own the biggest Gem Mine in France, and they have trade deals all over the World!"

"How do you know all this?" Ginny asked.

"My Gran taught me," Neville replied. "Actually, all Pure-Blood children are taught this sort of thing… Weren't you taught about the Old Families?"

"No, thank Merlin," Ginny pulled a face, and Harry smiled to himself. _Good, I'm not the only one who doesn't care about such tripe. We're just kids, so who cares about this sort of stuff?_

"This really is odd," Neville said. "Why are the French here? Who would even invite them? This is going to result in a massive brawl."

"Ron invited them," Harry spoke before thinking, and both Neville and Ginny looked to Harry.

"Pardon?" Neville asked.

"Ron invited them?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow. "How would Ron invite them?"

"Um… Well, Mr. Slughorn told me that Ron's been pulling strings, and that he has powerful friends," Harry replied lamely.

"Pulling strings?" Neville asked, while Ginny adorned a cold look. _She's still angry with him. Is the ability to hold grudges a Family trait, or something?_

"Yeah," Harry looked to Neville. "He invited them here somehow, and the Minister is in on it."

"Minister Fudge?" Ginny blinked, her cold look disappearing. "My brother is working with the Minister for Magic?"

"That's what I've been told," Harry replied, and Ginny looked as shocked as he was. "Yeah… It's kind of scary, right? Why is Ron even involved with such people?"

"He enjoys licking the proper boots," Ginny said, and even Harry didn't like her tone.

"He's your brother," Neville reminded her. "You shouldn't talk about him like that, Ginny."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ginny scoffed. "Any other manners to teach me, Neville?"

"No…" Neville sighed out, he had no business telling Ginny what to do. "What else did Mr. Slughorn tell you about this, Harry?"

"I don't know if I should tell you guys," Harry admitted. "You know how Ron is about his secrets…" _Plus, I've done enough damage to our friendship. Friendship… Are we even friends? No, we're not. I ruined any chance of that when I outed his condition to Hermione and Neville by mistake. Damn, what was I thinking? Oh, I know, I wasn't thinking at all._

"Fair enough," Neville said, and then he looked over to his Gran. "I need to go speak with Gran about this."

"Why?" Harry asked, and Neville shrugged.

"She might have some expectation of me, and I don't want to disappoint her," Neville replied. "She's still struggling with what happened to my parents, and I want her to know that I'm there for her in every way possible." _That's the Neville that I love._

"You should go, then," Harry encouraged with a smile.

"Thanks, mate," Neville smiled back. "I'll find you after."

With that, Neville left Harry and Ginny in order to speak with his Grandmother.

"So… What did Mr. Slughorn tell you about Ron?" Ginny looked to Harry.

"Ginny… I don't think that's wise…" Harry said, making sure to look away.

"Not wise?" Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Are you scared of him?" _Yes, he beat me bloody, and then nearly got me expelled for it._ "You are… Wow…"

"It's not like that," Harry sighed out. "Look, Ginny… I've done something terrible to Ron, and I don't want to make things worse. I know that you've noticed that we're fighting right now, and that he outright avoids Hermione and me."

"And it's your fault?" Ginny asked slowly.

"It is," Harry swallowed thickly. "I crossed a line…" _Shut up, Harry._

"What line?" Ginny asked, her eyes trying to catch Harry's.

"I've said enough…" Harry looked around, and that's when he spotted Ron approaching Mr. and Mrs. Weasley not too far from them.

"Fine," Ginny said as she followed his gaze. "I'll go ask him myself."

Before Harry could say anything, Ginny marched off in her Family's direction. _Should I follow her? No… I don't want to be near Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, despite Mrs. Weasley forgiving me for breaking their trust._ Harry watched Ginny nearing her Family, who were now speaking to Ron. _Don't do it, Harry, it's none of your business._ And yet, he wasn't sure that he should let Ginny, his friend, confront her brother. _She's got a temper, and it could cause her problems._

Harry groaned as he chased after her, and he managed to reach her just before she reached her Family.

"Ginny, don't start a fight," Harry managed to say before they reached the other Weasleys, and Ginny shot him a deadpan look.

"So I'll be bringing them over every now and then," Ron was saying as Ginny and Harry showed up.

"Ron, did you really bring the French here?" Ginny asked, and Ron shot a quick look back.

"Yeah, now don't interrupt," Ron said, and then he looked back to his parents. "Some of them have accents, and it's for the best that we don't comment on that. Also, Madame Maxime wishes to apologize to you both about-"

"You're working with the Minister?" Ginny interrupted.

"Ginny, your brother is trying to speak," Molly Weasley said, while Ron clearly didn't like being interrupted.

"Actually, why don't you join us?" Arthur suggested, and Ginny slowly moved over to her father's side. "Ron, go on."

"Right…" Ron said slowly, shooting a look back at Harry. "Do you mind?"

"Oh… Um… Yeah, I'll go," Harry said.

"Nonsense, Harry," Molly smiled at him. "Come over here, Ron has something to tell us." _Um… What?_

Harry's gut tensed, he knew that following Ginny was a mistake. _But I did it anyway… I just can't help myself, can I?_

"Whatever," Ron said, and then he pulled Harry to his side. _Ow… That hurt._ "Now, as I was saying…" Ron stopped once again, his eyes darting towards Percy, who was walking by. "Perce! Come over here!"

"What is it?" Percy asked as he approached his Family. "I was just about to speak to one of the French Families."

"Good on you, Perce," Ron said, he sounded incredibly pleased about that. _God, I feel so out of place right now._ "The French are eager to meet us Weasleys, which means that they'll come and find you in order to have a chat. We have to be on our best behavior, and whatever happens, smile. Make them feel welcome, ask them about their culture, tell them about Hogwarts, and just be pleasant."

"Why?" Ginny asked, and Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "What? It's a genuine question! Don't be rude!"

"Ginny, lower your voice," Percy frowned, looking around at the slightly annoyed bystanders.

"Ginny, the French are your brother's guests," Molly explained. "They hold a great deal of respect for him, and if we don't treat them properly, they will lose respect for Ron."

"The French respect Ron?" Ginny asked, a dull look on her face. "Really? They clearly don't know him all that well." _Seriously? She's taking things too far… I get that she's angry and hurt about the twins' situation, but Ron did ask them to stop._

"I'm going to have an aneurism," Ron rubbed his face, while his parents looked less than pleased with Ginny.

"What has gotten into you, Ginevra?" Molly demanded. "Why are you being so hostile tonight?" _Yeah, I definitely shouldn't be here._

"Oh, maybe because he framed the twins in order to help Slytherin?" Ginny replied in a challenging voice, which only seemed to anger her mother. _Skulk away, Harry. Do it nonchalantly, and then bolt as far as you can._

"Mum, keep her by your side, and make sure that she behaves," Ron said, while Harry tried to back away. "Harry, stay right here. I need to speak to you as well." _What? Why?_ "Percy, do you remember our plan?"

"Plan? What plan?" Arthur looked between his sons.

"Ron offered to introduce me to Madam Bones," Percy perked up. "We're hoping to impress her with my accolades, and in doing so, maybe get me a job under her." _Is it just me, or does it feel like Ron is calling all the shots?_

"As an Auror?" Molly looked worried.

"No," Percy replied immediately, and Molly let out a held breath. "But a woman as busy as her could use my talents."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Arthur admitted, and Percy genuinely lit up. "Madam Bones is an honorable woman, and you're right, she could use a hard worker on her team."

"Thank you, father," Percy actually showed teeth, while Ron's own lips twitched upwards. "Ron, I'll meet you by the food table? I saw her speaking with one of the French Families near there."

"Alright, I'll see you there," Ron said, and Percy left without another word. _Yeah, seeing him that excited is just unnerving._ "Mum and dad, I'll bring Madame Maxime over to you in a bit. Please, accept her apology."

"That woman…" Molly frowned a little. "She nearly got you killed…"

"Mum, this is important to me," Ron said, and she gave a reluctant nod. "Alright, go and mingle. I need to speak to Harry alone."

"What is going on here?" Ginny looked utterly bewildered. "Mum… Dad… Why are you taking orders from him?" _Yeah, even I'm curious about that. Who's the parent here?_

"Enough, Ginny," Arthur returned his daughter's bewildered look. "I don't know what's happened between you two, but now is not the time to be divided. Most of these Families aren't happy about us being here, so we can't turn on each other."

"We're only here because of him," Ginny pointed to Ron, who looked incredibly bored.

"Then leave if you don't want to be here," Ron said coldly. "But I'm warning you, Ginny, if you embarrass this Family in front of our enemies, there will be consequences." _Enemies? Like who? Wait… Aren't the Malfoys here? They must be._

"Ron, don't say things like that," Molly gave him a frown, and he drew in a deep breath.

"Please, just keep her in check," Ron sighed out. "I've worked extremely hard for this night."

"Ginny, you're to stay by my side," Molly said, and before Ginny could say anything, Molly shushed her. "No more arguing, young Lady. You will remember your manners, or I will know the reason why."

Arthur guided Ginny away from Harry and Ron, while Molly patted Ron's cheek before following after her husband and daughter. Ginny shot an annoyed look in Ron's direction, one that he completely ignored.

"Um…" Harry muttered, and Ron turned to face him. "What do you need from me?"

"One of the French Families asked if you were in attendance, and I told them that you were," Ron replied.

"Why would they want to know about me?" Harry asked, and Ron just stared at him. "Oh…" _Get it together, Harry._

"I have told the French that you and I are close friends," Ron said, and Harry blinked at him. "If they ask you about me, I want you to tell them that I was telling the truth. Tell them that we study together often, and that you respect me."

"But… We're not friends…" Harry said slowly. "Right?"

Ron clenched his jaw, and then he stepped forward in order to tower over Harry.

"You listen to me, and you listen well," Ron whispered dangerously. "You owe me your life, Harry. Do you understand?"

Harry felt intimidated at first because of Ron's height and build, but then his Gryffindor courage kicked in.

"Don't speak to me like that," Harry met Ron's gaze. "We might be fighting because of my actions, but I won't be ordered around like your personal servant."

"You owe me," Ron said. "I'm not ordering you around, I'm asking you to honor your debt to me. I saved your life. I saved the lives of your best friends. I freed Sirius from Azkaban. I smuggled a Dragon out of Hogwarts for you, and then took the blame in order to spare you. I nearly died helping you save the Philosopher's Stone. After my coma, I broke the Law in order to rescue you from your cruel Muggle Family, and in doing so, helped Sirius gain custody of you. I let you sleep in my room, eat with my Family, and I even helped you with your homework. I treated you like a true friend, and you spat in my face at the first opportunity you saw. And then, after we forgave each other, you didn't even wait six months to betray me again."

Harry couldn't help but look down because of Ron's words, he had stopped thinking about Ron's actions prior to second year. _He really did do all of that…_

"Don't let me down tonight, Harry," Ron said. "Or I swear to Merlin… I. Will. **Never**. Forget." Ron then took a step back. "Tell Neville what I just told you, and make sure that you smile when you speak of me."

And just like that, Ron turned around and left. Harry stood rooted in his spot for a bit, his guilt creeping back into his mind. _I can lie for one night… I owe him that much, at least._

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Evening)**_

"This is not good…" Cornelius muttered, the Minister was watching over the Ballroom with a slightly panicked look. "Albus… This is not good…"

"I find that a little tension does wonders for the soul," Albus smiled as he observed the whispering British. _I expected worse, but unsurprisingly, none of them want to be the ones to start a scene._

"I'll let you know about the state of my soul once I've been chased out of my Office…" Cornelius sighed out. "None of our own are mingling with **them**."

"Then it falls to us to set the example, does it not?" Albus asked, and Cornelius swallowed thickly.

"What if they put me under their Spell?" Cornelius asked slowly. "A man of my standing can't afford to be a puppet, Albus… It would ruin this country." _Yes, that would be utterly dreadful. We can't have a puppet Minister, now, can we?_

"Cornelius," came an all too familiar voice, and both men turned to look at Lucius Malfoy. _Ah, Cornelius' ventriloquist arrives._ "Forgive my lateness, but I simply lost track of time."

"Lucius, I'm glad that you're here," Cornelius looked a little relieved, which served to vex Albus a little. "Are your wife and son not with you?"

"Narcissa has fallen ill," Lucius lied, while Albus just smiled at him in his usual manner. "As for Draco, he was thoroughly put off when he learned that his mother would not be attending."

"Shame," Cornelius said. "I hope Narcissa feels better soon."

"I will relay your wishes to her," Lucius said, and then he looked to Albus. "Headmaster."

"Lucius," Albus greeted back. "It has been far too long since we last spoke. How is everything at home?" _Petty, Albus. You're being petty._

Albus used his Occlumency in order to find his center again, but some residual anger still lingered in the outskirts of his mind. This man had betrayed Severus to the Dark Lord, despite claiming to be his friend. Albus himself felt great guilt over Severus' current state, and he was wise enough to understand that he was simply projecting his negative emotions onto Lucius Malfoy. _And yet, it feels good to blame someone other than myself._

"The Manor is still the same," Lucius lied, though there was a hint of coldness to his voice now. "Cornelius, I couldn't help but notice some of your guests…"

"Ah, yes," Cornelius sounded a little nervous. "Some of the French Families have stepped forward to donate to our cause… With their help, we can start healing our country."

" **Our** country," Lucius asked, his cold eyes lingering on Cornelius. "These… foreigners… have no right to be here."

"They are here to help," Albus spoke up.

"We don't need **their** help," Lucius told Albus.

"That argument would only hold weight if fine people such as yourself stepped forward to help the Ministry in these trying times," Albus smiled calmly. "Alas, that has yet to happen, so we must make peace with our neighbors."

"Then invite Wizarding-Kind, not…" Lucius looked to the French women. "Animals."

"Please, there's no need for that," Cornelius chuckled nervously. "Each French Family has promised to donate the maximum sum tonight, and they are our guests. We should prove to them that we're more open than they are, shouldn't we?"

"I suppose you are right," Lucius said dismissively. "Cornelius, I wish to speak to the Headmaster alone for a moment. I will meet you inside."

"Oh… Certainly," Cornelius nodded, and then he looked to Albus. "I hope we'll speak more inside, Albus."

"Of that, I have no doubt," Albus said, and the Minister entered the Ballroom.

Once the Minister had disappeared into the crowd, Lucius lost all pretense of politeness.

"Is my wife alive?" Lucius demanded in a cold whisper.

"She is," Albus replied. "I am not your Master, Lucius. I do not kill without hesitation." Albus then smiled in his kind manner once again. "How is Lord Voldemort? Is his vessel falling apart at the seams yet?"

"You dare speak his name?" Lucius sneered.

"I do, and rather easily, I might add," Albus replied calmly.

"You will pay for what you've done, old man," Lucius promised. "One day soon, justice will find you." _Justice?_

"Your wife said something similar," Albus remembered. "You sound just as foolish as her."

"Narcissa is not a part of the inner circle," Lucius hissed. "She serves no purpose as your hostage."

"Once again, you are mistaken," Albus told him. "She serves a great purpose."

Lucius blinked at him.

"I took your son to her," Albus said, and Lucius' mask of hatred cracked. "I showed Draco what you, and your Master, did to Severus."

Lucius said nothing, but his eyes revealed his trepidation at the prospect of his son witnessing such a thing.

"He is just a boy…" Lucius started.

"And Ginevra Weasley hadn't even started Hogwarts when you attempted to take her life," Albus lost his smile. "Justice found you, Lucius, and it shall do so again for your numerous crimes." _Ronald will see to that, and nothing can change his mind._ "As for Draco, you will never see him again."

"Don't be so sure, you old **fool** ," Lucius all but spat out.

"Oh, but I am sure," Albus said, his voice perfectly calm. "Draco has renounced the Dark Lord in favor of his Godfather." Lucius stilled at that. "Yes, Lucius… If you ever do manage to bring your son to your Master, he **will** look into the boy's mind, and then, he will kill Draco on principle."

"You've signed his death warrant…" Lucius looked visibly shaken, when did Albus Dumbledore begin operating this way?

"I have saved him from your Master's cruelty, and although you might deny it, you are grateful," Albus said, his eyes fixed on Lucius'. "Draco will not be forced to fight for the Order, nor will he be punished for abstaining. He is quite shaken at the moment, but in time, he will learn to keep moving forward." Albus then turned to leave. "As for you, Lucius, you will die before you ever speak to him again."

With that, Albus made his way into the Ballroom.

Deep in Albus' bones, he knew that he had regressed as a person over the last few months. Power had always been his weakness, a lesson that he had learnt over the corpse of his beloved sister, and yet, he was beginning to learn a new lesson. _We have failed four hundred and sixty three times, and I can't deny my part in that. I know that if I had done more in my past incarnations, Ronald would not be trapped in his everlasting damnation._ _ **This**_ _Cycle will succeed, even if I have to give up my soul._

"Headmaster," came Andromeda's voice, and Albus was pulled away from his thoughts.

"Andromeda," Albus looked to his left, and he was quickly approached by Edward and Andromeda Tonks. "And Edward as well. Are you both enjoying your evening?"

"Certainly," Edward smirked, while his wife looked far less entertained.

"Andromeda?" Albus looked to her, and she quickly schooled her features.

"Edward and I are thinking of going home," Andromeda told him. "It was foolish of me to want to be here…"

"You missed a small part of your past life," Albus said. "There's nothing foolish about that, my dear."

"Being here has reminded me why I chose to leave in the first place," Andromeda said. "These people are cruel, and full of hatred."

"Love, it really doesn't bother me," Edward said gently, while Albus looked between them.

"But it bothers me," Andromeda countered, and then she looked to Albus. "I just wanted to speak to you before we left."

"What about?" Albus asked.

"About Siri," Andromeda replied. "Headmaster, he's been acting very…" she stopped in order to think her words through. "Strange."

"Strange?" Albus asked, he too had noticed Sirius' inner conflict.

"Ever since the mission," Edward told Albus. "At first, he was awfully quiet."

"Even awkward," Andromeda added.

"But then he started drinking," Edward went on. "More than usual, that is. Nymphadora told us that he has been distant with the other Order members lately, including his partner, Sturgis. He also always has a drink in his hand now, and he even showed up here drunk."

"Really?" Albus asked. _I asked him to keep an eye on Harry tonight._ "Where is he right now?"

"We don't know," Andromeda replied, a hint of anger in her voice. "He left poor Harry alone out there, and we haven't seen him since."

"I see," Albus nodded slowly. "Forgive me for this, but I need you both to stay by Harry's side until I locate Sirius."

"We can do that," Edward said immediately, and his wife gave a reluctant nod. "If you do find him, Headmaster, please talk some sense into him. Harry needs a father-figure in his life, not a drunk."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

"There you are," Percy shot him a frown. "I've been following her around for nearly twenty minutes, Ron."

"Sorry, brother," Ron smiled sheepishly. "I got ambushed by three different French Families on the way here." _The way they look at me is starting to creep me the fuck out._ "So, where is Madam Bones?"

"She's over there, by the crystal statue," Percy looked in her direction, and Ron followed his gaze. "Ron, I'm not too sure about this…"

"That's just the nerves talking," Ron patted Percy's back. "Once you're speaking with her, it'll come naturally." _At least I hope so._ "C'mon, let's go speak to her."

"You start, alright?" Percy suggested. "You already know her, and you can introduce me." _I know how this works, mate._

"Sure, sounds like a plan," Ron decided to say.

As they neared the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who was currently admiring the crystal statue, Ron felt Percy slow down a little.

"Perce, don't lose your nerve," Ron whispered, and he gave a nod.

"I'm just thinking about what to say," Percy told him.

"You do that," Ron sniggered, and then, they were standing right behind her. "Madam Bones, how are you enjoying the party?"

"Ronald," Madam Bones turned around to face him, her eyes darting towards Percy for a moment. "Do you know how much this statue costs?" _Huh?_

"I'd say around fifteen hundred Galleons," Percy guessed, and Madam Bones looked at him properly.

"Quite right," Madam Bones said, and then she fixed her monocle into place. "Extraordinary, isn't it?"

"Maybe instead of spending fifteen hundred Galleons on a useless statue, Minister Fudge could have donated that money to a charity?" Ron frowned a little, why were most adults so damn greedy?

"Quite right," Madam Bones gave a short smile, while Percy held his tongue. "This statue costs more than my house, and it serves no function besides stroking the man's ego." _Is she in a bad mood? She has never spoken out against Fudge so openly._

"I take it that you are not enjoying the Gala, Madam Bones," Percy said, and she looked him over.

"This is my older brother Percy," Ron introduced. "He's the one who mentored me before I started attending Hogwarts."

"So you're to blame for this monster?" Madam Bones cocked an eyebrow, while Ron grinned at her.

"Partly," Percy couldn't help but smile, he liked that Ron remembered his lessons. "I am sorry if he has given you any grief, Ron has a way of aggravating people."

"That he does," she said, her voice slightly less stern now. "Your father speaks very highly of you, Percy."

"He does?" Percy asked.

"I run into him at the Ministry often," Madam Bones replied. "He told me an extraordinary tale about your O. W. Ls."

"I see," Percy nodded slowly.

"You earned twelve O. W. Ls without the use of a Ministry provided Time-Turner," Madam Bones said, and Ron wondered about what a 'Time-Turner' was. "That is quite impressive."

"I created an efficient timetable, and I stuck with it regardless of circumstance," Percy straightened his back. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to pull it off."

"And you are Head Boy as well?" Madam Bones asked, while Ron felt the need to slink away. _They don't need me here anymore. I should keep moving around._

"I am," Percy replied. "I was made Prefect in my fifth year, and the Headmaster himself promised me the position of Head Boy at the start of my sixth year."

"He did?" Madam Bones asked. _Yeah, he did?_

"I took it upon myself to fill the role of Head boy in my fifth year," Percy explained. "The Head Boy at the time was more interested in mucking about rather than doing his job, and so I took the lead. The other Prefects didn't mind, and neither did the Head Boy."

"A Curse-Breaker, a Dragon-Tamer, an academic genius, and Ronald…" Madam Bones looked between the two brothers. "A generation of high-achievers in a single Family." _She missed the twins and Ginny._ "Your parents must be the proudest couple around." _Debatable._

"They are definitely the most stressed," Ron joked, deciding to jump in again.

"Of that, I have no doubt," Madam Bones gave a half-smile, and then she looked to Percy. "What are your plans after you Graduate, Mr. Weasley?" _Ah, finally._

"I plan to start a career within the Ministry," Percy replied, and Madam Bones stared at him.

And then, she looked to Ron.

"This meeting is not by chance, I take it," she said, and Ron felt Percy tense a bit. _Relax, old boy. Adapt._

"I like to think that Fate has brought us all together," Ron smiled at her, and her lips twitched upwards. "I mean, there is no doubt in my mind that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is currently besieged by a massive workload, and as it happens, the most diligent Weasley is looking to start a career within the Ministry."

"How fortunate I am," Madam Bones looked to Percy, who kept his features perfectly still. _Relax, Percy…_ "Do you wish to work within my Department?"

"I believe that my work-ethic could be of great use to you, Madam Bones," Percy said, almost as if he was reciting a speech. _Charisma is clearly not a word in Percy's vocabulary._ "I have no desire to be an Auror, and unlike most, a desk job would suit me perfectly. I believe that I have also proven that I take the initiative, and that I can easily manage my time in order to accomplish my set goals."

"And what sort of desk job would you prefer?" Madam Bones asked, the boy's exemplary Hogwarts career earned him the right to make his case.

"I know that you don't have a personal assistant, unlike all the other Heads of Ministry Departments," Percy said, he had done his research on this woman. "I would like to work directly under you, and in doing so, learn from you. I believe that the Ministry is a vital part of the British Wizarding Community, and I'd like to help steer it into the Future."

"And what would you do for me?" Madam Bones asked.

"I'd act as your right hand man," Percy said resolutely. "I'd schedule your meetings, lower your workload, keep you in the loop, and even advise you, if you'll have my opinion."

"And are you as resourceful as your brother?" Madam Bones asked. _Probably not._

"No, I am not," Percy admitted, though it pained him to do so. "But I am a fast learner, and I put my heart and soul into my work, regardless of its importance."

"And Percy is the one who taught me the value of hard work," Ron added for good measure. _It is true, so why not tell her?_ "Despite his own hectic school schedule, Percy sat me down for hours on end to teach me the basics of Magic. Without him, I would not be who I am today." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Trust me, Madam Bones, you could not ask for a finer right hand man."

Madam Bones looked Percy over, and then she fixed her monocle again. _C'mon, you only benefit from this partnership. You don't even have to do anything, Percy will be the one helping_ _ **you**_ _._

"When you near your Graduation, send me an owl," Madam Bones said, and both brothers smiled in relief. "If you still wish to be my personal assistant then, we'll work something out." Madam Bones then looked to one of her Aurors, who was currently speaking to a young Veela. "Excuse me, please, but I need to attend to something."

"Thank you for your time, Madam Bones," Ron said, and she gave him a nod before leaving.

Once she was gone, Percy let out a long breath and deflated on the spot. _He did well, despite his lack of charisma._

"Good work, Perce," Ron put his arm around Percy, and then he gave his brother a comforting squeeze. "I told you that she'd appreciate someone like you."

"Thanks…" Percy managed a weak smile, his nerves had suddenly given out. "You really think she'll take my owl?"

"Of course," Ron replied. "She's not the sort of person who speaks without thought, and she probably understands that by hiring you, she only benefits."

"That went a little too smoothly though," Percy couldn't help but point out.

"Well, you have the perfect credentials, so that definitely helped," Ron smiled at Percy. "I didn't know that the Headmaster promised you the position of Head Boy in your sixth year."

"Yeah… I never told anyone," Percy said, and then he straightened his posture.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"I… I didn't really have anyone to tell," Percy admitted, and Ron blinked at him. "I mean, no one would have cared much. If anything, I'd be made fun of. So I just kept it to myself."

"What about your girlfriend?" Ron asked, he didn't like that Percy felt this way. _I guess I was a little too preoccupied with the Heir last year._

"Penelope's great… But…" Percy stopped with a sigh. "It doesn't matter, Ron, just enjoy the party. I'd rather not bore you with my personal life." _He really means that?_

Ron shot quick looks around them, and he noticed a few people that he wanted to speak to. _They can wait, Ron. You owe Percy a great deal, and he's never asked for a thing in return._

"You say that you have no one to talk to, but I'm right here," Ron said, and Percy just stared at him. "C'mon, Perce… You can talk to me."

"The Gala-" Percy started.

"Can wait its turn," Ron interrupted, and then he let go of Percy. "Brothers talk to each other, Percy, so let me listen to you."

"You're a persistent one," Percy said, all the while hiding how shocked, and happy, he was. "Well… Things between Penelope and me are temporary."

"How so?" Ron asked.

"She wants to travel the World right after Hogwarts," Percy replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "Plus, she's in her sixth year right now… After I Graduate, I want to start working on my career immediately, but she'll still be at school. We talked about it, and I asked her if she wanted to… move in… with me after she finished school. She told me that she wanted to travel the World while she was still young, and we both realized that our relationship wasn't going to last. Neither of us want to change our life plans."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ron said genuinely.

"It's alright…" Percy shrugged, he had never really spoken to any of his Family members about his personal affairs before. "Things like this happen… I can't expect her to throw away her dreams for mine, because I know for a fact that I don't plan to do that for her. So… We decided to keep dating until I Graduate, and then part ways as friends."

"Maybe after she comes back from her travels, you two can meet up again?" Ron suggested.

"Maybe," Percy gave Ron a grateful smile. "Who knows what the Future holds, right?" _I do._ "Anyway… Enough about me, Ron."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Percy replied, and then he patted Ron's back. "Thanks for listening, I haven't told anyone about this yet. It feels good to talk about it with someone else."

"If you ever need an ear, Perce, you can always come find me," Ron said, and Percy gave him a nod.

"I'll… try and remember that," Percy said, and then someone approaching them caught his eye. "Who…?"

"Mr. Weasley," Emilia Travers greeted, her expression stone-like. "Do you mind having that chat now?"

"Lady Travers," Ron smiled at her, but she kept her mask of indifference. "This is my brother-"

"Percy Ignatius Weasley," Emilia cut him off. "Twelve O. W. Ls, Prefect turned Head Boy, studying twelve N. E. W. Ts."

Ron blinked at her, while Percy looked genuinely taken aback. _She knows about Percy? How? Was she listening in? No… She just showed up from the other side of the Ballroom._

"Have we met?" Percy asked slowly.

"No," she replied, her black eyes fixed on Ron. "Mr. Weasley?"

"Percy, why don't you go and mingle?" Ron looked to his brother, who was looking at Emilia with a furrowed brow. "Perce…"

"I'll see you later, then," Percy said, and then he slowly parted ways from Ron.

Once he was out of sight, Ron looked to Emilia with a slightly suspicious look.

"You've done your research," Ron figured.

"Does that bother you?" Emilia asked, her eyes fixed on his.

"Yes," Ron admitted.

"Good, that means that you're not stupid," Emilia said, and then she gestured towards the back exit. "Accompany me to the Gardens, Mr. Weasley, I wish to speak in private." _I'd rather stay near the public._

"The Gardens are closed," Ron told her.

"Then I will have them opened," Emilia said immediately after. "Come." _There's no point in arguing with her, I can already tell._

Ron put on a smile as he turned to leave for the Gardens, and they began making their journey side-by-side. _Her blade looks awesome! I want one of those!_

"Can you tell me why you wish to have a private conversation?" Ron asked.

"I don't want the other guests to overhear us," Emilia replied. "Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, I mean you no harm. Yet." _Yet?!_

"That sounded an awful lot like a threat," Ron pointed out.

"Then it served its purpose," Emilia said, she had a rather blunt way of speaking. "I wish to see if you and I can work together, but if not, then you will be my enemy."

"Enemy?" Ron shot her a quick look, his amusement completely gone. "You have no enemies here, Lady Travers. This is a Charity Event for the Restoration of St. Mungo's Hospital."

"You are wrong," Emilia said a little too calmly. " **All** of my enemies are here." _Alright, she's starting to get to me. What's her goal? Was Madame Maxime right about her swearing Blood Vengeance against certain British Families?_

They began nearing the back exit, which was being guarded by Nymphadora Tonks and John Dawlish.

"Sorry, but the Gardens are closed for the time being," Dawlish stepped forward, while Tonks gave Ron a subtle wave. _Hello, Tonks. Looking cute as a button, like always._

"I wish to speak to Mr. Weasley alone," Emilia said. "The Ballroom does not provide me with the privacy that I seek, so I wish to speak to him in the Gardens."

"We have orders," Dawlish said firmly. "No one is allowed outside."

"You can either step aside, or I can involve your superiors," Emilia told the man. "Whose side will Madam Bones take in this matter?"

"Then go and find her," Dawlish told Emilia. _Wow, he's no doormat._

"Ease up there, John," Tonks rolled her eyes, and she smiled at Emilia. "He takes his job far too seriously."

"Tonks," Dawlish shot a frown in her direction.

"We're going to open the Gardens in twenty minutes anyway, so why not let them through?" Tonks asked in return. "It'll save Madam Bones a headache, and we can all stay friendly."

"She is right," Ron stepped in. "Madam Bones is currently running the entire event, so disturbing her will just cause problems. We won't take long, and no one has to know."

Dawlish eyeballed Emilia, who just stared back at him with an expressionless face.

"Fine, ten minutes," Dawlish stepped aside. "If you take longer than that, then I'll come looking for you."

"I understand," Emilia said, and then she looked to Tonks. "Thank you, Metamorphmagus."

"Um… How did you know…?" Tonks blinked.

"Your hair," Emilia replied. "No sane individual would support florescent pink, unless they were a Metamorphmagus, who are drawn to bright colors, and have a need to stand out." _Is she a Dementor in human disguise? Also, she's got a sharp eye. Maybe Daphne was right, and this woman really is a Prodigy._

"Um… Thanks?" Tonks gave Ron a confused look, and he just smiled at her.

Tonks then opened the back door, and both Ron and Emilia stepped out into the cool night. Ron couldn't help but admire the marble terrace, and the far reaching Gardens, which were lit up with Christmas lights. _It's almost as nice as the Greengrass Gardens, despite being much smaller. Oh, and I don't see any Fairies either._ Ron and Emilia walked down the marble steps, and they began following one of the lit paths leading further into the Gardens.

"What do you think of this Manor, Mr. Weasley?" Emilia asked. "Please, tell the truth."

"I think… that the Minister should have a humbler home," Ron admitted, deciding to stay on her good side.

"Then we are of one mind," Emilia said, and Ron shot her a pleasant smile. "A Minister should serve his people, not himself. How do you think that he acquired such an extravagant Manor on a Minister's salary?"

"Bribes," Ron replied. "The Ministry is incredibly corrupt, and everyone knows it. Sure, there are a few good apples, but it hardly matters because even the barrel is rotten."

"The French Ministry is not so different," Emilia told Ron. "I personally blame Families like ours, Mr. Weasley."

"Really?"

"Far too many of us have become greedy, and so we constantly work to hold onto our wealth," Emilia replied.

"If you've researched me, then you know that my Family has no wealth to speak of," Ron said, and she gave him a nod.

"There was a time when we Wizards worshiped Magic, not Gold," Emilia said. "We were Pure, then, but now we are far too much like those wretched Goblins." _Where is she going with this?_ "When this country was first settled by the Wizards of Old, Magic was a religion. It was Sacred. We learnt from the-"

"The Fae?" Ron looked to her, and she looked back at him.

"You know our History?" Emilia smirked.

"I know that we betrayed the Fae, and that we fashioned wands out of their Sacred Trees," Ron replied. "They gave us the gift of knowledge, and we used that very gift against them."

"Greed, Mr. Weasley," Emilia all but whispered. "That is our sin."

"Why have you brought me out here?" Ron stopped, they were far enough from the Manor now.

"I wish to know you," Emilia replied, and then she turned to face him.

"Know me?" Ron asked.

"I wish to see what lies in here," she said as she rested her hand over his heart. _This witch is weird._ "Are you greedy, Mr. Weasley?"

"No more than the next man," Ron replied. "I want to provide for my Family, and to do that, I need wealth and position. I wish to protect my loved ones, and to do that, I need to become more powerful. So in a way, I am greedy."

"That was a good answer," she said, not a hint of emotion on her face. "You are not like your fellow children, even a blind man could see that. What makes you different?"

"Circumstance," Ron replied, his eyes darting down to her hand.

"I can understand that," she said as she pulled her hand back. "I too was changed by circumstance. Have you heard about the Travers Family, Mr. Weasley?"

"Not until recently," Ron admitted.

"We were betrayed by my uncle, Philip Augustus Travers, who was driven mad by his greed for power and favor," Emilia said, and Ron listened quietly. "He cast our Name into the filth for his own gain, and our Family was torn apart as a result. My father, Caranthir Augustus Travers, was invited to dine with my uncle's friends when the war was still young. My father loved his older brother, and so he accepted the invitation in order to bring his wayward brother back into the fold. During the dinner, my uncle, and his friends, used the table knives to butcher my father for speaking out against the Dark Lord."

"I am sorry to hear that," Ron said, he was still trying to figure out her angle. "How old were you?"

"I was one year old when my father was murdered," Emilia replied. "When I turned seven, my mother told me the entire story on her deathbed, and I never forgot." _Merlin, does this woman have any good memories?_

That's when something clicked in Ron's head, and he looked down at her sword.

" **All** of your enemies are here…" Ron said slowly, and then he looked back at her face. _She really_ _ **did**_ _make an oath of Blood Vengeance, didn't she?_

She looked even colder than before, and there was an unmistakable bloodlust behind her black eyes.

"We fought alongside the Ministry, we bled and mourned our loved ones, and in the end, we were betrayed by those we called our friends," Emilia whispered coldly. "The Longbottoms, the Fawleys, the Shafiqs, the Shacklebolts, the Abbots, the Macmillans, the Prewetts, and… the Weasleys. Not one of you stood for us when the British Ministry needed a scapegoat, and so we were exiled, despite our sacrifices."

"Why are you here now?" Ron asked, making sure to be ready for anything. _If she tries anything, I'll use Cutis Terra to defend myself. At this distance, I can easily grab onto her._ "Why come back to Britain after all this time?"

"I have come to restore my Family's tarnished honor," Emilia replied, she felt no need to hide her plans. "I have come to reclaim our lands. I have come to avenge my father's murder. I have come to reclaim my birthright."

"Your birthright?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Haven't you already reclaimed that?"

"You speak of my Great-Aunt," Emilia figured. "So… You've done your research as well." _Hardly, my girlfriend did the research._

"You killed your own Blood," Ron said.

"I did," Emilia replied, her stare becoming intense. "Greed corrupted my Great-Aunt, and so I purged her **filth** from my Family forever." _Fuck me dead. I won't lie, I'm a little scared right now._

"Greed?" Ron asked.

"She planned to sell our businesses to Cornelius Nott, who promised to make her a rich woman," Emilia replied. "I came back from my studies abroad, but instead of receiving a happy welcome, I found my Family divided by civil war. My Great-Aunt refused to listen, and her greedy son, my father's youngest cousin, was also blinded by his greed. The Family accounts were in her name, at least until I came of age, a Law which they refused to honor. So I killed her, and then I cut off her son's hands as repayment for their disloyalty. Do you disagree with my actions?" _Fuck yes, you crazy bitch._

"Family has to come first," Ron replied, and she gave him a nod. "But your punishment was far too severe."

"And yet, I was named the Head of my Family without question right after," Emilia said.

"Because they feared you," Ron said.

"Good, they should fear me," Emilia told Ron. "Not one of them has stepped out of line since, and as long as I breathe, they will follow me into Hell itself. Now, to answer your earlier question… My birthright isn't being the Head of my Family, it is everything that was stolen from us. We Travers were one of the first settlers of Magical Britain, far older than even the Malfoys, and yet, we are forced to live away from our home, while men like Lucius Malfoy parade around in Diagon Alley."

"That cunt," Ron's mood soured at the mere mention of Lucius Malfoy.

"You hate him?" Emilia asked, something flashing behind her eyes.

"Of course, he doesn't deserve to live, let alone sneer down at my Family," Ron replied.

Emilia took a step forward, and Ron immediately became alert.

"Seven men attended the dinner where my father was butchered," Emilia whispered, her eyes locked onto Ron's. "Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Nott, Amycus Carrow, Augustus Rookwood, Bartholomew Goyle, Herbert Crabbe, and Philip Travers… I have vowed on my Magic that I will collect their heads, or at least live long enough to see them dead." _Blood Vengeance._ "I require powerful allies within Britain, and you have piqued my interest."

"You want my help in killing these men?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. "You understand that I'm just a thirteen year old, right?"

"I am showing you a great deal of respect, Mr. Weasley, but if you patronize me again, I will add your name to my list," Emilia warned. _And I'll skin your Family alive, and make damn sure that you watch._

"Should I be afraid?" Ron smiled at her. "Don't threaten me, Lady Travers, you have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Is that so?" Emilia asked.

Emilia then began to stare into his eyes, and that's when Ron felt a dull ache in the back of his skull. Her eyes widened as she felt the Entity's presence, and Ron immediately knew what that meant. _**This bitch! She just used Legilimency on Us!**_ Emilia's right hand moved towards her Blade through sheer instinct, but Ron grabbed her right arm just as his eyes became crimson and toad-like.

" _ **We will eat you,**_ " Ron growled, and Emilia froze with a slightly horrified look on her face. " _ **Never look into Our mind again, little human.**_ "

She just stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar. Ron could feel her arm trembling, and for a moment, he felt the urge to take a bite out of her throat. _**Fucking whore…**_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then he let go of her arm. She immediately stepped back, but she didn't dare reach for her Blade.

"What… What are… you?" she managed, while Ron's eyes returned to normal.

" _ **Champion… Use this woman…**_ " the Entity growled in the back of his mind. " _ **Channel her wrath towards the Lord of Serpents… She will shed blood in your name…**_ "

"Answer me… De… Demon…" Emilia took another step back, her discipline shattered due to the Entity's voice and presence.

"Stop shaking," Ron said, a terrible calm washing over him. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd have ripped your arm off just then."

A part of him was beginning to panic, he had just revealed the Entity in a fit of rage, but at the same time, he knew that he had the upper hand now. This woman, who was clearly his superior in everything, was trembling at the mere sight of him. _Use her fear, and make her your ally. Think fast, Ron, or you'll be forced to put her down._

Ron took a step forward, and she immediately reached for her Blade.

"Don't," Ron said firmly, but it made no difference.

"You are not human…" Emilia tried to regain her focus, but the boy's monstrous voice began echoing in the back of her mind.

Emilia visibly shuddered, and she took another step away from him.

"Don't… come near me…" she warned, though her trembling voice made her sound like a frightened child. "Monster…"

"Listen to me," Ron raised his hands in surrender, his voice almost gently. "Those seven names… I can help you with them. I too want these men dead, starting with Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott."

She just stared at him, and Ron decided to take a step back.

"I mean you no harm," Ron promised. "You delved into my mind without permission, and it angered me. I'm sorry that you had to see something so frightening, but it was your own fault. Now… Relax, and take a deep breath." She slowly did as he asked, but her eyes never left him. "I have not brought the French here on a whim. I have plans for the Future of this country, and I see now that we are natural allies. I too want to kill the men on your list, and if we work together, we can achieve our common goal."

"What are you?" she asked once again, her voice strained. "Le fléau de Vélane…"

"That name means nothing to me," Ron told her. "A silly legend that the Veelas have associated with me, nothing more."

"But you are not human…" Emilia swallowed thickly, her mind doing its best to banish the **Demonic** voice.

"No," Ron admitted. "Not anymore, I think." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Forgive my anger, Emilia Travers, it was not very worthy of me. I swear to you that I mean you no harm."

"Tell me what you are," she demanded, her fear feeding her anger.

"Something far worse than a Demon," Ron replied, which did little to calm her down. "I propose a partnership between us."

"Partnership…?" she asked slowly. "Why would I align myself to… whatever you are?"

"Because I understand your pain," Ron replied. "Or at least, a small part of it. What happened to your Family was nothing short of criminal, and it saddens me to know that my own Family did not speak out when you were all being cornered. I was not old enough to say anything at the time, of course, but allow me to apologize on their behalf. I am sorry."

She said nothing, and Ron could tell that she was still debating on what to do. _C'mon, Ron, do something. And do it before she pulls that sword out and cuts your head off._

"The Dark Lord has returned," Ron told her, and she didn't seem fazed by that. _I know why._ "Madame Maxime told you, did she not? She reached out to the French Families, and asked them all to come here under pretense of donating to the Restoration of St. Mungo's. But the truth is that you are all here to sign up for the reignited Order of the Phoenix." Her eyes widened a little. "That's right, I brought you here. I brought you **all** here. Madame Maxime did as I asked of her."

"She is under your Spell?" Emilia asked.

"No," Ron replied. "She is my friend and ally, so I asked her for help without any tricks. I told her of my part in the Order, which is a closely guarded secret that only Albus Dumbledore knows of."

"You're telling me…" she pointed out, and then she tried to refocus her mind.

It didn't work.

"I am," Ron said. "I sense a kindred spirit in you."

"Do not compare me to yourself, demon," her expression darkened.

"I am trying to reach out to you," Ron told her. "Do not push me away, Emilia, it won't end well for you." Ron then relaxed his tensing body, and he tried to imagine himself on Stoatshead Hill. "War is coming, and both sides are preparing for the inevitable blood bath. I need people who are willing to kill our enemies, something that the Order frowns upon greatly, and you fit the bill. Just like me, you understand that corruption must be **burned** away. Lucius Malfoy, and the others like him, should have been locked away in Azkaban after the Great War, but unfortunately, they bribed their way out. I can now see why you detest the concept of greed so much… After all, the greed of others undid your Family's honor."

"If you are so powerful, then why don't you kill them yourself? Why are they still alive?" Emilia hissed. _Firstly, I'm not that powerful. Secondly, I don't want to end up in Azkaban just yet._

"I plan to," Ron admitted. "But things are complicated right now. I am friends with the children of the people that we both loathe, and Albus Dumbledore has cautioned restraint."

"He knows what you are?" she asked.

"He does," Ron replied. "Only him, and now, you. Not even my Family knows, so if you ever mention my true nature to anyone, there will be consequences. Am I understood?"

Once again, she said nothing, but at least this time, she gave a hesitant nod.

"Look," Ron said, and then he pulled his left sleeve back.

Emilia eyed his scars, and for a moment, Ron saw shock written on her face.

"My entire body is covered in similar scars," Ron told her. "A gift from the Dark Lord himself."

"You have faced him?" she asked slowly.

"At the end of my first school year," Ron told her. "I barely survived our encounter, and like you, I have sworn Blood Vengeance against him." _Not really, but it sounds better._ "We are on the same side, Emilia Travers. Help me claim my vengeance, and I will do the same for you."

"Tell me what you are first," Emilia demanded. "Prove to me that you can be trusted."

"I have just given you plenty of proof," Ron was starting to get annoyed. _Get a grip, woman._ "You now know things about me that no one in the World does, not even my most cherished ones."

"And you say that Dumbledore knows everything?" Emilia asked.

"He does, but if you tell him what I told you, he **will** Obliviate you," Ron assured her.

"Convenient," Emilia said to herself.

"If you don't believe me, then by all means, go and find him," Ron stepped aside, and when she didn't move, Ron took a step towards her. _Good, she didn't move back._

"Why have you told me all of this?" Emilia asked. "It can't just be because you want my help."

"I don't want to kill someone because I couldn't keep my true nature in check," Ron admitted, and she blinked at him. "So if I can't kill you, then I have to recruit you. The mysteries of my inner workings shouldn't matter to you in the first place, you should only care about your Magical Oath. With my help, you can get what you want… What we **both** want."

"Death-Eater blood," Emilia muttered under her breath, but Ron heard her.

"No loose ends this time," Ron said, his eyes digging into hers. "We either kill our enemies, or we lock them away forever. No more half-measures." Ron then put his gloved hand forward. "The Order won't follow me that far, but someone like you will. I have helped the Order as much as I can, but I understand that certain lines will need to be crossed in the Future. Join the Order, but keep faith with me, and me alone."

"And Albus Dumbledore?" Emilia asked.

"No, just me," Ron replied. "Albus Dumbledore is a good man, one who values each life, no matter how deplorable. He might take severe actions one day, but so far, he has shown me that there are many lines that he won't cross." _And I hate that I'm changing him into someone else. I might never admit it, but I love him just as he is._

"What guarantee do I have that you won't kill me?" Emilia asked.

"The fact that you're still breathing should be guarantee enough," Ron replied, and she gave a slow nod. "Swear a Magical Oath to me, and I will do the same to you. We will be partners."

"An Unbreakable Vow?" Emilia asked, and Ron gave her a nod. _I have no idea how to do one. The only reason why I even know about it is because the twins nearly killed me with one when I was little._ "You'd go that far?"

"My only goal in life is to save my Family and friends from the coming war, and to do that, I have to do whatever it takes," Ron replied, and she seemed to relax a little because of his words. "I can't give you anymore assurances, Emilia. You'll have to take a leap of faith."

"We will need a third party for this Vow to work," Emilia said, and Ron pulled his hand back.

"Then we can't make an Unbreakable Vow," Ron told her. "No one can know of our conversation."

Emilia looked him over, and then she began to walk around him. _She's scared of stepping too close to me._

"Give me time…" she said, and Ron watched her with sharp eyes.

"You have one day," Ron told her. "After that, I will you find you myself."

She gave a weak nod, and then she began heading for the Manor.

"Wait," Ron called, and she stopped immediately. "There is one more thing that I want from you."

"What?" she turned to face him.

"My girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass, wants to bring your Family's Milling Business to Britain," Ron told her, and she looked quite taken aback. "I know that this is an odd thing to say after the conversation that we just had, but listen to me. She will approach you later in the night, and you will accept her offer."

"Why? Does she know what you are?" Emilia asked.

"No, and if you tell her, I'll rip your heart out," Ron replied, his eyes blazing red for a moment.

Emilia stilled once again, while Ron drew in a deep breath. _Stay calm, Ron, think of Stoatshead Hill._

"Accept her proposal, which will give you a genuine reason to stay in Britain," Ron said, and she nodded slowly. "And never speak of our conversation to **anyone**. If you do, I **will** find out."

Emilia said nothing, instead, she gave him a nod and left for the Manor. Ron could see that she was clutching onto the hilt of her Blade with such force that her entire right arm was trembling, a sight which made Ron want to smack himself.

" _ **You did well…**_ " the Entity hissed, and Ron felt his own body tense. " _ **We can see her rage aiding your Cycle…**_ "

" _You shouldn't have shown your face,_ " Ron thought, and the Entity growled.

" _ **We didn't… You have changed, Champion… What she saw was your own vileness**_ ," the Entity told him, and Ron scoffed.

"Fuck off," Ron said, and he felt the Entity's presence vanish slowly. _My own 'vileness'? Whatever… I wish that she didn't see the Entity, but wishing is for idiots. What's done is done, and if she does betray me, I'll kill her._

Ron waited around for a minute, and he let the cool breeze of the night wash over him. In the back of his mind, a fear was growing. _She saw the Entity, and I let her leave… But what else was I supposed to do? She's done me no wrong, not counting her Legilimency attack, which isn't enough to warrant an execution._

Ron closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, and for a moment, he felt that he was standing at the top of Stoatshead Hill. His mind slowly realigned, and he felt the semblance of a 'wall' move to his forehead. _A shield… A weak, useless shield, but still, I've started making progress. Focus on the wall, Ron. 'Put sturdier rocks into it'._ His breathing became slow, and he felt the Sun shine down on him. There was true peace in his mind for a moment, and when Ron reopened his eyes, he knew what he had to do. _There are many Families here that I still need to meet. I will start by getting some more food, and a cold drink. After that, I will find these Families._

Ron began making his way towards the Manor, his fear buried under the weight of his duty. The jug had been broken, and regret wasn't going to put it back together. _I will ask Dumbledore to teach me the Art of Obliviation. I will make time for it, somehow._ As Ron began nearing the Manor, he heard the sound of girls giggling from over the hedge. _I know those voices._

"Astoria Greengrass, and Luna Lovegood," Ron said as he walked around the hedge, and he found the two girls sitting on a bench together.

Oddly enough, they were holding hands, and Astoria was flushed from laughter. _What the…?_

"Ron," Luna smiled at him, her right hand still holding Astoria's left. "Do you want to join us?"

"Join you?" Ron cocked an eyebrow as he walked up to them.

"Luna is reading my fortune," Astoria beamed at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Anything good?" Ron asked.

"Well, I am to be married to a very rich man," Astoria grinned, while Luna drew circles on her palm. "He'll love me more than anything in the World, and our children will all be Slytherins."

"Her husband won't like that very much, but he'll still love his Family," Luna added.

"I see," Ron laughed a little. "Where did you learn to read palms, Luna?"

"My friend Margaret taught me," Luna smiled proudly. "She told me that her Family is well known for their Fortune Shop in Diagon Alley, and that her own mother taught her." Luna then lit up. "Ron, let me read yours!"

"Yes!" Tori laughed in an unladylike manner, and then she quickly moved aside. "Ron, come over here!"

"Alright, alright," Ron said, and then he sat down between the two girls.

Tori immediately clung to his right arm, her chin resting on his shoulder as she waited for Luna to start. Luna took his left hand, and she began staring at his palm with a very serious look. _Cute. I'm glad that they seem to be getting along._

"Well?" Tori asked impatiently.

"Don't rush me, Astoria," Luna hummed, and Tori mumbled an apology. "Ron…" _What? Why does she sound so put off all of a sudden?_

"Well, what do you see?" Ron asked, and she looked up at him with an odd look.

"Your palms are sweaty," Luna said, and Ron just blinked at her.

Unbeknownst to the three children, Emilia Travers was looking at them from a distance. If her recent conversation had left her jarred, then the sight of Ronald Weasley laughing with two little girls left her speechless. Whatever that **creature** was, it knew how to pass as human.

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

Sweet Circe, this witch knew what she was doing.

In all of Sirius' years, never had he been so absorbed in the act of shagging. She matched his thrusts with overwhelming vigor, she moaned his name with a sweet smile on her face, and the way she moved her hips made her look like an exotic dancer. He found himself enamored with the sweat that was rolling down her dark, ample bosom, and she clearly noticed him staring because she arched her back even more in order to give him a better view.

"You can finish in me," she moaned. "I have a Potion in my purse."

She bit his ear as she finished speaking, and Sirius felt a surge of greater ecstasy because of her words. With one swift motion, he grabbed the underside of her rear, and lifted her up against a nearby wall. She giggled in excitement, and then immediately adapted to her new position. As for Sirius, he put his entire body, soul, and mind into pleasing her.

His thrust became far more violent, and he nibbled at her neck as his hands felt her taut thighs. His mind, for the first time in a while, was focused on the task at hand. He felt young, unburdened, and completely free. The only thing that mattered to him right now was pleasing this witch, who, judging by her clenching muscles, was nearing her release.

"I'm nearly there," Sirius panted, and she pulled him into a deep kiss in response.

They both moaned into each other's mouths as Sirius reached his limit, and her muscles clamped down on his member so hard that he feared for his male anatomy. And then, they both collapsed onto the ground. Sirius held her to his chest as he tried to regain his mind, while she explored his mouth with slow, lethargic movements.

"Fucking hell…" Sirius said as he pulled back, and they gave each other lazy, proud smiles. "Well? Did I please?"

"Yes," Clementine giggled as she gave him a quick peck. "I should send Rita a gift basket for recommending you."

"Please, don't mention her," Sirius lost some of his mirth, and she kissed him again.

"Sorry, handsome," Clementine said, and then she reached down and pulled him out of herself. "Merlin… I'm almost out of breath." _Almost? I'm completely tuckered out here._

"So you read the article, and decided to test me out?" Sirius asked again, and she gave him a naughty smile. _Crazy witch. Maybe I should thank that bitch Skeeter as well?_

"I wanted to see Sirius Orion Black for myself, and I think that we can both agree that I made the right decision," Clementine replied.

"Definitely," Sirius slowly rested his back against the floor, while Clementine got to her feet.

Sirius rubbed his face in order to break out of his post-coital bliss, while Clementine used her wand to clean herself up. _One last look?_ Sirius looked to his right, and he saw her slip on her dress with the aid of her wand. _That arse… Fucking outstanding. And those legs…_ Sirius let out a whistle, and she shot him a saucy wink.

"Throw me my purse," Clementine said, and Sirius reached to his left and tossed her the purse.

She quickly opened it, pulled out a pink Potion, and drank it down. _Safe._

"You should put on your trousers," Clementine smirked, her eyes fixed on his wet member. "Not that I mind, of course."

"Cute," Sirius said, and then he stood up and stretched his back. _Merlin, I feel born again._

While she eyed his bare arse, Sirius found his trousers discarded under a nearby table. As he put them on, Clementine walked up and kissed the back of his neck.

"Thanks for the lovely time, Lord Black," Clementine whispered in his ear. "I'll be taking my leave now." _Taking her leave? Of the Gala?_

"Really?" Sirius turned around, only to see her sauntering towards the exit. _This witch turns even the art of walking into a seductive game. Look at her hips!_

"Well, we can't stay in here forever, now, can we?" she asked without turning around.

Sirius looked around the room, and he was almost certain that this was the Minister's Study. _Sorry, Cornelius, you fat prick. Consider this payback for the Ministry's terrible handling of my case._

"Are you leaving the Gala?" Sirius followed after her as he tucked in his robes.

"Yes," she replied as she opened the door. _Wait… Didn't she come here with her son? What's that kid's name? Blaise Zabini, right?_ "I've already made my donation, and I want to take a nice hot bath. Nothing feels better than a bath after sex, don't you agree?"

"Sure…" Sirius replied slowly. "Is your son going home with you?"

She shot him a slightly bewildered look, and then she laughed into her right hand. Sirius blinked at her, he was actually quite jarred by her odd behavior.

"Coming home with me?" she asked him as they made their way down some stairs. "He'll be returning to Hogwarts, of course."

"Oh, right…" Sirius nodded slowly. "So you'll be saying goodbye, then?"

"Why? He knows his way home," Clementine smiled and shook her head. "My gem is an intelligent boy, and he doesn't need me holding his hand."

Sirius hid his shock at her words, he hadn't expected such a response from a mother. _Even my own mother, despite her hatred of me, made the effort of checking up on me. Odd… I get the impression that she doesn't really care about much besides sex and parties. I mean, I've heard the rumors about her, of course, and I know that she's engaged to some decrepit old bastard in Italy, but she wasn't so cold while we were shagging._

"This is where we part ways, handsome," she said as they neared the Ballroom's entrance. "I had a lovely time, and you definitely made the trip down to Britain worth it. Maybe I'll see you at another one of these events?"

"Won't you be married off by then?" Sirius asked, and she just smiled at him.

Sirius didn't know why, but he suddenly felt his skin crawl. _She looks… evil. The way her lips are curling up, it looks unnatural._ Without another word, Clementine Zabini turned around and left for the fireplaces. Sirius watched her leave, and when she flooed away, he rubbed his forehead. _Bloody hell… I need a drink._

Without hesitation, Sirius entered the Ballroom and began navigating past the other guests. The French were here, which meant that Ron had been telling the truth. The kid had pulled off another miracle somehow, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder what the kid's secret was. _Maybe he uses the Imperius Curse, and no one's figured it out yet? Nah, I'm being stupid._

As he made his way over to the refreshment table, a dark-skinned boy caught his attention. Sirius looked straight at Blaise Zabini, who was making himself a plate of food. _What's with that look on his face? Is he… being picky?_ Something in the back of Sirius' mind told him to grab a drink, and then to be on his way. And yet, he found himself staring at the boy. _Does he know that his mother's left the Manor? No, how could he? She was with me._

"You're Blaise Zabini, right?" Sirius walked up to the kid, who shot Sirius a bored look.

"Lord Black," Blaise greeted, and then he looked back to the food.

"Not to your liking?" Sirius asked.

"It's very… basic," Blaise replied. "Nothing bad, but nothing brilliant either. Not a single risk taken for fear of judgement." _What an odd lad._

"That is our Minister's motto, I fear," Sirius smirked, and Blaise's lips twitched upwards. _Go on, give us a smile._

"I'm sorry for being unwelcoming," Blaise looked to Sirius, and then he put his right hand forward. "Zabini, Blaise Zabini."

"Black, Sirius Black," Sirius decided to entertain the Old Ways. _Family Name first, just as mother taught me._ "You're a close friend of Ron's, aren't you?"

"I have that honor," Blaise gave a nod. _Honor? I like this kid._

"Then that makes us friends too," Sirius told him, and much to his surprise, the boy went dead still. _Did I say something wrong?_ "Kid, you alright?"

Blaise just stared at Sirius, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Did he just… sniff… me?_ Blaise's expression turned cold, and he let go of Sirius' hand.

"My mother found you, then," Blaise put the plate away, while Sirius blinked at him. _What?_ "You're wearing her perfume… I know because she's worn the same perfume ever since I was a toddler." _Wait… Did he say that 'she found me'?_

A horrible realization began to dawn on him, and he found himself hoping that it wasn't true.

"What did you mean by 'My mother found you'?" Sirius asked slowly, and Blaise looked utterly indifferent. _She wouldn't… Would she?_

"She told me why she was really here," Blaise looked towards the other guests, not a hint of emotion in his voice. _Fuck me…_ "I assume that she's retired for the evening?"

"Um…" Sirius swallowed thickly. "Yeah… She went home…"

"Right, and you got another notch on your wand," Blaise looked anywhere but at him. "Enjoy your evening, Lord Black."

With that, the boy left his plate of food, and Sirius, behind without another word. Sirius watched him move through the crowd, and when he was out of sight, Sirius was yanked back to reality. _Fuck… Who tells their kid something like that? And he knew that she went home without him? No… He just assumed it, so it's happened before._ Sirius couldn't help but regret his mind-blowing encounter with Clementine Zabini now, and he rubbed his face harshly. _Nice going, Sirius, you moron._

Sirius then looked to the bowl of punch, and it suddenly inspired a feeling of disgust in him. _Fuck it, I don't want a drink._ Sirius turned around in order to look for Harry, and he immediately spotted Ron staring at him.

"Pup, you scared me," Sirius breathed out, but Ron just stared right through him. _Wait… Did he overhear?_ "Ron? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, everything is just fine," Ron said coldly, his pale blue eyes digging into Sirius' grey ones.

Sirius didn't know why, but he felt the need to shrink away from Ron's cold glare. _He's got Sebastian's dead-eyed glare down._

"How are you enjoying-" Sirius started.

"Where is Harry?" Ron asked, and Sirius blinked at him.

"Um… I don't know, I was just about to go look for him," Sirius replied.

"You. Don't. Know?" Ron's left eye twitched. "So you mean to tell me that you, Harry's lawful guardian, left him, the Boy-Who-Lived, unattended in a Ballroom filled with people who were allies of the Dark Lord during the Great War?"

Sirius blinked repeatedly, he honestly felt his throat clog up because of Ron's tone. _And he's right… Fuck, I didn't even think of that._

"I… I was just about to go look-"

"He's with Edward and Andromeda Tonks, near the crystal statue," Ron said, and Sirius nodded slowly. "Why is it that I know where **your** Godson is, while you're too busy fucking around like always?" Sirius' eyes-widened a little. "Go. Go and find him."

"I… um…"

"Go and find him," Ron ordered, his jaw clenching. "And if you leave his side again, I will put my foot in your arse."

"I'm still your elder-"

"Don't pull that shite with me," Ron stepped into Sirius' face, taking Sirius by surprise again. "And stay away from Blaise."

"I…"

"Go," Ron ordered, and Sirius quickly moved past him. _Fuck me… He's worse than Sebastian and his mother put together…_

Sirius moved past a few guests, and then he shot a look back towards Ron, who was now clearly searching for his friend. Sirius felt even guiltier now than before, and he couldn't help but remember Blaise Zabini's words. _Another notch on my wand, he said. Fuck… No kid should think like that._ Sirius shook his head clear, and he spotted Harry laughing with Teddy. _Near the crystal statue, just like Ron said. Shite, I don't know why that makes me feel worse._

"Harry," Sirius tried to smile, and Harry grinned at the sight of Sirius.

"There you are!" Harry sighed out in relief. "Honestly, we've been looking everywhere for you."

Sirius shot a quick look to his cousin, who looked less than pleased at the sight of him. _You too?_

"Where were you?" Harry asked. _Making a massive mistake._

"I was mingling around," Sirius lied. "Everyone wanted to have a look at the ex-convict."

"Oh," Harry frowned. "Yeah, I know how you feel… Everyone keeps staring at me, and most of those stares aren't friendly."

Sirius throat tightened as a thought entered his mind. _What if Clementine was just luring me away in order to let someone here poison Harry? Or to kidnap him? I mean, half of the people in this Ballroom are former Death-Eaters, right? And now that the Dark Lord is back, they might be working directly for him._ Sirius felt his head spin, and his hand clenched into fists on their own.

"Sirius, are you listening?" Harry tugged at his robes, and Sirius was ripped out of his thoughts. "Can I go back to Hogwarts? I really don't like it here. Neville's Gran is making him mingle, and he can't do that while I'm hovering about. Ginny got taken away by her parents, so I can't even approach her. Can I go home?"

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, and Harry gave a reluctant nod. _He thinks I'm disappointed?_

"Alright, let's go," Sirius put on a smile, and Harry beamed.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry let out a relieved sigh, and then he looked to Andromeda and Teddy. "Thanks for keeping me company. I'm sorry if-"

"Hush," Andromeda pinched his cheek. "Silly boy."

"He's pouting," Teddy laughed at Harry, who pulled his face away from another pinch.

"I don't pout," Harry denied, and then he looked to Sirius.

"Let's go," Sirius said, and then he guided Harry around the crystal statue. "Did you enjoy your night? Even a little?"

"I suppose," Harry shrugged, while Andromeda and Teddy followed after them. "Actually… I met a man name Horace Slughorn, and he told me a lot about my parents." _Slughorn? He's here?_

"What did he tell you?" Sirius asked, and Harry shot a not-so subtle look back.

"He claimed that my mum was friends with Snape," Harry whispered, and Sirius' gut tightened. _Snape…_

And just like that, Sirius was once again besieged by conflicting emotions.

"Well?" Harry asked. "Is it true?"

"Um… Yeah, sort of," Sirius replied, and Harry looked visibly shaken. _Shite._ "They were friends for a while, but then they had a falling out. It wasn't pretty."

"What did he do?" Harry asked, his expression darkening.

"Um… He called her a filthy name," Sirius replied awkwardly.

"He called her **that**?" Harry all but whispered. "Wow… So he's always been scum… Mum was right to dismiss him, then. Why was she even friends with someone like that?"

Sirius could feel another headache coming on, and when he shot Harry a quick look, his hands clenched into fists.

"He's… He said it in anger, I think…" Sirius said. _Why the fuck am I defending him?_

"That doesn't excuse him," Harry scoffed. "I hope he's suffering in that Hospital in France… Bloody git."

"That's enough," Sirius heard himself say, and Harry blinked at him. "I mean… You shouldn't hope for something like that… It's not right, Harry." _The pot calling the kettle black, eh?_

"Are you alright?" Harry cocked an eyebrow. "You're defending him?"

"No, I'm just trying to tell you that you shouldn't think such things," Sirius replied quickly. "Wishing suffering on others, even your enemies, can lead to mistakes… Mistakes that you'll regret someday…" _Like me._

"Is he alright?" Harry looked back to Andromeda.

"I believe that Siri is trying to teach you an important lesson, Harry," Andromeda smiled at the boy. "Like a father would."

"Love…" Teddy sighed out, while both Harry and Sirius looked straight ahead. _She had to say that, didn't she?_

After a minute of walking in silence, Harry suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Sirius looked to his Godson.

"There's Ginny," Harry said. "I should say goodbye to her, right?" _Pardon?_

"You should," Teddy patted Harry's back. "Let her know that you're heading off, just in case she tries looking for you later."

"That makes sense," Harry nodded to himself, and then he looked to Sirius. "I'll be right back."

And just like that, Harry made his way over to the Weasleys, who were currently speaking with Sebastian and Mary. _That girl looks bored to death._

"So… Who was she?" Andromeda asked, and Sirius looked to her.

"Who was who?" Sirius asked.

"The woman you were with," Andromeda clarified. "I can smell her perfume from here."

"Love, leave it," Teddy said soothingly, while Sirius just stared at his cousin.

"He needs a father, Siri, not another friend," Andromeda said, and Sirius looked back to Harry, who was now talking to Ginny. "You should know better, especially considering recent events."

"Andromeda, enough," Teddy said, and she decided to back off. "Sirius, make your donation before Harry gets back."

"Right…" Sirius pulled out his Gringotts Money Voucher, and then he handed it to a passing waiter. "Get that into the donation box, will you?"

"Certainly, Sir," the waiter gave a firm nod, and then he left for the donation box immediately.

"How is Severus?" Teddy asked. "Has he left his bed yet?"

"I… I don't know…" Sirius admitted. "I don't go near his room."

Andromeda and Teddy exchanged looks, but neither of them said anything. _I can't fucking look at him… If I do, I'll go insane. How did he withstand so much torture from the Dark Lord, and still spit in the monster's face? I couldn't have done that… Could I? What about James? Or Remus? Fuck, life was so much easier when Snape was still Snivellus. Now I'm trying to lecture Harry on how to be a good person, which makes me a massive hypocrite._

"He's bringing her with him," Teddy cocked an eyebrow, and Sirius looked to see Harry and Ginny walking towards them.

"Hello, Sirius," Ginny greeted, and Sirius smiled at her. "Is it alright if I join you?"

"Not enjoying yourself?" Sirius asked.

"Not really," Ginny admitted. "Did you know that Ron is being named an International Diplomat to the French tonight?"

"He is?" Andromeda and Teddy asked together, and Sirius gave Ginny a nod.

"So **everyone** knew?" Ginny frowned a little, while Harry took a step away from her. "Everyone but me…"

"Who told you?" Sirius asked.

"Mum…" Ginny said, her voice a little bitter. _Oh, I see._

"Let's be off, then," Sirius said, and they all began heading out.

As they neared the fireplaces, Teddy and Andromeda bid them all goodnight, and left for a separate fireplace.

"Sirius…" Harry said, and Sirius looked to him.

"Yeah, kid?" Sirius asked.

"Ginny wanted to go to the Burrow first, and I promised to go with her," Harry said, and Sirius looked to Ginny.

"I… um… I want to see my brothers, the twins," Ginny told Sirius. "Pandora and Xeno are there as well, so it's perfectly safe." _She's not wrong, but is it a smart idea? What if they're up to something?_

"Why do you want to see the twins?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius…" Harry groaned, while Ginny looked a bit awkward.

"I want to give them something…" Ginny replied. "Please?"

"Fine," Sirius agreed. "But I'll prepare the floo, and I'll be asking Pandora and Xeno about this tomorrow. After you see the twins, you will both floo to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. Am I clear?"

"Yes…" Harry said a little petulantly, almost like a teenager who was embarrassed by their overbearing parent. _Merlin, Andromeda's gotten into my head._

Sirius prepared the floo to the Burrow, and after the fire had blazed green, he watched the two Gryffindors go through it. _Alright, Harry's out of the woods. Time to go home myself._ Sirius began preparing a floo to Grimmauld Place, and once it was ready, he stepped through the flames and into his home. He immediately spotted Kreacher fixing a portrait of Harry on the wall, which took him by surprise.

"Kreacher?" Sirius called, and the old Elf jumped from surprise.

"Master is home," Kreacher turned around and bowed, while Sirius stared at the oil painting of Harry.

"What is that?" Sirius asked.

"Oh… It is a portrait of young Master Harry," Kreacher croaked. "Kreacher had it made with his own salary."

"Why?" Sirius asked, sounding a little too suspicious.

"It is a Tradition of the House of Black to have Family portraits on the walls," Kreacher replied, and Sirius realized that he had gotten rid of his Family portraits when he had first moved back in. _Remus was really pissed when I did that. He told me that I'd regret it one day._ "Does the portrait not please Master?"

Sirius looked it over, and he had to admit, Harry looked quite nicely painted. _And the backdrop is Gryffindor scarlet to boot._

"It's… It's very nice," Sirius admitted slowly, and Kreacher bowed deeply. "Wait… You paid for it?"

"Kreacher felt it necessary… Master does not like Black Family Traditions, so Kreacher decided to spend his own money in case Master decided to throw it away," Kreacher replied. "This way, the Black Vault is not harmed by Kreacher's actions."

Sirius looked back to the painting, and he looked back to Kreacher. _There it is again. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I can't speak them. Just thank him already, Sirius. He took a Curse to the ear, and Merlin knows where else, just to help the Order. He even saved your life from that demented Vampire._

"Kreacher…" Sirius started, and the Elf awaited a command. "From now on, just use the Black Vault if you need money. Don't spend your salary… I'll also pay you back for the portrait, which I really like." _You fucking coward, Sirius._

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher croaked.

Sirius stared at the Elf, the same Elf that had tormented him throughout his childhood, and he felt doubt seep into his mind. _Maybe I was to blame for some of his hatred. I mean, I used kick him around often. And I even spiked his food with Bowel Clearing Potion multiple times._ Sirius went to thank Kreacher, but a sudden thud from upstairs stopped him. _Snape?!_

Kreacher Disapparated with a loud crack, and Sirius immediately flew into action. Before even he realized what he was doing, he was flying up the stairs with his wand brandished. Within seconds, he burst into Snape's room, only to find the man sitting on the floor with his back against the bed. Kreacher was standing not too far away, but he had clearly been ordered to not touch Snape.

"Black…" Snape looked in his direction, there was genuine hatred and malice in his voice. "Figures that you'd show up now of all times…"

Sirius found himself staring at Snape's right eye, the man was nearly unrecognizable without his long black, greasy hair. _Not to mention the missing parts of him._

"What are you doing? Did you fall?" Sirius asked, and Snape spat on the floor.

"Rot…" Snape looked down at his right leg, and Sirius immediately realized that Snape was drunk. _There's an empty bottle of Firewhiskey by his bedside table… Fuck, who gave that to him?_ "I can't even get off the bed…"

Sirius blinked at Snape, who suddenly slammed his stump down on his right leg.

"I can't even move!" Snape yelled, his voice nearly tearing from pain.

Sirius wasn't going to lie, Snape's sudden outburst had made his entire body tense. _What do I do? Wait… He's trying to leave the bed, and he's been drinking. He needs to take a piss, doesn't he?_

"I'm useless…" Snape muttered to himself, his face losing all of its color.

"Kreacher, go get some food for Snape," Sirius ordered, and the Elf happily Disapparated.

"Planning to poison me, Black?" Snape looked back up, there was something broken behind his right eye. "I won't even stop you…"

"C'mon, I'll take you to the loo," Sirius stepped forward, and Snape flinched away from him.

"Don't touch me…" Snape said, but instead of being venomous, his voice sounded like a plea. _I wish it were venomous, because this is far worse._

Sirius kneeled down by Snape's side, and he tried to get his arm around Snape's back.

"Are you enjoying this?" Snape suddenly grabbed Sirius' collar with his left hand. _Merlin, his breath stinks._ "You are, aren't you? The mighty Snivellus… Brought low…"

Sirius cringed at Snape's words, but that didn't seem to register to the drunk Potions Master.

"Do I look like I'm enjoying this?" Sirius asked, and Snape gazed into his eyes.

"No…" Snape let go of his collar.

"Just let me help you," Sirius said, and then with all of his strength, he managed to pull Snape and himself up. _Fuck me… My back…_

"I heard yelling," Sturgis stepped into the room, he was wearing his nightgown.

"Give us a hand, will you?" Sirius asked, and Sturgis quickly moved to Snape's other side.

Together, they managed to relocate Snape to the nearby toilet. The Potions Master was eerily quiet, and judging by his blank expression, Sirius knew that Snape had hit rock bottom. _Being forced to accept_ _ **my**_ _help has done it. It was either me, or pissing himself in his bed. Fucking hell, I actually feel bad for the poor bastard. I don't know what I'd do in his shoes._

"Did you give him the bottle of Firewhiskey?" Sirius asked once Snape was behind a closed door.

"No," Sturgis replied, and then he seemed to realize something. "Mr. Fletcher… I asked him to look after Professor Snape while I ran an errand for Mad-Eye…"

"That old crook," Sirius rubbed his forehead. _I'm going to slap him._

"I'm sorry," Sturgis rubbed the back of his head. "In hindsight, it wasn't a smart move on my part."

"It's alright," Sirius drew in a deep breath, he had come to a decision. "Tomorrow, we're tossing all the alcohol out of this House."

"Pardon?" Sturgis blinked at him. _Harry doesn't need a drunk, he needs a father. Plus, I shouldn't be allowed near that stuff. Not anymore._

"No more booze," Sirius spoke to himself.

"Your House, your rules," Sturgis gave a smile. "Personally, I like the idea."

"Of course you do," Sirius smirked a bit. "You're far too straight, mate."

"Alcohol doesn't mix well with war veterans," Sturgis said, and Sirius couldn't help but note that Sturgis sounded like he was speaking from experience.

"The first one?" Sirius looked to him.

"Trying to cope with nightmares," Sturgis replied, and Sirius nodded slowly. "Made it worse."

"Yeah, it does that," Sirius sighed. "We'll toss that shite tomorrow, alright? Together."

"Together," Sturgis gave his back a pat.

That's when they heard the door open from behind them, and Snape tried to step out on shaking legs. Sirius immediately tried to catch him, but Snape raised his left hand in Sirius' face.

"Don't…" Snape grit out, his face showing the immense pain he was in.

"Professor Snape…" Sturgis started, but Snape shot him a malevolent look.

"Step aside…" Snape released a shaky breath, and Sirius slowly moved aside.

One small step at a time, Snape began moving forward. The man's face was turning purple, and the veins in his forehead were bulging, but he kept trying to move forward. At first, both Sturgis and Sirius felt the urge to make Snape stop, but as the Potions Master kept moving forward, they found themselves astonished. There were thick tears running down the right side of Snape's face, and his entire body was trembling, but he kept trying to move towards his room without aid. _Fucking hell, how is he doing this?_

And then, almost halfway there, Snape fell forward with a dull thud. Sirius and Sturgis were by his side in an instant, and as they lifted him up, Snape's head dangled due to exhaustion. He was barely awake, and his breathing was quite labored, but at the same time, he looked almost pleased with himself. _This fucking madman._

"Next time, Professor Snape," Sturgis smiled at the man. "We'll try this again tomorrow."

"Shut up…" Snape muttered, but Sturgis still looked quite happy with him.

As for Sirius, he felt oddly proud of Snape's efforts. It was the most surreal feeling that Sirius had ever felt in his life, and in a way, he felt like he was betraying James and Lily by feeling this way. And yet, he couldn't deny that he had found himself respecting Snape. _And not just now, but when we found him in that cell. When he thought that he was speaking to the Dark Lord, and he told the bastard to rot. He accepted death before betraying the Order, or giving up Harry. What would James think of that? What would_ _ **Lily**_ _think?_

Sirius and Sturgis helped Snape into his bed, and the exhausted man passed out immediately. While Sturgis tried to tuck Snape under the blanket, Sirius found himself staring at Kreacher, who was holding a tray of hot soup.

"Is that Molly's recipe?" Sirius asked the Elf, who gave a nod.

"Lady Weasley and Kreacher have been sharing recipes in order to hone our craft," Kreacher told Sirius, who just blinked at him.

"He's not eating anything tonight," Sturgis said, and Sirius looked to a passed out Snape. _Yeah, he's done for the night._

"Kreacher will throw this away, then," Kreacher said.

"No…" Sirius said quickly. "I'll… I'll eat it."

"Of course, Kreacher will leave the tray in Master's room," Kreacher croaked, and then he began walking towards the exit. _Sirius, do it._

"Kreacher…" Sirius called, and the old Elf turned to face him. "Thank you… For what you did during the battle, and… Just… Thank you." _Not smooth, Sirius, but it's the thought that counts, right?_

"Kreacher lives to serve the House of Black," Kreacher said, his old lips twitching upwards.

And just like that, he left for Sirius' room.

"Good on you, Sirius," Sturgis smiled at him, and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You're a pain in the arse, you know that, right?" Sirius asked, and Sturgis simply shrugged.

"I'll see you at breakfast?" Sturgis asked.

"Yeah, at breakfast." _No more sleeping in for me. I can do better than this, I know it._

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

An International Diplomat to the French…

Even Ginny couldn't deny that she was impressed with her brother, who had once again proven himself to be a Generation Defining Wizard. At the tender age of thirteen, Ron had gone to France and brought back thousands of Galleons worth of aid in order to help heal Magical Britain. When her mother had told Ginny about this, the older witch had an almost puzzling look on her face. It was a look that only a mother could give, a mix of genuine concern and absolute pride.

Ginny had never earned that sort of look from Molly Weasley.

Ginny was proud of Ron, but at the same time, her insides had twisted so painfully that she had nearly succumbed to tears. How was she supposed to catch up to Ron now? She couldn't, and she knew it. Everyone knew it. As they were approached by a multitude of people, Ginny felt like she was completely invisible. **Every** single person had asked if Ron was nearby, all the while ignoring her presence. Sure, they gave pleasantries, but other than that, they were only interested in meeting Ron.

And her parents had done little to make Ginny feel visible. They had droned on and on about Ron's never ending list of accolades, and people had listened with rapt attention and quick compliments. She had thought about leaving several times in order to find her friends, but Ron had **ordered** their parents to keep Ginny by their side. And so, Ginny was just stuck in a pit of conflicting emotions.

She was proud of her brother, and she wanted to congratulate him properly. She was feeling worse than ever about herself, and her lack of any notable accolades. She was overjoyed to see that Ron's mentoring of the first years had brought tears to their parents' eyes. She felt disgusted with the fact that Ron had tossed Hermione and Harry away like old socks when he was done using them. She was happy to hear that Ron had done more for the Restoration of St. Mungo's than any other Wizarding Family, and in doing so, elevated the Weasley Name. She had wanted slap Ron again when he had started barking orders at her, Harry, and their parents.

But all of this didn't compare in the slightest against her need to itch her hidden scars, which was a filthy habit of hers that surfaced whenever she began feeling small… Whenever she began feeling like the girl who was possessed by the Darkest Wizard of all Time due to her chronic stupidity.

She had been so stupid in trusting Tom, but at the time, he had made her feel so special. When he was acting like her friend, Ginny didn't feel lonely at all. She would constantly check her book bag in order to see the Diary, and whenever she did see it, she would smile to herself. In a disturbing sort of way, she had developed feelings towards the kind and caring Tom Riddle, who always listened to her and gave her sound counsel.

What a fool she had been.

She should have known better, and because of her massive blunder, her hopes for Hogwarts had been dashed to pieces. She wasn't popular. She wasn't excelling academically. She didn't have that many friends. Her brothers were famous all throughout the school, while she was a shadow on the wall. The people who did approach her only did so in order to ask for her brothers. The teachers didn't particularly like her. Even Luna, a girl who Ginny had assumed would be avoided by many, was always surrounded by friends.

Ginny was all alone, and even she realized that it was all her fault.

"Ginny?" came Harry's voice, and then he nudged her.

Ginny looked to him, and he was smiling at her.

"The twins?" Harry asked, they were standing in the Burrow's Living Room. "Don't you want to go see them?"

"Of course, it's why we're here," Ginny replied.

"Then why are we just standing here?" Harry looked a little baffled, and Ginny shook her head clear. _We're standing here because I'm too busy feeling sorry for myself._

"I'll be right back," Ginny promised, and Harry gave her a nod.

Ginny walked out of the Living Room, and into the Kitchen, where she found Pandora and Xeno drinking some tea. Xeno noticed her first, followed quickly by Pandora, whose sharp gaze always intimidated Ginny.

"Ginny?" Xeno blinked at her, while his wife looked equally surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to retire for the night, but I wanted to see the twins first," Ginny replied, and both Lovegoods just stared at her.

"Did you come here alone?" Pandora asked. "Does Molly know where you are?"

"She does," Ginny lied. "And I'm not here alone, Harry is in the Living Room."

"Hello," Harry walked into the Kitchen at that, he was clearly listening in. "Sirius prepared the floo for us, and I'll be escorting Ginny back to Hogwarts right after this. I promise."

Ginny felt a little hot in the face at Harry's words, they had come a long way since their first meeting. _He's actually my friend now. I'm friends with the Boy-Who-Lived._

"Why do you want to see the twins?" Pandora asked. "Your mother forbid any visitors." _Does she know that I'm lying? Is that why she's looking into my very soul?_

"Love, it's fine," Xeno suddenly smiled, he always was an odd fellow. "I'm sure they could use a visit from their sister right now."

"Has mum confined them to their room?" Ginny asked, and the Lovegoods said nothing. _Damn you, Ron. How could you do this to them?_

"I'll… um… Be in the Living Room," Harry said awkwardly, and then he quickly left the room. _Wow… He really is terrible with emotionally supporting people, isn't he?_

"Just a quick visit, and then you need to go back to Hogwarts," Pandora smiled at her, and Ginny managed a smile back before she quickly ran up the stairs.

She didn't know why, but she was just done with people for the night. Maybe it was because she didn't feel worthy of being looked at? Or maybe it was because she was afraid that if she lingered too long, people would start asking after Ron again? _All I want is to take off this dress, put on my pajamas, and go to sleep. And then, when I wake up tomorrow, I'm going to fly around for the whole day._

As she neared the twins' room, she fixed up her dress and hair in order to look at least a little happier than she was. Once that was done, she knocked on their door and waited. She heard shuffling from behind the door, and then it creaked open a little. _They always do that. It's like they hate letting people see the inside their room._ Fred head popped out of the small gap, and upon seeing her, he opened the door completely.

"Ginny?" Fred blinked at her, and then he looked her over. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Ginny asked, it was good to see them again. _They don't look half as miserable as I thought they would._

"Let her in," George called, and Ginny spotted him lying down on his bed with his legs sprawled out over the walls.

Fred stepped aside, and Ginny quickly made her way in. As Fred shut the door, Ginny took the opportunity to look around the room. Much to her surprise, it was completely barren. There were no Quidditch posters, no curios, no designs of Prank-Items on the walls, nothing… _It's plainer than even my room. I at least have some Quidditch posters up, and a couple of cut outs of Wizard Models. The twins have nothing but orange walls._

"Mum threw away our posters of scantily clad women," Fred sighed in an exaggerated manner. "Merlin, I miss Belladonna's massive tits…" _Tits?!_

"Ahem," Ginny cleared her throat, and her brothers both sniggered at her discomfort. _They shouldn't talk to me about such things. I mean, I don't tell them that I like to drool over Viktor Krum's abs._

"What brings you here, little sister?" George slid out of his bed. _Just do it, Ginny._

"I want to apologize," Ginny replied, and the twins cocked eyebrows. "I yelled at you two when I thought that you had broken your word to me, and I didn't listen to what you had to say."

"Wait… You believe that we're innocent?" Fred asked, and she gave him a nod.

"I know now that Ron was behind everything, and that he put that barrel of alcohol in your room," Ginny told them. "I'm sorry for screaming at you, and for calling you two liars. You did stop after I asked you to, and I should've listened."

"Yes, you should have," George said, and Ginny shuffled her feet. "But… It's alright."

"It is?" Ginny looked up.

"Ron got us," Fred shrugged. "We might not be happy…"

"We're quite livid, actually," George added.

"But he got us," Fred said. "We underestimated the bastard, and he outmaneuvered everyone. He butchered our Hourglass…"

"Got us kicked out of school in shame," George added.

"Got us locked up in here," Fred went on.

"We lost all of our products, and money," George said.

"Lee got taken down with us," Fred frowned.

"Our reputation has been sullied," George frowned as well. "You know what, fuck that arsehole."

"Complete bastard," Fred glowered. _They're so weird._

"The Gryffindor Team misses you," Ginny said, and the twins let out angry groans. "They're playing against Hufflepuff next Saturday, and apparently, everything depends on Harry. The substitutes aren't very good, and it's thrown the entire Team off balance. Well, everyone but the Seeker, who is sort of like a lone ranger."

"Harry will come through," Fred said, though he sounded quite unsure. "I mean, he's the best Seeker in the school."

"Diggory's not so bad himself," George sighed.

"Diggory can't hold a candle to Harry," Fred argued, completely forgetting that Ginny was even here.

"Um… I'm right here," Ginny frowned at them, and they blinked at her.

"Ginny? What are you doing here?" the twins asked.

"Haha," Ginny rolled her eyes, while the twins seemed pleased by her reaction. "Anyway… I wanted to give you something."

"A present?" Fred's eyes gleamed.

"For us?" George hopped in front of her.

Ginny held her small purse in front of George, and she felt her stomach churn. _It took me so long to save up this much … But I want the twins to be happy. They've been through hell over the last few days._

"A purse?" George smirked. "Does it come with a dress?"

"There's money in here," Ginny said, and George blinked at her. "Twelve Sickles and nine Knuts, to be exact… It's not much, but it's everything that I've ever collected. I want you two to have it…"

George just stared at her, and Ginny couldn't help but notice that even Fred had gone dead silent.

"Gin…" George whispered, his eyes darting down to the purse.

"I know that mum and dad don't give you any money, and now that you've lost all of your products, you can't tinker with Joke-Items for your business…" Ginny said a little awkwardly, a small part of her wanted to keep her money. "It's not much, but it'll help you get started, at least. Please, take it." _I only needed three more sickles for that purse that I saw in Madam Malkin's store… Now I have to start all over again._

George slowly pushed her purse to her chest, and when Ginny gave him a confused look, he pulled her into a hug. _Um… What's he doing?_ Ginny wasn't going to lie, she didn't like being touched ever since last year, but right now, she was too confused to push George away.

"You should keep your money, Gin," George gave her a squeeze.

"We do appreciate the thought, but we can't accept your gift on principle," Fred smiled at his siblings.

"On principle?" Ginny spoke into George's chest.

"Big brothers don't take money away from their little sisters," George said as he rubbed the back of her head in a loving manner.

"Especially when said little sisters are trying to save up for something," Fred walked over, and then he hugged Ginny from the side.

"I want to help you," Ginny mumbled.

"And you have," the twins said together.

"The thought is more than enough for us, Gin-Gin," Fred assured her.

"If anything, I'm almost teary eyed because of it," George chuckled.

"What will you two do, then?" Ginny asked them. "You'll be forced to work at the Ministry by mum and dad, which will ruin everything for you. You'll be miserable."

"Trust us, that'll never happen," George pulled back, and then he gave Fred a nod.

Ginny was taken aback by this odd behavior, while Fred quickly moved to the side of his bed. _What's he doing?_ Fred kneeled down, and then he pulled one of the floorboards out. And then, another. And another.

"Fred…" Ginny hissed. "Mum will kill you!"

"Calm down, little sis," Fred sniggered, and then he reached into the hole and pulled out a brown sack.

"That is one of our **secret** stashes of goodies," George told Ginny, who went still at the mention of it. _Really? So it's true… The twins really do have special locations around the Burrow where they store their goods._

"One of?" Ginny looked to George, and he shot her a wink.

"Don't count us out so quickly," George ruffled her hair. "Ronnie may have injured us quite badly, but we're well and truly alive."

"But Charlie and Bill told me that you two have been sulking about… That you've lost your spirits," Ginny muttered.

"If we don't act so mopey, then mum will know that we're still in business," Fred grinned, and then he tossed her a Chocolate Frog.

Ginny caught it with a bewildered look on her face, and Fred began hiding the brown sack away.

"We're definitely going to struggle from now on, and we'll have to be tight-arses with our money, but there's still hope," George patted her cheek. "Please, don't worry about us like that."

"We're supposed to worry about you," Fred stood up, and Ginny nodded dumbly.

"So you won't work at the Ministry?" Ginny asked them.

"Never," the twins grinned, and Ginny felt her mood elevate immediately. _They'll be just fine, then._

"Good," Ginny hugged George tightly, and he let out a laugh. "I'm really glad to hear that."

"This goes without saying, but you can't tell **anyone** about this, alright?" George said, and then he kissed the top of her head.

"I won't say a word, I swear it," Ginny promised, and then she let go of George and smiled at him.

"You should get going before Pandora creeps up here," Fred advised, and she gave him a nod. "Oh, and act sad while you leave. If she asks, tell her that we weren't really in the mood to talk."

"I understand," Ginny couldn't help but laugh.

"And hide that Chocolate Frog," George smiled widely. "Now, go on. We'll see you when you come back for the Break."

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Night)**_

"Ugh…" Tracey groaned from Theo's bed, she was so bored.

Malfoy spared her a quick look, but he didn't say anything. _Maybe I should've gone to the Gala with Daphne. I'm so bored. So far, the only good thing that's come out of staying behind is lying down in Theo's bed. It smells just like him. Hold on… Am I being creepy? Ah, who cares?_ Tracey rolled over to her side, and she smelled the pillow with a guilty smile. _I'm such a freak! Merlin, I'm just as bad as Daphne now. She enjoys sniffing Ron's scent wherever she can find it, she's told me so herself._

An idea occurred to Tracey, and she quickly slid out of Theo's bed. _Which one first?_ She looked to Ron's bed, and then she looked to Blaise's. _I'll start with Blaise, and save Ron's for later. He always smells so nice!_ Tracey nonchalantly made her way over to Blaise's bed, and then she hopped onto it. _Hmm, that's nice. Fresh sheets, but the pillow smells like Blaise's cologne. What is that scent? It's not flowers, or any type of fruit._ Tracey drew in a deep breath through her nose, and she smiled. _Blaise is definitely the most handsome boy in our group._

"Davis… What are you doing?" Malfoy broke his silence, and Tracey felt her body tense for a moment.

"Oh, so you **can** speak?" Tracey tossed over to her side, her eyes locking onto Malfoy's.

"I can," Malfoy replied coldly. "Now… What are you doing?"

"Theo's bed was getting warm," Tracey lied calmly. "I like to occupy cold sheets, it feels better." _I must sniff Ron's bed! Hehe._

"Right… But what are you doing **here**?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow. "Why aren't you in your own room?"

"I told you already," Tracey sat up. "Crabbe and Goyle were eyeballing you during Dinner, so I'm here to even the odds. And no, it's because I care about you, which I don't. I'm here because if those two louts knock you around, Ron will get angry."

"Oh, we mustn't displease the Emperor…" Malfoy rolled his eyes, and Tracey glared at him. _Prick._

"Tell me, what will happen if those two come after you?" Tracey asked, and Malfoy shrugged. "They'll beat the piss out of you, and Ron will lose his temper. What will happen to Crabbe and Goyle then?" Malfoy didn't say anything, but she saw his expression soften a little. "Yeah… I'm here to stop any form of fighting from starting."

With that, Tracey dropped back onto Blaise's bed. _Now let me be a pervert in peace._ Tracey shot a quick look towards Ron's bed, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. _I hope he hasn't washed his sheets. I want to be enveloped in his scent._

"What's the matter with Weasley, anyway?" Malfoy suddenly asked, and Tracey shot him a bored look. "Why is he so violent?"

"He's got issues," Tracey shrugged, she wasn't going to answer something like that.

"So do the rest of us," Malfoy countered, and Tracey frowned a little.

"You're welcome to leave whenever you want, Malfoy," Tracey looked up at the ceiling. "No one is stopping you." _I mean, honestly, all you do is complain, despite Ron busting his arse to keep you around. At least be a little grateful._

Both of them went silent, and she could feel Malfoy glaring at her. _There he goes again. He thinks that just because he can eyeball people, they'll be afraid of him. Whatever, why am I spoiling my own mood? I have one more bed to sniff._ Tracey began to slide out of Blaise's bed, but Malfoy's voice stopped her.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" Malfoy asked icily.

"Pardon?" Tracey looked to him, and she found him staring at his book. _We all know that you've read through that book… Just get a new one._

"I said that you'd love me to up and leave, wouldn't you?" Malfoy spoke to his book.

"I would," Tracey admitted, and Malfoy's expression darkened. "But Ron likes you, and he's my friend, so I'll tolerate you."

"Weasley doesn't like me," Malfoy scoffed, he hated that he actually liked the sound of her words.

"Sure…" Tracey said sarcastically. "You two banter with each other quite often, you seem to work well together in Herbology, he's always keeping his eye on you in the common room, and you only ever speak when he's around. I don't about you, but that's almost romantic to me."

"Romantic?!" Malfoy glared up at her, and she smirked.

"Touchy, touchy," Tracey sniggered, and then she hopped out of Blaise's bed.

Malfoy watched her strut up to Ron's bed, and as soon as she jumped onto it, she breathed in his sheets. _Jasmine and Sandalwood… Good God, I could smell these sheets for days._ Malfoy was too busy frowning at her to notice what she was up to, which suited her just fine. _I bet he really does have a six-pack hidden under those pesky robes. Pansy's right, we need to get him to take his shirt off when he does his exercises._

"Tolerate me…" Malfoy muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Tracey looked at him. _Stop ruining this for me, you git. I need to memorize these scents for later._

"I don't need **you** to tolerate me," Malfoy sneered at her. "If you have something to say, Davis, then do so."

"Why are you trying to start a fight with me?" Tracey put herself on her elbows.

"I'm not," Malfoy said in almost bratty manner.

"Yeah, you are," Tracey frowned. "Why don't you keep reading that book, Malfoy? I'll even pretend like you haven't read it a hundred times."

Malfoy clenched his jaw, and he threw the book aside rather harshly. For a quick moment, Tracey felt a little scared of him. _He's still a boy, and he's a better Duelist than me. Wait… He'd never dare touch me. Ron would eat his liver if he hurt me._

"Why don't you get out of my room?" Malfoy asked.

"Your room? This is Ron, Blaise, and Theo's room," Tracey countered. "You're only here because Ron pulled strings for you."

"Ron this, and Ron that!" Malfoy snapped. "You all just worship him, don't you?! Every third word out of your damn mouths is about Weasley, and I'm sick of it! Get out!" _What's his fucking problem?!_

"No!" Tracey snapped back, though even she knew that she was lowering herself to his level.

"No?!"

"Yeah, no!" Tracey shot off of the bed. "And stop yelling at me!"

"You're the one who's yelling!" Malfoy yelled.

"Because you started it!" Tracey accused angrily.

"Real mature…" Malfoy suddenly lowered his voice, something that took Tracey by surprise.

"That's rich coming from a brat like you," Tracey regained her footing. "Spoilt rotten down to your core, and completely blind to the problems you cause others."

"Fuck off," Malfoy hissed.

"I mean, look at yourself," Tracey sneered back at him. "I wasn't even talking to you, and you found the first opportunity you could to jump down my throat. And for what? You just wanted to get a rise out of me, right?"

"Fine, then," Malfoy said. "Stop talking to me… As usual."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tracey put her hands on her hips.

"You know what it means," Malfoy looked away from her. _No, I fucking don't. Am I a mind-reader now?_

"Malfoy, just say what you want to say," Tracey frowned. "I don't like cryptic brooding from anyone, so just say it."

"You said that I only talk when Weasley is around, but maybe that's because none of you even acknowledge my existence," Malfoy told her, his pale cheeks becoming flushed from anger.

Tracey blinked at him, and when she narrowed her eyes, Malfoy once again looked away from her. _Is he serious?_

"And why would we acknowledge your existence?" Tracey asked, and Malfoy looked back at her. "None of us like you, Malfoy. We might not say it around Ron, but we figured that you already knew that."

"I know," Malfoy said bitterly, making sure to hide his hurt.

"It bothers you that we don't like you?" Tracey asked, and Malfoy didn't say anything. _Great, now he's ignoring me._

Tracey walked up to his bedside, and he quickly took on a guarded look.

"Do you like any of us?" Tracey asked him, and once again, he said nothing. "No… You don't, and yet, you expect us to like you."

"Are you done?" Malfoy asked.

"No, you wanted to fight, right?" Tracey asked. "Why would we like you? You called Daphne a Blood-Traitor's slag to her face, and when Pansy gave you a deserved slap, you bloody tattled on her to her bitch mother. Ever since I've known you, all you've done is harass and bully other people. Even six months ago, you were tormenting students from every House. You were calling Muggle-Borns 'Mud-Bloods' with a happy grin on your face, all the while parading around with your thugs. I saw you shoving first years around with people twice their size, and you didn't care one bit if they got hurt. So why should we like you?"

"I… I've…" Malfoy started, but then he stopped.

"You've changed?" Tracey provided, and Malfoy kept quiet. "Sure, I won't deny that you've been on your best behavior lately, but I'll also point out that if you weren't a pariah in this school, you'd still be an A-Grade bastard. Am I wrong?"

"Yes," Malfoy replied, but they both knew better. "You don't know a thing about me."

"I know quite a bit," Tracey assured him. "The other girls have told me plenty about you, and don't forget that I've known you since we were eight years old. Do you remember our first meeting?" Malfoy looked down at his lap. "You refused to shake my hand after I told you about my mum. You even joked about me 'befouling the air' with my existence. You've given all of us plenty of reasons to not like you, so don't sit there and bitch to me about how hard you have it. I don't fucking care. I'm not Ron, and I'll slap the shite out of you without a second thought."

With that, Tracey made her way back to Ron's bed, and she fell on it with a loud huff. _He asked for it, Tracey. Don't feel guilty. Don't feel guilty at all._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

She was feeling guilty…

She was feeling really fucking guilty. Malfoy had a track record of being a tosser, but lately, even she couldn't deny that he was changing. He was far more subdued now, but also much more observant as a result. He didn't belittle people, nor did he constantly bring up his Family's status and wealth. He was still cold, and often snarky and rude, but he was tolerable now. _And Ron seems to genuinely like his company. Ugh… Pesky conscience._

Tracey slowly slid out of Ron's bed, and she looked over to Malfoy, who was now lying down under his blanket. _I can't really see his face from here. Damnit, Tracey, just go and apologize. You had no right to throw his old faults in his face, nor should you have threatened him._ Tracey dragged her feet over to his bedside, his back facing her. _Is he asleep?_

"Malfoy," she nudged him. "Malfoy, are you awake?"

"What?" Malfoy asked without looking back at her.

"I'm sorry," Tracey apologized, and Malfoy looked back with an odd look. _He looks pissed, and confused, at the same time._

"What?" Malfoy asked again, and Tracey fought the urge to frown at him. _Don't make this even more awkward for me, you tosser._

"I am sorry," Tracey apologized again. "I shouldn't have been so… harsh… with you. You have changed, and I shouldn't claim to know what you'd be like if circumstances were different. I'm not a Seer."

Malfoy just stared at her, but some of the anger in his face was slowly vanishing. _Right, I'll be on my way then. I don't even feel like taking advantage of the fact that the girls aren't here tonight. Shame… It's been ages since I had some alone time._ Tracey was about to leave, but Malfoy suddenly sat up and began staring at her.

"Do you feel pity for me, is that it?" Malfoy demanded, and Tracey blinked at him. "You think your words got to me?"

"I have no earthly idea if they did," Tracey admitted. "But I felt bad for saying what I said, so I apologized. You don't have to accept my apology, but don't try and start another fight at least."

"You felt… bad…?" Malfoy asked slowly, and Tracey let out a long sigh.

"Yes, I felt bad," Tracey told him. "Normal people feel bad when they say cruel things, and my parents taught me to own up to my mistakes. So… I'm sorry."

"And it helps?" Malfoy asked, which actually threw her off balance. _Wait… What?_

"What are you on about?"

"Does apologizing make you feel less guilty?" Malfoy asked her, a sudden seriousness in his face. "Even if the other person doesn't accept it?"

"Well, yes," Tracey replied, trying her best to hide her bewilderment. _What's going through his head right now?_ "The fact that you've made the effort of owning up has its own rewards… You don't have to accept my apology for me to know that I've done the right thing."

"Right," Malfoy muttered to himself, and Tracey decided to be on her way. _His sudden change in demeanor is fucking scaring me._

Tracey turned around and began heading for the door, she did feel a little better now.

"I'm sorry," Malfoy called out, and she slowly turned back around. _What?_

"Excuse me?" Tracey stared at him.

"I'm sorry for… Well, I'm sorry for every time that I made you feel small, or alone," Malfoy apologized rather awkwardly, he wasn't even looking at her. _Am I hearing things?_ "I'm also sorry for being less than civilized when we met. You came to my Manor because Greengrass told you that you'd find friends there, and I turned everyone against you. Oh, and I'm sorry that we made fun of you and threw things at you. I'm also sorry that I ordered Crabbe and Goyle to push you down those stairs when we were nine-"

"Are you going to apologize for every single thing that you're guilty of?" Tracey asked, and he shot her an embarrassed, and slightly angry, look. "You can just say that you're sorry… That's all." _Wait a minute._ "Malfoy…" _No way._ "Have you… never… apologized before?" _It can't be._

"Of course I have," Malfoy spat out, and Tracey raised her hands in surrender. "It's just…" he trailed off.

"You've never meant it?" Tracey asked, and Malfoy looked down at his lap with a furrowed brow. _WOW!_

"How does someone go thirteen years without **genuinely** apologizing to someone?" Tracey walked back to his bedside, and Malfoy didn't seem to have an answer for that. "Wow…"

"Are you done turning me into a joke?" Malfoy glared up at her.

"Don't be so defensive…" Tracey said calmingly. "I'm just a little… shocked… That's all."

Tracey then sat down on the corner of his bed, something that made his tense immediately. Sadly for him, Tracey was too busy with her shock to really notice his discomfort.

"Well?" Tracey asked.

"Well, what?" Malfoy frowned at her.

"How have you never apologized to someone?" Tracey asked. "What about your parents?"

"I've apologized to them, but never really meant it," Malfoy replied very slowly. "It was just a way to get out of trouble…"

"You should write a book," Tracey said, and Malfoy gave her a deadpan look.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Malfoy asked.

"I'm just bewildered," Tracey shook her head. "Thirteen years, and not a single **genuine** apology. Wait… Does that mean that I'm your first?"

Malfoy blinked at her, and that's when she realized what she had just said.

"Not that way, pervert," she said quickly, and Malfoy looked at the bedpost behind her. "So… You're really sorry?"

"Yes," Malfoy all but whispered, making sure to not look at her.

"Why?" Tracey couldn't help but ask.

"You just said that if I feel guilty about something, then I should apologize," Malfoy reminded her.

"You feel guilty over… me?" Tracey asked, she needed to get a camera. "Why?"

"You're starting to annoy me," Malfoy looked her dead in the eyes.

"I just want to know," Tracey admitted, this was too interesting to let go.

"I… Weasley mentioned that my past behavior might have led some people to feel miserable, or lonely," Malfoy looked down at his lap. _He really doesn't want to make eye contact, does he?_ "I know what that's like now…"

"Not fun, is it?" Tracey asked, and he didn't say anything in response. _Yeah, he knows. Before he joined up with us, he was getting kicked around by the entire school._

"Did you feel like that?" Malfoy asked without looking up. "Because of me?"

"Yes…" Tracey admitted, despite feeling the urge to lie in order to save face. "I spent two days in tears after our first meeting…" _Should I forgive him? I mean, I don't even think about those old days anymore. The group is so close and loving now that I don't feel miserable at all._

"I see…" Malfoy rubbed his arm awkwardly. "I'm sorry…"

"You really have changed," Tracey heard herself say, and Malfoy drew in a sharp breath. "I accept your apology." Malfoy looked at her. "But only if you accept mine. You can't be the only absolved one, which would be unfair."

Malfoy blinked at her, and then he nodded slowly.

"So we're both sorry, and we both accept each other's apologies?" Tracey asked, and Malfoy nodded again. "Peace?"

Tracey put her hand forward for a shake, and Malfoy stared at it.

"Peace," he said softly, and then he shook her hand. _I'm shaking hands with a remorseful Draco Malfoy. The end times are upon us._ "Now what?"

"Do you feel better?" Tracey asked him.

"Kind of," he looked her in the eyes. "I mean, not really…"

"Maybe some sleep will help?" Tracey suggested.

"Maybe," Malfoy whispered to himself. "Good night, Davis."

"Good night, Malfoy," Tracey got off of his bed, and then she couldn't help but smile at him.

"Don't do that," Malfoy sighed out.

"I am Draco Malfoy's first!" Tracey laughed, and Malfoy immediately curled up with his back towards her. "Hey! That was funny!"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

Blaise was a slippery little bastard.

Ron had overheard just enough to figure out that Sirius had done what Sirius does, and Ron also knew Blaise enough to know that his friend was quite bothered by his mother's actions. _I mean, she's getting married soon, and yet, she only came here to sleep with Sirius. And Sirius actually went through with it? What the fuck? Did he not know that she is engaged? And poor Blaise… That comment about his mother being just another notch on Sirius' wand was quite hard to listen to._

Ron looked around the ballroom, but there were too many people, and too much noise, for him to make sense of anything. _Did he slip out into the Gardens?_ Off in the distance, he spotted Theo and Millie having a chat with a French Family, and not too far away from them were Daphne and Pansy, who too were speaking to a French Family. _No Blaise though. Maybe they saw him?_ Ron began walking towards them, but a familiar voice stopped him mid-stride.

"Ron!" John called out, and Ron looked to see the Fawleys approaching him. "Mum! Dad! This is Ronald Weasley, he's a mate of mine!"

"Johnathon, don't use the word 'mate'," his mother chuckled. "Call him your friend and ally, as is our custom."

"Oh, sorry," John smiled at Ron, who smiled back at the Fawleys.

Much like John, Lord Fawley was a lanky man with brown hair, while his wife was only slightly shorter than her husband, and rather skinny.

"Lord and Lady Fawley, it is an honor to meet you," Ron gave a polite nod. _Now, please, help me find my wayward friend._

"The honor is all ours, Mr. Weasley," Lord Fawley shook Ron's hand firmly. "My son has sent us so many letters about you."

"He has?" Ron smiled at John, who looked rather annoyed with his father. _Is that a blush?_

"Ron, there you are," came his father's voice, and Ron looked back to see his parents approaching him. "Sebastian was looking for you, and he told us to send you to him if we found you." _Lord Greengrass?_

"Arthur, you're interrupting them," Molly gave a sorry smile to the Fawleys, who just smiled at the Weasleys.

"It's quite alright," Lady Fawley assured them. "We just wanted to thank Ronald for taking Johnathon under his wing in Slytherin."

"Slytherin?" Arthur looked at the Fawleys. "But aren't all Fawleys sorted into Hufflepuff? I mean, I heard that it was your Family's Tradition to-"

"Arthur," Molly smiled at her husband, though her tone was rather stern and cold.

"Oh… Right," Arthur blinked at John, who managed an awkward smile at best. _Do all Weasleys enjoy the taste of their own feet? Is this like a Family Curse of some sort?_

"I'm happy to mentor John, he's a great lad," Ron decided to take over. "He was a little shy early on, but he's really putting in his best effort lately. I'm very proud of him."

"Hear that, son?" Lord Fawley patted John's back, who looked almost bashful because of Ron's words. "He's been worried that he's not impressing you enough."

"Merlin… Dad, can you stop?" John frowned at his father, who just grinned at him. _They're a close Family, even I can see that._

"He impresses me just fine," Ron chuckled. "Except for his Transfiguration grades…" _Those make me cringe. But hey, at least he's not as bad as Astoria, who is intent on failing her subjects if I don't help her._

"I'm working on that," John defended himself.

"So Ron tutors you as well?" Molly asked John as she rubbed Ron's back. "A girl named Lysandra approached us before, and she was quite talkative. I didn't know that you mentored first years, Ron. You should've told us."

"I don't do much," Ron assured his mother. "I just point them in the right direction, that's all."

"And yell when we don't listen," John muttered under his breath.

"That happened once," Ron said, while his parents looked a little sorry. "And in my defense, casting Stupefy in a straight line isn't that hard."

"Well, we're really glad to finally meet you," Lady Fawley patted Ron's cheek, and Ron couldn't help but note that she had boney hands."I was overjoyed to hear that John wasn't alone in Slytherin, and that he has been making lots of friends."

"He's clever," Ron smiled at his first year. "That alone will get him far in Slytherin."

"That's good to hear," Lord Fawley admitted. "I was quite worried for him after his Sorting, but knowing that he's found his place is a soothing thought. I can't thank you enough, Mr. Weasley."

"Please, think nothing of-"

"Hem, hem!" came a sickly sweet voice from behind them, and Ron slowly turned around to see who had interrupted him.

A short, squat woman, who was wearing a blindingly pink cardigan, stood behind the Weasleys, her broad, flabby face split by a wide smile. In all honesty, she looked like a large, pale toad, and Ron felt weary of her because of her greedy, bulging eyes, which were fixed on him.

"Mr. Weasley," she spoke in a girlish, breathless voice. "I have been looking forward to meeting you. And here you are, at last."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! The Gala will continue on in the next chapter! I mean, we haven't had any dancing yet!**

 **Oh, and Queen Bitch is here... Yay...**

 **See you guys on next Thursday! (I know that it's a week, but I've got some big stuff happening right now in my life)**


	97. Chapter 97 - A Growing Weed

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 97 is here! Sorry for the week-long wait, but some stuff came up on my side. It's been dealt with, for now, and I'm back. Without further ado...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 97 – A Growing Weed**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

"Madam Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic," the squat woman almost giggled, and then she put her right hand forward. _Umbridge? Isn't that the woman that I apparently murdered? Bloody hell, it's good to finally put a face to the name. Speaking of which, didn't she create that Werewolf Legislation?_

Ron took a step forward, took her right hand into his, and then he kissed her knuckles. _Merlin, her perfume is so overwhelming. It's too sweet, and as a result, it smells vile._

"Weasley, Ronald Weasley," Ron introduced himself the proper way, making sure to put on a smile. _Yeah, I'll vomit if I stay near her too long. That perfume is doing my head in._

"A pleasure to finally meet you," Umbridge 'smiled' at him, which served to make her look even more toad-like.

"Senior Undersecretary, you say?" Lord Fawley asked, and Umbridge puffed up a little. "You've been promoted."

"The Minister himself chose me, Lord Fawley," Umbridge said sweetly, though she looked a bit displeased at being interrupted. _And yet, she interrupted our conversation with an obnoxious 'cough'._ "I am to work directly under **Cornelius** himself." _Did she just emphasize the man's name in order to show that she's 'friends' with him? I already don't like this woman. Something about her feels off to me._

"I see that your Legislation caught the Minister's attention," Arthur said, and Ron could tell that his father was putting up a kind demeanor.

"Cornelius rewards hard work, Arthur," Umbridge giggled, leaving the implication unspoken. _This bitch…_ "Speaking of which…" she looked to Ron. "Do you have a moment to talk, Mr. Weasley?"

"I am actually having a conversation with Lord and Lady Fawley right now," Ron replied, deciding to not disrespect the Fawleys by walking away mid-conversation. "But I promise that I will come and find you right after."

"Then perhaps I can join your conversation?" Umbridge smiled even more widely, her tone slightly condescending.

"Of course," Lady Fawley said, while John cocked an eyebrow at Umbridge.

"Which Legislation did you enact, Madam Umbridge?" John asked, and she gave him an almost quizzical look. "It's just that I haven't heard your name before?"

"You clearly don't read the Daily Prophet, then," Umbridge giggled, sounding rather condescending once again. "Aren't children so sweet? They live such carefree lives, and don't even bother keeping up with the news." _Well, I do, and I really don't like you from what I've read. You're stepping on people's throats in order to elevate yourself within the Ministry._ "Is this your son, Lord Fawley?"

"Yes…" Lord Fawley replied, he didn't like this woman's tone one bit.

"Fawley, Johnathon Fawley," John introduced himself.

"Well, Johnathon, I enacted **the** Werewolf Legislation, which serves to protect wizards and witches from those horrible beasts," Umbridge told John, who nodded slowly. _Horrible beasts?_

Ron couldn't help but think of Remus, and judging by Molly and Arthur's annoyed features, they too had taken offence by her words. _Yeah, I don't like this bitch. She'll need to be dealt with eventually, I can already tell._

"Werewolves are people, just like us," Arthur spoke up, unable to stomach the insult to his friend. "If anything, we should be **helping** them, not **hunting** them." _He used to be scared of Werewolves, much like myself, until he met Remus, and now, he's fighting for all Werewolves. All it takes is the right push._

Umbridge blinked at Arthur, her smile trembling for a moment. Ron got the impression that she was trying to mask her disgust at Arthur's words with kindness, but she was failing miserably.

"But I **am** helping them," Umbridge said almost breathlessly, a confused chuckle escaping her mouth. "They are a danger to everyone around them, but I am taking the danger out of the equation altogether. Those who hire the Werewolves will also provide them with the Wolfsbane Potion, which benefits all parties involved."

"Except no shop-keeper can afford such an expensive Potion every month," Arthur countered, and his wife nudged him. _He's getting a little too heated. This is still a party, dad._

"That is hardly my fault, now, is it?" Umbridge smiled at Arthur, who looked less than pleased with her tone. "Children, like John here, deserve to grow up in a danger-free World, and whether you like it or not, Werewolves are immensely dangerous. Don't you agree, Lord Fawley?" _This is turning into a controversial conversation… I hope no one asks for my opinion on the matter, mostly because I don't want to make enemies._

"Well… They are quite dangerous," Lord Fawley admitted, and John nodded along. _Wow._ "I mean, many of them are vagabonds, are they not?" _That's just a stereotype, one that the Daily Prophet spreads around._

"Exactly," Umbridge laughed sweetly, while the Weasleys exchanged looks. "The Ministry is trying its best to help them, but they are nothing but ungrateful. I would go as far as to blame this crime epidemic on them as well. Have you seen the streets, Lord and Lady Fawley?" Both Fawleys shook their heads. "Take my advice, and stay away from Diagon Alley. Beggars and thieves have taken to the corners, and they make running errands an absolute chore." _Chore? These are people that you're talking about._

"Shouldn't the Ministry pay these shop-keepers enough to buy the Wolfsbane Potion?" John asked, and everyone looked to him. "This Legislation **could** help the Werewolves, but **only** if they are getting some securities from the Ministry." _You're damn right, John, but the Ministry won't hand over a single Knut for the Werewolves. They are just keen on looking busy._

"That would be hugely expensive, son," Lord Fawley said, while Umbridge just smiled at John. "Not to mention that the Ministry is struggling right now-"

"The Ministry remains strong," Umbridge cut in, and even Ron found that to be extremely rude. "We are in control of everything, Johnathon, and you have nothing to worry about. You should enjoy your childhood, and not think too much on Legislations and such." _You mean that he shouldn't question your idiocy just because you're an adult?_

"Ronald, what do you think of the Werewolf Legislation?" Lady Fawley asked, and Ron hid his displeasure. _I fucking knew it. Now I have to piss off one of these parties. If I give my genuine opinion, this Umbridge woman will be insulted, but if I lie to appease her, my parents will be shocked and angered. Not to mention that if I try and sit on the fence, I'll look weak and irresolute. Damn it._

"Personally, I don't find this Legislation to be helpful," Ron admitted, deciding to stay true to his beliefs. _If she has a problem with how I see things, then she can fuck right off. I'm not going to lie to appease anyone, especially not someone who sees starving people as 'chores'. Plus, she called Remus a 'Horrible beast'._

Umbridge blinked at Ron repeatedly, while his parents smiled a little to themselves. As for the Fawleys, they were waiting for Ron to build upon his claim. _In for a Knut, in for a Galleon, I suppose. Maybe I can help the Fawleys understand why the stigma against Werewolves is idiotic at best, and hostile at worst._

"Growing up, I was constantly told to be vary of Werewolves," Ron told the Fawleys. "And as such, I didn't really see them as people. But over the last two years, I've learnt to be more understanding of people's situations before judging them."

"Judging them?" Umbridge gasped. "No one is judging them here, Mr. Weasley." _Really?_

"You called them horrible beasts not five minutes ago," Ron reminded her, his tone becoming a little to firm.

Ron then looked back to the Fawleys.

"Werewolves are very much like us, Lord Fawley, I truly believe that," Ron told the man, who cocked an eyebrow at him. "Strategically speaking, this Legislation does not help the Ministry in the long run."

"Really? Is that so?" Umbridge asked with forced sweetness, something shifting behind her eyes. _Yeah, she's pissed. Fuck it._

"It is no secret that the Werewolf Community feels abandoned by the Ministries," Ron started, making sure to keep his tone civil. "This Legislation makes it impossible for them to find work within the Magical World, unless they work directly under the rich, Pure-Blood Families, most of whom despise Werewolves on principle-"

"That has never been proven," Umbridge chuckled at the Fawleys, who were now listening to Ron.

"And yet, it's true," Ron shot her a quick look. "Let's not hide from the truth when it comes to sensitive matters, it only serves to stall the conversation." _And don't interrupt me, you cunt._ "This Legislation has put them all out of jobs, which in turn has led them to desperation. Tell me, Lord Fawley, if your Family was starving, and you had no means of putting food on the table, what would you do?"

"That is a hypothetical scenario created specifically to entice a certain kind of answer," Umbridge interrupted again, her bulging eyes were fixed on Ron.

"Is it hypothetical, though?" Ron asked her. "I mean, as you said, so many Werewolves are turning to crime, right?" She blinked at him again, while Ron looked to the Fawleys. "Lord Fawley?"

"I **may** turn to crime as well, I suppose…" Lord Fawley admitted slowly. "But only to help my Family."

"Which is a noble thing," Ron smiled at Lord Fawley. "But at the end of the day, people would call you a vagabond. They wouldn't even think about your intentions, or how you got to such a state. No… Instead, they would judge you harshly and then turn from you." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Werewolves are people, just like us wizards and witches, but their lot in life is decided for them by people who don't even know them. This creates a divide between us, which is only made larger when a Legislation passed by the Wizarding Ministry throws the Werewolves out of their jobs."

"So, is it any wonder why they seem 'ungrateful'?" Ron looked to Umbridge, who had gone eerily quiet. "There is a good reason why we Wizards are hated by the other Magical Communities, and it's **not** because they're ungrateful, it's because we Wizards don't treat others with enough respect. We steal lands from the Centaurs, and then ship them off to zoo-like colonies. We constantly try to steal from the Goblins, who have hated us for centuries due to our subjugation of their race. And now, we are making it impossible for Werewolves to get jobs within the Magical World. Sooner or later, people get tired of being kicked around, and that results in rebellion."

"I had no idea that my son was so educated on the matter," Molly chuckled nervously, Ron was nearly unrecognizable right now. _Not educated, I'm just not bias against people of different backgrounds. I mean, I'm a Weasley who's in Slytherin… People have judged me negatively for just that._

"This, of course, is just my opinion," Ron told everyone, his tone lighter now. "I think that we should first treat the Werewolves with respect, and then work **with** them to create Legislations that benefit both parties. The current Legislation has only benefited the Ministry, while the Werewolves have been left to fend for themselves."

"I never thought about it that way…" Lord Fawley said slowly. "Perhaps we can open a shelter for these people, love?"

"That would at least get them off the streets," Lady Fawley agreed, much to Ron's joy. _See, Ron? People are good, and they just need the proper push. This proves that if my Quibbler reports on_ _ **actual**_ _issues, then more people will help out._

"A shelter?" Umbridge giggled, making Ron almost shudder with how forced it sounded. "Forgive me for thinking this, but are you suggesting that we reward them for their unruly behavior? What sort of example does that set?"

"A proper one," Molly said, but Umbridge was only looking at Ron.

"I agree with my mother," Ron told Umbridge. "Someone has to put the right foot forward, and this Legislation has only served to make the Werewolf Community even more wary of the Ministry."

"Is that what you meant by this Legislation not working in the long run?" John asked, and Ron gave his first year a nod.

"Right now, this Legislation only serves the Ministry," Ron explained. "The people see it in the Daily Prophet, and decide that the Ministry is **actually** doing something… They don't think about the consequences of such a Law ten years from now. The more we ostracize a certain group of people, the more problems we create for the Future. These Werewolves are degrading their souls by committing petty crimes just to survive, and eventually, they'll rise against the Ministry."

"Rise against the Ministry?" Umbridge looked appalled. "Surely, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you are not suggesting that the Ministry is at fault for everything wrong in the World?"

"Don't twist my words," Ron said bluntly, something that Umbridge was hardly used to. "I am simply stating that **your** Legislation will not work to anyone's favor in the long run." _Except for you, of course, but you already know that._

"If the Werewolves leave the Magical World in order to find work in the Muggle World, won't the chance of them being discovered increase exponentially?" John asked Ron. "I mean, them being discovered is bad for us **all** , isn't it?" _He's definitely the clever Fawley, which is why he was put in Slytherin._

"Exactly," Ron patted John's back, who seemed quite pleased to add to the conversation. "We are creating problems for ourselves simply because we refuse to see Werewolves as living, breathing human beings, who, much like us, have responsibilities to their Families. Now… I won't say that **all** Werewolves are misunderstood people, because some of them have given into their bestial nature, but I will also point out that our own history is filled with bloody-minded people. A few bad apples shouldn't ruin the entire batch, right?"

"No," Lord Fawley agreed.

"Then we shouldn't label all Werewolves as vagabonds, not until we try our best to help our fellow man," Ron smiled at the man. "This shelter that you just proposed, Lord Fawley… I would love to report on it, free of charge."

"You'll advertise without asking for a fee?" Lord Fawley asked. _I don't want money, I want you to help people._

"Consider it a favor between friends," Ron said, and Lord Fawley gave him a nod.

"The Ministry, of course, will provide you with aid, Lord Fawley," Umbridge said, her voice no longer sweet. _Yeah, she's so pissed off right now. If I die tonight, put her in Azkaban._ "Now… If you'll excuse me, I think I just saw Cornelius looking for me." _Ha! Really? That's your best excuse?_

With that, Umbridge turned around and left to find more fitting company.

"I don't think she likes you much," Lady Fawley smiled at Ron.

"I'm sure I'll live," Ron chuckled. "Her Legislation is idiotic, and it needed to be called out. I hope my views didn't offend you in any way."

"No, quite the opposite, really," Lord Fawley said, he sounded quite pleased. "It's refreshing to talk to such a passionate young man."

"Thank you," Ron smiled, and his parents mimicked him. "You should speak to Lady Longbottom about this shelter. She's an Eternal Friend of mine, and if you tell her that this idea came up in a conversation with me, she'll no doubt help you."

"Then we'd best go and find her," Lord Fawley smiled, he understood that the boy was now pushing to see this happen. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Weasley."

"Likewise, my Lord," Ron said.

"And thank you for helping John," Lady Fawley added.

"See you later, Ron," John gave him a parting nod, which Ron returned.

Once the Fawleys had left, Ron turned to face his astonished parents.

"Mum? Dad?" Ron eyed them. "Why are you staring at me?"

"We're just a little… surprised…" Molly replied, and Ron blinked at her.

"Surprised by what?" Ron asked them.

"You," Arthur admitted. "The way you just spoke then… And the Fawleys… They now plan to open up a shelter for the homeless…"

"Well, the Fawleys are quite the charitable lot," Ron said. "I mean, they just recently worked with Lady Longbottom, and the Shafiq Family, to open up a Dragon Reserve in Britain. Didn't Charlie tell you about that?"

"He did, but it's just…" Molly started, but then she stopped. "Ron, you just helped a great deal of people."

"And?" Ron asked, where were they going with this?

"And that doesn't sound like a big deal to you?" Arthur asked, since when was Ron so… tactical?

"It's why we're here, though," Ron gave them a confused look. "We're here to make a change…"

His parents seemed to be taken aback by his reply, which only confused Ron even more.

"What else would we be here for?" Ron asked them.

"To enjoy the Gala?" Molly suggested slowly.

"Enjoy the Gala?" Ron cocked both eyebrows. "Mum… We're here to make alliances, and to promote our own Political Views. It's why I even stopped to speak to the Fawleys… They share most of our beliefs, which makes us natural allies against the other Families."

"Pardon?" Arthur asked. "What other Families? Ron, we don't really take part in the whole 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' nonsense."

"We do now," Ron told his father. "The mere fact that we're here makes us targets. Families like the Fawleys, or the Longbottoms, will act as our shields against Families like the Rowles, or the Selwyns. Plus, this 'Sacred Twenty-Eight nonsense' is what you have to put up with if you want to make genuine change. These Families hold a majority of the country's wealth, and they are well-connected. It's them who run Magical Britain, not the Ministry."

"They bribe and corrupt the system, you mean," Arthur sighed out.

"The system is filled with corruptible people," Ron shrugged. "Just look at that Umbridge woman… She runs a vindictive Legislation through the Wizengamot, and most of them support her because they share her beliefs. Merlin, they even promoted her for her 'ingenuity' in regards to attacking an already disliked group of people. No one cares about the poor sods who are losing everything, certainly not the Ministry."

"So we're here to bring attention to such matters?" Molly asked, and Ron gave a slow nod.

"Sort of," Ron said. "We're here to find likeminded people, and then to ally ourselves with them. We don't have the wealth, but we have the Name. **That's** how we Weasleys can help improve this country, and to make it far more tolerant. And sure, we'll make some enemies along the way, but we'll also make new friends. Friends like the Greengrass Family, or the Davis Family."

"We did become friends with Sebastian and Mary because Ron was involved," Arthur reminded his wife, who just shook her head clear.

"Merlin, I'm regretting not listening to my mother's lectures now," Molly told them.

"Don't feel any pressure, mum," Ron rubbed her arm. "Just make new friends, and it'll be fine. I'll worry about the Alliances, and other such matters."

"No, we'll do our part," Molly assured him, which took him by surprise. "I won't tell you what to do anymore, Ron, but I **will** be there to watch over you no matter what. We'll share the load with you." _Huh? Wait… I told dad that they 'hinder me' more than they 'help me', and he must've told her._

"Right," Ron said a little awkwardly, and then he patted his mother's arm. "Thank you. That helps me immensely." _So they'll just help me now? Weird… And suspicious._

"Don't be so surprised, son," Arthur smiled a little.

"No, I'm not…" Ron started, but then he thought his words through. "I just expected some… resistance… I know that you two don't like this sort of behavior, so I'm just really glad that we're on the same page for once."

"We'll never stop worrying about you, Ron, but we are also capable of making mistakes," Arthur told him. "Our way didn't exactly work…" _No, it most certainly did not._

"So we'll do things your way," Molly added, and Ron fought the urge to gape at her. "Just for now, that is. The moment you start putting your health at risk, we will-"

"Ahem," Arthur cleared his throat, and then he gave his wife an odd look. _Was she about to go off on a tangent again?_

"Well…" Ron looked between his parents, he didn't know what to say. "Right, then… Let's separate and mingle, shall we?" _Is that why they agreed to keep Ginny subdued? Wait… Where is she?_

"Oh, Sebastian was looking for you," Arthur reminded Ron. "He was also asking after his daughter." _Oh, no… I haven't been by Daphne's side since Dumbledore took me away._

"I'll go find him soon," Ron told his father. _First, I need to find Blaise._ "By the way, where is Ginny?"

"She went home with Harry," Molly told him, and Ron nodded slowly. _So she didn't even stay for the entire event… She won't see me get my new position._ "She was feeling unwell." _Don't lie on her behalf to make me feel better._

"Whatever," Ron shrugged off his hurt. "As long as she's not causing me trouble, I don't care where she is." Ron then spotted Madame Maxime approaching him from behind his parents, while his parents exchanged sorry looks. "Madame Maxime!"

"Ronald," Madame Maxime smiled at him.

Both Molly and Arthur turned to face the large woman, who was now towering over them.

"Merlin…" Molly stared up at Madame Maxime's face. _Don't be rude._

"You must be Arthur and Molly Weasley, Ronald's parents," Madame Maxime greeted, she had clearly shrugged off Molly's reaction. "I am glad to have finally found you."

"Mum, dad, this is Madame Olympe Maxime," Ron introduced. "She is my friend and ally, and she has something to say to you both." _Please just accept her apology._

"I wish to apologize for my actions during the last Junior League Chess Tournament," Madame Maxime apologized sincerely. "My actions hurt your son, and I have fully come to understand that. I am very sorry. Ronald and I have made-"

"His eyes were bleeding," Molly adorned a slightly angered look. "Was that not a clear enough sign of what your actions were doing to my son?" _Mum…_ "A Subconjunctival Hemorrhage is what it took for you to realize your mistake?"

"Mum," Ron gave her a meaningful look, but Madame Maxime gestured him to stay quiet.

"She is right to be angry," Madame Maxime said, her head bowing a little. "I almost killed a young boy, and all for vanity. Please, Mrs. Weasley, continue." _Fuck me… Can I leave then? My friend needs me._

"What would be the point?" Molly huffed, while Arthur just looked uncomfortable. _Dad, control her._ "We, as Ron's parents, can never forgive you for what you've done, but if Ron has befriended you, then Arthur and I **expect** you to pay off your dues. Even I understand that your partnership with Ron has benefited you far more than him, so I expect you to be loyal to my son."

"I can promise that," Madame Maxime said, and Molly gave her a curt nod.

"Arthur, let's go meet some new people," Molly said, and then she nearly dragged Arthur away. _Yeesh, bye dad._

"Sorry about that…" Ron sighed out.

"No, it went better than I expected," Madame Maxime told him. "If I was a little shorter, your mother would've slapped me for certain. And I would deserve it."

"What's done is done," Ron said, he wasn't in the mood to listen to sad confessions. "All that matters now is our partnership, and the Future."

"Of course," Madame Maxime nodded, and then she shot quick looks around. _What is it?_ "The French Families will be meeting the Order tomorrow."

"Where?" Ron leaned in.

"At the Order's Headquarters," Madame Maxime replied. "They are here to lend their aid, and so there won't be much to discuss. Albus, however, wanted me to inform you nonetheless."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"I met him a few minutes ago, and I spoke with him about our plans," Madame Maxime told Ron. "Once we were done, he asked me to inform you." _He doesn't want me strolling into Grimmauld Place tomorrow. Fair enough, that would raise a lot of questions._ "He also wanted me to tell you that he's waiting for you by the Gardens. He has a favor to ask."

"I understand," Ron nodded, now he couldn't go and find Blaise. _I'll go over to Daphne, and tell her to take over._ "I will go and find him. Goodbye for now, Madame Maxime."

"Take care, Ronald," Madame Maxime moved on, while Ron started walking over to Daphne.

He could see Pansy, Theo, and Millie speaking with the other guests nearby Daphne, but Blaise was nowhere to be seen. _I get that he's upset, but running off is very unlike him._ Along the way, Ron greeted passing guests, avoided running into excited children, and waved at a few Veela admirers. By the time he reached Daphne, she was shaking hands with Lady Donadieu.

"Le fléau de Vélane," Lady Donadieu smiled more widely at seeing him.

"Lady Donadieu, I see that you've met my girlfriend," Ron smiled at them, and Daphne turned to face him with her own smile. _Oh, no. I know that smile. That's a fake smile! She's angry with me!_

"I have indeed," Lady Donadieu chuckled merrily. "She is certainly beautiful."

"She is, **and** she's got her father's brain for business," Ron responded.

"I have noticed," Lady Donadieu shot Daphne a fond look, and then she bowed her head to Ron. "I must go and find my husband, please come and speak with us when you are free."

"I will," Ron promised, and Lady Donadieu left the children behind.

Once the French witch had disappeared into the crowd, Ron looked to Daphne with a sheepish smile.

"Where did you run off to, Ron?" Daphne huffed in indignation. "Father caught me lingering alone, and he gave me an earful."

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "I keep getting ambushed by people, Daph. I can't take five steps before someone corners me."

"I can understand that," Daphne huffed again, clearly still agitated with him. "But you and I are meant to be a team here, Ron. You can't just leave me behind like that." _Well, I'm about to do it again._

"Right…" Ron said slowly, and Daphne blinked at him.

And then, she frowned deeply.

"You are planning to run off again, aren't you?" Daphne asked, and Ron grinned despite his feeling of guilt. "Fine… Go."

"Daph, don't be like that," Ron walked up to her side, his left hand rubbing her back gently.

"No, you can go and meet all the Veelas you want," Daphne said coldly, but Ron knew that she was just trying to mask her own jealousy. "Who am I to stop you?"

"Dumbledore wants to see me," Ron told her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Date him, then," Daphne huffed, and Ron had to hold back a snort. "I mean, he calls you over, and you abandon me without a moment's hesitation." _Abandon is a strong word…_

"We still have a lot of time together," Ron said softly, he didn't want to anger her right now by making jokes. "Once I've spoken to Dumbledore, I'll come and find you immediately. And I promise that I won't leave your side again."

"Promise?" Daphne shot him an icy look, and Ron leaned down pecked her lips. "Fine, Ron… But you better keep your word." _She can't resist me._

"I also need your help," Ron smiled, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I saw Blaise run off before, and I've been trying to chase him down."

"Blaise ran off?" Daphne's anger vanished completely.

"His mother slept with Sirius, and then she left Blaise behind," Ron told Daphne, who just shook her head. "He looked quite bothered by her actions, and I'm not exactly sure why. I mean, he always acts like he doesn't care much about her."

"It's just one of his pet peeves," Daphne told Ron. "Trust me, this isn't the first time that she's pulled this stunt. She's been doing it since Blaise was a toddler."

"Can you look for him with the others?" Ron asked. "I need to see Dumbledore, not to mention that I can't roam around freely."

"Alright," Daphne looked to the others. "Come and find us when you're finished."

"Thank you," Ron gave her another kiss, and when her lips twitched upwards, Ron knew that she wasn't angry anymore. "I'll see you in a bit."

"If you find Blaise before us, tell him to come and find us," Daphne said as Ron began to leave for the Gardens, and he gave her a nod.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Sorry for the delay, Headmaster," Ron approached the old man, who was looking over the Gardens from the marble veranda. "I've been talking to the other guests." _More like getting ambushed._

"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore shot him a smile. "Come, join me."

Ron walked up to Dumbledore's right, and both of them gazed at the Gardens, which were now filled with wandering guests. _I wonder where Emilia ran off to. I haven't seen her since our chat._

"Have you seen Harry?" Dumbledore finally broke the silence.

"He left," Ron replied, and Dumbledore looked to him for clarification. "Apparently, Ginny wasn't feeling too well, and they both went home. I'm guessing that Sirius is also gone."

"Did you see Sirius before he left?" Dumbledore asked.

"I did," Ron couldn't help but frown. "He left Harry alone in order to sleep with another guest."

"I see," Dumbledore all but whispered, his disappointment written on his face.

"He can be the biggest fucking moron when he wants," Ron said, and Dumbledore didn't disagree. "I mean, he left Harry in a Ballroom full of Death-Eaters, and he didn't even think of that."

"I will speak with him," Dumbledore assured Ron. "Sirius is undergoing a difficult change at the moment, so we must be patient."

"A difficult change?" Ron's ears perked up.

"Severus' sacrifice weighs heavily on Sirius," Dumbledore told Ron. "Sirius has always believed that those who walk a dark path should not be respected, but Severus, of all people, has challenged that. It just might be the push that Sirius needs in order to grow up."

"Right," Ron nodded, he hoped that Sirius would indeed grow up a little. "Madame Maxime told me that you had a favor to ask."

"I did, but seeing as Harry has left, I no longer need it," Dumbledore replied.

"What was the favor?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"I wanted you to introduce Harry to the French Families," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "They have agreed to join the Order, as you know, and so I wanted them to get to know Harry a little."

"You mean you wanted them to swear fealty to the Boy-Who-Lived," Ron rolled his eyes, a pang of jealousy shooting up into his mind. "It's not like **I** brought them here…" _I work my arse off, and Harry reaps the rewards. Just like with the Heir of Slytherin._

"Ronald," Dumbledore smiled at him. "Many of them are here to meet Harry, and you know that already." _I know. Most of them asked me if Harry was in attendance tonight._

"Well, he's gone home," Ron said, making sure to keep his tone in check. "Harry isn't exactly a social person from what I've seen."

"He doesn't need to be," Dumbledore said. "Harry's name alone can inspire hope, which is why I wanted the French to meet him. His presence would have steeled their resolve, and made my job much easier."

"I'm sure you'll manage just fine tomorrow," Ron said, looking back to the Gardens. "Do you need anything else?" _I should go look for Blaise now._

"No," Dumbledore replied, and Ron turned to leave. "Oh, I found a place for the Squib children, Ronald."

Ron stopped immediately, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. _Really?_

"You did?" Ron asked. "That quickly?"

"The property is already in my name, but it is not being used," Dumbledore told Ron. "I will take you there after dinner tomorrow, and we can start planning on how it will function."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron gave a grateful nod. "Now I just need to convince Priscilla, and we can get them off the streets before Christmas."

"The sooner, the better," Dumbledore agreed. "Enjoy the rest of the Gala, Ronald."

"You too, Sir," Ron said, and then he left for the Ballroom.

As Ron neared the entrance, someone hissed at him in order to get his attention.

"Ronnie," came a whisper from his left, and Ron immediately frowned at the name.

He looked to his left, and he spotted Charlie and Kirsten standing behind a small hedge. _What are they doing back there?_ Charlie gestured Ron to come over, and so Ron crossed over to their side.

"Charlie. Kirsten," Ron greeted, eyeing the two of them with a sharp gaze. "What are you two doing back here? The Gala is inside."

"Why were you just talking to Dumbledore?" Charlie asked, completely ignoring Ron's question.

"I wanted to compliment him on his robes," Ron drawled, and Kirsten smirked at him. "Now, why are you two sneaking around?"

"We're not sneaking around," Charlie snorted, and Ron just stared at them. _Wait… Are they drunk? Kirsten's even swaying a little._

"Are you two drunk?" Ron asked.

"He caught us," Charlie grinned at Kirsten, who just giggled in response. "Sorry, little brother, but mum has been treating us like children. You know how she is… Anyway, Kirsten and I are just enjoying our night out."

"I've never been to a party like this one before," Kirsten told Ron. "Thank you for inviting me, Ron. You're a good lad."

"Think nothing of it," Ron said slowly, and then he looked to Charlie. "Just don't get caught by mum, or dad, and try to not embarrass the Weasley Name."

"See how he talks now?" Charlie laughed at Ron. "We will be on our best behavior, my Lord." _Pardon?_

"What did you just say?" Ron asked, his tone becoming less than friendly.

"Ignore him," Kirsten jumped in. "He's barely standing straight, and he's been talking nonsense for a while."

"You should enjoy the party, Ronnie," Charlie said, his face looked flushed. "Stop being so serious all the time."

"Again, please ignore him," Kirsten shot Charlie a frown, one that he completely missed due to his drunk state. "We won't get caught, I promise. I brought us here so we could hide out until Charlie is feeling more like himself again."

"Why did you get so drunk in the first place?" Ron asked her. "This is a Charity Event, not a tavern."

"Yeah… Things got out of hand," Kirsten gave a sorry smile. "We've been cooped up with your parents for too long, and we missed our freedom."

"We can't even have wine with dinner," Charlie scoffed to himself. "I'm a grown man, mum… I can have a glass of wine if I want." _Wow._

"Just stay with him," Ron sighed, and then he turned to leave.

"Are you enjoying the Gala?" she asked, and Ron turned back around.

"In my own way," Ron replied, and she gave a slow nod.

"Well, if you get bored, you can always spend time with us," Kirsten offered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ron said, though he had no intention of doing that. _After Blaise is found, I need to meet some more Families._

"That means no," Charlie chuckled to himself, and Ron just stared at him. "What? I can't speak my mind?"

"Charlie, stop trying to start a fight," Kirsten glared at her boyfriend.

"Do you have something to say to me, Charlie?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I do," Charlie suddenly got serious, though his eyes were still glazed over. "The twins… You really did set them up, didn't you?"

"This again…" Ron shook his head. "They've been tormenting me for years, but the first time I strike back, everyone is upset with me. Why is that?"

"Did you beat Fred up?" Charlie demanded.

"Charlie, now is not the time," Kirsten smacked his arm. "Leave your brother alone, he's clearly busy right now."

"Weasleys don't attack each other in front of the entire school," Charlie told Kirsten. "Ronnie clearly didn't get the memo."

"But it's alright for a 'grown man' to beat up his thirteen year old brother?" Ron asked icily, and Charlie blinked at him. "What? Did you think that I'd forget?"

"I apologized for that…" Charlie muttered. "And in my defense, you were being a cold-hearted bastard."

"Ron, you should just go," Kirsten advised. "Charlie becomes rather rude when he's drunk."

"I'm not being rude, I'm trying to talk to my brother," Charlie told her.

"No, Charlie, you're trying to start a confrontation," Kirsten sighed out. "Why don't you have this chat with Ron when you're not drunk?"

"Why did you attack Fred?" Charlie looked to Ron, deciding to ignore his girlfriend.

"He attacked me first," Ron replied. "Believe me, I let him off easy." _Just ask Flint._

"See that?" Charlie looked to Kirsten. "See how he talks?! That's not Ronnie…"

"Just keep this **idiot** away from the other guests," Ron looked to Kirsten, and she gave him a nod.

"Idiot? Me?" Charlie scoffed. "You're the one who's pushing everyone away."

"Whatever," Ron decided to ignore Charlie's behavior. "Kirsten, please make sure that Charlie doesn't drink anymore."

"And now he's telling me what I can and can't do," Charlie chuckled in a scathing manner.

"I'll make sure of it, Ron," Kirsten promised, and Ron gave her a parting nod as he left for the Ballroom.

His run in with Charlie had left a bad taste in his mouth, but Ron was used to his Family finding faults with him. _Plus, he was horribly drunk. It's best if I just ignore his behavior. I need to stay focused on the Gala, and finding Blaise._

"Mr. Weasley," Barnabas Cuffe stepped into his way as soon as he entered the Ballroom. _FUCK! Just let me find my friend, you bastards._

"Mr. Cuffe," Ron put on a smile, and then he looked Barnabas over. _Expensive looking silk Wizard Robes._ "You look very stylish tonight. Did you just arrive?"

"I've been here for nearly half an hour," Barnabas replied. "Imagine my surprise at seeing so many French citizens amongst us." _He knows that it's my doing, doesn't he?_ "It's unheard of."

"I see nothing wrong with having even more beautiful women to look at," Ron shrugged, and Barnabas chuckled.

"I suppose that is true as well," Barnabas said, his eyes darting back to the other guests. "However…" he trailed off.

"However?" Ron looked to him.

"Not everyone shares our enthusiasm for beautiful women," Barnabas told him. "Most of the people that I've spoken to tonight have voiced their anger with you." _Word is spreading, then. Good._

"And who have you spoken to?" Ron asked.

"Just the usual rabble," Barnabas replied, he wasn't one to give away names. "They suspect the French to be making a move against our country, and you're the one who invited them in."

"So I am part of a conspiracy now?" Ron couldn't help but scoff. "I'm aiding the 'French invasion'?"

"They are a superstitious lot," Barnabas smiled. "Change is a threat to their way of life, and you're bringing a lot of change."

"And that change doesn't bother you?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning Barnabas' face. _What do you really want from me, Barnabas Cuffe? Why do you keep finding ways to enter my life?_

"Change means very little to a man like me," Barnabas replied. "I work for whoever is paying. Be that the British, or the French."

"You pride yourself on being disloyal?" Ron asked, and Barnabas blinked at him. "Well?"

Barnabas looked Ron over, a subtle smile still on his face. _Did I offend you? I'm so sorry._ After a few silent, and tense, moments, Barnabas chuckled in a rather scathing manner. _What is this?_

"You think you are better than most people, don't you?" Barnabas finally broke the silence.

"Pardon?"

"It's the way you speak," Barnabas clicked his fingers, a musing look on his face. "And how you look down at people while you speak. It must be quite intimidating for many, but to a man like me, it's a clear sign of narcissism."

"Petty insults?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Where is our usual banter?" _What do you want from me, cunt? Speak your mind and sod off._

"As much as I enjoy our 'usual banter', I don't have time for it right now," Barnabas replied. "My reporters are being let into the Manor as we speak, and I came to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" Ron asked.

"Many of the British Families will speak out against you," Barnabas told him, and Ron listened intently. "They will spread lies, and attempt to defame you. They will resist the French, and keep their eyes fixed on you. Tonight, you have made far too many enemies."

"And friends," Ron added, their eyes locking.

"Your friends comprise of mostly foreigners," Barnabas told him. "After tonight, they will be watched as well. You need British allies, Ronald. You need someone like me, and as you already know, I need someone like you."

"This again?" Ron asked. "You still expect me to believe that you care about the country?"

"I care," Barnabas said gently. "In my own way, I **do** care. Things cannot continue as they are, not after recent disasters. I will not, however, pretend to be sanctimonious. Yes, I have my own ambitions, and yes, I love my wealth, but I also understand that if this country goes to the dogs, men like me won't keep our wealth and status." _Ah… Now I see._

"You're scared," Ron smiled. "You don't know which way the wind is blowing, so you're trying to jump onto any ship that might float. If you and I become friends, then you'll have to deal with these 'nobles'. But if you side with them, then you remain as you are. Just a quill for **their** propaganda."

"And eventually, they will replace me," Barnabas nodded, much to Ron's surprise.

"Finally, some honesty," Ron said, and Barnabas just stared at him. "Well, I think that you are putting far too much thought into my character. I have no intention of destabilizing the Ministry, nor am I a puppet for the French. I have brought them here for the sole purpose of helping us, and then, to better our relationship with each other. There is no grand scheme at play, Mr. Cuffe. Nothing of the sort." _Just business for the Order._

"You say that, but you have made tidal waves with this move," Barnabas said. "Perhaps even you don't understand the gravity of your own decisions, and if so, then you are indeed just a child playing at being a Politician." _Another insult? Wow, I must have hit too close to home._

"You know what your problem is?" Ron asked rather politely.

"Pray tell," Barnabas smiled at him.

"You are just as narcissistic as I am," Ron said, and Barnabas feigned interest. "You keep involving yourself into my life, and I can't figure out why. Could it be that losing to a **thirteen** **year** **old** has vexed you?"

"Losing?" Barnabas chuckled.

"The Quibbler," Ron replied calmly. "I secured it from under you, hid from you until I decided to be caught, and I overcame your little ploy with the advertisement agencies. I beat you, and you went running to the Minister."

Barnabas blinked at him, his smug smile sliding off of his face.

"Yes, I know all about your tantrum," Ron grinned. "You have become fixated on me, and since you can't figure out my intentions, you keep interrupting my life. You offer your right hand in alliance, while you hold a rock in your left." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Don't pretend to be my friend, not when you are only interested in maximizing your own gain."

"And what of your gain?" Barnabas asked. "What do you gain from all of this?"

"There it is again," Ron shook his head. "You start prying into my business."

"You can't invite the French into Magical Britain without becoming a point of fixation, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas told him. "At least with me, you can still find an ally. But a man like Lucius Malfoy… He will destroy you."

"He can try," Ron said. "I have faced far worse." _Far, far worse._

"More mystery?" Barnabas smirked. "You truly are so very fascinating. Now I know why Rufus Scrimgeour wishes to have you followed." _Wait… What did he say?_

"Rufus Scrimgeour wishes to have me followed?" Ron asked.

"I have my connections, Mr. Weasley," Barnabas responded casually. "Consider my warning a gift of good faith. Now… Please enjoy your evening, and know that our deal still stands." _He won't defame me, or The Quibbler, in the Daily Prophet, but only as long as I repay him the same courtesy._

Barnabas Cuffe left with a smile on his face, while Ron slowly looked around the Ballroom. And that is when Ron saw Rufus Scrimgeour watching him from near the stage, the Head Auror's yellow eyes were fixed on Ron. _He's been watching me all night?_ Ron's stomach tightened, but he didn't show any weakness. Instead, he smiled at the Head Auror, who cocked an eyebrow at him. _No more shady dealings for tonight, I think._

* * *

 _ **Rufus Scrimgeour's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

"Head Auror, Sir," Dawlish stopped to his right, and Rufus looked away from the Weasley boy.

"John, what is your report?" Rufus asked.

"Daphne Greengrass has offered Emilia Travers a business deal," Dawlish reported. _And Lady Travers accepted, didn't she?_ "Emilia Travers accepted the deal with very little negotiation on her part."

"Is that so?" Rufus asked.

"She looked shaken, Sir," Dawlish replied.

"Shaken?"

"There was sweat on her brow, and her hand was clamping down on the hilt of her sword," Dawlish explained. "She has been like that ever since her Garden stroll with Ronald Weasley."

"How odd," Rufus said to himself. "Anything else, John?"

"Daphne Greengrass has been making advances on all the French Families, but so far, only Emilia Travers has given her word," Dawlish told him. "The rest of the French Families are still considering her propositions."

"He brings them in, and she gives them a reason to stay," Rufus frowned to himself, he truly did despise Pure-Bloods. _Schemers… Every last one of them._ "Stay near Daphne Greengrass, and don't get spotted."

"Understood, Sir," Dawlish gave a firm nod, and then he disappeared into the crowd.

Rufus looked back towards Ronald Weasley, only to find out that the boy had slipped away from his gaze. _He's onto me. Did Barnabas Cuffe warn him? I wouldn't be surprised if he did, he's always playing some angle._ Rufus began looking around the Ballroom, his eyes moving rapidly as they searched for red hair. _Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, William Weasley… Where is Ronald Weasley?_

"Rufus," came Amelia's voice from his right, and he stopped his search. "Looking for someone?"

"Amelia," Rufus looked to her. "Shouldn't you be with the Minister?"

"I decided to walk around for a bit," Amelia looked to the crowd. "Dolores Umbridge is with him right now…"

"Ah," Rufus nodded in understanding.

"Disgusting woman," they both said together.

"Did she say anything about Ronald Weasley?" Rufus asked. _I saw her talking to the boy, and she left with a scowl._

"She did, actually," Amelia studied Rufus' face. "She claimed that Mr. Weasley believes the Ministry to be incompetent. I just figured that she was prying for more power, as usual. But now… You know something, don't you?"

"He spoke with her, and she left the conversation angry," Rufus replied, he saw no need to hide his investigation.

"You've been watching him?" Amelia frowned a little. "Rufus, I told you to stop."

"Respectfully, Amelia, I don't plan to," Rufus looked into her eyes. "That boy is becoming more and more interesting by the day, and I want to know what his plans are."

"He's thirteen," Amelia shook her head. "What real change can he make?"

"The Dark Lord was thirteen once," Rufus said bluntly, and Amelia blinked at him.

"The Dark Lord?" Amelia gave him a puzzled look. "Rufus… Ronald Weasley is no Dark Lord in the making."

"I never said that," Rufus countered. "I am saying that a person's age shouldn't be a factor. You underestimate him, even after he forced you to make him an International Diplomat. His name keeps popping up everywhere, and he visits our Offices weekly. Not to mention that he has brought the French here, all of whom seem to worship him as some ancient Demon. He's growing more and more powerful, and no one is paying him any mind. Tell me something, Amelia… Did anyone see You-Know-Who coming?"

"No," Amelia sighed, she didn't want to have this conversation.

"Exactly," Rufus said. "One day, **he** just showed up, and the World was forever changed. He no doubt laid the groundwork for the Great War for decades, and no one paid him any mind."

"Rufus, we cannot put our own citizens under surveillance," Amelia said firmly. "Not without proper cause. And no, suspicion is not proper cause. Our resources are already limited, and I will not sanction such a job." _I know. Our hands are tied, and these Pure-Bloods know it._

"I understand," Rufus said calmly, and Amelia eyed him. "Do you want to know what I've seen so far?"

Amelia let out a tired breath, and then she gave him a nod. She understood that Rufus was an extremely focused individual, and that once he caught scent of any form of wrongdoing, he did everything in his power to fix the situation. He had always been like that, which is why she had picked him to be her Head Auror.

"I first started watching him when John Dawlish told me that Emilia Travers and Ronald Weasley had left for the Gardens before the Gardens were even opened," Rufus started, and Amelia looked a bit taken aback.

"He spoke to Emilia Travers?" Amelia asked, the Auror's Office had heard disturbing rumors about this witch.

"He did," Rufus replied. "And not only that, but she has been visibly shaken ever since."

"Explain," Amelia suddenly felt her own curiosity rise.

"John told me that she's been sweating, and that she has had her hand on her Blade ever since her chat with Ronald Weasley," Rufus explained, while Amelia listened with a furrowed brow. "Isn't that odd? The rumors that we have heard about this witch are quite menacing, and yet, she is trembling after having a conversation with a thirteen year old."

"What else?"

"Emilia Travers has also made some sort of business deal with Daphne Greengrass, who happens to be Ronald Weasley's girlfriend," Rufus reported. "That girl has been making deals with the French all night."

"You suspect her to be involved in some plot?" Amelia asked. "Mr. Weasley brings the French in, and Miss. Greengrass gives them a reason to stay?"

"Maybe…" Rufus replied, he felt something else in his gut. "I think that Daphne Greengrass has no idea about what her boyfriend is up to. I think he is using her Family's wealth and influence to his advantage. I find it rather suspicious that he has latched onto the wealthiest Family in Europe, and he no doubt has a strong relationship with Sebastian Greengrass."

"A dangerous man, in his own right," Amelia gave a slow nod. "What else has Mr. Weasley been up to?"

"He spoke with Albus Dumbledore just now," Rufus replied. "I was inside, so I didn't hear them, but they seem to be… close… to each other. Definitely not just a student and Headmaster relationship."

"Friends?"

"Close to it," Rufus replied.

"Now why would the greatest sorcerer alive be friends with a thirteen year old boy?" Amelia couldn't help but ask.

"Now you see why I'm so interested in him," Rufus stated. "That boy is far too… involved… for someone his age. He seems to be everywhere, and there isn't a prominent Family that hasn't heard his name. He somehow withstood a mental assault from fifty Veelas, who he has befriended through Madame Maxime, another ambitious individual, and now they are all here. In Magical Britain." Rufus then fixed his sore leg into place. "I'm warning you, Amelia… That boy is up to something, and we would be wise to watch him."

"He might be watching us too," Amelia said, and Rufus looked to her. "He introduced his brother, Percy Weasley, to me. Percy wishes to work within our Department as my Personal Assistant."

"Say no," Rufus advised.

"I would, but I need the help," Amelia admitted. "Plus, I cannot deny a capable young wizard a job just because his brother is suspicious. Percy Weasley intends to work at the Ministry with, or without, my help. I think it's best if we keep him under our watch."

"Maybe he can tell us more about his younger brother?" Rufus suggested, he saw the sense in her words. _The entire Department is backlogged because of how undermanned we are._

"Maybe," Amelia nodded, and then she drew in a deep breath. "I have always put my faith in you, my friend, and I will do so again. Watch Mr. Weasley, but don't use Department resources." _An off-the-books investigation?_ "Keep me informed, and don't give yourself away. Mr. Weasley owns a magazine, and he can sully our already struggling reputation. Plus, the Pure-Bloods won't take lightly to one of their own being investigated, even if it is a Weasley."

"Pure-Bloods…" Rufus couldn't help but grimace. "We give too much power to these people."

"That was our deal, was it not?" Amelia gave a half-smile. "I'll deal with the bureaucrats, while you hunt down Dark Wizards." _I remember._ "Dealing with the Pure-Bloods is my job, so don't worry about them. Just do what you do best."

"I intend to."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

Daphne had a smug smile on her face, and try as she might, she couldn't remove it. She had spoken to Emilia Travers, and within five or six sentences, made a profitable business deal with her. _My_ _ **first**_ _business deal! And I didn't need anyone's help! I did it all on my own!_ She couldn't wait to tell her father, but more importantly, she couldn't wait to tell Ron. _He'll be so excited for me, and maybe, he'll even give me that 'Star smile' of his. The one he gives to people he's really proud of._

As it turned out, Emilia Travers already planned to bring some of her Milling Business over to Magical Britain. However, she didn't expect anyone to help her, so when Daphne had promised to find her a suitable location and warehouses, Emilia had jumped at the opportunity. Daphne would receive thirty percent of the profits made from the business within Magical Britain, and all she had to do was secure a few buildings. _Plus, my Family Name helps give Lady Travers legitimacy. No one would dare cross the Greengrass Family._

"Daughter," her father suddenly stopped her, and Daphne was pulled back into reality. _Damn, I don't have Ron with me._

"Father," Daphne smiled at Sebastian, who looked anything but amused. _Where is mother? Has he been searching for me?_

"Where is he?" Sebastian asked, and Daphne suddenly felt her excitement begin to leave her.

"He's… around…" Daphne answered lamely, and Sebastian frowned at her.

"You mean you don't know," Sebastian said curtly, and when Daphne went to explain herself, Sebastian raised his hand. "Spare me your excuses, Daphne, I have no use for them. Come, we will go and find him. The reporters are being let into the Ballroom, and I want you to be by his side when the photos are taken."

"Wait," Daphne stopped him. "I have something to tell you." _Merlin, I hope he likes what he hears._

"What is it?" Sebastian asked, his eyes were scanning the Ballroom for Ron.

"I have been speaking to the French Families," Daphne started, and Sebastian looked back to her. "And I managed to make my first business deal."

"A business deal?" Sebastian asked. _Be more charismatic, Daphne. What are you doing?_

"With Emilia Travers," Daphne smiled and stood up straighter. "She wishes to expand her Milling Business into Magical Britain, and I offered to locate warehouses and an Office for her. She agreed, mostly because of our Family Name, and she has offered me thirty percent of the profits that her business will make in Britain."

"Thirty percent?" Sebastian blinked. "That's… generous…"

"I know, right?" Daphne suddenly felt too excited. _Calm down, keep your composure._ "Ahem… Yes, thirty percent. She and I will put a contract together soon, and build upon the business from there. She can't always be in Britain, so she needs a partner to oversee the British Branch from time to time."

With that said, Daphne waited patiently for her father's response. _I can't really read him. He looks taken aback, but nothing more. Isn't… Isn't he happy?_ After a few more seconds, Daphne decided to speak up.

"Aren't you pleased, father?" Daphne asked, unable to hide the slight worry in her voice.

"Of course I am," Sebastian shook his head clear. "I was just thinking…"

"About Lady Travers' intentions?" Daphne asked, and he gave a nod. "I am thinking about them as well."

"Good," Sebastian smiled a little, his voice becoming much gentler. "Your very first business deal, and you are only thirteen." Sebastian then smiled more fully, much to Daphne's joy. _He never smiles so openly in public!_ "Congratulations, daughter."

"Thank you, father," Daphne beamed, despite trying to control her excitement.

"Waiter," Sebastian called out, and a nearby waiter approached them.

Sebastian took two glasses of champagne, and once the waiter was gone, he offered one to Daphne, who took it with an almost awed look. _No way…_

"You want me to drink with you?" Daphne blinked at her glass. _Isn't that our Family's coming of age tradition? Except, I'm not a boy._

"I do," her father replied, his left hand stroking her cheek. "I myself didn't make my first business deal until I was sixteen, so to see you do it at thirteen… Words cannot express my pride."

Daphne felt almost lightheaded at hearing such praise for Lord Sebastian Greengrass himself, but she did her best to stay on her feet. _He's your father, Daphne. Don't be so dramatic._

"You are a young woman now, Daphne," Sebastian said almost sadly, and then they clinked their glasses together. "You will make the Greengrass Name shine one day, I have no doubts about that."

"I will do my best," Daphne promised, and then they both drank from their glasses.

As Daphne finished her glass, she felt her eyes sting from sheer joy. _Don't cry! Your makeup will get ruined!_ Once they were both done, Daphne decided that she quite liked the taste of champagne. _I'll never forget this moment._ Daphne then noticed that her father was just staring at her with a smile on his face.

"What is it, father?" Daphne asked.

"I was just remembering when you were little," Sebastian all but whispered. "And now, you've grown up…"

"Does that make you sad?" Daphne couldn't help but ask.

"Sad, and happy," Sebastian admitted, and then he drew in a deep breath. "I must find your mother, and tell her the good news. She will be so happy to hear this."

"What about Ron?" Daphne asked.

"Oh, you'll find him, I'm sure," Sebastian said, much to Daphne's surprise. "And remember, if you need advice about running a business, you have me at your side. I won't, of course, interfere with your endeavors, but you can always rely on my help."

"I understand," Daphne gave a nod, and Sebastian gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. _Bloody hell! He must be over the moon!_

"We will celebrate properly once you come home for the Break," Sebastian promised with a proud smile, and then he left to go find his wife.

Daphne stayed in her spot for a few seconds, making sure to take in her father's reaction completely. _A young woman… That's what he said. He doesn't see me as a child anymore._ Daphne felt the urge to pump her fist into the air, just as her boyfriend tended to do whenever he was excited. _Maybe later, when I'm all alone._ A smile creeped onto her face again, and once she had handed the empty glass to a passing waiter, she did her best to regain her composure.

As she turned to go find Ron, she spotted Blaise speaking to a Lord Yaxley. _There he is! I finally found him._ Daphne looked around for her other friends, who were also searching for Blaise, but she didn't find them. Without hesitation, Daphne began making her way towards Blaise. As she neared her wayward friend, she overheard Blaise's conversation.

"And your mother has gone home?" Lord Yaxley asked, his hard, blunt features twisted in a nasty looking smile. _Ugh… He's always been so creepy._

"She has," Blaise replied calmly. "She made her donation, and I asked her to stay behind in order to enjoy the Gala." _Smart move, Blaise._

"I see," Lord Yaxley gave a nod. "A real shame… I was hoping to meet her tonight. After all, she tells the most fascinating tales." _That's gross. Isn't Lord Yaxley a married man?_

"Yes, I'm sure," Blaise said indifferently, and Daphne decided to make herself known.

"Lord Yaxley," Daphne greeted politely, and both wizards looked to her. "How are you enjoying your evening?"

"I've had better," Lord Yaxley replied, his eyes scanning her. "You have grown quite a lot since I last saw you. Why is it that Sebastian no longer invites his fellow Pure-Bloods to his Manor?"

"My father has been very busy of late," Daphne replied. "Perhaps you should send him an invitation for a change?"

Lord Yaxley smirked a little, and then he looked back to Blaise.

"Send my regards to your mother, Blaise," Lord Yaxley said, and then he turned around and left. _Creep. I didn't like him eyeballing me like that._

"You can send your regards to my cock," Blaise muttered under his breath, a frown marking his handsome features. "Bloody cheat. His wife is currently looking after his daughter, and he's trying to find my mother."

"I never did like that man," Daphne admitted, and then she gave Blaise a small smile. "I've been looking for you."

"You have?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow.

"Ron overheard your conversation with Lord Black, and he's been looking for you," Daphne told Blaise, who just let out a tired breath. "He told me to look for you, and I told the others. Where did you go, Blaise?"

"I roamed the Manor," Blaise shrugged. "I'm sorry that you wasted your time on me."

"Don't say that," Daphne took Blaise's arm. "We were worried about you."

"Sorry about that as well," Blaise said rather coldly, but Daphne knew that Blaise wasn't as cold as he sounded. _Plus, he's distancing himself from everyone, which is what he does whenever his mother gets to him._ "I am fine, Daphne, I promise."

"You can talk to me," Daphne assured him. "I've known you since we were children, Blaise. Tell me why you left."

Blaise stared at her for a few seconds, and then he looked forward with a slight frown.

"My mother got to me," Blaise all but whispered, and Daphne tightened her hold on his arm. "She came all the way to Britain just to cheat on her fiancé, and almost every man I've met tonight has asked me about her whereabouts. They all just see her as… As a cheap shag. That's what people think of us Zabinis."

"That's not true," Daphne said gently.

"But it is," Blaise shot her an angry scowl. "You know it is, so don't lie to me." _He's not like Ron, he doesn't respond to kind words and a gentle voice. I should be honest with him, that's what Blaise responds to._

"Alright… I'm sorry," Daphne apologized. "Your mother has indeed tarnished your Family's Name with her… antics. But you are not her, Blaise. Don't throw yourself into the pot with her. Her actions will catch up to her eventually, and you should just leave her to her fate."

"She's my mother," Blaise sighed, he hated talking about this sort of tripe. "As her son, I am honor-bound-"

"That's what she wants you to think," Daphne told him bluntly. "Blaise, she only cares about herself, and you know that."

"So, what should I do?" Blaise asked her in an almost scathing tone. "Kick her to the curb, and then walk off into the sunset?"

"Why not?" Daphne asked, and Blaise blinked at her. "You have a Trust Fund, don't you?" He gave a slow nod. "Save up as much as you can, and when you get the chance, move into the Business World. You already have friends with powerful connections, and although it'll be hard at first, you can make a name for yourself. Your mother's reputation won't taint yours, but only if you just cut her off."

"You think I haven't thought of this?" Blaise asked her. "Believe me, I have… But I just can't do it. She was good to me… A long time ago…"

"She's Family, I understand that," Daphne nodded. "But aren't you one of the people who ask Ron to distance himself from his siblings? Or even his parents?"

Blaise said nothing to that, instead he just looked slightly subdued. _I shouldn't push him any further. If he gets angry, he'll turn cold to everyone._

"How about we make a deal?" Daphne gave his cheek a kiss.

"A deal?" Blaise asked.

"Tonight, we just enjoy ourselves as much as we can," Daphne smirked. "But starting from tomorrow, we start taking more responsibility for our own lives."

"I see that Ron has infected you with his never-ending ambitions," Blaise smirked a little.

"We can either be jealous of his rising status, or we can learn from it and grow as people," Daphne said in a sagely voice, which earned a weak chuckle out of Blaise. "So… What do you think?"

"I think you need to stop spending so much time around Ron," Blaise joked, and Daphne smiled at him.

"I barely get to do that," Daphne feigned hurt. "He's an awful boyfriend." _But he's also the best._

"Is that why you want him to go drinking with us?" Blaise asked. "Are you up to something?"

"Me?" Daphne giggled. "Never."

"Just go easy on him," Blaise smiled properly. "And… Thanks. I'll think about your words, I promise."

"Good," Daphne smiled back. "We should go and find the others, I think the dancing is supposed to start soon. Oh, and I expect you to dance with me tonight, Blaise." _He's always been a good dancer._

"After Ron?" Blaise asked.

"After Ron."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Night)**_

"I'm bored," Pansy whined, and Ron shot her a grin. "Ron, entertain me."

After slipping out of the Head Auror's gaze, Ron had run into Pansy, who was also searching for Blaise. They had decided to move around together, and to collect any of their other friends if they saw them.

"What do you have in mind?" Ron asked.

"I can think of several things," Pansy shot him a wink, and Ron sniggered.

"Have you been drinking, Lady Parkinson?" Ron asked, and she gave him an innocent smile.

"I would never dare do that," Pansy giggled. "Now… Entertain me."

Ron gave her arse a light smack, and she let out a cute squeal.

"Do it again," Pansy laughed, and Ron couldn't help but laugh as well. "Please? I wasn't ready."

"Sorry, one arse-smack a month," Ron tutted. "Only Daphne gets unlimited arse-smacks."

"She's so greedy," Pansy huffed. "Friends share…"

"I am, sadly, not a chew toy," Ron reminded her, but she just waved a dismissive hand.

"Friends share, that's what I read in A Wizard's Desire," Pansy told him, and Ron stopped moving.

"You read?" Ron asked, and Pansy smirked in a rather smug manner.

"I'm cute, **and** I'm smart," Pansy praised herself.

"And slightly drunk," Ron added with a smile.

"It's the waiters' fault, Ron," Pansy defended herself. "They handed me the champagne."

"How much?"

"Five glasses," Pansy replied, and Ron held back a laugh. _I can't let her run off drunk, it could hurt her reputation._

"You're not leaving my side now," Ron tangled their arms.

"Ohhh, I like this," Pansy gave him wet kiss on the cheek. "Hold me, hero!"

"Pansy, don't yell," Ron hushed, his eyes darting around them. _Good, no one is staring at us._

"Where is Theo?" Pansy asked out of the blue, and Ron blinked at her. "He's supposed to be my date tonight."

"We'll find him," Ron promised. "Now… Tell me about this book that you read."

"Oh!" Pansy lit up. "Really?"

"Really," Ron replied.

"Well, it's an Erotica," Pansy said rather scandalously, which Ron found rather adorable. "It's about this Wizard, who has a great destiny, but he is shackled by circumstance, and he has all these adults telling him what to do. Eventually, he gets sick of being bossed around, and so he starts becoming more independent. He makes new friends, mostly with girls, all of whom become a part of his harem."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"Oh, he has multiple love interests," Pansy giggled. "He sleeps with almost a dozen different girls in the story." _Um… So he has no honor?_

"And what relevance does that have to the plot?" Ron asked slowly, he knew he was going to regret asking this.

"Well… It's an Erotica, Ron," Pansy stared at him like he was an idiot.

"But what of his 'Great Destiny'?" Ron asked. "Does he accomplish his goals?"

"Oh, he accomplishes everything in the last few chapters with relative ease," Pansy said dismissively. "The real point is that he sleeps with a lot of girls."

"And you enjoyed reading this book?" Ron asked.

"Immensely," Pansy smiled widely. "It gave me a lot of ideas."

"I'm not even going to ask," Ron decided, and she pouted once again.

"Please? They're really good ideas," Pansy urged.

"Nope," Ron refused, a smile on his face. "I'm scared that if I look into your mind, I'll go crazy."

"This is why Hadrian is cuter than you," Pansy huffed.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Hadrian… The main protagonist of A Wizard's Desire," Pansy clarified.

"Well, if he managed to sleep with dozens of girls, I'm inclined to believe you," Ron shrugged.

"You're supposed to be offended, Ron," Pansy gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh, did I ruin your fun?" Ron grinned. "I am so sorry."

"You're mean," Pansy looked forward. "Daphne can keep you."

"Alright," Ron chuckled. "I can live with that."

"No, Ron… You're supposed to fight for me," Pansy groaned.

"You're so weird, Pansy, and I love it," Ron sniggered, and then he spotted Millie. "Oh, look over there. I found Millie."

"Millie!" Pansy waved her over, nearly deafening Ron in the process. _She blew my damn eardrums!_

Milly turned out with a slightly startled look, while nearby guests frowned at Pansy and Ron. Ron began apologizing to them on Pansy's behalf, while she ran over and latched onto Millie.

"Just be more mindful of other people's presence," an older woman frowned at him.

"Sorry, we will do that," Ron assured her, and then he quickly made his way over to Pansy and Millie.

"Ron, you let her get drunk?" Millie asked him immediately, while Pansy clung to Millie's right arm.

"You smell so nice," Pansy smiled at Millie, who looked quite uncomfortable.

"I didn't do anything," Ron told Millie. "By the time I ran into her, she had already downed five glasses of champagne."

"Pansy…" Millie sighed. "You were meant to be looking for Blaise."

"But the waiter was really cute," Pansy defended herself. "He had a great smile, and he asked me if I wanted 'refreshments'. How could I refuse? Plus, I **was** looking for Blaise. I just never ran into him."

"Do you know where the others are?" Ron asked Millie.

"Just Theo," Millie replied. "He's speaking to the Longbottoms, of all people."

"He is?" Ron asked, while Pansy got excited at the prospect of spending more time with her date.

"Herbology," Millie grimaced, and Ron grimaced as well.

"Terrible subject," they said together.

"Let's go and collect him," Pansy said excitedly. "Then, we'll find Daphne and Blaise, and then, we can get alcohol!"

"Shhh," Ron and Millie shushed her, but Pansy just giggled to herself. _She's going to get us caught._

"Let's just go," Millie started walking, and Pansy refused to let go of her.

"Millie was supposed to stay by my side all night," Pansy told Ron. "But she left me behind… I had to drink to drown my heartache…"

"Don't be so dramatic," Millie frowned, while Ron and Pansy started laughing. "I'm not letting you have another sip of alcohol tonight, Pansy. You're clearly not yourself already."

"But I am myself," Pansy challenged. "Ron, tell her."

"She's Pansy Parkinson, I can attest to that," Ron smirked, and Millie rolled her eyes.

"Pansy, you and I will wait here," Millie stopped walking. "Ron, you should go ahead and speak to the Longbottoms."

"Why? I want Theo," Pansy eyeballed Theo's back.

"Pansy, Lady Longbottom is a harsh woman," Millie said, and then she looked to Ron. "Bring Theo back here, please. I'll keep Pansy from embarrassing herself."

"Will do, and good luck," Ron said, and then he quickly made his way over to Theo.

Neville and Theo seemed to be discussing some rare type of plant, while Lady Longbottom listened to their conversation with a concentrated look. As Ron neared the three of them, Lady Longbottom was the first to spot him.

"Ah, Ronald," Lady Longbottom gave a half-smile, while Neville and Theo looked to him.

"Lady Longbottom," Ron smiled politely. "I am glad to see you again."

"Likewise," Lady Longbottom said.

"Hey, Ron," Neville greeted, and Ron gave him a nod. "Nott and I were just discussing poisons." _What?_

"Really?" Ron looked to Theo, who simply smirked at him.

"I'm planning your murder," Theo told him, and Ron nodded in understanding.

"That's fair enough," Ron chuckled. "Millie and Pansy want to talk to you, by the way. Neville, why don't you join Theo so I can speak to your Grandmother?"

Neville looked to his Gran, and she gave him a subtle nod.

"Alright, if you're sure," Neville looked to Ron.

"Theo, be nice to him," Ron said, and Theo patted Neville's back. "Tell the others."

"Will do," Theo gave a nod. "Let's go, Longbottom. I want you to teach my witless friends about the value of Herbology."

With that, Theo guided Neville off towards the girls.

"Bold of you to send my Grandson away like some servant," Lady Longbottom looked into Ron's eyes, her tone completely emotionless.

"He didn't look particularly happy," Ron shrugged. "Plus, I want him to get to know my friends. He's the Heir to the Longbottom Fortune, so he needs friends who are trained in such matters. Harry and Hermione are loyal friends, but they lack… cunning." _Plus, I should keep Neville in my corner, he's actually tried to be a good friend to me. He made mistakes, and he learned from them. I can respect that._

"An answer for everything," Lady Longbottom smirked, and Ron relaxed a little. "That's what I like about you, Ronald. You don't back down easy."

"Some people don't find that trait very charming," Ron told her.

"Then those people are not worth your time," Lady Longbottom advised. "Never waste your time on fools, Ronald, especially if they can't help you further your own ends. Prominent Families have died out because no one had the spine to lose the dead weight."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ron promised. "How have you been, Lady Longbottom?"

"I am getting better," she replied. "My health suffered a little after…" she trailed off. "I am feeling more like myself every day, and that is all that matters."

"You have my support, should you need it," Ron offered, and she gave him a grateful nod.

"Let us move onto a lighter subject," Lady Longbottom said, and Ron decided that she was right. "I want to discuss the French…"

"Ah," Ron smiled slowly. "So you've heard about my actions."

"Madame Maxime is a strong woman, so I trust her," Lady Longbottom said. "But these… half-breeds… Ronald, they have designs of their own. You must be careful around these creatures, they ensnare men as a pastime."

"Trust me, they're far more scared of me than I am of them," Ron said. "They think that I'm some Ancient Demon."

"Maybe the irrational ones do, but the clever ones know that you're just a man," Lady Longbottom told him. "They simply go along with your legend because it helps them save face."

"Save face?" Ron asked.

"Is it not easier to explain that a 'Demon' resisted them, rather than a young man?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron nodded slowly.

"They help paint me as some unnatural being, and in doing so, they get an excuse for their failure," Ron figured.

"I am sure that if it weren't for Madame Maxime, some of them would have found ways to eliminate you," Lady Longbottom said. "Their power comes from being irresistible to men, but you have proven that they are not irresistible. Many of these creatures have killed for less."

"I understand," Ron said, he had missed this old witch. "I will put my faith in Madame Maxime, rather than the Veelas."

"Just be careful, Ronald," Lady Longbottom advised. "You are quickly becoming a problem for many people."

"That means that I'm doing something right," Ron grinned.

"You are an odd boy," Lady Longbottom gave a half-smile. "Please look after Neville for the rest of the night. I want him to enjoy himself, not follow me around. I won't always be around to hold his hand." _Is there something that I should know?_

"I will take care of him," Ron promised her, and she decided to be on her way.

As Ron watched her leave, he couldn't help but notice that she looked quite frail now. _The loss of her son and daughter-in-law have really taken a toll on her. I want to help her, but what can I do besides talk to her?_ Ron scratched the back of his head, maybe he could help her by helping Neville? _Helping Neville… He doesn't need my help with much. He's got friends outside of Harry and Hermione, he's Theo's equal in Herbology, and even my friends don't mind him._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he walked back to his friends.

"So he's joining us tonight?" Pansy was smiling at Neville, who was eyeing her with a reluctant gaze.

"He is," Theo chuckled, seemingly enjoying Neville's misery.

"Well, the more the merrier," Pansy looked Neville up and down.

"Stop that," Ron said as stepped up beside Neville. "Excuse Pansy, Neville, she is creepy even when she is sober."

"She's drunk?" Neville looked surprised. "But she's a minor…"

Ron held back his laugh, but the rest of his friends couldn't help themselves. Neville looked around with a confused look, and then he looked back to Ron.

"My innocent little lion," Ron grinned, and Neville frowned a little.

"Are you teasing me?" Neville asked.

"Yes," Ron patted his back with a calmer smile. "C'mon, let's look around for Daphne and Blaise.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Maybe I should go find my Gran again?" Neville whispered to Ron. "I don't like the thought of leaving her out there alone."

Ron looked ahead at Theo, Millie, and Pansy, all of whom were walking and talking quite excitedly.

"Your Gran is a tough old bird," Ron whispered to Neville. " **And** she asked me to take care of you tonight."

"She did?" Neville asked, his eyes narrowing. "Why would she do that? I can take care of myself."

"You are getting riled up for no reason," Ron said calmly. "She wants you to enjoy your night, Neville."

"Oh…" Neville looked ahead.

"Yeah, 'oh'…" Ron said.

"Well, I **was** enjoying my night," Neville said slowly, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at him. "Alright… I wasn't, but my Gran needs me."

"She needs to see you happy," Ron countered. "I get that you want to be there for her, but standing around her won't change anything. Just give this a try, and if it doesn't work, then you can blame me."

"Why do you want me here?" Neville asked, and Ron blinked at him. "Look, Ron… I know that you say one thing, but mean another. You play with words in order to get what you want, and I'm not really good at that. So just tell me plainly."

Ron studied Neville's serious expression, and then he gave a nod. _Damn, I can't resist that kind of honesty._

"Your Grandmother is an important ally to me," Ron told Neville the truth. "If keeping you entertained keeps her happy, then that's what I'll do. In the next few months, I will be facing a lot of opposition, and I need powerful friends."

"See? Was that so hard?" Neville smiled a little.

"Incredibly so," Ron grinned. "In Slytherin, we just talk differently. When I first got Sorted, I had people constantly playing games with me."

"So if I was in Slytherin, I'd be more silver-tongued?" Neville asked.

"And far less truthful," Ron replied. "Personally, I prefer this version of you."

"Thanks, I guess," Neville smiled ahead. "So… You set up the twins?"

"Neville, let's stay on good grounds," Ron advised. "These kinds of questions lead to a difference in opinion, which then leads into confrontation. These questions are best avoided."

"I suppose," Neville agreed, though he had his answer now.

"Ron, they're over there," Theo pointed out, and Ron looked to see Daphne and Blaise approaching them arm-in-arm. _Bastard stole my woman!_

"Excuse me," Ron said to Neville, and then he made his way over to Daphne and Blaise. "Blaise, you alright?"

"I'm fine, you worry-wart," Blaise replied.

"I only worry because I care," Ron smiled at him, happy to see that Daphne had worked her Magic. "Now unhand my woman, please."

"Looks like this is the end of our affair, Blaise," Daphne chuckled, and then she took Ron's arm instead.

"It was horrible while it lasted," Blaise smirked. "You may keep her, Ron."

"How rude," Daphne tutted, while Ron pulled up her hand and kissed it. _Mine!_

"Blaise, you're safe!" Pansy walked up and hugged him, much to Blaise's annoyance. "Don't run off again, please!"

Blaise shot Ron a confused look, while Daphne just stared at Pansy.

"She found a waiter who was serving alcohol," Millie told them, and they both nodded slowly.

"Pansy, that's enough," Blaise tapped her back. "Please stop."

"Fine, we will hug later," Pansy let him go. "Oh, Longbottom's here, by the way."

"Hello," Neville waved at them from behind the others, and they cocked eyebrows.

"Be nice, I invited him," Ron told them all.

"Well, the dancing is going to start soon," Daphne told Ron. "And you've avoided me enough for tonight."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Celestina Warbeck was singing 'You Charmed the Heart Right out of Me', and a group of Banshee's were accompanying her. Many of the guests were giving their first dances, and Ron was no different. His first dance was, of course, Daphne, who was considerably more fluid and graceful than him. He had already stepped on her toes twice, and although she told him that it was alright, Ron had vowed that he'd learn dancing from one of his mates for Daphne's sake. _Or at least, for the sake of her toes._

"And she just agreed, Ron," Daphne finished telling him about Emilia. "I get to make so much money, and all I have to do is to use my Name to vouch for hers."

After giving it a little thought, Ron had decided to not tell her about his involvement. _She's so proud of herself, and she looks genuinely happy. I think if I tell her that I talked Emilia into it, she'll question herself needlessly. So I'll just stay quiet._

"I'm really proud of you, Daph," Ron beamed down at her, and she looked far more pleased than before. "I'm dating a Businesswoman. Do I get any special benefits?"

"Hmm, I suppose you'll see at Christmas," Daphne giggled before planting her head against his chest. "It means a lot to me that you're proud."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Daphne replied. "You've told me that you love it when I'm proud of you for something, and it's the same for me."

"I guess that's fair," Ron swayed from side to side.

And then, someone flashed a photo of him.

"Damn reporters," Ron frowned a little, his eyes were already adjusting back to normal.

"Don't frown," Daphne looked back up. "These photos will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow, and I don't want you to look grouchy."

"Grouchy?" Ron looked down.

"Yes, Ron," Daphne smirked. "Grouchy… Like a bear, or a startled Hippogriff." _Eh, at least those are cool creatures._

"I don't understand why they need to bring their big cameras in here?" Ron shook his head. "I mean, we're all trying to enjoy ourselves, and these pricks are blinding us constantly."

"They're only here because this sort of news makes the most money," Daphne shrugged. "Plus, it strokes people's egos."

"I miss the days when I was a simple Blood-Traitor," Ron sniggered. "I was uncultured, and I didn't give a damn."

"I didn't like that person very much," Daphne said, and Ron pulled a face.

"Please, you loved it," Ron scoffed, and Daphne's lips twitched upwards. "You had a crush on me back in first year, you said so yourself."

"Only after you got me that lovely, golden hair-pin," Daphne corrected him. "Wait… That makes me sound shallow." Ron snorted at that. "Let's say that I started my crush on you when you came back from your coma. That's much more romantic."

"You can't just change the truth, Daph," Ron kissed the top of her head.

"Why not?" Daphne asked. "The truth is often whatever other people believe."

"Everyone has their own truths, you mean?" Ron asked.

"Exactly," Daphne replied. "My truth is that I fell in love with a brave young man who fought, and survived, against the Dark Lord himself."

"Not so loud," Ron whispered. "And I didn't fight, Daph. I was obliterated." _By my own fucking teammate._

"Again, no one has to know that," Daphne looked up. "The fact that you went there was enough. No one cares for a sad story, Ron. People want heroism, adventure, and most importantly, romance. Reality is often far less colorful."

"I'll take reality any day," Ron said. "People who believe in fairytales spend too much time in their own heads."

"Whereas your mind is always making reality whatever you want," Daphne smiled, and Ron shot her a wink. "You're very cynical, Ron, did you know that?"

"I have reason to be," Ron shrugged. _After all, I'm surrounded by people who are driven only by the need to achieve their own ends. Actually, I'm like that myself._ "Better to be a cynic than to be foolish."

"I think a bit of optimism is necessary," Daphne said. "Without optimism, everyone would be the same. We'd all be distrustful, and as a result, quite lonely."

"Do I make you feel lonely?" Ron asked genuinely.

"Sometimes," Daphne admitted, and Ron felt the urge to punch himself in the head. "But I know that's just who you are, and I love that about you. Why else would I be going out of my way to make business deals at thirteen?"

"You want to be more like me?" Ron asked. _Please say no, even I don't like me._

"Is that such a bad thing?" Daphne asked. _Yes, it is._ "You go after what you want, no matter what it is. In a way, I'm like that too. I wanted you, so I kissed you when we were still in second year."

"But now your sights are a little higher?" Ron asked.

"I want to apply myself more," Daphne told him. "I have a good head for business, and waiting around only reduces my opportunities."

"So I've made you a cynic?" Ron asked.

"The same we've made you more levelheaded," Daphne replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I suppose my anger used to get the best of me," Ron admitted.

" **Used**?" Daphne giggled.

"Fine, but I control myself much better now," Ron said quickly. "I haven't yelled at any of you for at least a week." _I think…_

"And we thank you deeply," Daphne laughed, while Ron just smiled at her. "But then again, we haven't trained together for a while. We're always helping the second years, and then working in secret for our own Tournament."

"Speaking of which, how is your training going?" Ron asked.

"I learnt that trick from you, and I'm trying to be faster, but I just don't enjoy it," Daphne admitted. "I find it dull, and taxing." _But it's necessary._

"It gets better," Ron urged softly. "I promise."

"It's just not me, Ron," Daphne said. "I see how happy you, and Millie, are when you two are sparring against those dummies. I just don't feel that, and neither does Pansy. Blaise and Theo seem to enjoy it, but only when they are learning Curses. As for Tracey, she just needs a reason to run around and be crazy."

"What about winning the Tournament?" Ron asked.

"We all know that you're going to win," Daphne replied. "I'll do my best, of course, but I won't let losing get to me. Not like last time. Now… If I hadn't managed to make a single deal tonight, then I'd be really upset. You'd find me crying somewhere in the Gardens." _Yep, don't say a word, Ron._

"Well, I'm glad that you did it," Ron rested his chin on top of her head. "You crying would ruin my night."

"So selfish," Daphne chuckled into his chest. "What about me? I'm the one who would be in tears."

"Oh, you'd cheer up eventually," Ron replied casually.

"Rude," Daphne tutted. "No fondling for you tonight."

"Let's not be hasty," Ron said quickly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Daphne smirked to herself.

Celestina finished her song with a booming voice, and when she went silent, people broke away from their partners and applauded her performance.

"You're too kind!" Celestina laughed loudly. "Should we start the second dance?!"

"Who's your second dance?" Daphne asked him.

"You?" Ron asked. "I mean, I want to dance with you."

Daphne smiled and stroked his left hand, and Ron felt his heart sink. _Ugh… I don't want to find someone else._

"Later, Ron," Daphne promised. "It's tradition to find a new partner for the second dance."

"Fine…" Ron said in a childish manner. "I'll go find some random-"

"You should ask your mother," Daphne suggested, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Mum?"

"I'm having my second dance with my father," Daphne told him. "Go on, Ron, she'd love that."

"You're right," Ron nodded, despite wanting to stay with Daphne. _Don't be so clingy, Ron. Girls don't like that, I think._

They both separated at that, and Ron moved past a few excited guests until he finally saw his mother. She looked ready to dance with her husband again, and Ron couldn't help but admire the smiles on their faces. For a brief moment, he was rooted in his spot. _They're safe, and enjoying a night of comfort and luxury. I don't know why that makes me so happy, but it just does._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he walked over to them.

"Mum, dad," Ron greeted.

"Ron," his mother smiled at him, and then she looked around for Daphne. "Where is Daphne? The second dance is about to start."

"I know, but I want to dance with you," Ron smiled back.

"With me?" Molly blinked, and then she looked to Arthur.

"I think I saw Percy wandering about just before," Ron grinned at his father. "Enjoy."

"Guess that's my cue," Arthur chuckled, and then he bid his wife goodbye. "Take care of her, son."

"Well?" Ron put his gloved hand forward.

"I accept," Molly took his hand, and they moved into position.

"Full disclosure before we start, I'm probably going to break your toes," Ron admitted.

"Oh, you can't be that bad?" Molly laughed, she was just glad to have her youngest son as a partner.

"Oh, but I am," Ron replied. "You're all so little, it makes it hard to coordinate myself accordingly."

"You're not joking?" Molly looked up at him.

"Nope," Ron grinned widely.

"Merlin, poor Daphne," Molly sighed. "You're twice her size, Ronald. Did you really step on her toes?"

"Twice, and she winced in agony each time," Ron sniggered, this was fun.

"Tsk," Molly clicked her tongue. "I'll find her after this, and make sure that she's alright. Be more careful with her, Ron. Girls don't enjoy broken toes."

"And men do?" Ron asked.

"Well, I am not a man, so I won't presume to know," Molly countered.

"That was good, I can't think of what to say to that," Ron nodded in approval.

Celestina slowly started singing 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love', and Molly let out an excited squeal. _What was that?!_ They began swaying side to side, and Ron made damn sure to keep track of his own two feet.

"I love this song," Molly told him excitedly. "Your father and I used to dance to it when we were young. He was such a daredevil, you wouldn't believe it, Ron."

"Daredevil?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "Dad? Mild-mannered dad, who squeals when he sees Muggle items?"

"Oh, he was a proper bad boy, then," Molly giggled to herself, while Ron cringed at her words.

"A bad boy? Ew," Ron grimaced. "I don't want to think about dad like that, mum." _Plus, no one says that anymore._

"He'd make catcalls at us girls with his mates, and he used to flirt with me constantly," Molly went on, clearly enjoying Ron's discomfort.

"I don't believe it," Ron shook his head, making sure to hide his oncoming smile.

"Did I tell you about our favorite spot in the Library?" Molly asked Ron. "It was completely secluded, and no one ever caught-"

"Mum, I will vomit all over you," Ron promised her, but she just laughed it off. "You can't torture your children with such vile imagery."

"Well, it's where you came from," Molly said in a motherly voice.

"Ugh…" Ron pulled a face. "Please, stop."

"Fine," Molly giggled.

"So… Why is he not a 'bad boy' anymore?" Ron asked, tightening his hold on her hand. _She's so small now. I used to look up at her in order to tug at her apron, and she'd crouch down to talk to me._

"People change," Molly replied, and Ron nodded slowly. "He realized that a war was brewing, and that he wanted to keep me by his side. We promised each other that we'd marry right after Graduation, and that we'd never leave each other's sights. Believe it, or not, but your Great-Aunt Muriel offered her home for the ceremony."

"Really?" Ron asked. "Doesn't she hate us Weasleys?"

"No, she's just… harsh…" Molly replied. "But she is reliable when she is needed. It's why your father and I tried to keep her in our lives, despite her constant rudeness. But that all ended when your brothers blew a Dung-Bomb under her seat."

"She cut them out of her will," Ron remembered.

"She was right to," Molly told Ron, who blinked at her. "The twins damaged her sense of smell… She can't smell anything anymore."

"What?" Ron was quite taken aback. "Why didn't she go to a Healer?"

"She did, but she's very old," Molly replied. "And the treatment was needlessly expensive at the time. She decided that there was nothing worth smelling anyway, and that she didn't need her nose to be the Head of the Prewett Family."

"I had no idea," Ron said slowly. "She's here tonight, isn't she?"

"She is," Molly replied. "I saw her briefly, and she asked if the papers were telling the truth about you. When I confirmed the stories, she still refused to believe me."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"She said that 'You didn't have it in you'," Molly shrugged. "Your father and I didn't like that very much, so we made an excuse and left. She's even more bitter than the last time I saw her."

"Maybe I should avoid her," Ron suggested.

"If you see her, I expect you to greet her," Molly said, and Ron gave a nod. _Fair enough, she is Family._ "Though she might have left already, I haven't seen her since our chat." Molly then looked up at him. "Merlin, you're really tall."

"Good of you to notice," Ron sniggered. "If I look straight ahead, I can't see your head."

"You've grown up so much," Molly hugged him, and Ron tensed a little.

"Mum… Are you sad?" Ron asked slowly.

"A little," Molly replied. "I miss the days when you were tiny, or when you used to run around naked." _That never happened! I am not a pervert!_ "Every morning, I'd open your door, and you'd rush past me naked. We'd all chase you into a corner, and then your brothers would hold you down while I put on your trousers. You would scream and resist, but I think you really enjoyed our little games of cat and mouse."

"If you want, I can do that over the Break," Ron chuckled. "You can chase me down once again."

"If you ran around the Burrow naked now, I'd chase you down with my wand instead of your trousers," Molly laughed.

They danced quietly for the last few seconds of the song, and when it finished, Molly pulled back and dabbed the corners of her eyes. _She's still smiling, so I don't think that she's completely sad. She's just… nostalgic._

"That was fun, right?" Ron decided to ask.

"It was, and you didn't step on my toes even once," Molly smiled and patted his cheeks.

"I was being very careful," Ron patted his own back.

"The ladies and I need a breather!" Celestine's voice boomed. "We'll be right back after a short five minute recess!"

"Let's go find dad?" Ron offered his arm, and Molly took it.

They began making their way around the dancefloor, and it didn't take long for Ron to spot his father standing with Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten. _Who was his partner? I bet it was Bill._

"I've brought her back, safe and sound," Ron greeted his father, and Molly walked up and took Arthur's hand.

"So? How was he?" Arthur asked.

"Not as bad as he claimed," Molly smiled at Ron.

"Really?" Charlie asked. "I swear I saw Daphne limping just before." _What?_

"Did you really?" Ron asked quickly. "She **limped**?" _Ron, you dumb cunt._

"Relax, it wasn't that bad," Charlie said calmingly. "I think her toes were just a little sore."

"Great…" Ron muttered, a pang of guilt bludgeoning his brain. _And I was making jokes about it…_

"He really is smitten, isn't he?" Bill laughed, and then he patted Ron's back.

"I told you," Charlie grinned at Bill.

"I'm not smitten," Ron frowned a little. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go find Daphne and apologize."

With that, Ron quickly started searching for his girlfriend. He even ignored his brothers sniggering to themselves, and his mother having a chuckle alongside his father. _Just find Lord Greengrass, and she'll be with him._ Ron moved past a few guests, waved at a couple of Veelas, and then found himself standing behind Mary.

"Mary," Ron tapped her shoulder, and she turned around with a smile.

"Ron, I haven't spoken to you all night," Mary said, her face was slightly flushed. _The adults are having too much fun here._ "How has your evening been?"

"Productive," Ron smiled back.

"Just productive?" Mary asked in a teasing voice. "You didn't slink away in order to try some alcohol?"

"No…" Ron replied. "Why would I do that?"

"Yes, why would you?" Mary couldn't help but laugh. "I commend your responsible behavior, despite how boring it sounds." _Boring?_ "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I was looking for Daphne," Ron replied. "She and I danced together, and I… stepped on her toes… I think she's hurt."

"Ron, I just saw her, and she was quite alright," Mary assured him.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yes, you worry too much," Mary replied. "You'll go bald before you're even thirty at this rate." _I'll be dead before I'm even twenty at this rate._

"I could pull off being bald," Ron said, and Mary looked him over.

"Oh, love, no…" she shook her head. "I can imagine you being bald right now, and it's very creepy."

"Yay, she hurt my feelings," Ron sniggered.

"I only tease," she pinched his cheek, and then she spotted her husband not too far behind Ron. "There they are, let's go."

Mary took his arm, and she all but dragged him over to Lord Greengrass and Daphne. _Does alcohol give people more strength? If so, I should get drunk before the Tournament._

"Husband, daughter," Mary waved them over, and Ron spotted Tori and Luna talking to Blaise and Millie not too far away. _They look like they're having fun._

"Ron, did you dance with your mother?" Daphne asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

And then, Ron scanned her feet. _Her dress is hiding them away._

"What are you doing?" Lord Greengrass asked him, while Daphne shot a quick look to her amused mother.

"Ron thinks that he hurt her feet while they were dancing," Mary told them. "He's been fretting about it."

"I don't fret," Ron denied, and all three Greengrasses cocked eyebrows at him. "This whole Family is trying to hurt my feelings, I just know it."

"My feet are fine, Ron," Daphne smiled at him.

"But you should learn to dance," Lord Greengrass added, which earned him scowls from his wife and daughter. "What? It's true."

"Let's go over there, Ron," Daphne walked up and took Ron's arm, much to Mary's amusement.

The pair of them quickly moved away from Lord and Lady Greengrass, and once they were out of earshot, Daphne stopped and turned to face him.

"Ignore my father," Daphne said rather gently. "My feet are fine, Ron. It just takes practice."

"Right," Ron made a mental note.

"I was thinking that I could teach you," Daphne volunteered.

"To dance?" Ron asked.

"To dance, and to speak French," Daphne replied.

"French as well?"

"Ron, you can't be an International Diplomat to the French, and not speak their language," Daphne said. "They'd plot things right in front of you, wouldn't they?"

"But learning French will take time," Ron said. "I mean, I love the idea, but…" _But I don't have time to spare._

"We'll figure it out," Daphne took a step towards him. "Now, I want you to dance with Luna for the next dance, while I dance with Tori."

"You can dance with Tori?" Ron asked.

"It's acceptable because of our age," Daphne replied. "Not to mention that we're sisters. Don't tell Tori this, but I think she loves dancing with me."

"Well, I just saw them over there," Ron pointed them out.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Night)**_

Once the dancing had come to an end, Minister Fudge and Madam Bones had taken the stage, while the guests waited to be addressed. Ron had decided to stick with his friends, most of whom had no idea that Ron was about to be made an International Diplomat. As they all waited together, Ron took the time to look around himself to gauge everyone's current mood.

Most of them looked rather happy, and Ron figured that the alcohol had helped with that. _The only ones who look sour are former Death-Eaters. They really do despise the Veela Community, don't they?_ Ron looked back to the stage, and he noticed a blonde haired woman with a strong jaw waiting by the foot of the stage. Behind her was a floating, acid-green quill, which seemed to be ready to take notes on a floating notepad.

"Daphne, who is that woman?" Ron nudged his head in her direction.

"That's Rita Skeeter," Daphne replied, and Ron's expression turned cold.

"The one who wrote that article about Sirius," Ron remembered.

"At least she backed off after one article," Daphne said.

"St. Mungo's fire was the story to report on," Ron figured. "She doesn't strike me as a person who has limits." _The things she wrote about Sirius were just cruel, and she turned a victim into some deranged psychopath in the eyes of the public. And for what? Just because she could._

"Don't brood, we're in public," Theo nudged him, and Ron fixed his expression.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Fudge spoke loudly, and Ron spotted Umbridge standing behind him. "My fellow wizards and witches, I hope you have enjoyed your night thus far! We won't stall the Gala for long, but some important words must be said!"

Fudge then looked to Madam Bones, who took the center of the stage.

"Firstly, the Ministry would like to thank all of you fine humanitarians for answering the summons," Madam Bones started. "With your help tonight, we will begin charting a course for a better tomorrow. We expect St. Mungo's to be restored by the end of the year." _That fast?_ "We have many contractors who are eager to get started, and none of this would be possible without you. Your Ministry thanks you for your devotion, and all of you will be rewarded in due time."

"The British Ministry would also like to thank our French guests tonight for their generous donations," Madam Bones said, and Ron stood up straighter. "It has been a long time since we all stood under the same roof, and no Curses were fired. It gladdens me to know that in times of strife, we can look past each other's differences, and come together as the Children of Magic."

The French gave nods, while a few British looked rather disgusted.

"And lastly, we would like address those who made this union of countries possible," Madam Bones said, and Ron drew in a deep breath. "Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley, and Madame Olympe Maxime."

A light was showered on Ron and Madame Maxime, and he could hear the reporters taking photos from the sidelines. Daphne had linked their arms during the speech, and Ron had no doubt that she'd appear right next to him in tomorrow's Daily Prophet. _As it should be._

"Mr. Weasley and Madame Maxime took it upon themselves to do more for this country in its hour of need," Madam Bones went on. "As such, the French **and** British Ministries have seen fit to reward these two individuals for their endeavors. They are both to be made International Diplomats in regards to our two countries, and may their friendship serve as an example to the rest of us. We have all been divided for far too long."

The guests broke into loud chatter, with a majority of them shooting Ron and Madame Maxime surprised looks. Rita Skeeter was looking quite scandalized, while her quill was furiously taking down notes. Camera flashes rang throughout the Ballroom, and Ron made sure to smile. But more importantly, he made sure to look like he was calm. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the surprised looks on his friends' faces, and Ron decided that it was best to ignore that for now. _I'll explain later._

"Let us make our donations now, shall we?!" Fudge said loudly, once again taking the center of the stage. _He sounds like he's in a hurry now._ "Bond-Collectors, please start collecting!"

The chatter was still ongoing, and Ron noticed that Madam Dolores Umbridge was staring at him with a venomous smile. _Don't do it, Ron._ Ron smiled and waved at her, and her face twitched as she looked away from him. _Hehe. That's for Remus, you bitch._ The Bond-Collectors moved through the guests with large boxes, and once they got to Ron, he slipped the Weasley Bond inside the box. _Done._

"An International Diplomat?" Theo whispered, and Ron looked to see an almost envious look on Theo's face. "Why didn't you tell any of us, mate?"

"It was all very hush-hush," Ron told them, a smile breaking out on his face when he saw Luna looking rather happy with him. "Only a handful of people knew about it, and even I wasn't sure that they'd give me the position."

"Wait… You got them to make you an International Diplomat?" Millie asked.

"How?" Blaise asked right after.

"I told them that if they didn't give me what I want, I'd tell the French to stay home," Ron shrugged. "The Ministry needed the money, and I had the means to provide said money. Madame Maxime and I have been working together over the last two weeks to make this happen."

"You'll be so famous in Slytherin now!" Tori beamed. "I can already see people paying me tribute!" _You? What about me?_

"Tori, Ron's new job isn't yours to exploit," Daphne warned. "Don't make things any harder on him, understand?"

"You knew about this?" Pansy asked Daphne, who gave a nod. "Aw… He didn't tell us…"

"Ron told me because he was stressed out of his mind," Daphne assured them. "I tried my best to help him, but he did everything by himself."

"Figures," Millie smirked. "Congratulations, Ron. We're really happy for you."

"Congratulations," they all said, and Ron gave them grateful nods. _Theo and Blaise look slightly bothered. I'll talk to them later._

"An International Diplomat now?" came the cold voice of Lucius Malfoy, and Ron felt his smile die away. _**Wretch.**_

Ron turned to see Lucius Malfoy 'smiling' down at him as he was taller than Ron, which only served to anger Ron even more. _**Murderer.**_

"Your influence continues to grow, Mr. Weasley," Lucius looked him over, while his friends, save for Daphne, stepped away slightly. "Like a disease, of course."

"There is no need for such coldness, Lord Malfoy," Daphne spoke up, she had felt Ron's entire demeanor change. "This is a Charity Event, after all. We are all here to help."

"You sound quite like your father," Lucius looked to Daphne, a cold look on his face. "Attempting to imitate him won't earn you his favor, girl." Lucius then looked to Ron. "A mute International Diplomat?"

"We have no words to exchange," Ron said coldly, his eyes fixed on Lucius'. _**We'll tear out your ribcage, and wear it as a hat.**_ "Leave."

"How very **Weasley** of you," Lucius smirked at him.

"Leave, I won't warn you again," Ron all but whispered.

"Ron…" Daphne whispered.

"Listen to the girl, Mr. Weasley," Lucius scoffed, he had expected more from this boy. "Polite conversation is-"

"I will break your son's fingers tonight," Ron said bluntly, meaning every single word.

Lucius stopped mid-sentence, while Ron's friends all went dead quiet themselves.

"Leave, or I swear on my Magic, I will break his fingers," Ron told Lucius, who blinked at Ron with a slightly wary look.

"And risk expulsion?" Lucius challenged, his icy mask returning. "Or incarceration?"

"Try me," Ron let go of Daphne's arm as he stepped into Lucius' face. "You wretched woman."

The two of them stared at each other, and Ron felt the urge to grab Lucius by his throat. _I should kill him, just like he tried to kill Ginny._

"If you touch Draco-" Lucius started.

"If you leave right now, I won't harm him," Ron cut him off. "Turn around, and walk away. I am not my father, **Lucius**. I'll make you bleed for sneering down at me."

Lucius looked over to Ron's friends, all of whom avoided eye-contact with the man. And then, Lucius turned around and walked off with a dark look on his face. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, a feeling of cool relief washing over him. _Fucking Death-Eater scum._ Ron's friends exchanged looks, and they all decided to stay quiet for now. It was usually best to not bother Ron when his mood was darkened.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

It had taken twenty minutes of Daphne speaking to him gently for him to finally start returning to normal. Deep down, Ron was still angry at seeing the man who was responsible for so much of Ginny's pain, but at the same time, Ron was beginning to feel regret as well. He shouldn't have threatened Draco Malfoy's safety, not after everything Draco had been through.

Unlike the rest of his friends, Ron went out of his way to make Malfoy feel welcome in the group. It wasn't easy, as they both had so much bad blood between them, but Ron knew how terrible isolation was. And so, Ron kept trying to reach out to him, even if Malfoy himself constantly shoved Ron away. _Or punch me away. He throws a decent right hook, I'll give him that._ Ron couldn't deny that he had an odd form of friendship with the platinum-blonde wizard, and if he was being completely honest, he liked this odd friendship. _We 'hate' each other, but we're also… companions._

"Ron, everything is set," Daphne nudged him, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "Theo and Blaise have set out on their mission, so we should talk to the reporters now."

"What about our parents?" Ron asked her, they were still standing on the dance floor.

"Father said that it's best if they don't take part in this," Daphne told him. "Having adults at your side will… diminish… your new image."

"You mean it'll make me look less in control?" Ron asked slowly, and Daphne nodded. _Fair enough._

"He did ask me to remind you about our Family Alliance," Daphne said, and Ron smirked a little. _Of course he did._ "Do you feel better? Not as angry?"

"I'm more ashamed than angry," Ron whispered, and Daphne waited for him to go on. "Threatening Malfoy was wrong… I just got so angry at seeing Lucius Malfoy… I shouldn't say such things." _Especially about someone who is mourning his Family's separation._

"No, you shouldn't," Daphne agreed. "But I know that you said them out of anger, Ron. You wouldn't hurt Malfoy, not after working so hard to keep him around. Now… I won't pretend to know why you keep him around, but I'm sure that you have a valid reason."

"I do," Ron said quickly.

"Then learn from this," Daphne smiled at him. "Otherwise, Malfoy will run off." _And then, he'll get himself killed._ "Want to talk to the reporters now? The sooner we finish up with them, the sooner we can sneak off to get drunk."

"Tipsy, you mean," Ron said, and Daphne pouted at him. "Daph… I have training tomorrow. I can't show up in a sorry state, Madam Roberts will have my hide."

"Fine, we'll get **really** tipsy instead of drunk," Daphne decided, and Ron gave a reluctant nod. _Getting drunk sounds like a waste of time. I could spend the night sharpening my Non-Verbal Magic instead._ "Let's go?"

Ron took Daphne's arm, and they began making their way towards the sidelines. Ron spotted his Family speaking with the Greengrasses not too far away, and Bill shot him a wink when their eyes met. Ron smiled a little, happy to see that Bill wasn't looking worried on his behalf. _I wonder where he ran off to tonight. I barely saw him._

"Mr. Weasley! Over here!" a reporter shouted, and camera flashes started going off.

"Please, one at a time," Ron said, he couldn't make sense of their shouting.

"Did you know that you were going to be named the youngest International Diplomat in British History tonight?" a reporter asked.

"I was in the talks with the Minister Fudge and Madam Bones," Ron replied. "We all came to an agreement prior to the Gala."

"And were Madame Maxime and the French Minister involved in these talks?" a reporter asked.

"Madame Maxime and I were in contact throughout the process," Ron replied. "I approached her with the idea of bringing the Old French Families to Britain for this Gala, and together, we managed to accomplish our goal."

"Do you think it's wise to bring the French here?" Rita Skeeter asked, she had shoved one of the reporters out of her way. "Our countries have been at odds for over a decade, so surely, many of them will have plans against our country."

"I think that someone has to take the first step," Ron replied, making sure to keep his nerves in check. "For over a decade, we have been divided, and as a result of that, hatred has festered between us. I believe that by taking the first step, Madame Maxime and I have begun the healing process. It will be a long, and difficult journey, but I believe that together, she and I can make a positive change."

"And what of the British Families?" Rita asked right after. "Many of them have voiced their displeasure with you tonight, and after your appointment, I saw quite a lot of angry faces."

"As I said, the road ahead is long and difficult," Ron replied. "Many of the British Families are scared of change, and I won't say that they shouldn't be. I can only hope that they will see the overwhelming benefits of our countries working together, and learn to let go of old vendettas."

"Just one last question, Mr. Weasley!" Rita yelled over the other reporters, all of whom looked rather pissed with her. "Have you put your Chess Career behind you in favor of becoming a Ministry Official?"

"Not at all," Ron replied, making sure to tighten his hold on Daphne's arm. _My fucking arms are shaking because of how nervous I am._ "I am still Lord Greengrass' apprentice, and I plan to continue my Chess Career until I earn the title of Chess Master."

"Do you really have the time now?" a reporter asked. "Being an International Diplomat is a demanding job, and you have other responsibilities such as school."

"I will only serve as an International Diplomat to the French," Ron told them. "This means that I won't be as busy as my fellow Ministry Officials, which will give me time to stay focused on Chess and Hogwarts."

"Are you two dating?!" a chubby reporter asked, he was wearing a badge representing Witch Weekly.

"We are," Daphne decided to speak up, she could feel Ron's arm trembling.

"And how long has that been going on?" the reporter asked excitedly.

"We became a couple at the start of November," Daphne smiled at Ron. "But we have been close friends ever since we started Hogwarts."

"How did you two meet?" the chubby reporter asked, and the other reporters frowned at him for wasting questions.

"We met right after Ron's Sorting," Daphne laughed, hoping that her happy mood would make Ron less tense. "Within a week, we had all become fast friends." _Lies!_

"Mr. Weasley, what does Lord Greengrass have to say about your new job?" a reporter from the Daily Prophet cut off the chubby reporter.

"He has been nothing but supportive," Ron replied. "Lord and Lady Greengrass are very experienced people, and I am proud to count them amongst my friends and advisors."

"Will you be working with your own father at the Ministry?" a reporter asked.

"We will be working in different Departments, but I plan to drop by his Office for lunch as often as I can," Ron replied. "Maybe, if Fate wills it, we might work together on a project."

"Just a couple more questions, please," Daphne announced, and the reporters began yelling over each other.

"Mr. Weasley, I'm from Chess Weekly!" a man called out, and Ron's ears perked up.

"Yes?" Ron looked to him, while the other reporters looked rather vexed.

"Are you planning to compete in any Tournaments soon?" the reporter asked. "Your fans would love a heads up." _My fans? I can't believe I have fans._

"I will be taking part in the Tournament being held at Flourish and Blotts on the fifth of December," Ron replied.

"And what are your chances of winning this Tournament?" the reporter asked. "It's hard to bet against you after your legendary win in France."

"I don't know my competition, so I can't honestly answer that question with full certainty," Ron replied. "All I can say is that Lord Greengrass and I have been hard at work, and we have high expectations for a win."

More reporters tried to ask questions, but Daphne told them that they had said enough. Dozens of photos were taken, and Ron and Daphne both began to head back towards the dancefloor. On the way, Ron spotted Madame Maxime speaking a bunch of reporters, and Rita Skeeter was one of them. _Wow, she moves fast._

"Are you alright?" Daphne whispered. "Ron, you're shaking."

"Nerves," Ron admitted. "I didn't want to say anything stupid… Do you think I did alright?"

"I think you did just fine," Daphne smiled at him. "It gets easier, I promise."

"You remember what you said about Dueling?" Ron asked. "Well, I've decided that I don't like speaking to reporters. It puts me on edge."

"You did well, Ron," Daphne tightened her hold on his arm. "Let's get out of here, and then finally enjoy ourselves."

"Sure," Ron agreed, maybe relaxing a little would help his nerves.

As they turned to leave, Ron spotted Victor Burke in the crowd. The former Slytherin was watching Ron with an easy smile on his face, and when their eyes met, Victor subtly nudged his head towards the restrooms. _He wants to talk? I have people watching me._

"Daph, I'll meet you in the Gardens," Ron said, and Daphne blinked at him. "I need to use the loo."

"Oh," Daphne nodded. "Alright, do you know where to meet us?"

"On the outskirts," Ron replied, and she let go of his arm.

"Don't take too long," Daphne said, and then she quietly slipped past the other guests.

Ron began making his way over to the restrooms, and along the way, he smiled and shook hands with passing congratulators. _Certain Families have taken my new appointment well, but a majority of them aren't pleased. Not to mention that the Aurors are watching me now. Why aren't they watching men like Lucius Malfoy? Damn morons._

Ron slipped into the men's room, and he immediately saw Victor waiting for him.

"The conquering hero," Victor smiled his disturbing smile. "I was hoping to run into you tonight."

"Are we alone?" Ron looked around.

"We are," Victor replied. "Is someone watching you, Ronald?"

Ron didn't say anything, instead, he walked over to the mirror in order to check his appearance.

"The Aurors," Victor nodded slowly. "I noticed a certain Head Auror staring at you while you spoke to the reporters. You've made yourself far too easy to see."

"Speaking from experience?" Ron looked to Victor. _Why am I even talking to him?_

"They have Aurors stationed outside my shop," Victor told Ron. "They're good at concealing themselves, but the residents of Knockturn Alley have a certain charm to them that the Aurors can't mimic. They're easy enough to spot."

"Did you give them a reason to watch you?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Victor chuckled. "But they'll get nothing. They are wasting their time with me, while other key players are making moves."

"Key players?" Ron asked.

"That information will cost you, Ronald," Victor tutted.

"Of course it will," Ron frowned a little. _I need to know what's happening in Knockturn Alley._ "What do you want?"

"I want your word that you'll owe me a favor," Victor replied. "Since we are old friends, I won't ask anything dishonorable of you."

"We have different definitions of the word 'dishonorable'," Ron pointed out.

"I suppose," Victor smiled. "Well? Do I have your word?"

Ron stared at Victor for a few moments, and for the life of him, he couldn't read the handsome young man.

"Find someone else," Ron turned to leave. _I'm not risking myself for a bit of information._

"How about I tell you what my favor will be, and then you can decide if it's worth it?" Victor suggested, and Ron stopped.

"Go on," Ron turned around.

"I have a… dangerous… artefact in my wares," Victor told Ron. "I am looking for a buyer, but with the Aurors breathing down my neck, I can't move around freely. I need someone who is well-connected to find me a buyer for this artefact."

"What is this artefact?" Ron asked. "I need to know, Victor."

"It's a Cursed Orb," Victor replied. "One that is Charmed to release a deadly poison into the air should it be opened."

"A weapon, you mean?" Ron frowned.

"You could call it that," Victor shrugged. "It's clearly a creation of the Wizards of Old, so it'll make me a fortune. Plus, your buyer will most likely be a rich Pure-Blood who will store it away in his collection."

"Or open it in the middle of a street," Ron shook his head. "Sorry, I don't want any part of this."

"You can keep twenty-five percent of the profits," Victor told him.

"Twenty-five?" Ron was a little taken aback. "You really want this item gone, don't you?"

"Yes," Victor replied. "Twenty-five percent, and information. That's a good deal, Ronald. You ought to at least consider it."

Ron narrowed his eyes on Victor, his mind trying to come up with plans. _Gornuk will no doubt know about potential buyers, so I should at least talk to him. I need the money, but at the same time, this weapon sounds dangerous. Wait… Maybe I can speak to Emilia about this. If she does join me, then we could use this weapon on the Dark Lord's forces._

"How much money will this item sell for?" Ron asked.

"Five thousand Galleons, easily," Victor replied. "This artefact is Ancient, and therefore, quite the gem."

"What's stopping me from turning you in?" Ron asked.

"You're not stupid," Victor replied.

"I'll… think about it," Ron said.

"That is all I ask for," Victor smiled. "I will see you again when the time is right."

Ron gave a parting nod, and then he left the men's room. _Merlin, he gives me the creeps._ Ron quickly made his way towards the back of the Ballroom, his eyes scanning for Rufus Scrimgeour, or any other Aurors. _I don't see anyone, but that means nothing._ It took him well over ten minutes to make it outside, mostly because people kept getting in his way. The French were congratulating him, while the British were eyeballing as if he were some traitor.

As Ron stepped out into the cool night, he saw the Carrow twins arguing in a shadowy corner. _What's that about?_ Ron felt the urge to be on his way, but he decided to speak with his first years anyway.

"Hestia, Flora," Ron greeted, and they quickly turned to face him. _Did Hestia just hide something behind her back?_

"Hello, Ron," they greeted together.

"Congratulations on your new job," Hestia said, not a hint of expression on her face.

"When the House hears about this, you will be elevated further," Flora said, a small smile on her face.

"Thank you," Ron smiled at them. "I didn't get a chance to meet your parents tonight."

"Good," Hestia said, and Ron blinked at her. "They're very much against you, we fear. It would've made things terribly awkward for us."

"If you do see them, please avoid them," Flora requested.

"Alright," Ron agreed, and then he looked to Hestia.

"Yes, Ron?" Hestia asked.

"Really?" Ron sniggered. "Don't make me turn you around, young Lady."

"You're so stupid, Hestia," Flora frowned at her sister.

"You're the one who picked such a big bottle," Hestia frowned back.

"Bottle?" Ron asked. "Alright, show me."

Hestia slowly showed him a bottle of unopened wine, while Flora averted her gaze.

"You two…" Ron felt his temper flare. "You plan to drink all of this by yourselves? What happens when you two get caught drunk at the age of eleven?"

"Actually, we plan to share it," Hestia told him. _What?_

"Hestia, don't tell him that," Flora groaned. "You're so stupid!"

"You're stupid!" Hestia snapped back.

"You're both stupid," Ron towered over them, and they went dead silent. "Now tell me who you plan to share this with? Is it Astoria? Did she put you up to this?" _I fucking know she did. Hestia and Flora don't behave this way._

"Well, not really," Hestia replied. "We all decided to try some."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"John, Astoria, Lysandra, Luna-"

"Luna?" Ron blinked. "Luna Lovegood?"

"Astoria wants us to be nice to your sister," Flora tried to appease him. "So we invited her to join us."

"You think I'm going to commend you for involving my sister into this?" Ron asked her, and Flora blinked at him.

"Smooth, Flora," Hestia smirked.

"Shut up," Flora frowned at her sister. _Why are they being so hostile to each other?_

"Ron, we're just trying to enjoy ourselves," Hestia looked to him. "We won't get drunk, we're not stupid."

"Please?" Flora poked his side weakly. "We promised the others that we'd find something, and if we come back empty handed, they'll make fun of us."

"Give me the bottle," Ron said, their words meant nothing to him.

"Ron, just let them have it," came Samantha's voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Samantha smiling at them. _Nice!_

"They're eleven…" Ron said.

"So what?" Samantha shrugged. "It's just something that kids do at that age. You yourself threw parties with plenty of alcohol being passed around, remember?"

"That was different," Ron looked back to the twins. "The parties I threw were inside the Slytherin common room, not in the middle of the Minister's Manor."

"They won't get caught," Samantha assured him. "And even if they do, no one will care. People will just say that they're kids being kids."

Ron looked back to Samantha, and she gave him a meaningful look.

"Fine…" Ron decided to relent, he didn't want the first years to feel angry with him. "But if they get in trouble, it's on you."

"Thank you," the twins smiled at Samantha, and then they quickly slipped away before Ron could change his mind.

"You're far too serious," Samantha walked up to him. "But I suppose that your seriousness is your strength as well. Congratulations, Ron, you have stolen the night."

"Thank you," Ron relaxed a little.

"An International Diplomat," Samantha smiled at him, her eyes looking him over. "You certainly shut my parents up tonight."

"Your parents?" Ron asked.

"They're wretched people, really," Samantha said, her smile still in place. "They were 'disgusted' to see the Weasley Family here tonight, and they kept making jokes about your Family's financial troubles." _Two more dead bodies, then._

"They didn't take my new appointment well, I assume," Ron smirked.

"No, they did not," Samantha chuckled. "My father had half a mind to pull his donation back."

"Wow," Ron shook his head. "How would that help him?"

"It wouldn't, but he's an idiot of the highest order," Samantha replied. "Luckily, I was nearby and I talked some sense into him. They both left in protest, by the way, and not a single person followed them out. Quite embarrassing."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ron said. "How does someone like you come from parents like that?"

"The Universe is a cruel beast," Samantha smiled at his words. "I will be rid of them very soon, I promise."

"What are your plans?" Ron asked.

"Are you going to help me?" Samantha placed her finger under his chin. _Yes._

"I help all my friends," Ron smiled at her, she smelled quite nice. "I know powerful people, Samantha, and I won't ask for anything in return."

"You won't?" Samantha asked, her smile faltering for a moment. _Did I say something wrong?_

"I swear on my Magic," Ron raised his gloved hand. "If you need my help, just come and ask."

"I'll remember that," Samantha pulled her finger back, her smile becoming warmer. "I'd give you a kiss, but there are too many eyes here."

"A kiss?" Ron blinked.

"Carey and Clara have done it, so why shouldn't I?" Samantha smirked, she liked that he was easily flustered when it came to sexuality. "They both mentioned that you have very soft lips."

"Which are reserved for my girlfriend," Ron said, he could feel his 'mind shield' moving to his forehead.

"It won't be scandalous, of course," Samantha promised. "Just a sign of my affection for you."

With that, Samantha turned around to leave.

"I'm heading home for the night," Samantha told him. "Try and relax a little, Ron. Find your friends, and enjoy their company."

And just like that, she was walking away from him. Ron's eyes moved to her hips on instinct, and judging by her walk, she knew that he was staring. _Bloody hell, she has a nice figure. I guess I never really noticed because of Clara's bust._ Ron quickly found himself thinking of Future Daphne, and a smile broke out on his face. _I can't wait!_

Ron began making his way down the marble veranda, and just as he was about to enter the Gardens, he spotted Great-Aunt Muriel speaking to a few older guests. _Oh, fuck! Run, Ron!_ Before Ron could turn around, Muriel's red-rimmed, blood-shot eyes found him. She still had a beak-like nose, was extremely bony, and her sneer was exactly as Ron remembered.

"Ah… The boy wonder himself," Muriel said, and her friends looked to Ron. "This here is my Great-Nephew."

"Great-Aunt Muriel," Ron put on a smile, while he screamed internally. "You look well."

"Excuse me, I will return shortly," Muriel told her friends, and then she walked over to Ron. "Let me have a look at you, boy." _Boy?_

Ron stood still, while she circled him with critical eyes.

"Merlin, you Weasleys grow almost as fast as you breed," she sneered. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that were some uncatalogued type of creature. Do you steal food from other people's plates, boy? How could you possibly look like **this**?"

"I don't please you?" Ron asked.

"It's not natural for a thirteen year old to look like this," Muriel stopped in front of him.

"Right," Ron said, his expression becoming slightly cold. _Should I really let her walk all over me?_

"What? Did I offend you?" she asked. "You Weasleys are too easily bothered… And here I started to believe that you were indeed some Prodigy."

"Is it fun to be so cruel to others?" Ron asked her, and she blinked at him.

"What are you on about?" Muriel asked.

"We just met after years, and you didn't even bother to greet me properly," Ron replied. "Let's start over." Ron then smiled at her. "It is good to see you again, Aunt Muriel. How have you been?"

"A little backbone in you, at least…" Aunt Muriel scoffed. "And you'd know how I've been if you ever bothered to send a letter."

"You didn't send any to me," Ron shrugged. "I figured that you didn't want anything to do with us after the twins played that prank on you."

"Trust me, I didn't," Muriel replied. "But then I heard that you were making allies with the proper Families, and I was quite shocked. I figured that you'd send one to me, but lo and behold, not a single letter. Do you not have Prewett Blood in you, boy? Are we not Family?" _Wait… Is she upset because I didn't come to her when I first started out?_

"Oh…" Ron muttered, and she sneered at him.

"I'll be expecting a formal letter, then?" Muriel spoke in a tone that suggested that Ron was an imbecile. _Another ally._

"I'll have one sent by Monday morning," Ron agreed.

"And don't send it with one of those Hogwarts Owls, they shit wherever they land," Muriel ordered. "Ask one of your rich friends for theirs."

With that, Muriel turned around and walked back to her friends, leaving a confused Ron behind. _What just happened?_ Ron slowly began to walk towards the outskirts, he still didn't like Great-Aunt Muriel.

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Late Night)**_

She was still a little tipsy, but she was doing her best to act normal because her friends wouldn't let her drink any more in her current state.

"There he is," Millie pointed, and they all looked to see Ron approaching them. _He'll look for Longbottom first, just to make sure that his 'plan' is still in motion._

Ron's eyes scanned for Longbottom, and when he saw the Gryffindor, his eyes became relaxed. _He's so cute! I wonder why Longbottom is here though._

"Neville," Ron smiled, and Longbottom waved at him. "I'm glad you're here." _I bet you are._

"Greengrass invited me," Longbottom told Ron. "But I'm not going to drink."

"What?" Ron laughed.

"C'mon, Longbottom, show us that Gryffindor courage," Theo smirked. "Just a couple of sips."

"I… Just a couple," Longbottom agreed reluctantly.

"So what are we drinking?" Ron asked.

"This," Theo presented the bottle of Odgen's Finest. "I nicked it from the cellars."

"You stole from the Minister?" Longbottom looked horrified.

"One of my greatest moments," Theo grinned, and Pansy couldn't help but giggle. _No, Pansy. Act sober._ "I'll open it, take a sip, and pass it around."

Theo took a sip, and then he handed the bottle to Pansy with a deep grimace.

"Fuck… That burns…" Theo coughed out.

"Is it bitter?" Millie asked.

"No, it just burns," Theo cleared his throat. "Go on, Pansy." _Don't mind if I do!_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"I feel sick," Longbottom mumbled from the grass.

The bottle was finished, and Pansy's entire World was swirling.

"This was strong stuff," Blaise nodded, he was sitting up with his back against a bench. "Now what?"

"You want to play some sort of game?" Theo asked.

"Game?" Ron asked.

"Oh, we usually do something after we drink," Millie told him. "Run around, play tag, or arm wrestle."

"It's more fun when you're drunk," Pansy smiled lazily. _My face is tired._

"So you really did this often?" Ron asked, and they all shrugged. _It was Malfoy's idea, I think._

"Let's play tag," Daphne suggested, she was clinging to Ron's torso.

"I like tag," Pansy agreed, she wanted to run around and be unladylike. _Mother can sod off._

"Can I sit this out?" Longbottom asked.

"No," they all said together. _He's kind of cute. Not chubby at all, and growing._

"Ron's it," Blaise elected, and Ron grinned at him.

"I'll count to ten," Ron said. "No one is allowed to leave for the other parts of the Gardens. We stay in the outskirts. It's open space, so no one can hide. We keep running. Fair?"

"Fair," they agreed.

"Alright, go on," Ron said.

Pansy quickly shot up to her feet, and she ran as far from Ron as she could. After a minute of running, Pansy looked back to see where Ron was. She smiled widely when she saw Ron chasing Theo, who was squealing, down with a massive grin. _I'm not on his radar yet! I can totally win this!_

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Blaise had won.

Shortly after getting Theo, Ron had spotted her smiling at him. The chase hadn't lasted long, and before she could even catch her breath, Ron had run off to chase Longbottom down. _Unlimited stamina, and really long legs._

"That was fun," Longbottom admitted, he was slightly sweaty.

"He's finally on board," Millie patted Longbottom's back. "Now what?"

"Why doesn't Longbottom tell us about Gryffindor Tower?" Theo asked, and Longbottom blinked at him.

"What? I can't do that," Longbottom refused.

"Oh, we'll tell you about the Slytherin Dungeons," Theo offered. "A fair trade, right?"

"We should tell him about our common room first," Pansy decided. _There's more of us, so he can't trust us to keep our word. He looks like the sort who will keep his._

"Well, it's cold, damp, and green," Blaise described.

"You should write a book," Daphne giggled, and the other sniggered at Blaise. "Theo, describe the common room."

"Well, our windows look out into the Black Lake," Theo told Longbottom. "Which is why our common room has an emerald green aura to it. We have large chandeliers of silver hanging from the stone ceiling, and together with a large fireplace, they illuminate the entire common room. Oh, and we have black leather couches and sofas, and polished study desks all throughout the Dungeon."

"It sounds… nice," Longbottom said.

"It's kind of unwelcoming, but it grows on you," Ron said, and Longbottom gave a nod. "Now, your turn."

"Well," Longbottom swallowed thickly. "It's very comfortable… There is a large fireplace, golden chandeliers, the windows let the sun in, and it's got red walls. The seats are a bit weathered, but in a nice, eased-in sort of way." _What?_

"They feel nice because they're so used?" Pansy asked.

"Um… I don't know how to describe it," Longbottom told her, he was swaying from side to side. "They just feel comfortable, which is great because people often fall asleep because of how peaceful it is in the tower. Comforting, you know. It feels safe." _Oh, that does sound nice._ "I'm sure Ron's siblings have told him all about it."

Ron and the others sniggered at that.

"They would never do that, mate," Ron assured Neville, an amused smile on his face. "I mean, I'd never tell them about Slytherin either. We take this House business very seriously."

"Well, now you know," Longbottom shrugged. "Don't tell them that I told you."

"He's becoming secretive," Pansy smiled at Longbottom. "We're a bad influence."

"They're just common rooms," Longbottom shrugged again. "I don't really like this House Rivalry business."

"Why?" Blaise asked. "Is it because Gryffindor is losing?"

"Blaise," Millie smacked his arm.

"Sorry," Blaise apologized aloofly.

"No, it's because it divides the students up into groups," Longbottom told them. "It makes them compete, which always turns people nasty. House Rivalry is to blame for all the fighting at Hogwarts, I'm sure of it."

"So it's not just us Slytherins?" Daphne asked.

"No, it's everyone," Longbottom replied. "I've seen arrogant Gryffindors, rude Ravenclaws, excluding Hufflepuffs, and fanatical Slytherins. Each House has bad apples, but because of the House system, we always defend our nasty Housemates from the other Houses, even if our own people are starting the fights. It just creates conflict, is what I'm trying to say."

"I agree," Ron spoke up. "We should just exclude all the nasty people from the Houses. Give them their own House."

"You'd keep the House system, though?" Millie asked.

"I would, but only because it brings likeminded people together," Ron replied. "If all first years were forced to stay together, there'd be so much conflict. But because of the House system, people with similar habits and values are put together."

"That's neat," Theo lied down. "My head is spinning…"

"Are you okay?" Pansy nudged him, and he smiled up at her.

"Just drunk," Theo closed his eyes. _He should smile more, he looks more handsome when he smiles._

"Should we start heading back?" Millie asked the others. _What? Already?_ "Theo and Longbottom are falling asleep, and I'm pretty spent myself." _Aw…_

"Let's go, then," Ron stood up, and then he helped Daphne to her feet. "Remember, we have to act sober."

"Then you should stopping swaying from side to side," Pansy laughed, and Ron shot her a grin.

"Mistakes were made," Ron laughed. _No, we had fun together, and that's all that matters. Who cares what other people think? We should just do whatever makes us happiest._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Near Midnight)**_

"Daphne," Ron rubbed her back, and her eyes fluttered open.

"I'm awake," she slurred. "I'm totally awake…" _How is she walking whilst asleep?_

"Want me to carry you?" Ron offered.

"We're nearly inside," Daphne shook her head clear. "I can act sober." _We're so fucked._

Ron knew that he himself looked out of sorts, and he had tripped over his own two feet twice already. _It's because I'm trying to match their slow speed. I'm not drunk at all._ Ron shot a look back at Neville, who was only walking straight because Blaise had his hand on Neville's shoulder. _His Gran is going to murder me._

"Theo," Ron whispered, and Theo shot a look back. "Why did you get something so strong?"

"I don't even know," Theo shrugged, and then he looked back ahead. _His eyes were fluttering as well. Good lord, everyone is going to know that we're drunk. And what about my first years? Merlin, it's over._

"Are you alright?" Pansy nudged him, and Ron shot her a panicked look.

"I think I'm spiraling," Ron told her. "We're going to get caught, I just know it."

"Relax," Pansy giggled. "Daphne, Ron is spiraling."

"Ron, don't do that," Daphne said with closed eyes. _Woman! Wake up! We're almost inside!_

As they made their way inside, Ron drew in a deep breath, and he felt himself standing on Stoatshead Hill. The feeling calmed him a little, and when he saw that most of the Ballroom was empty, he let out a held breath. _We'll be fine._ That's when Ron spotted Dumbledore looking over at them, and when their eyes met, he smiled at Ron. _He knows! It's over, Ron!_ As they neared the exit, they all split up in order to find their Families.

"Ron, there you are," Molly let out a relieved breath when she saw him. "Where did you go? We all went looking for you."

"I was… around," Ron said nonchalantly. "Just with my mates." _And I was not drinking._

"Are you drunk?" Molly whispered with wide-eyes, and Ron saw his father, Kirsten, and his brothers, except for Percy, grin at him.

"What? No," Ron lied. "Mum… I'd never do that."

"I can smell it on your breath, young man," Molly frowned, and Ron nodded slowly. _Walk away, Ron. Just walk away. They can't question you if you're not here._

Ron looked to the exit, and he began walking off. He heard Charlie, Bill, and Kirsten burst into loud laughter, and he could also hear his mother scolding his amused father. _That worked out well._ Ron walked up to a free fireplace, and he spotted Blaise and Pansy walking up to him hand-in-hand. _Oh, what's this?_

"Our Families went home without us," Pansy told Ron, but she was smiling. "Blaise offered to escort me home. Isn't that sweet?"

"It is," Ron smiled at Blaise, who just had a distant look on his face. "Blaise?"

"Sorry, brother, but I am about to pass out, I think," Blaise mumbled.

Ron quickly prepared the floo for the Headmaster's Office, and once it was ready, he sent Pansy and Blaise through. _I'll wait for the others._

"Fun night?" Madam Roberts tapped his shoulder, and Ron's blood froze. _Universe?! Why?!_

"Madam Borets," Ron turned around with a smile.

"Roberts, you halfwit," Madam Roberts frowned. _Oh, whoops._ "I came over to congratulate you on your latest position. It is very impressive, and you did a good thing by bringing the French here. We need all the help that we can get, Politics be damned."

"Oh, thanks," Ron smiled genuinely as he shuffled his feet. "Thank you, Madam Roberts, that means a lot to me coming from you."

Madam Roberts nodded slowly, and then she gave Ron a hint of a smile.

"Get home safe, and I'll see you tomorrow morning," she instructed, and Ron gave her a firm nod.

"Good night, Madam Roberts," Ron said, and she left with a parting nod. _She didn't scold me? Could I be that lucky?"_

"Ronald, stay right there," his mother's voice came. _Apparently not._

"Mum," Ron looked to her, and he saw that Luna was with her. "Luna!"

"Take your sister to her common room," Molly said, and Luna smiled at Ron. "She too got her hands on alcohol." _Damn you, Samantha Selwyn._ "Merlin, you children…"

"Don't tell mum," Luna tugged at Molly's dress. "Please, Mrs. Weasley?"

Molly looked at Luna, and her features softened immediately.

"Oh, I won't, love," Molly promised. "Just a happy accident, right?"

"Thank you," Luna kissed Molly's cheek, and then she walked up to Ron's side.

"And you, young man," Molly tutted him. "You were very irresponsible, as were your friends. You make sure they all get back to your common room, or I'll be very upset."

"I promise," Ron smiled widely, his eyes drooping. _She didn't get too angry, so it's fine._

"Did you have fun tonight?" Ron looked to Luna once Molly was gone.

"I did," Luna nodded. "Thanks for bringing me, Ron. And for the dress. And congratulations on being… I forget."

"An International Diplomat," Ron provided, his arm wrapping around her.

"Yeah, that," she hugged his side. "I'll tell everyone tomorrow."

"You do that," Ron chuckled, and then he hugged her properly. _She so little, and huggable._

"Ron?" came Luna's muffled voice.

"I just want to hug you," Ron told her. "Is that alright?"

Luna tightened the hug as her reply, and Ron suddenly felt extremely lightheaded. He felt as though he were floating through the air, and he realized what that meant.

* * *

Ron found himself standing by the Rookery, which looked much larger than ever. _A vision? About Luna?_ Ron quickly looked around the black-and-white World, his eyes peeled for any color. _Nothing._ Ron made his way around to the back of the Rookery, and what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

A slightly older Luna sat on a stool with a bright smile on her face, and in her lap, was a young boy. Ron knew that this boy was his Godson at first sight, and he found himself smiling widely. _He's perfect!_ Ron quickly moved closer, and he crouched in order to study the boy's face.

"Look at you," Ron beamed. "I'm your Godfather. I know you can't see me, but I'm really glad to see you."

"Luna?! Are you outside?!" came Pandora's voice.

"I'm with Lysander, Mum!" Luna called back, and Ron let out a happy chuckle. _Lysander? That's a good name._

"Can you bring him in?!" Pandora asked. "Lunch is ready!"

"Alright!" Luna stood up, and she began walking towards the entrance.

Ron followed after her excitedly, doing his best to catch glimpses of Lysander. Once they were inside, and Lysander was planted in a chair, Ron just stood by his side with a wide smile. The boy was clearly no older than two, and he was doing his best to swat the air around him. He had puffy cheeks, a tiny little body, and a happy smile on his face. _So damn adorable._

Ron shook his head clear, and then he found a nearby calendar. _I used this calendar to save Pandora's life. It feels so long ago now. What's the date? 20_ _th_ _August, 1995. Almost two years from now._ As Ron was gazing at the calendar, he suddenly began hearing a whistling noise. _What's that? It sounds like a kettle._ Ron looked to the Lovegoods, who were all looking around in confusion.

And then, Pandora's face twisted from horror.

"LUNA!" Pandora screamed, startling even Ron. "SHIELD YOUR BROTH-"

A loud explosion cut her off, and Ron let out a panicked scream as fire and stone passed through him violently. By the time his senses returned, grey fire was burning the entire building around him. Ron stood rooted in his spot for a few moments, his eyes scanning the ruins for clues as to what had just happened. When he finally saw that fiery rubble had taken the Lovegoods' place, Ron began to realize what had transpired. _An Explosive Curse… They're dead…_

Ron blinked repeatedly, he was too shocked to even feel any pain. _Who fired the Spell?_ Ron felt blood rush to his head, and he broke into a sprint. As he leaped out of the fire, and landed on the porch, he saw mist and shadow flying overhead. _What the fuck is that?!_ It was too far for him to tell, but whatever it was, it was responsible for this.

Ron slowly looked back to the burning Rookery, and he just felt… hollowed-out. _They died. They just… died. Out of the blue…_ He knew that he couldn't do anything about the vision, but seeing the Rookery in flames was almost too much to stomach. Ron looked back to the sky, and he tried to make sense of what the Entity was trying to show him. _Attacks from the sky? Maybe that flying shadow is a weapon of the Dark Lord? And the Entity wants me to know about it?_ Ron then remembered the date. _20_ _th_ _August, 1995. Just before my fifth year starts._

Ron suddenly felt the ground quake, and his mind began to drift away.

* * *

"Ron?" Luna shook him, and Ron blinked down at her. _I'm back._ "Are you alright? You just became very tense." _I need to tell Dumbledore about this before I forget._

"I'm fine," Ron lied. "Can you find your way to your Tower on your own?"

"Oh… I guess…" Luna said slowly.

"Go on," Ron let her go, he was still dazed from his vision. _It was so… abrupt. They were alive one second, and the next, they were all dead._

Ron's stomach turned, and he shuddered visibly. _Lysander died… A little baby… And where was Xeno?_

"Ron?"

"I'm fine, Luna," Ron lied again, doing his best to smile. "You go on ahead…"

Luna looked quite taken aback, but she didn't argue. Instead, she slowly left through the fireplace, her concerned face watching Ron until she disappeared. As for Ron, he just stood there. He didn't know if it was the alcohol, or the fear of what he saw, or both, that had frozen him in time, but try as he might, he just stood there. _What was that flying shadow?_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I'm back, and things will hopefully not be so rocky anymore. I want to get chapter 100 out before** **6th** **January , which is when I started this story. One year, one hundred chapters. That's the goal!**

 **See you guys on Tuesday!**


	98. Chapter 98 - The Day After

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 98 is here! It's slightly shorter than my usual, but I've been really busy with Job-Hunting, and other life stresses, to find time to write this out. Anyway...**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 98 – The Day After**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Gala – Near Midnight)**_

"There you are," Bill smiled as he approached a still dazed Ron. "Are you alright? Regretting drinking?"

"Yes," Ron replied. _I'm regretting seeing that vision._

"Don't regret having a good time with your friends," Bill stopped by Ron's side. "Congratulations, by the way. I had dozens of people approach me about you, and most of them wanted me to introduce you to them."

"Names?" Ron asked.

"Um… Shafiq, Abbot, Macmillan… The French are quite fond of you," Bill listed. "Oh, and Mr. Ollivander asked about you."

"Mr. Ollivander? The Wand-Seller?" Ron looked to Bill, and he noticed that his brother was also inebriated.

"He asked if your wand was serving you well," Bill smiled at his little brother. _I forgot that the Ollivander Family is part of the Sacred Twenty Eight._

"My wand is perfect for me," Ron stated. "How was your night, Bill? I didn't see much of you."

"I had a good time," Bill shrugged. "I met a rather nice girl tonight, she was from the French Families. Fleur Delacour."

"I know her," Ron nodded. "And?"

"And, nothing," Bill replied. "We talked for a bit… She told me all about her school, and I told her about Hogwarts."

"Wasn't her poor English a problem?" Ron asked.

"Wouldn't know, we spoke in French," Bill replied, and Ron gave Bill a confused look. "Yes, Ron, I speak French."

"Of course you do," Ron smirked. "When did you learn French?"

"Hogwarts," Bill scratched the back of his head. "I had a crush on this girl, and she was from France. I figured that I'd impress her."

"Did it work?" Ron asked.

"She had a boyfriend from Beauxbatons, so no," Bill replied. "I was devastated, but I continued my lessons anyway. Figured that speaking another language would come in handy."

"Daphne wants to teach me," Ron told Bill, who grinned at Ron. "Stop that."

"Learn it, Ron," Bill advised. "You'll need it for your new job."

"That's what she said," Ron looked back ahead. "If I get the time, I'll take some lessons."

A comfortable silence fell between them, and Ron once again began to decipher his latest vision. _A flying shadow, the Rookery is unsafe, the Lovegoods will become targets, and my Godson's name is Lysander. I have to warn Dumbledore about this new form of attack. That was no ordinary Explosive Curse, and why didn't the Wards work? Fuck, I need a sober mind for this sort of thinking. I keep feeling like I didn't see enough._

"Your friends are coming," Bill nudged Ron, who quickly broke out of his thoughts.

Ron noticed that his friends were approaching him and Bill, while the parents were all heading for separate fireplaces. Lord Greengrass didn't look particularly pleased with his daughters, but Ron figured that Mary had told him to not say anything. As Ron looked around, his eyes met Cornelius Nott's. Both wizards just stared at each other, and Ron fought the urge to spit on the ground. _Fucking scum. Going back to your Master, eh?_

"Our parents were not amused," came Theo's voice, and Ron looked away from Cornelius Nott.

"No, they were not," Daphne sighed out, she was holding Astoria's hand. _Tori looks utterly spent, and judging from her drooping head, she's also drunk._

"Where are the other first years?" Ron asked.

"They're on their way," Millie told him, she at least looked a little sober.

"Millie, take everyone into the Headmaster's Office," Ron ordered. "I will wait for the last of the first years, and join you shortly."

"Understood," Millie said, and then she nudged a sleepy Theo towards the green fire.

"Carry me, Goddess," Theo chuckled, and Millie put his arm around her shoulders.

"Let's go," Millie said as they disappeared through the fire.

"Tori, go and wait with Millie," Daphne requested.

"No," Tori refused childishly. "I want to stay with you."

"Daphne, I'll join you in a bit," Ron promised. "Go on, take care of Tori."

Daphne stared at him through droopy eyes, and then she gave him a nod.

"Sanctuary," Daphne said, and both Ron and Bill blinked at her. _Sanctuary? Wait… She wants me to meet her there? And she mentioned it out in the open? Alcohol really is the worst. That was so careless, Daphne._

Daphne then went through the fire alongside Tori, who was now leaning on her big sister.

"Sanctuary?" Bill asked Ron. "What's that mean?"

"I have no fucking idea…" Ron feigned ignorance.

"She's clearly quite drunk," Bill said slowly. "Ron… You should get her to a bed without shenanigans."

"What are you implying?" Ron looked to Bill with an innocent look.

"I'm saying that I know what kids your age get up to when they're drunk," Bill put his hand on Ron's right shoulder. "But a gentleman doesn't take advantage of a drunk girl. Right now, she's got very little inhibitions, but only because she is not in her right mind. The honorable thing to do would be to let her sleep and recover."

"You're right," Ron agreed. _Plus, I don't want her to regret anything tomorrow. If she's sober, and still wants to take things further, then I'll know for sure that it's what she wants._ "I'll get her to bed."

"Good," Bill rubbed Ron's back. "I think I'll head off myself. Mum and dad are still in the Ballroom, no doubt having a chat with Percy. Take care of those first years."

"I will," Ron gave Bill a quick hug. "Take care, big brother. I'll see you soon."

"A hug?" Bill gave Ron a squeeze. "You should get drunk more often." _Wait… Why_ _ **am**_ _I hugging him? Stupid alcohol… Making me act all sappy._

"There's Ron!" came Lysandra's voice, and Ron broke away from Bill.

Lysandra ran up and clung to Ron's left arm, an excited look on her face.

"Let him go," Hestia rolled her eyes, she was helping her sister walk straight.

"Jealous?" Lysandra smirked at the Carrow twins, who were now eyeing Bill.

"I'll be on my way, then," Bill smiled at the first years, and then he left for the Ballroom.

"Your brother?" Flora asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "He's very handsome…" _I know._

"Through the fire," Ron pointed towards the floo. "Go on, I'll join you shortly."

"Come with us?" Lysandra put his left arm against her maturing chest. _What is she doing?_

"Lysandra, behave," Ron patted her head with his gloved hand. "Go on, the other Slytherins are already inside."

"Then who are you waiting for?" Hestia asked. _The old man._

"My brother Percy," Ron lied, and Lysandra pouted as she let go of his arm. "I'll see you tomorrow. Hestia, make sure that all the first… Wait… Where's John?"

"He went home with his Family," Flora told Ron. "His parents are quite the worry-warts."

"Plus, he was acting like a baby," Lysandra giggled. "Turns out, he's never had alcohol before."

"Right…" Ron shook his head. "Hestia, you're in charge of making sure that the first years are in bed by midnight."

"I won't fail you," Hestia said rather formally.

"I won't fail you," Lysandra mimicked Hestia, and then she broke into a giggle. "Hestia, lighten up."

"No," Hestia said bluntly, and then she guided her sister towards the fire. "Let's go, Lysandra. You can flirt with Ron later."

"I don't flirt with Ron," Lysandra lost her amusement, and then she shot Ron an embarrassed look before running after the twins. _Is that why she put my arm against her chest? Did she think that I'd be impressed? Pfft… Has she seen Daphne's tits? Wait, I can't say tits in regards to Daphne. It's disrespectful. So what should I call them? Daphne's mounds? Daphne's knockers? Daphne's Bonbons? Daphne's 'assets'? Eh, I'll just ask her later._

After nearly five minutes of waiting, Ron saw Percy and Dumbledore guiding the remaining Hogwarts students towards him. _Finally, I was getting tired of waiting around. I'm glad that Neville is with them alive and well, I expected his Gran to end him._

"Ronald," Dumbledore smiled at him. "Good of you to open a floo for us."

"I'm a gentleman, aren't I?" Ron grinned, something that Percy didn't like very much.

"Ron, that's the Headmaster you're speaking to," Percy frowned at him. "Getting drunk, and now this… What's the matter with you?"

"We all have our moments," Dumbledore turned his smile towards Percy. "Can I count on you to get everyone to their common rooms, Percy?"

"Yes, Sir," Percy gave a firm nod, his voice turning pompous. _No spine… A shame. Let's just hope that he doesn't let Madam Bones walk all over him._

Ron watched as Dumbledore and Percy led the remaining Hogwarts students through the floo, and once he was all alone, Ron drew in a deep breath to refocus his mind. _Tell Dumbledore about the vision, and then go to the Sanctuary. And… no shenanigans. Don't take advantage of Daphne's drunk state, even if it is tempting._

Ron walked through the green flames, and he found himself standing in the Headmaster's Office. Percy was helping Neville towards the door, while Cedric led the others. _My friends and first years are already gone, and no Luna either._ As for Dumbledore, the old man was watching Ron from his chair with an amused smile. Ron walked up and took his usual seat, and Dumbledore said nothing.

"Ron, let's go," Percy called to him.

"You go on," Ron waved a dismissive hand. "I want to speak to the Headmaster."

"About what?" Percy sounded surprised.

"Be on your way, Percy," Ron shot a quick look back. _Questions. Everyone has so many questions._

"Goodnight, Percy," Dumbledore said, and Percy nodded slowly before leaving.

Once they were alone, Dumbledore silenced the room with a flick of his wand.

"Would you like some tea, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes were twinkling.

"Sure," Ron nodded, his eyes were drooping again.

"You shouldn't dismiss your elders," Dumbledore said as he waved his hand in the direction of his tea set.

"Too out of it to care," Ron mumbled. "Why do people always ask so many unnecessary questions? I mean, I want to talk to you, so what's their issue with it?"

"An irritable drunk," Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm not even surprised."

A cup of tea floated in front of Ron, and he took it carefully. _Let's have a taste._ Ron sipped his bitter tea, and he couldn't help but smile at Dumbledore. _He remembered that I don't take sugar? We've only had tea together once or twice, but he still remembered._

"This is good," Ron said. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore said, and then he took a sip from his own cup. "Now… What can I do for you?"

"I saw the Lovegoods die," Ron replied, and Dumbledore stopped mid-sip. _Too blunt?_

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore put his cup down, his brow furrowed.

"Don't be so alarmed," Ron sniggered, which only alarmed Dumbledore even more. "It was in a vision, Headmaster. If the Entity felt the need to show it to me, then that means that we can change it."

"Still… You are not disturbed?" Dumbledore asked slowly.

"I was at first, but I've seen worse," Ron shrugged. "I once saw Harry's head being crushed by a Mountain Troll's teeth." _I can still remember that 'popping' sound. Yeesh, what a horrible way to die._

"Ronald, what of the Lovegoods?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, sorry," Ron apologized, and then he sat up straighter. "Well, in my vision, Luna was taking care of her little brother, Lysander."

"A boy," Dumbledore whispered to himself.

"My Godson," Ron smiled proudly. _Stay focused._ "Anyway, Pandora called Luna in for lunch, and while they were sitting around the dining table, an Explosive Curse of some sort blew them all to pieces. The whole Rookery was on fire, and the Lovegoods were dead before they even knew it."

"Gods…" Dumbledore closed his eyes. "I am so sorry, dear boy."

"Eh," Ron shrugged again, much to Dumbledore's dismay. "The date was the twentieth of August, 1995. Oh, and before the Explosive Curse hit the Rookery, there was this weird 'whistling' noise. Pandora seemed to recognize it, and she screamed in fear before… Well, before the Rookery was leveled."

"What else?" Dumbledore asked.

"I ran outside to see who had cast it, and I saw this shadow flying through the sky," Ron replied, and something flashed behind the old man's eyes. "You know what it was?"

"It was **him** ," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Lord Voldemort has many powerful abilities, Ronald, and one of them is the ability to fly without a broom. He becomes shadow and mist, and it's nearly impossible to hit him in that form."

"I know he's our enemy, but that's wicked," Ron noted.

"Yes, I suppose," Dumbledore couldn't help but agree. "This Explosive Curse, however, intrigues me far more. You say that the entire Rookery was leveled?"

"Fiery runes," Ron nodded. "Whatever that Spell was, it's immensely powerful. I mean, the Rookery has Protective Wards around it, but they didn't do anything against such a Spell."

"He may have undone them," Dumbledore suggested. "With his skill, he could easily disarm such Wards without anyone being the wiser." Dumbledore then leaned back in his chair, his left hand stroking his beard. "Odd…"

"What's odd?" Ron finished his tea. _Does he have biscuits?_

"The Rookery wasn't under the Fidelius Charm," Dumbledore replied. _Yeah, that is odd._ "I plan to turn all of our houses into safe-houses before the start of next year, and yet, the Rookery was unprotected."

"Maybe the Lovegoods disagreed?" Ron suggested.

"No, I don't plan to give them a choice," Dumbledore told Ron, who frowned a little. "It's for their own safety, my boy."

"I understand," Ron shook his head clear. "Ignore me, I feel like I'm floating around." _I can't even think straight._ "Wait… If the Rookery was under the Fidelius Charm, but the Dark Lord still found it, doesn't that mean that someone told him?"

"A traitorous Secret-Keeper, just like Peter Pettigrew," Dumbledore matched Ron's gaze.

"Fuck."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, his voice was far too calm. _Hold on, I just thought of a plan._

"Let's not do anything about this," Ron said, his mind going into overdrive.

"Pardon?"

"Let's not do anything to change what I saw," Ron suggested. "At least until the Lovegoods pick their own Secret-Keeper."

"Who could potentially betray them," Dumbledore realized what Ron's plan was. "If we don't say anything, we might be able to find this traitor."

"Or know who **could** betray the Order eventually," Ron said. "The destruction of the Rookery won't happen until 1995, so we have time to change the Future. Finding a potential mole on top is just perfect."

"Very well, that is what we will do," Dumbledore agreed. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ronald."

"Hey, we're a team, right?" Ron smiled as he stood up. "Good luck in your meeting with the French tomorrow."

"And good luck in your meeting with Priscilla," Dumbledore smiled back. "Use my name if you deem it necessary, we must get those children off the streets."

"My thoughts exactly," Ron nodded, and then he walked over to the exit. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, my boy," Dumbledore said back, he was quite saddened to see just how easy seeing death was for Ron.

Ron made his way down the spiral staircase, and then past the Stone Gargoyle. Once he was sure that he was alone, he headed for Sanctuary. A small part of him was still thinking about his vision, but as he neared the hidden room, his thoughts were quickly focused on Daphne. _She will probably try something, but I need to refuse. I'll tell her why, and then I'll put her to bed. Ugh! I wanted to have fun… But Bill is right. It's the honorable thing to do._

Ron paced in front of the hidden entrance, and once it showed itself to Ron, he quickly made his way inside. Once the door was sealed shut, Ron looked around the Sanctuary for his drunk girlfriend. _Where is she?_ Ron moved further into the room, and that's when he spotted her on the bed. She was curled up under the blanket, and her fur Stole Wrap was discarded on the floor by the bed. _Well… She just made my job so much easier._

Ron pushed his shoes off, and then he took off his coat and tie. _I'll sleep on the couch, just to make sure that she doesn't wake up._ After he pulled his black dress-shirt out of his dress-pants, Ron picked up Daphne's discarded Stole Wrap. _This looks really expensive, and she just threw it aside like it was nothing. I'll put it on a chair._

As he began folding the Stole Wrap, he heard the chiming sound of glass vials striking each other, and so he looked investigated the Stole Wrap. Much to his amazement, there was a pocket lined on the underside of the Stole Wrap. _Best not pry. It could have personal things inside._ Ron finished folding the Stole Wrap, and when he turned to leave, he heard Daphne shuffling in the bed.

"Ron? You're here," she sat up on her elbows, her shoulders bare.

Ron turned around with a droopy smile, and his eyes were immediately fixed on Daphne's chest. _I can see the top half of her Bonbons!_

"Outstanding," Ron grinned, his eyes unwavering.

"You really love my chest, don't you?" Daphne couldn't help but laugh at his comical grin. "What are you doing?"

"I just figured that I'd sleep on the couch," Ron shrugged. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"Don't be silly, come here," Daphne patted the bed.

"Let me put these away," Ron gestured to the clothes in his arms.

"Oh, be careful with the Stole Wrap," Daphne said, and Ron held back a snigger. _You mean the one you threw on the floor?_ "It's got your Potions inside, and if they break, they'll ruin the fur."

"My Potions?" Ron asked, so it wasn't girl stuff.

"A vial of Calming Draught, a vial of Nutrition Potion, and a vial of Anti-Nausea Potion," Daphne listed, and then she fell back on the bed.

Ron already knew that she tended to carry his Potions around everywhere, but he was still incredibly touched by her gesture. _You're smiling like an idiot, Ron. Put away the clothes._ Ron walked over to the chairs, planted the clothes carefully, and then walked back to the bed.

"You'll ruin your shirt if you sleep in it," Daphne said. "You should take it off… You know, for the sake of the shirt."

"That was not even a little subtle," Ron started laughing, and Daphne joined in simply because she liked his laugh. "At least Pansy comes up with clever little schemes to see me shirtless, you just outright asked."

"I'm your girlfriend, so I have that power," Daphne giggled from the bed. "So? Will you do it?"

Ron thought about it, and he honestly couldn't decide. _If I was sober, I'd say no on principle, but right now, I don't care as much. She's asking to see me shirtless, and I can't help but think that she doesn't care about-_

"You don't have to," Daphne interrupted his thoughts. "I don't want to force you, that is. I… I just want you to know that I don't care about the scars, but I don't know how to prove it to you… I keep saying that I don't care, but I don't think you believe me." _I don't, but that's my problem._

Ron shuffled his feet for a moment, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Fuck it, she'll see me shirtless eventually, might as well be tonight._ Ron began opening his buttons, and Daphne sat up to attention far too quickly for Ron's liking. Once the buttons were open, Ron took off his shirt and tossed it on the bed.

"Well?" Ron mumbled, his nervous eyes moving about the room. _Should I tense? No, that'd be stupid… Don't be stupid. Wait… Just tense a little in order to look more defined. I still want her to like how I look._ "Daphne?"

"Huh?" Daphne looked up at his face for a moment, and then she looked right back to his torso.

Ron just stood there for a few moments, he felt naked under her gaze. _You are naked, you moron. Well, half-naked, at least._

"Ron, come and stand by the bed," Daphne said as she moved and sat on the bed's edge.

"You want me to stand in front of you?" Ron asked, finally looking at her. _She has a greedy look on her face, and her eyes are fixed on my stomach. Does she like them?_

"Please?" Daphne asked sweetly, and Ron decided to do as he was told.

The moment he stopped in front of her, she poked one of his abs. Ron tensed for a second, but when she began giggling in excitement, he felt his muscles relax completely. _She hasn't mentioned even a single scar. Yet._

"They look… scary," Daphne smiled up at Ron, and then she poked him again. "Are they meant to be so tense? You're not nervous, are you?"

"I'm not nervous," Ron lied almost immediately, and she smiled more widely. "Fine, I'm a little nervous…"

"Don't be," Daphne all but whispered, she couldn't take her eyes off him.

Ron suddenly felt her finger on his stomach, and it began following the outlines of his abdomen muscles. Ron fought the urge to laugh because of how ticklish it was, but at the same time, it was rather arousing as well. _Her finger just went over the scar on my torso, and she didn't stop._ After a few seconds, Ron could feel her breath on his stomach.

"Daphne, you're falling forward," Ron said, and she shook her head.

"I want a better look," Daphne told him, clearly too occupied with her staring.

"Oh, okay…" Ron said dumbly. _Guess I'll just stand here, then._

"Your top two are bigger than the lower four, but not by much," Daphne pointed out, she sounded rather breathless. "Your V-cut isn't as prominent as I imagined, but it's still so appealing to look at." _Appealing? Yes! That's a win for Ronald Weasley!_

"My what?" Ron asked.

"This," Daphne whispered, her nails lightly grazing the lower part of his torso. _Merlin… That feels a little too good._ "I've seen toned wizards in Witch Weekly, but this is so much better. I can actually touch you."

Daphne then pressed her face against his stomach, something that was quite alarming to Ron. _She's being a little weird right now._ Slowly, but surely, her arms wrapped themselves around his lower back, and she planted a wet kiss on one of his abs. Ron tensed, and his stomach began doing flips. _That feels really nice._

"Can you do that again?" Ron managed to ask, and she kissed a different ab. "So I lived up to your expectations?"

"More than," Daphne replied, and then she continued giving him kisses.

Ron felt shivers run through him, and he found that his toes were curling.

"Daph, I think that's enough," Ron said, his lower half was waking up.

"Why?" Daphne looked up. "You don't like it?"

"I think I like it too much," Ron replied weakly.

Daphne looked straight at his crotch, and Ron frowned a little.

"Ahem," Ron 'coughed', and Daphne let go of him with a smirk.

Ron quickly stepped back, and then he reached for his shirt. As soon as he grabbed it, he began putting it on, and Daphne stood up to stop him.

"Don't hide them," Daphne said rather urgently.

"I don't think we should be doing this sort of stuff when we're drunk," Ron responded. "We should do it sober first, at least."

"What? Why?" Daphne asked.

"It doesn't feel right to me," Ron shrugged as he fixed up his buttons. "Sorry, Daph…"

Daphne stared at him for a few seconds, and then her body relaxed completely. _Her dress is wrinkled._

"No, you're right," Daphne sighed. "It's not proper…"

"Exactly," Ron nodded. "Let's just go to sleep, alright?"

"Together?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ron said, and they both moved into the bed.

"Can we also cuddle?" Daphne grinned, she was clearly enjoying this.

"No mischief," Ron said, but Daphne was already clinging to him before he finished. "Goodnight, Daphne."

"G'night, Ron," Daphne whispered against his neck.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Daphne…" Ron groaned, and she stopped sucking on his neck.

"You're awake?" Daphne smiled against his skin.

"Yes…" Ron breathed out. _I just didn't say anything because it felt so good._ "What happened to 'No mischief'?"

"We've given each other love bites before," Daphne reminded him. "I agree that we shouldn't do anything too inappropriate, but love bites are alright, aren't they?" _Her words are all slurred, she's clearly more intoxicated than I am._

"Just love bites… Promise?" Ron couldn't resist.

"Move closer," Daphne scooted into him, and Ron wrapped his arms around her.

Daphne returned to her previous activity with renewed vigor, and Ron tightened his hold on her. _Just love bites, Ron. Don't do something that she'll regret tomorrow. Daphne cares_ _ **a**_ _ **lot**_ _about her image, and that includes her honor as an Heiress of a prominent Family. She's just too drunk, and excited, to care about anything right now, so you should be the responsible one._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Near Midday)**_

"Keep going, Ronald," Madam Roberts encouraged, and Ron let out a loud roar as he kept pulling the thick block of wood behind him.

The rope dug into his bare hands, and Ron felt his eyes sting terribly. _Keep moving! Don't be a bitch!_ Ron took another step, and then another, and then another… He could feel sweat rolling down his back and front, and his eyes were bulging out of his skull due to the force he was exerting. The pain in his lower back overwhelmed his senses, and he could feel his exhausted lungs hitting his ribcage.

"I… I can't…" Ron grit out, and then he let go of the rope.

Without another word, Ron fell forward into the sand, his blood rushing into his brain. _Three hundred and fifty pounds… That's too much. Not to mention that I've used Cutis Terra for well over twenty seconds, which is my limit._

Madam Roberts had decided that she wanted to test out Ron's strength, and she had encouraged the use of the Spell which had helped him overcome the P-Twelve Dummy. Ron knew that she was trying to figure out his limits, but right now, he didn't care. He was in genuine pain, and no matter how much he wanted to impress her, he couldn't go on.

"Three hundred and fifty pounds," Madam Roberts smiled genuinely, her amber eyes gleaming. "That's twenty five stones. This Spell, Ronald… It is unlike anything that I've ever witnessed."

"My… My bones hurt…" Ron groaned, and Madam Roberts lost her excitement immediately.

Within a heartbeat, she was by his side.

"Let me see," she said as she pulled back his left sleeve, and much to her horror, she could see bruises all over the boy's arm. "Your entire body?"

"Probably," Ron grit out, his tired form becoming limp. "I'll just stay here, I reckon…"

"Let's get you fixed up," Madam Roberts drew her wand, and then she began muttering incantations under her breath as she moved her wand over his left arm.

A cool feeling began washing over his arm, and Ron drew in a calming breath as the pain began to subside. _I just dragged three hundred and fifty pounds around the sandpit. If I can learn to hold this Spell for longer, I could easily win the Dueling Tournaments at Hogwarts._

"Your Non-Verbal stunners and Disarming Charms aren't too bad," Madam Roberts said, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "The only issue is that they could easily be dismantled by other people's Spells."

"Dismantled?" Ron asked.

"What is Magic, Ronald?" Madam Roberts asked.

"You told me that it was raw energy," Ron replied.

"Exactly," she gave a nod, her main focus was still on healing him. "Energy cannot be destroyed, but it can be transferred. If the energy of someone else's Spell is greater, then that Spell will 'Dismantle' yours, and become stronger for it as it absorbs the residual energy floating about." _Oh…_

"I actually read about that a long time ago," Ron remembered the Dark Tome. "You can use Curses to break other people's Spells if you aim them right."

"Not just Curses," Madam Roberts corrected him. "Curses are usually used because they require greater amounts of Magic, or energy, to cast, hence they are ideal for this technique. But, I could easily use a Disarming Charm to dismantle your Curses."

"How?" Ron asked immediately.

"My body is hardened by years of Spell casting experience," Madam Roberts replied. "As the Magic travels from my Magical Core to my wand, none of that Magic is lost on the way. My Spells are, in essence, 'Pure'. Now, a young man like yourself, despite your fitness, isn't as accustomed to casting Spells as I am. That gives me a distinct advantage over you."

"How do I overcome something like experience?" Ron sighed out.

"This Spell of yours… Cutis Terra," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron blinked up at her. "I have a theory that I wish to try out, Ronald."

"I'm listening," Ron said.

"This Spell doesn't just give you enhanced strength," Madam Roberts started. "I think that it makes your muscles denser, and your bones sturdier. On the outside, you can't see much of a difference, but on the inside, I imagine that your anatomy is changed dramatically."

"Whenever I use it, it feels like my muscles are incased in stone," Ron told her, and she smirked a little.

"That all but confirms that this Spell makes your muscles denser," Madam Roberts said. "I believe that with this Spell active, your Spell casting will be much stronger than even mine."

"But only for about twenty seconds…" Ron said slowly, why hadn't he thought of this? _Because I'm not a Dueling genius like Madam Roberts._ "So having denser muscles is good for Spell casting?"

"The stronger the body, the stronger the Magic," Madam Roberts said. "Why do you think that we wizards are naturally more resilient than the Muggles? Our use of Magic strengthens our bodies, and therefore, we are sturdier and live longer." Madam Roberts then began healing Ron's legs. "Once you have recovered, use Cutis Terra before casting a normal Spell. I want you to explore this Spell, Ronald, because I believe that we have found your Signature Spell."

"Signature Spell?" Ron smiled, he liked the sound of that.

"Signature Spells are Spells that a wizard completely Masters," Madam Roberts told him. "They are the wizard's bread and butter, basically."

"What's your Signature Spell?" Ron asked.

"Maybe one day, I'll show you," Madam Roberts shot him a smirk.

"Very mysterious," Ron snorted. "I look forward to seeing it." _My Signature Spell… Once I've recovered, I'll try out her theory. Maybe I'll even be able to cast Wandless Baubillious without cooking myself?_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Prewett Estate – Before Lunch)**_

He still had time to spare before he had to meet Priscilla, and it was all thanks to Madam Roberts cutting the lesson short. Ron was too exhausted to go on, and she was in a decent enough mood to let him go without calling him out on his weakness.

So instead of waiting about at The Leaky Cauldron, Ron had decided to utilize his free time. His chat with Aunt Muriel was still floating around in the back of his mind ever since their meeting, and Ron had decided to make an ally out of her in person. She was, after all, Family, and therefore, she deserved something more personal than a formal letter.

As Ron stepped out of the fireplace, he found himself standing within the Prewett Estate Greeting Room. Unlike other Pure-Blood homes, the Burrow not counting, Prewett Estate was no mansion of wealth. It was more like a well-furnished, and slightly large, house. The Greeting Room itself only had two fireplaces, but the Ebony wood used for the walls and floor gave the room a regal enough look. _I would describe this as more 'cozy' than 'luxurious'._

Ron had only been here once in his life, and that had been years ago. _I remember how annoyed Ginny and I were with Aunt Muriel's wealth, and the fact that she never gave any of it to mum and dad. Merlin, we were so stupid back then. Handing mum and dad money wouldn't solve anything, especially because they pride themselves on their lack of wealth._

Ron moved through the Estate, his eyes taking in all the sights. Portraits of various Prewetts hung on the polished wooden walls, and Ron smiled when he saw a portrait of his mother. She was sitting in the middle of her brothers, who were both grinning widely. _Uncles Fabian and Gideon… Killed by Antonin Dolohov._ Ron stopped in front of the portrait, his eyes scanning their happy faces. _Mum never talks about them._ _ **Never**_ _._

"Pardon me, Sir?" came a shy voice from behind him, and Ron turned around to see a shorter than usual Elf staring up at him. "Is… Is that you, Master Ronald?" _Huh?_

"Do I know you?" Ron asked the Elf, who was now smiling up at him.

"This one is called Mimsy," the Elf bowed. "Master Ronald does not remember Mimsy?"

"Um… Sorry, I don't," Ron looked the Elf over. _She's quite small, even for an Elf._ "When did we meet?"

"Master Ronald was very little, then," Mimsy smiled more widely. "Mimsy had to prepare extra food for Master Ronald, Mimsy remembers."

"Oh," Ron nodded slowly, and then he smiled at the Elf. "I'm sure that I didn't thank you back then, so let me do it now. Thank you, Mimsy."

"Think nothing of it, Master Ronald," Mimsy beamed. "Master Ronald is so tall now… Mimsy can hardly believe her eyes. Mistress is right, the Weasley **do** grow very quickly." _Almost as fast as we breed, if I recall correctly._

"Is my Great Aunt here?" Ron asked, and Mimsy nodded fervently.

"Mistress is in her room," Mimsy told Ron. "Mimsy will take Master Ronald to the Living Room, where Mistress may join him."

With that, the Elf grabbed Ron's left hand and began pulling him along. For a moment, Ron was quite surprised that an Elf would put their hands on a wizard so openly, but personally, he didn't really mind. This Elf clearly knew him, even if he didn't remember her, and her excitement at seeing him was a little jarring. _I've only been here once, and yet, she remembers me clearly. Odd._

"Mistress will be so pleased," Mimsy shot a smile back at Ron, who cocked an eyebrow. "It has been years since her Family visited her. Mistress will be so pleased!" _I rather doubt that._

"Wait… Years?" Ron asked. "Surely my mother would have visited?"

"Only letters at Christmas…" Mimsy said a little sadly, her smile faltering. "Mistress does not get many visitors." _I see._ "Master Ronald scared Mimsy, truth be told. Mimsy mistook Master Ronald for a burglar."

"Really?" Ron couldn't help but chuckle.

"A thousand apologies, Master Ronald, but it is true," Mimsy admitted. "Mimsy nearly stunned Master Ronald."

"Well, thank you for holding back," Ron said. "And it's alright, your duty is to protect this Estate."

"In here," Mimsy led Ron into the Living Room, which matched the rest of the Estate. _Cozy, but also quite regal. Not grand, nor pompous. I like this Estate. If I ever build myself a home, I'll fashion it after this place._ "Please, Master Ronald, make yourself at home. Mimsy will fetch Mistress."

Without another word, the Elf cracked out of the room. Ron decided to take a seat near the large fireplace, his eyes fixed on the Prewett Coat-of-Arms, which hung above the fireplace. _A snarling, red Lion, shielded by three wands on either side. I wonder what the Weasley Coat-of-Arms is._ As time went on, Ron found himself shifting around in his seat. His muscles were aching slightly, and Ron knew it was because he had gone overboard with his 'Signature Spell'. _Even though Madam Roberts healed me, I still feel so… drained._

"So Mimsy hasn't lost her mind after all," came Muriel's voice, and Ron stood up to greet her. "A Weasley in my house, and he's here without an invitation." _So much for being pleased. She looks quite annoyed with the intrusion._

"I decided that making an alliance with you in person was more fitting," Ron said, and she took a seat opposite to him.

"Sit back down, boy," Muriel waved a dismissive hand. "Save your 'manners' for someone who doesn't know you."

"Trust me, you don't know me," Ron sat back down. "I mean, I haven't seen you for a very long time."

"I know," Muriel sneered a little. "You lot only seem to remember me when you need something. Must be a Weasley trait." _Right… She's just going to talk down to me if I let her. Fuck that._

"It was you who left, Aunt Muriel, not us," Ron reminded her. "Sure, the twins were right bastards for that prank, but **you** chose to leave. Don't play the victim with me, especially when you could have done better."

Muriel blinked at him, but Ron just kept his polite smile in place.

"Perhaps I was mistaken… You are not the idiot boy I remember," Muriel leaned back in her chair. "Mimsy!"

"Mistress called?" the Elf said as soon as she cracked into the room.

"Bring refreshments," Muriel ordered, her eyes looking Ron over.

The Elf bowed deeply, and then she Disapparated.

"So…" Muriel cocked an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" Ron repeated her question. "Nothing… I just grew up."

"I don't believe that," Muriel frowned. "You were the least of your siblings the last time I stepped into that shed that your Family calls a home."

Ron felt his gut twist at her words, but he said nothing. _The least of my siblings… She just hit a nerve, and she knows it._ Ron went to reply, but Mimsy suddenly appeared with a tray of biscuits and tea.

"Does Master Ronald take sugar?" Mimsy asked excitedly.

"No sugar," Ron replied, and Mimsy poured him a cup of tea with a snap of her fingers.

"We can sort ourselves out," Muriel told the Elf, and Mimsy left after giving Ron a bright smile. _I like this Elf, she's quite welcoming._ "Forgive my Elf… She is far too familiar with you."

"I don't mind," Ron assured her, and then he took a sip of his tea.

"You take your tea without sugar," Muriel cocked an eyebrow. "I can then assume that you no longer stuff your face with cakes at any given opportunity?" _She's just insulting me._

"I limit my sugar intake," Ron replied politely, he had acquired thicker skin over the last two years. "Now… About our alliance-"

"Yes, yes… You will have my backing," Muriel rolled her eyes. "Your mother is a Prewett, so I am honor-bound to help her children, even if she keeps refusing me out of misplaced pride."

"Misplaced pride?"

"Your mother is a foolish girl, and always has been," Muriel frowned once again. _Don't punch her in the head, Ron._

"Do not insult my mother," Ron warned, his expression darkening. _Treat me like shite all you want, but don't bring my parents into this._

"I am not insulting her, boy," Muriel met his gaze. "I am merely stating a fact. Your mother constantly neglected her duties as a Prewett, and once she tethered herself to your foolish father, she all but turned her back on her **actual** Family. I personally wasn't surprised, as she had always looked down her nose at the rest of us. In her eyes, we were all arrogant 'bigots' for following the Old Ways." Muriel then smiled a nasty smile. "But Magic has a way of balancing the scales. For her foolishness, Magic gave her a son who clearly values the Old Ways."

"I value merit," Ron said, his tone emotionless. "I can't deny that without the Old Families, Magical Britain wouldn't even exist. But at the same time, I understand that the Old Ways need… polishing."

"Polishing?" Muriel demanded.

"What do you think of Squibs, Aunt Muriel?" Ron asked, and her face twisted in disgust. _That's just cruel._ "You hate them…"

"They are a badge of shame for each Old Family," Muriel sneered. "Better to be dead than to be a Squib." _How can someone be this bitter? These Old Families, they_ _ **all**_ _hate anyone who is different from them. Even dad dislikes Squibs for no clear reason._

"You don't feel any sympathy for them? Not even a little bit?" Ron asked.

"No."

"I can't have that," Ron shook his head. "The Old Ways are exclusive by nature, and although that was necessary when they were first put into practice, the World has come a long way since then. The World is more… connected… now."

"You mean diluted," Muriel stated, and Ron shrugged. _I forgot that she doesn't like Muggles, or Muggle-Borns._

"It is what it is," Ron said. "The Old Ways should be respected, but not more than someone's life. I assure you, Squibs are more like us than you think. They breathe air, they enjoy good food, they feel pain as we do, and they are drawn to Magic."

"But Magic is not drawn to them," Muriel interjected. "They are not like us, boy. Magic is the most Sacred power in this World, and it denies the Squibs."

"You're wrong," Ron leaned forward, his cold gaze piercing through Muriel. " **Nothing** is Sacred…"

"Nothing?" Muriel blinked, she was visibly taken aback.

"There are only consequences, Aunt Muriel," Ron said. "There is no Divinity behind Magic, not as far as I'm concerned. To me, it's just… there. I don't care about where it came from, or why we humans can use it in the first place. I care about people… **All** people. Why should someone be made to suffer for just being born? Why should a group of suffering people be neglected by their neighbors due to events out of their control?"

"Neglected?" Muriel suddenly smirked. "I see that 'little Ronnie' is still there. The neglected sixth son, who wore old clothes while his siblings dressed properly."

"Little Ronnie accepted the World for what it was," Ron said, his blood boiling for a moment. "I don't."

"So you have a vision for the Future?" Muriel asked. " **You** alone will revolutionize the Wizarding World?"

"No, I don't have that much time," Ron shook his head. "But I will employ methods used by the Old Families to make a **better** World."

"And how will you do that?" Aunt Muriel asked, she didn't agree with his words, but his spirit couldn't be denied.

"By culling those I deem to be unworthy of life," Ron stated bluntly, and the room was filled with an unnerving silence. _What? Nothing to say to that? No more bile to spew in my direction?_

Muriel just stared at Ron, she clearly hadn't expected such a morbid response to her enquiry.

"I'm just joking," Ron suddenly smiled, but Muriel kept staring at him. "Your alliance, and friendship, are greatly appreciated, Auntie." Ron then stood up. "You must come over for Christmas! My mother would love to have you over again!"

"I will not step back into-"

"I insist," Ron took a step forward, his figure looming over her. "We are Family, are we not? You belong with your Family, Auntie, especially in these dark times." _Don't force me to make you accept._

"I see," Muriel said, her eyes fixed on his. "I accept."

"Good," Ron's lips twitched upwards, while his eyes remained unmoving. "I am told that people from all backgrounds are coming over to the Burrow for Christmas, so you'll be welcoming, won't you? You won't sneer at the Muggle-Borns? Or avoid my Slytherin friends?"

"Do Molly and Arthur know that their son is a monster?" Muriel asked. _A monster?_

"Nope," Ron smirked. "Don't ever insult them again. At least, not near me. Have a good day."

With that, Ron left the Living Room. _Bitter old bat. She can't go five minutes without insulting someone. But… She_ _ **is**_ _Family, and she isn't as bad as people like Lucius Malfoy. We're natural allies, but that doesn't mean that we have to like each other._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Afternoon)**_

Ron had rented a room for the afternoon, and then asked Tom the Bartender to send Priscilla up so they could speak in private. She had yet to arrive, and since she was late, Ron found himself pacing the room. He himself didn't know why he was so driven to save Priscilla, or her friends… All he knew was that these children had no one, and when the war began in earnest, they'd be hunted down because of their Squib status.

Maybe he just wanted to deny the Dark Lord the satisfaction, or maybe he was a good person who didn't want to see other children suffer. _I don't know anymore. The more time goes on, the more I'm plagued with self-doubt. What is it that I really want? I'm clearly not a good person, even I can tell that much. Good people don't want to cause pain to others, no matter how corrupt those people are. Plus, my own Family dislike me in general, so I'm clearly doing something wrong. Ugh… I miss when life was simple._

The door suddenly creaked open, and Ron turned to face it with perfect posture. Much to his relief, Priscilla slowly stepped into the room, followed by a boy who was around his age. _Except he's quite short, and skinny. He looks malnourished, even._

"Priscilla, I was getting worried," Ron smiled genuinely, and she managed a weak smile in return.

"I wasn't sure if I should come," Priscilla admitted as she stepped further into the room, her friend sticking close to her heels. _He's frowning at me._

"So this is **him**?" the boy looked Ron over. "He doesn't look any different from us." _What? You think I'm not human?_

"Tiberius, don't," Priscilla shushed him, which only seemed to anger the boy. "Sorry about him, Ronald, he isn't so sure about all of this. Actually… Neither am I."

"I understand," Ron nodded. "I'm a stranger, and you have no way of knowing if my intentions are pure."

"Exactly," Tiberius said as he looked to Priscilla. "Look at his clothes, sis… His shoes probably cost more than what you made in a month."

"Enough, Tiberius," Priscilla frowned at him, and he closed his mouth. "You're being unreasonable… And cruel."

"I… Sorry," Tiberius looked down at his feet, while Ron just watched them quietly.

"So…" Priscilla looked to Ron, and he honestly couldn't read her expression. "What have you come up with?"

"I spoke with Albus Dumbledore, and he has agreed to work with me," Ron said right out of the gate, and judging by their slack-jawed expressions, Ron had made the right call. "He has already found a location for you all to settle on, and with his help, you'll be well looked after."

"Albus Dumbledore wants to help us?" Tiberius muttered. " **The** Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes," Ron smiled at him.

"Why?" Tiberius asked right afterwards, his genuine confusion jarred Ron a little. "We're just Squibs… Doesn't he have better things to do?"

"You're human beings," Ron replied. "The Headmaster is a good man, and as soon as I approached him about all of this, he promised to help me. One day, you'll no doubt meet him in person, and he'll do a better job at explaining his intentions than I can."

"We'll meet **him**?" Priscilla blinked.

"If you want to," Ron replied. "Tonight, he'll be showing me the house where you will all be staying."

"A house?" Priscilla asked slowly, she genuinely didn't know what to say, or think.

"I figured that you all wanted to stay together," Ron looked between Priscilla and Tiberius, both of whom nodded dumbly. "I was thinking that you would all stay together in a massive house, which would have all the protections that you could ask for. I was also thinking of hiring a House-Elf to look after you all."

"A servant? For **us**?" Tiberius' mouth hung open.

"A caretaker," Ron corrected. "The Elf would cook your meals, teach the young ones how to read and write, and keep the house in an orderly fashion. Furthermore, I'm thinking of opening a Gringotts Vault in your name, Priscilla. I'll put some money in it, and since your new home has a fireplace, you can floo to Gringotts if you ever need to make a withdrawal."

"Just… Slow down… Please," Priscilla said, and Ron stopped talking. "Tiberius… Can you go outside for a minute?" _What's wrong?_

"What? I can't leave you in here with him," Tiberius broke out of his stupor.

"I can take care of myself," Priscilla told him, and after staring at her for a few moments, Tiberius relented.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as soon as Tiberius shut the door behind himself.

"Why are you doing this?" Priscilla asked, she sounded almost suspicious. "I want a genuine answer this time. What do you get out of this?"

"I already told you," Ron shrugged. "I get to go to sleep knowing that I did some good."

"And that's enough for you?" Priscilla asked with narrowed eyes. "You won't ask me to sleep with you once I'm in your debt?"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked, he hadn't seen that coming. "I have a girlfriend!"

This time, it was Priscilla who was taken aback by Ron's genuinely childish claim.

"I'd never do that, I swear," Ron went on. "That's not me at all! I love my girlfriend!"

"Alright… Sorry," Priscilla raised her hands in surrender. "I wasn't trying to…" Priscilla rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Sorry." _What a weird thing to accuse me of…_

"Look, I'm just trying to help you," Ron drew in a deep breath. "I get that you're wary of strangers, I am too, but I'm being honest with you. I don't plan to exploit any of you, and if you want, I'll never visit or intrude in your lives."

"But you'll still send us money?" Priscilla asked slowly, what was wrong with this kid?

"I'll give you the Vault Key for withdrawals, and make monthly payments to it myself," Ron promised.

"Don't you need money too?" Priscilla asked. "I know that you're famous, but Victor told me that your Family is really poor… That's why I just can't believe this… It feels too good to be true."

"The bulk of the money is coming from the Headmaster," Ron told her, and she nodded slowly. "The property is in his name, and he will make sure to renovate it for you guys. As for the money that I'm providing, it'll come from my two jobs. I'm a student at Hogwarts, so I don't have daily living expenses. The Vault that I'll open in your name will have one hundred Galleons inside it at all times."

"One hundred?!" Priscilla gawked.

"There's a lot of you, right?" Ron asked, and she nodded slowly. "You'll need new clothes, toys, food, personal items for hygiene, and a lot of other things. That's what that money will be for. I'm not offering you a life of luxury, but I promise that you'll want for nothing essential. You'll be safe, and you'll have another chance at life. Now you might not trust me, but you know that you can trust Albus Dumbledore."

"Albus Dumbledore himself is trying to help us…" Priscilla muttered under her breadth, she had a look of utter disbelief on her face. "And **you** managed to convince him?"

"Like I said, he agreed instantly," Ron couldn't help but feel proud of his Headmaster. "That's just the sort of person he is."

"This house that you have planned… How long will it take to finish?" Priscilla asked, doing her best to not sound ungrateful.

"You'll be living there before Christmas," Ron promised.

"That soon?" she gasped.

"The Headmaster and I are treating this as our priority," Ron assured her. "We won't let you down, I swear it. Now… I need to ask you some questions."

"Questions?" Priscilla asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Afternoon)**_

As soon as Tracey entered the room, Daphne closed and locked the door.

"Uh oh," Tracey pulled a face, while Daphne began pacing. "So you really are panicking about something? Well, what is it?" _I can't hold it in anymore, I'll go crazy!_

"It's about me and Ron," Daphne replied quickly, she was reaching her wits end. "I think we took things too far last night…"

"Too far?" Tracey asked, Daphne's tone had knocked the wind out of her sails.

"I woke up in bed this morning…" Daphne felt her eyes sting. "And… And my dress was gone…"

"Oh…" Tracey went wide-eyed, and Daphne once again felt the need to hit herself. _What did we do?! I can't remember anything!_

"Tracey, I remember him taking his shirt off, but nothing after that…" Daphne went on, her pacing becoming quicker. "He didn't want to, but I urged him to."

"Urged?"

"I was drunk!" Daphne defended herself, and Tracey raised her hands in surrender.

"Calm down, and let's just talk this through," Tracey walked up and stopped Daphne from pacing. "C'mon, sit with me."

Daphne let Tracey pull her down onto her bed, and she felt a little better when Tracey put her arm around her. _I can't tell the others… What will they think of me?_

"Alright, start from the beginning," Tracey said gently, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"We got drunk… All of us, that is," Daphne sniffled. "After that, it's all a blur. I asked him to join me in Sanctuary, but when he finally showed up, he wanted to sleep on the couch."

"Why?" Tracey asked.

"I think he was uncomfortable with us doing sexual things when we were drunk…" Daphne said shamefully. "But I kept badgering him…"

"Daph…" Tracey sighed out, and Daphne felt twice as miserable.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Daphne cleaned her runny nose with her sleeve. "I think we did something really… immoral…"

"You were completely naked this morning?" Tracey asked with a serious expression.

"No… I had my panties on," Daphne hiccupped. "But I had love bites on my neck and shoulders."

"So you didn't have sex, at least," Tracey relaxed a little, some of Daphne's panic had washed over her. "Maybe you two just did hand stuff?"

"Hand stuff? You think I helped him ejaculate?" Daphne asked, and Tracey grimaced at her last word. _We passed a milestone, and I don't even remember it?_

"I don't want to pry, but have you two done that before?" Tracey asked slowly.

"No!" Daphne denied immediately. "We kiss, and he's touched my chest once… But that's it."

"You really can't remember **anything**?" Tracey asked.

"I remember him taking his shirt off, but even that's hazy," Daphne finished with another hiccup. "I'm losing my mind here, Trace… What if we crossed a line? He was definitely reluctant, but I kept persisting. I kept justifying things to myself, and I couldn't behave."

"I think you should talk to Ron about this," Tracey suggested. "He might remember what happened."

"I just feel really…" Daphne hiccupped. "Foolish…"

"If it was just hand stuff, does that really bother you?" Tracey asked gently, and Daphne blinked at her. "I mean, people our age tend to do worse. You've heard the rumors, right?"

"I've thought about it, of course, and although I'd like to try, I'd also like to remember it," Daphne said rather quickly. "But I woke up naked, and I don't remember a thing… I've shamed myself…"

"No… No, you haven't," Tracey gave Daphne a squeeze. "Just talk-"

"There was a knock on the door, and both girls went dead silent. _Pansy? Or Millie?_

"Daph, you in there?" came Ron's excited voice. _He's back?!_ "I was thinking that we'd go for a walk by the Lake? Do you have some time to spare?"

"Talk to him," Tracey whispered, and then she stood up and walked over to the door.

As soon as she pulled it open, Ron stepped in with a happy smile on his face. _Why is he so happy? We must've done something really sexual, I just know it…_

"Hello," Ron greeted in his usual, cute monotone way. "Daph, there you…" he trailed off when he saw her. "What's wrong, Daphne? Why are you crying?"

"Can we talk, Ron?" Daphne sniffled, and he nodded slowly.

Tracey slipped out of the room, and Ron quickly shut it behind him.

"What's wrong? Did someone do something to make you cry?" Ron walked up and crouched in front of her, his expression stern.

"No, Ron…" Daphne replied. "About last night-"

"Oh…" Ron muttered, a slightly guilty look crossing his features. _He remembers?_ "Daph, I'm really sorry for losing my temper like that… I honestly didn't try to be so loud, but I just panicked…" _Panicked?_

"What?" Daphne blinked repeatedly, and Ron just stared at her. "Ron, I don't remember anything from last night… That's why I'm crying…"

"So you don't remember our argument?" Ron asked slowly.

"We argued?" Daphne asked, and for some reason, she felt relieved to hear that. _But why did I wake up naked, and covered in love-bites?_

"Kind off," Ron sighed, and then he reached forward and took her hands into his. "Do you remember us snogging in the bed?"

"No," Daphne replied.

"Well, we were snogging, and we gave each other some love bites," Ron started. "And then… Um… You sort of asked me to take off my trousers…"

"I did?" Daphne paled. _Daphne, you damn slag. You've shamed yourself, haven't you?_

"You said that I was poking your stomach, and that you wanted to see it," Ron flushed a little. "You wanted to… you know…"

"Ron, just speak plainly," Daphne said impatiently, and he pulled an awkward expression. "I'm about to cut off my hair, and then run away in shame! Just tell me what happened!"

"You wanted to help me 'release some stress'," Ron said quickly, and Daphne felt her head spin. "I refused, and you got upset. **Really** upset."

"What?" Daphne asked. "So we never…"

"No," Ron shook his head, and a relieved laugh tore its way out of her throat.

"Wait… Why was I naked, then?" Daphne stopped laughing.

"After I refused, you started thinking that I was just being shy," Ron told her. "I told you that you'd regret it later, and that you were only going so far because you were drunk. You took that as a challenge, and offered to take off your dress." _Wow…_ "That's when I yelled out… You were about to undress right then and there, and I couldn't let that happen. I jumped out of the bed, you weren't too pleased with me yelling at you, and I ended up sleeping on the couch."

"So you didn't see anything?" Daphne asked, she was never drinking in excess again.

"No, I swear it," Ron gave her a weak smile. "You probably took off your dress after I was gone, and I left without disturbing you this morning." Ron then smiled more fully. "No harm was done."

"Not for lack of trying on my part," Daphne felt a strong pang of guilt and shame. "I'm sorry, Ron…"

"We shouldn't drink that much again," Ron shrugged. "It's alright, Daph, I'm not upset with you. I'm just glad that I made the right call."

"You knew I'd be like this in the morning?" Daphne sniffled, and Ron nodded slowly.

"I knew that you'd regret it," Ron replied.

"How?"

"I know that you enjoy mischief from time to time, but you're not careless," Ron replied. "It's why our relationship hasn't gone past snogging, which is fine by me, of course. What I'm trying to say is that you care about your honor as a Lady."

"Thanks…" Daphne squeezed his hands. "I'm just really relieved that one of us was thinking last night."

"This is a new thing, isn't it?" Ron suddenly grinned. _He's trying to cheer me up._ "So… You're not panicking anymore?"

"No…" Daphne sighed out a breath of relief. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night."

"It's alright, I had fun," Ron assured her. "I felt a bit guilty for yelling at you, though."

"Come here," Daphne managed to smile, and Ron's eyes gleamed as he pounced her.

"Mine!" Ron hissed childishly.

"Not so-" Daphne started, but she quickly found herself pinned to the bed, while Ron clung to her neck. "I think… you just winded me…"

"Please stop crying," Ron kissed her left cheek, and then he nuzzled his face into her neck. _He's so heavy, but it feels nice._

"I'll stop," Daphne promised, her arms wrapping around his neck. _He saw nothing, and I believe him._ "Thank you, Ron."

"Don't worry about it," Ron spoke into her neck. "How was your morning?" _He wants to change the subject?_

"It was terrible," Daphne replied, she was starting to calm back down. "I have been stressing from the moment I woke up, and I couldn't tell anyone. Eventually, I caved in and spoke with Tracey. That's when you came in…" _Never again, Daphne Greengrass._ "How was your morning?"

"Painful," Ron smiled against her skin. "Madam Roberts pushed me hard today, Daph, but I pulled through." _Good._

"Was she pleased?" Daphne ran her fingers through his hair.

"She didn't yell at me, so I think so," Ron chuckled. _His breath tickles!_ "Did anything happen at school today?"

"People have been talking about you all day," Daphne told him. "We were on the front page of the Daily Prophet."

"Ohhh, were we?" Ron sniggered. "Which picture did they use?"

"It was a picture of you and me dancing together," Daphne smiled to herself. "I really like it because we were both laughing. Anyway… The whole school knows about the French, and about your new position within the Ministry. I'd expect some bootlickers if I were you."

"Slytherins trying to scum off of me?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded before kissing the top of his head.

"And anyone with ambitions for the Ministry will try to cozy up to you as well," Daphne told him.

"Well, they can fuck right off," Ron laughed. "I don't need that sort of headache in my life."

"Do you still want to go for that walk?" Daphne asked, and Ron pulled his head back and stared at her.

"You sure?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod.

"I'll go wash up," Daphne said. "And thanks for being you." _I don't think many boys would've said no to my drunk offer._

"Whatever that means," Ron snorted, and then he fell to the side. "Go on… I'll just rest on this bed."

Daphne sat up, her right hand rubbing Ron's back.

"I love you," Daphne said instinctively.

"I love you too," Ron responded, his limbs stretching as if he were a giant cat.

Daphne stood up, and then she walked over to the bathroom. Just as she was about to enter, a thought occurred to her. _I've thought about it before… I mean, hand stuff isn't like sex. Would he be willing? No, not yet. I'll ask him later… Near Christmas, I think. And I won't be drunk this time._

* * *

 _ **Emilia Travers' POV**_

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Twelve Grimmauld Place – Afternoon)**_

As Emilia stepped into the Order's Headquarters, she wondered if she would see Ronald Weasley here.

In all of her years, never had she felt such profound fear as when that boy spoke in his 'true' voice. She had spent the entire night hearing that voice, and even in her dreams it haunted her. Emilia was afraid. For the first time in her life, she was truly afraid. _How can such a Being even exist? What is he? And why does no one know about this? He claimed that Albus Dumbledore knew, but I just can't believe him. Should I call him an 'It'?_

"Emilia Travers," Dumbledore called as she stepped into the enlarged Kitchen.

Emilia looked around the room, and she realized that she was late. _I couldn't sleep last night. Not properly, at least. Even my meditations didn't help._

"Good of you to join us," Dumbledore smiled at her. "Please, take a seat, and we shall get started."

"Forgive my tardiness," Emilia gave a respectful bow, and then she found herself an unoccupied chair.

The other French Families were all here, and most of them were wary of her. This was hardly surprising, mostly because they all knew about her bloody campaign against her Great-Aunt. _I wonder if they know that a_ _ **Demon**_ _has brought us all here to do his bidding._

"Now that everyone is here, let me start by thanking you," Dumbledore stood up, behind him were two wizards. _Sturgis Podmore, and Sirius Orion Black. Both men are veterans from the last war. I would do well to learn from their experiences._ "As you all have been told by Madame Maxime, the Dark Lord has indeed returned to power."

"Merde," Lady Ancar looked down at the table, while the other French Families began whispering.

"Why have you not alerted your Ministry?" Lady Bisset demanded. "Why call us before your own?"

"Because this is our fight," Madame Maxime said from her chair. "The British Ministry made a mess of the last war when they let so many Death-Eaters go free. The Ministries are compromised, and so they cannot be trusted."

"And telling them would only cause hysteria," Dumbledore took over. "I plan to alert certain people when the time is right, but for now, we must begin preparations."

"Do you know where he is?" Lord Couture asked. "Is he in Magical Britain?"

"He was stationed at Malfoy Manor for a time, but since we flushed him out, he's gone back into hiding," Dumbledore replied. _Flushed him out?_

"You laid siege to Malfoy Manor?" Emilia asked. "If so, then why was Lucius Malfoy at the Gala last night?" _Why isn't he dead?_

"He escaped," Sirius Black replied.

Emilia wasn't really bothered by that, it simply meant that she'd get the chance to behead Lucius Malfoy herself.

"Lord Voldemort was grievously injured in our battle," Dumbledore said, and even Emilia flinched at the Dark Lord's name. "For now, I believe that he has been removed from the board."

"Removed from the board?" Lady Abadie scoffed. "This is the **Dark One** that we speak of… He is **not** an ordinary man. I thought that you of all people would not underestimate him." _She's incredibly vain, but she makes a good point. If even half of the tales that I've heard are true, then we need to press our advantage._

"I assure you, Lady Abadie, that the Dark Lord is only a man," Dumbledore smiled at her. "But you are also right, he is not to be underestimated. For now, we don't know where he is for certain, so attempting to locate him is a waste of precious time. The Order has decided that now is the time for preparation. We must secure safe-houses all over Europe, and call on our trusted allies for aid. The Dark Lord will approach the Dark Creatures, and once again, unleash their wrath upon the World. We must get to them first."

"You want us to secure alliances with Werewolves?" Lady Beaumont asked in disgust. _What's the issue? You're all Half-Breeds, aren't you?_ "With Vampires, and Banshees? No… It is not right."

"If we can get even one hundred Dark Creatures to rally to our side, that's one hundred less foot-soldiers for the Dark Lord," Sturgis Podmore said. "They **will** be involved in this war, so is it not wise to have them defend our flanks rather than defend our enemy's?"

"This young man is right," Madame Maxime said, her eyes fixed on Lady Beaumont. "And do not forget that you yourself are part of a despised minority, Lady Beaumont. Passing judgement without proof does not become you."

"Against this enemy, we cannot afford to alienate potential allies," Dumbledore told them all, and everyone went silent because of his firm tone. "He will exploit any weakness that he can find. He will target the vulnerable without fail. And he will do this without ever revealing himself. Our enemy does not rest, nor does he show any mercy to those who defy him. We can take no chances."

"What of the French Ministry?" Lord Heroux asked. "Surely they are not compromised." _They are as corrupt as you are naïve._

"If you go to them, Lord Heroux," Emilia spoke up. "You will be in chains by the end of the day. They will call you a liar, and a warmonger. You will be accused of inciting mass panic, and spreading false news about a horror from the past."

"But what if-"

"Do not assume that your 'friends' within the French Ministry will stand by you," Emilia told him bluntly. "They will betray you for their careers, while the rest of us will all lose a valuable ally. For now, do as Albus Dumbledore commands. He is the only man who can withstand the Dark Lord, and therefore, he is to be heeded."

"She is right," Monsieur Delacour said. "If our involvement becomes public knowledge, we will all be charged with treason at the least. Not to mention that Headmaster Dumbledore and Headmistress Maxime will be imprisoned for conspiracy. We must all practice caution, and secrecy."

"What do you need from us, Headmaster?" Emilia asked. "We have all already agreed to join your camp, so I find this meeting to be a waste of everyone's time. We should devise a plan, and then be on our ways."

"I find myself agreeing with Lady Travers," Madame Maxime said. "We can do introductions at a later date. Right now, we need to know how we can help the Order." _Finally, things are moving along._

"The larger Veela Community has to be approached," Dumbledore began. "Members of the Order are already seeking out Werewolves, Vampires, Banshees, and I even have plans for the Giants. Our main priority right now is to fill our ranks, but to do so in secret. Offer those who need shelter our safe-houses, and only after our pieces are assembled, should we begin seeking out the Dark Lord."

"A wonderful plan," Lady Abadie stood up, much to everyone's surprise. _What is she doing?_ "We must, of course, have an army to fight our battles. But… I have a question."

"Go on," Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Who are the generals of this army?" Lady Abadie asked, and everyone exchanged looks. _No… Not this. We haven't even started, and this whore wants to start securing power for herself. Filthy Half-Breed._ "What is the chain of command?"

"The Headmaster is the chain of command," Sirius Black said, a slightly annoyed look on his face. _He understands, doesn't he? He can see her for the greedy woman that she is._

"I understand that, Lord Black," Lady Abadie chuckled. "But an army as large as this one cannot be controlled by just one man." _She has a point._ "Who will the Veela listen to? Who will the Vampires follow? Who will the Banshees-"

"Get to your point," Madam Delacour said. "You want the Veela Community to answer to you, is that it?"

"I am the most logical choice," Lady Abadie told them.

"And by what right?" Lady Beaumont demanded. "I am as much Veela as you."

"My Family predates yours," Lady Abadie countered.

"The Lenoir Family is arguably the Oldest in France," Lord Bisset spoke up. "Shouldn't they lead the Veela, then?"

"Their Blood has been watered down for generations," Lady Ancar shook her head.

"Watered down?" Lady Lenoir frowned deeply. _Enough._

"Those who cry out for power are the least deserving of it," Emilia spoke up, and Lady Abadie sneered in her direction.

"That's very poetic, dear, but the adults are talking," Lady Abadie said.

"Just as you are entitled to give your opinion, so is she," Dumbledore said. "We are all friends here."

"No, we're not," Emilia stood up, she had had enough. _They will all start fighting for power soon enough. Such greed…_ "We are all here because we have a common enemy, nothing more. I have contacts in the darker corners of the Magical World, Headmaster. I will begin securing information for us."

"Thank you," Dumbledore said, his twinkling eyes looking directly into hers.

Emilia turned around, and began to head for the Living Room.

"Where are you going?" Madame Maxime called out. "The meeting is not finished."

"It finished the moment you all started dividing power that we don't even have yet," Emilia said without looking back.

As she entered the Living Room, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her.

"Wait, Lady Travers," Sturgis Podmore stopped right behind her. "If you are going somewhere dangerous, then you need someone to back you."

"Do I?" Emilia stopped at the fireplace. "Believe me, Mr. Podmore, the man I intend to see will kill anyone, but me, on sight. If you come with me, then you will put me in danger."

"Are you sure?" Sturgis Podmore asked, and she didn't bother to reply.

Instead, she grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and cast it into the fire.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Emilia called, and when the fire blazed green, she stepped through it. _First, I'll send a letter to Ronald Weasley, and accept his offer. Then, I'll pack my things, and head off to Brussels. It's past-time that I found Solomon again._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Great Hall – Nearly End of Dinner)**_

He was definitely the main topic of gossip today.

All day, Ron had endured strange looks, rumors, and unnecessary politeness. The Slytherins were all being extremely friendly with him, often patting his back and congratulating him. His first years were being smug, and talking him up to everyone. His classmates were clearly interested in asking him questions, but none of them approached him. Ambitious individuals were staring at him like he was a tasty morsel, or at least, their ticket into the Ministry. And as for his friends, the girls seemed to be genuinely happy for him. _But the lads… There's this tension between us, and even the girls can feel it._

"Granger is eyeballing you again," Malfoy whispered, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, Malfoy… What was that?" Ron whispered back. _He just talked to me? Good. Is he finally coming back into the fold?_

"Granger," Malfoy whispered. "She's staring at you."

Ron looked in her direction, and she quickly pretended to be looking away from him. _She's being weird. Well, weirder than usual._

"Ignore it," Ron shot Malfoy a genuine smile. "How was your night?" _Include him, Ron. He's been looking miserable lately._

"What?" Malfoy blinked.

"How was your night? With Tracey?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound friendly.

"Do you really want to know what my night was like?" Malfoy whispered, his eyebrow cocked.

"You don't have to tell me, I was just trying to talk to you…" Ron sighed out, he was actually a little disappointed. _He's been avoiding me, and whenever I try to include him, he steps further away. He's just making himself more miserable, and I can't stand that, especially with what he's going through._

Malfoy stared at Ron's face for a few seconds, and then he looked back forward.

"It was actually quite… nice…" Malfoy whispered, and Ron's ears perked up.

"Nice?" Ron whispered back.

"She and I talked, and we… came to an understanding…" Malfoy whispered. _Really? Is he serious?_

Ron shot a look towards Tracey, who was making Pansy and Millie laugh themselves silly. _Did they bury the hatchet? If so, then I should thank her for it._

"I'm glad to hear it," Ron patted Malfoy's back, a wide smile on his face. _If he can make peace with her, then maybe he's finally coming around._

"You are very handsy, Weasley," Malfoy frowned at him.

"Handsy?" Ron asked, still smiling.

"You pat, hug, and make a lot of physical contact," Malfoy replied. "It's weird."

"You don't like it?" Ron chuckled. "Everyone else loves it."

Ron then looked to Theo, who was talking to Daphne and Blaise.

"Theo, do you love my hugs?" Ron asked, and Theo broke from his conversation and stared at him.

"Yes," Theo admitted after a couple of seconds, and Ron looked back to Malfoy.

"I don't like it," Malfoy gave Ron a bored look.

"Your loss," Ron sighed dramatically. "One day, Malfoy, you'll miss my gentle caresses." _Hehe._

"There is something wrong in your head, Weasley," Malfoy shook his head, and Ron couldn't help but laugh at how true those words were. _Right on the mark, Malfoy._ "Is there something funny about what I just said?"

"You have no idea," Ron finished laughing. "By the way, have you started that Herbology report that we have to put together?"

"I thought you were going to start it," Malfoy blinked at him, and Ron closed his eyes. _Oh, fuck._ "Weasley…"

"You start it tonight," Ron said, and Mafloy frowned again.

"Why me?" Malfoy demanded.

"I have plans tonight," Ron said.

"With Greengrass?" Malfoy narrowed his eyes.

"With the Headmaster," Ron corrected. "I promised him a game of Chess, and I have to deliver. It would look quite bad if I skipped out on a man of his status."

"So I have to do the hardest part of the report because you want to kiss arse?" Malfoy drawled.

"I'll pay you back," Ron grinned.

"Really?"

"No," Ron refused. "But I will be grateful."

"Fine…" Malfoy rolled his eyes, he had had enough of Ron for tonight. "Whatever…"

"Thanks, handsome," Ron patted Malfoy's back, a massive grin on his face.

"You…" Malfoy started with a scowl, but the school-bell cut him off. _Too late, Malfoy, the bell has set me free._

They all got out of their seats, and then began making their way out. Ron quickly approached Daphne's side in order to take her hand, and she shot him a happy smile for a moment. _Her hands are pretty small, but maybe it's because my hands are too big? She's so cute._ Daphne continued speaking to Blaise and Theo about some Heir business, and Ron found himself getting distracted. _Emilia didn't send me an Owl today. Has she decided to refuse my offer? I'll wait one more day, and then I'll find her. Oh, and I need to find out what Gornuk's Elf found out._

"Ron, wait up," came Neville's voice, and Ron shot a look back. "Can we talk to you?"

Behind Neville were Hermione and Harry, both of whom were giving weak smiles. _They look like they're here to congratulate me. Turning them away wouldn't be right._

"Um… Sure," Ron smiled at Neville, and then he let go of Daphne's hand. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

"If you're sure," Millie said slowly, and Ron gave her a nod.

One by one, Ron's friends all left, while Ron himself followed the Trio out into the Courtyard. _Merlin's shriveled balls, it's so cold out here!_ All four students were quickly shivering, and Ron felt particularly sorry for Hermione. _She's not exactly built for the tundra._

"Someone cast a damn Warming Charm," Ron rubbed his arms, his sweater was useless against this cold.

Hermione nodded, and then she drew out her wand and cast the Warming Charm on them all. Ron felt heat emanate out of his chest, and his entire body basked in it. _Oh, that feels so damn nice._

"Alright," Ron breathed in deeply. "What is it, Neville?"

"Well, Hermione and Harry wanted to congratulate you," Neville looked to them, and so did Ron.

"Yeah, Ron," Harry spoke first. "Congratulations on your new job. I'm not sure what you'll be doing exactly, but it sounds rather important."

"Thank you, Harry," Ron said, and then he looked to Hermione.

"Congratulations," Hermione said, her lips twitching upwards for a moment. _That look a little forced._ "Can I ask a question about your new job at the Ministry?"

"Hermione…" Neville muttered under his breath, while Harry suddenly looked very distant.

"Go ahead," Ron said, and Hermione drew in a deep breath. _First she kept staring at me, and now she looks… dissatisfied._

"Was your age not considered for this position?" Hermione asked, and Ron blinked at her.

"Pardon?"

"You're only thirteen, and there are no thirteen year old Diplomats," Hermione clarified. "At least, not in the Muggle World."

"I'm not a Diplomat to the Muggles, though," Ron said.

"What I'm saying is that International Diplomats should be older," Hermione told him, a thoughtful look on her face. _I know that look, she's about to bombard me with her opinions._ "You know, more experienced. It sounds like a **really** important job, and you have no training for it." _She is right, I haven't had any training for this important job._

"Circumstances have to be considered," Ron shrugged. "I am friends with Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons, and with her help, I was able to bring the French Families here. No other Diplomat has that connection."

"So you got the job because of your friendship with her?" Hermione asked.

"In a way, yes," Ron replied. "A lot of the times, it's about **who** you know instead of **what** you know. My actions helped bring in thousands of Galleons into the Ministry's depleted coffers, and so I… urged… them to give me a position."

"Urged?" Hermione asked.

"You threatened to keep the French away from the Gala?" Neville asked, and Ron shrugged once again. _Why should I lie? It's what I did._

"In Wizarding Society, merit has always been rewarded," Ron said. "Unlike Muggles, even we Wizarding children can hold a lot of power, and it's because unlike Muggles, our power comes from Magic. **Anyone** can be powerful amongst us, and therefore, merit is rewarded regardless of age."

"Hence why there are no thirteen year old Muggle Diplomats," Hermione nodded slowly, she dearly missed their debates. "Well… Congratulations again."

"Thank you," Ron said, and both Harry and Hermione began to head inside.

"Can I talk to you really quickly?" Neville asked him, and the other two Gryffindors stopped.

"Nev?" Harry asked, a curious look on his face.

"Just a private chat," Neville smiled at his best friends. "I won't be long, I promise." _What does he want?_

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, and then they gave Neville slow nods before heading inside. _The Warming Charm is starting to become weaker. Ugh… I don't want to pull my wand out in this cold._

"What do you need, Neville?" Ron asked.

"I was thinking about last night…" Neville started, and Ron nodded slowly. _We had a great time._ "I think that it's a real shame that Harry and Hermione weren't there."

"Really?" Ron asked, his curiosity was piqued.

"If they saw your friends last night, like I saw them, they'd change their opinions about them," Neville said. "I personally didn't want to be there at first, but once we had a few sips, I had a great time."

"Right," Ron said, where was Neville going with this? _He wants me to invite Harry and Hermione out to drink with us? I don't think any of us plan to get drunk again soon._

"You should invite them back into the study group," Neville suggested, and Ron blinked at him. "Look, they made a terrible mistake, and they're both really sorry about it. They have tried to make it up to you, but you just rebuff them. Things won't get better like this… We could all be friends again, Ron."

"This is just like last year," Ron said, trying his best to be civil. _Neville doesn't deserve to receive my anger._

"No, it's not," Neville said. "Last year, I was the reason why they started investigating you last year. I told you, remember? I was… jealous… and I ruined everything."

"And this time it was Harry," Ron said. "Next year, Hermione will have a go at me."

"Please, mate," Neville sighed out, and then he gave Ron a somber look. "We could all be friends again. I'll even promise you that I'll make more of an effort to get Harry to change his views."

"Just Harry?"

"Hermione is… complicated," Neville said slowly. "She believes in fairness, and equality for all… Even the Slytherins. It's just that she doesn't like your friends very much."

"So she's not hateful to Slytherin, but just my friends?" Ron gave Neville a deadpan look. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

"I'll work on her too, then," Neville promised quickly. "Just… All you have to do is let them back into the study group. Just a gesture of forgiveness, Ron, and we can all be friends again." _He's being very persistent._

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he felt a wall fortifying the inside of his forehead. _Think, Ron. If I do as Neville says, things will become less tense. Christmas would be saved, and I can start being close to Harry again. He's the key to everything, if Dumbledore is to be believed, so I need to protect him. I can't do that if we're fighting. What's more important? The mission, or justice?_

"You… You can tell them to come back…" Ron said begrudgingly, and Neville released a held breath.

"Really?"

"Yes, Neville," Ron said a little coldly. _Think of what's important, Ron. The mission is important, not you._ "Tell them to come back, but also tell them that I won't let things go again. Tell them that I never want to discuss my… condition… with them. With any of you."

"That's fair," Neville couldn't help but smile. "I'll tell them! Thanks, Ron, you won't regret this!"

Before Ron could say anything, Neville turned around and ran off to find his best friends. _He left before I could change my mind… Clever._ Ron looked up at the snowy sky, and he drew in another deep breath. _It's the strategic thing to do, Ron, so just make your peace with it._ The sound of crows suddenly filled his ears, and Ron realized that he was suddenly being circled overhead by a murder of crows. _I'm seeing things again? Must be Sunday._ Ron slowly looked back down, and much to his surprise, he found himself surrounded by bloody corpses.

"Merlin…" Ron muttered, his eyes moving around him. _They're students… And that… That's McGonagall… Oh, fuck… Her right side is mostly missing._

The crows became louder just as Ron gagged a little, and when he looked overhead, he saw the crows break for the distance. With terrifyingly loud screams, which were being carried by the four winds, the crows departed Hogwarts. _He killed them, didn't he? He killed everyone in this castle…_ Ron didn't know how, but he was certain of his Ravenclaw counterpart's crimes.

Ron slowly looked back down, and much to his relief, he was alone in the Courtyard once again. _Fuck me, I'm going insane._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Welcome, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled as Ron closed the door.

"Headmaster," Ron smiled back, he had already placed his latest vision in the back of his mind. _I learnt nothing from it, so what's the point of thinking about it?_ "Are you ready to show me this property?"

"Of course," Dumbledore stood up, and then he walked down to meet Ron. "Fawkes recently went through a rebirth, so he cannot accompany us."

Ron shot a look towards the baby Phoenix, who was eyeing him and Dumbledore with keen interest. _He's so damn cute! His feathers are growing, so he doesn't look like a naked ball-sack._ Fawkes let out a weak shrill, his little wings flapping in excitement.

"Next time, Fawkes," Ron waved at him, while Dumbledore prepared the floo. "So, Headmaster… Where is this property?"

"Godric's Hollow," Dumbledore replied, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Wait… Isn't that where Harry's parents died?" Ron asked. _Don't tell me it's their house that we're going to._

"It is, indeed," Dumbledore replied, and then he tossed the floo-power into the flames. "Dumbledore Residence."

The fire blazed to life, and Dumbledore went through it without another word. _Dumbledore residence? He's giving up his own home?_ Ron followed the Headmaster through the fire, and he found himself standing within a ruin of a house. _What the…?_ The wooden walls were rotting, the wallpaper was scarce, the wooden floor was missing large chunks, and some of the foliage from outside had found its way into the ruin.

"Headmaster… Get a maid…" Ron eyed the old man, who chuckled rather weakly. "Seriously, though… Where are we?"

"This is my childhood home," Dumbledore looked around, his expression turning somber as it saw the state of things. "I have not been here for many decades."

"Oh…" Ron muttered.

"In truth, no one even knows of its existence," Dumbledore told Ron.

"No one?" Ron asked.

"Well, no one who'll discuss this place," Dumbledore replied. _What's that supposed to mean?_ "Come, let's look around a little."

"Why haven't you come here for many decades?" Ron asked as they began looking around, and Dumbledore said nothing. "I don't mean to pry, just curious. You don't have to tell me."

"Too many memories in these walls, Ronald," Dumbledore looked around the 'Kitchen', repairing all of this would be costly. "Terrible memories."

"I see," Ron said slowly. "I'm sorry to hear that." _Change the topic._ "So… What are your plans for this place?"

"We'll need to repair the ground floor first, and then move onto the second," Dumbledore started, grateful for Ron's change of subject. "I was thinking that we could add two more floors on top of the second floor, just to make sure that we have enough space. We'll also expand each area with the Undetectable Expansion Charm. And yes, I'll teach you." _Yay!_ "Once the repairs, and additions, are finished, we can start bringing in furniture." _Furniture…_ _ **Heavy**_ _furniture._

"You brought me here to lift heavy things," Ron gave Dumbledore an offended look, and the old wizard genuinely laughed. _Good, he doesn't look as melancholy as before._

"You're a young man, Ronald, you'll live," Dumbledore assured him. "As for me, I'd break some bone if I put too much pressure on it."

"Playing the old man card," Ron clicked his tongue. "That's unfair."

"And yet, I played it," Dumbledore lightly patted the back of Ron's head. _My hairstyle! Why?!_ "Now that we've seen what we're up against, take my arm. I want to show you something else."

Ron did as he was told, and Dumbledore Apparated them both into the middle of a snowy town square. Ron felt a little lightheaded, and after he shook his head clear, he realized that Dumbledore was facing the other way. Ron slowly turned around, and he came face to face with the statue of a Family of three. The mother and father sat side-by-side, happy and proud smiles on their faces as they watched their infant son, who was perched happily on his mother's lap. _I've read about this statue…_

"In the inspiring memory of the Potters," Ron read the plaque, and then he looked back to the statue with a weak smile. "They look like they're wearing snow caps… It's a lovely monument." Ron then looked to Dumbledore. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I come here once in a while," Dumbledore said rather softly. "I clean up any form of blemish, and then leave flowers behind."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because this statue gives me courage," Dumbledore smiled at Ron. _Courage?_ "James and Lily Potter defeated the Dark Lord, Ronald, not me. Their love destroyed the Darkest Wizard in History, while I was close to my wit's end."

"What actually happened that night? How did Harry manage to damage the Dark Lord?" Ron asked.

"Love," Dumbledore said. "Lily Potter cast herself between Harry, her infant son, and when Lord Voldemort murdered her ruthlessly for it, it triggered Ancient Magic. Lily's **sacrifice** placed a Love Protection on her infant son, and so when the Dark Lord attempted to destroy him, his Curse rebounded."

"And that has never happened before?" Ron asked. "No other mother gave her life for her child?"

"Lily had the option to live, but she **chose** not to," Dumbledore replied. "She died in the hope of giving her son some few extra seconds to live."

"She **chose** to die…" Ron muttered under his breath, his eyes returning to the statue. _Her sacrifice saved her son._ "You should bring Harry here."

"Sirius tells me that he plans to bring Harry here during the Christmas Break," Dumbledore said. "Whenever I see this statue, it humbles me. It reminds me that a life without love is no life at all. That we must pity those who live without love above all others."

"Like the Dark Lord?" Ron asked.

"Yes, those like the Dark Lord," Dumbledore replied. "But also those who are **unloved**. Children like Priscilla, the misunderstood Werewolves, the weary Vampires, and any others who are disregarded by the World."

"I agree with the 'Unloved people' part," Ron nodded. "If people were just a bit more understanding, we wouldn't be standing in front of a statue. Maybe James and Lily Potter would still be alive. As for the Dark Lord… People who murder indiscriminately should not be pitied, or cared for."

"Lord Voldemort was an orphan too, Ronald," Dumbledore reminded Ron. "No one reached out to him, not a single soul. His very existence reminds me of an Ancient African Proverb… The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth."

"I don't think he's capable of love, Headmaster," Ron sighed. "I think he was born wrong… He just came into the World to cause death and carnage."

"Perhaps, but alas, we'll never know for certain," Dumbledore said.

"We could go down to Nott Manor and ask him," Ron smiled at Dumbledore, who looked rather amused with Ron's comment. "Speaking of the Dark Lord… How was the meeting today? Did the French behave?"

"Some more than others," Dumbledore replied. "Many of them think that their involvement in the Order will be rewarded."

"Great," Ron shook his head. "Who wants what?" _Emilia Travers mentioned that people's greed always takes priority, and I'm starting to believe her._

"Lady Abadie is the most ambitious one," Dumbledore told Ron. "She wants to take over the French Veela Community. All of it."

"The other Families will never stand for that," Ron frowned to himself.

"Conflict will arise very soon," Dumbledore said. "I managed to stop their arguing today, but the seed is planted."

"Damn," Ron said. "What do we do?"

"Sadly, there is very little that we can do," Dumbledore admitted. "If we refuse her, then she leaves. We have no way of knowing that she'll tell someone out of spite, so we must Obliviate her, and her husband."

"That'll go over well," Ron grimaced. "Behave, or we'll rape your minds… That's a solid message." _People will leave in droves._

"The other option is to give her some form of power," Dumbledore said. "Maybe those who wish to follow her can do so without consequences from the other French Families." _Oh, there will definitely be consequences. Some cunt will start something, I know it._

"I can already smell a civil war happening because of that," Ron said. "What if we reward the person who brings in the most amount of recruits? That way, people will have an incentive to help **us** , while we just throw them a bone."

"We are of the same mind, then," Dumbledore smiled to himself. "We will reward those who put in the work. The Veelas will only follow a French commander, and so the French Family which recruits the most amount of Veelas can be in charge of them."

"But they answer to you, in the end," Ron finished. "If we give too much power, we're bound to divide the Order." _Sort of like the Silver Triumvirate. They run the House, but they answer directly to Professor Snape. It keeps them… humble._

"Come, let's be away," Dumbledore said, visiting his childhood home had hurt more than he could've imagined.

"When do we start the repairs on the house?" Ron asked. _Your childhood house, which has terrible memories inside it. I won't lie, I'm very curious to learn more. But… I don't want to overstep with him._

"I will order the materials tonight, and hire a team of very capable Builder-Elves," Dumbledore promised.

"Well, you should know that there are thirteen of them in total, and I asked Priscilla to find more orphans in Knockturn Alley if she could," Ron told the old man. "She says that she knows her way around, and that enough people know her to leave her alone. She'll bring as many kids as she can."

"I shall have thirty rooms made, which shouldn't be a problem with Magic, and then you can help me resize them all," Dumbledore said. _That Charm sounds extremely handy to know. I like this plan._

"One last thing… Could you build a room in the attic just for me?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore waited for him to go on. "Just in case I need a place to lay low if something goes wrong."

"Consider it done."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron stepped into the common room, and immediately, he felt eyes on him. _Yes, I'm back. You can all go back to staring again._ Ron looked around for his friends, and when he finally saw them, he began making his way over to greet them. _I'll say hello, and then goodnight. I'm knackered._

"How was your game with the Headmaster?" a fifth year smiled at him as he passed. _Who the fuck are you?_

"Yeah, it was good," Ron gave a polite nod.

"Hey, Ron."

"Thought you had already tucked in for the night, mate." _Mate?_

"Hi, Ron," Mathias waved at him, and Ron waved back. _Even the little ones are plotting to use me. Yeesh._

"Ron!" Clara suddenly stepped into his way. "I've been waiting for you. There's some Triumvirate business to discuss."

"Hello, Clara," Ron smiled at her, and she quickly took his arm.

"Carey and Samantha are in the Training Room," Clara began dragging him away from his friends. "Oh, and congratulations on your latest achievement."

"Thank you," Ron said genuinely. _Her massive tits are squeezing my arm!_

"You certainly are in a rush to reach your ambitions, whatever they are," Clara chuckled. "Everyone's talking about you, again, so I'd best be careful if I were you. Some girl might try to dig her claws into you."

At that, she pinched his forearm with a playful smile.

"Some girl, huh?" Ron sniggered.

"International Diplomat has a very sexy tone to it," Clara said sweetly. "Maybe it's time for your lessons in pleasing girls?" _Oh, I made that deal, didn't I?_

"I **would** like to please Daphne," Ron all but whispered, he didn't want anyone to overhear him.

"I'm free on Wednesday," she told him. "Just come and find me when you're ready." _That soon?_

Ron swallowed thickly, he couldn't deny that he felt excited at the prospect of learning from Clara. _I wonder how she'll teach me. As long as I don't put my hands on her, I won't be betraying Daphne. I'll just sit and take notes, I reckon._ They made their way inside the Training Room, and Ron spotted Samantha and Carey hunched over a table.

"Look who just strolled in," Clara said as they approached the girls, both of whom turned around to look at Ron.

"Ron," Carey smiled, and Ron smiled back.

"Hello."

"Congratulations on making it into the Ministry," Carey said smoothly. "Maybe we'll run into each other once I've Graduated."

"You plan to work in the Ministry?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod.

"I have already been granted a position within the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophe's," Carey replied. "I met the Head of the Department during one of Samantha's parties, and she was more than happy to accept a 'bright, young woman'."

"Congratulations, then," Ron said. "We can have lunch together every now and then, right?" _And I can keep my eye on you. After all, you'll be an Order member by then courtesy of yours truly._

"I would like that," Carey patted his cheek lovingly.

"Once I'm back from my vacation, I'll join you," Clara said.

"Vacation?" Ron asked. _Uh oh…_

"I want to see the World," Clara announced with panache. "I want to eat good food, meet lots of young wizards, and just enjoy myself." _No, that's not happening. If you're overseas, then you'll be in danger._

"What about you, Samantha?" Ron asked.

"I'm going to start training as a Healer," Samantha replied, and Ron was a little surprised by her humble career path. "As you know, there is a shortage of Healers within Britain, and so they are very sought after. I'll have a secured job, which will definitely be lucrative to inspire incentive, and matched with my trust fund, I'll live a cozy life in London." _We get a Healer, and her life won't be very cozy. In a way, I envy that they are ignorant of what's coming._

"Then we should all catch up after you three Graduate," Ron said. "I'm sure we'll need allies out in the real World."

"Agreed," Carey gave a nod. "Now… Let's talk business. The sixth years did exceptionally well today in their Duels."

"Seven out of the twelve quarterfinalists are from Slytherin," Samantha told Ron, who grinned widely.

"Awesome!" Ron said.

"Now only the seventh years' Duels are left," Clara said. "We want to talk about your brother Percy… He has been at the top of our class from first year, and he probably knows more Spells than all four of us combined."

"That shouldn't make a difference," Ron said thoughtfully, and the girls cocked their eyebrows. "In a Duel, there's a lot of different factors at play. Sure, his arsenal is his strength, but Percy is rather unfit. He hates exercise of any form, he always has, which means that he has very low stamina. You make him run, and he'll start making mistakes. Keep him on the defensive, and you'll force him to use simpler Spells due to a shortage of casting time." _Like that P-12 training dummy did with me. It was a piece of wood, and I barely managed to beat it._

"That sounds quite reasonable," Carey looked to Samantha, who gave her friend a nod.

"Anything else?" Ron asked them.

"We were thinking of having a combined training session on the Friday before the Finals," Clara told him. "Your presence would be greatly appreciated."

"I'll be there," Ron promised. "I'm quite confident in the second years, and in myself. The fourth and sixth years look like they have a good chance at winning, so that's already four out of six years that we can count on."

"If we win even three, we'll be too far ahead to catch," Carey smiled to herself. "You've destroyed the Gryffindors, the Hufflepuffs are no threat at all, and the Ravenclaws need at least five wins to be a threat."

"We, of course, won't let our guard down," Samantha said, and Carey nodded.

"Thank you for your advice about Percy, Ron," Carey tapped the underside of his chin.

"Happy to help," Ron said, and Clara let go of his arm.

"Goodnight, Ron, and congratulations again," Samantha said. "Oh, and try to rest properly. Don't get sick before the Finals."

"For a moment, I thought that you cared about me," Ron sniggered, and then he turned around to leave. "I'll see you three around."

"Bye, Ron, and don't forget," Clara said sweetly. _Don't tell them, woman!_

"Don't forget what?" Carey asked.

"Nothing worth knowing about, I promise," Clara giggled, while Ron quickly left the Training Room. _Clara… She did that on purpose, I know it._

As Ron reentered the common room, he found Theo waiting for him by the entrance.

"Hello, Theo," Ron grinned at his mate, who immediately smirked. _Ah, classic Theo._

"You got a minute, Ron?" Theo asked. "I just wanted to have a quick chat."

"Of course," Ron agreed, and Theo gestured towards the boys' dorms.

Both boys began making their way towards their room, and Ron subtly studied Theo's face. _He lost his smirk… Is it something serious? What's happened?_ Once they were inside the room, Theo closed and locked the door.

"Theo, why did you lock the door?" Ron asked from the middle of the room, and Theo blinked at him.

"Oh… I just want some privacy," Theo explained. "I already don't feel right bringing this up, so I don't want anyone to walk in while we're talking."

"Alright, go on," Ron gave Theo all of his attention.

"Right…" Theo cleared his throat, an air of seriousness about him. "Look, I don't want to sound… petty… but I also don't want to lose out on opportunities in the Future. I'm not trying to guilt you, or make you upset in any way…"

"Okay," Ron gave a slow nod, what was this about?

"You told Daphne about the International Diplomat affair…" Theo said, his eyes meeting Ron's for a moment. "But you didn't tell Blaise, or me…" _Oh, is that why they looked upset yesterday?_

"That bothers you two?" Ron asked, making sure to be gentle.

"It does…" Theo sighed out. "It's just that ever since you started dating Daphne… We don't talk like we used to, Ron. You, Blaise, and I, that is… You used to come to us, but you do that less and less now." _They're jealous of Daphne? I shouldn't say that._ "We both feel that way, but Blaise doesn't see the point of bringing it up. You know how he is, don't you?"

"Yeah…" Ron replied.

"But I would've liked to take part in this French deal," Theo admitted. "I know that honesty works best with you, so here I am, sounding like a whiny child…"

"No, you don't sound like that," Ron assured him, he felt a little guilty now for keeping the Ministry business a secret. _Plus, he's right. I don't really go to my mates for help anymore, I just talk things out with Daphne. Or Madam Pomfrey._ "Sorry, Theo… I didn't mean to be neglectful of you guys."

"No, it's alright," Theo said awkwardly, he hated talks such as these. "Just next time, know that you can rely on us too. Daphne is your girlfriend, but we're your mates."

"I understand," Ron gave a firm nod. "I'd like to talk more often as well."

"Good," Theo smiled a little. "Glad we got that sorted."

"Me too," Ron said, and they just stared at each other for a few seconds. "Hug?"

"Hug."

* * *

 _ **Pitch Black Darkness**_

Ron found himself standing in a pit of emptiness. There was no sound, not even a whisper. How had he found himself in such a place? He knew that he didn't belong here, but he wasn't sure how he knew. There was something not right with this place, he could feel it in his bones.

As Ron debated whether to leave, or not, he heard a crow in the distance. Its screams became louder and louder, and pretty soon, Ron could see it flying over to him. _It's white… That's weird._ The crow flew over Ron's head, and as Ron turned to follow it, he saw that there were hundreds of glowing gravestones behind him. Ron looked around the pitch blackness, and then he looked back to the glowing gravestones.

"What the fuck…?" Ron blinked, while the crow perched itself on the nearest one.

Slowly, and very carefully, Ron approached the gravestone closest to him, making sure to not spook the white crow. As he got closer, the glow on the gravestone dimmed, and Ron was able to read the writing on it.

"Ronald B. Weasley," Ron swallowed thickly, and then he looked to the other gravestones. _Four-hundred and sixty-three gravestones…_

Ron looked to the white crow, and it cocked its head at him.

"What are you trying to show me?" Ron asked the bird, and it screamed as it flapped its wings.

"Kill them, Ron, or they'll kill you," the crow suddenly spoke in Ron's own voice, and Ron took a step back immediately. _Sweet Circe, it's possessed._ "They are not worth saving… Kill, and rule over what's left. Power is the only real thing in this World, and no one deserves it more than the Champion of Fate." _Champion of Fate?_

"Kiss my arse," Ron said on instinct.

The crow began screaming like a crow once again, and then it flew off towards the pitch black sky. Ron followed its disappearing form with a confused, and slightly annoyed, expression. Once Ron was done eyeing the creepy white crow, he looked back down, and he noticed that the gravestones were all gone.

"Now what?" Ron asked himself, and before he could even think of something, the ground gave away from beneath him.

Ron landed in an earthy grave with a dull thud, and a winded grunt escaped his lips. _Fuck… That hurt…_ Ron slowly stood back up, and when he looked up, he spotted his friends and Family staring down at him.

"Mum! Dad!" Ron called out, but they just kept staring at him with unfeeling expressions. "Um… Guys?!"

His siblings and his friends shared Arthur and Molly's uninterested looks, and Ron found himself feeling a little scared because of their dead-eyed stares. And then, Arthur began shoveling dirt into the grave. For a moment, Ron was stunned by the fresh patch of earth that was rained down upon him, but when the others started following Arthur's lead, Ron felt panic fill his every fiber.

"HEY!" Ron screamed. "I'm down here! Stop it!"

They kept shoveling, and Ron tried to find a way out. _Fuck! It's just a massive hole!_

"Brachium Colubrum," Ron chanted as he aimed his left hand up, but no ethereal serpent came out. "Oh… Fuck…"

More dirt rained down on him, and Ron quickly found his feet sinking into the fresh dirt.

"Stop!" Ron screamed again. "I'm down here! Mum! Dad! What are you fucking doing?! Daphne! Stop it!"

They kept shoveling, and Ron tried to protect his eyes from the dirt.

"You're burying me!" Ron yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'll fucking die down here if you keep doing that! Please! Ginny! Luna! Fucking stop!"

Ron's screams fell on deaf, unfeeling ears, and after a minute, he found it incredibly hard to move around. _My fucking torso is starting to sink! FUCK! FUCKING FUCK!_

"STOP! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Ron screamed, his throat nearly tearing. "You're killing me! STOP IT! Daphne! Stop them! FUCK!"

Dirt hit his tear-soaked face, and Ron began howling like a mad-dog.

"I don't want to die! Not yet! Theo! Blaise!" Ron begged them. "STOP! PLEASE!"

They just kept shoveling, not a hint of care on their faces.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! This chapter concludes the Gala Arc, and I want to hit Christmas by Chapter 100, so things will get a crack on.**

 **Voldemort will feature in the next Chapter, so heads up for that. I know some people find it hard to read his segments, mostly because of how... evil... he is.**

 **See you guys on Sunday, or maybe Monday, for Chapter 99! Nearly there, people!**


	99. Chapter 99 - Do we have a Deal?

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 99 is here, and my soul is still being tormented by the job search... HIRE ME!**

 **Now that my hurt is out of the way, please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 99 - Do we have a Deal?**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Boys' Room – Past Midnight)**_

Ron all but shot out of his bed, his pajamas, and sheets, soaked in a cold sweat.

"Just a dream…" Ron breathed out, his eyes trying their best to adjust to the dark. "It was just a dream…"

After a few seconds of looking around dumbly, Ron slowly sat back down on the bed, his head quickly being seized by his trembling hands. _My hair is slick with sweat… Bloody hell, the whole bed smells like sweat. What did that dream mean? Was it a vision? If so, what was the Entity trying to show me?_ Ron frowned deeply to himself, he had no idea what to make of his latest nightmare. _And that white crow… I just know that it was my Ravenclaw counterpart. That sick fuck clearly lost his mind during his Cycle, and I don't know why I keep seeing him._

"Power is the only real thing in this World, and no one deserves it more than the Champion of Fate…" Ron whispered the white crow's words, and then he shook his head. "Champion of **Fate** … Pfft… She can suck my cock."

Ron once again got out of his bed, he had no intention of going to sleep now. Silently, he made his way past the curtains, and then into the bathroom. Once he was inside, he closed and locked the door for some privacy. With his privacy ensured, Ron removed his cold, damp pajama top, and approached the mirror. _Ugh… I'm covered in sweat. Should I take a shower now, or after some practice against the training dummies?_ Ron eyes lingered on the scar across his chest, and he frowned tiredly. _It looks agitated again. Great._

Ron decided to distract himself with some practice, so he put on his top and snuck out of the boys' room. The Training Room was no doubt unoccupied right now, which meant that Ron could test out some new Spells. _Or I can at least sit in silence and ponder the meaning behind my nightmare. I was buried alive by my friends and Family, and they didn't even seem to care. Not even Daphne…_

Ron entered the Training Room, and much to his relief, he was all alone. Without hesitation, he made his way over to the sandpit, his eyes looking for the least worn training dummy. _I wish I had a P-12 Auror Trainer. I think I'll start saving up for one._

"You, move over there," Ron ordered a dummy, and it rolled onto the sandpit. "Just stay there, and don't move. I want to try some new Spells on you." _Now… What first? There are still two Wandless Spells that I haven't been able to cast; Flagellum Inferos and Lumos Solem. If I can learn to cast them, then I can keep exploring the book Professor Flitwick gave me._

Ron stretched his back, and then his arms, a look of absolute concentration marking his features. _I'll start with the 'Hell-Whip', and then try Lumos Solem. Damn, I should've grabbed that book before coming down here. Alright, start with Cutis Terra, and then cast the other Wandless Spells._

"Cutis Terra," Ron chanted, and he felt his muscles become dense immediately. _Woo! Let's go!_ "Flagellum Inferos!"

Ron felt his left palm heat up, and then he saw a bright red spark ignite right in the center of his hand. Ron waited for the 'Whip' to appear, but sadly, the spark was snuffed out almost as quickly as it came. _What…?_

"Flagellum Inferos!" Ron chanted again, making sure to focus on his left hand.

Once again, his left palm heated up, and a bright red spark went off. _Nothing again?_ Over and over again, Ron kept trying to summon the whip, but to no avail. He imagined a fiery whip in his left hand, just to have a mental picture of what he wanted, but nothing seemed to be working. _Bloody hell… Cutis Terra is starting to hurt me._

"Flagellum Inferos!" Ron chanted one last time, and when he saw the bright red spark, Ron closed his hand into a fist. _Why won't this work?!_

The sound of a roaring fire startled Ron, and before he knew it, a long tendril of red fire had grown out of his closed fist. Ron gaped at the long, fiery whip that he had just summoned, it was at least five meters long. _It worked! I'm a genius!_ Ron grinned at the dummy, he could feel the power radiating from the fiery whip in his left hand. _Wait… How do you crack a whip?_

Ron looked back down at his new weapon, and he lost his grin. _Just swing it, Ron._ He took a few steps back, and then he pulled his left hand behind him. The whip followed his will obediently, and Ron couldn't help but admire the red flames. _It looks rather sinister… Unnatural, even._ Ron carefully position the whip to be by his side, and then, he tried to crack the whip in the dummy's direction. Instead of being cracked, the whip tangled itself around the dummy's chest rather quickly. _What the…? I fucked it up._

Ron tried to pull the whip back, but it seemed to have latched onto the dummy. Actual fire erupted wherever the red flames were, and Ron shot a panicked look at the dummy. _Oh, no!_ Ron tried to pull the whip off again, but it remained fixed on the dummy's chest. _Let go, cunt!_ Ron yanked the whip back, but instead of coming off, it cleaved the dummy in two. Ron only had a moment to realize what he had done before the whip hit his right leg, and a scream tore its way out of Ron's throat.

"FUCK ME!" Ron bellowed, the whip had hit him on its return.

His concentration broke, and as a result, both of his Spells became undone. As for Ron, he was already in a fetal position, his teeth gnashing together as he pulled his right knee into his chest. _That really hurt!_ After nearly a minute of swearing under his breath, and trying his best to not tear up, Ron looked to the back of his right leg. _Ow…_ His pajamas were seared at the bottom, and a frightening burn mark ran across his right calf muscle. Ron slowly looked back to the dummy, which was now in two burning pieces.

"Can't use this in the Dueling Tournament…" Ron croaked. "Too dangerous…"

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Ron apologized, and she shot him a deadpan look.

Somehow, Ron had managed to limp up to the Hospital Wing, where he had disturbed the Head Nurse with his latest injury. The burn was hurting less now that Madam Pomfrey had somewhat numbed his right leg, but Ron knew that he would have another scar to add to his collection. _She wouldn't look so angry if that wasn't the case._

"What was this Spell, Ronald?" Madam Pomfrey looked back to the burn.

"Flagellum Infernos," Ron replied. "Wandless variation…" _What was I thinking when I decided to yank the whip back? Thank Merlin for Cutis Terra, this could've been far worse._

"I didn't know that it could be cast Wandlessly… Describe it to me," Madam Pomfrey ordered.

"It was a whip made of fire… Red fire, to be specific," Ron replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Is it going to scar?" _Don't say yes, please._

"Yes," she replied bluntly, and Ron did his best to not make a sound. _Another scar… Perfect._ "Flagellum Infernos is a powerful Curse, Ronald… I can stop the pain, and even heal some of the damage, but Dark Magic of this caliber tends to leave behind traces." _I know, Dumbledore told me that._ "I'll need to go grab some ointments and bandages from my store, so don't go anywhere. And **don't** move that leg."

With that, Madam Pomfrey left for her storeroom, leaving Ron alone on his bed. _Torpor, the Numbing Charm… I should practice it. If I remembered to cast it on my leg, the journey up here would have been far less painful._ Ron rested his head on his pillow, and he felt sleep calling out to him. Ron didn't know why, but he refused to answer the call. _I don't want to sleep. I want to do something productive._

Madam Pomfrey returned after a minute, or so, her supplies floating behind her.

"Honestly, why were you practicing such dangerous Magic so late at night?" Madam Pomfrey frowned at him as she set up her equipment.

"I couldn't sleep," Ron admitted. "I had nightmare…" _Maybe she can help me decipher it? She is my Mind-Healer, after all._

"A nightmare?" Madam Pomfrey's features softened a little. "Would you like to discuss it?"

"Are you up for a therapy session this late at night?" Ron smiled weakly, and she gave him a nod. "Well, it was rather… creepy… I was in this dark place, and I was completely alone. Eventually, this white crow showed up…" _I can't tell her about the gravestones, or the crow telling me to kill everyone._

"A white crow, you say," Madam Pomfrey said slowly, she was soaking the bandages in a sweet smelling Potion. "In Divination, the White Crow is a malevolent omen. It signifies pestilence, and strife."

"Really?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. _The war?_

"What happened next?" she asked him.

"The ground fell apart, and I fell in this deep grave," Ron replied, and she waited for him to go on. "When I looked up, my friends and Family were looking down at me. They… They started shoveling dirt into the grave… They buried me alive, even as I begged them to stop. That's when I woke up covered in sweat."

"Sounds horrible," she said as she fixed his right leg into a sling. "The Potion will sting at first, Ronald, so be ready for that."

"Thank you," Ron said gratefully. "So… What do you think that my mind was trying to tell me?"

"Dreams are tricky things to try and decipher, Ronald," Madam Pomfrey sighed as she began wrapping the soaked bandage around his calf. _OW! Sting a little, my freckled arse! Why isn't the Numbing Charm helping?!_ "Often, they mean nothing…"

"But…" Ron clenched his teeth, his right foot was shaking on its own. _You deserve this pain, Ron… Consider this your lesson._

"But for us Magical folk, they can be a sign of things to come," Madam Pomfrey replied. "You don't study Divinations, do you?"

"No, I don't," Ron replied, his right leg relaxing a little as the pain subsided.

"A 'Seer' would no doubt interpret this dream as an ominous warning," Madam Pomfrey finished wrapping up the bandages. "I myself see it as a result of your high amounts of stress."

"Really?" Ron asked. "I don't feel any more stressed than usual."

"I interpret your dream as you being 'buried alive' because of other people's problems," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Your new position at the Ministry came about because you wanted to help other people, and during many of our sessions, you tend to talk about other people's problems instead of your own."

"I do?" Ron asked dumbly.

"You are almost always helping someone else overcome their troubles," Madam Pomfrey shot him a smirk. "It was no coincidence that you were being buried alive by your most cherished ones." Ron nodded slowly to himself. "But these are just my thoughts, so don't take them as an absolute truth."

"Do I really involve myself in other people's lives constantly?" Ron asked her.

"You do, and I think that it might be because it helps you stay clear of your own troubles," Madam Pomfrey replied. "It is not very healthy, and I think you should stop it. Let other people deal with their own problems, and focus on only yourself."

"Shouldn't you be encouraging me to be more helpful to others?" Ron couldn't help but chuckle. "I mean, you're almost telling me to be more selfish."

"If you were just an ordinary child, I would, of course, tell you to be more helpful to others," Madam Pomfrey began packing up her equipment. "But you're not an ordinary child, Ronald. You are terribly ill, and your good intentions are only harming your health. I don't want to see you waste away for other people's benefit, and I know for a fact that your loved ones don't want to see that either. Sometimes… Being selfish isn't selfish, it's necessary." Pomfrey then cast a Charm on her equipment, and it floated up to her side. "Sleep, Ronald. We will discuss your dream more in your session. Oh, and I'll leave crutches for you to use throughout the day. Don't put any pressure on that leg."

"You aren't going to force me to stay in the Hospital Wing all day?" Ron grinned.

"Would you listen if I did?" Pomfrey asked in response, and Ron shook his head. "Goodnight, Ronald."

"Goodnight, Madam Pomfrey," Ron put his head back on the pillow. "And thanks for your help."

"You can thank me by being more careful," Madam Pomfrey said, and then she left without another word. _She loves me, even if she won't show it._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Monday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (Nott Manor – In the Dead of Night)**_

The Nott Study was now his domain, and he spent most of his time trying to keep his body together. Albus Dumbledore, and his accursed Order, would suffer for their attack on Malfoy Manor. Lord Voldemort's Vampire forces had taken severe damage, Snape had been rescued, Malfoy Manor was lost for the time being, Narcissa Malfoy had been captured, Gaspard was in a coma, and the Dark Lord's vessel was falling apart.

The stench of rot filled the Study, but Lord Voldemort's attention was focused on the latest copy of the Daily Prophet. His red eyes scanned the photograph of Ronald with keen interest, the boy had clearly grown since their last encounter. _Good. He will make for a fearsome Heir, in time._ The Dark Lord's eyes moved to Daphne Greengrass, and her happy smile disgusted him. _She will need to be removed, of course. I cannot allow Ronald to be distracted, not when I need his abilities as a Seer._

A sudden knock at the door made him look away from the newspaper, and the Dark Lord mentally cursed his weakening Magic. _I can't even sense other people's presence anymore. This body is finished._

"Enter," the Dark Lord hissed, and the door opened slowly.

"My Lord," Cornelius stepped into the room, and then he kneeled at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Speak," Lord Voldemort ordered. "What news from Russia?"

"Samara wishes to inform you that there is trouble within the Russian Ministry," Cornelius replied, making sure to hide his disgust with the stench filling his Study. "The Russian Head Auror, Luka Yahontov, has once again started watching Samara. She believes that Yahontov suspects her to be 'falling back into bad habits', and is therefore wary of her."

"Luka Yahontov… I know that name," Lord Voldemort's lips curled downwards. "He was Russia's poster boy during the Great War." _And he cut down many of my followers._

"Age has made him far more… dangerous… to us," Cornelius added. "Samara claims that she cannot put him under the Imperius Curse as he could easily break free from it."

"And she cannot eliminate him without starting an investigation," Lord Voldemort hissed. "He is a celebrated war hero within Russia, after all." _Can nothing go right?_

"Might I be so bold as to speak my mind, my Lord?" Cornelius asked, and the Dark Lord eyed him for a moment.

"Go on," the Dark Lord whispered dangerously. _Question me at your peril, worm._

"Samara seems distracted to me," Cornelius confessed. "She sends us excuse after excuse, and at this rate, she will not bring the Russian Ministry into the fold when the time comes."

"Are you questioning her loyalty?" Lord Voldemort asked, and Cornelius looked up at him.

"I am, my Lord," Cornelius replied. "She is being hesitant, which can only mean that she has other priorities." _As much as I hate to agree with him, he is right. Almost all of her letters have been filled with excuses, and barely any results._

"Write to her, and tell her that Lord Voldemort is displeased," the Dark Lord said. "Remind her of her Master's promise."

"I shall do so immediately," Cornelius said, but he didn't get up to leave. "Michael has returned from his hunt, and he has brought the **dog** with him."

"Fenrir has been found?" the Dark Lord's eyes gleamed red. "Good, send them to me."

Cornelius stood up, bowed deeply, and then he left the Study with haste. The Dark Lord sank into his chair, he could not afford to move around too freely. _The flesh on my right hand has already begun to peel off. I must begin creating a new vessel. A_ _ **permanent**_ _vessel. And in order to do that, I will need Harry Potter. As long as his mother's sacrifice protects him, I cannot destroy the Boy-Who-Lived. But by creating my new body with his Blood, I will no doubt negate the 'Power of Love'. And then, I will have my revenge._

The mere thought of Harry Potter filled him with murderous rage, the boy would suffer like no one ever had. He would beg the Dark Lord for mercy, but there would be none. _Not after what he did to me. Him, and his wretched mother._ As the Dark Lord pondered about Harry Potter's painful, and inevitable, demise, Michael and his Vampires dragged hooded figures into the Study.

"Do you know who I am?" Fenrir snarled from under his hood, and the Dark Lord broke away from his thoughts. _An incompetent idiot._

"It smells like Death's anus in here," Michael grimaced, and then he tossed Fenrir by the Dark Lord's feet. "The dog was moving through Austria when my contacts spotted him. I caught him trying to buy passage to Britain."

"Who are you?!" Fenrir bellowed, while his captured allies shook with fear.

"Shut it," Michael ordered, and then he booted the back of Fenrir's head.

The hulking Werewolf fell forward with a sickening thud, a pained groan escaping his throat. Lord Voldemort raised his rotting right hand, and Michael smirked at the Dark Lord. _Impudent whelp. His father and sister are the real assets, whereas he is only good for mindless slaughter._

"You have failed me, Fenrir," the Dark Lord hissed, and everyone went dead silent.

"My… My Lord?" Fenrir muttered as he sat up on his knees, and with a flick of his right hand, the Dark Lord yanked the hood off of Fenrir's bruised face.

"I should have you fed to your dogs," Lord Voldemort sneered at his lackey, who went deathly pale at the sight of his rotting Master. "I see that my… visage… disturbs you."

"No, my Lord," Fenrir lowered his head.

"Look at me," the Dark Lord hissed, and Fenrir slowly looked back up. "If you hadn't failed to bring me my army, then Malfoy Manor would still be standing. I would not have been reduced to this."

"We were attacked…" Fenrir told the Dark Lord. "By a group of Mercenaries… The Death's Hand."

"I know that Death Squad," Michael spoke up. "They buy unregistered wands from all over the World in order to cast the Killing Curse without being traced." Michael then chuckled rather sinisterly. "They are not cheap… Whoever hired them must be filthy rich." _And this method of warfare is not like Dumbledore. Someone else hired them, someone who knew about Fenrir's movements._

"You were careless, Fenrir," the Dark Lord's eyes burned to life. "Careless, and **weak**."

"Give me another chance to prove myself," Fenrir growled, his bestial nature coming through. "I **will not** fail you again, my Lord."

"Lord Voldemort does not believe you," the Dark Lord hissed.

"I recruited almost a dozen wolves… Despite my unhealed injuries…" Fenrir said, and the Dark Lord looked to the three hooded figures.

"I count only three," the Dark Lord looked back to Fenrir.

"This… vermin…" Fenrir shot a glare back at Michael. "He fed my pack to his friends!"

"Is this true?" Lord Voldemort looked to Michael.

"My men were hungry," Michael shrugged, and the Dark Lord felt the urge to shatter his mind. "Plus, they were weak. They would have served little to no purpose in our army."

"My army!" the Dark Lord hissed, and the brat was sent flying into the wall behind him. "I do not have to leave this chair to kill you, remember that."

Michael recovered rather quickly, an amused grin on his face. _Damn Gaspard, and his insane offspring._

"They were sickly, and a waste of resources," Michael said calmly. "I will bring you healthier, and stronger, recruits."

The Dark Lord just stared at Michael, and in the end, he decided to let it go. _I cannot lose anymore allies, not in my current state. For now, I have to exercise patience. I must bide my time._

"Why did you spare these three?" the Dark Lord looked to the hooded figures, who were shaking like leaves in the wind.

"They looked healthy, and one of them is pregnant," Michael replied. "If I had killed the pregnant one, my father would have my head."

"Remove their hoods," the Dark Lord ordered, and Michael's men did as they were told. "Ah, Kurt…" _I remember this boy._

"My… My… Lord…" Kurt bowed his head, his face was covered in tears and snot. _Weak._

"I see that Alexander did not survive," the Dark Lord looked to Fenrir.

"He was killed during the attack," Fenrir said. _Shame, he had such potential._ "These two are Bernadette the Red, and Casey Yorkshire… We had another companion who survived the Mercenary attack, but this Vampire killed him."

"Your friend tasted delicious," Michael sniggered, and once again, the Dark Lord held back his fury. _The moment I get a permanent vessel, I will skin this one alive._

"Which one of you is pregnant?" the Dark Lord looked to the women.

"M… Me… My Lord…" Casey Yorkshire cried out.

"And the father?" Lord Voldemort asked, and she shot a shameful look towards Fenrir. _He no doubt raped her._ "Do you wish to have this child, Fenrir?"

Fenrir looked into the Dark Lord's eyes, and he knew what the Dark Lord truly meant. One of them was not leaving this room alive, and although Fenrir had enjoyed his time with Casey, he didn't plan to die for her. Or for the bastard in her belly.

"No, my Lord," Fenrir looked to the girl, whose face twisted painfully.

"Cut her throat," Lord Voldemort ordered, and Michael's men look to their commander, while Kurt and Casey began weeping.

"Don't touch her!" Bernadette struggled in her binds, a ferocious look on her face. "You bastards! Don't touch her!" _This one won't follow me, I can already see it. She is too… foolish._

"Whoever kills that woman is doomed," Michael told the Dark Lord. "My father **will** find out that a pregnant woman was murdered by a Vampire, and he'll butcher us all. You will lose most of your Vampire allies in one night." _Gaspard… Even in a coma he constantly aggravates me._

"Kill the other one, then," Lord Voldemort said, and within a second, Bernadette's throat was ripped open with sharp nails.

Kurt and Casey began wailing, while Bernadette choked to death on her own blood. Lord Voldemort kept his eyes fixed on Fenrir, who just stared at Bernadette's writhing form with a blank look.

"Take a good look, Fenrir," Lord Voldemort hissed. "Fail me again, and that'll be your fate."

"I understand, my Lord," Fenrir bowed his head.

"Throw the men into the Dungeons, and take the girl to your sister," Lord Voldemort looked to Michael. "She can care for her, and once your 'benevolent' father wakes up, he can decide what happens to her."

Michael gave a nod, while his men began dragging Fenrir, and the other two Werewolves, out.

"Leave the corpse," the Dark Lord said as one of them tried to haul up Bernadette's body. "Get out."

One by one, they all left the room, with Michael being the last. Once he was completely alone, the Dark Lord looked to Bernadette the Red. _You will serve Lord Voldemort, even in death._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – Breakfast)**_

Ron carefully went down the stairs leading into the Entrance Hall, swinging on these crutches was rather fun, but Ron didn't plan to end up back in the Hospital Wing. _At least not so soon. Merlin, I can't wait to try out Lumos Solem! And then I can start looking at the other Progenitor Spells in Flitwick's book!_ Ron beamed at the prospect of uncovering even more hidden gems, it had been a long while since he was this excited about his Spellwork.

As Ron made his way into the packed Great Hall, people shot him curious looks. _They're probably wondering what happened to me. That, or they're still blown away by my new position of power. I should definitely use my increased fame to my advantage, and start approaching some older students for the study group. With their help, we might all start acting as_ _ **one**_ _school._ Ron made his way over to his friends, and he could already see them frowning at him.

"Hello," Ron greeted them.

"What happened to your leg, Ron?" Daphne asked, her eyes were fixed on his bandaged right foot.

"A little Magical mistake," Ron smiled sheepishly, and then with her help, he managed to sit in his usual spot. "Thanks, Daph."

"Honestly, Ron…" Daphne sighed out as she placed his crutches in-between them. "What did you do?"

"I was playing with fire, and being the dumb cunt that I am, ended up forgetting that fire is dangerous," Ron replied, while his friends just exchanged knowing looks.

"So you won't be attending classes today?" Blaise asked.

"Please say no," Theo smirked, and Ron shot him the bird.

"I'll limp to them, don't you worry," Ron sniggered.

"I can carry your books, if you want?" Millie offered.

"Oh, that's alright," Ron began making his plate. "I'll just use the Locomotor Charm, which will make my book bag float behind me. So… How was the morning run?"

"Cold," Malfoy replied in a bored tone.

"Very cold," Millie agreed.

"You've become rather lazy lately, Ron," Tracey teased. "This is the second morning run that you've missed."

"Maybe if you joined us, I'd be more inclined to come," Ron smiled at her.

"You know what? I might consider it," Tracey shrugged, and both Pansy and Daphne shot Tracey annoyed looks. "What?"

"If you start going, then he'll start asking us to join in as well," Pansy narrowed her eyes on Tracey.

"I'm no runner," Daphne huffed in indignation. _But I bet that your bonbons would look amazing while you run. I have to see that, at least once._

"Running reminds me…" Ron suddenly remembered Madam Roberts' lesson. "Madam Roberts told me something extremely amazing just yesterday. She said that one's Magical Core is like a muscle, and the more one uses it, the stronger it becomes."

"Shite…" Tracey muttered, she knew where this was going.

"So I was thinking that we'd train more often," Ron finished.

All of them, except for Millie, looked rather reluctant already.

"Well?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning their expressions. _They don't like the idea._

"We'd love to, but…" Pansy started.

"School is getting busier, mate," Blaise said. "We're already putting in a lot of time in the Training Area."

"And our grades are starting to slip," Theo added. _I know for a fact that they aren't._

"Pansy and I are not even in the Dueling Tournament anymore," Tracey said, and Pansy nodded quickly.

"C'mon," Ron urged. "It'll be fun. It's been ages since we all trained together."

"No, thanks," Malfoy refused outright. _At least he said thanks…_

Ron looked to Daphne, who was suddenly very interested in the décor of the Great Hall.

"Daph?" Ron whispered as he nudged her. "What do you say?"

"Um… Ron…" Daphne looked to Pansy and Tracey for help. _Fine, I get it… Whatever._

"I'll join you," Millie said, and Ron immediately looked to her. "If I teach you the Spell that my father sent me, can you teach me some Non-Verbal Magic basics? I've been trying, but it hasn't been going well."

"Sure, we have a deal," Ron beamed at her. "This'll be great, Mills!"

"Yeah, Mills… Good on you," Blaise shot her an annoyed look, but Millie couldn't care less.

Breakfast continued as normal after that, with all of them discussing various topics of conversation. According to Theo, Harry had been seen talking to Percy in a rather desperate manner this morning. There was strife within the House of the Lions, and although Ron was interested in it, he decided that he had better things to do than to worry about other people's trivial problems. Whatever Harry and Percy were discussing, Ron knew that he'd find out about it eventually.

As Breakfast came to a close, a large black owl flew into the Great Hall, and it perched itself right in front of Ron.

"Whose owl is that?" Pansy asked, while the owl stared at Ron with an almost bored look. _There's a piece of parchment attached to its leg._

Ron carefully took the parchment, and the owl flew off almost immediately after.

"It didn't even wait for a snack…" Daphne cocked an eyebrow at its disappearing form.

Ron opened the parchment up, and inside were two words written in neat handwriting. ' _I accept'._ Ron blinked at the parchment, and then he realized who had sent it. _Emilia Travers._ Ron smiled to himself as he pocketed the parchment, while his friends waited for him to inform them. _I should seek out Victor soon about that weapon of his. If I can get Emilia to buy it, both the Order and I will benefit._

"Let's go?" Ron asked them.

"Who was that from?" Theo asked.

"And what did it say?" Millie asked right after.

"It was from… a friend," Ron said, and then he began standing up.

Daphne helped him with his crutches, while his other friends just shrugged at his response. Ron clearly had no intention of telling them, and they knew better than to pester him.

"How long until your foot is better?" Daphne asked him as they began making their way out.

"Probably a day," Ron smiled at her. "What? You want to hold my hand?"

"I do," Daphne smirked. "When did you get hurt, Ron? I was with you all of yesterday."

"It was late at night," Ron replied. "I sometimes have trouble sleeping, so I just train until I get really tired."

"Trouble sleeping?" Daphne asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Ron replied, making sure to be careful with his crutches. _I'd rather not stub anyone's toe._ "After my session today, do you want to do something? Just us?"

"Yes," Daphne's lips twitched upwards, and then she shot him an almost amused look. "Yesterday, you wanted to go for a walk, and today, you want to spend time with me after your session. Very suspicious."

"Is it?" Ron sniggered. "Well, I remember our chat at the Gala… When we were dancing. You mentioned that you sometimes feel lonely because I'm always running off."

"Ron, I didn't mean anything by it," Daphne's cool demeanor cracked for a moment.

"I just want to be a better boyfriend," Ron admitted, and Daphne gave him a genuine smile. "So? What do you say? Want to cuddle on my bed after my session? I'm not supposed to be walking around."

"That sounds perfect," Daphne agreed as they made their way into the Entrance Hall. "Maybe we could start your French lessons? Just some basics."

"Do I get a reward if I do well?" Ron grinned.

"I think that's fair," Daphne shot him a wink. _Yes!_

"Awesome, I can't wait-"

"Ron, you got a minute?" came Neville's voice, and Ron shot a look back.

Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny had walked around the Slytherins in order to approach Ron, and all four of them were staring at his bandaged foot.

"What happened to your foot?" Ginny asked, she almost sounded worried for him. _Almost._

"A Magical mishap," Ron replied. "Fire hurts." _My calf is still stinging a little, not to mention that I have yet another scar on my body._

"He's finally learning common sense," Theo sniggered, and Ron shot him a grin.

"It only took thirteen years," Ron joked, and then he looked to Neville. "Is there something that you needed?"

"We just wanted to see if you were alright," Hermione said. "And to thank you for the study group thing…"

"What study group thing?" Blaise asked. _Oh yeah, I never told my friends._

"Hermione and Harry will be joining us on Friday," Ron said, and his friends said absolutely nothing. _Yep, they're not too pleased. Oh well, they'll get over it. It's not like Harry and Hermione are going to bother them._ "We'll be on our way, then. These crutches make it hard for me to move about the castle, and I don't want to be late for class."

"Wait…" Harry spoke up just as Ron was turning to leave.

"Yes?" Ron looked to Harry.

"Can I talk to you? In private?" Harry asked, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. _What does he want? Does it have something to do with his argument with Perce?_

"Guys, go on ahead," Ron looked to his friends. "Blaise, can you grab my books for me?"

"Sure," Blaise gave a subtle nod, though his eyes were fixed on the Trio.

"Thanks, mate," Ron smiled, and then he looked to Daphne.

"Let's go," Daphne said to the others, and they left for the Slytherin common room.

Once his own friends were gone, Ron looked to Ginny.

"What?" Ginny asked curtly.

"This is the part where you leave," Ron told her. _I'm not in the mood for her bratty attitude. And whenever Harry is involved, she becomes an utter bitch to me._

"Ginny, we'll see you at lunch," Hermione said, which only served to irritate Ginny.

"Nonsense, you're leaving too," Ron turned his smile towards Hermione, who blinked at him. "Harry wants to speak to me privately, doesn't he? That means that you're not needed, so go on, be on your way." _All of my friends are gone, so it's only fair that Harry's friends leave too._ "Neville, you as well."

"Let's go," Neville looked to Hermione and Ginny, who looked to Harry. _Fuck me, just leave. You're wasting my time. I have to limp up to Transfiguration, and if I'm late, Professor McGonagall will have my hide._

"It's alright, I'll see you guys in a bit," Harry said, and Neville nudged Hermione lightly.

"Fine," Ginny rolled her eyes, and then she marched off towards Gryffindor Tower. _I'm actually sick of her attitude. One of these days, I'll smack her so hard that she'll never walk straight again. I spent forty Galleons on her dress, and she tossed it away like it was garbage. Oh, and she slapped me so hard that it broke skin._

"Don't take too long," Hermione said to Harry, and then she shot Ron an awkward smile before leaving with Neville.

"Courtyard?" Ron looked to Harry, who gave a nod.

They began making their way towards the exit, and Harry made sure to slow down his pace to match Ron's.

"Hey, Ron," a Slytherin girl waved at him, and Ron shot her a smile. "Hope that leg heals up soon."

"Let us know if you need anything," Septimus Smith said, a pleasant smile on his face. _They're not even being subtle with their newfound love of me._

"I will," Ron gave a grateful nod, while Harry looked between Ron and the politer-than-usual Slytherins.

"You're doing well in Slytherin, then?" Harry asked as they made their way outside.

"Does that bother you?" Ron smirked.

"No, why would it?" Harry asked.

"Maybe because you don't like Slytherin very much," Ron replied bluntly.

"I have reason not to," Harry shrugged.

"No, you don't," Ron said calmly. "You judge everyone on the actions of the few, all the while ignoring the bastards in your own House. You're a hypocrite, and you always have been." Harry looked rather taken aback by Ron's harsh words. "Don't worry, I'm a hypocrite too. Everyone is. You're nothing special." _You really aren't._ "Anyway… What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you alright, Ron?" Harry asked slowly.

"My leg hurts," Ron shrugged. "C'mon, Harry, don't keep me in suspense."

"Right…" Harry gave Ron a curious look. "Um… I don't know where to start… You know how Percy is very…" he trailed off. _Merlin, just talk._

"Harry," Ron adorned a more serious look. "Just say what's on your mind, please. I don't want to be late to Professor McGonagall's class."

"Your brother Percy can be really pompous," Harry stated, and Ron held his tongue in check. "He's going out of his way to get Angelina Johnson in trouble… He wants her Prefect status taken away from her, and for her to be punished. He's even trying to take away Lee Jordan's Prefect status, and Lee isn't even here to defend himself."

"And why is Percy doing this?" Ron asked.

"He claims that she knew about Fred and George's prank-war, and that she didn't do her duty by coming to him," Harry frowned a little.

"So my brother has a valid reason to go after her," Ron said. "I mean, she **did** know about the twins, and she **refused** to do her duty."

"They were just-"

"If you say that they were just having a laugh, I'll throw one of these crutches at you," Ron warned. "They spent three days targeting us with the worst sort of pranks, and no one did a thing to help us. Tell me, Harry, if we Slytherins had done that to Gryffindor, how would you feel? Imagine us Slytherins constantly targeting you Gryffindors, and not even the teachers at this school step in to help you guys out. How would that make you feel? Tell me truthfully."

"I… I don't know…" Harry admitted slowly.

"Of course you don't," Ron said. "A scenario like that could **never** happen. The moment we Slytherins step out of line, the Professors crack down on us in an almost vindictive manner. Bloody hell, I bet that even the Headmaster would leave his ivory tower just to protect his little Lions." Ron then drew in a calming breath, there was no point in telling Harry this. _It goes in one ear, and comes out the other._ "Anyway… Do you want me to talk to Percy?"

"If he gets her stuck in detentions, Gryffindor's Quidditch Team loses another member," Harry replied, he sounded a little distant now. _Is he thinking about my words?_ "We already don't have our Beaters, Ron, so losing Angelina will destroy any chance of us winning against Hufflepuff this Saturday." _Not even a day, and he's already asking me for favors._

"This is surreal," Ron shook his head, and Harry blinked at him. "It hasn't even been a day since I let you back into my life, and you're already asking me for a favor."

"Oh…"

"Yes, 'Oh'," Ron said, even he was surprised with Harry's actions. _He must be really desperate._

"This isn't exactly coming from me," Harry sighed out, he detested lying to anyone. "I spoke with Percy, and then I told the Team that I couldn't sway him… So Oliver, our Captain, asked me to speak to you. He thinks that Percy will listen to you."

"And why didn't he come himself?" Ron asked, and Harry shrugged because he had no idea.

"Maybe he thinks that we're still friends?" Harry suggested, a hint of shame in his voice.

"Tell him to come and speak to me himself," Ron told Harry.

"Where? And when?" Harry asked.

"During Dinner, tonight," Ron replied. "I'll hear him out." _I'll help Angelina, but I'll humiliate her for laughing at Malfoy's humiliation. Fair is fair._

"Alright, I'll let him know," Harry gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Ron."

"Not so fast," Ron clicked his tongue, and Harry stopped and gave Ron a curious look. "You owe me a favor now, Harry."

"A favor?" Harry blinked.

"I'm helping you now, and so you'll help me later," Ron explained. "One for one."

"But Oliver is the one making the request," Harry said slowly.

"And I'm only hearing him out because **you** want me to," Ron said coldly. "You'll both owe me a favor each."

"Ron, you can't be-"

"It is the way of the World, Harry," Ron shrugged. "If you wish to take, then you must also learn to give. As far as I'm concerned, that rule applies to every single person, regardless of their entitlements. So… Do you agree?"

"I… Fine, I'll owe you one," Harry gave a nod.

"Then I will hear out Oliver Wood," Ron smiled.

* * *

 _ **Monday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **November, 1993 (The Courtyard – Dinner)**_

"Oh, good," Ron limped out into the Courtyard, and Oliver Wood turned to face him. "I was worried that I'd have to wait out in the cold."

Ron carefully limped to a snowy bench, and despite its wet condition, sat down on it. _Good thing that I'm wearing my cloak._

"Do you mind if we talk here?" Ron groaned as he fixed his leg to the side. "My leg is aching, and I've had to limp up and down the castle all fucking day." _Getting to Hagrid's Hut was a nightmare._ "Well? Talk."

"What happened to your leg?" Oliver asked as he approached Ron.

"That is none of your concern, mate," Ron grinned. "Let's avoid the pleasantries, it's colder than an Ice Salamander's arsehole out here."

"Fair enough," Oliver gave a nod. "I need you to speak to your brother… Percy. It is one thing that he turned the twins in, now he's going after another teammate of mine. A **very** valuable teammate, if I do so say myself."

"More valuable than my dear brothers?" Ron asked, and Oliver said nothing. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. My brothers would be quite hurt to hear that."

"Is this a joke to you?" Oliver demanded, and Ron let out a snigger. _The rumors are true… He's got quite the temper._

"You need to calm down, mate," Ron shook his head. "Go on, please. Tell me why I should help you instead of my favorite brother? Why should I ask Percy to stop, and in doing so, anger him?"

"Because your brother is being a massive prick," Oliver said bluntly, and Ron fought the urge to leave. "He's treating every single person in Gryffindor as if we're criminals, all the while brandishing his Head Boy Badge as if he were a bloody tyrant. He's even accused the first years of knowing about the twins' actions for fuck's sake. He is only making himself less popular."

"Do you know why he's so hell-bent on this mission of his?" Ron asked. _Because I do._

"No, and I don't care," Oliver replied.

"He knows that he's right, and you know it too," Ron told Oliver nonetheless. "I know for a fact that Angelina Johnson laughed at Draco Malfoy's humiliation, and that she was waiting by the twins' side as they planned to shame a random Slytherin. She knowingly helped them, and she no doubt has no regrets over Draco Malfoy's humiliation. She is guilty." Ron then repositioned his injured leg. "You all hid this from Percy, even those who were supposed to be on his side. Now… Can you really blame my brother for seeking justice?"

"Look… Spare me your exposition, and just tell me if you'll help me," Oliver said. "Harry told me that you wanted me to owe you a favor, and I'm willing to take that deal."

"But why?" Ron asked. "I might not even succeed, and you'll still owe me for wasting my time with this."

"No, I'll owe you if you **succeed** ," Oliver bargained. "I'm not going to help you for wasting **my** time." _Entitled prick._

"Well… This is goodbye, then," Ron stood up, his crutches moving into his armpits. "Good luck with my brother."

With that, Ron began limping towards the Entrance Hall. Oliver waited for a few seconds, and then he chased after Ron, stopping only when he was in-between Ron and the entrance to the castle.

"So what? You're not going to help me, after all?" Oliver frowned deeply.

"You have no leverage, Wood," Ron told the Gryffindor. "If I don't help you, then Percy will have Angelina in detention **very soon**. Hufflepuff will massacre your Team, and life will go on as usual for me. You are asking me to help you, all the while refusing to pay me for my efforts."

"I said that I'll owe you if you succeed," Oliver said, and Ron let out a tired sigh.

"How is me pissing off my brother worth it for me?" Ron asked. "If I fail, then Percy will be upset with me, and I get nothing for my trouble. It's a shitty deal, and I'm not taking it."

"Fine…" Oliver grit out. "I'll owe you, but you have to try your hardest."

Ron put his gloved hand forward, and after staring at it with a look of distrust, Wood slowly shook Ron's hand.

"One more thing," Ron added, and Oliver rolled his eyes. "I want Angelina Johnson to apologize to Draco Malfoy tomorrow morning. In the Entrance Hall… In front of a crowd."

"What?" Oliver blinked.

"You heard me," Ron said calmly. "She played a key role in his embarrassment, and I want her to apologize to him. I'd ask the twins and Lee Jordan, but they're not exactly available."

"Why? You're a Weasley," Oliver frowned again. "Why do you care about a Malfoy being insulted?"

"It's about principle," Ron shrugged. "I offered Malfoy safety, and I failed to live up to that, so the least I can do now is to help him get some closure."

"That'll never happen," Oliver rubbed his forehead. "Angelina will never agree to something like this."

"Then you convince her, and I'll convince Percy," Ron said. "I'll be waiting for that apology, Wood. Nothing happens until she gives Malfoy a **genuine** apology."

"You really are the worst of your Family, aren't you?" Oliver shook his head, and Ron drew in a calming breath. "Fine, I'll talk to her. Linger about in the Entrance Hall tomorrow after Breakfast…"

With that, Oliver left for the Great Hall in a huff, while Ron couldn't help but glare at his back. _He genuinely doesn't care about his teammate's actions, he just wants to win the fucking Quidditch Cup. And yet, he has the gall to insult me, and Percy, multiple times. Very well, Oliver Wood, let's see who gets the last laugh._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Entrance Hall – After Breakfast)**_

"Ron, why are we just standing around?" Davis asked, and Draco fought the urge to look at her.

Ever since their chat on the night of the Gala, both Draco and Davis had begun avoiding each other. Draco didn't know about Davis, but he personally preferred this new arrangement. She had clearly forgiven him, as she no longer shot him disgusted glares, but at the same time, she didn't acknowledge the fact that Draco had had a profound moment with her. This not only saved Draco personal embarrassment, but it also made him respect Davis a little. She clearly understood how he would feel if she told the others about their chat, and in order to save Draco shame, she kept her distance. Draco, in turn, had fully come to realize that his treatment of others was nothing short of disgusting in the past. _I was their Marcus Flint, which is why they left me for Weasley in the first place._

"Are you not going to answer me?" Davis pouted at Weasley, who just smiled at her.

"I'm going to go on," Draco said, he really didn't want to be around when the other students began leaving the Great Hall.

"Malfoy, stay where you are," Weasley said, and Draco shot him a suspicious look. "I have a gift for you, and it's on its way." _A gift?_

Draco looked to the others, who just gave Weasley curious looks. _He's up to something… Again._ Draco couldn't deny that he was now intrigued, but about what, he wasn't sure. Weasley had that effect on Draco, and despite resisting it over the last two months, Draco couldn't deny it any longer. Weasley was an interesting, and complicated, individual, and Draco couldn't help but gravitate towards him. _What sort of gift has he planned for me?_ Draco suddenly heard loud footsteps approaching, and Weasley pulled Draco to his side.

"Stay here, and stay calm," Weasley whispered. "And please accept the apology." _Apology?_

"What are you-?" Draco started, but the sound of the large doors springing open silenced him.

The horde of Hogwarts washed over them all, and the eight Slytherins had to step back in order to avoid being trampled to death. Weasley was clearly looking for someone, while Draco and the others just waited to witness Weasley's latest stunt. Draco knew that the others were just as intrigued as he was, but unlike them, Draco hid his intrigue behind a mask of cold indifference.

And that's when they all spotted Angelina Johnson approaching them, a slightly furious look on her face.

"Malfoy, can I speak to you?" Johnson demanded, and Malfoy just stared at her. _She's going to apologize to me? Why? She had no problem laughing at me when I was at my lowest, and I know for a fact that she told all of her friends about me._

"Go on," Weasley answered for Draco, and Johnson shot him a sneer. "Just do it, Johnson. Your Team is watching." _What is going on here?_

"Malfoy, I'm-" Johnson looked to Draco, who just cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Ahem!" Weasley cleared his throat rather loudly, making everyone around them go silent. _Merlin, my heart nearly stopped just then._

Johnson was clearly swallowing her anger at Weasley's interruption, which had garnered the attention of everyone in the Entrance Hall, and Draco found himself oddly amused at all of this. _She looks miserable. Good._

"Angelina, just do it," Oliver Wood whispered in a rather agitated manner, and Johnson shot a furious look backwards.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry for my part in what the twins did to you," Johnson apologized, her tone barely controlled. _No way… How did he pull this off?_ "I should've stopped them, but I made it worse with my… lack of maturity…" Johnson then clenched her jaw. "Can you please forgive me?"

"I…" Draco looked to Weasley, who spared him a quick glance. "I accept your apology."

People began whispering with entertained smirks, while Johnson simply turned to the exit and stormed off. Her Team followed after her, while the other students sniggered at her for having to apologize to a Slytherin. _And not just an ordinary Slytherin, but the most hated student in this school._ Draco couldn't help but notice that Weasley was looking in the direction of Percy Weasley, who was looking quite furious with Angelina Johnson's back. _I have no idea what just happened, but I think Weasley just punished Johnson for humiliating me… Why would he do that?_

"Let's be on our way," Weasley said, and then he just walked off towards the exit.

Draco and the others followed after Weasley, and Draco could see just how amused the rest of the group was. _They clearly approve of his actions, but not because they care about me. They just enjoy watching Weasley knock people off of their pedestals._

"Weasley, slow down," Draco said as he moved to Weasley's side. _I have to know why he did this._

"Thank you for accepting her apology," Weasley said, and Draco gave a slow nod.

"Why did you make her do that?" Draco asked.

"I owed you," Weasley replied, and Draco blinked at him. "I offered you protection, remember? I failed to deliver on that promise, thanks to my brothers of all people. I know this isn't exactly revenge, but it's the least I could do. I hope you found some closure thanks to her apology." _I suppose I did… It felt good to not be a joke for a change._

"Thanks," Draco all but whispered, and he dearly hoped that Weasley hadn't heard him.

"Think nothing of it," Weasley patted Draco's back, much to Draco's annoyance.

"Don't touch me," Draco frowned, but Weasley just sniggered to himself.

"Sorry, I completely forgot about the 'No touching' policy," Weasley said. "Won't happen again."

"I doubt that," Draco shook his head. "You realize that you humiliated your brothers' friend, right? And you did it for my benefit."

"And?"

"And I'm a Malfoy," Draco reminded Weasley.

"Are you worried about what other people will say about me?" Weasley smirked. _As disgusting as this is to admit, I am worried… I don't want you fighting with everyone on my behalf. Not again._ "Don't worry, I'm used to conflict. You can't please everyone, Malfoy, so why not just do your best to stick by your principles, eh?"

"How very humble of you," Draco drawled.

"Thank you," Weasley grinned at him.

"I was being sarcastic," Draco gave Weasley a deadpan look.

"Oh, ouch," Weasley laughed, and Draco had to force his lips to not smile.

"Thank you, Weasley," Draco said, and Weasley had the decency to say nothing, which put an end to this embarrassing conversation.

* * *

 _ **Percy Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Abandoned Classroom – Lunchtime)**_

Percy was left utterly disgusted by his House's complicity in the recent 'prank-war', and he couldn't deny that he was also left quite hurt. He was all alone in Gryffindor, and now he knew for certain. His Prefects would rather support the twins' chaotic behavior than help Percy establish order, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. Sure, he wasn't the most 'fun' person to be around, but they had made vows of upholding their positions with integrity.

That's what really bothered Percy about all of this. These Prefects had clearly lied to the school's staff when they had accepted their Badges, and yet, none of them had been punished for this crime. Percy had gone to Professor McGonagall herself about Angelina Johnson, and the old witch had asked Percy to stop his manhunt. It made no sense to him. Angelina had just made a public apology today about her actions, which had confirmed her crime of aiding the twins, but she **still** hadn't been punished. _Could Professor McGonagall be putting Quidditch before the school's welfare? Maybe._

The door to the abandoned classroom suddenly swung open, and Percy looked to see Ron step inside with a wide smile on his face. _Why does he feel the need to put on that smile? I know him, and he doesn't smile like that when he's happy._

"Percy!" Ron greeted, and then he shut the door quickly. "I'm glad you're here."

"Ron, why are the Gryffindor first years carrying messages for you?" Percy asked, and Ron shrugged innocently. _I can't believe that half of them cornered me after morning classes, and then told me to come here in order to speak to Ron._

"The first years like me," Ron told Percy as he stepped further into the room. "Anyway… How are you today? You looked right pissed off this morning."

"Oh, did I?" Percy frowned. "Angelina Johnson all but confirmed my suspicions about her, and she apologized to Draco Malfoy in public. And here's the crazy part… I know you had something to do with that."

"I did," Ron admitted. "I wanted her to apologize for her actions, and now that she has, I have no interest in her."

"What does that mean?" Percy asked.

"It means that she's made amends, and since Malfoy accepted her apology, I won't go after her anymore," Ron replied.

"Why are you going after her in the first place?" Percy asked. "Ron, just tell me what you're up to. I don't like the fact that you are getting involved in this mess."

Ron stared at Percy for a few moments, and Percy had to admit that Ron's sudden staring put him on edge. _It's such a dead-eyed stare… It's creepy._

"Oliver Wood came to me," Ron started, and Percy's ears perked up. "He asked me for help, and I accepted on the condition that Johnson apologizes to Malfoy."

"What kind of help?" Percy asked through narrowed eyes.

"He wanted help regarding you, Perce," Ron replied, and Percy blinked at his little brother. "He says that you've become a tyrant-"

"A tyrant?" Percy suddenly felt his blood boil. "They're the ones who are acting like some Guild of Thieves!" _Volume, Percy. Ron hasn't done anything to be yelled at for._ "They all knew about the twins' actions, Ron… And not **one of them** came to me. Not a single person did the right thing."

"The twins are very popular," Ron shrugged. "And although they sometimes go too far, they usually make people laugh."

"What does that matter?" Percy asked.

"It matters a lot," Ron replied. "It's why no one turned them in."

"I can't stand that," Percy frowned deeply. "The twins are rule breakers, and it's my job to stop that sort of behavior."

"Have you considered the fact that maybe your strict following of rules is why no one came to you?" Ron asked.

"I know that I'm not popular, Ron," Percy rolled his eyes. "You don't need to remind me."

"Apparently, I do," Ron said, and Percy cocked an eyebrow. "You are harassing the first years, I hear, and that needs to stop."

"They're first years, and they're already on the wrong path," Percy stated. "I'm just trying to set them right."

"By threatening them with detentions?" Ron asked. "Percy, how do you think that makes you look? You're trying to punish first years for just existing. They would never dare turn the twins in, nor would they turn you in for any wrongdoing. They are first years, and they just want to get through the year in one piece."

"So just because they're young, they're above the rules?" Percy argued. "I don't believe that, Ron. People need to be held accountable for their actions, otherwise, everyone would just do as they please."

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he exhaled rather loudly.

"Percy, I want you to stop this… crusade… of yours," Ron said, and Percy frowned at him. _And why would I do that?_

"Sorry, Ron, but I plan to make an example of anyone who was complicit in this," Percy told his brother.

"It's you who will lose his Badge if you keep going," Ron countered. "You're turning your own House against you, including the first years. Tell me, why aren't you focusing on your studies?"

"Pardon?"

"You think Amelia Bones will care about this crusade of yours?" Ron asked. "I fucking wouldn't. I'd care about your grades, which need to be perfect because we have both put our reputations on the line. You're staring at what's right in front of you, all the while ignoring the storm of shite heading our way. If you lose your Badge because of this, you might lose that job offer from Madam Bones."

"And why would I lose my Badge?" Percy asked. "I'm in the right here."

"You might be, but as far as everyone is concerned, you are taking things too far," Ron replied.

"Everyone?" Percy asked slowly. "You too?"

"Personally, I don't give a fuck about this 'prank-war' nonsense anymore," Ron replied. "It's old news, Percy. The twins and Lee Jordan were at the head of this mess, and they've been punished. It's over. You're the only person not letting it go, and that'll bite you in your arse very soon."

"If I let it go, then they win, Ron," Percy said, and Ron shook his head.

"They got suspended, they lost their stash of joke-items, and I'm pretty sure that when Lee Jordan returns, he'll lose his Prefect Badge," Ron said. "They lost, Percy, plain and simple. What you're doing right now, it's only wasting your time. No one else is going to get punished, because if they were, it would have happened already." _Professor McGonagall… He isn't wrong about that. The Professors are doing nothing at all._ "People want to move on from this, Perce, so stop beating a dead horse. Focus on your Future, and not on this pointless crusade that won't change a damn thing."

Ron then stepped forward, and he put his hands on Percy's cheeks. _What's he doing?_

"For me, Perce," Ron all but whispered. "Let it go, and focus on yourself. Don't risk what we're trying to accomplish at the Ministry over something like school drama." _The Ministry… Ron and I plan to take it by storm, or at least that's what he said._

"It's not just school drama, though," Percy relaxed a little. _He's almost as tall as me now._ "Ever since I came to this school, I've been treated like…" he trailed off. _What's the point of whining about it?_

"Which is why you should let it go," Ron said. "Don't risk what's waiting out there over something like this."

"Ron… Are you asking me to stop because you're worried about me? Or is it because you stand to gain something from ending my 'crusade'?" Percy asked weakly.

"Both," Ron replied, and then he let go of Percy's face. _At least he's honest…_ "You know I love you, Perce, which is why I'm being so honest. I don't want to see you waste your time on people who don't want your help. I want you to focus on yourself."

"Angelina Johnson could become Head Girl one day, and I can't accept that," Percy said.

"You'll be long gone by then," Ron chuckled. "And it wasn't just her who laughed alongside the twins. If you really want justice, then you'll have to go after the majority of the student-body. Tell me, do you have that much time to waste?"

"No."

"Then just let it go," Ron said. "Kids at this school are mean bastards, and they thrive on gossip and drama… You and I have more important things to focus on, don't we?"

"We do," Percy gave a weak nod, and then he let out a tired sigh. "Fine… I'll walk away… I don't fully agree with you, but I can see your point. I shouldn't let this hinder the rest of my life."

"Good," Ron smiled, and then he hugged Percy tightly. _Ow…_

After a couple of seconds, Percy wrapped his own arms around his little brother. _I don't really like physical contact, but this isn't so bad. It actually feels nice… None of my other siblings would do this for me._

"You're not upset with me?" Ron asked.

"No, Ron," Percy gave him a squeeze. "You were honest, and I can respect that. And… I love you too."

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"And I actually thanked him," Draco paced back and forth, while Madam Pomfrey just watched him in silence. "Can you believe that? I, the **Malfoy** **Heir** , thanked a Weasley… And it wasn't forced, or some ploy to get on his good side. I meant it…" _Father would be so ashamed, and as for mother…_ "I don't know what to think anymore, Madam Pomfrey… I feel so exhausted all the time." _Exhausted, and confused. And lonely. I keep thinking about my mother, and my Godfather._

"Draco, you should sit down," Madam Pomfrey suggested, and Draco stopped pacing. "We have been here for nearly an hour, and you haven't stopped pacing. You are going to spiral if you keep going."

"I just want a solution…" Draco flopped onto the couch.

"A solution?"

"There has to be some answer to what I'm feeling," Draco sighed out. "Did I tell you about Davis?"

"Yes, you did," Madam Pomfrey smiled. "I am very proud of you, Draco. You did what felt right to you, and it clearly paid off."

"We haven't spoken since," Draco all but whispered. "We avoid each other, even when we're studying."

"Does that bother you?" Madam Pomfrey asked, she wanted to keep Draco away from the topic of Ronald Weasley for now.

"No, actually," Draco admitted. "What does bother me is the fact that Davis understands how I feel, and she's willingly helping me without asking for something."

"Do you think that she'll come asking for favors?" Pomfrey asked.

"No," Draco shook his head. "She's not like that… But that's the problem, isn't it? Why is she like that?"

"Draco…" Pomfrey blinked at him. "Has it occurred to you that she might just be a kind person?"

"A kind person?" Draco scoffed. "No one is **just** kind. No one. She feels pity for me, I know it."

"That is your pride talking."

"And what's wrong with that?" Draco demanded, even he didn't understand why he was getting angry. _I don't know what to fucking think anymore. I wish Godfather was here._

"There is nothing wrong with having pride, but if you use your pride to push people away from you, then you will regress," Madam Pomfrey told him. "You are clearly grateful for your conversation with Tracey Davis, but at the same time, you resent it. There is a part of you that is trying to move forward, but at the same time, you keep clinging to your past. I believe that this is the cause for your inner turmoil. You are at war with yourself."

"I'm not like these people," Draco rubbed his face. "Weasley… Davis… Even the others. I don't recognize my own childhood friends. Greengrass used to spit at the mere mention of Blood-Traitors when we were kids, and now, she is always attached to one. I get the feeling that if either one of them dies, the other one will keel over right then and there."

"People change," Madam Pomfrey said calmly. "It is the way of life, Draco. Experiences play a large role in forming a person's personality. You used to be a bully…" Draco flinched at her brutal honesty. "But now, you have apologized to one of your oldest victims. And she forgave you."

"One of my oldest victims…" Draco sighed out, remembering one of his other victims. "Bulstrode… I used to go out of my way to pick on her. This one time, she was genuinely having a fun night with us, and I decided to ruin that. I stole sweets from everyone, and hid them under Bulstrode's pillow. After that, I got everyone to turn on her. I don't even know why I did that, all I know is that I'm… ashamed… of myself. She wasn't causing me any problems, she was just enjoying her night… I made everyone call her out on her weight, and I branded her a thief…" _I really was the Marcus Flint in their lives._ "She left in tears… And we didn't see her for nearly two months."

"And you never apologized?" Pomfrey asked, not a hint of judgement in her voice.

"Until recently, I didn't think that I did anything wrong…" Draco swallowed thickly.

"And now?"

"Now, I know how it feels to be universally hated," Draco looked down at his feet. "Now, I understand that I hurt her for no good reason… Why did I do these things, Madam Pomfrey?"

"That is a question that only you can answer," Madam Pomfrey replied. _I know, but I just can't figure it out._ "Have you considered apologizing to Millicent Bulstrode?"

"After my chat with Davis… Yes, I considered it," Draco nodded weakly. "I considered apologizing to them all. I enjoyed making jokes about Theo's late mother, and Blaise's absent father. Crabbe and Goyle were my personal punching bags, even until the end of second year. I called Greengrass a slag out of spite. And Pansy…" Draco felt the urge to bury his head in the sand. "Weasley has been good to her, even I can't deny that. She laughs a lot now, and it isn't forced. It was always forced when she used to follow me around."

"What's stopping you from apologizing to them?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I'm… I'm scared of having those conversations," Draco admitted. "What if they don't accept my apologies?"

"Apologizing isn't about winning someone over," Madam Pomfrey told him. "It's about admitting your own fault. In a way, it's a personal thing."

"That's… That's what Davis said…" Draco said slowly. _Maybe she was right, after all._ "I'll think about it."

"Good," Madam Pomfrey smiled, and then she shot a look towards her clock. "I'm sorry to cut this short, Draco, but I have to get back to my other duties."

"It's alright," Draco stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes," she gave a nod, and Draco nodded to himself as he left the Office

He felt physically lighter after every session, and he had half a mind to thank Weasley for this. _He dragged me here against my will, but it was for the best._ Draco ran his hands through his hair, and then he began making his way back to the Slytherin common room. _If I do apologize to them, I should do it one by one. Should I also list what I'm sorry for? That could take a while._

As Draco made his way down the Moving Staircase, he couldn't help but think of his Godfather. _He's not down there. He's…_ Draco shook his head clear. What was he meant to do during the Yule Break? Would he see his mother again? And what of his father? _Do I want to see father? Even after he betrayed Godfather to the Dark Lord? Yes, I do… I want to ask him so many questions._

"Clean," Draco said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him.

Draco went straight for his room, making sure to avoid even looking at the couches near the fireplace. _I'll have to talk to Dumbledore soon. I need to know if I can see my mother for Christmas._ The mere thought of spending Christmas alone tore at his heart, and once again, Draco felt himself missing his mother's presence. _She used to let me eat all the cookies that I wanted, and we'd keep it a secret from my father. I wonder if the Order is feeding her properly._ As Draco neared his room, he heard loud laughter coming from the other side. _Damn, they're all in there._

He stood at the entrance, unsure of what to do next. _If I go in, they'll just ignore me. But I don't want to sit around all by myself… I don't want to think about mother and father, or about Godfather. At least inside my room, I can be distracted._

"Are you going in?" came Davis' voice from behind him, and Draco nearly jumped from fright.

"Merlin… Why aren't you inside?" Draco turned around with a sneer, but Davis just sniggered to herself.

"Theo wanted to listen to some Led Zeppelin," Davis showed Draco her 'Walkman'.

"Who?"

"Led Zeppelin," Davis repeated, and Draco cocked his eyebrow. "It's a Muggle band, Malfoy. They're amazing!" _They're Muggles, so I doubt it._

"Whatever," Draco stepped out of her way, but she didn't move from her spot. "Well?"

"Why are you loitering out here?" Davis asked.

"Why are we talking?" Draco asked in return.

"Because I want to know why you're loitering out here," Davis smirked, and Draco resisted the urge to walk off.

"I'm not 'loitering'," Draco lied. "As a matter of fact, I was just about to head inside."

"Then please, go on," Davis' smirk grew wider.

Draco opened the door and walked into the room without another thought, and Davis followed after him. Draco shot a quick look around, and immediately noticed that Weasley wasn't around. _Is he in the training room? Wait… Why do I even care?_ Draco walked over to his bed, pulled out the book on Dueling Basics that he had read a hundred times, and began reading chapter six. _I fucking hate this book._

"Who's winning?" Davis asked as she sat down with the others, and Draco subtly shot a look towards them.

"I am," Theo smirked, while the others gave him annoyed looks.

"You're either cheating, or just getting lucky," Greengrass huffed in indignation, but it did nothing to dampen Theo's amusement.

"Do you want to show me this band after I win?" Theo asked Davis, and she nodded excitedly.

"You'll love them, I promise," Davis said, and Theo looked back to the game of Wizard's Poker. _He'll love a Muggle band… Ugh… I don't even want to think about this._

"Malfoy, why don't you join us?" Blaise asked, and everyone went dead silent. _Wait… What?_

"Excuse me?" Draco looked to Blaise, who was just staring at Draco with a bored look.

"Do you want to play Wizard's Poker with us? If so, join us," Blaise said, and Draco looked to the others.

They were all just staring at Blaise in utter disbelief, and on some level, annoyance. _Why is he doing this? I bet Weasley put him up to it._ Draco shot a quick look to the cards, and he felt the urge to join them. _It's better than reading this damn book again._

"Why not?" Davis shot Draco a meaningful look. "C'mon, Malfoy. See if you can't end Theo's win-streak."

"Tracey…" Greengrass frowned at her best friend.

"What are you thinking?" Pansy whispered to Davis.

"Can you not?" Bulstrode added, and then she shot Draco a dark look.

"It's fine… I don't want to play," Draco lied, and then he looked back to his book. _None of them want me there anyway. Fucking hell, where is Weasley when you need him?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Gringotts Wizarding Bank – After Classes)**_

"It all makes sense now," Ron glared at the wall behind Gornuk. "That fucking prick… He actually tried to convince me that he cared about the people of this country. That he cared about ' **genuine journalism** '… Lying sack of shite."

"What will you do with this information, Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk asked, he had just given Ron the Elf's report.

As it turned out, Marietta Angel and Barnabas Cuffe were having a secret affair. The Elf had seen Barnabas visiting Marietta late at night many times, and judging by his appearance on the following mornings, they were rough lovers. _It all makes sense. Why didn't I see it sooner? He actually told me that she worked in a bar, and that she had a messy apartment. He even mentioned that she had a noisy housemate… Why the fuck wasn't I paying attention? No wonder he was trying to sell her so hard. He wants his lover to work in her chosen field._

"I will go to her house, and I will speak to her myself," Ron replied.

"Is that wise?" Gornuk asked, and Ron turned his glare towards the Goblin.

"Go on," Ron said.

"Forgive me, it's not my place to tell you what you should, or should not, do," Gornuk apologized, his beady eyes fixed on Ron's.

"No, I mean it," Ron drew in a deep breath. "You can give me your opinion, Gornuk. You have much more experience in this sort of thing than I do." _He's not at fault, so I shouldn't speak to him in a harsh tone._

"Oh…" the Goblin looked a little taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. "If you do wish to speak to her, have me set up an interview. If you barge onto her property, it will look quite… scandalous."

"You're right," Ron nodded slowly. "I was… being emotional. Sorry. Set up an interview, but don't let her know about our knowledge."

"I will be very discreet, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk wrote something down. "Will this interview be a farce?"

"I don't know," Ron replied. "Ask her to bring some of her work… If she has genuine talent, I'll give her a fair chance."

"Good choice, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk smiled a sharp-toothed smile. "We cannot afford to disregard potential assets. As for Barnabas Cuffe, I will do my best to avoid his spies."

"Just be careful, please," Ron said. "If he thinks that we're threatening his young lover, he'll turn our lives into a battle."

"You mean your life, Mr. Weasley."

"And who will I come to when Barnabas Cuffe is trying to crawl into my arse?" Ron smirked, and Gornuk chuckled.

"A fair point," Gornuk conceded, and Ron stood up to leave.

"Thank you for your work, Gornuk, and tell your Elf that we might call upon him again," Ron said, and Gornuk gave a respectful nod.

"Enjoy the rest of your week, I will send you a letter once the interview is set up," Gornuk said, and Ron made his way out of the Office.

After a moment of deliberation, Ron decided to head back to Hogwarts via the Gringotts' fireplaces. _I wonder if any Aurors are following me. I should limit my movements around Diagon Alley._ Ron entered the Reception Room, and when he saw an unoccupied fireplace, he quickly began setting it up.

"Ron, is that you?" came Bill's voice, and Ron shot a look back. "It is!"

"Bill?" Ron managed before his eldest brother pulled him into a hug. _Oh, alright… What's he doing here?_

"What are you doing here?" Bill asked as he broke the brotherly hug.

"I had business to discuss with my Logistics Officer," Ron replied, and Bill chuckled for some reason. "Why are you here?"

"I came here to discuss my job with the Goblins," Bill replied. "You are looking at the newest Supervisor of Gringotts' British Curse-Breaker Team."

"Congratulations," Ron smiled genuinely. "Good on you, Bill." _A supervisor, eh? That sounds very nice._

"I didn't think that my transfer would come with a promotion, but these Gobos are a funny people," Bill said. _Gobos?_ "Are you heading back to Hogwarts?"

"I was, yeah," Ron nodded. "But maybe we should grab a bite to eat?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but…" Bill scratched the back of his head. "Don't tell anyone this, but Charlie and Kirsten are 'at work' today…"

"What? I don't understand," Ron said slowly.

"They told mum and dad that they were working today, but in truth, they're at the Leaky Cauldron," Bill told Ron. "We're going out to Muggle London for some drinks, and I can't take you along because you're a minor."

"I guess that's fair," Ron shrugged. "Send them my love, big brother."

"Wait… Before you head off," Bill put his hand on Ron's right shoulder. "How did things go between you and Daphne?"

"Excuse me?"

"You two were extremely drunk, and I want to know if you did something… foolish," Bill gaze Ron a stern look. _Does he think that I'll be intimidated by such a look?_

"We went all the way, actually…" Ron lied, and Bill went dead-still.

"Ron… Are you fucking joking? Please tell me that you're joking…" Bill all but whispered.

"We snogged, and then we both went to sleep," Ron chuckled, and Bill released a scared breath. _I can't believe that worked._

"Prick," Bill frowned a little, and then he smiled. "Go on, then. I won't ask you anymore personal questions."

"For tonight, that is," Ron figured, and Bill shot him a wink. "Take care, Bill, and enjoy your night. Oh, and congratulations again."

"Take care, little brother," Bill waved goodbye, and Ron looked back to the fireplace.

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Ron chanted, and then he tossed the floo-powder into the flames.

As soon as they roared to life, Ron stepped through them and into Dumbledore's Office. _Home sweet home._ Ron looked around the Office, and much to his surprise, it was devoid of life. _Even baby Fawkes isn't here. Odd._

"Headmaster?!" Ron called, and there was no response.

"Come here, Ronald," came the Hat's voice, and Ron walked up to the shelf that served as its home.

"Hat," Ron beamed. "It's good to speak to you again."

"Likewise, my boy," the Hat chuckled. "If you are looking for Albus, I'm afraid that he isn't here, and he won't be back until tomorrow."

"Where did he go?" Ron asked.

"Albania," the Hat replied.

"Oh…"

"Indeed, my boy," the Hat said. "He intends to use Fawkes' tears to heal the villagers around the Gaia Project site. Far too much Magic in one concentrated location has begun to make people ill." _Is that even possible._ "But fear not, Albus and Fawkes will have them fixed up in no time."

"Really?" Ron couldn't help but smile. "That's very kind of him."

"It is, but Albus sees it as his duty," the Hat sighed. "He can be a very boring individual."

"I was talking about Fawkes," Ron sniggered. "The old man isn't the one shedding tears."

"Ha! He most certainly is not!" the Hat laughed. "How have you been, my boy? Have you given any thought to our previous conversation?"

"I have," Ron replied with a casual shrug.

"And?"

"And… Nothing," Ron replied. "I get that you don't want me to have any regrets, but the thing is… My only regret would be failing my friends and Family, because even though I'm at odds with some of them right now, I love them. I want them to be safe. Unlike Rowena, I don't have the choice to stop."

"I see," the Hat hummed. "Did anything particular inspire this epiphany?"

"My parents…" Ron smiled in content. "We're not fighting anymore, and in full honesty, their support has been very wholesome. Things can always improve." _Actually, I've been a good mood ever since the Gala. Mum and dad looked really proud of me, especially after the Werewolf Legislation talk._

"I hope you're right, Ronald, for your own sake," the Hat said in a sagely manner. "Now, be off. Spend some time with your friends."

"Take care, Hat," Ron waved his farewell as he made his way towards the exit. "Come and talk to me if you get too bored."

"Will do!" the Hat called, and Ron left the Office.

He quickly made his way down the spiral staircase, past the Stone Gargoyle, and down towards the Moving Staircase. _The others should be playing some Wizard Poker right about now, and I hope Blaise invited Malfoy just as I asked him to. He wasn't pleased, but he agreed to nonetheless._ Ron moved past some Gryffindor students, who eyed him with confused looks. _Yeah, I was on the Seventh Floor. You're not mad._ As he began nearing the Entrance Hall, he saw the Gryffindor Quidditch Team heading out for practice. Oliver Wood spotted him, and he quickly stopped. _Ah, Oliver Wood._

"You guys go on," Oliver told his team, and then he made his way to Ron. "Weasley."

"Oliver," Ron smiled, making the seventh year frown. "What? We're friends now, aren't we?"

"No, but thank you for taking care of Percy," Oliver replied. "I don't know how you managed it, but I owe you one."

"Has he stopped completely?" Ron asked.

"He's ignored everyone all day, and we just walked past him, and he didn't even spare Angelina a glance," Oliver replied. _Good, he needs to focus on himself._

"Well, good luck for your game, then," Ron turned to leave, and Woods followed suit.

Ron made his way down to the Dungeons, all the while contemplating a strategy to make sure that Gryffindor would lose their next match. _Maybe I can tell Cedric that Harry and Angelina are the only real threats on the Gryffindor Team? That could work, and I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty. Wood really shouldn't have insulted Percy._

"Clean," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid open for him. _Now, let's find the others._

Once Ron reached his room, he entered without knocking.

"Hello," Ron greeted everyone, and he immediately noticed that Malfoy wasn't sitting with the others. _Blaise didn't invite him? Fuck._

"You're back!" Pansy beamed. "Come and sit with me!"

"I think I'll sit with Daphne," Ron shot Pansy a smile, despite his annoyance with Blaise.

"Damn you, Daphne," Pansy glared at Daphne, who simply cocked an eyebrow in response.

Without another word, Ron lied down next to Daphne, and then he smuggled his head into her lap. _Head pats, please._ Daphne's left hand started playing with his hair, and Ron purred like a cat. _Awesome. My day is complete._

"How was your day?" Daphne whispered to him.

"Shhh," Theo frowned at her. "No talking in Poker. You'll distract the rest of us."

"You tell her, Theo," Ron snorted, and Daphne gave his hair a tug. "Ow… Sorry. How long until this game finishes?"

"We just started this one," Millie told him.

"Oh, good… Deal Malfoy and me in," Ron sat up, his eyes lingering on Blaise. "Malfoy, come over here. I wish to swindle your sweets from you."

* * *

 _ **Emilia Travers' POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Morgue (Brussels, Belgium) – Night)**_

She hated the stench of this place, almost as much as she hated the business that went on down here. The Morgue was Belgium's biggest criminal hideout, and it was all run by a Half-Troll named Solomon. _I wonder if he'll be mad at me for cutting his face in two. Probably, but I'm sure that he's learned his lesson._

"Mr. Solomon will be right down," a Half-Elf girl announced from behind her, and Emilia turned to face the creature. _A circus of freaks, and yet, they are the strongest Smuggling Syndicate in Europe._

The Half-Elf noticed Emilia's disgust at the sight of her, and she quickly left with a bowed head. _And a coward to boot._ Emilia began pacing the luxurious Office, which simply did not match the stench of this place, and after nearly five minutes of waiting, she began hearing loud, slow footsteps. _Finally._ And then, Solomon stepped into his Office. He was still extremely muscular, hunched over, and had a thick bushy beard under his bald head.

Emilia smirked at the sight of his scar, which ran through the middle of his face. _His left eye is milk white. I wonder how he managed to survive._

"Shalom, Emilia!" Solomon greeted in his slow, heavy voice. "Shalom!"

"Solomon," Emilia greeted, and the hulking man slowly walked over to his chair. "You're looking well."

"Ah, life is so much easier when you're dead," Solomon grunted as he sat down. "No Aurors in my backyard, and no debt collectors knocking on my doors. I feel a hundred years younger."

Solomon then looked back to his Wizarding Card Collection, which was proudly displayed on the shelf behind his chair.

"Did you have a look at my Collection?" Solomon asked, and Emilia shot his cards a quick look. "I just need Andros the Invincible to finish it. See? No two cards are the same… That is how God sees us both in his eyes." _God? Oh, yes, he is Jewish._

"It's very nice," Emilia said, and Solomon looked back to her before smacking his lips.

"Very clever, girl, very clever… So… How did you figure out that I was not dead?" Solomon asked, his good eye narrowed on her.

"You sent me a letter, Solomon," Emilia reminded him, and he blinked in confusion.

"Did I?" Solomon asked, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Must've been when they were giving me all those Potions." Solomon then looked around the Office, he still looked a little confused. _It's a part of his act, don't let your guard down._ "I was lying out there, on the bloody street, and when I woke up, I thought… If this is hell, it looks an awful lot like my back alley…"

"Maybe the World you woke up in is hell," Emilia suggested.

"No, the Sacred Text is very specific about hell," Solomon shook his head. "You and I… We're both fucked, we are."

"Don't your rivals realize that your business is still running?" Emilia asked. "Why haven't the authorities caught onto you?"

"I'm retired, girl," Solomon coughed out. "No more smuggling for me."

"I saw the Jewels being stashed into the bodies upstairs, Solomon, so don't lie," Emilia frowned. _It's clear that his business has shrunk considerably, but it's still extremely large._

"I'm not lying," Solomon shrugged. "It's true that I'm retired, but some of the more faithful are still at it." _Why am I bothering with his games?_ "They must make their bread, same as you and I."

"I have decided to make good on my Blood Vengeance, Solomon," Emilia said, and the Half-Troll let out a grunt. "I need your help."

"Are you going to kill these men because they are evil?" Solomon leaned forward.

"I need wands who can fight, wands who don't mind getting blood on their hands," Emilia went on. "I'm willing to pay them out of my own pocket, and I'll even give you a large 'gift'."

"So you're back in Britain now, are you?" Solomon leaned back, his fingers digging into his chair. "And how has that been for you?"

"Corrupt Politicians, would be kings, and more of the same," Emilia replied.

"My… You're a dull one, just like your Great Aunt foretold," Solomon cracked his fingers with his thumbs.

"Dull? I remember outmaneuvering you all quite effortlessly," Emilia said coldly.

"And yet, here I am," Solomon said. "I mean, what were you thinking? Was your mind somewhere else, Emilia? There was no… anger… in that last strike. I was insulted."

"You were only doing your job, it was my Great Aunt who was the puppet master," Emilia stated. "Her death was necessary, and yours wasn't."

Solomon eyed Emilia from his chair, and then he let out a tired grunt. _Will you help me, or not?_

"What are you paying?" Solomon asked.

"Ten Galleons a week to each wand, and five thousand Galleons in total to you," Emilia replied, and Solomon shook his head.

"Ever since my resurrection, I find that I am able to rise above such petty insults, girl," Solomon said, and Emilia gave him a nod.

"Fifteen a week to each wand, and ten thousand to you," Emilia renegotiated.

"Twenty a week to each wand, and… What's the weather like in Britain?" Solomon asked suddenly. _Just go with it._

"Cold," Emilia replied.

"Right… Ten thousand is fine for me," Solomon let out a long breath, and then something shifted behind his good eye. "I was on a lot of Potions when they first hauled me back in here, you know, on account of some cunt slashing me across the face with her Magic Knife… And in that delightful delirium, I had a recurring dream."

"Did you?" Emilia cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I did," Solomon nodded. "It was about you… I saw you, on a field, surrounded by fire." _Fire?_ "And there was this big, black serpent watching you… Its eyes were… Well, they were quite red, they were… I think he was the Devil himself."

Emilia's heart stopped pounding for a moment, and Ronald's true voice rang through her head. _No, control. Stay in control._

"Evil bastard, that snake," Solomon all but growled. "What are you trying to unleash upon us, Emilia?"

"Pretty soon, Solomon, your good friend Cornelius Nott will come to you," Emilia walked towards the exit. "He'll ask you for your smuggling services, and if you accept, he'll bind you to his Master."

"So the Dark One is back, is he?" Solomon rolled his eyes. "How terrible…"

"Hewill kill us **all** , Solomon, so choose your side wisely," Emilia said. "If we meet again as enemies, I'll take your head."

"Be sure that you do, Emilia," Solomon looked back to his Collection. "I'll be sending a letter, then."

"I'll be waiting."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Slytherin Training Room – After Classes)**_

"C'mon, Boris!" Ron let out frustrated groan, and Boris Grimm rubbed the back of his head. "Stop trying flashy garbage, and stick to the basics!"

"Sor… Sorry, Ron," Boris looked to the other second years, all of whom averted their gazes. _He keeps wasting time showing off, and then he tires himself out and gets hit. What is the logic behind these actions?_

"Again, and this time, if you try to show off, I'll ring your fucking skull," Ron said, his jaw clenching at the tiny second year.

With that, Ron moved over to the sideline, and Boris began his seventh Duel with the training dummy. After a couple of exchanges, Ron could see that Boris was doing his best to stick to the basics, but every now and then, he dived out of the way of a Spell rather dramatically. _Why is he doing this?!_ Ron shot a look towards the other second years, all of whom were cheering Boris on. _Is he trying to impress someone?_

"Attack the fucking dummy already, you donkey!" Ron yelled, and Boris quickly began using stunners and Disarming Charms.

And then, through sheer dumb luck, Boris landed the perfect stunner to the dummy's forehead, which sent the dummy reeling back. The second years burst into applause and cheers, and Ron even spotted his own friends clapping for Boris. _About fucking time he did something._

"Alright, next!" Ron called, and Liliana Flowers took to the sandpit. "Remember, basics win Duels. Don't waste time, and don't give the dummy the run of the arena. Attack, dodge, and attack again." _I swear that if you start showing off as well, I'll tackle you with Cutis Terra in effect._

Liliana began her Duel with the dummy, and the moment she squealed when a Stinging Hex came at her, Ron felt the urge to tear at his own hair.

"At least she dodged in time," Theo whispered from behind him, and Ron shot a quick look back.

"When did you creep up on me?" Ron asked, his eyes returning to Liliana. "Attack it, Liliana!"

"Clara is waiting outside for you," Theo whispered, and Ron felt his body tense. _Damn, I forgot that I had a lesson with her._ "She says that she needs to discuss Triumvirate business."

"Right," Ron turned to face Theo. "You can take over here."

"Me?" Theo blinked. "Why?"

"Blaise won't scold them if they fuck up out of sheer disinterest, Pansy and Daphne don't care for Dueling, Tracey will distract them, and Millie will genuinely smack them if they keep making the same mistakes," Ron replied. "That leaves you, Mr. Lightning Feet."

"Fuck," Theo sighed out. "What about Malfoy?"

Ron gave Theo a deadpan look, and Theo seemed to realize just how dumb his suggestion was.

"Fine, I'll do it," Theo agreed. "But don't expect any miracles."

"Keep your eyes on Mathias, and Suzie," Ron said. "They're actually quite good at this, and I think that one of them will win the Tournament."

"Understood," Theo stepped up to the sideline, while Ron began making his way out.

Along the way, Ron spotted Daphne having a chat with Tracey, and when she saw him looking at her, she shot him a wink. _After today, I'll be an even better boyfriend._ Ron immediately felt his frustrations with the second years wash off, and he steeled his resolve. _I'll pay careful attention to Clara, but more importantly, I'll behave myself._ Ron stepped out of the Training Area, and he spotted Clara waiting by the common room entrance.

"Hello, Clara," Ron greeted as he approached her.

"Did you forget about our date, Ron?" Clara asked sweetly, a pleasant smile on her face. "I'm slightly hurt."

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to get the second years up to scratch."

"And how is that going?" Clara asked as they began making their way out.

"Mathias and Suzie have a good chance at winning, especially Suzie," Ron replied. "She's quick, improvises, and she's not scared of getting hit. Mathias is quicker than her, but he panics if things start turning sour."

"Sounds terribly boring," Clara pretended to snore. "You're too serious, Ron, but don't worry, we'll fix that up **very soon**."

"Um… Should I be worried?" Ron asked slowly, and she attached herself to his arm. _Those massive tits!_

"There's nothing to worry about," she whispered in his ear. "You'll enjoy this, I promise."

"Right…" Ron looked ahead, maybe he still had time to run away.

"I'm only teasing you, handsome," Clara kissed his cheek. "I know you don't want to get handsy, and I respect your loyalty to your beloved."

"Beloved?" Ron muttered.

"I'll give you some dating advice, and then I'll teach you about a girl's erogenous zones," Clara told him. "We can even practice, if you decide to come around."

"No," Ron refused, and Clara broke into giggles. _I'll practice with Daphne, and no one else._

"Was worth a shot," she hummed, and then she led them into an abandoned classroom.

Ron immediately spotted a massive, white chart with a diagram of a woman on it. _What the…?_ Certain parts of the woman were highlighted red, and Ron could see that every part of her was labeled. Ron then looked to the lone study chair in the room, it was sitting right at the front of the classroom.

"Take a seat over there, my padawan," Clara pointed to the chair.

"Padawan?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"A Muggle reference," Clara waved a dismissive hand. "Ignore it."

Ron gave a slow nod, and then he took his seat, while Clara walked up to the chart.

"What's that?" Ron asked, his eyes fixed on the chart. _Why are some parts of her highlighted red?_

"We'll get to it in a bit," Clara turned around with a playful smile.

"You really went all out with this, huh?" Ron looked around the room, his eyes lingering on the desks that had been shunted off to the sides.

"It's not every day that a young man takes the time to learn about women," Clara shrugged casually. "Most boys just fumble around with us, so I am taking this very seriously. For Daphne Greengrass, and for women all over the World."

"How passionate of you," Ron smirked, and she shot him a wink.

"Let's start off with some questions," Clara said. "Now… Don't be shy, as I'm only asking these questions for your own benefit. In no way am I indulging myself."

"Uh-huh," Ron gave her a deadpan look.

"How far have you two gone?" Clara asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

"We've kissed," Ron replied, and she waited for him to go on. "With tongue."

"What else?" she asked. _Um… This is awkward to talk about._

"She's pinched my arse a few times," Ron said awkwardly. "I've… I've touched her chest before, but she was still wearing clothes. We haven't seen each other naked, or anything like that."

"So there hasn't been any real sexual conduct," Clara nodded to herself.

"We're still pretty young," Ron defended himself.

"It's alright, I'm not judging," Clara said rather gently, her smile turning kind. "Everyone goes at their own pace, Ron, make sure that you remember that."

"Um… Can I ask questions?" Ron asked her, and she gave him a nod.

"Ask **anything** ," Clara replied. "I'm not exactly shy about sex." _She said the s-word!_

"At my age… Had you crossed any lines?" Ron asked. "Don't answer if that's too personal."

"Start of my third year, I helped Oliver Wood 'relax' before his first match," Clara replied, not a hint of shame in her voice. _If anything, she sounds proud._ "With my hands, that is. That was my first time seeing a cock. Shame that he became such a fanatic about Quidditch, he was really cute when we were younger."

"Daphne wanted to do that on Saturday night…" Ron remembered.

"But you refused?" Clara cocked an eyebrow.

"She was very drunk, and the next day, she was glad that we didn't go too far," Ron replied. "I think she wants to try that stuff soon, but she's worried about what other people will say."

"And you? What are your thoughts on the matter?" Clara asked.

"I wouldn't mind, honestly," Ron admitted, and Clara gave him an understanding nod. "But I care more about how she feels. I don't want her to feel like she's being forced into anything. I don't want her to regret dating me."

"That's actually very sweet, Ron," Clara smiled genuinely. "You should never force her to do something that she's uncomfortable with. You can suggest it, and then gauge her reaction. If she seems open to it, then you can press forward, but if she refuses outright, then back off. Oh, and this applies to you as well. Don't do anything that you aren't comfortable with, understand? Talk to her, and be extremely open, otherwise you'll both end up with regrets." _Noted. I'll try to be more open in sexual department. Merlin, that'll be really awkward at first._

"So I should just ask her that I want to play with her chest?" Ron asked. _Because I really want to._

"Why not?" Clara asked in response. " **Talk** to her, Ron. Communicate your feelings, and your desires. There shouldn't be any shame between you two."

Clara then took out a small book for her robes, and she tossed it to him. Ron caught it easily enough, and when he looked at the yellow front cover, his face flushed from embarrassment. _'Communicating with your Significant Other; Leave no door closed'… Merlin, I hope Blaise and Theo don't find this book on my person. They'll turn me into a joke._

"That book has some excellent advice on how to open up," Clara told him. "I bought it when I got my first boyfriend, and now, I want you to have it."

"Really?" Ron looked up at her. "Thank you, Clara."

"Make sure that you read it in your spare time," Clara smiled at him. "Now… Let's talk about kissing."

"Kissing?" Ron hid the book in his robes.

"That's the furthest that you two have gone, so let's stick with that for the first lesson," Clara began pacing back and forward, she was clearly enjoying this.

"Are love bites considered part of kissing?" Ron asked, and Clara's eyes flashed. "We've… We've done that too."

"Love bites are a part of kissing, I guess," Clara shrugged. "We'll talk about them as well, then."

"Alright, I'm listening," Ron leaned forward.

For the next ten minutes, Ron was bombarded with Clara's personal likes and dislikes about kissing. She told him that girls despised it when boys didn't use their hands while snogging, and she even told him what his hands needed to be doing. Personally, Ron had never paid attention to his hands whenever he was kissing Daphne, but now, he would at least try to 'feel her up' a bit more. Clara had also warned him against using too much tongue, which was another thing that Ron had never really thought about.

As she went on and on about what girls liked, Ron found himself feeling rather inept. _I don't do even half of these things when Daphne and I kiss. I mean, I've never thought to bite her lower lip, or to run my hand along her spine. Nor have I ever considered smacking her arse, or squeezing it together. Also, how many people has Clara snogged to know all of this?_

"Oh, and don't be afraid of making a little noise," Clara went on. "If she does something that you really enjoyed, moan or something. Girls, like you boys, are trying to figure out what their partners like, and if you don't confirm what you like, they'll keep trying new things. Plus, knowing that you're enjoying yourself is a huge turn-on for us."

"How do you know all of this?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Experience, my young Jedi," Clara smirked, her hands finding her shapely hips.

"What the fuck is a Jedi?" Ron asked slowly.

"Never mind that," Clara giggled. "All you need to know is that I've been with a lot of people, and along the way, I picked up a lot of tricks. Trust me, Ron, I'll make you into the 'Daphne Whisperer'."

"Okay," Ron smiled a bit. "You mentioned that I should… moan… if I like something-"

"Yes, it is an essential," Clara told him. "And don't grunt either… I personally dislike it when a boy starts grunting like some angry beast." _Shite, I've grunted before._ "Give her a nice moan if she does something right. Like this." Clara then let out a honeyed moan, and Ron felt his ears burn. _That did sound nice._ "Try it."

"I'll try it later…" Ron mumbled, and Clara smiled playfully.

"Cute," she said. "Now, let's talk about love-bites a bit. The main, and only, thing that you need to know is that certain places feel really nice for us girls. The neck, the inner thigh, our breasts, and for some of us, the skin right above our twats." _She is almost as vulgar as me._ "Oh, and don't linger too long in one spot. It can become an actual bruise that hurts, and no one wants that. Wait… Is Daphne into pain?"

"What the fuck, woman?" Ron frowned at her.

"I'll take that as a no," Clara laughed. "I'm just trying to help you here, Ron."

"Daphne isn't into pain," Ron told her. "I think… I haven't asked… But I'm going to say no because she can't even take a Stinging Hex without tearing up."

"Sexual pain is very different, Ronald," Clara walked circles around him. "Imagine walking around with a sore bruise, and knowing deep down that your pain was inflicted by your partner." Clara then stopped and leaned in near his face. "Imagine just how lust addled you made them in order to earn that bruise."

"Who hurt you?" Ron asked, and she went back to the chart with a wide smile. "Who turned you into this?"

"Little heartthrobs like you," Clara sighed dramatically. "Do you want to discuss the last topic?"

"Of course," Ron replied. "Can't leave this unfinished."

"This here is a diagram of a woman's body," Clara pointed to the chart. "Have you seen a naked woman before, Ron?"

"I… Yes," Ron admitted, and Clara cocked her eyebrow. "Theo has some magazines… We lads had a look through them."

"Ah, I miss those days," Clara smiled nostalgically. "Don't worry too much about looking at naked women, your girlfriend no doubt has seen a few naked men. It's a natural thing to do at your age."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Ron blinked. _Those men no doubt look better than I ever could. That sort of… hurts._

"There's nothing wrong with looking," Clara shrugged. "We have eyes, and we have impulses. As long as you don't act on those impulses, you're not cheating." _I suppose that's fair. I mean, I've stared at Tracey's legs before, and I've seen Daphne admiring Blaise's cheekbones._

"What about true love?" Ron asked, and Clara held back a laugh.

"Ron… That only exists in books," Clara told him. "It is **impossible** to not stare at someone else's arse, or ogle their tits, when you're just going about your business. It happens, but if you want to be faithful, then you shouldn't act on it."

"So I can't smack Theo's arse anymore?" Ron asked.

"Are you planning to sleep with him?" Clara asked.

"Perhaps…" Ron joked, and Clara grinned at him.

"Smartarse," Clara 'chided'. "You should speak to Daphne about barriers, not me." _Got it._ "Now… Back to this diagram. The red spots are a girl's basic erogenous zones. That means that when you kiss, lick, or touch these parts, she'll have a good time."

"Ears?" Ron cocked an eyebrow at the diagram. "Wait… I once nibbled on her ear, and she really liked it."

"See? I know what I'm doing," Clara smirked. "The mouth and lips, the neck, the ears, the breast and nipples, the sides of the ribs, the vagina, and lastly, the clitoris."

"The what?" Ron asked.

"It's a little button of nerve-endings at the top a woman's vagina," Clara explained. "It's not hard to find, but trust me, it can send a girl over the moon if you play with it. You don't need to worry about it yet, mostly because you two haven't even seen each other naked yet, but I just figured that I'd let you know. It's definitely my favorite spot."

"Noted," Ron swallowed thickly. _She's so open about it, and although I'm grateful, it is a little awkward for me._

"These spots are just the basic erogenous zones, every person differs in taste, after all," Clara said, and before she could go on, the door suddenly creaked open.

Both Clara and Ron looked to see Samantha walk in, and when she spotted Clara, she let out a relieved breath.

"There you are, Clara," Samantha stepped into the room, but she suddenly stopped when she saw the chart.

Samantha then looked to Ron, and then to Clara, and then to the chart again. _Now_ _ **this**_ _is fucking awkward…_

"I'm not even going to ask…" Samantha turned around after a few seconds of silence. "Clara, Carey needs help at the Library. Let's go."

"Guess that ends the lesson," Clara whispered to Ron, who gave her a quick nod. "Read that book I gave you."

"Thanks again, Clara," Ron got out of his chair, but she had already run off to catch up to Samantha. _Maybe I should write down everything that we covered today? I mean, I've learned quite a lot, I just need to practice it._

Ron made his way back to the common room, and from there, he stepped into the Training Area. His eyes landed on the second years, who were packing up for the day, and Ron eyeballed them immediately. _They_ _ **do**_ _look sweaty, and tired… Good, Theo didn't let them slack off._

"You're back," came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron quickly turned to face her. _Hide the book, Ron!_

"Hello," Ron greeted, and she smiled at him. _I love that she smiles at me, but almost no one else._

"What did the Triumvirate want?" Daphne asked.

"The Dueling Tournament," Ron lied. "I just gave them a report on the second years."

"Sounds boring," Daphne hummed. "Let's do something together?"

"Wait…" Ron all but whispered. _Ask her, and hope to Merlin that she'll agree._ "Can we go somewhere private?"

"Ohhh," Daphne's smile turned wicked. "Sanctuary?"

"Let's go," Ron quickly took her hand, and he began rushing towards the exit.

"Slow down," Daphne giggled. _There's no time to waste! I have to put my new kissing knowledge to the test!_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – Night)**_

The Dark Lord stepped out of the Study, and he felt his new organs move around a little inside him. _They're a bit loose, but I'll hold._

Bernadette had bought him some time, and he had managed to learn something quite peculiar. During her 'autopsy', the Dark Lord had been unable to isolate the Werewolf Curse. And the reason for that was that the Werewolf Curse no longer existed within her body. This discovery had led to a very promising theory, one that the Dark Lord had half a mind to follow up on. _The Werewolf Curse resides within one's soul, and could therefore be purged, if one manages to create a Counter Curse._ He knew that if given enough time, he could cure Lycanthropy using the Dark Arts, a feat that had not been accomplished yet.

The Dark Lord smiled to himself, curing Werewolves was the last thing he planned to do. They were only good for one thing… _They live to serve Lord Voldemort._ Step by step, he made his way through the Manor. Michael's Vampires stepped out of his way, while the wandering Elves cowered in fear. The Dark Lord had once again risen, and he had an air of purpose about him.

"My Lord?" Cornelius stopped dead in his tracks, and as the Dark Lord approached, the Death-Eater kneeled with his head bowed.

"Rise, Cornelius," the Dark Lord hissed, and Cornelius did as he was told. "I have a mission for you… Unicorn Blood. I need you to bring me as much as you can find." _Without its healing properties, Pettigrew's Magical Core will resist her organs, and my vessel will break apart completely._

"Unicorn Blood…" Cornelius repeated slowly. "My Lord… That is a very rare ingredient these days."

"I know, but you will succeed, for your own sake," Lord Voldemort told him. "And for your son's sake."

"I understand," Cornelius bowed his head. "I know a man… A Half-Breed. He is a smuggler of unmatched skill."

"Go on."

"His name is Solomon, he's a Jewish Half-Troll," Cornelius replied. "An utterly disgusting hybrid of man and beast, but… He is quite intelligent, and discreet."

"A Jewish Half-Troll…" the Dark Lord eyed Cornelius. "A Jew?"

"He was raised in a Muggle Orphanage," Cornelius replied. "His mother didn't want him, and neither did the Orphanage. He was raised by a Muggle Jewish Family, whom he abandoned when he became of age. That's all I know about his past. He runs a large smuggling racket from Belgium."

"How did you meet this beast?" Lord Voldemort enquired.

"With his help, I was able to smuggle Natasha Travers quite a lot of money for her Milling Business," Cornelius replied. "She wished to sell everything under the table, and Solomon served as our in-between. But it all went up in flames when Emilia Travers returned from Japan. That bitch not only killed her Great Aunt, she also kept the money I had sent through."

"Then why is she still alive?" the Dark Lord asked.

"She is careful, and for now, she is out of my reach," Cornelius replied. "But I promise, my Lord, she will pay dearly for her crimes against me."

"A smuggler could serve our cause very well," Lord Voldemort said, his mind was creating a plan. "Make a deal with this creature, and once he delivers the Unicorn Blood, kill him. We will install one of our own as his replacement. Someone with Pure Magical Blood."

"I will set up a meeting," Cornelius said.

"Take Lucius with you," Lord Voldemort added. "I fear that our slippery friend is beginning to doubt me."

"My Lord, he would never dare," Cornelius went very still.

"I see it in his eyes," the Dark Lord hissed. "The loss of his wife, and home, have shaken his resolve. Watch him, and report back to me."

Cornelius gave a slow nod, and then he began heading for the Nott Owlery.

"Cornelius…" Lord Voldemort called, and the old wizard stopped immediately. "Also make contact with our old friends, it is past time that we brought them back into the fold. If they aren't in Azkaban, then they need to be by Lord Voldemort's side." _There are far too many Vampires here._

"All of them, my Lord?" Cornelius asked.

"All those who bear the Mark."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Library – After Classes)**_

She was almost buried in books and parchments, and for the first time in her life, she felt sick of seeing books.

Taking on twelve subjects was insane, and she was genuinely starting to regret her eagerness to impress the Professors. Not to mention that as much as it hurt her, she was angry at herself for failing to live up to her own standards. She was Hermione Granger, and yet, she couldn't stomach another minute of studying.

The Time-Turner was helpful, but she was so tired half of the time that she struggled to pay attention in her classes. She was even struggling to answer questions now, mostly because she didn't have the energy to bother. Her grades were bound to drop very soon, and that only stressed her out even more. _Plus, I have been putting in so much time for this Dueling Club. Unlike Harry, I don't have a personal tutor at this very school._

"Nev, that's not right, mate," came Harry's voice, and Hermione slowly looked in their direction.

The Trio were currently at the study group, and while Neville, Ginny, and Harry were studying together, Hermione had elected to isolate herself. She was already agitated due to high amounts of stress, and Harry's newfound love for D.A.D.A was starting to get to her. _Professor Lupin has been helping him in his detentions, while the rest of us have to spend hours in here._

Her eyes darted towards Ron, who was currently working with the Ravenclaw first years, and she felt another strong pang of jealousy. _A thirteen year old International Diplomat… Wizard Culture is idiotic at best, and completely biased at worst. He's not even old enough to pay taxes, and they still gave him such an important job because of his ties to the 'Old Families'. I mean, honestly, he doesn't even have the training. I bet he used those French Families, and their money, to strong-arm the Ministry. That's the only sound explanation behind his latest 'Heroic feat'._

"The incantation for the Seize-and-Pull Charm is Carpe Retractum, not 'Capre Retractit'," Harry told Neville, and Hermione just watched them with narrowed eyes.

"Harry, are you helping Neville with our Charms homework?" Hermione asked, and both boys looked to her.

"I am," Harry replied, while Neville began fixing his mistake.

"How do you know the Seize-and-Pull Charm?" Hermione couldn't help but ask. "It's just that we haven't gone over it in class yet, and Professor Flitwick is clearly trying to find out if anyone has read ahead. Have… Have you read ahead?" _I doubt it, even I haven't had time to go that far ahead._

"Well, no, but Remus taught it to me a couple of days ago," Harry replied. _It's Professor Lupin, and he should be giving you detentions, not extra help._

"That's good," Hermione looked back down at her own work, and she felt the need to scream at her books. _Everyone is excelling but me… I feel like I've hit a stupid wall!_

Harry, Neville, and Ginny exchanged slow looks, but none of them said anything.

"Excuse me, I need to go find a book," Hermione got out of her seat, and she quickly made her way towards the Reference Section.

Once she was safely hidden from the rest of the study group, she let out a long, and tired, breath. _Why am I feeling jealous of my own friends? If it wasn't for Ron, then the French wouldn't be helping Britain at all. And as for Harry, he deserves the love of a parent. I'm being stupid._ And yet, that terrible feeling was still there. She was jealous of so many people, and she was also self-aware enough to understand that she had no right to be so petty. _But I still can't stop feeling overshadowed._

Ron's genius was the talk of the school, whereas her genius was ignored even by her friends. Harry was already a wizard of renown, and the fact that even Headmaster Dumbledore was fond of him was only propelling him further. Neville was the only one of the Trio who had friends outside of their little group, and more people were gravitating towards him now that he had some iron in his soul. What did Hermione have? Her intelligence? Her average looks? Her sharp wit? Her love of books? Her Muggle Heritage? _No one cares about those things, no one._

"Hermione?" came Ginny's voice, and Hermione turned to face her. "You alright? You've been acting off for a couple of days."

"Off?" Hermione feigned ignorance. _Look at her… She doesn't have a single flaw on her skin, and her hair is so beautiful._

"Well, we barely see you now," Ginny replied.

"I've got a lot of work," Hermione said, and then she began pretending to look for a book. "Do you need something from me, Ginny?"

Ginny said nothing, but her eyes never left Hermione.

"What?" Hermione looked back to her, and she simply shrugged. _What's that supposed to mean?_

"I'm just going to ask outright… Are you upset with Harry and Neville?" Ginny asked bluntly.

"Upset? With Harry and Neville?" Hermione repeated, and then she shook her head. "No, Ginny… Why would I be?" _I'm upset with myself, not them. Ugh… I read that puberty could bring about negative thoughts about oneself, but this really is dreadful._ "Do they think that I'm upset with them?"

"Neville keeps saying that you're stressed out," Ginny replied. _I am stressed out._ "And Harry has mentioned that you've shot him a couple of glares today."

"That's preposterous," Hermione said haughtily. _I didn't mean to, it just happened. He's finished most of his homework with Professor Lupin's help, while I'm barely keeping up with anything._

"Ah… So you are upset," Ginny nodded to herself, and Hermione narrowed her eyes on the redhead. "Whenever you lie, you start talking in a dismissive tone."

"I absolutely do not, Ginny," Hermione put her hands on her hips. _Why are you even getting involved?_

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked. "I'm bored of this 'study group', let's go somewhere else."

"Go somewhere else?" Hermione asked. "Ginny, I have a lot of work to do."

"Do it on the weekend," Ginny walked up and took Hermione's hand. "Let's go."

"Ginny," Hermione whispered frantically as the redhead began dragging her off. "My books… Your books…"

"Harry and Neville will bring them back for us," Ginny sniggered. "C'mon, I know a spot near the fourth floor."

"Ginevra Weasley, let go," Hermione ordered, but she barely put up a struggle. _Maybe I ought to take a nap… I'm actually so tired. And why is Ginny so strong? I feel like she's going to break my hand._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Hermione… Wake up…" came Ginny's voice, and Hermione felt someone shaking her.

"What…?" Hermione mumbled groggily.

"Hermione, it's been an hour," Ginny said, and Hermione's eyes shot open. _An hour?! I just wasted an hour?!_

Hermione sat up quickly, and she shot wild looks around her. _We're still under the spiraling staircase._

"Relax," Ginny laughed, while Hermione frowned at her friend.

"I asked you to wake me up after ten minutes," Hermione barely held her tone in check. "How could you let me sleep for an hour?"

"You clearly needed it," Ginny shrugged, she was sitting opposite Hermione with her back against the wall.

"What I need is to study," Hermione tried standing up, but Ginny quickly reached forward and pulled Hermione down. "Ginny, enough. I have to go back to the Library."

"And you may do that, but only after you tell me what's bothering you," Ginny said, her hand was like a vice grip around Hermione's. "You've been distant with everyone, you snap really quickly, and you've got bags under your eyes." _I do? Great, I look even worse now…_ "Hermione, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on with me," Hermione hissed. "I'm tired of that question, Ginevra. I have four essays to write, and I haven't even started any-"

"Snore," Ginny rolled her eyes, and Hermione clenched her jaw. "You're clearly stressed by your insane workload, but there's something else… Something that you aren't telling us."

"What are you on about?" Hermione looked at Ginny like she was a nutter. "My studies are my only problem right now."

"Then why were you staring at Ron just before?" Ginny asked, and Hermione blinked at her. "Harry noticed it first… He told us that you were shooting glances at Ron, and when I looked over, you were staring at him." _Damnit, Hermione, does being subtle mean nothing to you?_

"I was not staring," Hermione denied immediately. "I was just… watching…" _That's so creepy, Hermione. And technically, 'watching' and 'staring' are the same thing._

"Creepy," Ginny sniggered, and Hermione frowned deeply.

"Why are you doing this?" Hermione asked.

"I'm worried about you, as are the boys," Ginny replied. "But they don't want to make you even more upset, so they're keeping their distance." _I'm upset, and their reaction is to not help me? Boys…_ "So, tell me what's wrong? I want to listen, Hermione."

Hermione stared at her red-haired for a few moments, and then she felt her shoulders slump down. _Maybe I should just get it off my chest? But what if she tells the others? I don't Harry to know that I feel jealous of his special treatment, despite understanding where it comes from. And I definitely don't want Ron to know that I'm jealous of his success. I know that I'm smarter than him, but he's the one with the accolades. Ugh… I'm jealous of a sick person, how pathetic is that?_

"This will stay just between us, right?" Hermione whispered, and Ginny gave a firm nod.

"I won't tell anyone," Ginny promised, a small smile gracing her face.

"You really won't tell anyone?" Hermione asked weakly.

"I promise," Ginny replied.

"Right… Well, lately, I've been feeling… down," Hermione started rather lamely. "Do you ever feel like other people are just outperforming you in everything?"

"Outperforming?" Ginny asked.

"Harry knew the incantation for the Seize-and-Pull Charm," Hermione all but whispered. "And I didn't."

"You're upset because Harry knows something that you don't?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Professor Lupin has been helping him, he's told us all about it," Hermione told Ginny, a bitter feeling emanating from her stomach. "I have to spend hours in the Library in order to finish even one essay, while Harry comes back from detention with his homework completely finished. It's not fair… Harry is being given an advantage over the rest of us. Again." _It's like he has this net under him, and no matter what he does, the net protects him from hitting the ground._

"Hermione, Harry's had a rough life," Ginny countered. "He's entitled to a little happiness, isn't he? Remus is pretty much Harry's father, so of course he wants to help Harry."

"I know, which is why I hate feeling this way," Hermione hung her head. "I know that Harry deserves to have an adult care for him… But it's still not fair. This is a school, and grades matter here… My grades are slipping, while Harry's are getting better every day."

"Are your grades really slipping, though?" Ginny asked.

"Well, not yet, but it's bound to happen," Hermione replied. "I have so much work to get through, and no time to waste."

"Maybe you could ask one of the teachers to help you," Ginny suggested.

"That would defeat the purpose of homework, wouldn't it?" Hermione sighed out. "It doesn't matter… I'm thinking of dropping a couple of subjects."

"Really? **You** plan to drop a couple of subjects?" Ginny looked quite surprised.

"Muggle Studies is so mind-numbing for me, and Divinations is a joke," Hermione shrugged. "I feel like I'm being held back by both subjects, but at the same time, I want to do **twelve** subjects. Not ten."

"Why?" Ginny asked. "I mean, you don't seem to be enjoying it."

"It's not about 'enjoyment'," Hermione huffed. "It's about proving myself to the Wizarding World."

"Oh…"

"I'm a Muggle-Born, and the Wizarding World is clearly biased against us," Hermione said. "I want to prove to the Magical World that I deserve to be here."

"We know that already, Hermione," Ginny said softly.

"What about the ones who claim that I don't deserve to be a witch?" Hermione asked.

"Who cares about what they think?"

"I do," Hermione replied immediately. "If I don't prove them wrong, then things will never change. They'll keep looking down at me, and others like me. I want to be the best, Ginny, and I can only do that in academics. I mean, I know that I can be difficult to get along with, and I'm not exactly sporty… I'm only good at studying, but lately, I feel like everyone else is doing better than me at even that."

"Ron?" Ginny asked. "Is that why you were staring at him?"

"He's an **International Diplomat** now…" Hermione felt a strong pang of envy. "People all over the school are talking about him, and I constantly have to listen to my roommates gossiping about him. I've even had people approach me about him… Can you believe that? None of them have ever spared me a glance, but they now approach me to ask about him." _They don't know that he hates me now. They don't know that we're not even friends anymore._

Hermione felt her eyes sting, and she quickly rubbed them. _And why do I get teary eyed so quickly?_

"You should ignore those people, just like I do," Ginny gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "And as for Ron, who cares about his latest job?"

"What…?" Hermione blinked at Ginny.

"Who cares about his latest job?" Ginny repeated. "Hermione, the people who want to desperately kiss Ron's arse don't know him. They don't know that he's-"

"Ginny, I don't want to hear it," Hermione pulled her hand away from her friend. "I don't want to hear you say that he's 'scum', or that he's a 'traitor'. He's your brother, and you shouldn't speak about him in such a cruel manner. He's done nothing to deserve it."

"Really? What about the twins-"

"They got what they deserved," Hermione said bluntly, and Ginny was clearly annoyed by Hermione's statement. "They broke the rules over and over again, and they did it for their own enjoyment. We all know that Ron set them up, but you know what, he did ask them to stop. Twice. If they can't take it, then they shouldn't dish it out."

"Fine… Fine…" Ginny said, they were veering off topic. "If that's how you feel, I won't try and change that… Let's get back to you, eh?"

"There's nothing more to say…" Hermione exhaled. "I'm being petty, and I know it. I'm jealous of someone who's never had an adult love them, and I'm jealous of…" _Don't mention that Ron's sick, you moron._ "I have to go back to the Library. I need to start my essays."

"Wait…" Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand again. "Sometimes, I feel jealous too. It's a natural thing, Hermione, you're not being petty."

"Who would you be jealous of?" Hermione gave a tired smile. "You're good at sports, you get good grades when you try, and every girl in Gryffindor talks about how flawless your skin is. You're even making new friends now."

"Flawless?" Ginny blinked, something had gone dark behind her eyes.

"Even Lavender talks about how pretty you are, Ginny," Hermione stood up, and Ginny let go of her hand. _I really should get back to my work._ "Thanks for talking to me, it helped to let it out. I think that if I just finish my essays, I'll start feeling better about everything."

"Right…" Ginny looked down at her hands. _Is she alright? She just went really quiet._

"Ginny, are **you** alright?" Hermione asked, and Ginny gave her a nod.

"It's nothing," Ginny stood up as well. "Hey… Are you still practicing for the Tournament in secret?"

"I am," Hermione replied. "Don't tell anyone, though. They'll just distract me." _Is she trying to change the subject? Why?_

"Do you mind if I join you?" Ginny asked. "I just want to brush up on some things."

"Oh… Sure, Ginny," Hermione agreed. "But just you." _As soon as I mentioned how pretty she was, she lost interest in our conversation. That is really weird. Does she not think that she's pretty? That's insane, she doesn't have any flaws. Her teeth are straight, her skin glows, and I've caught multiple boys eyeing her. Even Harry and Neville stare at her sometimes._ "Ginny… Do you… No, never mind…"

"What is it?" Ginny asked. _Should I really ask her?_

"Do you think that you're not pretty?" Hermione asked, and Ginny just stared at her.

"That's a weird thing to ask, Hermione," Ginny began making her way out. _Nice going, Hermione. Real smooth._ "Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Of course," Hermione followed after her. "I mean, you're twelve, but you don't look like other twelve year olds. No pimples, not a hair out of place…" _No buck-teeth. I still don't like that my parents won't let me fix my teeth with Magic._ "You're extremely pretty."

"Thanks…" Ginny said without looking back. _Did I say something weird? Damn my inability to socialize properly._

"I mean, you must spend ages working on yourself every morning," Hermione tried to speak in a lighter voice.

"Not really," Ginny said, and Hermione blinked at her back. _What? How's that possible?_

"Really? You just wake up looking like that?" Hermione mumbled, and Ginny shrugged.

"When are you practicing next?" Ginny asked, once again trying to change the topic.

"Probably Monday…" Hermione replied slowly, she was still in disbelief. "I need to work on my homework this weekend."

"Just come and grab me before you sneak off," Ginny said, and Hermione nodded to herself.

The rest of the journey down was made in silence, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder why Ginny had suddenly closed herself off. _I was just trying to compliment her, but she clearly took it the wrong way. I really need to work on my people skills. Ginny is my only female friend, and I'd hate to lose her._ As they neared the Library, Hermione and Ginny spotted Ron speaking to Neville and Harry outside the entrance. _People are heading back to their common rooms. I wasted an hour…_

"I see them," Harry told the other two boys, and although Neville shot a look back, Ron didn't even bother acknowledging their presence. "Where did you two go?"

"Just girl stuff," Ginny replied, and Hermione shot Harry a weak smile. _He can't possibly buy that._

"Oh… Fair enough," Harry looked back to Ron. _He bloody bought it. Was it because Ginny mentioned the word 'girl'?_

"You'll invite her for me, won't you?" Hermione overheard Ron say, he was focusing only on Neville. _Nothing new… He does his best to ignore Harry and me now._

"Gran doesn't really want to spend Christmas with people…" Neville replied. "She's even sending me away."

"Just ask her," Ron urged with a smile. "Tell her that her Eternal Friend would like her to attend. It's only dinner, and then she can go back to Longbottom Manor."

"Ron, I-"

"I am not asking you, Neville," Ron suddenly lost his smile, and the temperature seemed to drop. "I expect her response by Monday."

"I… I'll send her an Owl," Neville sighed out, while Hermione looked to Harry and Ginny. _What's going on here?_

"Is Mrs. Longbottom joining us for Christmas?" Hermione asked.

"Ron is asking Neville to invite her," Harry told them, while Neville shot another look back at Hermione.

"More like ordering…" Ginny gave her brother a cold look.

"You know what?" Ron suddenly said. "I'll send her an Owl myself… It'll look better coming from me."

"Really?" Neville looked visibly relieved.

"Yes, really," Ron began leaving for the Library. _How does his brain work? He goes from being demanding to being calm within a second. Is his odd behavior related to his Brain-Damage? I have so many questions for him, but I know that I can't ask them._

"Shouldn't you ask mum and dad first?" Ginny called out, but Ron completely ignored her. "Oi! I'm talking to you!"

"Ginny, don't yell," Hermione shushed her. "We're outside the Library." Hermione then looked to Neville, while Ginny fumed to herself. "Why does he want your Gran to attend?"

"I don't really know," Neville admitted as he turned to face. "They have some sort of partnership… Remember when he came over to my house with that briefcase."

"I do," Hermione shot a look into the Library. "He went straight to her Study, and from there, he went right back home."

"He was planning to buy The Quibbler back then, right?" Harry asked, and both Neville and Hermione shrugged. "She no doubt helped him… Anyway, I agree with him on this, Nev. Your Gran shouldn't be alone on Christmas, especially after what you both went through."

Neville gave Harry a nod, and then he handed Hermione her book bag.

"Are you going to keep studying?" Neville asked her.

"I am," Hermione nodded. "That Potions Essay won't write itself…" _Who knew that the Headmaster would give more homework than Professor Snape?_

"Do you want mine?" Harry asked, and Hermione blinked at him. "Remus helped me with it, and it's pretty good. You can use it as a reference-"

"No, thank you," Hermione said curtly, and Harry just stared at her with a confused look.

"Okay… I was just offering… I'll be off, then," Harry said slowly, his eyes catching Neville's for a moment.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"Detention," Harry groaned. _Tutoring, you mean. At least be a little grateful, some of us would kill for such an opportunity._ "See you guys at dinner."

"Bye, Harry," Ginny waved him off.

"What about you, Neville?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her bitterness at bay. _Stop being so jealous!_

"I don't know," Neville shrugged. "Mind if I join you? I won't distract you, I promise."

"Sure, that'd be nice," Hermione agreed.

"I'll be there too, by the way," Ginny looked between them. "And I will definitely distract you."

"Great…" Hermione sighed, and then she headed back inside the Library. _This will be my home this weekend. God, I'm sick of studying, but I can't stop. I have to show those 'Pure-Bloods' that I deserve to study Magic, and this Dueling Tournament is the perfect place to do that._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Dumbledore Residence – After Dinner)**_

Ron was once again in awe of Elf Magic.

The Dumbledore Residence was no longer a broken shack, but instead, a freshly painted Estate. The holes in the walls were gone, the windows had been repaired, every wooden surface was polished, and bright lamps illuminated every corner. Not to mention that quite a lot of furniture had also been delivered, and was just waiting to be unpacked. Ron figured that he was actually here to help with that, and personally, he didn't mind at all. He was far too excited about helping the orphans to care about manual labor.

"And up here is your room," Dumbledore said as he unlocked the attic, and both wizards stepped inside.

Ron looked around the rather tiny attic, and when he saw a fresh new mattress, he gave a nod. _It's too small, and I can't tell him that because I don't want to sound ungrateful. He's already done so much for me._

"I can sleep here should I need to hide," Ron smiled at Dumbledore. "Thank you, Headmaster."

"Don't worry, we're going to expand it," Dumbledore chuckled, he knew what Ron was no doubt thinking. "Did you bring your wand?"

"Are you serious?" Ron beamed, and then he all but yanked his wand out of his cloak.

"Alright, now stand over to the right," Dumbledore instructed, and Ron did as he was told. "The incantation to the Undetectable Extension Charm is 'Capacious Extremis'."

"Capacious Extremis," Ron repeated carefully. "Capacious Extremis. Got it." _I'll write it down later, and then memorize it._

"The theory behind this handy Charm is quite simple," Dumbledore told Ron. "The internal dimensions of an object are expanded, while the external appearance remains unchanged. This Charm also lightens the weight of the objects with the Enchanted space, so you can use it on objects like pouches to create mini-vaults."

"And I can just carry said pouch around?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a nod. "Bloody hell… Why doesn't everyone do that? With this Spell, even the Burrow could be a Mansion!"

"The Ministry passed a Law when this Spell was first created," Dumbledore explained. "In order to cast it on a premises, one must register said premises with the Ministry, and pay a large fee."

"Why?"

"They say that it's to protect the Statute of Secrecy," Dumbledore replied, and Ron blinked at him. "Even I had to go through the proper channels in order to give you Slytherins that Training Area." _Wait… What?_

"You know about that, huh?" Ron asked.

"Severus came to me, and I went to the Ministry," Dumbledore replied. "I planned to install one in each common room, but Severus wasn't too pleased to hear that. He can be quite competitive."

"Well, it was **his** idea," Ron shrugged. "If the other Professors come to you, then you can expand their common rooms as well."

"That is what we agreed on," Dumbledore said, and then he looked around the attic. "Let's get back to your lesson." _Yes, let's do that._ "Before you cast this Charm, you must understand that what's not inside this attic will not appear out of thin air."

"Sorry?" Ron asked, he hadn't understood the old man.

"Think of the floorboards, my boy," Dumbledore looked down, and Ron did the same. _They're shiny, and they smell nice._ "When you cast this Charm, the room's length and width will expand. So… Will more floorboards appear to compensate?"

"No, because that would be like Conjuration Magic," Ron replied slowly.

"Exactly so," Dumbledore shot him a paternal smile. "Each floorboard will need to expand, just as the walls and ceiling will need to expand. It is critical that you understand this, otherwise, you'll damage the room. Now… Watch."

Dumbledore waved his wand sideways, and as he said the incantation, the tip of his wand began to glow yellow. Everything but the mattress began to expand, and Ron watched in marvel as the tiny attic became a decent sized room. _Even the tiny window grew in size._ Ron looked around the room carefully, and then he made an observation.

"The mattress, and the rug, are the exact same size as before," Ron said. "But are they lighter now?"

"That they are," Dumbledore said. "Everything in this room, which isn't alive, is lighter now. This room has effectively been turned into a Magical Vault."

"And the Ministry won't know?" Ron asked.

"If they pass through Godric's Hollow during their property checkups, they will know," Dumbledore replied. "But that is unlikely to happen as this place has been long forgotten." Dumbledore then turned to Ron. "Try expanding the room a little. Think of the floorboards, the ceiling, the window, and the walls. Think about how large you want this room to be."

"Alright," Ron aimed his wand forward. _Just a little bigger._ "Capacious Extremis."

The floor, walls, ceiling, and window began to expand, and just as Ron smiled, loud cracks emanated throughout the room. The floorboards broke, the walls cracked, and the window all but exploded. _What just happened?!_

"I am so bloody sorry!" Ron looked to Dumbledore, who was just smiling at the damage.

"Don't worry, I can fix this easily," Dumbledore waved his wand, and the room began repairing itself. "Let's start with something… smaller."

"Right…" Ron said, he felt a little embarrassed right now. _The Triumvirate managed to cast this Spell, so some of the other seventh years could too._ "Does this always happen?"

"To some," Dumbledore replied, he didn't sound disappointed.

"Did it happen to you?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"No," Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Were you in seventh year?" Ron asked.

"Second," Dumbledore replied, and Ron gaped at him.

"Second?!" Ron felt utterly demoralized. _Who am I kidding? I could never hold a candle to Albus motherfucking Dumbledore._

"Don't worry, Ronald, everyone has their own talents," Dumbledore said gently. "I still cannot cast lightning from my bare hands, but you did it at thirteen."

"You can't cast the Wandless variation of Baubillious?" Ron asked. _There's hope yet. I could still surpass him someday. Alright, probably not… But I can get close. Just wait until you see me cast Lumos Solem Wandlessly at the Tournament, old man. You'll be in awe of it._

"No, I cannot," Dumbledore replied truthfully. "Each wizard is different, my boy, so judging them all on the same scale is quite foolish."

"Isn't that what your school does, though?" Ron asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron just stared at him. _He's insane, but in a lovable sort of way._ "I have a spare pouch in my Office, and you can have it for practice. It is smaller…" Dumbledore then looked to the repaired window. "And less likely to explode."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron gave a grateful smile. "I really appreciate this."

"Shall we head back?" Dumbledore asked him, and he gave a nod.

Both wizards left the attic at that, and once they were on the fourth floor, Ron began counting the doors.

"There are thirty six rooms in total," Dumbledore told him. "Each of them has been expanded, and tomorrow, they will be furnished by the Elves. Just beds, tables, and chairs. I have decided to leave the decorating to the children." _This is really happening!_

"Elves really are an amazing lot, aren't they?" Ron smiled at Dumbledore's back. "I mean, look at this place… It took them a week to create **this**." _I don't even know where they started._

"They are extraordinary," Dumbledore shot a smile back. "I once tried to learn Elf Magic in my youth, but was deeply wounded to learn that our Magical Cores differ fundamentally."

"They do?" Ron asked. "How so?"

"The Magical Core of an Elf is… sealed," Dumbledore started. "The Wizards of Old Cursed the Elves into servitude, and the Curse has passed down from Elf to Elf."

"The Wizards of Old… Why were they such vicious cunts?" Ron asked.

"It is in our nature," Dumbledore replied. "We humans, even the Muggles, have never been able to respect life around us. It is our ultimate failing, I'm afraid. The Elves were Cursed to serve their Masters, and so, their Magical Cores can only work if they are serving some entity or organization. Free Elves have considerably weaker Magic than bound ones, and some Free Elves have even lost their ability to cast Spells." _Is that why they live to serve? They want to keep their Magic? Fuck, that's really sad actually._

"Why would wizards do this?" Ron asked.

"The Elves were stronger than us, and so binding them filled the Wizards of Old with great pride," Dumbledore replied. "We cannot learn their Magic because their Cores work very differently than ours."

"And they can't learn our Magic?" Ron asked.

"No, they cannot," Dumbledore replied. "They may imitate it, but they are unable to use wands efficiently." _I should talk to Marty about this, he no doubt has a wealth of information on this topic._ "Speaking of Elves, I have also hired three 'nannies' who will take care of this house. They will cook, clean, and teach the children to read and write, just as you asked."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Ron said.

"I still think that we should install Arabella Figg as the Head of this Estate," Dumbledore said, looking back to Ron for a moment.

"The Order has a potential spy, and it could be her," Ron repeated, they had had this chat already. "I can't ask Priscilla to bring her Family here, and then leave them with a potential traitor. These kids can handle themselves, and three nannies will be more than enough."

"Very well," Dumbledore said as they made their way down to the ground floor.

"I'll be bringing Priscilla, and her group, to your Office on Sunday," Ron told the old wizard. "Probably right after midday."

"I understand," Dumbledore agreed. "We'll all come here together, and then you can give them the tour."

"You won't join me?" Ron asked.

"No, I want you to do it," Dumbledore smiled widely, and Ron nodded slowly. _Alright, then…_

"I… I really can't thank you enough for this," Ron said as clearly as he could.

"There is no need for it, my boy," Dumbledore patted Ron's back, and then he guided Ron towards the fireplace. "I wanted to help."

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Friday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Morgue (Brussels, Belgium) – Night)**_

"This place, Cornelius…" Lucius whispered, his nose was being assaulted with the smells of embalming fluid and guts. "Why has our Lord sent us here?" _Damn old fool is keeping things from me in order to stroke his ego._

"Because I advised him to send us here," Cornelius replied, and Lucius couldn't help but think that the old fool was lying. _The Dark Lord heeds no counsel but his own._ "Our Lord needs certain… ingredients… and I have been put in charge of procuring them." _An errand boy, then? And yet, the Dark Lord didn't come to me at all. I am losing his faith, and that will only lead to my death. I must strengthen my 'friendship' with Cornelius, or else, I'll be left out in the cold._

"I am glad to see that the Dark Lord has turned his attention to you," Lucius lied. "Once Malfoy Manor is rebuilt, he will no doubt return to use it as his headquarters."

"Only time will tell," Cornelius 'smiled' at him, and Lucius returned the favor.

"Excuse me," came a girl's voice, and both wizards turned to see a Half-Elf no older than fifteen staring at them. _Merlin's mercy, what is this abomination?_ "Mr. Solomon will see you now."

With that, she quickly slipped back through the door behind her. Lucius and Cornelius exchanged disgusted looks, and Lucius felt the urge to simply leave. _I've probably caught a life-threatening disease already._

"Just let me do the talking," Cornelius whispered. "The Dark Lord has given me special instructions." _Yes, I get it._

"Lead the way," Lucius said politely, and Cornelius went through the door.

Lucius followed after him, and the door led down far too many stairs. Once they were deep in the Earth, they followed the Half-Elf girl down a white corridor which led up to a metallic door. _The stench has yet to leave… What kind of wizard would live down here?_

"He's through there," the beast said, but neither wizard acknowledged her.

The Half-Elf clearly noticed their disregard of her, and she quickly left with her head bowed. _Filth. Soon, monsters like her won't infect our World. We'll purge them all._ Cornelius pushed the door open, and Lucius followed him inside. As soon as he stepped foot in the room, he was quite taken aback by the design. It was nothing lavish, but it was clean and classy, which was very unlike the monstrous man who was watching them with one good eye.

"Shalom, Cornelius," the man spoke in a deep, and heavy, voice, and Lucius knew instantly that this thing wasn't completely human. _Look at the size of his forearms… Is he Half-Troll?_

"Solomon, my friend," Cornelius put on a smile.

"Oh, we're friends, are we?" Solomon asked, his eye scanning Lucius. "Who's the woman?"

"Woman?" Lucius hissed.

"Is your twat as white as your head?" Solomon asked, and he sounded genuinely interested. _Who starts a conversation like that? I just walked in._

"I am not a woman, beast," Lucius glared at Solomon, while Cornelius shot him a warning look.

"Oh…" Solomon looked genuinely surprised. "My sympathies, then, mate… God does indeed work in mysterious ways, and who am I to judge his creations?"

Lucius slowly looked to Cornelius, who was just smiling pleasantly at the Half-Troll. _Who is this man? Why are we here?_

"Cornelius, why didn't you return my letters?" Solomon asked, his eye suddenly on Cornelius. "I wrote you letters, right? And you returned a total of zero… Now, why is that?"

"I couldn't risk it after what happened to you," Cornelius replied, his finger pointing to Solomon's scar. _A blade caused that. A blade, or a really well aimed Severing Charm._

"Ah, scared of her, are ya?" Solomon nodded lightly. "Yeah… She's a ferocious little thing, isn't she?"

"Who are you speaking of?" Lucius asked.

"Emilia Travers," Cornelius replied, and Lucius cocked an eyebrow at him. _Philip's niece? She was at the Gala, I think._ "She ruined a business deal of ours, and she'll suffer the consequences soon."

"Will she?" Solomon asked curiously. "Are you God, Cornelius? You can divine the Future, can you?"

"No, but I can nudge it in the right direction," Cornelius replied.

"That's a nice answer," Solomon said, his eye narrowing on Cornelius. "Very political, that is." _Why does he talk in such an odd manner?_ "So… How can I help you…" his eye lingered on Lucius. "Gentlemen?"

"We've come with a proposition, Solomon," Cornelius stepped forward. "Quite soon, we will need your services-"

"Oh, you will, will you?" Solomon leaned forward. "You need a smuggler for your Pure-Blood parties, eh?"

"Things are changing, Solomon, and I'm giving you the chance to be on the right side," Cornelius replied.

"Yeah, fuck off," Solomon gestured to the door. "We give out complimentary soaps to all our visitors, but I'll be honest, they do fuck all against the stench of this place. Go on, be on your way."

Lucius' hand went to his wand, but Cornelius stopped him by raising a hand.

"What do you want, Solomon?" Cornelius asked. "I know you… You want something from us."

"Do I?" Solomon asked.

"You do," Cornelius replied.

"My men can't get into Knockturn Alley anymore… Why is that?" Solomon asked. "I have customers who are sorely disappointed in me, and I want to know the name of the bastard who has taken over Knockturn Alley."

"A Blood Lord named Gaspard," Cornelius told the truth.

"A Blood Lord? Well, fuck me…" Solomon leaned back with a wary look on his face. "Guess Knockturn Alley's gone to the monsters, then, hasn't it?"

"We know Gaspard, and if you want, we can introduce you to him," Cornelius smirked, this was his chance. "Now, tell me what you want."

Solomon studied Cornelius for nearly thirty seconds, and then he let out an odd grunt.

"There's an undertaker in Knockturn Alley, he receives my goods," Solomon said. "I have several bodies to send to him, and you'll take them into Knockturn Alley for me."

"Where do you find all these bodies, Mr. Solomon?" Lucius asked.

"We're in a fucking morgue…" Solomon looked at Lucius like he was an idiot, and Lucius felt the urge to kill him. _Why is the Dark Lord demeaning us in this way? We don't need this beast's aid for anything._ "Now, what are you after?"

"Unicorn Blood," Cornelius replied. _Unicorn Blood? Didn't Draco tell me about the Dark Lord drinking Unicorn Blood in the Forbidden Forest?_

"Ugh…" Solomon grunted again. "That'll cost you… one thousand Galleons per bottle." _One thousand?!_

"Listen here-" Lucius sneered, but Cornelius stopped him again.

"Done," Cornelius agreed. "One thousand Galleons per bottle, and we'll get those bodies into Knockturn Alley." _Is he insane?!_

Solomon just stared at Cornelius, a genuinely baffled look on his face.

"You British make deals without negotiating, do you?" Solomon eyeballed Cornelius. _We don't negotiate with your kind, filth._

"We see no reason to negotiate," Cornelius smiled. "We are natural allies, Solomon. Don't you think so?" _Wait… Does he intend to kill Solomon on delivery?_

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense. _The Dark Lord would never work with such an abomination. He no doubt intends to take over this beast's business, and connections._

"She was right about you, wasn't she?" Solomon suddenly spoke in Yiddish, and both Lucius and Cornelius blinked at him. _What is he saying?_ "You plan to kill us all."

"I don't understand what you're saying, Solomon," Cornelius said calmly. "Do we have a deal? Or not?"

"Yeah, we have a deal," Solomon looked into Cornelius' eyes. "Come back Wednesday, and I'll have everything ready for you. Bring the money." _Then on Wednesday, there will be one less abomination in this World._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Sadly, we won't make it to 2 million words by Chapter 100, but we got mega close, so it's still a win. Also, if you can guess who Solomon is inspired from, I'll be very proud of you.**

 **Now, a quick announcement. My brother's engagement is coming up, and we're all going to Malaysia to holiday. I won't be back until the 2nd of January, so the next chapter probably won't be out until then. I plan to write on my holiday, but posting it is another issue coz we'll be moving around.**

 **As long as we reach Chapter 100 before the 6th of January, we'll reach our crazy goal.**

 **See you on 5th of January!**


	100. Chapter 100 - The Beginning of the End

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 100 is here! And we did it! 100 chapters released in one year, and TWO MILLION words, baby! Woohoo! This is the longest Chapter I've written so far, and it seems fitting because it's such a big milestone for me!**

 **Now, real fast, sorry about the delay. Turns out that Malaysia has different wall outlets than Australia... Who'd have thunk? Anyway, I'm back, and I had an amazing time! Malaysian Food is top quality, and I gained like three kilograms, which is a lot for a skinny dude like myself. Would definitely recommend Malaysia to any one planning a holiday!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 100 - The Beginning of the End**

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Quidditch Pitch – Morning)**_

As they stood around the change room, all of them looked to Oliver for one of his pre-match pep talks, but it never came… Instead, Oliver just kept pacing back and forth, and every time he looked to McLaggen or Jack Sloper, the substitute Beaters, he would shake his head. It was no secret that compared to Fred and George, McLaggen and Jack Sloper were wretched Beaters. _Not just wretched Beaters, but genuinely bad Quidditch players._

"Harry, a moment?" Oliver beckoned him, and Harry quickly made his way over to Oliver.

"What is it, Oliver?" Harry whispered, and Oliver drew in a deep breath.

"I'm counting on you today, Harry," Oliver whispered back. "I know it's not fair that I'm putting so much pressure on you, but without the twins playing as our Beaters, we can't expect to outscore the Hufflepuffs. I need you to catch that Snitch, eh? Can you do that?"

"I'll try my best, I promise," Harry replied, trying his best to sound reassuring.

Oliver looked like he wanted to keep pressuring Harry, but the sound of thunder and gale stopped him from speaking. _This storm… It's going to make this match even more difficult than it needs to be. Cedric Diggory is bigger than me, which actually works to his advantage in such weather. I'll be getting blown off-course by the wind, but his extra mass will help him maintain control over his broom._ More thunder cracked through the sky, and this time, it was so loud that Alicia let out a frightened squeal.

"They ought to cancel the match," McLaggen suddenly spoke. "What if we get hit by lightning out there?"

"Quidditch doesn't get canceled, everyone knows that," Angelina told him. "We'll just have to be extra careful today. Watch each other's backs, and so on."

"In this weather, it'll be really hard to see," Oliver told his team. "Keep your eyes open for scarlet robes, and don't crash into each other. Alicia, I need you to-"

The sound of a loud whistle cut Oliver off, and the Gryffindor Team quickly lined up. As they began walking onto the pitch, the wind nearly knocked Harry over. If the crowd was cheering at their arrival, Harry couldn't hear them. The only sound that filled his ears was that of the thunderstorm, and when he looked up towards the Gryffindor stands, rain pelted down onto his glasses. _I can't see anything… How am I going to spot the Snitch in this weather?_

The Hufflepuff Team emerged from the opposite end of the pitch, their canary-yellow robes were difficult to make out due to the heavy rain. The Captains approached each other, and as they shook hands, Cedric shot Oliver a friendly smile. Oliver, on the other hand, looked as though he suddenly had lockjaw and merely nodded.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch yelled over the storm, and Harry mounted his Firebolt. "Are both Teams ready?"

Both Oliver and Cedric gave firm nods.

"Let the match begin!" Madam Hooch announced, and then she tossed the balls into the air.

Everyone blasted off of the ground, and Harry used his Firebolt's powerful acceleration speed to reach the top of the pitch. _I can't see a damn thing!_ Rain battered against him, while the strong winds staggered his smaller frame.

Within five minutes, Harry was soaked to the bone. He could hardly see the players, let alone the Golden Snitch. He flew back and forth along the pitch, barely dodging the scarlet and yellow shapes, in an effort to spot Cedric Diggory. He had absolutely no idea what was happening in the game, mostly because he couldn't hear the commentary being provided by Professor McGonagall over the storm. _The balls are clearly on our side of the pitch, which means that Hufflepuff is controlling the game. I need to find the Snitch as soon as possible, or we'll lose just by sheer goals scored._

As Harry continued his search, he flew past the crowds that were hiding under thick cloaks and battered umbrellas, and he couldn't help but wonder where Sirius was. _Probably near the Gryffindor stands._ The game went on for another ten minutes, and in that time, Harry barely dodged over five Bludger strikes. Eventually, he was forced to go on the run as the Hufflepuff Beaters suddenly began chasing him down in an effort to knock him off of his Firebolt.

Another ten minutes were spent dodging Bludgers, and players, until, very suddenly, Madam Hooch's loud whistle tore through the noise of the storm. Harry descended down towards the Gryffindor rest area, and he was quickly pulled in close by Alicia Spinnet, who began doing her best to warm him up.

"What… What's the sco… score?" Harry shivered, while Alicia rubbed his arm as she pulled him into her side. _God, she's bloody shivering as well._

"We're down sixty points," Oliver grit out, his lips were almost blue. "Beaters… What the fuck are you doing out there?"

"Stop aiming for your own teammates," Angelina glared at them, her left armband was gone. _Did they end up hitting her?_

"Beaters?" McLaggen snapped, he too was shaking in his boots. "Don't just blame us because we're the subs… I don't see you stopping them from scoring, Wood."

"Their Beaters are controlling the whole damn game!" Oliver roared. "They're chasing poor Harry down like he's some sort of animal! Why aren't you contesting the Bludgers?!"

"We can't even see in this storm," Jack Sloper rubbed his cold face. "Look, I don't even want to play, and you've dragged me out here… Just give me a break…"

Oliver clenched his jaw, he was no doubt about to start yelling, but Angelina stepped forward and put her hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I know it's freezing, and I know that you're not trained enough to play on the Team, but please…" Angelina gave him a meaningful look. "We need you two to start controlling those Bludgers. I can't hold the Quaffle for long when their Beaters start breathing down my neck. And Harry can't focus on winning us this game if he's too busy running away from Bludgers. You can do this, Jack. Just get in there, and throw caution to the wind."

Jack gave a shaky nod, and Angelina looked to Oliver.

"Give Alicia and Katie the Quaffle if you can," Angelina told Oliver. "They're sticking to me like glue."

"Alright," Oliver gave a nod. "Katie and Alicia, try and fly the Quaffle out of our side. We need to get their Beaters to stay away from Harry." Oliver then looked to Harry. "Any sign of the Snitch so far?"

"I can't even see with these on," Harry tapped his wet glasses. "I'm blind out there, Oliver. I'm really sorry-"

"Harry!" Sirius suddenly snuck into their rest area, his soaked cloak held above his head.

"Sirius?" Harry blinked at his Godfather, who, without a word, nicked Harry's glasses off of his face. "Hey! I need-"

"Impervious!" Sirius chanted, his wand held against the glasses. _What is he doing down here?! He'll get us disqualified!_ "Here, use them now. They're water proof."

"Really?!" Oliver's eyes suddenly sparked to life. "Brilliant!"

"I can't use these! We'll get disqualified for-"

"Then don't get caught," Sirius grinned, and then he snuck out of the rest area and disappeared into the crowd.

"Alright, Team! Let's get out there, and take the pitch back!" Oliver roared, and just like that, they were once again flying out into the storm.

Sirius Spell had done the trick, and Harry could actually see the players and balls flying around. _Too bad I'm still frozen to the bone._ Harry shivered as his fingers tightened around his Firebolt, he had to find the Snitch as soon as possible. Harry took off after Cedric, who was flying back and forth in an effort to locate the Snitch. _I'll stick to him, and let him find the Snitch for me. My broom easily outranks his, and with my smaller frame, I can make sharper turns than him._

As soon as Harry reached Cedric's side, forked lightning cracked through the sky, illuminating the entire pitch with its bright flash. And that's when Harry saw the bright golden shine of the Snitch hovering just above the ground beneath him. _Thank you, Sirius!_ Harry threw himself forward on his broom, and he immediately shot down towards the Earth. Cedric, noticing Harry's bizarre dive, followed after the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry pulled his broom back just before he hit the ground, and when he looked forward, he saw the Snitch dashing about in front of him.

"C'mon!" Harry yelled at his broom, which sped up even more as Harry tightened his hold on the handle.

Just as Harry was about to seize the Snitch, it shot up into the sky. Harry pulled his body back in order to give chase, but Cedric had read the Snitch better than Harry, and so, he cut right in front of Harry, which forced Harry to slow down before he crashed into Cedric's broom. _Now that was a dirty trick if I've ever seen one._ Harry grinned to himself, and he quickly veered to the right in order to catch up to Cedric. The two Seekers flew side by side as they chased after the Snitch, but Harry's superior broom gave him the speed he needed to cut in front of Cedric, forcing the Hufflepuff to slow down. _Fair is fair!_

Harry reached forwards, and just as his fingers brushed against the Snitch, a Bludger smashed into his ribcage. The World turned upside down, and for what felt like hours, Harry had no idea what had happened. And then, he felt the air battering his face as he fell towards the Earth. Panic seized him, and just as he began to scream, a strong hand grabbed his right forearm.

"I've got you, Harry!" Cedric yelled, but due to Harry's added weight, he was quickly losing control of his broom. "Hold on!"

That was the last thing Harry heard before they both smashed into the stands, and everything went black.

* * *

 _ **An Unknown Amount of Time Later**_

"But he'll be alright, won't he?" came Hermione's voice, it was hoarse and cracked.

"Pomfrey says that he just needs rest," Sirius said. "Here, Hermione, use this."

"Thanks," Hermione sniffled, and then she blew her nose.

"When will he wake up?" Ginny asked, and Harry slowly opened his eyes. _I can't feel anything… Why?_

He was surrounded by his muddy, shivering female teammates, and to his right were his friends and Godfather, all of whom looked drenched from head to toe. All of them except for Hermione, who was completely dry. _She was at the Library… I remember now. She's completely swamped with her studies._

"Sirius…" Harry groaned, he couldn't even raise his head. _What's going on? Where's Remus?_

"Harry! You're awake!" Neville beamed. "How are you feeling?"

"I can't feel anything…" Harry managed, his throat felt extremely dry.

"That's thanks to the Numbing Charm," Sirius informed him, he was visibly relieved at the sight of an awake Harry. "You took a lot of damage, kiddo… Pomfrey's numbed you up completely."

"Damage?" Harry asked.

"Three cracked ribs, a broken arm, a concussion, and a twisted ankle," Angelina told him.

"What happened?" Harry blinked.

"You got hit, and then you fell," Alicia shivered. "We'd thought you'd died."

Hermione let out a sad whimper at that, her eyes were completely bloodshot from crying.

"McLaggen hit you, Harry," Ginny told him, she looked furious and relieved at the same time. "He says that he was trying to get Cedric Diggory off of your tail, but the wind took the Bludger, and you ended up getting hit. He lost Gryffindor the game, not you."

"We lost?" Harry asked immediately. _No…_ "I couldn't get the Snitch…"

Shame washed over him, and he realized that this was the first time that he had been unable to catch the Snitch. _I failed even after Sirius helped me._

"No one blames you, Harry," Angelina said quickly, she could see the guilt on Harry's face. "Not even Oliver."

"Where is he?" Harry managed to ask.

"He's trying to convince Madam Hooch for a replay," Katie told him. "It's not going to happen, but he's still trying."

"Diggory caught the Snitch?" Harry asked dully.

"Actually… He caught you," Sirius replied, and Harry's eyes met his Godfather's. "Soon as you got hit, he dove after you. He caught you, but lost control over his broom, and then crashed into the stands. He's right over there."

Harry's eyes darted to where his Godfather was pointing, and he spotted a horde of Hufflepuffs surrounding someone's bed. _They all came to see him?_

"Is he alright?" Harry asked.

"He broke his hands," Angelina grimaced. "Madam Pomfrey says that he'll be fine, but his finger were quite… mangled."

"So we lost because of goals?" Harry asked, and the three Chasers nodded.

"We were forty points behind when the accident happened, and Madam Hooch called an end to the game," Katie replied. "She gave Hufflepuff the win before you two were carried back to the castle."

"Now that you're awake, we should hit the showers," Alicia looked to her fellow Chasers, who gave her nods. "We'll come and see you after, Harry."

"Don't go anywhere," Angelina tried to joke, a slightly sad smile on her face as she looked him over.

The Chasers left the Hospital Wing, while Harry closed his eyes in order to remember what had happened. Slowly, it all came back to him. His fingers had touched the Snitch, and in his haste, he had failed to pay attention to his surroundings. _That's when the Bludger hit me._

"Wait… My broom?" Harry looked to Sirius.

"Don't worry, it's just scratched up a little," Sirius sat down on Harry's bedside. "It ended up flying into the Slytherin stands."

"A bunch of them got hit pretty hard," Ginny smiled at him, but nothing could elevate Harry's spirits right now. "Cheer up, Harry… You can still win the Quidditch Cup."

"Yeah, it's just one match," Neville added.

"Hufflepuff has two wins now," Harry sighed out. "Gryffindor only has one…"

"And Slytherin and Ravenclaw have none," Ginny countered. "When Gryffindor plays against Ravenclaw after the Break, and wins, we'll be on par with Hufflepuff."

"Unless Hufflepuff defeats Slytherin," Hermione said slowly, and both Neville and Ginny just stared at her. "It looks like Hufflepuff and Gryffindor will end up competing for the Quidditch Cup this year, Harry. Neville and Ginny are right, you can still win."

"But right now, you need to focus on recovering," Sirius said, why was he smiling? _I made him sit through a storm for nothing._ "Neville, hand me the Potion."

Neville quickly handed Sirius a Potion from Harry's bedside table, and once Sirius had pulled the cork off, he tilted the bottle against Harry's lips.

"Drink this, and sleep," Sirius said. "Pomfrey's orders, Harry. I'll see you on the thirteenth of December."

"Thirteenth?" Harry croaked after he finished drinking the purple Potion. "Wait… The Dueling Tournament…"

Sleep began to take over rather quickly, and Harry's vision blurred terribly. The last thing Harry saw were his Godfather and friends, all of them relieved that he was going to be alright.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Flourish and Blotts – Near the End of the Tournament)**_

Ron just stared at his opponent with a bored look, while his opponent kept second guessing every single move that he made. _We're going to be here for days… Hurry up, please._

Ron had smashed through his competition with relative ease, because as it turned out, Lord Greengrass' training regimen was borderline child abuse. Ron had spoken to his competition before the matches, and they were all horrified to learn of Lord Greengrass' unrelenting methods. None of them were given homework, none of them were yelled at for making small mistakes, and all of them only saw their Mentors once a month. They were expected to practice in their own time, which meant that they often just slacked off. _I don't have that luxury. Lord Greengrass would tear my self-esteem apart, and then he'd probably smack me around a little._

Ron shot a look towards his Mentor, who was glaring at Ron's slow opponent. _I know, right?! Make a damn move already!_ Ron's eyes drifted towards his mother, Pandora, Xeno, and Mary, all of whom looked quite bored right now. From there, Ron looked to the four French Families who had come to watch Ron out of respect. _No Emilia Travers… Where is she? After her owl, I haven't heard anything from her._

His opponent finally made a move, and when Ron looked to the board, he was shocked to see that his opponent had checkmated himself. _This clown… He left his king to my rooks._ Ron moved one rook back a space, and then he looked to his opponent.

"Checkmate," Ron said, and his opponent was left genuinely shocked. _Don't ever leave your king undefended, mate. That's just a basic rule._

"That's match!" the announcer called quickly, and Ron stood up and put his hand forward.

Once Ron had given his opponent a firm handshake, he walked back to his seat as the audience applauded his victory. _I need to move up a rank, or something. I can't play with these people anymore. They don't even bloody practice. It's not fun for them, and so it's not fun for me._

The cameras took photos of Ron, while the announcer called him out. Ron left his seat in order to join the announcer, who then named Ron the winner of the Tournament. Ron was given a bond for two hundred Galleons, and once he had shaken hands with the Officials, he made his way over to the exit.

"Mr. Weasley!" one of the reporters yelled out, and Ron shot the reporter a confused look. _Why are they here for such a small event? They're making everyone nervous with their presence._ "Congratulations on another victory! Did you have anything to do with the French being here today?!" _Now it makes sense… They're here to bombard me with more questions._

"The French are here to show me their support, but I had no idea that they were coming," Ron replied, he could see Lord Greengrass pushing his way towards Ron. "I am grateful for their support, as well as yours. Thank you."

With that, Ron began making his way towards his Mentor. _I just want to be on my way._

"Well done, Ron," Lord Greengrass met him with a genuine smile. _Ah, this shining smile. He only gives it out when I bring home the trophy._ "Another fine win."

"Thank you, my Lord," Ron smiled back. "Can we be on our way, please? I'm starving."

Lord Greengrass shot a look towards the reporters, who were still yelling and taking photos, and then he looked back to Ron.

"They are an annoying lot, are they not?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Immensely annoying," Ron nodded.

"Let's go," Lord Greengrass began guiding Ron out. "The other all but fell asleep in your last match, I'm afraid."

"I know how they feel," Ron shrugged. "It was a dreadfully dull affair."

"You could've ended it very early into the game," Lord Greengrass told him. "Ron, he put your king in check, and you forgot about Castling… Instead, you wasted several moves trying to protect your king." _Oh, fuck, I totally did that._ "I know that against a slow opponent, the game can become mind-numbing, but you mustn't let your guard down. Some people actually play very passively just to catch their opponent off-guard. If that boy had more skill, he could've done some real damage to your pieces."

"Right," Ron gave a nod. "I won't forget next time, and I'll pay better attention."

Lord Greengrass gave his back a fond pat, and they made their way towards the exit of the building. Once they stepped outside into Diagon Alley, Ron saw his Family speaking to the French Families who had attended. _The Abadies, the Coutures, the Delacours, and the Lenoirs. It's a shame that Madame Maxime left for Beauxbatons, it would've been nice to speak to her again._

"There's the Champion," Mary smiled at him, and Ron smiled back.

"Where?" Ron looked around, making the others laugh.

"Well done, love," Molly pulled him into a hug. "We're very proud of you." _More support? They're really trying now, aren't they?_

"Thanks," Ron gave her a squeeze. "Dad's at the Ministry?"

"He's watching the twins," Pandora replied, and Ron gave an understanding nod. _Poor dad._

"Congratulations, Monsieur Weasley," Lady Abadie stepped forward, a pleasant smile on her face. _Ah, the greedy bitch._

"Lady Abadie," Ron kissed her knuckles, and then he addressed all the French. "Thank you all for coming here in order to show me your support. I'm sorry if you were left bored, Chess is not for everyone."

"Nonsense, we enjoyed ourselves," Lady Couture lied, and Ron gave her a grateful smile. _I know she's just being polite, but I'm still grateful that she took the time to come here. I won't forget this._

"You enjoyed yourself," Christina Couture rolled her eyes, much to her parents' annoyance. "May I explore Diagon Alley now? Or do you want to force me through another-"

"Enough, Christina," Lord Couture frowned at his daughter, while Ron shot a quick look towards Flourish and Blotts. _Oh, fuck, they're all coming out._

"Reporters," Ron whispered to the others, and all of them immediately followed Ron's gaze.

"Looks like our chat is about to be cut short," Lord Lenoir sighed out.

"Come, Fleur, we let's be on our way," Mrs. Delacour said, and her daughter shot Ron an odd look. _She looks… distressed._ "Fleur, let's go."

"Oui, mama," Fleur sighed out, her eyes lingering on Ron. _She wanted something from me?_

"Should we go as well?" Xeno asked, and everyone said 'yes' without hesitation.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"And then I moved my rook back, and trapped him completely," Ron told his father, who listened with keen interest. _I'm probably boring him to death, but he's never asked me to describe a game before._

Ron had returned to the Burrow for lunch, where he had learned that Bill, Kirsten, and Charlie were currently at Grimmauld Place. They had promised to help Sirius move some furniture around, or at least that's what his father had told him. Ron knew, however, that the three of them were watching over Snape, who was still recovering rather slowly. As for the twins, they were still up in their room, and they had no idea that Ron was downstairs. _Good thing too because I really don't want to deal with them._

"Well, congratulations, son," Arthur said with a proud smile.

"Thanks," Ron smiled back, and then he took a bit out of his sandwich.

"I'll transfer your extra Galleons into your account once I'm back at the Manor," Lord Greengrass told Ron, while Mary spoke with Pandora and Molly about Christmas plans. _Extra Galleons… He's giving me one hundred extra on top of my two hundred Galleons. Now that I understand the value of money a little better, I can't help but think that Lord Greengrass is extremely generous to me. Either that, or he has so much money that one hundred Galleons is nothing to him._

"Thank you, my Lord," Ron said gratefully. "I'll put it to good use."

"Will you?" Lord Greengrass asked, while Arthur and Xeno leaned forward.

"Well, right now, I'm saving up to repay Daphne," Ron replied. "I still owe her one thousand Galleons, but once I've paid that off, I'll be debt free."

"And what do you plan to do after that?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Save up, I suppose," Ron shrugged. "I have plans for The Quibbler." _I have plans for the war. Not to mention that I'll be paying for Priscilla's gang soon._

"What sort of plans?" Xeno asked. "Should we start hiring soon?"

"The Quibbler won't launch properly until March, so we have plenty of time," Ron told Xeno. "My Logistics Officer will handle most of the searching and interviews, while I'll focus more on **who** we end up hiring. I'm thinking of at least five reporters, not counting you. All the costs are already looked after because I have the money needed saved up in The Quibbler's Vault."

"I've already written plenty of articles," Xeno said with an excited smile. "I'll send them over to you for approval soon." _Good, he understands that everything goes through me first._

"Have you heard anything from the Fawleys yet?" Arthur asked Ron.

"About the Werewolf shelter?" Ron asked, and Arthur gave a nod. "No, but I will chase up with them soon. Actually… That reminds me… I've invited Great-Aunt Muriel and Augusta Longbottom over for Christmas Dinner."

"Augusta as well?" Arthur asked, and then he shot a quick look to his occupied wife. "Your mother had a slight panic attack when Muriel's letter came in… I really wish that you had told us first, Ron. You know how Muriel can be."

"You're right," Ron said. "I just figured that since she's a Prewett, I should extend my hand to her."

"You have plans for her, you mean?" Lord Greengrass smirked.

"I do," Ron admitted.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense," Lord Greengrass looked to Arthur and Xeno, both of whom focused on Ron. _Wow… They're almost treating me like an adult. Should I really tell them, though?_

"Money," Ron said, and all three men waited for him to go on. "I have projects in mind that will help the needy, but I myself can't fund them. Great-Aunt Muriel and Augusta Longbottom are quite wealthy, and since I have connections with them, I plan to persuade them like I persuaded the Fawleys. I was also thinking of meeting the Shafiqs, the Shacklebolts, the Abbots, and the Macmillans through Augusta Longbottom, she is friends with the Heads of these prominent Families. Or at least, she's worked with them on some charities."

"These Families are all part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Arthur pointed out.

"Just like us, dad," Ron said, and Arthur looked a little uncomfortable with that. "I'm trying to bring these Families together."

"For charity?" Xeno asked.

"Charity, and power," Ron replied.

"Power?" Arthur blinked, while Lord Greengrass' smirk turned into a smile.

"They have influence, and if I'm a part of them, then I have influence too," Ron clarified. "With the French already here because of me, I have many powerful, and wealthy, allies."

"And where do the Greengrasses fit into your never ending schemes, Ron?" Lord Greengrass asked, he was clearly quite amused.

"I can't spoil that, now, can I?" Ron smiled at his Mentor.

"Just don't forget whose daughter you're dating," Lord Greengrass said. "I expect your plans regarding my Family to be respectable." _And what is respectable to you, Lord Greengrass?_

"They will be," Ron assured him.

"When do you come up with these plans, Ron?" Arthur couldn't help but ask.

"Truth be told, I improvise a lot," Ron replied truthfully. "Unlike what some people believe, I'm not always scheming. I've just learned to look for, and seize, opportunities."

"What are you men plotting over there?" Pandora looked towards the men, her eyes lingering on Ron.

"World domination," Lord Greengrass smirked, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Arthur, stop that," Molly clicked her tongue, and Arthur shot Ron and Lord Greengrass a frown. "Ron, do you want another sandwich?"

"No, thank you," Ron patted his stomach, he had eaten six already. "I'm trying to watch my weight."

"Has he always had such a sharp tongue?" Mary chuckled.

"No, and he'll watch it if he's careful," Molly 'eyeballed' her son, who just grinned at her.

The sound of sudden footsteps silenced everyone in the Kitchen, and both Fred and George suddenly came down the stairs.

"Mum, can Fred and I spend some time outside?" George asked, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at them. _They're not allowed to go outside without permission? Merlin, mum must be really pissed._

"You…" Fred suddenly spotted Ron, who simply smiled at his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Ron replied.

"Fred, leave your brother alone," Arthur sighed out. "And yes, you can go outside, but be back before dark."

"Heard you had a Tournament today, Ronnie," George said, his eyes digging into Ron's. "Did you lose?"

"I don't lose," Ron smiled. "How's the suspension going?"

"Don't worry, we'll be back at Hogwarts soon enough," Fred said, and then he left without another word.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Molly called out after Fred, but he was already gone.

"It means that the twins haven't learned their lesson yet," Ron stood up, and then he walked over to George. "Rule-breaking is nothing to laugh at, George. I was hoping that you two would grow as people after such… embarrassment. I mean, look at all the problems that you've caused. Gryffindor is dead-last in the race for the House-Cup now, and it's all your fault."

"Ron, stop goading your brother," Molly warned. "George, keep your eyes on Fred. He has a tendency to do stupid things when he's upset. Go on."

George just stared at Ron with contempt, and then he left without uttering a single word. _They really can't take it, can they? I mean, they killed and tossed my pet through my window in order to hurt me, but now they're skulking about because I gave them a light spanking._

"They didn't even congratulate me," Ron turned to look at the adults. "Have they not heard about my new job?"

"Ron, don't make things worse," Molly said sternly, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. _She's got a point, Ron. Being petty has never worked out for you in the past._

"Fair enough," Ron said. "Well, I'm going to head back to Hogwarts. I still have a lot of homework to get done."

"You make sure you stay on top of your class," Pandora said, and Ron gave her a nod before heading for the Living Room.

From there, Ron flooed directly to the Headmaster's Office. As soon as he stepped through the fire, he spotted Dumbledore looking into a Pensieve. _He has a Pensieve up here? I haven't seen one since second year._

"Ronald," Dumbledore greeted without looking back, and Ron slowly approached the old wizard. "How was your Tournament?"

"Another trophy will be sent to Hogwarts," Ron replied.

"That is good to hear," Dumbledore shot him a smile.

"Which memory are you looking into?" Ron asked.

"You know what a Pensieve is?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Lord Greengrass used one to get my memories, remember?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a slow nod.

"I remember being blackmailed by you," Dumbledore suddenly chuckled, and Ron couldn't help but smile.

"The good old days, right?" Ron said. "Maybe I'll blackmail you again for nostalgia's sake?"

"I'd rather that you didn't," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling at the Pensieve. "I am trying to decipher the identity of a potential traitor, but so far, I have been unable to do so. All current members of the Order are loyal."

"As far as you can tell," Ron added.

"I know these people, Ronald," Dumbledore turned to face him. "All of them have lost much because of Lord Voldemort, and they would never willingly join him. Most of them would be killed on sight, actually."

"What about the newcomers?" Ron asked. "Lady Abadie might grow angered if we don't give her what she wants."

"She is not a fool," Dumbledore countered. "The Dark Lord plans to eradicate anyone who isn't 'Pure', and she understands this. She might pull her support, but she will not go to her potential murderer out of spite. She values her life too much."

"I think you're worrying too much about something that we have no control over yet," Ron shrugged as he began heading for the door. "For all we know, the Dark Lord learned of the Rookery through sheer dumb luck. Either way, I plan to make sure that my father is the Secret-Keeper of the Lovegoods. We can't rely on just **one** person being everyone's Secret-Keeper, mostly because if that person gets captured, then we're all in danger."

"I agree," Dumbledore said just as Ron reached the door. "Ronald, one last thing before you continue your day."

"Yes, Headmaster?" Ron turned to face the old wizard.

"Daphne Greengrass came to my Office with a letter this morning," Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"She did?" Ron blinked. _Please tell me that she didn't ask him to give me that Order of Merlin: Second Class._

"She nominated you for the Order of Merlin: Second Class," Dumbledore told him, and Ron let out a long groan. "Well, she asked **me** to nominate you."

"Please don't," Ron sighed out. "That rewards will just garner unwanted attention. Plus, I already have so many people who despise me, so the last thing I need is to provoke action through jealousy."

"People have been rewarded this award for doing less, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "And it is an immense honor. You shouldn't be so quick to reject it."

"Do you think I deserve it?" Ron asked. "Tell me honestly, Headmaster. Do I deserve this award?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _He's only saying that because he knows why I brought the French here._

"Whatever," Ron turned to leave. "Do as you please, then."

"I will," Dumbledore smiled widely.

"If you do decide to give it to me, then you need to give it to Madame Maxime as well," Ron said before he left. "The idea might have been mine, but she is the one who made it work. If you reward my merit, then you **have** to reward hers."

With that said, Ron made his way down the spiral staircase, and then past the Stone Gargoyle. _It would be nice to get that award, but I don't think that I've done anything that special to earn it. The French Families are here to help the Order, not the Ministry. Plus, if I do get an Order of Merlin, I want it to be for something that I personally achieved._ Ron made his way down the Moving Staircase, and just as he reached the stairs leading down into the Dungeons, he was approached by Luna.

"Hello, Ron!" Luna suddenly stepped into his way from the Entrance Hall.

"Hello, Luna," Ron smiled. "Why are you so wet?"

"There's a thunderstorm," Luna replied aloofly as she rocked back and forth. "Can't you hear it?"

"I can, but why were you out there?" Ron asked. "You'll catch a cold."

"I was watching the Quidditch match, just like everyone else," Luna replied. _The Quidditch match? Did Beth deliver my letter to Cedric?_

"Who won?" Ron asked.

"Hufflepuff," Luna replied, and Ron's smile widened. "Does that please you, Ron?"

"No, why would it?" Ron asked in response, and Luna just stared into his eyes with her aloof smile in place.

"Harry broke a lot of bones today," she said suddenly, and Ron's smile faltered. _What?_ "Yay! That bothered you!" _What's that supposed to mean?_

"Luna…" Ron blinked at her.

"I was worried that you wouldn't care about Harry being hurt, but you do care," Luna hummed, and Ron could do little but stare at her. _Of course I care, I need him._ "You can still be friends."

"What happened to Harry?" Ron shook his head clear, he didn't have time to decipher the mind of Luna Lovegood.

"He was hit with a Bludger, and then he crashed into the stands," Luna replied. "He's in the Hospital Wing right now. I was going to visit him, but they told me that he's on a Sleeping Draught." _Oh._ "You should go to the Hospital Wing, Ron."

"Why?"

"Cedric Diggory is still there," Luna replied. "He broke both of his hands."

"What the fuck?" Ron frowned. "What kind of Quidditch match was this?"

"A terribly wet one," Luna said bluntly. _She's so damn weird sometimes._ "I'm going to go join my friends now. You should go and see Cedric, at least."

"Luna, go up to your room and get into dry clothes," Ron ordered.

"But my-"

"No buts, go," Ron stepped aside, and Luna let out a sigh.

"Okay," she mumbled, then she began dragging her feet up the stairs.

While Luna made her way towards the Ravenclaw common room, Ron headed for the Hospital Wing. _How did Cedric break both of his hands? Bloody hell, I'm kind of sorry that I missed this brutal match. I wonder if my friends attended._ Ron walked into the Hospital Wing with an expressionless face, and once he was inside, he looked around for Harry and Cedric. Harry was easy to spot, as his bed was quite close to the entrance, and Ron noticed that Hermione, Neville, and Ginny were sitting by Harry's bedside. _He looks quite hurt, actually._ Harry had bandages on his head and torso, his right arm was in a sling, and his right leg was hanging in the air.

"Luna was right," Ron said as he approached Harry's bed, and all three Gryffindors looked back at Ron. "He looks like he's been through hell."

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty," Neville gave Ron a weak smile, while the girls said nothing. _Neville and Ginny look wet, but Hermione is completely dry._ "He's going to be in here all weekend."

"Madam Pomfrey will fix him up, don't worry," Ron said in a comforting manner, his eyes lingering on Harry's sleeping form. _I forgot how brutal Quidditch can be sometimes._ "What was the damage?"

"A concussion, three broken ribs, a broken arm, and a twisted ankle," Hermione replied hoarsely. _She's been crying._ "He fell off his broom, but Cedric Diggory managed to catch him." _He did?_ "Diggory then lost control over his broom, and they both crashed into the stands. It was quite terrible, I hear."

"You weren't there?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning her dry clothes.

"I was in the Library…" Hermione sniffled. _She can't possibly blame herself for this._ "I've been terribly mean to him lately…"

"Hermione, not now," Ginny suddenly whispered, her eyes darting towards Ron. _Wow. She doesn't want state secrets being spilled to a 'traitor', is that it?_

"Harry isn't the sort of person who holds grudges against his friends, Hermione," Ron said as gently as he could. "Once he wakes up, you should talk to him."

"I plan to," Hermione nodded weakly.

Ron walked over to Harry's other side, and he traced his gloved hand over Harry's arm sling. _I don't know why, but I hope that he passed out from shock instead of going through all that pain. Broken bones are not a fun experience, and I know that thanks to the Entity._

"What are you doing?" Ginny demanded. "Don't touch him, he's asleep."

"Ginny…" Hermione sighed out. "The Potion he's on won't let him wake up for at least another eight hours."

Ron pulled his hand back, his eyes landing on Neville.

"Neville, aren't you cold?" Ron asked, and Neville blinked at him.

"A little," Neville replied slowly.

"Then you should get changed out of those clothes," Ron advised. _And take my bitter sister with you._ "Hermione's right about Harry not waking up for a long time. You're not helping him by freezing your arse off. Go and get changed before you catch a cold."

"He's right," Hermione looked to Neville, her eyes fixed on his wet clothes. _Did she not notice that her friends are soaking wet?_ "Neville, your lips are slightly blue. And Ginny… You're shivering…"

"I'm fine," Neville lied, while Ginny just watched Ron. _She's so damn confrontational, isn't she? She's always been like that, but never against me. Not until the start of this school year._

"No, you're not," Hermione countered. "Let's all go back to the Gryffindor common room, and once you're changed into warmer clothes, we can come back."

"Hermione-" Ginny started, but Hermione was already on her feet. _There's that resolute look of hers. She's on a mission now._

"Getting sick won't help Harry," Hermione said, and then she cleared her throat in order to get her voice back. "C'mon, let's get you two changed." _She sounds like mum._

Hermione reached forward and took Neville's hand, and then she began dragging him off.

"We didn't eat lunch either, so that needs to be fixed as well," Hermione said firmly. "I have biscuits in my room."

Ginny looked between the departing Gryffindors and Ron, and then she shot her brother a frown.

"What?" Ron asked. "You need to get changed, Ginny, or you **will** get sick." _You can hate me all you want, but at least look after your own health._

"Like you care," Ginny rolled her eyes, and then she began following after Hermione and Neville.

Something snapped in Ron's head because of her comment, and he quickly moved into her way with a murderous glare. Ginny stopped to give him attitude, but his expression jarred her into silence.

"I don't care?" Ron whispered dangerously, his large build looming over Ginny. "You walk around with a two hundred Galleon bracelet on your fucking wrist, and designer clothes stashed away in your trunk, and you think that I don't care?"

"I…"

"You are quickly reaching the end of your free pass, Ginny," Ron warned her. " **Enough is enough**. I have hurt people for less." Ginny blinked at him as she took a timid step back, while Ron pointed a finger in her face. "You will stop this cruel behavior, Ginny… I won't warn you again."

Something sparked behind her eyes, and she took on a defiant stance.

"I'll stop when you remember that you're a Weasley," Ginny said haughtily.

"When I remember that I'm a Weasley?" Ron scoffed. "What do you do, Ginny? What have done for this World besides petrifying Muggle-Borns?" Ginny immediately lost her defiant stance, and a hurt look crossed her face. "You need to grow up, do you understand? You actually need to pull your head out of your arse, or one of these days, I'll do it for you."

Ron then reached forward to grab her arm in order to toss her towards the exit, but just before he was able to touch her, he stopped himself. _Don't grab her, Ron. The last time you did that, you bruised her wrist. Don't make the same mistake twice._ Ron slowly pulled his hand back from a distressed Ginny, his expression softening a little.

"Just go and change," Ron stepped out her way, his tone coming out more bitter than he anticipated. "I'm just… I'm done with you, Ginny." _No more. If she can't love me, then she damn well better respect me._ "After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me… Just fuck off. I don't need this sort of stress in my life, so just fuck right off."

Ginny slowly moved around him, she couldn't deny that she had seized up when he had reached for her, and his murderous glare had genuinely frightened her. Not to mention that his cruel remark about her biggest regret in life had hurt far more than she expected. Once she was out of his reach, she quickly left the Hospital Wing before her eyes teared-up.

As for Ron, he began breathing in deeply, hoping to Merlin that he could feel the presence of Stoatshead Hill once again. After nearly a minute of concentrating, Ron felt a wall moving to the front of his mind. A calmness began to wash over him, and his bitter feelings were repressed. Ron then looked towards Harry's sleeping form, and he let out a deep sigh. _I can't even blame him for this anymore. He might have fed her negative thoughts about me, but she clearly reached her own conclusions. I can't help but wonder if it was Ginny who pushed Harry into investigating me, or at least, her behavior towards me convinced Harry of my 'guilt'._

Ron looked around the Hospital Wing, and he noticed that there was one bed that was currently hidden behind white curtains. _That must be where Cedric is._ Ron walked over to the curtains, and he stopped right before barging through.

"Cedric, you decent?" Ron called.

"Ron? Yeah, come in," Cedric replied, and Ron stepped through the curtains.

Cedric was sitting up against the head of his bed, his hands completely covered in thick bandages. Around Cedric were flowers and sweets from his friends and admirers, and Ron carefully avoided them all before sitting on the edge of Cedric's bed.

"How are your hands, Cedric?" Ron asked, and Cedric gave him a better view of the bandages.

"Should be healed by Dinner," Cedric gave a loopy smile. _Is he alright?_

"Are you in pain?" Ron asked.

"No, Madam Pomfrey gave me a Pain-Relief Potion," Cedric shook his head. "I'm really out of it, I think."

"You certainly look happy," Ron gave a weak smile, his mind was still lingering on Ginny's comment. _I shouldn't have gotten into her face like that… She'll probably hate me even more now._

"You don't," Cedric said bluntly. "I… I heard you and your sister." _Great._

"What did you hear?" Ron asked.

"Bits and pieces," Cedric replied. "Nothing much, truth be told, but I did hear you telling her 'to leave'."

"Right…" Ron sighed out, this was a little embarrassing. "Not my finest moment, eh? Telling my little sister to fuck off… My mum would rip my tongue out if she had heard me."

"Then you should apologize," Cedric said.

"Fuck no," Ron gave a mirthless chuckle, and Cedric cocked an eyebrow. "I will not give into the demands of a delusional idiot, even if she's my Blood." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Do you have siblings?"

"No," Cedric shook his head. "I'm an only child."

"Lucky you, then," Ron said. "Siblings are… useless. They give you nothing but grief, even when they have no right to. My sister wears a two hundred Galleon bracelet on her wrist-"

"Two hundred Galleons?!" Cedric gaped, his droopy eyes made him look ridiculous."What kind of bracelet costs that much money?"

"The kind that you should never buy," Ron sighed out. _A waste of money._ "I spent my winnings from Paris on her because she was struggling with some personal issues, and for a while, she was coming back to us. I was so glad to be a part of her recovery…" Ron then shook his head clear. _He's not your therapist, Ron._ "So… You got my letter?"

"Ah, so that was from you," Cedric replied. _Well done, Beth._ "I appreciate the gesture, mate, but we already planned to target Harry and Angelina. It's just a shame that everything went to hell like it did…"

"You won, and that's all that matters," Ron shrugged.

"Harry was going to get the Snitch," Cedric told Ron. "His hand was almost around it, but then his own teammate shot him out of the sky. We didn't deserve that win."

"Nonsense," Ron disagreed. "Unforeseen circumstances always arise, it's just the way of things. Harry lost his focus, I'm sure, and that's why he lost. You earned your win, Cedric, don't think otherwise."

"I can understand where you're coming from, but it still feels like a hollow victory," Cedric said.

Ron was about to argue some more, but Madam Pomfrey suddenly popped her head through the curtains, and when she saw Ron, she looked a little taken aback.

"Cedric, I said no more visitors," Madam Pomfrey stepped through the curtains. _Was she in Professor Snape's Potion's Lab? She smells just like he used to… Fumes and sweat. Not to mention that she has smoke-marks on her face._

"Oh, I forgot," Cedric blinked, and then he looked to Ron. "Sorry, mate, I'm not fit to have company."

"That's fine," Ron got off of the bed. "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright, which you clearly are. I won't disturb him any further, Madam Pomfrey."

"I'll walk you out," Madam Pomfrey opened the curtains, and Ron stepped through them.

"Any idea when Harry will wake up?" Ron asked her as they walked to the exit.

"Hard to say because of his injuries, but it hardly matters when he wakes up," Madam Pomfrey replied. "He will not be leaving his bed for the entirety of this weekend." _I see. Well, I might visit him if I get bored tomorrow. Though I doubt I will, considering my plans._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Midday)**_

Ron all but dove out of the way, and the stunner from the P-12 shot past his head at an alarming speed. _It's so damn quick!_ Ron quickly regained his footing, and before the P-12 could attack, Ron fired a Non-Verbal stunner at it. Just like Ron, the P-12 quickly rolled out of the way, but Ron now had the advantage. _Don't relent! Chain Spells quickly, and start closing the distance!_

Ron fired his combo of stunner, Disarming Charm, and stunner again at it, but the P-12 easily parried all three Spells. Ron wasn't really surprised, mostly because he himself knew that his Chaining speed was quite mediocre, but what did surprise Ron was how speedily the P-12 began to back away. _Shite! Does it know what I'm trying to do?!_

Sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes, making this Duel even more one-sided. No matter what Ron tried, this dummy was always prepared for it. It had inhuman reaction speed, and it was not afraid of hurting Ron. Madam Roberts watched quietly from the side-lines, an extremely critical look on her face as she noticed that Ron was getting frustrated.

They exchanged a few more Spells, and once again, Ron was forced into the defensive. The P-12's Spells had more weight behind them, and it was faster at Chaining than Ron. _I need to get close to it… That's the only way that I can win. Unless…_ Ron smirked a little to himself, perhaps it was time to show off his latest trick?

The P-12 fired a three stunners back to back, but with Ron's slightly crouched stance, he easily dodged past them.

"Cutis Terra!" Ron chanted, and he felt his muscles harden almost painfully. _Now!_ "Brachium Colubrum!"

Ron slammed his fists into the Earth, he could feel an overwhelming amount of Magic coursing through his strengthened body. Dozens of ethereal serpents rushed out of Ron's sleeves, their hisses were almost deafening as they shot out of the sand and towards the P-12. The dummy quickly raised a shield in order to stop the tidal wave of ethereal serpents, but the ghostly snakes were guided by Ron's strategic mind.

Before they clashed against the shield, they moved downwards in an unnatural manner, their bodies disappearing into the sand. The dummy quickly undid its shield, but it was too late. Ron's ghostly snakes had already shot out of the sand right beneath the dummy's feet, and just as quickly, they had restrained the P-12. Without a second's hesitation, Ron shot up to his feet and yanked both of his arms back. The sound of wood shattering echoed throughout the Magically Enhanced suitcase, and Ron grinned proudly as the P-12 was reduced to nothing but thick shards of useless wood. _I win, bitch!_

"Well done, Ronald!" Madam Roberts called, a pleased smile on her face. "Excellent use of terrain!"

Ron bent forward and began panting, while Madam Roberts approached him with a glass of water. _I had to rely on Wandless Magic again. No matter what I tried, I couldn't outclass the P-12 with my wand alone._ Madam Roberts handed Ron the glass, and while he sated his thirst, she cast 'Reparo' on the P-12's corpse.

"You've been practicing with Cutis Terra," Madam Roberts looked back to Ron, while the P-12 began to reassemble.

"You were right, Madam Roberts," Ron shot her a quick smile, and then he downed the glass. _That's better._ "Cutis Terra enhances my Spells greatly… I can even cast Spells that I haven't tried before with relative ease." _Except the Undetectable Extension Charm… I keep fucking that up._

"It is a remarkable Spell, indeed," Madam Roberts walked up to Ron. "It's only drawback is that it's difficult to hold."

"I can usually last about twenty seconds," Ron told her. "After that…" he trailed off.

"Then we need to work on extending that window of time," Madam Roberts put her hand on his right shoulder, and then gently, she began guiding him towards the couch. _Is… Is she being friendly with me?_ "If we can increase the duration of Cutis Terra to even one minute, then I can safely say that you'll win quite a few Tournaments. The P-12 is no easy foe to defeat, but you've done it twice now."

"I've also lost to it four times," Ron chuckled weakly. _Basically anytime that I didn't use Wandless Magic._

"Losing is part of winning," Madam Roberts told him. "My father used to defeat me constantly when I was your age."

"He trained you, right?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod.

"He was a harsh teacher, but because of him, I am where I am now," Madam Roberts said, and then she helped Ron onto the couch. "Lie down, Ronald. I need to heal your muscles."

Ron did as he was told, while Madam Roberts pulled his left sleeve back. Ron tensed almost immediately, while Madam Roberts just studied his left forearm with a furrowed brow. _What is she doing?_

"Um…"

"Your left arm is starting to bruise," Madam Roberts told him.

"Another drawback of Cutis Terra," Ron sighed out. "Madam Pomfrey thinks that because my muscles harden too quickly, they become injured, and therefore, I get bruised. Usually I can cast it without bruising, but sometimes, I'm not so lucky."

"We'll have you fixed up soon enough," Madam Roberts pulled his sleeve back down, and Ron relaxed immensely. "We'll start with your arms this time, mostly because they need the most attention. Relax, Ronald, we've done this before." Ron did as he was told, while she began healing his muscles. _Merlin, that feels so nice._ "I understand that Hogwarts is having a Dueling Tournament next Sunday."

"Yeah," Ron gave a nod. "You can come and watch, if you want." _Please do._ "I mean, it's on Sunday, and it will be held during the same time that we train."

"Oh, I will be there, I assure you," Madam Roberts shot him a quick look. "I wish to see you compete against actual people, and more specifically, people your age. I plan to gauge their skill against yours." _Shite, another test._ "Tell me, will you be holding back against your fellow students?"

"Um… It depends," Ron replied slowly, what kind of a question was that?

"It depends?" Madam Roberts repeated a little coldly. "There is no 'it depends', Ronald… You will go all out, or I'll know the reason why."

"Pardon?" Ron blinked as he moved his head up.

"Don't move," Madam Roberts scolded, and Ron quickly put his head back down.

"You want me to go all out against students?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "Some of them are quite-"

"Champions don't hold back because of silly reasons like size, or gender," Madam Roberts said matter-of-factly. "I have seen skilled wizards fall in combat because they underestimated their opponents based on appearances, and you **will** **not** fall into the same trap. I am here to mold you into a Dueling Champion, boy… But for that happen, you first need to understand that in a Magical Duel, even the smallest and weakest wizard can drop you if you let your guard down. A stunner will stun you, regardless of who sends it your way."

"But I might be Dueling my girlfriend," Ron told her. _If she manages to beat Hermione, that is._

"What difference does that make?" Madam Roberts cocked an eyebrow. "When you are both on the sandpit, you are not a couple… You are competing to see who the stronger wizard is, and if it's not you, then I will be sorely disappointed." _Oh…_ "Listen to me, and listen well. In an **actual** Duel, gender and size mean nothing. The only thing that matters is that you're the one who's left standing, do you understand? The difference between a Champion and a pretender is that the Champion **never** stops giving his best."

"I… I can't physically assault girls, Madam Roberts," Ron said softly, he personally didn't agree with this. "I was even forbidden from it by our Defense Professor, and he's the one who's acting as the referee."

"So they can hit you, but you can't hit them?" Madam Roberts scoffed. "Do you think those rules apply in actual Tournaments? No, they don't. I will have words with this biased Professor of yours, and then, you will show me the fruits of your training. Never show any hesitation in a Duel, Ronald, or you'll be dead long before your Brain-Damage catches up to you."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Afternoon)**_

Ron had eaten a grand meal at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, but he hadn't really enjoyed it. Madam Roberts' words made sense to him, much to his annoyance. The truth was that Ron understood his limits, and he knew that if he let his guard down against someone like Hermione, or Millie, he'd eat a stunner for his troubles. But at the same time, Ron knew that if he hit them like he would hit a boy, he could do some serious damage. _Millie could no doubt take a hit from me, but I'd rather lose than to lay hands on her._

It was almost strange now that he thought about it… He had absolutely no qualms with striking fellow males, but when it came to girls, Ron almost always held back. Even during training sessions, Ron decimated Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy, all the while treating the girls like fragile dolls. _I don't even yell at the girls anymore, but whenever the lads make mistakes, I all but explode. Does this make me sexist? No. I just know that girls aren't as physically strong as boys. Plus, hitting people who are smaller than me seems cruel._

"What is this?" came Tom the Bartender's voice, and Ron quickly looked to the entrance.

Priscilla, and around twenty five, children had stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, their faces marred with distrust and disbelief. _At least Priscilla looks hopeful, but I think that's only because she understands that she has very few choices left._ Ron quickly stood up and approached them, Tom was already speaking with Priscilla. _They all have overnight bags… I'm guessing that they live out of those._

"I told you, girl, that you can't be here," Tom sighed out, his eyes traveling towards Priscilla's friends. "Look, I'm really sorry for you lot… But my other guests won't have it."

"It's alright, Tom," Ron said, and the Bartender looked back to him. "They're with me."

"Mr. Weasley," Tom blinked, and then he looked back to the children. "I'm sorry, but I can't let them stay here."

"They won't be staying," Ron assured the man, and then he smiled at Priscilla. "Come with me."

Priscilla gave him a weak nod, while Ron pulled out his Gringotts Pouch.

"We were never here," Ron said, and then he handed Tom ten Galleons.

"I… Right…" Tom took the money slowly, and after shooting the children one more sorry look, he left for his bar.

"Is this everyone?" Ron asked Priscilla, all the while counting the children in his head. _Twenty-Eight in total, and all of them are around my age. Fucking hell, why don't we have more programs to help children like them? What is the Ministry doing?_

"It is," Priscilla replied, and Ron ignored the looks the children were giving him. "A few didn't come… They don't trust this offer of yours." _Shame._

"They might come around yet," Ron gave her a calming smile. "Come, let's be on our way."

Ron led the children towards the fireplace, and the few patrons that were in the tavern eyed the horde of homeless children with curious looks. Ron, and his companions, ignored the patrons completely. As Ron prepared the floo, Priscilla pulled the youngest children to her side.

"Hold hands, alright?" Priscilla told them. "Courtney, keep Mary and Trist with you. Rob, you're in charge of Albert and Ivar. Tiberius, stay in the back and make sure that everyone goes through the floo."

"It's ready," Ron said, and then he stepped out of the way. "Please, go on. I will follow you after-"

"You'll go first," Tiberius said rather harshly, his eyes narrowing on Ron.

"Tiberius," Priscilla hissed, but Ron just raised his hands in surrender. _Be patient, Ron. They have every right to be wary of you._

"I will go first," Ron said, and then, he stepped through the fireplace.

The first thing he saw was Albus Dumbledore, who was patiently waiting for the Squib children.

"Ronald? Where are they?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling as usual.

"Behind me," Ron replied as he stopped by the Headmaster's side. "Is the house ready?"

"More than," Dumbledore patted Ron's back. _He's more affectionate towards me lately… Why is that?_ "The caretaker Elves are waiting for the children, and I must say, they are very excited."

Priscilla stepped into the Office at that, and both wizards immediately smiled at her. Priscilla stopped moving at the sight of Albus Dumbledore, her jaw hanging open slightly.

"Priscilla, this is Headmaster Albus Dumbledore," Ron introduced, and she took a slow step forward.

"How do you do, my dear?" Dumbledore asked with a happy smile, but she just stared at him as if he were an illusion.

The fire roared to life once again, and one by one, the Office was filled with awed children. Most of them were looking around with hanging jaws, while a few were just staring at Dumbledore as if he were a God. _I should let the Headmaster take over from here on out. They look like they'll listen to him._

"Are we in Hogwarts?" a tiny girl asked meekly.

"You are indeed," Dumbledore replied in a kind tone. "This is my Office, please feel free to look around while Ronald and I speak with Priscilla."

"What's that?!" one of the younger boys asked loudly, his little finger aimed at a baby Fawkes.

"That is Fawkes, my Phoenix," Dumbledore chuckled, while Ron just smiled to himself. "You may feed him if you want, he's quite friendly."

Within a heartbeat, the Phoenix was surrounded by excited children, all of them cooing at the confused bird. Priscilla and Tiberius approached Ron and Dumbledore, and Ron couldn't help but notice that even Tiberius looked to be in awe of Dumbledore. _His mere presence changes how people behave. Now that is_ _ **real**_ _power._

"So this is really happening?" Priscilla asked softly, she clearly didn't want to displease the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"The house, or rather the Estate, is ready," Dumbledore promised, and the two Squibs exchanged slow looks. "We have also hired three House-Elves to act as caretakers-"

"We can take care of ourselves," Tiberius interrupted, and his 'sister' hushed him harshly.

"Tiberius, don't disrespect the Headmaster!" Priscilla looked scandalized, while her brother quickly closed his mouth.

"It's alright," Ron reassured them. "You have every right to be wary of us, and please don't feel the need to keep your opinions to yourselves. We need to communicate in order to make this work." _Thank you, Clara's book on dating._ "The Headmaster has hired the Elves as caretakers, not as your Masters. They will cook, clean, and teach you all how to read and write. In time, we can even start sending you all to Muggle schools." _I hope so, at least. I'll need to start saving up for that too._

"Muggle schools?" Priscilla blinked.

"My mum has a second cousin who is a Squib, and he's rather successful from what I've heard," Ron replied. "With an education, you can all find success in the Muggle World, **and** keep your ties to the Magical World."

"Ronald is right," Dumbledore joined in. "Godric's Hollow, where the Estate is located, is quite large, and its population is a mix of Muggles and Wizards. I believe that you will all fit in quite nicely, and in time, even become part of the community." Dumbledore then looked to Priscilla. "I have old friends in Godric's Hollow, and if you wish, I can help you find a part-time job."

"It would be nice to work," Priscilla admitted, and then she shot the Headmaster a weak smile. "Thank you… Thank you for everything that you're doing for us."

"There is no need for that," Ron quickly stepped in, he didn't want them to feel indebted to him. "Let's just do our best to make this work." Ron then looked to the little ones, who were playing with Fawkes. "For their sake."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

The Estate was abuzz with laughter, and loud footsteps. The younger ones had taken to the Estate immediately, mostly because they were too young to understand what was really going on. Ron figured that in their minds, they were all going to live as one big, happy Family, and truth be told, Ron wanted that to be the case himself. From the moment they had entered the Estate, Ron couldn't stop smiling. It was probably wrong to be so pleased with oneself, but he couldn't deny just how good it felt to help people. _Especially people who have been treated like dirt for something as stupid as their 'Status'._

"And this is the Dining Room," Dumbledore said, he was giving Priscilla and Tiberius a tour of the Estate.

Unlike Dumbledore and Ron, the two Squibs hadn't been able to smile, or speak, from the moment they had arrived. It was obvious that they were in genuine shock, but at the same time, Ron could tell that they loved this place. They definitely wanted to stay here, but a life-time of struggles had made them wary. _They're waiting for the other shoe to drop, which is quite sad. Not that I'm any different from them in that regard._

"That's a really big table…" Tiberius broke his silence, his eyes fixed on the massive dining table.

"It seats thirty-six people," Dumbledore told them. "This is where you will all come for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Packy will cook the meals for you all." _Packy, Tacky, and Racky. Odd names for Elves, but they seem perfect for this job. They're already showing the younger ones around with happy smiles._ "Tacky will do the shopping, while Racky is in charge of cleaning."

"We'll never have to worry about food again?" Priscilla muttered.

"No, you won't," Ron promised. _I'll make damn sure of that._ "The Headmaster was kind enough to give the three Elves a spare key to his Vault, so all expenses in regards to food and clothes will be paid for by him." _I can't believe that he's so loaded._

"Thank you, Sir," the Squibs said together, and Dumbledore just gave them a polite nod.

"Priscilla! I have my own room!" a little blonde girl ran into the kitchen, her entire face was red from running around. "Come and see!" _She's so thin… I'll ask the Elves to feed them properly. Oh, and I'll ask them to buy cakes as well._

"Tiberius, can you go with Trist?" Priscilla looked to him, and he looked to Ron immediately. "Tiberius, he's helping us… Go with Trist. I want to speak with them in private."

"Are you sure?" Tiberius whispered, while the girl named Trist tugged at his arm. _How old is she? Nine? Bloody hell, she looks small enough to pass as a five year old._

"I'm sure," Priscilla replied, and Tiberius slowly left the kitchen with an excited Trist.

"Do you want to sit down?" Ron asked as he gestured to the table, and she gave him a nod.

The three of them sat down at the end of the table, with Dumbledore taking the chair at the head of the table.

"This…" Priscilla started, but she stopped immediately. "All of this… It's so much…"

"We understand that this is a bit too sudden," Dumbledore said gently. "All we can ask for is that you give this a try, my dear. The streets are no longer safe for **anyone** , especially children."

"No, they're not," Priscilla looked down at the table. "I want to repay you both somehow… But I have nothing to give…" _She's proud, just like me._

"You can repay us by keeping everyone in this Estate safe," Ron told her, and she looked up at him. "The Elves are here to help, of course, but these kids look up to **you**. You're their leader, and therefore, their safety is your responsibility. Some of the younger ones are too thin, and-"

"Ronald," Dumbledore said, and Ron stopped his fretting. "Priscilla, we are not here to give you any commands. The truth is that we both know about the state of Knockturn Alley, and we know that you cannot go there again. This Estate is your chance at a better life, and the same goes for all the children with you. The only thing that Ronald and I can ask for is that you use this opportunity, and in doing so, help create a better life for your friends."

"I… I won't waste this opportunity, I swear it," Priscilla looked rather humbled. "No more criminal behavior… And I'll urge the others to study. We won't do anything to ruin this."

"I am glad to hear that," Dumbledore said, and then he stood up. _Where is he going?_ "I must return to Hogwarts in order to resume my work, but Ronald will stay behind for a little longer." _I will?_ "Ask him anything."

"Thank you, Sir," Priscilla stood up and bowed her head, much to Ron's surprise.

"Please, don't do that," Dumbledore smiled, and after giving her a parting nod, he left the kitchen.

Priscilla just stared at the empty doorway for a few moments, while Ron relaxed in his chair. _Now is a good time to give her the key to her Vault. And to ask her some questions about Knockturn Alley, and Victor._

"Priscilla?" Ron called, and she looked back to him with an almost somber look. "What's wrong?"

"I'm trying not to cry…" she all but whispered, and Ron tensed a little. _Please don't, I'm not trained for that._

"Take a seat," Ron said with a polite smile, and she slowly sat back down. "This is real, Priscilla. You're all safe now."

"I don't know what I did to deserve this… **All** of this…" Priscilla's eyes became watery, and she quickly wiped them clean before sniffling.

"I don't think that it's a matter of 'deserving'," Ron said. "This is how things should be. What good is power if you can't use it to help others?"

"Those with power tend to use it against others," Priscilla said, there was a lump in her throat. "In my experience, anyway…"

"There are people who don't believe in doing that," Ron said, making sure to sound comforting. _I don't want her to cry._

"People like you?"

"People like the Headmaster," Ron corrected. "I'm… I don't know where I stand… I want to be good, but complications always arise." Ron then shook his head clear, and he produced the golden key to her Vault. "Here, take this."

"Is that for Gringotts?" Priscilla asked as she took the key.

"Show that to a Goblin, and he will take you to your Vault," Ron told her. "I've moved a hundred Galleons into said Vault already. Use that money to buy yourselves whatever you need."

"A hundred Galleons… That's too much," Priscilla stared at the key in her hands.

"There's a lot of you," Ron shrugged lightly. "I want you all to be happy here."

Priscilla looked into Ron's eyes at that, while he felt rather embarrassed for saying something so sappy. _Control, Ron. Don't give into your emotions so easily._

"I won't waste this," she promised him. "I swear on my life, I'll make sure that the others get a fair chance at life." _Good, that's all I need to hear._

"You mentioned that some people refused to come," Ron stated, and she gave a weak nod. "Find them again, and bring them here. Please."

"I will," she said a little more strongly. "I still don't know why you're doing this, Ronald, but thank you… Truly."

"You're welcome," Ron said, deciding to accept her gesture. "Priscilla, I need to ask you if you're still in contact with Victor Burke…" She blinked at him. "He is a dangerous man from what I've seen, and I don't want him to discover this place."

"I have not seen, nor spoken to, Victor since I escaped Knockturn Alley," Priscilla replied. "I'm done with him… Forever." She then shifted a little in her spot before leaning in. "He… He sent me to a Vampire Den…"

"Pardon?"

"He wants to make more friends, and he promised to help me if I helped him," she whispered, a look of shame crossing her face. "I agreed, and I nearly died… Knockturn Alley is overrun with Vampires, Ronald, so please don't ever go back there again." _This is useful. I need to keep her talking._

"Overrun?" Ron asked.

"They're everywhere…" she swallowed thickly. "In every shadow… The Aurors have abandoned the district completely, and the Vampires have taken over most businesses." _Bloody hell. I need to relay this to the Headmaster._ "I… I met their leader. He murdered someone in front of me, but then he let me go."

She looked visibly relieved to finally tell someone, while Ron just stared at her.

"What did this leader look like?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him. "I need to know this, Priscilla."

"Tall… Blonde… Handsome," she slowly recalled. "He wore round shades… He crushed a massive Vampire's skull with his bare hands…" _Round shades? Why does that image feel familiar to me?_

A sudden crack emanated from behind him, and Priscilla let out a high-pitched squeal. Ron looked back to see Packy smiling up at him, and he slowly relaxed himself.

"The children are hungry, Sir," Packy told him. "Packy will make a big lunch!" _Fair enough. I should be on my way as well._

Ron stood up at that, and Priscilla quickly did the same.

"You're leaving?" she asked.

"You should all eat, and then settle in," Ron smiled at her. _I shouldn't prod her too hard just yet. I'd hate myself if she left because of my inability to stop making moves._

"You… You can eat with us," Priscilla offered meekly.

"Can I be honest with you?" Ron asked, and she gave a slow nod. "The others are not comfortable around me."

"I… I know," she sighed out. "I'm sorry about that. They know that you're famous, and that you're a genius of some sort." _Me? A genius? What?_ "Give them some time… I'll bring them around."

"Alright," Ron gave another smile. "Once they get used to me being around, I'll drop by for dinner sometime. Until then, please take care of each other. And don't shy away from using your Vault." Ron then looked to Packy. "If they ever need anything from me, come and find me at Hogwarts."

"Packy understands," the Elf bowed deeply.

Ron made his way into the large living room, and he couldn't help but smile a little when he saw the excited children running around. _They're inspecting every single corner of the Estate. It's cute._ Some of them shot him excited smiles, but most of them seemed to be avoiding him completely. As Ron reached the fireplace, Priscilla caught up to him.

"Wait," she stopped right behind him, and Ron turned to face her. "Is this building hidden from the Muggles?"

"Muggles, wizards, cats, and dogs," Ron replied. "The Headmaster cast the Fidelius Charm on it, so it's completely hidden from the outside World. You know about it only because you're inside it."

"So… I'll forget once I leave?"

"No," Ron replied. "Since you have seen it, you will remember that it exists. You just can't tell anyone about it. The Headmaster is the Secret-Keeper, so only he can tell other people where it is."

"But I can show them by bringing them here?" she asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

"You're on the mark," Ron replied. "Remember the name of this Estate, Priscilla."

"Dumbledore Abode," she said, and then she shot him a weak smile. "Thank you, Ronald… You said that you don't know where you stand when it comes to good and evil, but I'm starting to think that you're good…" _Am I? I've done horrible things to get here. I even sanctioned the deaths of over seventy Werewolves without a second thought._

"Thanks," Ron all but whispered, he didn't know what else to say to her. "Um… I'll be going now…"

Priscilla began to move forward, but she stopped herself just as abruptly. _What was that?_

"We'll see you soon?" she asked.

"Of course."

* * *

 _ **Emilia Travers' POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Morgue - Evening)**_

Staying in Brussels had been a wise move.

Not long after her meeting with Solomon, one of his people had found her in a Magical Café. According to the messenger, who happened to be part-Goblin, Solomon had a deal for her that she 'couldn't refuse'. And so, here she was again.

"Where are the bodies?" Emilia looked around the empty Morgue, and the messenger said nothing. "Are you deaf now? Answer me."

"He's already said his piece," Solomon stepped into the large room, his bulky frame hunched a little. _Finally. I've been waiting in here for five minutes._ "Isiah, you may go about your day."

The part-Goblin gave his boss a nod, and then he left for the place where Solomon had creeped out of. As for Solomon himself, he began walking around the room with a rather curious look.

"Well?" Emilia asked. "Your messenger told me that you had a deal for me. A deal that I couldn't possibly refuse."

"Imagine that you couldn't see," Solomon looked to her, his expression dead serious. _Here we go again._ "And one day… God gave you sight, and so, you could see… **everything**. What would you do, Emilia?"

"I would travel the World," Emilia replied, deciding to humor him. "I'd see all there was to see."

"Exactly!" Solomon suddenly clapped his hands together. "You'd see the World… Now that is what I intend to do."

"You want to travel?" Emilia cocked an eyebrow.

"Want… Need… Forced to… It's all the same for a wandering Jew like myself," Solomon began walking around again. "My people, yeah… They've been kicked out of their homes since the very beginning… In a way, we're like the Gypsies, we are. Hated for being born." Solomon then met her gaze. "Do you hate, Emilia? Do you live with hatred in your heart?"

"Yes."

"That'll get you killed," Solomon grunted as he shook his head.

"Solomon, why did you call me here?" Emilia asked.

"Unicorn Blood," Solomon's face tightened a bit. _What?_ "The Dark One wants it, and his dogs came to me to play fetch."

"Cornelius Nott came here?" Emilia's eyes flashed with malice.

"He came, and he went," Solomon replied.

"You let him go?" Emilia's hand went to the hilt of her Blade, but Solomon didn't even budge. "You've chosen your side, then?"

"Sides… Who's on my side, Emilia?" Solomon stepped up to her, his large build looming over her. "Who cares about my people?" _Don't threaten me, Half-Breed, or this time, I'll end you._

"Speak plainly, you damn degenerate," Emilia all but snarled.

"I'm the only one who speaks plainly 'round here," Solomon told her. "You… Cornelius… You all speak in fuckin' riddles, mate. They want Unicorn Blood, and then, they'll ask for my blood. As for you, you bring war to my fuckin' doorstep, and then you stand there, and you judge me? Fuck off. None of you say what you really want, but you expect me to show you the same respect?"

Solomon then moved around her, while she tightened her hold on her Oni-Blade. _Be ready. Be focused._

"My people, they don't have nothing to do with your fuckin' war, yeah," Solomon went on. "And yet, we're getting fucked, aren't we?"

"I'm not asking for your blood, Solomon," Emilia told him. "The enemy is asking for your blood. I'm only asking for your aid."

"Eh… Same thing," Solomon groaned as he cracked his knuckles. "I got them their Unicorn Blood, girl. It's currently in my Office."

"And?"

"And, you can have it," he told her, and she turned to face him. "I want you to deliver it to them." _Is that so? This can only mean one thing._

"When?" she asked.

"Tomorrow night," Solomon replied. "I'll be leaving some of my people behind here for the illusion."

"Illusion?" Emilia asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, the illusion," Solomon nodded slowly. "We can't afford to look closed down, now, can we? Things have to look proper."

"For the ambush?" Emilia smirked a little.

"They won't be coming alone, so you best take care," Solomon turned to leave. "And let one of them escape with the Unicorn Blood, won't you?"

"Why?" she lost her smirk.

"The Banshee's Wail," Solomon replied as he walked off. _The Banshee's Wail? Isn't that a powerful poison? One that can't be detected unless you're looking for it specifically? That is not an easy weapon to get one's hands on._

"The Order could use you, Solomon!" Emilia called out as he neared the exit. "A smuggler of your skill could help change the face of the war!"

"Is it still pissing down in Britain?" Solomon turned to face her, a tired look on his face.

"It is."

"I'll have Isolde grab my coat, then," Solomon said, and just like that, she was alone in the room again. _He'll find me when he's ready to talk again. Good. We will need him._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Morgue – Near Nighttime)**_

Just as Emilia had requested, Solomon had provided her with men for her war. She was to command, and pay, thirty of Solomon's worst criminals. Right now, fifteen of said criminals were pretending to work around the Morgue, making sure that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The other half hid with Emilia in the rafters of the large room, and they would descend upon the Death-Eaters with murderous fury when the time was right. _Just need to be patient. Let the others bring Nott into this large room, and then I can kill him._

Emilia's thoughts came to a halt when she heard loud footsteps approaching the room, and shortly after, wizards and witches walked into the room. Emilia immediately recognized Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Nott, and Fenrir Greyback, but she couldn't recognize the twelve others. _They have fifteen, while we have thirty. The numbers, and element of surprise, are on our side. I can cross two names off of my list tonight._

"Where is Solomon?" Nott demanded from the 'seller'.

"Not here, I'm afraid," the seller, Jones, replied. "I'm the person that you're dealing with tonight."

"Bring Solomon, or we'll go home," Nott frowned at Jones, while Emilia and her ambushers readied themselves.

"Then be on your way," Jones said casually, while his fellow 'workers' subtly began to circle the Death-Eaters.

"Why is he not here?" Nott demanded. "We had a deal."

"Do you have the Unicorn Blood?" Malfoy asked calmly, while Nott seemed less than pleased.

"It's right over here," Jones gestured towards the two bottles. "Two thousand Galleons, and it's yours."

"Pay him," Malfoy looked to Nott. "We shall see Solomon soon enough, and then you can give him a piece of your mind." _You mean kill him? Arrogant fools, he's much more cunning than them._

Nott began to pay for the poisoned Unicorn Blood, and Emilia spotted one of the Death-Eaters looking around the room with a suspicious look. _Who is he?_ Emilia eyed the black haired man with the orange, cat-like eyes, and she began to worry. _Whoever he is, I think he's onto us._ Just as she thought that, the black haired man looked up with a grin, his wand already brandished. _What the fuck?!_

"Confringo!" the cat-eyed man yelled, and a fiery orange light smashed into rafters.

The force of the explosion sent Emilia, and her men, tumbling down with debris. Panic ensued as Emilia fell onto the ground, all of her senses dazed. She could hear Spells going off, people screaming, and the smell of smoke was trying to squeeze the life out of her. _How…? What just happened?_ Slowly, she raised her head, only to come face to face with pandemonium. Her men had already began the fighting, and the element of surprise was completely lost. With a pained grunt, she rose up to her feet, her uniform sullied with muck and drops of blood. _My back is on fire. Focus, Emilia._

As her Occlumency secured her mind, she drew her Oni-Blade. _Burn!_ The Blade began to glow red hot, and Emilia rushed into the fight. Within a second, she had slashed open the belly of an unfocused Death-Eater, his cold blood splattering on the side of her face. _Cold blood? Vampires!_

"They're Vampires!" Emilia roared, and three stunners came for her from the dust and smoke.

She dodged all three with relative ease, her Blade held in front of her with both hands. _Finite!_ Her Blade began to glow with a faint blue color, and she used it to begin cutting through oncoming Spells. The only time she opted to dodge was when someone fired the Killing Curse at her, she didn't plan to risk her life just yet.

Through the haze of battle, she made out Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott, both of whom were fighting alongside the black haired man. _That piece of shit!_ Emilia carved a way forward with her Blade in tow, making sure to strike down one unsuspecting Vampire. _I need to get to their commanders!_

"Kill Nott and Malfoy!" she ordered her men, while the Vampires began to rally towards their own.

Shields were going up just as Emilia's men became reorganized, while the Death-Eaters began to move towards the nearest exit. While Emilia deflected, or cut down, several Curses, her men bombarded the Vampires' shields with Curses of their own. Fire, smoke, and ash filled the room, and Emilia vowed to kill the cat-eyed bastard for seeing through her ambush. _How could he tell?!_

"Use Finite Incantatem!" Emilia bellowed, and a Killing Curse barely missed her head. _Fucking hell!_

Emilia moved further back in order to give herself more time to dodge certain Spells, and just as she had ordered, some of her men began using Finite Incantatem to shatter shields. Three more Vampires were struck down by Killing Curses, and Emilia felt the rush of battle course throughout her body.

"AGAIN!" she commanded, and once again, more Vampires fell. _Almost through! Keep pushing them!_

As their numbers were being culled, Malfoy and Nott rushed out towards the exit. Emilia managed to spot them just as they were running out of the room, and she let out a furious yell.

"Jones! Cut them off!" Emilia ordered, and she heard some of her men rush out of the exit on her right side. "The rest of you! Use Finite again!"

"Bombarda Maxima!" came a yell from the Vampires' numbers, and Emilia saw a white light smash into the already damaged ceiling. _Run!_

The majority of the ceiling collapsed as a result of a second explosion, and Emilia barely managed to reach the exit in time. A few of her men, and their Vampires, were not so lucky. Dust flew through the open doorway, but Emilia was already chasing after Jones' company. _I need to reach them before Nott and Malfoy can escape._ Corridor after corridor, she ran past the gore and corpses that littered the underground building. _They can't apparate within this property, but as soon as they step outside, I'll lose them._

As she turned another corner, she spotted Fenrir Greyback running straight towards her. By the time he managed to stop in his tracks, Emilia had ducked past and slashed his side open. The massive Werewolf roared in agony as he fell to his side, his left hand already covering his bleeding wound. Emilia wasted no time in turning around and slashing Fenrir's wand hand, but the Werewolf managed to roll out of the way. _Damn!_

"Avada Kedavra!" Fenrir hissed, his wand aimed at her.

"Finite!" Emilia's blue Blade cut right through the Killing Curse, the sides of her body freezing as the cold Curse became undone around her. "Surasshu!"

Emilia's Blade glowed magenta as she slashed the wind ahead of her, and Fenrir's right shoulder was cut open by a gust of wind. Once again, the Werewolf roared with agony, while Emilia moved in for the killing blow. Just as her Blade was about to come down on Fenrir's writhing form, she sensed a Killing Curse approaching her from behind. Without another thought, she rolled to side in order to have her back against the wall. _Fenrir to my right, and this bastard to my left._ The black-haired man had once again thwarted her plans, and she glared murder at him as she readied her Nodachi Katana.

"This bitch can cut through Spells!" Fenrir yelled from the ground, while the cat-eyed man grinned maniacally.

"A Ronin?" the Vampire showed his fangs. _A learned Vampire?_ "I have no fucking idea what's happening, but this has turned into a very interesting night."

"How did you figure out my ambush?" Emilia demanded.

"Ohhh, and she's arrogant," the Vampire laughed. "Let me guess, I wounded your precious pride by outsmarting you?"

"Filth!" Emilia snarled, her hold on her hilt tightening.

"I mean, why else would you ask that question in such a situation?" the Vampire goaded, but Emilia refused to take the bait. _Focus. Keep your mind on the Blade, Emilia. Listen to it hum with Magic._

As her mind realigned with purpose, she drew in a calming breath.

"Come," Emilia ordered. "I will take both your heads tonight."

"Crazy bitch," Fenrir growled as he leaned up against a wall, his clothes torn and bloodied. _He's losing a lot of blood, and quickly. I need to focus on the Vampire in this fight._

Fenrir and the Vampire focused their eyes on her, while she looked from side to side using just her eyes. And then, they began firing Curses at her. Emilia cast Finite Non-Verbally, and with trained precision, began dismantling and dodging each Curse. Fenrir's assault was slower, and weaker, so Emilia kept her focus on the Vampire, who was incredibly fast at Chaining Spells. _At this rate, he'll hit me! I need to close the distance!_

"Confringo!" Fenrir roared from behind her, and she managed to turn her head in time to see the fiery orange light explode against the ceiling. Both Emilia and the Vampire were sent flying by the force of the explosion. Fenrir had stepped away from Emilia, and then cut off the corridor by collapsing the ceiling. _He left the Vampire behind. Coward._

"That fucking coward," the Vampire laughed as he stood up, the man didn't look bothered at all. "He did a runner on me."

"No honor among thieves," Emilia stood up as well, her Blade rising to her side. "Guess it's just you and me now, Vampire."

"Name's Michael," the Vampire bowed slightly.

"Emilia Travers."

"Well, Emilia Travers," Michael grinned. "Come at me, and meet your end."

"Finite!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Emilia cut through the Killing Curse, and Michael sent another one Non-Verbally. _Fuck, he's fast._ Emilia dodged the second Killing Curse while slashing the wind ahead of her at the same time. The Ronin Slashing Curse sent an invisible blade of wind through the corridor, one which carved the sides of the corridor as it moved forward with frightening speed. Michael bent his knees unnaturally in order to fall onto his back, effectively dodging Emilia's assault. _Now! Burn!_

Emilia ran forward with a fiery hot Oni-Blade, and as soon as Michael rolled back onto his feet, she slashed at his throat. The Vampire moved his head back and dodged in the nick of time, but Emilia turned using the weight of her swing in order to roundhouse the grinning Vampire. Michael's molar flew out of his mouth as his head jerked into the wall beside him.

Emilia roared as she slashed upwards, and Michael jumped back just before losing his arm. _Follow through._ Emilia began stepping forward with each slash, while the Vampire dodged with inhuman speed. After her fourth slash, the Vampire managed to aim his wand at her side, but Emilia had already seen this coming. With a swift motion, she slashed the Vampire's right hand, her red-hot Blade severing the Vampire's fingers and wand.

"Fucking whore!" Michael screamed, and Emilia felt his boot collide against her ribs.

Pain shot throughout her entire body as she was sent reeling into the wall, and then, onto the floor. _He broke something… I can feel it._ A cough tore its way out her throat, and she felt hot liquid pour out of her mouth.

"My fucking hand!" Michael yelled, but his voice sounded distorted. _Get up and fight, Emilia!_

"Your… head… is next," Emilia stood up shakily, she couldn't take another direct hit from this monster.

"What did you do to my hand?" Michael hissed at her, his wounds weren't healing at all.

"Cursed Fire," Emilia smirked weakly, her Blade glowing hotter. "Any final words?"

"Yeah, suck my cock," Michael grinned once again, and then he drew a shiny dagger from his coat pocket.

"Goblin Steel?" she asked.

"Of course," Michael readied himself. "Your Oni-Blade… That's Goblin Steel as well, right?"

"Specifically imported at my request," she said, and then she drew in a calming breath. _Focus on the Blade._

They slowly moved back and forth, and then, she lunged forward with an overhead slash. Michael's weapon was much shorter, which gave Emilia a distinct advantage over him. _Plus, I can still use Magic._ Emilia did a couple more slashes, and Michael managed to deflect them as he moved from side to side. _He can't attack me at this range._ Emilia suddenly jumped back, and she sent another 'Surasshu' at him.

Michael's eyes widened, and he quickly rolled forward in order to avoid being severed in two. Emilia, on instinct, swung around him and brought her Blade down upon him, and just as she slashed open his back, he slashed the outside of her right thigh. Their places exchanged, both wounded warriors limped back onto their feet. _I can't lean on my leg anymore. This needs to end now, or I'll die before claiming my vengeance._

"How about we call it even?" Michael laughed, much to her shock. _Does he not fear death at all?_ "We both got some-"

"Silence," she bit out, she hated people who couldn't stop running their mouths. "Fight with some dignity. Are you a warrior, or not?"

The Vampire stopped grinning at that, his cat-eyes fixed on her. Slowly, Michael took on a more serious stance, and Emilia knew that this was it. _One last swing for us both, eh? Let the faster warrior win, then._ Emilia readied her Blade at her side, her breathing becoming slow and lethargic. _Focus._ They both suddenly lunged forward, and Emilia waited right until Michael's blade was nearing her throat. She dropped to her knees and slid across the floor, her Oni-Blade cutting diagonally. Cold blood sprayed onto her, and the walls, as she slid past the Vampire. The sound of a clanking weapon echoed through the destroyed corridor, and Emilia rose to her feet. When she looked back, she found Michael kneeling down with his entrails in his hands.

"Fuck…" Michael coughed harshly, his face twisting from agony. "That… That was good…"

Emilia raised her Blade as she stepped up behind the dying Vampire, who was clearly holding back a scream.

"You… win… Make it clean… Ronin," Michael raised his head, which was swaying from side to side.

Without a single word, Emilia severed the Vampire's head from his shoulders, and Michael's corpse fell forward with a dull thud. _One less piece of filth in the World._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Emilia sat in the rubble of the large room, while her men cleared out the debris and found the corpses. So far, she had lost over fifteen men, and it was all because of Michael. Emilia looked to her left, and she eyed the severed head sitting beside her. Michael's cat-eyes had rolled up into his skull, and his swollen tongue was sticking out of his mouth. _I'll have this nailed to a wall in Knockturn Alley. Whoever this Vampire was, he was clearly important._

"Nott and Malfoy got away," Jones walked up to her, his right hand covering the side of his stomach.

"I see," she frowned a little. "Have you found any more bodies?"

"We're still searching," Jones replied.

"Fenrir Greyback?" she asked. _He lost a lot of blood, but he's a big one. He might have managed to escape._

"Still not found," Jones looked around the room. "Do you still plan to employ us?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Emilia asked.

"Well, for one, most of us got killed," Jones replied coldly, and Emilia looked up at him.

"If you have something to say, say it," Emilia ordered, and Jones just stared at her. "Well?"

"You abandoned your own soldiers in here while you chased after Nott and Malfoy," Jones said. "To me, that's not how leaders should act. We were already on their trail."

"And yet, you failed to kill two men," Emilia stood up.

"Two Death-Eaters," Jones corrected, and then he turned around to leave. "We'll keep searching."

"Over here!" one of Emilia's men called, and both Jones and Emilia looked to see a young man being pulled from the rubble. "This one's alive!"

"Is he ours?" Emilia asked as she limped towards them.

"No," her mercenary replied, and Emilia studied the young man's face. _He has faint scars on his cheeks, and a gaunt look about him. A Werewolf?_

"Check him for bite marks," Emilia ordered, and the young man was quickly stripped down.

Just as she expected, the young wizard had a Werewolf bite on his left calf. _One of Fenrir's dogs, no doubt._

"Wake him," Emilia ordered, and her mercenary did as he was told. "If he tries anything, Jones, break his jaw."

"Gladly," the dark skinned wizard prepared his boot.

"Where… Where am I?" the young wizard croaked, his eyes barely opening.

"What is your name?" Emilia asked.

"Ku… Kurt…" the Werewolf replied.

"Well, Kurt, you've been captured by your enemy," Emilia kneeled down, her knee digging into the young man's throat. "I'll be sure to cut some information out of you."

Kurt's eyes welled up, and he let out a meek cry before Jones kicked him in the temple.

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor Grounds – Nighttime)**_

Lucius, Cornelius, and Greyback landed on the grounds with a dull thud, they had been forced to Apparate side-by-side multiple times in order to get back to Nott Manor. _Damn Cornelius for losing our emergency Portkey… Arrogant, yet stupid, old bastard._ Greyback groaned pathetically from the ground, while Lucius tried to fix up his damaged, and bloody, robes. As for Cornelius, the old man could hardly breathe since their escape.

"Your fucking smuggler set us up," Lucius hissed at Cornelius. "How could you not see this coming?"

"Did you see it coming?" Cornelius glared at Lucius. "No? Then leave the judgement to the Dark Lord." _The Dark Lord… Damn it all to hell. He'll punish us for this failure._

"Did you manage to at least protect the Blood?" Lucius demanded, and Cornelius pulled out the two bottles from his robes. "Thank Merlin…"

"We may have lost a few Vampires, and Solomon escaped with his life, but we got the prize," Cornelius boasted, and then he looked to Greyback. "Greyback, get up."

"I can't…" the Werewolf groaned. "The bitch cut me deep…"

"Was that Emilia Travers?" Lucius asked Cornelius. "I didn't get a good enough look at her."

"It was," Cornelius sneered. "She is after me, Lucius… And if the rumors are true, then she's after you as well." _Who doesn't want me dead these days?_ "Come, let's head inside."

"What about him?" Lucius looked to Greyback.

"Leave him… I'll send an Elf later," Cornelius said coldly, and Lucius couldn't agree more with his actions.

Both wizards made their way into the Manor, and Lucius felt pain from each step he took. He had been hit in the back by some Spell residue, and it had no doubt left a Spell-Burn on him. _We cut through four men to get out of those infernal corridors. Not a single Vampire that was with us survived, not even Michael. His father will not be pleased when he wakes up._

"Cornelius… Lucius…" the Dark Lord's voice rang in their heads, and Lucius felt his body seize up. "Come to me…"

The two wizards exchanged slow, tired looks, and then they began their journey towards the Study. Explaining what had just transpired was not going to be easy, and Lucius found himself resisting the urge to flee. Lately, he had filled with thoughts of surrendering to the Order. _Maybe even the Ministry. What's the point of all of this if Draco and Narcissa are not by my side? No, don't think like that. I can get them both back, I just need to stay strong. The Dark Lord cannot be resisted, and in time, he will destroy the Order._

Lucius and Cornelius stopped in front of the door leading into the Study, and both men exchanged looks once again. _It's your house, you go first._ Cornelius drew in a deep breath, tightened his hold on the two bottles, and then he pushed himself into the room. Lucius followed after Cornelius, and they both knelt, with great effort, in front of their Master.

"What happened?" the Dark Lord hissed, his red eyes scanning the two wizards before him.

"An ambush, my Lord," Cornelius replied, making sure to display the bottles of Unicorn Blood.

"Solomon betrayed us," Lucius elaborated quickly. "He saw through Cornelius' schemes, and he left behind thirty or so wands in an effort to assassinate us."

"You were outfoxed by a Troll, Cornelius?" the Dark Lord's eyes became fixed on the older wizard.

"My Lord, I-"

"Silence!" the Dark Lord stood up from his chair, and the air seemed to grow thick with residual Magic. "Where is Fenrir? Where is Michael?"

"Fenrir is outside, my Lord," Lucius replied, while Cornelius kept his eyes fixed on the ground. "We could not carry him in with our own injuries. As for Michael… He did not manage to escape with us."

"He's dead?" Lord Voldemort whispered coldly.

"We did not see him fall," Lucius admitted. "But I doubt that he managed to escape."

"I see," something shifted behind the Dark Lord's eyes. "A shame…" _Is it, though?_ "Gaspard will not be pleased once he awakens."

The Dark Lord sat back down at that, his eyes once again fixed on his Death-Eaters.

"We secured the Blood, my Lord," Lucius heard himself say. _Be calm, Lucius. Don't make a mistake._

"Indeed you have," the Dark Lord said, he didn't sound very pleased. "Tell me, you fools, why would Solomon give you Unicorn Blood if he planned to betray you from the start?" _Huh?_

Both Lucius and Cornelius looked up, and they immediately felt the Dark Lord entering their minds. Lucius tried not to resist, but he also made sure to mask his doubts. After nearly a minute of staring, the Dark Lord's lips curled into a look of disgust.

"Call an Elf," the Dark Lord commanded.

"Bricky!" Cornelius called, and a skinny Elf Apparated into the room.

"Master called?" Bricky asked meekly, and when he noticed the Dark Lord, he fell to his knees with his head bowed.

"Give him a bottle," the Dark Lord ordered, and even Lucius tensed at this command. _What if those bottles are laced with poison? He'll kill us both!_

Cornelius slowly handed his Elf a bottle, while Lucius made sure to keep his expression from showing his growing fears. _Why did Solomon give us these bottles? Now that I think about it, it makes no sense._ Bricky just stared at the black bottle with a slightly frightened look, his big eyes trying to determine what he was about to drink.

"Drink it," the Dark Lord hissed, and the Elf opened the bottle.

It took one look inside for Bricky's eyes to well up with thick tears, Unicorn Blood was quite easy to make out due to its unique look. The Elf looked back and forth between Cornelius and the Dark Lord, he's bottom lip was beginning to quiver.

"Master?" Bricky squeaked.

"Drink it at once," Cornelius snapped. "That is my command."

"Bricky… understands…" Bricky muttered, and after sniffling, he slowly took a sip from the bottle.

All three wizards just stared at the Elf, who looked genuinely anguished by his own actions. After a few seconds of silence, Bricky suddenly grabbed at his throat, while the bottle crashed down onto the ground. The Elf began to cough loudly, and Lucius felt his stomach drop. _We're both dead… He'll kill us for this._ Within seconds, Bricky was clawing at his throat, all the while making a 'wailing' sound as his throat closed up. The Elf's eyes bulged further out of his tiny skull, and as blood began to pour out of them, they began facing the opposite directions. By the time Bricky collapsed, he had pissed and shat himself, filling the room with an even worse stench.

The Dark Lord frowned at the dead the Elf, and then he looked to his Death-Eaters.

"My Lord… We didn't-"

"CRUCIO!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Past Midnight)**_

Minerva and Albus stepped through the fireplace, an emergency meeting had been called by Alastor at Grimmauld Place. _He should still be resting._ Albus quickly moved into the Kitchen, his eyes quickly becoming fixed on a bloodied Emilia Travers. _What is this?_ She sat calmly at the end of the table, and by her dinner plate sat a severed head. Sirius, Sturgis, Alastor, and Mundungus were inside the Kitchen as well, but Albus found it difficult to look away from Emilia. Albus suddenly heard Minerva gasp from behind him as she too entered the room, she no doubt was thinking the same thing as him. _What has Emilia done?_

"Alastor, what is the meaning of this?" Albus moved further into the room, his eyes fixed on Emilia, who was quietly eating Molly's cooking.

"From what Travers has told us, she ambushed Cornelius Nott and Lucius Malfoy tonight," Alastor reported from his chair, he still looked a bit sickly.

"Emilia?" Albus looked back to her, and she shot him an expressionless look.

"Who gave you permission to use my first name, old man?" Emilia asked coldly, and Albus saw Minerva and Sirius frown from the corners of his eyes.

"Explain yourself," Albus ignored her comment. "What have you done?"

"I have struck a blow against the enemy," Emilia replied as she put her fork and knife down. "My men and I killed ten Vampires tonight, and we also managed to injure Fenrir Greyback, Lucius Malfoy, and Cornelius Nott. We even captured one of Fenrir's dogs, who I will interrogate after my meal."

"She means torture," Sirius spoke up, and Albus looked to him. "She dragged some skinny runt in here, and then locked him away in one of my rooms. This is my house, Dumbledore, not a damn dungeon!"

"No one is going to torture anyone," Albus looked back to Emilia, this girl was a loose cannon. "This is not how we operate, Emilia. Why didn't you alert the Order about this?"

"I only learned about this opportunity on Tuesday, and I figured that I didn't need any of you," Emilia shrugged. "As for the boy, he's my prisoner, so I will do to him as I please."

"He's barely of age," Sturgis said. "This is not happening, do you understand? If you lay a hand on that boy, I will-"

"Save your threats," Emilia cut him off. "I might be injured, but I can still cut you down."

"Sturgis, remain calm," Albus said, while Minerva glared at Emilia. "Emilia, explain everything that happened."

For the next five minutes, Albus and Minerva listened to Emilia's story, and despite disagreeing with her actions, Albus couldn't help but feel a little pleased with her results. _Hopefully, Tom fell for Mr. Solomon's trick._

"If you had come to us, we could have captured both Malfoy and Nott," Minerva scolded, but it didn't seem to bother Emilia.

"They have most likely poisoned their Master by now," Emilia said. "I don't know about you, but I see this as a success."

"And who is this?" Albus looked to the severed head.

"His name was Michael," Emilia replied. "He seemed important."

"Albus, he has orange, cat-like eyes," Alastor spoke up. _Really?_ "I checked the head myself… This could be that Ancient Vampire's Progeny."

"So Deckard and his Progeny are dead," Albus said, though he wasn't sure if Deckard was truly dead. _Why do I get the feeling that the monster that attacked us was actually Deckard? Alastor is sure that he put the Vampire down, but it seems too easy._

"I have also secured the aid of Solomon," Emilia interrupted Albus' thoughts. "With a smuggler of his skill on our side, the Order will greatly benefit. Information, goods, rations, and wands for hire are now open to us."

"Guess I can pack up and leave then, eh?" Mundungus chuckled weakly, and everyone shot him annoyed looks. "Sorry… Just tryin' to lighten the mood, is all…"

"And where is Mr. Solomon?" Albus asked.

"Wandering about," Emilia smirked. "Don't worry, he will find me when he's ready."

"A smuggler, Albus…" Minerva shook her head. "We don't need any more criminals filling our ranks…"

"Any more?" Emilia cocked an eyebrow, and Minerva met her gaze.

"What you have done tonight is nothing short of criminal," Minerva said sternly. "You honestly expect us to look past your murderous behavior?"

"There is no such thing as murder in war," Emilia stood up. "I did not attack civilians, nor did I execute those who couldn't defend themselves. Keep your righteousness to yourself, you old harpy."

With that, Emilia picked up the severed head and limped towards the exit.

"I need a room," she looked back to Sirius, who just rubbed his face with an annoyed look.

"Third floor…" Sirius said. "Pick whichever one you want."

Emilia left at that, and a thought occurred to Albus.

"Sirius… Sturgis… Guard the boy's room," Albus ordered. "Make sure that she doesn't harm him." _We'll need to deal with him eventually, but not like this._

"He could have information that we need," Alastor said, while Sirius and Sturgis left to guard the young Werewolf's room.

"Torture, Alastor?" Minerva frowned deeply. "Is that what we're doing now?"

"This might be hard to understand, but in a war, you need to get your hands dirty," Alastor growled from his chair. "Say whatever you want about that girl, but she did do us a service tonight." _That she did, but she needs to understand that we need to work together. We could've captured both Lucius and Cornelius if she had alerted us._

"There will be no torture, and that is final," Albus said, and then he used his Occlumency to calm himself down. "She should've come to us, but what's done is done. The information that she's delivered is quite important. Now we know what Lord Voldemort is doing."

"He's trying to keep his vessel from falling apart," Alastor said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Good… Let the bastard rot. I say that we use Travers' methods to bring in this Solomon character. From what I've heard, he's a better fit than Mundungus bloody Fletcher."

"I'm right here," Mundungus stated.

"I know," Alastor shot him a warning look. "With Knockturn Alley closed off, what good are you to us?"

"Alastor, you will not disrespect fellow Order members," Albus said, but Alastor merely grumbled to himself. "Mundungus, I need you to find out more about this Mr. Solomon. We can't just let someone like him into our ranks without information on him."

"I know a few shady lads from Brussels," Mundungus stood up. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Albus said, and Mundungus quickly left before Alastor could chastise him again.

"What are we going to do with this boy, Albus?" Minerva asked. "I say that we Obliviate him, and then send him on his way."

"Nonsense," Alastor argued. "If the Dark Lord finds him, he'll reach into that boy's mind and extract any, and all, information about this place. I say we either put him down, or get him to squeal."

"What part of no torture do you not understand?" Minerva asked.

"You're a clever witch, McGonagall," Alastor started. "You know that we can't just let that boy go. And don't forget that he's a Death-Eater in training. As far as I'm concerned, he's no longer human."

"No longer human?" Minerva blinked, and then she adorned an outraged look. "This is not like the Great War, Alastor, and you no longer have the authority to decide who lives and dies."

"We Aurors are the only reason why the Ministry didn't fall-"

"You all committed war crimes," Minerva said with disgust. "You killed anyone that you 'suspected' to be under the Dark Lord's service, and no questions were ever asked. Albus, speak some sense into him."

"I will speak with this boy myself," Albus said. "We don't know how he came to be under the Dark Lord's service, so we can't just pass judgement on him. For now, leave him to recover from the battle. Once he is healthy enough, I will use Legilimency on him."

"Fine, but he won't be leaving that room of his," Alastor conceded. "And if he tries anything, I'll finish what Travers started."

"What do we do about her?" Minerva asked, her frown lingering on Alastor. "She can't be allowed to run rampant, especially because she is not a British Citizen. If she draws too much attention to herself, we could all be undone."

"She is more cunning than she looks," Albus stated. "Why else would she bring that boy here? She knows that now that he's seen this building, we'll have to deal with him. I don't know what her goals are, but she clearly understands how to trap people in her schemes."

"Not to mention that unlike her fellow French countrymen, she's got a pair on her," Alastor almost sounded impressed. "While they argued over who gets what, she went out and got results. I say that we send the bureaucrats away, and keep her around."

"We need all the help that we can get, Alastor," Albus said. "With the Dark Lord in hiding once again, we must utilize this window of ceasefire. Over the school Break, I intend to travel in search of more allies. I have friends in Africa who would gladly stand against tyranny." Albus then looked Alastor over. "Are you fit to accompany Remus and Tonks?"

"I am," Alastor replied immediately. "I'm tired of wasting away in a bed, Albus. You need me out there."

"Very well," Albus gave a nod. "Minerva, you may return to Hogwarts, there is nothing more to be done about this tonight. Inform Pomona, Remus, Hagrid, and Filius of what has transpired." _I'll need to tell Ronald about Emilia. After all, he brought her into this country._

Both Albus and Minerva left the Kitchen at that, and while she went towards the fireplace, Albus began making his way up. He wished to see Severus once again, and he needed to speak with Narcissa Malfoy about Draco's Holiday Break. _The boy cannot stay with his mother… That much is obvious, however, he cannot stay with Severus either. Severus is in no condition to take care of a child, especially one that might try to contact his father. For now, Severus has to focus on his own recovery._

Albus knocked on Severus' door, and he waited for his friend's response.

"Enter," came Severus' voice, and Albus made his way inside. "Albus? What are you doing here?" _He's still awake. Good._

"Order business," Albus replied as he shut the door, his eyes scanning Severus, who sitting up against the head of his bed.

"What has happened?" Severus asked, his eye returning to the book in his lap.

"Emilia Travers, a new Order member, has struck a blow against Lord Voldemort," Albus replied as he sat down on the edge of Severus' bed. "She did this in secret, mind you, which has caused some… uproar."

"I see," Severus looked back up, and then he closed the book with his left hand.

"You are looking healthier," Albus smiled his kind smile.

"Molly Weasley's doing," Severus said coldly. "She has been forcing four meals into me every day… I wish to return to Spinner's End, Albus. I grow weary of seeing Black's face every day." _Every day?_

"He's been helping you with your walks," Albus smiled more widely. _Good, Sirius needs this. And so does Severus. It is past time that they buried the past._

"Don't look so amused," Severus frowned at him. "I can get better on my own, and I don't need that degenerate's help. He is forcing himself upon me in order to feel better about himself."

"Forcing himself upon you?" Albus chuckled, and Severus' face turned cold.

"You have been spending time with Ron, I see," Severus suddenly became expressionless. "How is he?"

"Busy, as always," Albus replied. _He has made me so very proud lately._ "He misses you."

"Does he?" Severus rolled his eye. _Don't pretend like that doesn't please you somewhat._ "I have been reading the Daily Prophet, and his name keeps appearing everywhere. He's brought the French here, and you've assimilated them into the Order."

"Our army is growing," Albus said.

"Speaking of which… I wish to return to Hogwarts," Severus stated.

"Severus… You are in no condition to teach-"

"I need to do something, Albus," Severus' eye became fixed on Albus'. "Sitting in this bed all day… It is disagreeing with me. I am not helping anyone from here."

"You are helping yourself," Albus countered. "Do you honestly think that you can walk up and down the Moving Staircase right now?"

"I'll stay in my Lab," Severus said almost petulantly.

"Poppy will have my hide if I agree to this, Severus," Albus said. "You may return after the Break, but only if Poppy gives you permission."

"Fine…" Severus whispered icily. "What about my request for Spinner's End? I need to prepare it for Draco's arrival."

"About that… I cannot let you do that," Albus said, and Severus just stared at him. "Severus… He is not ready for this, and neither are you. Who will cook your meals? Who will clean the house? Raising a child is no easy thing, and you are still struggling to even walk straight. Not to mention that Draco might attempt to contact his father."

"So not only am I to stay here for the foreseeable Future, but I also cannot have custody of my Godson?" Severus demanded.

"He will be allowed to spend his Break here, if he wishes," Albus said.

"But you will have Kreacher watch him," Severus figured.

"For now, we cannot take any chances with him," Albus said. "He will, of course, **not** be allowed to see his mother. Narcissa tries to persuade him to rebel against the Order at every opportunity." _She is blinded by her hatred of Muggles, and she is also under the delusion that the Dark Lord will win._

"She loves him, but you're right," Severus agreed. "Lucius and Narcissa have poisoned Draco enough. He must choose his own destiny, for better or worse." _Choose his own destiny… Aren't we taking his choice away as well?_ "How is Draco at school? Is Ron watching over him?"

"Like a hawk," Albus replied. "As for Draco, he is… quiet, but given what he's been through, it is completely natural. His World has been shaken to its bedrock, and as a result, he has closed himself off. From what I've seen during meal times, he only speaks to Ronald, but even then, Ronald is the one who always starts the conversations."

"I suppose that's enough for now," Severus said. "Just remind Ron that he made me a promise, Albus." _What promise?_

"I'll tell him," Albus agreed, and then he stood up. "Get some rest, Severus. Teaching Potions has never been my forte, and your students miss you."

"Highly unlikely," Severus said icily. "One more thing before you leave… I've arranged my memories just as you asked. Whenever you are ready to approach Amelia Bones, you can have them."

"Once she returns from her trip to Albania, I'll come straight here," Albus smiled. "Thank you, Severus. I am sorry that you had to relive your-"

"Stop apologizing every time you come here," Severus frowned deeply. "It only serves to agitate me." _Ah, how I miss his cold remarks._

"Sorry," Albus chuckled, and Severus drew in a sharp breath. _Ha._ "Goodnight, Severus. I will be sure to relay your message to Ronald, he is eager to see you again."

"Tell him to focus on his own life," Severus reached for his book, and Albus left the room with a parting nod.

Once Albus had shut the door behind him, he made his way towards the attic. Now this was a conversation that he didn't want to have. Albus had never been fond of Narcissa Malfoy, even at school she had been particularly cold and cruel towards anyone she deemed as 'lesser', but ever since she had married Lucius Malfoy, her ego had reach the stratosphere. _She might not be a Death-Eater, but she is the next worse thing._ Albus knocked on her door, and when he heard her shuffling about, he unlocked and entered the attic.

"Hello, Narcissa," Albus greeted, she had just put on her sleeping robes.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly, her tired eyes suggested that she had been asleep.

"I've come to tell you that your son will not be seeing you over Christmas," Albus told her bluntly, he himself wanted to be on his way.

"What?" she blinked, her mask cracking for a moment. "Why? You said that he would spend his Christmas here."

"And he will, but he will not be allowed to see you," Albus replied. "You will not whisper doubts and venom into his ear."

"Oh, that's your job, isn't it?" Narcissa sneered. "You are turning a son against his own mother!"

"A mother who would offer him up as a sacrificial lamb to a monster," Albus said. "I do not enjoy putting Draco in this position, but we both know that the alternative is far worse. Unlike me, Lord Voldemort has very little patience for children."

"And what happens when your Order is destroyed?" Narcissa hissed. "He'll kill my son because of you!"

"This is what comes of war, Narcissa," Albus said. "You, and those who think like you, have been clamoring for this sort of war since the Middle-Ages… Well, here we are. In war, sons lose their mothers and fathers. Mothers lose their children and their husbands. Death becomes a routine, rather than a new journey. Can you even imagine how many other mothers will lose their sons because of your actions? Do you even care?"

Narcissa said nothing, but the look on her face proved that she could not match his wisdom. _Either that, or she is too far gone to even understand me._

"We had peace, but people like you burnt it to the ground," Albus turned to leave. "Reap what you have sown, girl."

"Let me at least get him something," Narcissa blurted out, and Albus stopped walking. "Just an hour in the Kitchens… I've always baked for him. Ever since he was little… Please." _Don't agree to this, Albus._

"Sirius will come and collect you before Christmas," Albus said. "You will do your baking, and then return here without a fuss."

Narcissa said nothing to that, and Albus left before she could. _Forgive me, Ronald, but I do not have it in me to say no to such a request._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Lunchtime)**_

"Are you sure that this is alright?" Ron whispered to Gornuk.

"Mr. Weasley, we do not have Offices just yet," Gornuk replied, he had taken lunch off to be here for the interview. "Miss. Angel was given clear instructions to meet us here, and any minute now, she will step through that door."

"Right," Ron gave a nod, they were both sitting behind a table in a room that they had rented for the day.

"Do you remember our plan?" Gornuk asked.

"Of course," Ron replied. "I came up with said plan, Gornuk…"

"Just making sure, Sir," Gornuk smirked.

Ron was about to say something, but a sudden knock at the door stopped him. _She's here._

"Enter," Ron stood up, and Marietta Angel slowly opened the door and stuck her head through. "Miss. Angel, right on time."

"Mr. Weasley," she smiled at seeing him, she looked just like her picture from the dossier. _A bit plain, but by no means unattractive. No wonder Cuffe found his way into her bed._ "Thank you for setting this up… Sir." _Yes, I'm a thirteen year old in a suit, but don't call me 'Sir'. It makes me uncomfortable._

"Please, take a seat," Ron gestured to the chair across the table.

Marietta quickly made her way inside, and once she had sat down, her eyes lingered on Gornuk.

"This is Gornuk," Ron said as he sat back down. "He is the one who sent you the owl."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gornuk," Marietta smiled at the Goblin, who just cocked his eyebrow.

"Miss. Angel-" Ron started, but she quickly cut him off.

"Please, just call me Marietta," she blurted out, and then, she looked worried for a second. "Sorry… I didn't mean to interrupt you… It's just that I'm a bit… nervous…"

"It's alright," Ron smiled, he didn't mind her nerves getting the better of her. "Just relax, Marietta."

"Alright," she nodded weakly, and then she planted her articles in front of herself.

"Have you been to many interviews, Miss. Angel?" Gornuk asked.

"Several, actually," she gave a nervous chuckle. "Though I… Um…"

"Was never hired?" Ron provided, and she gave another weak nod. "Why is that?"

"Um… Well, the Daily Prophet didn't really like my form of journalism," she replied slowly. _Someone get this woman a damn Calming Draught… She's making me nervous as well._

"That is not a good sign," Gornuk said coldly, and she swallowed thickly. _Ease up, Gornuk. The plan is to find out more about Cuffe, not scare this woman to death._

"Why did the Daily Prophet reject you?" Ron asked. "I want specifics."

"My article on Werewolves was seen as… controversial…" she quickly looked through her articles. "Here it is."

Ron reached forward and took the article, and while he began reading through it, Gornuk pressed forward.

"If it's not too much to ask," Marietta started. "Could I perhaps ask how you found me? I didn't really apply for this job, not that I'm unhappy about this… It's just a bit unexpected." _Wait, she went and lived with a Werewolf tribe for a month?!_

Ron turned his focus on the article completely, this was definitely better writing than Xeno's. _She wanted to experience their lives firsthand… That's quite commendable. Bloody hell, she even stayed behind to witness their 'horrifically painful transformations'. Wait… They really tie smaller children to thick trees? Merlin…_

"Is this for real?" Ron looked to her, and she stopped talking with Gornuk. _I zoned them out._

"The article?" she blinked at his slightly confused, and awed, expression.

"Did you really write this?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I did," she replied, and Ron handed the article to Gornuk.

"You really lived with Werewolves for a month?" Ron just stared at her.

"She did what?" Gornuk looked down at the article, was she insane?

"I wanted to capture their lives… Their desperation to be heard," she told Ron, though her nervous demeanor took away from how inspiring her words were. _She's fucking mental, and in a good way._ "I spent more than a month with them, actually. They didn't have much, but they were very kind to me. They even saw me as a hero who was going to shed some light on their predicaments… But…" She looked down at her other articles. "Guess they put their hopes on the wrong person…" _Seriously, be a little confident at least… But never mind that, she's perfect for this job._

"Let me see the other articles," Ron put his gloved hand forward, and she quickly handed him the lot.

Gornuk and Ron spent the next ten minutes going through her works, and Ron had to admit, this witch definitely knew more about the World than he did. Even Gornuk seemed impressed with her article on Goblin Hierarchies, and the struggles faced by the newer Goblin Lines. _I had no idea that Merpeople are extremely scared of us Wizards because we've always culled their numbers for sport. They fear us, and because of that, they resent us. How did she communicate with Merpeople?_

"How did you communicate with Merpeople?" Ron asked her.

"Oh…" she suddenly jolted back to attention. _Oops, we've been ignoring her._ "They're actually quite intelligent, and their elders understand us."

"Elders?"

"They believe in Elders, or kings," she told him. "Each colony has one Elder, and he dictates everything in their colony's culture."

"Each colony has different cultures?" Ron asked.

"Yes, I actually listed some cultures further down the article," she pointed to the article in Ron's hands. "Only a few Elders spoke to me, though. They can be very violent people." _People? You mean fish, right? Are they fish? No… She clearly proved that they're more than just fish in this article._

Ron put the article down, his eyes fixed on hers. _Be smart, Ron. Find out if she's genuine._

"Tell me… about your interview at the Daily Prophet," Ron leaned forward, his brow furrowed.

"I…" she seemed to shrink. "They laughed me out…" _What was that? Don't whisper, please._

"Pardon?"

"They laughed me out," she said a little more strongly. _Wow._ "They didn't want to look like 'sympathizers'… I actually walked out myself once they said that." She then seemed to remember something. "There was only one person who didn't laugh at me." _Let me guess…_

"Barnabas Cuffe?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him.

"Um… How did… you know that?" she shot a look at Gornuk. _Who approached who?_

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he used his weak Occlumency to gain some control over himself. _She is a gold mine, Ron, but you need to be very careful._

"You asked us how we found you, right?" Ron asked. "We found you through Barnabas Cuffe."

"You did?" she just stared at Ron with a bewildered look.

"He gave me a dossier on you," Ron replied. _She didn't know?_

"What? A dossier?"

"It was filled with information on you," Ron explained. "It told me that you were Muggle-Born, that you were from the States, and that you were working as a barmaid in some Muggle bar."

"You can't… A dossier, really?" her mouth hung open a little.

"I looked into you, and I know everything," Ron stated bluntly. " **Everything** , Marietta."

"You looked into me?" she all but whispered, her face paling a little.

"You are a Journalist, are you not?" Gornuk asked. "Surely you can understand our need to research you."

"Barnabas Cuffe and I are not on good terms, so when he recommended you, I was extremely suspicious about his motives," Ron explained. "But reading these… Meeting you… I am at a loss." _Could he just want his girlfriend to work in her chosen field? She clearly has the talent, but was rejected because of politics._ "I'll be blunt with you here, Marietta, I want you to work for me, but Barnabas Cuffe's relationship with you puts a black mark on your record."

"A black mark?" she asked.

"I don't trust him, and therefore, I can't trust you," Ron stated coldly. "You cannot work for me, and still sleep in his bed."

"You want me to end things with Barnabas?" she asked, and then much to Ron's surprise, she frowned at him. "I'll be leaving, then." She stood up, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Please, hand me my articles." _I didn't see that coming… Damn, I need her to calm down._

"Please, sit back down," Ron said calmingly, but she just glared at him. _Sit down, or I'll shatter your legs._ "Please."

"Barnabas paid for my trips so I could learn to be a better Journalist," she huffed as she sat down. "He saw that I was better than his workers, and when I was laughed out of the room, he came and found me. He is not this shady person that you describe him as, and I won't let you slander him."

"He gave me a dossier on you," Ron said. _That's creepy, considering that you're sleeping with him._

"That… Look, I didn't know about that, but I assure you, I would've applied for a job had you put an ad in the papers," Marietta flushed a bit. "He shouldn't have given you a dossier on me… That is a little disturbing…" _And there goes her confidence._

"Miss. Angel, relax," Gornuk said. "From what we've read, you're worthy of working for our company. We want to hire you." _Is he making a sales pitch?_ "We know that with people like you on our workforce, we'll be genuine competition for the Daily Prophet."

"I… Thanks…"

"Let's reach a compromise instead," Gornuk looked to Ron.

"I agree," Ron looked to Marietta. "Would you be willing to sign some documents? Magically Binding Contracts, that is."

"Like the ones that you had Barnabas sign?" she asked slowly.

"He told you about that?" Ron asked, and she averted her gaze. _Fucking tosser._

Ron stood up, and he walked over to her side. She stared up at his looming figure, while Ron leaned down to stare into her soul with an almost dead-stare. _I need her to work for me, but I can't afford to let her betray me either. I have to hammer this message into her skull._

"I want you to agree to work for me, **and only me** ," Ron said. "That's all, Marietta. If you can agree to that, and sign the necessary papers, I will hire you. Your articles are brilliant, and I want to publish them all. Especially the Werewolf one."

"Tha… Thanks… Sir," she looked forward. _She hates eye contact, doesn't she?_

"But your lover has designs over my business, which means that he could use you to get to me," Ron told her.

"I… I understand that," Marietta stared ahead at Gornuk. "I never asked him to give my dossier to you, so I'll definitely demand some answers from him, but I'm not just going to leave him for a job. That's not me…" _Ugh… Fine._

"Gornuk," Ron looked to his Logistics Officer.

"I will get the contracts ready," Gornuk gave Ron a nod, and then he looked to Marietta. "We are willing to offer three-hundred and fifty Galleons a year as your salary, plus benefits like Healthcare and Dental."

"That's lower than the average-"

"This is your first Magical Job, is it not?" Gornuk asked, and she gave a nod. "Then you will start with a lower paycheck, and work your way up. Our business is still very small compared to the Daily Prophet, so we must all compromise."

"But unlike the Prophet, we will respect you for your work… Not your political beliefs," Ron stood up straight again. "What do you say?"

"I… I'll sign," she nodded, she was quite intimidated by this tall thirteen year old.

"Welcome to The Quibbler, Miss. Angel," Ron smiled down at her. "Tell Mr. Cuffe that I'd like to meet him soon. He and I need to exchange words." _I'm done guessing what his angle is. I'm going to tell him to fuck right off, and if he keeps bothering me after that, then I'll fuck him up proper._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Slytherin Common Room – After Lunch)**_

By the time Ron had returned to Hogwarts, the Headmaster had left to teach Potions for afternoon classes. Ron had made his way straight down to the Dungeons, hoping to at least see Daphne for a few moments before she left for Divinations. Sadly, however, she had already left with Tracey and Pansy. _Real shame, because things have been going great with Daphne lately. I definitely plan to finish that dating book today, it's actually helped me open up a little more. Hmmm, maybe I ought to tell Daphne about Priscilla. Just in case something happens to me and Dumbledore, I need to have a backup for that._

"Hello," Ron greeted Theo and Blaise, both of whom were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. _Where are Millie and Malfoy? Probably in the Training Area._

"You're back," Theo shot him a smirk. "How was the interview?"

"Turns out that Marietta Angel is… Well, an Angel," Ron smirked back. "Her articles were damn good, and she didn't seem to know about Cuffe's recent behavior. I've decided to give her a chance."

"Just watch your back with her, Ron," Blaise looked up from his book. "She might be lying to you."

"He'll have her sign some papers," Theo said, and then he looked back to Ron. "Right?"

"I will," Ron sat down on a chair. "Don't worry, Blaise, I'll be responsible."

"Here, this came for you during Lunch," Blaise tossed him a letter. "It's got the Ministry's Seal on it." _Ministry?_

Ron eyed the letter, and it indeed had the Ministry's golden Seal on it. _Which Department is it from?_ Ron began to open the letter, while his mates waited patiently.

 _Mr. Weasley,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health. I am sending this letter to inform you that the French Citizens who have elected to remain in Britain are throwing a Christmas Party on the Twenty-fifth of December. It is compulsory for you to attend as you are our Diplomat to the French from henceforth._

 _You may bring one additional guest as your dancing partner for the day, and no more. This letter will serve as your invitation. Be at Monty's Hall in the Upper District by 12:30 pm, the party will conclude at 7:00 pm._

 _Do not embarrass the British Ministry._

 _The Head of the Department of Magical Cooperation,_

 _Bartemius Crouch Senior._

"Well, who is it from?" Theo asked, and Ron handed Theo the letter. _A Christmas Party? Tsk, what do I do? I have invited people to be at the Burrow during Christmas._ "Barty Crouch Snr… Wait… You **have** to attend. Don't tell me that you plan to ditch me with your Family on Christmas day, Ron." _Fuck._

"This… was unexpected," Ron rubbed his face, while Theo handed Blaise the letter. "And I'm not ditching you, Theo… Tracey will be there." _Mum invited the Davis Family._

"Really?" Theo looked quite surprised.

"Oh, I haven't told you yet," Ron realized. "Well, my mum invited the Davis Family to Christmas as well. And the Greengrass Family."

"Why haven't you mentioned that yet?" Theo seemed to relax a little.

"It slipped my mind," Ron admitted. "I don't think that even Tracey and Daphne know that they'll be at my house for Christmas this year."

"You'll be taking Daphne as your guest, right?" Blaise looked to Ron, who nodded immediately. _Who else would I take?_ "Theo, it's your lucky day, then… You get to spend your day alone with Tracey." _Oh, ha!_

"Sod off," Theo frowned at Blaise, who just smirked at him.

"Here you go," Blaise handed the letter back to Ron. "How's your French going?"

"Not well…" Ron admitted. _I'm not very good at Languages._ "Je m'appelle Ronald Weasley…"

"Wow… That was not smooth at all," Theo grimaced. "It's 'Je m'appelle'… Repeat after me." _Damn, he sounds like a genuine Frenchman._

"Je m'appelle," Ron copied Theo, who clicked his tongue.

"Don't force it out, just be smooth," Theo advised. "Anyway… I'm just glad that I won't be stuck with Gryffindors for the entire day."

"I hope you're ready to sleep on the floor," Ron sniggered, and Theo blinked at him. "I only have one bed, Theo…"

"Are you… Are you serious?" Theo asked slowly.

"We can share, if you want," Ron grinned.

"And let you molest me in my sleep? Fuck that," Theo sighed out. "Can't I stay at Greengrass Manor? I mean, Daphne will be over at your house every day, I imagine." _I bloody hope so._

"C'mon, don't be a bitch," Ron said in an amused manner. "It'll be fun."

"Whatever," Theo shook his head. "I'm sleeping with one eye open, that's for certain." _You will not be safe, hehe._

Ron stood up and stretched his back, it was time to finish that dating book.

"I'm going to go take a nap," Ron lied. "I'll see you in a bit, I guess."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Girls' Room – Evening)**_

"That feels nice," Daphne hummed from on top of him, while Ron ran his left fingers over her spine.

The moment she had returned from Divinations, Ron had ambushed her like the needy boyfriend he was. She, of course, didn't mind the extra attention, and so they had sent the girls on their way in order to snog in peace. Once they had tired themselves out, Daphne had asked for cuddles, which Ron was all too happy to give. _Should I run my fingers a little lower? C'mon, be confident, Ron. Remember Master Clara's teachings!_

"Is this fine?" Ron asked as his fingers slowly brushed her lower back.

"Yes, that's fine," Daphne kissed the bottom of his jaw. "I don't know where all this attention to detail is coming from, but please never stop." _Don't giggle like a little girl, Ron._

"So… Do you want to tell me about your letter now?" Ron asked her.

"Oh, it was from Lady Heroux," Daphne beamed. "She likes the idea of importing supplies for her business from Britain. Turns out, Britain sells tools for a much cheaper price, so if I buy them and send them over, she'll save quite a lot of money."

"Which she will share with you?" Ron asked. _She's really turning into a businesswoman, isn't she? Or at least, she's doing her best to become her own person. I can respect that._

"I'll definitely turn a profit, if that's what you're wondering," Daphne replied happily.

"Don't forget your poor boyfriend," Ron chuckled.

"Never," Daphne giggled. "I'll save up and buy you pretty things, Ron."

"And I'll model them for you," Ron hugged her more tightly. _All jokes aside, don't buy me things._

"Too tight…" she wheezed, and Ron eased up a little.

"Oops."

"It's okay," Daphne nuzzled her face into his neck. "Thanks for being so… casual… about this. I tried talking to Tracey and Pansy, but they just stressed me out with their never ending scenarios of things going wrong." _She's scared of failing._

"Things always go wrong, but you'll learn to adapt," Ron spoke from experience. "Just don't let the failures dictate your future actions. Learn from your mistakes, Daph, but never let them run the show."

"It's good that I have a boyfriend who is so well-versed in failure," Daphne smirked against his neck.

"That's just mean," Ron smiled up at the ceiling.

"You love it," Daphne said. "Honestly, before I can do anything with Lady Heroux, I need to have her sign some papers. I've seen people try and cheat father out of business deals, so I need to be careful with her."

"I don't think anyone will try to cheat Lord Greengrass' daughter," Ron said, and she pulled her head back in order to stare at him. "What?"

"I don't want my father interfering with **my** business ventures," Daphne reminded him. "If I let him in, Ron, he'll just take over. You know how he is."

"Lord Greengrass knows best," Ron nodded slowly.

"He thinks he does," Daphne planted her head down on his shoulder. "I'd rather get cheated, and learn from it, than to let my father dictate my every move. You can understand that, right?"

"You know I can," Ron began rubbing her back again, while his right hand rested on her hip bone. _Don't be afraid of contact, Ron, but if she tenses or says no, get out of there._ "Speaking of adults dictating our lives… I have something to tell you. Something that only one other person in the World knows." _She has to know about Priscilla. If something happens to me, I know Daphne will take care of them._

"What is it?" she raised her head again, Ron had sounded quite serious just then.

"Do you remember that homeless girl I told you about?" Ron asked.

"Prisca?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Priscilla," Ron corrected, and she nodded slowly. "Well, I ran into her again recently."

"How recently?" Daphne asked.

"About a couple of weeks ago," Ron replied, and Daphne leaned further away.

"Really? And you didn't tell me?" Daphne asked with a furrowed brow. _Uh-oh… This isn't going well at all._

"I'm going to be honest here… I've been in contact with her over the last two weeks," Ron admitted, deciding to adhere to the book's teachings. "And no, we're not even friends, I think. The moment I ran into her, I remembered why I had bought The Quibbler in the first place. I… I offered her my help, Daphne."

"Help?" Daphne sat up, and Ron quickly followed suit. _I guess cuddling time is over._ "Look, it's not my business to tell you what you can, or can't do, but you should tell me if you're sneaking off to see other girls."

"Sneaking off to see other girls?" Ron blinked, while Daphne just looked bothered with her own words. _The jealousy returns… I need to tread carefully._ "Daphne, there is no 'sneaking'… When I ran into Priscilla, she and her friends were being kicked out of the Leaky Cauldron because of their Squib status. I approached her, and after we talked, she told me that she had run away from Knockturn Alley in order to avoid being killed."

"Killed?" Daphne seemed to pause at that.

"Apparently, people in Knockturn Alley have gone mental," Ron said. "Crime is going up every day, and without the Aurors here to enforce peace, Knockturn Alley is no place for homeless children. Priscilla got her hands on some money, and she used it to take the younger ones away from that place. She planned to keep moving around until she found a decent job, but I could tell that she was never going to find it. So… I offered to help her."

"Wait… You mentioned younger ones?" Daphne asked slowly. "Ron… Tell me everything."

For the next ten minutes, Ron told her of his efforts to help Priscilla. Explaining his desire to do the right thing was easy enough, mostly because Daphne understood that Ron was soft-hearted when it came to the needy, but when Ron began to approach the story about his solution to Priscilla's problems, he knew that he had to be careful with what he said. _I can't let her think that I'm Dumbledore's right hand, or some nonsense like that._

"So…" Daphne said, her eyes fixed on his. "You decided that you wanted to build them a house?"

"It was the only solution that made sense," Ron replied. "They want to stay together, Daph… They're a Family."

"Ron, you have no money to spend," Daphne reminded him. "Your business is about to take off very soon, so you can't afford to throw money away like this."

"I'm not throwing it away," Ron frowned a little. "I am offering it to people who need it far more than I do."

"That's really noble of you," she said. "But it's also not good for The Quibbler. Please tell me that you haven't started looking into houses yet." _Um… How do I proceed?_

"It's already done," Ron said, and Daphne blinked at him.

"Ron… What's done?" she asked slowly. "What did you do?"

"I found them a home, and they've all moved in," Ron replied, and Daphne gaped at him. "All thirty, or so, of them."

"Merlin!" Daphne looked utterly blown away. "Ron, how is that even possible?! You said you only ran into her a couple of weeks ago!" _Here I go._

"I had help," Ron told her.

"Help? From who?" she asked, and then she suddenly frowned. "Did you go to my father before you came to me? If you did, I swear-"

"I went to the Headmaster," Ron told her, and she stopped mid-sentence. "No offence, Daph, but I know that your father is disgusted by Squibs. As are all of you…"

"You went to Albus Dumbledore," she mumbled, completely ignoring his comment. "And he agreed to help you, his student, in finding a house for the homeless Squibs of Knockturn Alley?"

"When you put it like that… It sounds a little weird," Ron said.

"A little?" she asked, and then she rubbed her temples. "Ron, I don't even know what to say to you… How can you do all of this, and never once mention it? To anyone!"

"I want them to be safe, Daph," Ron explained. "If people know about them, then they won't be safe."

"Safe from what?" she asked, and then she remembered his insane beliefs about an upcoming war. "Wait… Not this again…"

"Not what again?" Ron frowned.

"Ron, there is no war," Daphne told him firmly. "You honestly let your insane beliefs trick you into paying a ludicrous amount of money to these Squibs…? What about your business, Ron?"

"Insane beliefs?" Ron repeated, and then his expression turned cold. "I am not insane."

"Wait… Look, I'm not calling you insane, but I would be remiss in not telling you that you are making a mistake here," Daphne held her ground. "Ron, people like Mr. Lovegood are relying on you, and you just spent what little money you did have on people you don't even know. You should be saving your money for a rainy day, not buying houses for the poor."

"Dumbledore paid for the Estate, and he hired the caretaker Elves," Ron told her, and she blinked at him.

"Why would he do that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ron said rather harshly. "Maybe because he has a soul? Maybe because he cares more about people than 'businesses'." Ron hopped out of the bed at that. "Priscilla and her friends are **children**! Just like us! But they have to steal, sell themselves, and sleep on the streets! Can you even imagine how terrible their lives have been?!"

"Don't yell at me," she jumped off of the bed as well. "I'm on your side here!"

"Are you?" Ron asked. "Because I just told you that I've saved thirty children from dying in the streets, but all you care about is The Quibbler. What's wrong with you people?! Why are all of you so cold to the lives of people different from you?!"

"Careful, Ron," Daphne hissed. "Don't say things that you'll regret later."

"You know what I regret… I regret telling you about this," Ron told her bluntly. "I figured that I'd come clean to you, and only you, but now we're fighting."

"We're fighting because you can't seem to grasp the consequences of your own actions," Daphne argued. "How much money are you giving them, Ron?"

"A hundred Galleons," he told her. "Once they run out, I'll fill their account again."

"You don't have that sort of money," she reminded him. "You mentioned thirty children, didn't you? Do you have any idea how quickly that money will run out? You know what, I'm putting a pin in the money debacle. I want to know how you convinced the Headmaster of Hogwarts to pay for a damn Estate."

"Easily," Ron all but boasted. "One sentence from me, and he was on board." Daphne blinked at him. "He understood why I was doing this, and he agreed to help me without any questions asked."

"Why?" _What do you mean by 'why'? Is it that hard to understand that we want to help others?_

"Because, like me, he understands that these children have **no one**!" Ron replied angrily. "They have no one, Daphne! No parents, no siblings, no guardians… Nothing. If I hadn't offered them my help, they'd end up back in Knockturn Alley. The little girls would end up becoming prostitutes, while the boys would become murderers and thieves."

Daphne seemed to be a little shaken by how blunt Ron was about this, but she didn't show it. In a way, Ron was right… She couldn't understand their lives whatsoever, but she did understand that Ron was only hurting his own health by stressing about random people that he didn't even know.

"Ron, take a deep breath," she said slowly, but Ron just glared at her. "I know that you want to do the right thing, and I'm not speaking out against that. I just can't agree with how you're going about this."

"I got results," Ron said coldly.

"You didn't tell a single soul, besides the Headmaster, and you've already given these children an Estate," Daphne said. "Ron… This is not normal behavior for a thirteen year old."

"Well, I'm not normal," Ron laughed scathingly.

"Can you stop getting offended at everything I say," Daphne frowned deeply. "You can't sustain this plan of yours, not with your current income. It's just going to stress you to no end, and you can't afford to do that to yourself."

"I don't care about myself," Ron blurted out, why was she being so uncaring towards Priscilla and her friends? _She's never had to work a day in her life, that's why._ _ **Spoilt rotten, just like Ginny.**_

Ron felt a pang of pain travel up his skull, and he shook his head clear. _**They're all filth… Every single person who disagrees with Us is filth!**_

"No, that's not true…" Ron muttered to himself, while Daphne just stared at her boyfriend.

"Ron?" Daphne whispered as she took a step forward.

Ron turned his attention back to Daphne, and he quickly fixed his expression.

"I'll help them, even if it stresses me to no end," Ron told her. "I don't care, Daphne… I can't walk away from them, not after seeing just how terrible their lives were." Ron then rubbed his forehead, he could feel a headache coming on. "They were carrying bags on their backs, which served as their homes… The younger ones are so malnourished that they look like five year olds… I don't give a damn about myself… I'm helping them, and that's final."

"Ron, sit down," Daphne gently pulled him back down on the bed, and Ron begrudgingly did as she asked. "Let me be clear here… I don't disagree with you helping others, it's one of your best qualities. But… You always take on too much, and then you fall apart. I hate seeing that, and I know for a fact that you can't sustain thirty children with your current income. It's not probable, Ron, you have to see that."

"I'll figure things out," Ron stared down at the floor. "I just wanted to tell you because I don't like keeping things from you. I thought that…" Ron drew in a deep breath. "I was hoping for support… Not an argument."

"You should've told me before you went to Dumbledore of all people," Daphne said, but she quickly reigned in her own jealous tendencies. "Ron, you met a homeless girl in a tavern, and you bought her, and her friends, an Estate…"

"It makes sense to me," Ron whispered. "I want to help her, and I'm not letting social norms stop me. I know it's weird, unnatural even, but I don't care. The little ones were so happy in that house, Daphne…" Daphne's expression softened at his weaker tone. "They've never had rooms before… Seeing them showed me that my problems are nothing compared to theirs. And… I want you to meet them as well."

"You do?" Daphne asked.

"I could've easily kept this to myself," Ron looked to her. "But I want you to meet them as well. And should anything happen to me-"

"Don't say it," she jumped in. "Ron, don't talk like that, please. It'll only make me scared and angry."

"Be realistic here," Ron urged her. "My health is failing, and we both know it." She began shaking her head, clearly trying to block his words from entering her ears. "Daphne… Stop doing that. Listen to me, alright? I could be gone soon…"

"Stop," Daphne shot up. "Stop it!" _Damn it all to hell, why are people so sentimental?! I'm trying to implement safe-guards here!_ "What's the matter with you all of a sudden?!"

"I want someone to watch over them," Ron told her. "It's not fair to ask you, but I have no one else that I trust as much. Just meet them, please? I'll take you with me the next time I go to the Estate, and you can see for yourself."

"What am I even supposed to say to that?" she asked, her voice cracking a little. "Don't talk like this… You're starting to scare me."

"I don't like doing it, but it's necessary," Ron stood up as well, and then he put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." Daphne slowly looked up at him, and Ron did his best to look calm and collected. "Just meet them… Once you see them for yourself, I know you'll understand why I'm doing this."

Daphne went to say something, but a loud knock at the door cut her off.

"Daphne! Ron! Are you two decent?!" came Tracey's voice, and both Ron and Daphne looked towards the door. _That timing… Damn you, Tracey Davis._

"We'll talk about this later," Ron whispered, but the look on her face suggested that it wouldn't be soon.

Ron then walked over to the door, and he unlocked it. As soon as he opened it, Tracey jumped into the room with a happy smile. However, the moment she saw Daphne looking distant in the background, Tracey lost her smile.

"Um… Is now a bad time?" she asked Ron, who simply shrugged.

"What is it, Trace?" Ron asked.

"The Headmaster wants to see you," Tracey replied, and while Ron looked a little taken aback, Daphne dropped down onto her bed. "Daphne? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Daphne replied coldly. _It's like the Universe picks specific moments to fuck with me._

"Thanks for the message," Ron said to Tracey, and after shooting a quick look at his girlfriend, he left the room. _What does Dumbledore want with me right now? He never summons me outright._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

This was bloody unbelievable.

"She launched an assault on the Dark Lord's forces, and she told no one?" Ron asked once again, and Dumbledore gave him a nod. _Fucking hell, Emilia… Why didn't you at least come to me?_

"From all accounts, her ambush has served us well," Dumbledore said. "But the Order is not pleased with her, Ronald."

"Of course," Ron rolled his eyes. "Bunch of old twats who are better at running their fucking mouths than getting results."

Dumbledore blinked because of the venom in Ron's voice.

"My boy… Is something bothering you?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron quickly felt ashamed of himself for being so disrespectful. _My own parents are in the Order… I need to get a hold of myself._

"I… I told Daphne about Priscilla," Ron swallowed thickly.

"I see," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "I take it that it did not go well."

"It was a cluster fuck," Ron shook his head. "First, she was jealous that I was sneaking around with a stranger… And then, we started arguing about my lack of funds. It then devolved into me asking her to watch over them should something happen to me…"

"Ronald…" Dumbledore sighed out.

"I know, alright," Ron met the old wizard's gaze. "It wasn't my smartest move, but I need to implement safe-guards. She… She got really spooked, I think."

"She is only thirteen," Dumbledore reminded Ron.

"So am I."

"Yes, but you've lived a life that most people could never believe, or understand," Dumbledore said. "Ronald, you can't expect people your age to have your maturity. They don't think like you do, so expecting her to take over an orphanage should you die is far too much to ask. Miss. Greengrass clearly loves and adores you, and you just told her that you could be dead soon… Think of how that made her feel."

"I was trying to be open, and honest," Ron mumbled.

"And I commend you on that, but you must understand that you are not like other children," Dumbledore said softly. "What's done is done, but I would advise caution in the Future."

"She thinks that I'm insane for believing in an upcoming war," Ron told Dumbledore.

"Her parents intend to speak to her during the Break," Dumbledore said. "All of your parents intend to talk to you, actually."

"Yay…" Ron feigned excitement. "That'll be a nice way to end Christmas. 'Here are your presents, kids, oh, and the Dark Lord is back. Have fun!'…" Dumbledore's lips twitched upwards, but he quickly composed himself. "What do I do now, Headmaster? I think I've scared my own girlfriend."

"I'm not really suited to give you advice on girlfriends," Dumbledore admitted, and Ron blinked at him. _Why?_ "All I can say is that you shouldn't expect people to act like you, especially young girls who have never thought about social problems faced by our society." _Right…_

"What are you going to do about Emilia Travers?" Ron decided to change the subject.

"What can I do?" Dumbledore asked in response. "She has helped us greatly, and on some level, I find myself agreeing with her actions. I simply wish that she had alerted us."

"She doesn't seem like a team player, that's for certain," Ron stated. _I need to speak to her in private. Now that she's agreed to work with me, she needs to understand that she can't just run off to do as she pleases. If she had come to me, I could've procured that weapon from Victor for her._ "Where is she now?"

"At Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore replied. "Her injuries are being tended to by Pandora, though Emilia doesn't seem to care about gaining scars."

"She probably wears them like trophies," Ron said, and Dumbledore nodded his agreement. "Did you see Professor Snape as well? If so, how is he?"

"He is regaining his strength," Dumbledore replied. _Good._ "He wanted me to remind you of some promise you made to him." _Malfoy? Right, I understand._

"Tell him that I'm onto it," Ron slowly stood up. "Dinner will start soon, so I'll be on my way. Is there anything else that you want to discuss?"

"Yes, actually," Dumbledore also stood up. "Some of the French have asked to attend our Dueling Tournament on Sunday, and I agreed to let them watch."

"They're coming to see me?" Ron asked. _First the Chess Tournament, and now this? What the fuck are they up to?_

"I believe that they wish to gauge your power," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Some of them no doubt wish to sink their hooks into you."

"Ugh…" Ron groaned. "Everyone has schemes these days…"

"It is the way of the World," Dumbledore said, and then they began to head for the exit. "I know I shouldn't play favorites, but I need you to demonstrate your prowess."

"Why?" Ron was quite surprised to hear that.

"I will not lie to you, my boy," Dumbledore started. "I do not trust some of the French Families. They are very much like our own Pure-Blood Families, and as such, they have their own agendas. I am convinced that Lady Abadie wishes to make you her puppet, and in doing so, usurp Madame Maxime's standing within the French Community."

"She wants to control LefléaudeVélane?" Ron asked. "Merlin, I hate that nickname… It's almost as bad as 'Stormbringer'…"

"Only the Ghosts and Elves of Hogwarts call you that," Dumbledore chuckled, while Ron pulled a face. "Madame Maxime is far wiser than Lady Abadie, and others like her, so we cannot let her be usurped. When the time comes, we will need Madame Maxime at the head of the French forces."

"I understand," Ron said. "I'll put on a show, one that will frighten the French into backing off of me." _I just have to make sure that I don't hurt my fellow students in said show._

* * *

 _ **Friday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Training Area – After Classes)**_

Ron had cancelled the study group for today, and only the first years seemed bothered by that. With the Dueling Tournament approaching far too quickly, students were sneaking around the castle in an effort to sharpen their skills away from prying eyes. The Slytherins, however, under Ron and the Triumvirate's commands, were practicing as a team within the Slytherin Training Area.

Ron was currently working on those who were placed in Rank-D, while the Triumvirate had split up to help the other three Ranks. The first years had been told to stay out of everyone's way, which hadn't exactly sat well with them, but when Ron had asked them to leave, they had done so without argument. Right now, Ron was sparring with Daphne, who had yet to recover from their argument. _She's just become closed off… I'm an idiot for dropping all of that information on her so suddenly._

"Expelliarmus," Daphne chanted, and Ron easily stepped aside.

"Faster," Ron ordered. "Don't wait to see if the Spell has connected, keep sending them out."

"Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Stupefy!" Daphne fired Spell after Spell, a cross look on her face.

Once again, Ron easily dodged her Spells. _Her aim is decent, but she's getting tired. I can see the sweat on her brow from here. She really should come to our morning runs. Even Tracey has come to a couple this week._

"C'mon, Daph," Ron said, making sure to stay in his formation. "Send the first one at me, and then send the next one where you think I'll move to. Keep me running."

"I'm trying!" Daphne huffed out. _Don't berate her, just be patient._

"You've got this, Daphne!" Pansy cheered, while the second years just watched quietly.

"Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Impedimenta!" Daphne chanted loudly, and Ron had to admit, he hadn't expected her to use the Slowing Jinx.

"Very nice," Ron said as he rolled out of the way. "Nice mix-up!" Once Ron was on his feet, he put his hand up to stop her. "That's enough for now, Daph. Catch your breath, yeah?"

Daphne said nothing, instead, she quietly left to go stand next to Pansy, who handed her a clean towel. _I need to talk to her._

"Mathias and Boris, you're up," Ron said as he left to speak to Daphne. "Don't hurt each other, understand? Just spar, and practice your dodges."

"You did well, Daphne," Pansy was telling Daphne as Ron approached, and once she saw him, she quickly smiled. "Hello, handsome."

"Pansy," Ron smiled a little. "Can I have a moment with Daphne, please?"

Daphne seemed to tense a little, while Pansy looked between them before sauntering off to the second years and Tracey. _Should I just be casual?_

"Hello," Ron said lamely, and she shifted in her spot a little. "We haven't really spoken since yesterday… How are you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing?" Daphne frowned a little. "My boyfriend tells me that he's going to die, and then he runs off to have another meeting with the Headmaster, who, by the way, bought an Estate for homeless children because my boyfriend asked him to." _Yeesh._ "I feel like my brain has been fried…"

"Sorry," Ron said weakly. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No…" she admitted.

"What do you need me to do?" Ron asked. "I don't like this tension between us."

"Me neither," Daphne finally looked at him properly. "I wish you hadn't told me…"

"About Priscilla?"

"About your lack of self-preservation," Daphne swallowed thickly, and judging by her tone, he knew she was about to get teary-eyed. "You scared me…"

Her face twisted a little, and Ron quickly moved between her and the other students. _Don't let them see anything, Ron!_

"I'm so sorry about that," Ron apologized again. "Daphne, I'm really fucking sorry… I didn't think it through, and that was really stupid of me."

"You can't think these things…" she all but whispered. _I can't help it._

"Let's step outside for a bit, yeah?" Ron asked gently, and she nodded meekly. "Tracey, you're in charge while I'm gone!"

"Pardon?" Tracey looked towards him.

"Keep them sparring, and if any of you slack off, I'll put my boot in your arse," Ron ordered, and just like that, he took Daphne's hand and began making his way out.

"You shouldn't threaten them…" Daphne mumbled from behind him.

"I can't afford not to," Ron countered. "We've put too much on this Dueling Tournament, Daph… We need to win, or I'll be turned into a joke."

As soon as they stepped out of the Training Area, Ron spotted his first years lazing about the common room. _They should be studying… Whatever._ Daphne pulled him towards the girls' dorms, and Ron followed after her. They made the trip to her room in silence, and Ron made sure to squeeze her hand with just the right amount of strength. Once they were inside, Daphne closed and locked the door, while Ron stepped into the middle of the room.

"Sorry about the mess, but Tracey can be a pig sometimes," Daphne said as she walked up to Ron, who was eyeing the discarded clothes all around Tracey's bed. _She has a lot of yellow panties…_

"So…" Ron turned to face his girlfriend.

"How is your health right now?" Daphne asked outright. "Tell me the truth, Ron…"

"There's been no real changes," Ron replied truthfully. "Occasionally, I get lightheaded, and once in a while, I have migraines, but you already knew that."

"Do you really think that you're dying?" Daphne whispered, and Ron found himself tongue-tied. "Ron? Say something." _Just tell her the truth, Ron… Stop being such a selfish coward._

"Yes," Ron shrank a little, but not half as much as Daphne. _Her first boyfriend is a fucking mess… She doesn't deserve this._ "You know… We've never really discussed my health fully before…" _Fuck, I've got a bad feeling about this._

"What do you mean?" Daphne croaked.

"What if my Brain-Damage becomes terminal?" Ron asked her, and something died behind her eyes. "Daphne, some of these questions need to be asked… For your sake."

"My sake?" Daphne sniffled.

"I could be gone soon-"

"Stop it," Daphne stepped away from him, she looked like she had been slapped. "Don't do this again!"

"I'm doing it because I want you to be happy!" Ron decided to push forward. "You're trying to become a businesswoman, aren't you? So you clearly understand that there are undesirable variables in life… Well, I come with a lot of issues."

"You're trying to ruin what we have!" Daphne accused childishly, and Ron was genuinely baffled by her reaction. _This 'honesty' tripe is fucking killing me._ "All of a sudden, you start bringing up these morbid things! Why are you doing this?! Has something changed?! Are you trying to hide something?!"

"Honestly, I'm just trying to be as open as possible," Ron admitted. "I love being with you, you know that… But it's not fair on you. Not when I really think about it. And lately… I've been thinking about it." _Clara's book made me think about it._

"I don't care about what's fair," Daphne told him.

"Well, I do," Ron said. "I care… Look, I don't want to…" Ron shifted in his spot a little. "I don't want to break up…" _Selfish fuck!_

"And neither do I," Daphne said immediately after.

"I just want you to know that I'll understand if you do," Ron rubbed his face, his brain was starting to ache again. "It's not right for me to enjoy our relationship, and then to check out by twenty… I don't even want to think about what you'll go through…"

"Then stop doing this," she begged.

"If you were in my shoes, would you think differently?" Ron asked, and she just stared at him. "Tell me honestly, Daph… Would you not think about these things?"

Daphne said nothing, but Ron had his answer.

"Do you want me to break up with you?" she asked in a pained voice.

"No… But if you ever feel the need to, I'll understand," Ron replied.

"Don't hold your breath, then," Daphne's expression was a mix of anger and hurt. "I know that you're sick, and I know that you could…" she trailed off. "I don't know how to show you how much you mean to me… To all of us."

"You can show me by thinking about what we just discussed," Ron said softly. "Let's stop pretending to have all the answers, yeah? Let's just talk about these sorts of things without falling back on our emotions. I don't want you to look back one day, and regret what we have. Especially if it ends badly…" _Let's face it, Ron… You're not getting a happily ever after, but she still might._

Daphne was clearly holding back her tears, and just as Ron finished speaking, she began bawling like a toddler. _Fuck…_

"I… don't want to talk… about this… anymore…" Daphne coughed out, her face hiding behind her hands.

Ron pulled her into hug, his hands rubbing her back in a comforting manner, but that only served to make her cry even louder. Before Ron knew it, she was clinging to his clothes, her face buried in his robes. _I really am the worst person that ever lived…_

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Behind the Owlery - Afternoon)**_

"Ginny, are you just going to sit there?" Hermione shot a look back at Ginny, who was lounging on some comfy looking grass.

"It's cold…" Ginny whined, she was clearly in the mood to tease Hermione. _Ever since we had that talk, she's been sticking with me. We study together, we eat together, and we practice together. I can't deny that it feels nice to have a girlfriend, but she can be really distracting._

"Then you should go inside," Hermione smirked.

"And miss the view?" Ginny wagged her eyebrows, and Hermione lost her smirk. _The view? Wait… She means…_

"Ginny…" Hermione frowned a little, making the redhead snort.

"I'm only teasing," Ginny told her.

"You should be practicing," Hermione said haughtily. "You've barely put in any effort."

"Don't need to," Ginny shrugged. "Have you seen my competition?"

"That's not arrogant at all," Hermione said, though Ginny had a point. "Well, I need to practice, and you're distracting me."

"Fair enough," Ginny chuckled, and Hermione turned back to face the wall. _Right, here I go._

Hermione took one step forward before Ginny's voice emanated from behind her.

"Are you scared about Dueling Ron?" Ginny asked, and Hermione stopped with a loud groan.

"No," she lied. _He's going to beat me, I just know it. Five-seconds…_

"Really?" Ginny asked. "That's probably not wise. Say what you will, but Ron's pretty strong. I mean, he's in Rank-A for a reason."

"What do you want, Ginny?" Hermione turned to face the cheeky witch.

"Conversation," Ginny replied. "You're too serious, Hermione. I want to teach you to relax sometimes."

"I'm relaxed when I'm working," Hermione took on a defiant stance.

"Um… Are you sure?" Ginny smirked. "I've studied with you all week, and you look downright constipated while you study." _What?!_

"No, I don't!" Hermione denied, making Ginny laugh. _She's teasing me again, isn't she?_ "Ugh… Shoo! Go away!"

"I'm not an owl," Ginny sniggered. "Speaking of which, do you want to go see Helios?"

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Helios, Ron's owl," Ginny stood up and dusted her skirt. _Ron's owl? The grey Eagle-Owl?_ "I usually sneak him treats when he's around."

"You do?" Hermione asked, and Ginny produced a bag of owl treats from her robes.

"Don't tell Ron about it," Ginny grinned, and then she began making her way towards the Owlery's entrance.

Hermione shot quick looks around them, and then she followed after Ginny.

"Ginny!" Hermione whispered frantically as she caught up to her friend. "Why do you feed his owl?"

"Because I love Helios," Ginny shrugged. "He actually helped me get through the whole Heir business…" _Really?_

"He did? How?"

"He stayed around the Burrow, and he let me play with him," Ginny smiled genuinely. "He also made me laugh by attacking dad!" _That sounds… nice?_ "Helios is usually on the fifth level."

The girls entered the Owlery at that, and the loud hoots made Hermione's ears ring. _Are they always so loud? I don't usually come here._ Ginny led the way up, and Hermione stuck right behind her. _There are droppings on the stairs! Ew!_

"It smells," Hermione pointed out.

"Oh, I forgot that you don't have an owl," Ginny shot a smile back.

"My parents prefer… modern… methods of communication," Hermione said a little defensively. _Why do wizards still use owls? Wouldn't the Protean Charm be handier? I mean, we could create Charmed tablets that pass messages around-_

"Earth to Hermione," Ginny waved in her face, and Hermione broke out of her thoughts. "We're here, silly."

"Sorry," Hermione gave a sheepish smile. _I nearly walked through her._ "Is that him?"

"It is," Ginny cooed at the owl, who woke up at the sound of her voice.

Helios hooted loudly, and his wings opened up as if he were trying to embrace her. _Guess they're friends… Weird that she loves Helios, but dislikes Ron. I mean, Ron is the one who sent Helios in the first place, right?_ Ginny quickly gave Helios a treat, and the owl devoured it just as fast.

"You really like him, don't you?" Hermione couldn't help but smile a little. _He's a hungry owl, isn't he?_

"I do," Ginny ruffed his feathers. "Like I said… He was there for me during the worst time of my life."

"Isn't Ron the one who sent him to watch over you?" Hermione asked, and Ginny stopped ruffling Helios' feathers. "I mean, it sounds like your brother was there for you too."

"Hermione," Ginny looked back with a slight frown.

"I don't understand why you treat him so poorly," Hermione prodded some more. _I need to know why. Maybe I can help them reconcile._ "I think you two just need to talk and sort stuff out-"

"So you can tell him that you're behind our reconciliation?" Ginny asked, and Hermione stopped talking. "Ron has made it quite clear that he's not the brother we all grew up with… The one that we **actually** love. Right now, he's on some ego-trip, and none of us can stand to be near him. He barks out orders at us, and now, he does it to even mum and dad. I mean, he told me that I'm at the end of my free pass… How arrogant is that? Who is he to hand out 'passes' to me? He thinks the whole bloody World revolves around him, and it's annoying. Not to mention that he's either always lying to people, or controlling them outright! He even tried to convince me that I was the reason why the twins were still pranking the Slytherins, and he did it to manipulate me!"

Hermione went to say something, but Helios began hooting loudly. And then, the Eagle-Owl flew forward, and tore the bag of treats open with his claws. Ginny and Hermione both shrieked at the bird's sudden actions, and then they all but bolted towards the other side of the level. _What was that?!_ Helios was still hooting angrily, while Hermione and Ginny just stared at him.

"Did he just try to attack us?" Hermione asked, and Ginny paled a little.

"He **is** Ron's owl… See what you did?" Ginny shot an annoyed look at Hermione.

"Me?"

"You had to get me started on Ron, and now Helios is upset with me," Ginny blamed, and Hermione couldn't help the scoff that escaped her mouth.

"You're the one who's insulting Helios' owner," Hermione shot back, and Ginny moved to go back down. _This isn't my fault!_ "All I did was point out a fact, Ginny! Ron is the one who sent Helios to comfort you, and there's no changing that!"

"Don't you get it?!" Ginny suddenly turned around with a furious look, and Hermione stopped in her tracks. "It doesn't matter what you do for him! He's never going to treat you with decency and respect! He's not capable of it anymore!"

"You're the one being nasty," Hermione stood her ground. " **Both** of you!"

"You know what, Hermione?! You're too nosy!" Ginny snapped, and then she stormed down the stairs.

"And you're both too stubborn!" Hermione yelled back, but she didn't follow after Ginny. _Ugh… What am I doing by involving myself in this?! It's not even my problem! Whatever! I wanted to practice alone anyway!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Moving Staircase - Evening)**_

His mind was scattered in too many directions, and Ron was starting to get annoyed because of it.

He needed to contact Emilia Travers, and soon, judging by her recent actions. He needed to make sure that Priscilla and the others were settling into their new home well. He had to be certain that the Slytherins were ready for tomorrow. He himself needed to win no matter what. He had to deal with The Quibbler, and all the work that came with it. He needed to show the French that he would not be controlled by them. He had to watch over Malfoy in order to keep his promise to Snape. And on, and on. _And then there's Daphne… I made her cry for nearly an hour last night… She even skipped dinner._

As Ron neared the Dungeons, he spotted Theo and Tracey waiting for him by the bottom of the stairs. _Odd. How long have they been sitting there? I've been at work all day._ They had their back to him, and they were listening to Tracey's Walkman.

"Hello," Ron greeted them, and they both up to their feet.

"You're here," Tracey looked him over, while Theo just looked dead-serious. _What is going on here?_ "What happened between you and Daphne?"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"She was crying in her bed last night," Tracey frowned deeply, and Ron felt like he had been kicked in the gut. _The Universe is just pelting me over the last two days._ "I know you two argued a couple of days ago, and she's been acting off ever since then. Did you break up with her?"

"What?! No," Ron replied immediately.

"Then why has she been murdering dummies all day, mate?" Theo asked, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. _She's probably trying to distract herself by practicing, and in the process, letting off some steam. At least something good came out of our fight._

"Since when do you get involved in this sort of stuff?" Ron asked Theo.

"Tracey came to me," Theo shrugged.

"Ron, what happened?" Tracey asked with a furrowed brow.

"That's between Daphne and me, Tracey," Ron moved past them, but they just followed after him.

"When my best friend is crying herself to sleep, I make it my business," Tracey grabbed Ron's arm, making him stop immediately.

Ron looked to her hand, and then he looked to her face. _Careful, Tracey._ She noticed that his expression turned a little cold due to her forcefulness, and she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Ron, mate, we just want to help," Theo slid into the conversation.

"Can heal my Brain-Damage?" Ron looked to Theo, who just blinked at him. "No? Well, there you go…"

"You fought about your Brain-Damage?" Tracey asked, her tone much weaker now. _Yeah, it's awkward now, isn't it? That's what you get for prying._

"We discussed what my Brain-Damage means in the long-run," Ron told them bluntly, his mood even more soured. "I brought up the fact that I might not be around for long, and she didn't take it well."

"Not around for long," Theo repeated, his eyes darting towards Tracey, who had gone dead-silent.

"Yes, Theo, I need to think about my ever shrinking life-span," Ron told his mate. "I never bring it up, mostly to avoid these sorts of conversations, but with Daphne, things are very different. Now… Are you sated? Can I go about my day without being haggled?"

"Um…"

"Fuck it," Ron frowned deeply. "I'm going to the Sanctuary. I need to be alone right now… Tell the others to leave me be as well."

With that, Ron began heading back up to the seventh floor. _What I need to do is to meditate, and then come up with plans to deal with my never-ending problems. And most of all, I need to make sure that Daphne understands the simple truth about my illness. I'm too weak to break up with her, but the least I can do is to make sure that she comes to terms with the reality of my situation._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And it's done! I can't believe we made it! When I first started out, I honestly didn't expect to do this for long. I just wanted to write about Characters that I love, and now, we've got a big thing going. Sincerely, thank you to all of you!**

 **Next Chapter should be out around the 10th, I hope. I've got some interviews coming up, so I need to split my focus a little.**

 **Two Million words down, people!**


	101. Chapter 101 - Desire to Win

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 101 is here! Goddamn, that feels good to say. We made it past 100, and here's to another 100!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 101 – Desire to Win**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Chamber of Secrets – After Dinner)**_

Ron had skipped dinner.

He deeply regretted his conversation with Daphne, despite the necessity of it. _What really bothers me is the fact that she hasn't thought this through… She's an intelligent girl, and yet, she seems to have glossed over my potential death. That, or she foolishly refused to acknowledge it. I want to talk to her again, but I know we'll just repeat the same conversation. Until she approaches me, I'll just have to be patient. I honestly don't know what else I can say to her at this point to make her understand, and I definitely don't want to involve her parents. She'll crush my balls if I do that…_

"And over here, we added a small arc," Chivvy told him, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "There's a bunch of them, actually, and they're keeping the caves from collapsing. Whatever happened here, it did a lot of damage to this place's structure."

"This is honest to Merlin amazing work, Chivvy," Ron complimented, the Elves were nearing the end of their contract.

"Lord Weasley is most generous," Chivvy bowed deeply. _Please, stop calling me that._

"Just Ron will do, mate," Ron smiled weakly. "I got Marty's opinion on furniture for this place, now I want yours."

"Marty has told us of your plans," Chivvy gave a nod. "Chivvy can access his channels for you, and get you a great deal. Fifty beds for two hundred Galleons, plus chairs and tables." _Really?_

"What kinds of 'channels'?" Ron asked, this sounded too good to be true.

"Elf channels," Chivvy smiled a 'toothy' smile. _He's missing his front teeth._ "We aren't really builders, but we do have carpenter friends… Chivvy can set up a meeting if Lord Weasley wants." _He did it again…_

"No, that's fine," Ron already had enough on his plate. _I have the money, but should I spend it on this just yet? No, this can wait._ "Right now, I need my money for some other endeavors."

"Chivvy understands," Chivvy gave another nod. "If Lord Weasley decides to follow through with the furniture, Chivvy asks that Lord Weasley send Marty to him."

"Trying to keep my business?" Ron teased, and the Elf snorted. "It's alright… I really appreciate this, Chivvy. Hiring you was the best decision I could've made for this place. I mean, look at these caves. They actually look inhabitable now."

"Hiring builder Elves would have served Lord Weasley better, but thank you," Chivvy looked rather pleased, and proud, to hear Ron's praise.

"Let's head back to the main chamber," Ron turned to leave, and Chivvy followed after him.

They made their way through the caves, and Chivvy explained why he had made sure to restore the serpent-head statues in the main chamber. Personally, Ron didn't really care for 'aesthetics', he cared for efficiency and results, but hearing the Elf's impassioned speech changed his mind a little. In an odd sort of way, Ron felt that by keeping the serpent-head statues, he was honoring Salazar's memory. _Not sure how I feel about that, but since he's been dead for a thousand years, who gives a fuck? The Chamber he built to hurt Muggle-Borns will serve to protect them one day._

"Master!" Marty called for him as soon as Chivvy and he entered the main chamber. "Master, over here!"

"What is it?!" Ron called back, and then he quickened his pace.

"Chivvy's Elves found this chest!" Marty told Ron, who quickly scanned the small, dust-covered chest. _Bloody hell, what is this?_

"Chivvy?" Ron looked to the Elf.

"Chivvy was going to tell you as soon as we returned," Chivvy explained, and then he looked to the restored face of Salazar Slytherin. "We found it in the back…"

"What? Behind the face?" Ron blinked. _There's room back there?_

"We couldn't venture far… The smell was toxic," Chivvy grimaced.

"Did any of the workers get hurt?" Ron blurted out, taking Chivvy by surprise. _Did I get someone killed by sending them down here?_

"No, Chivvy stopped his friends," Chivvy told Ron, who relaxed visibly. _Thank Merlin._ "There was a room back there, but it had caved in. Chivvy was able to pull this chest out, but it won't open. Elf Magic doesn't work on it, nor does any form of force. Lord Weasley can have it."

"A chest that can't be opened," Ron looked back to the chest, his eyes scanning the two silver serpents that clearly served as the lock. _Maybe it needs a Parselmouth? Just like the Chamber's entrance._ "I'll take it."

"Just be careful, Lord Weasley," Chivvy said. "This chest sends shivers through Chivvy."

"Right," Ron looked back to the Elf. "How many more days do you think you need? I'm not trying to rush you, but the Holidays are approaching."

"A week at most," Chivvy replied, and Ron gave him an approving nod. "Chivvy just wants to make sure that the caves can withstand some tremors. Oh, and the back entrance out of this Chamber, and into the Forbidden Forest, needs some final touches."

"Very well… Just add some more torches as well, please" Ron said, and then he looked to Marty. "Ready to go?"

"Marty awaits Master's command," Marty smiled, and then he went to grab the chest.

"No, I'll take it," Ron said quickly, the last thing he wanted was for Marty to get Cursed.

Before Marty could urge Ron to let him take the risk, Ron reached down and picked up the chest. _It's lighter than it looks. I wonder what's in here._

"Master… That was too risky," Marty just stared at Ron, who simply shrugged.

"My plans, my responsibility," Ron said, and then he took a step closer to Marty. "Take me to the Sanctuary."

Marty let out a slightly annoyed huff, and then he Apparated Ron to the Sanctuary. Once again, Ron felt like he was being pulled through a straw, but when they landed, Ron managed to stay upright. A weak feeling of nausea came, but it left just as quickly as it had arrived. _Damn, that feels weird. I need to learn how to Apparate myself. It's too handy a skill to not have._

"That wasn't so bad," Ron smiled at Marty. "I'm getting used to this." _He's not smiling… Is he upset that I didn't let him take the chest?_

"Master should let Marty take the risks…" Marty stated, and Ron simply shook his head. "Master… You are being unwise."

"I'm sorry, Marty, but that's just not me," Ron confessed. "It was my plan to rebuild the Chamber, and so I need to take care of things like this."

"What if it was Cursed, Master?" Marty asked.

"Exactly," Ron replied, and Marty looked a little confused by Ron's response. "Marty, don't be so quick to throw yourself under a bus for my benefit. I don't want that, and I will **never** ask that of you. Understood?"

"Yes," Marty sighed out. _He wants to risk his neck? That's just some insane amount of loyalty._

"I'm going to try and open this thing," Ron began to walk over to the couches. "Can you please bring me some dinner?"

"Marty will return shortly," Marty bowed deeply, and then he cracked away to the Kitchens. _So loud. He always forgets to be sneaky._

Ron sat down in his favorite chair, and he planted the chest on the coffee table. _Now, let's see what you're hiding._

"Open," Ron hissed, and with a loud clank, the silver serpents began to slide to the bottom of the chest. _Ah, Salazar… You predictable bigot._

The top of the chest opened with a hiss, and some collected dust shot out of it. Ron slowly began opening the lid, a small part of him was genuinely afraid of what was inside. _C'mon, Ron, be a man!_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he quickly pushed the lid back completely. Fortunately, the chest was not booby-trapped, and Ron let out a relieved breath. _Guess I get to live for now. What a shame._ Ron peered into the small chest, and his eyes were immediately captured by the dagger that sat atop a bed of old parchments.

Ron reached into the chest with both hands, and he pulled the dagger out in order to inspect it. The silvery scabbard was covered with dust, and once Ron blew most of it away, he noticed that a serpent made of emeralds encircled the scabbard. Ron let out a low whistle, his lips twitching upwards. _Is the Universe done fucking me over? I think so._ Just as Ron was about to unsheathe the dagger, Marty cracked into the room.

"Marty has brought Master's dinner," Marty announced, while Ron barely held back a scream. _He gave me a fucking heart attack… Oh, Merlin._ "Master managed to open the chest?!"

Ron looked to his Elf, who stood there with a surprised look on his face and tray full of food in his hands.

"I did," Ron showed Marty the dagger, and Marty quickly put the tray of food down on the coffee table. "Should I unsheathe it?"

"Let Marty do it, Master," Marty stepped forward.

"Marty," Ron gave his Elf a deadpan look, and then he began unsheathing the dagger.

As soon as Ron had finished pulling it out, he was filled with utter disappointment. The dagger was badly chipped, and looked blunter than his mother's butter knives. _What the fuck? Why did Salazar leave this inside an impenetrable chest? This is garbage!_

"Um…" Ron looked to Marty, who looked just as disappointed as Ron.

"It is clearly not Goblin forged," Marty commentated, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"It's useless…" Ron grimaced, and then he put the dagger back inside the scabbard. _Wait… Not useless._ "These gems…"

Ron eyed the gems on the scabbard, and on the hilt of the dagger. _There's quite a few of them._

"Emeralds, Master," Marty said, and Ron felt some of his spirit return.

"You reckon we could pull them out?" Ron asked his Elf, who gave a nod.

"Marty can do that," Marty put his hands forward, and Ron handed him the dagger. "It shouldn't take long, Master. Marty can clean, and then remove, the gems tonight."

"Great," Ron smiled greedily. "Once you've collected them, leave them inside my trunk, please." _I'll see if I can't sell them in Diagon Alley. Maybe Martin will buy them off of me considering that he's a Jeweler?_ "Actually, take the night off, Marty. You can do this tomorrow." _The sun has settled for the day, and I don't like the idea of him slaving away for me in the dead of night._

"Marty will extract the gems tomorrow, then," Marty smiled a toothy smile, and then he left with a loud crack. _My damn ears. Whatever, I need to keep looking through the chest. Oh, and I need to eat._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron had eaten his fill, all the while going through the parchments within the chest. Sadly, most of them were badly damaged, and he couldn't even make out the writing on them. As for the ones that were still salvageable, the ink had become faded with time and moisture. Ron had decided to try and salvage these parchments in the hopes of unearthing more secrets, but he himself didn't have the skill required for such a task. What he needed was a person who could restore dated documents, and Ron figured that Flourish and Blotts might have such a person.

As he pulled out the last parchment from the chest, his eyes sparked to life when he saw the clear writing on it. _This one is readable!_ Ron quickly leaned back in his chair, his focus completely directed at the writing of Salazar Slytherin.

 _I have made the most terrible of mistakes._

 _I have confessed my fears to Godric, and he has turned me away. My little brother is ruled by his heart, and always has been… I fear that he will turn the others against me. His love for the Muggle-Borns grows stronger with each passing day, and so he has become blinded to the most simple of truths._

 _They can destroy what we have built within a day._

 _I have been counting the students in the Great Hall, and just as I feared, at least a quarter of them are Muggle-Borns. They sit there, with happy smiles, and we have no method of discovering what they discuss. For all we know, they are planning to bring their Muggle armies to our very doorsteps._

 _I cannot lose another Family… I will not let it happen._

 _I must discover a way to cull their ever-growing numbers._

 _It is the only way._

Ron looked to the back of the parchment, and sadly, it was blank. _Bloody hell… He must've written these while he was planning the Chamber of Secrets._ Ron quickly looked back to the salvageable parchments, and much to his annoyance, he could not find a single parchment that was legible. _Damn it, I can only make out faint words, so the story won't make any sense. I need to take these to Flourish and Blotts as soon as possible. I have to know if Salazar left some of his knowledge behind._

Ron began packing everything up, making sure to stash the salvageable parchments within the chest. _I'll definitely keep this chest. After all, only I can open it. Wait… Harry can open this too, and so can the Dark Lord. I'll just have to hide it where only I can find it. I can keep my most valuable possession in here, and I think I'll start with the Basilisk Fang in my Vault. I still don't know why the Entity asked me to retrieve it, but it's clearly important. The next time I meet that thing, I'll ask it some questions._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Sanctuary – Near Midnight)**_

He couldn't sleep.

In the back of his mind, there was a voice telling him to get to work. So Ron had trained against the dummies for nearly two hours, but despite this, sleep continued to elude him. Ron thought about going back down to the common room in order to sleep in his own bed, but he knew that his friends would have questions for him. _And I just can't be fucked with that right now. Hmm, what else can I accomplish tonight?_ An idea suddenly struck him, and Ron hopped out of his seat.

He could contact Emilia right now, couldn't he? _Yes… She's at Grimmauld Place, Dumbledore told me as much. And as it happens, I have a loyal Elf in working in that house._ Ron knew that he couldn't send Marty there, especially after the Fidelius Charm was implemented, but Kreacher was already inside. Kreacher knew where everyone would be sleeping, and most importantly, he could sneak into Emilia's room and kidnap her. _Let's just hope that he answers my prayers._

"Kreacher, I need you," Ron called out, making sure to picture the old Elf.

Nothing happened, and Ron found himself frowning with disappointment.

"Kreacher! Can you hear-"

A loud crack emanated from behind him, and Ron turned around with his wand brandished. Kreacher was already bowing, and Ron quickly unsheathed his wand. _His right ear… It's half-blown off._

"Lord Weasley called Kreacher?" Kreacher looked up with a twisted smile. _He's so old that he can't even smile properly. That, or he's forgotten how to._

"I did," Ron smiled back. "I'm glad you heard me, especially since I'm not your Master."

"Kreacher is always listening for Lord Weasley's call," Kreacher took on his usual, hunched, form. "Ever since Lord Weasley freed Kreacher from his misery." _Yeesh, he sounds so awed._

"Thank you," Ron started. "And please, just call me Ron. I don't like being referred to as 'Lord Weasley' by my friends and allies." _My siblings have seen to that._

"Kreacher is honored to be considered an ally to a wizard more powerful than the Dark Lord," Kreacher bowed once again, and Ron pulled a face. _What the fuck? More powerful than the Dark Lord? Oh, shite… Wasn't Kreacher sprouting that nonsense after Dumbledore destroyed the Locket? He still believes it?_

"Kreacher, I'm not more powerful than the Dark Lord," Ron told the truth. "Not yet, anyway." _I'll surpass them all._ "And stop bowing, please. Things would go a lot faster if we can just talk as equals."

"Equals?" the Elf blinked. _Bloody hell, time is wasting away here._

"Yes, so please just relax," Ron said gently, and Kreacher slowly took on his usual form. "Is Emilia Travers still at…?" _Damn that Charm._ "Is she at your house?"

"Lord…" he started, but quickly stopped. "Ron… knows of the Order?"

"He does," Ron gave a nod, and Kreacher adorned a surprised look. _He better not start revering me again._ "Is she still there?"

"Yes, Lady Travers is recovering from her injuries," Kreacher replied. "Does… Ron… wish to speak with her?"

"He does, and in private," Ron said. "I was hoping to go to that cliff-side, and then you could go kidnap her for me."

"Kidnap?" Kreacher blinked.

"Yes, abduct her for me," Ron smirked, this was fun. _I bet he thinks that I'm a lunatic._ "Can you do this for me, Kreacher?"

"Of course," Kreacher quickly recovered from his shock. "Come, Kreacher will take… Ron…" _Why does he say my name like that?_

Ron took a step forward, and as soon as he gave Kreacher his hand, he felt himself being pulled through a straw. _Fuck, I hate that._ Ron felt the cool breeze hit his face just as his feet found solid ground. The feeling of nausea came and went quickly, and Ron shook his head clear. _Not too bad this time._

"Thanks, Kreacher," Ron gave the Elf a smile. "Now, please go and snatch Emilia Travers."

The Elf gave a gummy smile, and then he was gone with a crack. _His smiles are rather creepy. I'll probably have nightmares tonight._ Another loud crack came from his left, and Ron turned to see Kreacher and Emilia land on the ground.

"Filthy Elf!" Emilia yelled as she shot up to her feet, her fist raised up for a ferocious assault.

"Emilia!" Ron called, and she stopped just before bringing her fist down. _She's wearing a nightgown, and it's a bit… racey… Who knew that Emilia was into such sleepwear?_ "Kreacher, you may leave us."

The Elf didn't need to be told twice, and he quickly Apparated away from the wrath of the angry woman. Ron quickly pulled off his robes, and he tossed them to Emilia. _I should've thought this kidnapping through._ Emilia caught the robes, and she quickly put them on, her face twisted from anger.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she stepped up to Ron, who made sure to stay perfectly still. _I can't let her have an inch, otherwise, she'll keep doing as she pleases._

"I wanted to talk," Ron replied calmly. _I've got Cutis Terra on the ready, bitch, don't try me._

"So you had me stolen away by an Elf in the dead of night?!" she demanded. "You couldn't send an Owl?!"

"Did you send an Owl before ambushing our enemies?" Ron asked her in response, and her anger dimmed a little. "We're supposed to be a team, but you chose to attack without informing me."

"And what would you have done?" Emilia asked, a frown still on her face. "You'd have taken part in the battle? You're a child."

Ron's eyes flashed red, and when he turned and cracked his neck, Emilia stilled immediately.

"I could have helped you," Ron slowly stepped into her face. _I'll throw you off this cliff if you look down at me._ "As it happens, I have an old friend who wants to sell a dangerous, airborne toxin, and had you come to me, we could've used that. You would have lost no soldiers, and both Nott and Malfoy would be dead right now." _The Dark Lord would've lost two powerful allies in one night._

Emilia said nothing, but she kept her eyes on his.

"Do you now see why I had you 'stolen away'?" Ron asked.

"Who is this friend?" Emilia asked in return, ignoring Ron's question.

"First, you'll tell me that you understand the fact that we're **partners** ," Ron said. "Then, you can know about my contacts." _Partners in name only… If she steps out of line one too many times, she'll become a hindrance._

"I understand," Emilia grit out.

"Right," Ron took a step back. "My contact claims to have a device created by the Wizards of Old. It's a weapon which releases a deadly toxin into the air."

"A working device from the Wizards of Old… That'd get him a small fortune," Emilia stated, she was clearly intrigued by this weapon.

"I want you to buy it from him," Ron said, and she cocked an eyebrow. "I'd buy it myself, but I'm not exactly swimming in Gold." _Plus, I'll get a quarter of what you pay him._ "With a weapon like that, we could do some real damage."

"It would be nice to add a working piece to my collection," Emilia spoke to herself, while Ron wondered about her collection. _Probably weapons, instead of art._ "How much is he selling it for?"

"I'll have to ask him," Ron replied. "It'll be quite expensive, that's all I know."

"I figured that it would be," Emilia said. "Get in contact with him when you can."

"I can do it right now, if you're willing to-"

"I'd rather be dressed for this," she cut him off. _Oh, right, I can still somewhat see her legs._

"Fair enough," Ron fought the urge to smirk. "Kreacher!"

The Elf cracked back onto the cliff-side, his eyes fixed on Emilia. The sight of Kreacher made Emilia grimace with disgust, something that Ron didn't really like. _Hopefully, she doesn't take her anger out on him. Again, I should've thought this through._

"Kreacher, you can take her back now," Ron said, and Kreacher put his hand forward.

"Next time, send a fucking Owl," Emilia shot Ron a pissed off look, and then she grabbed one of Kreacher's fingers.

They both Disapparated at that, and Ron found himself rather amused with her annoyance. _Nah, I'll have her abducted again, I think. It was funny to see her so rattled._ Kreacher cracked back to Ron's side, he was carrying Ron's robes.

"I'm ready to go back now, Kreacher."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Edge of Black Lake – Just before Dawn)**_

He had managed a few hours of sleep before the voice had returned, and Ron had found himself standing in the dark trees that would eventually lead into the Forbidden Forest. He was cold, restless, and in a mood to achieve something of note. _Is this what having ambition means? That you can't rest until everything works out in your favor? How many more nights can I endure of this feeling eating at my gut?_

Dumbledore, of all people, had asked him to display some of his prowess. Ron wanted the man's respect, there was no denying it, but he knew that going all out would mean potentially hurting a fellow student. Dumbledore no doubt had some safeguards in place, but since he hadn't told Ron about them, Ron had decided to figure out a different way to scare the French. _If I want to storm the Ministry, then I need to_ _ **be**_ _the storm._

"Marty!" Ron called, and after a couple of seconds, his Elf cracked into existence.

"Master…" Marty yawned, his big eyes were bloodshot and droopy. "Master called Marty?"

"Sorry for waking you up, Marty," Ron shot his Elf a sorry look. "But I'm about to do something extremely dangerous, and if it backfires, I need you to take me back to the castle."

"Dangerous?" Marty's eyes widened, Ron's words had clearly worked better than coffee. _Do Elves drink coffee? Wait, don't get distracted. Collect your mind._

"Remember when I blew a hole through Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

"Master is about to shoot lightning again?" Marty seemed to pale, but maybe it was just the moon's light reflecting off of his skin. "Is it wise to do it here?"

"Probably not," Ron shrugged. "Any other place in mind?"

Marty thought about it, and then he put his hand forward. Ron decided to do as Marty advised, mostly because he himself was too tired to think of a place. As soon as Ron took Marty's hand, he found himself in a dense looking forest. Ron looked up at the night sky, and he figured that they weren't too far away from Hogwarts.

"Where are we?" Ron asked.

"On the hills north of Hogwarts, Master," Marty replied. "Far from the castle, and far from Hogsmeade Village." Marty then eyed Ron's face with a slightly worried look. "Is Master well? He seems… distant."

"Just sleepy, mate," Ron told Marty. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Once I've tried this out, I'll finally be able to sleep."

"Marty isn't sure about this, Master," Marty admitted. "The last time Master fired lightning, he was left badly injured. Is the Dueling Tournament not tomorrow?"

"If I do get hurt, Madam Pomfrey will heal me," Ron said as he began stepping away from Marty. "I mean, it's her job, isn't it? Plus, even in an injured state, I doubt any other third year can take me on."

"If Master is certain," Marty drew in a calming breath.

"I am certain," Ron stopped several feet away from Marty. "Now, let me focus for a moment."

There was fear in his heart, and as he began preparing himself, it went wild. Suddenly, Ron felt afraid of the risks, and his mind began to turn against itself. What if he did get hurt? What if he lost the Tournament tomorrow due to his injuries? What if he wasn't allowed to compete? What if the Spell damaged his Magical Core because of the strain? All of these negative thoughts swirled around in his mind, and Ron shot a quick look back at Marty. His Elf was scared, Ron could see it clear as day. _I'm scared too… But I'm more scared of giving up my control. I'm scared of letting others dictate what I can, or can't, do._

Ron looked back ahead, and he drew in a deep breath. _I can't let fear stop me. I have to be stronger than my enemies, or people will die. My loved ones will die._ Ron drew in another breath, and then he pulled his left arm back. _Be brave, Ron. Be strong._

"Cutis Terra," Ron chanted, and he felt his muscles solidify. _Do it!_ "Baubillious!"

Ron thrust his left arm forward, and he felt a terrifying surge of power course from his chest, and into his left arm. From there, he felt his fingers turn red hot, but there was no pain. Instead, Ron felt the burning power exit his fingertips, and the roar of thunder nearly blew Ron's own eardrums. Blindingly hot lightning zipped through the trees, shattering and burning everything in its path. By the time Ron's eyes had adjusted back to normal, all he could see was destruction.

The air smelled so clean right now… Pure. _Sort of like after a thunderstorm._ As Ron scanned the destruction that he had unleashed, the smell of burning wood and tree sap filled his nostrils. The lightning had carved its way through the trees, its unpredictable trajectory had left a jagged scar upon the land. Ron slowly raised his left hand, there was no damage to his skin or muscles. _So much power, and all of it in the palm of my hand._ Ron didn't know why, but this revelation scared him. _If I can accomplish this level of destruction, then what can the Dark Lord unleash?_ Pandora's final screams before the murder of her Family rang through Ron's mind, and he closed his hand into a fist. _I'll unleash this destruction on the Death-Eaters first._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Hogwarts Grounds – Past Ten am)**_

Ron made his way down the grounds alone, he could hear excited voices coming from the filled Quidditch Pitch. He hadn't slept in, of course, but he had decided to skip people entering the castle for the Year-Based Tournaments.

Today, a majority of the parents of the Hogwarts student body were here to show their support. Ron wondered whether his own parents were here, and after he thought of Ginny and Percy, he came to the conclusion that they were. _Maybe they even brought Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten. What of the twins? No, mum would never let them come. They're probably being watched over by one of the adults._

As Ron entered the doorway leading into the Pitch, he heard the sound of Spells going off. _The Duels have started? Fuck, I'm clearly too late._ As soon as he popped his head into the Pitch, he saw Mathias and Boris Dueling each other. A large arena had been created on-top of the Quidditch Pitch, and Ron looked up to see cheering adults sitting in the House stands. As for the student body, they were all sitting on conjured chairs around the arena. _They all looked quite excited, especially the Slytherins._

Ron began making his way towards his friends, they had saved him a seat between Theo and Blaise. Eyes darted towards him from both the stands, and the student seats, but Ron simply ignored them. _Third year Duels haven't started, so I'm still on time as far as I'm concerned._ Ron moved past the Slytherin students, and they all quickly pulled their legs out of his way. Most of them smiled at him, and a few even looked genuinely pleased with the fact that he was here. Ron's eyes darted towards the Silver Triumvirate, and he gave them a nod when he saw the unspoken relief on their faces.

"Where were you, Ron?" Blaise whispered as Ron took his seat, he could feel his other friends staring at him as well. _And all the Professors too._

"You missed the Hogwarts Song," Theo said, he didn't sound too bothered by Ron's late entry. "We had to line up and sing for the adults."

"It was quite demeaning," Tracey whispered, she was sitting on Theo's other side. "Are you alright?" _Is she thinking about the conversation that we had last night?_

"I'm fine," Ron replied, his eyes quickly passing over Daphne. "I just slept in." _She looks relieved, but also tense at the same time. Damn._

"You slept in?" Blaise asked, and then he shook his head. "You're lucky Professor Snape isn't around, mate. He'd have ripped you a new one for this." _Is it weird that I wish he was here for that? Merlin, how is it possible to miss such a cold man? I'm fucked in the head for certain._

"How are the Duels going?" Ron whispered.

"About how we expected," Theo whispered back. "Our second years are doing a lot better, much to everyone's shock. Your sister is going up against Suzie next."

"Really?' Ron looked towards the Gryffindors, and he immediately spotted his sister's fiery red hair.

She was looking at him, and the moment their eyes met, she quickly looked towards the arena. Ron just stared at her for a few seconds, and then he turned his gaze towards Percy, who too was staring at him. When their eyes met, Percy tapped his watch with a deep frown, but Ron simply shrugged. _I missed all the boring tripe, which serves me just fine._

"Your sister disarmed Patty from Ravenclaw in her last match," Blaise told him. "She's all aggression, Ron. Her defense is non-existent."

"What Blaise is saying is that she hasn't learned a thing from her previous matches," Theo whispered. "This is good, Ron. We've taught the second years how to dodge, and how to seize opportunities." _He's right. What did Madam Roberts tell me? Oh, yeah… Aggressive Duelists tend to make mistakes, and Opportunistic Duelists usually win because of that._

Ron looked around for Suzie, and he found her sitting a couple of rows ahead of him. _I need to talk to her._

"I'll be right back," Ron told his mates, and then he stood up and began moving past the rows ahead of him.

None of the Slytherins said anything, but Ron's movements had once again garnered the attention of other people. Just as he stopped behind Suzie, she looked back at whoever was blocking her Sun. The sight of him made her relax a little, and when Ron leaned down, she moved closer to hear his advice.

"How are you feeling?" Ron whispered to her.

"I stunned my last opponent, so I feel good," she replied. "I just need to beat your sister, and I'll be in the Finals."

"Good work," Ron smiled genuinely, and she smiled back immediately. "I hear that my sister is extremely aggressive."

"She is…" Suzie's smile wavered. "She pelted Patty until the poor girl just dropped her shield, which got her disarmed almost immediately." _She got bogged down, you mean._

"Then here's some advice," Ron whispered. "Let her throw her Spells at you, and only use your shield if it's unavoidable."

"You want me to let her gain the upper hand?" Suzie blinked.

"I want you to dodge, and wait," Ron explained. "Ginny gets angry quickly, so if you just smirk and keep dodging, she'll become enraged. That's when you attack back. Dodge, and wait for your moment, Suzie. Let Ginny tire herself out."

"Oh… Okay," Suzie nodded fervently, and Ron patted her shoulder as he stood back up. "Thanks, Ron."

"Thank me by winning," Ron said, and then he began making his way back.

As soon as he sat back down, his eyes drifted towards Ginny. She was staring at him openly now, her furrowed brow moving between him and Suzie. _You had your chance for my help, Ginny, but you kept refusing. Don't blame me when Suzie puts you in your place._

"What did you tell her?" Malfoy whispered from Blaise's other side.

"I told her to win," Ron replied, and just as he finished, Mathias stunned Boris in the arena.

Cheers and claps emanated from both the stands, and the student seats, while Remus quickly checked up on a stunned Boris.

"That's match!" Remus announced, while Pomfrey walked into the arena in order to wake up Boris. "Mathias McCumbers wins!"

People cheered as both boys left the stage, and when Mathias spotted Ron staring at him, the second year gave Ron a respectful nod.

"If Suzie wins, will she be going up against Mathias in the Finals?" Ron asked Blaise.

"Yeah," Blaise replied. "We just need one win in this division, and a hundred Points are ours for the taking."

"Suzie Ninkovich and Ginevra Weasley! Please take up your positions!" Remus called, and both girls quickly made their way into the arena.

The Slytherins and Gryffindors cheered for their respective members, while Tracey let out a loud whistle. _Bloody hell, that was really loud._ Ron shot a half-smile towards Tracey, who was chanting Suzie's name.

"She's been quite supportive of our second years," Theo chuckled.

"She just needs a reason to make noise," Ron smiled more fully. "Can you whistle?"

"You want me to?" Theo asked.

"Let it rip," Ron looked towards Suzie, while Theo let out a whistle just as loud as Tracey's. "That was bloody nice."

"Thanks," Theo sniggered, while Tracey nudged Theo with a wide smile.

"Are you both ready?!" Remus asked the girls, and they both nodded. "Begin!"

As expected, Ginny came out of the gate running. Before Suzie could even finish her first incantation, Ginny had started firing stunner after stunner at the smaller girl. The Gryffindors roared with excitement, while the Slytherins just watched with furrowed brows. _Keep at it, Suzie, you little devil._

"Stupefy, stupefy, stupefy!" Ginny chanted, she clearly had no plans of letting up. _Look at her footing… She's not even prepared to dodge._

Suzie, just as Ron had advised, simply smirked as she kept dodging. Ginny had decent enough aim, but there was quite a lot of distance between them, and so Suzie was able to keep moving around instead of being bogged down.

"Fight back!" one of the Slytherins called out, but Suzie wisely ignored them. _Keep it up._

"Incarcerous!" Ginny chanted, her wand aimed right at Suzie.

Thick black ropes fired out of Ginny's wand, but Suzie quickly repelled them with a shield. Ginny seized the opportunity to try and bog her down, but Suzie had just as quickly banished her shield as she had summoned it. Once again, Suzie began dodging Ginny's Spells with a smirk.

"What is she doing?!" one of the Gryffindors yelled. "Fight back already!"

"Stupefy!" Ginny all but screamed, her eyes fixed on Suzie's smirking face. _It's working already? Temper, temper, little sister._ "Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" _Merlin, does she have any variation in her arsenal?_ "Stupefy! Stupefy!"

Suzie kept running about with a pleased smirk on her face, and now even Remus was just watching her. Ginny, having wised up a little, or just simply too angry, began closing the distance with each Spell. _She wants to reduce Suzie's time to react? Clever._ Suzie easily noticed Ginny closing the distance, so she began stepping backwards in order to buy herself more time. _Careful… Don't corner yourself._

"What is she doing up there?" Pansy asked as she looked to Ron.

"Pissing off my sister, clearly," Ron replied, he couldn't help but feel amused at what was happening. _Seriously, Suzie hasn't fired a single Spell yet. She's damn quick considering her tiny frame._

"STUPEFY!" Ginny roared, there was sweat on her brow due to excessive Magic use.

Suzie hopped out of the way of the stunner, and just as Ginny pulled her wand up to continue her assault, Suzie quickly slashed her wand upwards.

"Stupefy," Suzie huffed out, and Ginny, who was too used to being on the offensive, didn't even have time to readjust her footing.

The stunner hit Ginny's right shoulder, and it sent the redhead barreling backwards. People in the stands, and the student seats, gaped because of the abrupt end to the match, while Ron let out a loud cheer for his student. _That's how you do it!_

"Match!" Remus called as he ran over to Ginny's stunned form, and the Slytherins burst into whistles and applause.

"That was quite entertaining," Millie laughed, while the others clapped loudly for Suzie.

The only people who didn't look pleased were the Gryffindors, which was understandable because Slytherin had just secured a hundred House Points to add to their overwhelming lead. _It doesn't matter who wins between Mathias and Suzie, they're both part of the same House. We have gotten off to a good start._

"Suzie Ninkovich wins!" Remus announced, while Pomfrey reawakened Ginny, who sat up with a confused look.

It didn't take long for Ginny to look in Ron's direction, and when she did, she saw her brother applauding for Suzie. She felt her temper flare horribly, Ron had clearly told Suzie what to do. As Ginny stood up and glared in Ron's direction, Ron simply ignored her in favor of cheering for a person who had accepted his help. _Glare all you want, loser. As far as I'm concerned, you don't deserve to win this Tournament._

"She can't possibly blame you for this, can she?!" Pansy yelled over the applause.

"She's found every reason to blame Ron so far!" Theo replied for Ron. "Just ignore her!"

The applause began to die down as Suzie and Ginny returned to their seats, and judging by Ginny's expression, she was both confused and pissed off at the same time. _Honestly, if Ginny had been a little more mindful of her own two feet, she could've won that match. If she had learned from me when I offered her the chance at the study group, she'd be smiling right now._ Unsurprisingly, the Golden Trio were quick to try and comfort Ginny, who simply glared at the ground in front of her feet.

"We will take a quick break before the second years' Finals!" came Professor Flitwick's voice from the speakers. "Suzie Ninkovich and Mathias McCumbers are advised to regain their stamina, and to stay hydrated!"

People began chattering at that, and Ron was no different. But as he looked to Blaise, he spotted Madam Roberts standing at the bottom of the Slytherin stands. She signaled him to approach her, and so Ron quickly excused himself from his friends. Getting to her was easy enough, as everyone made sure to clear his way, which was something that Madam Roberts seemed to notice.

"Madam Roberts," Ron greeted.

"Where were you this morning?" she asked bluntly.

"At Hogwarts," Ron replied. _So much for greetings._

"You missed the opening ceremony," she reminded him. "In a real Tournament, you can't show up whenever it suits you." _Lie to her._

"I couldn't get out of bed," Ron lied, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I needed my Nutrition Potion, and even after that, I was barely able to move about. My friends went on without me, and once I could bring myself to come down here, I did."

"Are you fit to compete?" she asked.

"I hope so," Ron shrugged calmly. _I'm more than fit, believe me._ "Don't get your hopes up, though."

"You need to take better care of yourself," she frowned at him. "Just remember my teachings, and stay in your formation. From what I've seen so far, the Dueling education of this school is sorely lacking."

"Only those who **want** to learn benefit at Hogwarts," Ron said. "The rest are… mediocre."

"I have spoken to your Defense Professor, and he was adamant about his position," Madam Roberts looked towards Remus. "You are only allowed to use physical contact when Dueling the male population."

"Really?" Ron asked, he was somewhat relieved by this. _I had no intention of smacking girls around anyway._

"When I pressed further, your Headmaster intervened on Professor Remus' behalf," Madam Roberts grit out. "Forgive me, Ronald, but I could not persuade those fools. They would sooner ban **all** physical contact than to respect the rules they set up in the first place." _Well, they are teachers, and they don't want students to get hurt._ "You will have to rely solely on Magic."

"And my overwhelming wit," Ron smirked, earning a dead-eyed look from Madam Roberts. "That was a joke, by the way."

"Take this seriously," she ordered, and Ron raised his hands in mock surrender. "I've had a look through the match list, and you're going up against Blaise Zabini first. What do you know about his Dueling skills?"

"He's fast, can cast some Non-Verbal Spells, and he has decent stamina," Ron replied. "Overall, he's a decent Duelist, but he lacks the ability to follow through. He wants a 'clean' victory, one that will earn him respect and adoration, but leave him looking calm and collected. He doesn't have it in him to get violent, and dirty. Oh, and he's terrified of me whenever we Duel together." _He's yet to beat me in our sparring matches, even though I hold back on him._ "Blaise doesn't enjoy losing, but he also doesn't give winning his all."

"So he's lazy?"

"He's… detached," Ron replied slowly. "His heart is never into any one thing."

"Put him on the defensive, then," Madam Roberts advised. "If he can't get a chance to be on the offensive, he may call it quits."

"Understood," Ron gave a subtle nod, while the second year Finals commenced.

"Why is Neville Longbottom walking over to us?" Madam Roberts suddenly asked Ron, who quickly followed her gaze. _She's right, he's walking right at us._

"He probably wants to talk to me about my sister's loss," Ron figured.

"How is that his business?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Guess I'll find out soon enough," Ron looked back to her. "Thank you for coming, Madam Roberts. I won't disappoint you today, I promise."

"Make sure to keep that promise," Madam Roberts said, and then she left for the stands.

Just as she disappeared behind the covers, Neville stopped in front of Ron.

"Who was that?" Neville asked, his tone even lighter than what Ron had expected. _He's not upset, which is a good sign._

"A friend," Ron replied. "What can I do for you, Neville?"

"Right to it, then," Neville shot a look towards his friends. "Look, I don't really want to be here, seeing as you did nothing wrong, but your sister is a little-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Ron interrupted. "Tell my sister to shut the fuck up, and to lose with some honor."

Neville blinked at Ron's cold tone, his words had certainly taken the Gryffindor by surprise.

"Ron… That's your sister, mate…" Neville all but whispered.

"As far as I'm concerned, she's had every opportunity to be 'sisterly', and yet, she has always chosen to be a spoilt brat," Ron stated. "And now, she's a **loser** as well. I don't care about people who whine after getting their arses kicked, especially when they don't put in any effort. Tell her that, and then slap her across the face for me. Maybe that will help her realize that the World doesn't give a fuck about her entitlements, which will help her finally grow up a little."

With that, Ron began making his way towards his own friends, a pleased smirk on his face. _That felt good. I bet he's still standing there with a jarred look._ Ron's eyes darted towards Ginny, Harry, and Hermione, and much to his surprise, Harry and Hermione were the ones looking between Neville and Ron. _Ginny is just frowning at the ground… Did Harry and Hermione send Neville over? Why? Ugh… I don't even care, actually. I don't need to explain myself to anyone._

"What did Longbottom want?" Blaise whispered as Ron took his seat.

"I think Hermione and Harry sent him over to ask me some questions," Ron shrugged. "As you clearly saw, I didn't answer said questions."

"Good," Blaise gave an approving nod. "You can't be seen speaking to the Gryffindors today, Ron. People in Slytherin expect you to show solidarity with them during this Tournament."

"I know," Ron assured Blaise. "Anyway… I hear that you and I are going up against each other first."

Blaise simply looked back to the arena, and Ron heard Theo sniggering to himself.

"He was hoping that you didn't show up today," Theo told Ron, who held back his own smirk.

"Fuck off," Blaise scoffed. "I've been preparing for this match."

"Good," Ron patted Blaise's back. "But just so know, I won't be holding back today. The French are here, and I need to show them that I'm a force to be reckoned with."

"Great…" Blaise muttered under his breath, he knew that he was fucked. _Speaking of the French…_

"Is your mother here?" Ron asked Blaise, who shook his head. _Of course she isn't. Well, fuck that bitch, Blaise has his friends by his side._

"My mother, Theo's father, and Malfoy's parents aren't here," Blaise told Ron.

"Which is weird, because father promised me that he'd be here," Theo said, he didn't sound too bothered. _He probably is bothered, but he's very good at hiding it._ "Even Pansy's father is here, and she's not even competing."

"Did I hear my name?" Pansy looked to them.

"I said that you look nice today," Theo shot her a smile, and she puffed up a little.

"It's my new hair conditioner," Pansy boasted happily. "It gives my hair a lovely bounce." _A bounce?_

"Nice save," Ron whispered to Theo.

"Can you stop whispering, I'm trying to watch the match," Malfoy shot Ron a frown, making the redhead snigger.

"Sorry, my Lord," Ron looked back to the arena, while Blaise and Theo chuckled at Ron's 'sorry' tone.

The second years' Finals came to a stop when Mathias suddenly charged the small girl, who was a little too late to stun him. Before anyone knew what was what, Mathias had snatched the wand out of Suzie's hand with brute force. Ron wasn't going to lie, he saw nothing wrong with Mathias' strategy, but a lot of girls began booing Mathias for his harsh behavior towards a girl. Among said girls were Pansy and Tracey, but oddly enough, not Daphne. _I want to give her a pep talk before the matches start, but I don't want to add more to her plate._

"That's match!" Remus called out, while Mathias handed a frowning Suzie her wand back. "Mathias wins the second years' Tournament! I hereby award Slytherin House one hundred House Points!"

The Slytherins, including the 'outraged' girls, began cheering loudly, while Ron just smiled to himself. _That's one down, three more to go. If we can make four hundred House Points today, no House will stand a chance against us. At least not until the Ranked Tournaments._ Ron could even hear the adults from the Slytherin stands, they would no doubt gloat about this as a victory for 'Pure-Bloods'. _Idiots don't know that Mathias' mother is a Muggle-Born, or at least that's what I've been told._

"The following third years should get ready for their matches!" Remus started. "Ronald Weasley, Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, Neville Longbottom, Theodore Nott, and Padma Patil!"

While Remus began to get things into order, Ron decided to throw caution to the wind. _I have to talk to her, and show her my support._ Ron slowly looked towards Daphne, who was clearly trying to keep her nerves in check. _She's nervous, but she'll never show it._

"Tracey," Ron whispered, and Tracey turned her head towards him. "Swap with me."

Tracey blinked at him, and then she quickly caught onto what he was trying to do. Without another word, she stood up and exchanged seats with Ron. Daphne shot him a quick look as he sat down by her side, but she didn't say anything.

"Hello," Ron whispered, leaning in towards Daphne.

"Hi…"

"Are you feeling nervous?" Ron asked, making sure to keep his voice low and gentle.

"A little," Daphne slowly leaned in as well, and just like that, they were cut off from the World. "I don't like admitting this, but she's better at Magic than me…"

"That might be true, but she isn't all that creative," Ron gave his opinion, and Daphne leaned further in.

"Not creative?" Daphne whispered.

"She's very… by the books," Ron clarified. "She knows a lot of Spells, but she only showcased two during the Ranking Tournament. Remember?" Daphne nodded slowly. "I think Hermione plans to finish your match quickly, and as efficiently, as possible. That seems to be her style."

"So I should prolong the match?" Daphne asked. _It's good that she's listening to me, and not thinking about our recent troubles. She must really want to win this._

"You have actual Dueling experience," Ron reminded her. "The dummies, the girls, and myself… I know that you don't enjoy Dueling, but you've learned from your previous Duels. Don't forget your lessons, Daph. Stay calm, and stay in control. Hermione isn't exactly fit, so make her run around. Let her waste her Magical Core on shields, and don't forget the trick I taught you."

"Okay," Daphne managed a weak smile.

"Hey," Ron reached forward and took her hands. "I believe in you, you know that, right?" Daphne nodded a little more firmly. "And… Don't be afraid of playing dirty…"

"What?" Daphne looked slightly surprised.

"Kick dirt into her eyes, slap her, pull her hair, punch her in the nose," Ron listed. "Up there, you're not a Lady. A win is a win."

"Ron… I'm not exactly a violent person," Daphne said. "Slapping her, or pulling her hair, sounds… wrong."

"You've attacked me before," Ron smiled a little.

"Jumping onto your back isn't exactly the same as breaking someone's nose," Daphne sighed out.

"It's just some advice," Ron whispered. "If you're not comfortable with it, it's perfectly alright."

"Ronald Weasley and Blaise Zabini! Please take up your positions!" Remus called, and Ron began to stand up.

"Don't take it too far," Daphne said, and he gave her a nod before leaving for the arena.

On the way, he found himself walking right behind Blaise.

"That pretty little arse is mine, Blaise," Ron grinned, and Blaise shot a disgusted look at Ron. "Get ready for a-"

"Merlin, I'm going to stop you right there," Blaise looked back ahead. "Just stun me, alright?"

"Are you giving up?" Ron asked, he didn't like the sound of that.

"No, but I'd rather be stunned than to be molested by a fiend," Blaise shuddered. "Just my fucking luck that I had to go up against you first…"

"It's called fate, lover," Ron sniggered, and Blaise picked up his pace. "I was joking!"

Both boys took on their positions, and Ron shot a quick look up at the Gryffindor stands. His parents, Sirius, Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten were cheering for him, and Ron found himself getting excited. _Time to blow their minds with how awesome I am. Wait, where are the Greengrasses? And what about Pandora?_ Ron looked to the Ravenclaw stands, and much to his relief, he found Pandora and Xeno sitting amongst their old classmates. _She's here! Fuck, yes! And the Greengrasses are no doubt in the Slytherin stands._

"Are you both ready?!" Remus looked between Ron and Blaise, both of whom nodded. "Begin!"

Within a second, Blaise had cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself. _Oh, is that how we're playing?_ Ron could hear the awe of the adults from the stands, they hadn't seen a third year cast a N. E. W. T level Spell before.

"Fumos!" Ron chanted, and he felt his lungs fill up with air.

Blaise seized the opportunity to throw a Non-Verbal stunner at Ron, but it was already too late. Ron had made sure to crouch as he breathed thick, black smoke out onto the arena, effectively hiding himself from everyone. The Slytherins began cheering at Ron's showy display of power, while the adults were no doubt shocked into silence.

"Homenum Revelio," Ron aimed his wand in the direction where the stunner had come from, and he felt Blaise's presence through the thick shroud of smoke. _He's not moving too much. Shame, he's too wary for his own good. I can also sense Remus out there, so I need to be careful. If I remember correctly, Remus is the one to the far left._ "Cutis Terra."

Ron felt his muscles tighten, and a rush of adrenaline coursed throughout his body. _Fuck it, I'll end this right now. No need to drag this out._

"Brachium Colubrum!" Ron all but yelled, and then he slammed his fists into the sand.

"Depulso!" Blaise chanted as soon as he heard Ron's voice, but by the time the smoke was banished forcefully, dozens of large ethereal serpents were lunging out towards Blaise.

Blaise's eyes widened beyond his control, but Ron didn't see it because of Blaise's Disillusionment Charm. This was new, and it was fucking **terrifying**. Ron could hear loud gasps from the audience, which only served to please him. On instinct, Blaise raised his shield in order to defend himself, but Ron's ghostly serpents had other plans. Ron directed a majority of them to slam headfirst into the shield in order to bog down Blaise, while a couple of them went around Blaise's shield in order to smash into the wizard himself.

Just as Blaise felt the impact on his shield, he felt one of the snakes slam headfirst into his right ankle. A pained scream was about to tear its way out of Blaise's throat, but another serpent smashed into his face, which sent Blaise rolling through the sand with a dazed look. _Take him!_ Blaise didn't even have a chance to groan before his body was seized by the serpents, effectively pinning Blaise to the ground. _I win._

"Match! Match!" Remus called off the match, and Ron immediately banished his hissing serpents.

Remus ran over to check on Blaise, as did Madam Pomfrey, while Ron simply turned his focus towards the Slytherins. Most of them looked too shocked to cheer, but when Ron cocked his eyebrow, they all began applauding him. The rest of the audience quickly followed the Slytherins' example, and Ron smiled to himself. _I know that it's a terrifying Spell to witness, but I worked my arse off to learn it. I deserve at least a little applause. Now… Let's go check on Blaise._

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" one of the Gryffindor first years yelled, and every first year in the school began cheering at the top of their lungs.

Ron waved and smiled at his tutees before walking over to Blaise, who was being tended to by both Remus and Pomfrey.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked his mate, who gave him a dead-eyed look. _Madam Pomfrey works fast._

"Have you heard of restraint, you prick?" Blaise asked him, and Ron couldn't help but snigger. _He's definitely trying to act cool and collected… But I can see that he was shocked by the scale of my Spell._

"He's fine," Ron said, while Pomfrey clicked her tongue at Blaise's language.

"Is he?" Remus looked to Pomfrey for confirmation, and she gave him a nod. "Good, help him find his seat, please."

"I can do that," Ron volunteered.

"Madam Pomfrey can do that, I need to talk to you for a moment," Remus stood up, and Ron shot a quick look towards Madam Roberts. _Is he planning to disqualify me? No, I haven't done anything wrong. He probably has questions about my use of the Dark Arts._

Remus and Ron walked over to the center of the arena, while Madam Pomfrey helped Blaise back to his seat. The crowd was already speculating on what Remus was saying to Ron, and Ron couldn't help but feel Madam Roberts' glare fixed on Remus.

"Ron, who taught you that?" Remus asked, a dead serious look on his face.

"I taught myself," Ron replied truthfully. "You've seen me use that Spell before, Professor. I've just improved on it over time." _I'll keep Cutis Terra to myself. It gives me too strong an advantage to give up._

"You taught yourself how to summon a pit of Cursed Vipers?" Remus asked, his expression unchanged.

"A pit? I think you're exaggerating a little," Ron held back a chuckle. _Don't laugh, Ron, he looks really serious._

"Ron, be serious," Remus frowned a little. "That was the Dark Arts in its purest form… Hogwarts doesn't allow its students to delve into the Dark Arts, and then to use said Dark Arts on fellow students." _Uh-oh._

"Am I disqualified?" Ron asked, losing his own humor. "If so, then you should ban all Curses as well, because technically, they are also considered the Dark Arts. No… Wait… This rule must only apply to me. Just like you handicapping me against all female students."

"What?" Remus blinked. _Keep going, Ron. Don't let him walk all over you._

"I had no intention of using physical strength on the female students, but the fact that you banned **only me** from doing so is utter tripe," Ron told Remus. "And now, you have a problem with me using Magic as well. Do you want me to just forfeit?"

"Ron, calm down," Remus sighed out, why was he so quick to anger?

"No, in my next match, I'll just drop my pants and bend over," Ron said coldly, and Remus drew in a deep breath.

"Just go back to your seat… We'll talk about this after the Tournaments," Remus said, and then he left to call up the next competitors.

Ron made his way out of the arena, a bored look on his face. _Honestly, why are people such weak bitches? I work harder than anyone here, and yet, they want to reward the weak. Everyone gets a medal so that no one's feelings get hurt. Piss on that. If you can't be fucked learning stronger Magic, then you need to step aside and know your place._ As Ron neared the Slytherin seats, Daphne crossed his path as she made her way towards the arena. _Wish her luck like a good boyfriend._

"You can do this," Ron smiled without even thinking, and Daphne gave him a slow nod. _She's clearly surprised by my Spell._ "Good luck, Daph."

"Thanks," Daphne said, and Ron could sense her nervousness. _The moment of truth is here, so it's completely natural for her to worry. Let's just hope that she doesn't lose because of her fears._

"You alright?" Ron asked Blaise as he sat down, but before Blaise could reply, Theo jumped in.

"Please tell me that you don't have any more surprises hidden away," Theo said quickly, and Ron simply shot him a smirk. "Ugh…"

"Ron, that was really amazing!" Pansy beamed at him, while Tracey and Millie looked rather wary of him. _I wonder how Malfoy is taking it._

Ron looked towards Malfoy, and the platinum-blonde wizard quickly looked back to the arena. _Hehe, he's definitely shaken._

"Are you two ready?" Remus asked Hermione and Daphne, and Ron suddenly focused on the Duel. "Begin!"

"Stupe-" Daphne started, but Hermione fired a Non-Verbal stunner before Daphne could finish.

Daphne dodged without giving away her nervousness, and Hermione quickly pressed forward. Unlike previous Duels, Hermione was a lot more aggressive this time around. Stunner after stunner fired out of Hermione's wand, and Daphne could do little but dodge. _C'mon, Daph… Don't let her run the Duel._

"Rictusempra!" Daphne suddenly fired the Tickling Charm as she finished dodging a stunner, and Hermione brought up a Non-Verbal shield.

Daphne managed to fire one stunner before Hermione quickly banished her shield in order to start throwing Non-Verbal stunners again. Once more, Daphne was forced to keep dodging. _Bloody hell, Hermione isn't leaving any windows open. She's so quick with her Non-Verbal stunners._

"Granger's learned not to rely on her shields too much," Malfoy pointed out. _I know, and that doesn't bode well for Daphne._

"Go, Daphne!" Astoria cheered, and most of the Slytherins joined her.

The Gryffindors, seeing the Slytherins cheer for their House-mate, began cheering for Hermione, with Harry being the loudest. Ron couldn't help but notice that Ginny hadn't joined in on the cheering, she was too busy looking sour with her defeat. _Ignore it, Ron, focus on Daphne._ Ron's girlfriend was currently trying to get a simple stunner in, but Hermione refused to relent. Unlike Ginny, Hermione's barrage wasn't driven by aggression, but rather by strategy. Ron could see that Hermione was still aware enough to defend herself at any given moment, but due to her Non-Verbal Spellcasting, she had Daphne right where she wanted. _Fuck it, time to intervene a little._

"Let her tire herself out, Daph!" Ron called out, and both girls seemed to have heard him. _There… Hermione being Hermione will definitely think too hard about that._

"Don't let up, Hermione!" Harry called from the Gryffindor seats. "You've got her on the ropes!" _Damn you, Harry Potter!_

"Quiet!" Remus ordered, his eyes fixed on the Duel.

"Impedimenta!" Daphne finally managed to cast a Spell, but just as Ron had predicted, Hermione was ready to defend herself at a moment's notice.

With a simple slash of her wand, Hermione raised another shield, effectively stopping the Slowing Jinx.

"Ventus!" Daphne aimed her wand at Hermione's feet, and a gust of wind fired out of Daphne's wand.

Sand flew all over the damn place, but Ron was too busy admiring Daphne's use of unused Charms and Jinxes. _She's clever enough to use Spells that regular people don't really utilize. C'mon, Daphne, use that cunning of yours!_ Hermione kept her shield up in order to block the gust of sand being sent her way, and Daphne realized that this was her chance to try Ron's trick.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Expelliarmus!" Daphne chanted, and Hermione kept her powerful shield in place. "Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Stupefy!"

Ron didn't know if Daphne had planned this, or not, but seeing the chain of Spells unfold was quite marvelous. Stunners, just like Finite Incantatem, came out of wands as red bolts of light. Hermione blocked each of the stunners with relative ease, but she mistook the General Counter-Spell as a stunner, which resulted in her shield being blown apart before her very eyes. Hermione shrieked loudly as she ducked, and Daphne's final stunner barely missed her head. _Damn it, that was so close!_

"Get her!" Ron yelled out.

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Ventus!" Daphne began taking steps forward after each Spell, just like Ron had taught her.

Hermione was clearly rattled by what had just happened, because instead of blocking with her shield, she began leaping from side to side. The Disarming Charm and the stunner missed her, but Hermione was pelted by a strong gust of wind and sand.

"Protego!" Hermione put up another shield, she was covered from head to toe in sand.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Stupefy!" Daphne closed the distance even more, and Hermione let out another shriek as her shield exploded. _Hermione has no experience in a Duel, just as I figured. This is good! Daphne can win if she plays this right!_

The Slytherins roared with cheers and applause just as Hermione rolled out of the way of a stunner, Daphne had regained her ground in the Duel. Stunners, followed by gusts of sand, were used by Daphne in order to force Hermione to keep jumping around, and even the first years could tell that Hermione was getting tired. _Her early aggression is catching up with her. Daphne's in better shape than Hermione, despite being a little bigger._

"Ventus!" Daphne once again blew sand all over Hermione, and the Gryffindor raised another shield in order to avoid being pelted by sand. "Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Stupefy! Accio Hermione Granger's robes!"

Hermione shrieked once again as her robes tried to rip away from her, and the Slytherins burst into loud laughter. _Keep it up! Play dirty if you have to, but don't lose!_ Hermione's robes stopped tugging for freedom just as Daphne continued her assault, and Hermione continued to dodge with far too much gusto. _She's panicking._

"Hermione! Stay calm! Dodge with small steps!" Harry called out, and Hermione seemed to have heard him, because her next dodge was a lot more subtle.

"Hit back, Hermione!" came Finnegan's voice. "Use stunners to-"

"Silence!" Remus scolded the advice givers.

Sadly, Remus' warning had come too late, because Hermione had listened to Finnegan and fired a random stunner at Daphne. The Slytherin girl managed to dodge it, but it gave Hermione the chance she needed to start throwing Spells Non-Verbally. Ron nearly pulled at his own hair when he saw how quickly Hermione began to overpower Daphne, the Gryffindor girl looked extremely pissed off. _They're quite close to each other, and if Daphne rushes her, I bet Hermione would be caught off-guard._

"Punch her!" Ron got riled up. "Punch her in the fucking head, Daphne!"

"Finite Incantatem," Daphne muttered under her breath as she dodged a stunner, and then she fired the General Counter-Curse at Hermione.

Once again, Hermione saw a bright red light, and so she immediately put up a shield in order defend herself. Daphne charged the slightly smaller girl, and just as the shield broke apart, Daphne threw herself on Hermione with a ferocious look. Everyone who was watching went dead-silent as Daphne's left fist collided with Hermione's lower jaw, and both girls tumbled to the ground rather unceremoniously. _She bloody punched Hermione!_ Ron bit back genuine laughter, he had no idea why the sight of Daphne throwing her Ladyship to the wind amused him so much, but he knew that laughing right now wasn't a smart move.

Daphne quickly shot up to her feet, and oddly enough, there was a bewildered look on her face. As for Hermione, the Gryffindor sat up with an equally surprised look. Hermione didn't look hurt, but rather, she looked truly confused by what Daphne had just done. Remus looked between the two girls, and when he noticed that Hermione had dropped her wand in the scuffle, he raised his hand into the air.

"That's match!" Remus announced, but people were rather slow to applaud for Daphne.

Ron, however, was clapping and cheering almost immediately. _She actually fucking won, and all it took was a 'disgraceful' punch._ Hermione looked absolutely gobsmacked by what was happening around her, while Daphne slowly curled into a ball in order to cover her aching hand. _Is she hurt?_ Ron stopped applauding just as Remus quickly crouched down by the two girls. Whatever he said to them made them even more confused, and that's when Madam Pomfrey came to the rescue. The whole school watched in silence as Daphne's hand was healed by the Matron of the Hospital Wing, while Remus helped Hermione up to her feet.

"Daphne Greengrass wins!" Remus announced, and Hermione looked like she had been slapped. _Wait… Technically speaking, she did get punched just then._

The Slytherins began cheering loudly at that, but the Gryffindors called 'foul' on Daphne for resorting to physical violence. Daphne clearly heard the Gryffindors, but she was smart enough to ignore all of them.

"I can't believe she just punched Granger," Tracey muttered, and then she snorted.

"Don't laugh," Pansy quickly shushed Tracey. "Daphne doesn't look too proud of herself for resorting to such unladylike methods."

"Would it be more ladylike to get floored?" Ron asked the girls, a pleased smile on his face.

"Well, not really-"

"No, it wouldn't be," Millie said firmly.

"If it works, don't fix it," Malfoy stated coldly. _Exactly._

"Millicent Bulstrode and Neville Longbottom, please come up!" Remus called, and Ron spotted Daphne making her way over to them.

Millie patted Daphne's back along the way, but Daphne seemed to be in a trance of some sort. _I think she's shocked at herself for losing control like that._

"Welcome back, Muhammad Ali," Tracey grinned at Daphne, who broke out of her stupor.

"Who?" Daphne asked, while the others looked to Tracey with confused looks.

"Never mind," Tracey chuckled, and then she pulled Daphne down to her chair. "I can't believe you just did that! It was great!"

"Great?" Daphne mumbled, and then she looked up to the Slytherin stands.

All of them followed her gaze, and they all saw Daphne's mother frowning at her daughter for throwing punches. Lord Greengrass, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased judging by his smirk. _He's like me. He's sees victory as a victory, no matter how it's achieved. Daphne broke no rules by throwing that punch, which makes it a fair win._

"Merlin… Mother looks disgusted," Daphne looked back to the arena, and only Pansy seemed to understand Daphne's predicament.

"Sometimes, you just have to smack a bitch," Theo sniggered, making Tracey giggle hysterically. "Have you been reading Millie's boxing-?"

"Theo, stop teasing her," Ron whispered, and Theo raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Don't worry, you're father seems pleased with your victory," Blaise said to Daphne, but she still had a distant look about her. _Wow… I guess she really didn't want to stoop so 'low'._

Ron shot a quick look towards Hermione, and he spotted her just sitting in her chair with a dull look on her face. _Someone pat her down… She's got sand all over her._ Truth be told, Ron wasn't really surprised by Hermione's reaction, he knew that she didn't handle loss very well. _I mean, she hated my guts without even knowing who I was. Not to mention her various tantrums over the last two years. In a way, I respect her need to be the best, but she needs to understand that losing is a part of winning. Hell, I've lost to_ _ **dummies**_ _before._

"Are you both ready?!" Remus looked between Millie and Neville, and when they both nodded, Remus started the match.

Millie was quicker than Neville, so it was hardly surprising when she immediately put Neville on the defensive. What was surprising, however, was the fact that Neville began dodging her Spells with quick side hops.

"Nice, Nev!" Harry cheered, and the Gryffindors began cheering as well. _Ah, Harry… He must have spoken to Neville after Hermione's defeat._ "Keep that up!"

Millie suddenly stopped her assault, her eyes fixed on Neville, who quickly stopped hopping around. _Um… What's this?_ They both stared at each other for a few moments, and then Millie took on a genuine Dueling stance. _Woah… She looks like one of those boxers from her books._ Millie was constantly moving her feet up and down, and from side-to-side, something that seemed to alarm Neville. _She looks damn ready to start dodging some Spells. I bet she came up with this stance in secret._

"Stupefy!" Neville suddenly fired a stunner, and Millie did a quick 'bob-and-weave' maneuver to side-step the red Spell.

"That's quite neat," Blaise commentated, and Ron nodded his agreement.

"Go, Millie!" Pansy screamed loudly, her hands clapping in excitement.

"Stupefy! Colloshoo!" Neville fired two Spells back to back, and Millie, in a rather graceful manner, bob-and-weaved past the Spells. _It looks really fluid,_ _ **and**_ _she's closing the distance between them. I can't let her do that to me if we Duel each other._

As soon as she dodged the Colloshoo Hex, Millie released a barrage of Non-Verbal stunners, which Ron had actually helped her learn. Neville quickly began hopping around again, he seemed to be one hop ahead at all times. _He either dodges, or he attacks. Tsk… That's not good. He's letting her run the Duel without even realizing it._ Millie fired two stunners at Neville, and although they looked quite weaker than her usual Verbal stunners, Neville still kept dodging them.

"Glacius," Millie suddenly aimed her wand at where Neville was about to land, and thin ice began to form over the sand.

Neville's feet slipped as soon as he landed, he had been too focused on dodging her Spells to outthink her. The Gryffindor landed on his side rather harshly, and Millie wasted no time in throwing a Non-Verbal stunner at him.

"Prote-" Neville started, but the stunner hit him right in the sternum.

Due to its weakened state, it didn't stun Neville, but it did send him rolling through the sand.

"Stupefy!" Millie fired another stunner, and this one hit Neville on his back.

"Match!" Remus called as Neville rolled through the sand again.

"Ouch," Theo pulled a face. "He was already down… She didn't need to peg him again."

"Aw, Theo's upset over his Herbology pal," Tracey laughed, making the others snigger at Theo. _She got him, hehe!_

"Haha," Theo drawled, clearly not amused.

"Millicent Bulstrode wins!" Remus announced, and the Slytherins burst into applause.

"That's my daughter!" came a booming voice from the Slytherin stands, and Millie shot a panicked look towards her father.

The pot-bellied man was giving his daughter a standing ovation, while the people around him looked rather embarrassed by his crass behavior. Even Lady Bulstrode was trying to pull her husband back down to his seat, but the man was intent on cheering for Millie. _It might be embarrassing, but he's allowed to show his pride._ Ron looked over to Millie again, and he noticed her quickly making her way back to her friends. _She's flushed._

"He's so embarrassing," Millie whispered to Pansy as she quickly sat down and hid her face.

"He's just being supportive," Pansy laughed.

"In the worst way possible," Millie mumbled. "Even mother is trying to stop him…"

"Theodore Nott and Padma Patil, please come up!" Remus called.

"Time to make this a completely Slytherin based Tournament," Theo stood up with a smirk.

"Just be careful," Ron said, but Theo had already sauntered off.

"He's going to get his face Hexed off if he underestimates her," Malfoy said to Ron, who nodded his agreement. "I went up against her in the Ranking matches, and she's got a decent arsenal of Spells." _She did beat Malfoy, so it's not surprising that he would say that._

"Theo's faster, and he's got experience," Blaise countered. "If he does lose, it'll be because of his arrogance."

"You dated her, what can-?"

"Let's not bring that up," Blaise gave Ron a bored look. "We didn't discuss her arsenal of Spells when we were dating."

"Maybe if you had, you'd have lasted longer," Malfoy quipped, making Ron snort.

"You're rather chatty all of a sudden," Blaise shot Malfoy a frown.

"Blaise, don't be mean just because he got you," Ron sniggered, and Malfoy's lips twitched upwards.

"Want me to move for your new boyfriend?" Blaise asked Ron.

"New? Are you suggesting that you're my old one?" Ron asked, and Malfoy 'cleared' his throat.

"I'm just going to ignore you both," Blaise looked back to the arena, while Ron and Malfoy were left rather amused.

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked Theo and Padma, and Theo smirked instead of nodding. "Right… Begin!"

"Stupe-" Theo started, but Padma fired a Non-Verbal stunner straight for his face. "Ah!"

Theo all but dived out of the way, his surprise written on his face. The Ravenclaws began cheering, while Ron felt the urge to smack his own forehead. _Bloody Theodore Nott… He better win this._ Theo quickly began dodging her assault, his wand aimed at his own chest. _Is he…?_ Theo suddenly vanished from sight, and Padma halted her assault in order to raise a shield.

Silence crept over the arena, and Ron could see Padma looking around with her eyes peeled. _She doesn't know the Human-Presence-Revealing Spell? Actually, I only know it because of Sturgis Podmore._ After a few seconds of hiding behind her shield, Padma suddenly waved her wand from side-to-side, releasing small jets of fire with Incendio. Oddly enough, no shields went up from Theo's end. _Where the fuck did he go?_ Padma shot a look towards Remus, but the Defense Professor gave nothing away.

"Glaci-" Padma started, but a stunner shot out of the ground and hit her in the chest. _What the fuck?!_

Padma was sent reeling through the air, and the moment she landed, Theo became visible. _This prick… Wow. That was good._

"Match!" Remus called, and the Slytherins burst into cheers.

"He went full commando," Tracey said as she watched Theo laying on his stomach.

"What's a commando?" Pansy asked, and Tracey let out a sigh.

"Muggle stuff…" Tracey shook her head, while Theo sprang up to his feet.

"Is that legal?" Blaise asked Ron, who had no idea.

"No clue, but it was clever," Ron replied.

"Theodore Nott wins!" Remus announced, and Ron and Blaise gave each other nods. _Guess it is legal to lie down mid-Duel._

The Slytherins kept cheering, mostly because another hundred House Points had been secured. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were not too pleased by this, but they applauded out of courtesy. Theo sauntered up to Padma, who had just been awakened by Madam Pomfrey, and he put his hand forward for a shake. _Classic Theo. He wants to promote himself even after using a dirty trick to win._ Padma shook Theo's hand out of politeness, and the weedy boy smiled rather genuinely. A bunch of the Slytherins began laughing, while Padma quickly left for her seat. Theo, on the other hand, strolled back to his seat with a pleased look.

"I'm a God," Theo told his friends as he took his seat, and they all rolled their eyes.

"Nice squeal at the start, Mr. God," Ron chuckled, but Theo didn't lose his smugness.

"All part of the plan, mate," Theo shrugged casually. "I wanted her to drop her guard."

"Which, incidentally, is the only way that you'll get lucky with girls," Tracey sniggered, making the others laugh. _Ha, Tracey with the solid banter!_

"Did she just call me a rapist?" Theo asked Ron, who just laughed and nodded. "Jealous pricks, the lot of you."

"Third years, we will be taking a short recess before the semi-finals!" came Professor Flitwick's voice. "You have five minutes to stretch your limbs, or take care of any necessities!"

"Ron, can we talk?" Daphne immediately asked Ron, who gave her a slow nod. _She still looks bothered… Why? She won, didn't she?_ "Let's go talk over there."

"Sure," Ron stood up, making sure to ignore his friends' awkward looks.

They made their way over to where Ron and Madam Roberts had spoken before, and once they were away from everyone's earshot, Ron turned to face his distressed girlfriend.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, doing his best to sound gentle. "You don't look very happy with your win."

"Because I'm not," Daphne shot a quick look to the Gryffindors. "She left…" _What?_

Ron looked over to Hermione's seat, and he found it empty. _Not just her, but Harry, Neville, and Ginny have left as well._

"She probably went to take a shower," Ron said. "I mean, she was covered in sand."

"Do you really believe that?" Daphne asked him. _No… I don't._

"Daph, tell me what's wrong," Ron took a step forward.

"I punched a person in the face, Ron," Daphne reminded him. "Everyone saw me lash out like a brute…"

"Physical contact is allowed, Daphne," Ron said calmly. "You didn't break any rules, nor did you cheat Hermione out of her win. You both traded a lot of good Spells, and trust me, everyone was on the edge of their seats. It was a **great** Duel, and you won in the end."

"My mother has been staring at me," Daphne whispered. "I punched a person… And I did it right in front of the entire school."

"In the arena, there are no Ladies," Ron sighed out. "Daph, don't ruin this for yourself because you acted a little out of character. These things happen."

"I heard you," Daphne said softly, and Ron blinked. "I heard you telling me to punch her, and I just went for it. I don't even like Granger, but I feel really guilty." Daphne then drew in a deep breath. "I hit her so hard…" _Really?_

"She looked more confused than hurt," Ron said truthfully. "Look, if you want, you can apologize to her later, but right now, what's done is done."

"Apologize?" Daphne repeated.

"Or not," Ron quickly amended his mistake. _Wait… Maybe I can solve an ongoing issue here._ "You know… Hermione apologized for hurting you with her explosive stunt back in second year…"

"Yes, but she waited almost a year," Daphne countered.

"Then apologize next year," Ron smiled a little. _Please, cheer up. I hate this weird cloud of melancholy around us ever since our chat about my impending death._

"I just thought that if I won, I'd win using Magic," Daphne rubbed her left arm. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course," Ron gave a nod.

"She was going to beat me, I know it," Daphne admitted. "You know it too, right?" _Lie!_

"Yes…" Ron told the truth, and Daphne nodded to herself. "Hey… Magic is all well and good, but if physical contact is allowed, then you'd be a fool to not take advantage of that. And Daphne Greengrass is no fool, is she?"

"No," Daphne's voice sounded a little lighter.

"You won," Ron put his hands on her shoulders. "You played by the rules, and using your cunning, you defeated an opponent who was more skilled than you. I am proud of you, and I know for certain that so is your father. Did you see him up there?" Daphne nodded. "He was smirking like he does at my Chess Tournaments."

"Maybe I'm thinking too much about this," Daphne said to herself, and Ron rubbed the sides of her arms. "Thanks, Ron. I feel a little better about how it all ended."

"Good," Ron smiled more fully. "Now you just have to beat me."

"Wait…" Daphne suddenly realized that she was Dueling her boyfriend next. _Oh, yes… I should tease her a bit, just to make her smile._ "Ron-"

"I'm going to body-slam you into the dirt," Ron grinned, and Daphne's mouth hung open. _C'mon, retort to that._

"Yeah? Well, I'll elbow you in the manly bits," Daphne narrowed her eyes. "Again."

"Why do you always come back to my genitals?" Ron asked her, and she huffed in indignation.

"You better not embarrass me," Daphne said, her tone losing its 'bite'. "And don't hurt me like you hurt Blaise."

"I didn't hurt him," Ron denied. "Sure, I knocked him around a bit, but he's fine. He and I have been talking constantly while you brooded."

"I don't brood," Daphne clicked her tongue. "That's your territory."

Ron went to make a snarky comment, but the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind him made him stop. Daphne and Ron turned their attention to Madam Roberts, who was waiting for their conversation to end. _Was she listening to us?_

"Might I speak with my student?" Madam Roberts asked Daphne, but it didn't sound like a request.

"Certainly, Madam Roberts," Daphne gave a polite nod, and then she left for her seat. _Is Daphne scared of Madam Roberts? Well, so am I, actually._

"Were you listening to us?" Ron asked his tutor.

"I'd rather eat broken glass than to listen to your angst-ridden relationship," Madam Roberts said coldly.

"Who hurt you?" Ron asked her, but she ignored his comment.

"What did your Professor want?" Madam Roberts asked.

"He was not pleased with my use of the Dark Arts," Ron replied. "I think if I try that Spell again, he'll disqualify me."

"The fuck he will," Madam Roberts scoffed, her American accent coming through. "You are not breaking any rules, Ronald, so don't let him walk all over you. I spoke with your Headmaster, and he seems quite pleased with your Magical capabilities." _Of course he is, he wants the French to stay away from me._

"Either way, I don't plan to use Brachium Colubrum again," Ron admitted. "I have a couple of Spells that I want to try out." _I can't wait to pull out Lumos Solem! No one is going to be ready for the sheer awesomeness of that Spell._

"Just don't lose," Madam Roberts ordered. "Better wizard than you have died trying to show off."

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Ron asked. "No… You probably didn't get a chance to suck someone's soul out for breakfast."

"Are you calling me a Dementor?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, you **are** leeching my happiness," Ron remarked, a grin appearing on his face.

"If only your skills were as sharp as your tongue," Madam Roberts shot back, and then she left for the stands. _Damn it, she got the last word._

Ron began making his way back to his seat, but just as he neared the Slytherin student body, Remus restarted the Dueling Tournament.

"Ronald Weasley and Daphne Greengrass, please come up!" Remus called, and the students began making excited noises. _Yeah, yeah… A couple are being forced to Duel each other._

Ron waited for Daphne to catch up to him, and then they both made their way into the arena.

"Don't be mean," Daphne whispered before parting ways with Ron, who just smiled to himself. _It still feels a little awkward, but we're both trying to look past our argument for now. I guess that's the best I can hope for until we have another proper chat._

"Are you both ready?" Remus asked them, and they both nodded. _I'll disarm her instead of stunning her._ "Begin!"

"Stup-" Daphne started, but Ron immediately fired a Non-Verbal stunner at her.

Daphne dodged it quickly, but Ron decided to not let up for now. _Remember the Chain, Ron. Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Flipendo! Rinse and repeat, but then suddenly change the order of Spells._ Just like her previous Duel, Daphne found herself dodging a barrage of Spells. After nearly twenty seconds of going through this, Daphne began to scowl in annoyance. _Time to slow down._ Ron subtly slowed down in order to give Daphne a small window to fight back, and she being a Slytherin, quickly seized the opportunity.

"Ventus!" Daphne chanted, sending a gust of sand at Ron. _Same old trick?_

"Protego," Ron chanted calmly, and as his shield blocked the sand, Ron drew in a calming breath.

"Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Stupefy!" Daphne chanted, and Ron dropped his shield without a second thought. _I should teach her to not yell out her Spells. As it happens, yelling doesn't actually make one's Spells stronger._

Ron dodged with practiced ease, while Daphne prepared to launch another barrage of Spells. Ron interrupted her with a Non-Verbal Disarming Charm, which she quickly dodged.

"Baubillious," Ron aimed his wand at her, and bright, yellow-white electricity fired out of the tip of his wand. _Fuck, that's so weak compared to the Wandless Variation._

"Protego!" Daphne quickly summoned a shield, and the electricity cracked off of her shield.

"Go, Daphne!" Tori screamed from the Slytherin seats, while Tracey let out another loud whistle.

"Teach him some humility!" came Clara's laughter, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes. _Betrayed by my own Mentor._

"Colloshoo!" Daphne chanted quickly, and Ron summoned a Non-Verbal shield to protect himself.

Daphne quickly tried to use his trick against him, but Ron shoved his shield forward at her.

"Finite Incantatem!" Daphne managed to shatter the incoming shield in time. _Too much distance between us. Time to disarm her._

"Cutis Terra," Ron whispered under his breath, and his entire body felt like stone.

"Expelliarmus!" Daphne and Ron both chanted, but Ron's Disarming Charm tore Daphne's to pieces.

Surprisingly, she managed to dodge in time, a slightly scared look on her face. _She's being extra cautious against me. Good, she might not enjoy Dueling, but she is smart enough to remember her lessons._ Ron began walking forward as he restarted his Chaining, and Daphne had less and less time to dodge his Spells. Eventually, she caved in and fired a Disarming Charm mid-dodge, but Ron backhanded it out of existence with his free hand. And just like that, Daphne's wand was ripped out of her hand by Ron's well-aimed Disarming Charm.

"Match!" Remus announced, and Ron quickly undid Cutis Terra.

A jolt of pain shot throughout his body, and Ron clenched his jaw because of it. _Shite, already? Maybe it's because I've barely slept, and I did practice a lot last night. Damn it, just power through the pain._

"Ronald Weasley wins!" Remus called out, and the spectators all began to applaud Ron and Daphne. "Millicent Bulstrode and Theodore Nott, you're up next!"

Daphne walked up to Ron with an expressionless look, but judging by her calm walk, he knew that she wasn't upset with her loss. _I did well by just disarming her. Plus, she did quite well if I do say so myself._

"Can I have my wand back?" Daphne put her right hand forward.

"Nah, it's mine now," Ron teased, though his voice came out a little strained. _Don't be a bitch, Ron… Fucking bear with it._

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked with a slightly worried look.

"Yeah," Ron shrugged. "I'm keeping your wand."

"What? No," Daphne reached for it, but Ron hid it behind his back. "Ron… Give it back."

"No," Ron began making his way towards the Slytherin seats, and Daphne fought to keep her smile from showing. "I'll put this in my trophy case, I reckon." _After all, I did gain one last night, and only I can open it._

"What trophy case? You give your trophies to Hogwarts," Daphne reminded him, and then she reached for her wand again.

"If you can reach for it, then you can have it," Ron said with a playful smile, and then he hovered her wand above her head.

"I'm not jumping in public," Daphne huffed out.

"Shame, there's nothing better than seeing you jump," Ron sniggered, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow.

And then, the true meaning of his words hit her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Pervert," Daphne clicked her tongue, it felt good to talk to him again.

"Good luck on your match," Ron said as they passed by Theo and Millie.

"This is going to be great," Millie smiled at Ron and Daphne, while Theo seemed a little less smug.

"I think Theo's scared," Daphne giggled.

"I don't blame him," Ron smiled at hearing her laughter. "I'm scared of Millie as well."

"Really?" Daphne smirked. _No, but I'd be stupid if I underestimated her. She's come a long way from the shy girl who barely spoke around us._

"Totally," Ron replied. "You still want your wand?"

"Are you going to ask me to jump?" Daphne asked in response.

"Could you blame me?" Ron grinned.

"Honestly, are all boys like you?" Daphne asked him.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ron replied. _Even Malfoy can appreciate Daphne's assets, and he's a ponce._

"What would you do if some other boy spoke to me like this?" Daphne asked him.

"I'd become a professional ventriloquist," Ron replied, and Daphne waited for him to explain. "I'd shove my hand up their-"

"Colorful as always, Ron," Daphne interrupted, though she sounded quite lively.

As they neared their seats, Daphne looked to Tracey with a meaningful look.

"Can you move over a spot, please?" Daphne asked her best friend. "I'd like to sit with Ron." _Really?_

"No worries," Tracey vacated her seat a bit too quickly.

"Thanks, Trace," Ron said as he sat down, and then he handed Daphne her wand back.

She took it, and once she had pocketed it, she took his gloved hand into hers. _This feels good for now. I know that eventually, we'll have the 'death talk' again, but right now, I'm just glad that she's behaving a little more like herself again._

"Are you two ready?!" Remus asked, and Ron immediately looked to the arena. "Begin!"

Millie started off strong with a three Non-Verbal Stunners, and while Theo dodged them, Millie took on her stance. Theo, being who he was, just smirked arrogantly at her. _He wants to goad her, I think. Honestly, I can't be sure because he's too unpredictable._ Millie seemed to share Ron's thoughts, because she simply stepped from side-to-side. Theo's smirk turned into a smile, and Millie furrowed her brow.

"He's messing with her?" Daphne asked Ron.

"I don't know," Ron replied. "He's faster, and has more stamina, so Millie needs to finish this quickly."

"Colloshoo!" Theo chanted, his wand aimed at Millie's moving feet.

Millie did a fast dodge to the right before flicking her wand upwards, and Theo ducked past her stunner. They both traded a couple of stunners and Disarming Charms, but it was obvious that neither of them were committing just yet. Millie was being cautious, as she always in Duels, while Theo was clever enough to understand that she could take a hit better than he could. Millie suddenly began throwing a barrage of weak, Non-Verbal stunners at Theo, all the while closing the distance as best she could. _Damn, that looks so fluid. I should copy her, I reckon._

"Protego Maxima!" Theo suddenly aimed his wand at the ground, and then he yanked it up.

A light blue, ghostly wall became erect out of nowhere, and even Ron was a little taken a back. Millie's stunners shattered against the wall upon contact, and Theo quickly began to back off in order to regain some distance from her. Even Remus looked impressed with Theo's use of such a powerful Shield Charm, while Ron figured that Theo had learned his lesson from Dueling Hermione. Millie, who was clearly surprised by this shield wall, quickly refocused on the task at hand. _Use Finite!_

"Finite Incantatem!" Millie fired a red bolt of Anti-Magic at the wall, but as it turned out, Theo had been hoping for that.

The moment he saw Millie target his shield wall, he began throwing Hexes and Curses of all sorts at her. By the time the wall of Magic was dispersed, Theo's barrage was already heading for Millie. The slightly muscled girl was forced to dive out of the way, her stance broken by Theo's strategy. Theo suddenly adorned a ferocious look as he became almost feral in his desire to take her out. Ron, and his friends, were genuinely surprised to see his ferocity, and they all slowly exchanged looks. _Can't say that I've seen him look so pissed before… Bloody hell. We underestimated him, and clearly, so did Millie._ As for Millie, she was barely able to keep up with his practiced speed.

"Protego!" Millie chanted as she took a wary step back, but Theo was just hammering her with Spell after Spell.

"Mimble Wimble! Diffindo! Stupefy! Finite Incantatem! Gemino!" Theo kept closing the gap, and by using Ron's trick, he kept Millie on the defensive.

Just as her shield was shattered by the General Counter-Spell, Theo greatly multiplied the sand behind her feet with the Doubling Charm. _Fuck me, he's clearly made strategies prior to this._ Millie, who was trying to regain some distance, stepped on the uneven ground without watching her footing, and she tumbled onto her arse.

"Protego!"

"Titillando! Diffindo! Finite Incantatem!" Theo all but ran at her, and just as her shield shattered, Theo booted her on the side of her face.

Ron shot out of his seat out of sheer shock, while the girls gasped loudly.

"STUPEFY!" Theo smashed a stunner into Millie's chest, completely flattening her against the sand.

"Match!" Remus rushed Theo, and then he pushed the weedy boy out of his way with a genuinely angry look. _He fucking kicked her in the head!_ "Poppy! Come up here!"

No one cheered, not even the adults. All people could do was stare at Theo, who just stood quietly with his eyes fixed on an unconscious Millie.

"He kicked her…" Pansy muttered, and then her stare turned into a glare. "He kicked her, Ron!"

"I know," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Theo. _Where the fuck did that come from?_

"He broke no rules," came Blaise's aloof voice, and they all looked to him.

"How can you even say that?" Daphne demanded, while Tracey looked ready to smack Blaise.

"I can say it quite easily because it's true," Blaise shrugged. "Guess we all underestimated his desire to win, huh?"

Ron's eyes fell on Malfoy for a moment, and he noticed that Malfoy had distanced himself from everyone. _He hit her in the head with a stunner before, so he probably doesn't want that brought up right now._

"We'll be taking a short recess before the third year Finals!" came Professor Flitwick's voice, and Ron looked back to the arena.

Theo was currently walking back with Millie, her arm around his shoulders. Millie was rubbing the welt the side of her temple, a slight scowl marring her features. _Knowing her, she probably didn't take Theo's assault to heart._ Theo seemed to be whispering something to Millie, but no one could make out what he was saying. The moment they approached their seats, Pansy shoved Theo away from Millie.

"You're a proper prick, Theo," Pansy hissed, while Theo just raised his hands in surrender.

"It's fine…" Millie sighed out, her fingers still rubbing her welt.

"Let me heal that," Daphne took out her wand, and Ron wondered why Pomfrey hadn't done that yet.

"No, I asked Madam Pomfrey to leave it…" Millie slowly sat down. "It'll serve as a reminder to never underestimate weedy psychopaths."

"Sorry, again, Millie," Theo apologized, but she just waved a dismissive hand.

The other girls were far less forgiving, and even Tracey was glaring murder at Theo.

"How could you do that your own friend?" Tracey hissed.

"Up there, she's not my friend," Theo replied calmly, which only pissed off the girls even more. _He's right… But still…_ "Look, I wanted to win, and so did she. Millie, would you have smacked me if you got the chance?"

"Yeah," Millie relaxed in her seat. "It's alright, Theo… I lost fair and square, and I can live with that."

Theo shot her a weak smile, and then he looked to Tracey.

"I don't care if she's fine with it," Tracey scowled. "You can't kick girls."

"Daphne defeated Granger because she did the unexpected," Theo stated, and Ron shot a look towards Daphne, who was still frowning at Theo. "Granger was the better Duelist, but Daphne still won because she was willing to do whatever it took to win. You can be angry at me all you like, but I want to win. Millie understands that, and so does Ron." _Oi, don't throw me under the bus._

The angry girls looked towards Ron, and he just shrugged. _I do understand, and if Millie does as well, then I see nothing wrong here._

"Ron!" Pansy looked aghast.

"Millie, are you alright?" Ron looked to her.

"I'm fine," Millie rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I see this as a lesson learned." _That's the witch that I love._

"Good," Ron said. _Death-Eaters will do more than just kick you. They need to understand that people are capable of terrible things when something dear is on the line._

"I can't believe this," Tracey shook her head.

"Tracey, don't turn this into a fight when even I don't care," Millie said a little too firmly. "Theo's right… Up there, we were both competitors. Not friends. Had I gotten a chance to hit him, I would have done so without hesitation."

Theo gave Millie a nod, and then he took his seat by Blaise's side. The angered girls looked to Ron once again, and he simply sat down as well.

"Ron, you have to tell him off," Daphne sat down by his side. "He kicked her in the head."

"Just stop it," Millie frowned from her seat, and Daphne huffed angrily. "Ron, don't listen to them… I don't want you all fighting because I underestimated Theo." Millie then gave Ron a meaningful look. "Don't make the same mistake I did, yeah?"

"Trust me, the match won't last five seconds," Ron said, and all four girls raised their eyebrows. _My left arm is starting to ache because of me abusing Cutis Terra… I'll finish the match immediately, and then use Baubillious to show the French their place. After that… I might leave in order to recover away from prying eyes._

"Ronald Weasley and Theodore Nott, please come up for the third year Finals!" Remus beckoned them to him, and both boys began making their way towards the arena.

"Are you angry with me?" Theo whispered to Ron on the way.

"I'm just surprised," Ron replied. "Was it necessary to kick her?"

"Maybe, maybe not… I did what felt right in the heat of the moment," Theo said, and Ron gave him a subtle nod.

"She's clearly fine with it, so I won't say anything," Ron said. "Just keep your distance from the other girls for now, Theo… They aren't very happy about this."

"I figured as much," Theo said. "Good luck, mate."

"You too," Ron said as they parted ways.

"No physical contact," Remus told both boys, and they both blinked at their Professor. "I've had a chat with the Headmaster, and we are putting an end to physical contact in these Tournaments." _Nice going, Theo._ "Now… Are you both ready?"

"Yes," they both said at the same time.

"Begin!" Remus announced, and Ron's first years began cheering at the top of their lungs.

"Stupefy!" Theo chanted, and Ron didn't even bother moving out of the way.

"Cutis Terra," Ron said under his breath, and just as his muscles tightened, Theo's stunner shattered against his right shoulder. _Time to finally show Lumos Solem in action. C'mon, Ron! Get hyped!_

Ron started with a couple of Non-Verbal stunners, which were much stronger than Millie's due to Ron's harsh training regime. Theo began dodging them just as Ron wanted, and while Theo was in the middle of a dodge, Ron decided to finish the Duel.

"Lumos Solem," Ron hissed, and he felt the heat of the Sun burn in his chest.

From there, the heat traveled up his neck, and into his face. For a moment, Ron feared that his own face was about to melt off, there was so much Magic coursing through him that it genuinely hurt. And then, with a deafening roar, Ron unleashed his fiery wrath in Theo's direction. Theo immediately panicked at seeing Ron's rage, but when golden light fired out of Ron's eyes and open mouth, Theo let out a panicked yell. The golden light was accompanied by an earsplitting hum, and as Ron shoved his face forward even more, everything was swept up by the fiery golden beam.

Loud yells of utter awe emanated from the spectators, and by the time Ron finished the Spell, Theo was already lying unconscious outside the arena bounds. Residual Magic coursed through Ron's veins, the heat of the Sun boiling his blood. _**No one will control Us! We'll burn them all to ash!**_

"Match…" Remus muttered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. _**Baubillious!**_

" **AGH!** " Ron aimed his left hand into the air, and just as his roar silenced the crowd, hot white lightning split the sky apart.

People screamed in terror as the sound of thunder shook their very souls, most of them covering their ears and ducking for cover. Ron was certain that even Hogsmeade had seen, and heard, the forked lightning shoot up into the clouds. The temperature of the air around Ron had become boiling hot, but the cool air of winter quickly turned the hot air into thick fog which travelled upwards. Electricity cracked all over his left arm and chest before shooting itself into the ground, turning the sand around his feet into fulgurite.

The silence which followed Ron's display of power was haunting, and he savored every second of it. Right now, he felt more powerful than ever, and judging by the faces of the few people who dared to look at him, he knew that the French would never dream of going after him now. _Where are the French?_ Ron looked towards Dumbledore's stand, and he found the Headmaster watching him with a calm smile on his face. _He's proud, isn't he? Look at the scared people around him, he doesn't even seem bothered compared to them._

The French were definitely scared, Ron could see that. Most of them were slowly coming back out of cover in order to see if it was safe, and those who Ron could see were just staring at him with hanging mouths. _It was all worth it… All the pain and stress that I've endured was worth it, because it brought me to this moment. I have earned these looks of shock, and awe._ Ron drew in a deep breath before looking over to where Theo was, and he saw Madam Pomfrey just staring at him as she hid Theo behind her. Without a single word, Ron began to approach his friend's unconscious form. It was so quiet that Ron's footsteps seemed to echo throughout the Pitch.

"Is he alright?" Ron asked, and Madam Pomfrey just kept staring. "Is he alright, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Minor burns… And probably a concussion…" Madam Pomfrey muttered, and then she slowly turned her attention to Theo. _He'll live, so it's fine._

Ron looked to Remus to announce his victory, but the Professor of Defense was just staring at the fulgurite which Ron's Spell had created. _He looks genuinely dazed. Wait… The thunder probably rattled his brain. He was quite close to me when I set off the lightning. Oh, well, I'll just be on my way, then._ Ron began making his way for the exit, and as he neared said exit, he realized that his left arm was just dangling at his side. _I can't feel my arm… Oh, fuck._ For a slight moment, Ron felt panic rush throughout him, but he quickly regained his composure. _Think, Ron. You can't go back to Madam Pomfrey, it'll make you look weak if the French see you being healed after that display of power._

Just as Ron made his way out of the Quidditch Pitch, he realized that Marty could help him. _I need to get back to Sanctuary._ He felt his upper left chest begin to ache, and the pain began travelling down his body rather quickly. _Oh, fuck. That is starting to hurt really badly._ Ron pulled out his wand, and he aimed it at his left shoulder.

"Torpor," Ron chanted, and a cold feeling of numbness took over.

Ron quickly numbed his left arm just in case, and then the left side of his ribcage as well. _Move, Ron. Move before you start falling apart._ Just as he finished that thought, he heard loud footsteps chasing him down. Ron turned around, only to see his friends running over to him. Daphne was ahead of the pack, and everyone but Theo and Tracey had shown up. _She's probably by his side right now, despite her anger with him._

"What the bloody fuck was that?!" Malfoy said rather loudly.

"You're yelling," Ron told the blonde wizard, who blinked at him.

"What?!" _Did I blow their eardrums? No, there's no blood._

"You're yelling!" Ron repeated, and Malfoy nodded slowly.

"Ron! What was that?!" Daphne and Pansy asked together.

"That face beam!" Millie was actually smiling. "That was so amazing! I've never seen something like that, Ron! When did you learn it?!" _At night, when I couldn't sleep because of night terrors._

Ron was about to reply, but unsurprisingly, he spotted his Family pop out of the exit. _Good lord, the whole band is walking over to me._ With his Family were Madam Roberts, and Dumbledore himself. Ron kept his eyes on Dumbledore, he needed the Headmaster to heal him far from French eyes. _I'll ask him to follow me after a couple of questions. I'll also send my friends back to the Tournament, and they will keep supporting Slytherin in my absence._

"Bloody hell, Ronnie!" Charlie said with an awed smile on his face. "You're a damn monster!" _Ronnie? Again?_

"I know why they put you in Rank-A now, little brother," Bill said almost breathlessly. _This is the first time that he has sounded like this when speaking of me. It feels… good._

"Thanks," Ron put on a smile, and then he immediately looked to Pandora. _She looks more curious than awed. That's just like her._ "Did you not enjoy the fireworks, Pandora?"

"I did," Pandora admitted, which mother wouldn't be proud after such a display? _Yes!_ "Ron… You learnt this all by yourself?" _I really did, Pandora._

"I assure you, Hogwarts does not teach Magic of that caliber to thirteen year olds," Dumbledore said, a calm smile on his face. "Quite a show, Ronald, it was most impressive. I was hoping to speak to you. Privately." _Really? He just made my job so much easier._

It was surprising to see people trade quick looks of surprise, but what was surprising was the fact that Madam Roberts was just staring at Ron's left arm. _She's noticed that it's not moving._

"Headmaster, we want to question him about what we just witnessed," Arthur started, but Ron had already turned to leave.

"Come, Headmaster," Ron said. "We'll talk in the castle." _Please heal me, the pain is starting to spread to my legs._ "Dad, I'll explain everything during the Holidays, I promise."

"Oh… Alright," Arthur looked towards his wife and three sons, all of whom were just staring at Ron's back. _I can't even use Torpor!_

Ron suddenly stopped, and then he looked back to his friends.

"Go support the House, please," Ron requested. "Tell them that they had better not fail me."

"We're on it," Blaise said, and then he quickly turned to leave.

If the adults were intrigued before, now they were utterly bewildered. They had, of course, noticed that people in Slytherin were very courteous to Ron, and his words just now had all but confirmed that Ron was indeed running things in Slytherin. How he had managed that, they had no clue, but they would definitely demand some answers when he was in a talkative mood.

Dumbledore walked side by side with Ron, neither of them saying a word. Slowly, the pain had set its roots in Ron's legs. He could even feel it traveling towards his right arm, and truth be told, he was beginning to come close to tears. The worst part about this was that he had to keep walking as if he was perfectly alright. _And we're going uphill. Fuck me dead…_

"Are they still there?" Ron broke his silence as they were climbing the hill. _Please tell me that they've left… My eyes are starting to sting._

"They are," Dumbledore replied without looking back. "Just a little further, my boy."

"You know?" Ron rasped.

"The last time you brought lightning, you cooked half of your body," Dumbledore reminded him. "Just a bit further, Ronald, don't let them see."

"My legs are shaking…" Ron managed, his nose was starting to run.

Dumbledore put his arm around Ron's shoulders, and although it looked like paternal affection to the rest of the World, Dumbledore was actually using most of his strength to keep Ron steady.

"You did well with the French, Ronald," Dumbledore told him in a gentle voice. "Just a bit further, and then I'll call an Elf. You can rest in my Office for as long as you need."

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Gryffindor Tower – Near Midday)**_

He wasn't too upset with his loss, but judging by his Gran's stern look, she definitely was.

Both Neville and Harry wanted to return to the Quidditch Pitch in order to show their support to their House-mates who were still competing, but neither of them dared leave the couches. Hermione and Ginny hadn't taken their losses well. _Especially Hermione. To lose to Daphne Greengrass of all people… That's got to sting all over._ Ginny had at least still managed to win a Duel, so the real reason for her foul mood was the fact that Ron had interfered. They all knew that it was Ron's strategy that had defeated Ginny, and although Ginny seemed to be handling it well at first, Hermione's defeat had heralded the end of Ginny's patience. Both girls had decided to leave together once they began whispering to each other. _And we followed them here._

"If they don't come back in the next ten minutes, we'll go back to the Quidditch Pitch," Harry broke the silence, and Neville shot a look towards the stairway that led to the dorms. "Deal?"

"Deal," Neville agreed. "So… How do we deal with this?"

"I have no idea," Harry admitted. _Figures. Harry's not exactly good at dealing with emotions._ "I reckon we just show our support however we can. What do you think?" _Should I say it?_

"Um… I reckon we ask them to come back with us," Neville said, and Harry looked a little taken aback. "Look… It looks really bad that they just left after they lost. The others are still competing, and we need to be there for them."

"Hermione is not going back there," Harry sighed out, though he agreed with Neville. "Daphne Greengrass, of all people, managed to defeat her. This is not going to end well…"

"We were both there, and we both saw that Greengrass held her ground," Neville said, and Harry gave a reluctant nod.

"She did…" Harry said under his breath. _Is he scared that Hermione will hear him?_ "Though that punch at the end… That was a little cheap."

"Yeah," Neville nodded to himself. "Still… She didn't break any rules…"

"No… No, she did not," Harry and Neville's eyes met. "We can't say this to Hermione, can we?"

"We can, but it won't end well for us," Neville replied, he knew that Hermione was too competitive for her own good. _And confrontational. If we side with the 'enemy', she'll take her anger out on us._ "Ugh… I don't want awkwardness to set in right before the Christmas Break."

"Me neither," Harry said. "Especially considering that all three of us will be staying at the Burrow." _I still can't believe that Gran shipped me off like that. At least she'll be there for Christmas dinner._

Neville went to say something, but the sound of footsteps stopped him. Both Harry and Neville looked to see Ginny enter the common room, a tired look on her face. _Yeesh, what happened to her? She was scowling when she left, and now she looks ready to sleep._ Ginny sank into a chair unceremoniously, and then she closed her eyes. Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and Harry jerked his head towards Ginny.

"Ginny…" Neville started.

"Hmmm?" Ginny looked to him.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked. "Where is Hermione?"

"Crying in her room," Ginny sighed out, and both Harry and Neville tensed. "I tried calming her down, but she started rambling about falling behind in everything. Merlin help me, I did try my best. I even put my own anger aside… But she's gone off of the deep end."

"Should we…?" Harry gauged the waters.

"No," Ginny replied bluntly. "Plus, she's in the girls' dorms. You can't even go up there."

"Right," Harry gave a weak nod. "Ginny… Neville and I were thinking of going back to support the other Gryffindors. Do you want to come with us?"

"If I see my backstabbing brother, I'll scream," Ginny frowned deeply. "He made me look like a fool out there…"

"He was just supporting his team," Neville said before thinking, and Harry looked away towards the fire. _I'm an idiot!_

"What?" Ginny blinked at him.

"Well… Hermione was giving you tips… Right?" Neville pointed out. _Stop digging your grave, Neville!_

"Yeah, **tips** ," Ginny huffed. "Not entire strategies!"

"It's not against the rules," Harry entered the conversation with a sigh.

"Still…" Ginny looked away from them. "My mum, dad, brothers, Luna… They were all there, and they watched me get stunned by Suzie Ninkovich of all people… Did you know that she was failing her classes? They all were… And now, they're handing in assignments well before the due date."

"Ron's doing?" Neville asked.

"Probably," Ginny replied. "Did you see the Slytherins out there? They moved out of his way, despite him being extremely late. They smiled, and patted his back like he was their damn messiah." _Harry mentioned that Ron's been getting chummy with his House-mates. Which, again, isn't a crime. At least I don't see it as one anymore._

"So you're not coming?" Harry asked, and she shook her head.

"I'll wait down here for a bit, and then go speak to Hermione again," Ginny said tiredly. "I can't believe she lost to Greengrass…"

Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and they silently decided to keep their opinions to themselves.

"Right," Harry stood up. "Neville, do you want to go-?"

The entire common room was suddenly filled with a blinding flash of white light, followed by the sound of thunder. It sounded so close, and as a result, loud, it made Ginny shriek and the boys jump with freight. Without hesitation, Harry ran over to one of the windows to look outside, and Neville quickly followed after him.

"What was that?" Neville asked.

"I don't know," Harry peered over the grounds. "Did lightning strike Hogwarts?" _Lightning?_

"Um…" Neville remembered the last time Hogwarts was 'struck by lightning'.

"It sounded so close," came Ginny's voice from behind them, and they both turned to face her. "Wait… Lightning can't actually strike Hogwarts, can it? I mean, there are Protective Charms around the castle."

"It's happened before," Harry looked between them, his brow furrowed. _I know that look._ "You don't think Ron fired it, do you?"

"He's not allowed to use that Spell," Ginny stated. "Whatever it is…"

"Ron tends to follow his own rules," Harry looked to Neville, who just look back outside.

"Ginny… Go check on Hermione, please," Neville said. "And then, we'll go find out what happened."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

The atmosphere of the Great Hall was unlike anything Neville had seen before.

Slytherin had dominated the Year-based Dueling Tournaments, and so they could be heard celebrating their victory by every other House. They were talking loudly, banging cups on tables, and shooting mocking looks at anyone who was unfortunate enough to look in their direction. Mathias McCumbers, Bartholomew Greene, and Samantha Selwyn were at the center of this Slytherin boast fest because they had secured Slytherin three hundred House Points today. The only Slytherin victor who wasn't here was Ron, and yet, in a way, he was everywhere.

The entire school was discussing Ron's latest stunt, and both Harry and Neville were sorely disappointed to have missed 'the show'. They had, of course, been filled in on the details by the excited girls, and even some boys. Ron had dominated the third year Dueling Tournament, which in itself wasn't surprising, but his actions right after his victory had all but turned him into an object of reverence. First years from each House boasted about Ron's power, and even the older students couldn't deny that they were quite impressed. _Even the Professors are discussing him, I think._

"And then, he shot lightning into the sky!" Lavender went on, and both Harry and Neville just listened to the excited third year girls. _They just keep repeating themselves._

"I nearly went deaf, I think," Fay said, though there was a manic look on her face.

"The Earth shook, didn't you feel it?" Parvati asked Dean, who simply nodded along.

"You reckon he'd teach us that?" Seamus asked, and even Neville cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Why would he teach you? You're nothing but nasty to him," Lavender pointed out, and Seamus frowned a little. _He still really likes her._ "Plus, I don't think we could pull something like that off. Only Ron could achieve that kind of power."

"Why?" Seamus all but challenged, but he was swiftly ignored by the girls. "I could definitely-"

"You're wasting your breath, mate," Dean put his hand on Seamus' back, and then he looked to Harry. "What do you think about all of this, Harry?"

"I think…" Harry started, but then he stopped. "I just wish I was there to see it." _Me too. I bet Gran thinks even more highly of Ron now._

"Too bad you were chasing after 'Miss. Sore Loser'," Seamus said coldly, and Harry immediately scowled at him.

"How about you shut-"

"Ahem, Harry," Neville stopped Harry, who just glared at Seamus. "It's not worth it."

"Hermione didn't do anything to him…" Harry glowered to himself. "He's always going after her…"

"Just ignore him," Neville said gently. _Hermione didn't come down for dinner… She's taken this loss really badly._ "I reckon we should take a couple of sandwiches up for her. If we ask Lavender nicely enough, she'll give them over to Hermione."

"Yeah…" Harry nodded. "Yeah, you're right. She likes the chicken sandwiches."

"Can I sit with you two?" came Ginny's voice from behind them.

"Ginny?" Neville looked back.

"I'm being bombarded by the first and second years…" Ginny sighed as she sat down to Harry's left. "Does Ron train at home? Is Ron your strongest sibling? Can you introduce me to him? Is Dumbledore teaching Ron Magic in secret? Ugh… I'm sick of it already. I asked them to let me eat, but they just ignored my request completely." _Yeesh… Sounds like a nightmare._

"Dumbledore's teaching Ron Magic?" Harry's head perked up.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Ginny blinked. "Apparently, after my brother pulled off his stunt, Dumbledore left for the castle with him."

"Mid-Tournaments?" Neville asked, even he was a little intrigued.

"Yeah, and he didn't come back for over an hour," Ginny began eating her food.

Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and Neville noticed that familiar spark behind Harry's emerald eyes. _No…_ Neville subtly shook his head, but Harry immediately looked towards the Headmaster. _Damn it!_ The Headmaster was currently having a chuckle with Professor Sprout, while the other Professors were in deep conversation.

"I don't think the Headmaster is teaching Ron Magic," Neville gave his opinion. "Ron seems like the sort to look for powerful Magic on his own."

"He does study a lot, even I can't deny that," Ginny shrugged.

"Where is he?" Harry asked her, his eyes landing on the Slytherins. "Is he skipping dinner again?"

Neville looked towards the Slytherin table, and he saw Ron's friends bantering with each other as they ate with smug smiles. _They're probably the center of attention in Slytherin right now. I mean, the first and second years are sitting around them, despite Ron not being around._

"Ron does what Ron wants," Ginny said, her focus fixed on her food.

"Are you guys talking about Ron?" Lavender intruded, her friends were also staring at them now.

"No," Ginny said coldly. "And we don't want to discuss him, either."

"What's crawled up your arse?" Fay frowned at Ginny.

"Leave her alone," Harry said. "She just wants to eat her food."

"Do all the Weasleys eat a lot?" Parvati asked. "I saw your brother devour seven plates once."

"You watch him eat?" Ginny grimaced a little.

"A healthy appetite is very manly, and it's attractive," Lavender giggled, making Ginny shudder. _Lavender needs to calm down… This is still a school._

"I might vomit," Ginny muttered under her breath.

"Where is Hermione?" Parvati asked Neville with a pretty smile. _She's talking to me?_

"Um… She's um… She's in your room. Her room. Both your rooms," Neville finished lamely. "The room that you all share, that is."

"Really? She wasn't there when we came down," Parvati told him, and both Harry and Neville looked taken aback. _What?_

"Really?" Harry asked the girls.

"Her bed was empty, and she wasn't in the bathroom," Fay said.

Harry and Neville exchanged looks, and then they both stood up.

"Excuse us," Neville said with a slightly grateful smile, while Harry was already on his way out.

"Bye, Neville," Parvati waved him off with another pretty smile, and he waved back shyly before chasing after Harry. _I don't like rating the girls in our class, but the other boys are right. The Patil twins are definitely the prettiest girls in our year, especially Parvati._

"Harry, slow down," Neville said as he matched Harry's speed, and Ginny joined them right after.

"She's probably in the Library, so we'll go there first," Harry said with a determined look.

"If she is there, then she'll be studying," Ginny told them. "Should we really interrupt her? She's not in the mood to socialize."

"We'll just make sure that she's alright," Neville said. "After that, if she wants us to leave, we'll be on our way."

"Girls like Hermione don't need you checking up on them," Ginny told the boys. _What's that supposed to mean?_ "She'll see it as you taking pity on her… Do you two really want to get told off?"

Harry looked to Neville at that, and Neville gave him a nod.

"We have to check," Neville said, and Harry looked back forward.

They made their way towards the Library with haste, Madam Pince tended to leave the Library open for the fifth and seventh years even during mealtimes. _Plus, she has a soft spot for Hermione, I think. After all, Hermione basically lives in the Library these days._ They made their way inside the Library together, and once inside, they went straight for the Records Section.

"She's not here," Harry said as they looked between the aisles. "Let's try the Herbology Section… We have that report on Vampiric Plants due soon, right?"

"We do," Neville said, he had already finished his, however.

Harry's instinct were proven right once again just as they entered the Herbology Section, Hermione was currently reaching for a book that was a little too high for her reach.

"Need some help?" Neville asked as they approached her, and Hermione looked to them with a slightly surprised look. _Her eyes her puffy, and she looks a little too pale._

Ginny used her wand to bring the book out of the shelf, and Hermione quickly caught it.

"Forgot that you're a witch?" Ginny asked with a soft smile.

"No…" Hermione denied, but Neville knew that Hermione tended to forget about her Magic during trivial tasks. "What are you three doing here?"

"Just checking up on you," Harry replied, and Ginny shot Harry a deadpan look.

"Checking up on me?" Hermione blinked, and then a frown appeared on her face. "I don't need a babysitter, Harry James Potter!"

"Oh…" Harry looked to Neville, who stepped forward.

"You're skipping dinner, so we just-" Neville started.

"I'm not hungry," Hermione turned to leave. "I have to finish this report, and then get started on my Arithmancy homework."

Neville looked to Ginny, and she just shook her head at the boys' incompetence.

"Can we help in any way?" Ginny asked Hermione, who stopped walking away. "We can grab the books you need so you can focus on your work."

Hermione turned to face them, her eyes fixed on Ginny.

"That… would save me time," Hermione said to herself. "Do you really want to spend your time in here, though? I'll be here until curfew…" _Again._

"We've got nothing else to do," Ginny shrugged. "Trust me, we'll be fine."

Neville stepped back to Harry's side, who seemed quite pleased with Ginny taking charge like this. _Probably because it spares us the embarrassment of making fools of ourselves._

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"What do you need, Hermione?" Ginny asked. _We'll just follow Ginny's lead on this, and hopefully, Hermione can start looking past what happened today. I mean, it's just one loss. It doesn't even mean anything._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – After Dinner)**_

Ron eyes snapped open just as Pandora's final scream echoed in his mind, and Ron quickly shot out of his bed. _Wait… My bed?_ Ron looked around the room with an alarmed look, where was he? Slowly, his mind began to catch up to him, and he remembered that he was in the Headmaster's lodgings. _He brought me up here to heal me, and I passed out on his bed._ Ron felt a little embarrassed by that, but he quickly moved past it. _What's the time? I'm really hungry._

Ron looked around the room once more, and then he made his way out. As soon as he stepped out into the actual Office, he heard the sound of a quill scratching against parchment. _Headmaster?_ Ron made his way out of the back of the Office and into the front, and Dumbledore smiled at seeing him up and about.

"Headmaster," Ron rubbed his eyes clear before yawning.

"How are you, my boy?" Dumbledore stopped his work in order to look Ron over.

"Hungry, and oddly enough, tired," Ron replied truthfully, while Fawkes flapped his little wings at seeing Ron. "What's the time?"

"Just after dinner," Dumbledore replied. "Take a seat."

Ron gave a nod, and then he took his usual seat. _Still no Snape…_

"Ugh… I could sleep for a decade," Ron remarked.

"You didn't sleep well, I'm afraid," Dumbledore told him. "I could hear you."

"And what did you hear?" Ron asked.

"You were having a nightmare," Dumbledore replied. "Do you not remember?"

"No," Ron lied, he did remember. _Fire, and Pandora's charred corpse. There's no point in thinking about her death, but I can't control my damn dreams. Stupid brain._ "How did the Tournaments go? Did the Slytherins dominate?"

"They did," Dumbledore replied, deciding to not prod Ron. _Good news!_ "The Slytherins won the second, third, fourth, and seventh year Tournaments. Many people left impressed, while others not so much."

"Who won the fifth and sixth year Tournaments?" Ron asked.

"Cedric Diggory won the fifth, and Jack Diggele won the sixth," Dumbledore replied.

"A Hufflepuff, and a Ravenclaw…" Ron clicked his tongue.

"Not pleased with four hundred House Points?" Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle. _No, I wanted it all._ "Ambition like that will get you into trouble, Ronald."

"Trouble is my middle name," Ron smirked.

"Really? I thought it was Bilius," Dumbledore quipped.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ron rolled his eyes. "I forget that you were born in a century in which jokes weren't invented yet."

"How old do you think I am, Ronald?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"Old enough that your farts probably just flow out," Ron sniggered, earning an amused laugh from Dumbledore. "My comments don't bother you?"

"Quite the opposite," Dumbledore admitted. "It is good to banter with a fellow wizard again, even if my new partner is a little slow." _Slow? What's he on about? I'm hilarious._ "Severus, sadly, isn't one for banter."

"He's too damn grim," Ron nodded his agreement. "Anyway… I think I'll head off for the common room. I just want to sleep some more."

"If you are up to it," Dumbledore picked up his quill again. "Just don't fall down the stairs, Ronald."

"Thank you for taking care of me, Headmaster," Ron stood up. "I really appreciate the rescue."

"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore smiled as he went back to his work, and Ron left the Office.

He was so sleepy that he didn't even bother with the Disillusionment Charm. _If I do run into any Gryffindors, I'll ask them to let me sleep on their couches. Hehe. That'd be funny._ Ron once again cleared his eyes before turning the corner which would lead towards the Moving Staircase, and lo and behold, he spotted three Lions loitering in the Hallways. _Act casual, Ron. It's just Bell, Spinnet, and McLaggen._ Without breaking his stride, Ron made his way towards the stairs.

"Is that…? It is," Bell pointed to him, and Ron gave them all a wave.

"Weasley, what are you doing up here?" Alicia Spinnet asked, and surprisingly, there was no aggression in her voice. _Could it be that my stunt worked on more people than just the French?_

"Coming back from Diagon Alley," Ron lied. "Had some business to attend to."

"That Quibbler nonsense?" McLaggen asked in an arrogant manner, which earned him bored looks from his House-mates. _Some people just can't hide their jealousy, can they?_

"Not all of us can rely on daddy's bank accounts, bitch," Ron sniggered as he moved past them.

McLaggen clenched his jaw, while the girls he was clearly trying to chat up lost all interest in him. _Let's add insult to injury._

"Bell, is that a new haircut?" Ron asked, noticing that her brown hair was shorter now. _It's probably for Quidditch._

"Oh… Yeah, for Quidditch," she said slowly.

"It suits you," Ron smiled genuinely, and then he left without another word.

"Arrogant tosser…" he heard McLaggen mutter, which only made Ron smile to himself. _Indeed, bitch boy._

"That's rich coming from you," Spinnet snorted. "Let's go, Katie… Angelina's probably looking around for us." _Haha! Ruined his plans!_

Ron made his way down the stairs with a casual pace, his head bobbing up and down. _Dumbledore fixed me up proper. I don't feel any pain whatsoever._ Ron did remember that his body was badly bruised, and that some of his muscles were still too tight for their own good. As it turned out, using Cutis Terra for too long resulted in muscle atrophy. In other words, the Magic from the Spell began to eat away at the muscles. When Dumbledore had first told him this, Ron had been jarred into silence. _I'll have to be careful with this Spell from now on. I clearly don't understand it fully, so abusing it is just plain idiotic. I need to work harder on turning my body into a conduit, otherwise my own Magic will do me in._

"Open," Ron said to the entrance, and it slid aside for him.

Ron made his way into the common room, and he quickly spotted his friends sitting around in their favorite spot. _Should I socialize? Or should I sleep?_

"Weasley! He's back!" came a girl's voice, and the room went dead silent.

Every eye shot to him, and Ron stared back at his House-mates with a calm smile. _I should congratulate the winners._

"I heard we secured four hundred House Points today!" Ron smiled more widely, and a bunch of easily excitable people let out cheers. "The other Houses are completely fucked this year! Let's start another win-streak, eh?!"

With that said, Ron began making his way to his friends. Along the way, he shook hands and smiled at the congratulators. He made sure to compliment any second, fourth, or seventh years for their contribution, and he even gave Flint's gang a polite nod. _They seem content enough, though I'm sure they're not pleased to see me back._

"Hello," Ron greeted his friends as he sat down between Tracey and Pansy. _Daphne's sitting in a single seater. I shouldn't push it with her, I think. Sure, we held hands for a bit, and even spoke normally, but I can tell she's still thinking about what I said._

"Where have you been, Ron?" Daphne asked him. "You just disappeared for the whole day…"

"I needed to see my Logistics Officer," Ron lied far too easily. "Theo… How are you feeling?"

"A little droopy," Theo smiled like an idiot, and Ron cocked his eyebrow. _What the…?_

"Madam Pomfrey dosed him with something to help with the concussion," Tracey told Ron. "Did you really have to go that far, Ron?"

"I did," Ron replied. "Theo, are you upset?"

"Nope," Theo shrugged. "It was scary, but the lights went out rather abruptly. Didn't even feel a thing."

"Stop leaning on me," Blaise repositioned Theo, who had swayed onto Blaise.

"But you smell nice," Theo snorted.

"Millie?" Ron looked to the girl with the welt on her head. "Still not planning to heal that?"

"No," Millie smirked. "Lesson learned, Ron." _Good girl._

"You look really terrible," Pansy pointed out.

"Just tired," Ron dropped his weight on her side.

"No! You're heavy!" Pansy shrieked, ending with a grunt. "Ugh…" _She complains, but her face is splitting open with a smile._

"What was that Spell you used, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, his face expressionless as usual.

"I used plenty of Spell," Ron smirked.

"I think he's referring to the 'face laser'," Tracey clarified.

"Face laser?" a bunch of them repeated.

"That's what I'm calling it," Tracey shrugged. "It sounded like a really loud lightsaber when it went off."

"Lightsaber?" Ron asked. "Is that a Muggle weapon?"

"I wish," Tracey said dreamily, and they all just exchanged looks. _I'm glad that she's more open about her Muggle interests, which is probably thanks to Theo, but I have no clue what she's on about._

"The Spell you're referring to is called Lumos Solem," Ron told Malfoy, he saw no need to keep his Spells a secret. _If they can learn from me, I won't complain. It'll definitely help them._

"Lumos Solem?" Daphne blinked, and then she looked to Theo. "Isn't that the Spell used to give plants sunlight?"

"It is," Theo nodded.

"Wandless Magic is 'raw Magic'," Ron reminded them. _I swear that they zone out when I give my lectures._ "Since your wand doesn't act as a conduit, the Magic released-"

"Snore," Pansy cut him off. "Want to play Wizard's Poker."

"I… Sure," Ron pouted a little. _Let me teach you!_

"Ron, a word?" came Clara's voice from behind him, and Ron looked to see her smiling at him. _Sneaky witch._

"What if I said no?" Ron smirked.

"Then I'd force your friends to leave for bed," Clara said sweetly.

"You can't do that," Pansy challenged with a teasing voice.

"Can't I?" Clara leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Pansy's.

Ron, Pansy, Millie, and the other three boys, quickly snuck a look at Clara's cleavage. _Fucking nice!_

"Let's go," Ron stood up, his eyes darting towards Daphne. _I can't wait for Future Daphne! I mean, she's already well on her way, but Future Daphne was something else! Her arse looked fantastic-_

"Stop staring at the poor girl," Clara giggled, and Ron realized that he was making Daphne shrink into her seat with his eyes.

"Zoned out, sorry," Ron quickly recovered, while Daphne cleared her throat. _Nice going, pervert._ "Let's go, Clara."

Ron followed after the seventh year, who was smiling more widely than usual.

"Did you enjoy the view?" Clara hummed, her smile turning wicked.

"The view?" Ron asked.

"Don't think that I didn't notice you, and your mates, looking down my top," Clara teased. "This low cut shirt is already paying itself off."

"You want people to look?" Ron asked, his inexperience coming through.

"Remember what I told you about looking?" Clara took his arm as they entered the girls' dorms.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Ron replied.

"Exactly," Clara tightened her hold on his arm. _She's pressing my arm on her tits again!_ "Some girls enjoy said looking."

"Well… You're welcome…" Ron looked dead ahead. _Why is it that I can deal with death and carnage, but girls make me start fidgeting? I need to grow up._ "So… Who won the seventh year Tournament?"

"Don't change the subject," Clara giggled. "I want to ask about your relationship first. After all, I am your teacher, am I not?"

"Oh… My relationship…" Ron swallowed thickly. "Things are going well…"

"Then why was she sitting alone?" Clara asked him. "Furthermore, I've noticed that she's been alone a lot over the last couple of days."

"Look… We got into a fight," Ron all but whispered, and Clara lost her teasing smile.

"I see," she said seriously as she let go of his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Ron replied. "It's personal… Like, really personal…" _She knows that I'm sick, I think everyone in Slytherin does at this point._

"I won't prod, but if you want to discuss it, then you know where to find me," Clara said, and they made the rest of the journey in silence.

As soon as Ron entered the Triumvirate's room, he spotted Samantha and Carey speaking in hushed whispers. _What's going on here?_

"Hello," Ron greeted, while Clara shut the door.

"Welcome back, Ron," Carey greeted smoothly, a soft smile on her face. "We were worried that you planned to disappear on us once again."

"I do enjoy my solitude," Ron admitted. "But there's nothing to worry about. You're stuck with me for now."

"Lucky us," Samantha smirked. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" Samantha asked.

"You won the seventh year Tournament?" Ron asked.

"Who else?" Samantha's smirk widened.

"Ease up there," Clara laughed. "If your head gets any bigger, you'll float away."

"Congratulations, Samantha," Ron said. "Did you beat Percy?"

"Carey did," Samantha replied.

"You're good at strategies, I'll give you that," Carey smiled more fully. "Your brother did just as you predicted. He started off with showy Spells, but I kept cutting him off with simple stunners. He then started trying to dodge, which tuckered him out quite quickly. And then, I simply disarmed him. The look on his face… Hmmm… Very appealing." _Appealing?_

"Right…" Ron said slowly, and Carey seemed to enjoy Ron's awkwardness. _Change the subject._ "We secured four hundred House Points, just as we hoped. Shame that we couldn't secure more… But it is what it is."

"Knowing one's limits is important, Ron," Clara said.

"Trust me, my limits are quite high," Ron said. "Are we throwing the party, then?"

"That's what we were discussing," Carey told Ron. "You owe us a barrel, don't you?"

"Ah… You just want my money," Ron chuckled.

"You did promise us, remember?" Clara smiled widely.

"I'll get Pansy to order it, she knows which one it was," Ron said. "I'll give her the money, of course, but you'll have to smuggle it in." _Do they have Elves in their employ?_

"Done," they agreed.

"Anything else?" Ron asked.

"Just one more thing," Carey said. "Then you can go get your sleep." _Do I look that tired?_

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Some of the Pure-Blood adults approached us, the Triumvirate, after the Duels today," Samantha told him, and Ron looked a bit taken aback. _What's this about?_ "They wanted to know why you're so 'respected' in Slytherin. Many of them were not pleased, my father included." _Uh-oh._ "We just figured that we'd give you the heads up."

"These are dangerous people, Ron," Carey walked up to him, a very serious look on her face. "You really need to keep your eyes open from now on."

"Did they not see my display?" Ron asked. "I mean, maybe **that's** why I'm so 'respected'." _Not respected, just a person they want to leech off._

"Unsurprisingly, your display only served to make them jealous," Clara sounded a little annoyed. "Honestly, Ron's only thirteen… How small does your cock need to be that you start going after a student out of jealousy?"

"Quite small, I imagine," Carey too sounded annoyed now.

"I'll be fine," Ron said. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Then we'll see you tomorrow," Samantha said, while Carey regained her composure.

"Get some sleep, please," Carey kissed his cheek, making Ron tense a bit. "You look very tired, and it's not a sexy look."

"I like it," Clara shrugged casually. "The 'working man' look, I call it." _The 'dying patient' look, I call it._

"Goodnight, you three," Ron gave a parting nod, and then he left the room without another word. _I'm coming, my bed. We'll be together soon enough._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And here it is! 99 to go before we hit 200!**

 **Since I've raised my word limit per chapter by quite a lot, I reckon the story might end by chapter 200. (Maybe)! And if so, we are actually past the halfway chapter mark! Crazy, right?**

 **Anyway, enough about that. I reckon next update will be around the fifteenth, or sixteenth.**

 **See you then!**


	102. Chapter 102 - Blood Money

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 102 is here! Someone told me to KMS for writing a story on Ron Weasley of all characters, and I haven't laughed that hard for like months! People are fucking crazy about Harry Potter, and I love it!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 102 – Blood Money**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

Blood dripped down his knuckles and chin, he could feel its warmth soaking into his school robes. _I'm covered in it… I'm covered in blood…_

Ron looked ahead slowly, his mind was losing its focus.

How had it come to this?

He couldn't remember right now.

All he knew was that he felt no remorse whatsoever, and he never would.

* * *

 _ **Monday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"So you did it to show the French your strength?" Madam Pomfrey asked for clarification, she was no longer awed by Ron's Magical power, and if she was, she was hiding it well.

"Yes," Ron gave another nod. "I have to show them that I'm not just a child. My foot might be through the door, but they still saw me as only a thirteen year old."

"Perhaps they do that because you **are** a thirteen year old," Madam Pomfrey said.

"I don't feel thirteen, nor do I look thirteen," Ron shrugged. "A person's age shouldn't determine what they're capable of."

"You realize that you are the only thirteen year old in your shoes, don't you?" she asked him. "Children your age-"

"Yes, yes… I know," Ron had heard this before. "Children my age pursue hobbies, girls, boys, and other distractions."

"Ronald… You have to slow down," she said it outright, and Ron just stared at her. _This again… When will people understand that I don't intend to slow down?_ "You are pushing yourself far too much, and sooner or later, it will catch up with you."

"I feel perfectly fine," Ron assured her, and then he stood up. "This session is not agreeing with me, so I think I'll be on my way." _I already have plans for today, and I need to get a move on before the shops close._

"Not agreeing with you?" Madam Pomfrey blinked. "Ronald, these sessions are not meant to agree with you. You are here to get help-"

"I don't feel like being here, Madam Pomfrey," Ron said as he moved to the door. "As a patient, I have the right to leave if I am not comfortable."

"You mean you have better things to do," Madam Pomfrey frowned a little. _Yes._ "Are you going to leave Hogwarts again?"

Ron stopped, and then he slowly turned to face her.

"Leave Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

"The Professors have noticed your comings and goings," she told him. "You constantly leave the school premises, and you do so without supervision. Now… I don't know what sort of agreement you have with the Headmaster, but I will be speaking with him about it very soon."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because you are my patient, and he is undermining me by allowing you to do as you please," Madam Pomfrey said sternly.

"If that is what you want to do, then please, go ahead," Ron said calmly, what else could he say? "I can't stop you."

With that, Ron left the Head Matron's Office. _Hopefully, the Headmaster won't give in to her demands, but if he does, I'll start using Marty to leave Hogwarts. The simple truth is that I can't do anything useful from within Hogwarts. I need to travel to Diagon Alley in order to handle a lot of my business._ As Ron turned the corner, an idea struck him. Why was he going up to the Headmaster's Office in the first place?

Ron quickly found himself an abandoned classroom, and once he was inside, he called for his Elf.

"Marty!" Ron called out, and within a heartbeat, Marty had cracked into the room.

"Master called Marty?" Marty beamed at Ron, who couldn't help but notice that Marty was covered in flour.

"What happened to you?" Ron asked, his eyes scanning Marty. _He's completely covered in the stuff._

"The Elves are making cakes for tonight's dinner, Master," Marty smiled a toothy smile. "Marty is in charge of the flour."

"You've been having fun with it, haven't you?" Ron couldn't help but smile, while Marty let out a childish laugh. "I won't waste too much of your time, Marty. I need to get to Gringotts, and fast." _Gornuk might already be heading home for the day._

"Master could never waste Marty's time," Marty put his floury hand forward, and Ron quickly took it. "Is Master ready?"

"I am," Ron held his breath, and just like that, he was being pulled through a straw. _Good lord!_

Ron once again managed to land on his feet, and much to his surprise, he felt very little nausea. Marty had brought them to Gringotts' front steps, and Ron couldn't help but wonder why Marty had stopped just outside. _Is it Warded against Elf Magic? Probably._ Ron could also hear just how busy Diagon Alley was right now, there were people everywhere. _Most of them seem to be going home from work._

"Does Master require Marty to accompany him?" Marty asked.

"No, I'll take it from here," Ron patted his robes' pocket, Dumbledore's 'Anti-Horcrux' pouch was inside. _And within it are the sixteen pieces of cut emeralds that Marty pulled out of the dagger. Plus, I also stored Salazar's parchments and dagger inside. This Undetectable Extension Charm is extremely handy, so I need to work harder at learning it._ "Have fun baking cakes, Marty."

"Marty always does," Marty gave a bow, and then he Disapparated.

Ron made his way into Gringotts quickly, he desperately hoped that Gornuk was still around for the day. _I've got a millions things to do, and these therapy sessions are starting to get in the way. I don't see why it's compulsory for me to attend them… I mean, I'm the patient, right? Maybe I should only go when I need to talk about something?_ Gringotts was extremely busy as usual, which only served to make Ron more hopeful. _Should I see another Goblin if Gornuk isn't here? No. That might insult him, not to mention that I only trust Gornuk. Well, I sort of trust him. He does right by me whenever he stands to make a profit._

As Ron made his way further into Gringotts, he spotted Gornuk speaking to an old wizard from behind his desk. _Yes! Thank you, Universe!_ Gornuk had a terribly bored look on his face as the old wizard droned on and on about something, and Ron patiently got into line. _Once the old man is done, I'll ask Gornuk for a private meeting._ Gornuk spotted Ron easily enough due to his vibrant red hair, but he could do little but listen to the old wizard's complaints.

"Ron?" came Bill's voice from behind him, and Ron looked back to see his eldest brother.

Bill had a bunch of documents in his hands, and he was staring at Ron with a slightly bewildered look. _Just my damn luck… I snuck out of Hogwarts, and I ran into an old Head Boy._

"Bill," Ron put on a smile. "You've started working here already?"

"Yeah," Bill slowly approached Ron. "What are you doing here, mate? It's a school day."

"I need to speak to my Vault Manager," Ron replied. _Say nothing about the gems, or about your plans to sell them on the black market._ "How's work treating-?"

"Where is your supervision?" Bill asked, his eyes darting around them. _Fuck._

"I don't have any," Ron saw no way out of this one.

"Really?" Bill cocked an eyebrow. "Ron… This is the second time that I've found you here, and both times, you've had no supervision."

"I don't need it," Ron shrugged. "I mean, you saw me yesterday, right?"

Bill suddenly remembered what Ron was capable of now, and he had to admit, he wasn't sure that he could stand against Ron in an actual Duel.

"Plus, we're in a bank," Ron went on. "What could possibly go wrong in here?"

"You'd be surprised," Bill shot a look towards Gornuk. "Does the Headmaster know that you're here, at least?" _Nope._

"Of course he does," Ron lied easily. "I had to use his fireplace to get here, didn't I?"

"Right… You used the floo," Bill looked Ron over, his expression turning serious. "You're wearing your school robes, and they are in perfect condition." _Oh…_ "Want to try again?" _Want to leave me alone?_

Ron was about to tear Bill a new arsehole for being too nosey, but Gornuk interrupted them by calling out Ron's name.

"Mr. Weasley, what can I do for you?" Gornuk asked Ron, though his beady eyes were fixed on Bill.

"I want to discuss my account," Ron looked back to Gornuk, a pleasant smile on his face. "In private, please."

"I see," Gornuk gave a nod. "Follow me."

"Ron, I want to know how you left Hogwarts without using a fireplace," Bill stopped Ron by grabbing his arm. "And I want to know why you left without telling anyone."

"And I want world peace, but wanting something doesn't give you the right to have it," Ron said as he pulled his arm away from Bill. "And don't touch me needlessly. I don't appreciate it."

"Sorry," Bill remembered that Ron's arms were covered with scars, while Ron fought the urge to pull at his sleeves. _Just go with Gornuk, Ron. Don't make a big deal out of this, Bill probably forgot about your scars._ "I still want to know-"

"Bill, go back to your work," Ron said as he left to follow after Gornuk. "And leave me to mine."

Ron didn't bother to look back in order to see Bill's expression, and quite frankly, he couldn't give a fuck. Why was it that people were so interested in the lives of others? Why couldn't they just focus on themselves? _Everyone thinks they know best, and they can't help but finger me in the process._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and he tried to calm down his mind. Slowly, but surely, he felt like he was on Stoatshead Hill, and a small amount of peace washed over him. But with peace came clarity. _I overreacted with Bill, didn't I? Damn… Why did he have to grab my scars?_

"I'm glad you're here, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk said as they neared the Office. "I was going to Owl you right after my shift ended."

"Owl me about what?" Ron asked as he stepped through the door, which Gornuk shut quickly. _What was that?_

Ron turned to see Gornuk locking his door, which only confused Ron even more. _What's going on here?_ Gornuk turned to look at Ron with a furrowed brow, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Mr. Weasley, why did the Department of Magical Law Enforcement request a log on the activities of your accounts?" Gornuk asked, and Ron was rather taken aback. _What?_

"Pardon?" Ron said slowly.

"Please, take a seat," Gornuk said as he himself walked over to his chair, and once they were both sitting down, Gornuk gave Ron a dead serious look. "Mr. Weasley, I have to know if you are up to something… criminal."

"Criminal?" Ron blinked. "Wait… Just start at the start." _The Aurors are asking after my accounts' information?_

"We got an Owl today from Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head Auror at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Gornuk told him, and Ron felt his stomach tighten. _That fuck is still looking into me? Barnabas warned me about spies, but this is something else._ "He requested that we hand over the activity logs of your accounts. Things like withdrawals, deposits, estimated values…"

"And you handed them over?" Ron asked, a shudder of nervousness passing through him. _I've done a lot of shady things… Merlin, I might be fucked._

"No, we refused," Gornuk told him, and Ron visibly relaxed. "Gringotts is under Goblin Law, not Wizarding Law. He won't be pleased, and he'll take this up further. I was able to stonewall him today, Mr. Weasley, but tomorrow… I cannot promise you anything. If he keeps making noise, the higher ups will give up your information just to shut him up."

"That piece of shite," Ron stood up and began pacing, his face marred by anger. "He doesn't have better things to do?!"

"This is not out of the ordinary," Gornuk told him. "Aurors often ask us for Vault information on suspicious Pure-Bloods. Just last week, we had Aurors sniffing around Mr. Yaxley's accounts." _Fucking hell, why me?_

"Is there a solution?" Ron asked the Goblin. "Can I maybe bribe someone?"

Gornuk smiled a greedy smile, and Ron immediately felt the need to frown at him. _Of course… He wants my money. He was clearly winding me up, and me being the idiot that I am, believed him._

"We Goblins are under no obligations to hand over personal information, we only do it if it becomes too tiresome to keep it to ourselves," Gornuk told him. "But for certain clients, we are willing to extend our patience." _**Greedy bastard!**_

"Do not play games with me," Ron rounded the table, his eyes flashing red. "I'll tear out your intestines!"

Gornuk shrunk into his chair with a terrified look, his greed and arrogance completely vanished. Ron loomed over him, his left hand already glowing orange because of a Wandless, Non-Verbal Incendio. _Calm down! Relax! It's alright… Breathe._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and his left hand began to return to normal. _One more._ Ron took a step back as he drew in another deep breath, while Gornuk seemed to be petrified in his spot.

"Don't play games with me," Ron said, his voice was still a little strained because of his anger. "Tell me what you want, and be clear about it."

"Clients… Clients who are generous to us are given certain leeway," Gornuk said slowly, his posture was still rigid and defensive.

"And I bribe **you** for this leeway?" Ron asked him.

"Yes," Gornuk mumbled.

"If you wanted a bribe, why didn't you just ask for one?" Ron frowned. "Why stress me needlessly?"

"Ha… Habit, Sir…" Gornuk stammered.

"How much?" Ron asked as he walked back to his chair. "And be fair here, Gornuk… For your own sake."

"The Aurors are not to be trifled with," Gornuk relaxed a little, though the boy's foreign tongue had frozen his insides. "They are, after all, backed by the British Ministry. It won't be cheap, Mr. Weasley…" _Someone kill me, please. Why can't I hold onto my money for more than a few days?_ "A gift of five hundred Galleons is a good start." _FUCK!_

"Great," Ron sat down with a slightly annoyed look. "Just fucking perfect…" _Damn you, Rufus Scrimgeour._ "Wait… A good start? I have to keep bribing you?"

"As long as Rufus Scrimgeour keeps asking after your accounts, yes," Gornuk replied. "I do respect you, Mr. Weasley, but this is how things work around here. I know that your accounts are not what they used to be, but I will get fired if I protect you without making the Bank a profit. This gift will be distributed equally amongst the staff."

"You lot have a 'gift pool'?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "How much money do you make out of this scheme?"

"I cannot tell you that," Gornuk replied, and Ron simply shook his head. _Is it any wonder that the Pure-Blood Families hate Goblins? They're stealing from us, plain and simple._

Ron reached into his school robes, and he pulled out the pouch that Dumbledore had given him. One by one, Ron produced the emeralds, while Gornuk's greed was reignited at the sight of the shiny gems. Once Ron had all sixteen pieces in front of him, he turned his attention to Gornuk.

"I want to sell these, but I need your advice," Ron told the Goblin, who was just staring at the gems. _Bloody hell, he's so greedy._

"Advice, Mr. Weasley?" Gornuk asked.

"Where will I make the highest profit from these?" Ron asked, and Gornuk finally looked up.

"Usually, I'd ask you to let me sell them," Gornuk replied. "But ever since this crime epidemic hit the country, things on the black market are much cheaper. Everyone is selling stolen goods, and that hurts honest businessmen like ourselves." _Honest?_ "I suggest that you sell them to an actual Jeweler. They will definitely pay a good amount for these."

"How much?" Ron asked. "Give me an estimate."

"I count sixteen, decent-sized pieces," Gornuk did some mathematics in his head. "I'd say at least two thousand Galleons, give or take."

"I see," Ron began putting the gems back into his pouch. "I'll go and sell these, and then you can take five hundred Galleons from my account as your 'gift'."

"You will not regret this, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk promised him. "Rufus Scrimgeour will be turned away at the door, I swear it."

"I bloody hope so," Ron gave Gornuk a deadpan look. _I mean, I just got gutted by your fucking Bank._ "I also need your help with another matter."

"Name it," Gornuk said, while Ron pulled out Salazar's parchments.

"I need you to take this to a parchment maker," Ron said, and Gornuk carefully took the old parchments. "The writing is faded, and the paper is damaged… I want you to find someone who can restore these, and they **must** be discreet."

"Ancient knowledge?" Gornuk asked Ron.

"I think so," Ron gave a nod. "Can you do this for me?"

"I will find a Goblin craftsman," Gornuk agreed. "They don't care much for Wizarding secrets, and they'll do it for a much cheaper price."

"Once you have said price, pay them from my Vault," Ron stood up, it was time to go see Martin. "I'm going to go see a Jeweler about these gems."

"Once the Jeweler's payment arrives, I will take the necessary steps to secure your information," Gornuk told him, he was still a little scared of Ron.

"Next time you want something, just ask for it," Ron said as he walked towards the exit. "I don't like jumping through unnecessary hoops." _And don't bloody stress me for no reason… My brain can't handle it._

"I will be more mindful next time, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk said, and once Ron was gone from the Office, the Goblin released a shaky breath before melting into his chair.

Ron made his way towards the front of the Bank, he needed to get to Martin's shop before he closed for the day. _The therapy session really didn't help me in regards to time. I shouldn't have gone to it in the first place._ As Ron neared the exit, he decided that he needed to write up a schedule for efficiency's sake. _I'll get Blaise and Theo to help me. I would ask Daphne, but things are too tense between us right now._

"Ron!" Bill called, he was waiting by the door.

"Bill," Ron greeted back, his thoughts coming to a halt. "What are you doing by the door?"

"My shift has ended, and I was hoping to take you out to a late lunch," Bill said, and Ron just stared at his brother. _Late lunch, eh?_

"Planning to interrogate me?" Ron asked, making sure to remain calm and decent.

"Look…" Bill sighed out, losing some of his confidence. "I just want to get to know you…" _Oh, now I feel a little bad. He sounds genuine._ "I feel like ever since I left for Egypt, you and I don't know each other anymore." _Please stop…_ "If you don't have time right now, I understand…"

"Alright," Ron consented, and Bill suddenly smirked at him. "Oh, you prick…"

"Let's go," Bill turned to leave, while Ron scolded himself internally. _I fell for the guilt trip like a buffoon._

"I need to run an errand in the Upper District first," Ron followed after Bill.

"An errand?"

"It won't take long, and then we can have some food at a Café," Ron said, and Bill gave him a smile.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron stared at Martin as the Jeweler gazed at the emeralds through a magnifying glass. For the last five minutes, Martin had been eyeballing the gems at a painfully slow speed. _Poor Bill is just standing outside._ Martin slowly moved the emeralds into one place, and then he looked at Ron with a rather serious look.

"I won't ask how you got these, Mr. Weasley," Martin started, his voice was still a little subdued despite his demeanor. _Maybe he's just soft spoken?_

"Will you buy them?" Ron asked, and Martin shot a quick look at the gems.

"I will," Martin gave a nod. "I'm willing to pay fifteen hundred in total."

"Fifteen?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow. "I've been told that these would fetch me at least two thousand."

"Whoever gave you that information clearly didn't look at these gems properly," Martin said. "They are old, and as a result, damaged along the edges. I'll have to cut them again, reducing their size. Also, some of these are not in good condition. I'll have to break them into smaller pieces for items like cufflinks. Fifteen hundred." _That's still a lot, but Gornuk is going to take five hundred for the Goblin bribe. Fucking Rufus Scrimgeour…_

"Fifteen hundred, **and** a pair of cufflinks," Ron bargained, and Martin looked back to the emeralds. "I think that's fair, Martin. Use one of these to make me cufflinks, and you can have fifteen emeralds for fifteen hundred."

"I… I agree," Martin conceded, and then he produced a parchment of sale. "Please, sign here."

Ron did as he was told, while Martin packed up the emeralds. Once the paper was signed, and the emeralds were stored away, Ron handed the parchment back to Martin.

"I'll make the payment right now, and it'll be in your account by tomorrow morning," Martin promised. "I'll also ship the cufflinks to Hogwarts once they're done. Shouldn't take more than a couple of days." _Great. I'll give them to Bill for his new job. He's always loved wearing showy clothing._

"Take care, Martin," Ron headed for the door.

"Can I interest you in a bracelet for young Lady Greengrass?" Martin asked, and Ron shot a smile back.

"Some other day, Martin," Ron waved his goodbye, and then he left the shop. _Even last year, I would've spent my newly acquired wealth without thought. But now… Now she'll need to wait for her birthday, just like everyone else._

"Finally," Bill 'groaned' as Ron stepped out of the shop, and Ron just smirked at him. "When you said that you had an errand to run, I expected something more exciting."

"Like what?" Ron snorted.

"I don't know," Bill shrugged. "Something not exactly legal, you know?" _If only you knew what I was up to._

"I'm not you, Bill," Ron said with a happy smile. "I obey the Law."

"Fuck off," Bill laughed, and then he looked towards a nearby Café. "Let's go there. I had a look at their menu, and they've got pork sandwiches."

"You had me at pork," Ron said as they began making their way over. "So… How's your new job?"

"Pretty boring, actually," Bill replied. "All I do is push papers…"

"How long have you been working there?"

"Just today," Bill replied, and Ron shot him a deadpan look. "What? You can tell a lot about a job from your first day. When I signed on as a Curse-Breaker in Egypt, they sent me out into the field without notice."

"Bet you loved that," Ron said knowingly.

"I did," Bill admitted. "But here… They put me behind a desk, and then ignored me for the rest of the day." Bill then let out a sigh. "At least mum and dad will approve of my new desk job… They kept giving me lectures through letters about personal safety."

"That's what you get for choosing a dangerous profession," Ron laughed at Bill's expense.

"You should read the letters that mum sends Charlie," Bill smiled at the sound of Ron's laughter. "She's even sent him Howlers before."

"Not surprised at all," Ron said as they entered the café, and a young waitress quickly approached them.

"Table for two?" she smiled at Bill, and he smiled back in his usual way.

"That sounds perfect," Bill said smoothly. _Must be nice to be so handsome… Cunt._

"Alright, just follow me," the waitress said, and as she guided them to a free table, she kept shooting looks back at Bill. _I'm here too! Pay attention to me!_ "Here you are."

"Thanks," Ron finally spoke up, and she shot him a quick look.

"I'll be right back-" she started, but she stopped when she realized that Ron was wearing school robes. "Um… Aren't you supposed to be in Hogwarts?"

"This isn't Hogwarts?" Ron asked as he looked around the Café. "Bloody hell… How did I end up here?"

"Fair enough," she chuckled, while the brothers took their seats. "I'll be right back with the menus. Do you boys want something to drink?"

"Two ice-teas, please," Bill replied, and she smiled widely before leaving to get their drinks. "Nice lass."

"You handsome prick…" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Bill asked, he hadn't heard Ron.

"Nothing," Ron smiled. _I wish I had your face. Wait… That sounded really fucking creepy._

"Ron? Are you there?" Bill waved at Ron, who quickly broke away from his thoughts. "Merlin… You're still so weird sometimes."

"Is this how you treat your other dates?" Ron asked, and Bill let out a laugh. "You call them weird before the food is served?"

"It's why I'm still single," Bill shrugged casually. "Speaking of being single… How's your relationship with Daphne going?"

"Smooth transition," Ron said sarcastically. "And my relationship is going fine."

"Fine?" Bill asked. "C'mon, Ron… Talk to me. I **am** trying to reconnect with you here, but you have to meet me halfway. Otherwise, we'll just be strangers…" _He is right about that. Sometimes, I feel like only Daphne, Snape, and Dumbledore really know me._

"Are you guilt tripping me again?" Ron asked with narrowed eyes.

"Is it working?" Bill asked.

"Yes…"

"Good," Bill smiled widely. "Now, let me hear your woes, little brother. Tell me angst-filled stories."

"There is no angst," Ron sniggered. "But…" _Should I tell him? I mean, he knows about my Brain-Damage and scars. He'd understand the importance of our conversation, right?_

"But?" Bill urged, and just as Ron was about to open up, the waitress returned with their drinks.

"Two ice-teas," she smiled at Bill, who accepted the drinks with a smile of his own. _If they keep smiling at each other, I'll flip a table._ "Here are the menus as well."

"We've already decided to try out your pork sandwiches," Bill said, and she gave him a nod.

"We'll have five," Ron ordered, and she shot him a slightly confused look. _What? Just do your job, woman._ "Two for me, two for him, and one for my girlfriend back at Hogwarts." _Daphne loves pork sandwiches._

"Oh… Alright," she quickly wrote down the order, and once she was gone, Ron took a sip of his drink. _Damn, that's really sweet, but delicious._

"Don't like it?" Bill asked.

"I do," Ron replied truthfully. "It's just that I don't usually have sweet things."

"Since when?" Bill asked, he remembered Ron stuffing his face with cakes and pastries.

"Since my Dueling tutor banned me from ruining my health," Ron drawled. "It's not fun, but I do feel healthier because of it."

"Well, we'll just keep this between ourselves," Bill said in a brotherly manner, and Ron took another sip of his drink. "As a matter of fact, we'll keep this entire outing to ourselves."

"Really?" Ron asked, he knew where this was going. "That's very helpful of you, Bill."

"I know, right?" Bill smirked. "Now, what were you about to tell me?"

"So persistent," Ron sighed out. "Things between Daphne and I are a little… strained."

"So mum was right," Bill said, making Ron blink. "She noticed that you two weren't sitting together during the Dueling Tournament, and her being who she is, started suspecting a fight. She even approached Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass with her theory, and they believed her."

"Ah, why?" Ron groaned, an embarrassed feeling creeping up on him. "Why would she do this?"

"She's just worried," Bill told him calmly. "Don't tell anyone this, but your girlfriend has won mum over. According to mum, 'Daphne is a responsible young woman'." _That does sound like something mum would say._

"It's because Daphne researched my conditions," Ron explained. "Mum was quite pleased to hear about Daphne's vast knowledge on brain related injuries."

"Not many girls would make that sort of effort," Bill said. "She definitely cares about you, which is all mum and dad need from their daughter-in-law."

"You had to say it," Ron frowned, while Bill just chuckled at his own joke.

"So… What happened?" Bill asked Ron. "Were you at fault?"

"Sort of," Ron replied, his tone becoming lower. "I brought up my health, and we had a disagreement. That's all."

"Be more vague, Ron," Bill said with a dead-eyed look. "C'mon, little brother… You can talk to me." _He's really persistent, I'll give him that. My other siblings get tired of asking a lot faster._

"I… told her that I could die before graduating," Ron said slowly, and Bill's jaw dropped open.

"What?"

"I told her that my Brain-Damage could become fatal one day," Ron repeated, his tone becoming defensive. "It's true, so there's no point in denying it. She completely missed my point, and after our back and forth, she started bawling. It was not a fun experience…"

"Ron… What the fuck?" Bill looked at Ron like he was an idiot. "Please tell me that you didn't just say this out of the blue."

"Well… I kind of did," Ron admitted, and Bill just shook his head clear. "What? We need to have this conversation, Bill. She has to understand that I'm really sick, and one of these days, I'll be gone."

"Don't say that," Bill's right eye twitched, and Ron didn't know why, but he immediately stopped. _Was that my inbuilt 'older sibling fear'? Snap out of it, Ron. You're his equal._

"Do you have Brain-Damage?" Ron asked, but Bill just frowned at him. "No? Well, then you don't know how it feels. I **have** to think about things like this, whereas you have never had to. I am being practical here, while you're all relying on emotions."

"Just relax," Bill drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry… You're right, I don't know how you must feel. All I'm trying to say is that Daphne isn't equipped to handle confessions of that sort. You're her first boyfriend, and you just told her that you come with an expiration date… Is it really surprising that she started crying?"

"No, it isn't… I do understand that she doesn't want to think about that sort of tripe," Ron said. "But she needs to understand it. For her own good."

"Why don't you leave that lesson to her parents?" Bill asked. "They know about your conditions, right?" Ron gave a nod. "Then trust me, they'll talk to her about it when the time is right. They don't want their daughter to have a broken heart."

"I guess I didn't think of that," Ron muttered under his breath. _Of course they'd talk to her… But then again, one of the reasons why I talked to her was because I wanted her to take over my orphanage. Wow… I asked for her money, and then told her that I was going to die soon. Merlin, when I think about it like this, I sound like a massive cunt._

"Hello?" Bill waved in his face, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "Do you just zone out like that all the time?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Ron replied.

"Pork sandwiches," the waitress suddenly showed up. "I hope you enjoy them."

"Thank you," Ron and Bill said together.

"I've wrapped this one up for your girlfriend," the waitress smiled at Ron.

"Thank you very much," Ron smiled back genuinely as he moved Daphne's sandwich away from the others.

"Right, where were we?" Bill asked once the waitress was gone. "Oh, yeah… Let Daphne's parents handle that conversation, Ron. You should just focus on being a kid, because like it or not, you **are** one. Trust me, growing up isn't very fun, and you'll regret not enjoying your childhood." _What fucking childhood, mate?_

"You're right," Ron decided to change the topic. "I'll give her some space for now, and once she's ready to talk, we'll talk. I'll stay away from the 'impending death' conversation."

"Impending death conversation?" Bill repeated. "Ron… This isn't something to make jokes about." _It's my Brain-Damage, I can make all the jokes I want._

"Sorry, won't happen again," Ron said, and Bill gave him a nod. "Can we talk about something more… fun?"

"Like what?" Bill asked. _Think fast, Ron._

"Like… Ah, how are things between Charlie and Kirsten?" Ron asked. "Is mum getting on their nerves yet?" _I know she is, judging by Charlie's behavior at the Gala._

"Mum… Dad… The Twins… Charlie's ready to start throwing them all around," Bill smiled a little, he knew that Ron had changed the topic. "Mum caught them shagging behind dad's shed."

"What?" Ron suddenly became very interested. "You didn't start with that?"

"It was pretty funny," Bill chuckled. "She went out to check on her Garden, and lo and behold, she heard them going at it. From what I remember, she just left for the Kitchen without uttering a word. But the moment Kirsten and Charlie came back inside the house, mum went ballistics. 'What if the twins had seen you two?' It was hilarious."

"What did Charlie do?" Ron sniggered.

"He told her that the twins had probably shagged each other by now," Bill snorted, and Ron couldn't hold back his laugh. _No way?!_

"He really said that?!" Ron asked.

"Like I said… A house full of people is getting to him," Bill started eating his food. "You'll see at Christmas… Charlie has a very short fuse these days."

* * *

 _ **Monday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Evening)**_

"This was fun, Bill," Ron smiled as he hugged his eldest brother. "Thank you." _And thank you for not asking me about my Magic capabilities. It was good to just reminisce about our younger days._

"Take care, Ron," Bill gave him a squeeze. "No more running away from Hogwarts, got it?"

"As long you never mention this meeting to anyone," Ron pulled back, and Bill gave him a nod. "Take care, then. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Don't forget to give that to Daphne," Bill looked towards the packed pork sandwich in Ron's left hand. "I'll ask her about it, so you better not eat it yourself."

"I'd never do that," Ron sniggered, and after waving his goodbye, he stepped through the floo that Bill had prepared.

As soon as Ron stepped into Dumbledore's Office, he found the Headmaster playing Chess with himself. _He'll ask me where I've been, and I'll have to lie to him. I wish Bill had just let me go my separate way so I could call Marty._

"You're back," Dumbledore looked up from the board, a calm smile on his face. _He's not going to ask me how I left?_

"Who's winning?" Ron asked as he approached his usual chair.

"Black," Dumbledore looked back to his game.

"You should move that bishop," Ron pointed out, and Dumbledore nodded to himself before doing as Ron advised. "See? Now his knight can't take your bishop from you."

"It hardly matters," Dumbledore tipped over the white king. "White lost this match ten minutes ago. So… Where were you?"

"Gringotts," Ron replied. "I've hired a Muggle-Born reporter for the Quibbler. She's a keeper, I think."

"You're getting better at lying," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "If I was anyone else, I'd have believed you." _Regroup, Ron._

"Rufus Scrimgeour is looking into me," Ron told Dumbledore. "I had to bribe the Goblins with an obscene amount of money to keep Scrimgeour out of my Vaults."

"Have you given him reason to suspect you, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes twinkling as usual.

"I am a shady cunt," Ron smirked to himself.

"Tsk… Language," Dumbledore 'chided'. "Honestly, my boy, your tongue is blacker than the devil's heart."

Ron stuck his tongue out at Dumbledore, who merely chuckled at Ron's childish display.

"Anyway… The Aurors don't like me very much," Ron said. "I'll need to be careful."

"It is their job to be suspicious," Dumbledore said, and then he smelled the air. "What's that aroma?"

"Ah," Ron smiled as he showed Dumbledore the packed sandwich. "For Daphne."

"An apology gift?" Dumbledore asked.

"No… I was just at a café, and I saw that they had pork sandwiches," Ron shrugged. "Daphne loves pork sandwiches, so I got her one."

"If only other young men were as attentive as you," Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron rolled his eyes. "Miss. Greengrass is a lucky girl-"

"I'm leaving," Ron stood up, making Dumbledore laugh.

"I only tease, my boy," Dumbledore assured him.

"You're bullying me, you mean," Ron feigned hurt. "What kind of Headmaster are you?"

"The jolly, loveable kind," Dumbledore hummed, much to Ron's disgust.

"Ew… Don't ever say that again," Ron grimaced. "You should act more… sagely…"

"I was never the sagely sort, I'm afraid," Dumbledore retorted. "Before you give your beloved her gift-"

"Beloved, he says…" Ron muttered under his breath.

"I need to tell you something," Dumbledore continued. "Remus asked me about you, and he wasn't alone."

"Asked what?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"He, and the staff, wanted to know why I took you away from the Tournament," Dumbledore replied. "I told them that you and I had a long conversation about the Dark Arts, and that you left with a thoughtful look about you."

"Are you joking?" Ron's mouth hung open.

"Do take care not to display the Dark Arts at Hogwarts again, Ronald," Dumbledore smiled widely. _He bloody cornered me… Now I'll look like the young juvenile who doesn't listen to 'wise counsel' if I ever use the Dark Arts at a Tournament._

"What if I still do it?" Ron asked.

"Then you'll have to answer to Remus, and the Heads of the Houses," Dumbledore replied, and Ron felt the urge to throw a tantrum. _Whatever._

"You're a prick," Ron headed for the door.

"Ten Points from Slytherin for speaking ill of your Headmaster," Dumbledore called out, and Ron shot a frown back.

"Mean old codger," Ron said as he exited the Office, he could hear Dumbledore laughing to himself.

Despite the old man's dirty tricks, Ron was glad that the Headmaster was in a jolly mood. Ron had expected a scolding, not a fun reunion with a friend. _A friend? Yeah, I guess he is my friend. He certainly doesn't treat me like a child, or even as a student at his school._ Ron smiled unintentionally as he passed by the Stone Gargoyle. _I think Harry wants this kind of relationship with Dumbledore, but truth be told, he'll never get it. Harry is far too… uptight… to even banter with the old man. In Harry's eyes, Dumbledore is the pinnacle of what a wizard can be, which in turn means that Dumbledore can't be more human around Harry. It would break the illusion._

Ron made his way to the Sanctuary, his mind filled with thoughts about relationships. He couldn't deny that his late lunch with Bill was the highlight of his day. Once Bill had stopped asking about Ron's personal affairs, they had settled into a pleasant conversation about their lives so far. Bill missed Egypt terribly, though he'd never say that near their parents. Bill was always the adventurous sort, so he wasn't sure about his new job either. Ron had then told Bill about his own nervousness when it came to being an International Diplomat, but Bill had assured him that he'd be great at it. _Maybe he was just being an older brother, and telling me what I want to hear? Hmmm… Either way, it felt good to talk to one of my siblings so openly._

Once Ron was safely inside his Sanctuary, he called for his Elf. Marty cracked into the room with a massive grin, bits of cake frosting on his hands and face.

"Having fun?" Ron laughed at Marty's appearance, and Marty laughed and nodded fervently. _He's got icing on his nose._

"Marty was in charge of icing the cakes," Marty said proudly. "Master will attend dinner tonight, won't he?"

"He definitely will," Ron replied, and Marty's smile widened. "I'll even sneak a cake, eh? Madam Roberts won't be the wiser."

"Marty agrees with this stratagem," Marty told him. "Now, what can Marty do for Master?"

"Can you deliver this to Daphne?" Ron asked. "Without being seen? Tell her that it's from me."

"Marty will do it at once," Marty took the packed sandwich. "Mistress' favorite!"

"Tell her that I'm here, if she wants to talk," Ron said, and Marty left after a deep bow. _I don't think she'll come, but if she does, we'll talk this out in a mature manner. I'll be calm, and collected._

Ron walked over to his favorite chair, and once he was sitting down, he looked to the coffee table. _I can get some Wandless Magic practice in, I reckon._

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron chanted, his right palm aimed at the table.

It slowly began to float into the air, and Ron smiled at how easy this was. _I could hold onto this Spell for well over a minute, if I wanted. Let's find something heavier to lift._ Ron's eyes veered towards the dummies, and a smile broke out on his face. _Hello, there._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Girls' Room – Evening)**_

Daphne was resting on her bed, reading through Pansy's Witch Weekly Magazines. She had to admit that she was bored senseless, and she desperately wanted to spend time with Ron. _But it's still weird between us. He tried to talk to me in Transfiguration today, but I wasn't exactly welcoming. Ugh… I'm bored… I miss my boyfriend…_

Daphne's eyes traveled towards Pansy, who was currently doing her hair in front of her mirror. _Her hairstyle really suits her. Should I get something like hers?_ Daphne then looked to Millie, who was just reading through her books about fighting. _I still feel guilty about punching Granger. When she showed up for Care of Magical Creatures, I couldn't even look in her direction._ Daphne then looked to Tracey, who was just staring at her. _What the…?_

"See something you like?" Tracey smirked, and Daphne rolled her eyes. "Tsk… How rude."

Daphne went to say something, but she heard a faint popping sound from her left. _What was that?_ Daphne looked around, but she saw nothing. _What's that delicious smell?_

"Mistress," came a whisper, and Daphne nearly shrieked.

"Marty?" she looked around, getting the attention of her friends. "You can show yourself, it's alright."

Marty suddenly came into existence, a package in his hands.

"Marty!" Pansy turned around with a wide smile.

"Hello, Lady Parkinson," Marty bowed. _He says 'Hello' like Ron always does. That's cute._ "Marty likes Lady Parkinson's new hair. It suits Lady Parkinson very well."

"Aw… Hush, you," Pansy beamed at her own reflection.

"Marty, what's that?" Daphne asked, looking at the delicious smelling package.

"A gift from Master," Marty handed her the package, and Daphne quickly opened it. _Is that a pork sandwich?_ "Master is in the Sanctuary, and should Mistress want to talk, Master would like that very much." _Uh-huh._

For a few moments, she was quite taken aback by the odd gift, but once she remembered her love for greasy pork sandwiches, she smiled widely. _He knows me so well!_

"He sent a sandwich?" Tracey cocked her eyebrow, while Millie sniggered to herself. "Aren't boys supposed to send chocolates?"

"He got me a pork sandwich," Daphne said a little boastfully. "I prefer these over chocolates." _Though, chocolates are also nice._

"Weirdo," Pansy hummed, making the other two girls laugh. _Hmph! Whatever!_

Daphne went to thank Marty for his delivery, but the Elf had an odd look on his face.

"Marty is being summoned for cake duty," Marty told them, and then he cracked out of the room. _I guess he only waits for Ron to dismiss him now. I suppose that's fair, Marty serves Ron now, not my Family._

Daphne took a bite of her sandwich, and everything felt right in the World. _It's so good! Where did he get this? And when?_

"So…" came Tracey's voice, and Daphne looked to her best friend. "Are you two alright now?"

"Pardon?" Daphne asked after swallowing her bite.

"Are you two not fighting anymore?" Tracey asked, and Daphne just stared at her.

"We were never fighting," Daphne finally said stubbornly.

"Daphne, you two have barely acknowledged each other for the last few days," Pansy turned around. "It's very awkward for the rest of us."

"Wow," Daphne frowned at Pansy, who just shrugged casually.

"Do you want to know what we were fighting about?" Daphne asked them.

"We already know," Millie replied, and Daphne blinked at her. _They do?_ "Tracey and Theo approached Ron shortly after your fight, and he told them." _Oh._

"And?" Daphne looked between them. "What is your opinion on the matter?"

"I think that Ron shouldn't say such things," Pansy lost her smile. "He's going to be just fine." _Is he? I don't even know anymore._

"I think he's right," Tracey said, and Daphne narrowed her eyes on Tracey. "What? I think he's right, and I won't lie to you, I think you two need to keep that conversation going."

"No," Daphne refused.

"Daph… Ron's thought this through, and he's done it for you," Tracey said, and then she looked to Millie.

"I agree with Tracey," Millie closed her book. "Look… I hate to say this, but Ron is very sick-"

"Don't," Pansy frowned at Millie, who just raised her hands in surrender. "Why do you people keep bringing up his illness? Stop reminding him of it."

"Does Ron look like the sort to forget about such matters?" Tracey asked Pansy, and then she looked to Daphne. "Daphne, just talk to him, yeah? Stop stewing in here when you want to be around him."

"It's not that easy," Daphne huffed out. _What would they know? They've never had boyfriends before, and certainly not the sort who buy bloody orphanages out of the blue._ "He's… It's not the conversation that gets to me, it's the way Ron talks about his own life."

"Do you want to elaborate on that?" Tracey asked.

"He…" Daphne started, but then she stopped. _Should I tell them? I really do need to sort through this, especially with Christmas approaching._

"Daphne, we can't help you if you don't share," Tracey said, and Millie nodded her agreement.

"He is so certain that he's going to die," Daphne told them in a rather blunt manner. _There, how's that?_

"What?" Pansy muttered, while Tracey and Millie just exchanged slow looks.

"I honestly don't know how to react…" Daphne admitted. "He comes to me, tells me that he has certain plans in motion, and that when he dies, he wants me to take over… How the fuck am I supposed to react to that?" _Language, Daphne…_

"Plans?" Tracey asked, her shock written on her face. "He really just dropped this on you?" _I can't discuss Ron's plans with them, that'd be going too far._

"He doesn't think like we do," Daphne began venting. "To him, this is a completely normal thing to do. And here's the best part, he doesn't care…"

"Doesn't care about what?" Pansy asked slowly.

"About his upcoming demise," Daphne hissed, she was getting too riled up. _I can't help it. Why does he think like this?_ "So there, now you're in the know… Got any advice for me? Can you tell me how I should approach this mess? What do I even say to my sick boyfriend? I know that he has a point, but I hate hearing him talk like that. I hate that he thinks so little of himself, all the while putting the rest of us on pedestals. I mean, he couldn't care less about his own mortality… How sad is that? He was just so damn casual about everything, and it made me sick to my stomach. I felt like my heart was going to break on the spot. Ron cares more about **everything** when compared to his own life, and I don't know why. So… What do I do?"

The other three girls exchanged looks, and then they all shook their heads weakly.

"Yeah… That's what I thought," Daphne went back to eating her sandwich. _And he's being sweet despite our argument! He makes me so angry!_

Daphne violently devoured her sandwich, while the others just went back to minding their own business. _Relax, Daphne… This isn't like you. You don't wear your heart on your sleeve._ But try as she might, she couldn't stop feeling restless. _I need to talk to him… But not yet. I just can't deal with that._ Daphne pushed the Witch Weekly Magazines aside, and then she pulled out her business ledger. _I'll settle on some warehouses for Lady Travers. I'll just be so productive that I forget about my problems. Wait… That's what Ron does! Ah! I'm turning into him!_

Unbeknownst to Daphne, her friends were shooting her worried looks. _Fuck it! I'm finding some warehouses, and then I'll send a letter to Lady Heroux. I can't let them think that I'm an average thirteen year old girl. I need to win them over before Christmas. Before they leave for France._

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Yaxley Manor – Late Evening)**_

His uniform was as clean as it was twelve years ago, and Corban found himself missing how empowering it was to wear it. It had been too long since he had adorned his hallowed robes in order to do his duty to Magical Britain.

The filth was spreading, and with the Dark Lord gone, there was no one left to stop the tide. _Twelve years… We could have accomplished so much in twelve years._ Corban Yaxley was not a man who lived with regrets, but he did have one… His Lord's demise at the hands of Harry Potter. The day that his Dark Mark had vanished into nothing, Corban had found himself mourning in this very room. The greatest wizard to ever grace Britain was dead, and along with him were the chances of a peaceful, Pure-Blood society.

Corban turned his attention from his uniform to his second most prized possession; a sac of Basilisk venom. Corban had bought this from a rather shady Goblin named Gornuk for far too much money, but it was unlike anything that he owned before. This was an intact venom sac, and one drop from it could kill a Mountain Troll. This item, like everything in this room, was worthy of an Azkaban sentence, but that didn't bother Corban much. _This room has never been discovered by the Aurors, despite their many raids._

"Husband," came Anastasia's voice from behind him, and Corban turned to face his wife. "They are here."

"All of them?" Corban asked.

"Everyone except for Lucius and Cornelius," Anastasia replied, and Corban gave her a nod. _Those two are impossible to get a hold of these days. We've barely seen them in the last few months. I wonder what they're up to._

"If they do come, send them to my study," Corban walked past her, and once she had exited behind him, Corban sealed the bookshelf entrance.

"A letter came from Lysandra today," Anastasia said. _Again?_

"Is it filled with tales of that Blood-Traitor?" Corban asked harshly.

"Husband, she's only-"

"Burn it," Corban ordered. "And then, send her an Owl. Tell her that she's to use the Blood-Traitor to further herself, and that she is forbidden to support this disgusting crush of hers." _This Weasley boy is quickly becoming a cancer on our World._

"I… I understand, my Lord," Anastasia bowed her head, and Corban left the library without another word.

As he made his way towards his study, he mentally prepared himself for a night with his 'friends'. Most of them were idiots, there was no denying that. Years of inbreeding had left most of them vicious and thoughtless, but there were a few of them that were still useful. _It's a shame that Lucius and Cornelius are not here, their wealth and influence is needed in times like these._ There was so much to discuss tonight, and once Corban was done sharing his plans, Magical Britain would soon return to normal. _Either that, or it will crumble into nothing._

Corban could already hear heated chatter coming from down the hallway, they were all arguing about something. _Why am I not surprised by this?_ Corban steeled his mind with Occlumency, he could not afford to lose his temper tonight. Corban had even handpicked who was in attendance for this meeting. _My conspirators; Amycus and Alecto Carrow, Avery Jnr, Herbert Crabbe, Bartholomew Goyle, George Selwyn, Thorfinn Rowle, Walden Macnair, Felix Rosier, Violet Parkinson, and Lucas Flint. History will remember us as the saviors of Magical Britain._

"My friends," Corban said as he entered his study, and the chatter stopped immediately.

"Corban, why did you invite these two degenerates?" George Selwyn asked Corban, his finger aimed at the Carrow siblings. "They are not fit to be amongst-"

"Just shut your mouth, old man," Amycus growled. "Don't make me put you down."

"Put me down?!" George shot up to his feet, an offended look on his face. _These idiots will take years off of my life, I can already tell._

"We are all friends here," Corban said firmly, silencing the room. "Our enemies are all out there, so we must be united in here! Please… Enough infighting."

The Pure-Bloods exchanged looks, while Corban closed the door behind him.

"Corban, why did you call us here?" Violet Parkinson asked. "What enemies are you referring to?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Walden asked her. "The fucking French…"

"Half-Breed vermin," Herbert Crabbe hissed.

"They have no right to be here," Bartholomew Goyle added, and everyone nodded in agreement. _Good, some common ground at last._

"You are right, Bartholomew," Corban walked to the head of the room, making sure that all eyes were fixed on him. "They have **no right** to be here, and yet, here they are… They walk our streets, they sully our country with their presence, and I have even heard rumors of them setting up roots."

"Roots?" Thorfinn asked.

"Businesses," Corban replied calmly.

"The Ministry would never allow that," Avery frowned deeply.

"My dear friend, the Ministry has cast us aside," Corban said, and the Pure-Bloods seemed to perk up with attention. "Yes, you know it as well. Our Ministry has changed. It has become more 'tolerant', all the while forgetting about its oldest citizens."

"We built the damn Ministry," Lucas Flint snapped, and Corban gave a nod. _That we did._

"You all know me as a man who wastes no time, so I will live up to my reputation," Corban said, his hardened eyes traveling from face to face. _I should raise my voice a bit._ "We are on the brink of extinction! Just last week, a Mud-Blood from the Accounting Department attempted to put me in front of the Wizengamot for tax evasion!"

"Tax evasion?" the Pure-Bloods looked genuinely confused.

"A Muggle concept that has never applied to us Pure-Bloods," Corban laughed coldly. "They attempted to look into my Vaults, and when the Goblins refused to hand over my information, this fucking Mud-Blood had the gall to send me a letter of notice. When my 'trial' did come up, he was obviously laughed out of the room."

"Good," Thorfinn growled. "Why the fuck do they keep trying to implement Muggle Laws into our society? We have always been exempt from taxes because we already pay for everything."

"Because they are leeches, my friend," Corban replied, and everyone nodded. "This whelp seemed to think that I owed the Wizarding World something, despite us standing in a building that I paid for. Here's the funny part, his Office was paid for by the Yaxley Family as well."

"Filth," Violet spat out. "How did they even get you into a trial? Surely the Wizengamot know of your contributions to Magical Britain."

"They didn't want to offend this Mud-Blood," Corban shook his head. "The boy was passionate, I'll give him that. He went on and on about the rich paying a higher tax in order to help the country, which only served to make him look like an idiot because I have donated over two millions Galleons this year in order to fix up Magical Britain's damaged roads."

Corban then drew in a deep breath. _Stay on task, Corban._

"My friends," Corban continued. "There was a time when the people of this country understood who built Magical Britain. They understood that we Pure-Bloods built the roads, the buildings, the different Districts, the charities, the schools, everything. **We** were respected once, but now… Now, we're being dragged off to trial for tax evasion."

"Unbelievable," George Selwyn shook his head.

"This can't stand," Alecto Carrow said, which earned her slow nods. _They are already uniting under a common goal. Good. Time to get to the real topic._

"The British Ministry is nothing without us," Corban said, and every eye was fixed on him. "For too long they have disrespected us. For too long they have cast us aside in favor of Mud-Bloods and Blood-Traitors. For too long they have refused to respect the power that we wield. No more!"

"What are you suggesting?" Walden asked.

"Next week, once I have had a chance to find Lucius, we will both go to the Minister," Corban started. "And we will pull our funding from **everything**." _I need Lucius for this, he holds more influence in the Ministry than all of us combined._

"What?" Felix Rosier finally spoke up. _The youngest of us, and probably the sharpest. I need him on my side for this._ "You will collapse this country if you do this. Our funding keeps the Districts running. Without us, the Goblins will buy everything out."

"Exactly," Corban said. "The Ministry has forgotten this simple fact, and Lucius and I will remind the Minister of it. The peace that they all enjoy has been bought and paid for by us! Not the Mud-Bloods! Not the fucking Blood-Traitors! Not the French! Us!"

"Here, here!" Crabbe and Goyle said loudly.

"If one Mud-Blood whelp can drag me off to a trial, the same can, and **will** , happen to all of you," Corban told them. "This is only the beginning, my friends. Ever since our Lord left us, we have been the victims of ridicule and disrespect. From here on out, things will only get harder for us. Things will not improve until we make a united stand. Now… I am not the Dark Lord, but I will do my part for us. Will you join me? Felix? What say you?"

Every eye landed on Felix Rosier, who simply looked around the room with a calm demeanor.

"The French should be sent back to France first, but not before we make charitable donations to their country," Felix said.

"Why on Earth would we do that?" Lucas Flint demanded.

"Let him speak," Corban said, his eyes fixed on the young Pure-Blood.

"Say what you will about the French, but they have given our Ministry a lot of money," Felix went on. "They have the moral high ground right now, but once we do the same, we'll be even. It will give us immunity from certain accusations."

"He's right," Corban nodded. _Sharp lad._ "Once we are even, we will tell the Minister to send the French on their way. It might become a little ugly, but in the long run, it benefits us greatly. Shall we take a vote?"

"There is no need for that, I think," Walden said. "We're with you, Corban." _Excellent._

"Sending the French away is all well and good," Violet spoke up. "But what about the fool who brought them here?" _Ronald Weasley… Yes, he'll need to be dealt with._ "I say we kill him."

"Kill him?" George Selwyn cocked an eyebrow. "A Pure-Blood child?"

"He is a Blood-Traitor, one that needs to be put down," Violet sneered.

"My Lady, you seem quite disdainful of this boy," Corban said. "Any particular reason why?" _We all know why. Your daughter runs around him like his personal slave._

"He has filled my daughter's head with nonsense," Violet told the others. "He has tricked her into his service." Violet then stood up, her shoulders squared. "Many of you were at Hogwarts on Sunday, and if you were, then you saw what my husband saw."

People traded slow looks, whereas Corban kept his eyes on Violet. _I need to be careful with her. She might be rude, but she is well-spoken when she desires something._

"Ronald Weasley runs Slytherin House," Violet said, her eyes scanning the room. "They treat him like he's their king…"

"Not all of our children fell for his lies," Bartholomew Goyle said.

"Vincent and Gregory are good boys," Violet smiled at Crabbe and Goyle, and then she looked to Lucas. "Your son too, Lucas."

"Marcus knows where he stands," Lucas gave her a nod.

"I envy you," she spoke clearly. "My daughter has broken my heart with her weak will. She has embarrassed our Family name, and all for the friendship of a Blood-Traitor."

"You have our sympathies, Violet," Amycus said.

"Thank you," Violet gave him a nod before looking to Corban. "Corban, even your daughter has fallen prey to his silver tongue." _She has indeed._ "My husband told me that this boy split the skies apart with lightning."

"I was there," Lucas Flint said. "I saw it… She speaks the truth."

"This boy is far more powerful than we gave him credit for," Violet told Corban, who listened intently. "In the last two years, this boy has made a name for himself at an unprecedented rate. If we don't stop him now, he will become a threat to us. He already spills his bile in the ears of our children."

"Not to mention that he has turned Sebastian against us," Avery said.

"That traitor was always looking for a reason to distance himself from us," Thorfinn frowned deeply. "Him, and James… Both of them deserve to be dead."

"Ronald Weasley **is** the reason why the French are here," Violet continued. "He has even bought himself a large chunk of the Media. I humbly implore all of you to take notice of this threat, and then, to help me eliminate him."

"He may be a Blood-Traitor, but he is still a Pure-Blood," Felix said, and George Selwyn nodded his agreement. "There are not many of us left in the World."

"The Weasleys have many children," Corban said. "One less Weasley won't end their line."

"Then you agree with me?" Violet asked Corban, who gave a nod. _She's right about this boy. We can't leave him to do as he pleases._

"How do we kill a student of Hogwarts?" Walden asked.

"For now, we wait," Violet replied. "We get rid of the French, we take away Weasley's position in the Ministry, and then, we make him meet an unfortunate end. This is the only way to get our children back."

"She's right," Alecto Carrow started. "If that Blood-Traitor is indeed running the House, then all of our children are being influenced by his traitorous beliefs. We ought to kill him as quickly as possible."

"Maybe his traitorous mother and father as well," Amycus grinned. _Savages. One death is enough._

"I am not comfortable with murdering a child," Felix stood up. "I will help you get rid of the French, but after that, I am done with this conspiracy."

"Will you also help us in reestablishing our power?" Corban asked.

"Yes," Felix replied calmly.

"Then that is enough," Corban gave a nod. "I will not ask you to take part in anything that will darken your conscience."

"Thank you, my Lord," Felix said, and then he left the study without another word.

"I will take young Felix's lead on this," George Selwyn also stood up. "Killing children has never been my cup of tea."

"Weak old fool," Amycus sneered.

"Amycus," Corban shot a murderous look at the fool, who stopped sneering immediately. "Thank you for your help, George."

"Keep us in the loop," George said as he left.

Once Felix and George were well and truly gone, Corban looked to Violet, whose eyes were fixed on Corban. _She's staring at me with a very familiar look._

"Let us discuss this 'unfortunate end' for Weasley," Corban said. "Any ideas?"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Chamber of Secrets – Late Night)**_

"So the toxins are completely gone?" Ron asked Chivvy, who gave a shaky nod.

"Lord Weasley, is this wise?" Chivvy asked once again.

"I'll be fine," Ron assured all the Elves. "I'm just going back there to have a look." _And hopefully, find some more secrets._

"It isn't charted yet, Master," Marty tugged at Ron's robes. "At least take Marty with." _You don't look like you want to go back there, though._

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

"Yes…" Marty squeaked.

"Stay behind me at all times, then," Ron sighed out. "Right, I'm heading off. If I don't come back, tell my Family that I love them."

The Elves all gaped at him, their worries increased tenfold.

"That was a joke," Ron told them quickly. _Not good timing, Ron._ "I'm serious, I'll be fine. Please, go about your work."

With that said, Ron began making his way towards the dark mouth of Salazar Slytherin. Marty kept up with Ron's right leg, on his hands tugging at Ron's robes. _I should reassure him, he looks absolutely terrified._

"Don't worry, Marty," Ron smiled at his Elf. "I doubt there's anything alive back there because of the toxin. If we do die, it'll be from something like a cave-in. It'll be instant. No pain."

Marty looked even more horrified, and Ron blinked at him.

"What?" Ron asked.

"This is Master's worst idea yet," Marty mumbled, and Ron grinned.

"It's an adventure," Ron sniggered. "My siblings and I used to go on adventures all the time when we were little. Bill once led us all the way to the Muggle village."

"This isn't a Muggle village," Marty whined.

"You know, you can stay behind," Ron said just as they neared the entrance. "I won't think less of you."

"Never," Marty said a little more firmly. "Marty cannot allow Master to go in there alone."

"Alright," Ron backed off. "Just stay close, yeah?"

"Yes," Marty agreed, hopping even closer to Ron's leg.

As they made their way inside, Ron quickly used 'Lumos' to turn his wand into a torch. _That fucking stench, mate! Brush your fucking teeth, Salazar!_ Ron shot a look down at Marty, and he saw that his Elf was blocking his nose. _Fuck this, we'll die from this smell before long._

"We're heading back out!" Ron ordered, and both of them ran straight back into the main chamber. "Ugh… That fucking stench…"

"Marty regrets being born with a nose!" Marty said in a nasally voice because he was still blocking his nose.

"My clothes smell like shite!" Ron frowned deeply. "Not a wise move on our part…"

"May Marty suggest a Bubble-Head Charm?" Marty suggested.

"What's that?" Ron asked, he hadn't heard of this Charm yet.

"Aer Bulla," Marty explained. "It will grant Master and Marty a bubble of fresh air."

"Really?" Ron asked, Marty knew Wizard Spells? _Of course he does, he's a clever one. I'll have him write down his knowledge later for my consumption._ "Go ahead, Marty. Show me this Charm."

Marty snapped his fingers, and a bubble of water appeared around their heads. Ron could see clearly enough through the bubble, but his head appeared enlarged to others. _This is weird… Smell the air, Ron._ Ron took in a deep breath, and it smelled quite fresh. _Wow, that's handy._

"This can be used underwater as well?" Ron asked Marty, who gave a nod. "Amazing. Remind me to ask you about more Spells later."

"Marty would be proud to share," Marty smiled a bit.

"Right, let's get back to the adventure," Ron turned to face the mouth, and they both began making their way inside. "Lumos!"

With his wand providing them with light, Ron and Marty made their way deeper into the cave. _Where does this corridor lead? Did the Basilisk live in here? If so, then this corridor might lead to a massive chamber._ Ron felt his excitement grow, this place could be a treasure trove of knowledge. _And it's all mine._ They kept going further and further, and when they finally reached the last unlit torch, Marty stopped Ron.

"This is where Chivvy went back," Marty told Ron.

"So he cleared the toxin from here?" Ron looked around. "Could there be more toxin further up?"

"No," Marty shook his head. "Chivvy, and Chivvy's elves, banished the toxin from the premises."

"Then let's keep going," Ron said, and he managed two steps before he spotted a cave in to his right. "Wait… Is there where they found the chest?"

"It was in the rubble, Master," Marty told him. "The rest is buried for good."

"We can't excavate this?" Ron asked.

"Chivvy advises not to," Marty replied. "It could cause this place to fall apart." _Damn, what a shame._

"Let' go, eh?" Ron said, and Marty nodded.

They continued making their way inside, and the further they got, the wider the corridor became, until eventually, Ron and Marty found themselves stepping into a large den of sorts. It was pitch black past a certain point, and Ron looked to Marty for help. The Elf snapped his fingers, which sent balls of light floating throughout the large dome-like structure.

"Merlin's beard…" Ron muttered as they looked around the place. _It's fucking massive!_

"There, Master," Marty pointed towards a nest made up of bones.

"A nest made of bones," Ron grimaced. "Looks like small animals… There must be thousands of bones in here."

"It was a large serpent, Master," Marty whimpered.

"That it was," Ron drew in a deep breath. "Let's go have a look."

"Have a look?" Marty squeaked, though he didn't leave Ron's side. "Oh… Marty has a bad feeling, Master…"

"It's alright," Ron said calmingly just as they approached the nest.

Ron aimed his wand up high in order to inspect the nest, and he saw odd glitters from the center of the nest. _What is that?_ Ron began making his way into the nest, the sound of bones crunching beneath his feet. _Ronald Weasley, Curse-Breaker extraordinaire!_

"Master," Marty hissed, he wasn't following Ron.

"Just stay there, Marty," Ron whispered back. "Keep a look out, eh?"

"A look out," Marty started shooting nervous looks around him. "Marty can do that…"

Ron turned his focus back on the glittering objects at the center of the nest, and once he reached his destination, he kneeled down in order to get a better look. _Are these…? Eggs?_ Ron slowly, and very carefully, wiped the dirt and grime off of the five eggs. _Shiny._ Ron looked each of the eggs over, and he realized that they were crystalized. _How did that happen? What sort of eggs are these?_

"Marty!" Ron called, and he heard his Elf squeal from fright. "Can eggs become crystalized?!"

"Marty does not know, Master!" Marty called back. "Is Master done yet?!"

"Yeah!" Ron began packing the eggs into his pouch, and once he was done, he started walking back to Marty. _I'll try and find out more about eggs, I guess. Until then, Dumbledore's pouch ought to keep them safe._ "Marty, let's go over there."

"Where?" Marty followed Ron's eyes towards a dated Alchemy table.

"I think Salazar might have spent a lot of time in here," Ron stated, and then he quickly began walking towards the Alchemy table.

The table was surrounded by rotten cages filled with frog bones, and Ron found himself grimacing at the grizzly sight. _Did he experiment in here?_ Ron began looking around the Alchemy table, and his eyes quickly found some discarded pieces of parchment around it. _Knowledge!_ Ron took possession of the papers immediately, his eyes scanning through them. _These are rotten… The fucking toxin ruined them completely. Wait… What's that say?_

"Herpo…" Ron read an emboldened word, and then he looked to Marty. "Does the word 'Herpo' ring any bells?"

"Herpo? Marty has heard that name…" Marty tried to remember. _Name? Who is Herpo? And why was Salazar writing about him?_ "Can Master read anything else?"

"No," Ron sighed out. "I probably shouldn't even touch these."

With that, Ron tossed the rotten papers away. _Herpo. I'll into this Herpo character. Maybe he was a friend of Salazar's._

"Is that a bed, Master?" Marty pointed towards the right.

"I think so," Ron walked over to the rotten bed, it had definitely seen better days. _More ruined parchment._ "Let's have a look around, Marty. This place is huge, and it could easily store the entire Hogwarts student body. I want to extend Chivvy's contract in order to turn this place into a livable space."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

In the end, they had found nothing of note. Everything in the Basilisk's lair was ruined by the toxin, and Ron found himself wondering where the toxin had come from. Chivvy had agreed to clear out the lair in order to turn it into a large vault for people, and it had only cost Ron forty Galleons. All in all, Ron still counted his adventure as a success. _Plus, I found these strange eggs._

The eggs were the size of chicken eggs, but their greenish, crystal-like texture made Ron wary. Whatever these were, they were out of Ron's league. _I need to hit the Library tomorrow. I wonder if we have an 'Egg Section'._

Ron leaned back in his favorite chair, the fire was drying him off from his extra-long shower. The Sanctuary had become his bedroom ever since his argument with Daphne, and Ron knew that eventually, his friends were going to come looking for him. _I'll give them a couple of days at best. Maybe I should spend less time in here from tonight onwards? Actually, I still have work to do._

"Kreacher!" Ron called, and after a couple of seconds, Kreacher cracked into the room.

"Lord Weasley!" Kreacher bowed. _Lord Weasley again?_

"Kreacher, you can just call me Ron," Ron said.

"Kreacher is not comfortable with that, Lord Weasley," Kreacher kept bowing. "Kreacher apologizes profusely for his disobedience." _Good Lord, that level of respect makes me uncomfortable._

"Alright," Ron said gently, and Kreacher took on his usual form. "I have a job for you, Kreacher. It could be dangerous."

"Kreacher will proudly serve Lord Weasley," Kreacher promised. _He's cheating on Sirius with me… Ew! Why did I think that?! Damn you, brain!_ "Lord Weasley?"

"Do you know where Borgin and Burkes is?" Ron asked, and Kreacher gave a slow nod. "A man named Victor Burke works there. He's young, has black hair, and is quite handsome. You'll easily tell him apart from the other people of Knockturn Alley."

"Understood," Kreacher gave a firmer nod.

"I need you to approach him when he's alone," Ron said. "Tell him that I want to meet him on Thursday, after lunchtime. Tell him to bring the Artefact, he'll know what that means. You're to bring him to the Cliffside after you drop me off there."

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher bowed.

"And Kreacher… Secrecy is key," Ron told him. "You make sure that Victor understands that. Tell him that we're both still being watched."

"Watched?" Kreacher blinked.

"Don't worry about that," Ron gave a half-smile. "Just do this for me, please."

"Kreacher will see it done, Lord Weasley."

* * *

 _ **Rufus Scrimgeour's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Albanian Ministry – Late Afternoon)**_

Rufus knocked on the shabby door, and he waited for a response.

"Come in," came Amelia's voice, and Rufus pushed the door open.

It scraped roughly against the floor, and once he was finally inside, he found Amelia cooped up in a tiny broom closet of an Office. _Is this an actual broom closet?_ Rufus cocked an eyebrow at Amelia, who wore the dullest expression that he had ever seen. _Right._ Rufus pushed the door shut, and then he turned to face her again.

"Umbridge took it upon herself to find me an Office," Amelia told him, and Rufus rolled his eyes.

"You bureaucrats are a rough lot," Rufus said in a bored tone. "Here, I brought you a gift."

"A gift?" she asked, and he pulled out a bottle of Odgen's Finest from his robes. "Excellent idea, Rufus. Let's open it right now."

"It's the afternoon," he said, but he handed her the bottle nonetheless.

"I need a stiff drink, and judging by your unkempt hair, so do you," Amelia said, and then she Conjured up two glasses.

While she poured them a drink, Rufus leaned against the edge of her desk. _This place wouldn't even pass as a broom closet in the British Ministry._

"Here," Amelia handed him his glass, her eyes lingering on the file in his left hand. "What's that?"

"My file on Ronald Weasley," Rufus replied. "But before we discuss him, I want to know what's going on with my Aurors. Why are you pulling them all here?"

"The Gaia Project is coming to a close," Amelia told him. _Finally._ "It will be remembered as the most costly project in Wizarding History."

"Let me guess, the bandits of this country caught wind of that," Rufus frowned, and she gave him a nod. "My Aurors have trained to fight Dark Wizards, Amelia… This is beneath them."

"Minister's orders, Rufus," Amelia took a sip of her drink.

"Are they at least getting paid for this?" Rufus asked.

"No," she told him bluntly. _Unbelievable._ "The Minister gave them a speech about 'serving one's country', and that was that. If they refused after that, their careers would be over."

"I've asked you to keep your bureaucratic nonsense away from my Aurors," Rufus said, and then he downed his glass.

"Even I can't send the Minister on his way, Rufus," Amelia took his glass and filled it. "How are things in Britain?"

"Getting worse," Rufus replied as he took the glass back. "Some sick fuck impaled a decapitated head on a spike on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley."

"Did you manage to identify the head?" Amelia rubbed her forehead.

"No, it was stolen," Rufus replied.

"Stolen?" Amelia looked both annoyed and confused.

"The Vampires took it, we think," Rufus told her. "It's your fault for leaving me with idiots like that Tonks girl."

"Jane says that Tonks is one of her best," Amelia countered.

"She nearly broke her legs by slipping down some stairs," Rufus grit out. _I wanted to fire her on the spot._ "Anyway… Whoever this dead man was, he was important. A handful of Vampires have left Knockturn Alley, but the ones who remained behind are becoming more violent. Some poor bastard got dragged out of his shop just this morning. They burned down his house." _And we couldn't even do anything about it._

"The moment I come back, we're cleaning up our streets," Amelia told him. "I want five squads of five, and I want them to arrest every Vampire in Knockturn Alley. We'll interrogate them, and then ship them out of the country if they're not British Citizens."

"That might not go over well," Rufus said. "Mass deportation never does."

"These are Vampires, so the Ministry will back us," Amelia said. "Had they been peaceful, we would've allowed them to stay. But burning down houses? No, that can't stand." _I agree._

"We'll wait until Hogwarts reopens," Rufus said. "If things turn ugly, I don't want children anywhere near Diagon Alley."

"I agree with that," Amelia consented. "When you get home, start allocating the resources needed."

"With that all out of the way, here," Rufus handed Amelia the file on Ronald Weasley. "Take a look."

Amelia opened the file and began looking through it, while Rufus just sipped his drink. After nearly a minute of silence, Amelia look to Rufus.

"This isn't much," she told him.

"He's careful," Rufus said.

"He's thirteen," Amelia sighed and shook her head.

"I went to Gringotts, and they shut me out," Rufus said, and Amelia looked back to him. "Yeah… He's paid their tax, just like his fellow Pure-Bloods. Now, why would a child pay that tax?"

"His accounts are shady," Amelia stroked her chin.

"Guaranteed," Rufus said. "Did you have a look at 'Marty'?"

"He has an Elf," Amelia looked at the copy of the Elf Purchase Letter.

"An Elf that also works in Hogwarts," Rufus said. "This little bastard has a spy running around the school. Tell me that that's not reason to be suspicious of Ronald Weasley. This 'Marty' belonged to Sebastian Greengrass beforehand, and he has been sighted in Knockturn Alley by our informants."

"He was buying, or selling?" Amelia asked.

"Both," Rufus replied. "This Elf is good at this sort of stuff, and I know that Ronald Weasley uses him for nefarious purposes."

"The next time your informants see this 'Marty' in Knockturn Alley, bring him in for questioning," Amelia ordered.

"Consider it done," Rufus gave an approving nod. "I also looked into Ronald Weasley's medical records, and get this, he has Brain-Damage."

"What? How did you-?" Amelia started, but then she stopped. "Do I want to know?"

"I found the Healer who fixed him up after his run-in with the Veelas," Rufus told her. "I bribed him."

"Merlin, Rufus!" Amelia shot a look towards the door. "You can't fucking do shit like this anymore!"

"Relax," Rufus said calmingly.

"No, you're not in a war anymore," she frowned deeply. "If Ronald Weasley finds out about this, he'll cause a scandal for us. Don't forget that he's threatened me with his magazine before."

Amelia then looked back to the file, her brow furrowed.

"You feel sorry for him now?" Rufus asked.

"How did he get the Brain-Damage?" Amelia asked him, choosing to ignore Rufus' enquiry.

"The injury that put him in a coma," Rufus replied. "Some 'Spell' gone wrong…"

"The Dark Arts?" Amelia asked.

"Looks like it," Rufus replied. "According to the Healer, Weasley's body is covered in scars from his accident. Oh, and he suffers from Chronic Stress, which inadvertently is making his Brain-Damage worse. This boy is a ticking clock."

"He's dying," Amelia looked almost remorseful for a moment. _She's always been the soft one between us._

"He **might** die," Rufus corrected. "Until he does, he has to obey the laws of the living."

"Can you really do nothing about his accounts?" Amelia asked.

"The Goblins will never betray a paying client," Rufus replied. "I'm pretty sure that Weasley isn't going to run out of money anytime soon. He is dating Sebastian Greengrass' daughter, after all."

"Do you think she knows about her boyfriend's… illness?" Amelia asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Rufus shrugged. "Either way, I don't really care about her. She seems like just another thirteen year old to me."

"Any leads left to follow?" Amelia asked him as she handed the file back.

"No," Rufus replied. "I plan to pass this case off to someone else for now."

"What?" Amelia blinked.

"I have actual investigations to follow through," Rufus admitted. "This case is optional, so I'm passing it off to an old friend."

"Who?" Amelia asked.

"Alastor," Rufus stood up, and then he downed his glass. "Alastor can be trusted to be discreet, and with his paranoia, he'll see this through." _And he owes me._

"I don't like this plan," Amelia said bluntly. "That man's marbles are completely lost. We can't afford this getting out."

"This kid split the skies open with lightning on Sunday, and he fired said lightning Wandlessly," Rufus told her, and she looked quite taken aback. "The French were there, and so were hundreds of other people. Word is getting out about his newest achievement. You remember our chat about Dark Lords?"

"Ronald Weasley is clearly on his way out," Amelia said. "I'm sorry, Rufus… I'm shutting this down. We just can't afford this coming back to us. Not only will we get fired, but the entire Ministry will be butchered over the papers." _Politics…_

"What if I take full-?"

"No," she refused. "Shut it down, Rufus. Leave him alone." _Fuck, I shouldn't have shown her his medical record._ "Look… I need you on the bigger cases, alright? Right now, our crime rate is turning us into a laughing stock. The Minister expects us to clean up his mess, and if we're too busy investigating a dying boy, it'll be the end of our Department. I know you don't like Politics, but this time, you have to follow orders from up high."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Cliffside – After Lunch)**_

Ron reread Barnabas' letter, it looked like Ron had a dinner date tonight. _Tonight, I'll finally be rid of him. I hope._

Sadly, Ron had been unable to bring himself to spend time with his friends, all of whom were too busy with their own plans for Christmas. Theo had a million questions about the Burrow, Pansy and Blaise were dreading returning home, Tracey was 'keen' to have a sleepover with Ginny, Millie was reading up on skiing, Malfoy was being quieter than usual, and Daphne… _I don't know about her plans. I don't know how to approach her without her acting distant. I just have to keep trying, that's what the book says. I need to be patient, and understanding. Just like she is with me when I'm in one of my moods._

The sound of a whip-cracking pulled him out of his thoughts, and Ron turned to face Victor and Kreacher.

"Nice place," Victor smiled as he looked around, he had a black, metallic box in his hands. _A box with dozens of purple Runes. That must be the Artefact._ "Very private, and the weather is nice."

"No one knows that you're here?" Ron asked. "I have to be sure. The Aurors are very interested in us both."

"Not even my uncle knows, Ronald," Victor said truthfully. "Don't worry, I'm very careful." _He's pulling one over his uncle, isn't he?_

"Good," Ron walked over to Victor. "Is that it, then?"

"It is," Victor put the box down, while Kreacher just watched from the back. "Doesn't look like much, I know, but I've tested it out."

"Tested it out?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"On rats," Victor 'smiled', but Ron wasn't pleased. _Fucking creep. I bet he got off watching those rats die._

"How does it work?" Ron asked.

"Simple," Victor bent down. "See this blue switch here?" Ron leaned down, and then he gave a nod. "Press the switch, and a vial container pops out."

Victor then pressed the button, and after a few clinks and clanks, a vial container came out of the side. _Woah… It's almost Muggle in its ingenuity._

"Pour poison into this vial, push the container shut, and the box turns the poison into an airborne toxin," Victor went on. "When you want to release said toxin, you press this black button on top. After a couple of minutes, it will disperse the murderous gas."

"Any poison will do?" Ron asked.

"I haven't tested every poison, but all the common ones work just fine," Victor stood up. "Whoever made this box clearly had a lot of enemies. See the Rune-Work? Protective Charms. Once activated, the box disappears until its job is done. You can't detect it with any form of Revealing Spell."

"A perfect weapon," Ron drew in a deep breath. _Maybe I should just destroy it? If it falls into the enemy's hands, we're fucked._ "How much do you want to charge for it?"

"Twenty thousand is the lowest I'll go," Victor said.

"Twenty fucking thousand?!" Ron frowned. "Who would buy that?"

"You've clearly never sold an Artefact of the Wizards of Old," Victor laughed at Ron, making Ron's frown deeper. "Trust me, twenty thousand is a very good price."

"You want it gone that badly, then?" Ron asked. _Do I see a window of opportunity?_

"Like you said, the Aurors are very interested in me," Victor shrugged. "They have been asking after my Vault information, and just the other day, I spotted an informant peering into my shop."

"Well…" Ron smirked slowly. "I guess I'm your only hope, eh?"

"As much as it pains me to admit it, yes," Victor 'smiled'. "Some Artefacts are too hot to move without unwanted attention, and this fell into my lap while I was under investigation. A damn shame…" Victor then eyed Ron's smirk. "You want more money?"

"If it is as dangerous to move as you claim, then yes," Ron replied.

"You can thirty five percent," Victor said, he truly needed this object gone.

"And information?" Ron asked.

"That too," Victor agreed.

"I want the information now," Ron said. "Think of it as a down payment."

"You're getting greedy," Victor said coldly, and then he smirked. "I like it. Very well, what information do you want?"

"Knockturn Alley," Ron replied. "What the fuck is happening down there?"

"Fang-geddon," Victor laughed, though it was a cold laugh. _Don't shudder, Ron._ "Vampires, Ronald… They're everywhere. In the streets, the shops, the corners, the inns, and the houses." _An army?_

"How many in total?" Ron asked.

"A couple hundred, at least," Victor said. "Actually… No, not a couple hundred anymore."

"What happened?"

"Someone left a head impaled on a spike on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley," Victor told him. _Didn't Dumbledore tell me that Emilia brought a head back from Brussels? That crazy bitch…_ "Whoever this head belonged to was clearly important. A lot of Vampires packed their bags and left, while the others are ravenous for revenge. Looks like war is coming." _You have no fucking idea, mate._

"Have they attacked people yet?" Ron asked.

"Some poor bastard got killed today," Victor replied, and Ron closed his eyes. _Another dead body._ "Don't feel bad for some random, Ronald… It's pathetic."

"Whatever," Ron shook his head clear. "What else is going on in Knockturn Alley?"

"Nothing else, really," Victor replied. "The Vampires are the only big game in town, but they're not exactly after power."

"Explain," Ron said.

"Well, when a crime boss moves in, they take over completely," Victor said. "These Vampires are not interested in taking over… They just prowl the streets, and harass the population. People go missing, but there are no Aurors to investigate. Petty thieves have taken to the streets, and prostitutes are charging a king's ransom to spread their legs for dead men. Everything's gone to shit ever since these Vampires moved in." _Bloody hell._ "But you know what I think?"

"What?" Ron asked slowly.

"I think this chaos is by design," Victor smirked. "Whoever is in charge is creating problems for the sake of creating problems. They clearly want the Aurors distracted, because eventually, the Aurors will have to clean up Knockturn Alley. Someone is playing a very intricate game here, Ronald, and I want to meet this person."

"Of course you do," Ron said, he remembered Priscilla's story. _He sent her off to a Vampire Den, right? I bet he sold her away as a favor. Wait… That happened before this new Vampire boss showed up. He sold her for the sake of earning some random Vampire's favor…_

"What's wrong?" Victor asked, and Ron said nothing. _I don't want to make deals with this person. It makes me feel sick._ "Ronald?"

"I'll take the box, and you'll get your money," Ron said with a dead-tone. _Pandora would spit on you for this, Ron._

"I'll get my money, and **then** , you can have the box," Victor stepped into Ron's face. "Careful, Ronald… I like you, but you don't want to fuck with me."

"Relax, alright?" Ron didn't back off. "I need the box as proof. The person I'm dealing with is a fucking psychopath, and I don't want to piss them off." _I really don't. My head would not look good on a spike._

"How can I trust you?" Victor asked.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Ron replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Yes, but you don't want to be here, do you?" Victor asked coldly. "I can see it in your face… You think you're too 'good' to be making deals with me."

"That's inconsequential," Ron said. "I don't like my position right now, but I'm still here. I do what has to be done."

"Tsk," Victor clicked his tongue. "You're not that different from me. I bet you've done things that I myself would do. I mean, look at you haggling over money, all the while complaining about making a deal with someone like me. You're a little hypocrite, aren't you?"

Ron just stared at Victor, he had half a mind to clock the fucker.

"How's that Tome of mine serving you?" Victor asked. "The one you bought from me after you met Priscilla?" _Don't mention her name, cunt._

"Can I just have the box?" Ron asked. "I will give you your money once I have it."

"Fine," Victor took a step back. "But…"

"What is it?" Ron drew in a deep breath. _Calm, Ron. Be calm._

"I've decided to add another condition to our deal," Victor said playfully. "I want you to shake my hand."

"What?" Ron blinked.

"Shake my hand, and look me in the eye," Victor 'smiled'. "I want you to remember this, Ronald."

"Just give me the fucking box," Ron clenched his jaw.

"Shake my hand," Victor put his hand forward, and Ron's eyes darted to Kreacher. _If I start a fight, Kreacher could get hurt. Something tells me that Victor is a dangerous Duelist._

"You…" Ron started, but then he stopped.

There was no other option, was there? _He'll end the deal for certain if I don't shake his hand, he's too proud to not get his way. This box could end up in the wrong hands. Fuck…_

Ron slowly took Victor's hand, and the handsome young man smiled widely.

"Criminal," Victor all but whispered, but Ron heard him clear as day.

Victor's smile widened even more, his twisted emotions coming to the surface. _What the…?_ Ron began feeling lightheaded, and when his stomach began to float, his mind went on full alert.

* * *

Ron found himself standing within Borgin and Burkes, there was not a hint of color in sight. _A vision? Entity, you're still helping?_ There was no response, as usual, and Ron couldn't help but wonder about the God living inside his head. _Are you too weak to even talk? Is giving me visions hurting you further?_ Ron didn't know how he felt about that, but the petty part of him was quite happy. The Entity had tormented hundreds of Ronald Weasleys, so it was past time that it got some just desserts.

Ron suddenly spotted colors to his left, and he turned to see Victor entering the shop from the back. _He looks the exact same, so this isn't too far away from today._ Ron approached Victor calmly, his eyes looking for any special details. Victor was reading a Daily Prophet article with a small smirk on his face, and so Ron decided to take a look at what Victor was reading. _I can at least get the date from it._ The moment Ron saw the title, his jaw dropped.

"Newly Elected Minister, Amelia Bones, killed in Ministry Assault…" Ron read the title from behind Victor. _We got her elected? And then, she died?_

Ron swallowed thickly, his eyes darting towards Victor's pleased face. _Why is he happy about this? Could he be working for the Death-Eaters?_ Ron quickly looked for a date, and his gut tightened at the sight of it. _7_ _th_ _of December, 1995. Fucking hell, that's only months after Pandora's death. Wait… Amelia Bones won't get elected until 1995? That's ages away!_ This was a confusing vision, and Ron decided to investigate it further.

"Auror forces annihilated… Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, found dead near Minister Bones…" Ron all but whispered. "The Order of the Phoenix arrived on scene, but were swiftly defeated as well… Lord Sirius Orion Black, Lord Sebastian Greengrass, Arthur Weasley, Xenophilius Lovegood, Amos Diggory, Max McDean, Cedric Diggory, Clara Martyris, and former Auror, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody counted amongst the dead… The search for lost loved ones continues…" _Dad died?! Sirius… Lord Greengrass… Xeno… No. No, this_ _ **cannot**_ _happen._

Ron felt his head spin, and he took a shaky step back. _What was this assault? I need to tell Dumbledore about this as soon as possible! The old man needs to know what's coming._ Ron shook his head clear, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Relax, Ron. It's only a vision. Dad will be just fine. You'll protect him. You'll protect them all._ Just as Ron was regaining his senses, the front door swung open. Both Ron and Victor looked to the visitor, and Ron's blood froze. Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco's potential murderer, had just walked in with a childlike smile on her face.

"Good evening, Lady Lestrange," Victor put the paper away, while she stepped further into the shop. _Lady Lestrange? He knows her?_

The way she walked around with a carefree smile scared the life out of Ron. _She's so… innocent looking… But at the same time, her eyes are shark-like. Heavy, and unmoving._

"Vicky!" Bellatrix came to an abrupt stop, her smile widening. "My handsome little informant!" _Informant?!_

Ron glared murder at Victor's back. _You filth… You did this?!_

"Are you here to buy, or to sell?" Victor asked her with a smile of his own.

"I'm here to thank you," she looked around the shop with a dreamy look. "You have proven your worth a hundred times over."

"Thank you," Victor gave a respectful nod. "I only wish to show the Dark Lord my complete devotion." _You fucking bastard._

"You're a smooth talker," Bellatrix let out a giggle. "Maybe I should wear your tongue around my neck for good luck?"

Both Ron and Victor blinked at her, but she just laughed casually.

"That was a joke, my pet," Bellatrix said, though her eyes sent a different message. _Why isn't she in Azkaban? Fuck me dead, the Future has gone to shite!_ "Our enemies will never recover from our most recent assault, and I've come here to collect you."

"Collect me?" Victor asked.

"The Dark Lord wishes to thank you in person," Bellatrix hummed, and Ron saw genuine fear cross Victor's face. "Don't worry, Vicky, he is pleased with you. You have finally earned your Mark."

"I have?" Victor's eyes were filled with greed. _You motherfucker!_

Ron was shaking with rage, he had heard enough to get a clear picture of what Victor had done. _He's behind this assault on the Ministry, isn't he? That's why he's so pleased. That's why he's 'earned' his Mark._

"He wishes to Mark you himself," Bellatrix said, her voice cracking in an odd manner. "This is a great honor, Victor, I expect you to understand that."

"I do, my Lady," Victor said quickly. "I will not disappoint you."

"You haven't yet," she said, her voice had returned to normal. "So much intel, and all of it was useful to our cause. There is one teeny, weeny problem, though…"

"Problem?" Victor asked slowly. _He's terrified of her, I can see it on his face. There is no smugness in his voice, and he is listening to her with rapt attention._

"Ronald Weasley…" Bellatrix hissed, her mood completely shifting. _Me?_ "The boy was not at the Lovegood Residence as you promised." _Lovegood Residence? The Rookery?_

Horror dawned on Ron, and his eyes slowly drifted towards Victor.

"You…" Ron muttered. "You were behind that?"

"He told me that he was going to be there," Victor said quickly, but Bellatrix's gaze had already turned cruel. _I did? Why would I tell you something like that?! Wait… Pandora, and her Family, are still in danger?_ "It took me months to find out where the Lovegoods live, and I told you as soon as I found out."

"But he wasn't there," Bellatrix said. "This is the third time he's escaped us, and you are his informant, are you not?" _What the fuck?_

"I only serve the Dark Lord," Victor assured her. "Did I not deliver this most recent victory to you? Did I not give you Emilia Travers? I even located Solomon for you at great personal risk." _Emilia too? Motherfucker! And who the fuck is Solomon?_

"But you give Ronald Weasley information as well," Bellatrix cocked her head. "Tsk… Tsk… Tsk…"

"I give him what you want me to give him," Victor said firmly, though his fear was easy to see. "I swear on my Magic." _Is he playing me in the Future? How? Did I lose my fucking marbles, or something?_

"Relax," she suddenly broke into a smile, taking both Ron and Victor by surprise. "I can see that you're telling me the truth, my pet. Come, the Dark Lord awaits."

Victor slowly walked around the counter, and Bellatrix took him by the arm.

"There will be a Mud-Blood at the ceremony," Bellatrix told Victor. "You must kill him in order to prove yourself."

"You've seen me kill their kind before," Victor said. _Scum._

"This is for the Dark Lord, Vicky," Bellatrix giggled. "He must see your conviction, just as I have."

As they both exited the shop, Ron began feeling lightheaded. Borgin and Burkes broke apart around him, and Ron was flung back into the present.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Cliffside – After Lunch)**_

"Ronald? Are you still with me?" came Victor's voice, and Ron just blinked at him. _I'm back…_ "You can let go of my hand now, handsome. I'm not interested." _Smug little fuck!_

Ron tightened his hold on Victor's hand, something had snapped in Ron's head. _I don't know if he was playing me in the Future, but he clearly has his fingers in everyone's pie. He only cares about himself, just ask Priscilla._ In this moment, Ron's mind was made up.

Victor Burke had reached the end of his life.

"Have you seen Priscilla?" Ron asked, his voice far too calm even for his own liking.

"Priscilla? The whore?" Victor gave a confused smile. _Whore? She is a good person, and she protects her loved ones the only way she knows how._ "Haven't heard a word about her for a while. Don't tell me that you're interested in used goods, Ronald. I'm sure plenty of girls at Hogwarts would love to suck your cock." _Keep talking, filth… Keep feeding the flames._

"I heard that you sent her away to a Vampire Den," Ron said, and Victor just blinked at him. "Is it true, Vicky?"

"Vicky?" Victor cocked an eyebrow.

"Did you send her away?" Ron asked.

"She chose to go," Victor tried to pull his hand away.

"What about the children she looks after?" Ron asked, his grip tightening. _Don't you care about them? No… Why would you?_

"What the fuck is your problem?" Victor asked, a hint of worry in his voice. "Who the fuck cares about some Squibs?"

"I care," Ron's voice began shaking, his eyes digging into Victor's. "They're just little kids… They love her to pieces, Victor… You nearly orphaned them again, and for what? Some favor from a Vampire?"

"Let go," Victor snarled.

"You know, in moments like these, a decent person might give into hesitation, or even pity," Ron said, he was so angry that he just couldn't stop. "They might think to themselves that 'Hey, maybe I can help change this person for the better'…"

"Are you insane?" Victor was utterly lost.

"But I'm not that sort of person," Ron went on. "Some people can't be changed… They're too far gone… Maybe you really were on my side in the Future, we'll never know." Victor looked truly baffled. "All I know is that you killed my dad…"

"What?"

" _ **YOU KILLED OUR DAD!**_ " Ron screamed, his muscles going through the changes of Cutis Terra.

Victor didn't even have time to react before Ron's left fist smashed into his face, shard of teeth and spurts of blood were sent flying through the air. Kreacher let out a shriek as Victor dropped onto his back with a completely dazed look, and Ron was on top of him within a heartbeat.

" _ **YOU KILLED OUR PANDORA!**_ " Ron smashed his right fist into Victor's skull, the sound of crunching bone rang throughout the open field.

" _ **You killed our Luna!**_ " Ron smashed his left fist down.

" _ **You killed our Godson!**_ " Ron smashed his right fist down, he no longer cared about anything but exacting his revenge. " _ **Lord Greengrass! Xeno! Sirius! Clara! Cedric! Max!**_ " Ron raised his bloody fists into the air. " _ **Here is your payment, Death-Eater!**_ "

Ron's fists smashed down onto Victor's shattered skull, and meaty chunks blew out of the side of Victor's head. _**Not yet! Leave no chance of survival!**_

" _ **Glacius,**_ " Ron chanted as he grabbed onto what was left of Victor's handsome face.

Ice shot out of Ron's left hand, and before long, Victor's bloodied head was covered in frost. Ron stood up, and he brought his heel down onto Victor's mangled forehead. It was disturbing, and empowering, how easily Ron's foot went through Victor's frozen skull, and when Ron pulled his foot back out, chunks of brain could be found all over Ron's shoe.

" _ **Rot in the Oblivion of the Void, you degenerate,**_ " Ron laughed cruelly, a maniacal grin on his face.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Blood dripped down his knuckles and chin, he could feel its warmth soaking into his school robes. _I'm covered in it… I'm covered in blood… The blood of a Death-Eater._

Ron looked ahead slowly, his mind was losing its focus. _I need to get back to Hogwarts, don't I? But first, I have to clean this up._

How had it come to this? _He got so many people killed, and he was proud of himself. His only desire was to earn his fucking Mark._

He couldn't remember right now. _No, I do remember… I did it to put an end to a degenerate piece of filth._

All he knew was that he felt no remorse whatsoever, and he never would. _**Never.**_

Ron straightened his soaking wet robes, and then he looked to Kreacher. The Elf was clutching his head as he bowed with his forehead against the ground. _He's shaking with fear._ It was odd that Ron felt guilty for scaring Kreacher, but he felt nothing in regards to Victor. The once handsome young wizard had finally stopped twitching, his blood had already begun to seep into the Earth. _Get rid of the body, Ron. Do it now!_

Ron reached down, and he grabbed onto Victor's bloodied collar. With the strength he had acquired from years of exercise, Ron easily dragged the dead body towards the edge of the cliff. Once there, Ron pulled out his wand and aimed it at what was left of Victor.

"Rumpere," Ron chanted, and Victor's bones began to shatter in a horrible manner.

The sound made Ron feel queasy, but he didn't look away. He watched with perfect clarity as Victor's chest caved in on itself, effectively crushing the wizard into a mangled, fleshy cube with appendages sticking out.

"The forest animals can have you," Ron said, and then he pushed the body off of the cliff with his bloody right foot.

Victor fell, and he fell, and then, he hit the ground with a loud thud. Ron could see more blood pooling around Victor's shattered remains, and he couldn't help but wonder how much blood a person had in them. _Must be a lot, considering that Victor won't stop leaking._ Ron shook his head clear, and then he walked back to a shivering Kreacher.

"Kreacher," Ron called as he picked up the Artefact.

"Lord Weasley?" Kreacher finally raised his head, and when he saw Ron's bloodied form, the Elf put his forehead on the ground again. _Is he worshiping me?_

The thought sickened Ron a little, but he decided not to scare the Elf any further. _I've already done a number on him, so I need to be as gentle as possible._

"Kreacher, please look at me," Ron said gently, and the Elf looked back up. "I am so sorry that you saw that side of me again… Please, I won't hurt you."

"Kreacher knows," Kreacher slowly stood back up, his big eyes darting towards the large pool of blood. "Lord Weasley killed the handsome Burke…"

"Yes, I did," Ron said far too easily. _Shouldn't I feel guilty? Victor was still a human being. No, I've killed before. Victor was just a different sort of animal, that's all._ "We need to get back to Hogwarts."

"Lord Weasley cannot go back looking like this," Kreacher looked back to Ron.

Ron looked down at himself, and he grimaced. _Fuck, he's dead right. I'm completely covered in gore. It's still warm…_ Ron quickly began taking his clothes off, he couldn't care less about his scars right now. Once Ron was in nothing but his boxers, he looked back to Kreacher. The Elf was just staring at Ron's scars, his fear had returned to his face.

"Kreacher, I need you to hide these at your house," Ron ordered. "Wash them as soon as possible, leave no traces of blood. I have Astronomy tonight."

"Astro… Astronomy?" Kreacher mumbled.

"Astronomy class," Ron clarified. "Here."

Kreacher took the robes, and Ron picked up the Artefact again.

"Kreacher will have these washed within the hour," Kreacher croaked, and then he cracked away without another word. _Wait… Did he just leave me here?_

"Fuck!" Ron yelled out. "He panicked and bolted on me?!"

Ron looked around with an angry look, and when his eyes landed on the blood-soaked ground, he felt a tremor pass through his hands. Ron slowly looked down at his hands, and he realized that he was still wearing his glove and serpent ring. _Daphne gave me these… They're covered in blood. I'm still covered in blood._ A bit of panic began to course through his body, but when Kreacher cracked back onto the Cliffside, Ron immediately found himself distracted.

"You're back," Ron let out a relieved sigh. "I need you to go to the Sanctuary, the place where you picked me up from, and check if it's clear. If there's no one there, come back and fetch me."

"Kreacher obeys," Kreacher bowed, and then he Disapparated again.

Ron waited for a few seconds, and Kreacher returned with a resolute look on his old, wrinkly face.

"Is it clear?" Ron asked quickly.

"It is clear, Lord Weasley," Kreacher put his bony hand forward, and Ron took it without hesitation.

Ron was pulled through a thin pipe, and when he reopened his eyes, he was standing in the Sanctuary. The familiarity of his safe haven calmed him down even more, and Ron drew in a couple of long breaths. _Think, Ron. Think, and then act._

"Kreacher, go to the Kitchens of Hogwarts," Ron looked to the Elf. "Find an Elf named Marty, and tell him that I sent you. Tell him that I need a **clean** suit, the whole thing. Shoes included. Tell him to look through Theodore Nott's trunk, he has Calming Draughts stored away for me. Tell Marty to bring me one vial of Calming Draught." _Relax, Ron. Stop blurting out information so quickly._

"Kreacher will see this done, Lord Weasley," Kreacher promised, and once Ron gave him a nod, the Elf cracked away to fulfil his mission.

"Alright…" Ron muttered as he ran over to the bed.

Ron kneeled down, and he pulled out Salazar's empty chest. _I think the Artefact can fit in here. I'll need to come up with a plan for it, but for now, I just need to take a shower. I can never speak of what happened today. Luckily, Kreacher understands this as well._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – After Classes)**_

Watching Dumbledore pace back and forth was putting Ron to sleep. _I wonder how he'd react if I told him that I just killed a man? I bet he'd stun me on the spot._ Ron had told Dumbledore that he had experienced a vision as he walked past Theo, and in said vision, Ron had seen the terrible things to come on a Daily Prophet issue. Since then, the old man had been pacing.

"You are too often the herald of grave news, dear boy," Dumbledore finally broke his silence. "I fear that you witnessed the end of our Ministry of Magic."

"1995," Ron clicked his tongue. "The end cometh. Hide your children, people."

Dumbledore looked to Ron with a furrowed brow, but Ron just stared right back at him. _What? I'm right, aren't I?_

"Ronald, are you under the influence of a Potion?" Dumbledore asked.

"I am," Ron admitted. "A Calming Draught, to be exact. I drank the whole vial, so I'll be an arsehole until tomorrow morning." _Hehe, what's his reaction to my words?_

Dumbledore looked back forward, his brow still furrowed. _I didn't expect indifference._

"Your vision scared you," Dumbledore nodded to himself, and Ron simply stared at him. _He just gave me my excuse._

"I'm only human," Ron said, taking advantage of the situation. "Too many deaths for my liking."

"We will avoid this calamity, I promise you," Dumbledore calmed himself down, and then he shot Ron a paternal smile. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I believe that we must tell Amelia about the upcoming war as soon as possible."

"So she can become Minister sooner?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

"That could work," Ron hummed. "She should be Minister before the Dark Lord breaks his followers out. That way, she won't die on the 7th of December, 1995."

"Are you sure Bellatrix was sighted at this attack?" Dumbledore asked. _I'm sure she was there when it went down._

"Her name was written on the Daily Prophet," Ron lied. "The Death-Eaters in Azkaban were freed before December, 1995. Now… I still advocate killing them before it's too late."

"Ronald, until Severus returns, we will not discuss this matter," Dumbledore said. "Breaking into Azkaban will be difficult enough, not to mention that the killing of the defenseless does not agree with me." _The defenseless?_

"The innocents of Magical Britain are the defenseless ones, Headmaster," Ron said plainly. "Death-Eater filth is anything but defenseless."

"Filth?" Dumbledore looked mildly concerned. _Isn't that what they call anyone who is different from them?_

"Sorry, poor choice of words," Ron 'smiled', and Dumbledore just gave a slow nod. "We still have a little time, Headmaster, but I implore you to think on this." Ron then stood up. "We can't have regrets in the Future."

"I know," Dumbledore looked to Fawkes, a thoughtful look on his face. "Before you go, I have to tell you that Madam Pomfrey came to me about you. From today onwards, you will need a supervisor if you want to leave Hogwarts."

"What?" Ron asked coldly.

"Poppy told me that you could suffer a seizure out there, and if someone isn't with you, it could be fatal," Dumbledore said. "She is right, and I was a fool not to consider that. I am sorry, my boy, but my decision can't be changed." _Great going with the seizures, Entity. You have once again fucked me over._

"I have dinner plans with Barnabas Cuffe tonight," Ron said, he knew that arguing about this wouldn't change a thing. _I can still use Marty if I really need privacy._

"Professor Sprout is free tonight," Dumbledore said. "I will ask her if she is willing to supervise you."

"And if she isn't?" Ron asked.

"Then I will take you myself," Dumbledore replied.

"Can't you take me anyway? I'd rather you watch over me than Professor Sprout," Ron said.

"I have report cards to finish writing," Dumbledore told him. "Congratulations, by the way. You got an Outstanding in everything but Herbology."

"Exceeds Expectations?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore gave a nod.

"Fuck," Ron frowned a little, and then he turned to leave. "A damn Exceeds Expectations? I hate Herbology…"

"Focus on it more during the next term," Dumbledore couldn't help but smile a little.

"I will," Ron said as he closed the door behind him. _It's been a busy six months for me, but that's just an excuse. I can do better than 'Exceeds Expectations'. Wait a minute… He said that Professor Sprout might be taking me to Diagon Alley tonight. Maybe I can ask her for an extra assignment over the Holidays, and in return, she could bump me up to an Outstanding._

As Ron made his way towards the Moving Staircase, he decided that his Brain-Damage could help him in his latest scheme. _I'll pretend to be a wounded animal, and hopefully, she'll give me a chance to fix my grade._ With his mind made up, Ron walked down the stairs with a bored expression. Just as he passed by the fifth floor, he saw the Golden Trio walking up to him. _I'm not invisible, am I? Damn, they'll have questions._

"Ron?" Neville noticed him, and both Harry and Hermione stopped talking.

"Hello," Ron greeted, but he didn't break his stride. _Be completely casual, Ron._

"Were you up on the seventh floor again?" Harry asked, and Ron stopped walking. _Harry 'the Auror' Potter._

"I was," Ron nodded. "The Headmaster wanted to talk to me about my… grades…" _Grades?_

"Is something wrong with them?" Hermione asked, and Ron got the feeling that she was a little excited. _Probably just my imagination._

"No, they're perfect," Ron lied. "The Headmaster was just really pleased with me, that's all."

Harry and Hermione nodded slowly, while Neville gave Ron's arm a pat.

"Congratulations, Ron," Neville smiled, and Ron 'smiled' back. "Right… Um…" _Too creepy? Sorry, mate._

"Ron, are you feeling alright?" Harry asked. _Should I fuck with them a little? Sure, why not?_

"It's my medicine," Ron told them, and they tensed immediately. _Ha!_ "It makes me… distant… You know the Calming Draught, don't you, Hermione?"

"I… I do…" Hermione looked a little crestfallen.

"Yeah, I need it so my brain stops trying to off me," Ron shrugged casually. "Have a nice day."

With that, Ron turned around and began heading down towards the Slytherin Dungeons. He managed only a few steps before he felt a small, feminine hand grab his arm.

"Ron… Wait a minute," Hermione said, and Ron turned to face her.

"Yes?" Ron asked dully. _She doesn't have a bruise on her jaw anymore. I guess Daphne really did land a decent blow._ "I'm glad that your jaw is healed."

"Oh…" Hermione rubbed the side of her face. "Yeah… I fixed it, eventually…"

"Does it bother you that you lost to Daphne?" Ron asked calmly, and Hermione looked a little hurt. "I'm not trying to be cruel, I promise. I just want to know if you're doing alright." _Plus, mending some bridges before Christmas would be a smart move. I don't need a house filled with people who dislike me._

"I don't want to sound rude, but I lost to Daphne Greengrass…" Hermione said. _Yeah, that was pretty rude._

"You were both really good up there," Ron didn't care about Hermione's comment right now.

"Until she punched me," Hermione stated.

"It broke no rules," Ron reminded her. "Thinking outside the box could save your life one day, Hermione."

"Save my life?" she blinked. _Careful, Ron._

"Figure of speech," Ron 'smiled', and Hermione looked a little uncomfortable due to his dead-eyed gaze. "What I mean to say is that you should think about the rules. I mean, you want to be a Prefect, don't you?"

"I do," she replied slowly.

"Then knowing the rules is something that you should definitely focus on," Ron said. "Daphne paid attention to the rules, and so, she won."

"But punching another person?" Hermione said. "Sorry, but I don't agree with that." _Didn't you blow up a cauldron full of hot Potion in class?_

"For what it's worth, she wasn't too pleased with herself either," Ron told Hermione. "I swear it."

"Really?" Hermione looked a bit taken aback. _Stop hating my girlfriend._

"Really," Ron said. "Now, why did you stop me?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about something…" Hermione started, a hint of hesitation in her voice. "Do any of your siblings know that you're… sick?"

"What? Are you planning to discuss my illness?" Ron asked.

"No, of course not!" Hermione denied. "It's just that I'm spending Christmas at yours… Ginny invited me… I simply don't want to overstep, that's all." _Hmmm, she sounds genuine enough._

"Only Bill and Charlie know," Ron told her. "Never bring it up with them."

"I won't," she promised, and then she shot a look back at Harry and Neville. "What's your medication, Ron?"

"Hermione, that's a little personal, isn't it?" Ron asked calmly.

"It's just… I've been reading up on Brain Injuries, you see," Hermione started. _Of course you have._ "I don't think the Calming Draught helps with Brain Injuries." _It does when you suffer from Chronic Stress._

"My Brain-Damage isn't my only problem," Ron told her bluntly, and she took a step back.

"Wh… What?" Hermione muttered.

"Don't worry about me," Ron turned to leave. "And just remember that snooping into my personal affairs is what created this tension between us. I want to be friends again one day, but I will not stand for this sort of invasive behavior."

Ron restarted his journey down towards the Slytherin Dungeons, and this time, Hermione didn't follow after him. Students passed him by, all of them looked at him with awed looks and spoke in hushed whispers, but Ron just ignored them. This had been happening all week, and Ron didn't' really like the attention. There were far too many rumors flying around about him, which meant that more and more people wanted to ask certain questions.

Eventually, Ron reached his destination, and after giving the wall the password, Ron stepped into the Slytherin common room. Eyes darted to him, and people began whispering again. _Merlin, if you're up there, please stop this._ Ron made his way towards his room quietly, but before he could reach the entrance to the boys' dorms, he was stopped by Sebastian.

"Hello, Ron!" Sebastian stepped in his way.

"Hello," Ron greeted back, his cold eyes scanning the boy's excited expression. "Can I help you with something, Seb?" _Doesn't Sirius call Lord Greengrass 'Seb'? I bet Lord Greengrass hates that._

"I was just wondering if I could keep your broom for the Holidays," Sebastian replied, his tone becoming a little less excited. "John's coming over, and he doesn't have a Nimbus 2001. We want the competition to be fair, you see." _They're becoming close? Good._

"Keep it for as long as you need, mate," Ron said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Sebastian smiled widely at first, but Ron's tone made him rethink.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Sebastian asked slowly. _What? No._

"Not at all," Ron said. "It's yours for the keeping."

"I… I still can't tell," Sebastian mumbled. _Damn you, Seb._

"I am serious," Ron tried his best, and Sebastian nodded slowly. "Just bring it back in one piece, alright?"

"I can do that," Sebastian nodded more firmly.

"I'll see you around," Ron moved past Sebastian. _Do I really sound sarcastic under this Potion's effects?_

Once Ron was at his door, he opened it slowly, and he entered without making a sound.

"Ron?" Pansy looked to him, and the others followed her gaze.

"Hello," Ron greeted his friends. "Playing Wizard Poker again?"

Ron's eyes drifted to Malfoy, and he found the boy sitting down between Pansy and Theo. _They invited him to play, and he accepted? This is good. It seems that my absence has done some good for Malfoy. Forced him to socialize with the group a little, you know._

"Where have you been, Ron?" Millie asked. "We went up to the Sanctuary, but you weren't there." _Lucky you weren't there when I returned. That would have been awkward._

"He's in a suit," Tracey looked Ron over. "He probably had some business to attend to." _Oh, I did._

"Right on the money, Trace," Ron 'smiled', and his friends just stared at him.

"Oh, shite…" Theo muttered, but Ron decided to ignore it.

"Pardon me, Ladies," Ron stepped past them all, and then he opened his trunk.

Much to his surprise, his school robes were sitting on the very top of his other clothes. _Wow, Kreacher is damn quick._ The school robes looked perfectly clean, and they even smelled nice. _An orange, zesty smell. Not as good as my usual one, but I don't mind._ Ron looked through his Potions, and once he had picked out a vial of Nutrition Potion, he shut the trunk. _Need my second dose, otherwise, I'll be too tired at dinner._ Ron drank the Potion down without hesitation, and despite being on the Calming Draught, he still pulled a face. _Gross._

"Ron, you had one this morning," Daphne reminded him. _Wait… They don't know that I have two doses now. Damn it, Ron. Just tell them now, they're too sharp to lie to about this sort of stuff. Especially Daphne… She'll keep looking into this._

"I need two now," Ron told them. "It's a recent discovery."

"Two?" Blaise asked him, while Malfoy just looked around quietly.

"What is that stuff?" Malfoy asked.

"A Nutrition Potion," Ron replied. _Who's he going to tell? His mother is a prisoner, and his father will never see him again._

"Why do you need two?" Daphne asked the question that they were all thinking.

"You know why," Ron replied a little too bluntly, and Pansy dropped her cards.

"Why are you on that Potion?" Pansy whimpered. "Did you get bad news?" _Ugh… I don't feel like babying you right now._

"No, Pansy," Ron tried being gentle. "You dropped your cards, by the way."

"Oh…" Pansy looked down slowly.

"Ron, why did you need the Potion?" Daphne asked with a calm voice. "We're only asking because we care, and you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

"I had a panic attack," Ron lied. "About my grades of all things… Can you believe that?"

"I can," Tracey said, and Millie shot her a deadpan look. "What?"

"I'm fine now," Ron told them. "Continue on with your game, I'll just be on my bed practicing some Wandless Magic."

"Where did you get the Potion?" Theo asked. _Marty stole one from you, but I can't mention Marty near Malfoy. Risking myself is one thing, but I can't risk Marty as well._

"Your trunk," Ron replied. "Sorry, I just really needed one."

"You came back to Slytherin?" Malfoy asked him with a furrowed brow.

"I did," Ron lied. "I used the Disillusionment Charm in order to avoid people." Ron then sat down on the edge of his bed. "Now… Please ignore me." _Because I'll be ignoring you._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Leaky Cauldron – Near Dinnertime)**_

Ron waited by the fireplace, and once Professor Sprout finally joined him, they made their way towards the exit together. _Careful does it, Ron. Start a normal conversation with her, and then try to get your grade back to an Outstanding._

"How's your day been, Professor Sprout?" Ron asked.

"Oh, quite good," Professor Sprout replied. "And you, Mr. Weasley?" _Bloody._

"Same as usual," Ron shrugged. "I had Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning, which I really enjoy."

"What creature is Professor Lupin teaching you about?" Professor Sprout asked.

"Vampires," Ron replied. "Turns out that sunlight doesn't actually kill them, it just disorientates them."

"They have very sharp senses," Professor Sprout nodded. "Did you know that they actually started those rumors in order to trick Muggles? This was before the Ministry created the Statute of Secrecy, of course. Many Muggles truly believed in Vampires, and often the best way to alleviate suspicion was to walk around during the day."

"Professor Lupin did mention that," Ron said. "I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be a Vampire. It doesn't sound pleasant, but there are perks." _Like superhuman senses and strength. They are even immune to most Spells._

"The 'hunger' they live with is torture," Professor Sprout sounded quite sympathetic. "Many of them die young, I'm afraid." _Suicide, no doubt. I guess some Ronald Weasleys have that in common with Vampires._

"We covered Vampiric Plants in Herbology recently, remember?" Ron asked. "Now… I know that those plants aren't all bloodsuckers, but today's class made me think of Herbology."

"That's good to hear," Professor Sprout smiled genuinely. _Go in for the guilt trip, Ron._

"Actually… Since I have you here, do you mind if I ask you something?" Ron asked, his voice becoming lower.

"Of course," she replied.

"I have a feeling that I didn't do well in your class this term," Ron started, and she blinked at him. _I thought I did, but clearly, I didn't._ "I know I've been distracted because of… health related issues… but that's no excuse."

Professor Sprout looked truly concerned all of a sudden, and Ron figured that his 'health related issues' had done the trick.

"Is there any way for me to make up for my poor performance this term?" Ron asked her. "Something like an extra assignment? It can be difficult, even. I'll get it done, I promise."

"Mr. Weasley… I don't usually tell students this, but you have an Outstanding in my class," Professor Sprout said comfortingly, and Ron blinked at her. _Wait… What? Oh, fuck… Dumblecunt! He was fucking with me?_

"Really?" Ron asked, he didn't have to fake his surprise.

"I know you struggled a little when it came to focusing in class every now and then, but your assignments were always done well," Professor Sprout told him. "You are doing good work in my class, Ronald." _I gave him a life altering warning, and he pulled a damn prank on me? What the hell is wrong with that man?_

"I'm… I'm quite surprised to hear this," Ron tried to give a genuine smile. "If my smile seems disingenuous, it's because I'm under the effects of the Calming Draught." _Leave no room for further awkwardness, Ron. If you weren't on the Potion, your ears would be bright red right now._

"A Calming Draught?" she asked.

"It's been rough day for me," Ron looked ahead, they were getting closer to The Pond. _Walk faster, Ronald._

"I'm… I'm very sorry to hear that," Professor Sprout gave him a rather sorry look. _Damn you, Albus Dumbledore. Damn you._

The rest of the journey was made in an awkward silence, and as soon as they entered The Pond, Ron approached Rudolph.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley!" Rudolph smiled widely.

"Rudolph," Ron smiled back.

"You remembered," Rudolph looked quite pleased.

"Of course," Ron gave him a nod. "I promised you, didn't I?"

"Excellent, Sir," Rudolph showed them in. "Mr. Cuffe is waiting for you already. Will you be needing another seat?"

"Just a table for one, thank you," Professor Sprout said.

"I see him," Ron said, and then he looked to Professor Sprout. "I'll see you in a bit, Professor."

"Good luck in your business meeting, Ronald," Professor Sprout wished him luck. _Ronald again? Fair enough._

Ron walked over to Barnabas Cuffe's table, who stood up with a smile at the sight of Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, please take a seat," Barnabas gestured to the empty chair, and Ron did as he was told. "How are you today?"

"I'm well," Ron replied. "And you?"

"Quite well," Barnabas sat down. "I ordered you the Lamb Special, I know you enjoyed it the last time." _I did._

"Does your girlfriend know that you're buying a minor dinner?" Ron asked in a very cold voice, and Barnabas blinked at him. "That was a joke, don't be so tense, Mr. Cuffe."

"Are you alright, Mr. Weasley?" Barnabas cocked an eyebrow.

"I fell a little ill, and the Matron of Hogwarts gave me a Potion," Ron lied. "It's made me a little… numb…"

"Oh, I hope you get well soon, then," Barnabas relaxed a little. "As for Marietta, she told me of your interview with her. I must admit… You hiring her despite your knowledge about our relationship was very surprising."

"She has talent, and I really enjoyed her articles," Ron admitted calmly.

"She is a truly gifted young woman," Barnabas smiled a little.

"Yes, very young… Around your daughter's age, right?" Ron just stared at Barnabas.

"Yes, I know…" Barnabas said a little weakly. "Some would consider our relationship… unorthodox."

"My only opinion on your relationship is about her loyalty to you," Ron said. "People who are loyal to my competitors are… Well, it is not in my nature to trust them completely."

"I understand, and I feel the same way," Barnabas told him. "You may not believe this, but I pushed her onto you because I want her to have a chance. The Daily Prophet would never hire her because of her strong beliefs, which I personally cannot stand. The Media should be unbiased-"

"Funny thing for a man like you to say," Ron stated. "How many others like her have you cast aside in the past?"

"Far too many…" Barnabas replied. "I will not pretend to be a Saint, nor will I use her against you. I want her to succeed, that's all." _He sounds genuine, but I'll be careful nonetheless._

"And she will, if she does her job well," Ron said. "Does it not bother you that I had you followed?"

"I have no leg to stand on, as Marietta told me rather harshly," Barnabas replied.

"She didn't know that you were stalking me?" Ron asked.

"No," Barnabas replied. "For all her beliefs, she can be naïve to the coldness of the World we live in. That is the mark of an idealist, Mr. Weasley. They have strong beliefs, and great intentions, but they don't understand how shallow some men can be. They don't understand that ugly things need to happen for something beautiful to be born."

"Are you calling us both shallow compared to her?" Ron asked.

"Aren't we?" Barnabas asked in response.

"Yes, I guess we are," Ron nodded. _I mean, I killed a man today, and I don't even care. The World is better off without him, but that doesn't change what I did. The only way to save the World is to plunge one's hands into the filth, and piece by piece, clean everything._

"Two Lamb Specials," Tiffany came over, and when she saw Ron, she smiled widely.

"Hello, Tiffany," Ron smiled back. "Excited to see Beth over the Holidays?"

"She's going to talk my ears off, so yeah," Tiffany chuckled. "I'll bring you both some sweetened water."

"Thank you," Ron gave her a nod, and she left to get their drinks.

"You know her?" Barnabas asked.

"I am her sister's tutor," Ron replied.

"Ah… The famed study group," Barnabas nodded, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. _How does he know about that?_ "Don't be so surprised, Mr. Weasley. Hogwarts isn't cut off from the rest of the World, despite some people thinking so. I had an interesting chat with one of your students' parents."

"Which one?" Ron asked.

"Can't tell you that," Barnabas replied. "But I will tell you this… You are not liked by the other Pure-Bloods. The way they sneered at the mention of your name… Truly despicable."

"You can't make friends without enemies, I suppose," Ron said. _They'll get theirs in time._

"Here you two are," Tiffany put the glasses on the table. "On the house."

"Thank you, Tiffany," Ron smiled once again, and she waved as she left to attend to the other guests.

"Ronald Weasley… The friend of the downtrodden," Barnabas said. "It's a nice title for an article, don't you think?"

"Just because they're Muggle-Borns doesn't make them downtrodden," Ron said. "Believe me, if a Muggle-Born pissed me off, I'd go after them in the same manner as I would go after a Pure-Blood."

"You believe in equality for all, then?" Barnabas asked.

"I believe in merit," Ron replied. "Those who do the work deserve the praise, not the bystanders. Blood-Status, race, entitlements… They mean nothing to me. I judge a person on that person's actions." _Cunts are cunts, it doesn't matter which group they are associated with._

"Are you sure that you're thirteen?" Barnabas asked. "I have never met a thirteen year old who is a genuine realist."

"I've seen… some terrible things…" Ron said vaguely. "They woke me up from my innocence."

"Consider me intrigued," Barnabas began his meal, and Ron followed suit.

"You shall have to remain intrigued," Ron said. "I'm not a sharer."

"What a pity," Barnabas smiled. "If I could publish an article on the mind of Ronald Weasley, I'd turn a hefty profit."

"Then I definitely won't share," Ron said. "Can't have my competition getting wealthy on my expense, now, can I?"

"No, I suppose that would defeat the purpose of our rivalry," Barnabas said. "This is good lamb."

"It's the sauce, I think," Ron said, his voice bland. "Aren't you going to ask why I called for you?"

"You want to know my intentions once and for all?" Barnabas replied.

"Why do I keep running into you?" Ron asked. "Why do you seek me out?"

"I'm interested in a young wizard who is turning heads," Barnabas replied. "It is my job, Mr. Weasley."

"Just your job?" Ron asked. "You don't hold a grudge?"

"Things worked out for Marietta because you bought The Quibbler," Barnabas replied. "In a way, I'm glad that it was **you** who bought it. Not many Pure-Blood wizards would give her a chance."

"Don't be too glad, I might fire her yet," Ron said coldly. "She will need to prove her worth to me."

"That's fair," Barnabas gave a nod. "You have a business to run, and she understands that."

"Why isn't she here?" Ron suddenly asked. "I figured that she's not the sort of woman who likes men talking behind her back."

"Don't tell her that I told you this, but you frighten her," Barnabas chuckled. _Smart witch._

"Am I frightening? Is it my big nose?" Ron asked.

"You are odd individual, and the normal will always fear the odd," Barnabas said. "Now… Marietta is a bit odd, but she's not in your league."

"There's a league, is there?" Ron smirked. "I imagine that I'm quite high in this league."

"You are," Barnabas said, and then he leaned forward. "I want us to work together, Mr. Weasley."

"How so?" Ron asked.

"Certain parties who control the Daily Prophet have… turned it into a joke," Barnabas whispered. "The Daily Prophet I joined in my youth wasn't a mouth-piece for the rich."

"Really?"

"Really," Barnabas nodded. "Before the Great War, bias was quite low in the Daily Prophet. It was still there, of course, but not like today. After everything that happened in the Great War, many of the rich and powerful needed a way to recover face. So, they invested heavily into the Media. Piece by piece, they turned the Daily Prophet into their own propaganda machine."

"These rich and powerful… Were they Death-Eaters?" Ron asked, and Barnabas shot quick looks around. "No one is listening, Mr. Cuffe… No one cares." _And even if they are listening, we aren't doing anything criminal._

"Many were," Barnabas replied. "Some just had strong views that they wanted others to share. Your Great Aunt, Muriel Prewett, owns a piece, if you didn't know. She had us write an article on Goblins, and why we should fear them more than any other 'non-human' threat." _Wow._

"I bet that article sold like hot cakes," Ron said.

"It did, actually," Barnabas told him. "Even former… Death-Eaters… wanted it to succeed. Now, your Great Aunt is no follower of the Dark Lord, but she shares some of his beliefs. The Daily Prophet is an immensely complicated machine, and it has millions of cogs. I am one of these cogs, but I'm old… I had a very different vision for the Daily Prophet when I was younger."

"What sort of vision?" Ron asked.

"The truth, and nothing but the truth," Barnabas replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "Have you heard of how my wife passed?" _What?_

"No."

"I got her killed," Barnabas told him rather bluntly, and Ron blinked at him. "I used to be a Journalist before I became the Chief-Editor… One of the articles I published was quite controversial."

"Controversial?" Ron asked.

"I named a few powerful people who I believed to be under the Dark Lord's service," Barnabas looked a hundred years older. "Not two days after it was published, I came home to the Dark Mark marring the sky above my house. And my Evette… She was dead."

"I am sorry," Ron tried to sound as genuine as he could. _I'll look into this story later._

"I was weak, and I caved," Barnabas told him. "I pulled the article… I still had a daughter, after all."

"You chose to protect your Blood," Ron said. "It's understandable."

"Is it? I work for the people who took my love from me," Barnabas told him. "The Quibbler was my escape…"

"And I took it," Ron said. "That's why you threw a tantrum to the Minister."

"I felt like the Universe had just conspired against me," Barnabas gave a sorry chuckle. "Foolish, right? I blamed the Universe as if it even cared about a speck of dust like me."

"I blame the Universe sometimes," Ron admitted. _Alright, I do it a lot._ "Sometimes, people just need someone to blame."

"I blamed you for a long time," Barnabas said. "But now, I'm glad it was you. Life is funny that way, isn't it?"

"It certainly enjoys being mysterious," Ron said. "You mentioned us working together?"

"If I can't publish a certain article, or if I meet a talented young Journalist who can't catch a break, I'll send them to you," Barnabas replied. "My reasons are mostly… sentimental… but they are important to me." _He wants to rebel against authority in his own way?_

"And what do I get in return?" Ron asked. "I mean, I don't have to rely on you, and you know that."

"I have spies, and I can give you information," Barnabas said. "Someone like you would benefit from that greatly." _I would._

"I do like this deal," Ron admitted. "But… Let's have a trial period first. I am not quick to hand over my trust, Mr. Cuffe." _Not anymore._ "If you do send genuine talent my way, I promise to treat them as fairly as I treated Marietta."

"A toast, then?" Barnabas raised his glass, and Ron decided to give it to him. "Hopefully, this is the start of a fruitful partnership, Mr. Weasley."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – Just after Dinner)**_

The moment Professor Sprout left the Office, Ron looked at the Headmaster.

"Exceeds Expectations?" Ron said in a dull voice, and Dumbledore all but grinned. "Really? I give you a life-shaking revelation, and you pull a prank on me?"

"You looked like you could use a laugh," Dumbledore barely managed to hold himself together. "Did you try to convince her to give you an Outstanding? Did you offer to do extra work?"

Ron just stared at Dumbledore with a dead-eyed stare, the old man was enjoying this too much.

"Why are you the way that you are?" Ron asked in a dead-tone, and Dumbledore let out a hearty laugh. "I hate… so much… about the things that you choose to be."

Dumbledore only laughed harder because of Ron's tone, and after staring at a cackling Headmaster for a few moments, Ron left for his room. _I'm going to Astronomy. I've had enough of Dumbledore for today._

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – After Dinner)**_

The last few days had been extremely eventful, but sadly for Sirius, he had missed out on all the fun. Sirius was now nothing more than a glorified babysitter. He babysat the Weasley twins. He babysat Severus Snape, his childhood nemesis. He babysat the psychopath who carried her fucking sword everywhere she went. And he baby sat Kurt Varga, the sorriest bastard to ever live.

"He'll listen to me?" Kurt asked, and Sirius let out a sigh.

"Kid, just do as I say," Sirius said, he had allowed Kurt to wander the house. _This is not a dungeon, and he's just a damn teenager. I think._ "Dumbledore is a very reasonable man, and from what you've told me, your only crime is being unlucky. Tell him everything, alright? I know you're keeping secrets, and while I can respect that, Dumbledore has far too many people depending on him."

"I… I understand," Kurt nodded weakly, his eyes fixed on his empty plate. "Mr. Black… I just want to thank you… You've been really kind to me-"

"Kid, I'm not kind for gratitude," Sirius put his hand on Kurt's thin back, and he gave the lad a rub. "Just eat, tell the truth, and hopefully, you can start over." _Remus would like this kid. After all, Remus was lost like him once._

"Thank you…" Kurt swallowed thickly. "About that woman…"

"Travers? Is she giving you trouble?" Sirius asked with a furrowed brow.

"No, Mr. Podmore is keeping her away from me," Kurt quickly assured Sirius. "I just… I heard that she left a head… **The** head… in Knockturn Alley."

Sirius rubbed his forehead at that, she really had done that. _And you know what the worst part is? She terrified some of the Dark Lord's minions into running away. For a savage, she's certainly clever about some things._

"Keep your distance from her, Kurt," Sirius said. "Don't look at her, don't speak to her, and don't even mention her."

"Yes, I would prefer that," came the witch's voice from behind them, and they both looked back to see her enter the Kitchen. "Is there any food?"

"This isn't a hotel," Sirius frowned deeply. "If you want to eat, maybe you can cook sometimes." _Why is she just staying here?_

"I don't cook," she cocked an eyebrow.

"Then you can go hungry," Sirius said childishly.

"Mature," she said as she sat down from across them, her eyes fixed on Kurt. "Tell me, Werewolf, do I frighten you?"

"He has a name," Sirius fought the urge to snap at her.

"You should learn to control your emotions, Lord Black," Emilia said calmly. "You are Harry Potter's guardian, are you not?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sirius asked.

"If he is truly some 'Chosen One', then he must be guided by a competent adult," Emilia replied. _I might slap this bitch._

"You're making comments about being a competent adult?" Sirius asked.

"I do not have a child to take care of," Emilia countered. _She's got a point. Damn._ "Kurt… Do I frighten you?"

"Yes…" Kurt mumbled.

"Don't answer her," Sirius clicked his tongue, his eyes fixed on Emilia. "Why are you tormenting him?"

"I asked him a simple question," Emilia said, and then she looked back to Kurt. "I will not harm you, I promise. Sturgis told me of your sorry tale, and I don't see you as a threat anymore." _Sturgis? They're on a first name basis?_

"Where is Sturgis?" Sirius asked her.

"Your cripple is trying to walk around again," Emilia replied, and Sirius felt his blood boil.

"That man gave his Blood, and limbs, for the Order," Sirius grit out. "Show him some goddamn respect." _Again, why am I defending him? He's been a right prick to me ever since I started helping him with his walking exercises. Wait… Sturgis is helping him right now? Alone?_

"Are you always this loud and angry?" Emilia asked him. _I haven't had a drink in over two weeks. I'm at the edge of my wit here._

"I need a smoke," Sirius stood up, and then he looked to Kurt. "You're coming with me."

Emilia just smirked at Sirius, and he chose to ignore her completely. Once Sirius began leaving the Kitchen, Kurt quickly followed after him. _Wait… She's hungry, isn't she? Damn it, Sirius, you softie._

"Kreacher," Sirius called, and his Elf cracked into the Kitchen.

"Master called Kreacher?" the old Elf croaked.

"I did," Sirius replied. "Can you cook our guest something to eat?"

"Kreacher will start at once," Kreacher began hobbling towards the stove.

"You are a kind host, Lord Black," Emilia said, her voice filled with a certain smugness that greatly annoyed Sirius.

"Let's go, Kurt," Sirius said, and they headed for upstairs.

"She… I think she was flirting with you, Mr. Black…" Kurt spoke up, and Sirius shot a confused look back. _Why does everything that comes out of his mouth make me really sad?_

"The point of flirting is to flatter the other person, not drive them up a wall," Sirius said. "Plus, that woman is insane… I prefer to be crazy one with the women that I bring home."

"Oh…"

"Have you never had a lass flirt with you?" Sirius asked Kurt.

"Um… Once, I think…" Kurt muttered.

"You think?" Sirius asked as they kept going up.

"She kept touching my leg," Kurt replied. "Our camp was near a Muggle village, and some of us younger wolves decided to sneak out for the night. I met this one girl, and she was really nice."

"Did anything happen?" Sirius asked.

"Abraham found us, and he dragged us all away," Kurt said a little sadly. "He was our Pack Leader, if you don't remember." _I remember… You started crying the last time you spoke about him._

"He was a stern man, I take it," Sirius said.

"Yeah… But I think he really loved us," Kurt all but whispered.

"I'm sorry that you lost him," Sirius said, and he felt Kurt stop behind him. "What is it?"

"I'll just go to my room from here…" Kurt shot a look towards the stairs leading upwards. _Is he scared of Snape?_

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked. "What if Travers decides to visit you when you're all alone?"

"She… She wouldn't do that, would she?" Kurt paled a little. _That was mean, Sirius._

"She won't, I was only joking, Kurt," Sirius said calmingly. "I'll see you at breakfast, okay?"

"I… Thank you, Sir," Kurt said awkwardly.

"Just call me Sirius, please," Sirius said, he hated being called 'Sir'.

Kurt left for his bedroom, while Sirius continued his journey up towards the rooftop. He knew that he was bound to run into Snape and Sturgis, which meant that Snape was going to stare at him with utter contempt. Sirius didn't know why, but recently, Snape's hatred bothered Sirius. Maybe it was because, for the first time in his life, Sirius begrudgingly respected Snape, but that respect was not mutual. The man Sirius had always seen as a 'Death-Eater' throughout his life had proven himself a hero, and while everyone else stood a chance to earn Snape's respect, Sirius knew that he was never going to. _Too much bad blood, and if Remus is to be believed, we were mostly in the wrong._

As soon as he reached the top floor, he spotted Sturgis helping Snape walk the corridor. As usual, Snape looked like he was close to dying from the pain in his right leg, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder what that black dagger was. _Some fucked up Dark Arts Artefact, no doubt._ Without muttering a single word, Sirius headed towards Sturgis and Snape. Despite the pain he was in, Snape still managed to look at Sirius as if he were utter filth. _There's that look again…_

"Sturgis," Sirius greeted. "Snape."

"Sirius," Sturgis shot him a weak smile, while Snape completely ignored him. "Don't worry, I've got this. Professor Snape is getting stronger each day."

"Don't discuss me as if I'm not here," Snape shot Sturgis an icy look, and Sturgis quickly lost his smile. "Take me back to my room. I need a break from this." _His room? Have I completely lost the rights of my own house?_

"I'll be up on the roof," Sirius told Sturgis, and then he continued on his way.

The moment he stepped out onto the roof, a cold breeze hit him across the face. However, unlike most, Sirius loved this sort of weather. Well, Sirius loved all types of weather. _A decade in Azkaban does that to a person._ Once he was standing by his usual 'smoking spot', Sirius looked up at the thick clouds as he pulled out a cigarette. _There's a storm coming, I think._ The clouds were thick, dark grey, and they completely covered the sky. As he stared up at the stormy clouds, he found himself thinking of Ron. _Lightning…_

Sirius wasn't going to lie, when he had heard Arthur and Molly's fantastic tale about Ron's overwhelming power, he had found himself extremely jealous of them. _I'd have loved to see the pup in action. Not to mention what they told me about the Slytherins, and how Ron's running the show now. Ha! What a champ! What should I get him for Christmas? With Harry, it's so easy. The poor kid only needs to be told that he got something for Christmas, and he's immediately grateful and happy. But with Ron… Maybe I should get him a new glove? No… The one he has now was from his girlfriend. Maybe an earring like Bill's? No, Molly and Pandora would cut off my face._

"He really hates you," came Sturgis' voice, and Sirius broke out of his thoughts. "Professor Snape, that is. Our session was going quite well, but as soon as you showed up, he called it quits."

"Trying to make me feel bad?" Sirius smirked, and then he lit his cigarette. "You want one?"

"No, thanks," Sturgis refused politely. "You should try and put your fight with Professor Snape to bed, Sirius… We're all a team now, and we need to watch each other's backs out there."

"You damn Hufflepuff," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I'm proud to be one," Sturgis smiled. "At least we were taught to play together, unlike you Snakes and Lions." Sturgis then looked up to the sky. "I think a storm is on its way."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "So… You're on a first name basis with Travers now?"

"Lady Travers isn't one for social norms," Sturgis shook his head. "I get the feeling that when she calls me Sturgis, she's looking down at me."

"I know how you feel," Sirius nodded. "She's been driving me up the walls… Not to mention that crazy stunt with the head."

"That was… barbaric," Sturgis grimaced. "That Vampire might have been our enemy, but desecrating his corpse in such a manner… It was wrong."

"It did get results, though," Sirius pointed out.

"People who believe in 'the ends justify the means' often become worse than their enemies," Sturgis said. "There has to be a line that we can't cross."

Sirius pondered those words for a bit, and after taking a long drag, he eyeballed Sturgis. _Why is he wiser than me? I'm older than him, so I should be the one handing out philosophies._

"We didn't interact much in the last war, did we?" Sirius asked him.

"No," Sturgis smiled. "You were always with your childhood friends, if I remember correctly." _I was… I should've spent even more time with them._

"How did you get dragged into the Order?" Sirius asked him.

"My parents were killed," Sturgis replied, and Sirius bit his tongue. "Don't look like that, Sirius… I grieved, and then I made my peace with their deaths. They died standing up for what they believed in, and to honor them, I approached the Headmaster. I was only sixteen at the time, so he told me to wait a year."

"Didn't he put you under Dearborn?" Sirius asked from memory. _We never did find Caradoc Dearborn's body._

"Mr. Dearborn was a great man," Sturgis said fondly. "Loved his pipe, and his tobacco from the States." _Sturgis lost him as well, then. Fuck… That's some harsh luck._ "He kept me alive for most of the war, you know… And I couldn't do the same for him."

"Mate… Don't think that way," Sirius regretted bringing up Dearborn. "Dearborn knew what he signed up for, just like the rest of us. He was his own man, and not your responsibility."

"I spent months searching for him," Sturgis stared up at the clouds. "I… I found a snatcher who was wearing his signet ring…"

"What?" Sirius was actually surprised to hear that. "I thought nothing was found of him. Ever."

Sturgis looked at Sirius with an odd look, and then he pulled out said ring from his pocket. _He carries it around?_ Sirius stepped closer to Sturgis in order to inspect the ring, and when he recognized it, he stepped back slowly. _It's got C.D engraved on top of it… That's definitely Dearborn's ring._

"When I saw it on that snatcher, I lost it," Sturgis said, his voice heavy with regret. "The snatcher… I… I don't think he was over seventeen…" _Oh._

Sirius tried his best not to look awkward, but that was next to impossible. _Should I say something?_

"The war… No one came out of it clean…" Sirius said, and then he took a very long drag.

"There has to be a line that we can't cross," Sturgis said, though he sounded like he was talking to himself. "Desecrating corpses is past that line."

"Don't let Travers hear you say that," Sirius tossed his dying cigarette aside.

"Did the Headmaster know that the French were coming?" Sturgis asked, and Sirius blinked at him.

"What?" Sirius asked. _That was kind of random._

"It's just… The French are here because Ronald Weasley brought them here for some unknown purpose," Sturgis said thoughtfully. "But the very next day, they're here… They're a part of the Order. There was no discussion, no debate whatsoever… They just showed up here, and they were already aware of what the Order's been up to."

"What are you trying to say, mate?" Sirius asked.

"Either the Headmaster approached them at the Gala," Sturgis started. "Or… They only came here after finding out about the Order."

"What? You think Ron brought them here for the Order?" Sirius asked. "The pup doesn't know anything about the Order, nor did he approach the French. He approached Madame Maxime, and she organized everything. I think Dumbledore reached out to her after he found out that she was coming down here, and they sorted everything out without Ron's knowledge." _There's no way that the pup is involved in this._

"I guess that makes sense…" Sturgis nodded slowly. "Sorry, Sirius, but I think I've been spending too much time around Mr. Moody."

"Does that crackpot believe Ron to be behind this?" Sirius rolled his eyes. _He's bloody mad, he is._

"He doesn't trust Ronald Weasley very much," Sturgis replied.

"He doesn't trust anyone," Sirius drawled. "Do yourself a favor, and stay away from him. He'll drive you as mad as himself." _Pfft… Ron helping the Order. That'd be a sight to see, eh? His parents would murder Dumbledore together for getting Ron mixed up in this mess._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Boys' Room – After Classes)**_

Enough was enough.

She missed Ron far too much to not approach him, and even though she knew that a fight could potentially break out, she had made up her mind. Over the last few days, she had slowly dismantled everything Ron had said, and although she still disagreed with it, she understood Ron's point of view. Deep down, Ron was not a malicious person, and so she knew that he had only brought up his conditions because he was scared. _Scared for me, and maybe, scared for himself._

"Ron, are you in here?" Daphne looked around the empty room. _Probably not… He's been so distant lately. I don't think that he's spoken a single word today. He even cancelled the study group for today._

"Daphne?" Ron's head popped out from behind his bed curtains.

"Hi," Daphne smiled a bit.

"Hello," Ron pushed the curtains open. "The others aren't around."

"I actually came looking for you," Daphne walked over to his bed, her eyes landing on a journal filled with words.

"I had Marty write down all the Wizarding Spells that he knows," Ron followed her gaze. "I know what you're thinking…"

"What?"

"Marty has better handwriting than me," Ron joked with a half-smile. _He's not wrong, but I'm not going to say that. Ron's handwriting is actually quite bad, and I think he knows that._

"Ron… I'm ready to continue our conversation now," Daphne said, and Ron nodded slowly.

"Um… Come, and sit down," Ron said, and they both sat down on the bed.

Once they were facing each other, Daphne decided to start.

"How are you doing?" Daphne asked. _How are you doing? Am I retarded?_

"I'm the same as usual," Ron shrugged. "Busy."

"You need two Nutrition Potions now?" Daphne asked, she had been thinking about that all day.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do," Ron sighed out. "Look, my parents don't know yet. No one but you guys know. And Pomfrey."

"Shouldn't your parents know about this?" she asked him. "This sounds very serious, Ron."

"I'll tell them over the Break," Ron promised.

"How long have you been taking two doses?" Daphne asked.

"About a week," Ron replied. "I wanted to tell you, but I decided not to."

"Why?"

"You were here yesterday, weren't you?" Ron asked in return. "Did you not see Pansy? Tracey? Even Millie? I don't like making people feel that way, Daphne, especially my friends. It's hard to describe… I feel terrible about scaring you all, and then I start getting angry because you're all clearly feeling sorry for me. It's… It's stupid, but it hurts like hell. So I just didn't say anything."

"I won't lie… Even Theo and Blaise were shaken by this," Daphne fidgeted with her hands. "I understand why you didn't say anything, Ron."

Ron looked a little taken aback by this, but she saw his body relax as well. _I do understand, and he's right, I got really scared yesterday. Even right now, I just want to hug him._

"About what I said to you…" Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. "I've come to realize that I was… I was a massive cunt for doing that to you." _Language, please._ "I just dropped so much on you at once, and when you couldn't keep up, I acted like a brat. I'm very sorry, Daph. You're not a trained professional, and you don't deserve to be my venting outlet."

"Thank you," Daphne smiled in relief. "It means a lot to me that you thought about my position. I've also thought about yours, and you are right."

"I am?" Ron asked.

"I was wrong to accuse you of trying to ruin our relationship," Daphne said. "I was too busy thinking about my relationship, and not about what my boyfriend was trying to tell me. So, I'm very sorry as well."

Daphne felt a weight float off of her chest, and she took in the first decent breath in almost a week. _This is going well, and I think it's because we've both missed each other a lot. We both want to fix things._

"We're both sorry, then?" Ron chuckled weakly.

"We could've handled things better, there's no denying that," Daphne smiled more fully. "Let's learn from this, alright?"

"Alright," Ron agreed in a whisper. "What do we do now?"

"I want us to just be a couple," Daphne replied. "I know there's a lot of… issues… that we need to deal with eventually, but for now, can't we just be together?"

"What about my…?" Ron tapped his head. "It's still there, Daph… Not thinking about it won't make it go away."

"We deal with it together," Daphne replied. "I don't want to break up, Ron, that's my decision. I might have glossed over the ramifications of your conditions out of childish reasons, but even after you broke my illusion, I still want to be together. Do you want that as well?" _Please say yes…_

"I do," Ron replied. "I don't want you to be hurt, but I'm… I'm selfish…"

"You're not selfish," Daphne scooted closer to him. "I make my own decisions, Ron. Me. I have spent the last week thinking about what I want, and I want to stay."

"Okay… But I have a condition," Ron said. "When the time comes… You'll move on, and you won't fight me on that."

"What time?" her voice cracked. "When you…? When you… die…?"

"I know you don't want to hear this, but from my perspective, it's something that you needto understand," Ron said rather gently. "You called me cynical when we were dancing, remember?" Daphne gave a meek nod. "Well, recently, someone called me a realist, and I think I agree with them. Life is just… life. There are no favorites, and some people get dealt terrible hands. I got dealt a terrible hand, and although I'm trying to make the best of it, it's still a terrible hand."

"I… I understand…" she stared down at her lap. _Don't cry! It'll only make him feel worse, and it won't help you._ "Just don't cut me out, please…"

"I won't," Ron agreed. "Do you agree to my condition?" _I don't want to._

"I do," Daphne all but whispered, her eyes were starting to sting.

"Thank you," Ron sounded sad, but relieved at the same time. "Can… Can I give you a hug?"

Daphne nodded with her eyes fixed on her blurry lap, and her traitorous nose sniffled loudly. Ron slowly moved to her side, and then he gently pulled her into his torso.

"You can cry," Ron whispered. "I'll understand, and I'll stay right here for as long as you need."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Cliffside – Late Night)**_

Ron stared down the edge of the cliff, Victor's corpse was gone.

It was an odd feeling to be guilty of not feeling guilty, and Ron wasn't sure that he liked it. Ever since the Potion had worn off, Ron was being plagued by his twisted feelings. He had killed a man, but he didn't feel any remorse. Was it normal to be so certain of oneself? Was it wrong? Ron had no earthly idea. All he knew was that Victor was a morally corrupt soul, and he would never hurt anyone for his own gain again. _But that doesn't change what I did. I murdered him in cold blood._

Ron, of course, felt the same way about the Werewolves whose deaths Ron had signed off on, but at the same time, this was different. Whenever Ron closed his hands into fists, he could feel the weight of his punches. He could feel warm blood on his knuckles, and the vibrations caused by shattering bone. It made him feel sick, but it also made him feel powerful. _I don't know what's worse… Being a murderer, or feeling powerful because of it._

He kept staring at the bottom of the cliff, and for a moment, he felt the urge to step forward. _It would even the scales… Everything would end so quickly, and I'd be free._ Ron took a step back. _No, I wouldn't be free. I'd be a failure._ Ron drew in a deep breath, his fingers digging into his forehead. _I want a Calming Draught. I_ _ **need**_ _one. I could barely focus on my chat with Daphne. We finally started healing from our fight, but I can't even bring myself to feel happy. I'm just so fucking… tired…_

The sound of a loud crack broke him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Emilia and Kreacher. _I'm glad Kreacher cleaned this place up after we left. I don't need her growing suspicious about my contact._ Ron had thought of a plan, and although it was a bit treacherous, he intended to follow through with it.

"Hello, Emilia," Ron greeted her as she approached him.

"Ronald," she gave a curt nod. "This place again?"

"It's secluded, and the breeze is nice," Ron shrugged, while she looked at the Artefact by his feet.

"Is that it?" Emilia's eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

"It is," Ron picked it up. "This right here is the solution to a lot of our problems."

"How does it work?" Emilia asked.

"Click this blue switch here, and a vial container pops out," Ron explained. "Once your poison is in the vial, close the container with a push, and then press this black button here. After a couple of minutes, the box will start releasing the poison gas."

"Look at this Rune-work," Emilia took another step forward, her hand tracing some of the Runes. "Marvelous… Can you even imagine the ingenuity it would take to craft such a weapon? The sheer intelligence?"

"It is quite the prize," Ron nodded his agreement. "Which is why my contact wants twenty thousand Galleons."

"Twenty?" Emilia didn't look too bothered. _I keep forgetting how poor I am compared to these people. I should have asked for more._ "Does this weapon expire after one use?"

"No," Ron shook his head. "My contact tested it out on rats. It works with every common poison, and I think stronger poisons will also work. Furthermore, these Runes turn the weapon invisible once activated. It can't be summoned, or located, with Magic."

"By all the Gods," Emilia drew in a sharp breath. _Um… She's making me uncomfortable._ "What if we were to keep it?"

"If you don't pay my contact, they won't be dealing with me again," Ron pulled the box to his side. "If anything, we'll have made more enemies." _Don't give an inch, Ron._

"How does this payment business work, then?" she asked him. "You already have the weapon, which I find quite odd."

"I told them that you were a psychopath, and that you would want proof," Ron said coldly. "They trust me."

"Aren't you a charmer?" she took a step back. "I'll pay the twenty thousand, just tell me how."

"Send it to my vault," Ron said. "Go to Gringotts, find a Goblin named Gornuk, and tell him that you're putting twenty thousand Galleons into my personal Vault. He won't ask you any questions."

"That's a lot of money to transfer at once," Emilia looked skeptical.

"I have paid the Goblins a bribe," Ron told her. "They'll keep everything under wraps."

"And you trust this Gornuk?" Emilia asked.

"As long as he's on my payroll, I do," Ron replied. "Well?"

"I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning," Emilia promised, and Ron slowly handed her the Artefact. _And I'll keep every single Knut of that money. With it, I'll actually do some good in the World._ "This is a spectacular find, Ronald."

"We will never use it in public spaces," Ron said firmly, and she gave him a nod. "And we'll never use it on Order missions either. I don't want to poison our allies."

"Agreed," Emilia said. "A weapon like this is best smuggled behind enemy lines, and then set off."

"Be careful with it," Ron said.

"For now, I'll hide this in my own Vault," Emilia told him. "I too have been conned into paying bribes to Goblins, so it'll be safe there."

Emilia then shot a look back at Kreacher, who was clearly listening in.

"Don't mind him," Ron said. "I trust him completely."

"You shouldn't trust Elves," Emilia said. "Especially Elves who have a different Master."

"Kreacher is loyal," Ron said. _Believe me, I've asked far too much of him already._

"Fine," Emilia decided to back off. "Before I go, I want to discuss something with you."

"Yes?"

"I heard that you split the Heavens apart during your school Dueling Club," Emilia stated, she actually sounded impressed.

"Split the Heavens apart?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. _This sounds like the tripe I keep hearing at Hogwarts._

"That is how your mother told the tale," Emilia smirked. "Lord Black looked ecstatic, but the other Order members…" she stopped.

"They didn't look pleased?" Ron asked.

"Your mother also told us of the sea of Ghostly Serpents that you summoned," Emilia replied. "The Dark Arts do not sit well with self-righteous people."

"Name them," Ron crossed his arms.

"Mad-Eye, Sturgis, Hestia, Nymphadora, Teddy, Andromeda," Emilia listed.

"What about Severus Snape?" Ron asked. _He would be proud of me, I know it._

"No one speaks to him except for Sturgis and your mother," Emilia replied. "I myself have not spoken to the man, but I've heard of his strength recently." Emilia then eyed Ron. "You care about this man's opinion of you."

"Is that a problem?" Ron asked. _He's my friend, and I haven't seen him in what feels like forever._

"I was merely making an observation," Emilia said calmly. "He is the Head of your House, so it's not surprising that you look up to him."

"Speaking from experience?" Ron asked.

"We all have someone to impress," Emilia shrugged, and then she drew in a deep breath. "The last time we spoke, I forgot to mention something important to you."

"You were quite rattled," Ron couldn't help but smirk. "Nice sleeping gown, by the way." _I won't lie, it looked good on her._

"I will kick you off this cliff," she threatened, but Ron just sniggered to himself.

"Go ahead, please," Ron raised his arms to his sides, and Emilia couldn't help but detect some sincerity in his words.

It clearly jarred her, and she just kept staring at him with a furrowed brow.

"What?" Ron asked nonchalantly.

"Nothing…" she broke her silence. "Anyway, I have something important to tell you. An associate of mine, Solomon, will be in contact with me soon." _Solomon? From the vision?_ "He is a shady individual, but with his help, we could potentially boot the Vampires out of Knockturn Alley."

"How so?" Ron asked.

"Solomon enjoys being in charge," Emilia told him. "He's got wealth, he's got spare wands, and he's extremely shrewd for a Half-Troll." _Half-Troll? Is that even possible? Who'd fuck a Troll?_ "When he does show himself, there will be a struggle in the underworld. These Vampires are causing too many problems, and someone will eventually need to clear them out. Personally, I want Solomon to be the one who does the dirty work."

"Why?"

"Because the life of an Auror is ten times more valuable than some mercenary's," Emilia replied, and Ron nodded slowly. _She clearly respects Aurors, though she was a bitch to Tonks and Dawlish at the Gala._ "Plus, we can't let the Aurors fill the power vacuum left behind by the Vampires. We need one of our own controlling the underworld."

"That makes sense," Ron said. "You want us to have a foothold in the Darkest District of Magical Britain."

"I'll keep you in the loop," Emilia turned to leave. "I think Solomon will enjoy meeting you. Just don't let him get into your head." _Trust me, he doesn't want to go there._

"One thing before you leave," Ron called out, and she turned to face him again. "When Solomon does get in contact with you, I want to meet him well before he moves in on Knockturn Alley. There are innocents living there, and I will not let them get caught in the middle of a battlefield."

"Innocents? In Knockturn Alley?" Emilia cocked an eyebrow.

"Just do as you're told," Ron said coldly, and she gave him a slow nod.

Ron turned back to stare at the bottom of the cliff, and once he heard Kreacher take Emilia away, he let out a long breath. _I'll check my Vault this weekend, and once the money is there, I'll start using it to create more change._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Oh, yeah... That just happened.**

 **Now, many of you might be wondering 'Holy shit, he murdered a dude', while some of you will be glad that someone like Victor won't make anymore people his victims.**

 **I remember reading the Dragon's Garrison for the first time, and although I really love that story, one thing never sat well with me. It was how easily the Ron in that fanfiction just killed people. He offed like a hundred dudes, and he didn't spare his actions any thought. Always found that odd in an otherwise fun story.**

 **Don't even get me started on Independent!Harry, or Dark Queen!Hermione stories.**

 **I'm going to let you all decide how you feel about Ron's actions. Are some people just not worth saving? Do some people deserve to get put down? Does Ron really have the right to make such calls? What is the size of Ron's penis? These are all good questions, and we should all think on them.**

 **Now, my birthday is coming up on Saturday, and I'm spending it with my Family. As such, the next chapter won't be up until at least the 24th. I know that's a while away, but I've also got more interviews coming my way. Life be hella busy!**

 **See you guys soon!**


	103. Chapter 103 - Different Perspectives

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 103 is here! That's right, I'm back, you hijos de puta! (I just watched the first two seasons of Narcos, so 'Hijo de Puta' is my new favorite swear word). Anyway, my birthday, and small break, were great! I had loads of fun, and I had some time to unwind and get my passion fired up for the story once again.**

 **Now, a couple of things:**

 **1\. Many of you questioned my decision to kill off Victor Burke, who was a rather interesting character. Well, I made him very mysterious and intriguing for the sole purpose of killing him before more could be learned about him. His death was my way of showing you that characters you love, or hate, will die randomly. Sure, some will have grand exits, but many will die like people do in real life. Abruptly, and when you least expect it.**

 **Characters who make mistakes, or have a strong shortcomings, will pay for those errors. Victor's mistake was his arrogance, and the fact that he looked down on a potentially dangerous individual. He let his guard down to sate his vanity, and he paid the price for it. I don't play favorites, and a war story where everyone lives isn't exactly a good war story. Now that we're in the second half of the book, things are going to get amped up. Expect death, misery, and heartbreak. This fic is for adults, and as many adults know, life has a way of not giving a fuck about people. Choices are what determine where a person ends up. (An odd thing to say, given the title of this Fic, but I think that it still fits)**

 **2\. Corban Yaxley's donation has confused many people, and that was my fault. What I meant to type was that he paid 2M Galleons to fix all the roads of Magical Britain, not just Diagon Alley. The error has been fixed, and that donation is elaborated on in this chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 103 – Different Perspectives**

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Midday)**_

Kurt Varga had no mental fortifications whatsoever, and as Albus spoke to him, he watched the most significant moments of the young man's life.

Kurt had been left with a Werewolf named Abraham at the age of nine, three days after he had been bitten by a passing Werewolf. The boy had grown up friendless, often spending too much time wondering about his mother and father's abandonment of him. By age twelve, he had given up on the chance of having a normal life. When he was fifteen, he had shared an intimate moment with a village girl, which had been interrupted by his furious stepfather. At seventeen, Kurt had watched said stepfather's murder at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

Kurt became just another soldier in the Dark Lord's army, though not by choice. There was so much fear in the young man, so much mistrust. The World had never been kind to him, and he had simply submitted to its will. Albus could not deny that he felt a great amount of sympathy for this lost soul, but nevertheless, Albus had already decided to be cautious. _There can be no mistakes. Not anymore. Not after what Ronald told me recently._

"What's going to happen to me?" Kurt managed to ask, and Albus gave him a comforting smile.

"We will take a vote," Albus told the truth. "And after that, we will let you know. Please, wait for us in the Kitchen."

Kurt shot a quick look towards Sirius, who had insisted on being inside the room for this.

"Everything will be alright, Kurt," Sirius said gently, a tone that Albus had barely ever heard from Sirius Black. "Just go and wait out there, please?"

Kurt gave a meek nod, and then he left the room without uttering a single word. Albus didn't need Legilimency to know that Kurt wanted to stay here, and that he was terrified of going back out into the World. _The last few months have been a nightmare for this boy, and I have played a key role in his trauma._ Albus stood up and walked over to the window, while Sirius called in Minerva and Alastor.

"So?" Alastor growled as usual, and then he sat down on Kurt's bed. "What are we doing with the whelp?"

"We can either let him stay, or we can Obliviate him," Albus replied.

"He's been here for nearly ten days," Minerva said. "In that time, he has given us no reason not to let him stay. He's barely a legal adult, Albus."

"He's a security risk," Alastor countered. "He joined the Dark Lord out of fear once, and he could do it again. Only this time, he knows where we're operating out of."

"All the more reason to let him stay," Sirius stepped in. "Keep him off the streets, and he can't give up the Order's location. Trust me on this, Werewolves have a 'pack mentality'. If we send him out there, some Werewolf will sniff him out and then approach him. He'll get dragged back into You-Know-Who's service." _Tom would tear his mind apart in order to find out where he went. What if Kurt is the one who leaked the information about the Order's safe houses?_

Dumbledore fought the urge to rub his forehead, he hadn't slept since Ronald had delivered the terrible news. _I just realized that Tom can't do that. The Fidelius Charm protects our safe houses, and only a willing Secret-Keeper can share their locations._

"Should I convene the Order for this?" Minerva asked. "If we are taking a vote, then everyone should be here."

"What?" Alastor just stared at her. "No, that is not how an army operates."

"We're an army, now, are we?" Minerva asked.

"We're an armed militia, which literally makes us an army," Alastor said. "In an army, you don't let the foot soldiers decide on stratagems. We need an uneven number of leaders, chosen by Albus himself, and **we'll** vote on what the Order does, or doesn't do."

"Did he just make himself into a leader?" Sirius asked Minerva, who gave a curt nod.

"Alastor is right," Albus turned to face his allies. "We can't expect the entire Order to assemble every time we need to vote. We do things like we did in the last war. Five leaders, including myself, will vote on the Order's actions." Albus then looked to Sirius. "For this particular decision, us four will have to do. Now… Let's vote."

"I say that we let Kurt Varga stay," Minerva said.

"I say we Obliviate him, and then send him on his way," Alastor said right after. "With the last ten days of his life **completely** gone, he won't be able to give us away. Not even to the Dark Lord." _Completely? That's dangerous, but it could work._

"You know what?" Sirius suddenly scoffed, his expression turning cold. "There is no vote on this… The kid is staying here."

"Sirius-" Albus started, but Sirius cut him off.

"Don't like my decision?" Sirius asked. "I don't care. Pack your things, and fuck right off."

"Watch yourself," Alastor growled as he stood up.

"No," Sirius refused. "This is my house. I know that I volunteered when the Order needed a Headquarters, but I never agreed to the pile of shit that's been thrown my way. You all realize that I have a child to take care of, don't you? And you know that said child is coming home tomorrow, right? How do I tell Harry that I have a prisoner of war in our attic? How do I explain that I threw a desperate kid out into the streets because **you** decided that it was for the best?" Sirius then shook his head. "I will not abandon him… I know exactly how it feels to be abandoned by those who could have protected me."

Albus barely managed to stop himself from flinching, he knew that Sirius' words were directed towards him. _He has never given voice to his anger with me, but I know it's there. And I know that I deserve it._

"I vote that he stays," Albus said, making sure to keep eye-contact with Sirius.

"Good," Sirius looked a little surprised, he hadn't expected to win his case so easily. "I'll keep my eyes on him, I promise. He won't leave the premises, nor will he send any letters."

"He doesn't know how to read, or write," Albus said, while Alastor just hobbled out of the room with a scowl.

"So you really were using Legilimency…" Sirius said slowly. "You didn't even move an inch… Or say an incantation… Did you look through his entire life?"

"I looked through the moments that left an impression on him," Albus replied. _Along with all of his thoughts._ "He is a lost soul, but perhaps with the right guide, he could one day make a life for himself."

Sirius clearly understood what Albus was implying, but he made no comment on it.

"I'm going to head back to Hogwarts, Albus," Minerva said. "Will you be joining me?"

"Of course," Albus replied before following after her.

"Actually, about Harry…" Sirius started, and Albus stopped in order to face him. "I know you want me to bring him into the fold, but…"

"Do you wish to wait until after Christmas?" Albus asked.

"He's only had one Christmas with me," Sirius said. "I want him to enjoy his Break… It might be the last decent Break he has for a long time." _That is true. Harry will be put at the front of this war whether we like it, or not._

"You should do what you think is best for your child, Sirius," Albus smiled.

"Thanks…" Sirius said, he still didn't feel like a father-figure just yet. "Actually… We've all decided to wait until after Christmas."

"We all?" Minerva asked from the door.

"Arthur and Molly, Xeno and Pandora, Seb and Mary, James and Susana… Just us parents," Sirius said, and Albus' smile widened. _He just admitted to being a parent._ "Why are you smiling like that?"

"No reason," Albus restarted his journey towards Hogwarts. "My advice would be to go straight to the Burrow from Platform 93/4. It will save you from certain questions."

"Oh… Snape…" Sirius nodded to himself. "Yeah, you're right."

They made their way down the stairs, and as they neared ground floor, Albus spotted Molly and Arthur waiting for him. _They look troubled about something. Is this about Ronald? That boy has shaved off years from their lives, I think._

"Dumbledore, could we please have a moment?" Arthur asked, and Albus came to a stop.

"Certainly," Albus replied, and then he looked to Minerva. "I will see you at lunch, Minerva."

"Don't forget to send me the report cards, Albus," Minerva gave him a parting nod before heading off to the Living Room.

"I'll go tell Kurt the good news," Sirius said as he moved past Albus.

"He's staying?" Molly asked, and Sirius smiled and nodded. "Thank heavens… Poor boy has been through hell."

"He's welcome at the Burrow, if he wants a good meal," Arthur offered.

"Um… For now, I think I'll let him settle in," Sirius said. "He's actually scared of looking out of the windows." _He expects Tom and Fenrir to be waiting outside. An odd fear, but it has lodged itself into his mind._

"Well, hopefully he comes around soon," Molly said, and Sirius left to deliver the good news.

"What can I do for you both?" Albus asked the couple.

"Maybe we should do this with Snape around?" Molly looked to Arthur, and Albus just stared at them. _Severus? What is this about?_

"I think that's best," Arthur agreed.

"What is this about?" Albus asked them. "Surely you are not thinking about inviting Severus to Christmas." _I can already tell you how that will end… It will end badly._

"Actually… Molly already tried that…" Arthur grimaced.

"A terribly rude man…" Molly frowned to herself. _Oh._

"So this is about Draco," Albus figured, and the Weasleys nodded their agreement.

"He's only a child, and he shouldn't have been brought here," Molly said, she remembered all too well how the boy had reacted. "Not with what's happening with his Family."

"It was ugly business, but it had to be done," Albus said.

"Not in such a callous-" Molly started, but she stopped when Arthur put his hand on her shoulder.

"We Weasleys have never gotten on with the Malfoys, but he **is** only a child," Arthur said. "He's Ronnie's age, and from what I can tell, they're sort of friendly now… We just think that there's nothing for him here. Snape can barely leave his bed, Sirius is spending Christmas at the Burrow, and as for the boy's mother…" _They are not wrong about this._ "We are already hosting a lot of children at the Burrow, so one more won't bother us at all. And if he's around people his own age, he might end up enjoying Christmas just a little."

"Have you brought this up with Severus yet?" Albus asked them.

"No," Arthur replied. _Then this should be entertaining._

"Come, let's go speak with him together," Albus turned to head back upstairs.

"Will you help us convince him?" Molly asked as she followed Albus.

"I will try, but I cannot promise you anything," Albus replied. _Molly and Arthur are right, Draco deserves a break from all of this. I have no doubt that he has been suffering in silence ever since I brought him here._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"No," Severus said icily, and Albus held back a chuckle. _Ten minutes of explanations and pleading, and that's his response?_

"At least think about-" Arthur started.

"No," Severus cut him off. "Draco will stay with me."

"And do what?" Molly puffed up. "Sit in the corner? Cook your meals? Help you with your physical therapy? What does that boy have to gain by staying here?"

"I want to keep my eyes on him," Severus said. "My eye…"

"Dumbledore," Arthur looked back with a meaningful look. "Please, talk to him. Tell him that Draco shouldn't be here. Not right now."

"Severus, they are-" Albus started.

"No," Severus cut him off. _He really loves that word, doesn't he?_

"Molly… Arthur… Please give us some privacy," Albus said, and the Weasleys stood up to leave.

"You might be able to withstand a lot of pain, Snape, but Draco Malfoy is only a child," Molly said before she exited the room. "Do you want him to resent you?"

Before Severus could retort, she shut the door rather harshly behind her. _That Prewett temper…_

"I am sick of these people," Severus looked to Albus. "When can I leave for Spinner's End?"

"How is your recovery going?" Albus asked in response.

"I will be well enough to work again before January," Severus drawled. _Liar._ "They have no right to take him away from me."

"They are not taking him away from you," Albus said calmly. "They have seven children, Severus-"

Severus scoffed in disgust, but Albus chose to ignore it.

"They have a soft spot for children," Albus went on. "And they are right… You know that, I think."

"All I know is that Draco will be outnumbered in that shed they call a house," Severus scowled. "Here, he'll be with someone who wants to keep him safe."

"He will be safe at the Burrow," Albus sat down in Arthur's chair. "Tell me, Severus, do you really want him to be here? Do you want him to see you like this? Be honest."

"It's not about what I want," Severus replied. "This is for his own good."

"At the Burrow, he will be well looked after," Albus implored. "He'll be well-fed, **safe** , and he'll be with his friends."

"What friends?" Severus asked. "Besides Ron, I can't think of anyone who will want him there."

"Molly and Arthur want him there," Albus countered. "The adults all understand that he's not his father."

"You really believe that?" Severus demanded. "Are you truly that naïve, Albus?"

"Severus, it is only for a few days," Albus said. "Don't force him to spend his Christmas all alone in this-"

"I am done with this conversation," Severus shut Albus down. "Draco will stay where I can keep my eyes on him." Severus suddenly frowned deeply. "My eye…"

Albus wanted to argue, but he knew that it was pointless. Severus was not one to change his mind, especially when he was convinced that he was right. _I had hoped that he would grow out of this habit, but it seems that he will never move past it. Not even when a child is involved._

Albus stood up, and he left the room without another word.

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

Sebastian shot a quick look towards Ron, and he found his Apprentice working diligently on his conundrums. _He is certainly focused today, isn't he? I want to ask him about his powerful Magic, but we all agreed to not pry into his business. At least, not about this._ Sebastian looked back to his own work, his businesses in Eastern Europe were starting to suffer. _Especially around Albania. The amount of money that I've sunk into that pit… I could have bought a dozen more safe houses for the Order._

As it turned out, the Gaia Project was finally reaching its end. All of Magical Europe had taken a heavy blow in the economics department, and as a result of that, Sebastian's own businesses had suffered. Of course, Sebastian still had mountains of gold to his name, but his workers weren't so lucky. _I have to shut down some of my businesses, which means that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. What benefits me more? Shutting down, or helping my workers? In the long run, keeping my businesses open is ideal, but right now, I'm just losing money. I think I'll keep them open for a bit longer in the hopes of things returning to normal, but if that doesn't happen, then I'll just cut my losses._

"My Lord, I'm finished with my work," Ron called, and Sebastian looked to his Apprentice.

"Already?" Sebastian asked.

"Here," Ron offered him the solutions.

Sebastian reached forward and took them in his hand, his eyes fixed on Ron's. _He looks certain about his solutions. Good. Let's see._ Sebastian skimmed over the first couple of pages, he could recognize many proper strategies and calls. _This… is really good work. I guess I was worried over nothing, then._

Ron had been eerily silent today, even during lunch, which was very odd for him. At first, Sebastian had figured that Ron was just stressed. But after spending the morning with him, Sebastian had realized that Ron was completely stress-free. Once stress was ruled out, Sebastian had attempted to prod for Ron's own benefit. Sadly, that too had failed. Ron had given one worded answers, all the while focusing on his work. _Something's changed, that's for certain._

"These are good," Sebastian looked back to Ron. "Well done."

"Thanks," Ron gave a quick smile. "Since I finished early, might I go home for the day?" _Not yet, I need to talk to you._

"That excited for the party, are you?" Sebastian smirked.

"Party?" Ron asked, slight confusion on his face. "What party?"

"The one Astoria has been owling me about," Sebastian replied. "Ron, are you alright?"

"Oh… The party to celebrate our victory at the Dueling Club," Ron nodded to himself, ignoring Sebastian's enquiry. "I will not be attending this party."

"Any reason why?" Sebastian asked.

"I have work to do," Ron replied, and Sebastian cocked his eyebrow. "I had Marty find me a list of charitable acts done by the Pure-Blood Families over the last couple of years, and I want to finish reading through his research." Ron then smiled. "Good job on that Merpeople thing, by the way. Must've cost a lot to clean up their waters. How many Merpeople Lakes was it again?"

"One hundred and thirty five," Sebastian replied.

"One hundred and thirty five colonies saved from pollution," Ron said. "Good on you, my Lord." _I couldn't care less about those fish-people. I was being harassed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the time. Cleaning some lakes got them off of my back._

"Why are you looking into these charitable acts?" Sebastian asked out of curiosity.

"I want to learn more about the Wizarding World for The Quibbler's sake," Ron replied. "I plan to have someone who focuses on the good deeds of Pure-Blood Families."

"Really?" Sebastian found that quite amusing. "I thought that you wished to show the truth, and nothing but the truth. No bias whatsoever."

"I still do," Ron replied. "I wish to show people **all** of the truth, not just the truth that fits my beliefs. I mean, Marty handed me like a hundred articles… Yours was on top, of course. Good news should be shared, shouldn't it? It'll help people come closer, I think."

"Well, that's quite brave of you, Ron," Sebastian stood up, and then he walked over to his Brandy table. "You understand that some people won't appreciate your stance, don't you?"

"Who? My parents?" Ron asked.

"No, I mean the 'downtrodden'," Sebastian poured some Apple Brandy in two snifters. "Even the Daily Prophet doesn't spend too much time publishing articles about our good deeds."

"Why is that?" Ron asked. "Don't you lot control the Media?"

"We do," Sebastian shot a smile back at Ron. _He's learning._

"So why doesn't the Daily Prophet focus on your good deeds?" Ron asked.

"It doesn't sell as well," Sebastian shrugged, and then he brought the drinks back with him. "People don't want to read about happy news, they want scandal and outrage. Here."

"Are we about to have a talk?" Ron took his snifter carefully. _Smart-arse._

"We are," Sebastian took his seat. "Firstly, I want to ask you about my daughters. How are they?"

"They're doing well," Ron replied. "Tori is still… a handful… sometimes, whereas Daphne is focusing on her business ventures." _Daphne's business ventures? I feel proud when I hear that._

Sebastian took a sip of his Brandy, and then he smirked a little to himself. _She'll do the Greengrass name justice, I already know it._

"How are things between you and my daughter?" Sebastian asked calmly.

"Tori and I have been getting along-"

"Ron," Sebastian stopped him, and the redhead sniggered to himself.

"Daphne and I are doing well," Ron assured him.

"Are you sure?" Sebastian asked. _Astoria has told me a different tale. One which involves you ignoring my daughter._

"Well, we did have a little… time apart," Ron replied. "But it wasn't because we were fighting. Wait… That's not strictly true, we did yell at each other." _You yelled at my daughter?_

"Get to the point, please," Sebastian said. _Before I have you disappeared in the night._

"We had an important conversation, and it didn't go well at first," Ron said. "But we sat down, and we talked through it. Things are back to normal. Somewhat."

"What was this conversation?" Sebastian asked.

"It was private," Ron replied, and then he took a sip of his drink.

"Private?" Sebastian asked. "You won't tell me?"

"No," Ron replied. "Daphne can tell you if she wants, but I doubt she will. We keep our conversations to ourselves. Sorry."

"As long as she's not unhappy, I can live with that," Sebastian said. "Now… The second thing…" _I can't believe they pawned this job off on me._ "We, the parents, want to speak with you and Daphne about something very important."

"Is this the puberty talk?" Ron looked mildly put off. _What? No._

"Just listen," Sebastian gave Ron a bored look. "As we are all aware, your health is a major concern for you."

"Ah…" Ron nodded slowly.

"I don't want my daughter to suffer heartbreak," Sebastian said with a leveled tone. "We are both men, Ron, so I will speak plainly. You are very ill, and death is a possibility for you. It's not fair, I know, but it's-"

"I know," Ron said. "I won't be around for long." _Alright, I wasn't going that far._ "Daphne and I have spoken about this, and we've come to terms with it. The adults don't need to worry about us being in denial."

"You already spoke about it?" Sebastian asked. "And what do you mean by 'I won't be around for long'?" _That is a very dark thought, and he just said it like it meant nothing._

"We did speak about it, and we settled on some conditions," Ron said. "As for my comment… Well, the truth is the truth. No point in beating around the bush, that'll only waste both our times."

"Right…" Sebastian took a sip, making sure to look completely indifferent. "Still, we would like to speak to you both."

"Can it be after Christmas?" Ron asked. "I don't want you to ruin her mood before we celebrate." _Ruin her mood? At least he's protective of her, even from us parents._

"Alright, I'm glad we sorted through that," Sebastian said.

"Did the other adults pawn this off on you?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Sebastian finished his glass. "Ron, finish your drink."

Ron looked a little hesitant, but he did as he was told. _He chugged the Brandy… Gods help me, I might weep._

"Ugh…" Ron shivered, and Sebastian couldn't help but smirk. "Sorry, my Lord, but that really burned."

"You will get used to it," Sebastian said.

"You keep saying that, but…" Ron mumbled. "Is there anything else that you want to talk about?"

"No," Sebastian replied. "Not yet, at least."

"Ominous," Ron said as he put the snifter on the table. "Right… I'll be on my way, then."

"Wait…" Sebastian said. "I nearly forgot. Madam Roberts won't be around tomorrow, so you should take the Hogwarts Express with the others."

"Is she on assignment?" Ron asked, a hint of disappointment on his face.

"She told your father before leaving, and he told me to tell you," Sebastian replied.

"How often do you people talk about me?" Ron smirked.

"Far too often," Sebastian smirked back. "Now… Go on, enjoy that party."

"I'm not going-"

"You think my daughter plans to spend the party alone?" Sebastian asked him, and Ron blinked in response. "Have fun, and be responsible." _Be very responsible, or I'll know the reason why._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – Late Afternoon)**_

Draco knocked on the door, and he waited for a response.

"Come in, Draco," came Dumbledore's voice, and Draco made his way inside the Office. _Why is it always so smoky in here?_

"You wanted to see me, Headmaster?" Draco asked as he made his way further into the Office.

"Please, sit down," Dumbledore smiled at him, and Draco did as he was told with an indifferent look. _Is this about my Christmas plans? Is he finally going to tell me if I can spend Christmas with my mother and Godfather?_ "How has your day been, Draco? Are you enjoying the cold climate?"

"Can we please just talk about what's going to happen to me?" Draco asked. _I can't take it anymore… I need to know._ "Am I to spend my Break at Hogwarts?"

"No," Dumbledore replied, and Draco relaxed a little.

"I can spend it with my mother, then?" Draco asked, a hint of hope escaping through.

Dumbledore lost his smile slowly, and then he shook his head. _Oh…_

"I am sorry, Draco," Dumbledore apologized. "But your mother is a prisoner… I know that you don't want to hear that, but the sooner you understand it, the less it will hurt." _How would you know?!_

"Don't talk to me like you care," Draco hissed, his anger and hurt coming to the surface. _Relax… Just relax. Breathe deeply._ "You've destroyed my Family…"

"Your father destroyed your Family," Dumbledore said. "And I think you understand that."

Draco just glared down at his lap, he wanted to kill this old codger so badly, but at same time, Draco understood that his life was in Dumbledore's hands. _I go from relying on Weasley to relying on this old goat… They keep saying that I have freewill, but I don't. They're making all the decisions for me._

"So I'm to spend Christmas with Godfather, but I can't see my mother?" Draco asked without looking up.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "Do you want to spend Christmas with Severus?"

"Of course I do," Draco looked up with a frown. "Where else am I supposed to go?"

"Severus is in deep recovery, Draco," Dumbledore said calmly. "Perhaps you'd like to spend your Break with your friends?" _What friends? Is he referring to this Weasley get-together that I keep hearing about?_

"Weasley?" Draco asked coldly. "You think he'll want me there?"

"It couldn't hurt to ask," Dumbledore suggested.

"No," Draco refused outright. "I want to spend it with my Godfather." _I can at least help with his recovery._

"Very well, but just know that Arthur and Molly Weasley have extended an invitation to you," Dumbledore told him.

"I don't need their pity," Draco sneered. _I've had enough pity from Weasleys to last me a lifetime._

"Compassion is not a weakness, Draco," Dumbledore said. _Here we go… Same old song, different day._ "If I didn't have any compassion, your mother would be dead."

Draco paled at that, his body shrinking at the Headmaster's words. _He's not meant to say things like that…_ It felt as if the temperature had dropped in the room, and the look on the old wizard's face terrified Draco. _He doesn't look angry, but his eyes are so piercing._

"Can… Can I… leave?" Draco swallowed thickly, and Dumbledore's expression softened.

"Please think about Arthur and Molly's invitation," Dumbledore said softly. "If you change your mind, come back to my Office and let me know."

Draco stood up, and without a moment's hesitation, he made his way towards the exit. As he neared the center of the Office, the fireplace burst to life with green flames, and Ronald Weasley stepped through with a smile on his freckled face. Both boys stared at each other, and then, Weasley looked towards the Headmaster.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster," Weasley greeted.

"Welcome back, Ronald," Dumbledore greeted back.

Draco began making his way out again, he saw no need to stay here any longer. _Plus, I don't want to be near that old bastard right now. I just want a quiet place to think._ Draco made his way down the spiral staircase, and then past the Stone Gargoyle. _Wait… If I go back to Slytherin, I'll have to put up with the excited party planners._ Draco shot a look backwards, and when he realized that Weasley wasn't following him, Draco made his way towards Sanctuary. _I still can't believe that Weasley found this place. Who even made it? I bet it was Salazar himself. I mean, he built the Chamber of Secrets, didn't he? What's the creation of one more secret room to someone like him?_

Draco paced in front of the entrance with speedy legs, and the moment it revealed itself, Draco rushed in. _Hopefully, no Gryffindors saw me. They'd throw me down the stairs if they caught me up here._ Draco walked over to the couches, his right hand undoing a couple of his shirt's top buttons. _Just breathe, Draco. Everything will be alright… Once I'm with Godfather, he'll give me a solution. Maybe we can live together at his abode? I can ask him to speak to Dumbledore on my mother's behalf. I know that she…_ Draco tensed painfully. _I know she gave him up to the Dark Lord, but maybe he'll forgive her if I beg him. No… What am I thinking? He'll never forgive someone who put him through hell… I know that I wouldn't._

Draco dropped onto a chair, his face buried in his hands. _I'm a prisoner, aren't I? They keep telling me that I'm not, but I am. No matter what I do, there's no escape for me. If I somehow return to my father's side, then the Dark Lord will force me into servitude. That is, if he doesn't kill me outright. On the other hand, I end up becoming Dumbledore's puppet. I do as I'm told, and maybe, he'll let me leave with my mother at the end of this mess._

Draco wanted to start throwing things, why was this happening to him? His life was becoming progressively worse every day, and he couldn't do a fucking thing to fix it. _I just want things to go back to how they used to be… I want to go back in time, and just fix everything._ The door to the Sanctuary suddenly opened, and Draco looked to see Weasley step inside. _He followed me here?_

"I want to be alone!" Draco snapped, and Weasley jumped in fright.

"Fucking hell… Why are you in here?" Weasley asked, and Draco blinked at him. _He didn't follow me?_

"I want to be alone," Draco repeated, his tone much lower now.

"Well, you should probably find your own Sanctuary, then," Weasley said as he walked further into the room. "That's my chair, by the way."

Draco stood up to leave, but Weasley clicked his tongue loudly.

"What?" Draco glared at Weasley.

"Sit back down," Weasley said with a calm smile. "We can both be here, can't we? We just won't talk to each other, and that way, we can both have our 'me time'." _You've been having a lot of 'me time' lately._

Draco slowly sat back down, while Weasley picked up a few articles from the coffee table. _I didn't even notice those. What are they?_

"Why are you reading old papers?" Draco asked, and Weasley smirked from his chair.

"I thought you wanted to be left alone," Weasley said in a teasing tone. _Why does he have to act so familiar with me?_

Draco went to scold Weasley about his familiarity, but he stopped himself before any words came out of his mouth. _No… He's the only person who still talks to me like… Like a friend…_ Draco looked back to the fire, a feeling of shame was creeping up on him. _I'm so pathetic…_

"I was only joking, Malfoy," Weasley said. "Don't look so glum… I'm sorry, alright? I'm reading these papers in order to learn more about Pure-Bloods."

"What?" Draco cocked an eyebrow at Weasley. "You're trying to learn more about us? Aren't you a Pure-Blood as well?" _Surely you were taught the basics of our culture, weren't you?_

"Ahem… Blood Traitor scum…" Weasley 'cleared' his throat.

"Funny," Draco drawled coldly. _Prick._

"I want to learn more about charity work," Weasley shrugged. "Like this…" Weasley looked to the paper, and then, his eyes widened. "What the fuck?!"

"What is it?" Draco asked, his attention captured.

"Corban Yaxley repaired all of Magical Britain's roads in July?" Weasley looked to Draco.

"Oh… That…" Draco lost his interest. "Yeah, he made a big show of it. It cost him a massive fortune, but it gained him a lot of goodwill from the Building Companies. He made sure to hire wizards instead of Elves, which would have been the much cheaper option."

"Why pay more?" Weasley asked.

"Elves are taking too many jobs," Draco shrugged. "They're cheap, they get things done exceptionally fast, and they're easy to walk all over. Wizards cost more, so in this market, they have less clients. Lord Yaxley is quite outspoken about this topic. He's been shut down quite a few times, but he **is** fighting for wizard rights. It's just an uphill battle because the Elves aren't breaking any laws."

Draco looked to Weasley as he finished, and he found the redhead staring at him.

"You… You're my solution," Weasley slowly began to smile.

"Solution?" Draco frowned. "What the hell does that mean?" _And what's with the creepy smile?_

"You're clearly informed about Pure-Blood behaviors," Weasley said. "You, Blaise, Theo, and Daphne… I should've come straight to you guys." _And leave your isolation? Seriously, why are you still hiding up here?_

"Go to your friends, and leave me be," Draco said harshly.

"Playing hard to get?" Weasley sniggered. "C'mon, Malfoy… Educate this Blood Traitor. You know you want to."

"Why are you hiding up here, Weasley?" Draco asked bluntly.

"Hiding?" Weasley looked confused.

"Your spat with Greengrass is over, isn't it?" Draco asked. "Why haven't you returned to the common room?"

"Do you miss me?" Weasley asked. _Yes… No! Fuck! Fuck! I fucking hate you so much, Weasley!_ "Did I say something that got to you?"

"Just take your articles, and sod off," Draco looked away to the fire, his fingers digging into the chair's armrests.

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you why I'm 'hiding' up here," Weasley said, ignoring Draco's cold comments. "There is nothing for me down there." _What?_

Draco couldn't help but look back at Weasley, and he found the redhead smiling right at him.

"Nothing for you down there?" Draco asked slowly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Slytherin won four hundred House Points at the Dueling Tournament, and the Triumvirate asked me to lay off of the first years for the final week," Weasley replied. "I have no job to do down there, but up here, I can learn more about the World." _Who thinks like this weirdo?_

"Why don't you go help with this party?" Draco asked. "I find it odd that you're not exercising your power over the House at a time like this."

"Exercising my power?" Weasley sniggered. "You make me sound like some tyrant."

"You are a tyrant," Draco said bluntly, though he didn't know where he found the courage to speak his opinion so openly. "You threaten people with violence if they don't do as you wish, and should they actually resist your control freak tendencies, you cause them physical pain out of spite. The Slytherins might respect you, but that respect is supported by fear."

Weasley burst into laughter as Draco finished, and Draco frowned deeply.

"I guess you're right…" Weasley shrugged, he looked more amused than offended. "I am a bit of a tyrant, but if it wasn't for my tyrannical ways, you'd still be Flint's punching bag." _He's right about that._ "It's funny how people take so much for granted. I mean, I have done right by you, and not even you can deny that. And yet, you seem to enjoy treating me like an enemy. Why is that?" _I don't know how else to treat you… I know I can't be your friend, but sometimes, it's hard to make sense of what I'm meant to be doing._

"I don't see you as my enemy, Weasley," Draco said coldly, making sure to hide his confusion. "To me, you're just another person in Slytherin."

"What a cold thing to say," Weasley shook his head, he still looked quite amused. "One of these days, Draco… You will finally grow up enough to understand just how much I've done for you." _Draco? Grow up enough? What the hell is he on about?_ "Now… Instead of just being a broody bitch, why don't you help me with this?"

"With what?" Draco asked.

"This," Weasley waved the papers around. "Grab a few, and write down who did what."

"And that helps you how?" Malfoy asked.

"It'll teach me who is interested in what," Weasley said. "Take this, for example… Lady Longbottom has a tendency to spend her money protecting natural forests, and endangered Magical Creatures."

"So the next time you want to save a Magical Creature, you know who to go to," Draco nodded slowly. _He's profiling Pure-Bloods? I get the feeling that Weasley has dangerous plans for our kind._

"There's some ink and parchment over there," Weasley pointed to the bedside table. "Bring it over, please. If we work together on this, we could get through all these papers by tonight." Weasley then smiled at Draco. "Trust me, you look like you could use a distraction."

Draco felt the urge to argue for the sake of arguing, but Weasley was right… Draco really could use a distraction right now.

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Evening)**_

With pained grunts, Snape made his way down the stairs. Each step sent mind-numbing pain throughout his right leg, so he made sure to rely mostly on his left one. The person who had decided to put Snape on the highest level of this godforsaken house clearly needed to be slapped across the face with some common sense. _I bet it was Black, the fool. He even made sure to give me his Death-Eater brother's room. I wonder how he'd react if I told him the truth behind Regulus' untimely demise._ Snape smirked cruelly through the pain, it would certainly be very entertaining. _A shame that we can't reveal anything about Horcruxes to the rest of the Order._

Eventually, Snape made to the very bottom of the stairs, his face sweaty and red. _Just a few more steps… I can do this._ Snape used his left hand to lean against the wall as he hobbled towards the Kitchen. Oddly enough, he hadn't run into anyone yet. _Most of the Order is preparing for Christmas, no doubt._ That particular thought made him frown deeply. They had no time to enjoy the 'holidays'. _We all need to be preparing for what's coming._

As he walked past the Living Room, Snape shot a quick look inside. It was empty, but the portrait of Harry Potter quickly caught Snape's attention. _Seeing that face was the last thing I needed._ Snape grit his teeth as he continued on his journey, a large bead of sweat rolling down his hooked nose. The closer he got to the Kitchen, the more noise he began to hear. Someone was currently making food, which meant that Snape's isolation had come to an end. _I won't talk, of course, but sitting up there in the dark is doing my head in._ Snape rounded the corner, and as soon as he limped into the Kitchen, he saw Narcissa's long blonde hair near the oven.

Snape reached for his wand with his right hand, only to remember that he had lost both. _Who let her out?!_ Snape looked over towards the sink, and he saw Black and Podmore keeping their eyes on Narcissa. _Black already has his wand in hand. What's going on here?_ Snape's eye drifted towards the nearest chair, and he quickly decided to take a seat. _I can't stand for another second…_ Snape limped to the chair, his pained grumbles catching everyone's attention.

While Podmore and Black looked thoroughly shocked at seeing him, their reactions were nothing compared to Narcissa's. The tall, slim witch dropped the tray in her hands, a scared whimper escaping her now trembling lips. _Surprised to see me alive?_ Snape all but dropped onto the chair, which caused him even more agony. _I need crutches, or a leg brace. I can't support my right leg anymore._

"What are…?" Black started, but then he stopped. "How did you get down here?"

"I walked…" Snape barely acknowledged the idiot's presence, his eye was solely fixed on Narcissa. "Who let you out?"

"I… Severus… You're alive…" Narcissa muttered, her usual icy demeanor gone.

"No thanks to you," Snape felt the urge to throttle her. "What are you doing down here?"

"The Headmaster allowed her to bake some goods for her son," Podmore explained. _What?_

"What an idiotic thing to allow," Snape hissed. "Send her back upstairs, and keep her there."

Narcissa looked rather hurt by his words and tone, which only served to irritate him further. _I can't even walk properly, and she's down here making cookies? She should be locked away in Azkaban._ Snape drew in a shaky breath, and as he wiped his brow, he felt his Occlumency doing its work.

"Podmore… Get me a glass of water," Snape finally looked away from the traitor.

Podmore quickly did as he was told, and Snape couldn't help but notice the smile on his face. _What are you grinning at? Hand me the glass, and be on your way._ Once Snape had had his drink, and regained some of his composure, he looked towards Black.

"You need to lock her up now," Snape advised. "She can't be allowed to roam around the house freely." _She's too crafty for your puny brain, Black. She'll turn this around if you give her the chance._

"It's just for an hour," Black said, his eyes traveling towards his cousin. "Pick that tray up, and finish up already. I'm getting sick of babysitting you, cousin."

Narcissa clenched her jaw, picked up the tray, and quietly went back to work. Snape noticed that she was trying to look him over in a subtle manner, but since she was so rattled at the sight of him, even Black and Podmore could see her conflicting emotions. _Take a good look at your handiwork, Narcissa. After everything I've done for you and your Family, this is how you repay me?_ Once again, Snape felt filled with anger and bitterness.

"Where is everyone?" Snape looked to Podmore. "Why is our Headquarters unprotected?"

"We sent them out for a couple of hours," Podmore said, his eyes darting towards Narcissa. _Ah… I see. They at least thought this through a little._

"Sugar," Narcissa whispered, and all three men looked to her. "I need sugar."

"Sturgis," Black said, and Podmore left for the pantry.

Snape stared at Narcissa's back, and he felt extremely spiteful once again.

"You can bake all you want," Snape started. "But Draco will not have a single biscuit made by your hands."

Narcissa quickly turned around with a panicked look, and then she looked towards Black for help.

"If I had my way, we'd put you down out in the back," Black shrugged. "Like the mad bitch you are."

Snape's lips curled up for a moment, his black eye digging into Narcissa's.

"Dumbledore gave me his word," Narcissa told them, she was always one to recover quickly.

"I don't care about what he gave you," Snape snarled, and oddly enough, Narcissa refused to look in his direction this time. _Is my appearance getting to her? Good._ "You led me to **him** … You and Lucius…"

The room went dead silent because of his words, and Narcissa visibly began to shrink in her spot. Podmore reentered the room at that, and he quickly noticed the tension in the air.

"Everything alright?" Podmore asked, and then he handed Narcissa the sugar. "Lady Malfoy?"

"Everything's fine," Black assured his friend, and then he looked to Narcissa. "Get back to your business, cousin."

Narcissa frowned at Black calling her 'cousin', and Snape realized that Black was also trying to get to her. _Not very surprising, considering their history._

"My son will be given his gift from me," Narcissa told Black and Snape. "Or I will take this to your leader."

Snape gave a cold scoff at that, she still had the gall to act like a loving mother? Even now? _She was leading Draco to his death with her bloody-minded views, and if I'm not careful, she'll keep whispering her poison in his ears. Even in her youth, Narcissa wasn't particularly tolerant towards her 'inferiors', so I have no reason to believe that she will change her ways._

As he watched Narcissa continue her work, Snape's mind drifted to his earlier conversation with Albus and the Weasleys. Contrary to popular belief, Snape was not blind to Draco's needs. He understood that the bedside of a recovering torture-victim was no place for a child, but in the moment, Snape had let his pride control his actions. _It was because of the way they came to me… They couldn't help but act like they were the moral authority on what's best for everyone's children. Do they behave this way with Potter as well? If so, how does Black put up with it?_

Growing up, Snape had always detested Christmas. His father made damn sure of that, and so Snape always found himself trying to find ways to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas Break. Draco, of course, had no reason to hate Christmas, and Snape certainly didn't want to give him any reasons. _Draco is only thirteen, despite his current situation._ Snape's eye drifted towards Narcissa again, and he realized another error in refusing the Weasleys' offer. _Draco will try his best to see her, and I'm not capable of keeping him away from her. I can barely leave the bed sometimes… Damn. I can't let her see him, especially right now. Draco is trying to find his own way in the World, and she'll only hinder his journey._

Albus and the Weasley's were right, Draco couldn't spend this Break with Snape. Most of Snape's time was spent recovering from his injuries, and Grimmauld place was currently the home of an armed militia. _The Burrow will provide some normalcy to him, even though he'll hate it there. He'll be fed, watched over, and away from his mother._ Now all Snape needed to do was to swallow his pride for the sake of a boy who had already suffered far too much. _I'm not his father, but I'll be a better father-figure than my own father._

"Black," Snape broke his silence. "Tomorrow, when you go to pick up Potter, take Draco to the Burrow with you."

"What?" Narcissa and Black asked at the same time.

"You can't do that," Narcissa looked aghast. "The Burrow? The den of Britain's most notorious Blood Traitors-"

"Shut it," Black snapped, which made Podmore frown at him. "Snape… Are you serious?"

"Yes, why else would I say it?" Snape asked icily. "Just take him with you. Tell him that I want him there for his own safety."

"His own safety?" Narcissa demanded. "He can't associate with them! The Dark Lord will kill him for-"

"Enough!" Snape glared at her. "I'll kill you, Narcissa, do you understand?"

She paled a little at that, while Podmore and Black just exchanged slow looks. _After everything you and your husband put me through, I'd relish the chance to string you up._

"Take him," Snape ordered Black, and then with great effort, he stood back up. "Tell him to stay strong…"

With that said, Snape began to limp towards the exit. _I don't think I can make it up there… Fuck._

"Need help?" Podmore whispered, he had walked up behind Snape.

Snape said nothing, but he did give a curt nod. _I have to recover, and I need to do it as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, I'll come back down, and then, try to go back up._ Snape knew that horrible pain was in store for him, but he was willing to suffer through it. _I have spent enough time in bed. Albus and Ron need me, as does my Godson._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

"You're pouting," Tracey nudged her side, and Daphne quickly fixed her face.

Ron hadn't attended the End of Term Feast, which had ruined Daphne's own dinner. _I thought that since we fixed up some of our issues last night, he'd come back to the House. But no… He's still spending his time alone in the Sanctuary._ Daphne felt the urge to stomp her feet, but she kept her composure. _Stay calm, Daphne. Be the girlfriend who isn't bossy, or clingy._

"Is Ron coming down for the party?" Theo asked, and all four girls shot him frowns. "What? People are already having a fun time, and we're all standing around in a corner. It doesn't look nice."

"He's right," Blaise agreed with Theo. "Malfoy is also missing, which will make people talk." _He's probably spending his time in the North Wing again. Either way, who cares about what Malfoy's up to?_

"Why don't we just go up there, and bring Ron back with us?" Pansy suggested.

"You can do that," Millie said. "I'd rather not force him to be here if he doesn't want to."

"But we're supposed to spend time together!" Pansy whined. _I swear that she's up to something. She keeps hinting at us getting drunk again tonight._ "Daphne? Tell them."

"Pansy's right," Daphne said. "Tomorrow, we're all going home for the Break, and Ron chooses now to be a loner?" _He could at least show up for a bit, right?_

"I'd rather spend my time enjoying the party instead of having Ron tear me a new one," Theo said.

"You girls can go fetch him," Blaise said. "He listens to all of you."

"He listens to Daphne," Tracey quickly excluded herself. _Wow. So it's up to me, again._

"We all go together," Daphne said firmly. "It'll be easier to peer-pressure him if there's a lot of us."

"Wait!" Pansy suddenly squealed, making everyone except Blaise jump a little. "Why don't we steal a bottle, and then just have our own party in the Sanctuary? Just us friends!"

"Actually… That does sound nice," Millie smiled a little. "It's really loud in here, and I don't like crowds."

"I want to keep my eyes on Tori," Daphne said. "You know how she is… I can't let her make a mistake tonight." _I remember my recent run in with alcohol quite well._

"A mistake?" Blaise cocked his eyebrow. "She's a first year, and no one would dare approach them."

"I meant with one of her male friends," Daphne said. "That Fawley boy keeps staring at her. I've seen it."

"She's a pretty girl, and he's not blind," Theo shrugged. "Relax, Daphne, nothing will happen to little Tori. You do realize that Ron is very closely associated with the first years, right?"

"Theo's right," Tracey said, she didn't like the idea of hovering near the first years all night. "I mean, some boys don't approach me simply because Ron is nearby." _What? What's that supposed to mean?_

"So can we do what I asked?!" Pansy pleaded, her eyes fixed on Daphne. "Please! It'll be so much fun with just us friends! Tracey can play some music on her music-box, and we can just play cards and dance!" _That does sound nice, but why is she pleading so hard? And why is she only looking to me?_

Daphne looked around the common room for Tori, but there were far too many people for her to pinpoint the tiny blonde. _She's probably dancing somewhere._

"She'll be fine, Daph," Tracey said, and Daphne let out a long breath. "C'mon, let's do what Pansy's suggesting. It does sound a lot better than just hovering around in the corner."

"Alright, I'm in," Daphne relented, she mostly wanted to be where Ron was. _Don't be clingy!_

"Awesome!" Pansy clapped her hands together. "Blaise and Theo can steal one of the bottles from the seventh years' table-"

"What?" Theo asked. "I'm not doing that! They'll string me up!"

"You stole from the Minister himself," Millie reminded him.

"That was different," Theo said.

"No, it really wasn't," the girls all said together.

"I'll just ask Clara Martyris for a bottle," Blaise drawled.

"You will?" Daphne asked.

"She's friends with Ron, and since he bought them a barrel of alcohol, they can hand over one measly bottle," Blaise said, and then he left to complete his task.

"Blaise taking charge," Pansy smiled at Blaise's back, while Theo just looked between them. "Very attractive, right?"

"I'll go give him support," Theo suddenly changed his tune, and Daphne fought the urge to roll her eyes. _The moment Blaise gets a girl's attention, Theo decides to step up._

"I'll grab the Walkman, and the cards," Tracey said. "We can all meet up outside."

"Sounds good," Millie nodded, and Tracey left in a hurry. "Let's go wait outside?"

"Sure," Daphne said, and they began to head towards the exit.

Along the way, Daphne realized that not many people were dancing yet. Most of them were just sipping alcohol from their glasses, and enjoying casual conversation. _In an hour, all of them will be out of control._ Daphne made a mental note of not drinking too much tonight, the last thing she wanted was to get drunk. _Even thinking about my behavior that night makes me want to curl up into a ball._ As they neared the exit, Daphne felt a small figure hug her from behind. _Who's that?!_

"Surprise hug!" Tori sang, and Daphne let out a relieved sigh. _I thought some boy was getting handsy with me… I nearly turned around with the intention of kneeing their crotch._

"Tori, I'm glad I ran into you," Daphne turned around with a half-smile. "I'm heading off to celebrate with my friends, and I wanted to make sure that you're planning to behave tonight."

"Ugh…" Tori groaned, and then she looked to Pansy. "Why is she so boring?"

"We don't know," Pansy giggled.

"I'm not boring," Daphne said calmly. "Tori, promise me that you'll behave. No getting drunk, understand?"

"I can't get drunk," Tori said, and Daphne blinked at her. "Apparently, Ron told the Triumvirate that we first years aren't allowed to drink. They said that he wouldn't listen to them, and so, we first years have to obey. Actually… I was hoping that you could talk to him for us." _Surprise hug, my purple panties… Wait, Ron forbid them from drinking? This is great! I don't have to worry as much now!_

"Sorry, Tori," Daphne gave a sorry smile. "But Ron is in charge of you guys, and if he says that you can't drink, then you can't drink. Do you want him to get angry with you?"

"No," Tori replied immediately, she was clearly rethinking her strategy. "What about one glass? Just one!"

"Ron doesn't negotiate, Tori," Daphne said. "Tell you what? If you behave, I'll buy you something extra for Christmas."

"Really?" Tori's eyes gleamed with greed. "Like what?"

"You'll have to behave to see it," Daphne said, and Tori weighed her options.

"Alright… But you better keep your promise," Tori said, and then she sauntered off towards her friends.

"That was easy," Millie stated.

"Tori likes getting gifts," Daphne shrugged. _I'll have to thank Ron as well for being responsible. Hmmm, how should I do that?_

"Why are you smiling like that?" Pansy asked, and Daphne fixed her face.

"No reason," Daphne turned to leave. _Remember to behave, Daphne. No excessive drinking._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Daphne entered the Sanctuary first, and her friends quietly followed after her. _Ron? Are you in here?_ Daphne's eyes found her boyfriend easily enough, he was currently writing things down on a chalkboard. _Was that always here? And what is Ron doing?_

"Give me something on the Shacklebolts, Malfoy," Ron said, and they all looked towards Malfoy. _He's here with Ron? Why?_

"I already told you that there's nothing here," Malfoy said, he was sitting on Ron's favorite chair with a bunch of newspapers by his feet. "The Shacklebolts may occasionally help with charity, but they're not rich enough to head their own projects."

"Surely the Shacklebolts have done one, or two," Ron turned to face Malfoy, and he quickly noticed Daphne and the others. "Oh… Hello."

Malfoy followed Ron's gaze, and when he saw them, he quickly tossed the newspaper in his hand.

"What are you two doing?" Daphne asked, her eyes traveling to the chalkboard. _Is that… a tally? Wait… My Family Name is up there too._

"I was just doing some research, and Malfoy decided to help me," Ron told them, his blue eyes scanning them. "Is that a bottle of Firewhiskey?"

"We figured that we'd bring the party to you," Pansy replied slowly. "Why are there three tally marks under my Family Name?" _And four under mine._

"Oh, these?" Ron looked to the chalkboard. "Lord and Lady Parkinson have headed three projects in the last two years. A ranch for Unicorns, a protected site for Manticores, and a fundraiser to help expand Magical Britain's industrial businesses. Wizards only, of course."

"Um… They did that?" Pansy asked.

"It wasn't reported on heavily, but Malfoy and I found the proper articles," Ron shrugged. _So he didn't come down because he's working… Good, I was worried that things would stay awkward between us._

"You could've asked us for help," Daphne said, and then she moved over to the couches.

"I figured that you all wanted to enjoy the party," Ron said, while Malfoy became eerily quiet once again. _Something's been bothering him, even I've noticed that. Does Ron know about it?_

"Well, you can put a pin in this," Tracey said as she put her Walkman down onto the coffee table. "We're not taking no for an answer, Ron. We're going to drink this bottle, play cards, dance around, and be silly for a change."

"I'd rather get some more-" Ron started, but a pouty look from Daphne stopped him. _It worked? Wait… Of course it worked, I'm adorable._ "Guys…"

"Just stop wasting time," Theo said as he sat down. "You won't win this one, mate."

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later**_

"You're cheating!" Pansy accused, though her voice came out as a drunk giggle. "Ron, I saw you pass Daphne a card!" _Damnit, she's onto us._

"And risk losing myself?" Ron played innocent. "I would never do that."

"I saw him!" Pansy told the others.

For the last two hours, they had been playing Wizard's Poker. Since they didn't have any money to use as currency, they had settled for shots of Firewhiskey. Whoever won was exempt from drinking at the end of the round, and luckily, Daphne had been fortunate enough to be sitting next to Ron. Her boyfriend, for her sake, was helping her win so that she didn't have to drink. _But the jig is up, eh?_ Of course, Daphne had lost a few rounds, but for the time being, her mind was still her own. _And it'll stay that way. No more offering Ron 'release'… Well, not until we're both ready for that sort of behavior._

Daphne had been planning to ask Ron at Christmas, but as Christmas loomed ever closer, she found herself conflicted. They were obviously a little too young for this sort of behavior, but she also knew that girls in her year had already experimented with boys. _Plus, Ron_ _ **is**_ _my boyfriend, so it isn't too weird. But then again, what would my parents say? Mother would die of a stroke, and father would be sent to Azkaban on two murder charges._

"She's not even listening," Tracey laughed, and Daphne broke out of her thoughts.

"Sorry? What is it?" Daphne looked around.

"You know, I think Ron's rubbing off on you," Tracey pointed out, and Daphne felt her face heat up. _Rubbing off on me? What the hell?_

"What… What's that supposed to mean?" Daphne asked slowly, and Tracey shot her a bewildered look. _I only offered to rub him off! I didn't actually do it!_

"It means that I'm influencing you," Ron replied for Tracey. "You alright, Daph?" _I'm an idiot._

"Sorry, I just got a little confused," Daphne said, some calmness returning to her mind. "So… I won that game-"

"Yeah, but you cheated," Theo said. "We all know that you two are cheating, by the way."

"We aren't cheating," Daphne denied.

"Really?" Malfoy cocked a lazy eyebrow, he had joined them at Ron's request. _Why is Ron so nice to him all the time? Wait… Am I jealous of Malfoy? Get a grip, Daphne. Merlin… I hate alcohol._ "Greengrass, you have one more card than you should… Take a look."

Daphne slowly looked at her hand, and then she looked to Ron.

"Oh…" Ron mumbled, his eyes were droopy. _He gave me an extra one by mistake?! Why, Ron?_ "Well… I fucked that up, didn't I?"

"You two need to be punished," Pansy narrowed her eyes on them. "We've been drinking heaps, and you two are just cheating away… For shame."

"Hey, I've been drinking," Ron quickly defended himself. "It's Daphne who should be punished."

"Wow, Ron," Daphne gave him an annoyed look, and he just grinned in a sleepy manner. _Actually, he has been drinking for two._

"She has to take a massive gulp," Millie all but ordered, and Blaise passed Daphne the bottle. _No… It's still a quarter full…_

"I don't want to," Daphne whined.

"Too bad," Blaise said coldly. _He's a mean drunk._ "Go on, just hurry up so we can start the next round."

Daphne looked to Ron for support, but her boyfriend was swaying from side to side. _He's completely drunk._ Daphne drew in a deep breath, and then she drank as much as she could. After three gulps, she all but jerked her mouth away from the bottle. _It burns. Ugh… That's so gross. No wonder father despises Odgen's Finest._

"Next round!" Pansy quickly hoarded the cards for reshuffling.

"Let's play something different!" Tracey intervened.

"Play what?" Theo asked.

"Truth or dare," Tracey grinned. "You choose truth, or dare, and the person to your right gives the instructions. If you chicken out, you have to drink." _The person to my right is Millie. Good, she won't be too harsh with her instructions._

"We don't have much left in here," Theo pointed out, his eyes fixed on the bottle.

"I'll be right back," Ron stood up. "I need to go take a piss."

"Ew," the girls all grimaced, while Theo and Blaise chuckled at Ron's bluntness.

Ron left the room with a happy smile, and Daphne felt the urge to take his seat. _If I do that, then he'll be sitting to my right. Ron would never force me to embarrass myself in front of our friends._ Daphne smiled coyly to herself, and then, not so subtly, she took Ron's seat. _It's so warm. Is Ron's arse on fire?_ Daphne quickly scoured the room for Ron's arse, but sadly for her, he had left the Sanctuary already. _When he returns, I shall gaze all I want._

"Why did you take Ron's seat?" Tracey asked.

"No reason," Daphne lied.

"Right," Theo clicked his tongue. "Bloody hell, I'm feeling a little lightheaded here."

"Weak," Millie scoffed, though her own face was flushed as well.

"I didn't win a single round, give me a break," Theo sank into his chair. "How are you holding up, Blaise?"

"I'm lightheaded as well, but I'll manage," Blaise shrugged. "Wait… We just let Ron walk off into the night…"

"So?" Pansy asked.

"So… This place is on the seventh floor," Blaise reminded them. "What if he runs into Gryffindors? He's drunk, in case you haven't noticed."

"Ron will be fine," Tracey waved a dismissive hand. "I mean, this is Ron we're talking about. He's too paranoid to get caught."

"Don't call him paranoid," Daphne huffed in indignation. "He's just cautious, that's all."

"Oh, no… He's paranoid," Malfoy spoke openly, and Daphne shot him a dead-eyed look. _I'm sitting to your right, Malfoy. Do you really want to insult Ron right now?_ "Honestly, just look at that chalkboard… He's profiling our parents." _What?_

"Profiling…" Theo looked to the chalkboard.

"Weasley has plans for the Future, or so he says," Malfoy shrugged. "I think he's trying to figure out who his enemies are."

"But… My Family Name is up there," Millie said slowly.

"So is Greengrass'," Malfoy said.

"What makes you think that he's trying to 'figure out who his enemies are'?" Tracey asked.

"When I kept asking him why he was doing this, he eventually told me that he needed to keep 'these people in line'," Malfoy replied. "The way he said it was… alarming… You know when he goes cold all of a sudden?" They all nodded slowly. "Yeah, he went really cold, and then, he just said it like it was nothing."

"I'm back!" Ron called from the door, and they all nearly jumped from fright. "And look what I found!"

In Ron's hand was another bottle of Odgen's Finest, and Daphne felt her stomach turn to lead. _He had Marty steal a bottle for him, didn't he? He can't possibly want to keep drinking, can he?_

"Where did you get that?" Malfoy asked.

"I have my ways, Malfoy," Ron grinned as he walked up to Daphne. "Wait… That's my seat."

"I wanted to swap," Daphne said innocently, and Ron shrugged before sitting down.

"Here, Blaise," Ron passed Blaise the full bottle. "Let's play, shall we?"

"New idea!" Tracey announced a bit too loudly. "We finish the first bottle, and then, we spin that bottle. Whoever it lands on is it, and then, we spin it again. The person it lands on the second time picks the truths, or dares." _What?!_

Daphne noticed Tracey's eyes dart towards her, and in that moment, Daphne understood betrayal. _This bitch… She figured out why I swapped seats._

"That's reasonable, I reckon," Ron nodded along. _Betrayed by Ron as well._ "Let's just pass the old bottle around until it finishes, eh?"

Daphne promised herself that she'd be careful with her sips, and then, she took a small sip before passing the bottle to Malfoy. Sip by sip, they eventually finished the bottle. Daphne wasn't going to lie, despite her prudish behavior tonight, she was starting to relax as she consumed more Firewhiskey. _Don't fall into the trap, Daphne. That's how Odgen gets you._

"Alright! Spin the bottle!" Tracey squealed, and Blaise did just that.

The bottle landed on Millie, and the big girl let out a grunt. Blaise spun the bottle again, and it landed on Pansy.

"Yes!" Pansy jumped in her seat, while Millie shot Blaise a frown. "What will it be, Millie?!"

"Truth," Millie replied.

"Okay… Do you think I'm pretty?" Pansy asked, and everyone just stared at her. "Well?" _Wow… She just wasted her question to sate her vanity._

"Ye… Yes… I think you're very pretty…" Millie mumbled, but they all heard her. "This game is stupid…"

"No, Pansy is stupid," Tracey corrected, but Pansy was too busy smiling to herself because of the compliment. "Blaise, do the honors."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron was currently doing twenty pushups on a dare, while Daphne was enjoying bobbing up and down on his back. Pansy had dared Ron to do the pushups, and a condition of his dare was that Daphne had to be sitting on his back. None of them thought that he could do it, but right before he started, Daphne heard him mutter something under his breath, and now here she was. _This is actually a lot of fun! He's like my personal horse!_

"Faster," Daphne ordered, a drunk giggle escaping her lips. "C'mon!"

"Nineteen… Twenty…" Ron finished, and then he dropped to the ground.

Daphne lost her own balance, and she fell over onto her side. Generally, Daphne was not a fan of lying down on the cold ground, but just this once, she let out a happy laugh as she nudged Ron's side with her foot. _My horse died!_

"He actually did it…" Theo slowly began to clap. "I'm truly impressed."

"You were clearly a mule in your previous life, Weasley," Malfoy commented, his usually pale face was red and blotchy from drinking.

"I was Ron in my previous life…" Ron groaned from the ground. _What?_

"I don't think you understand how reincarnation works, brother," Blaise chuckled, he had finally started coming out of his shell. "C'mon, let help you up."

"I understand it better than most," Ron mumbled as Blaise pulled him up to his feet.

"Fuck… Heavy bastard…" Blaise grunted, but he still managed to help Ron up.

The redhead swayed from side to side, and then, he quickly turned to Daphne.

"Daph… I dropped you," Ron realized, but Daphne just shook her head as she sat up.

"I'm fine," she shrugged casually. "Help me up, please."

Ron 'carefully' helped her to her feet, and she decided to rest all of her weight on him. _He smiles nice… Take a big sniff, Daphne._ Daphne drew in a sharp breath, and she smiled drunkenly. _Hmmm, so good._ Daphne wrapped her arms around his lower back, and she nuzzled her face into his chest. _All mine._

"I think Daphne's done for the night," Pansy pointed and laughed.

"I'm only little…" Daphne sang into Ron's chest, while he just rubbed her back. "I get drunk easy…" _Easy? Easily? Whatever._

"We're all the same height," Tracey pointed out. "Well, close enough… The only difference between us are those two melons!" _Melons?_

"Ha, melons," Theo laughed, and Daphne decided to not make a scene. _It's not like Tracey's wrong… I do have giant melons. At least for someone my age._

"Stop that," Ron scolded. "Don't tease her." _Yeah, don't tease me. My boyfriend can beat you up._

"He's being protective," Millie sniggered. "Now enough of that, we still have a bit left."

"If I take another sip, I will vomit," Malfoy remarked, and then he curled up into a ball in Ron's favorite chair. "I'm done for the night. Goodnight."

"No!" Tracey all but yelled, making even Ron jump a little. "We have to dance!" _Is she inviting Malfoy to dance?_

Daphne pulled a bit away from Ron in order to look at Tracey, and she realized that the others were doing the same.

"Did… Did you just invite Malfoy to dance with you?" Theo asked, his voice was quite low.

"No, we should all dance!" Tracey fidgeted with her Walkman, completely oblivious to the stares being sent her way.

"Oh… Okay…" Theo nodded, a slightly calmer look on his face. _He's definitely into her, and I know that she's into him. I should play matchmaker!_

"You know…" Pansy started, her eyes moving between Malfoy and Tracey. "You two have been acting a bit off lately… Especially around each other."

"What?" Tracey and Malfoy asked together.

"See!" Pansy looked to the others. "They even speak together now!"

"Pansy, calm down," Millie patted the raven-haired witch's back.

"What's going on between you two?" Pansy asked bluntly. "I want to know."

"Nothing," Malfoy rolled his eyes, while Tracey just looked around with a contemplative look.

"Trace?" Daphne called, and her best friend suddenly jumped onto the coffee table. _What the…?_

"Get down from there," Ron said. "Tracey, you could fall over."

"I have an announcement to make!" Tracey puffed up, a droopy grin suddenly on her face. "Malfoy and I have made peace!"

The Sanctuary went dead quiet, and Daphne found herself gawking at her drunk best friend. _What is she on about?_ Daphne and Ron looked over to Malfoy, who was just staring at her with his mouth hanging open. _It's true?! What?! When?!_

"What are you on about?" Blaise asked.

"Malfoy… Nay! Draco…" Tracey turned her grin towards Malfoy, who looked even more shocked. "Draco apologized to me for his terrible behavior in regards to my Blood-Status! I know he meant it, and since then, we have existed… Wait… Yeah, we have **coexisted** peacefully!"

"What the fuck…?" Ron muttered under his breath, and only Daphne heard him. _Is this really happening? What is she doing?_

"Why didn't you say anything?" Daphne asked.

"Because I didn't want to cause any more problems for the group," Tracey shrugged. "But you know what? We're having a good time together, and it occurred to me that once we're sober, we'll go back to treating Draco like an outsider. I'm getting sick of petty infighting, so I've decided to just get the truth out there." Tracey then looked back to Malfoy. "I'm not trying to embarrass you, but I think you should put aside your pride, and just do what makes your life easier. Get out of your own way, you know?"

Malfoy said nothing, but his clenched jaw clearly wasn't a good sign. _I think Tracey just made a big mistake… Still, I can't believe that she didn't tell me about Malfoy. Kudos to her for keeping a secret for so long._

"You know, Malfoy's been behaving quite admirably for the last few months," Ron suddenly spoke up, and Daphne eyeballed her boyfriend. _I should've known that he'd jump in to fix things._ "Given his history, we can all admit that he's turned over a new leaf."

"Exactly!" Tracey hopped off of the table, and Millie quickly steadied her.

"Just because he doesn't bully us anymore doesn't mean that his past should be forgotten," Millie said. _She's right. He attacked Ron, and I can never forgive that._

"I'm right here," Malfoy suddenly shot up. "Stop discussing me like I'm invisible!"

"Calm down," Blaise sighed. "Why are we talking about this? This is not very fun."

"Because now is a good time to clear the air," Tracey said, her eyes fixed on Malfoy. "I'm not saying that we all become loving friends for life, but maybe we could stop being distant to each other." Tracey then looked to Ron. "That includes you as well, mister."

"Hey, I'm on your side here," Ron stated.

"True, but for the last week, you've been really closed off," Tracey pointed out. "Daphne agrees with me on this." _She threw me under the bus?!_

Ron and Daphne exchanged looks, and all she could do was to give a nod. _She's not wrong, truth be told. I've barely seen you all week, even after our chat._

"Did I just dig my own grave?" Ron asked himself.

"This is getting a little too… sappy… for my tastes," Blaise said. "I'll be over by the bed until you lot get this nonsense out of your systems."

"You're a part of the group," Pansy clung to his arm, effectively stopping him. "You can't just walk off whenever things get awkward."

"What about him?" Blaise pointed to Theo, who had been shrinking into the background without anyone's knowledge.

"You fucking prick…" Theo frowned deeply, and Tracey quickly dragged him back to the group. "Ugh… What happened to dancing? You women…"

"Ha, women," Ron sniggered to himself. _He loves his casual sexism, doesn't he?_

"Ahem," Daphne narrowed her eyes on Ron, but he just pinched her cheek. _Ow!_ "Be serious, Ron."

"Sorry," Ron shook his head clear. "Right, so let's just all be nicer to each other."

"I think we should make a pact," Tracey suggested. "We forgive and we forget. Starting from today, we treat each other with respect and honesty."

"And that includes Malfoy as well?" Daphne asked for clarification.

"Of course," Tracey said, and then she looked to Malfoy again. "Well? What do you think?"

"Does it even matter what I think?" Malfoy asked, and everyone gave him deadpan looks. _Of course he makes this difficult._

"It does," Ron said. "Look, you're here with us right now. You pretty much spend most of your time around us, which means that sooner or later, we all need to get this conversation out of our systems. So, why not do it when we're drunk? I don't know about you, but I'm feeling quite out of sorts… In a good way, that is."

"So we all just forget that he attacked Ron?" Millie asked. "Or that he called Daphne a slag? Or that he hit me in the head with a cheap shot? Or that he bullied every single one of us for years?"

"Any other complaints?" Malfoy frowned at Millie, who just glared at him.

"For fuck sake, just stop making this more difficult than it needs to be," Ron rolled his eyes. "Malfoy, I forgive you for assaulting me. **And** … I'm sorry for hurting you. There, it was that easy. Your turn."

"Um… Ron…" Daphne whispered, and Ron leaned down to hear her. "Not everyone processes things like you." _And how can you forgive him for hospitalizing you so easily?_

"Help me," Ron whispered back. "Daphne, this is just what I've been looking for… We can end the division in this group if we play this right."

"You and your schemes…" Daphne sighed out. "Alright…" _I don't like it, but Ron and Tracey are both together on this._

"Just apologize, Draco," Tracey urged.

"Stop using my given name," Malfoy frowned even more deeply. _Yeah, why is she doing that all of a sudden?_

"I'm over the fact that you called me a 'Blood-Traitor's slag'," Daphne lied, deciding to help Ron and Tracey.

"Wow… Really?" Millie looked quite taken aback. "Daphne… You can't be serious."

"He called you a whore," Pansy looked scandalized. "You can't forgive that!"

"Things have changed," Daphne shrugged, while Ron's hand found her back. _I better get lots of kisses for this._ "We were all fighting back then, but now, Malfoy is a part of the group." _An unwanted part, but still…_ "The longer we stay… distant… the more problems we'll face going forward. For the sake of efficiency, we must come together. Only when we are united will we see-"

"Ease up on the formality," Ron whispered. _Oh._

"Look, this is ruining our night…" Daphne drawled. "Let's just make up, and then we can dance." _How's that? I'm not always formal._

Malfoy was staring at Ron, and when Ron shot him a meaningful look, Malfoy's expression turned cold.

"I'm… sorry… for my past actions…" Malfoy said very slowly, he looked thoroughly put off. _That's his best? Really?_ "I'm leaving… This is stupid…"

Malfoy headed for the exit, and no one went to stop him, but as soon as he left the Sanctuary, Ron followed after him.

"Where are you going?" Daphne asked.

"I'll be right back," Ron said, and just like that, he too was gone.

"Nice going, Tracey," Blaise said coldly. "Way to kill the mood."

"I didn't kill the mood," Tracey denied. "He apologized, didn't he? It's up to us to capitalize on this."

"Tracey, a word?" Daphne asked, and Tracey walked over to her.

"What is it?" Tracey asked.

"Where did that come from?" Daphne asked as they separated from the others. "And why were you calling him Draco?"

"Oh… I figured that I'd tear down the barriers," Tracey replied. "It didn't work, I think." _No, it did not._ "Still, he apologized, so I'm counting this as a win." _You call that an apology?_

"You could've warned us," Daphne said.

"It wasn't a planned move," Tracey shrugged. "I'm not like you, Daph, you know that. I don't plan my interactions with other people, I just go with what feels right in the moment. We were all having a great time, and I decided to use that to clear out some dirty laundry."

"Right," Daphne said slowly. "Why didn't you say anything about Malfoy before? Did he really apologize to you?"

"He did," Tracey replied. "It was on the night of the St. Mungo's Gala. Since then, we've both been ignoring what happened that night, but that clearly wasn't the right call. I mean, Malfoy did sound genuinely sorry when he apologized to me, so I'm almost certain that he regrets how things have turned out for him."

"You mean he regrets being a loser," Daphne said, and Tracey tutted her.

"That was actually a cruel thing to say, Daph," Tracey said.

"But it's true," Daphne said. "Just because he apologized doesn't mean that he's not Malfoy anymore. We still need to be cautious around him."

"There's a difference between being cautious and being hostile," Tracey said. "I'm not going to resort to his previous behavior as a means to get back at him. That would make me just as bad as he used to be." Tracey then shot a look back at Millie and Pansy. "They won't be too happy with me on the train ride home."

"No, they won't be," Daphne sighed out. "Just don't take this any further for now. Malfoy clearly didn't appreciate what you were trying to do, and neither did the others."

"What about you?" Tracey asked.

"I don't like him, and I doubt that I ever will," Daphne admitted. "But… You're not wrong about him being a part of this group. Ron is adamant about keeping Malfoy around, and although I don't understand his motives, I've learned to trust Ron's judgement."

"Sometimes," Tracey smirked.

"Sometimes," Daphne smiled a little.

"Thanks for backing me up, then," Tracey put her arm around Daphne's shoulders.

"I didn't see any choice in the matter," Daphne shrugged. "My best friend and boyfriend were outnumbered, weren't they?"

"Speak of the devil…" Tracey said, and Daphne followed her gaze towards the entrance.

Ron had just reentered the room with a happy smile, but Malfoy wasn't with him.

"Well?" Pansy asked. "Is he not coming back?"

"No, he's done for the night," Ron replied. "I think he was mostly embarrassed because Tracey put him on the spot out of nowhere."

"Sorry, but not sorry," Tracey said casually.

"No, you did well," Ron gave her his golden smile, and Tracey perked up immediately. "I'm proud of you, Tracey. It must've taken a lot to move past your grievances with him, and I really appreciate the effort you're making. Thank you." _What about my efforts? Turn that smile in my direction!_

"Well… It was nothing," Tracey smiled a little too brightly for Daphne's liking. _I will claw that smile off your face. Wait… Is she blushing? Or is she just drunk?_

"Can we finish this bottle now?" Theo drawled from the couches. "I feel like the night took a nosedive out of the blue…"

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Sanctuary – Well Past Midnight)**_

"We can listen to Pink Floyd on the way home," Tracey went on excitedly, and Theo just listened with a smile.

They were currently sitting by themselves in a corner within Sanctuary, the night had come to a close. Ron and Daphne had snuck off to find a broom closet, while Pansy had been escorted to her bed by Blaise and Millie after she vomited all over the sandpit. This left Tracey and Theo alone for the time being, which suited Theo just fine. He didn't know if it was the alcohol, or just blind courage, but he felt the need to spend even more time with her. _You're smitten, Theo, and you know it._

"Is Pink Floyd anything like Led Zeppelin?" Theo asked, he quite enjoyed Led Zeppelin. _I hate to admit this, but Muggle music is far better than ours. They have so many genres, and they integrate their technology to improve their music. It's quite… admirable._

"Yes, and no," Tracey replied. "I personally prefer Led Zeppelin, but some songs from Pink Floyd are just amazing. My dad loves Pink Floyd a lot, and he often plays their music at home. The amount of times I've heard 'See Emily Play'…"

"Your dad?" Theo asked.

"Mum introduced him to Muggle music," Tracey replied.

"Must be a trait in the women of your Family," Theo joked. "Introducing Pure-Blood wizards to the Magic of Muggle music."

"Oh, are we going to get married as well?" Tracey smirked. _Is she flirting with me? I'm not really sure, but it feels like she does it all the time lately._ "You'll have to listen to a lot more Muggle music for that to happen. I can't marry an uncultured individual, of course."

"I'll get right on it," Theo sniggered, and Tracey suddenly leaned against his side.

Theo tensed a little because of the sudden contact, but he relaxed just as quickly. _Her hair smells nice._

"You don't mind, do you?" Tracey asked. "I feel really tired, and my head is spinning."

"No, I don't mind at all," Theo moved a little closer.

"I bet you don't," Tracey snorted. _Usually, when girls snort near me, I find them horribly unattractive. But when Tracey does it, it's kind of cute. Merlin, get a hold of yourself, Theo. You need to exude confidence, not whatever this is._ "Earth to Theo?"

"Pardon?" Theo broke out of his thoughts.

"I asked you if you were comfortable," Tracey repeated.

"Well, not really," Theo replied truthfully. "Your elbow is digging into my side."

"Oh, sorry," Tracey stopped leaning on him. _Damn it, Theo. Way to fuck that up._

Tracey slowly repositioned herself, and then she planted her head on his lap, her legs extending out as she all but lied down on the floor. _Alright, this isn't so bad._

"Better?" Tracey asked, and Theo nodded. "You're being awfully quiet right now. Is something on your mind?" _Far too many things are on my mind._

"I'm just drunk," Theo shrugged, he wasn't lying when he said that. "Honestly, I've never drank so much before."

"Me neither," Tracey said. "But you know what? I'm glad that we did. I missed out on the night of the Gala."

"That was a fun night," Theo smiled to himself.

"I can't believe that you guys convinced Longbottom to get drunk," Tracey giggled.

"He was good company, truth be told," Theo admitted. "Funny, even."

"Longbottom's funny, is he?" Tracey smirked.

"In a goofy sort of way, yeah," Theo replied.

"Should I be jealous, Theo?" Tracey asked in a playful tone. "Does Longbottom often make an appearance in your thoughts?"

"Get out of it," Theo flicked her hair. _She's flirting again._ "Trace… Look, this might be awkward, but I just need to ask… Are you flirting with me?"

"What?" Tracey blinked, her glee gone immediately. _Think before you speak, Theo! What's wrong with you?_

"Never mind, I'm being… drunk…" Theo looked ahead, and after a couple of seconds, Tracey sat back up. _Uh-oh._

"I… I think so," Tracey mumbled, and Theo blinked at her.

"You think so?" Theo asked slowly. "So… You're not sure?" _How's that even possible?_

"Now that I think about it, the way we talk does seem… flirty…" Tracey said, a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Does it make you uncomfortable? I didn't mean-"

"No," Theo interrupted. "It doesn't make me uncomfortable… It's just that… We had that talk at your birthday party, remember?" _We decided that we couldn't date, and I still believe that. Father would never allow it, and I don't want to choose between them._

"Yes, I remember," Tracey shifted in her spot. "We both admitted that we had feelings for each other…" _Don't cringe, Theodore._ "But we also decided that dating was out of the question for us. It'd only hurt the group in the long run."

"Yeah…" Theo said, he regretted bringing this up. "Let's just move on from my stupid question… What do you say? There's no need to make things more awkward."

"Do you still think about me like that?" Tracey asked, ignoring Theo's request. _So much for not making this any more awkward._

"I… Um… Sometimes…" Theo all but whispered. "And you?"

"Sometimes," Tracey whispered back. "It hasn't been that long since our chat, though."

"It certainly feels like it has," Theo said.

They both stared at each other for a few seconds, and Theo could feel the awkwardness setting in. Tracey clearly wanted to say something, but instead of saying it, she was fidgeting with her hands in a drunk manner. As for Theo, he was starting to realize just how terrible anxiety was. _I think I'm sweating a little. I hope she doesn't smell it._

"Time for bed?" Theo asked. _Time for bed? Am I retarded?_

"Wait…" Tracey quickly put a hand on his shoulder, she was suddenly too close for comfort. "Have… Have you kissed anyone yet?" _WHAT?!_

"I… Oh… Um…" Theo stammered.

"Yes, or no," Tracey looked quite serious.

"No…" Theo admitted, and he had no idea why he felt so embarrassed by that fact.

"I haven't either," Tracey told him. "Sometimes, when I see Ron and Daphne sneak off, I can't help but wonder… Do you understand?"

Theo could only nod, he had a frog in his throat. _Is this going where I think it's going?_

"What if we just kiss? Just once…" Tracey put her other hand on his other shoulder, effectively keeping him in place.

"Is that a good idea?" Theo managed to ask. "We already decided not to date…"

"We can just share our first kiss, can't we?" Tracey smiled a little, she was definitely anxious as well. "We won't if you don't want to-"

"I want to," Theo blurted out, what sane boy his age wouldn't? "So how would this work? We just kiss, and that's it? We never mention it again?"

"It'll be our secret," Tracey nodded.

"Okay," Theo agreed, though he felt a little disappointed. _It's a one time thing, but I suppose that's for the best._

"Okay," Tracey copied him, and then she scooted even closer to him. "I'm… I'm really nervous…"

"Me too," Theo said, and Tracey smiled a little more.

"Alright, here we go…" Tracey drew in a deep breath.

They slowly leaned forward, and when their lips finally touched, they both moved back immediately. _Um… Does that even qualify as a kiss? Don't ask her that, it might upset her. Think, Theo… How can you ask for a proper-?"_

"Can we try again?" Tracey asked bluntly. "I want to at least feel it…" _Am I just a coward?_

"Alright," Theo agreed.

This time, they moved a little more fluidly. Theo figured that they were both starting to relax, which was obviously a good thing. When their lips met this time, Theo leaned forward a little more in order to make the kiss last. Tracey's lips were quite soft, despite being thin, and Theo found himself enjoying the sensation. _It smells like Firewhiskey, and it's probably the same for her._ Neither of them were pulling back, and Theo decided to be a little bolder. He pulled back only to reposition himself, and before she could end the kiss, he planted his lips on hers again.

Tracey's hands found his face, and judging by her soft thumb caresses, she was enjoying this just as much as him. Theo knew that she was going to pull back before him, but right now, he didn't care about that. He was just glad that his first kiss was with someone who he was comfortable around. Someone who he actually cared about. After a few more blissful seconds, Tracey pulled back to get some air.

"Wow…" Tracey breathed heavily, a rather happy smile on her face.

Theo had half a mind to pump his fist into the air like Ron did whenever he won something. _She enjoyed it! I didn't embarrass myself!_

"That was fun," Theo smiled properly.

"It was," Tracey agreed. "I'm… I'm really glad that I had my first kiss with you, Theo… I'm not trying to sound corny, but that's just how I feel."

"Me too," Theo said. _Stop saying 'me too'!_ "Wait… I'm glad that I did it with you, not myself… That doesn't make-"

"It's alright," Tracey giggled. "I understand what you meant."

"This stays just between us, right?" Theo asked. "You won't tell Daphne?"

"Only if you don't tell Ron, or Blaise," Tracey moved over to his side. "As far as first kisses go, I think this was perfect."

"Me too," Theo said, and she leaned against him again. _No elbow this time?_

"Do you want to listen to some Led Zeppelin?" Tracey made herself comfortable, and Theo put his arm over her slender shoulders.

"Only if we start with 'Immigrant Song'," Theo's smile widened. _I want to ask her if we can keep kissing, but that would be a foolish thing to do. Even if she agrees, it'll just cause problems down the line. Maybe I should talk to Father about Tracey? No… No, that would be incredibly stupid. It's just a crush, Theo, don't ruin your life over it. Hopefully, these feelings will go away. Hopefully._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – In the Dead of Night)**_

It was over.

The Dark Lord was currently using the last of his strength to perform a Dark, and forgotten, ritual. Peter Pettigrew's body had reached its expiration date, and with this latest development, the Dark Lord's future was now shrouded in uncertainty.

Over the last two months, the Dark Lord had suffered defeat after defeat, and it was always because of his incompetent followers. Greyback had lost the Werewolf Army, and then, he had abandoned Michael to die at the hands of Emilia Travers. And speaking of Michael, the young Vampire's head had been found impaled on a spike on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley, and when it was brought back to Natalia, the foreign Vampire had shown her true colors in splendid fashion. The Manor had been filled with corpses within minutes, Elves and Vampires alike. None could escape her wrath, and she wept for her 'brother' as she created a mountain of corpses.

Lucius, Cornelius, and Fenrir were left alive only because the Dark Lord stepped in to stop her rampage, but the look in her eyes promised retribution in the near future. Lord Voldemort wanted the three idiots punished, of course, but losing them now would be disastrous. With a majority of his Vampires dead, Gaspard still in a coma, and his body falling apart, the Dark Lord had decided to cancel Cornelius' invitations to the Old Guard. They could not be allowed to see him in such a weak state, not after twelve years apart. For now, the Dark Lord needed to create his new vessel, but his options were limited.

Creating a sustainable vessel out of thin air was impossible, but for someone like Lord Voldemort, it was just another obstacle to bypass. During his search for power, Lord Voldemort had found an Ancient Tome within Russia which had taught him the Art of Necromancy. In the following years, the Dark Lord had learned all of the Tome's secrets, and he had even improved greatly upon many of its Spells and Rituals. One of these rituals would grant him a weak, but sustainable, vessel, and the Dark Lord already had all the ingredients he needed.

The first ingredient was a living Elf, one that had powerful Magic coursing through its veins. Elves were peculiar in that their Magic was tied to another living being, and luckily for Lord Voldemort, he knew how to siphon this borrowed Magic. Lord Voldemort had forced Cornelius to hand over the Elf's ownership, and once that was done, he had ordered the Elf to willingly give up his Magic. The extra bit of power that he would gain from siphoning the Elf's Magical Core would help him power the Blood Ward which required a lot of Magic to function.

The second ingredient was a woman with child, and as it happened, Fate had delivered one to Lord Voldemort's doorstep. Casey Yorkshire. The Werewolf's unborn child would become Lord Voldemort's new vessel, but first, it needed to be cleansed. Lord Voldemort had already discovered that once a Werewolf died, the Lycanthropy Curse died as well. This information was crucial in this plan, because despite his need for a new vessel, the Dark Lord would never taint himself with such a disgusting disease.

The final two ingredients needed were a powerful poison and Unicorn Blood, both of which Lord Voldemort had because of Solomon. The poison would kill the mother, and her child, but the Unicorn Blood would strengthen the dead fetus enough to survive possession. The Dark Spells from the Tome, and the Blood Ritual, would transform the dead fetus into Lord Voldemort's newest vessel, one that would hopefully last longer than Peter Pettigrew. _Lord Voldemort will never die… Never!_

As the Dark Lord finished his chant, his red eyes turned to the weeping Elf, who was bound in chains and suspended above the Blood Ward. _Give me your Magic, Elf. Serve a greater purpose._ The Dark Lord restarted his Dark Chant, his rotten left hand aimed at the Elf. Slowly, but surely, he could feel himself becoming stronger. The Elf screamed and screamed, blood pouring out of its every orifice as its Magical Core was all but yanked out of its tiny body. Once the Dark Lord was certain that he had prepared himself enough, he looked Natalia with a firm look.

"Now…" the Dark Lord hissed, and the Vampire stepped into the Ward in order to ungag Casey Yorkshire.

"PLEASE! NO! HELP ME! SOMEONE! PLEASE!" the Werewolf began screaming for help, but Natalia shoved the bottle of poisoned Unicorn Blood into her mouth.

The Werewolf tried to resist, but Natalia was far too powerful. The mourning Vampire had agreed to help the Dark Lord in order to get her revenge on Emilia Travers, even if that meant killing a pregnant woman. And since most of the witnesses were dead, Gaspard would never know about this. Fate had done everything in its power to hinder the Dark Lord, but his will to live would never be extinguished.

Casey eventually drank down the Unicorn Blood in order to avoid being choked to death, and once the bottle was empty, Natalia quickly moved away from the wheezing Werewolf. The Dark Lord poured all of his Magic into the Blood Ward, which began to glow brightly. _It's working! I can feel the life draining from the child within her!_ The entire chamber was filled with crimson light from the Ward, and that seemed to terrify Casey even more. She pulled against her chains as hard as she could, her tear soaked face twisting from agony and fear. She even screamed for the 'Gods' to save her, much to the Dark Lord's amusement. _There is only one God, and his name is Death. He is the true enemy of all living things, and I will spit in his face._

As his Dark Chant came to an end, the Dark Lord felt his current vessel break apart from overuse. Peter Pettigrew's bones shattered from rot, and his putrid blood leaked out of his pus filled wounds. Within seconds, Peter Pettigrew was nothing more than a pile of rotten flesh surrounded by foul smelling, black blood. The Dark Lord's spectral form flew around the room, and through the shadow and mist, two red eyes bore down on Casey Yorkshire. The woman was now screaming from mind-numbing misery, and the Dark Lord wasted no time in possessing her.

It was an almost unpleasant feeling to pass through the woman's stomach, and then, to feel himself confined to a terribly tight space. His current host, the fetus, was dead from the poison, but its body didn't reject the Dark Lord due to the Unicorn Blood. Magic from the Blood Ward began to seek its Master, and the Dark Lord felt his undead body move. _It's working! The Ward is creating a sustainable body!_

"It… hurts…" Casey began to choke, the poison was now claiming her life as well.

The Dark Lord ignored the sounds of the mewling Werewolf, he could feel his appendages growing as the fetus transformed into something eldritch, and before long, he was even able to move his fingers. The sounds of bones forming and shifting filled the womb, and Lord Voldemort was certain that Natalia could hear them due to her heightened senses. _There is no air in here… Natalia needs to cut me out now._

"Natalia…" the Dark Lord hissed from within Casey's corpse, and he suddenly felt a tremor.

Natalia was no doubt undoing the chains, and just as the Dark Lord began to lose his patience, light blinded him. He felt cold air biting at his skin, and while his new eyes adjusted, he felt Natalia wrap him in a thick blanket.

"I… live…" the Dark Lord hissed, a terrifying smile breaking out on his little face.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Lord Voldemort sat in Cornelius' study, his child-like body covered in blankets. Natalia had left an hour ago to clean up all evidence of the Dark Lord's ritual, and judging by her demeanor around him, Lord Voldemort was certain that she was terrified of him. For all her power, and experience, she was just a child compared to the most powerful sorcerer to have ever existed. _She will not disobey me now, not after witnessing my greatness._

The Dark Lord curled his abnormally long fingers around his wand, casting Spells was now out of the question. Although he felt powerful enough to still cast many of his Spells, the Dark Lord refused to risk his new vessel. Peter Pettigrew was meant to last at least a year, but because of the Dark Lord's abuse of Magic, Pettigrew was now nothing more than a pile of rotten flesh and bones. Now more than ever, Lord Voldemort required servants. Gaspard was still in a coma, Lucius, Fenrir, and Cornelius were locked away in the dungeons, and Michael was dead. Natalia was the only servant who still wandered Nott Manor, but she had other duties.

"The bodies have been taken care of," Natalia said as she entered the room, and the Dark Lord turned his little head in her direction.

She seemed wary of his grotesque, scaly, and child-like form, but that only served to amuse the Dark One.

"Come… closer…" the Dark Lord whispered, his piercing red eyes fixed on her.

"What is next, Lord Voldemort?" Natalia asked as she stopped in front of him.

"Are you afraid?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"Yes," Natalia replied, she wasn't one to hide from her fears.

"You admit it so freely," Lord Voldemort hissed. "Why?"

"Fear is the enemy," Natalia recited her father's teachings. "And one must never turn their back to their enemy." _She will make for a more useful servant than Michael ever could have. He was too… blood-thirsty._ "What is next?"

"I will need attending to at all times," Lord Voldemort told her. "This vessel is vulnerable, and it will cease to exist if it is not strengthened monthly."

"Strengthened?" Natalia asked.

"I will require a Potion… A Potion of my own creation, that is," the Dark Lord replied. "All you need to know is that two ingredients are extremely important, for without them, my Potion will not work. Unicorn Blood, and venom from a powerful serpent."

"Any powerful serpent will do?" Natalia asked. "I can find Runespoor venom in Knockturn Alley easily enough."

"Make sure that it is potent," the Dark Lord ordered. "The more potent the venom, the stronger I will be. As for the Unicorn Blood…"

"That won't be easy to find," Natalia said. "Finding a Unicorn these days is quite rare, especially after that fire in Albania." _She has no idea that I caused that inferno. A shame too… There were many Unicorns in that forest._

"Do not fail me, Natalia," Lord Voldemort warned her, and she made sure to not look intimidated. "I have reached my limit with useless servants…" _Go on, deny being a servant. I'll tear your mind apart._

Natalia just stared at him, but she was wise enough to hold her tongue. After what she had just witnessed, she was definitely more scared of the Dark Lord than even her own father. At least her father could be killed, whereas this monster was literally immortal. She knew now that no one could escape the Dark Lord forever, not even her.

"Speaking of servants," Natalia chose to change the topic. "What of the three in the dungeons?"

"You will not harm them," the Dark Lord replied. "At least, not yet…"

"We can't operate with only two people," Natalia advised. "They need to be put to use, even though I'd rather watch them die." _She… is right. With me in this form, I cannot expect her to take care of me_ _ **and**_ _run the Vampires in Knockturn Alley._

"Bring them to me… Now."

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor Dungeons – In the Dead of Night)**_

It was so cold down here.

Lucius huddled in on himself in a desperate effort to keep the cold out, but it was pointless. The Nott Dungeon Cells were fixed with Freezing Charms, which meant that a person would sooner die of hypothermia than torture.

As it stood, Lucius feared that his death was fast approaching. The Dark Lord had tortured both Cornelius and Lucius with the Cruciatus Curse, and then he had them locked away. Lucius, of course, already knew that his Master was as ruthless as they come, but he still found it unjust that he was being punished for Cornelius' failure. The old fool had been outsmarted by a damn Troll Half-Breed, not to mention that he had nearly poisoned the Dark Lord to boot.

How had his life come to this? Lucius cursed the day when Cornelius Nott had called him over to discuss the Dark Lord's survival, everything had fallen apart since then. Lucius had lost his home, his wife, his son, and now, he was going to lose his life. _Cissy… Draco…_ Lucius shivered as he thought of them, and he if he weren't so cold, he might have even wept. His wife and son were in the Order's clutches, and not a moment passed without Lucius thinking about them. Were they being mistreated? What was Draco doing for Christmas? Did Draco even know that his Family had been torn apart? _He's all alone, while I'm stuck in here._ Lucius grit his teeth, and he felt the urge to pull at his own dirty hair. He had failed his Family.

The sound of a metal door being unlocked caught Lucius' attention, was it time for their daily meal? _No, I swear I ate only a few hours ago. Right? How long have I been in here? How many days have passed?_ Lucius looked around the darkness for signs of life, he knew that he wasn't alone in here. _Cornelius and Greyback are down here as well, but I don't know if they're still alive._ Footsteps suddenly echoed throughout the dungeon, and then, someone unlocked Lucius' cage.

"Who's there?" Lucius croaked, but no one responded. "Speak…"

A firm, but feminine, hand grabbed Lucius by his neck, and just as Lucius groaned from the pain, he was all but dragged across the cold floor. Lucius tried to resist his violent assailant, but a strong backhand knocked him out of his senses.

* * *

 _ **An Unknown Time Later**_

Air breached his tired lungs, and Lucius awoke with a pained gasp.

The dim light of the room hurt his eyes terribly, and Lucius quickly guarded his vision. _Where am I?_ The sound of someone else waking up beside him caught his attention, and so, Lucius slowly opened his eyes. It was Greyback, and he was bruised to the point of unrecognition. The only reason why Lucius had recognized the animal was because of his hairy appearance, which had no doubt helped him in the cold dungeons.

"Lucius…" came Cornelius' voice from his left, and Lucius barely held back the urge to kill the old fool. "Lucius, sit up now." _Why does he sound so urgent?_

"Let him recover his senses," came a cold whisper, and Lucius blood froze in his veins.

"My Lord…" Lucius looked ahead, and what he saw nearly stopped his heart.

They were in Cornelius' Study, and before them sat the Dark Lord. Only it wasn't the Dark Lord… No, instead of Peter Pettigrew's mutilated body, the Dark Lord wore the body of a child, but it was unlike any child that Lucius had ever seen. The Dark Lord's form was scaly, a dark, raw, reddish black. His arms and legs were long, thin, and feeble, they looked almost birdlike. And his face… His face was flat and snake-like, but at the same time, it looked the face of an Elf. This creature before Lucius looked eldritch, almost completely unnatural. And yet, there it sat, its gleaming red eyes fixed on Lucius.

"I sense your fear, Lucius," the Dark Lord whispered, and Lucius bowed immediately. "I forgive you."

"For… Forgive me, my Lord?" Lucius whimpered, his bones were still aching from the cold.

"This form was always meant to be a last resort," the Dark Lord explained. "But recent **failures** have forced my hand."

"A thousand apologies, my Lord," Cornelius groveled. "I am to blame, I understand that. Please… Please give me another chance… I will **never** fail you again…"

"No, you will not," the Dark Lord whispered dangerously. "Poor Theodore would suffer a most painful death if you fail me again, Cornelius. And the same applies to Draco, Lucius." _No…_

"I understand…" Lucius spoke to the floor. "Thank you for sparing us…"

"Your Lord is merciful," the Dark Lord said, he was no doubt smiling at their fear. "But only to a certain degree… I have use of you three, and this time, I will show no mercy to the man who fails to enact my will."

Lucius subtly looked to his right, and he found Greyback bowing his head just like Lucius. _This is what I've been reduced to? I beg at the feet of a monster alongside an animal like Greyback?_ Lucius quickly dispelled his treacherous thoughts, he could not afford to let the Dark Lord hear them. _Think of Draco and Narcissa. Getting them back is all that matters now._

"What must we do, my Lord?" Cornelius asked, he sounded a hundred years older than he was.

"Find the others… Bring them to me," the Dark Lord commanded. "I have decided to lead my Death-Eaters again, even in this form. Contact only those who aided us in the last war."

"Yes, my Lord," all three of them said together.

"And if you fail this time, I will grant Natalia her vengeance," the Dark Lord promised, and Lucius remembered the Vampire's wrath.

Fangs, fire, claws, and corpses flashed in his mind, and he felt his stomach turn to lead. _I cannot fail, not again. I have to succeed for Narcissa and Draco's sakes. Without me, they have no one left to watch over them._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Hogwarts Express – Midday)**_

Harry was genuinely feeling down today, despite the fact that he was going to be seeing Sirius again. In the morning, when they were all making their way out of the castle, Harry had the misfortune of looking at the House Hourglasses. Slytherin was over eight hundred House Points ahead of Gryffindor, and to add insult to injury, Gryffindor was dead last in the running for the House Cup. Hufflepuff was just behind Ravenclaw, but that hardly mattered because Slytherin was miles ahead of Ravenclaw as well.

Hermione and Ginny, just like Harry, were also terribly letdown by their House's performance. The only person currently not too bothered was Neville, but that was simply because Neville hated competing in anything. Harry actually liked that about Neville, but it didn't change the fact that Gryffindor's good name was getting butchered this year. _The look on Professor McGonagall's face will haunt me all year, I reckon. She looked so… distant… as we passed the Entrance Hall._

"The Dueling Tournaments," Hermione said suddenly, and Harry looked to her.

Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Hermione were currently occupying a compartment together, but none of them were speaking.

"What about the Dueling Tournaments?" Harry asked Hermione.

"That's how we can still win the House Cup," Hermione said, her eyes fixed on Harry. "Think about it, Harry… One hundred House Points will be given to each Group that wins in the Group Tournament, so we can potentially make six hundred House Points when that comes around. As for the Ranked Tournaments, we could use them to leave Slytherin in the dust."

Harry, and the others, just stared at Hermione, and in that moment, Harry remembered that Hermione wasn't a person who gave up easily. _She's right, though. What's the point of brooding about this when we can do something to turn the tide?_ Harry decided to back Hermione on this, her 'never surrender' attitude was just what he needed right now.

"She's right," Harry said to Ginny and Neville. "We can still win the House Cup!"

"That's a bit of a stretch, mate," Neville couldn't help but say. "Slytherin dominated the Year-Based Tournaments-"

"They clearly all practiced beforehand," Hermione countered. "We can do that as well, you know. What if we make a… a group, of sorts…" Hermione then snapped her fingers. "We can make it like Ron's study group-"

"Hermione, it's your study group," Ginny reminded her, while Harry shot a look at Neville. _Guess Ron's takeover is complete, huh?_

"Whatever," Hermione shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is that we come together as a House, and we all prepare together. I mean, if a House like Slytherin can do it, then so can we."

"Who would we even talk to?" Neville asked.

"The older students," Harry replied. "People like Oliver, Angelina, Katie, Alicia-"

"So the Quidditch Team?" Ginny asked.

"Well, no… But those are the only older students that I know," Harry replied.

"What about my brother Percy?" Ginny asked. "He's in Rank-A." _Ugh… Percy… He's never going to help us._

"We can ask him," Harry said, but he wasn't planning on holding his breath. "What matters is that we do something about this… Did you guys see McGonagall?"

They all nodded uncomfortably.

"She looked gutted," Ginny sighed out.

"I'd say that she looked ashamed," Hermione said. "And you know what? She has every right to be. We haven't been doing very well all year, and this latest defeat was on us as well."

"This is all well and good, but you're all forgetting one thing," Neville said, and they all looked to him. "Slytherin has the strongest student in the school." _He's right… As long as Ron's on Slytherin's side, we have a pretty big hurdle to jump._

"Ron?" Ginny gave an extremely bored look, while Harry and Hermione nodded their agreement.

"Ginny, he destroyed everyone during the Tournament," Harry said, but Ginny just rolled her eyes. _She seriously can't be this blind, can she? Maybe Hermione's right… Ginny's judgement is impaired whenever Ron is brought up._

"Ginny, you can keep underestimating Ron all you want, but the facts are the facts," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Did you seriously not see the Slytherin second years?"

"They moved like him," Harry said, and Hermione shot him an approving smile.

"Exactly!" Hermione said. "He's been teaching them himself, which is why they did so well. Honestly, he even spoke to Suzie Ninkovich before she went up against you, Ginny. And we all know how that turned out." _Why would you throw that in her face? She's been trying her very best to keep you happy ever since you lost to Greengrass._

Both Neville and Harry cringed a little, while Ginny looked genuinely vexed. _Seriously, Hermione, read the room._

"What Hermione is trying to say is that Ron is clearly helping Slytherin," Harry quickly tried to repair the situation, while Hermione remained oblivious to what she had done.

"Right…" Ginny reluctantly decided to let it go, she was in no mood to argue with Hermione. "So what do we do about that? It's not like Ron will stop helping them if we ask him to."

"No, but we can learn from his techniques," Hermione said. "We can learn to dodge better, we can learn to use a variety of Spells, and we can come up with clever tricks to throw our opponents off. We can even ask the Rank-A Gryffindor students to teach us." Hermione then beamed. "Wait!"

"What are you doing?" Neville asked, while Hermione pulled out some parchment from her book bag. _I can't believe she's still carrying it around even though school's closed for the Christmas Break._

"Let's make a plan," Hermione began writing on the parchment. "We can sort out training days, potential tutors, and other logistics on this." _That sounds… boring._

"Or… We can just go ask people now?" Harry suggested. "It'll give them time to think things over during the Break."

"I like that idea," Ginny agreed with Harry. "Sorry, Hermione, but some things need to be done face to face."

"Sorry? What was that?" Hermione looked up from her work, and Neville sniggered to himself. _Did she just zone us out?_

"I think we should just go and talk to people," Harry repeated. "You know, give them a heads up."

"We need a plan first, Harry," Hermione looked back to her work. "We need to know who to approach, and how to convince them to join in."

"Here's an idea, we find out what it will take when we're there," Ginny said, and then she stood up. "Harry, do you want to go now?" _Now?_

"Sure," Harry got up as well. "Nev?"

"Yeah, I'm in," Neville agreed, and for a moment, Harry could swear that Ginny looked vexed again. _Probably just my imagination. Neville and Ginny get along really well._

"You don't even know who to approach first," Hermione huffed.

"We do know who to approach first," Ginny said. "My brother Percy." _Ugh…_ "Let's go?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, while Neville opened the compartment door.

The three of them made their way out, and when Harry looked to see if Hermione was coming along, he saw her writing things down with an annoyed look. _Three of us it is, then._

"He'll be in the Head-Boy and Head-Girl's compartment, which is down that way," Ginny pointed down the carriage.

Ginny and Neville began making their way down the carriage, and Harry reluctantly followed after them. Of all the Weasleys, Percy was Harry's least favorite. Of course, that didn't mean that Harry had anything against Percy, but Percy often acted like he was better than the people around him. The twins had made Harry aware of that, and when he had asked Ginny about it once, she had told him the same thing. _Not to mention that he tried to destroy our Quidditch Team._

As they neared the Head-Boy's compartment, Ginny signaled them to be quiet. And then, she pushed the door open and jumped inside.

"Percy! Do you have-" Ginny stopped mid-sentence, and when Harry peered inside, he knew why.

Percy was currently massaging a blonde girl's back, and her shirt was hanging just beneath her bare shoulders. _What the hell?! Don't look, Harry!_

"Out!" Percy roared, while the girl burst into laughter. "Get out!"

Harry all but dragged a stunned Ginny outside, and Neville quickly shut the door as he yelled out an apology. The trio just exchanged looks, and Harry could see genuine confusion taking over Ginny's face.

"Penelope's not blonde…" Ginny muttered, and Harry blinked at her. _What?_ "That girl was blonde…"

"I think that was Carey Ductu," Neville said guiltily. "She's the Head-Girl… Ginny, why didn't you knock?"

"I… I never knock… It's how I ran into Percy and Penelope-" Ginny stopped abruptly. _What was she going to say?_ "That wasn't Penelope!"

"Calm down, Ginny," Harry shot a panicked look at the door.

"He's cheating on her!" Ginny fumed. "How could he?! Penelope's a really sweet girl! And he's cheating on her with some… Slytherin… hussy!" _Hussy? Who says that in this day and age?_

The door suddenly swung open, and Harry quickly moved in front of Ginny. Percy stepped through with a deep frown, his eyes immediately finding Ginny as he shut the door.

"Knock next time," Percy snapped, while Ginny pushed herself past Harry. _This isn't going to plan whatsoever. Hermione was right… Why didn't I listen to her?_

"You're cheating on Penelope," Ginny accused, her digging into Percy's. "How could you do something so disgusting, Percy?!"

"I'm not cheating on her," Percy frowned even more deeply. "Don't make silly accusations without knowing the facts, it's unbecoming." _He's still being pompous after we caught him feeling up a girl who isn't his girlfriend? Wow._

"Really? Then what was that?" Ginny pointed to the shut door. "She was naked!" _I wouldn't go that far…_

"Only her shoulders…" Neville pointed out, but Ginny's glare shut him up. _We should leave._

"So she was getting naked, it doesn't change the-" Ginny started, but Percy shushed her. "Don't shush me!"

"You're spiraling, and you're going to embarrass us both," Percy told her. "I owed her a massage from a bet that I lost, and I was paying my dues. There was nothing sexual about it." _Really? That's your best? She'll never believe that._

"Liar!" Ginny accused, and Harry slowly started to back away. _Just leave, Harry. This is a Family feud, and you're not meant to see it._ "That was a pathetic lie, Percy… At least try to be a little convincing!"

"It's the truth," Percy puffed up. "I don't have to justify myself to you, Ginny. What do you want from me?"

"Nothing now!" Ginny turned to leave, only to stop when she saw Ron walking down the Gryffindor Carriage with a wide grin on his face. _Good God, this is what happens when you don't listen to Hermione Granger!_

"Hello," Ron greeted everyone, his grin dying down a little. "What's this? Are you lot fighting about something?"

"Percy is chea-" Ginny started, but Neville stopped her.

"Ginny, we don't know that," Neville said quickly "Don't spread that around, it could hurt people."

"Like he cares," Ginny shot an icy look back at Percy, who clenched his fists until his knuckles were bone white.

"Neville? Harry?" Ron looked to the two boys, and Harry simply shook his head. _I don't want any part of this. I'm done meddling in Weasley affairs._

"Ginny, and her rude little friends, barged into my compartment," Percy told Ron, while Harry held back a frown. _I'm rude? You're the cheater._ "I was giving Carey Ductu, the Head Girl, a shoulder rub when they walked in, and now, Ginny is accusing me of being a cheater."

Ron looked between Ginny and Percy, and then, he simply turned around and began to walk away. _Bloody hell! He just walked off!_

"Ron?!" Ginny snapped.

"This has nothing to do with me," Ron quickened his pace. _Follow his example, Harry. Walk away._

"Ron, get back here," Percy ordered, and Ron stopped midstride. "Why were you coming here?"

"I wanted to show you my report card," Ron turned around and patted his suit, a slight grimace on his face. "But had I known that this was going down, I would've stayed away."

"I am **not** cheating on Penelope," Percy defended himself. "Ron, you know how I feel about her, so you know that I'd never do that." _Ron knows what?_

"Where is Carey?" Ron asked as he walked back reluctantly. "I feel like she should be here."

The door suddenly opened from behind Percy, and Carey Ductu stepped through with an amused smile. Harry had to admit that she was incredibly beautiful, but something about her rubbed him the wrong way. She clearly had the Slytherin arrogance mastered, and the fact that she was smiling right now proved that she enjoyed stirring the pot. _In other words, she's an arrogant, self-centered individual. Is that a requirement to be accepted into Slytherin, or something?_

"You ruined my massage," Ductu shot Neville a wink, and Neville immediately adorned a shy look.

"So he really was giving you a shoulder rub?" Ron asked. " **Just** a shoulder rub?"

"Your brother isn't the lying sort," Ductu turned her smile towards Ron, who didn't look very amused.

"Do you really want to lie to me, Carey?" Ron asked, a bland look on his face. "You know what I do to liars, don't you?" _Huh?_

The temperature seemed to drop, and both Harry and Neville exchanged looks. _We really shouldn't be here._ As for Ductu, she was no longer smiling. Harry would even wager that she looked slightly scared all of a sudden, which had bewildered the rest of them.

"No, Ron, I am not lying," Ductu said seriously, and Ron just stared at her.

"Right," Ron eventually broke his silence, and then he looked to Ginny. "See? No cheating."

Ginny said nothing, instead, she looked to Harry like he had some sort of answer to what was happening. _He really does run all of Slytherin, doesn't he? He even has influence over the Head-Girl._

"What was this bet?" Ginny turned to look at Percy, she had no intention of backing off.

"None of your business," Percy scoffed, and then he frowned at Ron. "Ron, don't speak to the Head Girl like that. Show her the respect that she's due."

"It's alright, Percy," Ductu put on another smug smile. "Ron is on our side."

"Stay away from my brother," Ginny warned Ductu. "He has a girlfriend, and he can do a lot better than you."

"Ginny, enough," Percy scolded. "All of you. Enough."

Harry exchanged another awkward look with Neville, and he saw that his best mate was just as uncomfortable as he was. _If I could jump out of this train right now, I would._

"Do you still want to see my report card?" Ron asked slowly. "If not, I'd like to leave this awkward exchange." _Take me with you._

"Just tell me the results," Percy rubbed his forehead.

"Nine Outstandings," Ron said, and Percy's shoulders relaxed a little. _Nine?! He got an Outstanding in every subject?_

"Well done, Ron," Ductu looked pleased, which only seemed to vex Ginny.

"Harry… Neville… Do you guys know where the Trolley is?" Ron asked. "If so, you should take me to it." _Is that an out?_

"Yeah, I know where it is," Harry volunteered, while Neville nodded a little too fervently.

Without another word, Ron turned around and began to walk away. Harry and Neville quickly followed him, but Ginny remained where she was. _She'll find us later, I'm sure._ As they passed by the fourth compartment, Ron let out a deep sigh of regret.

"Just my luck that I walked into that nonsense," Ron said, and then he looked back at Neville. "Why were you there?"

"Ginny wanted to talk to Percy," Neville replied, while Harry shot a look back.

Ductu had left for her compartment, but Ginny and Percy were still arguing out in the open.

"Thanks for the save," Harry spoke up, but he wasn't sure if he should have. _Things are still… strained… between us. God, this Break is going to be so awkward._

"You both looked ready to kill yourselves," Ron shrugged. "So… How did you go this term? Any Outstandings?"

"I got one in Herbology," Neville smiled widely. "Though I… struggled… in my other subjects. I got an Acceptable in Potions, and it was only because Dumbledore started teaching us in December." _Snape would've failed Neville on purpose… The git._

"What about you, Harry?" Ron asked as they moved into the Hufflepuff Carriage. _He's really asking me?_

"Oh… I got one Outstanding," Harry replied. "In Defense against the Dark Arts, that is…"

"What about the other subjects?" Ron asked.

"Mostly Exceeds Expectations," Harry replied, Remus' tutoring had really turned his grades around. "Though I also got an Acceptable in Potions…" _And all because Snape hates my insides. I actually showed Remus some of my old work, and he was shocked to see that Snape was failing me for no reason besides spite._

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked. "I bet she got twelve Outstandings." _Well, you'd be wrong._

"She actually got ten Outstandings," Neville said, and Ron shot a confused look back at the Gryffindor.

"Ten?" Ron asked. "How?"

"She got an Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and…" Neville trailed off. _We can't tell him about Hermione's Poor in Divinations, she'd go mental if we did that._

"And?" Ron asked.

"And we don't remember what she got in Divinations," Neville lied, and Harry shot him a dull look. _We_ _ **both**_ _don't remember? He'll never believe that._

"She failed, then, huh?" Ron shook his head. "Daphne told me that Hermione's not very good at the subject."

"She just doesn't like to make things up for good marks," Harry quickly defended Hermione. "Professor Trelawney has us write a 'dream journal'… It's actually quite pathetic…" _I haven't learned a thing about the Art of Divination all year._

"We all know that she's a fraud," Neville added. "Well, most of us do… The girls are quite enamored with her, actually."

"Trelawney's no fraud, I assure you," Ron said suggestively.

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked.

"Would the Headmaster hire her if she were?" Ron asked back, and Harry slowly shook his head. "Shame about Hermione's grades… She ought to drop the subject if she doesn't enjoy it. It'll only damage her record, otherwise." Ron then perked up. "The Trolley! It's over there!"

Ron quickened his pace, and before they knew it, they were waiting in line. _Do I have my wallet? Ah, there it is._

"How did your friends go?" Neville asked Ron. "Good, I hope."

"They got mostly Exceeds Expectations," Ron shrugged. "Theo got an Outstanding in Herbology, as did Tracey of all people." _Davis?_ "Blaise got an Outstanding in Runes and Astronomy. Daphne got an Outstanding in Divinations, as did Pansy and Tracey." _Davis again? She got two?_ "And Millie got an Outstanding in Defense."

"Bulstrode got an Outstanding?" Harry blurted out, and Ron shot a frown back.

"She worked very hard, Harry," Ron said, his tone slightly cold. "Don't fool yourself into thinking that she's slow… She knocked Neville around quite nicely, if I remember right."

"That she did," Neville said, trying to ease the sudden tension. "Harry was just surprised, that's all." _Definitely surprised. Is he tutoring her?_

"Oh, and Malfoy got an Outstanding in everything but Defense, Care of Magical Creatures, and Runes," Ron added. _Why does he sound so pleased about Malfoy? Wait… Malfoy did better than me? Damnit!_ "I hope they have pork sandwiches… I reckon I heard Daphne's stomach rumble before."

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Platform 9**_ _ **3/4**_ _ **– Nearly Five 'o'clock)**_

"How am I supposed to pull this off?" Sirius rubbed his face. "That kid will never believe me, not to mention what the others will think."

Snape had decided to let Draco spend the Break in the Burrow, and as glad as Arthur was with the man's decision, it did create quite the dilemma. All the adults had agreed to keep the war hidden until **after** Christmas, but with Draco now coming to the Burrow, the children would have questions. _Questions that will ruin their last happy Christmas. Draco already knows about the war, and I'm not even sure if he's told the other Slytherins. Ron might already know about the war, and if that's the case, I don't even know where to start with him._

"You'd better make a decision quickly, Sirius," Pandora said. "The Hogwarts Express is right over there."

Sirius looked towards the bend at the end of the station, and he let out a panicked yelp.

"Alright, I'm going to hide," Sirius said, and everyone just stared at him.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"I'll hide, and when the others leave with you, I'll approach Draco," Sirius explained. "You can tell Harry that I had an errand to run, and that I'll meet him at the Burrow."

"What will you be doing?" Molly asked.

"I'll take Draco to Snape, and he can explain his decision to the boy," Sirius said.

"And how do you plan to explain Draco Malfoy's presence at the Burrow?" Mary asked.

Sirius groaned, while an idea popped into Arthur's head. _This could work, but only if Ron agrees…_

"I'll talk to Ron," Arthur said, and everyone looked to him. "He's friends with Draco, right? I'll convince Ron to say that he invited Draco to the Burrow… The other children might believe that."

"Ron will have questions, Arthur," Molly said. "You know him, don't you? He'll figure out that something is wrong." _I know, but I can't think of anything else._

"I'll ask him to trust me," Arthur said, and the Hogwarts Express' horn went off as he finished. "Sirius, I'll meet you and Draco back at Grimmauld Place. It would look better if Ron brought Draco back to the Burrow instead of you."

"Fuck it," Sirius turned to leave. "Just do it, Arthur."

With that, Sirius ran off to hide behind a thick column.

"Arthur, this isn't a good idea," Molly urged. "Ronnie will figure out that something is wrong! It'll ruin his Christmas!"

"Use emotional leverage," Sebastian suddenly said, and Arthur looked to him. _Emotional leverage?_ "Tell him that you need him to trust you as his father, and that when the time comes, he will have his answers. Ron might try to hide this, but he's the sentimental sort. If you show him that you truly need this, he'll do as you ask without question." _Really? Sounds very… not like Ron._

"The train is stopping," Xeno said. "Make up your minds now, because any second now, children are going to flood the station."

"Arthur," Molly urged.

"I can't think of anything else," Arthur said. "Molly, we both decided to have Draco over, but for that to work, we need some sort of explanation. Ron will listen to me, I'm certain of it." _I'm really not, but I can't think of anything else._

"James! Susana!" Mary called out, and the Davis Family spotted them. _They're staying with the Greengrass Family, but their daughter will be over at the Burrow every day, I imagine._

"There you are," James smiled as they approached the others. "Sorry for being late, but something urgent came up."

"Urgent?" Sebastian asked.

"Business," James replied. "Had to tell my workers that I was going away for the Christmas Holidays."

"Where is Sirius?" Susana looked around.

"Behind that pillar," Mary pointed out, and Susana looked thoroughly confused. "Don't ask… It's not a very interesting tale."

"Fair enough," Susana looked to the Hogwarts Express. "We made it just in time, love."

"Are we still on for tonight?" James asked Arthur.

"Oh, yes, of course," Arthur nodded. "Dinner starts at eight, but you should all come over before that. I can show you my shed full of Muggle wonders." _James understands the value of that shed. He's even promised to teach me how some of that stuff works._

"Arthur, don't get distracted," Molly clicked her tongue.

"Right," Arthur freed himself from his thoughts about Muggle gadgets.

As the students of Hogwarts began piling onto the station, Arthur and his companions began looking for their children. It was an impossible task, as Arthur already knew, but somehow, their children always found them. The noise steadily increased until no one could hear anything but loud, happy yelling, and Arthur used his height to look for any signs of red hair.

"Father!" came Percy's voice, and Arthur looked to see Percy moving past his schoolmates. "Excuse me, coming through! Sorry!"

When Percy finally broke through, Molly immediately pulled him into a tight hug.

"You're back!" Molly squealed, while Percy let out a groan from her bone-crushing hug. "Where is your sister?" _I hope Molly doesn't scold her in public. I still can't believe that Ginny would call Ron… what she called him…_

"Somewhere," Percy replied, and Arthur couldn't help but detect some annoyance in his son's tone. _Are they fighting at school again?_ "I think I saw Ron with Luna just before."

"Oh, good," Pandora relaxed a little.

"Should you really be here, Mrs. Lovegood?" Percy asked, while Molly still clung to him. "You look very far along."

"Am I too big?" Pandora asked calmly, and Percy blinked at her. "Are you calling me fat, Percy?"

"No! I didn't mean any disrespect, of course! I was just thinking-"

"I am only teasing you, Percy," Pandora smiled, while Xeno looked around for Luna in a rather frantic manner.

"Oh…" Percy looked to Arthur, who just smiled at his son. _He's so easy to rattle, it's adorable._

"Come here, son," Arthur extended his arms for a hug, and Percy looked a little embarrassed.

"I'm a bit too old for hugs, aren't I?" Percy asked, his eyes darting towards the other adults. _Oh…_

"Nonsense, give your father a hug," Molly laughed. "Go on."

"No, it's alright," Arthur put his right hand forward for a shake. "Percy's right, he's a man now." _Though I would still prefer a hug from my son._

"Exactly," Percy perked up, and then he shook Arthur's hand firmly. "It's good to see you again, father."

"You look well," Arthur looked Percy over.

"He's nothing but bones," Molly huffed. "Honestly, you always come back too skinny, Percy. Don't you eat properly at Hogwarts?"

"I eat just fine, mother," Percy sighed out.

"Luna! Over here!" Xeno waved his arms about, and Arthur heard an excited squeal.

"Dad!" Luna came running out of nowhere, her trunk nowhere to be seen.

"Come here, love!" Xeno laughed in childish manner, and his daughter quickly clung to his middle. "You've gotten taller!"

"Only a little!" Luna buried her face in his chest. _Um… Where is her trunk?_

Pandora had walked over to her husband and daughter, and they were now quietly having their happy reunion. As for Arthur's questions about Luna's missing trunk, those were resolved when Ron made his way past the crowd. He was carrying both his things, and Luna's, a content smile on his face. _He's wearing a suit? A rather nice suit, actually._

"Hello," Ron greeted his Family, and Molly had him in a hug instantly. "My back…"

"Welcome back, Ronnie!" Molly crushed him even more, and Ron just dangled about in her embrace.

Arthur's eye was caught by a thin, platinum-blonde haired boy, and he looked to see Draco Malfoy standing in a sea of happy children and parents. He was completely alone, a distant look on his face as he looked around at his excited schoolmates. _He doesn't even know who's picking him up, does he?_ Arthur felt a strong pang of guilt for an odd reason, he really didn't agree with Narcissa Malfoy being kept as a war prisoner. _She should be handed over to the Ministry, or sent back to her husband. The Order never took war prisoners before, and we don't need to start now. I mean, look at him… He's only thirteen, for Merlin's sake._

"Dad?" Ron called out, and Arthur broke out of his thoughts. "Are you there?"

"Sorry, son," Arthur put on a smile. "I was looking for Ginny, that's all."

"She'll find her way here, I'm sure," Ron smiled back. "Can I get a hug now?"

"Of course," Arthur's smile turned genuine, and then he embraced his son. "You look happy, Ron. I'm really glad." _Really, really glad._

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" Ron snorted. "Mmm, you smell like the Burrow."

"The country air has a certain charm to it," Arthur chuckled as he pulled back. "Nice suit, son. Do you always walk around looking so dapper?"

"Actually, I have some work to take care of," Ron fixed his suit up. _Work?_ "I got a letter today from Gringotts, and it's urgent. I'm actually going to head to Diagon Alley from here, and once my work is done, I'll return to the Burrow." _He really can't turn off, can he? His Break just started, and he's not even coming home._

"You can't be serious," Molly looked shocked. "Ron, you only just got back…"

"I know, but I'll be home by six," Ron promised. "If I leave this until tomorrow, I'll just worry about it all night."

"What about your friend?" Molly asked. "Shouldn't you help him settle in first?"

"I asked him the same thing," came a smooth voice, and they all looked to see Theodore Nott standing behind Molly.

Daphne, Astoria, and Tracey had found their own parents, and while they celebrated their reunion, Arthur thought of a rather clever plan. _I can go with Ron to Gringotts, and speak to him about Draco away from the others. From there, I'll take Ron to Grimmauld Place where we'll meet up with Sirius and Draco. After that, we'll all return to the Burrow together._

"Here we go," Ron smirked at Theodore.

"Ron is already proving to be a disinterested host," Theodore smirked back, and then he looked to Molly. "Thank you for inviting me over, Mrs. Weasley. I am very excited to stay at your house for the Break. Ron has told me about your cooking skills, and I simply can't wait for dinner."

"Well, aren't you well-mannered?" Molly smiled, an approving nod accompanying her smile.

"Don't believe him," Ron chuckled. "He's a liar, and a piece of-"

"Ron," Molly shushed her son, annoyance flashing across her face. "He's our guest, don't be rude."

Ron gaped at Molly, while Theodore just kept smiling pleasantly. It hadn't take long for Arthur to notice how relaxed Ron was around his friend, which was a good enough reason for Arthur to host Theodore Nott at the Burrow. _I just need to remember that Theodore is not his father, nor is he guilty of his father's crimes._

"It's good to finally meet you, Theodore," Arthur put his hand forward for a shake, and Theodore shook it quite firmly for a skinny lad. "Ron hasn't told me much about you, but I'm hoping to learn more during your stay."

"Thank you, Sir," Theodore smiled. "We can both get better acquainted, because as you said, Ron hasn't told me much about you." Theodore then turned his smile towards Ron. "Why are you so secretive, Ron?"

"Believe me, we've all asked that question before," Molly stated, while Ron just gave Theodore a bored look.

"Don't forget whose room you're sleeping in, mate," Ron said, and Theodore just sniggered to himself. "Anyway… I'm going to head off. I can't be late for my meeting." Ron then looked towards Pandora. "But first…"

Ron snuck up behind Pandora, and then he kissed her cheek from the side.

"Ron," Pandora smiled widely as she turned to face him. "Welcome back, my sweet."

"It's great to see you again, Pandora," Ron hugged her carefully, making sure to mind her pregnant belly. "I've missed you so much."

"I have missed you as well," Pandora held her hug, her left hand rubbing the back of Ron's head.

Arthur shot a subtle look to his wife, and he noticed a rather subdued look on her face. _She's still jealous of their relationship… I can't say that I blame her, sometimes I feel envious of Sebastian myself. But, if Ron's relationships with Pandora and Sebastian are helping him, then we need to make our peace with our situation. Ron's health is what matters most._

"Mum! Dad!" Ginny called out, and they both looked to see Ginny approaching with Harry, Neville, and Hermione in tow.

"Molly, remember what we discussed," Arthur whispered to his wife. "We'll pull Ginny aside during the Break, and then we can sort out her fight with Ron."

"I know, Arthur," Molly put on a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "But we'll talk to her as soon as possible. I can't believe that she would say something so disgusting to her own brother." _This is going to be unbearable, isn't it?_

"Welcome back, Ginny," Arthur greeted their daughter first, making sure to give her a warm hug.

"Yes, welcome back," Molly said, and then she gave Ginny an abrupt hug. _Seriously…_

"Are you alright, mum?" Ginny asked slowly, her eyes darting towards Arthur.

"I'm fine," Molly said, and then she looked to Harry and his friends. "Sirius has some errands to run, so he'll meet you at the Burrow. He's really sorry about this, but it was quite urgent." _He is literally hiding behind that pillar over there._

"Oh…" Harry nodded slowly. "That's alright, I suppose…"

"Alright, I'm heading off," came Ron's voice. "Dad, please take my trunk back to the Burrow for me. Helios isn't in his cage because he's flying over to the Burrow as we speak."

"Wait," Arthur quickly moved to Ron's side.

"Where is he going?" Ginny asked.

"Don't worry about what your brother is up to," Molly said, and Arthur shot her a quick look. _At least try to act normal, Molly._

Ginny looked between Ron, Arthur, and Molly, and then she simply rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Ginny said, and Molly's right eye twitched. _Good Lord, Molly's going to explode any minute now._

"Everyone who is going to the Burrow!" Arthur started. "Follow Molly towards the fireplaces! Ron and I will join you all shortly!"

"You're coming with me?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"If that's alright with you," Arthur gave Ron a meaningful look.

"Sure," Ron said slowly, and then he began making his way towards the fireplaces. "Percy, show Theo to my room, please. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" Percy asked.

"Gringotts."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Gringotts Bank – Nearly Evening)**_

Ron's meeting had been quite short, and Arthur still hadn't brought up the issue of Draco Malfoy. Truth be told, Arthur had no idea how to start such a conversation. Ron had proven himself to be an extremely observant individual, he had, after all, figured out Remus' secret all on his own. _Not to mention Peter Pettigrew. It took Ron six months to do what I couldn't in eleven years._

"Dad, are you alright?" Ron asked. "You're pretty quiet for some reason."

"Am I?" Arthur smiled, but Ron wasn't fooled. "How was your meeting? Everything still on track?"

"My meeting was fine," Ron said. "My Logistics Officer needed my signature for Marietta Angel's contract, and now that that's done, he can approach her. The Quibbler has its fourth official staff member." _He keeps saying Logistics Officer, but he never gives the Goblin's name. Is it paranoia? Or is it just something he does without realizing?_

"That's great news," Arthur said. "Xeno will be really happy to hear that everything is on schedule. The fireplaces are right over there-"

"Actually, dad, I have one more errand to run," Ron said, not breaking his stride.

"Really?" Arthur quickly caught up to him. "What else do you need to do?"

"I need to go to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment Store," Ron said, and Arthur was quite taken aback. "Don't take this the wrong way, dad, but I have decided to resolve our Gnome problem once and for all."

"Gnome problem?" Arthur blinked, and then he let out a long breath. _This again?_

"I spoke to Theo on the Hogwarts Express, and when I told him that we had Garden Gnomes, he was utterly shocked," Ron said firmly.

"They are harmless little-"

"They are not harmless," Ron cut in. "Dad, they are burrowing holes in our property. That's what they do. Have you found any potholes around the Burrow?"

"The Burrow's always had potholes," Arthur countered.

"Well, eventually, the area around the Burrow will be far too damaged to grow anything," Ron said as they exited the bank. "Those little bastards are known to sink houses, dad." _I can't deny that some new potholes have appeared around my shed._ "Oh, and since we have a well, they could poison that as well. Their sweat is toxic to humans, and although it's not enough to kill us, it could make us really sick."

"How does Theodore know all of this?" Arthur asked.

"He's in love with Herbology," Ron replied. "I mean, when I told him that mum had a garden, he immediately started pelting me with questions. I'm pretty sure he plans to help improve the garden, just like he does whenever he stays at Greengrass Manor." _What kind of thirteen year old boy loves gardening?_ "And I want those Gnomes gone before we have our guests over."

"For Christmas dinner?" Arthur asked.

"I don't want Lady Longbottom, or Merlin help me, Great-Aunt Muriel seeing that we have a pest problem," Ron replied. "These are important guests, dad, and we need them to be impressed by us. By me."

"Ron…"

"Dad, I am going to be asking for their support, and I know very well that I wouldn't support a person who can't even take care of his own house," Ron stated bluntly. _That was a little harsh, but he has a point. Muriel would just sneer down at us like always._ "You've seen the change that a bit of money can make, right?"

"Yes," Arthur sighed out.

"What's more important to you? A bunch of Garden Gnomes? Or these people helping me to improve the lives of the needy?"

"The latter," Arthur admitted. _But those Gnomes have always been a part of the Burrow._

"Then you'll support me in this," Ron said, it sounded an awful lot like an order. "Mum will not be pleased, and my siblings will definitely act like brats, but this needs to happen." _Brats?_

"Alright, Ron, you win," Arthur conceded, he didn't want Ron's mood to be spoiled. _Not when I'm about to ask him to take the blame for Draco Malfoy being at the Burrow._

"Good," Ron smiled as he patted Arthur's back. "Trust me, dad, this helps us a lot more than it hurts us. I know that you like those Gnomes, but I promise you, they only want to damage your property."

"Wiseacre's is right over there," Arthur pointed, his own spirit slightly dampened. _I'm going to miss those little buggers._

Ron made his way into the shop, and Arthur followed after him. The inside of the shop was exactly as Arthur remembered it from his last visit. It was dusty, filled with random curios, and the moving space was constantly invaded by objects that were either too long or too wide. _Last time I was here, it was to buy Ginny her brass telescope for Astronomy._

"Welcome to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment Store," the store clerk greeted them, she was a young, slightly chubby, witch. "My name is Matilda, how can I help you?"

"We have a Garden Gnome problem on our property," Ron walked up to the counter, and the witch clicked her tongue.

"Nasty little blighters," she commentated, and Arthur decided that he didn't like this young woman very much. "Best way to keep them out is a good, solid fence. One laced with Creature Repulsion Charms."

"Do you have anything like that?" Ron asked.

"We do, but first, I need to know the size of your property," she replied, and Ron looked to Arthur.

"The Gnomes stay in our garden, mostly," Arthur explained. "I'd say the garden is roughly five hundred square feet."

"That's quite large," the girl said, and Ron nodded along.

"It is not fun to clean out," Ron smiled, and the girl chuckled.

"I bet," she agreed. "I can place an order for you after you select which type of fence you want, and we can even have it delivered within a day if your home is not near Muggle properties."

"That sounds great," Ron said. "And it will definitely keep them out?"

"It will, but if you're really worried, I can offer you a safe pesticide," the witch offered. "It'll be cheaper than the fence, and far more effective."

"I'll take the pesticide," Ron said. _What?_

"No, Ron," Arthur said firmly, deciding to put his foot down. "We'll take the fence, thank you." The witch looked between the two of them, while Ron shot a confused look back. "Bring us the fence options."

"Right," the witch said, and then she quickly disappeared into the back of the store.

"Pesticides, Ron? Really?" Arthur frowned a little.

"What? It'll save me money," Ron said, and Arthur didn't even know what to say. "Dad… They're pests… Their lives don't matter." _Is he fucking serious? What the fuck?! Look at him… He's dead certain about what he's saying._

"Ron, you don't get to decide who lives and dies," Arthur told his son. "Every life is sacred, I thought you understood that."

"Yeesh," Ron grimaced. "They're Garden Gnomes, dad, not people… But whatever. We'll get the fence."

"Good," Arthur looked ahead, he was slightly disturbed by his son's ruthlessness. _I swear that he wasn't like this when he was younger. Ever since he started attending Hogwarts, he's become a completely different person._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

The fence had been picked out, and ordered. It was going to arrive at the Burrow within the day, and Ron had already volunteered to put it up without using his Magic. When Arthur had asked him why he wanted to do manual labor, Ron had simply told him that he wished to understand Squibs better. This had left Arthur extremely confused, but he didn't prod Ron.

"I'll prepare the floo," Ron said, but Arthur stopped him by putting his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Before you do that, son, I need to talk to you," Arthur said, and Ron turned around with a curious look.

"Alright," Ron said. "Is everything alright, dad? You've been acting a little off."

"I need a favor from you, and it's… quite odd…" Arthurs said. _I'll just ask outright. It's the best strategy, I think._

"Anything," Ron looked rather serious all of a sudden. "Please, name it."

"Certain things have happened, things that you don't know about," Arthur started. "Before I ask this favor, I want you to understand that all of your questions will be answered soon."

"Okay…" Ron said slowly, his eyes narrowing.

"Draco Malfoy is currently with Sirius," Arthur said, and Ron just stared at him. _Well? I can't tell if he's surprised._

"Go on," Ron said. _Go on? So he's not surprised? Maybe he's just good at masking his shock?_ "Dad?"

"Right," Arthur shook his head clear. "Draco needs to spend his Break at the Burrow for his own good, but his presence will raise a lot of questions."

"Questions that won't arise if I'm the one bringing him over," Ron figured, and Arthur took a step back. _What the…? Why do I get the feeling that Ron knows a lot more about what's been happening than we give him credit for?_

"Ron, do you know about his situation?" Arthur asked slowly.

"I know that something's happened to his parents," Ron replied. "But beyond that, I have no idea. He's not really an open person." Ron then stood up straighter. "I'll do whatever you ask, dad, just tell me what you need."

"Really?"

"Of course," Ron gave a firm nod.

"Wow… I… um… I don't know what to say," Arthur admitted. "Thank you, Ron, this means a lot to your mother and I."

"I'm happy to help," Ron smiled and shrugged.

"I just need you to act like Draco being at the Burrow was your idea," Arthur said. "And while he's there, I also want you to keep an eye on him. Make sure that he doesn't do anything… Malfoy-like…"

"If you're asking me to make sure that he doesn't behave like a prick, I'm sorry to tell you that not even the Gods could do that," Ron stated. "But, I'll do my best to keep him out of trouble."

"I know you have questions, and like I promised, they'll be answered soon," Arthur promised once again. "Now… Your siblings won't be too happy about Draco being at the Burrow, and they might blame you for everything. I know it's unfair, but I need you to keep your head held high for me. Your mother has put a lot of work into this Christmas, and we really want all of you to enjoy yourselves."

"I'm used to their ire," Ron said. "You need my help, dad, and you will have it. Don't worry, you can count on me."

Arthur smiled as he put his hands on Ron's shoulders, he was honestly quite touched. _He's definitely going to be taller than even me._

"Thank you, son," Arthur said. "And thank you for being so understanding about this. I don't like hiding things from you, but sometimes, we have to do things that don't agree with us for the greater good."

"I understand completely," Ron said. "So… Are we collecting Draco and Sirius, then?"

"Yes, let's go."

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Nearly Evening)**_

"Do you want a drink?" Black asked, but Draco just stared at the floor. "I think I have some apple juice-"

"I don't want anything from you," Draco spat out. "Leave me alone…"

His Godfather, who was currently unconscious due to Pain Relief Potions, had stayed awake long enough to tell Draco that he'd be spending his Christmas with the Weasleys. Once again, Draco had absolutely no choice in the matter. _Dumbledore came to me with an offer, and when I rejected it, his bloody Order made the decision for me. I was dead right… I'm just another prisoner. They won't even let me see my mother._

"Right…" Black sighed out, and then he left for the Kitchen.

Draco thought about sneaking up to the attic, but he knew that it would accomplish nothing. His mother was most likely under lock and key, she was, after all, Albus Dumbledore's prisoner. The feeling of utter powerlessness was bearing down on Draco, and it was taking everything in his power to not break down. He knew that if one more thing went wrong, he was going to break into a million pieces. Black reentered the Living Room with a slightly hesitant look on his face, and then he presented a box to Draco.

"I told you, I don't want anything-"

"Narcissa made these," Black said, and Draco tongue turned to lead. _What?_ "She baked them for you, just like she does every year. Here, take them."

Draco slowly took the box, he honestly didn't know what to say. _They let her bake me cookies?_

"You know…" Black sat down again. "You and I are cousins. Once removed, that is, but still… We share blood."

"We might share blood, but we are not Family," Draco whispered to himself, his eyes fixed on the box. _It feels heavy… She probably made a lot of them…_ "Can I see her?"

"No, kid," Black rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why?" Draco looked to him. "Why are you doing this to us?"

Black looked extremely uncomfortable, and after he drew in a deep breath, he looked into Draco's eyes.

"I can tell that you love your mother," Black started. "I know that she loves you… She's made that quite clear." Black then leaned forward. "Your mother has done terrible things-"

"Fuck off-"

"It's true," Black went on. "She threw her lot in with the Dark Lord, and although she doesn't bear the Mark, she has committed crimes that would make your skin crawl. Her actions have led to countless children losing their parents, and countless parents losing their children. You know I'm telling you the truth, and you can deny it all you want, but the truth is the truth. People like your mother have been clamoring for a war since the Dark Ages, and now, it's here. You reap what you sow, kid, just remember that."

"I think you're just as bad as the Dark Lord," Draco hissed, his eyes were starting to hurt.

"You've only heard stories of the man… That's why you say that," Black said. "I ran into him once, you know…"

Draco stilled at that, he too had run into the Dark Lord once.

"You… ran into him?" Draco heard his own voice ask.

"It was in the last war," Black replied. "He killed almost forty people singlehandedly, and the only reason I survived was because his attention was preoccupied with holding the Aurors at bay." Black then shook his head. "The whole Aurors Department couldn't stop one fucking man… One **monster**." Black then looked into Draco's eyes. "Your mother housed, and fully supported, a monster who kills without remorse. Men, women, children, the elderly… Tell me, Draco, would you support a man who murders others for sport?"

Draco said nothing, he could only tighten his hold on his mother's gift. _Look at what the Dark Lord did to Godfather… Mother and father betrayed him, and he can't even leave his bed anymore._ Draco dropped the box of cookies, his hands slowly covering his face. _Don't cry! Don't show them how weak you are!_ But try as he might, the uncertainty of his future was too daunting to move past. There was no escape for the Malfoys, and Draco now understood that better than ever.

"Kid…" Black moved closer to Draco, but Draco's muffled sobbing kept him at bay.

The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and Black was on his feet in no time. Draco didn't even bother to look up, he was too absorbed with his incoming panic attack.

"Sirius… What did you do to him?!" a man hissed.

"Nothing," Black denied. "Look, he's going through-"

The fireplace roared to life again, and a second person entered the Black Ancestral Home.

"What the…?" came Weasley's voice, and Draco's head jerked up. _No… Why is he here?!_

Draco realized that both Arthur Weasley and Ronald Weasley were the ones who had arrived, and it didn't take him long to figure out that they were here for him. Draco couldn't help but wonder if Weasley knew of his situation, but right now, he was past caring. All he wanted to do was to curl up into a ball, and then be left alone by everyone.

"Maybe you two ought to come back later?" Black suggested.

"I have a better idea," Weasley said. "Dad, take Sirius to the Burrow, and leave me with Malfoy."

"Ron, I don't think-"

"I'll be fine," Weasley said as he walked up and sat down to Draco's right. "Let me take it from here."

"Are you sure?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"Dad, give us a little time," Weasley replied. "Please?"

"Alright…" Arthur Weasley sighed out. "Sirius, let's go."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Here," Weasley said as he offered Draco a hot towel. "I heated a towel for you. It'll freshen you up a little."

"Heated how?" Draco croaked as he took the towel, and then, without another word, he planted it on his face.

It was warm, and it soaked up the tears and snot lingering on Draco's face. He was completely spent in the emotional department, and because of that, things didn't seem so bad anymore. Maybe he had just become numb again? _Would that be so bad? If anything, it feels nice to just not care anymore._

"I heated it with my wand," Weasley replied, and Draco pulled the towel off of his face.

"The Trace…" Draco looked at Weasley like he was an idiot.

"I have a special dispensation from the Ministry," Weasley told him. "I'm allowed to use Magic outside of school, but only if there are no Muggles nearby."

"Right," Draco decided not to prod, and he put the towel back on his face. _I just want to sleep._

"I think it's past time that we were on our way," Weasley said.

"You can go," Draco said a little coldly. "Just leave me here…"

"I can't do that," Weasley said. "I promised my father that I'd bring you to the Burrow, and that's what I intend to do."

"Aren't you a good son?" Draco scoffed, and he suddenly felt the towel being tugged off of his face. "Weasley? I was using that."

"Look, you've had time to gather yourself, and it's time to move forward," Weasley said. "Nothing can be achieved by just sitting here." _Classic, self-righteous Weasley._

"Here we go," Draco rolled his eyes.

"What?" Weasley asked.

"You think you have the answers to everything," Draco shook his head. "Well, you don't… Don't sit there, and talk to me like you know how I feel. You have no idea about what I'm going through right now, so just leave me alone. I don't want your lectures, and I don't want your help. Just leave."

Weasley just stared at Draco with a slightly annoyed look, but Draco couldn't care less. The last thing he needed was to hear Weasley's never-ending wisdom on all things. _I swear, he must be the most arrogant person that I've ever had the displeasure of meeting._ Weasley suddenly chuckled to himself, much to Draco's annoyance.

"What?" Draco frowned at the amused redhead. "Did I say something funny?"

"You did," Weasley replied, a half-smile on his face. "I know exactly how you feel, Malfoy."

"Really?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Go on, then… Enlighten me."

"You feel powerless," Weasley started. _He guessed that._ "You feel like everyone is making the decisions for you, and because of that, your life is no longer yours. There is no freedom, and no light in sight. The future is clouded with uncertainty…" Draco's mouth dropped open a little. "And right now, you've been pushed so far that you can't feel a fucking thing. You don't care about anyone's opinions, or their problems, because you feel like your problems are more pressing. In fact, they're so pressing that you're happy being numb. Feeling nothing is better than feeling pain, eh?"

Draco said nothing, all he could do was stare at Weasley. _Is he a Legilimens?_

"You know, every time Lord Greengrass wants to be blunt with me, he starts the conversation by saying that 'we're both men'…" Weasley went on, his eyes moving towards the fireplace. "Well, Malfoy, we're both men…"

"What are you getting at?" Draco asked slowly.

"I don't need to be a mind-reader to know how you feel," Weasley looked back to him. "I know how you feel because I've been where you are now."

"Really?" Draco asked blandly.

"I've had… choices… taken from me," Weasley replied, and then he drew in a deep breath. "You're a smart lad, so you already know that I'm incredibly sick, right?"

Draco nodded weakly. _Is he going to tell me what's wrong with him?_

"Well, I'm not just sick," Weasley told him. "I'm dying."

And there it was… Confirmation. Hearing those words hadn't felt good like Draco had foolishly imagined, instead, Draco felt a little worse than he already did.

"Dying?" Draco all but whispered. "Why?"

"Brain-Damage due to severe trauma," Weasley replied, and then he pulled his left sleeve back. "A gift from the Dark Lord himself…"

Draco's eyes wandered to the scars blemishing Weasley's pale skin, and the sight of them made Draco recoil.

"What… the hell?" Draco scooted away. _I thought his right hand was the only fucked up part of him! What the hell are those scars?! And did say that the Dark Lord gave him those?!_

"Ugly, aren't they?" Weasley covered his arm quickly, and Draco felt a small pang of guilt for reacting so strongly. "It's alright… I know just how haunting they look."

"Does… Does Greengrass know…?" Draco asked. _What a stupid thing to ask, Draco…_

"She does," Weasley nodded. "She, and a few others."

"Why show me?" Draco asked.

"Because for the last thirty minutes, I've been watching you sob in utter misery," Weasley replied. "I tried thinking of clever ways to uplift your spirit, but nothing came to me. I even thought about starting a fight so you'd focus your anger on me, but that wouldn't work either. So, I decided to give you what you crave most… Certainty."

"Certainty?" Draco mumbled, his head was spinning from this conversation. _I'm already so spent, and now I have to deal with this?_

"We're both men, Draco, so let me be blunt with you," Weasley said. "You're acting like a little bitch, and it sickens me to my stomach."

Draco just stared at Weasley, he didn't even know how to react to those words. A part of him wanted to get angry and lash out, but a bigger part of him wanted to hear this out.

"You think crying in a corner will make your problems go away?" Weasley asked, his face turning cold. "You think that if you whine loudly enough, the World will hear you? No… The World doesn't give a shit about you, Malfoy, but you know who does?"

"Who?"

"My dad," Weasley said. "My mum. Sirius. All the adults who want you to have a safe, and happy, Christmas. There are children our age, Malfoy, who have to sell their bodies just to eat at night. They sleep in gutters, and die before they become of age. **You** still have people looking out for you, but you're just sitting here and crying? For the last month, all you've done is mope around like a helpless babe, and in doing so, fed your victimhood complex."

Weasley then moved right next to Draco, his face leaning in far too close for comfort.

"People who claim that the World isn't fair are idiots," Weasley whispered. "They should just roll over and die on the spot, because they serve no purpose but their own. The World is **indifferent** , not unfair. You want your choice back? Then you take it back. You get up, you put on a smile, and you fucking fight all the 'injustices' that come your way. That is how you survive. That is how you get your choice back."

Weasley then leaned back, a slightly calmer look on his face. As for Draco, he was completely stunned, and also quite frightened.

"If you give up now, everything that you've gone through will have been for nothing," Weasley said. "All the pain, all the suffering, all the uncertainty… You will lose more than just your choices, Malfoy, you'll lose your life."

Weasley then stood up, and he walked over to Draco's trunk.

"You have two choices now, Malfoy," Weasley said. "You can sit here and weep, or you can come with me and start getting your life back. If you chose the latter, I promise you, things will be difficult. You'll be pushed further than before, but that will make you strong. You'll keep surviving. As for the first choice… Well, that choice will turn you into what you fear you already are. A helpless weakling." Weasley then looked Draco over. "Am I going to the Burrow alone?"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! We back, you hijos de puta! (I fucking love Narcos)**

 **So, was it weird reading a chapter that didn't have a single Ron POV? I bet it was. I figured that I'd let you guys see how the characters of this world react to Ron, who is completely shrouded in secrets and intrigue. Ron, essentially, is the only piece on the board that moves from arc to arc, interrupting the lives of others for better or worse.**

 **I promise to give Ron the wheel in the next chapter, which I want to release by Tuesday. I took a week off, and honest to God, I fucking missed writing this story so much. I had Ron withdrawal, man! It was fucked!**

 **So, see you guys on Tuesday! (Or Wednesday, I still have to find a job)**


	104. Chapter 104 - Leagues

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 104 is done!**

 **Please Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 104 – Leagues**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Grimmauld Place – Evening)**_

Ron quietly watched Malfoy pick up his mother's box of cookies, and he felt no pity for the pale young wizard. In truth, Ron was simply past the point of caring about such trivial matters. Sure, Malfoy had been dealt a horrible hand, and yes, Ron had played a key role in said hand, but at the same time, Malfoy was being too shortsighted to fully understand that his life had been saved by the very people he cursed. Draco Malfoy was a weak person, and Ron knew that if he was left to his own devices, he'd make a foolish decision that would lead to his death. _Just look at Victor… He was smarter than Malfoy, but he died because he wanted to look down on someone he didn't really understand. His arrogance was his undoing, and we all know just how proud and arrogant Malfoy is._

"Ready?" Ron asked, and Malfoy gave a subdued nod. "Chin up, Malfoy, don't show others that you're hurting." _Even after what I just told him, he's still acting like a wounded baby._

"We're going to your house, Weasley," Malfoy muttered.

"My house is filled with people who loathe you," Ron reminded Malfoy. "Never let your guard down, not even when you think that you're safe."

Malfoy nodded more firmly, and then he stood up straighter. _I know that he's only listening to me because I scared him, but you know what? I don't mind that he's scared. I made a promise to Snape that I'd keep him safe, and I plan to keep that promise. If being scared means that he'll listen to me, then so be it._

Ron prepared the floo, while Malfoy stored his gift within his trunk. Once Ron was ready to toss the floo-powder into the flames, he looked back to Malfoy.

"When you come through, people will have questions," Ron started. "Say nothing, and be on your best behavior. I will vouch for you, but only if you behave like a proper guest."

"I understand," Malfoy walked over to Ron's side. "Weasley… I'm… I'm sorry about your condition…" _Um… I didn't expect that. Does he actually mean those words?_

"Don't be," Ron said. "Remember what I told you, Malfoy, complaining doesn't change anything. Bad shit happens all the time, and it's your job to deal with it." Ron then tossed the floo-powder into the flames. "The Burrow."

The fire roared green, and Ron decided to go through first. The moment he stepped into the Burrow, he spotted his siblings relaxing in the Living Room. Harry, Neville, and Hermione were currently speaking with Ginny and the twins, while Percy was telling Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten about his successful term. _Where are the adults? And where's Theo?_

"Mum! Ron's here!" Charlie called, and then he stood up to greet his little brother.

The moment every eye turned towards Ron, Malfoy stepped through the flames from behind Ron. At first, no one said a word. All eyes were fixed on the platinum-haired wizard, and Ron enjoyed the shocked looks on the faces of his siblings. _The irony of this situation is not lost on me, a Malfoy just entered the Burrow. It's the fucking end times for certain._

"What is he doing here?!" Fred was the first to break his silence, and that set everyone off.

"You brought **him** to the Burrow?!" Ginny looked horrified.

"Dad! Ron's lost it!" George just stared at Ron with a slack-jawed expression.

"I thought the Weasleys and Malfoys hated each other?!" Hermione looked to Neville for confirmation, and Neville just nodded with a surprised look.

Question after question was launched in Ron's direction, and much to his annoyance, even Hermione and Harry were demanding answers. _They make for poor guests… Why am I not surprised? When I really think about it, this House rivalry business is incredibly stupid. There's so much happening in the World outside Hogwarts, but these idiots can't get over which House someone was sorted into._

"Draco is my guest for the Holidays," Ron told them, effectively stopping their protests. "As my guest, he will be treated with respect and kindness. If you have a problem with this, go whine somewhere where I can't hear you. I promise you, I don't care enough about your opinions to listen to them." _I really don't._

"He's a bloody Malfoy!" Fred looked to his other siblings, no doubt trying to rile them up.

"Yes, he's a Malfoy," Ron rolled his eyes. "But he is **Draco** Malfoy, not **Lucius** Malfoy." Ron then looked to Malfoy. "Come, let me show you to my room. It's on the fifth floor, so get ready for a hike."

"Alright," Malfoy whispered, he clearly wasn't ready for such an onslaught of yelling.

Just as Ron began to move towards the exit, his mother and father popped into the room.

"Welcome home, Ronnie!" his mother ran up and hugged him again, completely ignoring the other children. _Ow… Why is she so strong for a tiny lady?_

"Mum! Ron brought Malfoy to our house!" Ginny pointed at Malfoy, she looked thoroughly shaken. "Look at him! He's right there!"

"Hello," Arthur walked up to Malfoy. "I'm Arthur, and this is Molly. Welcome to our house."

The looks on Ron's sibling's faces nearly made Ron burst into laughter, but he kept his composure for the sake of Malfoy. _I already gave up my privacy for his benefit, what's a little bit of outrage in comparison? I'll just have to weather the storm. Plus, I honestly don't care that much about their opinions of me. Not anymore. They're all so… small-minded._

"Thank you for hosting me, Mr. Weasley," Malfoy said, his tone devoid of all emotions. _Good, keep playing along._ "This house looks very… cozy…" _Ha!_

"Why, thank you!" Molly looked to Malfoy. "If you need anything, Draco, you come find me, alright?" _Mum can't help but be motherly towards a child who's going through hell. Can't say that I'm surprised, but the others certainly look horrified._ "Ron, why don't you take your friend to your room? That trunk looks heavy. We've already got the beds ready."

"What is going on here?!" Fred looked as red as a tomato. "Why are you all being so-?!"

"Don't yell, Fred Weasley, I'm right here," Molly shot a frown at her troublemaking son. "And stop being rude to our guest. I didn't raise you to yell at other people."

"Let's go," Ron patted Malfoy's back, and Malfoy began to walk towards the Kitchen.

They could hear the renewed protests emanating from the Living Room, and Ron decided to let his parents deal with that mess. _I should help Malfoy settle in, and then I should find Theo._ They made their way up in silence, and Ron could tell that Malfoy was judging every crack and chip within the Burrow.

"The Burrow isn't exactly like your Manor," Ron started as they neared his room. "But it's better than being homeless. You'll grow to like it here, I promise."

"If you say so," Malfoy said without looking back.

"My room is the door to your left," Ron said, and Malfoy stopped walking. "What?"

"I'm staying in your room?" Malfoy looked back. "I don't get my own room?" _Didn't he hear mum? Is he really that zoned out?_

"This isn't a hotel," Ron chuckled. "The Burrow is limited when it comes to rooms, so we'll have to share."

"Right," Malfoy adorned a pathetic look, and Ron fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"I don't have another speech left in me, Malfoy," Ron said coldly. "Grab a hold of yourself, and push forward."

Without another word, Ron moved past Malfoy and entered his room. The walls were orange once again, which was odd because Ron had left them emerald green. _Someone changed the color of my walls? Who? Why?_ There were five beds within Ron's room, but due to Ron's room being the smallest in the Burrow, the beds were literally placed side-by-side. On one of those beds was Theo, and he was smirking rather arrogantly.

"You're back," Theo hopped off of the bed. "It's a bit tight in here, but I reckon it'll be nice to cuddle when the nights get cold."

Malfoy stepped into the room at that, and Theo lost his smirk.

"Wait… What?" Theo stared at Malfoy with a genuinely confused look.

"Malfoy is spending the Break here," Ron said, and Theo looked even more confused.

"How did you convince his parents to-?" Theo started, but then he stopped. "Did you kidnap him?!"

"What? No," Ron denied. "Look, I don't really know what's happening, but my parents are behind this. I'm just the guy who's taking the blame so that Christmas doesn't get ruined."

"Which one is mine?" Malfoy asked Ron.

"Take the one on the far left," Ron said. "I'll take the one next to yours so that you don't have to sleep next to Neville, or Harry."

"Five people in one room…" Malfoy shook his head, and then he walked over and placed his trunk at the foot of his bed.

"Ron, can I talk to you?" Theo asked, his eyes still fixed on Malfoy.

"Go ahead," Ron said, and Theo nudged his head towards the door. "If you have something to say, Theo, please just say it. I'm not in the mood for secret chats."

"This is a house full of Gryffindors," Theo started. "It's bad enough that you and I are here, but Malfoy as well? Your siblings will make our lives miserable."

"My siblings need to grow up," Ron shrugged. "Plus, I think we all take this House nonsense too seriously."

"What?" Theo blinked.

"It's a fucking school House, not a damn life sentence," Ron shook his head. "Neville was spot on when he said that the House system just breeds conflict. The Founders clearly didn't think the Sorting business through."

"The twins weren't pleased to see me, so I can't imagine that seeing Malfoy pleased them," Theo stated.

"I've got a strategy for the twins," Ron assured Theo. _It involves a certain degree of persuasion, though._ "Don't worry so much, Theo, let's just enjoy our Break together. Once Daphne and Tracey get here, we'll be golden."

"If you say so," Theo said. "Still, I can't believe that Malfoy is here."

"You sound disappointed," Malfoy said from his trunk. "Trust me, being here was not a part of my plan."

"But you are here, so we might as well make the best of it," Ron clapped his hands, this worry-wart behavior wasn't sitting well with him. "Come with me, I'll give you two a tour."

"Oh, please lead on," Theo smirked again. "I want to know everything. Start with your room, actually."

"Alright, let's start with my room," Ron smirked back. "This is where yours truly grew up."

"So this is what hell looks like," Malfoy drawled, and Theo sniggered to himself.

"Already bantering," Ron chuckled. "Good, Malfoy, keep up with that attitude. Anyway, I grew up in this room, and although it's small, I've always thought of it as 'home'."

"Very touching," Theo said. "Next?"

"This is the fifth floor," Ron said as he exited the room, his mates following him out. "Down there is the ladder that leads into the attic. Our Ghoul lives in there-"

"Your Ghoul?" Malfoy asked.

"You really have a Ghoul?" Theo looked down the hallway. "Bloody hell, what's the matter with you?"

"He's a part of the Family," Ron shrugged. "He bangs the pipes when it's too quiet because he misses us when we're gone. I think that he's quite sweet."

"It's a Ghoul…" Malfoy said with a disgusted look. "You Weasleys keep a Ghoul in your house…"

"And he fondles rude Slytherin boys in their sleep," Ron smirked. "Lay off the Family Ghoul."

Ron then led them down to the fourth floor.

"Only one bedroom on this floor?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, mum and dad occupy this floor," Ron said. "There's a bathroom on this floor as well, and in the mornings, one of the twins will rush up here in order to occupy both bathrooms."

"Only two bathrooms?" Malfoy asked.

"You can always shit behind dad's shed," Ron shrugged.

"What?" Theo and Malfoy blinked.

"That was a joke," Ron laughed genuinely. "Please don't shit behind my dad's shed, that's where he keeps his Muggle items."

As they made their way down to the third floor, they began hearing the other children speaking loudly in the Living Room. Ron couldn't really make out what they were discussing, but he figured that his sanity was up for debate again.

"This floor has Bill and Charlie's rooms," Ron told them. "Usually, we just use them as guest rooms, but since my brothers are home for Christmas, it's best that you two avoid this floor."

"Charlie's the muscled one, right?" Theo asked. "The Dragon Tamer?"

"Yeah, that's Charlie," Ron replied.

"Your brother is a Dragon Tamer?" Malfoy asked, he almost sounded impressed.

"Yes," Ron said a little proudly. "And Bill is a Supervising Curse-Breaker at Gringotts. He actually spent a lot of time in Egypt uncovering many hidden treasures and tombs."

"Wicked," Theo smirked. _It is wicked, isn't it?_

"Ask them stories about their work," Ron advised as he entered the second floor. "Don't worry about them being hostile, they've moved past House rivalry. Now… This is the second floor, and it's occupied by Percy and the twins. The twins have to share a room, of course, but their room is the largest in the house. It's even bigger than mum and dad's room." Ron then pointed to a vase full of fresh roses. "See that vase? It's enchanted to release a perfume every one hour."

"Why?" Malfoy asked.

"Mum wants to mask the smell of the twins' room," Ron explained. "They're always testing their products in there, and some of them smell horrible. They once set their curtains on fire, and the second floor smelled like a chimney for days."

"They make fireworks?" Theo asked.

"They make **everything** ," Ron replied. "Sweets, gags, dung-bombs, fireworks, Magical objects… The twins can be pricks, but they're both very intelligent and creative people. When I was little, I always traded favors with them just so they'd let me sit in their room. I liked to watch them tinker, you see, and sometimes, they'd let me try their sweets."

"You were a Guinee Pig?" Malfoy asked.

"I got free sweets," Ron shrugged and laughed. "I was too young to care." _Plus, I loved their attention. This tour is making me miss my youth._

They stepped into the first floor, and Ron spotted Ginny leading Harry, Neville, and Hermione up. The moment she saw him, she stopped to glare at his company.

"Hello," Ron greeted the Gryffindors, but they were all just looking at Malfoy. _Is he that handsome? Actually, he is quite the looker._ "I'm giving a tour to Theo and Draco, do you guys want to tag along?"

"No," Ginny refused for the Golden Trio.

"A tour would be nice," Neville smiled at Ron, and Ron smiled back. _Good man. Trying to keep the peace, eh?_

"Nev…" Harry whispered, while Ginny narrowed her eyes on Ron. _What's with the glare? I was being polite._

"It's just a tour, and we'll be living together for almost two weeks," Neville said. "It'll be more fun if we all get along."

"Exactly," Ron agreed. "Let's leave Hogwarts business in Hogwarts, yeah? Let's just enjoy the Break together." _Ronald Weasley, the man who seeks peace above all else. They should write a book about me._

"Hermione?" Neville looked to the Muggle-Born witch, and she slowly gave a nod.

"I can give you guys a tour later," Ginny offered.

"Two tours? C'mon, Ginny, don't be like that," Ron said. "Guys, come with me… We've already covered the top four floors, though." Ron then looked back to Malfoy and Theo. "The first floor has Ginny's room, and it has the second bathroom. Remember what I said about the twins hogging the bathrooms?"

"They hog the bathrooms?" Neville asked.

"In the morning, yes," Ron turned back around. "Well, this bathroom is also hogged by Ginny, who takes the longest showers out of all the Weasleys."

"No, I don't," Ginny huffed, and Ron just stared at her. "I'm a girl, Ron!" _Embarrassed? You should be. The amount of times that I've nearly shat myself because you wouldn't leave the bathroom…_

"Ginny also has the best view from her room," Ron went on. "It overlooks the orchard in the back, as well as the gardens."

"You have an orchard?" Malfoy asked.

"We do," Ron said. "It's located behind the gardens, and that's where we used to play Quidditch when we were younger. Ginny wasn't allowed to play, but she snuck around at night in order to practice on her own."

"Don't tell them that," Ginny sighed out.

"I think that's great," Harry said, and Ginny seemed to recover rather quickly. "I'd have loved to fly around when I was younger. Shame that I didn't know about wizards until I was eleven."

"What?" Theo asked with a confused look. "You're Harry Potter… How could you not know about wizards?"

"My parents died when I was a baby," Harry replied. _We all know that, mate._ "My aunt and uncle weren't exactly Magical Folk… They were Muggles, who, as it turned out, hated Wizarding Kind. They never told me about Magic."

"So you had no idea about our World, or that you're a celebrity, until you were going to Hogwarts?" Malfoy asked.

"Essentially," Harry replied a little abruptly. _Not a fan of Malfoy being here? Figures._

"Let's move on," Ron said as he gestured towards the stairs behind the Trio.

The Trio began heading down, but Ginny just stood in her spot.

"Can I talk to you, Ron?" Ginny asked with a serious look.

"No," Ron refused. "I have a tour to give." _And I don't want to hear your whining._

Ron, and his mates, moved past Ginny in order to descend into the Kitchen, and once they were there, they spotted Molly Weasley cooking over the stove.

"Let me guess, this is the Kitchen," Theo looked around.

"Observant as always, Theo," Ron joked. "This is where we eat and socialize-"

"Why are the chairs different colors?" Hermione asked. "Is each color allocated to a Family member?"

"No," Ron chuckled. "The chairs are different colors because they were bought, or salvaged, separately."

"Salvaged?" Malfoy whispered to Theo, but Ron heard him.

"Yes, Draco, salvaged," Ron smirked. "We are notorious for being poor, aren't we?"

"Ronnie!" Molly shot a frown at her son, but Ron simply shrugged. _It is what it is. If you don't like me stating the truth, then you ought to let me buy you new chairs._

"The orange chair is mine, by the way," Ron pointed out. "Do you guys want to see the Living Room? Or do you want to see the gardens?"

"Gardens," Theo and Neville said together.

"Gardens it is," Ron nodded, and then he made his way towards the backdoor.

"Shouldn't you give the tour when everyone is here?" Hermione asked. "It'd be more efficient that way."

"Daphne, Tracey, and Tori won't be here until dinner, I'm sure," Ron said. "Plus, I plan to give Daphne a private tour." _A very private tour, indeed. It'll start behind the stone outhouse, and end behind dad's shed._

Hermione looked like she had sucked a lemon, so Ron counted his comment as a success. _This is fun. I should become a tour guide._

"Ew," Ginny grimaced from the stairs, while Ron's mother chuckled to herself. _She didn't tear me a new one? Odd._

Once everyone had left the Burrow, Ron sealed the back door behind himself. Theo and Neville quickly began to walk around the gardens, their eyes peeled for interesting plants. Hermione, Ginny, and Harry lingered in the back, no doubt discussing the tour. As for Malfoy and Ron, both of them hovered around the cabbage patch.

"There's a pond full of frogs in the far right corner!" Ron told everyone. "Stay clear of that, because it's deeper than it looks. The twins pushed Percy into it once, and he was soaked from head to toe."

"Nice Flutterby bushes!" Theo pointed towards the hedge. _Oh, those are new. Mum must've got them for Christmas._

"Are these Garden Gnome droppings?" Neville asked Ron.

"It's weird that you know that," Ron replied. "But yeah, I think so." _Those damn pests took a shit in our garden?_

"You should check for potholes," Neville told Ron. "Some Gnomes broke into my Garden back at Longbottom Manor once, and they sank like thirty bushes full of flowers… Gran was livid."

"We just de-Gnome the garden once in a while," Ginny told Neville. _You mean us boys de-Gnome the garden, while you get to watch from the shade._

"I went to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment Store today," Ron started, and Theo gave him an approving nod. "I bought a Magical fence to keep the Gnomes out forever, and once it's delivered, I'll put it around the hedge. After that, no more Gnome issues."

"You bought a Magical fence?" Ginny asked Ron. "Dad likes the Gnomes, Ron… You can't just change the Burrow whenever it suits you."

"Apparently, I can," Ron said calmly. "Dad gave me permission."

"What?" Ginny looked rather surprised.

"He even picked out the fence, I only paid for it," Ron told her. _Pesticide would have been better, not to mention cheaper._

"A Magical fence is good, but you need to find their home," Neville advised. "Gnomes don't give up easy, and if you block off this area, they'll migrate to the front in the hopes of finding food. Don't you have chickens?"

"We do," Ron replied.

"Well, they'll steal your chickens," Neville said.

"They only eat plants," Ginny said.

"No, they eat everything," Theo corrected her. "Longbottom's right, those little blighters are… Well, they're a blight." _Damnit, I should've listened to my gut and bought that pesticide._

"Why are there rusty cauldrons all over the place?" Malfoy asked.

"Don't know," Ron admitted. "They've always been there, so we never got rid of them."

"They give the garden a nice look, I reckon," Theo said.

"What's that over there?" Harry asked, his finger pointing to the stone outhouse.

"That's our broom shed," Ron replied. "It's got like thirty brooms inside."

"Thirty?!" Harry went wide-eyed. "They all fly?!"

"In a manner of speaking…" Ron pulled a face. "Some are better at flying than others, that's all I'll say."

"We could play a massive game of Quidditch," Harry finally smiled. "All of us kids, that is."

"So we fly barely functioning brooms, while you tear the sky with your Firebolt?" Malfoy asked. "No thanks, Potter."

"No one invited you, anyway," Ginny frowned at Malfoy, who simply ignored her. "Oi! Don't ignore me, this is my house!"

"Then learn to act like a host," Ron said bluntly. "Don't insult our guests, Ginny."

Ginny went to say something, but Hermione stopped her by tugging at her sleeve. They began whispering to each other, and Ron wasn't interested enough to try and eavesdrop.

"Alright, let's go past the hedges, and into the orchard," Ron led the way, and one by one, they all stepped into the orchard. "Since we're in winter, the orchard is rather… dead… But the air is quite fresh up here."

"That it is," Hermione smiled and drew in a deep breath. "My parents and I often go to the country to visit my cousins, so I really love this sort of scenery."

"You have cousins?" Ron asked, and she gave him a nod. "You'll have to tell me about these cousins, I didn't know that you were close to your extended Family."

"Well, **I'm** not, but my parents are," Hermione said. "But, sure, I'd love to tell you about them."

"Is that a cornfield?" Theo was looking down to the right side of the orchard.

"It is," Ron confirmed. "It's full of ponds, and swampy areas, so we usually don't go in there."

"And it's just open hills to the left?" Malfoy asked. _He's really taking part in this tour, isn't he? Is he trying to distract himself? I guess it's a move in the right direction, at least for now._

"Yeah, we all go for long hikes sometimes," Ron replied. "If you keep heading left for long enough, you'll eventually reach Stoatshead Hill." _I plan to journey there alone soon. I want to meditate on that hill, and hopefully, advance my Occlumency somehow. Plus, that's where my Cycles started, and I just want to see it again._

"Which way is the village of Ottery St. Catchpole?" Hermione asked.

"To go there, you need to leave from the front exit," Ron explained. "Just follow the long lane that heads off the property, and it'll lead you to the village. It's a Muggle village, by the way, so we don't usually go there. Dad visits that place often, however, just to watch the Muggles go about their days."

"Are you kids hungry?!" came Molly's voice, and they all looked back to the Burrow. "I made some pies for you lot! Just a little snack before dinner! Come down!" _Pies?_

"The tour will recommence after I've eaten," Ron said, and then he made a beeline for the Kitchen. _I need to have my medicine as well, or I'll end up exhausted by the time dinner rolls around._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Ron, can you stay for a moment?" Molly asked as Ron was leading the way out.

"Sure," Ron stopped. "Guys, I'll meet you out front in a second."

The others all made their way outside, all of them except for Ginny.

"Ginny, I'd like to speak with Ron alone," Molly said, and after looking between the two of them, Ginny huffed and left without another sound. _I just can't believe that she is behaving this way. Maybe a strong slap will give her some manners?_ "You two are still fighting, aren't you?"

"She's the one who's being aggressive," Ron walked up to his mother. "Honestly, mum, she is behaving like a goon. If she keeps eyeballing me, there will be consequences." _Just ask the last cunt who pissed me off._

"Consequences?" Molly frowned a little. "She is your little sister, Ron, don't forget that."

"She's the one who's forgotten that we're siblings," Ron said petulantly. "Whatever… I don't want to spoil my mood."

"Your father and I will speak with her soon, I promise," Molly assured him. "Now… How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" Ron asked. "I feel fine."

"Are you sure?" Molly asked with a sharp gaze. "You look tired, love… And look at your skin, it's all pale and sickly."

"That's my natural complexion," Ron feigned hurt. "Why do you say these hurtful things?"

"Ronnie… I'm being serious," Molly patted his cheeks. _Stop calling me Ronnie._

"I haven't had my Nutrition Potion yet," Ron whispered, he didn't want her to get worried for his sake.

"All day?" she looked quite annoyed.

"My second dose, that is…" Ron said slowly. _I haven't told them yet, so I'll just ease them into it._

"Second dose?" Molly's annoyance was replaced by surprise.

"Sometimes, I need more than one to get me through the day," Ron said. "And today is one of those days." _Every day is one of those days, but I have to be smart about this. If I just drop the truth on her, she'll panic like Daphne did._

"Why haven't you told us this?" Molly asked him, her mouth hanging open a little. "Your… Your conditions are getting worse?" _Uh-oh._

"Not worse, mum, I'm just busier than I've ever been," Ron said calmingly. "My conditions are under control, I promise."

Molly said nothing, instead, she just stared at him in an attempt to divine the truth from his eyes. But try as she might, she just couldn't tell. Ron had become far too skilled in the art of deception.

"Ronnie, just tell me the truth, please," Molly decided to plead.

"I am," Ron sighed out. "Mum, I can't have you panicking like this every time my conditions are brought up. All it does is stress me even more."

"How do you expect me to react?" Molly asked him. _Panic in your own time, it does nothing to help me._

"How about you trust me?" Ron asked, and Molly adorned a rather sad look. "Mum… Please?"

"Do you have your medicine with you?" Molly asked, she had clearly ignored Ron's request.

"Yes," Ron pulled it out of his coat pocket. "See?"

"Please drink it," Molly said.

Ron uncorked the Potion vial, and then he quickly drank down the foul-tasting medicine. Once again, a shudder of disgust passed through Ron, the taste of his mother's cooking was now replaced with the taste of Troll piss. _I fucking hate this Potion._ A floorboard creaked behind Ron, and he turned around to see Kirsten and Charlie standing in the doorway. Ron subtly hid the vial behind himself, but both Charlie and Kirsten were just staring at him. _What are they looking at?_

"We can come back later," Kirsten said, and Ron blinked at her. _What the…?_

Kirsten quickly turned around and left, and Charlie, who was trying to act casual, followed her after giving Ron a smile. Ron just stared at the empty doorway, his pale eyes unmoving. _What an odd reaction… Even if they did see me drinking a Potion, why would they act all awkward and leave? I mean, Charlie might know what I just drank down, but not Kirsten. Unless…_ Ron's eyes turned cold as a realization dawned on him, what if Charlie had been running his mouth to his girlfriend? _Is that why she's been so kind and soft-spoken around me? Even at the Gala, she picked my side over her boyfriend's. I always thought that was weird._

"Ron?" Molly tapped his shoulder, and Ron turned around with his cold gaze.

"Why did Kirsten react that way?" Ron asked a little too calmly.

"Pardon?"

"She saw me drink a 'random' Potion, and she acted like she knew what I was drinking," Ron said, and Molly's eyes darted towards the doorway. "Mum… Has Charlie told her about my conditions?"

"She knows everything, Ron," Molly sighed out, and Ron felt the vial crack in his grip. _For fuck's sake!_

"Everything?" Ron asked. "You mean my scars? He's told her everything about me?"

"Ron, she's his girlfriend…" Molly started.

"I don't give a fuck about who she is," Ron's face contorted from rage, and he stepped into Molly's face.

Molly took a sudden step back, her figure shrinking as her face showed her sudden fear.

"Why did he tell her these things?" Ron hissed, but Molly just stared at his face with a frightened look. " **Talk!** "

"Everything alright in here?" came Bill's voice, but Ron just glared into Molly's eyes. _Damn idiots, the lot of them!_ "Ron? Mum?"

"Did Charlie tell his girlfriend about my conditions?" Ron looked back to his brother, who immediately adorned a worried look. _Fuck! What if she tells others?! Why would Charlie do something so stupid?!_ "You've got to be joking… Why did he do this?"

"It wasn't malicious," Bill whispered as he stepped into the room. "He was worried about you, and he needed someone to talk to… Ron, it's fine, she's a good person and she wants to help you."

"Help me?" Ron fought the urge to cringe. _Calm down, Ron. You need to calm down._

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he pictured himself on Stoatshead hill. A feeling of calm washed over him, and some of his anger was smothered. _He told some girl that he's fucking about_ _ **my**_ _problems._ Ron rubbed his face, and then he ran his hands through his hair. _Think. How do I deal with some random knowing about my biggest weakness?_ Ron frowned deeply when he realized that he couldn't bribe her, or intimidate her, without angering his own Family. _I don't have any power over this situation. Damn you, Charlie._

"Ron?" his mother called, an odd expression on her face. _Scared, but concerned._

"Sorry," Ron apologized in a sharp whisper. "Sorry for getting in your face like that… It was wrong… Mood swings…"

Bill and Molly exchanged pitiful looks at that, and Ron decided to ignore the pity in their eyes. _Act like a toddler, Ron, get treated like a toddler. Discipline your mind, that's what Snape would say._

"She's promised him that she'll never tell anyone," Bill assured Ron. "Trust me, she's the honorable sort."

"My conditions are **my** conditions," Ron told Bill, making sure to sound as calm as he could. "He has no right to tell my secrets to strangers."

"She's not a stranger, though," Charlie stepped into the room, and Ron noticed that Kirsten wasn't with him. _She probably overheard me, and she's staying away._

"For me, she's a stranger," Ron frowned at his brother. "You have no right to give out my personal information."

"Ron, just give her-" Charlie started, but Ron cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it," Ron interrupted. "Just tell her that she's never allowed to mention my conditions again. I don't need her help, nor do I want it." _I'm leaving… If I keep discussing this, I'll just get angrier and angrier. This is unbelievable… This is why I don't trust these people. They can't keep their mouths shut._

Ron made his way out, he honestly didn't know what to say to Charlie right now. _One more person knows now… I have no control over what she does with this information, and that just pisses me off._

"Everything alright in there?" Theo asked as soon as Ron exited the house, he and Malfoy were waiting by the door.

"How much did you hear?" Ron asked them.

"Enough to know that your brother Charlie likes to talk," Malfoy replied, and Theo shot Malfoy a quick look.

"Don't worry, Theo, I told Malfoy everything just a little while ago," Ron rubbed his face again, and then he looked at Malfoy with a dead serious look. "See? Bad shit happens, and you just have to deal with it."

Theo looked a little lost, but Malfoy just gave Ron an understanding nod.

"Why are you calling me Draco in front of the others?" Malfoy asked.

"Because I wouldn't invite you here if we weren't on a first name basis," Ron said offhandedly, his mind was fixed on Kirsten. "You need to refer to me as Ron instead of Weasley, got it?"

"What is going on?" Theo asked Ron. "Why have your parents brought Malfoy to the Burrow?"

"I'll explain later," Ron shot a look towards Ginny and the Golden Trio. "For now, just act natural…"

"Never a dull moment with you around, eh, Ron?" Theo shook his head. "Guess I'd better call you Draco as well in order to sell whatever lie I'm now a part of."

"Sorry," Ron sighed out. "We've hit a couple of setbacks, but it's nothing that we can't deal with. I just need to find a way to keep Charlie's big mouth shut, and you two need to keep playing nice. I want this Christmas to be successful, and that can't happen if we're all at each other's throats."

"Tell that to your sister," Theo frowned. "She's been eyeballing Mal… Draco… and me. She's not happy with you occupying her friends' time." _She realizes that they were my friends first, right?_

"Where is your good sister?" Malfoy asked.

"Luna?" Ron asked, and Malfoy gave a nod. "Probably at the Rookery… There are too many people in the Burrow, so I'm guessing that the Lovegoods have returned to their home." _A real shame too… I want to spend as much time with Pandora as I can._ "Did Ginny say anything to either of you?"

"No," Theo replied. "But from what we overheard, the twins are currently cleaning your father's shed. She was telling the Trio that she found their punishment to be too severe and unwarranted, but they didn't share her beliefs."

"Really?" Ron asked, that didn't sound right.

"Well, Granger made it quite clear what she thought of the twins' punishment," Malfoy corrected Theo. "Potter and Longbottom didn't say much on the matter, but they didn't disagree with either girl." _Sitting on the fence, boys?_

"Ron?!" Hermione waved at him. "Can we restart the tour?!"

"Yes, Ron, can we restart the tour?" Theo whispered with a smirk.

"Behave," Ron said, and Theo sniggered a little. "Yeah, Hermione! I'll be right over!"

"Your father and Percy Weasley are also in the shed," Malfoy told Ron. "He was being smug around the twins, and I think that he pissed them off."

"Great," Ron put on a smile, despite his tired tone. "Let's just finish this tour, and then we can wait for Daphne and Tracey in the Living Room."

With that said, Ron made his way over to the Gryffindors, his smile still in place. Harry and Neville were discussing the happy chickens that were running around the place, while Hermione was speaking to Ginny about something rather serious. _Ginny's not pleased with Hermione's enthusiasm? She always was the possessive sort._

"Alright, I'm back!" Ron announced, and the Gryffindors quickly gave him their attention. "This right here is our front yard, and usually, the chickens are in their coop. Mum likes to make food from fresh produce, and it doesn't get fresher than this. Plus, these chickens act as our morning alarms, which means that I never miss my morning runs."

"Where do you go?" Hermione asked, deciding to take part in the tour despite Ginny's behavior. "On your morning runs, that is."

"Sometimes, I just follow this towards the village," Ron replied. "Sometimes, I'll go towards the hills in order to run by the creek."

"There's a creek?" Neville asked.

"It's not very big, but yeah, there's a creek," Ron replied. "We used to go up there to swim when we were younger."

"You don't go now?" Harry asked.

"Well, it's been a while," Ron looked to Ginny, who was barely paying attention.

"Maybe we ought to go sometime," Theo suggested.

"In this cold?" Malfoy asked.

"I just want to see Granger in a bikini," Theo smirked, and Ron had to bite his cheek in order to not laugh at Hermione's shocked, and horrified, face.

Neville and Harry were both taken aback as well, but Ron could tell that they were also close to clocking Theo for making such a comment. As for Ginny, she was just staring at Theo with disgust.

"What?" Theo looked to Neville and Harry. "I think she's prettier than she lets on." _Why is Theo like this?_

"I… Um… I… Thanks…?" Hermione just blinked repeatedly. _He broke her brain?_

"Theo, behave," Ron cleared his throat.

"I didn't… bring any bikinis…" Hermione told Theo bashfully, which earned her hung jaws from Neville and Harry.

"That's a shame," Theo smiled at her.

"Hermione, don't acknowledge his comments!" Ginny reprimanded, and then she frowned deeply at Theo. "Nott, you're a creep."

"Oh, sorry…" Theo blinked at Ginny. "I forgot that you were here. Aren't you just… forgettable?"

Ginny glared murder at Theo, while Ron nudged his side.

"Ignore him, Hermione, he enjoys flirting with pretty girls," Ron said.

"Pretty?" Hermione looked more pleased than shocked, while Harry and Neville looked thoroughly bewildered. _I'm guessing that they don't see Hermione as a viable option to date._

"Anyway! Let's move onto dad's shed!" Ron announced, deciding to not tease Hermione anymore.

Malfoy was the first to follow after Ron, he clearly wasn't interested in Theo's antics. Theo followed next, looking all too calm despite his comments. Eventually, the Gryffindors joined Ron and his mates, and Ron noticed that Harry and Neville were standing at Hermione's sides. _They're playing bodyguard? Hermione might look a little confused, but she's blushing visibly. I don't think she minded Theo's flattery._

"Dad's shed is attached to the garage, which is where dad keeps his Ford Anglia," Ron said. "Harry, you remember the Ford Anglia, don't you?"

"I do," Harry replied.

"I kidnapped him from his Muggle Family in that car," Ron told the others.

"Kidnapped?" Malfoy asked.

"Harry?" Ron looked to the bespectacled wizard.

"They weren't nice people," Harry all but whispered, he clearly didn't want to discuss his Muggle Family. "Ron helped me out, and he brought me here. This was before second year started." _Yes, before you threw my friendship in the dirt. I don't remember Neville and Hermione rescuing you, and yet, you have nothing but respect for them._

"Did you drive all the way to a Muggle town?" Theo asked.

"No, the car flies," Ron replied.

"Ron! You can't tell them that!" Ginny looked outraged. "That's dad's secret!"

"Everyone in the British Ministry knows, Ginny," Ron gave her a bland look. "Dad pretty much tells everyone he meets about his Enchanted Ford Anglia."

"You have a flying car?" Theo looked truly excited. "Can we take it for a spin?!"

"Sure," Ron grinned. "I'll drive us around if we get the chance to nick it."

"Nick it?" Hermione asked.

"Well, dad won't give us permission, now, will he?" Ron asked. "Actually, he might, but mum never would."

"I'll pass, I think," Hermione said. "I don't want to insult your parents' hospitality by stealing your dad's car." _Harry, are you listening? Pay good attention to Hermione as she explains guest etiquette._

"I'll ask him," Ron compromised for Hermione's sake. "He's in the shed, right?"

"He's speaking with Percy," Ginny told Ron.

"Come on, let me show you his shed," Ron said as he began walking towards the shed.

"Wait… Why does your father have an Enchanted Muggle item?" Malfoy suddenly asked. "Didn't he pass a law which forbid wizards from keeping Enchanted Muggle items within Britain?"

"Dad put a loophole in his legislation," Ron smirked. "He's breaking no laws whatsoever, which means that not even the Ministry can take the Ford Anglia away."

Malfoy looked shocked to hear that Arthur Weasley of all people had tricked the Ministry of Magic, but that only served to make Ron feel proud of his father. _Yeah, my dad's pretty sharp as well. That is, when he wants to keep a flying car, anyway._ Ron knocked on the shed twice, and then he pulled the door open.

"Here we are," Ron said as he made his way inside. "It's quite spacious because dad keeps finding more and more items to study."

"Your father must be a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to Muggles," Theo stated.

"Yeah… No," Ron clicked his tongue. "Dad once spent five months trying to figure out what a rubber duck is used for."

"I had to tell him that it was a toy for babies…" Harry remembered.

"Oh," Theo looked a little disappointed.

They made their way further in, and eventually, Ron spotted the twins cleaning up the cobwebs from the rafters. They noticed the tourists quite quickly, and when their eyes landed on the guide, they frowned instantly. _Not happy to see me? Just wait a couple of days, we'll fix up our relationship before Hogwarts restarts. I know just how to win you both back._

"What are you lot doing in here?" Fred demanded, his eyes fixed on Malfoy again.

"I'm showing everyone around the Burrow," Ron replied. "These two gentlemen are our housecleaners, so if you need anything, just find them." _Damnit, Ron, don't be petty. Don't even tease them._

"Yeah, make fun of your brothers to please your snake friends," Ginny said coldly, and Hermione was frowning even before Ron. "What? He can make comments, but I can't?"

"I was teasing my brothers, while you're insulting our guests," Ron said bluntly. "Ginny, if you can't behave, then you ought to leave."

"Ron? Is that you?" came Arthur's voice, and then, Ron's father came around from behind a corner. "Oh! Everyone's here!"

"I'm giving a tour," Ron smiled at his father. "Do you want to take over?"

"I'd love to… But I'm trying to get the camera you bought me from Paris to work," Arthur replied. "Honestly, son, even Percy can't figure it out…"

"A Muggle camera?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione will know how it works," Ron said. "She's Muggle-Born, and she's the smartest witch in our year." _Ron, the silver-tongued bandit. How many hearts have I broken by now? They should write a book about me._

"I wouldn't say that…" Hermione shot him a weak smile. "My dad has a bunch of cameras, and I've learned a bit from him."

"Please, come this way," Arthur said quickly, and they all followed the Weasley patriarch.

Ron's company eyed all the Muggle artefacts in the shed, most of which were broken and salvaged from trash. Harry pointed out a broken television to Neville, while Hermione listed off any items that caught her attention. They all found Percy fidgeting with the camera on Arthur's workstation, and when Percy noticed them, he gave his father a sorry look.

"Dad, it won't turn on," Percy sighed out. "I think Ron bought a broken item."

"I hope not, that thing cost a lot of Muggle money," Ron said.

"Your mother won't be pleased to hear that," Arthur looked a little deflated. "She wants me to take pictures of all of you during the Break…" _Does she plan to make a collage of our final happy Christmas?_

"May I see it?" Hermione walked up to Percy, and he handed her the camera.

Hermione looked it over, and Ron saw genuine hope flash across his father's face.

"Well?" Arthur asked. "Is it broken?"

"Um… The battery is missing," Hermione looked to Arthur with a sheepish look. "Did the camera come in a package, Mr. Weasley?"

"It did," Arthur pointed towards the package, and Hermione quickly searched through it.

"Here," Hermione pulled out a black 'battery'. "See, I just have to put this in here… And now, I turn it on by clicking this button." Hermione then looked through the camera, and she took a picture of Arthur's awed face. "It took the photo, Mr. Weasley. You can view the photo from here."

Hermione showed Arthur the photo within the little screen in the back, and Arthur looked even more awed.

"This is a digital camera…" Hermione bit her bottom lip.

"That's sexy," Theo whispered to Ron.

"Stop it," Ron whispered back. _He'll get slapped by someone if he keeps going with this, despite how funny it is._

"What does that mean?" Arthur asked quickly. "Also, why was there no flash?"

"You can turn the flash on if you want to," Hermione replied. "As for this being a digital camera, it doesn't use film. You need a computer to print these images."

"Uh-oh," Ron looked to his father.

"My dad has a computer at home, so I can just ask him to print these photos," Hermione quickly solved the issue. "That is, if it's alright with you, Mr. Weasley?"

"Of course!" Arthur was just too awed to be put down. "You're a lifesaver, Hermione!"

"It's nothing…" Hermione smiled as she handed the camera to Arthur, who quickly took a photo of Ron.

"At least let me get ready," Ron clicked his tongue.

"All of you follow me outside!" Arthur said excitedly. "I'll take a picture of you all in front of the shed!"

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Yaxley Manor – Late Evening)**_

"Will the Bulstrodes help us?" Corban asked Felix, they were both currently in Corban's study.

"They agree that the French need to go," Felix replied. "I managed to convince them before they left to pick up their daughter."

"And what of Ronald Weasley?" Corban asked. "Are they willing to help us get rid of him?"

"No," Felix replied. "I told you, my Lord, killing this boy will not end well for us. Violet Parkinson is a bitter old hag, and she'll ruin what we're trying to achieve."

"Do you know why I want this boy gone?" Corban asked his young friend.

"He's dangerous," Felix replied.

"He is the biggest threat that we face right now," Corban clarified. "He is not only dangerous, but he is already our enemy without him even meeting us. Every time I hear, or read, about this boy, I am left impressed. He resisted fifty Veelas, he killed a Mountain Troll at eleven, he outmaneuvered us all by bringing the French here, and he owns a portion of **his** **own** Media." Corban then drew in a deep breath. "Far too many people have underestimated this boy because of his age, and he has only prospered because of that. I will not make the mistake of looking down on this enemy. I fear that he will go down fighting, and if we're not careful, he'll drag a lot of us down with him."

"You sound like you respect him," Felix pointed out. _How can I not?_

"I do respect him," Corban stated calmly. "We can only ever truly respect our rivals, Felix. My daughter tells me that he can burn things by touching them, or even freeze them solid."

"Wandless Magic?" Felix cocked an eyebrow.

"Progenitor Magic," Corban's eyes flashed for a moment. "That lightning display he pulled off… More Progenitor Magic. In my youth, I also looked into studying Progenitor Spells, but I found that I had no patience for it. It takes so much hard work, Felix, and yet, this boy is miles ahead of what I managed to accomplish. Do you know what that tells me?"

"He is a hard worker," Felix figured.

"Exactly," Corban clicked his fingers. _This is why I enjoy his company, he is at least able to keep up._ "Ronald Weasley isn't where he is by dumb luck, like many of our esteemed friends… He has worked to earn his power and influence. The fact that he is only thirteen should be a red flag, not something to scoff at. So, yes, Felix, I respect him greatly. And it pains me to know that he's not like us. Imagine what he could do for our cause if he was on our side." _I wonder what drives Ronald Weasley. No person can achieve what he has without something dire pushing them forward._

"He still could be," Felix said. "But if you kill him, you will never know. My Lord, I'll be dead honest here, I will not stand by you if you get caught for his murder. If we Pure-Bloods start killing children, that'll be the end of us. No amount of Daily Prophet articles, or charities, will ever wipe that stain clean. We'll be done for." _He isn't wrong, which is why I have doubts about Violet's plan._

"But letting him go about his business… That is equally dangerous to us," Corban said. "Something has to be done, Felix, and you know that."

"We take his power away," Felix said. "We get the French out of here as soon as possible, and we limit his contact with them. I've already set up the 'decoys' like you asked me to."

"How many?" Corban asked.

"Thirteen Ministry Officials who will swear that they were offered bribes from the French Families," Felix replied. "I've also made our payments to the French, and British, charities in order to take the moral high ground."

"And the British Ministry?" Corban asked.

"That's what I'm here to discuss," Felix replied. "We need to give them a hefty sum of money because once Madam Bones has returned to Britain, she'll need funding to clean up Knockturn Alley."

"The Aurors can't let crime keep growing," Corban nodded slowly. "You're right, Felix, we can use this to our advantage." _Plus, those Vampires have terrorized enough British Citizens. We have to get rid of them._

"I've heard rumor that the Minister is returning tomorrow," Felix said. "Apparently, Madam Bones has proven to be a better leader than him, and he's coming home early."

"She is a better leader than him," Corban stated. "There are only a few women in Britain who can match her will." _She'd make a good Minister for this country._ "I still haven't heard back from Lucius… I think we should go on without him."

"The sooner we act, the better," Felix agreed. "We reestablish our power by helping the Ministry, not by killing a boy."

Corban stood up at that, and he slowly walked over to his collection of expensive liquors. There was a part of Corban that didn't want to hurt the boy, he couldn't deny that. What most people didn't understand about Corban was that he truly loved his country. He wanted what was best for Magical Britain, but sometimes, he had to sink his hands into the filth to get the job done. _Perhaps Felix is right, and I'm listening to the counsel of a bitter woman. Violet's hatred of Weasley is very personal, which means that her judgement is clouded. I too felt this hatred when Lysandra told me that Weasley had taken her under his wing._

Corban made drinks for himself and his guest, his mind was thinking of a way to resolve this mess without hurting Ronald Weasley. _He is a British Citizen, and in his own way, he helped our country far more than my 'friends'. Does Weasley also share my love for this beautiful country? If so, I shouldn't snuff out his flame. Far too many of our young men have forgotten that the World still exists past Hogwarts, but not Weasley._

"If we don't kill him, should we speak to him instead?" Corban asked for advice.

"No," Felix said. "We're about to take away his allies, and possibly, his job… He won't be happy to see us."

"But what if we tell him of what the French planned to do up here?" Corban asked.

"The bribes aren't real, my Lord," Felix said. "We're making them up to discredit the French."

"We tell the boy the same thing we tell the Ministry," Corban said. "We give him a bone to chase after, while we continue to strengthen our position."

"That… could work," Felix nodded slowly. "He'll no doubt want to speak to the French, but by then, they'll be gone. He'll have to travel to France in order to speak to them, which would slow him down considerably given that he's a student." Felix then shifted in his chair. "What of Lady Parkinson? She has convinced the others to take Ronald Weasley's life."

"She will do as she's told," Corban handed Felix his drink, and then he sat down. "But just to be safe, we need to bring the Bulstrodes to our next meeting. We have to have the numbers on our side, Felix. I can convince many of our friends to stand behind me, but that could take time."

"She'll just go to someone else, then," Felix said. "This woman has a grudge against Weasley, and she'll see him dead with, or without, our help."

"Are you suggesting that we get rid of her?" Corban asked. "I'm sorry, Felix, but she is one of us, while Weasley is a Blood Traitor. I may respect him greatly, but I will not choose his life over one of ours." Corban then took a sip of his drink. "For now, let's worry about kicking the French out of Magical Britain. Once that's done, then we'll deal with Violet and Weasley." _We can't leave anything up to chance. This boy has proven himself to be clever,_ _ **and**_ _resourceful. He has powerful friends, and he has a magazine. These next few days will require all of my attention._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinner)**_

There were far too many people here, and because of that, Molly Weasley had set the dinner table outside. They were all enjoying a lavish feast under the stars, and Ron found himself immensely relaxed. A part of him was still unhappy with Charlie, but for the sake of Christmas, Ron had put his ill feelings aside. As for Kirsten and Charlie, they were currently eating on the adult side of the table.

Remus had also shown up out of the blue in order to surprise Sirius, and he was currently telling Sirius about his day to day life. The table was engulfed with merry conversations, but Ron knew that there was serious tension under the surface. The adults kept shooting looks at him, always making sure that he was eating and not getting sick. The twins, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Neville had all but quarantined themselves away from the Slytherins, and Ron knew that sooner or later, they would all lock horns. Was Ron bothered by this? Not really. He found mundane matters like arguing with his siblings boring, especially considering that Ron played in a completely different league from everyone else.

"There is so much food," Daphne said, she and Ron had found a 'quiet' corner to occupy together.

"Mum likes to impress," Ron smiled at Daphne, and then he put some mashed potato on her plate. "Eat, Daph, otherwise it'll just go to waste."

"I don't have four stomachs like you," Daphne smirked, but she tried the mash nonetheless. "It's so soft… Your mum really is a great cook."

"Why do you think I eat so much?" Ron laughed. "She spoiled me from an early age."

"Blaming your mother, Ron?" Daphne giggled. "Shame on you. You know what I think?"

"What do you think?" Ron asked.

"I think you secretly want to be chubby," Daphne said, and Ron snorted.

"As if," Ron shook his head. "Would you date me if I was chubby?"

"I don't know," Daphne shrugged. "Probably." Daphne then smiled playfully. "You forget that we started 'dating' before you began your training regimen." _And now, you love my abs. You're welcome._

Ron shot a quick look around the table, and he noticed that no one was watching them. Luna was too busy talking to Tori, while Theo and Tracey were sniggering to each other like little children. And as for Draco Malfoy, he was eating his dinner quietly, and away from everyone. Ron noticed how distant Malfoy looked, and he felt a bit guilty for ignoring him. _I should bring him over here. I did promise to take care of him, and I'm neglecting him right now._

"Ron, he's fine," Daphne whispered, she still couldn't believe that he was here. "Have your parents told you anything about him being here? Any clues at all?" _I already know why he's here. I had his mother abducted, while Dumbledore turned his Manor into a warzone._

"None," Ron whispered back. _Change the topic, Ron._ "Hey, what do you want for Christmas? I haven't asked yet."

"Smooth," Daphne smirked, but she decided to humor him anyway. "I want… a date."

"A date?" Ron blinked.

"We haven't been on an actual date since Hogsmeade," Daphne reminded him. "Remember how amazing that was?"

"You laughed until you were blue in the face," Ron smiled widely. "Alright, where do you want to go?"

"That place where you bought me a pork sandwich," Daphne scooted even closer to him. "That was a really good sandwich, Ron, you spoil me."

"Blaming me?" Ron sniggered, and she tickled his side. "Hey! None of that, or I'll be forced to retaliate. What would your parents say?"

"I don't care," Daphne said, and then she pecked him quickly. _They're right over there! Woman, do you want me to get assassinated?!_ "So? Can I have a date for Christmas?"

"I can arrange that," Ron rubbed her back instinctively. "You remember that French Christmas party I told you about?"

"We're still going together?" Daphne broke into a smile at the mention of it.

"We can turn the whole day into a date," Ron suggested. "We'll leave early in the morning, have breakfast at that Café, grab some ice-cream, peruse the stalls, and then go to the Christmas party."

"After the Christmas party, you can take me to that place," Daphne said, and Ron blinked at her.

"That place?" Ron asked.

"You know… **That** place…" Daphne whispered. _Wait… Oh!_

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. _Does she still want to meet Priscilla?_

"I am," Daphne whispered with a resolute look. "I want to see these people that you're helping."

"Alright, we can drop by," Ron agreed. _I still haven't paid my debt, now that I think about it. I should wait a few more days, I reckon. I can't let her know that I'm wealthy again, nor can I tell her how I became wealthy. Best be careful._

"I wonder how Squibs celebrate Christmas," Daphne said, and then she took another bite of mash.

"I… don't know," Ron admitted. "These kids probably haven't celebrated Christmas before…"

"Well, it'll be different this year," Daphne smiled at him. "I know that we fought about this, but I **am** proud of you, Ron. You really pulled out all the stops with this 'Orphanage'."

Ron felt his cheeks rise on their own, it felt good to be acknowledged. _I didn't do it for the praise, but if I am getting praised, I'm just glad that Daphne is the one doing the praising._

"Well, the Headmaster did most of the work…" Ron whispered, looking back down at his own plate. _Don't blush on the dinner table, Ron._

"True, but you brought the idea to the table," Daphne kissed his reddening cheek. "Sometimes, that's what's needed most. An idea man."

"Ronald Weasley, idea man," Ron chuckled. "Sounds silly, actually."

"No, it suits you," Daphne said.

"After we're done with our date, we still have a Christmas dinner to get through," Ron said. "Trust me, this feast is nothing compared to what mum has up her sleeve. I think all the adults have pooled their resources to make this a Christmas worth remembering."

"Which is a little odd," Daphne noted. "Why is **this** Christmas so important?" _Because it's the last one before we all know about the war. After this Christmas, things will get darker than they already are._ "Ron? You look worried…"

"Sorry," Ron shook his head clear.

"Do you know something?" Daphne asked him.

"I know that… we should just be happy in this moment…" Ron said, and Daphne looked a bit taken aback. "You never know when things can change, you know… Right now, we're all together. We're all eating good food, we're all getting along-"

"Debatable," Daphne shot a look towards the Gryffindors.

"We're not fighting, and that's enough for now, I think," Ron shrugged. "I think the parents want us to enjoy our childhood, and this is what feels right to them. It's familiar…" Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Daphne nodded with a smile. "They want us to be children, and nothing more."

"Ron!" came his father's voice, and Ron looked down the table. "Come over here for a bit, son! We want to talk to you!" _He's red in the face, and he's holding a pint… The man's drunk, isn't he? Which means…_

Ron realized that all the adults, except for Molly, Pandora, Lord Greengrass, and Mary, were drunk, which meant that Ron had no idea of predicting their behaviors.

"Sit with Malfoy, and talk to him, please," Ron whispered to Daphne, and after she gave him a nod, he left his chair.

As Ron made his way over to the adults, who were joined by Percy, Charlie, Bill, and Kirsten, he noticed an awful lot of stares being sent his way. _Ignore them, Ron. Being called over by the adults is no crime, and if they think that it is, then they are clearly suffering from delusions._

"Come, sit with me!" Arthur pulled Ron into a chair next to him.

"Have I been promoted to the adult table?" Ron joked, making a couple of them chuckle.

"I was just about to tell them about your plans with Fawleys!" Arthur laughed, his free hand patting Ron's back rather strongly. _Ease up there, dad. That kind of stings._

"Don't pat him so hard," Molly noticed that Ron wasn't enjoying it.

"Oh… Sorry," Arthur chuckled. "Go on, Ron, tell them. You'll do a better job than me." _Should I tell them? I mean, I've already told most of them, and some new developments have happened since then. But nothing is concrete, so giving them-_

"Are you debating with yourself?" Bill asked, a wide smile on his face. "Ron, just tell us, yeah? Don't be so secretive all the time." _Drunk as well, eh?_

"Well…" Ron started, his eyes darting towards Remus, who was listening with a smile. "I ran into the Fawleys at the Gala held for St. Mungo's, and we began debating the Werewolf Legislation."

"Really?" Sirius asked, and Ron noticed Percy's eyes dart towards Remus. _What the…? Does he know? How?_ "Well, go on, Ron."

"While we were debating, I realized that the Fawleys didn't really know much about the Werewolf Communities," Ron went on, deciding to ignore Percy for now. _I'll talk to him later._ "I gave Lord Fawley a hypothetical scenario that tugged on his heartstrings-"

"What scenario?" Remus asked as he leaned forward.

"I asked him what he would do if his Family was starving," Ron replied, he had noticed that the other children were trying to listen in. "I asked him if he would resort to petty theft in order to keep his children fed. Werewolves nowadays can't really find jobs because of the Werewolf Legislation, and because of that, many of them are forced to either leave the Wizarding World, or they resort to crime just to survive. The Fawleys hadn't really thought of that, and one thing led to another, and now, they want to open up a shelter of sorts for struggling Werewolf Families."

"A shelter… For Werewolves?" Remus' expression was hard to read. "Wow…"

"Isn't it amazing?" Arthur laughed. "Where do things stand right now, Ron?"

"I spoke with John, the Fawleys' second son, and he will pass on my message to his parents," Ron told everyone. _Bloody hell, everyone is staring at me._ "Hopefully, I'll have dinner with them during the Break, and at this dinner, I plan to bring Marietta Angel with me."

"Who's that?" Charlie asked.

"She's a reporter that I've hired for the Quibbler," Ron replied, and Xeno nodded to himself. _Good thing that I sent him a letter before revealing that._ "She has done extensive research on Werewolves, and she'll do a much better job at convincing the Fawleys than I ever could. I'll ask her to bring her articles with her-"

"She's written articles on Werewolves?" Pandora asked with her usual smile. "I haven't really read anything from her."

"Her articles were never published because the Daily Prophet didn't like the message that she was trying to spread," Ron replied. "The Daily Prophet enjoys pointing fingers because it raises their sales, so they don't need a reporter who tells the truth like it is. I, on the other hand, really loved her work, so I hired her on the spot. For example, I had no idea that children who are affected by the Werewolf Curse are left tied to trees during the full-moon."

"What?! That's barbaric!" Hermione looked disgusted. _So they are all listening in, eh?_

"It's for safety reasons," Remus said, though he looked quite bothered by that. _Did his parents ever…?_ "Younger Werewolves are the most vicious, and if you leave them tied to a tree, they'll spend all night attacking said tree. It's a cruel method, but it keeps people safe."

"Hopefully, we'll find a better way at this shelter for Werewolves," Ron smiled at Remus, who slowly smiled back. "With Marietta on my side, I'm certain that the Fawleys will fund this project. They have a record of helping the poor, and right now, the Werewolf Community is truly suffering." Ron then looked to a grinning Sirius. "Sirius, the Black Family hasn't been a part of charity work for over a decade, which is quite odd considering that you've been free for nearly two years."

"Huh?" Sirius blinked.

"I want you to back me on this," Ron said outright. "With your support already on the table, the Fawleys will take me even more seriously. Plus, I think it's about time that you reintegrated yourself into this country's politics." _The Black Family holds a terrible reputation, and you can help change that._

"I don't know about politics, but you've got my funding," Sirius said. "Whatever you need, Ron, just ask."

"Ron is right," Lord Greengrass finally spoke. "Black, you've been idle for too long. Like it, or not, but the Pure-Blood Families run this country, and since I'm with all of you now, I could use a powerful ally out there."

The mention of Pure-Blood Families seemed to bother the Gryffindor children, and most of them were giving Lord Greengrass bored looks. _Go on, say something rude to him… I'll fucking tear your tongues out._

"Am I being replaced?" James Davis laughed, which made the other adults chuckle.

"Never, James," Lord Greengrass assured his friend. "I just think that Black can do a lot more than he currently is."

"Tell you what?" Sirius smirked. "You call me Sirius, and I'll help you all you want."

Lord Greengrass didn't look very amused, but the other adults seemed to be enjoying the conversation.

"Ron, you have our support as well," Mary smiled at Ron. _Really?_ "It would look… odd… that we're not helping my husband's Apprentice accomplish his goals." _Ah, that makes sense._

"Thank you, Mary," Ron smiled widely. "There! We have the backing of two powerful, and wealthy, Families! The Fawleys will definitely want in on this, and our shelter could even support hundreds of Werewolves who have nowhere to go!" _This is a successful dinner. I'm glad dad brought me up here, it helped me accomplish a goal._

The adults applauded at that, much to Ron's surprise. _They're like children… Drunk, loud children._

"My son is helping save lives!" Arthur laughed above the others, once again patting the wind out of Ron's lungs. "Where's my camera?! I'll take some photos!" _Can you also find me a new set of lungs, please?_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Ron watched the other children socializing out near his father's shed, and he couldn't help but notice that the Slytherins and Gryffindors weren't approaching each other. Right now, it was like there were two gangs, and they were just waiting for the other to start a fight. Of course, they all smiled and laughed for the sake of the parents, but the tension was still there.

"What are you staring at, my sweet?" Pandora hummed, Ron's head was currently in her lap.

After dinner had ended, even the sober adults had started drinking at the table. This left Pandora slightly isolated, and Ron quickly asked her to spend time with him. Was he being needy? Yes. Did he care? Not one bit. He had missed her soothing presence greatly, especially in the last few days. They had found a bench just outside the Burrow, and Ron had quickly put his head on her lap for some head scratches.

"There's going to be a fight soon," Ron said, and Pandora started scratching his head again. _Head scratching is the best… I could fall asleep right now, and I wouldn't even care._

"I know," Pandora said. "I remember how seriously everyone took this House rivalry business."

"Did you take it seriously?" Ron asked.

"I did," she replied. "I was always trying to get Points from the Professors by being clever. This one time, I Jinxed McGonagall's books out of her hands without being seen. When she was picking them up, and cursing Peeves, I helped her gather them up. She gave me twenty Points for being a model student."

"Pandora…" Ron was quite shocked. "That's horrible." _And ingenious… I might try it out._

"I know, but I really wanted to help my House," Pandora laughed in an airy manner. "In a way, the friends you make at Hogwarts are your Family, and I wanted to help my Family win."

"Well, the division creates more conflict than bonds," Ron said. _I can't believe she did that to Professor McGonagall._

"Really?" Pandora asked. "Look around, Ron, there are so many people here. All of them come from different backgrounds, but they are united because their children are friends." _Oh…_

"I… I suppose that's true," Ron couldn't help but agree.

"Conflict is always easier to see because it's ugly," Pandora told Ron. "Sometimes, you have to force yourself to look at the positives, or you'll be consumed by the negatives. Yes, there will be some fighting in the next few days, but I'm certain that your time together will help you all better understand one another." _Is that why they're trying so hard to make Christmas work? They want us all to watch each other's backs?_

"You adults and your schemes," Ron snorted.

"Says you," Pandora pinched his cheek.

"Ow…"

"Your mother told me that you've stepped up to protect Draco," Pandora said, and Ron shifted in his spot a little. "I'm very proud of you, Ron. He needs a friend like you more than he thinks."

"I yelled at her today," Ron said guiltily.

"I know," she said, her hand still scratching his head. "She told me."

"It's just… Charlie shouldn't have told Kirsten about me," Ron sighed out. "I lost my temper, and I took it out on her… I feel terrible." _I hate feeling guilty, it's the worst._

"Did you apologize?" Pandora asked.

"I did, but that doesn't change what I did," Ron replied. "I managed to regain my senses, but by then, I had already done the damage."

"She mentioned that you suffered a mood swing," Pandora said.

"I think I did," Ron wasn't too sure himself. _Maybe I'm just an angry bastard? Maybe there was no mood swing at all?_

"She was scared, but I think that she understands that you're not like the other children," Pandora said gently. "She made sure to tell me that you calmed yourself down, Ron, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just make sure that you don't yell at her again, she is still your mother."

"I know," Ron yawned.

"Am I boring you?" Pandora chuckled.

"It's the head scratching," Ron said sleepily. "I don't know how you do it, but it's really soothing."

"Maybe I should stop?" she teased.

"Please don't," Ron pleaded. "Is mum upset with me?"

"No," Pandora replied. "Your mother and father are **truly** trying to be there for you, Ron, and this is another part of you that they're becoming familiar with."

"The prick part of me, you mean," Ron said, and Pandora clicked her tongue.

"None of that," Pandora said. "Everyone gets angry, Ron, and some more than others. What matters is that you recognized your mistake, and you quickly tried to fix it. Even a few months ago, you wouldn't have done that."

"Occlumency," Ron said, and Pandora stopped scratching his head. "I… I used Occlumency to calm myself down…" _The last time I told them about my Occlumency, it was to cover up that Boggart's death._

"Did you now?" Pandora started scratching again. "Do you have a tutor at Hogwarts, my sweet?" _Yes, but I haven't seen him in ages._

"Yeah, the Library," Ron lied calmly. "I spend too much time in there."

"Is that why I never see you around the castle?" came Remus' voice, and Ron pulled his head up from Pandora's lap.

"Professor," Ron smiled, and Remus chuckled.

"Remus will do, Ron," Remus said. "Pandora, may I speak with Ron for a bit?"

"Of course," Pandora stood up as Ron sat up, her hands supporting her back. "I need some water… My son is getting quite restless in there." _Is he?_

"He's just excited that I'm around," Ron grinned, and then he looked at her belly. "Aren't you, mate?"

"How long before we meet him, or her?" Remus asked.

"Soon," Pandora smiled fully. "If everything goes according to plan, then he'll be here by the end of February." _I can't fucking wait! Lysander Lovegood… My Godson!_

Pandora left to go get a drink, and Remus took her spot to Ron's right.

"I'm glad you came," Ron started. "I thought that you were staying at Hogwarts for the Break." _He's going on a mission soon, isn't he?_

"Your father is very persistent," Remus chuckled. "As for you mother… Well, she frightens me."

"You should teach a class about her," Ron joked. "Molly Weasley, Danger-Class XXXXX."

"The thought has crossed my mind," Remus laughed.

"So… Why did you want to speak to me?" Ron asked. "Is it about my project with the Fawleys?"

"Yes," Remus smiled, he seemed a lot calmer with some alcohol in him. _That, and he's finally reunited with his man-wife._ "Let me just start off by thanking you-"

"There's no need for that," Ron said, there really wasn't.

"I think there is," Remus said. "Ron… Even a few years ago, something like this would be unheard of. Hell, it still is… It means a lot to me that you're trying to help less fortunate Werewolves. Had things been different, I might have been one of the people that you plan to shelter." _Is he an emotional drunk?_

"I just hope that some of the other wealthy Families learn from this," Ron said. "Remus… Did your parents ever… you know… tie you to a tree?" _Smooth, Ron. Real fucking smooth._

Remus' smile wavered, and he just stared at Ron for a little while.

"It was for my own safety," Remus all but whispered, and Ron felt his heart clench. "I was turned when I was nearly five… I was extremely dangerous, especially when the moon was out. And whenever there was a full-moon, I turned into a monster…" Remus then looked towards the other children, a somber look on his face. "The transformation is extremely painful, especially for children. I scratched and bit myself in order to lure my parents towards me, but luckily, my father always held my mother back. They used to sit with me all night, you see… They didn't want me to be alone. Eventually, however, I outgrew being tied to a tree, so they built a panic room in the house. It cost them everything that they had saved up…"

"I'm sorry, Remus," Ron rubbed the older wizard's back. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories…"

"It's alright," Remus put on a smile for Ron's sake. "I wanted to tell you just how much this means to me. There are kids out there who could use a safe, warm shelter to call home. You and the Fawleys have my eternal gratitude for this."

"You know… We'll need staff members," Ron gave Remus' shoulder a squeeze. "Maybe once you get tired of teaching brats like me, you'll think about working at the shelter? You know, be a role model for some of the younger Werewolves?"

"I… I think I would really like that," Remus admitted, and then he ruffled Ron's hair. _My amazing hairdo!_ "You've grown up quite a lot, Ron. It's a wonderful thing to see."

"Merlin, you're sappy when you're drunk," Ron laughed. "I haven't grown up that much, Remus. I still do stupid things that I regret later."

"Here's a secret," Remus smirked. "That never goes away. I still do plenty of things that I regret later." His smirk was suddenly replaced with a sorry look. "For example… I feel like I've alienated you over the course of the Dueling Club…"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked, what was that supposed to mean?

"I know I set a lot of extra rules on you, but it wasn't to handicap you," Remus said. "I just didn't want you to take things too far like you did with Seamus… People remember these sorts of things, Ron, and I didn't want you to make enemies. If you had hurt Hermione, Harry would never forgive you. If you had gone too far with Blaise, you'd never forgive yourself. Magic is not something to be taken lightly, it has the potential for great chaos."

"Remus… I'm not upset with you," Ron assured the man. "My tutor was upset with you, but I don't really care that much. I know I was a little heated in the moment, but that was just adrenaline. I followed the rules in the end, didn't I?" _Sure, I was a little upset, but not enough to ignore the man._

"You said that you'd come over when you had spare time for a few lessons," Remus said softly. "But you never did… I thought that you didn't want to see me." _Oh, my… I fucking forgot again! And Remus really is an emotional drunk!_

"There is clearly a misunderstanding here," Ron said slowly. "I'm not upset with you, Remus, I simply forgot… I've just been really busy with things like the Quibbler, and this shelter, and the French… A lot of my time goes into training, studying, and plan making."

"Really?" Remus asked, he looked a little relieved.

"Really," Ron replied. "I'm sorry for my forgetfulness, I didn't even think that I might have bothered you."

"No… No, it's like you said," Remus let out a held breath, and then he smiled fully. "It was a misunderstanding on my part. I'm just glad that I was wrong."

"So we're okay?" Ron asked.

"Yes, more than," Remus nodded. "The lessons are still up for offer, if you want." _Yes, please. Teach me your ways._

"You got your wand?" Ron smirked.

"I do, but not tonight," Remus laughed. "Your mother would have my head for certain, I promise you."

"What about once I come back to Hogwarts?" Ron asked. "First week back?"

"I'll be sure to keep reminding you this time," Remus stood up, and Ron followed suit.

Remus pulled Ron into a manly hug, and because of Remus' taller height, Ron barely managed to rest his chin on the man's shoulder.

"We're hugging…" Ron was a little surprised.

"You're a good lad, Ron," Remus gave Ron a squeeze. "We're all very proud of you." _Merlin, what is happening?_ _ **Why**_ _is it happening?_

"Thanks, Remus," Ron patted Remus' back.

Remus let go of Ron, gave the young wizard a firm nod with a smile, and then he left to go join the adults again. Ron watched him leave quietly, the adults needed to slow down on the drinking. _Even Lord Greengrass looks quite tipsy. And yet, he's not smiling. How did he score a woman as bright as Mary?_

"What was that about?" came Daphne's voice from behind him, and Ron jumped a little.

"Good Lord, don't do that," Ron breathed out.

"Sorry," Daphne giggled. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"What was what?" Ron looked to Daphne.

"Professor Lupin was hugging you," Daphne replied. "I only noticed because I saw Potter staring at you two." _Harry was watching? Pervert… No, all jokes aside, I shouldn't get too cozy with Harry's 'parents'. He might start hating me again, which would be annoying to say the least._

"Remus is just drunk," Ron shrugged. "He came over to talk to me, and after we finished, he just hugged me."

"So you're free now?" Daphne decided to not pry.

"I am," Ron said.

"Excellent!" Daphne beamed. "Theo mentioned that I get a private tour!" _Did he now? Well, thank you, Theo._

Ron shot a quick look at the other children, and he saw Malfoy speaking with Theo and Tracey. _He's not alone, good._

"Where is Tori?" Ron asked.

"She's with Luna," Daphne replied. "Luna is showing Tori your dad's shed right now, because apparently, it's filled with 'Lost Wonders' of the Muggle World." _Ha! It's all garbage, I'm sure. Plus, Luna thought that Muggles were animals not long ago, whereas Tori knows quite a lot about Muggles due to her time in Paris._

"My special tour starts at the back of the stone outhouse, which is found in the backyard," Ron grinned. "Near the orchard."

"Ohhh, an orchard?" Daphne smirked. "Lead the way, please."

* * *

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Crack of Dawn)**_

The crowing of a rooster woke Ron up, and he sat up immediately in order to check if his glove was still on. The other four boys stirred in their sleep, but none of them bothered to wake up fully. Ron had slept in the middle of the Slytherins and Gryffindors, mostly with the intention of keeping the peace. The Gryffindor boys had spent most of their night in the twins' room, which meant that Ron and his mates had gone to sleep by the time Neville and Harry returned. _I have to hop off this bed… This is why I didn't want to sleep in the middle._

Ron carefully slid out of his bed, he knew which floorboards to avoid after all. Once he was safely on solid ground, he grabbed his running gear and snuck out of the room. The Burrow was illuminated by the rising sun, which gave it an extremely peaceful ambience. This peacefulness also served to make Ron more excited about his morning run. He had missed running around the Burrow. _Fresh air, beautiful hills, and the perfect morning breeze. None of that frozen Black Lake chill._

Once Ron had changed in the bathroom, he left his pajamas in the laundry bin. From there, he carefully made his way down. It was clear that no one was awake yet, and Ron figured that the adults needed to sleep in after their wild night. _Not one adult came looking for Daphne and I, and we were gone for nearly thirty minutes._ Just as Ron made his way into the Kitchen, Charlie turned the corner in order to go up the stairs.

"Merlin's beard…" Ron stopped abruptly, while Charlie jumped in panic.

"Fucking hell…" Charlie breathed out, while Ron eyeballed his brother. _He's wearing his running gear? Guess I'm not going alone today._ "I was just coming up to get you…"

"What are you doing awake so early?" Ron asked.

"Waiting for you," Charlie walked back into the Kitchen, and Ron followed after him. "He's here."

Inside the Kitchen were Kirsten and Bill, both of them were also wearing their running gears. _Actually… What is Bill wearing?_ Bill noticed his brother staring at him, and he shrugged with a smile.

"Charlie lent me his old gear," Bill said. "It doesn't really fit me because Charlie's a gorilla."

"Sod off," Charlie frowned, he was not a morning person despite his habits.

"He's hungover," Bill chuckled, while Kirsten just lingered in the back. _Great… I sense a heart-to-heart before breakfast._

"Right…" Ron said slowly, and then he headed for the door. _No time to waste._

"Slow down," Bill caught up to him, while Charlie and Kirsten followed after a few moments.

The fresh, cool air did wonders for Ron's lungs, and he drew in a deep breath before he started stretching. Bill stopped to his left, and he began copying Ron's stretches.

"Bill, have you ever gone running before?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"When I was a kid, yeah," Bill replied. "But I was never really into athletics, at least not like Charlie."

"Charlie… And his girlfriend," Ron shot a look back, Kirsten and Charlie were stretching together by the entrance. "I imagine that Charlie has something to say to me."

"Now that you mention it," Bill nodded to himself. "Kirsten understands your skepticism, but Charlie thinks that you're being too closed off. It's his girlfriend, Ron, and you weren't exactly quiet about your discontent."

"Oh, no, I've hurt a woman's feelings," Ron drawled, and Bill opened his mouth. "Yes, Bill, Charlie is the woman in this."

"I figured," Bill sighed out.

"I haven't even had breakfast yet," Ron said. "He better not bring this shite up while I'm running." _A peaceful morning is about to get ruined by someone's whining. That's just what I wanted…_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Please…" Bill wheezed, and Ron stopped running.

"Guys! Wait!" Ron called, and both Kirsten and Charlie stopped running as well.

Bill bent over and let out a jagged breath, he was sweating buckets.

"We made it to the creek… You promised me that we'd stop here…" Bill rolled onto his back, his hands resting on his heaving chest. "I can't run any more… I'm done… This was a terrible idea…"

"Is he done?" Charlie walked up to Ron, who was just staring at Bill's defeated form.

"Yeah, he's done," Ron said. "You two can go on if you like, but I'll stay here with Bill until he recovers. We can meet back up at the Burrow."

"No, it's alright," Charlie shook his head. "We'll all head back together." _So this is where he ambushes me?_

"C'mon, Bill," Ron carefully helped his older brother up. "The creek is right there, and you can wash your face with the cold water."

Bill made no effort to carry his own weight, but Ron managed to get him to the creek without relying on Cutis Terra. Once they were near the bed of water, Bill quickly began washing his face. Some of the cold water hit Ron, but he didn't really mind. He was wearing his Training Outfit, which happened to cover his entire body, and so Ron was burning up himself. _The hills are harder to traverse than the shore of the Black Lake. It's great. My legs are burning quite nicely._ Charlie also made his way down, and like Bill, he began washing his face.

"Is he alright?!" Kirsten called, she was still keeping her distance from Ron. _She thinks that I'm upset with her, but I'm really not. It's Charlie who's at fault here. I can't even rely on my brother to keep my secrets. I was right to hide my problems from the others. We Weasleys are notorious for running our mouths. Well, most of us, anyway._

"He'll live!" Charlie called back. "Kirsten! Come down and wash your face! The water feels amazing!"

"No, I'm fine!" Kirsten called, and Ron noticed mild annoyance cross Charlie's face. _I'll leave, and then she'll come down._

Ron headed back up towards dry land, but the sound of Charlie's footsteps stopped him.

"Charlie, don't," Bill groaned as he got up.

"Apologize to her," Charlie turned Ron around a little too harshly. _Oi! That fucking hurt!_

"Don't manhandle him," Bill snarled as he pushed himself between Ron and Charlie. "What the fuck, Charlie? Control yourself."

"Charlie! Don't!" Kirsten ran down, she looked just as furious as Bill.

"He needs to apologize for his behavior-" Charlie started, but Ron cut him off.

"This is the second time that you've put your hands on me in anger," Ron said coldly, enough was enough. _It's always something, and that's only the case because I'm too soft around these people._ "Don't ever do that again, Charlie."

"Or what?!" Charlie snapped. "Listen to him! He's so damn cold to-!"

"Kirsten, your parents live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Tohani," Ron said, and everyone went dead quiet.

Kirsten looked like she had been kicked by a mule, while Charlie's jaw dropped open. _What? You think I wouldn't look up the girl that you're sleeping with? It took Marty less than two hours to find them._

"Their front porch is filled with potted plants, and their front door is bright purple," Ron went on. "They have no Protective Wards around their property, mostly because your father has friends in the Aurors Department of Romania. Your mother-"

"Stop…" Kirsten muttered, her feet trying to carry her away. _Now they're scared, aren't they? Now they don't have any pity in their eyes._

Ron let out a laugh that chilled Bill and Charlie's souls, and then, Ron simply stopped, malice gleaming in his eyes.

"I don't know how this happens…" Ron shook his head, he was trying his best not to laugh at how ludicrous this all was. "I don't know why you all assume that, just because I'm sick, I'm a helpless little bunny. I don't understand."

"Ron…" Bill stepped back next to Charlie, who was still just gaping at Ron.

"Let's get one thing clear," Ron said, and then he turned his head and cracked his neck. "You are **not** in my league. Your feelings, and your whining, mean nothing to me. You, Charlie, told my secrets to someone that **I** don't know, and now, you're asking me to apologize to her even though I'm not upset with her." Ron then looked to Kirsten. "And you… Why don't you fucking grow up a little? Why is it that every time we meet, Charlie comes to me in an angry huff? What? You don't like the fact that I'm not showering you with my attention? You don't like the fact that trust is difficult for me? Too bad. I don't fucking care. That's **your** problem, not mine."

"I want you three to listen to me right now," Ron went on, his voice barely louder than a cold whisper. "I have reached my limit with idiotic, angst-filled drama such as this. I am done with Ginny's hostile behavior. I am done with the twins' delusions. I am done with people barking orders at me. And most importantly, I am done stressing over your opinions of me. Enough is enough." _I have killed for less._

Ron then drew in a deep breath, he was actually feeling quite calm.

"Now, you might be thinking that I'm being cold and immature here, but I assure you, it is you, Charlie, who is acting like a prick," Ron said. "I want this Christmas to work, not for my sake, but for the sake of the parents. They have worked hard to bring us all together, and I want to fix as many divides as I can. Your anger on your girlfriend's behalf comes from your own actions, not mine. Don't. Ever. Lay. A. Finger. On. Me. Again. You don't who you're fucking with, and just because you're Family doesn't mean that I'll stand for disrespect like that."

Ron then walked forward and pointed his gloved finger in Charlie's face.

"I'll break your fucking legs, Charlie, and I'll make her watch," Ron warned. "Have I made myself clear?"

No one said anything, which somewhat annoyed Ron. _Scare them a little._

"ANSWER ME!" Ron yelled, and while Kirsten let out a little shriek, both of his older brothers jumped in their spots.

"Alright… Alright…" Bill said calmingly. "We understand…" _No, you don't. Not yet._

"Don't speak like that," Ron said. "I'm not angry, Bill. If I was angry, you would know. I promise."

Ron then walked back to the creek, making sure to keep his mind focused on Stoatshead Hill. _Be even calmer, Ron. End this sort of behavior once and for all._

"We will never speak of this conversation again," Ron looked back to Kirsten and his brothers. "You want my trust, Kirsten? This is how you earn it. Don't expect me to give you handouts because you're Charlie's girlfriend. I don't think like that. I go up against people who want to ruin my life, who want me dead." Bill and Charlie exchanged glances, but they said absolutely nothing. "I can't have my focus split by this sort of childish finger-pointing. I don't owe you anything, Kirsten, so don't come to me with a long face because **you** don't feel welcome. I am simply minding my own business, and in no way is that an attack on your feelings."

"Now, despite my annoyance, I will let this whole thing slide," Ron continued. "What's done is done, Charlie. You told Kirsten, and I can't make her forget. So… We will never speak of it. She will never tell another soul, and neither will you. Am I understood?"

"Yes," Kirsten said, she looked like a scolded child.

"Good," Ron nodded. "We're going to go back to the Burrow now, and I want nothing but smiles and laughter. Mum will be down in order to make us breakfast, and I don't want her dealing with this mess first thing in the morning. She has a lot of pressure on her with so many kids running around, and you will not make her life harder by fighting with me in public."

Ron then began his journey back home.

"Are you coming?!" Ron called, and he heard feet shuffling from behind him. _Honestly, it's like I'm surrounded by children. All of them find reasons to throw tantrums in my direction, and I'm so sick of that tripe. Bloody hell, they pretend like they're adults, but they behave just like the kids at Hogwarts._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Extremely Early in the Morning)**_

Daphne tiptoed down the stairs like a thief in the night, putting on her boots was not a good idea. _I should've waited until I was in the Greeting Room._ Daphne, like all sensible girlfriends, wanted to make a stronger impression on her boyfriend's mother, and so, she had come up with a clever little scheme. _Part-scheme, part-actual-desire._ She was going to make Ron breakfast this morning, and she would do it with the help of Molly Weasley.

Daphne had never cooked a thing in her life, and when she thought about it, she hadn't even been to the Kitchens of her own Manor. She, and Tori, had never shown any interest in cooking. Sure, they both enjoyed eating, but cooking had always seemed too plebeian. And yet, she somehow felt the need to cook something for Ron. _It's because mother made that joke once… 'The only way to a man's heart is through his stomach'. Well, Ron loves eating, so I want to try my hand at cooking. Plus, Ron keeps boasting about his mother's cooking skills. Wait… Am I jealous of Molly Weasley? Merlin, Daphne, you're spiraling into insanity. Is this what 'Crazy in love' means?_

Daphne pinched some floo-powder, and then she cast it into the fire.

"The Burrow," she whispered, and the flames turned green.

Daphne jumped through the fire before she could change her mind, and she found herself standing in the Burrow's Living Room. _Oh! The ambience in here is lovely. Nice golden light everywhere, and the house is warm instead of cold like the Manor._ Daphne calmly walked towards the Kitchen, where she spotted a frazzled Molly Weasley already preparing to cook.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Daphne greeted, and the shot a confused look back.

"Daphne?" Molly rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing here so early?"

Molly then looked Daphne over, her eyes scanning the girl's Muggle clothes.

"Jeans are better than a dress when it's this cold," Daphne said, and Molly gave her a slow nod.

"They're a bit… revealing…" Molly said. _Really?_

"These are skinny jeans," Daphne said. "It's what all the Muggle girls in my age group wear."

"I see," Molly nodded more surely. "Muggles… What a funny lot." _That's something my father would say._ "So? Why are you here so early? Ronnie's on his morning run right now. I'm just cooking up some breakfast for him." _Perfect timing._

"And that's why I'm here," Daphne smiled. "I want to make Ron breakfast."

Molly Weasley looked quite taken a back, but she quickly fixed her apron and adorned a more amused look. _What's with that look?_

"I understand," Molly chuckled. "When I got my first boyfriend, I also made him food. Actually, I still do." _Arthur Weasley was her first boyfriend? Wow, that's really sweet._ "Before we start, though, I need some eggs."

"Eggs?" Daphne blinked. "You don't have any on hand?"

"Well, I do in a manner of speaking," Molly smiled. "The eggs are in the chicken coops. You'll have to collect them for me, and please, do it quickly." _Collect eggs? From actual chickens?_

Molly turned around, grabbed a small basket, and then she handed said basket to Daphne.

"Mrs. Weasley… I've never done something like this before," Daphne lost much of her gusto. "What if they attack me?"

"Oh, the hens are very subdued," Molly assured her, and Daphne relaxed a little. "It's Balthazar that you need to worry about."

"Who?" Daphne muttered.

"Balthazar, our rooster," Molly's lips twitched upwards. "He's usually not around at this time because he enjoys walking around, so you might not even see him. Now, off you go. I'll get the pans and sausages ready."

Molly went back to her work with a happy smile, but Daphne just stood there with a dumbstruck look. _Snap out of it, Daphne. She might be testing you. Yes… That's exactly what she's doing. She thinks that I'll just go home, which will tell her that I'm not good enough for her Ronnie. Well, I'm onto you now, Mrs. Weasley. You can't scare me._

"How many eggs?" Daphne asked, her Ice-Queen persona in place.

"Grab them all," Molly hummed, and Daphne walked out with her head held high. _All of them?! What if Balthazar shows up?!_

As soon as she stepped outside and closed the door, her face fell. _I want to go home. What was I thinking? I forbid Tracey to sleep in my room because I wanted to wake up early, and this is what I get?_

Daphne carefully approached the chicken coop, her eyes peeled for Balthazar. _Wait… What does he look like?_ Horror dawned on her as she realized that Balthazar could be any one of the chickens. _Ron better love this breakfast!_ Once Daphne was standing behind the rather large chicken coop, she opened the tiny door in the back and entered. The coop was larger than it look from the outside, which made Daphne wonder if Magic was being used on the chicken coop. _Sort of like our Training Area._ She still had to keep her back hunched over, and once she saw the hens sitting on their nests, she made her way over to them.

"Good morning," Daphne eyed each chicken. "I hope none of you are Balthazar. Do roosters even lay eggs?"

The hens clucked at her as they left their nests, and Daphne held her breath instead of screaming. One by one, they all vacated the coop by going through the open doorway which led to the caged area. _Now's my chance!_ Daphne quickly began to collect the eggs, which felt very warm and sticky. _Ignore the grossness, Daphne. You're almost done._ Once she had her eggs in her basket, she let out a little squeal of victory. _Alright, control. Be confident, not whimsical._ Daphne quickly composed herself, and then she too exited the pen.

As she stood up straighter, she noticed that a chicken was standing in front of her. It was bold white, and it had fiery red streaks through its feathers. Daphne met the chicken's gaze, its beady little eyes were fixed on her. _Why does this chicken have a bright red comb on its head? Wait… Oh, no… Is this…?_

"Balthazar, I presume…" Daphne let out a whimper.

Balthazar spread his wings and hissed in a terrifying manner, and Daphne screamed at the top of her lungs as she bolted towards the door. _Not like this! Gods, please! No!_ For a flightless bird, Balthazar was horrifyingly fast, and so he was already on her feet within a second. The murderous hisses were accompanied by the fluttering of feathers, and Daphne shrieked again as she felt her feet brush past him.

"Mrs. Weasley!" Daphne screamed as made a hard right, effectively breaking off Balthazar's chase.

By the time a window popped open, Balthazar was already behind her feet again. _He's trying to kill me!_

"Daphne?" came Mrs. Weasley voice, it was filled with mirth.

"Balthazar!" Daphne screamed as she ducked, and the rooster went over her head. "He wants to scratch my face!"

"He doesn't have any talons," Molly laughed. "Stop running from him, he's harmless if you don't rile him up."

"He's riling me up!" Daphne shrieked as she sidestepped the blood-crazed rooster. "Please, help me!"

"Oh, alright," Molly laughed, and within a second, Balthazar slowed down immensely. _The Impediment Jinx?! Now's my chance!_

Daphne ran straight back towards the door, and the moment she was inside, she slammed the door shut. _I survived?! I did it?!_ Daphne let out a victorious laugh, completely forgetting the fact that her hair was all over her face.

"Mrs. Weasley, I did it!" Daphne strolled into the Kitchen, her voice full of life and relief.

"You're very quick on your feet," Molly laughed wholeheartedly.

"I practice my dodges," Daphne laughed as well.

"Dodges?" Molly blinked with a smile on her face.

"Here are the eggs," Daphne offered Molly the basket. "I was careful not to tip any of them."

"Thank you," Molly accepted the basket, though she had questions about these 'dodges'.

"So, can we start now?" Daphne asked. "I want it to be ready before Ron gets back." _Was that too pushy?_

"Of course, come with me," Molly shook her head clear.

They walked over to the cooking area, and while Molly checked the eggs for damages, Daphne fixed her hair back in place using a clean dish's reflective surface. _It's still a little messy, but it'll do._

"Before we start," Molly suddenly walked up behind Daphne. "We need to tie your hair up into a ponytail."

"We do?" Daphne asked. _Why? What does my hairstyle have to do with cooking?_

"It's quite long, so it might touch a hot surface," Molly replied. _Oh._ "A ponytail makes it manageable, or you can wear your hair up like me."

"I see," Daphne nodded to herself. "I'll take the ponytail."

"I'll go grab a hair tie," Molly said. "Why don't you have a glass of water, Daphne? You did exceptionally better than I thought you would." _Aha! So it really was a test? I'm a genius._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron stepped into the Burrow with a happy smile, he could already smell breakfast. _This is the life. I go for my run, and when I get back, there's fresh food waiting for me. Merlin, I missed the Burrow._ As Ron stepped into the Kitchen, he was met with a rather bizarre sight. Daphne, who had her hair in a ponytail, was setting up the table, something that Ron was certain that she had never done. _Wait… Why is she here so early?_

"Ron!" Daphne smiled at the sight of him, and Ron's smile widened automatically.

"Hello," Ron greeted her, and Molly turned around at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, you're back," Molly said. "Well, don't just stand there, take a seat. Daphne, dear, grab Ron something to drink."

"I'm on it," Daphne walked over to the counter, grabbed the jug of pumpkin juice, and poured Ron a glass.

She even walked up to him and handed him the glass, while Ron just watched her with a curious smile. _I'm kind of lost, but I think Daphne's trying to impress mum._ Ron drank down the entire glass in one go, and just as he finished, he heard his 'companions' enter the house from the front door. _They finally caught up?_ Daphne tugged at Ron's sleeve until he followed her to his chair, and Daphne took the glass in order to pour him some more juice. _I could get used to this royal treatment._

"Good morning," Bill greeted everyone in the room, his eyes lingering on Ron.

Ron signaled him to smile properly, and Bill did as he was told. _I'm pretty sure Daphne helped make this breakfast, so if you ruin it, I'll make you three choke on it._

"Bill? You went as well?" Molly eyeballed her eldest. "Look at the state of you… Is that sweat?!"

"Sweat, and water from the creek," Bill said sheepishly, while Kirsten and Charlie lingered in the back.

"Go and wash up," Molly shook her head. "You're not sitting on my table looking like that." Ron got up to leave as well, but Molly clicked her tongue. _What?_ "Ronnie, you can stay." _I can?_

Ron sat back down, while the other runners left for upstairs. _They're not smiling, or laughing. Hopefully, mum doesn't catch on. Useless._

"Here," Daphne sat down to Ron's right, and then she handed him the glass.

"Daph, what are you up to?" Ron whispered, and Daphne simply smirked. "C'mon… Tell me."

"Daphne helped me make breakfast this morning," Molly said as she walked over with the frying pan. "She was very… brave." _Brave? What?_ "Here you go."

Molly emptied the pan's content onto his plate, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages. _Wow, that's quite a lot. Eh, who am I to refuse food?_ Ron grabbed his fork and knife, and he tried the eggs first. They tasted exactly like his mother's cooking, which made Ron question whether Daphne actually helped. _She probably followed mum's instruction to the letter._

"This is really good," Ron dug in, and he heard Daphne let out a relieved breath. "Daph, grab some cutlery. We can just share the plate."

"Oh, I'll just help your mother-" Daphne started.

"Nonsense," Molly waved a dismissive hand. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

"No," Daphne admitted.

"Then you tuck right in," Molly smiled. "Your help was wonderful, dear, but I can't let you starve, now, can I? What would your mother say?"

"I suppose that's fair," Daphne agreed, and Ron knew her enough to know that she was relieved. _She came to make me breakfast, not the others. That's really cute._

"So how were you 'brave' in making breakfast?" Ron asked, while Daphne helped herself to some eggs.

"She met Balthazar," Molly chuckled, and Daphne flushed a little. _Balthazar? Did he chase her?_

"That monster needs to be put down," Daphne huffed in indignation.

"Did he chase you?" Ron sniggered, but Daphne said nothing. "Daph, that's a game he plays. He runs after you, and then, you run after him."

"He was hissing like some demon," Daphne stuck her nose in the air. "He tried to jump on my head."

"He just wanted to perch himself on your shoulder, dear," Molly laughed, she had barely kept her cackling to herself.

"What's with all the noise?" came Sirius' voice, and Ron looked to see him stumbling into the Kitchen.

He was wearing his clothes from last night, there were prominent bags under his eyes, and he supported a rather attractive stubble. _He slept in the Living Room?_ Molly gestured him to take a seat, and he did so with a tired and pained expression.

"My fucking head…" Sirius groaned, and Ron immediately sniggered.

"None of that!" Molly shot Sirius a frown.

"Sorry… Haven't had my coffee yet," Sirius rubbed his face.

Molly quickly poured some into a cup, and then she hand-delivered it to Sirius. He quickly took a sniff of the cup, smiled widely, and then took a massive sip.

"Ah, you Goddess," Sirius already felt better.

"Some food will bring you back," Molly ignored Sirius' cheeky grin. "Just give me a few minutes."

"Did you enjoy your night, Lord Black?" Daphne asked as she cut up some bacon. _That was the longest piece, Daph, and you cut it up… Why?_

"Oh, you're already here," Sirius blinked at Daphne, and then he looked between her and Ron. "Sharing a plate? That's pretty cute." Ron gave Sirius a deadpan look, while Daphne kept her composure. "As for you question, I did enjoy my night. Your father is quite the jokester when you get some drinks into him."

"Really?" Daphne couldn't help but ask.

"No," Sirius shook his head. "The man becomes even colder than usual, but Mary is a delight to be around."

"That makes more sense," Ron nodded.

"Mother is the one who drags father to all his social events," Daphne told them. "If it wasn't for her, he'd probably live out of his Study."

"I did manage to make him laugh with one of my jokes, though," Sirius smirked. "Want to hear it?" _A joke that made Lord Greengrass laugh? Yes, please!_

"Of course," Daphne leaned forward a little.

"You won't repeat that filth near the children, Sirius!" Molly warned. "You're lucky that we women didn't beat you last night!" _What? What was this joke?_

"Alright, alright," Sirius chuckled. "Sorry, you two, but orders are orders." _No! I want to hear this joke!_ "So… Why are you here so early, Daphne?"

"She helped make breakfast for me this morning," Ron said smugly. " **And** , it's bloody delicious."

"Does making breakfast usually involve screaming?" Sirius asked, and Daphne quickly focused on putting some food in her mouth.

"When you're the chef, I reckon so," Ron quipped, making Sirius chuckle. "Ignore him, Daph, he's just jealous that no one will make him breakfast now that his man-wife is back at Hogwarts."

"Man-wife," Daphne giggled, while Sirius rolled his eyes.

"What Remus and I share is **true love** , mate," Sirius stated. "You should learn from us, instead of making hurtful jokes."

Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten came down the stairs at that, and when they saw Sirius, they all relaxed a little.

"Sirius," Charlie patted the man's back.

"Oh, you're up as well, then," Sirius smiled. "How's the hangover?"

Ron watched them interact for a few moments, and then he decided to focus his attention on Daphne. _I still can't believe that she did this. It's very out of character of her to make such an emotionally driven gesture._

"You're staring," Daphne said as she cut up a sausage.

"You reckon mum is happy with you?" Ron whispered.

"I know she is," Daphne whispered back, a half-smile appearing on her face. "I did put in a lot of work here, Ron. That chicken of yours wasn't playing around, it wanted to hurt me." _If Balthazar had hurt you, we'd be eating him right now. I'm certain that mum would take the cleaver to him without a second thought._

"Thank you," Ron nudged her gently. "I think it was very sweet of you."

"Gag," Daphne smirked. "But thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Truth be told, your mother did most of the work." _I figured as much. The Kitchen is her territory, and she's not one to give it up._

"What are your plans after breakfast?" Ron asked.

"Well, I thought that you could actually give me a proper tour," Daphne whispered.

"I already did," Ron grinned. _It was a damn good tour. Never thought that I'd snog such a pretty girl behind that outhouse._

"Ron," Daphne smiled playfully. "A **proper** tour, please."

"Alright, I'll take a shower after this, and then you can have the tour," Ron said. "What about after?"

"Hopefully, Tracey and Tori will come down by the time we finish," Daphne replied. "Tracey knew of my plan, so she'll come here as soon as she wakes up."

"We can all spend some time outside," Ron offered. "Malfoy and Theo should be up soon as well."

"Did you learn anything more about Malfoy being here?" Daphne whispered.

"No, Daph," Ron whispered back. "It's like I said… Mum and dad are behind this, and I'm just following their lead. They said that my questions will be answered soon."

"And you'll let us know?" Daphne asked.

"Depends," Ron shrugged. "If it's a little too private, I don't feel comfortable sharing someone else's problems."

"Fine…" Daphne pouted. "Let's finish up here quickly, I want to spend some more time with you before the others arrive."

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Ministry of Magic – Midday)**_

"Robert," Corban greeted, and Robert Bulstrode gave him a curt nod.

"Corban. Felix," Robert greeted them back as he walked up. "I am in a bit of a rush, so can we just get this over with?"

"Are you leaving for your holiday today, Lord Bulstrode?" Felix asked. "I thought that you had arranged a Portkey for tomorrow."

"As always, you know things that you shouldn't," Robert cocked an eyebrow. "My daughter wishes to see the snow, so we're leaving today." _How… convenient. He'll be out of the country while we're doing all the work._ "Has the Minister agreed to see us?"

"We are just waiting for his secretary," Corban said.

"He's making you wait?" Robert looked less than pleased.

"Let him have this," Corban said calmly. "Once we're done with him, he'll start towing the line again."

"The Minister has made himself monstrously fat from our generosity," Felix stated.

"From Lucius' generosity, you mean," Robert said. "Where is Lucius? He should be here for this."

"I have searched for him, but he is missing," Corban said. "His wife and son are missing as well."

"Odd," Robert said. "I will ask my daughter about young Draco, and hopefully, we can find Lucius from there." _We don't need him. Lucius' ego will cause more problems than he can solve, and we'll end up cleaning his mess instead of dealing with the French._ "Speaking of my daughter… Have you spoken some sense into him, Felix?"

"I have," Felix replied. "Ronald Weasley will not be targeted."

"Good," Robert gave a curt nod.

"Are you fond of this Blood Traitor?" Corban asked.

"I hardly know him," Robert replied. "Personally, his life means nothing to me, but my daughter loves him dearly. His death would break her heart, and I won't allow that to happen." _I see. At least he is honest about his intentions. He always was the soldierly type._

"Mr. Yaxley, the Minister will see you now," the secretary stepped out of the Minister's Office.

"Thank you," Corban said as he made his way inside.

The Minister's Office was the exact same as it always was; a poorly organized shrine to Fudge's ego. There were four portraits of the Minister within the room, each of them hanging on a separate wall. There were stacks of unread documents shuffled into the corner, and they were 'hidden' by an expensive tea set. As for the Minister himself, Fudge was currently sitting behind his desk with a wide smile. _Buffoon._

"Gentlemen," Fudge stood up. "How good of you to come. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you for seeing us, Minister," Corban took a seat, as did his companions. "Especially on such short notice."

"Of course, we are friends, are we not?" Fudge chuckled. _Merlin help this country… This fool will ruin us yet._

"Are we friends?" Corban asked, he saw no need to beat around the bush. _The sooner I can leave, the better. I can't stand this man's presence._

"Pardon?" Fudge's smile wavered.

"Have you not heard?" Corban asked coldly. "I was dragged into a courtroom not long ago."

"Oh… Really? By who?" Fudge blinked.

"It doesn't matter," Corban said. "The fact that I was is insult enough."

"You've been distracted, Fudge," Robert said. "We feel like you've forgotten who your friends are."

"The Gaia Project has been occupying my time, and then there was the St. Mungo's Tragedy… I have been very busy," Fudge straightened up a little. _Don't try to look brave, we know that you're anything but._ "Very, very busy."

"It gladdens us to know that you're doing your part for Magical Britain," Felix said, he sounded almost pleasant. "After all, who doesn't love worthwhile investments?"

Fudge shifted in his spot a little, he clearly understood that this wasn't a social call.

"You brought the French into our country," Corban stated.

"I… No, that was Ronald Weasley's doing," Fudge chuckled nervously. "I was just as surprised as all of you."

"You gave him a fancy title, and then you danced to his tune," Corban's hardened eyes met Fudge's weak-willed ones. "You have led our enemies into the heart of our country."

"Enemies?" Fudge shot a look towards the closed door, and then he leaned forward. "The French have helped us immensely… We cannot speak ill of them." _This is our Minister… What would my father say if he saw the state of our country?_

"The French are playing you for a fool," Robert snarled, and Fudge shrunk a little. "Felix, tell him what we have found."

"Thirteen Ministry Officials have come to me with some very interesting news," Felix pulled out the thirteen files from his briefcase. _Thirteen people who will say, and do, anything that we ask. Even if Fudge follows up after them, they'll tell him what we want him to hear._ "These are all young workers, and I know them quite well from our Hogwarts days. They have told me that the French have been offering them bribes."

"Bribes?" Fudge quickly took the files. "Preposterous."

"What did you expect, Minister?" Corban asked. "That the French would simply hand over their money, and then leave? Why do you think that they're still here?" _Why are they still here? Something is happening, and I don't have a clear picture. What is Ronald Weasley up to?_ "They want what we have."

"Are you sure about these people?" Fudge looked up from the files. "Why did they come to you instead of the Head of their Departments?"

"Minister, please don't say foolish things," Felix smiled, something that shut Fudge's mouth. "You know who runs this country, don't you? Who do you think is supporting these people while the Ministry's coffers are running empty?"

"I… They are offering bribes? Why?" Fudge looked to Corban.

"Information, favors, surveillance…" Corban listed in an icy tone. "Make no mistake, Minister, these French Families are an invasion force. They are setting up their businesses within Britain even as we speak. Tell me… Would we be allowed to do that in France?"

"No," Felix answered for Fudge. "They have laws made specifically against the British Pure-Blood Families." _Sebastian used his wife's German background to bypass those laws, but the rest of us aren't so fortunate._

"And yet, here they are," Robert frowned deeply. "Half-Breed **filth** infecting our Ministry with their corruption." _Easy, Robert. We need the moral high ground here._

"We want them gone," Corban said.

"Gone?" Fudge's jaw dropped open. "I… I cannot do that… It would look so… scandalous!"

"Why?" Felix asked. "They donated roughly six thousand Galleons at the St. Mungo's Gala, right? Well, we have donated twelve thousand to various charities within Magical France."

"And twice that amount has been gifted to the British Ministry," Corban said.

"Really?" Fudge looked even more slack-jawed.

"Don't forget who you're speaking to," Corban said dangerously. "Your accountants have already accepted the money, Minister. I'm sure you will need it to clean up our streets." _That's right, your accountants work for_ _ **me**_ _. They do as I say._ "The French have done us a service, but they are overstaying their welcome. I hear that they plan to throw a party soon."

"They do…" Fudge mumbled.

"Then you'll ask them to leave before this party," Robert said. "Tell them that we, the British Community, are very grateful to them, but its past time that they leave."

"If they make a scene, tell them about these thirteen Ministry Officials," Felix said. "Tell them that we know what they've been up to. That'll shut them up."

"We will release these names if you don't do as we say," Corban told the Minister. "And… I'll even publish your 'secret ledger'…"

Fudge's face dropped, and Corban saw the man visibly shudder.

"That's right," Felix' smile widened. "We know just how much money Lord Malfoy puts into your pockets. That money doesn't come free, Minister. You need to start realizing that once again."

"This party has already been bought and paid for… It would be very insulting to send them away before it happens…" Fudge tried to reason with them.

"Fine, let them have this party," Corban agreed quickly. _I have you now._ "But I want them gone by the start of the New Year."

"We have done right by you, Fudge," Robert said. "You wear the best clothes, dine in the finest establishments, and you sleep in a Manor worthy of a king. But make no mistake… **We** own this country. The streets were built by us. The buildings were erected by our hands. Over eighty percent of humanitarian works are funded directly by a Pure-Blood Family. Without our money, this country will fall apart within a year."

"And we'll point the finger right at you," Corban stood up, he knew that his work was done. "We are friends, are we not?"

"Of course," Fudge said quickly. "I understand your worries, and as your Minister, I will sort everything out as quickly as possible." _Fucking pathetic._

"One more thing," Felix said as he pulled out another file from his briefcase. "Madam Umbridge will introduce this new Legislation to the Wizengamot this evening. It states that no foreign company past a certain net-worth may establish their businesses within Magical Britain without a series of extensive background checks performed by the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

"Background checks?" Fudge blinked. "How… How many?"

"As many as the Department deems necessary," Felix replied. _They'll never get past our investigations._ "Read the document, it's actually very detailed. I spent days writing this up, and there are no loop-holes. If they aren't British Citizens, then they have to willingly surrender their books." _Which they will never do._

"This is very sudden… The timing…" Fudge started hysterically.

"Leave the Press to us," Corban said as all three men began leaving the Office. "I expect this done, Minister, so I will be keeping my eyes on the papers. Don't disappoint me."

With that said, Corban and his companions exited the Office. The look on Fudge's face was confirmation enough, the French Families' time here was now limited. The first phase of the plan was completed, now they only needed to take care of Weasley. _We won't kill him, but we can't let him run rampant either. I will speak to him myself, and in doing so, offer him a partnership. If I can sway that boy to our side, we'll achieve great things._

"Miss. Pauline," Felix greeted the secretary. "Your lover is having trouble breathing, please get him some water."

The secretary dropped her quill, her mouth hanging open from horror. _Lover? Fudge is sleeping with this girl?_ Felix casually kept walking with Corban and Robert, both of whom were now staring at the young wizard.

"I had his associates looked into," Felix told them. "Elves make for excellent spies."

Corban suddenly felt proud of his young friend, Felix was finally coming into his own. The death of his older brother, Evan Rosier, had left Felix greatly disturbed for a long time, but now, he seemed to be finding his place in the World. _Britain is lucky to have this young man._

"Well done, Felix," Corban said. "She will no doubt urge him to do whatever we ask."

"Fudge has a good eye," Robert said as they stopped at the elevator. "Now, gentlemen, I will off."

"Enjoy your holiday, my Lord," Felix gave a respectful nod.

"Corban, I expect to have you over for dinner upon my return," Robert said, and Corban decided to agree.

"Certainly, I'll bring Anastasia," Corban said.

"Felix," Robert gave the younger wizard a nod, and then, he left to go get his Portkey.

"That, Felix, is how you avoid the hard work," Corban said once Robert was out of sight. "He played a small part, and then he left to go skiing."

"I think he was only here to make sure that I had convinced you to spare Ronald Weasley," Felix said calmly. "Speaking of whom, what do we do about Lady Parkinson? She has the others riled up for murder."

"I will delay her until I have convinced the others," Corban said. "It won't take long, but convincing her definitely will."

"And after that?" Felix asked.

"After that, I will invite Ronald Weasley out to dinner," Corban said. "I wish to meet this young man."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Hermione stared out the window of the Living Room, her eyes fixed on Ron and Greengrass. _They're certainly having a good time._ Right now, the Slytherins, plus Luna, were spending their afternoon outside. They were laughing, making jokes, and listening to music. Hermione, much to her shock, was actually envious of them. _And it's all because I'm stuck in here._

The twins and Ginny were not pleased about hosting a Malfoy within the Burrow, and since Ron was the person who had invited Malfoy, the twins and Ginny were furious with him. There was going to be a fight very soon, even Hermione could feel it. Harry and Neville had stayed clear of this mess as much as they could, but they had done so without inviting Hermione. And so, she had found herself constantly trying to talk down Ginny and the twins, and she was quickly becoming sick of it.

"Have you seen how smug he's been?" Ginny asked the twins. "That's what I was telling you two about. He thinks that he can do whatever he wants, and the worst part is, mum and dad are allowing him to behave this way."

"What are we supposed to do, Ginny?" Fred asked. "In case you haven't noticed, we're still on lockdown." _The twins are definitely being more rational than Ginny._

"And we can't waste our leftovers on king-snake," George added. "We need money for our dreams."

"Ugh… So, what we do? We can't just let him win," Ginny sounded terribly frustrated.

"Win what?" Hermione spoke up. "What has Ron won, exactly?"

Harry and Neville shot her worried looks from their game of Gobstones, and Hermione narrowed her eyes on them. _This is your fault! You left me behind without even asking!_

"Um… Malfoy is here," Ginny frowned. "Have you not seen him creeping around?" _Creeping? I mean, he does shadow Ron everywhere. Actually, he doesn't really speak, either. It's odd that I used to worry about running into him at Hogwarts. He's clearly changed a lot, and that makes me curious as to how that happened. Why did Ron bring him into the Slytherin group?_

"Earth to Granger," the twins said together, and Hermione broke out of her thoughts.

"You know what I see?" Hermione said after collecting her thoughts. "I see you three being really immature."

"Huh?" the Weasley blinked at her.

"They're having fun, while we're just sitting around and arguing," Hermione puffed up. _I finally get away from my hectic workload, and this is where I end up? This is worse than my stressful school life._ "We haven't been outside even once today!"

"Bloody hell, **Hermione** is complaining about not going outside," Fred grimaced.

"Are we really just brooding?" George looked to Harry and Neville, both of whom nodded.

"We're hardly brooding," Ginny gave Hermione an annoyed look. "Ron is our brother, and we need to find a way to make him see sense."

"I think you **all** need to see some sense," Hermione hissed, she had had enough! "The adults keep looking to us to make more of an effort, and I'm sick of it. The Slytherins are at least trying to be civil, but you all are being closed off. I'm with the adults on this, Hogwarts business should stay at Hogwarts."

With that said, Hermione decided to act bold. She stormed towards the exit, left the Burrow, and began to walk towards Ron and his friends. _I'll set the example! The adults will talk some sense into the others when they see me making an effort._

"Hermione!" Ron called and waved, and she immediately tensed. _This was a terrible idea… I'm all alone out here._ "You alright?!"

"I'm fine," Hermione said as she came to a stop in front of Ron and Greengrass.

"Are you here to join us?" Ron asked with a smile. _Am I?_

"Yes," Hermione put on a smile. _Act natural, Hermione. You can do this._ "Is that alright?"

"Of course," Ron grinned like he used to whenever he spoke with her. "We're all just talking about random things, so just mingle."

Daphne Greengrass didn't look pleased, but at the same time, she didn't look bothered either. _How does Ron put up with that expressionless behavior? It's downright creepy._ Hermione made her way down the grass, which is where she found the Slytherins broken off into groups. Luna and Astoria Greengrass were trying to do cartwheels, despite wearing clean clothes. Theodore Nott and Tracey Davis were listening to Pink Floyd, which definitely caught Hermione's attention. And lastly, Draco Malfoy was sitting by himself, his books open around him. _He's studying? During the Break?_ Hermione felt the need to review her own books, but she quickly calmed herself. _Time to see if he's really changed. I can do this._

"Are you studying Runes?" Hermione asked, and Malfoy slowly looked up with a cocked eyebrow. _He's not sneering, so that's a good sign._ "Shouldn't you be socializing with your friends?" _Don't tell him what to do, Hermione?! Ugh… You're so stupid!_

"I could ask the same of you," Malfoy said after a few seconds. "Or have they cast you aside for some reason?" _They didn't cast me out. They just… forgot to ask…_

"I'm the one who left them," Hermione corrected him. "I wanted to spend time outside, but they decided that brooding in the dark suited them better."

"Brooding?" Malfoy asked. "Or plotting against me?" _Should I tell him? No, of course not._

"There is no plotting," Hermione lied. "They just don't want to be around you." _Ow… Smooth, Hermione…_

"Are you trying to sound rude? Or is this just how you talk?" Malfoy asked calmly, and Hermione didn't know what to say. _He's still a jerk._

"Sorry for disturbing you," Hermione frowned a little.

"Wait…" Malfoy said quickly. "If you leave in an angry huff, Weasl… Ron… will come running down here in order to end my life."

"What?" Hermione blinked.

"He's trying to 'reform' me, I think," Malfoy drawled. "Don't get me into trouble, especially because you're the one who approached me." _Ron's trying to reform him? Really? That's quite brilliant!_

"So why are you studying Runes?" Hermione decided to keep the conversation going. "Did you get low marks in-"

"Let me just stop you before you put your foot in your mouth again," Malfoy frowned at her, and she felt her face heat up. _Damnit, Hermione!_ "I got an Exceeds Expectations, and I want to know why it wasn't an Outstanding."

"Shouldn't you ask Professor Babbling that?" Hermione asked.

"Do you see her around here?" Malfoy asked back. "Is she hiding behind that chicken house over there?"

"Don't be so snarky," Hermione huffed. "I was just making a suggestion."

"Look, whenever they all get like this, I just open my books and study," Malfoy said, he sounded a little irritated. "It creates a safety bubble around me, and no one comes over to bother me. But you clearly didn't get the message, and now, Weas… Ron… is staring at me."

Hermione shot a slow look to the right, and she noticed Ron's eyes fixed on her as he spoke to Greengrass. _Malfoy's right! Ron's watching us!_

"So if I get upset, he'll come scold you?" Hermione asked.

"Scold?" Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Ron doesn't 'scold', he burns the message into your forehead." _What?_

Hermione swallowed thickly, Ron's stare was starting to creep her out. _Malfoy clearly listens to Ron, which means that some of the rumors around the school are true. Ron really does run Slytherin, and a few of them fear him._ Hermione suddenly saw Neville and Harry approach Ron, and they began talking to each other. _They followed me out? Good on them._

"Please leave, Granger," Malfoy went back to his work. _He said 'please'?! Wow… I should just go._

Hermione left Malfoy in order to approach Harry and Neville, both of whom were looking between her and Malfoy.

"Why were you speaking to him?" Harry asked. "Did he insult you?"

"No, actually," Hermione replied, and both boys waited for her to go on. "I asked him why he was studying, and he told me that he wanted to improve his grades. It was… civil."

"Really?" Neville looked genuinely surprised. "You had a civil chat with Malfoy of all people?"

"I did," Hermione smiled because of her little victory. "See, I was right. Sitting in there wasn't doing any of us any good. If we make an effort, we could come to some form of agreement with the Slytherins. No more fighting, no more rule-breaking, and no more hateful slurs. Ron runs Slytherin, which means that we can at least expect good faith."

"I think that's a brilliant idea!" Neville beamed at her, something that made her rather nervous. _He looks so pleased with me… That feels weird._

"I don't know…" Harry looked skeptical. "There's a lot of bad-blood between the Houses, and I'd rather not jump into the middle of it. We could make things worse if we're not careful. Or worse, come across as traitors to the other Gryffindors."

"How are we traitors if we're stopping fights?" Hermione was genuinely baffled. "We're doing what's best for the House, and they'll see that for certain."

"Scheming?" came Ron's voice, and both Harry and Neville quickly jumped to Hermione's sides.

"No," the Trio said together, and Ron smiled widely.

"What do you think, Daph?" Ron looked to the Ice-Queen.

"Definitely scheming," Greengrass had her eyes fixed on Hermione.

"We don't scheme," Harry gathered himself. "That's more of a Slytherin trait." _Harry?!_

"True," Ron snorted, much to Hermione's confusion. "Do you guys want to come with Daphne and me? We're heading towards Theo and Tracey in order to listen to some music."

"Muggle music," Hermione heard herself say.

"Tracey's mother is Muggle-Born," Greengrass said. _Really? I didn't know that._ "Tracey grew up in Muggle London, and her Family still lives there."

"That's quite neat," Neville said, and Hermione nodded along.

"Come on, let's go up," Ron urged them along. "This will be fun, I'm sure of it."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

The conversation between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins wasn't going as well as Ron had hoped. Hermione had asked a couple of questions about Pink Floyd, but it was apparent that she didn't really care for Muggle music. Harry had no doubt heard some songs in his childhood, but he wasn't planning to bring up his past. As for Neville, the Herbology fanatic had quickly latched himself onto Theo. This meant that Tracey decided to take away Daphne from Ron, which left Ron alone with Harry and Hermione.

"We can just call him over," Hermione suggested.

"Please don't," Harry shot Hermione a bored look.

"I think Harry's right," Ron said. "Draco's not one to socialize when he's in his books. You'll just bother him, and then he will become rude." _Trust me, I've learned my lesson. Weak pushes work best with him._

"He's so different from before," Hermione still couldn't believe this.

"Maybe he's just acting?" Harry suggested?

"No, he's becoming more tolerant," Ron couldn't help but say. _Malfoy deserves the credit for that._ "It's just a slow process."

"Good on you, Ron," Hermione nodded in approval. "It's good that you're trying to change the Slytherins from within."

"Not all of them need changing," Ron shrugged. _Change the subject._ "Anyway… I'm glad that you three are here. I have no doubt that Ginny and the twins are up to something."

"Not really," Hermione said quickly. "They just don't like Malfoy much…"

"I know, but things can escalate, can't they?" Ron asked. "One wrong look, and we could all end up in a massive spat. Tell me that you two don't want that."

"We don't, of course," Hermione said.

"Yeah, that'd be bad," Harry agreed. _Got you._

"I just want to know if I need to keep my eyes open," Ron said calmly. "You don't have to give specifics."

Hermione and Harry exchanged looks, and Hermione jerked her head towards Ron. _She wants him to tell me something?_

"Ginny is the one riling them up," Harry sighed out. "The twins aren't happy, but they know that they're in a lot of trouble right now." _So the twins can be swayed. Good thing I have that plan ready, then._

"Do either of you know what Ginny's problem with me is?" Ron asked. "Over the last few months, she's been nothing but hostile towards me."

"Look, Ron… We don't want to get involved in your Family's feuds," Harry said slowly. _Now you chose to stay out of my business?_

"Hermione?" Ron looked to her, and she didn't look half as certain as Harry. _She wants to tell me, doesn't she?_ "It's alright, I didn't mean to get you involved. You don't have to say a thing. I'll just try to talk to Ginny at some point, and hopefully, we can sort out our differences." _There, Hermione will come to me herself now. Eventually._

"Thanks for understanding," Harry gave a weak smile, while Hermione looked a little guilty for not helping Ron end the fighting. _I ought to change the topic again._

"Do you two want-?" Ron stopped as soon as he started.

Off in the distance, in the direction of Stoatshead Hill, Ron had seen something resembling a golden glow. _Just like the glow coming off of Fate… Could it… Could it be?_ Ron's entire attention span was devoted towards the hills, and both Harry and Hermione exchanged looks before following his gaze. They saw absolutely nothing, which made them question why Ron was suddenly looking off into the distance.

"Ron, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine," Ron said, his eyes seeing the glow again. _It's there! I'm not seeing things! I have to get to Stoatshead Hill right the fuck now!_ "I have to go check on… Pandora…"

Ron quickly began walking towards the Burrow.

"Ron?!" came Daphne's voice. "Where are you going?!" _I'm going to go see her! I finally have the chance to demand some bloody answers!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And that's it! I know it was a bit of a slow chapter on Ron's end, but I just wanted to show him enjoying the comforts of his home. He's relaxing a little, finally.**

 **As for the Pure-Bloods, they're just scheming their hearts out.**

 **Next Chapter will hopefully be out by Tuesday! So until then, take care!**


	105. Chapter 105 - Blindsided

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 105 is finally here!**

 **Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the delay on this one. Life took me by the hips, and she tested out her new strap-on on me. I'm still walking bowlegged.**

 **Anyway, I finally got time to sit down and write this out, but I didn't really have time to check for errors, so please excuse any mistakes you spot. I'm just exhausted, and I can't bring myself to read through this one.**

 **Now, please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Such a terrible assault cannot be left unanswered' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 105 – Blindsided**

 _ **William Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Bill stepped through the fireplace, the Goblins had let him go home early because business was extremely slow due to wizards spending time with their Families. Bill didn't mind the half-day, but he couldn't deny that he didn't want to run into Charlie right now. _He's still upset with Ron, and quite frankly, I'm with Ron on this. Charlie told me that he knew about how Ron would react, so why is he so surprised when he got proven right? Sure, the threats were unnecessary, but I doubt Ron would act on them. He's a child at the end of the day._

"Bill!" Ginny greeted him, and Bill realized that his sister and brothers were currently occupying the Living Room. "You're back early!"

"The Gobos let me go home," Bill smiled at her. _I need to do something about her fight with Ron. I'll talk to mum and dad first, and maybe, we can join forces._

"Gobos?" Fred asked.

"It's another word for Goblins," Bill replied as he took a seat. "Just don't say it near them, alright? They'll string you up."

"Then why are you saying it?" George smirked. "Don't you work for Gobos?"

"Trust me, working for them makes you… jaded…" Bill sighed out. "They're incredibly rude, demanding, and corrupt. They'd sell their own mothers for a few Galleons, I assure you." _Wait… Where are the others?_ "Where is mum? And where are the other kids? It's so quiet in here." _The Ghoul will start banging the pipes if we don't do something soon._

"Mum went shopping for tonight's dinner," Ginny replied.

"Percy snuck off to go see Penelope," Fred said with an almost proud smile.

"Alone?" Bill sat up. _Shite!_ "When?!"

"What? Calm down, Bill," George cocked an eyebrow. "He said that he'd only be gone an hour, or so."

"Do the parents know that he left? Where is Sirius?" Bill asked quickly.

Ginny and the twins exchanged slow looks, and Bill could see that his behavior was starting to worry his little sister. _Calm down, Bill. Behave like an adult._

"Sirius went back to his place," Fred said. "Incidentally, none of us can remember where he lives…" _I don't have time to explain the Fidelius Charm._

"Charlie and Kirsten?" Bill asked.

"In Charlie's room," Ginny replied slowly. "Bill, what's going on? You're acting weird."

"It's nothing," Bill lied. "Do you guys know where this Penelope lives?"

"Somewhere in Muggle London," George replied. _So there's no way that I can go find Percy. Damn._

"Ron! Mrs. Lovegood isn't even here!" came Hermione's voice from outside, which quickly caught everyone's attention.

And then, Ron suddenly burst into the Living Room. It took Bill one second to realize that Ron was genuinely sweating, and it wasn't because he was in a hurry. It was a sickly looking sweat, the kind that stuck to a person like grime. As for his complexion, even the others could see that he was paler than usual. _What's got him in such a hurry?_

"Hello…" Ron's eyes lingered on Bill, while Hermione, Harry, Neville, Theo, Daphne, and Tracey followed Ron into the house. "Is… Is Pandora here?" _What?_

"She went home with Xeno after they dropped off Luna," Fred gave Ron an icy stare. "Are you going senile?"

"Right… I need to go take care of some business…" Ron muttered before rushing over to the fireplace.

"What business?" Daphne asked, her eyes darting towards Bill. _What the hell is going on here? What's got him so riled up?_

"Wait a second," Bill quickly moved to Ron's side. "Mum and dad aren't home, and they told me that no one is allowed to leave. Now… I can come with you, if your business is really important, but I can't let you leave alone." _Mum would hang me._

Ron shot Bill a frustrated look, and then he drew in a deep breath before looking around the room. Everyone was staring at Ron, who seemed to finally realize that he was acting way too off. Ron then wiped the sweat off of his brow, and then he blinked repeatedly. _What the…? He looks like he's going to faint._

"Ron, are you alright?" Daphne walked over to Ron's other side.

"Perfectly fine," Ron closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply again.

"You're sweating," Neville pointed out. "Like a lot…"

"It's really hot," Ron tugged at his collar. _Huh?_

"Ron, it's actually quite chilly," Bill told his little brother. _Now I'm starting to get worried._ "Fred and George, go and get Charlie. Tell him to come down right now."

The twins didn't move whatsoever, they were too busy staring at Ron, who was now breathing rather heavily. _Is this a panic attack? Mum warned me about these! He needs room to breathe!_

"Ron, come with me," Daphne suddenly pulled Ron past Bill, she was leading him towards the Kitchen. "Bill, can you please come with me as well?" _Me?_

"Yeah," Bill followed after her, but he stopped right at the door. "He needs a little room to breathe, so don't pile on after me."

With that said, Bill entered the Kitchen, and he found Ron sitting on the closest chair. He was rubbing his face with a lethargic posture, while Daphne was rubbing his back as she whispered something to him.

"I'm alright…" Ron groaned. "Just… lightheaded… And my stomach feels off…"

"Bill, can you please get him some water?" Daphne asked, and Bill quickly did as he was told.

By the time he returned, the other children had piled on in the doorway. Unsurprisingly, they all looked a little worried, despite the tension between them. _At the end of the day, they're just having a spat. Right now, they're more worried about their brother, or friend._

"Here, Ron," Bill handed him the glass. "Take a sip."

"Is he alright?" Ginny asked. "Ron, are you sick?"

"Something I ate…" Ron lied rather poorly.

"I have a Calming Potion," Daphne whispered, but Bill managed to overhear her. "Do you want me to mix it into your water?"

"Do it… Please," Ron exhaled, his face was getting more and more red. _What's got him so spooked?_

"Guys, go up and get Charlie for me," Bill decided to block the view.

Hermione and Neville left quickly, while Tracey and Theo walked up and crouched in front of Ron. _Are they also blocking the view? Or are they trying to calm him down?_

"What's the matter with him?" Ginny asked as she tried to get a better look. "Bill?"

"He's fine," came Theo's voice, it was rather calm given the situation. "Just a bit of heartburn, eh, Ron? You've been eating more than usual."

"Yeah… Heartburn…" Ron all but whispered, his tone was a little lighter now. "I'm okay…"

The twins were eyeballing Bill now, they had caught onto the fact that Bill knew more than he was letting on. As for Ginny, she was still trying to get a proper look at Ron, and Harry had joined her. Oddly enough, Bill couldn't help but think that Harry looked more curious than worried. _Wait… He, and his friends, know about Ron's Brain-Damage, don't they? Dad mentioned that Harry had looked into Ron quite thoroughly, even going as far as to invade Ron's belongings._ Bill wasn't sure how he felt about that, but as Ron's brother, he felt quite disappointed with Harry.

"You shouldn't stand, Ron," Daphne said, and Bill turned around at that.

Ron looked much calmer now, but his breathing was still a little erratic.

"I… need fresh air," Ron said, and then he simply made his way towards the exit.

The twins hopped out of his way, confused expressions marring their features. Bill followed after his odd little brother, and the other children followed after Bill. Ron led them outside, his blue eyes quickly becoming fixed on the hills by the Burrow's side. _Where is he looking?_ Bill looked for whatever Ron was staring at, but honestly, he saw absolutely nothing.

"Ron?" Bill looked back to the Slytherin, but he didn't respond.

Ron simply kept staring off into the distance, an eerily calm look on his face. _It's almost creepy, but also quite soothing. He's completely recovered from his near panic attack._

"I poured too much…" Daphne whispered to Bill.

"Of the Calming Draught?" Bill whispered back. "Is that bad?"

"Have you seen him on one before?" Daphne asked, and Bill shook his head slowly. "You're in for a treat, then…"

"Why are you two whispering?" Ginny came up from behind them. "What is wrong with Ron? Is he sick?" _Yes, very sick._

"You sound genuinely worried, Ginny," Ron said with a calm, unwavering voice.

"Ron, don't be-" Daphne started, but Ginny cut her off.

"You looked like you were dying, so of course I'm worried," Ginny said, her expression was a mixture of annoyance and concern. "Ron? What are you trying to see?"

"Nothing," Ron replied. "I'm just enjoying the breeze."

"What's the matter with him?" Fred asked from the back.

"What did you give my brother?" Ginny looked to Daphne. "I saw you! You put something into his water!" _Ginny…_

"Ginny, Daphne's helping Ron," Bill said. "There's no need to yell at her."

"Ron, do you want to go for a walk?" Daphne asked, completely ignoring the others.

"Ron? Bill?" came Charlie's voice, and Bill looked back to see Charlie and Kirsten come out of the Burrow. "What's going on? Neville and Hermione looked like they were in a right panic. They said that Ron was having trouble breathing."

" **Was** being the operative word," Ron said, he was still looking for something off into the distance. "I'm fine now, thanks to Daphne, so please, go about your day."

"Go about our day?" George asked, while Bill just eyed Ron. "As if we can just 'go about our day' after seeing that. Greengrass, what did you give him?"

"A Calming Draught," Ron replied for Daphne. "Stop hounding her as if she's drugged me, I asked her for it."

"A Calming Draught?" Ginny looked back to Daphne. "Why were you even carrying one around?"

"So many questions," Ron clicked his tongue. "Can you all stop crowding me? It's making it harder for me to recover." _It doesn't sound like we are. It sounds like you no longer need us, so you're sending us away._ "Daphne, where do you want to go?"

"We haven't been down the lane yet," Daphne replied, while the others looked to Bill to do something. _Honestly, I don't know if I should. He seems calmer now, but he doesn't want us around._

"Let's go to the orchard," Ron said, outright ignoring her suggestion. "Come."

With that, Ron simply began walking around the Burrow, his eyes still fixed on the hills. _What in the actual fuck is he looking at?_ Bill himself was already feeling frustrated, and from what his parents had told him, Ron wasn't going to make this any easier. _He's too closed off, and now that he's on that Potion, he seemingly doesn't care whatsoever._ Daphne followed after Ron, but not before shooting a meaningful look at Bill. _She knows what she's doing. I ought to make her job easier by controlling the herd._ The others slowly made to follow Ron once again, but Bill put himself between them and the aloof Slytherin.

"I know you're all worried, but Ron seems fine now," Bill said, he easily noticed Theo and Tracey lingering in the back. _Those two know something, that's why they're keeping their distance._ "Kirsten, can you take everyone inside while I talk to Charlie?"

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked as she came out of the Burrow, and then, she realized that Ron wasn't around. "Where is he?"

"He left with Greengrass," Ginny told Hermione before looking to Bill. "Tell us what's wrong with him." _Damn you for leaving this mess to me, Ron._

"He was clearly just feeling unwell," Kirsten started. "Look, if you keep chasing after him, you'll make him feel sick again. Just come with me, and once he's feeling better, you can talk to him yourselves."

"Like he'll tell us anything," Fred said, and then looked to Bill. "You know what's going on, don't you? What aren't you telling us?"

"Was… whatever that was… related to his seizures?" George asked. _Wow, he hit the nail on the head._

"Seizures?" came Luna's voice, she and Astoria had snuck up on the entire group. "Are you talking about Ron?"

"He was acting really-" Ginny started, but once she saw that Luna was with Astoria, she narrowed her eyes on the youngest Greengrass.

"Staring is rude," Astoria smirked. "Am I that pretty?"

"Ugh…" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"None of that," Bill scolded no one in particular. "Kirsten, take them inside, yeah?"

"Come on," Kirsten 'guided' the twins towards the front door, while the Golden Trio quickly moved out of the way.

"You three as well," Bill said, and Hermione nodded quickly.

"Come on," Hermione was the first one to follow orders.

"Luna, why don't you play with Astoria inside?" Charlie smiled at the aloof girl. "It's getting quite cold out here."

"Is Ron alright?" Luna asked.

"He's going to be just fine," Bill put on a smile. _I hope._

"I don't wish to sound rude, but shouldn't one of you adults be with him right now?" Astoria asked. "I assume that he left with my sister." _She was there when he was diagnosed in Paris. I hope she hasn't told anyone about Ron's conditions._

"Tori's right," Tracey said from the back, she and Theo had managed to stay quiet long enough to become 'invisible'. "He could still-"

"Ahem," Theo cleared his throat, his eyes darting towards Luna.

"Oh…" Tracey realized that she was fear-mongering by mistake.

"I'll go and talk to him," Bill said, and then he did a quick headcount. "Wait… Where is Malfoy?" _Damn, I keep calling him Malfoy. Mum and dad told me to be inclusive, but I just can't get over the fact that we have a Malfoy at the Burrow._

"Draco is still studying out on the grass," Luna pointed towards where he was. "He said that 'Weasley is just being Weasley', but I'm not sure what that means."

"It means that Draco's boring, and that he broods all the time," Astoria sighed out. "Since we're being forced to stay inside, Lu, what should we do now?" _Lu?_

"Let's get our star charts ready," Luna hummed.

"Star charts?" Bill asked out of curiosity.

"Lu and I plan to chart the stars tonight," Astoria replied. "The stars are really visible around here, and it'd be a shame not to use that." _At least they're enjoying themselves. Clever girls… They're not taking any part in the tension, and they're just doing whatever makes them happiest._

"Do you have a spare chart?" Bill smiled genuinely.

"Planning to join us?" Astoria smirked. _Why not? I certainly don't plan to drink tonight._

"We have a few," Luna smiled, though she was just looking at the sky. "Ask Ron to come with you, I think that he needs to relax for a change. If he keeps stressing like this, he'll go bald." _Stress? Does she know something?_

Luna then began walking towards the Burrow, and Astoria quickly followed after her. _That girl… She's as sharp as Pandora, but as aloof as Xeno. What an odd combination._

"So?" Charlie walked up to Bill. "What happened?"

"I don't know, truth be told," Bill admitted. "I got home, and then Ron just burst into the Burrow in a sorry state. I think he was on the verge of a panic attack."

"What triggered it?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing," Tracey said as she and Theo walked up to Bill and Charlie. "He was speaking with Potter and Granger, and then, out of the blue, he was rushing towards the Burrow."

"Maybe they said something to him?" Theo suggested. "Sometimes, certain topics cause him to start spiraling."

"Certain topics?" Bill asked. _These two have more experience than us. I should ask them to share as much as they're willing._

"Politics, studies, his siblings…" Tracey listed.

"Siblings?" Charlie blinked. "What do you mean by 'siblings'? He spirals when he thinks about us?" _That's both hurtful, and not all that unexpected._

"Well, a certain sibling did beat him violently," Theo said coldly, and Charlie stilled in his spot. "Yeah… We know about that." _Charlie…_

"Ginny is a classless bitch, the twins are constantly taking shots at him, and Percy has a habit of cornering Ron whenever Ron is struggling," Tracey said, and then she looked Bill over. "Your lunch with him did wonders for his mood, actually. He talked a lot about you when he was drunk."

"Drunk?" Bill asked.

"It took a bit of convincing, but he spent the majority of the night laughing and making jokes," Theo shrugged. _That does sound nice, actually. I'll let it go simply because Ron needs more of that in his life._ "William, you should go and check on him. But just you… He's not happy with Charles right now."

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose, while Tracey and Theo left for the grass area.

"I did hit him…" Charlie sighed out.

"You did, and you're damn lucky that I wasn't around," Bill said a little harshly, but when he saw Charlie's built figure shrink a little, Bill relaxed his scowl. "Sorry, little brother… I know that it wasn't completely black and white…" _Ron can be difficult, I truly understand that now. The fact that he looked into Kirsten's parents is actually quite alarming, and I might need to tell mum and dad about it._

"No, it was," Charlie said to himself, and then he looked towards the house. "So? Where did he go?"

"Daphne took him out back," Bill replied. "She was so damn quick, Charlie… She pulled him out of the room, gave him a Calming Draught which she just happened to be carrying around, and then she took him out back in order to avoid a fight. It was actually quite impressive." _And right now, she's putting up with his strange behavior._

"Mum was right, then," Charlie said. "Our Ronnie got lucky…" _That he did._

"By the way…" Bill started. "Percy is in Muggle London right now."

"What?" Charlie looked genuinely confused.

"You were supposed to watch them until I got home," Bill reminded Charlie. "Percy, of all people, snuck out to go see his girlfriend."

"Shite," Charlie rubbed his face. "Bill, I'm really sorry… Kirsten and I were… Fuck, we were having a spat…"

"About Ron?" Bill asked.

"About me yanking his arm back rather harshly," Charlie mumbled. "She was furious with me, brother, despite Ron's behavior. I think she blames me for Ron looking into her Family…" _Again, what Ron did is extremely disturbing._

"Get your temper under control, and I promise you, you won't have these problems," Bill sighed out. "I'm going to go check on Ron. You need to go wait in the Living Room in case Percy shows up." Charlie began to leave for the Burrow, but Bill decided to give him another edict. "Don't tell the others anything about Ron. Just tell them that he was feeling queasy, and now he's starting to recover."

"Like they'll believe that," Charlie said before he disappeared into the house.

Bill began making his way around the Burrow, and it wasn't long before he spotted Ron and Daphne on the outskirts of the orchard. Ron was lying down on his side, his head planted on Daphne's lap. _He's still looking at the hills. Why?_ Bill calmly approached them, his eyes fixed on Daphne's face. When she gave him a subtle nod, he finally made himself known to Ron.

"Hey, little brother," Bill said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Ron said in a monotone voice.

"Good," Bill said, and then he shot Daphne a grateful smile. "Ron, what happened?"

"I got stressed," Ron replied.

"About what?" Bill asked.

"It just happened out of nowhere," Ron replied casually. "I can't help it, Bill, it happens to me all the time. It's a part of having Chronic Stress."

Bill looked to Daphne, and she gave him a nod. _Bloody hell… Panic attacks out of nowhere? Must be hell living with that._ Bill himself had had a couple of panic attacks in his youth, so he at least understood how terrifying, and painful, they could be. _That's the price you pay when you want to be the best._

"Now that you've checked on me, please leave," Ron said, and Bill felt a pang of hurt. "I want to be alone."

"Oh… Um… Alright," Bill said, making sure to sound like his usual self.

"Thank you, Bill," Daphne gave him a sorry smile, she had clearly read him.

"Just… If you need anything, Ron… Come to me, yeah?" Bill said before he turned to leave. _I'm your big brother, aren't I? You can rely on me._

"Yes, yes…" Ron drawled. "Go about your day."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

Ron was a coward, and right now, he truly believed that.

Seeing that golden glow had excited Ron beyond measure, but as he was approaching the Burrow, a horrible realization had begun to dawn on him. He was walking over to speak with **Fate** herself… A fucking Celestial Being of near infinite power and age. His stride had weakened, and a feeling of genuine fear had started gnawing at his insides. What was he thinking? That he'd just approach her and demand answers? What if she was like the Entity? What if she was cruel to him? What if she destroyed him for forgetting his place? By the time Ron had reached the Burrow's front door, he was trembling with fear. Only Daphne had realized that he was teary-eyed from his near panic attack, and so she had removed him from the Burrow for his own good.

"Are you going to tell me what you're looking for?" Daphne suddenly asked, and Ron repositioned his head on her lap.

He was now staring up at her, while she was looking down at him with an expectant look. _We've been out here for nearly an hour, and I still haven't seen that golden glow… Maybe I was just seeing things? I've had hallucinations before, so there's always that possibility._

"Have you ever felt like your own mind is out to get you?" Ron asked Daphne, and she blinked at him. "I feel like my worst enemy is my own brain, and one of these days, it's going to kill me."

"Ron…" Daphne mouth hung open a little. _Keep that to yourself, Ron. She doesn't cope well with that line of thinking._

"I'm looking at the hills because they're peaceful," Ron lied as he used his gloved hand to close her mouth. "I want to go up there."

"You want to go up there?" Daphne repeated slowly. "Do you want to be alone?"

"We are alone," Ron said with a raised eyebrow.

"So you want me around? Despite the Potion?" Daphne asked.

"I always want you around," Ron stated straightforwardly. "Do you remember when you asked me to teach you Wandless Magic?"

"Ron… I'm a bit lost here…" Daphne admitted. _Am I being too detached? Probably._ "Why are you bringing up Wandless Magic right now?"

"I want to go meditate on a certain hill," Ron sat up. "While we're there, I can give you your first lesson."

"I can't use Magic during the Break," Daphne reminded him.

"I doubt you'll be able to use Wandless Magic on your first attempt," Ron said bluntly. "It'll just be a theoretical lesson."

"I don't know about this, Ron," Daphne took his left hand into hers. "You nearly had a panic attack… What if you have a seizure up there? We'll be all alone."

"You can always call Marty," Ron said.

"Apparation during a seizure?" Daphne asked with a meaningful look. _Oh._ "Ron, that sounds extremely dangerous."

"You make a good point," Ron couldn't help but say. _I will wait until everyone is asleep before I head up to Stoatshead Hill, then. I know that I won't have a seizure, but Daphne can be a worry-wart when it comes to my health._

"Why don't you teach me Wandless Magic when we're back at Hogwarts?" Daphne smiled at him, and Ron slowly lay back down. _Her thighs make for a nice pillow._ "We can do it during your French lessons."

"So I practice French, while you practice Wandless Magic?" Ron liked this idea. "Count me in."

"The others might get jealous of me," Daphne joked, her hand playing with his hair.

"I've offered to teach them, haven't I?" Ron asked. "How is it your fault that they're too lazy to even try?" _They want to be powerful, but they don't want to put in the effort. Even Millie gave up on Wandless Magic pretty quickly. 'It takes too long'. What the hell does that even mean?_

"I wouldn't say lazy…" Daphne's smiled faltered. _Lazy, and weak._ "It's just… You spend hours every day just practicing your Magic… We have no idea how you put up with such a boring task. It certainly doesn't look fun, and half the time, you look like you're in pain." _It's because I am. The more Magic you use, the harder the strain becomes._

"Fun," Ron scoffed. "Fun is for morons, Daphne, I thought you knew that. I don't practice for fun, I practice so I can be the best." _I practice so I can protect all of you in the Future._

"And how's that treating you?" Daphne asked him, she sounded a little annoyed.

"Touché," Ron said blandly.

"You can't deny that you're different from everyone else," Daphne said a little more gently, she didn't want this version of Ron to get to her. "Everyone has their own strengths, Ron, and their own passions."

"And I shouldn't look down on them for being different," Ron said, he had had this conversation with Pomfrey before. "I suppose you're right…" _I'll just have to work harder to protect them. I know that I can do better._

"You should offer to teach us all again," Daphne suggested. "You never know who might agree to join."

"What if they all say no?" Ron asked.

"Then it'll be just us," Daphne shot him a wink. "We can make our lessons more… exciting." _I know she's flirting with me right now, but I'm not really in the mood for that. Wait… I just remembered that Lord and Lady Greengrass want to speak to Daphne and me about our relationship._

"Daphne, I have to tell you something," Ron said, and Daphne looked a bit confused by his sudden urgency. "My parents, and your parents, are going to speak to us soon."

"Oh…" Daphne immediately caught onto what he meant. "They want to discuss sexual health with us?" _What? Why is she so horny?_

"No, they want to discuss my health issues," Ron replied. "I think they want to make sure that you understand-"

"Not this again…" Daphne cut in with a frown. "I don't need **them** to tell me about your health, Ron. I know far more than they do."

"They're adults," Ron shrugged calmly. "Occasionally, they like to act like they're in charge. Just humor them, and hopefully, they'll fuck off."

"Ron," Daphne lightly tugged at his hair. _Ow._ "Don't speak like that about them… Complaining is one thing, but don't forget that they're our parents." Daphne then shot a look towards the Burrow. "Your mother is home, by the way. I saw her staring at us from a window before." _Really?_

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ron sat up once again.

"She wasn't the only one staring," Daphne replied. "I'm pretty sure the others are taking turns at staring at us." _Of course they are. In their defense, they just want to know what's going on._ "Ron… Maybe you ought to tell your siblings about your conditions?"

"What?" Ron gave her a cold look. "Are you insane, Daphne? The moment I do that, Christmas will end. Plus… I don't need them worrying over me. It'll just be a pain in my arse."

"Why?" Daphne asked. "Ron, they just saw you nearly have a panic attack, so I assure you, they all have questions. What are you going to do? Just ignore them?"

"Yes," Ron stood up, and Daphne followed suit. "Right now, my siblings have a tendency to be hostile towards me-"

"All the more reason to tell them," Daphne said. "They'll think twice before they come after you."

"Yeah, and that's the problem," Ron stated. "Right now, they usually treat me like I'm their enemy. They disrespect me, make jokes at my expense, and go out of their way to hinder me. But the moment I tell them that I'm dying, they'll start showering me with love and concern." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Their newfound love and concern will be born out of pity, not genuineness. It'll be fake, and I don't want that."

"You don't want them to pretend like they care about you?" Daphne slowly realized that Ron had a genuine reason for his secrecy. "Ron, despite their behavior, it's clear that they do care about you."

"Sometimes, they do," Ron said. "But lately… Lately, whenever I see them, I feel the urge to walk in the other direction." _All they do is annoy me with their idiotic problems, not to mention how entitled they are._ "Anyway… There's no point in whining about my feelings."

"You can always 'whine' to me," Daphne took his left hand. _She's being really nice to me, despite me being on the Calming Draught. I know for a fact that she doesn't like me when I'm like this. Wait… I haven't thanked her yet. C'mon, Ron, be better._

"Thank you, Daphne," Ron said suddenly, making sure to squeeze her hand a little.

"That was random," Daphne said, though she did sound a little pleased. "I swear to Merlin, I have no idea how your mind works when you're on this Potion."

"I just remembered that I hadn't thanked you, so I decided to change that," Ron shrugged. "I'm really glad that I have you."

"I'm glad to have you as well," Daphne smiled genuinely. "Can you give me a kiss?" _Sure, I don't see the harm in doing that. Also, is Daphne in the mood to snog? She keeps flirting with me, and now she wants to kiss out in the open. Girls… They're a mystery._

Ron leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss, but she clearly had other plans because she bit his lower lip. _She's doing the thing that Clara taught me. Even though I'm on the Calming Draught, her biting me like that feels really arousing._

"Daph…" Ron pulled back a little. "You just said that people are staring at us through the windows."

"They can't see me biting you," Daphne whispered, and then she kissed his lower lip. "Did that hurt?"

"I've had worse," Ron smirked. "Maybe once the Potion wears off, we can spend some more time together?"

"I'd like that," Daphne agreed immediately, and then she gave him a hug. _What has gotten into her?_ "I was really scared for you… You've never cried during a panic attack before…"

"I didn't cry," Ron corrected her as he patted her back. "I was close to it, but I kept myself in check."

"Still… It must've been terrible," Daphne squeezed her boyfriend. _That book didn't prepare me for this sort of behavior. Is she feeling mischievous, or sad? I should ask Clara for another lesson._

"You helped me through it," Ron decided to say, and when her hug tightened, Ron knew that he had chosen his words well. "Let's go inside. I want to change into my Training Outfit."

"Training Outfit?" Daphne pulled back, and they began making their way towards the Burrow hand in hand.

"I didn't get to do my Circuit Training yesterday," Ron said. "Plus, I want to work on my Wandless, and Non-Verbal, Magic." _I might as well use this Potion's effects to my advantage. I feel so clear headed right now, which will definitely help me focus._

"You'll do your Circuit Training outside?" Daphne asked.

"Do you plan to watch?" Ron asked, he knew that the girls enjoyed eyeballing him while he worked out. _It'd be better if they joined me. Good health could save their life one day._

"Obviously," Daphne said. _Yes, obviously._ "But… Granger…"

"Ah," Ron nodded to himself. "Daphne, I want you to make your peace with her. Fighting schoolmates is beneath us, and it only serves to hinder us in the long run. Hermione is an extremely intelligent witch, and one day, you might need her on your side."

"I saw her staring at your arse this morning," Daphne huffed in indignation. "She acts all saintly, but her eyes tend to linger on you." _She still has a crush on me? Yeesh, that's annoying. Daphne is far too possessive to make her peace with a girl who eyeballs me._

"Everyone occasionally stares at the opposite sex," Ron said. "Unless, you prefer the same sex, that is. What I'm trying to say is that people tend to stare at what they find attractive, it's only natural. One day soon, Hermione will get over her crush, so why not fix things between you two now? Trust me, having allies is far better than having rivals."

"Is that why you're being so open around Potter?" Daphne asked.

"What he did to me was cruel, and I won't deny that there's a part of me that was genuinely hurt by his actions," Ron replied, and Daphne adorned a dark look. _Words, Ron… Choose them carefully._ "But he is **Harry Potter** , the Boy-Who-Lived… Turning him into my enemy will only come back to bite me in the arse." _Plus, I know that when the time comes, Harry will be chosen over me. I mean, most of my Family already likes him more than they like me. I need to do whatever it takes to keep Harry under my influence._

"So just because he's famous, he's allowed to get away with his terrible behavior?" Daphne asked. "I'm surprised to hear you, of all people, say that."

"I'm saying that, sometimes, you have to swallow your pride in order to come out on top," Ron said. "Trust me, it took me a long time to realize that, but now that I've made my peace with it, life is slightly easier. If you want to succeed in your business career, Daph, you'll have to do a lot worse than befriending a rival." _Hell, I don't like half of the people that I call my allies._

"Is that why you're so friendly with the Veelas even after what happened at the Junior League Tournament?" Daphne asked.

"They're useful for now," Ron saw no need to hide behind a mask with Daphne. "The truth is that I find most Veelas to be unpleasant, and far too arrogant. The fact that they see me as a threat simply because their allures don't work on me speaks volumes about their arrogance."

"Good to know," Daphne smiled at him. "And you're right, they are an unpleasant lot. Trying to make a deal with them is unbearable, especially when they constantly look down on the people of Magical Britain."

"In you go," Ron said as he held the door for her, and she thanked him as she entered the Burrow's Kitchen. _Wow, it's really warm in here._

As soon as Ron closed the door behind himself, he was cornered by a concerned Molly Weasley.

"Bill told me what happened," Molly whispered for some reason. "My poor boy…"

"I am fine, I assure you," Ron said calmly, and she patted his cheeks. _Don't touch my face._

"And you…" Molly smiled at Daphne, and then she pulled the startled Greengrass into a motherly hug. "You did so well, dear." _Daphne Greengrass, death by bone-crushing hug._

"Where are the others?" Ron asked as he looked around the empty Kitchen.

"They're upstairs," Molly replied, she was still crushing Daphne. "Ron, a lot of them have questions…"

"Good on them," Ron drawled.

Ron then began making his way towards the stairs, his Training Outfit was currently in his trunk. Molly let go of Daphne, and both witches followed after Ron.

"The twins and Ginny are worried about you, Ronnie," Molly told him. "I think you should talk to them before you do anything else."

"Actually, Ron shouldn't talk to them while he's on the Calming Draught," Daphne said.

"Why?" Molly asked.

"Because I can be 'mean' when I'm on the Calming Draught," Ron said without looking back.

"Ron?" Luna popped out of Ginny's room, the girls had clearly been watching him through Ginny's window. "How do you feel? I heard that you-"

"I feel fine," Ron told her without stopping his stride.

Luna, Hermione, Ginny, Astoria, Molly, and Daphne were now following him up towards the second floor, and Ron felt a pang of annoyance because of their clingy behavior. _Stop them before they follow you up to your room, Ron._

"Can I help all of you?" Ron turned to face them, and the witches just exchanged looks.

"What happened to you today?" Ginny stepped forward. "You looked like you were in pain, Ron…"

"I was in **immense** pain," Ron didn't bother lying, and the witches looked a little uncomfortable. _Why ask a question if that's how you're going to react?_ "I feel fine now, so stop following me everywhere."

"Ron…" Molly gave him a bewildered look, while Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Daphne, you can come with me," Ron said. "The rest of you… Go about your day, and stay out of my way."

Ron then continued his journey up towards his room. He knew that he could play the hurt victim right now, which would score him a lot of points with the witches, but that's not who he was. Ron had become used to being on his own, and he found that if he started answering questions, his way of life could be deeply affected. _One thing would lead to another, and before you know it, people will know about my personal affairs. Plus, most of them are extremely sharp, so I can't afford to entertain them when I'm like this. I could easily slip up, and they'll never let it go._

Daphne eventually caught up to him on the third floor, a slight frown on her beautiful face.

"Stay out of my way?" Daphne repeated. "Honestly, Ron, that was a little unnecessary."

"Did you notice that Luna and Tori were in Ginny's room?" Ron asked, ignoring her comment.

"I did," Daphne sighed out. "Tori told me that she enjoys spending time with Luna, which means that no one is going to stop her from spending time with Luna."

"That's… quite respectable," Ron's lips twitched upwards. "We could all learn a thing, or two, from Luna and Tori. They do as they please, and if the World tries to stop them, they simply ignore it."

"Clearly the Potion has addled your mind," Daphne said. "Your mother asked me to keep you busy, by the way."

"So she understands why you don't want me talking to people now?" Ron asked as he made his way up to the fourth floor.

"She understands that you're not exactly 'you' right now," Daphne replied.

"Well, I already plan to stay busy, so you don't have to worry about me harassing people," Ron said. _I just hope that they leave me alone. I hate being disturbed mid-training._

Ron opened the door to his room, and both Ron and Daphne made their way inside.

"You're back," Tracey smiled at them from Theo's bed, both Tracey and Theo were still listening to her Walkman.

Ron's eyes darted towards Malfoy, who was just lazing about on his bed. _No Harry and Neville… They're probably with the twins right now._

"Ron, how are you feeling, mate?" Theo asked him, while Malfoy slowly sat up.

"I feel fine," Ron said once again, and then he made his way over to his trunk. _Now, my clothes should be right on top since I used them this morning._

"Are you still under the influence of the Calming Draught?" Malfoy asked, while Ron collected a fresh pair of socks.

"I am," Ron replied, and then he took off his sweater.

"Ron!" Daphne squealed, her eyes darting towards a gaping Tracey.

"What?" Ron frowned at her for yelling. "I'm wearing a t-shirt."

"Your arms…" Malfoy mumbled from behind him, and Ron shot a quick look back. _I don't even care right now, I already showed him my scars. Plus, this is my room. I can change in it whenever I please._

"You don't like what you see?" Ron 'smiled' at Malfoy, who seemed to shrink in his spot. "This is what the Dark Lord does to people, Malfoy. You got lucky that night in the Forbidden Forest… If I wasn't there, you'd be rotten confetti by now."

"Ron, stop it," Daphne moved between him and Malfoy. "You're scaring him…" _Is she defending Malfoy from me? Am I taking things too far?_

Ron stared at her face for a few seconds, he could tell that she herself was feeling a little scared of him, but in all honesty, he didn't care right now. _If only I could be this clear headed all the time._ Ron removed his shirt next, and Daphne's jaw dropped open.

"Abs… Pansy was right…" Tracey's eyes lit up, and Daphne hopped onto the bed in order to cover Tracey's eyes.

"Don't look at them!" Daphne tried to put her hands over Tracey's eyes, but the slender girl rolled to the side, her eyes fixed on Ron's stomach. "Ron, stop undressing!"

"I already put my top on, Daphne," Ron said, he had put on his training jumper during Daphne's scuffle with Tracey. _Merlin, it's getting a little tight on me. Does this come with a Fitting Charm?_

"I finally saw them…" Tracey slowly started to grin, and Ron noticed that Theo was frowning at him from the corner of his vision. _What? You want to impress her? Why don't you get off your arse for a change, then? 'I forgot my running gear at Hogwarts', my arse._

"Unnatural mutation…" Theo muttered under his breath.

"Wow… Just… Wow!" Tracey clapped her hands in excitement. _Girls are weird. She went from being shocked to being ecstatic within a heartbeat._

"Tracey, stop it," Daphne said petulantly, she hated the awed look on Tracey's face right now.

Ron began to open the buttons on his jeans, but Daphne quickly hopped off of the bed in order to stop him.

"What, Daph? I'm wearing boxers," Ron clicked his tongue. "And stop jumping around like that… You'll scare the Ghoul upstairs." _And then, he'll start banging the pipes, which will disturb mum._

"Stop getting naked in front of other girls!" Daphne stole his training pants. _Hey, I need those._

"Fine," Ron rolled his eyes. "Give me the pants, I'll go change outside."

"Please, there is no need for that," Tracey giggled in a rather girly manner. "We're all friends here, right?" _She's staring right into my eyes. It's weird._

"I will have you killed, Tracey," Daphne shot an icy look at her best friend. "Ron, go outside."

"Give me the pants first…" Ron said.

"Maybe we should be the ones who go outside?" Theo suggested. "If one of his siblings see him like this, it'll turn into a headache." _Right._

"Theo's right," Daphne agreed. "C'mon, let's go outside. I'm looking at you, Tracey, stop ogling **my** boyfriend."

* * *

 _ **Ginevra Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

Any concern that she had over Ron's health was now gone, and once again, she found herself unexplainably angry with her older brother. Who was he to dismiss so many people? He had even dismissed their mother, and Ginny would have been blind if she didn't see the hurt on the Weasley matriarch's face. For Merlin's sake, Daphne Greengrass was behaving in a more likeable manner than Ron. Despite Ginny's disapproval of the Ice-Queen dating Ron, and turning him cold just like her in the process, Ginny couldn't deny that Greengrass at least had the decency to apologize for Ron's behavior before chasing after him.

Molly Weasley had left for her Kitchen once Ron and Greengrass were gone, and so Ginny had followed her mother's lead and left for her room. Hermione, Luna, and the little Greengrass had followed her back to her room, which is where they were all currently spending their time. At first, Ginny had only allowed Astoria Greengrass in because Luna had asked, but she was quickly regretting that decision. Astoria was a brat, one who constantly yelled instead of speaking normally, but that didn't bother Ginny as much as it should have. What did bothered Ginny was that Luna was ignoring her in favor of Astoria. It was nothing short of a betrayal, and it hurt Ginny even though she refused to show it.

"So… Ron's feeling better now," Hermione broke the silence, and Ginny didn't bother to look up. "Ginny? Did you hear me?"

"I heard you," Ginny spoke to her broom, which she was currently polishing.

More silence filled the room, and the only sound that could be heard was Astoria and Luna whispering to each other as they worked on their stupid star charts. _First Luna ditches me for the bratty Greengrass, and now, Hermione is openly spending time with the Slytherins. She even told us that she had a decent conversation with Malfoy… As if that happened. He probably called her a filthy name, and she's lying in order to save face._

"Hermione, do you want a star chart?" Luna suddenly asked, and Ginny's eyes darted away from her broom.

"A star chart?" Hermione asked quickly, no doubt trying to have a conversation.

"Astoria and I plan to chart the stars over the Burrow tonight," Luna hummed in her usual way. "Bill and Charlie have agreed to join us, and we plan to ask Ron and the others as well."

"Oh, of course," Hermione smiled widely. "It sounds like a fun group activity." _Hermione's openly told me that she thinks that Luna is crazy, but here she is… Smiling from ear to ear. Is it just me, or does Hermione constantly seek approval from others?_

'Alright, we'll make one for you as well," Luna went back to her work.

"I don't get one?" Ginny heard herself ask. _Why are you ignoring me? Ever since the Gala, I've seen less and less of you._

"No," Luna said rather coldly, something that surprised even Astoria Greengrass. _What…?_

For a couple of seconds, Ginny was too stunned to even react. In her entire life, she had never heard Luna sound so cold and distant. But then, once the shock wore off, Ginny felt her blood boil.

"Why?" Ginny demanded, her broom clattering onto the ground as she stood up.

Astoria and Hermione traded quick looks, but Luna didn't even bother to look up.

"Because you don't want to chart the stars," Luna replied. "You just want us to offer you a chance to spend time with us so you can turn us down." _What? That's not even true!_

"What's your problem with me, Luna?" Ginny demanded.

"I have to use the loo," Astoria stood up, and then she just walked out of the room.

"Um… Ginny, I think you ought to calm down…" Hermione tried to play peacekeeper, but that only served to annoy Ginny.

"I'm not the one being hostile," Ginny stated, and Luna finally looked up.

"You are the only person being hostile here," Luna said, her gaze just as sharp as her mother's. "You've been nothing but hostile for months, and it is past time someone called you out on it." Luna then looked to Hermione, her gaze becoming normal once again. "Hermione, can I speak to Ginny alone?"

"Um… Okay…" Hermione looked far from comfortable, and she left the room in a rather awkward manner.

"Well?!" Ginny glared at her 'best friend'. "You've been ignoring me ever since the Gala, and I want to know why!"

"You hit him," Luna said, and Ginny blinked at her. "You hit Ron. I saw you two arguing, and then, you hit him. I watched him leave with the dress he bought just for you, and I could see the welt on his face."

"He bloody deserved it," Ginny scoffed. "He was the one behind the 'twins' last few pranks', and he's the one who set them up. He got them suspended, and they lost years of their work. And why did Ron do this? So he could impress his Slytherin stooges." Ginny then crossed her arms. "I don't remember you saying a damn thing after what happened."

"I didn't have to," Luna said far too calmly. "I simply realized that you weren't Ginny anymore, you're just what the Heir of Slytherin left behind after he was done with my friend."

Ginny's blood froze, and she felt her throat close up immediately. In the recesses of her mind, she could hear Tom's silky smooth voice calling out to her. He was asking her to write down how she felt, and Ginny suddenly felt her fingers digging into her left forearm. _How… How could she say that?_

"You… You take that back…" Ginny managed, and Luna gave her a sorry look.

"No," Luna refused. "You're not the Ginny I grew up with, and unlike everyone else, I'm not going to let you keep tarnishing my friend's name. The Ginny I knew would never strike Ron, she would never conspire to turn everyone against him, and she certainly wouldn't look down on people just because they got sorted into a different House than her. Ginny became my friend **because** I was different, whereas you judge people for being different. That's why I'm ignoring you."

"I don't judge people because-" Ginny started weakly, but Luna just shook her head.

"And you lie to yourself constantly in order to play the victim," Luna added. "Ginny never felt sorry for herself. **Ever**. When her brothers refused to let her play Quidditch, she snuck out in the dead of night in order to practice by herself. She was so proud of her resolve, and she promised me that she'd show her brothers that she was their equal." Luna then stood up with an even sorrier look. "You don't have her strength. You don't have her kindness. You don't have her empathy. You don't-"

"Stop it!" Ginny shrieked, her eyes welling up.

"You don't have Ron," Luna finished regardless. "Do you remember what we discussed on our way to Hogwarts? Before we got sorted?"

"Get out…" Ginny rubbed her eyes clear harshly.

"We promised each other that one of us would get sorted into Slytherin," Luna reminded Ginny. "It was your idea… You said that in case Ron was ever lonely in a House that despises Blood-Traitors, he'd always have you to rely on. You were so passionate about it that even I wanted to be sorted into Slytherin. I wanted us to be how we were before Hogwarts. You remember, don't you? Ron would spend any free time he had with us. We'd go into the cornfield, we'd paint with my mum, we'd listen to my dad's stories and pretend like we were monster hunters, Ron even used to let us ride on his back-"

"You're delusional!" Ginny had had enough. "You think he'd ever do that now? Ronnie isn't there anymore, Luna! He's gone! Replaced by this ego-maniac!"

"Did you know that animals evolve in order to survive changing habitats," Luna said, and Ginny was left genuinely confused. "What Ron is now is a direct result of his Family's behavior."

"What?" Ginny couldn't believe this. "You're blaming us?!"

"Yes, and so does my mum," Luna replied. _Mrs. Lovegood?_ "You all managed to push a sweet, kind person so far that he became cold, cruel, and violent. Ron scares me. Being around him is like being near a hungry Wampus… That's who Ron turned into because his Family never bothered to understand that he just wanted to be their equal. They never bothered to realize that he was lonely in Slytherin, and that he was the victim of a brutal campaign led by the other Slytherins who wanted to shame him. Ron became cruel in order to pin Slytherin under his heel, and now, there's no going back. Ron is not an ego-maniac, Ginny, he's **far** **worse**."

By the time Luna had finished, Ginny was just staring at her. There was so much to process in Luna's speech, but Ginny found herself attacked to the 'far worse' part.

"Far worse?" Ginny muttered, her fingers digging further into her left forearm.

"Gertrude Swans was talking to her friends, and I overheard them," Luna replied. "Ron tortured someone in Slytherin just to make a point. He threatened far worse if word got out, so Gertrude made her friends promise that they would never go after Ron. Or me."

"What…?" Ginny took a step back, but the back of her legs hit the bed, and she plopped onto her arse.

"You think he runs Slytherin because they all love him?" Luna asked. "People don't cower out of the way when they see someone that they love, Ginny. They're afraid of him, and I don't blame them. Just read the newspapers once in a while, and you'll know just how much power Ron wields. My mum told me that Ron even has contacts in Knockturn Alley." _Knockturn Alley? Ronnie would never-_

Ronnie? No, that wasn't right. Ron was no longer Ronnie, right? Isn't that what Ginny constantly brought up to her other siblings?

"So you're ignoring me because I hit… Because I hit a cruel, cold, and violent prick?" Ginny asked weakly.

"He's not cold, cruel, or violent towards his Family," Luna replied. "He has a temper, sure, but so do the rest of you." Luna then looked to Ginny's broomstick. "He bought you that broom for Christmas, didn't he? He barely had any money back then, but he spent it all on you. He bought you a nice broom so that you wouldn't have to train on an old one like he did. He bought you a proper Quidditch Outfit, new equipment, and even a brand new polishing kit. Do you think he bought himself anything from that money? He even spent all of his earnings from France on us, but he didn't buy a single thing for himself. You're currently wearing clothes that even catch Astoria's eyes, and she adores your two hundred Galleon bracelet. She told me that despite being the richest child in Magical Britain, even she doesn't own too many pieces of such quality." _Luna knows that my bracelet is Enchanted… I'm pretty sure my bracelet cost well over two hundred, while Luna's only cost around a hundred…_

Ginny said nothing, mostly because she already knew just how hypocritical she was for using Ron's gifts. _But I need this bracelet… Without it, I'm hideous…_

"Who do you think bought you your new armguards?" Luna asked.

"Percy…" Ginny muttered.

"No," Luna shook her head. "You know that Percy isn't like the rest of you. Percy doesn't enjoy Quidditch, nor does he know anything about it."

"Ron bought them?" Ginny swallowed thickly, her chest was starting to hurt.

"He knew that you would never accept them from him, but he didn't want you to hurt yourself because of faulty equipment," Luna said. "He asked me to introduce you to my friends, and he did that because he was worried about you isolating yourself."

"You… You all lied to me?" Ginny felt a bit of her anger resurface.

"Again you act like you're the victim," Luna said in a detached manner. "Ron is not the Heir of Slytherin, Ginny, and he doesn't 'manipulate' you. He doesn't even ask for anything in return, for Merlin's sake. When it comes to you, Ron is even willing to be despised as long as you're happy. The only time he decided to manipulate you, you figured it out and struck him for it."

Luna then rubbed her eyes, and Ginny realized that Luna wasn't happy about what she was saying.

"You blame everyone but yourself, all the while deluding yourself into believing whatever lie suits you at the time," Luna sighed out, Ginny had never heard Luna sound so frail. "You think Harry, Hermione, or Neville would ever make such sacrifices for you? You think they'd let themselves be petrified instead of raising a hand against you?"

Ginny flinched a bit at that, she had managed to forget that Ron had nearly died because of her mistakes.

"Don't forget that Ron faced the Dark Lord as well, Ginny," Luna said, and Ginny shrunk in her spot. "He was in a coma for a month, and I'm dead certain that even now, Ron is suffering from his injuries."

"Injuries?" Ginny all but whispered.

"You think he ended up in a coma for no reason?" Luna asked. "Why didn't the Healers let us see him while he was being 'tended to'? Why do the parents constantly fret over him? Why doesn't your mother let him do any chores? Why did I find my mother crying for days on end whenever Ron was brought up during his coma? Why does Ron only wear one glove?"

Ginny realized that she had no answers whatsoever.

"You can hate me for saying these things to you, and I'll understand," Luna said. "But they need to be said, because if you keep going like this, you won't have anyone left by your side. The Ginny I grew up with was fearless, and she took charge of every situation. She didn't blame others for her own shortcomings. She didn't see Ron as an inferior dog to be kicked around whenever she was having a hard time."

Luna then walked over to the door, but before she left, she turned back around.

"I really miss my best friend, and I'd like to have her back now," Luna said almost innocently. "I know she's still in there somewhere, and when she finally comes back out again, I'll be waiting."

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Ministry – Evening)**_

Corban and Felix waited outside the Wizengamot's courtroom near the Ministry's Dungeons, their legislation was going to be passed any moment now.

"Felix, stop pacing," Corban said from his chair, and the young wizard stopped immediately.

"If we get outvoted, Ronald Weasley will be onto us," Felix reminded Corban.

"We won't get outvoted," Corban assured Felix. "Fudge is heading the Wizengamot tonight, while Amelia Bones and Albus Dumbledore are not here. Our friends have the stage tonight, so don't worry about being outvoted."

"The Headmaster can shut our legislation down, can't he?" Felix asked. "He's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."

"He can, but only if he's here when it gets passed," Corban replied. "If the legislation is passed, and he was not in attendance, then by law, he has no power over this legislation. It's his own fault for not taking his job seriously."

"Well, he does have many 'jobs'," Felix stated. "Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump, Grand Sorcerer of Britain… He is easily the most powerful man in Europe."

"Only a fool would think that," Corban said coldly. "Dumbledore does not exercise his power, so he might as well not have it. He will not stop this legislation, and neither will the people inside that room. No one wants the French here, not even the most tolerable of the Old Families. After all, we British remember how the Veelas secured their power in France, do we not?"

"They slept their way to the top," Felix took a seat.

"While we British were perfecting wands, the Veelas used to lure men into the mountains," Corban said with genuine disgust. "They used their allures to ensnare the senses of honorable men, and then, they would rape those poor sods. That is their entire history… We cannot let these dangerous predators into our country, Felix. We must fight their machinations wherever we can."

"You know, a part of me is grateful that I'm not attracted to women," Felix shook his head. "Imagine being turned into a Veela's plaything…" _I would rather not._

"Have you seen their 'husbands'?" Corban asked Felix.

"Women running the Family… It's absurd," Felix said.

"I hear that the Veelas keep the men in their Families docile via their allures," Corban said. "Daughters will even use their allures on their own fathers in order to get whatever they want."

"By the Gods," Felix looked disgusted.

"You know…" Corban started, his eyes fixed on Felix. "Your sexuality won't protect you from them."

"Really?" Felix blinked at him.

"Really," Corban nodded. "They can even seduce women with their allures, if they try hard enough."

"I'll let Victor know…" Felix looked back towards the courtroom.

"How is Victor?" Corban asked. "Ever since this Vampire plague started, I haven't run into him." _I'm sure that his uncle has some new stock. I might pay him a visit soon._

"He's… away…" Felix replied slowly. "Truth be told, I haven't heard anything from him for days… I'm getting a little worried. He's never disappeared on me before."

"You two only started dating recently, am I correct?" Corban asked.

Personally, Corban had no idea why some men were attracted to other men, but he cared enough about Felix to not question what made the young man happy. _Eventually, however, they will both need sons. They are the last males of their respective Families, and we can't afford to lose two more Families from the Sacred Twenty-Eight._

"We were on and off during Hogwarts," Felix replied. "Then, I graduated from Hogwarts, while Victor still had to attend his seventh year. We only caught up a few months ago."

"And you say that he never disappears on you?" Corban asked.

"He's very organized," Felix replied. "All I know is that he had some dangerous item in his inventory, and that he was trying to get rid of it." _I see… This doesn't bode well already._

"I will have some of my associates look for him," Corban patted Felix' back. "Don't worry, my friend, you'll have him back soon."

"I… Thank, my Lord," Felix said rather formally. "And thank you for being understanding… The other Lords aren't like you."

"We all have our differences," Corban shrugged. _Look at me… I'm stuck in a loveless marriage, but I can't leave because I am duty-bound to my frail wife and ungrateful daughter._ "I just want you to know that you can rely on me."

"I have ever since I was young," Felix smiled a little, which was something that he barely ever did. _His parents, his older brother… All dead before he even started Hogwarts. I'm glad that I found him when I did._ "I've never really thanked you properly, have I?"

"There is no need for it," Corban said calmly. "All I did was look after your father's accounts while you attended Hogwarts." _And I secretly made sure that you wanted for nothing._

"You expanded our businesses, and you never asked me for a Knut," Felix smiled more fully. "I remember how stubborn I was when I first met you. I called you a thief, didn't I?"

"You were barely ten," Corban said. "Children, no matter their intelligence, think with their hearts."

"Thank you for everything, my Lord," Felix said genuinely. "You've always done right by me, even when I couldn't see it."

"Does being nervous make you a bleeding heart?" Corban joked, though his blunt features remained expressionless.

"I think so," Felix regained his composure.

"Let's go have dinner after this," Corban suggested. "We've been cooped up in the Ministry all day, and neither of us have eaten."

Ten more minutes passed, and both Corban and Felix spent their time discussing where to eat. Felix was quite the picky eater, but Corban was more than happy to facilitate him. Eventually, the sound of the Chief Warlock's gavel echoed throughout the Ministry Dungeons, and both wizards stood up in order to wait for Fudge. _If he's failed us, I'll have him killed within the week._ The doors split open, and Dolores Umbridge stepped through them with a smug smile. Judging by her peacock-like behavior, both wizards knew that she had delivered on her promises.

"Lord Yaxley," Umbridge greeted him, her voice sugary-sweet as usual. "Lord Rosier."

"Well?" Corban asked, his eyes lingering on the other Wizengamot members who were leaving. _Most of them look quite pleased with themselves._

"The legislation passed," Umbridge smiled like a Cheshire cat. _Excellent!_ "It has been named the 'Foreign Businesses Policy', and it goes into effect immediately. The Department of International Magical Cooperation will now start doing background checks on all wealthy businesses attempting to settle in Magical Britain." _The French are done for, then._ "We can finally start getting rid of those beasts."

"Gentlemen," Fudge approached from behind Umbridge. "Ah, Dolores… You spoke with fantastic clarity today."

"Thank you, Minister," Umbridge giggled, and Corban resisted the urge to frown. _Her voice is grating to say the least._

"Well done, Minister," Corban 'smiled' at Fudge. "You've done exemplary work today, and Britain will not forget."

"However…" Felix joined in. "You still need to speak to the French. Their bribes cannot be ignored."

"I thought we decided to wait until after their Christmas Party," Fudge said nervously.

"They can still have their party," Corban smirked. "They just need to bring packed bags to the event. The moment it ends, they need to head home." _Let them go back to their joke of a country._ "Are we clear?"

"This… At least let me take this to Barty Crouch," Fudge implored, his nervous eyes darting towards Umbridge. _Don't bother, Minister… She knows that we're in charge._

"If that man smells corruption, he will make it public knowledge," Felix said. "Which means that both Ministries will get caught up in a scandal, which will further damage the public's opinion of this 'fine' institute. The British people have suffered long enough, haven't they, Minister?"

"I… I suppose you're right," Fudge muttered to himself. "I will send them owls tomorrow, and once they're here, we will discuss a peaceful resolution to this debacle…"

"Just tell them that we humbly ask them to leave," Corban said. "Madam Umbridge, why don't you help the Minister with this? He could use your knowledge on Magical Law for this discussion."

"Minister?" Umbridge looked even more pleased with herself.

"Of course, Dolores," Fudge nodded.

Corban suddenly spotted Barty Crouch himself coming out of the courtroom, he was accompanied by Muriel Prewett and Augusta Longbottom. _What is this?_ The three of them were in heated discussion, and when Muriel saw Corban, her expression turned wrathful. _Muriel Prewett… She is Ronald Weasley's Great-Aunt, is she not? Don't tell me that she's onto us._ Corban watched the three Wizengamot members leave, and he couldn't deny that seeing them together made him quite suspicious.

"Minister, I expect this done within two days," Corban said.

"Two days?!" Fudge looked shaken.

"We cannot delay something as important as justice, now, can we?" Corban asked. _Ronald Weasley will be onto us very soon, I suspect, and once that happens, things could spiral out of control. That boy is a genuine threat to our plans._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

Ron stood up from the last of his pushups, and he stretched his entire body. The burning sensation that followed after a good workout sizzled throughout his body, and Ron smiled genuinely. _Feel that burn, Ron? That's fucking power right there!_ Usually, his mind tended to get muddled with tiredness after such a session, but right now, he felt even more aware of his surroundings. The exercise had somehow heightened the Potion's effects, and Ron genuinely planned to drink a Calming Draught before his next session. _Maybe a smaller dose, though._

"Looking good, Ron!" Tracey cheered, and Ron shot a look back.

Daphne, Tracey, Theo, Malfoy, Luna, Astoria, the twins, and the Trio were watching him from the Burrow's front entrance, and Ron cocked an eyebrow at them. _How long have they been there? Also, Daphne will murder Tracey at this rate, and Theo will murder me._ Ron continued to stretch his limbs, it was time to practice some Wandless Magic. _I'll start with something small, like a discarded shoe, and then move onto something more challenging, like multiple rocks at once._

Just as Ron was focusing on a nearby torn shoe, he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. _Great. A disturbance._ Ron turned around, and he saw Hermione of all people coming towards him. _What does she want?_

"Are you about to use Magic?" Hermione asked him, and Ron nodded slowly. "Ron, you can't… The Ministry will expel you from Hogwarts!"

"I have a special dispensation from the Ministry," Ron told her, and Hermione blinked at him.

"What?"

"I'm allowed to use Magic outside of school," Ron clarified, and Hermione just processed his words for a few seconds.

"You are?" Hermione looked mildly annoyed all of a sudden. "Well… That's not really fair, is it? I mean, for the rest of your peers, that is… How did you get this dispensation? I want to apply for it as well."

"I didn't apply, Hermione," Ron said, he had half a mind to clap her for bothering him with her opinions. "People like me don't need to apply for anything… We simply take what we want." Ron then looked back to the shoe. "Now, please go away. You're ruining my concentration."

"What do mean by people like you?" Hermione asked haughtily, why was he being so rude to her? _Merlin help this witch, because I'm about to start swinging._

Ron turned to face her again, and the look on her face gave away her jealousy. _I've never met someone so… incapable of coping with loss… before. She almost reminds me of me._

"Have you not read the newspapers?" Ron asked her. "You realize that I'm considered a rising star within the Wizarding World, right? I have connections, and a lot of influence. I know people, who know more people." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Hermione, I've even managed to get a foothold within the Ministry itself. These things didn't happen out of luck, either, I worked myself to the bone to get here. That's why I have this special dispensation."

"So… I can't apply for it?" Hermione asked, and Ron just stared at her.

"I will see what I can do," Ron sighed out. _She's a Muggle-Born, Ron. Think of the bigger picture here. One day, she'll be hunted by Snatchers and Death-Eaters. She needs all the practice she can get._

"Really?" Hermione's tone lost all annoyance. "Really?! You would do that?!" _Ron, the softie… Ron, the weak…_

"Yes, now please leave me to my training," Ron said blandly, and Hermione nodded with a face-splitting smile.

Ron turned back around to face the shoe, his mind slowly regaining its focus. _Now, let's see if I can lift it Non-Verbally-_

"Oh, there's something else that I need to tell you," Hermione said suddenly, and Ron praised the Gods for the Calming Draught.

"Yes, Hermione?" Ron turned back to face her.

"Right… Um… I don't know where to start-" Hermione stammered.

"Just say it, please," Ron kept his tone in check.

"I think Luna and Ginny had a row," Hermione said, and Ron's eyes veered towards Luna and Astoria. "There was shouting, mostly from Ginny… I heard them in the Kitchen, as did Harry and Neville. I asked Luna if everything was alright, but she simply shook her head and met up with Astoria." _Astoria? Not Greengrass? Also, what was this fight about? Bloody hell, Ginny… Now you're fighting Luna as well?_

"Send Luna over here," Ron said.

"You… You won't scold her, will you?" Hermione asked. _I will scold you if you don't do as I say._

"No, I just want to know what happened," Ron replied. "Luna isn't exactly an aggressive person."

"Alright, I'll send her over," Hermione nodded. "And thanks, Ron. For the dispensation-"

"I said that I'd try, I'm not making any promises," Ron said firmly.

"Still, thank you," Hermione smiled at him, and then she left to go talk to Luna.

Ron turned back to the shoe, but he didn't try to levitate it. Instead, he simply waited for his little sister. _Ginny… What am I going to do about her? Ever since she stopped seeing Pomfrey, she's become increasingly more agitated. And now, she's even fighting Luna._ Ron knew that by getting involved, he could potentially make his relationship with Ginny worse, but at the same time, Ron understood that things didn't get fixed because you wanted them to. No matter what Ginny's problems were, she was still his little sister, and despite her behavior, Ron still loved her. _If something isn't done soon, she'll only get worse._

"Your training regimen looks quite strenuous, Ron," came Luna's voice from behind him, and Ron gestured her to join him without looking back.

Luna stopped by Ron's right, her eyes quickly landing on the old shoe.

"Hermione told me that you fought against Ginny," Ron said, and Luna nodded to herself. "Well? Tell me what happened."

"She wants a fight, Ron…" Luna replied meekly, and Ron slowly looked to her. "She's been goading the twins, and she's been nothing but rude towards my new friend… Someone had to try to help her find her way back, and since you've given up on her, I thought I would…" _Given up on Ginny? I don't think I'm capable of that. I might get angry with, and even hate, her attitude at times, but I can't give up on her. I can't give up on any of them._ "Are… Are you angry with me?"

"No," Ron replied truthfully, and then he put his arm around her. "Have I ever been angry with you?"

"It could happen," Luna replied.

"Well, it didn't happen today," Ron gave her a squeeze.

"Then why do you sound so… cold?" Luna asked him.

"I'm on a Calming Draught right now," Ron replied. "I'm… numb… to most things at the moment, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand your actions. If anything, I understand them better than I normally would, even if I have to go out of my way to show any interest."

"You're sick…" Luna looked truly dejected. "I've heard the rumors, I've seen the signs… What aren't you telling us, Ron?"

"You shouldn't have to worry about that," Ron pulled his arm back. "You should focus on happier things, Luna." _You'll lose many of them very soon._

"You never kept secrets before…" Luna all but whispered.

"People change," Ron shrugged. "I mean, I never thought that I'd see the day where Luna Lovegood would confront Ginevra Weasley, but here we are… How did she take it?"

"I made her cry…" Luna's voice cracked, and she started sniffling loudly. _Fantastic. Just what I needed._

"Luna, come over here-" Ron started, but Luna crouched down and started bawling into her knees. _Good Lord…_

Ron quickly sat down by her side, his gloved hand rubbing her back.

"I've never… fought with… her like that…" Luna coughed out, and Ron immediately noticed his angry girlfriend running towards them. _I'm so fucking dead._

"Luna!" Daphne came to a halt, her eyes fixed on Ron. "What did you say to her?!"

"I didn't say anything," Ron replied calmly, the others were now following after Daphne. _Damn, the whole fucking house is going to blame me for this._

"It's okay, Lu, please don't cry," Daphne crouched down next to Luna, her arms already around the smaller girl.

"Is she alright?" Hermione asked Daphne, and then she looked to Ron. "You said that you weren't going to scold her!"

"I didn't scold her," Ron said as he stood up.

"What did you do, then?" Fred demanded, while George positioned himself in front of the crying Ravenclaw.

"I did nothing," Ron was quickly getting bored with these accusations. "Luna, tell them."

"I fought with Ginny…" Luna sobbed out.

"Oh," Tracey rubbed the back of her head. _They can comfort her, I'm not really equipped to deal with this right now._

"I'll get her something to drink," Ron said, and then he began heading towards the Burrow.

Theo quickly followed after him, while Ron noticed that Malfoy hadn't left his spot. _Figures. He doesn't really know Luna, nor is he big on helping others. Yet._

"Guess you were right about the fight," Theo said.

"Oh, this isn't **the** fight," Ron said. "This is just a spat between two friends. Luna confronted Ginny about her behavior, and they got into an argument. Luna's just a little shaken, that's all."

"She alright?" Malfoy asked as Theo and Ron approached the front door.

"She'll be fine," Ron replied, and then he made his way inside.

His mother was in the Kitchen prepping dinner, and she had a cross look on her face. _Why is she scowling at the chicken?_ Ron made his way over to the counter, where he poured a cup of juice for Luna while Theo and Malfoy waited by the stairs.

"Everything alright, Mrs. Weasley?" Theo asked, and she let out a long sigh.

"Ron, did you hear Ginny arguing with someone upstairs?" Molly asked her son, and then she remembered that Ron had been outside for an hour. "Never mind…"

"She had a spat with Luna," Ron replied in a bland manner.

"With Luna?" Molly looked a little taken aback. "No, that can't be right… I heard her yelling from downstairs, she'd never do that to Luna."

"Then why is Luna crying outside?" Ron asked, and Molly quickly made her way over to the nearest window.

"They're all huddled around her?" Molly asked.

"They're just trying to calm her down," Ron replied.

"Her mother will be here any minute now," Molly gasped. "Ginny Weasley… You have gone too far this time." _She sounds quite angry all of a sudden._

Molly moved towards the stairs, but Ron quickly cut her off with a cup of juice in his right hand.

"Mum, you'll make things worse if you yell at Ginny right now," Ron told her from experience. "She's the only one of us kids who is not outside, so I'm guessing that she's crying alone in her room. Scolding her right now will only make her more miserable, which will affect her negatively later on."

"She has been behaving terribly for too long," Molly frowned deeply. "I'm putting an end to this right now!"

"You won't put an end to it, you'll just isolate her," Ron drawled. "Mum, I'm speaking from experience here. Where did yelling get you with me?" Molly's frown slowly weakened, and she looked a little bothered by his bluntness. "I'm not trying to bring up bad memories, I'm just asking you to learn from them. Leave Ginny to me, please. I'll get her some juice, and just make sure that she's alright."

"She needs to know that she's behaving terribly," Molly said, while Malfoy and Theo pretended to not listen.

"Luna's already told her," Ron said, and then he looked to Theo. "Give Luna this, and stay with her."

"Sure," Theo took the glass, and then he headed outside rather quickly.

"Mum, please just go about your day," Ron said calmly. "You've already got so much to worry about."

"I… Fine…" Molly said, though she didn't look pleased with her decision. "But if she doesn't start behaving soon, your father and I **will** get involved."

Only once Molly was back to prepping the chicken did Ron walk back to the Kitchen counter. He poured another cup of juice, and as he turned back around to head upstairs, he spotted Harry lingering by the entrance. _Is he heading up to check on Ginny?_ Harry gave Ron an awkward look, but he stayed in his spot. _No, I think he just came here because he is uncomfortable with the situation outside._ Ron walked back to the stairs, while both Malfoy and Harry stayed in the Kitchen. _My mum, Harry, and Malfoy in one room… Now that's an awkward situation._

The walk up to Ginny's room was eerily quiet, but the closer he got, the more clearly he heard loud sniffling. _I was right. She's crying up there alone._ Ron stopped at her door, and he drew in a deep breath. _Luckily, if she's rude to me, I won't feel any anger because of the Calming Draught._ Ron knocked on the door, and the sniffling ceased immediately.

"Ginny? Can I come in?" Ron asked, but there was no response. "I'm not here to fight, I promise. I brought you a drink."

"Go away…" came Ginny's shaky voice. _Not going well, eh, Ron?_

Ron pulled out his wand from his pocket, and he aimed it at the door's handle.

"Alohomora," Ron chanted, and he heard the door unlock.

Ron pocketed his wand, and then he made his way inside right after. Ginny was sitting on her bed with her knees pressed against her chest, her blotchy face was soaked with tears. _She's been crying for a while._ When she realized that Ron had broken into her room, she jumped off of the bed with an angry scowl.

"Get out, Ron," Ginny sounded both pissed, and shocked.

"I brought you juice," Ron offered her the glass, and she just stared at him. "It's pumpkin, your favorite."

Ginny had no idea how to react to his unnaturally calm behavior, so she just stared at him with an increasingly wary look. _She's not taking it._ Ron walked around her, and he put the glass on her side table.

"Luna's crying too," Ron told her, and her shoulders sagged as she dropped down onto her bed. "She told me that you two had a fight."

"Go be with her, then… Leave me alone," Ginny rubbed her face harshly.

"Pretty much everyone is out there with her," Ron said. "I came over because mum planned to scold you."

"Of course…" Ginny sniffled.

"I'll stay in here for a bit, just so that mum doesn't come up," Ron walked over and sat down on her study chair. "If you want to talk, then I'll listen to you, but if not, then I'll just stay here quietly."

"Whatever…" Ginny turned and faced her wall. _That's her stubborn way of saying that she doesn't want to be alone. Guess I'll just sit here, then. My training got ruined within a few short minutes._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had to give Ginny credit, she was certainly disciplined when it came to ignoring someone. He had been sitting in her room for nearly thirty minutes now, and in that time, Ginny had only looked at him once, and that was Ron decided to levitate her stuffed toys for Wandless Magic practice. _I'm still amazed that she didn't tell me to leave her toys alone. The truth is that I was hoping to get her attention with that stunt._

Ron lowered the pink unicorn plushy onto her bed, and Ginny shot it a quick look. _Go on, take the bait._ After a couple of seconds, Ginny shoved the unicorn off of the bed. _Not what I had in mind._ Ron Non-Verbally levitated it off of the ground, and then he carefully dropped it by Ginny's side. Ginny shot him a frown, and then she shoved the unicorn off of the bed once again. Ron decided to put the unicorn back on the bed, and this happened three more times before Ginny looked a little amused with Ron's pestering.

"You can't stay angry with Mr. Rainbow," Ron said.

"That's not his name," Ginny huffed. _It's not?_

"I'm pretty sure it is," Ron argued. "I was there when you got him."

"This is Mr. Horn," Ginny corrected him. "Mr. Rainbow is the owl over there."

"Mr. Rainbow for an owl?" Ron asked.

"I was four," Ginny shrugged, her voice was a little hoarse.

"Do you want Mr. Rainbow?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards the owl toy.

"Stop piling toys onto my bed," Ginny refused. "Why aren't you leaving already? Mum isn't coming up here."

"I like sitting in this room," Ron shrugged casually. "It's been a long time since I was in here with you."

Ginny didn't say anything, but at least she didn't look away from him. _What is she staring at?_ Ron followed her gaze towards his right hand, and she quickly looked away when she noticed that Ron was onto her. _Does she still think that I'm obnoxious for wearing a glove on only one hand?_

"Why do you wear only one glove?" Ginny whispered, and Ron didn't really hear her.

"Pardon?" Ron leaned forward. "I didn't catch that."

Ginny waited for a few seconds, almost as if she was making her mind up about something.

"Why do you only wear one glove?" Ginny asked again, and this time, there was some strength in her voice. _Great. Now what?_

Ron thought about what to do next, and thanks to the Calming Draught, Ron figured that if he showed her his hand, she'd understand that Ron was no one to be jealous of. _Or, she'll find my hand hideous, and then, she'll tell everyone I know about it. Should I really give her any power over me? She's proven that she can be quite irrational, and vindictive, when it comes to me._

"Fine, don't tell me," Ginny had waited long enough. "I don't care…"

Ron stood up, and he walked over to her bed. Ginny gave him a guarded look, and when he sat down on the edge of her bed, she scooted away from him. _Hopefully, she won't scream when she sees it. Damn, Ron, you're taking a big risk here._ Ron slowly pulled of his glove, and he showed her his mangled hand. Ginny gasped immediately, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. _Ugly, isn't it? A permanent reminder of my arrogance. I thought I was so clever, and the Dark Lord fucked me up as he was making his escape._ Just as Ron was about to put his glove back on, Ginny quickly moved closer to him, her hands grabbing his in order to inspect the scar.

"What happened to your hand?!" Ginny asked rather loudly, and Ron held back his frown. _Let's hope no one is waiting outside._

"Pandora gave me a ring with Protective Wards on it," Ron replied, he didn't like her fingers tracing his scar. _Just bear with it._ "It melted on my hand when the Dark Lord attacked me at end of my first year."

Ginny drew in a sharp breath, a rather sorry look crossing her face. _When was the last time I saw such a look from her aimed at me?_

"We thought you were trying to be-" Ginny started, but she clearly thought better of what she was about to say.

"Obnoxious?" Ron asked. "I remember the twins' jokes."

Ginny slowly pressed down on the scar tissue, and Ron pulled his hand away from her.

"Sorry, did that hurt?" Ginny winced.

"No, I just don't like people touching my scar," Ron replied as he put his glove back on. "The skin is… sensitive…"

Ginny understood how that felt, the scars on her left forearm were soft and easily agitated. On instinct, Ginny rubbed her left forearm, but Ron didn't really notice.

"So Tom gave you that…" Ginny looked down at her lap. _Tom?_

"Tom?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "He doesn't go by that name anymore."

"To me, he'll always be Tom…" Ginny whispered to herself. "I… I still…" _Still what?_

"Go on," Ron watched her with a calm look. "Maybe I'll understand how you feel seeing as we were both attacked by the same lunatic."

Ginny gave him an odd look, and for a moment, Ron felt like she was ashamed of whatever she was about to say. Ron made sure to wait patiently, and after a few long seconds, Ginny swallowed thickly.

"Sometimes, in my dreams, I hear his voice…" Ginny whispered to her lap, but Ron was close enough to hear her clearly.

"He spoke to you?" Ron asked. _And it didn't occur to you that diaries shouldn't speak? I mean, now that Marty's removed the gems from that dagger, I've sealed it away in Salazar's chest until I can figure out what it is. Dad raised us to be careful around Magical Artefacts, Ginny._

"I can't really explain it… I just heard his voice in my head…" Ginny's gaze became slightly distant. "He kept asking me to write… He kept asking all the time…"

"I see," Ron nodded to himself, he didn't sound very empathetic. "Well, I dream of the Dark Lord as well."

"You do?" Ginny looked up from her lap.

"In my dreams, I see him as a hissing shadow," Ron told the truth. "He chases me through the Forbidden Forest, and eventually, he catches up to me."

"And then?" Ginny asked in a whimper.

"And then, he kills me," Ron told the truth. "He breaks my bones, tears my mind to pieces, and leaves me rotting for the animals."

Ginny looked genuinely terrified, and Ron was certain that his hollow voice was the reason why. _That, and my nightmares are genuinely fucked up._ Ginny massaged her left forearm, and this time, Ron noticed her odd behavior. _Is her arm sore? Or is she just feeling anxious? Should I make a joke in order to ease her mind?_

"You know, technically, we're like Harry now," Ron said, and Ginny blinked at him. "We went up against the Dark Lord, and we lived. You're Ginny Weasley, the Girl-Who-Lived."

Ginny just stared at him for a few seconds, and then, she gave him a hint of a smile.

"You can be Ron Weasley, the **Second** -Boy-Who-Lived," Ginny tried to sound a little cheerful, but her voice was shaky.

"Should we contact the Daily Prophet?" Ron smirked. "We could be famous, and maybe, they'll even write books about us like they did for Harry."

"I don't want a book written about what happened to me," Ginny said.

"Well, more pages for my book, then," Ron shrugged.

"Can I ask you about your voice?" Ginny asked.

"I'm on a Potion," Ron replied. "A Calming Draught, to be exact."

"Why?" Ginny asked, he knew what she was thinking. _She'll ask me if I'm really sick like the rumors suggest._ "Ron… Are you sick? It's just that Luna pointed a few things out to me, and when I think about them, I always come to the same conclusion…"

"What things?" Ron asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Mum and dad don't want you doing chores," Ginny started, her eyes fixed on his. "They constantly fret over you, you were covered in bandages during your coma, and then there are the rumors around Hogwarts…"

"You shouldn't listen to rumors," Ron said.

"Why aren't you answering my question?" Ginny asked, she was beginning to look panicked. _Now what?_

"I never recovered fully from what happened to me," Ron said carefully, but Ginny's entire body sagged in a dreadful manner. _Nice one, Ron, you fucking idiot._

"What does that mean?" Ginny was barely audible.

"It means that everyone has their burdens to bear," Ron replied. "Like you, my issues are all related to my mind. I have night terrors, I stress constantly, and there are times when I get so sad that I isolate myself from the World."

"Sad?" Ginny asked softly, Luna was right about Ron being lonely.

"Aren't there times when you just don't feel like getting out of bed?" Ron asked her, and she gave a meek nod. "Well, I know how that feels."

"It feels awful…" Ginny said, and Ron nodded his agreement. "How do you cope with it?" _Is she asking me for advice? I see opportunity._

"I get help," Ron replied.

"Help? From your friends?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, but I also get help from Madam Pomfrey," Ron told her. _Just take one on the chin for Ginny's sake._

"Madam Pomfrey?" Ginny seemed to be remembering something, did Ron also see her? "I used to see her…"

"I know," Ron said, and she looked a little spooked. "I'm the one who asked her to approach you. It was when you were staying back at the Burrow with Helios."

"You asked her to approach me?" Ginny muttered.

"It wasn't a manipulation, Ginny," Ron said plainly. "Madam Pomfrey has helped me a lot, and I figured that she could help you as well." Ron then looked into her eyes. "Why did you stop going to her?"

Ginny averted her gaze, her hand massaging her left forearm again. _Seriously? She's doing it again?_

"I got better…" Ginny said lamely.

"Did she tell you that?" Ron asked, and Ginny shook her head weakly. "Were you ashamed of seeing her?" Ginny said nothing. "Ginny, you can tell me. I used to feel ashamed of seeing her, and the first time someone suggested that I see her, I was outraged. I accused them of calling me insane, and I stormed off."

"Who told you to see her?" Ginny asked him.

"Believe it or not, it was the Headmaster," Ron replied, and Ginny finally looked back at him. "He noticed that I was… struggling…"

"He… He asked me to see her as well," Ginny told him, and Ron was a little surprised. _He did? Well, he's an attentive Headmaster, I'll give him that._

"Will you?" Ron asked.

"Will I what?"

"Will you see her again?" Ron asked, and Ginny shrunk a little.

"I don't want to…" Ginny replied. _Damn it._

"Do you like feeling this way?" Ron asked.

"No…" Ginny dabbed her eyes.

"Then you should see her, Ginny," Ron advised. "You won't feel better until you try to put the past behind you. I know I wasn't getting better until I started seeing her regularly."

"How regularly?" Ginny asked.

"I see her on Mondays and Thursdays," Ron replied. _Fucking hell, I'm just telling her everything at this point._ "After classes, that is."

"Twice in one week?" Ginny blinked.

"I need her help to function properly," Ron admitted rather openly. "Sometimes, I hate seeing her, but more often than not, I really appreciate her sessions. They help provide stability, and clarity, to my hectic life." Ron then scooted closer to her, and thankfully, she didn't move away from him. "Getting help doesn't make you weak, Ginny, it makes you human. It took me a long time to understand that, and sometimes, I forget this valuable lesson. Do you know what happens when I forget this lesson?"

"What?" Ginny asked softly.

"I start regressing," Ron replied. "I close myself off from other people, which ends up creating bigger problems for me down the line."

"What would the other Gryffindors say?" Ginny hugged her knees.

"Who cares what they say?" Ron asked. "You can do this in secret, Ginny, just like I do. After your classes end, just go down to the Hospital Wing and see her. Most people at Hogwarts are too busy with their own lives to take notice, and in the long run, this will help you a lot more than it will hinder you. **Please** , Ginny, just try it again."

Ginny hugged her knees more tightly, and after a few seconds, she gave him a weak nod. _Yes! Finally, some progress!_

"I can come with you, if you're scared," Ron offered, but Ginny didn't say anything. _She looks so… small._ "Remember when you used to be scared of the cornfield? I used to take you and Luna through it, and we'd all hold hands in case one of us fell into the swampy bits."

"You were the only one who fell into the swampy bits," Ginny reminded, a weak nostalgic smile gracing her face.

"Well, I was the one leading the way, wasn't I?" Ron said. "So? Do you want me to come with you?"

"Okay…" Ginny rested her forehead against her knees.

Ron watched her for a couple of seconds, and then he slowly put his left hand on her back. She tensed for a moment, but she relaxed when he started rubbing her back like Luna had taught them. After nearly a minute of back rubbing, Ginny slowly leaned into Ron's side.

"You smell…" Ginny whispered, her voice much calmer now.

"I was working out," Ron explained. "Does the smell bother you?"

"Not really," Ginny replied. "I'm sorry about your hand, Ron… I wish I didn't make fun of your glove…"

"In your defense, I never told anyone about it," Ron said calmly.

"Does your girlfriend know?" Ginny asked.

"She does," Ron replied, and Ginny looked up at him.

"And it doesn't bother her?" Ginny asked.

"Daphne isn't the Ice-Queen when it comes to me," Ron replied. "She's done more for me than even Madam Pomfrey."

"Really?" Ginny looked a little skeptical.

"Who do you think finds me when I start isolating myself?" Ron asked her. "She even carries around Calming Draughts in case I ever need them."

"Oh…" Ginny looked back down. "That's… I didn't expect that…"

"You should get to know her when you're ready," Ron suggested. "She's takes some getting used to, but once you're her friend, she'll have your back no matter what."

Ginny went to say something, but there was a knock on the door.

"Ron? Are you still in there?" came their mother's voice.

"The door is unlocked, mum," Ron said, and Molly Weasley quickly swung it open.

She looked to be in a hurry, but when she saw Ginny cuddled up to Ron, her features softened immediately. _Is something bothering her?_

"Have two finally made up?" Molly smiled a little, and Ron felt Ginny tense a bit. _Not yet, but I think we made good progress today._

"Mum, what's got you in a hurry?" Ron asked with a bland look, and Molly suddenly shook her head clear.

"Muriel is here, and she's demanding to see you," Molly replied, and even Ginny looked interested.

"Great-Aunt Muriel is here?" Ginny asked. "She actually returned to the Burrow?"

"Did she tell you why she was here?" Ron stood up, his brow furrowed. _What's happened?_

"No, but she looks quite annoyed," Molly replied. "C'mon, Ron, you can't keep her waiting. I left her downstairs with Draco and Harry." _Draco_ _ **Malfoy**_ _? Mum… Why?_

Ron quickly made his way out of the room, and he heard Ginny and Molly following after him. Within seconds, Ron was entering the Kitchen with his eyes peeled, and he spotted Muriel waiting with Arthur Weasley, her blood-shot eyes fixed on Malfoy. Much to Malfoy's credit, he was just staring back at her with a bored look. _He's been through worse than Muriel._

"Aunt Muriel?" Ron walked over to her, and she finally looked away from Malfoy.

"What is this Death-Eater spawn doing in this house?" Muriel demanded, and Ron gave her a deadpan look. _A-Grade bitch, as always._

"He is my guest, and you won't speak to him like that," Arthur warned her, he looked genuinely agitated.

"Now he grows a spine," Muriel scoffed.

"Aunt Muriel, what's happened?" Ron pulled her attention on himself. "Why are you here?"

"I came to warn you," Muriel replied, and everyone in the room went dead silent. "Your enemies have finally reared their heads."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

All the children except for Daphne had been sent upstairs, while the adults were all occupying the Kitchen. Arthur had called over the Davis Family, the Greengrasses, the Lovegoods, and even Sirius was here now. Aunt Muriel was eyeballing Lord Greengrass with genuine venom in her gaze, while Ron waited patiently for her to talk. _This quiet is starting to annoy me. My allies hate each other._

"Well?" Ron asked, and Muriel slowly looked away from Lord Greengrass. "The children are gone, and the adults are here. Can you tell me what's happened now? Who are my enemies?"

"Corban Yaxley," Muriel replied, and Lord Greengrass pinched the bridge of his nose. _What's with that reaction?_ "This one gets it."

"Of course he's the first to act," Lord Greengrass said, while Mary looked slightly vexed.

"Corban Yaxley… The road-builder," Ron remembered.

"So you've heard of him," Muriel said.

"I've heard of his humanitarian work," Ron said. "But beyond that, I don't know much about him. What has he done?"

"And why is he coming after Ron?" Bill added, while Charlie was already frowning.

"The Half-Breeds that Ronald has brought into the country have made him a target, William," Muriel replied bluntly.

"Half-Breeds?" Sirius frowned at Muriel.

"I won't stand for that sort of talk in my house, Auntie," Molly puffed up.

"What did Corban do?" Lord Greengrass asked, completely ignoring the tension in the room.

"He passed a Legislation that's built specifically to target foreigners," Muriel replied, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"He passed a Legislation?" Ron asked. "Is he on the Wizengamot? I thought former Death-Eaters weren't allowed to hold Office."

"They're not," James Davis replied. "But the problem is, the Wizengamot is as corrupt as our Ministry."

"How?" Kirsten asked. "It's Magical Britain's high court…"

"As long as it's run by people, it can be corrupted," James said. "Plus, who do you think built the Wizengamot?"

"The Pure-Blood Families," Ron figured. _Fuck sake, these cunts own everything, don't they? No wonder they're so fucking rich._

"Before the Ministry of Magic, we had the Wizengamot and the Wizard's Council," Muriel told Ron, and he listened intently. "The Wizard's Council of Britain was the first government body of its size established by Wizards, and it was organized by the Old Families in 1201. The Prewetts, the Greengrasses, the Malfoys, the Longbottoms, the Traverses, the Fawleys… Pretty much everyone still on the Sacred Twenty Eight."

"The Weasleys as well?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but the Weasleys squandered their wealth on their Muggle ventures," Muriel shot a look of disgust at Arthur. "They lost the respect of the Wizarding World, and were kindly asked to leave, which they did with 'pride'. It was a real scandal."

"Scandal?" Arthur drew in a sharp breath. "We didn't deem those who were different from us as 'monsters', which, by the way, was the real 'scandal'. We were pushed out because we weren't bloodthirsty, arrogant, and power-hungry elitists."

"Go on, Aunt Muriel," Ron said as he leaned forward.

"The Wizard's Council, which was made up of Pure-Bloods only, created the Wizengamot in 1250 in order to settle disputes and pass policies," Muriel told Ron. "Thousands of wizards were migrating to Great Britain at the time due to our advancements, and so the Pure-Bloods of Britain decided that we needed laws and regulations for Britain to succeed. The Wizengamot was made up of Council members, and for centuries, that system worked. But as time passed, the Pure-Blood Families decided that a stronger, and more organized, form of government was needed."

"And so they built the Ministry," Bill finished, and Muriel gave him a nod.

"You're telling me that the Ministry itself was built by Pure-Bloods?" Ron asked. " **Only** Pure-Bloods?"

"What? You think the Muggle-Borns wanted to pay?" Muriel asked. "Don't be naïve, boy… We Pure-Bloods built Magical Britain with our own money, with our own blood and sweat."

"Don't act like you asked us for help," Susana spoke up. "If anything, you made sure that no Muggle-Born got a say in the matter."

"Really?" Muriel sneered at her. "Where were you Muggle-Borns when the Goblins were waging war on us? Where were you when the Centaurs began burning Wizarding villages? Where were you when Magical Britain hit the depression because the Goblins sealed the mines that they stole from Wizards? All you people tend to do is complain about what a mess everything is, but when push comes to shove, it's us Pure-Bloods who do all the work. We-"

"Can we please focus on the task at hand?" Ron asked the people at the table. "You can all argue after I know who's coming after me." _Get your priorities in order, arguing isn't going to help us._

"I saw Corban Yaxley speaking to Minister Fudge himself outside the Wizengamot after that toad Umbridge helped pass his legislation," Muriel told Ron. _Umbridge? Even Minister Fudge?_

"What is this legislation?" Ron asked.

"In short, if you're not from Britain, you can't establish your businesses here without 'extensive background checks'," Muriel replied, and Ron found himself feeling a little confused. "Your French allies can no longer bring their businesses here. They'll never get past these background checks." _What?_

Ron looked to Daphne, and he found his girlfriend just staring at Muriel. _Daphne's plans…_

"What if an agreement was made before the legislation passed?" Daphne asked, while Lord and Lady Greengrass exchanged looks.

"Did you get their signatures? Were the contracts signed?" Muriel asked.

"No, but a **verbal** agreement was made," Daphne replied.

"Verbal agreements don't mean a thing," Muriel told Daphne, and Daphne, much to her credit, kept her composure somehow. "If you don't have a Magically Binding Contract, then whatever plans you had are now ash and dust."

Ron, unlike Daphne, felt his insides catch fire despite the Calming Draught, and he gnashed his teeth together in order to stop himself from flinging the table. _They ruined Daphne's business dealings… She worked so hard on those, and now, she has nothing._

"Wait…" Sirius suddenly spoke up. "Where was Dumbledore in all of this? He's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, isn't he?"

"He is," Pandora said, and Ron looked to Muriel. "If I remember my studies from Hogwarts, then Dumbledore technically has the power to stop such a legislation."

"That man treats his position within the Wizengamot as a passing thought," Muriel said. "He was not even in attendance."

"What?" Ron grit out. _He wasn't there? Why?!_

"As a matter of fact, this meeting of the Wizengamot was set up by Corban Yaxley," Muriel told them. "Only thirty-six out of fifty members were in attendance, and only six of us voted against this legislation. It passed with a landslide."

"You voted to keep the Veelas' interests safe?" Molly looked more than skeptical.

"I had little choice," Muriel said. "I saw this legislation for what it was… An attack on my Blood. Augusta Longbottom, Bartemius Crouch, the Fawleys, Cobalt Shafiq, and I voted against it, but the others don't want the Veelas here. Now… If Dumbledore was in attendance, and he was running the Wizengamot instead of Fudge, he could've vetoed the legislation, which is his right, but since Corban's puppet was running the show, we never stood a chance." _That old bastard… He probably has no idea that I just got fucked in my arse because he didn't show up at his job._

"Which Department is doing these background checks?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"The Department of International Magical Cooperation," Muriel replied offhandedly.

"Ron, you'll be working there," Daphne looked almost hopeful for a second.

"As a diplomat to the French," Mary said gently. "Ron has no power over foreign businesses."

"But Corban does," Lord Greengrass told everyone. "The people who work in that Department eat out of his hand, and he's more than generous to them. Buying their loyalties will be next to impossible."

"You can't outbid him?" Arthur asked.

"Corban definitely isn't coming after Ron alone," Lord Greengrass said. "He no doubt has the backing of pretty much every Old Family."

"You mean his brothers in arms from the Great War," Ron rubbed his forehead. "You're telling me that this… This…" Ron felt the need to hurt someone. "This **Death-Eater piece of filth** has so much influence that he brought the Wizengamot together for the sole purpose of fucking me bloody?"

"Ronald…" Molly looked horrified, while the other adults exchanged disturbed looks.

"Money runs the World, Ronald," Muriel said. "And these people own enough to buy whatever they want."

"The Ministry, the Daily Prophet, the Wizengamot, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley… They fucking own everything," Ron stood up and began pacing, his mind trying to come up with a plan.

"Why is the Wizengamot so eager to get the Veelas out of the country?" Bill asked Muriel.

"Because they can infiltrate the Ministry with ease," Muriel replied. "All they have to do is bat their eyelashes at anyone with power, and just like that, they set up their nests. Why do you think they have so much influence in France, William? These creatures used to live in mountains, for Merlin's sake, and now, they run a country."

"The Wizengamot are right to be scared," Lord Greengrass said. "But at the same time, this won't be taken well by the French Ministry. Once word gets out, they'll take this legislation as a personal insult."

"And then, they'll fire the idiot diplomats who didn't even know that this was happening," Ron figured. _I'm so fucked, and I didn't even see it coming. It took Corban Yaxley no time whatsoever to blindside me… I'm not just fighting against Death-Eaters, I'm fighting against corruption that has existed since 1201._

Ron stopped pacing, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Don't spiral, find a solution. First things first, I need to tell Madame Maxime about this. Wait… What about the French who are here? They need to be warned as well, and I have no fucking idea where they are. Damn it, Ron, get your shite together._

"Ron, what are you thinking?" Pandora asked, and Ron looked to his allies. _I have all of these bodies that I can use…_

"I need your help," Ron said to everyone on the table, and they all waited for him to go on. "Split up into pairs, and find the French who are currently residing within Britain. Don't get seen, don't talk to anyone who isn't French, and don't ask anyone else for help. Dad, I need you to go to the Ministry and find out everything about this legislation. Maybe we can find a loophole to exploit."

"What about you?" Arthur asked.

"I will go and collect Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons," Ron replied.

"You'll need a Portkey," Lord Greengrass said. _I'm friends with a Phoenix. Plus, I need to speak with Dumbledore about this._

"I have one stashed at Hogwarts for emergencies," Ron lied, and the adults looked quite taken aback. "What? I'm paranoid…"

"Smart," Muriel gave him an approving nod, which Ron found to be quite alarming. _Did she say something that wasn't nasty?_

"Aunt Muriel, I need you to go speak with Augusta Longbottom on my behalf," Ron said. "You're friends, right?" _I know you two have a habit of working together on projects._

"We can all meet up at Longbottom Manor," Muriel said. "Augusta has a good grasp on the situation, and she is currently hosting the Lenoir Family at her abode."

"Alright," Ron said. "I'll go take a shower, get changed, and by the time I come down, most of you better be gone." Ron then looked to Daphne. "Daph, come up with me for a moment."

Daphne gave a nod, and just from her expression, Ron could tell that she was devastated. _Fuck with me all you like, but hurting Daphne along the way?_ _ **Corban Yaxley is a fucking dead man**_ _._ Ron quickly made his way up the stairs, and just as he rounded the corner, he ran into a swarm of Gryffindors. As it turned out, the twins, Ginny, and the Trio had been listening in, and when they saw Ron, they just stared at him with odd looks. _This is so far beyond their heads that they don't even know how to react. Whatever. I have to stay on task._

"Were you all listening in?" Daphne asked from behind Ron.

"Are you really going to France?" Ginny asked Ron.

"I have no other choice," Ron said. "I have a gang of Pure-Bloods who want to pass me around."

With that, Ron made his way past them, and Daphne quietly followed him up the stairs. _Guess Stoatshead Hill will have to wait._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron had taken a shower, put on a nice suit, made his hair, steeled his resolve, and now he was heading to his room in order to collect his Gringotts pouch. During his shower, Ron had tried to think of a way to combat this legislation, and so far, he couldn't think of anything effective. The truth is that Muriel's words had gotten to him, and he had begun feeling that horrible feeling of powerlessness. His enemies not only owned a majority of Wizarding Britain, but they had done so for centuries. Generation through generation, these Old Families had built their empire with the utmost care. Wizarding Britain was reliant on these Families, and without them, it would be damaged beyond repair. _Hell, the fucking Goblins would try and buy everything, and they probably could considering that they own all the mines._

Ron was not simply fighting against Death-Eaters, he was fighting against people who had **always** been in power. The Yaxley Family no doubt was involved in the formation of the Wizard's Council, and from there, they had played a key role in what Magical Britain was today. _Which is exactly why Corban Yaxley was able to pull this off so suddenly. I mean, it took me two months to get the French here, and it took him a few days to ruin everything. Where do I even start with these people? The game is rigged…_

Ron rounded the corner, and he spotted Theo, Luna, and Malfoy loitering outside in the hallway. Theo and Luna were speaking in hushed whispers, while Malfoy was just minding his own business. _Where are Tracey and Tori?_ As Ron approached them, all three of them turned to face him.

"Mate, Daphne told us what happened," Theo said. "I'm really sorry."

"I'm not out of the fight yet," Ron said, and Theo gave him a half-smile. "Where are Tori and Tracey? Are they inside with Daphne?"

"They're doing their best to comfort her," Luna said. "After you left, she started crying." _Fuck me…_

"It wasn't exactly crying," Malfoy corrected. "It was more like… pent-up anger…" _So her emotions got the better of her?_ "What are you planning to do, Weasley?"

"I have to go to France," Ron replied. "I have to warn Madame Maxime and the French, and then, I need to find a way to keep the French in the country." _They can't help the Order if they're not here._

"Might I recommend something?" Theo asked, he had figured that his father was helping Corban Yaxley. _He sounds a little guilty._

"Of course, Theo," Ron gave him a nod.

"All of this was done behind closed doors, right?" Theo started. "So why not open said doors?"

"Explain," Ron listened intently.

"This legislation is just the first step," Theo told Ron. "I know how the Old Families think… They probably have multiple plans in motion, which means that your best option is to cut them off. Take the French with you to the Ministry tomorrow, and demand a meeting with the Minister. You can even get Barty Crouch Snr involved because all of this falls under his Department. He clearly didn't want this legislation passed, considering his vote, and he might be able to help you. From what I've heard, he's still quite influential within the Ministry."

Ron thought about Theo's plan, and he decided that he needed to bring this up with French first. _It's not a bad idea, at all. The Minister seems like a weak individual, so if we all just show up and demand answers, he might cave in._

"Thanks, Theo," Ron gave Theo an arm pat before heading into his room.

He found Daphne lying down in his bed, while Tori and Tracey just sat at either side of her. _Is she asleep?_

"Ron's here," Tracey whispered to Daphne, who slowly sat up in order to stare at him. _Good Lord, I see snot. She really did lose it._

"I want to speak to her alone," Ron said, and both Tori and Tracey moved off of the beds.

"We'll be right outside, Daph," Tori looked particularly shaken because of Daphne's state. _Yes, your big sister is capable of crying as well._

Daphne said nothing, and so both Tori and Tracey left quietly. Tracey murmured her sympathies to Ron on her way out, and Ron simply patted her back. Once the two girls were gone, Ron made his way over to his defeated girlfriend. _I'm wearing shoes, and all the beds are joined. Eh, who cares?_ Ron hopped onto the beds, and he slowly moved over to her side. Neither of them said anything, and Ron decided to clean her up a little. _Where's my handkerchief? Ah, there you are._ Ron pulled out the handkerchief from his inner suit pocket, and he slowly began to clean Daphne's face.

After a few seconds of dabbing, Daphne started to tear up again. _I just cleaned your face, please don't cry again._

"I worked… so hard…" Daphne let out a meek whisper, and then she buried her face in her hands. "I'm so stupid… I didn't get them to sign their contracts… I kept thinking that I had time, and now… And now I have nothing…"

"You couldn't have known that this was coming," Ron put his arm around her. "None of us saw this coming. For them to attack the French's business plans first was a possibility that I never even considered. And for them to pull this off so quickly is just… It's insane."

"Most of them didn't take me seriously," Daphne whimpered. "I'm thirteen, and I was pretending to be so clever… Now they'll remember me as the **idiot** girl who didn't give them contracts in time… I was just blowing air… Pretending like I'm you…" _What?_

'Daphne, we both know that you're the smart one," Ron kissed the side of her head.

"No, I'm not," Daphne sniffled. "You're the one who gets things done… I just linger about in the back… Always… Everyone knows that you can do… That you can do better…" _Is Daphne insecure when it comes to me? How utterly mental._

"Daphne, look at me," Ron moved in front of her. "I'm short on time right now, and as much as I want to stay here with you, I need to get going." Ron then put his hands on the sides of her face, making sure that she was looking at him. "When I get back, you and I will sit down with your parents, and we will figure out a way to make your plans work. This was just one battle, alright? The enemy blindsided us, but now, we're onto them. We can fight this, and we will."

"Okay…" Daphne said shakily, and Ron kissed her nose.

"I love you," Ron tried to sound as gentle as he could.

"I… I love you too…" Daphne still looked devastated.

Ron moved off of the bed, while Daphne cocooned herself in his blanket, her tears soaking his pillow. Once Ron had his Gringotts pouch, he shot her a quick look in order to make sure that she was alright, but he couldn't quite see her face. _All I see is her hair sticking out of the blanket. Corban Yaxley, and his Death-Eater friends, are going to pay for this dearly._ Ron quickly left the room, only to run into his friends.

"Well?" Tracey looked rather hopeful.

"She's still hurting," Ron told them. "We all know how much effort she put into this, not to mention the nerve it took to approach those Families. Most of them didn't take her seriously, but she kept trying in order to live up to her Family Name." _She kept trying in order to prove herself to me. Fuck, I didn't even realize such a basic thing._ "All of you are staying with her tonight. Understood?"

"What about Potter and Longbottom?" Malfoy asked.

"I'll ask mum to set them up in the twins' room," Ron replied. "I'll be back sometime past midnight, I imagine."

"Take care on your trip, Ron," Luna waved him off as he walked off in a hurry.

Ron all but ran down the stairs, most of the adults should've left by now. Oddly enough, he didn't run into any Gryffindors on the way down, but the moment he entered the Kitchen, he found his mother scolding a red-faced Percy. _Percy's back?_

"Mum, I'm off," Ron said as he moved towards the Living Room.

"Wait!" Molly stopped mid-scolding, while Percy gave Ron a confused look.

"Where is he going?" Percy asked. _Wait… Percy's really smart, and he could use this experience. He'll no doubt have something valuable to contribute._

"Mum, can you fill Percy in on what's happening?" Ron asked. "I want him to be involved in this."

"Involved in what?" Percy looked even more baffled. "Where are you going, Ron?"

"Your brother has to go to France," Molly said as she looked Ron over. "Do you have everything, Ron? Wand? Money?"

"Yes, mum," Ron said hurriedly. "Fill Percy in, please. Oh, and set up Harry and Neville in the twins' room as well. Daphne is in my room, and I don't want anyone to disturb her." _Anyone from Gryffindor, that is._

"Is she alright?" Molly asked. "Should I make her some tea?"

"She's with friends, so she'll get through this," Ron said. "As for tea, I think it's best if she's left alone. Daphne doesn't like showing people any vulnerability, and right now, she is having a hard time collecting herself."

"Poor girl…" Molly sighed out, while Percy looked thoroughly confused.

"Please fill him in, and then send him to Longbottom Manor," Ron said as left for the Living Room.

"Are you heading out?" Pandora asked, she was sitting in the Living Room with the Trio, the twins, and Ginny.

"Yes," Ron walked over to the fireplace.

"Do you need me to do something while you're gone?" Pandora asked, while the other children whispered to each other. _What are they whispering about?_

"Just take care of yourself," Ron said as he grabbed a pinch of floo-powder. "The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts."

With that, Ron tossed the powder into the flames, and they roared to life.

"You're going to see Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to my room in Slytherin," Ron lied. "I just need to go to his Office to get there."

With that said, Ron stepped through the flames, he didn't have time to put up with Harry's obsession with Dumbledore right now. The moment he was inside the Headmaster's Office, he shut down the floo by dousing the flames.

"Ronald?" came the Headmaster's voice, and Ron looked to see him sitting behind his clawed desk. "What brings you here?"

"We have a problem," Ron said as he made his way over to Dumbledore's desk. "Did you perhaps miss a Wizengamot meeting today?"

"Oh, I think so," Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron felt his blood boil. "There was a letter, but I usually never attend. These meeting can be dreadfully boring."

"I don't have time for your loony alter ego," Ron said, and Dumbledore blinked at him. "I want to speak to Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the Order."

"Ronald… What's happened?" Dumbledore looked genuinely concerned. "Please, take a seat."

"They passed a legislation today specifically designed to target the French," Ron said, he didn't want to sit down. "Corban Yaxley, and his degenerate allies, made their move today, and if you had attended this meeting, you could have vetoed the legislation."

"What legislation?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Foreign businesses are now subject to investigation if they want to set up roots in England," Ron replied. "Basically, if the French want to bring their businesses here, they'll be stuck at customs for decades."

"I see," Dumbledore nodded to himself, something gleaming behind his eyes.

"Why didn't you attend the meeting?" Ron asked. "You're the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, aren't you?"

"I never wanted that position," Dumbledore replied. "It was given to me out of formality."

"What difference does that make?" Ron asked.

"Power… has always been my weakness, Ronald," Dumbledore said, he was far too relaxed for Ron's liking.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I learned, in my youth, that men like me shouldn't be given power," Dumbledore clarified. "We aren't worthy of it."

"What the hell are you on about?" Ron looked genuinely exasperated. "You are Albus motherfucking Dumbledore! Savior of the Wizarding World! You have fought not one, but **two** Dark Lords!"

"I am a man, and like all men, I can be corrupted," Dumbledore said. "In truth, I don't attend the Wizengamot meetings simply because people want me to push their agendas. I do not trust myself to hold my Office with honor, and so, I do not partake in it."

"Look…" Ron sighed out, he still had enough Calming Draught in him to keep his head on straight. "I don't know what happened to you in your youth, and truth be told, I couldn't care less. You currently hold a lot of power, but you are hiding away from it while our enemies are abusing their power. It took Corban Yaxley a few days to undo all the work I've done, and once word gets out, the French Ministry will take this as a personal insult. Your lack of action has allowed people like Yaxley to run around doing as they please."

"They can't bring their businesses here, but that doesn't stop them from staying within Britain," Dumbledore said. "Don't forget that you brought them here to work with the Order, Ronald. This position of yours at the Ministry is only a means to an end."

"I know that," Ron said. "But it doesn't change the fact that I look like a dumb cunt once this gets out."

Dumbledore reached under his desk, and he pulled out a black, leather-bound ledger. _What's that?_

"Here," Dumbledore offered Ron the ledger. "Take a look inside."

Ron slowly took the ledger, and then he opened it to a bookmarked page. _Numbers? Over ten thousand in total?_ Ron read the names of the French Families, and he realized that they had been smuggling Dumbledore money for nearly a month.

"Our allies have been very generous to us," Dumbledore said, and Ron looked back at him. "Each of them wants to outbid the other in order to curry favor from me, and as a result of that, the Order is wealthier than it has ever been. That ledger right there, Ronald, is proof of your contribution."

"They're still giving you money?" Ron looked back at the ledger.

"The French know that they cannot stay in Magical Britain indefinitely," Dumbledore started. "They know that if they overstay their welcome, the British Pure-Bloods will come after them. Their wealth is what makes them important to the Order, not their presence. With this money, and their continued support from overseas, we can hire a Private Military Force. We can have well-rationed safe houses. We even have access to their shadier business partners."

"They can keep sending us money, while the Death-Eaters enjoy their 'victory'," Ron realized.

"Once the French are cast out, we'll ask them to act offended and angry," Dumbledore said. "That ought to convince Corban Yaxley that his scheme worked, but the truth is, we are playing different games. He wishes to get rid of the French in order to keep Britain 'Pure', but they are only here to help us in the war."

"That's all well and good, but what about me?" Ron asked. "I'm the diplomat to the French, and I need to look like I'm fighting this."

"Then fight," Dumbledore said. "Win, or lose, Ronald, we already have what we need from the French. The only part of this undertaking that concerns me is your safety."

"My safety?" Ron asked.

"The enemy is watching you now, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "These people don't have any lines that they won't cross. For centuries, they have kept Magical Britain under their heels, and whenever someone threatens change, these people go for the jugular."

"And pretty soon, they'll be joining the Dark Lord," Ron handed the ledger back to Dumbledore, and the old man hid it inside his desk.

"Fawkes will take you to Olympe," Dumbledore said, and then he looked into Ron's eyes. "Please be more careful from now on, dear boy. I believe that you are only going to face more hardships from here on."

"Not all of the French will want to leave," Ron told Dumbledore. "The Heroux Family and Emilia Travers planned to establish their businesses here. Plus, people like Lady Abadie won't take this lying down."

"Then you must keep them in line," Dumbledore said. "I will also speak to them myself when the Order reconvenes." _But until then, I need to do whatever I can to keep this fight going. The longer I can distract Corban Yaxley, the better._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had calmed down a lot more since his talk with the Headmaster. Ron, of course, was still annoyed with Dumbledore for not fully utilizing his power, but what was he supposed to say? All he could do was to urge Dumbledore to take more action, but at the end of the day, Ron wasn't even in Dumbledore's league. The old man had been around for over a century, and he was widely regarded as the greatest sorcerer since Merlin himself, whereas Ron was just a thirteen year old who was already on his way out.

Fawkes had brought Ron straight to Madame Maxime's Office, and once she got over Ron's sudden appearance, Ron had told her everything that Muriel had told him. Surprisingly, Madame Maxime had taken the news in stride. She, like Dumbledore, was focused solely on the interests of the Order. Ron couldn't help but wonder about Madame Maxime's relationship to the Veela Families. She was clearly their friend, but at the same time, she wasn't bothered about their business plans. What she was bothered by was the deep-seated corruption within the British Ministry. If a man like Corban Yaxley had so much influence, then it was safe to say that his allies also held an absurd amount of power within Britain.

"Avoiding a scandal should be our priority, my friend," Madame Maxime paced, while Ron sipped honeyed tea from his golden tea cup. "Whenever these 'noble' Families clash, egos run wild. There will be lasting damage between our countries if we do not play our cards right."

"Let's say we ask the French to leave without making a ruckus," Ron started. "Which Families do you think might not listen to us?"

"The Abadies, the Bissets, the Coutures, that Travers girl…" Madame Maxime frowned to herself. _Emilia will never leave Britain. She'll kill us all before she abandons her vengeance. I need to speak to her myself._ "I hear that Poppy Abadie has taken a lover in Britain, but I don't know who. All I know is that her lover is a man of influence."

"Wait, what?" Ron put his cup down. "Isn't she married?"

Madame Maxime shot Ron a bland look, and he quickly regained his composure. _Veelas… They only think with their vaginas, don't they?_

"She has always been ruled by her greed," Madame Maxime said. "Corban Yaxley is right to fear people like her. Even in France, she has the ear of influential Ministry Officials."

"Could anyone else be doing what she's doing?" Ron asked.

"Possibly," Madame Maxime said. "You never know with Veelas…"

"Then we need to shut that down," Ron said. "If our enemies learn of this, they will start publishing details about their affairs within the Daily Prophet. Within a day, the French will be seen as power hungry invaders."

"And we'll be thrown to the dogs," Madame Maxime frowned once again. "Merde!" _I know that word. It's the first word Daphne taught me, at my own request._

"My allies are collecting the French even as we speak," Ron told her. "They'll all be at Longbottom Manor before long."

"Really?" Madame Maxime looked to him. "Well done, Ronald, speaking to them all at once is crucial."

"What do we do if some of them refuse to leave?" Ron asked. "We can't force them out, that'll only anger them. We need them to keep donating funds to the Order."

"Getting them to see the bigger picture will be difficult, but you can leave it to me," Madame Maxime said. "As far as the French, and the Order, are concerned, you know nothing about the war." Madame Maxime then stopped pacing. "You mentioned that Barty Crouch Snr voted against this legislation."

"He did," Ron nodded. "Wait… Could he be this mystery lover?"

"No," Madame Maxime shook her head. "Barty Crouch is not a man who takes on lovers, trust me. He no doubt understands that if this situation escalates, then the Triwizard Tournament is doomed." _Oh._ "The French will refuse to compete within Britain if there is a scandal, and years of work will be ruined. This is not good, Ronald. Corban Yaxley couldn't have picked a worse time to start this fight."

"How far could this go?" Ron asked. "I know that the French and British have been at each other's throats ever since the Great War, so what happens if we fail?"

"For starters, we'll both be fired," Madame Maxime said. "The Media will crucify us, and any Future plans that you might have within the British Ministry will be out of your reach. After that, the French will pull out of the Tournament, which will result in the British Ministry losing a lot of money. They paid for the whole thing, after all, as a gesture of goodwill. Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Headmaster Dumbledore, Headmaster Karkaroff, and I will be labelled as incompetents. I imagine that Yaxley, and his allies, will reimburse the British Ministry, and paint themselves as heroes in the process."

"Do they know about the Tournament?" Ron asked. "I thought that this Tournament was a closely guarded secret."

"It is, but once the dominoes start falling, only the Gods know when they will stop," Madame Maxime said. "Politics, my friend, is a very explosive profession. One thing, no matter how small at the time, can lead to people losing their lives. The best way to play this game is to keep your ship afloat no matter how much water it takes on. We might need to throw some people overboard should the need arise."

"So anyone who doesn't listen to us, we just cut ties with them?" Ron asked.

"Ignorance can often be the best shield against certain accusations," Madame Maxime said. "If we can't keep our own allies in check, then we won't last long against our enemies. There is too much at stake now, and we have no idea what Corban Yaxley plans to do next."

"Then I reckon we should get to Longbottom Manor," Ron said. "We have a lot to discuss with our allies." Ron then looked to Fawkes. "Ready for another trip, Fawkes?"

Fawkes let out a shrill, and then he flew onto Ron's shoulder.

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – Night)**_

"And the letters have been sent?" the Dark Lord asked Cornelius.

"Yes, my Lord," Cornelius replied. "They will all be here tomorrow night."

"Good," the Dark Lord said, and then he looked to Natalia. "Have you done as I asked?"

"Knockturn Alley is yours," Natalia gave him a nod. "I have organized the Vampires into separate divisions. Each division will control their trade, and all of them will answer to me." _She is proving to be a better servant than her brother. Unlike Michael, Natalia understands the importance of discipline._

"I need Unicorn Blood, and a powerful venom," Lord Voldemort told her. "Do not disappoint me, Natalia."

"I already have my Vampires looking for both," Natalia told him.

"Tell them to try harder," the Dark Lord hissed. "My body is weakening already."

"Might I make a suggestion, my Lord?" Lucius spoke up.

"Speak," the Dark Lord's eyes gleamed red. _This fool… When will I be rid of him?_

"Egbert and Violet Parkinson have a reserve built solely for Unicorns," Lucius started, and the Dark Lord fully turned his head in order to listen. "Tomorrow, you can demand one Unicorn from them, which we can harvest for ingredients. You'll have enough Unicorn Blood to last you a year." _That… is an excellent suggestion._

"You are right," Lord Voldemort said, and Lucius bowed deeply. "Well done, Lucius." _Finally, he resembles the Lucius of old._

The Dark Lord could see the jealousy within Cornelius' eyes, but he couldn't care less. _A reserve full of Unicorns, and my old allies own it. This is good. Unicorn Blood is becoming harder to find, and I need it more than ever._

"Shall I ask my Vampires to stop searching for Unicorn Blood?" Natalia asked, she had yet to look in Cornelius and Lucius' direction.

"Only after we have our own supply," Lord Voldemort ordered.

The Dark Lord suddenly felt a presence outside the study, it was teeming with malice and rage. _What is this?_ Before the Dark Lord could warn his allies, the door was kicked into splinters by an enraged Gaspard. Lucius and Cornelius ripped out their wands and aimed them at the monster, while Natalia seemed to be frozen from genuine fear. As for the Dark Lord, he merely saw an opportunity to exploit.

"Fat… Father?" Natalia took a frightened step back, while Gaspard's glowing orange eyes examined the room.

"Where. Is. My. Son?" Gaspard demanded, and even the Dark Lord felt slightly overpowered by the residual Magic coming off of the Ancient Vampire. "Speak, or I'll kill all of you!"

"Gaspard, welcome back," the Dark Lord felt genuinely thrilled, though he didn't show it. _Finally, my greatest weapon has returned to me. It's time I turned his rage towards my enemies._

Gaspard looked to the child-like creature sitting comfortably in the chair, and his eyes began to glow even more brightly. _He is not disturbed by my visage? Unsurprising, he is not like anyone I've met before._

"Where is Michael?" Gaspard stepped further into the room, he was still wearing nothing but tattered bandages and a gown. "Why can't I feel him anymore?" _Feel him? He can sense his offspring? Fascinating._

"Michael… was murdered by the Order," Lord Voldemort said, and for the first time, he saw pain on the Ancient Vampire's face.

"No…" Gaspard all but whispered. "Michael is strong… He couldn't have been slain by the worms in the Order." Gaspard then looked to his daughter, and she shrunk even more. _She's terrified for her life._ "Where is your brother, Natalia?"

"Father…" Natalia managed, but Gaspard had her by the throat so fast that even the Dark Lord was surprised.

"You let him go off alone?!" Gaspard screamed, and the study table behind Lord Voldemort exploded.

"Unhand her," Lord Voldemort ordered. "Gaspard, she is not to blame for your son's death. The **Order of the Phoenix** assassinated him."

Gaspard tossed her aside, and then he was suddenly in the Dark Lord's face. _Was Michael his favorite? The undisciplined son who held a lot of potential, clearly._

"Who?" Gaspard whispered, there was true bloodlust in his eyes. "Speak their name."

"Emilia Travers," the Dark Lord replied. "She is the Order's latest recruit, and she killed him in single combat. Make no mistake, however, it was Albus Dumbledore who gave the orders."

Gaspard stared into the Dark Lord's eyes for a few moments, and then, he slowly took a step back.

"Natalia, come," Gaspard turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" the Dark Lord demanded.

"Blood must have blood," Gaspard replied.

"Father, you have not recovered yet," Natalia stood up, her hand massaging her throat.

"I **need** blood, and I **will** have it," Gaspard said, and just like that, he was gone.

Natalia followed after her father, while Lord Voldemort smiled to himself. _Yes, kill them all, Gaspard._

"Go with them," Lord Voldemort looked to his two Death-Eaters. "Make sure that he doesn't do anything to compromise us."

Lucius and Cornelius bowed, and then they left the study as well. The Dark Lord found himself sitting alone in the dark room, a gleeful smile on his tiny face. _The streets will run red with Phoenix blood, and while Gaspard exacts his vengeance, I will bolster my army with my old comrades. It is finally time to strike back against Dumbledore._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: There it is, in all of its hella late glory! Once again, I'm really sorry about this. Things are not going my way recently, and it's got me really fucked up.**

 **Anyway, I won't bore you with my problems. I'll sort out everything on my end as quickly as possible, and hopefully, we can keep following our schedule.**

 **Next Update should be up on Tuesday, but if I'm late again, allow me to apologize in advance.**

 **See you guys on the next one.**


	106. Chapter 106 - Saving Britain

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 106 is finished! Life is still a bit difficult, but things are now looking up at least.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious, killer' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 106 – Saving Britain**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Night)**_

Ron and Madame Maxime stepped through the fireplace, they had just dropped off Fawkes with Dumbledore. Much to Ron's surprise, the Greeting Room was devoid of any French, however, Percy was lingering about. Ron and Madame Maxime's footsteps alerted Ron's older brother, who immediately approached them.

"Perce? Where are the French?" Ron asked.

"They're in the Living Room with Neville's grandmother," Percy replied, and then he gave Madame Maxime a respectful nod. "Madame Maxime."

"You must be Percy Ignatius Weasley," Madame Maxime said. _She's obviously looked into my Family Tree._ "Are all the French here?"

"We're missing Miss. Travers," Percy replied as they all began heading for the Living Room. _Emilia isn't here?_ "Sirius is the one looking for her, so I'm sure she'll be here soon enough." _Isn't she at his house?_

"Have the French been told of why we've called this meeting?" Ron asked.

"Aunt Muriel and Mrs. Longbottom are speaking to them now," Percy said, a slight grimace marking his features. "It's not looking good, Ron… Some of the French are insulted by this attack. Mrs. Abadie is trying to start something, but I'm not sure what… I think the French had plans of some sort."

"Plans?" Ron asked, his eyes darting towards Madame Maxime.

"I have not heard anything of any plans," Madame Maxime told him. "But I am not surprised in the least. 'Nobles' always have something to gain, so it's hardly surprising that we're in this situation."

Ron didn't know why, but his intuition was telling him that something was horribly wrong here. _What sort of plans do the French have? Only Emilia and the Heroux Family were willing to bring their businesses to Britain, so this legislation only really hurts them. Why has Lady Abadie found herself a lover within the British Ministry? Truth be told, I only brought the French here to help with St. Mungo's and the Order._

"Ronald?" Madame Maxime called, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Is Lady Abadie the only one trying to start something?" Ron asked Percy. _I know that she wants to control the Veela community. She tried to get the Headmaster's help on that during the Order's meeting with the French._

"No," Percy replied. "A couple of others have also raised their voices against the legislation. Christina Couture called you incompetent for not intercepting our countrymen, which led to Charlie defending you in a rather aggressive manner. Christina then started staring at him, and Charlie just went dead quiet. Like he was struggling with something…" _What?_

"She used her allure on him?" Ron was outraged.

"That girl…" Madame Maxime pinched the bridge of her nose. "We need to stop this growing tension between our allies, Ronald. If we do not possess a united front, then we will fail tomorrow."

"Are you really going to the Ministry tomorrow?" Percy asked them. "Dad mentioned that you plan to storm the Minister's Office."

"We need to convince the Minister that this legislation is going to cause further hostility between the French and the British," Ron replied. "There are… larger things… at play, Perce." _I can't tell him about the Triwizard Tournament. It's a closely guarded secret, after all._

"Larger things?" Percy asked. "Something big is happening?"

"Yes, but we cannot tell you about it," Madame Maxime said. "Nor can we tell the French or the British." _Why is that, though?_

The three of them entered the Living Room, and Ron found the room completely divided. The French, except for the Lenoirs and the Delacours, were sitting away from Ron's British allies. Lady Abadie seemed to be at the center of the angrier French, which consisted of the Ancars, the Donadieus, and Christina Couture. _Christina is standing with Lady Abadie, but not her own parents?_

"Finally," Lady Beaumont said when she saw Madame Maxime, a glimmer of relief on her face. "Olympe, please shed some light on what has happened."

"So you're finally here?" Lord Donadieu had his eyes fixed on Ron. "Why are your countrymen persecuting us in this manner? Why didn't you do anything to stop them?" _What a welcome… I have to be civil here, or these people will walk away from Britain. From the Order, even._

"Firstly, we need to keep a civil tone in this room," Madame Maxime shut down Lord Donadieu with a single look. "We are all friends here, and any infighting will only serve to aid our enemies."

"Our enemies?" Christina scoffed at Madame Maxime, which earned her looks of genuine surprise from the other French. _She has the balls to disrespect Madame Maxime? Yeah, something is definitely not right here. Why is Lady Abadie so pleased with Christina's rudeness?_ "Our enemies are old men who've lived well past their-"

"Be silent, foolish girl," Lady Longbottom frowned from the other side of the room. "You disgrace your own parents by speaking to Headmistress Maxime in that tone."

"Christina, sit down," Lady Couture said, a genuinely cross look on her face.

"It's alright, dear, take a seat next to me," Lady Abadie said gently, though her eyes were fixed on Ron. _Why is she staring at me like that?_ "Monsieur Weasley, it is good to see you again."

"Likewise, Lady Abadie," Ron said. "I… don't see your husband here. Is he not attending?"

"He is in France," Lady Abadie smiled. "I sent him away to take care of my businesses." _My? Not ours? Also, did she send him away so she could cheat on him?_

Ron and Madame Maxime stood in the center of the room, while Percy walked over and waited by Arthur's side. Ron shot his Family a quick smile, just to let them know that he was alright. _I can't have them jumping down anyone's throat on my behalf. It'll just hinder me._

"What have you all been told so far?" Madame Maxime asked the French.

"Lady Prewett tells us that a legislation was passed specifically to target foreigners," Lord Lenoir replied. "She has also told us that Lord Corban Yaxley is behind this legislation, and that he has the support of Minister Fudge." _Thank you, Aunt Muriel. At least we don't have to explain the situation now._

"We do not know whether or not the Minister is helping them," Ron started. "For all we know, he is being blackmailed into this. Madame Maxime and I-"

"There is no blackmail," Lady Ancar interrupted him. "Your Minister is a corrupt toad, and he has sided with the worst of the British in order to line his own pockets. Honestly… You people are so uncivilized." _Pardon?_

"We're uncivilized?" Aunt Muriel sneered. "How many men have you spread your legs for in order to get here?" _Good Lord…_

"How dare you?!" Lord Ancar stood up, while Ron shot his Great-Aunt a frown. _This woman… She'll give me a heart attack at this rate._

"Forgive my Great-Aunt's rudeness, she is very passionate about Britain," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Aunt Muriel. "Let us not turn into petty children… We are facing a very dangerous enemy, one that has already made his move against us. We need to be united, now more than ever."

"Ronald is right," Madame Maxime stared at Lord Ancar. "Adam, sit down."

Lord Ancar glared at Aunt Muriel for a few seconds, but eventually, he did as Madame Maxime had ordered.

"Do we have any way of fighting against this legislation?" Lady Heroux asked. "My husband and I planned to expand our business into Britain, but now, we are left shorthanded." _I need to help their business for Daphne's sake._

"Ronald and I have decided to speak with Minister Fudge tomorrow," Madame Maxime replied. "We need to convince him that this legislation will only isolate Magical Britain from the rest of the Wizarding World."

"You think he doesn't know that?" Lady Abadie laughed in a mocking manner. "Olympe, you are being naïve, my dear." _Alright, she's starting to annoy me. What are you up to, Poppy Abadie?_ "The Minister's puppet masters know that their legislation will isolate Britain. It is exactly what they want." Lady Abadie then stood up, her eyes scanning her fellow French Citizens. "My friends, Magical Britain has always been a backwards country. They are afraid of change, and they always will be. Let us not forget that their greatest achievement, the creation of wands, came about after they massacred the Fae."

"And let us not forget where you Veelas come from," Lady Longbottom stood up as well. _Not you as well._

"Lady Longbottom, please don't-" Ron started, but he was interrupted by Lady Abadie.

"Yes, our ancestors came from the mountains," Lady Abadie said. "But ever since we integrated ourselves into France's politics, our country has become the envy of the Wizarding World."

"Arrogant, and full of delusions," came Emilia Travers' voice, and Ron turned to see her entering the room with Sirius. "Why am I not surprised, Lady Abadie?"

"Ah, the warmonger joins us at last," Lady Abadie smiled at Emilia. "Take a seat, girl, maybe you will learn something."

"Or maybe, I'll shove my-" Emilia started, but Sirius nudged her rather noticeably.

"Uncouth, as usual," Christina just frowned at Emilia. "Lady Abadie, please continue."

"Christina, what is the meaning of this?" Lord Couture asked his daughter, while Ron and Madame Maxime exchanged looks. _What is going on here?_

Once again, Ron's intuition began to warn him, but he could do little but stare at Lady Abadie.

"Be quiet, father," Christina smirked at her father, which earned her shocked looks from her parents. "The women are speaking."

"The British are savages," Lady Abadie went on. "They have started not one, but **two** global wars in the last century. I believe that it is past time that we colonized them."

"Colonized?" Lord Greengrass demanded, while Ron and Madame Maxime were rather taken aback. _What the fuck is she doing?_

"My allies here," Lady Abadie ignored Lord Greengrass, and the Ancars, the Donadieus, and Christina stood up. "We have been in contact with the larger Veela community over the last few days, and we have nearly reached a consensus. Britain is a problem, one that needs to be solved as quickly as possible."

"What have you done?" Madame Maxime stepped forward, a furious look on her face.

"I have done what no other Veela before me has," Lady Abadie smiled arrogantly. "I have convinced the Veela tribes of the mountains to join me. And it is all thanks to Ronald Bilius Weasley."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Men are weak," Lady Abadie said, her eyes fixed on Ron. "And they are foolish. It is a shame that you are no different, boy… I had such high hopes for 'Le fléau de Vélane', but alas, you are a naïve young man who thinks that he can sit with the adults if he makes enough noise."

"But you're just a brat," Christina added.

"Do not speak of my son in such a manner," Arthur fumed, while the other French were just staring at Lady Abadie's company. "He is fighting to help other-"

"When the Veela tribes heard about a young man who could resist us, they realized that they needed to wake up," Lady Abadie interrupted Arthur. "I approached them before coming here, and although they were skeptical at first, they have since joined my cause. The Wizarding World is ruled by decrepit, corrupt old men, and it is past time that they were put in their place. We must unite against them now, or they will ruin this World."

"Are you mad?!" Lord Couture shot out of his seat. "Christina, come over here at once!"

"No," Christina sneered at her father.

"Do as your father commands!" Lady Couture's appearance turned almost bestial, and Christina suddenly took a step back. _What the hell is that? She looks… bird-like._

"Your daughter is wiser than you, Eretria," Lady Abadie moved in front of Christina.

"You have filled her with your venom!" Lady Couture accused.

"You are suggesting war!" Madame Maxime looked outraged, while Ron genuinely felt out of place. _The fucking French have lost it. They're turning on each other._

"I am suggesting the only logical thing here," Lady Abadie countered.

"Poppy is right," Lady Ancar said, and then she looked to the others. "We are Veelas, and we must be united against the World. It has always been this way, and if we lose sight of that now, then we will be eradicated. Even now, our blood is diluted beyond repair. The Veela tribes of the mountains understood this, while our ancestors didn't."

"So you plan to conquer the World?" Ron demanded, his Calming Draught was almost out of his system.

"Not conquer, boy," Lord Donadieu replied. "We will reeducate it."

"The time is right, my brothers and sisters," Lady Abadie looked to her fellow countrymen. "If we do not act now, then we will regret it forever. How long have we been subject to prosecution by Wizards?"

"Your kind is subject to prosecution because of idiots like you," Emilia snarled, and this time, Sirius didn't stop her. "You abuse your power in order to sate your never ending greed, and that will **never** change."

"See this?" Lady Abadie asked the other French. "See the hatred she has for our kind?"

"All they see is someone who wants to build herself a throne," Emilia said immediately. "Unlike you, they actually came here to help better the relationship between the French and the English. **You** , Lady Abadie, wish to start a war just so you can feel important."

"Lady Travers speaks the truth," Lady Lenoir said, while the Heroux Family distanced themselves from Lady Abadie. "This is a monstrous betrayal!"

"We are betraying nothing!" Christina spoke up. "It is you who is betraying your heritage! You actually listen, and dance, to the tune of this boy?! His balls haven't even dropped yet!"

Arguments erupted all over the room, but Ron didn't join in. He just stood there, his eyes fixed on the traitors. Deep in the back of his mind, Ron had slowly come to realize a terrible truth. Corban Yaxley had been right about the Veelas. Unlike Ron, he had figured out that some of the Veelas were motivated by their greed, and with their power to dominate others, they were an extremely dangerous force. _And I brought them all to England… I thought that they'd join the Order of the Phoenix in order to fight our common foe, but they care more about securing power for themselves than they do about stopping the Dark Lord._

Was he really that naïve? Had he projected his values onto others simply because they were a minority? These Veelas had to understand that the Dark Lord would kill them **all** , right? So why were they doing this? Why were they betraying their own?

" ** _Greed_** ," the Entity whispered to Ron. " ** _Power is their opiate… You are a fool… You have always been a fool… Poor little Champion, always seeking the help of others because he is too weak to win on his own…_** "

Ron looked to Madame Maxime, and he found her yelling at Lady Abadie. She looked angrier than he had ever seen her, and Ron understood why. If this came out, the French and the British would be at war. The Triwizard Tournament would not only fall apart, but the French and the British would be fighting for years. _All our work is coming undone… Did we really trust too lightly? Did_ ** _I_** _really cause all of this?_

"The French Ministry will not stand for this!" Madame Maxime snapped.

"We are the French Ministry," Lady Abadie sneered, her beauty marred by her disgust. "One word from me, and the Minister will come running to my side like a well-trained dog. Unlike the British, he knows his place."

"You are not the only Veela with connections to the French Ministry," Madam Delacour hissed. "You will cause a civil war, you fool!"

"Not if you join us," Lady Abadie said. "The Delacours may not be counted as an Old Family, but your Veela Blood runs strong. Join us, all of you… We can achieve so much together."

"Never," Lady Beaufort hissed, and mostly every Veela nodded.

But that's when Lord and Lady Beaumont slowly moved over to Lady Abadie's camp, and the room was once again engulfed in outrage. Lord and Lady Beaumont ignored the appalled looks of their former allies, while Lady Abadie, and her conspirators, looked more than pleased.

"I regret being late to this party," came Dumbledore's voice from behind Ron, and he immediately turned to face the smiling Headmaster.

The room went dead silent, and every eye was fixed on the old man. Dumbledore simply looked around the room with a pleasant smile, his twinkling eyes lingering on Lady Abadie.

"Albus," Madame Maxime looked almost relieved.

"I heard that my star pupil was in a pickle, so I decided to offer him my counsel," Dumbledore shot Ron a wink, but for some reason, Ron found himself looking down in shame. _He's here to clean up my mess, isn't he? I don't understand why this is happening… We're meant to fight against the Dark Lord, not each other._

"Dumbledore, this Abadie woman has lost her mind," Arthur stepped forward, though his eyes were fixed on Ron. "She wants to start a war with… **everyone**!"

"Does she?" Dumbledore chuckled, much to everyone shock. "Is this true, Poppy?"

"There doesn't have to be a war," Lady Abadie replied, her eyes focusing on Dumbledore's. "We wish to help educate you, and others like you, to be more… open-minded. For too long, the witches of the Wizarding World have been forced to play housewives for foolish old men like you."

"Really?" Dumbledore asked. "I don't remember finding myself a housewife in my youth. No, I was always too busy for such pursuits." Dumbledore then patted Ron's arm. "Ronald, why don't you and Percy step outside for a bit? I fear that secrets will come out that you two are not ready to hear just yet."

Ron gave Dumbledore a confused look, but then he realized that he wasn't meant to know anything about the Order. _I'm just… a kid, aren't I? I don't understand why they are being so foolish. We are under attack, and they are trying to secure power for themselves? This is the sort of thing that I have to put up with in Slytherin, but clearly, these adults are no different. Why are they so shortsighted?_

"Percy, take your brother outside," Arthur said, and Percy slowly made his way over to Ron.

"Yes, it is past your bedtime, Le fléau de Vélane," Christina Couture jeered, and Ron just shot her a withering look. _You're being used by Poppy Abadie… You won't get anything at the end of this._

"Ron, let's just go, yeah?" Percy pulled at his arm, and Ron just let Percy pull him away.

Ron was truly shaken by the shallowness of his former allies. So shaken, in fact, that he had quickly begun to blame himself for bringing them here. The worst part about all of this was that Corban Yaxley, a damn Death-Eater, was clearly more intelligent than Ron. Unlike Ron, or even Madame Maxime, Yaxley clearly understood that people like Lady Abadie had only come to Britain in order to vie for power. Madame Maxime at least had the privilege of letting bias blind her, but Ron had no excuse. These were the same people who had tried to kill him over a trophy, and he had let his guard down because everything was going his way.

" ** _The avatar of change…_** " the Entity mocked him, and Ron tried to ignore the Old God.

" _Why didn't you warn me?_ " Ron thought as Percy led him out of the room. " _Why do you never help me? Isn't that your job? We're meant to be a team…_ "

" ** _We grow tired of your incompetence,_** " the Entity snarled. " ** _Learn from this, Champion… You mortals are small, weak, and pathetic creatures… Not one of you are worth saving… The only way for your Cycles to end is for you to embrace this truth… Kill them all, Champion, and you can be free…_** "

While Percy shut the door behind them, Ron rubbed his face as he ignored the Entity's madness. Until Percy put his arm around Ron's shoulders, Ron hadn't even realized that he had been sent away.

"The Headmaster will solve this, Ron," Percy said, while Ron just stared ahead with an expressionless mask. "There won't be a war… I'm pretty sure that the Veelas don't want that."

"I brought them to Britain," Ron spoke to himself. "Lady Abadie has been trying to infiltrate our Ministry, and I'm sure that her allies have been doing the same thing."

"What?" Percy blinked.

"They used me, Perce," Ron said. "They fucking used me to get into Britain, and for the small fee of five hundred Galleons each, I opened the flood gates."

"Ron, it won't go that far," Percy said, though he himself didn't believe that this was happening. "I've read that politics can get really dirty at times, but there's always someone who cleans up the mess."

"Mess?" Ron looked to Percy, who quickly bit his tongue. "No… You're right. I… I really fucked up, I think, and the Headmaster has to get involved now."

His head was spinning because of what had just happened. Never in his life had he witnessed such greed-driven foolishness, and for the first time in a long time, Ron felt like little Ronnie again. Powerless. Lost. Weak. He was even unsure of what to do next, a feeling that he hadn't dealt with since… Since when? _Should I just leave? The Headmaster is here, and he'll take care of it. No… No, I can't just leave. But if I stay, what can I even do? I've given people like Lady Abadie the chance to do this. Have I just made things worse?_ The fact that he had made his friend's life much harder than it needed to be gnawed at Ron, and he found himself dazed by guilt and self-loathing. _Idiot. Idiot! Fucking_ ** _idiot_** _!_

"Ron? Are you listening?" Percy shook him lightly, and Ron rubbed his face again. _What next? What do I do next?_ "Ron? Say something."

"Just… Just give me a second…" Ron managed, his shaking hands still on his face. _Hand tremors… They're back? The Calming Draught wore off?_

Ron tried to picture himself on Stoatshead Hill, but sadly for him, he was too jarred to focus on his below average Occlumency. _Stoatshead Hill… That's where I should go._ Ron began walking forward, he would find his answers there. Once he was away from everyone, once he was completely alone, he'd find a solution to the mess he had created. _I just need a place to think, that's all. I can still fix this. Maybe…_

"Ron, where are you going?" Percy followed after him, he was genuinely starting to get worried.

"Alone… I want to be alone," Ron quickened his pace in the hopes of getting away from Percy.

Before Ron knew it, he was preparing a floo jump to the Burrow.

"Ron, just wait," Percy tried to stop Ron, but an off-handed shove from his little brother nearly toppled him. _Leave me alone. Just let me think, for Merlin's sake._

"The Burrow," Ron called as he threw the floo-powder at the flames.

Due to his trembling hands, only a little bit of floo-powder got into the flames, but it was enough to activate the floo jump. Ron stepped through the fire, and he found himself standing in the Living Room of his childhood home. The Trio, the twins, Ginny, Theo, Malfoy, Luna, Pandora, and Molly were occupying the Living Room, and as soon as Ron came into sight, they immediately looked to him.

"You're back," Pandora smiled in relief.

"Ronnie?" Molly noticed her son's upset state first.

"Ron, what happened?" Pandora asked as her smile disappeared, but Ron just found himself staring at everyone. _Too many people… I can't breathe in here._

"I have to go…" Ron rasped, and then he began making his way towards the Kitchen.

Percy followed Ron through the open floo, his eyes darting around in an effort to find Ron.

"What's going on with him?" Fred asked Percy.

"Some of my allies betrayed me…" Ron managed, and then he was inside the Kitchen. "No, they did what people do… I just didn't see it coming…" _Power is their opiate, right? Why didn't you warn me, Entity? What game are you playing?_

"Ronald, stop," Molly was the first one on his tail, and she managed to grab him just as he neared the back exit. "It's starting to get really late! Where are you going?!"

"Alone… Just leave me alone," Ron tugged his arm free, and then he stepped out into the cool night.

The cold breeze hit him hard, and Ron felt his legs nearly give out. The cold air bit at his sweaty skin, and Ron's breathing became labored. He felt like he was trapped within a metal coffin, and so he desperately tried to fill his lungs with air. The World spun around him, and Ron started to sway with it. Before he could fall over, his mother was desperately trying to hold him up. _My Potion… I forgot to have the second dose…_

"Ronnie! Help!" Molly shrieked, and Ron heard people burst through the door. "Fred! George!"

Ron felt hands grab him, but at this point, his vision was starting to blur.

" ** _Weak, just like your previous incarnations,_** " the Entity growled, and Ron felt himself drifting away. " ** _Learn from this, Champion… Destroy all those who oppose you, or you will continue to fail…_** "

"Learn from this…" Ron muttered as if he were in a trance, and then, darkness took him.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Night)**_

Albus had indeed come down to offer Ronald counsel. After seeing how worried Ronald was about the French, Albus had found himself feeling guilty for not stopping this mess in the first place. The Order had to come first, but at the same time, Albus had come to see Ronald as a friend rather than a student. Of course, Albus had always tried to stay away from politics, especially after Ariana, but the thought of Ronald fighting alone had been unbearable. The boy had been through far too much, and Albus couldn't let him do this alone.

So imagine Albus' surprise when he had walked in on another possible war declaration. Albus didn't blame Ronald for this, how could he? This was all Poppy Abadie's doing, but Ronald's reaction to this betrayal had once again proven to Albus that Ronald was still only thirteen. The poor boy had put his faith in the goodness of people, and his reward was betrayal and humiliation. Some of the people in this room were lucky that Albus hadn't drawn his wand yet.

"What a naïve disappointment he turned out to be," Lady Donadieu said just as Percy sealed the door behind himself.

"Not naïve, Lady Donadieu," Albus turned to face the conspirators, his facade of innocent old man completely gone. "Ronald put his faith in people, which, as it happens, is a very difficult thing for him, and you all rewarded his faith with betrayal." _Control, Albus. Do not let emotion drive this conversation._

Lady Abadie cocked her eyebrow, while Christina Couture rolled her eyes from boredom.

"Albus, I am sorry about these… traitors," Olympe looked both embarrassed, and outraged, at the same time.

"This isn't on you, my friend," Albus said, and then he stepped forward with his hardened eyes fixed on Lady Abadie. "What has brought this about, Poppy? Why are you doing this now of all times? You understand the threat that we all face, don't you?"

"The Dark Lord?" Poppy asked. "He is a man, one who can be controlled like the rest of you."

"Control the Dark Lord?" Sirius snarled. "Are you fucking insane?!"

"He'll slaughter all of you," Emilia added. "You are leading innocents to their deaths, you harpy."

"Lord Voldemort is widely considered to be the most powerful Legilimens to have ever lived," Albus told them. "I assure you, his Occlumency is just as powerful." _Though he feels no need to use it. Who would dare invade his twisted mind?_

"Could he withstand thirty Veelas?" Lady Abadie asked rather arrogantly.

"My son withstood fifty of you," Arthur hissed, his face was red with righteous anger.

"He is clearly an aberrant," Lord Ancar stated. "But as we all just saw, he is only a boy."

"A boy who cannot even keep track of his own allies, let alone his enemies," Lady Ancar added.

"So he was meant to see this betrayal coming?" Sebastian asked coldly. _He needs to be spoken to. I fear that he will retaliate in a violent manner. Unlike Arthur and Sirius, Sebastian has no qualms with killing his enemies._

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Susanna said. "He brought you here to help a hospital for God's sake."

"We are veering off topic," Lady Abadie was growing bored with these people. "Albus, we can still be allies." _No, we can't._

"Is that so?" Albus asked.

"The word 'war' is being thrown around, but we have no intention of starting a war," Lady Abadie stepped forward. "I have spoken to the Veela tribes of the mountains, and they have agreed to follow me. I can bring them to Britain in order to help the Order in its fight against the Dark One."

"You think we'll trust you after this?" Sirius demanded. "Dumbledore, tell these bitches to go back to their frog-eating shithole of a country!"

"Sirius, control yourself," Albus said calmly, and the man gnashed his own teeth in anger. "You want me to allow the Veela tribes to come into the country, Poppy?"

"You are the most powerful man in Magical Britain," Poppy said. "Perhaps even the Wizarding World… If you welcome us personally, many will accept us into the country." _And you will begin 'reeducating' us._

"You think we'll just let you infiltrate our government?" Muriel asked. "You are drunk on vanity, girl. It is past time that you removed yourself from our presence."

"Albus, think about it," Lady Abadie ignored Muriel. "An army of Veelas at your disposal. The Order could win the war within the year."

Albus just stared at her, and he couldn't deny that her proposition was tempting. With a few hundred Veelas, Albus could easily control the free Death-Eaters, and in doing so, cripple the Dark Lord's army before it could be brought together. And yet, he knew that he could never accept this offer. _I have made deals with the Devil before, and they always come at a terrible cost._

"You will leave Britain tonight," Albus said, and Lady Abadie lost the false charm on her face. "Those who are following you in your madness will also leave."

"And if we don't?" Christina challenged.

"Do not challenge me, child," Albus said, and the walls began to quake.

The French immediately shot panicked looks around, and even Lady Abadie seemed to realize that she was now overstaying her welcome. Albus quickly controlled his residual Magic, but the fear of the Grand Sorcerer's power had been driven into their heads already. Even Albus' own allies had gone deathly silent, including Olympe Maxime.

"Leave," Albus stepped aside, his eyes fixed on Lady Abadie's. "Abandon your mad dreams of conquest, or you will face me sooner than you think." _I will not allow you to damage this Cycle. I will not allow Ronald to suffer through another one._

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

Theo and Malfoy stepped out of the way as the twins, with the help of Percy, carried Ron into the Living Room. Molly Weasley was hysterical, which only served to incite more panic from the other children. Even Theo, who knew that he could be cold at times, was fidgeting with nervousness. Ron had collapsed, and although there was no seizure this time, his paler than usual skin didn't sit right with Theo. All Ron had mentioned was that some of his allies had betrayed him, and Theo figured that the French weren't as honest as Ron had initially thought.

Was Theo surprised by the French? No, absolutely not. Theo had grown up with nobility, and he knew that they lived for power and control. He himself dreamed of becoming a powerful Lord one day, after all. When Ron had first told the group about his alliance with the French, both Blaise and Theo had warned him not to trust the French, but sadly, Ron had taken their warnings the wrong way. He had accused them of being wary of foreigners, and although he was right, it had still upset both Theo and Blaise. _Somehow, I don't feel good about being proven right. If anything, it boils my blood that they proved to be just as unreliable as I initially thought. Why am I bothered with being proven right?_

"We need to contact a Healer," Molly urged Pandora, who seemed jarred for a change.

"Who?" Pandora asked. "St. Mungo's isn't reopening until the thirty-first of December. Who do we contact?"

Theo noticed Malfoy drawing in a deep breath, and then, the pale blonde stepped forward.

"Madam Pomfrey is at Hogwarts," Malfoy told them, and every eye darted to him. "She told me that her Office is always open… She can help him. I can go fetch her." _Really? You? What in the fuck?_

The shock was quite evident, and even Molly Weasley was surprised to see Draco Malfoy stepping forward like this. Malfoy shot a look towards Ron, who was now passed out on the couch, and he drew in another deep breath. _He breathes deeply just like Ron… Is it some sort of calming exercise?_

"I owe him," Malfoy said, and then he walked over to the fireplace. _Wake up, Theo! What would Daphne do right now?_ "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts."

The sound of the fireplace roaring to life pushed Theo forward, and he found himself checking Ron's inner suit pockets. _Where is it? I bet it's still in there._

"What are you doing?" Potter asked Theo, and Theo felt his fingers wrap around a small vial. _Ron, you idiot._

Theo pulled out the vial of unused Nutrition Potion, making sure to keep it hidden from everyone else.

"Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Lovegood… Can I speak with you?" Theo asked, while the other children just lingered about in a confused daze.

Theo didn't wait for a response, and he quickly moved to the other side of the room. Pandora and Molly joined him just as quickly, while the others tried to listen in despite this being over their heads.

"What is it, Theodore?" Pandora asked in a hushed whisper, and Theo showed them the vial in a subtle manner.

"He didn't have his dose," Theo whispered, and both women just stared at the vial. "Look, he's probably just exhausted. He's had a long day, and this is not uncommon due to his… frail… health. Right now, we need to keep our heads clear."

"Clear?" Molly mumbled, she didn't know what else to say right now.

"You are scaring the others, Mrs. Weasley," Theo whispered. _That was blunt… Damn it, Theo, just calm down a little. How does Daphne do this? It's so stressing._

Pandora and Molly both shot looks back, and after seeing their children, they looked back to Theo with shaken looks.

"He needs a blanket, a pillow, a glass of water, and some food in case he wakes up," Theo listed. _What else? What else could he need?_ "Um… Give me a second, I've never really done this before…"

"Done what?" Pandora asked weakly. _Taken charge whenever Ron's sick._

"The others…" Theo suddenly remembered. "Ron wouldn't want them to worry, so please, help me keep this under control. They won't listen to me, but they'll listen to you."

Pandora and Molly both tried to regain their senses, while Theo pocketed the Nutrition Potion. _I'll have to give this to him if he wakes up. Did he simply forget to take it? He told us that he needs two doses sometimes, and considering the day he's had, I'd say that he needs this desperately._

"Let's wait for Madam Pomfrey," Molly said as she nodded frantically to herself. _Calm down, woman! You're giving me anxiety as well!_

"What is going on with him?" one of twins couldn't hold it back anymore, and all three of them looked to the others. "First he goes into a state, and now this? What is going on with him?"

"Tell us right now," the other twin demanded. "Are the rumors true? Is he sick?"

"We deserve to know what's going on with our brother," Ginny added rather angrily. _This one… She thinks that just because she's had one civil conversation with Ron, she has the right to demand answers. If she were my sister, I would have kicked her to the curb by now._

Unlike the other children, Luna had planted herself by Ron's side, her small hands pushing the sweaty hair off of his face. The Trio had slowly shrunk into the background, mostly because they had the answers that Ron's siblings were looking for. _Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?_ Pandora looked to Molly, who just rubbed her face harshly.

"Right now, I need all of you to go to your rooms," Molly finally made her decision.

"No," one of the twins refused, and Percy looked less than pleased with them.

"Please, you are making this more difficult for your mother," Pandora told them.

"She's keeping things from us," one of the twins started, but Percy Weasley had reached his limit.

"Telling you three would make little difference," Percy bit out, something that caught his siblings off-guard. "All you do is make him miserable, and now, you're making mother miserable. Get out."

"You can't-" the other twin started.

"I said get the **fuck** out of this room," Percy snapped, and even Theo averted his gaze. _This is taking a scary turn._

"Percy Weasley…" Molly looked aghast.

"You three," Percy looked to the Trio, and they all shrunk in size. "Go up to Ginny's room. Take her with you."

The Trio exchanged looks, and oddly enough, it was Potter who stepped forward first.

"Let's go, Ginny," Potter all but whispered. "C'mon… You can ask questions later… Right now, we're just in the way…"

"He'll be fine," Granger said, though she was a terrible actress.

Ginny looked between Ron and her mother, and then she let out a frustrated grunt.

"Let's just wait until he's awake," Ginny said to the twins. "It's already really crowded in here, and we **will** get in the way…" _Thank Merlin._

"He won't tell us a thing, though," one the twins shook their head.

"I'll talk to him," Molly promised them. "Now, please, just go upstairs."

When the twins didn't move, Ginny decided to be the first one to leave. This prompted the Trio and Luna to follow her out, and eventually, the twins also left. _Ron's got no choice now… He has to tell them. As often as they fight, it's quite obvious that they're a very close Family. His siblings won't let this go. Not anymore._ Once Molly was sure that her other children were gone, she frowned deeply at Percy.

"I understand that you're worried about Ronnie, but you can't speak to your siblings like that," Molly scolded rather harshly.

"It's not just Ron," Percy sat down, his hands rubbing his face. "You have no idea what I just witnessed…"

"What happened, Percy?" Pandora moved over and rubbed his back. "Why did Ron say that the French betrayed him?"

Percy looked to Theo, who realized that he was the only child in the room. _Ron not counting._

"There might be a war soon," Percy finally said, deciding to trust Ron's friends. _A war?_

An eerie silence filled the room, and Theo found himself staring at Ron. _What happened? Is Percy serious? A war? With the French?_

"What do you mean by a war?" Molly shot Pandora an odd look.

"Some of the French… They've been plotting behind everyone's backs," Percy replied. "They want to come here with other Veelas in order to 'reeducate' us."

"Reeducate?" Theo asked. "No… They would never dare try that, and even if they did, they wouldn't declare their plans for a war so openly." _Something else is happening here? Right?_

"I was there," Percy told Theo. "I… I bloody saw them all but threaten conquest…"

"How many of his allies planned this?" Theo asked.

"The Abadies, the Ancars, the Donadieus, and Christina Couture," Percy replied. "The Beaumonts joined them during the meeting."

"So not even half," Theo said as his mind drifted to his father's lessons. "They want something, and so they're puffing themselves up. If they wanted war, they wouldn't tell a room full of people that." _Who could they be trying to shake down? Ron?_

"They'd get sent to prison," Pandora gave Theo a slow nod.

"This is not an uncommon tactic amongst the Noble Families," Theo explained to everyone. "You threaten change, and mass disturbance, which then results in people giving you what you want. I have no doubt that Corban Yaxley pulled a similar stunt in order to pass his legislation." _Did my father help him? Why isn't he replying to my letters?_

"So the question is… What do they want?" Molly asked, and then she looked to Ron. "My poor boy…"

"They humiliated him, mother…" Percy looked truly disturbed. "He brought them here for a good cause, and they all but laughed at his 'naivety'. He was more than rattled…" _Rattled? Maybe… Ron isn't easily shaken, but maybe seeing just how cut-throat the Noble Families can be shook him. When Blaise and I warned him, he used their minority status to defend them._

"I think Ron's learnt the hard way that even the most 'down-trodden' are capable of schemes and betrayal," Theo said. _I mean, it's happened before, but Ron has a forgiving nature when it comes to bigotry._ "As for being rattled… That won't last." _It never lasts. Ron tends to rise with a vengeance._

"What do you mean?" Molly asked him.

"I've seen this before," Theo told them. "With Potter… With fellow Slytherins… Whenever someone gets under his skin, Ron becomes distant and isolated. But eventually…" Theo trailed off. _Should I really tell them this?_

"Eventually what?" Pandora asked.

"Eventually, Ron gets over his pain," Theo replied. "And then, he gets angry. These French allies who betrayed him… They're going to regret doing this to him." _Just look at what he did to Potter, or Flint._ "Ron will go to the ends of the Earth to enact his revenge." _And I know for a fact that hurting others doesn't bother him in the slightest._

"That doesn't sound like him," Pandora said slowly, her eyes darting towards Molly.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Lovegood, I'm speaking from experience," Theo said. "As his friend, I won't betray his confidence, but at the same time, I don't want any of you to get caught up in his rage. Ron's anger turns him rabid…" _He'll fuck us all up if we try to stop him._

The fireplace roared to life, and both Malfoy and Madam Pomfrey stepped through.

"Poppy," Molly Weasley looked truly relieved.

Madam Pomfrey looked to Molly for a split second, and then she quickly approached Ron with her wand brandished. _She's wearing a night gown. Did Malfoy fetch her from her living quarters?_ Just as Theo finished thinking that, Malfoy walked up to Theo's side. Theo shot him a quick look, but neither boy said anything. _I have to admit, his actions tonight have surprised me. Is Ron really getting through to him? Maybe I ought to listen to Tracey when she tells me that Malfoy's changing._

"Well?" Percy stood up. "Is he going to be alright, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey nodded. "He's simply exhausted… This boy… When will he stop doing this to himself?"

"This time, it wasn't his fault," Theo heard himself say. "Other people pushed him hard today, and Ron forgot to take his medicine."

"Should we wake him up?" Pandora asked. "He can go back to sleep after his dose."

"No, just let him rest," Madam Pomfrey replied, and then she looked to Theo. "He told you that he forgot to take his dose? Are you sure?"

"I have it right here," Theo pulled the vial out of his pocket. "I searched through his jacket, and it was untouched."

"Alright, this is good," Madam Pomfrey nodded to herself.

"Good?" Molly blinked.

"It means that this isn't something worse than exhaustion," Madam Pomfrey replied. "His color is a little concerning, he might be getting a fever judging by his cold sweat. Give him a Pepperup Potion with his breakfast, and make sure that he takes his Nutrition dose."

"Thank you, Poppy," Molly sighed out in relief. "And we're sorry for disturbing you this late."

"Think nothing of it," Madam Pomfrey said. "Should anything happen, I expect you to come to me immediately. Understood?"

"Yes," Pandora replied, she looked much calmer now. "Thank you, Poppy."

"I'll go and grab him a blanket," Theo said.

"Thank you, Theodore," Molly gave him a rather grateful smile. "There should be some extra's in the attic." _The attic? You mean the attic with the Ghoul inside?_

"Isn't there a Ghoul up there?" Theo asked slowly.

"It's alright, I'll get them," Percy volunteered, and then he left to go fetch said blankets. _Thanks, mate… I draw the line at Ghouls. I need to sit down. This kind of stress wasn't part of the plan._

"Is it alright if we retire for the night?" Malfoy asked, getting the attention of all three witches.

"Yes, of course," Molly nodded, and then walked up and patted their cheeks. _What is she doing?_ "I'm… I'm very glad that he has friends like you two. Like all of you." _Really? It wasn't even a year ago that you were trying to remove him from Slytherin._ "My husband and I were wrong to try and remove him from your side." _Wow… Ron, did you hear that?_

"I am grateful for your faith in us," Theo said formally, and Molly chuckled weakly.

"And you're polite," Molly stepped aside. _Honestly, what else am I supposed to say?_ "If you're hungry, there's some stew on the stove."

"Thank you," Theo said, and then both he and Malfoy left for the Kitchen.

As soon as they turned the corner, they found Tracey waiting by the stairs. _What is she doing down here? Is Daphne awake?_

"Well?" Tracey whispered. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's just sleeping it off," Theo whispered back, and they all began heading upstairs. "Did Luna tell you?"

"She did," Tracey replied, and then she smiled at Malfoy. "And she told me of what you did, Draco." _Draco?_

"Don't use my given name," Malfoy frowned.

"Um… No," Tracey kept smiling, and Malfoy clenched his jaw as he rolled his eyes. _I did well too. Can I get some praise, please?_

Sadly for Theo, his praise never came, and he found himself feeling a little jealous of Draco Malfoy. _First, Ron, and now this? Is she trying to make me jealous? We haven't talked once about our kiss._ As they made their way up to the third floor, Theo realized that being jealous of Ron was quite stupid. _You know, when I really think about it, I'm very glad that I'm not him. Sure, he has nice abs, and a lot of girls drool over him, but his life is too… hectic. Even if he didn't have his conditions, I wouldn't want to be Ronald Weasley._

Percy passed them on the fourth floor, he was carrying far too many blankets for one person. _Yeah, they're definitely a very close Family._ Theo gave him a nod, and he actually returned it. _Look at me, I'm winning the hearts and minds of Weasleys everywhere._

"Is Greengrass still asleep?" Malfoy asked they neared Ron's room.

"She is, and so is Tori," Tracey replied. "Oh, and Tori took your bed, Draco."

"Will you-?" Malfoy started, but Tracey shushed him.

"Don't wake them up," Tracey whispered, she was clearly enjoying herself. _Draco… Whatever. She uses my given name as well, so you can stick that up your arse, 'Draco'._

Malfoy entered the room first, and oddly enough, he didn't make a damn sound. _Creeper._ Theo went to follow him, but Tracey stopped him by tugging at his arm.

"Luna mentioned that you took charge," Tracey whispered with a wider smile, and Theo immediately puffed up. _Play it cool, Theo._ "She said that you calmed down the adults."

"It had to be done," Theo said, his voice almost husky.

"It had to be done?" Tracey giggled softly, and Theo deflated a little. _Fucked that up, didn't I?_

Tracey leaned forward and kissed his cheek, which actually jarred him into becoming a statue.

"Um…" Theo felt his throat dry up.

"Thank you for not sending for Daphne," Tracey whispered. "I know that you and I aren't very good at this sort of thing, so I'm really glad that you were there for him."

"He's my friend, isn't he?" Theo sighed out.

"Now that… was a much better response," Tracey kissed his cheek again. _So if I say sappy things, I get kisses. Make a mental note, Theo. Sometimes, being the 'good guy' can pay off._

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Monday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (Longbottom Manor – Night)**_

Albus found himself standing by the fireplace in the Living Room, his mind occupied with Poppy Abadie's betrayal. _She's not done yet. I imagine that she will make another move very soon._ The French who had remained loyal were currently speaking with Madame Maxime, they were no doubt planning their next move. Olympe had asked Albus for his input, but Albus had simply told her that it was Ronald's job to advise the French. Despite what had happened, Albus didn't want to step on his friend's toes. _Ronald will recover from this, and when he does, he will remember those who stood by him._

"Dumbledore," Sebastian stopped at Albus' side, and Albus shot him a calm smile. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did," Albus replied, he saw no need to delay this conversation. "I imagine that you are just as upset as Sirius and Arthur in regards to Ronald's treatment tonight."

Something turned cold behind Sebastian's eyes, and he looked to the fire in order to hide his growing malice.

"They humiliated him," Sebastian whispered coldly. "They mocked him, laughed at him, and jeered him as he left the room. They will pay for that."

"Will they?" Albus asked. "May I ask what you have in mind?"

Sebastian said nothing, but Albus had his answer.

"I want to ask you to not give into your baser desires," Albus said, and Sebastian shot him a disinterested look. "Is this the message that you want to convey to a young man like Ronald?"

"What?" Sebastian's ears perked up.

"I will not beat around the bush, as they say," Albus started. "Ronald is a troubled young man, and we all know that. We also know that he looks up to you, and in many cases, he tries to mirror your behavior. Because of his youth, he thinks that being cold and ruthless makes him strong, but we both know that that's not the case. Not always. Often times, compassion requires far greater strength, especially when our enemies are involved. If you do what I think you're planning to do, then you might as well tell Ronald that killing those who anger you is the right thing to do. Is that what you want, Sebastian? Do you want him to grow up to be just like you?"

Sebastian maintained his silence, but eventually, he shook his head slowly. _Good._

"Ronald is the wronged party here, and he must decide his next move by himself," Albus said.

"You say that, but you clearly want him to adhere to your values," Sebastian pointed out.

"I will not speak to Ronald about this," Albus promised. "But should he come to me for advice, I will try to steer him away from violence."

"And if he comes to me?" Sebastian asked.

"Then you should think carefully on what you want for Ronald Weasley," Albus said. "And only once you've done that, you may give him advice."

Sebastian gave a subtle nod, and then he left to go join his wife. _What will you do, Sebastian Greengrass?_ Albus knew that he was taking a risk with letting Sebastian have a say in Ronald's next move, but at the same time, he was certain that Ronald would choose compassion. Over the last two months, Ronald had shown Albus just how much kindness he was capable of, and Albus couldn't deny that Ronald's actions had made him a very proud Headmaster. _And a proud friend. He will no doubt stumble, like all youngster do, but eventually, he will find his way._

"Albus, may I speak with you for a moment?" Olympe approached him, and Albus smiled at her. _Her shoulders are slouching, and her head is slightly bowed. She is feeling guilty._

"What is on your mind, Olympe?" Albus asked.

"I want to apologize to you personally," Olympe found some of her inner strength. "I have brought venomous serpents into your home, and they have attacked you."

"I do not accept your apology," Albus said, and Olympe averted her gaze. "Because you have nothing to apologize for."

"That is not true," Olympe looked at him again.

"Did you convince Poppy Abadie to cast her sanity to the wind?" Albus asked, and she shook her head. "Then you are just like the rest of us, Olympe. You, like us, were betrayed tonight."

"I…" Olympe started, but she clearly decided to accept his olive branch. "I am humbled by your understanding, Headmaster." _Humbled?_

Albus couldn't help but chuckle, the word 'humble' and the man named Albus Dumbledore should never be associated. _I never learnt the meaning of the word, I think. Aberforth would die laughing if he was here to hear Olympe._

"Poppy Abadie has chosen her path," Albus said. "The truly sad part about her betrayal is that she has dragged others down with her. I hope Lord and Lady Couture's daughter sees reason before it's too late. Mistakes in war can often lead to untimely deaths, I'm afraid."

"They are heartbroken," Olympe said. "Christina was always spoilt, cruel, and vain… So very unlike her mother."

"Children often find ways to be different from their parents, even if their parents are worth looking up to," Albus said. "If you can, Olympe, I would ask you to find a way to speak to her. She is young, and she has a lot more to lose than her fellow conspirators."

"In truth, her behavior tonight has convinced me that she doesn't deserve a second chance," Olympe admitted.

"We all deserve a second chance," Albus said. "Please, my friend?"

Olympe stared at him for a moment, and then she gave a weak nod. _Good, I hope the girl listens to Olympe's wise counsel._

"How are you so calm, Albus?" Olympe asked. "Not only have we lost multiple allies in one night, but the threat of another war looms over us."

"There won't be a war," Albus assured her. "Poppy wished to scare everyone in this room in the hopes of twisting my arm. She wanted me to accept her deal, and in doing so, make her life a lot easier. The Veela tribes of the mountains are not like Poppy. They are solitary by nature, and if they are forced to jump through too many hoops in order to aid **her** ambitions, they will simply wash their hands of her."

"Are you certain?" Olympe asked.

"Did you see the anger in her eyes when I refused her?" Albus asked. "I have no doubt that she will continue to be a thorn in our side, but for now, her schemes have come to an abrupt halt." _She placed too much value in her own ability to inspire the others to act as she did._

"What if she join the Dark Lord?" Olympe asked.

"Then may the Gods help her," Albus replied. "Lord Voldemort despises Veelas more than most Magical Creatures because of their ability to dominate wizards and witches. He will not allow them into his camp for fear of being usurped. If they do go to him, they will die."

"I have known her for a long time, and yet, I did not see this coming," Olympe drew in a deep breath. "She was always… ambitious… But this? I cannot understand this kind of betrayal."

"To some, crisis is simply another word for opportunity," Albus spoke from experience. "She saw the chance to fulfill her dreams, and she was blinded by it." Albus then shot a look back at the other French, his eyes lingering on a weeping Eretria Couture. "What will all of you do next?"

"Tomorrow, I will go to Ronald's home," Olympe told him. "I will speak to him about our next move, and once we settle on a plan, we will collect my countrymen. Lady Longbottom has been kind enough to give them all room for tonight, so finding them all should be much easier now."

"When you do see Ronald, please make sure that he doesn't blame himself for this," Albus whispered. "If he decides that he has hurt the Order in any way, his heart will be broken."

"I will do my best, Headmaster."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

Ron's eyes slowly drifted open, and he found himself staring at a very familiar ceiling. _I know this place. Home._ Ron had no idea how he ended up here, and when he tried to recollect his memories, he remembered Lady Abadie's betrayal. Within a heartbeat, Ron wished that he was asleep again. He closed his eyes, but after a few minutes, he realized that the time for sleep was over. _They betrayed me… They betrayed the Order._

A familiar feeling of shame, and exhaustion, made its nest inside him. Ron felt it in his gut. He felt it in his head. He felt it in his heart. He felt it in every single part of him. Within one day, Ron had been absolutely crushed from every angle, and right now, he didn't even have the strength to sit up. He just wanted to sleep all day in order to avoid being Ronald Weasley. _No… Get up, Ron. Just fucking get up._ With great will, Ron forced himself to sit up and look around.

"Ron?" came Daphne's voice, and he noticed that she was sitting in Pandora's usual seat. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Ron told the truth without even thinking, and then, he rubbed his eyes clear. "What time is it? And where is everyone?"

"It's just over nine," Daphne replied. "And your Family is currently in the Kitchen with Madame Maxime." _What?_

Ron woke right the fuck up when he heard that, and he shot a quick look towards the exit.

"When did she get here?" Ron asked Daphne.

"Around twenty minutes ago," Daphne replied.

"And no one woke me up?" Ron frowned a little, and then he stood up. _My stomach hurts…_

"Ron, please don't stand so quickly," Daphne got up and walked over to him, her hands snaking around his left arm in an effort to support him. "You collapsed last night… Your brothers brought you inside, and you've been in a deep sleep since then."

"Collapsed?" Ron had no memory of that.

"You don't remember?" Daphne asked slowly, and Ron shook his head.

"So I came home last night? With Bill and Charlie?" Ron asked, and Daphne looked a little scared by his questions.

Ron tried to remember the events of last night again, and he realized that his last memory was of… Dumbledore's arrival. _He showed up to fix my mess. After that, I don't remember a damn thing._

"Ron, you don't remember coming home?" Daphne all but whispered, she had read that memory loss was a symptom of Brain-Damage.

"No…" Ron replied. "Why is Madame Maxime here?"

Daphne just stared at her boyfriend, and when he looked to her for an answer, she decided to break her silence.

"She wants to discuss the French with you," Daphne replied, and then she squeezed his arm. "Theo told me what happened, Ron… I'm so sorry…" _Theo? How did he hear about what happened? Did I tell him last night?_

Ron averted his gaze in shame, how could Theo tell her that the French had humiliated her boyfriend? That they had mocked his foolishness and childlike naivety? _I deserved it. I deserved all of their insults. I assumed that they would do the right thing, but obviously, people are cunts no matter their background. Greedy, self-absorbed, and short-sighted cunts._

"I need to go wash up," Ron began limping towards the exit, and that's when he realized that his right knee was hurting. _Fuck, did I really collapse? I must've fallen on my knee._

Daphne began helping him when she realized that his leg was hurting, and as soon as Ron entered the Kitchen, he spotted Madame Maxime towering over everyone on the dining table. His mother, Pandora, Xeno, Sirius, Lord and Lady Greengrass, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, and Great-Aunt Muriel were all residing in the Kitchen. His mother was the first one to spot him, and it was probably because she was waiting for him to come walking through the door.

"Ron, you're awake," she tried to smile, and the others looked to him immediately.

"Kid," Sirius gave a weak smile. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine," Ron lied on instinct, his eyes fixed on Madame Maxime. "Madame Maxime, please excuse me while I freshen up. I will join you shortly."

"I do not wish to impose, but time is of the essence," Madame Maxime said, and Ron gave her a nod.

"I'll get some food ready," Molly quickly got to work.

"Daphne, stairs," Ron whispered, and she gave him a nod.

"Is your leg alright?" Pandora noticed his limp immediately.

"I…" Ron started, his eyes lingering on Madame Maxime. "I hit it on something in my sleep."

Pandora adorned an understanding look, while Molly Weasley tensed visibly. With that said, Ron and Daphne made their way up to the first floor. The climb up wasn't too hard with Daphne helping him, but Ron could see that she was struggling with his weight. _Wake up, Ron. Stop leaning on her so much. She's not a mule._ Once they reached the top of the stairs, Ron slowly freed himself from Daphne's hold.

"What is it?" Daphne asked him.

"I can walk to the bathroom from here," Ron replied with a pathetic smile.

"Ron, don't be stubborn," Daphne was less than amused, and she took his arm again. "I'll get you to the bathroom, and while you take a quick shower, I'll fetch you something presentable to wear."

"Daph… I can't ask you to do so much for me all the time," Ron said in a rather meek tone. "Especially right now…"

"You mean because of the legislation?" Daphne asked him, and Ron nodded. "I have calmed down, and I've spent all morning coming up with solutions. The French still want to expand their businesses, and my mother has connections in Germany. If the legislation can't be reversed, then I will simply work around it." _I… Wow… She came up with a solution on her own?_

"That's great…" Ron said slowly.

"You sound a little disappointed," Daphne noted.

"Oh… I just… I wanted to help you," Ron admitted. "Like you helped me when Barnabas Cuffe came after me." _If it weren't for my friends, I'd have never gone to Madame Maxime. Not to mention that Daphne helped pay for my advertisement campaign._

"You can't fight every battle, Ron," Daphne couldn't help but smile a little. "And I can't always rely on others for help. Neither of us is like that, I think."

"When do you rely on me for help?" Ron asked.

"You really are a dolt sometimes," Daphne didn't answer his question. "Come on, let's get you into the shower."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts, and Ron made sure that the shower curtain was in place.

"Daph?" Ron called.

"I've got a suit," Daphne called back. "Should I just leave it out here?" _I'll have to step into the hallway in a towel if you do._

"The door's unlocked," Ron called. "Just drop hang it near the sink."

"You want me to come inside?" Daphne asked, and Ron checked the shower curtain once again. _She won't see anything, and it saves me a trip outside._

"The shower curtain is in place," Ron replied. "Just do it quickly, and leave right after."

"If you're sure…" Daphne said, and then, Ron heard the bathroom door open.

Daphne raced inside, dropped off the suit, and then she turned to leave. Ron waited for a few seconds, but he didn't hear the bathroom door close.

"Daph?" Ron said. "Are you still in here?"

"Um… Yeah, I'll go…" Daphne mumbled, and Ron wondered why she had stopped. _Actually, if she was behind the shower curtain, and I was in her shoes, I'd stop as well._

Ron waited for the door to close, and the moment it did, he stuck his head out of the curtain. Daphne had left, much to Ron's relief, and so he stepped outside and wrapped himself in a towel. He did his best to ignore his reflection, mostly because he didn't want to see his scars this morning, and only once he was dressed did he look into the mirror. He looked rested enough, which was almost funny because he felt extremely tired. Ron brushed his teeth, made his hair, did up his buttons and tie, and then he finally exited the bathroom.

Daphne was waiting for him outside, and she wasn't alone. Ron's siblings, and the Trio, were all loitering in the hallway. It was obvious that they were waiting for him, and Ron felt rather exasperated with seeing their faces. _I don't have it in me to deal with these people. I need to go downstairs and fix my mess._

"Are you feeling better, Ron?" Luna asked first, while Ginny just lingered with the Trio.

"Yes," Ron replied, and then he simply began to walk towards the stairs. _Good thing I healed up my leg in the bathroom. My kneecap was bruised rather badly._

"Hold on for a second, Ron," Percy moved into his way, and Ron felt the urge to shove him aside. _Control yourself, Ron… Percy's done you no wrong. Discipline your mind._ "You owe us some answers."

"I do?" Ron asked. _Haven't I already told you about my Chronic Stress?_

"You collapsed yesterday," Fred reminded him.

"And you were acting off all day," George added. "We want to know what's wrong with you." _So many things._

"It's obvious that your friends know what's going on," Fred said. "We're your kin, and we deserve to know as well."

"If anything, you should've told us first," Fred said, he sounded mildly annoyed.

"Really?" Ron asked with a dead look. "I should come to you with my problems, should I?" _So you can use them against me as you've always done?_

"Yes," the twins said together.

Ron said absolutely nothing, he didn't have it in him to start a row with his temperamental siblings. All he wanted to do was to fix his mess, and then, he wanted to sleep. Ron moved past Percy quietly, who didn't try to stop him. The twins weren't pleased with his silence, while the others were visibly disappointed, but Ron couldn't care less.

"Are you at least feeling better?" Neville asked.

"I feel fine," Ron lied, and then he began making his way down the stairs.

Just as Ron entered the Kitchen, his eyes quickly moved towards Madame Maxime. She was speaking with Aunt Muriel, who was frowning rather deeply. _Something's wrong, isn't it? When isn't something wrong?_

"Madame Maxime, let's go talk outside," Ron called, and she stood up at the sound of his voice.

"You can talk in here while you eat some food," Molly was currently making his plate.

"I'm not hungry," Ron said as he exited the Burrow.

The fresh, cool air felt divine on his skin, and Ron felt himself relax a little. _I need to ask her what happened after I left. Is there really going to be a war because of me? This is just like Dumbledore's mess in Albania, only with Veelas and me in the center of it._ After a few moment, Madame Maxime followed him outside with a plate of food in her hands. _Did mum ask her to carry food for me?_

"Eat," Madame Maxime offered him the plate, which he took with a slight frown. "You'll need your strength today, Ronald."

"Are we still going to the Ministry?" Ron asked as he began to distance himself from the Burrow.

"We must," Madame Maxime followed him. "Not all the French betrayed us, and so we can't leave them out to dry." _True._

"What happened after I left?" Ron asked, making sure that they were alone. "Will there be a war?"

"No," Madame Maxime replied, and Ron relaxed immensely. _Dumbledore saved the day, then? Good. At least one of us is useful._ "Poppy Abadie wanted to scare the others into joining her, and in doing so, give her the power she needed to put her ambitions into play. Albus refused her offer, as did most of the others, and so she was forced to leave for France last night."

"Her allies as well?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Madame Maxime said, and then she drew in a deep breath. "I am sorry for bringing her here, Ronald. I will take full responsibility should her deeds come to light."

"No," Ron refused immediately. "You might have recommended her, but it was all my idea. We're partners in this, aren't we?"

"We are," Madame Maxime gave him an odd smile.

"Then we'll both take responsibility," Ron said. "I can't let you throw yourself under the bus, especially when I didn't see this betrayal coming either." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "So? What's our plan?"

"The French have to leave," Madame Maxime replied, and Ron blinked at her.

"Why?" Ron asked quickly. "The traitors are gone, aren't they?"

"Yes, but their actions have put the others in danger of prosecution," Madame Maxime replied. "The British Ministry, and people, won't differentiate between the guilty and the innocent. They will see all Veelas as a threat, and that will do untold damage to the relationship between the French and English. It's best that we make a quiet exit for now."

"But the Ministry has no idea about Lady Abadie's schemes," Ron said.

"Can we really take the risk of them finding out?" Madame Maxime asked. "As long as the French are here, the Pure-Blood Families will keep investigating them. Sooner or later, they will find something that will damn us all. I truly believe that for the time being, we must do our best to salvage what we can. My countrymen agree with me, Ronald. They wish to return home in order to make sure that the French Ministry doesn't take offence at this legislation made solely to target foreigners." _So… Corban Yaxley won? So much of our work has been undone, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it._

"If the French leave…" Ron started. "What happens with the Order?"

"We will continue our support," Madame Maxime promised. "This is our fight as well, my friend, and we will not stand by as the Dark Lord inflicts death and destruction on Britain. At first, we will continue providing the Order with funds, but once things escalate, we will return. At that point, the Ministry will be too busy to care about our presence."

"I see," Ron looked off into the distance.

"Sometimes, in order to win the war, you have to lose the battle," Madame Maxime told him. "We lost this one… But we are not done yet. The best thing we can do right now is to learn from this, and then, improve ourselves for the next battle."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Ministry – Morning)**_

The moment Ron, and his French allies, had entered the Ministry, Rufus Scrimgeour had greeted them in the Atrium. As it turned out, Corban Yaxley had seen this coming as well, and had decided to intercept Ron and his allies before they could speak with the Minister. Rufus Scrimgeour, who was clearly acting under the Minister's orders, had escorted them to the Ministry Dungeons for a chat with the Minister. Ron, and Madame Maxime, had attempted to question Scrimgeour, but the man was as quiet as a wall. Once they were within the Ministry Dungeons, Scrimgeour had led them to the Wizengamot's conference room, but before Ron and his allies could enter, the Head Auror suddenly decided to block their path.

"Corban Yaxley, and his friends, are inside as well," Scrimgeour told Madame Maxime. "The Minister had me collect Ludo Bagman, and Bartemius Crouch Snr before I intercepted you."

"Do you know why?" Madame Maxime asked, why was he telling them this?

"No, I don't," Scrimgeour said, his yellow eyes darting towards Ron for a moment. "I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, it's serious. The Minister has asked me to station my remaining Aurors outside once you're in the room." _What?!_

With that, Scrimgeour opened the door and stepped aside. Ron and Madame Maxime exchanged look, and then, they looked back to the French. _What has Corban Yaxley done now? And why is the Minister letting him sit in this conversation? He doesn't even work at the Ministry. Fucking Fudge…_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he stepped into the conference room first. He immediately spotted Barty Crouch Snr sitting with Ludovic Bagman, and across from them sat Ron's enemies. Corban Yaxley, a thin young man, Lord and Lady Parkinson, Madam Dolores Umbridge, and a muscled man with blonde hair.

"Ah, welcome," Fudge greeted them with a forced smile, he was sitting at the head of the long table.

"You knew we were coming?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"The Wizengamot's latest legislation gave them reason to suspect your arrival," Crouch said, his eyes were filled with anger. _He's staring right at me…_ "Take a seat. Please."

Ron and his allies sat down on Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman's side, with Ron sitting right next to Ludo Bagman. He was a blue-eyed, blonde man who looked well past his prime. Ron knew that Ludo was a Professional Quidditch Player in his time, but that fact didn't really impress him. _Maybe it would've when I was younger, but as it stands, I haven't used a broom in a long time._

"Minister Fudge," Madame Maxime started, her eyes fixed on Corban Yaxley. "Do Lord Yaxley, and his associates, really need to be here? They are not employed by the British Ministry, and therefore, should not be privy to this conversation."

"Why?" Yaxley asked, he was a man with hardened and cold features. "Do you have something to hide, Headmistress?"

"Not at all," Madame Maxime replied. "It's just, given your history, your presence could be mistaken for an insult."

"I lost years of my life due to the Imperius Curse, and you are digging at my deepest wound," Yaxley said, and Ron felt his jaw clench. _Liar._ "We can either be civil about this, or we can be petty. Either way, Headmistress, we are not leaving."

"We will be civil, of course," Fudge spoke up, his eyes darting towards Crouch.

"Lord Yaxley, and his allies, have come to us with their concerns," Crouch started, though his tone was cold and almost hostile. "They say that they have proof of a conspiracy against the British Government, and that this proof paints the French in this room as the conspirators." _What? Does he know about Lady Abadie's schemes?_

Ron kept his composure, of course, but deep down, he felt genuine dread over what this could mean. _If he does know about her madness, we're in deep shite. Forget the Triwizard Tournament, we'll be at war with France before the end of the year._

"They have proof, do they?" Emilia spoke up, mostly because no one else had. "And how do we know that this proof is legitimate?"

"If you want legitimacy to be proven, Lady Travers, we can easily take this to the Wizengamot," Umbridge giggled. "By British Magical Law, we can hold your trial in this country if you are our guests."

"But we do not wish to create a scandal," Yaxley said.

"Is that so?" Ron asked.

"Neither of our Ministries will benefit from such a disgraceful affair," Yaxley replied. "Every party involved will leave with mud on their faces, except for us, of course. We are simply trying to keep our country safe."

"However, **boy** , you won't be so lucky," Lady Parkinson sneered at him. "After all, the people of Magical Britain will want to know why a child has been given such an important job to make a mess out of."

"Let's not blow this out of proportion," Fudge chuckled nervously, he knew that he'd be blamed in the end for hiring Ronald Weasley.

"Present your evidence," Crouch said, completely ignoring the Minister. "I wish to see it for myself."

The thin young man pulled out several folders from his briefcase, and he began passing them around the table. One of the folders ended up in Ron's hands, and when he opened it to look inside, his blood froze. Inside the folder were several photographs of Lady Abadie and Ludo Bagman, most of which revealed who Lady Abadie's secret lover was. Ron slowly looked to the man on his right, and Bagman gave Ron a slightly confused look.

"What is it, Mr. Weasley?" Bagman asked.

"It's you," Ron replied, and then he handed the photographs to Bagman.

Bagman looked the photos over, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Mr. Bagman is currently staring at photos of himself and Lady Abadie," Yaxley said, and Madame Maxime shot Ron a quick look. _I know._ "These were taken in various locations all over Diagon Alley, and they prove that Mr. Bagman is having an affair with Lady Abadie."

"You had me followed?!" Bagman suddenly went red in the face. "I am a Ministry Official! You are a civilian! By what right-!"

"You are both married, and, you are both powerful individuals," Yaxley replied. "You, Mr. Bagman, are one of the most influential people in the Ministry right now, given your current project." _He even knows of the Triwizard Tournament?!_

"Project?" Crouch asked.

"The Quidditch World Cup is being hosted by Britain next year, is it not?" the thin young man asked. _It is? Wait… They don't know about the Triwizard Tournament, then?_

"It is, Mr. Rosier," Minister Fudge replied quickly.

"You hold sensitive information in your head, and Veelas are known to seduce powerful men," Rosier said.

"Poppy wouldn't do that," Bagman snarled. _This poor bastard… She tricked you, mate, just like she tricked us._

"Wouldn't she?" Yaxley asked. "We also have two people in your Department who can testify to her attempting to bribe them for information." _Fuck!_ "In addition, we have eleven more Ministry employees who can testify to being offered bribes by the French."

"This is a lie," Lady Heroux frowned deeply.

"An absolute insult," Monsieur Delacour added. _But is it true? I mean, we just learnt last night that some of us have gone rogue. What if the conspirators were indeed offering bribes for favor? This is not good. Not good at all._

"We, the British Ministry, are the insulted party here," Umbridge said, she sounded sweet and bitter at the same time. "I have followed up with these young men and women, and they felt disgusted by what they were nearly a part of. The French… are attempting to infiltrate our proud Ministry. We, as the British peop-"

"Be quick about it," Crouch said bluntly, and Umbridge looked jarred. "We are not in the Wizengamot, Dolores, and I do not have it in me to listen to your long-winded rants. Who are these young men and women?"

"They wish to exercise their right to anonymity," Umbridge said, and Madame Maxime scoffed.

"Isn't that convenient?" Ron said.

"I can call them down here, if you truly want that, but it would be a betrayal of their courage," Umbridge looked to Fudge. "These people have put their careers in danger by coming forward, Minister."

"No, there is no need for that," the Minister said, and Ron barely held back his shock. _Are you fucking kidding me?! This bastard is bought and paid for!_

"I think there is," Crouch said. "If these claims are indeed true, then we need to go through **all** the evidence."

"Barty, that could take hours," Fudge said. "Dolores, didn't you make transcriptions of your conversations with these employees?"

"I did, Minister," Umbridge replied with a sweet smile. "They are in the folder in front of Lord Beaufort."

Lord Beaufort quickly passed the folder down to Crouch, who opened it and looked through the content. After nearly a minute of him reading through the transcriptions, he put them all down with a slight frown.

"None of these witnesses gave their name?" Crouch asked. "Not even a single person?"

"As I said, they wished to remain anonymous, and by British Magical Law, they have that right," Umbridge replied.

"This smells of Hippogriff dung, Barty," Bagman said, his eyes fixed on Crouch. "They say they have evidence against the French, but all they've proven so far is that they've committed a crime by stalking a Ministry Official."

"Where are Lord and Lady Abadie?" Rosier asked. "I also don't see Lord and Lady Beaumont, Lord and Lady Donadieu, and Lord and Lady Ancar. Where are they?" _Damn this Rosier cunt… Who is he?_

"They have returned to France," Madame Maxime replied calmly. "They have large businesses to take care of."

"Is that so?" Yaxley asked, and then he looked to the blonde muscled man. "Thorfinn?" _Thorfinn? Thorfinn Rowle?_

"I saw them at the French Ministry yesterday, and they looked less than pleased," Thorfinn Rowle told everyone. _French Ministry?_ "They had no luggage, nor did they have anyone there to pick them up. From what I gathered, no one had expected them back so soon."

"We have records of them hiring Portkeys late last night, and they didn't put in an order as is the Law," Yaxley added. "They were clearly chased out." _Chased out? Fucking hell, this is not like Slytherin at all. These people are far too clever, and they always hit near the target._

"It is obvious that these two diplomats caught wind of their schemes," Lady Parkinson looked between Ron and Madame Maxime. "And yet, instead of bringing this up for investigation, they decided to send these would be infiltrators home in order to avoid a scandal." _Damn Lady Abadie to hell, she's done so much damage to us._

"This is all speculation at best," Ron spoke up.

Crouch looked to Ron, and once again, Ron felt like Crouch was pissed off with him. _Why? I haven't even spoken to the man. What could I have done to earn his ire?_ Crouch looked back down at the transcriptions, and he picked out one particular page.

"This one claims that Lady Ancar attempted to bribe him, and when that failed, she attempted to seduce him," Crouch told everyone. _Merlin, it's probably true._

"Most of the pieces are all there," Yaxley said. "We might not have a clear picture yet, but it is quite obvious that the French have been less than forthcoming with us. We are giving them a chance to confess their crimes without involving the courts and the Media, but if they keep playing this game, then we will investigate them with the full power of the Wizengamot behind us."

"Their accounts will be looked through, their business ledgers will be turned inside out, and the French Ministry itself will get involved," Rosier said. "Thorfinn spoke with the French Minister himself, and he has asked us to do anything in our power to avoid a scandal. He would not tell us why he was so desperate to avoid this mess, but it's probably because the French and the English are working on something important."

"Something so important that even we haven't heard about it yet," Yaxley looked to Fudge, who simply looked forward. "In order to defend Britain, I will take this to the highest level possible. I will involve every single Ministry Official from both Ministries, and I will give my findings to the Daily Prophet as well. Within a day, the people of Britain will demand that the French be thrown out of this country. There will be mass outrage, and any chance of the French and British becoming allies one day will be shattered."

Ron could easily tell that he was losing this battle, mostly because the Pure-Bloods were right. The French had indeed schemed to infiltrate the British Ministry, and if Corban Yaxley searched long enough, he'd find the evidence needed to ruin the relationship between the French and the British. Ron had lost before the fight had even started, and it was all because he couldn't control his own allies. The worst part about this was that Corban Yaxley was actually doing Ron a great service here. Not only was Yaxley allowing the French to leave with their reputations intact, but he was also killing the chance of a war breaking out. _He's killing multiple birds with one stone, and I'm one of those birds._ Ron felt his stomach tighten painfully, but he ignored his pain.

"If you choose accept our offer, then you will leave Britain by tonight," Yaxley stood up, and his allies did the same. "You will not further attempt to infiltrate our Ministry, nor will you hire proxies to interfere with our country's affairs. We will simply forget that this ever happened, and no one will be put under a microscope. The choice is yours."

With that, Yaxley simply left the room, while Rosier collected the documents before heading out as well. The room was filled with an overwhelming silence, which was eventually broken by the woman who resembled a toad.

"Hem, hem," Umbridge 'cleared' her throat. "Minister… Mr. Weasley and Headmistress Maxime have proven to be rather poor diplomats, and although we have no power over Headmistress Maxime, we ought to relieve this child of his duties." _What?_ "It is quite obvious that he has no idea what he's doing."

"I will decide on who works in **my** Department," Crouch said coldly, and Umbridge shot him a challenging look. "Not you, Dolores, and certainly not him." _I'm not getting fired?_

"Excuse me?" Umbridge looked more than aghast. "You dare speak to the Minister-"

"How long have you known about this?" Crouch demanded, his eyes fixed on Fudge.

"A few days," Fudge replied.

"And you decided not to tell me?" Crouch asked. "Have you forgotten my position?"

"No, Barty, I have not," Fudge sighed out, while the French simply looked uncomfortable.

"You're the one who is forgetting his position in the hierarchy of things," Umbridge no longer bothered to sound sweet. "Speak to the Minister with some respect."

"How about you get your nose out of his arse?" Bagman snapped, and Ron was genuinely taken aback. _They're fighting like children…_ "Did you know that I was being followed? That they were taking pictures of my personal affairs?"

"No, we didn't know that," Fudge tried to calm everyone down, but Bagman shot out of his seat and barged out of the room. "Madame Maxime… I cannot recommend accepting their offer enough. Please, we cannot afford this sort of situation looming over us. Especially with what's planned for next year."

"The Quidditch World Cup?" Umbridge fished for information.

"This is the part where you leave," Crouch just stared through Umbridge, and she smiled in a condescending manner. _I really don't like this woman._

"You ought to get your house in order, Barty," Umbridge giggled as she stood up. "I'd start by firing the incompetents."

Ron bit his tongue, mostly because he didn't want to embarrass himself any further. Umbridge left the room with a hop in her step, she was clearly pleased with how things had turned out. As for Ron, and his allies, they knew that they had no choice but to accept Yaxley's offer. _I know that Madame Maxime and the French planned to leave anyway, but it still hurts to lose like this. We're accepting mercy from our enemy, and Yaxley looks like an extremely benevolent man instead of a damn Death-Eater. Everything went to shit, and it only took a day._ Ron felt like his confidence had been shattered, and once again, a dull pain started in his stomach. _What is that?_

"Madame Maxime, please," Fudge looked exhausted.

"We will leave, Minister," Madame Maxime said, and Fudge looked visibly relieved. "Mr. Crouch, thank you for your work today. I will make sure that this does not affect our plans for the future."

"The Aurors will escort you all to your homes," Crouch said. "Gather your things, and come back to the Ministry. I will have Portkeys ready for you all."

Madame Maxime stood up, and Ron quickly followed suit.

"Sit back down," Crouch shot a cold look at Ron, who just stared at him.

"Is everything-?" Madame Maxime started, but she stopped when Crouch turned his gaze to her.

"The Aurors will escort you out," Crouch repeated. "I will continue looking into this, and if I smell corruption, there will be a reckoning. Do you understand?"

Madame Maxime said nothing, and after shooting Ron a quick look, she and the French left the room in an orderly fashion. Ron sat back down, and he was smart enough to realize that he was probably going to get fired. And yet, oddly enough, he felt very little panic over that idea. He was simply exhausted, and all he wanted to do was to go home. Fudge eventually left the room as well, he no doubt planned to go home early today. When only Ron and Crouch were left in the room, Ron noticed that his boss was just staring at him. _Should I say something?_

"Mr. Crouch-" Ron started.

"Shut up," Crouch said coldly, and Ron felt his mouth close. "I ought to fire you right here and now, and believe me, I'd love nothing more. From the day you **bullied** your way into my Department, I've been looking for reasons to get rid of you." _You have? Why?_

Crouch stood up, and he slowly walked over to Ron. The tall man stopped right next to Ron, and because of the dim lighting, Ron felt like a man with a skull for a face was staring down at him. _It's kind of scary, even._

"Let's make one thing very clear, Mr. Weasley," Crouch whispered coldly. "I want you gone. My Department wants you gone. Even the Minister wants you gone. You strong-armed Amelia Bones into giving you this position, and I had relocate a very promising young diplomat to a different country in order to help my friend. You took someone else's job by **force** , and this is what you have to show for it? Pathetic. Ever since your position was announced, you have not sent even one owl to me. You haven't even made an appearance in the Offices."

"I was waiting for you to contact me-" Ron started, but Crouch slammed his fist into the table.

Ron jumped from fright, his eyes widening as his body shrunk in size.

"I'm supposed to contact you?!" Crouch yelled at Ron. "I'm supposed to invite you into the Department that you now work for?! Are you fucking stupid?! Do you think I have time to lay out a welcome mat for you?!"

Ron was genuinely jarred by Crouch's sudden rage, and he looked down at the table like a scolded child. This action, however, only served to enrage Crouch further.

"Look at me while I speak to you!" Crouch ordered, and Ron slowly looked back up. "You are on very thin ice, boy! The only reason why I haven't fired you is because I don't want to give that toad Umbridge the satisfaction! But I assure you, I will start looking for your replacement very soon if you don't get your act together! You work for me, do you understand?!"

Ron nodded weakly, he hadn't been yelled at by an adult like this since… _Since Snape._

"You will report back to me from now on," Crouch hissed, though he sounded just as scary as when he was yelling. "I understand that you've never worked before, and I understand that you're just a child. But actions have consequences, and the person whose job you stole wouldn't have let things escalate this far. He would've contacted me immediately, and we could've come up with a strategy instead of being blindsided. From now on, you **will** stay in contact with me. You **will** work on the assignments I give you. You **will** **not** act as a lone wolf. That is not how things work in this World, and the sooner you learn that, the better. So help me Merlin, Mr. Weasley, I will make sure that you never hold a position of power in this Ministry if you keep acting like an untrained ape. You don't get to do as you please, not when the stakes are this high."

Crouch then took a step back, his unnaturally straight hair had become messy due to his yelling.

"Get out of my fucking sight, you incompetent idiot," Crouch was clearly trying to calm himself down.

Ron slowly got up, and he began walking towards the door in a daze. He didn't even realize that his hands were shaking, or that his stomach had twisted in on itself from nervousness.

"One more thing," Crouch called, and Ron looked back. "I don't know what your feud is with Corban Yaxley, but it ends today. If these people keep coming after you, I will fire you simply because I don't want my Department to get caught up in your mess. Years of work nearly came undone because they wanted to humiliate you. We have jobs to do, Mr. Weasley, and we won't let you get in the way just so you can act like you matter. I will be keeping my eyes on you from now on, so act accordingly."

Ron gave a shaky nod, and then he exited the room. Ron, of course, was quite familiar with conflict by now, but this was different. No matter how he looked at it, Ron knew that he could've done more. Why hadn't he contacted Crouch sooner? Why hadn't he predicted betrayal from a woman who made it quite clear that she wanted to rule the Veela Community? Why was he born as the most incompetent Weasley? _If Bill, or Percy, were in my shoes, they'd have done so much better._ Ron felt his eyes sting, because in hindsight, he had made mistake after mistake without even realizing it. He was just as incompetent, and foolish, as everyone kept telling him. As Ron neared the elevators, he clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. He wanted to distract himself as much as he could in an effort to save the last shred of dignity he had left. _Don't fucking cry. Don't prove your enemies right._

As the elevator took him up towards the Atrium, Ron rubbed his eyes clear harshly. _Fucking useless piece of shit…_ The thing that stuck out to Ron the most right now was that he had indeed stolen someone's job, and from what Crouch had said, this young diplomat was far better at this job than Ron. _Why didn't I come into the Offices? Why didn't I even think that it was important? I'm so fucking stupid! Umbridge was right to call for my head… I really fucked it all up. Dumbledore had to stop the war that I nearly started by bringing Lady Abadie here, and then, I put Madame Maxime and the French through this trial. Yaxley came for me, and they all got caught up in my mess._

The doors of the elevator opened, and Ron found himself drifting towards the fireplaces. Everyone who worked at the Ministry was in such a rush, all of them were running from point A to point B, which only made Ron feel worse about himself. _This is a different workspace from Lord Greengrass' study, but I didn't even think about that. I just… fucked around, all the while pretending like I was some 'rising star'. I'm pathetic. Ginny's right… I'm an ego-maniac, one who doesn't know anything about the World around him._ Doubt crept up his spine, and it made its nest inside his mind. Over the last two days, Ron's mistakes had caught up to him, and only now did he realize just how foolish he had been.

"Mr. Weasley," came an all too familiar voice, and Ron stopped immediately. "I was hoping to speak with you. Do you have some spare time?"

Ron looked over to Corban Yaxley, and he realized that the man was completely alone. _What do you want from me? You already won, didn't you?_

"Where are your allies?" Ron heard himself ask.

"They went to their homes," Yaxley replied, his face entirely expressionless. "They are no doubt celebrating their victory even as we speak."

"I see," Ron looked back ahead. "You should go join them, and leave me alone…"

"I'd rather have a conversation with you," Yaxley said, and Ron looked back to him. "Are you hungry?"

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

What was Ron thinking?

Why had he accepted Yaxley's invitation?

Maybe it was because he just couldn't think straight right now? Or maybe it was because he wanted to learn more about his enemy? Or maybe, deep down, he was envious of Yaxley's mind? After all, it had taken Corban Yaxley very little time to school Ron in the art of politics, and Ron had felt the urge to give into his never ending need to be better. To learn from his mistakes. _I should be careful with him. He's smarter, richer, and no doubt stronger than me. I should've said no._

For the last twenty minutes, neither of them had spoken a word. They had made their way to Diagon Alley, but instead of stopping at the many fancy restaurants along the way, Yaxley had led the way to a street vendor who was selling fish and chips.

"Hugo," Yaxley greeted the older man, who smiled widely at seeing Yaxley. _He's friends with a street vendor?_ "I'll take two of my usual, please." _Please?!_

"Of course, Mr. Yaxley," the older wizard quickly pulled out his wand, and as he began to make the order, Ron found himself staring at Yaxley's back. _He's friends with a street vendor? Why? Don't Pure-Bloods like Yaxley consider the common folk as lesser beings?_

"How's your daughter?" Yaxley asked the man, he didn't sound very friendly despite his personal question.

"Oh, busy with her Ministry job," the wizard named Hugo laughed pleasantly. "She's all but forgotten her old man, I fear. How is your daughter, Sir?" _Lysandra?_

"Terribly spoilt," Yaxley replied, and Hugo laughed again. "My wife has bought her fifteen dresses in two days, and not once did my daughter thank her." _That does sound like Lysandra, actually._

"Daughters are definitely harder than boys, I promise," Hugo said, and Yaxley simply gave a nod. _What is happening?_ "But its daughters who take care of you when you're old and grey, eh?"

"Mine would sooner feed me poison for her inheritance," Yaxley said, and Hugo laughed. _Was that a joke?!_

Yaxley's lips twitched upwards for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. _I'm so fucking confused right now. Is this a set up? Is this Hugo an actor? Is Yaxley trying to get into my head?_

"Here you are, Sir," Hugo placed the orders in front of Yaxley, who paid the man a Galleon. _That much?!_ "Sir… Please, that's too much."

"Nonsense," Yaxley took the orders. "I keep saying that you should let me help you open up a restaurant, Hugo, but since you won't listen to sound advice, I'll just keep paying you extra until you have enough."

"I'm a bit too old to be running a kitchen," Hugo accepted the money.

"We'll hire you an able bodied staff," Yaxley said. "Just think about it."

"I… I will, Sir," Hugo gave a respectful nod, and Yaxley left right after.

Ron followed after the blonde haired Pure-Blood, though he shot a quick look back at Hugo. _I honestly don't know what to say about that._

"Here," Yaxley offered Ron one of the boxes, and Ron took it slowly. "It's not poisoned, by the way."

"You eat street food?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"That man has been working that stall for over thirty years," Yaxley told Ron, and Ron shot another look back at Hugo. "My wife tells me that I should eat healthier, but sadly, I have a stomach for unhealthy foods. No one makes fish and chips as well as Hugo, and so, he has my patronage. My father actually brought me to him when I was very young, so we go back a long time."

"I'm going to assume that he's not a Pure-Blood," Ron started. "That doesn't bother you?"

"He's a Half-Blood, and he knows his place in the grand scheme of things," Yaxley replied. "I can respect a man who hones his craft for decades, and whose presence only makes Magical Britain brighter." _Right…_

Ron opened his box, and he looked inside. The chips smelled amazing, and the fish had a nice golden crust around it. _He uses herbs on the chips?_ Yaxley began eating as he started walking towards the upper district, and Ron followed after him. Silence fell between them once again, and eventually, Yaxley took a seat on a bench overlooking the busy streets. Ron slowly took a seat as well, and he made sure put a lot of distance between them.

"You should eat the fish-" Yaxley started, but when he saw Ron's empty box, he cocked an eyebrow.

"I eat quickly," Ron said, and Yaxley gave him an understanding nod. _It was so damn delicious that I scarfed it down._

"Well? What did you think?" Yaxley asked. "Give me your honest opinion, Mr. Weasley, I wish to open a restaurant for the man."

"It was the best fish and chips I've ever had," Ron admitted easily enough. _Even better than mum's._ "Lord Yaxley… Why are we here?"

"I wish to speak with you about recent events," Yaxley replied, and then, his eyes seemed to turn colder. "I know that your allies betrayed you, Mr. Weasley." _What? How?_ "You don't have to confirm my suspicions, I realized something was off when I didn't see them. Not to mention Thorfinn's report. Now… I don't know what happened, nor do I really care, but I do wish to know if Britain is in danger."

"In danger?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound completely calm.

"I'm sure you've realized that Politics is a dangerous game," Yaxley said. "And I'm sure that you fully understand just how greedy some people can be. I mean, you are a Slytherin, are you not?"

"There is no danger," Ron told him. "And if there was, it's not your place to interfere."

"Don't be naïve," Yaxley said, and Ron felt his heart sink a little. _That word again?_ "We both know that the Old Families run this country, and therefore, I have every right to interfere should things get out of control. My forefathers built this country, as did yours. Every fifth building you see in Diagon Alley was built by the Yaxley Family. This country is my home, and my Blood runs through its veins. I will defend it until my dying breath, and I will destroy its enemies without any mercy."

"And you think I'm Britain's enemy?" Ron asked coldly. _I might be having a rough go of things, but I won't be spoken down to by a fucking Death-Eater._

Yaxley just stared at Ron, and after a few seconds, his eyes returned to normal.

"I think you brought the French here to help St. Mungo's," Yaxley replied, and Ron blinked at him. _Huh?_ "Many of my allies are convinced that you have some selfish motives for bringing the French here, but I believe that you simply wished to do a good thing for your country. And, despite my feelings on the Veela community, I cannot deny that their donations did help St. Mungo's Hospital's recovery a great deal. So, on that front, I would like to thank you."

"Thank me?" Ron asked. "You just undid all of my work… I don't want your false gratitude."

"I won't lie that this all started as me trying to stop you before you made a mistake that cost us all dearly," Yaxley said. "But along the way, as I learned more about you, I came to respect you." _Lies upon lies._ "It is not your fault that you put your faith in the wrong people. After all, you were raised to believe that the 'downtrodden' are always right." _Is he about to give me his Death-Eater manifesto?_

"You don't know what you're talking about," Ron said.

"Oh, but I do," Yaxley said. "You are not the first person to be betrayed by your allies, Mr. Weasley. We have all been through it. When I was your age, I was quite the ambitious young man. But unlike you, I didn't have the discipline needed to further my ambitions. Eventually, however, I did try to make some deals in order to impress the World, and I was swiftly betrayed by people I thought I could count on. They swindled a great deal of money from me, and my father lost his controlling share in the shoe-making industry. If you do not believe me, you may look into it. It was quite the disaster, and many people called me a fool. Including my own friends."

"What do you want from me?" Ron asked bluntly, he was getting tired of this conversation already.

"I want to take you under my wing," Yaxley replied, and Ron was genuinely baffled.

"Pardon?" Ron just stared at the man's cold features.

"You have shown me that you have amazing potential, and I want to aim that potential towards making a better England," Yaxley went on. "I have a lot of experience in Politics, and as you clearly just witnessed, my influence runs deep. With me backing you, you would have all of my resources at your disposal. You could pursue any ambitions that you have, and I promise you that with my help, you'll be unstoppable."

"I already have a mentor," Ron refused. _I'm not getting in bed with people like you. You have no idea what I plan to do to all of you murderous cunts._

"Sebastian Greengrass, you mean," Yaxley said. "I won't deny that I could never offer you as much wealth as him, but you and I both know that Sebastian is a businessman first. Unlike us, Mr. Weasley, he doesn't love this country. He does not seek to make it better, nor does he seek to protect it from outside threats. He is only interested in his bottomless vaults, and if he could, he'd sell Britain out to further his wealth."

Ron couldn't deny that Lord Greengrass was indeed a business driven individual, and he had certainly never shown Ron that he cared much for Britain. _But he cares about me, unlike you._

"As for your other allies," Yaxley continued. "Do you think Lady Longbottom will spend her fortune to help you further your ambitions? Wouldn't she rather save her fortune for her Grandson?" _She would…_ "What about Lady Prewett? I know that she is your kin, but she doesn't have the wealth or influence needed to help Britain. Most people can't stand her, and she seems to have a pathological need to antagonize anyone around her. And do I even need to make a comment on Sirius Black? The man was invited to join the Wizengamot five weeks ago, and he hasn't even bothered to respond." _What? Is this true? What the fuck, Sirius?_

Yaxley then leaned in Ron's direction.

"I can offer you so much, and together, we can make Britain a jewel," Yaxley said, and Ron genuinely thought about his offer.

After a few long moments, Ron had his answer.

"Tell me, Lord Yaxley, what do you think of Squibs, Werewolves, Vampires, and other 'undesirables'?" Ron asked, and Yaxley leaned back with a cold look. "Yeah, that's what I thought… You say that you love Britain, but you clearly don't love all of it. Your vision of what Britain could be is no doubt a society run by the Pure-Bloods, a society that cuts out anyone deemed 'unworthy' without any mercy or understanding."

Ron stood up at that, he was done entertaining this degenerate piece of dog shit.

"I will not betray everything I believe in for power, no matter how many times I lose to people like you," Ron sneered down at Yaxley. "You think you're better than people simply because you were born into wealth and power, and despite your 'love' for this country, you helped set it on fire during the Great War. Now, you can use that Imperius excuse with the Ministry all you like, but we both know that you joined the Death-Eaters in order to murder anyone who wasn't like you."

"I see," Yaxley stood up as well, his jaw clenching. "We are not alike whatsoever."

"No, we're not," Ron said as firmly as he could. "I judge people by their actions, while you judge them by their heritage. You, and your allies, can keep your wealth and power. I won't help you step on other people's throats."

With that said, Ron simply walked away from the man. _I'm done with people for today… I just want to go home._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron had spent far too much time simply walking around Diagon Alley, but now, it was time to come home. He knew that people would have questions for him, his siblings especially, but Ron just couldn't be fucked anymore. He was tired, he was feeling wretched, and deep down he could feel his anger simmering. He knew that, eventually, he was going to explode, and any poor bastard caught in the crossfire was going to be sorry that they were born.

Ron stepped through the fireplace and into the Burrow, and he immediately saw all the children waiting for him. They were all here, packed tightly in a Living Room that was far too small, while Bill and Charlie lingered about in a corner. _What are they whispering about?_

"Ron, you're back," Luna gave him a forced smile. _Get that stupid smile off of your face._

"Observant as always, Luna," Ron said, and then he walked towards the Kitchen.

"How did it go with the French, Ron?" Bill asked.

"Terribly," Ron replied as he entered the Kitchen, where he found the adults.

"Ronnie," Molly smiled at the sight of him. _Stop calling me Ronnie…_ "How did things at the Ministry go?"

"The French are heading back to France," Ron replied as he stepped further into the Kitchen, he could hear his siblings and friends following him into the Kitchen. "Corban Yaxley, and his allies, destroyed me. I nearly got fired, I was definitely humiliated, not that I didn't deserve it, and Crouch plans to keep me on a short leash from now on. Have I got any mail?"

Everyone just stared at him, and pretty soon, he saw pity in their eyes. Ron simply ignored it, deciding that starting a fight with his Family would be incredibly unfair to them. _It's not their fault that I'm a dumb cunt._

"I would've thought that you would talk Maxime out of her idea," Aunt Muriel frowned at him.

"What idea?" Lord Greengrass asked, while Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Muriel. _Why did Madame Maxime tell her of her plans, and not the others?_

"She planned to take the French back to France in order to avoid a scandal," Muriel replied. "I told her that she was being a coward, but she was adamant about it."

"Even if she wasn't, Corban Yaxley didn't leave anything up to chance," Ron told them. "He was waiting at the Ministry for us, and he had plenty of evidence about the French's schemes. Now… Did I get any mail?"

"Um… You got these two letters, actually," Xeno walked over and handed Ron two sealed envelopes. "I'm sorry about your day, Ron."

"Don't be," Ron said as he began to head for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Pandora asked.

"To set up the fence," Ron replied, his eyes fixed on the letters. _One from the Fawley Family, and one from Gringotts._

"In your nice suit?" Molly asked.

"We still have questions for you," Fred called out, but Ron just ignored all of them.

Once Ron was in the backyard, he spotted the fence just sitting there in pieces. _Wooden beams, wooden panels, a hammer, nails, and a new shovel. I'll get started on this after I read my mail. Maybe some hard work will distract me from how terrible my day has been._ Ron heard people follow him out, and Ron resisted the urge to frown at them. _They're just going to follow me around all day? Can't they see that I want to be left alone?_ Ron ignored them as he opened the letter from Gringotts, his eyes focused solely on what was in front of him.

 _Mr. Weasley,_

 _I have your documents ready for pickup. Please come at your earliest convenience._

 _We also need to discuss our headquarters situation, and we need to start interviewing reporters._

 _Until we meet,_

 _Gornuk_

Ron pocketed the read letter in his coat pocket, and then he opened the letter from the Fawleys.

 _Dear Mr. Weasley,_

 _Johnathon has spoken to us about your eagerness to start the 'Werewolf Housing Project' (We can discuss the name further at our meeting). My wife and I would like to invite you to have dinner with us at The Witch's Garden in Diagon Alley on the twenty-third of December at seven thirty._

 _If the date does not suit you, please let us know. Otherwise, we will see you there._

 _Lord Alexander Fawley_

Ron pocketed the second letter as well, and then he rubbed his face as he drew in a deep breath. _Some good news, at least. I'll go to Gringotts tomorrow in order to collect Salazar's notes, and I'll take the twins with me. It is past time I made my peace with them, or at least, try to. If they still refuse to behave afterwards, then at least I'll know that I tried. As for the Fawleys… Things are looking up in regards to them. They've already given the project a name, so it's obvious that they want to go through with it. Now all I have to do is to make sure they put in a lot of money. I'll take Sirius and Marietta with me, and hopefully, that'll be enough to score a bit more money out of them._

"Good news?" Daphne whispered from his side, and Ron shot her a surprised look. _When did she get there?_ "Your shoulders relaxed a little, so I figured that the letters came with good news."

"My shoulders?" Ron whispered back. "I'm not even going to comment on that… You pay way too much attention to details."

"I was just ogling you, that's all," Daphne gave him a weak smile. _Trying to cheer me up?_

"Yes, I got some good news," Ron said, and then he walked over to the fence.

"Are you really going to build this by hand?" Daphne asked.

"Yes," Ron replied.

"Why?" Daphne asked. "I know that you want to know what it feels like to be a Squib, but you're not a Squib. This seems… unnecessary…"

"Maybe it is," Ron shrugged. "But I need a distraction, and this is it."

Ron then shot a look back, and he saw the others whispering to each other.

"Do you want their help?" Daphne asked.

"Call Theo, Tracey, and Malfoy here," Ron replied. "You four will help me."

"What?" Daphne blinked.

"Some actual work will be a good experience for you," Ron said. "That, and I need a meat shield around me. My siblings are going to keep pestering me with their questions, and I don't have it in me to deal with that nonsense."

"Ron, I'm a Lady…" Daphne pouted miserably. "I'd rather not do this…"

"You want to learn Wandless Magic?" Ron asked, and she gave a slow nod. "Then you need to build some strength. Wandless Magic backfires horribly if your body isn't strong enough, or have you forgotten my many accidents?"

Daphne looked to the fence pieces, and then, she let out a long sigh.

"I'll go fetch them."

* * *

 _ **Gaspard's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (A Lonely Hill – Evening)**_

Gaspard sat in front of the dimming candle, his day long vigil was almost over. Natalia had buried Michael's head on a hill near the village where he had grown up, as was Michael's request should he fall in battle. From what little Michael had told Gaspard of his human life, his son used to play on this hill with his siblings when he was growing up.

Gaspard had mourned all day, and when he was done weeping, he had begun to feel hollow inside. Gaspard had, of course, lost many children in his long lifetime. Vampires were notorious for dying at a young age due to the violent nature of their Curse, but losing a child never got easier. And Michael had been his dearest from the day he was turned. _He had the potential to be my true heir, but I couldn't protect him. I'm so sorry…_

"Father," came Natalia's voice from behind him, but Gaspard kept staring at the dying candle. "Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Nott have returned to the Manor."

"And?" Gaspard asked.

"The Death-Eaters of old will be reunited with their Lord tonight," Natalia replied. "Should we attend as well?"

"No," Gaspard replied, and then he looked around the hill. _The sun is setting, Michael. I hope you found your way to the afterlife. I will see you again when my time comes, my son._

Gaspard felt Natalia wrap a blanket around him, but he didn't react.

"You are shaking, father," Natalia whispered as she rubbed his arms. "Please… You must eat. Your transformation always weakens you to the point of death."

"This is a beautiful place, isn't it?" Gaspard asked his daughter.

"It is," she replied.

"Thank you for bringing him here," Gaspard finally looked to his daughter. "I think he'll find peace here."

"I think so too," Natalia agreed.

"I'm sorry for raising my hand against you, Nat," Gaspard apologized. "Your brother's death was not your fault. Michael chose to fight, as he always did, and he died in a manner worthy of our Blood."

"Father…" Natalia started, her voice turning slightly strained. "The Dark Lord lied to you."

"I know," Gaspard said. "What really happened, Nat?"

"Michael was left behind by Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Nott, and Fenrir Greyback," she replied. "Knowing him, he refused to run away from a fight, but he was all alone. If they hadn't shown their backs during the ambush, Michael may have survived."

"But it was Emilia Travers who killed him, correct?" Gaspard asked.

"Yes," Natalia replied. "His head was severed with a very sharp blade, which definitely makes her the prime suspect. She… She left his head on a spike in order to scare the lesser Vampires." _And it worked._

"Then she will die," Gaspard said. "I will give Michael that much, at least."

"What of the three who abandoned him?" Natalia asked. "I believe that they must die as well."

"And they will," Gaspard promised. "Before this war comes to an end, they will all die. The Death-Eaters. The Order. Dumbledore. Voldemort. Even myself. The World will be better off without us in it." Gaspard then looked back to Natalia. "You still have the chance to leave, daughter. Find Hecate. She will give you your destiny, as she gave me mine."

"I will leave once Emilia Travers is dead," Natalia said, and Gaspard gave her a nod. "What is our next move?"

"I want to turn Knockturn Alley into our fortress," Gaspard replied. "You've done well to establish a hierarchy amongst the lesser Vampires, and we will build upon it."

"You do not plan to launch an assault against the Order?" Natalia sounded a little pleased.

"You are right," Gaspard said. "I'm terribly weakened at the moment… Once I have recovered my strength, we will hunt them down, and eventually, we'll find this Travers woman." _She must be a great warrior if she defeated Michael in single combat. I will relish our battle._ "We will start with the Weasley Family." _They are avid followers of Dumbledore, and therefore, they most likely know where Travers is._

"Father… The Dark Lord has told us that they are off limits," Natalia reminded him. "He has plans for Ronald Weasley."

"Don't forget that we don't serve him, Nat," Gaspard said, and Natalia quickly bowed her head. "I know you had something to do with his current form, and I know that you took part in an act that has tainted your soul and conscience. I can see the shame written on your face. He took advantage of your rage and sorrow, and you let him." _If I wasn't grieving, I might have killed you for your crimes._

"I… I have done a terrible thing…" Natalia swallowed thickly.

"Which is why you will leave after we avenge your brother," Gaspard said. "I will not lose another child… My heart will not survive it."

"I… I understand, father," Natalia whispered, and then she looked to the candle. "The candle… It's run out." _Then my vigil has ended. Goodbye, Michael. I will look for you once my time on this plane has come to an end._

"Come, Nat," Gaspard stood up. "We have work to do."

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Yaxley Manor – Late Evening)**_

Corban was still in a sour mood after his disastrous lunch with Ronald Weasley, and Felix had noticed. Oddly enough, Cornelius had not invited Felix Rosier to his dinner party, which had only annoyed Corban even more. _They all underestimate him, but he is far more than he appears at first sight. He'll show them all his brilliance one day._

"My Lord, shall we go through?" Felix asked, he had already prepared the floo.

"Of course," Corban broke out of his thoughts, but Felix didn't go through. "What is it, Felix?"

"He got under your skin," Felix pointed out.

"I am once again questioning my desire to befriend him," Corban admitted. "I have seen hatred before, Felix, and Ronald Weasley holds nothing but ill intent towards people like me. And you."

"He's young," Felix shrugged. "Being a teenager isn't exactly easy. I myself was filled with self-loathing and contempt for others." Felix then looked around the greeting room. "It is very odd that Lord Nott asked you not to bring your wife and daughter, is it not?"

"He probably plans to discuss business with his allies," Corban replied. "Cornelius has been… preoccupied… of late, so he no doubt has some scheme brewing."

"Is it wise to bring me along, then?" Felix asked. "Many of your allies do not respect me, nor do they take me seriously."

"Then they are fools," Corban said immediately. "You will prove them wrong in time, Felix, but you must have more faith in yourself. Did we not just save Britain together?"

"We did," Felix gave a nod.

"You will come with me, and if they ask you to leave, I will leave with you," Corban promised his young friend. "Come, Cornelius Nott awaits."

Felix gave Corban an understanding nod, and then he stepped through the fireplace. Corban fixed his robes into place, and then he too stepped through the fireplace. Nott Manor's Greeting Room was dimly lit, and not at all welcoming, which immediately caught Corban off-guard. And to add to the mystery, Corban saw his fellow Pure-Bloods loitering the dimly lit room with frowns and other looks of annoyance.

"Not a very pleasant welcome, eh?" George Selwyn approached Corban and Felix. "Felix, how are you, my boy?"

"I am well, my Lord," Felix shook the man's hand.

"Congratulations on your victory," George looked back to Corban. "Violet has been singing your praises to us all." _She has?_ "She is still under the delusion that you plan to assassinate Mr. Weasley."

"I… will need to speak with her, then," Corban said, deciding to trust Felix's instincts. _For now, I'll leave Ronald Weasley be._

"What is going on here?!" Amycus Carrow suddenly snapped, and every Pure-Blood looked to him. "What kind of dinner party is this?!" _Control yourself, you Neanderthal._

However, Amycus' loud yelling seemed to work, because just as he finished, the door leading into the Dining Hall opened up. _Something is really off here. Where is Cornelius? Where are his servants?_ Corban felt the urge to send Felix away, but he decided to wait for the time being. The Pure-Bloods all exchanged looks, and then, Amycus and Alecto Carrow barged towards the Dining Hall. One by one, the Pure-Bloods followed after the two heated Carrows, and eventually, they piled into the Dining Hall.

Just like the Greeting Room, the Dining Hall was barely lit. As Corban looked around, he realized that this room wasn't even clean. _There's dust on the walls, the furniture, and the dining table… No one has been in this room for quite a while. What is going on here?_ The other Pure-Bloods had quickly begun to realize that something was off as well, and some of them began to head towards the exit. Just as Avery Jnr and Herbert Crabbe neared the exit, Lucius Malfoy of all people stepped into the room. _Lucius? He's here?_

"Lucius? Is that really you?" Walden stepped forward, while Corban eyed Lucius' strange appearance.

Lucius, who was easily the most arrogant man that Corban had ever met, was wearing simple black robes. His long, beautiful hair looked slightly disheveled, and his stormy grey eyes were piercing through everyone in front of him. _Something is very wrong here._

"Felix," Corban whispered. "Stand behind me, and unsheathe your wand."

"What?" Felix whispered back.

"Do as I say," Corban whispered shortly.

"My old friends," Lucius greeted them all. "It has been far too long."

"Lucius… Are you unwell?" Violet asked, her eyes scanning the man.

"Violet? Egbert brought you here?" Lucius looked through her. "I don't remember Cornelius inviting you to join us tonight."

"You've seen our host?" George Selwyn asked.

"He is… upstairs…" Lucius replied rather calmly. "Please, take a seat. He will be with us shortly."

"We're not doing anything of the sort," Amycus snarled. "Not until you tell us what-"

"Crucio!" came a voice from the shadows, and Amycus' screams filled the room.

Corban, and everyone else, drew their wands instantly, while Lucius just stared at a writhing Amycus. _This is a trap!_ Corban all but yanked Felix, who was jarred into being a statue, behind himself, making sure that the young man was out of the line of fire.

"Fenrir, enough," Lucius said, and Amycus' screams stopped abruptly. _Fenrir?!_

The Pure-Bloods looked around in a panic, but none of them saw the infamous Werewolf. Alecto was now trying to help her brother, who was wheezing for air. George Selwyn pushed himself past his fellow Pure-Bloods, an angry scowl on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?! Are you mad?!" George demanded, but Lucius just stared at him.

Corban, for the first time since the Great War, felt wary of Lucius Malfoy. It was easy to see just how soft his Family had made the man, but Corban had never forgotten that Lucius was once the Dark Lord's right hand man. _And he has Fenrir hidden in the shadows? Is the Werewolf using an invisibility cloak?_

"Forgive my lateness," Cornelius walked up from behind Lucius, he too was wearing nothing but dark robes.

Unlike Lucius, however, Cornelius looked younger than he had in years. The old wizard walked with perfect posture, his nose sticking high into the air as he smirked at his fellow Pure-Bloods.

"My friends," Cornelius greeted them. "Welcome to Nott Manor."

"Cornelius, what is going on here?" Walden asked, and Corban realized that all the exits were closed. _We'll have to go through them should another attack come._ "Is Fenrir Greyback in this house with us?!"

"Answer us!" Egbert aimed his wand at the two wizards, who simply kneeled and bowed their heads.

Every person in the room was taken aback by this odd behavior, including Corban. None of them knew what was going on, but Corban was certain that something terrible was about to happen, and just as he finished that thought, he felt Felix tugging at his sleeve.

"My… My Lord…" Felix whimpered, and Corban slowly turned around.

What he saw froze his blood. A shadowy presence had come to life behind them, and it was spreading through the Dining Hall in a rather slow, and frightening, manner. One by one, the Pure-Bloods turned around as they felt the presence of something dangerous behind them, and only when they were all staring at the growing shadow with fear in their eyes did an icy voice echo throughout the room.

"Savak hashurrrr… Savak ni phirtuuu…" the cold voice hissed, and Corban felt his entire body seize up from fear.

People fell to their knees with horrorstruck looks, while Corban remembered his dead Master's voice. _Parseltongue… It can't be._ Although this was a joyous occasion, Corban felt nothing but true fear ring throughout his body. It wasn't long before he too was on his knees, his forehead kissing the dusty floor. Felix, thank the Gods, was smart enough to fall on his knees as well.

"My old friends…" the cold voice of the Dark Lord emanated from the growing shadow, and a shudder of panic passed through Corban. _It can't be! He died!_ "My Death-Eaters… Twelve years it's been since we last met. Look at me… Show me your faces…"

Corban had to force his head to look up, the fear in his veins had rendered his body unresponsive. Most of the Pure-Bloods in the room couldn't manage to look up, which was hardly surprising given who was speaking to them right now.

"I sense guilt," the voice spoke softly, which only terrified the denizens of the room even more. "There is an unmistakable stench of guilt in the air." The shadow drew ever nearer. "I see you all, whole and healthy, with all of your powers intact. Such… lavish… appearances. I find myself asking why this band of wizards never came to the aid of their Master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

No one spoke. No one even dared to move. Corban's eyes darted towards Felix for a moment, and he saw that the young man was shaking with fear. _If we are to die tonight… I must beg the Dark Lord to spare Felix. He was not one of us during the Great War. He failed no one._

"And I answer myself," the Dark Lord continued. "They must have believed me broken, they must have believed me conquered by Death. They slithered back among my many enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment… And then I ask myself, how could they have believed that their Lord would not rise again? They, who had seen proofs of my eternal power, in the times when I was mightier than any wizard to ever walk this Earth?"

"And once again, I answer myself," the growing shadow was nearly upon them all. "Perhaps they believed a still-greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort… Perhaps they now pay allegiance to another Master… Perhaps they now serve that foolish 'champion' of the commoners, of Mud-Bloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

The mention of Dumbledore's name stirred some of the Pure-Bloods out of their stupors, and many of them, including Corban, trembled and shook their heads.

"It is a disappointment to me…" the Dark Lord hissed. "I confess myself… disgusted… by my own friends."

Amycus Carrow broke at that, and he ran up and cowered before the shadow, his entire body trembling because of the recent Cruciatus Curse.

"Master! Master, forgive me!" Amycus begged, which only terrified everyone else into action. "Forgive my sister! We were fools to believe you gone!"

Before the others could all follow Amycus' example, the shadow lashed out at the trembling man with a smoky tendril. Amycus was sent reeling through the air, and he landed on Goyle with a pained cry.

"You ask for forgiveness?" the Dark Lord whispered. "I do not forgive. I do not forget. Twelve long years I suffered alone, and not one of you tried to find me. Not one of you repaid the faith I had in you."

Corban felt a strong pang of guilt, and he bowed his head in shame.

"Master, we tried to find you," Cornelius spoke from the back, and Corban couldn't even bring himself to look at the man. "Lucius and I traveled far in search of you."

"Yes… But you didn't find me… I found you," the Dark Lord hissed. "I will, however, admit that you two have proven useful over the last few days. May your loyalty never waver again."

"It will not, my Lord," Lucius said.

The shadow suddenly expanded, stopping just before it engulfed Egbert Parkinson.

"Egbert… You and your wife were faithful while I retained my power, but once I was cast down, you both walked away from your duties," the Dark Lord spoke, and Egbert let out a terrified murmur. "I expect more faithful service in the future…"

"Yes, my Lord!" Egbert said quickly. "Of course! You are merciful as always!"

"Thank you, my Lord," Violet joined her husband, her face hadn't left the floor since the Dark Lord's appearance.

The shadow moved onto Avery, who further pushed his forehead against the floor.

"Avery," the Dark Lord whispered. "Your father was a true friend to me, while you turned your back on his legacy."

"I was a fool! And a coward!" Avery begged. "Please… Please, my Lord… Give me another chance!"

"Remember this day, Avery," the shadow began to pass by the man. "Your Lord was merciful, despite your betrayal."

"I will never forget…" Avery whimpered.

"Macnair…" the shadow came to an abrupt halt. "Lucius tells me that you now destroy dangerous beasts for the Ministry… Are you that short on wealth?"

"No… My Lord…" Walden trembled.

"I see," the Dark Lord sounded a little amused, and Walden bowed his head again. "You miss our hunts, don't you?"

"Every single day, Master," Walden confessed openly.

"You shall once again lead my hunters," the Dark Lord ordered. "Lord Voldemort will provide you with hunts beyond your imagination."

"Thank you, Master!" Walden looked ready to weep with joy, his fear completely gone at the prospect of hunting Muggles and Mud-Bloods once again.

The shadow moved ever closer to Corban, and he found himself trembling with panic. _What if he doesn't forgive me? What if he kills Felix for my failures? Or Lysandra? Or Anastasia? I must beg him… I must prove that my heart is still his._

"Ah, here we have Crabbe and Goyle," the shadow stopped once again. "You will both be more steadfast in your service, will you not?"

"Yes, my Lord!" Goyle nodded fervently.

"We will, Master," Crabbe shrunk even more.

The shadow moved on, and then, it stopped right in front of Corban, who immediately bowed his head.

"Corban," the voice of the Dark Lord rang through his head. "Did we not dream of a better England together? Did I not deliver on my promises to you?"

"You did, my Lord," Corban felt true shame course though his veins. "I failed you… I will not beg for forgiveness, all I ask for is a chance to prove myself once again."

The shadow lingered for a few moments, and then it suddenly seized Felix by the throat. _NO!_

"My Lord, please!" Corban begged, while Felix was lifted into the air by the tendril around his throat.

"Who is this?" the shadow hissed. "I do not remember this one…"

"He is Felix Rosier, my Lord," Corban spoke in a frantic voice. "He is Evan Rosier's younger brother, and my friend. Please, I beg you… Punish me if you must, but please… Please spare him…"

The shadow let go of Felix, who tumbled to the ground as he coughed violently. Corban quickly pulled the boy to his side, his arms wrapping around Felix's quivering shoulders.

"Felix Rosier…" the Dark Lord said softly. "Forgive me, child, I can no longer afford risks. If I had known that you were Evan's younger brother, I would not have lashed out."

"I understand… my Lord…" Felix coughed, and Corban felt much calmer thanks to the Dark Lord's words. _Felix is smart, he knows that the Dark Lord is not to be questioned._

"Your brother died instead of surrendering to the Ministry's cruelty," the Dark Lord said. "I will honor his sacrifice, and name you one of us. We can always use new blood."

"He is incredibly intelligent, my Lord," Corban said. "He will prove himself worthy, I swear it."

The shadow began to shrink back into the back of the Dining Hall, but its presence still felt overwhelming. It seemed to be studying the people in the room, and the silence was unnerving.

"Where is Robert Bulstrode?" the Dark Lord asked coldly.

"He is overseas," Corban spoke up. "He is still loyal to the cause, my Lord, as his wife. If he had known that you would grace us with your presence, they'd both be here tonight."

"I will put my faith in those words, Corban," the Dark Lord spoke, and Corban bowed his head once again. "But if they prove to be untrue, Lord Voldemort will not forgive you a second time." The shadow then shrunk even more. "Lucius and Cornelius have work for you all. Listen to them, and do as they command. Their words are the words of your Master."

No one said anything, but they all knew what this work entailed.

"War… is coming…" the shadow hissed, and then it suddenly burst throughout the room.

Violet Parkinson let out a scream as the shadow blew past all of them, and the sound of shattering glass resulted in Corban pulling Felix under himself. The chandelier had shattered, and then it had crashed down onto the dining table. No one made a sound, not even after the Dark Lord's presence was gone. Not one of them had the courage to even stand up.

The Dark Lord had returned, and their cause had returned with him. Despite his fear, Corban felt a glimmer of hope in his heart. England could once again be a peaceful Pure-Blood Society, and he would not waver a second time. _Tonight… We just witnessed a miracle. Our Master is truly beyond even death. He is the only man who can save this country. This World!_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Now, I know that many of you expected Ron to find a way to win, despite the overwhelming odds, but I always planned for him to get wrecked by Yaxley. Ron, despite being the MC, is not unbeatable. He has to obey the laws of this story's universe, which I have spent a long time constructing. Yaxley just had too much going for him, and Ron's own camp was filled with ambitious people who couldn't care less about Ron.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that. The Death-Eaters are back, baby! And they won't be anything like the movies portrayed them as! Each of them will be dangerous as fuck!**

 **See you guys on Wednesday!**


	107. Chapter 107 - Recovery

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 107 is delivered! It took a while to write this one, mostly because I just couldn't find the right tone. Or inspiration. But, I finally got my shit together, so here you go!**

 **Anyway, please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Many fall in the face of Chaos, but not this one... Not today' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 107 – Recovery**

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – Night)**_

Silence filled the room after the Dark Lord's presence had vanished, and Lucius prepared himself for the second part of the plan.

The Dark Lord's ingenuity had to be respected. Instead of showing his 'faithful' followers his weakened body, the Dark Lord had willed the last of his Magic to perform a terrifying Spell. Even Lucius, who knew what was going to happen, had found himself trembling from sheer terror. So it was hardly surprising that some of the Pure-Bloods were still cowering in fear, Corban Yaxley included. _Though, unlike the others, he looks… excited. He will no doubt vie for my position once again. I must be careful, and I must keep him in his place._

"Stand, my friends," Cornelius broke the silence, and the others slowly looked to him. "Do not be afraid. Our Lord has shown us all mercy, and once again, he will lead us into a better tomorrow. We, the **chosen** , shall rule the World in his name." _That is if he doesn't kill us all._

"Cornelius… Lucius…" Corban slowly stood up, and then he helped his young friend to his feet. "How long has the Dark Lord been with you?"

"Quite a while," Lucius replied calmly. "If any of you questioned where we were, you now have your answer. We were by our Lord's side."

"It's a miracle…" Corban adorned a rather manic look. "We've all seen a miracle tonight…" _Merlin, I forgot how insane he really is._

"The Dark Lord is back," Violet muttered, and everyone broke into whispers.

From what Lucius could make out, excitement and despair could be found in equal measure. People like Walden Macnair, the Carrow siblings, Corban Yaxley, Herbert Crabbe, Thorfinn Rowle, and Bartholomew Goyle looked far more pleased than the rest, which was hardly surprising considering their parts in the last war.

"Dinner will have to wait," Cornelius stepped further into the room, and Lucius followed after him. "Lucius and I have instructions for you all."

"The first instruction is very simple," Lucius took over. "None of you will speak to your children about the Dark Lord's return."

"Why?" Violet asked immediately. " **This** is exactly what my daughter needs to hear for her to grow some sense!"

"Children are foolish, and they are ruled by their hearts," Cornelius said. "We cannot afford to be discovered just yet."

"What of Marcus?" Lucas Flint asked. "He is an adult." _Your son is an idiot of the highest caliber._

"Not. One. Word," Lucius whispered dangerously. "If I find out that any of your children ran their mouths about the Dark Lord's return, I will make it my life's mission to end your Bloodline. Am I understood?"

People exchanged looks, and then they all nodded their agreements. _Good. Don't forget that I am Lucius Malfoy, and that you are all beneath me._

"Second order of business," Lucius looked to Corban. "You will **never** go after Ronald Weasley again."

Several people were visibly taken aback, while Corban just stared at Lucius with a furrowed brow.

"You know about that?" Corban asked, while the others were still reeling from Lucius' bizarre command.

"Fudge has been sending me letters," Lucius replied, and Corban's jaw clenched. "Do not look so upset, Corban. You must understand that I created Cornelius Fudge. Without me, he is absolutely nothing, and he understands that quite well. You are lucky that the Dark Lord did not kill you tonight." _Though I ask myself, why did the Dark Lord not stop Corban? Was he testing the boy? Or did he want the French gone?_

"The Dark Lord would kill Corban over Ronald Weasley? A Blood-Traitor?" Violet asked, her face pinched with disgust. _Does she want to die? If the Dark Lord overhears her, she'll be dead before dawn._

"The Dark Lord has taken a keen interest in the boy, and he has ordered us to protect him," Cornelius replied. "He is not pleased with you, Corban, so tread very carefully."

Corban just stared at Lucius and Cornelius, and Lucius found himself wondering about Corban's thoughts. _He is no doubt shocked like the others, but he hides it well._

"This doesn't make any sense," Violet shook her head. "Ronald Weasley is the enemy! He has turned my-"

"Do not raise your voice, woman," Lucius cut her off. "You were not invited here, and your opinion means less than dirt. Stand behind your husband, and keep your mouth shut."

Violet looked murderous, but she didn't dare voice her outrage. _Her hatred of Blood-Traitors rivals my own, but unlike me, she is a bloody minded individual. This could be… useful. If I can push her to take action against the Weasley boy, I could get rid of him without sullying my own hands._

"For now, Egbert, I want you to make sure that your daughter remains close friends with Ronald Weasley," Lucius said, and the look on Violet's face nearly made Lucius smile. _Yes, I can use her for my own ends, and it won't take much. She sees young Pansy as her property, and Ronald Weasley has filled the girl's head with foolish notions of rebellion._

"If this is truly the Dark Lord's will…" Egbert looked terribly confused. _Simpleton._ "I will see it done…"

Violet Parkinson began to shake with rage, but no one except for Lucius paid her any mind.

"I did not know that Ronald Weasley was off limits," Corban said, though he too sounded bewildered. "Where is the Dark Lord? I will apologize in person."

"When he wishes to speak with you, we will contact you," Cornelius said. "Until then, keep your distance from the boy. The Dark Lord does not need you pushing the boy further away from our cause."

"I don't want to question our Lord's plans, but Ronald Weasley…" Corban started. "I spoke with him today after what happened in the Ministry… He despises us deeply. I don't think that he can be turned."

"Our Lord can be very… persuasive," Cornelius smiled cruelly. "Ronald Weasley will see the light, in time."

"Then I will follow the Dark Lord's plans," Corban gave a nod. "As will the others in this room." _I wouldn't be so sure of that, my old friend. The hag looks ready to boil the Blood-Traitor._

"Egbert, I have another task for you," Lucius looked to the man. "The Dark Lord requires a Unicorn for his research, and I have told him of your safe haven for the endangered beasts. I expect you to deliver a Unicorn to us by tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Egbert looked to his wife for a moment. "That won't be easy… The Department-"

"I did not ask for your excuses," Lucius said coldly. "Get it done."

"Of… Of course…" Egbert mumbled.

"The Dark Lord also requires a powerful poison for his research," Cornelius said. "Lucius and I have not been able to find one suitable for the Dark Lord's needs due to our own duties, so we are delegating the task to all of you. Whoever brings the most potent poison will no doubt earn the Dark Lord's favor."

"Potent poison…" Corban whispered under his breath, and then his expression turned cold and calculating. "Does he need it by tomorrow?" _He has something, doesn't he? Damn._

"Yes," Cornelius replied. "The Dark Lord also requires funding in order to secure our future. I have taken the liberty of setting up an account at Gringotts, and you will all make generous donations to it. The details will be given to you once I have finalized the account's security."

"How much should we give?" Herbert asked.

"That is entirely up to you," Lucius replied, and the Pure-Bloods exchanged looks. _Yes, try to outbid each other in order to secure favor. That will fill up our coffers nicely._

"Now that business is out of the way, shall we have dinner?" Cornelius asked the others, who didn't look hungry whatsoever. "No? Perhaps some wine, then?" Most of the people in the room nodded. "Come, then… Let us toast to the Dark Lord's return. May he help us finally build our Peaceful Pure-Blood Society! A society which will never be tarnished by Muggles and Mud-Bloods!"

* * *

 _ **Molly Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

Molly stared out of the window, and she spotted Ron sitting on the grass by himself. The other Slytherin children had helped him for a while, but manual labor was not their forte. _Poor Daphne left with blisters on her palms._ Molly rubbed the dish in her shaky hands with nervous fervor, her youngest son's behavior was starting to scare her.

She had seen Ron in a somber mood before, he was quite moody as a child whenever he felt neglected, but this was very different. He looked so… defeated, and helpless. Seeing him like this made Molly want to hurt the people who had betrayed, and humiliated, her boy. Theodore had told her to give Ron his space, and that whenever Ron got like this, he became volatile, but right now, Molly just wanted to go outside and speak to him. _He didn't even come in for dinner. I bet he's hungry. And cold. And lonely. None of the other children want to speak to him because of his mood. Even Theodore and Draco have left for upstairs._

"Is he still outside?" came Pandora's voice, and Molly put the dish back into the sink.

"Look at him…" Molly sighed out, and Pandora shot a look out of the window. "Look at what they did to him, Pandora… He brought them here to do some good, and they taunted him for it." _Some people are just vile through and through, and I wish that Ron didn't learn that lesson so young._

"He put up the fence," Pandora said, and Molly shot her a slightly bewildered look.

"Why does that matter?" Molly asked. "Who cares about a fence, Pandora?"

"Ron cares about that fence," Pandora said, and Molly blinked at her. _Sometimes, I worry that Pandora lives in a different World from the rest of us._ "You should ask him to come inside."

"I want to… But Theodore mentioned that Ron could get angry with me," Molly looked out of the window, her voice slightly ashamed. "I… I don't want to fight with him anymore, Pandora. He and I are finally starting to heal, and I don't want to endanger that…" _I'm a selfish woman, I know, but I can't let him hate me. Not again._

"How will talking to him endanger your relationship?" Pandora asked.

"I don't know how to speak to him," Molly whispered weakly. "You know this… I've told you already, haven't I? Whenever I speak to him, we always end up at odds, and I don't know why. He used to be such an agreeable boy, but now, he's… volatile…"

"He is certainly not who he used to be, but you're still the same person," Pandora said. "Molly, go speak with your son, and listen to him. He needs his mother. He needs the woman who frets over him for the smallest of things."

Pandora turned to leave at that, but Molly quickly grabbed her thin wrist. _Why is her wrist so thin? Is Xeno not feeding her enough? Wait… What am I thinking about? Concentrate, Molly._

"You… You should speak to him…" Molly managed to say, though it took genuine effort to push her pride as a mother down. "He listens to you…" _It's you that he loves as a mother, not me._

"Because I listen to him," Pandora smiled in her airy way. "I think Ron has a lot to say to you, but until you start listening, you two will never heal. Go out there, Molly, and just listen to him. It won't be easy, but he'll open up eventually."

"How are you so sure?" Molly asked.

"Ron is the sort of person who will hold you in his heart if you give him some love and attention," Pandora replied. "You're the only person that he will listen to right now, I think." _What?_ "Ask him about the fence. I'm sure there's a good reason behind the effort he's put into this fence."

With that, Pandora left to go join the other adults in the Living Room. Molly just watched her leave, a genuinely baffled look on her face. _Ask him about the fence? Why? I want to ask him about the French. I want to tell him that it doesn't matter that they went behind his back. He did a good thing, and no one can change that._ Molly looked out of the window again, and she realized that Ron hadn't moved an inch during her chat with Pandora. _He's all alone out there._

Molly drew in a shaky breath, and she summoned her Gryffindor courage before she walked over to the exit. _I can listen. I can be patient. If he doesn't say anything, I'll just sit with him until he decides to come inside._ Molly made her way outside, and the moment the cold breeze hit her, she felt the urge to grab a blanket for Ron. _No, I can't impose on him. I'll… I'll just listen, and if he asks for a blanket, then I'll cast the Warming Charm on him._ Molly tried her best to not make a sound, but as she neared him, Ron shot a disinterested look in her direction.

"Can I sit with you?" Molly asked, she didn't like the distant look on his face. _He looks like he's grieving… I just want to hug him to death right now._

"It's cold out here, mum," Ron looked back ahead. "You should go back inside."

"It's not that cold," Molly resisted the urge to say the same thing to him.

Ron said nothing in response, and so Molly sat down to his right, her eyes fixed on the newly erected fence. _He used a shovel to dig the holes for the posts, and he used a hammer for the nails. He can perform Magic because of his free pass, but he still used his hands. Arthur mentioned that Ron wanted to know what it felt like to be a Squib, and I can't figure out why Ron would want that. No wizard should want to be like the Squibs._

"Do you like it?" Ron asked in a whisper, and Molly perked up.

"It's very nice, dear," Molly replied, though she saw no need for it.

She wasn't going to lie, she didn't like the fact that Ron had built this fence around **her** Garden. _For the life of me, I can't tell what Ron's problem is with the Gnomes. Why was he so adamant about this fence?_

"I built it for you…" Ron muttered, and Molly looked to her son. _What?_

"For me?" Molly asked. _I don't mind the Gnomes, though. They're harmless._

Molly suddenly remembered Pandora's advice, and she decided to continue with this conversation. _Ask him about the fence, that's what Pandora said._

"You deal with the Gnomes when we children aren't around, right?" Ron asked her before she could say anything. "Dad's always working…"

"I do," she replied slowly, her eyes finding Ron's. _Hollow, and just sad. Damn those French traitors!_

"Now you don't have to," Ron looked back to the fence. "Your back will thank you for it, I'm sure."

"My back?" Molly asked, she was getting confused now.

"I noticed that you hold your back when you cook now," Ron replied, and Molly was quite taken aback. "You even complained to Pandora about your back being sore yesterday…"

"Ron… I'm getting old, that's all," Molly whispered, she was quite intrigued by his words. _He noticed that my back's been hurting lately? I won't lie, doing all the chores alone is getting harder and harder. I use my Magic when I can, but chasing the Gnomes out does take its toll on me._

"Then I'm glad that I built this fence," Ron said, though he sounded like he was talking to himself. "I don't want you to ever get hurt…."

Molly just stared at her youngest son, and she found that her mouth wouldn't open. _Did he really build this for me?_ Molly looked back to the fence, and she felt a creeping sense of shame for her previous behavior. _I accused him of wanting to change this house because I thought that he felt ashamed of his heritage… Was I wrong about that as well?_ Once again, Molly found herself feeling out of place near Ron. No matter what she tried, she just couldn't understand this boy. _He's like Pandora… He lives in a different World from the rest of us._

"I thought that you simply hated the Gnomes," Molly finally broke the silence. "And that you weren't proud of your heritage…"

"I do dislike the Gnomes, and although I wanted to build the fence to spite them at first, my reasoning has changed since then," Ron replied rather calmly. "As for my heritage… Mum, I'm proud of my heritage… Probably too proud, even."

Molly felt something cold and soothing in her chest, and it provided her with much needed relief. _I'm very happy to hear that. He_ _ **should**_ _be proud of his heritage. We might not be rich in wealth, but we're rich in the things that really matter._

"You really noticed that my back was hurting?" Molly felt a lump in her throat. _Only Arthur has noticed my back pain, and my back's been hurting for weeks._

For a few moments, Ron said nothing, but eventually, he drew in a deep breath and looked down at his hands.

"I try, you know…" Ron said, and Molly waited for him to go on. "I know I'm difficult… Stubborn beyond measure, and needlessly rude at times… But I try."

"Try what?" Molly heard herself whimper.

"To be a good son…" Ron spoke to the grass, and Molly felt her heart clench painfully. _What?_ "To be a good brother… To be a good friend… I try to do good things, but they always fall short… Everything I do seems to fall short."

Molly was about to give him her honest opinion, but she stopped herself in the last moment. Pandora had told her that Ron had a lot to say to her, and that he'd only listen to her if she listened to him first. So, very begrudgingly, Molly held herself in check. She desperately wanted to hug her boy, and to tell him that he was a good person, but she bit down on her tongue and stayed in her spot. Her breathing became a little shaky because of his tired voice, but Merlin help her, she wasn't going to make a mistake with him this time.

"I… I set the twins up," Ron said after a few moments, and Molly felt the air leave her lungs. _He did? Why?!_ "When I think about it now, it seems so stupid…"

"What seems stupid?" Molly asked, a hint of disapproval in her voice. _Don't scold him, Molly… Not right now._

"My reasoning…" Ron muttered. "I just wanted them to feel how I felt whenever they came after me… Whenever they hurt my feelings… But like everything that I do, I fucked it all up." _Language…_ "They didn't help with the fence… Even Ginny hammered a few nails, but the twins didn't lift a finger to help me. And the sad part is, I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to help me either." _Where is this coming from?_ "Why am I like this, mum?"

Molly couldn't bring herself to say a damn word, the lump in her throat was starting to cause her genuine pain. Neither of them said a word for a while, mostly because Molly couldn't bring herself to answer his question. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to scold him for what he had done to the twins? Was she supposed to comfort him because he was upset? Right now, all Molly could think about was the fact that her son was struggling with things that no thirteen year old should be struggling with, but she couldn't do anything to help him. _Not without fighting with him. And I don't want to fight with him anymore. I just want him to be happy. Like he was when he was younger._

"The others have questions about my health," Ron finally spoke, and Molly turned her ears on. "I don't want to tell them anything, though."

"Why?" Molly asked.

"Because they'll feel wretched, and then, they'll go out of their way to help me," Ron replied. "To care for me. To show me love and support."

"Isn't… Isn't that a good thing, Ron?" Molly couldn't help but ask.

"It won't be real," Ron replied, and Molly blinked at him. "They'll feel compelled by their self-inflicted guilt to be kind to me, but it won't be real… Their concern will simply exist because we're siblings, not because they actually like me… I don't want that."

Once again, Molly felt her heart ache, but she didn't say anything. _I want to tell him that they do love him, but I don't think that he'll believe me. What did Daphne's books say? Chronic Stress leads to feelings of self-loathing and contempt…_ Molly cursed the mental disorder that was inflicting so much pain on her son's psyche. _My poor boy… He doesn't deserve this._

"They won't let this go, however," Ron went on. "Eventually, they'll learn the truth, and then, things will change too quickly for my liking. I'll have no control over the situation."

"What are you saying, Ron?" Molly couldn't help but ask. "Do you want to tell them?"

"After Christmas…" Ron whispered, and Molly nodded to herself. _Finally! This is the right move, Ron! I promise!_ "But first, I need to fix things with the twins… I don't want my illness to 'Magically' fix everything for me. That doesn't feel right, you know? It feels like a manipulation, and I'm done with that."

"Good," Molly said without thinking.

Ron nodded to himself, his expression hadn't changed whatsoever throughout their conversation. Molly followed his gaze back to the fence, and oddly enough, she didn't mind that it was there anymore. If anything, she was quite pleased with it. _He built it for me… My boy built me a fence because he noticed my back pain._ Molly smiled a little herself, though the lump in her throat started hurting again.

"I still have to put in one more post," Ron suddenly stood up.

"It's pretty dark out there…" Molly started, but she stopped herself once again.

"I have a lamp up there," Ron told her. "Luna found one in dad's shed, and she gave it to me."

"Do you want some help?" Molly asked, and Ron shook his head.

"You should go and sit down in a comfortable chair," Ron said. "I know a place in Diagon Alley that gives massages, and I'll make a booking for you tomorrow. They'll fix you up, I promise."

"Ron…" Molly was about to refuse, but the look on Ron's face silenced her. _He looks really sad… Merlin, what's gotten into him? What did the French say to him? What did Corban Yaxley do to my boy?!_

"I won't be around to take care of you when you're old and grey," Ron said, and Molly's eyes widened a little. _What did he just say?_ "The others will be there, but not me… I'll be long gone by then."

"Wh… What…? What are you saying?" Molly whimpered, her head shaking weakly. "No… Don't say that…"

"This fence will be my way of making sure that you don't have to clean out Gnomes when you're too old to do so," Ron looked back to the fence. "When you bring everyone around for Family dinners, you'll use the vegetables from this garden. Because of this fence, I'll still be on the dinner table in a manner of speaking… I'll still be looking out for you…"

Ron walked off into the dark, while Molly just sat there. The lump in her throat had somehow traveled down into her chest, and she felt her heart ache so painfully that she winced. Ron's words had hit her hard, especially because, in her deepest thoughts, she too had thought about losing her son well before his time. Every adult in Ron's life knew that Ron wouldn't be around forever, but the fact that he himself thought like this cut Molly down to her soul.

Naturally, Molly found herself crying into her hands before long. She couldn't bear the thought of burying her youngest son, or any of her other children for that matter. In fact, this was her greatest fear in life. Even the thought of losing her Family in the upcoming war often made her tear up, so how could she not weep for Ron? How could she not curse Fate for giving her youngest son a death warrant at the age of thirteen?

Eventually, Ron returned from his task, and when he saw her crying incoherently to herself, he sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. Molly clung to him desperately, and they both just sat there. No words were spoken, but Molly knew that Ron had somehow ended up comforting her. Guilt, and genuine heartbreak, renewed her weeping, but Ron was seemingly not bothered by it. He just sat there, making sure that his mother was at least warm while she wept over the cruel hand life had dealt him.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Creek near the Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron just floated around in the cold water, his mind drifting just like his body.

His Mentor's mantra of 'Be better' had clearly lodged itself deep inside his mind, and because of that, he had started tracking down his recent mistakes. There were quite a few of them, and Ron, being who he was, felt the urge to fix them immediately. He despised putting things on hold, mostly because unforeseen circumstances tended to ruin things for him more often than not.

Regarding the French, Ron had clearly become too focused on the Future, and in doing so, he had neglected the present. When he really thought about it, the warning signs of this betrayal were quite evident. Lady Abadie had attempted to secure power for herself via the Order, and when that hadn't worked, it should've been obvious that she would try something different. In an odd sort of way, Ron understood her actions. She didn't know what the Dark Lord was truly capable of, and due to her powerful status in society, she probably believed that she could control him via her allure.

Personally, Ron didn't care about the fact that she was definitely going to die if she tried something so foolish. However, Ron did care about the fact that her actions were going to lead to catastrophe for the Veela community. By now, Ron was an expert on the concept of guilt by association, which meant that he understood that the Veela community was going to suffer because Lady Abadie's abysmal actions. Many would no doubt lose their lives as a direct result of their allegiance to her, while the survivors would have to answer for their fellow Veelas' actions. They would all face even more prejudice, and the Wizarding World would continue being a segregated place. _I wonder if the Muggles have problems like ours. I should ask Hermione and Tracey about it, and maybe, I might learn something of value._

The thought of asking for Hermione's help reminded Ron of his promise to her. He still needed to ask for Dumbledore's help on that. _One letter from him, and the Ministry will send Hermione a free pass._ Ron couldn't help but feel a little envious of his Headmaster's power, but at the same time, he found himself feeling agitated with the old man. Dumbledore might have stopped the war that Ron had nearly started, but that didn't excuse the fact that the old man had sat on his arse while Ron's enemies dragged him to the wood shed. _He said that power is his weakness, but that just sounds like an excuse to me. A way for him to keep himself guilt free while the World goes to shit. How many other vile legislations have passed because Albus Dumbledore refused to do his duty?_

He was disappointed with the old sorcerer. Albus Dumbledore was an inspiration for Ron, he wouldn't deny that, but the more he learned about the man, the more Ron began to question Dumbledore's choices. This was a man who had all the power in the World, and yet, he refused to use it. There had to be a very good reason for this, surely. _But what if there isn't? What if he only cares about his own conscience? No… I know that he cares about people. No one could ever deny just how much good Dumbledore has done. But… Why won't he use his power? Everyone has agendas, right? So why doesn't he promote ours with his many positions of power?_

A voice in the back of Ron's head told him that he had no right to question a man like Albus Dumbledore. The voice told him that Dumbledore had never really asked for power, and that all this power was bestowed upon him by other people. _People who put the entire World on one man's shoulders, and then demanded that he do everything by himself. When I really think about it, I can't help but wonder how Dumbledore copes with it all. He has no Family that I know of. He's not married. I don't think that he even has any friends. He did have Elphias Doge, but the man was murdered quite recently. Not to mention the state his Family home was in… Does he just live at Hogwarts? Shut away from the entire World?_

Clearly, Ron didn't know Albus Dumbledore all that well, and that realization made him feel sad. He had never once asked the man about his daily life, or about the experiences that had shaped him. _Maybe I ought to do that before I judge him? I'm no saint, so what right do I have to judge him? Without facts, I'm just one more person who thinks that he knows best, and I've learnt where that road leads. I couldn't even control my own allies, and other people had to step in to fix my mistakes._

Ron opened his eyes when he heard footsteps, someone was running towards him. _Not just one, but a couple of people._ Ron felt a jolt of panic, he was in his boxers right now. _My scars are on full display._ Ron swam towards the edge of the creek, and just as he reached his discarded clothes, Kirsten and Charlie stopped their morning run. At first, neither of them noticed him, they were too busy panting from exhaustion, but soon enough, Charlie's eyes darted towards the head of red hair.

"Ron?" Charlie called, and Ron slowly emerged from the water. _It's just them, and they already know about my scars._

Kirsten's eyes widened at the sight of them, and Ron immediately regretted his decision to come out. _I'm so fucking scattered right now… I need to wake up._ Kirsten quickly looked the other way, while Charlie did his best to look calm and collected. _His hands are fidgety… He's shocked, I think._ Ron quickly put on his Training Outfit, completely ignoring the fact that he was still wet. Once he was dressed, he began to make his way up the slope.

"Taking a morning dip?" Charlie asked, his voice was slightly forced. _He's trying to be casual about this, isn't he? He doesn't want me to feel insecure._

Ron couldn't help but admire that about Charlie. They had fought recently, but Charlie was still trying to be a comforting presence for Ron nonetheless. _I wouldn't do that, would I? No, I hold grudges... I ruined the twins' reputation without a second thought, and I enjoyed overpowering Fred physically. Another mistake… It's no wonder that they're angry with me. I'm hardly a good brother to them. I used their past behavior to excuse my own terrible actions, didn't I?_

"Ron?" Charlie called out again, and Ron stopped walking. "We're sorry for interrupting, mate… We didn't know that you were in there…"

Ron looked back to Kirsten and Charlie, and he saw that Kirsten was still facing the other way. _Charlie told her about my scars, but I still blame her for knowing something that she shouldn't. And yet, she helped when I was having my panic attack. She even helped me with the fence for a bit._

"Kirsten," Ron said, and she shot a wary look back before turning around to face him. "I'm sorry for my behavior…"

Both Kirsten and Charlie blinked at him, they clearly hadn't expected him to apologize out of the blue. Kirsten shot a quick look towards her boyfriend, but Charlie was just staring at Ron in disbelief.

"I was cruel, and out of line, when I investigated your parents," Ron said, making sure to keep his eyes on hers. "It's not your fault that I have these scars, and it's not your fault that you were there for Charlie when he needed someone to talk to. I'm very sorry."

With that said, Ron turned around and headed back towards the Burrow. He didn't expect her to forgive him, of course, Ron knew that if someone had investigated his Family, he'd make them pay dearly. _She was on my side while some of my allies betrayed me, and she looked pissed off when they were humiliating me. She doesn't owe me a thing, but she was still there. She's clearly a better person than I am, or at least, more mature._ Ron let out a weak chuckle at that. _And I had the gall to tell her to grow up. It's shit like this that led to my fuck up. I clearly don't have as good a grasp on people as I thought I did._

Was this what Dumbledore was trying to teach him when he said that power corrupts? _Maybe it doesn't just corrupt your morals, but it also corrupts your judgement. I was so sure that Kirsten was a liability, but she stood by my Family while I was being berated by Lady Abadie's flock. Another mistake._ Ron suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and he grit his teeth. _This pain again… What the fuck? What did I eat?_

Ron massaged his wet stomach, his face contorting a little due to the weakening pain. _It just comes and goes… Ugh, I need to learn to chew my food._ Just as Ron pulled his left hand out of his top, he heard a loud hoot from above him. _Helios?_ Ron looked up, and he spotted his Eagle-Owl doing circles above him. _He's back!_ Ron put his right arm out, and Helios quickly landed on it.

"Welcome back, Helios," Ron smiled at his companion. "You sure took your time."

Helios hooted loudly as he flapped his wings, and Ron rubbed the Eagle-Owl's chest. Helios tried to nip at Ron's fingers, which was his way of showing people affection. _He's rough, but I like that about him. He's a fierce little bastard, and I couldn't ask for a better companion._

"Were you hunting?" Ron asked, and Helios hooted again. "I'll take that as a yes. Did you catch something nice? I bet you did."

Helios hopped onto Ron's right shoulder, and then he head-butted his Master's lower jaw. Ron let out a weak chuckle, while Helios cocked his head. The bird's big yellow eyes were fixed on Ron's face, and when Ron noticed that the Eagle-Owl was staring, he stared right back.

"What is it?" Ron asked, and Helios nudged Ron's jaw lightly. "Being soft on me now? I guess you can tell when I'm upset, eh?"

Helios hooted softly, and Ron smiled at his companion.

"Don't worry about me, mate," Ron whispered, and then he looked in the direction of the Burrow. "I need you to go play with Ginny for me… She had a fight with Luna, and I think it's getting to her. Hermione's decided to stick with Neville and Harry, so I'm worried that Ginny is stewing in her own misery alone. Make sure that you stay with her, yeah? And don't be too rough."

Helios hooted, and then he flew off of Ron's shoulder. Ron watched Helios as the Eagle-Owl headed straight for the Burrow, and Ron found himself wishing that he too could fly. _It'd be nice, wouldn't it? To just take off into the skies whenever I wanted to. No broom needed._ Ron couldn't help but think of his Ravenclaw counterpart, and then he wondered about his counterpart's odd ability to turn into a murder of crows. _Where did he even learn such a Spell? Did he create it somehow? If so, then how did he go about doing that?_

Ron remembered that he wanted to ask Pandora about her Spell-Crafting books, and considering that he was looking for something to fill his time with, he decided that he'd ask her today. _She used to be a Spell-Crafter, so maybe she'll even give me some tips. Though, I have no idea what kind of Spell I want to craft. Maybe a variation of something that I already know? At least I'd have something to work with, then._

The rest of the journey to the Burrow was uneventful, and when he finally entered the Kitchen, he saw his Slytherin friends, and the Trio, eating hot breakfasts. _Daphne is here._ Ron smiled involuntarily, she had saved him a seat right next to her. His mother was currently making sausages, no doubt waiting for him to return from his run. _She cried a lot last night, and all because I spilled my crazy on her. That wasn't the right thing to do, I think._

"Merlin, is that all sweat?" came Theo's voice, and everyone looked to Ron.

"Ew," Tracey grimaced, and Ron looked down at his clothes. _They're a bit soaked because of my swim. I didn't bother drying off, did I?_

"I went for a swim in the creek," Ron told them, and some of them looked a little relieved.

"Ronnie, go up and take a warm shower," Molly said, an oddly sympathetic look on her face. "It's freezing out there, and I won't be surprised if you catch a cold."

"Alright," Ron said as he began making his way up the stairs, he wasn't all that hungry anyway. _Which is weird because I'm usually starving in the morning._

As Ron passed by Ginny's room on the first floor, he heard loud hoots and the sound of happy laughter emanating from inside. Ron stopped, and he put his ear against the door.

"Helios, stop tugging at my hair," came Ginny's voice, it was filled with genuine mirth. "I just got done making it!"

The sound of wings flapping, and Ginny's excited shriek brought a soft smile to Ron's face. _Good job, Helios. I'll make sure to give you some treats later._

"What are you trying to listen in on?" Daphne whispered from behind him, and Ron looked back with a startled look. "Are you up to something nefarious, Ron?"

"Helios is in there with her," Ron whispered back. "He just got home while I was out on my morning run."

"And you sent him over to her?" Daphne smiled playfully, and Ron simply shrugged. "Poor Helios… Constantly overworked by his wicked Master."

"He loves it," Ron smiled a little, and then he began heading for upstairs.

Daphne followed after him, and he immediately wondered what she wanted from him. _Did she even finish her breakfast? If not, mum won't be too pleased with her._

"Daph, are you planning to join me in the shower?" Ron asked, and she smirked at him. _She's being playful… Does she want to cheer me up?_

"Would you like me to?" Daphne teased, and Ron looked ahead again. _Showering with Daph? Both of us naked?_

Ron quickly pushed his degenerate thoughts out of his head, he knew that she was only joking around. _Still… I wonder how that would work._

"How are your hands?" Ron asked, deciding to change the topic quickly.

"Mother healed them up," Daphne replied. "Father, however, was not pleased to learn that you made me do manual labor."

"Made you?" Ron asked.

"I told him that I actually had fun, but you know how he is," Daphne rolled her eyes. "'A Lady has no business building fences'… Honestly, he can be very traditional sometimes. Too traditional, even."

"I imagine that he wants to speak with me," Ron said. _Great._

"He does, but you shouldn't let him push you around," Daphne slid up to him and tangled her arm with his.

"Daph, my clothes are dirty," Ron said, but she didn't let go.

"You smell nice and sweaty, so I don't really mind," Daphne gave him a vulgar smile, and Ron felt himself growing tense. _She's really teasing me again? She hasn't done that for a while._ "You know, Ronald… I was thinking about how we first started sneaking around, and I remembered a certain deal that we had."

"A deal?" Ron tried to remember.

"If either of us was feeling down, we'd kiss in order to feel better," Daphne whispered, and then she blew air at his ear. "Remember?"

"I do," Ron managed a nod. "Honestly, I think we were both just making up excuses to keep kissing."

"I know I was," Daphne giggled. "Were you?"

"I… Yes…" Ron admitted. "We forgot about our deal, though, and we just started doing it whenever we were alone…" _Not that I'm complaining._

"I think we should have some fun in your room," Daphne pulled his arm into the side of her chest, and Ron immediately felt hot under the collar.

"Daph… I've… I'm not really in the mood…" Ron mumbled, though his male instincts were compelling him to listen to her.

"Are you sure?" Daphne hummed. "It'll be fun, and it'll give us a chance to lick our wounds together." _Lick our wounds together? Wait… She lost her deals, and now she has to go out of her way to make them work, but nothing is certain anymore. She's probably still reeling from what went down._ "Ron? You've zoned out on me."

"Are you still upset over the French leaving?" Ron asked, and she blinked at him. "I thought you had a workaround now."

"I do, but truth be told, I'm not really sure how things will pan out," Daphne whispered, making sure that no one but Ron could hear her doubts. "I've never really spent time with my mother's side of the Family, so I'm not sure that they'll even help me."

"Why?" Ron asked. "I mean, why haven't you spent time with your mother's side of the Family?"

"They don't like my father very much," Daphne replied, and Ron gave a slow nod. "According to them, he's a 'cruel and cold' man." _He does have cruel and cold moments, even I can't deny that. But he's very loving towards his girls. Mary's Family clearly doesn't know him well._

They entered Ron's room at that, and Ron closed and locked the door behind them. Daphne smiled from ear to ear, and just as Ron turned around, she pounced on him. _Merlin…_ Ron's back hit the door, and before he could say a word, Daphne's lips crashed into his.

"We haven't kissed in ages," Daphne peppered his face with kisses, and Ron felt the last of his resolve disappear. _This does feel much better than being miserable._

"We've kissed a few times over the last couple of days," Ron managed, his hands finding her hips.

"I meant that we haven't kissed with abandon," Daphne whispered, and then she licked the corner of his mouth. _Good Lord! What's gotten into her?!_ "I had a really nice dream about you last night…" _Huh?_

"You… You did…?" Ron whispered, and she nodded with a wide smile. "Daph… What's gotten into you?"

"You don't like it?" Daphne asked, but she knew that he did.

"I do like it," Ron replied, his face was starting to flush.

"I've missed teasing you, Ron," Daphne giggled. "I'm not saying that I don't love how open we are now, but sometimes, I like seeing your face turn red."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because no other girl has that effect on you, and I really like that," Daphne kissed his nose. "You're tensing, Ron… I can stop if you want."

"Don't," Ron muttered, his arms wrapping around her back.

"That's the response that I wanted to hear," Daphne pressed herself against his chest, and Ron's eyes darted down on instinct. _Those knockers!_ "Not even a little subtle… Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." _She's not bothered by me gawking at her chest?_

"This doesn't have anything to do with your father scolding you yesterday, does it?" Ron asked, and she just smirked at him. _I knew it! Rebellious Daphne is out of her cage!_

"My reasons are my own," Daphne hummed, and then she kissed him long and hard.

When they broke apart for some air, Ron felt his knees wobble a little. _I'm enjoying this a little too much, but you know what? I don't care anymore. Maybe Daphne's right, and I just need to take a break from my melancholy._ Daphne put her hands on his shoulders, and she gently pushed him downwards. Ron followed her lead, and once he was sitting with his back against the door, Daphne hopped onto his lap. Once they were face to face, Daphne smiled lovingly as she used her fingers to move his wet hair out of his face. _That tickles a little._

"You're very beautiful," Daphne kissed his forehead. _Beautiful?_

"Don't you mean handsome?" Ron asked, and she shook her head.

"I meant beautiful," Daphne teased. "Right now, you look really appealing because of your overwhelming blush." _That's a weird thing to say…_

"You're straddling me," Ron whispered. "I can't help it, you know… And you're blushing too."

"I have my boyfriend pinned against the door, I can't help it," Daphne cupped his cheeks, a slightly serious look suddenly marking her features. "I want you to tell me if you're feeling lonely, Ron."

"What?" Ron blinked.

"You become distant when you're sad, and I want you tell me if you're feeling sad," Daphne pecked his lips rather tenderly. "Are you sad?"

Ron just stared at her, and eventually, he gave a meek nod.

"I'm feeling… overwhelmed… by my own choices…" Ron whispered, and she planted her forehead against his. "And deep down, I feel like I'm going to explode with rage all of a sudden… That I'm going to make more mistakes, and people are going to get hurt…"

"What else?" Daphne asked. _She's making me confront my feelings?_

Ron felt the urge to shut down, but he decided to talk to the only person that he could really trust. _Who else do I really have? Dumbledore? No, he's too busy hiding in his ivory tower. Snape? I haven't seen the man in ages. My Family? Most of them don't like me enough to care._

"I feel alone…" Ron hugged her tightly, his voice barely a whisper. "My allies betrayed me… Again…"

"They made their choice, Ron, and you had nothing to do with that," Daphne kissed the bridge of his nose. "You did a good thing, and no one can change that. Not even the people who turned their backs on you for personal gain."

"If I had seen it coming, I could've saved your business plans," Ron said guiltily, and Daphne rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs. "I could've, and should've, done more… Now the French are gone, and I've lost a majority of my allies… If I had been better prepared, I could've saved us both so much hassle."

"Don't you always say that losing is a part of winning?" Daphne reminded him, and Ron nodded weakly. "You lost this time, but that doesn't mean that you won't find a way to come back. I know you, Ron, you're too stubborn to give up."

"I'm… I'm really angry, I think, but I just can't bring myself to let it out," Ron admitted. "But it's coming, I know that…" _Judging from my past behavior, I'm going to see nothing but red very soon._

"I know," Daphne knew him well enough to know that Ron was going to make his enemies pay. "What can I do to help?"

"You want to help me?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "You don't like it when I get angry, though…"

"Maybe with me around, things won't escalate too far?" Daphne suggested. "It's up to you, of course, but I want you to know that I'm always on your side."

Ron felt his eyes sting a little, and he nodded weakly.

"Thank you," Ron squeezed her tightly, and she barely held back a groan. "And I'll help you with your business plans, alright? Even if it's something as small as research, I want to be there for you." _Just like you're always there for me._

"Deal," Daphne locked eyes with him, a content smile on her face. "You're my best friend, Ron, I hope you know that." _What?_

"What about Tracey?" Ron asked, and Daphne kissed him softly.

"I love Tracey, but I love you more," Daphne admitted.

"You're my best friend as well," Ron felt the urge to tell her, and Daphne gave him a happy nod.

"I think we have enough time to snog, but you'll need to shorten your shower," Daphne whispered, her face right in front of his.

"I don't care about my shower," Ron said, and then he kissed her almost desperately.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

"Check," Ron said, and Malfoy immediately frowned at the board.

"Why can't we play Wizard's Chess instead?" Malfoy asked as he moved his king aside. "This is not a professional match…"

"Chess is Chess, Draco," Ron said. "Or do you really need the pieces to help you as well?"

"You're overusing my given name, Weasley," Malfoy gave Ron a dull look. "No one is even paying attention to us. Everyone is minding their own business."

"I like using your given name, though," Ron smirked, teasing Malfoy still felt glorious. "Draco… It's a very nice name."

Malfoy just stared at Ron, who made sure to keep his eyes fixed on the board. They were currently playing a game of Chess in the Living Room, while the other children did their own thing. Luna and Tori were currently learning French from Daphne, while Theo and Tracey were listening to some Muggle band called 'Guns N' Roses'. The Trio were reading books of their own interest, and Ginny was sitting with them as she spoiled Helios with treats meant for Errol.

"So… Has Greengrass pulled you out of your melancholy?" Malfoy suddenly asked, and Ron finally looked up from the board. _That was uncalled for._ "Oh, sorry… Was I not meant to mention that?"

Ron swallowed his rising temper, and he looked back down at the board. _He's just a sore loser, and I won't give him any power over me. Plus, Daphne did pull me out of my misery. At least for now. That was the best snogging session that we've had yet, and she even let me fondle her chest a little. It was awesome!_

"Can I expect to sleep tonight?" Malfoy went on. "It's just that your pacing last night annoyed the hell out of me, and it kept me awake for far too long."

"I'll try to not pace around tonight," Ron said, deciding to not take the bait. "Sorry that I kept you awake."

Malfoy frowned a little at Ron's casual apology, and then he looked back down at the board as well.

"I've lost, haven't I?" Malfoy huffed.

"Yes, you have," Ron smiled innocently. "Better use the rooks next time, Draco. They're not an attractive piece, but they're a valuable one."

"Thanks for the lesson," Malfoy drawled, and then he knocked his doomed king over. "This is boring… I want to do something else." _Wow, he sounded so petulant just then._

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"When are we going to Diagon Alley?" Malfoy demanded, and Ron looked up at him.

When Ron had mentioned that he had business in Diagon Alley, Sirius had convinced Molly to let him take all the children out shopping. Many of the shops were having Christmas sales right now, and Sirius had figured that the children needed to bond over street food and ice-creams.

"I'm not sure that you're coming with us," Ron whispered, and Malfoy blinked at him.

"What?" Malfoy asked.

"Look, I don't know what's happening with your parents, but it's obvious that the adults are keeping their eyes on you," Ron said, and Malfoy looked almost venomous for a moment. _Yeah, I don't feel right leaving him behind, if I'm being honest._ "Tell you what? I'll talk to the adults, and if you agree to stay with me the entire time, the adults might let you join us."

"But I'd still be under arrest, huh?" Malfoy asked icily. "Save your pity… I'll just do my work in peace instead."

"I'm giving you an olive branch here, Malfoy," Ron sighed out. "Why do you always start a fight with me? You clearly don't want to stay behind, and I've given you a way out, but you'd rather be a prick than to cooperate."

"I didn't ask to be brought here," Malfoy mumbled under his breath, and Ron felt his temper rise. _This attitude again?_

"Haven't we spoken about that already?" Ron snarled as he moved forward a little, and Malfoy suddenly realized his error in poking a sleeping Dragon. "You know that I don't like to repeat myself, don't you?"

Some of the other children shot them wary looks, and Ron quickly pulled in his anger. He drew in a deep breath, and he rubbed his eyes as he moved back to his original spot. _Calm the fuck down, Ron. He's probably feeling left out, and you know how terrible that feels._

"Just let me talk to the adults… Stop making things more difficult for yourself," Ron said, his fingers digging into his forehead. "I'll go and talk to them now, alright?"

"Fine," Malfoy began setting up the board again, and Ron got up and walked towards the Kitchen.

"Everything alright, Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting towards Malfoy for a moment.

"Yes, everything's fine," Ron replied as he made his way out of the room.

As he entered the Kitchen, he spotted Pandora, Xeno, Molly, and Sirius having a conversation at the dining table. Ron approached them with his head held high, making sure to put on a face of confidence and resolve. _Mum's no doubt told them about our conversation… Merlin, I was really out of line saying those things to her. She's probably worried sick._

"Sirius, it's nearly time for me to head to Gringotts," Ron said, and the adults looked over to him.

"Oh, really?" Sirius looked at his pocket watch. "Wow… Time flies, eh? I'll get my cloak, and you can let the others know that we're heading out."

"Make sure that they're fully dressed," Molly added. "It's very cold out today. And Sirius… No ice-creams. Get them some nice, hot soup instead."

"Soup?" Ron and Sirius asked together.

"Molly… No child wants to drink soup," Sirius chuckled, but a deadpan stare from the Weasley matriarch killed his mirth. "Soup, got it."

"Actually, before I start collecting everyone, can I speak to you about Draco?" Ron asked them, and they all exchanged looks. "I know that you adults don't want him going out there, and although I don't know the reason behind that, I want to ask you to let me take him to Diagon Alley with me."

"Ronnie… That's not a smart idea," Molly said slowly, her eyes darting towards the Living Room.

"Mum, we can't just leave him behind," Ron said. "It'll raise questions with the others."

"He's right about that," Sirius quickly jumped on Ron's side, he had already argued against leaving Draco behind. "The others think that Ron invited him here, and if we leave him behind, they'll ask questions. I know for a fact that Harry's been keeping an eye on the poor boy." _He has? Seriously, what the fuck is Harry's deal? Why does he constantly keep his eye on other people? Wait… Don't get distracted._

"I'll keep my eyes on him, I promise," Ron said, and Molly let out a defeated sigh.

"Sirius, I'm holding you responsible if something goes wrong," Molly said.

"He won't leave my sight for even a second," Sirius grinned at Ron, who gave him a grateful nod before heading back to the Living Room.

"We're heading out to Diagon Alley now, so get your cloaks and whatnot," Ron announced. "Luna, can you go get the twins, Percy, Charlie, and Kirsten?"

"Okay," Luna stood up, and then she walked past Ron with an airy smile on her face.

Ron walked over and took his seat in front of Malfoy, while the others left go put on their cloaks and gather their belongings.

"Well?" Malfoy asked. _I knew it, he wants to come along._

"As long as you agree to stick with Sirius or myself, you're welcome to come," Ron replied, and Malfoy gave him a nod before he too left the room in order to collect his cloak.

Ron began to pack up the chessboard, making sure to check for any damage inflicted by Malfoy's lack of care whenever he handled his pieces. _I swear that he has no regard for other people's property._ Piece by piece, Ron packed up the whole thing, and once that was done, he waited for the others to return. _Should I head straight to Gringotts? Yes, that would be best, I think. I'll get Salazar's documents from Gornuk, settle on a building, and then make my peace with the twins. The only hard part will be convincing the twins to come with me to Gringotts. Maybe I can drag them all with me by convincing Sirius? No, that would just upset some people. How do I-?_

"Are the others getting their cloaks?" came Kirsten's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

She had entered the room with Charlie, who was wearing the leather jacket that Ron had bought for him in Paris, and both of them were giving him odd smiles. _It's because I apologized to her, right? Well… Let's not make things awkward, yeah?_

"They are," Ron replied, and then he checked to make sure that he had his Gringotts pouch on him. _There you are, you little rascal._

"So…" Kirsten started, and Ron looked back to her. _She's hovering near the fireplace… What does she want from me?_ "What would you like for Christmas, Ron?" _Huh?_

"Pardon?" Ron looked to Charlie, who was just smiling at Kirsten. _And he called me smitten once._

"For Christmas," Kirsten said. "What would you like? I don't really know you all that well, so I figured that I'd just ask you upfront."

"Charlie clearly hasn't told you that we all have an understanding between us," Ron started. "We don't actually buy each other presents. Sure, we might save up and get something for mum and dad, but we don't get each other anything." _Except I spent a lot of money on Ginny and Luna. That won't be happening this Christmas. I need my money for more important things._

"I told you," Charlie smirked at Kirsten, who shot him a slight frown.

"I'm **not** a Weasley sibling, so I can get presents for you lot," Kirsten huffed, and Ron exchanged a look with Charlie. _She makes giving presents sound very hostile._ "Aren't you getting anything for your friends, Ron?"

"I am," Ron replied slowly. "I'm sure they've already bought something for me." _Daphne said that she hasn't, and that our date is enough, but I know her better than that. She's hiding something from me. Well, two can play at that game. I'll buy her something meaningful today._

"Well, we're friends now, so I can get you something as well," Kirsten smirked.

"Ha, she got you, mate," Charlie sniggered. _Really? Has she?_

"It sounds like she's claiming to be my friend in order to score gifts from me," Ron pointed out, and Kirsten lost her smirk.

"No, you don't have to get me anything," she said quickly, but Ron just shook his head in a disappointed manner.

"I'm actually disappointed in you, Kirsten," Ron feigned displeasure, and Kirsten looked to her boyfriend for help.

"Ron, stop messing with her," Charlie laughed. "Love, he's only joking around. Don't worry so much, yeah?"

"Please don't get me anything," Ron added. "You should instead save up your money for a rainy day."

"Wow," Charlie cocked an eyebrow at Ron. "Are you like fifty years old, or something?" _No, I've wasted money before, and it resulted in me begging my girlfriend for funding._ "Just accept the gift, Ron, you're being rude."

"How about I get you some ice-cream today?" Kirsten negotiated. _Fuck's sake, why is she trying so hard to win me over? It's making things awkward._

"I don't eat sugar," Ron reminded them both.

"Oh… Right," Kirsten nodded slowly. _Actually, why don't I use her 'generosity' to my benefit instead?_

"Do you really want to get me something?" Ron asked her.

"Of course," Kirsten replied. "It's my first Christmas with Charlie's Family, and I just want it to be a success." _Odd that you would admit that so openly, but whatever._

"I want to fix things up with the twins," Ron started, and Charlie immediately perked up.

"Really?" Charlie asked with a smile.

"Yes," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Kirsten. "But in order to do that, I need to bring them with me to Gringotts. Now, I'd ask them to join me myself, but they will refuse outright."

"They are pretty stubborn," Charlie nodded his agreement. "What do you need from us?"

"If you two could come up with a way to bring them to Gringotts, I'd really appreciate it," Ron replied. "It would certainly make Christmas easier on everyone if there's no sibling fight in store."

"Alright, we can do that," Kirsten agreed immediately.

"Good on you, Ron," Charlie reached forward and patted Ron's back. "Making peace with the twins is the right call, I promise."

Ron said nothing to that, mostly because he agreed with Charlie. _I'll make peace with them, but I'll also make sure that I'm protected. I can't have the twins coming after me, or the Slytherins, when school recommences._ The sound of people piling into the room broke him out of his thoughts, and Ron quickly stood up to leave.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Sirius asked, making sure to count them all in his head. "Where's Percy?" _Yeah, where is Percy?_

"He said that he has work to do," Luna hummed. "I think he was writing to his girlfriend again."

"What makes you say that?" Sirius asked out of curiosity.

"I've never seen him smile during his studies before," Luna shrugged, and everyone just nodded slowly. _Only Luna would notice such a bizarre detail._

"Well, since he won't be joining us, let's get a move on," Sirius smiled at the children. "Kirsten, please prepare the floo. Charlie, help me keep an eye on everyone. Diagon Alley is no doubt filled to bursting with Christmas only two days away."

Kirsten prepared the floo, and one by one, they all made their way through it. Ron was the last one through, and as soon as he stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, he realized that Sirius was dead right. The pub was completely filled with merry adults, all of them drinking and celebrating the end of the year. Sirius and Charlie moved people out of the way, while Kirsten made sure that none of the kids got swept away by the dancing, and drunk, denizens of the pub.

"It's really lively in here, isn't it?" Tracey shot a smile back at Ron, and he gave her a nod. _I like it. I imagine that pretty soon, this kind of sight will be a rarity._ "Theo, can I take your hand? I'm scared that I'll get swept away." _Swept away? Nice excuse._

"Oh… Um… Sure," Theo nodded, and then he took her right hand in his.

Daphne smirked at their joined hands, and then she slowed down in order to nudge Ron lightly.

"Swept away, she says," Daphne whispered, and Ron decided to take her left hand in his gloved one. "Oh, what a gentleman."

"She's not wrong about the swept away thing," Ron whispered. "It's quite packed in here."

"Come on through," Sirius opened the exit, and one by one, the children made their way outside.

Walking out into the cold from the pub was a terrible feeling, and Daphne quickly cozied up to Ron's side. Ron, in turn, let go of her hand in order to put his arm around her, making sure that his cloak was wrapped around her. _Good Lord, mum wasn't joking about the cold. It might even snow soon._ From the corner of his eye, Ron spotted Hermione shooting him a quick glance, and when he looked in her direction, she quickly looked away. _Subtle… I hope Daphne didn't see that._

"They're still holding hands," Daphne whispered, her eyes fixed on Theo and Tracey. "Do you think something's going on between them?"

"Maybe," Ron replied, he couldn't care less. "I mean, they are really close, and they've spent most of the Break with each other."

"Always listening to her Walkman," Daphne chuckled. "I think they'd make a cute couple."

"I wonder how Theo's father would react to that," Ron said, and Daphne stopped chuckling. "They ought to be careful." _Cornelius Nott is a mad dog, and he'll no doubt try to kill Tracey's Family if he ever found out. One day soon, I'll need to get Theo away from him. I know for a fact that Theo isn't exactly the violent, sycophant sort, which means that he won't fit into the Death-Eaters. He might act like a greedy little bugger, but he knows his own value. He deserves better than the Dark Lord._

"The Ice-Cream Parlor is our first stop!" Sirius told the kids, a wide smile on his face. _Ha, he openly lied to mum. Classic Sirius._

"Ice-Cream?!" Hermione looked shocked. "In this cold?!"

"Can't we get hot chocolate instead?" Neville asked.

"I like that idea," Daphne whispered to Ron. "Want to share a cup with your gorgeous girlfriend, Ron?"

"I do, but I'm banned from consuming sugar," Ron replied, and Daphne pouted at him. _She's so cute. I have half a mind to pinch her cheeks._ "Sorry, Daph, but I need to get to Gringotts. I have work to do."

"Classic Weasley," Malfoy whispered from behind them, and Ron shot a frown back. "What? Greengrass was thinking it as well."

"Just behave, please," Ron sighed out. "I don't want to hear that you got snarky with the Trio, or my siblings."

"I'll be keeping my distance from them, don't you worry about that," Malfoy said.

"They have hot chocolates at the Ice-Cream Parlour," Astoria told the others. "We can get whatever we want once we're there. Now, can we please get moving? I'm starting to shiver." _Frail of health… That's what Lord Greengrass told me._

"You should go to her, and keep her warm," Ron whispered to Daphne, and she let out a defeated sigh before leaving Ron behind.

They began making their way down the busy street, the sound of laughter and loud cheering was a welcome change from the peace of the Burrow. Even Ron found himself smiling a bit as he eyed the busy shops and stalls, there were so many happy Families out today. _I won't be surprised if I see some people from Hogwarts here._

"You reckon we'll see some Slytherins here?" Theo asked, and Ron realized that the weedy boy had left Tracey with Daphne and Astoria.

"No doubt about it," Ron said, and then he shot a look back at Malfoy.

"Yeah, I know," Malfoy said. "Maybe I should've just stayed back." _Nonsense. You deserve to at least enjoy yourself a little._

"Seriously, what is going on with him?" Theo asked Ron and Malfoy. "Malfoy, why are you at the Burrow?"

"Weasley invited me," Malfoy lied with a smirk. _He can't help himself, can he?_

"Bollocks," Theo frowned a little, and then he looked to Ron.

"I already told you, Theo," Ron said. "My parents asked me to take the hit, and I simply followed their lead. Once they enlighten me, I'll let you know."

"He already knows," Theo shot a look back at Malfoy.

"And he doesn't want to tell us," Ron said calmly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Malfoy asked Theo. "You're starting to resemble Potter's gang."

"You take that back," Theo frowned deeply.

"Please just behave," Ron sighed out. "We're surrounded by people, and any one of them could be listening in." _Stop making my life harder, and just be civil to each other._

As they neared Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, Ron began to drift away from the others. The others made their way inside with Charlie and Kirsten leading the way, but Sirius noticed that Ron wasn't going in.

"Kid?" Sirius quickly made his way over to Ron. "You're not coming in?"

"Gringotts is right over there," Ron replied. "I can't eat sugar anyway, so I'll just head on down there now."

"Are you sure?" Sirius looked a little disappointed. "This will only take a half an hour, or so. You can go to Gringotts after that."

"I don't think the others wants to sit around in Gringotts' lobby just for my sake," Ron gave Sirius a weak smile. "Please, just enjoy yourselves. I'll join you after I'm done."

"Alright… If that's what you want…" Sirius returned his smile. "I'll have Charlie collect you." _And he can bring the twins with him… That works for me._

"Alright, I'll see you soon," Ron waved his goodbye, and then he left for the bank.

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Afternoon)**_

Sirius watched Ron leave, and he felt a strong pang of hurt in his heart. Molly had told them all of her conversation with Ron last night, and despite putting on a strong face, Sirius was utterly devastated. Not only did he feel wretched for his friends' sakes, but also for the young man who knew he was going to die far too soon. _I don't know why we all thought that Ron wouldn't figure that out for himself, but clearly, we were all in denial. I guess it's just easier to ignore the truth, especially when it's ugly and unwanted._

Sirius rubbed his face, and then he made his way inside the Ice-Cream Parlour. He made sure to put on a smile for the others, but his mind lingered on Ron. _Maybe Susana is right, and we ought to take Ron to a Muggle Healer. Maybe they have ways of helping him with their medicine._ Charlie and Kirsten had secured seats for the children, all of whom were looking through the menu with happy smiles. _I wish he would act like them sometimes… Fuck, Sirius! Snap out of it! Don't alarm the others with your moping._

"Have you lot decided yet?" Sirius asked with a smile. "It's my treat, so get whatever you want."

"Oh! I'll have the Lemon Sorbet with a scoop of Watermelon Sorbet," Astoria beamed. "And a hot chocolate!" _Hot and cold? Fair enough._

"Tori…" Daphne just stared at her sister, and then she looked to Sirius with a sorry look. "Forgive my sister's manners, Lord Black." _Ugh… Lord Black…_

"It's alright," Sirius chuckled. "You get whatever you want, Astoria."

"Thank you, Sirius," Astoria smiled in an adorable way, and Sirius almost lunged across the table in order to pinch her cheeks. _How does such a cute, carefree little button come from Sebastian Greengrass? Clearly, that girl is all Mary._

"Are you getting anything?" Harry asked Sirius. _He always does that… He asks me if I'm eating something, but he never eats properly himself. How do I tackle this?_

"I'll get whatever you get, Harry," Sirius replied, and Harry quickly looked back to the menu. _Aha! Now he has to get something filling. I'm a genius of unprecedented levels._

"Just to be safe, are you also treating Kirsten and myself?" Charlie asked, which earned him a light smack from his girlfriend. "What, love? Being a Dragon Tamer doesn't pay all that well…"

"Yeah, I'm treating you as well," Sirius sniggered. "And I won't take no for an answer, Kirsten."

Sirius then looked around, and as soon as he noticed that Draco wasn't on the table, his stomach clenched painfully. _I fucking lost him?!_ Sirius looked around in panic, and when he spotted the blonde waiting in line by himself, he nearly fell over with relief. _Fucking hell… Molly Weasley would cook me for dinner if I had lost him._

"Sirius, are you alright?" Harry asked, and Sirius shot his Godson a calm smile.

"Of course," Sirius replied, but Harry just stared at him. _He's far too perceptive._ "Once you've got your order, let Charlie know. He'll come and tell me."

With that said, Sirius made his way over to Draco's side. The blonde was just staring at the menu in his hands, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder why he was standing out here alone. _It's obvious that he doesn't get along with the others, and most of them don't want him here to boot._

"Have you picked anything?" Sirius asked Draco, and the boy shot a quick look back.

"I have," Draco replied curtly.

"Well, let me know," Sirius said. "I'm treating everyone."

"I have my own money," Draco said icily. "I don't need yours." _Unfriendly little git, but then again, he has reason to be cut off. Just be patient._

"Wouldn't you rather save your money for more important things?" Sirius asked.

"I'm getting a hot chocolate, and it only costs eight Knuts," Draco replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Stop trying to be my friend, alright? I don't want you putting a target on my back." _Huh?_

"A target…?" Sirius blinked.

"Your Godson is eyeballing me because of you," Draco replied, and Sirius shot a look back.

Just as Draco had pointed out, Harry was shooting 'subtle' glances in Sirius' direction. _What did Ron call him? Territorial, right? Not to mention that every kid in the Burrow is trying to figure out why Draco is staying with the Weasleys. No one really believes Ron's story, they're far too clever for that._ Sirius looked back ahead, and he wondered how Draco had figured out that Harry was staring at them. _Did he figure it out when he shot a look back at me? Nah, he only looked back for a second._

"You're quite perceptive, aren't you?" Sirius joked, and Draco shot a bored look at him. "Is it a Slytherin thing? Constantly watching over your shoulder, that is."

"Partly," Draco replied. "I'm also alone when Weasley isn't around, so I'm trying to be careful." _Really?_

"Alone when Weasley isn't around?" Sirius couldn't help but smile, and Draco tensed immediately. _He slipped up. So… He sees Ron as a friend of sorts. That's great!_

"I never thanked you for what you did the other night," Sirius started. "It was brave of you to go to Hogwarts for Ron's sake."

"I repaid my debt, nothing more," Draco said as they moved forward. "Now, leave me alone."

"You did more than repay your debt," Sirius went on, though he was curious about this debt now. _I won't prod too much. It'll spook him._ "Ron's parents were quite moved by your selfless act."

"Yes, I noticed the extra bacon on my plate," Draco said in a monotone voice. _Extra bacon? Oh, Molly… Never change, please._ "And it wasn't a 'selfless' act… Stop trying to be my friend. I'm not one of you, and I don't want to be one of you. If you don't leave me alone, I'll make a scene."

"Very dramatic," Sirius chuckled, and Draco let out a tired sigh. "You'd never make a scene, and do you know why I know that?"

"Why?"

"Because you're clever enough to understand that people will recognize you," Sirius said. "Image is important to Slytherins, right? What would people say if they recognized you being a part of our merry band?"

Draco looked back at Sirius, and the Gryffindor smiled at the young wizard. _I grew up with Pure-Bloods, mate, I know how most of them think._

"Why were you sorted into Gryffindor?" Draco asked bluntly.

"I'm brave, daring, and chivalrous," Sirius grinned.

"And quite arrogant," Draco looked back ahead. "I suppose the Hat knows what it's doing." _Ouch._

"Every witch and wizard is somewhat arrogant, not just us Gryffindors," Sirius said. "Are you honestly going to tell me that there aren't arrogant people in Slytherin?" _I know for a fact that most of you are arrogant. I'm pretty sure that being arrogant is a prerequisite needed to become a Slytherin._

"Yes, we have arrogant people in our House," Draco replied. "But unlike you 'Lions', we don't put on a façade of nobility and humbleness. We know what we are, and we're not ashamed of it. We embrace our desire to be great, and if that bothers other people, then so be it. You all pretend to be extremely 'chivalrous', but at the end of the day, most of you look down on the other Houses. Are you going to tell me that that's not true?"

"That… was a very detailed response," Sirius said. "Do you practice it every morning?"

"Keep making jokes," Draco drawled. "It'll help you avoid being an adult, I'm sure." _Fucking hell… That was a venomous thing to say._

"And being rude will keep others away from you," Sirius said a little firmly. "But I guess it's easier to be alone than to make an effort, eh?"

Draco said nothing to that, and Sirius felt a small pang of guilt for stooping to such a level. _He's just a kid, Sirius, and a pretty lonely one at that. Why did you have to say that? Apologize to him right now. If Remus were here, he'd have punched you in the throat already._

"I didn't mean to sound cruel, Draco," Sirius said softly. "I'm sorry. It's just… Being alone isn't worth it. Take it from a man who spent ten years alone in a prison cell…" Draco looked back at that. "You're right, there is nothing wrong with having ambitions. It took me a long time to understand that, but there is also nothing wrong with seeking companionship. Isn't fraternity a quality that Slytherin upholds?"

Draco gave a weak nod, and then he looked back ahead.

"If you keep pushing people away, they'll stop trying to get close to you," Sirius said. "You'll build your own prison cell, kid. I don't want to see that happen to you."

"Why do you even care?" Draco asked in a whisper. "And don't say that it's because we share Blood…" _Should I tell him?_

"I… Recently, I've come to respect your Godfather…" Sirius admitted, and Draco looked back with genuine interest. _That got his attention._ "I always thought ill of him, but clearly, I didn't know him very well. Now, he's too set in his ways to change, and in a way, so am I, but there's still a chance for you to be… better… than us. That's why I care. Hogwarts' Houses have a way of… creating mistrust between different people… Maybe at the end of the day, we all ought to realize that we're all human. Just because someone walks a different path in life doesn't mean that they're our enemy." _Yeah, I really like that. Merlin, I can't ever say that near Remus. He'd give me that proud smile of his…_

"You sound like Weasley," Draco stated as he looked back ahead. _He doesn't like making eye contact, does he? Is it because he's scared?_

"Ron's a smart kid," Sirius liked what he had just heard. "You know, your aunt was in Slytherin, and she's one of the kindest people that I've ever met."

"My aunt?" Draco asked. "You mean Andromeda Tonks, don't you?"

"She's coming to the Burrow for Christmas dinner, and don't tell her that I told you, but she's really looking forward to meeting you," Sirius said, and Draco shifted in his spot a bit. "I can introduce you to her… If you want, that is." _You still have Family, kid… Don't throw that away._

"She betrayed my mother," Draco whispered. "She broke my mother's heart."

"Trust me, it was your mother who shut the door on Andromeda," Sirius said, and Draco looked back at him. "Andromeda fell in love with a man that our Family didn't approve of, and she was humiliated and cast out for her 'betrayal'. Is it betrayal to follow one's heart?"

"Sirius, we have the orders," came Charlie's voice, and Sirius fought the urge to frown. _I was getting to him, Charlie, you tit!_

"Draco, why don't you go and join the others?" Sirius asked. "I'll get you your hot chocolate."

Draco's shoulders sagged a bit, and then he left to go sit with the other children. _Good lad._

"It's so weird seeing him around us," Charlie whispered to Sirius. "But he doesn't seem like a bad kid. I mean, he gets along with Ron."

"He's not a bad kid," Sirius agreed. "Just a lost one…"

"Lost?" Charlie asked, and Sirius simply shrugged.

"Tell me the orders, mate."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Flourish and Blotts – Afternoon)**_

The last few days had been… difficult… to say the least.

Firstly, Ron's sickness was becoming more and more evident, and for the Trio, that meant lying to their friends. Harry and Neville were adamant about keeping their silence, but Hermione's resolve was beginning to weaken. She couldn't help but wonder what Ron's reasoning was for such secrecy, a trait of his that she didn't like very much. While Neville felt the urge to honor his 'eternal friend' duties, and Harry did his best to escape any form of awkwardness, Hermione found herself disagreeing with Ron's treatment of his Family. They were all worried about him, but he was more concerned with keeping his secrets. As his friend, she felt the urge to step in and counsel him, but he barely ever left Greengrass' side.

Speaking of Greengrass, Hermione and her friends couldn't deny that her caring nature towards Ron had taken them all by surprise. Especially Hermione, who had always been so sure that Daphne Greengrass wasn't good for Ron. Seeing her go out of her way to comfort, and protect, her boyfriend had jarred Hermione at first, but slowly and surely, Hermione had come to question her perception of the 'Ice-Queen'. Was her cold demeanor just an act? If so, why would she behave this way? Why would she willingly portray a cold front to the World? How would that benefit her in any way? For all of Hermione's stacking questions, one thing was clear… Daphne Greengrass **was** good for Ron. Every time he was around her, he was happy and approachable.

That being said, Hermione didn't approve of their scandalous behavior. They openly got handsy with each other, and whenever they got the chance, they'd sneak off to do inappropriate things. Hermione wasn't beyond admitting that she felt annoyed, and jealous, whenever she saw them leave together. And the most scandalous part was that Greengrass, **a** **girl** , was often the one to initiate this unruly behavior. Even this morning, she had left the breakfast table in order to follow her boyfriend upstairs. Mrs. Weasley, an adult, had done nothing to stop the thirteen year old girl, and when Ron and Greengrass had returned, it was quite obvious what they had gotten up to. Even Neville and Harry found their behavior inappropriate, and they were both boys!

And then, there was Ginny and Luna's fight. Both girls were avoiding each other, and although Ginny hid it well, Hermione could see moments of real sadness during their sleepovers. Ginny was hurting, there was no doubt about that, but Hermione had no idea on how to help her. The best she could come up with was a study session, but sadly for Hermione, Ginny wasn't interested in getting ahead academically. Harry had convinced her to go flying a couple of times, and that had really cheered her up, but eventually, she always went back to being distant. The only good thing to come out of Ginny and Luna's fight was that Ron had sat Ginny down for a talk, and ever since then, Ginny had stopped trying to start a fight with the Slytherins.

And as if all of this wasn't enough, Hermione had made a truly startling discovery yesterday. When Arthur Weasley had made Ron tell the entire table about his plans for a Werewolf shelter, Hermione had found herself intrigued by his charitable act. So, in classic Hermione fashion, she had decided to educate herself on Werewolves. She had skipped through her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, and once she had found herself on the last chapter of the book, a chapter that went into great detail about Werewolves, Hermione's sharp mind had started making shocking connections.

Remus Lupin, Harry's guardian and father-figure, was a Werewolf! Hermione was certain of it, and the more she thought about it, the more she berated herself for not seeing it sooner. Remus had scars all over his person, many of them exactly like the book had described. Remus tended to get sick at the end of each month, which was glaring evidence of his illness. Remus was also extremely touched by Ron's act of charity, which Hermione had found quite odd on the night of the dinner. It was also clear to Hermione that Ron already knew of Remus' condition, and as intriguing as that was, she had elected to ignore it for now. She, after all, had a bigger problem lodged in her mind.

Harry had no idea about Remus' condition, and Hermione was currently wrestling with a moral dilemma unlike any other that she had faced before. The closest she had ever come to being this torn between making a decision was when she had found out about Ron's poor health. Hermione desperately wanted to tell Harry, not because she thought he was in danger, but because she knew Harry would be devastated if someone else told him. Harry, for all his faults, was a gentle and caring person, one who would never judge Remus for being sick. Ron was living proof that, no matter how mistrusting Harry could be, when he saw someone in trouble, Harry tended to protect them. After learning of Ron's sickness, Harry had done his best to keep it to himself, and he had even gone out of his way to make sure that Ron was doing well. Harry wasn't big on displaying his emotions, but Hermione had often caught him looking at Ron's complexion during eating hours in the Great Hall.

Reasons like these compelled Hermione to tell Harry the truth about Remus, but her experience with Ron's illness stopped her every time. What if outing Remus to Harry did more harm than good? What if Harry accepted Remus for who he was, but Remus found himself angry with Hermione? This wasn't exactly her secret to tell, even if she believed that Harry had the right to know. What was she supposed to do? She wanted to be loyal to her best friend, but at the same time, she didn't want to out Remus without his consent.

"Find what you're looking for?" came Neville's voice from behind her, and Hermione shrieked as she turned around with a panicked look. _Oh, it's just Neville…_ "Merlin, Hermione… What's gotten into you these past few days?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione looked back to the book shelf. _What am I even looking for? I just wanted to get away from people…_

"Really?" Neville asked, a hint of hurt in his voice. "You're ignoring Harry and me, and we both know it… Hermione, did we do something to upset you?"

"No," Hermione quickly turned around, a sorry look on her face. "No, Neville, I'm not upset with you. Or Harry. I swear it!"

"Then why are you being so distant?" Neville asked sheepishly. _He's embarrassed with asking such a question, isn't he? He has no idea how refreshing it is to meet a boy who's so open about his feelings._ "Is it the Slytherins?"

"No, it's not them," Hermione sighed out. _If anything, they're quite… normal… now that I've seen them with Ron._ "I'm just… I'm stressing over school work."

"Really?" Neville relaxed a little, and Hermione nodded fervently. _I'm sorry for lying to you, Neville._ "Well, if you want, I can help you study… You know, just quiz you and stuff… If you want, that is."

"Actually, that does sound nice," Hermione admitted. "Thanks, Neville."

"Oi, Longbottom, look what I found," came Theodore Nott's voice, and the weedy boy walked around the corner with a book on Japanese Herbology in his hands.

Hermione felt her face flush, and she quickly turned to face the shelf behind her. _It's him! Oh, God, I can't look at him after his comment about seeing me in a bikini! I honestly can't tell if he was making fun of me, or being serious! Oh, come on, Hermione… Of course he was making fun of you!_

"Nice find," Neville immediately sounded excited.

"I know, right?" Nott gloated. "I was thinking of buying it, and if you want, you can read through it. I bet there are some really neat tricks and tips in here for maintaining one's garden." _What sort of boys are so into gardening?_ "Oh, hello, Granger. I didn't see you there." _AH! He spoke to me!_

"Hi," Hermione mumbled, and then she grabbed a random book and walked past them both.

She quickly found herself waiting in line to buy the book she had grabbed in her escape, her eyes fixed dead ahead of her. _That was not very subtle, was it? I bet he thinks I'm a crazy person now. Wait… Why do I even care about Theodore Nott's opinion of me? Ugh, I'm such a mess. He said one nice thing, and I'm being super weird about it! What's wrong with me? And it wasn't even that nice! If anything, it was extremely inappropriate, even if he was joking._

"A gentleman's guide to treating witches with love and respect?" came Nott's voice from behind her, and Hermione felt her blood freeze.

Slowly, Hermione looked down at the book in her hands, and when she read the title, a small part of her soul departed for the afterlife. _Good God! WHY?!_

"To each their own, I suppose," Nott chuckled, and Hermione fought the urge to run away from the store.

"It's… It's a gift… For Harry… For Christmas…" Hermione muttered. _Don't go along with it, Hermione! What will Harry say when I hand him this book?!_

"I see," Nott's voice came out as rather strained. _He's laughing at me…_ "Well, good luck with that. I'm sure Potter won't see this as a come on."

"A come on?" Hermione mumbled, her eyes wavering down at the book.

"You know what I mean, don't you?" Nott asked in a humorous voice. "A girl gives a boy a book on how to date women…" _Oh, God!_ "Said boy might see that as a hint. I reckon you two would make a nice couple."

Hermione nearly gagged at the thought, Harry was like her little brother. He was the only boy at Hogwarts that she could speak to about Muggle things. Not to mention that he was quite awkward around girls, and if she gave him this book, he'd probably start avoiding her for life. _What do I do?!_ Hermione slowly looked back, and she found Nott looking over her shoulder. _He's so close!_ Hermione nearly threw herself away from him, but she settled for simply stepping out of the line. _I can't give Harry this… It'd ruin my friendship with him._

"There's still time to put that book back, Granger," Nott smirked. "I won't say a word about this to anyone."

Hermione's embarrassment turned into righteous anger, and she glared at Nott venomously. _I bet he's enjoying embarrassing me like this! Well, I don't care!_ Nott didn't look very bothered by her glare, which only served to irritate her further. _Why isn't he backing down? Neville and Harry always back down!_

"You look quite adorable right now," Nott smiled, and Hermione's jaw dropped open. _That smile… And… And… He did it again! He's flirting with me in public!_

Hermione quickly ducked her head as she all but ran back to the book shelf where she had found this infernal book, she honestly had no idea on how to react. _Is he pulling my leg?! Ugh! I can't tell! He smiled so… genuinely… Actually, I've never seen him smile like that… He's handsome… Hermione! What are you thinking?! You can't think of Theodore bloody Nott as handsome!_ Hermione stuffed the book back with shaky hands, a spooked look on her face.

"Hermione, what's with that look?" came Harry's voice, and Hermione found herself reaching her mental limits. _Of course_ _ **he's**_ _here!_

"I… read a disturbing passage," Hermione lied lamely, and then she quickly rounded the corner and stepped out of the shop.

The cold air nearly knocked her on her bum, and she desperately pulled her jacket around herself. _I'll just wait out here to avoid further incidents. Yes, that's the right call. No one will bother me out here. This is for the best._ Hermione shivered because of the cold, but she refused to go back inside. She knew that she wasn't exactly good with people, a friendless childhood had made sure of that, so she often found herself trying far too hard to be 'normal'. More often than not, however, her behavior tended to out her as an unsociable and bossy individual. _I wish I could live in a room full of books. That would be heavenly._

"Hermione?" came Sirius' voice, and Hermione shot a tired look back.

Sirius had followed her outside, his brow furrowed with concern. Hermione wasn't going to lie, she really liked Sirius despite his childish behavior sometimes. _He's easy to talk to, and he speaks to us children as a friend rather than an adult. In a way, I wish I could be more like him._

"Hi, Sirius," Hermione muttered from her jacket.

"You're cold," Sirius realized. "Come inside, please."

"Um… No, thanks," Hermione said, and Sirius blinked at her. "I'm alright out here…" _Please leave me to freeze to death out here. It's better than dealing with people._

"I overheard you and Harry…" Sirius started, and Hermione looked to the happy Families going about their day. "He mentioned that you two are at odds, though he has no idea what he's done wrong."

"We're not at odds," Hermione said, but she didn't look at Sirius.

"He'd never say this to you, so I guess I'll do it," Sirius sighed out. "He's bothered by you being 'distant' with him… Hermione, what's going on? It's not like you to ignore people, especially your friends."

Hermione looked at Sirius with a critical eye, something that caught the man off-guard. _Does he know about Remus? Of course he does. They're best friends. Still, I should be careful. I need to say something brazen, but also vague. If he catches onto my true meaning, then I'll be certain that he knows about Remus' condition._

"I know about Remus," Hermione said, and Sirius just stared at her. _Well? Aren't you going to react?_

"I see," Sirius closed his eyes as he rubbed his face. _He knows!_ "Did Ron tell you?"

"No, I read about…" Hermione started, but then she quickly looked around to see if they were alone. "I read about Werewolves in my Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Remus showed all the signs of being infected."

"Bloody hell," Sirius clicked his tongue. "When did children become so observant?"

"I haven't told anyone," Hermione assured him, and Sirius gave her a half-smile. "I haven't told Harry…"

"You're avoiding him because you feel conflicted," Sirius realized, and Hermione nodded meekly. _Please, give me some advice. I don't know what to do._

"What do I do?" Hermione asked, and Sirius stepped up to her side in order to put his arm around her.

Hermione felt the urge to hug his side, but she decided to hold back. _What if he finds that awkward? We're not even that close…_

"If you tell Harry, it'll probably cause a rift between him and Remus," Sirius said. "Harry hates people keeping secrets from him, and this is a pretty big secret. He'll feel like Remus doesn't trust him, and after he stops being angry, he'll close himself off."

"I know," Hermione agreed with Sirius' assessment. "Why hasn't Remus told Harry? I promise, Harry won't care one bit. He loves Remus."

"I know that," Sirius sighed. "Remus… Listen to me, Hermione… Remus is quite ashamed of his condition."

"What? Why? It's not his fault," Hermione said quickly, and Sirius gave her shoulders a paternal squeeze.

"Sometimes, when people don't like a part of themselves, they find reasons to hide the truth," Sirius said very slowly. "You don't know much about the treatment of Werewolves over the centuries, so I'll enlighten you a little. Werewolves are not allowed to hold positions of power, they are not allowed near children, they are chased out by almost every community, they aren't allowed to possess wands, and hiring them now is almost considered a sin."

"Why are wizards so cruel?" Hermione felt her blood boil.

"It's not just wizards," Sirius replied. "Harry's mother, Lily, was a Muggle-Born like you, and she once told me that Muggles discriminate over things like skin color, background, wealth, and other such tripe."

"I… I guess that's true…" Hermione remembered her anti-racism seminars from school.

"We humans tend to find reasons to elevate ourselves above others, and often, that means segregating the undesirables," Sirius frowned a little. "It's sad and pathetic, but it is what it is. It's up to you to decide where you stand, Hermione. How do you feel about Remus being a Werewolf?"

"I don't care," Hermione blurted out. "He's the best Defense Professor that we've ever had!"

"I see," Sirius chuckled at her oddly innocent response. "You're a good kid, Hermione. If more people were like you, this World would be a merrier place." Sirius then drew in a deep breath. "I'll talk to Remus, and I'll convince him that it's past time that he told Harry the truth."

"So I don't have to tell him," Hermione was visibly relieved. "Thanks, Sirius."

"No, Hermione… Thank you for not taking the choice away from Remus," Sirius smiled at her.

Hermione suddenly realized why Ron was being so secretive, and why he was so angry with them for learning about his sickness. _We took his choice away from him… He might've told us when he was ready, but we went behind his back, and in doing so, made him feel cornered. Oh…_ She felt a strong pang of guilt, and Sirius noticed her growing tense.

"You alright?" Sirius asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione shook her head clear. "Thank you, Sirius, you've helped me make sense of something important." _I can't tell his siblings… It's not my place, and I refuse to take his choice away from him. Again._

"I see," Sirius smiled again. "Well, I'm happy to help. Now, can we please go inside? It's fucking freezing out here." _Language!_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Late Afternoon)**_

"Here are the documents that you wanted recovered," Gornuk said slowly, there was an odd look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he took the crisp documents, his eyes darting down to the first page.

They looked easy to read, and Ron went through each one with a growing smile. _They're perfect. Even the parchment feels new, which is quite amazing. Bloody hell, Goblins really are a crafty lot, aren't they?_

"We tried to decipher the glyphs, but we had no record of these symbols," Gornuk said, and Ron looked up with a confused look. _Glyphs? What?_

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, and Gornuk blinked at him.

"The pages, Mr. Weasley… They're covered in unknown glyphs," Gornuk said, and this time, Ron blinked at him.

"It's in English," Ron muttered, and then he showed Gornuk the first page. "See? Plain English."

Gornuk looked visibly taken aback, and Ron shot a quick look down at the page just to make sure that he was right. _Yeah, it's in English. Plain as fucking day._ Ron decided that something was clearly very off here, and so he offered Gornuk the top page. Gornuk took it slowly, his beady eyes fixed on Ron's.

"Write down what you see," Ron said, and Gornuk gave him a very slow nod. _He looks right suspicious of my sanity right now._

Gornuk grabbed his quill, and then on a separate piece of parchment, he began to copy down one of the glyphs he was seeing. Gornuk started with making two small, jagged lines side-by-side, and then he made a horizontal line on top of the jagged ones. He then put three dots above the horizontal line in the shape of an inverted triangle. _What the fuck is he drawing?_ As soon as Gornuk finished the glyph by making an arch over the three dots, the glyph turned into the word 'dagger' in Ron's eyes. _What in the fuck?!_ Ron was visibly taken aback, and Gornuk quickly looked up with a curious look.

"You understand this, Mr. Weasley?" the Goblin asked quickly, though the look on Ron's face gave away the answer. "How… odd…"

Ron took back the repaired document, and he quickly found the word dagger on it. _He drew the glyph he was seeing, but to me, it looks like the word dagger?_ A thought occurred to Ron, one that really jarred him. _Are these documents written in Parseltongue? Is… Is that even possible? Salazar… You crafty motherfucker. How did you manage that? And why can I understand these words? Just by being a Parselmouth, I can understand the written language? That seems… unnatural, but then again, there's nothing natural about Parseltongue._

"Gornuk, can I have that piece of parchment?" Ron asked, and Gornuk handed him the parchment with the drawn 'glyph' on it. _I need to show this to Harry to confirm my suspicions. If he understands this 'glyph', then I'll know for certain that it's Parseltongue._

"Mr. Weasley… I have some questions," Gornuk started. "Are you a descendant from an Ancient Line of Wizards? And no, I'm not referring to an ordinary line of wizards… I'm referring to the legendary Wizards of Old." _No, I am not._

"I have no clue," Ron feigned confusion. "I… Thank you for doing this, Gornuk, but I'll take it from here."

"Of course," Gornuk backed off immediately, he knew better than to question his clients. "Um… Shall we discuss The Quibbler?"

"Yes, let's do that," Ron said as he put the documents inside an empty nearby folder. "Do you mind if I nick this folder?"

"Please, feel free," Gornuk said, his eyes filled with wariness. _Look at that look… Just thinking that I'm associated with the Wizards of Old has him scared. Fuck, we wizards did a lot of damage to this World, didn't we?_

"I'm not associated with the Wizards of Old, Gornuk, and even if I was, I don't believe in their philosophies," Ron said firmly. "I know they did terrible things to many in their quest for power, and much of what I know about them sickens me." _They subjugated the Elves, they betrayed and murdered the Fae, they massacred the Goblins, they burned down Centaur lands, and they even found ways to hurt the Merpeople._

"They are relics of the past," Gornuk relaxed a little. "Best left forgotten…"

"Best left forgotten," Ron gave a nod. "Now, let's discus business?"

"Certainly," Gornuk gathered himself. "I… I've looked into a few buildings that are for hire on Diagon Alley, all of them are in the upper district. I was hoping to get your input on said buildings." Gornuk then pulled out a bunch of dossiers, and he handed them to Ron. "I personally have very little experience in hiring buildings to create Offices, I'm afraid."

"Oh… I was hoping to count on you for that," Ron admitted as he took the dossiers. "I don't know anything about hiring buildings myself."

Ron then looked through the buildings, and all of them looked acceptable. _A little pricey, though. Doesn't he have anything around this area? Something cheaper? I mean, we don't plan to have a large staff, so hiring these sorts of buildings seems unnecessary._

"Do you have any building around this area?" Ron asked. "Some of these buildings are very expensive. Like this one here… Five hundred Galleons per month? That's six thousands Galleons a year."

"Unfortunately, Gringotts owns the leases of all the vacant buildings in the Middle District," Gornuk said.

"Can't we ask them to let us hire a building?" Ron asked.

"I cannot recommend that, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk said, and Ron blinked at him. "As your Logistics Officer, I must warn you against making such a deal. Gringotts has a habit of leasing buildings for cheap, and then, steadily increasing the rent until they put small businesses in debt." _What?_

"Is that even legal?" Ron asked. "It doesn't sound very legal."

"Many Ministry Officials are bribed by the Goblins of Gringotts to look the other way," Gornuk admitted. "We must stay clear of the Middle District… Otherwise, we risk our own business in its early stages."

"Great," Ron blew raspberries as he looked back down at the dossiers. "The Ministry is a shithole filled with corruption…" Ron then decided to think more on this dilemma. "I'll go through these in my time, and when I have come to a decision, I'll let you know."

"Very well," Gornuk agreed. "Now, about the staff… I have made inquiries through the proper channels, and we have a vast pool of people to choose from. I am currently collecting their credentials, and once I have them, we can begin interviewing people of interest."

"How many people are in this vast pool?" Ron asked.

"Twenty one from England, thirteen from France, five from Romania, and three from Austria," Gornuk replied. "All of them are currently looking for work related to Journalism, and since The Quibbler is now a Journalism Magazine, they'll happily flock to us." _Didn't Lady Longbottom have connections as well? I'll talk to her about this when I see her at Christmas._

"Extend the invitation to the States as well," Ron said. "Marietta Angel is from the States, and we both think that she's perfect for The Quibbler."

"An excellent suggestion," Gornuk wrote it down. "I believe that concludes our business for now."

"Wait… There's one more thing," Ron started, and Gornuk looked up. "The account I had you open… The one named Fred and George."

"Ah," Gornuk quickly reached into his desk, and he pulled out a golden key and a Gringotts pouch. "Forgive my forgetfulness, Mr. Weasley, but I am still a little shaken from-" Gornuk stopped abruptly.

"It's alright," Ron assured the Goblin. "Don't worry about it, Gornuk. Can I have the key and pouch?"

"Here you are," Gornuk handed them over, grateful that Ron wasn't being demanding like his other clients. "Two hundred and fifty Galleons have been moved into this new account from your main one, and this pouch is connected to the 'Fred and George' account."

"Thanks for doing this so quickly," Ron smiled at the Goblin. "I know I only gave you a few days, so I really appreciate the effort."

"Just doing my job, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk gave a nod, a semi-smug smile on his face.

Ron stood up at that, making sure that he had left nothing behind.

"I'll be going then," Ron bid his goodbye. "I'll let you know about my decision soon."

"Take care, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk went back to his work.

"You too," Ron said as he exited the Office, and once the door was closed behind him, Ron made his way towards the lobby.

He planned to wait until Kirsten, or Charlie, brought the twins to Gringotts in order to pick him up. Ron planned to take the twins to their new vault, and even if they refused to accept him back, he planned to hand over the key and the pouch. _If anything, I'll at least know that I did right by them. What they choose to do afterwards is up to them. But saying that, I will do my best to convince them to at least leave the Slytherins alone._ As soon as he entered the lobby, he spotted Bill waiting around by a decorated pillar, his eyes moving from Goblin to Goblin. _What's he up to?_

"Hello," Ron greeted his eldest brother from behind, and Bill turned around with a slightly confused look.

"Ron?" Bill looked a little surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Singing Christmas Carols for the Goblins," Ron said dryly. "I'm here for Quibbler business, Bill. What are you doing? Are you waiting for someone?"

"Actually, yeah, I am," Bill replied. "A Goblin named Griphook is supposed to sanction my team's raid on an old tomb that we discovered, but he has a habit of making the 'human' wait."

"Not popular at your work?" Ron asked.

"I am as long as I'm bringing home plenty of treasure, but Griphook feels the need to keep me in my place," Bill rolled his eyes. _Is that so? Griphook… I will remember that name, and one day, I'll teach him not to disrespect the Weasley Family._

"I'm sure he'll warm up to you one day," Ron said, and Bill snorted.

"Highly unlikely," Bill said. _**Oh, he will.**_ "Wait… Did you come here alone?"

"Sort of," Ron replied. "The others are all in Diagon Alley. Getting Ice-Creams, and shopping for Christmas."

"And you're here for business reasons?" Bill chuckled.

"This is more important," Ron shrugged. "You can join us after you finish work, if you want."

"Something tells me that I won't be getting off until dinner," Bill sighed out. "We still have to go check out this tomb, and until Griphook graces me with his presence, my entire team is stonewalled."

"Can I ask you where this tomb is?" Ron asked, and Bill adorned a sorry look.

"Sorry, little brother, but that's classified information," Bill replied.

"Alright, that's fair enough," Ron said, his eyes catching a glimpse of red. "Oh, Charlie and the twins are here."

"They are?" Bill shot a look back, and then he waved his brothers over. "The twins don't look very pleased."

"Figures," Ron said. "They were out enjoying Diagon Alley, and now, they're stuck at a bank." _Plus, I'm in said bank, so they are definitely displeased._

"Hey, Bill," Charlie greeted with a smile. "Enjoying working so near to Christmas?"

"No, but one of us needs a **real** job, so here I am," Bill smirked.

"Fuck off," Charlie snorted. "My job is way more important. Dragons are endangered, you know."

"Because idiots like you take care of them," Bill smirked, and Ron held back a snigger. _Savaged by William Weasley._

"I can beat you up," Charlie said blandly, clearly unhappy with how his banter had turned out.

"What brings you two here?" Bill asked the twins.

"Charlie dragged us here against our will," Fred groaned.

"We were just about to pass by Broomstix," George added as he shook his head. "I mean, we can't buy anything there because mum took all of our money, but still…"

"Would've been nice to see what's in season," Fred finished for his twin.

"Actually, Charlie brought you here because I asked him to," Ron said, and both twins looked at him. _Yes, I'm here. You can now stop ignoring me like petty children._

"Is this true?" George looked to Charlie, who simply shrugged. "Unbelievable…"

"We're leaving," Fred frowned at Ron. "Instead of asking us, you trick us into coming here? What's wrong with you?"

"Would you have accepted if I did ask?" Ron countered.

"That's not the point," George argued.

"This is my workplace, and I will smack all four of you if you don't behave," Bill warned, and the twins quickly stopped arguing.

"Me as well?" Charlie asked Bill. "What did I do?"

"Ron, why did you bring them here?" Bill asked.

"I want to make amends," Ron admitted freely, and the twins gave him suspicious looks.

"Amends?" George asked.

"In a bank?" Fred asked right after.

"Go on," the twins said together. _Wow, that was easier than I expected. Are they really that short on money?_

"Come with me, and you can see for yourselves," Ron said, doing his best to sound civil.

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

The ride down had upset Ron's stomach, but instead of feeling queasy, he felt a dull pain throughout his stomach. It was an extremely unpleasant, and uncomfortable, feeling, but Ron decided to power through it. Oddly enough, Ron hadn't really had much for breakfast or lunch, so he had no idea what was causing his stomachache.

"Key, please," the tiny Goblin asked, and Ron handed the key over. "Bring that lamp, please."

Fred grabbed the lamp from the cart, and all three of them followed the Goblin down towards the newly opened vault. Once they got there, Fred aimed the light at the keyhole, which was promptly unlocked by the tiny Goblin. Ron could see that his brothers had caught onto what he was up to, but Ron decided not to make a comment on it. _What would it change? I'd just come across as boastful. I'll give them the vault, ask them for peace, and then let them decide what they want. For better or worse._ The tiny Goblin pushed the vault door open, and Ron made his way inside.

There was a large pile of Galleons just sitting in the center of the dimly lit vault, and Ron heard the twins quickly race in. They both gasped, and when Ron looked back at them, they had awed looks on their faces. _Awe, and a hint of greed. They probably see this as a lot of money. I still remember when they all saw my vault, even Charlie was salivating._

"I will be outside," the Goblin said. "Make this quick, please."

"What's this?" George asked Ron, he was still more cautious than Fred. _Makes sense. George is the brain, while Fred is the heart._ "Why are we doing down here, Ron?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fred asked as he circled the large pile of gold. "He's giving this to us, George!"

"I am," Ron said, and unlike Fred, George looked a little suspicious.

"Why? Are you trying to bribe us?" George asked. "Just speak plainly for once, Ron. What is your goal here?"

"George," Fred said with a meaningful look, but George ignored his twin's love of money.

"I want to know what you're doing, Ron," George said calmly. "In my experience, you're a clever little bastard who always has an angle." _A compliment? Well, I'll take it._

"Like I said, I am giving you this vault," Ron replied. "It's even named after you two. It's yours."

"And what do you want from us in return?" George asked, while Fred made sure that the Galleons were real.

"Peace," Ron replied, and George blinked at him. "I don't want to fight you two… I was wrong to set you two up-"

"Three," Fred corrected Ron. "You set up Lee as well." _I don't give a fuck about Lee._

"Yes, Lee as well," Ron decided to adapt. "I was wrong to take things that far, and I've told mum the truth. I know that she's cancelled your punishment, mostly because I didn't see you two performing chores today. She knows that it was all me."

"You just… confessed?" George looked quite surprised. "Why?"

"I was… cruel… to you," Ron said, even if it wounded his pride. "I… I wanted you to feel miserable, to feel alone, and that was wrong."

"Why would you want that for us?" Fred suddenly walked up to George's side, his anger had returned. "We're your kin, you git!"

"It's how you made me feel growing up," Ron replied, and the twins lost their anger just as quickly as they had remembered it. "When you killed my first pet… When you tried to force me into servitude… When you laughed at me for crying because you burnt a hole through my tongue… When you told me that mum never wanted me."

"Those were jokes, and accidents," Fred said quickly.

"Not to me," Ron looked down at his feet for a moment. _Maintain eye contact, you weak fuck! Don't let them make you feel small again!_ "I never once laughed during those memories, but you two did. You even treated me like dirt after dad screamed at you for trying to bind me. Anyway… I don't want to air our dirty laundry, that's not why we're here."

Ron reached into his robes, and he pulled out their Gringotts pouch. Ron then tossed it to George, who caught it easily.

"What's this?" George asked slowly.

"Your Gringotts pouch," Ron replied. "Whenever you need money, just reach into it and pull some out. The pouch is tethered to this vault, and the items inside it. This is all yours now. Use it for whatever you want. Rebuild your stock, invest in your business plans, or give it away to charity. It's up to you. The Goblin will give you the key once we rejoin him." _There, Ron. You did your part._ "I am sorry for my part in your suspension."

Sadly for Ron, he didn't really feel any relief whatsoever from his kind act. If anything, he felt as he always did. _Just ticking checkboxes. Accomplishing my set goals in an orderly fashion._

"My only request is that you don't come after me, or the Slytherins," Ron said, and the twins exchanged looks. "What you do to them **does** impact me. They blame me because I'm your brother, and they make things difficult for me and my friends."

"You'll take this away if we don't do as you ask?" George cocked an eyebrow.

"No," Ron replied truthfully. "This is yours, and that's that. You can still keep being the pranksters of Hogwarts all you like, the only difference will be that you know better now. I've said it clearly; what you two do **does** affect me. If you decide that you don't care enough about that, then by all means, keep doing what you always do."

Ron made his way past them at that, and once he was outside, he looked to the Goblin.

"Give them the key once they come out."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Once again, Ron's stomach was hurting. The cart ride up had been a silent, and quite awkward, one. The only thing that managed to distract Ron was the dull ache in his stomach, which quite honestly wasn't a blessing. Once they had made their way up, Ron had noticed that the twins were lingering behind Ron on purpose. He could hear them whispering to each other, and Ron had decided not to listen in.

They had rejoined Charlie quickly enough, and the older Weasley had said nothing to the twins or Ron. Ron was very grateful for his tact, which wasn't really Charlie's strong suit, and Ron figured that Kirsten had become a good influence on Charlie. _Just like Daphne is a good influence on me._ Ron still had one more errand to run, and Charlie had agreed to escort him to it. Fred and George had followed after them, but they maintained their distance for the sake of privacy.

"Madame Tessa's Massage Parlour?" Charlie read the sign. "Um… You want to get a massage, Ron?"

"No, I want to make an appointment for someone else," Ron replied, his eyes darting towards the shop being built right next to the Massage Parlour. _King Solomon's Bakery? Solomon? I've heard that name before, haven't I? Oh yeah, in Victor's vision… He claimed that he delivered Emilia and Solomon to the Death-Eaters. Is it the same Solomon?_

Ron's eyes drifted towards a hulk of a man, who was wearing some rather weird garbs. He was smoking a thick cigar as he looked at the passing crowds, completely ignoring the workers who were going about their work behind him. _Merlin, he's one monstrous looking man. He could probably tear Charlie in two._ The hulk of a man noticed Ron staring, and he looked in Ron's direction with a furrowed brow. _His face… There's a massive cut on it._

"What're you lookin' at, whelp?" the man spoke in an odd, grunt-like manner. "Fuck off, yeah?" _What?_

"What did you just say?" Charlie immediately looked ready to start a fight, while Ron just stared at the monstrous man.

"I said 'fuck off, yeah'," the man repeated, and all the workers stopped working.

"Um… Charlie, let's just go," George said, his eyes darting towards the eyeballing workers.

"You look like a daft cunt," Charlie pointed out as he nudged Ron to enter the Massage Parlour.

"Daft cunt?" the man looked back to his workers, and then he let out a thick laugh. "You lot hear that? I look like a 'daft cunt'. I fuckin' love Britain! This is my kind of town, ain' it?!"

The workers all started laughing, and Ron decided that it was best to leave. _Fucking weird cunt. They just let anyone set up shop in Diagon Alley, don't they? He looks like he belongs in Knockturn Alley instead._ Ron, and his brothers, entered the Massage Parlour, and while Ron made his way towards the reception desk, the twins tried to calm down a seething Charlie. _I just hope he doesn't start anything once we leave._

"Hello," Ron greeted the man sitting behind the desk.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley," the man smiled widely at Ron. _Huh?_ "Oh, I'm Bradley! I was here the last time you came for a massage!"

"You were here for a massage?" came Fred's interested voice, and Ron ignored it.

"Right, I was hoping to make an appointment for tomorrow," Ron started.

"Oh, we're completely booked out," Bradley said with a sheepish smile. "We're very busy during this time of the year!" _Why is he so chipper?_

Ron looked around the empty Parlour, and then he stared at Bradley.

"There's no one in here," Ron pointed out.

"Most of our customers are using the back entrance," Bradley lost his smile. "The people working out there… They're harassing our clients… Many of them are steering clear of the area."

"Ah," Ron nodded.

"They didn't bother you, I hope," Bradley gave Ron a sorry smile.

"They told me to fuck off," Ron shrugged, and Bradley rubbed his forehead.

"Merlin, we need those hooligans gone," Bradley muttered under his breath. "Anyway… I'm sorry, but we're completely booked out."

"The appointment is for my mother," Ron said. "Her back has been hurting, and she is hosting a very large dinner on Christmas. Please, isn't there any free spot?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Bradley apologized, and Ron lost his polite demeanor immediately. _Fine, we'll talk in a language that you can understand._

Ron reached into his robes, and he pulled out his Gringotts pouch. Ron then planted one Galleon on the desk, and Bradley stared at it with a shocked expression. _More? Fine._ Ron added four Galleons on top of his first offer, and Bradley looked at Ron with a slightly subdued look. Ron added another five Galleons to the pile, and Bradley eyed the money with a fixed stare. _The next few Galleons I'll lodge down your throat, so just accept already._

"I can pencil you in for half past one," Bradley took the money and pocketed it. "Is that acceptable, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes," Ron replied coldly. "I want a complete massage for her."

"Got it," Bradly nodded. "Thank you for your patronage." _Uh-huh._

"We're going," Ron rejoined his brothers, who were just staring at him for openly bribing a man in front of them. "What?"

"Mum's back is hurting?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, it is," Ron replied. "You know her, right? She'd never tell us if something was bothering her…" _Unless we caused said bothering. Then, she'd definitely let us know._

"You can use the back to leave, if you want," Bradley called out. "Unless you want to run into those hooligans again."

"Let's take the back," Fred said, and Charlie snorted.

"Piss on that," Charlie said. "Why should we have to take the back? They're the pricks."

"Um, Fred and I don't have our wands," George reminded Charlie. "Ron's only thirteen, they completely outnumber us, they look rather dangerous, and that guy in the weird clothes didn't really look human. Shall I go on?" _Haven't the twins heard about my lightning display?_

"I'm not sneaking out the back," Ron said plainly. "That's not me."

"Having an ego is all well and good, but it's not worth getting murdered over," George said. "Ron, those 'hooligans' looked like criminals. Didn't you see their tattoos?"

Ron eyed Fred and George, and the fact that they didn't have wands stuck with Ron. _If those cunts do try something, Fred and George can't even defend themselves. Damn it._

"Mum didn't give your wands back?" Ron asked them, and they shook their heads. "She probably forgot…"

"Or she doesn't trust us just yet," Fred added.

"Either way, we're defenseless if something happens," George said.

"Let's take the back," Ron said to Charlie, whose jaw clenched from his flaring temper. _Yeah, I know…_

"Fine," Charlie grunted.

* * *

 _ **George Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Evening)**_

"Well?" George asked Fred, who was fiddling with the vault key. "What are we going to do about this?"

"Honestly, I want to take the money," Fred admitted as he sat up. "George… Did you see how much money was in that vault? All he's asking for is that we lay off of the Slytherins. I reckon that's a fair bargain." _More than fair. And the fact that he gave us both the key and the pouch without us agreeing to his terms was… moving. Very moving._

"Alright, we'll take his offer," George gave a nod.

"Right…" Fred eyed George, and George subtly looked away. "Yeah, something's eating at you… Do you want to tell me what it is?"

George clicked his tongue, and then he got off of his bed in order to pace. This was a habit of George's that only Fred knew of. Whenever George was thinking, or troubled, he would begin pacing as a way to establish control over himself. _His words got to me, especially the way he said them. Whatever is happening with him is clearly getting to him. Why won't he tell us?! Why won't Percy explain what happened with the French?! When did this Family start keeping secrets?!_

"George?" Fred sounded mildly annoyed. "I can't weigh in unless you open up to me."

"Do you think we really hurt Ron?" George stopped pacing, his eyes fixed on his twin's.

"What?" Fred was a little taken aback.

"We've done some pretty… harsh… things to him," George said, and Fred let out a long sigh. "What?"

"You've always had a really soft spot for him," Fred said.

"And you don't?" George asked. "Didn't you plan to bind him to us so that he'd always be stuck with us? So that we could always keep our eyes on him?"

"I was an idiot kid," Fred replied. "Honestly, I don't even think about it anymore. I'm glad that dad came in when he did, and I'm even glad that he scared the life out of us." _Not glad about the spanking though, eh?_

"Ron hasn't forgotten about it," George began pacing again. "You and I both know that he hasn't forgotten, or forgiven, a single thing."

"He's overemotional," Fred pointed out. "This is the same kid who takes even the smallest of jokes to heart."

"Not anymore," George said. "Some criminal told him to fuck off in the streets, and he didn't even look fazed." _I nearly did a runner, and I know you did too._

"That's just his Slytherin alter-ego," Fred said. "The cold and calculating Weasley… Pfft. I bet he was just as scared as us." _Somehow, I really doubt that. I know when Ron's nervous, and he was_ _ **not**_ _nervous. He wasn't even interested._

"We're digressing…" George clicked his tongue again. "Do you think we hurt him, or not?" _I'm starting to think that we did. Even Ginny told us that we were being bullies before Ron had us suspended._

"Alright… A couple of things that we did as kids were cruel," Fred admitted. "But we were kids… Kids do stupid things all the time."

"But it was just him," George stopped pacing. "Only him. We might have teased Percy, mocked Ginny for her girly tastes, and even made gay jokes about Bill and Charlie… But with Ron? We tested all of our meanest pranks on him."

"He was a little shit," Fred groaned. "You know he was. He constantly tattled on us, he constantly tried to sneak into our room, and he always felt the urge to involve himself in our affairs."

"I know… But it's Ron," George said, and Fred pinched the bridge of his nose. _He's Ickle Ronnikins… Our Ickle Ronnikins._

"Are you upset that we hurt Ron? Or are you upset that we no longer have little Ronnie chasing after us?" Fred asked bluntly, and George once again averted his gaze. "What do you really want, George? You want us to apologize to him? What difference would that make? He'll never believe us, and personally, I'm not all that sorry. After all the damage he's done to us, why don't we all just leave the past buried?"

"So we just act like everything's fine? You think that'll work?" George asked.

"It will if you stop poking holes in it," Fred replied.

"He apologized to us," George reminded Fred. "Just today, he apologized **and** confessed to mum."

"He said that he wants peace, and we won't have peace if we start airing dirty laundry," Fred said. "One of us will piss off the other, and we'll be back at where we started. Let's just accept his olive branch, and just move on."

"We can apologize as well," George said.

"You want to apologize so you don't have a guilty conscience," Fred said. "It's not because you're guilty. What's the point of apologizing if you don't even mean it? And, pray tell, what happens if he catches onto your fake apology? He'll be pissed."

"I am sorry, though," George said.

"Really?" Fred cocked an eyebrow. _Maybe… I'm not sure._ "George, you're definitely more intelligent than I am, but you've always been too cautious. You want to make sure that everything is cleared out before we move on, but you don't seem to understand that Ron just wants to stop. You want all of this to end in a neatly wrapped present, but that's not going to happen. I know that you don't really feel guilty, because if you did, you'd apologize in a heartbeat. Right now, you're doing what you always do before we start a new project. You're trying to figure out ways to fix everything before it breaks. Well… Ron is not a project, and a dishonest apology is just going to fuck things up for us."

Fred then got up, and he walked over to George.

"He just gave us more money than we've **ever** had," Fred put his hand on George's shoulder. "Honestly, I don't even know what to do with that much money… Within a month, or so, we'll have all of our merchandise back. We can once again start focusing on our plans after Hogwarts. And with this much money, I really think we can make it."

"You're scared that he'll pull his money away," George realized.

"Yeah, I am," Fred admitted shamelessly. "This is still Ron we're talking about… We both know that he doesn't fuck around anymore. I mean, he came after us once, and we ended up in house arrest. Fighting him after what just happened is… idiotic. And believe me, apologizing to him just to ease your own mind is going to start a fight. I'd rather just move on."

George rubbed his face tiredly, which took Fred by surprise.

"Hey…" Fred whispered.

"He's sick, and he won't tell us a thing," George muttered, and Fred pulled George into a one-armed hug. "We've completely lost him… Maybe you're right. Maybe I just miss having him chase after us."

"Sometimes, I miss it as well," Fred said in a comforting voice. "But over the last two years, he's changed way too much. That's on him, not us. **He** doesn't want to tell us what's wrong with him. We've tried to ask, we've tried to chase him down, but **he's** not interested. Well, he can keep his secrets. One day, he'll regret the way he behaves around his siblings." _Why do I doubt that?_ "C'mon, George… Don't turn on the waterworks…"

"Sod off," George frowned a little.

"I'm serious," Fred said. "You know that you spiral whenever you overanalyze everything. If you do start feeling genuinely guilty, then by all means, apologize to him. But don't apologize just to make yourself feel better, or to avoid further fights. That's not fair to Ron, and it's not fair to our plans. Just… Just once, you ought to listen to me."

"Okay…" George relaxed a little, and his brother gave him a kiss on the side of the head.

"For now, we should just end our feud with him," Fred advised. "Let's focus on rebuilding, yeah?"

"Okay…" George nodded weakly. "Focus on rebuilding… I can do that."

"Do you want the key and the pouch for safekeeping?" Fred asked.

"Obviously," George replied. "You'd lose them both."

"Such little faith…" Fred sighed. _While we rebuild, I'll think more on Ron and our past actions. He was right about one thing, I never heard him laugh at our jokes. Not even once._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Evening)**_

"Sirius, are you ready?" Ron asked as he entered the Living Room, and he spotted a well-dressed Sirius sitting with the Trio. _He looks good._

"Yeah, kid," Sirius stood up as he ruffled Harry's hair, making Harry shrink with a frown. "We just have to wait for Mary and Seb, and we'll be good to go." _C'mon Lord and Lady Greengrass… What's taking you so long? We're going to be late._

"Are you really going to help the Werewolves tonight?" Hermione asked, she sounded genuinely interested.

"I'm going to try my best," Ron replied, deciding to not make any promises. _I can't trust so easily. Not this time. I'll be extremely careful around my new allies from now on._ "Neville?"

"Gran is willing to offer up to five hundred Galleons," Neville said, which earned him surprised looks from Harry and Hermione. "Oh… I sent her an owl… You know, for business details and so forth…" _He didn't tell them?_

"Sirius, have you settled on a number yet?" Ron asked, deciding to ignore Hermione and Harry's shock.

"One thousand Galleons," Sirius replied, and even Ron was a little taken aback. "I need to do this, kid. The Black Fortune needs to be put to good use, and this is a good cause." _You could help more people from your Wizengamot position… Should I speak to him about that?_

"Alright, add five hundred from me, and that's two thousand Galleons already," Ron smiled a little to himself. _Aunt Muriel refused to pitch in to 'help the dogs', so I need Lord and Lady Greengrass to pick up the slack. If we can have a budget of four thousand Galleons, we could help so many people. Should I add more to my own sum? I mean, I'm trying to be very careful with my money now, but this seems like a worthier cause than most._

The fireplace roared to life, and the Greengrass Family came through. Ron immediately rounded on them, his eyes widening at their lack of proper clothing. _They're wearing casual clothes?! I mean, their casuals are better than what most people wear, but this is unacceptable._

"My Lord?" Ron looked Lord Greengrass over.

"Mary and I will not be attending tonight," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron just stared at his mentor.

"Daphne will be going with you instead," Mary sounded quite pleased about that.

"Daphne?" Ron asked. "She left for the Manor an hour ago…" _And she's not with you._

"She came to us, and she asked us to sit this out," Lord Greengrass sounded dull. "Apparently, this is far too important for me to bungle up with my cold demeanor." _Ouch. She said that?_

"She didn't mean that, husband," Mary sighed. "She just wants this to work out for Ron, and you refused to back down."

"She's never done charity work in her life," Lord Greengrass said coldly. "She is thinking with her heart, not her head."

"So wait… Daphne wants to take the lead on this in the Greengrass name?" Sirius asked, and Lord Greengrass gave a curt nod. "Ha! She kicked you to the curb, didn't she?!" _Really, Sirius?_

"She will be here shortly," Lord Greengrass told Ron, and then he left for the Kitchen without another word.

"Sorry for his mood," Mary apologized to Ron. "He doesn't think that Daphne is ready for something like this, and they got into a bit of a fight." _Why didn't Daphne tell me that she wanted to come with me? It looks far better if I bring the Head of the Greengrass Family with me rather than bringing the Heir._ "Are Susana and James here?"

"They're in dad's shed," Ron replied. "Mum and dad are showing them dad's collection."

"Good luck tonight," Mary patted Ron's cheek, and then she left to go join her friends.

Ron found himself waiting at the fireplace, his eyes fixed on the fire. _C'mon, Daph. Hurry up already._

"Staring at the fire won't make her come faster," Sirius said, and Ron began pacing. "Kid?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"You alright? You seem nervous," Sirius pointed out. _Why wouldn't I be nervous? I'm putting my faith in strangers, and if they fuck me on this, I'll have to go looking for help from another 'noble' Family._

"I'm fine," Ron lied, his eyes fixed on the flames.

"This'll work out," Sirius said. "The Fawleys are all Hufflepuffs, Ron. They can't help but do the right thing." _Jokes… He better act serious tonight._ "Neville, if Lady Longbottom is donating, then why don't you come with us as well?"

"Me?" Neville muttered. "Um… I'm not really good at this whole Heir thing… I'll just pass the money to Ron, I think."

"Nonsense, Neville," Hermione spoke up. "I'm sure you'd be great at it. Ron, can Neville come with-?"

"No," Ron shut them down.

"Kid…" Sirius said, while Neville shrunk a little.

"No."

"Why?" Hermione asked, her voice a little haughty.

Ron suddenly felt his temper flare because of her demanding tone, and he shot Hermione a look that shut her up immediately. _Stay in your league, bitch, or I'll throw you out of a window._

"I already have too many people coming, and he will not be contributing anything of note," Ron said, and then he looked to Neville. "What would you do if I did bring you along?"

"I'd… probably just sit there…" Neville admitted, while Harry frowned at Ron.

"That's what I thought," Ron began pacing again. _Where are you Daphne? You stopped your parents from coming, and now you're running late?_

The Trio and Sirius watched Ron pace, their eyes were completely fixed on him. Just as Ron turned to pace in the other direction, a sharp pain traveled throughout his stomach, making Ron grab his stomach as he groaned through gritted teeth. _This again? Fuck… That one really hurt._ Ron leaned against the fireplace on instinct, his vision blurring for a moment.

"Ron? You alright?" Sirius was by Ron's side immediately, his right hand rubbed Ron's back. "Fucking hell… You've gone pale…"

"I'm okay…" Ron muttered. "Just a stomachache…"

"You've barely eaten a thing today," Sirius whispered, and then he shot a quick look back at the worried Trio. "Do you want me to get your parents?"

"No… No, I'm okay…" Ron stood up straighter, there was still a dull ache in his stomach. "I'm just… nervous… that's all…"

His pain seemed to have knocked most of his anger and impatience out of him, which helped him realize that he was once again letting his stress cloud his judgement. _Neville's presence will add credibility to Lady Longbottom's promise of donation… C'mon, Ron… This is basic stuff that you're neglecting._

"Just help me to that chair, please," Ron managed, and Sirius helped Ron towards the nearest chair.

Ron dropped on it unceremoniously, his hands resting on his aching stomach. _Fucking hell, it's getting worse. And my stomach feels really empty right now. I need to eat fully at this dinner, maybe that'll help me feel better._ Ron looked over to Neville, and he realized that the Trio were just staring at him.

"Go put on your best," Ron said to Neville. "Hurry, please."

"You want me to come with?" Neville didn't exactly look pleased about that.

"If you want…" Ron rested his head back and closed his eyes. "It's up to you…" _Fuck, I feel really tired all of a sudden…_

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

Ron stirred from his sleep when he felt a cold, wet towel being pressed to his forehead, and as his eyes slowly opened, he saw Daphne and Hermione hovering in front of him.

"He's waking up," Hermione whispered, while Daphne dabbed his cheeks. _That feels nice…_ "I'll tell Sirius."

"Ugh… What happened?" Ron leaned forward, and Daphne put the wet towel aside as she took his hands into hers. _I feel really lightheaded. Wait… What's the time?!_

Ron looked to his Rolex, and his blood froze in his veins. _Twenty past seven! We're going to be late!_ Ron tried to stand up, but Daphne quickly stopped him by resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Ron, stop," Daphne whispered, and Ron stared at her. _She did up her hair._

"We're going to be late," Ron grunted, his stomach was feeling heavy. _At least it's not sore anymore._ "It's already twenty past-"

"Kid?" Sirius walked up from the corner of the room. "Thank Merlin… I was starting to worry."

"About what?" Ron asked. "I'm fine… Now, let's go!"

"Maybe we should cancel tonight?" Daphne suggested, a worried look on her face. "Ron, you just fell asleep out of nowhere… And you look very sickly."

"It's because I haven't eaten all day," Ron told her. "Eating dinner will help me, I promise."

Ron then stood up, despite Daphne trying to ease him back into the chair. Neville, Harry, and Hermione were waiting by the fireplace, and when Ron saw that Neville was wearing the same clothes as before, he fought the urge to sigh in defeat.

"You're not coming?" Ron asked.

"I don't really fit into these sorts of events," Neville said apologetically. "Plus… I thought that we weren't going…" _Why would you think that?_

"Ron, we're canceling tonight," Sirius said firmly, and Ron shot the man a jarred look. "You're clearly sick, and I'm calling your parents right now. The Fawleys can wait."

Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose, she knew what was going to happen. Ron was not a fan of being told what to do, especially when he was this worked up.

"We're canceling tonight?" Ron muttered, and Sirius gave him a nod.

"It's for the best," Sirius said, and Ron felt his rage seep into his mind.

"We're not canceling a damn thing," Ron snarled, his eyes turning cold. "You will do what you **promised** , and you will show me your support."

Sirius frowned deeply at Ron's tone, while the others just went dead quiet. Grey eyes clashed against pale blue, and Ron refused to back down. _I'm the sick one, but I'm still putting in an effort. Why am I surrounded by useless, lazy cunts?_

"You don't want to come?" Ron asked after a few moments of dead silence. "Fine… Stay here, then. Daphne, we're going…"

Ron made his way past Sirius in order to get to the fireplace, and the Trio quickly stepped out of his way.

"Ron, stop being so stubborn," Daphne joined in, and Ron was rather taken aback by her words. "You look deathly ill right now… Stop doing this to yourself."

"I'm getting his parents," Sirius walked towards the exit. "Bloody suicidal moron…"

"We have ten minutes to get to the Witch's Garden, and you're all choosing now to pull out?" Ron asked, he couldn't believe this. "How am I supposed to explain this to the Fawleys? They're probably already there!"

"Tell them that you got sick," Sirius stopped walking, a deep frown on his face.

"How does this make me look?" Ron asked, and then he turned his gaze to his girlfriend. "Go on, Daphne, tell me how this makes me look." She said nothing, and Ron had his answer. "It makes me look **incompetent**. Pulling out at the last second, and wasting their evening so close to Christmas… I need these people in order to help the Werewolf community, and you're all getting in the way. Plus, I have someone coming down just for tonight. What do I tell my employee? She's bringing her articles just to show the Fawleys."

"We're trying to look out for you," Sirius argued.

"I don't need that!" Ron countered, his frustration evident in his voice. "I need your help with the Fawleys! That's how you can look out for me!" _Fucking hell, this is just wasting time._ "I'm leaving. Feel free to join me if you change your minds." Ron turned around, grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and he tossed it into the fire. "The Leaky Cauldron."

The fire roared to life, and just as Ron went to go through it, he felt someone grab his arm.

"Stop, for fuck's sake," Sirius growled. "Ron, you're ruining your health! Just tell the Fawleys that you couldn't make it, and that you'll happily see them another night!"

Sirius' fingers tightened around Ron's arm, and Ron tried to pull his arm free.

"Let go," Ron said, but Sirius kept his hold. "Let go right the fuck now, Sirius…"

"No," Sirius said firmly, and then he looked to Harry. "Go get his parents. Tell them what's happened."

Harry left immediately, clearly he wanted to be anywhere but in this room. _Ugh! They'll put me under house arrest! I can take care of this entire thing tonight, and my own fucking allies are fucking me over again! Fuck!_

"Let go of him," Daphne said, she didn't like Sirius Black putting his hands on Ron. "You have no right to put your hands on him!"

Sirius shot a frown back, and then, he let go of Ron's arm.

"You're being stupid…" Sirius shook his head. "You're being so fucking stupid…" _**Don't knock his fucking teeth out… Control…**_

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he turned and cracked his neck.

"I'm leaving," Ron said, his voice shaking with anger. "Thanks for nothing…"

Ron quickly went through the fire, mostly because he knew that he was going to do something incredibly violent and cruel if he had stayed in the Burrow. At this point, Ron understood just how blind he could be when his anger took over, and as angry as he was with Sirius and the others, he didn't plan to show them his cruelty. Deep down, he knew that they were just worried for him, but at the same time, he was so frustrated with their inability to learn from the past. When had Ron ever backed down? Never. Sure, he got knocked down often enough, his latest defeat being less than two days prior, but that didn't mean that Ron was just going to tap out. He was the sick one, but he was still doing his best to keep fighting. _But instead of seeing that, they feel the need to put me into a corner._

Ron felt his anger spike as he stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron, but he quickly swallowed it. He needed to stay focused right now. He needed to do his best to win over the Fawleys, and in doing so, help those who were even more unfortunate than himself. _It's alright… In the end, I can only rely on myself. That's what I've really learnt over the past few days. Expecting other people to understand my goals is just wishful thinking. In the end, I have to be the change that I want to see. I just have to work harder than ever, and there's no getting around that. Complaining won't change a damn thing, only action will. Tonight, I have the chance to help an entire community full of people who are treated like the plague. Men, women, children, and the elderly… I'll build a place for them all. That's all that matters._

Ron picked up his pace, he only had five minutes left. Luckily for him, the Witch's Garden wasn't too far away from the Leaky Cauldron, and when he finally neared the restaurant, he spotted Marietta Angel hovering by the entrance. _She's here! And she's brought a briefcase with her!_

"Marietta," Ron greeted, and she looked incredibly relieved to see him.

"Boss, you're here…" she let out a sigh of relief. _Boss?_ "The Fawleys are already inside, and I was starting to get worried."

"You didn't join them?" Ron asked, and she shook her head.

"Nerves… Sorry, I've never done something like this," she admitted, and Ron remembered that she was a skittish person. _I need to keep her calm. Her articles, and presentation, are my trump card._

"It's alright," Ron tried to sound as gentle as he could, but due to his own nervousness and anger, he didn't sound very calming. "Just speak to them like you spoke to me during your interview. Show them your brilliant articles on Werewolves, and tell them about your travels. These people want to help, Marietta, but we need to really pull at their heartstrings."

"Pull at their heartstrings?" she blinked.

"The more sorry they feel, the more money they'll contribute," Ron said, and she nodded fervently.

"Okay… Okay, I can do that…" Marietta kept nodding to herself. "Just relax, Marietta, you got this, girl."

"I'll be right there with you," Ron promised her, and then he opened the door. "Let's go in."

The inside of the Witch's Garden was vastly different to the Pond's luxurious design, but Ron didn't really mind the change. The Witch's Garden felt more humble, and in a way, closer to nature. There were lots of green ferns, the ceiling was hidden due to thin, pink smoke, and Ron could even see mushrooms and brewing cauldrons around the place. All of it added up to create an ambience worthy of the name of the restaurant.

"Good evening," a witch in a pointy hat greeted them. "Table for two?"

"We're dining with the Fawley Family," Ron smiled at the witch, who just stared at his sickly pale complexion. _Why is she staring at me?_

"Right this way, Sir," the witch said suddenly, and then she began leading them towards the back of the restaurant.

Ron shot a look back at Marietta, and he saw her fidgeting with her briefcase. _She's wearing a nice dress, actually. No doubt a gift from her boyfriend._

"Relax," Ron whispered to her, and she shot him a shaky smile.

"Just making sure that it's not locked…" she chuckled nervously, and then, she lost her smile. "Boss? Are you unwell?"

"Just the common cold," Ron lied. "Nothing to worry about, I promise."

"Mr. Weasley," Lord Fawley stood up when he saw Ron and Marietta, and the witch in the pointy hat returned to her duties.

"Lord and Lady Fawley," Ron greeted them with a smile, they were both dressed in relatively flashy clothes. _This suit was a good choice. I was worried that I'd look out of place._

"We're so glad that you could make it," Lady Fawley smiled at Ron, her eyes drifting towards Marietta.

"This is Marietta Angel, an employee of The Quibbler," Ron introduced his partner in crime. "I hope you don't mind that I invited her here, she has some articles to show you that will definitely give you a better picture of what we're trying to accomplish."

"Then she is most welcome," Lord Fawley gestured for them to sit down, and both Ron and Marietta took their seats around the round table. "Truth be told, Mr. Weasley, my wife and I are very happy that you are here tonight-"

"Sorry for our lateness," came Daphne's voice, and Ron looked back to see Sirius and his girlfriend walking up to them. _They came?_

"More guests?" Lady Fawley chuckled. "You look gorgeous in that dress, dear,"

"Thank you, Lady Fawley," Daphne gave a curtsy, she did indeed look gorgeous in her purple dress. _And she has a fake smile in place._ "I hope we're not intruding."

"Not at all," Lord Fawley said, his eyes were fixed on Sirius. "Lord Black… I must confess that I did not expect to see you here tonight."

"You know me," Sirius chuckled. "I show up whenever I'm least expected."

Lord and Lady Fawley seemed amused by his charming smile, but Ron knew that he was just putting on an act. _Whatever. Since they're here, they might as well help me. After that, they can tear me a new one all they want._

"Please, take a seat," Lady Fawley said. "The soup should be here any moment now."

Daphne sat down to Ron's left, while Sirius took the seat to Marietta's right.

"Shall we continue?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Lord Fawley gave a nod. "As I was saying, my wife and I are very glad that you are here tonight. Sebastian and Johnathon wish to travel to our holiday cabin for Christmas, so we'll be out of touch for the remainder of the school Break." _Bloody hell, I got so damn lucky, then. Finally, my luck turns._

Ron felt Daphne tap his foot, but he ignored it completely. _I'm not planning to gloat, Daph… I'm just glad that we're getting this done tonight._

"We're hoping to get the paperwork done after dinner," Lady Fawley said. "That way, everything should be set to go once we return from our vacation."

"Excellent," Ron smiled genuinely. _I sense efficiency, and that's just what I need._ "Can you tell me a little more about this paperwork? This is my first time collaborating with another Family."

"Well, we'll need to settle on potential partners first," Lord Fawley explained. "My wife and I approached the Shafiq Family just today, but sadly, they are not exactly fond of Werewolves." _Damn shame._ "We were hoping that you had allies who would join our venture, and judging by our company, I'd say that you do."

"I have agreements from the Black, Longbottom, and Greengrass Families," Ron said, and Lord Fawley looked quite impressed.

"You've been busy," Lady Fawley said before shooting a smile at her husband, Johnathon was clearly right about Ronald Weasley.

"I would like to get this started as soon as possible," Ron admitted. "The sooner we get everything set up, the sooner we can start helping the Werewolf community. Delaying will only leave them out in the cold, and I think they've been out there for long enough."

"Since we have our partners already sorted, we'll need to settle on contributions," Lord Fawley said. "We need to discuss just how big this project will be, because as I'm sure you know, the bigger the project, the harder it is to pull off."

"Usually, with these sorts of charities, getting started is the hardest part," Lady Fawley spoke from experience. "My husband and I have been discussing the location, and we think it's best if we use one of our country farms."

"A country farm?" Sirius asked. "I thought that the shelter would be set up somewhere near Diagon Alley. Somewhere central, that is."

"That… would be very difficult," Lord Fawley started. "This Werewolf Legislation has turned the Ministry against the Werewolf community, and if word gets out that we are bringing Werewolves to the heart of Magical Britain, we'll be under attack before we even get started." _That makes a lot of sense, actually. These two know what they're doing._

"The other prominent Families will stonewall us," Daphne agreed. "And considering how lowly everyone thinks of the Werewolves, we'll be fighting an uphill battle." _It would take months for us to even get started._

"Exactly so," Lady Fawley nodded. "We'll be forced to jump through a million hoops, and by the end of it, we'll have lost a lot of money and time. Not to mention that the Daily Prophet will no doubt slander our efforts, which will put off many Werewolves."

"They prefer to keep their heads down in the first place," Marietta whispered to Ron. _Say that out loud… Don't whisper it in my ear._

"Please, feel free to speak openly," Lady Fawley smiled at Marietta, who swallowed thickly.

"Um… The Werewolf community… They've been under attack for a long time…" Marietta started. "If they get dragged into the papers, they'll go into hiding… They just want to be left alone at this point, so they'll want no part in the fighting…"

"Will we avoid most of these hoops if we use your country farms?" Ron asked.

"The property we have in mind has belonged to the Fawley Family for over two hundred years," Lord Fawley replied. "It was given to us by the Wizengamot itself."

"If that's the case, then you own that land completely," Daphne said. "It's your own personal kingdom by Magical Law." _What? What Magical Law?_

"Exactly," Lord Fawley smiled at Daphne. "We can build whatever we want on it, and none of the other prominent Families can question us. We'll no doubt be examined by the Media, of course, but since there is no danger to the Wizarding population, I doubt we'll face much backlash."

"How large is this property?" Ron asked.

"Very large," Lord Fawley replied. "With enough funding, we could erect large communal areas all over it. Mess halls, houses, clean water, parks for the children, and much more."

"What about security?" Sirius asked, and everyone looked to him. "You're putting a lot of desperate people in one place, so there's bound to be crime. Not to mention what happens during the full-moon… We'll need security, and a facility with padded rooms. Lots of padded rooms."

"Padded rooms?" Lady Fawley blinked.

"The transformation is very painful, and it often results in self-harm," Marietta agreed with Sirius. "You'll need chains as well."

"Chains?" Lord Fawley didn't like the sound of that. _I think it's time that they got educated on Werewolves. They clearly know how to put together a project, but they don't know who we're dealing with._

"Marietta, pass the articles around, please," Ron said, he was already feeling much better. _We're getting somewhere, and there's no better medicine than that._

"Soup's on," the witch in the pointy hat returned, there was a large cauldron full of hot soup floating behind her.

While Marietta passed the articles around, the waitress guided the cauldron onto the table. Bowls floated up to the cauldron, and the witch used her wand to maneuver soup into each bowl.

"I'll bring some more menus over," the witch smiled at the guests, and then she left to do as she said.

"Have you reported much on Werewolves, Miss. Angel?" Lord Fawley asked. "I've never read your work before."

"I… I'm new to journalism…" Marietta said weakly.

"What she means is that she was not given a chance by the biased Daily Prophet," Ron intervened, he needed them to believe what they were reading. "Marietta has not only written articles on the Werewolf community, but she has even lived amongst them for lengthy periods of time."

"You've lived with them?" Lady Fawley asked, she looked genuinely surprised.

"I have," Marietta replied. "Each camp is different in its own way, but they all share similar troubles. Please, the articles will do a better job at painting a picture than I could." _Someone please put this woman in a confidence seminar…_

"Let's read while we eat," Ron smiled. "I promise you, Marietta's articles are exemplary."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Witch's Garden – Late Evening)**_

Now that she had read through a couple of articles, Ron's urgency made a lot more sense. Merlin help her, she felt miserable down to her very core. Did people really live like this? Did children out there really starve to death because their parents were hated the World over? How could people not know about this sort of disgusting neglect? Why were the Ministries so cold hearted? Why was she, a Greengrass, so unknowledgeable about this issue? _I'd wager that even my parents don't know about this. That's why they haven't helped the Werewolf community before._

She was even having trouble eating, and she knew that she wasn't the only one. Lord Fawley had read three separate articles, and in that time, he had yet to touch his main. His eyes were just fixed on the article in front of him, an almost hollow look on his face. Even Sirius Black, who was generally a loud soul, was sitting quietly as he read through his own article. _He's no longer angry with Ron._ Daphne shot a quick look at her boyfriend, and she saw that he was eating his food without a care in the World. That jarred her even more, and she found herself staring at him. _His color is back to normal. Was he just stressed out? Is that why he's so calm now? He knows that his plan has worked?_

Daphne looked back down at her article, and as soon she read about the fourteen year old girl who died during her transformation as a direct result of malnourishment, she stopped reading. _Malnourishment… Merlin, Pansy and I skip meals sometimes in order to maintain our flat bellies. And this poor girl was malnourished._ Daphne leaned back in her chair, she had reached her limit for the night. She wasn't hungry, she wasn't angry with Ron, and she certainly didn't have the will to read on.

She suddenly felt Ron tap her foot, and when she looked to him, he looked down at her plate. _He wants to eat my food?_ Daphne handed him the plate, and Ron went back to filling his stomach. _How is he so calm right now? I mean, he can see that I'm not eating. That none of us are eating, but he doesn't care one bit. He's just… in control…_ A disturbing thought occurred to Daphne, and she looked back at her boyfriend. _He's always calm whenever there's trouble… Yeah, he only stresses when there is nothing happening. Why is that?_

"Forgive me, Miss. Angel, but I cannot read another word," Lady Fawley broke the silence, her left hand resting on her forehead. "You are a very talented writer, but these articles are not agreeing with me." _I feel the same way._

"We will build the padded rooms first," Lord Fawley pushed the article away from his sight. "Gods above…"

"I assure you, the Gods couldn't care less about these poor souls," Ron said calmly, and everyone looked to him. _Merlin, I know that look. Ron's turned cold…_ "It is up to us to do the right thing, don't you think?"

"Yes… Of course…" Lord Fawley nodded, his eyes traveling down to the table. "Left tied to trees… Children…"

"It is cruel, but it's for their own safety," Marietta said, but her words didn't make anyone feel better. "Children who transform are incredibly violent due to the pain they are under, and they will often kill each other on sight."

Lady Fawley looked visibly ill, while Daphne shrunk in her seat. _Imagine waking up one morning, and realizing that you killed your own friends._ Bile rose at the back of her throat, but she managed to keep herself from retching. She was dearly regretting her choice to be here. She had decided that she wanted to be by Ron's side tonight as the Greengrass representative, but now that she was here, she was starting to realize that her father knew what he was talking about. She couldn't emotionally detach herself from what she had learned tonight, and that wasn't a good sign.

"You showed these articles to the Daily Prophet?" Sirius asked Marietta.

"Yes, and quite a few others," Marietta replied. "I was… I was laughed out of the room… My writing wasn't as good then, but my points were the same."

"The Daily Prophet, under orders from the Ministry, does its best to keep information like this hidden," Ron said calmly. "They don't want to upset the order of things."

"The Ministry?" Lord Fawley looked up.

"You know I speak the truth, my Lord," Ron said. "The Old Families are incredibly powerful, and most of them despise the 'lesser beings'. Average people would rally to the cause of the neglected and needy, and the Old Families can't have that. All of this is nothing short of a conspiracy, one that has plagued the Wizarding World for far too long. It's about time that someone brought the truth to light, and with people like Marietta by my side, I intend to do just that. But I will need help. **Your** help. The help of those who think like us." _What's he doing?_

"Even as we sit here, in this cozy restaurant, innocent people out there are dying," Ron went on far too calmly. "Orphans from the Great War sell their bodies in Knockturn Alley because their Squib Statuses have rendered them powerless."

"What?" Lady Fawley's mouth dropped open.

"It's true," Ron said. "I've seen it with my own eyes. It's tragic, and yet, no one cared enough to help them. Not until I showed up, anyway." _Did he just confess to helping the Squib children?! Ron! What are you doing?!_

"You helped Squibs?" Sirius looked genuinely taken aback, while Marietta donned a revered smile. "When?"

"Not long ago," Ron replied. "I hid them away in a safe place, with all of their needs cared for. They have a chance to rebuild new lives for themselves, and hopefully, they'll do it away from us wizards and witches. We've lost the right to be a part of their lives." Ron then drew in a deep breath, and he smiled at Lord and Lady Fawley. "This 'Werewolf Haven' that we are planning to build… It is a stepping stone to something even greater. I want to unite likeminded Old Families in an effort to change this World for the better. The Old Ways are important, of course, but they need to change."

"Change?" Daphne asked. _What the fuck is going on here?! Is he starting some movement?!_

"Yes," Ron said. "If they don't change, then the Wizarding World won't change. These problems will keep arising, because at their core, the Old Ways are exclusive. They were created in a time when we wizards were being hunted down by Muggles. The World has moved on since then, and we need to do the same. Marietta's articles prove that we wizards have lost our way. We don't even care about our neighbors if they are different… That's how far we've fallen."

Daphne looked to Lord and Lady Fawley, and she realized that they were listening to Ron intently. _My Family follows the Old Ways, though… What would father say about this?_

"Let's say that we do start this… movement…" Lord Fawley started. "Let's say we unite like-minded Families… We'd still be outnumbered. Vastly outnumbered."

"Even if we manage to make changes, the children of the other prominent Families will continue their parents' legacies," Lady Fawley said. "We'll end up right where we started a few decades from now."

"Most of those children are in Slytherin," Ron said with a smile. "Lysandra **Yaxley** , the **Carrow** twins, John **Fawley** , Astoria **Greengrass** , Pansy **Parkinson** , Millicent **Bulstrode** , Theodore **Nott** , Draco **Malfoy** , Daphne **Greengrass** …"

Daphne felt her mouth hang open, Ron was on good terms with all of the Heirs and children of the Old Families. He openly influenced them, and most of them followed after him because he was who he was. A Prodigy, a rising star, and a powerful wizard. _By the Gods…_

"My study group has already done wonders to make these children more… tolerant… of others," Ron explained. "I plan to continue my good work, and in time, many of them will learn to reject the legacy left behind by their parents. The legacy that promotes hatred and segregation. I own Slytherin. It is mine. I control it completely, and no one has the spine to wrestle control of it back from me."

Even Sirius was just staring at Ron, a disturbed look on his face.

"How long have you been planning this?" Lord Fawley asked slowly.

"Most of it just happened, and I capitalized on different opportunities," Ron admitted. "I'm no mastermind manipulator, of course, but I have found myself in a position to make mass change. However, I need help."

"From Families like ours," Lady Fawley nodded slowly.

"My Family is not wealthy," Ron said. "Nor do they follow the Old Ways… But I do. I understand them, and I even respect them."

"So why change them?" Daphne asked.

"Because of terrible things like this," Ron waved one of the articles around, and Daphne nodded weakly. "You think Werewolves just come into the World 'evil'? You think they don't feel pain? Or loneliness? I assure you, they're humans just like us. They deserve a fair chance at life, and they will never get it if the Old Ways don't change. And this isn't just about Werewolves… It's about every single living being that we wizards have wronged over our existence. We all but wiped out the Fae, we pillage Centaur lands to this day, we contaminate the lakes of Merpeople, we even hate fellow wizards depending on their 'Blood-Status'. An incredibly idiotic thing to do, by the way."

Ron then drew in another deep breath, and he looked right at Lord Fawley.

"Think about my proposal over the Break, Lord Fawley," Ron said. "Now… Let's discuss contributions for this Haven of ours."

No one said anything, mostly because everyone was jarred into silence. Even Marietta was just staring at Ron, who was quickly losing his patience with the people around him.

"Fine, I'll start," Ron said. "My Family can pitch in five hundred Galleons as a start. Sirius? What about you?"

Sirius kept his eyes fixed on Ron for a few moments, and then he shot a quick look at Daphne. _I know… I'm dating someone who plans to change all of the Wizarding World. This is way too big for me…_

"I am willing to donate fifteen hundred Galleons as a start," Sirius finally replied, and Ron smiled at him.

"The Greengrass Family will donate one thousand Galleons as a start," Daphne heard herself say.

"The Longbottom Family is giving five hundred Galleons as a start," Ron told the Fawleys. "We're already sitting pretty on three thousand five hundred Galleons. What about the Fawley Family? How much are you willing to donate in order to help these people?"

Lord and Lady Fawley exchanged looks, and then Lord Fawley met Ron's gaze.

"We'll donate one thousand Galleons, and our largest farm," Lord Fawley said.

"Great," Ron smiled widely. "I can use my advertisement agency to start spreading word when the time is right. We should set dates as soon as possible."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Night)**_

"Enjoy your vacation," Ron waved goodbye to the Fawleys.

"I hope we can speak as soon I return, Mr. Weasley," Lord Fawley smiled at him. "I am already looking forward to hearing more about your plans." _Good._

Lord and Lady Fawley left at that, and Ron watched them leave with a content smile. His belly was full of good food, he had just secured a win, and he was no longer feeling sick. Deep down, he was ready to get back into the fight. He had wasted an entire day moping around, and now that he was feeling more like himself, he planned to do something about the traitorous French. _And I'll put the others in line permanently. My biggest mistake was my lack of oversight on the French. I won't be betrayed twice. I also need to bring Barty Crouch into this. I can't afford to lose such a valuable potential ally so early on._

"I'll head off as well, Boss," Marietta said, she was still smiling widely. "I can't believe that we pulled this off! I never thought that I'd get to change **their** lives for the better!"

"You did well tonight," Ron smiled at her. "But before you leave, I want to make sure that you keep your silence about my plans."

"Oh…" Marietta's smile wavered.

"I trust you, but I don't trust Barnabas Cuffe," Ron said plainly. "He takes money from the people who we both wish to undermine."

"I… I understand…" Marietta nodded weakly. "But, Boss… Please give him a chance. He's a good man."

"We're currently trying to build up our trust," Ron told her. "And please, just call me Ron. I don't like being called 'Boss'." _It's weird._

"If that's what you want… Ron," Marietta smiled more fully. "Take care."

"I'll be in touch," Ron said, and she Disapparated.

"You shouldn't let your employees use your given name," Daphne whispered from behind him, and Ron turned to face her and Sirius. "Father says that it's bad for discipline."

"I'm not Lord Greengrass," Ron shrugged. "I happen to like her, and she's done right by me tonight. With her help, I now have the chance to help a lot of people."

"You're looking better," Daphne smiled weakly. _I shook her with my plans, eh? Oh, well. She was bound to find out eventually._ "Ron, are you really serious about what you said in there?"

"Yeah, are you?" Sirius asked.

"I am," Ron replied. "If Corban Yaxley can have a team of wealthy Pure-Bloods, then so can I. I'm not losing to that man again, and something tells me that I'll see him very soon. And this time, I won't get caught off-guard."

"But the Old Ways… My father is an adamant believer…" Daphne said.

"And where did that get him during the Great War?" Ron asked. "Oh, yeah, he got branded by a fucking megalomaniac."

Daphne's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, while Sirius cringed visibly.

"Yes, Daphne, I know that he was a Death-Eater," Ron said calmly. "But he isn't that person anymore. I think that he's changed quite a lot since then."

"But you two might fight…" Daphne said weakly.

"I'm his Apprentice, not his reflection," Ron said. "I have my own beliefs, and I will fight for them. I respect Lord Greengrass more than I respect most, so I will do my best to persuade him to my side. But if he decides that he doesn't want to help me, then I won't hold it against him." _As long as he doesn't hinder me. If he does that, then…_

"Okay," Daphne sighed as her shoulders sagged.

"Sirius, take Daphne home, please," Ron said, and both Daphne and Sirius looked a little confused.

"You're not coming?" Sirius asked.

"I have work to do," Ron said. "I already wasted a day moping around, so now it's time to make up for it. Also, I know that you riled up the entire fucking house before you came here. You need to go put out that fire before I come home."

"Right…" Sirius muttered, he had indeed riled up the other adults. "Wait… What work do you have?"

"I need to go to the Ministry," Ron replied. "I have a message to leave behind for Barty Crouch Snr." _And after that, I plan to grill Dumbledore about his lack of action in regards to the Wizengamot. I don't give a shit about his personal issues, he has fucking job to do. I need him running the Wizengamot properly if I'm to unseat all these corrupt Officials. During the war, I'll kill all the Heads of the Death-Eater Families in secret, and then, I'll put the influenced Heirs and children in charge of said Families. I will systematically wipe out the Old Ways. Piece by piece. Life by life._ _ **This is Our World!**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you enjoyed that!**

 **Now, the Christmas Break will get moving because most of the action is over. However, saying that, there are still some dramatic things to come.**

 **I've also decided to update every Friday from now on. This way, I have the week to deal with my busy life-style, and if I fall back, I have the weekend there to give me a lot of time to get chapters done.**

 **So, I'll see you guys next Friday!**


	108. Chapter 108 - Justice For Ron

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 108 is done! Here you are!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Another life wasted... In the persuit of Glory' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 108 - Justice For Ron**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Headmaster's Office – Night)**_

Albus Dumbledore was not in his Office, and so, Ron had decided to linger about until he returned. Ron's quick stop at the Ministry hadn't gone to plan either, mostly because Barty Crouch had 'left for France', which had only served to make Ron worry about being cut out of the loop. Was he upset about that? Of course. Had he seen that coming? Most definitely.

It was no secret to Ron, especially now, that he hadn't been the best International Diplomat out there. In a way, Ron had even found himself blaming his lack of oversight for Lady Abadie's betrayal as well. He had put far too much faith in the French, and yes, most of that trust had come from the fact that the Veela community was a minority. In Ron's eyes, they were simply hated for being born different, and so he had foolishly ignored the fact that people are generally selfish. _Never again, Ron. Never again._

Perhaps this is what the Entity was trying to teach him? That people are selfish and should never be trusted? Or perhaps, the Entity wanted to hinder Ron simply because it hated him? Uncertainty gnawed at him once again, and like always, Ron found himself wishing that the Entity would simply cease to exist. It barely ever helped him, it took every chance it could to hurt him, and it was also clear to Ron that the Entity was hiding a lot of valuable information from him. Why it was doing this was beyond Ron at this point… The Entity didn't process things like humans did, and therefore, expecting it to act like a human being was foolish. _The best I can do is to ignore that piece of shit, even if it means completing this Cycle on my own._

"Ronald?" came Dumbledore's voice, the old man had just entered his Office. "I thought I felt a foreign presence in my Office… What brings you here, my boy?"

"I wanted to speak with you, Headmaster," Ron replied, he was currently feeding Fawkes little yellow treats. _Do Phoenix's have specific treats made for them?_

"I see," Dumbledore smiled in his usual way. "Please, take a seat, and we can discuss what's on your mind."

Ron made his way over to his usual seat, while Dumbledore moved around the clawed desk in order to sit down across from Ron. Fawkes let out a weak shrill, and when Ron looked at him, the Phoenix flashed out of the Office. _Huh?_

"Don't mind him, he simply wants to fly around Hogwarts in order to make sure that we're safe," Dumbledore said, and Ron gave a slow nod. "What's brought you to me, Ronald?"

"The French are gone," Ron started, and Dumbledore gave an understanding nod. "I stopped by Barty Crouch's Office just before, and he wasn't there. His secretary told me that he had 'gone to France for the night', and I think that I'm being cut out of the loop."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Dumbledore said, and Ron stared into the old man's eyes.

"I'm not really sorry… I think he's right to cut me out," Ron admitted. "I didn't do a very good job, nor did I bother to seek him out. In hindsight, I can't help but think that I'm an idiot." _I'll go back tomorrow, and I'll ask him to give me another chance. I can do better. I know it._

"Barty is… an acquired taste," Dumbledore said. "Don't let his cold shoulder treatment get you down, Ronald. He is like that with everyone."

"He saved the Ministry during the Great War," Ron said, and Dumbledore leaned back with a studying gaze. "He did terrible things, but without those terrible things, the Ministry would have fallen."

"Ronald, what is on your mind?" Dumbledore asked, the boy was acting off.

"Why weren't you at the Wizengamot?" Ron asked outright, and Dumbledore drew in a deep breath. "I know that I sound selfish when I say that 'you could've helped me', but that's not my intent… I just want to know why you don't do more with the power that has been given to you. Why do you not stop legislations like Umbridge's Werewolf Act? Why do you ignore the Wizengamot, Wizarding Britain's High Court, while people like Corban Yaxley openly corrupt the system? Why don't you do more?"

"As I have explained… Power has always been my weakness," Dumbledore said. _Why does he never give a straight answer?_

"Don't give me that garbage, and expect me to be satisfied with it," Ron said harshly, taking the old man by surprise. "I'm not one of your sycophants, Headmaster, and I expect a real answer. You owe me that much."

"You are angry," Dumbledore noted, and Ron let out an icy chuckle.

"Detective Dumbledore… Astute as always," Ron said. "Yes, I'm angry… Why wouldn't I be?"

"Ronald, you cannot let what the French did to you cloud your judgment," Dumbledore started, but Ron quickly corrected him.

"I'm not angry with the French," Ron said plainly. "What Lady Abadie, and her toadies, did is on **them** … Most of the French were loyal to me, and the Order, so I'm not angry with them. I'm angry at myself, because I hold myself accountable for my failures." Ron the showed Dumbledore the scars on his left arm, and the old man didn't even react. "When I first got these, I blamed you wholeheartedly… But now, I understand that I was foolish to go down into those chambers by myself. I hold myself accountable… Something that you don't seem to do."

"What makes you say that?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"You tried to lure the Dark Lord out of hiding by placing an object that he desperately wanted inside a school full of children," Ron replied. "I get that Hogwarts is your domain, but what you did could've killed someone. You say that you regret doing that, but you clearly haven't learned that your actions have a lasting effect on the World. You're Albus Dumbledore! People live and die by what you say… Which is why they settle for your vague answers. Which is why they ignore your faults."

"I am only a man, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "I never asked for all of this power, it was given to me by those who didn't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Well, those people fucked up, didn't they?" Ron covered up his arm. "Their worst fears came true anyway, despite them handing so much power to a man who they believed they could trust. You have openly ignored your responsibilities, and in doing so, you have empowered our enemies. Corban Yaxley bent me over the table, and no one could do a damn thing because he has so much 'influence'. Even the Minister panders to him, and others like him, while you hide in your ivory tower. Why not give up all this power if you're not going to use it?"

Dumbledore said nothing, but Ron already knew why the old man kept all the power.

"Is it because you don't want it falling into the hands of our enemies?" Ron asked. "Well, you've failed on that account. By ignoring your duties, you've already given them all the power they need. If anything, you being in charge instead of them actually helps them better hide in plain sight. They don't get questioned when they bribe, threaten, or steal, and all because the man who is meant to stop them is too busying playing Headmaster. Why not give all of your power to someone like Barty Crouch? Or Madam Bones? They would actually stand against corruption, instead of doing absolutely nothing."

Dumbledore maintained his silence, and Ron quickly began feeling irked. They just stared at each other, and the longer the silence persisted, the more Ron felt like Dumbledore was a stranger to him. _I don't know anything about this man… All I know is that he helped save the World twice, and that no one has the balls to question him._ Ron decided that he was going to stand his ground this time; he wasn't going to let Dumbledore's reputation stop him from holding the old sorcerer accountable. _We can't afford mistakes, and the only way to stop mistakes from happening is to understand_ _ **why**_ _they happen in the first place. Dumbledore has to understand that he can do more, even if it makes him angry with me._

"What do you need from me, Ronald?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.

"I need you to attend the Wizengamot meetings for a start," Ron replied. "I need you to help me weed out all of this corruption… I mean, what's the point in stopping the Dark Lord if others like him are still getting away with everything? At least he doesn't hide who he is from the World. People like Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, and all the other Death-Eater Families all but run our country, and no one does a bloody thing to stop them. **You** have the power to do that, to make their lives much harder, but you refuse to act. **I need you to act, Headmaster**. I can't do all of this by myself."

"I know," Dumbledore said, and Ron relaxed a little. _Good. Help me, then._ "I also know that men like me shouldn't be given power…" _This tripe again?_

"What do you mean by that?" Ron felt frustrated again. "Tell me."

"I would abuse my power," Dumbledore said, and Ron just stared at him. "It's not that I'd want to commit evil, but my past has proven to me that my good intentions often harm those around me. Those who I hold very close to my heart. People like you, Ronald."

"Are you referring to my scars?" Ron asked, deciding not to comment on Dumbledore's kind words.

"I never meant for you, or anyone, to get hurt," Dumbledore looked down at his desk. "I was a fool for underestimating my old enemy. In my arrogance, I forgot just how intelligent Lord Voldemort really is, and because of that, my plans came undone. If it weren't for you, and Harry, the Dark Lord would have won. Hundreds would be dead by now, and all because I failed."

"Is that what you're afraid of? Failing?" Ron asked. _I'm afraid of that as well, but if we don't act, then failure is guaranteed. How does someone so brilliant not realize that?_

"I am afraid of myself, and my inability to resist lofty titles…" Dumbledore admitted weakly. "I wish to be remembered as the Greatest Sorcerer of all time…"

"What?" Ron blinked.

"Did you know that the people of Wizarding Britain wanted me to be the Minister for Magic?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron gave a slow nod. "I refused, despite being in the lead without even entering the campaign. They kept asking, demanding even, that I take up the mantle. That I rule over Britain, but by some miracle, I managed to resist my ambitions."

"But you accepted the other posts?" Ron asked.

"I could not resist a second time," Dumbledore looked genuinely hurt, and Ron felt the urge to apologize and hug the man. _Don't let guilt get in the way, Ron. Just listen to him._ "Only after I had accepted my new titles did I realize that I had traded a good deed for power once again. I did not create the Order to put myself above others, I created it to make up for my lack of action against Grindelwald…" _Gellert Grindelwald?_ "I wanted to do more this time, that's all."

"You defeated Grindelwald, though?" Ron was genuinely confused. "What do you mean by 'my lack of action'? You stopped him."

"I let him wage his war, and as you said before, I hid in my 'ivory tower'," Dumbledore replied. "At the time, my ivory tower was my classroom… I could not bring myself to face him, and thousands upon thousands died."

"I'm really lost here," Ron admitted. "Headmaster, you're not making any sense…"

Dumbledore looked towards Fawkes' empty perch, a hint of shame gleaming in his tired, old eyes. Dumbledore then looked to Ron, his eyes studying the boy before him. Ron felt a little uncomfortable because of Dumbledore's odd look, but he didn't say anything.

"Do you have time to listen to my story?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron nodded almost immediately. "No embellishments, no lies… Just the truth."

"Just the truth," Ron nodded again, his body leaning forward by itself. _Is he really going to tell me more about the man behind the legend? Merlin, I'm a little nervous now._

Dumbledore gave a weak nod, and then he closed his eyes. Ron knew that the Headmaster was mentally preparing himself, which only made Ron more interested. What could have happened to the man in his life that still haunted him to this day? Dumbledore was over a century old, and yet, right now, he looked so unsure of himself. _So vulnerable._

"Even in my youth, I displayed a proficiency with Magic that left both my mother and father in awe," Dumbledore started in a whisper. "Unlike the other children, I could control my developing Magical Core. I would levitate things around the house, and one time, I even levitated my father."

"How old were you when you started doing that?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"I was seven," Dumbledore replied, and Ron was quite amazed by that. _A seven-year-old Dumbledore was a stronger wizard than me… I still can't levitate people, and I've been at this for nearly a year._ "Do not fret, Ronald, I was always the exception to the rule. I am ashamed to admit that this feat only inflated my growing ego, and by the time I had my wand, I had begun to look down my nose at the people around me. Even my Family…"

"My younger brother, Aberforth, was always the first one to call me out on my despicable behavior, but he had become otherwise occupied with our little sister," Dumbledore went on.

"You had a sister? And a brother?" Ron asked. _Shouldn't that be basic knowledge?_

"I did," Dumbledore didn't sound happy to admit that. "I was the eldest of three, but I never acted like it. You see, when my sister, Ariana, was six, she attempted to mimic my behavior in our garden. She willed her Magic to respond to her, and sadly, it did… What my sister didn't know was that a group of young Muggle boys were watching her through our hedge, and when they saw her performing the impossible, they confronted her." _I already don't like where this is going._ "She understood, as all Magical children do, that Magic was to be kept hidden from the Muggles, and so she feigned ignorance. Those boys… They grew angry with Ariana… They attacked her…"

"What?" Ron's face morphed to one of shock and sympathy.

"I imagine that they were scared of her, and in order to not feel scared, they lashed out," Dumbledore said. "They beat her with sticks, tore at her clothes, and left her bloody when they realized what they had done. My father found her, but it was already too late… My little sister, the sweet girl who claimed to be best friends with our goats, was never the same again…" _Good Lord. How does no one know about this?_

"I'm sorry," Ron heard himself say, but Dumbledore just shook his head with a sad smile.

"I tried being there for her at first, but I just couldn't do it," Dumbledore swallowed thickly. "Seeing her like that… Broken beyond repair… It was too much. My father felt the same way as I did, and in a drunken rage, he found the boys who had attacked her. He Cursed them, and I later learned that two of three boys died from whatever Curse my father inflicted upon them."

Ron was in genuine shock right now, Dumbledore's tale was something out of a nightmare.

"Your father killed two Muggle boys…" Ron muttered.

"And he was sent to Azkaban for it," Dumbledore told Ron. "He died in that prison… I never got the chance to see him again after his trial. My mother was heartbroken, but she had to be there for Ariana-"

"Did you tell the Ministry what had happened?" Ron asked. "Surely, they'd have done something to help Ariana."

"They would have locked her away," Dumbledore said, and Ron felt wretched. _Poor girl._ "What those boys did to her, it damaged her Magical Core. She began to suppress her Magic due to her trauma, which in turn created an Obscurus within her."

"A what?" Ron blinked.

"A Magical disorder," Dumbledore replied. "An Obscurus is a living, thriving parasite, one that resides deep within its host. It can never be extracted, and even to this day, there is no known way to cure it. It causes immense damage to the host's body, and eventually, it even kills them. Ariana couldn't get rid of her Magic, and so it turned inwards and drove her mad. Sometimes, she would be like her old self again, but as she got older, she became more and more unstable. She became strange and dangerous… Even cruel…"

"Don't misunderstand me," Dumbledore continued. "I loved her, but she frightened me. She even frightened our mother. The only one who wasn't frightened of Ariana was Aberforth, even during her darker moments."

"Darker moments?" Ron asked slowly.

"I simply don't know what she was thinking during said moments…" Dumbledore looked away. "She killed our Family's goats… Our mother found her in the backyard one day, a bloodied knife in her hands… When our mother confronted her, Ariana simply began laughing…" _Bloody hell, that's really terrifying._ "Fearing for Ariana's safety, and the safety of the neighboring children, my mother moved our Family to Godric's Hollow."

Dumbledore then looked like he was in genuine pain, and he released a shaky breath. Ron, who had never seen this side of the man, found himself shrinking in his seat. Who else knew about Dumbledore's terrible childhood? _No one. I don't think that he's ever told a soul._ Right now, Ron was also feeling quite pathetic. He often lamented on his siblings' mistreatment of him, or his parents' neglect, but compared to Dumbledore's childhood, Ron had gotten extremely lucky.

"I was so glad to leave it all behind," Dumbledore muttered. "I was so glad to leave **her** behind… I couldn't stand being in the same house as her…"

"Why?" Ron asked. "I get that she had her problems, but she wasn't to blame for her condition."

"As I said before, I was far too self-involved to care," Dumbledore looked truly ashamed. "I thought to myself… Why me? Why did I get stuck with this mess?" Dumbledore then shook his head weakly. "My only concern, Ronald, was that Ariana's condition, and my father's imprisonment, would result in gossip. I had plans for Hogwarts, and beyond, but those plans were already in jeopardy. Many believed that Ariana was a Squib, which at the time, was an even greater shame on one's Family Tree."

"In order to avoid being alienated," Dumbledore said. "I put my heart and soul into making a name for myself. By the end of my first year, many Professors had labeled me as the 'greatest student to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts', and my Family's dark past was quickly forgotten. 'Friends', all of who stroked my ego in order to benefit themselves, surrounded me, and I gladly welcomed the change. I avoided going home, and eventually, I even stopped writing to my lonely mother."

"Years went by, and just before I was about to graduate, I learned that my mother had passed," Dumbledore finally looked back at Ron. "Ariana lost control of her Magic, and when it burst out of her, my mother was caught in the blast. Do you want to know what my initial reaction was to this news?" _I don't think I do._

"What was your reaction?" Ron asked, he was struggling to meet the old man's gaze.

"I was angry with my mother for getting herself killed," Dumbledore said bitterly, and Ron felt the urge to throttle the younger Albus Dumbledore. "I had plans with my good friend, Elphias Doge, but my mother's death meant that I now had to take care of Ariana."

"Ariana survived the blast?" Ron asked.

"Her Magic burst through her whenever her Obscurus felt threatened," Dumbledore replied. "Usually, it would result in a big mess, but this time, it was different. A part of me knew that Ariana's time was coming, but I couldn't look past my own self-interest. I was a brilliant young wizard. I wanted to escape mediocrity. I wanted to shine. I wanted glory. I wanted so many things, but in the end, all I was left with was a damaged sister and a wayward brother. When I returned to my home, I was angry and bitter. I thought that I was trapped, and that eventually, I'd drift into obscurity. My old 'friends' never bothered to return my letters, save for Elphias, but I stopped writing to him as well. I was jealous, you see, and that turned me into someone that I myself couldn't recognize."

"And then?" Ron decided to see this through.

"A young man came into my life," Dumbledore replied. "Gellert Grindelwald."

"He came to Godric's Hollow?" Ron was visibly surprised.

"He had been expelled from Durmstrang, and so he had come to live with a relative," Dumbledore replied. "He was… brilliant. I felt drawn to him, and when we finally spoke, he found me equally intriguing. It wasn't long before we became inseparable, and that breathed life into me once again. I… I began to neglect Ariana… There were times when I'd forget to feed her, and she would wait for me until all hours of the night…"

Ron bit back his anger on behalf of the damaged girl. How could someone be so fucking selfish? _He neglected his sister to the point of not feeding her? What would his followers say to that? I mean, I can be selfish sometimes, but this is just disgusting._

"Gellert, like myself, looked down at Muggles," Dumbledore finally confessed.

"Looked down at Muggles?" Ron blinked, his anger quickly forgotten. "You?"

"I was not a good brother to Ariana, but I did love her," Dumbledore looked haunted. "I blamed all Muggles for what had happened to my Family, and Gellert shared my thoughts. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were planning to topple the Statute of Secrecy." _What?!_ "That's right, Ronald… Gellert's war started in Godric's Hollow, and it was planned by the both of us."

"Why?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "Why did you blame all Muggles for the actions of the few? Why did you neglect Ariana, while simultaneously seeking justice for her?"

"I was in love," Dumbledore looked so frail, and Ron just processed the man's words. _In love? With Grindelwald? Wait… So that means… Oh._

Suddenly, it became quite clear to Ron as to why Dumbledore had never married. _I know that a person's sexuality is a personal thing, but I'm still quite taken aback by this. Who'd have thought that Dumbledore was gay? Wait… Stop getting distracted by pointless things! Get back to listening to his story._

"What happened then?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave him an appreciative smile. "How did you end up becoming the savior of the Wizarding World?"

"Aberforth came home for the holidays, and when he saw the state of Ariana, he was beyond angry," Dumbledore's smile died on his face. "She had lost weight due to my neglect, and Aberforth accused Gellert of distracting me from my duties. They became hostile to each other, and much to my shame, I sided with Gellert. Deep down, I knew what he was, but I also believed him to be my last chance at making a name for myself. We were both so driven by our mutual ambition that I even looked past his threats towards Aberforth. I left my home behind in order to finish our plans, leaving my younger brother to care for Ariana by himself."

"Surely you felt somewhat guilty at the time? Right?" Ron asked, he didn't know why, but he really wanted Dumbledore to say yes.

"Slowly, but surely, I did indeed begin to realize that I was doing ill against my siblings," Dumbledore said. _Good._ "I confessed as much to Gellert, but he had a way of making me think about 'the Greater Good'. I waited far too long to reach out to Aberforth, and so he took it upon himself to discover why I had turned my back on him and Ariana. He learnt of my plans to wage war against the Muggles, and knowing about my brilliance all too well, he understood that I was more than capable of it."

"Did he confront you?" Ron asked.

"He did…" Dumbledore's hands tightened around his chair. "He demanded answers, and when I couldn't provide them, he accused me of being worse than the Muggles who had hurt our sister. Unlike those Muggle boys, I knew exactly what my sister was, and I still chose to hurt her. His words finally reached me, especially after he told me that Ariana was vomiting blood."

"Vomiting blood?" Ron paled a little.

"Her Obscurus was tearing her apart from the inside…" Dumbledore's eyes became teary. "She was dying, Ronald… And my poor brother, who was only sixteen, was trying his best to keep her alive… I was overwhelmed with shame. I promised to return home with Aberforth… To take my duty to Ariana seriously. We both knew that she wasn't long for this World, and we agreed to put our differences aside in order to make her last few months happy and peaceful."

Dumbledore then drew in a sharp breath, almost as if he was in physical pain.

"Gellert caught up to us as we neared our house, and Aberforth confronted him as well," Dumbledore removed his glasses with shaky hands, and then he pinched the tears away. "When Aberforth threatened to expose Gellert to the Ministry, they came to blows… I tried to stop them, but when Gellert unsheathed his wand, I was forced to Duel the man who I loved for the sake of my brother. Gellert would have killed him, but knowing Aberforth, I understood that I had to step in… The fight escalated, and Aberforth joined in… We all became increasingly more violent with our Spells, so none of us noticed that Ariana had come out of the house…"

"No…" Ron muttered. _Please tell me that an errant Spell didn't hit her…_

"I… I don't know how it happened…" Dumbledore looked down at his lap, his voice cracking in a way that tore at Ron's own heart. "It was the flashing lights… And the loud yelling… It scared her so much… She came running at us, but none of us saw her… And then, she was gone…"

"Grindelwald killed her?" Ron asked weakly.

"We don't know who did it…" Dumbledore confessed, and when he looked up, Ron didn't see the most powerful wizard in the World.

All he saw was a broken man, one who had lived a life so terrible that even Ron felt nothing but pain on his behalf.

"It was me, Ronald…" Dumbledore wept. "I killed her… I killed my sister…"

Ron got out of his chair without a second thought, and within a second, he had moved around the table in order to put his arm around the old man. He didn't know what to say to Dumbledore, nor could he fully understand the depth of his pain, but Ron knew that he had to do something. _Even if it's just sitting with him while he mourns._

"I'm so sorry, Headmaster," Ron whispered as he squeezed a little too hard. "I'm so fucking sorry…"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

To say that Ron was still in shock would be an understatement… Ron was utterly floored by Dumbledore's story. The old man clearly hadn't meant to break down, or even go so far, but once the ball had started rolling, it had knocked down every single wall along the way. In a way, Ron felt that he had become the lightning rod for Albus Dumbledore's unspoken guilt and inner turmoil. By asking the old sorcerer to open up, Ron had ended up seeing far too much.

But despite all the emotions that Ron was going through right now, he couldn't help but admire his friend's strength of character. Any weaker man in Dumbledore's shoes would have made excuses like 'I was just young', but not Albus Dumbledore. The Headmaster of Hogwarts carried his mistakes to this day, and because of that, he had become truly humbled and loving. Dumbledore's past had helped him realize just what sort of person he was, and the man was strong enough to admit that he didn't like his reflection.

Ron now understood why Dumbledore had helped him with the Squibs when no one else would. Ron understood why Dumbledore had let Remus Lupin attend Hogwarts, and then later, even hired him to teach. Ron finally understood why Dumbledore was such a constant advocate for the power of 'Love'. The old man had lived a lonely life from the day he had played a role in Ariana's death, and he had done so because he blamed himself for not loving his Family enough. _Not when it counted, anyway._

"Here," Ron handed Dumbledore the tea.

"Four spoons?" Dumbledore asked, he looked truly exhausted.

"Yes, four spoons," Ron smiled a little. _So much sugar._ "How are you feeling now, Headmaster?"

"Forgive me, my boy," Dumbledore apologized, he had finally managed to regain some composure. "I did not mean to burden-"

"It's alright," Ron assured him. "I don't see it as a burden. If anything, I feel like I respect you even more now."

Dumbledore blinked at that.

"You're human, just like the rest of us," Ron smiled more fully.

"I cannot deny that it is refreshing to feel so… open… for a change," Dumbledore said, and then he took a long sip of his tea. "I have not felt like this in a very long time." _I figured._

"Maybe I should sell the Quibbler, and then put in the effort to become a Mind-Healer," Ron joked, and Dumbledore released a weak chuckle.

"I don't wish to be rude, but you'd make a poor Mind-Healer," Dumbledore said, he almost sounded like his usual, cheery self.

"Why?" Ron asked as he walked back to his seat.

"You are a man of action, Ronald," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling for a moment. "Mind-Healing requires patience and time. You tackle problems as soon as you see them, which is an admirable quality, of course, but not one suited for Mind-Healers."

"I can be patient," Ron said almost humorously. "Sometimes…"

"I suppose so," Dumbledore said from behind his teacup.

Ron took his seat, and for a few moments, they both enjoyed a peaceful silence. Ron had decided to not prod any further for now, mostly because Dumbledore didn't deserve to relive his pain just for the sake of sating Ron's curiosity. Merlin help him, Ron truly understood the need to keep bad memories hidden away from the light, but saying that, Ron still wanted to learn more about Dumbledore's war against Gellert Grindelwald. _They were lovers… Merlin, that's bloody mental._

"Do you still want me to wield my power against our enemies?" Dumbledore finally broke the silence, and after looking into the man's eyes, Ron gave a nod.

"You're not the selfish young man that you used to be," Ron said, deciding to stay resolute. _Being sentimental about this isn't worth it._ "If you don't step up, Headmaster, then none of your struggles will have mattered in the end. The Dark Lord will undo everything. The Cycle would restart. We'll be doomed to repeat this forever. There is so much at stake, so we simply can't afford to take the easy way out."

"Things will change drastically once I start using my political power," Dumbledore said. "Many on the Wizengamot will be outraged… The Media will question my every decision… Men like Corban Yaxley will try to regain control. This war will reach the next stage sooner than I planned." _So he does have some overall plan, then?_

"We'll deal with that together," Ron said. "Whatever happens, Headmaster, you have me on your side. Even if all of this ends up for naught, we'll at least be able to say that we tried our best. That we fought back even when things were hopeless."

"A victory in it's own right," Dumbledore put his cup down, a slightly vacant look on his face. "I cannot promise you that I will always come through, Ronald. It has been too long since I played this game. I have grown accustomed to working from the shadows."

"I'm not exactly a winner myself," Ron stated. "I mean, I've spent the last couple of days in Corban Yaxley's woodshed. Not to mention that Lady Abadie managed to blindside me, despite my suspicions about her. Oh, and I'm a joke within the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

"Not for long, judging by your tone," Dumbledore said, and Ron quickly suppressed his anger. _Control yourself, Ron. Now's not the time to turn bitter and angry. I'll let out my anger once I have those traitorous Veelas within my grasp._

"Like Madame Maxime said… Losing a battle doesn't mean that we lost the war," Ron said. "I'm going to fight back, and I'll keep fighting until I win."

"You are quite remarkable," Dumbledore said, and Ron just stared at him. _I am?_ "Not many have the strength to move on from defeat so quickly."

"Unlike many, I don't have the time to mourn my losses," Ron shrugged, and Dumbledore gave him an odd look. _Did he just remember that I'm dying?_ "It's alright, Headmaster, I've made my peace." _What's the point of whining about it, eh? Everyone dies eventually… It's natural, which, by the way, only makes me hate the Dark Lord even more. He defies nature itself… There is nothing that he won't desecrate, is there?_

"No thirteen year old should have to make their peace, dear boy," Dumbledore said weakly.

"It is what it is," Ron said, he genuinely couldn't care less about his upcoming demise at this point. _If anything, I'm_ _ **really**_ _looking forward to it. Can you imagine, Ron? No pain, no stress, no fighting… Just nothingness. I'll be gone, and my problems will go with me. I just need to win this war first, and then, I'll have my rest._

"Ronald?" Dumbledore called, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "I know that look…"

"We have to win," Ron said firmly, and Dumbledore couldn't look away from the redhead. "We have to win before I run out of time. I know it's not fair that I'm dragging you out of your comfort zone, but I'm just one person… I can't hold the line by myself. I finally understand that now." _I'm not you._

"I…" Dumbledore started, but he quickly stopped himself. "I will do whatever I can to aid you, Ronald. I swear it."

"Thank you," Ron, once again, felt no relief from his win. _Another box ticked._ "Speaking of help… I actually need an urgent favor from you."

"You do?" Dumbledore asked. "Please, I'm listening."

"You know that the Ministry gave me a free pass on using Magic outside of Hogwarts, right?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a nod. "I need something similar for Hermione Granger."

"You do?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes fixed on Ron's.

"She saw me practicing Magic a couple of days ago, and she wouldn't leave me alone," Ron explained. "So, in order to get rid of her, I told her that I'd look into getting her a pass as well. Only once I had made the offer did I realize that it was the right thing to do. She's Harry Potter's best friend, and she's a Muggle-Born to boot. She'll have people come for her, and she needs to be ready."

"She needs to be ready," Dumbledore copied Ron, a weak smile creeping onto his face.

"Why are you repeating what I just said?" Ron asked.

"You find a lot of reasons to show that you don't care," Dumbledore replied, and Ron let out a long breath. _Sagely Dumbledore is back… Yay…_ "I will have all ten passes sent to you before Christmas."

"Ten?" Ron asked. "What ten passes? I only need one…"

"Harry, Neville, Hermione, and your Slytherin friends," Dumbledore said, and Ron was a little taken aback. _He can manage to get ten passes that quickly? Wait… He's Dumbledore. He no doubt has friends all over the Aurors Department._

"What about my siblings?" Ron shamelessly asked.

"I will need to speak to your parents first," Dumbledore replied. "I hear that the twins are under 'lock and key' these days."

"Oh, not anymore," Ron said. "I… I made that problem go away."

"You did, did you?" Dumbledore smiled a little more fully. "Good on you, Ronald."

"Well… They're my kin…" Ron said dismissively. "I shouldn't have gone that far with them in the first place…" _All it did was make things worse for everyone involved._

"Careful, my boy, I'm not supposed to know that you set up your brothers and Lee," Dumbledore said.

"Something tells me that you already know," Ron said. "Anyway… Just send the passes over whenever you're ready. I just hope that they put them to good use."

"Once they learn the truth, I imagine that they'll have little choice," Dumbledore said, and then his expression became slightly hardened. "Your friends Theodore, Blaise, Millicent, and Pansy concern me, Ronald. They are not like Draco, Daphne, and Tracey… Their parents will no doubt try to turn them against you once the Dark Lord reveals himself."

"Which is why I'll be watching them very carefully," Ron replied, and Dumbledore nodded slowly. "They might be my friends, but I've been stabbed in the back before. I'll be careful, and in time, I'll bring them to our side."

"And if they refuse?" Dumbledore asked.

"Trust me, I won't be giving them a choice," Ron replied bluntly. "If they do refuse, I'll drag them to our side kicking and screaming. One day, they'll be grateful for it." _When the Death-Eaters are all in shallow graves, they'll be more than grateful._

"Perhaps a more understanding approach should be implemented," Dumbledore suggested, he didn't like how quickly Ron had answered the question. "I'm certain that our enemies love their children, and if we play this right, we could take away valuable allies from Lord Voldemort."

"You think Clementine Zabini cares for her son?" Ron asked. "Millie and Theo are going to be hard to win over, but Blaise and Pansy already want to run away from their 'Families'." _**We are their true Family. They belong with Us.**_

"Theodore is staying at the Burrow, isn't he?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron gave a nod. "I wonder what Molly and Arthur plan to do about him when they come clean to all of you."

"You should ask them, and then let me know," Ron said. "My parents aren't exactly subtle, and I don't want Theo feeling cornered. I still need time to show him that his father is in league with a madman. I need to show him that if he chooses the Dark Lord, he'll be a servant for the rest of his life." _Theo's a proud guy, so I need to use that against him. No matter how manipulative my tactics may be, they're all for_ _ **his**_ _benefit. Serving the Dark Lord is a fucking death sentence, and I need to show Theo that._

"We have a lot of work to do," Dumbledore said, and then he looked to the golden clock hanging by Fawkes' perch. "But our work will have to wait… It is getting late, and your parents are no doubt worried about your absence."

"It's only half past nine," Ron said.

"Given what they know, they'll definitely be worried," Dumbledore said.

"Are you trying to send me away?" Ron teased, and Dumbledore managed a half-smile. _I think that he's drained from our earlier chat, so I shouldn't linger about._

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, and Ron pretended to be hurt.

"Fine… I'll go," Ron said, and then he stood up to leave. "From here on out, Headmaster, we need to stay on top of everything. No more silly errors like lack of oversight. We can't afford to be careless."

"Agreed," Dumbledore gave a nod. "Goodnight, my boy."

"Goodnight," Ron said as he walked over to the fireplace.

"And Ronald…" Dumbledore called, and Ron looked back. "If you ever suspect that my power is warping my judgment, come to me immediately." _He has that little faith in himself? Merlin, that genuinely frightens me._

"Count on it, Headmaster," Ron said, and then he began preparing the floo. _If he's that worried, then I ought to take this very seriously. From now on, I'll also keep my eyes on him. If he starts acting like a tyrant, I'll speak with him immediately._

As the fire blazed green, Ron shot a quick look behind him. The old man had left for his quarters, no doubt ready to pass out, and Ron figured that he too should go to sleep early tonight. _I need to be wide-awake tomorrow, especially when I go to the Ministry. I can't lose my job just yet. Being an International Diplomat will give me far too many opportunities to befriend powerful people._

Ron stepped through the fireplace, and as soon as he entered the Burrow's Living Room, he found a pack of concerned adults waiting for him.

"Where have you been, Ron?" Arthur asked immediately, while Ron looked around the room. _Even Pandora looks slightly disappointed with my sudden disappearing act._

"I was taking care of some business," Ron replied.

"At this hour?" Molly asked. "Ron… It's nightfall."

"I know," Ron said calmly. "I'm sorry if I worried all of you, but I had to get this done as soon as possible. Next time, I'll let you know in advance."

His words reached his parents, both of who looked slightly disappointed in him while simultaneously looking relieved with his return. _If I've learned one thing tonight, it's to not fight with Family. Maybe Dumbledore told me everything in an attempt to make me a better person? Knowing him, the possibility of doing some good for me didn't escape his attention._

"Where are the others?" Ron asked. "Are they in their rooms?"

"They're in the backyard," Pandora replied, she was just glad that Ron hadn't become defensive. "Luna and Astoria prepared star charts for everyone, and they're all waiting for midnight together."

"All of them?" Ron asked. "Even Draco?"

"Tracey all but dragged him along," Susana replied, and Ron smiled a little. _She's really making my life easier these days. I should thank her properly._

"Good," Ron said. "I'm off to bed-"

"Luna made you a chart," Xeno stated. "It'd mean a lot to her if you joined in."

Ron just stared at Xeno, he honestly didn't know what to say. A part of him did want to join the others, and that was partly due to Dumbledore's tale of neglect, but a bigger part of Ron understood that he had to get to work tomorrow. He needed to be completely alert if he planned to convince Barty Crouch to let him into the negotiations with the French.

"I need to speak with Barty Crouch tomorrow," Ron finally gave his answer. "I tried to contact him tonight, but I found out that he had left for France."

"He's cutting you out?" Lord Greengrass asked with a furrowed brow.

"I think so," Ron said. "I need to speak with him, which means that I need my sleep. Tell Luna that I'm sorry."

With that, Ron made his way towards the exit.

"Kid, wait…" Sirius called, and Ron turned back around. "I told the others about tonight's meeting… **All** of it." _Fair enough. I already figured that you would._

"You really helped the Squibs?" Molly asked, and Ron noticed James and Susana perk up.

"I did," Ron replied, which earned him differing reactions.

"How much did you spend on this?" Mary asked.

"As much as I needed to," Ron deflected her question. _She's a bit like her husband. She doesn't quite care about the 'lesser beings'._ "Don't worry, I'm not in financial trouble. I have plenty left in my vaults." _Thank you, Victor, you sleazy cunt. I hope you're burning in Hell right now._

"Daphne knows more about this, doesn't she?" Lord Greengrass asked, and Ron said nothing. "Ron… Is my daughter involved in this?"

Ron said absolutely nothing in response, Daphne clearly hadn't told her parents about her knowledge of Ron's plans.

"Do you think other prominent Families will do business with her if they learn about her association with Squibs?" Lord Greengrass asked bluntly, which earned him uncomfortable looks. "I know you don't want to hear this, but my daughter is trying to establish her roots right now, and as her father, I need to make sure that her future is secure."

"Then you should speak to her instead," Ron said, he couldn't care less about Lord Greengrass' dislike of Squibs.

"We tried, but she's tightlipped about it," Mary said, and then she looked to Molly and Arthur for help.

"Ron… They're her parents, and they need to know what she's getting herself into," Arthur said.

"No one knows about the Squibs," Ron told them. "None of you knew until tonight, and you only know because I decided to let Sirius know a little about my plans." The adults exchanged looks, and Ron noticed a hint of annoyance on Lord Greengrass' face. "If you don't tell anyone about the Squibs, then you all have nothing to worry about. May I leave now?"

"You want to abolish the Old Ways?" Lord Greengrass questioned further. _I want people to stop killing each other for idiotic reasons, nothing more._

"Husband…" Mary sighed out. "Maybe now is not the right time for-"

"No, I want to know what he has planned," Lord Greengrass said firmly. "His plans clearly involve our children, and us, so we need to know where he's going with this."

"Just because you need something doesn't mean that you get to have it," Ron said a little too calmly. _Who are you to question me? Your beliefs almost destroyed your own Family, and yet, you still hold onto them. So much for not influencing his daughters…_

"Ron…" Pandora looked visibly surprised by his coldness, while Lord Greengrass looked unfazed.

"If you don't want to help me, then that's fine," Ron said. "It's your choice… But don't expect me to blindly trust my allies with **my** plans, not after what just happened to me. As for abolishing the Old Ways, I never said that. I plan to reform them, because like it or not, they **must** change with the times. A belief system created solely to exclude others is bound to cause problems, and judging from what I have seen, I'd say that the Old Ways do more harm than good. The World has no use for them as they are now, but with a few tweaks, everyone will benefit. Especially the Old Families."

"How so?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"Well, for one, people won't think that you're all bastards," Ron replied plainly.

"Ronald!" Molly looked scandalized.

"Secondly, the common people will finally be able to contribute to the Wizarding World, and as we all know, new ideas are essential for a society to progress," Ron went on. "Thirdly, innocent children won't have to sell their bodies for a living simply because the Old Families have convinced the World that Squibs are worth less than dirt. Even the Daily Prophet dehumanizes them, and it's all because respectable Families such as yours, Lord Greengrass, want the public to hate what you all can't understand. Shall I go on?"

"The Wizarding World is what it is today because of Families like mine," Lord Greengrass said. "And yours, Ronald." _Ronald? Upset, are we?_

"You sound proud of the garbage excuse for a society that we have now," Ron said, some of his anger seeping into his voice. "The Government is full of corruption, anyone who is different from a certain standard is treated as unequal, and pretty much all sentient beings despise our kind. And the saddest part about all of this is that they are right to do so. We wizards are a cancer on this World. That's what the Old Ways have turned us into. Your wealth doesn't make you better than the average person, Lord Greengrass, and if you think that it does, then you need to clear your vision. A person who grew up with a platinum spoon in his mouth has no right to judge a nine-year-old orphan girl who's never even slept in a proper bed before."

"You really built a home for the Squibs?" Molly muttered, she still couldn't believe this.

"I did, and it's location will never be shared," Ron said. "I promised them that I'd keep them safe, and that means that no wizard should know about their location. They've suffered enough at our hands, I think." _Why am I even explaining myself? I know I did the right thing, and if they can't see that, then that's on them._

Ron left the Living Room without another word, he needed to get some sleep. _Lord Greengrass won't let this go, but I won't be caught off-guard by my own allies again. I'll be watching_ _ **all**_ _of them very carefully from now on, and if I detect even a hint of betrayal, I'll shut that shite down._

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – Near Midnight)**_

Corban had waited until the very end to present his gift to the Dark Lord. Unlike his fellow Pure-Bloods, Corban knew that he already had the perfect poison to present to the Dark Lord. He also knew that once the Dark Lord saw Corban's offering, he'd be sorely disappointed in his other Death-Eaters for wasting his time. _He will see that, just as it once was, I am his most reliable ally. Lucius is an arrogant fool, and Cornelius is an old man. Neither of them deserve the Dark Lord's favor._

"He'll see you now," Cornelius came out of the dining room, and Corban could see the suspicion within the old fool's eyes. "He is not pleased that you made him wait, Corban. Don't try to overreach as you always do." _Afraid of losing your position? You should be._

"I will take your advice into consideration," Corban said almost pleasantly. _Do us all a favor, and just die already. We don't need you, or your pathetic son._

Corban made his way into the empty dining room, and once he was all alone, he felt a familiar presence surround him. The exit slammed shut harshly, but Corban kept his composure in check. _Relax. There is nothing to fear. The Dark Lord rewards merit above all._ The shadows crept out of a corner, and Corban quickly kneeled with the box containing the Basilisk's Venom Sac held out.

"You are late, Corban…" the Dark Lord's voice came from the shadows, and Corban couldn't help but note that it sounded strained. "The others have all presented their offerings in a fashionable manner, but you come in the dead of night… Why?"

"What I wished to offer was difficult to secure," Corban began his embellished lie. "I had to travel far away from Britain in order to secure the best for you, my Lord." _I must convince him that I went well and beyond for him. That will win me my favor back._

"Save me your pretty speech," the shadow hissed. "What have you brought me?"

"The Venom Sac of a Basilisk," Corban put the box down, and then, he carefully opened the box for the Dark Lord's inspection. "The most potent poison known to Wizarding Kind. Does my offering please you, my Lord?"

There was no response from the lingering shadows, and after a few seconds of the deafening silence, Corban began to feel a cold sweat under his armpits. _Is something wrong? Why won't he speak?_ Corban thought about asking his question once again, but he knew better from the last war. _Just relax, and be patient. Keep your Occlumency at the ready just in case. He will not dig too deep, not unless he wishes to damage my mind._

"Look at me," the shadow hissed, and Corban raised his head.

Almost immediately after he looked at the shadow, he felt a weak prodding sensation at the back of his skull. Corban let the Dark Lord peruse his memories, which he had carefully constructed over the span of the entire day. With his mind clear of any damning thoughts, Corban let the Dark Lord look around without hindering him in any way. Eventually, he felt the foreign presence leave his mind. _He didn't dig deep enough to harm me… This bodes well for me._

"I understand now why you were so late," the shadow spoke, its voice less biting. "To travel all the way to the Amazon for my sake… Well done, Corban. This is indeed worth the wait." _Excellent!_ "Tell me more of this merchant woman. How did she find a Basilisk carcass so deep within the Amazon?"

"She would not tell me, but she seemed to understand its value," Corban replied. "I have been in contact with her for a while, as I planned to add this item to my collection, but once you gave the order, I decided to expedite the sale. She charged me extra for my hurry, but it was well worth it."

"I am sorry that you had to spend a small fortune for my benefit," the voice said smoothly. "You will be rewarded for this, Corban, make no mistake about that. I accept your offering, and I embrace you as friend once again. Rise."

Corban stood up at that, his back and shoulders squared and his head held high.

"Think nothing of the price, my Lord," Corban said. "Our cause is, after all, priceless."

"That it is," the shadows said. "It is gratifying to know that at least one of my old friends can still be relied upon."

Corban fought the urge to smile with true pride, the Dark Lord's words were like a soothing balm on a wound that had festered for far too long. Lying to the Dark Lord didn't really sit well with him, but he knew that he had to win back his favor as quickly as possible. Being a Death-Eater meant that you had to constantly fight to keep your place, and Corban was now fighting for himself, his daughter, his wife, and Felix.

"I am your will, my Lord," Corban said, unable to hide some of his joy. "Allow me to serve the cause once again."

"You wish to stand side-by-side with Lucius and Cornelius," the Dark Lord figured, and Corban gave a resolute nod. "Your gift has pleased me greatly, and I could see your true loyalty within your memories. Very well, I will have Cornelius prepare a room for you. From today on, you will serve as my will."

"I will not fail you again, I swear it," Corban felt his heart swell. "And I will never target Ronald Weasley again."

"No, you most certainly will not," the Dark Lord whispered coldly, and Corban felt the hair on his neck stand up. "That being said, I understand why you did what you did. Ronald's Family has an ill reputation, and he is quickly rising in the World. You simply wished to preserve our way of life, and for that, I do commend you. But you must understand that Ronald is not our enemy, he is one of us." _He is? I got the impression that he wanted to slash my throat during our exchange._

"I am not one to question you, Master, but why does this boy interest you?" Corban asked. "I have spoken with him, and he detests our cause."

"He is young, and his passion blinds him," the shadow said. "Dumbledore no doubt has been influencing him with his drivel, but once I approach Ronald, I am certain that he will see sense. After all, I can offer him eternity." _What?! The Dark Lord would share his immortality with the boy?! Why?!_

Before Corban could think another thought, the shadows began to recede.

"Leave your offering in Lucius' care, and inform Cornelius of my decision," the shadow hissed. "Welcome back, Corban."

"Thank you, my Lord," Corban bowed deeply, he could barely mask his shock. _Why Ronald Weasley? The Dark Lord hasn't even met the boy, and yet, he'd offer him the one thing that he guards most carefully? I… I don't understand. Why is this Blood-Traitor so important to the Dark Lord?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron flipped through the copy of the Daily Prophet, and unsurprisingly, the phony news outlet was praising the newest legislation brought forth by Dolores Umbridge. In their most recent paper, the Daily Prophet claimed that Dolores Umbridge was looking out for smaller businesses that could potentially be threatened by foreign business companies. The Daily Prophet even went into great detail about Japanese Herbology Corporations making fortunes at the expense of Albania's current predicament, and that these foreign companies planned to extend their businesses into Britain.

Dolores Umbridge was being painted as a valiant knight who had singlehandedly foreseen the schemes of greedy corporations, and, like a 'brave champion', had stopped the storm before it could overwhelm the 'everyday business owner'. Ron was truly disgusted by the Daily Prophet's tripe, but he wasn't really surprised at this point. He wasn't even surprised to see Barnabas Cuffe's name under the byline. _He really is a greedy little cunt, isn't he? He offers friendship with one hand, and stabs me in the back with the other._

Ron put the paper down before rubbing his forehead, completely ignoring the looks of concern on Xeno, Molly, and Pandora's faces. _The Daily Prophet took a cheap shot at the Japanese Herbology Corporations just to make this legislation look like a preventive measure. That won't go over well for the International Diplomat to the Japanese. The worst part about this, however, is that people will eat this shit up. They'll believe the Daily Prophet as they always do, and many will hold the Japanese's 'greed' in contempt. The Old Families once again come out on top, and the people who they are oppressing will thank them for it._

"Ron, are you not hungry?" Pandora finally asked, they had all agreed to tread carefully around him.

"They're trying to convince the people of Britain that this legislation isn't Xenophobic, but rather, a preventive measure against greedy corporations," Ron said, though he was mostly speaking to himself. "They are pretending to be champions for the common people, all the while isolating our country so they can maintain their power."

"Once the Quibbler starts being published, we'll fight back, Ron," Xeno said, and Ron's head perked up because someone had finally said something useful. _He's right… I'm letting this overwhelm me._

"You're right, Xeno," Ron smiled at the man. "You're absolutely right. Once we're ready, we'll fight back as hard as we can." _Lamenting never changes a thing, only action brings about change._

"You'll need your strength, then," Xeno capitalized on Ron's mood swing. "Can't fight on an empty belly, right?"

"Right," Ron nodded to himself, and then he began eating his breakfast. _The Old Families are used to controlling all of the Media, but soon, I'll have my own mouthpiece. When I put all the problems of this country under a microscope, people_ _ **will**_ _notice. Marietta's articles shook even the Fawleys, which all but confirms that misinformation is the Old Families' greatest weapon. I just need to press forward, and as Dumbledore suggested, let my enemies think that I'm defeated. If they can blindside me, then I can blindside them._

"Is everything to your liking?" Molly asked, and Ron looked to her with a slightly confused look. _Why does she sound so 'careful' right now?_

"Mum, what is it?" Ron asked. "Actually, you're all acting a bit off this morning… Distant, but in a creepy sort of way."

"A creepy sort of way?" Xeno looked to his wife, who patted the man's arm gently.

"Yeah, creepy," Ron said. "You're not talking, but you keep staring at me like I'm a kicked puppy." _It's quite off-putting._ "What is it?"

"We just want to know if you're doing alright," Pandora said gently.

"You've been having a rough few days, and yesterday, you and Sebastian had a bit of a… clash…" Molly said, and Ron just stared at her.

"We had a difference of opinion, that's all," Ron told them. "It's known to happen…"

"Really? You clash with Sebastian?" Pandora looked quite surprised. _Not often, but I'm not afraid to give my opinion to the man. Why are they being so weird about it?_

"Guys, how did Lord Greengrass react after I left?" Ron asked them.

"Well… He was quiet," Xeno replied. "Actually, we all were… But he was extra quiet." _What is 'extra quiet'?_

"We're worried that the pressure is getting to you," Molly blurted out, and Pandora let out a sigh.

"Molly…" Pandora gave the Weasley matriarch a tired look.

"You have a stress disorder, love… We think that you should slow down," Molly went on. "At least enjoy Christmas… You're barely spending any time with your siblings, or your friends." _Do they not realize that the most powerful people in this country are railroading me?_

"Mum… I'm in the middle of being attacked by the most powerful people in Britain," Ron said, he was more confused than upset with their behavior. "Sure, I've been a little distant… But it's not out of spite. I'm genuinely trying to find my footing here. So much has gone wrong for me so quickly, so it's only natural that I'm a bit shaken." _I need to be patient with them, or I'll just have another fight on my hands. Use your Occlumency, Ron, despite how shit it is._

"That's understandable," Pandora quickly jumped in. "But what Sirius told us yesterday was… shocking… to say the least. Ron, are you really trying to start some massive movement? Are you… ?" Pandora drew in a sharp breath before whispering. "Are you manipulating the children in your study group?"

"In a way, yes," Ron replied truthfully, and Pandora's mouth hung open in shock. "What? That surprises you?"

"Ronnie… Those children look up to you," Molly said, she looked genuinely disturbed. "I've spoken to some of them, remember? They think of you as their older sibling… Their mentor…"

"And I am good to them," Ron said, clearly there was some form of miscommunication here. "They have good grades, they have a mentor in me, and I protect them from bullying and other such issues… But at the same time, I want them to be more tolerant. Not just of each other, but of all types of people. Mum, Hogwarts is the perfect place to make change. If they learn to be better as children, they'll grow up to be better adults. That's just common sense."

"It just feels… cold," Molly said, though she did agree with some of Ron's points. "You're manipulating them… They trust you, Ron, and you're abusing that trust."

"Abusing their trust?" Ron couldn't believe this. "My study group has made great strides in ending House rivalry… I mean, most of my Slytherin first years are friends with even Gryffindors now. There's a reason why even Madam Pince is supportive of us… I'm trying to end all of this silly hatred."

"Then you should step out into the light, and make change that way," Pandora said. "This whole… Working from the shadows… Putting thoughts into people's heads… It's wrong." _Wrong?_

"You think if I just stand out in the Great Hall, and tell people to be more like me, they'll immediately jump at the chance to change?" Ron asked. "They would label me an arrogant tosser, and they'd be right to do so."

"Not all of them would listen, but **some** would," Pandora argued. "There is a right way, and a wrong way, to do things."

"You think I'm wrong, then," Ron just stared at her. "You think I didn't try to make people see the light the right way? Because I did… In my first year, I fought anyone who displayed cruelty for no apparent reason. I openly defended Muggle-Borns, I made friends with people from outside of Slytherin, and I even threw myself under the bus for my Gryffindor friends. Do you where that got me? Nowhere. My House-mates hated me, my Gryffindor friends stabbed me in the back at the first opportunity, and my own Family worked behind my back to undo my work. That's where the 'right way' got me. And so, I adapted, and now, I'm actually making a difference."

Ron stood up at that, he was both hurt and surprised by their lack of understanding. _They really have such little faith in me? Or is this simply because I don't think like they do? What? Since I'm not prattling on about love and peace, I'm the manipulative trust abuser? What the fuck? I love the kids in my study group, and I don't want them to get hurt in the hate-fueled war started by you adults. I want the fighting to end, or at least the fighting that comes from stupid things like Blood-Status._

"I'm going to go," Ron said, his head shaking in disbelief. "If I stay here, we'll just start fighting, because apparently, you've all already decided that I'm not doing things 'the right way'." _What even makes you think that you have all the answers?_

"Ronald, you can't just walk away from this," Molly said.

"But I can, and I am," Ron looked back. "I don't want to fight with you, especially because we're finally starting to recover our relationship… But I will not sit here and let all of you tell me what's right and wrong. None of you are in a position to tell me what's right and wrong." Ron then looked to Pandora. "Not a single one of you." _She's an intelligent witch, but she clearly has doubts about my intentions. Pandora Lovegood doubts my intentions… What in the actual fuck? They all worship a man who literally treats this war as a fucking Chess game, and they're telling me what to do?_

Ron was astounded by their arrogance, and he knew that if he sat there and listened to them, he was going to lose his temper. _Good Lord… They literally worship a man who adheres to my methods, and yet, they're so blind, they actually think they have the right to question my 'cold' approach to the issue. I don't even know what to say to that._

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Mr. Crouch will see you now," the secretary said as she popped her head into the waiting room. _Finally! I've been sitting here for days!_

"Thanks," Ron stood up, buttoned his coat, and then he followed the secretary towards Crouch's Office.

Surprisingly, Ron had found himself liking this Department's Offices far more than he liked the Aurors' Offices. Unlike the Aurors' Offices, Crouch's employees kept their Offices in perfect condition. There were no errant parchments, no excessive noise, the cubicles were clean and organized, and the workers here looked generally happy about the state of things. Some of them had even smiled and waved at Ron, no doubt because they had heard of his exploits. It was quite jarring to learn that a man like Bartemius Crouch Snr kept his employees happy and productive, while Madam Bones simply let her employees do as they pleased as long as they got results. _When I do get Offices for the Quibbler, I'll definitely take a page out of Barty Crouch's book._

"Just a quick warning," the secretary said as she came to a halt. "He's under a lot of pressure right now, so please don't stress him any further." _Huh?_

"Is it because the Daily Prophet used the Japanese as a scapegoat in order to excuse Umbridge's new legislation?" Ron asked.

"You hit it with a needle," the secretary gave him a half-smile. "Please, go right in."

Ron did as he was told, and he entered the Office after giving a quick knock at the door.

"Mr. Weasley," Crouch 'greeted', his eyes fixed on the parchments on his desk. "Take a seat." _This Office is immaculate! Nothing seems to be out of place._

Ron stepped further into the Office, his eyes scanning the clean room with a hint of envy. _I should keep my workplace clean as well. It's… calming… in an odd sort of way._ Ron took a seat opposite to Crouch, and after drawing in a deep breath, he made sure to keep his eyes fixed on the busy man.

"Well?" Crouch looked up. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to apologize for my past behavior," Ron started, and Crouch gave the boy his full attention. "I've thought about what you said, and you were dead right. I was lazy, entitled, and extremely unprofessional. I didn't treat my new job as a job, but rather, as a pastime. Just another notch in my belt. It wasn't fair to you, this Department, or the French, I see that now."

"And you are here to prove to me that you can change?" Crouch asked.

"I **can** change," Ron promised. "I want to learn, Sir, and I want to improve relations with the French. I want to be a part of your workforce."

Crouch just stared at Ron, and Ron made sure to maintain eye contact. _I can't back down, because if I show even a hint of weakness, he'll toss me out of the Office. Just bear with the uncomfortable silence, Ron. Just power through._

"I heard that you dropped by last night," Crouch said, and Ron gave a nod. "Pamela told you that I was in France, yes?"

"She did," Ron replied. _Pamela… So that's the secretary's name._

"Do you want to know why I was there, Mr. Weasley?" Crouch asked rather coldly, and Ron gave another nod. "I was saving your job." _What?_

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"You see, after the French left for their country, it wasn't long before they were all hauled into the French Ministry by my French counterpart, Roberta Berger," Crouch explained. "Roberta demanded answers from them, especially answers about Britain's latest legislation, and piece by piece, Roberta got the truth. Well, she got the truth that your 'allies' gave her."

Ron felt his stomach tighten painfully, something was definitely wrong here.

"In order to save face, they threw you under the bus," Crouch told Ron, who felt like the wind had been kicked out of his lungs. _Madame Maxime wouldn't do that to me…_ "Now, not all the French stabbed you in the back… Madame Maxime, the Lenoirs, the Delacours, Emilia Travers, and the Heroux Family stood by you, and even defended you against any slander, which ended up saving your job, but all the other Families called you out to be 'distant', 'lacking in communication skills', and some even said that you were too young for your position."

"When I got there to put out the fire, I instead learned that the French Ministry was looking for someone to blame," Crouch went on, while Ron just listened with an aching heart. "They, of course, understand that the British Families are behind this mess, but since they can't go after such powerful people, they instead looked to blame one of their own. This resulted in your 'allies' throwing you to the wolves in order to save their own hides, and now, Roberta Berger is demanding that you be fired for incompetence. This way, she can tell her superiors that she's done something about this political shit-storm, and things can slowly begin to return to normal."

"I see…" Ron looked down at his lap, his mind reeling from yet another betrayal.

"I don't plan to fire you," Crouch said, and Ron looked back up. "In fact, I don't enjoy threats in general. Roberta has no right to call for your head, especially because Madame Maxime has been less than forthcoming with me. I told Roberta to keep her politics in her own Ministry."

"Thanks…" Ron managed, but Crouch just frowned at Ron's response.

"I don't want your gratitude, I want you to step up and prove your worth to me," Crouch said. "I won't deny that your stunt with Amelia was quite clever, and that you strong-armed the Ministry singlehandedly. It was impressive, so I'm certain that you have potential. But Mr. Weasley… You have been making mistake after mistake, and I'm quickly reaching my limit. I don't have time to keep dealing with the French, especially after what the Daily Prophet published this morning."

"The accusations against the Japanese," Ron said, and Crouch gave him a curt nod.

"I now have to leave for Japan in order to explain to them that the Ministry had nothing to do with what the Daily Prophet published, and I assure you, they won't believe me in the slightest," Crouch said. _Probably because it's not true._ "I need you to get the French situation under control, and I need you to stop fucking things up even more. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Ron tried his best to sound strong, despite being shaken by yet another blow. "No more fuck ups, I promise."

Deep down, Ron could feel his rage stirring. Enough was fucking enough! How many people were going to fuck him over before he learned his lesson?! _This is where the 'right' way gets you… I put my faith in these people to do the right thing, and they fucked me over! Enough! No more half-measures! I'm shutting this entire thing down, and if anyone gets in my way, I'll take their fucking life!_

"Good," Crouch said. "I need you to go to France… Today. I will arrange a Portkey for you, and said Portkey will take you to Beauxbatons. Get in touch with Madame Maxime, and find a way to fix this mess. If this situation keeps escalating, the French will pull out of our plans for the future, which will result in hostilities between our two countries for decades to come."

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

Tracey was sorely disappointed with herself. If she had only managed to wake up on time, she could have seen Ron return from his morning run. _Sweaty. Panting. Hair in his face. Oh, and his tight clothes hugging his muscles. Hmm, it would've been great._

Tracey, of course, knew that Ron was off the table, and that Daphne would have her killed if she tried anything, but there was nothing wrong with fantasizing. After all, she had seen Ron's eyes linger on her before. _And not just Ron, but Theo and Blaise also tend to eye us girls whenever we wear slightly revealing clothes. Maybe Pansy's right, and we ought to show off our 'assets' more often. Maybe that will be enough to drive Theo crazy! Hehe._

"Why are you smiling in such a lecherous way?" Daphne whispered, and Tracey quickly schooled her features.

"No reason," Tracey said, her eyes darting towards Theo. _Look at him… Speaking to Longbottom about the Daily Prophet. I need to find a convincing reason to make him kiss me again. I bet Pansy will have some deliciously wonderful ideas for me._

"There it is again," Daphne whispered, her eyes following Tracey's gaze.

"I'm just in a good mood," Tracey said slyly. "That's all, Daph…"

"Right," Daphne went back to her breakfast, and Tracey turned her smile towards her best friend.

"Want to tell me why you're being so mopey?" Tracey asked.

"I'm not mopey…" Daphne drawled. "I'm just… frustrated… Why won't mother's Family return my letters?"

"You only sent them yesterday," Tracey cocked an eyebrow. "Daph, you're spiraling."

"And why is my father on my case now?" Daphne whined, completely ignoring Tracey. "If I want to help the Werewolves, then I'll bloody help the Werewolves." _Ron, is that you in there?_ "Not to mention his intrusive questions about Ron's recent behavior… Merlin, they're so bloody annoying. Why can't they just leave him alone?"

"Because nitpicking him is their hobby," Tracey whispered, her eyes darting towards Ron's siblings.

It was no secret that Tracey hated how often Ron was portrayed as the villain by his own Family, and it pissed her off even more when she saw Ron's siblings get away with far worse behavior. _The twins terrorize the school, and it's no big deal. Ginny acts like a tart, and it's just business as usual. Ron voices his opinion, and he is demon spawn birthed right from Satan's arsehole. Even Theo agrees that Ron's Family needs to calm the fuck down, and he's been trying to kiss everyone's arse from the moment he got here._

"Mrs. Weasley, your cooking skills are just awe-worthy," Theo said just as Tracey finished her thoughts, and Molly Weasley let out a bashful chuckle. "I really hope that one day soon, Hogwarts will hire you as their Head-Chef."

"Oh, you're so well-mannered, Theodore," Molly all but sang from the sink, while everyone on the dining table just gave Theo bland looks. _He's so greedy… I love it._

"Is the Daily Prophet right about the Japanese companies?" Granger asked, she was clearly trying to be a part of Theo and Longbottom's discussion.

"No, not at all," Longbottom replied immediately, and with quite a bit of gusto. "These companies spend most of their time protecting nature, and this article is a direct insult to their cause." _Wow, he's a passionate one._

"Longbottom's right," Theo added. "This is clearly just a game of passing the blame around. We all know why this legislation came into existence, after all."

"They wanted to sabotage Ron," Percy said, and that made the twins and Ginny listen in.

"Exactly," Theo said. "And, they got what they wanted. Most people who read this drivel will believe it, because let's be honest, the British don't know a damn thing about these companies, and they will side with their own Ministry."

"I still don't get why they would make such a legislation," Granger said. "I mean, is Ron really such a threat to the Pure-Bloods?"

"Not the Pure-Bloods, just certain Old Families," Daphne spoke up. "Stop generalizing people. Not all of us Pure-Bloods appreciate this business-murdering, idiotic legislation." _Yeesh, she's in a mood this morning. But she's also right, Granger needs to stop putting every Pure-Blood in the same bracket._

Tracey waited for Ginny Weasley to say something stupid, but surprisingly, the girl kept her mouth closed. _She's definitely behaving differently ever since her chat with Ron. Maybe he finally got through to her?_

"Is Ron really a threat to certain **Pure-Blood** Families?" Granger corrected herself, though there was a hint of hostility in her voice. _A fight? I should've brought popcorn._

"It's not just him," Theo shrugged, ignoring Granger's tone. "His ideas, and his allies, are bound to bring change, and the Old Families can't allow that. Think of it this way… What happens when a certain country implements an ideal that is envied by your country?"

"People would want that ideal implemented in their own country," Percy said, and Theo nodded.

"Basically, outside influence will cause destabilization, and because of said destabilization, the Old Families lose their power," Theo explained. "Ron is the person who opened the floodgates, and for that, he was quickly struck down."

"He's not done yet," Daphne said coldly, and then she just went back to her breakfast. _Say what you will about her, but she is dead loyal to her boyfriend._

"So Ron is technically fighting against the bad guys?" Fred asked, and Tracey just gave him a bland stare. _The bad guys? What the fuck does that even mean? Also, why does he sound so surprised? Where is the faith in your own kin, you prick?_

"It's not that simple," Longbottom jumped in, his eyes darting towards the Slytherins. "What Ron is currently mixed up in is highly political, and both sides have good points on their sides." _He's such a peacekeeper. You know, I actually quite like Longbottom. He was a prat during second year, but he's finally stopped being a blind sheep. Shame that Granger and Potter aren't learning a damn thing from him._

"What good points do the Pure-Bloods have?" Potter asked, a deadpan look on his face.

"Well, for one, we built this country," Draco finally spoke up. "Who do you think pays for its upkeep? It's certainly not the Veelas." _Uh-oh, this won't sit over well. We're in a house full of Gryffindors, and seeing things from a logical point of view is considered a sin in this place._ "As for concern stemming from outside influences, should I remind you that Ron's allies betrayed him in a bid for power? Corban Yaxley wasn't actually wrong about them, and this legislation stopped a war."

"Why am I not surprised to see you defending the likes of Corban Yaxley?" Fred said, while his twin just gave Draco a bored look.

"Enough political talk," Molly had heard enough. "Fred Weasley, I will not stand for such disrespect against our guests. Apologize."

"What? No," Fred looked appalled, while the others concentrated on their breakfasts.

"No?!" Molly Weasley turned around with a murderous glare, and Fred Weasley shrunk in his chair.

"Is everything alright in here?" Xenophilius Lovegood stepped into the Kitchen from the Living Room. _Save yourself, handsome!_ "Molly?"

Molly Weasley just glared at her defiant son, who was now staring at his plate with a creeping grin. The silence was eerie, but in an odd sort of way, Tracey was enjoying it. She personally didn't like discussing politics, mostly because they bored the life out of her, but just this once, she was glad that people were discussing what was happening. _Maybe Ron's siblings will follow their parents' lead, and just give Ron a fucking break._

Because of the silence, the sound of the fireplace blazing to life echoed throughout the lower levels of the house.

"Sirius is here," Potter looked visibly relieved.

But it wasn't Sirius Black who stepped into the Kitchen, it was Ron himself.

"Ronnie?" Molly looked quite surprised to see him back so soon, while Xeno moved further into the Kitchen.

"I have to go to France, and I won't be back until dinner," Ron told everyone. "Just thought that I'd give you a heads up."

"Why are you going to France?" Luna asked, and something flashed behind Ron's eyes.

"Because the French who didn't betray me… ended up betraying me as well," Ron said, and everyone just went dead quiet. _God is really out to get him, isn't he?_ "They sold me out to save their own skins, and now, I have to go and fix this mess alone because Mr. Crouch is currently leaving for Japan." _He's speaking really quickly, and the veins in his neck are popping… Merlin, he's really angry, isn't he?_

"Love, I'm really sorry to hear that," Molly gave Ron a sorry look, but it was wasted on him.

"Oh, don't be sorry for me," Ron said, a deranged glint in his eyes. "I'm honestly not 'upset' anymore… I'm just really fucking angry." Ron then smiled in a cruel manner, something that made people extremely uncomfortable. "Daphne, do you want to come to France with me?" _Huh?_

"Um…" Daphne looked truly jarred.

"I will be visiting certain Families, and you can discuss your business plans with them while I deal with my mess," Ron said, and Daphne immediately stood up.

"I'll come along," Daphne gave a firm nod. _Um, can we come along too? I want to see France._

"Great, let's go," Ron turned to leave.

"Ron, wait!" Molly called, and Ron turned around with his 'smile' still in place.

"Yes, mother dearest?" Ron asked, his voice shaking slightly. _Fuck France, I'm not going anywhere with him when he's like this._ "What is it now?"

"You can't just take Daphne abroad… She needs permission from her parents…" Molly muttered, Ron's crazed appearance was scaring the life out of her.

"Permission from her parents?" Ron laughed maniacally, and then he looked at Daphne. "Are you coming, or not? I only had ten minutes to spare, and I bolted down here for your sake."

"I'm coming," Daphne all but ran up to Ron. "Let's go."

Ron turned around, and just like that, he and Daphne were gone.

"What. Just. Happened?" George Weasley asked, while the others exchanged slow looks.

"You remember what I said about Ron losing his temper, Mrs. Weasley?" Theo asked, and she nodded dumbly. "Well, this is it."

"Did I miss something?" Pandora Lovegood asked as she came down the stairs, her sharp eyes examining the shaken, and confused, expressions on everyone's faces.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Morning)**_

A small part of Daphne was extremely glad that Ron had come running to get her just so she could speak face to face with her potential business partners, but a bigger part of her was now starting to fear the repercussions of her flight from home. She knew that once she got back to Britain, her mother and father were going to tear her to pieces. Her father was already being moody about her 'keeping secrets' from him, and this would send the man over the edge.

Daphne looked over to Ron, who was swaying back and forth in his seat. He looked extremely agitated, and when her eyes landed on his jaw, she realized that he was gnashing his teeth. _Merlin, I've seen him angry before… But this is something else. He looks murderous._ The carriage ride to Beauxbatons had been spent in silence so far, but Daphne knew that she had to speak to him before they entered the school. _It's now, or never, Daphne. Just do it!_

"The grounds are really beautiful, aren't they?" Daphne asked. _That's what I started with?!_

"Too bad they're occupied by Veela scum," Ron snarled, his eyes fixed on the window. _Veela scum?_

"So they really turned on you as well?" Daphne asked. "The ones who stuck with you at first, I mean." _Do I really want to do business with people who did that to Ron? No, I don't._

"Not all of them," Ron replied. "The Delacours, Emilia Travers, the Heroux Family, and Madame Maxime defended me."

"Really?" Daphne perked up, but she immediately scolded herself for sounding so happy. _So this is why Ron brought me. He knows that I still have a shot at winning over my business partners._

"Don't look sorry just because I got shafted," Ron shot her a quick look. "I'm glad that you still have a chance at fixing things on your end."

Daphne couldn't help but smile a little at that, and she slowly scooted right beside Ron. _He thought of me even in this state? I don't think that I could've done that._ Daphne took his right hand into hers, and much to her despair, she realized that Ron's hand was trembling horribly. _Stress…_

"Ron-" Daphne started.

"They fucked me over," Ron grit out. "Fucking cunts… I brought them to England to do some good. I did things the right and honest way, and this is what they do? They start plotting against our Ministry? They turn on each other for political gain? And now, they throw me under the bus so that the Veela community doesn't suffer a bad image?"

"A bad image?" Daphne asked for clarification.

"Think about it, Daph," Ron looked to her, the veins in his forehead were popping out. "When their own Ministry started questioning them, they realized that Lady Abadie's attempts at starting a war would reflect poorly on Veelas in general… Guilt by association, and all that… So, what do they do?"

"They protect their own, and since you're not French or Veela, they tossed you to the wolves," Daphne realized. "Merlin… This situation keeps getting worse everyday."

"It's my fault," Ron said coldly.

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

"I've been kind and understanding," Ron scoffed. "I was patient, I was trusting, and I truly believed that just this once, I'd see a decent side of people. But no… Instead, I've been taking a beating from all sides. Well, it stops now. I'll make damn sure of it."

His tone was starting to scare her, and she knew all too well what Ron was capable of in his anger. _What he did to Flint still terrifies me… It terrifies all of us._

"You can't attack them, Ron," Daphne heard her own voice say. "This isn't Hogwarts, and these are powerful people. There will be consequences."

"Oh, I'm not going to attack them," Ron's lips twitched upwards, and Daphne's skin began to crawl. "I'm just going to put them under my heel. I'm not exactly defenseless myself, and in case you've forgotten, the Veela community attempted to assassinate me."

"What?" Daphne blinked. "They did?"

"During the Junior League Tournament," Ron said. "They attempted to murder the competition over a trophy… It was pure barbarity, and it proves that Veelas are not like the rest of us humans. They have no compassion, and they are ruled by their need to dominate those around them."

"Ron…" Daphne was shocked to hear him say such a thing.

"That's what I'll print in my magazine, anyway," Ron said, and Daphne realized what he was implying. _He'll turn the entire World against them… What they fear most is exactly what Ron has the power to accomplish._ "Sure, it'll result in mass persecution for the Veela community, but at this point, I don't give a fuck. They want to fuck with me? Well, I'll fuck right back."

"Ron… Um… If you do that, the Heroux Family…" Daphne stopped herself. _What am I even saying? Ron is getting betrayed constantly, and I only care about my own business? Selfish._

"It's a bluff," Ron drawled. "Try and keep up, please. Merlin…" _What? I'm so confused now. He's not making any damn sense in his current state._

"Don't speak to me like that," Daphne said firmly. "I'm on your side, you prat."

Ron seemed to wake up a little at that, and he looked back to her with a blank look on his face. Daphne frowned a little because, despite his current state, he had no right to take his anger out on her. But when his expression turned remorseful, Daphne's frown disappeared immediately.

"I… I'm sorry…" Ron apologized, his voice slightly strained. "I just realized how rude that was…" _Oh, I can't stay angry with him right now. He's been through so much over the last three days._

"I'm on your side, Ron," Daphne said once again, and Ron nodded weakly. "You can't let your anger blind you like this."

Ron nodded again, and after he drew in a deep breath, he rested his head on her shoulder. _Cuddles? Seriously, what is going through his head right now? Does… Does he want a hug, or something?_ Daphne decided to test her theory, and when she put her arms around his shoulders, he all but melted into her.

"I won't antagonize the Heroux Family," Ron promised. "Or anyone else who stayed loyal… I'm just really, really angry…"

"And hurt?" Daphne whispered into his hair, but Ron didn't answer her question. _He'll never admit to that right now._

"I'll do whatever it takes to help your business plans," Ron whispered, sounding rather tired. "Just let me know if you need my help with anything, alright?"

"Right now, you should focus on fixing things with the French," Daphne subtly began to fix his hair into place. _Can't have him looking like a deranged murderer._ "What if your bluff doesn't work?"

"It'll work," Ron nuzzled his face into her neck. _His breath tickles._ "None of them want a scandal, which is why they're throwing me under the bus." _Oh, that makes sense._ "If I promise to raise hell for them, they'll meet my demands. Honestly, I'm better at this sort of negotiation than I am at appealing to the 'goodness' of others."

"I don't think that's completely true, Ron," Daphne wiped the sweat from his brow with her sleeve. "You convinced the Fawleys just last night that they needed to do right by the Werewolves… You also convinced **me** , by the way." _I've never spared the Werewolf community a thought, and now, I can't stop thinking about them._

Ron looked up at that, his eyes meeting hers.

"Really?" Ron asked. "You want to help them?"

"I really do," Daphne replied truthfully. "You were right, Ron, they deserve better than what they have. Despite their condition, they're still human. I mean, most of them live away from people just so they can avoid biting people during the full moon. They tie themselves to trees, bury their children, and starve…" Daphne felt her throat tighten, those articles had all but traumatized her. "I just can't believe that people don't know about these things…"

"The Old Ways are to blame for that," Ron said. "It's easier to just pin the blame on someone else, especially when your power is in question. Oh, and don't mistake me, the whole World is guilty of that. I mean, the French have just done that to me, haven't they?"

"Then maybe, you can't always use kind words when speaking to your allies," Daphne said thoughtfully. _Maybe you have to be terrible sometimes in order to keep the other terrible people in check._

"Well, I've tried being a team player with the French, and that blew up in my face," Ron said. "No more… I'll make them regret fucking with me."

"You know what? Just this once, I hope you make them hurt," Daphne said. _It's clear that I'm no expert negotiator either. Maybe instead of changing Ron's methods, I could learn from his successes. Say what you will about him, but he gets things done. I want to get things done as well._

"Daph, are you there?" Ron whispered, and Daphne broke out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, Ron, I zoned out," Daphne said. "Did you say something?"

"I asked if you wanted to spend some time together after our business meetings," Ron said, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "You know, our date got ruined… There is no French Christmas party tomorrow, so I was thinking that we could spend some time in Paris."

"I don't have my Gringotts Pouch on me…" Daphne suddenly realized. _Father will kill me tonight, I know it._

"What's mine is yours," Ron patted his suit pocket, which no doubt contained his Gringotts pouch. "We can try that… That coffee dessert you mentioned in Paris… What was it called again?"

"Café liégeois," Daphne smiled widely.

"And we can walk around the stores," Ron added. "I'd… I'd really like a break from all of this, Daph… It's doing my head in."

"I guess my parents can wait a little longer," Daphne agreed excitedly.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Beauxbatons – Morning)**_

"I can't apologize enough, Ronald," Madame Maxime sighed out, and Ron just stared at her.

The moment he had stepped out of the carriage, Ron had felt his anger return with a vengeance. When he had first come to Beauxbatons, it was to seek help for his business. Along the way, Ron had reached too far, and in doing so, created the mess before him. But saying that, Ron no longer blamed himself for the actions of others. Sure, Ron could've done more, but that didn't mean that he was responsible for Lady Abadie's greed. Or for the cowardice displayed by the other French Families. No, they were responsible for their own actions, and it was about time that they were held accountable.

"The Delacours, the Heroux Family, the Lenoirs, and Emilia Travers… I want to meet with them," Ron said, ignoring Madame Maxime's apologies. "Daphne Greengrass, who has accompanied me to France, would also like to speak with them. She had business plans with the Heroux and Travers Families, but the legislation has hurt those plans."

"I see," Madame Maxime tried to study his face, but all she saw was cold indifference. "Why do **you** wish to see them?"

"I want to thank them," Ron replied. "They had the common decency to not blame me for the actions of their countrymen."

"Ronald… It is all a little more complicated than that," Madame Maxime started, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. _I don't like her condescending tone._

"They were looking out for the Veela community," Ron said, and Madame Maxime gave a nod.

"So you understand?" Madame Maxime asked with a weak smile. _She wants me to take the hit, doesn't she? Why am I not surprised?_

"I understand," Ron replied, and she relaxed a little. "I just don't give a fuck."

"Pardon?" Madame Maxime's eyes popped open.

"You heard me," Ron hissed. "I'm just supposed to lie down and take it because it helps the Veelas escape even more prejudice? Is that it? You know, I'm starting to see a pattern with the Veela community. They abuse their allures in order to get their way, and when that doesn't work, they act like harmless fairies that the World is out to get. People like us, the ones who want to build a better World, give in to their act, and we end up protecting them. And then, they simply repeat the cycle. Lady Abadie is no doubt scheming away somewhere in France, while those who initially opposed her are now protecting her. And why? Because they come from the same breed."

"Breed?" Madame Maxime's mouth dropped open.

"You know what I mean," Ron said harshly. "They're all Veelas, and they're all French. And since I'm not either, they want to pin the whole mess on me. You know that it's not right, but you still want me to throw myself under the bus. Am I wrong?"

"I… No," Madame Maxime sighed out. "No, you are right to be angry."

"I will not take the fall for this," Ron said. "It'll mean the end of my plans within my own Ministry, and I'll never let that happen. I plan to go to the French Ministry today, and by the time I leave, I'll have Roberta Berger on my side."

"How?" Madame Maxime asked.

"She wants to avoid a scandal, and yet, she picked a fight with someone who owns a magazine," Ron replied. "I'll make sure that she understands just how much damage I can do to her Ministry, and the Veela community, if she keeps trying to corner me."

"Not all the Veelas are to blame-"

"Stop using that as an excuse," Ron frowned deeply. "Fifty of them tried to kill me on your fucking orders, in case you've forgotten."

Madame Maxime went dead quiet, her eyes becoming distant.

"I don't care if I'm being harsh anymore," Ron told her. "You can either stand by me, or you can go up in flames along with the Veelas. Either way, I'm not going to lose. I'll treat the loyal ones with admiration and respect, but I'll fucking destroy the bastards who have made my life hell over the last few days. This shit ends today, do you understand?"

Madame Maxime said nothing, but after a few seconds, she gave a nod.

"Whose side are you on?" Ron asked.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron waited in yet another waiting room, this time it was within the French Ministry. Daphne was currently accompanying Madame Maxime to Lenoir Abode, where they would try and collect all the loyal Families. Daphne would no doubt speak with them about her plans while she waited for Ron to finish up with Roberta Berger, and once he had joined her and thanked the loyal Families, they could both leave for their date. _I can't wait for that. I'm so sick of this Ministry tripe._

"Monsieur Weasley?" a young looking witch entered the waiting room, and Ron stood up to greet her. "Apologies for the wait, but I was in a meeting. I am Roberta Berger. A pleasure to meet you."

Ron eyed the witch, completely ignoring her request for a handshake. She had a lean figure, long black hair, sharp features, and piercing blue eyes. Ron thought that she looked far too young to hold such a position of power, but when he suddenly felt a weak pang of pain in the back of his skull, he realized that she was part-Veela. _Wait… Why does she have black hair?_

"You're Veela," Ron stated, becoming even more wary. _Sleep your way to the top, did you?_

"My… So it's true," she looked quite amazed, her hand falling back to her side. "You can resist us completely. How… abnormal."

"You have black hair," Ron said, his eyebrow cocked.

"Hair dye," Berger said. "Silvery-blonde is so… basic." _In what World?_

"Or a clever ploy to hide your heritage," Ron stated, and she smiled at him. "No one would suspect a Veela to have black hair, and if she abused her allure, no one would be the wiser."

"That is a serious accusation, Monsieur Weasley," Berger's smile turned into a smirk. _I see that she has that Veela arrogance flowing through her. Well, she's never met someone like me before._

"Why give yourself away?" Ron asked.

"We Veelas can't resist our… needs," Berger shrugged calmly. "When we see the untamable, we lose ourselves in our desire to discipline such a beast."

"You mean enslave, right?" Ron asked coldly.

"You are very hostile for a **boy** whose career is dancing in my palm," Berger walked over and took a seat. "People are already talking, and from what I've gathered, you make for a very poor Diplomat."

"You are quite misinformed," Ron held back his temper, though he felt the urge to slap the smug smile off of her face. "Yes, I didn't constantly bear down on the French during their stay in England, but I am not to blame for their… banishment."

"Is that so?" Berger lost her smile. "Tell me your side of the story, then. What happened in England? Why has your Wizengamot insulted us directly? Why were my countrymen thrown out of England?" _Maybe she's not just a pretty face, after all._

"They were thrown out because they are conniving little bastards who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar," Ron said, and Berger looked less than amused. "Corban Yaxley is the one behind the legislation that targets foreign businesses, and the main reason why he enacted this legislation is because he caught onto the ploys of the French." _I'm going to throw Abadie under the bus. The French Ministry can either protect her, and be slandered by me. Or, they can hunt her down while working alongside me._

"What ploys?" Berger asked.

"Lady Abadie has been in contact with the Veela tribes of the mountains," Ron put his plan into action.

"Is that so?" Berger looked less than convinced. "The Veela tribes of the mountains don't entertain outsiders… You'd know that if you had any clue about French politics-"

"Shut up and listen," Ron sneered down at her, and Berger looked a little taken aback by his open hostility. "Lady Abadie started an affair with Ludovic Bagman in the hopes of infiltrating the British Ministry, but she was careless, and Corban Yaxley had her investigated. He passed all the evidence over to the British Ministry, who were forced to carry out his will in order to avoid an International Incident. In a way, the British Ministry ended up protecting Lady Abadie, but that also meant that the other French Families were forced to pay for her sins. The legislation, the banishment, this whole fucking mess… It started with the greed of one woman. Poppy Abadie."

Berger looked quite serious now, and then suddenly, she gestured Ron to sit down. Ron decided to play along, and once he was sitting in front of her, he decided to push forward.

"The British still have the evidence," Ron went on. "If the French Ministry keeps pushing for 'justice', it'll blow up in their face. **Your** face."

"Why would the other Families lie to me?" Berger asked. "They told me that you didn't do a damn thing to stop this mess from escalating."

"You're a Veela, aren't you?" Ron asked. "You tell me why they would protect a traitor in their midst."

"If what are you are saying is even remotely true… The Veela community would come out looking dangerous," Berger said, and Ron gave a nod.

"Lady Abadie didn't act alone," Ron told Berger. "She had Christina Couture, the Beaumonts, the Ancars, and the Donadieus on her side."

"Christina Couture…" Berger looked thoughtful. "Her mother and father were quite vocal about your poor performance…"

"Makes sense," Ron scoffed. "Their daughter is part of a traitorous band of would-be usurpers, and if they tell the French Ministry the truth, they'll lose their daughter."

"So, in essence, you are being used as a scapegoat to protect the Veela community…" Berger said, and then, she gave him a cold look. "Sorry, Monsieur Weasley, but for someone like me, there is no choice in the matter. I cannot let the actions of Poppy Abadie damage the French Ministry and the Veela community. **If** you are telling the truth, that is."

"Yeah… I figured that you'd be on board with throwing me down the river," Ron smiled cruelly, and Berger cocked an eyebrow. "You want to avoid a massive scandal that makes you French look like cunts, eh? How admirable of you. Such loyalty to your cause." _**You fucking bitch.**_

"Are you trying to make a point?" Berger looked bored. "Or have you lost your mind?"

"Remember when I came to France to compete in the Junior League Tournament?" Ron asked, and she gave a slow nod. "Fifty Veelas bombarded me with their allures, an act that caused me immense pain and lasting damage."

"Lasting damage?" Berger asked slowly.

"Just listen," Ron kept smiling. "I was left permanently damaged by this outrageous assault, which was conducted under the orders of Madame Olympe Maxime and Minister Wallace. The Headmistress of Beauxbatons, the French Ministry, and the Veela community conspired to assassinate me."

"Assassinate?" Berger blinked.

"But I forgave them," Ron went on. "Instead of seeking revenge, I put my hand forward in friendship. Madame Maxime later helped me in bringing the French to England in the hopes of improving relations between our countries, but sadly, the French became greedy and attempted to take over the British Ministry. Everything fell apart because of the Veelas, and in the end, the French Ministry blamed me. **Me!** The person who forgave them for their attempt on my life. The person who genuinely wanted to make things better between the French and the English. The person who took all the blame for the actions of others."

"Tragic," Berger was quickly losing her interest.

"It is, isn't it?" Ron asked. "Well, that's what the people of England will think when I start publishing this story in my magazine."

"What?" Berger suddenly woke up.

"You morons," Ron started laughing, though his blood was boiling. "You want to avoid a scandal, and yet, you pick a fight with someone who owns a Media outlet? Are you fucking retarded?"

Berger's expression darkened, but Ron couldn't care less.

"No matter how you look at this story, one thing is always clear," Ron said. "You Veelas are a conniving, and extremely dangerous, lot. The World will see you all for what you are, and they'll call for justice. 'Justice for Ron'. Ah, that sounds very nice. It'll make for a lovely headline."

"Are you threatening me?" Berger asked coldly.

"This is not a threat, it's a bloody promise," Ron lost his own sick humor. "I can do a lot more damage to you than you can do to me. If anything, I can just use my age to explain away my 'blunders'. But what about you? What the fuck are you going to say? What are the Veelas going to say when people the World over spit on them? Huh?"

"This… This is a drastic action," Berger realized that she was slightly trapped. "You will lose your job at the Ministry-"

"What do you think will happen if I let you blame me for this?" Ron asked. "You are one entitled bitch, aren't you? I'm starting to think that all Veelas are just cunts through and through… But then again, when you're used to getting whatever you want whenever you want it, entitlement is to be expected. Tell me, how did someone as young as you get this job?"

Berger said nothing, but Ron could read her like a book.

"Fucking disgusting…" Ron sneered with genuine disgust. "The rest of us work our arses off, but you just have to bat your eyelashes… You know what? I'll also publish articles on 'Veela infiltrations'."

"Veela infiltrations?" Berger asked slowly, this boy was not right in the head.

"I'll tell the entire World just how often the Veela community abuses their power to get whatever they want," Ron replied. "My first example will be you, Roberta… I'm sure a lot of people would love to know how you got your job."

"We can use the Daily Prophet-"

"Oh, please," Ron rolled his eyes at her stupidity. "The people who own the Daily Prophet hate your kind, and if you go to them, they'll go out of their way to defame the Veelas alongside me. You realize that I was on your side, right? The people who you think will help you genuinely despise you, but I was loyal to the French. Hell, I even wanted to help fight for Veela rights, but you bastards… You just ruined everything. You've made me just as bad you…"

"Monsieur Weasley, this conversation has taken a wrong turn-" Berger started, her voice almost calming.

"Don't try that shit with me," Ron cut her off. "Don't try and calm me down now that you've come to realize that I hold all the cards. You were so quick to trust your own, but the truth is that they are lying pieces of shit, and they've fucked you over. They want to protect the Veelas, just like you, but unlike you, they're filthy rich. They'll be protected. You, however, will have to face the music. The French Ministry, the Veela community, and even some of the Old French Families will learn just how bad things can get. You'll be a joke the World over, and no other country will want to deal with conniving serpents like you."

Ron stood up at that, although he had no intention to leave. _She looks desperate. Good. Time to push her further._

"Good day," Ron said as he headed for the door.

"Wait," Berger called, and Ron stopped walking. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Ron turned to face her.

"If you really wanted to cause a massive scandal, you wouldn't show me your cards," Berger said. "You want something from me." _Alright, maybe she's not completely useless._

"Firstly, I want you to stop coming for my head," Ron walked back to her, his tall figure looming over her. "Secondly, I want to teach these French Families a lesson, and you will help me with that."

"A lesson?" Berger asked.

"The Abadies, the Ancars, the Donadieus, the Beaumonts, and Christina Couture," Ron started. "I want them arrested by the French Ministry."

"What?"

"You heard me," Ron said coldly. "I understand that they are prominent Families, and that, just like Britain, they control a vast amount of the country, but saying that, I currently have you by the short hairs. All their power won't do a damn thing to stop the damage that I can inflict on France."

"You are insane," Berger looked shocked.

"No… I'm the only person around who isn't insane," Ron leaned down a little, his face hovering over hers. _She's squirming because of my closeness._ "I have listed four prominent families, and a spoiled brat… Their loss will hurt France, but it won't break France. You'll still have over a dozen prominent Families to rely on."

"And what are we arresting them for?" Berger muttered.

"I don't know," Ron chuckled. "Arrest them for being traitors, or something."

"This… How are we…? Just listen," Berger spluttered. "What you are suggesting… It will cause severe damage to us… These Families are respected the World over… There will be questions."

'There will be questions when I start publishing articles!" Ron snapped, making her flinch. "You can either protect these four Families, or you can watch the entire Veela community be labeled as monsters! You can watch as the other Ministries cut their ties from the French Ministry in order to avoid getting caught up in your mess! You think I won't do it?! Trust me, I fucking will! I am beyond caring about your political agendas! You'll do as I command, or there will be hell to pay!"

Ron took a step back at that, and Berger leaned forward before rubbing her face with her hands.

"The Minister… I have to speak to him…" Berger muttered.

" **We'll** speak with him, you mean," Ron said, and Berger looked up at him. "I'm not letting you fuck me over again. Come on, let's go right now."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"And you say that the British still have evidence against Poppy…" Minister Wallace said, his eyes hadn't left Berger for the last twenty minutes. _He calls her Poppy? Wow. She probably fucked him as well in order to garner his favor._

"They do," Berger said, her eyes darting towards Head-Auror Paul Durand.

"I believe Mr. Weasley," Durand said, and Ron was quite taken aback by this support. _His accent… It's just like Madam Roberts'. Is he from the States?_ "It is no secret that certain Veela Families are… ambitious, and he would not spin such a tale if he could not back it up. This will turn into a disaster for us."

"Monsieur Weasley, is there any way that I can convince you to keep your silence?" Minister Wallace asked. "Perhaps another 'gift' from the French Ministry?"

"I'm not for sale," Ron refused. "I came here to put an end to this mess, and that's what I intend to do."

"We are willing to let all of this go," Minister Wallace said quickly. "You will not be blamed, nor will we blame the British Ministry. We can simply return to how things were before this debacle." _That… works. But no, I'm not letting Poppy Abadie get away so easily._

"And what about Lady Abadie?" Ron asked. "She's still planning to convince the Veela tribes of the mountains to infiltrate Britain."

"We will take care of Poppy," Minister Wallace assured him.

"You mean you'll slap her wrist, and then take a bribe from her?" Ron asked bluntly, and he noticed the Head-Auror smirk a little. "Tell you what? Let's settle for a compromise instead." _I shouldn't reach too far, I've learnt that already._

"Yes, of course," Minister Wallace agreed quickly.

"I want Christina Couture to be returned to her mother and father," Ron started listing his revised demands. "I'll even forget about the Ancars, the Beaumonts, and the Donadieus… But Poppy Abadie and her husband will be arrested."

Minister Wallace let out a sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

"One Family instead of four is… very manageable," Durand said slowly. "And the Coutures will be grateful to have their errant daughter returned to them."

"Minister, Lady Abadie has made her choice," Ron spoke up. "She clearly doesn't respect you, or this Ministry, because if she did, she wouldn't try to pull this stunt. She even had the gall to say that if she snapped her fingers, you'd come running to her side like a trained dog."

"Pardon?" Minister Wallace looked up.

"She clearly thinks of you as a servant, and personally, I don't blame her," Ron said. "She is beyond arrogant, and she is only this way because none of you have stood up to her before. Her allure is quite powerful, isn't it? She tried it on me, and although it didn't work, I felt its power nonetheless. She is used to getting her way, and that makes her weak. She won't expect this, especially if it's done today."

"I can charge the Abadies with Conspiracy," Durand said, and Ron decided that he liked this man. "They are also guilty of Corruption, Bribing Ministry Officials, and Treason."

"This will be all over the papers…" Minister Wallace looked a hundred years older. _Just like Fudge… He only cares about the damn headlines. Fuck I hate politicians._

"You can have this over the papers, or you can have my stories over the papers," Ron reminded the Minister. "Despite my anger with the French, I don't want to cause the Veela community any lasting damage. Believe it or not, I don't hate them… But I also can't let you people frame me for a crime that I didn't commit. You've made your bed, and now you have to sleep in it."

"Minister, I heartily advise you to listen to Mr. Weasley," Durand said. _Who are you? And why are you so keen to help me?_

"Minister…" Berger started weakly. "The Tournament will fall through… We'll be blamed for it…"

"Are you referring to the Triwizard Tournament?" Ron asked them, and they all looked shocked by his knowledge. "Despite what your countrymen told you, I'm not an incompetent idiot. I know of the Tournament, and I even know that it's being held at Hogwarts. Don't worry, I haven't told a soul about it. It is, after all, sensitive information."

The Minister stared at Ron with an exhausted look, and then he shook his head to himself.

"Paul, gather your Aurors…" Minister Wallace all but whispered.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron walked into the Lenoirs' Living Room, a happy smile on his face. Their house was quite modest, and because of that, he easily spotted Daphne having a pleasant conversation with Ron's loyal allies. _Madame Maxime, the Lenoirs, the Heroux Family, and Emilia. They're all here._

"Hello," Ron greeted them as he stepped further into the room, and every eye darted towards him.

"Ronald, how did it go?" Madame Maxime asked quickly.

"Oh, it went great," Ron smiled at her. "Even as we speak, Poppy Abadie and her bitch of a husband are being arrested by the French Aurors."

Madame Maxime's face dropped, what had he done?

"Really?" Emilia smirked, while Daphne and others were visibly shocked.

"What have you done?" Madame Maxime muttered. "Why did you not discuss this with me?"

"Did you bother to alert me when your countrymen threw me to the wolves?" Ron asked in return. _We are not equals in this partnership, not anymore. I won't be shafted by Frenchmen again._

"Ron…" Daphne shot a look towards the French Families.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ron turned his 'smile' in their direction. "I'm just a little… upset… about everything that's transpired. I want to personally thank you all for… Well, for doing the right thing. For staying loyal to Madame Maxime and I, and for not trying to take the easy way out. I won't forget this, I promise."

"Monsieur Weasley, what did you mean when you said that Poppy is being arrested?" Lady Lenoir asked.

"I told the French Ministry everything," Ron replied, and Madame Maxime paled. "And then, I used my Media outlet to strong-arm them into submission."

"The Veela community-" Madame Maxime started.

"Will be just fine," Ron finished for her. "I don't plan to let Lady Abadie's greed ruin things for everyone. Instead, she will pay for her actions, and I'll let this go. The French Ministry doesn't want a scandal of this scale on their hands, and I will help them look competent and fair."

"What about her allies?" Emilia asked. "Are they being arrested as well?"

"No," Ron replied, and Emilia clicked her tongue. _She doesn't approve._ "It would've have been too much if I asked the French Ministry to arrest four prominent Families instead of one. Paul Durand, the French Head-Auror, still plans to bring them in for questioning, and he'll no doubt get a confession out of them. With their testimony, Lady Abadie and her husband will be in deep shit. Even if they don't see the inside of a prison cell just yet, they'll be facing the wrath of the Veela tribes of the mountains for getting them involved in this." _At least that's what Roberta Berger told me. Either way, Poppy is fucked._

"May I speak with you?" Madame Maxime looked almost angry. "In private?"

"Sure," Ron replied, and then he looked to Lord and Lady Lenoir. "Can you please contact all of our old friends? Tell them what's happened, and then tell them to come here. I want to speak to them."

"Speak to them about what?" Lord Heroux asked, his eyes darting towards a shrinking Daphne.

"About how things will work from now on," Ron said before he left the Living Room. _They can either support me, or they can help explain their actions to the rest of the World. I'm done playing nice with these pricks._

"What have you done, Ronald?" Madame Maxime demanded once they stepped out of the Living Room.

"I did what I had to do," Ron replied calmly. _You think I'll be intimidated by your size? Bitch, I've had the Entity knock all of my teeth out… You'll never frighten me._ "You, and our 'allies', let me no choice. You might have defended me, but that doesn't change the fact that the rest of them sold me out. It doesn't change the fact that you wanted me to take the fall."

"The French Ministry is looking for reasons to monitor the Veela community," Madame Maxime said. "You've given them the excuse they need, Ronald."

"That's a French problem," Ron said. "It has nothing to do with me, but truth be told, I think the Veela community should be monitored. From what I've seen of it so far, it is clearly out of control. I mean, I just met Barty Crouch's French counterpart, and she is at least thirty years younger than him. How do you think she got her position?"

"That is not the point," Madame Maxime argued.

"Yeah, it is," Ron said defiantly. "Corban Yaxley wasn't wrong to fear the Veela community, because logically speaking, they have a track record of abusing their power over others. I mean, I can't even step into Beauxbatons without the younger Veelas trying to turn my brain into mush."

"They can't help that," Madame Maxime frowned.

"So what? We're just supposed to let them do whatever they want?" Ron asked. "You are asking everyone to excuse their behavior, but at the same time, you're doing nothing to keep them in check. That is not how equality works. I want to help the Veela community, but I won't let them run rampant on others. I very recently learned what happens when you let your beliefs blind you, and I don't plan to repeat that mistake. Don't forget why I brought the French to England. You will help the Order, and you'll stay the fuck away from our politics. This is not a democracy anymore. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Dumbledore, but I assure you, he'll agree with me."

Ron then fixed his tied into place, and he drew in a deep breath in order to calm himself down.

"What's more important to you, Madame Maxime? Defeating the Dark Lord, or making sure that your Veela friends hold you in high regard?" Ron asked.

Madame Maxime said nothing, and after a few moments of silence, she walked back into the Living Room with a deep frown. _Yeah, fuck you too. Veela this, Veela that… Honestly, I think she just wants to have her cake, and eat it too._ Ron followed her inside, and then he took a seat next to Daphne. Lord and Lady Lenoir were no longer in the Living Room, and Ron figured that they had left to collect their old allies.

"Has Daphne discussed her business plans with all of you?" Ron asked pleasantly, but all he got were stares. _What? You didn't expect me to fight back?_

"She has," Emilia broke the silence, her day was certainly more entertaining than she had originally planned. "Personally, I'm already on board. She has agreed to take care of the paperwork, which saves me a lot of hassle, and my business gets to expand." _I need to ask her for that favor soon. I can't let the Abadies talk about the Order while they're incarcerated. Emilia will need to figure out a way to get rid of them while they're trapped in the Ministry dungeons._

"We are also hoping that her Family in Germany reaches out to her soon," Lady Heroux said, her eyes fixed on Ron.

Ron shot a look at Daphne, and he noticed a hint of pride flash across her face. _Good on you, Daph. You didn't even need me here._

"The Lenoirs have also expressed interest in letting her expand their business," Lord Heroux added. "Though I will warn you, Lady Greengrass, a lot of work will go into this."

"I'm willing, and able," Daphne said confidently. "I am only asking for a chance, my Lord."

"We'd be fools to refuse…" Lord Heroux said with a smile, though his eyes darted nervously towards Ron. _What the fuck are you looking at, bitch?_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"What of our daughter?!" Eretria Couture bellowed, her face contorting in rage.

Ron, and his allies, were currently discussing what Ron had just done, but truth be told, Ron just wanted to leave for Paris with Daphne already. _I feel rather guilty for sending her out while we discussed our business, but it was clear that the French don't fully trust her. I mean, they don't even know her, so it's to be expected, but still… I wish she was in here with me._

"Your daughter will be brought here shortly," Ron said calmly, and Eretria Couture lost some of her outrage. "I spoke with Head-Auror Paul Durand, and he agreed to have his men drop her off once they locate her. Currently, she could be hiding in one of your many homes, so it's taking a little time."

"And she won't be charged with anything?" Lord Couture asked, he looked more desperate than angry.

"Not a single thing," Ron promised. "You two stood by me while Lady Abadie sprung her plot, and for that, I am truly grateful. You will find that I reward loyalty, which is why Christina, a traitor, is being pardoned of all of her crimes. She'll be in your care before long, and I suggest that you teach her some manners. Oh, and remind her that just because she's used to getting whatever she wants doesn't mean that she is untouchable. You make sure that you explain to her that she got lucky this time."

Lord and Lady Couture exchanged slow looks, and then, they both sat back down. Ron turned his attention to his other 'allies', making sure to put on a mask of civility.

"I know that many of you decided to turn me over as the culprit," Ron started, and they looked less than pleased with their actions. "But despite your **betrayal** , I understand your actions… You wanted to protect yourselves, and others like you, from persecution. Lady Abadie's greed was threatening to poison the well, and I am nothing more than a foreigner to you." Ron then looked to Madame Maxime. "I hope that you all remember this day from now on. I could've done all you a lot of harm, but instead, I protected you once again."

"What of the Ancars?" Lord Bisset asked. "The Donadieus? The Beaumonts?"

"Will they be imprisoned?" Madam Delacour asked, she and her husband had been away on vacation before this meeting.

"No, but they will be questioned," Ron replied. "They'll be offered some sort of deal, I assume, and once they testify against Lady Abadie and her husband, they'll be set free."

"What happens to them after that?" Lord Beaufort asked his fellow countrymen. "We can't just let them get away with this."

"You will," Ron cut in. "We will invite them back with open arms, and we'll forgive them." _And we'll watch them very carefully._

"What?" Emilia asked with a deadpan look. "I'm not in the habit of working with backstabbers." _Those backstabbers know about the Order, and unless you can kill them all, I suggest that you deal with it._

"You will do as I say," Ron lost the last shred of pleasantness in his voice. "You will **all** do as I say. Don't forget that I can still ruin all of you very easily."

"Ronald…" Madame Maxime started, but Ron just gave her a bored look.

"Don't expect me to be pleasant, not after what just happened," Ron said. "I have decided to look past their actions, but that doesn't mean that I'll forget them." Ron then looked back to the Families. "I brought you all to England to do some good, and many of you agreed because you are clearly good people. But then, when things got rough, most of you decided to turn your backs on me. You've shown me that I can't completely trust you, so don't take offence from my tone. Not after all the pardons I've handed out today."

Ron then drew in a calming breath, and then he gave them all a meaningful look.

"Going forward, I want to see some loyalty from the people in this room," Ron said. "I want to help the Veela community, because if I didn't, I'd have sold you all out like you did me. Together, we can actually do a lot of good for France and Britain, but only if we're united."

"What of Corban Yaxley?" Lord Heroux asked.

"He thinks that he's won," Ron replied. "And sure, his legislation isolates Magical Britain from the rest of the World, but we can still work together. We'll just have to stay hidden for a while, just until we can go head to head with the likes of Corban Yaxley once again. Right now, the French and British Ministries are working together on a big project, and once they reveal said project, Madame Maxime and I will need your support. Can we count on you?"

Before anyone could answer, the sound of scandalized yelling interrupted their discussion. It was coming from outside, and Ron's first thought was to run outside to check up on Daphne. But before he could move, the door to the Living Room burst open, and two strong women dragged an outraged Christina Couture inside.

"Libérez-moi, vous les chiens," Christina screamed, her beautiful face was as red as a tomato. _Well, hello there._

"Christina!" Lady Couture all but ran to her daughter, and her husband quickly followed.

"Where did you find her?" Ron asked the Aurors, while Christina's rage was overtaken by genuine confusion.

"In Paris," one of the Aurors replied before tossing Christina to her parents, and then, they both left without another word. _Friendly bunch, eh?_

Lord and Lady Couture quickly held onto their daughter, clearly afraid that she'd disappear if they let go of her. Christina, however, was trying to shove them away from her, but when her eyes landed on Ron, her outrage returned in force.

"YOU!" Christina shrieked, her features becoming bird-like.

With monstrous strength, she shoved her parents away harshly before charging at Ron. Ron went to step back, but Emilia rushed past him with her hands on the hilt of her sword. Christina all but ran into the blunt end of Emilia's Blade, the wind being knocked out of her rather unceremoniously. _Bloody hell! Why is Emilia Travers so fucking fast?!_ Christina keeled over as she coughed violently, her beauty returning slowly.

"Don't hurt her, you brigand!" Lord Couture threw himself in-between Emilia and his daughter, while Lady Couture dragged herself to her daughter's side.

"She'll be fine," Emilia said coldly. "I only winded her." _Should've let her come to me, I was going to punch her in the head with Cutis Terra in effect. That probably would have killed her, though._

"You two ought to take your daughter back home," Ron said. "Keep your eyes on her, or I'll do it for you."

"She's young, that's all," Lady Couture fixed Christina's hair into place, all the while holding her wheezing form. "She was tricked…" _Wow, now I know why she's such a bitch. You've spoiled her ever since she was born, haven't you?_

"I… was… not… tricked…" Christina coughed, and then she looked at Ron through teary eyes. "Foreign filth!"

"Foolish tart," Ron grinned widely, and then he looked to Lord Couture. "Take her, and don't forget my act of kindness. I won't be so forgiving the next time she does something like this."

"Of course," Lord Couture quickly gathered up his wife and daughter.

"He's not one of us!" Christina screamed, her eyes fixed on Ron. "You're all traitors! We women could rule the Wizarding World!"

"Stop it," Lord Couture urged as he dragged Christina away.

"Don't touch me!" Christina screamed petulantly. "Lady Abadie will end you for this, Weasley! You disgusting piece of filth! Go back to your flea-ridden country!"

"You should've hit her harder," Ron whispered to Emilia, and she nodded her agreement. "I need to speak with you alone before I leave."

"Understood," Emilia whispered, everyone was just staring at Christina being dragged away. _Now, where was I?_

* * *

 _ **Emilia Travers' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Lenoir Abode – Midday)**_

She could barely hold back her smirk; it felt good to see the Veelas so rattled. It was no secret that they were beyond arrogant, and despite being a woman, Emilia understood why. Every Veela she had seen was beyond beautiful. But with that beauty came arrogance and greed, and no Veela was immune from it. Even the best of them often used their beauty as a weapon, and although there was nothing wrong with that, the fact that they enjoyed dominating others annoyed Emilia. _They can never have enough, can they? It's not in their nature._

"There you are," came Ron's voice, and Emilia turned to face him. "Why are you standing outside?"

"Too many people inside," Emilia shrugged. "Did anyone see you come outside?"

"Nope," Ron walked up to her side, his eyes examining the grounds. "I told them that I needed to use the loo, and once I got away from them, I used the Disillusionment Charm to sneak out." _That's a N. E. W. T. Spell. Very nice._

"Well, what did you want to discuss with me?" Emilia asked him.

"I understand that you have 'shady' friends," Ron whispered, and Emilia cocked an eyebrow. "I need you to kill Lord and Lady Abadie while they're in the French Ministry dungeons."

"What?" Emilia blinked, she hadn't seen that coming.

"They know about the Order, and something tells me that they'll run their mouths if they see no way out," Ron replied, and Emilia found herself agreeing with him.

"It won't be easy," Emilia said. "Those dungeons are guarded well."

"But not as well as the French prison," Ron said. "Do the French have a prison?"

"La Fosse," Emilia replied. "It's a pit, and no one knows where it is. Only the Ministry, and a special unit from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement know of its location."

"That's pretty awesome," Ron looked awed, and Emilia rolled her eyes. _He might be a demon, but he's a_ _ **thirteen**_ _-year-old demon._ "Anyway… If they get sent to 'La Fosse', we'll lose the chance to silence them. I need you to do whatever it takes to off them."

"You realize how cold you sound, don't you?" Emilia asked, and Ron gave her a confused look. "I know that I'm not exactly a mentally stable individual, but even I don't talk about murder like its afternoon tea."

"Trust me, you have no idea how cold I can be," Ron's expression darkened, and Emilia quickly felt wary. _Please don't use_ _ **that voice**_ _, I need my sleep._ "Just kill them, alright? Use poison, Imperius some poor bastard, do whatever it takes. I want them dead as quickly as possible."

"Consider it done," Emilia gave a curt nod; she too wanted the Abadies gone. "We should also kill their son."

"Son?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"He's eighteen, and he's currently traveling around Australia," Emilia said. "I've been collecting information on the traitors, you see."

"Does this son know of his parents' crimes?" Ron asked.

"Probably not," Emilia replied. "He hasn't been home since he graduated from Beauxbatons."

"Then he doesn't deserve to die," Ron said, and Emilia frowned a little. "He's innocent, Emilia, so don't lay a finger on him."

"You think he'll let you murder his parents and get away with it?" Emilia asked. "Don't be a fool."

"But I didn't murder them," Ron said innocently. "They were silenced by their own Ministry… Or, just maybe, the Veela tribes of the mountains killed the Abadies for involving them in a failed bid for power. Or maybe, some angered lover of Lady Abadie had them killed. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"They have a lot of enemies," Emilia said.

"Exactly," Ron smiled widely. "Who knows what really happened?"

"You've thought this through, I see," Emilia stated. "Good, I hate working with idiots. I'll start organizing this as soon as I get home. It might take a couple of days, but I can arrange for someone to poison their meals."

"Please don't get caught," Ron said, and then he left just as quickly.

Emilia looked back to the grounds, she couldn't deny that she was impressed by her ally's efficiency. In just one day, he had thrown the rulebook out of the window and ruined whatever scheme Lady Abadie had been cooking. _And now, she'll be dead before long. The French will no doubt suspect Ron, but there won't be any proof tying him to her murder. She, after all, spent her entire life making enemies because of her need to put herself above others. You live by the sword, and you die by the sword. If only the Abadies understood that… Oh, well, I won't mourn their loss. Two less greed-ridden dogs to put down._

* * *

 _ **Molly Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midday)**_

Ron had outdone himself this time. Even after two years of defiant behavior, he had still managed to surprise her. Only this time, he had dragged poor Daphne into his maniacal need to ignore the wishes of his elders.

"I'm going to France," Sebastian kept pacing.

"And do what?" Sirius asked. "They could be anywhere right now."

"I don't care," Sebastian came to an abrupt stop. "They're children! Why didn't you stop them?" _Is he talking to me?_

Molly realized that she could say very little right now, especially because Sebastian was right. She should've stopped them, but Ron's deranged appearance had startled her into uselessness.

"He was in a rush, and we couldn't even figure out what to do," Xeno spoke for Molly. "Sebastian… He was gone just as quickly as he arrived."

"And Daphne willingly went with him?" Mary asked, and when Xeno gave her a nod, she rubbed her face tiredly. "Merlin… What's gotten into her lately? First she fights with her father, and then she runs off."

"It's his influence," Sebastian began pacing again, and Molly cringed a bit. "He's convinced her that doing whatever you please gets you results."

"Don't just pin the blame on the kid," Sirius frowned. "From what I've heard, he didn't twist her arm. He gave her a choice, and she made it."

"That's true…" Molly spoke up. "He didn't force her to join him…"

"Sebastian, just take a seat," James said. "You're taking this a little too personally."

"Is your daughter currently missing in France?" Sebastian frowned deeply.

"No, but if he had offered her the same choice, she would've joined him," James shrugged.

"And that is a point of pride for you?" Sebastian asked.

"They're kids," James argued. "I remember doing some really stupid shit when I was their age."

"Just wait for them to come back, and then scold them," Susana said. "Tell them **why** they were wrong to leave." _I don't think Ron will care much for anyone's opinions._

"Have you actually spoken to Ronald Weasley?" Mary asked them, and they shook their heads. "He's not one to listen to others, especially people that disagree with him."

"He's fired the next time I see him," Sebastian hissed.

"Husband, calm down," Mary said. "You're not helping anyone."

The fireplace roared to life, and Molly immediately stood up. _Ron?_ Sadly for her, it was only Kirsten and Charlie. They had returned from their day at the British Dragon Reserve, and judging by their happy faces, they'd had a good day.

"Oh, hello," Kirsten greeted the adults, while Charlie looked for Molly.

"Mum, there you are," Charlie's smile widened. "Are you ready to head out for your massage?"

"Pardon?" Molly blinked.

"The massage," Charlie said slowly. "You know, the one Ron set up for you? We talked about it this morning, and I promised to take you with me. The streets really aren't safe these days." _Oh, that massage. The one Ronnie bribed a person for. My son bribes people… What happened, Molly? When did you fail at being a mother?_

Molly sat back down with a distant look, much to Charlie and Kirsten's confusion.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Kirsten began reading the room.

"I'm not going to a massage… I'll just wait here for Ron to come home," Molly said, and Sebastian began pacing again.

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Magical Paris – Afternoon)**_

"It's sweeter than I thought it would be," Ron said, they were currently sharing a Café Liégeois.

"You don't like it?" Daphne asked, though she knew that he did. _I mean he ate most of it, not that I'm bothered._

"I love it," Ron smiled in a smitten manner, and Daphne felt her stomach float. _He's so damn cute! I just want to pinch his face!_ "Though, this is a secret between us. Madam Roberts can never find out."

"My lips are sealed," Daphne giggled. "What do you want to do next?"

"I leave that up to you," Ron finished up the dessert. "I mean, you're the fancy Lady who can speak French."

"Ordering in French wasn't that weird, Ron," Daphne quickly defended herself, but he just sniggered to himself. "Hmph… Whatever. I want to go look at clothes."

"Uh-oh," Ron lost his amusement, and Daphne smirked.

"It'll be fun, Ron," Daphne turned the tables. "I mean, I don't plan to buy anything, but I can always remember if I like something. Plus, you get to have a show."

"I know what that show entails now…" Ron gave a deadpan look. "A lot of waiting."

"It'll give us time to talk," Daphne shrugged.

"How? You'll be changing clothes," Ron said.

"Before we get there, genius," Daphne said, and Ron eyed her with suspicion. "Let's just go!"

"Fine…" Ron rolled his eyes, though there was a smile on his face. _He's enjoying himself, even if it just means waiting around for me._

They made their way out of the Café, and once Daphne had his gloved hand in her, she began leading him towards the clothing stores. The heart of Magical Paris was quite similar to Diagon Alley, with the only major difference being that there was no 'Rape Alley' attached to the heart of Magical Paris. _Tracey says the grossest things, sometimes._

"Look, Daph!" Ron pointed. "Jugglers!"

Daphne followed his gaze, and she saw a group of men juggling balls made up of blue, white, and red flames. _Wow, how are they not getting burned?_

"This was a good idea," Daphne beamed, and Ron kissed her cheek. "Thanks for getting me before you left, Ron. It really did save me a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry about it," Ron shrugged with a smile. "I'm glad you sorted out everything, and I'm proud that you managed to rope in the Lenoirs as well."

"I was pretty great, wasn't I?!" Daphne squealed, her excitement taking over her common sense for a moment. _Relax! Don't show him how excited you are!_

"What was that?" Ron laughed, and Daphne looked dead ahead.

"Nothing," Daphne composed herself.

"It was pretty cute," Ron teased, and then he poked her side. _That tickles!_

"Ron, don't poke me! I just ate!" Daphne felt a little flustered, and Ron gave her a confused look. _Ugh… Boys! Can't he tell that my stomach isn't flat right now?_

"Weird thing to say, but whatever," Ron chuckled. "But like I was saying, good on you, Daph. I'm sure your parents will be blown away by this."

Daphne's stomach dropped immediately, and she stopped walking.

"My parents are going to kill me," Daphne remembered, and Ron just stared at her. "Ron, what are we going to do?!"

"We have a fun date, and then, we go home," Ron shrugged. "Can't change what's already happened, so what's the point in worrying about it?"

"My father will be there, Ron," Daphne said. "You're not scared of his reaction to my rebellious actions?"

"Do I look like I'm scared of your father?" Ron asked, a hint of coldness seeping into his voice.

Daphne let go of his hand, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Ron, you can't fight him," Daphne frowned a little. "He's my **father**."

"Who said anything about fighting?" Ron lost his coldness. _Great, now he looks confused._ "I'll simply take the blame for this, that's all. He can yell his heart out at me, and you can save yourself."

"I can't let you do that," Daphne didn't like that idea one bit. "I chose to come, Ron, so it's not fair for you to take the hit."

"Okay…" Ron said slowly.

"I'll take equal blame," Daphne decided, and Ron blinked. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'm my own person!"

Resolve flowed through her veins, and she puffed up her chest. _I'm Daphne Greengrass! And I'm not a little girl anymore! I just fixed my business deals, and I got an extra one to boot! I can take care of myself!_

"Girls…" Ron muttered under his breath, but Daphne was too busy hyping herself up to hear him. "Daphne? Is anyone home?"

"I'm not scared of my father," Daphne told herself, and Ron began laughing.

"Giving yourself a pep-talk?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave a firm nod. _They let Astoria get away with worse! At least I rebelled in order to further our Family Name in the World!_ "Let me know when you finish, yeah?"

"I'm done," Daphne drew in a deep breath, copying Ron's calming technique. "I'm not scared of them, and I did what I did because I had to. I **had** **to** fix this on my own."

"Fix this on your own?" Ron asked. "Daph, did your father try to take over once everything went sour?"

"Yes," Daphne huffed in indignation. "The moment he learned about the legislation, he turned into a control freak. Non-stop orders masked as 'advice', and he even told me that he'd talk to my business partners himself! Can you believe that?!"

"He probably got a little too riled up," Ron said.

"He has no right to cut me out of my own deals," Daphne told Ron, and herself. "Caring about my success is one thing, but not listening to me is something else entirely."

"Exactly," Ron nodded his agreement. "You won't learn until you try, right?"

"Right," Daphne said, and then she took his gloved hand. "Wow… I feel better…"

"The pep-talk worked?" Ron sniggered.

"It did," Daphne gave him a light shove. "Don't make fun of me, or I won't kiss you."

"Sorry," Ron replied immediately, his voice dead serious.

"That's what I thought," Daphne smirked; the ball in her stomach was lighter now. "By the way… Do you really think that your plan worked?"

"Oh, it worked," Ron grinned. "I aired all the dirty laundry, and the French knew that they had shat their undergarments."

"Colorful as always, handsome," Daphne grimaced.

"You should've seen the look on Minister Wallace's face," Ron laughed. "The man aged a hundred years on the spot. Oh, and his Head-Auror, Paul Durand, clearly doesn't like the Veela community much. I intend to find out why, of course, but for now, I'm happy that I met someone who wanted to stick it to the Veelas. He all but jumped at the chance to arrest Lord and Lady Abadie."

"They did return that Christina Couture girl," Daphne nodded to herself. "She was vile. The things she was saying… Disgusting."

"Oh, you heard her?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a nod. _I wanted to slap her so bad. Talk about giving the rest of us women a bad name…_ "Well, I had half a mind to have her sent to prison, but then I decided against it. The French were struggling to come to terms with my original demands, so I had to improvise. Plus, this way, the Coutures get their daughter back. Such as she is."

"Returning her was the right call," Daphne said. "They'll remember that, despite their actions, you didn't stoop to their level. You could've easily turned the whole thing on them, but you gave them another chance." _Personally, I would've waited until the Quibbler was up, and then, exposed the Veela community out of the blue._

"Stooping to their level was never a choice, truth be told," Ron admitted. "As angry as I was, I couldn't bring myself to blame **all** Veelas for the actions of the few. It just didn't sit right with me." _Then you're a better person than me. I would've made them pay with everything._ "Though I won't lie, it did feel good to scare the shit out of everyone."

"The Quibbler keeps paying off," Daphne smiled at him.

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "When I first bought it, I really didn't know just how useful it would be. But thanks to the Daily Prophet's monopoly on Media, the Quibbler is my most useful asset." Ron then beamed at something. "I see a clothes store right over there!" _Which one?!_

"Oh! The Fairy's Island!" Daphne felt her face split into a smile. "They have amazing clothes! C'mon, Ron!"

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Magical Paris – Late Afternoon)**_

Merlin, he felt so relaxed right now. It was as if the entire World's weight had been removed from his shoulders. All the stress and anger he had felt over the last few days was beginning to leave him, and Ron couldn't be happier. _I'm no doubt going to be swarmed once I get home, but you know what? I don't care. Moping around at home wasn't helping me, and being blamed by everyone wasn't helping me either._

"Do you want that one?" Ron asked Daphne, who was currently eyeballing a red dress.

"I'm just trying to remember the order number," Daphne told him. "I'll order it once I'm home."

"Think of this as my Christmas gift to you," Ron said as he picked up the dress.

"Ron, I was still looking," Daphne pouted, and then, she realized what he had said. "Don't buy it for me."

"Why?" Ron asked. "It's only fifty-six Galleons, and I can afford that."

"But we promised each other that we wouldn't get Christmas presents," Daphne reminded him.

"Really? So you didn't get me anything?" Ron asked, and Daphne shook her head. "Really?"

"No," Daphne lied.

"Lies," Ron whispered.

"Fine! But I'm not facing financial issues," Daphne confessed, and Ron clicked his tongue.

"Neither am I," Ron told her. "You realize that your father pays me, right? I can afford to buy one gift. Plus, all my needs are met at Hogwarts. C'mon, Daph… You really like this dress, and it looks great on you. Let me get it for you."

Daphne looked at the dress, she was clearly thinking about his offer. _One more push._

"You can wear it tomorrow," Ron shook the dress playfully. "I can put on a nice suit with a red tie, and we can dance. Maybe find ourselves under some mistletoe?"

"Oh…" Daphne's face pinched, and then she let out a sigh. "Okay… You're being sweet, and I'm thinking about numbers…"

"Yes, and you shouldn't talk about money when happiness is in question," Ron began to walk over to the counter.

"I know… Money doesn't buy happiness…" Daphne followed him.

"What?" Ron shot a look back. "Money buys happiness, Daph, and whoever says that it doesn't clearly hasn't been poor. What I meant was that you ought to let your amazing boyfriend buy you a Christmas present."

"Okay," Daphne began to smile. "Thank you, my amazing boyfriend."

"You're welcome," Ron smiled back, and then he walked over to the counter.

"You two are very cute," the old witch behind the counter giggled. _Eavesdropper!_

"You speak English really well," Ron noticed.

"I ought to, I'm from Britain," the old witch said. "Now, pass that dress over, and I'll pack it for you."

Ron handed the dress over, and while the witch was packing it away, Ron pulled out his Gringotts pouch. Once the payment had been made, the witch handed Ron the box.

"Hope you two enjoy your Christmas together," the witch waved them off.

"Same to you," Daphne waved back, and they both left the shop. "Thank you, Ron. I'll definitely wear it tomorrow."

"No worries," Ron kissed her cheek. _So soft! And she smells great!_ "So… You got me a present, eh?"

Daphne averted her gaze quickly, and pretended like he wasn't there.

"What did you get me?" Ron pestered. "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me. Tell moi!"

"You can't just use a French word after using an English one," Daphne said in a surprised voice.

"Sure I can," Ron said. "I don't know the word for 'tell' yet, and it's because my tutor is really bad at her job."

"How dare you?" Daphne puffed up. "I'm bad? How utterly absurd."

"Don't act so upset," Ron sniggered. "It won't distract me. I know you're trying to change the topic."

Daphne tensed, and then she let out a whine.

"I can't tell you, Ron," Daphne all but pleaded. "The others would be so annoyed with me."

"The others?" Ron grinned. "A gift that everyone pitched in for? Really?"

"No!" Daphne blocked her mouth.

"Fine… I'll leave you be," Ron decided to stop teasing her. "Be grateful for my mercy, woman." _Seriously though, what did they get me? Also, why did they all have to pitch in? I'm so curious now._

"Yes, thank you," Daphne hung her head, how could she spill half the secret?

"Want to head back to the French Ministry?" Ron asked. "I'd rather bring you home before dark."

"I suppose," Daphne 'sighed' dramatically.

"C'mon, we've had our fun," Ron took her hand, and she smiled widely.

"It was indeed fun, Ron," she said. " **Really** fun. Thank you for planning a date, even during all of this. It was really thoughtful of you. I love you."

"I figured that we could both use a break," Ron shrugged, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. _Why did she have to sound so sappy just then? Teasing is more fun._

"You won't say it back?" Daphne feigned hurt.

"I… I love you…" Ron muttered, his eyes darting around them. _If anyone heard that… Mind your own fucking business, mate!_

"Still so cute," Daphne began giggling.

"I'm not cute…" Ron eyeballed her. "I'm handsome, but in a rugged, tragedy-ridden hero sort of way."

"Uh-huh," Daphne nodded along.

"Don't 'Uh-huh' me," Ron huffed. "Say that I'm a handsomely tragic hero!"

"Sure, you are," Daphne started laughing. _Betrayed…_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"We got them both," Paul Durand said, he had been waiting for Ron at the French Ministry.

"You did?" Ron smiled widely. "Great news."

"Oh, it is," Durand smirked. "Lord Abadie resisted arrest, and one of my Aurors gave him a bloody lip. Fantastic news." _Okay, then…_

"Isn't that Auror brutality?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow.

"It is," Durand shrugged calmly. "But if he didn't want a bloodied lip, he shouldn't have resisted."

"You don't like Veelas very much, do you?" Ron asked. "I mean, you've been a bit too helpful to me…"

"I was just doing my job," Durand said. "That's all." _Horse-shite! You had one of your men punch Lord Abadie, I know it._

"May I see Lady Abadie?" Ron asked, and Durand just stared at him.

"Ron, is that wise?" Daphne whispered. "This woman has history with you, and it could ruin the case against her."

"I'm the Diplomat to the French, so I would only be dropping by just to make sure that she doesn't plan to do more damage," Ron said to Durand. "Nothing illegal about that, right?"

"I suppose," Durand said, and then he gestured them to follow. "They're in our interrogation rooms right now, and neither of them are talking." _Good, I need them to stay quiet until Emilia can get rid of them._

"Where did you find them?" Ron asked.

"In their Manor," Durand replied. "Some of their Elves tried to warn them off, but we had sealed away all the exits by then. Trust me, when I told them of what they were being charged with, they looked truly ignorant of their crimes. These two know how to act innocent."

"What's your history with them?" Daphne asked. "I mean, you sound very… biased… against them. Not trying to pry, of course, just curious."

"Let's just say that I bled, and lost friends, throughout an entire war, and at the end of it, they gave my promised job to a woman who was half my age," Durand replied. "In the French Ministry, it's not about what you're capable of, it's about your heritage. Or rather, your gender… Either way, I was the Head-Auror who led the war effort, and a girl with no experience became my boss at the end of it. She's currently in Albania, being completely useless to the Gaia Project." _Yeesh. This Ministry is just as bad as our own, if not worse._

Once they reached the interrogation rooms, Durand signaled his Aurors to take a break. Ron decided that he only needed to speak with Lady Abadie, just to see her one last time. _I'll be nothing but supportive, and understanding. That ought to piss her off._

"She's in room one, and he's in room three," Durand said. "You have five minutes. I'm going to go get Roberta, and once she's here, she'll take you to your Portkey."

Durand left at that, and Ron handed Daphne her dress box.

"Be careful," Daphne said, though she wished that Ron wouldn't speak to Lady Abadie.

"I'll be right back," Ron gave her a comforting smile, and then he entered room one.

The interrogation room was quite tiny, and black. _Very black. Even the chairs are bloody black._

"You?" Lady Abadie blinked at him, and Ron smiled warmly.

"Lady Abadie," Ron took a seat in front of her. "They haven't mistreated you, have they? I heard they punched your husband in the face."

"What?" Lady Abadie snarled.

"He's fine," Ron held back a laugh. _Don't push her, Ron. Behave._ "They've healed him up."

"What is this?" Lady Abadie glared at him. "What have you done, boy?"

"Nothing," Ron lied. "I simply did my job."

"Your job?!" Lady Abadie snapped. "They tore me away from my bed!" _Hahahaha!_

Ron grinned for a second, but he quickly fixed up his face.

"I'm sorry… to hear that…" Ron drew in a wheeze. "Sorry. I'll be serious from now on. Ahem! Okay, I'm good. Please, go on."

"You little bastard…" Lady Abadie shook with rage. "I don't know what you did, but you'll pay for it dearly."

"I told the French Ministry the truth," Ron said. "As was my duty. You, after all, threatened my Ministry, didn't you? What choice did I have?"

"And they're dancing to your tune?" Lady Abadie looked a little jarred. "How? Why?!"

"Because I have something that you don't," Ron whispered. "I have a news magazine."

Lady Abadie blinked at him, and then she frowned deeply.

"That Quibbler nonsense?" she scoffed. "That's your leverage?"

"Not leverage," Ron looked around innocently. "There's no leverage here… Just people doing their jobs."

"Stop playing games!" Lady Abadie ordered. "Answer me!"

"You left before we all had a chat with Corban Yaxley…" Ron pulled a face. "Turns out, he was having you followed… Does Ludo Bagman ring a bell?"

"Ludovic?" Lady Abadie lost some of her rage.

"Yeah, the Pure-Bloods had so much dirt on you," Ron tutted. "They used said dirt to obliterate me, because let's face it, you left us in a really terrible position. Anyway, I decided that the French deserved to know what their own were plotting. So, in an act of public service, I aired everyone's dirty laundry. That, and my magazine, is more than enough to do the French Ministry a lot of damage."

"You are… really pathetic, aren't you?" Lady Abadie sneered, and Ron 'sniffled'. "You're using your enemy's weapon? That's how weak you are?"

"Yeah, it isn't really… honorable, but I don't care," Ron shrugged calmly. "I'm a Slytherin, and we value logic and rationale over sentimental tripe. Especially when the stakes are really high. You left us all no choice."

"You think this will work? Huh?" Lady Abadie hissed. "I have powerful friends! The Minister himself is my thrall!"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Ron blinked. "You're sitting in an interrogation cell, and you're calling the French Minister a thrall? I mean, why are you so arrogant? What goes through your head?"

"Arrogant… A word used by those who are beneath me," Lady Abadie scoffed. "I've dealt with it all my life, and I always come out on top. Do you know why?"

"Because you're Veela?" Ron asked. "Yeah… That won't work with me, remember?"

"You're a man, and men are all fools," Lady Abadie looked disgusted.

"Your husband must be the World's biggest cuckold," Ron chuckled under his breath. "You're done, Lady Abadie. The French don't want the mess that you're bringing over to their table, and once they speak to the Veela tribes of the mountains, they'll also wash their hands of you."

"We'll see about that," Lady Abadie smirked coldly. _No, we won't. I have a murderous bint on my side, and she plans to off you very soon._ "I'll be out of here by the end of the week, boy. My friends-"

"Are also being questioned," Ron told her, and her mouth closed shut. "I even had Christina Couture handed over to her parents. So… Yeah… Don't count on them. I mean, the French Ministry isn't putting them away. They only want you. Just one prominent Family. I have done to you what you did to me, Lady Abadie. I've taken away your choices out of the blue, and it was all for the sake of the Veela community."

"This will not stand," she still maintained an air of arrogance. "I have friends outside of France, and they will cause disruptions on a national scale. I won't even be held for a trial." _No, you really won't._

"Goodbye, Lady Abadie," Ron stood up, and then he left the room without another word. _Rot in hell, bitch._

As Ron stepped out of the room, he came face-to-face with Durand and Berger. _Um… Where is Daphne?_

"Well?" Berger asked. "Did she give you anything?"

"She was rude, and that's about it," Ron replied.

"Her trial is going to be a nightmare," Durand told them. "She still has powerful friends, and they'll want her out of here as soon as word gets out."

"Some reporters have already been alerted by her House-Elves," Berger sighed out. "They're all outside even as we speak."

"You ought to tell the public of her crimes, and then take credit for stopping her," Ron said. "Get out in front of this before people make up their minds by themselves."

"The Minister has prepared a statement, and he'll be presenting it shortly," Berger told him. "Now, it's time for you to return home. We've done as you asked, and we expect you to keep your word."

"And I will," Ron promised. "But I won't be going home alone. You're coming with me, Miss. Berger."

"What?" Berger blinked, while Durand held back a laugh.

"You and I will speak with Mr. Crouch about what happened here," Ron said. "I don't fully know about the steps your Ministry took, and you will fill him in for me. Oh, and you'll tell him that I did spectacular job down here."

"You weren't exactly a Diplomat," Durand smirked.

"I tried to be, but people like Lady Abadie kept throwing hurdles in my way," Ron shrugged. "Trust me, all the stress they caused me has taken at least a year off of my life." _And that isn't even a joke._ "But now that everything is back to normal, we can start building on this."

"This?" Berger asked.

"Say what you will, but we make a good team," Ron stated. "It took us a day to ruin that woman's schemes."

"She's not down yet, slugger," Durand said. _What the hell is a slugger?_

"What is a 'slugger'?" Berger asked Durand.

"It's… Never mind," Durand waved a dismissive hand. "Let's get you to your Portkey, Mr. Weasley. Your girlfriend is becoming impatient."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"And she's being held at the French Ministry?" Crouch asked, he was awfully stoic about the whole thing.

"Yes," Berger replied. "Her husband is also being held by the Aurors. Their son will be contacted as soon as we can determine his location, and hopefully, this will all be behind us before the Triwizard Tournament."

Crouch frowned deeply at Berger, and then he looked to Ron. _Oh, I know already._

"I'm already aware about the Tournament, Sir," Ron said, and Crouch looked ready to slam his own head on the table.

"Of course," Crouch shook his head, and then he stared at Berger. "Thank you, Miss. Berger. I appreciate you coming down here personally. It's not often that a person in our position takes their job seriously." _What?! I fucking told her to come down here! Praise me!_

"I felt it necessary, Mr. Crouch," Berger said respectfully, and Ron fought the urge to gape at her. "And again, I am sorry for my finger-pointing."

"All is well, so there is nothing to apologize for," Crouch stood up, and Berger followed suit.

They shook hands firmly, and Berger left the Office with a smirk. _This bitch… She got me good. Oh, well._

"Good work, Mr. Weasley," Crouch sat back down, his eyes fixed on Ron's. "A little too… showy… for my tastes, but it clearly worked. Even if Lord and Lady Abadie win their case, the French Ministry will have turned the public against them by then. Just one thing, though… Why didn't you tell me about Lady Abadie's bid to conquer our Ministry?" _Oh, fuck…_ "Or about the Veela tribes of the mountains?"

"Well… I didn't want to make things worse for myself," Ron all but whispered, and Crouch just stared through him. "I still hadn't learned my lesson, but I have now, Sir. It's why I asked Roberta Berger to come here. I wanted her to tell you everything personally. Plus, when you were questioning me, Corban Yaxley was still trying to start something. If I had confessed, things would have spiraled out of control."

"I figured as much," Crouch looked to the door. "Why else would she waste her time coming down to do her damn job?" _He's so damn bitter; he makes my Nutrition Potion look sweet._ "Well, good job, Mr. Weasley. You have earned the right to keep your position. For now."

"Thank you," Ron said gratefully. "And I promise to work with you from now on."

"Work for me," Crouch corrected.

"That's what I said," Ron lied, and Crouch drew in a deep breath. _Don't piss him off, Ron. Behave._

"Who told you about the Tournament?" Crouch asked.

"Madame Maxime," Ron replied. "I've known about it for a while, but I haven't told anyone. She said that it was sensitive information."

"It is," Crouch said. "It's good that you already know about it, actually."

"It is?"

"Of course," Crouch said. "The French will be competing, won't they? And since you're our Diplomat to them, you'll be helping me plan the thing." _Oh…_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Finally," Daphne smiled at him as he approached. "I was starting to get worried, Ron."

"Did you miss me that much?" Ron smirked, and then he got serious. "Why didn't you go home, Daph? I was in that Office for ages."

"I'm not going back alone," Daphne looked at him like he was an idiot. "Ron, we ran away together, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Ron grimaced. "Your father is no doubt waiting by the fireplace."

"You're going through first," Daphne said bluntly.

"I thought you weren't scared of your father," Ron said. "Remember your pep-talk?"

"That was then, but right now, I'm starting to panic," Daphne told him. "He's going to be furious with me, Ron."

"I'll go first, then," Ron sighed. _My parents will also be waiting for me. Time to deal with that headache._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope that was good for you guys!**

 **My life has turned into a dumpster fire, and I'm literally going to lose my apartment at this rate. Life sucks. It is a trap created by God for his own amusement. Abandon all hope.**

 **Now that I got that out of my system, I am aware that I have been late by a day or two for a while now. Truth be told, writing these chapters is not an easy task. It takes a toll. I'm basically writing a Thesis every five days, and I've been doing it for over a year now.**

 **So, I won't be announcing the date for the next one. It'll be out when it's finished. I'm sorry if that bothers some people, but please... I'm only human, and I'm really struggling with things in my life. So, yeah... Favorite the story, and you'll get an alert when I update. Or just check back every week or so to see if I've updated.  
**

 **Take care.**


	109. Chapter 109 - Change is Good

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 109 is finally here! I have returned from my 'break', but truth be told, it wasn't much of a break. I got a lot of my affairs in order, and now I can go back to writing this story. So, here's hoping that things stay in control from now on.  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Behold... The abyss is made manifest' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 109 – Change is Good**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Ministry – Late Afternoon)**_

"I can still take the blame, Daph," Ron offered, his eyes examining Daphne's fidgety behavior.

Daphne looked rather tempted, but then her face pinched a little. _She was definitely tempted to take my offer, but knowing her, she doesn't want me getting into too much trouble._

"No," Daphne refused. "It wouldn't be right."

"You know I'm used to fighting with the adults," Ron tugged at her hand. "I wouldn't hold this against you."

"I appreciate that, but you only came to me in order to help me out," Daphne smiled a little. "I **chose** to accept your offer. You shouldn't be blamed for my choices."

"Maybe your father will go easy on you if tell him that everything worked out for you," Ron said comfortingly.

"It'll soften him up, but he'll still be angry over my disobedience," Daphne said. "It's different for girls, Ron… We're expected to follow our fathers' commands without fail, and I showed him great disrespect by running off like that."

"I… I don't really know what to say about that…" Ron admitted. "I'm not a girl…" _Ronald Weasley, the failed Mind-Healer._

"Cute," Daphne chuckled weakly, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "You don't have to say anything, Ron. I need to compose myself, and then, I need to face him. I'll accept whatever punishment he has in store, because let's be honest, he didn't deserve to spend his day worrying over my safety."

"So you'll just accept punishment for doing what was necessary?" Ron asked.

"Just because it was necessary doesn't mean that it was right," Daphne shrugged. _That makes… no sense whatsoever. If something is necessary, then it needs to be done. Why feel bad about it? And why accept punishment so blindly to boot?_

"If that's how you feel, then we ought to get going," Ron said, and when Daphne gave him a nod, Ron pulled her along with him towards the fireplace. _She's definitely dragging her feet._

"You can do this, Daphne," Daphne whispered to herself repeatedly, and Ron shot a wary look back.

"I'll get the floo ready," Ron said, but Daphne didn't even hear him. _Alright, I'm starting to worry._

Ron grabbed a pinch of floo powder, and he tossed it into the fireplace.

"The Burrow," Ron called, and the flames roared as they turned green. "Alright, let's go."

"You go first," Daphne nudged him, and Ron did as he was told.

The moment Ron stepped into the Burrow's Living Room, he saw Lord Greengrass pacing up and down. The pale man immediately noticed Ron, and just as he came to an abrupt stop, Daphne stepped into the Living Room through the fireplace.

"You're safe," Mary sighed out, looking more relieved than angry.

"Hello," Ron greeted everyone, which earned him various looks from the adults.

Sirius and Arthur just shook their heads at him, while Molly and Pandora were staring right into his eyes. James and Susana Davis both looked quite bewildered by Ron's casual greeting, they clearly didn't understand that Ron felt very little guilt over his actions. As for Lord Greengrass, the man began to march right towards Daphne with his right hand raised. _Is he going to hit her?!_ Ron immediately moved between Lord Greengrass and Daphne, while Daphne shrunk in her spot with her head bowed.

"Touch her, and I'll rip your hands off," Ron warned, and his words stopped Lord Greengrass. _Try me, cunt._

"Ronald!" Molly looked scandalized.

"Husband, don't!" Mary quickly moved off of her seat, and she was pulling Daphne behind her before anyone knew what was what.

"How dare you?!" Lord Greengrass yelled at Daphne, which only frightened her even more. _He's yelling… Bloody hell, I've never seen him raise his voice like this before._ "Do you have any idea how worried we've been?!"

"Seb, mate…" Sirius said calmingly. "Relax, please. They're home, and they're safe."

"This has nothing to do with you, Black," Lord Greengrass hissed as he shot a scornful look at the ex-Gryffindor.

"Ron, come over here," Arthur beckoned him. "Move out of his way." _And let him hit Daphne? Fuck that._

"I'm not doing that until he calms down," Ron refused, his eyes fixed on Lord Greengrass. "Daphne hasn't done anything to warrant physical abuse-"

"You… You disrespectful little cur…" Lord Greengrass snarled, his face twisting with contempt. "I bring you into my home, my Family, and this is how you repay me? You drag my daughter off to another country without **my** permission, or knowledge?"

"He didn't drag me anywhere, father…" Daphne mumbled. "I chose to go…"

"Daphne, be quiet," Mary said, though her eyes were fixed on her enraged husband. "Sebastian, calm yourself. You are taking things too far."

"You're fired," Sebastian told Ron, who grimaced immediately. "You and I are finished. You will not speak to my daughters again, do you understand?"

"NO!" Daphne sounded genuinely terrified.

"No, I don't," Ron said coldly, his own temper ignited. _If it weren't for me, you'd be sucking the Dark Lord's cock by now._ "Fire me if you want, but don't tell me who I can, or can't, associate with."

"No one is getting fired," Mary said, while Daphne looked completely panicked. "Sebastian, please… You're scaring your own daughter…"

"And you!" Lord Greengrass glared at Daphne. "How could you do something like this?! I raised you to use your brain, didn't I?!"

"I'm sorry…" Daphne shriveled behind Mary.

"I've given you the entire World, and you don't have it in you to show me even an ounce of respect?" Lord Greengrass' voice turned hollow. "Your Family has spent the entire day worrying over you, and all you have to say is that you're 'sorry'?" Lord Greengrass then looked to Mary. "Take her home, while I fetch Astoria. We're leaving."

"There is no need for that," Molly pleaded. "Sebastian, think of the consequences of you leaving the Burrow…" _Consequences? Oh, the war._

"We're not going anywhere," Mary said, and then she nudged Daphne towards the back exit. "Go upstairs, Daphne. Go."

Daphne lingered, her teary eyes fixed on Ron, but he was too busy staring at Lord Greengrass with an eerily calm look. Mary nudged Daphne again, and the blonde witch slowly disappeared from everyone's sight. _Good… There's no chance of her getting hit now._

"You're disobeying me as well?" Lord Greengrass looked right through his wife.

"I'm doing what's best for my daughters," Mary said, though her voice lost much of its strength because of her husband's anger. "You're not thinking clearly, Sebastian…"

"Ronald Weasley, explain yourself this instant," Molly ordered, her face had turned red with anger.

The adults all looked to Ron, while Lord Greengrass began pacing again in an effort to regain his composure.

"I had to go to France to deal with the French," Ron started, his eyes fixed on Lord Greengrass. "I had ten minutes to catch my Portkey, which was arranged by my boss, so I couldn't afford to delay. Still, I chose to run down here because I knew that Daphne wanted to reach out to her potential business partners. We barely made it to the Portkey in time, so I assure you, we had no time to waste."

"How convenient," Lord Greengrass hissed under his breath.

"Why would I go out of my way to antagonize you?" Ron asked calmly. "I saw an opportunity to fix more than one mess, and I took it. Daphne managed to convince Emilia Travers and the Heroux Family to continue their future partnership, **and** she secured the Lenoirs hand in business as well."

"I don't care about her business plans right now," Lord Greengrass fumed. "You took her away from the safety of this house, and a million things could've gone wrong. You wouldn't be the one burying your daughter."

"Sebastian…" Mary rubbed her forehead.

"She spent most of her day with the Lenoir Family in their perfectly safe mansion," Ron explained. "I even had **Madame** **Maxime** accompany her for pretty much the entire day." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "I'm not an idiot. I didn't leave Daphne alone while I conducted my business. She was surrounded by powerful wizards and witches."

Lord Greengrass said nothing, but his pacing began to slow down.

"The kid clearly took precautions," Sirius said, though he didn't look too pleased with Ron either. "She was safe, Seb…"

"She is **my** daughter, and I didn't raise her to act this way," Lord Greengrass grit out. "Ever since she met **him** , she's become increasingly rebellious."

"Don't blame me for your shortcomings," Ron shut the man down immediately. "All I did was give her a choice, and she jumped at the chance to take control of her own life. She told me all about your recent behavior… You took away her notes, and then, you all but cut her out of her own business ventures."

"My name commands more respect," Lord Greengrass said., while Mary looked baffled by this new information "I was helping her."

"By telling her to do nothing while you 'fixed' everything for her?" Ron asked. "Please… She regrets asking you for help, and I don't blame her. She worked her arse off on those deals, and you don't even respect her enough to let her try." Ron then shook his head. "Don't blame me for your imagined slights, Lord Greengrass. If you had just given her a chance to prove herself, she wouldn't have run off with me. Oh, and I haven't fueled her 'rebellious' nature… Daphne has a way of getting whatever she wants, even if it means taking an unorthodox approach. She's always been like that, and I know that you know that."

Ron then looked to his mother, who was slightly less red in the face now.

"Did you go to your appointment?" Ron asked her, but she didn't say anything. "Great… So I wasted ten Galleons for no reason whatsoever. Solid work, mum. Truly remarkable." _More money thrown down the toilet. Maybe I should stop wasting my efforts on them altogether? They clearly don't appreciate it._

"You bribed a man," Molly broke her silence. "Charlie told me…"

"And?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, making the adults exchange looks. "Yes, I bribed a man, but I did it for your back. No one else even cared enough to notice, mum, but I went out of my way to help you. But sadly for me, none of you agree with my 'manipulative' methods… I apparently spend my free time turning your children against you, eh?"

Ron then looked back to Lord Greengrass, who looked more annoyed than angry.

"If I find out that you put your hands on her, there will be consequences," Ron promised. "She only wanted to show you that she can stand on her own two feet… Don't punish her for that." _I need to go find Daphne. She's probably crying in some secluded corner right about now._

Ron began making his way towards the Kitchen, but Sirius stopped him by calling out.

"What happened with the French?" Sirius asked.

"We heard that the others turned on you as well," Susana added.

"Oh, that…" Ron turned around with a 'smile'. "I took care of it."

"Took care of it?" Arthur asked slowly, why was his son smiling in such a cruel manner?

"I had Lady Abadie, and her cuckold of a husband, thrown in prison," Ron told them, and even Lord Greengrass looked stunned.

"What?" Pandora muttered. "How?"

"I revealed her plot to the French Ministry, and we all decided that she needed to be stopped," Ron replied. "The other conspirators will be set free with a warning, but only if they testify against her in court. I also had Christina Couture picked up by French Aurors, and they delivered her to her parents. The French Families now understand that I'm not to be opposed, and if they're smart, they'll stay in line from now on."

Ron then turned to leave. _I'm coming, Daph. Just hold on._

"You haven't explained how you convinced the French to lock up one of their own," James said, and Ron shot a quick look back.

"They wanted to avoid a scandal, and I showed them that a war could be on their hands before long," Ron said. "Plus, I possess my own Media outlet. I can easily publish whatever 'truth' I want, and a majority of my readers will eat it up. I promised the French Ministry that if they didn't comply with my demands, I'd turn the Veelas into undesirables number one."

"You used the Quibbler as a threat…" Xeno sounded quite taken aback. _There's always someone who finds a reason to complain about my actions, isn't there?_

"I did," Ron said. "It is **my** business, and I can use it however I want."

Ron then turned around to face Xeno, his eyes digging into the eccentric man's.

"Do you have a problem with that, Xenophilius?" Ron asked, and Xeno looked down at the ground. _That's what I thought._ "You can all look shocked and disgusted by me, but just know that unlike all of you, I actually **do** something to make the World a better place. I'm done putting up with your constant doubt and questions. It's unfair that I'm the only one who has his flaws constantly pointed out, despite all of you spending your time doing nothing."

"Ron… We don't treat you that way…" Arthur said weakly, though truth be told, he knew that he had a record of focusing on Ron's negative traits.

"Yeah, you do," Ron sounded genuinely tired all of a sudden. _Why am I even whining about this? They're not going to listen. They haven't listened at all over the last two years._

Without another word, Ron left the Living Room. _Now, if I were Daphne Greengrass, where would I go to cry? I'd stay away from people, so upstairs is off-limits. I'd also make sure that I couldn't be found by chance, so she's not in the house._ Ron looked to the exit that led into the backyard, and he saw that the door wasn't closed. _She'd hide behind the outhouse in order to stay out of sight. Merlin, Daph… It's freezing out there._

Ron quickly made his way outside, and once he had the outhouse in sight, he all but ran towards it. He also quickly made sure that none of the other children were looking out of the windows, and much to his relief, he saw no one. _She'd become genuinely depressed if she found out that the others knew about her current state._ As he neared outhouse, he began hearing stifled sobbing. Ron immediately slowed down in order to not spook her, and when he rounded the corner, he found Daphne crying into her knees. _She's shivering, so I need to warm her up first._

"Hello," Ron whispered, and Daphne's head jerked up.

"Are… Are you still fired?" Daphne coughed out, and Ron honestly didn't know the answer to that. _Probably, but I don't really care. Chess hardly seems more than a hobby now that the war is just around the corner. I need to focus on more important things than my Chess career._

"I'm not sure," Ron sat down beside her, his arm quickly wrapping around her shaking shoulders. "Your father is still quite upset, but he's not yelling anymore."

"I didn't think that he'd be **that** furious…" Daphne squeaked. _It's because you don't know about the Dark Lord's return. He was genuinely scared, and that set him off._ "He tried to hit me…"

"Your mother is calming him down," Ron said as he pulled her closer into his side. "Don't worry, Daph… I told him of what you accomplished, and why you chose to leave with me. He looked… thoughtful… At least for a few moments. Once he's calmed down, I'm sure he'll regret taking things so far. That's when you can approach him and sort things out."

"You shouldn't have… threatened him…" Daphne sniffled, and Ron let out a sigh.

"I know…" Ron said as he pulled out a handkerchief. "It's just… When I saw him coming at you, something snapped in my head. I didn't even have time to think."

"I see…" Daphne mumbled, and Ron began cleaning her face. "He doesn't want you talking to me anymore…"

"Daphne, that is not going to happen," Ron said comfortingly. "I promise, alright? He was angry, and people don't think when they're angry. I mean, just look at your boyfriend."

Daphne managed a choked laugh, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come.

"What if it does happen?" Daphne asked weakly.

"Then we'll date in secret," Ron tried to cheer her up. "Just like when we first started kissing. We'll sneak around Hogwarts, and try to hide from our Families when we're home. It'll be a 'forbidden love' sort of thing."

"I'm trying to be serious, Ron," Daphne sniffled, and Ron finished dabbing her tear-tracks away. _Okay, she looks much better now._

"As am I," Ron smiled a little. "Haven't you read any fairytales about princes and princesses before? Everything will be just fine, I promise."

"Okay…" Daphne latched onto his side. "It's cold out here…"

"Do you want to go inside?" Ron asked as he rubbed her arm.

"No," Daphne replied. "I don't want people seeing me in tears… Tori and Tracey especially."

"I'll cast the Warming Charm, then," Ron pulled out his wand, and once he had cast the Charm, he placed his wand by his free hand. "Merlin… What a difference that Charm makes."

"I feel better already…" Daphne's body relaxed considerably.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"It's starting to snow," Ron whispered, and Daphne finally reared her head.

"Oh… The Warming Charm made me forget how cold it is," Daphne said, her voice was rather hoarse. "I still don't want to go inside, though."

"We can sit inside the outhouse," Ron offered. "It'll be dark in there, but at least we don't have to deal with the snow."

"Kid! Daphne!" came Sirius' voice, and then, the handsome man rounded the corner. "There you are… My nose is as sharp as always." _Huh?_ "You alright, Daphne?"

"Yes," Daphne lied, making sure to clear her throat before speaking.

"You two should come inside now," Sirius looked to Ron. "It's starting to snow, and a Warming Charm won't be enough to keep you two from getting sick."

"Is my father still furious?" Daphne asked in a subdued voice.

"He… Um… He went home," Sirius replied slowly, and Daphne's face dropped. "Your mum went with him, and she wanted to let you know that she plans to calm him down. You, Tracey, and Astoria are spending the night here."

"What?" Daphne blinked.

"There's room, I'm sure," Sirius said. "Now, please come inside."

Daphne nudged Ron's side, and he knew what she wanted immediately.

"Can you give us a bit of time, Sirius?" Ron asked. "Just enough to let Daphne compose herself."

"The others aren't home," Sirius told them. "The children, that is… Charlie and Kirsten took them to the village. Hermione really wanted to see it, so they made a day out of it. They left around midday, and won't be back for a while yet."

"Oh," Ron and Daphne said together.

"Come on," Sirius gestured them to stand. "You two could use some hot chocolate."

"We can spend our time in my room," Ron whispered to Daphne. "Just until Tracey, Theo, and Malfoy get back."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Daphne finally smiled a little, and Ron quickly helped her up.

"Daphne, why don't you go on ahead?" Sirius asked. "I need to speak to Ron really quickly." _You mean you want to whine in my ear. Great._

"Go on," Ron put on a smile. "I'll be right up."

Daphne looked between the two wizards, and then, she left quietly. Ron and Sirius watched her leave in silence, and once she was inside the Burrow, Sirius turned to face Ron.

"You took it too far today, Ron," Sirius said, his voice was rather firm. "Seb might have been a prick about it, but he wasn't wrong. You put his daughter in danger, and what's worse is that you don't care one bit about it."

"There was no danger," Ron said. "She was with-"

"Yeah, I know," Sirius cut him off. "She was with powerful wizards and witches. I understand that you took precautions, and that Daphne was quite safe, but Ron… Her parents didn't know that. They spent the entire day worrying over her, and they had no way of knowing what she was up to. You should've gone to them before giving Daphne that choice."

"I didn't have time," Ron said, and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you did," Sirius argued. "But you were too busy being a lunatic to care."

"Pardon?"

"Your mother told us about the state that you were in when you showed up at the Burrow," Sirius said. "Laughing maniacally, arms flailing about, and angry beyond reason."

"I admit that I was… upset… but I wasn't so out of my mind that I'd risk her safety," Ron said.

"Well, we had no way of knowing that," Sirius gave Ron a deadpan look. "Even the other children were left startled by your appearance, so you can only imagine the state of us adults. I had half a mind to follow you to France, while Seb was only staying put for his wife's sake."

"Look, I know that today was hectic, but I honestly didn't plan to upset people," Ron said truthfully. "I was not trying to antagonize Lord Greengrass, nor did I want to worry him. Things just… spiraled… but I did my best to keep everything under control. Now, saying all of that, I still think that Lord Greengrass trying to hit Daphne was uncalled for."

"Parents, especially Pure-Blood parents, sometimes discipline their children," Sirius sighed out. "Though I do agree with you on that… Children shouldn't be stuck across the face for doing stupid shit… It fucks them up, trust me."

"Once he calms down a bit more, I'll talk to him myself," Ron promised. "If anyone should be punished, it ought to be me. Daphne just wanted to prove to him that she didn't need him treating her like a child."

"Then maybe she ought to act a little more mature, then," Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. "What a proper mess…"

"Well, what's done is done," Ron said, and Sirius cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You really don't care, do you?" Sirius asked, and Ron simply shrugged. "Merlin, kid… You're becoming colder than Seb himself."

"Yes, I am the worst, aren't I?" Ron drawled. "I'm heading inside." _I might be cold, but I'm also quite efficient. One day, they'll be grateful for my 'cold' actions._

"What was that quip about you doing something to make the World a better place, while we do nothing?" Sirius asked, and Ron just stared at him. _How should I respond to that?_

"It wasn't a quip, it was the truth," Ron replied. "None of you do anything to help the World become a better place."

"Is that so?" Sirius crossed his arms.

"Sirius, what do you do all day?" Ron asked. "Answer honestly, please."

"I… I…" Sirius thought about it, but he genuinely did nothing most days.

"You do nothing," Ron said. "I'm not trying to be a prick here, but even you must understand that you are wasting your freedom. I mean, you were invited to join the Wizengamot, and you didn't even bother to reply to them."

"Wait… How do you know about that?" Sirius asked.

"I have people who tell me things," Ron deflected the question. "So? Why didn't you reply to them?"

"I'm not working with those bastards," Sirius frowned deeply. "They threw me away for ten years without a fucking trial."

"As terrible as that was, you're letting your past stop you from doing great things," Ron gave his opinion. _I'd kill to have such an opportunity given to me, and you're just wasting it for no reason besides spite._

"What great things would I accomplish with a bunch of old twats?" Sirius asked.

"For one, you could help fight for people like Remus," Ron pointed out, and Sirius quickly lost his frown. "You could also help improve the Black Family's ill reputation. You could make allies with like-minded people, and with their help, work to clean up the corruption within the Ministry. Corruption that led to you being locked away without a trial, I might add. You could also learn quite a lot from those 'old twats', and then pass that knowledge onto Harry. Oh, and you could-"

"I get it," Sirius stopped him. "Look… I've never been interested in politics, and I don't think I ever will be."

"You think I enjoy busting my arse every day?" Ron asked. "For fuck's sake, Sirius, I've worked myself into an early grave."

Sirius blinked at that, his posture changing to a far less hostile one.

"It's fine," Ron assured the man. "I've thought about it a lot, and I've decided that crying over spilled milk is a waste of my limited time. What I'm trying to say is that just because you don't enjoy something doesn't mean that it's not important. Take my dad, for example… His job at the Ministry literally does nothing to help the Muggles in the long run, but he keeps doing it simply because he enjoys it. He could instead focus his attention on climbing the ladder, and from up there, start implementing legislations that actually benefit Muggles and Muggle-Borns."

"I take it that you don't approve of your dad's job," Sirius said.

"I'm glad that he works in a field that keeps him happy, but there's no denying that he could do more for the Muggles that he supposedly loves," Ron stated. "You can't expect change to come simply because you adhere to certain values. You have to fight to make that change happen. Now, it's clear to me that the adults don't approve of my methods, but I ask you, what have any of you done to implement your beliefs?"

Sirius said nothing, which was exactly the answer Ron was expecting. _What's that saying about beating a dead Hippogriff?_

"I'm heading inside," Ron repeated. "Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah," Sirius muttered under his breath. "Silver-tongued prick…"

"Brain-dead bitch," Ron smirked, and then he began making his way towards the Burrow.

"Your dad went back to work, by the way," Sirius told Ron. "As for your mum… She's not exactly pleased with you right now."

"Yes, I've 'embarrassed' her by acting this way," Ron rolled his eyes.

"In short, you really have," Sirius said. "Who do you think Seb blamed for his missing daughter? Besides you, that is." _Damn, that's not really fair on her when I think about it. She ended up being blamed for my actions. Ugh… Now I feel a little guilty._

"If he really wants someone to blame, he ought to look in the mirror," Ron said.

As they made their way inside the Burrow, Ron spotted Daphne sitting on the dining table with the Lovegoods and the Davis Family. She had a cup of hot chocolate in her hands, and judging by her fallen posture, Ron figured that she was enduring an awkward silence.

"Ronald Weasley," Molly turned to face him from the Kitchen sink. "You will apologize to Sebastian, and I will hear nothing on the matter."

"I will, but only once he calms down," Ron assured her, and she gave him a curt nod. "I'm… I'm sorry that you were blamed for my actions. I will tell Lord Greengrass that what happened was entirely on me."

"And me," Daphne added guiltily, while Molly looked shocked by Ron's apology. _What? I'm not above admitting my mistakes._

"Good," Molly said, and then she went back to washing dishes. _I've broken her mind, haven't I?_

Ron noticed that, once again, her free hand was resting on her lower back. _No, Ron. You already wasted ten Galleons on her back, and she didn't even bother to go to her appointment. Don't waste another Knut. But still… Look at her. She's clearly in pain…_

"I can still set up an appointment for you," Ron heard himself say. _Ron, you dumb fuck!_ "Tomorrow's Christmas, and I know that you'll be running around all day. I can set something up for tomorrow morning."

"There's no need for that," Molly said without looking back. "Your father's promised to help me sort out my back once he's home."

"Alright," Ron decided to back off. _Well, I can at least say that I offered._ "Daph, do you want to go up to my room?"

"Yes, please," Daphne quickly stood up, and the other adults stopped their conversations in order to shoot Daphne sorry looks. _At least they're sympathetic towards her. Maybe that'll help calm Lord Greengrass down?_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office - Evening)**_

Ron had managed to sneak out of the Burrow with the help of Marty, and now he was waiting for Fawkes to fetch Dumbledore. The other children were still away on their trip, Daphne was taking a much needed nap, and the adults were too busy setting up to notice Ron sneak past them with the use of the Disillusionment Charm. He knew that he was on thin ice, but his need to inform Dumbledore of what had transpired in France had conquered his better judgment.

The sound of roaring flames broke Ron out of his daydreaming, and he quickly looked back to see Fawkes and Dumbledore standing in the middle of the Office. _I wonder how Fawkes found him. Are they connected somehow? Sort of like Marty and me? I mean, Marty can find me anywhere when I call for him, so maybe Fawkes can do the same with Dumbledore._

"Ronald," Dumbledore greeted, while Fawkes flew over to his perch. "Fawkes tells me that you have something important to tell me."

"I do, but you should probably sit down for it," Ron said, and Dumbledore smiled as he began making his way towards his grand chair.

"Your love for being dramatic never ceases to amuse me," Dumbledore said as he sat down. _I'm not that dramatic, am I? No, wait… I totally am._

"I'm an emotional guy," Ron shrugged with a half-smile. "The drama just comes with it."

"Yes, I'm sure," Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Well? What has happened that requires me to sit down?"

"I had Lady Abadie arrested by French Aurors," Ron replied rather bluntly, and Dumbledore just stared at him. "Are you glad that you're sitting, now?"

"Yes," Dumbledore sighed out, his eyes becoming slightly dull. "Ronald… Why?"

"Why did I have her arrested?" Ron asked. "Could you be more specific, please?"

"Why did you not come to me before making such a decision?" Dumbledore asked. "She knows of the Order, and therefore, she can implicate us all in a conspiracy."

"She won't really get the chance," Ron said, he needed to bring Dumbledore into the loop. _Otherwise, he might do something that ruins my plan out of ignorance. Communication is essential in our partnership, or we'll repeat something like the Albania Inferno._

"Won't get the chance?" Dumbledore asked. "Has the French Ministry set her free already?"

"Oh, they won't be letting her go," Ron said. "They're actually getting the other conspirators to testify against Lady Abadie and her husband. Both of them aren't going anywhere, I'm sure of it."

"I'm afraid that you have lost me," Dumbledore said. "Tell me everything, Ronald."

"I told the French Ministry of Lady Abadie's ambitions, and I used the evidence gathered by Corban Yaxley to frame her as the heart of the conspirators," Ron explained, and Dumbledore listened without a hint of emotion on his face. "The French weren't willing to arrest her at first, but I promised to use the Quibbler to defame them, and the Veelas, to the point of being hated worldwide. It certainly helped the French Minister change his tune about Lady Abadie."

"And why did you do this?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron was left a little confused by the question.

"Because she needed to be dealt with?" Ron's brow furrowed. _Wait… Why am I phrasing that like a question? It's a fact._ "Headmaster… She was planning to start a takeover of our government, and with an army of **mind-controlling** Veelas, she could've succeeded. Can you imagine fighting her, **and** the Dark Lord at the same time? We'd be done for."

"But now she is cornered, and she has information that can end the Order," Dumbledore stated.

"I know," Ron said calmly. "Which is why I've arranged for her… elimination… from the board."

"Elimination?" Dumbledore looked slightly wary now. "Ronald… What did you do?"

"Lady Abadie, and her husband, will be poisoned in their cells pretty soon," Ron replied, and Dumbledore just stared at Ron. _He doesn't approve, does he?_ "It's the only option, Headmaster."

"Killing is never the only option," Dumbledore said, he looked rather disappointed. _I won't lie; I don't like him looking at me like that. It makes me feel like a piece of shit… Even more than usual, that is._

"It's not pretty, but I can't think of anything else," Ron said. "She knows about the Order, she knows about the Dark Lord, and she wants to launch her own war. We can't just let her run about, especially now that the Dark Lord's return is imminent. Plus, her actions could result in the Veela community being shunned the World over. I'm sorry, but she's too dangerous to be left alive."

"Did you consider Obliviation?" Dumbledore asked.

"I did, and from what I know about it, she's known about the Order for too long," Ron recited his textbook. "Wouldn't wiping her memories of the Order at this point drive her insane? Is that really better than death?"

"You should not have done something so drastic without consulting me," Dumbledore said.

"I did what I thought was best, and whenever you've done that, I've always stood by you," Ron said. "Even when I didn't agree with your plans, I supported them. Now, please tell me what else I could've done? She left us no choice. Her greed was so great that she decided to use the Dark Lord's return to **her** **own** advantage. Letting her live would come back to bite us in the arse, and you know it."

"We could've imprisoned her ourselves," Dumbledore suggested.

"And the French would come looking," Ron countered. "She has many friends, and most of them would grow curious about her disappearance."

"But not of her murder?" Dumbledore asked.

"A lot of people want her gone," Ron shrugged. "The French Ministry has reason to avoid a massive scandal, the Veela tribes of the mountains are known to be vindictive, the French Families aren't fond of her, and some would argue that even the British Pure-Bloods dislike the French enough to commit murder. Actually, given their history, people will definitely suspect Pure-Bloods like Corban Yaxley."

"You planned this, I see," Dumbledore wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"This is no different from what happened with the Werewolves, Headmaster," Ron said. "Remember that?"

"I do," Dumbledore rubbed his chin.

"If we didn't do the hard thing back then, we'd have an army of Werewolves to fight against," Ron said. "And if we don't do something about Lady Abadie, we'll have an army of Veelas to fight against. Oh, and these Veelas are not just poor and uneducated Werewolves, they are wealthy and powerful witches who can seduce men with a glance. We can't hope to win against such overwhelming odds, Headmaster."

"You aren't wrong about that," Dumbledore admitted. "But tell me, Ronald, is Lady Abadie's murder just for the sake of the future? Or did you do this in an effort to exact revenge against an individual who wronged you?"

"Can't it be both?" Ron asked in a rather honest voice. "I won't deny that her actions have really pissed me off, and that I've thought of causing her harm… But, despite my personal grievances, I am more concerned about the damage she can inflict during the war. And she wouldn't just be hurting us, but she'd also be hurting the Veela community by dividing it. She literally only serves herself, and that makes her very dangerous. It'd be like your queen piece deciding to make a third party on the board, and then proceeding to kill indiscriminately. The whole game would get fucked."

"And she was our queen piece…" Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "What a waste of life."

"She made her choice, and that's not on us," Ron said. "Well, that's what I think, anyway. I spent a great deal of time wondering why she did this, and nothing came to me. I even blamed myself for a bit, but that did nothing except make me feel miserable. All I can say is that she doesn't care about anyone but herself, and we gave her the chance to be a team player."

"And who is poisoning her?" Dumbledore asked. "What if they decide to out you?" _I know for a fact that Emilia is terrified of me. Well, she's terrified of the Entity, but…_ _ **We are one in the same.**_

A pang of pain traveled up Ron's head, but he quickly ignored it. _Damn migraines._

"I trust them, and they haven't let me down yet," Ron deflected the question, and the old wizard decided not to prod. "Sorry, Headmaster, but some people don't need to know about our partnership." _Actually, you don't need to know about my partnership with Emilia. I need someone morally ambiguous on my side, and she's perfect._ "The only question now is if Lady Abadie will talk before she gets eliminated."

"For the next few days, she will try to win her case legally," Dumbledore figured. "She is trying to get out of a Conspiracy charge, so discussing one she took part in will not help her. Only when she has no option besides mutual destruction will she reveal information regarding the Order. She might even try to negotiate her freedom with us."

"If she can stay quiet for a couple of days, then this ends well for us," Ron said. "Anyway, I only came here to let you know what was happening. I'd better head back home before people start looking for me."

"Promise me that you'll come to me the next time you decide to take such drastic measures," Dumbledore said.

"I promise," Ron said. "But… If some important decision comes along, and I'm pressed for time, I will do what I must. That's fair, right? You have to trust me, Headmaster, just like I trust you."

"Very well," Dumbledore gave a nod, and then he reached into his desk and pulled out a bunch of papers. "The permits came through this morning."

"That quickly?" Ron asked, he was genuinely surprised. "It's been less than a day…"

"After you left, I travelled to the Ministry," Dumbledore handed Ron the papers. "I spoke with Kingsley in person, and explained to him that these children needed to be able to defend themselves should they be attacked. After all, they are the children of Order members, which makes them targets to the less honorable of the Dark Lord's followers. He quickly filled out the paperwork, and then buried it in order to avoid unnecessary questions."

"Shouldn't you hand these out, then?" Ron asked. "What if people ask me how I got them? My dad is friends with Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Tell them that you beat me in a game of Chess, and my help with this favor was your reward," Dumbledore said, and Ron blinked at him. "It looks better if these come from you, Ronald, especially on Christmas."

"You want the other children to be grateful to me instead of you?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a nod. _What is he playing at?_ "Alright, then… If you're certain that this is what you want, who am I to argue?"

"Keep me in the loop, please," Dumbledore said as Ron stood up. "Ah, that reminds me… Amelia is returning to Britain just after Christmas, and I plan to approach her as soon as she returns. I already have Severus' memories, and I have convinced him to speak to her should she need further proof."

"That's great," Ron smiled. "Do you need me for anything?"

"If all else fails, then I will let you know," Dumbledore replied. "I don't want your… power… to become public knowledge, but if there is no other way of convincing Amelia to join us, then perhaps knowledge of what's at stake will change her mind."

"Let me know if you need me to speak to her," Ron said as he made his way over to the fireplace. "Oh, and Merry Christmas, Headmaster. I probably won't see you tomorrow, so I hope you have a pleasant day."

"Same to you, dear boy," Dumbledore said, though he didn't sound very festive. _He's probably reeling from what I just told him. I know that he doesn't see assassination as a viable strategy, but honestly, what else can be done about that woman?_

"The Burrow," Ron called as he threw the floo-powder into the flames, and when they blazed green, Ron stepped through them.

"You snuck out of the house, Ronald? After what just happened today, you're still sneaking off in secret?" Molly demanded just as Ron stepped into the Burrow, she was waiting by the fireplace. _Uh-oh. Caught in the act with my pants down. It's over._

"Um…" Ron quickly tried to think of a valid reason, and his eyes darted down to the papers in his left hand. "I just had to take care of some important business…"

"What sort of business?" Sirius asked from the armchair. "What are those papers, kid?"

"Permits," Ron replied, and his mother narrowed her eyes. "Permits for the other children, that is. You know how I'm allowed to use Magic outside of school? Well, with these, they can as well." _Say something touching. Quickly, now!_ "I didn't get anyone anything for Christmas, so these permits are my present."

"Oh," Molly's eyes slowly returned to normal, and Ron fought the urge to pump his fist. _I'm a genius._

"How did you manage to get these?" James asked, and Ron shot a look towards the corner. _Merlin, they're all here. Think fast._

"I challenged the Headmaster to a game of Chess, and his help on this was my reward for winning," Ron lied, and the adults looked rather intrigued. _The hole gets deeper._

"You two must be quite close," Pandora said, her sharp gaze fixed on Ron. "You certainly interact a lot." _She knows! Abandon ship!_

"He's a decent bloke," Ron tried to be casual. "He's nice to everyone, not just me." _Yes, nothing suspicious is at hand._

"Does Harry get one of those?" Sirius asked, an intrigued look on his face. _Does he? I didn't check the papers yet. Wait… It's Harry Potter. Of course Dumbledore got him one._

"Yes," Ron replied, and Sirius' lips twitched upwards. "Don't tell him, though. It's meant to be a surprise." _I need to go through these myself first._

"Good on you, Ron," Sirius gave an approving nod. "I'm glad that you two are trying to find common ground again."

"Yes… Good on you, Ron…" Pandora whispered, her eyes fixed on him. _Good Lord, she knows that I'm a vindictive bastard._

"You know me…" Ron chuckled nervously; her gaze still unnerved him sometimes. _Change the topic._ "Just trying to keep things civil… Are the others still away? I don't want them seeing these just yet."

"They'll be back any minute now," Molly said.

"Then I should go upstairs and hide these, eh?" Ron said, and then he quickly made his way out of the Kitchen.

As he neared the stairs, he overheard the adults talking about him. _What's Pandora saying?_ Ron quickly put his ear to the wall, a concentrated look on his face.

"You know, Molly, I don't wish to be rude, but your youngest son is really quite the bizarre fellow," Susana was saying. "I thought Tracey was over exaggerating some of the stories about him, but seeing him go about his business is really quite the spectacle." _Well, I'm glad you think so._

"If anything, Tracey was selling him short," James added.

"He's… unique…" Molly said slowly. "Honestly, I don't know how his brain works. He's just… all over the place. Do you get what I mean?" _Not at all. What do you mean by 'all over the place'?_

"He's got his fingers in too many pies?" Sirius asked, and Molly let out a sigh.

"Maybe one day I'll figure him out," Molly said wistfully. _Unlikely._

"Do you really think Dumbledore helped him with those permits?" Xeno asked.

"We can ask him," Pandora suggested. _Go right ahead. Who do you think came up with this lie?_ "I must admit, I don't fully believe his story. When did he beat Dumbledore in a game of Chess? He's been dealing with the French for the entirety of the Break, and now he's telling us that he took some time off to defeat the Headmaster in a game of Chess? It just doesn't fit." _Pandora, please stop…_

"When we see Dumbledore again, we'll ask him," Sirius said, and Ron decided to warn the old man before he was questioned. _I should go before one of them catches me._

Ron quietly made his way up to the first floor, he was starting to lose track of his infinite lies. _The adults don't fully trust me anymore, and I can't really blame them. My lies just keep stacking up, and one of these days, it's all going to come crashing down on me._ Ron knew that in a few days, the adults were going to reveal the truth about the Order to the children, which included Ron himself. _I'll need to act a little surprised, but not enough to seem out of character. I have, after all, warned my friends that a war is coming, and I need to convince them that I figured it out because of my 'great intellect' instead of being warned by an Old God._

Ron suddenly felt his stomach tighten painfully, which caused him to lean against the wall for support. _Fucking hell! What was that? Why is my stomach being such a prick lately? Is it my diet?_ Ron rubbed his stomach and groaned; the dull ache was refusing to leave. _Maybe it's a massive shit? The only problem with that theory is that my stomach has never hurt like this before._ Ron tried to stand up straight, but a knot in his stomach stopped him from doing so. _Fuck, that really hurts._ Ron released a shaky breath, and then he began limping towards his room. _I just need to sit down._

The rest of the trip was quite unpleasant, and when Ron finally entered his room, he saw that Daphne had once again cocooned herself in his blanket. _Does she always sleep like this?_ Ron's eyes drifted to his trunk, and he quietly limped over to it. Crouching down nearly made him scream, but he managed to stash the permits in his trunk without making a sound. _Alright… Now I just need to stand back up…_ Ron grit his teeth, but try as he might, the pain in his stomach was too much to bear. _Something's very wrong here… I need to tell the adults right now._

Ron tried to make his way out of the room, but his pain caused him to trip over his own feet. He landed on his face with a dull thud, but because of the burning pain in his stomach, Ron barely felt the impact. He felt extremely lightheaded, and for a little while, he felt as if he was slipping in and out of consciousness. Eventually, Ron realized that he had vomited, and that he was lying in a puddle of his own sick. _I can't feel anything… Help me… It fucking reeks…_

"Daphne…" Ron croaked, but there was no response. "Daphne… Help…"

His mind felt lethargic, and his eyes slowly rolled into the back of his skull. _It hurts…_

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Near the Burrow – Late Evening)**_

"You're being unfriendly, Theo," Tracey said, and Theo let out a groan.

"What do you want from me, Trace?" Theo asked. "I don't even like him that much…"

"Ron and I are the only ones who are treating him like a human being at this point," Tracey whispered, her eyes darting towards Malfoy's back. "No one spoke to him all day."

"Then you talk to him," Theo said rather petulantly. "Why does it have to be me?"

"Because it's the right thing to do?" Tracey huffed. _Ugh, the moral high ground… Must be nice up there._ "Also, I tried speaking to him, but he's not exactly comfortable with me chatting him up."

"Chatting him up?" Theo's ears perked up.

"Not that way," Tracey rolled her eyes. "I'm a girl, Theo, and he's not very comfortable around me given our history. He thinks that I'm pitying him."

"But you are pitying him…" Theo said slowly.

"Well… That's not really the point…" Tracey blinked, and then she frowned deeply. "Don't confuse me, Theo." _Huh?_

"Okay…" Theo decided to stop talking. _I don't want her being upset with me. I'm having too much fun around her to risk that._

"Just say something to him," Tracey sighed out. "Look at him… He's walking alone, and he looks miserable." _He looks dethatched… Where is she getting the miserable vibe?_

"What am I supposed to say?" Theo asked. "We haven't exactly spoken for a while now. I only put up with him because of Ron's bleeding heart." _Seriously, Ron needs to stop helping every single person who has a sob story. He's just ruining his own health at this point._

"Talk about the village," Tracey suggested. "You two were staring at people quite intently."

"I was just curious," Theo shrugged. "Never been to a Muggle village before."

"Neither has he," Tracey smirked. "There's your topic. You two can exchange notes, as it were."

"Fine…" Theo decided to do as he was told. "You'd better appreciate this, Trace…"

"Oh, I do," Tracey beamed, and Theo felt a little better. _Maybe I can get something worthwhile out of this._

Theo ran his hands through his hair, and then he sped up a little in order to catch up to Malfoy. _Look at him… He looks extremely bored, and rather uninviting._

"So…" Theo said, and Malfoy shot him a quick look. "What did you think of the village?"

"You're speaking to me?" Malfoy looked around, and Theo frowned a little.

"No, I'm speaking to your shadow," Theo said sarcastically. "Of course I'm speaking to you, Malfoy."

"Why?" Malfoy looked suspicious already. _Because I have a crush on a crazy bint, and this is my piss-poor effort at impressing her._

"I've never been to a Muggle-only village before," Theo said smoothly. "And I know that you haven't been to one either. I thought we could exchange our thoughts about it."

"Right…" Malfoy shot a look back at Tracey, who was just listening to her Walkman. "Did Davis put you up to this? She did, didn't she?"

"Why are you so anti-social?" Theo asked, and Malfoy looked back ahead. "Do you enjoy not speaking to others?"

"I don't enjoy being pitied," Malfoy drawled. "Tell Davis that I don't need her 'help'. I'm doing just fine on my own."

Theo thought about taking Malfoy's offer, it would certainly save him from this dull conversation, but he also knew that Tracey wouldn't be too pleased with his lack of real effort. _Theo, when did you become like this? What went wrong? Who hurt you?_

"You know… If I had people going out of their way to help me, I'd at least show an ounce of gratitude," Theo said coldly. "I might be a covetous little bastard, but at least I'm not a stubborn moron. Tracey is really trying to help you fit into our group, but you are treating her like shit for no reason other than misguided pride. Do you really want her to stop?"

Malfoy said nothing, and Theo shook his head at his former friend. _He was always the most arrogant of pricks. Even now, he acts like he's better than everyone else. Ron really needs to cut this bastard loose._

"The village was boring," Malfoy said. "There was nothing interesting there, and I would have preferred to stay at the 'Burrow'."

"That's better," Theo relaxed a little. "I personally found the village quite fascinating."

"What?" Malfoy grimaced, and Theo shrugged without a care.

"I've never been so close to the Muggles before," Theo said. "You know… Watching them go about their day, I couldn't help but think that they're not so different from us."

"Are… Have you gone insane?" Malfoy whispered, he didn't look too happy with Theo's opinion.

"What?" Theo asked. "They were all celebrating Christmas, they were all laughing and putting up decorations, and they were all shopping with fervor. The only difference I could pinpoint was the lack of Magic."

"Exactly," Malfoy said. "There was no Magic whatsoever. We, the Magical, have no reason being in such a place. It's unnatural."

"I'm sure if you brandished your wand, and started casting Spells, they'd label you as the unnatural one," Theo stated. "Actually, some people were staring at us because of our clothes. Maybe we should've dressed more like Granger and Tracey?"

"Merlin, you sound just like him," Malfoy said in disbelief.

"Who? Ron?" Theo asked, and Malfoy looked back ahead. "Is that so wrong?"

"What's the matter with you?" Malfoy asked, shooting a look of disbelief at Theo. "What would your father say if he heard you right now?"

Theo's stomach tightened a little, he already knew what his father would say. _He'd be utterly disgusted with me, even though I can't help but think this way; I'm not like him. Sure, I hate what happened to mother, but those were the actions of one man. Spending so much time with Ron, and Tracey, has helped me look past some of my anger. I'm more interested in understanding Muggles rather than hunting them down. I think we could learn a thing, or two, from them. Especially when it comes to music._

Theo knew his father quite well, and he also knew of the man's past. He understood that his father had killed many people in the name of the Dark Lord, and although he'd always corroborate his father's story, Theo knew that Cornelius Nott was never under the Imperius Curse. _Nor was mother… I still don't understand why she would serve under a man like the Dark Lord. She was a good person, one who even valued the lives of Elves. Maybe I've just painted her as perfect in my head because of what happened to her… Maybe I was too young to fully understand her as a person. I mean, I was so young when she died. The truth is, I don't even remember that much about her. I just miss her every day._

"Are you there?" Malfoy waved in his face, and Theo broke out of his thoughts. "Well? What would your father say?"

"He'd be angry," Theo replied. "But you know what? I'm not a parrot, and I have the right to form my own opinions. Maybe you ought to try the same. You'd definitely be less miserable." _We both know that you'll never be Lucius Malfoy, no matter how hard you try._ "The Weasleys are a happy lot, more so than us, and it might be because they don't live to put others down." _They don't live with contempt in their hearts._

"How are they a happy lot?" Malfoy asked coldly.

"Have you seen them?" Theo asked. "Sure, they all argue often, but they also spend a lot of time together. It makes me wish that I had a sibling growing up."

"You've clearly lost your mind," Malfoy said. "We weren't raised to be this way."

"I don't know about you, but my father didn't really raise me," Theo said calmly. "I spent most of my time in my Gardens, while he drank himself into a stupor everyday. I'm not wrong to have my own thoughts, Malfoy." _Don't get defensive, Theo. You'll end up saying something stupid._

"Are you two alright?" Tracey asked, and they both looked back.

Tracey was staring at Theo with a furrowed brow, and Theo figured that she had noticed him getting defensive about something.

"We're fine," both boys said together.

"No arguments here," Theo added quickly.

"Smooth," Malfoy rolled his eyes. _I'm going to punch him in the throat._ "We're almost at the Burrow, so please, feel free to leave me alone."

"And he goes back to being a prick," Theo gave the blonde wizard a deadpan look.

"Theo…" Tracey whispered with a frown. _What? He's being a tosser, while I'm trying to talk to him for your sake. I'm not the bad guy here! Please don't frown at me!_

* * *

 _ **Sebastian Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Late Evening)**_

"You took away her work, Sebastian!" Mary said for the fifth time, they had been arguing for nearly an hour. "You told her to do nothing while you took care of everything because your name commands more respect! How do you think that made her feel?!"

"I stated a fact," Sebastian argued. "A goddamn fact! My name **does** command more respect, and if she had listened, none of this would have happened!"

"None of what would've happened?!" Mary fired back. "If you care so much about her business plans, shouldn't you be glad that she managed to solve her problems on her own? Isn't that what we raised her to do?!"

"We didn't raise her to run off to another country without a word!" Sebastian snapped. "A million things could've gone wrong, Mary! We both know what's out there! **Who's** out there! What if they had been attacked?! What if they were abducted for ransom?!"

"Ron already explained that she was with other people," Mary rubbed her forehead. "He didn't leave her in the fucking street, Sebastian. Now, I'm not happy with those two at the moment, but you were taking things too far. Threatening to strike your daughter in front of others does not become you."

"I am her father, and she will not defy me so openly," Sebastian said. "It is not **our** way."

"I understand the need for discipline, but you were being unreasonable," Mary refused to listen.

"Unreasonable?" Sebastian couldn't believe this. "No place is safe… Why can't you understand that? I thought you were all safe during the last war. Remember?" Mary's expression weakened at that. "I left you in a guarded manor, remember? Have you forgotten that nowhere is safe from the Dark Lord? He's already made an attempt on Ronald's life, and because of his status, Daphne too is in danger." _I had to bury my mother because I was careless, I won't bury my daughter as well._

"So she shouldn't associate with him?" Mary asked, and Sebastian felt his forehead ache.

"No… I… That was said in anger…" Sebastian rubbed his face.

"She thinks that you meant it," Mary said. "Hell, I thought you meant it. In your state, it was impossible to know what you really wanted, or didn't want. You were just yelling. And… And what you said to Ron… That was unfair. He isn't to blame for this, not really. **Daphne** chose to go, but you put the whole thing on Ron. You made it sound like he dragged her away against her will. That he's 'influencing' her against you. Do you have any idea how insane you sounded? This is Ron! He's pretty much your son at this point!"

Sebastian couldn't lie to himself; his clash with his Apprentice was weighing heavily on his conscience. _I shouldn't have told him that he's fired… He doesn't need that kind of stress. He has to know that I was just upset. I'd never cut ties with that boy. Not even if he left his Chess career behind._

"He… He is sick, and he could've had an emergency in France," Sebastian felt his anger ebb a little. "What then? What would Daphne do if he needed medical attention? Those two… They didn't even **think** before running off. That's what really angers me. How could they be so stupid?"

"They're children," Mary lowered her own voice. "Sebastian… They might act older than they are, but we can't forget that they're both very young. We've all done foolish things in the past, haven't we?"

"Not this foolish," Sebastian shook his head. "Not this… dangerous…"

"They don't know about the danger looming over us," Mary said calmingly. "We haven't told them yet."

Sebastian sat down on the sofa behind him, his face buried in his hands. _I need to think. I need to calm myself down._ Mary slowly took a seat to his left, and before long, she had her hand on his back.

"If anything had happened to them… Either of them…" Sebastian started; he had never learned to face his emotions. "I'd have lost my will to live…"

"I know, love," Mary whispered. "I know."

"And Tori… If something had happened to Daphne, the trauma of losing her sister would have reawakened her Curse," Sebastian felt exhausted and fearful. "You remember what the Healer told us? If her Curse reawakens, it'll kill her before she's thirty… She's already so frail, so small…" _And she never eats properly, no matter how many times I beg her to._

"That won't happen," Mary tensed, and Sebastian took her free hand in his. "Love, we'll protect them both."

"I can't lose my daughters… I just can't…" Sebastian swallowed thickly. "And I can't lose Ron… I haven't really told him this, but I do love him… Very dearly…"

"He knows you do," Mary rested her head on his shoulder.

They just sat there for a bit, both of them too tired to keep arguing. Sebastian found himself regretting how harsh his reaction had been, but at the same time, he was still angry with Ron and Daphne. It was a paternal sort of anger; the kind one could only feel when their child's safety was put at risk. As clever as Ron and Daphne were, they hadn't witnessed the dangers of this World. So Sebastian didn't care that Ron had taken precautions, all he cared about was the fact that they had both put themselves in grave danger. _Maybe I should've told Daphne about the Dark Lord's return as soon as she came home from Hogwarts? She would have been more careful if I had trusted her more._

"I want you to speak with Daphne before Christmas, Sebastian," Mary broke her silence. "I know you, and I know that you'll choose to stay silent rather than apologize."

"I'll speak to her-" Sebastian started, but the door to his Living Room was smashed open before he could finish.

Sebastian was immediately on his feet, his wand aimed at the intruder.

"Sirius?!" Mary shot up to her feet, while Sirius bent forward in order to catch his breath.

"The kid…" Sirius wheezed, there was a chunky red mess on the side of his robes. "Something's wrong… Daphne found him on the floor…"

"What?" Sebastian blinked, his wand arm dropping to his side. "Speak properly. What's happened?"

"There was blood," Sirius looked up, his was red and panicked. "There was so much blood… You need to come with me!"

And just like that, Sirius turned around and bolted towards the Greeting Room. Sebastian found himself chasing after the man within a heartbeat, whatever composure he had managed to regain was now shattered to pieces. The words 'Blood', 'Kid', and 'Daphne' rang through his head like loud bells, and panic began to seep into his mind.

"Sirius! Wait!" Sebastian called, but the man refused to slow down. "Tell us what's happened!"

Sirius came to an abrupt halt in front of the nearest fireplace, his jittery hands grabbing a pinch of floo powder and tossing it into the fire.

"The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Sirius said shakily, and when the fire blazed to life, Sirius ran through it. _Damn it!_

"Mary, I'm going on ahead!" Sebastian called before following after Sirius.

The moment he entered the Headmaster's Office, he found himself staring at his friends and allies. Molly, Pandora, Xenophilius, Susana, and Sirius were speaking to each other, and from what Sebastian could make out, they were all equally rattled.

"You're here," Susana looked visibly relieved at seeing him. "Where's Mary?"

"What's happened?" Sebastian demanded just as Mary ran through the floo from behind him.

"Where's Daphne?!" Mary looked even more hysterical than Sebastian. "Where's my daughter?!"

"She's in the Hospital Wing," Pandora croaked, her face lined with tear-tracks. "She found him, and she wouldn't calm down… Poppy gave her a Calming Draught, and she passed out from shock… Oh, Merlin…" _Shock?!_

Sebastian felt his knees wobble, and he nearly joined his daughter in the dream world. He had heard enough to figure out that something terrible had happened to Ron, and that Daphne had been the one who found him. _Gather the facts, Sebastian. Don't just stand there._

"What's happened?" Sebastian asked once again, his throat tightening. "Tell me."

"We don't know," Sirius looked close to tears himself. "We heard Daphne screaming, and when we got up to Ron's room, he was lying in a puddle of vomit and blood… Daphne was trying to wake him up, but he was as pale as a corpse…"

Mary nearly fell backwards at that, but Sebastian managed to catch her just in time.

"They're performing surgery on him right now…" Xeno spoke to the ground, his hands holding his head. _He's got the same mess on his clothes as Sirius…_

"Who? What surgery?" Sebastian pressed. _Just tell me!_

"Poppy, and the Heads of Houses," Susana stepped forward, while Sirius put his arm around a weeping Molly. "Poppy mentioned something about a stress ulcer in his digestive system."

"A stress ulcer…" Sebastian heard himself mutter.

"It caused internal bleeding, which resulted in him vomiting blood," Susana paled a little; she didn't know the boy all that well, but seeing such a sight had still terrified her. "Poppy didn't tell us anything else because she needed to perform a minor surgery on him. The Headmaster told us to wait here while he assisted with the operation."

"Where's James?" Sebastian looked around.

"He went to fetch Arthur at the Ministry," Susana replied.

"And the other children?" Mary asked right after.

"They still haven't returned from their trip," Susana sounded a little relieved. _Her daughter is very close with Ron, and seeing something like that would no doubt land her in the Hospital Wing as well._

"I want to see my daughter," Sebastian headed for the door.

"You can't," Sirius quickly moved into his way. "She's in the Hospital Wing, and Pomfrey's sealed that place shut. You can't disturb them, Seb. Just let them fix the kid, please."

"Fix the kid?" Sebastian asked, his voice too shaky for his liking. "How? What does this operation entail?"

"She… didn't really tell us…" Sirius' face dropped. "She said that it wouldn't take long… She just needs to heal the ulcer, but she can't do that without opening him up. For fuck's sake, I don't think that they even have the tools needed for this sort of work…"

The fireplace roared to life, and both Arthur and James came running through it.

"Where is he?!" Arthur bellowed, a terrified look on his face. "Where's my boy?!"

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Evening)**_

The others piled into the Kitchen, all of them talking loudly about the fun day they'd had. Granger was at the center of the Gryffindor praise giving parade, and she had a smug look on her face that really irked Draco. He had wanted to stay at the Burrow in order to complete his self-appointed schoolwork, a distraction that had started becoming a hobby of his, but when Granger had started running her mouth about the nearby town, Draco had been forced to spend his day with a bunch of Gryffindors.

It didn't matter to the adults that everyone was ignoring him, or that he had his own plans for the day. No… He had been shipped off to a Muggle infested shithole for the entire day, and the only conversation that he had had was with a delusional Theodore Nott. _He has no idea how much Weasley has influenced him. This what Weasley does, right? He gets into your head with his ideas, and before long, you're dancing to his tune without even realizing it. I know this because he's trying the same thing with me. And sometimes, I think he gets through. Merlin, I wish I were with Godfather right now._

"Bill!" Charlie beamed as the eldest Weasley sibling stepped into the Kitchen from the Living Room. "You missed out on quite the day!"

"Are the parents in the Living Room?" Domitor asked, while the other children settled into their own conversations. _I'll just head up to Weasley's room. All my books are up there, and it should be quiet to boot._

"No," Bill replied as Draco made his way over to the stairs. "I thought they were with you lot. They're not around the Burrow. I checked."

"Weird," Charlie said, his eyes darting towards Draco without the boy's knowledge.

Draco didn't waste any time heading up the stairs, the voices of the other residents slowly fading out of earshot. _Finally, some peace and quiet. I'll just pick up where I left off, and finish writing up my notes on the moons of Saturn._ The trip up was tedious, as always, and Draco found himself wondering why the Weasleys didn't expand the house horizontally. _Instead of being logical, they keep adding floors._ A rather pungent smell broke him out of his thoughts, and Draco stopped walking immediately. _Ugh… What is that? It smells like… vomit?_

Draco looked back and forth, his eyes examining the fourth floor. _It's coming from upstairs? Don't tell me that the Ghoul got out._ Draco thought about running back downstairs, he didn't want to face a Ghoul on his own. _Do Ghouls smell like vomit, though?_ Slowly, as if in a trance, Draco made his way up the stairs leading to the fifth floor. The closer he got to Weasley's room, the worse the stench became. _Merlin… That's really starting to turn my stomach._

And then, Draco found himself standing in the doorway of Weasley's bedroom. _What. The. Fuck. Is. That?_ Draco just stared at the chunky, dark red mess on the floor, his left hand covering his mouth and nose. Honestly, the mess looked like processed mincemeat, and if it weren't for the fact that he hadn't eaten much today, Draco would have lost the contents of his own stomach. At the edges of the mess, Draco could see blood, and he figured that whatever this mess was, it was only dark red because there was a lot of blood mixed into it. _BLOOD?!_

Panic shot through him, and Draco stepped back so quickly that his back slammed against the wall behind him. _What happened here?! Where are the Weasleys?!_ Draco all but bolted towards the stairs; he needed to warn the others. Just as he stumbled into the fourth floor, he spotted Charlie Weasley walking towards him.

"There you are," Charlie said. "I was just wondering if you were-"

The muscular Weasley stopped talking when he saw the fear on Draco's face, and within a second, he had his wand out.

"There's blood up there!" Draco ran behind the bigger wizard. "Can't you smell it?!"

"Go get Bill right now," Charlie Weasley said, and then he bolted upstairs without another word. _Why would you go up there alone?!_

Draco decided to keep running downstairs, he didn't want to be anywhere near the fifth floor. By the time he made it to the second floor, the twins and Percy were making their way up. They too came to abrupt halts at the sight of him, and he didn't even bother listening to them as he ran down the next set of stairs.

"What's wrong?!" came Percy's voice as Draco made it to the first floor.

"Oi!" one of the twins called, but Draco ignored them all. _Find the eldest Weasley, and then stay with the others for safety._

Draco burst into the Living Room, and all conversation stopped as he looked around maniacally. _There he is!_ Draco made a beeline for the eldest Weasley sibling, who quickly pulled him aside with the help of Domitor.

"What's wrong?" Bill asked with a furrowed brow, while Domitor shot a quick look at the others.

"There's blood…" Draco panted, and Bill went dead still. "In Weasley's room… There's a huge mess… Charlie went up there alone, and he told me to go get you…"

"Kirsten, stay with the others," Bill bolted out of the room, which genuinely spooked everyone else.

"What's going on?" Potter asked with a furrowed brow.

And then, the Idiot-Who-Lived tried to follow after the eldest Weasley sibling. Domitor quickly cut him off, her wand brandished. Potter stopped rather quickly, his surprised eyes fixed on her wand.

"Everyone, stay in this room," Domitor ordered, and then she looked around. "Where are Theo and Tracey?"

"Outside," Granger answered quickly, a worried look on her face. "In the garden, I think."

"No one leaves this room," Domitor said firmly, and then, just like Bill, she was gone.

"Malfoy, what's going on?" Potter looked to the shrinking Malfoy heir. _Why are we staying here?! We need to leave!_ "Malfoy?! Say something!"

"Harry, stay calm," Granger said, though she didn't look too calm herself. "Malfoy, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Did the Ghoul escape?" Greengrass asked. "Is that why everyone's in such a panic?"

"Ghouls aren't violent by nature, but if provoked, they tend to bite," Lovegood stated without a care.

"No Ghoul escaped," Draco bit out. _What the fuck are they on about?!_

"Then why are you so-" Longbottom started, but he stopped when he saw Domitor lead Theo and Davis into the room.

"All of you need to stay in here, understand?" Domitor looked ready for a fight. "Stay away from the windows as well. Now!"

Greengrass and Lovegood, who were both standing by a window, quickly jumped away from it. Theo and Davis instinctively waited near Draco, both of them looked rather spooked by Domitor's behavior. _The older ones will protect us, right?_

"What's going on?" Potter asked again, this time he sounded rather frustrated. "Are we under attack?"

"Under attack?" Greengrass looked rather taken aback. "Who would attack the Burrow?"

"Lord Voldemort," Potter replied rather brazenly, and over half the people in the room cringed. _He said the fucking name?! And he did it so casually!_

"None of that," came Bill's voice, and everyone looked to see him enter the room with his brothers in tow.

The twins looked quite out of sorts, while Percy was somehow maintaining his composure. As for Bill and Charlie, they also looked ready for a fight.

"There's no property damage, so we aren't under attack," Charlie explained, and Draco felt fresh air enter his lungs. _I need to calm down…_

"But there's blood in Ron's room," one of the twins said, while the other one looked extremely troubled.

"Blood in Ron's room?!" the youngest Weasley gaped, and even Lovegood seemed to wake up at last.

"It's horrible…" the other twin muttered.

"Charlie… Kirsten… You keep an eye on everyone, while I go and find the parents," Bill said, and Charlie and Domitor nodded their agreement. "All of you! You will listen to Charlie and Kirsten, and you'll do exactly as they say! I'll be back as soon as I find some answers!"

"You can't leave," Ginevra said. "Something's wrong, and we should all stay together." _I am in agreement with her. Let's not split up._

"I'll be back soon, I promise," Bill's voice became much softer. "Just… Just listen to Charlie and Kirsten, alright? Do everything they say, no questions asked."

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Nearly Night)**_

As Albus watched Poppy and the Heads of Houses dress Ronald in a hospital gown, he found himself pondering about the unexpected nature of life. Just a few hours ago, Ronald had been sitting with Albus in his Office. The boy looked healthy, and in no danger whatsoever, but here they were… _One of these days, he's not going to make it. One of these days, I might be forced to attend this young man's funeral._

Albus quickly banished such a thought, he didn't even want to think about it. He, of course, had tried to think of reasons for Ronald's failing health. Stress was a major contributor, but unlike most, Albus understood that Ronald's stress was not completely self-inflicted. The boy was a piece in a Cosmic game between the Higher Beings, and even thinking about this gave Albus himself quite a lot of stress. _Why do they not help him? Why does 'Fate' choose to ignore his health? It makes no sense to me, and I can no longer find solace in the fact that_ _ **they**_ _don't think like us. I wish to understand them, and perhaps one day, speak to them on Ronald's behalf. They could ensure that he survives the war._

"Albus?" Minerva called again, and Albus was brought back to reality.

"Forgive me, Minerva, I am distracted," Albus looked away from Ronald. _So much blood._

"Poppy says that there is no more danger besides infection," Minerva said, she was slightly rattled due to seeing one of her students cut open. "With the right Potions, Mr. Weasley should make a speedy recovery."

"Good," Albus sighed out; he was genuinely exhausted. "This news will ease his Family's worries."

"Albus… Perhaps he should be pulled from school," Minerva whispered, and Albus waited for her to go on. "A stress ulcer… He's thirteen, so why is he a victim of such an issue? He is clearly ill, and keeping him at Hogwarts isn't right. He needs to be taken care of, and we professors aren't equipped to do that."

"I don't think Ronald would agree," Albus said. "And if we force him out of these walls, he'll only get worse."

"Albus is right," came Poppy's voice. "Stress comes from feeling powerless, and if you cut him off from his friends, he'll only get worse." Poppy then walked over to Albus and Minerva. "I've healed the ulcer completely, and as bloody as the operation was, it was nothing major. Healing Magic makes physical injuries like this quite easy to deal with, and if we can get him to follow a strict diet, this shouldn't happen again."

"A strict diet?" Minerva asked. "Go on." _She's scared for him even though she doesn't know him all that well. I have to make sure that she doesn't give Ronald's parents any ideas that end up harming Ronald in the long run. He'd never leave Hogwarts, especially with what he knows._

"For one, he can't eat heavy foods for the next few days," Poppy said. "Milk is also off the table as it increases acid production in the stomach. He should also stay away from spicy, salty, and hot foods. Plus, I want to try a more… aggressive… approach in the hopes of dealing with his stress."

"Aggressive how?" Filius asked as he walked over to them.

"A mixture of Potions that will keep him at peace," Poppy said, and Albus found himself disagreeing with this.

"He doesn't need more Potions," Albus said. "He already came close to becoming addicted to the Calming Draught, Poppy. Surely this is not a viable option."

"It's the only one I can see," Poppy said. "I have never dealt with a patient like this. He… He is not responding to his current treatment methods, and no matter what I try, nothing seems to work."

"Why is he not responding to his current treatment?" Minerva asked.

"I can't exactly tell you, not without his permission," Poppy replied. "Ronald is… a difficult person to work with. That's all I can say." _He's stubborn beyond reason, you mean._

"What are we going to tell his parents?" Filius asked. "They're probably worried sick, Headmaster."

"Poppy, what can you say to them?" Albus asked.

"I can tell them about the operation's success, and that he is no longer in danger if he is careful," Poppy replied. "He should also be able to spend his Christmas at home, but only if he stays in bed. The ulcer is gone, and with the proper Potions, there is no chance of infection. His mental health is my only concern now. How he stressed himself so much so that he developed a stress ulcer is beyond me… I thought I was making progress with him, but clearly, he is far too skilled at hiding his true thoughts and feelings." _You have no idea. Hold on… Why am I feeling proud of such a thing? This is not a good trait of his._

"He'll be spending the night here, won't he?" Pomona asked, she had already sat herself down by Ronald's side.

"Yes, he'll spend the night here," Poppy replied. "I want to keep an eye on him, just in case. If he shows no signs of being in danger, I will discharge him tomorrow morning."

"And what of Miss. Greengrass?" Pomona asked.

"If she wakes up before curfew, she should be fine to go home," Poppy said. "Though I doubt she'll want to." _Yes, she and Ronald share a rather intense bond._

"Come, let's speak with the Weasleys," Albus began making his way towards the exit.

"I'll stay with him," Pomona volunteered. "Just in case."

"Thank you, Pomona," Poppy shot a grateful smile at the maternal witch. "I will return shortly, I promise."

"Do you need us to come with you, Albus?" Minerva followed after the man.

"No, you and Filius may return to watching over our students," Albus said, and then he looked at the bloodstains on her robes. "After you both change, of course."

"Oh…" Filius looked down at his messy robes. "My word… I feel faint…"

"It's only blood, Filius," Minerva said.

"My student's blood…" Filius didn't look comforted whatsoever.

Albus and Poppy made their way out of the Hospital Wing, and up the Moving Staircase in silence. Poppy was currently cleaning up her hands with the use of her wand, a slight frown on her face.

"Poppy? Is everything alright?" Albus asked.

"Just thinking about what to tell them," Poppy replied.

"The truth, I hope," Albus smiled at her.

"They will ask questions that I can't answer," Poppy sighed out. "I take my duties very seriously, and a patient like Ronald demands confidentiality."

"But his parents can be… inquisitive," Albus nodded to himself. "I have learned that Ronald and his parents are currently in the midst of turning over a new leaf. Perhaps you can use that your advantage?"

"I would rather state the facts," Poppy said. "I am Ronald's Mind-Healer, and not their insider to the boy's mind. I will tell them what they need to know, and nothing more." _Blunt, but effective._

"Sugar Gum Drops," Albus said to the Stone Gargoyle, and it slid aside.

Poppy and Albus made their way up the spiral staircase, and as they neared the door, they heard multiple voices echo from inside the Office. Albus opened the door, and once Poppy had stepped inside, he shut the door behind them.

"They're back," Sirius got everyone's attention, and they all stood up with worried looks.

"Is… Is he alright?" Arthur pushed forward.

"The operation was a success, and he is currently in recovery," Poppy told them, and they all looked visibly relieved.

"Thank God," Susana said, while Pandora put her arm around Molly.

"What happened to him?" Bill asked, and Albus was quite surprised to see him here. _If he's here, then who's looking after Harry?_ "I… I got here just a few minutes ago… I was looking for the adults."

"He had a stress ulcer in his upper digestive tract," Poppy explained. "It became agitated, and when it began bleeding, his stomach was filled with blood."

"And he ended up vomiting that blood out," Bill paled, while the others didn't look much better.

"His stomach has been cleaned up, the ulcer has been healed, and he is no longer in any danger," Poppy said. "But I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that he could still take a turn for the worse."

"How so?" Sebastian asked.

"He lost a lot of blood, and although I've given him a Blood-Replenishing Potion, his body temperature is quite low," Poppy replied. "I want to keep him for the night, and hopefully, by tomorrow morning, he'll have made a decent recovery."

"He can still spend Christmas at the Burrow?" Molly asked, a glimmer of hope in her glassy eyes. "Is that… safe?"

"It should be, but if I decide that he hasn't recovered enough, he will have to forego this year's Christmas," Poppy told them. "If I do decide to send him home, there will be strict rules that he must follow. Firstly, no exercise… I know that Ronald is quite attached to his regimen, but in his current state, he could hurt himself."

"No exercise," Arthur promised. "I'll make sure of it."

"Secondly, he can't eat solid foods," Poppy went on, and Molly looked quite taken aback. "Only soups, and other liquids, are allowed. We cleaned out his stomach, which means that he lost a lot of his stomach fluids in the process. So for at least a week, or so, he needs to stay away from heavy foods. Also, he is not allowed anything too spicy, salty, or hot."

"So nothing that can upset his stomach," Arthur seemed to be taking mental notes. _I've never seen such a serious look on his face._ "Anything else?"

"There is one more thing… but it is unorthodox," Poppy started, and Albus' ears perked up. _What is she doing?_ "Since his health is very frail at the moment, I want to try a new blend of Potions on him. A colleague of mine recently recommended a sedating technique to me, and I believe that Ronald could benefit greatly from it."

"Sedating technique?" Mary shot a look towards Albus, who kept his expression calm and collected.

"Is it safe?" Arthur asked slowly.

"It has proven to be quite effective," Poppy replied.

"What is this technique?" Sirius asked.

"Ronald will be given a mixture of Potions when he wakes up," Poppy started. "This mixture consists of the Calming Draught, the Draught of Peace, Syrup of Hellebore, Infusion of Wormwood, and the Sleeping Draught."

"Sweet Circe…" Mary looked horrified. "He'll be as alive as a corpse on so many sedatives!" _I agree. This is too much._

"The initial dose will be quite small, no more than a spoonful," Poppy said calmly. "It will make him quite dull, but the effects will weaken within the hour."

"Initial dose?" Pandora asked. "So you want us to keep giving him doses throughout the day?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Poppy replied. "Ronald will have to walk around with an IV pole, one which will have a hang bag full of the new blend hanging from it. A drip will be attached to Ronald, and throughout the day, he'll be dosed very slowly. Only a few drops every hour."

"Is it safe to have this blend running through his blood?" James asked. "Isn't Infusion of Wormwood used in the Draught of Living Death?" _I do not agree with this new form of 'treatment'. Ronald needs his wits about him, and this new blend has addictive properties judging by the ingredients._

"The hourly dose is almost useless if ingested, but since it's being administered directly to his blood, it will keep him calm and sedated," Poppy said. "We'll only use this treatment until he recovers from the surgery. We can't risk him stressing himself out as always in his current condition. I must remind all of you that he is not out of the woods yet."

"Can… Can we have time to discuss this?" Arthur asked, his eyes darting to his wife.

"Of course," Poppy replied. "You can come with me if you wish to see him. Just make sure to be quiet."

"Bill, go back to the Burrow," Arthur said, and Bill gave a reluctant nod. "Tell the others that we'll be home soon, and that we'll talk to them about this."

"Alright, dad…" Bill sighed out. "Just think about what I said, please."

Bill left the Office via floo after that, a rather worried look on his face. Albus looked back to Arthur, who was looking right back at him.

"Dumbledore… Thank you," Arthur managed a weak smile.

"You should thank Poppy," Albus smiled at the man. "I merely offered a hand whenever I could."

"Of course…" Arthur realized that he hadn't thanked the Head Nurse yet. "Madam Pomfrey, we're all indebted to you for saving him once again. Thank you."

"I did what any Healer would do," Poppy said, she was never one for being congratulated. "Come, I will take you all to him."

"And Daphne is there as well?" Sebastian asked.

"She is, and if she wakes up before curfew, you may take her home," Poppy led the way out.

Albus decided not to follow the group, mostly because he wanted to change his robes. _There are still a few students walking this castle, and I can't let them see me in my current state. Not to mention that I don't enjoy seeing Ronald in that bed. His illness reminds me too much of Ariana's._

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Night)**_

Arthur had spent the last thirty minutes staring at his paler than usual son; his mind was fixed on Bill's words. _It's over. We have to tell the others about Ron. They found the blood in his room, and we can't keep them in the dark anymore. At this point, they'll become angry and resentful if we keep lying to them._

Arthur decided to check up on Daphne once again, and hopefully, get some advice from Sebastian. Arthur walked over to Daphne's bed, which was opposite to Ron's, and he found Susana and Mary having a hushed conversation by Daphne's bedside table. _Where's Sebastian?_

"How is she?" Arthur asked, and both women stopped whispering abruptly. _I definitely interrupted them._

"Poppy says that she'll be fine," Mary smiled weakly. "Though she'll be quite shaken by what she saw."

"I'm sorry," Arthur offered his condolences.

"There's no need for that," Mary said. "Susana and I were just saying that it's a good thing she was there. Daphne's a strong girl, and she'll push past seeing Ron in that state. If anything, she'll be glad that she managed to call for help in time."

Arthur looked to the sleeping blonde, and he found himself feeling rather grateful for her existence. _Maybe Molly is right, and it's not such a bad thing that Ron and Daphne are attached at the hip. I'll be sure to thank her tomorrow._

"Did Sebastian go home?" Arthur asked, making sure to shoot a look back at Ron's bed. _The others are by Ron's bed. Only Sebastian and James are missing. Did they leave together?_

"He went to get Daphne some clean clothes," Susana told Arthur. "Just in case she does wake up before curfew."

"And James went with him?" Arthur asked.

"Arthur, are you alright?" Mary couldn't help but notice that Arthur was looking like a lost lamb.

"I was just hoping to speak to Sebastian," Arthur replied. "I needed some advice, that's all."

"Well, you can ask us," Susana smiled genuinely. "We might be able to offer you some clarity."

Arthur stared at them, and then, he decided to go for it. _They're both more intelligent than me, so maybe they'll have an answer to my dilemma._

"My eldest, Bill, told me to come clean with the others," Arthur started. "Tonight, that is. They went into Ron's room, and they found his bloody vomit."

"Oh, no," Mary sighed out.

"They're asking questions, and at this point, we're just lying to them," Arthur said. "Ron's friends, and even Harry, Neville, and Hermione, know about Ron's illness… It's just his siblings who are in the dark now."

"Why hasn't he told them?" Susana asked.

"Ron's… complicated…" Arthur really didn't have an answer. "He doesn't want them to treat him differently, and I think deep down, he doesn't want to worry them. They've always been close, despite a lot of sibling rivalry. I know for a fact that they'll be devastated." _Ginny and Luna definitely won't take this well._

"You have brilliant children, Arthur," Mary said, and Arthur perked up a little on instinct. "They know that something is wrong, and by now, they know that they're being kept in the dark about it. Perhaps Bill is right… Perhaps you should tell them before they find out from someone else."

"I want to… But Ron… You know how he is," Arthur said. "And then there's Christmas… I'd be telling my children that their brother is dying a day before Christmas…"

Both women looked rather sorry after hearing that, and Arthur hung his head. _I've got no choice, have I? I have to do this, if not for Ron's benefit, then for the benefit of the others. They'll no longer be satisfied with deflections and lies. They need the truth._ Arthur felt a hand rub his arm, and he looked to see Mary giving him a rather apologetic look.

"I think you should speak with Molly," Mary whispered. "She's definitely not going home tonight, so you two need to decide on what to do."

"You think I should tell them, don't you?" Arthur said, and Mary gave him a nod.

"As sick as Ron is, the others are also important," Mary replied. "They're probably agitated, maybe even terrified, and you have the power to put them at ease."

"By telling them that Ron is dying," Arthur sighed out. "Even I hate thinking about that, so Merlin knows how they'll take it." Arthur then rubbed his face. "Thank you… Both of you. I'll speak to Molly, and then, I'll go and speak to my children. Let me know when Daphne comes to, I want to thank her for saving him. Again."

"Good luck, Arthur," Susana smiled a sorry smile, and Arthur gave her a nod before making his way over to Ron's bed.

Molly was currently wiping Ron's brow with a wet towel for the hundredth time, while the others were speaking in hushed whispers. _Pandora and Molly look terribly shaken by all of this. I hope seeing this doesn't influence Pandora's pregnancy negatively._

"Molly, can I speak to you?" Arthur asked, and she shot him a withered look.

"I don't want to leave him…" Molly went back to cleaning up Ron's forehead.

"Molly, please, this is very important," Arthur said, and Pandora took the wet towel from Molly's hand.

"Molly, you and Arthur need to discuss what happens next," Pandora whispered. "I'll stay with him, and when you come back, you can keep looking after him."

Molly gave a weak nod, and then she walked off towards the exit. Arthur followed after her, his eyes catching Xeno and Sirius giving him 'best of luck' looks. _I'll need it._ Just as Arthur stepped out into the Hallway, Molly quickly clung to his middle.

"Oh, Arthur…" she began weeping once again, and Arthur held her tightly. "What are we going to do? He's getting worse everyday…"

"I don't know," Arthur replied. "We just have to be there for him, that's all I know."

"I can't… I can't keep seeing him like this…" Molly sniffled, and Arthur squeezed her into his chest.

"I know how you feel," Arthur admitted. "I feel… helpless…"

"And Bill… He's right," Molly said. "What are we going to do? How are we going to tell the others about Ron?" _Merlin, she's just as lost as I am._

Arthur decided to take full responsibility, mostly because he didn't like seeing his wife in such a state of panic and confusion. _I'll speak to them myself. I'll take completely responsibility._

"I know that it's Christmas tomorrow, but at this point, it can't be helped," Arthur tried to sound strong. "I'll go and speak to them…"

Molly looked up at that, and Arthur wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

"You can stay here," Arthur tried to smile for her sake. "Watch over him."

"What are you going to tell them?" Molly squeaked.

"Everything," Arthur replied. "I'll tell them about his Brain-Damage, his Chronic Stress, and his current condition… I'll even tell them how this all happened… No more lies."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I'm ready now," Arthur breathed in deeply, he had been staring at Dumbledore's fireplace for nearly twenty minutes.

"Take as much time as you need, Arthur," Dumbledore said from behind his desk, he did not envy Arthur Weasley right now.

"Thank you once again, Dumbledore," Arthur shot the old wizard a weak smile. "I'll be off, then…" _Godric, please give me courage._

Arthur prepared the floo, and once everything was set up, he stepped through the fireplace and into the Burrow. Just as he had predicted, his children were waiting for him with worried and agitated looks. _The Slytherins aren't here? They're probably in Ron's room, which Bill promised to clean up._

"Where is Ron?!" Ginny demanded, she was definitely angrier than she was worried.

"Dad, tell us what's going on," Fred matched Ginny's anger. "Bill won't say a damn thing!"

Arthur shot Bill a quick look, and judging by his posture, the eldest Weasley child had taken the brunt of the anger already. _I'm sorry, son._

"Was that Ron's blood?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed. "Is he alright?"

"He will be home tomorrow," Arthur replied as he decided to let them stay. _My children will tell them everything, anyway. Plus, this way, they might decide to reach out to Ron and help him._ "Bill, can you go fetch Ron's friends, please?" _I know for a fact that they all know about his health problems. The fact that he told them, and not his siblings, won't go over well._

"Sure, dad," Bill left quite quickly, and Arthur felt rather guilty for turning Bill into the lightning rod.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Charlie asked. "Bill really didn't tell us a thing." _He followed my instructions to the letter, then._

"Yes, we know what happened," Arthur pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Well?" George asked in a worried voice. "Aren't you going to tell us?"

"Just let the others come, and then, I'll tell you everything," Arthur promised. _Steady, Arthur. You can do this._

The more he thought about his current situation, the harder it became to speak. How was he even supposed to start? It was no secret that Ron had some bad blood with his siblings, but that was the case for most siblings. Arthur himself often fought his brothers bitterly growing up. _Despite how often they all fight, they're all much closer than I was with my own brothers. Still, if I learned that one of them was dying, I'd be devastated. I don't even want to think about how they'll take this._

Bill entered the room with Ron's friends in tow, all of whom looked quite composed considering what had happened. _I don't know how Slytherins do it, but right now, I wish I had their ability to stay detached._

"Can you tell us now?" Percy asked impatiently, and the others shot him a quick look. "What? I've reached my limit… Just tell us, father. We can take it."

"Ron just had surgery," Arthur finally started, and silence engulfed the room. _There goes the composure of the Slytherins… Maybe I should've started differently?_

"Surgery…?" Ginny fell back onto the sofa. "What for…?"

"Don't interrupt him," Charlie clicked his tongue, his eyes fixed on Arthur. "Go on, dad." _He's become impatient as well._

"He had a stress ulcer in his stomach, and it began bleeding," Arthur restarted. "Blood pooled into his stomach, and he vomited it out. Although that helped save him, it also put a lot of stress on his body. Sirius and Xeno took him to Madam Pomfrey, and she worked with the Professors to save Ron's life. He's stable now, and if everything goes well, he should be able to spend Christmas at the Burrow."

"What's a stress ulcer?" Neville asked timidly.

"I don't really know…" Arthur admitted. "Madam Pomfrey said that high stress levels can cause a change in a person's stomach acidity, which burns away the stomach lining… It wasn't a laymen's explanation. Whatever this ulcer was, it's been healed completely, but in order to do that, they had to operate on Ron."

"Why would Ron have so much stress?" Fred asked, and the people who know about Ron's Chronic Stress went dead silent.

"Your brother… Your brother is very sick," Arthur leaned forward, making sure to sound as soft as he could. "He suffers from a condition called Chronic Stress, which results in him constantly feeling overwhelmed."

"What?" George looked around the room in order to make sure that everyone else had heard Arthur. "He has some sort of stress sickness? Since when?"

"Since his second year," Arthur replied. "Do you remember how agitated he always was? Even angry beyond reason?"

"You mean when you and mum were trying to pull him out of Slytherin?" Percy asked, he sounded rather cold and vindictive.

"We… We didn't know how to handle his illness back then," Arthur swallowed thickly, while Charlie and Bill frowned at Percy. "Neither did he, actually. However, he's learned how to cope with feeling overwhelmed all the time."

"He's learned to cope?" Luna asked. "This is very confusing… And scary…"

"I know," Arthur said, while Astoria patted Luna's back. _Astoria's known everything this entire time, and she's never once mentioned it. She's clearly Sebastian and Mary's daughter, even if she acts like the twins most of the time._ "Ron has found ways to ignore his stress-"

"But he just had a stress ulcer," Fred said, his eyes kept darting towards the Slytherins. "Why don't you lot look surprised by all of this?"

"Fred-" Bill started.

"You lot already know about this, don't you?" Fred asked them, and they said nothing in response.

"Why are **we** only hearing about this now?" George asked, he sounded more upset than angry.

"Ron didn't want to tell you," Arthur replied. "He… He wanted to protect you from this."

"Protect us?" Fred asked. "We're not that fragile… If he has a stress giving illness, then we can help him."

"It's more than that," Arthur drew in a deep breath. "Do you all remember his coma?"

"It gets worse...?" Ginny's eyes widened.

"What happened to Ron at the end of his first year caused severe trauma to his body… And his brain," Arthur said. "The trauma to his body could be healed to a degree, but the damage done to his brain is permanent…" _Just say it, Arthur._ "Ron has Brain-Damage, and it's life-threatening…"

Shock and horror was the only description for what Arthur was seeing right now. Those who didn't know about the Brain-Damage, which was most of them, had gone deathly pale. _I need to keep explaining… I'll lose the strength to talk if I keep staring at them._

"Ron's-" Arthur started.

"He's dying?" Luna whimpered, her bottom lip quivering. "He is, isn't he?"

"Yes…" Arthur felt his head spin. "Yes… He's dying… I'm sorry…"

"What do you mean by 'he's dying'?" George asked, his eyes fixed on his father. "Is… Is he terminally ill?"

"Ron's Brain-Damage is linked with his Chronic Stress," Arthur explained. "The more he stresses, the worse the Brain-Damage becomes. Madam Pomfrey… She um…" _My throat…_

"It's alright, dad," Bill walked up and rubbed his back.

"She said that he has a few years left at this rate…" Arthur pinched his eyes; he didn't have the strength to look at them. "What happened today… It proves that Ron could be gone very soon…"

"This is… This is not funny…" Fred sounded utterly lost. "That's a… That's a really fucking bad joke…"

"Fred…" George managed.

"No…" Fred shook his head as he let out a long breath. "Nope… That's **not** happening…"

"Wait… You've known about the Brain-Damage since his coma?" Percy muttered, and when Arthur didn't reply, his face contorted with rage. "Well?! Have you?!"

"Percy," Charlie sighed out.

"We found out after his run-in with the Veelas," Arthur told them. "That's when he was diagnosed…"

"So you've known all year long?!" Percy snapped. "And you didn't tell us?!"

Arthur hadn't expected this sort of anger from Percy, but when he thought about how close Percy was to Ron, it made a lot of sense. _He's the only wizard of age in Ron's life who didn't know, and he's already figured that out._

"Did they know about this?" Ginny asked weakly, her watery eyes moving towards the Slytherins.

"We've been helping him since he was diagnosed," Theo finally spoke up. "Malfoy only learned recently."

"And I've told no one," Draco added.

"So he told a **Malfoy** before he told us?" Fred's shock turned into anger.

"How wretched do you all feel right now?" Theo asked them all. "I remember feeling quite wretched when I first found out. Maybe he didn't want his siblings to go through that? Trust me, he could've easily told you everything in order to get whatever he wanted out of you, but he constantly went through great pains to keep all of you in the dark. And it wasn't out of some malicious, vindictive grudge that you're probably thinking of right now. He just didn't want you all to suffer because of his illness."

"And we found out because we spend a lot of time with him," Tracey sniffled; she wasn't as good at handling her emotions as the Slytherin boys. "He lives with us for most of the year, doesn't he?"

"And them?" George looked to the Trio, who all averted their gazes. "Why haven't you three made a sound? Did you know about this?"

"This is not the time to fight and point fingers," Charlie said. "What matters is that everyone knows now, and we all have to put everything into protecting Ron."

"Charlie's right," Bill said. "Now, there is no cure for either of his conditions, but the happier he is, the slower the Brain-Damage spreads. Right, dad?" _Huh?_

Arthur realized that his brain had turned off due to thinking about Ron's condition so much. A terrible feeling of despair engulfed him again, and he felt his eyes sting.

"Yes…" Arthur said with a strained voice. "The less stressed he is, the longer he lives…"

"There's no cure whatsoever?" Fred asked quickly. "None at all? Not even the Muggles have a cure for this?"

"Brains aren't something that can be replaced," Arthur sighed out. "We're thinking of taking him to a Muggle Healer soon. Tracey's mother knows of a few accomplished ones, and she's setting up some appointments for Ron. Until he meets with them, we won't know for certain."

"This is not happening…" Ginny hunched over and hid her face between her legs, her fingers digging into her left forearm. "No…"

Kirsten quickly moved over and put her arm around Ginny's tiny figure, while Charlie sat down with Luna and Astoria.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" Arthur stood up; he didn't want his children seeing him in tears. "I… I have to go to check on Ron…"

The twins, Percy, Theo, Tracey, and the trio stood up as well, they clearly planned to come with Arthur.

"You're all staying here," Arthur said.

"What?"

"Why?"

"We want to see him," Percy frowned deeply.

"He's resting, and the Hospital Wing isn't St. Mungo's…" Arthur rubbed his face. "I promise, you'll see him tomorrow."

"Like your word means anything at this point," Percy grit out before storming out of the room.

"I'll go speak with him, dad," Bill gave his father a sorry look, while Charlie and Kirsten tried their best to comfort the crying girls.

"Um… Daphne… Where is she?" Tracey piped up.

"She found him after he…" Arthur couldn't finish his sentence, but they all knew what he meant. "She went into shock and fainted… She's also at the Hospital Wing."

"Poor Daphne…" Tracey sniffled, and Theo put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be home soon," Arthur began preparing the floo. "Charlie… Kirsten… Can you please make sure that everyone eats tonight? There's food in the pantry…"

"Of course, dad," Charlie said, he was rubbing Luna's heaving back.

* * *

 _ **Percy Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

Percy slammed the door to his room behind him; his mind was on fire with a million different questions. Sometimes, Percy really hated how his mind worked. Unlike his siblings, Percy was a stickler for details, and this latest revelation truly needed to be nitpicked.

Firstly, the mere thought of Ron's conditions terrified Percy to no end. He had just found out about it, and it had taken less than a few seconds for his mask of calmness to completely break apart. **Ron** **was** **dying!** What was Percy supposed to do about that? What could he do? Why hadn't Ron told him? Percy could somewhat understand why Ron had chosen to leave the others in the dark, but he was genuinely hurt by the fact that Ron didn't trust **him** as well. And not only did being left in the dark hurt, it also made Percy feel extremely guilty. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was already blaming himself for not being a better brother. If he had been a better brother, then maybe Ron would've told him the truth.

And then there were the questions about Ron's recent actions… Why was Ron fighting so hard to become a part of the Ministry? What was the point? What Ron needed was rest, not countless problems. Why was Ron so adamant about fighting the Pure-Blood Families when he instead ought to be taking care of his failing health? None of it made sense, and for a person like Percy, there was nothing worse than this. _I don't know him at all, do I? Not one bit. I thought I did, but obviously, I'm clueless about my 'favorite' brother._

The door to Percy's room opened slowly, but Percy ignored it in favor of pacing back and forth. _Ron only has a few years left… Will he even graduate? Oh, Merlin… He could be dead by the end of next year, even. Oh, Merlin!_

"Percy?" came Bill's voice, and Percy shot a scared look back.

"We have no way of knowing if Ron could be alive for next year's Christmas," Percy muttered, and Bill looked quite taken aback.

"Perce…" Bill whispered. "You can't think like that…"

"What else am I supposed to think about?!" Percy suddenly snapped. "I'm not like you, or father… I don't just put important matters on the back burner!"

"This has never been put on the back burner," Bill adorned a more serious look. "Dad, me, and everyone else who knows do everything we can to help Ron every day."

"And I didn't fit the bill to join this club?!" Percy demanded. "What?! I'm not responsible enough?! I'm not old enough?! What's the excuse for me not being involved in this?! I could have spent my year helping him get better, but instead, I've been living in the dark!"

"This was Ron's choice, Percy," Bill said, and Percy sneered at his older brother. "He has the right to keep his private life to himself."

"You don't believe that," Percy scoffed. "I know this Family, and I know that nothing is considered private here. Mother is always looking over other people's shoulders, while father simply does what's easy. You all lied and hid the truth because it was the easy thing to do!"

"Easy? You think this is easy for us?" Bill frowned a little. "I get that you're hurt, and scared, but you have no idea what you're talking about. Mum and dad have to make peace with burying one of their children, Percy… Think about that for a second."

Percy lost some of his steam at that, but it wasn't enough to calm him down.

"I should've been told," Percy swallowed thickly. "I could've helped him."

"I'm not saying that you couldn't have," Bill said. "But Ron didn't want to burden everyone with his illness. He's not stupid… He knows just how terribly we've all taken to this news, and he wanted to spare the rest of you from that pain. Hell, I didn't sleep for days on end when I first found out… So can you even imagine how Luna and Ginny are going to take this?"

Percy's shoulders sagged, and he felt his eyes sting terribly.

"This is… This is not fair…" Percy sank into his chair, his face buried in his hands. "This is not fair at all…"

"I know," Bill sighed out as he sat down on Percy's bed. "I'm sorry that you found out this way, brother… I really am."

"I kept hoping that the mess in Ron's room was just a failed Spell…" Percy mumbled through his hands. "But I think I already knew that something was wrong… There are rumors at school about Ron being sick, but I always ignore them…" _I'm the one who took the easy way out, not mum and dad._ "I can't believe this…"

Guilt once again bombarded Percy's rattled mind, and he barely managed to stop himself from crying.

"I bet you have questions," Bill said, and Percy pulled his hands away from his face. "I can't tell you everything because I myself don't have all the answers, but I can share what I know now. So… If you want, we can talk."

"The Dark Lord did this to him," Percy felt his blood turn cold. "At the end of his first year…" _I always thought that the Dark Lord was gone for good, but clearly, the Ministry is wrong to spread that information around. Even after Ron's coma, a part of me didn't believe the Headmaster._

"Yes," Bill responded. "After what happened, none of us really knew that something was wrong. Ron's friends, however, started noticing that Ron was not acting like himself anymore. Daphne mentioned that Ron became increasingly irrational, and sometimes, even violent-"

"Violent? Towards her?" Percy was a little jarred to hear that.

"Not towards her, but towards those who got in his way," Bill replied, and Percy nodded slowly.

"Go on," Percy all but whispered. "Tell me everything… Please."

"From what I understand, his Brain-Damage and Chronic Stress cause his irrational behavior," Bill went on, and Percy cringed at the mention of Ron's illnesses. "Sometimes he's as happy as a well-fed Hippogriff, but the next minute, he's seething with rage. Before his diagnosis, Ron's friends realized that something was wrong with him. They did their best to keep him happy, but without any knowledge on what was truly bothering Ron, they could do very little."

"And after he was diagnosed?" Percy asked, making a mental note to thank Ron's friends. _I've clearly misjudged them. I mean, I don't despise them like the others, but I never really liked them either._

"They've been looking out for him," Bill replied. "They make sure that he eats properly, drinks his Potions-"

"Potions?" Percy paled. _It's that bad already? He needs Potions to function?_

Percy suddenly remembered seeing Theodore Nott slip Ron something when Ginny had accused Ron of being a traitor. _He must have given Ron some sort of Potion… That's why Ron started acting so differently right after. And… And Nott knew how to deal with Ron collapsing a few days ago. They really do watch out for him constantly… They do what I'm supposed to be doing._

"Percy, are you listening?" Bill asked, and Percy broke out of his thoughts.

"Sorry…"

"No, it's alright," Bill said gently. "Just take as much time as you need."

"What Potions is he on?" Percy asked as he turned his chair to face his desk. _I'll write everything down, and then I'll start doing my own research. Yeah… That's what I should do. I can still help him. It's not too late._

Percy fumbled about as he grabbed everything in a hurry, and once he had everything in hand, he gestured Bill to start talking. Percy missed the sorry look on Bill's face.

"He has two Nutrition Potions a day," Bill started, and Percy quickly wrote it down. _I can still help him… Once he's back, I'll do whatever it takes to help him stay alive._

* * *

 _ **Fred Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

Fred fiddled with the piece of coal that he was planning to give to Ron for Christmas, but now that he knew about Ron's conditions, the sight of that piece of coal pissed him off to no end.

George wasn't saying anything, which was a habit of his whenever he was distressed. Fred wanted to pull his twin out of his current state, but right now, he didn't have the energy to pull even himself out of his misery. A misguided part of him was still hoping that this was all an elaborate prank orchestrated by Ron himself. Any minute now, Ron would burst into their room with his smug smirk and take the piss out of them. The twins would be furious, and together, they'd scream at Ron for being a prick. But deep down, they'd both be filled with genuine relief. He knew that this scenario was never going to happen, but he still desperately wished that it would. He desperately wished that Ron wasn't terminally ill.

Fred continued playing with the piece of coal in his hands, which were now covered with black dirt, he honestly didn't know what to do. His mind felt heavy, and every time he thought about Ron, he felt the urge to sneak out to the Hospital Wing. Sure, he'd be turned down at the door, but maybe he could catch a glimpse of his little brother. _Just enough to know that dad wasn't lying… Just enough to know that Ron will be home tomorrow._

George suddenly stood up, and Fred's head jerked up because of it.

"What is it?" Fred croaked. _My throat is so dry…_

"Harry, Neville, and Hermione…" George looked quite angry all of a sudden. "They knew about this, I just know it." _He's still on about that? Who cares if they knew? We need to do something to help Ron._

"Why are you so certain about that?" Fred asked, hoping to distract himself.

"Didn't you see them?" George fumed, and Fred was quite taken aback. _It's weird seeing him like this. I'm usually the 'emotional' one._ "They were dead quiet the entire time, and they didn't look too surprised by any of this. Even Neville, who panics when a fly hovers too close to him, was dead quiet. They knew, Fred, and I have questions to ask them."

"What sort of questions?" Fred stood up as well. "George… You're scaring me. Calm down, please."

"Calm down?" George looked scandalized. "How can I fucking calm down right now?!"

"I… I didn't mean it like that…" Fred sighed out, his hands tightening around the piece of coal. "You just look really angry right now, while I'm struggling to even speak…" _I hate admitting that I'm the lesser of us two, but right now, I don't even care…_

George's expression softened a little at that, and he let out a shaky breath.

"I'm scared too, Fred…" George all but whispered. "I just… I can't sit around right now… I need to do something. I keep trying to think of a way to sneak out of here in order to see Ron, but I know nothing will work…"

"Me too," Fred was oddly relieved to hear that. "Maybe one of us could distract Bill, Kirsten, and Charlie, while the other goes to check up on Ron?"

"That… could work…" George adorned a thoughtful look. "It'll have to be a big distraction, though. All three of them are keeping an eye on us 'children'."

Fred felt a spark of life ignite in his hollow chest, one of them could check up on Ron! Fred walked over to the window, and he tossed the piece of coal as far away as he could. _I don't need this anymore._ Fred then turned back around, and he quickly recovered their 'bag of gags' from under the loose floorboard.

"What do we have in there?" George sat down besides Fred.

"Before we do this," Fred looked up. "We need to figure out who gets to go see Ron…"

"You can go," George said immediately, and Fred blinked at him. _What? I can? Really?_ "I know when you're trying not to cry, Fred… You can go, but you'd better come back and tell me everything."

Fred felt his eyes sting a little, and he nodded his promise.

"I still plan to ask our 'friends' some questions," George looked back at the bag. "If they knew about this, then I want to know how they found out before us. **And** I want to know why they didn't tell us."

"George… Don't do something that we'll both regret," Fred said slowly. "I know that look…"

"Oh, I'll be very discreet," George said in a distant voice. "Very discreet, indeed." _I should probably stay in order to stop him, but I also want to see Ron._

"I suggest an explosion," Fred said as he looked back at the contents of the bag. _Sorry Harry, Neville, and Hermione, but I can't stay here while Ron is in trouble._

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Fred casually made his way down towards the Kitchen, and he even managed to ignore the crying coming from Ginny's room. _I'll share what I learn with her as well. Maybe that'll make her feel better? If such a thing is possible right now, that is. Just hold on, Ron, I'll be there as soon as possible._

Once Fred was in the Kitchen, he spotted the Trio speaking to each other in hushed whispers. Curiosity ran through Fred's veins, but he decided to let George handle the Trio. _They look downright suspicious right now. Maybe George is right about them knowing about this before us._ Harry's sharp eyes spotted Fred, and the Trio quickly stopped talking.

"Fred… How are you feeling?" Harry asked with a sorry look.

"Harry, I'm sure he's devastated…" Hermione said in an apologetic voice.

Fred said nothing to them, choosing to pour himself a glass of water instead. The Trio exchanged looks, but given the day's events, they decided not to press him. They lingered about for a few moments, and then went back to discussing whatever they were discussing before his arrival. _C'mon, George… What's taking you so long?_

Just as Fred finished his glass of water, a deafening boom shook the entire Burrow. The sound of glass, and wood, being shattered caused uproars of panic from each floor, but Fred was as calm as a Wampus before pouncing. He could hear the Trio shouting, but it was Charlie and Kirsten's yells that caught his attention. He turned to see them running up the stairs in a hurry, their wands brandished. _As loud as that was, the damage can be fixed with a simple Reparo._

"Everyone, upstairs now!" Charlie ordered, and Fred made to follow him.

"C'mon, you three!" Fred shot a 'panicked' look back, and the Trio hurried after him. "Go on! Follow Charlie!"

Fred stepped aside at the stairs, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty when he realized how scared they looked. _Hermione looks ready to faint. Oops._ Fred stomped his feet in order to imitate footsteps, and just as the Trio vanished from his sight; he turned around and bolted for the fireplace in the Living Room. _I'm coming, Ronnie!_

Much to his relief, there was no one inside the Living Room. Fred quickly took out the last vial of their 'Sneaky Scoundrel Draught', and he poured it over his head and clothes. _We're still testing it out, but it should make me invisible for around ten minutes. That's enough time for me to sneak into the Hospital Wing, check up on Ron, and then come back. I can do this!_

Fred quickly grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and he tossed it into the fire. _Now, where did dad go?_

"The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Fred said quickly, and when the fire blazed green, he all but jumped through it. _Please don't be in your Office, Dumbledore._

Fred found himself standing in the Headmaster's Office, and he shot a quick look towards Dumbledore's chair. The old wizard was shooting a quizzical look in Fred's direction; he was clearly confused about his fireplace acting up. _Shit! He's here! I need to hurry!_ Fred moved as silently as he could, often shooting glances back at the old wizard.

"Mr. Weasley…" Dumbledore said just as Fred reached the door, and Fred's body seized up. _FUCK! How does he know that it's me?!_

Fred kept his mouth closed, and after a few seconds, he realized that he was also holding his breath. _Do a runner, Fred!_

"Minerva is patrolling the fifth floor, so I suggest that you take the Moving Staircase down," Dumbledore said, and Fred turned around with a baffled look.

Dumbledore was just smiling in his direction, his eyes twinkling as they usually did. _Avoid the fifth floor… Got it._

"Thank you," Fred said, and Dumbledore went back to his paperwork.

Fred hurried out of the Office, and once he was past the Stone Gargoyle, he all but flew towards the Moving Staircase. The further he got, the more his nerves began to give out. _What if he's really hurt? I don't want to see something like that. What if dad lied about his current condition in order to spare us the messy details?_ Fred did his best to quash his cowardice, and just as any Gryffindor would, he kept pushing himself forward. It wasn't long before he was standing in front of the doors leading into the Hospital Wing, and before his mind could come up with more reasons to bail, he squeezed himself through a small gap in the massive doorway. _I'm in!_

The first things that Fred saw were two curtained off beds, and behind the curtains were shapes that looked familiar. _Ron's bed is behind one of those curtains, and the adults surround him. How do I do this without my wand?_ Fred tiptoed closer and closer, stopping only once he was in front of the two curtains. _I'll go right first._ Fred stuck his head through a small opening, and peered inside. _Wrong bed…_

The Greengrass and Davis Family were talking to each other in hushed whispers, and from what Fred could make out, it sounded like they were discussing Ron and Greengrass' relationship.

"… best to end it before they grow too attached..." James Davis was saying.

"… should be her choice…" Mary Greengrass frowned. _What are they talking about? Do they want Daphne to stop dating Ron?_

"… only hurt her worse later…" Sebastian Greengrass argued against his wife. _I should probably tell Ron about this when he wakes up._

Fred pulled his head back, and then he quietly approached the other curtain. Just like before, he used a small opening to look inside through. Arthur Weasley, Xenophilius Lovegood, and Sirius Black blocked Ron's person, and Fred frowned a little. _I can't see him from here. I'll have to get inside, and then go around those three._ With the elegance of a cat, and Fred shimmied his way into small space. _Now to get around the blokes._ Fred tiptoed around them, his head craning in an effort to see Ron.

And there he was… Pale as a ghost, and as dead looking as a Vampire. Fred's stomach sank at the sight of him, especially because he was hoping that Ron was in better shape. _I don't think he'll be coming home tomorrow._ Fred's mother and Mrs. Lovegood were sitting to Ron's left, and Fred slowly walked up behind them in order to get a better look. _Is he meant to look this pale? Something isn't right here._

Fred knew that the Draught was going to run out soon, and that he needed to make his way back home before that, but as he stood staring at Ron, he felt the urge to stay. In the end, it didn't matter what Fred wanted, because Bill Weasley burst into the small space through the curtain.

"Bill?" Arthur looked quite surprised to see his eldest son. _BILL?! No! I'm fucked now, aren't I?!_

"Is Fred here?" Bill asked as he surveyed the area.

"Fred? Why would Fred be here?" Molly asked with a bewildered expression.

"George set off a bunch of fireworks inside the house, and in the ensuing chaos, Fred went missing," Bill reported, and Fred nearly growled from anger. _Little tattletale traitor…_ "I think he's come here to check up on Ron himself."

"Sweet Merlin," Sirius looked almost impressed.

"Don't look so pleased," Arthur sighed out. "Bill, we haven't seen him." _I need to leave before that changes._

While Bill went into further details about George's complete lack of remorse for his actions, Fred made for the small crack behind Bill. _I need to get back to the others before this Draught runs out. Hopefully, Charlie's not guarding the fireplace back home._

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

Ginny could do little but stare as Charlie went berserk on George, calling him names that made Ginny's ears burn. As for George, he just smirked as arrogantly as he could in response.

The news about Ron had been… overwhelming. Ginny had scratched her left forearm skin to ribbons due to her mind-numbing mixture of personal guilt and fear. She was terrified for Ron, especially because Arthur Weasley hadn't once said that Ron could be saved. This, mixed in with her guilt over hitting him, had been enough to send her into a state very similar to that of her post-Diary days.

She couldn't think straight, and it felt like her brain had been dipped in a jar of oil. And on top of all of this, she had just learned that Astoria Greengrass knew more about her brother than she did. Despite everything that had happened between her and Ron, Ginny still felt rather possessive over him where Astoria was now concerned. _I know that she only found out because she was there when he was diagnosed, but it still doesn't feel fair to the rest of us. Even if we fight, we're still siblings._

"Get the fuck out of this room!" Charlie bellowed, while Kirsten just stared at her boyfriend's rage with a disappointed look.

"But… This is my room," George said almost pleasantly, and Charlie hand clenched into a fist. "Lucky for you, I have to use the loo… So I'll be out of your hair while you fix this mess up."

"Piece of shit bastard," Charlie grit out, while George hurried out of the room with an amused grin.

"Show's over, everyone," Kirsten sighed out, and everyone in the hallway moved out of George's way.

The Trio, Ron's friends, and Greengrass had all been attracted by the loud bang, while Luna had continued sleeping through the explosion. _She literally cried herself into a coma of sorts. I should ask her if I can do anything to make her feel better when she wakes up. She might not want to be my friend, but I can still help her feel a little better._

"Can I talk to you three?" George asked the Trio, coming to an abrupt halt.

"Us?" Neville asked, and George gave a curt nod. _Wait… Something's different. He's not amused anymore, I can tell just by looking at him._

"You really ought to apologize to Charlie first," Hermione said. "Is this really a good time to be playing pranks?" _She has a great point. What's wrong with you, George?_

"Why did you cause the explosion?" Ginny spoke up with a hoarse voice.

"You'll see," George replied. "Now, let's go have a chat."

George put his arm around Harry, and he all but hauled Harry downstairs. Neville and Hermione quickly followed after their friend, and Ginny, after a moment of curiosity, decided to see what George was up to. Maybe she just needed a distraction right now, or maybe it was just her Gryffindor intuition, but Ginny knew that some form of fight was about to happen. As she entered the Kitchen, she found Percy frowning at George for his latest stunt.

"Sit here, Harry," George planted a confused Harry on the nearest chair. "I have some questions for you, and you'd better answer them properly. I'll know if you're lying."

"Lying?" Harry blinked.

"George, what are you doing?" Ginny gave her brother an annoyed look.

"You're being a little too aggressive," Hermione scowled.

"Am I?" George asked. "Oh, I'm sorry… I've just had a **really** wretched day, and all I want are some answers."

"What sort of answers?" Neville asked, while Percy cocked his eyebrow at George.

"I want to know how you three knew about Ron this entire time," George replied, and Harry didn't hide his guilt very well. _Wait… Did they actually know about Ron? No way. He'd never tell them. Would he? I'm not even sure anymore._

"Look… I don't want to lie to anyone…" Harry sighed out. "But it's not a good story…"

"Wait… George was right?" Percy asked, looking rather surprised and annoyed at the same time.

"Harry, it's the right thing to do…" Hermione whispered, and Ginny just gave her 'friend' a betrayed look. _She did know! And she never told me! How could she do that?!_

"Well?" George demanded. "How did you find out? And why didn't you tell **us**?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you," Harry replied, but George didn't seem too satisfied with that answer. "And as for how we found out… That was **all on me**. Hermione and Neville had nothing to do with it, alright? I… I was looking into Ron…"

"Looking into Ron?" Percy asked with narrowed eyes. "What does that mean?"

"He was spying on your brother," Greengrass said from the stairs, and Ginny shot her a quick look. _So she also got curious?_ "I don't know much, but apparently, Harry Potter doesn't quite trust your brother."

"This has nothing to do with you," Hermione frowned at the younger witch.

"Oh, ignore me, then," Greengrass rolled her eyes.

"You don't trust Ron?" George asked slowly. "What? What is that supposed to mean?"

Harry looked rather uncomfortable discussing this, but right now, Ginny didn't care much for his comfort. She was far too intrigued by this to simply let it go.

"Before I start, I have to say that I was wrong," Harry admitted his fault right from the start. "I… I understand now that I was just feeling jealous of Ron, and that doesn't make him a bad person…"

"Jealous of Ron? Bad person?" Ginny asked. "Harry, what did you do?"

"I followed him around for a while," Harry looked to Ginny with a sorry look. "I went through some of his personal things, and in my search, I found pictures of his brain scans."

"Brain scans?" Percy looked cold now. "You broke into Ron's personal things?"

Ginny looked towards a guilty Hermione, and when their eyes met, Ginny couldn't help but frown in anger.

"You both knew about this?" Ginny asked Hermione and Neville.

"We did, and we tried to stop him," Neville said. "But saying that, Harry was also trying to look out for all of you… I know it doesn't sound like he was, but he-"

"Neville, don't," Harry stopped his best mate. "You were right from the start… I shouldn't have done what I did in the first place…"

"So, from what I understand, you stalked Ron because you were feeling jealous of him?" George asked, he hadn't expected to hear such a petty thing. "Why would you, of all people, feel jealous of Ron? You're **Harry Potter**!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Greengrass piped in again. "Ron's the stronger wizard, Ron is close with Albus Dumbledore, and even the adults listen when Ron speaks."

"What's your problem?" Hermione turned around with a huff.

"My problem is that Ron should get rid of you three before you drag him down further," Greengrass looked an awful lot like her sister all of a sudden. "Do you have any idea how often people in Slytherin try to stab Ron in the back because of his continued association with you? Now, I don't really care much for House Politics, but I do care about Ron, and he's done nothing to warrant such repulsive behavior from his 'friends'."

Greengrass then shook her head, turned on her heel, and marched up the stairs. _You know, Ron also mentioned that he gets in trouble for being friends with Gryffindors, but I didn't really care to hear that at the time. This definitely adds to his stress, so why does he keep being a friend to the Trio?_

"Is what she said true?" Percy questioned. "You really did something so… underhanded… because you were jealous of him?"

"Yes," Harry admitted shamefully.

"Harry," Hermione shot a frown towards the stairs.

"When did you find out?" Ginny asked Harry, she too was starting to get angry. "How long have you kept this from us?"

"It's been a while," Harry replied as he looked down at the table.

"You three…" Ginny was left feeling quite hurt. _I thought they were my friends… But Ron was definitely right… I'll never be one of them. No matter how much time I spend with them._

"Ginny…" Hermione started.

"Don't start with me," Ginny hissed, her right hand finding her left forearm. "You've known about this for ages, but you never thought to tell me? I thought we were friends."

"We are friends," Hermione said quickly. "But Ron… This is far too serious, and we gave him our word that we wouldn't tell anyone. Especially you guys."

"So it's Ron's fault now?" Percy asked.

"What? No," Hermione quickly ate her words. "What I meant was that Ron's also our friend-"

"But you broke into his personal belongings," George cut her off. "Yeah, I'm not buying what you're selling…"

"Hermione and Neville didn't break into anything," Harry suddenly sounded much more like himself. " **I** was the one who saw the brain scans, and **I** was the one who found that book on brain injuries. I found out everything."

"And you told them?" Percy looked to Neville and Hermione.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"No, he didn't," Hermione contradicted him, much to everyone's confusion.

"Which story is true?!" Ginny snapped, this was so frustrating. _They're trying to defend each other, but all they're accomplishing is mass confusion!_

"Harry did find the book, but I… I Cursed him in order to see what he found out," Hermione admitted, much to Harry's annoyance. "I… I just wanted to help Ron, but I was wrong to go that far… I regret what I did, I swear…"

"You Cursed Harry?" Ginny was genuinely shocked, while Hermione bit her lower lip nervously.

"So, to sum it up, Harry was jealous of Ron, and so, he started investigating Ron," Percy looked ready to start handing out detentions. "You two knew about his invasive behavior, but you two didn't stop him. And eventually, he learned something that he shouldn't have, but you, Hermione, decided to Curse your own friend in order to find out what was wrong with Ron."

"Yes…" Hermione admitted weakly.

George, Percy, and Ginny were truly appalled by this story, especially Ginny, who had seen the Trio as her closest friends at Hogwarts. _They did all that, and they never once spoke to me about it. How many times did they just lie to my face?_

"And does Ron know about your behavior?" George asked coldly.

"He found out…" Neville sighed out. "We promised him that we wouldn't tell anyone, but he's been distant with us ever since."

"I wonder why," George shook his head. "I don't want to sound like Percy, but Merlin… I'm actually disappointed in you three…"

"Neville really didn't do anything wrong here," Hermione decided to at least save Neville from being hated. "Harry and I… We both took things too far, but Neville was always against it. He's the only one of us three that Ron still treats like a friend…"

"Don't sound so upset about Ron disliking you," Ginny couldn't control herself. "I thought we were friends, Hermione, but you don't know what that word even means!"

Ginny went to storm upstairs, but knowing that Greengrass was currently in the room with a sleeping Luna, Ginny instead barged out the back and into the cold night. _They known for so long, and they never told me! How many times did they speak to me knowing full well that my brother was dying?!_ Ginny felt truly wretched now, and once again, she began clawing her left forearm. _Stupid! Just like Tom said! I'm so stupid!_

"Ginny, I'm really sorry," Hermione caught up to Ginny outside. "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't! You have to believe that!"

"I don't have to believe anything!" Ginny roared as she turned back around. "You're such a hypocrite! You spent months telling me to treat Ron better, but at the same time, you were stalking him!" _Harry was stalking him! How could_ _ **Harry**_ _ **Potter**_ _do something so pathetic?!_ "You actually stalked a person! You found out about his most guarded secret, and still expect him to be your friend?! What's the matter with you three?!"

"It sounds really terrible when you say it like that…" Hermione shrunk in her spot. "But it just… It didn't feel so cruel at the time… I thought we could help him, and even though he was really angry, I couldn't understand why… But I do now, and when he comes home, I'll speak to him. I'll apologize properly…"

"And me?" Ginny narrowed her eyes, her fingers digging into her skin through her clothes rather painfully. "I don't get an apology?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you," Hermione apologized, but Ginny didn't feel any better.

"I thought we were really close…" Ginny couldn't mask her hurt. "But Ron was right about you three…"

"What?" Hermione looked up. "Ron said something about us?"

"He told me that no matter what I do, I'll never be your **real** friend," Ginny cleared her eyes with a harsh swipe. "And he was right! You, Hermione, can't be friends with people because you think you can do whatever you want! You lie to me for ages, and still lecture me on being kinder towards Ron? You constantly ask me to open up, while you keep secrets like this from me? I… I don't even know what to say to you! Leave me alone!"

"Ginny, it's freezing out here…" Hermione looked genuinely demoralized. "At least come inside…"

"Sod off," Ginny said angrily. "Liar!"

Hermione went to say something, but no words left her mouth. Instead, she shot Ginny a sorry look before skulking back inside the house. Ginny glared at where Hermione was for a few seconds, and then, she walked over to a nearby bench and sat down with her knees in her lap. Her brain felt even heavier than before, and she couldn't help but wonder why Ron didn't expose the Trio himself. _None of his actions make any sense anymore… I wish he were here so I could speak to him. At the very least, I want to say that I'm sorry for hitting him… Merlin, I've never felt so wretched about something before. What if I made his Brain-Damage worse by hitting him in the face?_

Ginny's stomach tightened at the thought, and she squeezed her knees against her chest. This didn't feel like Christmas Eve anymore… It felt like a very real nightmare.

* * *

 _ **William Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

The dinner table had a cloud of melancholy hovering over it. Fred and George were the only ones who were speaking, but no one could make out their hushed discussion. Sirius had somehow caught a 'whiff' of Fred just as Fred was nearing the exit of the Hospital Wing, and after being scolded by their mother, Bill had dragged an angry Fred back home for dinner. Although he didn't appreciate their stunt, he knew that the twins just wanted to check up on Ron. _Just like Percy, they're going to try and help him. Maybe some good will come out of this after all. At the very least, they'll stop fighting each other for a while._

Bill looked to the Trio, who weren't really eating their food. Harry was drawing circles in his mash potatoes, Neville just looked guilty beyond reason, and Hermione kept shooting nervous glances at a fuming Ginny. _I clearly missed a lot while I was chasing Fred down._ Bill then looked to Luna, and she too was drawing circles in her mash potatoes.

"I know today's been horrible for everyone," Bill decided to break the silence. "But you all have to eat. Ron's coming home tomorrow-"

"Unlikely," Fred glared at Bill. "I saw how pale he was. He's probably going to spend his Christmas all alone in that stupid Hospital Wing." _Why am I being blamed for this? I didn't choose to keep this a secret. I've always asked mum and dad to tell the others._

"Well, we came here to spend our Christmas with Ron," Tracey spoke up in a calm voice. "So, we'll be going to the Hospital Wing tomorrow. You can all come with, and they won't be able to turn us all down at the door."

"Count us in," George said, his eyes lingering on a still upset Charlie.

"Madam Pomfrey has other patients, and she doesn't need all of you storming her workplace," Charlie kept his eyes fixed on George. "Ron will be home. He's a tough bastard, and he'll walk this off like it's nothing." _Even you don't believe that._

"He's right," Bill said. "Just be patient-"

"Easy for you to say," Ginny mumbled sourly, and Luna looked to Ginny before quickly averting her gaze. "You've known all along…"

"For what it's worth, he wanted mum and dad to tell all of you," Charlie stepped in to defend Bill. "Ron didn't want this getting out, and in the end, we chose to respect his decision."

"Well, it was a stupid decision," Percy said, which earned him a surprised look from the twins.

"Has this mess achieved a miracle?" Fred asked George.

"Is Percy's head now out of his arse?" George asked Fred.

"Oi!" Bill frowned at the two of them. "Can you two stop for once?"

"Why do you always start on him?" Ginny asked the twins.

"Can I eat upstairs?" Draco asked Bill, who rubbed his face tiredly.

"Yes…" Bill replied. _Ron's friends don't need to listen to this. If anything, they actually know how to handle situations like this from experience._

Draco grabbed his plate, and he left without another word. Theo nudged Tracey, and the both of them also stood up and left. The others watched them leave, but not a single person said anything about it.

"Actually, I'll go with them," Astoria stood up suddenly; she wasn't really a fan of watching other people fight. "Luna, do you want to come with me?"

"No, I'll stay here…" Luna sounded like a kicked puppy.

"If you're sure…" Astoria sighed, and then she left to go spend time with like-minded people.

This left the Weasley children, and the Trio, to dine in silence. Bill thought about saying something comforting to his hurting siblings, but honestly, he didn't know what he could say. They had been the last to find out about Ron, and so, they were rightfully hurt because of it, but at the same time, Bill knew that they all wanted to help Ron. _That's just how we were raised. Family is all we've ever had. They don't understand this yet, but mum and dad did an amazing job with their Family._

"Bill told me a lot about Ron," Percy said suddenly, and everyone looked to him. "About his treatment methods, and his symptoms. Bill, tell them what you told me."

"Yes, tell us," Fred said quickly. "What are his symptoms?"

"Oh, before you do," George looked to the Trio with a cold stare. "Sorry, but Family only." _What?_

"George," Bill said. "What's the matter with you?" _Aren't you friends with them?_

"Yes, Family only," Ginny joined George, her agitated eyes fixed on Hermione. _What the…? What is this?_

"What's the matter with you lot?" Charlie asked as he looked between the children. "Why are you always fighting each other? And why are you acting this way towards our guests?"

"They've been spying on Ron," Percy said, and Bill blinked at him. _Spying? Wait… Didn't Harry 'look into' Ron a while back? How did they find out about this?_

Bill looked to the guilty looking Trio, and he realized that the Trio had confessed their crimes. _That Gryffindor nobility… It's such a pain in the arse sometimes._

"Wow… He knew," George sounded disgusted. "Look at him! He knew about this as well!"

"So mum and dad also know that these three were stalking Ron?" Fred asked, and the Trio shrunk even more. "Were you three even punished for doing something so criminal? I mean, Fred and I aren't saints, but we don't dig around in people's personal lives for information to use against them."

"Enough!" Bill finally snapped, and everyone went dead quiet.

Even Charlie went silent at the sight of big brother Bill losing his temper.

"They are our guests, and you will not use Ron's illness as an excuse to dishonor this Family," Bill ordered. _I sound like Aunt fucking Muriel now! Dammit!_ "Harry, Hermione, Neville… Please go upstairs while I deal with my siblings."

The Trio didn't need to be told twice, and they quietly made themselves scarce. This display only served to annoy Bill further. _I love my siblings, but they are so temperamental. Hopefully, they'll mellow out with time and some maturity._

"I get that you're all struggling right now, Gods know that I struggled a great deal as well, but this sort of behavior is exactly why Ron didn't tell you anything," Bill started his lecture. "Most of you have been ignoring him, and now, you're in his corner? Just like that?"

The twins and Ginny didn't look too happy to have their rude behavior pointed out.

"Should I leave as well?" Kirsten whispered to Charlie.

"No, you'll stay right here," Bill ordered, and Kirsten nodded quickly. "As for you lot… Mum raised us better than this. Those three are our guests, and they don't deserve to be treated so coldly by their own friends. They, like you, have done stupid shit where Ron is concerned. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. From everything I've heard, none of you are free of guilt either. So don't treat our guests like enemies just to make yourselves feel better."

"Right now, we need to focus on how we can help Ron," Bill went on. "And the Trio want to help as well. They made mistakes, and they're trying to fix them. Just like you. So I won't tolerate this sort of behavior again. I swear to Merlin, I'll go and fetch mum right now if you backtalk me on this. Am I clear?"

"Crystal…" Fred drawled, and Bill gave a curt nod. "Tell us about Ron's symptoms." _Did he hear a single word I said?_

"All you need to know is that Ron needs less stress in his life, which means that you will all stop fighting him," Bill said, his eyes darting to Ginny. "No more fighting."

Ginny averted her gaze; she clearly understood that she was the one who fought with Ron the most.

"Now, I have some books in my room," Bill stood up. "Books that Daphne bought in Paris… These books have helped the rest of us a great deal, and I'll give you each a quick lesson on them. And I mean all of you. The Trio included." _I can't tell them that they need to stick together through the war. Merlin, if we told them about the war now, they'd go mental. How did everything get so fucked so quickly?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Dream Hogwarts**_

Ron stood at the edge of the Black Lake, or rather, what was meant to be the Black Lake. Instead of black, cold water filling the lake, there was a maelstrom of shadow and light spiraling with abandon. Ron wanted to jump into it simply because he was curious about what lay in the center of this chaos. Maybe this maelstrom was his soul? Thoughts like this didn't seem bizarre in such a place, and Ron did his best to find meaning behind what he was seeing.

The Entity was nowhere to be found, which was actually a good thing if Ron was being honest. He hated coming to this place. He hated speaking to the Entity. He hated how scared he was of the horror living inside his head. Every time he spoke with the Entity, he was left scarred and full of doubts. Ron understood that the Entity wanted this reaction from him each time, and he also understood that the Entity was constantly trying to manipulate him.

"But it won't work," Ron said in a dull voice, the maelstrom dancing in his eyes. "I can't let it work… Or I'll turn into him."

Ron looked up, and he saw that the crows were still circling him. He had seen this murder of crows before… _The Ron who murdered everyone in his Cycle. Everyone not worth murdering, that is._

"Keep making noise, cunt," Ron rolled his eyes at the birds. "I know that the Entity is trying to show off your power to me. I'm not as stupid as you all think. I know what you're all trying to do. You're trying to fuck me over, just like those damn Veelas. Well, I won't be fucked. Not by a dead cunt like you."

Ron kicked some dirt into the maelstrom, why was he stuck here? _I've walked everywhere, but there's no exit. I even tried Occlumency, but it was just a waste of time. Either I'm not good enough at it, or the Entity controls everything that happens in here._ Ron decided to walk up to the castle once again. _Maybe it'll be open now._

The ground beneath his feet felt damp, and if he looked hard enough, he could see cracks everywhere. _This place keeps looking worse and worse. Fucking hell, I'm not going to last much longer. I need to hurry things along somehow. What's the point of seeing the Future if I'm too dead to actually change anything?_ Ron wasn't even sure how he had ended up here. He remembered the pain in his stomach, and he remembered falling on his face like a clown, but nothing beyond that. _Daphne has no doubt found me by now… Fuck… Dating me must be a traumatizing job._

As Ron approached the grim looking Courtyard, he saw that the massive front door was now open. _What the…?_ Ron looked around for any sign of the Entity, but there was nothing that indicated its presence. _This… feels like a trap._ Ron slowly neared the open doorway; he had never actually entered 'Dream Hogwarts' before. _Is it just like the Hogwarts out there? Unlikely. This place is meant to be my mind, right?_

Ron crept into the castle like a thief in the night, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for an angry God. The Entrance Hall looked just like Hogwarts', with the exception of the House Hourglasses. Instead of being filled with colorful gems, the Hourglasses were filled with a black gooey substance. _It's… moving… What is this?_ Ron slowly approached the Gryffindor Hourglass; he could hear faint whispers from inside.

"Harry… Hermione… I'm sorry…" his voice rang out, and some of the goo turned into his horrorstruck face.

Ron quickly stepped back, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. _What the fuck? Is that…? Is that a past life of mine?_ Ron slowly looked at the other Hourglasses, and he felt his blood freeze over. These were all Rons, weren't they? _The Entity is collecting us, and then organizing us by Hogwarts Houses? What in the actual fuck?_

Curiosity welled up inside him; maybe he could set these past Rons free? Ron walked back to the Gryffindor Hourglass, and very cautiously, he put his left hand on the smooth surface. He could hear their cries of despair. He could taste their fear. He could feel their regret over failing their loved ones. _I'll end up in here if I fail, won't I?_ Terror seized him, and Ron felt the urge to scream. Why was he stuck in this nightmare of a life in the first place?

"You left them…" his voice whispered from the glass.

"I didn't mean to…" another voice wept. "I wish I never left the tent… I wish I never touched that Locket… Was always weak… Nothing like my best friends…"

"We can't win…" a child's voice croaked. " **He** can't be destroyed… Mum found my body, I think… Poor mum…"

Ron pulled his hand back as images of a scared child jumping to his death bombarded his mind. _This one was only eleven when he died… Merlin, these poor bastards are the Entity's trophies, aren't they?_ Ron looked around the Entrance Hall again, what other secrets were in here? He felt something calling out to him from deeper within the castle, and Ron felt rather petrified. He wanted to go to the voice calling him, but fear had a way of making someone think twice. _What if this really is a trap? I… I don't want to get hurt…_

Ron suddenly slapped his own face.

"Stop being a coward," Ron scolded himself. "Just… Just find a way to free these other Ron's first."

Ron looked back to the Hourglasses, a slightly determined look on his face. _I can't use Magic here, but if I topple this thing, it should break._ Ron slipped into the small gap between the wall and the Gryffindor Hourglass, and once his back was pushing against the Hourglass' cool surface, he began to push backwards. _C'mon! Fall over!_ The Hourglass, as large as it was, began to lose its balance. _Just a little more-_

A hand suddenly lunged at Ron's throat from the side, and within a heartbeat, Ron was yanked out of the small gap and sent flying into steps. The landing was painful, but it was nothing compared to the Entity shattering Ron's right ankle with a powerful stomp. Hot white pain shot up Ron's entire body, and he heard himself screaming his heart out as he desperately tried to grab onto his crushed ankle. _FUCK! FUCKING FUCK!_

"You motherfucker!" Ron screamed through the pain, and he even tried to struggle as the Entity yanked him up by his hair.

" _ **Your gift… Your heritage… Your burden…**_ " Sirius growled, black ooze spilling through his dagger sharp teeth. " _ **We have fixed your broken head ball… No more dreaming…**_ "

"You're hurting me!" Ron screamed as his hair was ripped off of his skull, but his screams fell on deaf ears.

The Entity's fingers latched onto Ron's face, burning any flesh that they touched.

"FUCK!" Ron tried to shove his attacker away, but the overwhelming smell of burning meat sapped the life out of him.

He didn't even feel being sent flying into a wall, nor did he feel the Entity breaking his other ankle.

" _ **You should not be here…**_ " the Entity spoke, its voice was now distorted and even more frightening. " _ **Free them at your peril… Old souls can't exist in this frail body… Stupid puppet... Do not interfere… This was a mistake…**_ "

Ron dangled about as the Entity slammed him around the Entrance Hall; his mind had turned off in an effort to save itself. And then, everything just stopped. Ron no longer felt Sirius' burning hands on him, nor did he feel the weight of his body being thrown about. He just laid there, a bloodied and broken mess. His bones shattered, and his flesh quivering from fear and shock. He knew he was crying, but he had no control over what his body was doing at this point. Some part of him even understood that he had soiled himself during the attack, but none of that mattered.

This is what he deserved for trying his luck. There was no winning against the Entity, and there never would be. In the end, Ron would end up in Slytherin's Hourglass, his pain and misery a lesson to the next Ronald Weasley.

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – In the Dead of Night)**_

Inaudible voices rang in his ears; it was as if they were speaking some cosmic language not meant for mortal ears.

" _ **WAKE UP!**_ " came the Entity's desperate yell, and Ron's eyes snapped open.

He immediately sat up, his hands finding his face. Terrible flashes of torture echoed in his mind, and Ron let out a scared whimper as he looked around for the Entity. Without his knowledge, his body had turned into a ball for protection. And yet, there was no attack. Ron waited, and he waited, and he waited… But nothing happened.

Slowly… Timidly… Ron began to take in his surroundings. There was color around him… Nothing vibrant, but just enough to let him know that he wasn't alone with the Entity anymore. _I'm safe?_ A haunting shiver passed through him, and Ron hid his face behind his trembling hands. His body was in perfect condition, but his mind felt alien to him. It was still stuck in the attack, and Ron felt extremely disorientated because of that. His hands kept flinching up to stop an assailant that wasn't there anymore, and he couldn't stop his body from tensing over and over again.

For a very small moment, which felt far too long, Ron thought about throwing himself from the Astronomy Tower. He longed to be free, but what he had seen in Dream Hogwarts stopped him from acting on his self-destructive thoughts. He'd end up in a fucking prison forever if he failed. A prison created by the Entity. Ron stumbled out of his bed, his shaking legs carrying him towards the nearest corner. Without thinking, Ron hunched over in the small space for safety, his eyes scanning the room for any danger.

It was cold in the Hospital Wing, and Ron's bare feet felt icy. _My ankles!_ Ron quickly inspected his feet, and upon finding them uncrushed, a little bit of relief washed over him. _I can still walk… I'm not there anymore. I'm back in the real World. C'mon, Ron… Break free. What are you doing?_ His traitorous body refused to listen to his recovering mind, and Ron felt like he had been split in two. His mind was telling his body to move around, but his body kept rocking back and forward because it was calming his mind down.

" _ **Broken…**_ " Ron twitched painfully, his jaw popping as his fingers twisted abnormally. " _ **We'll break them too…**_ "

Ron suddenly found himself standing in front of the giant window at the end of the Hospital Wing; his crimson, toad-like eyes reflected in the clear glass. He could see the Quidditch Pitch from here, and beyond it, the Forbidden Forest itself.

" _ **Lord of Serpents,**_ " Ron hissed with genuine hatred, his sharp black nails scratching the window. " _ **We will feast on your flesh…**_ "

A monstrous tongue slipped past Ron's dagger sharp teeth, he had never felt so ravenous in his life. His bones cracked under his skin, and Ron found himself twisting in unnatural ways. And yet, it felt all too natural. It was as if he had always been able to twist his spine in two. He could feel a pressure building behind his monstrous eyes, as if a tidal wave of blood had been unleashed inside his skull.

" _ **We bleed into ourselves,**_ " Ron growled, his left arm twisting backwards. " _ **Change is good…**_ "

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: This feels like a good place to leave it =)**

 **I'm back with the creepy cliffhangers! Feels good!**

 **See you guys on the next weekend!**


	110. Chapter 110 - The Last Christmas

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 110 is here, and it's the longest chapter so far! Almost thirty five thousand words! Sorry for the slight delay, but ending a chapter like this can be difficult. I had so much to get through, and I decided to add a lot into this chapter. So, without further adieu...  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'The match is struck... A blazing star is born' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 110 - The Last Christmas**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Hospital Wing – Early Morning)**_

The birds that nested around Hogwarts were singing their morning tunes, and Ron listened quietly as he stared out of the scratched window. He remembered everything from last night, especially his little 'episode' after waking up from his nightmare. Whatever was happening inside his mind was now affecting his body, and Ron couldn't help but wonder what the Entity bleeding into him meant. Was he becoming like the Entity? Or maybe a combination of the two? Whatever was happening, Ron found himself not caring all that much.

At some point, people just stopped caring about things out of their control, and Ron had reached that point with the Entity. If anything, Ron was going to actively avoid the damn thing from now on. It could do whatever it wanted, but Ron would take no part in its schemes. A small part of him even felt tired of his duty now. He had done nothing to deserve this fate, and yet, he was burdened with knowledge of things that defied explanation. He was burdened with an impossible task. He was burdened with a Family that didn't appreciate him. He was burdened with an illness that was going to kill him. He was just fucking burdened.

"Ronald?" came Madam Pomfrey's voice, and Ron turned around in order to thank her.

"Madam Pomfrey," Ron greeted her, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I'm not sure what happened to me, but I know I have you to thank for my recovery. So… Thank you. Whatever you did, I feel really great." _Physically speaking, that is. My entire body feels… changed. Like I got a new one last night._

Ron shifted his ribcage subtly, and he felt his organs move and readjust. _Ah, that feels good. I can feel…_ _ **everything**_ _._

"You certainly look a lot better," Madam Pomfrey eyed his face. "Color's back, standing upright, and…" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Is everything all right?" Ron asked calmly.

"The Potions I gave you last night… They've worn off?" she asked. "Do you feel drowsy? Sore?"

"I feel great," Ron replied. "Strong. Like I could break a man's spine in two with my bare hands."

Madam Pomfrey blinked at him, and Ron found himself enjoying this conversation. _She looks a little disturbed by that example… Should I prod her even more? Why not? I've been bored out of my mind for over an hour now._

"How much strength would I need to crack a grown man's spine, Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked rather casually, and she just stared at him for a few moments.

"A lot…" she replied slowly. "Ronald… Are you feeling like yourself?" _**That, and more.**_

"I'm just toying with you," Ron decided to stop before she started asking more serious questions. "No need to take me so seriously."

"Right…" she didn't look very amused. "How long have you been awake for?"

"I just woke up," Ron lied. "I wasn't sure where I was at first, but since I basically live in here, it didn't take me long to recognize the smell of disinfectant."

"Come, let me take a better look at you," Madam Pomfrey walked over to his bed, and Ron followed her without argument.

He planted himself on his bed rather childishly, and quickly began rocking his legs from side to side. Madam Pomfrey shot a look at his dangling legs, but she made no comment on his odd behavior.

"Open your mouth, please," Madam Pomfrey requested, and Ron opened wide.

She used a tongue depressor to pin his tongue down, and once she had had a good look around, she pulled the tongue depressor out of his mouth and binned it. She then used her wand to flash some light into his eyes, and Ron wondered what she was even looking for. _Maybe she likes my peepers? Daphne always says that I have nice eyes._

"Everything seems to be in order," Madam Pomfrey said. "This is good. Very good."

"You sound surprised," Ron pointed out.

"I didn't expect you to recovery so quickly," Madam Pomfrey explained. "You had surgery yesterday, Ronald."

"Surgery?" Ron cocked his head. "You cut me open? Like those Muggle Healers?"

"You had a stomach ulcer, and we needed to get to it in order to heal it," Madam Pomfrey said. "Usually, Potions can help heal ulcers, but yours was bleeding quite profusely. We had to use Healing Magic on it directly."

"What's a stomach ulcer? And how did I get one?" Ron asked. _Was I poisoned?_

"A stomach ulcer is a sore that develops in the stomach, esophagus, or small intestine," Madam Pomfrey replied. "It's caused by bacteria, a change in your stomach's acidity, and sometimes, from over consumption of Potions. Yours was caused by your stress levels changing your stomach's acidity, and your stress caused it to 'open', which resulted in internal bleeding."

"Merlin," Ron didn't sound very bothered, mostly because he wasn't. _Avoided death once again. I'm awesome._ "Well, thank you for saving me. Really appreciate it."

Ron hopped off of the bed, and he stretched his back as he yawned. _I can literally hear my spine stretching out._ Ron then ran his fingers through his hair, and he gave Pomfrey a smile.

"Merry Christmas, by the way," Ron said. "Sorry that you had to operate on me during Christmas Eve. I'm sure you had some other plans."

"I didn't," she told him. "Ronald, sit back down. I still need to make sure that you've recovered. Not to mention that we need to discuss preventative measures for the future."

"Preventative measures?" Ron asked as he began walking around the curtained off area. _I want to go for a run._

"You nearly died," Madam Pomfrey reminded him, and Ron nodded along in order to feign interest. "If you had fallen on your back instead of your stomach, you would've choked on your own blood. This is very serious, Ronald. We can't let this happen again."

"And how do we do that?" Ron asked.

"For one, we further limit your stress," Madam Pomfrey started. "I highly recommend that you stop spreading yourself so thin. Join the Ministry after graduating. For now, just focus on your school life." _I need allies in the Ministry for the war, so that's not happening._

"What about my Chess career?" Ron asked, he had already decided to ignore her.

"I don't think Chess stresses you too much, so you can keep working with Sebastian Greengrass," Madam Pomfrey replied. "I also want to try out a new method of treatment with you. If we can keep you calm with the use of Potions, but limit your consumption of them, we should be able to keep you stress-free for the remainder of the Break without any repercussions."

"You want to sedate me?" Ron asked. _Yeah, that's not happening. I can't work if I'm loopy._

"Just for the remainder of the Break," Madam Pomfrey replied. "The surgery has weakened you, and I don't think you can afford to stress right now. Your parents and I discussed this, and they have agreed that this is the right course of action."

"Have they?" Ron smirked. "Then, by all means, pump me full of Potions and turn me into a drooling mess." _**They don't make decisions for Us.**_

Madam Pomfrey frowned at him.

"Is something on your mind, Ronald?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I have a lot of things to take care of during this Break, so I won't be taking any Potions," Ron told her bluntly. "They mess with my head, and I make poor decisions as a result."

"Ronald, it is important-" Madam Pomfrey started.

"Thank you for helping me," Ron cut her off. "But as much as I appreciate you doing **your job** , I don't appreciate you pushing **your '** solutions' onto me so aggressively. We already have a method for dealing with my stress, remember? I am the least stressed when I'm left alone. I like accomplishing my goals. I like keeping up with my training and exercise. We've already talked about this at great length, haven't we?"

"We have," Madam Pomfrey sighed out. "But it's not enough, and your latest stay here proves that."

"This ulcer thing… It didn't just spring up randomly, did it?" Ron asked. "I mean, it must have been there for a while, right?"

"You're right," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Over the last few days, I've been through some really tough times," Ron told her. "My stress was at an all time high, I reckon."

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I was at your house when you collapsed, but I never got the details from your parents."

"The French tried some shady shit, and it all blew up in everyone's faces," Ron shrugged. "I can't give you all the details, but what I can tell you is that I've dealt with it."

"Dealt with it?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron smiled like a Cheshire cat.

"You should read today's paper," Ron replied, the fingers on his right hand cracking loudly. _And then read the next few until Poppy 'whore' Abadie is dead._ "Suffice to say, I won't be stressed in the coming few days. I just want to enjoy my remaining Break with Daphne."

"And your friends?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Yeah, them too," Ron nodded. "But mostly Daphne." _The others don't give me kisses. Wait… Tracey and Pansy do, but I still prefer Daphne's. Speaking of Pansy, I should send her an owl. I haven't heard from her, or Blaise, ever since the Break started._

"Your parents will be here soon," Madam Pomfrey looked to the clock. "When they get here, we can discuss this further."

"There won't be a discussion," Ron said calmly. "I say what happens. No one else."

"Very well," Madam Pomfrey gave a curt nod. "Now, I need you for one last thing."

"Really?" Ron asked. "What can I do for you?"

"Daphne is asleep in the other curtained off bed," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron stood to full attention.

"What?" Ron asked, his mirth completely gone. "Why?"

"She found you yesterday, and it sent her into shock," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Ron felt a spear of guilt pierce his heart. _No…_ "Don't worry, she just needed her sleep in order to recover. I'm about to wake her up now, and seeing you should help her."

"Let's go, then," Ron said quickly, and then he made his way into Daphne's area.

The moment he stepped past the curtain, he found her sleeping soundly in her bed. Her hair was messy, and there was a bit of drool running down the side of her mouth. Ron was quite jarred to see her so… not prepared. _Merlin, how much time does she put into her appearance every morning. I mean, she's still very attractive, but at the same time, her hair is as unkempt as Hermione's._

"Are you done staring at her?" Madam Pomfrey asked from behind him.

"I'll never be done with staring at her," Ron quipped before making his way over to her bedside.

"Of course you'd say that," Madam Pomfrey shook her head lightly.

"How do we wake her up?" Ron asked softly.

"The usual way," Madam Pomfrey gave him a deadpan expression. "This isn't a fairytale, Ronald. Waking up a girl with 'true love's kiss' is considered sexual assault in the real World."

"You're a very sassy woman, you know that, right?" Ron gave her a dull look in return. "I asked a simple question, and you just savaged me in response."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes; she knew that he was trying to get a rise out of her.

Madam Pomfrey gently shook Daphne, and Ron waited eagerly for his girlfriend to wake up. Sadly, Madam Pomfrey's attempts failed, and Daphne turned on her side with a rather boyish grunt. _Okay, then._

"Excellent stuff," Ron shook his head at Madam Pomfrey.

"You do it, then," Madam Pomfrey said.

"I might as well," Ron said. "Seeing your boney face first thing after such a harrowing affair… She'll think the Grim Reaper's come for her."

Madam Pomfrey barely stopped herself from stooping to his childish level, and when she pinched her nose in frustration, Ron grinned at her. _Ha! Got her!_

"I'll bring you two some food," Madam Pomfrey turned to leave.

"Make sure it's actual food, please," Ron said. "Not the mixture of Troll spit and pigeon shit that you usually feed me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll enjoy this meal," Madam Pomfrey said ominously. _Why do I get the feeling that something terrible is about to happen?_

Once Madam Pomfrey was gone, Ron became dead serious. _Enough jokes. I need to make sure that Daphne is all right._ Ron slowly, and very carefully, sat down on Daphne's bed. _Now, how do I wake her up without spooking her? I'll do what Madam Pomfrey was doing, but just a little more firmly._ Ron put his left hand on her shoulder, and he shook her.

"Daph… It's Ron," Ron whispered. "Wake up, please."

Daphne's eyes slowly opened, and she gave Ron a confused look. _There's gunk in her eyes. She can't even see me, can she?_ And then, her eyes snapped open when she remembered what had happened. Ron jumped a little when she sat up to full attention, her wide-open eyes fixed on him.

"Hello," Ron said lamely, and she quickly pulled him into a hug.

"You're all right!" Daphne sounded both relieved, and terrified.

"I'm all right," Ron hugged her back. "Everything's okay, Daph. I promise."

She clearly didn't believe him because she only tightened her hold on him. _She's hurting my neck a little, but I don't mind. I'm just glad that she's not hurt._ For the first time since he had woken up, Ron felt tranquil. He didn't feel malicious intent towards his enemies, or annoyance with his Family, or anger with the Veela community. He felt calm. But that all ended when Ron realized that she wasn't wearing a bra under her gown. _Oh, Merlin! We shouldn't be so carefree!_

"Daphne… I can feel your…" Ron started, but he quickly stopped. _Don't say nipples to a girl, you dumb bastard! You'll get slapped across the face!_

"What?" Daphne pulled back a little. "What can you feel?" _Lie!_

"Heartbeat," Ron replied. _What?! That was my best?!_

Daphne looked thoroughly confused, but she gave him a slow nod. _She thinks I'm retarded, doesn't she? Real smooth, Ron._ Ron gave her a goofy smile, and then he bumped his forehead against hers. _Who cares? She's in good health, and that's all that matters._ Daphne suddenly shifted away from Ron, and he saw her trying to fix her hair into place.

"Should I find a mirror?" Ron joked, and Daphne shook her head.

"I wish I woke up before you," Daphne whispered as she wiped the drool off her face. "You… You look well, Ron. I'm really glad."

"Your boyfriend is a tough lad," Ron shrugged. "How are you feeling, though? Madam Pomfrey told me that you went into shock… I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Is this the part where you start feeling guilty over something out of your control?" Daphne asked, she was clearly trying to keep the mood light.

"Have I become predictable?" Ron decided to take her lead.

"No, you still surprise me far too often," Daphne gave him a weak smile, her gaze slowly resting in the space between them. _She looks… haunted. Fuck._

Ron reached forward and took her right hand in his, and she gave his hand a tug in response.

"Thank you for saving me," Ron said, and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"I didn't do much," Daphne shrugged weakly. "Lord Black carried you down all by himself."

"Really?" Ron asked. "Sirius managed that?"

"He's stronger than he looks, I suppose," Daphne replied as she wiped her eyes. "You're not wearing your glove, Ron."

"I couldn't find it," Ron told her. "I think mum and dad took it home with them."

"They didn't stay over?" Daphne asked, and then she looked around. "My parents aren't here either."

"I think Madam Pomfrey sent the parents home," Ron replied. "This is, after all, a school, isn't it? Having mourning parents roaming the hallways would be bad for business."

"Are you sure that you're all right?" Daphne asked, and Ron blinked at her. "You sound… distant…"

"I had a nightmare last night," Ron looked down at their joined hands. _**Damn scar.**_ "I… I'm still thinking about it, despite my best attempts at trying to forget it."

"What happened in your nightmare?" Daphne asked softly. _I learned what awaits me if I fail my Cycle, and Merlin help me; I will not end up as the Entity's chew toy._

"It's… complicated…" Ron started. "I was alone at Hogwarts, and someone attacked me. They left me for dead."

"What?" Daphne gave him a worried look. "Why would you dream about something so terrible?"

"I have no idea how dreams work," Ron shrugged. "Anyway… It doesn't matter now. The dream meant nothing whatsoever."

"Ah, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey interrupted them; she had a rather sizeable tray floating behind her. "How are you feeling, Miss. Greengrass?"

"I feel much better now," Daphne replied, while Madam Pomfrey planted the tray on the bed.

Ron eyed the sandwiches hungrily; he hadn't eaten since his date with Daphne. _Wait… Is that soup? For breakfast?_

"Make sure you finish all of that," Madam Pomfrey gave Daphne a nod, and then she looked to Ron. "The soup is for you."

"It is?" Ron asked slowly.

"For the next week, you're not allowed to eat solid foods," Madam Pomfrey said with a hint of a smile.

"Pardon?" Ron frowned. _It's Christmas tonight, and mum is making her roast. I'm not missing out on that._

"This isn't up for debate," Madam Pomfrey said. "Your stomach needs time to recover, or it could get infected. If that happens, then you'll end up right back here in worse shape."

"He will?" Daphne sounded quite alarmed.

"So I have to drink soups for an entire week?" Ron gaped. "Can't you give me some Potions, or something, to fight off the infection?"

"I will, but regardless, you'd be wise to listen to me this time," Madam Pomfrey said. "Plus, if you end up in here again, you won't be able to exercise, or train, or do whatever you plan to do." _Damn, she got me there… Ugh! I want actual food._

"Should've just let me die…" Ron muttered under his breath, a rather sour look on his face.

"I didn't catch that," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron just shook his head.

"I can't eat even one solid meal?" Ron decided to bargain. "It's Christmas tonight, Madam Pomfrey… My mum is cooking up all of her specialties."

"No, and this is not a negotiation," Madam Pomfrey said. "You can, of course, ignore me, but do so at your own peril. Whether you like it, or not, your stomach needs time to recover from such an ordeal."

"He'll follow your advice, I promise," Daphne gave Ron a firm look. _Of course she takes Pomfrey's side._

Ron looked down at the red soup, and he grimaced.

"What is this?" Ron asked. "Tomato?"

"Tomato and leek," Madam Pomfrey replied. _I hate both… Fantastic._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Daphne hadn't even left crumbs behind, and Ron found himself feeling rather jealous of her right now. _She certainly enjoyed her meal, while I had this garbage for breakfast. Fuck this, I'm not drinking soups for a week._

"Did you enjoy the sandwiches?" Ron asked rather politely, and Daphne shot him a sorry look. "You certainly looked like you did…"

"Don't be like that," Daphne gave a nervous chuckle. "The soup didn't look that bad… I mean, you drank it down pretty quickly."

"I'm still hungry," Ron flicked the bowl angrily. "Fucking soups… It's Christmas tonight…"

"If you promise to follow Madam Pomfrey's advice, I'll sneak you one plate of your mum's cooking tonight," Daphne said as poked his leg with her toe. "But only the light looking dishes."

"Really?" Ron's head jerked up. _I can still eat something?_

"I know you love eating, but this is only temporary, Ron," Daphne tried to cheer him up. "Just one week, and then you can eat as much as you want."

"Fine…" Ron relented; he didn't want to make things harder for Daphne. _She might still be in shock, and I'm whining about food? What's wrong with me?_ "Hey… How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" Daphne asked.

"I know that you're bothered by what you saw yesterday," Ron moved the tray onto the side table, and then he planted himself to her right. "Don't you think that we should talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about…" Daphne went back to being haunted. _Nice going, Ron._ "I… I thought you were dead…"

"It must've been horrible," Ron put his arm around her. _Talk to me, Daph._

"It was terrifying," Daphne muttered. "There was so much blood…"

"From the ulcer," Ron figured.

"I woke up because of the smell, you know…" Daphne fidgeted with the sheets. "And then I saw you… You were just lying there in a puddle of blood… I… I'll never forget that…"

"I'm sorry," Ron couldn't help but apologize.

"Don't apologize," Daphne huffed, and Ron was quite taken aback by her frown. "Did you purposefully vomit up blood in order to scare me? Well?"

"Um… No…" Ron replied slowly.

"Then don't apologize," Daphne huffed once again. "Last night, everyone kept asking me if **I** was alright, and all I wanted to scream was that **you** were the one who needed help. Not me. I got so worked up that I passed out!" _Huh?_

"I see," Ron decided to adapt. "Well, I'm sorry that you saw something so terrible. Can I at least be sorry about that?"

Daphne's expression weakened, and she shrunk a little into his side.

"I'm not weak, Ron…" Daphne muttered. "I know you're sick, and I know that you want to 'spare me pain'… But please… Just don't make decisions for me without talking to me first." _Does she think that I'll want to break up because of this?_

"Okay," Ron gave her a squeeze. "But saying that, you can be strong, and still be scared, Daph… I know you don't like showing any weaknesses, but I won't go around telling people about our personal affairs. I just want to make sure that you're doing better, that's all."

"I am now," Daphne wrapped her arms around his stomach. "Promise me that you'll follow Madam Pomfrey's advice about not eating solid foods."

"I promise," Ron kissed the top of her head. _It's just food, and if not eating gives Daphne some peace, then so be it._

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Ron found himself drifting back to sleep, but just as his eyes closed, the curtain hiding the bed was split open. Ron and Daphne's parents quickly barged into the small area, and Daphne all but flung herself away from Ron.

"Father," Daphne sat up to attention. _Wow…_

"You're awake," Mary pulled Daphne into a hug. "Oh, I've been worried sick…"

Lord Greengrass looked rather relieved to see Daphne awake, but he didn't move to hug his daughter like Mary had. As for Ron, his own mother had quickly seized him.

"My poor boy," Molly let out a relieved laugh.

"You're squeezing a little too hard there," Ron said as he felt his back crack. "Mum… Please…"

"Molly, ease up a little," Arthur said as he ruffled Ron's hair. "He's just had surgery, remember?"

"Are you in pain?" Molly pulled back, a concerned look on her face. "My word… You're so pale… Poppy, is he meant to be this pale?"

"His color has returned to normal," Madam Pomfrey told the scared mother. "Both of them are doing much better now, I promise. Please, let them get dressed, and then meet me in the Headmaster's Office. I need to grab a few things from Severus' lab." _Professor Snape? Wait… Is she referring to this Potion that she wants me to be on?_

"I brought you a suit," Arthur told Ron. "It's the silver one from your trunk."

"You went in my trunk?" Ron felt his chest tighten. _Salazar's notes, Dumbledore's pouch, and the Magic Permits are in there! Good Lord, I feel faint. My precious secrets…_

"Um… No, your friend Theodore fetched this for me," Arthur couldn't help but notice the panic in Ron's voice. "I don't know much about suits, and you didn't bring any casual clothes home. Oh, and I brought your glove as well."

"I like suits," Ron said, making sure to hide his relief. _Still, Theo probably saw everything in there. I'll have to talk to him._ "I'll take that suit now, and once I'm changed, we can go home."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron had noticed that Lord Greengrass was keeping his distance from Daphne, but at the same time, he wasn't giving her the cold shoulder. Ron figured that Lord Greengrass felt guilty over trying to hit her yesterday, but like all 'Lords', he had no idea on how to apologize to someone. _If I were Daphne, I'd chase him down in order to squash any future problems. Right now, he's feeling guilty, and that's a rare opportunity to exploit. He'd probably buy her a mansion if she asked. Okay, that's an over exaggeration, but still, she ought to confront him now if she wants anything._

"Ron?" Lord Greengrass noticed him staring. "Why are you staring at me?" _Uh-oh. Caught in the act._

"You have really alluring eyes," Ron smirked, and Lord Greengrass cocked an eyebrow. "A strong, masculine jawline to boot-"

"Ronald," Molly clicked her tongue, while Mary and Arthur hid their amusement.

"Thank you," Lord Greengrass looked back ahead. _Ha! He actually accepted that? You're in, Ron._

"Okay, I'm ready," Daphne said as she stepped out of girls' toilets.

"Then let's head up to Dumbledore's Office," Lord Greengrass was the first to get moving.

Daphne gave her mother a meaningful look, and Mary simply smiled sadly in return. _Something is definitely happening here._ The whole group followed after Lord Greengrass, and Daphne subtly slipped herself by Ron's side. Ron shot her a quick smile, one that she returned half-heartedly. _I wonder how long it will take her to get over what she saw yesterday? I mean, I'm being possessed by a God older than Time, but I'm already over it. But then again, I'm probably clinically insane at this point._

They found Pomfrey waiting for them by the Stone Gargoyle, and when she saw them approaching, she gave the Gargoyle its password.

"What's that?" Ron noticed the metal pole on wheels by her side.

"This is an IV pole," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Ron's parents exchanged looks.

"Ah, for the Potions that you want me on," Ron nodded. "So… I just carry this around all day? How do I explain this to my siblings?" _This is so stupid. I'm not using that thing, nor am I taking any Potions._

"Actually, Ron…" Arthur shot a quick look back, while Molly signaled Lord and Lady Greengrass to follow her. _Oh… Oh, no…_

Ron watched the Greengrasses usher Daphne up the spiral staircase, and she managed to shoot Ron a rather worried look before disappearing from sight. _She's figured it out as well… Fuck me._ Ron, who wasn't exactly an idiot, already knew what this odd behavior meant. _They fucking told them… They told them a day before Christmas._

"I'll be waiting upstairs," Madam Pomfrey excused herself, while Arthur turned around with a sorry look.

Ron made sure to wait until Madam Pomfrey was out of sight, and the moment she was, Ron frowned at his father.

"You told them?" Ron asked, making sure to control his tone. "A day before Christmas, dad?"

"They found the blood in your room, Ron," Arthur sighed out, and Ron cringed a little. _Damn! They would never let such a thing go._

"But a day before Christmas?" Ron rubbed his forehead. "Seriously?"

"I'm done lying to them, Ron," Arthur said, his shoulders squaring up. "I am their father as much as yours, and I've been neglecting them for too long."

"Now he notices his neglect," Ron's face tightened with rage, but he quickly drew in a deep breath. _Control, Ron… Don't go down that road again._ "Sorry… I'm sorry… Shouldn't have said that…"

Arthur gave Ron an understanding look, and he quietly watched as Ron began pacing. _They're probably waiting for me at home…_ _ **All**_ _of them. The moment I step through the fireplace, they'll corner me. They'll_ _ **demand**_ _answers, and accuse me of being a liar. They'll spill all of their emotions on me, which in turn will stress me to no end. Merlin, I wish I could stop caring about these people. It would make my life so much easier._

"Ron?" Arthur called for the fifth time, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "Son, it's not that bad… They were shaken, very shaken, but when I got home last night, I found them sitting with Bill in the Living Room. He was teaching them about your condition. He was teaching them how to help you. They want nothing more than to be there for you."

"Yes, I'm sure they do," Ron swallowed his anger. _One more thing out of my control._ "Now that they know about my illness, they'll definitely want to help…"

"So… What's the issue?" Arthur blinked.

"The issue is that they don't mean it," Ron kept pacing, and Arthur just stared at him. "I mean, when they didn't know about my illness, they treated me like shit! The twins happily set me up to take the fall for their actions, Ginny genuinely despised me, and the rest never bothered to say hello unless they wanted something. But no… Now they 'care'… Now they want to be there for me…"

"You really think they're just helping you because they feel like they must?" Arthur couldn't believe this.

"I don't think it, I know it," Ron replied. "Dad, on the day of the Gala, Ginny slapped me so hard across the face that she split the skin on my cheek."

"What?" Arthur went wide-eyed. "What?!"

"Yeah," Ron 'laughed'. "I bought her a forty Galleon dress, and she slapped me in the face. And do you know why she did this? Because the twins and I were having a fight, and I wasn't just bending over and letting them fuck me. I was fighting back for a change, and although I crossed a line that I'm not comfortable with, she had no right to hit me and call me a 'traitor'. That's right, she still enjoys calling me a traitor whenever she thinks that I'm not being Gryffindor enough."

"Why didn't you tell your mother and I this?" Arthur felt the urge to sit Ginny down for a long lecture. "Merlin… She wasn't wearing an expensive dress at the Gala…" _Finally noticed it, did you?_

"The only reason I'm telling you now is because I want to prove to you that their 'help' is not genuine," Ron shook his head. "Now, I have to put up with their nonsense when I get home… 'Oh, Ron, I'm so sad that you're dying'… Bah…" _That's just what I need today: more people crawling up my arse._ "First the soup thing, and now this…" _Fuck you, Fate, you golden tart! You ruined my Christmas on purpose, didn't you?_

Ron released a shaky breath, and he felt himself calm down a little now that he had vented. Ron drew in a few deep breaths for good measure, and he tried to think of a way to skip the 'heart-to-heart' with his siblings. _Annoying. Just bloody annoying, and inconvenient. I was hoping to read Salazar's notes today, but I guess that's off the table. Oh, and how am I supposed to check up on Priscilla when my siblings will be following me around all day? And then there's the Christmas dinner… Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom are attending, and someone is sure to give away my health issues._

Ron ran his hand through his hair; he could feel the tidal wave of blood building up again. His head felt heavier and heavier, and when he turned and cracked his neck, his entire body relaxed on the spot. _The Potion… Madam Pomfrey's Potion. If I'm completely out of it, I won't care one bit about them nagging me. I can stay on this Potion until Midday, and once it wears off, I'll sneak off to visit Priscilla. After that, I'll get ready for Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom. They'll probably find out about my health from the others, but if I can play my cards right, I can maybe get something out of them both. Dammit, I hate being forced to improvise like this._

"Ron?" Arthur shook him, and Ron was ripped out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" Ron asked with a worried look. _Why are you shaking me?_

"Those Potions from last night…" Arthur sighed out. "They're still affecting you…"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"You keep spacing out on me," Arthur explained. _Yeah, that's sort of my thing._

"Please let go," Ron said dully, and Arthur did so with a nod. "Look, if you've told them already, then there's nothing to be done. Let's just go home, all right?" _But not before I have that Potion._

Arthur followed his son up the spiral staircase, and he wondered if it was all right to take Ron home just yet. As they entered Dumbledore's Office, Ron spotted the old wizard sitting behind his desk. _He's already dressed in those lavish robes? It's so early, though…_

"Sorry for the wait, Dumbledore," Arthur said, but the Headmaster simply smiled at Ron.

"How do you feel, Ronald?" Dumbledore asked.

"I feel much better, Headmaster," Ron gave him a greeting nod. "Thank you."

"He seems a little distant," Arthur told Madam Pomfrey, and Ron fought the urge to give him a bored look.

"I also noticed that this morning," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron gave her a curious look. _Really? Am I actually acting off?_ "But it's all right, he's made a rather surprising recovery. He's fine to go home now."

"Have you talked to him about the Potion?" Molly asked Madam Pomfrey.

"What's this Potion?" Daphne asked once again, her eyes fixed on the dark purple bag.

"It's a some new method of treating stress," Ron told her.

"With this, Ron will be administered a sedative all day long," Madam Pomfrey explained. "It will keep him calm for the remainder of the day."

"That doesn't look like the Calming Draught to me," Daphne pointed out.

"It's an experimental brew," Mary said. "And I still think that it's too potent. The ingredients alone… He'll be hallucinating before long…" _Hallucinating?_

"Um… What?" Ron blinked. _Is she right? Should I still drink it?_

"This Potion will release dopamine in his brain, which will help him stay stress-free," Madam Pomfrey corrected. "He will probably spend the day laughing, or at worst, sleeping. But saying that, I must admit that I understand your worries. These are powerful ingredients, but my colleague has assured me that his patients responded well to this treatment."

"It is optional, of course," Dumbledore stated. "If Ronald doesn't wish to partake, then the school's hands are tied."

"He'll have it," Molly said, and then she looked to Ron. "Won't you?" _Fuck it; what's the worst that could happen? If I fall asleep, I'll at least miss out on being pestered._

"Fine…" Ron pretended to relent. _Just give me enough to last me until Midday._

Madam Pomfrey and Daphne were rather surprised to see Ron relent so quickly, while the rest looked quite relieved. _Dumbledore's still smiling at me, but I can tell that he didn't expect me to partake. Sorry, Headmaster, but I deserve at least one day to myself after the year I've had._

"Are you sure?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron gave her a nod.

Madam Pomfrey shot a look towards Arthur, and then she pulled out a small vial with the same dark purple Potion in it. She handed it to Ron, who looked at the thick liquid with a critical eye. _Looks rather ominous, doesn't it?_

"This is only a spoon full, but it will hit you very suddenly," Madam Pomfrey told him. "You might feel a little nauseous, and if you do, you must alert us. The rest of the Potion will be administered via needle in your left forearm. Every hour, the drip will allow three drops of this Potion to enter your bloodstream. This way, the consumption is limited, but we still get the benefits. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Ron kept his resolve.

"Then take a seat, please," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked back to the IV pole. "Let's get this all set up first, and then you can take the dose from the vial."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Do you feel any different?" Daphne whispered, she was sitting with Ron while the adults spoke with Madam Pomfrey.

"Not really," Ron replied. "Maybe it wasn't enough?" _It was hard to drink down, but I don't even feel sick. I feel perfectly normal._

"I think we should tell Madam Pomfrey that it wasn't enough," Daphne whispered, and Ron eyed the golden tiara around her head. _Woah, that's really pretty. She looks like a fairy princess right now. She wasn't wearing that before, was she?_

Ron suddenly realized that Daphne's golden hair was glowing, and her dark sapphire eyes had never been brighter. He was left in awe, and he could do little but stare. _Wow… She's really beautiful…_ There was no pressure in his head anymore, and he could feel a tingle running throughout his entire body.

"Ron, are you there?" Daphne eyed his lazy smile with confusion.

"You're awesome, Daph," Ron mumbled, his smile growing.

"Um… Madam Pomfrey!" Daphne called, and Madam Pomfrey quickly walked over. "I think it's working… Look at him."

"Ronald?" Madam Pomfrey gently turned his head towards hers.

"Hmmm?" Ron hummed. "What is it?"

"How do you feel?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Good," Ron shrugged. "A little lightheaded, actually." _This room is so bright. Look at that incense smoke in the air. It's just floating about, and it's so... beautiful._

Ron felt like his head was swirling about, which in turn was causing his vision to blur. _I feel dizzy. What's going on here? Is the Potion working on me? Bloody hell, it's really weird… I feel like I'm floating._

"This is not right," Mary shook her head. "Look at him, Poppy. He's gone loopy." _Mary is actually seen as a queen by her Garden Faeries. That's pretty damn cool. Wish someone would see me as his or her queen. Wait… What?_

"I feel fine," Ron blew raspberries. "No need to worry about me."

"He will settle down in about an hour," Madam Pomfrey said. "Until then, keep your eyes on him at all times."

"There are so many interesting curios in this Office," Ron stood up and looked around. "What are those silver balls for?"

"They emit the incense, Ronald," Dumbledore explained with twinkling eyes. _Look at how fabulous his clothes are! Gold, royal purple, and extremely fine stich work. He's got style!_

"You wear really nice clothes, Headmaster," Ron complimented, and Dumbledore let out a chuckle. "Who's your tailor?"

"Oh, heavens," Molly Weasley visibly cringed.

"Grab his IV pole, and help him through the floo," Madam Pomfrey instructed. "Remember to enforce the rules that we talked about."

"Come on, son," Arthur said as he grabbed the IV pole, making sure to secure the drip attached to Ron's left forearm.

"How do we get the pole through the fireplace?" Ron asked his father. "Sideways? Yeah, sideways should work."

"You go first," Arthur said to Ron. "Molly, prepare the floo please."

"Look at how crazy some of these instruments look, dad," Ron said with awe. "Merlin, if your Muggle shed was anything like this, I'd spend all my spare time in there. Oh, and look at Fawkes, dad… He looks so powerful."

Ron eyed the Phoenix's glowing red feathers, an almost worshiper-like look about him. _He's actually glowing like a fire! Why isn't the Phoenix Gryffindor's House Animal? Fawkes would make for a great mascot!_

"Are all Phoenixes like Fawkes, Headmaster?" Ron asked in a distracted voice. "Where did you find Fawkes?"

"That is a very long story, my boy," Dumbledore was both amused, and bothered, by Ron's current state.

"I've got time," Ron made for his usual chair, but his father gently pulled him back.

"Ron, maybe some other time, all right?" Arthur whispered as he shot Dumbledore a sorry look. _Why is he thinking that I'm bothering the old man? We're mates._

"Floo is ready," Molly stepped aside.

"Aren't we going with them?" Daphne asked her parents, who hadn't moved to leave yet.

"No, love, we're going home first," Mary replied, and Daphne shot Ron a pouty look.

"I'll be in the Living Room," Ron smiled and waved at her. "I'll wait for you! We'll meet again soon, I promise!"

Daphne gaped at Ron's over excitement, while Dumbledore barely bit back a laugh.

"Don't let him out of your sight," Madam Pomfrey said to a confused looking Arthur.

"Yeah… Sure…" Arthur kept his gaze on Ron, who jumped through the fireplace after waving at Daphne again. _Home sweet home!_

Ron looked around the empty Living Room, and he was rather amazed to find such peace within the Burrow. Golden beams of light were coming through the oddly shaped windows. The smells of a baking oven and hearty breakfast were heavy in the air. Ron felt his entire body relax as he took in the serene ambience, this is just what he needed. _Is this a dream? Am I about to get jumped by the Entity?_ Ron looked around quickly, making sure that all the exits were clear. _Safe._

"Ronnie?" Molly called from the fireplace; she was just watching his odd behavior with a worried look. "Love, what are you looking for?"

"For something that would ruin this amazing ambience," Ron replied.

"Ambience?" Arthur fixed the pole in place, and then turned off the floo jump.

"Look at how utterly peaceful it is in this room!" Ron said excitedly. _Damn, I feel good! My body's buzzing, and I feel really relaxed._ "Golden light, the smell of good food, and the Warming Charm… Just amazing!"

"Ron, why don't you take a seat?" Arthur asked gently, and Ron did as he was told.

"And look at that tree," Ron stared at the decorated Christmas tree in the corner. "Look at all those decorations! There are green and red bells everywhere! Look at it! **That's a good fucking tree!** "

"Ronald!" Molly was horrified by her son's vulgar language, while Arthur was genuinely jarred by Ron's happy mood.

"Can I go sit outside?" Ron asked. "I bet the air out there is perfectly crisp. Yeah, I'm definitely heading outside."

Ron stood back up, grabbed his pole, and headed for the exit.

"Ron, wait," Arthur followed after his son. "It's freezing out there! Merlin, what is that Potion doing to you?"

Ron pushed himself outside, and the cold wind hit him hard. _Bloody hell, that's so cold! It feels great, though!_

"Damn, I'll be out here all day," Ron went to find a bench, but Arthur guided him back inside the house. "Dad? What is it?"

"You can't stay out in the cold after your surgery, Ron," Arthur said. "Just take a seat, and let your mother feed you something warm."

"Can I please have solid food?" Ron asked as Arthur helped him into a chair.

"Sorry, Ron, but soups only," Molly gave him a pitiful look.

"But it's Christmas," Ron whined.

"Daphne told me that you promised to follow Madam Pomfrey's advice," Molly shot a quick look towards Arthur, watching Ron behave this way was jarring.

It was like he was a toddler again.

"Ah, she told you," Ron smiled in a smitten manner. "She's really thorough, isn't she?"

"Yes…" Molly nodded slowly, and then she walked over to the stove. "What kind of soup do you want, Ron?"

"Anything is fine with me," Ron shrugged. "If you're making it, it's bound to be delicious, mum." _Hehe, get some good points with mum. That'll pay off later._

"You're back," came Theo's voice, and Ron quickly looked to the staircase.

"My friend!" Ron all but yelled out, and Theo's jaw dropped open. "Come and sit with me!"

"Did the Brain-Damage get worse?" Theo swallowed thickly as he looked to Arthur.

"What?" Ron laughed. "What the fuck, Theo? I just want to spend some time with you. Don't be that way… Come over here!"

"Ron, please don't cuss so much," Molly sighed from the stove. "Arthur, say something to him, please."

"You shouldn't swear so openly, son," Arthur still couldn't wrap his head around this version of Ron.

"I swear a lot because I'm always hurting," Ron said with a weak tone, and then he suddenly grinned at a jarred Theo. "Sit down, mate! Why are you making me wait?! You damn tease!"

Theo's jarred expression slowly became bewildered, and he took a seat by Ron's side. His eyes scanned the IV pole carefully, and when Ron detected a hint of worry in Theo's eyes, he put his hand on Theo's shoulder.

"It's alright," Ron tried his best to sound comforting. "There's nothing to worry about, brother. I'll be back to normal before you know it." _I'm so good at comforting people. I should ask for money. I'd make billions of Galleons!_

"What's in that bag?" Theo asked the adults. "I've never seen a Potion like that before."

"Some new blend," Ron sniggered. _Why am I laughing?_ "It's got **everything** in it! Calming Draught, Sleeping Draught, Draught of Peace, Infusion of Wormwood, and Syrup of Herbivore!"

"Syrup of Hellebore?" Theo looked to Arthur.

"That's what I said," Ron patted Theo's back. "But enough about me… How are you?! Are you enjoying your stay at the Burrow? I know I've been distant lately, but you know me… I get busy, and I become really antisocial. But that's just an excuse, I know! I'm here now, and we can spend the entire day together. What do you want to do, Theo? Whatever it is, I'm already in."

Theo processed all of those words, and then he shook his head.

"That Potion's made you loopy, hasn't it?" Theo asked.

"Yes," Ron smiled widely. "Say, Theo… Did you always have such nice eyelashes?"

"Huh?" Theo blinked, and Ron looked into Theo's eyes intently. _Look at them! They're so long, and in a weird way, pretty._

"How do you not have a girlfriend?" Ron chuckled. "You're really handsome."

Molly shot another look back at Ron, and then she looked to her baffled husband.

"Thanks…" Theo just stared back at Ron.

"Are you the only one awake?" Ron asked. "Is Draco up? If so, call him down here. I like annoying him."

"Ron, don't be mischievous," Arthur sighed out, he didn't want Draco Malfoy suffering anymore than he already was.

"It's our dynamic, dad," Ron rolled his eyes. "He says hurtful things to me, and I say hurtful things to him, but in a weird sort of way, we're mates now. Theo, tell my parents about Draco."

"They're mates," Theo said slowly, he was studying Ron closely. "This is really bizarre…" _Keep looking at me like that, Theo, and I'll bloody blush._

"You can say that again," Arthur mumbled before taking his own seat. "Ron, how do you feel up there?"

"Up there? Like in my brain?" Ron asked, and Arthur gave a nod. "Tortured. Tired. Scared. Generally rage-filled to the point of committing cold-blooded murder without a second thought." _Entity! Are you in there?! Talk to me, bitch!_

Arthur said nothing, but his mouth hung open. _Too far?_

"I feel good, dad," Ron groaned. "Don't be so angsty."

"Angsty?" Arthur looked quite taken aback.

"Anxious, scared, nervous, stressed, and so forth," Ron waved his hands about. "I feel perfectly fine. If anything, I feel way better than I usually do. This Potion is awesome." _I should have it all the fucking time._ "Mum, is my soup ready yet?"

"Oh, yes," Molly looked back to the pot. "Give me a minute, dear."

"Take all the time you need," Ron said as he noticed that she was holding her back with her spare hand. _Back pains._ "Dad, you didn't help mum with her back?"

"Oh… With your surgery, we sort of forgot about it," Arthur looked to Molly, while Ron's entire demeanor changed.

"You forgot?" Ron asked coldly, and everyone immediately looked to him. "You forgot to help your own wife? Is that what I'm supposed to believe?" _How can one man be so fucking incompetent? Huh? Tell me that._ "Do I 'forget' about such things when I'm busy? It's not that hard to make a damn effort."

"What is happening?" Theo muttered under his breath, while Molly and Arthur exchanged quick looks.

Ron suddenly noticed something shining out of the corner of his vision, and he immediately looked to it. It was the Weasley Clock, and Ron found himself in awe of the Charmwork behind it. _It can track all of us! Look at that! We're all home right now!_

"How did you make that clock, mum?" Ron asked quickly. "You reckon you could teach me the Charmwork needed for something like this?" _I could keep track of my friends during the war! If anyone falls into mortal peril, I'll know immediately!_

"Um… Sure, love…" Molly replied.

"Isn't that impressive, Theo?" Ron gestured to the clock. "Who even comes up with something like this?"

"Your mother?" Theo 'replied'.

"Exactly," Ron beamed. "You get it!" _He's so smart!_

"Uh-huh…" Theo felt dreadful seeing Ron like this.

This person was not Ron; he was some weird mockery of the redheaded wizard.

"Here you go," Molly put a bowl of soup down in front of Ron. "Chicken and corn soup."

"Thanks," Ron smiled lazily as he began drinking it down.

"Ron, that's hot!" Molly squealed, but Ron couldn't care less. "Circe help us… Mary was right about this Potion, Arthur. He shouldn't be on it."

"Do you really think Mary knows more about Potions than Madam Pomfrey?" Ron sniggered. "No, she doesn't. Madam Pomfrey is like the Goddess of Healing Magic, whereas Mary treats Potions and Herbology as a 'hobby'. Aren't hobbies stupid? People should have goals, not hobbies."

"Isn't training your hobby?" Theo asked, and Ron felt his brain melt. _He got me there… Am I a hypocrite? Wait, why am I surprised? I've already established that to be true._

"Want to train later, Theo?" Ron asked out of the blue.

"I can't use Magic," Theo replied quickly.

"Hmmm," Ron started smiling widely. "Can't use Magic, eh?"

"It's the Holidays, Ron," Theo reminded his friend. _I've got a permit that says otherwise, cunt. You can't weasel out of training anymore._

"We'll see," Ron started sniggering. "Oh, we'll see…"

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Early Morning)**_

"C'mon, Tori!" Daphne knocked on the girl's door again.

"I'm coming! Merlin…" Tori scoffed from behind the door. "Just give me a minute! I want to look nice today!"

"Who is she trying to impress?" Daphne huffed as she began pacing again.

"She's been shooting looks at Draco," Tracey yawned as she rubbed her eyes. _Pardon?_

"Draco? Malfoy?" Daphne stopped pacing. _No, that's not happening._ _ **Ever**_ _._

"Is there any other Draco that you know?" Tracey gave a tired smirk.

"Why are you calling him 'Draco', now?" Daphne couldn't help but ask. "He's not our friend, Tracey. Keep him at arm's length."

"Ice-Queen strikes again," Tracey sniggered. _Good advice is wasted on her…_ "I'm not in the habit of treating people like garbage, that's all. He was a prick, but lately, he's been different. So, I'm treating him differently. It's simple, really."

"He's only pretending to be different because he doesn't want Ron on his case," Daphne pointed out. "You know better, Tracey… You can't trust this person."

"Just because I use his given name doesn't mean that I trust him," Tracey shrugged. "You're too cautious for your own good, Daph. It makes you come across as cold to outsiders."

"Whatever," Daphne decided to change the subject. _She got there… Damn._ "What's taking her so long?"

"Didn't your father teach you that patience is a virtue?" Tracey asked. "Ron will still be at the Burrow when we get there. Just relax, please."

"You didn't see how… weird… he was before he **jumped** through the floo," Daphne stopped pacing. "He was staring at my forehead like there was something there, and then he started smiling from ear to ear… It was **weird**." _Merlin only knows how he's behaving with his Family right now._ "And he called me 'awesome'… Awesome, Trace?"

"I'm here!" Tori announced as she stepped out of her room. "So? How do I look?"

Daphne eyed the black, swing-party dress, and then she eyed the bright Christmas patterns all over the frock. _I can see her knees!_

"Tori… That's a little… revealing…" Daphne blinked at her sister. _She does look really pretty, though._

"You think Ron will notice?" Tori smirked, and Daphne lost the last shred of mirth she had left.

"Careful," Daphne all but growled.

"Wow," Tracey held back a laugh. "Tori, that's a really cute dress! Where did you get it?"

"I found it in a brochure," Tori did a quick swirl, her frock flying around her. "I've been saving it for Christmas!"

"Looking to catch any boys under the mistletoe?" Tracey asked Tori.

"Tracey, that's my **little** sister," Daphne frowned. "Don't fill her head with this nonsense."

"I've got a list!" Tori replied in a giggle, and Daphne was a little horrified to hear that. _A list? Father needs to know about this improper behavior._ "Pansy and I made one together!" _PANSY!_

Thinking of Pansy reminded her that Pansy hadn't returned any of her owls. _It's really weird because she sent the first owl, and then, she never responded. I should tell Ron about this. He might figure out what's happening._

"Earth to Daphne," Tori waved in Daphne's face.

"Don't do that," Daphne scolded as she broke out of her thoughts. "It's very disrespectful, Astoria."

"We're waiting on you," Tori rolled her eyes. "Let's go!" _What? I was waiting on you!_

Tori and Tracey began walking towards the stairs, and Daphne fought the urge to glare at their backs. _Why does Tracey always take Astoria's side? She's making my duty as an elder sibling so much harder._ Daphne followed after the two girls, all the while making sure that her own dress was in place. _It's a bit more form fitting than I remember, but I should be fine. I'm sure Ron will like how it looks._ They made their way down the stairs, and then, into the Living Room. Their parents were already waiting by the fireplace, as was Ron's man-sized gift. The _P-12 Auror Trainer… This thing looked really intimidating without the red wrapping paper._

"Look at all three of you," Mrs. Davis beamed. "Don't they look amazing, James?"

"Certainly," Mr. Davis agreed without even looking. _Father and he seem to be discussing something important._

"Daphne, that dress is a little too revealing," her mother said with a raised eyebrow. _Mine?! Look at Astoria's! Mine only hugs my body, while she's showing skin!_

"Ron bought me this dress for Christmas," Daphne said defensively. "I'm not changing."

"Mary, she looks gorgeous," Mrs. Davis rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a prude."

Mary sighed and shook her head, while Mrs. Davis shot Daphne a wink. _Thanks._

"I'll ready the floo," Mary said as she walked over to the fireplace.

"How are you girls doing?" Mrs. Davis asked them. "Excited for Christmas?"

"It's going to be so awkward," Tori sniggered.

"Pardon?" Mrs. Davis blinked.

"Ron's siblings all know the truth now, and they weren't exactly happy to hear it," Tracey explained. "Tori's just excited about the awkwardness because she is hell-spawn."

"Oh," Mrs. Davis muttered. "Well… Just stay out of trouble, all right?"

"Will do," Tracey gave a mock salute.

"Floo's ready, everyone," Mary said. "James, can you please grab that doll?"

"That doll cost one-hundred and fifty Galleons," Tracey whispered to Daphne. _I know. Splitting the price between seven people was definitely the right call._

Mr. and Mrs. Davis went through first, followed by Mary and Astoria, and then Tracey. Just as Daphne was about to go through, her father stopped her.

"May I speak with you?" her father asked as he rested his hand on her shoulder. _That's his 'command' voice. He's not really asking me a question, is he?_

"Of course, father," Daphne replied calmly. _Is he going to yell at me? Merlin, I wish mother was still here._

"Let's go take a seat," her father guided her to the nearest couch.

They both sat down together, and Daphne mentally prepared herself for every scenario. _Just be calm and collected, Daphne. Show him that you have composure, and are articulate even during confrontations. You can do this._

"Things between us have become unsteady lately," Sebastian started rather professionally. "We haven't been able to communicate our points of view to each other, and that has caused a rift between us. I don't like this rift, Daphne. I cannot teach you how to build this Family's future if we are unable to communicate. Do you understand?"

"I do," Daphne replied promptly.

"Good," Sebastian gave a nod. "I was wrong to lash out at you in such a manner yesterday. You are a woman now, and I can no longer raise my hand against you. I am sorry." _Wow, he really means that? Don't smile, Daphne!_

"I accept your apology, father," Daphne's lips quirked up a little. _Damn, it just feels too nice to know that he's no longer angry with me._ "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have run off like that. I know I scared you, mother, and Astoria, and none of you deserved that."

Sebastian said nothing, but he did give a curt nod.

"As long as you understand that, we can move forward," Sebastian said. "But saying that, you will **never** do something like this again. It is not safe out there, Daphne, and I don't want to lose you. You have to be smarter than that."

"I know," Daphne agreed. "I won't do something like this again."

"Then we're done here," Sebastian gave a Daphne a quick smile.

"Before we go, though, do you promise not to cut me out of my own deals again?" Daphne asked. _I know I'm being bold here, but I don't want this to happen again._

"I'll give you more independence from now on," Sebastian agreed.

"Thank you, father," Daphne gave a grateful smile.

"Let's go," Sebastian stood up, and Daphne followed suit. "I'm sure Ron is waiting for you by the fireplace like an eager pet."

"Father," Daphne gave her father a dull look.

"A joke," Sebastian smirked. "It was just a joke." _Well, it wasn't very funny. Ron's not like that at all._

Daphne followed her father through the fireplace, and she immediately saw Ron waiting by the fireplace.

"You're here!" Ron beamed, and Sebastian 'cleared his throat'. "Did you get ash in your mouth, Lord Greengrass? Happens to me all the time."

"Good to see you on your feet again, Ron," Sebastian gave Ron a nod.

"He's being very formal, but in truth, he loves me," Ron 'whispered' to Daphne, who just stared at Ron in disbelief. _What is this? What's wrong with him? He's so… hyper._

"The Potion seems to be working," Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at Ron.

"Yeah, but carrying this thing around is so annoying," Ron sighed dramatically. "Can't even take a piss without-"

"Ron, let's go over there," Daphne took Ron's arm, while Sebastian frowned at Ron's vulgarity.

"Okay," Ron agreed, and Daphne gently tugged him towards Astoria, Tracey, and Theo.

"Merlin, I've seen those in Muggle hospitals," Tracey eyed the IV pole. "I'm really sorry about this, Ron."

"It is what it is," Ron smiled lazily. "Merry Christmas, by the way."

"Yeah, merry Christmas, Ron," Tracey said slowly, Daphne was right about Ron being weird on this Potion.

"You wore the dress I got you," Ron turned his smile towards Daphne. "It looks great!"

"Thanks," Daphne forgot about Ron being weird. "It's not too form fitting, is it?" _Go on, have a look._

"No," Ron looked her over. "Looks great." _He didn't even look properly…_ "Did you get me a butler for Christmas?"

"Butler?" Daphne blinked. "No, Ron… We got you-"

"Shhhh," Tracey shushed. "Don't tell him." _Oh, please. He knows already. He's not a moron._

"I was just pulling Daphne's leg," Ron chuckled. "I know what's in there. I'm actually tempted to take off this drip and test it out! You guys are the best!"

"We have our moments," Theo smirked.

"How did you know that I wanted an Auror Trainer?" Ron asked.

"You told us about it extensively," Daphne reminded him.

"Oh, I did," Ron remembered. "That thing is so dangerous!"

"It certainly looked menacing enough," Tori said. "They kept it hidden behind the tree, so it looked like someone was peeping on our Family."

"Where are your siblings?" Daphne asked Ron. "Or the Trio?"

"Still asleep," Ron replied. "They were all up late last night reading up on my conditions. They'll all be 'experts' now." _Which means that they'll just nag Ron with what he ought to be doing. That won't go over well for anyone involved._ "I need to go sit down. I feel really lightheaded all of a sudden."

"We can go in the Kitchen," Tracey said as she looked to the adults. "Tori, why don't you join us until Luna gets here?"

"All right!" Tori agreed quickly.

"Watch the drip," Ron said as he carefully navigated the IV pole. "We'll be in the Kitchen!"

"I'll make you all some breakfast," Molly quickly joined them.

Daphne walked right behind Ron, her eyes fixed on the bag of dark purple Potion. It was hanging off of the pole, and there was a long drip attached to it, which disappeared into Ron's left sleeve. He was walking rather timidly, always making sure that the pole was by his side. It wasn't a sight that Daphne particularly liked. She enjoyed Ron's rare jolly moods, but this was almost upsetting. _I hate that he has to take these Potions. This one seems worse than the Calming Draught._ Ron sat down in his usual chair, and he quickly tugged Daphne into the chair by his side.

"That dress is perfect," Ron whispered, a sly grin on his face. "I hope you didn't get in trouble for it, though. I know how your parents can be."

"Oh, mother wasn't too please, but father said nothing," Daphne felt oddly vindicated.

"Well, your boyfriend approves," Ron sniggered.

"I'm sure he does," Daphne smiled a little. "My father apologized to me this morning."

"Really?" Ron whispered. "That's good, right?"

"I apologized as well, and we decided to move on," Daphne whispered. "He says he'll give me more independence, but only if I promise not to pull another stunt like yesterday."

"I see…" Ron said slowly.

"What is it?" Daphne asked.

"Well, I was hoping to sneak off to go see the Orphanage today," Ron whispered. "I thought that you'd like to come along."

"I'll ask permission," Daphne whispered back.

"What if they say no?" Ron asked.

"We'll convince them, Ron," Daphne replied. "I don't want to sneak off again. I made a promise to father just five minutes ago."

"All right," Ron relented.

"What are you two talking about?" Tori asked them, and both Ron and Daphne shot her confused looks. "Do you two always start whispering to each other like this?"

"They do," Tracey confirmed, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "It's very hurtful."

"Jealous?" Ron asked as he leaned back in his chair. _There goes our private conversation. Damn you, Tori._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

Ron finished washing out his mouth; he had ended up vomiting for some reason. One minute he had been fine, and the next, he had to run up the stairs in order to reach the toilet bowl in time. His breakfast, and the Potion, had just been flushed away forever.

"Ron, are you alright in there?" came his mother's voice.

"I'm all right, mum," Ron replied. "Just give me a minute, please." _Bloody hell, that was not fun. I vomit way too often, I think._

Ron looked up at his reflection, and for a moment, he thought that his eyes were red. _I'm still hallucinating. Merlin, I honestly thought that Tori had Faery feathers on her back. I'm seeing the craziest shite because of this 'new brew'._ Ron quickly looked at his Rolex, and since it was only half-past eight, he decided to keep the needle in for now. _I'll take it out Midday, and once I've recovered, I'll get on with my day. The moment they hand the P-12 over to me, I'm taking it for a spin!_

Ron opened the door to the bathroom, and he immediately came face to face with his mother.

"Was your ear against the door?" Ron asked with a bemused expression, a giggle escaping his mouth. "What if I was taking a-?"

"Don't finish that sentence," Molly clicked her tongue. "I was just worried about you. You sounded like you were very sick."

"I feel better now," Ron promised. "Less lightheaded." _Her fucking hair is on fire! Actually, her hair is_ _ **made**_ _of fire… Woah._

Ron shook his head clear, and Molly gave him a sorry look.

"Maybe we should take this Potion off?" Molly suggested.

"I already plan to," Ron decided to use this opportunity. _She can't tell me off if it's her choice as well._ "Come Midday, and I'll take this needle out of my arm."

"All right," Molly dried the side of his mouth with a clean handkerchief. "Go on downstairs, love. Your friends are no doubt biting away their nails."

"Ha! Unlikely," Ron sniggered.

"It is good to hear you laugh so much, though," Molly gave a nostalgic smile.

"I don't even know why I'm laughing," Ron shrugged. "Just comes out of me. It **does** feel nice, don't get me wrong, but it's very random."

Ron made his way down the Hallway, his IV pole rolling beside him. Just as he neared Ginny's door, which was close to the stairs, Ginny pulled her door open and stepped in his way. _Ambushed by the little sister. Wait… She looks like she's still asleep._ Ginny's eyes were closed, and she was rubbing the right one in a tired fashion.

"You're back…" Ginny yawned, and then she gave a relieved smile.

"Did I wake you?" Ron hummed, and then he shot a look inside Ginny's room.

Helios was sitting on her nightstand; his big yellow eyes were like two vortexes pulling Ron in.

"Helios? Are you sleeping with Ginny now?" Ron 'whimpered'. "Betrayed…" _But please keep looking after her. I appreciate it._

Helios gave a pitiful hoot, and then he flew over and perched himself on Ron's shoulder. Ron looked back to Ginny, and he saw that she was staring at him with a confused expression. Her 'Weasley freckles' were almost popping out, and in doing so; they highlighted the fact that Ginny Weasley did indeed have freckles. _Odd, because I swear that she didn't have freckles the last time I saw her face. I thought that was a unique trait that only Ginny had amongst the siblings._

"You have freckles, little sister," Ron leaned forward, and Ginny jumped back. "Why do you have freckles now, eh?"

"What's wrong with you?" Ginny asked weakly.

"Sorry about him, Ginny," Molly caught up to Ron. _Did I run down here? Is that why Ginny woke up? I don't remember._ "Ron, stop running around the house with that thing!"

"So I did run," Ron clicked his tongue. "Mystery solved."

"Mum…" Ginny looked to her mother.

"It's the Potion he's on, dear," Molly explained. "See that purple bag?"

Ginny finally noticed the IV pole, and it made her shrink in fear.

"Oh, no," Ginny muttered.

"It's like my scepter," Ron smirked, completely oblivious to Ginny's fear. "King Weasley! No… **King Ronald!** That definitely sets me apart."

"Ron?" Luna came out of Ginny's room, and Ron turned his smirk in her direction.

"Luna Lovegood," Ron's smirk turned into a smile. "Friend turned sister. How are you this morning?"

"You're all right," Luna lazily attached herself to his side, her eyes were still closed. "I couldn't go home until I saw you."

"Does this mean that you'll be going home now?" Ron asked. "You know, because you've now seen me."

"That's not what she meant, Ron," Molly whispered, and Ron nodded. _Good. It'd be a shame if she left._

"You're acting very… odd…" Luna pulled back, and then she looked to the IV Pole.

"That Potion is responsible," Ginny told Luna.

"Are you two talking again?" Ron asked with a growing smile.

Ginny looked down awkwardly, while Luna ignored the question. _That's a no, then._ Helios suddenly gave a hoot, and Ron scratched his stomach. _How's my little hunter? Enjoying the Burrow's game, are you?_

"Ron, let's get you downstairs," Molly said, she had to keep Ron steady as he swayed from side to side.

"Okay," Ron grabbed and pulled his pole along.

"Girls, breakfast is ready, so clean up and come down," Molly said as she neared the stairs.

Ron carefully made his way down, and eventually, he managed to reach the bottom. _I can't go to my room with this thing attached to me. Too many stairs._ Ron turned to walk over to Daphne, but when he saw Aunt Muriel and the adults occupying the Kitchen, he stopped abruptly. _When did she get here? Am I seeing shambling corpses now?_

"What is that thing?" Muriel sneered at the IV Pole. "My word, boy, are you ill with something contagious?" _Contagious? Only worrying about yourself, I see. That's definitely Aunt Muriel._

"It's not contagious," Ron assured her with an easy smile, while Helios hooted angrily. "I didn't think that you'd come here so early. Have you really missed the Burrow so much?"

"As much as I miss the Great War, boy," Muriel scoffed.

"Wasn't there plenty of fresh flesh that you could eat off of the battlefields during the Great War?" Ron asked, and Muriel blinked at him. "I'm calling you a flesh-eating Hag."

"I got that," Muriel cocked an eyebrow.

"Ronald… Please, stop," Molly sighed out from behind him.

"Sorry, mum," Ron apologized for the sake of apologizing. "What brings you here, Auntie?"

"This," Aunt Muriel waved about a copy of the Daily Prophet, and the adults frowned at it.

"Bad news?" Ron asked.

"Quite the opposite," Muriel eyed him critically. "Poppy Abadie, and her husband, have been imprisoned by the French Ministry. There is to be an extensive investigation into their recent affairs. They're being charged with Conspiracy."

"I know, I arranged the whole thing," Ron told her, and she nodded very slowly.

"How did you 'arrange' it?" Muriel asked.

"By telling the truth," Ron shrugged. "She betrayed everyone for her own benefit, and now, she can rot in a cell forever." _Literally. I hope she dies tonight._

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose at that, while the other adults pretended to be deaf. As for Helios, the grey Eagle-Owl gave a triumphant hoot.

"So you've turned the French Ministry against the Veelas?" Muriel asked quickly. _Is that what she wants to hear?_

"No," Ron replied, and Muriel looked visibly disappointed. "Why would I do that? A lot of people would get hurt if the French Ministry starts persecuting the Veelas."

"That's what they wanted for us," Muriel told him.

"Not 'they', just Lady Abadie," Ron corrected. "She turned people traitor with her bile, and she conspired to **use** the Veela community for her own benefit. I don't blame all the French for this mess, and you shouldn't either. It's not just."

"This is what you're teaching him," Muriel frowned at Arthur. "To let his enemies rest and recover?"

"Enemies?" Arthur frowned back. "He's thirteen, and he doesn't have 'enemies'. We don't partake in the Old Ways."

"He had a Lord and Lady thrown in prison," Muriel sneered. "He has enemies, I assure you." Muriel then looked to Ron and Helios. "You have to make sure that they don't get set free. Or, you can start looking over your shoulder from now on."

"Muriel," Molly grimaced. "Don't say such things in my house."

"I'm trying to warn him, you silly girl," Muriel looked done for the day. "I've done my duty, and I'll be going now."

"But you'll be back for dinner, right?" Ron asked. "If you have advice to give, I'd love to learn from you. I mean, you've been the Head of the Prewett Family for years." _I'm sure she has some Prewett Family contacts that could help me._

"Save the flattery," Muriel said shortly. "I'll be here for your dinner."

And just like that, she marched out of the Kitchen. _Someone moves fast for her age. Must be the virgin's blood that she bathes in that keeps her so spry._ Ron sniggered to himself; he loved making bizarre comments in his head.

"She's not wrong," Lord Greengrass said. "You ought to keep track of what's happening in Lady Abadie's case, Ron."

"Be assured, we have our gaze fixed solely on her," Ron smiled at the tall man.

"We?" Mary asked, and Ron twitched as he cracked his neck.

"I meant me," Ron said as he made his way into the Living Room. _Did I really just say we? Need to be more careful._

Helios let out a soft hoot as he pecked Ron's ear, and Ron shot his owl a curious look. Helios was staring back at him with… suspicion? _Can he sense that I'm changing?_

"It's still me," Ron whispered. "I think."

Helios cocked his head, and then he gave a louder hoot.

"Don't worry so much," Ron waved a dismissive hand. "I'll come out on top in the end, or at least go down swinging." _The Entity can suck me off. Actually, it has really sharp teeth, so maybe not._

"Talking to animals now?" Tracey asked, she and the others were occupying the Living Room.

"Helios isn't just an 'animal'," Ron huffed. "You take that back, Tracey."

"All right," Tracey chuckled. "Sorry, Helios."

The Eagle-Owl let out an indignant hoot, and then he flew over to Astoria. He hungrily eyed the food on her plate, and when she carefully fed him some sausage, he cozied up to her side. _The moment he sees food, he forgets about me. I'm so proud._ Ron walked over to Daphne, and he stopped abruptly when he saw that Theo was sitting by her side. _There's no space for me. That's my spot, Theo!_

"Before you banish me," Theo stood up. "Can I speak to you? Alone?"

Ron shot a quick look at Daphne, and she shrugged in confusion.

"Sure, mate," Ron smiled at Theo. "Want to go outside? It's really nice out there."

"Sure," Theo led the way out of the front.

Ron followed Theo closely, maybe a little too closely, but Theo said nothing in objection. Once they were outside, Ron breathed in the cold air and beamed.

"I think it'll rain today," Ron told Theo. "See those grey clouds? They're coming towards us pretty fast."

"A rainy Christmas," Theo sighed out. "I hate rain."

"Really?" Ron asked. "I didn't know that."

"I prefer to water my own plants," Theo shrugged. "Heavy rain tends to flood my Garden, and I absolutely detest that."

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Ron asked. "Privately too boot, I might add. Are we scheming out here, Theo?"

"No," Theo couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't really know how to bring this up, so I'm just going to say it. I found some really weird things in your trunk, Ron." _That's right, he got me my suit this morning._

"Weird things," Ron lost his mirth. "Such as?" _**He saw Our secrets. **_

"Well, I saw papers filled with weird… hieroglyphics…" Theo realized that he was treading on thin ice. "And there was a pouch that had some familiar Runes on it. Anti-Dark Magic Runes, to be specific."

"Anything else?" Ron took a step closer.

"Um… Some other papers were in there as well," Theo said. "Look, I don't want to know what you have stored in your trunk, mate, but maybe you should store it in Gringotts instead. If you pay them a 'discretion fee', they'll hide almost anything for you."

Ron realized that Theo was just trying to give him helpful advice, and he calmed down immediately.

"I've already paid them off," Ron told Theo, a smile appearing on his face. _I need to make sure that he doesn't keep asking questions._ "As for what you saw, those are merely curios. The papers with the symbols on them are actually written in Parseltongue. Only I can read them."

"What?" Theo blinked. "You can write in Parseltongue?"

"I've been practicing it," Ron lied. "Wait… I'll prove it." _I've been meaning to test this out._ "You know that Harry can also speak Parseltongue, right?" Theo nodded slowly. "I'll show him a word from the pages, and he'll read it in English. For some reason, we can tell what the symbols mean without even learning how to write them. It's quite bizarre."

"Mental is the word I'd use," Theo eyed Ron. "Are you sure about this? What if Potter starts hissing in the middle of the Burrow? Parseltongue is rather… unnatural…"

Ron stifled a laugh; he could imagine Harry terrorizing everyone with angry hisses.

"I'll pull him aside," Ron promised. "I'll be very subtle, Theo. You know me, I'm an extremely cautious individual."

"Uh-huh," Theo didn't look convinced.

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Near Midday)**_

Harry and Neville snuck down the stairs, they had barely managed to tiptoe out of the twins' room without waking them up. Last night had been rather awkward, especially after Harry had confessed to following Ron around. Sirius had once again started giving Harry the 'disappointed' look, and the Weasley children had become distant. Even with Bill doing his best to keep the peace, things between the Trio and the others were left strained, and Harry wasn't sure if they could all go back to being friends again. _Serves me right, I suppose. I never should've gone that far with Ron._

"You reckon he's home?" Neville asked suddenly.

"I don't hear anything from downstairs, so I'd say no," Harry replied, he felt oddly disappointed to say that.

"Maybe we can go see him today?" Neville pondered.

"Yeah, let's go do that," Harry gave Neville a half-smile. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind some visitors."

"Is that Hermione?" Neville whispered as they entered the first floor, and Harry looked down the hallway.

Neville was right. Hermione was waiting by the stairs, a slightly perplexed look on her face. _What's she doing? Is… Is she scared to go downstairs by herself?_ Harry found himself shaking his head; this was going to be a difficult Christmas. _It's like I'm living with the Dursleys again._

"Hermione," Harry waved at her, and she looked visibly relieved to see her friends.

"Harry," Hermione smiled from relief. "Neville. You're finally awake."

"Sorry for making you wait," Neville looked down the stairs. "How long have you been awake for?"

"Nearly an hour," Hermione bit her bottom lip. _She's definitely nervous._ " **He's** down there…"

"He is?" Harry perked up, while Neville drew in a deep breath. "Let's go, then."

"Wait," Hermione stopped Harry as soon as he started walking.

"What? Why?" Harry asked.

"From what I've gathered, everyone but Percy and the twins are down there," Hermione whispered. "We can't just barge in, Harry."

"We're not barging in, though," Harry countered. "We want to see Ron as well, that's all."

"We can't stay hidden up here forever, Hermione," Neville said gently.

Hermione gave Neville a rather sorry look, and Neville clearly decided to ignore it. _She's been giving him that look ever since he got blamed for our actions. God, I feel wretched._

"Not you as well," Neville sighed, and Harry realized that he too was giving Neville a sorry look. "Guys, it's all right… I'm not angry with you. We need to stick together right now."

"Okay," Hermione looked even more sorry. _We ruined his Christmas as well._

"Let's go down, yeah?" Neville patted Harry's arm, and Harry nodded.

Neville was the first to move, and Harry followed after him. Hermione trailed behind them, and pretty soon, he felt her hands grab the back of his sweater. Harry shot a quick look back, and he found her chewing her bottom lip whilst in deep thought. _Knowing her, she's trying to come up a strategy to tackle this. Sorry, Hermione, but sometimes, you have to throw the instructions out of the window. At this point, the best we can do is to apologize, and then promise to help Ron in any way that we can._

As soon as they entered the Living Room, Harry spotted Ron's fiery red hair. The tall redhead was sitting with Pandora Lovegood, and from the happy look on his face, he was thoroughly enjoying her head scratches. Harry shot a quick look towards Sirius, who jerked his head towards Ron. _You're right. I should apologize first, and then talk to you._ Neville, for all of his earlier gusto, had stopped moving, so it fell to Harry to take the lead. He walked right up to Ron, ignoring the stares from the other Slytherins and Ginny. _Why is Ginny sitting alone with Bill? Is she still fighting with Luna? Even after yesterday?_

"Hey, Ron," Harry greeted, and Pandora stopped scratching Ron's head.

"Love, your friends are here," Pandora whispered, and Ron's eyes opened lazily. _Friends? Yeah, I ruined any hope of that._

"Hello," Ron looked to Harry, a lazy smile on his face. "Bloody hell, your eyes are like green flames!" _What?_

Harry felt jarred by Ron's sudden outburst, and he could only manage a flinch before Ron had hopped onto his feet and put his arm around Harry.

"Let me have a look at your peepers," Ron tried to catch Harry's eyes.

"Ronald! Let go of the poor boy!" Molly all but pleaded. _What is happening?!_

Harry shot a panicked look towards Sirius, and he found his Godfather wheezing with laughter. _He set me up! What is going on here?!_ Even the other men were looking a little too amused for Harry's liking.

"Sorry," Ron chuckled as he let go of Harry. "You're very short, Harry. I just realized that."

Harry nodded uncomfortably, and then he realized that Ron was currently attached to an IV pole. _I've seen those in Muggle hospitals before. Dudley had to carry one around when he got sick from eating old fish._

"What's in that bag?" Hermione squeaked.

"This thing?" Ron pointed to the pole, and Hermione nodded slowly. "It's my source of happiness."

"It's nearly Midday, Ron," Molly said. "Maybe we ought to take that needle out?"

"Sure," Ron yanked the drip out of his arm, causing multiple shrieks from the women.

"Fucking hell, kid!" Sirius roared in panic and anger, while Sebastian Greengrass closed his eyes with a grimace.

Harry could do little but stare as Ron let out a demented laugh. _He thinks that's funny?_

"Calm down, people," Ron sniggered. "It didn't even hurt."

"Let me see," Arthur rushed over, and then he guided Ron away into a corner in order to inspect his arm.

Harry stared down at the bloody needle on the ground, and then he looked to his equally bewildered best friends. Neville was just staring at Ron with wide-eyes, while Hermione looked horribly confused. _Her plans for a perfect apology just blew up in her face. Sorry, Hermione._

"I'll clean that, mum," Charlie quickly stopped his mother from making the effort. "We ought to lock him up until he calms down."

"He just ripped it right out," Molly muttered with a sickly complexion. "Heavens…"

"All healed up," Ron strutted back to Harry. "Sorry about that, Harry. Did you want to talk to me?"

Harry saw Arthur Weasley shaking his head in the corner; he had his wand in his hand.

"Yeah, do you have a minute?" Harry decided to push forward.

"Do I have a minute?" Ron started sniggering again. "Something tells me that you want more than a minute from me. But tell you what… If you let me look at your eyes for a bit, I'll give you all the time you need."

"My… My eyes…?" Harry stammered.

"He'll do it," Hermione volunteered him, and Harry shot a quick look back at Sirius. _Help me, please._

"Do you guys want to talk in the Kitchen?" Ron asked. "Or we could go outside!"

"No going outside," Arthur said as he walked past the children.

"Tsk," Ron clicked his tongue.

"It's going to rain, Ron," Xeno said from across the room.

"Let's go to the Kitchen," Neville said, and Ron smiled widely.

"Lord Longbottom has spoken," Ron chuckled. "The Kitchen, it is."

And just like that, Ron began marching towards the Kitchen, but he suddenly stopped as he passed by Bill and Ginny.

"You," Ron pointed to Ginny's face. "You are coming with me."

"I… am?" Ginny shot a quick look at Hermione. "No, than-"

"Ginny, just listen to me for once," Ron sighed dramatically. "Please? Won't you do your dying brother this one favor?" _What did he just say?_

"Kid…" Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose, while Ginny lost all resistance.

"Okay…" Ginny muttered, and Harry felt a little annoyed with Ron for saying something like that. _He's treating her genuine fear as a joke… What kind of Potion is he on?_

"Come," Ron made his way out of the room, and Harry continued following him.

Ron quickly made himself comfortable in his usual chair, a happy grin on his face. Harry, and his friends, took the seats opposite to Ron, while Ginny lingered about by the entrance.

"Ginny, come sit with me," Ron pulled the chair to his right back.

Ginny drew in a shaky breath, and she sat down by Ron's side. Her eyes were fixed on the table, and Harry felt rather awful for her. _They can't talk to him when he's like this. That's why Mrs. Lovegood was keeping him asleep. Damn, we walked in at the wrong moment._

"Before you start," Ron cut in just as Harry opened his mouth. "I'm not angry with you three. Anymore."

"You're not?" Hermione asked, while Ginny looked at Ron in disbelief.

"You're not?" Ginny asked as well. "They stalked you!"

The Trio cringed at that, and Harry felt the urge to defend Neville's good name again.

"Technically, only Harry stalked me," Ron tapped his chin. "Hermione stabbed her own friend in the back for information. And Neville… Well, Neville is actually quite innocent in this debacle. Good on you, Neville. You're a solid bloke."

"Thanks?" Neville blinked.

"But yes, I'm no longer upset with anyone," Ron told Ginny, his expression turning quite serious. "The Trio hurt my feelings deeply, but I'm not angry. Not anymore."

"Why?" Ginny asked. _Yeah… Why?_

"I asked them to keep what they learned to themselves, and they kept their promise to me," Ron shrugged. "I'm done fighting with people over my health issues. Everything is out in the open now, and I'm treating this as a fresh start. So…" Ron looked to the Trio. "I forgive you three. I don't want to hear another apology from anyone."

"Are you sure?" Harry was quite taken aback by this.

"I am," Ron looked into Harry's eyes. "Merlin… Your eyes are greener than even Tracey's. Amazing."

Harry felt the urge to avert his gaze, but he forced his head to stay in place.

"This is very big of you, Ron," Hermione said. "We won't forget it."

"So you're all friends again?" Ginny looked both confused, and annoyed.

"Ginny, there's no point in being angry with everyone," Ron said in a sagely manner. "First, you were angry with me, and now, you're angry with the Trio. It has to stop at some point, doesn't it?"

"They've been lying to my face for months," Ginny glared at Harry, who couldn't help but avert his gaze this time.

"Because I asked them to," Ron said. "Blame me if you want, but don't turn your back on the only friends that you have. Not over my health… Please?" _He brought her here in order to fix things between us?_ "That won't help me, and it certainly won't help you."

"We're sorry for not telling you, Ginny," Neville apologized.

"Really sorry," Hermione added.

"Whatever…" Ginny huffed, and then she left the Kitchen without another word.

"Sorry about that," Ron sighed. "She's the stubborn sort, but she'll come around now that the idea is in her head. She's just feeling left out of the loop." _I can relate to that. I hate it when people hide things from me._

"Thanks for that, Ron," Hermione gave a half-smile. "I don't want her to be so upset with me."

"I'm just trying to make sure that we all stick together," Ron said, but for some reason, he sounded rather cold about it. "Anyway… Do you lot want to discuss anything else?"

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

"It's hard to describe," Ron replied. "This Potion is making me see things that aren't there."

"You're hallucinating?" Hermione gaped.

"Oh, yes," Ron grinned. "The things I'm seeing… Good Lord!"

"What sort of things?" Neville asked out of curiosity.

"Harry's scar is shining bright red right now," Ron looked to Harry, and Harry quickly covered it. "I might start taking this Potion on the daily."

"Please, don't do that," Hermione said, and Ron chuckled.

"I'm joking, Hermione," Ron waved a dismissive hand, and then he blinked in confusion. "What were we talking about?"

"We wanted to know if you needed anything," Harry replied. "We want to help, that's all."

"Well, just make up with my siblings, and that'll help me plenty," Ron stood up with a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't like all this fighting. It's needlessly stressful." Ron then looked to Hermione. "Hermione, can you come to my room with me for a bit? I have something to give you."

Harry and Neville looked to Hermione, who gave Ron a hesitant look.

"Just me?" Hermione asked. _Yeah… Just her?_

"Hurry up," Ron beckoned her over his shoulder. "I might forget about this in a minute."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midday)**_

"It's in here somewhere," Ron said as he shuffled through the other permits. _Ah, Hermione Jean Granger. Jean? What an odd name._

Ron stood back up, and when he turned to face her, he held the permit out for her.

"What's this?" Hermione asked as she took the brown piece of parchment.

"Your Magic Permit," Ron replied, and Hermione looked back up with wide eyes. _So dramatic… I like it._ "The one that will let you use Magic outside of Hogwarts. Oh, but you have to make sure that you're not spotted by Muggles."

"You actually got me one?!" Hermione stomped her feet excitedly, and then, she suddenly froze up.

"Oh, don't mind me," Ron took a step back. "Stomp away."

"H… How did you manage this?" Hermione changed the topic; she was clearly embarrassed.

"I have my ways," Ron said mystically.

"C'mon, please tell me," Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

"Only if you leave Gryffindor, and become a Slytherin," Ron grinned. _Got her._

"Hmmm, let me think," Hermione tapped her chin. "No."

"Just 'no'?" Ron asked. "Why not?"

"I prefer lions over snakes," Hermione giggled, and then she cleared her throat. "Sorry… I shouldn't be laughing so freely." _Great… We were having a good conversation, but she remembered that I'm sick. What? You can't laugh near sick people?_

"It's all right," Ron decided not to start something. "It was good to have some back and forth between us… Like the old days."

"Back in first year?" Hermione smiled sadly.

"And a bit of second year," Ron nodded. "Anyway… I got those permits for everyone, but I figured that you'd want yours first. Just so you could practice even a little before the others."

"Wait… So everyone gets one?" Hermione asked. "Ron, how did you manage to get so many in just three days? You've been pretty busy from what I've seen."

"I defeated the Headmaster in a game of Chess, and this was my reward," Ron replied. _Ha, me beating the Old Man in Chess… Not yet, but soon._

"That's quite… amazing," Hermione looked back at the permit. _She's reading it on the spot? Okay… I'll just wait here._

Once Hermione had read both the front and the back, she looked up at Ron with a genuinely grateful look.

"This means a lot, Ron," Hermione smiled. "Especially that you gave this to me first. I'm going to hide in Ginny's room in order to try out some Charms." _I'm glad she's so happy about this. She'll use it to prepare herself, and if she does get attacked, she can now fight back. She needs this far more than the others due to her Blood-Status._

Ron couldn't help but wonder what he was meant to do for the other Muggle-Born children. He couldn't get them all Magic Permits, that would be mental, and he couldn't keep his eyes on them either. _Maybe I should discuss this with Dumbledore? He might have a plan brewing for this dilemma already._

"Ron, are you there?" Hermione waved in his face, and Ron blinked repeatedly.

When he finally focused back on her, he saw that she had a bloody gash on the side of her forehead. _Bloody hell… Is that from when I ran into her during my episode?_ Guilt stirred in his mind, and Ron adorned a slightly tired look. _That was a horrible night. I wish I had never run into her. She didn't deserve to nearly die like that._

"I'm getting your mother," Hermione said, and Ron grabbed her wrist.

"Don't," Ron cleared his throat. "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, and Ron nodded as he stared at her wound.

"I'm sorry that you three are having trouble right now," Ron said, and Hermione blinked at him.

"I'm just sorry that Neville is getting dragged into this because of us," Hermione sighed out, and Ron let go of her wrist. "And I'm sorry for taking away your choice, Ron. **Really** sorry."

"Taking away my choice?" Ron asked.

"Your health is your business, and I shouldn't have looked into it," Hermione said weakly. "I was just trying to be a good friend, but I was wrong… Friends don't corner each other. I'm very sorry."

"I might've told you myself someday," Ron said, and Hermione gave a sorry nod. _Just put this to bed, Ron. There are more important matters than your hurt feelings._ "Apology accepted, Hermione. Thank you."

"And thank you," Hermione raised the permit. "I'll… I'll go now. Try out some Spells."

"All right," Ron said calmly, and Hermione walked over to the door. _Harry Potter's Muggle-Born best friend… She'll have hundreds coming for her head._ "Maybe we can study in the Library once Hogwarts reopens. You know, like the old days."

"Just us?" Hermione looked back.

"Yes," Ron smiled. "Just us."

"That'd be great, Ron," Hermione gave a fuller smile, and then she quickly left the room before he could change his mind. _When the time comes, we need to do everything we can to get the Muggle-Borns off the streets. Those Snatchers sound like a nasty lot, and I'd hate to see someone like Hermione get caught by them._

Ron decided that now was a good time to change into a different shirt. Pulling the needle out of his arm had resulted in some blood leaking out as well, and it had stained his clean, white dress-shirt. Ron found a clean white shirt from his trunk, and then he took off his bloodied one. Just as he was putting the clean shirt on, people burst into his room with a loud bang.

"He's here," Fred told the others, and Ron turned to face the intruders. _Percy, Fred, and George. All of them looking… scared?_

"You broke my door," Ron frowned at them, but they said nothing in return. _What are they looking at?_

Ron looked down at his scarred chest and arms, and he felt like someone had punched him back into reality. Ron immediately pulled his shirt on, but the damage was done. Fred was gaping, Percy had actually stepped out of the room in horror, and George simply looked unwell. _The twins are the last people that I needed to show my scars to, but they fucking burst in here out of the blue. What are the fucking chances?_

"Why did you barge in like that?" Ron finished buttoning up his shirt. "What's the fucking matter with you three dumb cunts?"

"Dumb cunts…?" Fred muttered.

"Ronnie… What the hell happened to your body…?" George swallowed thickly. _Shit!_

"What? You thought the Dark Lord sung me a lullaby in order to put me into that coma?" Ron asked defensively. "Don't ever burst in here like that again." _Unbelievable! If I wasn't on this Potion, I might have Hexed all three of them._

" **He** did that to you?" Percy pushed himself in the room.

"Can we drop this?" Ron asked in a dull tone. "Just… Just forget what you saw, all right? And don't tell anyone."

"Is this why they didn't let us see you when you were first admitted?" Fred asked, clearly he didn't plan to let this go. "Merlin, Ron… What else don't we know about you?" _**Plenty.**_

Ron tugged at his sleeve, making sure that his scars were covered. _What's the point now? They already saw most them. Why did they have to burst in like that?_ Ron could feel his mood deteriorating, and he was all but sulking when he put his suit jacket on.

"Do your friends know about those?" George asked.

"Do you know what Curse **he** used on you?" Fred asked right after.

Ron shuddered at the memory of his scarring; he only remembered screams and twisted bones. Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, an uneasy feeling had settled into his stomach.

"Please, stop," Ron rubbed his forehead. "I don't want to talk about my scars with you."

Fred went to say something, but Percy quickly nudged him. Fred all but bit his tongue; he had a dozen more questions lined up.

"Sorry for barging in here," Percy apologized, and the twins nodded. "We saw Hermione skipping down the stairs, and she told us that you were home." _Skipping?_

"How are you feeling?" George asked. _If I have to answer that question again, I'm going to throw myself out of a window._

"I feel fine," Ron replied.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. "You just had surgery, so I'm sure you're not 'fine'."

"I **am** fine," Ron assured them. "Just a little lightheaded from my Potion, but still fine."

"What Potion?" Percy asked.

"Something new," Ron replied. "It's supposed to make me happy."

"A Happiness Potion? Is there even such a thing?" Fred asked Percy.

"Not that I'm aware of," Percy replied.

"Which is why it's new," Ron said. "Guys, I am fine. Stop worrying so much." _You're giving me anxiety at this point._ "What do you need from me?"

"How about an explanation?" Percy asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. _He's talking in his Prefect voice? I guess he's not happy about being 'lied to'._

"I didn't want you all to worry," Ron replied. "That's the whole truth. I didn't want to see all of you fret over me constantly. And I definitely didn't want to be treated as a cripple who needs special treatment."

"We wouldn't act that way," Fred argued. "We'd want to help you, but only if you wanted that help."

"I'm not so sure about that," Ron shrugged. "Whatever the case, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. But now, you know everything. You even saw my scars just now. I don't want to argue with anyone, so you three just need to make your peace with it by yourselves. And if you really want to help me, stop giving the Trio the cold shoulder. You're making mum and dad look bad."

"Those three broke the law when they stalked you like that," Percy frowned.

"I've gotten over it," Ron lied. "Needless fighting causes me a lot of stress, and I have to cut it out. The truth is that I told them not to tell you, so they didn't stay quiet because they don't trust you. I wanted this all kept quiet." _The twins will forgive the Trio, but Percy won't. I don't think he cares much for them._

"You didn't have to go through all of that alone, though," Fred said.

"And I didn't," Ron said. "The parents all knew, my Mind-Healer knew, and my friends knew. I wasn't alone." _Not completely, at least._

"You told your friends, but not me?" Percy couldn't help himself. _Ah, he feels like I left him out._

"Has it occurred to you that I care more about your state of mind than my friends'?" Ron asked. "You're in your last year, Percy, and I didn't want to distract you. Your entire future is on the table, and I'm not going to be the one who ruined that for you."

"Nothing would get ruined," Percy countered. "I can do my work **and** help you at the same time."

"You seem to forget that this is about me, not you," Ron lost his patience. "I'm the one who's sick, and I did what I thought would help everyone involved. Plus, you can't really do much. No one can. The brain damage is incurable. I wouldn't have kept it a secret forever, but just until I felt ready to tell you."

"We reckon that's fair," George said to Percy, he didn't want this turning into a fight.

"You can't keep this sort of thing from your Family, Ron," Percy decided to relent.

"Is there anything that you do need right now?" Fred asked.

"Stop giving the Trio the cold shoulder," Ron repeated. "It's Christmas, guys… Please don't ruin Christmas." _It could be the last one that we all spend together._

"All right," Fred and George agreed.

"I'll stay out of their way," Percy didn't look pleased.

"Thank you," Ron said. _That's one thing taken care of. I should get back to my friends._

"Can we have a couple of bottles of your Nutrition Potion?" George asked, and Ron cocked his eyebrow.

"Pardon?" Ron asked.

"Bill told us that the Potion's taste is beyond disgusting," Fred explained. "George and I want to tinker with it. Maybe we can improve the taste for you." _Oh, that'd be pretty great, actually._

"Sure," Ron opened his trunk, pulled out a couple of vials, and then tossed them to Fred and George. "Don't stress yourselves if you can't, all right? I'm sure you two have more important matters to attend to." _Like your business. I hope my donation helped you get started._

"I can help you with your studies at Hogwarts," Percy offered.

"Please just focus on your N. E. W. Ts," Ron said. "My studies are going fine, and I'll be much happier seeing you get the perfect record." _Plus, I have the notes from the Silver Triumvirate tutoring me._

"But you'll come to me if you need something, right?" Percy insisted. _Throw him a bone, Ron, or he won't leave you alone. This is exactly what I didn't want._

"Yeah, Perce, I'll come to you," Ron replied. "I'm heading downstairs. I need to sit back down."

"Are you feeling sick?" Fred asked, all three brothers were now following him.

"A little," Ron admitted. "I'll feel better once I'm sitting down."

"Do Bill and Charlie know about your…?" Percy started, but he quickly stopped himself. _Still stuck on them? C'mon, Perce…_

"They do," Ron replied, and then he took in a deep breath. "Please don't bring my scars up. They are the last thing that I want to talk about."

"Okay," Percy agreed. "Won't happen again."

"Thanks," Ron felt his body twitch in remembrance. _I shouldn't have tried to remember it, because now, it won't leave._

The twins broke off at their room; they wanted to start tinkering with the Nutrition Potion as soon as possible. This left Percy and Ron to make the rest of the trip alone, and Ron knew that any second now, Percy would start to question his exclusion.

"Not telling the younger ones, I understand, but why didn't you tell me, Ron?" Percy asked with a disappointed undertone. "Have I not proven that I can help you?"

"You don't have to prove anything to me," Ron replied. "I didn't tell you because of your-"

"My studies… Yeah, you said that before," Percy said. "I thought we were closer than that, Ron. I would never keep something this important from you."

Ron couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Ron said. "I'm sorry you found out the way you found out, but other than that, I can't offer much. I just didn't want all of you to feel miserable like me."

"We can still do something to prolong your life," Percy said after he noticed Ron's slightly subdued tone. "Your stress makes your brain damage worse, right? Why not cut away everything that stresses you? Stop with all this Ministry business, and just focus on enjoying Hogwarts." _I can't do that, mate. If I do, I'll end up in the Entity's Slytherin Hourglass._

"I'm not stopping anything," Ron said.

"Why?" Percy asked. "This helps you, Ron, you have to see that."

"I'm dead either way as far as I'm concerned," Ron said a little too coldly. "By achieving things in life, I can at least help a few people before checking out. Leave the World a better place, and all that tripe."

"You don't owe anyone anything," Percy argued. " **You're** the one who's sick, so you need to take care of yourself first."

"I don't have the time to do both, and I've made my choice," Ron said. "You can't convince me otherwise, Perce. Everyone who has tried has failed."

"So we just watch you waste away?" Percy stopped Ron by grabbing his arm.

"Now you know why I didn't want to tell you," Ron stared at Percy's hand. "I don't like seeing you guys upset."

Percy let go of Ron's arm, and the Slytherin continued his journey downstairs. Percy followed him quite loosely now, and Ron figured that Percy was trying to come to terms with Ron's explanations. _I think I've managed to earn a brief respite. I have no doubt that my siblings will continue to hound me, but at least they're not making a big deal out of me wanting my privacy._

Ron entered the Living Room, and he quickly spotted Pandora speaking with Molly, Luna, and Ginny. _No more head scratches for me, I guess. They seem to be having a serious conversation._ Ron walked over to his friends, while Percy slipped next to Bill.

"Hello," Ron greeted his friends, and then he planted himself right next to Daphne.

"So, have you made peace with everyone?" Malfoy asked from behind his book.

"Maybe," Ron replied. "I tried my best, that's all I can do really."

"You're being very lenient with Ginevra and the Trio," Daphne couldn't help but point out. "How many times are you going to let them just get away with everything?" _How do I tell her that there are more important matters? Beating a dead horse will accomplish nothing. Plus, as much as they've angered me, I don't want to see them die. Not to mention that it won't be long until we're all forced to work together._

"I just want a merry Christmas," Ron smiled at her. "Not really in the mood for arguments."

"That Potion is still making you act loopy," Tracey noticed his widening smile.

"I reckon I'll sleep for a bit," Ron closed his eyes and leaned back. "Can you all wake me up in thirty minutes?" _The Potion should weaken by then, and I can finally check up on the Orphanage._

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

"Ron, time to wake up," Daphne shook him, and Ron's eyes opened slowly.

"Ten more minutes," Ron mumbled incoherently.

"You keep saying that, and it's been two hours now," Daphne sighed out. "Please, wake up. You'll sleep through Christmas."

"Two hours?" Ron forced his eyes to open, and he realized that he was holding Daphne's entire arm. "Sorry…"

Ron let go of her arm, and then he looked around the Living Room with a dazed look. _Um… Where is everyone?_

"They're all having lunch right now," Daphne told him as she rubbed her sleeping arm. "I would've gone as well, but I had a person attached to me."

"Sorry," Ron smiled sheepishly.

"I never said that it was a bad thing," Daphne smirked. "But as fun as it was watching my father suffer a stroke, it's about time we joined the others. You need some more soup, I think."

"Ugh…" Ron groaned. "Soup…"

"The Potion should be out of your system now," Daphne said. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Ron rubbed his face. "Merlin, I really slept for two hours?"

"We tried to wake you up, but you kept asking for more time," Daphne replied. "At first, I thought that you were just looking for an excuse to cling to my arm, but your snoring put an end to that theory."

"I don't need an excuse to cling to your arm," Ron shot her a smile. "I can do it whenever I want."

"Lucky me," Daphne teased, and then she stood up and held out her hand. "Let's go, Ron."

Ron took her hand, and with her help, he rose to his feet. _Ohhh, I'm in pain. Sleeping while sitting up is not a good idea._

"I'll go freshen up first," Ron yawned. "Sweet Merlin, I could sleep for a week."

"I'll help you up to the bathroom," Daphne said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"I smell scheming," Ron eyed her carefully, and she put on an innocent smile.

"No scheming here," Daphne hummed, and then she pulled Ron towards the Kitchen.

Ron followed lazily; he couldn't believe how tired he was. _Maybe it's a side effect of the Potion? I mean, this new blend has the Sleeping Draught in it, so I shouldn't be surprised about my drowsiness._ Once Ron entered the Kitchen, he realized that just like the Living Room, the Kitchen was also abandoned.

"Your brothers set up a marquee outside," Daphne said. "William and Charles, that is."

"Bill and Charlie," Ron corrected her. "They don't like being called William and Charles."

"Oh, really?" Daphne asked. "They never said anything to me."

"Once you know them better, they'll start correcting you," Ron shrugged. "I advise that you stay in their good graces. Both of them are very capable wizards, and they have mum and dad's ears."

"Who's scheming now?" Daphne snorted.

"Oink, oink," Ron sniggered, and Daphne guided him towards the stairs.

"Don't tease my snorts," Daphne laughed. "I only snort when you're around."

"Why is that?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Just trying to speak your language," Daphne smirked.

"That's just mean," Ron said, though he wasn't bothered at all. "And here I thought that I was special."

"You are 'special'," Daphne giggled.

"Keep this up, and I'm going back to sleep," Ron grinned.

"Please don't," Daphne said. "I've been bored out of my mind for the last two hours."

"Really?" Ron asked. "What about Tracey?"

"She wanted to listen to her Walkman, and Theo hungrily took the other earphone," Daphne pouted. _Did he now?_ "I even tried to talk to Malfoy, but he's content to hide behind his book."

"Again, I'm sorry," Ron said. "I didn't mean to sleep for so long, nor did I plan to hold your arm for ransom."

"You just couldn't help yourself?" Daphne sang. "You're very open about your love of cuddling, Ron. What would the other blokes say?"

"Firstly, you should never say the word 'blokes'," Ron started. "It sounds really weird when you say it. Secondly, I don't care much for the opinions of other blokes. Most blokes in our year wish they could cuddle your arm while they slept."

"Really?" Daphne asked. "Do you have their names?"

"You are an inch away from hurting my feelings," Ron feigned hurt.

"Only teasing," Daphne said as they stopped in front of the bathroom. "If anyone but you was holding my arm for ransom, I'd Hex them in their sleep."

"Good," Ron was rather pleased to hear that. "I'll be right back, Daph."

"Are you just washing up?" Daphne asked. "If so, I can come with you."

"Huh?" Ron blinked. "You want to join me? In the bathroom?" _That's a bit too clingy…_

"What?" Daphne asked slowly. "Everyone's following you around, Ron… I want to spend some alone time with you. The moment you step outside, your siblings will once again start following you around. Ginevra and Luna will want to speak to you now that the Potion has worn off."

"I see," Ron said. "Well, I only plan to wash my face, so sure… Come on."

Ron entered the bathroom first, and Daphne quickly followed him inside.

"Do you have your wand?" Daphne asked as she closed the door.

"I do," Ron patted his coat pocket.

"If someone does come, make sure that you cast the Disillusionment Charm on me," Daphne said, and Ron gave her a nod.

"What would your parents say if they caught you in here?" Ron teased as he turned on the tap.

"They'd be horrified, and father would definitely blame you," Daphne shrugged. _That would be the end of my career, and later, my life._

Ron took off his glove, and he washed his face with the cold water. _That feels so much better! Do it again._ Ron washed his face again, and then he cleaned out his eyes. As he was finishing up, he heard the bathroom door lock. Ron shot a look at Daphne, and she handed him a clean towel to dry off with. _She's smiling that rebel smile of hers… I foresee snogging in my immediate future._ Ron dried off his face, and then he tossed the towel aside.

"If you wanted to snog, Daph, you only had to ask," Ron said.

"I prefer cornering you," Daphne's smile widened. "No where to run now, Weasley."

"Bring it on, Greengrass," Ron put his glove back on.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

In the end, Daphne's nerves had given out. She knew that someone would eventually come looking for Ron, and if they were caught snogging in the bathroom, Daphne was going to lose more than her image. Ron, on the other hand, hardly cared for the opinions of others, and therefore, he had only stopped because Daphne had asked him to. _Still, it was a lot of fun. It's great that we just get into it now without feeling the need to 'test the water'._

"Fix your grin, Ron," Daphne stopped him as he neared the back entrance.

"I can't help it," Ron cleared his throat. "You were really enjoying yourself, Daphne."

Daphne rolled her eyes, and Ron's grin widened. _Yeah, she definitely loved it._

"No one likes a braggart," Daphne huffed. "But saying that… I did enjoy myself. You never used to use your hands much, but now…" she trailed off. _Thank you, Clara; I will never question your ways again._

"But now?" Ron asked, and Daphne felt her face heat up.

"You can go a little lower next time…" Daphne whispered. "I don't mind, Ron."

"You mean I can touch your bum?" Ron asked, his avarice quite evident in his voice.

"Not too much," Daphne said quickly. "What I'm trying to say is that I'll let you know if I want you to stop…" _This is the best day of my life._

Ron barely held back his excitement, and he decided that now was a time to act with decorum. Ron opened the door for Daphne, and he gestured her to go through. She quickly collected herself before stepping outside, and Ron closed the door behind them.

"I also had a lot of fun," Ron felt the need to tell her.

"Good," Daphne smiled a little as she took his hand. "Since I've allowed you to touch my bum, it's only fair that I get to touch yours as well. Right?"

"Go right ahead," Ron chuckled. "I don't mind, Daph."

"But if you do mind, you can always ask me to stop," Daphne assured him.

"Good to know," Ron said as they made their way over to the marquee.

Ron could hear loud chatter coming from inside, and he could also smell his mother's amazing cooking. The smell alone was enough to make Ron's mouth water, and he remembered a certain deal he had made with Daphne.

"Daph… Do you still plan to sneak me a plate of food tonight?" Ron asked 'casually'.

"If you keep your word, and only drink soup, then yes," Daphne replied. _Yes!_

"I'll sneak off during dinner," Ron began planning his meal. "You make a plate for 'yourself', and then you come and find me. I'll be behind the outhouse."

"And if we get caught, this was all your idea," Daphne added.

"Technically, it was your idea, but I don't mind taking the blame," Ron said. "What are they going to do? Take food away from me?"

"You really should take this more seriously, Ron," Daphne said. "People are scared for you." _And I'm scared for the very same people. We're all scared._

"I'm following the rules, aren't I?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave a nod. "I don't want to scare anyone, I promise."

"I know," Daphne smiled a little.

"Speaking of sneaking off…" Ron started, and Daphne lost her smile. "I want to go to the Orphanage soon. Do you still want to come with me?"

"I do, but only if I get permission from my parents," Daphne said.

"Only if you get permission from your parents," Ron agreed. _I don't want her getting into trouble again, especially because of me._

They entered the marquee, and Ron realized that the space inside had been expanded via the Extension Charm. Mostly everyone was having a good time, and the feast on the dining table made Ron's legs wobble. _She made my favorites! I even see Shepard's Pie!_ Pandora was the first one to see Ron, and she quickly alerted the witches around her.

"You're both here," Molly looked quite relieved to see Ron. "How do you feel, dear?"

Everyone went silent, their eyes fixed on Ron and Daphne.

"I feel much better," Ron told everyone. "The Potion has worn off, but it's left me a little tired. And hungry."

"Well, you two take a seat," Molly said as she hopped out of her chair. "Where did I leave that soup?"

Molly began looking around the dinner table for Ron's soup, while Ron and Daphne walked over and sat down with their friends. _The twins are sitting with the Trio. It looks like they're making an effort to move past their recent fight. Percy is sitting with Bill again, while Ginny is sitting with Charlie and Kirsten. She's still avoiding the Trio… Hopefully, she'll look past her anger and make up with them. Otherwise, she'll have a very lonely Break, and I don't want to see her go through that. I wonder if she still plans to go see Madam Pomfrey once Hogwarts restarts._

"Ron," Daphne nudged him, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" Ron smiled at Daphne.

"Luna is trying to speak to you," Daphne said, and Ron looked over to Luna. _She's sitting with Astoria. Those two have become fast friends._

"Is everything all right, Luna?" Ron asked.

"Has the Potion really worn off?" Luna asked.

"I think so," Ron replied. "I'm not hallucinating anymore, so that's always a good sign."

Luna nodded her agreement, while Tori gave Ron a baffled look.

"Can we talk later?" Luna asked. "Please?"

"Of course," Ron agreed. _She's definitely scared, and unless I do something to make her feel better, she'll keep worrying over me._

"Here you are," Molly planted a pot of pumpkin soup in front of Ron. "This is all yours, Ronnie."

"Thanks," Ron looked between the soup and the other food. _Just drink the soup, Ron. Daphne promised to sneak you a plate tonight if you behave._

"The others want to fly around after this," Theo said, he was sitting on Ron's left. "The weather's gotten a little better, and the twins proposed a game between the Houses. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor."

"We'll get destroyed," Ron shot a quick look towards Harry.

"True, but it could be fun," Theo said. "Your brother Charlie has agreed to play Seeker for us."

"What about Malfoy?" Ron looked to the pale wizard.

"He's being Malfoy," Theo drawled. "Personally, I think he'll agree to play if you're playing."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"It'll make him feel… safer…" Theo whispered, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "C'mon, mate… You know that he doesn't mind your company anymore. If anything, he tries to impress you whenever he gets the chance." _Huh? Are we talking about the same person?_

"Well, either way, I have other plans," Ron said. "I have a few errands to run, and I don't have time for Quidditch."

"Ah, so the Potion really has worn off," Theo said. "You're back to being your busy self."

"Isn't it spectacular?" Ron smirked. "I bet you missed my usual self."

"Like a dog misses fleas," Theo remarked.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Mum, it'll only be for twenty, or so, minutes," Ron said, he had, under threat of being left single, agreed to ask his parents for permission before disappearing.

It was not going well.

"But you could get hurt, Ron," Molly said, and then she looked to Arthur for support.

"Your mother is right," Arthur joined in. "You just had surgery, and your Potion's left you tired. You can go tomorrow."

"But I want to make sure that they're enjoying their **Christmas** ," Ron explained. "What's the point in going tomorrow?"

"I'm sure they're doing just fine," Molly said. "Why do you have to go check on them?" _I don't know, I just feel like I must._

"They're my responsibility, aren't they?" Ron asked in response. "I'm only asking for twenty minutes, and then I can have peace of mind. Please, be reasonable here." _I should've just called Marty over. I'd be done with the whole thing by now._

"Why can't one of us come with you?" Arthur asked. "It's for your safety, Ron. Those children won't know what to do if you collapse."

"Daphne will be with me," Ron said, and both of his parents frowned. _Did I say something wrong?_

"That girl is not your personal nurse, young man," Molly's tone reached a higher pitch. _Woah… I didn't say that. Did I?_

"After what she saw yesterday, you're still willing to rely on her constantly?" Arthur shook his head. "Why don't you be reasonable for once, Ron?"

Ron stared at his parents as he replayed the conversation in his head. _'Daphne will be with me'… Yeah, it sounds like I'm brushing my problems on her. Fuck… I kept her from moving for two hours because I grabbed her arm in my sleep._ Ron knew that he had lost the argument; he was feeling a little too guilty to continue on.

"So if one adult comes with us, I have your permission?" Ron asked, and his parents exchanged quick looks. _Don't look so confused; I know when I'm being unreasonable… Well, sometimes._

"Yes," Arthur said firmly. "And that adult has to let us know when you decide to leave."

"Okay," Ron nodded his agreement. "I'm going to go find Daphne…" _And I'm going to ask if she really does want to come with me._

"How did it go?" Daphne asked him as soon as he entered the Kitchen from the back door.

"I got permission, but only if an adult accompanies us," Ron replied. "Daph-"

"I got permission from my parents," Daphne said victoriously. "My father wasn't keen on the idea, but I reminded him of **his** promise to **me**. He said that I may go with you, but only for thirty minutes."

"Do you want to go?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Daphne replied. "I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of asking my parents for permission if I didn't want to go."

"I just realized that I might be stealing your Christmas from you," Ron told Daphne, and she gave him a confused look.

"What gave you that idea?" Daphne asked. "I want to spend my time with you, and we've been together for most of the day. I'm having fun."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "We can do an activity that you want, and I'll just do all this stuff tomorrow."

"Oh, when we come back from this, we are **definitely** doing an activity that I want," Daphne smirked. "There was never any question about that."

"Oh, I see," Ron felt a little relieved that she wasn't just following him about. _She's with me because she wants to be. That feels nice._ "All right, then let's get ready to go."

"Which adult do you reckon we should take with us?" Daphne asked. "Please don't pick my parents. That'll be really awkward." _Lord Greengrass in a house full of Squibs. Now that'd be quite the sight._

"Both of our parents are out of the equation," Ron said. "Mum would steal the youngest one in order to raise him, or her." _Who should I take with me? Pandora is pregnant, Xeno is too odd, I don't know Tracey's parents all that well, and I don't want to take my siblings with me. That leaves only one choice._

"We'll take Sirius," Ron said.

"Lord Black?" Daphne cocked an eyebrow. "He's not exactly… adult-like…"

"Makes him the perfect choice," Ron said. "Plus, it might help him understand the good he can do within the Wizengamot."

"Wait… Wizengamot?" Daphne asked, now she was confused.

"He was asked to join it, but he wasn't interested," Ron explained. "Maybe when he sees the children who the Headmaster and I helped, it'll move him into action. He thinks that politics aren't important, but they are. A man like Sirius Black can do way more than me, so convincing him to act is important."

"Only you could turn a visit to an Orphanage into some scheme for the future," Daphne giggled. "Let's go find Lord Black, then."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"All right, you two," Sirius stepped into Living Room. "Both of your parents are aware that we're leaving."

"Thanks for doing this, Sirius," Ron said. "I know that you wanted to fly around with Harry."

"I can do that when I come back," Sirius shrugged. "Plus, you'll be joining me. One for one, Ron."

"He got you," Daphne whispered. _I know._

"That's fair," Ron gave a nod. "I'll ready the floo." _He has to know about Dumbledore's involvement. The house is literally called 'Dumbledore Abode', so that'll raise unwanted attention. However, if Dumbledore himself clues Sirius in, maybe the damage won't be so bad._

Ron walked up and took a pinch of floo-power, which he promptly tossed into the fire.

"The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," Ron called, and the fire blazed green.

"Dumbledore's Office?" Sirius asked.

"I didn't create the Orphanage alone," Ron said before stepping through the fire.

As Ron stepped into the Headmaster's Office, he saw the old man drinking mulled wine as he stared out of a large window

"Ronald," Dumbledore greeted without looking back.

"How did you know it was me?" Ron asked. "You're facing the other way."

"The fireplace told me," Dumbledore chuckled to himself.

"Weirdo," Ron muttered under his breath, and Dumbledore shot a knowing smile back. _What in the fuck? He heard that?_

Daphne and Sirius both came through the fire at that, and Dumbledore gave them both a warm smile.

"How is everyone's Christmas?" Dumbledore asked them. "Mine has been quite spectacular." _Brooding and drinking alone is spectacular?_

"Certainly looks like it, Dumbledore," Sirius smiled at the mulled wine. _They don't see it, do they? The man is completely alone on Christmas…_

"I save this particular wine all year long," Dumbledore gracefully took his seat, his wine glass floating over to him. "What can I do for you three?"

"I want to go see Priscilla and the others," Ron replied, and Dumbledore looked to Sirius and Daphne. "The Headmaster helped me set everything up."

"You helped him with this Orphanage?" Sirius asked the old wizard. "When?"

"When he came to me," Dumbledore replied. _He didn't even try to answer that._

"It doesn't matter when," Ron looked to Sirius. "I wanted to help Priscilla, and I came to the Headmaster for advice. We worked together on the project, but truth be told, he did mostly everything. I only convinced Priscilla to move into the Orphanage with her friends."

"Don't sell yourself so short, my boy," Dumbledore said calmly.

" **Why** did you help him with all of this?" Sirius looked between Ron and Dumbledore.

"Because help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," Dumbledore replied. _Where does he come up with this stuff?_

"That's not a real answer," Sirius sighed out.

"Would you have preferred it if I didn't help Ronald?" Dumbledore asked. _Yeah, turn it back on him. Nice move._

"What?" Sirius blinked. "No… I'm glad that you helped him…"

"Then there is nothing more to discuss, is there?" Dumbledore smiled at Sirius, who shook his head slowly. _Sirius got mind-raped by Albus Dumbledore!_

"Now that everyone is in the loop, do you mind if I use your fireplace, Headmaster?" Ron asked.

"Go ahead," Dumbledore replied, and Ron made his way back to the fireplace.

"Dumbledore Abode," Ron said as he tossed the floo-powder into the flames, and when they roared to life, Ron looked back to his companions. "Let me do the talking, please."

"Go on," Sirius said, while Daphne collected her thoughts.

Ron stepped into the Orphanage, and he immediately noticed the clutter on the Living Room floor. _What the…?_ There was torn wrapping paper everywhere, and he could hear loud laughter throughout the house. In the corner, there was a heavily decorated Christmas tree, and under that tree were solid boxes wrapped in colorful wrapping paper.

Ron smiled widely at the sight of this chaos; they had indeed enjoyed their Christmas this year. _I feel like a great burden has been lifted._

"Merlin, what happened in here?" Daphne whispered from behind him.

"An outlandish party by the looks of it," Sirius looked around the massive room. "Dumbledore and you split this?"

"You're still stuck on that?" Ron chuckled.

"It's just… odd… that he'd help you with such a thing," Sirius couldn't help but point out. "This is extreme generosity, even for Albus Dumbledore."

"Clearly, he's more generous than you thought," Ron shrugged. "I'm going to go find Priscilla. Can you two wait here, please?"

"Sure," Daphne agreed, she wasn't ready to run into a bunch of strangers.

Ron made his way out of the Living Room, and from there, he found the Kitchen. He saw Packy, Tacky, and Racky preparing a giant feast with happy smiles, and in the corner was Priscilla. She was making carefree conversation with the Elves; her face was much fuller and brighter now. _She looks really well. And she's not wearing that thin dress anymore. She has a thick sweater on._

"Master Ronald?" Packy suddenly squeaked, and everyone stopped moving immediately. _Master? What?_

"Sorry for barging in like this," Ron stepped further into the room, and Priscilla quickly ran up and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you!" Priscilla said excitedly, and Ron tensed a little. _She was a lot more wary the last time I saw her._

"Hello," Ron said lamely, and she pulled back with a wide smile. _She looks really bloody different. Is this the same person?_ "You look quite well, Priscilla."

"The others keep saying that they don't recognize me sometimes," she tucked her neatly cut hair behind her ears. "Though, I could say the same about them. Things have been really good."

"Good," Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry for not being in contact for so long. I figured that time would do you more good than I could."

"Yeah, I guessed that's what you were thinking," Priscilla nodded. "You made the right call, I think. It was really hectic early on, and poor Packy, Tacky, and Racky had to bear the brunt of the bad behavior. The younger ones turned rabid with excitement… It was not easy to handle."

"And they've calmed down now?" Ron asked. "I saw the Living Room…"

"Oh, that…" Priscilla laughed heartily. "This is our first real Christmas, and even I couldn't hold myself back. Everyone got a present this year!"

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," Ron felt all the tension leave his shoulders. "One of the reasons why I came here was because I wanted to make sure that you were all having a party of sorts."

"That's really sweet of you, Ron," Priscilla shifted around a little. "Do you want something to drink? Or to eat? We can make you whatever you want."

"I wouldn't mind some tea," Ron decided to accept her hospitality.

"I'll make some," Priscilla quickly got to work, while the Elves sniggered to each other. _What are they laughing about? Whatever, I need to tell Priscilla about Daphne and Sirius._

"I've brought a couple of people with me," Ron told Priscilla, and she slowly looked back. "Their names are Daphne Greengrass, and Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Priscilla remembered that name. "The man who was locked up by the Ministry?"

"You know of him?" Ron asked.

"Everyone in Knockturn Alley was talking about him when he got set free," Priscilla replied. "That's actually how I first heard about you." _Makes sense, I took part in his liberation._

"Well, he's here," Ron said. "Daphne and Sirius are my trusted friends, and I'm showing them this place in case something happens to me. They'll make sure that you all want for nothing."

"If something happens to you?" Priscilla turned around with a worried look. "Are you in trouble, Ron?"

"Just a precaution," Ron decided not to ruin her day. "I'm one of those thorough freaks that you hear about, but never meet."

"Right…" Priscilla looked a little calmer. _Is it just me, or does she look a little too worried about my wellbeing?_ "Are they waiting by the fireplace?"

"Yes," Ron replied.

"Mistress, we'll make the tea and bring it out," Tacky said. "Mistress should greet her guests properly. It is the proper thing to do."

"Of course," Priscilla fixed up her sweater.

"Let's go," Ron turned around and headed back to the Living Room.

Priscilla walked right behind him, and he couldn't help but wonder if she was using him as a human shield. As they entered the Living Room, Ron saw that Sirius and Daphne were talking to a bunch of excited children. Sirius was performing simple Magic tricks to entertain the masses, while Daphne was talking to a couple of tiny girls.

"Oh, no," Priscilla muttered. "I'll get them to clear out, Ron. They're surrounding your friends."

"No, that's fine," Ron quickly assured her. _Look at Sirius. He looks loud and happy, but at the same time, he has a sorry look about him._

"You're here as well?" Tiberius walked up to Ron, and Ron studied the boy with wide-eyes.

Tiberius was wearing clean, ironed clothes, and his once untidy hair was neatly cut and gelled back. _He looks like a tiny Percy Weasley. What happened here?_

"Tiberius?" Ron smiled. "Merlin, mate… You look really good." _I know he's around my age, but he's so much shorter than me. It's not right._

"He's been excelling in his studies," Priscilla said proudly. "I always knew he was smart."

Tiberius sniffed proudly, but he kept his eyes on Ron.

"I'm planning to join a Muggle school soon, and from there, I'll become successful," Tiberius said with a challenging stare. "Then I can take over your duties in regards to us."

"Tiberius…" Priscilla frowned a little. "Why are you so aggressive about Ron?"

"I'm not," Tiberius looked between them. "Ron? What happened to calling him 'Mr. Weasley'?" _Mr. Weasley? Ew! That makes me sound old. We're around the same age, mate, and Priscilla is two years our senior._

"Sorry about him, Ron," Priscilla sighed out as Tiberius left for upstairs. "He's just trying to look after everyone…"

"Don't worry about it," Ron said. "I'm sure he means well."

"It's him!" one of the little ones shrieked, and all the children looked to Ron. _There are more children here than last time._

"Hello," Ron smiled at them. "If you don't remember me, I'm Ron."

"Are you here to spend Christmas with us?" the tiny girl next to Daphne asked. "We didn't get you a present…"

"I'm just here to wish you lot a merry Christmas," Ron said.

"Merry Christmas," a bunch of them said together. _They all look healthier, and much better dressed. Good. Everything seems to be going well._

"You must be Priscilla," Sirius said as he walked up to them. "Nice to meet you. My name is Sirius Black."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Priscilla greeted him, and then she looked to an approaching Daphne. "Any friend of Ron is always welcome here."

"Thank you," Daphne smiled at the older girl. "I'm Daphne Greengrass, I've heard that you take good care of everyone here."

"I try," Priscilla chuckled nervously. "They can be a handful at times, but they're a good bunch."

"Are you the eldest here?" Sirius asked.

"Not counting Packy, Tacky, and Racky, I am," Priscilla replied.

"Elves?" Daphne asked.

"They're the caretakers," Ron explained. "They cook, clean, and teach."

"They're lifesavers," Priscilla said. "We've all grown to love them."

"It's good that you have help," Sirius nodded in approval.

"Do you all want a tour?" Priscilla asked suddenly, and then she looked to Ron. "The Headmaster made some more additions to the rooms, by the way. I managed to convince a few more kids to live here. The older ones are in too deep to leave Knockturn Alley behind, but they helped me round up the little ones."

"What do you mean by 'too deep'?" Ron asked. "Maybe I can help them?"

"I don't want you to get involved in something criminal," Priscilla said. "I asked them to come, but they **chose** to stay in Knockturn Alley. If they're that far gone, then they'd only bring trouble here." _A bit harsh, but I reckon she's wiser about this sort of thing than I am._

"If you think it best," Ron decided to heed her advice.

"Come, I'll show you around," Priscilla smiled, and a flood of children engulfed them.

"Are you showing them our rooms?!" some boy's voice cracked.

"Daphne, I'll show you my room myself," one of the girls said. "We just put new 'wallpaper' in my room!"

"Daphne, why don't you go on?" Sirius asked, and Daphne didn't waver whatsoever. "I want to speak to Ron really quickly."

"Is everything all right?" Priscilla looked between Ron and Sirius.

"I don't think I should be looking in their rooms," Sirius calmed her down with a laugh. "Ron will join you all shortly."

"It's all right," Ron said. "I'll be right up."

"Okay," Priscilla nodded, while Daphne gave Ron a slightly hesitant stare. _You'll be fine. I'll be with you in a couple of minutes._

Priscilla and Daphne left for upstairs at that, and it looked like they were being carried away by a tidal wave made up of excited children. Once every last one child was gone, Sirius looked Ron with a knowing smile.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"You're a clever little git," Sirius remarked, and Ron played innocent. _He saw through it. Whoops._ "I thought you brought me here because you trusted me."

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you," Ron said. "But you're not wrong… I wanted you, of all people, to come see this. This is what you can help fight for if you join the Wizengamot."

Sirius shot a sorry look towards the stairs, and then he let out a sigh.

"Those kids definitely didn't deserve to grow up in Knockturn Alley," Sirius said.

"No, they didn't," Ron agreed.

"You're doing a great thing here," Sirius admitted openly. "I won't give away all the details, but I'd like to tell your parents about all of this. I think they'd be very proud of you. I know I am."

"Have you grown a vagina in my absence?" Ron asked, and Sirius let out a chuckle.

"I was trying to say something nice, you prick," Sirius lightly shoved Ron. "Maybe joining the Wizengamot could be the right move… I mean, look at this place. I now have no doubt that the Werewolf Sanctuary will work out."

"And we can do even more," Ron said. " **If** we work together, that is."

"You want more allies within the Ministry," Sirius nodded along. "I… I'll think about it, Ron. I promise." _That's all I can hope for at this point._ "Go on. Join your girlfriend, I'll be waiting down here."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron quietly sipped his tea while the children, especially the boys, did their best to impress Daphne. _Maybe they like her more because she's prettier than me?_ Ron smiled behind his teacup; it was good that they were all getting along. Daphne certainly had more patience than him, and that allowed her to listen to everyone's tall tales and 'accept' them with a pleased smile.

"I can actually jump down three flight of stairs," one of the younger boys boasted. _Horse-shite, mate, you'd break your fucking legs if you did that._

"Really? I can't even do one," Daphne smiled at the boy, who puffed up rather arrogantly. _Lying little tosser. Calm down, Ron, they're only children. What's the matter with you?_

"I can do three as well," a smaller boy lied, and Ron drew in a calming breath. _Good thing I have some tea to calm my nerves. They're all making moves on her, the rascals._

"Can you boys stop hogging her?" one of the girls bit out. "She was going to show us girls how to do her hair up like hers."

"She's certainly popular," Sirius said, he and Priscilla were returning from his tour of the Kitchen. "And look at you… Sipping tea all alone."

"And?" Ron huffed. "Nothing wrong with drinking tea alone."

"They're just trying to get her attention," Priscilla said, and then she looked Daphne over. "I don't think any of them have seen such a pretty girl before." _I knew it. Those covetous little shits._

"I reckon we should be on our way," Sirius said to Ron. "I did promise your parents that I'd bring you home."

"Has it already been twenty minutes?" Ron checked his Rolex. _He's right, we should get back in order to avoid trouble._ "I guess we really should be off, then."

Ron stood up, and he gave Priscilla a smile.

"Are you sure you can't stay for longer?" Priscilla asked.

"Yeah, we're sure," Ron said. "But I'll drop in again soon, I promise."

"All right," Priscilla smiled, her eyes fixed on his. "It was really good to see you again, Ron."

"You too, Priscilla," Ron fixed up his suit jacket. "Now, I need to ask… Do you guys need anything? Maybe more money?"

"We've still got over fifty Galleons left," Priscilla assured him. "Plus, the Headmaster has sort of helped me get a job…"

"He has?" Ron asked.

"An old friend of his from his schooling days runs an apothecary down the road," Priscilla sounded very proud all of a sudden. "I stack his shelves, and he in turn pays me a little and teaches me how to read. He gets **so many** customers that I can hardly keep up. The whole Wizarding part of town goes to his shop. It's really quite amazing, actually." _It is? Well, whatever makes her happy, I suppose._

"That's good to hear," Ron made a mental note to thank Dumbledore. "I'll also top up your account."

"Thank you," Priscilla gave a grateful nod.

"Daphne, we're going," Sirius waved at her, and the children booed him. "Hey… Why?"

"Don't boo your elders," Priscilla quickly admonished her wards. "These are our guests, and friends."

"I'll see you all again soon," Daphne promised. "Enjoy the rest of your Christmas."

"Bye, Daphne," most of them waved her off. _I'm here too! Can I get a collective 'bye' as well? No? Well… Whatever._

"They're very polite, and I can tell that they're lucky to have you," Daphne reported back to Priscilla, who nodded slowly due to Daphne's 'cold' tone. _Is Daphne putting on a strong face? I think she is. I'd say that this visit was very successful. Both Daphne and Sirius like these kids, which will make it easier for them to pick up where I leave off._

"Thanks," Priscilla accepted the kind words. "I'll walk you all out."

Ron made his way over to the fireplace in order to prepare it, while Sirius asked Priscilla about the children's daily routine. She told him all the basics such as their study time, their eating times, and their playtime. She even told Sirius that she was planning to start looking into a Muggle school, and that with Dumbledore's help, most of the younger one could start next term.

"Floo's ready," Ron told the others.

"It was great to meet you," Sirius shook Priscilla's hand. "If you need anything from me, just let Ron know. All right?"

"Of course," Priscilla replied, though Ron was sure that she wasn't going to 'burden' anyone else. _She's still proud, and I can tell that she's been busting her arse for everyone in this house. Still, she looks very happy. I'm glad I finally did something right._

"I hope we see each other again," Daphne gave a genuine smile.

"Me too," Priscilla smiled back.

Sirius and Daphne both went through the fireplace at that, leaving Ron alone with Priscilla.

"I'll be in touch," Ron gave her a parting nod. "And remember, if you need anything-"

"I should just tell the Elves, and they'll come find you," Priscilla finished for him, and Ron smiled a little.

"Yeah, that," Ron nodded. "Take care of each other."

"Don't think twice about coming here," Priscilla said quickly. "Um… You're always welcome here is what I'm trying to say… Bye, Ron…"

"Bye," Ron said, and after shooting one quick look at the eavesdropping children, Ron went through the fire.

"I never really say this… But you're a great man, Dumbledore," Sirius was saying, while Dumbledore just smiled at Sirius from behind his desk.

"We must all do our part, Sirius," Dumbledore said with a meaningful look, and Sirius nodded ever so slowly. _The old man is really taking Sirius' psyche to the woodshed today, isn't he?_

"I think Lord Black is all but ready to help out at the Orphanage," Daphne whispered to Ron.

"And you?" Ron asked.

"I want to help as well," Daphne cleared her throat. "Are they **all** from Knockturn Alley?"

"Yes," Ron replied.

"So many…" Daphne muttered. "And this is their first home?"

"Did they tell you that?" Ron asked, and she gave a weak nod. "Are you all right, Daph?"

"I don't know what to say, really," Daphne looked back to the fireplace. "I've never thought of being homeless before…"

"Don't worry, I was just as jarred as you," Ron rubbed her arm. "It took me a long time to get over seeing other people my age living in the gutters of that shithole."

"A girl named Trist told me that she thought she was going to start working with Priscilla soon," Daphne gave Ron a tired look. _Working with Priscilla soon? Oh… Oh, no…_

"Trist? The really small, blonde one?" Ron asked.

"She reminded me of Tori…" Daphne swallowed thickly. "I feel a little sick, Ron… Can we go home?"

"Of course," Ron nodded quickly. "Sirius! Daphne isn't feeling well!"

"Really?" Sirius broke off from his conversation with Dumbledore. "I'll get the floo ready."

"Take a seat, Daph," Ron helped her into a chair, and Dumbledore sent over a floating glass of water.

Ron took the glass, and he handed it to Daphne. She drank it down in small gulps, and when it was finished, she handed it back to Ron before bending forward a little.

"I'll help her through," Sirius said as he walked back up and helped Daphne to her feet. "Just come through after us, kid."

"I'll be right there, Daphne," Ron promised as he watched Sirius and Daphne disappear through the fire.

"It's always hard to look at the bottom of the barrel," Dumbledore said. "Especially when one has only ever been at the top. She is strong for having the courage to look."

"I kind of feel like I forced her to look," Ron admitted.

"She doesn't regret looking, Ronald," Dumbledore told him.

"Are you sure?" Ron looked to the old wizard.

"Quite sure," Dumbledore smiled, his cheeks were rosy. _He's still drinking?_

"Thank you for helping Priscilla," Ron said. "She told me that you've been helping them every now and then. It's very kind of you, Headmaster."

"They are good children," Dumbledore smiled a little more widely. "Did you meet Tiberius?"

"I did," Ron gave a nod. "Reminds me of a certain Head Boy."

"Likewise," Dumbledore chuckled.

"Headmaster… If you don't have any plans for Christmas, why don't you drop by the Burrow?" Ron asked. "I mean, you're always welcome there. I bet Harry would be ecstatic to see you."

"And you?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'd bear with it," Ron shrugged with a half-smile.

"Thank you for the offer, kind boy," Dumbledore said. "But I plan to keep our friend company tonight. He's been very moody, or so I've been told."

"Is he coming back after the Break?" Ron asked.

"He is," Dumbledore replied.

"Great… Tell him that I look forward to attending his classes again," Ron said. _Is it weird to miss someone as cold as Snape? Apparently so._

"I will pass on your regards," Dumbledore took a sip of his mulled wine.

"Take care, Headmaster," Ron decided not to make Daphne wait any longer.

As soon as Ron entered the Burrow, he found Daphne sitting on the couch with a sorry look. Sirius was having a chat with the other adults, while Mary was sitting with Daphne and speaking in hushed whispers. _Uh-oh. They must come home to find the adults in the Living Room. I'm sure seeing Daphne so shaken must have alarmed her parents._

"How are you feeling?" Ron approached Daphne and Mary.

"I'm all right," Daphne nodded to herself.

"I'm sorry about this," Ron apologized to both witches.

"It's not your fault," Daphne said before Mary could reply. "I don't know why I'm being like this."

"It's all right to feel overwhelmed, love," Mary whispered. "It happens to everyone. Just take your time, okay?"

"Okay," Daphne closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. _She's copying my breathing exercise?_

Ron took a seat next to Daphne, his eyes traveling towards Sirius and Lord Greengrass. His mentor gave him a passing glance, and from the look of it, he wasn't really angry with Ron. _Maybe he's being lenient because I nearly died yesterday? Whatever his reasoning, I'm glad that he's not putting me up for trial._

"You're back," came Luna's voice, and Ron saw her and Tori standing in the doorway.

Her eyes darted towards Daphne, while Tori walked into the room.

"Are you sick?" Tori asked Daphne rather bluntly.

"No," Daphne replied. "Ron, you can go talk to Luna. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Ron whispered, and she gave a short nod.

"Go on," Mary said to Ron, while Tori lingered about in an effort to see Daphne's face.

"I'll be back soon," Ron said, and then he walked over to Luna. "Do you want to talk?"

"I think Daphne needs you," Luna said.

"I'll go back to her once we finish," Ron said. "Come on, let's talk in the Kitchen."

"Alright," Luna walked over to a nearby chair, and Ron followed after her.

As Ron sat down beside her, he found her simply staring at him. _Not very subtle, but that's fair enough._

"So-"

"Are you really dying?" Luna asked in a meek tone. _Woah… She does not pull her punches._

"I… I don't know what to tell you, Luna," Ron sighed. "I want to say no, but there's no point in lying anymore…"

"I was hoping that it wasn't true," Luna looked extremely dejected. "I was hoping that the adults were all being far too extreme about this…"

"I wish that were true," Ron said gently. "I'm sorry, Luna."

"You shouldn't be sorry," Luna stared down at the table. "You're the one who's sick."

"I'm sorry that you're hurting," Ron clarified. "I really didn't want to see you like this. Any of you."

"You hid it well," Luna said. "Good on you, Ron." _Only she would congratulate me right now._

"Thanks, I guess," Ron smiled a little. "Are you scared?"

"Yes," Luna replied, and Ron moved closer to her side.

"Want to hold my hand?" Ron asked as he offered his left hand, and she quickly took it.

"Please don't go," Luna sniffled, and Ron felt like a mule had kicked him.

"I still have time left, little sister," Ron tried to be as gentle as he could.

"But you could die any minute," Luna finally looked at him. "That's what the adults keep saying, and they're not wrong… You nearly died yesterday, didn't you?"

"I don't like to think about it," Ron said. "I just want to make sure that the time I do have left is spent on making things better for others. That's all I can really offer at this point." _Whatever little good I manage to do, I'll make sure to preserve it. Maybe once the war is over, some Good Samaritan will continue my work._

"You can offer heaps," Luna argued.

"Luna, I don't get a choice with this sickness," Ron decided that he needed to be firm about that. _I can't let her think that I'll just recover whenever I get tired of being sick._

"So you're fine with dying?" Luna asked. "You're fine with leaving us behind?" _How could I be fine with that? I'd do anything to change it, but no one has a cure._

"I'm not fine with dying, Luna," Ron opened up a little. "I'm really scared, actually… Sometimes, I lie awake at night thinking about what's next, and I just can't picture anything. It's terrifying… But at the same time, it is what it is. Life is about having problems, I think, and it's about learning to overcome them. I'm trying my best to overcome the hand dealt to me, but that doesn't mean that I'm fine with leaving you behind."

"No one has a cure?" Luna grasped at straws. "No one?"

"We're going to try Muggle Healers soon," Ron replied. "Maybe they'll have something that can help me."

"You don't believe that," Luna whimpered. "I can see it on your face… You don't care anymore. You just want to leave…"

Ron let go of her hand, and then he pulled her into his side. She was clearly trying to stop herself from bawling, and feeling her little body twitch and jerk cut Ron deeply. From the corner of his vision, he spotted Percy walking away from the back door with his head bowed. _How much did he hear?_

"I… I don't want to… stress you by crying…" Luna coughed out. "I'm sorry…"

"You can cry if you want," Ron rested his head on hers. "Remember when you got lost in the cornfield?"

"You and Ginny hid from… me…" Luna spluttered.

"Did I stop you from crying back then?" Ron asked, and she shook her head. "Did I tell anyone about it?"

"No…" Luna made a heart wrenching sound.

"You can cry if you want," Ron told her. "I'll sit with you for as long as you need. I promise."

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

Draco waited by the stairs; he had been sitting up against the wall for twenty minutes. From downstairs, he could hear Luna Lovegood's failed attempts at stemming her tears, and he could hear Weasley being very gentle for a change.

Draco had spent the entire day avoiding Ronald Weasley. Unlike everyone else in the Burrow, Draco couldn't justify showing concern for the red-haired wizard. And yet, he **was** concerned. Sorry, even… Maybe it was the somber undertone of this particular Christmas, or maybe it was the fact that Draco didn't mind Weasley too much anymore, but whatever the reason, Draco found himself trying to work up the courage to speak to his House-mate. _It doesn't have to be a long conversation, Draco… Just give your condolences. How hard is that?_

His legs refused to budge, and Draco branded himself a yellow-bellied coward. _Why can't I even manage to talk to him on my own? Every time I think about it, my father's voice stops me. The poor bastard is dying, so what's the point of hating him? He'll be gone soon enough._ Draco suddenly felt jarred; the thought of Weasley being dead bothered him. It bothered him quite deeply. _He's a proper prick, but he's helped me. Even I can't deny that anymore. He's even put himself in front of the Dark Lord for me… Fuck! And I can't even speak to him? What's wrong with me?_

Draco suddenly heard footsteps, and he quickly looked up to see Granger sneaking out of Ginevra's room. She had her wand in her hand, and a rather pleased smile on her face. _Was she using Magic in there? Is she insane? The Ministry has a trace on all wands now._ When she saw him, she came to an abrupt halt. A squeak escaped her mouth, and she quickly hid her wand behind her. Draco gave her a dull look; did she think he was stupid?

"What are you doing sitting over there?" Granger asked with wide, guilty eyes.

"Shhh," Draco shushed her, and she frowned immediately.

"Don't tell me to 'shhh'," Granger said haughtily.

"Weasley is down there with Lovegood," Draco frowned deeply. "She's not taking his impending death well."

Granger lost her aggression immediately, and she too adorned a rather sorry look. _She's as bad as Davis… One mention of Weasley, and both their faces drop immediately._

"Wait…" Granger suddenly eyed him. "Are you spying on them?"

"What?" Draco hissed at the accusation. "Why would I do that?"

"Um… You're sitting in a dark hallway listening to people's private conversations…" Granger pointed out. "You tell me, Malfoy."

Draco could feel venom on his tongue, but he stopped himself from putting her in her place. A part of him genuinely believed that if he went that far, Weasley would come running up the stairs in order to throttle him. Another part of him didn't want to make her feel small, mostly because he too understood what it felt like to be cornered now. _Weasley mentioned that I made Granger cry alone multiple times._ He felt a guilty itch in the back of his head, and he quickly suppressed it.

"I was trying to go downstairs," Draco whispered. "But when I heard them, I decided to not interrupt their conversation. Don't believe that if you want, but it's the truth."

"But why sit there?" Granger asked. "And why listen?" _I was hoping to steal some courage from a twelve year old…_

"You're very nosy," Draco scowled at her.

"And you're very rude," Granger scowled back. "I saw that look in your eye just then… You wanted to call me a Mud-Blood, didn't you?"

Draco said nothing, mostly because he didn't feel the need to lie.

"Well, go ahead," Granger huffed. "I don't care."

"Are you done showing me your Gryffindor courage?" Draco drawled, and Granger seemed to puff up. "What does it matter if I thought about it? I didn't say anything, so you need to calm down."

"You just don't want Ron to get angry with you," Granger stated, and Draco found himself losing his patience. _If she doesn't leave, I'm going to do something that I later regret._

"You don't know me," Draco gave her an icy look. "Don't presume to know why I do the things I do. Just do me the same courtesy of staying out of my way."

"Just do me the same courtesy of staying out of my way," Granger repeated. "Do you hear yourself?"

"What is your problem?" Draco shot up to his feet. "You want me to call you a Mud-Bl-" Draco stopped abruptly. _Don't be like Flint!_

"What's stopping you?" Granger matched his gaze. "You've done it dozens of times now."

Draco drew in a deep breath, and he managed to fight back his anger.

"That's what you want, don't you?" Malfoy sneered at her. "To be proven right? To go and tell your boyfriends that I'm still the worst sort of person alive?"

"Boyfriends…?" Granger looked rather disgusted by his insinuation. _I see weakness._

"You three are a weird 'couple', right?" Draco smirked. "That's what everyone says."

"Who would say that?" Granger looked thoroughly put off. "You Slytherins are gross."

"Slytherins? Are you generalizing people, Granger?" Draco asked.

"Stop it," Granger frowned. "I know what you're trying to do."

"What am I trying to do?" Draco asked icily.

"You're trying to make me sound like a bigot," Granger replied. "Well, it's not going to work. I know for a fact that there are good Slytherins out there."

"And yet, you still use the name 'Slytherin' in contempt," Draco pointed out. "It's not so different from what we Pure-Bloods do."

"It **is** different," Granger argued. "I don't want to hurt **any** Slytherins, but you want to hurt people like me. Tell me that I'm wrong, Malfoy… I dare you."

Draco bit his tongue; she had managed to turn this around rather quickly. _She's very intelligent, and I can't outfox her with a few carefully spoken sentences. Damn her. Why did she have to show up right now?_

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Draco sat back down. "Mostly, I just want to be left alone."

Granger blinked at him, but she didn't say anything in response. _Just go back to doing whatever you were doing in there, and leave me alone._ Granger just stood in her spot, and after a few seconds, Draco shot her an angry glare.

"What?" Granger asked. "I didn't even say anything…"

"Why are you just standing there?" Draco asked.

"I want to go down as well, but I don't want to interrupt Ron and Luna," Granger replied. _Oh…_

Draco glared at the floorboards in front of him; maybe he ought to wait in Weasley's room? _He'll have to come up eventually, and I might be able to say something if he addresses me first._ Draco rubbed his face harshly; why was he acting like such a ponce?

"You seem agitated," Granger said, and Draco prayed to the Gods that they would seal Granger's mouth. "Is something bothering you?"

"Merlin, I just realized something…" Draco started, and Granger cocked an eyebrow. "You physically can't stop yourself from pestering people… What a dreadful condition you have."

"Haha," Granger rolled her eyes. "You ought to be a comedian, Malfoy. You're certainly a clown." _Damn, she got me again!_

Draco felt the urge to start yelling at her, but he knew that he'd come across as an idiot if he did so. _She's sassier than I imagined, I'll give her that._

"Wait…" Granger suddenly whispered, and Draco gave her a dull look.

"What now?" Draco asked.

"Are… Are you worried about Ron?" Granger asked him in a hushed whisper, and Draco felt his face burn. _She's trying to rile me up, isn't she?!_

"Shut up," Draco hissed.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Granger asked a little too smugly, and Draco shot up to his feet and marched up to her.

"Shut. Up," Draco bit out, and she took a frightened step back.

"What are you doing?" came Weasley's voice, and Draco felt his insides freeze.

"Ron," Granger squeaked, and Draco slowly turned around. "Malfoy and I were just-"

"I didn't ask you a damn thing," Weasley said coldly, his pale eyes were fixed on Draco. "What were you doing, Malfoy?" _I'm dead… He's going to burn off my face…_

Draco swallowed thickly, now he was definitely too scared to speak. _I'm an idiot… I let her rile me up, and Weasley showed up only to see me throwing a fit._

"We were arguing about Study of Runes," Granger lied, and Weasley cocked an eyebrow. "Malfoy thinks that the Rune for Protec-"

"Don't lie to me," Weasley said, and then his eyes were fixed on Granger. "Were you riling him up?" _Huh?_

Granger blinked, and Draco subtly took a step away from her.

"I wasn't, Ron," Granger looked to Draco. "Tell him that I wasn't." _Damn it… Now what?_

"It's… It's not really your business," Draco told Weasley. "Granger and I were having a private conversation…" _Did I just use her words? Fuck it… If it saves me from his anger, I'll take it._

"Ye… Yeah," Granger added quickly. "Don't be so nosy, Ron."

Weasley just stared at them, and then he shook his head.

"Whatever," Weasley muttered. "Just don't burn the house down…" _Yeah, he's definitely weakened from his earlier conversation._ "I need to go change into something else. Excuse me."

Weasley walked past them, and Draco spotted shiny snot on the tall boy's shoulder. _Gross…_ Once Weasley had disappeared upstairs, Draco let out a breath of relief. _That could've gone really badly for me._

"That was close," Granger mumbled, while Draco simply drew in a deep breath. "You know… If you want to talk to him, now would be a good time…"

Draco looked up with a disbelieving look; no one could be this socially inept. _We nearly came to blows, and she's still pestering me?_

"I won't say anything to anyone," Granger added, and then she quickly left for downstairs.

Draco watched the spot where she had been standing, and he felt the urge to choke the air. _She's so infuriating!_ Draco shot a quick look downstairs, and when he was certain that she was truly gone, he began making his way up to Weasley's room. He was definitely nervous, especially because Weasley seemed rather upset before, and Draco really didn't want to act as a lightning rod for Weasley's rage.

Draco stopped in front of the door, and after summoning all of his Malfoy strength, he knocked on the door.

"It's open, Malfoy," came Weasley's voice, and Draco slowly entered the room. "What can I do for you?"

Weasley was lying down on his bed, his soiled suit jacket lying unceremoniously on the floor. _Um… What do I say?_

"Is Lovegood feeling better?" Draco asked. _Why the fuck am I asking after Lovegood?_

"Pandora and Xeno took her off me," Weasley sat up. "She really tired herself out."

"What about your actual sister?" Draco asked.

"Ginny's a different sort," Weasley shrugged. "She's out there playing Quidditch… Taking all of her anger and frustration out on Quaffles and Bludgers." Weasley then eyed Draco. "Why aren't you playing with them? Even Theo is participating, and he can't fly to save his life."

"Your brothers are on edge," Draco replied. "I don't want to turn into their distraction."

"Right," Weasley nodded to himself. "Smart."

Draco made his way further into the room, Weasley seemed more tired than upset. _I'll just casually tell him that I'm sorry for his poor health. That's what you do with sick people, right? Yeah, I'm not breaking any rules by telling a sick person that I'm sorry._

"You and Hermione make an odd pair," Weasley said suddenly, and Draco stopped mid-step. "I overheard you two going at it, by the way."

"You did? How much did you hear?" Draco asked.

"The word 'bigot' caught my attention," Weasley replied. "I came in when you told her that you didn't want to hurt anyone."

"You… You eavesdropped on me?" Draco felt his face heat up with anger.

"What were you doing before that?" Weasley asked with a smirk.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Draco lied blatantly.

"Well, I liked what I heard," Weasley shrugged with an actual smile. "Good on you, Malfoy. You didn't stoop to the bottom of the barrel, and you showed Hermione that you don't act like Flint and his lot anymore." _No, I don't._

Draco felt oddly validated by Weasley's comment, and he decided to accept the praise without argument.

"Then why act so cold?" Draco couldn't help but ask.

"You did charge into her face, remember?" Weasley replied. "Everyone has limits, Malfoy, and I thought that you had reached yours. I figured that I'd stop you before you did something that ended up ruining everything for you."

"How generous of you," Draco said, and Weasley's smile widened.

"Does it bother you that I stepped in?" Weasley asked. _Of course it does… I don't need you to babysit me._

"What does it matter what I think?" Draco asked in return. "I know you enough now to understand that you'll always do as you please. It doesn't matter that I **wasn't** going to lash out… You decided that you needed to step in, and so you did."

"I guess you're right," Weasley hopped off of his bed, and then he stretched like a cat. _Wait a second… Why is his body getting so long?_

Draco was genuinely baffled to see Weasley's back elongate abnormally, but before he could get a better look, Weasley stopped stretching.

"Are you staring at my arse?" Weasley gave Draco a confused look. _WHAT?!_

"No," Draco sneered. "What's the matter with you?"

"You're the one eyeballing me," Weasley sniggered. "You tell me, Malfoy."

"I wasn't looking at your arse," Draco felt both embarrassed, and rather annoyed. "I don't do stuff like that."

"Hey, I don't judge," Weasley grinned. "To each their own, I say."

"Sod off," Draco spat out. _I'm leaving._

Draco turned to leave, but Weasley quickly blocked his path. _Damn, he's really quick for a big bastard._

"I was just joking, Malfoy," Weasley laughed. "You're so quick to anger."

"I'm not gay, you prick," Draco frowned at Weasley.

"All right," Weasley said calmingly. "But just so you know, I wouldn't hold such a thing against you."

"Can I leave?" Draco asked coldly.

"Why did you come here?" Weasley ignore Draco's question. _Oh, I regret coming here, believe me._ "Also, why are you always hiding behind a book whenever I'm in the room?" _He noticed…_ "You're not trying to avoid me, are you?"

"Does it look like I'm avoiding you?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. _Don't let him get to you. That's what he does._

"It just feels like you are," Weasley shrugged. "Plus, you're the only person who hasn't cornered me today. Wait…" Weasley looked around, and then he let out a chuckle. "I guess you did corner me in the end."

"You don't enjoy your siblings' company?" Draco asked.

"I enjoy it, but the conversations today have been… heavy," Weasley replied, and Draco nodded in understanding. "They're trying to put up a strong front for my sake, but I know them better than that. They're scared, and none of them know what to do." Weasley then drew in a deep breath. "Do you want to play some Chess with me?"

"Pardon?" Draco asked. _Where did that come from?_

"Daphne is talking to her parents, while the others are outside playing Quidditch," Weasley explained. "My siblings aren't exactly acting like their normal selves, and the Trio keep trying to offer me help. You're pretty much the only person still acting normal… So, do you have time for a game? I could really use a break here, Malfoy."

Draco decided that maybe helping Weasley feel a little normal was better than giving him a sympathy ridden speech. _He's helped me plenty of times without me asking, so what's wrong with me returning the favor for once? Nothing. There's nothing wrong with it._

"I want to be black this time," Draco walked over to Weasley's bed.

"Sure," Weasley said. "Won't help you win, though." _We'll see. I've gotten used to your tricks, Weasley._

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

"This is such a stupid game," Draco knocked his king over. _He's not even taking it easy on me! What's the fucking point?!_

"One more?" Weasley asked.

"No," Draco refused outright. "I'm sick of playing Chess."

"You sound like an angry toddler," Weasley sniggered, and Draco clenched his jaw. "Don't give me that look, please. Your jawline makes my knees wobble."

"Ugh…" Draco grimaced. _He was less annoying when he used to get riled up easily. Now, he just turns everything into a sick joke._

"Ronnie, are you in your room?!" came Molly Weasley's voice. "We're opening presents! Is Draco up there with you?!" _Presents?_

"Do Weasleys usually open their presents in the evening?" Draco cocked an eyebrow at Weasley. "Normally, you open presents first thing in the morning."

"Well, it's been an odd Christmas," Weasley shrugged. "We're coming, mum!"

Draco suddenly realized that he wasn't getting any presents this Christmas. His mother was a hostage, and his father was in the wind. Melancholy settled into his stomach, and once again, Draco felt like the entire World was against him. _Even Godfather is out of the picture…_

"Are you coming?" Weasley asked from the door.

"I'll… just stay here…" Draco said, unable to hide his childish disappointment. _Who cares about not getting presents, Draco? There are far worse things, and they're happening to you right now._

"What about your presents?" Weasley asked, and Draco shrugged. _He can't be this stupid, can he?_ "What? You think you didn't get any?"

"I know I didn't," Draco said sourly. "Just… Don't rub it in my face, all right? Just go be with your Family."

"I got you one," Weasley said, and Draco blinked at him. "See?"

Draco realized that Weasley had a bunch of papers in his free hand, which only further sparked his curiosity.

"What are those?" Draco asked.

"You won't know if you don't come with me," Weasley said. "Plus, I'm pretty sure my parents got you something."

"They did?" Draco had a hard time believing that. "Aren't they po-?" _Don't finish that sentence!_

Weasley gave Draco a deadpan look, and Draco pretended like he had never said anything.

"They're not wealthy, but they understand that every kid wants a present on Christmas," Weasley said. "Look… If they've gone out of their way to shelter you, don't you think that they want you to be a little happy?"

"I… I suppose…" Draco didn't know what else to say.

"Stop brooding up here, and just come with me," Weasley said. "You might be pleasantly surprised."

Draco followed Weasley out of the room without much thought, he was quite curious about Weasley present opening traditions. _Yeah, keep telling yourself that… What am I doing? Mother and father would never approve of me accepting charity from the Weasleys._

"You're still bothered," Weasley nudged Draco.

"Don't touch me," Draco said coldly, but Weasley just sniggered to himself. "And I'm not bothered… I feel like I'm intruding."

"But you were invited," Weasley waved a dismissive hand. "If you had just burst in out of the blue, then you'd be intruding."

"Still…" Draco started, but he quickly stopped himself. "It doesn't matter. Let's just get this over with."

As they reached the second floor, a platoon of tiny Quidditch figurines flew past them. Draco eyed the flying toys suspiciously, but they ignored him in favor of kicking and punching each other.

"The twins' work," Weasley said. "They'll probably show off their fireworks later."

"How do they make all of this stuff?" Draco asked.

"Honestly, I have no fucking clue," Weasley replied. "They're just very creative."

Draco could hear loud chatter coming from downstairs, and he quickly began feeling apprehensive. He really didn't want to stick out like a sore-thumb, and in a house full of red-haired Weasleys, Draco was a beacon calling for trouble. Weasley made sure to keep Draco moving, and before he knew it, he was standing in the doorway of an overcrowded 'Living Room'. Mostly everyone was squeezed together, with the exception of Pandora Lovegood, who had her own seat.

"Come in," Molly Weasley smiled at them. "Just squeeze in here!"

Weasley and Draco shimmied their way further into the room, and when they saw the other Slytherins, Weasley cut a way through the loud adults. _They're all drinking eggnog._

"You're here," Greengrass smiled at Weasley, and then she scooted over to give him some space.

Weasley squeezed himself between Davis and Greengrass, while Draco found some spare space next to Theo. _Why aren't they doing this in the marquee outside? At least we'd be able to move around, then._

"A bit crowded in here, isn't it?" Theo smirked.

"Is there a reason why we're all squeezed in here?" Draco asked. _He's got grass and dirt on his clothes. Did he fall during Quidditch?_

"Tradition," Bill Weasley said as he moved past them. "Though if it gets any more packed, I'll ask mum and dad to move this outside."

"There's your answer," Theo said.

Draco shot a quick look at Weasley, and he saw that Weasley and Greengrass were once again whispering to each other. _And they always sit so close… She ought to practice some prudence._

"Is everyone here?!" Molly Weasley yelled out.

"Yes!"

"Let's just get on with it!" Black laughed. "I want to see what you got me!" _Enjoying the eggnog, I see. Wait… Didn't he mention that my aunt was supposed to be here?_

"We'll do the children first," Arthur smiled at Black. "Charlie and Kirsten, can you start sending the presents along?"

"Sure, dad," Charlie Weasley got to work.

"Do we pass this along?" Domitor eyed the man-sized gift. "What in Merlin's name is that?" _That's the doll that Weasley wanted. Maybe I should've chipped in. I mean, he got me a Christmas present… Damn. Why do I even feel guilty for not giving something to Weasley of all people? I didn't get anything for anyone._

"Leave that there for now, dear," Molly said. "It's already crowded enough in here."

Presents exchanged hands, and before long, every child had a bunch in their hands. Even Draco had three boxes, much to his bewilderment. _One from the Weasleys, one from Sirius Black, and one from Andromeda Tonks. She actually got me something?_ Draco eyed the small purple box warily; what would she get him? _I've never even met this woman. And why did Black get me something?_

"Before you all start," Weasley stood up, and everyone looked to him. "I actually got something for all the kids."

"What?" one of the twins blinked. _Huh? What's with that reaction?_

"You can't do that," the other twin sighed out.

"I know we have an unspoken rule… But technically, I didn't buy these," Weasley said, and then he started passing out the parchments in his left hand. "Please, do **not** damage these in any way."

"What are those? Percy asked.

"Magic Permits," Weasley announced. "All of us kids can now use Magic outside of Hogwarts." _What?_

"Really?!" one the twins shot up, his eyes fixed on his permit. "He's right! Look at this, George! They'll ignore our Trace if it goes off!"

"Wicked…" George slowly grinned. _How did Weasley pull this off? Does he have connections in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?_

Draco studied his own permit when it reached him, while the adults looked ready for trouble.

"Just because your brother got you these does not mean that you will abuse them," Molly Weasley said sternly. "I don't want any Magic **inside** the house. Am I clear?"

"We expect you all to act within reason," Lord Greengrass looked between his daughters.

"Don't make us take these away," James Davis didn't like the grin on his daughter's face.

"Can we have our wands back?" Fred asked Molly, who looked to Arthur.

"Here," Arthur pulled them out of his robes, and then he passed them along. " **Don't** use them now, understand?"

"We'll be nothing but careful," George smirked.

"Oh, so careful," Fred Weasley kept his eyes fixed on the permit.

"Go on, open your other presents," Black said, and the sound of wrapping paper being shredded filled the room.

While the others gave into unruly behavior and excitement, Draco took his time opening his presents. He was, like any child would be, excited, but at the same time, he desperately missed the company of his parents. _Father turned the whole Manor into a wonderland, and mother would spend a fortune on decorations. And then, we'd throw our annual Christmas Ball. As fun as all of that was, I really miss opening my presents with just them around._

Sirius Black had bought him a Broom-Kit, and although Draco didn't really fly anymore, he figured that he'd at least put this gift to good use. The Weasleys had knitted him a thick white sweater with a green 'D.M' printed on it, and from the look of it, each child had received their very own personal sweater. _Weasley's already put his on, as have his siblings. Is this another tradition?_ Finally, Draco began opening Andromeda Tonks' gift; he was the most curious about this one.

Inside the purple box was the fabled Black Signet Ring, and Draco carefully pulled it out of the box. _Mother mentioned that it was lost during the Great War._ The ring had a platinum band, and at the top was a thick black gem. It was almost gaudy in appearance, but Draco understood that wizards enjoyed displaying their wealth and power. It was a custom, even. _This is… a very special ring… Why did she give it to me? And why isn't she here?_ Draco looked in the small box for a note, but there was nothing inside. _I'm not even a Black, though. Not completely, anyway. Shouldn't this be given to Aunt Andromeda's own daughter? No… This ring was meant for male heirs._

Draco looked to Black, who was currently having a laugh with the Trio. _I need to ask him to return this. This ring was meant for someone else. It isn't right for me to have it._ But saying that, Draco couldn't help but try on the ring. It was, after all, an ancient heirloom, and it no doubt had an exquisite story behind it. _All ancient heirlooms do. That's how they become heirlooms._ The ring was heavy, but it fit perfectly. Draco figured that it was Charmed to match the wearer's finger, which only served to highlight the ring's quality. _Not a single inscription on it, and yet, it's Enchanted. This heirloom can't be older than a hundred years, then. Back in the day, they were forced to inscribe Runes in order to Charm items. Even the Sorting Hat has inscriptions inside it._

Theo suddenly blew a low whistle, and Draco looked towards him.

"Nice ring," Theo whispered. "It looks quite important."

"It is important," Draco said. "It's the Black Family Signet Ring."

"Really?" Theo eyed the ring. "Shouldn't Lord Black have it, then? Wait… Did he give it to you?"

"No… This was sent from my Aunt," Draco looked back at the ring, and he was quite tempted to keep it. _It's so… alluring._

For a moment, Draco was sure that he saw something swirling within the black gem.

"You're half-Black," Theo remembered. "Still… I figured that Potter would be given such an heirloom."

Draco looked towards Potter, and he quickly pulled his hand behind his back. _I can't let an artifact of our people be handed over to someone who doesn't even respect it. He'd see this ring as just 'Pure-Blood junk'. He won't respect its history._

"He doesn't deserve it," Draco said. "He'd toss it aside."

"Probably," Theo said, and then he put on his Weasley sweater. "Hey, it fits."

"Really?" Draco looked at Theo, who simply shrugged.

"It's cozy, and it has a massive 'T.N' on it," Theo smirked. "Why don't you put yours on? Everyone's doing it." _I'd rather skin my face._

"I'll pass," Draco shot a look towards Davis and Greengrass. _Davis put the sweater on, but Greengrass wants to show off her dress. And why is Weasley grinning at me? Does he want me to put on the sweater? I'm not doing that._

The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and Andromeda Tonks stepped into the Burrow.

"My word…" she almost ran into Lord Greengrass. "Ted, slow-"

Her husband marched in behind her, which caused her to bump into Lord Greengrass.

"A bit packed in here, isn't it?" Edward Tonks laughed, while Andromeda apologized to Lord Greengrass. _That's her. That's the aunt that I've never met before._

Draco couldn't help but notice the similarities between his aunt and his mother, though Aunt Andromeda had light brown hair and softer eyes. _She looks a lot like Aunt Bellatrix' portrait, and she has the Black Family's beauty to boot. That's definitely her._ Her eyes landed on Draco, and a small smile graced her lips. Draco returned her gaze, but he kept his composure in check. _Mother never speaks of her, and it's because she married a Muggle-Born._ Draco looked to the pot-bellied man behind his aunt, and Edward Tonks noticed Draco's staring. He whispered something to his wife, and she gave a nod in response.

"I'm going to head out for a bit," Draco said to Theo. "Let Weasley know, or he'll come looking for me."

"You have a tongue, you do it," Theo said, and Draco drew in a deep breath. _Prick._

Draco shimmied over to the couch, and Weasley stopped his conversation with Davis and Greengrass. _They both just need an excuse to cling to him, don't they? Even Davis… What would Theo think?_

"I need to step out for a bit," Draco told Weasley.

"Is everything all right?" Weasley asked.

"Yes," Draco replied, and then he turned to leave.

"Are you sure?" Weasley asked.

"Ron, don't grill him," Davis said. "Maybe he needs some privacy." _Thank you._

"Oh… Well, let me know if you need anything, Malfoy," Weasley said, and Draco made his way out of the Living Room.

It was pure hard work getting through the excited mob, most of who really needed a break after everything that had happened. _They're all keeping their eyes on Weasley, I can see it._ By the time Draco reached the Kitchen, he was genuinely tired from maneuvering past the other guests. _They should've used the marquee._ Now that he had some space to himself, he looked back at the ring on his hand. _It's a real shame, but I need to return it. It deserves to be on a Black's finger, not mine._

"Do you like it?" came a light voice from behind him, and Draco turned to face his 'missing' aunt. _Should I even speak to her? She's disgraced._

Draco stared at her for a few moments, and she adorned a look of understanding.

"Your mother no doubt told you to never speak to me," Andromeda said. "I can understand your reluctance, I was also raised to avoid 'disgraced' Family members."

"You can have this back," Draco pulled the ring from his finger. "I'm not a Black, and it deserves to stay with its Family."

"Did it fit you?" Andromeda asked, her tone a little brighter now that he had spoken to her.

"It was Charmed to," Draco replied.

"No, it was Charmed to fit on a Black's finger," Andromeda smiled, and Draco looked down at the ring. "You have Black blood in you, and the ring feels it. It's chosen you, just like I hoped."

"Chosen me?" Draco asked.

"It's nothing special, but the ring wants to stay with you," Andromeda explained. "It's yours now, and it will be until you pass it off to another Black. Or in your case, a Malfoy." _My children, you mean._

"Why me?" Draco asked, and Andromeda waited for him to go on. "Why give it to me, and not your own daughter? And why do **you** have it? I thought it was lost during the Great War."

"I stole it when I was banished," Andromeda replied.

"You stole from your own Family?" Draco was genuinely sickened to hear that.

"The very same Family cast me out into the street because I chose to think for myself," Andromeda replied calmly. "That ring always… spoke to me. Ever since I was little, I'd spend hours staring at my uncle's hand. Sirius' father, that is. He promised me this ring for my son, but sadly, life seldom works out like you plan it. I was cast out, and the ring called to me. I stole it before I left, but in the end, I never had a son. It refused my daughter, even, but now, it has a home. I feel quite relieved, truth be told… You've helped me put an end to a painful chapter of my life."

"I… I didn't do anything, though," Draco slid the ring back on. _And it fits._

"And yet, I still feel at peace," Andromeda gave the ring a weak smile.

"Shouldn't Potter have this? Or Sirius Black himself?" Draco asked.

"Sirius already has everything, and he no doubt plans to give it all to Harry," Andromeda said. "This ring should stay with a Black, not a Potter."

Draco nodded in understanding; she was raised to respect heirlooms just as he was. Draco looked her over again, and he realized that she stood with a familiar regality about her. Her hands were joined at her stomach, and she held a strong posture. _She reminds me of mother…_

"You seem upset, Draco," Andromeda said. "Do you still wish to return the ring?"

"No…" Draco replied. "You just remind me of my mother." _The one that your friends have locked away. She's spending Christmas in a prison cell, and I'm over here… Accepting prized heirlooms. I should be looking for ways to liberate her._

"She does take after me," Andromeda said, she was keenly studying his face. "You look a lot like your father, but your mother is there as well. And you have the Black Family's jaw."

"Mother says so," Draco said. "You… Do you know what they've done to her? Surely you don't agree with it… Maybe you can help me-"

"I can't do anything to help her, Draco," Andromeda told him, and Draco felt his stomach sink. _Why did I expect any different?_ "She doesn't want help. My sister would rather live with hate in her heart, even if it means being locked away in an attic. I tried to see her when she was first brought in, but she threw a cup at my head."

Draco looked at the side of her forehead, and there was a tiny scar blemishing her skin.

"I chose to keep the scar as a reminder," Andromeda said. "I am not my sister's keeper, and she has made her own choices just as I have."

"Just because she believes in something different doesn't give you all the right to lock her away," Draco hissed, but Andromeda remained calm and steady.

"If her beliefs are centered around hurting others, then she needs to bear the consequences as well," Andromeda said. "I'm sure that you're in the dark about much of what's happened, and if you want, I can inform you."

"You'd just tell me everything?" Draco asked skeptically.

"I would," Andromeda replied. "Do you want to go outside? We can find a bench to sit on, and I'll tell you everything."

"What do you mean by everything?" Draco asked.

"I mean everything," Andromeda replied. "The tale of my banishment, the tale of your mother marrying your father, and the tale of our parts in the Great War. Do you have the time?"

"Yes," Draco replied immediately. _I'm not giving up the chance to learn more about my mother's imprisonment. Maybe with some information, I can have her set free._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

Ron pushed himself into the bathroom, and the whispers in his mind faded. _Fuck… Did I lose them?_

He had been enjoying the company of his friends and Family, but strange whispers had begun to interrupt his Christmas. At first, he tried to ignore them, but when he heard Poppy Abadie's name amongst the whispers, Ron couldn't stop himself. And so, he had excused himself and chased after the whispers. They had grown louder with each step, but now, they were completely gone.

Ron shut the door behind him, and after locking it; he walked over to the sink. _I'm a fucking nutcase. I mean, who else chases after ominous whispers? It's like I want the Entity to fuck me up._ Ron turned on the tap, and he washed his face with his left hand.

"What are you doing up there?" Ron whispered to himself. "No response… Great…"

As Ron went to turn off the tap, he was jarred into freezing by the sight of his own hand. Sharp black nails had replaced his human nails, and Ron quickly pulled off his glove to look at his right hand. _Motherfucker!_

"What in the… fuck?" Ron stared at his hands. "Not this again… Not now."

He looked at his reflection, and he saw that he was still Ronald Weasley. _Only my nails have changed? What is happening? Go away! Go back to being normal!_ Ron felt immense pressure on his fingernails, and he gaped in awe as the black nails crawled back into his skin. Ron genuinely spluttered in shock and awe, and then, he felt the back of his fingers. _Oh… I can feel them behind the middle joints… EW!_

"Um… Come back?" Ron muttered, and nothing happened. _C'mon, Ron… Don't fucking panic here. Keep calm, and just think._

Ron drew in a few deep breaths, and after shooting a look at the locked door, Ron concentrated on his fingers. _Come out._ Nothing. _Come out, please._ Nothing once again. _**Come out now!**_ The pressure returned, and sharp black nails pushed themselves into view.

"Oh… fuck…" Ron mumbled as he gazed at his hands.

Ron looked back at his reflection, and after a deep breath, he really focused onto it. _Can my eyes change when I want? Well, let's try it._ Ron eyeballed his own reflection, doing his best to change the color of his eyes. After a minute of failing, Ron let out a defeated sigh. _Seriously, what is happening to me? Entity, as much as I hate you, I need some help on this. What the fuck have you done?_

There was no response, and Ron felt his blood boil. _Well, fuck you! Demonic cunt! You've ruined my life!_ Ron turned and cracked his neck, and his fingers snapped back and forth.

" _ **Damn you…**_ " Ron growled, and when he looked back at his reflection, he saw crimson, toad-like eyes. " _ **It worked? Our anger made the change happen?**_ "

It was a surreal feeling… Not only could Ron feel monstrous rage boiling in his veins, but he could also feel a certain kind of clarity. Ron looked back at his hands, and a dagger sharp grin graced his face.

" _ **We are Ronald Weasley,**_ " Ron whispered, and the light bulb above his head exploded.

Ron didn't even flinch. His glowing, demonic eyes illuminated the bathroom slightly, and Ron quickly decided to fix the light bulb before someone showed up.

" _ **Reparo,**_ " Ron waved his wand, and the light bulb quickly fixed itself. " _ **Unbelievable. We're still in control.**_ "

Ron looked back at his reflection, and he felt no fear whatsoever. If anything, he was in awe of what was happening. Never before had he felt like himself whenever the Entity leaked through, but right now, he was feeling quite like himself. Ron closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and then willed himself to return to normal. When he opened his eyes, everything was as it should be. His eyes were sky blue, his teeth were his own, and his fingernails were that of a human being.

"Ron?" came Bill's voice, and Ron nearly screamed.

"I'm taking a shit!" Ron blurted out.

"What the fuck?" came Charlie's laughter.

"Nice of you to be so sharing," Bill chuckled. "We're about to start setting up dinner. Do you want to help?"

"I'll be right there," Ron replied. "Just… Just let me finish, please." _Stop going along with your terrible excuse!_

"Don't tear anything," Charlie wheezed, and Ron heard them both leave.

"Fuck me with a dry turd…" Ron muttered, and then he looked back at his reflection. _Wait… I wonder…_ " _ **Fuck Us with a dry turd…**_ "

Ron barely held back his cackle, this was too much. _Imagine if the Entity said that? Oh, Lord… I'm hilarious!_ Ron straightened up his shoulders, and he gave his reflection an approving nod.

" _ **We will make good use of these,**_ " Ron tapped his claws against the counter top. " _ **And these**_."

Ron's jaw cracked open, revealing a maw of needle sharp teeth. _**Aren't We handsome?**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! A very long Christmas Chapter! Now, we still have the dinner to get through, and I have a bombshell prepared for that. (I'll let you all salivate about that)**

 **Now, a lot of people have been wondering if the story is going to finish at chapter 200, and personally, I don't think so. I don't like rushing through my arcs, nor do I feel the need to follow some form of layout. This is, after all, a fanfiction, and that gives me leeway. The story will finish when I'm done telling all of it! And yes, the Deathly Hallows have a part to play... I really enjoy expanding on the lore of this universe, and I have A LOT in store.**

 **Please, be careful out there, and take care of yourselves. Remember to wash your hands, and to keep your distance from anyone showing flu symptoms. I hope you, and your families, are all in good health.**

 **See you guys in about a week's time!**


	111. Chapter 111 -The Case of Pansy Parkinson

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 111 is finished! I hope you're all safe from the pandemic, and are keeping yourselves busy. I personally am not dealing to well with this isolation shit... Had to move back to my parents', constantly worried for their old asses, plus everything is shut down. Goddamn COVID-19!  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Festering fear consumes the mind' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 111 – The Case of Pansy Parkinson**

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

"It's very beautiful here," Andromeda said as she sat down beside him. "Don't you think so, Draco?"

Draco looked to the orchard, and the setting sun gave it an orange glow that seemed otherworldly. It was quite cold due to the recent rain, but the smell of wet earth more than made up for it. Draco couldn't deny that the Burrow, a place that he had openly mocked more than once, was beautiful. Not as beautiful as his Manor, but still beautiful. _Or rather, the Burrow's surroundings are beautiful. The house itself could use a lot of work._

"You were going to tell me everything," Draco reminded her, and she gave him a soft smile. "What is it?" _Why are you smiling at me like that?_

"I've waited so long to meet you," Andromeda replied, and Draco just stared at her. "I don't love my sisters… But being an Aunt means something to me. When I first learned that you were born, I desperately wished to see you. Just to see what Narcissa's son looked like."

"And?" Draco asked.

"You're very handsome," she smiled more widely, and Draco gave her a slow nod.

"You're not how I imagined you to be," Draco decided to confess.

"And what did you imagine me to be?" Andromeda asked in her smooth voice.

"A fool," Draco replied bluntly, but much to his surprise, Andromeda laughed. "It's just… Mother told me about you once or twice… She painted you as a Blood-Traitor, one who betrayed her Family in its time of need. I thought that you'd be more… temperamental…"

"The only Black sister who is temperamental is Bellatrix," Andromeda said, her posture was immaculate. "Narcissa was always the well behaved one, but she too could get riled up when she felt like she was being left out. As for me… I often struggled to meet the expectations of my parents, and so, I stayed quiet more often than not."

"Tell me more," Draco turned a little towards her. "Please."

Andromeda went to continue, but someone suddenly burst out into the backyard. Draco and Andromeda looked over to see Weasley looking around, and when his eyes landed on Draco, his shoulders relaxed. _I'm perfectly fine, you damn worrywart._

"Pardon my intrusion," Weasley said, his eyes meeting Draco's.

Draco gave him a subtle nod, and Weasley left without another word.

"Siri mentioned that Ronald was looking after you," Andromeda said calmly. "I see that he takes his responsibilities quite seriously."

"Too seriously," Draco felt oddly embarrassed. "Don't let him distract you. Please, go on."

"Of course," she gave him a pleasant smile. "Truth be told, my upbringing was quite similar to yours, so I feel like I can skip all of that."

"Very well," Draco gave an attentive nod.

"The trouble began in my fifth year," Andromeda said. "My father, Cygnus Black, offered my hand in marriage to Corban Yaxley, who was five years my senior. I had, of course, heard of the man. At the time, he was a successful businessman, and despite not knowing him, I felt excited at the prospect of meeting my 'Future Husband'. But when the moment of truth came, I found myself repulsed by his coldness. He simply saw our marriage as part of a deal that my father had with him, and I knew that he'd never love me. That's when I fully began to reject my Family's teachings."

"You had doubts beforehand?" Draco interrupted.

"I did," Andromeda freely admitted. "It was the small things, Draco… Seeing my father strike my mother whenever she spoke out of turn, seeing my entire Family abuse our House-Elves, watching my younger sister spit on a Muggle-Born boy in her class…" _Mother spat on some boy?_ "My mother and father called my empathy weakness, and for a time, I believed them. I tried to be what they wanted, but I couldn't do it in the end. I couldn't bring myself to hate people whom I had never met, nor could I stomach the thought of being beaten by my future husband. Slowly, I began to distance myself from my Family."

"And after Corban Yaxley, you walked away?" Draco asked.

"Not quite," she replied. "I told my father that I didn't want to marry Corban Yaxley, and he was outraged… He threatened to disown me, but I held my ground. Enraged by my defiance, my father beat me in front of my sisters."

Draco shifted in his spot uncomfortably, but he said nothing.

"Bellatrix enjoyed watching me be disciplined, while Narcissa, ever so cold, showed no emotion whatsoever," Andromeda went on, her voice was devoid of any sorrow. "When we returned to Hogwarts, Narcissa told her friends about my affairs. It didn't take long for word to spread, and within a couple of weeks, I found myself isolated. Cygnus Black was a powerful man, and with a Great War looming ever closer, many had already chosen their sides. I was alone, and so very afraid."

"And that is when I met him," Andromeda suddenly smiled. "Edward Tonks, a Hufflepuff seventh year. Late one night, he found me crying alone in a classroom. He was a Prefect, you see, and instead of telling me to return to my dormitory, he offered me a Chocolate Frog from his robes. I was… baffled…"

"Baffled?" Draco asked. "He sounds like the perfect Hufflepuff stereotype to me."

"At the time, there was brutal animosity between the Houses," Andromeda explained. "Rumors of a powerful wizard were everywhere, and many were flocking to his cause."

"The Dark Lord…" Draco swallowed thickly; even thinking of the notorious wizard scared him a little.

"He was recruiting Slytherins from the shadows, but for what, no one knew for certain," Andromeda said. "Well, everyone knew… But no one could do anything to stop him. He was a ghost. Most of the World didn't think much of him back then, but it was said that once you spoke to him, you came to worship him. My mother and father spoke to him, and I promise you, they were never the same. They were full of vigor, but at the same time, they were deathly afraid."

"Did you ever meet him?" Draco interrupted, and then he quickly bit his cheek. "I'm sorry for interrupting… I'll just listen."

"I never met him, but I was still terrified of him," Andromeda didn't look offended whatsoever. "Suffice it to say, Slytherin House was not very popular back in my day." _We're still not popular._ "Don't get me wrong, we deserved much of the hate that we received. After all, my Housemates were so emboldened by the Dark Lord's cause that they openly threatened to hurt Muggle-Borns… But not all of us thought like that… Anyway, I expected this Muggle-Born Prefect to look at my green robes, and be nothing but vindictive, but he was anything but. He was kind, and he spoke softly to me. He asked me why I was crying alone, and although I refused to tell him, he remained patient with me."

"That night marked the start of our nightly meetings," Andromeda smiled nostalgically. "I had no friends during the day, but at night, I had a kind and funny boy who made me laugh and helped me with my homework. I fell head over heels for him, and being a Black, I confessed to him resolutely. He felt the same way, and we promised to find each other after I graduated."

"You must've known what that really meant, right?" Draco asked. "You'd be burned off of the Black Wall… You'd be disgraced…"

"I did know, but I wasn't afraid anymore," Andromeda replied.

"Why?" Draco couldn't fathom her logic.

"You've never been in love, have you?" she smiled, and Draco blinked at her. "I was so alone, and then, I wasn't. I couldn't stop thinking of him, and when he left Hogwarts, we stayed in touch via owls. Every morning, I'd run to the Owlery in order to look for his owl, and whenever I saw it, I'd read his letters right then and there. He was everything to me, and those letters made me feel like I mattered to someone."

"You never made friends after…" Draco trailed off.

"I tried, but like I said earlier, I couldn't fit in," Andromeda replied. "After Teddy, I couldn't stomach the thought of hurting others like him. If anything, I felt the urge to protect the scared children who had traveled so far from home in order to study Magic."

"Scared?" Draco asked, and then he realized her meaning. "The Great War…"

"By the time I graduated, it was upon us," Andromeda said calmly. "People were going missing in the night, and dead Muggle-Borns were turning up by the dozens. The Ministry tried to keep everything under control, but it was impossible. Every time I read the Daily Prophet, my heart would ache from fear. The day after I graduated, I met my Teddy again. I snuck out of the house in the dead of night, and we found each other in Muggle London. Do you know what he did when he saw me?" _Do I want to know?_ "He asked if I was safe from the war… People like him were dying all over England, but his only fear was that I was being mistreated by my Family."

"We spent half a year meeting in secret, but eventually, my mother caught onto my nightly disappearances," Andromeda continued. "Once again, I was beaten by my father, and this time, he vowed to kill me if I continued to defy him."

"Kill you?" Draco couldn't help but ask.

"He was afraid, Draco," Andromeda said in understanding. "His Master was not one to forget, or forgive… They were all terrified of him, even those who worshiped him."

"How did you end up marrying Edward Tonks?" Draco asked.

"I packed my essentials, stole the ring on your hand, and made my escape," Andromeda replied. "And I never looked back."

"Where does my mother fit into all of this?" Draco asked.

"A year after my marriage, I received a letter from Narcissa," Andromeda replied, and Draco leaned closer. "In the letter, she told me that she needed my help-"

"Help?" Draco interrupted, and Andromeda gave him a soft smile. "Sorry…"

"At first, I was skeptical, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt the urge to help her," Andromeda went on. "She wished to escape her life, just as I had, and despite Teddy's warnings, I contacted my little sister. We arranged to meet in Muggle London, but when Teddy and I got there, Narcissa was nowhere to be found. Instead, my elder sister met us… Bellatrix."

"This doesn't make any sense…" Draco shook his head. "My mother loves my father more than anything. Well, almost anything." _I'm the one person who my mother loves beyond all else, she's told me so herself._

"I didn't know that," Andromeda said. "I saw her handwriting, and I read her desperate words… I was consumed with the need to protect my little sister, but she had set me up."

Draco felt the urge to call his Aunt a liar, but her calm and collected tone told him that she was telling the truth.

"Teddy was their real target," Andromeda said. "I was simply there to watch him die. From what Bellatrix told me, Narcissa had promised the Dark Lord a death. It was… an initiation of sorts… A way for him to make sure that those who followed him were loyal."

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Draco asked, unable to hide some of his bitterness.

"I still have her letter," Andromeda replied, and Draco's stomach tightened. "I know this is hard for you, Draco. She is your mother, and judging by your loyalty to her, I can tell that she is a good mother to you. But the truth is the truth, whether it stings or not. My little sister offered my husband's life to a monster, and if it hadn't been for the Order, we'd both be dead."

"The Order?" Draco all but whispered.

"Teddy, thank the Gods, didn't trust Narcissa whatsoever," Andromeda explained. "He turned to the only person worth turning to at the time… Albus Dumbledore. Unbeknownst to me, several Order members had followed Teddy and I from our house. Teddy had even insisted on walking there, but I was too preoccupied to question his motives. We barely made it out of there alive, and once we had, I was left heartbroken. What little love I had left for my sisters was now gone, and I vowed to protect my husband from them at all costs."

"You joined the Order?" Draco figured.

"Not quite," Andromeda replied. "Teddy and I offered our aid, of course, but neither of us were ready to fight on the frontlines. We joined one of the Order's safe houses, and we did whatever was needed of us."

"Wait…" Draco stopped her. "There's one part of your story that makes no sense… You said that my mother offered your husband's life to the Dark Lord, but he didn't die…"

"Draco, Teddy wasn't the only Muggle-Born out there," Andromeda said with a meaningful look, and Draco shifted in his spot again. _She offered another… sacrifice?_

He didn't know how he felt about that. He loved his mother more than he loved anyone else, but right now, he felt like he knew nothing about her. _Would she really offer someone else's life for her beliefs?_ Draco knew the answer to that, and he couldn't avoid it even if he tried. Slowly, his hands found his face, and Draco released a shaky breath into his palms. _Her own sister's husband, though? If this is true, then I don't know what to think anymore. All those lessons on how righteous our beliefs are, but she attempted to take away her own sister's husband. And Aunt Andromeda… She openly risked her life for mother, and treachery was her reward._

"Draco," came his Aunt's voice, and Draco pulled his hands away from his face.

She looked worried for him, but he found it difficult to meet her eyes. She sensed his shame, and much to his surprise, she slowly reached out for him. Once upon a time, he'd have slapped her hand away from him in disgust, but now, all he could do was tense a little. Her soft hand tentatively touched his cheek, and once she was certain that he wouldn't resist, she stroked his cheekbone with her thumb.

"Why did you want to meet me?" Draco all but whispered. "If mother really did betray you in such a manner… You should hate me…"

"You are not your mother, Draco," Andromeda replied, and Draco felt his throat tighten. "What happened between Narcissa and I has nothing to do with you. After all, you weren't even born yet."

"But I'm **her** son…" Draco muttered.

"There are only three people in the World whom I can call my Family," Andromeda smiled lovingly. "Siri, my daughter, and my husband… You can be the fourth, Draco. That's why I wanted to meet you. Family means everything to me, despite being 'disgraced'."

Draco once again averted his gaze, and when she pulled her hand away from his cheek, he found himself missing its warmth. _She looks so much like mother… For a moment, I could pretend like it was her hand on my cheek…_

"Teddy and I have been talking, and if you want, you can come stay with us for the remainder of the Break," Andromeda offered, and for the first time since meeting her, he heard uncertainty in her voice.

"Stay with you?" Draco looked at her.

"I would like to get to know you better, nephew," Andromeda smiled a little. "It's entirely up to you, but if you do decide to come with us, it would mean a lot to me."

"And your husband?" Draco couldn't help but ask.

"It was his idea," Andromeda's smile widened.

"It was?"

"Once you spend some time with him, you'll understand," Andromeda said. "He is still the very same man who stole my heart."

Draco looked down at his feet, and after drawing in a deep breath, he looked back to her.

"Where do you live?" he asked. "In Muggle London?"

"No, we live in Cornwall now," Andromeda replied, looking almost hopeful. _Cornwall? So right at the bottom of England._

"Can… Can I have some time to think about it?" Draco asked.

"Of course," she smiled. "Take as much time as-"

She was cut off by the sound of people marching into the backyard, and they both looked to see the children heading towards the marquee. Most of them ignored Andromeda and Draco, with the exception of Weasley, whose pale blue eyes lingered on Andromeda.

"Does he always keep his eyes on you?" Andromeda asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he doesn't mean anything bad by it," Draco sighed out. "He can be… overprotective…"

"Overprotective?" she smiled an amused smile. "Well, it's good that you have a friend like him."

"He's not my-" Draco started harshly, but he quickly stopped himself. _Control your emotions, Draco._ "The others are helping set up… I should join them…"

"I understand," Andromeda stood up, and Draco followed suit. "We'll talk again soon, Draco."

Draco gave a nod, and then he left to go join the others. In truth, he didn't want to help set up… He just needed time to think, and since everyone his age ignored him, being around them was the most logical choice.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

His siblings, and the others, were eagerly using their wands for everything. The twins were mostly fucking around while the others set everything up, and Ron figured that they had missed their wands dearly. He was quite content right now, but at the same time, he could feel eyes on him.

His siblings had taken the news of his health much better than he had thought, and a part of him understood that he probably hadn't given them enough credit, but at the same time, he knew how worried they were. Percy had yet to speak a single word to anyone, Ginny kept shooting him unsubtle looks, and the twins lost some of their laughter whenever they saw him. Ron knew that he was on their mind, and the only reason why they weren't cornering him was because Bill and Charlie had ordered them not to.

"Stop staring off into space, and help us," Tracey said as she smacked his arse.

"If Daphne saw that, you're going to lose your hand," Ron smirked at her, and she quickly looked over to Daphne. _She's too busy keeping an eye on Tori._

"Looks like I'll be keeping my hand," Tracey smiled at him. "Were you tensing, by the way? Your arse kind of hurt my hand."

"It's all muscle," Ron said rather smugly, and Tracey's smile turned into a grin.

"I'll have to try smacking it again," Tracey said. "Just to be sure."

"Mind if I ask where the sexual harassment is coming from?" Ron asked, and Tracey sniggered.

"It's only sexual harassment if you don't like it," Tracey teased, and then she studied his smile. "Yeah, you don't look very bothered to me."

"What's on your mind, Trace?" Ron asked, and her grin faltered. _Yeah, something's definitely on her mind._

"You're way too serious," she suddenly blew raspberries, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Fine… I just noticed that Daphne's acting a little off ever since you two disappeared." _Meeting the Squib children overwhelmed her._ "You didn't fight, did you?"

"You're worried about her," Ron nodded in understanding.

"Not just her," Tracey said. "Look, I've spent all day being entertained by your odd antics, but truth be told, I…" she paused. "I was really scared for you."

Ron could see that she was feeling a little out of her element, and he decided to put his jokes aside for a moment. _She usually doesn't take things seriously, but I can't forget that she's capable of worrying. If the same had happened to her, I'd be restless._ Ron took her left hand with his gloved one, and he kissed her knuckles.

"I'm not hurt anymore, Tracey," Ron smiled, and she gave him a weak nod.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure," Ron replied.

"I'll hold you to that," Tracey looked a little relieved. "I love you."

"And I love you," Ron said affectionately, and she smiled at him.

"Theo's worried as well," Tracey whispered. "He says that blokes don't talk about their feelings, but if you could just say something to him, I'd really appreciate it. He doesn't want to worry you, I think."

"I'll talk to him," Ron promised, and then he let go of her hand.

"I should get back to work," Tracey shook her head clear. "Theo's out in the garden with Neville."

"Neville?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Tracey rolled her eyes as she sauntered off with a smile. _Harry and Hermione are helping Bill with the chairs, so I wonder what Neville is doing in the garden with Theo._

His curiosity piqued, Ron made his way out of the marquee. He managed all of three steps outside before he heard someone follow him out.

"Are you leaving?" Fred asked, and Ron turned around to face him.

"Just heading to the garden in order to speak to Theo," Ron replied, and Fred nodded slowly.

"You sure that you're all right?" Fred asked. "I'm not trying to sound like a broken record, but you were just staring off into space just before…" _I was observing the atmosphere._

"I was just thinking about dinner," Ron said. "I promise, I'm feeling much more like myself again."

"Okay," Fred said, and then he slowly headed back inside the marquee.

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he restarted his journey. It took only a few seconds to enter the garden, and he quickly spotted Theo and Neville having an intense discussion about the state of the garden.

"The soil is fine, but the fertilizer used is subpar," Theo noted as he sniffed the dirt in his hand, and Ron grimaced a little. _Is he smelling shit? Gross._

"You know, building a Greenhouse is quite cheap," Neville added. "If the Weasleys save up a little, they could double their produce."

"Ahem," Ron made himself known, and both boys quickly turned to face him. "Maybe you two ought to speak to mum about your ideas? She loves gardening."

"We wouldn't want to overstep," Neville said, while Theo cleaned the dirt from his hand.

"She's done a decent job with the resources she has," Theo said. "I reckon if you help her, she could easily grow all the food for your Family from this garden."

"One step at a time," Ron smiled at the fence around them. "Neville, mind if I steal Theo off of you?"

"Oh, no worries," Neville replied, and then he gave Theo a parting nod before walking off towards the marquee.

Once Neville was completely out of sight, Ron approached his skinny friend with a smile.

"What's on your mind, mate?" Theo asked, his eyes darting towards Ron's lips. "You're smiling a lot…"

"Is that a crime?" Ron chuckled.

"No, it's nice," Theo shrugged. "I just figured that with your siblings constantly following you around, you'd be far more tense."

"They're not hounding me like I thought they would," Ron said, and Theo looked at something behind him.

Ron shot a quick look back, and he spotted the twins having a conversation outside the marquee.

"They were watching you," Theo said, and Ron looked back forward. _Merlin, even the twins are trying to be protective. I wonder how long they'll be able to hold back before they start ignoring Bill and Charlie's orders._

"I wonder how they'd react if I just started hiding," Ron said.

"I would advise you not to do that," Theo smirked. "Even Ginevra seems rather worried for you, so I can't even imagine how the rest of your siblings feel."

"You make it sound like Ginny hates me," Ron noted.

"Are you forgetting who healed your face before the Gala?" Theo asked. _He's got a point there._

"She's… troubled…" Ron said, and Theo rolled his eyes.

"You really do let her walk all over you," Theo said, and Ron shrugged.

"At the end of the day, I will always look out for her," Ron admitted. _My sister, my responsibility._ "Anyway… I wanted to speak to you."

"About what?" Theo asked.

"I don't know how to start, so I'll just go ahead and say it," Ron replied. "I know you're worried about me, but I promise, Theo, I'm doing much better. I'm not in any pain."

"Fucking Tracey…" Theo sighed out. "Can't tell girls anything without them making mountains out of mole-hills."

"Are you worried?" Ron asked, and Theo gave a hesitant nod. "Then she did the right thing by telling me. You can always talk to me, brother, you know that."

"I know you don't like being hounded," Theo said uncomfortably. "Plus, I'm not really good at… **this** …"

"Neither am I," Ron said. "But still… I'd rather you hound me a little instead of worrying by your lonesome."

"Okay," Theo said, and then he looked Ron over. "You do look much better now, even I have to admit that. Just… Try and take it easy, yeah? I don't want to tell you what to do, but I also don't want to see you on that Potion again."

"I thought I was good company on that Potion," Ron said.

"You were hilarious, yes… But… You weren't you," Theo scratched the back of his neck. "I prefer you being you…" _He's really not comfortable speaking about this, is he? Well, truth be told, neither am I. Not completely, anyway._

"I understand," Ron said, and Theo gave him a conclusive nod.

"Do we hug now?" Theo joked, clearly trying to lessen the awkwardness.

"We can, if you want," Ron smirked, and Theo gave him an odd look. _I don't really mind hugging him. I mean, I've gotten used to physical contact with my friends because of how often the girls latch onto me._

"Some other time…" Theo shook his head clear. _Wait… Did he want a hug? Is he embarrassed?_ "I'm going to go find Longbottom… We were discussing seasonal plants just before, and I reckon I could learn a thing or two from him."

"You two seem to be getting along well," Ron said.

"He's… not as bad as I thought he was," Theo shrugged. "If anything, he's quite relaxing to be around, you know?"

"He doesn't care much for House rivalry," Ron nodded his agreement. _Anymore, that is._ "Well, don't let me keep you. I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page."

"Just take it easy, mate," Theo patted Ron's arm, and then he walked off towards the marquee.

* * *

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Night)**_

"Mind if I join you Ladies?" Ron asked as he stopped behind Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom, both of who were sitting away from the other adults.

The dinner had been going excellently for the most part, and the moment Ron had spotted Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom talking alone, he had decided to approach them. The other guests were enjoying their meals and conversations, but Ron's mind was fixed on more important matters. It was time to convince two more Families to join his coalition.

"Certainly, Ronald," Lady Longbottom gave a curt nod, while Muriel inspected his face.

Ron pulled up a nearby chair via Wandless, Non-Verbal Summoning Charm, and then he sat down with the old witches.

"How are you enjoying the night so far?" Ron asked.

"Spare us the boring pleasantries, boy," Muriel frowned a bit. "I've noticed you watching us like a hawk."

Lady Longbottom kept her eyes on Ron, who quickly decided to adapt to Aunt Muriel's demands. _I can't let them think that I'm easily rattled. Lady Longbottom already knows that I'm capable, but Aunt Muriel is a far less forgiving individual._

"I was hoping to run an idea by you two," Ron straightened his back. "Lately, I've been thinking about what happened with the French-"

"The Half-Breeds, you mean," Muriel sneered. _Don't smack her, Ron. She's a bitter hag, and you know that already. Focus._

"Muriel tells me that you were behind Poppy Abadie's incarceration," Lady Longbottom's lips quirked up for a moment. "Well? Is it true?"

"She crossed me, and I did what was necessary," Ron felt no guilt over Lady Abadie's fate. "The French are still in play, and the next time they plot against me, they'll think about Lady Abadie's situation."

"See, Augusta," Muriel said coldly. "The boy thinks that he's won already…"

"I have won," Ron said, but the two witches didn't look convinced. _Should I let them in on the secret? No… Confessing to murder is foolish. They might be my allies right now, but Merlin knows that I've been betrayed before. No more risks._ "And even if Lady Abadie is set free, I don't plan to let her plot against me. I have already begun making preparations against such a scenario."

"What preparations?" Muriel asked.

"By the time she gets set free, I'll have turned the French against her," Ron stated. "The French Ministry is already besmirching her reputation in order to look like the good guys, while her closest allies have turned on her for their own safety. As for Christina Couture, Abadie's most loyal follower, she is currently locked away in her parents' estate. Lady Abadie and her husband have no one left in their corner, whereas I have everyone. Well… Almost everyone."

"It sounds like you're about to arrive at your point," Muriel said. "Well? Go on."

"Corban Yaxley's interruption has given me a lot to think about," Ron said. "He defeated me, and as much as I hate to admit it, he did it rather spectacularly."

"You sound like he impressed you," Lady Longbottom cocked an eyebrow. _Well, he did… He might be a Death-Eater dog, but he's an intelligent Death-Eater dog._

"He did… As did his allies," Ron said. "I have come to realize that I can't enter politics without powerful allies backing me up. I made the mistake of thinking that I could maneuver the Ministry as I maneuver Slytherin House, but that proved to be idiotic."

"What about your French allies?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"Trusting foreigners to do what's best for Britain was also not very smart," Ron admitted, and both witches gave him a nod. "I need **British** allies."

"Well, the Longbottom Family is forever your friend, Ronald," Lady Longbottom had not forgotten her promise. "We are eternal friends, are we not?" _I love this woman._

"We are," Ron smiled, and then he looked to Muriel. "And we share Blood, Auntie. Can I rely on you as well?"

"Only if you elaborate on your plans," Muriel replied. "So far, you have done little to impress me." _Really? I know the French fucked me over, and I lost to Yaxley, but still… I've done plenty of amazing things. Tough witch to please, isn't she?_

"My plans are simple," Ron started. "There are Old Families in Magical Britain who have learned to become more tolerant of others, and in doing so, have helped create a place for new blood. Sadly, however, these Families are not as organized as their counterparts."

"You wish to create your own alliance?" Lady Longbottom looked quite interested all of a sudden.

"Corban Yaxley defeated me because he wasn't alone," Ron became dead serious. "He had the most powerful people in Britain by his side, and I understand now that I can't beat him without help. I am not invulnerable, nor do I have any experience in this game. But there are many out there that do, and they share my beliefs as well. It is only logical that we pool our resources, and come together."

"For what purpose?" Muriel asked.

"To control England," Ron replied bluntly. "Our enemies have ruled for long enough, and it's past time that they were knocked off of their perch. If we can all come together, and **win** … We could change how this country operates."

"Let me guess…" Muriel said dully. "You plan to turn Britain into a 'tolerant society'?" _She's not like Lady Longbottom, or the Fawleys… She's more like Yaxley's lot. I need to be careful with this woman. She could fuck this all up for me._

"And what's so wrong with that?" Ron asked. "What's wrong with thinking about the wellbeing of others before your own?"

"This is idealistic chatter," Muriel said to Lady Longbottom, who simply watched Ron intently.

"Lady Longbottom…" Ron looked to the old witch. "I was eleven when I risked my life for your Grandson, and I didn't do it for a reward. I felt that he needed my help, and without a second thought, I found myself facing a Mountain Troll. I did what I did because Neville is my friend. **That** is what comes from thinking of others. If I had decided to save my own skin, or to not risk my life for a **Gryffindor** , he might have lost his life that night." _He definitely would have. I still thank the Gods to this day that I made it there in time. My Cycle could've ended that fucking night._

"He speaks the truth, Muriel," Lady Longbottom looked to her friend. "If he had acted selfishly, I would have lost everything."

"Two powerful Families like yours could do a lot more for this World than I ever could," Ron said, though it stung to admit to such a thing. _Don't let pride blind you, Ron. You've paid dearly for it in the past._ "I have spoken to the Fawleys about this alliance of mine as well, and they have shown great interest in it."

"Have they?" Lady Longbottom asked, while Muriel looked curious.

"Why?" Muriel asked.

"Look around you, Auntie," Ron said. "Who do you see here?"

Muriel and Lady Longbottom subtly looked around the busy marquee, and then they looked back to Ron.

"Powerful individuals," Muriel said. "The richest man in Magical Europe, the last Black, Harry Potter, and far too many heirs."

"Even Draco Malfoy is here," Lady Longbottom said.

"They are my friends," Ron told them. "For the last three years, I've been doing my best to make them think like we do, and in complete honesty, many of them have changed so much in that time. But don't think that this is as far as my influence has spread… I **own** Slytherin House. When I speak, even the proudest heirs listen. I am in a unique position to influence the next generation, and I've been doing just that. This alliance that I'm proposing… It doesn't just end when we're gone. It will continue for centuries. I'll make damn sure of it."

Lady Longbottom exchanged an odd look with Aunt Muriel at that, and Ron decided to halt his prepared speech. _Something's off… Lady Longbottom suddenly looks… conflicted…_

"Ronald," Lady Longbottom looked back to him. "What you're suggesting is… bold, to say the least, but even still, I cannot deny the allure of creating such an alliance. It has never been done before, and if we do become as organized as our enemies, we stand a better chance at turning the tide."

"Augusta, stop beating around the bush," Muriel frowned, and then she looked into Ron's eyes. "Boy, you are ill, and we both know it." _Fuck! No… Don't panic, Ron. You prepared for this._ "I have told Augusta about your state during the day, and neither of us want a partner who will clock out when the going gets tough."

"Muriel…" Lady Longbottom looked a little displeased.

"He wants to create an alliance that will directly challenge the authority of all those who are in charge, which means that we could all be facing grave danger for years," Muriel held her ground. "I want to know about this illness of his, and how it will impact this alliance. It is only fair that he tells us everything before asking us to endanger our Bloodlines for **his** cause."

For a moment, Ron felt the urge to break Muriel's neck, but in the end, he decided that she wasn't wrong to want some assurances. _I'd want the same thing in her shoes, wouldn't I? Damn… How much do I tell them?_

"I am ill," Ron admitted, and both witches listened intently. "And I don't have much time left. Maybe a decade, if I'm really lucky."

"What is this illness that you have?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron was quite surprised by their composure. _They both look unfazed… These old birds are tough; I'll give them that._

"Brain Damage caused by physical trauma," Ron replied, making sure that no one was listening in. "I'm sure that you've both heard about my coma…" They both nodded. "I attempted a Dark Spell, and it backfired on me. I was left… shattered…"

"Dark Spell?" Muriel asked. _I can't throw the old man under the bus, not when the Order needs every recruit it can find. Just let go of your wants, Ron… Think about the grand scheme of things._

"I was arrogant, and foolish," Ron said, something which was actually true. _I honestly thought I'd just slip past the defenses, destroy the Stone, and then leave without anyone being the wiser. Complete fucking idiot._ "My foolishness has hurt far more people than myself, but I am resolved to keep moving forward. Until my body gives out, I will fight for what I believe in." _I'll complete my Cycle._

"Let's say that we build this alliance of yours…" Muriel started; she still looked unfazed. "What then? Hm? You could pass away well before we accomplish anything of note, and it will all fall apart."

"It won't," Ron said. "I am not electing myself as the leader of this alliance… I am only thirteen, and like I said, I know now that I have no experience in this game. I want to bring together like-minded Families, and once that's done, we will work as a team. My passing will bring setbacks, of course, but none that would cripple the alliance."

A small part of him wasn't happy about his plan to just be a member, but Ron was doing his best with the cards that were dealt to him. It was foolish to want to lead a group of people into danger when one's time was limited, and even he understood that if he became leader and then died, the alliance wouldn't last long. This alliance had to be a democracy, or it would fall apart after his death.

"You have my sympathies, Ronald," Lady Longbottom said. "I can see that you have a clear understanding of your situation, and I will help you because of that." _Thank the Gods…_ "Does my Grandson know about your illness?"

"He does," Ron replied.

"You told him yourself?" Lady Longbottom asked, and Ron shot a look towards Neville.

He was currently sitting with the Trio, all of them laughing loudly as the twins put on a comedy act. _If I tell her the truth, she will drag him out of here for breaking her promise to me once again. Harry and Hermione were the primary culprits behind that whole mess, and I don't want to see Neville pay for that. What do I say?_

"He learned the truth on his own, but upon my request, he chose to keep it all a secret," Ron finally spoke. "He has been a loyal friend to me." _What you want doesn't matter, Ron… You're not as important as Harry and his friends… One day, Harry will lead the Order, and these people need to respect him. I can't afford to turn anyone against the Trio, even if I want to see some semblance of justice._

"I am glad to hear it," Lady Longbottom gave a semblance of a smile. "Which Families do you have in mind?"

"All the Families inside this marquee," Ron started. "The Fawleys, the Shafiqs, the Abbots, the Macmillans, the Shacklebolts, and Barty Crouch Snr."

"A strong force, then," Muriel finally looked a little convinced. "As you are my Blood, I have a duty to help you in this endeavor. The Prewett Family will stand by you."

Ron felt his shoulders relax; it was as if a great burden had been lifted.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Boy, escort me to the fireplace," Muriel barged into his conversation with Bill. _She smells of sherry. Why do the adults always drink so much at these events? Even mum is slightly drunk right now._

"Of course, Auntie," Ron said, while Bill frowned at the old witch's rudeness. "Bill, can we continue this talk after I return?" _I want to give you your cufflinks._

"Sure, Ron," Bill replied, his eyes fixed on Muriel.

Ron and Muriel left at that, and it wasn't until they had stepped out into the cold night that Ron realized that Lady Longbottom was still inside.

"Isn't it a little early to go home?" Ron asked as they walked towards the Burrow.

"I have had my fill of obnoxious laughter," Muriel replied. _Obnoxious laughter? You mean people enjoying Christmas?_

"What of Lady Longbottom?" Ron asked.

"She plans to retire soon, but not before speaking with Sebastian Greengrass about overseas businesses," Muriel replied. _Really?_ "I personally cannot stomach the sight of that hollow man, but even I can't deny that his skill in growing businesses is unparalleled."

"He's more than he seems at first," Ron felt the urge to say. _My Mentor is not 'hollow'. He can be cold, sure, but he has been nothing but good to me._

Both of them settled into a peaceful silence, and once they were inside the Burrow, Muriel broke that silence.

"You did well tonight, boy," Muriel said as they entered the Living Room.

"What did I do well in?" Ron asked, slightly surprised by her words.

"I am not completely oblivious," Muriel turned to face him. "Fate has dealt you an unfair hand, but the way you spoke to Augusta and myself… It showed strength. Real strength." _Oh._

"Thank you," Ron didn't know what else to say. _She's definitely drunk. I don't think she's ever complimented me before._

"I know that I've already agreed to help you, but I also need your help with something," Muriel said.

"Go on," Ron said.

"My main reason for coming tonight wasn't because you invited me," Muriel started. "I wished to speak to you about a… personal… matter. As you know, the Prewett Family has no heirs left. Your mother shunned her heritage, and both Fabian and Gideon are long dead. The Prewett Family Name is on the verge of going extinct."

"Where do I come in?" Ron asked, his mind racing.

"Recently, I received a letter from the States," Muriel replied. "Has your mother informed you of our most recent Squib?" _She made the word 'Squib' sound like a disease…_

"Her second cousin?" Ron asked, and Muriel gave a nod.

"He was banished from England, where he married some Muggle woman… His daughter has been showing signs of Magic," Muriel said. " **Powerful** signs, Ronald. She is only ten, and she can already summon small objects Wandlessly." _What?_ "It was she who sent me the letter."

"She wishes to come live with you?" Ron asked, and Muriel gave a nod.

"Her father kept the Family Name, despite my orders," Muriel sneered a little. "Mafalda Prewett wishes to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry instead of attending Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"This is good news, isn't it?" Ron asked. "Just as the Prewett Family Name was in danger, a young new heir has appeared to save it."

"It is good news, which is why I'm willing to overlook her Muggle parentage," Muriel said, and Ron bit his cheek. _It's like I'm talking to a Death-Eater… Ignore it, Ron._ "In her letter, she attempted to impress me with her knowledge of the Wizarding World. As it turns out, she's a studious girl. When her father informed her about her Magic, she took it upon herself to learn everything she could about the Wizarding World. This eventually led her to you."

"Me?" Ron asked.

"You are legend, boy," Muriel stated. "Fifty Veelas couldn't penetrate your mind, and the Professors of Hogwarts have declared you a Prodigy. Not to mention your success in Wizarding Chess, or your latest Diplomat status. Mafalda seems quite… taken… with you. She asked me to let her stay at the Prewett Estate, and after some back and forth with her parents, we've all come to an agreement. She may attend Hogwarts, and even live with me, but only if you treat her as your kin at Hogwarts. Her mother and father don't want her to study abroad at the age of eleven, and they'd sleep easier if a responsible young man looked after their daughter. Especially if said young man did indeed share Blood with her."

"And this was all her idea?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Muriel replied. "She's a clever girl. By convincing her parents that you'd look after her, she's made sure that she can study under you." _A ten year old can't think that far ahead… Wait, I usually think that far ahead. This girl sounds troublesome, and with the war approaching, I should refuse. She's safer in the States._

"Is your help in my cause tied to this?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Muriel replied. _Motherfucking fuck! Another person to look after…_

"Then I accept," Ron agreed, deciding that the Prewett Family was necessary for his plans to work.

"Good, I will relay this to Mafalda," Muriel said, and then she walked over to the fireplace.

While she readied the floo, Ron fought the urge to rub his forehead. He didn't want to endanger this girl by letting her come to Britain, but at the same time, he needed Muriel's help. _I will do my absolute to protect this girl. I know that the right thing to do is to refuse Muriel, but without her help, my plans will take much longer to implement._

"You may return to your Family," Muriel said as she finished up.

"Take care, Auntie," Ron turned to leave.

"Boy…" Muriel suddenly said, and Ron turned to face her. "I am sorry about your health."

Ron blinked at her, but before he could say anything, she stepped through the fire. _She sounded very genuine… I don't know how I feel about that. Could it be that she's not completely frozen inside?_ Ron fixed his suit jacket into place, and he decided to return to the marquee. _I just need to catch Bill away from the others, and then give him his emerald cufflinks. I'm sure he'll love them._

Ron began making his way out of the Burrow, but he stopped when he saw Daphne sneaking into the Kitchen with a plate of food. Ron's face immediately split into a smile, he had been waiting for this moment all fucking night. _Bill can fuck right off; I'm eating an actual meal first._

"There you are," Daphne breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him. "I went to the outhouse, Ron, but you weren't there…"

"Aunt Muriel wanted to speak to me," Ron explained, his eyes fixed on the plate. _Sunday roast with gravy, turkey with cranberry sauce, stuffing, roast potatoes, and one of mum's mince pies… I fucking love this witch!_

"It's probably not enough to fill you up, but it's the best I could do," Daphne stepped further into the Kitchen.

"I love you," Ron slurred, his eyes still fixed on the food.

"Are you talking to me, or the food?" Daphne giggled.

"Let's go to my room," Ron said quickly. "The others might notice that we're both missing, so time is of the essence."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Ron all but inhaled the last bit of the pie, while Daphne stared at the empty plate with wide-eyes. _Good Lord, I could die happy right now. That was so fucking gooooood._ Ron let out a long exhale, and then he cleaned his teeth with his tongue. _Mum needs to open a restaurant so more people can taste her cooking._ Ron moved the empty plate off of his bed, and then he looked to his girlfriend.

"I can't thank you enough for this, Daph," Ron gave her a loving smile. "You really are the best." _I mean that._

"I… Thanks…" Daphne's lips twitched upwards, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I feel a little guilty doing this, but you look like you really needed it."

"You have no idea," Ron all but purred. "I've been so hungry all day."

Daphne shifted a little in her spot, while Ron stretched his back and shoulders. _I wish I had more, but I can't ask Daphne to risk herself again. Mum would be furious with her if she got caught._

"Can you hide this in here somewhere?" Daphne suddenly asked, and Ron realized that she had mistletoe in her hand.

"Um… Daph… Why do you have mistletoe in your hand?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, and Daphne seemed to shrink a little.

"Please, just hide it," Daphne whispered, and Ron felt his curiosity grow.

"I'll hide it," Ron slowly took the mistletoe from her, and she gave him a meek nod. _Is she embarrassed? Also, why does she even have this on her?_ "You know you can tell me everything, right? We always tell each other everything."

"It's embarrassing, and I'm not particularly proud of this," Daphne sighed out, and then she looked into his eyes. "Promise me that you won't laugh, Ron…"

"I won't laugh, I promise," Ron said, and Daphne once again shifted a little.

"I saw Lord Black hang this up, and Tracey was with me…" Daphne started slowly. "She… She egged me on, Ron…"

"Daph, just tell me what happened," Ron gave a comforting smile.

"She asked me what I'd do if she and you stepped under the mistletoe…" Daphne looked down at her lap with a grouchy look. _Tracey… Really?_ "At first, I ignored her, but I could tell that she'd kiss you… She even mentioned that Pansy's done it before, so it wouldn't be that bad… She said that it'd just be a peck between friends… She was making excuses to get away with it, Ron…" _She was trying to annoy you._

Ron didn't need to hear the rest to know what had happened.

"And then…" Daphne looked up, a slightly angry look on her face. "Bloody Granger walks up and asks if anyone's seen you… I couldn't take it." _Knowing Hermione, she's just fussing over my whereabouts like everyone else._ "They… They **all** want to get you under that **stupid** mistletoe. Even Tori wore that **stupid** dress today to impress you." _And she's spiraling with jealous anger now_

Ron threw the mistletoe behind his desk, and Daphne stopped her angry rant abruptly.

"There," Ron said. "No one is getting me under that now."

Daphne looked between his desk and him, and then she mentally chided herself.

"I'm being crazy…" Daphne muttered as she looked down at her lap again.

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, and Ron couldn't help but feel a little bad for her. _She's had a long day because of the Orphanage visit, and we've barely spent any time alone today. She even wore the dress I got her, but I ended up spending half the day in a Potion induced daze. Wait… She's wearing the dress I got her…_ Ron suddenly found himself staring at her body, and he felt hot under the collar when he saw how nicely it hugged her figure. _Is she wearing a bra? If so, then her tits are even bigger than I thought. And if not… Oh, Merlin…_

"Ron?" Daphne spoke, and Ron slowly looked at her face. "You didn't answer my question." _She asked a question?_

"What question?" Ron blinked.

"Should I return the mistletoe?" Daphne asked again. "Stealing it and running away feels wrong… I know I'm being a little unreasonable, but I couldn't think straight…" _A little?_

"Forget the mistletoe," Ron said, and Daphne just stared at him. "Come over here."

Daphne didn't move, and Ron cleared his throat.

"Please," Ron said softly.

Daphne slowly moved over to him, and he quickly guided her into his lap. She didn't put up any resistance as she planted her bum on his thighs, her left arm wrapping around his neck for support.

"Ron? What're you doing?" Daphne asked, though she made herself comfortable nonetheless.

"You're really beautiful," Ron said a little lamely, his hands resting on her back.

"Really?" a smile immediately graced her face. "You're not bothered by me stealing mistletoe in a fit of jealous rage?"

"The only downside I see is that I can't find myself underneath it with you," Ron replied, and he immediately felt her body relax. "Daph… Can I touch you a little?" _I have to do it! She never wears the same dress twice! As a man, it is my duty to seize this opportunity!_

"You finally noticed the dress," Daphne sounded almost relieved. "I was beginning to feel insecure…"

Ron looked back at her face, and he saw that she really meant it.

"I haven't been a good boyfriend today, have I?" Ron asked in a whisper.

"I didn't mean it like that," she whispered back. "I understand that you've been through a lot over the last few days. I'm just being really silly…"

"You're anything but silly," Ron said, and then he tenderly kissed her cheek. "And I'm an idiot for not noticing just how amazing you look today. I mean, you always look amazing… But right now…" _Stop talking, Ron, you're going to embarrass yourself._

"Right now?" Daphne whispered. "Tell me."

"I want to touch you… All over…" Ron felt his ears turn red.

Daphne smiled softly, then she reached behind with her right hand and took his left one. With a fluid motion, she guided his left hand to the side of her thigh.

"Go on," Daphne rested her forehead against his.

Ron ran his hand down her leg slowly, taking in the sensation of her warmth through the dress material. Her thigh felt soft, but also firm. It was enough to make him want to squeeze, and when he did so, she let out a gasp.

"Not hurting you?" Ron whispered, and she shook her head lightly.

Ron squeezed again, his fingers kneading her muscle in admiration. _I keep forgetting just how large Hogwarts is… She's in good shape from all the stairs we climb on a daily basis._ The only other girl who had a similar body-type to Daphne's in their group was Pansy, but Daphne was definitely more filled out. _Merlin, she's got a really nice body. I'm so fucking lucky._

Ron moved his hand further down her leg, and when he reached her knee, she hummed in content. _I can't reach her shins because they're too far. She can't straddle me because of the dress either. Oh, well… I'll go back up._ Ron traced his hand back up her thigh, and then, feeling bold, he moved his left hand to her stomach. He stopped his movements in order to ask for permission, but she kissed him deeply before he got the chance.

Any tension that he had built up faded, and he opened his mouth in order to invite her tongue. Daphne didn't need to be told twice because Ron instantly felt her tongue flick his playfully. She giggled against his mouth, and when Ron smiled, she planted quick pecks on his stretched lips.

"Can I go up a little?" Ron asked breathlessly.

"Yes," she kissed his nose.

Ron moved his hand upwards slowly, all the while enjoying Daphne's labored breathing. They were both still figuring out what they liked, so Ron always made sure to keep his ears open as per Clara's advice. _I'm nearing her chest… Should I stop? Or should I gauge her reaction first?_ Ron's answer came in the form of a trail of kisses on the side of his neck, which invoked a throaty groan out of him. _Don't be scared to make noise, Ron. That felt good, and I want her to do it again._

Giving into his lust, Ron decided to keep going up until she stopped him. His hand crept up to the very bottom of her sternum, and then, he turned his palm upwards in order feel the bottom of her right breast. Daphne's hand suddenly grabbed his, and Ron froze in his spot.

"M'sorry…" Ron quickly apologized, a strong pang of guilt bombarding his mind.

"I'm… not wearing a bra…" Daphne panted against the skin of his neck. "The dress made it very visible…"

"I'll stop," Ron promised, but she shook her head.

She then moved his hand to the side of her breast, carefully leaving it away from her nipple. _She's letting me play with her chest?_ Ron felt excitement rush up his spine, and without thinking, he squeezed the flesh in his hand. Daphne jerked and moaned simultaneously, which caused Ron's throat to close up. _I want to hear that again._ Ron squeezed again, though he did it more softly this time. Daphne whimpered against his neck, while Ron couldn't get over how soft she was. _It feels unreal… I could hold her forever, and never grow tired of it._

He suddenly felt her teeth scrape against his Adam's apple, making him tense out of vulnerability. Daphne noticed his sudden lack of movement, and instead of continuing, she decided to place a soft kiss on his neck in order to tell him that she wouldn't do that again. Ron slowly pulled his head back until he was staring into her lidded eyes, and she gave him a goofy smile that made his stomach flip around.

"I love you," Ron whispered, and her smile widened.

"And I love you," she beamed, and once again, Ron's stomach danced with merriment.

They kissed each other with happy smiles, and Ron moved his right hand up behind her neck. She giggled when he began drawing circles on the back of her neck, and Ron heard himself laugh with her. _She's got such a cute giggle. It's full of mischief._

"Do you want me to move down a little?" Daphne asked, and Ron pulled his head back a little.

"Move down?" Ron asked.

"My bum's not making you uncomfortable?" Daphne clarified, and it suddenly occurred to Ron that his erection was pressed against her bum. "It's okay, Ron… It's okay. It's a natural reaction."

"I know," Ron said, oddly not ashamed for once. "I'm not uncomfortable, Daph, but if you are, then by all means, move down a little."

"Hmmm," Daphne pretended to think, and then she wiggled her bum.

Ron tensed and bent forward a little, a rather familiar tingle running through his body. _That felt so fucking good!_ Ron released a shaky breath, while Daphne lost her childish amusement at the sight of her boyfriend panting for air. Just as Ron was about to recover, she began wiggling gently. _Ohhh… What is she doing?_

"Does that feel good?" Daphne whispered, and Ron let out a groan. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"Ye… Yes…" Ron felt himself twitch down below, which made her draw in a sharp breath. "Daphne…"

Her chest was heaving in his face, and he felt her fingers run through his hair. For what felt like eternity, Ron found himself trapped in growing ecstasy. Everything about her was overwhelming his senses, and Ron didn't even realize that he was grinding against her on his own now. _She's driving me mental… If she keeps going, I'll end up getting off._

"Stop… Stop…" Ron tightened his arms around her in order to stop her from wiggling her arse. "I… I think we should stop…"

"Why?" Daphne asked, her voice almost pleading. "Weren't you enjoying it?"

"I was enjoying it too much," Ron buried his face in her neck, his hot breath sending shivers up her spine. "Please…"

"Of course we can stop," Daphne practically beat down her own lust for Ron's sake.

"Sorry…" Ron mumbled his apology; he wasn't exactly pleased about ruining her fun. "I'm so close to…" he trailed off.

"Don't apologize," Daphne slowly hugged him, and Ron nodded against her neck. "That was so… amazing… Right?"

"So amazing…" Ron inhaled sharply, his breathing strained. _Her chest is heaving against mine… Merlin, my erection is stronger than ever._

"I don't know what made me wriggle around, but I'm really glad that I did," Daphne said, her voice both guilty and mischievous. "I've never seen you like that, Ron…"

"Did it feel good for you too?" Ron asked as he closed his eyes.

"You have no idea…" Daphne felt her cheeks flush. "When you started grinding against me… Merlin… I nearly lost my mind…" _Grinding?_

"I grinded against you?" Ron asked, and Daphne kissed his earlobe. _Oh, that's nice._

"You blacked out?" Daphne giggled, her laughter making her chest vibrate against his. "Did it feel that good?"

"I've never felt that good before," Ron felt no need to hide the truth. _Madam Roberts' treatments have nothing on Daphne. Salazar help me, I just want to keep going until I explode._ "We should fix ourselves up."

"Can't we stay here?" Daphne whispered suggestively. "I don't want to spend any time with the others… I like being with you. Only you."

"If I could have my way, we'd never see them again," Ron laughed against her neck. "But we really should stop while we can." _While I can, I mean._

"To be continued?" Daphne asked. "Please?"

"Merlin, yes," Ron replied, and then he kissed her neck over and over again. "You're bloody perfect, Daph… Just bloody perfect."

"And you're a nice slab of meat," Daphne tightened her hug, making Ron laugh.

"Slab of meat?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

" **Prime cut meat** ," Daphne purred. "And you're mine." _She thinks I'm prime cut! All that damn exercise is finally paying off in a meaningful way._

"All yours," Ron agreed.

"All jokes aside…" Daphne whispered. "I think you're perfect too."

"Really?" Ron smiled.

"Truly," Daphne sighed in content. "I love you so much, Ron."

"I love you too, Daphne."

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Friday 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Nott Manor – Near Midnight)**_

The Dark Lord watched as Corban, Lucius, and Cornelius finished making the Potion that would strengthen his frail vessel. The Basilisk Venom was difficult to handle, and figuring out the correct quantity needed was instrumental. The last thing the Dark Lord needed was for his body to spontaneously explode, and considering how volatile Basilisk Venom was, this disturbing scenario was not a joke. _If my calculations are correct, then this particular brew will not only invigorate me, it will also strengthen my unstable Magical Core._

It was very fortunate that Corban had found himself in possession of a Basilisk's Venom Sac, and Corban himself was fortunate that the Dark Lord hadn't skinned him alive for lying to his Master. As it turned out, even someone as cautious as Corban Yaxley had forgotten just how powerful of a Legilimens the Dark Lord was. Corban's 'memories' were very believable, save for one minor detail… There was no wind in the memories. The trees were not blowing, the hair on Corban's head had been perfectly still, and the clouds in the sky looked unnaturally distant. That was all the information that the Dark Lord needed to determine that he was watching created memories.

Despite Corban's obvious self-aggrandizing, the Dark Lord had decided to be patient for now. Lord Voldemort needed followers now more than ever, and Corban was the perfect servant to have. He was loyal to the point of being considered fanatical, he was wealthy, he had immense influence within the Ministry, and he was eager to learn from his Master again. So, for now, the Dark Lord would say nothing to Corban about his lies, but one day, Lord Voldemort would get the truth out of Corban Yaxley.

"My Lord, it is ready," Lucius spoke up, and the Dark Lord looked to his followers.

"Bring it to me…" the Dark Lord hissed.

Cornelius quickly stepped forward with the small vial, and the Dark Lord eyed the noxious green liquid within. _Such a small amount produced… Basilisk Venom truly is a difficult substance to control._ For the first time in a long time, Lord Voldemort felt uncertainty well up within him. He did not wish to lose yet another vessel, but there was no other choice left for him but to press forward. All he could do now was to pray that his Potioneering skills hadn't ebbed with the passage of time.

"Are you certain about this, my Lord?" Cornelius asked.

"Do you doubt me still?" Lord Voldemort hissed, and Cornelius immediately bowed his head.

"Forgive me, my Lord," Cornelius apologized, and then he took another step forward.

With Cornelius' help, the Dark Lord put his thin lips against the vial. The Potion tasted rancid, and it burned painfully as it traveled down his throat. For a few seconds, the Potion did nothing but cause the Dark Lord's insides to burn, but then, almost like being electrocuted, the Dark Lord felt a surge of power run rampant throughout his tiny body. The pain caused him to let out a throaty yell, and he felt his bones grow and collide against each other. _This was not foreseen!_

"My Lord!" Cornelius tried to stop his Master from writhing about, but Lucius quickly pulled the old wizard back.

"Stand back, you fool!" Lucius yelled.

Fear took a hold of Lord Voldemort, but he could do little to resist it. His entire body ached horribly, and he didn't even feel a thing as he toppled from his chair. Before long, he was a writhing mess on the floor; his large blanket no longer covering him. _Did I truly make an error?! Me?! Impossible!_ He could hear his useless servants arguing with each other, but he chose to ignore them. Instead, he forced his mind to steel itself. _Pain is not real. It is an illusion, one that keeps the weak on their knees. I am not weak. Pain does not exist for Lord Voldemort._

Slowly, but surely, the Dark Lord began to conquer his fear and pain. His will could not be denied, and he would not lose this body so quickly after acquiring it. _I will never die! NEVER! Lord Voldemort is eternal!_ His long fingers curled against the floor, his nails scratching the wood. _Stand up! Fight back!_ The Dark Lord willed himself to move, and with great effort, he began to rise. Silence filled the room as the Dark Lord stood upright, his skull-like face a mixture of pain and determination.

And then, there was no more pain… None whatsoever. Instead, the Dark Lord felt more powerful than he had in over a decade. It was almost overwhelming to recover so much of his former strength, but the Dark Lord's mind was too strong to be overcome. _The Potion worked… My calculations were always correct. I don't know why I doubted myself at all._ Pleased with the power coursing throughout his body, the Dark Lord looked down at his hands.

They were more grown than before, but still childlike. The rest of his body was also that of a young child, and it was strong enough to hold him upright now. Thick black veins popped out of his bone white skin, something that made him look almost monstrous. _The Basilisk Venom… Such potency! Such power!_

"Give me my wand," the Dark Lord ordered his kneeling servants.

Corban quickly moved over and handed his Master the wand from the floor, his head bowed the entire time. _Hello, my old friend. I can use you once again._ With a swift motion of his wand, the Dark Lord summoned black robes onto his body. Using his Magic once again without feeling burdened was a sensation that he couldn't help but treasure. The Basilisk Venom had surpassed all of his expectations, and the Dark Lord felt genuine excitement at the prospect of creating his new body with such a powerful venom. _My power will be undeniable. I will be even stronger than I was before my downfall. It is paramount that I create my new body with the Basilisk Venom. I must ration it as much as possible._

"My Lord?" came Lucius' voice, and the Dark Lord looked to his frightened servant.

"Yes, Lucius?" Lord Voldemort spoke, his voice was much stronger now. _The Potion seems to have accelerated my vessel's aging process. An unforeseen side effect, but one that I'm very pleased about. And although I doubt I could fight in this childlike body, it is heartening to know that I am no longer confined to that infernal chair._

"Have you recovered your power, my Lord?" Lucius asked, he could feel a heavy amount of Magic in the air.

"Not completely," Lord Voldemort replied. "Go find Gaspard. Tell him that I wish to speak to him." _He will find Harry Potter for me._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midnight)**_

A burning pain in his chest woke him up, it felt as if something was trying to tear its way out of him.

"… The fuck…?" Ron sat up, his hands rubbing his chest. "Am I having a stroke?"

Ron looked around the dark bedroom with a hazy gaze, and his eyes stopped on Malfoy's empty bed. _He left with his Aunt… How am I supposed to keep an eye on him if he's not here anymore?_ Ron then looked to a sleeping Theo, who was splayed out without a shirt. _Harry and Neville are still sleeping in the twins' room, so I guess it's just Theo and me from now on._

The pain suddenly spiked, and Ron grit his teeth in anger. _Fuck's sake… I'm trying to sleep here!_ Agitated from being forced to wake up, Ron slipped out of his bed and put his glove on. He knew that now that he was awake, he wasn't going back to sleep any time soon. _Stupid chest pains… I need to go find a mirror._ Ron tried being as quiet as possible, but judging from Theo's loud snoring, the weedy Slytherin wasn't going to wake up even if Ron started jumping around.

The slow trip down to the nearest bathroom was achieved with minimal noise, and once Ron was safe behind a locked door, he took off his pajama top. _Let's have a look, eh?_ Ron cleared his eyes, and then he focused on his chest. The long scar that marked his torso looked red and agitated, and when Ron traced his fingers over it, he felt a jolt of pain. _What's wrong with this scar? The other ones don't do this._

After spending a few minutes staring at his scars, Ron determined that the scar on his chest was unlike the ones that marked the rest of his body. _Just as ugly, though…_ Ron picked up his top, and he quickly put it on. _Since I'm up already, why not do something productive? I'll grab some juice, and then read through Salazar's notes. I just hope he left behind some powerful Spells for me to learn._

Ron made his way out of the bathroom, and then he snuck downstairs with the agility of a cat. Just as he eased his way into the Kitchen, he heard a floorboard creak from near the sink. _Someone else is still awake? Damn. I wonder who it is._ Ron stepped further into the room, and when he saw Harry walking around with an empty glass, Ron wondered why the Boy-Who-Lived was roaming the house in the middle of the night.

"Harry?" Ron whispered, and Harry jumped a little before turning around.

"Ron?" Harry fixed his glasses. "God… You scared me… I didn't hear you at all."

"Sorry," Ron whispered as he stepped closer to the Gryffindor. "Why are you still awake?"

"I…" Harry started, but then he shook his head. _What is it?_ "It's complicated, Ron…"

"Is it?" Ron asked. "Well, I'm a pretty smart lad, so maybe if you tell me, I can help you out." _Dumbledore did ask me to keep an eye on Harry, and if he can't sleep, then I should at least find out why._

"Um…" Harry looked a little uncomfortable. "My scar… It's hurting…"

Ron just stared at Harry, who quietly turned around to fill up his glass. _His scar is hurting? Well, so is mine… That can't be a coincident, right? I mean, the Hat did tell me that Harry and I share a connection to the Dark Lord somehow-_

Ron's thoughts came to an abrupt halt; what if the scar on his chest was related to the Dark Lord? _Is the scar on my chest similar to the one on Harry's forehead?_ Ron felt dread crawl up his spine, but with the help of his limited Occlumency, Ron somewhat calmed himself down. _Don't spiral, Ron, look for answers instead._

"Does your scar hurt often?" Ron asked, and Harry turned back around.

"Only when **he's** nearby…" Harry replied, and Ron's eyes widened. _He's nearby?! I need to get Dumbledore!_ "I don't think he's here, Ron… Lately, my scar's been hurting a lot." _It has? Why?_

"Oh," Ron relaxed a little. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine," Harry muttered. "I'd rather not talk about this, if that's all right with you." _It isn't, but I shouldn't push him._

"Are you going back to sleep?" Ron asked.

"No… Once I'm up, I usually can't go back to sleep again," Harry replied. "What about you? Did I wake you up?"

"No, I woke up because Theo snores loudly," Ron lied. _I have to investigate our scars somehow. Should I bring Snape and Dumbledore into this?_ "And like you, I usually never go back to sleep once I'm up."

"Terrible, isn't it?" Harry smiled weakly; he was clearly trying to lighten the mood. "I reckon I'll just sit around in the Living Room."

"You're going to brood in the dark?" Ron asked, and Harry shrugged.

"It's what I do in Gryffindor Tower," Harry replied. "I just sit by the fire… Sometimes, I even do my homework, but since I don't have any, I'll just wait around for morning."

"We have that in common, then," Ron couldn't help but point out. _The amount of times that I've just walked around the empty common room…_

"You don't sleep well, either?" Harry asked. "So, Nott didn't really wake you up, then?" _Shit… He's eerily perceptive._

"He certainly didn't help," Ron said, and Harry nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'll see you around," Harry began to head towards the Living Room. _I really want to read up on those notes, but Harry looks genuinely bothered… C'mon, Ron… Don't give into weakness here. Let him brood alone while you further your knowledge. Plus, we're not really friends anymore, and I think he knows that._ As Ron watched Harry near the Living Room, his guilt steadily increased. _Fuck, I need to learn to control this shitty emotion._

"Harry," Ron whispered, and Harry turned to face Ron. "Do you want company?"

"Sur-" Harry started, but he stopped abruptly. _He looks even more bothered now._ "You don't have to do that. I'm fine… I'll see you in the morning."

Harry disappeared from sight at that, and Ron just stared at the spot where he used to be. _I tried, and that's what counts. I'll go read those notes now, but first, I need some juice._ Ron went about pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice, and as he made his way towards the stairs, his ever-growing sympathy for the boy in the other room stopped him. _He's one of the very few other people in this house who have been hurt by the Dark Lord personally, Ron… Surely you can understand how he feels? Also, judging from what he just told me, he does this quite regularly. That is definitely something that I can relate to._

Ron let out a long breath; was he really walking away from a human being in favor of parchments? _Parchments that I'll still have in the morning. Fuck, now I feel even worse._ Ron rubbed his chest with his spare hand, and then he drew in a deep breath. _I promised Dumbledore that I'd look out for Harry, and despite everything's that gone wrong between us, I don't believe that he deserves to be haunted by the Dark Lord. No one deserves that._

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to focus on his work anymore, Ron made his way into the Living Room. Harry was sitting alone in the dark, his glasses reflecting the light from the moon as he stared out of the window. _He's rubbing his scar. It's still hurting? My scar feels prickly right now, but it doesn't really hurt anymore._

"Hello again," Ron whispered, and Harry turned his head in Ron's direction. "Do you want to play some Chess?"

* * *

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

"Stop…" Harry wheezed as he began to slow down. "I need a break… You win, Ron… You bloody win…"

Ron stopped running, and he looked back with an amused grin. They'd spent the whole night playing Chess, and much to Ron's surprise, he had quite enjoyed himself. Unlike Ron's friends, Harry actively asked for tips in order to try and outsmart Ron at his own game. He didn't become sour after losing, and every time they restarted, Harry tried to implement Ron's advice into his play style. This act of wanting to better himself resonated with Ron's own principles, and so Ron quickly forgot about Salazar's notes. Instead, he simply enjoyed ranting on about Chess strategies to his latest disciple.

As the sun began to rise, one thing had led to another, and Harry agreed to join Ron on his morning run. Ron figured that Harry wanted to best him at athletics, and so he had eagerly accepted Harry's unspoken challenge. _He's definitely in good shape, and he doesn't just give up at the first sign of hardship. He actually reminds me of Millie, but unlike Millie, he lasted much longer. I mean, we're nearly at the creek._

"C'mon, Harry," Ron urged. "Just five more minutes, and then we can take a break by the water. You can freshen up there."

Harry looked up with a blotchy red face, and then he gave a tired nod as he fixed his glasses.

"Five more minutes… I can do that," Harry spoke to himself.

"Good man," Ron smiled without thinking. "C'mon! Let's go!"

For once, Ron decided to slow down his pace, but only because Harry had been a good sport about all of this. Harry trailed behind Ron, often releasing strained pants as he struggled to make his aching legs work.

"Oliver makes us run laps sometimes, but this is so much worse…" Harry rasped. "So much worse… I wish I had my broom…"

"Are you finally giving up?" Ron grinned, and Harry gave him a defiant smirk.

"No, just whining…" Harry coughed out a laugh. _He's actually kind of funny._

"You do realize that we still have to go back, right?" Ron reminded Harry. "We're not even halfway done yet."

"Please, for the love of God, don't remind me," Harry lost his smirk. "Oh… My thighs are burning like never before…"

"That means it's working," Ron laughed.

"What's working? This is torture…" Harry panted.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come along," Ron sniggered.

"I thought my Quidditch training would help," Harry admitted. "I was wrong."

"You're doing well," Ron encouraged. "Actually, you're in much better shape than my friends."

"Really? Don't they do this everyday?" Harry asked.

"Let's just say that they tend to give up as quickly as possible," Ron replied, making sure to hide his genuine annoyance with their attitudes. _Other than Millie, they all try to weasel out of hard work._ "The best way to improve is to go further than the day before, and only one of my friends actually do that."

"Which one?" Harry asked.

"Millie," Ron replied. _I hope she's enjoying her holiday. I really miss her._

"Really?"

"Yeah," Ron replied. "Is that really so hard to believe?"

"No… No," Harry quickly sidestepped any potential awkwardness. "Wait… If your friends don't actually enjoy these morning runs, then why do they join you?"

"I… urge… them to," Ron replied slowly.

"Urge?" Harry gave Ron a confused look.

"Force, but in my defense, this is good for them," Ron said quickly. "The stronger the body, the better the wizard. My tutor always says that."

"Tutor?" Harry asked.

"My Dueling tutor," Ron clarified. "I see her on Sundays."

"Oh, that's right… Ginny mentioned that once," Harry remembered.

"We're here," Ron said as he spotted the creek. "See? Right over there!"

"I see it," Harry quickly stopped running, and then he bent forward and wheezed loudly. "Finally…"

"You all right?" Ron asked as he too came to a stop.

"Yeah…" Harry spoke to the ground. "Is the water drinkable?"

"Just use your wand," Ron gave Harry a baffled look.

"Oh, right… Of course," Harry seemed rather surprised. "God, I wish I remembered that earlier…"

"You forgot you were a wizard?" Ron chuckled, and Harry shot Ron a guilty grin. _How does one forget about their Magic?_

"Happens quite often, actually," Harry admitted, and then he pulled his wand out of his back pocket. "Aguamenti."

While Harry drank from his wand, Ron walked over to the edge of the creek. He quickly removed his glove, and then washed his face with the freezing water. _Sweet Merlin, the run up here is worth it just for that._ Ron then dunked his head into the freezing water in order to wet his hair, and when he pulled his head out, he felt completely awake. _Woo! I'm ready to run home now._

"Isn't the water freezing?" Harry asked as he approached from behind, and Ron quickly put his glove back on.

"Yeah, it's great," Ron grinned at Harry, who shook his head with an amused smile.

"You're… Never mind…" Harry said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm what?" Ron asked.

Harry looked over to the water, and after a few moments, he looked back to Ron.

"At Hogwarts, you come across as a very different person," Harry said.

"I do?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry sat down on the cold grass, and Ron followed suit. _He's earned a little break, I reckon._ "If any of the Gryffindors saw you like this, they'd pinch themselves just to make sure that they were awake."

"What?" Ron couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Just ask anyone," Harry smiled. "A lot of people stay out of your way because they find you… intimidating…"

"Do you find me intimidating?" Ron smirked.

"Not really," Harry shrugged. "But then again, we don't really interact much anymore." _Uh-oh… We're nearing awkward land again. Quick, Ron, change the topic._

"Not everyone avoids me," Ron said. "I mean, just take a look at the study group. Even Finnegan and Thomas show up to it." _And the little ones love me._

"What I meant was that people don't know how to approach you," Harry corrected himself, he was quite grateful for the change in topic. "But I reckon if they saw this side of you, they'd figure out that you're a pretty funny bloke."

"Let's avoid that, then," Ron snorted. _The last thing I need is for people to start pestering me._

"Sure," Harry laughed through his nose, and then he drew in a deep breath as he looked around.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Ron asked.

"It is," Harry replied. "Your Family has an amazing home."

"Thanks," Ron felt oddly proud of himself.

"Open country, fresh air, a garden, siblings…" Harry sounded mildly envious. "It's brilliant."

"If you say the exact same thing to mum, she'll adopt you," Ron offered, he knew that Harry didn't exactly have a decent childhood.

"What would Sirius say?" Harry chuckled.

"He's pretty much her son as well," Ron sniggered. "I mean, he spends all of his time here. She cooks for him, and I'm pretty certain that she does his laundry as well."

"Is that how he's been getting by without Remus?" Harry asked. "Makes a lot of sense, actually." Harry then shifted in his spot, much to Ron's confusion. _I bet he's still trying too hard to keep things from becoming awkward._

Ron had noticed that Harry was doing his best to avoid certain topics, but at the same time, Harry looked ready to start apologizing once again. The underlying tension between them wasn't exactly easy to ignore, but Merlin help him, Ron wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. _I can't lie to myself… I'm still quite pissed about their behavior, and if it weren't for what's coming, I'd have washed my hands of the Golden Trio._

"Thanks for the permit, by the way," Harry broke the silence. "I didn't thank you properly yesterday."

"It's nothing," Ron said. _Dumbledore got them, not me. I just asked._

"You didn't have to get me one, but you still did… It was really kind of you," Harry picked at the grass by his crossed legs. "Ron, I'm really-"

"Don't start apologizing again, Harry," Ron sighed out. _Guess he's finally reached his limit in that regard._ "I already told you that I'm over it."

"Are you, though?" Harry looked at Ron.

"I am," Ron drawled, but Harry wasn't convinced. "Why do you have to keep bringing it up? We've had a lot of fun together for the last few hours-"

"Maybe that's why I'm bringing it up…" Harry went back to picking the grass. "We're just pretending like I didn't do what I did… It feels wrong…" _Why are people so emotional?_

"You know what feels wrong to me?" Ron asked. "Repeating the same conversation over and over again. What's the point? Eh? It won't change the past-"

"I know that," Harry cut in.

"Then what? You want me to absolve you of your guilt? Is that it?" Ron asked, his temper rising. "I don't have that power, Harry. I've told you that I've moved on, so it's up to you to do the same. I even made things easier for you by asking my siblings to not harass you."

"Why did you do that?" Harry asked. _If they're close to you, then Dumbledore will be forced to protect them._

"I'm sick, and I don't want things to be more difficult," Ron replied. "It's just that simple, Harry. I don't need any more stress in my life."

Harry nodded at the ground, and then he tossed the torn grass aside. _Great… Now things are really awkward. Way to ruin everything, Harry, you damn woman._ Ron stood up, and he ran his left hand through his wet hair.

"We should get back…" Ron said as he began walking off.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

He could smell the aroma of breakfast from downstairs, and he could hear heated chatter as well. _Who's talking? The only other people who are awake right now are my parents and Harry? Also, the chatter sounds a lot like an argument._ Ron stepped into the Kitchen, and he was genuinely surprised to see Barty Crouch Snr speaking with his father. _What's he doing here?_

"Mr. Weasley," Crouch immediately looked to Ron.

"Mr. Crouch," Ron greeted back. "Is everything all right?"

"Not quite," Crouch replied curtly. "I need you to come with me. We're both going to France immediately." _We are?_

"Crouch, my son just had surgery," Arthur repeated for the fifth time. "He's not fit to travel overseas." _Says who?_

"Why do we need to go to France so urgently?" Ron asked Crouch. _Did a certain bitch die yesterday? If so, then Emilia is really bloody efficient._

"Ronald, you are still recovering," Molly said, but Ron ignored her.

"I'm afraid that this cannot wait," Crouch said. "The French Ministry sent me an urgent summons via Roberta Berger. She is waiting for us in the Portkey Office even as we speak."

"You still haven't told me why we need to go to France," Ron said.

"It is… classified…" Crouch shot a look towards Molly.

"Dad, can you please tell Lord Greengrass that I won't be attending my training today?" Ron said, and both of his parents didn't look very pleased.

"Ron… You just had surgery…" Arthur repeated, and then he looked to Crouch. "Crouch, surely this can wait…"

"I'm afraid not, Arthur," Crouch said. "Mr. Weasley, I'll be waiting by the fireplace."

Ron gave him a nod, and Crouch left without another word. Once he was out of earshot, Molly dropped the pan she was holding in the sink rather aggressively.

"You are unbelievable, Ronald…" Molly shook her head. _Here we go…_

"Mum, this sounds very important," Ron said. "I have a job to do-"

"Go, then," she said almost bitterly, something that made Arthur adorn a sorry look. "What does it matter that you're sick? What does it matter that you just had surgery? You'll only stop when you're dead, right?"

"Molly…" Arthur sighed out.

"Go," Molly gave Ron an angry look. "We'll just wait around to pick up the pieces."

"Molly, that's enough," Arthur said, his brow furrowed. "Don't say such things to him."

Ron stared at his mother with a less than amused look, and then he turned to leave. _What's the point in arguing with her when she's like this? Yes, I just had surgery, but I couldn't care less. I'm done with explaining myself over and over again._

"Dad, don't forget to go to Lord Greengrass," Ron said as he walked towards the Living Room. "Our day was meant to start in half an hour."

"Ron, just don't push yourself, please," Arthur said out of habit.

"I'll be home soon," Ron bid his father goodbye, and then he stepped into the Living Room. "I'm ready, Mr. Crouch. Let's go."

Crouch had already prepared the fireplace, and after giving Ron a curt nod, he disappeared through the fire. Ron drew in a deep breath in order to prepare himself for the day, and then he followed after Crouch. _Merlin, I hope that she's dead. What if Emilia got caught, and then ratted me out? What if they invited us just to arrest me when I show up?_ Ron shook his head clear as he entered the Ministry, he couldn't panic right now. _Just focus, Ron, everything is going to be all right._

"Mr. Weasley?" Crouch cocked an eyebrow. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Sir," Ron replied. "You mentioned that Roberta Berger is waiting for us in the Portkey Office?"

"She is," Crouch replied, and they began making their way through the busy barren atrium. _I guess most of the workers are on holidays._ "I'm sorry to barge into your home so early in the morning, Mr. Weasley. I would have preferred to send an owl, but Roberta Berger insisted that I hurry up."

"What's happened?" Ron asked, and Crouch looked around the desolate atrium.

"Lord and Lady Abadie were poisoned yesterday," Crouch told Ron, who feigned shock. _Ding dong, the bitch is dead!_

"Poisoned? Are they dead?" Ron asked quickly.

"Yes," Crouch shook his head with a frown. "This is a disaster."

"How did they get poisoned? Weren't they within the French Ministry's custody?" Ron asked.

"Roberta was less than forthcoming about the details, but I imagine that we'll learn the truth when we get there," Crouch entered the elevator, and Ron followed in after him.

"Bloody hell…" Ron continued his act. "You don't think that the French Ministry is behind this, do you?"

Crouch shot Ron a quick look, and then he frowned even more deeply.

"Just between us…" Crouch started. "I think the French Minister decided to shut this whole thing down by cutting off the snake's head." _How convenient for me that you think so._ "His Office is being threatened by his ambitious colleagues, and his lack of oversight where the Abadies were concerned would surely bury him. Merlin only knows what was going to come out during the Abadies' trial."

"Why are you and I being summoned?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "This sounds like a French problem to me."

"You're the one who had them arrested, remember?" Crouch reminded him.

"You don't think that they suspect me, do you?" Ron asked. "I swear, I had nothing to do with this, Sir."

"No one is blaming you, I'm sure," Crouch said. "And even if they did, you being behind this is laughable at best. Downright idiotic at worst." _Not a good judge of character, are you? I guess that's why you never realized that your own son was a damn Death-Eater. It's also why you threw a good man like Sirius in prison without a damn trial. You might have saved the Ministry during the Great War, but I can't forgive you for what you did to my friend._

"Well, if they do question me, I'll tell them the truth," Ron said. "I had surgery on the twenty-fourth, and I spent the entirety of Christmas recovering at home."

"Good," Crouch gave a nod. "Stick with the truth, Mr. Weasley."

The elevator came to a jarring halt, and when the doors split open, Crouch yanked the cage open. They both made their way towards the Portkey Office in silence, and Ron couldn't help but admire the silence. _Usually, the Ministry is so busy, but today, I've only seen a couple of people walking around._

"Roberta," Crouch greeted as he opened the door to the Office, and Ron spotted the part-Veela pacing up and down.

Roberta Berger looked utterly exhausted, and judging from the dark rings beneath her eyes, she had been awake all night long.

"Bien," Roberta muttered at the sight of them. "I was beginning to worry, Mr. Crouch. Let's be on our way, please. The Minister is expecting you."

"Not before you give us some answers," Crouch stopped Ron. _Oh, he doesn't plan to go in blind. Smart._ "We want to know what happened. How did two prominent figures end up getting poisoned under your Ministry's watch? Weren't they in their prison cells?"

"Surely we can discuss this once you're-" Berger started, but one look from Crouch stopped her. "We… We are still investigating, but from what the coroner has uncovered, they were poisoned in the afternoon. A vile draught called the Burning Nightingale seems to be behind this."

"Burning Nightingale?" Ron asked. _That's a cool name._

"It is a slow acting poison, but once it's in your system, a horribly painful death is guaranteed," Crouch answered. "Were there severe burns on their internal organs, Roberta?"

"It's like they drank acid," Berger replied. _Yeesh. Oh, well, it's what they get for getting in my way._ "Can we be on our way, please? The investigation has been halted just for you two."

"Very well," Crouch said, and then he looked to Ron. "Are you up for Portkey travel?"

"We'll find out," Ron replied, and Crouch gave him a nod.

They made their way into the transportation room, where a metal rod was waiting for them.

"That's our Portkey," Berger told Ron. "It'll take us straight into the Ministry."

They gathered around it, and after a brief countdown from Crouch, all three of them grabbed onto it together. Ron felt himself being yanked through a thin pipe, blinding white lights flashing all around them. And then, they hit solid ground. Crouch and Berger landed with skilled practice, while Ron landed flat on his arse. _Ow, my arse…_ His stomach immediately heaved, and he felt something hot pushing itself up his throat. Ron quickly turned his head, and he vomited up a tarry red substance. There wasn't much, but his throat and eyes still burned painfully. _Fucking hell… Ugh… Clearly, my stomach isn't completely clean yet._

Ron felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and when he looked back, he saw Paul Durand looking at him with genuine concern.

"You all right, slugger?" Durand asked, and then he looked to the blood. "Circe's cunt… Is that blood?"

"I just had surgery two days ago…" Ron groaned, his stomach aching a little. "I'm still in recovery."

"Surgery?" Durand asked as he looked to Berger, who suddenly looked convinced of something. "Should you even be up on your feet?"

"It doesn't matter," Ron shook his head clear, and then he pushed himself up onto his feet. _Stand up, you weakling… You have work to do._

"Let's get you a chair," Durand stood up and snapped his fingers, and a young Auror quickly brought a metallic chair over. "Take a seat."

Ron didn't sit down; instead, he looked around the room. _This… This is an interrogation room!_ Ron looked to Crouch, who was also looking around with a growing frown.

"What is the meaning of this?" Crouch demanded, and Durand let out a tired breath. _The Head Auror looks spent._

"I'm terribly sorry, Sir," Durand stood up straighter as he addressed Crouch. "I told them that they were being foolish, but the Minister is trying to prove something to everyone here. He has added you both to the suspect pool, and wants you both interrogated."

"Interrogated?" Crouch hissed. "I am the Head of a Department, and I will not allow you to hold us in here like prisoners." _This is bad. This is very bad._ "Where is Minister Wallace? I wish to have words with him."

"He is currently with the coroner," Durand replied. "No one will be interrogating you, Sir, I promise. The truth is that Ronald here was an actual suspect, but if he was indeed indisposed due to a surgery, I'll have you both out as quickly as possible. I just need to confirm his story."

"Poppy Pomfrey of Hogwarts operated on me," Ron told them. "I had a stress ulcer which caused internal bleeding."

Durand and Berger looked to the tarry blood on the ground, and then Durand gave Ron a rather sorry smile.

"Did you get a chance to eat this morning, slugger?" Durand asked almost gently, and Ron shook his head. "Mathew, go and get Ronald some food. And nothing from the Ministry cafeteria either, go out and buy something from a shop. We can't risk another incident."

"I'm only allowed to drink soups," Ron decided to speak up. _This is good… They already think I'm innocent, and if I play the wounded lamb, I'll be out of here before I know it._

"I'll be back shortly," the young Auror named Mathew gave a nod, and then he left the room in a hurry.

"Please, take a seat," Durand said to Crouch and Ron. "Roberta and I need to go speak with the Minister. We'll try and sort this all out as quickly as possible."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Greengrass Manor – Morning)**_

Daphne stared at the letters in her hands; her intuition was all but begging her to investigate.

Not long after waking up, Daphne had heard her Family's owl tapping on her window. All five of the letters that she had sent to Pansy had returned unopened, which had further stirred Daphne's growing fear for Pansy's wellbeing. Over the span of the last two years, Pansy had changed drastically. She was no longer the vain girl who parroted her hag of a mother's behavior; instead, she was a happy-go-lucky individual who followed her heart. And a big part of this change had stemmed from Pansy's love for her friends. So the fact that Pansy wasn't returning anyone's letters weighed heavily on Daphne. _She all but begged me to stay in contact during the Break, but now, she's unreachable. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my blood._

"Any ideas?" Tracey asked from the bed, and Daphne dropped the letters on her desk.

"No," Daphne shook her head, and then she walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "This is not like Pansy… Her bitch of a mother is behind this, I already know it."

"I figured as much," Tracey grimaced. "Honestly, what is that woman's deal?"

"She's just… bitter…" Daphne tried to remain calm. "Mother told me that Pansy's mother didn't want to marry Lord Parkinson, but her parents forced her into the marriage right out of Hogwarts. She was unable to produce an heir for almost a decade, and when she finally got pregnant, it was with Pansy. She's always been bitter about that."

"Poor Pans…" Tracey lost her sour look. "Is it true that Lady Parkinson hits Pansy?"

"She does it often," Daphne felt her jaw tighten. "When we were little, I saw Pansy being struck multiple times. Even in public a few times… One of the reasons why Pansy clung to Malfoy was because her mother approved of this sort of behavior. I think Pansy forced herself into wanting whatever her mother wanted, but now… Now, things are different. Pansy's started moving beyond her mother's desires, and Lady Parkinson isn't taking it well."

"She was dreading going home," Tracey sighed out. "Why didn't we bring her here?"

"I tried," Daphne said defensively.

"I'm not blaming you," Tracey said quickly. "God… I just feel bad, that's all…"

Daphne lost some of her steam, and she took Tracey's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," Daphne apologized. "I'm worried too…"

Tracey gave Daphne's hand a squeeze, all the while looking miserable.

"We should tell the boys, Daph," Tracey said. "Theo, Blaise, Ron… They'll help with this."

"Theo and Ron can help, but Blaise… He's trapped in his own hell right now," Daphne remembered what Ron had told her during dinner yesterday. "He spends his days roaming Florence by himself."

"Is that why he isn't returning my letters?" Tracey asked.

"He sent one to Theo and Ron, and told them to let us know that he was fine," Daphne explained. "You know how he is, Trace…"

"Should we tell Millie about Pansy?" Tracey asked. _No, that would not go over well. It's no secret that those two have grown incredibly close, and if Millie hears about this, she'll come back from her own holiday just to start a fight._

"We're Pansy's friends too, and we need to take action," Daphne channeled her inner Ron. "First, we let Theo and Ron know about this. Then, we all work together to find out why Pansy isn't getting our letters."

"Let's go, then," Tracey all but jumped off of the bed. "Let's go right now!"

"All right," Daphne steeled her resolve. _Ron always says that sitting around achieves nothing._

Daphne caught up with Tracey, who was marching with genuine anger and determination. Oddly enough, seeing Tracey this worked up only served to bolster Daphne's own resolve. Something had to be done about Pansy's mother, or Pansy's life would continue to be miserable. Once upon a time, Daphne would have ignored such a volatile situation, but now… Now, she was going to step up for her friend's wellbeing. _Even if it means making an enemy out of a powerful Lord and Lady. You're not a child anymore, Daphne; you're a young woman. It's time to act like one._

Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Daphne spotted Ron's father speaking with her own. _Mr. Weasley? Why is he here? Is Ron all right?_ Daphne's father was supporting a slight frown, while Mr. Weasley looked a little worried.

"Girls," Sebastian said as he saw them approaching, and Mr. Weasley followed his gaze. "Is everything all right? You two look… bothered."

"We were on our way to the Burrow, Father," Daphne replied. "Is Ron here yet? I need to speak to him."

"Ron has left for France," Arthur gave her a sorry smile. _France?_

"Why?" Tracey asked.

"Ministry emergency," Sebastian replied. "He won't be coming here today." _Damn, we're already a person down, then._

Daphne managed to mask her disappointment, but Tracey let out an annoyed sigh, which caught the attention of the two wizards.

"What is it?" Sebastian asked his daughter. _If we're really going to step out into the open, we need father backing us up._

"All the letters that I've sent to Pansy have returned unopened," Daphne replied. "It's not like her to ignore letters from her friends, and we're worried about her."

"She was dreading going home, my Lord," Tracey told Sebastian; she had clearly caught onto Daphne's line of thinking. "Her mother has been treating her horribly, and we're scared for her safety."

"That woman…" Sebastian's frown deepened.

"Would she hurt her own daughter?" Arthur asked, now looking worried for a girl who he had never spoken to.

"Yes," Sebastian replied bluntly. "What do you two plan to do about it?" _He's asking about our ideas first?_

"We're going to let Ron and Theo know about this, and then, we'll come up with a way to find out what's happened to her," Daphne broke out of her surprise. "Can we count on your help if things escalate, father?"

"Very well," Sebastian gave Daphne his permission. "Think before you act, daughter, and should you need advice, you can always come to me." _Wow… He's taking his promise to me so seriously._

Despite the current situation, Daphne had to hold back a traitorous smile. _Be composed, Daphne. Behave in a respectable manner, and don't give anyone an inch._

"If there are signs of child abuse, the Office of Youth Services can legally move in to protect the child," Arthur offered. "Though, I imagine the rules are very different for children of prominent Families. If you two need help with anything like that, I'm quite learned about such proceedings."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Daphne gratefully accepted the help. _Now that our bases are covered, we need to move forward._

"Are you two going to the Burrow?!" came Tori's voice, and Daphne looked back to see her little sister running down the stairs. "Don't leave without me! Luna and I have a date!" _A date? You mean she's still struggling with Ron's illness, and you want to cheer her up. That makes me feel… proud. Tori's finally growing up a little._

"Mary and I will come down around midday, Arthur," Sebastian said. "She's got her eyes on something in Diagon Alley, and she wanted me to join her. Since Ron isn't coming down today, I'll keep my wife company."

"I'll take the girls with me, then," Arthur said.

"Daughter, remember my words," Sebastian said to Daphne before walking over to Tori. _Think before I act, and if I need advice, I should find him._ "Enjoy your day, my love."

"You too, father," Tori planted a kiss on Sebastian cheek, and just like that, he was gone.

"Theo should be eating breakfast right now," Arthur began leading the way, and the girls followed after him. _I should get some more information on this 'Youth Services' from him… Just to be prepared._

Daphne hastened her pace until she was walking side-by-side with Mr. Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley, can you please elaborate on these Youth Services?" Daphne asked, and Arthur gave her a warm smile.

"Of course," Arthur replied. "Their main job is to protect, and provide for, wizards and witches who are being raised in troubled homes. Usually, when they are contacted, they run an investigation into any accusations made, and once they have their case, they take it to the Wizengamot. More often than not, the Wizengamot let's them do their jobs without questioning them, but for the heiress of a Family like the Parkinsons… They will need to tackle far too many roadblocks. The Head of the Office, Albert Trope, is a friend of mine. If you want, I can speak to him when I return to work on Monday."

"That would be great," Daphne said. "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"I'm happy to help you, Daphne," Arthur said. "Just tell me what you need, and I'll do everything I can to help your friend."

They stopped at the fireplaces, and while Arthur prepared the floo, Daphne rejoined Tracey and Astoria.

"What were you two talking about?" Tori asked. "Were you talking about Ron? Is he really not coming to work today?"

"No, Tori, he's busy," Daphne replied. "You should keep being there for Luna, however. You're doing a good thing, little sister."

"Ugh… Don't be sappy," Tori groaned in a manner that made Daphne cringe.

"Floo's ready, girls," Arthur called, and they all followed him through.

Entering the Burrow was always a pleasant experience, mostly because of the Warming Charms that kept the house nice and toasty. _And the smell of breakfast… Mrs. Weasley really is a fantastic cook._ Daphne and Tracey lingered behind, while Arthur and Tori wasted no time in heading for the Kitchen.

"Well?" Tracey asked. "What did he tell you?"

"The Youth Services might be able to help Pansy, but it won't be pretty," Daphne replied.

"Of course…" Tracey sighed. "Her parents are filthy rich, and they have powerful friends."

"We have powerful friends as well," Daphne refused to lose hope just yet. "Mr. Weasley is friends with the Head of the Youth Services Office, and he'll make enquiries on our behalf. Right now, we should focus on finding more about Pansy's whereabouts."

"Good morning, girls," Theo walked into the Living Room, a plate of bacon and eggs in his hand. "Mr. Weasley mentioned that you were looking for me? Is everything all right?"

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

Theo had had quite the morning so far. With Malfoy living with his Aunt now, and Ron in France, Theo had the entire morning to himself. He had a much needed one-on-one session with his manly parts, and then, he had lazed about until Molly Weasley had asked him to come down for breakfast. It was odd being the only Slytherin in the house, but Pandora Lovegood had been kind enough to share some stories about Ron's earlier years.

And then, Daphne and Tracey had shown up… What was at first a pleasant morning was now a living headache. He couldn't deny that he too was worried for Pansy, but unlike the girls, Theo had a tendency to think about the uglier details. If Violet Parkinson had indeed locked Pansy away in her room, then none of them could do a damn thing about it. Pansy was not a normal girl; after all, she was the heiress of a very powerful Family. A Family that Daphne's Youth Services could never hope to touch.

"Theo? Any theories?" Tracey asked, and Theo shifted in his spot.

"I'm thinking," Theo said, and then he looked to Daphne. "You said that the letters hadn't been opened?"

"They were untouched," Daphne replied. _Fuck, that's not good._ "Why do you ask?"

"Your owl no doubt went to the Parkinson Estate, but it never delivered the letters," Theo explained. "Now, if Pansy was locked away in her room, the owl would simply tap on her window, wouldn't it?" The girls nodded. "Unless her parents sealed her window shut, Pansy should've received those letters. I think it's safe to assume that Pansy isn't at the Parkinson Estate."

"Then where would she be?" Tracey asked.

"That… is a good question," Theo rubbed his chin. "The only way to find the answer would be to ask her parents."

"Sure, I'll call them via floo right now," Tracey said dully. _She's getting frustrated. She's never been good at this sort of thing. In a way, she's a lot like Ron. She probably wants to kick down their door and demand answers, but that won't work._

"Tracey, let him think," Daphne said. "Go on, Theo."

Theo studied Tracey's worried expression, and he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. _Look at her… She's miserable being in the dark._

"I… I could try and speak to them," Theo sighed out. _What happened to me? When did I start thinking with my heart instead of my brain?_

"What do you mean?" Tracey blinked at him.

"I mean that I could go over there, and try and get some answers for us," Theo replied.

"Is that wise, Theo?" Daphne asked.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Theo asked, and Daphne shook her head.

"I can come with you," Daphne offered. "It's not safe to go alone." _If Ron finds out that I took you with me, no place on Earth would be safe for me._

"I can come too," Tracey offered, and both Theo and Daphne gave her meaningful looks. "Oh… I see…"

"Lady Parkinson is a hateful hag, Trace," Theo reached forward and squeezed her hand. _Why did I do that?! Stop being stupid, Theo!_

Daphne said nothing about this open display of affection, while Tracey turned her hand over and held his hand tightly. _She… She took my hand…_

"I'll go," Theo cleared his throat, and then he pulled his hand back. "Lady Parkinson is sweet on me because of my Family's heritage, so she won't throw me out immediately. If I play my cards right, I could find out something important."

Theo then stood up, and the girls followed suit.

"I don't feel right letting you go alone, Theo," Daphne said.

"They can't do anything to me," Theo assured Daphne. "My father might be old, but he is more powerful than the Parkinsons. Nothing bad will happen to me, girls. I promise." _Merlin, I really hope that I'm right._

Theo wasn't going to lie to himself; he knew that he wasn't exactly a brave person. If anything, he always made sure to prioritize his own wellbeing, but seeing Daphne and Tracey, especially Tracey, in such a state was almost unbearable. _If Pansy really does need help, then it's my duty to help her. That's what mother would say, I think. Plus, Pansy is my friend, and I promised myself that I'd be a good friend. Time to live up to your promise, Theo._

"Don't stay for too long," Daphne said, and then she placed her hands on his cheeks. "If anything seems off, Theo, please just come back."

"Yes, Ma'am," Theo put on a smirk, and a small smile graced Daphne's face. "I'll be fine, Daphne. Just wait for me to get back, yeah?"

"All right," Daphne agreed as she pulled her hands back. "I'll let the adults know that you're leaving for a bit."

Daphne left the room at that, while Tracey just stayed rooted to her spot.

"I'll see you soon," Theo said as he walked over to the fireplace.

"Wait…" Tracey quickly followed him, and when Theo turned around, she pulled him into a tight hug. "Please be quick, Theo. And don't stay there for too long. Promise me."

"I'm not going to a warzone, Trace," Theo tried to calm her down, but it had the opposite effect.

"This is serious, Theo," Tracey pulled back, and Theo gave her a nod. _Don't make light of the situation, Theo. She's not in the mood for jokes._

"I know," Theo said. "I'll find out everything I can, and I'll be back before you know it. I promise."

Tracey leaned forward, and she planted a kiss on his cheek. Theo felt his face flush a little, but he didn't dare say anything.

"You're doing a really sweet thing, Theo," Tracey whispered.

"She's my friend, isn't she?" Theo shrugged. "Slytherin fraternity, and all that…"

"No, you're a good person," Tracey smiled warmly. "I'll be waiting here, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Theodore," Lady Parkinson stepped into the greeting room with a smile, and Theo immediately put on his most charming smile. _Merlin, she looks so weird with a smile on her face. It's like she's wearing someone else's face._ "My servants just told me that you were here. Welcome."

"It is good to see you again, Lady Parkinson," Theo greeted her.

"What brings you here?" Lady Parkinson asked. "Come, we can talk over some breakfast."

"Thank you," Theo began following her.

"Have you had breakfast? I just hired a new slave, and it makes the best breakfast spread," Lady Parkinson said. _If I eat another bite, I'll explode. Trust me, I've been living like a king._

"I'll have to put that claim to the test," Theo chuckled. "Is your husband not home?"

"He is no doubt in the wine cellar," Lady Parkinson replied. "He just had a shipment come in late last night, and he's been ogling it ever since." _Father does that quite often._

"May I ask where from?" Theo asked. "My father is a bit of an expert."

"Oh, no one can match Cornelius' palate," Lady Parkinson agreed. "I believe my husband had his stock brought over from Spain. Have you heard of Bobal grapes?"

"Of course," Theo replied. "They are a type of red grape used in winemaking."

"You are indeed your father's son," Lady Parkinson smiled back at him.

They made their way into the lavish living room, and Theo sat down once he was gestured to do so. Lady Parkinson sat down from across him, and when she clapped her hands, a thin Elf Apparated before them.

"Mistress summoned Balby?" the Elf bowed deeply.

"Bring us some breakfast," Lady Parkinson ordered, and the Elf cracked out of the room. "Now, let's talk about you, shall we?"

"I'm an open book," Theo smiled and relaxed into his seat. "What would you like to know?" _I'll play along for now, but when I get the chance, I'll ask about Pansy._

"I've heard that you're spending your Break with Blood-Traitors," Lady Parkinson lost some of her politeness. _I figured this would come up._ "Tell me, why would Cornelius allow such a thing?"

"My father has been around for a long time," Theo started. "And he has learned to spot talent."

"Talent?"

"My friend Ronald is a very talented individual, and my father understands that he has a bright future," Theo explained. "I imagine that I'll be a part of that bright future."

"A bright future," Lady Parkinson smirked. "How can a boy who was raised in a pigsty hope for a bright future?"

Theo felt a sudden flash of anger, but he didn't show it. _Bitch._

"You'd have to meet him to understand," Theo replied.

"Oh, I've met him," Lady Parkinson said. "I was not impressed." _You'll be impressed when he gets his hands on you. I know Ron, and Ron does not forgive people. In a way, he's worse than us, and he's not afraid of hurting others to get his way._

"He may surprise you yet," Theo said calmly.

"What's it like? Living with… them…?" Lady Parkinson asked. "Is it true that the Weasley children don't wash themselves?"

"Quite the opposite," Theo replied. "Their mother runs a very tight household."

"How so?" Lady Parkinson asked.

"They each have certain tasks allocated to them daily," Theo replied. "Chores, and other such duties."

"Molly Weasley works her children like servants?" Lady Parkinson smirked. _You treat your daughter like she's your doll, so I reckon you can just shut the fuck up right now._ "Figures… Her husband could never hope to hire a proper servant, and she has the job of teaching her children their lot in life." _Please, Merlin, let Ron find this bitch in a dark alleyway by herself. Please._

Balby suddenly cracked into the room, and he placed a large tray full of exquisite meats and cheeses on the coffee table.

"Would Mistress and her guest care for some beverages?" Balby bowed.

"Fresh juice for Theodore, and a glass of water for me," Lady Parkinson dismissed her Elf.

Once the Elf was gone, Lady Parkinson gestured Theo to try some food. Theo, despite being full of Mrs. Weasley's heavenly cooking, helped himself to some salami and cheese. _It's good, I can't deny that._ Balby returned with their drinks, and after placing them on the coffee table, he cracked away to resume his duties.

"Is Pansy not joining us?" Theo asked. "Or has she eaten already?"

"Is that why you're here?" Lady Parkinson smirked knowingly. _Wait… Is she onto me?_ "A young bachelor such as yourself wishes to see my daughter?" _Oh… She thinks I'm here to woo Pansy._

"Pansy and I had plans for the Break," Theo decided to take the opportunity presented to him. "We've become… close… over the last few months."

"Close?" Lady Parkinson looked far too pleased. _For a woman who was sold to her husband, she's quite eager to sell off her own daughter._

"She's a very beautiful girl, and one of my closest friends," Theo smiled. "And lately, I've noticed that she's not the little girl that I became friends with." _She does have a really nice figure, and she dresses in a very eye-catching manner. Wait… Focus, you imbecile._

"She is becoming a woman," Lady Parkinson nodded in understanding.

"I have tried to send her owls, but she's been ignoring them, I think," Theo said in a 'weak' tone. "At first, I thought that she was just trying to play her games with me, but it's been days, and I don't know what to think anymore."

"You sound very taken with her," Lady Parkinson chuckled. "She's lucky that such a fine young wizard is so enraptured with her."

"I was hoping to see her today," Theo said. "Maybe ask her to go to Diagon Alley with me… But only if I have your blessing, of course." _C'mon, take the bait. What are you waiting for?_

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but Pansy is away at the moment," Lady Parkinson said. _Away?_

"Away? For how long?" Theo asked.

"Until the thirtieth of December," Lady Parkinson replied. "I'm afraid that you won't be able to see her until Hogwarts reopens." _Thirtieth of December… Why does that date sound so familiar to me? Should I ask her to elaborate?_

"I see," Theo adorned a disappointed look. "So she hasn't been ignoring my letters, then?"

"No, Theodore," Lady Parkinson replied. "Did your owl return to you?"

"It did," Theo replied. "I thought that she had sent my owl back, but I'm glad that that's not the case. I was worried that I had come across as forceful." _The thirtieth of December… Oh, shit… Oh, shit!_

Theo remembered why that date was so familiar to him, and the realization caused a knot in his stomach. _The Carrow Camp. Father used to send me to it when I was younger. Pansy is no doubt going through their 'education' program. They're filling her head with Pure-Blood ideals, and knowing her, she's earned the cane more than a few times. Fuck!_

"Theodore? Are you all right?" Lady Parkinson asked.

"Just a little disappointed," Theo fixed his composure. "I'll wait until Hogsmeade Weekend to ask her out again." _If the Carrows have hurt her, I swear to the Gods… You won't have to worry about Ron, you bitch._ _ **I**_ _will make it my life's goal to ruin_ _ **your**_ _life._

"I am happy to hear that," Lady Parkinson smiled. "You come from good stock, Theodore." _Good stock? You might be a cow, but I'm not. And neither is Pansy._

"I would be very grateful if you could keep this visit between us, Lady Parkinson," Theo said. "I don't want Pansy to-"

"Think that you're being forceful," Lady Parkinson nodded in understanding. "Young love is always complicated." _Do you even know what the word 'love' means? How many times have you beaten your daughter because she dared to think for herself?_

"I think I'll be on my way," Theo stood up, and Lady Parkinson gave him a nod.

"Good luck in wooing my daughter, Theodore," Lady Parkinson said. "You have my blessing."

"Thank you," Theo gave a respectful bow, and then he began to leave.

"Oh, just one more thing," Lady Parkinson called out, and Theo turned to face her. "You have my blessing, but only if you stop associating with that red-haired dog." _Red-haired dog? Don't you dare speak about him like that._

"Ronald is friends with Pansy as well, Lady Parkinson," Theo pointed out politely.

"He won't be for long," Lady Parkinson said calmly. _What?_ "Times are changing, Theodore, and I don't want to see beautiful, **pure** children like you be weighed down by such filth. You are all growing up now, and so, you must think of your futures. My daughter's future does not contain Blood-Traitors."

"I understand."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Theo stepped into the Burrow with a foul taste in his mouth; it had taken so much willpower to not Hex that bat in her face. _The way she spoke about Ron and Pansy… Lady Parkinson, you've made an enemy today._

"You're back," came Tracey's voice, and Theo suddenly found himself being squeezed tightly.

"Told you I'd be fine," Theo put his arms around her. _Her hair smells really nice._

Behind Tracey was Daphne, and she looked visibly relieved to see him back in one piece.

"Did you worry as well?" Theo smirked at Daphne.

"Not as much as Tracey," Daphne smirked back, and Tracey quickly let go of Theo.

"Sorry…" Tracey looked bashful.

"No… Hug me whenever you want," Theo chuckled a little nervously. _Wow… I'm an idiot for saying that._

Tracey gave him a growing smile, and Theo felt his shoulders relax a little. _I think I'm safe._

"Let's go up to Ron's room," Daphne said. "You can tell us what you found out there."

"Did you find anything?" Tracey asked as they began to head upstairs.

"I did," Theo replied. "But I'd rather not say anything where other people can hear us. It's not good."

Daphne and Tracey exchanged quick looks, but they didn't press him further. _I can't believe Pansy's been stuck with Amycus and Alecto Carrow, while we've been enjoying grand feasts and each other's company. I thought Blaise had it bad when he told me that he was spending Christmas alone, but this is so much worse._ As soon as they entered Ron's room, Daphne closed and locked the door.

"Well?" Daphne asked with a worried look. _Goodbye, Ice-Queen. Hello, Daphne Greengrass._ "Is Pansy all right? Is she hurt? Why hasn't she returned our letters?"

"She's not home," Theo walked over and sat down on his bed, and the girls quickly sat down on Ron's. "She's at the Carrows' Camp."

"What?" Daphne muttered, while Tracey looked a little lost. "Theo, are you sure about this?"

"Carrow? As in Hestia and Flora?" Tracey asked.

"Their aunt and uncle hold this education camp at the end of the year," Theo told Tracey. "Basically, it's a camp for Pure-Blood children. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Millie, Pansy, and myself used to attend it when we were younger. We were taught the Old Ways at this camp…"

"The Old Ways?" Tracey asked, and Theo shifted in his spot a little. "You mean you were all taught to hate Muggles and Muggle-Borns?"

"Truth be told… Yes," Theo replied, he didn't know why he felt so horrible for admitting that. "Amycus and Alecto Carrow taught us all sorts of things, but knowing what I know now, I know that they were just lying most of the time. They taught us that Muggles carried diseases, and that Muggle-Borns steal Magic from us. When we were all little, we believed those stories." _I would still believe them if it weren't for Ron. And Tracey. Especially Tracey._

"That's sick…" Tracey looked disgusted. "Daphne, did you go to this 'camp'?"

"Father doesn't like the Carrow Family much, so Tori and I were spared," Daphne replied. "But I've heard things about this camp. **Awful** things."

"What sort of awful things?" Tracey looked to Theo.

"The Carrows were… **are** … cruel teachers," Theo replied. "They used to hit us with canes if we ever broke their rules. Some of the older kids used to get Hexed, even. Trust me when I say this, we treated their words as gospel. At first, it was to escape punishment, but eventually, you just start to believe whatever comes out of their mouth."

"My God…" Tracey looked quite shaken. "I had no idea that something like this even existed…"

"They only except Pure-Bloods," Daphne told Tracey.

"She's been there the entire Break, and won't be let out until the thirtieth," Theo said. "We won't see her until she's on the Hogwarts Express with us. It's out of our hands for now."

"We're just leaving her there?" Tracey asked. "No… No way! Guys! Pansy isn't safe there!"

"Tracey… Volume," Daphne said. "And Theo's right. We can't do much about it right now."

"Ron will think of something," Tracey said, and Theo wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Trace… He's already under so much stress," Theo said. "Look, I know that he has a way of achieving impossible results, but you girls tend to put everything on his shoulders. It's… It's not fair to him, and I promise you, if you tell him about this, he'll start obsessing over it. He'll probably kick their fucking door down in order to kidnap Pansy."

"Good," Tracey said. "Pansy's changed so much in the last two years… The Carrows are probably hurting her constantly." _Fuck, she looks really scared. Isn't there something that_ _ **I**_ _can do about this? I don't want Ron to stress even more, but at the same time, I don't have his boldness. C'mon, Theo… Think._

"Damn Violet Parkinson to hell," Daphne shook her head. "How could she do this to Pansy? And during Christmas Break?"

Theo tried his best to think of a plan, but nothing short of kidnapping Pansy would work. _If we even step onto their property without their permission, we'll be charged with trespassing. If we do somehow steal Pansy away, her parents will send her right back. If we keep Pansy with us, her parents will have us charged with kidnapping. And even if we manage to get away with stealing Pansy away, she'll be back at that camp next year._

"I'm sorry, Trace… We can't do anything for her right now," Theo said apologetically. "We're not her parents, and if we try anything, we'll always end up short. Right now, the only thing we can do is to wait."

"Wait for what?" Tracey asked. "For her to show up at Hogwarts with injuries? No… Let's just keep thinking. Please."

"We have to tell Ron," Daphne said to Theo. "I agree with you on waiting, Theo, but Ron has to know. If he finds out from someone else, and then learns that we knew all along, he'll be beyond angry." _He'll be hurt, and we all know what Ron does to people who hurt him._

"Why are you two so quick to give up?" Tracey suddenly got angry.

"Because we're thinking with our heads," Theo replied, and he instantly regretted his words when she gave him a wounded look. "No… Trace, I didn't mean it like that… I'm just frustrated, that's all. I want to help Pansy, you know I do, but our hands really are tied this time. We don't have a say in this, and if we do something rash, it would all come back to hurt Pansy."

"What about the Youth Services?" Tracey looked to Daphne. "If we can prove to them that Pansy is need of help, maybe they'll help her."

"The Ministry is bought and paid for by the Old Families," Daphne replied. "Starting a case against Pansy's parents could take weeks… Maybe even months."

"Then let's go to Lord Greengrass," Tracey urged. "Maybe he'll give us some advice on all of this. Your dad is the richest wizard in Europe, isn't he?" _Merlin, she'll never let this go. Not until Pansy is safe with us. Are Daphne and I really giving up too easily?_

"It couldn't hurt to ask him for help," Theo said, and Daphne gave him a nod. "But before we do that… What do we do about Ron?"

"We tell him the truth, and then I'll do my best to keep him from losing his temper," Daphne replied. "Hiding this from him is out of the question."

" **Can** you keep him calm?" Theo had to ask. "I mean, he's **very** protective of Pansy." _He's very protective of us all, really, but Pansy especially. I wonder why that is. Maybe it's because Pansy is more prone to crying? Whatever, it isn't important._

"Once I explain everything to him, he'll do what's best for her," Daphne replied. "He might hate it, but I know him… He'll never do anything to put Pansy in harm's way."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The French Ministry – Afternoon)**_

"It's been six hours," Crouch suddenly stood up. _Merlin, has he finally stopped grumbling?_

"Yes, I have a watch as well," Ron drawled, and Crouch shot him a frown. "Sorry… I'm going crazy in this room…" _No one's been here since Mathew dropped off my breakfast. As for Crouch… He's terrible company. I'd rather hold a conversation with a bag of bricks._

"To say that this is against all protocol is putting it mildly," Crouch said.

"I don't think they care much for protocol right now," Ron said. "Sir, please sit down. You're giving me anxiety by pacing up and down." _You're supposed to be the adult here._ "Have some soup."

"I have missed seven appointments already," Crouch went on.

"If you're so bothered, why don't you just use your wand to escape?" Ron lost his patience. "No? Not going to do that? Then sit down, and be patient."

"Do you speak to all adults in such a manner?" Crouch demanded.

"Mostly, yes," Ron replied.

"I am your boss, and you will-"

"How about you act like my boss, then?" Ron cut in, and Crouch clenched his jaw. "Sit. Down." _Annoying cunt. If he doesn't shut the fuck up, I'll kill him next._

The door suddenly clicked open, and both Ron and Crouch immediately looked to it. Durand stepped inside with a sorry look; there was a jug of orange juice floating behind him.

"You said that you'd take care of this, Durand," Crouch sneered at the man. _Do they know each other? Wait… Durand fought in the Great War, and Crouch led the Ministry side of things._

"Forgive me, Sir, but the Minister is…" Durand stopped himself. "The man has been a headache for all of us. Any minute now, he'll come down here and apologize to you both for this, and then he'll thank you for your cooperation."

"So you found the culprit?" Ron asked.

"No," Durand replied as the jug of juice floated onto the table. "Here, Ronald… Drink this." _I'm not drinking a damn thing from you. For all I know, there's something in that juice._

"He will do no such thing," Crouch cut in. "How do I know that you're not dosing my employee with Veritaserum?"

Durand poured himself a glass, and he took a long sip. _Oh…_

"He needs to stay hydrated," Durand looked to Ron, and then he offered Ron the glass. "I spoke with Poppy Pomfrey, and after she stopped scolding me as if I were a schoolboy, she told me to keep you full of liquids." _Ha, she scolded a Head Auror. Classic Madam Pomfrey._

"Thanks," Ron took the glass and drank deeply from it. _Merlin… I needed that. I had no idea I was so thirsty._

"Here," Durand filled his glass again, and Ron downed it all in one go. "I'm really sorry for holding you in here while you're recovering, slugger. I've been trying my best to get you out of here, but bureaucracy has a way of slowing down progress."

"It's okay…" Ron gave a half-smile. _I like this guy. He seems kind._ "Can you tell us anything about the investigation?"

"I owe you that much," Durand looked to Crouch, who took his seat once more. "It was the bread."

"The bread?" Crouch asked.

"The bread was laced with the poison," Durand replied. "As it turns out, the food being given to the Abadies was not from the Ministry. They were being fed five-star meals from the best restaurants in Magical Paris."

"What?" Ron was genuinely surprised, while Crouch just looked annoyed. "Do you people normally feed prisoners such divine foods?" _If so, please lock me the fuck up._

"The rich stay rich, Ronald, even in prison cells," Crouch said. _Did he just call me Ronald?_ "The French Minister no doubt kept their stay here as comfortable as possible in order to avoid any bad blood if they were victorious in their trial." _That's some corrupt horseshit right there._

"And he decided to keep this information away from the rest of us," Durand looked thoroughly put off.

"Do you know where this poisoned bread came from?" Crouch asked.

"A bakery called King Solomon's Bakery," Durand replied, and Ron's ears perked up. _Solomon… There's that name again._ "They have a bunch of chains open throughout Europe. So far, we can't prove that they poisoned the bread. Unless we catch the assassin behind this, there's not much that we can do."

"Do you have any ideas on who could have hired this assassin?" Crouch asked.

"Could be a thousand different people… Lord and Lady Abadie had many enemies," Durand replied, and then he looked to Ron. "Some people are saying that you somehow did this, but it's all just speculation."

"People love spreading lies, don't they?" Ron shook his head. _Still, some people will think twice before crossing me now._

Durand went to say something, but the door clicked open once again. Minister Wallace and Roberta Berger stepped inside, and Berger gave Durand an exasperated look. _They seem to be getting along since my last visit._

"Minister Wallace," Crouch stood up, and Ron followed suit.

"Mr. Crouch," Wallace smiled, it looked rather forced. "Let me start by apologizing to you for our poor hospitality. We are currently in lockdown due to the recent tragedy-"

"We would have happily cooperated if you had only asked us first," Crouch cut in. "Instead, you have wasted our day, and insulted us by keeping us trapped within this room."

"We had to make sure that Mr. Weasley's alibi checked out," Wallace said. "I am sorry that you feel like your day has been wasted, but two people were murdered." _Is he trying to spin this? He made Emilia's job a million times easier by bringing in food from outside. Plus, he didn't even tell his own Aurors what he was doing._

"Your lack of protocol got them killed," Ron stated bluntly. "If you hadn't brought in five-star meals from outside, they'd still be alive."

"I see that Head Auror Durand has informed you of what happened," Wallace didn't look too happy.

"I felt it necessary," Durand said unapologetically. "This is Bartemius Crouch Snr that we locked up… He is owed more respect than this." _Yeah, they definitely worked together during the Great War. Durand comes across as a loyal soldier, and I quite like that._

Ron looked to Roberta Berger, who was giving Durand a not so subtle lookover. _She likes it too, it seems._

"Ronald and I will be returning to Britain," Crouch told Wallace. "I am sorry for what happened here, but this is French business. We have no information to share, and now that Ronald is 'cleared', we have no reason to be here." _Yes… Let's go home already._

"Certainly," Wallace looked to Berger, who pulled out a shiny coin wrapped within a handkerchief. "This Portkey will take you both back to the British Ministry. If you learn anything, please do not hesitate to contact us."

"Thank you," Crouch said, though he sounded anything but grateful.

Berger handed Crouch the handkerchief, and Ron stepped up to Crouch's side.

"It was good to see you again, Sir," Durand said, and Crouch gave him a courteous nod. "Stay in bed and recover, slugger."

"Will do," Ron said.

"Are you ready?" Crouch asked Ron, who gave a nod.

They both put their fingers on the coin at the same time, and Ron saw the world around him explode in blinding light.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

Ron stepped into the Burrow, and he immediately found his siblings and the Trio loitering about. They all stopped talking at the sight of him, and Ron gave them a wave.

"Hello," Ron greeted. _Where are my friends? Probably upstairs._

"You're finally back," Bill looked quite relieved. "Mum and dad have been waiting for you, Ron."

"Right," Ron rubbed his face, he was feeling quite tired. _It's the lack of actual food. I feel drained of my strength._

"What was the emergency?" Charlie asked, and Ron saw multiple ears perk up. _Should I tell them? I mean, this will be in the newspaper tomorrow. There's no way that the French Ministry can hide something like this, and according to Crouch, Minister Wallace is bound to be fired for his idiocy. This is going to be the talk of the Wizarding World for at least a month._

"Lord and Lady Abadie are dead," Ron told them, and he heard Hermione gasp. "Poisoned in their prison cells… I can't say more than that. Where are mum and dad?"

"In the Kitchen," Ginny replied.

"Right…" Ron said, his eyes moving between Ginny and the others. _She's sitting all by herself. Again. Where are Luna and Tori?_

Ron made his way out of the Living Room, ignoring his siblings' hushed whispers. As soon as he stepped into the Kitchen, he spotted the adults spending some quality time together.

"Ron, you're back," Pandora smiled at him.

"Yes, and in one piece," Ron spared his mother a glance.

"What happened?" Lord Greengrass asked with a serious expression.

"Lord and Lady Abadie are dead," Ron replied, causing multiple people to go wide-eyed.

"Dead?" James blinked.

"They were poisoned by an assassin," Ron clarified. "The French Ministry is under lockdown right now, but news of this will break out very soon."

"Why did they want you there?" Arthur couldn't help but ask. "They didn't show you the bodies, did they?" _Merlin, I wish I could have seen that whore's corpse._

"No, but I was suspected of their murder," Ron replied.

"What?!" Molly looked scandalized. "They couldn't possibly suspect a child of this heinous crime, could they?!" _A child? Well… This is awkward, isn't it?_

"I spent most of the day in an interrogation room," Ron sighed out. "Can I have some soup, mum? I'm really hungry."

"Take a seat," Molly quickly got to work, and Ron planted himself in the chair next to Pandora.

As if reading his mind, Pandora scratched the back of his head lovingly. _Maybe I'll take a nap after eating. I'm struggling to keep my eyes open._

"Tell us what happened, Ron," Sirius said. "Did they question you?"

"No," Ron shook his head. "Truth be told, the only person who suspected me to be behind this was Minister Wallace, but that was only because he was the idiot who let this happen in the first place. He was feeding the Abadies five-star meals from various restaurants, and the assassin used that opportunity to smuggle in poisoned bread-"

"What are you lot doing?" Sirius suddenly spoke to the doorway, and Ron looked back only to see the twins dash out of sight. _Are they still planning to follow me around everywhere? What the fuck? This is more annoying than them grilling me…_

"Go on, Ron," Mary said. "Tell us what else happened."

"Honestly, I was locked up in a room all day," Ron said.

"Do they still suspect you?" Lord Greengrass asked.

"No, that got cleared up," Ron replied. "I told them that I was recovering from a surgery, and the French Head Auror, Paul Durand, confirmed my alibi with Madam Pomfrey. It was just the Minister who was being an idiot, but I think it was simply because he wanted to look like he was keeping everything under control. Looking busy, you know?"

"Politicians…" Susana shook her head.

"So you're cleared of any suspicion?" Xeno asked for clarification.

"Yes," Ron replied. "After wasting my day, they sent me home without question."

"Here you go," Molly planted a large bowl of soup in front of Ron. _Is she still angry with me? She doesn't look angry._

"Thank you," Ron said before starting his lunch. "Lord Greengrass… I'm sorry for not coming down this morning."

"I understand," Lord Greengrass stopped him. "This was something out of your control." _Really? Just like that? I feel like we haven't really spoken since the whole 'sneaking off to France' situation. I'll wait and see if he approaches me on his own, but if he doesn't, I'll approach him myself._

"Mum, can I eat up in my room?" Ron asked. "Please?"

"Oh… Fine…" Molly agreed. "But you'd better bring that bowl back down, Ron. I don't want to find dirty dishes in your room."

"Yes, mum," Ron promised.

* * *

 _ **Molly Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

"We should just tell them already," Susana said once Ron was gone.

"She's right," James agreed with his wife. "Telling them a day before the Hogwarts Express leaves is unwise. They need time to digest something like this."

"My children just found out that their brother is terminally ill," Arthur sighed out.

"Give them a moment for pity's sake," Sirius added.

"By waiting around, we lose the chance to prepare them ourselves," Sebastian said. "Their lives are about to change, and if we don't teach them to cope, then who will? Dumbledore?"

They had spent the entire day discussing the war, but in the end, everyone had their own ideas on how to break the news to the children. Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten were godsends because they were keeping the young ones busy and distracted, but Molly was sure that sooner or later, her children would figure out that something else was bothering the adults. _I don't like to disagree with Arthur, but if we don't teach them how to behave during these times, they could get hurt._

"The mere knowledge of what's coming will change how they behave at school," Xeno said. "If they're not careful, then this could spread, and we'd all be in danger."

"Why does it have to be today, or the last day?" Pandora asked. "Ron's had a troubling day, and dropping this into his lap right now could hurt him. We can always tell them tomorrow."

"As long as we have time to sit them all down, and tell them how to behave moving forward, I'm all for it," Mary said. "But we can't wait for too long."

"What about Theodore?" Molly spoke up. _Why have we not discussed that boy? He's in danger as well, is he not? Maybe even in more danger than the others. His father is no doubt helping the Dark Lord._

"I hate to be the one who says this…" James started. "But he will probably follow in his father's-"

"James," Susana stopped her husband with a deep frown. "That boy is your daughter's friend. How can you say that?"

"He's being logical," Sebastian said. "Despite Cornelius' old age, I know for a fact that he's very close with his son. Family ties can lead to poor decisions-"

"Then we should help him," Molly wasn't going to hear the rest. "He's lived with us. Eaten at our table. How can any of you even think to leave him in the dark?" _I don't care what the final decision is; I'll tell him myself if I have to._ "No, we will sit him down with the rest, and explain everything. What he does after that is up to him, but we shouldn't just write him off because of his father."

"Molly…" Arthur sighed out.

"I know, Arthur," Molly remembered her old hatred of Cornelius Nott. "I know that his father helped murder my own brothers… But seeing Theodore around the Burrow… How he makes Ron laugh, how he helps me in the garden… I won't let him leave until he knows. This is my house, and I have a say in who can find refuge here." Molly then looked to Arthur. "When Ron collapsed, it was Theodore and Draco who kept me from losing my mind."

Arthur looked down at the table for a moment, and then he gave a weak nod.

"Of course," Arthur agreed with his wife. "We'll talk to him as well." _Good._

"And what if he tells his father everything?" Sebastian asked. "Then what?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Sirius gave Molly a nod. "Molly's right… Theo's just a kid, and if we don't talk to him, he could end up getting branded against his will. Seb… C'mon, mate… You'd really let something like that happen to a child?"

"If it protects my daughters, then yes," Sebastian said coldly. _This man… Sometimes, I wonder if he was even forced to join that lot._

"Sebastian…" Mary said. "Enough. You'll lose your daughters if you let their friend get hurt."

Sebastian just stared at Mary, and then he quietly looked back ahead. _What's he thinking?_

"I'll talk to him," Sebastian said suddenly. "I'll show him what happens to the poor souls who fall into the Dark Lord's hands. After that, if he still chooses to follow after his father, our children will not associate with him."

"I agree with Sebastian," James said. "I only have one daughter, and I can't take risks. Not again."

"Then we tell them tomorrow?" Xeno asked. "Are we all agreed on that?"

"Tomorrow," Arthur nodded. "Sirius, what do you plan to do about Harry? Do you still think that he'll want to be on the frontline?"

"Oh, he'll want to fight," Sirius said proudly.

"But he shouldn't," Molly said. "He's only thirteen."

"What he chooses to do is up to him," Sirius said. "The Dark Lord wants Harry, and sooner or later, they'll meet each other again. If Harry chooses to fight, then Remus and I will be right by his side."

"I hope you're not planning to encourage him, Sirius," Pandora said. _He sounds like he is._ "You remember the last war, don't you? Do really want your son to face such horrors? And at such a young age?" _His son?_

"No, I don't, but I've learned that life seldom works out as you plan it," Sirius replied. "We're talking about the Dark Lord here… The fucking Dark Lord… He'll find a way to get to Harry, and I don't think any of us can keep him away indefinitely. Harry needs to be ready."

The sound of footsteps halted their conversation, and Molly looked to see Theodore coming down the stairs with an empty bowl in his hand. _Ron finished his lunch, then. That's good. I hate not being able to feed him properly, but Poppy was adamant about it._

"I'll wash that, dear," Molly took the bowl from Theodore. "Is Ron feeling better?"

"He fell asleep as soon as he finished eating," Theodore replied.

"Oh… Well, don't let him sleep for too long," Molly said. "Otherwise, he'll be up all night."

"I'll wake him up in a couple of hours," Theodore smiled.

"Are you hungry? Do you want some snacks?" Molly asked, there was a dull ache in her heart right now. _What if this poor boy dies? So many children died in the last war. Control yourself, Molly… Don't tear up in front of him._

"Mrs. Weasley?" Theodore asked slowly, and then he looked to the other adults. "Um… Is everything all right?"

"Of course," Molly put on a smile. "How about some fried pork rind? I'll fix you up a big bowl."

"I can't say no to that," Theodore chuckled. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." _He's very skinny for a boy his age… I'll use my biggest bowl._

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Evening)**_

By the time Theo and Daphne had finished explaining Pansy's situation to Ron, Tracey had found herself wanting to run away and hide.

Ron had woken up from his nap in a disturbingly happy mood, especially considering his day at French Ministry, but that happy mood was short lived due to Pansy's current situation. At first, Ron had asked question after question, but the more he learned about their day, the quieter he became. And now, he was staring at his friends in a very familiar way. _Any minute now, he's going to lose his temper._

"So, basically, our friend is being held at a Death-Eater training camp," Ron finally spoke up, and they all shrunk because of his cold tone. _Death-Eater training camp? I suppose he's not wrong, but Death-Eaters are a thing of the past._ "And you three **idiots** decided to let me take a nap?"

"You looked exhausted-" Theo started.

"I don't care how I looked!" Ron snapped as he stood up, making everyone flinch. "Useless pieces of shit!" _Oh, God…_

Tracey's eyes darted towards Daphne, who was staring at the floor with a scared look. _I knew that we should've told him immediately, but no, you two just had to wait, didn't you?_ Ron suddenly began pacing, his hands clenching and unclenching.

"Do something…" Theo whispered to Daphne.

"Ron, we can discuss-" Daphne started.

"Why?" Ron glared at her. "Why keep this from me? Huh?! And don't you dare say that it was for my own good, Daphne… You don't keep shit like this from me!"

Ron began pacing again, muttering something under his breath. Tracey, Theo, and Daphne exchanged looks, but none of them had the strength to say anything. Ron was starting to look murderous, and when he turned and cracked his neck, Tracey once again felt the urge to run away and hide. She loved Ron with all of her heart, but when he was this angry… God help her, she could barely breathe properly. _Just don't make a sound, Tracey. Just be perfectly quiet._

Ron suddenly stopped pacing, and Tracey's breathing hitched. He just stood there, staring at the wall with a dark look, and then, his hands found his face. They could hear him breathing hard through his hands, and Tracey figured that he was trying to calm himself down. _That, or he's starting to panic over Pansy's wellbeing._

"Ron, please sit down," Daphne spoke up, but Ron didn't even register her words.

"She's all alone out there…" Ron muttered to himself, his fingers digging into his forehead.

"She's not in any life-threatening danger," Theo provided, and Ron slowly turned to face him. "I mean… The Carrows are cruel, but they'd never cause her permanent damage… She's still a Parkinson…"

"Theo, stop talking," Tracey whispered. _For God's sake, he'll throw you out of a window._

Seeing Ron's face turn even colder, Theo quickly closed his mouth.

"Not in any life-threatening danger?" Ron asked Theo, who looked down at the floor. "Is that when we should start worrying?" Ron then looked to Daphne. "And you… Pansy doesn't return your letters, and you don't act until your owl returns? How long have you been worried for Pansy? Why not say anything until now?"

"At least I noticed, Ron!" Daphne stood up. _They're about to fight, aren't they?_ "You didn't notice at all! Have you even sent any of our friends an owl since the Break started?!"

Theo nudged Tracey to move, but she stayed perfectly still. _We can't leave… He'll tear us a new one for walking away._

"No, I haven't," Ron replied a little too calmly, which jarred the others. "I've been tackling a million things at once, so please, forgive me for my lack of oversight just this once. Obviously, if I'm not constantly worrying over you lot, you can't do a single thing right." _That hurts… I won't lie._

Daphne went to say something, but Ron silenced her by raising his hand.

"It's fine…" Ron shook his head with an almost disgusted look. "Now that I know, I'll fix this all by myself… As always. You three can just sit there with your thumbs up your arses." Ron then headed for the door. "Fucking clowns, the lot of you."

"Where are you going?" Daphne ran into his way, blocking the door with her body. "You can't barge in and make things worse for her, Ron! I won't let you!"

"I'm heading downstairs to speak to my father," Ron said dully. "I want to speak to his friend in the Youth Services Office."

"Oh…" Daphne blinked.

"What?" Ron sneered. "You think I'm going to rush into that disgusting camp in order to steal Pansy away in the dead of night? Do you think I'm stupid, Daphne?"

"Of… Of course not…" Daphne shrunk a little. _God, his 'calm rage' is worse than his full-blown rage._

"Step out of the way… I'll take it from here," Ron ordered, and Daphne slowly slid aside.

And just like that, Ron was gone. Tracey felt her entire body sag, both from relief and tiredness. On the one hand, she was happy that Ron was on the case. If anyone could help Pansy, it was the young wizard who never learned to back down. But on the other, she felt wretched because of his angry comments. Tracey didn't even notice Theo leave her side in order to comfort Daphne, who was struggling not to tear up.

"It's all right, Daphne," came Theo's voice, and Tracey looked to see him giving her a one-armed hug. "He didn't mean any of that… He's just a prick when he's angry."

"I… I know…" Daphne dabbed her eyes, and Tracey quickly joined them. "I should've brought this up sooner, though…"

"You can't change what's happened," Theo said calmingly. "No matter what anyone says, you were the first to take notice. And without us, Ron wouldn't have a damn clue about any of this. He's just scared for Pansy, but unlike us, he has a tendency to turn his fear into anger. Let him cool off a bit, and then, we'll sit him down and talk to him."

"He's not her only friend," Tracey spoke up as she took Daphne's hand. "We'll all help her, and if Ron doesn't like that, then that's his problem."

Daphne nodded weakly, there were thick tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'll go down and keep an eye on him," Theo said. "Trace, can you stay here?"

"Of course," Tracey agreed. "Daph, let's sit down for a bit."

"Okay…" Daphne looked even closer to crying than before.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Evening)**_

There were days when Ron hated waking up, and today had turned into one of those days.

Learning the truth about Pansy's situation had filled him with anger, guilt, and a feeling of powerlessness. He knew that his anger was being displaced, but as he had sat there and listened to the half-assed solutions of his friends, he had come to realize that they were more concerned with not causing a stir. Tracey, unlike Theo and Daphne, was the only one who was willing to break some rules, but she too was now convinced that waiting was the best option.

But Ron knew better… He had seen Pansy die in front of his very eyes. He had wept over her corpse. **He had mourned her**. Tracey, Theo, and Daphne seemed to believe that at the end of the day, Pansy wasn't in any real danger. They had constantly stressed that point to him, but Ron had seen Pansy's murder at the hands of her own mother. How was he supposed to believe them? How was he supposed to explain to them that Pansy's mother was willing to murder her own daughter if Pansy didn't live up to her disgusting beliefs? He couldn't, and that only served to make him feel weaker.

Their plan was to 'just wait'… They planned to speak to Pansy **after** the Break, and even then, Daphne kept saying that they didn't plan to force her into anything. Eventually, it was too much for Ron, and he had given into his anger. Not only was he scared for his friend's wellbeing, he was also feeling an immense amount of guilt for not watching over her. Daphne had hit a raw nerve when she had told him that he hadn't even noticed Pansy's absence, because the truth was that Ron hadn't noticed. He hadn't even thought of Pansy. Or Blaise. Or Millie. He was too busy with the French, and although a part of him wanted to use that as an excuse, Ron couldn't bring himself to look past his neglect of his friends.

Anger, guilt, and a feeling of powerlessness… It had been too much. How could he not have noticed? Why didn't he owl her? _Because you're a selfish piece of garbage, Ron. She's been suffering all by herself, but you could only focus on your own problems. Selfish! You promised to watch out for her, didn't you?_ Ron felt a sharp pang of pain crawl up his spine and into his brain, but he ignored it. He was used to being in pain at this point… _But Pansy isn't. If they've hurt her… I'll kill them._ _ **We'll kill them all!**_

Ron stopped at the base of the stairs, his eyes landing on his father. _Albert Trope. I need to speak to that man about emancipation. It's the only way to get Pansy away from her parents. It won't be long before they drag her into their war, and she's not built for such a thing._

"Oh, you're awake," Pandora smiled at him.

"Dad, can I speak to you? Outside?" Ron asked, and his father gave a slow nod.

Ron all but flew out of the back exit, no doubt earning confused and worried looks from the parents. It was cold outside, and the sun was starting to set. _Damn… I can't see him today, can I? Fuck, why did they have to wait? They could've seen him during the day if they weren't so fucking lazy!_

"Ron? What's gotten into you, son?" Arthur asked as he closed the door behind him.

"I just learned about Pansy," Ron said, and Arthur closed his eyes and nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said. "It's terrible that her own parents are sending her to such places."

"They've told you everything, then?" Ron asked.

"We spoke while you were in France," Arthur replied. "They wanted advice from Sebastian and myself, and we told them to be patient."

"You told them to be patient…" Ron muttered under his breath. "Whatever… Dad, I want to meet this Albert Trope as soon as possible. Where does he live?"

"I don't know," Arthur gave Ron a quizzical look. "Son… Your friends agreed to wait-"

"I don't wait," Ron said bluntly. "Every day I wait, Pansy is being tormented by the Carrow cunts."

"Language…" Arthur sighed out. "Ron, relax… Please? I don't know where Albert lives because we're not that close, but I will speak to him at work on Monday."

"I'm sure there are ways of finding out where he lives," Ron said. "The sooner I speak to him, the sooner we can start helping Pansy."

"It's Sunday tomorrow," Arthur said. "You can't just show up at his house, Ron… It's not proper." _Proper? What?_

"Look, you let me worry about what's proper," Ron started. "Is there any way that you can help me find out where he lives?"

"Ron, your mother and I have something important to discuss with you tomorrow," Arthur said. _What? The war? Are you finally going to let us know?_

"I'm sure whatever you want to discuss won't last the whole day," Ron said. "I only need to speak to this man for an hour at most."

"What do you need to speak to him about?" Arthur asked.

"Emancipation," Ron replied.

"Gods…" Arthur muttered, he looked quite taken aback. "Ron, I know that she's your friend, but emancipation? Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"You don't know her mother," Ron replied. "Dad, Violet Parkinson is very dangerous… She's unhinged. She hurts Pansy, and has been doing so since Pansy was a little girl. Pansy is terrified of this woman. She shouldn't be living in a house where she's afraid to even speak her mind."

"And who will take care of her once you convince her to walk away from her Family?" Arthur asked.

"I'll take care of her," Ron replied. _I have a ton of Galleons in my vault, and Pansy can have complete access to it. It's not like I'll be around to use it all, anyway._

"Do you hear yourself?" Arthur asked. "Ron… This is extreme, even for you."

Ron felt his temper flare up, but he somehow managed to contain it.

"Can you help me, or not?" Ron asked.

"Right now?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, dad… Now," Ron replied.

"I'll… I'll go to the Ministry… I'm sure I can find out where he lives," Arthur looked rather tired all of a sudden. "But, Ron… I'm warning you right now. This is very serious business, and you need to think of what's best for your friend."

"I'll be waiting," Ron said as he walked over and sat down on a nearby bench.

Arthur lingered for a bit, but sensing that Ron wanted to be left alone, he left to go find out where Albert Trope lived. Once his father was gone, Ron buried his face in his hands. _Please, hurry… I'm going to lose my mind if I have to wait for too long._ He heard the back door open, and he spared a glance in its direction. Theo shut the door behind him, and then he walked up to Ron with an expressionless mask for a face.

"You were a right prick just before-" Theo started.

"Don't fucking push me right now, Theo," Ron warned outright. "Just leave me alone to think."

"Think of what?" Theo asked as he sat down to Ron's right.

"Pansy," Ron looked ahead. "You say that the Carrows regularly hit their charges?"

"They do," Theo sighed out.

"That can't be legal," Ron felt his heart clench. _I hope Pansy's keeping her head down._

"It's complicated," Theo muttered.

"No, it really isn't," Ron fought the urge to sneer. "I get that you feel the need to defend how you were raised, Theo, but we both know that beating children for thinking differently is fucked up." _If someone put their hands on me for my beliefs, I'd rip their fucking spine out._

"I'm not defending the Carrows…" Theo said lamely. "I'm… I don't know… For some reason, I don't want you to think that it was all bad. Do you understand? I had a happy childhood, for the most part, but the Carrows were a part of it."

"You used to despise Muggles," Ron stated. "Don't think that I've forgotten, Theo… You literally abandoned me because I helped bring a former Death-Eater to justice."

"I remember too," Theo looked down at his hands. "You have no idea how much I regret that, Ron… No idea."

Ron looked to Theo, and seeing him staring down at his own hands softened Ron a little.

"You're misunderstanding me," Ron said a little more softly, and Theo looked at him with a slightly confused look. "You did what you were taught to do, Theo, nothing more. You were raised to believe that hating anyone who isn't like you is the right thing to do. When I challenged that, you were forced to walk away from me. You hated it, I know that, and I remember how upset you were before we reconciled. My problem with you leaving is that you felt the need to leave in the first place."

"Really?" Theo whispered.

"The girls probably didn't tell you this, but I was miserable without you and Blaise," Ron confessed. "More than you two think, actually. I even started regretting catching Peter Pettigrew, believe it or not."

Theo said nothing to that, and Ron was grateful for it. A few moments passed, and Ron found himself thinking of Pansy again. He could still remember the vision of her death so vividly. He could hear his own screams. He could hear her pained whimpers, as she died on the gravel from her numerous injuries. It was enough to make his eyes sting painfully. _I'll die if she dies… My heart will break, and I'll just die._

"She's precious to me," Ron whispered to himself, and Theo blinked at him.

"Pansy?"

"Yes," Ron whispered. "You're all so precious to me… You're my Family."

"We feel the same way, brother," Theo said. "You know that, right?"

"I do," Ron replied. "She's not built to take beatings, Theo, and right now, she's at their mercy. Do you think she wants to be there?"

"I think she wanted to spend Christmas with us," Theo replied.

"I asked her to join us, but she was too scared to accept," Ron told Theo. "She didn't even want to go home, and now we know why."

"What are we going to do?" Theo asked, and Ron gave him a blank stare. "I do want to help her, Ron… Don't think that I don't."

"But you don't want to cause a stir," Ron said.

"Being careful is not unwise," Theo argued.

"Sometimes, being careful results in you getting blindsided," Ron countered. "I used to be more careful, but what did that get us? We spent most of our time trying to keep the other Slytherins happy. We were fucking outcasts, but we bent over backwards to appease other people… In the end, taking action is what brings change. You, Tracey, and Daphne want to sit around and wait, but you know what I want to do?"

"What?"

"I want to find solutions," Ron replied. "I know that I can't steal her away… It'll cause so many problems for her. So, I'll gather all the information and resources that I can, and when I do see her again, I'll give her comfort **and** solutions. I won't sit around and let the adults take care of it, because let's face it, they don't love Pansy. **We** love Pansy. She's **our** friend."

"What kind of solutions?" Theo asked.

"Right now, emancipation," Ron replied, and Theo drew in a sharp breath.

"Merlin, Ron… Sweet fucking Merlin…" Theo shook his head.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Emancipation?" Theo gave him a baffled look. "That's your solution?"

"For now," Ron replied.

"She'll lose her Family's fortune," Theo said.

"Money?" Ron asked. "Theo, do you think Pansy wants her parents' money? Or does she want to be happy?"

Theo went to say something, but nothing came out.

"I'm not going to force her into anything," Ron explained as gently as he could. "But when I do talk to her, I'll tell her that my money is her money. I'll even give her a pouch that has access to my vault. And… And before I die, I'll give her my shares in the Quibbler. She'll never want for a thing."

"Before you die?" Theo adorned a dazed look.

"Listen to me," Ron whispered as he moved closer to Theo. _I have to let him in for his own good._ "I won't be around for long, Theo-"

"Don't fucking say that," Theo sounded almost angry.

"No, you listen to me," Ron took Theo's hands a little too roughly. "Brother… I won't be around for long, do you understand? I'm very sick, and I…" his throat tightened. "And I'm scared… Not for me, but for you. For my friends. I'm dying, but you all still have a chance to live long and happy lives."

"Why are you saying these things?" Theo tried to yank his hands away from Ron, but Ron held on tightly.

"Because I don't know how else I can explain this to you," Ron felt a little frustrated. "I know that you will all remain friends for life, and I hope that you'll all find happy endings. But me? I don't get that. The only happy ending I get is that the people who I love, which are all of you, get their happy endings. Pansy will never be happy while she's under her parents' thumb, and you know it. That's why I want to help her, because pretty soon, I won't be there to protect her."

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he ignored the fact that Theo's eyes were starting to well up. _I'm scaring him, aren't I? Just press forward, Ron. Don't stop now._

"Please, Theo…" Ron all but pleaded. "Grow up a little, I'm begging you… Just listen to me for once, and don't fight me on this. I know that you all think I'm insane whenever I talk about the war that's coming, but I'm not. I'm not crazy. The skin on my body is proof that the Dark Lord still roams the Earth, and one day, he will bring death and destruction with him. When that happens, I want us all to be together."

"Wha…. Please… Ron… Stop it…" Theo whimpered.

"Pansy, Tracey, Daphne, Mille, Blaise, Draco, and you… You have to stay together," Ron said, his voice cracking a little. "Don't let your parents separate you. Don't let the adults mix you up into their war. Promise me? Promise me that you'll look out for the others when I'm not there."

"I… I'm not like you…" Theo swallowed thickly, a couple of errant tears escaping his eyes.

"I know," Ron squeezed Theo's hands. "Which is why I do the things that I do… I do them so that none of you have to. It's my way of making sure that you'll all still have a future. You might think that I'm exaggerating, but one day soon, you'll understand that I'm not. Pansy can't stay with her parents, Theo. She can't… They'll get her killed, or, they'll marry her off to some old codger who treats her as his property. You all still have time to carve out your own futures; so don't waste this time sitting around doing nothing. Please?"

"My father… I… If this war comes…" Theo started sniffling.

"It's hard to think about, I know," Ron whispered. "Do you want to be the Dark Lord's thrall? Could you kill in his name? Do you want to hurt people? People like Hermione? Or Tracey's mum? Or my Family?"

"No…" Theo started shaking, and Ron let go of Theo's hands in order to put his arm around Theo. "I… I don't want to hurt anyone… Not anymore…"

Ron's own eyes were stinging, but through sheer fucking will, he was able to stop himself from crying. He was incredibly scared, but he knew that he couldn't show Theo that fear. Theo, and the others, needed someone to rely on. They weren't built like Ron, and he understood that. He had been living in this nightmare for far too long, but his friends were just ordinary children.

"Promise me that you'll look out for our friends, Theo," Ron pressed his forehead against Theo's temple. "You're intelligent, and much stronger than you think. I've seen it with my own eyes. You've changed so much, brother, and I know that you don't live with hate in your heart. Promise me that you'll keep them all together when I'm gone."

"I… I promise…" Theo coughed out.

"Thank you," Ron felt his chest lighten, and he pressed a kiss on Theo's temple. "Thank you, Theo."

* * *

 _ **Amelia Bones' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Ministry – Night)**_

The moment she stepped into her Office, she prepared herself a large drink. She was utterly exhausted, and a part of her prayed that she never had to visit Albania again. The Gaia Project was finally finished, and with the Muggle Officials signing off on it, the possibility of a Muggle-Wizard war was now averted.

She drank down her Firewhiskey as if it was her last, and then, she sank into her chair. _Home, at last._ As she Wandlessly Charmed her bottle to pour her another glass, she looked at the stack of mail that been delivered to her desk. Of all the letters, one stood out the most. _That's Susan's handwriting._ Amelia opened the letter, and began to read.

 _Hello, Auntie!_

 _I just thought that I'd let you know that mum and dad are not happy with you. They don't like that you skipped Christmas, but I understand that you had important work to finish._

 _Anyway, I just thought that I'd give you the heads up because I'm your favorite niece!_

 _Also, thank you for the new handbag! It's so beautiful!_

 _Love you,_

 _Susan_

Amelia felt her lips tug into a smile as she put the letter down. _Loyal girl. I guess I should apologize to her parents tomorrow morning. Maybe we can make up for Christmas by having dinner at The Pond._ Amelia started her second drink; she didn't have to worry about her workers catching her tonight. _Even Rufus is away on business. It feels nice to have this place to myself, though I have missed working from my desk._ Just as she finished her drink, a blindingly orange light suddenly filled the room.

Without a moment's hesitation, Amelia pulled out her wand and fired a stunner at the flames, only to be shocked when her Spell stopped in mid-air.

"It's good to see you as well, Amelia," Dumbledore chuckled; he had stopped her stunner with his hand alone.

"Dumbledore?" Amelia muttered, her eyes fixed on the floating stunner.

With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore completely dismantled her Spell into nothing. _Merlin… Wandless Deconstruction?_ The experienced part of her told her that something like this was nothing for a man like Albus Dumbledore, and yet, she couldn't deny that his Mastery of Magic awed her.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amelia broke out of her stupor. "How did you know that I was going to be here tonight?"

"Fawkes told me," Dumbledore said innocently, and the Phoenix on his shoulder let out a shrill.

"Right…" Amelia blinked. _Don't let his act fool you. This man sees, and knows, everything._ "Why are you here, Dumbledore?"

"I wish to speak with you," Dumbledore replied. "Just you."

"About what?" Amelia placed her wand on the table. _Keep your wand at reaching distance, but don't be hostile._ "Do you wish to discuss the Gaia Project?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Dumbledore smiled. "Do you have some time to spare? What I wish to discuss cannot be overheard. Even by the walls."

Amelia studied the old wizard for a few moments, and then, she pocketed her wand.

"I'm going to assume that I have no choice here," Amelia said.

"You always have a choice, Amelia," Dumbledore said. "I only hope that you make the **right** one."

"Still speaking in riddles…" Amelia sighed out. "Where are we going?"

"To Hogwarts," Dumbledore offered her his arm. _It must be important, or he wouldn't come here so late._

Amelia walked over to him, and took his arm. Fire erupted around her, and yet, she felt no heat. Instead, she found herself standing within the Headmaster's Office. It smelled exactly like she remembered from her younger years. _Incense, and old parchments. This place hasn't changed whatsoever._ As she looked around, her eyes landed on a figure sitting in the shadows. He had short black hair, an eye patch, a hooked nose, and he was missing a hand.

"Severus Snape…?" Amelia focused on him, and the man stood up. _Susan mentioned that he had an accident in his lab, but this… This doesn't look like the work of an accident._

"Madam Bones," Snape greeted her, but Amelia could do little but stare at him. "Albus, just show her the memories." _Memories?_

Amelia looked to the old wizard, who gestured her towards the Pensieve floating in the middle of the room.

"The answers you seek lie within," Dumbledore told her. "Take a look, and when you return, we will discuss the future." _The future?_

"Whose memories am I looking at?" Amelia asked.

"Mine, and Severus'," Dumbledore replied. "Please, let's not waste any time."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I promise, next chapter will have them back at Hogwarts. The pace has slowed down a bit, but that's only because I'm closing quite a few arcs while establishing new ones. Christmas feels like the perfect time for it, you know?**

 **Now, I was thinking of having some fanart made for the story. You know, something for the fans who are into that sort of thing. So, if you know anyone, or are a talented artist yourself, give me the details. I'm not sure on how legal it is to commission fanart, but, I think we should be fine. We can discuss the details in PMs.**

 **Stay healthy, and stay safe.**

 **See you guys in about a week, or so. (Times are tough for students like myself, so delays are to be expected while I try to secure income)**


	112. Chapter 112 - Cracks

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 112 is finished, and delivered!  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'The human mind... Fragile... Like a Robin's egg' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 112 - Cracks**

 _ **Amelia Bones' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Headmaster's Office – Night)**_

She all but yanked herself out of the Pensieve, a terrifying shudder passing throughout her body.

The Dark Lord was still alive, and he had returned.

Amelia had seen the battle that had resulted in the Albania Inferno, she had witnessed the capture and torture of Severus Snape, and she had watched Dumbledore's assault on Malfoy Manor. It had been a terrible experience, and in the hope of proving it to be a fabrication, she had studied the memories in great detail. But nothing was out of place… These memories were not forged, and if they were, then Dumbledore and Snape had gone through great effort to fool her. _But why would they want to fool me? What could they hope to gain from it? Nothing._

Amelia looked to Severus Snape, who simply stared back with an icy look. _His injuries are proof enough… These memories weren't forged._ _ **He**_ _has returned to power, which means that another war is coming._ For the first time in a long time, Amelia felt the cold touch of fear. Her very soul felt shaken to its core, and memories of funerals and loss bombarded her all at once. _Not again… Gods above, anything but this…_

"Amelia, we must-" Dumbledore started.

"Why?" Amelia cut him off, her voice almost bitter. "You…"

She stared at the Headmaster of Hogwarts; her anger with him could not be put into words. He was behind the Albania Inferno… He, who birthed the Gaia Project, was the reason why it was needed in the first place.

"You destroyed hundreds of lives…" Amelia glared at the old wizard. "You selfish, **foolish** old man…"

Dumbledore said nothing, which only served to agitate her further.

"Albus has made mistakes, but we don't have the time to-" Snape started coldly, but Dumbledore stopped him by raising his hand.

"Let her say what she has to say, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly.

"No," Snape refused, and both Amelia and Dumbledore turned their attention towards him. _No?_ "I do not have the strength, or the patience, to listen to her tantrum."

"Tantrum?" Amelia nearly reached for her wand.

"The Dark Lord has returned," Snape said bluntly, and Amelia felt jarred once again. _Gods help us all._ "Albus and I have both faced him, and although he is still weak, he is not to be underestimated. What happened in Albania was regrettable, but Albus is not the only one who deserves to be blamed for it. The Ministry refused to listen to him at the end of the last war, and they foolishly declared that the Dark Lord had been vanquished. Albus, unlike you, has remained vigilant. If not for him, you would still be living in the dark."

"Why bring me here?" Amelia demanded. "Why show me the truth? Why not Cornelius?"

"You know why, Amelia," Dumbledore said. "You know the company he keeps. You know who he favors above all others."

"The Old Families," Amelia knew all too well. "Cornelius Fudge is the Minster for Magic, and although he is… corrupt, he will do his duty."

"Will he?" Snape asked. "Are you completely sure of that?"

Amelia said nothing, because truth be told, she wasn't completely sure that Cornelius Fudge would alert the public. _He calls himself the 'Minister of peace', but this will put an end to that. The public will blame him for this in an effort to find a scapegoat, and he'd never let that happen. He'd lose his job within a week if this gets out._

"Why me?" Amelia asked. "You still haven't explained why **I'm** here."

"The Ministry is in danger," Dumbledore replied. "Lord Voldemort will use the Ministry's lack of awareness to his advantage, just as he did in the last war. We need people within the Ministry holding back the tide, and I can think of no one better. You run the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, you are respected even by your rivals, you have the loyalty of the Aurors, and you are a talented politician."

It didn't Amelia long to figure out where Dumbledore was going with all of this, and truth be told, she didn't want any part in his schemes. As much as she respected the man, she was perhaps one of the few people in Britain who understood just how meddlesome Dumbledore was.

"You want me to act as your agent within the Ministry?" Amelia asked, her voice short and somewhat hostile. "I can't believe this… Rufus was right. You don't have any respect for the Ministry-"

"When the Ministry does something respect worthy, we'll give it its dues," Snape mimicked her cold tone. "As it stands, your institute is rotten down to its bedrock. The Old Families control the Minister himself, and these very same Families are loyal followers of the Dark Lord. You might not like the idea of working from the shadows, but I assure you, the moment you step into the light, you and your Family are dead. Do you really want what's left of your clan joining your dead relatives in the afterlife?" _No. Never._

"Severus," Dumbledore said. "There is no need to disrespect the dead."

Amelia stared at what was left of Severus Snape, and she found herself somewhat surprised by his brutal honesty. _He's not like Dumbledore. He doesn't want to pull strings, but at the same time, his idea of what's needed isn't very different from the Headmaster's. Is this why Dumbledore had him spared from his sentence? Is this why Severus Snape, a former Death-Eater, is allowed to teach at Hogwarts?_

"Taking this to the public…" Amelia started, she was finally beginning to regain her composure. "It will incite panic."

"Not only panic," Dumbledore said. "Many will call you a liar, while others will move to put the blame on the Ministry. But none of this will compare to the backlash that the British Ministry will suffer at the hands of the other Ministries. They were all led to believe that Lord Voldemort was destroyed, and sadly, I could not convince them otherwise. No one wants the war to return, and should anyone attempt to herald its return, they will be in grave danger."

"We need you to gather your most trusted," Snape said, he was beginning to look tired. _After what I saw him go through, it's a miracle that he's even walking around. He… He resisted the Dark Lord himself._ "Show them the memories in the Pensieve. It is vital that at least some of the Aurors are made aware of the situation at hand."

"For what purpose?" Amelia looked between the two wizards. "Are we going to overthrow the Minister, is that it? This…" she shook her head. "This is treason. Your secrecy is going to get a lot of people killed-"

"People die in wars," Snape said icily. "Spare us your righteous speech, Madam Bones. You completely understand why this needs to remain a secret for now, and prolonging this conversation is beginning to grate on my nerves. We have given you the tools you need to prepare yourself, do with them as you please."

Snape then stood up on shaky legs, and Dumbledore quickly moved to support him.

"I can stand on my own, Albus…" Snape stopped the old wizard. "I just… I need to rest."

"Fawkes will take you back," Dumbledore said, and the Phoenix flew off of his perch and landed on Snape's shoulder.

With a loud shrill, the Phoenix burst into bright orange flames, and Severus Snape was no longer amongst them.

"Forgive his curt behavior," Dumbledore said a little sadly. "He is in immense pain these days, and yet, he continues to refuse Pain-Relief Potions."

"What do you really want from me, Dumbledore?" Amelia asked. "Tell me the complete truth, or I'll walk."

"Cornelius cannot be the one to lead the Ministry in the coming war," Dumbledore said far too calmly.

"A coup?" Amelia hissed, this stood against everything that she believed in. "I took a sacred oath when I accepted my position. That might not mean much to you, seeing as how you view yourself above the laws of men, but my word is my bond. I will not betray my Ministry by staging-"

"I want you to run for Minister," Dumbledore said. "There is no need for a coup."

"Running for Minister would mean me losing my position as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Amelia said.

"Which is why we must act immediately," Dumbledore said. "If you can install someone loyal to you as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, we can begin your campaign as soon as possible."

"I have not agreed to help you yet," Amelia reminded the old wizard.

"Every minute we delay, Lord Voldemort prepares to destroy everything that we hold dear," Dumbledore said with an unusually firm tone.

"Every minute we delay?" Amelia looked to the Pensieve. "You've known about his return for how long? I mean, you've had time to reform the Order. You've had time to stage an assault on Malfoy Manor." Amelia suddenly remembered seeing Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt within the Pensieve. "You've had time to approach my Aurors behind my back…"

"Do not take it personally, Amelia," Dumbledore said. "I have simply done whatever was in my power to fight against an enemy that you all chose to forget about. Nymphadora and Kingsley are loyal to you, but they also understand the gravity of the situation at hand. I did not force them to join me."

"Who else?" Amelia asked. "Who else in my Department secretly moonlights as an Order member?"

"Just Nymphadora and Kingsley," Dumbledore replied. "And Alastor, but he no longer works for the Aurors Department. He is the one who approached Nymphadora and Kingsley."

"And where is Nymphadora Tonks?" Amelia asked. "She asked for leave out of the blue, and no one has been able to contact her since."

"She is on Order business," Dumbledore replied, and Amelia frowned at him.

"Let me guess… I don't have the privilege of knowing about this 'Order business'," Amelia said.

"She is currently working to alert the British Werewolf communities of the coming threat," Dumbledore told her.

"What?"

"Lord Voldemort preys upon the weak," Dumbledore explained. "He already has many Vampires following him, and his gaze is no doubt turning towards the Werewolves. We must alert them before they fall under his lies."

Amelia was honestly left speechless. There was a war being fought behind the curtains, and she had no idea. Her own Aurors were involved, but she still had no idea.

"Amelia, you clearly need time to process all of this," Dumbledore said, and Amelia didn't disagree with him. "Find me once you come to a decision."

"And if I decide to warn the Minister?" Amelia asked.

"I will not force you to join us," Dumbledore told her plainly. "I am not Lord Voldemort, nor do I wish to practice his methods. If you go to Cornelius with this, then you will need to take responsibility for his actions."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Amelia's Office – Early Morning)**_

She was conflicted.

No, she was at war with herself.

Getting drunk in her Office was nothing new, but dreading over a coming war definitely was. She had so much to think about, but all she could picture was Edgar and his Family. Her kin had been butchered without mercy during the last war, and she had done nothing to stop it at the time. She was too busy navigating the politics that come with war, and by the time she had learned of their deaths, the war was coming to a close. She had been completely useless to her brother and his Family. _My Family._

But everything was different now. Now, she knew of what was coming, and she knew that her Family was in danger again. _Susan… What do I do? Are my principles more important than her life? No. Nothing is more important than her._ Amelia finished her eighth glass of Firewhiskey, and she felt her brain throb painfully. What was the right course of action here?

Telling the Minister was looking more and more dangerous, but at the same time, he held all the power. **If** he decided to honor his Office, the Dark Lord would be facing a prepared Ministry when he finally made his move. _But if Cornelius chooses to ignore this threat… We'll all die._ Amelia looked to the vial containing the silvery memories, and she came to a decision. _He must know. The Ministry must stand united against this threat. Dumbledore might be the only wizard who can rival the Dark Lord's power, but he is only one man. This war will be fought in the streets, and we must do everything in our power to protect the people._

Amelia pocketed the silvery vial, and then she made her way out of her Office. The Aurors Office was still deserted, and she desperately wished that Rufus were here. _He'd know what to do. He's the soldier._ The Firewhiskey blurred her vision, but Amelia didn't let that stop her. She travelled straight to the Minister's Office, and once she spotted his secretary preparing for the day, Amelia straightened her robes and approached her.

"Madam Bones?" the young witch stood up with a surprised look. "You're here very early-"

"Is Cornelius coming in today?" Amelia asked, and the young witch's nose twitched. _She can smell the Firewhiskey, can't she?_

"It's Sunday, Madam," the witch replied slowly. "He never works on Sundays, but if you want, I can send a message to him."

"Tell him that I need to speak to him first thing Monday morning," Amelia said, and the witch looked at her calendar.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" the witch said, and Amelia cocked an eyebrow. "He is unavailable on Monday."

"Why?" Amelia asked. "Does he also take Mondays off?"

The young witch shrunk a little, and Amelia tried to calm herself down. _The poor girl is only doing her job, Amelia. Don't take your stress out on her._

"He is going hunting on Monday," the witch said hesitantly. _Hunting?_

"With who?" Amelia asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," the witch replied, and Amelia felt rooted to her spot. _Lucius Malfoy… He's back._ "Lord Malfoy has returned from his time abroad, and the Minister wished to see him. They won't return from their trip until Wednesday, I'm afraid."

"I… I see," Amelia said.

All of a sudden, she regretted coming here at all. Cornelius Fudge lived in a mansion that Lucius Malfoy had bought for him. Cornelius Fudge hosted extravagant parties just for the Old Families in a sad bid to impress them. Cornelius Fudge wanted nothing more than to be a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Cornelius Fudge was **their** puppet, and they were the puppets of the Dark Lord.

"Forget that I was here," Amelia said. "I will wait until Cornelius returns from his hunting trip."

"If this is important, I can contact him, Madam Bones," the witch said.

"I just wished to update him on the Gaia Project," Amelia lied. "Good day."

Without another word, Amelia left for the elevator. She felt sick, and all she could hear was her own blood rushing into her skull. _Rotten down to its bedrock… Severus Snape wasn't lying. Cornelius will not take this threat seriously. He will claim that the memories were forged in an effort to dismantle his leadership. His love for his Office, and the money of the Old Families, will blind him. He will lead us all into mutual destruction._

She eventually found herself standing in the Aurors Office, her vacant eyes surveying the cluttered desks. Who could she trust with this information? _Rufus. Kingsley. Jane. Gawain. Nymphadora. Who else?_

"You smell like a brewery," came Rufus' voice, and she quickly turned to face him.

"Rufus…" she was relieved to see her old friend. _He's no doubt here to check everyone's work for errors._

"Is it done?" Rufus asked, his yellow eyes narrowing on her. "Can I stop sending my Aurors to Albania?"

"Yes…" Amelia muttered, and Rufus cocked an eyebrow.

"Amelia? What has happened?" he asked, a rare hint of concern in his voice.

"Do you trust every Auror who works for us?" Amelia asked him.

"Some more than others," Rufus replied, his eyes had become piercing. "Has one of them been caught taking bribes?"

"No," Amelia gathered her thoughts. "I need to show you something, Rufus, and it cannot get out."

Rufus gave a slow nod.

"Meet me in the Pensieve Room in twenty minutes," Amelia walked past him. "Make sure that you're not followed."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Near Midday)**_

Ron sat cross-legged on the sand, his eyes closed as he concentrated on levitating two blocks of wood Wandlessly. As it turned out, his merging with the Entity had done nothing to strengthen his Magical Core. He was sorely disappointed, of course, but also very relieved. Despite his desire to become more powerful, he didn't want anything from the fuck-stain that had ruined his life.

Madam Roberts had been rather lenient with him today on account of his recent surgery, and he had to argue with his parents just to come here, but it was all worth it. For the last four hours, Ron hadn't found himself worrying over Pansy. If anything, he felt even more motivated to help her. _The stronger I am, the safer they all are. That's my duty, isn't it? To protect others from what's coming._

"Your focus is improving," Madam Roberts said, and Ron opened his eyes.

She had a faint smile on her lips, and as Ron lowered the wooden blocks onto the sand, she gave him an approving nod.

"How long was that?" Ron asked.

"Twenty minutes," Madam Roberts said. _Not good enough, Ron. Why wasn't it thirty minutes?_

"My hands are starting to hurt," Ron said as he looked at his trembling hands. _I still can't hold Cutis Terra for long… Not to mention that I can only use Wandless Magic for about an hour before I become exhausted. Why am I not improving?_

"Let me see," she kneeled down and took his hands. "On a scale of one to ten; how much pain are your hands in?"

"Four?" Ron replied, though he sounded quite unsure. "Madam Roberts… I feel like I've hit a wall. I still can't hold Cutis Terra for more than thirty seconds, and even though I train my Wandless Magic **every single day** , I'm still struggling to cast most of the Spells I know."

"Several factors could be responsible for this 'wall', Ronald," Madam Roberts massaged his hands with hers. "I personally believe that your ever-changing body is struggling to keep up with your Magical Core."

"Ever-changing body?" Ron felt a jolt of panic.

"Puberty," Madam Roberts said blandly, and Ron nodded dumbly. _Of course… I need to stop being so jumpy._ "Right now, your Magical Core is being honed far too quickly for your body to keep up. Do you remember what I told you about our anatomy?"

"Our Magical Cores make us more endurable than Muggles," Ron replied. "The stronger the body, the more powerful the wizard."

"Exactly so," Madam Roberts said.

"So there's no way that I can jump over this wall?" Ron asked. "I just need to wait?"

"I suggest that you keep practicing," Madam Roberts replied. "Trust me, when your body begins to adapt with age, you will see a tremendous change in your output." _I don't have time to wait, though._ "I also believe that one of the reasons why you seem to excel in Wandless Magic is because of your healthy physique. I can't say that I've met any thirteen year olds besides you who can utilize Wandless Magic so adeptly." _She's being very nice to me today… Why? Does she want something from me?_

Madam Roberts suddenly stopped massaging his hands, her fingers lingering on the back of his fingers. She pressed her fingers down lightly, and when she felt odd calluses on the back of his fingers, she cocked an eyebrow. _Shit! My other fingernails!_ Ron pulled his hands away from hers.

"Please don't squeeze my blisters," Ron quickly came up with a lie.

"Blisters? On the back of your fingers?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron stood up abruptly.

"Can we please spar?" Ron asked, and Madam Roberts slowly stood up as well.

"Subtle…" she said dully. _Yeah, I could've done better than that._

"Please?" Ron urged.

"Are you even up for it?" Madam Roberts asked, and Ron groaned. _Will people ever just stop worrying over me? My siblings spent all of dinner staring at me as if I was going to burst into flames without warning._ "I know that we've been taking things slow today, but you still did your circuit training **and** practiced your Wandless Magic for nearly an hour. I don't want you hurting yourself because you feel the need to prove something."

"I don't feel the need to prove anything," Ron said defensively.

"You're a talented young wizard… Of course you feel the need to prove something," Madam Roberts sighed. "But if you feel like you're up to it, then we can spar. Just don't complain if you end up getting hurt."

"How about you don't hurt me, then?" Ron asked as she put some distance between them. "No? Nothing?"

"Take up your position," Madam Roberts ignored his sass.

Ron got into his Dueling Stance, and he drew in a deep breath in order to focus. She followed his lead, and Ron couldn't help but notice that her stance seemed to be rather lax today. Her wand was facing the sand in front of her right foot, and Ron figured that she was going to throw a Non-Verbal stunner at him the moment the Duel started. _Don't let her stance fool you, Ron. She's rung your head like a bell for smaller mistakes._

"Ready?" she asked.

"I'm ready," Ron gave a firm nod, his eyes focused on her wand.

"Begin!" Madam Roberts said.

Just as Ron had predicted, her wand slashed upwards, releasing a bright red stunner in the direction of his head. Ron moved his head out of the way, making sure to keep his footing as he launched his own Non-Verbal stunner. She parried his Spell easily, but in that time, Ron decided to launch a chained assault.

"Stupefy, Flipendo, Expelliarmus," Ron chanted, firing his Spells in quick succession.

"Predictable," Madam Roberts said as she dodged all of his Spells with little ease. "You might have improved your speed, Ronald, but you haven't built on the foundation I showed you."

"Oh, I've built on it," Ron smirked, and her lips twitched upwards.

"Show me," she ordered as she aimed her wand at him.

"Fumos," Ron drew in a deep breath, his lungs filling up with smoke. _Now!_

Ron began a barrage of Non-Verbal Spells, and although they weren't as powerful as her Non-Verbal Spells, she still dodged them without fail. Ron abruptly stopped his barrage in order release the miasma of dark smoke onto the battleground, effectively hiding himself from view. _I'll use the Disillusionment Charm to hide myself-_

"Impetus Tempestatis," came Madam Roberts' voice, and the smoke was blown away by a powerful blast of wind.

Ron had never seen such a Spell before, and he was forced to dig his heels into the ground as a powerful whirlwind poured out of the tip of Madam Roberts' wand. _SHIT! What is that?!_ Sand flew past him, forcing Ron to cover his eyes with his spare arm in an effort to avoid being blinded. And then, Madam Roberts twisted her wand and summoned the flying sand back towards her. Ron's back was bombarded with wind and sand, and he tumbled face first through the sand still left on the ground.

"Bloody hell…" Ron coughed out, his body itchy from the sand inside his clothes.

Madam Roberts wasted no time in taking charge of the Duel. She buried her wand into the ground with a fierce cry, and a pillar of sand erupted from underneath Ron's chest, which sent the redhead flying sideways. His landing hurt far more than the pillar of sand, but Ron quickly shot up to his feet in an effort to regain his footing.

"You can take a beating, I'll give you that," Madam Roberts smirked, and Ron felt his temper flare. _No, Ron… Calm down. Don't let her provoke you._

Ron wiped the sweat from his brow as he took his stance again, making sure to breathe deeply. Madam Roberts began walking towards his left, and Ron warily mimicked her.

"Not going to attack?" Madam Roberts asked. "Very well. I'll attack, then."

With a fluid motion, Madam Roberts spun in her spot as she twirled her wand at the ground beneath her. Sand began to blow around her, creating an odd dome-like shape. _Fuck finding out what she's up to. Attack her._

"Bombarda," Ron fired the explosive Charm at his teacher, but the sand around her suddenly solidified into a wall.

The thundering explosion did nothing to damage said wall, and Ron was genuinely shocked at what he was seeing. _Merlin, what sort of Spells is she using?_ Due to her body being hidden behind the thick wall of sand, Ron did not see her plant her feet firmly on the ground as she punched a massive chunk of hardened sand at Ron. Ron rolled out of the way, but his teacher was relentless. With a combination of strong jabs, Madam Roberts sent chunks of hardened sand at Ron, who barely managed to dodge them. Judging from their weight, Ron knew that if those 'boulders' hit him, he was going to end up with a few broken bones.

"Impedimenta," Madam Roberts tried to slow down her quickfooted pupil, but Ron summoned a Non-Verbal shield.

As soon as her Charm was blocked, Ron aimed his wand at her feet. _She's using the damn arena against me, so I need to try and do the same._

"Herbivicus!" Ron summoned thick vines in an effort to entangle her feet.

"Good," Madam Roberts said as she avoided the green tendrils by leaping aside. "Change the battlefield if your opponent is taking advantage of the current one. Control your surroundings, Ronald. That is how a true wizard Duels."

With renewed fervor, Ron restarted his Spell Chain. Madame Roberts blocked and fired her own Spells, and they fell into a rally of sorts. She had experience and Spell-strength over him, but Ron was faster and far more agile. Sadly, however, he knew that she would overpower him if they kept trading Spells. _I need to change up the pace. If I can get close to her, I can maybe catch her off-guard._

"Cutis Terra," Ron whispered under his breath, and he felt his muscles harden.

Madam Roberts suddenly uppercutted the air with her wand, and pillars of jagged stone barreled towards Ron from in front of her.

"Lumos Solem!" Ron felt the power of the sun course through his veins, and he unleashed the power through his mouth and eyes.

The approaching pillars of jagged stone were blown to smithereens by the golden light, but when Ron felt his head being pushed backwards, he realized that she had blocked his powerful Spell. Ron pushed his face forward, unleashing even more of the loud humming light from his face. He could feel her pushing him back, and his previous exhaustion began to catch up to him. _Break it off and charge her!_

Ron closed his mouth and eyes as he charged towards her, effectively cutting off the Wandless Spell. She was clearly surprised by his change in tactics, because when Ron reopened his eyes, he was nearly in front of her. He used his shoulder, and the strength provided by Cutis Terra, to break through her shield. For a moment, Ron thought that he had her, but she quickly adapted to his assault. She ducked under his reaching left hand, and with a well-planted kick, she swiped his legs out from under him. Ron was sent rolling through the sand, his concentration broken by his face smashing into the sand.

"Bold tactic…" Madam Roberts smirked as Ron spat out some sand. "If you wanted to eat dirt, that is."

"Shut up," Ron grit out, his mind becoming hazy from anger. _Everything I try just fails! What the fuck?!_

"Control your anger," Madam Roberts said calmly, which only pissed him off even more. "It's not going to help you beat me, Ronald." _**We'll see about that!**_

Ron charged her again, swiping wildly as he tried to punch her head off. She deflected his blows as she quickly distanced herself from him, deciding not to use her wand. And then, she suddenly sidestepped his right fist as she jabbed him in the throat. His breath was immediately lodged in his throat, and Ron bent forward and wheezed painfully. _I can't breathe…_ His wand slipped out his hands, and his eyes burned painfully due to the lack of oxygen.

"Anger which is not tempered by discipline is a weakness," Madam Roberts said, and Ron looked up at her through teary eyes.

She was looking down at him with a calm look, and Ron lunged at her again. She deflected his punches with her hands, and when he tried to swipe her legs out from under her, she smashed her left elbow across his jaw. Once again, Ron found himself facedown in the sand. His head was ringing, and his jaw throbbed from the blow. For a brief moment, Ron lost the will to fight back. What was the point? She was his superior in every regard.

"Had enough?" she asked, but Ron felt his heart ignite once more.

He shot up to his feet again, and when he came at her, she blocked his angry fists with practiced ease. Ron was surprised by her hand-to-hand skills, but at the same time, he knew that she was well versed in all forms of self-defense. This knowledge, however, did nothing to stop him from trying to overpower her.

Her knee suddenly found his stomach, and Ron grunted in pain as the wind left his lungs. Madam Roberts shoved him back onto the dirt, and Ron groaned as his sweaty back stuck to the floor. _Get up… Fight her…_ His vision was starting to blur, but he refused to just give up. _I can still beat her… I'm not useless…_ Ron struggled to stand up on his feet, and although his legs were wobbling, he raised his fists nonetheless. For brief moment, he thought he saw pride on her face.

"Cutis… Terra…" Ron mumbled, but he felt nothing.

He swung at her again, and this time, she took a hold of his right arm and twisted it. Pain traveled from his wrist to his brain, and Ron didn't even realize that she had thrown him onto his arse again. He lay there for a moment, his vision darkening as his ears rung from the beating. _Stand up… What are you doing?_ Ron rolled onto his stomach slowly, and he used his arms to try and lift himself up on his feet again. Madam Roberts did nothing to stop him from getting up, but the moment he was ready to go at her again, she dashed forward and smashed her fist into his nose.

He was out cold before his back hit the sand again.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Madam Roberts' Suitcase – Past Midday)**_

Ron woke up to the feeling of Madam Roberts healing his muscles, and it didn't take him long to realize that his face was extremely sore. _Ow… What happened?_ Ron let out a meek groan, and Madam Roberts stopped treating his left bicep.

"Madam Roberts?" Ron rasped.

"I'm here, Ronald," she answered, and Ron looked to his left. "I'll heal your face in a bit. Right now, I just want to finish up on your body."

"Why not heal my face first?" Ron managed to ask, he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I thought that I'd take advantage of your unconsciousness," Madam Roberts replied.

"Huh?"

"I didn't want you thrusting in my face again," Madam Roberts said rather bluntly, and Ron felt his ears burn.

"I… I did that once…" Ron muttered. "My face hurts…"

"I've already fixed your broken nose, and I'll tend to the swelling in a bit," Madam Roberts said, and Ron closed his eyes again.

He felt utterly drained of his strength, and although he didn't want to discourage himself for losing to an Auror, a voice in his head mocked him for how pathetic he was. What was he thinking when he attacked her like a wild animal? _I was thinking of her… I was thinking of how alone she is right now. I bet she's scared. I bet they have hurt her._

"I'm sorry…" Ron apologized.

"What for?" she asked as she tended to his arm.

"I was angry at something else… I ruined our sparring session," Ron replied.

"What were you angry at, Ronald?" she asked in an almost gentle voice.

"My friend… She's in trouble, and I miss her," Ron spoke without thinking. _Who cares if I speak about her? Don't I deserve to show a little fear? Why do I have to be the one to hold it in? Theo, Tracey, and Daphne aren't here… If I can just talk about her a little, I'll be able to stay strong for them._

"Your friend is in trouble?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Her parents sent her to the Carrow Camp," Ron whimpered. "She's all alone."

"I see," Madam Roberts nodded to herself. "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"You know about the Carrow Camp?" Ron looked to his teacher.

"Let's just say that we Aurors tend to keep our eyes on certain individuals," Madam Roberts replied.

"She's not like them," Ron whispered, a pang of pain shooting across his face. "She tried to be like them, but it made her miserable."

"What's her name?" Madam Roberts asked.

"Pansy," Ron replied. "Pansy Parkinson."

His eyes closed by themselves, and he knew that he was going to pass out again. Although the beating had done a number on him, Ron knew that the real reason for his fatigue was the lack of sleep he had endured the night before. Worrying over something that he couldn't change had resulted in him tossing and turning all night long.

"Don't heal my face…" Ron said as he began to slip away. "This can be my lesson…"

"Lesson?" Madam Roberts stopped treating his arm. _I should always think of my friends first, and I should never put my problems ahead of theirs. The pain in my face can be my reminder._

"Don't heal my face…" Ron repeated. "I want a reminder…"

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Are you sure that you don't want me to heal your injuries?" Madam Roberts asked from the fireplace.

The right side of his jaw was swollen, and already bruising, and the same sort of swelling was beginning to appear under his eyes and around his nose. He also had a cut across his bottom lip, which tasted metallic due to the scabbing blood. _At least the shower cleaned me up a little. I looked like a right mess before it._

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Ron changed the subject.

"I take Muggle self-defense lessons," Madam Roberts replied. "Muay Thai."

"Muay Thai?" Ron repeated slowly. _What sort of word is that?_

"Ron… Your friend will be all right," Madam Roberts said, and Ron's eyes darted to the ground. "The Carrows will send her home, and you will see her again."

"I know… But I still can't stop worrying," Ron said, and then he tapped his temple. "I'm insane, you know…"

Madam Roberts said nothing, but he could tell that she wasn't pleased with his comment.

"Could you teach me some of this 'Muay Thai'?" Ron asked.

"Let's stick with wands for now, Ron," Madam Roberts said. "If your face begins to hurt even more, just heal it. Understood?" _No._

"I understand," Ron replied, and she stepped through the fire without another word.

Ron lingered in the Greengrass' grand Living Room for a bit, he genuinely didn't want to go home. It wasn't that he was unhappy with anyone back home, of course; it was mostly a personal thing. He felt like he wasn't doing anything of note at the Burrow. He spent most of his time practicing Chess, or practicing his Spellwork, but nothing of note… Nothing that made a difference, anyway. With the French dealt with, and Christmas being a resounding success, Ron was finding himself bored due to a lack of purpose.

Solving Pansy's situation was his next objective, but he knew that he had to wait for her to get back. His father had promised to take him to Albert Trope today, but Ron's intuition told him that this man was going to offer very limited aid. _From what I've learned about the Old Families, they are damn near untouchable. There is no way that I'll be able to launch a case against them._

Ron shook his head clear, which caused a jolt of pain to shoot across his face. _Ow! Ron, you idiot!_ With a dark grimace on his face, Ron began preparing the floo. His Family and friends would no doubt question his injuries, and he planned to tell them the truth. _A fistfight against an Auror is a damn stupid idea. They'll kick your arse without breaking a sweat._ With the floo ready, Ron stepped through the green flames and entered the Burrow.

His siblings and friends were currently occupying the Living Room, with most of them playing a game of Gobstones. _Daphne, Tracey, and Theo are sitting in the corner, no doubt discussing Pansy. Or me. I shouldn't have yelled at them like that. Both Daphne and Tracey have been avoiding me since._

"Ron? What happened to your face?" Charlie was suddenly right in front of him. "Merlin, who the fuck did this to you?"

"My Dueling instructor," Ron avoided Charlie's hands. "Don't touch my face, Charlie, its sore."

"Let me see," Bill walked around Charlie, and before long, Ron was backed up against the fireplace. _Merlin, if they keep this up, I'll fall into the fireplace._

"I know some Healing Magic," Kirsten pulled out her wand, while the twins winced at the sight of his injuries. "This won't take long, Ron. Just hold still, all right?"

"I'm keeping the injuries," Ron told them. "Stop walking towards me… I'll fall into the damn fireplace if you keep this up."

"What do you mean you're keeping the injuries?" Percy frowned. "Don't be stupid, Ron, let Kirsten heal you."

"Can you lot step back?" Ron was starting to lose his patience.

Most of them did as he asked, but the looks on their faces told him that they didn't intend to leave him alone. Tracey and Theo looked rather concerned, but it was the look on Daphne's face that genuinely bothered him. _She looks pissed off, but also scared to death._ Ron decided to keep his injuries nonetheless; he deserved them.

"Get your wand out of my face," Ron batted Kirsten's wand away. "You'll poke my fucking eye out, Kirsten."

"She's trying to help you," Charlie said. "Just hold still."

"I said I'm keeping them, and that's final!" Ron snapped, making most people flinch. _Ow! Shouting hurts like hell!_

The others around his age went dead silent, while the adults just stepped back with frowns. Percy looked the most annoyed, but honestly, Ron couldn't care less. He had asked them to stop, but like always, they refused to listen.

"Why?" Bill all but demanded. "Look at you, Ron… You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"I am, but that's the point," Ron pushed past Charlie and Kirsten. "Leave me alone."

He made his way into the Kitchen, where he found the adults muttering under their breaths. _They're not even a little subtle. I swear to Merlin, everyone in the house knows that something's bothering them._

"Dad," Ron said, which earned him all of their attention. "I'm going to change into-"

"Ron! Your face!" Molly Weasley stumbled past the others in order to get to him first. "My poor boy! Where's my wand?!"

She quickly yanked her wand out of her apron and pointed it at his face, but Ron clicked his tongue as he moved out of the way.

"Stop," Ron said. "Mum, you nearly jammed it into my nose."

"Did Roberts do this to you?" Lord Greengrass demanded.

"She did, but I deserved it," Ron said as he dodged his mother's wand.

"Deserved this?!" Molly's voice was nearly earsplitting.

"Yes, I deserved it," Ron said, and then he suddenly snatched his mother's wand out of her hand. "Stop pointing that wand in my face, for Merlin's sake."

"Let me see him," Pandora squeezed past Arthur and Xeno. "Gods, Ron… Look at the state of you! Give your mother her wand back this instant! We need to-"

"I'm keeping the injuries as a lesson, and I won't hear anything more on it," Ron said with a finality that shut everyone up.

Ron then handed the wand back to his mother before brushing past them in order to get to the stairs.

"A lesson?" Arthur asked. "Ron… What's the matter with you? Why did your tutor do this to you?"

"Because unlike you, she doesn't step on eggshells around me," Ron replied. "I made multiple mistakes in our sparring session, and this was the result. She offered to heal me, but **I** decided to keep the injuries as a lesson. Now, stop hounding me… I'm going to go change into something presentable, and then, we'll go to Albert Trope."

"You're not going anywhere with those injuries, Ronald," Molly put her foot down.

"I **am** going," Ron said. "Please, just leave me alone… I'm not in the mood to fight with any of you."

With that, Ron ignored the nonsense coming out of their mouths as he made his way up the the time Ron reached his room, he could hear someone following him. So, Ron decided to wait by his door in order to confront his stalker.

"Your tutor really did that to you?" Theo asked.

"She's not one to hold back on me," Ron replied, he was glad that it was Theo who had followed him up.

"You ought to fire her for this," Theo grimaced as he studied Ron's face. "Merlin… Did she break your nose, or something?"

"I should fire her because she gives me a hundred percent?" Ron asked as he entered his room, and Theo quickly followed him in.

"Fire her because she's hurting you," Theo shut the door.

"Theo… I don't mind getting roughed up a little," Ron sighed out. "I get that you're concerned, but you've seen me take worse beatings from the dummies within Sanctuary, haven't you? This is nothing new."

"Keeping your bruises is new," Theo frowned. "Does this have something to do with Pansy?"

"What?" Ron feigned ignorance. "No."

"This is very close to self-harm, Ron," Theo sounded rather peeved, but then, his expression softened. "Mate… This isn't healthy behavior. You're scaring people."

"I'm scaring people?" Ron felt a hint of annoyance. "Why is it that I have people crawling up my arse constantly?"

"Because you can't even blink properly," Theo said. "Look at yourself, Ron… The skin beneath your eyes is turning purple. You look like you fell from a broom, and then landed on concrete face first."

Now that Theo had pointed out his inability to blink properly, Ron realized that he was scrunching up his entire face whenever he did blink.

"It hurts, but that's the point," Ron tried to explain. "You remember when you kicked Millie in the head? She wanted to keep her bruise because it served as a reminder that she shouldn't underestimate others-"

"That was nothing more than a bump," Theo countered. "This is just fucked up."

"Well, I'm a fucked up individual," Ron said bluntly, making Theo massage his forehead. "I need to change clothes, so please wait outside."

"I'm not calling you fucked up, Ron…" Theo sighed as he shook his head. "But **this** … This is wrong. You're not keeping your bruises as a reminder, you're keeping them because they are helping you ignore a different sort of pain."

"You're a Mind-Healer now, are you?" Ron asked.

"No, but I know how much it hurts to lose someone dear to you," Theo said, and Ron could do little but stare at him. _Has he…? No… He'd never do that to himself… Would he?_

"Theo-"

"This doesn't help Pansy," Theo opened the door and stepped out. "As much as I hate to repeat this; the Carrows are not going to inflict permanent harm on her person. I don't know why you're this worried for her. I mean, we're worried, but you… You spent all night tossing and turning." _He heard me?_ "It isn't healthy, and it's going to cause you serious problems."

"You know why I'm this worried," Ron said. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten our conversation already."

"Oh, I'll never forget it…" Theo muttered. "I want her to be safe as well, Ron, but hurting myself over it isn't going to help anyone. If Pansy saw you like this, how do you think she would react?" _She'd probably burst into tears…_

"Close the door," Ron turned towards his trunk. "I'll be down shortly, and then we can go see this Albert Trope."

Theo stared at Ron's back, and then, he shut the door without another word. He knew Ron well enough to know that Ron wasn't going to listen to him.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Somerset (Watchet) – Afternoon)**_

Ron, Tracey, Daphne, Theo, and Arthur stood outside Albert Trope's house, and Ron couldn't help but look at the Muggle children who were eyeing them with curious looks. One of the little ones tapped his own face, as if trying to show Ron that Ron was bruised, and Ron gave the boy a grin. As it turned out, Albert Trope was a Muggle-Born, and he lived in a Muggle neighborhood. This, of course, served to put Ron at ease, mostly because he didn't want to deal with a Pure-Blood who would side with Pansy's parents.

"Mr. Weasley, please ring the bell," Tracey said, and Arthur blinked at her.

"The bell?" Arthur asked. "I don't see a bell."

Tracey gave a little chuckle, and then she reached forward and pressed a little button on the side of the door. A loud chime emanated from inside the house, and both Ron and Arthur looked more than impressed. _The power of Muggle technology... It's quite impressive._

"What is making that sound?" Theo asked Tracey.

"I have no idea if I'm being honest," Tracey shrugged. "I don't really know how circuits and speakers connect to make a doorbell."

"Circuits and speakers?" Arthur asked. "You mean to tell me that Muggles can combine their technology to make something completely new?"

"Yes…" Tracey replied slowly. "Mr. Weasley, don't you work with Muggle Artifacts all day long?"

"He has no idea what any of this stuff really is," Ron explained. "He just pokes and observes whatever items that he scavenges from people's bins."

"That's not true," Arthur said, but Ron gave him a bland look. "All right… That's a little true…" _Seriously, why even tinker with this stuff if you don't want to learn how it actually works?_

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman greeted them with a warm smile. She looked at each of their faces, but when she saw Ron, her smile slowly died. _That ugly, am I?_

"Good afternoon," Ron greeted her.

"Are you… Are you all wizards?" the woman whispered. _Aren't you a witch?_

"We are," Arthur beamed. "Is Albert home?"

"He is," she replied as she moved back. "Please, come in quickly."

"Are you a Muggle?" Arthur asked her excitedly, and she nodded as she sealed the door shut behind them. "Look at this place, Ron… It's so Muggle! I had no idea that Albert lived in such a wonderful place!"

"Dad, please behave," Ron felt a little embarrassed when he saw how uncomfortable she looked. "We're sorry for barging into your house out of the blue, but we really need to speak to your husband."

"Is this about his work with your government?" the woman asked.

"It is," Ron replied. "Are you his wife?"

"I am," Mrs. Trope replied.

"So you're Elizabeth," Arthur smiled widely, and she gave a nod. _Why does she look so uncomfortable around us? Surely she's met wizards before._ "Albert told me a little about you. I'm Arthur Weasley." Arthur then patted Ron's back. "Ronald here is my son, and these are his friends; Theo, Tracey, and Daphne."

"Elizabeth?!" came a man's voice from further inside the house. "Who was at the door?!"

"Some wizards are here to discuss your work, love!" she replied, and they heard quick footsteps approaching them.

Albert Trope, who was a balding, middle-aged man, walked into view as he came through a door that slid open from the middle. _What an odd design for a door. Do all Muggle homes have such doors?_

"Arthur?" Albert eyed Ron's father, and then he looked to the children. "My word, boy… What happened to your face?"

"That's a rather dull story," Ron replied, he wasn't keen on opening up to strangers. "Do you have some time to spare, Mr. Trope? We could use your help on a certain matter."

"This really is urgent, Albert," Arthur said. "We wouldn't have come unannounced, otherwise."

"I… Of course," Albert quickly gathered himself. "Please, come in."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"This is a very complex situation," Albert shifted in his seat. "I don't know what you've heard about my Office, but we're relatively new, and we haven't actually dealt with a situation like this before."

"Really?" Daphne asked. "Not even once?"

"No," Albert told the truth. "Our main job is to work with Muggle-Borns who have parents that refuse to let them be who they are."

"Wait… There are Muggles out there that don't want their children to be Magical?" Arthur asked, he sounded rather surprised.

"Wizards and witches are… Well, we are all quite bizarre, are we not?" Albert asked, making the others exchange looks. _Bizarre? How so?_ "What I'm trying to say is that not all Muggles can get their heads around Magic. Sometimes, Muggle parents refuse to let their children become a part of the Magical World."

"And you help protect these children?" Ron asked.

"As best we can, yes," Albert replied. "Now, your friend's situation, despite being rather upsetting, isn't all that unusual. We know about this camp, and we know that many Pure-Blood children are sent there. We just don't do anything about it."

"Why not?" Tracey asked. "Aren't you Muggle-Born? Don't you disagree with this sort of thing?"

"I do," Albert replied. "But let's be honest… These 'Old Families' pretty much run the Wizarding World. We don't get involved with them, and they leave us be. I can't, in good conscience, bring this case to my Office. We will be shut down by our higher ups."

"Isn't there anything that you can do?" Ron tried to grasp at straws. "Even advice would be welcome."

"My advice would be to speak with your friend," Albert said, his eyes focusing on Ron. "You mentioned emancipation, and I can help you with that."

"Please, go on," Ron leaned forward. _I wish I brought a notebook, or something._

"Well, your friend can file for emancipation, but she will need to prove that she is not being influenced by outside Magic," Albert started. "This is the easy part, of course… The hard part is tackling the parents. I have heard a lot about the Parkinson Family, and they won't give up their heir without a fight. For one, they will cut away her funding, which will leave her without a Knut to her name."

"What about her Trust Account?" Tracey looked to Theo and Daphne. "You all have one, right? Can't she just use that to survive?"

"That depends on what kind of account she has," Albert replied.

"Her account isn't like ours," Theo told them. "Both Blaise and Pansy's accounts are connected to their parents', which means that until they turn seventeen, the accounts belong to the Head of the Family." _Damn._

"This will make emancipation rather difficult," Albert said. "If the Wizengamot learns about this, which they will, they will not allow a young witch to become desolate. Her request will be denied."

"What if I open an account for her?" Ron asked.

"Ron…" Arthur started, but Ron stopped him by waving his hand.

"You'd need to put enough money in there to prove to the Wizengamot that she won't go hungry," Albert replied slowly. "This is… unorthodox… but it might work. She would also need to prove that she has a roof over her head during her school Breaks."

"My father will happily give her a home if I ask him," Daphne said. _Which will no doubt make him a target for the Parkinsons._

"So a roof, and an account," Ron stored the information in his head. "What else do we need?"

"You will need her consent," Albert replied. "From what I'm seeing, you all want her to leave her Family, but in my experience, that is not an easy thing to do. Whatever disagreements she might have with them, they are still her parents. Once again, I would advise you to speak to her. This has to be **her** decision."

"Could you owl me the papers needed for emancipation?" Ron asked. "I'd like to at least show them to her before she makes a decision." _And I'll do my best to convince her to sign them._

"I'll have them sent over first thing tomorrow morning," Albert replied.

"Thank you," Ron gave a grateful nod.

"Oh, and there is one more thing," Albert clicked his fingers. "Even if she proves to the Wizengamot that she doesn't need her parents to survive, they still have the right to deny her request."

"What? Why?" Tracey asked.

"Wizarding Law is very different from Muggle Law," Albert explained. "The Office for Youth Services isn't even six years old yet… Most wizards don't know that it even exists, and as far as I know, it only exists within the British Ministry. The concept of 'Youth Services' is quite foreign to wizards, who quite frankly, are still living in the dark ages when it comes to matters like these." _Are we really that backwards?_ "And since the Wizengamot is filled with members who are either Half-Blood, or Pure-Blood, our Office isn't taken very seriously."

"This girl is the heir of a very prominent Family," Albert went on. "I hate to say this, but her request will most likely be denied."

Ron drew in a deep breath as he massaged his forehead. _Fucking roadblocks at every turn. What's the point of convincing her to leave her Family behind if she's going to be denied emancipation anyway? If anything, her life will be much harder due to my meddling._ Even though he desperately wanted to help her, he also didn't want to make things worse for her.

"What if we just keep her away from her parents?" Tracey asked.

"That's not a good idea, Trace," Daphne replied quickly. "She is their daughter, and according to the Old Ways, she is their… property… until she's of age."

"Property?" Tracey looked disgusted, while Ron's head spun. _We really are living in the dark ages, aren't we?_

"She can't oppose her parents," Theo looked a little uncomfortable. "And if we steal her away, we'll all be facing charges."

"I wish I could do more to help you, but as I said, this is a very complex situation," Albert said. "Morally speaking, you are all very right to be worried for your friend. But according to Wizarding Law, you cannot cut her off from her parents. Not only are they extremely influential figures, their wealth also makes them untouchable. Even if you convince her to sign the emancipation papers, this will most likely not even reach the Wizengamot."

"So basically… Our hands are tied," Ron said.

"I'm very sorry," Albert apologized. "I want to say that you can help her, but I also don't want to give you false hope."

"Um… Right…" Ron nodded to himself, he was starting feel rather hopeless. "Thank you, Mr. Trope. Your advice has helped greatly."

Ron stood up at that, and the others followed suit.

"I'll still send those papers over," Albert said, and Ron shook his hand.

"Please do."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Dinner)**_

Ron hadn't spoken a word since they had returned from Albert Trope's house.

His friends had taken Albert's words in stride, but Ron wasn't quite like them. He didn't have Daphne's composure, he didn't have Theo's ability to become detached, and he didn't have Tracey's 'Gameboy' to distract him. No, Ron was still fixated on Pansy, which he knew wasn't exactly healthy because he couldn't really do anything to help her right now.

The parents were acting off, and by now, everyone had caught onto it. Ron's siblings had asked if everything was all right, but their concerns were met with fake smiles. Ron knew that the adults planned to talk about the war after dinner, but he couldn't bring himself to care much for it. He already knew about the war, and without anyone being the wiser, Ron had been a part of it since he was eight. To him, this was just another day.

But saying that, Ron also understood that he had to be careful. He had brought up the war in the past in an effort to motivate his friends, and now that his ramblings were about to be confirmed, Ron understood that his friends would have questions. _Theo will have the most questions due to our chat yesterday. As long as I don't give the Entity away, I think I'll be safe. I mean, I've literally run into the Dark Lord before, so it's not too hard to believe that I'd start preparing for him. If anything, me preparing for the worst makes perfect sense._

"Ronnie? Are you coming?" came his mother's voice, and Ron looked up from his untouched bowl of soup.

The parents were heading into the Living Room, and much to Ron's surprise, the table was devoid of any children. _They all left, and I didn't even notice._ Ron stood up and followed after the adults without uttering a word. _I'll stay in a quiet corner and just listen. It's probably for the best if I don't talk much._ The Living Room was packed, and after squeezing past the other occupants, Ron found himself leaning against the wall in the far left corner. Daphne, Tracey, and Theo weren't too far from him, but they were too busy studying the adults to pay him any attention.

"Dad, what's going on?" Fred was the first to speak. "Why are all of you acting so bloody weird?"

"Is this about Ron?" Percy asked, and Ron ignored the looks being sent his way.

The adults looked to Arthur, who let out a long sigh before stepping forward.

"You've clearly noticed that something has been off about this entire Christmas," Arthur started, and his words were met with resounding agreement.

"Let him speak," Lord Greengrass said, and unsurprisingly, people quickly closed their mouths. _Ha! Even the twins stopped talking. Is he really that intimidating?_

"Thank you, Sebastian," Arthur said, and then he cleared his throat. "The reason why everything has been so hectic is because we wanted all of you together for this… announcement… Something terrible has happened, and you all need to know about it."

Once again, eyes darted towards Ron, who once again ignored the sorry looks being sent his way. _Will you lot just listen to him? Dad, stop beating around the bush. Just tell them already so I can go take a nap._

"What's happened, father?" Percy asked, though his eyes traveled towards Bill and Charlie. "Why have Bill and Charlie been watching over us for the last two days?"

"Do they know what's gone wrong?" George asked.

"Just listen to your father, eh?" Sirius spoke up. "Arthur, just tell them already."

With one last look at the other adults, Arthur summoned his courage and opened his mouth.

"Everyone in this room knows that You-Know-Who is still alive," Arthur started, and a deafening silence engulfed the room. "His body was destroyed at the end of the last Great War, but he managed to survive-"

"Monster," Molly shook her head in disgust.

"Over the last year, he's gathered his strength, and now, he has returned to England," Arthur went on.

Ron studied the room silently, his eyes lingering on his slack-jawed friends. Even Daphne, who was always in control of her expressions, was staring ahead with a jarred look. For some petty reason, Ron felt vindicated. All the times that they had ignored his advice, or called him mental, meant nothing now. He had been right. He had always been right.

As Arthur went on about the Dark Lord's return, Ron simply gauged everyone's reactions. Harry, unlike the rest, didn't seem frightened whatsoever. If anything, he looked ready to have a go at You-Know-Know. _Brave, but foolish. The Dark Lord would annihilate Harry within a heartbeat._ Ron's siblings had lost any mirth that they had, and truth be told, he didn't blame them. They had all heard the stories, and they were all smart enough to understand that the Wizarding World was in terrible danger.

As Ron looked back to his friends, his eyes clashed against Theo's. The weedy Slytherin was just staring at Ron, his expression a mixture of fear and realization. _I'd give a hundred Galleons to look inside his mind right now._ Without breaking his silence, Ron gestured Theo to come stand by his side. Theo didn't move at first, but then, very slowly, he slithered back next to Ron.

"What is this?" Theo whispered, his voice almost shaky.

Ron gestured him to stay quiet, mostly because he didn't want people looking in Theo's direction. _We Slytherins might be getting the cold shoulder very soon. It's best if we keep out of sight for a bit._

"Wait…" George interrupted Arthur. "You said that his body was destroyed at the end of the **last** Great War… Are… Are you saying that there is going to be another Great War?"

Everyone looked to Arthur, who gave a grave nod.

"Even as we speak, he is no doubt gathering his followers to him," Lord Greengrass said. "The Werewolves, the Vampires, the Giants… All manner of Dark Creatures."

"We have to warn the Ministry," Percy said. "We should go and tell the Minister everything."

"Percy, the Ministry can't be trusted," Sirius said, and Percy looked bewildered.

"The Ministry can't be trusted?" Percy looked around for support, but he found none. "I'll admit that the Ministry isn't exactly free from corruption, but it's their duty to protect the masses. If we don't warn them, they could be compromised."

"Certain people within the Ministry have been warned," Arthur said. "People that we can trust."

"What about the Minister?" Percy asked. _As smart as he is, he puts way too much faith in people who have authority. It's almost idiotic._

"The Minister is Lucius Malfoy's tool," Lord Greengrass said bluntly. "Grow up, boy. This blind faith in the Ministry is beneath someone of your intellect." _Ouch._ "Take it from someone who has bought many politicians, the moment you go to the Ministry, the Dark Lord will learn of your actions."

"So he's already working with the Pure-Bloods?" Harry asked with a furrowed brow. "Which ones? The Malfoys? The old Death-Eaters?"

Ron felt Theo shrink, and so he moved forward a little in order to hide Theo from the others. Theo noticed this, and he wasted no time in shrinking out of sight. _He's smart enough to understand that his father is most likely already involved._

"Why was Malfoy here, then?" Hermione asked, her eyes darting towards Ron.

"That is a long story," Arthur replied.

"We deserve to know," Harry said.

"Harry," Sirius said sternly. "Just listen instead of interrupting. You'll get your answers."

"Dumbledore has reformed the Order," Xeno told them.

"Are you a part of it?" Luna asked, she was surprisingly calm right now. _No, she's not… She's just not interested. Weird. I mean, look at Tori… She's holding Pandora's hand because of how frightened she is, but Luna doesn't even look bothered._

Ron turned his gaze towards Ginny, and he found her staring down at the ground as she massaged her left forearm. _Why does she keep doing that? Anytime I see her, she's fiddling with her forearm._

"We all are," Sirius answered Luna's question. _He shouldn't have said that. The Order could be put in danger if anyone in this room runs their mouth._

"Sirius," Arthur said, and Sirius raised his hands.

"Who else is in the Order?" Harry asked.

"We can't tell you that, Harry," Arthur said, and Harry frowned deeply.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Because certain wizards can look into your minds," Mary explained. "If we tell all of you too much, we are putting ourselves in danger. I'm sure that none of you have practiced Occlumency before."

Tracey and Daphne looked towards Ron, who pretended to not notice their staring. _My Occlumency is garbage; so don't look at me like I'm some expert. That whole Boggart mess was the Entity's doing, not mine. I actually feel sorry for that poor bastard._

"Then you ought to teach us," Harry countered.

"And we will," Sirius said. "But until then, we can't put our fellow Order members at risk."

"Harry, calm down," Neville whispered.

"Why are you telling us this at all?" Fred couldn't help but ask. "Do you want us to join the Order?"

Ron frowned a little because of that question. The last thing he wanted to see was Fred on the front lines. _I still remember my vision about Harry's little group… I have to do everything in my power to stop that group from existing. He'll lead them all to their deaths. Training and preparing each other is a grand idea, but making a militia group is pure idiocy. At the end of the day, they don't stand a fucking chance against actual Death-Eaters. Hell, I probably don't either._

"No," Molly shut down Fred's idea immediately. _Good job, mum. We have to make sure that every kid in this room stays well away from the Order. Not counting me, of course._

"We are telling you because we want you all to be safe," Pandora said. "We want you to stay away from all of this because you are all still very young. You shouldn't be forced to fight in a war."

"What about me?" Harry asked. "I'm the one who Lord Voldemort wants." _He said the damn name! Again!_

Most people cringed at Harry's liberal use of the Dark Lord's name, while Ron found himself disagreeing with Harry's comment. _Sure, the Dark Lord wants Harry gone, but this war isn't just about Harry. It's about everyone who is going to get caught up in one man's mad bid to become immortal. Not to mention the involvement of the Old Families, most of who want to cut Muggle-Borns out of the Wizarding World. No, this war isn't about Harry. It's about_ _ **everyone**_ _._

"This war isn't about you," Lord Greengrass told Harry. "You're just another name on the Dark Lord's list. Nothing more." _I'm sure Harry is at the top of the Dark Lord's list._

"Oi," Sirius frowned at Lord Greengrass. "Don't speak to him like that."

"Then talk some sense into him," Lord Greengrass said, and then he looked to Harry. "You are just a boy, and from what I've seen, the legends about your prowess are nothing more than fiction. Stay quiet, and **listen**." _That was sort of uncalled for, but he does make a valid point. Harry needs to stop getting so riled up._

The Trio glared at Lord Greengrass, who looked less than impressed with their behavior.

"What if we want to join the Order?" Harry asked almost defiantly. "What if we want to fight?!"

Pretty much every Gryffindor looked ready to agree with Harry, which genuinely served to piss Ron off. _He's riling everyone up with his 'bravery'. Merlin, I remember when I was that stupid._ Ron rubbed the scar on his chest, and he felt the dull ache of his bruises. _Most of them can't even Duel me, so what hope do they have against someone like Antonin Dolohov? He even defeated Madam Roberts, and considering what she did to me, I'd wager that he'd obliterate me in a fight._

"You want to fight Death-Eaters?" Ron finally broke his silence, which earned him everyone's attention. "Take a look at my face, Harry… This is what happens when you go up against a trained witch or wizard. The Dark Lord has been perfecting his Magic since before your parents were born. Stop thinking with your heart, and use your brain for a change."

Ron then looked at his siblings.

"Let the adults handle this," Ron said. "You lot just need to focus on preparing yourselves for what's coming."

"Ron's right," Arthur said, while the other adults exchanged looks. _Am I too calm right now? Damn, I should've stayed quiet._ "Most of you aren't even close to finishing your educations, and that should be your priority."

"We're informing you because we want you to be prepared," James repeated Pandora's message. "Right now, everything is under control, but pretty soon, there will be chaos. Hogwarts is the safest place for all of you."

"You're not going to fight, are you?" Tracey asked her father. "Dad? Mum?"

"Your mother won't be fighting, but I have decided to-" James started.

"You can't!" Tracey looked panicked. "Not after what happened to you!"

"Tracey, please," Susana said gently.

"Father, you are not a soldier," Daphne joined in.

"I have more experience than most," Lord Greengrass said calmly. "We will speak later. For now, pay attention to us." _Are you a living statue? Can't you see that she's worried?_

Ron held his tongue; he knew that speaking out of turn right now would only cause more uproar. Despite his disagreements with the adults in the past, Ron knew that their goals were currently aligned. Both Ron and the parents wanted to keep the children out of the war as much as possible, which meant that he had to play the role of the obedient child. _Most of the work I do is done away from prying eyes, so I might as well take advantage of that. Professor Snape was right; working from the shadows helps me keep everything under my control._

The outburst from Daphne and Tracey had attracted the attention of everyone, and Ron realized that his siblings and the Trio were all looking at Theo. _Uh-oh._

"Maybe I should leave…" Theo whispered.

"You'll do no such thing," Ron whispered back.

"If everything is so hush-hush," Fred started.

"Then why is he here?" George asked. _Merlin, please give me the strength needed to not beat the shit out of these two._ "Isn't his father-?"

"He's here because he's just like the rest of us," Ron said, while Molly and Arthur looked quite annoyed with the twins. "This war is out of his control, and he deserves the chance to hear about it."

"Why are you so calm about all of this?" Percy couldn't help but ask. "Look at him… He doesn't look bothered whatsoever."

"Yes, Ron… Why are you so calm?" Pandora asked, her sharp gaze fixed on him.

"You forget that I faced the Dark Lord back in my first year," Ron replied bluntly, not caring at all that his reply made people uncomfortable. "Ever since my coma, I've been preparing for this day. It's just that simple."

"Preparing for this day?" Bill asked.

"I spend hours every day studying and honing my Magic," Ron shrugged. _This is all common knowledge, so it won't raise any suspicion. If anything, it might inspire some of the people in this room to get their acts together._ "I didn't think that he'd return this soon, but I always knew that he would return eventually."

"Right…" Arthur gave Ron an odd look. _What's he thinking? Did I say too much? No, I barely said anything at all._

Ron shot a quick glance at Tracey and Daphne, both of who were just staring at him. _Yeah, I'm not so crazy now, am I?_ A part of him was glad that they were taking this so seriously, but another part of him was relatively annoyed with them. He had spent over a year begging them to listen to him, and in that time, only Millie had taken his lessons seriously. _And even she didn't believe me about the war to come. She only worked to better herself for herself, which is a lot better than the attitudes that the rest of them showed me. I mean, Daphne refuses to hone her Magic because it bores her… What kind of garbage excuse is that?_

"Arthur," Molly whispered to her husband. "Go on, Arthur. Tell them what they need to do."

"Ahem," Arthur cleared his throat, though his eyes lingered on Ron. "Starting from today, we need all of you to look out for each other at Hogwarts. You-Know-Who's return is still a secret, but you can never be too careful. At no point are any of you to discuss his return with anyone who isn't inside this room. If you do need to talk about it, go to Dumbledore. Do you all understand?"

"What about our friends?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, what about Lee?" George asked. "His mum is a Muggle-Born." _I really do need to talk to the Headmaster about that. There's a lot of Muggle-Borns out there, and we need to help them all before the Snatchers show up._

"What about my parents?" Hermione asked.

"Does my Gran know?" Neville added.

"Neville, your Gran knows everything," Sirius started. "As for the rest of you… I'm sorry, but you cannot discuss this. If this gets out, most of the Order will be arrested for treason."

"Treason?!" Harry asked. "It's treason to fight against Lord Voldemort?!" _Merlin, why does he keep saying that name?_

A shiver passed through Ron, and he barely hid his frown. _I bet Harry has the biggest balls in this room. Nay… I guarantee it._

"This is a very complicated situation," Pandora spoke in a light voice. "The World believes that the Dark Lord is gone. They **need** to believe it. The last war still haunts a lot of people, and if we tell them that another war is coming, they will refuse to believe us. Dumbledore has assured us that he's approached the right people within the Ministry, and they'll work with him to combat this threat. You all need to do your part-"

"Which is doing nothing," Harry frowned. "I want to speak to Dumbledore."

"Harry, please," Sirius sighed out. "Dumbledore will speak with you once you're back at Hogwarts."

"Why isn't Remus here?" Harry asked Sirius. "You keep saying that he has business at Hogwarts, but I know that's not true. Is he working for the Order right now?"

"He is," Sirius replied.

"So you've been lying to me this entire time," Harry glared at his Godfather.

"It's more complicated than that," Sirius said. "You know it is."

"It doesn't sound all that complicated," Harry countered. "Lord Voldemort is back, and instead of telling us, you've all kept us in the dark." _This is turning into something else entirely._

"Theo," Ron whispered as he looked back, and he saw that Theo was looking rather dazed by all of this. "Hey… You all right?"

"You were right…" Theo mumbled, his eyes fixed at nothing. "The conversation we had yesterday… Oh, Gods…" _Merlin, I've never seen him look like this before._

Ron took Theo by the arm, and he gently pulled Theo towards the nearest exit.

"Ron, we're not done yet," Molly said.

"We'll be right back, I promise," Ron said, and after Molly noticed Theo's pale complexion, she gave Ron a nod.

Without another word, Ron led Theo out into the backyard. The cold night air bit their skins, and Ron wondered if going up to his room was a better idea.

"Theo? What's wrong?" Ron asked, and then he realized how stupid his question was. "I mean, are you all right?"

"You were right…" Theo mumbled again, and then he let out a long breath as he rubbed his face. _Merlin, he's reminding me of me before I have my panic attacks._

"Come and sit down," Ron gently tugged Theo to the bench.

Theo dropped onto the bench unceremoniously, and when he bent forward, Ron rubbed his back.

"I shouldn't be here…" Theo said to himself.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked as he sat down, his hand still rubbing Theo's back.

"My father… I need to go warn him…" Theo said, and Ron cringed a little.

"Mate… I don't want to say this, but your father…" Ron started, but when Theo looked at him with a genuinely scared look, Ron all but bit his tongue.

"Why would he let me come here, then?" Theo asked. "If You-Know-Who's back, then he'd never let me sleep in the same house as Blood-Traitors."

Ron said nothing about his comment, but judging from Theo's face, he didn't have to.

"I… I'm sorry…" Theo apologized. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Ron said softly. "I understand what you mean."

"He… He wouldn't let me come here," Theo looked back ahead.

"Maybe he let you come here because he doesn't want you back home right now," Ron suggested, and Theo looked back to him. "Theo, I really fucking hate to say this, but your father is probably working with the Dark Lord."

"You don't know that," Theo said desperately, and then his face dropped. "But you were right about the war… I… I want to go home…"

"Theo, please," Ron did his best to hide his own panic. _I can't let him go back to Nott Manor._ "Listen to me… It's not safe back at Nott Manor. If your father is indeed working for You-Know-Who, then you'll be walking into terrible danger."

The back door suddenly opened, and when Ron looked to see who had come through, he saw Lord Greengrass and the Slytherin girls approaching them. _What are they doing out here?_

"Theo, are you okay?" Tori asked. "Father, do something."

"Theodore, look at me," Lord Greengrass kneeled down to look at Theo's face. "Take a deep breath, and steel yourself."

Theo gave a shaky nod as he drew in a deep breath. Lord Greengrass stood back up, and after sparing Ron a glance, he began pulling his left sleeve back.

"Father, what are you doing?" Daphne went wide-eyed.

"Theodore, look at my arm," Lord Greengrass said, and they looked at the nearly invisible Dark Mark on Lord Greengrass' forearm.

Tori and Tracey were both looking at it with a macabre sense of curiosity, while Daphne, Theo, and Ron felt disgusted at the sight of it. _His Mark… That piece of shit._

"What are you doing?" Ron frowned. "Why are you showing that to him?"

"I'm showing you all what happens to people like us during wars like this," Lord Greengrass replied. "This Mark on my arm… It was forced on me by the Dark Lord himself, and once it was on my skin, I became his servant."

"Servant?" Tori couldn't believe that. "You?"

"Yes, Astoria," Lord Greengrass said grimly. "The Dark Lord doesn't have equals, and he never will. To him, we are all expendable servants. Those who served him had the right to live, and those who didn't… Well, they didn't live for long. In all of my years, I have never met someone like him. Many call me ruthless, but the Dark Lord… He is **evil** incarnate."

Lord Greengrass then covered his left forearm, an act that made everyone relax a little. Ron knew what his Mentor was doing; he was trying to scare them straight. And although he didn't appreciate Lord Greengrass' lack of empathy, he decided not to interfere.

"During the last war, Slytherin House was the Dark Lord's domain," Lord Greengrass told them. "You are all intelligent children, so you already understand that the Old Families who were loyal to the Dark Lord forced their own children into the ranks of the Death-Eaters. This war will be no different. Soon, many of your friends and peers will begin to follow him. Of all the children in this house, you five are in the most danger. Many will attempt to recruit you, while others will attempt to harm you." _Not while I'm around._ "It is crucial that you all stay together. The more united you are, the safer you will be."

Lord Greengrass then looked directly at Theo.

"Your father was not exactly a devoted follower of the Dark Lord during the last war," Lord Greengrass said. "He was loyal only to his wife, but when she was murdered by a Muggle, he became increasingly volatile. Now, he is one of the Dark Lord's most loyal servants."

Theo shrunk a little, especially because he knew that Lord Greengrass was telling the truth. Growing up, Theo had often heard his father boast about the Dark Lord's power, and about how much of a loss the Dark Lord's fall was to the Wizarding World. If all of this was really happening, then Theo knew where his father would stand.

"I'm his heir…" Theo muttered, his eyes darting towards Tracey for a moment.

"Yes, but you are not him," Lord Greengrass said. "If you follow in his footsteps, you will lose everything. Your freedom. Your future. Your humanity. The Dark Lord will take it all away from you. Your children will grow up serving him, and their children after that. The Nott Family will become a shadow of what they once were. Your father is driven by his grief and hatred towards the Muggles, but you still have a chance to be yourself."

Lord Greengrass then looked to the others, his eyes lingering on Tori. _She looks so scared… Another thing that the Dark Lord will pay for._

"None of you deserve to grow up in a war," Lord Greengrass' voice softened. "Especially a war that was started before you were all even born. And yet, life has put you at the center of it. In the coming days, you will all be tempted with promises of wealth and power, but you must caution restraint. The Dark Lord's promises are like poisoned honey. It is all too alluring to have a small taste, but that taste is fatal. Once he has even an ounce of control over you, you are his pawn for the remainder of your life."

Lord Greengrass then looked to Ron.

"Ron, come with me for a moment," Lord Greengrass said, and Ron slowly stood up.

Without another word, Lord Greengrass began to head towards the garden.

"Stay together," Ron said to Daphne. "Go up to my room, and stay there."

"Okay," Daphne gave a nod as Tracey sat down beside Theo.

Ron followed his after his Mentor, and once he was past the fence, he spotted Lord Greengrass waiting for him by the hedge.

"What do you want to discuss, my Lord?" Ron asked as he approached the man.

"I want to know your thoughts on all of this," Lord Greengrass said, his eyes searching Ron's.

"My thoughts?" Ron asked.

"Unlike every other child in the house, you are eerily calm about all of this," Lord Greengrass pointed out. "At first, I thought that you were just holding yourself together, but now… Now, I feel like you are hiding something from us." _Shit._

"Hiding things?" Ron asked. "I am not hiding anything. As I already said, I've been preparing for this day."

"I'm starting to see that," Lord Greengrass said. "You train yourself every day, right?"

"Yes," Ron replied. _Something feels off here. His tone suggests that he's not exactly pleased with me._

"You know, Daphne often writes to me about you," Lord Greengrass started. "She is, of course, careful in keeping your confidence, but occasionally, I read something that catches my interest. You spend hours every day just practicing your Magic, which is not something that people your age do. At first, I simply thought that it was a part of who you are. That it was what made you so brilliant. But now I'm starting to think that your behavior is not natural."

"What is this?" Ron asked.

"Listen to me," Lord Greengrass said. "Buying the Quibbler to combat the Daily Prophet, which is run by prominent Families like mine… Setting up that Squib Orphanage, and now this Werewolf Sanctuary… Getting involved in Ministry affairs out of the blue… None of these actions make sense. Not unless you step back and look at what they're meant to achieve." Lord Greengrass then stood up straighter. "All of your actions are causing the Old Families problems. You are fighting against them, and have been long before this little meeting." _Mother of fuck… Stay calm, Ron. Don't let him rattle you so easily._

"And then there is this alliance that you're trying to create," Lord Greengrass went on. "And your plans for Slytherin House. Why does a thirteen year old feel the need to bring together powerful people? Why is a boy trying to topple the current regime? And why is this same boy befriending and influencing young heirs all over Hogwarts? Do you see the pattern now, Ron? Because I do."

"Are you suggesting that I'm somehow playing a major part in this war?" Ron asked. "My Lord, I didn't even know about this war until-"

"You have become a good liar," Lord Greengrass cut in, he didn't sound very amused. "Tell me this, Ron… Why is Theodore Nott here? Why is he the only one of your friends that you've invited over?"

"I invited them all," Ron said. _This is starting to annoy me._

"But you only spoke to Theodore's father," Lord Greengrass said. "Daphne told me about how you spoke to Cornelius Nott at the Gala. Of all of your friends, you only went out of your way to convince Theodore's father to let him stay with you. Why? Why stop him from going home in the first place? He could've visited you just as my daughters do. He has many fireplaces in his manor." Lord Greengrass then looked to the Burrow. "And then, there is Draco Malfoy… Your parents tell you to lie about his presence, and for the first time in forever, you don't question them whatsoever. I found that to be very out of character for you, even if Molly and Arthur counted it as a blessing."

"Do you have a point to make?" Ron asked coldly. "Or are you just going to keep rambling?"

"There it is," Lord Greengrass turned his gaze back to Ron. "The way your tone just changes whenever you don't like what you hear… You know what I think, Ron? I think you have tricked me. I think everyone who associates with you has been tricked by you."

"Tricked?" Ron's jaw clenched.

"You wear a mask to cover your true face," Lord Greengrass said. "My love for you blinded me to it until now, but I'm starting to see through the cracks. The funny, witty young wizard that everyone sees you as… That's not you. It might have been once upon a time, but not anymore. Now, you are something else entirely." _**You have no idea.**_

"I think you're grasping at straws," Ron said. "I get that you're upset with me for taking Daphne to France without your permission, but this is uncalled for. People who love each other don't treat each other like this-"

"Don't try to guilt me," Lord Greengrass said icily. "I assure you, it will not work."

"Then how about this?" Ron took a step forward as he turned and cracked his neck. "If you don't trust me, then we shouldn't work together. It's clear to me that you think quite lowly of me-"

"I never said that," Lord Greengrass said. "What I did say is that you're not who you pretend to be. Don't forget that you are courting my eldest daughter. If I feel like you're not doing right by her, then I will step in and end this relationship of yours."

"Not doing right by her?" Ron couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you hear yourself? Go over there and talk to her if you think that I'm not doing right by her. She'll tell you that I spend all of my time tackling issues that involve her. She'll tell you that I spend what little free time I have helping her with anything and everything. She'll tell you that I would never force her to be with me if she didn't want the same thing. She and I share a bond that is **very** special to the both of us, and as far as I'm concerned, you don't have any say in the matter. I might understand the Old Ways, but I don't give a fuck about them."

"I don't know who you are," Lord Greengrass said as his eyes met Ron's. "I don't even know who I'm to talking to."

"If that's true… If you really don't know who I am," Ron started as he stepped right into his Mentor's face. "Then maybe your best option is to tread lightly."

Ron then patted down Lord Greengrass' arms, making sure to straighten out any creases before he grabbed the man's biceps. His fingers squeezed tightly, and only when Lord Greengrass winced did Ron relieve the pressure.

"I love you," Ron whispered. "But if you get in my way… The Dark Lord will be the least of your worries."

Lord Greengrass said nothing, but Ron knew that his message had taken root.

"This is the part where you go back inside, and comfort your daughters," Ron let go of Lord Greengrass' arms. "Tori is particularly scared right now, and she needs you to be there for her. Go on."

His Mentor stared at him with a wary look, and then, he walked off without making a single sound. Once Lord Greengrass was out of sight, Ron cracked his fingers with his thumbs.

" _ **A mask, he says**_ ," Ron twitched as he cracked his neck again. " _ **Clever mortal…**_ "

* * *

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Past Midnight)**_

Theo hadn't taken the news of the Dark Lord's return well, and Ron couldn't help but wonder if their recent conversation was to blame for Theo's fearful reaction. The others were also scared, but Theo had become a bumbling mess as the night had progressed. It had taken a lot of effort to get him to fall asleep, and now that he had, Ron found himself unable to join Theo.

His mind lingered on Lord Greengrass' words, and although he didn't want to admit it, the man's words had bothered him greatly. Sure, Ron wasn't the same happy-go-lucky kid that he used to be, but there were legitimate reasons for his change in behavior. _Reasons that I can't discuss with anyone. What am I even supposed to say? 'Oh, there's a demon living in my head, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to end up as its chew toy for eternity'?_ Once again, Ron was feeling alone, and annoyingly, rather depressed.

He knew that this was all in his own head, but no matter how many times he repeated that to himself, the negative feelings refused to leave him alone. It just all felt so… hopeless. Even pointless. _I can't even clock out anymore because I know what's in store for me if I fail my Cycle. Merlin, I wish I could just stop existing._ Ron massaged his bruised face, and then he slid out of his bed. After making sure that Theo was still asleep, Ron opened his trunk and collected Salazar's notes. _I may not be able to help Pansy, or have Lord Greengrass' trust, but I can at least try and find some knowledge in these._

Without making a single sound, Ron slipped out of his room and made his way downstairs. He needed privacy for this, so he decided to use the bathroom on the first floor. Unlike the other bathroom, the bathroom on the first floor didn't have any loose floorboard that could give him away. Once he was safely inside, he locked the door and pulled his wand out. _I'll use Lumos as my light._ Deciding to try some Non-Verbal Magic, Ron flicked his wand as he thought of the intended Spell. His wand gave off a faint glow, and Ron smiled a little. _It's not perfect, but it worked._

With everything ready, Ron sat down on the floor and spread the notes out. _Which one first? I should look for dates and arrange them first._ After a bit of organizing, Ron realized that these were diary entries of some sort. _All right, Salazar… Show me what you were studying down in the Chamber._

 _I have done it… The Chamber has been completed, and now, I can plot my vengeance against the Mud-Bloods. (Great start… What a cunt.)_

 _I have been counting how many of the Impure walk my castle, and it saddens me greatly to admit that the Pure are outnumbered three to one. This, however, is not as alarming as my most recent discovery. Many of the Impure are displaying far greater skill than I previously predicted. I can't prove it yet, but I know that they're stealing Magic from the Pure._

Ron put the parchment down and frowned to himself; Salazar was clearly a fucking loon. Deciding to power through the writings of a madman for the sake of knowledge, Ron skimmed through a couple more parchments. Other than Salazar's venomous hatred of the Elves, the 'Impure', and the Goblins, Ron found nothing of significance. But then, a single word caught his attention. _Basilisk._

 _Over the last year, I have scoured all of Greece in an effort to piece together the life of my ancestor, Herpo the Foul. I must admit that what I found troubles me greatly. Herpo more than earned his name, and even I cannot justify some of the horrors that I've uncovered._

 _Using my ability to commune with serpents, I uncovered his ancient laboratory. Within this laboratory were horrors from my worst nightmares… Corpses with serpentine, scale-ridden skins incased in impenetrable jars. Souls trapped within black, living gems. Ancient Wards used to summon entities from hellish planes of existence._

 _I must confess that I regret not listening to Helga's council. I fear that I must break my promise to Rowena, and destroy this place instead of recovering its knowledge. But first, I must find a solution to my own tribulations. Within these walls lies the secret to the creation of the Basilisk. With such a weapon within my arsenal, I will cleanse my castle of the filth that currently invades it. _

Ron quickly grabbed the next piece of parchment, his eyes glued to it almost instantaneously.

 _Five times I have tried, and five times I have failed._

 _The eggs are not hatching, as they should. Instead, they become crystalized due to the concentrated Dark Magic. (The eggs I found… I was right. They were indeed Basilisk Eggs.) Once crystalized, the eggs are nothing more than shiny decorations. I fear that my time within this Chamber is beginning to affect me. I hear whispers that no one else does, and the shadows dance whenever I take my eyes off them._

 _I will try one more time, and if I fail, I will find another solution. _

Ron moved onto the next piece of parchment, his mind fixed on Salazar Slytherin. _He drove himself mad, didn't he? Why? Why go that far just to hurt other people? It's not like they actually wronged him in any way, they were invited to study Magic by the other Founders._

 _My daughter grows larger by the day. Soon, I will need to feed her something more worthy for the Queen of Serpents._

 _As I watch her slither about the Chamber, I feel my heart swell with pride. Is this how it feels to have a child? When she turns her head in my direction, she is careful enough to keep her eyes closed. Just yesterday, she heard me complaining about the rats, and in order to please her father, she spent the entire night hunting them down._

 _I am beginning to neglect my students because I do not wish to leave my daughter's side. She wishes to see the outside world, and in my weakness, I promised to take her around the Black Lake if she behaved herself. She has become the most obedient of children as a result of my promise. _

Ron was quite surprised to read something like this… It was almost as if the Basilisk loved Salazar. _I can't forget that he could speak to it. Her. Speak to her. Of course they became close. I mean, they both spent so much time down in that shithole._

 _My journey into Greece continues to haunt me. What I learned within my ancestor's laboratory clings to my mind like some unshakable disease._

 _Herpo was not born a Parselmouth. No, he created Parselmouths. (What?) All of his experiments were conducted for a singular purpose. Immortality. (Oh, fuck…) In his notes, he explained his natural affinity for the Dark Arts, and I must confess, I am glad that his enemies destroyed him. _

_My ancestor created the very first Horcrux-_

Ron quickly looked around to make sure that he was alone, and then, he brought the page close to his face without thinking. _Horcrux… Fucking hell._

 _My ancestor created the very first Horcrux after years of experimentation. In his notes, he explained that a being not of this world showed him how to split his own soul. A being made of shadow and fire. I shudder to even think of this being from hell. Herpo used his forbidden knowledge to plant a sizeable part of his own soul within his most powerful creation: his Basilisk. (Mother of fuck! Is that even possible? What am I saying? Clearly it is!)_

 _However, something happened that Herpo did not foresee. He forgot the most basic of principles. Magic requires equal exchange. In order to take, one must give. And in order to give, one must take. A part of the Basilisk's soul filled the emptiness left within Herpo, which in turn gave him the ability to speak with serpents._

 _He became the Lord of Serpents. (That's what the Entity calls the Dark Lord.)_

 _This ability was passed onto his children, who passed it onto their children. I have always been proud of my ability to speak with serpents, for it is the reason why I have become such a renowned wizard. But lately, I regret sleeping with the various witches who piqued my interest in my youth. I know that I have continued Herpo's dark legacy, an act that disgusts me. _

For the first time in his life, Ron felt that Salazar wasn't a complete loon. Maybe he was just a misguided fool who ran into knowledge that forever changed him. _Knowledge that wasn't from this World… What 'being' showed Herpo how to create Horcruxes? I mean, the Universe is almost infinite, so it isn't crazy to believe that we aren't alone in it. Could Herpo really have met some creature from beyond our World? Maybe Astronomy isn't such a boring subject after all. Wait... What if this being was like the ones I'm being tormented by?_

 _I have grown old, and feeble. Every year, more of the Impure flood my castle, and I am powerless to stop them. Even if I unleash my daughter upon them, time is on their side._

 _In order to combat my approaching death, I have decided to create a Horcrux of my own. (Oh, no… Don't tell me you went that far, you stupid fuck.) It is the only way to insure that the world remains Pure. I have chosen my prey, and I have sharpened my cursed dagger. Come nightfall, I will become immortal._

Ron turned the page in order to see if there was anything written on the back, and when he saw that there wasn't, he quickly grabbed the page that continued the story.

 _I could not do it. (Thank the Gods…)_

 _She sat in my Office, an Impure girl of only twelve, but when I gazed into her eyes, all I saw was a familiar glint of excitement. She was one of Godric's students, and my invitation had filled her with joy that I am ashamed to describe. She wished to learn from me so she could become a Healer, as I once was. Her ambition was to help her fellow wizards and witches in these trying times._

 _I could not do it. I could not cut her life short to extend my own. I am weak, and old. My hatred has twisted me, and only now do I realize that I almost became Salazar the Foul. Perhaps Godric is right. Perhaps I have truly lost my way in this world._

Ron didn't know why, but he felt oddly glad that Salazar had realized the error of his ways. Most of all, Ron was glad that Salazar hadn't murdered an innocent girl in order to create a Horcrux. _How would the Dark Lord react to this knowledge? What would Salazar say if I could tell him that his heir became the very monster that Salazar feared most?_

 _I have decided to leave Hogwarts._

 _Rowena rarely leaves her tower. Godric avoids me whenever possible. And sweet Helga is heartbroken by our distance. We were a Family, and I finally understand that I am to blame for our current state._

 _The girl who I attempted to murder is still as driven as always, and without her knowledge, I have been keeping my eyes on her. She will become a fine Healer one day._

 _I am tired of hatred. I am tired of the nightmares that haunt me. I am so very tired._

 _Lately, I find myself thinking of my youth. Of the battles that Go_ _dric and I fought together. Of how I would heal my brother's wounds as he boasted of his prowess. I miss his laughter._

 _With my daughter's help, I have created a new wand. A wand with a singular purpose: Healing. With it by my side, I shall travel the World in the hopes of redeeming my soul. I will use it to heal all witches and wizards; their heritage will not deter me. Perhaps one day, I will meet the girl who inspired me to become a Healer once again. If I am so lucky, I will pass my knowledge onto her if she is ready for it._

 _I have corrupted everything that I once loved._

 _I am so tired._

Ron put the page down as he rubbed his forehead with his free hand. There was a lot of information that he needed to process. For one, a small part of Ron was now regretting what had happened to the Basilisk. He knew that he hadn't really played a part in the Basilisk's death, but from what he had just read, she wasn't always a monster. She had even helped Salazar forge a wand made specifically for healing others. _All that time alone in the Chamber… She was clearly driven mad. And then, the Dark Lord found her._ Ron picked up the final page, and he began reading through it.

 _I have finally mastered the ability to leave Hogwarts without being detected. (Wait… This is an old entry.)_

 _Helga's Elves constantly leave the grounds without anyone's knowledge, and much to my astonishment, I have come to learn that their form of Apparition is vastly different from ours. It is Old Magic._

 _After nearly a year of studying their techniques, I have created my own form of Apparition, one that is not restricted by any limitations with the exception of distance. With this new ability, I will collect the materials I need to create my Chamber. _

Much to Ron's frustration, the final page ended there. _NO! What about the Spell?!_ Ron looked to the back, and when he saw that it was empty, he nearly punched himself in the head. _Why?! This is exactly the sort of knowledge that I was looking for! Damn you, Fate! You bitch!_

Once he was done throwing a tantrum on the bathroom floor, Ron gathered the pages and exited the bathroom. _It's getting late, and I should at least try to get some sleep tonight._ As he tiptoed upstairs, Ron thought on what he had learned from Salazar's notes. _The eggs are useless, but this Cursed dagger… It has to be the one that I found. It's a shame that I couldn't recover any pages that explained its nature to me, but I reckon that there should be some people out there who can help me learn more about it. Maybe I can even have it fixed up? It'd be nice to have a weapon besides my wand. As for the eggs, maybe I can sell them as a collector's curio? Any extra bit of income is good for me in the long run. Oh, and I need to follow up on this Spell that Salazar mentioned. I'll start by talking to Marty about his Apparition Magic, and then build on from there._

Ron slipped back into his room, and he carefully deposited the notes inside his trunk. With that done, Ron walked over to the beds. Theo had pushed his blanket down to his feet, and judging from his curled up posture, he was freezing his arse off. _Be careful, Ron, and don't wake him up._ Ron grabbed the blanket, and he gently covered Theo's body. _I hope he doesn't spend the rest of the Break in such a state._

"Goodnight, Theo," Ron whispered, and then he slid into his own bed.

Time passed by slowly, but Ron couldn't sleep. He just lay there for what felt like an eternity, but sleep never found him. Eventually, he sat up and rubbed his sore face. _You can't even sleep, Ron… How useless can one person be?_ He looked around the room, and his eyes lingered on his pillow. Ron closed his eyes as he sat up with a straighter posture. Without a word, he levitated his pillow into the air. _If I can keep this in the air for thirty minutes, then I can go to sleep._

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Buckden Pike – Midday)**_

"Do we just drop in and say hello?" Tonks asked, which earned her a grunt from Alastor.

"If we get closer than this, they'll smell us coming," Remus told them.

"You sound quite worried, Professor Lupin," Sturgis said. "I thought you said that you knew the Alpha of this camp." _Thaddeus… I haven't even sent him a letter in nearly five years._

"I haven't spoken to him in over four years," Remus replied, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Why?" Tonks asked.

"Does that even matter?" Alastor frowned at her, and she simply rolled her eyes.

"Course it matters… Remus sounds bothered by it," Tonks countered. "So? Why haven't you spoken to him in so long?" _She's very… open… about everything._

"I… I wanted to distance myself from them," Remus replied. "I wasn't big on staying with one pack for long."

"Didn't want to get attached?" Tonks asked with an understanding smile, and Remus shifted in his spot.

"It doesn't matter," Remus decided to change the subject. "We need a plan."

"A plan?" Sturgis asked. "Let's just go there and talk to them. If we're honest and upfront, they'll know that they can trust us."

"I smell a fellow Hufflepuff," Tonks laughed, and Sturgis joined her.

Alastor and Remus exchanged looks, both of them choosing to ignore the other two. _I should've come alone. My kind isn't exactly friendly to outsiders, and since we showed up in force, they'll be far too wary of us._

"I reckon I should go in alone," Remus said to Alastor.

"Nonsense," Alastor denied his request. "If something goes wrong, you'll need someone watching your back."

"They'll never attack one of their own," Remus tried.

"Oh, are you a God now, Lupin?" Alastor all but growled. "You can divine the bloody future now, can you? Has it occurred to you that perhaps the Dark Lord has already visited your little friends?" Alastor then shook his head. "We go in together, or we go home. It's up to you."

"You can be very sweet, Sir," Tonks said from the background, and Alastor's face darkened.

"We'll go together," Remus said quickly, he didn't want an angry Alastor Moody on his hands.

"Then let's go," Alastor said as he began limping towards the far away hill.

To say that Remus was feeling anxious would be an understatement; he was absolutely terrified. Thaddeus had been good to Remus in ways that only Dumbledore had been, but when Remus had started feeling a growing bond between himself and the camp, he had abandoned them all in the dead of night without even saying goodbye. After the war… after what had happened to his friends… Remus had given up on companionship. He was afraid of it. _But Thaddeus… He was too good to me._

"You're looking quite constipated," Tonks said from his right, and Remus broke out of his self-pity.

"Do I?" Remus asked, and she shot him a wide smile.

"Sirius did mention that you were the brooding sort, but I had my doubts," Tonks started. "Consider my doubts dashed to pieces."

"I have a history with these people," Remus kept his eyes forward. "A history that might negatively-"

"Snore," Tonks grinned, and Remus couldn't help but give her a dull look. "From what I'm seeing, it looks like you're afraid of something. Something that you blame yourself for." _That is oddly… perceptive… of her._ "And since you mentioned that you haven't spoken to these people for a long time, I'm going to wager that you have no idea how they feel about you."

"I… I don't…" Remus looked back ahead. _Is this why Alastor took her under his wing? Maybe she's more than just a clumsy girl._

"Then what's the point of worrying?" Tonks asked him. "Whatever happened between you and this camp… It doesn't matter anymore. The World is coming to an end, and you're here to warn them of the coming danger. You clearly care about them, so isn't it time to face them head-on? They might surprise you, you know."

"Could it be that you're more than just a clumsy girl?" Remus teased, hoping to change the subject.

"Hey, I'm an Auror," Tonks' nose shot up smugly. "Well… An Auror in training… But still, I'll be an Auror in a couple of months. And I'm not a 'girl', I'm a woman."

"Oh, how ignorant of me," Remus chuckled at her 'offended' tone.

"Quite so," Tonks smirked.

"Will you two shut it?" Alastor shot a glare back at them.

"He's right," Remus whispered. "We should keep the noise to a minimum."

"He's just grouchy because we have to walk uphill," Tonks whispered with a carefree smile. "Wooden leg must be aching, you know."

Remus' lips twitched upwards, but he didn't dare laugh. _Alastor has the hearing of a bat._

"How many people in this camp?" Tonks asked Remus.

"Last time I was here… Around twenty, or so," Remus replied.

"Wands?" Tonks asked.

"Wands?"

"If something goes wrong, then we need to have an exit plan," Tonks said, her mirth was suddenly gone. _An Auror, indeed._ "So? How many wands? What are their defenses like?"

"Only the adults have wands," Remus explained. "Thaddeus doesn't allow errant wands around the camp for fear of triggering the Trace. And those who do have wands aren't experts at using them. They didn't get an education like I did…"

"Seriously? You feel guilty because you went to Hogwarts, and they didn't?" Tonks asked.

"You don't know what it's like, all right?" Remus said, his tone coming out harsher than he intended.

"Sorry, you're right," Tonks quickly backpedaled. "I run my mouth too much sometimes."

"No… I… I'm sorry," Remus gathered up his composure. "I don't feel guilty for being allowed to go to Hogwarts. I just… You'll see when you see the camp. These people live hard lives, and many of the young ones don't understand why."

"They blame the outside World?" Tonks asked.

"They blame everything," Remus spoke from experience. "Wizards, Muggles, themselves… Thaddeus, and Alphas like him, do their best to give the young ones purpose, but more often than not, it doesn't matter much in the end. They run away in the night, and they get themselves into trouble."

"Sounds difficult," Tonks said with a sorry smile.

"Difficult is putting it mildly," Remus muttered under his breath.

"You're brooding again," Tonks nudged him, and he gave her a half-smile.

"Sorry," Remus apologized. "Guess Sirius knows me too well."

"Merlin, he never stops talking about you," Tonks smiled widely. _Really?_ "Every second sentence out of his mouth is about Harry, and every third is about you."

"Stop," Alastor ordered as he came to an abrupt halt. "There's a barrier in front of us." _There is? Ah, that eye of his… Seems like they've learned stronger Warding Spells since I was here._

"Relax," Remus stepped up to Alastor's side. "I actually taught them a lot about Warding Spells. They would never put up anything dangerous."

"Are you sure?" Sturgis asked.

"This area is used by Muggles for hiking purposes," Remus explained. "Let me have a look at these Wards."

After examining the invisible barrier with his own wand, Remus found himself smiling a little. _They really have improved._

"Well?" Alastor asked.

"The Intruder Charm, the Muggle-Repelling Charm, Protego Totalum…" Remus listed. "Nothing dangerous. Just Wards needed to keep strangers out."

Without hesitating, Remus planted his left palm on the invisible wall in front of him. _There, that should alert them about our presence._

"Why did you do that?" Alastor frowned. "Now they'll know that we're coming."

"We're coming to them as friends, Moody," Tonks huffed. "Just let Remus do the talking, yeah?"

"Podmore, keep your wand at the ready," Alastor ordered. "Same goes for you two lovebirds." _Lovebirds?_

Tonks didn't look very amused, while Remus ignored the grumpy old bastard. After a few minutes of waiting around, Alastor suddenly pulled Remus close.

"Two people are approaching," Alastor whispered. "A man, and a woman. They have wands."

"They're just here to check on the Wards," Remus explained. "What do they look like?"

"Like they need a bath," Alastor grumbled. _Sort of like you, then._ "The woman has short brown hair, and the man has a massive scar across his face."

"Tabatha and Bjorn," Remus remembered. "They're husband and wife, and I know them. Let me do the talking."

"Whatever," Alastor took a step back.

Remus stepped forward, and he waved at where he thought they could be. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, the invisible wall fell.

"Remus?" Bjorn stared at him. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Bjo-" Remus started, but the large man cut him off by pulling him into an organ rupturing hug.

"You're still alive, you bastard!" Bjorn laughed loudly, while Tabatha just stared at her husband in disbelief. _He's… He's not angry with me for leaving?_ "Let me have a look at you!"

Bjorn studied Remus' jarred face, and then he patted Remus' arm with a little too much strength.

"Some of these are new," Bjorn pointed to the scar under Remus' chin.

"I see that you've also collected a few new ones," Remus looked at Bjorn's missing right ear.

"Ah, this one is from the wife," Bjorn laughed, which earned him a smack from said wife.

"Stop spreading that around, you fool," Tabatha said angrily. "People like to talk, and you're sullying your own wife's reputation." She then looked at Remus. "He lost his ear trying to fight off another Werewolf."

"You were attacked?" Remus asked.

"This was a while ago," Bjorn quickly banished Remus' worries. "You're finally home, Remus! Thaddeus is going to be over the moon!" _Really? He's not angry with me?_

"Why **are** you back?" Tabatha asked, and then she looked to the others. "Who are they? They don't smell like us."

"Forgive her wary nature," Bjorn chuckled. _They haven't changed a bit._ "We don't get many visitors. What are your names?"

"I'm Tonks," Tonks quickly replied, a big smile on her face.

"Sturgis Podmore," Sturgis replied in a polite tone. "A pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure?" Bjorn chuckled. "Well, same to you, mate!"

"And you?" Tabatha asked Alastor. "You look worse than us."

"This is Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody," Remus introduced.

"The legendary Auror?" Tabatha cocked an eyebrow at Alastor. "Well… Never thought that I'd meet someone like you."

"Take us to your Alpha," Alastor ignored the jolly reunion. "We need to speak to him about something important."

"What Mr. Moody means to say is that your camp is in danger, and we're here to help," Sturgis said with a much gentler tone.

"Danger?" Bjorn asked as he looked to Remus.

"We should discuss this somewhere… safer," Remus looked around.

"Come in, then," Bjorn stepped aside.

"Bjorn-" Tabatha started.

"Look at them, love," Bjorn gave his wife a pleading look. "They've been traveling for a while by the look of it, and Remus is one of us… We can share a hot meal with them at the very least."

"We have our own foo-" Remus started, he didn't want to burden the camp with their presence.

"That'd be great!" Tonks beamed. _Where are her manners?_

"See!" Bjorn grinned. "They're hungry, and cold! C'mon, you lot! I'll take you to Thaddeus while Tabatha puts the Wards up again."

"Thank you for your kind hospitality," Sturgis gave Bjorn a grateful nod, but the large Werewolf just laughed at Sturgis' formal demeanor.

"You need a hand there, old man?" Bjorn asked Alastor, but one look from the Ex-Auror killed most of Bjorn's mirth. "Never mind, then…"

They began making their way up the hill, and Remus quickly put himself by Bjorn's side.

"It's great to see you again, Remus," Bjorn smiled at him. "Most of us thought that you'd… You know…"

"Ended up in Azkaban?" Remus provided.

"That, or wound up dead," Bjorn said. "I'm glad that you're not dead."

"Me too," Remus smiled a little. "How is the camp?"

"It's… gotten a lot bigger," Bjorn replied.

"Really?"

"Some 'legislation' got passed by the Ministry," Bjorn started. "You probably know more about it than I do… Anyway, Thaddeus got wind of it, and being who he is, he sent us out to find our 'errant brothers and sisters'." _That does sound like him._ "It wasn't hard to find 'em, by the way. Most of them were sleeping in gutters, or robbing Muggle stores for food and drink. Sad times, brother… Sad times."

"Yeah," Remus agreed.

"What about you?" Bjorn asked. "How are you surviving out there? Do you have a new pack?"

"No, I don't have a pack," Remus replied a little uncomfortably.

"Ever the lone wolf, eh?" Bjorn chuckled as he nudged Remus. _Something like that…_

"I'm a Professor now," Remus said, and Bjorn looked quite shocked. "At Hogwarts, that is."

"Really?" Bjorn slowly started to grin. "Well, fuck me bloody! Good on you, Remus! That old Headmaster of yours came through for you, did he?"

"He did," Remus smiled more fully.

"Good on him," Bjorn nodded fervently. "He sounds like a proper bloke to me."

"Not how I would describe him, but essentially, he is a proper bloke," Remus laughed.

"I'm guessing that no one else knows, though," Bjorn said as they neared the top of the hill.

"The other Professors do," Remus said.

"Oh… And they don't say anything?" Bjorn asked. _Not all of them._

"They're all good people," Remus replied. "Most of them taught me when I was a cub, so they even look after me when I'm sick after the change."

"So you do have a new pack," Bjorn smiled rather proudly. "Good on you, Remus. I'm really happy for you."

As they reached the top of the hill, Remus was stunned into silence due to the size of the camp. Over a dozen tents were erected, and unfamiliar faces were everywhere. During Remus' time with the pack, he could barely call them a pack due to the lack of resources and people. But now… This was almost a tiny village.

"Pretty amazing, right?" Bjorn grinned smugly.

"How… When did you…?" Remus looked around with a dazed look. _They have chicken coops, and they're even farming the soil somehow._ "Bjorn… This is amazing…"

"Yeah, it is pretty great," Bjorn followed Remus' gaze. "Most of this is Thaddeus' doing, by the way. The old man's been relentless."

"Relentless?" Remus asked.

"Let's just say that he's aged… **A lot** ," Bjorn replied. "He even got himself a pupil because he says that he's running out of time. It's… Gods, I don't know what we'll do when he's gone."

"Is he ill?" Remus felt a strong pang of worry.

"No, but watching over so many people… He's incredibly stressed," Bjorn replied. "Even though we're doing right for ourselves, he still worries about the future. You know how he is." Bjorn then shook off his melancholy. "C'mon, I'll take you to him."

Remus shot a look back as Bjorn moved forward, and he saw that his companions were similarly dazed by the size of the camp. _Except for Alastor… He's got his hand in his pocket, no doubt ready to pull his wand out in order to fight._ Remus gestured him to not look so hostile, but Alastor ignored Remus' advice. Tonks suddenly elbowed Alastor in his side, which earned her a dangerous look.

"Stop it," Tonks whispered almost angrily, her pink hair turning orange.

Alastor clenched his jaw, and then he slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket. _He still has his staff at the ready… Whatever._ Remus followed after Bjorn, and his companions followed after him. The camp was rather loud, and judging from the laughter of children, Thaddeus had outdone himself. _This is almost unbelievable. How did he get the resources to pull this off? Where is the money coming from?_

Eventually, Bjorn stopped in front of a familiar red tent, and Remus felt his legs turn to jelly. _Merlin… I haven't spoken to him since I ran away. After everything he did for me, I couldn't even find the courage to say goodbye-_

"Go on," Bjorn said. "He's not angry, mate… Go on. Speak to him while I help your friends settle in. He'll make you stay for lunch and dinner, you know that, right?"

"We'll be fine," Tonks whispered from behind him. "If he is angry, fall on your knees and beg."

Remus shot a look back, and he found her grinning at him. _You know what? That's not bad advice._ Remus drew in a deep breath, and then, he entered the tent. It wasn't a spacious tent, so Remus quickly found Thaddeus walking around with a book in his hands. The man had aged decades, and judging by his patchy, white beard, he hadn't shaved properly in days. _He can't smell me? Even though I'm this close?_ Remus felt his stomach twist a little; Bjorn was right about Thaddeus stressing himself to death.

"Thad… Thaddeus?" Remus called, and the old wolf turned to face him.

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped moving. Thaddeus just stared at Remus as if he couldn't recognize him, but then, Thaddeus slowly began to smile.

"Remus… My dear boy," Thaddeus let out a choked laugh before he walked over and pulled Remus into a hug.

Remus had to pull himself out of shock in order to return the hug. _He's all skin and bones…_

"Thaddeus, I'm sorry for-"

"Don't be sorry," Thaddeus pulled back, and then he cupped Remus' face with his boney hands. "I never held your parting against you, my boy. We are who we are in this World, right?"

Remus felt rather humbled by his old friend's understanding, and all he could manage was a weak nod.

"Come, come," Thaddeus led Remus to a couple of stools. "Take a seat, and let me have a look at you."

Remus did as he was told, and he took the chance to inspect the old wolf as well. Thaddeus had indeed aged terribly, and his bloodshot eyes proved that he hadn't slept well in a long time. This, and the state of his health, made Remus' heart ache.

"You look strong," Thaddeus smiled proudly. "And healthy."

"And you… Thaddeus, what has happened to you?" Remus asked in a gentle voice.

"Time," Thaddeus didn't sound too bothered.

"You're not even seventy yet," Remus said.

"Really?" Thaddeus feigned confusion. "Because I feel like I'm seven-hundred."

Remus went to argue, but his mouth sealed shut when Thaddeus gave him an amused laugh.

"You still worry too much," Thaddeus said. "I am not too far gone just yet, my boy. I will admit that I've had better days, but I would not trade places with anyone for anything. You saw the pack, didn't you? We're finally becoming a community. An **actual** community."

"I… I saw it," Remus swallowed his growing worry. _Now isn't the time, Remus._ "How did you pull this off, Thaddeus? Where is the money coming from?"

"Odd jobs, and manual labor," Thaddeus replied. "We grow our own food, and Bjorn's group brings in the meat. Tabatha is still making cloaks out of pelts, so we're not dying of the cold. Oh, and the Wards you taught us have kept us hidden from the World."

"What else, Thaddeus?" Remus asked. "I know how these packs work… There is no way that the Ministry hasn't caught onto this. They keep track of our kind, and when we start disappearing, they follow the bread crumbs."

"Remus, we just met after years apart," Thaddeus smiled in a paternal manner. "At least tell me a little about your life before you start worrying over everything."

Remus went to say something, but the sound of someone barging into the tent stopped him.

"Good heavens…" Thaddeus eyed Alastor. "Is he a friend of yours, Remus?" _Seriously! Why is he in such a damn rush?_

"You can have your little reunion after our work is finished, Lupin," Alastor moved closer to them. "Time is of the essence, and I don't trust the whelp we left back at Headquarters." _Who? Kurt? That boy is terrified of his own shadow._

"Headquarters?" Thaddeus looked to Remus. "What have you gotten yourself into, my boy? Are you in trouble? If so, you can stay here for as long as you need-"

"I'm not in any trouble," Remus said quickly. "It's… It's all of you who are in trouble…"

Thaddeus looked between Alastor and Remus, and then he adorned a more serious look.

"Talk to me, child," Thaddeus said. "Tell me what's happened."

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

Remus knew that what he had just explained was hard to process, but the look on Thaddeus' face still tore him up. The old wolf was scared, and even though he hid it well, Remus could see anger behind his bloodshot eyes. Alastor was oddly silent now, and Remus figured that he was gauging Thaddeus' reaction.

"Thaddeus," Remus decided to break the silence.

"He's back…" Thaddeus rubbed his eyes with his palms. "Gods save us…"

Remus reached forward and took the old wolf's hands.

"He will come for this community," Remus said plainly. "I'm sorry, Thaddeus, but its time to leave this place behind."

"After everything we've sacrificed…" Thaddeus whispered, there was bitterness in his voice. "After everything we've endured…"

"I know," Remus whispered. "I'm sorry about this."

"Sorry?" Thaddeus looked at Remus. "No… No, you've done right by us." _Have I, though?_ "I just… I need a moment to think, Remus. Please, go join the others for lunch. I need time to think."

Remus knew that arguing right now wasn't the right move, so he stood up and left the tent without another word. He hated being the one to bring this news to Thaddeus, especially because of how much effort Thaddeus had put into giving other Werewolves a home. _This shelter that Ron's building… I have to convince Thaddeus to move his pack there. Not all is lost just yet._

"He didn't take it as well as I hoped," Alastor said from behind Remus.

"Look around you, Alastor," Remus sighed out. "This is heaven for people like me… I've taken that away from him within an hour."

"You didn't take away anything," Alastor said rather firmly. "You're just the messenger here, Lupin. You didn't bring that bastard back to life."

"Either way, they can't stay here anymore," Remus said, he still felt like shit.

"Something is off about this place," Alastor moved closer to Remus. "Can't you feel it?"

"Off?" Remus hissed.

"I get that you're empathic to their plight, but how are they even here?" Alastor whispered. "The Ministry would never allow this, and you bloody know it. Your old friend is hiding something from us."

The wolf part of Remus wanted to clock Alastor right then and there, but the human part had to agree that something wasn't right. Where was the money coming from? How were so many Werewolves in one place without the Ministry's knowledge? Something was off about this pack, and Remus couldn't ignore that.

"What do we do?" Remus whispered.

"For now, we play along," Alastor whispered. "Even with me by your side, we can't take on so many people at once. I've been counting, and they have over twenty wands in the camp." _His eye really sees through everything, doesn't it?_ "It's a damn miracle that the Trace hasn't gone off yet."

The tent opened from behind them, and both Remus and Alastor turned to face Thaddeus.

"Still loitering about?" Thaddeus gave a weak smile. "Come… Let's get some warm food into you, Remus. You look weary."

"We should talk about-" Remus started.

"Please… Let's do that after," Thaddeus said weakly. "I want to show you something first."

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Neville, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione were currently in the twins' room. Harry was still fuming from yesterday's conversation, which had devolved into Harry yelling at Sirius for being a liar. Hermione was currently pestering the twins as they worked to make Ron's Potions taste better. As for Neville; he was currently watching the arguments between Hermione and the twins unfold alongside a rather silent Ginny.

"I'm in Professor Snape's Potions Club," Hermione huffed, her hands finding her hips. "I know that I can help you with this."

"It's not a matter of 'if you can', but rather, a matter of that we didn't ask for your help," Fred said as he mixed the pink Potion. "Hermione, you're ruining our process."

"What process?" Hermione tried to look over their shoulders. "You're wasting the ingredients."

"No, we're not…" George sighed out. "Just stop bothering us, will you?"

"I can cut better than that," Hermione pointed out. "Let me do that, at least."

As Neville watched the back and forth between them, he couldn't help but be grateful to Ron. The twins had gone from being furious with the Trio to being as they always were. Sure, it was odd that they were so quick to forgive Neville and his friends, but when he thought about it, maybe they were never really angry with the Trio to begin with. Maybe they were scared for Ron, and in that fear, they had tried to find an enemy that they could punish. _Now, they're trying to make Ron's Potions more bearable._

"Fred, try this," George handed Fred a vial of green Potion.

"Why is that green?" Hermione asked. "No! Don't just drink-"

Fred downed it in one go, and then he gagged loudly. _Wow…_

"What… the fuck… George?" Fred wheezed. "It tastes worse than before! What did you add to it?! Your own shit?!"

"Cherry syrup, and peppermint," George replied, he sounded almost defensive. "Can't be that bad, eh?"

"You try it, then," Fred frowned deeply.

"Why did you drink it?!" Hermione snapped. "You could've grown a third arm, or something!" _Third arm?_

"I bet the ladies would love that," Fred shot a grin at Neville, who did his best not to laugh.

"Imagine how good of a Beater you'd be," George sniggered.

"Oh, I'd be the best 'Beater' out there," Fred shot a wink at Hermione, who sneered in disgust. _Hahaha! Don't laugh!_

Neville bit down on his bottom lip, and his mouth constantly tried to turn into a wide grin. _I bet Harry liked that one._ Neville looked to his best friend, and much to his dismay, Harry was still glaring at the floorboards. _Guess he didn't hear it…_

"Try adding mandrake root," Hermione said.

"Ew… Why?" George asked.

"Because it's the core ingredient to the Pepperup Potion," Hermione replied haughtily. "It'll give the Potion a stronger kick."

"A stronger kick?" Fred asked.

"It'll help Ron feel stronger," Hermione explained.

"He asked us to improve the taste," George mimicked her tone. "Let's do that first, yeah?"

"Who cares about the taste?" Hermione huffed, she was clearly getting upset.

"Ron does," the twins said together.

Hermione and the twins started arguing again, but Neville's attention was drawn to Ginny, who had quietly moved to the door. _Is she leaving?_ Ginny opened the door, and she left without saying a single word. Neville looked to Hermione and the twins, and then he looked to Harry. _None of them even noticed._ Deciding to do something about Ginny, who he saw as a genuine friend, Neville followed her out of the twins' room.

He knew that she'd never go upstairs, because that's where Ron and his friends were, and he also knew that she couldn't leave the house because of the blizzard outside. _She's either gone to her room, or she's gone to the bathroom._ Neville made his way down to the first floor, and as he approached her door, he heard her talking to someone. _Is she talking to Luna?_ There was a loud hoot, and Neville realized that Helios was keeping her company. _Should I really bother her? She hasn't spoken to anyone for most of the Break. What am I thinking? Of course I should talk to her. She's clearly not feeling happy, and with the Dark Lord back, she_ _ **has**_ _to be scared._

Neville knocked on her door rather timidly, and after waiting for a few moments, he was rewarded with Ginny opening her door. Helios was perched on her shoulder, and he was glaring at Neville with ill intent. _What's the matter with this owl? Why is it so angry all the time?_

"Well?" Ginny asked, and Neville cleared his thoughts.

"I wanted to talk to you," Neville replied.

"Why?" Ginny asked slowly. "What do you want?"

"I… want to talk to you…" Neville replied awkwardly.

"You already said that," Ginny blinked at him.

"But you asked what I wanted," Neville said, and then he shook his head clear. "Sorry… I'm not very good at this sort of thing." _Great start, Neville… Gran always did say that you had a tongue made of rusted iron._

Ginny slowly opened her door fully, and Neville moved inside. As Ginny closed the door, Neville looked around the rather girly room. _I have no idea why her room is so pink. She says that it was her mother's doing, but she hasn't changed anything._

"You can take a seat over there," Ginny pointed to the chair by her study desk.

"Thanks," Neville walked over and sat down, while Ginny planted herself on the bed.

Helios was now glaring at Neville with murderous intent, and Neville shot the bird a nervous smile. _Please don't hurt me with those sharp talons of yours._

"Helios, stop that," Ginny said, and the owl hooted defiantly. "I won't give you any treats if you behave like this."

Helios hooted and flew over to her bedpost, using it as his perch.

"I think you upset him," Neville said, and Ginny just shook her head.

"He's really sweet when no one is around," Ginny said. "He only gets like this when he wants to **prove something**."

Helios hooted angrily, and then he turned his head away from her.

"Fine, I'll ignore you, then," Ginny narrowed her eyes at Helios.

"You two are really close, huh?" Neville said, and Ginny shrugged.

"What do you want, Neville?" Ginny asked. "Did Hermione send you?"

"What? No," Neville replied. "No one sent me, Ginny… I just thought that I'd talk to you."

"About what?" Ginny asked. _How do I say this without sounding like a little girl?_

"I miss having you around," Neville replied, and Ginny just stared at him. _Neville the princess… Gran should buy me a dress the next time we throw a party._

"Do you really?" Ginny shifted in her spot, and Neville was quite surprised by that. _She doesn't sound upset. Did that really work like I wanted it to?_

"We all do," Neville replied. "Harry, Hermione, and me… Ginny, when are you going to talk to us again?"

"Why did you not tell me about Ron?" Ginny asked as she looked down at the ground. "He's **my** brother, but you all hid his poor health from me…"

"He asked us not to tell anyone-"

"So first, you stalk him and learn about his illness," Ginny looked up with a frown. "And only then do you decide to listen to him? Why even go after him in the first place?"

"It's… It's a little complicated," Neville muttered.

"You wanted to talk, right?" Ginny asked. "Then talk. Was it really because Harry was jealous of Ron?"

Neville nodded rather weakly, he wasn't proud of Harry's terrible behavior. _He's my best friend, but he was so out of line to go after Ron like that. I know he feels wretched about it now, but he refused to listen to Hermione and me for weeks on end._

"Harry can be stubborn," Neville started. "But he meant well, I promise. The moment he learned about Ron's health, he decided to not tell a single soul. He even promised himself that he'd never go after someone like that again."

"But Hermione Cursed him in order to read his book, right?" Ginny asked, and Neville gave another weak nod. "It's like I don't even know you guys… I… I always felt like I was stuck on the outside, just looking in all the time, and this… This confirms it… Were you lot always this dysfunctional?"

"The last few months haven't been our finest," Neville started. "Harry's struggling with… being Harry, and Hermione just missed her first friend so much that she thought of little else."

"And you?" Ginny asked. _I'm just Neville. People hear me, but they don't listen. I might as well be a shadow._

"I kept failing to bring us together," Neville replied with a sorry smile. "I tried my best, but it wasn't enough."

He had no idea why Ginny hadn't tossed him out of the room yet, but he figured that she was starting to feel rather lonely due to her self-isolation.

"Everyone keeps saying that you had nothing to do with what happened with Ron," Ginny said, and Neville wasn't so sure about that.

"Last year, I was the one who convinced Hermione and Harry that Ron was the Heir," Neville admittedly shamefully. "So I'm not so innocent in all of this. Everything that's gone wrong since then… It was because of me. I started it all."

"Technically, I started it all," Ginny muttered as she rubbed her left forearm.

"Why do you do that?" Neville asked before thinking.

"Do what?" Ginny asked.

"Rub your arm so firmly," Neville replied, and Ginny went a little wide-eyed. _Did I say something wrong?_ "Sorry… You don't have to tell me. It's not my business."

"No, it's not," Ginny said curtly as she stopped touching her left forearm.

Silence fell upon them, and Neville felt like the World's biggest moron for bringing up such a stupid thing. _I should say something before she sends me away. I might not get another chance like this._

"It wasn't your fault," Neville blurted out.

"Yeah… It was…" Ginny whispered.

"You didn't know what that Diary was, Ginny," Neville decided to man up a little. "How could you have? Harry and I had it in our possession for a bit-"

"Until I stole it," Ginny cut in. "I wasn't… I wasn't completely gone, you know… I didn't want anyone to know that I was behind the attacks. I didn't want to get into trouble. You have no idea how selfish I was…"

"You were scared, and alone," Neville leaned forward. "Merlin… In my first year, I could barely raise my voice. You were being attacked by the Dark Lord himself."

"Tom," Ginny looked back down, her voice was almost fearful. "His name is Tom…" _I don't like how familiarly she speaks of her attacker. That can't be healthy. Wait… Did she say 'is'?_

"Ginny… You were a victim, just like the people who got attacked," Neville said.

"No, I wasn't," Ginny shook her head. "I was the attacker, Neville… I remember most of my attacks… I did so even before I lost all of my control. I was selfish, and I hid the truth until it was too late. Ron… Ron had the whole school turn on him, and I actually felt glad that I was in the clear." _Really? Why?_ "It wasn't until Tom wanted Ron that I tried to resist-"

"Wanted Ron?" Neville blinked. "Wait… What do you mean by that?"

"He wanted to hurt Ron," Ginny face twisted as she began sniffling.

Neville quickly moved to her side, and he put his arm around her shoulders. Helios lost his fake anger, and he tried to get her attention by flying onto her lap.

"Talk to me," Neville whispered. "Tell me why he wanted to hurt Ron."

"Ron survived You-Know-Who…" Ginny all but whimpered. "Tom was so furious when I told him, but I had no idea why… Looking back, I think I understand now…"

"Did he try to attack Ron through you?" Neville asked. _How long was the Dark Lord trying to petrify Ron for?_

"Not at first," Ginny sniffled. "At first, he wanted to take Ron away… He wanted to walk in Ron's skin, as he walked in mine…"

Neville couldn't stop himself from shuddering; Ginny's words had definitely rattled him.

"But you resisted," Neville swallowed thickly. _She somehow resisted the Dark Lord himself… Bloody hell… I don't know what to even think about that._

"I threw the Diary away…" Ginny nodded weakly as she cleared her eyes with her sleeve. "In Myrtle's bathroom…"

"Where we found it," Neville realized. "You saw us talking about it in the common room, and so you stole it back."

"He was so angry… with me…" Ginny coughed out. "He hurt me… in my sleep… He made me cut…"

She broke into loud crying, and Neville felt like the worst person alive for making her relive all of that.

"It's okay," he said gently as he hugged her from the side. "It's over now, Ginny. Tom is gone, and he can't hurt you."

"I wish I never went to Hogwarts," Ginny cried. "Everything has gotten worse… and worse…"

"Things will get better, I promise," Neville spoke as softly as he could. "You're not alone at Hogwarts, Ginny."

"Yes, I am…" Ginny started shaking. "I don't…have… a single friend…"

"You have me," Neville tried, but Ginny just shook her head. _Stop being such a pushover, Neville. Step up like Harry and Hermione always do._ "You **do** have me, Ginny. If we weren't friends, then I wouldn't be here, would I? You're not alone at Hogwarts, or anywhere. You have a great Family, and you have three friends who miss you. And Luna… You have Luna as well."

"She doesn't even talk… to me…" Ginny made a sound that made Neville's stomach drop, and Helios hooted sadly as he bumped his head against her stomach. "She prefers Astoria… over me…"

"We both know that Luna doesn't think like that," Neville said. "I don't know why she's not talking to you, but I've seen her shooting looks at you constantly."

"Really?" Ginny leaned into his hug.

"Really," Neville said. "You're not alone, and you'll never be alone. I know that we're not exactly close, but I promise, I'll keep being your friend. No matter what."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Daphne was generally a very rational person. Well, she at least believed herself to be one. So when Ron was going on and on about some coming war in the hopes of making them all join his training sessions, she genuinely believed that her boyfriend was being irrational. But now… Now he was the rational one, and Daphne had no idea what to think anymore.

Ron's 'predictions' had come true, and in hindsight, some of the things that he often said made a lot of sense now. He had indeed faced the Dark Lord in his first year, so he was right to suspect that the Dark Lord could one day return. Furthermore, Ron had figured out that when the Dark Lord did return, many of the Old Families would flock to his side once again, which is why Ron was working to undermine them. She didn't want to admit it, but she was genuinely amazed by how far Ron could think. It was almost… unbelievable.

Unlike most people, Daphne understood that Ron wasn't exactly a prodigy. He was quite slow, if she was being honest, but his quick wit and ability to plan ahead were undeniable. And yet, something didn't sit well with her. Whenever Ron spoke of the war to come, his tone suggested that he was just guessing, but when Daphne analyzed his actions, she realized that Ron operated with decisiveness that could only come from a place of absolute certainty. Ron hadn't predicted the war, he **knew** about it well before the adults had said anything.

Daphne moved her gaze towards Theo, who was quietly reading a random book on Herbology. _He's still not speaking to anyone._ Daphne then looked to Tracey, who was listening to her Walkman all by herself. _She's just as scared as I am._ Daphne's gaze moved onto Luna and Astoria, both of who were painting their star charts in absolute silence. _Tori spent most of the night with mother and father. And Luna… I haven't seen her look so distant before._ Daphne's eyes finally landed on Ron, who was doing his pushups with a fierce look on his face. _There's no fear in him… He's… He's just the same as he was before the adults spoke to us._

Ron hopped up to his feet, and he stretched his back. Daphne heard Ron's back and shoulders crack as he groaned loudly, breaking the silence in the room. No one paid him any mind, but Daphne's eyes were glued to him. _How does his mind work? Does he just do whatever feels right? No… Not anymore. All those times when I thought that he was just brooding, he was clearly thinking of things far beyond our imagination. All his training… All his actions… All of them show that he's been getting ready for something. I mean, he gets diagnosed with Brain Damage, but instead of resting like some normal person, he starts working harder than ever._

Ron moved towards the window, and Daphne averted her gaze. He lingered by the window for a bit, and then, he clicked his tongue.

"Damn this blizzard," Ron said. "I was looking forward to unpacking the P-12 today." _He just had surgery, but he still won't relent. Why? What's he thinking right now?_

Ron then moved towards Theo, who looked up from his book.

"You all right?" Ron asked, and Theo gave him a weak smile.

"Staying busy…" Theo replied, and Ron patted his shoulder.

"If you want to talk, I'm here," Ron said, and Theo gave him a nod. _I wonder what they talked about after Ron was done screaming at us._

Ron's eyes drifted towards Daphne, and she quickly looked back to her romance novel. _He caught me staring… Damn._ Ron said nothing, and a part of Daphne was disappointed with that. They hadn't really spoken since his angry outburst, and Daphne had promised herself that she wouldn't approach him until he apologized to her and the others. _I love him, but he can't treat us this way. We're not his punching bags._ Without saying anything, Ron moved towards the exit. _Where's he going? He can't be thinking of going outside, could he?_

Ron stopped and turned around suddenly, which caught everyone's attention.

"Theo, Tracey, Daph…" Ron started. "I'm sorry for what I did… I swear on my Magic, I'll never speak to any of you like that again. **Ever**. None of you were at fault for anything… It was all me."

Tracey pulled her earphones out, while Daphne and Theo lowered their books.

"What did you do?" Tori asked as she looked around the room. _He apologized… Finally._

"I failed to see that I don't have a monopoly over worrying after loved ones," Ron replied, his eyes moving towards Daphne. "I was self-absorbed, and I failed to see that my other friends needed me as well. I'm sorry."

Tori and Luna looked quite confused, but Daphne felt something soothing blossom in her chest. _He found his way back like he always does. Good. I'm still not ready to forgive him, but he knows that he was in the wrong. That has to count for something._

"We've got bigger problems now…" Tracey spoke up. "Don't worry about it, Ron."

"That doesn't excuse my behavior," Ron gave Tracey a sorry smile. "I'll try harder to control my anger from now on, I promise."

With one last look at Daphne, Ron left the room.

"What did Ron do?" Luna asked Daphne. "Did he treat you all poorly?"

"He did," Daphne replied as she raised her book again.

"Shouldn't you go talk to him, then?" Tori asked.

"I will," Daphne replied. "But not yet." _He called me a useless piece of shit… I might miss talking to him terrible, but I am also the heiress of the Greengrass Family. I will not be spoken to like that again, especially not by someone as dear to me as Ron. Until he comes to me himself, I will stand my ground. And in the meantime, I'm going to figure out why Ron was so certain about the war._

* * *

 _ **Remus Lupin's POV**_

 _ **Monday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Buckden Pike – Night)**_

"She's a friendly one," Tabatha said, and Remus nodded his agreement.

They were currently watching Tonks morph her features in order to entertain the children, and judging by their happy smiles and laughter, she had made fans for life.

"She's not going to tell anyone about this place," Remus assured Tabatha, who was the mistrusting sort.

"Tonks, and your friend Sturgis… They're good people," Tabatha said. "That Moody fellow, though… There's hatred in him. Deep hatred, Remus."

"I know," Remus said. "But Alastor would never aim that hatred towards the innocent. No, his hatred is reserved only for Dark Wizards."

"Dark Wizards…" Tabatha whispered to herself, and then, she looked Remus in the eyes. "Why are you here, Remus? Why is the old man so worried?"

"I think it's best if he tells you himself," Remus replied.

"We're going to lose this place, aren't we?" Tabatha asked, and Remus felt his throat close up. "I warned them… I kept warning them, but they didn't listen." _Warning them?_

"What did you warn them about?" Remus asked. "Tabatha… Why do I get the feeling that something isn't right here?"

"Because something isn't…" Tabatha looked distant all of a sudden. "Remus… You should take your friends and leave."

"Why?" Remus asked. "Talk to me, Tabatha. Tell me what's wrong."

Tabatha looked back to Tonks and the children, but Remus kept his gaze fixed on her. _She knows something, but she won't tell me. She'll never betray the pack._

"It was good while it lasted," she suddenly said, a sad smile on her face. "Bjorn's coming over right now, so I'd better get back to my watch."

"He is?" Remus looked around.

"Your senses have grown weak," Tabatha said, and Remus couldn't really disagree. "Too many fine meals up at Hogwarts, eh?"

"Too many Spells to the face," Remus joked weakly.

"You should leave," Tabatha whispered as she turned to leave. "You won't like what you find out if you stay here."

Remus watched her leave, and as he heard Bjorn's footsteps get closer and closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Her words had only proven to him that something was horribly wrong about this camp, and even Moony was urging him to leave.

"The old man wants to see you," came Bjorn's voice, and Remus turned to face him. "Says that 'he's ready', or something."

"He's in his tent?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Bjorn replied as he looked over to the laughing children. "Fine lass. Not many witches would spend their time entertaining wolf children."

"Where are Sturgis and Alastor?" Remus asked.

"With the old man," Bjorn replied. "Your glass-eyed friend is a bit clingy… Plus, he's scaring people with his behavior, so the old man is keeping him close."

"I'll go and talk to Thaddeus," Remus said, and Bjorn gave him a nod.

"I'll see you in the morning?" Bjorn asked.

"Morning?" Remus cocked an eyebrow. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Oh… Me and the lads hunt at night…" Bjorn replied, and Remus could tell that he was lying. _Play along._

"Good hunting, then," Remus said, and Bjorn gave him an almost relieved smile.

"Don't leave without saying goodbye this time, you prick," Bjorn patted Remus' arm. "Or I'll come down to Hogwarts in order to cuff you over the head."

With that, Bjorn walked off towards the newer tents. Remus watched him leave quietly, and once he was out of earshot, Remus looked to Tonks.

"Tonks," Remus called, and she looked to him with a duck's bill for a mouth. "Thaddeus wants to talk. Let's go."

"Aw!" the children whined.

"Do you have to leave?" a little girl tugged at Tonks' sleeve.

"Sorry, my little pumpkins," Tonks said after fixing her face. "I'll show you more faces at breakfast, yeah?"

The children agreed hesitantly, and Tonks shot them a wink before she ran up to Remus' side. Remus began walking towards Thaddeus' tent, and Tonks shot him an odd look.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"I've been thinking…" Tonks started, and then she looked around for eavesdroppers. "Something isn't right here, Remus." _She's caught on too, then._ "The Ministry keeps tabs on Werewolves, I know that from my time in the field. It's a wonder that the Ministry hasn't cracked down on this place yet, and I'm starting to think that your friend Thaddeus is the reason for it. The children told me that many of the adults, and all the young lads, leave at night, and they don't return until the morning."

"What else?" Remus asked.

"They said that the adults come back covered in soot, and grime, and sometimes, blood," Tonks whispered. _Blood?_ "They also told me that the young lads are getting sick, and that two of them have already died." _Died?! Thaddeus… What have you gotten yourself into?_

"Sturgis and Alastor are with Thaddeus right now," Remus said. "Keep your wand ready, Tonks. If something goes wrong, we'll have to fight our way out of here."

"Fight?" Tonks didn't look too pleased. "Remus… There are children here."

"We'll be careful," Remus assured her. "Just watch my back, and I'll watch yours."

"There are Anti-Apparition Wards up," Tonks said. "Did you teach them that?"

"No, I didn't," Remus replied as they neared Thaddeus' tent. "Be ready for anything."

"You too," she whispered.

Remus entered the tent first, and Tonks followed in after him. Sturgis and Alastor were speaking with Thaddeus about Fenrir Greyback, and the look on the old wolf's face gave away his fear.

"No more delays, Thaddeus," Remus said as he walked over to the three men. "It's time we talk about what we came here to talk about."

"I cannot join you," Thaddeus said, and Remus felt rather disappointed.

"Sir, please," Sturgis implored. "Men like Greyback will approach you soon, and they will not give you a choice."

"They'll cut your throat," Alastor added. "And then, they'll take everyone here and put them to work." Alastor then sneered at Thaddeus. "Just like you put your people to work." _Huh?_ "Only this time, you won't be serving Goblins. You'll be serving You-Know-Who."

"Serving Goblins?" Remus asked, while Thaddeus let out a shaky breath.

"How did you find out?" Thaddeus asked Alastor.

"Nothing escapes me," Alastor pointed to his Magical Eye. "I saw the mining tools, and the letters with Gringotts' sigil on them. You're making the able-bodied men and women work in their mines. That's where the money comes from, and that's why you haven't been hunted down by the Ministry."

"Working in Goblin mines, Thaddeus?" Remus was rather taken aback. "How? Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Alastor asked Remus. "Your old friend here has been selling his pack to the Goblins in order to avoid persecution. His people do the manual labor, and the Goblins bribe the right people in return."

"Wait…" Tonks spoke up. "Since when do Goblins hire humans to work in their mines?"

"They don't," Alastor replied for Thaddeus, who was now staring at the ground. "Judging from the state of this place, they don't pay you all that much. I'm guessing that most nights, you manage to make a few Knuts at most. You're their slaves, right? That's how this place keeps running. This isn't a community at all… This is a bloody slave pen." _No… Thaddeus could never-_

Remus' thoughts stopped as he looked upon his old friend, who looked broken beyond repair.

"What choice do we have?" Thaddeus spoke to the ground.

"Any choice is better than slavery-" Remus felt rage course through his veins.

"Look around you!" Thaddeus shot up to his feet, his old face twisted from anger and sorrow. "Look at how we're forced to live, Remus! Most of our people starve to death, while others become thieves and rapists! That's what the outside World has reduced us to!" Thaddeus suddenly swayed from side to side, and Sturgis quickly helped him back onto the stool. "When I heard about the Ministry's Legislation against us… I tried to help… I tried my best… But then, that Umbridge woman showed up with Ministry Officials. She threatened to have us locked away for 'conspiring against the Statute of Secrecy'… Can you believe that? We weren't hurting anyone. We were just trying to stay together because the rest of the World doesn't want us…"

Remus felt his flash of anger fade away, and he could do little but stand there and listen.

"The camp was failing, Remus," Thaddeus shook his head. "People were starving, and the Ministry was threatening to use violence… We had nothing, and no one. Not until he came to us."

"He?" Alastor asked. "Who came to you?"

"Robert Bulstrode," Thaddeus replied, and the Order members exchanged looks. _Why would a Death-Eater approach Werewolves?_

"When?" Remus asked. "When did he come to you?"

"In July," Thaddeus replied. _So before the Dark Lord's return to England. That means that they haven't been recruited yet._ "He offered us a deal… A way out."

"He sold you to the Goblins, didn't he?" Tonks asked, she sounded quite shaken.

"They opened a mine nearby, but it's on Muggle land," Thaddeus replied. "In order to avoid prying eyes, they needed silent workers… Workers who didn't have any power, or a connection to the Wizarding World. Bulstrode was no doubt paid a great sum of money by them for his troubles, and we found a way to survive. The Ministry Officials haven't returned since."

"Two young men have died, Thaddeus…" Remus felt like he had been kicked in the head. "Your own pack…"

"I begged for medicine, but the Goblins… They threatened to abandon us if we made requests of them," Thaddeus covered his face with his frail fingers. "And now **he** is back… Gods help us all…"

Silence fell in the tent, and Remus found that he could no longer stand. He planted himself on the free stool, his heart feel heavy for his kind. Remus had always despised his condition, and by extension, himself, but he could never bring himself to despise others like him. Unlike them, Remus had been fortunate, and he knew it all too well. He had had an education, friends, and no matter how bad things got, he had connections with people who cared for him. Thaddeus, and the people in this pack, didn't have those luxuries. They only had each other, but now, even that was threatened. _There's still one last hope for this pack. Ron._

"Thaddeus, take a look at this," Remus pulled out Sirius' letter from his robes. _I'm glad I brought this with me._ "Read it, please. There's still hope for this pack."

"Is this from Dumbledore?" Thaddeus slowly took the letter. "Remus… I don't want this pack to fight-"

"This letter is from my friend; Sirius Black," Remus explained.

"Sirius Black?" Thaddeus asked. "The same Sirius you told me about when you first came to me?"

"The very same," Remus replied. "Read the letter, please."

Thaddeus hesitantly began reading the letter, and as time passed, his face showed his utter disbelief.

"What's it say?" Tonks asked. "What did Sirius write to you about, Remus?"

"Is this…? Is this really true?" Thaddeus muttered, his eyes rereading the letter over and over again.

"Thousands of Galleons, and a massive farm," Remus nodded. "A **real** Sanctuary for our people, Thaddeus. It's really happening."

"What?" Sturgis and Tonks looked quite surprised, while Alastor read the letter with his Magical Eye.

"Who's making this Sanctuary?" Sturgis asked.

"The Fawleys, the Longbottoms, the Greengrasses, Sirius, and Ronald Weasley," Remus replied. "Ronald is the one who came up with the idea, and he's brought together some of the most powerful people in the country to make this happen."

"Why?" Thaddeus asked, and everyone looked to Remus. "I've read about this boy… But why is he trying to help us? Is he one of us?"

"No, he's not," Remus shook his head. "But from what I've seen, he doesn't care much for things out of people's control. He… He figured out that I was a Werewolf all on his own, and he didn't even seem to care about it. He said that I was good to him, and so he saw me as his Family."

"Really?" Tonks asked. "He said that?"

"Who is this boy, Remus?" Thaddeus looked quite taken aback.

"A close friend," Remus smiled a little, and then he pointed to the letter. " **That** right there is the solution, Thaddeus… Not whatever this is. I'm not saying that you didn't try your best for our people, because I know you did… I know just how much you care. Ron also cares, and he's started something that can change so many lives for the better."

"What does he get out of this?" Alastor asked.

"Nothing," Remus replied. "He wants to do good things for other people, and after learning about the hardships that we face, he went out of his way to begin this project. Thaddeus, you don't have to join the Order-"

"Remus…" Alastor grumbled.

"Don't, Mr. Moody," Sturgis whispered.

"You don't have to fight," Remus went on. "The young ones out there don't have to fight. Even if you all say no to the Order's call, I'll still talk to Ron for you. He'll help you without a second thought, I just know it." _Knowing him, he'll come running down here to find this pack._

Thaddeus slowly looked back down at the letter, and Remus knew that he was seriously contemplating Remus' offer. _He has no other choice, and he knows it._

"A child did all of this?" Thaddeus couldn't help but ask.

"The same child freed my brother Sirius from Azkaban," Remus replied. "Ron is unlike anyone that you'll ever meet, I swear it."

"How… How long?" Thaddeus asked. "We don't have much time left, Remus… This offer, as amazing as it is, won't matter much if we keep going like this."

"I'll talk to him," Remus said. "Pack up this camp, and start moving away from Buckden Pike. Get yourselves away from the Goblins, and stay hidden from the Ministry. If you can give me some time, I can urge Ron to speed up this project of his."

"And he'll do that?" Thaddeus asked.

"In my heart, I know he will," Remus replied. "You've done so well in bringing so many of our people together, and if you take this one last leap of faith, it will all pay off. They'll have homes, food, and maybe even an education. A real life, Thaddeus… A future."

Thaddeus' grip tightened on the letter, and he gave Remus a weak nod.

"Tomorrow night…" Thaddeus started. "We'll move away from this place."

"Do you have an owl?" Remus asked, and Thaddeus shook his head.

"We only receive letters, we don't send them," Thaddeus replied.

"I can get one for you," Tonks volunteered. "A Ministry trained owl, that is. There are none better."

"If you can keep me posted of your whereabouts, we can outmaneuver the Ministry and the Goblins," Remus said. "Move in small groups, and stay away from civilization."

"Are you leaving?" Thaddeus asked. "Remus… Stay until morning. Help me sell this to the pack. They don't know this Ronald Weasley, and I need you to tell them about him. Just as you've told me."

"He's right," Tonks said. "The little ones really love this place, and they won't want to leave unless the adults force them."

"All right," Remus agreed. "I'll help you sell this, but Thaddeus… You have to promise me that you'll bring the pack to Ron. He might not be one of us, but don't let that deter you. With the Dark Lord returning to power, it's only a matter of time before Fenrir starts approaching the other camps. We need to get to them first. As many as possible."

"We'll meet as many on the way down as possible," Thaddeus promised. "Thank you, Remus."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron's eyes opened slowly, the first light of a new dawn was almost blinding. _Ugh… What time is it?_ Ron sat up, his half-closed eyes traveling to his Rolex. He was still wearing his clothes from last night due to passing out from exhaustion. _Merlin… It's so early. I only got a couple of hours of sleep._ His body felt lethargic, and the back of his skull was aching terribly.

"You're finally awake," came a rather chipper voice, and Ron looked towards Theo.

Shockingly, Theo was still asleep. _What the…?_ Ron slowly looked towards his door, and what he saw froze his blood. An older version of himself was leaning against the door, his crisp black suit making his sapphire Ravenclaw brooch pop out. Ron just stared at his older doppelganger; it was like his motor skills had stopped functioning.

"What's the matter, handsome?" Ravenclaw Ron asked with a cheeky grin.

"You… You… Talking to me…?" Ron stammered, his eyes widening with each word. _What is happening…?_

"Well, I'm not talking to the sleeping prince to your left," Ravenclaw Ron's grin widened, and in a rather creepy fashion, his left eye twitched uncontrollably. "C'mon, Ron. Hop out of bed, and let's go for that morning run. It's not like you're going to get much sleep anyway, right? Might as well make the most of your day."

Ron slowly looked towards Theo, who was still soundly sleeping.

"Is… Is this a dream…?" Ron slowly looked back at his clone. "You're dead…"

"Dead?" Ravenclaw Ron sniggered like a child. "What makes you say that? Words can hurt, Ron, you should be more careful with them."

Ron shot out of his bed and reached for his wand, but it zoomed out of his reach just as he neared it. Ron looked towards the door, and he saw that his clone was fiddling with his wand.

"Hmmm," Ravenclaw Ron hummed, and then he bit the tip of the wand. "Phoenix Feather Core, Cypress, and fourteen inches… Not bad. Not bad at all. I love the flowery patterns on here. Great attention to detail."

Ravenclaw Ron then aimed the wand at Theo, and Ron all but dove in the way.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" Ron yelled as he shielded his sleeping friend.

Theo shot up with a scared look, and Ravenclaw Ron burst into laughter.

"Ron?!" Theo looked around in a sleepy panic, and Ron quickly turned to face him. _Fuck!_ "What are you doing?"

"I… Uh…" Ron mumbled, and then he quickly turned back around.

There was no one by the door, but Ron's wand was left discarded on the floor. _What…? What in… the fuck…? Am I going insane? He was right there… I saw him. He spoke to me._

"Ron?" Theo shook Ron lightly. "Are you having nightmares again?"

"Night… mares…?" Ron slowly turned around, and Theo adorned an understanding look.

"We can hear you at nights, mate," Theo said as he rubbed his eyes clear. "We just don't say anything."

"Some friends, eh?" came Ravenclaw Ron's voice, and Ron looked to the study desk.

His doppelganger was sitting on the table with his legs crossed, a rather amused smile on his face. Once again, Ron could do little but stare at his own twisted reflection. Theo followed Ron's gaze, but when he saw nothing, he shook Ron again.

"Ron, you're scaring me," Theo whispered. "Hey… Look at me. What's wrong? What are you looking at?"

"Perfection," Ravenclaw Ron grinned maniacally. "Oh, Ronnie… We're going to have so much **fun** together."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: There it is!**

 **Oof! Another cliffhanger! Yeah... I know that I promised that they'd end up back in Hogwarts by the end of this chapter, but I've been too busy with real life to fully write this chapter out. I wanted to make it a whopping thirty five thousand, but since I took so long, I felt bad and ended with a cliffhanger instead. It might seem cruel, but hey, at least you guys got another thirty thousand words to read. I know the Quarantine is really doing some people's heads in, so here's to combating that.**

 **One last announcement. I got in touch with an Artist, and we're starting our little Fanart project! Once the art is complete, I'll put it up on my brand new Tumblr account: therealtruespartan (Some dude had already taken my pen name...)**

 **See you guys in a week!**


	113. Chapter 113 - Getting Back Up

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 113 is here! Now, I know what I said about the Hiatus, but honestly, I was very distressed at the time, and I just wanted to shut everything down in order to focus on just one thing. I needed a break, and I did jump the gun. But saying that, I've written another chapter because the Lockdown got extended, and I literally can't even leave the house. So, here's to fighting boredom!  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'_ _This man understands that adversity and existence… are one and the same' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 113 - Getting Back Up  
**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron's father and eldest brother burst through the door, their wands at the ready. Theo let out a startled squeak, while Ron Non-verbally summoned his own wand and aimed it at them. _What the fuck?!_ In the background, Ravenclaw Ron was laughing his arse off, but Ron kept his focus on the intruders.

"Ron? Theodore? Is everything all right?" Arthur looked around the room, while Bill lowered his wand with a relieved sigh.

"Why did you burst in here like that?" Ron lowered his wand; his heart was beating in his throat.

"We heard yelling," Bill replied.

"Oh… That…" Ron rubbed his bruised face with his left hand. "Sorry, that was all me."

"Ron had a nightmare, that's all," Theo told the others. _That's a really convenient excuse, so I might as well use it._

"Yeah, a really bad nightmare," Ron muttered as he looked towards his study table, and much to his relief, his hallucination was gone. _Theo, and the others, couldn't see or hear him. I'm definitely losing my marbles._ "I'm sorry that I woke you all up."

"No, it's okay," Arthur said. "Are you all right now, son?"

"Yeah, dad," Ron replied as he looked around the room. _He's gone._

"What are you looking for?" Bill followed Ron's gaze.

"Nothing," Ron lied. "Just dazed from waking up like that."

"You're wearing last night's clothes," Arthur pointed out with a curious look.

"I sort of just passed out last night," Ron lied again. "Nothing to worry about, dad. I promise."

Arthur gave a slow nod, but Bill didn't look very convinced.

"I need to go back down to your mother," Arthur said after a moment of silence. "She's probably alerted the whole house by now."

"Again, I'm really sorry," Ron felt genuinely guilty.

Arthur gestured that he wasn't bothered, and then he left to go calm his wife down.

"You have nightmares often?" Bill asked Ron.

"What? No," Ron lied. "Bill, I'm fine."

"I reckon you should go back to sleep," Bill said as he eyed Ron's complexion. "You look sickly, Ron." _Do I? Well, I haven't really been sleeping well._

"Same to you," Ron said, though he had no intention of sleeping now. _I probably won't be able to anyway._

Bill shot Theo a quick look, and then he left to go back to his room. Ron walked over and shut the door, and then, he planted his forehead against it. _My head hurts. Why can't I sleep properly? I mean, I'm worried for Pansy, but this is too much. Shouldn't being tired mean that I should fall asleep much quicker?_

"Why'd you lie about not having nightmares?" Theo asked Ron.

"Don't want them to worry," Ron spoke to the door. "It's not like they can control my dreams, Theo. They'll just worry over it pointlessly, and I don't want that."

"I've got some Sleeping Draught vials in my trunk," Theo said. "You can have them, mate. At least you'll be able to get some sleep thanks to them."

"Really?" Ron looked back, and Theo gave him a nod. "I… Thanks, Theo."

"Let me get them for you," Theo walked over to his trunk, and after searching through it, he produced two vials. "Damn… I thought I had more with me. I must've left them in my study desk at Hogwarts."

"I'll go to Madam Pomfrey and get some more," Ron accepted the vials. "Thank you, Theo. This means a lot."

"Hey, don't think about it," Theo waved a dismissive hand, and then he dropped onto his bed. "Now, please… Don't make any more noise. And don't throw things."

"Throw things?" Ron asked slowly.

"I woke up because I heard you hurl your wand at the wall," Theo replied before burying his face in his pillow. _I didn't hurl my wand… My hallucination summoned it. Wait… That's not possible. My wand is protected by Anti-Summoning Charms, and only its master, me, can summon it._

Ron quickly looked at the tip of his wand; Ravenclaw Ron had bit it rather hard before pointing the wand at Theo. _No teeth marks. No saliva. Nothing._ Instead of relief, Ron felt his dread increase. _I hurled this at the wall because of my delusions… That's not good. That's really not good. I need to go see Dumbledore about this, and then, I need to get my brain checked by Madam Pomfrey._

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

He stopped by the creek, which was covered by a thin sheet of ice. It was bloody freezing out here, but Ron didn't let that deter him.

He had gone to the Headmaster's Office first, but both Fawkes and Dumbledore weren't around. From there, he had gone down to the Hospital Wing in order to see Madam Pomfrey, but she too was missing. It wasn't until he ran into Professor Sprout did he learn that the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey were out for the day. Judging from Professor Sprout's tightlipped responses to his inquiries, Ron figured that they were out helping Professor Snape recover. _That, or they're on a secret date. Wait… Dumbledore is gay, isn't he? Yeah, it has to be Snape._

"I'll just have to wait for my turn," Ron groaned as he stretched his back.

"Talk to yourself often?" came a familiar voice, and Ron turned around to see Ravenclaw Ron lying down in the snow. _His weight isn't affecting the snow. Yeah, he's not really there. I'm going insane for certain._

"You're not real," Ron turned back around. _Why is he back?_

"Define 'real' for me, handsome," Ravenclaw Ron hummed.

Ron decided to ignore the annoying, former Ravenclaw, he had come out here to try something. Ignoring his doppelganger's remarks, Ron made his way over to the dead tree that stood leafless at the edge of the creek. Ron planted his left palm on the tree, feeling how hollow and brittle it was. _Now or never, Ron._ Ron took a step back, and with a clear mind, he summoned his black fingernails.

"Cutis Terra," Ron chanted, and he immediately felt as strong as steel.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ron clawed the dead tree with his left hand. Chunks of dead wood were torn from the tree, leaving behind four claw marks on the tree's damaged surface. _Bloody hell!_ Ron quickly looked at his left hand, and much to his surprise, his claws weren't even scratched. His hand ached a little due to the blow, but it wasn't enough to bother Ron.

"Imagine using those on a person," Ravenclaw Ron looked over his shoulder. "You'll definitely tear them open."

Ron willed his claws to retreat, and then he turned around and frowned at his past self.

"I'm not going to use these on people so freely," Ron hissed. "I'm not a piece of shit like you." _Fucking murderer._

"Such hatred," Ravenclaw Ron feigned hurt, and Ron pushed past him. "Don't forget that I'm in your head, Ronnie… I know how you intend to use those pretty little nails of yours."

Ron stopped abruptly, a deep scowl on his face.

"You're right," Ron slowly turned back around. "You are just in my head… You're not real. I'm seeing things again because of the Entity bleeding into me." Ron then smirked. "How did your Cycle end?"

Ravenclaw Ron just stared at him, and Ron knew why his past self was being so silent.

"You can't tell me, can you?" Ron scoffed. "How could you when **I** don't know the answer to that question? You're just a figment of my imagination. A hallucination. Nothing more. You only know what I know. The Ron I saw in my visions is dead and gone, and as the Laws of Conjuration state, you can't bring the dead back to life. I just have to figure out why I'm seeing **you** instead of another past self."

Ravenclaw Ron suddenly grinned, and Ron immediately felt wary.

"Clever little Slytherin," Ravenclaw Ron chuckled. "Fine… You got me. I'm not really here. It was the wand, right? There was so trace of me biting into it." _Again, he's repeating what I already know._

"Leave me alone," Ron turned around, deciding to ignore Ravenclaw Ron.

"You really are a grouchy prick," Ravenclaw Ron laughed as he followed after Ron. "It's no wonder that people don't like you."

"What people?" Ron stopped walking.

"Oh, c'mon… You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Ravenclaw Ron teased. "You're the clever one, right? Think, Ronnie."

"Lord Greengrass," Ron muttered, a dull ache hatching in his chest. _I didn't trick him._

"And his daughter," Ravenclaw Ron whispered in Ron's left ear.

"Daphne's upset because I was way out of line with her," Ron turned around with a murderous glare.

"But is that really it, though?" Ravenclaw Ron tilted his head and smiled. _Creepy bastard._ " **Think** , Ronnie. You saw how she was looking at you yesterday."

Ron felt his stomach tighten, but he refused to show his past self any weakness.

"There was mistrust in her eyes," Ravenclaw Ron said. "She looked at you the same way that her father now looks at you."

"That's not true," Ron denied defensively.

"You know it is," Ravenclaw Ron looked far too pleased. "She learned everything at his feet, and just like him, she's figured out that something isn't right about you. She knows that you're a **liar**."

"Shut up," Ron grit out. "Shut your fucking gob!"

"I don't blame her," Ravenclaw Ron went on. "I mean, she isn't in the wrong here. Not really. You are a liar, and a **murderer**. She's dating your mask, isn't she?"

"She's dating **me**!" Ron snapped.

"Delusions on top of delusions," Ravenclaw Ron tutted. "She's seeing the cracks, Ronnie, and once she looks underneath your mask, she's going to be repulsed beyond words. You know I'm telling you the truth."

"You're running your fucking mouth, that's all," Ron snarled. "Voicing my insecurities isn't going to work on me!" _Fuck, why did I admit that?!_

"Really?" Ravenclaw Ron looked him up and down. "Because from what I'm seeing, you're getting very angry."

Ron suddenly swung at his past self, but his hand went through the hallucination's face.

"Point proven," Ravenclaw Ron smirked.

"Fuck you," Ron turned around and marched towards the Burrow.

"They're all getting sick of you!" Ravenclaw Ron hollered from behind him. "You're an endless source of headaches for everyone around you, and you know it!"

Ron began sprinting; he didn't want to hear another fucking word.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Morning)**_

Ron sat in the Living Room, his unpacked P-12 Auror Trainer staring down at him. Despite Ravenclaw Ron's presence, Ron found himself feeling a little excited as he looked upon the shiny new training dummy. Since the P-12 was right off the shelf, it was going to put up a fight that Ron was genuinely craving right now.

"It's going to snow soon," Ravenclaw Ron said from the window.

"I already know that…" Ron muttered under his breath. _Why isn't he fucking off?_

"Your parents won't let you play with your toy," Ravenclaw Ron said, and Ron shot him a frown. "You know I'm right… 'Ronnie, it's snowing out there. You can't go out there right now.' Bah… That cow is always getting in your way."

"Don't speak ill of her," Ron felt his hands clench into fists.

"She's a fucking housewife, and nothing more," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "She's achieved absolutely nothing in her life, and yet, she thinks that she can tell you what to do. I say that you tell her to fuck right off."

"Shut your fucking mouth," Ron shot up to his feet.

The fireplace suddenly roared to life, and Ron quickly sat back down. _Don't let him rile you up, Ron. People are starting to wake up around the house, and if they catch you yelling at nothing but air, they'll have you locked up._ Tracey, Tori, and Mary stepped into the Burrow, and Ron greeted them with a forced smile.

"Ron!" Tori beamed at him. "Were you waiting for me?!"

"I'm pretty sure that he was admiring his doll, dear," Mary said, her eyes fixed on the P-12. "Merlin… It does make for a frightening figure, doesn't it?"

"This thing is amazing," Ron's smile turned genuine. "Just wait and see! It's unlike anything you've seen before!"

"No Daphne," Ravenclaw Ron hummed.

Ron's smile faltered, but he didn't let himself fall prey to his growing panic. _He's wrong about her. She's not going to turn her back on me. That's not who she is._

"Ron, you don't plan to make us fight this thing, do you?" Tracey walked around the P-12. _Oh, I do._

"It'll be good practice," Ron said, and Tracey grimaced.

"I don't know about this…" Tracey muttered under her breath. "This thing looks dangerous." _Oh, it is, but I'll be really careful._

"I'll be watching over you," Ron promised.

"Can I fight it?" Tori asked excitedly. _Maybe when you're a bit more experienced._

"Love, I don't think that's wise," Mary replied for Ron. "Why don't you and Luna practice your Magic with me instead."

"Ugh… You're a boring teacher," Tori groaned, which earned her a deadpan look from Mary. "I want to learn from Ron! He's a great teacher! **And** he teaches me Curses!"

"Curses?" Mary looked to Ron, who took a wary step back.

"Just Spells like Petrificus Totalus," Ron promised. "Nothing dangerous."

Mary looked slightly disappointed, but she didn't push the subject further.

"Is your mother in the Kitchen?" Mary asked Ron.

"She's in the marquee," Ron replied. "She's setting up breakfast for everyone."

"Astoria, come," Mary left for the exit, and Tori followed her after blowing Ron a kiss.

"Ask about Daphne and Lord Greengrass," Ravenclaw Ron said. _Please, for the love of Merlin, fuck off already._

Ron massaged his sore face, and when Tracey tapped his shoulder, he looked to her with a weak smile.

"Ron, why won't you heal your face?" Tracey asked with genuine concern.

"It's how I learn," Ron shrugged.

"Horseshit!" Ravenclaw Ron laughed.

"Learn what?" Tracey asked.

"To not bite off more than I can chew," Ron replied. "As skilled as I am, I can't forget that I'm no match for people who have been honing their Magic since before I was born." Ron then shifted in his spot a little. "Trace… About what I said in anger-"

"You were a prick," Tracey said, and Ron nodded weakly.

"I'm sorry," Ron apologized again, and her expression softened.

"We're scared as well, Ron," Tracey whispered. "I can hardly bring myself to sit down in one place for too long. This war… Pansy… It's just too much."

"Yeah," Ron said. "It's been a rough Break, that's for sure."

"Snore," Ravenclaw Ron drawled. "Ask about Daphne and Lord Greengrass. Why aren't they here?"

"Trace… Where's Daph?" Ron asked rather meekly, his stomach was beginning to tighten.

"She… Um… I asked her to come with, but she said that she didn't feel like it today…" Tracey replied awkwardly.

Ron felt his face drop as Ravenclaw Ron burst into laughter.

"Get ready to be single, Ronnie!" Ravenclaw Ron wheezed. "I don't need the Entity's power to know that your hand is going to become your next girlfriend very soon!" _Shut up!_

"She's still a little upset with you, that's all," Tracey said quickly. "C'mon, Ron… Please don't look like that…"

"It's okay…" Ron all but whispered, his hands clenching and unclenching. "I was a prick, and she's right to be upset with me… I understand…"

Tracey slowly moved closer to him, and then she hugged his side.

"Just give her some time," Tracey whispered.

"This one likes you as well," Ravenclaw Ron hummed. "Why else would she press her chest against you like that?" _Shut up… Please… Just shut up._

Tracey pulled back, and after giving Ron a kiss on his cheek, she walked over to the exit.

"I'm going to go talk to Theo," Tracey said. "Is he doing better now?"

"He's trying to hold it together as best as he can," Ron replied. "But he's in the shower right now, I think."

"Oh, then I'll go wait for him," Tracey said, and just like that, she was gone. _Why not wait with me?_

"Never mind what I just said," Ravenclaw Ron smirked. "Even she wants to get away from you."

"Stop it," Ron grit out, his eyes darting down towards the floor.

"Face it, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron started. "You're a damn burden to everyone around you. Every time they think of you, they're reminded of your illness. It makes them miserable. Right now, they're still trying to be there for you, but slowly, they'll start putting you at arm's length. They'll all leave you behind because they don't love you the way you love them. They don't want to be miserable for the sake of you."

Ron felt his head spin, and he dropped down on the chair. He had had these thoughts before, but due to his hectic life, he was able to push them into the depths of his mind. He couldn't do that right now, though. Right now, he had his past life throwing his worst insecurities in his face, and deep down; Ron knew that his past self was right. _Daphne wants her space… Should I go talk to her? No… What if I annoy her by being too clingy? I was a complete prat to her and the others, so it makes sense that she wants some time to herself._

"You know I'm right, don't you?" Ravenclaw Ron suddenly moved into Ron's face, a hateful sneer on his face. "Tracey would rather wait alone than to wait with you. She doesn't want to hear about your problems. **None** of them want to hear you whine about your life."

"I… I don't whine…" Ron stared at the floor.

"Don't you?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Your rage fueled tantrums, your cold demeanor, your lack of trust in others… These are all forms of whining, Ronnie. The people that you love, the ones that you've sworn to protect, they don't want you around. Seriously, when was the last time that any of them did anything for you?"

"Daphne's been nothing but supportive-" Ron started.

"Oh, please," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "Considering how much you've done for her Family, she should be sucking your cock every morning."

Ron suddenly felt murderous rage course through him, and he took another swing at Ravenclaw Ron.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that!" Ron shot up to his feet, but Ravenclaw Ron just shook his head.

"You're pathetic," Ravenclaw Ron sounded genuinely disappointed. "You're so hungry for any form of affection that you settle for scraps, and here's the best part, none of them will be there for you when you need them. You'll die alone, and no one will mourn your passing. You know it. I know it. **Fate** knows it."

"You don't know anything," Ron's breathing became erratic. "You're just trying to drive me insane… You want me to be just like you!"

"Aren't you already?" Ravenclaw Ron took a seat. "Those Werewolves that you had murdered… The Abadies… Victor… You're more like me than you think, Ronnie." Ravenclaw Ron's face suddenly lit up. "Is that why you're seeing me? Are you scared of turning into me?"

Ron marched out of the Living Room, but as he turned to go up the stairs, he found Ravenclaw Ron waiting for him at the top. _Bloody fuck!_ Undeterred, Ron marched up the stairs with a deep scowl.

"You're so angry all the time," Ravenclaw Ron chuckled as he followed after Ron. "C'mon, Ronnie… We were finally getting somewhere! Where are you going?"

Ron ignored his hallucination, there was only one solution that he could think of right now. _I'm going to drink both vials of the Sleeping Draught, and then, I'm going to pass out._

"You think you're seeing me because of your lack of sleep?" Ravenclaw Ron jumped in his way, causing Ron to stop out of instinct. "You know, there is another explanation… A more likely one, in my considered opinion." Ravenclaw Ron smiled like a Cheshire cat. "You're finally going crazy."

Ron walked through his hallucination, his scowl becoming darker.

"What you're going through right now," Ravenclaw Ron said as he followed after Ron. "Losing Lord Greengrass' trust, losing Daphne's trust, losing the care of your friends… All of it. It was bound to happen, Ronnie, and nothing is going to change that. You can get all the sleep you want, but when you wake up, nothing will have changed. Nothing."

"You'll be gone, and that's all that matters right now," Ron whispered to himself.

"How are you going to explain this to your Family?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "You know how nosey they all are. They'll want to know why you put yourself into a deep slumber at ten in the morning."

"I'll think of something," Ron replied.

"More lies, then," Ravenclaw Ron laughed, and Ron stopped walking. "Don't you see the pattern here, Ronnie? You're so busy trying to keep everyone on your side that you refuse to realize that you're the problem. Instead, you lie and lie until people just stop hounding you." Ravenclaw Ron then clicked his tongue. "Oh… Wait… Your lies are catching up to you now, aren't they? If you keep going like this, the people that you love will stop bothering altogether."

"What. Do. You. Want?" Ron grit out. "What's the point of all of this?"

"You know what the point is," Ravenclaw Ron smiled. "You've thought about it, haven't you? C'mon, Ronnie… **Think**."

"I should just stop answering to other people?" Ron asked. "Is that it?"

"You don't owe these people anything," Ravenclaw Ron whispered. "Sirius owes you his life, Pandora owes you her life, the Trio owe you their lives, Xeno owes you for saving his wife, Lord Greengrass owes you for taking his case to Dumbledore, your friends owe you for so much more than their good grades, and your parents owe you for their blatant neglect. Why create problems for yourself by lying all the time? Just tell these people to shut the fuck up. You don't owe any of them a damn thing."

Ron rubbed his sore face; the pain in the back of his skull was getting worse and worse.

"Lord Greengrass and Daphne will come back…" Ron pinched his eyes with his gloved hand. "I just need to give them some time…"

"Maybe, but what about the rest?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Didn't you just see three witches all but ignore you?"

"They have other things on their mind," Ron muttered.

"Deep down, you know why they left," Ravenclaw Ron stepped in Ron's face. "You've changed so much over the last two years… The Ron they all care for, he's not there anymore. Sure, you're much more powerful. Sure, you've accomplished things that your younger self had no hope of accomplishing. But achieving these goals has sure made you a terrible person. You've had to become distant, calculating, and ruthless."

"So I should go back to being 'little Ronnie' again?" Ron spoke to the floor.

"What? Absolutely not," Ravenclaw Ron whispered in Ron's right ear. "Take off the mask completely, Ronald. Stop pretending to be someone you're not."

"They'll all leave me…" Ron felt his eyes sting. "Even I'd leave me…"

"You're stretched too thin, mate," Ravenclaw Ron said softly. "You're trying so hard to keep these people in your corner that the **mission** is suffering. You and I both know just how much you can accomplish if you didn't have these pests holding you back all the time. Imagine a World where you didn't force yourself to slow down for the sake of other people's feelings. A World where you went after the source of your problems."

"The Dark Lord…" Ron's hands clenched and unclenched.

"You don't get to be like them," Ravenclaw Ron said. "You don't get to slack off, or go on dates, or do any of the other mind-numbingly boring tasks that make up the majority of these people's lives. You are the Champion of Fate. You have a job to do, and if you fail to do it, you'll end up as the Entity's chew toy for eternity. This World doesn't need Ronald Weasley. It needs **you**. It needs someone who doesn't show mercy, or shame, or guilt."

"It doesn't need another monster…" Ron tried to resist out of habit.

"The World is already filled with monsters, Ronald," Ravenclaw Ron said. "What it doesn't have is a monster that hunts other monsters." Ravenclaw Ron then gave Ron an almost sympathetic look. "If you really love these people so much, you'd prioritize their safety over your own happiness. They might abandon you because of what you're becoming, but you'll be saving a lot more lives in the long run."

"Are you talking to yourself, Ron?" came Kirsten's voice from behind him, and Ron nearly jumped out of his skin.

"No," Ron replied without turning around. "I was just… thinking out loud."

"Lying again," Ravenclaw Ron sighed out.

"Your mother asked me to come get everyone," Kirsten walked up to his side. "She says that breakfast is ready."

"Right…" Ron rubbed his eyes.

"Hey… Are you all right?" Kirsten rubbed his back as she gave him a worried look.

"I'm just tired, that's all," Ron lied. "Don't worry about me so much. I'll go get Tracey from upstairs, yeah?"

"Sure…" Kirsten said slowly. "Maybe you should take a nap after breakfast, Ron. You look really unwell today."

"Yeah, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "Take a nap, and hope to the Gods that the World fixes itself. I'm sure that's how you'll break the Cycles."

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – After Dinner)**_

Ron was barely functioning at this point, and it was all too clear that other people had begun to notice. His mother had lectured him for staying awake all night, his father had refused to let him use the P-12, and his siblings looked sorely disappointed with his lack of self-care. Theo was still trying to delude himself into thinking that his father could be saved, so Tracey was too busy distracting him to ask after Ron. This left Daphne, who had arrived at lunchtime with her father, but she was still being distant. She was worried, he could see that, but she hadn't spoken to him yet.

"It's kind of creepy that you're just playing Chess with yourself in the corner," Ravenclaw Ron said, his eyes fixed on the chessboard in front of him. "Why are you even bothering with this game, Ronnie? It's not like you have a Mentor anymore."

Ron's eyes darted towards Lord Greengrass, who was helping Daphne with some sort of contract writing exercise. _I'm pretty sure her Family replied to her letters, but she didn't even tell me about it._

"Just take a look at the mess you've made on this board," Ravenclaw Ron said, and Ron looked to the chessboard.

The pieces were everywhere, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make sense of what the solution to this mess was. _What am I even doing? Why haven't I gone to sleep yet?_

"Could it be that you're hoping that someone will take notice of your miserable state, and then give you the attention that you crave?" Ravenclaw Ron smirked, and Ron closed his eyes. "Oh, am I bothering you? Well… It's not like anyone else is talking to you. Even Ginny is being kept company by Neville, so I figured that I'd stick around for your benefit. I can leave, if you want."

"Leave," Ron muttered, but his hallucination didn't leave. _Fucking prick._

Deciding to call it a night, Ron tipped his king over before standing up. Just as he was about to leave, the fireplace roared to life, and Remus Lupin burst into the Burrow. _Remus?!_ The man was covered in dirt, and his clothes looked worn out.

"Remus?" Pandora spoke from her chair, while Luna sat up from her lap.

"Remus!" Harry shot up to his feet; he looked alive for the first time since he had learned of the war.

"Harry!" Remus smiled at the sight of his surrogate son, and Harry rushed over and hugged the man.

"How touching," Ravenclaw Ron gagged, but Ron thought that it was indeed touching. _Why is he here, though? Isn't he supposed to be on a mission for the Order? He looks like he's been through hell._

While the denizens of the room looked quite bewildered by Remus' sudden appearance, Ron found himself wondering if something was wrong. Remus' eyes traveled around the room, and when they landed on Ron, a look of relief blossomed on the Werewolf's face.

"I think he's come here for you," Ravenclaw Ron said. "Probably just wants something from you. Why else would he come looking for you of all people?"

"Remus, where did Dumbledore send you?" Harry asked as he pulled back.

Remus blinked at Harry, and then, he gave Harry an understanding look.

"You've all been told then," Remus realized. "I can't give you the specifics, Harry, but what I can tell you is that I'm back. At least for now."

"Remus, take a seat, please," Pandora said. "I'll go get the others."

"Actually, I'm in a bit of a rush," Remus looked to Ron. "Ron, can I talk to you, please? This is very important."

"What do you need from Ron?" Harry couldn't mask his hurt. "You just got back…"

"Sorry, Harry, but we can talk tomorrow," Remus gave Harry a rather sorry look. "Ron, do you have a minute?"

"Of course," Ron replied, ignoring the looks from Lord Greengrass and Daphne.

"More favors," Ravenclaw Ron didn't sound too pleased. "I swear, most of these pricks just come to you with their hands held out. It's like you're their servant, or something." _Stop talking for one minute, you annoying bastard._

Ron followed Remus into the Kitchen, and judging from the man's pace, Remus was in a bloody hurry.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Ron asked. "You look like you got attacked by someone."

"Is Sirius around?" Remus looked around the empty Kitchen.

"He's in the marquee with the other adults," Ron replied. "They're all drinking together. Do you want me to go get them?"

"Um… No, don't worry about it," Remus shook his head. "I actually need to get back to where I was before I came here."

"And where were you?" came Harry's voice, he had followed them into the Kitchen.

"Harry-" Remus started.

"No! You were just about to tell Ron everything, weren't you?!" Harry went red in the face, while Ravenclaw Ron looked extremely bored. "I want to know as well!"

"Go back into the Living Room," came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron looked to see him entering from behind Harry.

"I don't take order from you," Harry turned around with a defiant look.

"Go. Back. **Now**." Lord Greengrass looked almost murderous for a moment.

"Harry, please," Remus said gently.

Harry clenched his fists, and after shooting Ron a dark look, he barged up the stairs with a genuinely pissed off look on his face.

"He's going to blame you for this," Ravenclaw Ron grinned at Ron. "Better lock up your trunk, handsome." _Merlin, please kill me._

Lord Greengrass flicked his wand at the stairs, and then at the entrance to the Living Room.

"What do you want from Ronald?" Lord Greengrass asked Remus, who wasted no time in stepping closer to Ron. _Ronald?_

"I can't get into the details about the Order's movements, Ron, but I have a favor to ask of you," Remus started.

"Told you," came Ravenclaw Ron's voice, and Ron felt his stomach twist a little. _Ignore him, Ron; he's trying to get to you._

"This Sanctuary that you're building for the Werewolves of Britain," Remus put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Is it possible if you could speed up its production?"

"Speed up?" Ron asked. "Remus, you need to give me some information before I make a decision like that. What's the reason behind this?"

Remus shot a quick look at Lord Greengrass, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"I spoke with a large pack of Werewolves for the Order-" Remus started.

"Remus, that's enough," Lord Greengrass immediately stepped in. "We agreed to keep the children out of Order business."

"This is more than Order business," Remus sounded almost defensive, and then he looked back to Ron. "These people need help desperately, Ron, and I promised to bring their situation to your attention."

"I'm listening," Ron focused as much as he could.

"A good friend of mine is the Alpha of this pack, and over the last year, he's been bringing together as many Werewolves as possible," Remus said. "Due to the rise of unemployment rates for all Werewolves, he thought that he could help improve a lot of lives. Sadly, though, he got in way over his head, and now they're all trapped between the Ministry and the Goblins of Gringotts." _Huh?_

"What do you mean by 'trapped'?" Ron asked.

"The Ministry wanted to separate them simply out of malicious intent," Remus said sourly. "But before they could be charged with made up crimes, Robert Bulstrode approached them."

"Bulstrode?" Lord Greengrass asked. "Why would he associate with Werewolves?"

"He heard about their desperation through Ministry Officials, and he showed up as a friend," Remus explained. _A friend? Horseshit._ "In truth, however, he planned to exploit their desperation. He all but sold them into slavery."

"What?" Ron blinked. _He really is a fucking Death-Eater, isn't he?_

"The Goblins of Gringotts are operating an illegal mine on Muggle lands near Buckden Pike, and in order to keep their activities hidden, they need workers who won't talk," Remus said, and Ron found himself getting angry. "These Goblins, Ron… They're mistreating the pack, and two young men have already died."

"What do you need from me?" Ron asked, he didn't need to hear anything else. "I'll help, Remus."

A smile immediately graced Remus' face, and for a moment, Ron felt rather proud of himself.

"I've convinced them to run from the Ministry and the Goblins," Remus gave Ron's shoulder a squeeze. "At first, they weren't listening to me, but when I told them about your Sanctuary, they agreed to come find you. Now, this pack is rather large, and I'm helping them set up a course down south, but before they start moving, they want to be sure that this Sanctuary will be there when they get here."

"The Fawleys are on holiday, but they'll be back by the end of the Break," Ron started. "I'll speak to them as soon as possible, and hopefully, we can get this thing started. How many people are in this pack?"

"Around forty, or so," Remus looked more than relieved. "They've agreed to speak to as many packs as they can on the way down, and if all goes well, the other packs will join this one."

"An army," Ravenclaw Ron hummed from the back.

"We don't have all the details prepared yet, but I'll get things moving," Ron promised. "Are you returning to this pack tonight?"

"I am," Remus replied.

"Tell them that I'll help them no matter what," Ron said, and Remus pulled Ron into a one-armed hug.

"Thank you, cub," Remus said, and then he let go. "I need to get going… They're all packing up even as we speak, and when I tell them about this, they'll get moving even more quickly."

Remus began making his way towards the Living Room, but he stopped by the stairs and looked up. _He's no doubt feeling bad for dismissing Harry like that. Merlin, I hope Harry doesn't blame me for this. He's done it in the past, and I don't need more stress right now._ Remus shook his head clear, and then he left almost as quickly as he came. This left Ron and Lord Greengrass alone in the Kitchen.

"Awkward," Ravenclaw Ron pulled a face. _Should I say something? I'm not really sure if he's decided to drop me as his Apprentice._

"Lord Greeng-" Ron started, but the man turned around and left without uttering a single word.

"Ouch," Ravenclaw Ron laughed. "He outright ignored you."

Ron just stood rooted in his spot, a terrible feeling crawling up his spine and into his brain. _He's just upset, that's all. He won't keep ignoring me forever._ Ron swallowed thickly, and then he began heading for the stairs. _I'm done with this day… I'm going to go to sleep, and tomorrow, I'm going to go get a brain scan._

"Your bruises…" Ravenclaw Ron said as Ron neared the stairs, and Ron stopped walking. "Remus didn't even notice them."

"What?" Ron looked towards his past self.

"He didn't even notice that your face looks like a bruised berry," Ravenclaw Ron smirked. "That's how little they all care about you. To them, you're just a solution to **their** problems. 'Ron, do this… Ron, do that.' You're their slave, and until you grow a pair, that's all you'll ever be. Sure, they throw you the occasional bone, but compared to how far you go for them, you might as well be working in an illegal Goblin mine."

Feeling more wretched than he had all day, Ron walked up the stairs with his head hung low. _Remus didn't even notice…_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Morning)**_

His hallucinations were gone thanks to a full night's rest, courtesy of two vials of Sleeping Draught. His mind was still besieged by Ravenclaw Ron's words, but Ron was smart enough to understand that his counterpart was trying to get under his skin. And sure, some of what Ravenclaw Ron had said had hit too close to home, but Ron wasn't one to be beaten so easily. After waking up, Ron had gathered his strength and put himself to work.

"Ronnie, do you want more soup?" Molly asked as she passed him by.

"I'm full, mum," Ron replied, he was currently eating breakfast with everyone.

"Are you sure?" Molly asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "All right, then. Let me know if you want some more, okay?"

"Okay," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Pansy's emancipation paperwork. _So many forms to fill, but at the end of the day, this won't even work. I need to find another solution. A more_ _ **permanent**_ _solution._

He already knew what had to be done, and quite honestly, he wasn't too bothered by it. The day he had seen Pansy die in his vision, he had decided to kill her parents at some point. _All of this has moved up my schedule, but if I'm careful and patient, I'll get my opportunity. Pansy doesn't have to know anything. Plus, getting two more Death-Eaters off of my list is bound to do some good. Who knows? Maybe Pansy will get to inherit her Family's fortune,_ _ **and**_ _be free of her mother at the same time._

"Can I see those?" Daphne asked, and Ron passed her the papers without a word. _She's cutting her voice short on purpose…_

"I have work to do today, so I'll be gone for a few hours," Ron announced to his parents, which earned him curious looks from everyone.

"What work?" Percy asked. "You should stay home and recover, Ron." _Oh, you're talking to me again?_

"Percy's right, Ron," Arthur said. "You can do your work at a later date-"

"No," Ron shut them down, and then he left the marquee without another word.

Fine… He was slightly upset with everyone, and although he knew that they were trying to look out for him, his past self had done some serious damage to his psyche. He wanted to be more efficient, and for the first time, he was starting to doubt his constant pandering to the people in his life. _Once I'm back, I'm taking the P-12 out for a spin. I could've spent all of yesterday training with it, but I decided to sit around and do nothing because mum and dad had a problem with it._

As he reached the fireplace, he noticed a bushy head of brown hair following him.

"You shouldn't speak to your parents like that, Ron," Hermione caught up as he was preparing the fireplace. "It's incredibly rude."

"Do you need something?" Ron asked. _Of course you do… Why else would you come talk to me?_

"What did Remus talk to you about yesterday?" Hermione asked, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"I can't tell you," Ron replied, and Hermione didn't look too pleased.

"Why not?"

"Because the parents don't want us children getting involved in Order business," Ron replied.

"But you're getting involved," Hermione huffed.

"Because I'm not like the rest of you," Ron stated bluntly. "Did Harry put you up to this? He's been eyeballing me again."

Hermione froze a little, and that was enough to answer Ron's question. _Why am I being blamed for Remus' need for secrecy? He probably didn't want Harry hearing about his work with Werewolves. It could alert Harry about Remus' condition, after all._

"He doesn't like being kept in the dark, Ron," Hermione tone became softer. "If you could talk to him, I'd really appreciate it." _More favors._ "He's been acting really sour lately, and it's only gotten worse since last night."

"Has Neville spoken to him?" Ron asked.

"Neville is… He's trying to keep Ginny company," Hermione sounded almost jealous. "She's still upset with me and Harry, but she's gotten over her anger in regards to Neville." _Hmmm. So Ginny isn't completely alone now. That's good. I'll talk to Harry in order to let Neville continue his good work._

"Once I'm back, I'll talk to him," Ron agreed, and Hermione visibly relaxed.

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione said, and Ron gave her a parting nod.

"Gringotts Wizarding Bank," Ron said as clearly as possible, and then he tossed the floo powder into the fire.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (Diagon Alley – Midday)**_

"This is the last building?" Ron sighed out; he didn't like the look of this place either. "How much are they charging for this shithole?" _Seriously, I see mold on the walls. They're definitely not going to help me make this place presentable._

"Three hundred and fifty Galleons a month," Gornuk replied, he too looked quite displeased. "The pictures were a lot more… alluring… Forgive me, Mr. Weasley, I should have dug deeper before taking you on this tour."

"No, you told me that this wasn't your area of expertise," Ron didn't blame Gornuk for this. "Which one did you like best?"

"None, truth be told," Gornuk replied as he traced his finger on a dusty wall. "All of these buildings are too small, and getting permits to increase their size will no doubt raise their price."

"Maybe we ought to focus on hiring people instead of renting a building," Ron suggested. "I mean, we don't even have a staff yet."

"Which is exactly why we need a building beforehand," Gornuk said. "If we leave this to the last minute, our business will need to be run from our workers' homes." _And that screams professionalism, doesn't it?_

"Is there really nothing left in the upper district?" Ron asked. "Not even one building?"

"Most of those buildings are owned by the prominent Families, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk replied. "I do not wish to be rude, but your Family's reputation will make it impossible for us to convince these Families to let us rent their buildings."

"Prominent Families…" Ron whispered to himself, and then, an idea struck him. _Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom._ "Gornuk, is it possible for you to find out which Families own which buildings?"

"Gringotts has all the records we would need," Gornuk replied. "May I ask what you're planning, Mr. Weasley?"

"My Family's reputation might be questionable, but my reputation isn't," Ron said. "And I have a couple of wealthy witches who might be willing to help us."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"And here is the bond," Gornuk handed Ron the bond for one thousand Galleons. _Good. Now I can repay Daphne._

"Thank you, Gornuk," Ron put the bond in his coat pocket. "I'll let you know when I secure a suitable space for our Offices."

"Hiring a couple of Elves to keep the Offices clean shouldn't be too difficult," Gornuk started. "As for the reporters, have you had a look at the dossiers I sent you?"

"Timothy Greene and Jack Smith look like they'll be a great fit," Ron replied. "As for the others… I wasn't impressed." _All of the others worked for the Prophet at one point, and none of them seemed particularly accomplished._

"Timothy Greene, and Jack Smith…" Gornuk tried to remember. "As I recall, they are both rather young, aren't they?"

"That's not a bad thing in my book," Ron shrugged. "Both were rejected by the Prophet for trying to write articles on the **real** state of things, and although those articles weren't all too impressive, we can just have them learn from Marietta."

"You clearly have a select group in mind when it comes to hiring," Gornuk made a mental note. "I'll reach out to my contacts within other countries."

"That'd be great," Ron smiled. "Could you also set up a meeting with Greene and Smith? I'd like to talk to them before I make a decision."

"Certainly," Gornuk wrote it down. "I'll be in touch, Mr. Weasley."

"Take care, Gornuk," Ron said as he exited the Office. _I should go talk to Aunt Muriel first. She might be less agreeable than Lady Longbottom, but she is my Blood, and she'll take offence if I don't go to her first._

Ron used Gringotts' fireplace room to floo over to the Prewett Estate, and once he was inside the Greeting Room, a familiar Elf cracked in to greet him.

"Mimsy," Ron greeted the tiny Elf, and she beamed up at him.

"Master Ronald!" Mimsy exclaimed. "You've come back! Mistress will be so pleased to host you again!" _Really? She doesn't even notice my bruises? Maybe she's being polite?_

"Are you sure about that?" Ron smiled involuntarily; he found the forwardness of the Elves to be rather pleasant. _They're just a really nice lot in general. No matter how I feel before I approach them, my mood always improves when I see their happy little faces._ "Your mistress didn't seem too pleased with my last visit."

"Mistress was very pleased," Mimsy assured him quickly. "Mistress has… trouble… expressing her happiness. Mistress is kind to her Elves, even Mimsy." _Even Mimsy?_

"Would she have a reason to not be kind to you?" Ron asked, and Mimsy's smile faltered. _Don't be insensitive, Ron. Apologize to her, and back off._ "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound invasive. You don't-"

"Mimsy is not like the other Elves," Mimsy ignored him, she was shuffling her tiny feet. "Mimsy comes from a weak lineage… Mimsy is small, and her Magic never developed as it should have." _I didn't know that was possible._

"Oh… I'm very sorry, Mimsy," Ron knelt down to meet her eyes.

"Mistress made Mimsy her personal Elf when Mimsy's parents wished to abandon her," Mimsy smiled a little. _Really?_ "Mistress is kind, but she does not wish to show it."

"I'm glad she has you, then," Ron patted Mimsy's cheek, and she beamed at him again. "And personally… I don't believe that size factors into how valuable someone is. I think you're good for her, even if I don't know you that well yet."

"Master Ronald has grown up to be very kind," Mimsy's voice cracked. _I'm not so sure about that… I think I lost the good part of myself somewhere along the way._

"Can you please fetch your Mistress for me?" Ron asked. "I'll be in the Living Room."

"Of course," Mimsy nodded fervently, and then she cracked out of the room. _Just as loud as Marty._

Ron stood back up, and then he made his way over to the Living Room. He still admired the look of Prewett Estate, and even though he was never one to enjoy art, he found the oil-painted portraits to be quite fascinating. Most of them were of the different Heads of the Prewett Family, but some were of different landscapes and architectures. _They even have one of Hogwarts._

Ron entered the Living Room, and he sat down on a comfy chair by the fireplace. The Prewett Coat of Arms was a thing of beauty, and once again, Ron wondered if his own Family had a Coat of Arms. _We should have one considering how old we are. Maybe I should ask dad about it? Though, he probably doesn't know much about our history considering that he never talks about it._

After sitting around for five, or so, minutes, the silence was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps.

"What happened to your face?" Muriel asked curtly as she walked further into the room.

"Dueling practice," Ron replied, and she gave a short nod.

"It is good manners to alert a host **before** you barge into their home," Muriel said as she sat down on a chair to his left, her trademark sneer on her face.

"I know," Ron said. "I am sorry about 'barging' in here without an invitation, but I need your help."

"Ah," Muriel's sneer deepened. "And here I thought that you came to visit your old Aunt."

"Would you like that?" Ron asked calmly. "If you want me to visit more often, all you have to do is to ask me."

"I'd rather keep our meetings limited," she replied, and Ron fought the urge to be a smartarse. "What do you want, boy?"

"I need your advice for starters," Ron replied, and Muriel cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"You want my advice?" Muriel asked. "What about that corpse that you call a Mentor?" _Don't call him a corpse, you hag._

"Lord Greengrass and I are… having troubles… right now," Ron shifted a little. _Why did I make us sound like an item?_

"Has he seen you for the monster that you are?" Muriel smirked cruelly, and Ron felt a pang of pain in his heart.

"I am not a monster," Ron looked her dead in the eyes. _Liar…_ "I just… think differently."

Muriel scanned his face with her bloodshot eyes, and slowly, her smirk faded away.

"Don't be such a girl," Muriel said bluntly. "I was merely teasing you, 'boy'."

"It's hard to tell when you're joking considering that you look like my worst nightmare come to life," Ron said, and Muriel frowned a bit. "Don't be such a girl. I was merely teasing you, 'my Lady'."

"Cheeky little…" Muriel started, but then she stopped herself. "What is troubling you?" _Really? Just like that? I swear that she's testing me during each of our meetings._

"You know that my Quibbler will start publishing soon, right?" Ron started, and she gave him a nod. "I am on top of everything, somehow, but I still need a place for the Offices. I have spent my entire morning looking at different buildings throughout the Middle District in Diagon Alley, but none of them were particularly enticing."

"Cheap, and damaged," Muriel seconded his thoughts. "And most are owned by those cretins… Goblins…"

Her face twisted at the word, and Ron could tell how disgusted she was at the mere thought of them. _They're not all bad. Sure, some are complete twats, and those slavers will taste my heel before long, but some are all right._

"Yes… The Goblins will try to bend me over," Ron said bluntly. "And the buildings not owned by Goblins are rather pathetic."

"Why not find a building in the Upper District?" Muriel asked. "Oh, I forgot… Your Family's name is mud." _This bitch…_

"Do you take pleasure in saying cruel things?" Ron asked, his temper flaring a bit. "My Family might not be wealthy, but we fought alongside yours during the Great War."

Muriel said nothing, nor did she look apologetic. _Don't let her rile you up, Ron. Control your emotions. Discipline your mind._

"But saying that…" Ron decided to swallow his pride. "You are not completely wrong. We own no properties, and no one will sell their property to a Family who are well known for their poverty. It would be a foolish thing to do from a business standpoint."

"What are you going to do about it?" Muriel asked, she sounded almost intrigued.

"I will look to my allies for help," Ron replied, and Muriel gave him a nod. _I clearly said the right thing._ "You own a warehouse, and three separate buildings. The warehouse stores grain and other Prewett assets, and two of the buildings are already being rented out… One to a tailor, and one to a curio merchant. As for the last building… It is currently undergoing renovations."

"You've done your research," Muriel relaxed in her chair. "I expected nothing less from you."

"Am I beginning to impress you?" Ron smirked.

"Yes," she had no shame in admitting that. _Oh… Well, this is unexpected._

"I would like to purchase the third building," Ron said.

"Purchase? Not rent?" Muriel asked.

"I want the Weasley Family to own a building in the Upper District," Ron replied. "Every other Family has one, even the ones who aren't particularly wealthy, so we should have one as well. It will further prove that we are returning to power."

Muriel gave half a smile, and quite honestly, Ron felt a little uncomfortable because of it. _I don't think I've seen her smile before. It's… jarring._

"If I had known that you would turn out this way, I'd have stolen you when you were younger," Muriel said. "Do you have any idea how many times I tried to make your mother and uncles think like you do?"

"Plenty of times, I assume," Ron said.

"Try every single day," Muriel replied. "I became the Head of this Family a **long** time ago, but I never had children of my own. Not even one. So, I knew that one of my nieces or nephews would need to continue my role one day. But alas, I was Cursed with fools who held no respect for their roots."

"Mafalda Prewett doesn't sound like a fool to me," Ron offered.

"No, she sounds ambitious," Muriel looked to the fire. "You can have the building. I will send you the deed, and all the signed paperwork." _Really?_

"How much do I owe you?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," Muriel kept her eyes fixed on the flames.

"Aunt Muriel, I'm not looking for charity here," Ron said. "Tell me how much you-"

"You think you sound gallant by refusing my kindness, but I assure you, I find it irritating," Muriel cut him off. "We are Blood, boy, and that means something to me. What you have agreed to do for Mafalda, despite your conditions, will be payment enough." _Does she really need an heir that badly? I mean, she's getting older by the day, but this is extreme._

"What of the renovations?" Ron asked slowly, he was still quite dazed by how well this was going.

"I have already paid the contractors, so you don't need to worry about it," Muriel said. _I can't just accept a building for free… It doesn't feel right. I know that she's quite wealthy, but that's no excuse to steal from her._

"When I begin publishing the Quibbler, I will list the Prewett Family as a partner," Ron promised, and Muriel looked back to him. "You didn't invest in my business, but that was only because I didn't come to you. That was a mistake, and I see that now. Can you at least accept that?"

"The Prewett Family accepts," Muriel replied.

"Thank you, Auntie," Ron stood up.

"Leaving as soon as you get what you want?" Muriel asked.

"I would stay, but I need to get a brain scan," Ron told the truth, and Muriel waited for him to elaborate. "I… I think my condition has worsened… I can't tell the others just yet, they'll hound me and lock me away in my room."

"But you just told me," Muriel stated the obvious. _She's a well-known gossip, but I owe her the truth after the generosity that she just showed me._

"You are not like them," Ron shrugged. "Maybe it's because we're not that close, or maybe it's because you think like me… I don't know. What you just did for me… I never forget my debts, Auntie."

"I hope you get good news, Ronald," Muriel looked back to the fire. "And if you need advice, my door is always open to you." _So she does want me to visit more often. Mimsy mentioned that she doesn't get any guests, so she must be feeling lonely._

"You should come over for dinner again," Ron offered, and Muriel frowned at the thought. "It would give us a chance to further our alliance, and I think you could use some company."

"Is that what you think?" Muriel spoke to the fire. "That I need 'company'?"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting company, Auntie," Ron said. "Think on it, please."

Muriel waved at him dismissively, and after giving her a respectful bow, Ron left for the Greeting Room. _I hope she does decide to come around more often. If she's with us, then she'll be safer during the war. Speaking of which… I need to ask Dumbledore about the Muggle-Born issue. We need to find some way to protect them from the Snatchers._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron looked around the empty Hospital Wing, and oddly enough, he felt relieved. He was definitely scared of getting this scan, but since Madam Pomfrey wasn't around, Ron had an excuse to tuck tail and run. Did he despise this cowardly sort of behavior? Yes. Would he give up if he got bad news? No. Ron knew that no matter what Madam Pomfrey found, it was his duty to keep moving forward. And yet, he was still scared. He was here alone, and due to his recent hallucinations and bodily changes, he knew that something was going terribly wrong in his brain.

"Mr. Weasley?" came McGonagall's voice, and Ron quickly turned to face her. "My word… What happened to you? Were you attacked by someone?"

"Oh, this is from training," Ron chuckled nervously, but the look of concern on her face didn't change. "Um… Is Madam Pomfrey not here?"

"She is working for St. Mungo's at the moment," McGonagall replied. "They are opening tomorrow, but are sadly quite understaffed. I read your paper's piece on them just yesterday, actually." _Oh yeah… The advertisement firm is helping raise awareness about St. Mungo's, and the need for new Healers._

"You subscribe to the Quibbler?" Ron asked.

"I only started once you took over," McGonagall replied. _Really? That's really nice to hear._

"Supporting your favorite student?" Ron couldn't help but grin.

"I am supporting a promising young wizard, nothing more," McGonagall said rather formally. "Do you need those bruises healed?"

"Oh… Um… No," Ron rubbed his slightly inflamed chin.

"No? You look like you're in pain," McGonagall cocked an eyebrow.

"I made mistakes, and I'm learning from them," Ron shrugged. "I just wanted to see Madam Pomfrey about…" he stopped.

"I see," McGonagall gave an understanding nod. "Well, she is not here, but I am currently looking after any students who might need medical attention." She then looked at each of his bruises. "Students like you."

"I can heal these myself," Ron started.

"Then why haven't you?" McGonagall's voice became stern. _Uh-oh._

"So I could learn my-"

"Do you hear how foolish you sound?" McGonagall cut him off, and Ron blinked at her. "This teaches you what exactly? That bruises hurt? That Magic is not to be taken lightly? Forgive me for saying this, Mr. Weasley, but seeing as you are one of my more intelligent students, I do not believe your half-truths. Those bruises teach you nothing, and you know that as well as I do. Now, take a seat, and let me heal your injuries. I'm sure you've already learned whatever 'lesson' that you were trying to teach yourself."

"I'm not healing these-"

"Stubbornness can often be seen as a positive trait," McGonagall took a step forward, and for a moment, she sounded an awful lot like Snape. "But in this instance, I only see it as harmful." Her expression then softened a little. "Pain should never be a teacher, Ronald. Pain creates fear, and a wizard who lives in fear is bound to make more mistakes in the future."

Ron just stared at her; he knew that she wasn't going to let him leave. _And unlike everyone else, she's not going to let me walk off. Fuck… I'm not going anywhere without getting these healed, am I?_ Without a word, Ron walked over to a nearby stool and sat down. _A part of me does want these gone… They hurt, and they're doing nothing to make me forget about Pansy._ McGonagall stood in front of him, and as her wand traced his bruises, Ron felt his face fluctuate between hot and cold.

"Since I have you here," McGonagall spoke as she healed him. "The other Professors and I have come up with a special study plan for you."

"Special study plan?" Ron's ears perked up. "Do you mean extra tutelage?" _More Spells for me to learn?_

"No, not extra tutelage," McGonagall replied, and Ron felt a little disappointed. "We've all decided to give you two extra weeks per assignment. It'll help you better manage your workload, which should help lower some of your stress."

"Oh…" Ron muttered. "Was this the Headmaster's idea?"

"Actually, it was Professor Hagrid's idea," McGonagall told him. "You are in his class, aren't you?"

"I am," Ron was quite surprised. _Hagrid… He and I don't even talk to each other. Why would he, of all people, come up with this idea?_

"At first, he didn't want to give you any homework, but we told him that this was still a school," McGonagall explained. "After some discussion, we came up with this study plan. So, from now on, you'll always have two extra weeks to get your homework done."

"I… Thanks, I think," Ron wasn't sure how he felt about this special treatment.

"It goes without saying that you now have no excuse to miss a deadline," McGonagall added. _Ah, classic McGonagall._

"That's fair," Ron decided to accept the help. _I have so much going on, and if this helps me manage my time better, I should take this opportunity._ "Thank you."

"How does your face feel now?" McGonagall asked as she took a step back, and Ron massaged his face.

"Better," Ron admitted. _Much better._

"Next time, don't leave your injuries unattended," McGonagall all but ordered. "And remember my words, Ronald. Pain should never be a teacher."

"Pain creates fear, and fear causes more mistakes," Ron said, and she gave him a nod. "I'll be on my way now. Thank you, Professor." _I've learnt my most valuable lessons from pain, though._

"Do you want me to contact Madam Pomfrey for you?" McGonagall asked as Ron stood up.

"Um… No," Ron replied. _You bloody coward…_ "I'll just see her when I return to Hogwarts on Sunday."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ron gave a nod. "Actually… Is the Headmaster going to return soon? I came through his fireplace, but he wasn't in his Office."

"He is attending to some personal matters," McGonagall replied, her eyes scanning his face. _Personal matters? Does she mean Snape?_ "Why do you need to see the Headmaster?"

"Oh… I just like to play Chess with him," Ron replied.

"I see," McGonagall said. _Please believe me._ "I will let him know that you dropped by should he return before the end of the Break."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

"You're back," came Hermione's voice, and Ron turned to face her.

"Yeah… I only just got back," Ron went back to preparing the P-12; he had spent two hours just roaming Diagon Alley by himself. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, the others are outside," Hermione walked further into the Living Room. "Playing Quidditch." She then shuffled her feet for a moment. "Everyone except for Harry, that is. He's sitting around in the twins' room. Alone."

"And you?" Ron turned to face her again. "Why aren't you outside?"

"I was practicing some Spells," Hermione explained, and Ron gave her a nod. _At least someone is using their permit as intended._ "Ron… About this morning… Can you talk to Harry right now? Please? I tried, but he's being… difficult…"

"What makes you think that he'll listen to me?" Ron asked.

"If you can just tell him what Remus wanted you for, he'll start feeling better," Hermione said quickly. "After what the adults just told us… Harry feels like they're all hiding things from him. It's **his** life that Lord Voldemort is threatening-"

"Don't speak his name in my house," Ron cut her off.

"Ron… It's just a name," Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's the name of the man who killed thousands as a pastime… My uncles included," Ron said. "I don't want his name mentioned again, do you understand?"

"Fine…" Hermione decided to back off. "So… Will you talk to Harry?"

"Hermione… I've had a pretty long day-" Ron started.

"It would really help out Neville and me," Hermione urged. "And Sirius… Harry's behaving like this is all Sirius' fault, and Sirius is struggling to keep a straight face around us. Please, Ron? If you can just tell him what Remus wanted from you, he might listen to reason." _Am I even allowed to discuss Order business with Harry? I mean, I've always advocated bringing Harry into the fold, but the Headmaster goes out of his way to protect Harry from everything. He might not like me telling Harry about the Order's movements._

"I'll go talk to him," Ron said, and Hermione smiled gratefully.

"Please tell him to grow up a little," Hermione turned to leave.

"Wait… Um… Are my friends outside?" Ron asked.

"Oh," Hermione turned back around. "They all left with Mr. Greengrass." _What?_

"To his manor?" Ron asked, and Hermione gave a nod.

"Nott, Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, the Greengrass sisters, and Luna left around midday," Hermione listed. "Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass want to instruct them on how to behave at school now that there's a war coming." _They left me out? No… I wasn't here. But still…_

"They took Luna?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"Astoria took Luna, actually," Hermione replied. "I don't think Luna is ready to speak to Ginny just yet… It's… It's all rather ugly, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Ron looked back to the P-12. _They wouldn't exclude me, would they? No. I'm being paranoid, and I need to stop putting myself through this. I should exercise patience right now, and I should definitely ignore everything that my hallucination told me._

"Ron?" Hermione called, and Ron looked back to her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just thinking, that's all," Ron hid any sign of his inner thoughts.

"Are you and Greengrass fighting?" Hermione tried to sound casual, but it came across as rather intrusive.

"What? No," Ron blurted out, and Hermione nodded slowly. "I mean… We had a small fight, yes, but I was to blame for it. I apologized, and now, I'm giving her some space."

"You apologized, and she's still giving you the cold shoulder?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"It's more complicated than that," Ron sighed out; he was starting to feel uncomfortable. _Maybe I should just approach her and talk to her. One of my favorite things about her is her straightforward nature. We always talk about everything, and we don't hold back. Maybe waiting around is stupid-_

"If she's not mature enough to talk to you even after you apologized, then maybe you shouldn't talk to her either," Hermione shrugged. "It'd show her how it feels to be ignored." _But I'm the one who called her a useless piece of shit… I'm in the wrong here, no matter how I look at it._

"I don't want to talk about this with you," Ron put an end to the conversation. "I'll go talk to Harry now."

Hermione was left rather jarred by Ron's sudden shift in mood, and she said nothing as he left the Living Room. Within a few short seconds, Ron found himself standing in front of the twins' room. Out of courtesy, he knocked on the door. _Neville is keeping Ginny from being lonely, so I should make his life easier by dealing with Harry. Someone has to tell him that a lot of people are going out of their way to keep him alive._

"Leave me alone, Hermione," came Harry's annoyed voice.

"It's not Hermione," Ron said. "It's me… Ron."

After a few seconds of silence, the door slowly creaked open to reveal Harry's face. He looked… indifferent. _At least he's not glaring at me… That's called progress._

"What is it?" Harry asked shortly.

"I figured that we should talk before things escalate," Ron shrugged. "May I come in?"

"Escalate?" Harry blinked, and then, he adorned a more understanding look. "You noticed me staring at you, then…"

"Kind of hard to miss," Ron said.

"I didn't mean to stare at you specifically," Harry moved back, and Ron stepped into the room. "I just… I saw you, and that reminded me of everyone hiding things from me. I zoned out, and before I knew it, Hermione told me to stop 'glaring' at you. It was an accident."

"I see," Ron closed the door. "So you don't blame me for Remus' actions?"

"I… I don't know…" Harry sighed out as he walked over and sat down on his bed.

Ron looked around the twins' room with a nostalgic smile; he hadn't been in here for a long time. _I used to sit on George's bed while they fiddled around with their creations. Occasionally, they'd toss me sweets if I interrupted them by asking too many questions._

"Is there a reason why you're shutting Hermione out?" Ron asked as he leaned against the door.

"She sent you here?" Harry asked immediately.

"She did," Ron admitted. "But I'm also here because I don't want us to fight again. The last time you started staring at me, we both did some really stupid things."

"I… You're right, of course," Harry owned up to his past actions. "I'm not angry with you, per say, but I am angry about the fact that Remus…" he stopped abruptly.

"Talk to me, Harry," Ron urged him to go on, and Harry let out another sigh.

"I haven't seen him in over a week, and then he bursts in here looking like he did…" Harry shook his head, making sure to avoid eye contact. Why wouldn't he tell me about where he'd been? Why tell you instead of me?"

"He wanted to ask for my help," Ron told Harry, who quickly looked up at him. "Harry, I can't give you the specifics, but what I can tell you is that Remus loves you more than he loves me."

"What?" Harry blinked.

"That's what this is about, right?" Ron asked, and Harry looked a little too uncomfortable. _Push on, Ron._ "I'm not trying to be a prick here, Harry, but you're being jealous over nothing. Remus and Sirius love you more than they love anyone else. You're pretty much their son."

"Then why lie to me?" Harry all but whispered.

"Has it occurred to you that they want to protect you?" Ron asked.

"Lying doesn't protect me," Harry argued.

"That's because you're not trying to look at things from their perspective," Ron started. "Merlin, Harry… They love you, and they want to give you a happy childhood, but the Dark Lord himself is trying to hunt you down. Can you imagine the pressure that they must be under? How would you feel if the Dark Lord was trying to murder Neville instead of you? Would you not do everything in your power to protect him?"

"Of course I would, but I wouldn't lie to him," Harry said.

"No one has lied to you," Ron said. "None of us kids know what's really going on, so you're not the only one in the dark. If anything, most of the adult are thinking of you first."

"I just want to know what's going on," Harry said. "It's my life that's under threat-"

"No, **everyone's** life is under threat," Ron said bluntly. "Not just you, mate… Don't you remember what the Dark Lord did to me back in first year?"

Harry paled a little at the memory.

"The adults are right to keep us in the dark," Ron went on. "It's the right strategy, especially because certain wizards can read your mind. If we know too much, their lives are put in danger. The Order is clearly fighting all by itself, and if they get wiped out because of silly mistakes, then the Dark Lord wins. If **you** die, Harry, we all die. That's the brutal reality of our situation."

"Why me, though?" Harry muttered. "I don't even know why I'm so important…"

"Because you're the Boy-Who-Lived," Ron said as he thought of Dumbledore's words. "You survived **him** , and that gives a lot of people hope. You didn't grow up in the Wizarding World, so you don't fully understand how bad things were during the first war. Hell, even I didn't know until I started doing my research into the Old Families… Thousands dead, thousands missing, rape, torture, looting, mass persecutions… It was hell on Earth, Harry, and it only stopped when a toddler played a role in the Dark Lord's destruction. You're more important than you realize, and even if you hate that, you can't change it."

"I just want to help them, Ron," Harry seemed to have lost most of his anger. "I… I don't want other people to die for me… Like my parents did…" _Oh… Damn, I forgot that he has to live with something like that._

"If you want to help them, Harry, then you should learn from them," Ron said in a gentler tone. "Listen to what they're trying to tell you, and act accordingly. This behavior… Locking yourself away… This doesn't help anyone. Sirius is miserable right now according to Hermione, and he doesn't deserve that. All he wants is for you to be safe and happy."

"Hermione's exaggerating," Harry said sourly. "She always exaggerates everything."

"Have you gone outside and checked?" Ron asked, but Harry said nothing in response. "Maybe she's not exaggerating this time."

"I… I still don't want to go outside," Harry said.

"At some point, you'll have to talk to Sirius," Ron stated the obvious. "But sure… Take your time. Just think about our conversation when you talk to him, yeah? I promise you, mate; Sirius and Remus love you more than anything in this World. You're no longer living with your terrible Muggle relatives… You're living with two people who'll die before they let you get hurt."

At that, Ron turned to leave, but Harry quickly shot up to his feet, which made Ron turn back around. _What the hell was that?_

"Are you leaving?" Harry asked, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. _He doesn't want me to leave?_

"I've said my piece," Ron replied. "The rest is up to you, Harry."

"Do… Do you want to play some Chess?" Harry asked. _Huh? Where is this coming from?_ "I hate to admit this, but I'm really bored up here."

"But you don't want to go down and deal with other people just yet?" Ron asked, he himself knew that feeling all too well.

"It sounds stupid when you say it out loud…" Harry rubbed the back of his neck. _Fuck… Now I feel bad about leaving. But saying that, I still want to practice my Magic. I'm slacking off too much, and that can't stand._

"It doesn't sound stupid at all," Ron said.

"Really?"

"Really," Ron gave a nod. "Do you have your wand on you?"

"Yeah," Harry patted his pocket.

"Let's go to my room," Ron said. "I need to practice my Wandless Magic, and if you want, we can exchange knowledge."

"Exchange knowledge?" Harry snorted. "You mean study together?"

"Yeah."

"You talk in a really weird manner, Ron," Harry pointed out. _Do I? I mean, my vocabulary has improved a lot due to my surroundings, but I don't talk in a 'weird manner'._

"I've spent too much time around pompous Slytherins," Ron joked, which earned a weak chuckle from Harry. "So? Do you want to practice together?"

"Sure… That sounds like fun," Harry finally showed some semblance of happiness.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Almost Dinner)**_

"This is so frustrating," Harry finally snapped, and Ron let out a laugh. "This isn't funny, Ron! I haven't even managed to move it yet!"

"You have to be patient, mate," Ron sniggered, and then he made the parchment float up into the air with a wave of his hand.

"Now you're just showing off," Harry frowned at the floating parchment. _I am, but what can I say? It took a lot of work to get here, and it feels nice to show the fruits of my labor to a new set of eyes._ "Seriously, though… How much do you practice every day?"

"Depends," Ron shrugged. "I make sure to practice my Wandless Magic every night for at least an hour. I practice Dueling every second day for at least a couple of hours. And I train my body every single day."

"Why?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"I'm a crazy person," Ron replied, and Harry's lips twitched upwards.

"When do you study?" Harry asked.

"In between," Ron replied.

"And you still find time to do your other activities…" Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"Other activities?"

"The Quibbler, the Werewolf stuff, and becoming a Diplomat," Harry clarified. "God, Ron… It's no wonder that you have stress related problems."

"Yeah, things can get pretty hectic, but do you want to know a secret?" Ron asked, and Harry gave a nod. "You just get used to it."

"Really?"

"Really," Ron nodded. "It becomes natural to a person, you know? Like waking up and brushing one's teeth. Starting is the hardest part."

"Why did you start, then?" Harry asked. "Why do so much at once?" _Be careful here, Ron. Don't give away too much. Harry's a really sharp bastard, and he'll latch onto anything that sounds suspicious._

"I wanted to prove myself, I suppose," Ron replied, and Harry tilted his head slightly. "Um… How do I say this? I… I struggled early on in my life…" _Change the topic, Ron._

"Struggled?" Harry adorned a serious look.

"You've met my siblings, right?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded in understanding.

"You wanted to be more like them," Harry figured.

"I wanted to be better than them," Ron clarified. _Why am I telling him this? Am I really feeling that rejected? Was my hallucination right? Am I that desperate for affection?_

"Ron?"

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat, and his mind. "It doesn't matter… One day I woke up, and I decided to better myself." Ron then let out a mirthless chuckle. "Look where it got me…"

Harry gave him a sorry look, and Ron chose to ignore it. _Change the damn topic already!_ Ron summoned the floating piece of parchment into his gloved hand, while Harry quickly fixed up his expression.

"Hey, do you want to test out the P-12 with me tomorrow?" Ron asked.

"That big doll?" Harry asked.

"It's not a doll," Ron said petulantly, and Harry raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry… I just don't like people calling it a doll. It is a piece of art, pure and simple."

"I don't really know what it is, truth be told," Harry said.

"It's a training dummy, but it's built to train Aurors," Ron explained, and Harry's eyes lit up.

"Train Aurors?!" Harry asked, and Ron quickly felt his own excitement escalate. _Finally! Someone sees it for the amazing item that it is!_

"To become an Auror, you have to defeat it," Ron told Harry. "It's like a test for them, or something. This thing, Harry… Sweet Circe, it's beyond awesome! It fights with such skill and precision that if you fuck up for even a moment, it's going make you eat dirt!"

"Wicked," Harry muttered with a growing smile. "You've fought one before, I take it!"

"I have," Ron smirked. "And I've beaten it five times."

"Five times?" Harry blinked. "You've beaten something created for the sole purpose of training Aurors?"

"If you're patient, and very careful, you can beat it," Ron tried to sound casual, but some of his arrogance seeped through nonetheless.

"Have you lost to it?" Harry asked.

"About fifteen times…" Ron lost his smirk. _Each loss was more painful than the last._

"Five to fifteen," Harry said. "Not a very good score-"

"Hey, this thing is dangerous, all right?" Ron said defensively.

"I'm just pulling your leg," Harry chuckled. "Still… You actually beat this thing… Doesn't that make you Auror level?"

"No, it does not," Ron assured Harry. "Remember my bruises?"

"Oh."

"Yeah, that's what an Auror is capable of," Ron told Harry. "I didn't even manage to land a single hit on her, and she beat me into a mini coma."

Harry went to say something, but he was interrupted when the door swung open. Theo stepped in with a bored look on his face, but when he saw Ron, relief seemed to wash over him.

"You're here," Theo sighed out as he smiled a little. "I was worried that you were still running errands."

Theo then looked to Harry, and he immediately cocked an eyebrow.

"Um… I'll be on my way, I reckon," Harry stood up, which earned him a slightly confused look from Ron. _We were in the middle of a conversation… I'm guessing that Harry doesn't trust Theo._ "I'll see you at dinner, Ron."

"Right," Ron said as Harry quickly left the room.

"I seem to cut a lot of conversations short these days," Theo shook his head as he closed the door.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked.

"C'mon, mate… You know what I'm talking about," Theo walked over and sat down on his bed. "Bill, Charlie, Kirsten, Longbottom, and the adults are all right, but everyone else doesn't want me here."

"Well, I want you here, so the rest can go fuck themselves," Ron felt his temper flare. _Honestly, they're still stuck on House rivalry? A fucking war is breathing down our necks, and they still can't get over the fact that not everyone is a Gryffindor?_

"I'm not too bothered," Theo shrugged. "I know that they have reason to be wary around me."

"You're not your father," Ron stated.

"But I am my father's son, and that has to be recognized," Theo said, and Ron nodded slowly. _He seems to be doing much better now._

"How was your day?" Ron asked, trying his best to hide his insecure thoughts.

"Fucking dreadful," Theo flopped onto his side. _Huh?_ "Lord Greengrass can really drone on sometimes, you know?" _Oh, I know._

"Drone on about what?" Ron asked.

"He basically gave us a guide on how to behave in Slytherin from now on," Theo rolled his eyes. "At first, it wasn't so bad, but after two hours of him just going on and on about which Families we were allowed to associate with, I wanted to claw off my own face." Theo then sat back up. "You know what the funniest part about all of this was?"

"What?"

"At the end, he literally told us to do exactly as you say," Theo said, and Ron was quite taken aback. _Really? He said that? Despite not trusting me anymore?_ "After all that lecturing, it all boiled down to one simple instruction. 'Listen to Ronald, and if he tells you to do something, do it without question'. The other adults agreed with him, so you are **officially** our fearless leader from today onwards." _This doesn't make any sense._

"Are… Really?" Ron blinked. "Are you sure that he said that?"

"Why do you look so surprised?" Theo asked. "Everyone knows that the adults all think very highly of you, and it's not like you haven't earned their respect." Theo then adorned a look of understanding. _Shit, he figured it out, didn't he?_ "So you two really are fighting, then?"

"We're not fighting," Ron said quickly. "We're just… at odds…"

"That explains his eagerness to leave today," Theo said, and Ron waited for him to go on. "Around midday, Lord and Lady Greengrass gathered us up… All the other adults agreed to wait until you returned, but Lord Greengrass made a remark about you being 'ten steps ahead of everyone', and then he all but dragged us along with him." _Ten steps ahead of everyone? In what fucking World is that even remotely true? Most of the time, I just stumble from one fuck-up to the next._ "Daphne was the only one who tried to put up a fight in order to wait for you, but Lord Greengrass was having none of it."

"She wanted to wait for me?" Ron felt genuinely relieved to hear that. "Really?"

"Of course…" Theo replied slowly. "Ron? What's gotten into you? You usually don't sound like a little girl."

"Oi, fuck you," Ron frowned a bit. "I'm not a little girl… I'm just a little bothered by our distance."

"You miss being attached at the hip with her?" Theo sniggered.

"Yes," Ron replied bluntly, which stopped Theo's sniggering. _Why wouldn't I miss her? She's my best friend._

"It hasn't even been three days," Theo gave Ron an odd look. "Malfoy's right about you two… You've become a codependent organism."

"Yeah, well, you and Tracey aren't so different these days," Ron pointed out, and Theo gave Ron a dull look.

"Touché," Theo muttered under his breath. "Look, brother, just give her a few days, all right? You were a colossal prick to everyone, and although Blaise and I have gotten used to that side of you, the girls haven't really experienced it. They don't live with you, and you've never directed your anger at them like that before."

"I know, which is why I'm trying to stay out of her way," Ron sighed out. "But… Merlin, it's really getting to me…"

Theo looked a little uncomfortable, so Ron decided to man up. _He isn't my Mind-Healer, and he clearly doesn't know just how close Daphne and I are. Hell, he probably has no idea that Daphne acts like a toddler whenever we're alone together. I miss her antics…_

"Speaking of distance…" Theo started, and Ron broke out of his misery. "The adults don't want us to tell Blaise, Pansy, and Millie about the war. Something about their parents holding too much power over them."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Yeah… Tracey and Daphne started a fight with their parents, but in the end, they were shut down," Theo replied. "Apparently, if you're not spending your Break at the Burrow, you can't be trusted. Even Malfoy knows, but they still don't want us to warn our friends."

"Well, that's not happening," Ron stated bluntly. "I will tell them myself, and if anyone has a problem with it, they can reason to my cock."

"There he is," Theo smirked at Ron. "Our fearless leader." _Bloody hell, he only told me so I'd defy the adults' wishes, which means that none of them will have to._

Ron chucked his pillow at Theo's head, but Theo quickly caught it and added it to his own pile.

"This is mine now," Theo said triumphantly.

"If you don't give that back, I'll sneak into your bed tonight," Ron warned, and Theo immediately grimaced. "That's right, Theo… Either you return the pillow, or you come to terms with the fact that your farts will never make a sound again."

"Gross," Theo frowned as he tossed Ron his pillow back. "I'm going to ask your mother for a different room."

"You love it."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Midday)**_

Ron had somehow managed to convince most people in the Burrow to help him test out the P-12, and unsurprisingly, a lot of people were now supporting bruises and injured limbs. Daphne had figured that Bill, Charlie, or Kirsten would be able to take it down, but after seeing the P-12 beat Charlie into a fetal position, she had decided to never try her hand at Dueling it. According to Ron, this model was far deadlier than the one that he had previously faced, and everyone had agreed that this was due to it not being worn down.

"Stop! Stop!" Ron yelled at the P-12 as it kicked Bill across the face. _Gods! This thing is a monster!_

While all the other kids ran up to check on Bill, who was splayed out on the dirt with a dazed look, Daphne found herself staring at the 'faceless mannequin from hell'. She wasn't going to lie to herself, this thing scared the life out of her. It moved in a really creepy fashion, and it was not afraid of using its wooden limbs to inflict pain on its opponents. Potter had ended up with broken glasses, Granger had lost some of her hair, Longbottom had a knuckle shaped welt on his forehead, and both Tracey and Theo had cuts on their legs and arms from well-aimed Cutting Charms. As for Ron… Ron had taken the worst sorts of beatings from the P-12. Even now, he had fresh new bruises on his face, and he couldn't walk without limping.

"Don't move so much, Charlie," Kirsten tutted from Daphne's right, while Charlie winced as his girlfriend healed his cut lip.

"That thing is a fucking menace…" Charlie glowered. "A right fucking menace… It's no wonder that Ron waited for the adults to leave before he unleashed this thing on us."

"He's not forcing anyone to be here, so don't just blame him," Daphne spoke without thinking.

"She's right," Kirsten agreed. "You're the one who wanted to show off, Charlie."

"Didn't want to show off," Charlie muttered. "Just wanted to make sure that the hype behind this thing was real… Big fucking mistake…"

"C'mon, let's get you inside," Kirsten helped her boyfriend up. "Daphne, can you get everyone else? Tell them that until the adults come back from their shopping trip, I'm putting an end to this. Someone could get really hurt here."

"Ron's not going to listen to that instruction," Daphne said; she was partly glad that she didn't have to face the P-12 now. _I mean, I never had to, but everyone's having a go, so I can't just chicken out. It'd make me look like a coward, which I suppose I am when I think about it._

"Yeah… I can't do anything about him," Kirsten nodded. "Just tell the others, please."

Daphne gave a nod, and then she parted from Charlie and Kirsten. The adults were out shopping for school supplies because the Hogwarts Express was leaving on Sunday, and although Daphne was one of the children who wanted to go to Diagon Alley, the threat of a war had turned the adults into tyrants. _Tyrants who don't want us to warn our own friends… Well, I don't think Ron cares much about their opinions._

By the time she reached the others, Ron was already preparing the P-12 for another Duel. Bill was being fussed over by pretty much everyone except for the twins, who were too busy sniggering to each other about Bill's 'epic defeat'.

"Kirsten says that no one else is allowed to Duel the P-12 until the adults return," Daphne said in a matter-of-factly tone; she knew that her words were going to get Ron's attention.

"What?" Ron was the first to speak up.

"Thank Merlin," Tori let out a breath of relief.

"Did she say why?" Ron asked Daphne. _Bloody hell, I really want to sit down and talk to him about everything, but I need to hold on for a little longer. I really need the message to sink in. Wait… Did I just use the phrase 'bloody hell'? Gods, I'm turning into a Weasley!_

"She says that it's too dangerous," Daphne said shortly, her own thoughts had jarred and embarrassed her. _Daphne Weasley. It doesn't sound so bad, really. Stop! What are you thinking?! You're only thirteen!_

"Well, I concur," Bill rubbed his bright red jaw. "Ron, just pack that thing away, all right? It's too dangerous."

"What? It's perfect," Ron argued.

"Perfect for what?" Fred asked. "Ron, you should look in the mirror."

"You look like a pummeled grape," George added. "Oh, and you have some bruises on your face."

"You two are just trying to get out of training," Ron frowned at his older brothers.

"After seeing that thing beat the piss out of Bill and Charlie, we feel no shame in tucking our tails and running away," Fred shrugged, while George nodded his agreement.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," George started. "But Percy was smart to stay locked up in his room."

"I want to try my hand-" Ginny started.

"No, Ginny," Bill shut her down. "If you get hurt, mum will kill us all."

"Maybe we should just practice with each other?" Granger suggested. "What do you say, Ron?" _Ugh… She's been hovering around him all day. If I weren't so stubborn, I'd be clinging to Ron's arm right now as a show of dominance._

"You're going to let a few bruises and cuts stop you?" Ron asked everyone. "C'mon… The adults told us that we need to be prepared, and this thing is as good as it gets. Just keep at it, and you'll see improvements. I promise." _Not everyone has your threshold for pain, Ron… Plus, I don't want to see that thing throwing you around anymore._

"Sorry, Ron," Bill shook his head. "But I'm sticking with Kirsten on this… That thing is too dangerous, and none of you should be facing it alone."

"Then we can fight it in teams," Ron tried rather desperately, but Daphne knew that it was over.

The twins were already walking away, while Tori and Luna looked genuinely afraid of the P-12. Tracey and Theo were only sticking around because of Ron, but judging from their whispering, they had no intention of facing the P-12 again. Even Potter and Granger had a look of hesitation about them that mirrored Longbottom's.

"Sorry, Ron, maybe once we've had more practice," Longbottom said.

One by one, everyone began to follow Bill inside, all of them except for the Slytherins. Ron's face dropped rather visibly, and Daphne once again felt the urge to try and cheer him up. _Am I making things worse by keeping my distance? Maybe Ron's already learned his lesson, and we can start talking again? I mean, he's already apologized-_

"Forget the P-12," Ron started, breaking Daphne out of her thoughts. "What if we all just train together? Like we do at Hogwarts?"

"Sorry, Ron, but I'm in actual pain here," Tracey said apologetically. "I think I'll head inside and let Kirsten heal me before my parents come back."

"Same," Theo added at the end. "I think I twisted my ankle really badly."

Ron looked to Daphne for a split second, but before she could say something, he turned around and limped back to the P-12.

"I understand…" Ron said dejectedly. "I'll just train by myself, then…" _I feel ten times worse now…_

She wanted to volunteer just to make him feel better, but when she looked at the P-12's faceless figure, she found herself shrinking a little. She wanted to be brave enough to put herself through Dueling against the P-12 for Ron's sake, but sadly, she knew her limits. She wasn't a good Duelist, and this thing had no notion of mercy. _Even the Gryffindors don't want to fight it…_

"You coming?" Tracey whispered to Daphne, and Daphne nodded shamefully. _Sorry, Ron…_

"Do you need help, Theo?" Daphne asked as they began walking back towards the Burrow.

"I'll manage," Theo limped with a pained expression. "I really hope he doesn't bring that thing to Hogwarts with him. Maybe we should've bought him something less… monstrous."

"Did you see his face?" Tracey whispered, a hint of guilt in her voice. "He looked so put down just then… I know that we have reason not to Duel that thing, but I feel really bad now. Maybe once we get healed up, we can come back and join him?"

"Do you really want to?" Theo asked, and Tracey rubbed the back of her neck. "Look… There's no point in feeling bad about leaving… We're not like him when it comes to this sort of stuff. He gets that, trust me."

"Are you sure?" Tracey asked, and Theo nodded.

"Though I will say this…" Theo started. "He's been acting off…"

"Off?" Daphne rejoined the conversation.

"I can't say for certain, but I think we hurt his feelings by not waiting for him yesterday," Theo explained. _Damn you, father, I told you to wait for him._ "He didn't say this outright, mind you, but I just got the feeling that he felt left out."

"Why is your father distancing himself from Ron?" Tracey asked. "I know why you're being distant, but what's your father's problem?"

"I have no idea," Daphne frowned a little. "I tried to ask him, but he all but ignored me. Truth be told, he's been getting on my nerves lately. Sure, he's helping me with my business plans, but at the same time, his mind is focused on something else. Even mother pointed out that he's not being himself right now." _What did Ron and my father talk about in the orchard? Father won't tell me, and knowing Ron the way I do, he won't either._

As they neared the Burrow, Daphne shot one last look back at Ron. He was using his wand to heal his own knee, and Daphne's legs stopped working on their own.

"What is it?" Tracey followed her gaze.

"He's not going to stop fighting that thing," Daphne sighed out. "Sooner or later, he'll get genuinely hurt."

"Are you going to go talk him out of it?" Theo asked.

"He won't give up until he beats that thing," Daphne replied. "You two go on ahead… I'll keep an eye on him."

"You sure?" Tracey asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Daphne replied. _It's not like I'm hurt, or anything. Plus, I feel horrible for leaving him out there alone._

Tracey and Theo went inside without another word, while Daphne began making her way back towards Ron. It was quite cold outside, but she had dressed warmly enough that she didn't mind staying outside. _Not to mention that I can cast the Warming Charm on myself because Ron got me that Magic Permit. I can't help but question the timing of the Magic Permit as well. He got one for everyone, and he did it before the adults told us about the war. Was father right about Ron being 'ten steps ahead of everyone'? If so, what's Ron 'ahead' in? It's clear that he's known about the war ever since first year, he hasn't really hidden that from us, but a lot of his actions prove that he wasn't just making guesses-_

"Daphne, what are you doing?" came Ron's voice, and Daphne realized that she had walked right up to the P-12.

"Oh," Daphne muttered as she quickly stepped away from the P-12. "I just thought that I'd stick around… Heal your injuries in between your Duels… Is that all right?" _Put some more conviction into your words, Daphne. You're not a meek little moron._

"You want to heal my injuries?" Ron looked quite taken aback. "Are you sure?"

"Are you going to stop fighting that thing?" Daphne put some steel in her voice.

"Not until I disarm it without the use of Wandless Magic," Ron replied.

"Then I'll stay," Daphne walked over and sat down on the outskirts of the created 'arena'.

Ron gave her an odd look, but he didn't argue with her. Instead, he tested out his knee, and once he was sure that he could move around again without limping, he walked over to the P-12.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Late Afternoon)**_

The P-12 moved right into Ron's face, and before Ron could react, the P-12 smashed its wooden elbow into Ron's upper lip. A half-muffled scream, and a spurt of blood, was all Ron heard and saw before he felt his back hit the ground. Not too far away, he could hear Daphne yelling at the P-12 to stop, but instead of stopping, the Auror Trainer pinned Ron's throat to the ground as it aimed its wand in-between Ron's eyes.

"Stop…" Ron ordered, and the P-12 immediately became lifeless.

A strangled cough escaped Ron's mouth, his face felt like it was on fire. _I fucking lost again…_ Exhaustion was doing a number on him, but out of Weasley stubbornness, Ron refused to use Wandless Magic against the P-12. If he couldn't beat a damn dummy without relying on Wandless Magic, how was he going to defeat even a single Death-Eater?

"Ron! Are you okay?!" Daphne dropped onto her knees by his side.

Ron groaned, and then, he spat out some blood from his mouth. Daphne let out a little squeak as she tried to grab onto his arms.

"I'm okay…" Ron muttered as he tried to sit up. _Nope… Don't have it in me to sit up…_

He dropped back onto the dirt rather unceremoniously; there wasn't a single part of him that wasn't aching. His face was battered, despite Daphne healing him as best as she was able, and Ron didn't even want to think about the bruises that he had on his body. His white Training Outfit was now stained with dirt and sweat, and he was certain that he smelled like a freshly used toilet.

The others had stopped coming out to see his progress over an hour ago, mostly because whenever they did come out, they saw the P-12 beating Ron mercilessly. They all no doubt thought that he was insane, and at this point, Ron had half a mind to agree with them. _Can't give, Ron… Get up and try again…_

"Ron? Can you hear me?" Daphne shook him lightly, but even that caused pain to shoot up his entire body.

"Yes… Please don't shake me…" Ron groaned, and Daphne quickly let go of his arms.

"Ron, please stop," Daphne pleaded. "What's the point of this? You're just hurting yourself."

"I'm improving," Ron said. "Didn't you see that last fight? I landed three separate Spells on it-"

"Your lip is cut open," Daphne sounded like she was in an equal amount of pain. "Please! Stop fighting that thing!"

Through some ungodly source of willpower, Ron pushed his body back onto its feet. _Next time it moves at me, I'll react faster. I can see its pattern now. It uses powerful Spells to put me on the defensive, and as soon as I get used to its assault, it changes its tactics completely. I'm definitely getting better at this. I even landed a few Spells on it._

"Not yet…" Ron swayed from side-to-side; his ears were ringing. "I'm getting closer, Daphne… I'm going to win soon… Just you watch."

"I don't want to watch anymore!" Daphne shot up to her feet, her face twisting in anger. "There is no point to this! You're handicapping yourself on purpose! It's like you enjoy being used as a punching bag!"

"If I can't beat that thing without Wandless Magic, then I need to practice fighting it without Wandless Magic," Ron said. "It's how you improve at something, Daphne."

"Improve? All I see is you getting hurt over and over again!" Daphne stomped her foot. "Please… Please, stop. Do this tomorrow, okay?"

"You don't get it," Ron shook his head clear, his vision was slowly starting to return to normal.

"What don't I get?" Daphne asked. "Tell me, Ron."

"If I can't beat the P-12, then what chance do I stand against an actual Death-Eater?" Ron asked her, and she blinked at him. "All the people who left at the first sign of struggle… They learnt nothing from their experience against the P-12. They just gave up and left… I don't give up. I'll win, and until I do, I'll keep fighting that thing."

"Of all the people I could've befriended, I chose the most idiotic one," Daphne sighed out, her expression softening a little. "At least let me heal your lip…"

"Okay," Ron decided to accept the help. _My face does hurt a lot right now._

"Sit back down," Daphne said, and Ron slowly sat down and crossed his legs. "Episkey."

Ron winced as he felt his face heat up, but he quickly relaxed as the pain shooting across his mouth began to disappear. _Oh, that's so much better._ Oddly enough, Ron was rather grateful for his injuries. Daphne was probably still upset with him for acting like a prat, but the fact that she had stayed behind in the cold just to fix him up meant the world to Ron.

"Thanks," Ron whispered.

"Don't talk," Daphne said. "I'm not very good with this Spell, and I don't want to make things worse."

Silence fell over them, and the moment Daphne dropped her wand, Ron checked his lip with his left hand. It was mended, but there was blood left behind from the cut. Daphne pulled out her dirtied handkerchief, which she promptly used to clean his lips. _That handkerchief was perfectly white an hour ago._

"There…" Daphne said weakly.

"Thank you," Ron tried to give her a smile, but she still looked dreadful. "Please don't look like that, Daph…"

"We're not going to be fighting Death-Eaters, Ron," Daphne all but whispered. "We're children… The adults will fight this war, while we'll be kept safe and sheltered. That's what father told us yesterday."

"I really hope that happens," Ron said. "But… We could get attacked. I know that none of you want to think about that, but it's a very real possibility. I'm just trying to be ready for anything and everything."

"Why you?" Daphne asked. "You should be the one who's resting, Ron."

"If we do get attacked, I have people who I have to protect," Ron stated. "People like you…"

Daphne sat down by his side, her shoulder bumping against his. _Maybe I'll just sit around for a bit. Take a small break, you know._

"This isn't training, though," Daphne whispered. "No one else is pushing themselves this hard…"

"Which is why I have to," Ron said, and Daphne studied his face. "It's hard to explain…"

"Try," Daphne said.

"I…" Ron started, but he quickly stopped. "I'm not good with this sort of stuff…"

"I know, but please try anyway," Daphne urged. "Tell me what's going on in your head, Ron. I've tried to decipher your thoughts, but I just can't. I can't keep being distant to you because it's driving me insane… So please, just talk to me."

"Wait… You're being distant because you're trying to figure me out?" Ron asked, he was left quite confused by that. "I thought that you were angry with me for being a prick."

"I am angry with you for calling me a 'useless piece of shit'," Daphne huffed, and Ron immediately felt guilty. "But my anger isn't the only reason why I'm struggling to be around you. I just want some answers, Ron… All the things that you've worked for… All of them are focused on this war in one way or another. I don't know what to think about that. I don't know what to think about you."

Ron looked down at his lap, and after a few seconds of thinking, he decided to tell Daphne about some rather personal thoughts.

"Do you remember when I woke up from my coma?" Ron asked, and Daphne nodded. "Well… I had a lot of visitors during that time. My Family, Dumbledore, your father… People just kept showing up."

"Dumbledore visited you?" Daphne couldn't help but ask.

"He did," Ron replied. "But it wasn't really to make sure that I was still alive… He wanted me to hide the truth about my attack."

"Oh," Daphne remembered that Snape had made them stay silent as well.

"My father, your father, and Dumbledore all instructed me to never discuss the attack with anyone," Ron said. "At first, I thought they were being foolish, but now, I understand why they wanted me to stay quiet. Unlike me, they understood how our World worked, and they all knew that if I told people about the Dark Lord still being alive, it would only aid the Dark Lord. His loyal followers would flock to his side out of fear, while the rest of the World would call me a liar for the very same reason."

"I was so fucking angry at the time," Ron went on, and Daphne tangled their arms together. "Here I was… Scarred and crippled for life, but the adults all wanted to hide the truth. It sickened me, and eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. **He** was still out there, and as far as I knew, no one was doing anything about it, so I decided that I'd do something about it. I started running more distance, I started practicing my Spellwork more often, I sat myself down and read through my textbooks, and I even pushed myself to be the best at everything that I tried. I figured that if I could become strong enough, I could do something about the Dark Lord. But then… Then my sister got possessed by a version of **him** , and I got Petrified in less than five minutes…"

"Is that why you became so focused on winning the Chess Tournament?" Daphne asked as she squeezed his arm. "You kept saying that you don't lose…"

"Isn't it pathetic?" Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "All I do is lose, Daph… I mean, just look at me right now. I'm hurt, I'm dirty, and I've spent most of my day being thrown around by a dummy."

"You don't just lose, Ron," Daphne said softly. "That's not true at all."

"I've run into the Dark Lord twice, and both times, I didn't even stand a chance," Ron shook his head. _You really are living garbage, Ron._ "When it really mattered, Daphne, I came up short. The French. Corban Yaxley. The Veelas. The P-12. Pansy…" Daphne adorned a sorry look. "I keep coming up short over and over again, and I can't take it anymore… I'll break every bone in my body if I have to, but I won't keep coming short anymore. Everything I've done since the end of my first year has been to try and accomplish something of note, but now, I'm just trying to survive long enough to make sure that you all get to have a future."

He knew that his words were going to hurt her, but she had asked for the truth, and he was going to give her a version of it that was believable. Sure, he was leaving out the Entity, and his visions, but the way he felt about everything… That was all real.

"I know that you'll never go head to head with the P-12," Ron said, and Daphne looked slightly ashamed. "You're scared of it… Everyone is scared of it."

"And you?" Daphne whispered.

"I'm terrified of it, but if I don't keep trying, then everything I've done so far will have been for nothing," Ron said. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I've got a very small amount of time left… I have decided to use that time to leave the World a better place than I found it. I understand that you, and the others, can't figure out why I think like this, but maybe one day, when you're all old and grey, you'll have similar thoughts. When you're running out of time, you'll see the World as I see it now."

Ron then stood back up, and Daphne followed suit.

"I'll beat this thing," Ron promised himself.

"And if you can't?"

"Then I'll keep trying," Ron replied. "I'll try over and over again… I'll get knocked down over and over again… But eventually, I'll defeat it. Eventually, I'll win." Ron then looked towards the Burrow. "You can go back inside if you want, Daph. It's pretty cold out today, and I'll never hold it against you. I'm… I'm just really glad that we talked a little… I can't even begin to explain just how much I've missed you."

Daphne hugged him from the side, and a weak smile immediately graced his face. _She hugged me… Is she finally ready to forgive me?_

"No more distance?" Daphne asked.

"No more distance," Ron felt a million times better already. "Do you understand now why I do the things that I do?"

"I do," Daphne squeezed him lightly. "You want to help other people. I'll be over by the edge, okay? You can't afford to waste your Magic on healing yourself. Let me take care of that."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **December, 1993 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

The adults had returned, and just as he had predicted, they had tried to force him to stop, but their demands had fallen on deaf ears. Ron had even ignored Pandora's pleas, which had been almost as difficult as fighting the P-12. Ron knew that if he used Wandless Magic, he could probably best the P-12 due to how powerful some of his Wandless Spells were, but that wouldn't sit right with him. He had to beat this thing with a wand. He had to beat this thing at its own game.

"Begin!" Ron ordered, and the P-12 came to life.

It immediately began a barrage of Non-Verbal stunners and Disarming Charms, but Ron managed to dodge the onslaught just in the nick of time. His bones were aching, his face was covered with sweat and bruises, but he willed himself to move nonetheless. Fighting the P-12 all day had taught Ron one simple thing… If he lost his patience, he was going to get destroyed. _Madam Roberts was dead right. My anger should fuel my Magic, but it should never hinder my thinking. Stay focused, Ron, and keep breathing._

"Protego!" Ron chanted as the P-12 fired a Reductor Curse at Ron, and as soon as it shattered on his shield, Ron shoved the shield forward. _Watch the colors of the Spells, and act accordingly._

The P-12 sliced through the oncoming shield, and Ron decided to put the P-12 on the defensive.

"Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Flipendo, Confringo!" Ron chanted, making sure to keep his movements as fluid as possible. _It'll be forced to block the Exploding Curse, and that's when I'll try to close the distance._

Sadly for Ron, the P-12 dodged the first three Spells, but instead of blocking the Exploding Curse, it parried the fiery orange Spell. _Damn. Go back to being-_ He barely managed to dodge the Stinging Jinx aimed for his head, and in an effort to recover his footing, he put up a Non-Verbal shield. It turned out to be the right move, because as soon as he cast it, a yellow Hex exploded against his shield, leaving behind a mucus-like mess. _I can't see the P-12!_ Ron shoved his snotty shield forward, but the P-12 sliced through it as it tried to close the distance. _It's trying to charge me already?_

"Molliare!" Ron cast the Cushioning Charm at the P-12's feet, causing the Auror Trainer to lose its balance on the softened dirt and roll onto the ground.

"Go, Ron!" came Daphne's cheer from the back.

"Baubillious!" Ron fired yellow-white electricity from his wand, and the P-12 barely managed to block it in time. _It put up a shield. This one's for you, Blaise._ "Aguamenti! Glacius!"

The P-12's shield was left covered in a thin sheet of ice, while the ground under its feet was soaked with water. Ron fired a Non-Verbal stunner at the shield, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces. _Please let this strategy work!_ While the P-12 tried to stand back up, Ron started firing all manners of Hexes and Jinxes at it, essentially forcing it to raise another shield. _I got you now, bitch!_

"Baubillious!" Ron fired electricity at the wet ground right in front of the P-12's shield, electrifying the very ground.

The P-12's wooden body seized up and jerked, its wooden joints clanking as its feet got fried.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron waved his wand, making all the frozen shards of thin ice rise up into the air. "Depulso!"

The P-12's weakened shield was bombarded by sharp shards of ice, and some shards even managed to tear through and chip away at the P-12's body.

"Confringo!" Ron chanted, and the Curse exploded on the P-12's shredded shield, causing the dummy to go rolling backwards. "Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Flipendo! Immobulus!"

Despite the beating, the P-12 still managed to keep rolling in an effort to dodge Ron's well-aimed Spells. _This bastard! I need to pin it down before it gets back up!_

"Herbivicus!" Ron caused the roots within the Earth to seize the P-12, and the moment it got snared, Ron fired a Non-Verbal stunner right into its side.

The P-12 didn't even budge from its spot due to the roots, and for a moment, Ron felt like his Non-Verbal stunner had been too weak to shut down the P-12, but after a second of utter silence, Ron felt relief wash over him like a bucket of ice-cold water. He had won… He had finally won! Ron bent forward as he released a very odd sound, one that was part relief and part joyous laughter. _I WON! I didn't use even one Wandless Spell! I defeated the Auror Trainer with just my wand!_

"I did it!" Ron threw his head back and yelled, his triumphant declaration echoing all around him.

His wand slipped out of his hand, and it felt as if some outside force had drained all the strength from his limbs. Exhaustion hit him harder than any Spell from the P-12, and the last thing Ron saw was the cold ground before he landed face-first into the dirt.

* * *

 _ **An Unknown Amount of Time Later**_

Faint whispers around him woke him up, and Ron immediately noticed the head of blonde hair to his right. _Is she sitting on my bed? Wait… Bed?_ Ron shifted a little, which confirmed that he was indeed in his bed. Without giving it much thought, Ron sat up and looked around. He was in his room, and his Slytherin friends were all sitting around him. Daphne was sitting on his bed, while Tracey and Theo were listening to her Walkman on Theo's bed.

"Ron! You're awak-" Tracey started, but then she stopped abruptly.

Her eyes travelled down to his torso, and a rather creepy smile graced her face. _What is she looking at?_ Ron looked down, and he realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. _What the fuck?!_ Ron pulled up his blanket before giving Daphne a panicked look.

"What's going on here?" Ron asked, while Daphne shot Tracey a glare.

"Stop being a creep, Tracey," Daphne huffed. _Answer me! Am I naked?!_

Ron looked under the blanket, and much to his horror, he was only wearing a pair of boxers. _Agh! Who undressed me?!_

"Where are my clothes?" Ron asked as he cocooned himself with his blanket.

"In the wash," Theo replied, he didn't look too pleased with Tracey's ever-growing grin. "Good thing too because you smelled dreadful."

"He didn't smell that bad," Daphne clicked her tongue.

"Will someone please explain what's happening here?" Ron asked, his face flushing a little. "Did you… Did you lot undress me?"

"What? No," Daphne replied quickly.

"Not that we would mind doing such a thing," Tracey added, and Daphne seemed to twitch from irritation.

"I would mind," Ron muttered. "Who undressed me? And why?"

"The adults undressed you in order to heal your injuries," Theo explained. "Mrs. Davis, Lady Greengrass, and your mother, to be specific. Mrs. Lovegood and Lady Greengrass then healed you up, while your mother took your dirty clothes to the laundry. Mrs. Davis kept everyone away in order to give you some privacy-"

"So all the women saw me naked?!" Ron's ears turned red. "Why?! Wait… Mrs. Davis?"

"Oh, mum and dad know about your scars," Tracey told him. "I swear that I didn't tell them, though… Your parents told them, I think."

"Of course they did," Ron frowned deeply. _I'm guessing that Mr. and Mrs. Davis are officially a part of their gossip group now._ "Can you please give me some privacy? I want to put on some clothes."

"You're not allowed to move about," Daphne said.

"Don't you dare put on a shirt," Tracey added.

"Tracey, I will stab you," Daphne warned.

Ron looked to Theo, who simply shrugged with a bored look.

"Lady Greengrass said that you need time to rest your muscles," Theo told Ron. "You were pretty banged up, mate. It took Mrs. Lovegood and Lady Greengrass almost an hour to heal you up."

"This is so embarrassing," Ron mumbled to himself. _Not only did Pandora see me naked, but so did Mary and Mrs. Davis. And mum… Merlin, she's definitely going to say something cringe inducing to me when I see her next. Wait… Mary saw me naked before Daphne could… That's very fucked up, isn't it?_

Ron shot a quick look at Daphne, who was currently eyeballing Tracey, and he felt his face heat up. _I need clothes, and I need them right now._

"Theo, grab me something to wear before someone else walks in," Ron said.

"No one's coming in here," Theo told him. "Your parents banned visitation hours, and we're only here because Daphne put up a fuss."

"It wasn't a fuss," Daphne said defensively. "Someone had to watch over him, didn't they? What if something went wrong?"

"Yes, I'm sure that was your intention," Theo drawled, and then he looked back to Ron. "Anyway, mate… Since you're up, I need to go tell your mother. She asked me to alert her so she could heat up some soup for you."

"What's the time?" Ron asked.

"Nearly midnight, I think," Theo replied.

"It's that late?" Ron was shocked. "Girls, why are you still here?"

"We're watching over you," Daphne replied, and once again, Theo gave Ron a bored look.

"Right…" Ron said.

"I'll go get your mother, yeah?" Theo stood up.

"Tracey, could you go with him?" Daphne asked.

"Oh…" Tracey looked visibly disappointed. "Sure…"

"C'mon, pervert," Theo rolled his eyes, and they both made their way out of the room.

The moment the door closed behind them, Ron relaxed considerably.

"Your mother saw me naked…" Ron sighed out.

"I'd rather not think about that," Daphne said, and then she scooted closer to him. "How do you feel?"

"Well, I'm not in any pain, so that's always a good thing," Ron sat up, his blanket dropping to his hips.

Daphne immediately started staring at his torso, but Ron didn't really mind that. As Ron tried to remember how he had ended up mostly naked in his bed, he remembered that he had defeated the P-12.

"I beat the P-12," Ron slowly started to smile. "Daph! Did you see me?! I beat it!"

"I saw, Ron," Daphne smiled because of his smile. "You were absolutely brilliant."

"Really?" Ron felt a little embarrassed for some reason. "Thanks, Daph…" _I didn't lose my temper, nor did I make silly mistakes. I was in control the whole time! I can't wait to tell Madam Roberts about this!_

"Everyone asked me about your victory, by the way," Daphne scooted even closer.

"Did they?"

"Your brothers were in disbelief," Daphne replied. _Merlin, she's really close now._ "Even the Trio were shocked that you actually managed to beat it."

"And the adults?" Ron asked.

"Lord Black was far too proud, while the others were mostly just relieved that you were all right," Daphne replied. "My father included."

"Oh…" Ron muttered. _Of course she's noticed the distance between us._ "He and I aren't on good terms right now, I think."

"I know," Daphne put her palm on his left cheek, her thumb caressing his freckles.

Ron leaned into her touch without thinking, his eyes closing as he smelled her perfume. _She smells amazing._

"I spoke to him for you," Daphne said, and Ron's eyes opened immediately.

"Pardon?" Ron stared at her.

"I told him what you told me, and judging from the look on his face, he doesn't feel very proud of himself," Daphne explained. "He should've told you why everyone was asking you to lie, Ron."

"He sort of did," Ron whispered. "I was just too stubborn to listen to him."

"I think I know what he talked to you about, now," Daphne said. "He asked why you were preparing for the war before the adults told us about it, right?"

"Yeah," Ron admitted.

"Well, now he knows why you act the way you do," Daphne said. "Knowing him, he'll never admit that he's been acting like a prat to you, but he won't keep ignoring you now."

"Really?" Ron asked, and Daphne gave him a nod. "That's… Thank you, Daphne." _I doubt that he's fully convinced, but at least he won't question my character as openly._

Daphne's hand slowly moved down from his cheek, and it stopped when it reached his collarbone. _Um… What's this?_ She then put her free hand on his right bicep, and when she gave his arm a squeeze, Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Um… What are you doing?" Ron asked. "Daph… You're touching my scars…"

"Does it still bother you?" Daphne asked, her hand coming off of his bicep.

"I don't know," Ron replied. "It just feels weird, that's all."

"Sorry," Daphne brought her hands down to her lap. "Don't laugh at me, but ever since our fight, I've been feeling really miserable. Like a part of me wasn't there anymore…"

"That's… a very cliché thing to say," Ron smirked, and Daphne huffed in indignation.

"I was trying to say that I missed you," Daphne said. "Prat."

"I missed you too," Ron smiled properly. "Like a lot." _Should I kiss her? I mean, we just had a fight-_

Daphne leaned forward and gave him a peck on his lips, effectively shutting down Ron's thoughts.

"I'd give you a proper kiss, but I don't want your mother walking in on us," Daphne whispered as she bumped her forehead against his. "Plus, you're not wearing a shirt, so she'd assume the worst."

"We can have one proper kiss, I'm sure," Ron whispered, but just as he leaned in, Tracey and Theo burst into the room.

Daphne moved away immediately, while Ron fought the urge to pout. _I hate this World, and every cunt in it._

"Your mother is on her way," Theo told Ron. "Thought I'd give you two a warning."

"Abs," Tracey grinned, and Ron pulled up his blanket. "Too late! I saw them, and I'll never forget this! Pansy will be so jealous!"

"This is sexual harassment," Ron pointed out, but Tracey just shrugged without a care.

"Ronnie?" Molly walked into the room; there was a large bowl of hot soup floating behind her. _She's wearing her pajamas. Damn, did she wake up just to bring me something to eat?_ "How do you feel, love? Are you in any pain?"

"No, mum," Ron replied as the bowl of soup floated onto his study table. "Thank you for the soup, and I'm sorry if you woke up just on my account."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Molly rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to go back to sleep, all right? There's plenty more on the stove, so if you get hungry, just go down and pour yourself some more."

"Good night, mum," Ron said.

"Daphne, Tracey… Do you want me to set you up in Ginny's room?" Molly asked the girls.

"We'll be heading home now, Mrs. Weasley," Daphne replied. "Thank you for the offer, but father is no doubt waiting for us."

"Good night, then," Molly left the room with a loud yawn.

"Are you really leaving?" Ron asked Daphne.

"Want me to sleep in your bed, do you?" Daphne smirked playfully. _Um… Yes, please._ "C'mon, Trace… Let's not keep father waiting any longer."

"Bye, boys," Tracey waved as they both began to head out.

"Finish that soup, Ron," Daphne said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Ron forced himself to not smile like an idiot.

Once the girls were gone, Theo shut and locked the door.

"You two made up, then?" Theo asked as he walked over to his trunk.

"Yeah, I think so," Ron got out of his bed. _I'm starving. What kind of soup did mum make me?_

"That's good," Theo said as he pulled out a small box from his trunk. "This is for you, brother. Lady Greengrass gave it to me after I told her that you were having trouble sleeping."

"Huh?" Ron turned to face Theo. "You told Mary that I was-"

"It's for your own good, Ron," Theo cut in. "You've been looking terrible recently, and sleep clearly helps you get your head on straight. So, here you are. A box full of Sleeping Draught vials."

"I… Thanks," Ron accepted the box, which he promptly placed on the study table. _Chicken soup. Nice. There are some bits of meat in there for a change._

"Now, put on a shirt you chiseled fuck," Theo said, and Ron shot him a grin.

"Tracey didn't seem to mind-"

"I hate you."

* * *

 _ **Severus Snape's POV**_

 _ **Friday 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **January , 1994 (Headmaster's Office – Midday)**_

Fawkes brought them into the Headmaster's Office, and his fellow Professors quickly surrounded him.

"Look who I found in the wilderness," Albus chuckled, while Snape clenched his jaw. _He wasn't lying about the surprise party… Damn this old man, and his never-ending jokes._

"Welcome back, Severus," Minerva greeted him with a smile, while Hagrid patted his back.

"Good to have you back, Severus," Vector beamed as Pomona hugged his side. _Get off me. Why are they touching me in the first place?_ "Your hair's gotten much longer, I see." _Yes, I grew it with my new wand._

"I'll take yer things down for you, okay?" Hagrid picked up Snape's trunk. "Don't you be lifting a finger now, you hear me?"

"I hear you," Snape said icily, his eyes scanning the happy faces around him. _Everyone but Trelawney is here. Really, Albus? You had to pull this off?_

"Good to see you on your feet, Snape," Lupin gave him a half-smile.

"Yes, I'm sure that you're glad to have your supplier of the Wolfsbane Potion back," Snape drawled. "We wouldn't want you mauling some student now, would we?"

"That would be bad," Lupin agreed, ruining Snape's mood even more.

"Prickly as always," Filius chuckled. "It's really good to see you on your feet again, Severus. Welcome home."

Snape shifted his weight onto his walking cane, but he didn't say anything. Truth be told, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't really friendly with any of these people, except for the Heads of Houses, so seeing them all waiting around just to see him made him feel very uncomfortable.

"I will be in my lab," Snape began limping for the door, but Pomona grabbed onto his arm.

"Nonsense," she all but dragged him towards a chair. "I made cake! We've all been waiting for you to come back!" _Gods, end my existence._

With Pomona's 'help', Snape sat down on a chair, while Madam Hooch and Madam Pince rolled a cauldron shaped cake towards him.

"See? It's a cauldron," Pomona smiled down at him.

Snape looked to Albus, and he found the old wizard all but grinning at him. _This was all your idea, wasn't it?_

"Hagrid, did you bring the knife?" Minerva asked, and Hagrid quickly pulled out a massive blade from his belt.

"Am I cutting a cake, or slaughtering a cow?" Snape frowned a little.

"Slaughtering a cow, he says," Hagrid laughed loudly. "I missed yer sense o' 'umor, Professor." _Sense of humor? How dare you?_

"Go on, Severus," Albus smiled at him. "Cut enough for everyone." _I'll cut your damn throat if you keep pushing me._

Hagrid handed Snape the blade, and it was so heavy that he nearly dropped the damn thing. _I'm still not used to this prosthetic._ He could see certain individuals eying his gloved hands, but Snape chose to ignore them. Unlike Ron, Snape had decided to wear gloves on both of his hands in order to hide the fact that he was missing a hand. With genuine effort, and a hint of hatred, he began slicing the cake into precise piece. _Damn this cake's spherical shape. I'm not going to be able to separate it into even pieces._

"It's not one of your ingredients, Severus," Minerva said. "It doesn't have to be perfect."

"Then why don't you do it?" Snape shot her a frown.

"Well, it's your cake," she smirked at him. _She knows that I hate this. Are all of them here just to annoy me?_

After cutting nearly seven pieces, Snape felt his arms begin to shake. _I can't hold onto this machete any longer._ Snape let out a grunt as he dropped the blade onto the table, his breathing becoming somewhat erratic because of the pain.

"I'll do the rest," Hagrid volunteered, he sounded rather guilty. _Bring an actual knife next time, you oaf._

"Gather around everyone," Albus said. "Let's catch Severus up on everything that's been going on." _This old bastard…_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Did you enjoy wasting an hour of my day?" Snape hissed at Albus, who was still eating cake.

The others had all left to go about their duties, but Snape knew that when he came down for dinner, they were going to corner him again. _Minerva seemed particularly chatty for a change. Maybe I should skip dinner? I'm sure that my lab is in utter chaos without my care, and I still need to sort out ingredients before the students arrive._

"This was hardly a waste," Albus smiled. "You really should have a slice, Severus. Pomona is a brilliant baker."

"I don't eat cake," Snape said. _I haven't eaten cake since Mrs. Evans baked me one for my fifteenth birthday._

"Is that why you're so bitter?" Albus chuckled. "A lack of sugar?"

"Has your old age finally started catching up with you?" Snape frowned. "Is that why you're annoying me? Trying to get my attention?"

"What can I say? I've missed your company," Albus admitted freely.

Snape drew in a deep breath, and once his Occlumency had calmed down his mind, he decided to move on.

"Has Amelia Bones reached out to you yet?" Snape asked.

"No, she has not," Albus put the plate down.

"Should you not reach out to her, then?" Snape asked. "What if she's warned her superiors?"

"We'd be in Azkaban right now if she had told Cornelius," Albus stated.

"So we just wait around?" Snape didn't like the sound of that.

"I'm going to give her a few more days," Albus said calmly. "We've just uprooted her World, Severus. She's entitled to a bit more time."

"We don't have time," Snape countered. "Even right now, the Dark Lord is gathering his power."

"And we are gathering ours," Albus said. "I have spoken to a few more people about what's to come, and they have all agreed to stand by the Order."

"Who?"

"Muriel Prewett, Lord and Lady Abbot, and an old friend of mine from Russia," Albus replied. _Old friend from Russia?_

"Which old friend?" Snape asked.

"Luka Yahontov," Albus replied, and Snape was quite taken aback. _Russia's poster boy?_

"The Russian Head Auror has agreed to join us?" Snape asked.

"He came to me yesterday," Albus explained. "He was concerned about Russian Officials going missing in the dead of night, and he told me that he suspected the old Death-Eaters to be behind this."

"Why would he assume that?"

"He is as sharp as always," Albus said. "All the Officials who have gone missing were openly opposing the implementation of certain Laws. Laws that were created solely for the benefit of the Pure Families of Russia. His investigation into these missing Officials was stonewalled by Samara Ivanov herself."

"The Russian Minister," Snape rubbed his chin. "From what I can remember, the Dark Lord had a protégé within Russia during the last war. This protégé was a woman of means, but none of us knew her name. Well, I didn't know her name… But I think the Dark Lord's closest did. This protégé smuggled resources directly from Russia to Malfoy Manor, and the Dark Lord spoke highly of her."

"Samara Ivanov's history with the Dark Arts is well-known," Albus said. "I believe that Lord Voldemort has reached out to his old protégé, and she's been making people disappear for him. Luka came to me because he was worried that the wrong sorts of people were in charge of the Russian Ministry, and when I told him of the Dark Lord's return, he promised to continue his investigation into the missing Officials. When he learns something of note, he will contact me again."

"Samara Ivanov is probably getting rid of problematic people to curry favor from the Pure Families of Russia," Snape guessed. "That country's Pure Families are very wealthy, and if they join the Dark Lord, he'll have all the funds that he could need. Not to mention that he already has the Russian Minister in his pocket… This is not good."

"I shall visit Russia soon, and speak with Samara myself," Albus said.

"Is that wise?"

"She pulled her funding from the Gaia Project just as we needed it most," Albus said. "Judging from the timeline, I believe that Lord Voldemort approached her sometime in November. I need to find out if she's really dancing to his tune."

"He approached her after the St. Mungo's fire, then," Snape said. "He was still using Pettigrew's body at the time."

"His reputation is helping him build his forces up at a disturbing speed," Albus said. "If Samara is indeed working for Lord Voldemort, then we will need Luka to keep his eyes on the Russian Ministry."

"Can he be trusted?" Snape asked. "I've heard of his… hatred… of the Dark Arts, but I've never met the man."

"He is one of the few who have remained vigilant," Albus said. "We can trust him. He saved, and took, many lives in the war, and during his time as the Russian Head Auror, he has made a name for himself by hunting down Dark Wizards."

"What if the Russian Minister decides to get rid of him?" Snape asked. "Is there some way that we can keep him safe?"

"He is a celebrated war hero," Albus replied. "His disappearance would cause far too much uproar, and I know that he's strong enough to resist the Imperious Curse. For now, I have asked him to simply keep his eyes open. He told me that his Department is loyal only to him, and he will alert his most powerful Aurors about the Dark Lord's return. If everything plays out as I have planned it, we will have two Auror Departments fighting by our side before long."

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

"Just go talk to him," Neville nudged her. "What's there to be scared of, Ginny?"

"He's spending time with his girlfriend," Ginny whispered.

They were all sitting together in the Living Room, mostly because they all wanted to enjoy the comfort of the Burrow before returning to Hogwarts. Harry was the only teenager not here as he was sorting through some personal things with Sirius. This meant that Hermione was sitting with Neville and Ginny, though she hadn't said a word the entire time. Ginny was content with Hermione's silence, because despite wanting to get over the fact that Hermione had been hiding such a big secret from her, Ginny was still struggling to get to the forgiving part.

With Neville's encouragement, Ginny had promised herself that she was going to try and make some friends her own age. Her first target was, of course, Luna. Ginny was going to get help from Madam Pomfrey, and then she was going to prove to Luna that she was doing much better. Even if she made no friends after that, Ginny would be satisfied with just having Luna back in her life. However, all of her plans relied upon getting Madam Pomfrey's help, but Ginny's mind had betrayed her by filling itself with doubt. _Doubts that Ron can help make disappear. He said that he goes to her regularly, so if he just gives me a hint about what it's like, I might be able to get through it too._

"Ginny, if you don't go and talk to him, I'll call him here," Neville said, and Ginny shot him a frown.

"You wouldn't," Ginny narrowed her eyes on Neville.

"Well, I warned you," Neville said, and then he looked in Ron and Greengrass' direction. "Ro-"

Ginny planted her palm on Neville's mouth, and she felt him smile widely.

"Damn you," Ginny huffed, and Neville jerked his head towards Ron. "Fine… I'm going…"

"Good luck," Neville gave her a thumbs-up, and Ginny felt her lips twitch upwards.

Without another word, Ginny got up from her spot, and she carefully made her way across the Living Room. The twins were playing Gobstones with Charlie and Kirsten, while Bill was teaching Percy about the importance of Runes. Getting past all of them was easy, but as she began to near Ron and his friends, her stomach dropped. Luna was teaching Astoria Greengrass the art of making animals from parchment, a pastime that Ginny loved. _Don't be discouraged, Ginny. You can win her back if you put in the effort._

Carefully, Ginny moved past them in order to get to Ron and Greengrass. The beautiful blonde, Ginny couldn't really deny Greengrass' looks, was sitting Ron's lap as he played a game of Chess against Nott and Davis. _Are they playing a couple's game of Chess? Wait… Nott and Davis aren't a couple. I think. What am I thinking about?! Oh Gods, I'm panicking! I haven't approached Ron for help in forever!_ Ginny shot a look back at Neville, and he urged her to keep going.

"Ginny, are you all right?" came Ron's voice, and Ginny quickly turned to face him.

"Yes," she replied without thinking, and Ron gave her a quizzical look.

"Well? What is it?" Ron asked, while his friends just stared at her.

"Can… Can I talk to you? Alone?" Ginny asked.

"Sure," Ron agreed, and Greengrass got off of his lap. "I'll be back shortly."

"Take your time," Greengrass said as she took his seat. _Really? She doesn't want him to rush back?_

Ginny had noticed that Ron's mood had improved dramatically as soon as he had made up with his girlfriend, and the two of them had become inseparable again. _Honestly, I'm just glad that he doesn't look like he's dying anymore. Dying…_ Ginny's face, and shoulders, dropped at the thought. _I forgot that he's sick…_

"Ginny?" Ron waved in her face. "Are you there?"

"Huh?" Ginny blinked. "Oh… Yes. I'm here. Can we go somewhere else?"

"Sure," Ron gestured towards the Kitchen entrance. "We can talk in your room, if that's all right?"

"That's perfect," Ginny said as she began heading towards the exit.

The others all looked up at the two departing Weasleys, but no one said anything. Ginny had to force herself to not look in Luna's direction; she wasn't ready to start winning her back yet. _I still need to do some things before I start showing her that I'm still her friend._ As she passed by Neville, he gave her another thumbs-up. _Merlin, Ron definitely saw that._ Feeling her face flush, Ginny fastened her pace.

"Slow down, please," Ron said, but Ginny didn't slow down.

Instead, she barged into the Kitchen, where Sirius and Harry were having a rather somber conversation. _Oh… What are they talking about? Never mind, it's none of my business. Just go up the stairs, Ginny._ She made her way up to her room, and once Ron had caught up, she waited for him to enter first. He did so without saying anything, and the cold look on his face made her stomach twist a bit. _It's okay… Once I talk to him, he won't look at me like that._ She entered after him, and after she closed and locked the door, she drew in a sharp breath.

"Ginny, what's going on?" Ron asked her as she turned to face him. "Do you need something from me?"

"Um… Sort of… Yes," Ginny replied. _We haven't spoken properly since our last chat in this very room._ "Are you feeling better?" _What was that?!_ "It's just that you look like you're doing better."

"I am doing much better," Ron said. "What about you? I'm glad to see that you're talking to Neville at least."

"Oh… Yeah, he's been really nice to me," Ginny nodded to herself. "He's a really good listener, and I feel like he doesn't judge me when I open up…"

"He's a good bloke," Ron agreed, and then he drew in a deep breath. "This doesn't have to be awkward, you know?"

"Pardon?" Ginny stared at him.

"This," Ron gestured between them. "I know that we haven't spoken much, and after all that fighting, neither of us see each other like we used to… But despite all of that, I'm still your big brother. If there's anything that you need, you can always come to me."

"Really?" Ginny felt throat tighten.

"Really," Ron replied. _That's very… mature… of him._

"Can… Can I have a… hug?" Ginny asked awkwardly, she had wanted to hug him ever since she found out about his conditions.

Ron extended his arms, and Ginny quickly hugged his middle before he could change his mind. _Finally._ He rubbed her back like he used to when they were little, and for a few moments, Ginny felt like she was herself again. Like she had her first friend back. Like she hadn't found that Diary amongst her books. _He's so tall now. I can barely reach his chest._

"Tell me what's wrong," Ron said as he maintained his hug.

"Do you remember what we talked about?" Ginny tightened her hold on him. "About me seeing Madam Pomfrey?"

"Of course," Ron replied. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"Yes…" she admitted. "What if she can't help me?"

"It's all right to be scared, Ginny," Ron said. "I was scared too at first, but I promise you, she has this way with words… I can't really explain it, but she makes you see the issues in your life, and then, she helps you solve them without giving you instructions."

"That's… confusing…" Ginny said slowly.

"She'll help you, I swear it," Ron promised. "And if you're scared of going alone, I already offered to go with you. I mean, I won't sit in the room with you two, but I can help you approach her again. You used to go to her, right?"

"Sort of," Ginny replied. "Most of the time, she just let me sit about in her Office… I had trouble being around people… I still do, I guess…"

"Do you want me to go with you?" Ron asked.

"I would like that," Ginny replied.

"My first session is on Monday," Ron said. "After classes, that is. You can come with me, and we can talk to Madam Pomfrey together."

"Monday, after classes," Ginny agreed, and Ron pulled back from the hug. _No…_

"It'll be hard at first, but it will make you feel much more in control of your life," Ron told her. "You just have to make sure to put the effort in."

"I can do that," Ginny said. _I have to, or Luna will never be friends with me again._

"Good," Ron gave her a nod, and she could feel the coldness coming from him. _It's not the same anymore… He did mention that we'll never see each other the same way, and that makes me feel really sad. Maybe I should've done better? Was Luna right when she told me that everything was my fault? I know I was jealous of him… Well, everyone, really…_

"Ginny?" Ron called, and Ginny quickly dabbed her eyes. "Hey… What else is on your mind?"

"I feel like everything's my fault," Ginny forced herself to sound strong. _I'm not going to cry again. I won't._

"Not everything," Ron said. "But some things… Yes. I don't plan to babysit you anymore, Ginny, so I'll tell you everything as I see it. What happened to you was terrible, and I wish I could've done something to help you, but after you came back to Hogwarts… You **chose** to behave the way that you did. You pushed people away, you didn't get help from Madam Pomfrey, and you convinced yourself that I was your enemy. You even began to dislike my friends, all of whom had been nothing but kind to you before your sudden change."

Ron's features then softened a little due to her shrinking figure.

"I know that the Diary hurt you, and that it was created by a Slytherin," Ron put his gloved hand on her shoulder. "I know that a part of you fears Slytherin as a result, and I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong to feel that way. Hell, a part of me will never fully like the Veela community… All I want is for you to move on from what happened, Ginny. It's still hurting you, and you're the one who's allowing that to happen. There's nothing to be gained from being alone, trust me. Being alone is the worst sort of torture."

"I know…" Ginny sniffled, and Ron gently pulled her into another hug. "I'm sorry for everything, Ron…"

"I'm sorry too," Ron apologized. "You'll get through this, Ginny. You're too strong to let Tom Riddle ruin your life."

"I was… jealous…" Ginny confessed between stifled sobs.

"I know," Ron gave her a squeeze. "But you have nothing to be jealous of, Ginny. You're you, and I'm me. We're two different people, and we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. Being jealous of something that you're not is unhealthy, and it's clearly made things worse for you. Please, Ginny… Just find out who you want to be, and then strive to be that person. Don't let what others have deter you from your path."

"Did Madam Pomfrey teach you this stuff?" Ginny spoke into his chest.

"She did, actually," Ron admitted with a weak chuckle. "You remember what I was like when we were growing up, right? I never studied, I never tried my hand at learning new things, and I always felt jealous of everyone in this house."

"You really felt jealous?" Ginny asked.

"All the time," Ron replied.

"Were you jealous of me?" Ginny asked meekly.

"I was jealous of the fact mum and dad bought you new things, while I was constantly handed second-hand things," Ron replied, and Ginny couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Sorry…"

"Not your fault," Ron said gently. "Like I said, Ginny… You have to work on yourself instead of focusing on other people's lives. Trust me, everyone has their own problems, so there's no point in being jealous of others. Instead, you should learn from them, and better yourself as a result."

"Okay…" Ginny closed her eyes; she didn't want to let go just yet. "Can… Can you stay with me for a bit? Please?"

"Of course."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogwarts Express - Morning)**_

As soon as he had said his farewells, Ron had rushed onto the Hogwarts Express. Ron and his friends had searched for Pansy on the platform, but when none of them had seen her, Ron's horror-filled mind had convinced him that something was terribly wrong. Was he being irrational once again? Most definitely. Did he care? Not in the slightest.

As he pushed his way through the Slytherin carriage, he caught a glimpse of raven-black hair vanishing into a compartment. _PANSY!_ Ron doubled his pace, and as soon as he swung the door to the compartment open, a surprised Pansy Parkinson greeted him.

"Hello, beautiful!" she beamed suddenly, and Ron felt his knees turn to jelly. _She's here!_

He dropped his trunk, marched right up to her, and pulled her into the tightest hug that he had ever given her. _I'm never letting go. Never._ Pansy, being who she was, happily accepted the hug, her head resting on his left shoulder as she stood on her toes.

"I've missed you too," she smacked his bum with both hands, and Ron released a shaky chuckle. "Wow, your arse is so meaty! That's awesome!"

He pulled back and kissed her cheek, which made her giggle in surprise.

"I missed you so much," Ron kept his hands on her shoulders. "Are you hurt? Did the Carrows hurt you in any way? I'll fucking kill them if they did."

"You know about the Carrow Camp?" Pansy blinked, her smile unwavering.

"We all know," Ron pulled her into another hug. "I'm so sorry that you were sent to that place, Pansy. So fucking sorry."

"Ron, it's fine," Pansy chuckled. "But please, keep holding me all you like. I missed your firm-"

"Ahem," someone cleared his or her throat from behind Ron.

"Daphne! Tracey!" Pansy quickly pulled away from Ron, only to run up and be pulled into a hug by the two girls.

"Are you all right?" Daphne fussed over Pansy, while Tracey clung to Pansy's side.

"Yes, I'm fine," Pansy laughed, something that jarred Ron a little. "Nothing bad happened to me, you guys. I've been there before, and this time, I made sure to stay under the radar. I even made some new friends!"

"Really?" Ron didn't know what to think. "So… You weren't abused by the Carrows?"

"Well, they hit me once, but only because I called Alecto a cow," Pansy shrugged. _Alecto Carrow is a dead bitch, then._ "Which, in my defense, is partly true. I saw her eviscerate a turkey singlehandedly… It was a sight that would make grown men flee in terror."

Tracey and Daphne laughed at that, while Ron released a breath that he had been holding in for nearly a week. _I feel lightheaded now. She's not hurt. Thank the Gods._

"Come and sit down," Daphne said as she pulled Pansy into a seat.

Tracey planted herself on Pansy's right, effectively sandwiching her.

"Tell us what happened," Tracey said as she looked around for bruises.

"I will, but where's Theo?" Pansy asked Ron, who sat down in front of her. "Shouldn't he be with you?"

"He's probably looking around for Blaise and Millie," Tracey replied. "Now, please, just tell us what happened."

"Oh, okay," Pansy smiled widely. "My mother and father, who are both tossers as far as I'm concerned, randomly decided to ship me off to the Carrow Camp. Some stupid tripe about me learning how to be a Pure-Blood… I didn't really pay attention to them. Anyway, I packed my things and left, mostly because I didn't really want to argue with them. Once I got there, I met up with Hestia and Flora, both of whom were being forced to spend their Christmas with their Aunt and Uncle."

"The twins were at the camp?" Ron asked. "As in, being tutored by the Carrows?" _Not good. I need to protect those two from such influences._

"Yes, they were being 'tutored'," Pansy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Alecto and Amycus Carrow are as dull as dirt. 'All Muggles carry deadly diseases', or 'Contact with Muggle-Borns, or Blood-Traitors, can lead to you losing your Magic'. Merlin… I used to believe that tripe once upon a time. I feel like a right moron now."

"They really teach that stuff?" Tracey looked dumbfounded.

"And worse," Pansy replied. "Don't worry, though. I came up with a brilliant scheme while I was there."

"Scheme?" Daphne asked. "Pans… What are you talking about? I thought you stayed under the radar."

"I did, until they started saying things about the Weasleys," Pansy gave Ron a meaningful look.

"Pardon?" Ron asked. "They talked about my Family?"

"Our class on Blood-Traitors was focused on 'disgraced' Families, and your Family was the prime example," Pansy didn't look very amused now. "I got rather annoyed, but instead of starting a fight that I would never win, I waited patiently. Once we were all sent to our rooms, I collected as many children as I could, and then, I gave my own class."

"What sort of class?" Ron couldn't help but ask. _Bloody hell, she sounds like she enjoyed her stay at the Carrow Camp. Theo was right, I was losing my marbles over nothing it seems._

"Prepare yourselves because my scheme was ingenious!" Pansy grinned. "After I collected my students, I started telling them about Hogwarts. You see, most of them were still very young, and they all wanted to know more about the legendary school of their dreams. I talked to them about Slytherin House, and since Ron will no doubt add them to his study group one day, I didn't badmouth the other Houses at all. I even praised Hufflepuff at one point, believe it or not."

"You did?" Tracey chuckled in disbelief, while Ron just stared at Pansy. _She started recruiting for my study group?_

"I said that they were the friendliest lot at Hogwarts, which they are," Pansy replied. "Eventually, I started telling them about Ron himself."

"Me? Why?" Ron asked.

"You're very famous, and you're a Slytherin Prodigy," Pansy replied. "Trust me, they wanted to know everything about you. So, I told them about your study group, and about how you help all first years regardless of House. I also told them that you eat like a demon, and that sometimes, you steal food from other people when they aren't looking." _I did that as a joke! I'm not a thief!_ "Hestia and Flora confirmed my stories, they were really annoyed with their Aunt and Uncle for ruining their Christmas plans with Lysandra."

"Was Lysandra there?" Daphne asked, her eyes darting towards Ron. _Does she think that I blame Lysandra for her father's actions? Well, I don't. Lysandra's a good girl, even if she is incredibly lazy and inappropriate._

"No, Lysandra spent her Holidays with her parents, I think," Pansy replied. "The Carrows didn't let us send letters, or receive them. Complete pricks the both of them. Now, as I was saying, I explained to the young ones that I was a close friend of Ron's, who is technically a Blood-Traitor, but unlike what the Carrows were teaching, I didn't lose my Magic. Even Hestia and Flora called their Aunt and Uncle morons for believing that nonsense. All in all, I ended up enjoying myself towards the end. Every night, we'd all gather around and just talk about Hogwarts. A couple of the young ones will be attending Hogwarts next year, by the way. Oliver and Noah. They totally had a crush on me. I could tell by their needy hugs, and Oliver even asked if he could kiss my hand before we all went home. They were both so cute!"

Ron exchanged looks with Tracey and Daphne, and then, they all let out relieved laughs. _Pansy will always be Pansy… I hope that never changes._

"What?" Pansy asked. "It's totally possible that they were crushing on me! I'm gorgeous!"

"You are," Tracey kissed Pansy's cheek. "We're just really glad that you're not hurt, Pans."

"We were worried sick for you," Daphne added. "Theo even went to your mother in the hopes of finding you."

"Is that why she asked me about Theo's favorite pastime?" Pansy grimaced a little. "My mother was being particularly creepy last night…"

As if being summoned by the mention of his name, Theo slid the compartment door open. Behind him were Blaise, Millie, and Malfoy, all of whom Ron was very glad to see. _Even Malfoy… Merlin, I've gone barmy._

"Pansy," Theo smiled properly at the sight of her. "You're all right."

"Are you going to cuddle me as well?" Pansy smirked.

"Don't mind if I do," Theo laughed.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogwarts Express – Afternoon)**_

"So **he's** really back?" Millie muttered, he had never seen her look so scared before.

"That's what we've been told," Daphne explained, her eyes darting towards a very quiet Blaise.

Ron had decided to let Daphne do the talking, mostly because he didn't want to say anything that no one knew by mistake. He had imagined that this conversation would last for much longer, but in hindsight, there wasn't all that much to say. The Dark Lord had returned, and the adults had all warned their children about the coming war.

Pansy had lost all of her earlier cheer; she had no doubt realized that her parents had sent her to the Carrow Camp for this very reason. Millie was hard to read right now, but Ron could see the fear in her eyes. She knew where her parents stood, and that no doubt filled her with a lot of dread when it came to the future. As for Blaise… Blaise hadn't said a damn word all day. Even when he had learned of Pansy's visit to the Carrows, Blaise had remained eerily quiet. Ron knew that something else was on his mind, and he planned to talk to Blaise when they were alone. _He only opens up when no one is around, and even then, he doesn't say much._

"And you heard all of this from your Aunt?" Pansy asked Malfoy. "Your disgraced Aunt, who is now looking after you because the Order is holding your mother hostage…" _I don't know why he divulged so much information, but something tells me that he's up to something. H definitely wants his mother released, and maybe this is a part of his plan._ "This is all…"

"Unbelievable," Millie finished. "Malfoy, I'm sorry about your… situation…" _He's already garnered everyone's sympathy. Clever, but problematic. I don't want his mother whispering her bile in his ear. Or anyone else's, for that matter._

"The most important thing right now is that we all stick together," Ron joined the conversation. " **All of us**. There is no way of knowing who else knows about the war, so we could have enemies in Slytherin. From now on, we will always stick together. If you need privacy, take at least one other person with you. Understand?"

"Understood," Tracey said as she looked to the others, and they all nodded their agreement.

"Millie, have your parents mentioned anything?" Ron asked, and she quickly shook her head.

"I don't think they know," Millie said. "I just spent my entire Break with them, and they were the same as always."

"Blaise?" Ron looked to the dark-skinned wizard.

"My mother and I spoke only once during the Break," Blaise replied distantly. "I have no idea what she's up to." _Only once? How is that even possible?_

"Pansy, did your parents send you away because of the war?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know… Maybe…" Pansy fidgeted with her hands. "My… Um… My Family… They'd join **him** … My mother definitely will… What do I do?"

"Do you want to join him?" Ron asked bluntly, and she shook her head so hard that Ron feared for her neck.

"Never," Pansy swallowed thickly. "Not after what he did to you…"

"Then we need to talk about your future," Ron said. "Not now, but whenever you're ready. This goes for everyone in this compartment, by the way. I've always told you that this day would come, and now, it's here. We have to discuss where we go from here." _Millie, Blaise, and Theo are my chief concerns right now. Daphne and Tracey will stay with their parents, and Malfoy has no choice but to stay with the Order. As for Pansy… Well, she clearly wants to get away from her parents already._

"Can… Can I tell my parents?" Millie asked.

"I'm sorry, but you can't," Ron replied, and Millie's face dropped even more.

"What if I can convince them to not follow the Dark Lord?" Millie asked. "They're-"

"Your parents followed him once, and they'll do it again," Blaise said rather coldly. _What the fuck, Blaise?_ "My mother will no doubt bend over for him if she gets the chance…" Everyone exchanged slow looks, while Blaise pulled out his book. "We shouldn't discuss this on the Hogwarts Express. It's too dangerous. Right, Ron?"

"Yeah…" Ron's eyes lingered on his friend. _What the hell happened to him during the Break?_ "Look, let's all sit together tonight, and then, we can come up with a plan. Is that all right?"

"That's reasonable," Theo said, his eyes darting between Ron and Blaise. _Yeah, I know. We need to talk to him at some point._

"Are… Are we going to get… separated?" Pansy's eyes welled up. _Oh, no… Please don't cry._

"No," Ron reached forward and took her hands. "I won't let that happen, Pans, I promise. All of us will stay together, right, guys?"

"Of course," Tracey said, while Daphne used her handkerchief to dab Pansy's eyes.

"This war…" Ron started. "It's not ours. We didn't choose it. It's not even from our era-"

"But what about our Families?" Millie asked. "They'll ask us to choose… You know they will…"

"I know, which is why we need to come up with a plan," Ron said. "Look, I don't know how much you lot know about the last war, but **a lot** of people died… Even people our age… I hate to say this right now, but unless you want to die fighting for someone else's war, it's time to start thinking about where you want to be in a few years. The Dark Lord… He'll give you no option but to fight… He'll brand you, and then he'll send you out to die for him. At least with the Order, we can all stay safe."

"Ron, let's talk about this later," Daphne said, she could see the pain on Millie's face.

"Right," Ron decided to back off for now. "Let's… Let's just not discuss this until later, all right?"

* * *

 _ **Sunday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

As the students of Hogwarts packed themselves through the large doors of the Great Hall, Ron used his height to look out for Severus Snape. _Which corner is he occupying this time?_ His eyes landed on a head of black, greasy hair, and a massive smile broke out on Ron's face. It was probably immoral to smile at a person who had been through hell, but seeing Snape for the first time in ages really meant something to Ron. He had missed the cold Potions Professor, and he couldn't wait to talk to him again. _He'll probably insult me, but I'll happily listen to his icy voice. Yeah, something's definitely wrong with me._

He could hear gasps and whispers from all around him, the other students had no doubt spotted Snape as well. Ron ignored his schoolmates for the most part, especially because some of them seemed to be pleased with Snape's injuries. This angered him a little, but Ron knew that these people had no idea what his friend had been through. _If they knew that he withstood the Dark Lord himself, they'd be in awe of him._

"He lost his eye," Daphne whispered to Ron, who realized that most of the Slytherins were quite jarred at the sight of their Head of House. "Ron? Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, I'm just glad to be back," Ron cleared his throat. "I didn't really see him until now… Bloody hell… What sort of Potion exploded on him?"

"Clearly something **very** volatile," Daphne figured. "This is… jarring…"

"He looks even scarier now," Ron heard someone mutter.

"And twice as grouchy," a girl added.

Snape's eye traveled towards the coming students, and when it landed on Ron, the redhead fought the urge to smile and wave. _Don't give yourself away, old boy. He'll probably pull you aside at some point in order to talk to you. Just be patient._ The students took their seats, and even a blind person would notice that pretty much everyone was gawking at Snape. Ron expected the man to sneer at the students, but he simply ignored the stares. If anything, he seemed… calmer… than usual. _Maybe he's glad to be back as well? Or maybe I'm just hoping that he is? I can't wait to corner him!_

"Welcome back all of you to another term at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore took the stand, and everyone went quiet. "Before we start, I'm happy to announce that our Potions Professor, Severus Snape, has returned to us! Please, welcome him back for he was dearly missed!" _The old man is definitely taking the piss. I should help him._

The look on Snape's face was one of annoyed resignation, and Ron didn't help when he started clapping and cheering. Slowly, everyone else joined in, which only served to irritate Snape even further. _He loves it. He's just playing hard to get, that's all._ The other Professors certainly seemed happy to have Snape back, and Hagrid's thunderous applause had clearly deafened Flitwick in his right ear.

"Now, I know that all of you are hungry after your long journey, so I won't keep you all waiting with my longwinded speeches," Dumbledore smiled at the students. "All I will say is that we are glad to have you all back, and we expect you all to focus on your studies now that you've had a break."

Dumbledore then clapped his hands, and mountains of food appeared on every table. Ron eyed the food greedily, and then he looked to Daphne with a pleading look.

"Break's over, Daph…" Ron started, and she gave him a knowing look. "Can I eat actual food now, please?"

"Does it really matter what I have to say?" Daphne asked, and Ron grinned at her.

"Not really," Ron admitted. "I have fulfilled my end of the deal, after all."

"Just chew this time," Daphne smiled at him.

Without further ado, Ron began piling everything he could get his hands on onto his plate. Steaks, roasted garlic bread, mashed potatoes, fried fish, sausages, lemon chicken, lobster… He put enough food on his plate that even Blaise was now staring at him with a worried look.

"Please have a little salad, at least," Daphne offered him the salad bowl.

"I will not be eating rabbit food tonight," Ron declared. "I have starved myself all day for this meal, and if anyone interrupts me, I'll eat their fingers. Do not talk to me for the next forty minutes."

With that said, Ron dug into his meal like a wild animal. _Actual fucking food! I swear to the Gods, I'll never drink soup again._ The others looked on in horror as Ron savaged the food on his plate, but Ron barely noticed their presence.

"So… Why wasn't he allowed to eat 'actual food'?" Pansy asked Daphne.

"Oh, Ron had surgery during the Break," Daphne whispered.

"What?" Blaise finally looked away from Ron.

"What kind of surgery?" Millie asked weakly.

"A stress ulcer," Tracey told them. "Don't worry, though. As you can see, he's fully recovered from it."

"Ron, mate… Slow down, yeah?" Theo whispered as he noticed other people staring at Ron, but when Ron looked up with narrowed eyes, Theo raised his hands in surrender. "Or don't… Totally up to you… Please don't eat my fingers…"

Daphne scooted away a little when Ron cracked open a lobster tail with his bare hands, the look on her face was, oddly, a mixture of awe and of being smitten. _Give me your meat!_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

Ron was in a food coma of sorts, and as he listened to Daphne read her book on 'ethical business practices' to him, he found himself being lulled to sleep. He was sitting in his favorite spot in the common room, his girlfriend was cuddled up to him, and his first years seemed excited to get back into their study routine. All was well in the World. _Well, sort of. Millie, Blaise, and Pansy are still not talking, but after seeing how Theo processed the news of a coming war, it's safe to say that they need time to adjust. I can be patient. Once they've got their head around everything, I'll sit them down and talk to them one by one._

Daphne had convinced him to hold off on having the 'war conversation', and after seeing how distraught they looked during dinner; Ron had decided to listen to her. By now, he had come to terms with the fact that his friends didn't need to act the way that he did. If they needed time, then he would give them time. _But not too much time. A week at most, I reckon._ Ron's peace was interrupted when Daphne suddenly nudged his side, and he looked to see Professor Snape limp into the common room. Everyone stopped talking almost immediately, and while Snape looked around the room, Ron sat up in anticipation. _Is he going to ask me to follow him to his lab?_

"Clara, Samantha, Carey," Snape said icily, and the Triumvirate sat up straighter. "My Office. Now."

And just like that, he limped back out. The Triumvirate followed without delay, while Ron's face fell a bit. _It's okay… He doesn't want to arouse any suspicion. I'll be patient._ Ron's eyes darted towards Malfoy, who looked rather irritated all of a sudden. _Yeah, he's not going to be very patient, is he?_

"He really is scarier now," Pansy whispered, and mostly everyone nodded his or her agreement. "That eye patch is sort of sexy, though…" _What. The. Fuck?_

"Really, Pansy?" Tracey grimaced, and Pansy shrugged.

"It's still Snape, but the eye patch gives him a unique look," Pansy explained, and even Ron grimaced a little.

"I'm going to bed," Malfoy got up.

"I'll go with you," Blaise stood up. "I'm tired, so don't wake me up. Good night."

Malfoy and Blaise left at that, while Ron exchanged another look with Theo.

"Something's definitely bothering him," Daphne whispered to Ron.

"I'll talk to him soon," Ron promised. "If I push too fast, he'll become even more distant."

"Okay," Daphne nestled into his side again. "Want me to keep reading?"

"Please do," Ron smiled at her, and then he closed his eyes.

"Wait, before you start," Millie whispered. "Are we… Aren't we going to talk about 'you know what'?"

"Can we not?" Pansy shrunk a little. "We can do it later… We just got back…"

"Pansy's right," Tracey said. "Let's just enjoy being back for now, yeah?"

"You won't find any argument from me," Millie looked back to the fire.

"Well, I'll be joining Blaise and Malfoy, then," Theo stood up. "Good night, girls."

"Good night, Theo," Tracey waved him off, while Pansy quickly took Theo's former seat by Ron's side.

Before Ron could say anything, Pansy cuddled into his other side. _Two girls cuddling me at once? Did I die on the Hogwarts Express? Is this heaven? My return has been without incident so far, which is starting to worry me._ Ron was ripped out of his thoughts when Pansy nuzzled her head against Ron's chest.

"Um… What are you doing?" Daphne asked Pansy. _Indeed. What is she doing?_

"I've had a rough day," Pansy said. "This is making it bearable."

Ron chuckled at that, it was good to see that Pansy was still up to her usual antics.

"Fine… You get a pass this time…" Daphne huffed, and then, she started reading her book to Ron.

* * *

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hospital Wing – After Classes)**_

As soon as his Care of Magical Creatures class had ended, Ron had made his way to the Hospital Wing without delay. Ginny had agreed to meet him here after classes in order to set up her own sessions with Madam Pomfrey, and despite the ill feelings Ron had towards her for her recent behavior, he couldn't deny that he was very glad that she was finally going to get some help. Deep down, he had already started to hope that he'd get his little sister back. _All in good time, old boy. All in good time._

As he turned the turned the corridor, he spotted a redhead waiting for him. His feet came to an abrupt halt, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. By the entrance of the Hospital stood an older version of himself, and when his doppelganger saw Ron, he waved at the Slytherin with a smug smile. _It can't be… I… I took the Sleeping Draught last night… I slept for eight hours!_

Ron stood rooted to his spot, his eyes fixed on his past self. Ravenclaw Ron all but skipped over to Ron, his creepy smile growing the closer he got.

"Boo!" Ravenclaw Ron exclaimed in Ron's face, and then he started laughing like a toddler.

"How…?" Ron felt his throat tighten. "You… I took the Sleeping Draught…"

"And when have things Magically fixed themselves for you?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Hmmm?"

"I don't understand…" Ron took a step back. _How is this fucking possible?! I'm not tired, nor am I stressed!_

"Yes, you do," Ravenclaw Ron said. "You know why you can see me, Ronnie. Just think."

How was he supposed to think right now? He was hallucinating again-

"Oh, you're not hallucinating, by the way," Ravenclaw Ron added, a sadistic smile crossing his face. "Here, I'll even prove it. I died on the 14th of December, 1996. I had just killed Delphini Riddle in her crib, and using her death, I crafted my own Horcrux. It felt poetic, you know?" _Delphini Riddle?_

"Who?" Ron muttered as he took another step back. "Horcrux?"

"It doesn't matter right now," Ravenclaw Ron grinned. "Anyway, it turned out that doing such a thing was a big mistake, because as soon as I stepped out of Malfoy Manor, Fate herself intervened. With very little effort, she turned everything to ash. Me and my Horcrux included. That's how my Cycle ended."

Ron jaw dropped open, and he couldn't even bring himself to blink.

"So you see…" Ravenclaw Ron leaned forward. "I am not a hallucination, Ronnie. I am as real as you."

"But you left…" Ron pointed out dumbly.

"I only did that to fuck with you, to be honest," Ravenclaw Ron sniggered. "I figured that I'd leave, and give you hope of being sane."

"Give me hope?"

"So I could take it away from you," Ravenclaw Ron said with a giddiness that made Ron feel sick. "It was so much fun watching you act like you had fixed the mess that you call your mind. I simply waited around in 'Dream Hogwarts', and now, I've decided to return."

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Ron demanded, his temper flaring. "You fucking cunt."

"Isn't it obvious?" Ravenclaw Ron asked.

"No, it isn't."

"It is to me," Ravenclaw Ron shrugged. "I've become tired of watching the World-Eater torture the others. It has grown mundane."

"World-Eater? The Entity, you mean?" Ron asked, and Ravenclaw Ron gave a nod. "It doesn't torture you?"

"We're mates," Ravenclaw Ron grinned. "It left me alone for the most part, but when your gourd started to crack even more, we all spilled out. Unlike the others, I wasn't rounded up and locked away in those Hourglasses. I was allowed to roam free."

"So that was you…" Ron realized. "The Crows flying over the Black Lake… Wait… You all got set loose because the Entity started bleeding into me?"

"Why else would you start seeing your past lives?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "You should thank the World-Eater, by the way. It saved your life by locking the others away. If it hadn't acted as quickly as it did, your mind would have shattered permanently." _Thank the Entity?_

"Go fuck yourself," Ron walked through his past self. "Leave me alone, you fucking degenerate." _Friends with the Entity? What kind of filth do you have to be to become its friend?_

"Don't be an idiot, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron followed after Ron. "You're letting your anger blind you again."

"You're garbage, and I don't want your help," Ron spat out.

"Really?" Ravenclaw Ron stopped walking. "Not even if I helped you get your hands on a Horcrux?"

Ron stopped walking, and slowly, he turned to face the grinning twat.

"It's very close to us, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron hummed. "Only a few floors up, to be honest. C'mon, I can show you where it is. One more piece of the Dark Lord's soul, and you can destroy it today."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you guys enjoyed that! It felt great to write again, even with the current state of things.**

 **Pretty soon, I'll be returning to my own apartment again in the hopes of getting a job. Hopefully, things will work out, and I can get back to doing my own thing. Anyway, please stay safe, and don't forget to wash your genitals. You don't want the Corona living down there...**

 **The next Chapter will be up in a week, or so! I'll see you guys soon. (Oh, and if you know someone who hasn't favorited the story, let them know that it's back on)**


	114. Chapter 114 - Weakened

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 114 delivered!  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

* * *

 _'Mortality clarified in a single strike_ _' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 114 - Weakened**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hospital Wing – After Classes)**_

"There's Horcrux here?" Ron paled a little. "In Hogwarts?"

"Oh, yes," Ravenclaw Ron grinned. "Come. I'll take you to it."

"I…" Ron shot a look back. _Gin-Gin._ "No. Not right now."

"What?" Ravenclaw Ron lost his grin.

"If you're telling me the truth, then the Horcrux will still be in Hogwarts when I'm done," Ron turned around. "I have to be here for my sister."

"Are you joking?" Ravenclaw Ron followed after Ron. "I tell you that you can destroy a part of the Dark Lord's soul, and you decide that helping a little girl with her issues is more important? What is the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with **you**?" Ron hissed. "Little girl? That's our sister, you twat. She's in pain, and I can help her heal."

"Pomfrey can do that on her own," Ravenclaw Ron all but growled. "You haven't listened to a damn thing that I've said, have you? You're still trying to convince people that you're just like them. Well, you're not. They are beneath you, and you have more important matters-"

"Shut up," Ron cut in. "I don't see myself as the 'Champion of Fate', and if I had the chance, I'd tell that cunt to go fuck herself. Sure, I am different from everyone around me, but at least I give a damn about something other than my mission. Ginny needs support, and she came to me. **Me**. I won't let her down. Not again."

"She's the one who let you down," Ravenclaw Ron frowned in disgust. "She let you be the scapegoat for her crimes, and then, she Petrified you."

"She was scared, and alone," Ron ignored his past self. "And it was the Dark Lord who petrified me. Now, shut your gob and fuck off. Once I've taken care of this, then you can pester me about the Horcrux."

"This is exactly why your Cycle will fail," Ravenclaw Ron stopped walking, and Ron turned to face him. "You waste your time on these idiotic errands, but do you know who doesn't waste his time? The Dark Lord. This is why you will lose in the end."

"Like you lost?" Ron asked. "Yeah… You can run your mouth all you want, but you're dead and I'm not. If you want to help me end the Cycles, then you'll do things my way. If you don't like that, fuck off back to your 'friend'."

With that, Ron made his way into the Hospital Wing, where he found Madam Pomfrey waiting for him.

"Ronald," she called, she was standing by the door to her Office. "I was beginning to think that you weren't coming."

"Sorry, I got held up," Ron replied as he looked around. "Um… Have you seen my little sister? Ginny, not Luna."

"I have not," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Ron clicked his tongue. _Did she get scared again? Should I go find her?_ "Ronald, is something on your mind?"

"My sister agreed to come here with me," Ron explained. "She's struggling because of what happened to her, and after talking to her, we came to an agreement. She promised to-"

"Ron?" came Ginny's voice, and Ron immediately looked to the exit.

Ginny walked into the Hospital Wing rather timidly, her right hand massaging her left forearm once again. _Is her left forearm injured? She's always fiddling with it._

"Ginevra," Madam Pomfrey greeted with a rare smile. "I was just talking to your brother, and he told me that you wished to sign up for some sessions."

"I'm still not too sure about this," Ginny looked to Ron, who gave her a calming smile.

"This will help, Ginny," Ron promised again. "Just give it a go, and if you don't like it, I won't force you. No one will." _If I've learned anything about Ginny, it's that she doesn't like people making choices on her behalf. Making Hermione 'look out' for her cost me dearly._

"Do I have a session now, then?" Ginny asked Madam Pomfrey, who looked to Ron.

"That's fine with me," Ron said. "I don't really have much to discuss today."

"Are you sure?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ron gave her a nod. "Well, I'm more than happy to see you right now, Ginevra. Please, come into my Office."

"Okay…" Ginny drew in a deep breath.

"Do you want me to wait here?" Ron asked. "I don't mind."

Ginny looked like she wanted to say no, but in the end, she gave him a meek nod before disappearing into Madam Pomfrey's Office. Madam Pomfrey closed the door behind her, and Ron walked over and sat down on an empty chair. _Please, Merlin, let this work._

* * *

 _ **Nearly One Hour Later**_

"You could have easily secured the Horcrux by now," Ravenclaw Ron said, he was leaning against the wall to Ron's left. "But no… Instead, you're just sitting here. Waiting for nothing."

"I'm waiting for my sister," Ron said dully. "I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Excuse me?" Ravenclaw Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"I saw what you did to the people in this school," Ron glared at his past self. "Children… Professors… You killed them all."

"I did," Ravenclaw Ron said.

"Yeah, I don't expect you to understand," Ron looked back towards the door. "You're clearly broken, especially that brain of yours."

"I am not broken," Ravenclaw Ron scoffed. "It's everyone else that's broken…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked coldly.

"Nothing…" Ravenclaw Ron said bitterly, and Ron decided to ignore his past self. _Why am I even talking to him?_

Silence fell in the Hospital Wing once more, and Ron closed his eyes in order to take a nap. _This session is going for longer than I expected, but honestly, I'm kind of glad. Madam Pomfrey must be making some headway with Ginny._ After fifteen more minutes, the door to Madam Pomfrey's Office slowly creaked open. Ron was out of his seat within a heartbeat, and when Ginny stepped out with a handful of tissues, Ron made his way over to the two witches. _Ginny's been crying._

"Hello," Ron greeted them, his eyes fixed on Ginny.

"You stayed…" Ginny gave a weak smile. "Thanks…"

"Don't worry about it," Ron couldn't really hide his relief. "Well? Did it help? You don't have to answer that, of course…"

"Good Lord," came Ravenclaw Ron's bored voice from behind him.

"I don't know yet…" Ginny admitted, and then she looked to Madam Pomfrey. "I'll see you on Saturday, then?"

"Of course, but don't be afraid of coming down here if you feel overwhelmed," Madam Pomfrey gave Ginny another rare smile. _Odd… She has only smiled at me a couple of times, and I've been seeing her for nearly a year._ "My door is always open."

"Okay," Ginny sniffled as she cleaned up her eyes. "I think I'll go back to Gryffindor Tower, now… I could use a nap…"

"Understandable," Madam Pomfrey gave her a nod, and then she left to take care of her other duties.

"I'll walk you to the Moving Staircase," Ron offered, and Ginny gave him a nod.

They both began making their way out of the Hospital Wing, while Ravenclaw Ron followed them at a distance.

"Um… Ron…" Ginny broke the silence with her croaky voice.

"Yeah?" Ron answered.

"I'm sorry for not coming forward… About the Diary, that is…" Ginny apologized, and Ron tensed a little. "People blamed you for everything that I did, and I should've come forward in order to protect you… I'm sorry…"

"What's done is done," Ron decided to put the past to bed. "I forgive you."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked.

"Of course," Ron chuckled a little. "I never really blamed you, anyway."

Ginny nodded to herself, but she didn't say anything. As they neared the Moving Staircase, Ginny stopped him by moving into his way.

"Don't tell the others about this, okay?" Ginny said. "They'll all make a big deal out of it, especially mum…"

"My lips are sealed," Ron promised. _Trust me, I know how annoying other people can be when they shove themselves into your affairs._ "So… Your next session is on Saturday, then?"

"After lunch," Ginny was obviously relieved due to his promise to stay silent.

"Want me to come with you?" Ron offered.

"You have work on Saturdays," Ginny reminded him.

"Oh… Yeah…" Ron suddenly felt a little stupid.

"Thank you for the offer, but I can come back myself," Ginny said. "I… I actually want to… You were right; it felt good to talk about everything without holding back. She's a great listener."

"Good," Ron smiled involuntarily. _This is really good. She's taken to it, which means that she'll get the help that she needs. I just have to make sure that I don't fuss over her, or cross any lines. I can do that._ "Enjoy your nap, Ginny. I'll see you in the Great Hall during dinner."

"Bye," Ginny said, but instead of leaving, she hugged his middle. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Ron rubbed her back.

"I might vomit," Ravenclaw Ron drawled.

After a few seconds, Ginny pulled back with a smile.

"I'll be off, then," Ginny said. "See you at dinner."

"See you at dinner," Ron said back, and Ginny began heading up to the seventh floor.

Ron waited in his spot for a bit, and when he knew that he was completely alone, he looked back over his shoulder.

"Where is this Horcrux?" Ron asked his past self.

"Up on the seventh floor," Ravenclaw Ron replied.

"And what exactly am I looking for?" Ron asked.

"A Diadem," Ravenclaw Ron moved up to Ron's side. "Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, to be exact."

"What? I thought that Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem was stolen by Helena Ravenclaw," Ron was quite taken aback. "How the fuck did it up back here?"

"Ah, the Hat told you," Ravenclaw Ron nodded to himself. "Lucky… I had to spend a year chasing down possible leads just to find it."

"You didn't answer my question," Ron said.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "The Dark Lord brought it back to Hogwarts for safekeeping."

"When?"

"What does that matter?" Ravenclaw Ron shrugged. "I never cared to find out, I was just glad to be rid of it."

"Where on the seventh floor?" Ron asked.

"Oh, you're going to love this," Ravenclaw Ron grinned. "Come with me, and I will show you."

"Not so fast," Ron said.

"What now?" Ravenclaw Ron lost his grin.

"I'm not going there alone," Ron scoffed. "I'm going to go get Professor Snape and the Headmaster. They're much more skilled with Dark Objects than I am."

"You can't trust them," Ravenclaw Ron said. "You can't trust anyone but yourself. When will you learn that?"

"I'm not you," Ron said once again. "Now, I'm going to go get Professor Snape, and I expect you to cooperate."

"Is that so?" Ravenclaw Ron tilted his head.

"You clearly want the Cycles to end, so yeah, I expect you to cooperate," Ron said. "This is **my** Cycle, not yours. You just got set loose because of Fate and the Entity's meddling. If you don't like my way of doing things, you can fuck right off."

Ron began making his way down to the Dungeons, while Ravenclaw Ron simply vanished from sight. Ron knew that his past self was going to be difficult about this, but Ron also understood the importance of ending the Cycles. _He's a cunt, but he's also tired of this shitty existence. I can't give him any control over me, or he'll start stringing me along like the Entity. I am in charge of my own life, and that's that._ Ron made his way straight to Snape's Office, and once he reached his destination, he knocked on the door without hesitation.

"Come in," came Snape's voice, and Ron entered the Office and closed the door. _Wait… I haven't thought about what I'll say to him after all this time._

"Hello," Ron greeted lamely, and when Snape turned around from stacking his shelves, Ron smiled without thinking. "You're walking around…" _And you're safe._

"You are observant, as always," Snape cocked an eyebrow.

"I missed you so much," Ron felt slightly overwhelmed, and before he could think better, he began approaching Snape with his arms extended.

The man quickly picked up his cane, and he stopped Ron by planting the tip of his cane on Ron's sternum.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked coldly.

"I… wanted to hug you…" Ron admitted slowly. _Merlin, what the fuck am I doing? Do I have a death wish? Fuck it, just go along with it. I don't care that I missed him as much as I did._

"There is no need for that," Snape frowned a little.

"I just want to make sure that you're really here," Ron grinned sheepishly. "If I hold you, then my heart can be at peace at last." Snape grimaced at that. "That didn't melt your heart? Not even a little?"

"Is there a reason behind this visit?" Snape asked, he hadn't missed this cheeky behavior.

"Well, yes," Ron replied. "But first, I want to ask about you. How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Snape replied as he limped towards his chair. "I had almost forgotten how stupid the 'students' of this school are."

"I missed that grouchy sass of yours," Ron couldn't help but feel giddy. "It's really great to have you back, Sir." _Get a hold of yourself, Ron._

Snape shifted in his seat a little, he was clearly not comfortable with Ron's excited demeanor.

"About me being back…" Snape cleared his throat. "Thank you… Albus told me what you did for me. I owe you." _His words don't match his tone very much._

"We're a team, right?" Ron took his old seat. "I'm just really glad that you're not dead."

Snape gave a curt nod, his eye darting around the room. _Is he really that uncomfortable with showing gratitude? Maybe he should see Madam Pomfrey too?_

"What did you need, Ron?" Snape asked after a few awkward moments.

"Oh, I might have the location of another Horcrux," Ron said, and Snape's eye widened.

"What?" Snape leaned forward immediately. "How? Where?"

"The 'how' part is hard to explain," Ron started. "As for the 'where' part… It's in this school."

"Is… Is this joke?" Snape asked, his expression becoming blank.

"No, it isn't," Ron stood up. "Let's go see the Headmaster, yeah? I have something important to tell you both. Something related to the Entity."

Ron walked over to the fireplace, and while he prepared it, Snape limped up behind him. With the floo set up, Ron walked through the green flames and Snape quickly followed after him.

"Ron? Are you sure about this?" Snape asked, and when Ron saw his past self loitering about in the Headmaster's Office, Ron gave a nod. _He appears whenever he wants… This is problematic. I need to find a way to get rid of him after this._ "What are you looking at?"

"Ronald? Severus?" Dumbledore greeted from behind his chair. "I see that you two found each other once again."

"What can I say?" Ron grinned. "We're star-crossed friends."

Dumbledore let out a happy chuckle at that, while Fawkes let out a loud shrill.

"Annoying idiot," Snape hissed as he limped over and sat down in his chair. "Albus, Ron claims that he knows the location of another Horcrux."

Dumbledore stopped laughing abruptly, his twinkling eyes slowly becoming more focused.

"Is that so, my boy?" Dumbledore asked as Ron sat down.

"Before we get down to it, I need to tell you both something important," Ron said, and then he drew in a deep breath. _Just get it out there, Ron._ "Something really fucked up has happened to me… Do you remember what I told you about the Entity 'bleeding' into me?"

"Don't tell them a damn thing, you fool," Ravenclaw Ron hissed from behind Ron. "You're giving them weapons to use against you."

"Yes, we remember," Dumbledore replied, his eyes darting towards Snape for a second. "Go on."

"Well, as it turns out, there are even more side effects to that phenomenon," Ron said, and then he showed Dumbledore and Snape his left hand. _Come out._

Black, sharp nails slid out of the roots of Ron's fingernails, something that visibly baffled both Dumbledore and Snape. _I should also show them my eyes._ With a bit of concentration, Ron felt a surge of anger and hatred bubble within his veins.

" _ **Do not fear, We are in complete control**_ ," Ron said, but the reactions of Dumbledore and Snape were anything but calm.

"Good heavens," Dumbledore went wide-eyed, while Snape moved away from Ron with a startled look. "Ronald?"

" _ **Yes?**_ " Ron smiled, though his demonic eyes made him look even more terrifying.

"By the Gods…" Snape muttered. "You… You are in control? Complete control?"

" _ **Sort of**_ ," Ron replied; he couldn't deny that the rage he felt right now was almost overwhelming. _Stop… That's enough._

His vision blurred for a moment, but once his nails and eyes had returned to normal, Ron felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. _Merlin, it's like all the anger in me just disappeared. It feels…weird._

"How is this possible?" Snape looked between Dumbledore and Ron. "Albus?"

"I don't know…" Dumbledore looked both concerned and very wary. "Ronald? You can change your visage at will now?"

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "I know it's… scary… but I don't really feel scared. I feel… **strong** … It's hard to describe. It feels like I could always do this… Does that make sense?"

"That matches the experiences recorded by Metamorphmaguses," Dumbledore said. "Severus?"

Snape said nothing; he was too busy staring at Ron with a guarded look.

"It's still me, Sir," Ron said without thinking, a small pang of hurt passing through him. "I'm not the Entity."

"Have you been practicing your Occlumency?" Snape asked slowly.

"I have, but this is something else entirely," Ron replied. "Plus, my Occlumency isn't that strong. I mean, I can calm myself down in most situations, but I don't know the first thing about defending my mind."

"That needs to change," Dumbledore said to Snape, who gave a quick nod. "Ronald, what else did you want to tell us?"

"I'm currently seeing a past life of mine," Ron looked towards Ravenclaw Ron, who looked more than disappointed with him. "It's not a vision like the other times… This time, he's following me around and actually talking to me."

"What?" Snape looked around, while Dumbledore just stared at him.

"How long has this been going on?" Dumbledore asked.

"Don't tell him a thing," Ravenclaw Ron warned.

"It started a week ago, but after I started taking the Sleeping Draught, he disappeared," Ron replied. "I thought that I was just under a lot of stress, and because of that, I was hallucinating again. But no… This past version of me has apparently broken free from the Entity's hold."

"The Entity's hold?" Snape asked, his head was started to hurt.

"When I die, it sort of absorbs my soul," Ron explained slowly. "I don't really understand what's happening, but apparently, it 'bleeding' into me has resulted in the other Rons being set loose."

"That many souls cannot exist in the same body," Dumbledore paled a little.

"Which is why it rounded them up within Dream Hogwarts," Ron said. "All of them except for the one that I'm seeing."

"He is in this room with us?" Dumbledore asked, and Ron pointed towards his past self.

Snape and Dumbledore looked in Ravenclaw Ron's direction, and he glared back at them with genuine disgust.

"Maggots," Ravenclaw Ron spat out. _What a prick._

"And he's the one who's telling you where this Horcrux is?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes darting towards Snape again. _I'll ignore those looks because I know that he's worried about me._ "Give us a moment, Ronald… This is a lot to take in."

"Why didn't you come to us immediately?" Snape demanded.

"I thought that I had fixed the situation," Ron replied. "I only just found out that I haven't fixed a damn thing, so here I am."

"We will be continuing your Occlumency training," Snape ordered. _Is he worried about me? I think he is, though he'll never admit it._

"Every Tuesday?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Snape replied. _That's great! I feel like I've reached a level where I can start to improve my Occlumency._

"You don't need Occlumency," Ravenclaw Ron drawled. "The World-Eater is guarding your mind."

"I'd rather guard my own mind," Ron told his past self, which made Dumbledore and Snape give him odd looks.

"Ronald… Ask him where the Horcrux is," Dumbledore requested.

"Where is the Horcrux?" Ron asked, and Ravenclaw Ron just stared at him. "Well?"

"You cannot trust them, Ron," Ravenclaw Ron spoke almost gently, which jarred Ron a little. "They will sacrifice you when you need them most. Dumbledore only cares for the Boy-Who-Lived, and Snape is a broken shell of a man. You are giving them too much power over you."

"Answer the fucking question," Ron frowned. "And spare me your twisted logic."

"The Room of Hidden Things," Ravenclaw Ron answered after a few seconds of silence.

"The Room of Hidden Things?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Do you know where that is, Headmaster?"

"Yes, I know where it is," Dumbledore replied slowly. "Can you ask the other Ronald about how he came to find this Horcrux? Does he know about any others?"

"Well?" Ron looked back to Ravenclaw Ron.

"I know of one," Ravenclaw Ron said bitterly. _Yeah, he definitely hates Dumbledore for some reason._ "The Diary that possessed Ginny."

"We've already destroyed the Diary," Ron sighed out. "Damn… Are you sure that you don't know about the others? How did you even learn about the Horcruxes?"

"The Diary… It killed Ginny in my Cycle," Ravenclaw Ron all but whispered, and for a moment, Ron could hear pain in his voice.

"Ginny died?" Ron blinked, he felt a little winded by that. _I know she's still alive in my Cycle, but the fact that she died at the age of eleven in another Cycle… Fucking hell…_

"She… She was weak," Ravenclaw Ron's demeanor became somewhat scary. _What the…?_

"She was eleven," Ron glared at his past self. "How can you even say that about your own fucking sister? Don't you have a heart?!"

"Ronald," Dumbledore said in a calming voice.

"He only knows about the Diary," Ron spat out, his eyes fixed on his past self. _She was weak? Fucking scum. His own sister died at the age of eleven, and that's what he thinks of her? What the fuck happened to him?_

"A shame," Dumbledore said. "Ask him how he came to learn about the Horcrux within Hogwarts."

"How did you learn about the Horc-"

"I can hear him," Ravenclaw Ron glowered. "I learned of it by studying a tome called the 'Secret of the Darkest Art'. It's right over there… The black leather tome hidden behind Newt Scamander's work. Summon it with 'Accio Secret of the Darkest Art'."

Ron aimed his left palm at the shelf that his past self was pointing to.

"Accio Secret of the Darkest Art," Ron said, and he felt a strong tug before the tome flew into his hand.

He caught it easily enough, though it was much heavier than he expected.

"Ronald, put that tome down," Dumbledore said, his hardened eyes fixed on the faded black leather.

"I stole that book in my Cycle," Ravenclaw Ron explained. "At first, I just wanted to extend my knowledge on the Dark Arts, but when I read the passages on the creation of a Horcrux, I realized what that Diary truly was. I began to wonder if I could make one, and as luck would have it, I chose Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem as my object. It felt… poetic. I spent a year tracking it down, but it became very clear to me that the Dark Lord had already stolen it for his own purposes. After some research, I found out that the Dark Lord returned from his 'travels' in order to apply for a job at Hogwarts."

"The Dark Lord applied for a job at Hogwarts?" Ron looked towards Dumbledore, who gave a solemn nod.

"He wished to become the Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore explained. "I refused him, of course, and he left the very same day."

"And it never occurred to this fool that the Dark Lord came here for another purpose," Ravenclaw Ron said in disgust.

"He came here to store away the Diadem?" Ron asked his past self.

"That was his original goal, I believe," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "He no doubt knew that Dumbledore wouldn't give him a position at Hogwarts. I searched the whole castle for the Diadem, and eventually, I found it within the Room of Hidden Things."

"The Dark Lord hid the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw within Hogwarts when he came here for a job," Ron told Dumbledore and Snape.

"I see…" Dumbledore rubbed his chin. "Clever. Even back then, he was thinking several steps ahead."

"Wait… The Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw?" Snape asked, and then he looked to Dumbledore. "Albus, do you have the Locket?"

"Of course," Dumbledore pulled out the Locket's remains, and even Ravenclaw Ron leaned forward to inspect the destroyed Horcrux.

"The letter 'S'…" Snape cocked an eyebrow. "I had my suspicions, but I never raised them… This Locket might have belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

"Really?" Ron asked. "You got that from shape of the emeralds?"

"I have seen a similar looking Locket on a portrait of Salazar within Malfoy Manor," Snape explained. "It didn't look exactly like this, but that might have been due to an error made by the painter."

"An artifact from Salazar, and an artifact from Rowena," Dumbledore paled, and both Snape and Ron looked to him.

"He knows something important," Ravenclaw Ron said. "Question him at once."

"Is there something that you want to tell us, Headmaster?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore looked to the Hat.

"Hat, come to me," Dumbledore ordered, and the Sorting Hat woke up.

"Albus?" the Hat yawned. "Ah! Ronald! Dear boy!"

"Hat," Ron couldn't help but smile a little.

The Hat vanished from sight, only to show up on Dumbledore's desk.

"Am I to join you three in scheming today?" the Hat asked with a shrewd voice. "About time you sought my wisdom."

"Do you remember Tom's visit?" Dumbledore asked the Hat, he looked rather grim right now. "The day he came to me for a job?"

"Ah… Yes," the Hat replied. "His eyes kept darting towards me. I remember telling you as much."

"At the time, I believed that he was just watching the Sorting Hat," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, a contemplative look on his face. "Two artifacts from two Founders…"

"The Dark Lord knew that the Hat contained Godric's artifact," Ravenclaw Ron said. "He wanted another piece for his collection." _What?!_

"Are you serious?" Ron asked his past self, but Ravenclaw Ron was just staring at Dumbledore.

"What is he saying?" Snape asked Ron. "Your past life… What did he just say?"

"Past life?" the Hat hopped up and faced Snape.

"He thinks that the Dark Lord is creating a collection of some sort," Ron replied. "One made up of Founder artifacts."

"No," the Hat gasped. "He… He would never dare…" _Oh shit… The Founders are like the Hat's parents, aren't they?_

"I'm sorry, Hat," Ron once again felt the urge to throttle the Dark Lord.

"He wanted Godric's sword," Dumbledore said. "Even as a young boy, Tom had a tendency to collect trophies."

"And in his twisted mind, the artifacts of the Founders are trophies worthy of someone like him," Snape said, and Dumbledore gave a slow nod.

"Albus, the sword is untouched," the Hat tried to sound strong. "I still contain it."

"Good," Dumbledore drew in a deep breath. "Tom found the Locket of Salazar Slytherin, and he also found the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Which means that he might have found something of Helga Hufflepuff," Ron realized. "Hat, did she have an artifact?"

"I am trying to remember," the Hat said slowly, and after a few seconds, it gasped once again. "My mother's Cup… It could be used to summon any beverage without the need for Conjuration Magic, and she always carried it with her. Its creation was her first true achievement, and it began her love for the culinary arts."

"The Cup of Helga Hufflepuff," Dumbledore nodded to himself, and then, his eyes widened due to some horrible realization.

"Albus?" Snape was taken aback by Dumbledore's expression.

"Hokey," Dumbledore stood up and walked off towards his room, leaving everyone else behind.

"Um… What the fuck?" Ron looked to Snape. "What's a Hokey?"

"Hokey…" Snape grimaced. "Sounds like an Elf's name."

Dumbledore returned suddenly, a vial of silvery memories in his grasp. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his Pensieve.

"Severus, Ronald… Come," Dumbledore said, and they both quickly joined the old wizard.

Dumbledore poured the silvery liquid into the Pensieve, and then he gestured his friends to join him within the memory. One by one, they all leaned in, and Ron found himself standing within a hazy memory. Dumbledore and Snape were both here, and as Ron looked around, he found his past self walking around the memory with an inquisitive look. _He showed up here as well?_

"Where are we, Headmaster?" Ron asked.

"The home of Hepzibah Smith," Dumbledore replied, and Ron immediately recognized the name.

"Hepzibah Smith? The woman who was murdered right before Tom Riddle disappeared?" Ron asked, and both Dumbledore and Snape turned to face him. "Um… You remember when my friends and me were looking into the Chamber? Well, we found out about Hepzibah Smith and Tom Riddle as a result."

"Your friend Theodore's investigation," Dumbledore remembered. "He did mention that when I questioned you all about your knowledge on Tom. It appears that you all know a great deal more than most."

"Theo had someone investigate Tom Riddle," Ron said. "I think he destroyed the report, though. We didn't really learn much about him other than the fact that he was related to the Gaunts, and that he ran off after Hepzibah was murdered."

"It matters not," Dumbledore said. "Watch this memory, you two. I had forgotten about it until now, but so much makes sense now that we've discovered another one of Lord Voldemort's secrets."

Ron looked around the large room, which was so crammed with objects that it was difficult to see how anybody could navigate their way across it without knocking over at least a dozen things: There were cabinets full of little lacquered boxes, cases full of gold-embossed books, shelves of orbs and celestial globes, and many flourishing potted plants in brass containers. From what Ron could tell, this was the home of a collector of old artifacts. _Nothing too out of the ordinary, really. Dad's told me that a lot of wizards tend to hoard old objects in order to keep our history alive._

"Is that her?" Ron asked as his eyes landed on a rather fat, old woman.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied just as a tiny Elf walked into the room.

Behind the tiny Elf was a handsome young man, and Ron felt his gut tighten at the sight of him. _The Dark Lord… Is that really him?_ Ron felt Snape stiffen next to him, and he looked towards the Potions Master. Snape's jaw was clenched, there was genuine hatred written on his face. _His torturer is right in front of him._ Ron gave Snape's shoulder a comforting squeeze, and Snape's features relaxed a little.

"I am fine, Ron…" Snape said in a low whisper, and Ron let go of the man.

Tom Riddle walked over to Hepzibah Smith, and after giving her a respectful bow; he took her chubby hand and brushed his lips against it.

"I brought you flowers," Tom Riddle said quietly, producing a bunch of roses from nowhere. _Conjuration Magic? And Wandless to boot? I need to up my game here. If he can summon flowers, then he can probably summon weapons too._

"You naughty boy, you shouldn't have!" Hepzibah squealed. "You do spoil this old lady, Tom... Sit down, sit down… Where's Hokey? Ah…"

The house-elf had come dashing back into the room carrying a tray of little cakes, which she set at her mistress's elbow.

"Help yourself, Tom," Hepzibah said. "I know how you love my cakes. Now, how are you? You look pale. They overwork you at that shop, I've said it a hundred times…"

Tom smiled mechanically and Hepzibah simpered. _She's ready to jump his fucking bones, isn't she?_

"Well, what's your excuse for visiting this time?" she asked, batting her lashes.

"Mr. Burke would like to make an improved offer for the goblin-made armor," Tom replied. "Five hundred Galleons, he feels it is a more than fair-"

"Now, now, not so fast, or I'll think you're only here for my trinkets!" Hepzibah pouted, no doubt trying to look cute.

"Stupid woman," Ravenclaw Ron sneered. "She is dancing with the devil, and she has no idea."

"I am ordered here because of them," Tom said quietly. "I am only a poor assistant, Madam, who must do as he is told. Mr. Burke wishes me to inquire-"

"Oh, Mr. Burke, phooey!" Hepzibah said, waving a little hand. "I've something to show you that I've never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won't tell Mr. Burke I've got it? He'd never let me rest if he knew I'd shown it to you, and I'm not selling, not to Burke, not to anyone! But you, Tom, you'll appreciate it for its history, not how many Galleons you can get for it."

"I'd be glad to see anything Miss Hepzibah shows me," Tom said quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle. _Merlin, he really has a hold on this woman. He speaks so softly… It's quite jarring. I expected him to sound more… evil._

"I had Hokey bring it out for me… Hokey, where are you? I want to show Mr. Riddle our finest treasure… In fact, bring both, while you're at it…" Hepzibah ordered.

"This is it," Dumbledore said, and they all walked closer to Tom.

"Here, Madam," Hokey squeaked as brought over two leather boxes.

Hepzibah took them from the Elf, an almost smug look on her face. Ron ignored her words as he focused on the boxes, and when she opened the topmost one, his eyes widened a little. Inside the box was a golden cup with two finely wrought handles. Tom took the cup by one of the handles, and for a moment, his eyes gleamed red. Although Hepzibah's eyes were fixed on Tom's handsome face, she didn't seem to notice his darkening expression.

"A badger," Tom murmured, and Ron looked towards the Headmaster.

"That right there is Helga's Cup," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Then he's made it into his Horcrux already," Snape frowned deeply. "He killed her, stole the Cup, and then left to travel the World."

"If I recall this memory correctly, then she is going to show him a locket after this," Dumbledore said.

"Salazar's Locket?" Ron asked.

"I believe so," Dumbledore replied. "Forgive me, you two… It seems that age has taken its toll on me. I should have made this connection much sooner."

"Old idiot," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes.

"Shut your gob," Ron snapped. "He's only human."

"Your past self followed you in here?" Snape asked.

"Yeah…" Ron frowned at Ravenclaw Ron. "He's much more bitter than I expected."

"I'm bitter for stating facts?" Ravenclaw Ron cocked an eyebrow, and Ron decided to ignore him for now.

After a bit of back and forth between Tom and Hepzibah, she revealed Salazar's Locket to him. _Oh, fuck._

"Salazar's Locket," Snape said, he was starting to sweat a little for some reason. "Now we know where he found both artifacts."

Dumbledore took one look at Snape, and then he ended the memory rather suddenly. They all found themselves standing within the Headmaster's Office once again, and Dumbledore moved over to help Snape.

"Your leg is still hurting you," Dumbledore noted as he guided Snape back to his chair.

"It's not healed yet?" Ron asked.

"They used a Cursed blade of some sort," Snape grit out as he sank into the chair, a cold sweat on his forehead. "Albus… He found three artifacts…"

"Three?" the Hat asked as Ron and Dumbledore took their own seats. "So… My mother's Cup has been soiled as well, then."

"I'm sorry, Hat," Ron gave his condolences.

"I… I must think on this…" the Hat sounded genuinely upset, and within a blink, it was back on its shelf.

Ron wanted to say something to ease the Hat's pain, but he honestly couldn't think of the right words. _We have to destroy the Cup as well. Three out of four Founders had their artifacts turned into Horcruxes by the same lunatic._

"The Cup, the Diadem, the Locket, and the Diary…" Dumbledore listed. "Four Horcruxes created by a single man… This is truly disturbing."

"Where do you suppose the Cup is hidden?" Ron asked.

"Could be anywhere," Snape wiped his brow. "The Diadem, however, is within our reach. I suggest that we take care of it now."

"Ronald," Dumbledore looked to Ron.

"Take us to the Diadem," Ron said to his past self.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"Fuck me dead," Ron muttered as he entered the Room of Hidden Things.

He was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Ron knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud House Elves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover halfheartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon eggshells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords, and a heavy, bloodstained axe. This place was a treasure trove, and Ron's mind raced with ideas on how to utilize it.

"You are salivating, my boy," Dumbledore chuckled as he studied Ron's expression. _This place exists in the same room as my Sanctuary… This fucking castle is so full of secrets._

"How long has this been here, Headmaster?" Ron asked as he eyed a trunk full of old Chocolate Frog Cards. "What is this place, even?"

"This is the Room of Hidden Things," Dumbledore explained. "It is as old as the castle, I believe, and as you can clearly tell by the dated objects around us, thousands of students have used it to store away their belongings."

"There are jewels here," Ron looked towards a dusty ruby. "What student would leave behind a ruby?"

"Perhaps it was found by Elves," Dumbledore guessed. "I fear that even I cannot provide too many answers about this place. I only found it in my fourth year by accident."

"Accident?" Ron asked.

"I found myself in possession of a particularly incriminating magazine…" Dumbledore looked off into the distance. _Wait a minute._

"Did this magazine have lads in it?" Ron cocked an eyebrow, and Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I wonder if it's still here…" Dumbledore mused to himself.

"Let's find the Horcrux first, pervert," Ron gave the old man a deadpan look. "Professor Snape told us to hurry back."

"Yes, of course," Dumbledore chuckled to himself. "So? Is he here?"

"Who? My past self?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore gave a nod.

Ron looked around, and he couldn't find the Ravenclaw anywhere.

"No… He vanished just as we left…" Ron grimaced. "I think we might be on our own."

"Then let's search together," Dumbledore began walking down one of the alleyways. "Keep your eyes peeled for a tiara, Ronald." _Actually, now that I have him alone, maybe I can ask him about the Muggle-Borns._

"Headmaster, I've been thinking," Ron started. "What are we going to do about the Muggle-Borns? I mean, when the war is made public knowledge, a lot of people will be in terrible danger. Do you remember what I told you about the Snatchers?"

"I remember," Dumbledore replied, his eyes scanning every inch around them.

"I was thinking that we'd make a list of sorts," Ron went on. "Any student with Muggle, or Muggle-Born parents, would be on this list. That way, we know who needs our help. We can even build safe-houses for these Families, you know?"

"You want to keep your schoolmates, and their parents, off of the streets?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, yes," Ron replied. "There are a lot of Half-Bloods in Hogwarts, Headmaster, which means that there is a lot of Muggle Blood within the student body. We'll help them all, right?" _Even if he says no, which he won't, I still plan to do something about this._

"Tell me about your idea," Dumbledore shot him a bright smile. _Yes! He's in!_

"I was thinking that we'd start compiling a list, and as the war progresses, you could approach everyone on said list with the offer of safe haven," Ron started. "Professor Snape had the brilliant idea to turn Hogwarts into a bastion, remember? We could move all these Families into Hogwarts in order to keep them away from the Dark Lord's forces. Oh, and we can utilize so much of the castle. I mean, the North Wing is abandoned, right? We turn that place into a housing area of sorts."

"And this list," Dumbledore gave Ron's back a paternal pat. "I believe that I already have it."

"You do?" Ron blinked.

"What do you know about the Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance?" Dumbledore asked Ron.

"Um… What?" Ron had no clue about these items.

"These two artifacts, which were created by the Founders, are perhaps Hogwarts' greatest mystery," Dumbledore explained. "Whenever a Magical Child exhibits the ability to use Magic, the Quill of Acceptance writes the child's name into the Book of Acceptance."

"Really?" Ron was quite impressed. "Where are these artifacts?"

"Locked away," Dumbledore replied. "Even I am not allowed to tamper with them."

"So we already have a list?" Ron asked excitedly. _I was right to come to him!_

"Yes," Dumbledore smiled at Ron. "I shall try to copy down all the names of current and future students. Your idea is a good one, and we should try our best to implement it. The more lives that we can save, the better."

"Great!" Ron beamed. "Awesome! I'm looking forward to this list, then!" _Wait…_ "Um… Didn't you just say that you aren't allowed to tamper with these objects?"

"I'm not, yet I will try nonetheless," Dumbledore said with an air of mischief.

"What if you can't?" Ron asked.

"Then we shall have to do this the old fashioned way," Dumbledore replied. "The Professors keep records of all the students in their Houses, and I will have them compile a list of everyone who will need protection."

"Right," Ron nodded to himself. "Actually… About Gryffindor… Maybe you could ask Harry to help in the matter?" _What are you doing, Ron?_

"Harry?" Dumbledore gave Ron a searching look.

"Well… You know how you asked me to keep an eye on him during the Break?" Ron started. "I kept my eyes on him, and we even talked a little. He's… Ahem." _Be a man, Ron._ "He feels left out right now, and if you speak to him and ask for his help, he'd feel much better."

"I see," Dumbledore's lips quirked upwards.

"Don't give me that look," Ron frowned a bit.

"What look?" Dumbledore asked innocently.

"That one right there," Ron pointed to the old man's face. "The 'You are a sweetheart, Ronald' look… Don't give me **that** look."

"I would never," Dumbledore chuckled. "Though you are a sweet, thoughtful boy." _You bastard._

"I'm trying to help **you** here," Ron huffed much like Daphne. "You want Harry to lead the Order one day, right? Well, how about you give him some direction instead of just sheltering him all the time? He needs to be prepared, Headmaster, and we are quickly running out of time. Let this be his first assignment. It's safe, and it's extremely important. He'll feel a million times better if you just give him a chance."

"You are right, dear boy," Dumbledore smiled properly, a hint of pride in his voice. "I shall speak to him tomorrow, then."

"Good," Ron looked ahead; he had embarrassed himself enough for one day.

The rest of the journey was covered in silence, and Ron took the chance to keep his eyes peeled for eye-catching items. He had seen dusty old tomes, weapons, jewels, and even some wands. He planned to return here at a later date in order to collect as many resources as possible. The jewels could be sold, the books could be studied, and the weapons could be stored away for a rainy day. And then, there were the clothes. There were so many robes in here, and Ron knew that once they had been cleaned up, some of them would be quite fashionable. _It's like Hogwarts wants me to succeed. I know that's not entirely true, but it's a very comforting thought._

Eventually, Ron spotted his past self standing by a bust of an ugly wizard.

"There!" Ron pointed to his past self. "My past self is waiting for us by that bust."

"Lead the way," Dumbledore said, and Ron quickly marched up to the bust.

"Is it here?" Ron asked Ravenclaw Ron, who pointed to a tarnished tiara on top of a bunch of ruined books.

"Do not touch it," Ravenclaw Ron warned. "Have the old fool risk himself. This object is extremely Dark, and you are more important than Albus Dumbledore."

"Headmaster, the artifact," Ron pointed to the tiara. "Don't touch it, though. My past self says that it's extremely dangerous. Let me-"

"No, Ronald," Dumbledore stopped him short. "Stand back at once."

Ron felt the urge to refuse, but he knew better than to question the Headmaster of Hogwarts. With a hesitant look, Ron took a step back as Dumbledore eyed the Diadem.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Dumbledore read the markings on the tiara. "This is indeed Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. I sense very powerful Dark Magic on this item, Ronald." _Really? I don't sense a thing._

"How do you sense it?" Ron asked. "Could you teach me?"

Dumbledore gave Ron a quick look, and then he nodded.

"Close your eyes, my boy," Dumbledore instructed, and Ron quickly did as he was told. "Draw in a deep breath, and feel the Magic within yourself. Be completely calm, and just… feel…"

Ron drew in a deep breath, and after picturing Stoatshead Hill; Ron tried to focus on his own Magic. There was something there, deep inside him, and as Ron focused on this 'something', he felt this 'something' reach out to him. It was… unstable… and angry. It was so fucking angry that Ron nearly lost his focus, but thanks to his training, he was able to subdue his growing discomfort. His Magic felt raw, almost like it wanted to burst out of him in order to level everything around him. As Ron gained more control over himself, he felt an outside presence. It was cold, and Ron felt like this presence wished to harm him.

"It wants to hurt me?" Ron opened his eyes.

"Dark Magic like this is malevolent in nature," Dumbledore gave a slow nod. "Did you feel the presence of the Diadem?"

"It was cold," Ron looked towards the Diadem.

"Remember this feeling, Ronald," Dumbledore said. "Many Dark objects resemble a similar presence."

"That was… easier… than I expected," Ron couldn't help but point out.

"You are a talented young wizard, Ronald," Dumbledore gave him a soft smile. "Do not doubt yourself."

Ron felt his ears turn a little red, and he managed a shaky nod. _He really thinks that I'm talented?_

"What are we going to do about the Diadem?" Ron asked. "Will it hurt us if we touch it?"

"It will not," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "Though it will tempt you to put it on."

"Find a box," Dumbledore began looking around. "Let's not risk ourselves by making contact with it."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"How do we destroy it?" Snape asked as he stared at the Diadem.

"Same as the Locket, I imagine," Ron replied.

"I am in no condition to contain Fiendfyre," Snape said bluntly. "Albus, can you cast it and contain it yourself?"

"The explosion caused by destroying a Horcrux with Fiendfyre is difficult to contain alone," Dumbledore said. "For the Diary, I needed help from Minerva, Pomona, and Filius. As for the Locket, it took everything that we both had to stop the Fiendfyre from overpowering us."

"Didn't you tell me that you told the other Heads of Houses about the Horcruxes before you left for Albania?" Ron asked. "Get their help on this."

"They only know about the Diary," Snape told Ron. "They have no idea that the Dark Lord has split his soul multiple times."

"I don't see why we can't tell them," Ron admitted. "We three can't keep this just to ourselves… If we die, then everyone else will get fucked. If you tell the Heads of Houses about what we three have learned, then at least they stand a fighting chance in case we get killed. Headmaster, I really think that we need to let more people in on this. Just in case the worst happens."

"I agree with Ron," Snape said, something that surprised even Ron.

"You do?" Ron blinked.

"What has changed your mind, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"He **must** be stopped," Snape said, his eye fixed on the Diadem. "We are not invincible, Albus… Ron is extremely sick, you are getting older by the day, and I've become useless… Pomona, Filius, and Minerva are healthy and strong. We need them to be ready, because as Ron pointed out, we three could die unexpectedly."

"You're not useless, Sir," Ron swallowed thickly. _He's definitely changed, not that I can blame him._

"Spare me," Snape sounded almost bitter. "My new wand is difficult to control, my leg can barely carry me, and my wand hand is gone. I know my limits better than ever." Snape then looked to Dumbledore. "Albus, speak with the other Heads of Houses. Share what we've learned, and then destroy this Horcrux alongside them. Tell Minerva that she needs to prepare herself for your mantle."

Ron said nothing, especially because the mood had shifted rather quickly. Dumbledore stared at Snape for a few moments, and then, he gave a grave nod.

"Tonight, then," Dumbledore agreed. _As much as I hate to think about my own mortality, this is what needs to be done. Of us three, I'll probably be the first one to check out._

* * *

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Slytherin Common Room – Evening)**_

"Ron! Where have you been?!" Tracey asked, while the others just stared at him with mild annoyance. "We went to Madam Pomfrey, but you weren't there."

"I was in the Sanctuary," Ron lied as he walked over to Daphne.

"Were you practicing your Magic?" Daphne asked, she looked more worried than annoyed. "Did something happen during your session?"

"No," Ron shot her a smile as he sat down. "I'm not upset in any way, I promise. I just missed that place, that's all."

"Next time, let us know," Theo said from behind his Herbology book. "You're the one who keeps saying that we can't run off alone anymore."

"You're right," Ron said. "I'm sorry if I worried you guys."

"As long as you're not upset," Pansy gave him a relieved smile. _Do I really get upset that often? Oh, yeah… I do._

"Hi, Ron," came a chirpy voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Lysandra smiling at him.

"Hello, Lysandra," Ron smiled back. "Do you need help with something?"

"Oh, no… Clara asked us first years to keep our eyes open for you," Lysandra replied. "They're in their room, and they wanted to speak with you."

"Right," Ron stood back up. "Thanks for letting me know."

"It's nothing," she beamed at him, and after lingering for a bit, she left to go join her friends. _She was batting her eyes at me again…_

Ron looked towards Daphne, who was giving him a bored look. _Run away, Ron!_ Tracey and Pansy could be heard sniggering, which only made Ron more uncomfortable.

"I'll be back shortly," Ron said as he made his way towards the girls' dorms. _If looks could kill, I'd be a corpse right now._

Once he was at the Triumvirate's door, Ron quickly made sure that he looked his best. _Wait… What am I fucking doing?_ Ron cleared his throat, and then he knocked on their door. He heard movement from the other side, and the sight of a smiling Clara greeted him when the door swung open. She wasn't wearing her school robes, her school shirt was hanging out of her skirt, and the top three buttons were open, revealing some of her cleavage. _Fucking nice!_

"Hello," Ron greeted her with a smile, his eyes darting towards her chest without his consent.

"Hello to me? Or hello to my tits?" Clara smirked in a knowing way.

"Hello to all three of you," Ron grinned sheepishly, and Clara let out a laugh.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Ron," Clara pulled him into a tight hug.

"You too," Ron tensed a little as he patted her back. _The Gods have truly blessed this woman, and by extension, they've blessed us lads as well._

Clara pulled back and kissed his cheek, and then she guided him into the room before shutting the door.

"Ron's here," Clara announced.

"Hello," Ron greeted Carey and Samantha, both of whom were currently looking over some parchments on Carey's study table.

Unlike Clara, the other Triumvirate members were dressed immaculately. _What a damn shame… Oh, well. I wonder what they want to talk to me about._

"Ron," Carey smiled at him. "Come here."

Ron walked over to Samantha and Carey, and when he was in her reach, Carey put her palms on his cheeks. Ron felt his face heat up a little, but he quickly calmed himself using his Occlumency. _Be clear headed, Ron. Don't let how gorgeous they are trick you into letting your guard down._

"You look healthy," Carey sounded genuinely relieved. "This is good to see."

"Were you worried about me?" Ron smirked.

"We all were," Carey said smoothly, and when Ron saw Samantha smiling at him, he swallowed thickly. _Stoatshead Hill! Stoatshead Hill! Stoatshead Hill!_

"I am taking care of myself," Ron felt a little embarrassed. "I promise."

"Good," Carey let go of him. "Come, take a look at this."

Ron looked at the parchments that the girls were studying, and after perusing through them, he picked one up for closer inspection.

"The Group Tournaments are all being held on the same day?" Ron looked to Carey. "Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin, followed by Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor. The teams that win will face off against each other in the finals. Three matches per year level. Matches to be held on the seventeenth of January, Sunday." _Two weeks, then._

"Professor Snape handed us these last night," Carey told him. "We're to put these up on the notice board, but before we do that, we need to create a plan."

"Isn't the plan to win?" Ron asked.

"It is," Samantha said, while Clara giggled at his forwardness. "But we have yet to settle on teams. The other Houses are no doubt selecting the best students from each year level, so we need to do the same. You've worked with the second and third years extensively, so your opinion is vital to us."

"Well, for the second years, I'd go with Suzie, Boris, Lilliana, Mathias, and Bethany," Ron listed. "Bethany and Lilliana are a little fragile when it comes to being on the offensive, but they're good at dodging and staying on the defensive. As for Boris and Suzie, they both did really well during the last tournament."

"Whereas Mathias won the whole thing," Clara said. "Guess we have our team for the second years."

"What about the third years?" Carey asked Ron.

"Millie, Blaise, Theo, Malfoy, and myself," Ron replied.

"Write this down," Carey said, and Samantha took the parchment from Ron before filling it out. "Now that we've discussed the Group Dueling Tournament, let's move onto another important matter."

"We told Professor Snape everything that happened in his absence," Clara said from behind Ron.

"You did?" Ron turned to face her. "So you told him about what I did to Flint?"

"Yes," Carey replied. "He didn't seem too bothered by it, however. If anything, he was very accepting of your new role." _Of course he was. My job is to turn the Slytherins against the Dark Lord._

"Tell us, why does Professor Snape favor you so?" Clara hummed with a sultry smile.

"He favors competence," Ron replied calmly. "And let's be honest, I worked well with you three to establish order within this House."

"That you did," Carey said as she moved some of his hair behind his ear. _That tickles a little._ "We aren't trying to pry into your business, Ron. We just want to make sure that you plan to continue doing your good work."

"Although we were against your actions at first," Samantha started. "You've helped us tremendously, and we want to reward you." _Reward me? Do they mean…?_

"I have a girlfriend," Ron quickly moved away from Carey, something that made the Triumvirate laugh. _Nice going, Ron… You went and embarrassed yourself… Even Samantha is laughing._

"Your loyalty to your girlfriend is very touching," Carey laughed sweetly. "The reward that Samantha was referring to doesn't involve any form of lewdness, however."

"Oh…" Ron felt rather hot under the collar.

"Some of the older students feel that you don't need to work with us anymore now that Professor Snape has returned," Samantha explained. _Really? And who are these traitors?_ "We three have decided otherwise, and with Professor Snape's blessing, we want to invite you to join us for our first meeting on Sunday."

"I see," Ron's lips quirked upwards. "I accept."

"Good," Carey said smoothly. "We'll be meeting in Professor Snape's lab at half past seven. Make sure that you arrive on time. Professor Snape will be joining us for this one, and we can't afford to make him question our decision." _I doubt that he'll do that._

"Half past seven on Sunday," Ron gave a nod. "I'll be there." _Thank them, you buffoon._ "Thank you for this, you three. I really appreciate it."

"You were right when you said that we didn't give you enough credit," Clara shot him a wink. _Was this all her idea?_ "We just want to make sure that we don't make the same mistake twice."

"I can understand that," Ron smiled properly. "You won't regret this, I promise."

"We'll see you around, Ron," Carey went back to her work, and Ron decided to be on his way.

The moment he shut the door behind him, he pumped his fist into the air. _The Triumvirate is sticking by me! This is great! For a bit, I was worried that I was going to have to fight to keep my new position._ Ron fixed up his school robes, and he began making his way back with a confident smile. _Tonight, Dumbledore will destroy another part of the Dark Lord's soul. Not to mention that we learned about Hufflepuff's Cup thanks to our stellar teamwork. And then there's Ginny signing up for more sessions. This has been a damn good day._

"Ron," came Daphne's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

She was waiting by her door, and when Ron looked her over, his smile widened even more. _My day gets even better!_

"In here," Daphne said with her rebellious smile in place.

"Were you waiting to ambush me?" Ron followed her into her room, and she quickly closed and locked the door.

"Definitely," Daphne jumped him, and Ron caught her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Want to snog, handsome?"

"Yes, please!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Monday 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Headmaster's Office – After Dinner)**_

"He's split his soul four times?" Pomona gasped, while Minerva and Filius grimaced in disgust.

"This Diadem…" Filius paled suddenly. "It is Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem? Are… Are you sure?"

"This Diadem is indeed Rowena's," Albus replied, and then he looked to Pomona. "The memories I just showed you… He also turned Helga Hufflepuff's Golden Cup into his Horcrux."

"And Salazar's Locket was also in those memories," Minerva remembered. "Albus… The Sword?" _She's seen his pattern. Good. If we three do die, then Minerva may still have a chance to find the other Horcruxes._

"It is the only Founder Artifact left safe from his collection," Albus said, and Minerva looked a little relieved. "His Diary, the Diadem, the Locket, and the Cup… He has four that we know of, and two are already destroyed. The Dia-"

"When did you destroy the Locket?" Filius asked, his eyes darting towards Severus.

"I destroyed it near the end of September," Albus replied. _Should I tell them about Regulus? They all taught him except for Severus. Maybe I should honor his change in nature with just a few more people._ "The Elf Kreacher told me of the Locket."

"Sirius' Elf?" Minerva remembered, while Severus shot Albus a frown. _Sorry, Severus, but I wish to redeem young Regulus' memory somehow._

"The very same," Albus went on. "As it happens, young Regulus turned on his Master when he learnt the truth of the Dark Lord's immortality."

"He figured out what Horcruxes were?" Filius looked a little stunned. "I suppose he was very bright… Yes, very bright."

"Definitely more disciplined than his older brother, Sirius," Minerva looked mildly annoyed in remembrance.

"He gave his life to ensure that the Locket be stolen by Kreacher," Albus told them. "He died saving his Elf's life in the end, that is how much he changed for the better."

"Poor boy," Pomona's said softly. "He was always a quiet lad. I liked him before he became what he did."

"Kreacher brought me the Locket in the hopes of destroying it, and I realized what I was dealing with. I was dealing with another Horcrux, which made me realize that there might be more than two. As you now know, I have learned that he has made four."

"How did you find the Diadem?" Filius asked.

"I ran into it in the Room of Hidden Things," Albus replied, which made them gape. "I was making a donation to the room, and it caught my eyes. The markings caught my eye, to be exact. I then sensed similar Dark Magic around it, and so I brought it here."

"You just blindly walked into a Horcrux?" Minerva just stared at Albus.

"It has been quite the day," Albus replied with perfect surety. "We must destroy it at once, and I need your help. Only Fiendfyre can destroy it, and Severus is unable to help me again."

"So you've known about the Locket since the end of September?" Minerva asked Severus.

"MY duty is to keep secrets," Severus replied icily.

"We'll help you, of course," Pomona shot a pitiful look at the Diadem. "We must end the Diadem's suffering. Such rare Magic soiled by the Darkest Art. A true shame…"

"Then let's get on with it," Severus said bluntly, and Albus moved the Diadem into the box with his sleeve. "I'd like to witness the destruction of the Dark Lord's soul shard."

Albus and Severus stood up, and the other followed suit.

"Gather around," Albus made them hold each other, and Fawkes flew down onto his shoulder. "Take us to the Cliffside once again."

Fawkes burst into bright orange flames, and Albus found himself feeling the cold breeze of the Cliffside. The clouds were dark grey overhead, and the smell of rain was thick in the air. _A storm is coming._

"Let us hurry," Filius said, while Severus sat down in order to rest his leg.

Albus levitated the box into position, while the three able Heads of Houses made a circle thirty feet away from the box.

"Are you all ready?" Albus asked, and they all nodded.

With a powerful wave of his wand, Albus called forth Fiendfyre from the Elder Wand. The three Heads cast Finite before digging their wands into the Earth. Albus followed quickly, and they created a bright bubble around the Fiendfyre just in time. As soon as the barrier was finished, the Dark Lord's face burst to life in Fiendfyre. It screamed in agony, and the pressure felt by the barrier shook Albus for a moment. _This isn't as hard with three hands helping me. With Severus alone, it was very consuming._ Once the raging inferno began to die out, they closed the bubble in order to suffocate the Fiendfyre. Before long, there was only scorched Earth, and black smoke within the bubble.

"Release it," Albus instructed, and they disbanded the bubble.

Albus cleared the smoke with a wave of his hand, and they all approached the charred Diadem. The sapphires on the Diadem were scorched, but hadn't melted.

"Glacius," Filius chilled the remains, after which Albus picked up the destroyed Diadem.

"There is no Magic left in it," Albus sensed, the markings had been melted away. _Just a broken tiara now… What a shame._

"He has corrupted and destroyed a part of Hogwarts' very history," Filius said gravely.

"Including the history of his own ancestor," Pomona sighed.

"The Dark Lord only wishes to bring death to the World," Severus limped up to them. "To him, Salazar's twisted beliefs are just stepping stones in his bid for power." _He openly admits to Salazar's beliefs being twisted?_

"Does this not affect **him** somehow?" Minerva asked. "We are, after all, weakening his anchor to this Realm. What happens to him if we keep weakening the anchor?"

"I imagine that he will become more unstable," Albus admitted. "Not weaker, but definitely more unhinged."

"Then was it wise to destroy these Horcruxes one by one?" Filius asked. "Shouldn't we have collected them all, and then destroyed them together? An unpredictable enemy is the most dangerous one."

"He may reveal himself early to the public by mistake if he's unhinged," Severus said. "In the long run, that will save many more lives." _The Ministry will be forced to fight against him, and with his much weaker forces, he will be destroyed sooner. We must endeavor to reveal him to the public ourselves somehow. We will wait until Amelia starts her campaign, and then we will reveal the Dark Lord. The people will vote for Amelia in order to have a Minister who possesses the knowledge needed to fight the Dark Arts. I will tell Severus and Ronald of this plan tomorrow. It could save us from a long election._

"Death will come either way, then," Minerva grimaced.

"Speaking of death, I have another job for you all to do tonight," Albus decided to implement Ronald's plan. _I think I'll be working all night again. I'll compile the lists into one, and start planning a budget of sorts._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Headmaster's Office – After Classes)**_

"Um… Cockroach Cluster," Harry remembered the password that McGonagall had given him.

The Stone Gargoyle slid aside, revealing the spiral staircase that led up to the Headmaster's Office. Harry felt oddly nervous for a change, and he figured that it was because Dumbledore probably wanted to discuss the war with him. Harry didn't admit this often, but he had always felt a special bond between him and Dumbledore. Perhaps it was one-sided, but honestly, Harry didn't care. The Headmaster was kind to him from the very start, and Harry wanted nothing more than to help the old wizard.

Harry knocked on the Office door, and then he quickly straightened his school robes and fixed up his tie.

"Come in, Harry," came Dumbledore's voice, and Harry quickly made his way inside.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore," Harry greeted warmly as he closed the door, while Dumbledore gave him the usual kind smile. "Professor McGonagall told me that you wanted to speak to me."

"Please, come and sit down," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and Harry sat down across from him. _His Office is so cool. I wonder what all these instruments do. I bet Hermione would know._ "How was your Break, Harry? Did you enjoy your time with the Weasleys?"

"Very much, Professor," Harry replied. "It wasn't without a few awkward moments, but overall, I did enjoy myself. I played a lot of Quidditch, in fact."

"Excellent," Dumbledore's smile widened. "The Weasleys certainly love the sport, so you must have fit right in." _Well, some of the Weasleys love the sport… Ron never joined us. Not even once. I hope it wasn't because I was playing._

"Professor…" Harry started; he was feeling more than impatient already. "Sirius told me about Voldemort…"

"I know," Dumbledore's smile didn't even waver. "I am sorry that hehas returned to power so abruptly… I had hoped that he would remain in hiding for longer."

"Why?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"I wanted you to enjoy your childhood," Dumbledore replied, and Harry nodded very slowly.

"I'm not scared," Harry felt the urge to point out.

"Truly?" Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes shining brighter.

"That's what he wants," Harry replied. "He wants me, and everyone else, to be scared, so I won't give him the satisfaction."

"That is a good attitude, Harry," Dumbledore beamed. "Your mother and father were also very brave, but your fire is something else entirely. They'd be proud." _Really?_

Harry's lips quirked upwards, but he managed to keep some of his composure.

"I want to join the Order," Harry said, and for a second, he saw pride flash across Dumbledore's face. "I want to fight him. Just like you. Just like Sirius, Remus, and my parents."

"As far as I'm concerned, you are already an honorary member of the Order, Harry," Dumbledore said, and Harry felt something stir in his chest. "However… You are not ready to join the fighting just yet."

"I can train," Harry said quickly. "With Remus, that is. He's already agreed to start giving me extra lessons, and I'll go to each and every single one. I promise."

"That is a good start," Dumbledore said.

"But…?" Harry said slowly.

"Until you turn seventeen, you are under my protection," Dumbledore told him.

"I've already faced him once before, though," Harry reminded the old wizard. "I beat him at the end of first year. I saved the Stone."

"He has regained a lot of power, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "He is no longer a spirit… Now, he is truly dangerous once again. Until you turn seventeen, you will train and prepare yourself. One day, you will no doubt face him, but when that time comes, you must be ready."

"I will be," Harry promised.

"That is comforting to hear," Dumbledore relaxed a little. "When do you start your lessons with Remus?"

"Tomorrow," Harry replied. "He wants to start by teaching me the basics of self-defense."

"Make sure that you give him your full attention," Dumbledore said. "Now, I wish to ask a favor of you, Harry."

"A favor?" Harry perked up. "Anything, Professor."

"I want you to make a list for me," Dumbledore started. "There are many students within Gryffindor who have Muggle Blood running in their veins. As you no doubt know, Lord Voldemort will aim to hurt them all once he gains more followers."

"You want me to make a list of anyone with Muggle, or Muggle-Born, parents?" Harry asked. _He wants me to help in Order business?!_ "I'll do it! It won't take me longer than a couple of days, I promise!"

"Take a week, Harry," Dumbledore chuckled. "Make sure that you don't miss a single person."

"I won't," Harry said, and then, a thought occurred to him. "Professor… What about the other Houses?"

"I will be looking into the other Houses myself," Dumbledore replied. _Oh, I see._ "Can I count on you to get this done by Monday?"

"You can," Harry gave a firm nod. "Can… Can I tell Neville and Hermione? They want to help as well, Professor."

"I don't see why not," Dumbledore beamed.

"Great!" Harry smiled genuinely. "They wanted to approach you themselves, but…" he trailed off. _I've said too much, I think._

"Tell them that their help is more than welcome," Dumbledore said. "We are, after all, in the same boat now, are we not?"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

Harry had all but run back to Gryffindor Tower, he planned to start his task as soon as possible. A small part of him still couldn't believe that Dumbledore himself had asked Harry for help, and yet, here Harry was… _I feel really great, actually. If I do this perfectly, then I'll definitely be asked to help more often._

Harry looked around the busy common room, his eyes scanning the happy faces of friends who had finally been reunited. The twins and Lee were at the center of attention at the moment, and all three boys had taken to exaggerating their hardships in order to seize the attention of certain witches. This had, of course, resulted in people being cold towards Percy, but Percy didn't seem too bothered. If anything, Percy was the one being distant for a change. _I bet he's still shaken up about Ron's poor health. Which reminds me… I ought to warn Ron that some of the Gryffindors want to have a go at him._

"Harry," Neville walked up to him. "Why are you just standing about? Did Dumbledore say something that got to you?"

"Oh, no…" Harry broke out of his thoughts, and then, he smiled at Neville. "He wants my help, mate! Come with me, and I'll tell you all about it!" Harry then looked around. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's in her corner," Neville sighed out, and Harry felt a pang of guilt. _She's back to studying constantly._

"Let's go," Harry walked over to Hermione's corner, and when he saw her bushy hair sticking out from behind stacks of books and parchments, Harry traded a quick look with Neville.

"It's your turn," Neville reminded him, and Harry drew in a sharp breath. _Time to prod the book monster._

"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted as he took a seat, and Hermione's head popped up.

Her hair was wilder than usual, and she already had a furrowed brow.

"I can't help you with your homework right now, Harry," Hermione spoke with a hint of urgency. "I really need to get this Care of Magical Creatures essay done, or I'll fall behind my schedule again. I want this term to be less hectic for me." _This isn't hectic enough?_

"I can do my own essay," Harry assured her, and Hermione's brow relaxed a bit. "I just spoke with Dumbledore, and he gave me a job."

"A job?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow, and then, her eyes widened in realization. "An Order job?"

"Yeah," Harry whispered, and Neville sat down to his right. "He wants me to make a list of anyone who has Muggle, or Muggle-Born, parents. He wants to protect these Families when the war is in full swing."

"Really?" Hermione's eyes flashed to life. "And we can help?"

"I spoke to him for you, and he agreed," Harry gave a nod.

"Here," Hermione said as she searched for a blank piece of parchment. "Use one of mine."

"Nev, are you in?" Harry asked.

"Of course I am," Neville smiled widely. "Wait… What about Ginny?"

Hermione stopped shuffling about for clean parchment, and Harry tensed a little. _Oh… I didn't ask…_

"I didn't ask about her joining us," Harry said, feeling a little guilty.

"And would she even want to?" Hermione asked. "Neville, she hasn't really forgiven us yet."

"She will after she helps us in this," Neville said with alarming surety. "She's trying to get past it, so we should give her a nudge in the right direction. Show her that we trust her, you know?"

Harry looked to Hermione; he didn't really know what to do. _Hermione's a little better with Ginny than I am. She can make the decision._

"I think we should," Hermione shot Harry a quick look. "Dumbledore wouldn't mind another set of eyes, I think. Harry?"

"Sure," Harry agreed with her decision. "Call her over, Nev."

"All right," Neville said gratefully. "I'll be right back."

With that, Neville went off looking for Ginny. Harry tried to not look awkward, but he failed miserably. _After all that silent treatment, I don't know what to say to her. Does she still have that crush on me? Or does she hate me now? I can't ever tell with her. Plus, she's closer with Neville and Hermione. She and I only ever spoke about Quidditch._

"This'll be fine," Hermione looked a bit tense. "Right, Harry?"

"You're not sure?" Harry blinked.

"No, that's why I asked if you were," Hermione stared at him.

"I thought you were sure, so I agreed," Harry sighed out. "Great…"

"Let's just try our best to stay away from certain topics," Hermione said, and Harry gave a nod. "Don't mention Ron, don't mention Luna, and don't mention anything-" Hermione stopped abruptly.

"I filled her in," Neville said from behind Harry, and then Ginny and Neville came into view.

She sat on Neville's opposite side, away from Hermione and Harry both. Harry tried not to stare, but he felt the urge to read her expression. _I'll mostly stay quiet, I reckon. I mean, I caused the main issue in the first place, didn't I?_

"The person here who can write in the smallest letters should do the writing," Ginny suggested, and Harry looked to Hermione for guidance.

"Harry writes pretty small, I think," Hermione sounded overly civil. _WHAT?! You always tell me that my writing takes up too much room!_

"Um… Neville writes smaller," Harry said, and Neville gave him a bored look.

"I'll write," Neville went with it in the end. _Thanks, Nev… I don't want to say anything that might upset her._ "Hermione, can I use your paper and quill?"

"Yes," Hermione quickly handed him the supplies. "Let's start with the first years. We should have a year-by-year list. It's neater, and Professor Dumbledore will appreciate that."

"Right," Neville concentrated on writing smaller letters.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Snape's Office – Evening)**_

"Weasley," came Snape's voice, and Ron opened his eyes.

"Yes?" Ron asked.

"Don't get lost in your safe place," Snape frowned at him. "The point is to remain alert, not comatose."

"I was meditating," Ron said.

"No, you were daydreaming," Snape said icily. "Stay in control."

"Sorry, Sir," Ron apologized. "It's been a long day, and we've already practiced for an hour. I'm getting tired."

"I see," Snape said.

"Do you mind if we stop?" Ron rubbed his eyes. _He's right… I nearly fell asleep there._

"We can stop," Snape replied, and Ron was a little bothered by that. _He just agreed instead of calling me lazy? My good luck is persisting, isn't it?_

"Thanks," Ron said, deciding to forego asking any awkward questions.

"Is your past self still following you about?" Snape asked.

"No, actually," Ron looked around for Ravenclaw Ron. _Nothing._ "I haven't seen him since he showed me the Diadem." _Which is rather suspicious. I mean, where did he go?_

"You should go see Pomfrey for a scan, Ron," Snape advised.

"Why?" Ron asked, he had been putting it off.

"Because your change could be a result of your trauma getting worse," Snape replied. "We need to be sure about what's happening in your head, or we risk losing you." _He made it awkward…_

"I'll get one tomorrow," Ron started.

"No, you should get one today," Snape said. "Don't let fear control you. Always stay in control of yourself." _Yeah, he'll drag me there if I refuse. I ought to play along just to save myself some embarrassment. Plus, I've put it off long enough._

"So it's a lesson as well?" Ron sighed out. "Okay…"

Slowly, Ron made his way out of the room. From there, he ever so slowly made his way towards the Hospital Wing. _There is where my good luck ends, right? That scan will show that my 'gourd is cracked open'. Fuck, I really don't want to get this brain scan. I'd rather not know. Ignorance is bliss, or whatever the saying is._

Ron decided to think about Stoatshead Hill, and the little relief he felt, he used to combat his growing dread. Step by step, Ron found himself standing in front the Hospital Wing. Just as he entered through the large doors, he came face-to-face with Malfoy. _Shit. He has his sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday._

"Weasley?" Malfoy cocked an eyebrow.

"Ronald?" Madam Pomfrey called from her door. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh… I was here to get a session," Ron lied. "I'm feeling a little… overwhelmed…"

Malfoy looked between Madam Pomfrey and Ron, and then he made his way past Ron without another word. _Ah, he got the message._

"Let me just check on some of my patients, and then I'll be right with you," Madam Pomfrey said. _Patients? It's the second day back. Seriously, why is this school so dangerous?_

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

The look on her face gave it away, and Ron let out a defeated sigh. _The Entity isn't doing its job, and something tells me that my past self is to blame. Why are these cunts ruining my Cycle with this shit? Why can't I just be left alone?_

"I'm sorry, Ron," Madam Pomfrey handed him the scan, and Ron had a quick look at it. _New black spots…_ "There are two new black spots, while the old ones have grown in size. This… This is not good."

"How long?" Ron pushed his voice out of his throat.

"At this rate, maybe two years," Madam Pomfrey replied. _I'll die before I become of age? I see…_

Ron handed her the scan, he couldn't bring himself to look at it.

"What else?" Ron asked. "Will there be symptoms?"

"Higher chances of loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a few minutes," Pomfrey started. "More frequent headaches, more frequent nausea, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, sleeping more than usual, dizziness, and maybe even difficulties with speech. These are only the physical symptoms, though."

"What?" Ron blinked. "There are more types?"

"Sensory, and cognitive," Pomfrey replied gently. "Sensory ones may include blurred vision, ringing ears, and changes in the ability to smell. Cognitive ones may include memory and concentration problems, more frequent mood swings, and feelings of depression. Have you felt any of those symptoms yet?"

"During the break, I had a few really rough days," Ron swallowed thickly. "I felt depressed, or at least I think I did… I lost all motivation and such… And then there's my issues with sleep." _I felt a lot of these symptoms, actually. Maybe that's why I had a bad feeling about this scan._

"I think we need to bring your parents into this," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron quickly shot up from the bed.

"No… Not yet," Ron said.

"Ron-"

"Can I please have a couple of days to process this?" Ron all but begged. "You're right, we need to talk to them… That scan looks much worse than I expected, so I get where you're coming from. I just… I need a little time to think on this." _Mum and dad are going to be so upset when they see that scan._

"Of course," she couldn't really refuse her patient. "We'll go to them during your session on Thursday."

"Okay…" Ron felt drained. _Two fucking years… I'm so fucking fucked._

He suddenly remembered his friends, and his gut twisted a little. _They'll be devastated. And Daph… How do I tell Daph about this without making her cry? Oh, and Ginny… She just started trying to get better. I'm going to ruin her recovery with this._ He felt the urge to back out of telling anyone, but even he knew how stupid that would be. Ever since he had made peace with his coming demise, Ron had realized that he needed to be prepared for that day. _Telling them is a must. I can't just drop dead one day, and leave them all devastated in the middle of the war. That might get them killed due to being distracted. I… I have to look past my own wants… I have to look at_ _ **their**_ _needs._

"Ron?" Madam Pomfrey called, and Ron broke out of his daze.

"Yes?" Ron asked.

"Do you want to come and talk in my Office?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I… I'd like some time to myself, please…"

* * *

 _ **Tuesday 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Sanctuary – Nearly Dinner)**_

He had tried to keep his composure, even though he was up here by himself. He figured that if he could just stay in control of his emotions, he'd feel a little better. But no… The moment he had sat down in his favorite chair, he had sunk his face into his hands before letting the fear of death take over. He had cried, cursed, and shouted, all of which had left him truly drained.

He just sat here now, his mind coming up with plans for the future. He had sent Helios to the Fawleys, and with their help, he could start work on the Werewolf Sanctuary. He hadn't visited Priscilla before the Break had ended, so that needed to be rectified. Oh, and he had to write a will. He had no clue, of course, about how one writes their will, but he needed to write one. It felt like the right thing to do, just in case the worst came to pass. _I wonder if Dumbledore's finished that list yet. I should save funds for that project. I mean, I still haven't finished preparing the Chamber to serve as a bunker. Where is Chivvy with those beds and supplies?_

He heard the door crack open, and he shot a quick look towards it. His friends all snuck in one by one, and Ron decided to stare back at the fire. _Fuck… Should I tell them now?_

"There he is," came Theo's voice, and Ron heard his friends approach him.

"Ron, you disappeared again," Daphne huffed.

"You made the rule about sticking together, remember?" Tracey sounded a little disappointed.

"You there, Ron?" Blaise asked, and Ron nodded.

"I'm here," Ron said. "I just wanted to be left alone."

"You had another session today, right?" Daphne picked up that something was wrong. "Malfoy mentioned that you were feeling overwhelmed."

"Did he?" Ron looked towards Malfoy. _You can't talk about what happens with Madam Pomfrey, you git._

"You went missing, and I figured that they'd want to know," Malfoy shrugged without a care. "You're being a moron by walking around alone."

"Don't call him that," Millie shot Malfoy a frown.

"Ron? Are you okay?" Pansy asked. _I should just tell them now. Otherwise, they'll see through my shitty lie and get even more upset. Plus, they deserve to know about this. After all, my death will affect them more than most._

"My brain damage…" Ron started, and their expressions stilled. _Even Malfoy's looking a little jarred, which is, oddly, nice to see._ "It got worse… A lot worse… I don't have long…" _That was a dreadful effort, but I don't care. I just don't have it in me to be strong right now._

"You had a scan…?" Daphne muttered, and Ron gave her a nod.

"Sorry, Daph," Ron apologized without thinking.

"Do you have the scan with you?" Daphne asked, she clearly wanted to make sure for herself.

"No," Ron replied. "Madam Pomfrey has it in my records."

He could already see Pansy's eyes welling up, while the others were quickly catching up to Pansy. Blaise was no longer looking distant, Theo wasn't smirking, Tracey had lost her disappointment, Millie wasn't playing tough, Malfoy was just staring at him, and Daphne looked disbelieving. _I really don't have it in me to comfort them all. Not right now._

"Can I please be left alone?" Ron asked, but none of them moved a muscle. "Right… Can we please have silence instead, then? I just need to think through everything on my own first."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Sanctuary – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron's eyes fluttered open, and he slowly shifted in his spot. He had fallen asleep at some point, but he couldn't remember when. The previous night seemed like a hazy dream to him, he could barely remember anything besides being told of his worsening condition. As Ron tried to sit up, he realized that someone was clinging to his right arm. _Daph?_ Ron looked to his right, and he saw Pansy cuddled into his side. _What the…?_

That's when it hit him… None of his friends, Malfoy included, had left after Ron had told them of his latest scan. None of them had even eaten dinner; instead they had stayed with him in the Sanctuary. _I think Daphne asked me to go to sleep… Where is she?_ Ron looked around the bed, and his face flushed a little because of what he found. Daphne was asleep to his left, and Tracey slept to Daphne's left. Millie was also on the bed, though she was on Pansy's side. _I slept in the same bed as four girls?! They put me in the middle, and then fell asleep around me?!_

Ron swallowed thickly, and then with great care, he freed his arm from Pansy. _How do I get out without waking them up? I want to get ready for my morning run._ Ron sat up slowly, and he spotted his male friends sleeping on the couches. _Bloody hell… They all stayed the night._ He didn't know why, but he felt a little guilty for making them stay behind like this. _First I tell them about the war, and now this… I'm the harbinger of bad news, aren't I?_ Daphne's hand searched for him, and when it landed on his left thigh, Ron nearly yelped. _Good Lord… I have an erection to boot! Fuck me dead, how did I end up in this position?_

Ron pulled a face as he removed Daphne's wandering hand; his entire body was becoming flushed.

"Ron?" Daphne's eyes opened groggily. _Shit!_

"Hello," Ron whispered, and then, he noticed how agitated her eyes looked. _She's been crying…_

Ron looked at the faces of the other girls, and their eyes were similarly agitated. _Even Mills… Damn, I really ruined their night, didn't I?_

"Where are you going?" Daphne croaked as she sat up.

"Um… My morning run," Ron shifted his legs in order to hide his morning erection. _I swear that my prick has a mind of its own now. It just wakes up whenever it damn well pleases._

"Morning run?" Daphne blinked, and then she rubbed her eyes clear.

"Why are you all in the same bed as me?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "This room can provide another bed, Daph… I've seen it happen."

"We didn't want another bed," Daphne yawned. "We… We wanted to be here for you…" _Right._

"Okay…" Ron looked around once again.

"Most boys would be happy to share a bed with four girls," Daphne tried to joke, but her strained voice gave away her worries. "You started falling asleep, and we didn't have the heart to wake you up… I joined you first, and then the others sort of followed me. I didn't want to turn them away… They're just as scared as I am."

"I understand," Ron whispered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Daph… About the scan… I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Daphne asked. "Ron… No one is upset with you."

"I know that," Ron whispered quickly. "I just… I feel awful for making you all feel miserable with my issues. First I told everyone about the war, and now I tell them that I'll be checking out early-"

Daphne flinched at that, and Ron immediately felt the urge to smack himself.

"Checking out?" Daphne all but whimpered.

"Poor choice of words…" Ron mumbled guiltily.

"I don't know why you keep making it sound so casual," Daphne swallowed thickly.

"It helps me cope…" Ron looked down at his lap. "Sorry…"

They both fell silent at that, and after nearly a minute of saying nothing, Ron decided to be on his way. _Running will help clear my head. I already wasted last night crying about something that I can't change, so today; I'll plan and put myself to work. If two years is all I have left, then I need to make the best out of every single day._

"Are you going to tell your parents?" Daphne asked just as Ron began to move.

"Tomorrow," Ron replied. "During my session, Madam Pomfrey and I will visit them."

"Your father will be working," Daphne said.

"I know…" Ron sighed out. "I'm sure we'll figure something out, Daph… Right now, I just want to go for my run."

Daphne gave him a knowing look, she knew better than to hinder his routine. Ron, sensing that she was stopping herself from trying to stop him, gave her a weak smile before he crawled off of the bed. Once he had climbed over the bed's bottom frame, Ron stretched his back and cracked his neck. _I'm stiff as a board… I'll need to do extra stretches today._

"Ron… What does this mean for us?" Daphne asked, and Ron stilled immediately. "I don't want to bring this up first thing in the morning… But the others don't plan to leave your side today."

Ron looked to the sleeping girls, and then he drew in a deep breath. _She's right. They even slept in the Sanctuary because they didn't want to leave me alone._ Ron couldn't help but feel a little better; he knew just how lucky he was to have such friends. _Merlin, we've all come a long way… Even Malfoy stayed behind, and I'm not sure if it's because we decided to stay in groups. It's odd to think that he stayed behind because he was worried about me._

"Come with me?" Ron looked to Daphne. "We'll go to the common room, get dressed for some exercise, and after we run some laps, we can talk. Just us."

Daphne stared at him for a few seconds, and then, she gave a nod.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Black Lake – Early Morning)**_

"I really need to invest in some sports gear," Daphne shivered, and as soon as Ron sat down to her right, she clung to his left arm.

"Merlin, Daph… You're freezing," Ron shifted closer to her, ignoring the fact that she had placed his arm in-between her chest.

"You're so warm…" Daphne sighed out as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't move a muscle, I beg you."

"Let's order you some running gear today," Ron said. "We'll need proper shoes, a warm jumper, and some running shorts."

"And a bra that'll keep my chest from giving me a black-eye," Daphne added, and Ron felt a little hot under the collar. _I'd rather see them bounce, truth be told. I nearly ran into the lake because of how distracted I was, but it was well worth it._ "How do you do this every morning? It's so cold out here."

"You warm up after some running," Ron said. "Walking isn't exactly a strenuous activity, you know?"

"I tried running," Daphne tightened her hold on his arm. "I can't do it in these clothes. Plus, you kept staring at me…" _Caught red-handed. Shit._

"Sorry," Ron apologized.

"I didn't say that I minded it," Daphne said. "Please stop apologizing, Ron."

"I don't even know why I keep doing it," Ron admitted.

"I know," Daphne looked into his eyes. "You're probably blaming yourself for making us miserable with bad news, but you couldn't be more wrong. I'm really happy that you told us the truth."

"You are?" Ron blinked.

"Not in the way that you're imagining it," Daphne replied. "Even a few months ago, you'd have lied about everything, and we'd only find out weeks after the fact. What I'm trying to say is that I'm proud of you for not hiding the truth from us. It shows us that you trust us, and that means a lot to some of us."

"Oh," Ron slowly looked back to the lake. "I actually figured that I'd tell the truth just for that reason… I didn't want you all to be blindsided."

"I won't lie…" Daphne started. "This… This is really scary news, Ron… I couldn't even breathe properly after you told us, and it took me an hour to stop Tracey and Pansy from crying. I was scared that they were going to wake you up."

"Merlin," Ron sighed out. "They both cried for an hour after I fell asleep?"

"Most of us did…" Daphne all but whispered. "They were just louder…"

"Should I talk to them?" Ron asked.

"Just stay around us today, all right?" Daphne requested. " **All** of us."

"I will," Ron promised, and then, he decided to tackle the elephant in the room. "Daph…"

"I'm not going anywhere," Daphne cut in. "Don't you dare cut me out because of this, Ron, or I swear to Merlin, I'll Hex you."

"What about your parents?" Ron asked, her words had made the pain subside a little. _I'm so selfish, though. She should leave now in order to spare herself more pain down the line._

"I'm not blind," Daphne rested her head on his shoulder again. "My father thinks that I should stop seeing you in order to avoid being hurt, but he doesn't get it… Even if we break up, I'll still lose you… It'll still hurt… At least this way, I get to be with you like I want to be. Do… Do you want to break up? Have you changed your mind?"

Ron shifted a little; he was torn about what to say. On one hand, he wanted to keep seeing her. Everything was just better when she was there with him, and of all of his friends, Ron wished to spend most of his time with Daphne. But on the other hand, he could tell that he was being rather selfish. The closer he became with Daphne, the more devastated she'd be once he was gone. He wished that someone would just give him a sign, but alas, that wasn't going to happen. This was all on him, and there was no way past that.

"Ron?" Daphne called, her voice sounding more urgent than before. "You… You want to break up…?"

"I don't know what I want…" Ron admitted weakly.

"What does that mean?" Daphne asked.

"What we have right now… It's the best part of my life, I reckon…" Ron tried to explain. "Whenever we're alone, or just sitting around with our friends, I love the fact that we're together. It just feels amazing to be with someone who I love, and I've never felt like this about anyone before. Even if I got the choice to do things over, I'd still want to be with you. I honestly can't picture myself being this… open… with anyone else."

"I feel the same way," Daphne said with a hopeful smile.

"But…" Ron went on, and Daphne's smile wavered. "I'm dying, Daph… Very slowly, I'm wasting away. One day soon, I'm not going to be around anymore. If we keep being together, then on that day, you'll suddenly be by yourself. Every time I think about that, I get this knot in my stomach that actually starts to hurt. I don't want to do that to you… Not ever."

"Even if we're not together, it'll still hurt just as much," Daphne said. "Ron… I'm telling you that I want to stay with you. I'm making my own decision. You're not forcing me into anything."

"I feel like I am," Ron said.

"That's because you keep putting everyone's troubles on your own shoulders," Daphne sounded a little frustrated. "If you don't want to be with me, just say it. I'm not some delicate flower that will wilt away, Ron. You know that I'm not. What I can't stand is you not making a proper decision about this. I've tried to explain things to you over and over again, but you keep calling yourself selfish and prolonging this conversation. You're hurting us both by doing this, can't you see that? Just make a decision, because either way, I'm going to be here for you. I was your friend long before I became your girlfriend, don't ever forget that."

Ron thought about her words, and he realized that she was right. She was making her own decision, and even if they broke up, Daphne wasn't the sort to leave her friends behind. Sure, she was cold towards people outside her group of friends, but once she deemed someone to be important to her, she went out of her way to be there for them. _My mum's letters, the Chamber being opened, me being accused of being the Heir, me being a Parselmouth, my coma, my scars, the Veela attacks, my sessions with Pomfrey… She's been through it all with me._

"I'm scared…" Ron muttered, his eyes becoming dull. "Really scared…"

"Me too, Ron," Daphne spoke gently. "We're all scared for you. You're not alone."

"Do you ever regret dating someone like me?" Ron asked, his chest tightening a little. "Someone with all of this baggage?"

"You know what you said about being with me, and how you can't see yourself with anyone else?" Daphne started. "Well, I feel the same way about you. You're short-tempered, secretive, inconveniently noble, and when you want, you can be colder than even my father… But despite all of these traits, you're the best person I know. I've had a crush on you since first year, and it's only gotten stronger over time." Daphne then gave him a resolute look. "If you need a friend instead of a girlfriend, then so be it… I'll be your friend, and nothing more, but please don't cut me out. I love you, Ron, and I want to do everything I can to help you. I know you'd do the same for me."

"I would," Ron said, and she gave him a half-smile.

"See? Best person I know," Daphne bumped her forehead against his. "What's your decision, Ron? Think about what **you** want, all right? I've made my choice, and I've told you what that choice is. I want to keep being together."

"You won't regret this once I'm gone?" Ron asked.

"Never," Daphne promised.

"Then… I want to be with you too," Ron came to a decision, and Daphne looked visibly relieved. "No more fighting over this, yeah?"

"Yeah," Daphne agreed, and then she gave him a light kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ron felt alive for the first time since his scan.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Potions Lab – After Classes)**_

Daphne and he were going to stay true to their feelings for each other, and although that eased the pain in his chest, Ron knew that if Daphne weren't as understanding of his behavior as she was, she'd have booted him in the manly bits by now. The fact that she planned to stay by his side even if he broke up with her meant the world to Ron. She probably didn't understand just how important she was to him, mostly because he couldn't tell her about his darkest secrets, so knowing that she'd stay by his side no matter what happened between them was almost overwhelming. He wasn't alone because Daphne Greengrass refused to let him fight on his own. She was going to have his back no matter what, and when he thought of it like that, a silly smile graced his face.

"Ron, pass me the crushed fangs," Hermione huffed. "You're daydreaming again!"

"Oh… Sorry," Ron quickly passed her the ingredients, which she mixed into the cauldron. _That's the fourth time that I've held her up._

"Honestly, Ron, where are you today?" Hermione shook her head. "I can't do all of this by myself."

"Won't happen again," Ron promised. "I'll get started on cutting up the ginger."

"I already finished that task," Hermione sighed out, and Ron gave her a sorry smile. "Are… Are you not feeling well? If so, I'll finish up myself. You ought to sit down, or something."

Ron shot a quick look towards Snape, only to find the Potions Master staring at him. _He knows that I've been slacking!_

"No, I'll help," Ron quickly looked back to Hermione. "What do you need me to do? Just give me an order."

"All right," Hermione wiped the sweat from her brow. "Keep mixing the solution, while I prepare the rat spleens. Once the solution is green, let me know."

Ron took over the cauldron, while Hermione quickly began preparing the rat spleens. _The solution is pink right now, so it should turn green within the next two minutes. Just keep stirring, Ron. Stop fantasizing about Daphne._

"Ron? Are you feeling sick?" Hermione asked, and Ron looked around them for potential eavesdroppers.

"I'm just distracted at the moment," Ron replied once he was sure that they were in the clear. "A lot of things are on my mind, you know?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "Want to tell me about them?"

"Malfoy kissed me yesterday, and I don't know what to do," Ron lied with a smirk, and Hermione's hand slipped, causing her to knock over some spleens.

"Miss. Granger," Snape limped over from across the lab, his face twisted with anger.

Hermione spluttered, her wide-eyes traveling between Ron and Snape. Ron bit his cheek in order to not burst into laughter, while Snape gave Hermione his most menacing glare.

"Weasley, cut the spleens for her," Snape ordered. "Granger, go back to stirring the Potion, and try to not drown in it."

"Sorry… Sir…" Hermione fumbled towards the cauldron, while Ron calmly began cutting up the spleens.

Snape shook his head, and then he limped back towards Cedric's table.

"Malfoy kissed you?" Hermione whispered in a frantic voice. "Ron… Oh my God… What… What did you do?"

"We snogged for a bit," Ron lied, and Hermione's mouth hung open.

"But… He's a boy… You're a boy… What about Greengrass…? What…?" Hermione Granger looked utterly clueless for a change. "Wait… Does she even know?"

"She watched us," Ron shrugged, and the look of abject horror on Hermione's face made Ron choke. _Damn! I gave it away!_

"You… You're lying," Hermione suddenly went red in the face. "Ron, you're the worst! I got told off! You put our work in danger! I could have sliced my finger off!"

"I will use my cane to shut you both up!" came Snape's voice from across the room, and both Ron and Hermione looked down at their table.

"The look on your face," Ron wheezed, unable to control himself. "Oh… That was priceless."

"You're an utter prat," Hermione said sourly.

"Oh, come on… That was funny," Ron nudged her, and she shot him a glare.

"Prat," she repeated, and Ron shot her his lopsided grin. _It feels good to joke around with her again. It's been ages since we just talked normally._

"I have no idea why you even believed me," Ron finished up the spleens.

"Why wouldn't I?" Hermione huffed as she added the sliced up spleens into the green solution. "I have no idea how you close you lot are."

"How close we are?" Ron asked.

"You're all very… touchy… with each other," Hermione stated. "Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course… I just find it a bit odd…"

"What do you mean by 'touchy'?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"Well, take today for example," Hermione started. "During mealtimes, the girls were all over you. Even Bulstrode." _Oh… That's for an entirely different reason._ "Parkinson pretty much fed you from her own plate, Ron."

"Do you watch us often?" Ron asked, and Hermione blinked at him.

"No, I just happened to look in your direction, that's all," Hermione said quickly. "It wasn't just me… Loads of people were staring. Seamus is the one who actually pointed it out." _I guess the girls are being a little clingy with me. Not that I mind, of course. I'm just glad that we're all together again._ "And when it comes to your male friends… Well, I've seen you hug them and stuff… You even kissed Nott's head during the Break, and you did it right in front of everyone."

"Is… Is that weird?" Ron asked slowly. "I mean, we're all very close. The girls are definitely a bit handsy with us boys, but we lads don't mind giving each other hugs every now and then. Don't Harry and Neville hug?"

"Not really," Hermione replied. "They have hugged, of course, but usually, they keep their hands to themselves." _Ah, so we're the weird ones… Awkward._

"What about you?" Ron asked.

"What about me?" Hermione asked.

"Don't you hug them?" Ron asked, and Hermione's face flushed a little.

"I'm not that sort of girl, Ron," she said with an embarrassed undertone.

"I wasn't implying that," Ron quickly backtracked. _Please don't slap me._ "There's nothing wrong with hugging your friends is all I'm saying…"

"Hmmm," Hermione eyed Ron, and then she clicked her fingers. _What?_ "Must be a cultural difference…"

"A what?"

"A cultural difference," Hermione repeated. "Every House has its own culture, and a big part of that culture must dictate how friends behave around each other. In Ravenclaw, I know for a fact that friends often compete against each other."

"They do?" Ron asked.

"I wonder why Slytherins are so open with their friends," Hermione spoke to herself. "This would make for an interesting study, wouldn't it, Ron? 'The cultural differences within the Hogwarts Houses, and how they influence student interaction'."

"Right…" Ron felt oddly stupid all of a sudden. "Maybe instead of studying said cultures, you should try and experience them? You know, give Harry and Neville a hug once in a while. It would certainly help them feel better."

"Would it?" Hermione asked slowly, she looked quite skeptical.

"Well, whenever my friends hug me, I feel loads better," Ron replied. "Especially when the girls hug me."

"That might be due to another reason," Hermione said dully. _Oh, it definitely is._

"Still," Ron shrugged. "Nothing wrong with trying to show them that you care about them, eh?"

"Of course I care about them," Hermione said.

"So why not show it?" Ron asked. "If I see Blaise upset about something, I don't just talk to him. I put an arm around his shoulders, and sometimes, I hug him. It doesn't happen often, but I'm not afraid of showing him that I love him."

"Did you just confess to loving a boy?" Hermione gaped at him.

"It's not that weird," Ron said defensively. "It's the truth, so I don't mind admitting it." _Speaking of Blaise, I really ought to corner him soon. He's opened up a little ever since he learned about my scan, so now is a good time to find out what's been bothering him._

"No boy in Gryffindor would admit to loving another boy, even if said boy was their best friend," Hermione said. "It must be a Slytherin thing… I reckon I'll record the different cultures of the Hogwarts Houses-"

"Don't just record them," Ron cut in. "Experience them."

"Why are you so bent on making me hug Harry and Neville?" Hermione asked.

"Because it'll help bring you three closer," Ron shrugged. "You don't have to do it, of course, but I'd rather you actually try to understand the different cultures of Hogwarts Houses before you report on them. A report from someone who hasn't experienced what they're reporting on doesn't exactly sound credible." _Marietta Angel taught me that lesson._

"Oh, you're right," Hermione nodded to herself, her brow furrowed. _She's a bit weird, but that's always been the case._ "I… I actually don't know the last time I hugged either of them. Wait… I hugged Neville at his parents' funeral…" _It's been that long?! Tracey gave me two hugs yesterday, and that was before I told her about my scan!_

"Your homework today is to hug your best friends," Ron mimicked McGonagall's voice, and Hermione snorted.

"Don't impersonate the teachers, Ron," Hermione giggled. "It's rude."

"You laughed, so I'm off-" Ron started, but Snape suddenly cut into their conversation.

"Weasley, go sit behind my desk," Snape hissed. "Granger, finish the Potion, and then get out."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

As soon as the last student, Percy, left the lab, Snape rounded on Ron with a genuinely pissed off look.

"This Club is a place of learning, not socializing," Snape whispered coldly. "If you wish to stay distracted, then do so outside my classroom. And stop distracting the other students."

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "But in my defense, the solution you had us working on turned out fine."

"Fine is for idiots," Snape frowned. "I expect better from you and Granger."

"Hermione would be really happy to hear you say that," Ron said, and Snape looked ready to burst a blood vessel. "Talking was the wrong choice… I see that now."

"What happened with your scan?" Snape asked after he calmed himself down a little. "You never came back, and you didn't attend dinner."

Ron's face fell a little, he was back to worrying about his brain damage.

"Oh, that…" Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "It… It got worse… The brain damage, that is. Two new spots, and the old ones have grown… Madam Pomfrey said something about two years at this rate…" _Two years… That is not enough time. I need to get my shit together as quickly as possible._

"I see," Snape said, his expression devoid of any emotion. _His tone just changed, so he's clearly taken aback by this._

"It's all right," Ron stood up. "I knew it wasn't going to be good… I still have two years."

"Can't the Entity heal this?" Snape asked. "You've mentioned that it has the power to hurt you, so by that logic, it could also heal you."

"It's not responding to me," Ron replied. "Ever since I started seeing the Ron from Ravenclaw, the Entity has gone silent."

"This is no coincident," Snape spoke to himself. "Come, Ron… We ought to speak to Albus about this."

"Actually, you can do that," Ron said, and Snape cocked an eyebrow. "My friends are expecting me back, and they're really shaken by all of this."

"You told them?" Snape asked.

"I did," Ron replied. "They deserve to know about this much, at least."

"Very well," Snape said. "Go to your friends, then. I will speak to Albus, and brief him on the situation."

"Has he started the list?" Ron asked. "The one I asked him to create?"

"It's already compiled, though he has Potter running around for the Gryffindor list," Snape sneered, and Ron just stared at him.

"What do you have against Harry?" Ron asked, he was feeling braver than usual. _What's he going to do? Kill me?_

"That… is not your concern," Snape whispered icily.

"I beg to differ," Ron stood his ground. "Harry is the most important piece on the board, and in case you've forgotten, you're one of the people moving the pieces around. Your low opinion of Harry matters a great deal, and it affects my Cycle."

"Are you suggesting that I would put him in danger because I loathe him?" Snape asked, his tone slightly aggressive.

"So you do hate him," Ron said. "Why? What did he do to you? For as long as I can remember, you've had it out for him."

"This conversation is over," Snape moved towards the fireplace. _I'm not done yet._

"You know how you wanted me to take over the Order down the line?" Ron asked, and Snape turned back around. "Yeah… That's not happening now… Of the three of us, I'll probably be the first one to die. You and the Headmaster will have to finish the war without me. You, the Headmaster… and Harry. I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I finally understand why the Headmaster wants Harry in charge."

"You see, unlike me, Harry will be around to lead one day," Ron went on. "Hell, he won't even have to earn any loyalty from people. Every one already worships him, and those who don't are our worst enemies. He's the perfect face to lead the Order forward-"

"He lacks any and all leadership qualities," Snape cut in. _I'm not so sure about that._

"Then teach him," Ron said. "You've been teaching me, right? Even the Headmaster has been teaching me, but no one is teaching Harry. Look, I don't know why you hate him so much, but the war is more important than your vendetta. Harry needs to be put on the right path, but right now, only Remus seems to be helping him along. That needs to change, because as you pointed out, the current leader of the Order is becoming older by the day."

Snape said nothing to that, and Ron drew in a deep breath.

"Harry is the only one who can kill the Dark Lord," Ron remembered the Prophecy. "He's already the poster boy for the war against the Dark Lord. People will flock to him when everything is out in the open. His words will carry real weight. I know that you understand all of this, but why you won't act on it is beyond me."

Ron then made his way towards the exit.

"The Headmaster is going to keep sheltering him, I think," Ron admitted as he reached the door. "He only got Harry involved in the list business because I asked him to. You need to help me convince the Headmaster that Harry needs to grow up already. Harry needs to be taught how to lead one day, and since we're quickly running out of time, that training needs to start as soon as possible."

With that said, Ron left the lab before Snape could hurl something at him. _Merlin, that was a little scary. I hate talking to him like that, but he needs to hear this. My job is to limit the death toll, but it's Harry's job to end the war. Only he can destroy the Dark Lord, but at this rate, he'll get butchered because he's not being prepared._ Ron ran his gloved hand through his hair, and then he began heading for the Slytherin common room. _I've definitely pissed Snape off, so I ought to keep my distance for a bit. I just hope that I got through to him somewhat._

"Dragon Heart," Ron spoke to the entrance, and the wall slid aside.

Ron made his way inside the common room, and he looked towards his friends' favorite spot. Daphne was already looking at him with a faint smile, and Ron felt his shoulders relax a little. _My witch has been waiting for me._ Without wasting another second, Ron made his way over to his friends. They all looked relieved at the sight of him, with the exception of Malfoy, who only spared him a quick glance.

"You're back," Tracey hugged his side, while Daphne kissed his cheek. _Correction… My Family has been waiting for me._

"Want me to deal you in, brother?" Theo asked, and Ron couldn't help but smile.

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Gryffindor Tower – Late Evening)**_

"Maybe we should go around and ask everyone again?" Harry looked up from the list; he hadn't even showered after his special class with Professor Lupin.

"Harry, that'll be really suspicious," Hermione said from behind her books. "We can't let anyone suspect what we're up to."

"How would they know?" Harry asked. "We told them that we were doing this because McGonagall asked us to."

"Professor McGonagall," Hermione corrected. "And we already got everyone. I double checked already."

"You did?" Harry blinked, and Hermione tried to give him a reassuring smile. _He just wants to get this right for the Headmaster, that's all. I should be more understanding._

"I did, Harry," Hermione promised. "We have everyone."

Harry looked back down at the list, his emerald eyes scanning each and every name. _He's worried, and Neville's not here to talk to him._ Hermione wasn't as socially inept as she used to be… By now, she had figured out that Neville and Harry were best friends, while she was their **second** best friend. For a while, Hermione had gotten over that little fact. She had Ginny, after all, but now that Ginny was trying to branch out to people her own age, Hermione was starting to feel like the third wheel again. She talked with her boys often enough, but whenever they had something important to share, they often left her out without thinking about it.

She had tried to be more talkative in the hopes of getting their attention, and when that hadn't worked, she had tried being distant in order to make them chase after her. In hindsight, that was rather petty behavior on her part. She had also entertained the possibility that the fault didn't lie with her, but even that hadn't worked. After all, Harry was stressing out right in front of her, and she had no idea about what to say. _Why did Neville have to volunteer at the Greenhouses?_

"Are we sure about these first years?" Harry muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.

Hermione thought back to her conversation with Ron, and she felt her face heat up a little. _He said that he doesn't mind hugging Zabini, another boy, if Zabini is worried about something. Should… Should I hug Harry? No, that would be really weird. I'm not even sure on how to hug boys._ Hermione studied Harry's face, and she felt the urge to do something. _Ron said that there's nothing wrong with showing your friends that you care about them, and from what I've seen, Ron's female friends have no issues with touching him. He loves it when they coddle him; I know that for a fact._ Hermione drew in a sharp breath, and then she reached over and put her hand on top of Harry's.

Harry stilled, and slowly, he looked up at her. _Was that too much?! Oh, no! Damn you, Ronald Weasley!_

"Um… Hermione?" Harry all but whispered, though he didn't pull his hand back.

"You've finished the list, Harry," Hermione pushed forward with the help of Godric's courage. "Every name is there, and you are just stressing over nothing. You should hand in that list to the Headmaster. I know that he'll be really grateful for your help."

Harry stared into her eyes for a bit, and then, a weak smile graced his face. _It worked?_

"You really think so?" Harry asked, and Hermione gave his hand a squeeze.

"I really do," Hermione managed to smile despite her shock. "You did a great job, Harry, and he'll commend you on it."

Harry relaxed visibly, and then he nodded to himself.

"I did try my best," Harry said. "We all did."

"Take a shower first, though," Hermione added, and Harry let out a laugh. _Wow… This touching stuff really works… Oh my God, the Slytherins are onto something here._

"I'll go do that, then," Harry stood up, and Hermione pulled her hand back. "Thanks, Hermione. You're the best." _I am?_

With that said, Harry picked up the list and left for his dorm. _He looked so assured just then…_ Hermione slowly looked down at her hand, and then she looked around the common room. _I've been doing this all wrong, haven't I? Do I really not show the boys that they're my best friends? Or am I just bad at encouraging them? I need to talk to Ron about this!_

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Headmaster's Office – Late Evening)**_

"But you have been lying," Rufus said bluntly, and then his yellow eyes turned towards the Heads of Houses. "You've all been lying. The Albania Inferno, the St. Mungo's fire, the Werewolf massacre in Hungary… All of this death happened because you chose to hide the truth." _He's connected the Werewolf massacre to us as well? His eye for detail hasn't dulled over the years._ "Now, you can claim that you did this because you wanted to maintain public order, but the truth is that you've caused mayhem from the shadows. Hundreds are already dead, and their Families are left in mourning without any answers."

"Now, that's not exactly fair, Rufus," Kingsley spoke up, he had elected himself to speak on the Order's behalf. "We all know how things would play out if Dumbledore had stepped forward. The Ministry would move to quash his claims, and the disorder from that would empower only the Dark Lord."

Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Gawain Robards had barged into his Office out of the blue, and once Albus had summoned his Heads of Houses, they had started discussing the way forward. Sadly, however, there was ample mistrust between them all.

"Then explain to me why an Auror who I trained personally ended up working behind my back?" Gawain asked Kingsley, who looked quite disappointed in himself. "I took you in, trained you, saved your life countless times, and yet, you never once thought to come to me? Don't you see what's wrong here, Kingsley? Has this old man really skewed your judgment that much?"

"This old man is Albus Dumbledore, and you will show your respect," Filius said.

"Where was his respect for us?" Gawain asked in response, and then he looked to Albus. "We fought side-by-side once, Dumbledore. I took a Curse for you, do you remember? From Dolohov, of all people."

"I remember," Albus replied. _He was left unresponsive for days on end._

"We could have saved lives if you hadn't been so secretive," Gawain clenched his jaw, his grey stubble looked pricklier than before. "Two Aurors died in St. Mungo's… If you had just come to us, we would have put more Aurors in that place. There were **children** in there!"

"Gawain," Amelia said, and the Deputy Head Auror glared murder at Albus.

"How many of your Aurors do you trust?" Severus asked coldly.

"Are you suggesting that my Department is filled with moles, Death Eater?" Rufus asked.

"Severus withstood the Dark Lord for us," Pomona puffed up. "He's a hero!"

"He is filth," Rufus said, his yellow eyes digging into Severus'. "You can polish a turd all you want, but it remains a turd. I've seen him kill with my own eyes. I remember what his mask looked like, and I saw a man with the exact same mask attacking civilians within Diagon Alley."

"Severus was a different man back then," Albus said. "As were you, Rufus."

"I was the exact same man," Rufus said. "The only difference between me now and then was that my right leg still worked. Oh, and I had a wife…" _You used to have compassion, Rufus. That is what Astrid loved most about you._

"What happened to Astrid was a tragedy, but it had nothing to do with Severus," Albus said calmly.

"His kind were behind the attack on my house, so as far as I'm concerned, he had everything to do with it," Rufus said. "You may have pulled this murderer out of an Azkaban sentence, Dumbledore, but I assure you, I have an arrest warrant prepared for him already. The Ministry won't be so forgiving a second time."

"He'll never end up in Azkaban," Minerva said. "The Dark Lord's allies would have him turned over to them, and our corrupt Minister would gladly hand him over. Let us stop this childish bickering, and get to the matter at hand. War is coming, and we must join forces."

"She's right," Filius said. "We have a common enemy, and unless we join forces, neither of us can hope to stop him. Even now, he grows in power."

"Amelia?" Albus looked to the witch, who had been oddly quiet this entire time. "Why do you stay silent?"

"Your secrecy has hurt my Department's ability to protect the population," Amelia replied. "The men with me are angered, and until they let that anger out, our alliance won't work."

"I see," Albus nodded in understanding. "Why not bring the others with you, then? I'm sure they have questions for me as well."

"Nymphadora and Jane are on a mission," Amelia replied. "And as of yet, I haven't told anyone else."

"So only six people in the Aurors' Office know of the Dark Lord's return?" Severus asked.

"You are not completely wrong," Amelia started. "I know that some of the younger recruits tend to turn a blind eye when it comes to the Old Families, and they do so because they have orders from higher up the food chain than me. The people who I have told can be trusted completely. This, of course, doesn't include Nymphadora and Kingsley, who clearly trust you more than they trust me."

"Kingsley and Nymphadora trust you, but they also trust themselves," Albus said. "They understand the threat that we all face, and they chose to stand up against it. They are doing what you all taught them to do."

"I didn't teach them to lie to their superior Officers," Gawain said. "How many assignments did you put off, Kingsley? How many times did you actively avoid your duty as you moonlighted as an Order member?"

"As many times as I deemed it necessary," Kingsley replied, his head now held high. "I saw the greater picture, my friend, and I realized that I couldn't help make things better from behind an Auror's desk. For the last nine years, I have done as much good as I could whilst being restricted by all that red tape, but now things are different. The Ministry is corrupt, and we all know it. We even make jokes about it in the Offices, but I can't bring myself to laugh at those jokes anymore. So much is at stake, and if we can't trust our own Government to protect us, then we must arm ourselves. We must fight in any way that we can against the rising darkness."

"On that, we agree," Rufus said, his eyes darting towards Amelia.

"I have decided that I don't want to know who the other Order members are," Amelia told Albus. "I am in a position of power, and the Dark Lord no doubt has his eyes set on me. The less I know about your operation, the better."

"I understand," Albus agreed. "Have you given my proposal any thought?"

"I have, and I agree with you," Amelia replied. "Cornelius is not a competent leader, and if he is put in charge of the war effort, we are all doomed."

"He'll probably sell us out to Lucius Malfoy at the very first opportunity," Rufus grimaced. "I will take up Amelia's post as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, while Gawain will take my current position of Head Auror. Jane will be pulled out of the Hit Wizards, and she'll take on the role of Deputy Head Auror."

"This shuffling of positions will take time, however," Amelia said. "I have a lot of pull within the Ministry, but even still, I will need to grease the right palms."

"Can you give us an estimate of how long it will take?" Minerva asked.

"A month, maybe two," Amelia replied. "I am currently being pressured to do something about the Vampires within Knockturn Alley, and if I fail to get rid of them, everything will be delayed."

"Those Vampires are here to fight for the Dark Lord," Albus said.

"We figured as much," Rufus said.

"Do you know who leads them?" Gawain asked. "Vampires are solitary beings, and they only get together when they find a Den Master worth following."

"His name was Deckard, and he died in our siege of Malfoy Manor," Albus told them.

"Died? Then why are they still here?" Rufus asked.

"During another operation, a Vampire sharing similar traits to Deckard was killed," Albus replied. "We believe that there is another Progeny of Deckard who is now leading this swarm."

"This Deckard… Why are his Progeny able to lead so many without him?" Amelia asked. "Den Master is not a position that can be passed down to the Den Master's Progenies. It must be earned in combat."

"Deckard was a Blood Lord," Albus replied, and even Rufus looked intrigued. "But he was more than that… His eyes proved as much."

"His eyes?" Gawain asked.

"They were orange, and cat-like," Albus replied. "His deceased Progeny shared that trait with him. I think that his strain of the Vampire Curse is mutated in some manner."

"Is that even possible?" Gawain asked.

"Very little is known of Vampire Society," Albus replied. "Whoever Deckard truly was, he was someone high up in that society. It took him less than a month to seize all of Knockturn Alley, and even in death, his followers refuse to leave."

"Well, we're putting together a task force," Rufus started. "Aurors from neighboring countries have been contacted, and so far, not a word of this operation has gotten out. We'll be ready to move on Knockturn Alley soon."

"I will join you," Albus offered his wand. "On the chosen day, I will find myself craving some ice-cream from Diagon Alley."

Rufus gave him a dull look, and then he looked to Amelia.

"How fortunate for my Aurors," Amelia agreed, and Rufus' head suddenly turned to face the door.

"Someone is coming," Rufus said. "A child."

There was a knock on the door, and Albus sensed a very familiar sort of Magic. _Bold, sturdy, and willing to reach out to others. Harry._

"Come in, Harry," Albus said, and the door slowly swung open.

Harry stepped inside with a smile, but when he saw that Albus had guests, he adorned a slightly wary look. _This should be entertaining._

"Mr. Potter," the Aurors all stood up.

"Hi," Harry greeted them, his eyes darting towards Albus as he hid the parchment in his hand behind his back. _Is that the list? I'll check it off against Minerva's just to be safe._

"What brings you here, Mr. Potter?" Amelia asked.

"Professor Dumbledore gave me some homework, and I'm here to deliver it," Harry lied, and Albus' lips quirked upwards. _He's quick on his feet._

"Thank you for completing it so quickly, Harry," Albus said, and Harry quietly made his way over to Albus. "I'll have it marked and sent to your room within the hour."

"Does the Headmaster give you homework often, Mr. Potter?" Rufus asked.

"He only does it when I ask for extra help," Harry lied again. "Actually, he does it for other students as well. My friend Hermione is the one who told me about this, and I figured that I'd get extra tutelage from the Greatest Wizard to ever live." _Oh my…_

Albus took the list from Harry with a smile, while Harry kept his eyes fixed on Rufus'. _I should teach him to not look into the eyes of powerful wizards. I'm certain that Harry has no protection against Legilimency._

"We are in a meeting, Potter," Snape spoke up, his eye darting towards Rufus. "Stop lingering, and be on your way."

Harry didn't need to be told twice, and oddly enough, he left without even looking in Snape's direction. Once Harry had shut the door behind him, the Aurors looked towards Albus.

"You are giving him special tutelage?" Amelia asked.

"He is a bright student," Albus replied calmly.

"He is also the Boy-Who-Lived," Rufus said. "Are you training him for the Order?"

"He should join the Ministry," Gawain said. "If he's a part of the Aurors, we'll have people lining up to join the fight."

"Potter is a boy, not a piece of meat," Minerva frowned deeply. "You will not dangle him about to entertain the masses. If he wishes to join the Aurors' Department at some point in his life, it will be because he chooses to."

"If he shows support for Madam Bones' campaign, he will no doubt sway many voters," Kingsley pointed out. "He doesn't have to join the Ministry, but his support would be most welcome."

"When the time comes, I'll let Harry decide who he wishes to support," Albus said. "Now, if there is nothing more to discuss, I'd like to get back to my duties." _I need to make sure that they don't approach Harry behind my back. He is still young, and if they turn him into their poster boy, they'll endanger him further._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Dinner)**_

"What about this one?" Ron pointed to a pair of particularly short shorts, and Daphne gave him a dull look.

"My bum will be spilling out of those," she whispered, and Ron smiled at the thought. _Yes… She should definitely buy-_

Daphne smacked his arm, and Ron quickly rubbed the sore spot.

"You can't hit me, I'm sick," Ron 'gasped'.

"You are definitely sick," Daphne huffed as she went back to the catalogue. "I like these ones."

"What? Those cover your entire legs," Ron looked at the odd skin-tight pants. "What are those, anyway?"

"Sports leggings," Daphne read. "It says here that Muggles wear these for sports related reasons. The material is soft, so I won't get chafed, and if I buy this particular pair, they'll add in a 'crop top' made from the same material."

"You're fine with wearing Muggle stuff?" Ron asked.

"If it keeps my bum from spilling out, yes," Daphne replied. "I'm definitely getting these." _Aw…_

"Just get the shorts as a backup, then," Ron tried.

"Fine, but I'll only wear them if you get some too," Daphne smirked.

"Done," Ron agreed shamelessly, and Daphne gaped at him.

"Ron, your scars…" Daphne whispered.

"Oh…" Ron remembered. "Damn it."

"Let's look at some shoes now," Daphne said as she began turning the pages. "I want some just like yours so we can wear a matching set."

"I actually need new ones," Ron said. "My current pair is 'run down'." _HA! I'm hilarious!_

Daphne giggled at his joke, while Blaise and Theo gave him dull looks.

"What? That was funny," Ron noticed their stares.

"No, it was not," Tracey broke away from her conversation with Millie and Pansy.

"I thought it was funny," Daphne nudged him, and Ron smirked at his mates. "Let's look for a pair that we both like-"

The school bell went off, signaling the end of dinner. Daphne quickly packed up her catalogues with Ron's help, and then they all began following the herd towards the exit. As they reached the Entrance Hall, Ron spotted Hermione waiting around by the stairs.

"Ron!" she waved at him, and Ron waved back. _She looks… excited? I wonder what this is about._

"Hello, Hermione," Ron greeted as they made their way over to her. "Where are Neville and Harry?"

"Oh, they went on ahead," Hermione said quickly. "Can I talk to you? Please? It's important."

"Sure," Ron agreed.

"We'll be in the common room," Daphne whispered. "By the fireplace, to be specific." _Really? None of them are making a fuss about me talking to a Gryffindor?_

One by one, Ron's friends left towards the Dungeons, and when Ron and Hermione were the only ones left, she gestured him to follow her.

"So? What's happened?" Ron asked as they made their way towards the first floor. "Also, why aren't we going to the Courtyard? That's our usual spot."

"It's freezing out there," Hermione replied. "I'd rather stay in the castle, thank you."

"Fair enough," Ron shrugged. "Is everything all right, Hermione? You're walking really fast."

"I tried being handsy with Harry, and it worked!" Hermione shot him a wide smile, and Ron blinked at her.

"You got handsy with Harry?" Ron fought off his amusement. "Did he thank you afterwards? I reckon that's the polite way to-"

"Ew, Ron," Hermione grimaced. "He's like my little brother! Ew!"

"You're the one who said it," Ron sniggered. "All right, we're all alone in this hallway. Now, tell me what you actually meant."

"Okay, hear me out," Hermione started, her disgust at his comment forgotten. "Harry was having trouble with some homework, and he was just stressing himself out over it. He does that sometimes, and only Neville ever gets him to stop. I've tried, of course, but he doesn't really listen to me like he listens to Neville." _Merlin, she can speak really fast._ "But today, Neville was volunteering at the Greenhouses, and I was the only person around who could help Harry." _Does this homework have something to do with a certain list?_

"Go on," Ron said.

"Well, he was really bothered, and I thought back to our conversation in the Potions Lab," Hermione said. "I don't know what possessed me, but I reached over and took his hand. He was a little surprised, but after I said some reassuring things, he actually felt a lot better. He stopped stressing, and he actually listened to my advice. And here's the crazy part! I said the exact same things to him before, and he didn't listen then, but when I took his hand and said them again, he believed me! Isn't that fascinating?"

"A girl held his hand and said nice things to him," Ron rubbed his chin. "I wonder why he listened?"

"Smugness doesn't suit you, Ronald," Hermione said, though she looked quite entertained. "But yes… You were right. Maybe there's a reason why the girls in your group keep touching you."

"I like to think that it's because of my physique," Ron smirked.

Hermione looked him up and down, but she didn't say anything.

"Hermione?" Ron called.

"Right," Hermione shook her head clear. "I was hoping to get more advice from you. Do you have any other tips to share?"

"That depends…" Ron hummed. "Did you complete your homework? Holding Harry's hand doesn't really count."

"What?! Of course it does!" Hermione said. "I made him feel better about things! That counts!"

"And Neville?" Ron teased. "Poor lad… You didn't get handsy with him."

"I'll help him when he feels upset," Hermione said.

"He doesn't need to be upset for you to show him that you're his friend, Hermione," Ron said. "My friends don't wait around for me to be upset before they do nice things for me. They just do them."

"Oh," Hermione nodded slowly. _Now I know why she only has two friends in Gryffindor. She's treating this as some sort of job._

"Being someone's friend isn't a job," Ron said. "You should just be their friend all the time, Hermione. And no, that doesn't mean that you have to get handsy with them all the time. Knowing Harry and Neville, they'd get uncomfortable with such behavior. Hell, I used hate it when the girls would put their hands on me. It took over a year for me to get used to it. What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't be afraid to give them some affection every now and then."

"It's different in Gryffindor," Hermione sighed out. "If people saw Harry being upset, they'd tell him to 'man up'. It's all very… macho… What's it like in Slytherin?"

"Well, no one has told me to man up before," Ron started. _If they did, I'd probably hurl them into a wall._ "In Slytherin, everything is more out in the open, I guess… Everyone gets a fair chance if they use their brains, and whenever you achieve something of note, people take notice. The only problem is that we're all constantly trying to outshine each other, so you end up making enemies if you shine too much. I think that's why my friends and me are so close, you know? We've had to put up with a lot of shit from other people." _Especially the students who hate my Blood-Traitor Status._

"Did being friends with us make things worse for you?" Hermione asked slowly. _Shit, what do I say to that?_

"Yes," Ron told the truth, and Hermione looked a little guilty. "Slytherins can be cunts sometimes, Hermione-"

"Ron! Don't say that word!" Hermione looked horrified.

"Sorry," Ron cleared his throat. "I think every House has its issues. Like you said, Gryffindor seems to be very 'macho' because you all favor acts of bravery and chivalry. Anyone who isn't constantly being brave is told to 'man up'. In Slytherin, if someone isn't using their brain, they're all but ignored in the House. Not to mention inner House politics…"

"Your House has politics?" Hermione asked.

"Most students in Slytherin were raised as nobles, Hermione," Ron explained. "They tend to behave like nobles do… A lot of backstabbing, and everyone is always scheming to get ahead. It can be exhausting for sure."

"I really want to write a report on the Houses now," Hermione said seriously, and Ron couldn't help but laugh. _She's so damn study-oriented. It's kind of adorable._ "What? I think a report like that could help improve House Unity."

"Well, you can use the study group for your research," Ron said. "Students from each House are there, and you can just ask them all the questions that you want."

"If I get some spare time, I'll look into it," Hermione made a mental note. "Do you have any more advice for me?"

"Just be you, but don't be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone," Ron replied. "My friends actually taught me that life lesson."

"They did?" Hermione asked.

"I was a rather stubborn individual when I first came to Hogwarts," Ron remembered. "I didn't want to eat with manners, I didn't want to learn the basics of Pure-Blood traditions, I didn't want to learn how to bow properly, and I didn't even like trying different foods. All I wanted was Shepard's Pie every single day. My friends helped me learn new things, and over time, I realized that they had helped me improve myself. That being said, I've taught them a thing or two as well."

"Like?" Hermione asked.

"No one said a word when you asked to talk to me alone," Ron said, and Hermione went a little wide-eyed.

"You're right," Hermione whispered. "Even Greengrass didn't give me any threatening looks."

"See?" Ron asked. "Don't be afraid of testing out new things, Hermione. It might help you make even more friends within Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded to herself, and then she gave him a rather odd look.

"Are… Are we friends again, Ron?" Hermione asked weakly, and Ron tensed a little. _Merlin, she looks so tiny now, and I can't help but compare her to Ginny. They both look down at the floor and shrink in size whenever they're sorry about something._

Ron definitely still held a grudge against the Trio, but he had looked past it for the Greater Good. He knew that he was being petty, but whenever he thought about how they had treated him with mistrust and betrayal, he still felt the urge to exact his vengeance.

"I'm trying to get over it," Ron kept his composure. "I'm not saying that I'm blameless, but you three… You turned the whole school against me. You hurt my friends, and even planned to drug and kidnap Daphne. And then there was the whole brain damage fiasco… Every time I tried to move past a slight, you found another way to make me upset."

"So we're not friends…" Hermione murmured, and Ron felt guilt knock the wind out of him. _Just tell her what she wants to hear, Ron. No, don't… That'd only give her false hope. Fuck, what do I say? Should I just walk away?_

"I'd like to be friends again," Ron gave her an awkward pat on the arm. "Let's just try to avoid fighting each other in the future, yeah?"

"I can do that," Hermione agreed. "I… Thanks, Ron… I think I'll head up to Gryffindor Tower now."

"Good night," Ron said.

"Good night," Hermione repeated, and then she was gone.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Seventh Floor – After Classes)**_

"Are you sure that she's meeting us here?" Daphne asked.

"That's what she told me at lunch," Ron replied. "Are you sure that you want to come with me, Daph? This is not going to be a happy affair."

"Which is why I want to come with you," Daphne explained. "I don't want to sound rude, but your parents tend to think with their emotions, and you might need me to take your side on things."

"What things?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

"What if they want to pull you out of school?" Daphne asked, he could hear her opinion on the matter just from her tone. "Or what if they ask you to put an end to your extracurricular activities? You need someone to stand by you, Ron, especially because you tend to give into your emotions when you get cornered."

"Where would I be without you?" Ron sighed out.

"Do you really want to think about such a dreadful existence?" Daphne smirked. _No, I most definitely do not._

"What if you agree with something that my parents say, but I don't?" Ron asked.

"Then I'll take your side in public, but when we come back, I'll give you an earful," Daphne replied all too easily. _She's been worrying herself over this. All of her answers were already at the tip of her tongue._ "You're staring at me, Ron."

"Can you blame me?" Ron asked with a smile, and Daphne returned it genuinely.

"You're not so hard on the eyes yourself," Daphne said.

"Really? I think my nose is too big," Ron chuckled. "Sometimes, I worry that I'll poke your eye out one day."

"I love this nose," Daphne bopped the tip of his nose with her index finger.

"And the freckles?" Ron asked, and she traced his freckles with the same finger.

"I love them too," Daphne replied.

"Ah, there you are," came Madam Pomfrey's voice, and Daphne quickly pulled her hand back to her side. "Miss. Greengrass? What are you doing here?"

"She's my emotionally stable half," Ron joked, which earned him an odd look from Pomfrey.

"You seem to be doing better, Ron," Madam Pomfrey noted. "Your mood has improved dramatically considering what we've learned."

"There is no point in crying over spilled milk," Ron shrugged. "I know how much time I have now, and I'm going to make the most of it." _Plus, I'm looking forward to my eternal nap, truth be told. I'm honestly just done with pretty much everything in my shitty life._

Madam Pomfrey and Daphne exchanged slow looks, and Ron decided to give the Stone Gargoyle its password. Once it had slid aside, Ron led the way up to Dumbledore's Office. Ron knocked firmly on the door, but he made sure to keep his strength in check. _I'd rather not scare Fawkes._

"Come in, Ronald," came Dumbledore voice, and Ron entered the Office.

"Hello, Headmaster," Ron greeted the old wizard, who was currently feeding Fawkes some treats.

"Headmaster, I need to accompany Ron and Daphne to the Burrow," Madam Pomfrey said matter-of-factly, and Dumbledore looked to them with his usual smile. "I sent an owl to his Family on Tuesday, and they are expecting us." _She sent an owl? Shit, they'll be there, then._

"Are they expecting you, Lady Greengrass?" Dumbledore asked, and Daphne stood up straighter.

"No, Headmaster, but I would like to stay by Ron's side for this," Daphne replied.

"Young love," Dumbledore hummed, his eyes looking towards Ron. _Really? I'm dying here, and you're taking the piss?_

"Please don't take the piss," Ron said, and Daphne looked utterly shocked.

"I merely tease, my boy," Dumbledore chuckled. "Poppy, feel free to use my fireplace, of course."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey walked over and began preparing the floo, while Dumbledore went back to feeding Fawkes.

"Take the piss?" Daphne whispered to Ron. "Ron… Where's your respect? That's the Headmaster himself."

"I must have dropped it in the toilet after the colossal shit I took after lunch," Ron shrugged, making sure that Dumbledore heard him.

The old man stifled a laugh, much to Ron's amusement. _I can't believe this, but Dumbledore loves foul humor. This is a great discovery!_ Ron then looked to Daphne, and unsurprisingly, she was looking at him with disgust. Ron gave her his grin, but she just walked over to Pomfrey without another word. Ron followed after her, but as he neared the activated floo, he schooled his features. _Enough jokes, Ron… Time to be serious._

"You two go through first," Madam Pomfrey instructed.

Ron drew in a deep breath, and once he felt calmness wash over him, he walked through the fireplace alongside Daphne. The Living Room was empty, much to Ron's surprise, but he could hear the adults talking to each other in the Kitchen. _I didn't expect to be home so soon after the Break._ A tight knot was building in his stomach, and Ron knew the reason behind it. He didn't really care that he had less time left, but he cared about the fact that his Family was going to suffer because of his diagnosis. In some fucked up way, Ron felt like he had let everyone down by getting worse.

"Ron? Are you coming?" Daphne gently pulled at his sleeve, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"Of course," Ron cleared his mind, and then he followed her into the Kitchen.

Sirius, Lord and Lady Greengrass, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Xeno and Pandora, and his mother and father were currently sitting at the table, all of them focused on their own conversations. _It's not too late to turn back, Ron. You can spare them a lot of pain by just bearing this by yourself._ Ron pushed his doubts away without hesitation; he knew that he was trying to talk himself out of providing important information.

"Hello," Ron spoke up, deciding to take away his own option of backing out.

They all immediately looked to the new voice in the room, and when they saw Daphne and Ron, their mouths closed shut. Madam Pomfrey stepped into the room from behind Ron and Daphne, and Ron saw his parents' expressions weaken. _Yeah, they're not stupid. They know why they're here._

"Where are Bill, Charlie, and Kirsten?" Ron asked.

"Bill's working late," his father replied, though his eyes never left Pomfrey. "Charlie and Kirsten are staying the night at the British Reserve…"

"Why don't you two sit down with your parents?" Madam Pomfrey suggested, but Ron and Daphne sat down together at the end of the table.

He felt her bump her foot against his, and he figured that she was trying to show him that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Is it bad?" Molly's voice cracked, and Ron felt a sharp pang of guilt. _She's already struggling to speak._

"It's bad," Madam Pomfrey walked over and stood behind Ron and Daphne.

Even Mr. and Mrs. Davis looked like they were at the edge of their seats, which was odd because he didn't really know them all that well. Sure, their daughter was a huge part of his life, but he barely ever gave them a passing thought. _Maybe it's an adult thing? To worry over a child's health? Or maybe it's a human thing? I mean, I fretted over Priscilla's friends when I saw the shape that they were in, and I hardly know their names._

"How bad? Just tell us," Sirius said impatiently.

Madam Pomfrey Conjured up Ron's scan, and with a wave of her wand, she sent it to the middle of the table. Every head on the table moved to look at it, and when Molly let out a broken sound, Ron physically winced. The knot in his stomach tightened, and Ron struggled to sit still.

"Oh, fuck…" Sirius went a little pale.

Ron looked towards Pandora, and the look on her face made him want to run away. The sharpness of her gaze was completely gone, and she looked like she had just given up on her own life. She looked… gone…

"How…?" Arthur choked a little. "How is this possible…? There's so much damage…"

Lord Greengrass picked up the scan and began staring at it, his brow furrowed.

"Two new spots, and the old ones are larger than before," Lord Greengrass said, his voice barely a whisper, and yet, they all heard him.

"What does this mean for Ron?" Xeno asked, and Ron knew that Xeno already knew the answer to his own question.

"He has less time left," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Molly hid her face behind her hands. "I'd estimate two years, but from what I've seen so far, it could be less. His Chronic Stress is making it impossible for me to make any sort of predictions." _My Chronic Stress? More like a cunt demon._

"Susana, haven't you heard back from your Muggle Healers yet?" Mary asked.

"I'm sorry," Susana replied. "I left them all messages, but the Yule Break only just ended. As soon as I hear something from them, I'll tell you." _I don't think Muggle Healers can fix this._

"How will it happen?" Pandora all but whispered, her dull gaze fixed on Ron. "Will he just…?" she trailed off.

"There will be a gradual loss of brain functions," Madam Pomfrey explained, and Ron felt Daphne take his hand under the table. "Progressive loss of memories and other thinking skills. Issues with motor skills that could result in tremors, rigidness, and unresponsive limbs. Eventually, he'll stop responding to the outside World and go into a vegetative state-"

"What's that?" Arthur asked, his face had lost all of its blood.

"He'll be awake, but he won't have any awareness of what's going on around him," Madam Pomfrey replied. "This is, of course, not a certainty. He could instead fall into a coma-"

"Another coma?" Lord Greengrass put the scan down, and then he rubbed his forehead. "Gods… Is there really no cure? Not even in the lesser known parts of the Wizarding World?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Madam Pomfrey replied.

"How will it end?" Pandora asked. "Will… Will he be in pain?" _That's a good question._

"Brain death will cause no pain," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Molly let out a sob from behind her hands. "He'll need to be kept alive through Potions and other Magical means, but at that point, he'll never recover."

"So he'll be like a husk?" Sirius's eyes were getting red. "Like a Dementor's victim?"

"A husk's bodily functions still work," Madam Pomfrey replied. "Ron's organs will only work if we keep them alive, but the moment we stop keeping him alive, his body will shut down. Brain death is the final stage, and there's no coming back from it."

Ron heard a meek sob from Daphne, and when he looked to her, she pulled her hand away from his and buried her face in her hands. _Oh, no…_

"I'm sorry…" Daphne started crying in earnest, and Ron honestly couldn't blame her. _Even I don't like the sound of 'brain death'…_

"It's okay," Ron said as he put a hand on her back, while Mary quickly moved closer to console her daughter.

"Shhh, sweetheart," Mary spoke softly. "You have to be strong right now-"

"No, you don't," Ron knew that Daphne had reached her limit. "Come here, Daph…"

She shifted away from Mary, and Ron put his arm around her as he moved his head closer to hers, effectively blocking out the rest of the World.

"I just… need a second…" Daphne hiccupped.

"Take all the time you need," Ron whispered. "You don't have to hold anything in, Daphne."

"Why don't you two go into the Living Room?" Madam Pomfrey suggested. "I need to explain the different symptoms of Ron's worsening condition to everyone." _Yeah, Daphne can't hear that shit right now._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

Madam Pomfrey was still speaking to the adults in the Kitchen, and from what Ron could hear, it wasn't going well. His mother and Pandora were crying, Sirius had tried to start an argument with Madam Pomfrey at one point, and now the only adult who was speaking besides Madam Pomfrey was Lord Greengrass. _He keeps asking her for different treatment methods, but we all know that there is nothing out there._

Ron felt Daphne's head shift in his lap, and he looked down at her sleeping face. She had tried to regain her composure for his sake, but after he had sat her down on the couch, she had lost all control over herself. He didn't mind comforting her, of course, and that was partly because it gave him something to do. She had apologized over and over again, and Ron had told her that he understood why she was crying over and over again. Eventually, she had exhausted herself to the point of falling asleep on his shoulder, and Ron had carefully shifted her head into his lap. _She looks so peaceful, despite her eyes and nose being so puffy._

Ron ran his left hand through her hair again, and her breathing became heavier. As terrible as all of this was, it felt nice to be the comforting shoulder for once. He knew that she had tried to stay as strong as possible, even after they had sat down and talked it all out at the shores of the Black Lake, but he also understood that Daphne hadn't really faced death before. It was a real shame that she had found herself in such a situation, and try as he might, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

"How is she?" came Mary's voice from the door, and Ron looked to see her giving him a weak smile. _Agitated eyes… Merlin, she cried as well?_

"She started getting better, but then she fell asleep," Ron whispered, his hand massaging Daphne's scalp.

"And how are you?" Mary walked over and sat down on the chair to his right.

"I'm… managing…" Ron replied. "I'm mostly just worried about all of you."

"I see," Mary said softly. "Are you not afraid, Ron?"

"I am, but not for myself," Ron admitted, and Mary waited for him to go on. "I don't want to die before the war ends."

"The war?" Mary blinked.

"My friends and Family still need me," Ron explained. "Priscilla and her friends need me. The Werewolf community needs me. There are people, like Xeno, who are depending on the success of my business. I have so much work to do, and now I have even less time to do it in. When I think about all of this, that's when I feel scared."

"Maybe lessening your burdens will give you more time?" Mary suggested.

"I want to leave behind something of note, Mary," Ron replied. "I'm dead either way… I can either die within a few years having accomplished nothing, or I can die in the next two years having made the World a better place than I found it."

Mary said nothing to that, but the light smile on her face helped Ron feel a little more confident in his choice.

"How are mum and dad?" Ron asked. "And Pandora? How is she?"

"Your mother and father went up to their room," Mary replied. "Your mother… She's not taking this well…"

"Damn," Ron rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand. "I feel like I've ruined her entire life with this mess…"

"No one blames you, Ron," Mary said. "We all know how you got your brain injury, and we blame the bastard who's responsible for it." _She swore?!_

"Where's Pandora?" Ron asked.

"Xenophilius took her outside," Mary replied. "She's reaching the end of her pregnancy, and we need to limit her stress as much as possible. She… She's stopped talking…"

"Yeah, she does that when she's upset," Ron remembered. "Luna and I broke her favorite vase once, and even though Pandora fixed it with a wave of her wand, she didn't speak for the whole day." _Merlin, that was a really awkward day._ "Mary, why aren't you with the other adults?"

"I wanted to check up on you two," Mary replied.

"And?"

Mary gave Ron a resigned smile, and then she looked towards Daphne's sleeping form.

"Have you two discussed what this news means for your relationship?" Mary asked, and Ron tensed a little. _Shit, it's_ _ **that**_ _conversation… Guess I have to do this alone._

"We have," Ron replied. "We've decided to keep dating."

"And you both made this choice?" Mary asked.

"I wouldn't force her into dating me," Ron felt his temper spike for a moment.

"I meant it the other way around, Ron," Mary said, and Ron lost his steam. _Huh?_ "I know my daughter, and I know that once she sets her mind to something, she'll do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. When she was little, she'd break things around the house, and then order the Elves to fix them."

"Why?"

"So she could prove to us that she could run the Manor," Mary replied, and Ron's lips twitched upwards. _I can imagine a tiny Daphne knocking things over, and then grinning to herself when she pulled off her schemes._ "Whenever we told her that she would be the Lady of the Manor before long, she'd puff herself up and walk around with her head held high" Mary then drew in a deep breath. "I'm scared that she's in over her head. I'm scared that she doesn't fully understand how serious this all is, and that she's trying to prove something to you. To everyone."

"I thought the same thing," Ron said. "Until yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Mary asked.

"She said that if I wanted to break up with her, she'd accept it," Ron replied, and Mary tilted her head a little. "She reminded me that she was my friend long before she became my girlfriend, and that even if I broke up with her, she wasn't going anywhere. She, and my other friends, were going to stay by my side for the whole thing. She meant every word, I could tell."

Mary smiled a little more fully, and then she reached over and lightly patted Daphne's hair.

"It's frightening how quickly children grow up," Mary said to herself.

"Daphne's more mature than most," Ron remarked.

"In some aspects, yes," Mary said. "I know that you two were sneaking around even as far back as Paris."

Ron's soul departed from his body, and he fought the urge to keel over on the spot. _Lie, Ron! Lie through your fucking teeth!_

"Wh… What?" Ron muttered stupidly, but Mary just gave him a knowing smile.

"Trust me, Ron, we parents know our children in a way that would frighten you," Mary chuckled faintly. "I saw you two linger in the back so you could whisper to each other. I saw her trying to hold your hand, while you shot worried looks at my husband. I even walked into a locked door once, which was particularly odd because Daphne never locks her doors. And then there was the fact that you gave her your coat despite feeling uncomfortable in your own skin. The smile on her face gave away her feelings for you, and your act gave away your feelings for her. Small things like that add up, and they paint a very clear picture."

Ron just stared at Mary, and he desperately wished that Daphne would wake up and say something. _She's more skilled in this sort of thing… I just want to start ignoring Mary._

"It's all right, Ron," Mary smiled. "I never said anything to anyone, and even now, I'll keep my silence."

"Why?"

"Because I understand that love is a mysterious thing," Mary replied, and Ron blinked at her. "I wasn't supposed to marry my husband. Everyone told me not to, including my own parents. The whole World gave me signs of Sebastian's shortcomings, but in my eyes, he was perfect. I didn't care that a Great War was being fought in England. I didn't care that Sebastian was being approached by the Death-Eaters. All I cared about was staying by his side through thick and thin. And after the war ended, Sebastian stayed by my side while I recovered from my imprisonment. Those were hard years, Ron, but we never left each other's side."

"So you understand our decision?" Ron asked.

"I do, and I support it," Mary replied, and Ron felt genuinely relieved.

"What about Lord Greengrass?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"When he and Sirius stop interrogating Poppy, I'll talk to him," Mary replied. "He just wants to protect you both, but he struggles to let his emotions out. I swear, if Daphne had decided to date any other boy, Sebastian would have locked her away." Mary then looked towards the Kitchen entrance. "Don't tell him that I told you this, but when you first asked him for Daphne's hand in dating, he smiled all the way through dinner."

"Really?" Ron was quite surprised. "Are you sure? I remember death threats…"

"Once you were gone, he dropped the 'dangerous father' act," Mary told him. "I know that you two are currently at odds about the Old Ways, but he loves you, Ron. In many ways, you've shown him the pride of having a son."

"It's not just our disagreement on the Old Ways," Ron said, he felt a little flushed by her words.

"He doesn't believe the fact that you've been preparing for the war because of what happened to you," Mary said. _Does he tell her everything?_ "Whatever reasons you have for being the way you are, Sebastian still loves you. That won't change, Ron. I promise."

Madam Pomfrey suddenly walked into the Kitchen, and both Ron and Mary looked towards her. Behind her were Lord Greengrass and Sirius, both of them looked quite frustrated.

"I will be heading back to Hogwarts now, Ron," Madam Pomfrey said. "You can stay here for a little longer, but I expect to see you and Miss. Greengrass at dinner."

"Understood," Ron said, and Madam Pomfrey used the fireplace to floo back to Hogwarts.

"Where do we start looking?" Sirius asked Lord Greengrass.

"Looking for what?" Ron asked.

"Someone who is willing to help you," Sirius frowned at the fireplace.

"Madam Pomfrey has done nothing but help me," Ron pointed out.

"Really? Because she keeps telling us that there's nothing to be done at this point," Sirius all but snarled.

"Maybe she keeps saying that because there is nothing to be done," Ron said, and both Lord Greengrass and Sirius just stared at him. "Her job is to help me, not peddle false hopes."

"There has to be someone out there, kid," Sirius said, while Lord Greengrass looked to Daphne. "You can't lose hope just yet." _Lose hope? I plan to speed up my schedule and work even harder than before. Hope isn't going to do shit for me._

"All right," Ron said, decided to not fight needlessly. "Are mum and dad still in their room? I should go and talk to them."

"Before you do that," Lord Greengrass started. "I want to talk to you about your relationship-"

"Ron and I have already discussed that," Mary cut in. "I'll fill you in, while Ron goes and speaks to his grieving parents."

Ron looked between Lord and Lady Greengrass, and when Lord Greengrass gave Mary a nod, Ron carefully slipped away from Daphne's head. Once he had replaced his lap with a cushion, Ron wasted no time in leaving the room. _I've had enough awkward conversations for one day._ As Ron entered the Kitchen, he found Mr. and Mrs. Davis speaking in hushed whispers. The both shot Ron sorry looks, and Ron gave them a little wave before he headed upstairs.

He was certainly anxious about speaking with his parents, mostly because he knew that his mother was going to cry the entire time. Once he was at their door, Ron tried to listen in on what was going on behind the door. He could hear his father whispering, and occasionally, his mother let out a whimpering cry. _Look at what you've done, Ron. Great going, you cunt._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he knocked on their door. He heard feet shuffling, and then his father opened the door.

"Hello," Ron greeted, and Arthur pulled him into a tight hug.

"Everything's going to be all right, son," Arthur's voice cracked.

"Is that Ronnie?" Molly sniffled from the bed, and Arthur pulled Ron into the room before sealing it.

"Hello, mum," Ron walked up to her, she was sitting on the edge of her bed.

As soon as he sat down, his mother clung to his side before letting out a heart-wrenching sob. At this point, Ron was feeling worse for his parents than he was for himself. Not knowing what else to say to the crying woman, Ron decided to put his arm around her shoulders. She clung tightly to him, while his father sat down on his other side.

None of them said anything, but for the next hour, his parents didn't let him go. They just sat there, holding him as if he were going to vanish if they didn't pay enough attention.

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Dungeons – Evening)**_

Draco knocked on the door, and he waited for his Godfather to respond. A small part of him wanted to barge in simply to spite the man, but he knew better than to challenge Severus Snape. Draco had been back at Hogwarts for almost a week now, and yet, his Godfather hadn't approached him even once. _But now, out of the blue, he wants to talk?_

"Come in," came Snape's voice, and Draco schooled his features before he stepped into Potions Lab.

Snape was sitting behind his desk, his eye fixed on his work. Draco shut the door, and then he walked over and sat down across from Snape. Snape kept marking the papers, and Draco watched silently. _Still ignoring me?_

"You wanted to see me?" Draco asked, somehow managing to keep his tone civil.

"I did," Snape finally looked up. "How was your Break? Did the Weasleys mistreat you in any way?"

"They didn't," Draco replied truthfully. _As much as I hate to admit it, most of them went out of their way to make me feel welcome._

"Good," Snape leaned back in his chair. "And what about the Tonks Family?"

"Oh, so you know about me staying with them?" Draco asked, and Snape just stared at him. _Fuck it! I shouldn't have to be polite if he can't even send a single letter!_ "I figured that you had no idea about my living situation considering that you didn't send me a single owl."

"I was in recovery," Snape stated calmly. "I am still struggling to write with my prosthetic hand."

Draco felt a pang of guilt, but he quickly pushed it down.

"It's been four days since we've been back," Draco said petulantly.

"I have been readjusting to life after what happened to me," Snape said. "I wanted to get my head on straight before I spoke with you." _Damn you, and your well thought out logic!_

"You had no issue seeing Weasley on Tuesday," Draco remarked. "Another detention?"

"You are behaving like a child, Draco," Snape said, his voice becoming cold. "I am seeing you now, am I not?"

"You told me that I could live with you in Spinner's End," Draco said. "And then, without even warning me, you shipped me off to the Burrow."

"I underestimated my injuries," Snape explained. "I tried my best to recover in time, but I couldn't do it. I didn't want to 'ship you off to the Burrow', but I am glad that I did. They took you in, fed you, sheltered you, and even gave you gifts. If I had dragged you along with me to Spinner's End, you'd have spent the Break all by your lonesome."

Draco lost most of his steam at that, while Snape kept his eye fixed on Draco.

"How's my mother?" Draco tried to change the subject. "Is she still living inside a filthy attic?"

"Black had the attic fixed up for her," Snape replied. "She wears clean clothes, she eats three meals a day, and she sleeps in a comfortable bed. Your mother wants for nothing, which can't be said for the people she kept prisoner in her Dungeons during the Great War."

Draco flinched a bit, but Snape looked utterly undeterred.

"That was the Dark Lord's doing," Draco shifted in his seat. "And my father's… My mother isn't a Death-Eater."

"No, she's not," Snape said. "But she attended all the meetings, ignored the horrors being inflicted on people in her own house, and openly supported the Dark Lord's every decision."

"She was scared of him-"

"We were all scared of him," Snape cut in. "Andromeda Tonks was scared of him as well. Your mother chose her path, and she chose it without hesitation. Believe me, Draco; she's quite fortunate that her captors value **all** life… If they were even remotely as cold as her, she'd be dead by now."

"I want her freed," Draco said. "I don't care about what she did… She's my mother, and I want her freed."

"And why would the Order release her?" Snape asked. "What would they gain from setting her free?"

"Me," Draco said, and Snape's eye twitched.

"Don't be stupid," Snape whispered icily.

"I'll join Dumbledore's Order, and pledge my wand," Draco said firmly. "My condition is that she be set free."

"You are thinking with your heart again," Snape said.

"What else am I supposed to do?!" Draco snapped. "You're completely useless! You keep judging me, but you never provide me with any suggestions! I don't have anything left! All I can offer for her freedom is myself!"

"Even if you offer your wand, Albus will refuse your demands," Snape said calmly. "She has seen the faces of her captors, and so she cannot be set free."

"They could Obliviate her," Draco said.

"And then what?" Snape asked in response. "She goes back to Lucius, and the Order loses an important asset."

"Asset?" Draco hissed. "That's my mother!"

"And we are fighting a war," Snape said. "Every single advantage must be utilized, or we will lose."

"You're her friend-"

"And your father was my friend, until he sacrificed me to save her life," Snape said bluntly. "Grow up, Draco. The Dark Lord doesn't care about 'friendship', or familial bonds. He cares about crushing his enemies, and we can't afford to make mistakes. Your father is one of his most powerful allies, and as long as we have Narcissa, your father won't dare move against us. You can pledge your wand to the Order, but Albus won't let you fight. You're a child."

"You've all ruined my life!" Draco shot out of his seat. "I was happy! Content! And then you bastards took everything from me! The Order! Dumbledore! You! Weasley! All of you bastards!"

"You are regressing," Snape said calmly. "Sit down, Draco."

He clenched his fists until they turned white; his eyes were starting to sting once again. Everything was fucking hopeless, and Draco was sick of it! He had zero control over his own life, and now, he couldn't even ask his Godfather for help. _He's content to keep her locked away in a fucking attic for the rest of her life!_

"Draco, please," Snape said, a hint of worry in his voice for a change.

Draco rubbed his eyes clear with his forearm, and then he dropped onto the seat. A familiar sense of defeat washed over him, and he felt the urge to curl up into a ball.

"At least give her a room," Draco choked out. "I'll do anything… Please…"

"I will speak to Albus on your behalf," Snape said, and Draco looked up with a hopeful look.

"You will?"

"I will," Snape promised. "But only if you promise me that you won't do something as stupid as pledge your wand without a second thought."

"Stupid?" Draco rubbed his eyes again. "Isn't that what you want? Isn't that why you keep telling me that my mother and father are on the wrong side?"

"I want to keep you safe," Snape said, and Draco just stared at him. "I don't want you to fight in a war, Draco. You are a child, and no child should be forced to fight in a war. I don't want to see you be branded, and that includes being forced into working for the Order. Your mother and father chose their paths, and you need to do the same. If you want to go live with your father, I'll send you to him myself. Is that what you want?"

"No…" Draco replied, he could still picture the Dark Lord hunting him and Weasley down in the Forbidden Forest.

"I know you feel powerless," Snape said. "I know that you hate seeing your mother being treated as a prisoner. I know, Draco… But at the end of the day, what's happening in your life is the result of something beyond your control. Lucius and Narcissa no doubt want to keep you away from their Master, but the Dark Lord won't care about their wants. He'll brand you, just as he branded me, and then one day, you'll find yourself facing off against someone like Mad-Eye Moody. At least under the Order's protection, you get the chance to create your own identity."

"So no one will ask me to fight for the Order?" Draco asked.

"Not while I'm alive," Snape replied. "If you do choose to fight one day, then it'll be because you decided to join all on your own. I promise."

Draco rubbed his face; he could feel a headache coming on.

"I promise that I won't pledge my wand stupidly," Draco promised. "Now, please… Don't let her sleep in an attic… Whatever she may have done, she's still my mother… Please."

Snape felt the urge to tell Draco to hold himself together, but seeing his Godson all but beg him kept Snape's mouth shut. After a few moments of silence, Snape decided to be gentle for a change.

"I will speak to Albus right now," Snape stood up. "Go back to the common room. We will speak later."

"If he agrees, will you tell me?" Draco stood up in a hurry. "You don't even have to call me in… Just give me a nod during dinner…"

"I will give you a nod…" Snape agreed, his own stomach twisting a little due to seeing his Godson like this.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Nearly Dinnertime)**_

Much to Ron's surprise, his parents hadn't tried to pull him out of school. They hadn't even asked him to slow down. Instead, they had promised him that they would stay by his side through everything. Ron didn't really know what to say to them, but judging from how tightly they had held onto him in their room, he figured that hugging them back was enough.

Eventually, Ron and his parents had come back down, and after some looking around; Ron had found Pandora sleeping in the Living Room. According to Xeno, she hadn't taken the news of his worsening condition well, and it had resulted in her passing out due to the pregnancy. So, in order to not disturb her, Ron had quietly sat down by her feet, and taken a small nap himself. He hadn't had his second dose of the Nutrition Potion today; so falling asleep had taken very little effort on his part.

"Ron, wake up," Daphne whispered, and Ron's eyes slowly drifted open.

"Hmm?" Ron hummed; his head was still resting on the side of Pandora's leg.

"It's getting late," Daphne whispered. "We need to go back to Hogwarts."

"Oh, right, " Ron looked at his Rolex. _Oh, shit!_

His eyes snapped open fully, and he quickly gathered himself up from the floor. _Ow… My arse hurts._ He looked back down at a sleeping Pandora, and a part of him felt rather upset with the fact that he didn't get to talk to her.

"Come over on Sunday," came Xeno's voice, and that's when Ron realized that the adults were all sitting around the Living Room. "She already very tired from the pregnancy, so it'll take some time for her to gather her thoughts."

"I'll come around sometime in the afternoon," Ron promised. "Just… Just look after her, please."

"We will," Mary said, and Ron noticed that Daphne looked a little uncomfortable. _She looked fine until Mary spoke… Odd._

"Are you two sure that you can't stay for dinner?" Molly asked, her voice hoarse.

"I'd love to, but Daphne's right," Ron said. "We really ought to head back…" _Wait… Where are Lord Greengrass and Sirius? And I don't see Tracey's parents either._ "Where are Lord Greengrass and Sirius? Also, where did Mr. and Mrs. Davis go?"

"My husband and Sirius are going to get in touch with some of my husband's old contacts," Mary replied. "James and Susana have returned to their home for the night." _I see._

"These old contacts…" Ron looked to Mary. "Are they Healers?"

"They are," Mary replied. _Are these the same Healers that Lord Greengrass took Astoria to when she was younger? I'm dead certain that she's sick, but no one ever mentions it._ "Ron… You are staring."

"Sorry," Ron shook his head clear. _I shouldn't pry into this. Yet. Things are strained between Lord Greengrass and me as it is, and if I start invading Astoria's privacy, I won't live long enough to experience brain death._ "I'll get the floo ready."

Ron and Daphne both walked over to the fireplace, and while he readied the floo, Arthur and Molly walked over to them.

"You two take care, okay?" Molly said as she gave Daphne a hug.

"Please send more owls from now on, Ron," Arthur gave Ron's shoulder a squeeze. "And tell Ginny to do the same."

"I will," Ron promised. "And… I'll tell them about my condition."

"Good," Arthur managed a weak smile. "Please be safe."

"You too," Ron said, and then his mother hugged his side. "Bye, mum."

"Just don't hurt yourself, please," Molly said before pulling back, her eyes were getting teary again.

Ron noticed that Daphne was avoiding looking at her mother, but once again, he decided not to say anything for now. Without even saying goodbye, Daphne walked through the fire. Ron looked towards Mary, and he noticed that she too looked a little bothered. _Yeah, something happened after I fell asleep._

"I'll see you guys soon," Ron said, and then he followed Daphne through the fire.

"He's not here," Daphne said just as Ron stepped through the fireplace. "He's probably gone down to have dinner."

Ron looked around the empty Office, and then he looked to Daphne.

"We should go to the common room first," Ron said, noticing that her eyes still looked agitated. "Wash up before dinner, you know?"

"Okay…" Daphne began walking towards the door, and Ron quietly followed after her.

Once they were past the Stone Gargoyle, and Ron was certain that they were alone, he stepped into Daphne's path.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, making sure to catch her eyes. "Daph… What happened after I fell asleep?"

Daphne looked genuinely uncomfortable, but Ron decided to push forward nonetheless.

"Daph… Talk to me," Ron said gently as he rubbed her arms. "What happened?"

"Um… My mother and father…" Daphne all but whispered. "They spoke to me about us…"

"And?" Ron felt a jolt of panic.

"I don't want to think about it," Daphne looked sickened.

"We tell each other everything," Ron tried.

"Ron… It was not a pleasant conversation," Daphne sighed out. _Really? Mary told me that she would support our decision._

"They want us to stop seeing each other?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound strong.

"What? No," Daphne replied quickly, and Ron blinked at her.

"Then what happened?"

"They gave me the talk… The sex talk…" Daphne shuddered a little.

"Oh…" Ron took a step back. "Oh!"

"Oh, indeed…" Daphne grimaced. "Father brought it up, and mother… Well, she made it ten times worse…"

"But we haven't had…" Ron trailed off, his ears were turning red.

"They said that we needed to be 'careful' around each other," Daphne said, a hint of anger seeping through. "And they told me that I needed to behave myself…"

"Behave yourself?" Ron asked, now he was truly confused.

"According to them, I'll drop my knickers for you just because you have less time left," Daphne hissed, and Ron didn't even know what to think. "It was unnecessary, and they have no right to talk to me about such a thing. Especially father! It was beyond…" She clenched her hands. "It was disgusting, and I didn't want to be there for another second."

"I… don't know what to say…" Ron muttered. "Um… Sorry?"

"I get that they are worried about my maidenhood, but honestly… I was in a state because my boyfriend is in…" she stopped herself. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Ron. I don't even want to think about it. The… The sheer gall… And mother… 'I understand how girls your age think, Daphne. We just don't want to see you have regrets later'. Ugh… They don't know the first thing about us!" _You'd be surprised at how much Mary knows._

"Glad I slept through that," Ron rubbed the back of his neck. _Merlin, can you imagine getting the sex talk from Lord Greengrass? I'd go celibate right on the spot, and I'm still a virgin!_

Daphne rubbed her eyes tiredly, her anger seemingly dissipating now that she had let some of it out. Ron wanted to give her a hug, but he stopped himself due to the awkward nature of their current conversation. _It doesn't seem like the right thing to do._

"Um… Should we head down?" Ron asked.

"Wait…" Daphne stopped him by taking his hand.

"Did they say more disturbing shit?" Ron asked warily.

"I'm really sorry about what happened in the Kitchen," Daphne apologized. "I… I was supposed to back you up, but then Madam Pomfrey started talking, and I…" she trailed off, her eyes welling up again. "I got scared…"

Ron relaxed a little, and he gave her comforting smile before pulling her into a hug. _Fuck it. I love hugging her, and it's not a sexual thing, I think. It just feels nice to be this close to her._

"Don't be sorry," Ron whispered as he rubbed her back. "I was scared too."

"But you didn't break down in tears…" Daphne whispered into his collarbone. "I was a liability…"

"You are many things, but never a liability," Ron chuckled at her odd choice of words. "You being there meant a lot to me, Daphne. Thank you."

"Really?" Daphne wrapped her arms around his back.

"Absolutely," Ron kissed the side of her head. "Now, let's head down to the common room, and clean up."

"Are you hungry?" Daphne asked.

"After the day we've had… Food is the only thing that I want to think about," Ron replied.

"And after?" Daphne pulled back to look at his face. "You'll talk to your siblings?"

"I'll talk to them tomorrow," Ron replied. "I just… I need a break from this."

"Just be honest with them, all right?" Daphne said. "Especially your brother Percy… He's still not talking to you." _I know._

"Aren't I the gift that keeps on giving," Ron chuckled mirthlessly. "Bloody hell… They're going to be devastated."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that!**

 **Stay safe, and stay healthy!**

 **See you guys in about a week, or so.**


	115. Chapter 115 - Trust

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 115 is finished! Life goes on, even if it's in quarantine...  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

 **There's also another Ron story out that's really good so far! It's called 'There and Back Again', and it's written by Chuchi Otaku. Please, go check it out! I've certainly enjoyed reading it!**

* * *

 _'_ Gathered close in tenuous firelight, an uneasy companionship' _\- The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 115 - Trust**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Chamber – Past Midnight)**_

"This is perfect," Ron smiled widely as he looked around the completed Chamber.

Chivvy had finally delivered the beds and other furniture, as well as preserved food rations. Everything was neatly stacked in its place, and Ron figured that the remodeled Chamber could easily house up to a hundred people. _There's still a lot of free space, so I'll just fill that up over time. By the time the war is in full swing, this place will be the perfect bunker. I just have to figure out a way to make the entrance accessible to everyone._

Ron looked towards Marty, who was still sniffling to himself. _I had to tell him the truth. He's bonded to me, and I need to make sure that he's looked after once I'm gone._ Marty noticed Ron staring, and he quickly wiped his nose clean on his pillowcase shirt before giving Ron a 'strong' look.

"Come here," Ron kneeled down, and Marty waddled over. "Everything is going to be all right, Marty."

"But Master will be gone soon," Marty whimpered.

"I still have time," Ron said as he put his hands on the Elf's thin shoulders.

"Two years is not enough time, Master," Marty rubbed his big eyes. "Is Master not afraid of death?"

"There are more important things to preserve than my life," Ron replied. "Soon, a lot of people are going to be in danger, Marty… Men, women, children, and even other Magical Beings… We have to protect them all. We have to be steadfast, and we have to be focused."

Marty gave a shaky nod at that.

"Marty will be strong for Master," Marty promised, and Ron gave him a kiss on the head.

"I can't do this alone, mate," Ron said. "I need you."

"Marty will be strong," Marty promised more resolutely.

"Thank you," Ron smiled genuinely. "I'm going to inspect the Chamber for a bit, all right? Why don't you go and get some rest?"

"Rest would be nice," Marty admitted as he rubbed his itchy eyes again. "Master will call Marty soon, yes? Master needs his rest too."

"I will," Ron stood back up. "Go on."

Marty gave a bow, and then he cracked out of the Chamber. _I need to learn Apparition from him soon. I would've asked tonight, but it doesn't feel right given how shaken he is._ Ron looked around the Chamber, and when his eyes landed on Salazar's face, he decided to delve deeper into the Chamber.

The horrid smell was now gone, thanks to Chivvy and his Elves, and the torches made a remarkable change in the atmosphere. This place, although still creepy, looked more like a safe haven rather than the lair of a monster. In an odd sort of way, Ron felt that Salazar would be glad that his Chamber was being used for good instead of evil. _He did change in the end, didn't he? He became a Healer once again._ A part of Ron wanted to delve into the history of the other Founders, but he knew that he didn't have time to waste. He had already learned of Rowena and Salazar's fates, and that was enough to sate him.

An idea struck Ron as he made his way into the Basilisk's lair, which was now filled with beds and crates full of rations. _Does the Hat know about Salazar's final days? Probably not, given how secretive Salazar became near the end. Should I tell the Hat? I mean, it was devastated to learn about what had become of his parents' Artifacts. Maybe learning about Salazar's fate will help it find a little solace?_

Ron sat down on one of the beds, and after a few seconds of peaceful silence, he decided to tell the Hat. _I owe the Hat so much, and now, I have the chance to help it. This shouldn't even be up to debate._

"Marty," Ron called, and the Elf suddenly cracked into the lair.

"Master called?" Marty bowed deeply; there was some bread in his hands.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your dinner," Ron felt a small pang of guilt. "But I need a favor from you."

"Anything, Master," Marty didn't look bothered whatsoever.

"I need you to go into my room, and then to grab something from my trunk," Ron said.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Father became a Healer once again…" the Hat whispered to itself. "I have spent countless lifetimes thinking of what became of him in the end, but never did I imagine such a thing."

"You don't sound happy," Ron said slowly. "I thought that this would help you find some closure."

"Oh, it does," the Hat told Ron. "I am pleased, Ronald, do not doubt that… I'm just taken aback by this news. Are you sure that those are my father's notes?"

"They're written in Parseltongue," Ron showed the parchments to the Hat. "And they contain details that no one else could possibly know." _Salazar must've been far worse than I imagined if the Hat is struggling to believe this._

"He became a Healer," the Hat repeated. "He found his way back to humanity…"

"For all his talk of Blood-Supremacy, he couldn't bring himself to take that girl's life," Ron said. "I don't think he ever lost his humanity, which is why he was haunted by Herpo's Lab for so long."

"Herpo the Foul," the Hat grimaced. "He went further than even the Dark Lord, which is a true testament to his barbarity. Foul, indeed."

"What do you think of this Being of fire and smoke?" Ron asked. "Have you ever encountered such a thing?"

"No, I have not," the Hat said thoughtfully. "And truth be told, I do not wish to encounter such a Being. If it knew how to manipulate souls, then it was no doubt more powerful than any other Being on this World. Souls, dear boy, are almost impossible to alter."

"Really?" Ron asked. "The Dark Lord and Herpo the Foul both made Horcruxes. They altered their souls in doing so, didn't they?"

"Only because this Being showed Herpo the way," the Hat said. "My poor father… To think that he almost became like them."

"He was lost, but he found his way back," Ron said. "I think he redeemed himself in the end, but that's just my opinion. What matters is what you think of him now."

"I am mostly just glad that he remembered who he truly was," the Hat said. "His obsession with heritage destroyed the bond between the Founders, and his hatred almost made him a murderer. If only the other Founders knew of his change in the end… Godric, Rowena, and Helga would have died more peacefully."

"Do you feel a little soothed by this?" Ron asked. "I know that you're mourning the Cup, the Locket, and Diadem, so I figured that some good news was well-deserved."

"You are a kind boy," the Hat said, and Ron shifted in his spot a little. _Not really. I owe you this much, that's all._ "Thank you, my friend."

"I owe you far more," Ron rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think we're more than even now," the Hat said. "Knowing that Salazar left to redeem himself is a far better answer than I hoped for. I was certain that he had left to further isolate himself from the World, and that in the end; he had died a shadow of his former self. Godric would have been so proud if he knew that."

"Why didn't Salazar tell them?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "In the notes, he kept saying that he regretted what had become of their friendship, but he didn't take any action to change said friendship."

"Perhaps he felt that he didn't deserve their forgiveness," the Hat mused. "Or perhaps he knew that there was no going back. Whatever Salazar's reasons, he gave up on being happy the day he found that accursed Lab. The Basilisk, the desire to build a Horcrux, the nightmares, the obsession with heritage… Salazar made one poor decision after another. His hatred consumed him, Ronald, and in the end, he lost his desire to want love."

"What would he think of the Dark Lord?" Ron asked. "If he could see what his Heir became, what would he say?"

"I think he would blame himself for all of this," the Hat replied. "In a way, he is indeed responsible for what the Dark Lord became. If Salazar had worked to fix his relationship with the other Founders, history would remember him very differently. As it is, history believes Salazar to be a man who detested all things Muggle. Just like the many Slytherins who have passed through Hogwarts, the Dark Lord built much of his beliefs around those of Salazar's."

"If we made these parchments public knowledge-" Ron started.

"No one would buy this, Ronald," the Hat said. "For a thousand years, people have believed Salazar to be a Blood-Supremacist. I wish it were different, but the die was cast a long time ago. Plus, you have more important matters to deal with, do you not?"

"I do," Ron nodded to himself. "Call it childish naivety, but I wish there was some way to stop all this fighting." _I wish I could stop fighting._

"As long as there are people in this World, the fighting will never stop," the Hat said. "All we can do in the end is to fight for a cause that we believe in. And if that cause fights for the liberty of all living things, then that is a cause worth fighting for." _The Hat is right… I'm letting how tired I've become get in the way of common sense. Time and time again, people have shown me that they'll always fight for dominance. The Dark Lord, the Veelas, the Order, the Ministry, the Goblins, and even myself…_

"Thank you, Hat," Ron said, he felt a little surer of himself now.

"For what, my boy?"

"For reminding me that I fight for a cause that is worth dying for."

* * *

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Breakfast)**_

"You need a haircut, Ron," Pansy said as she twirled her fork in her hand. "Though I have to say, I really like this fringe on you."

"Why didn't you comb your hair this morning?" Millie asked.

"Because a certain twat took forty minutes in the shower this morning," Ron shot Theo a frown. "The rest of us had to rush our showers, and since I shower last, I didn't have time to make my hair."

"I built up a sweat," Theo shrugged with a smirk. "Finally managed to run ten laps this morning, so I thought that I'd treat myself." _Well, Blaise ran eleven, and he still took only twenty minutes._

"Blaise didn't feel the need to treat himself," Ron pointed out. "Right, Blaise?"

No response came, and so Ron looked towards Blaise. _He's not even listening anymore… Seriously, what happened to him during the Break?_ Ron exchanged a look with Theo, who was also giving Blaise a once over. _Enough is enough. We need to talk to him._

"Blaise?" Tracey called. "Are you there?"

"What?" Blaise looked up from his breakfast. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," Tracey looked back to her meal, she clearly didn't want to start something.

Blaise looked around the table, and then he shook his head before going back to his breakfast. Daphne tapped Ron's foot, and when he looked to her, she signaled him to do something about Blaise. _I know._ Ron gave her a subtle nod, and then he went back to buttering his toast. _Tonight, then._

As Ron finished eating his crunchy toast, the sound of owls filled the Great Hall. People looked up in anticipation, no doubt excited to get mail from their friends and Family. Ron, however, was more interested in making himself a ham sandwich. Just as he was about to finish up, Daphne nudged him.

"What?" Ron jumped a bit.

"There are two owls flying over your head, Weasley," Malfoy pointed out, and as soon as Ron looked up, they both dropped their packages.

Ron quickly aimed his left palm into the air, and the packages began floating in their spots. Pansy clapped her hands excitedly, while Theo rolled his eyes.

"You're getting really good at that," Millie said as the packages floated into Ron's hands. "Um…"

"I can help you get started," Ron shot her a smile, and she slowly smiled back.

"Thank you, Ron," Millie said gratefully. "Whenever you're free is good with me." _Why can't everyone in this group be more like you, Millie?_

"That package has the Prewett Seal on it," Daphne whispered to Ron. _How does she know that but I don't? I'm literally half-Prewett._

"You and I are going to have to go over Family Seals very soon," Ron bumped his hip against Daphne's, something that made her giggle a little.

"We'll do it after I'm done teaching you some more French tomorrow," Daphne promised.

"Merci, belle femme" Ron gave her a lopsided grin. "Did I get that right?" _I hope that I didn't call her an apple again. What's the word for apple? Ah, pomme._

"Still needs work," Daphne smirked.

Ron chuckled to himself as he opened the package from Aunt Muriel, and within it were some sealed documents. _These look important._ Ron pulled them out, and after breaking the wax seal, he began reading through them. The documents detailed the transfer of a Prewett building within the Upper District to one Ronald Weasley, and once Ron was done reading them, he quickly packed them away inside the package. _I need to hand these to Gornuk as soon as possible. I'll also make sure to thank Aunt Muriel via Helios, and then in person when I get a chance._

"Those looked important," Theo eyed the package. "Mind sharing what they were?"

"I don't mind," Ron said. "My Aunt Muriel gave me the deed to one of her buildings in the Upper District-"

"Really?" Daphne's eyes flashed, while the other girls smiled at Ron.

"Congratulations, Ron," Millie said. "Your Family has a building in the Upper District now, and a lot of people will respect that."

"She just handed you a building?" Malfoy asked, though he kept his eyes on his meal. "She must be very generous…" _Merlin, at least try to hide your envy. Plus, your Family owns Lord knows how many buildings…_

Even Blaise shot Malfoy a quick grimace, but Ron made sure to ignore Malfoy's comment. _He's going through a lot, Ron, so don't make a fuss._

"This is great news," Daphne told Ron. "The Weasleys haven't owned a Wizarding Property in the Upper District since the late eighteen hundreds!" _Again, why does she know this, but I don't?_ "This is going to turn a lot of heads, I'm sure of it!"

"Is it really that important?" Tracey asked. "I don't really know much about this stuff." _Honestly, neither do I._

"Every Prominent Family owns at least one building in the Upper District," Theo quickly started explaining, and Ron figured that he wanted Tracey's attention. "It something of an achievement, really."

"It is?" Tracey asked. "Why?"

"Because the Upper District is where Diagon Alley first began," Theo replied. "The buildings there were created by our forefathers, and once they got going, they began dividing up the land amongst each other. At first, this was done fairly, but some Families were wealthier than others. So, in order to display that wealth, these Families started creating more and more buildings. Diagon Alley quickly became **the** central hub for all the Wizarding Population of Europe, mostly because nothing like this had been achieved yet. There was no Middle or Lower District at first, but then the Goblins of Gringotts showed up in 1474."

"Where there is commerce, there are Goblins," Daphne quoted her father.

"They tried to mimic what the Old Families were doing, which resulted in the Old Families sealing off the Upper District," Theo went on. "Basically, if you own a building in the Upper District, then you're recognized as a Family of worth. A Family that has its history rooted in England."

"So the Goblins don't own any buildings in the Upper District?" Tracey asked.

"They own some," Daphne replied. "They're always trying their best to get a foothold in the Upper District, but more often than not, they get bullied into submission by some of the more… dangerous… Families."

"But the Middle District is all but dominated by the Goblins of Gringotts," Theo added. "This is a big moment in Wizarding Britain's History, Trace. This officially brings the Weasleys back into the game. It shows that they have returned to the Wizarding World."

"We never left," Ron blurted out.

"True, but your Family lost most of its respect and influence when they sold away their Wizarding Properties for other ventures," Theo said. _Ouch._ "This is a good step in the right direction, Ron. I'm sure it'll shut Violet Parkinson's mouth."

"Theo…" Millie jerked her head towards Pansy.

"Oh, don't mind me," Pansy smiled at Millie. "My mother's a bitch, and I really wish that she'd shut up more often." _That's my girl!_

"Are you going to use this building for the Quibbler?" Daphne asked.

"I am," Ron replied. "And since I own it, I don't have to pay for rent."

"But you'll have to pay for its upkeep," Daphne said.

"True, but in the long run, I'll save **a lot** of money, won't I?" Ron said, and Daphne nodded.

"Do you mind if I read the deed?" Daphne asked, and Ron passed her the package. _She's really getting into this whole businesswoman thing, isn't she?_

While Daphne read through the documents, Ron opened up his other package. The second package contained a letter from Lord Fawley, and it asked Ron to drop by on Saturday during lunchtime so they could further discuss Ron's 'plans for the future'. _I have work on Saturday… Wait, this is perfect for me, isn't it? I'll go to work on Saturday, and then ask Lord Greengrass to join me for lunch with the Fawleys. I'll also collect Daphne, Sirius, Aunt Muriel, and Lady Longbottom. Once we're done discussing the Werewolf Sanctuary, we can start discussing this alliance of mine._

* * *

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (An Empty Classroom – After Dinner)**_

The day had gone by rather quickly, and aside from Ron getting a new haircut from Pansy, nothing of note had happened. But that was all about to change, because right now, Ron's siblings were on their way here. He had utilized his first years to set up this meeting, and even though he wanted to be anywhere but here, Ron refused to back out. He was going to tell them the truth, and then, he was going to help them through this.

Fred and George were the first to arrive, both of them wearing identical grins on their faces.

"Ickle Ronnikins," Fred greeted, while George hopped onto a desk.

"It's been a while since we had one of these Weasley meetings," George added.

"Which is why I called for one," Ron said. "How are you two? Are you settling back in?"

"Oh, we've settled in," Fred smirked.

"We were welcomed back as heroes," George chuckled. "Heroes who were injured in the line of duty no less."

"I'm going to guess that I'm not very popular in Gryffindor," Ron figured. _At least all of the usual study group members rocked up today. The first and second year Gryffindors really enjoy making friends outside their House._

"The little ones can't get enough of you," George said. "But the older ones…"

"We'd advise you to stay away from the seventh floor," Fred said. _Great._

"And how is Lee?" Ron asked.

"Bitter," George shrugged. "But he'll get over it."

"He's already admitted that he was impressed by your sheer gall," Fred told Ron. "But I would stay away from him if I were you."

"Noted," Ron said.

"By the way, we need more Nutrition Potions," Fred said, and Ron clicked his tongue. _Really?_

"Why? I just gave you some," Ron reminded them.

"And we botched them up," George replied. "Trust me, Ronnie, this is not easy work."

"This Potion is particularly stubborn, you see," Fred explained. "If it isn't mixed perfectly, it doesn't work. Mixing in new ingredients while the Potion is brewing causes it all to go belly-up. Basically, we have to make the Potion first, and then add the flavor enhancements." _Won't that dilute the solution?_

"But every time you do, the potency get weaker," Ron figured.

"You're right," Fred said. "That Potions Club is paying off, eh?"

"What if you make a really potent Nutrition Potion, and then enhance it?" Ron asked.

"We tried that," George pulled a face. "The cauldron exploded." _What?_

"It's stubborn, and **volatile** ," Fred sniggered.

"Guys, don't put yourselves in danger like that for me," Ron sighed out. "I don't mind the Potion I have now."

"We're making you a new one, and that's final," George said, he sounded weirdly serious all of a sudden.

"We've tasted it ourselves, and it's fucking gross," Fred added. "We know what we're doing, Ron."

"Okay…" Ron said calmingly. _Merlin, they got really aggressive just then._ "I'll ask Madam Pomfrey for some more."

The door swung open just as Ron finished, and he looked to see Percy, Ginny, and Luna step into the room. All three of them looked awkward for various reasons. Ginny and Luna quickly moved to different sides of the room, while Percy lingered by the door.

"What is it, Ron?" Percy asked, a hint of disinterest in his voice.

"I have to tell all of you something," Ron decided not to waste any time.

"Is this about your health?" Luna asked, and they all immediately looked to Ron.

"Yes," Ron replied. "I… I got another scan, and my brain damage has gotten worse." All of their faces dropped immediately, including the twins'. "The damage has spread, and the old damage is growing at an alarming rate."

"Are you…?" Ginny started, but she stopped short.

"How long?" Percy asked.

"Madam Pomfrey says two years," Ron replied, making sure to keep his voice even.

"Two years?" Fred muttered, while George just stared at Ron in disbelief. "You have two years left, and you… You don't seem bothered…"

"What makes you say that?" Ron blinked.

"Because you just spent the last five minutes talking to us about the fucking Nutrition Potion," Fred said. "Merlin, Ron…"

"I figured that I'd wait for everyone to be here before I told you," Ron explained.

"When did you find out?" Percy asked.

"I found out on Tuesday," Ron replied.

"It's Friday!" Percy looked almost angry for a moment. "You waited almost-"

"Percy, give it a rest," George said, his eyes darting towards a shrinking Ginny and Luna. "Now's not the time, eh?"

"I needed time to process this," Ron told Percy, who was now rubbing his face harshly. "I also had to speak to the adults about this. I'm sorry for waiting this long, but you need to cut me some slack here."

"Is there really no cure?" Luna squeaked, and when Ron shook his head, she looked devastated. _Oh, no…_ "Luna-"

"Why is it getting worse?" Luna asked weakly, her face twisting as her eyes welled up.

"Injuries like this one just get worse over time," Ron replied as softly as he could.

"It's your Chronic Stress, isn't it?" Percy asked. "That's the real reason behind it spreading so quickly." _He's not taking this well. Shit._

"Percy," Fred hissed as he shot a look towards a sniffling Ginny.

Percy looked towards Ginny, and he seemingly lost whatever anger he felt towards Ron. As for Ron, he felt like the worst human to ever live. _First the adults, and now them… Fucking hell…_

"I still have two years," Ron tried, but Ginny let out a strangled cry before he could go on.

George quickly walked over and pulled Ginny into his side, all the while whispering anything comforting that he could think of. Ginny losing her composure resulted in Luna losing hers, and Ron quickly found himself holding the tiny blond.

"Don't go…" Luna whimpered, her tiny fingers digging into his arm. "Please!"

"I'm still here," Ron whispered. "Luna, I'm not going anywhere for a while-"

"You said… that it's going to get… worse," Luna hiccupped. "No…"

The next sound she made tore Ron's heart to pieces, and his throat closed up completely. He tried to say comforting things to her, like George was doing with Ginny, but nothing came out. Luna kept crying, and all Ron could do was to hold her more tightly.

* * *

 _ **Percy Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (An Empty Classroom – After Dinner)**_

He felt genuinely sick.

Any minute now, he was going to vomit out his dinner.

Ron had moved Ginny and Luna into a corner, where he was talking to them both in hushed whispers. Whatever he was saying, it wasn't working. Luna hadn't stopped crying for the last twenty minutes, and Ginny had stopped only for Ron's sake. _She'll cry when she get back to her dorm. She'll keep holding it in, but the moment she's alone, she's going to break down in tears._ For the tenth time, Percy removed his glasses in order to pinch his eyes.

He was definitely going to be sick.

"You all right?" Fred croaked as he walked over.

Percy slowly looked to his brother, and then, he shook his head. _I can't even think… What am I even supposed to think about right now?_ He knew that he wasn't very good with emotional subjects, and although he had made his peace with that a long time ago, right now he found himself cursing his inability to comfort anyone. He wanted to pull Ron aside in order to give him a tight hug, but Percy hadn't even moved an inch since Ron had started talking. It was as if his feet were glued to the floor.

"Perce?" Fred gave him a light shake, and Percy broke out of his thoughts. "Let me get you a chair…"

"I'm fine where I am," Percy managed. "I feel really sick, though…"

Fred nodded slowly, his eyes examining Percy's face.

"George mentioned that he feels sick too," Fred whispered, and Percy looked to see George sitting down in a chair with his head hanging low. _I guess he couldn't keep going… Is that why Ron took Ginny away?_ "Merlin, Percy… You're starting to scare me here…"

"Why?" Percy blinked at Fred.

"Because you're as pale as a ghost, and you're starting to sweat," Fred replied, and then he walked over and grabbed a chair. "Come and sit down."

"I… I'm fine right here…" Percy pinched his eyes again.

Fred brought the chair over, and he planted it behind Percy.

"Sit down," Fred pulled Percy into the chair, and the moment he sat down on it, Percy all but melted. "Eat this, all right?"

Percy looked at the chocolate bar in Fred's right hand, and he felt his stomach turn.

"No, thanks," Percy looked down at the ground. _He's really going to die, isn't he? All the books that I've read over the last two weeks… They all say the same thing. There is no cure for this, and it's only going to get worse from here. One day soon, we'll all be burying Ron-_

"Hey," Fred whispered as he kneeled down to catch Percy's eyes. "Percy, talk to me."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Percy asked stupidly, and Fred just stared at him. "Shouldn't you be laughing at me right now?"

"What the fuck, Percy?" Fred looked genuinely taken aback. "This isn't something to laugh at… What's the fucking matter with you?"

Percy felt a little ashamed for saying something like that, but at this point, he was used to acting like a useless idiot. From the moment he had found out about Ron's condition, he couldn't do a single thing right. At first, he was filled with rage for being left out of the loop, and in classic Percy Weasley fashion, he had started being distant with Ron. He had no idea what he was hoping to gain from this behavior, but every time he saw Ron, his well-organized brain turned into putty.

And then, he had heard Ron talking with Luna in the Kitchen, and that had made things a million times worse. From then on, Percy wasn't angry… He was just done… The books Bill had given him were useless, and Percy couldn't bring himself to just talk to Ron. _It was easier when he was little. He used to seek me out all the time._ Percy smiled a little at the memory of a nine year old Ron knocking on his door at ten in the morning, his tiny hands holding quills and journals. _Gods, he was so slow with his studies. I had to explain everything over and over again, and when he eventually started to understand, he looked so content with himself._

"You're like the smartest person alive, Perce!" he heard his little brother exclaim. "You know everything about everything, don't you?!" _No, I really don't… I don't even know how to be here for you right now. I don't know what to do when you need me most._

"Perce…" Fred whispered. "I'm sorry for snapping at you like that… Hey, are you there?"

"He's going to die, Fred," Percy said, and Fred's mouth sealed shut. "We're going to bury our little brother…"

At that, he felt his stomach churn painfully, and Percy shoved Fred aside before he vomited all over the floor.

* * *

 _ **Friday 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (An Empty Classroom – Night)**_

"We'll talk soon, I promise," Ron said as he hugged Luna and Ginny.

"We'll take them up," Fred offered, and Ron gave him a nod. "C'mon, girls… George and I have a secret stash of sweets up on the fifth floor, and we'll take a quick detour there."

Percy just stared at his siblings as they each hugged Ron before leaving, and pretty soon, only he and Ron were left in the room. _Should I leave too?_ Percy tried to stand up from the floor, but he honestly couldn't manage it. When he gave up on standing up, he rested his head against the wall. _I don't have Head Boy duties tonight, so I think I'll just stay here for a while._

"Mind if I sit down with you?" came Ron's voice, and Percy realized that Ron was standing in front of him.

"Go ahead," Percy replied, his own voice sounded foreign to him.

Ron sat down to Percy's left, his shoulder bumping against Percy's.

"You still feeling sick?" Ron asked.

"No…" Percy replied. "Ron?"

"Yeah, Perce?" Ron responded.

"Don't you have Astronomy tonight?" Percy asked, and Ron just blinked at him.

And then, Ron let out a weak chuckle. _What?_

"Of course you know my schedule," Ron nudged Percy's side. "Don't worry, I still have forty minutes before my class starts."

"How are your classes going?" Percy asked after a few seconds of silence.

"They're going well," Ron replied. "The Professors created a special plan just for me."

"What special plan?" Percy asked.

"I get two extra weeks per assignment," Ron replied. "Pretty neat, right?" _Neat? How is any of this 'neat'?_

"How are you so calm?" Percy couldn't hold it in anymore. " **Why** are you so calm?"

"Not being calm makes it worse for me," Ron replied, and Percy felt rather stupid once again. _His Chronic Stress…_ "When are you going to stop avoiding me?"

Percy's throat tightened at the question, and he looked down at his lap in order to avoid Ron's gaze.

"I'm not avoiding you," Percy lied.

"We barely spoke for the entirety of the Break," Ron said. "And ever since we've been back, we haven't spoken even once. You even avoid looking at me during mealtimes."

Percy didn't know what to say to that, so he just stared at his lap in silence. Ron waited, and he waited, and he waited, but Percy said nothing. After nearly five minutes of silence, Ron began to stand up. Without thinking, Percy reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Please don't go…" Percy pleaded, and Ron slowly sat back down. "Just… Don't go, Ron…"

"I won't," Ron said.

"But you will…" Percy felt his chest tighten. "I read the books… I even found some in the Library…"

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he placed his arm over Percy's shoulders. _His shoulders are almost wider than mine now. He would have been the tallest Weasley yet._ Ron squeezed Percy into his side, and for the first time in ages, Percy felt some semblance of peace.

"I still have time," Ron whispered.

"This is not right," Percy muttered. "Nothing about this is right…"

"I know," Ron said.

"Then why aren't you scared?" Percy asked, his eyes searching Ron's face for the truth. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"I am scared, but at the same time, I know that I can't give into fear," Ron admitted. "Being scared changes nothing for me, Perce. If I give into fear, then Ginny and Luna… Mum and dad…" Ron drew in another deep breath. "Bad things happen to people everyday, but I've learned that you don't lose until you give up. It's only when you give into fear that you lose the fight."

"And you don't lose…" Percy remembered. "Ron, I… I'm scared shitless…"

"I know," Ron said. "I'm here for you, Percy. Always."

"But I'm supposed to be here for you," Percy said, his frustration coming out. "And I can't, and I don't know why!"

"Perce…" Ron looked into his eyes. "It's not a competition."

"That's not what I meant," Percy said. "I… I just… I want to help. I **need** to help. But I can't… I don't even know how to start…"

"You can start by telling me why you're so angry with me," Ron offered. "C'mon, Perce… Fred, George, Ginny, and Luna have all forgiven me for keeping this to myself for so long, but you haven't. Tell me what's really bothering you."

Percy thought about Ron's inquiry for a moment, and then he gave his answer.

"You used to tell me everything," Percy said, and Ron nodded slowly. "I didn't get to be the twins' older brother, or even Ginny's. I only had you, Ron, and you kept this from me. I wish I had been there for you, but **you're** the one who took that chance away from me." Percy then frowned to himself a little. "I must sound so damn selfish right now."

"You do, but it doesn't bother me," Ron said.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Because you're not wrong," Ron replied. "I know I was selfish to keep this to myself. Everyone told me to open up, but I wanted everything to stay the same. I didn't want to burden anyone, nor did I want to feel indebted to anyone. I kept thinking that I'd tell you all eventually, but weeks turned into months, and then, I ended up getting a stomach ulcer… I think I would have kept this to myself until my dying breath if it weren't for that ulcer."

"Why did the ulcer change your mind?" Percy asked.

"Well, dad told all of you the truth because my ulcer left him no choice," Ron explained. "I was dreading coming home because I thought that you would all start mollycoddling me just because I was sick… I didn't want that."

"You didn't want our pity," Percy realized. _I know how that feels. I hate it when mum and dad speak highly of me just because everyone else is ignoring me._

"The first few days were hard, but slowly, people started giving me my space," Ron said. "Of course, the twins still want to brew me a tastier Nutrition Potion, an act of kindness that they would have never shown me if it weren't for my conditions, and even Ginny started opening up to me again, despite the fact that we've been fighting like cats and dogs lately. My illness has definitely made people more agreeable, but at the same time, I feel their genuineness. I was wrong to hide something so important from all of you is what I'm getting at."

"Which is why you told us within three days that your brain damage is getting worse," Percy felt some of his bitterness leave his body. "You were scared, just like I am now."

"I'm sorry that I hurt you, Percy," Ron apologized. "I'll try to do better from now on."

Percy, no longer feeling angry, reached across and rested his hand on the back of Ron's head. _This haircut suits him, though he'll have a fringe if he doesn't gel his hair._

"I'm sorry as well," Percy let go of the last of his anger. "Ignoring you wasn't the right call, and I've known that for a while… It's just really hard to think about you not being here someday. I never imagined that I could feel this kind of pain in my chest, but whenever I see you, I just want to curl up into a ball. I feel like my heart is going to explode."

Ron managed a weak smile, and after he gave Percy's shoulders another squeeze, he began to stand up.

"C'mon," Ron offered Percy his gloved hand, and when Percy took it, Ron hauled him up. "Can we please find some common ground again? I don't want to see this distance between us."

Percy knew that Ron was pushing himself to try very hard at opening up, mostly because Percy himself knew how hard it was to open up in the Weasley Family. Being guarded was a trait that both Ron and Percy had developed growing up, and seeing Ron conquer that trait gave him the inspiration to try and do the same.

"If you ever need anything, Ron, please think about coming to me," Percy said, his chest feeling lighter than it had in days. "I still want to help."

"I can do that," Ron promised.

"Then I'll try to be better as well," Percy promised.

"Thank you," Ron smiled more surely, and then he pulled Percy into a tight embrace.

For the first time in a long time, Percy tried to return the hug with equal strength. He didn't want to let go of his brother. _Not now… Not ever._

"I love you, Ron," Percy heard himself say.

"I love you too, Perce," Ron said before pulling back.

Neither of them said anything after that, and pretty soon, Ron was heading for the door in order to collect his books for Astronomy. _Wait… I still have one more question._

"Ron, wait," Percy followed after Ron, who quickly turned to face him.

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

"The Ministry…" Percy started. "Why are you still trying to change it? Why are you still putting yourself into the arena with people like Corban Yaxley? Isn't it more important for you to rest?"

"I want my life to mean something," Ron said, and Percy could do little but stare. "I know that you love the idea of being the Minister for Magic someday, but from what I've seen and heard, the Ministry needs to be reformed. Most of the people there only serve themselves, while the poor and helpless are turned into scapegoats and targets. I've been both poor and helpless, so I want to do something to make things better now that I'm neither."

"But you're thirteen…" Percy managed.

"And I only have two years left," Ron reminded Percy, which caused Percy's heart to clench. "For me, it's now or never… I don't want to rest. I don't want to add a little more time to my life if it means abandoning people that I could help save." _Save?_

"Save people from the Ministry?" Percy asked slowly.

"From the Ministry, and the war," Ron clarified.

"The war…" Percy remembered. _That's right… The Dark Lord is returning to power._

"I have an idea," Ron said suddenly. "Tomorrow, I'm meeting some important people. Together, we plan to create an alliance of sorts… Something very much like the Prominent Families who control the country. Why don't you come with me?"

"Come with you?" Percy blinked. "And do what?"

"Listen, give your opinions, and make some strong connections," Ron replied. "I want the Weasleys to be a part of this alliance, but mum and dad aren't exactly big on this sort of behavior. Bill and Charlie have their own interests, the twins are rebels by nature, and Ginny and Luna don't think like me. You, however, would be a perfect fit at such a gathering."

Percy didn't need to be told twice, he had always wanted to try his hand at this sort of thing. _Plus, I can help Ron. I can be by his side throughout this entire thing._

"What time?" Percy asked.

"Daphne will come and get you around lunchtime," Ron replied. "We're meeting up at the Fawleys' Estate."

"I'll be there."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Greengrass Manor – Near Lunchtime)**_

"Is it wise to bring me along, Ron?" Lord Greengrass asked, they were waiting in the Greeting Room. _Ah, so he can speak._

Throughout the entire day, Lord Greengrass had only said three sentences so far. He had said 'Good morning', he had told Ron what he'd be doing for the day, and then he had told Ron to get to work. Even when Ron had told him of his afternoon plans, Lord Greengrass hadn't said anything in response. He had only given a curt nod. _I don't know if he's angry with me, or still reeling from my latest scan._

"This alliance is going to happen, my Lord," Ron said. "You're too powerful to not pick a side, and I want you to be on mine." _It's a shame that Mary's visiting Mr. and Mrs. Davis right now. Having her there would have made my life easier._

"This alliance will stand against everything I believe in," Lord Greengrass pointed out.

"No, it won't," Ron corrected. "We're not going to be targeting the Old Ways as much as you think we are, my Lord. I understand that without the Old Ways, we wouldn't even have a Wizarding Britain. Mostly, we'll be fighting to give equal rights to the 'lower classes'. Oh, and we'll be trying to push people like Corban Yaxley away from Ministry affairs."

"So you want to replace one regime with another," Lord Greengrass said.

"Someone has to be in charge, so it might as well be us," Ron shrugged. "At least when we're in charge, a lot less people will suffer."

"You do realize that your alliance is sounding more and more power hungry, don't you?" Lord Greengrass asked. "A bunch of elites getting together to tear power away from the current regime, and then to bestow that power onto themselves."

"That power has to go somewhere, right?" Ron looked to his Mentor. "It can't just disappear completely. It would cause far too much disorder if it just up and vanished." _No one in their right mind can deny that the Prominent Families keep Wizarding Britain afloat. If their influence is taken away, and no one fills their role, everything will go to shit before long._

"You're learning," Lord Greengrass said. _I am._

"You can't sit this one out, my Lord," Ron looked back to the fireplaces. "Daphne has already agreed to try and play a part in this, and if you're there with her, people will take the Greengrass Family's help more seriously."

"You mean they won't laugh my daughter out of the room," Lord Greengrass said bluntly. _If they do laugh at her, they'll all die within days. That's a promise._

One of the fireplaces suddenly roared to life, and both Percy and Daphne stepped through the green flames. Ron quickly put on a welcoming smile, while Lord Greengrass cocked an eyebrow at Percy.

"Your brother is joining us?" Lord Greengrass whispered.

"After I die, he'll represent the Weasley Family for me," Ron whispered back, which earned him a slightly wary look from Lord Greengrass. "We're here to stay, Lord Greengrass. My Family has been disrespected within the Wizarding World for too long."

"Father," Daphne greeted. "You know Percy Weasley, don't you?"

"Not quite," Lord Greengrass looked Percy over. "But I'm sure that we'll get properly acquainted soon."

"I hope so, my Lord," Percy gave a respectful nod. _Good, he knows how to talk to the man._

"We don't have much time," Ron looked at his Rolex. "Percy and I will go fetch our Aunt Muriel, while you two need to go collect Lady Longbottom and Sirius."

"I can get Lady Longbottom," Daphne said. "She might not be too pleased to see Father in her house." _Yeah, that makes sense._

Lord Greengrass said nothing, opting instead to watch his Apprentice give out the orders. He couldn't deny that he felt a little proud of Ron right now, even if Ron was giving him orders.

"Can you get Sirius, my Lord?" Ron asked, and Lord Greengrass gave a curt nod. "All right, then… We'll all meet up at the Fawleys' Estate."

"Do they know that you're bringing guests?" Percy asked.

"No, they don't," Ron replied. "What are they going to do, though? Turn us away?"

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"I haven't been in this house since…" Percy trailed off. "Merlin, it must have been before the twins blew up that dung bomb under Aunt Muriel's chair."

"Try to not bring that up," Ron said. "She might have us flogged by her Elves."

"Are you sure about her, Ron?" Percy couldn't help but ask. "She's not exactly… friendly…"

"She's done right by me so far," Ron replied. "However, you're not wrong. She likes to piss people off, I think, and that could be bad for us."

"Then why invite her to join us?" Percy asked. "For as long as I've known her, she's made it quite clear that she hates most people. Plus, she isn't exactly tolerant of Muggles and Muggle-Borns."

"She's a Prewett," Ron started. "And you and I are both half-Prewett. We're Family, Perce, and she does care for her Family. If I don't extend her an invitation, she'll take it as a personal slight, and then we'll have a bigger problem on our hands."

"That makes sense," Percy nodded to himself.

"Trust me, she was pissed because I didn't reach out to her when I first got started," Ron said. "I'm not making that mistake again."

"You're bringing your brood with you now?" came Muriel's voice, and both Percy and Ron turned to face her.

"Auntie!" Ron grinned, which earned him a deep scowl from Muriel.

"Don't tell me that you brought those two degenerates with you as well," Muriel looked around the room as she walked up to them.

"The twins are at Hogwarts," Percy said. "It's good to see you again, Aunt Muriel."

"Save the pleasantries," Muriel rolled her bloodshot eyes. "Neither of us is pleased to see the other." She then looked to Ron. "A letter would have sufficed, Ronald. You did not need to come down here again."

"But I wanted to thank you in person," Ron said, deciding to keep his smile in place. "Thank you, Auntie. I won't forget your generosity, I promise." _I wonder if she gave me that building to solidify my Family's standing within Wizarding Britain? She definitely knows how important it is to own a building in the Upper District, but she didn't tell me at the time. I had to learn that fact from my friends._

Percy looked between the two, but he said nothing.

"Sit," Muriel gestured towards the chairs. "I'll have some food served, and we can speak about what you want."

"What I want?" Ron asked.

"Why else would you show up here with Percy?" Muriel asked in response.

"I'm glad that being a million years old hasn't dulled your mind," Ron chuckled, and Percy gaped at Ron a little.

"You can speak to me about age when you have some hair on your chest, boy," Muriel said.

"Touché," Ron sniggered. "Sorry, Auntie, we don't have the time to stay here. I have a meeting with the Fawleys, and I came to collect you."

"Collect me?" Muriel cocked an eyebrow. "I have no business with the Fawley Family."

"Remember that alliance that we talked about?" Ron asked, and Muriel's features became blank.

"You want the Fawleys to join us?" Muriel asked.

"I do," Ron replied. "And a few others." _But I'll keep that to myself for now._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Fawley Estate – After Lunch)**_

Ron couldn't deny that the Fawley Estate was quite grand, and yet, he still preferred the Prewett Estate. _I don't know why these Families like to live in such lavish Manors. I get the whole 'showing off your wealth' thing, but I'd rather live in a house that feels like a home. This Estate is definitely beautiful, but there are so many empty rooms._

As the Elves cleared the dinner table and presented dessert, Ron subtly gauged everyone's demeanors. Lord and Lady Fawley were being kind hosts, but they had reservations about Sebastian Greengrass eating with them. Aunt Muriel and Lady Longbottom were still speaking to each other about Lady Longbottom's Dragon Reserve. Sirius was being polite for the most part, though he couldn't stop himself from cracking jokes. This seemed to bother Percy a little, who was being far too serious and proper about everything. Daphne was the perfect guest, making polite conversation and smiling her best smile. As for Ron, he was simply enjoying the awkwardness that he had caused.

"Dessert is served," the Head Elf bowed deeply, and then he cracked out of the room along with the other Elves. _Woah… They timed that, didn't they?_

"You should eat it," Daphne whispered to Ron. "It'll be rude to refuse."

"I figured as much," Ron eyed the mix of honey ice cream and fruits. _Forgive me, Madam Roberts, but this is for the Greater Good._

Ron shot Lady Fawley a smile before he began eating the dessert, which was bloody delicious. _I haven't had sweets in so long._

"Did your Elves make this ice cream, my Lord?" Daphne asked Lord Fawley.

"They did," Lord Fawley replied pleasantly. "It's a Family recipe."

"It is wonderful," Daphne complimented.

"It really is," Ron joined in. _We've shared enough pleasantries now, I think. I still need to see Gornuk after this, so I need to get a move on._ "I hope you don't mind if we talk business now. I have another appointment to get to after this, so I can't afford to delay any longer."

The Fawleys sat up straighter, they were clearly waiting for Ron to start the conversation.

"We all know why we're here," Ron went on. "We all want change." _Remember your speech, Ron._

"Do we?" Lord Fawley looked towards Lord Greengrass. "Forgive my forwardness, Lord Greengrass, but your beliefs are well-known. As is the knowledge of your old alliances." _So much for my speech…_

"My first duty is to my Family," Lord Greengrass said. "Everything I do is to further my Family's strength."

"Does that not mean that you'll betray us if some better opportunity comes along?" Lady Fawley asked.

"Ron is a part of my Family, and if this is what he wants, then he'll have my backing," Lord Greengrass said calmly, and Ron couldn't help but smile a little. _Keep your composure, Ron. You can gush about this when you're alone._

Lord Fawley looked between Ron and Lord Greengrass, and then he gave a half-smile.

"Well said," Lord Fawley said, while Sirius nudged Lord Greengrass and smirked.

"This alliance can't hope to compete against our common enemies," Lady Longbottom said. "Even with Sebastian Greengrass' vaults on our side, we are still underfunded."

"Not to mention our lack of influence within the Ministry," Aunt Muriel added. "No one in this room has any sway over any Department."

"Then we need to change that first," Ron said. "I have made a list of people who we need to approach over the coming days. These people will bring more money with them, and a lot of them have influence in this country."

Ron pulled the list out of his jacket's inner pocket, and then he handed it down to Aunt Muriel.

"Most of these Families aren't a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight," Aunt Muriel frowned at the list.

"The Abbot, Crouch, Macmillan, Ollivander, Shacklebolt, and Shafiq Families are all great candidates," Ron explained. "But they're not enough. Even after they join us, we won't have enough power within the Ministry. You see, I've been doing a lot of research into each Family's contributions to Wizarding Britain, and I found that the Sacred Families in here and on that list still don't match up against the other Sacred Families. Unlike us, they put their eggs in the right basket early on." _Hell, Lucius Malfoy literally bought our Minister a mansion._

"I have no issues working with people who aren't a part of the Sacred Twenty Eight," Sirius voiced his opinion.

"There are too many names of this list," Aunt Muriel argued.

"Not all of them will agree to help us," Ron countered. "The names written with red ink, however, **need** to be on our side."

"Bones, Davis, Diggory, Hawkworth, Lovegood, Ogden, Potter-" Aunt Muriel stopped abruptly. "Potter? You want the Boy-Who-Lived working with us?"

"Yes," Ron replied. "Harry's a friend of mine, and his involvement will definitely help us out."

"Kid… Harry's not really into this sort of thing," Sirius said a little awkwardly. "He won't agree easily."

"He owes me a favor," Ron said. "He'll do as I ask, make no mistake about that."

Sirius blinked at Ron, while the others exchanged slow looks. _Was I too cold just then?_

"What favor?" Sirius asked after a few seconds.

"I helped his Quidditch Captain with something, and in return, they both owe me," Ron replied. "Harry will keep his word, I'm sure of it."

"Having the Boy-Who-Lived on our side would definitely bring in more allies," Lord Fawley said. "And I must admit, I really wish to meet Mr. Potter." _One mention of Harry, and they're all salivating. Good. I was right to include his name on the list._

"Many Families on that list work within the Wizengamot," Ron said. "We'll, of course, vet them before we approach them, but I imagine that a few of them will agree to help us. After all, the Great War weakened the hold our enemies had over the Wizengamot. People like Lucius Malfoy and Corban Yaxley aren't even allowed to be members of the Wizengamot, despite their power and influence."

"Vetting this many people will take time," Lady Longbottom said.

"We should approach the Sacred Families during that time," Percy suggested. "If we have a strong force, we'll have better credibility."

Ron shot Percy a smile, but Percy kept his expression dead serious.

"Are the French Families on that list?" Daphne asked. "You have connections with strong Families in France, and we should use them."

"I will approach them myself, but not for a while," Ron said. "Though, I will be speaking to Madame Olympe Maxime about this alliance very soon."

"So we're bringing in Veelas as well, then," Aunt Muriel said, while Lady Longbottom didn't look too pleased.

"Not for a while," Ron said. "If we don't need them, then we won't bring them into British Politics." _They will no doubt try to get a foothold within this country. Again._ "Consider them my last resort."

"Then let us hope that we don't need them," Lord Greengrass said. "They live to dominate others, and if we let them into this alliance, they will try to ensnare us all." _In the past, I would have argued against him on this, but now I know that he's got a valid point. They, like us, have greed within them, but unlike us, they can make others do their bidding by simply batting their eyelashes. That kind of power is impossible to resist._

"I am on very good terms with the Shafiq Family," Lady Longbottom said. "I would like to approach them myself." _Taking the initiative? I love this witch._

"The Macmillans have been calling me over for dinner for a while now," Sirius sighed out. "I can accept their invitation, and then try to persuade them to join us."

"Lord and Lady Abbot are good friends of ours," Lord Fawley said. "We would like to be the ones to bring them in." _This is going well._

"This leaves the Crouch, Ollivander, and Shacklebolt Families," Ron said. "I can speak to Mr. Crouch, but he's a hard man to speak to. It will take time."

"The Ollivanders will refuse," Aunt Muriel said.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"Because the Ollivander Family only cares about making wands," Lord Greengrass said. "She's right about them, Ron. They have never picked a side, and they won't this time either."

"As for the Shacklebolts… They aren't very rich or influential," Lord Fawley said. "Their name, however, carries weight, though they don't involve themselves in Politics." _Isn't Kingsley Shacklebolt in the Order? Yeah, the Headmaster told me that he is._

"We'll need their name, then," Ron said. "Sirius… Does your cousin know Kingsley Shacklebolt? They're both Aurors, right?"

"My cousin? You mean Nymphadora?" Sirius asked.

"Can she introduce me to Mr. Shacklebolt?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Sirius said slowly. "I'll talk to her, and then she can send you an owl if she agrees." _If? You'd better not half-arse this, Sirius._

"Thank you," Ron said.

"There is one name that hasn't been mentioned yet," Lord Greengrass said. "Slughorn."

"Horace Slughorn?" Ron asked, and the adults all looked to Ron.

"You know him?" Lord Greengrass asked with a searching gaze.

"I met him at the Gala," Ron replied. "He was quite excited to make my acquaintance." _Be more careful, Ron, you dimwit._ "He told me that he's traveling the World while he writes his book on Hydromancy, so I didn't add him on the list."

"If he's anything like he was during our days at Hogwarts," Lord Fawley started. "He'll want to be associated with us, but not closely enough that he'll be forced to actually do something." _So a parasite, then? I should still invite him, though. The Headmaster wanted me to impress that man for a reason. He has 'key insight' into the Dark Lord's past._

"When he returns, I'll seek him out," Ron said.

"If he's not going to help us, should we really give him a spot?" Daphne asked. "I do agree with Lady Prewett about there being too many names on that list. The larger our group, the easier it will be for us to be compromised."

Lord Greengrass smirked a little to himself, while Percy just stared at Daphne.

"He'll help us," Ron said calmly. "I can be very… persuasive…" _**He can either help Us, or he can face Our wrath. **_

"Oh…" Daphne muttered under her breath.

Ron shot a quick look at his watch, and he clicked his tongue. _Gornuk doesn't work late on Saturdays. I need to hurry up here._

"Is your next appointment in jeopardy?" Lord Fawley asked.

"I have a few more minutes," Ron said. "Before I go, though, I do want to discuss another matter. The Werewolf Sanctuary."

"What about it?" Lord Fawley asked, while Muriel turned her nose in disgust. _Ignore her, Ron. She's too set in her ways to change._

"I have learned that a large pack is moving down towards us," Ron started, while Sirius sat up straighter. "A representative of this pack has been in contact with me, and this representative has told me something very disturbing. This large pack was being forced into slave labor by Goblins-"

"Slave labor?" Lady Fawley looked quite surprised.

"The Goblins have an illegal mine somewhere close to Buckden Pike," Ron explained. "They wanted to keep this mine hidden away, so they 'hired' this large pack to work for them. The problem with this was that the Goblins were mistreating the workers, and they weren't paying them worth a damn."

"Why didn't this large pack leave?" Percy asked.

"Where would they go?" Sirius asked in return. "They can't get jobs in the Wizarding World, and even if they got a job within the Muggle World, no Wizard would want to associate with them."

"Sirius is right," Ron said. "This pack had no money, and they had hungry mouths to feed. Which is why they were willing to put up with the Goblins' mistreatment."

"Wouldn't the Ministry vacate such a large gathering of Werewolves?" Lady Longbottom asked.

"They tried to," Ron replied. "But Robert Bulstrode intervened."

"Lord Bulstrode?" Daphne blinked.

"He came to the pack as a friend, but in truth, he planned to sell them to the Goblins," Ron told everyone. "Once he was done selling them, he went to the Ministry and bribed a bunch of Officials to leave the pack alone."

"Gods…" Lord Fawley shook his head. "Even in this day and age…" _Which day and age are you living in, mate? Just because you ignore these issues doesn't mean that they don't exist._

"Does this pack know about our plans for a Werewolf Sanctuary?" Lady Fawley asked.

"They do, which is why they're coming here," Ron replied. "They will also be in contact with other packs, and together, they'll all come down here." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Our time is now limited, and we need to put more money into this. I'd say that we have a month at most."

"A month?" Lord Fawley asked. "That is not enough time, Mr. Weasley."

"It is more than enough time if we're all willing to put in the effort," Ron argued. "I for one, will increase the Weasley Family's funding from five hundred Galleons to fifteen hundred Galleons."

"I'll turn my fifteen hundred into three thousand," Sirius gave Ron an approving nod.

Ron then looked to Lady Longbottom, who just stared at him for a few moments. _We are Eternal Friends, are we not?_

"The Longbottom Family will increase its funding to fifteen hundred Galleons," Lady Longbottom said eventually, while Aunt Muriel pretended to be somewhere more pleasant.

"The Greengrass Family will increase its funding to two thousand Galleons," Daphne said, and then she shot her father a quick glance.

Lord Greengrass gave her a subtle nod, but he didn't say anything. _She's willing to pay more than anyone else, but not as large a sum as Sirius. Smart._

"We'll start getting our farm ready, then," Lord Fawley said. "If those payments can be sent in by the end of next week, then we can start building as quickly as possible."

"A thousand beds should be enough as a start," Lady Fawley said. "The farm is large enough to accommodate more, but we'll need to be sure of how many Werewolves we must shelter before we make more adjustments."

"Do you still plan to advertise this Sanctuary in your paper, Mr. Weasley?" Lord Fawley asked.

"I do," Ron replied. "If we can prove to the public that this place will help save lives, then we'll face less resistance."

"The Ministry will try to damage this Sanctuary's credibility," Lady Longbottom told them. "If this Sanctuary works out, then the public will demand answers from the Ministry."

"Answers?" Daphne asked.

"People will wonder why the Ministry didn't do something like this themselves," Lord Greengrass explained, while Percy listened with a serious expression. "For as long as anyone can remember, the Ministry has condemned Werewolves. They won't want to eat their own words."

"We have our work cut out for us, but if we step up, we'll get this done," Ron stood up as he checked his watch again. _Fuck me, I'm running late._ "Together."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Greengrass Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

"This is terrific news, Mr. Weasley," Gornuk eyed the deed greedily. "To think that I had my doubts about us working in the Upper District."

"You had doubts?" Ron smirked, and the Goblin quickly schooled his features.

"I was skeptical," Gornuk cleared his throat, and then he looked back down at the deed. "The paperwork is all here, Mr. Weasley. I will store the deed in your personal vault, and we'll change our records to list you as the owner of this particular building."

"How long before other Prominent Families find out about me owing this building?" Ron asked.

"That depends on whether or not they're interested in this building," Gornuk replied. "I can make sure to keep this quiet, but I must pass on this information to the right people. For legal reasons. The Ministry likes to be kept in the loop when it comes to Wizarding Properties, and we can't afford to hide this information from them."

"Do what you have to, but try to buy us some time," Ron said. "My Family isn't very popular, and this will definitely turn heads in our direction."

"I will do my best," Gornuk promised as he stored the deed away. "Is there anything else, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes, actually," Ron leaned back in his chair. "This isn't related to our business, but I'd like your opinion on this nonetheless."

"Certainly," Gornuk said.

"What do you know about illegal Goblin mines?" Ron asked bluntly, and Gornuk just stared at him.

"I don't know anything about illegal Goblin mines," Gornuk replied, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Such mines are against Ministry regulations, and the Goblin community would never endanger the Statute of Secrecy by operating a mine outside of the Ministry's knowledge."

"Really?" Ron asked. "The Goblins really care that much about Wizarding Laws? I had no idea."

"We must all do our part to maintain the Statute of Secrecy," Gornuk replied.

"So if, hypothetically, an illegal mine was found, what would the Goblin community do about it?" Ron asked.

"That is privileged information, even in hypothetical terms," Gornuk replied.

"I imagine that they would wash their hands clean of such a mine," Ron figured. "They'd definitely wash their hands clean of any wizard who helped them with this illegal mine, right?" _Robert Bulstrode won't get away with this, I'll make damn sure of that. And then, I'll make damn sure that Millie finds out about how her father treats fellow human beings._

"It's hard to say," Gornuk's beady eyes flashed in the direction of Ron's Gringotts pouch. _He wants a bribe? Fine, I'll give him one, but I'll also put the fear of God in him. I can't have him betraying me for his kind right now._

Ron just stared at Gornuk, and when the Goblin met his eyes, Ron willed his eyes to change. They became crimson and toad-like, and Gornuk immediately froze in his chair.

" _ **Speak**_ ," Ron ordered, and the lamps dimmed to the point where Ron's eyes were the only true source of light in the tiny Office.

Gornuk's mouth hung open, but he didn't move a single inch from his spot. Ron's jaw clenched, he could feel his dagger-like teeth gnashing against each other behind his closed lips.

"What… What are you…?" Gornuk finally croaked, and Ron relaxed himself.

His eyes returned to normal, and the lamps returned to life.

"There is an illegal mine near Buckden Pike," Ron said, ignoring the Goblin's question. "Robert Bulstrode played a role in its operations. I want to get proof of this involvement, and you're going to help me get it."

Ron then reached into his suit pocket, and he pulled out his pouch. Slowly, Ron placed fifty Galleons on the desk, while Gornuk began to tremble in his chair.

"Your involvement in this will never be brought up," Ron promised. "But if you run off and tell your fellow Goblins about this, I'll come back to Gringotts with the intent to kill every single Goblin who is unfortunate enough to cross my path. Am I clear?"

Gornuk gave a shaky nod, his eyes darting towards the gold on his table. _Even now, he's thinking about filling his pockets. Goblins are avarice personified, aren't they?_

"Good day, Gornuk," Ron stood up and walked over to the door. " _ **Do not fail Us.**_ "

With that, Ron made his way out of the Office. He knew that showing Gornuk his other side was a risky move, but he also knew how Gornuk's mind worked. Gornuk was ambitious and greedy, and he had no real loyalty to anyone. He had a tiny Office, which he despised, and Ron knew for a fact that he wasn't high up on the food chain. Gornuk was no one in the Goblin hierarchy, which is why he sold illegal items on the side to sate his lavish tastes. _His greed, mixed in with the fear I just put in him, will keep him on my side._

Ron made his way into the lobby, where he found Daphne waiting for him. _Looks like she submitted the bond I gave her. I am officially debt free!_

"Is it done?" Ron greeted Daphne with a quick peck.

"It's done," Daphne sighed dramatically. "I no longer own you."

"Own me?" Ron snorted.

"What can I say? I liked having you indebted to me," Daphne smirked as they began making their way towards the fireplaces. "It gave me quite the thrill to know that you would do as I say when I say it."

"If you ask within reason, I'll still do as you say," Ron offered.

"Then how about we go back to my room, and then play Healer," Daphne whispered in his ear, and Ron fought the urge to grin.

"I'd love to," Ron started. "But… Blaise…"

"Oh," Daphne remembered. "So you're talking to him tonight, then?"

"Theo and I plan to ambush him after his after-dinner shower," Ron replied. "If you girls can keep Malfoy with you, that'd really help Theo and I out."

"And before that, you two want to plan out the conversation," Daphne figured.

"Blaise is hurting, Daph, but he won't let anyone in," Ron said. "Every time I needed some harsh truths, Blaise stepped up. Now, it's my turn."

"Just don't push him too hard," Daphne advised. "He tends to close up if he thinks that people are pushing him."

"We'll be careful," Ron assured her, and then he began preparing the floo. _Don't fail me, Gornuk, or I'll be back._ "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts."

Ron tossed the floo-powder into the flames, and as soon as they turned green, Ron and Daphne made their way into Dumbledore's Office. Ron looked around the empty Office, and he wondered where the Headmaster was. _Probably running some errand, as usual._

"Let's go," Daphne tugged Ron towards the door.

They made their way down the spiral staircase, and then past the Stone Gargoyle. Once they were on the seventh floor, Daphne suddenly stopped walking.

"Daph?" Ron turned to face her. "What is it?"

"Can we go to the Sanctuary, Ron?" Daphne asked. "Just for a bit."

"Daph… We can play Healer tomorrow," Ron said. _I can't believe that I just turned her down._

"I have some questions," Daphne said. "Questions about the war."

"The war?" Ron whispered as he looked around. "What sort of questions?"

"Ron, please?" Daphne said, her brow furrowing.

"All right," Ron agreed. _What's she thinking about now?_

Daphne led the way there, and with each step, Ron slowly came to realize something. They were never going to play Healer, were they? No… Daphne planned to grill him from the start, and if she was willing to trick him, then she had some serious questions on her mind. _Shit. Let's just hope that we don't have a fight._ Daphne summoned the door to the Sanctuary, and then she looked to Ron. _Ah, she wants me to go in first._ Ron made his way inside, and Daphne quickly followed him in.

"We were never going to play Healer, were we?" Ron asked, unable to hide his disappointment. "You didn't have to trick me, Daph…"

"Oh, we're playing Healer later," Daphne assured him. _Really?!_ "But right now, I need you to explain some things to me."

"What sort of things?" Ron sat down in his favorite chair, and Daphne promptly planted herself on his lap. "Daph… There's like eight chairs in here…"

"I like **this** chair," Daphne made herself comfortable.

"All right," Ron chuckled as he put his arms around her stomach. "Ask your questions."

"How long have you known about Lord Bulstrode selling human beings to Goblins?" Daphne asked. _Oof… She's starting with the hard questions first._

"My contact told me during the Break," Ron replied.

"Professor Lupin is your contact," Daphne said, and Ron froze. "Oh, c'mon, Ron… I'm not stupid. He came to see you during the Break, and then he ran off in a hurry. He was covered in dirt, and he was wearing a traveling cloak. It's obvious now that I think about it." Daphne then turned her head to look him in the eyes. "Is Professor Lupin a Werewolf? Is that why he has so many scars? Is that why he spoke to you alone after your father made you discuss the Werewolf Sanctuary with everyone?"

"Daph…" Ron sighed out. "Don't tell anyone about his condition, all right? He's a good person, and he's suffered enough already. If word gets out, he'll definitely lose his job here."

"Merlin… A Werewolf has been teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts…" Daphne looked a bit dazed.

"He's not just a Werewolf," Ron said. "He's a damn good teacher, and everyone in this school loves him. Even the Slytherins." _Plus, he's miles ahead of that cunt Gilderoy Lockhart._

"I'm not saying that he's a bad influence," Daphne said quickly. "It's just… It's a lot to process." Daphne then leaned back against Ron. "He's really quite normal…"

"Most of them are, Daph," Ron rested his chin on her shoulder. "Everything we heard about them growing up… It's all horseshit. They don't snatch children, they don't eat human flesh, they don't infect everyone around them, and they're not out to take over the Ministry. They're just people."

"And Millie's father is selling them to Goblins," Daphne shook her head. "By the Gods, Ron… I actually like Lord Bulstrode. He's always been nice to me, and he even protected Pansy from her mother during the Gala." _He is filth, and he will die like the rest._

"He's nice to you because he considers you his equal," Ron said. "If you weren't a Pure-Blood, Daph, he'd never give you a second glance."

"You can't tell Millie about this," Daphne said.

"What?" Ron blinked. "Why not?"

"Ron!" Daphne shot a disturbed look back. "That's her father! If you tell her, she'll be devastated!"

"Her father is going to lead her into the Dark Lord's arms," Ron said bluntly. "What do you think going to happen here? That Millie and her Family will get to live together, **and** avoid the war? No, Daphne… They will join the Dark Lord once again, and they'll drag our friend with them."

"Ron… Please don't do this to her…" Daphne stood up. "You can't. She loves her parents to bits."

"I'm not doing anything to her," Ron said defensively. "I'm just showing her the truth. Her father is a piece of shit, and he will be helping the Dark Lord very soon. If he isn't already."

"My father aided the Dark Lord too," Daphne reminded Ron. "And now, he's changed for the better. Millie's parents deserve the same chance." _Here we go._

"You're being naïve," Ron couldn't help but point out. "I know for a fact that both Lord and Lady Bulstrode are loyal followers of the Dark Lord. Even to this day. It's why Robert Bulstrode had no issue selling human beings into slavery. I mean, it's not like he needs more money, right? He's already wealthier than most. So why would he sell that pack to the Goblins? Tell me."

Daphne said nothing, though she looked rather uncomfortable.

"He wanted them to suffer," Ron told her. "Plus, he got a nice bit of profit on the side, so it was a win-win. He learned about a large pack of 'dogs', and he decided to go in there and exterminate them himself. That's who 'Lord' Bulstrode really is. Just because he pinched your cheeks once or twice doesn't make him a good person."

"You hate him…" Daphne realized. "Ron… You've only met him once or twice… Why do you speak with such contempt when you utter his name?"

"Because he is a Death-Eater," Ron replied too calmly. "And in my eyes, his life doesn't matter. His wife's life doesn't matter."

Daphne took a wary step back, which surprised Ron a little. _She looks… scared…_

"Does Millie's life not matter?" Daphne asked weakly.

"What kind of question is that?" Ron asked. "I'm telling her so she can save herself from her parents. I love her, and you bloody well know it."

"Then tell me… How would she react if she heard you speak about her parents like this?" Daphne asked.

"Which is why I don't speak about this sort of stuff," Ron sighed out. "The truth is that you all still don't understand how the real World works. Even you, Daphne. You're all sheltered, and you grew up in massive mansions. I didn't have that luxury. I grew up poor. I grew up with clothes that didn't fit me." _I grew up watching the World burn._

"What does that have to do with any of this?" Daphne asked.

"Everything," Ron replied. "I know how it feels to be nothing. Whenever I read about Werewolves starving because they can't find work, I can put myself in their shoes. When I looked at how Priscilla's friends were dressed, I could relate to them. People like Lord Bulstrode… They don't give a fuck about anything but themselves and their own. If you're not one of them, then you don't deserve to live in their World. Oh, and they helped kill thousands of people and got away with it."

"Lord Black kept saying that Professor Lupin was on Order business…" Daphne said. "Why are you really making this Sanctuary, Ron? Is it to protect the Werewolves?" Daphne then drew in a deep breath. "Or is it because Albus Dumbledore needs an army for his Order?"

"What?"

"You two are not just 'Chess friends'," Daphne said. "We all know that you two are more than that, and I want to know what you're up to. You explained your need to prepare for the war to me, but some things still don't make any sense. Why is the Headmaster so open with you? Why did he build a home for the Squibs just because you asked him to?"

"I have no idea what the Order is up to," Ron lied. "I decided to build this Sanctuary to help the Werewolves, and I didn't learn about Remus' mission until he came to me and asked me to hurry up. Though I will say this… Once they're here, I have no doubt that the Headmaster will approach them on the Order's behalf. As for the Squibs, I imagine that he wants to keep me happy with him."

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Because of things like my Sanctuary," Ron replied. "Because of things like my Quibbler. Because of things like my friendship with Madame Maxime. I'm young, and I'm powerful. He no doubt has his eye on me, and he wants to keep me in his corner." _I'm getting way too good at weaving stories._

"Ron… Please don't lie to me…" Daphne said softly. "What are you really up to here? Why are you really creating this alliance? Did Dumbledore ask you to do this?" _What?! These were my plans, and mine alone!_

"The Headmaster doesn't own me," Ron felt his temper spike. "My ideas are my own, and no one else's!"

"Okay," Daphne said slowly. "I believe you."

"Do you?!" Ron asked. "Look, I don't want to fight, but at the same time, I won't be called someone's pawn! No one owns me!" _**No one!**_

If Daphne thought that his reaction to her words was bizarre, then she hid it well.

"I just want to know what my boyfriend is up to," Daphne whispered to herself, but Ron heard her clearly. "I'm sorry for pushing you…"

Daphne began to leave, and Ron felt his head throb painfully. _I overreacted, I think… I shouldn't have used that tone with her._

"Daphne, please come back," Ron called, and Daphne turned to face him. "Please?"

Slowly, she walked back over to him. She was trying to keep a straight face, but Ron knew that he had hurt her feelings.

"I'm sorry for getting aggressive," Ron apologized. "I just… I'm no one's pawn… The Headmaster no doubt has his own plans for everyone, but my main concern is my Family. And that includes you, and the rest of our group. I want us to be safe, but to do that; I need to weaken the Dark Lord's allies. The Order will take care of the rest."

"And this alliance is built to do that," Daphne said. "I see."

"I don't want to hurt Millie," Ron said truthfully. "But I can't let her keep thinking that her parents want to do what's best for her. I'll tell her the truth eventually, but I won't force her to hate them. I won't even ask her to leave them behind. What she does with the truth is up to her."

"Really?" Daphne asked.

"I swear it," Ron promised.

"If you speak about them the way you just did, it'll be you that Millie runs away from," Daphne told him. "Ron, you don't get to choose who lives and dies… No one should be allowed to make that sort of decision." _Someone has to, because if someone doesn't, then people like Lord Bulstrode kill their way to the top of the food chain._

"Do you think that Lord Bulstrode shares your views?" Ron asked, and Daphne shook her head. "Sometimes, you have to put aside morality for the Greater Good. Sometimes, you have to speak your enemy's language."

"If they hurt Millie… Will you kill them?" Daphne asked after a few silent moments.

"I will do what I must to protect my Family," Ron replied, and Daphne's blood froze. "Does that scare you?"

Daphne said nothing, but Ron could tell that she was frightened.

"It should," Ron said. "If Lord Bulstrode had the chance, he'd kill me. He'd even kill your father."

"Stop…" Daphne needed a break.

"No," Ron stood up. "You wanted to ask these sorts of questions, and I want to answer them. I want you to realize that people are going to die, Daphne. Not just random people on the streets, either. People we know are going to die. That's what war is. Lord and Lady Bulstrode want this kind of war because they want to kill people who aren't like them. Werewolves, Squibs, Muggles, Muggle-Borns…" Ron then pointed to his heart. "Blood-Traitors."

"Father will protect us…" Daphne whimpered.

"What happened to him in the last war, Daph?" Ron asked, and Daphne's eyes welled up. "Please…" Ron joined his hands together, all but begging Daphne. "Please, stop underestimating what's coming. I know that none of you think like I do, but time and time again, I've proven to you that I know what I'm about. I don't make pointless guesses… I analyze everything, and only then do I make my decisions."

Daphne wiped her eyes, but Ron knew that she wasn't going to recover this time. Soon, she was going to start crying. Seeing her like this made him feel like shit, and he decided to stop pushing her. _She's not like you, Ron. None of them are like you._

"Come here," Ron whispered, and Daphne hugged his middle. "I hate saying these things… I don't want to see you cry because of fear…" _Ron, you're a proper git sometimes._

"Why couldn't the Dark Lord just stay dead?" Daphne sniffled into his shirt.

"We have to protect each other," Ron whispered. "And if we get the chance to help others along the way, then we need to protect them too. None of us want this war. None of us deserve to live in fear. The ones who do want this war… They'll get what's coming to them."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Sanctuary – Nearly Dinnertime)**_

Ron ran his fingers through Daphne's hair, and occasionally, he kissed the top of her head. She had made herself into a ball, and was sleeping soundly with her head resting on his chest. Ron wasn't exactly comfortable right now, and his legs were starting to ache, but he refused to budge from his spot.

He had frightened her, and he had done so willingly. As intelligent as Daphne was, she was still naïve about the World around her. It was almost funny to think back to Ron's first year… He had been the naïve and stubborn one of the group, while his friends seemed worldly and full of knowledge. Now, Ron was the only one who truly understood just how cruel the World was. _Especially to the weak, and as much as it pains me to admit it, all of my friends are weak. Their lives of luxury have made them complacent, and they put far too much value on luck and money._

He heard the door swing open, and he looked to see Theo sneak in. The weedy boy quickly sealed the door shut, and Ron figured that Theo had come looking for him. _We were meant to plan a strategy to use on Blaise tonight._ Theo walked up to Ron with a slight frown, but when he saw Daphne huddled up to Ron, he began to tiptoe with a careful look on his face.

"Hello," Ron whispered, while Theo eyeballed Daphne. "We had a long day, and she sort of fell asleep mid conversation." _I've noticed that she always sleeps after she gets emotional. She must try really hard to keep her composure, and so when she does lose it, she exhausts herself completely._

"Long day?" Theo whispered as he sat down. "Did you have a fight? I thought things were going great between you two."

"It wasn't really a fight," Ron whispered. "Remember the conversation that you and I had?"

Theo adorned an understanding look, his eyes darting towards Daphne's sleeping face.

"She cried," Theo whispered.

"For a bit," Ron nodded. _I'm sorry, Daphne. So sorry._

"Did she at least take it better than I did?" Theo asked.

"About the same," Ron admitted. "I'm sorry about that, Theo, but I had to do it."

"I get that," Theo nodded weakly. "You were right, while I was… I don't know. I was just hoping that you were wrong."

"I wish I was," Ron gave Theo a smile. _He's clearly thought about our conversation since the truth came out._ "Have you thought about what you plan to do next?"

Theo tensed visibly, while Ron just stared at him.

"Promise you won't get upset?" Theo asked, and Ron was a little taken aback by that. _Since when does Theo talk like that? He seems worried that I'll be disappointed with him. Actually… Daph did mention that my trust is very important to some people._

"I'm on your side no matter what," Ron replied.

"I don't want to fight," Theo whispered.

"That's good," Ron approved. _I'll do the fighting for all of you. You just have to stay safe._

"I don't want to fight against my father," Theo clarified. _Huh? Does that mean…?_ "And I don't want to fight alongside my father." Theo then shifted in his spot a little. "You know how you said that this wasn't our war?"

"Yeah."

"For the last few days, I've tried to make excuses for why I needed to fight alongside my father," Theo admitted. "My main excuse was my mother's murder…"

"Oh," Ron muttered. "I see."

"I tried to find my anger again," Theo looked even more uncomfortable. "I thought that if I could find it, I'd get my reason to fight by my father's side. But… I couldn't find it in the end." Theo then drew in a deep breath. "What happened to my mother in that alley… It was unfair and cruel, but it was the crime of just one Muggle. I can't find any justification to blame all Muggles like I used to. I've been in their towns, and I've seen them live just as we do. Other than Magic, I couldn't spot a single difference between us."

"That's very brave of you, Theo," Ron said, and Theo clicked his tongue.

"Don't make it sappy, yeah?" Theo scratched his chin awkwardly. "I don't want to fight for the Dark Lord… I don't want to fight for a madman who claims to be a Pure-Blood, when in truth, he's a Half-Blood. You're definitely right about him, Ron. He doesn't care about Blood-Supremacy. He only wants to dominate everyone."

Ron hid it well, but right now, his heart was soaring with pride. Theo was always the one person that Ron feared for, but now, Ron knew that Theo had seen the wisdom in Ron's words. _He is the most cunning of us, and he thinks with cold logic instead of sentiment._

"What's your next move?" Ron asked.

"My father is helping the Dark Lord, I think," Theo whispered.

"What makes you think that?" Ron asked.

"C'mon, mate… He let me live with all of you for the Break," Theo sighed out. "Even I can see how suspicious that is… If the Dark Lord were indeed back in England, then my father would seek him out. He… He never recovered from my mother's death…"

"Tell me about him," Ron whispered.

Theo swallowed thickly, and then he seemed to summon the strength to open up a little.

"I grew up with two fathers," Theo started. "My father before my mother's murder, and my father after my mother's murder… The one before her murder was this kind, encouraging man. My mother signed me up for violin lessons, but it was my father who took me to them every day. He'd watch me play, and afterwards, he'd take me out for ice cream. A lot of people thought that he was my grandfather because of how old he was, but to me, he was the greatest father alive. He read me bedtime stories, he helped my mother and I in the Gardens, and to a degree, he was even kind to our Elves. My mother brought out the best in him, and he loved her for it."

"But then…" Theo looked down at the floor. "Then she died… And whatever goodness he had left in him… It died with her. We were both grieving, but while I grieved in the Gardens, my father grieved in his wine cellar. My home stopped being a home, and for a long time, I had lost both parents. That's why I spent so much time at Malfoy Manor, which is where I got close with Blaise and the others. My father didn't even miss me while I was gone, nor did he send for me. When I was home, I only saw him during mealtimes, but he was too drunk to acknowledge me."

Theo rubbed his eyes, and then he drew in a sharp breath.

"He's my father, Ron," Theo whispered to the floor. "I can't fight against him…"

"Then don't fight at all," Ron couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend, but at the same time, Ron felt absolutely nothing for Cornelius Nott.

There was no sympathy in Ron's heart for his enemies, and although he knew that this sort of hatred wasn't healthy, Ron still planned to butcher the man at the first opportunity. _A monster who hunts other monsters… The World will be better off once all_ _the monsters are gone, and that includes me._

"I want to save him," Theo said, and Ron's left eye twitched.

"Save him?" Ron asked slowly.

"Deep down, he's still the person who married my mother," Theo looked up. "He's still the man who took me to my lessons. He's still the man who snuck me sweets whenever my mother scolded me. I know that he's done evil things… I know he's murdered a lot of people… But he's my dad…"

"How will you save him?" Ron asked.

"I will speak to him," Theo said.

"Theo, that is not a wise move," Ron said immediately.

"You said that you'd be on my side," Theo looked a little shocked.

"And I am," Ron promised. "But if he really is working for the Dark Lord, you will put yourself in grave danger. What if the Dark Lord learns of your plan? He'll kill you both just to set an example."

"I don't have any other choice," Theo said. "Ron… This is my father… I have to protect him. If I can just talk to him, I know that I can get through to him. I'll remind him of mother, and he'll come to his senses." _I really fucking doubt that. He still joined the Dark Lord even when your mother was alive._

"Mate… You've always been the shrewd one…" Ron whispered. "Right now, you're thinking with your heart-"

"If your father was in the same situation, wouldn't you do everything to save him?" Theo asked. _**If Our father willingly became a Death-Eater, We'd gut him Ourselves.**_

Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, his face twitching uncontrollably. Theo's eyes widened a little, and his mouth hung open. Once Ron looked back to Theo, he saw a hint of fear on Theo's face.

"Sorry about that… Muscle spasms…" Ron muttered as he rubbed his suddenly sore face. "Look… I get where you're coming from, but Theo, my father would never be in this situation. It's not the same. I understand that you love him, but he is traveling down a very dark road, and if you reach out to him, he'll drag you down with him."

"I have to try," Theo said. "Ron, I've made my decision, and it's not changing. You can either help me, or I can do this alone." _Fuck! Fucking fuck! Motherfucking fuck!_

"Are you sure about this?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Theo replied firmly. _I can't let him do this alone. Even though I don't agree with this, I have to watch his back._

"Then I'll help," Ron promised. "But Theo… If this doesn't work…"

"I know," Theo nodded weakly. _Good. He hasn't thrown away his reason completely._

They both sat in silence for some time, and when the school bell rang, Daphne began to stir in Ron's lap. Ron immediately felt some of the tension leave his body when she yawned against his shirt, and when she looked up and rubbed her eyes, Ron's lips quirked upwards.

"Hello," Ron whispered, his arms wrapping around her back and legs.

"Was that the school bell?" Daphne asked.

"It was," Ron replied. "Time for dinner, Daph."

"I didn't know that you were so flexible, Daphne," Theo said, his trademark smirk in place.

"Theo?" Daphne shot him a mortified look. "How long have you been here?"

"You fart in your sleep," Theo grinned, and Daphne's jaw dropped open. _Wow! Why would he say that?! I'm the one who has to deal with her crazy behavior!_

"No, you don't," Ron said quickly. "Theo, don't be a prick, yeah? Daph, don't listen to him. He's just trying to rile you up."

"Very funny, Nott," Daphne huffed in indignation, and then she moved off of Ron's lap. _Ah, my legs… I can't feel them. How am I supposed to walk down seven flights of moving stairs?_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – After Dinner)**_

"We can do this tomorrow," Theo said.

"He ignored us for the whole dinner, and then he snapped at Pansy and Millie," Ron countered. "We're doing this tonight, Theo."

"We don't even know how to start," Theo sighed out. "If we go at him without a plan, he'll close himself off even more."

"I get the need to be prepared," Ron started. "But if we just sit him down and talk to him, I'm certain that he'll open up."

"This is Blaise that we're talking about…" Theo gave Ron a dull look.

"He's changed over the years," Ron said. "I know he has."

"Now who's being sentimental?" Theo asked.

"He's hurting, and this has gone on long enough," Ron said. "At this point, it's you and I who are to blame for his sour mood, Theo. We should have stepped up sooner."

"Really? Because he's not exactly putting his best foot forward," Theo reminded Ron. "You literally have two years left to live, but you're still here for everyone. Blaise had a bad Break, and he's been brooding from the moment he stepped onto the Hogwarts Express."

"We're all built differently," Ron said. _If I were just an ordinary kid, I'd probably brood about such things too._

They heard the bathroom door unlock, and both of them sat up straighter. Blaise stepped out of the bathroom in his pajamas, a dark look on his face. He didn't give Theo and Ron a second glance, opting instead to go right for his bed.

"Blaise, wait," Ron spoke up, and Blaise turned to face him.

"What is it?" Blaise asked.

"Sit down with us for a bit," Ron smiled a little. "Please?"

Blaise looked between Theo and Ron, and then he scowled.

"I'll pass on the heart-to-heart," Blaise said coldly. "Goodnight."

Theo gave Ron the 'I told you so' look, but Ron wasn't deterred just yet.

"Blaise, please?" Ron asked gently. "Brother, we miss you."

Blaise was clearly fighting the urge to roll his eyes, but after staring at Ron for almost a minute, he slowly walked over and sat down on the chair set up for him.

"Talk to us," Ron said. "What happened during the Break?"

"More of the same," Blaise replied, he looked even more distant than before.

"Your mother ignored you?" Theo asked.

"She did," Blaise shrugged. "I don't really care, though."

"Then why are you upset?" Ron asked.

"I'm not 'upset'," Blaise frowned a little. "What is this? Why are you poking your noses into my business?"

"We're worried about you," Ron replied.

"And you're being a prick," Theo added. _Really? What the fuck?_ "Pansy and Millie were having their own conversation, and you snapped at them for no reason."

"They were cackling like hags in my ear," Blaise stated.

"They were enjoying themselves for the first time since I told them about my condition," Ron countered. "Blaise… You really hurt them."

"They need thicker skins," Blaise said stubbornly.

"If anyone else had spoken to them like that, what would you do?" Theo asked, and Blaise's mouth sealed shut. _Nice one, Theo. Go for the sore spots._ "You're lucky that Tracey and Daphne didn't Hex you, mate. They wanted to, trust me."

"And you two?" Blaise asked. "Did you want to Hex me?"

"No," Ron replied. "I nearly put you through the fucking table."

Blaise blinked at Ron, but Ron just stared right into his eyes. _You're so fucking lucky that I'm trying my absolute best to be better with all of you. I made Tracey, Daphne, and Theo a promise, and I intend to keep it._

"Daphne told him to relax," Theo provided. "Even I didn't like what you did, and I usually don't care about such things. Both Pansy and Millie have been struggling with the knowledge of this war, and after what we found out about Ron… Seriously, Blaise… I've never seen this sort of behavior from you. This is the kind of shit that I expect from Malfoy."

Blaise looked a little stung at that, and he glowered at the floor. _Ron… Be better. Reach out, and be patient. Remember how much you care about him._

"Talk to us, mate," Ron leaned forward. "Please? Even if you don't want our help, at least get whatever's bothering you off of your chest."

"This can't go on, Blaise," Theo said, his eyes darting towards Ron. "We need to be united. Now more than ever." _Good man._

Blaise fidgeted in his spot for a few seconds, and then he shot out of his seat and walked over to his trunk. _What's he doing?_ Blaise snapped the trunk open, and then he pulled out a silver pocket watch. Without uttering a word, he tossed the watch to Theo.

"What is that?" Ron asked.

"That's what's bothering me," Blaise said bitterly. "That fucking watch…" _What?_

Theo slowly opened the watch, and then he shot Blaise a quizzical look.

"Um… You're upset because you broke your pocket watch?" Theo asked, and then he showed Ron the cracked interior of the watch. _Now I'm confused._

"I'm the one who broke it," Blaise said, his jaw clenching.

"Go on," Ron said.

Blaise drew in a sharp breath, and then he glared at the watch in Theo's hands.

"My new 'step-father' gave it to me," Blaise said eventually. "In Italy, when a wizard turns thirteen, he begins the journey to manhood… In order to celebrate this journey, he's given a pocket watch by his father… It is custom."

"Sort of like when a wizard turns seventeen in England, then?" Theo asked, and Blaise gave a curt nod.

"This seems like a sweet gesture to me, Blaise," Ron couldn't help but say. "Why did you break the watch?"

"Because he is not my father," Blaise all but hissed. "I don't have a father, and I don't fucking need one." _Oh…_

"Blaise…" Theo gave him a rather sorry look. "You've told me differently…"

Blaise's hands clenched, and for a moment, Ron was sure that Blaise was going to sock Theo across the face. _If he goes for it, I'll stop him._

"People change," Blaise spat out, his hands relaxing. "I didn't want that watch, but he kept insisting… I refused a dozen times, but in the end, my mother forced me to accept it…"

"I see," Theo looked the watch over. "What else?"

"There's nothing else," Blaise lied, and even Ron picked up on that.

"You don't break things in a fit of anger," Ron said. "For as long as I've known you, I've never seen you get that angry over anything."

"I have…" Theo looked to Blaise. "When Ron got Petrified, you threw your chair against the wall." _He did?_

Blaise just stared at Theo for a bit, and then he walked over and sat down on his chair again. _Yeah, he just lost his steam… Maybe now he'll open up a bit._

"Blaise, you can count on Theo and me," Ron said. "We won't talk about this with anyone. Not even the girls."

Blaise said nothing, and so Ron looked to Theo for help.

"You broke the watch because you're angry with the man," Theo figured. "But you're **not** angry because he got you the watch… Knowing you as I do, I know that this gesture meant a lot to you." _It's not hard to believe that Blaise wants a father. Especially considering how poorly his mother treats him._

"He is a fucking idiot…" Blaise grit out. "I didn't want the watch. I didn't want him to waste his time giving me tours of Florence." _What?_ "I didn't want him to buy me gifts for Christmas when my own mother forgot to. And I didn't want him to marry that coldhearted cunt!"

Silence engulfed the room, and the pained look on Blaise's face twisted Ron's insides. _I've never seen him say something like that about his mother… Fucking hell, she's really hurt him this time, hasn't she?_

"Why did you break the watch?" Ron asked.

"Because he's a good bloke…" Blaise slowly hung his head, a defeated look on his face. "I thought that if he was willing to marry a woman like her, then he too was a cheating, greedy, and cruel bastard… But no… He was kind… He treated me with respect. He took me to every place that I wanted to visit. He bought me new clothes, asked about my hobbies, painted the night sky with me, and he asked me to write to him once I got to Hogwarts. In just two weeks…" Blaise's eyes welled up. "In just two weeks, he showed me more love than my mother ever has…"

Theo and Ron exchanged slow looks, and judging from Theo's face, Ron knew that he wasn't the only one who felt gutted by seeing Blaise like this. No matter what happened, Blaise was always the voice of reason. Even when Ron was struggling against the Entity and the Heir, it was Blaise who helped him up whenever he stumbled. _Even after what I did to Harry, Blaise put his fears of me aside in order to talk some sense into me. Not even Daphne could do that at the time, but Blaise came through nonetheless._

"You're scared for him," Theo finally broke the silence.

"He's going to die…" Blaise wiped his eyes harshly. "My mother will kill him…" _Oh, fuck. I guess Blaise knows the truth about Clementine Zabini better than most._ "I should've warned him, but I didn't… I couldn't…"

"Why not?" Ron asked. "What stopped you in the end, Blaise?"

"Family loyalty…" Blaise let out a pained chuckle. "Loyalty to a murderous woman… And personal greed…" _Personal greed?_ "If I warned him, my mother would find out… She'd disown me, and I'd lose everything. I chose myself over him, and ever since then, I haven't slept a minute…"

Ron didn't know what to say to that. A small part of him was disappointed in Blaise, but a much larger part of him was already picturing himself beating Clementine Zabini to death. _She's put him in this position, and she doesn't care one bit. She_ _ **will**_ _kill that man, and Blaise will be haunted by it for the rest of his life. Of all the terrible people that I've encountered, Clementine Zabini is perhaps one of the worst._

"What if someone else warns him?" Ron asked, and Blaise shook his head.

"You don't know my mother, Ron…" Blaise murmured. "She has him completely ensnared… Body and soul…"

"And if someone does warn him, he probably won't take it too seriously," Theo figured. "He has obviously heard the rumors about Clementine Zabini, and yet, he's still married her."

"He's old, and he's been alone since he was thirty," Blaise said to the floor. "He married his childhood sweetheart, but she died very young. He's been alone ever since…"

"And then, he meets the most beautiful woman that he's ever seen, and she goes out of her way to woo him," Theo sighed out. "Damn, Blaise… I'm really sorry…"

"I can't warn him," Blaise muttered. "I can't lose everything… He made his decision despite knowing the risks, and it's out of my hands…"

"Blaise," Ron whispered. "You don't seriously believe that, do you?" _You can't choose money over a man's life._

"My Trust Account is tethered to her," Blaise looked up at Ron, there were tear tracks on his face. "One word from her, and I'll be on the streets."

"No, you won't," Ron said. "You still have us. We'll all help you, Blaise."

"Will you give me thirty eight million Galleons?" Blaise asked, and Ron paled a little. _What the fuck?!_ "That's what our assets are worth, Ron… I don't have to work a day in my life, but if I warn him and my mother finds out… I'll have nothing…"

"Money is not more important than a good person's life," Ron said. "Blaise… He was kind to you when he didn't have to be. He's-"

"I don't want to hear your self-righteous dribble, Ron," Blaise's temper flared up.

"Blaise, if you don't do something now, then you'll always live to regret it," Ron pleaded. "If you want money, I'll give you all the money I have. Please don't do this to yourself, brother. Money isn't-"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand!" Blaise snapped, making Theo flinch a bit. "You grew up with nothing! You're used to living in a pigsty! You're used to living as a beggar! I don't plan to live like that! **Ever**!"

The silence was deafening, and Ron wasn't going to lie, he was actually hurt by those words. If anyone else had said those words to him, he'd have shrugged it off instantly. But this was Blaise… Ron opened his mouth to say something, but he had no words to say. He was just stunned… _Is this what he thinks about me? Is this what he thinks of my Family? That we're beggars… That we grew up in a pigsty…_

And that's when Ron felt it. That familiar rage that poured out of him whenever his enemies cornered him… It was there, and Ron could feel it swelling in his chest. His stunned expression turned cold, and the temperature dropped in the room. Blaise's breath became visible, and ice began to form around Ron's feet. Ron slowly rose to his full height, while Blaise shrunk in his spot.

"Ron, you're making it snow," Theo looked around in a panic, but Ron's eyes didn't leave Blaise for a moment. _**Insect… We'll crush you under Our heel…**_

His dark-skinned friend was all but shaking in his spot, the terror he felt was written on his face. Ron suddenly felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, and he looked to see Theo giving him a slightly panicked look.

"Ron… Stop…" Theo whispered. "You promised us…" _Promised? Oh… He's right… I'm scaring them again…_

Ron slowly felt himself unwind, his anger replaced by hurt once again. He thought of Stoatshead Hill, but it was hard to picture such a peaceful place when his emotions were getting the better of him. The snow began to vanish, and the air became warmer and warmer. _I promised to be better… Blaise is hurting, and he's just lashing out because he's scared. I've done that too._ As his anger completely left him, Ron felt a little drained due to Blaise's words. _Ron, don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Blaise matters, but you don't. Your job is to protect them, and if that means taking one on the chin, then you need to take the hit._

"I'll talk to him," Theo whispered, while Blaise slowly stared down at his lap. "Go."

Ron gave a weak nod, and then he began walking towards the door. Just as he reached Blaise, he stopped and put his hand on Blaise's shoulder. Blaise flinched, which only served to hurt Ron more. _He's scared of me._

"I don't have thirty eight million Galleons," Ron whispered. "But whatever I do have I'll happily share with you… You're not alone, Blaise, and you never will be. Even if the entire World turns on you, I'll always stand by you." _I love you, brother, and that'll never change._

Blaise said nothing; he didn't even look up at Ron. _I should go. I don't think that I can do anything more here._ Ron left the room quietly, making sure to hide any traces of hurt from his face. _I can't let the others find out about what Blaise said to me in anger, especially the girls. They're not going to fight because of me._

* * *

 _ **Theodore Nott's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – After Dinner)**_

Theo was very close to ripping Blaise a new one, especially because what Blaise had said about Ron had offended even Theo. The Weasleys' house wasn't a pigsty, it felt more like a home than both Theo and Blaise's mansions put together. The Weasleys weren't beggars; they had fed Theo like a king and knitted him a lovely present. The Weasleys may not have grown up in luxury, but their lives were filled with love and laughter.

In many ways, Theo was genuinely envious of Ron's childhood now, and he certainly respected Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for being so kind to him. _They even warned me about the war, despite my father being who he is. They put themselves at great risk by telling me, but to them, my life mattered enough to take such a risk. I owe them the courtesy of defending their name since Ron isn't here._

"I didn't want to talk to you about your feelings," Theo finally spoke, and Blaise shrunk a little more. _He's probably drowning in guilt, but he took it too far._ "I was more than content to let you wallow in your misery. I figured that you'd eventually get over it, as we all do with our issues. And after you snapped at Millie and Pansy, the girls too decided to keep their distance. The only person who wanted to reach out to you was Ron. I warned him against it, but you know how he is. He likes people to smile and enjoy themselves, and whenever someone's struggling, he tries to cheer them up at any cost."

"I didn't mean what I said-" Blaise croaked.

"Yeah, you did," Theo shot a look at the door. _Ron's gone, so I can speak freely about this._ "Not completely, of course, but a small part of you did mean it. Do you remember what we used to talk about behind Ron's back? Back in first year? When we first met him?"

Blaise looked visible sick at the memory.

"We weren't very close with Ron yet," Theo reminded Blaise. "We used to joke about his poor sense of fashion, his lack of manners, his self-righteous values, his close-mindedness, his everything… To us, Ron was a pet project. We all took turns at civilizing the 'Weasley barbarian'. That's what Daphne used to call him, remember?"

"I remember…" Blaise wiped his face clean.

"We were wrong," Theo admitted. "He wasn't perfect, but neither were we. We thought we were better than him because we grew up in luxury, but after spending just two weeks with his Family, I've come to understand that Ron had something that most of us didn't. He actually had a childhood."

"What?" Blaise blinked in confusion.

"My father drank himself into a stupor every morning, while your mother abandoned you in Diagon Alley," Theo said bluntly. "Daphne would cut off her hands for her father's approval. Millie is constantly trying to live up to her Family's history, despite knowing just how barbaric her Family's history is. Pansy's parents would sacrifice her for a male heir. Malfoy's parents are another story completely. And Tracey… Actually, Tracey had a pretty decent childhood too. Maybe that's why she's a lot like Ron. Neither of them judge people over superficial reasons like wealth and status. They both judge people on merit. If you're a cunt, they'll call you a cunt."

Blaise just stared at Theo; he was clearly listening to every word.

"My point is that Ron might not be as wealthy as us, but that doesn't matter one bit," Theo said. "We were little bastards when we first met him, but slowly, he's shown all of us just how brilliant he is. You go down to Diagon Alley and you say his name, and I guarantee you that people will perk up. You reckon they'd do that for us? He's made something of himself, and he's worked his fucking arse off for it. Hell, he's going to die at fifteen because he's worked himself into an early grave."

"I spoke in anger…" Blaise swallowed thickly.

"You fucking hurt him, Blaise," Theo felt a jolt of anger. "He was trying to be here for you, and you said something that you knew would hurt him. We both know why he does what he does. He fucking hates the fact that his Family isn't respected in this country, and I honestly feel his frustration myself now. In just two weeks, his Family showed me just how amazing they are. They treated me like royalty. The fed me the best food. His mother knitted me a present with her own hands. They involved me in everything. His eldest brothers even advised me on careers. You reckon our Families would show Ron that treatment?"

"No…"

"My father wants him dead," Theo said. "Your mother wants to manipulate him into her corner. Sebastian fucking Greengrass tethered his name to Ron at the first opportunity. Pansy's parents want him dead. Millie's parents want him dead. Malfoy's parents want him dead." Theo then let out a mirthless chuckle. "What the fuck is wrong with us? What the fuck is wrong with our parents? You think it's fair that Ron grew up with nothing, while we had everything? I'm starting to think that it's not."

"I'll apologize to him," Blaise looked wrecked by guilt.

"Knowing him, he'll accept you back with open arms," Theo said. "But I'm not letting this go so easily. You were way out of line, and for a minute, I was more than fine with him smacking you around this fucking room. Look at his size, and then look at yours. He'd snap you like a twig." Theo knew he was ranting, but Merlin help him, he was genuinely pissed off. "How could you say that to him? I know that I'm in no position to judge, but fucking hell… The look on his face before he got angry…" _He was devastated._

"He just… He doesn't understand…" Blaise rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't betray my own mother…"

"You want to, but you don't have the balls to live without her money," Theo said harshly. "Don't bother denying it, because I'm just like you. My father is a Death-Eater, Blaise, and pretty soon, I'll need to go into hiding. I'm scared shitless, and in the meantime, I've decided to risk everyone's well being just so I can try and save the man. I actually told Ron today, and although he wasn't thrilled about it, he's promised to help me."

"You love your father, though… I don't love my mother…" Blaise said.

"Either way, Ron's the poor bastard who's going to do everything to help us," Theo said, and Blaise blinked at him. _After our chat, I know that Ron will throw himself into the fire for our sake. None of us have it in us to do that for him, except for Daphne._ "Even after you gutted him, he still offered you what little he has. We both know that if you go and ask for that money right now, he'll give it to you. He'll do it with a fucking smile, and he won't even ask you to apologize."

"Something's changed between you two," Blaise realized.

"Everything has changed, you twat," Theo snapped. "There's a war on the horizon, and we only know about it because Ron's been warning us all along. His parents actually sat me down, and warned me themselves as well. They know who my father is, but they both took the risk because my life means something to them. And the fact that my father wouldn't do that for **any** of my friends is getting to me..." _Stop ranting, Theo! Control yourself!_

"Fucking hell…" Theo muttered as he dropped down onto Ron's chair. "I've been hit with one reality check after another for the last two weeks, and my mind is scattered… I'm fucking ranting like some lunatic, and I'm swearing enough to make Ron proud…"

Both of them fell silent, and while Blaise thought about what he had done, Theo rubbed his face as he tried to calm down his mind. He was scared. He was absolutely petrified with fear. He didn't want to fight in some fucking war that he didn't even believe in. He wanted to date Tracey. He wanted to spend his time with his best friends. He wanted them all to grow up side-by-side.

His change in personality wasn't exactly news to him. Over the last two and a half years, Theo had stopped relying on hatred and bitterness. He no longer wanted to outfox his friends in order to be better than them, he wanted them all to achieve their goals. It was Tracey's influence, and Ron's, that had changed him, and in complete honesty, Theo didn't like the brat who had first come to Hogwarts in order to scheme his way to the top. If anything, Theo wanted to scheme just to further the group.

"What's that saying?" Theo clicked his tongue. "Oh, yeah… 'Money doesn't buy happiness'. Well, you and I had all the money that we could ever need, but until we came to Hogwarts, neither of us was really happy. We didn't like our friends. We didn't like living in our own mansions. We didn't even like each other. Everything was a competition, and we were all treacherous enough to backstab each other for the smallest of rewards. That's what the Old Ways teach us… That's why our parents are the way that they are. They grew up worshiping wealth and status, and somewhere along the way, they stopped seeing people as people."

Theo then stood up and walked over to his bed.

"I'm not going to be like that," Theo told Blaise. "My mother wasn't like that, and it's her example that I'll follow. I'll try my best to win my father back from the Dark Lord, I owe him that much. As for you, Blaise, you should start thinking about what's next for you. Where do you see yourself down the line? Do you want to stand by your friends? Or do you want to stand by a woman who has hurt you at every turn? Do you want our support? Or do you want her money?" _Ron asked me to keep us together after he's gone, and Gods help me, I won't fail him. If he really does die in two years, then I'll take up his role. I'll hold us together. I just… I need to be a man now. I'm a Nott, and I will act like one._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Greengrass Manor - Midday)**_

After a rather grueling session with Madam Roberts, Ron had decided to let her know about his worsening condition. He knew that he was risking losing her tutelage, but he had lied to her once before, and he wasn't planning to make that mistake again. She had listened quietly while he explained his new symptoms, and when he told her that he had two years left at this rate, she had actually looked worried for a split second.

"So, there it is," Ron finished. "You now know everything that I do."

She just stared at him, and after a few seconds, Ron began to feel uncomfortable. _Merlin, I'd rather that she yell at me instead of just looking at me like that. Is she pissed? I can't tell. For a second there, I thought that she was worried about me._

"I'm terribly sorry, Ron," Madam Roberts finally spoke. "This is distressing news."

"Yeah…" Ron said. "Um… I don't want to ask this right away, but I need to know… Does this change our arrangement?"

"It does," Madam Roberts replied, and Ron felt his gut tighten. "I will speak to your Mentor, and I will absolve my contract with him. I cannot keep teaching you." _No…_

"I see…" Ron failed to hide his disappointment. _Did I make a mistake by telling her? Fuck… She's really just going to leave me because of this?_ "Madam Roberts… My condition isn't that-"

"It's bad, Ron," she stopped him. "Listen, I'm not leaving because I think that you're not cut out for this. If anything, your determination and hard work have made me very proud. You are one of the most promising young wizards that I've ever had the privilege of teaching."

"Then why?" Ron tried his best to remain composed.

"Dueling is a dangerous sport," Madam Roberts put her hand on his shoulder, an act of affection that she had never shown before. "And injuries to the head are very common. I understand your need to not let your conditions rule your life, but I don't want to see you get hurt. I cannot, in good conscience, continue to teach you a skill that will eventually lead to you getting injured. I'm sorry."

"So you're just going to leave?" Ron felt a hint of bitterness. _I shouldn't have said a fucking thing._

"I'm not doing this because I don't want to teach you," Madam Roberts said patiently. "I'm doing it because if you really have such a short amount of time left, then we need to do everything in our power to ensure that you don't get worse. I'm sorry, Ron, but I think it's best if we stop while we're ahead. I'm going to speak to your Mentor, and I'm going to ask him not to get you another tutor. I know that you'll still keep training on your own, but if my opinion means anything to you, I would recommend rest and recovery. Two years isn't a lot of time, and you should do your best to enjoy what little time you have left." _Enjoy myself? I don't want to enjoy myself. I want to win the fucking war!_

"Is there anything that I can do to change your mind?" Ron tried.

"No, Ron," Madam Roberts gave his shoulder a squeeze, and then she picked up her suitcase and walked over to the fireplace.

Ron felt like dashing his own head against a wall, mostly because he was already regretting telling the truth. _Every time I try to do the right thing, it blows up in my face. I just lost the best-_

"If you ever need anything," Madam Roberts said from the fireplace. "Send me an owl."

Ron just watched her, and she gave him one last lookover.

"Goodbye, Ronald Weasley," Madam Roberts said.

"Thank you for everything…" Ron forced himself to speak.

Madam Roberts gave him a hint of a smile, and then, she was gone. Ron stood around for a few minutes, his mind reeling from Madam Roberts' decision. He wasn't completely irrational, so he understood why she wanted to stop teaching him. The truth was that Ron could end up getting severely hurt from a misaimed Spell, and she didn't deserve to have that on her conscience. _She still blames herself for her friend's death at the hands of Dolohov, even though her friend hid the truth about his illness from her._

"Damn…" Ron muttered as he rubbed his face. _This wasn't even goodbye, but I still feel like shit. I'm sure that I'll be seeing her again very soon. She is, after all, a part of our plan to get rid of Cornelius Fudge, and she knows about the Order now. Our paths will cross much sooner than she thinks, but I doubt that she'll go back to teaching me._

Ron walked over to the fireplace, and he began to prepare the floo jump to the Rookery. _I hope Pandora's processed everything by now, and if she has, I really hope that she doesn't cry. If there is one person who I don't want to see in tears, it's Pandora Lovegood._

"The Rookery," Ron tossed the floo-powder into the fire, and when it blazed green, Ron stepped through it.

The first thing Ron noticed was how much larger the Living Room of the Rookery was. It was no longer cluttered with everyone's junk, and there was even room for a large dining table. _This looks just like my vision._ Ron looked everything over, and he felt a rather odd sense of dread. _They won't die in here._

"Pandora? Xeno?" Ron called, but there was no answer. _Are they not here?_

Ron walked past a fancy looking bowl of fresh fruit, and he snatched the reddest apple. Just as he bit into it, Pandora walked in through the front door. There were two white canvases floating behind her, as well as her paints and brushes.

"Ron," Pandora smiled at the sight of him, and then she looked to the apple in his hand.

"Hello," Ron smiled back, his mouth full of apple. _Wait a second… She has her paints and canvases, and a perfect bowl of fruit was just sitting there. Oh… Oh, no._ "Sorry."

"Come here, my sweet," Pandora chuckled a little, and Ron walked over and hugged her. _She's in a good mood. That, or she knows that I don't like to see her upset because of me._

"I've missed you," Ron rested his chin on her head. "Are you getting shorter?"

"Yes, I must be getting shorter," Pandora said in her usual aloof voice. "I can see why you didn't end up in Ravenclaw now." _You'd be surprised._

"That's just mean," Ron sniggered. "Are we painting today?"

"First we'll paint, and then I'll make you some Shepard's Pie," Pandora promised.

"That… is exactly what I need right now," Ron pulled her closer.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Rookery – Afternoon)**_

"And she just left?" Pandora asked.

"Madam Roberts isn't exactly a chatty woman," Ron said after swallowing his bite. "Though I will say that she seemed slightly upset about my health."

"Slightly?" Pandora cocked an eyebrow.

"It was hard to see, but I've spent a lot of time with her," Ron explained. "I know that she still wants to teach me, but she also takes her word very seriously. When I convinced her to teach me again, she made sure to tell me that if I got worse, she'd leave."

"And you didn't try to change her mind?" Pandora asked, her sharp gaze had returned. _She hasn't brought up my illness even once, and I couldn't be more grateful. It feels good to just have a normal conversation with someone._

"I tried, but I didn't push her either," Ron shrugged.

"Odd," Pandora said.

"Odd?"

"The Ron I know doesn't give up so easily," Pandora pointed out. "What was different this time, my sweet?"

"I guess I understood her point of view," Ron said thoughtfully. "I'm not completely irrational, you know, and I don't want to force her into anything that she doesn't want. She's got a history…" Ron trailed off. _I can't discuss that. Madam Roberts told me everything in confidence._ "I don't want her to feel responsible for me, especially due to my illness."

"You respect her," Pandora gave an understanding nod.

"She was a harsh instructor, but she was also very good to me," Ron admitted. "So, yeah… I do respect her, which is why I didn't try to twist her arm."

"I'd love to meet this woman one day," Pandora smiled at Ron. "If she won Ronald Weasley's respect, then she must be quite the witch."

Ron couldn't help but laugh at that.

"My opinion means that much to you, eh?" Ron teased.

"Of course it does," Pandora replied aloofly. "Why wouldn't it?"

"Oh… I was just teasing…" Ron said.

"I know," she smirked, and then she offered Ron more Shepard's Pie. _More food!_

Ron didn't waste any time on getting started, he was really glad that his mother had shared her recipe with Pandora.

"How are things with your friends?" Pandora asked. "You've told them, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I told them," Ron swallowed his bite. "Things are… I don't know… They're all right, but at the same time, they're not. Does that make sense?"

"They are struggling, and you feel responsible for it," Pandora said. _Mind-reader!_

"Yes," Ron nodded weakly. "Daphne is trying to be strong, but I keep catching her staring at me."

"Maybe she's admiring her boyfriend's features," Pandora offered with a smile. _What features? My big nose and freckles?_

"She puts on a smile whenever I look in her direction," Ron sighed out. "She's scared, but she'll be damned if she lets her fear defeat her. 'A Greengrass never loses to their own mind. They are **always** in control'."

"I can almost hear Sebastian in those words," Pandora chuckled, and Ron let out a weak laugh.

"Yeah, he definitely loves his lectures," Ron agreed.

"How are things between you and Daphne when you two are alone?" Pandora asked. _Ah, there it is._

"You'll have to be more specific," Ron said, and Pandora gave him a knowing smile.

"I still remember what it was like to be a teenager, Ron," Pandora said. "I'm not going to stop you two, of course, but I will caution restraint. You're both going through a lot, and due to needing an outlet, you two will find yourselves in risky situations. I know that you'll be responsible, but girls **mature** faster than boys. Just be careful not to push her into anything that she's not fully thought through yet."

"I won't do anything that she doesn't want to do," Ron promised. "And if I feel like she's forcing herself to do it, I'll put an end to it." _That was a really good answer, Ron. Nice one._

"Good," Pandora gave him an approving nod. "Now, tell me about your other friends."

"Well, Theo is still Theo," Ron replied.

"Clever boy, that one," Pandora smiled. "Only says what others want to hear." _You mean he's an arse kisser? Well, you're right._

"Pansy, Millie, and Tracey are being very… touchy… with me lately," Ron went on. "Even Millie… At the start of this school year, she stopped hugging and touching me… But now, she's back to being more open around me."

"You're a very lucky young wizard," Pandora teased.

"I won't deny that," Ron snorted. _I do love getting hugs and pats from the girls. I'm only human, after all. Wait… That's not strictly true…_

"Ron?"

"Malfoy is still a prick," Ron told Pandora.

"Ron… He has been through a lot recently," Pandora suddenly became serious. "Promise me that you won't add more to his plate by being nasty to him."

"I promise," Ron agreed. "Look, he's not all bad… He stayed behind after I told him about my latest scan, and in his own way, he's shown that he feels sorry that I have to go through this."

"Then why did you refer to him as a 'prick'?" Pandora asked.

"He's a hard person to approach," Ron shrugged. "I know that he's struggling right now, but he has a victimhood complex about **everything**. We've actually talked about this complex of his before, but once again, he's back to blaming everyone around him. For some reason, he can't understand that bad things happen to everyone. To him, only his problems matter, and instead of fixing his life himself, he keeps hoping that someone else does it for him. It's lazy, and if he keeps it up, he's going to turn into a bitter old bastard because no one is going to go out of their way to deal with **his** issues. We all have our own problems right now, and unlike him, we're dealing with our problems ourselves." _Damn, I really needed to get that out._

"You clearly care about him," Pandora pointed out, and Ron tensed a little.

"I… Sort of…" Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "I never thought that I'd say this, but I do enjoy his company. **Sometimes**. He's got this really dry sense of humor, and he can come up with some rather hilarious comebacks. Conversations with him are almost always interesting, despite often being infuriating."

"Just be patient, Ron," Pandora advised. "Some people need more time to find their way than others. If you care about him even a little, which you do, then you need to give him some time." Pandora then smiled at Ron. "Sebastian once told Xeno that 'a hammer is not always the right tool for the job'. Don't be a hammer with him, Ron." _Don't be a hammer?_

"So… I shouldn't keep beating the same message into him?" Ron asked very slowly. _I'm confused._

"Exactly," Pandora replied. "Let him find his way."

"What if he chooses the wrong path?" Ron asked.

"That is up to him, is it not?" Pandora asked. "You are his friend, Ron, not his master. If you really want him to follow you, then you need to give him a reason to do so."

"You want me to inspire him?" Ron asked, and Pandora gave a nod. "That won't be easy… We get along a little, but he still hates everything about me."

"I don't believe that he does," Pandora said knowingly. "Not anymore."

"Right…" Ron said awkwardly. _I swear that she sees everything, but never says anything about it._

"Now, what of Blaise?" Pandora asked, and Ron felt his stomach tighten. _Blaise…_ "Of all of your friends, I find him to be the most mysterious. I only spoke to him once when you were in your coma, and he barely acknowledged my presence."

"Yeah, he does that to people who he doesn't know," Ron spoke to his pie. "Sorry about that, Pandora."

"Oh, I didn't mind," Pandora said. "I'm sure that trick of his works well with the ladies." _It's no trick… Blaise genuinely doesn't care about anyone who he doesn't consider a friend. I think that's why Padma and he broke up so quickly. She must have realized that Blaise didn't really care about her, or her interests. He was only dating her because of her good looks._ "Ron? What's wrong? You look upset."

"It's nothing," Ron shook his head, though he still felt wounded by Blaise's outburst. _He called me a beggar._ "Blaise is fine."

"Ron," Pandora said gently. "Look at me."

Ron slowly looked up, making sure to keep his composure. Sadly for him, Pandora knew him far too well to be fooled by such a trick.

"You two fought recently?" Pandora asked.

"We didn't really fight per say," Ron sighed out. "He's under a lot of pressure right now, and I didn't help by discussing my latest scan and the war with him. He's got Family troubles right now, and I made things worse by adding more to his plate… He sort of snapped at me, that's all."

"You're not angry with him," Pandora realized.

"Not really," Ron shrugged weakly. _I've done worse, so what right do I have to start a fuss about this?_ "I've had moments like that too, so I understand why he snapped. It's fine, Pandora… I'll just give him some space, and things will go back to normal eventually."

Pandora just stared at him, and after a few seconds, Ron couldn't help but notice the motherly look on her face.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"It's okay to admit that you feel hurt, Ron," Pandora said, making Ron feel even more tense. "There is no shame in admitting it, and talking about it will help soothe the wound."

"I'm not hurt," Ron lied. "He didn't mean what he said, and trust me, I've done my fair share of yelling at my friends in the past." _I've called them all sorts of names during my rage-fueled fits._ "It'll all blow over soon enough, so don't worry." _Change the topic, Ron._ "Hey, do you still have your old Spell Creation books?"

Pandora just stared at him for blatantly changing the subject, and he shot her a sheepish grin. Pandora then smiled a little and shook her head at his antics.

"Why don't we go have a look?" Pandora asked. "They should be up in my bedroom."

"Not in your lab?" Ron asked, and for a moment, her smile faltered.

"I don't go down there anymore, Ron," she said too calmly. "And it's no longer my lab, you know that." _Oh._

"Sorry," Ron apologized.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Pandora said. "Come, Ron, let's find those books."

* * *

 _ **Sunday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Rookery – Evening)**_

"Ron?" came Pandora's voice. "Wake up, my sweet. It's almost half past seven."

Ron's eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up. _I'm going to be late!_ He had fallen asleep on the couch, mostly because Pandora's head scratches were too hard to resist. As he cleared his eyes and yawned, Pandora walked over with a glass of milk.

"I've warmed it for you," Pandora handed him the glass with a smile.

"Thanks," Ron smiled back. "And sorry for falling asleep like that… I was more tired than I thought."

"You certainly were," came Xeno's voice from the stairs. _He's back?_ "I could hear you snoring all the way from my study."

"Oops," Ron shot Pandora a smirk, and then he drank down the milk in one go.

"A healthy sleep is a snorey sleep, I always say," Xeno chuckled. _Snorey? Is that even a word? And when do you ever say that?_

"You mentioned that you had to speak to Professor Snape," Pandora took the empty glass.

"Oh, yeah," Ron massaged his face. "Something about my future assignments…"

"Well, you don't want to be late," Pandora said. "He's not exactly a patient man."

"How do you know that?" Ron asked. _Is it because you helped him with his recovery?_

"Luna told me in her letters," Pandora replied. _Nice save, but I already know that he's a part of the Order._

"Makes sense," Ron stood up.

They both walked over to the fireplace, and while Ron prepared the floo, Pandora straightened out any creases on his clothes. _Mum does the same thing any time she sees a crease. Is it a parent thing?_

"All right, I'll be off," Ron turned to face Pandora, and he realized that Xeno had joined them.

"Take care of yourself, Ron," Xeno said as he patted Ron's cheek. "And don't ever fall asleep in the Library. Only Merlin knows what kinds of tiny creatures live inside those old, dusty tomes." _Huh?_

"Understood," Ron gave a nod, and Xeno looked visibly calmer.

"Be safe," Pandora said, and Ron gave her another hug.

"Thank you for today," Ron whispered as she rubbed his back. "It… It meant a lot…"

"I'm just sorry that we couldn't find any of my old books," Pandora said. _Something tells me that Xeno threw them out. He's really against her creating more Spells._ "I'll buy a new one and owl it to you."

"I'll be waiting, then," Ron pulled back. _I don't know how she's doing it, but she hasn't broken down about my illness even once. Bloody hell, she probably knows that I don't want to see that kind of reaction out of her._

Pandora gave him one last smile, and then she leaned up and kissed his forehead. Ron smiled widely at that, and then he tossed the floo-powder into the fire.

"Professor Snape's Office, Hogwarts," Ron said, and the fire roared to life. "I'll see you both soon."

"Goodbye, Ron," Pandora said, her voice losing some of its aloofness.

Ron left at that, deciding not to make things harder for Pandora by lingering about. She was clearly struggling by the end, and he knew that she wasn't in a position to bottle up her emotions. Even still, the fact that she had held herself back from grieving in front of him just for his sake meant the World to Ron. He didn't want to see another person suffer because of his conditions, and he definitely didn't want that person to be Pandora.

"Ron," came Snape's icy voice just as Ron entered the man's Office. "You've been gone all day." _Uh-oh._

"I was with Family," Ron explained, and Snape cocked an eyebrow. "C'mon, Sir… They want to spend more time with me, but I keep insisting that I need to be here."

"I see," Snape said, and then he beckoned Ron over.

"Is everything all right?" Ron asked as he took his usual seat. "You seem… annoyed…"

"Albus has asked me to speak to Carey, Clara, and Samantha tonight," Snape replied.

"Really? That's great," Ron perked up.

"Is it?" Snape asked. "Samantha Selwyn's parents are both Death-Eaters, and if the Dark Lord is indeed reaching out to his old allies, then they are both already working for him. Carey and Clara will make for good recruits, but Samantha could be a liability."

"She hates her parents," Ron pointed out.

"When push comes to shove, you'd be surprised at the idiotic choices that people make," Snape whispered coldly. "Never underestimate Familial ties, Ron. These Pure-Bloods were all raised to put Family first, and when the future becomes an uncertainty, they seek comfort in what they were taught to do." _Is that why Blaise won't turn on his mother? Deep down, he still wants to put his Family first?_

"Samantha is intelligent," Ron decided to defend his friend. "And she's also very close with her friends." _Very, very close._ "If she has to chose between them or her parents, then I think that she'll choose her friends."

"After our meeting, I will hold all four of you back," Snape told Ron. "I will tell them about the Dark Lord's return, and then I will give them the chance to become the Order's latest recruits. You will help me keep them in line."

"In line?" Ron asked.

"They hold you in high regard, but more importantly, they fear your anger," Snape said.

"Ah, I see," Ron said. "You want to show them that I'll hurt them if they do something stupid."

"Does that bother you?" Snape asked.

"Well, you're basically using me as a thug," Ron replied. _And I like the Triumvirate. I'd rather work with them than force them to work under me._

"Don't let your pride get in the way of results," Snape frowned a little. "And I am not using you as a 'thug', I am asking you to keep your eyes on them. We are taking a big risk by letting these girls in on the truth, and if we can limit that risk in any way, then it's our duty to do so."

"Fair enough," Ron agreed. "I guess it'll be nice to have some help in my task of protecting Slytherin House from the Dark Lord's influence."

"We both already agreed to bring them on board," Snape said. "Which means that it falls to us to keep them in check. Many in the Order will not be happy that more Slytherins are joining up, and since these girls were selected whilst still being at Hogwarts, we need to make sure that they prove their worth."

"If they do poorly, then the Order will be more skeptical about Slytherin recruits moving forward," Ron nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, Sir, we'll make this work."

"Good," Snape relaxed in his chair.

"Shouldn't the Headmaster join us?" Ron asked.

"He's in Russia," Snape replied. _Russia?_

"Um… Why?" Ron asked, and Snape looked at the clock on the wall.

"I suppose we have time now," Snape said to himself, and then he looked back to Ron. "Listen carefully, Ron, this is very important information."

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"You let him go off alone?" Ron couldn't believe this. "Again? And why am I only hearing about this now, Sir? If the Russian Ministry is indeed helping the Dark Lord, then we need to up our game."

"Firstly, Albus is not going to be alone," Snape started. "Secondly, we don't know the Russian Minister's motives for making her own people disappear, so until we learn more, there's no point in discussing this. And lastly, Albus has friends within the Russian Ministry, and they came directly to him with their suspicions."

"Can they be trusted?" Ron asked. "What if this is all an elaborate trap?"

"Luka Yahontov is a war hero, and he has hunted down more Dark Wizards than even Rufus Scrimgeour," Snape replied. "Believe me, that man is not someone that you can underestimate." _I have to meet this person, then._

"So Luka Yahontov doesn't trust his own Minister?" Ron asked.

"Samara has a history-" Snape started, but a knock on the door stopped him. "The others are here."

Snape flicked his wand at the door, but nothing happened. For a moment, Snape looked genuinely angry, but he quickly regained his composure. _He's struggling to cast Non-Verbal Magic with his new wand?_

"Ron, the door," Snape said curtly.

Ron got out of his chair, and then he walked over to the door. _I could just use my own wand, but I don't want to make him feel bad._ Ron opened the door, and he came face to face with the Triumvirate and their delegates.

"Hello," Ron smiled at the girls.

"Ron, you're already here," Carey said smoothly. "Good. I was worried that you had forgotten about this meeting."

"And miss out on this little scheming session?" Ron chuckled, which made Clara smile widely. "Never."

Ron moved aside, and one by one, the other Slytherins entered the Office. Other than Atif, who had a running deal with Ron, the delegates didn't seem very pleased to see him. _They don't mind kissing my arse when it suits them, but when they think that I don't deserve to be somewhere, they give me the cold shoulder. I swear that behavior like this is exactly why the other Houses hate us. Two-faced bastards, the lot of them._

Once everyone was in the Office, Ron closed and locked the door. He then made his way over to Clara's side, and she shot him a subtle wink. _I hope Snape doesn't scare them too much._

"Sir, before we begin," Martha Hopkirk started. "Can I just say that it's great to have you back? We've all missed your guidance and support, and now that you're back, we're excited to plan out Slytherin's future alongside you." _Wow. I'm sure Snape will approve of this sad attempt to curry favor from him. Oh, wait… He won't._

"Good, then you can start by explaining your year's pathetic performance during the last term," Snape demanded, and all three fifth years tensed. _Oh, shit. He's not wasting any time, is he?_ "Only one of you made it into the Year-Based Tournament's second stage, while all the other years put on a worthy showing. Why?"

Septimus Smith, Arthur Belmont, and Martha Hopkirk exchanged looks, and then Septimus stepped forward.

"We have no excuse," Septimus owned up, he knew better than to make up lies in front of Severus Snape. "Most of us are focusing on our O. W. Ls this year-"

"Samantha won the seventh years' tournament," Snape cut in. "She has N. E. W. Ts this year. Try again."

Septimus shifted in his spot a bit, and Ron began feeling a little sorry for him. _Just admit that you were all lazy, and he might spare you. Don't bother making up lies, because trust me; he can look into your head whenever he wants._

"Nothing to say?" Snape sneered from his chair. "Fine, then I'll say it for you. You three are just as lazy as the rest of your year, and now that I'm back, I will be watching you lot personally. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," all three fifth years replied.

"You will meet your House Point quotas, you will display skill worthy of Slytherin House within the Tournaments, and you will cease questioning the Triumvirate's decisions," Snape said harshly. "You three can be replaced, remember that."

"Yes, Sir," they replied again.

"Get out," Snape hissed, and even Ron was taken aback. "Get. Out. Now. You will be allowed back into the fold when you prove your worth."

The three fifth years quickly turned around and left the room, and as soon as the door closed behind them, Snape looked to the sixth years. They all tensed visibly, while Ron fought the urge to start laughing. _He fucked them up! Oh, that was great!_

"What's your excuse for failing at the Tournament?" Snape asked the sixth years.

"We don't have one," Jack Hughes replied. "But I will say that we've been meeting our quotas, and we went further in the Tournament than the fifth years."

Snape eyed the tall boy, and then he gave a curt nod.

"I expect a better showing in the Group Tournament from your year," Snape said, and they all nodded. "Now, let's discuss what happened in my absence." Snape then looked to Ron. "You did well, Ronald. I'm glad that at least one person was competent enough to take on a leadership role."

"The Triumvirate helped me a great deal," Ron said, while Jack and Maria barely held back their jealousy.

"I beg to differ," Snape looked to the Triumvirate. _Huh?_ "You let Marcus Flint undermine you for weeks, and then, you three did nothing when he tried to turn the House against you. Why?"

"We didn't want to cause a larger rift by starting a fight with him," Carey replied. _You mean you didn't have the guts to fight back…_

"You failed to act," Snape corrected her. "You failed in your duty, and a third year had to pick up the slack. This will not happen again, because if it does, I will remove your Triumvirate status myself." _Bloody hell. Is he always this harsh during these meetings?_

"Yes, Sir," the Triumvirate said together.

"I will speak to Mr. Flint myself," Snape added. "The Triumvirate and the Quidditch Team will make peace, and we will not be divided going forward." _Which will help the Triumvirate and I to operate in peace._ "Ronald, you will also make your peace with Mr. Flint." _Damn._

"I understand," Ron agreed.

"I also want the quotas for each year, except the first years, to be raised by twenty points," Snape told them all. _Twenty?! We barely get given House Points anymore!_

"Twenty, Sir?" Clara asked. "We are already struggling to meet our quotas because the Professors don't give us the House Points that we deserve. They don't want the gap to increase any further."

"Let me worry about the other Professors," Snape said coldly. "The first years can no longer keep carrying this House on their backs. Ronald will ease up on them for now, while the rest of you will pick up your slack." _He doesn't want the first years working as hard as they do? Softie._ "I also expect the second years to perform better this term, so have the third year delegates crack down on them."

"We'll talk to them tonight," Carey said.

"Good," Snape said curtly. "Now, one last thing… Ronald will continue to serve as the Triumvirate's second. He has my complete support." _Don't grin, Ron. Play it cool._

"With all due respect, Sir," Jack Hughes spoke up. "Weasley is a third year, and his appointment over us goes against traditions. Traditions that have been in place for hundreds of years."

"As long as I am your Head of House, Slytherin will reward merit over traditions," Snape said coldly. "Not one of you stepped up, but a third year did, and so, said third year will be rewarded for it. If you want to regain my favor, you will do better to work for it rather than hide behind 'traditions'."

"No one would have to step up if it weren't for Weasley's brothers, Sir," Maria pointed out.

"And what did I do to said brothers?" Ron spoke up. "Oh, that's right… I had them suspended, **and** I devastated the Gryffindor Hourglass in the process. What did you do, Cortez?"

Maria Cortez said nothing, but Ron could tell that she was pissed. _This won't blow over easily, I think. Oh, well. If push comes to shove, I'll just break some of her bones. That'll keep her in her place._

"You three are dismissed," Snape said to the sixth years, his eye lingering on Atif. _He still wants me to keep praising him to the Triumvirate… Well, I'll do that when he decides to speak to his fellow delegates on my behalf. He just stood there quietly throughout the entire meeting._

The sixth years left quietly, while Ron and the Triumvirate stayed in their spots. _Time for the moment of truth. If they don't take this well, then I'll guard the door while Snape Obliviates them._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ron waited by the door while Snape spoke to the girls, and judging from their bewildered expressions, Ron figured that they were genuinely shocked. It was odd seeing them like this for a change, but Ron knew better than to make a comment about it.

Snape hadn't really told them all that much, mostly because the girls couldn't be trusted just yet. He had told them that the Dark Lord had returned to England, and that Albus Dumbledore had reformed the Order in order to combat the Dark Lord and his forces. Oh, and Snape had told them that his injuries were the direct result of this shadowy conflict.

"Why are you telling us this?" Samantha spoke up, ending the Triumvirate's silence.

"Because you three have been chosen by Albus Dumbledore," Snape replied.

"Chosen for what?" Clara asked.

"The Order of the Phoenix… The Headmaster wants us to join it," Carey replied for Snape, who gave a curt nod.

"The Dark Lord is building his army, and the Headmaster is building his," Snape said. "You three are intelligent and capable, which makes you ideal recruits for both sides. I do not wish to see you end up in the Dark Lord's clutches, and so I spoke to the Headmaster on your behalf." _I did that, but whatever._

"What if we don't want to join the Order?" Carey asked slowly.

"Then I will Obliviate you, and you can go back to living in ignorance," Snape replied. "This will, however, lead to you being branded by the Dark Lord eventually. Your parents will be killed due to their heritages, with the exception of the Selwyns, and you three will be forced into servitude." _A little blunt, but he's not one to beat around the bush._

"You're really a part of the Order?" Samantha asked Snape. "I've heard differently from my parents."

"I was a spy for the Order, but my cover was compromised," Snape replied. "I can no longer spy for the Order, which is why I don't feel the need to hide behind a façade anymore."

"And the Ministry has no idea about any of this?" Clara asked.

"A handful of trustworthy people have been informed," Snape replied. "You three will never speak of the Order to anyone. Is that clear?"

The girls exchanged looks, and once again, Ron got the feeling that they were speaking telepathically. _They've all but forgotten that I'm even here._

"Why is the Order recruiting from Slytherin?" Carey asked Snape. "During the last war, Slytherin was run by the Dark Lord himself."

"The Headmaster deeply regrets that," Snape replied. "Far too many young witches and wizards lost their lives because the staff of Hogwarts wrote them off for being sorted into Slytherin. This time, however, things will be different. You three are the first of the Slytherin students to be approached, and if you join up and prove your worth, then others will be approached as well."

"You want us to prove Slytherin House to the Order?" Clara asked.

"Essentially, yes," Snape replied. "The Order is comprised mostly of old Gryffindors, and they mistrust all Slytherins by default. I need you three to show them a different side of Slytherin, and in doing so, help save a lot of lives. Your Housemates **will** be involved in the upcoming war, but **where** they end up depends on you three."

"That… is a lot of responsibility," Samantha looked to her friends. "What of my parents? We both know whom they serve, Sir… The Selwyn Name depends on me…"

Ron drew in a deep breath, while Snape just stared at Samantha. _Don't choose poorly, Samantha. Please._

"Do you wish to fight against your Housemates?" Snape asked. "Are you that committed to your parents?"

"Sammy…" Clara whispered. "Don't."

"This is a lot to take in," Samantha said. "I don't really care much for my parents, but the Family Name… That does mean something to me."

"Can we have some time to think about this?" Carey interrupted, her eyes darting towards Samantha.

"You can have one day," Snape replied. "I expect an answer tomorrow." _Yeesh…_

The girls slowly turned to leave, but when they saw Ron, all three of them looked jarred. _Wow… They literally forgot that I was here._

"Is he a part of the Order?" Clara turned to face Snape. "He's thirteen! What's the matter with you people?! He shouldn't be put in such a situation!" _Okay… I wasn't expecting that reaction. Even Carey and Samantha look a little bothered._

"Ronald is not a part of the Order," Snape said curtly. _Ouch._ "His Family, however, are… They told him and his siblings everything, and when the time comes, they'll be fighting against the Dark Lord."

"Why is he here?" Samantha asked.

"Because unlike anyone else in Slytherin, Ronald has faced the Dark Lord," Snape replied. _What the fuck?! Why would he tell them that?!_

"You've faced **him** …?" Carey shot Ron a slightly scared look. "When…?"

"End of first year," Ron replied, deciding to go with it. "That's how I really ended up in a coma. The Dark Lord shattered my body during the encounter."

"Shattered…?" Clara paled.

"Ronald has been working to change Slytherin House's reputation ever since then, and you three will need his help," Snape said. "If you ever need to discuss anything relating to Order business, go to him directly."

"You trust him," Samantha couldn't help but notice.

"More than most," Snape replied, and Ron fought the urge to do a happy dance. _Play it cool, Ron… Play it cool._ "I'm sure that you three have more questions, but dinnertime is almost upon us. Think about where you want to be over the next few years, and then think about what this war means for you." Snape then looked to Ron. "Escort them to the Great Hall, Ronald. They are your responsibility now."

Ron gave a nod, and then he opened the door.

"Let's go," Ron said, and very slowly, the Triumvirate began to follow him out. _They're going to pull me into an abandoned room first. I bet they're dying to know more about everything._

It didn't take long before Ron felt Carey's hand on his shoulder, and it guided him towards the closest classroom. Ron went with them quietly, mostly because he wanted them to join the Order. _It's not really my style to let people drag me along, but I like these girls, and I want them to have a future. I'll answer their questions, and I'll even show them my scars if need be._

"Start talking," Carey said, while Samantha and Clara sealed off the room.

"Ask me a question first," Ron said calmly, and the girls surrounded him.

"Why was the truth about your coma hidden?" Samantha asked.

"Because the Dark Lord breached Hogwarts," Ron replied. "The truth would have caused a panic, and a lot of people would have made stupid decisions going forward. The Headmaster asked me to lie for him, and so, I lied."

"So there was never any Dark Ritual?" Carey asked.

"No," Ron replied, and then, he pulled his left sleeve back.

The looks of shock and revulsion wounded Ron a little, especially when Clara stepped back with a horrified look. But then, she quickly seized his arm in order to inspect the scars more closely. _What is she doing?_

"Your **other** scars…" Clara whispered to herself, her fingers trailing the scars. "The Dark Lord did this to you?" _She's… She's not disgusted by them? She's even touching them._

Ron looked to Carey and Samantha, and both girls looked equally interested. _Wow… Maybe I'm just too insecure about these?_

"Ron?" Samantha called. "Did he do this to you?"

"He did," Ron broke out of his thoughts. "He broke most of my bones, and then he left me for dead. Madam Pomfrey and the Heads of Houses spent all night fixing me up, but they couldn't heal the scars. Too much Dark Magic, you see…"

"Why are you showing us these?" Carey asked, her voice strained.

"Because I want you to take a good look at what the Dark Lord is capable of," Ron replied. "I was eleven, and he tried to murder me nonetheless. Hell, Harry Potter was a baby, and the Dark Lord tried to kill him too. That's the enemy that we're up against. Nothing is sacred to him, and he doesn't give a fuck about anything but himself." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "You three have been given a great opportunity here, and you **need** to take it. Don't end up in the Dark Lord's camp… You won't survive for long if you have to answer to that madman."

"There's still so much that doesn't make sense…" Samantha rubbed her forehead.

"I understand," Ron said patiently, ignoring the fact that Clara was still touching his scars. "But just think about this… Do you want the people in this House to die?"

"What?" Clara muttered, her hands coming to a halt.

"Say whatever you want about the Headmaster, but even you three must understand that he cares about the students of this school," Ron clarified. "Sure, he favors the Gryffindors, and he doesn't really approach us Slytherins, but he doesn't see **anyone** as cattle. The Dark Lord, however, doesn't share the Headmaster's values. To him, we're all just pieces that he can control, and he has no issues with killing off his pieces."

"I don't want to see my Housemates die," Ron went on. "Even people like Flint… The Order is our best hope, but if we don't show the Order that Slytherin House can be trusted, then a lot of our Housemates will look for protection elsewhere."

"They'll join the Dark Lord," Carey nodded in understanding. "Merlin, Ron… Have you really been fighting to protect all of Slytherin all along?"

"Yes," Ron admitted, and the three girls just stared at him. "I built my study group to show the younger Slytherins that they don't have to hate people who are different. I'm fighting to win the House Cup because I want to prove Slytherin's might to the World, and in doing so, show the Order that they need intelligent young witches and wizards on their side. I even fought to take over the House because I want to influence people to be more tolerant. I've also gained a lot of influence and fame in the outside World in order to become someone that the Order can trust down the line." Ron then let out a tired breath. "I don't want to see my Housemates die, but I can't keep doing everything by myself anymore…"

"That's a lot of responsibility for a thirteen year old, Ron," Clara said softly. _My life isn't important, but everyone else's is. My job is to end the Cycles, and my dream is to save as many lives as possible along the way._

"It had to be someone, and as Fate would have it, I became that someone," Ron shrugged. "But saying that… I also have to tell you three that I'm sick. **Very sick**."

"Sick?" Carey repeated, and then she looked to Clara and Samantha. "We know that, Ron."

"No, you don't," Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "The Dark Lord's assault didn't just break my body, it also damaged my brain. Permanently."

Carey, Samantha, and Clara all paled, and Ron felt Clara's hands tighten around his left wrist. _Ow! Ease up there, Clara._

"I was then diagnosed with Chronic Stress, mostly due to my responsibilities," Ron went on. "This Chronic Stress has slowly made my brain damage worse, and last week, I found out that I only have a couple of years left."

"Gods…" Samantha muttered under her breath, while Carey and Clara looked genuinely shaken to the core.

"I need your help," Ron pushed forward. "I'll be dead soon, but the other Slytherins still have a chance. Over the next six months, I want you three to help me as much as you can, and after you join the Order, I want you to look after future recruits. My friends will take over my duties within the House once I'm gone, but until that happens, I'll keep fighting to make sure that people stay away from the Dark Lord's camp."

The school bell suddenly went off, and all three girls jumped because of it. _Shit, they're completely rattled. Maybe I should ease up a little? But not before I speak to Samantha._

"Samantha, don't contact your parents," Ron said to the raven-haired witch. "They're already on the Dark Lord's side, and if they aren't, then they will be before long. Don't throw your life away for a Name."

Samantha said nothing, and after shooting Carey and Clara a meaningful look, she turned around and left the room. _What was that?_

"I'll go talk to her…" Carey all but whispered, her eyes fixed on Ron's face. "I'm… I'm very sorry to hear about your health, Ron. Can we talk more later?"

"Sure," Ron gave a nod, and Carey slowly drifted out of the room. _It's weird seeing them like this… I don't like it._

Ron looked to Clara, and he found her staring at the scars on his left forearm.

"Clara?" Ron called, and she slowly looked up.

"You haven't told us everything yet, have you?" she whispered.

"I've told you more than I've told most," Ron said. "And I did it because my secrets aren't worth your lives. Sure, I hate feeling this… vulnerable… But it's nothing compared to how I'll feel if you three die."

Clara let go of his wrist, a distant look on her face.

"I… I need to go talk to Carey and Samantha…" Clara muttered, and just like that, she was gone.

Ron waited around for a few moments, his own mind reeling from opening up so much. _This is for the best, Ron, even if it feels terrifying right now. Just look at how your siblings and friends reacted… They proved you wrong, didn't they?_ Ron drew in a deep breath, and then, he left the classroom behind. _What's done is done. I need to focus on what's ahead._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed that, because I certainly enjoyed writing it! Also, I know that the ending was a bit abrupt, but I'm busy over the next couple of days, and I figured that I'd finish the chapter a little early in order to publish it.**

 **I'll see you guys in a week, or so.**

 **Stay safe, and may Slaanesh protect you!**


	116. Chapter 116 - The Machine

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 116 is here, right out of the oven!  
**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

 ** **There's also another Ron story out that's really good so far! It's called 'There and Back Again', and it's written by Chuchi Otaku. Please, go check it out! I've certainly enjoyed reading it!****

* * *

 _'To fight the Abyss... one must know it_ _' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 116 - The Machine**

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Parkinson Estate – After Dinner)**_

"Thank you for the home cooked meal, you two," Lucius said with a faint smile, it genuinely felt good to eat with company for a change.

"You looked like you could use it, Lucius," Violet said, her voice thick with false sweetness.

She wasn't entirely wrong, of course, for Lucius, for the first time in a long time, had stopped taking care of himself. He still wore clean clothes, however, that was as far as he went when it came to self-grooming. He had let his stubble grow, and his usually combed hair was rough and no longer styled. He looked like a man with little patience, and truth be told, he felt like one too.

If he wasn't thinking about getting his son and wife back, then he was thinking of ways to appease the Dark Lord. Corban and Cornelius, damn them both, were doing their best to push him out of the Dark Lord's favor. It was an old game, and Lucius was genuinely tired of playing it. He needed to get Corban and Cornelius under control before the Dark Lord regained a proper vessel to inhabit, because if he didn't, then Lucius would not be getting his wife and son back any time soon.

"Lucius?" Egbert called for his attention, and Lucius broke out of his thoughts. "We lost you again…"

"Forgive me, my friends," Lucius apologized. "I was thinking of my wife and son again… I was thinking about the future of my Family's Name."

"We understand," Violet said. _Do you? Or are you enjoying seeing me this weak?_ "If there's anything that we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

Lucius gave her a practiced smile, and then he turned his attention towards her husband.

"Egbert," Lucius decided to move forward with his plan. "Could I trouble you for a drink? My cellar was destroyed during the Order's assault on my Manor."

"Well, as it happens, I've had a new shipment come in," Egbert replied excitedly. "I'll go and grab a bottle myself!" _He still doesn't trust his Elves around his alcohol._

"Thank you," Lucius said, and while Egbert left for the cellar, Lucius looked to Violet.

She looked emboldened now that her husband was gone, which was exactly how Lucius had expected her to react. Violet Parkinson's love of short affairs was well known to him, but he had never imagined using this side of her before. Even the thought of flirting with another woman besides his wife sickened him, but Lucius knew that in times of war, desperate measures needed to be taken.

"You are glowing, Violet," Lucius pointed out. "What agrees with you?"

"Young love," Violet smirked a little. _Young love?_ "My daughter has finally garnered the attention of a respectable young Pure-Blood."

"Is that so?" Lucius asked. "May I ask which one?"

"Theodore Nott," Violet replied. _Thank the Gods that it's not Draco. I'd hate to unite our Families together._ "I spoke with him myself when he came looking for her during the Break… He is absolutely enchanted with her!"

"You're glad that she'll turn from the Weasley boy, aren't you?" Lucius realized.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lucius," Violet 'giggled', and Lucius felt rather bored of this conversation. _Push on._

"I think you do, Violet," Lucius said. "I think that, like myself, you see the Weasley boy for what he truly is."

"And what is he?" Violet asked.

"A Blood-Traitor," Lucius replied, and Violet's eyes darted towards the door.

"Ronald Weasley has been chosen by the Dark Lord himself," Violet said. "You shouldn't speak ill of him, Lucius, especially around other people." _You have the cunning of a sardine, woman. Don't play coy with me._

"Your husband won't be back for a while," Lucius spoke from experience. "You and I have been friends for a long time, Violet, and I know how you feel about the Weasleys. They are the embodiment of everything that you hate in this World. They are poor, short-sighted, and mindless savages."

"Ronald Weasley is none of those things," Violet said, and Lucius gave her a knowing look. _She's playing hard to get, then?_

"Perhaps he isn't," Lucius said wistfully. "Perhaps he is the one good apple to spawn from that infected tree, and I am unfairly judging him." Lucius then rubbed his stubble. "Perhaps your daughter has chosen well…"

"Chosen?" Violet asked, her smirk still fixed on her face. "Chosen what?"

"I have letters here," Lucius pulled out two letters from his robes. "One from Vincent Crabbe and one from Gregory Goyle… Do you remember them?"

"Draco's friends," Violet remembered.

"I reached out to them in secret, and I asked them to keep their eyes on Draco," Lucius explained. "Even their fathers don't know about this, but I've promised Vincent and Gregory 'a seat at the table' should they impress me."

"You told them of the Dark Lord's return?"

"No," Lucius replied. "They think that they'll be getting some form of special attention from me."

"Well, what did they say?" Violet looked to the letters.

"They told me that my son is trapped under Weasley's thumb," Lucius replied. "And they told me that your daughter is no different."

"Lies," Violet said, a hint of coldness suddenly present in her voice.

"Read the letters," Lucius sent them over with a flick of his wand.

Violet Parkinson read both letters, and her expression slowly lost most of its mirth. When she finally looked back to him, he could see a maelstrom of anger behind her eyes.

"She can't keep her hands off of Ronald Weasley…" Violet hissed dangerously. "Why should I believe the words on these letters?"

"Why would Vincent and Gregory lie?" Lucius asked in response. "They state that my son sometimes laughs alongside Ronald Weasley, and I must admit, this troubles me greatly." _Time to make her feel important._ "I wished to speak to someone who could understand me, and I thought of you."

Violet Parkinson set the letters on fire by using a nearby candle, and then she levitated the burning letters into the fireplace.

"Theodore came here in order to ask me for Pansy's hand in courting," Violet said, her eyes finding Lucius'.

"Looks like little Theodore has had his heart broken," Lucius said.

"She's thrown away such a…" Violet trailed off, her lips thinning into a frown.

"You can say it, Violet," Lucius assured her. "She has thrown away a golden opportunity for the sake of chasing after a Blood-Traitor. He no doubt whispers his beliefs into her ears, and she listens with rapt attention."

Violet Parkinson went to say something, but her husband suddenly burst into the room.

"Lucius, I have a very special bottle for you to try," Egbert announced, no doubt trying to please the stronger wizard. _Damn him for interrupting me._

Lucius exchanged a quick glance with Violet, and then he looked to Egbert.

"Don't keep me in suspense, my friend," Lucius said smoothly. "It's been too long since I've had a drink."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Thank you for the lovely dinner," Lucius thanked the Parkinsons. "It is getting late, however, and I should be on my way."

"Our guest rooms are open to you, Lucius," Violet offered, her gaze slightly intense. _I know that look… Disgusting._

"The Dark Lord has need of me," Lucius said, and Egbert's eyes flashed.

"Please tell him that we are still his humble servants," Egbert said. "And if he needs anything, we would be honored to lend a hand." _He doesn't have the courage to go speak to the Dark Lord himself. Pathetic._

"I will speak to him on your behalf," Lucius said, and Egbert gave a grateful nod.

Lucius stood up at that, and after shooting Violet another glance, he left for the Parkinson Greeting Room. _I've planted the seed in her mind, and now, I simply have to wait. Knowing her, she'll act irrationally because of her wounded pride._ As Lucius neared the fireplaces, he heard the sound of heels catching up to him. _That didn't take long at all._

"Lucius, wait," Violet said, and Lucius turned to face her.

"Violet?" Lucius let his eyes examine her.

"Meet me for lunch on Wednesday," Violet whispered as she shot a look back. "My husband will be traveling to Venice for a week, or so." _Don't show any disgust, Lucius. Think of Cissy._

"Where?" Lucius asked smoothly.

"The White Wyvern," she replied, and just like that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

Lucius smiled a little, despite his revulsion. She had taken the bait, and if he played his cards right, he could win back his Family's freedom before long.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Russian Ministry – Night)**_

"The Minister will see you now," the secretary said, and Albus rose from his chair.

"Wonderful," he smiled, and the secretary led him towards Minister Samara's Office.

Once they reached the Office, the secretary led the way inside. Albus quickly took the time to scan his surroundings, and unlike Cornelius' Office, Samara's Office was impeccable. Everything had a proper place, and the ebony wood furniture was polished to the point of shining. There was nothing personal within the Office save for one picture frame, and Albus figured that even Samara couldn't resist the allure of keeping a picture of her child close by.

"Headmaster Albus Dumbledore," the secretary presented, and when Samara waved her hand, the secretary left without hesitation.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Headmaster?" Samara's dark eyes scanned the old wizard.

"I was visiting a friend, and I thought that I'd drop by," Albus replied, and Samara signaled him to sit down. "I must admit, I am surprised that you are still working given how late it is. And on a Sunday to boot!"

"I leave when my workers do," Samara replied.

"That is admirable," Albus said, and he meant it.

"I do not think so," Samara said, her eyes fixed on his. "Here in Russia, we do not shrink away from an honest day's work."

"If only all Minister's shared your ethics," Albus said in a friendly tone. "Though it was a real shame that Russia pulled their funding from the Gaia Project so abruptly. Helping those people in their time of need was 'honest work'."

"I represent Russia, and so, I put Russia first," Samara didn't seem too fazed by his dig. "We have a very large population, and the Gaia Project demanded too much from us. It is a good thing that your Minister was so… generous… with his funding. I understand that he more than made up for Russia's absence."

"And he has Albania's gratitude for it," Albus said.

"For all the good that does him," Samara said coldly. "Your Minister forgets that it's the British people who he needs to please, and not foreigners who can't even vote for him."

"Is that why you pulled your funding?" Albus asked. "So you could retain the support of your people?"

"It was a factor, yes," Samara admitted. "And I made the right choice. They have extended my term by four years, and in that time, no one will challenge my Office." _So that's why she got rid of those Muggle-Born Officials. She needed to curry a fixed term from the Old Families of Russia._

"Congratulations," Albus said, and Samara gave a subtle nod. "You have made the right friends, it seems."

"And you still haven't," Samara said, and Albus smiled more widely.

"Sometimes, people just don't fit together," Albus said. "Sometimes, we are simply born incompatible with certain groups of people."

"On that, we agree," Samara said. "There are certain people who I would never aid, nor would I rely upon for help." _People like me?_

"Are you referring to the Muggle-Borns who have gone missing within your Ministry?" Albus asked.

"My Department of Magical Law Enforcement is doing everything in its power to find those unfortunate souls," Samara replied calmly. "Sadly, Russia is a very large country, and the investigations will take a long time to pan out."

"Long enough for you to hand over the keys of your Ministry to your Master?" Albus asked, deciding to put an end to their game of cat and mouse.

"You are bold, aren't you?" Samara relaxed in her chair, she understood that he couldn't use his memories against her. _She has a strong will, and that makes her very dangerous to us._

"I am as bold as I need to be," Albus said. "Why have you aligned with him?"

"Why haven't you?" Samara asked.

"We are incompatible," Albus replied.

"Then I feel sorry for you," Samara said. "You face an enemy that cannot be killed."

"That is a lie that he wants you to believe," Albus said.

"Then he has gone through a lot of trouble to pull off this lie," Samara said. "And for that alone, he has my respect and adoration."

"It's your soul that he wants, not your respect and adoration," Albus said.

"And he has that too," Samara replied. "Stop with this pitiful attempt to turn me away from him, Dumbledore. I am his, and only his."

"He threatened your son," Albus figured, and Samara just stared at him. "You don't have to deny it, I already know that he did. It's his pattern, you see… He was always a bully, even as a child, and that will never change. All he understands is fear and intimidation, so I assure you, your respect and adoration are wasted on him."

"Shall I bestow them on you, then?" Samara scoffed. "You two are different sides of the same coin, Dumbledore. Even now, I can see the similarities between you two."

"Really?" Albus asked.

"It took you less than five minutes to bring up my son, and although you'd never threaten a child, you are more than willing to use said child to stir my emotions," Samara replied. "The only difference between you and my Master is that you lack the will to push your limits. My Master has no limits, and that is precisely why you'll lose in the end."

"He will not deliver on his promises," Albus assured her, her comment had stung a little too much for Albus' liking. "There is no throne waiting for you, and there is no future for your son. Your Master will destroy the World."

"Then I will spend my last days with my son in my arms," Samara said. "It will be less painful than burying him."

"I can protect Ale-" Albus started, but she cut him off.

"Do not say his name," Samara's mood darkened. "Take your false promises and go, I do not wish to hear them."

Albus' eyes clashed against Samara's, and in that moment, Albus knew that she was beyond his help. _It's not just her son… She genuinely craves the power that Tom has promised her. She'll never turn on him._

"If one day, you decide to open your eyes, you know where to find me," Albus stood up.

Samara said nothing as Albus left her Office. _This is not good… Magical Russia is tightly under her grip, and with the Old Families of Russia supporting her, I can't wrestle it free. I don't have much influence in this part of the World, and most of my allies are currently preparing to protect all of Britain. As usual, Tom is a move ahead of me._

As Albus reached the waiting room, where Fawkes was waiting for him, he felt a familiar source of Magic from behind him. _Intense, ferocious, and unshakable. Luka Yahontov._

"She is with him," Albus said without turning around. "Keep your eyes open, and be very careful."

Luka said nothing, opting to return to his Department without even saying goodbye. _Before long, he'll be Russia's greatest hope again. I must find a way to support his war from Hogwarts._

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's**_

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Felix's Apartment – Late Morning)**_

Corban stepped through the fireplace, and he immediately grimaced at the mess that greeted him. Felix's London apartment was filled with empty bottles, dust, and food rotting away in unwashed plates and containers. _Gods above… He'd better have an explanation for this, or I'll ring his ears._ Corban put the muffins that he had brought over on the coffee table, and then he began looking around for Felix.

The apartment was devoid of any light, so Corban first opened the curtains, revealing Muggle London in all of its glory. _Nice view. I can see why he chooses to live here instead of at his Manor._ As Corban neared Felix's bedroom, he heard feet shuffling from the other side. And then, the door swung open, and an unwashed Felix stepped into view. The younger wizard stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his Mentor, and Corban immediately looked Felix over. _Unshaved, unwashed, agitated eyes, and a bottle full of Ogden's Finest in his right hand… Felix, what are you doing?_

"My… My Lord…" Felix cleared his throat, but Corban kept staring at him. _What's that in his left hand? A picture?_

Felix noticed Corban's stare, and he hid the picture from sight.

"Felix, hand it over," Corban said firmly, and Felix tensed visibly. "Now."

Slowly, Felix walked over and handed Corban the picture, his head bowed like a child caught doing something idiotic. Corban looked at the unmoving picture of two young wizards, both of them smiling with their arms around each other. _Victor Burke._ Corban looked back to Felix, who was still staring down at the ground. Corban could feel his own picture of Felix's morning forming, and when he finally saw it, he nearly struck Felix across the face.

"Idiot boy," Corban snarled, making Felix flinch. "You want to die, is that it?"

"I just want some answers…" Felix's voice strained. "Those Vampires… They've killed him, and I know it…"

"You know nothing," Corban grit out. "Come here."

With a firm grip, Corban dragged Felix towards the couch. Felix didn't put up much of a fight, and before long, he was sitting on his dirty laundry covered couch.

"He had something of value, and they killed him for it…" Felix rubbed his sore wrist, his eyes still on his own feet.

"I'm still looking into it," Corban told him. "Victor might not be dead."

"Please… Don't lie…" Felix bent over with a drained expression. "I'm not stupid… I know what his disappearance means…"

Corban felt some of his anger weaken due to Felix's pain, which was a very odd thing for Corban. Usually, he didn't care whatsoever for other people's feelings, but when it came to Felix, Corban couldn't help but care.

"You know better than to behave this way, Felix," Corban tried more gently. _My own voice is unrecognizable to me right now._ "This sort of behavior is impossible to come back from. Those Vampires would have killed you."

"Isn't their Den Master one of us?" Felix finally looked up. _That thing isn't on anyone's side. I've only met it once, and I've reached my limit already. It's over two centuries my age, which means that it has insight into things that we can't even comprehend._

"Gaspard is not our friend," Corban told Felix. "He is something else entirely, and we must be **very** cautious around these Vampires."

"Gaspard has the answers…" Felix muttered. "I can't just walk away from this, my Lord… I won't…" _Damn it all to Hell. I can't see him stopping this madness._

"I will speak to Gaspard…" Corban said begrudgingly.

"You will?" Felix blinked. _I can't let him take that risk. He's far too low on the food chain._

"I will," Corban promised. "But don't ever try this again, Felix."

Felix looked back down at the ground, his free hand finding his face.

"I just really miss him…" Felix sniffled, and Corban felt something tug at his heart. _He's always been fragile, Corban… Why did you have to put your hands on him? Hasn't life beaten him enough already?_

Slowly, Corban moved over and sat down to Felix's left.

"Give me the bottle, son," Corban encouraged. "It's all right."

Felix handed him the bottle without looking, and Corban sent it floating to the kitchen with a wave of his hand.

"I'll get the answers that you need," Corban said. "You'll get closure, I swear it."

Felix nodded weakly as he rubbed his eyes, and Corban put his hand on Felix's left shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Eat the muffins I brought over," Corban went on. "Take a shower, shave your face, and start resembling a Lord once again. I want you by my side as soon as midday."

"The Dark Lord wishes to see me?" Felix asked.

"Not quite," Corban replied. "The Dark Lord only ever rewards three things; Initiative, success, and loyalty. You need to start showing him all three, Felix. You must become invaluable to him. That is how you win." _That is how you survive._

"I… I understand…" Felix nodded more surely. "And you'll go see this 'Gaspard' now?" _Gods above…_

"Yes," Corban agreed, and then he stood up. "I'll be back by midday, so you'd best be ready by then."

"I'll be waiting," Felix said.

Corban looked Felix over once more, and then, he walked over to the fireplace.

"And clean up this house," Corban added as he grabbed some floo-powder. "White Wyvern Pub."

With that, he tossed the powder into the flames, and when they roared to life, Corban walked through them. The inside of the White Wyvern pub was disgusting as always, with creepy old wizards and young witches of questionable ages loitering about. Most of them had a drink in hand, despite how early it was, and a few of them were even sleeping over and under some tables. As Corban moved towards the exit, he began to spot unusually pale individuals watching him. _Vampires._

By the time he reached the exit, one of the Vampires stepped into his way.

"Lord Yaxley," the pale 'man' spoke in a thick Hungarian accent. "State your business."

"I wish to see your Den Master," Corban said, matching the Vampire's gaze. "Take me to him."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"In here," the Hungarian Vampire gestured towards the door with a large, golden handle. _The Fanged Grotto… I never knew that such a place existed in Knockturn Alley, nor did I expect it to be so out of place. Where is the money coming from for this secret hideout? Do the Vampires have their own underworld? How much power do they have over the Wizarding World?_

Corban entered the room, and the Hungarian Vampire shut the door behind him. _Guess my guide isn't allowed to be in here._ Corban looked to see Gaspard standing by a large window, his gaze fixed on the streets before him. _Round black glasses. That's definitely him._

"Gaspard," Corban stepped further into the room.

"Next time, send word that you're coming," Gaspard said without looking back. "You're lucky that one of my own saw you first." _One of his own?_

"There are rebel Vampires in Knockturn Alley?" Corban frowned. "The Dark Lord will not be pleased about this."

"Then don't tell him," Gaspard said calmly. "I will take care of the rebels by tonight."

"Who is rebelling? And why?" Corban asked.

"Many Vampires have died already, and many have fled," Gaspard explained. "This has caused damage to morale, and so some have turned to looting and fighting."

"Fighting, you say," Corban saw an opening. "Have these rebels attacked Borgin and Burkes?"

"That trinket store?" Gaspard finally looked back at Corban. "No." _Damn._

"This is important, so try thinking about it for more than a second this time," Corban didn't bother hiding his disdain. _How dare this corpse be dismissive of me?_

"And you should check your tone in the meantime," Gaspard said, and Corban felt his stomach tighten a little. _Two hundred and fifty years, Corban… Be more careful. This is a Being that cannot be underestimated._ "I haven't had breakfast yet."

"Victor Burke is an important young wizard," Corban kept his composure, but decided to ask rather than demand. "He has gone missing, and I need to find him."

"I know that boy," Gaspard said. "No Vampire has moved against him."

"Are you sure?" Corban asked.

"He was trying to win our favor, and so he was bringing in the gold we needed," Gaspard told Corban. "Not a single Vampire here would weaken his efforts, rebel or not." _Victor was working with the Vampires?_

"Can you tell me more?" Corban asked.

"That depends on you," Gaspard replied. "Why are you asking after Victor Burke?"

"He is an imp-"

"Save it," Gaspard stopped Corban short. "I know that this is personal for you, otherwise you'd have sent an owl. Tell me the real reason, and I will share everything I know of Victor Burke." _I hate this thing._

"My ward, Felix Rosier, was very close with Victor Burke," Corban cooperated. "Victor's disappearance is causing Felix a lot of discomfort, and I wish to help alleviate that discomfort."

"Your son needs you," Gaspard nodded to himself. "I understand the need to help one's child… Very well, I'll tell you everything. Victor Burke has been missing for nearly a month now, and we've tried searching high and low for him. Sadly, we have found no traces of the boy."

"He was still working for you when he vanished?" Corban asked.

"He was," Gaspard replied as he looked back to the streets. "A lot of money was being brought in through my many accounts, and he was helping with that. He also planned to sell me some toxin emitting weapon, but before he made me the offer, he made it to somebody else."

"Who?" Corban asked.

"A 'promising, Slytherin friend' of his from Hogwarts," Gaspard replied. "When I asked Victor why he hadn't sold me the weapon yet, he told me that he was waiting to hear back from this friend of his."

"You don't know the name of this friend, I take it," Corban figured.

"Just that he's a promising Slytherin," Gaspard replied. "Hmmm, I wonder who fits that description?"

Corban thought about it, and very slowly, he felt his spine tense. _Ronald Weasley? Could it really be him? Who else is 'promising' within Slytherin?_

"Do you suspect Ronald Weasley?" Corban asked.

"I ran into that boy once," Gaspard ignored Corban's question. "Just outside the Leaky Cauldron. His Magic smelled almost as foul as your Dark Lord's… I can't wait to meet him again. He's definitely one of us monsters." _What is he talking about…?_

"I need to be sure about this," Corban said. "Are really sure that it was Ronald Weasley?"

"Victor only gave me a description, so I can only speculate," Gaspard said. "If you want hard evidence, then you need to go look elsewhere." _How do I tell Felix this? Felix fought to stop us from assassinating Ronald Weasley… I can't even imagine what this will do to him._

"Your assistance is appreciated," Corban said, despite hating being grateful to a walking cadaver. "I will be on my way now."

"Next time, send an owl," Gaspard said dismissively. _The Dark Lord needs to get rid of this thing as soon as possible._

* * *

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Midday)**_

"Can we trust Gaspard's words?" Felix asked.

"Not now, Felix," Corban replied. "We have to focus on introducing you to the Dark Lord." _I need to make sure that it was really Ronald Weasley who was behind Victor's disappearance. I don't want Felix going after Weasley. The Dark Lord will destroy him if he does that. I also can't tell Felix of my suspicions because the Dark Lord will surely look into his mind._ "All I can tell you is that it wasn't the Vampires, and I'm going to search for more leads."

"Okay," Felix drew in a deep breath. "Thank you for this, my Lord. It means a lot to me."

"Focus," Corban said, and Felix looked ahead with a resolute look.

Neither of them spoke as they neared the Dark Lord's room, and once they were in position, Corban knocked thrice.

"Enter," came the Dark Lord's voice, and Corban led the way in.

The Dark Lord was sitting in his chair, his childish body surrounded by mountains of books. _The Potion has him looking almost human-like again. At this rate, he'll regain a temporary body before creating his perfect one. This is all thanks to my contribution, and he will remember that._

"Corban, why have you brought young Felix here?" the Dark Lord hissed, his red eyes not leaving his book.

"Felix wishes to introduce himself to you, my Lord," Corban bowed deeply, and Felix followed suit. "And it would do me a lot of honor if you could speak to him."

"You have been useful over the last few days…" the Dark Lord looked up. "Very well, I shall speak with your ward."

Corban looked back to Felix, who quickly walked over and kneeled in front of the Dark Lord.

"My Lord, I am-" Felix started, but the Dark Lord cut in.

"Alone," the Dark Lord looked to Corban. _Alone? Why?_

"As you wish," Corban bowed again, and then he quickly left the room.

A small pit was forming in his stomach by the time the door shut behind him, and Corban tried his best to remain calm. _Felix is ready, Corban. Trust him to get this right, and just wait for him to come back out._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Midday)**_

"Go on," the Dark Lord hissed.

"My Lord, I am Felix Rosier," Felix started again. "I am Corban Yaxley's ward, and I have learned everything at his feet. In my seventh year, I was the leading member of the Silver Triumvirate-"

"Yes, yes," the Dark Lord cut in. _I have no time to waste with this._ "You are a brilliant young wizard, and I already know that because Corban has taken you under his wing."

"He would be very proud to hear you speak so highly of him," Felix said. _Loyalty? Good._

"I want to hear about your skillset," Lord Voldemort ordered.

"Numbers and Runes, my Lord," Felix said. "I have always excelled in Arithmancy, and I've learned a handful of Rune Languages over the years." _Useful talents for a young Lord._

"This is a good skillset to have," Lord Voldemort said. "Rise, child."

Felix stood up, and the Dark Lord gazed into his eyes. There was resistance at first, but when the boy realized who was looking into his mind, he removed his Occlumency shields. _His Occlumency could be better. I might train him myself if he proves useful._ Memory by memory, the Dark Lord scoured the boy's mind. Eventually, this led him to a memory of Violet Parkinson calling for Ronald Weasley's murder. _Felix convinced Corban to stand down._

"Tell me of the plot to murder Ronald Weasley," Lord Voldemort's eyes flashed red, and Felix tensed a little.

"Lady Parkinson and a handful of other individuals wanted to remove Mr. Weasley from his positions of power," Felix explained. "I could not bring myself to agree with them, however. I openly refused, and then I spoke to Lord Yaxley about it. I convinced him to abandon the plot to murder Mr. Weasley."

"This was before you all learned of his importance," the Dark Lord finished viewing the entire memory. "Has Violet Parkinson since lost her ambition to murder Ronald?"

"I do not know," Felix replied truthfully.

"Then tell me what you think," Lord Voldemort said. _Prove how perceptive you are._

"I… I do not believe that she has," Felix replied. "Her daughter seems very important to her, and said daughter is very close with Mr. Weasley." _She is? Violet Parkinson's daughter is close with my Heir?_ "Lady Parkinson is particularly hateful of Blood-Traitors, and so she does not approve of this friendship."

"And she lacks the wisdom to realize that Ronald is no ordinary child," Lord Voldemort felt his temper flare. _I must keep my eyes on her._

"I can keep tabs on her for you, my Lord," Felix said. "I also have a network of spies in my arsenal, and they are all yours." _Loyal, and he takes the initiative? Corban has chosen well._

"Then consider this your first task," the Dark Lord commanded. "If she is still plotting something, bring me proof. If she has abandoned her foolishness, bring me proof. Prove yourself to Lord Voldemort, and you will be rewarded." _But should you fail, you will know torment unlike any other._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Pomfrey's Office – End of Session)**_

"I am glad to see that you are trying to open up more, Ron," Madam Pomfrey said, and Ron felt a little vindicated. _It's hard, but I'm trying._

"The people I've opened up to so far haven't started mollycoddling me, nor do they take pity on me," Ron said. "I'm really glad that I was wrong… Not to mention that things are even improving between some people and me."

"Your sister," Madam Pomfrey said.

"And my brothers," Ron added. "The twins want to help, but not in a condescending way. Ginny has realized that her life doesn't have to be like mine, and she's trying to find her way back. Luna is… Luna… And Percy is trying to listen for a change."

"And your friends?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"They're being there for me," Ron replied. "They're struggling, but they're still trying, and that means a lot to me." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Thank you for not saying 'I told you so', by the way. That also means a lot."

"Have I ever said that before?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No, but the look on your face sometimes does," Ron replied.

"You still try to use humor as an escape," Madam Pomfrey pointed out, and Ron gave a lopsided grin.

"That's what makes me Ronald Weasley," Ron shrugged.

"We'll do something about that next, then," Madam Pomfrey said with a hint of a smile.

"Then this is where I leave," Ron stood up quickly. "I think our session ended twenty minutes ago."

"Twenty-three minutes ago," Madam Pomfrey corrected. "I do not mind, of course, and I'm more than willing to keep going. There aren't many patients in today."

"I think I've opened up enough for one day," Ron chuckled. "Can we please stop here?"

"Certainly," Madam Pomfrey began storing away his records. "See you on Thursday, Ron."

"Take care," Ron said as he left the Office, he felt so much lighter right now. _Lighter, but also quite tired. It's been a long day._

Ron began making his way out of the Hospital Wing, and just as he stepped outside, he spotted Ravenclaw Ron loitering about. _For fuck's sake… He's back._

"Hello, stranger," Ravenclaw Ron smirked at him.

Ron looked dead ahead, and he started walking towards the Moving Staircase. Ravenclaw Ron skipped behind him, a smug look plastered on his face.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Ravenclaw Ron sniggered. "We're best mates now, Ronnie!" _Since when, bitch?_ "After all, if it weren't for me, you'd have never learned of the Diadem."

"It was destroyed a week ago," Ron couldn't stop himself. "Where did you run off too?"

"So you did miss me," Ravenclaw Ron grinned.

"I needed answers," Ron stopped walking, and after he looked around for eavesdroppers, he glared at his past self. "Why is my brain damage getting worse? Why isn't the Entity healing it?"

"It can't," Ravenclaw Ron replied.

"Horseshit," Ron frowned deeply. "It's been doing it so far, but now something has changed. It told me that it couldn't heal the damage done by Fate, but it also told me that it could heal the damage caused by my Chronic Stress. So what's changed?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," Ravenclaw Ron said.

"You told it to stop," Ron grit out. "You fucking prick."

"Wrong!" Ravenclaw Ron sang, and Ron felt his face twitch. "I didn't tell the World-Eater to stop… But saying that, it's because of me that it stopped. The human body isn't made for multiple souls, Ronnie, and having multiple souls can lead to a lot of damage." _The Headmaster did mention that to me._

"Multiple souls?" Ron demanded.

"You, me, the others who escaped…" Ravenclaw Ron explained merrily. "Your mind was devastated, but the World-Eater healed as much as it could by trapping the others within the Hourglasses."

"But it didn't collect you, so it can't heal the damage done by you," Ron realized. "As long as you're running free, I only have two years left."

"No, you have all the time you need," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "If the World-Eater keeps healing any new brain damage, then it won't get worse enough for your body to shut down. Me being out only makes your scans scarier to look at." _That sort of makes sense, actually, and if he's right, then I still have more time than I thought. This… I don't know how I feel about this…_

"But there are new symptoms that I need to deal with now," Ron countered. "I've been struggling to sleep, and I nearly lost consciousness during my morning run today."

"That is the price of knowledge, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron grinned again. "Remember the first Law of Magic? Nothing is free, and what Magic gives, it also takes. Without me, you'd have never found the Diadem-"

"Never is a strong word," Ron cut in.

"And yet, I'm still inclined to use it," Ravenclaw Ron said. "A few new symptoms are a small price to pay for a piece of the Dark Lord's soul. Don't you agree?"

Ron clenched his jaw, mostly because he did agree. _We even learned of the Cup, which might be the Dark Lord's final Horcrux._

"What more do you know about the Dark Lord's Horcruxes?" Ron asked.

"I know how he makes them," Ravenclaw Ron said.

"The Headmaster knows that as well," Ron stated. "That evil tome in his Office showed him how."

"Would he teach you like I would?" Ravenclaw Ron asked.

"I don't want to learn that kind of knowledge," Ron felt genuinely sickened at the thought. "And the fact that you would proves to me that I need to stop talking to you." _You're just as bad as the Dark Lord himself._

With that, Ron began making his way down towards the Dungeons. _Sick bastard still hasn't learned his lesson. Didn't Fate kill him for making his own Horcrux? Is he trying to sabotage my Cycle? What does he get out of that?_

"You **are** a paranoid little fucker, aren't you?" Ravenclaw Ron said from behind him. "I'm not asking you to create Horcruxes, I'm offering to teach you more about them." _I already know enough._ "Trust me, it could help save your life one day."

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he began to picture himself standing atop Stoatshead Hill. As peace washed over him, he felt Ravenclaw Ron's presence slowly vanish. _That worked? Really?_

"I'm in your head, Ronnie, you can't send me away using Occlumency," Ravenclaw Ron suddenly popped around the corner, making Ron flinch. "Occlumency is used to keep people out, it does nothing to **souls** that already live inside you. If you want me to leave, you need to 'cooperate'. I'm willing to give you days off, even."

"I can just ignore you," Ron whispered harshly.

"I rather doubt that," Ravenclaw Ron said, and then he began screaming at the top of his lungs.

Ron sealed his ears shut with his hands as the noise pierced his eardrums. _What the fuck?! He's just going to keep screaming in my ear?!_

"Why are you doing this?!" Ron hissed. "Leave me alone!"

Ravenclaw Ron suddenly vanished from sight, leaving Ron a little jarred.

"Weasley?" came a familiar voice, and Ron looked to see Patrick Wilson eyeballing him. _Oh, fuck! What's he doing in the Dungeons?!_

"Wilson?" Ron blinked at the Ravenclaw. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was handing in an overdue essay to Professor Snape," Wilson replied, he clearly wanted to know who Ron was yelling at. "Um… Who are you yelling at?"

"Peeves," Ron lied blatantly. "He was pissing me off." _Wow, that was not a good lie._

"But I didn't see Peeves," Wilson said slowly. "As a matter of fact, I didn't see any ghost."

"You must have missed him," Ron decided to double down. "Anyway… I'll be on my way…"

Without further explanation, Ron simply began to walk off. Thankfully, Wilson didn't chase after him like the other Ravenclaw that Ron was being forced to deal with. _I can't get caught talking to myself like some loon. I need to get a fucking grip here._

* * *

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

Ravenclaw Ron was still whispering in Ron's ears, and honest to Merlin, Ron was close to smashing his own head against a wall. He couldn't think. All those taunts and hurtful jabs were starting to get to him, and the fact that Ravenclaw Ron wasn't going anywhere any time soon was almost maddening. His sour mood was starting show, and so his friends knew better than to engage him right now.

"Patrick Wilson is looking at you again," Ravenclaw Ron went on. "He probably thinks that you're insane." _It was your fucking fault, you prick!_ "Plus, those rumors about your health… My word, he's going to tell **everyone** about this."

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose, praying to Merlin that he'd be able to keep resisting the urge to make a scene. His friends maintained their own conversations, but they did shoot him subtle looks.

"Now he's talking about you to that girl," Ravenclaw Ron sniggered. "Have a look, Ronnie."

From the corner of his eyes, Ron looked towards Patrick Wilson, and much to Ron's annoyance, Patrick was indeed talking to a girl whilst looking at Ron. _If he tells the older Ravenclaws that I'm a nutcase, my plans for the study group's future will be damaged._

"It was only a matter of time, Ronnie," Ravenclaw Ron said. "People were bound to find out that you're not all there, and now, Patrick is taking care of that." _Matter of time, my arse. You fucking lured me into that trap._

Ron went back to eating his food, an agitated look on his face. The chicken on his plate suffered the brunt of Ron's growing anger, and by the time Ron was done, the girls were giving the chicken sorry looks. _I don't have a choice. I need to approach Patrick tonight! If I can convince him that I'm not a loon, then I can still salvage this._

"What are you plotting, eh?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Oh… You plan to approach him, do you?" _Get out of my head!_ "Why? Why approach him at all? Let him spread the rumors."

Ron rubbed his temples with knuckles. _What good does that do me?_

"You need to stop caring about other people's opinions," Ravenclaw Ron went on. "You need to focus on your mission, and not on other people's problems." _Focus on my mission? Did you do that, you twat? No, you didn't. How else can you explain being dead?_

The school bell suddenly rang throughout the Great Hall, and Ron was the first one on his feet. His friends quickly followed after him, though none of them spoke to him. Ron didn't really notice because he was too busy thinking about what to tell Patrick. Once he neared the Hourglasses, Ron came to a halt.

"You guys go on," Ron said to his friends. "I want to talk to someone first."

"Who?" Daphne asked. "Maybe we can help with this conversation?"

"Uh… No, you don't have to," Ron said. "Go on, please. I'll see you guys as soon as I'm done."

"Let's go, then," Theo said to the others, he didn't plan to be the one to push Ron over the edge.

They all left together, and only Daphne shot a quick look back. _She probably wants to talk to me about my bad mood. Well, it won't do any-_

"Wake up!" Ravenclaw Ron yelled in his ear, and nearly jumped out of his skin. _Motherfucker!_ "Patrick is right over there!"

"My fucking ears…" Ron muttered under his breath, and then he hopped into Patrick's way. "Sorry, I nearly knocked you over there."

"Oh, it's all right," Patrick chuckled; he had stopped himself in time. "Though, you should probably watch where you're going. With your size, you might trample some first year." _Ha. Ha. Someone hand this clown a medal._

"That's funny," Ron put on a smile. "You're right, I should be more careful."

"Patrick, are you coming?" one of the sixth year Ravenclaw girls asked.

"Actually, could I borrow Patrick for a moment?" Ron said before Patrick even had time to think. "I promise that I'll send him back in one piece."

"Um… You guys go on, yeah?" Patrick looked to his friends, and they left without incident. "You want to talk to me about something?"

"Can we talk by the Hourglasses?" Ron asked, and they both made their way over to the Hufflepuff Hourglass. _Merlin, we're miles ahead of everyone._

"Everything all right?" Patrick asked. "You seemed bothered during dinner."

"It's puberty," Ravenclaw Ron sniggered to himself. "Lad's all pent up to boot."

"I wanted to explain my earlier behavior to you," Ron ignored his past self.

"Oh…" Patrick looked a little uncomfortable. "Don't worry about that, mate. Everyone lets out a scream every now and then… This place has a way of making people lose their minds, I reckon." _Huh? What are you talking about?_

"Exactly," Ron went with it. "I just… It's been a rough few days, and I needed to get them out of my system."

"I'm sorry I interrupted that," Patrick relaxed a little. "I hope things get better for you, mate." _He called me 'mate' again? What a friendly bird._ "Well, I'll be off-"

"There's one more thing, actually," Ron seized the opportunity to recruit Patrick and his friends. "How are your studies going?"

"My studies?" Patrick blinked. "Um… Pretty shit, to be honest." _What? Aren't you in Ravenclaw?_ "I haven't turned in a single essay on time so far this year." _Why do you sound so casual about that?!_

"I'm… sorry?" Ron said slowly, and Patrick shrugged with a carefree smile.

"I'm not an academic, despite being a Ravenclaw," Patrick said. "It's not as uncommon as you think, by the way."

"I see…" Ron cleared his throat. _It's always nice to get slapped by your own stereotypes of others._ "Well, if you need a place to get back on top of your studies, you can come to my study group."

"Ah, the infamous study group," Patrick laughed brightly. "I must admit that I'm surprised by this invite, mostly because I never thought that it would happen."

"Everyone is welcome," Ron smiled. "And if we could get more older Ravenclaw students involved, that'd be really great for the younger ones already in the study group."

"And it might even inspire older students from the other Houses to join in," Patrick figured. _Okay… He's not an academic, but he isn't stupid either. Oh, Gods… He's not like Luna, is he? I can only take one Luna at a time._ "Are you there, Weasley?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Ron cleared his thoughts. "And you're right, I would like more older students to join the study group. So far, only Hufflepuff has provided anyone past third year."

"Cedric and his friends," Patrick nodded. "I know."

"So? Are you in?" Ron asked. "It'll be fun, trust me."

"A little forward, don't you think?" Ravenclaw Ron hummed. _I'm low on patience right now, so excuse me for not drawing this out._

Patrick thought about it for a few moments, and then he shrugged again.

"Why not?" Patrick agreed. "It'll be nice to see how it operates, and my friends wouldn't mind helping the younger Ravenclaws."

"Would they be open to helping Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors as well?" Ron asked.

"Not sure about them, but I don't mind," Patrick replied. _But you're not an academic… You just admitted that to me._

"Great," Ron kept smiling. "Thank you, Wilson, I really appreciate this."

"I'll see you around, mate," Patrick chuckled as he left for Ravenclaw Tower.

"What a chirpy fellow," Ravenclaw Ron said. "I hate him already."

"You didn't know him in your Cycle?" Ron asked.

"I barely knew who was in **my** year, let alone who was above me," Ravenclaw Ron said. "I kept to myself." _Useless cunt._

"Or people kept away from you," Ron said venomously, and Ravenclaw Ron's jaw clenched for a moment. "You fucking creep."

Not wasting another second, Ron began making his way up the Entrance Hall stairs, and then down towards the Dungeons. He couldn't hear his past self's footsteps, which was a welcome change. Ron didn't bother looking back, and before long, he was knocking on Snape's door.

"Come in," came Snape's voice, and Ron quickly entered the Office.

"Did the girls give you their answers?" Ron asked after he shut the door.

"They have agreed to join," Snape replied.

"All three of them?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but you should keep your eyes on Samantha," Snape replied. "She is uncertain, and that could lead to disaster."

"I'll do that," Ron agreed, and then he turned to leave.

"Albus is speaking to them now," Snape said. "If you stay for a bit, you could speak to them with me when they drop by my Office."

"I'll pass," Ron said. "I've had a long day, Sir, and I just want to sleep." _Only Merlin knows when my past self will return to shout in my ears._

"I see," Snape said. "Be on your way then, and if you need a Sleeping Draught, come directly to me." _Really? You'd give me one from your personal stock?_

Not planning to look a gift Griffin in the mouth, Ron thanked the man and left the Office. The sudden silence in his life was somewhat disorienting, and the closer Ron got to the Slytherin common room, the woozier he felt. He knew that this was one of the new symptoms, and he had first felt it when he had collapsed outside of the Burrow. _I need to get rid of my past self somehow, and then the Entity can heal the damage done by that bastard._

* * *

 _ **Sirius Black's POV**_

 _ **Monday 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Twelve Grimmauld Place – Night)**_

"I bring sustenance!" Sirius announced as he stepped through the fireplace, but he was met with an empty Living Room. _Lads?_ "Sturgis?! Kurt?!"

"They are in the Kitchen, Master," Kreacher croaked from Sirius' left. _Bloody hell!_

"Kreacher… When did you get there?" Sirius breathed out.

"Mere seconds ago, Master," Kreacher bowed as far as he could.

"Stop doing that," Sirius said, a hint of his old anger in his voice. _How many times do I need to ask this?_ "Your back will give out one of these days."

"Master is kind to care for Kreacher's back," Kreacher croaked.

"I…" Sirius started, but he stopped himself. _Don't start with him, Sirius. Just give him something to do, and he'll stop needing to bow._ "Kreacher, take these to the Kitchen. They're from Molly."

"Ah, Lady Weasley," Kreacher snapped his fingers, making the dishes float up into the air. _Lady Weasley? He's still calling her that?_ "Master Podmore, the whelp, and Lady Travers will be pleased."

Kreacher Apparated at that, leaving Sirius alone in the Living Room. _Wait… Did he say Lady Travers?_ Sirius went dead still, and when he heard the first semblance of a womanly voice within his house, he made his way directly to the Kitchen. And there she was… Drinking from his special bottle of Ogden's Finest, a treat that Sirius had been saving for Remus. _What is she doing in my house?!_

"Lord Black," Emilia smirked at him. "I was waiting for you to arrive, and Sturgis here decided to keep me company." _Where's Kurt?_

Sirius looked to find Kurt sitting by himself in the corner, a wary look on his face.

"Kurt? Are you all right?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, Sirius…" Kurt replied, his eyes darting towards Emilia. "I'm fine…"

"I merely warned him of the consequences should he choose to betray the Order," Emilia said.

"You have no right to do that," Sirius snarled.

"Sirius," Sturgis said calmingly. "Let's not start a fight here, shall we?"

"What are you doing in my house?" Sirius asked Emilia. "And who allowed you to drink my liquor?"

"I can get you another," Emilia replied calmly. "I had a long day, and I just needed a drink."

"Getting me another bottle isn't the issue here," Sirius already felt driven up the wall. _I bought that just for Remus! It's his favorite!_ " **That** bottle in your hand wasn't for me, it was for a dear friend of mine. Who taught you your manners?" _She might have been raised in France, but her Family was from Britain. This is not how British Ladies are meant to act._

Sirius shuddered at how close he sounded to his own father, and that put him in a fouler mood.

"I've offended you," Emilia whispered to herself, but Sirius heard her.

"Yes," Sirius frowned at her.

"I am sorry," Emilia apologized, which surprised Sirius a little. "I didn't come here to cause offence." _You could have fooled me!_

"Then why are you here?" Sirius asked.

"I have business in Britain, and I could use a place to stay," Emilia's tone became formal, her posture straightening up. _And she goes back to being a 'Ronin'… Honestly, she acts really weird around me, and I'm starting to believe Kurt's theory about her having a thing for me._

"She wants the Order's protection," Sturgis pitched in.

"Do you?" Sirius asked Emilia. "Last time you were here, you made it abundantly clear that we're not on your level."

"Most of the Order isn't," Emilia replied, and Sirius frowned again. "But you aren't like the others. You survived Azkaban for a decade, and I can respect that kind of strength." _Oh…_ "Can I count on your hospitality, Lord Black?"

Sirius stared at her for a few seconds, and then he let out a deep sigh. _I can't just turn her away, especially considering that she's an Order member now._

"Kreacher, set up the room she used before," Sirius said, and Kreacher snapped out of the Kitchen.

"Thank you," Emilia gave an appreciative nod.

"Just don't bring your fights into this house," Sirius said, and then he grabbed a plate of food and left the Kitchen. _I should start charging rent. At this rate, I'll become richer than Sebastian fucking Greengrass._

As Sirius reached the top floor, he stopped at the door leading into Regulus' room. _Time to feed the other woman in my life… Fucking hell, I miss having sex. I've turned into a glorified nanny ever since I agreed to host the Order here._ Sirius knocked on the door, and he heard feet shuffling about.

"I'm coming in," Sirius said, and then he unlocked the door using the key to the new Enchanted locks.

Narcissa was combing her hair in front of a vanity mirror, and Sirius couldn't help but wonder why Kreacher had spent so much money on fixing up Regulus' old room. _This room is nicer than mine, and our 'prisoner' is the one who occupies it._

"Sorry for being late," Sirius walked over and put the plate on her bed.

She kept her silence, as usual, and Sirius didn't care enough to bother getting her attention. _Honestly, I'm just glad that I don't have to hear her bile anymore._ Sirius left the room, and once it was closed, he locked it with the key.

"So Narcissa Malfoy has become a guest instead of remaining a prisoner?" came Emilia's voice from behind him.

"Your room isn't on this floor," Sirius turned around with a dull look. "Did you follow me up here?"

"I wished to thank you properly," Emilia replied, and for a moment, Sirius thought that she was batting her eyes. _Or trying to… Am I imagining this?_

"Well? Here I am," Sirius said after a few silent moments. _What is she waiting for? Say 'Thank you' so I can go eat my dinner._

Emilia suddenly took a step back, though her eyes didn't leave his. _Is she suddenly feeling awkward?_

"Thank you for your kindness," she gave a short bow, and then she turned on her heel and marched away. _What the fuck was that?! Why have all the women gone mental?! First Pandora and Molly tear into me for 'not being a proper adult', and now this? What's happened to my life?_

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Remus Lupin's Office – After Classes)**_

"Sorry for the wait, Harry," Remus entered the Office.

"Oh, it's all right," Harry hopped out of his chair. "I only just got here myself."

"I don't see your book bag with you," Remus said as he looked around Harry. "You know the deal, Harry… We do your homework first, and then we do the training. Your textbooks are filled with all the knowledge that you need to succeed."

"I know," Harry said. "But just for today, can we skip the homework? I'm not really in the mood to study."

Remus looked Harry over, and then he gave a slow nod.

"What's bothering you?" Remus asked. _Just say it, Harry, or we'll never win the Group Tournament._

"We've settled on a team for our year," Harry started, and Remus looked quite interested. "It'll be Seamus, Dean, Fay, Hermione, and me. Seamus and Dean are in good shape, Hermione knows more Spells than all of us combined, and I'm pretty quick on my feet. As for Fay… Well, she was the best out of everyone left." _I still wish that Neville had tried harder to get on the team. He didn't even volunteer to join._

"Have you all started practicing yet?" Remus asked with a smile.

"About that…" Harry drew in a deep breath. "Can you tutor us?"

"Harry… I'm running the Dueling Club," Remus replied. "I can't tamper with the results by picking out students to teach."

"You teach me, though," Harry said.

"You're the exception," Remus said. "And I don't teach you how to compete in the Tournaments."

"You've taught me the basics of Dueling," Harry pointed out. "C'mon, Remus… Please? We don't stand a chance as we are now. Hermione is too stubborn to listen to anyone, Seamus and Dean keep goofing around, and Fay doesn't even try! We're going to lose to Hufflepuff at this rate!" _We'll be turned into a laughing stock!_

"I understand why you're worried," Remus said calmingly. "But I don't think it's appropriate for me to favor Gryffindor, Harry…"

"But you were a Gryffindor," Harry tried. "We're coming last in the race for the House Cup, and these Tournaments can help change that for us. We can still beat Slytherin!"

"Slytherin is trying very hard this year," Remus stated. "They're doing well in their classes, they're trying their best at these Tournaments, and I just saw their Quidditch Team flying around the Quidditch Pitch." _Really? They've started practicing as well, then. I'll tell Oliver when I get back to Gryffindor Tower._

"The Slytherins have Snape giving them extra Points in classes," Harry couldn't help but frown a little.

"It's Professor Snape, and I don't agree with your comment," Remus said. "Some of the best work I see from my students comes from the Slytherins. All of us Professors agree on that, including Professor McGonagall. As for the Tournaments, they've won their matches fair and square."

"I already told the others that you'd help," Harry said, and Remus let out a sigh.

"I wish you hadn't done that, Harry," Remus said.

"Just one lesson," Harry bargained. "Just one."

Remus looked rather conflicted, and Harry couldn't help but wonder why Remus was so against this. _It's just one lesson. It's not like I'm asking him to make sure that we win._

"Have you tried making them listen to you?" Remus finally asked.

"I tried," Harry replied truthfully. "Seamus and Dean listened for a bit, but Hermione…" he trailed off.

"What about Hermione?" Remus asked.

"At first, she was fine with me calling the shots, but then we had a disagreement about **one thing** , and now she keeps ignoring my advice," Harry couldn't help but sound frustrated.

"What did you two disagree on?" Remus asked.

"Our overall strategy," Harry replied. "She wants us to use Shield Charms for cover, but I think that it'd be better if we stayed on the move. You yourself mentioned that Shield Charms should be a last resort because they take too much effort to keep up, remember?"

"I remember."

"She still disagrees with that," Harry went on. "It's like she can't take being wrong about something." _Who am I kidding? This is Hermione, and she'll take this to the grave._ "We got together to practice yesterday, and Hermione stubbornly stuck with her 'strategy'. It's like she's forgotten that Ron can overpower her!"

Something flashed behind Remus' eyes, and he gave Harry a knowing smile. _Oh, no… Did I give something away?_

"Did you say the exact same thing to her?" Remus asked, and Harry tensed a little.

"Not exactly…" Harry lied. _I said it word for word._

"Harry, I think you hurt her feelings," Remus said.

"I told her a fact, something that she has no issues with when it's her turn to lecture Neville and me," Harry said defensively.

"A lot of people still make fun of her for losing to Ron in five seconds, Harry," Remus said, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I know that you understand how your words could have hurt her."

"I wasn't trying to," Harry said. "Her strategy isn't going to work, and we all know it. Fay isn't exactly good at blocking Spells, and Seamus' wand is extremely unpredictable. If we stay huddled up together, that'll just give the other teams a chance to pummel us. You see my point, don't you?"

"I do, but I also see you struggling to convey your point," Remus said. "Part of being a leader is learning how to communicate with your teammates, Harry."

"If you can just help me show the others that I'm right, they'll start listening," Harry said. "Please, Remus? We're practicing near the Pitch tomorrow after classes, and if you could just drop by-"

"I'll think about it," Remus said, and Harry smiled immediately. "But, Harry, I want you to try and do this on your own. It's important for someone like you to be able to take charge." _Someone like me? Oh._ "I know that makes you uncomfortable, but it'll get easier over time."

It was no secret to Harry that one day; he was going to play a large role in the war. He was, after all, the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and that meant that people had certain expectations of him. Now, Harry was all for joining the fight against Voldemort, but he didn't want people hanging on his every word. If anything, Harry wanted nothing to do with the title of the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and all of the responsibilities that came with that.

"I'll try my best, Remus," Harry said. "But please drop by if you can."

"I'll think about it," Remus repeated, and then he gave Harry a paternal smile. "Why don't we go over some more basics again? I remember that we left off on differences between Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses." _I don't have to study?_

"That'd be brilliant, Remus."

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (White Wyvern Pub – Afternoon)**_

The door swung open, and Lucius quickly made his way inside. As he removed his hood, he saw Violet Parkinson waiting for him by a dirty window. The room was run-down, which wasn't too surprising, and Lucius found his eyes darting towards the bottle of Ogden's Finest, which was resting on a dusty table. _She brought her own alcohol?_

"Did anyone see you?" Lucius asked as he Silenced the room.

"No," Violet turned to face him. "I wore my hood, and I Apparated here instead of using my fireplaces. What about you?"

"Same," Lucius walked over towards the dusty table. "Are we the only ones who wish to be rid of Ronald Weasley?"

"Corban and Felix have swayed the others against my plan," Violet replied. _Good. I can't afford to have anyone left behind to tie me to this. Once I get her to do the dirty work, I'll have her killed before anyone can question her._

"What of your husband? Does he know that you're here?" Lucius asked.

"Egbert would only cause us problems by getting in our way," Violet replied dismissively. _In our way? She has no idea that she just signed her own death warrant._

Lucius' plan was quite simple, but if it worked out, then he'd regain his favor with the Dark Lord. He was going to push Violet into making a move against Weasley, but just in the nick of time, he'd have her assassination attempt foiled by someone on his payroll. When the Dark Lord would demand answers, Lucius would tell him that he had people watching out for Weasley because he was important to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord would no doubt use Legilimency on him, but Lucius was already tampering with his own memories. By the time the Dark Lord would look into his mind, Lucius himself would have no idea that he played a part in this conspiracy. _I just have to get rid of Violet before I speak to the Dark Lord._

"I imagine that you already have a plan," Lucius said as he opened the bottle of Firewhiskey, and then he poured two glasses.

"We have to act immediately," Violet walked over to him, and he handed her a glass. "That Blood-Traitor is gaining more and more power every day."

"That he is," Lucius said. "What's your plan, Violet?"

"Currently, he's impossible to get to," Violet started. "He's holed up within Hogwarts, and no one gets into the castle without the old man's say so. However, he is a third year, which means that he visits Hogsmeade every now and then."

"Hogsmeade?" Lucius cocked an eyebrow. "That is… a very public place."

"Where do you suggest that we target him?" Violet asked.

Lucius thought about it, but he honestly couldn't think of a better place than Hogsmeade. _He only leaves the castle when he has business, so we can't predict his movements. At least in Hogsmeade, we'll know where he is. Plus, it's a crowded place, and it's not protected by Anti-Apparition Wards. Theoretically, someone could launch an assault, and then Apparate away._

"Do you have an assassin?" Lucius asked after a few moments, and Violet smirked.

"I do," she replied. "He's very reliable."

"That's all you're going to tell me?" Lucius asked. _I need more information if I'm to stop this assassin._

"What else do you need to know, Lucius?" Violet asked as she sipped her drink.

"You asked me to come here," Lucius reminded her. "I offered you my help. We're partners in this, aren't we?"

"Are we, though?" she asked in a sultry voice, and Lucius fought the urge to shudder. "What are you bringing to the table? I already have a plan, and a bold man to carry it out."

"Then why call me here?" Lucius asked. _This isn't going according to plan. I need to make her talk._

Violet's lips quirked upwards, and she took a step towards him. Lucius just stared at her with his usual look of indifference, but deep down, he felt genuine revulsion. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to betray Narcissa. Not for anything.

"Why is Ronald Weasley so important to the Dark Lord?" Violet whispered. "Why is our Master trying to protect him?"

"I do not know," Lucius admitted. "The Dark Lord rarely shares his plans with us, you know that."

"But surely, you must have some idea," Violet persisted. _I should give her something, even if it's not true._

"I imagine that he respects Weasley's achievements, and in some way, he is reminded of himself whenever he thinks of the boy," Lucius said. _He does show… fondness… whenever he speaks about Weasley. I didn't even know that he was capable of such a thing._ "He no doubt has a more elaborate plan for Weasley, and I imagine that we'll be forced to serve Weasley at some point."

"Serve a Blood-Traitor?" Violet took a step back, her disgust written on her face. _That did it._ "I come from a very long line of Pure witches and wizards, and I will not serve Blood-Traitor spawn."

"Then we are of the same mind," Lucius said. "As you know, I have nothing but contempt for the Weasleys… Unwashed savages that they are." Lucius then drew in a deep breath, and he looked right into her eyes. "I want to help you free us, Violet. You're the only one who sees Weasley for the threat that he is." _You're the only one stupid enough to attack him._

Violet seemed pleased by his comments, and slowly, she adorned her smug smile once again.

"I'm glad to see that I'm not alone," Violet said. "I've already paid my man to do the job, and the next time Weasley goes to Hogsmeade, my man will be waiting for him." _I need to get my agents into Hogsmeade as soon as possible, then._

"Who is your man?" Lucius asked. "We can't make mistakes here, Violet. Do you trust him?"

"He hasn't failed me yet," Violet replied.

"This is different," Lucius said. "If your man fails, then the Dark Lord will find him. What happens then? Do you think your man can resist the Dark Lord?"

Violet's smile faltered at that.

"Weasley won't be ready for this," Violet said. "Everything will go according to plan, Lucius."

"You have yet to explain this plan to me," Lucius pointed out. "I'm putting my life on the line, Violet, and so I deserve to know more."

Violet finished her glass, and then she studied his face. Lucius maintained eye contact, and after a few silent seconds, she gave him a curt nod.

"I don't know his name," Violet started. "He uses various aliases in order to protect himself from Aurors. I heard about him through a mutual friend of ours. Amycus Carrow." _Amycus Carrow? That buffoon?_

"You are relying on a man who was recommended by Amycus Carrow?" Lucius couldn't hide his displeasure.

"I was skeptical at first, but 'Talbot' has proven himself capable," Violet replied.

"Talbot? That's his current alias?" Lucius asked, and she gave him a nod. _Good, I have everything I need to get rid of this 'Talbot'._ "Your man will just walk up and assassinate Weasley?"

"How he does it is none of my concern," Violet replied. "You are asking a lot of questions, Lucius… Are you sure that you're not getting cold feet?"

"We are trying to cross the Dark Lord," Lucius reminded her. "All it will take is one mistake for him to realize what we're up to. He'll kill us both, and then, he'll kill our Families."

Lucius then put his nearly full glass back on the table, and he adorned his hood.

"You are leaving?" Violet asked.

"The Dark Lord needs me to return to his side," Lucius lied. "I have a villa in Tuscany, and you should go there before Weasley is attacked. It'll give you immunity from suspicion."

"I have my own villas in Italy," Violet reminded him. "But I suppose I can't refuse such a 'kind' offer."

Lucius forced himself to smile a little, and she looked far too pleased with herself. _I won't be joining you, but my own assassins will. Goodbye, Violet Parkinson._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Near the Quidditch Pitch – Evening)**_

"I'm not exactly built for running, Harry," Hermione argued.

"Hermione, Ron has ways around the Shield Charm, and he's no doubt taught it to the other Slytherins," Harry pleaded. "We need to dodge and move, or we'll become sitting ducks."

"We're all with Harry on this," Fay piped in. "It's what we were practicing before you showed up."

"I was at the Potions Club," Hermione didn't even look in Fay's direction.

"Why don't we let Hermione act as a distraction, while we play on the offensive?" Dean asked. "Her Shield Charms are really strong, and she'd keep their attention for a while."

"That could work," Seamus said, he just wanted to get back to practice.

"But it won't," Harry started. "Five people attacking her all at once would tear through her shields. We'd be down a group member before the fighting even starts." Harry then gave Hermione a meaningful look. "Hermione, please be rational… You think you could hold out against Ron and his friends?"

"Why do you keep bringing up Weasley?" Dean asked. _Because he's the biggest threat that we'll face._

"Because I saw him beat an Auror Trainer in single combat," Harry replied, and Hermione seemed to remember just what Ronald Weasley was capable of.

"What's an Auror Trainer?" Fay asked.

"It's a very powerful training dummy built solely for the purpose of training the Aurors," Harry told them. "Seriously, that dummy beat every single person that went up against it. Only Ron managed to win, which means that he can take on Aurors!"

"Bloody hell…" Dean muttered, while Seamus and Fay looked slightly worried. "What's the point of us even training, then? If Weasley can take on Aurors, then what chance do we have?" _Did I just demoralize them all? Remus… Where are you?_

"Remember when he fired that lightning into the air?" Fay paled. "After he won the third year Tournament? Merlin… Half the school nearly went deaf…"

"And he did blow a hole into the side of Hogwarts…" Seamus remembered. "Oh, this is not good, is it?" _Great going, Harry…_

"We can beat him," Harry urged. "If we just come together, and settle on a decent plan; we can beat him."

"We should focus on Weasley, then, right?" Dean suggested.

"If he has Bulstrode, Nott, Zabini, and Malfoy in his team like I predicted, we'd still lose," Hermione said thoughtfully. "They're all quite good, and Ron won't go down quickly. All of us focusing on him will just give his friends a chance to pick us off." _God, every plan is ruined by the same problem. Ron. How do we get around him?_

"What are you lot doing down there?" came Remus' voice, and Harry turned around immediately. _He came!_

"Professor Lupin," Hermione greeted, while Harry shot Remus a quick smile. "We're just practicing for the Group Tournament."

"Don't tell him that," Seamus whispered. "Teams are supposed to be a secret."

"I assure you, Seamus, I already know who is in which team," Remus chuckled. "You all had to sign on, remember? The surprise is just for the students."

"Oh," Seamus muttered, while Hermione shot a smug smile at him.

"Actually, since you're here, Sir, could you give us some advice?" Harry asked.

"What sort of advice?" Remus asked. _How do we beat Ron?_

"What would you do if the opposing team had a really strong wizard on it?" Harry asked. "This wizard could potentially beat all of you at once, while his teammates were nothing to scoff at to boot. What would you do?"

Remus gave Harry a knowing look, but Harry made sure to keep a straight face. _He knows that I'm talking about Ron, doesn't he?_

"Any advice would be welcome, Professor," Hermione added.

"Please?" Fay asked.

Remus looked at each of them, and then he focused on Harry. _Please? C'mon, Remus, we need this win._

"I'd have my two best Duelists target this 'unbeatable wizard'," Remus started, and they all listened intently. "They'd have their work cut out for them, but if they could hold him at bay, it might buy the others the chance to defeat this wizard's friends."

"But wouldn't it be three on four?" Dean asked.

"In every Duel, someone is at a disadvantage," Remus replied. "Working hard to limit that disadvantage is how you win." Remus then smiled and turned to leave. "Good luck. I'll be waiting to see what you come up with."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Triumvirate's Room – Evening)**_

"Harry Potter, Seamus Finnegan, Dean Thomas, Fay Dunbar, and Hermione Granger," Ron read the names from the Marauder's Map, and Clara quickly jotted them down. _Now we only need to see the Hufflepuff sixth year team, and the Ravenclaw fourth year team._

"Where did you find this Map, Ron?" Samantha asked once again. "Can it see **everyone**?"

"Every single soul," Ron kept his eyes fixed on Remus Lupin's name. _He must have given the Gryffindors some advice. Pfft… Like it'll change anything. I could easily take them all on._

"That's not frightening at all," Clara muttered under her breath.

"Do you ever just spend an entire day watching this Map?" Carey asked. "Tracking everyone down?"

"I don't have the time to indulge that sort of stalker behavior," Ron replied. "I'm usually busy with **everything** else."

So far, none of the girls had brought up the Order, or their conversations with Dumbledore. Usually, Ron would be interested in finding out about these things, but his Ravenclaw counterpart was driving him mad. Ron's mood had only soured further over the last two days. Every time Ron thought that he was safe, his counterpart would show up to haunt him. The constant insults, and the sheer hatred Ravenclaw Ron had for everyone was beginning to get to Ron. _I bet that as soon as I leave this room, he'll be back to piss me off._

"I don't think we're going to see any other teams tonight," Clara said to Ron. "It's getting dark out there, and we should get back to the others. We can't have them thinking that we're slacking off while they're all training."

"She's right," Carey said. "We've been in here for an hour. Let's go."

Ron quietly packed up the Map, which he hid inside his inner robe pockets. The girls wasted no time in reaching the door, and Ron followed them out without a word. _I'll check again after dinner just to be sure._

"I hope you have some money saved up," came his counterpart's voice, and Ron tensed immediately. "Whores like these three don't come cheap."

Ron slowly looked behind him, and he saw his counterpart leaning against the shut door. Ravenclaw Ron wore his usual grin, which was a mixture of childish glee and genuine sadism. _He has a way of looking really fucking unhinged._

"Ron? What are you looking at?" Carey asked as she followed his gaze.

"Nothing," Ron looked back ahead. "I'll see you three in the Training Room."

"Ron, wait," Samantha stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder.

"That'll cost at least ten more sickles," Ravenclaw Ron snorted. _He doesn't even know them, but he hates them as well. What went wrong with this bastard?_

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Are you all right?" Samantha asked. _I'm just peachy. Being tormented by my past life is just like any other Wednesday for me._

"You've been really quiet all day, and you haven't asked us about our conversation with the Headmaster," Clara added. _What's there to ask about?_

"Are you three planning to join the Order?" Ron asked them, and they all nodded. "Then I don't see the need to talk about it. From now on, we're on the same page, and I expect you three to help me whenever I ask."

"And you'll do the same?" Carey asked.

"Don't I already?" Ron felt a little annoyed by her idiotic question.

"I don't see why you even play their games," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "Cuff all three bitches under their ears, and tell them to get in line."

Carey just stared at him, and then she gave a nod before walking away.

"Oh, no," Ravenclaw Ron 'gasped'. "You hurt her feelings, and she forgot about collecting her payment." _SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!_

Samantha followed after Carey with her usual cold look of apathy, while Clara let out a tired sigh.

"Do you want to tell me what's crawled up your arse lately?" Clara asked, she sounded more disappointed than angry.

"That would be me," Ravenclaw Ron sniggered. "Wait… Oh, no. That backfired, didn't it?" _Good Lord… Why is my voice so annoying? How does Daphne put up with it?_

Ron rubbed his forehead, and then he drew in a deep breath.

"I'm fine," Ron lied. "Please tell Carey that I didn't mean to sound like a prick…"

"You can tell her yourself," Clara said. "Look, we get that you've known about the Order for a while now, and that you've learned to live with that knowledge, but we just had our World turned upside down. Not to mention that both the Headmaster and Professor Snape told us to talk to you if we start feeling overwhelmed." _I'm overwhelmed too! Why is holding your fucking hand my responsibility?_

"You three feel overwhelmed?" Ron asked, despite not really caring right now.

"Ron, we just went from having promising futures to being recruited into a militia group," Clara replied. "Yes… We're struggling… Samantha's barely said a word, and I heard Carey vomiting this morning."

"She was vomiting?" Ron was a little taken aback.

"She's scared, and so are Sammy and me," Clara replied, and then she looked towards the exit. "Can you please find some time to talk to us? Whenever you're free, Ron… Sammy and Carey can often be too proud to ask for help, and I don't know how to help them with something like this. You seem to know what you're talking about, and if you could just explain some things to us, we'd feel a lot better."

"This is a waste of your time," Ravenclaw Ron groaned. "Let Dumblecunt deal with this, or better yet, tell them to go to their Head of House."

"I'll drop by tomorrow," Ron promised Carey, and she gave him a hint of a smile.

"Thank you," she patted his cheek, and then she left to go find her friends.

"Do you enjoy being everyone's bitch?" Ravenclaw Ron asked, and Ron couldn't help but shoot him a frown.

"Shut. Up," Ron grit out.

"You know why those two fucks gave you the task of handling the Triumvirate?" Ravenclaw Ron asked, completely ignoring Ron's anger. "It's beneath them. You see, at the end of the day, you're just their mule boy. You run the errands."

"That's not true," Ron clenched his fists, though a part of him was truly wounded by those words. _I'm no one's mule boy._

"Yeah, it is," Ravenclaw Ron clicked his tongue. "Even after everything that you've done for them, they make you do this grunt work. You think they'd ask Harry Potter to do this? No… No, Harry gets all the help in the World, while you bust your arse constantly without even a fucking 'Thank you' for your troubles. Now, I'd feel sorry for you, but seeing you constantly agree to do all the heavy lifting… Well, at this point, you're the reason why people don't give a shit about you. You're the reason why you'll always come second. You don't have the balls to shut down the greedy bastards who think that you're their personal servant, and it's all because you want them to 'like' you. It's pathetic, really."

Ron honestly felt exhausted after that barrage, and all he could do was to rub his face and begin making his way towards his room. _I need to go put the Map away…_

"Nice one! Walk away with your tail tucked between your legs just as you start realizing that I'm right!" Ravenclaw Ron called. "Once a beggar, always a beggar!"

Ron physically cringed at that, and he quickly sped up his pace in order to outrun his tormenter. It didn't even occur to him that the people who he bolted past gave him confused stares, but quite frankly, he wouldn't have cared even if he had noticed them. He had half a mind to chug down a Sleeping Draught just so that he could have some peace, but the moment he entered his room, he found his past self waiting for him with a cheeky grin.

"I didn't mean to upset you, you little girl," Ravenclaw Ron laughed. "If you want, I can put my arm around your shoulders while you have a cry." Ravenclaw Ron then adorned a 'wounded' look. "My friend was mean to me! He called me a beggar! And he still hasn't apologized!"

Ron slammed the door shut, and he dug his fingers into his own forehead. _Go away! Go away! Go away!_

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ron demanded, his voice almost tearing.

"I'm doing this for you," Ravenclaw Ron replied, and then, he adorned a genuinely concerned look. _What is this…?_ "C'mon, Ron… I was just pushing your buttons. I'll leave, all right? Even I can see that I'm taking things too far."

"What…?" Ron muttered.

This sudden change in Ravenclaw Ron genuinely baffled him, but before he could say another word, his past self was gone. _He left? Just like that?_ Slowly, Ron's hands came back to his side, and he looked around the room for any signs of his tormenter. _He's really gone… He fucking left… Why?_

"Boo!" Ravenclaw Ron yelled in his ear, and Ron nearly shed his skin. "Did you really buy that tripe? Fuck, you are so stupid. I'm genuinely shocked that you haven't died yet."

Ron's legs wobbled, and he dropped onto his bed with a dull look. _He's going to drive me insane, isn't he? I can't do anything about him, and even the Entity is ignoring me now. It's probably enjoying this… It probably let him go free because it knows what he's capable of._ Ravenclaw Ron moved into Ron's vision, a rather pleased smile on his face.

"You reckon Remus is instructing Potter and his gang on how to defeat you?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. _I know he is, but I can't give this prick the satisfaction of being right._

"He's a Professor… And he doesn't favor people like that…" Ron said vacantly.

"Horseshit," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "We both know why he was with Potter's gang… He's teaching the Boy-Who-Lived a very important lesson: 'How to beat Ronald Weasley'."

"So what if he is?" Ron asked. "What does it matter?"

"It matters a great deal," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "He promised to come find you when the Break ended, remember? He was going to give you a personal lesson, right? He made that promise six months ago, but never once lived up to it, and now, he's forgotten again."

"You're just trying to get to me…" Ron spoke to the floor.

"I'm just stating facts," Ravenclaw Ron shrugged. "He came to you in the middle of the Break, and all but begged you to work your arse off for his degenerate kin. You, being the bitch boy that you are, agreed immediately, and ever since then, you've been working to give those dogs a future that they haven't fucking earned for themselves. **You're** the one who's doing all the work, but Remus Lupin can't even remember to give you thirty minutes of his day. Instead, he is out there with Harry Potter… The Boy-Who-Matters…"

"I can just as easily go up to Remus myself," Ron muttered. _Why hasn't he come to me, though? I mean, I'm not helping the Werewolves because Remus asked me to, but Remus did promise me something._

"Oh, don't give me that garbage excuse," Ravenclaw Ron scoffed. "Why is it so hard for you to understand that you're alone in this World?"

"Why are you so hell-bent on convincing me that I am?" Ron finally looked up. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I was doing fine before you came along."

"And 'fine' is good enough for you?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Corban Yaxley kicked your arse. The French tried to usurp your Ministry. The old man kicked you out of the room like a child once the French were done bending you over. Shall I go on? When does it stop, Ronnie? When do you finally grow up a little?"

"Grow up?" Ron asked. "Oh, you mean that I should become a selfish bastard who is only out for himself."

"Why not?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "Every single person on this fucking planet is doing the same thing, so why not you? What makes you so special?"

"I'm not special…" Ron dropped onto his side, his eyes closing. _I'm so tired._

"Yes, you are," Ravenclaw Ron said, and Ron's eyes reopened. _What?_ "You're the only person on this planet that **is** special. Unlike everyone else, you're not tethered down by Fate. Or by the other Elders."

"Elders?" Ron asked.

"The Higher Beings," Ravenclaw Ron clarified. "They can't even see you, Ronnie. You are the single most important mortal in all of reality simply because you don't fit into their plans. You even have the opportunity to learn from a Being that is older than time itself!"

"Learn from the Entity?" Ron sat up. "Are you fucking mental? That thing can't be trusted."

"Why? What makes you the expert on the World Eater?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. "You don't know the first thing about it, and you've never bothered to learn. Instead, you rely on people like Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin… Both of whom would toss you aside for a simpleton who wastes his life flying around on an Enchanted Broom." Ravenclaw Ron then leaned forward, his face hovering right in front of Ron's. "You are special, Ron, but you keep throwing that uniqueness away over trivial matters. You need to untether yourself from the scum that surrounds you, and only then will you reach your full potential."

"Where did 'untethering' get you?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I made a mistake, but you can't deny just how powerful I was," Ravenclaw Ron stood up straighter. "I singlehandedly conquered Hogwarts. I ripped off the Dark Lord's arms in single combat. I killed Albus Dumbledore. I brought England to its knees within days. I savaged the Order and the Death Eaters. I even drove the great Alastor Moody truly mad. If Fate hadn't ended my Cycle, I would have killed all life on this planet, and then moved onto the next." _The next…?_ "I would have eradicated every single living thing in Creation!"

Ron just stared at his past self, and for a moment, Ron was scared of the thing standing in front of him.

"Why…?" Ron asked weakly. "Why would you want that?"

"Because none of this matters!" Ravenclaw Ron exclaimed with a wide grin, his arms extended by his sides. "Nothing in this Universe, or any Universe, matters! **None of it!** "

Ron's jaw dropped open, and the manic glint in his past self's eyes made Ron shudder.

"What happened to you?" Ron asked. "What turned you into… this?"

"I saw the truth," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "I saw everything that I needed to see."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked, and Ravenclaw Ron dropped his arms back to his side.

"Your first vision was of your brother, right?" Ravenclaw Ron asked, and Ron gave a short nod. "Mine was about Mrs. Lovegood."

"Really?" Ron blinked.

"The World Eater was still experimenting when it was my turn," Ravenclaw Ron explained. "It hadn't learned to show its visions early, and as a result, I thought that I was going crazy. I ignored the vision, and a couple of days later, Mrs. Lovegood was dead."

"You lost your Pandora…" Ron swallowed thickly.

"Don't give me that look," Ravenclaw Ron said in disgust. "I didn't know the woman, nor did her death even matter. She's still walking around, isn't she?"

"But she died in your Cycle," Ron stated, and Ravenclaw Ron looked at him like he was stupid.

"It doesn't matter, you clown," Ravenclaw Ron repeated. "Yes, she died in my Cycle, but my Cycle was erased with my death. She's still alive."

"Is this why you don't care about the fact that Ginny also died?" Ron asked, and something cruel gleamed behind Ravenclaw Ron's eyes. "To you, she's still alive…" _And they call me crazy?!_

"Essentially, yes," Ravenclaw Ron regained his composure immediately. "Her death didn't mean anything. Every single insect that I crushed in my Cycle didn't mean a fucking thing. They're all still here, and they'll keep being here because they are stuck in their roles. The only time their fates change is when you actively meddle in their affairs. Without you, they're just toys that the Elders watch for entertainment. They are puppets, nothing more."

"And you got all of that from your first vision?" Ron asked slowly.

"Of course not," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "Like you, I too felt the desire to be needed. After all, that particular weakness is engrained into our souls. It took me a long time to realize just how futile it all was, and when I did realize it, I decided to put an end to it. What was the point in suffering over everything? What was the point of pleasing others? What was the point of making friends? What was the point of getting a girlfriend? What's the fucking point, Ron? You tell me."

"Just because we have the Entity inside our minds doesn't make us more important than the people around us," Ron said. "They all still have dreams and goals. They all have hobbies and dislikes. They're alive, and that means that they matter."

"Their dreams and goals don't matter because their fates are preordained," Ravenclaw Ron countered. "Their hobbies and dislikes aren't going to change a damn thing when Death comes for them. Are they truly alive? I'd argue that they aren't. They are just cogs in a machine that they have no grasp of."

"You make yourself sound like some fucking messiah," Ron pointed out.

"No, I just call it like I see it," Ravenclaw Ron said. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Ron. It's something that I've never even discussed with the World Eater."

Ron leaned forward without even thinking.

"The reason why the Elders don't actively intrude into mortal affairs is because every mortal's life is already chronicled by Fate herself," Ravenclaw Ron whispered. "All the Harry Potters out there, all the Hermione Grangers, all the Ronald Weasleys, all the Draco Malfoys… All living beings in all of the Universes… All of their lives are already predetermined."

"Okay…" Ron waited for the point to arrive.

"So doesn't that mean that our Dark Lord's life was preordained?" Ravenclaw Ron asked. _Wait… By his logic, it would be._ "Think, Ron… Why are these Cycles even happening?"

"No mortal can become an immortal," Ron remembered. "Death couldn't stand the fact that the Dark Lord would outlive this Universe."

"Death's own fucking sister chronicled the Dark Lord's fate," Ravenclaw Ron said. "Why would Death only act now?"

"I… I don't know…" Ron admitted.

"The World Eater told me that the key to its cage can only be wielded by Fate," Ravenclaw Ron said. "You know what I think? I think that Death was bored, and so he made a big fuss to his siblings about this Universe's Lord Voldemort. You see, Death knew how his siblings would react to his 'rash' behavior. He conned them all into creating the Cycles, and he did it simply because he was bored. He wanted a fucking show, and so all of this was put into motion."

"No…" Ron shook his head weakly. "That's not it…" _It can't be. My life isn't the hell it is because some cunt was bored._

"It is," Ravenclaw Ron kneeled down to catch Ron's eyes. "The only reason that Fate chose to use the World Eater was because the World Eater wasn't bound by their Laws of Creation. Fate, and her siblings, couldn't step in to put an end to Lord Voldemort, and Death knew this all too well. So he forced their hands, and right now, he's watching this Universe with a big grin on his face."

"Shut up…" Ron felt his eyes sting. "You're lying to me…"

"All of your suffering," Ravenclaw Ron whispered gently. "All of that pain… It means nothing. But you know what does mean something? The fact that the World Eater's influence in our lives frees us from the Laws of Creation. The Elders **do** meddle in our lives, and they do so because their own Laws don't bind them wherever we're concerned. That's what makes us special, Ron. We aren't just another cog in the machine, and that gives us **real** power. In some ways, we are like the Elders themselves."

"You're saying that we're Gods…?" Ron croaked, he was feeling so shaken that he was going to vomit any second now.

"I like the sound of Godhood," Ravenclaw Ron smiled. "Don't you?"

Ron said nothing, but he couldn't deny his feelings to himself. He did like the sound of Godhood, and he certainly liked the fact that his life was his own. _But is it really? If my past self is right, then everything that I've endured means nothing… All the hard work I put in for others means nothing… They're all just cogs in a machine. Sure, my meddling can change their lot in lives, but I won't always be around._

"You don't have to keep suffering for the sake of other people," Ravenclaw Ron whispered. "You don't have to work yourself to the bone on these pointless projects of yours. All you have to do is to defeat the Dark Lord, and after that, you can do whatever you want. I'll speak to the World Eater on your behalf, and together, all three of us can just walk away from this. It has the power to shield us from the Elders, and with its infinite knowledge, we can shatter the machine."

"Shatter the machine?" Ron sniffled, his traitorous tears fleeing his eyes.

"In order to create something new, you have to get rid of the old," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "We'll make a Universe that really matters. A Universe not controlled by the Elders."

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

As Daphne finished up her dinner, she couldn't help but shoot a look at Ron's empty chair. According to Theo and Blaise, Ron had fallen asleep after his meeting with the Triumvirate. Daphne had thought about waking him up for dinner, but against her better judgment, she had opted instead to leave him to his dreams. Plus, she wasn't exactly sure that Ron would've taken well to being woken up. Over the last couple of days, Ron's foul mood was evident to all except for Ron. He was either glaring at nothing in particular, or he was seething with unspoken anger. Honestly, it was rather worrying, and she planned to tell Madam Pomfrey about it if Ron didn't.

"Did you even check up on him?" Tracey asked Theo.

"I called, but he didn't answer," Theo replied.

"Did you open his curtains and take a look?" Tracey asked.

"Well… No," Theo replied, and every girl looked to him. _They didn't check properly?_ "I didn't want to wake him up my mistake. You know how he's been over the last few days, right? The last thing I need is to get my face slapped off." _I might slap your face off right now!_

"That's a pathetic excuse to make," Millie frowned at Theo.

"What if he had a seizure, Theo?" Pansy asked.

Theo opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Eventually, he muttered an apology before shooting Blaise a subtle glance. Daphne managed to spot it, and so she also looked to Blaise. _He's eating quietly again. Seriously, what happened between the boys? Ron and Theo are keeping their distance from Blaise, and he's doing the same with them. And then there's Malfoy… Malfoy has barely spoken for over a week._

"I'm going to go check on him," Daphne stood up. "Dinner's almost over, but I don't want to wait for the bell. I'd rather avoid the crowd."

With that, Daphne left for the exit, and pretty soon, her friends had caught up to her. _Even Blaise and Malfoy._ By the time they reached the Entrance Hall, Percy Weasley was already waiting for them inside. _He no doubt wants to know where Ron is._

"Why isn't he at dinner?" Percy asked Daphne. _Hello to you too, Percy._

"He was tired, so he ate early and went to sleep," Daphne lied. _If we get Percy all riled up, and Ron turns out to be just sleeping, Ron will explode from rage._

"Really?" Percy asked. "Then why are you seven in such a hurry to leave?"

"We have things to do," Pansy replied. "I promised to give the others haircuts, just like I did with Ron."

"Try again," Percy said dully.

"Percy, nothing is wrong," Daphne said. "Making mountains out of molehills is what riles Ron up, remember? He's just sleeping, and if you make a fuss and have him woken up, we'll be the ones who have to put up with his foul mood." _And trust me, that is not exactly fun to go through._

Percy watched her closely, and then he gave a curt nod.

"Please keep looking out for him," Percy said rather formally, and then he walked of towards the Great Hall. _Thank Merlin that worked._

"That was good, Daph," Tracey smiled and nudged her. "You're becoming the Weasley whisperer."

"Percy's not as hotheaded as the others," Daphne said, and then she began heading towards the Dungeons. "I think he's quite like us, but at the same time, he's also a Weasley."

"It sort of balances out, then?" Millie asked.

"I'd say so," Daphne replied. "Ron's other siblings wouldn't have been so trusting just then."

The closer they got to the Slytherin common room, the more Daphne started feeling like something was wrong. She knew that she could be a bit overzealous wherever Ron was concerned, but right now, she was starting to feel sure of her gut. _He's having mood swings, he's sleeping more, and he's all but stopped talking. I think he's feeling lonely and depressed again, but he's too stubborn to come to us for help._

Daphne gave the password, and they all made their way into the common room. Daphne looked to make sure that Ron wasn't brooding in a corner, and thankfully, he wasn't here. _He's still asleep, then._ By the time she reached the boys' room, she could feel a tight knot in her stomach. Something was definitely wrong, she was sure of it. After giving a light knock, Daphne slowly began opening the door.

"Ron?" Pansy called. "You're not naked in there, are you?"

Daphne stopped to give Pansy a dull look, and Pansy smiled sheepishly.

"It's a fair question," Tracey said. _But she wants him to be naked in there. I bet you if Ron had replied that he was indeed naked, she would 'trip' and get a good look._

"Whatever," Daphne huffed, and then she finished opening the door.

Ron wasn't standing around naked, and Daphne felt both relieved and disappointed.

"His curtains are still closed," Theo whispered. "Are you sure that you want to risk it?"

"He's been getting better at controlling his anger," Daphne whispered back. "I'll open the curtains if you're too scared to." _Take the bait, Theo._

"Nice try, but I have no issues with the word 'coward'," Theo stated, and even Malfoy looked put off. "What? Cowards are survivors who are smart instead of brawny."

"You'll make a lovely girlfriend for someone one day," Millie stated bluntly, and then she walked over and slid one of the curtains open.

They all shuffled over to Millie's side, and together, they stared at a sleeping Ron. He was still wearing his school clothes, except for the robes, and he was sleeping above the covers. _Oh… He's just asleep. Wait… He looks like he's having a bad dream._

"See? Nothing to worry about," Theo whispered.

"He looks really pale," Pansy whispered.

"And he's sweating a lot," Tracey added.

"And he's shivering," Daphne whispered as she moved closer to Ron. "Merlin… He's soaked his covers in sweat."

"Should we wake him up?" Millie asked, but Daphne was already on it.

"Ron, wake up," Daphne shook him lightly. "You're having a bad dream. Wake up."

Ron's eyes slowly opened, and groggily, he stared up at Daphne. His eyes were bloodshot, and a frown was already forming on his face. _Uh-oh._

"What is it?" Ron croaked, why was his voice so hoarse? _Was he crying?_

Daphne scanned his face, and she could see faded tear-tracks on his cheeks. Her stomach sank a little, and she couldn't help but blame herself for leaving him to his foul mood. _He wouldn't do that if I were in a foul mood._

"You were having a bad dream," Daphne whispered. "You even broke out in a cold sweat."

Ron slowly wiped his brow with his left hand, and then he sat up. With still groggy eyes, he looked around himself. Oddly enough, his eyes didn't stop at any of his friends; instead they kept looking for something that wasn't there. Ron let out a sigh of relief, and then he massaged his face. _Why were you crying, Ron?_

"Is it time for dinner?" Ron asked through his hands.

"Dinner's over, Ron," Tracey replied, and Ron didn't seem bothered whatsoever.

"Figures…" Ron grunted. "Thanks for waking me up, but I reckon I'll go back to sleep again."

"You should take a shower and change clothes," Daphne suggested. "I'll ask Marty to wash your sheets while you clean up."

"My sheets?" Ron looked back. "Oh…"

"Are you okay, Ron?" Pansy asked, and he just nodded out of habit.

"I'll go take a shower…" Ron slid out of his bed. "Sorry for making you all come down here."

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – After Dinner)**_

Daphne wasn't really for the idea of letting Ron go back to sleep without talking to him first, but she knew that Ron wasn't in the mood for conversations. He was going to come out of the shower, drink a vial of Sleeping Draught, and then he was going to pass out.

The fact that he had been crying before he fell asleep greatly bothered Daphne, but she hadn't told the others about it. She wondered if it was because of some selfish need to keep Ron to herself, she certainly felt possessive over him whenever he was upset for any reason. _Maybe I should try to get him to talk before he drinks a vial of the Sleeping Draught? If the others don't disturb us, I'm sure Ron will listen to me._

"Can you all leave?" Daphne asked the others, and they all just stared at her. _Wow… That was rude, wasn't it?_ "Please? I want to talk to Ron, and he won't want to talk if he's outnumbered. You know how he gets, right?"

"He starts thinking that he's in trouble, so he starts lying," Tracey said, and Daphne gave a nod. "Can you please ask him why he's been so agitated lately?"

"I will," Daphne promised.

"Are you sure that we can't stay?" Pansy asked, and Millie tugged her along.

"Let's go, Pansy," Millie said, and one by one, they all left.

All of them except for Malfoy…

"Malfoy, can I please have the room?" Daphne tried her best to sound diplomatic.

"No," Malfoy replied from his bed. "This is my room as well, and I'm not in the mood to leave my bed. Take your relationship to a broom cupboard if you want privacy."

"This is for Ron," Daphne bit back a cruel retort. _Ron's patient with him, and it seems to work._

"And that's supposed to change my mind?" Malfoy looked up from his book.

"He does a lot for you, you prat," Daphne decided to ditch diplomacy. "And yet, you can't leave your bed for twenty minutes for his sake? Is this what your father taught you about repaying your debts?" _Oh, wait… Your father isn't even in your life anymore._

"I'm not taking that bait," Malfoy said rather calmly, and Daphne couldn't help but be surprised a little. "I am not leaving. Go find another room if you want privacy."

"Malfoy, you're being-" Daphne tried.

"Stop," Malfoy shut her down. "I don't care. Go somewhere else." _Well, fuck you too, you cunt._

Daphne's own thoughts jarred her more than Malfoy's moody behavior, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was spending too much time around Ron. Daphne looked back to the bathroom door, a slight frown on her face. _A Lady doesn't use such words, Daphne. Be better than that._

"The next time you need something, don't bother coming to me or Ron," Daphne told Malfoy without looking at him. "Tracey's dead wrong about you. You're still the same selfish bully that you were when we were little, and that'll never change."

"You don't know-"

"Shut your mouth," Daphne shut him down this time. "Or I'll ask Ron to break something on your stupid face." _An absolute tosser. That's what he is._

The bathroom door swung open at that, and Ron stepped out in his pajamas. His face looked much fresher, but his expression betrayed how tired he was. His eyes were barely open, and he looked around the room lazily. _What is he looking for? There's no one in here but Malfoy and me._

"How was your shower?" Daphne asked.

"Refreshing," Ron rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Actually, could we talk first?" Daphne asked, and Ron shot a quick look in Malfoy's direction.

"Um… I'm not really in the mood, Daph…" Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "I just want to sleep."

Malfoy let out an annoyed grunt, and then he got off of his bed and left the room without uttering a word. Daphne was a little surprised by this, but she didn't show it. Ron just stared at the exit, and then he shook his head to himself.

"Five minutes, Ron?" Daphne asked. "We've barely spoken a word to each other for the last few days." _I don't like to guilt him like this, but I want to know why he was crying. Madam Pomfrey told me to keep an eye on Ron's mood swings._

"You're right," Ron said as he walked over to his bed. "Want to talk on my bed?"

"You won't fall asleep, will you?" Daphne asked, and Ron smirked a little.

"We'll see," Ron shrugged as he opened the curtains. "New sheets… How does Marty do this so quickly? Did you see him?"

"No, I didn't," Daphne replied, she hadn't really given the sheets much thought.

"I bet he uses Conjuration Magic," Ron mused. "He really knows a lot of neat tricks, doesn't he?"

"Are you going to ask him to teach you more Spells?" Daphne asked.

"I am," Ron replied immediately. _I really like Marty, but Elves really shouldn't be teaching wizards anything. If people in this House found out that Ron was studying under his own Elf, they'd go out of their way to show him their displeasure. It could cause Ron another problem to deal with._ "Are you coming?"

Daphne walked over to Ron's bed and took a seat in the middle, while Ron closed up the curtain and cast the Warming Charm.

"Are you cold?" Daphne asked.

"My hair's still wet," Ron pointed to his hair. _Oh, it is._

"Come and sit down in front of me, and I'll dry your hair," Daphne offered, and Ron gave her a reluctant look.

"Are you going to use those Witch Weekly Charms on me?" Ron asked slowly. "The 'Beautifying' ones?" _Yes._

"What? No," Daphne lied. "Please come here. You'll catch a cold if you sleep with wet hair."

"That's why I put the Warming Charm up," Ron mumbled, but he still did as he was told.

Daphne didn't waste a second before hugging her boyfriend from behind, her chin resting on his left shoulder. _Step one of making Ron open up; give him lots of affection. Of all the boys in this group, Ron's easily the most sensitive one._ The girls often joked about how Ron despised being touched needlessly, but whenever they were the ones giving him hugs and kisses, he didn't mind one bit.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked, he had tensed a little due to her random hug.

"Just missed hugging you, that's all," Daphne hummed, and then she kissed his cheek.

Ron's ears turned red, and he gave a meek nod. _He's so cute! Careful, Daphne, don't tease him too much. Whenever he's in a bad mood, he gets upset if he's not taken seriously._ After giving him another kiss on the cheek, Daphne pulled back and brandished her wand.

"Don't move too much," she whispered. "Sicco."

Hot air blew out of the tip of her wand, and she carefully began drying Ron's hair. It smelled of his shampoo, and when she felt him relax a little, she shifted closer until her chest was resting against his back. _I can't help it! I really want to see his reaction!_

"Um… Daphne… I'm not sure that you're aware-" Ron started.

"I'm aware," Daphne whispered, her attention focused on his hair. "Does it bother you?"

"No," Ron replied far too readily, which only made her smile widely. "It feels really nice."

"Does it?" Daphne giggled.

"I meant the hot air!" Ron quickly amended, and she let out a genuine laugh. "I'll just stay quiet…"

"You're cute," Daphne's mood had already brightened. _Now Ron just needs to catch up._

"Cute?" Ron looked back.

"Please, don't move," Daphne gently turned his head forward. "And yes, Ron. **Cute**."

"I prefer 'handsome'," Ron said.

"You can be both," Daphne said as she began drying his sides and back. "Sometimes, you're extremely handsome, but other times, you're the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life."

"Girls are weird…" Ron muttered under his breath, though she knew that he was blushing. _Aw, he's so grouchy._

"Don't you think that I'm cute?" Daphne asked.

"Of course I do," Ron replied.

"And yet, you tell me that I look beautiful as well," Daphne reminded him.

"Oh…"

"I guess you boys are just as weird as us girls," Daphne chuckled. "I'm almost done. Can you lean your head back, please?"

Ron did as she asked, his bright blue eyes focusing on her face as she dried his fringe. _I like that Pansy left the hair on top of his head untouched, but cleaned up the sides and back. He looks much more carefree now whenever he doesn't style his hair._ Once she was done, she put her wand by her side. Ron tried to look ahead again, but she quickly stopped him.

"Stay there," Daphne said, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

She leaned forward and kissed his lips, and she couldn't help but appreciate how minty Ron's lips tasted. _Two more._ Daphne planted two more kisses on his lips, and then she put her arms around his upper body.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Daphne whispered as she rested her chin on his left shoulder again. "You're clearly upset about something, and usually, you come to me whenever you're feeling lonely. Talk to me." _What's different this time?_

Ron tensed a bit, but she just gave his ribcage a light squeeze in order to let him know that she wanted to listen. Slowly, he relaxed and leaned back into her, his eyes coming to a close. _He must be really sleepy. I mean, my chest is squashed against his back, and yet, he's completely relaxed._

"I've just had a rough few days," Ron whispered as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I think I might be feeling… depressed…"

"Tell me what went wrong," Daphne painted circles on his chest with her right index finger.

"Nothing went wrong per say," Ron shifted a little, but she refused to let go of him. "All of a sudden, I just lost my steam…"

"Does it have something to do with you boys having a fight?" Daphne asked.

"We didn't fight," Ron said. "We just… Blaise is just very upset about something that his mother did, and Theo and I buggered up our chat with him. Actually… I buggered up the chat… I shouldn't pin the blame on Theo. He actually warned me against having the chat unprepared." _He's starting to ramble._

"How did you bugger it up?" Daphne asked. _Something tells me that Ron didn't bugger up anything. Why else would Theo join him in staying distant with Blaise?_

"I pushed him…" Ron sighed out. "He was having a hard time with something, and me being me…" Ron trailed off. "I pushed him into siding against his mother…"

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"Because I don't want her to influence him," Ron replied. "She's poison, you said so yourself. Even Mary doesn't like Clementine Zabini, and I can understand why. That woman is fucked in the head, and all she does is make Blaise feel miserable."

"But she's still his mother," Daphne said, and Ron gave a meek nod.

"I shouldn't have pushed him, especially when I don't know how he truly feels about her," Ron said.

"I think he wants her to love him like our parents love us, but at the same time, he's smart enough to realize that his mother only loves herself," Daphne explained. "He can't help but reach out to her, but he's been disappointed so many times that he just ignores her rejections now. In a way, he's stuck in a cycle of constant disappointment."

"A cycle…" Ron muttered to himself. "Bloody hell, Daph… How do you do this?"

"Do what?" Daphne asked.

"Analyze people so quickly," Ron replied.

"Quickly?" Daphne giggled. "Ron, I've known Blaise for most of my life."

"But still…" Ron said. "You're really good at reading people." _All those lessons with father are starting to pay off, I suppose. Not to mention the practice I get with my secretive boyfriend._

"Thank you," Daphne kissed his cheek. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"Not really," Ron replied. "Actually… There is one thing…"

"Tell me," Daphne tilted her head to look at his face, and his cold expression jarred her. _His mood changed so quickly!_

Ron was just looking ahead now, his pale blue eyes staring off into space.

"Do you think that everyone's life is preordained?" Ron asked, and Daphne blinked at him. _Huh? Where did that come from?_

"Preordained?" Daphne asked.

"Fated. Pre-written. Destined," Ron clarified. "Do you think people are born only to live out their lives as Fate intended?" _I'm so bloody lost right now. What just happened here?_

"I honestly don't know," Daphne replied slowly.

"I see…" Ron whispered under his breath. _Just give your thoughts on the matter. Don't point out his mood swing, and don't say anything that might hurt his feelings. Just run with it._

"I think it doesn't really matter," Daphne started, and Ron quickly looked to her.

His pale eyes dug into hers, and for a moment, Daphne felt her body seize up from fright. _That's a really intense stare…_

"Go on," Ron said.

"Even if my life is pre-written by the Fates, it's not like I know what they have in store for me," Daphne clarified, her eyes were fixed on his. _He has prettier eyes than me, though at times like these, they can be really intimidating._ "I had no idea that I'd find myself being this close with my friends. I had no idea that I'd start trying to build a name for myself by the age of thirteen. I had no idea that the boy who I had a crush on would sneak around Hogwarts with me. I had no idea that one day, said crush would ask me out on this very bed. It doesn't matter what the Fates have in store for me, I still get to live my life. I don't feel like I'm under anyone's control, and to me, every single choice is my own. Do you understand what I'm saying?" _Who's rambling now, Daphne?_

"You feel free to choose your own life," Ron whispered, and she gave a slow nod.

"Ron? What's brought this on?" Daphne asked.

"I was wondering if my life was always supposed to be like this because some Higher Being rigged it to be so," Ron replied. "But I like your view on the matter far more than my own."

"What's your view on the matter?" Daphne asked hesitantly.

"I was starting to think that none of this mattered," Ron replied, and Daphne's blood froze.

"What?!" Daphne nearly crushed his ribcage.

"I was being pathetic…" Ron grunted. "I figured that if everyone's life is preordained, then what's the point of worrying about anything? But you… Your view on destiny sounds… brighter."

"Ron, you're scaring me," Daphne heard herself say. _He's become quiet and subdued again. Seriously, what's happening here?_

"Every person is going through his or her own journey, just like I am," Ron whispered to himself, and then he pulled himself out of her hold. "Thanks, Daphne. You've really helped me realize something important."

"What did I help you realize?" Daphne swallowed thickly. _I hope it's nothing bad. I honestly don't know what's happening in his head right now._

"That even someone who 'knows everything' can sometimes come to the wrong conclusion," Ron replied as he turned to face her, a small smile on his face. "None of us know what's in store for us, so we should just experience and enjoy the journey. And if we can, we should always do our best to improve someone else's journey. Right?"

"Right…" Daphne muttered, she had never been more confused in her life. _All I know is that whatever I just said has helped Ron feel better._ "Your mind works in some really weird ways, Ron…"

"I know," Ron smiled more fully.

"Are you feeling less depressed?" Daphne couldn't help but ask. "Can we all go back to normal? We miss you, Ron."

"The guilt trip," Ron teased, and she smiled despite wanting to keep a straight face. _His voice is so carefree again! Yay!_

"Is it working?" Daphne asked.

"A little," Ron shifted closer. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Pardon?" Daphne's jaw dropped open. _Is he…? Is asking me about…? Should I? Maybe we can just mess around a little, and-_

"Not like that," Ron chuckled. "I figured that we could cuddle and sleep in the same bed. We've done it before, haven't we?"

"That was in the Sanctuary, Ron," Daphne felt her face heat up. _Why am I saying no? I might get to see his abs again if I play my cards right._ "I don't feel comfortable sleeping in this room, and I know that I don't want you to sleep in my room." _Tracey sleeps naked, Pansy is a damn menace, and Millie wouldn't really feel comfortable if a boy was sleeping in her room._ "We could go up to the Sanctuary, though."

"Really?" Ron asked. "Are you sure?"

"You sneak up first, while I tell the others that you're feeling better," Daphne replied. "I'll also let them know that we're spending some alone time up in Sanctuary."

"Can't we just sneak off?" Ron asked. "I don't want the others to know about this sort of stuff."

"Ron, they already know that we like our private time a little too much," Daphne said. "Plus, it'll save them from worrying about us."

"You're right," Ron moved off of the bed. "Just be quick, please."

* * *

 _ **Almost Forty Minutes Later**_

Telling her friends had only taken a couple of minutes, but once Daphne had gone to her room to change into her pajamas, her old habit of looking absolutely perfect had seized her mind. She couldn't even try to resist it, after all, this was going to be the first time that she was going to sleep in the same bed as Ron whilst wearing her pajamas! This was a big deal! She had to make sure that she looked perfect, and if things got heated, then she needed to make sure that she was sweet-scented and wearing her best panties.

She, of course, had no intention of having sex at the age of thirteen, and she knew that Ron would definitely refuse if she offered, but even still, she was hoping to get a little more intimate with her boyfriend tonight. It was slow work getting Ron to feel comfortable in his own skin, not that she blamed him seeing as he was covered in scars, but tonight, Daphne was definitely going to make some headway.

She slowly opened the door to the Sanctuary, and once she could slip inside, she pushed herself through the gap and shut the door behind her. _I can break the Disillusionment Charm now._ Daphne drew in a calming breath, and then she became visible to the World. Nervously, she looked around the Sanctuary, but she couldn't see Ron anywhere. _I should check the bed._

Every new step felt heavier and heavier, and before long, Daphne was struggling to hide her nervousness. The looks that Pansy and Tracey had given her when she had told the group that she was going to spend the night with Ron up in Sanctuary were now making her blush. _Even Millie gave me a thumbs-up… I'm so nervous now! I hope I don't start sweating. I always sweat when I get nervous._

"Ron?" Daphne managed to call out as she stopped at the foot of the bed.

And there he was… Completely passed out without a care in the World. Daphne's nervousness was immediately replaced by genuine annoyance. _He fell asleep? I just spent the last forty minutes making sure that I looked absolutely perfect for him, and he just dozed off?_ Daphne had half the mind to jump on him, or to pinch his cheeks until he woke up screaming.

"You damn tease…" Daphne all but snarled.

Thoroughly annoyed, and honestly disappointed, Daphne pouted at her sleeping boyfriend. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't want to wake him up again, especially because Ron was the one person who really needed his rest. Ron suddenly snorted in his sleep, making Daphne jump a little. _Yeah… He's not waking up anytime soon._ Fighting the urge to stomp her feet and throw a fit, Daphne instead examined Ron's face. His face was paler than usual, and his eyelids looked really heavy. He wasn't sweating this time around, but he didn't exactly look comfortable either.

The more she stared, the less annoyed she felt. _I did take_ _ **forty**_ _minutes to get ready, and he was already so tired. He obviously wanted to spend some time with me, but I made him wait for ages._ She contemplated going back to her own room, but the thought of being surrounded by Tracey and Pansy put her off completely. _The last thing I need is those two telling me what I did wrong._ Daphne shot a look back at the couches, and she immediately decided that a couch was unworthy of her. _Why am I being so hesitant?! I've slept with Ron before! C'mon, Daphne, stop being an idiot._

Carefully, she moved around the bed, her eyes constantly examining Ron's face. _Don't wake him up, Daphne. Be as agile as a cat._ As she crawled into bed, it became abundantly clear that Ron wasn't going to wake up. She could start beating pots and pans whilst dancing over his sleeping form, and he'd still keep sleeping. With some of her worries abated, Daphne moved much closer to Ron than she had originally planned. Sure, she couldn't see his abs tonight, or indulge in some naughty antics, but she'd be damned if she didn't spend the night being cuddled by her overly tired boyfriend.

With her head planted on his surprisingly comfortable shoulder, Daphne wrapped her left arm around his stomach before closing her eyes. _Goodnight, Ron._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Sanctuary – Crack of Dawn)**_

Ron woke up to a face full of hair, and it didn't take him long to remember that he had fallen asleep while waiting for Daphne. Ron shifted a little, and as his senses came back to him, he realized that his right hand was touching something warm and soft. Slowly, Ron moved his face out of Daphne's hair, and he saw that his right hand had slipped into her pajamas and was now resting on her bare stomach. _Oh, fuck! Should I remove my hand? What time is it?_

Ron couldn't even look at his watch because Daphne's back was glued to his chest. _If I move too much, she'll definitely wake up. I need to be as agile as a fucking cat here._ Carefully, Ron shifted backwards, but Daphne let out a grunt before pushing her back into his chest again. _Why?! How am I supposed to get out of this if she won't let me move?_ He was trapped, wasn't he? Ron put his head back on his pillow; he had to wake her up somehow. _Think, Ron. How do I wake her up, but not piss her off?_

As Ron thought about a solution to his quandary, he couldn't help but move his right hand about a little. He had never touched a girl's stomach before, and due to being a red-blooded male (hormonal teenager), he couldn't quite resist the temptation. Her skin was much softer than his, and surprisingly, her stomach was very flat. _Why does she complain about being too 'fat'? She seems to be in good shape. Weird… Does she do it so I give her compliments?_ His fingers moved up a little, and Ron felt his face heat up as he neared her sternum. _WAIT! She's in her pajamas, so she might not be wearing a bra!_

This time, he easily resisted the temptation. For one, he didn't want her to wake up and slap his face off. Secondly, he really didn't want to do something that he couldn't take back. And lastly, he wanted her to be awake to give him permission before he ever got that far with her. _Time to remove your hand, Ron. Enough is enough. All good things must come to an end._ Ever so slowly, Ron began moving his hand down her stomach, but just as he was about to pull his hand out of her top, Daphne began to stir. _Merlin save me!_

Ron immediately shut his eyes and began pretending to be asleep. Daphne shifted about and muttered something under her breath, but Ron kept his focus on pretending. He had snuck his hand down her top during his sleep, and he'd be damned if he gave her a reason to think otherwise. _I'm totally innocent here, and that's that. Just keep 'sleeping', old boy._

"Ron?" Daphne whispered, but Ron didn't make a single sound.

Daphne shifted a little again, and Ron felt her arse bump against his morning erection. _I forgot about my traitorous prick! Why are you standing at full attention, you bastard?! I just woke up!_ Daphne wiggled a little again, and Ron nearly asked her what the hell she was playing at. _Hold on a second… Is she feeling me up?_ Daphne's hand moved on top of his right one, and her fingers traced his burn scar. Ron couldn't help but tense a little, but Daphne didn't seem to notice. Instead, she wiggled her arse again as she let out a cute giggle. _Apparently, there are two perverts in this relationship. I think it's time to wake up._

"Daph?" Ron mumbled as he opened his eyes, and she stopped moving immediately. _Don't pretend to sleep! That's my fucking trick!_ "Daphne, are you awake?"

"Hmm?" Daphne looked back with barely-open eyes, and Ron fought the urge to call her out. _Actually, calling her out would give me away for certain. Fuck it; I'll just pretend to be ignorant about her arse wiggling antics._

"Hello," Ron greeted, his hand still resting on her stomach. "Daph, is my hand in your…?" he trailed off. _Nicely played, Ronnie._

"Um… Yeah…" Daphne feigned ignorance, though her own hand was resting on top of his. _She definitely doesn't mind my hand being there._

"Sorry," Ron apologized as he pulled his hand out.

He then sat up and cleared his eyes, all the while yawning and pretending to have just woken up. Daphne slowly sat up as well, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see that she was fixing her top into place. _Hey, I got her those pajamas for her birthday. Theo and I split the bill on them because they cost a fortune. Well, they do feel really silky and soft, and they look really good on her. I'm so lucky!_

"Why are you smiling?" Daphne poked his side. _Because I'm a lecherous bastard, and you're like the sexiest girl I know._

"I slept really well," Ron replied, which was actually quite true. "I feel really, really refreshed."

"Me too," Daphne put her arms above her head and stretched her back.

Ron's eyes betrayed him by darting straight to her chest. _Tits!_

"Ahem," Daphne cleared her throat, and Ron slowly looked up to her face.

She had a playful smirk on her face, and Ron felt genuinely relieved because of that. _It would've been a real shame if I fucked up after my expert handling of the situation._

"Your pajamas are really nice," Ron smiled sheepishly.

"Why, thank you, Ron," Daphne couldn't help but chuckle.

"Did you sleep well?" Ron asked.

"I did," Daphne admitted. "You're very warm. Usually, I have to cocoon myself in my blankets because I hate the cold, but last night, I slept like a baby." _I smell opportunity._

"Then maybe we should do this again soon," Ron said casually. "I also slept like a baby."

"We definitely should," Daphne agreed, and Ron fought the urge to pump his fist into the air. _I'm totally overshadowing every bloke in my year._ "What's the time?"

Ron looked to his Rolex, and he saw that it was just past six in the morning.

"Five minutes past six," Ron replied. "I should go and get ready for my morning run."

"My running gear still hasn't arrived," Daphne shifted closer to him. "Maybe you could skip your morning run and stay in bed with me?"

"Really? What… What would we be doing?" Ron asked, suddenly feeling quite nervous.

"We could sleep in," Daphne took his left hand into hers.

"I'd rather go running," Ron admitted. "I don't want to throw off my schedule."

"Or, we could fool around?" Daphne hummed, a very familiar look on her face. _Merlin, it's rebellious Daphne._ "You did promise me a fun time yesterday, remember?" _Fool around with Daphne, or go for my morning run? Yeah… That's not even a choice._

"Fooling around sounds great!" Ron smiled widely, and Daphne quickly reached for her wand that was resting on the nightstand.

She cast the Fresh-Breath Charm on herself, and then she beckoned Ron to come closer. Ron didn't waste a second, and Daphne cast the Charm on him as well. _Bloody hell, she nearly froze my lungs. That's too minty._

"That was a bit too strong, don't you think?" Ron cleared his throat.

Daphne didn't reply, she instead put her wand back on the nightstand before jumping on Ron. Ron let out a yelp before she pushed him onto his back, her face hovering over his. There was a manic glint in her eyes, and Ron couldn't help but grin sheepishly.

"I was very disappointed when I found you sleeping last night," Daphne purred as she nudged his nose with hers.

"I honestly tried to stay awake," Ron whispered.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," Daphne clicked her tongue. "You have to pay for falling asleep, Ron."

"Pay?" Ron asked giddily. _This is the best morning of my life!_

Daphne leaned down and bit his lower lip, but not hard enough to cause pain. If that wasn't enough to stun Ron, her barrage of kisses right after definitely turned him mute.

"Can I give you a love bite?" Daphne pulled back, and Ron nodded dumbly.

Daphne smiled like a Cheshire cat at his consent, and then she buried her face in his neck. _Good Lord!_

* * *

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (D.A.D.A Classroom – Nearly Lunchtime)**_

This was probably the best morning he'd had in weeks. He had gotten a full night's sleep. His neck had three separate love bites from Daphne, which were carefully hidden by his collar, and Daphne's neck was in the same condition. His friends had gone on the morning run without him forcing them out of their beds. He'd had a king's breakfast of sausages, eggs, and bacon. Oh, and his past self hadn't shown his face so far.

After his conversation with Daphne yesterday, Ron had more than a few things to say to Ravenclaw Ron. He couldn't deny that he had been weak yesterday, and in his tired and sorry state, Ravenclaw Ron's words had started making sense for some reason. But not anymore… Now, Ron was back to his usual self, and if Ravenclaw Ron was under the impression that he could walk all over Ron, then Ravenclaw Ron was clearly unaware of Ron's history. _I can't wait for him to show his face again. I'm going to tear his arse open with my bare hands._

"Please have your reports on Red Caps submitted to me by the start of next lesson," Remus said, and everyone began packing up their things.

"I had no idea that Red Caps were so violent," Millie whispered to Ron. "I once saw one in our gardens when I was younger."

"Didn't Professor Lupin say that they inhabit places where there's been a lot of bloodshed?" Ron asked. "Why would one of them be in your gardens?" _Is it because your parents have used said gardens as a slaughtering ground?_

"He might've wandered away from his nest," Millie suggested, and Ron just blinked at her. _She can't be that clueless, can she?_

"I suppose that's possible," Ron said as they stood up.

"I'm just glad that I didn't approach him," Millie said. "I would've made a rather filling meal back then." _Did she just call herself fat?_

"And now?" Ron asked.

"I'd make sure to give that Red Cap a stomachache," Millie smirked, and Ron couldn't hold back his laugh.

"That's a damn good line," Ron said, and Millie smiled brightly.

"You're laughing again," Millie said, and Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "It's really nice."

"Don't be sappy, Mills," Ron said. "That's Daphne and Pansy's job."

"The next time you go all quiet, I'll ask Daphne to sneak off with you sooner," Millie nudged him.

"Please do," Ron requested rather genuinely, and she laughed at his tone. _That wasn't a joke… Tell Daphne to give me more kisses._

"Ron! Can you stay back for a moment?!" came Remus' voice, and Ron stopped walking. "I want to have a quick word with you, please."

Ron's friends shot him quick looks, and when he gestured them to go on, they all left one by one. Once the last of his friends had disappeared from sight, Ron began making his way over to Remus. He noticed Harry, Hermione, and Neville lingering about, but soon enough, they too left the room.

"Am I in trouble?" Ron asked Remus. "If so, then I didn't do it."

"You're not in any trouble, Ron," Remus chuckled as he leaned against his desk. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"About the Werewolf Sanctuary?" Ron whispered. "Don't worry, Remus, I've already increased our funding and sped up the construction. By the end of the weekend, the Werewolf Sanctuary's construction will be in full swing."

"That… That's really great to hear, Cub," Remus gave him a rather paternal smile, and Ron smiled back without thinking. "Thank you for this, sincerely. What you're doing out there… It means the World to a lot of people."

Ron not only felt a little too good from Remus' praise, but he also felt vindicated about his decision to ignore Ravenclaw Ron. _I improved other people's journey, and that means something even if that prick can't understand it._

"I'm really glad that you came to me," Ron said. "It means a lot to me, even if I don't always show it." _And right now, it's helping prove to me that I don't need to be like Ravenclaw Ron to matter._

Remus studied Ron's face, and then he reached forward and patted Ron's cheek.

"You're a great kid," Remus said. "You really are."

"You're paying me a lot of compliments," Ron couldn't help but point out. "Do you talk to your other students like this? Or am I special?"

Remus chuckled at that, and then he pinched Ron's cheek.

"Ow, you prick!" Ron moved back and rubbed his cheek.

"Do you talk to all of your Professors like this? Or am I special?" Remus smirked.

"Touché," Ron grinned at him.

"I remember promising you a lesson," Remus said suddenly, and Ron perked up. _He does remember!_

For a moment, Ron was jarred by his own reaction. Maybe some of what Ravenclaw Ron had said had ended up cutting a little too deep? _Fuck him, he was wrong about Remus. Remus does remember, and he wants to teach me._

"When are you free?" Remus asked. "There's a really important Spell that I want to show you."

"An important Spell?" Ron felt more intrigued by the second. "Is it a powerful Charm? A terrifying Curse? A hilarious Jinx?"

"A **very** powerful Charm," Remus chuckled, his eyes darting towards the shut door. _Is he making sure that we're alone?_ "Actually, it's a Spell that Albus Dumbledore makes sure that each Order member knows how to cast." _Really?_

"A Spell that every Order member learns how to cast?" Ron was practically salivating at the mouth. "What is it?"

"The Patronus Charm," Remus replied. "Do you know about this Charm, Ron?"

"I haven't heard of it," Ron admitted. "What does it do?"

"It is one of the most powerful Defensive Charms known to Wizardkind," Remus replied. "It is extremely Advanced Magic, much harder than anything on your O. W. Ls and N. E. W. Ts."

"I'm sold," Ron agreed eagerly.

"Good," Remus laughed. "So? When are you free?"

"Well, I have my study group tomorrow," Ron started. "Then I have work on Saturday, plus training for the Dueling Tournament. We're both too busy on Sunday, so that won't work either… On Monday I have my therapy session…" _Fuck me, am I really this busy?_

"What about tonight?" Remus asked. _The Triumvirate needs me tonight, and I'm also helping the second years practice for the Dueling Tournament. I even canceled my therapy session just so I could help prepare the second years._

"I have a Slytherin thing," Ron replied vaguely. "Um… What about next Tuesday?" _I'm sure Professor Snape will understand the importance of this._

"Next Tuesday it is," Remus agreed.

"Brilliant!" Ron grinned. "Wait… Um… Can my friends join?"

"Friends?" Remus looked slightly surprised. "Ron… I don't know-"

"C'mon, Remus," Ron urged. "They know about what's coming, and they should learn this as well. It could save their lives."

"Ron… I'm not so sure about telling them about my involvement with the Order," Remus said.

"They already know that you're with the Order," Ron countered.

"What?"

"You burst into the Burrow, remember?" Ron reminded Remus. "Plus, Harry made a huge deal about being kept out of the loop. My friends are very clever, and they put everything together quite quickly."

"I see," Remus nodded to himself. "Then I suppose that there's nothing to worry about. Sure, Ron, you can bring your friends with you." _Yes!_

"What about my siblings and the Trio?" Ron asked, and Remus blinked at him. "I think it'd be great to work on this really advanced Spell together. We're all in the same boat, and this might help ease tensions between us all. You know that I'm making a good point here." _Am I reaching? Yes. Do I give a fuck? No. A Spell this important could save their lives one day, and like it or not, its important that they learn Spells like this._

"You are," Remus gave Ron an odd look of admiration. _What's with that look? It's weird._

"What is it?" Ron asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just figured that you'd want a private lesson, that's all," Remus shrugged, an easy smile gracing his rugged face.

"I won't lie, I do want a private lesson," Ron admitted. "But it's more important that we all learn to trust each other, you know? One day, that trust might come in handy."

"Always making plans," Remus chuckled a little.

"It's become a habit," Ron shrugged with a smile. "So? Can I bring everyone with me?"

"Of course, Ron," Remus agreed.

"Wicked," Ron's smile widened. "I'll let them all know soon. Do you just want us to pop in after classes?"

"That works," Remus gave a nod, and then he looked to the clock in the room. "It's nearly lunchtime. Go on, Ron, I'll see in the Great Hall."

"Thanks for this, Remus," Ron waved his goodbye, and then he rushed towards the exit. _I'll tell my friends first, and after dinner, I'll let everyone else know. Wait… If this Spell is so important to the Order, then why is Remus only offering to teach it to me?_

Ron stopped by the exit, and then he turned to face Remus, who was now collecting papers from his desk.

"Remus," Ron called, and Remus turned to face him.

"Yes, Ron?"

"If this Spell is so important to the Order, then why not offer to teach everyone from the get-go?" Ron asked.

"It's a very difficult Spell," Remus smiled at him. "I'm more than willing to teach your friends and siblings, but I know that they'll all struggle with it. Well, Percy and Hermione might get it more quickly than the others, but they're not you… I offered to teach you first because I think that you're capable enough already to start learning it." _He thinks that highly of me? That's quite… nice… of him._

"I… Thank you," Ron felt a little embarrassed for some reason. "I'll see you in the Great Hall, yeah?"

"See you soon, cub," Remus went back to collecting his papers.

Ron left the classroom with a goofy smile on his face; this day was shaping up to be the best day he'd had in ages! As Ron shut the door behind him, he spotted Theo waiting for by a shiny suit of armor.

"I'm going to say that you didn't get into any trouble," Theo said, Ron's smile was impossible to miss.

"Does that disappoint you?" Ron asked as he walked up to Theo.

"Mildly," Theo shrugged, and Ron patted his arm before they started walking towards the Moving Staircase.

"Why'd you wait around for me?" Ron asked.

"You mentioned something about sticking in groups once," Theo smirked. "I figured that I'd do my part for Team Ron."

"You'll protect me if some psycho student attacks me?" Ron chuckled.

"Quite the opposite," Theo replied. "This is for my own protection, mate. I'm not leaving my safety up to the other plebs that I call my friends."

"Ah, that makes sense," Ron sniggered, and he missed Theo smiling genuinely for a moment because of Ron's good mood. "Don't worry, Theo, I'll only abandon you if we're hopelessly outnumbered."

"That still beats trusting Draco Malfoy with anything," Theo remarked. _I smell opportunity._

"Speaking of Malfoy," Ron started. "Have you noticed how quiet he's been lately?"

"Don't really care to," Theo replied.

"Theo… C'mon, brother," Ron said, and Theo let out a sigh.

"Damn bleeding heart," Theo muttered. "Yes, I've noticed his eerie silence. I admire it, and I want to encourage it."

"I don't like it," Ron admitted. "Something's really upsetting him, and I want to know what."

"Why?" Theo asked.

"He's had a rough go of things, we all know that now," Ron replied. _I might despise his parents, but even I can see that Malfoy's been shafted all year long now._

"You've known about it for a while," Theo stated. "Don't bother lying, I don't plan to pry into your affairs." _That's what I love about Theo. He doesn't stick his nose into my business unless he sees profit in doing so._ "I'm just saying that even though Malfoy's clearly been through hell, I still don't care enough to help him feel better."

"Tracey wants to help him," Ron said casually, and Theo gave him a dull look.

"Subtlety is clearly not a Weasley trait," Theo said.

"Being subtle is boring anyway," Ron grinned. "So? What do you think is upsetting Malfoy?"

"Could be a million things, but I'd say it's something to do with his parents," Theo shrugged. "Why don't you just talk to him? You know that he only pretends to hate you now, don't you?"

"Oh, there are moments when he still hates me," Ron said.

"Yeah, but more often than not, he only talks when you're around," Theo said. "In some weird way, he's like a lost puppy that you brought home with you from the streets. At first, he was constantly barking and biting, but now, he waits for you by the door."

"Where do you come up with this shit?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I'm one of those imaginative blokes," Theo smirked. "My point is that he might be bothered about what's happening with his mother and the Order, but at the same time, your recent foul mood has made things harder for him."

"He doesn't have anyone to talk to," Ron nodded to himself. _Theo's right, I reckon. But as touching as this is, I really need to do something about the others giving Malfoy the cold shoulder. I know that they have a past with him, but the future is what matters now._

As they stepped into the Dungeons, Theo stopped Ron by putting his hand on Ron's arm.

"Before we join the others…" Theo started, an oddly creepy smile on his face. "What happened between you and Daphne last night?"

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"In one night, she managed to turn your mood around completely," Theo said. "Plus, you weren't at the morning run today, and since when do you skip morning runs?"

"I don't know what you're getting at," Ron said, though his ears turned a little red.

"And since when do you do up your collar so tightly?" Theo smirked. _This cunt!_ "What does she look like naked? Are her tits even better without a top?"

"What. The. Fuck?!" Ron frowned deeply. _I don't fucking know that!_

"What?" Theo asked innocently. "There's nothing wrong with two best friends talking about-"

"I haven't seen her naked," Ron whispered harshly as he looked around for potential eavesdroppers. "And even if I were so lucky, I wouldn't fucking tell you about it."

"Why?" Theo asked, he looked genuinely taken aback. _**Because she's Ours!**_

"She's **my** girlfriend, and I don't want you to know what she looks like naked," Ron said possessively.

"So you have seen her naked," Theo's eyes flashed.

"No, you prick," Ron told the truth. "Her face, feet, and hands are pretty much the only skin I've seen."

"Sharing is caring, Ron," Theo said.

"I'll share my fucking fist with your throat," Ron said, and Theo let out a chuckle.

"Fine, be that way," Theo started walking again. "Just don't bother asking me what my girlfriend looks like naked."

"What girlfriend?!" Ron asked as he caught up to Theo.

"I have some birds in play," Theo shrugged casually.

"Your pillow and your hands?" Ron asked, and Theo smirk faltered.

"Sometimes, you say very hurtful things," Theo remarked.

"Good," Ron shook his head at Theo.

"Only Pure," Theo gave the password, and Ron instinctively rolled his eyes. "Yeah… Even I have to admit that this password is a bit too on the nose."

"Tracey hasn't said it once," Ron said.

"I know," Theo said, neither of them sounded very amused now. "You still won't tell me about Daphne-?"

"I'll strip you naked in front of her if you ask me again," Ron promised.

"Noted," Theo put on his trademark smirk.

As they made their way inside, they had to shift towards the wall in order to avoid the massive group of Slytherins who were heading out to lunch. Ron's first years waved at him, and he shot them a wink and a proud smile. _Professor Snape said that the first years have been carrying this House on their backs this year. I should tell them that in order to boost their morale._

"The others are over there," Theo pointed towards the girls' dorm entrance.

"C'mon," Ron said as he began making a way for Theo and himself.

"Did you get in trouble?" Pansy gave Ron a knowing smirk as soon as she saw him and Theo.

"Why does everyone assume that?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"You have a knack for getting into trouble," Tracey grinned at him. "So if you didn't get in trouble, then what happened?"

"Oh, something great," Ron smiled at all of them. "I arranged a private lesson with Professor Lupin for all of us on Tuesday."

"Pardon?"

"What?"

"Why?"

"Extra studying?" Pansy looked ready to faint. _Wow… Please, don't all thank me at once._

"Is he going to teach us Dueling Spells?" Millie asked. _Thank you, Millie. Thank you._

"He's going to teach us a very Advanced Defensive Charm," Ron tried to hype them up. "He said that it's even harder than O. W. L and N. E. W. T level Magic. It's called the Patronus Charm, and it's one of the strongest Defensive Charms known to Wizardkind."

"That does sound rather wicked," Theo admitted, while Millie looked almost as hyped as Ron himself.

"It sounds hard…" Pansy sighed out.

"I'll help you," Ron offered immediately. "Please? For me?" _And if not for me, then do it for your own benefit at least._

"Well, if you're helping me, then it won't be so bad," Pansy moved over and tangled her arm with his.

Daphne gave Pansy the dullest of looks, but she didn't say anything. _Sorry, Daph._

"Are the rest of you in?" Ron asked the others.

"Sure," Tracey shrugged, while Blaise and Daphne gave him a nod.

Malfoy didn't say anything, and when Ron looked to him, he realized that Malfoy wasn't even paying attention. _Bloody hell, he looks like a walking corpse. I should talk to him tonight as well._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Girls' Dorms – After Classes)**_

Ron knocked on the Triumvirate's door, and after a couple of seconds, the door swung open. Samantha, her extremely long hair tied up in a high ponytail, greeted Ron with a mild look of interest.

"Ron? What is it?" Samantha asked. "Practice doesn't start for another thirty minutes."

"I know, but I figured that I'd come and talk to you three," Ron replied. "I was an unhelpful prick yesterday, and I want to apologize." _Apologize ought to be my middle fucking name._

Samantha just stared at him, and then she took a step back and gestured him to come inside. Ron stepped into the room and shut the door, while Samantha walked back over to her bed.

"Clara and Carey are in the bathroom," Samantha told him as she stopped by her trunk.

"Together?" Ron couldn't help but ask. _Please tell me that they're showering together._

A lecherous smile broke out on his face as he pictured the heavenly sight, and Samantha smirked a little when she saw it. It was oddly gratifying to see that despite being who he was, he still behaved like an ordinary teenage boy whenever pretty girls were involved. Feeling the need to tease Ron a little, Samantha began undoing the buttons on her school shirt.

"They'll be out in a few minutes," Samantha said, and Ron quickly fixed his face.

"Should I-?" Ron started, but his tongue turned to lead when he saw that Samantha was removing her shirt. _AGH! What is she doing?!_

Ron managed to catch a glimpse of her pale skin clashing against her black bra before he quickly turned to face the other way. He heard her chuckle lightly, and his entire face turned red. _She did that on purpose!_

"It's just some skin, Ron," Samantha said calmly.

"You… You shouldn't… I'll go wait outside…" Ron began heading for the door, but when he tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.

"You can turn around now," came Samantha's voice, and very slowly, Ron did as she asked.

She was now wearing a black sweater, and Ron couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. _What's wrong with me?_ As she fixed her hair into place, Ron quietly walked back to his previous spot.

"Oh, I'm still wearing my skirt," Samantha 'remembered', and Ron felt his throat tighten.

Without a word, Ron looked the other way. He could hear her taking her skirt off behind him, and it took every ounce of willpower he had in him to not look back. _Is this a test? It has to be. Samantha isn't like Clara. She doesn't behave this way unless she's trying to get something._

"All finished," Samantha said, and Ron turned around to face her again.

She was wearing the tightest black jeans that Ron had ever seen, and his eyes automatically admired her long legs. _Focus, you fool! Don't fall into her trap._ Ron looked back to her face, and she was just giving him a soft smile. It jarred Ron a little, but he didn't show it.

"You really like the color black, huh?" Ron asked. _Wow, that was a lame thing to say._

"It looks good on me, doesn't it?" she asked.

"It does," Ron agreed.

"What do you think of my jeans?" Samantha asked as she turned a little to give him a better view.

"They're nice," Ron replied. _Too nice._

"Clara got them for me during the Break," Samantha told him. "Apparently, 'skinny jeans' are a fashion trend in the Muggle World."

"I'm not really surprised," Ron said. "They do look really nice." _Stop saying 'nice', Ron._

"You're looking much better today," Samantha said suddenly. "Come here so I can get a better look." _A better look?_

Ron walked over to Samantha, and she literally started inspecting his face like Madam Pomfrey always did. _Oh, she wants a genuine look. Fair enough._ Samantha put the back of her hand against Ron's forehead, and then she gave an approving nod.

"Do you want to talk about what was bothering you?" Samantha asked.

"I'm here to talk about you three," Ron replied.

"Carey and Clara aren't here, so let's talk about you first," Samantha said, and Ron suddenly realized that he was as tall as her now. _She doesn't look as intimidating anymore, actually. I mean, she's not particularly tall, but for a girl, she's very tall._ "Ron? Aren't you going to say something?"

"Sorry, got distracted," Ron apologized, and her soft smile reappeared. "I was just having a rough time with… everything… But don't worry, I've got my head on straight again."

"Your condition hasn't gotten worse, has it?" Samantha asked, and even Ron could hear the slight worry in her voice. _Why do they even care about me?_

"No, it hasn't" Ron replied. "But lately… I've just been feeling…" Ron shot a look towards the bathroom door, and then he whispered. "Depressed…"

"Why?" Samantha asked. _I have a mad crow whispering in my ears constantly._

"Mood swings," Ron sighed out. "It's a side-effect of my condition. Sometimes, my brain stops functioning like it's supposed to, and everything goes to shit."

"Hormonal imbalances," Samantha whispered to herself. "I'm very sorry, Ron."

"It is what it is," Ron took a step back. "Don't worry about me, please. Right now, we need to concentrate on Carey, Clara, and you. How are you doing? Clara mentioned that you're all struggling."

"You want to know if I'm having second thoughts," Samantha said.

"Are you?" Ron asked.

"I never stopped having them, Ron," Samantha replied. "But, I know what I have to do. I don't love my parents, but I do love Carey and Clara." Samantha then looked a little distant. "A Name is just a Name. What I share with my best friends… That means everything to me." _Wow, it's weird hearing her say something so sweet._

She seemingly realized how bizarre she sounded, and she quickly regained her composure. _I know that look… That's someone trying to be strong even though they're at their wit's end. I often walk around with that look on my face._

"It's all right to be scared," Ron whispered, and Samantha blinked at him. "No one is here to see it."

"That doesn't change anything for me," Samantha said. "I don't give into fear."

"Everyone gives into fear," Ron said. "If we had no fear, then we wouldn't be human, I think."

Samantha said nothing to that, and after a couple of seconds, Ron took a step forward and placed his hands on the sides of her arms. _This trick always works on the girls, so here goes nothing._ Ron began rubbing Samantha's arms gently, all the while giving her a look of understanding. She was tense at first, maybe even annoyed due to being touched, but slowly, she started to relax.

"We'll get through this," Ron promised her. "It won't be easy, but we will get through it."

"People die in wars, Ron…" Samantha muttered under her breath, which only proved to Ron that she was genuinely scared of the future.

"They do," Ron said, he now knew better than to make false promises. "I won't promise you that you'll make it out in one piece, I think you're too smart to believe something like that, but saying that… I do promise that I'll do my best to look out for Carey, Clara, and you. As long as I'm here, I'll stay by your sides."

Samantha just looked into his eyes, and eventually, she relaxed completely.

"That was a very cliché thing to say…" Samantha gave a weak smile.

"Did it work?" Ron smiled, and Samantha leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. _What the…? She kissed me._

"Thank you, Ron," Samantha took a step back, and Ron removed his hands from her arms.

He was a little surprised that Samantha of all people would show him that level of affection, but he decided not to make a stupid comment about it. Instead, he just gave her a warm smile. _She's scared, and I helped her feel better. I don't think she meant anything by that kiss. Plus, Carey and Clara have also given me similar kisses before._

"I think we missed something, Carey," came Clara's voice, and Ron looked to see her and Carey standing by the bathroom. _GOOD LORD!_

They were both wearing nothing but towels, their bare legs and shoulders glistening from their shower. Ron immediately looked the other way, and he heard Clara giggle at his reaction.

"I'll come back in five minutes," Ron said quickly.

"Ron, wait," Clara laughed, but Ron had already unlocked the door with his wand. _They were showering together! This is too much! Run!_

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

"I'm sure that you have questions for me," Ron started the conversation; he was sitting across from the girls. "I'll answer said questions as best I can, but I don't know everything, so please don't get your hopes up too much."

Carey looked to the other girls, but when neither of them said anything, Carey decided to take the lead.

"What sort of future is the Order promising us?" Carey asked. _Of course she starts with a difficult one._

"A future where you're alive," Ron replied.

"That's not good enough," Carey said. "We want to know what happens after we graduate. We asked the Headmaster, but he told us to come to you." _Is he testing me? Merlin, I can never fully tell with the old man._

Ron thought about his answer for a moment, and then he decided to utilize their strengths in order to benefit the Order.

"What did you three plan to do before?" Ron asked.

"I was going to go on a long vacation," Clara replied, he could hear the disappointment in her voice. "Eventually, however, I planned to get a job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation in order to build my own network around the World. I've always loved traveling, and this career would let me do just that." _That's very ambitious of her. Guess I know why she ended up in Slytherin now._

"I see," Ron said, and then he looked to Carey and Samantha.

"I planned to apply for a Healer Apprenticeship at St. Mungo's," Samantha said. "I've got a lot of experience working under Madam Pomfrey as a volunteer, and with my grades, an Apprenticeship was all but confirmed." _The Order could always use another Healer._

"Carey?" Ron looked to her.

"I wished to start working with the Wizengamot Administrative Services," Carey said. "After a couple of years of making connections with the members of the Wizengamot, I was going to move into the Department of Magical Cooperation alongside Clara. I was hoping to become a Wizengamot member myself eventually, but now that seems rather pointless."

"No, I think it's a good idea," Ron said, and Carey waited for him to go on. "The Wizengamot is headed by Albus Dumbledore himself, and it is probably the most influential body of wizards within Britain. At the end of the day, they make the legislations that all of Wizarding Britain has to follow. Having someone working closely with the Wizengamot members will help the Order. I'll speak to the Headmaster for you, and we'll get you a job within the Wizengamot Administrative Services." _She can then serve as my eyes within the Wizengamot's affairs._

Even Samantha looked a little taken aback by Ron's sudden shift, but he was too busy looking at Clara to notice.

"Clara, I've already got a foot in the door within the Department of International Magical Cooperation," Ron told her. "Don't tell anyone this, but right now, Barty Crouch Snr and Ludo Bagman are working on a massive project together. I'll talk to Mr. Crouch on your behalf once I get more influence within the Ministry, and hopefully, you and I can start working together by the time the project is unveiled." _I can keep my eyes on her and make sure that she doesn't get targeted. Plus, having someone like her watching my back will come in handy._

Ron then looked to Samantha.

"The Order will always need a strong Healer, so I'm all for this Apprenticeship," Ron said. "As you know, without me bringing the French in to help the St. Mungo's fund, the hospital would have taken much longer to complete. I reckon you should apply as you already planned to, but if some obstacle does show up, I'm more than willing to help sort it out." _She'll be relatively safe at St. Mungo's, and if she helps heal Order members, she'll really help us prove that Slytherin isn't just a Death-Eater training camp._

"So we just go about our lives like normal?" Clara asked.

"For the most part, yes," Ron replied. "Right now, there are only a handful of people who know what's really going on, so nothing drastic has happened-"

"What's your role in the Order?" Carey asked suddenly. "What's your **real** role, Ron? Why does the Headmaster trust you to speak for him? Why did Professor Snape order us to listen your every word?" _Their faith in me is really gratifying. We've come a really long way from me holding my visions as bargaining chips._

Ron thought about what to tell them, and honestly, he was inclined to tell them the truth. Ron understood that he needed the girls just as much as they needed him, and he also understood that they weren't the sort to be sated with lies. Sure, he could double down and stand his ground, but he didn't want to alienate them by doing so.

"I work with the Headmaster and Professor Snape to create plans for the Order's movements," Ron told them, his eyes focused on Carey.

"They trust you that much?" Clara asked.

"Why?" Samantha asked.

"Because I am who I am," Ron replied, and they waited for him to go on. "The French who came to fund St. Mungo's reconstruction also signed on to provide the Order with money and supplies during the war. I made that happen. Madame Maxime knows of my role, and with her help, I plan to bring French wands into the war against the Dark Lord. I also advised the Headmaster to start recruiting from Slytherin House in order to avoid the last war's mistakes. So far, Lord Greengrass and James Davis have joined up."

"Your mentor is in the Order?" Carey asked.

"Yes, but he has no idea that I work with the Headmaster and Professor Snape," Ron replied. "No one knows, and you three will never speak of my involvement. I am a silent partner, and will remain so until I decide otherwise."

"Why stick to being a silent partner?" Clara asked, and then, she looked him over. "You're thirteen, and your parents would no doubt go ballistic."

"Far too many people underestimate me because of my age, but the Headmaster and Professor Snape don't," Ron said. "Trust me, I've been through things that would make your skins crawl, so I know what I'm about."

The girls exchanged quick looks, and Ron figured that they were communicating without speaking again.

"Did you ask the Headmaster to approach us?" Carey asked.

"Yes, and Professor Snape backed my idea," Ron replied.

"Why?" Samantha asked. "Why tell us so much when you don't even tell your own kin?"

"I need you, but I don't need my kin," Ron replied, his coldness coming through. "Wait… Let me rephrase that… You can help me with giving Slytherin House a fair chance to choose their own futures, but my kin don't care one bit about Slytherin House. When it comes to my kin, they still see me as a child. A brilliant child, sure, but still just a child. You three know me better than that, and I don't want you to think that I mistrust you."

Ron then shifted slightly, an uncomfortable thought invading his mind.

"And I like you three…" Ron added 'casually'. _Not very smooth, Ron._

"You like us?" Carey asked, while Clara gave him a warm smile.

"I don't like many people," Ron confessed. "So the ones who I do like, I want to help protect as much as possible. If you're with the Order, then you'll be safer during the war. You won't have to serve a lunatic, nor will you be used as dispensable foot soldiers. And… I can watch your backs…"

The girls said nothing to that, but Ron noticed Clara giving Samantha and Carey a 'I told you so' look.

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat. "Do you three have any other questions?"

"None right now," Samantha replied, and Carey and Clara nodded their agreement. "We should head down to the Training Room, anyway."

Ron stood up at that, and the Triumvirate followed suit.

"Just one more thing," Ron remembered. "It gets easier."

"What gets easier?" Clara asked.

"Knowing what's out there," Ron clarified. "I know you're all scared, and I am too. But slowly, you will start getting used to it. You'll think about it less and less, and it won't shake you to the core as often. And… If you three ever need to talk, you can always come to me…" _I'm saying too many sappy things. They probably think that I'm a bleeding heart now._ "Even if I look sick, or prickly." _Stop, for the love of Merlin._

Not willing to embarrass himself any further, Ron began making his way towards the exit. He wasn't surprised that the girls didn't follow him out; they probably planned to discuss what to do next. Before Ron shut the door, he looked back into the room.

"Come to my study group tomorrow," Ron said. "I want more Slytherins to start taking a part in it, and you three are admired by pretty much every single young Slytherin. Plus, having the Head Girl and her friends joining us will go a long way in inspiring others to do the same."

"All right," Carey agreed. "And thank you, Ron."

Ron gave a nod, and then he closed the door.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Training Room – Late Evening)**_

The moment the P-12 crossed the distance between Arthur Belmont and itself, Ron visibly cringed as he watched the P-12 land a savage haymaker across the fifth year's face. With a pained yelp, Belmont dropped onto his side, his wand completely forgotten on the sand. _Why did he let go of his fucking wand? Why do they all just drop their wands?_

"Enough!" Ron called, and the P-12 stopped before kicking Belmont's head in.

Ron could hear Flint's gang having a chuckle at Belmont's expense, which was odd because none of Flint's gang had the balls to face the Auror Trainer themselves. _How do people like him even exist? They know that they're cowards, and yet they act like they own the planet. Wait… Why am I giving them any thought, anyway? They'll join the Dark Lord for certain, and then I can just kill them._ With his mind made up, Ron walked over to the groaning fifth years.

"Five on one, and you still lost," Ron said, he felt zero sympathy for these losers. "Not one of you followed my instructions. Why?"

"We don't answer to you, Weasley," Martha Hopkirk glared murder at him, and Ron nearly slapped her across the face.

"Yes, you do," Ron said coldly. "Everyone in this House answers to me. Except for the Triumvirate, of course. Now, tell me why you didn't follow my instructions?"

None of them said anything, mostly because in their idiotic minds, Ron was beneath them because he was a Weasley. The other teams were all watching quietly, no doubt dreading their turns. _Maybe I'm being too demanding? I do keep forgetting that everyone around me is a useless cunt._ Ron looked to the P-12, and then he looked to the Triumvirate. The girls were chatting with their teammates, Jack Casper and Robert Moon, and Ron figured that they were trying to come up with a strategy to defeat the P-12.

"Watch and learn!" Ron said loudly, making sure that everyone heard him.

"You're going to take on the Auror Trainer yourself?" Adrian Pucey asked, he had a handprint on his right cheek. _Bitch-slapped by a dummy, and all because he tried to throw his wand away in submission._

"Yes," Ron replied, and then he gestured the fifth year team to go join the others.

He could already hear his Housemates talking excitedly, and he could see that Flint's gang wanted him to get hurt. Ron cracked his neck and knuckles, and then he pulled out his wand. He put some distance between himself and the P-12, and when he turned to face the P-12 again, he saw a worried Daphne in the background. _Don't worry, Daph, this time I won't be holding back._

"Ron, maybe your team should join you?" Clara suggested.

"Just watch, and learn," Ron repeated. _Time to re-channel my inner Madam Roberts._ "Against a stronger opponent, you need to be the one in charge. If the P-12 takes charge of the Duel, then you're all fucked. It's not going to relent, and unlike you, it doesn't make mistakes. There's no coming back if it gains the upper hand." Ron then looked to the second years. "What are the best ways to take charge of a Duel, Mathias?"

"Um… Control the terrain," Mathias remembered. "Use a variety of Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses. Oh, and seize every opportunity to gain the upper hand."

"Good," Ron gave him a nod, and then he looked to the P-12. _Here I go._ "Don't hold back on me, P-12. Give me your worst. Begin!"

The P-12's head shot up, and it immediately sent a wave of fire at Ron. People gasped in shock, but Ron summoned a Non-Verbal shield that was strong enough to withstand the flames. _It put some power into that. Nice!_ Ron let out a yell as he shoved his shield forward, and while the P-12 shattered the oncoming shield with a Reductor Curse, Ron started his Spell Chain.

"Stupefy, Flipendo, Expelliarmus," Ron chanted back to back, and as the P-12 dodged Ron's Spells, Ron readied a Non-Verbal Fumos within his lungs.

He continued the Spell Chain Non-Verbally, making sure to buy himself enough time to cover the sandpit in a thick miasma of black smoke. The moment he saw the P-12 put up a shield to try and regain its footing, Ron let the smoke out of his mouth like a Dragon. He heard people clapping and letting out impressed noises, but he ignored them for now. _One mistake, and the P-12 will kick my arse._

Just as the smoke hid Ron and the P-12 from sight, Ron crouched down and dug his left fist into the sand. _Brachium Colubrum!_ The smoke was suddenly blasted away by a torrent of wind so powerful that Ron and his Ethereal Serpent were sent rolling through the sand. Flint's gang laughed a bit too loudly, but once again, Ron ignored the spectators. _It saw through my strategy, didn't it? And what was that fucking Spell? Didn't Madam Roberts use the same thing on me? Which means…_

Ron threw a Non-Verbal shield behind himself just in time for the torrent of wind to smash against it. _Bloody hell, that hits hard!_ Ron quickly rolled onto his side, barely dodging a green Hex of some sort. The sand sizzled as the green Hex exploded, and some of the acid landed on the side of Ron's face. Despite not wanting to, Ron let out a pained yell. _**OUR FUCKING FACE!**_

Boiling rage welled up in Ron, and he shot up to his feet with a murderous glare. _**You will pay for that!**_ The P-12 was in no mood to stop its assault, despite some people urging the Triumvirate to stop the fight. Ron, much like the P-12, was in no mood to stop, and he decided to push through the pain.

"Protego!" Ron yelled, putting up a shield just in time to block another ball of acid. _**Cutis Terra!**_

Ron felt his muscles harden like steel as he watched his shield melt and fall apart. Using the P-12's own trick against it, Ron sent the acid covered remains of his shield forward. Due to his heightened strength, the shield was sent forward at an alarming speed, and the P-12 barely managed to slice through it, though some of the acid managed to find itself sizzling on the P-12's legs and chest. It showed no sign of pain, of course, but Ron still felt extremely satisfied. With a manic grin on his face, Ron sent forward a bed of Ethereal Serpents from his left arm, his Magical prowess boosted immensely thanks to Cutis Terra.

The P-12 put up a strong shield, just as Ron had predicted, and while his serpents smashed against the shield wildly, Ron broke into a sprint. Within half a second, Ron had crossed the distance, his augmented legs carrying him faster than ever before.

"Fuck you!" Ron yelled as he smashed shoulder first into the shield, sending both the P-12 and himself rolling through the sand. _**We win!**_

Ron was immediately on his feet, his left fist smashing down into the P-12's back as it tried to get up. The wood cracked beneath the weight of his fist, and Ron wasted no time in stepping on the P-12's wand hand, crushing its wooden fingers under his heel. _**Does that hurt? Good!**_ The P-12 tried to tangle Ron's legs with its own, no doubt trying to trip him, but with Cutis Terra still in effect, Ron didn't even budge from his spot. He knew that he could use his wand to stun the P-12 right here and now, but it had to pay for causing Ron pain.

Ron reached down and grabbed the P-12 by the back of its neck, and with a swift motion, lifted it into the air before smashing it back down headfirst. Some spectators gasped at the savagery, while others let out loud yells of excitement and awe. Ron ignored them again, his eyes fixed on the P-12's squirming body. Once again, Ron stepped onto its wand hand, his eyes fixed on the P-12's wooden face. _**Time to die, insect. **_

In one last desperate attempt to defeat Ron, the P-12 tried to remove Ron's foot with its spare hand. Ron reached down and grabbed the P-12's free arm, and with a savage laugh, Ron yanked the wooden arm out of its socket. This time, a lot of people gasped and screamed, despite knowing that the P-12 was made of wood and incapable of feeling pain. Ron tossed the arm aside nonchalantly, while the P-12 kept squiring in an attempt to free itself.

"Reducto," Ron chanted as he aimed his wand at the P-12's forehead, effectively blowing its brains out.

The P-12 stopped squirming, and Ron felt cool relief wash over him. _One day, this'll be Lucius Malfoy dead at my feet._ The effects of Cutis Terra left his muscles slowly, and Ron felt a small pang of pain reverberate throughout his entire body. _I held it too long, but I think I'll be fine._ With some of his rage quenched, Ron looked to his Housemates. He wasn't surprised to see them shitting themselves as his eyes moved between them.

"Fourth years!" Ron called, and they immediately tensed. "Come here!"

They looked to the Triumvirate for help, much to Ron's annoyance, but the Triumvirate gestured them to do as they were told. Slowly, they made their way over to Ron. They were scared; especially the three girls, but Ron couldn't care less.

"Greene, you're the leader of this team, right?" Ron asked, and Bartholomew Greene nodded shakily.

"Weasley… Your face…" Barbara Miller whispered, and Ron suddenly realized that the right side of his face was hurting like hell. _The acid… Shit. I hope Samantha can heal this._

"Ignore it," Ron turned and cracked his neck, and then he looked to Greene. "Follow my instructions. Change the terrain, use a variety of Spells, don't waste openings, and don't drop your fucking wands at the first sign of trouble. Understood?"

"Under… Understood," Greene muttered, his eyes darting towards the P-12's corpse.

"Use Reparo to fix it," Ron ordered Madeline Croxley, and then he left the fourth years in order to go to Samantha.

People shifted out of his way immediately, most of them making sure to avert their gazes. Before Ron could reach Samantha, however, Ron's friends stepped into his way.

"Ron! Your face!" Pansy fretted, while Daphne, Tracey, and Millie looked genuinely scared for him. _It's just a little wound._

"I'm fine," Ron assured them. "Does it look that bad?"

"Doesn't it hurt?" Theo asked, while Blaise and Malfoy both looked squeamish.

"Of course it hurts," Ron said dully. "Which is why I'm trying to get to Samantha."

"Move aside," Samantha said as she nudged Pansy away from Ron's face. "I need better lighting. Come with me."

Ron followed the raven-haired witch, and his friends followed after him. Samantha led him to Clara and Carey, who were waiting by a torch. Samantha told Ron to sit down against the wall, which he did without argument.

"Now, let's see…" Samantha grimaced as she turned his head to the side, and then, she began muttering some incantations as she aimed her wand at his burns.

Clara drew in a sharp breath, while Carey looked away from Ron's face. He could see Daphne, Pansy, and Tracey's eyes welling up, and for some reason, he felt rather annoyed by that. _They'll see worse before long, I'm sure._ Ron drew in a deep breath, and he thought of Stoatshead Hill. The pain in his face subsided a little as his Occlumency calmed him down from his fight. _Don't get annoyed at the girls, Ron… They're just worried about you. Relax. You won._

"Well?" Ron asked, his voice much gentler now.

"It wasn't a Curse," Samantha said as she stopped muttering incantations. "So it won't scar. I can heal this pretty easily, of course, but if you were unlucky, you could have lost your eye."

"I'm as lucky as they come," Ron couldn't help but chuckle, much to everyone's discomfort. _What? That's funny because I'm not lucky at all._

"Don't the rest of you have training to get back to?" Samantha shot a look back. "Stop hovering over my shoulder. I need to focus."

"He'll be fine?" Daphne asked, and Ron felt his stomach twist a little. _I know that it was necessary, but I hate making her worry over me like this._

"Samantha's very good at Healing Magic," Clara said gently. "Why don't you all come with me, yeah? I'm sure Ron wants you to watch the fourth years Duel against the Auror Trainer."

"Go on," Ron tried to match her tone. "I'll be right with you in a bit."

The others followed after Clara reluctantly, while Daphne only left when Ron gave her a pleading look. Once his friends were gone, Carey moved over and sat down beside Samantha.

"Did you have to take it so far?" Carey asked.

"I couldn't have predicted that the P-12 would try to burn my face off," Ron shrugged. "These things happen, and if you don't push through the pain, then you're dead." _This lesson is brought to you by the Entity, the cunt older than time itself._

Carey reached forward and took his gloved hand in hers, and Ron figured that she was trying to comfort him while Samantha healed his face. Truth be told, Ron didn't need comforting, mostly because he had been through far worse, but instead of telling Carey that, he decided to let her hold his hand. _If it makes her feel better, then there's no point in acting tough._

"Where are the first years?" Carey asked Ron. "Shouldn't they be here?" _Trying to distract me, eh?_

"I gave them the day off," Ron replied. "I told them what Professor Snape said about them, and then I told them that I was really proud of them. They asked me if they could spend the day outside instead of hauled up in here, and I agreed."

"Softie," Carey smirked a little. "I'm glad that we picked you to look after them. Even we couldn't have predicted just how far you'd go with them."

"I'm just a really competent young chap," Ron smirked back.

"Stop moving your face," Samantha scolded.

"Sorry…" Ron muttered, while Carey smiled sweetly.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Entrance Hall – Right After Dinner)**_

Ron waited by the giant door that led into the Courtyard, his friends had already left for the Slytherin common room. They had, of course, offered to stay by Ron's side, but he knew that his siblings and the Trio wouldn't be too comfortable with that. _Right now, I just need to focus on convincing my siblings and the Trio to join us._

"Ron?" came Ginny's voice, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did," Ron smiled at her, and she managed a weak smile in return. "How are you, Ginny?"

"I'm managing," she replied as she walked over to his side. "Sort of…"

"Sort of managing?" Ron asked, and Ginny rubbed her left forearm. _That's it, I'm finding out why she keeps doing that._

"Madam Pomfrey told me to try and reach out to my peers…" Ginny muttered. "Didn't really work…" _Oh._

Ron's curiosity vanished immediately, and he felt the urge to put his arm around her shoulders. He only stopped himself because he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their recovering relationship.

"Want to talk about it?" Ron asked.

"Not really," Ginny replied. "I tried, and it didn't take…"

"They didn't want to talk to you?" Ron pushed a little.

"Colin and his mates weren't bothered by me, but the girls…" Ginny stopped short.

"What about the girls?" Ron asked.

"They don't really like me," Ginny looked down at her shuffling feet.

"Why not?" Ron was a little surprised to hear that.

"I keep them up at night…" Ginny sighed out. "I have bad dreams, and I make 'weird noises'…"

"I see," Ron rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's all right," Ginny mumbled. "I'll try again when they're not around."

"I can teach you a Spell that will help," Ron offered, and Ginny looked to him.

"A Spell?" Ginny asked. "What kind of Spell?"

"The kind that keeps noise hidden from other people," Ron smiled a little. "Do you want to learn it?"

"I… Of course," Ginny managed a bigger smile. "That'd be really great, Ron."

"What do we have here?" came Fred's voice, and Ron and Ginny looked to see Fred, George, Percy, and Luna walking over to them. "Are Ginny and Ron getting along again? Careful, Ron, she might-"

"Stop it," Percy frowned at Fred, who raised his hands in surrender.

Ron felt Ginny tense up immediately as she looked back down at her feet, and Ron nearly slapped Fred's face off. _I was getting through to her! Fucking prick has to go out of his way to make others feel like shit, doesn't he?!_

"You're not going to give us more bad news, are you?" George asked, he sounded genuinely worried.

"No," Ron replied quickly. "No bad news this time, I promise."

"Then what's this about?" Percy asked. "Also… Why are we meeting in the middle of the Entrance Hall?"

"We're waiting for the Trio," Ron looked past his siblings. _I haven't seen them leave yet, so what's taking them so long?_

"The Trio?" Luna asked. "Do you have a surprise for us, Ron?"

"I do, actually," Ron shot her a wink, making her smile brightly.

Ron suddenly spotted Hermione's bushy hair, and accompanying her were Harry and Neville, both of whom were talking excitedly about something.

"Hermione!" Ron waved at her, and she looked around for him.

When she spotted him, she nudged her best friends.

"I need to talk to you guys," Ron gestured them to come over, which they did promptly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as she looked around at Ron's siblings.

"Nothing's wrong," Ron replied. "Let's move out of everyone's way first, yeah?"

None of them argued, and they all made their way out into the cold night. Ginny, Luna, and Hermione quickly began rubbing their arms, while Percy cast the Warming Charm around them.

"It's getting colder every day," Fred complained. "Why are we doing this outside?"

"This will only take a few minutes," Ron promised. "Now, I had a chat with Professor Lupin, and he offered to give me a private lesson-"

"He offered you a private lesson?" Harry blurted out. "Really?"

Neville and Hermione exchanged looks, and Ron decided to continue with what he was saying.

"He offered to teach me a really powerful Defensive Charm, one that everyone in the Order has to learn," Ron went on, and the look on Harry's face nearly made Ron choke. _So territorial._

"What Charm?" Hermione asked, an excited glint in her eyes.

"It's called the Patronus Charm," Ron replied, and Percy cocked an eyebrow.

"That Spell is beyond N. E. W. T level Magic, Ron," Percy said with a concerned look. "Spells like that can backfire horribly if done wrong. He shouldn't be teaching you, of all people, such Magic."

"Well, he'll be teaching all of us on next Tuesday," Ron said.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Really?"

"We're learning Order Magic?"

"I figured that if this Spell was so useful, then we should all learn it," Ron said. "I asked him if he could hold a class for us, and he agreed. So, after classes end on Tuesday, come to Professor Lupin's classroom, please."

"This is really thoughtful of you, Ron!" Hermione said excitedly. "I'll definitely be there!" _I knew that I could count on her to get hyped. She'll definitely convince Harry and Neville if they have any reservations about this._

"Same goes for us," the twins grinned.

"What about the rest of you?" Ron asked the others.

"It would be nice to learn something like the Patronus Charm," Percy nodded to himself. "I'll come as well."

"Harry? Neville?" Ron smiled.

"Sure," Neville smiled back. "It sounds like fun."

"I'm in as well," Harry said, he looked a bit perplexed though.

"Ginny? Luna?" Ron looked to his sisters.

"I'll come if you want me to," Luna hummed as she stared up at the moon and stars.

"Me too," Ginny said to Ron, her eyes darting towards Luna.

"Great!" Ron said, he was glad that they were so agreeable about this. _Now, just mention that your friends will be there as well._ "My friends and I will see you all there, then."

"Your friends?" Hermione blinked, while Ron's siblings gave him dull looks for trying to be so sneaky.

"Why would Remus teach them a Spell that the Order members have to learn?" Harry asked. _Think about it, and you might come to the answer on your own._

"Because I asked him to," Ron replied. "He agrees with me on the fact that they also need to learn to protect themselves." Ron then drew in a deep breath. "Look, we're all in the same boat now, and sooner or later, we need to try and look past House Rivalry. This is bigger than who wins the House Cup."

"We'll be there," Neville gave Ron a nod, and Ron couldn't help but relax a little.

"Thank you, Neville," Ron said, his eyes darting towards Hermione and Harry.

"Of course, you're right," Hermione said. "The Cup isn't all that important considering what we know." _Thank you, Hermione and Neville. Thank you._

"Harry?" Ron asked, and Harry just gave a nod. "Great."

"The rest of us will be there as well," Percy promised Ron, while the twins just shrugged.

"Then I guess that we're done here," Ron felt rather relieved now that they had all agreed to join. "Good night."

"Bye, Ron," Luna walked up and hugged his middle, and then she turned around and skipped back towards the castle.

The twins and Percy followed her, while Ginny shot a miserable look at Luna's back. _Just keep at it, Gin. She'll come around the moment you approach her._

"See you tomorrow, Ron," Hermione said, and Ron waved off the Trio.

"Aren't you going to head inside?" Ron asked Ginny once they were alone.

"What about the Spell?" Ginny asked Ron.

"Oh, you want to learn it tonight?" Ron blinked. "Sure, I've got time. It's a little hard to learn, but you're smart enough to get it."

"It's hard to learn?" Ginny asked slowly.

"It's a fifth year Charm, and I only know it because Charlie wrote it down for me," Ron replied. "It took me about a week to get it right."

"A week?" Ginny looked a bit disheartened.

"Sorry, Ginny," Ron gave her a sympathetic smile. "Let's get start tonight, eh? I can show you how I finally made it work, and maybe, that'll speed up the process."

"Okay…" Ginny nodded half-heartedly. "Can we practice inside the castle?"

"Of course," Ron agreed, and they began making their way towards the castle.

He couldn't deny that he was feeling quite excited at the prospect of teaching Ginny. He had, after all, offered to teach her when she had first come to Hogwarts, but she had refused his help every single time. _The sessions with Madam Pomfrey are clearly working. I should get Madam Pomfrey a gift basket as a thank you. That woman has done so much for me._ As they entered the Entrance Hall, Ron eyes darted towards a head of red hair. His body stopped moving on its own, and he went a little wide-eyed as he stared at Ravenclaw Ron inspecting the Ravenclaw Hourglass.

"Get rid of her," Ravenclaw Ron turned to face Ron, his eyes darting towards Ginny. "We need to talk about our plans." _Oh, we need to talk. That's for certain…_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Another one! I hope you guys enjoyed that, and I really hope that it alievated some of the boredom that we're all suffering from.**

 **I don't really have much to say due to nothing going on in my life, but I will say this... Please be safe, and start praying to Nurgle instead!**

 **See you guys in about a week!**


	117. Chapter 117 - 'Godhood'

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 117 is finally here! Sorry for the longer than usual wait, but I ended up rewriting this chapter due to poor planning. My bad, you guys!  
**

 **Now, before we begun, I just need to address a couple of things:**

 **1\. We are the heighest REVIEWED Ron Weasley MC story on this site, I reckon. I couldn't find any other stories that have Ron as the MC and have as many reviews as FATE! That's bloody amazing, right?! Thank you to all of my reviewers, you guys really gave me a confidence boost when I needed it. I love you, you beautiful Bast****.**

 **2\. Very recently, there was a little debate in the Review section, and I'm very glad that you guys were so respectful to each other. I don't mind debates, of course, but I'd hate to see you guys fighting. So, well done on keeping it civil, it means a lot to me. And please, if you have any opinions on the story that you want to share, don't be afraid of voicing your opinions. Just please be respectful to each other, that's all I ask.**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

 ** **There's also another Ron story out that's really good so far! It's called 'There and Back Again', and it's written by Chuchi Otaku. Please, go check it out! I've certainly enjoyed reading it!****

* * *

 _'Awash in blood and delusion, he bears the burden of a thousand lifetimes' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 117 – 'Godhood'**

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Thursday 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Entrance Hall – After Dinner)**_

"What are you looking at, Ron?" Ginny asked as she followed his gaze. _A foul twat._

"Get rid of her," Ravenclaw Ron repeated. _He has no idea that I plan to put him in his place? So, unlike the Entity, he can't read my thoughts? This is great! I can use this against him!_

Ron smiled a little, which unnerved both Ginny and Ravenclaw Ron.

"I'm just looking at the Hourglasses, Ginny," Ron decided to ignore his past self for now. _Ginny will come first for me._

"I hate looking at those Hourglasses," Ginny told him. "Look at our Hourglass… It might as well be empty."

"It's not that bad," Ron looked to the Gryffindor Hourglass. "Okay… It's pretty bad."

"All thanks to you," Ginny said, though she didn't exactly sound bitter like she used to.

If anything, she sounded resigned.

"You're just going to ignore me?" Ravenclaw Ron frowned. _Did someone say something? Must've been the wind._

"C'mon, Ginny," Ron guided her towards the stairs. _I'll take her to the third floor because it has a lot of abandoned classrooms._ "I'll show you the Spell first, and then you can practice casting it yourself."

"What's it called?" Ginny asked.

"The Silencing Charm: Silencio," Ron replied. "It'll keep people from hearing whatever noises you make behind your bed curtains."

"What? Don't teach her that garbage," Ravenclaw Ron followed after them. "Silencio is supposed to be used on living beings, you halfwit." _He sounds… concerned?_ "If you want her roommates to not hear her at night, teach her Muffliato. Not only is it much easier to cast, but it was also made specifically to keep people from overhearing conversations." _Really? I've never heard of this Spell._

"Ron?" Ginny called. "Why did you just stop talking?"

"Thought I heard something," Ron replied, and then he shot Ginny a half-smile. "Are you coming to the study group tomorrow?"

"I don't know if I should," Ginny shrugged. "If I do come, then I'll have to sit around with people who don't want me there. Or, I'll have to sit with Hermione, Harry, and Neville…"

"You're still not talking to the Trio?" Ron asked.

"I talk to Neville," Ginny replied. "But Hermione and Harry are a different story."

"I thought you and Hermione were really close," Ron said, and Ginny rubbed her left forearm. _She's doing it again._

"I thought the same thing," Ginny muttered. "But she was lying to me for weeks, and it never occurred to her that she should tell me about my own brother's-" she trailed off. "I just don't understand why Harry and Hermione would stalk you like that… Especially Harry." _Maybe I should show her that Harry Potter is human too? It might help her understand why he did what he did._

"He was jealous of me," Ron told Ginny plainly.

"Pardon?"

"Harry… He was jealous of me," Ron repeated, and Ginny didn't look convinced. "You've seen how Sirius and Remus treat me, haven't you? They might treat Harry like their son, but they treat me as an equal. I think that bothers him greatly-

"But that's because you saved Sirius from Azkaban," Ginny said.

"He knows that, but at the same time, people do stupid things when they're upset," Ron said. "I think that Harry did what he did because he wanted to show everyone that I'm nothing special, and he got so caught up in it that he didn't realize just how far he was going."

Ginny said nothing back, and Ron figured that she was mulling his words over in her head. Personally, Ron didn't care much about Harry and Hermione's reasons, but he did want Ginny to be happier than she currently was. The rest of the trip up to the third floor was made in silence, and when they finally reached an abandoned classroom, Ron led the way inside.

"So, how are we doing this?" Ginny asked as she pulled out her wand.

"Yes, Ronnie, how are we doing this?" Ravenclaw Ron 'mimicked' Ginny's voice.

"I'll show you the Spell first," Ron spoke only to Ginny. "After that, you can try having a go at it."

"You said that it took you a week to get this Spell right," Ginny said.

"You'll do fine, Ginny," Ron gave an assuring smile. "Now, come with me."

Ron led her back to the door, and then he opened it and stepped out.

"I'll close this, and cast the Spell," Ron told her. "Try and listen for any sounds that I make on the other side. If I do it right, you won't be able to hear a single thing."

"This isn't a very efficient solution for her privacy issues," Ravenclaw Ron said, while Ron closed the door. "Teach her Muffliato instead. All it takes is pointing the wand and saying the incantation. It won't take her a week to learn." _Why do you even care?_

Ron aimed his wand at the closed door, deciding to maintain his course. _I don't trust this 'Muffliato' Spell, anyway. I've never even heard of it._

"Silencio," Ron chanted. _There. I think that worked._

Ron knocked on the door, and he got no response from Ginny. Ron knocked again just to be sure, and once again, there was no response from Ginny.

"Ginny? Can you hear me?" Ron called. _Nothing._

"The Silencing Charm isn't meant to be used like this," Ravenclaw Ron said. "You're wasting time by teaching her a rather difficult Charm, and it has no guarantee of working as intended."

"Why are you so keen to help her?" Ron suddenly asked.

"I am keen to get started on our plans," Ravenclaw Ron drawled. "She is a distraction, and if you teach her the right Spell, she'll be on her way."

"Why should I even trust this Spell of yours?" Ron asked. "I've never heard of it."

"I learnt it directly from Flitwick, who told me that your Professor Snape was the one who created it," Ravenclaw Ron replied. _Professor Snape made this Spell?_

The door suddenly swung open, and Ron immediately looked to Ginny.

"You couldn't hear me, could you?" Ginny asked, there was a hint of excitement in her voice. "I was calling your name for ages! This Spell really works!"

"It hasn't failed me yet," Ron couldn't help but smile a little. "Let's go back inside, and I'll show you how to do it."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Ron? Can you hear me?" came Ginny's voice, it had lost most of its earlier enthusiasm.

"Just teach her Muffliato," Ravenclaw Ron glowered. "You stubborn moron."

Ron let out a tired sigh, his shoulders slumping a little. _She's not getting the Silencing Charm tonight… It's a hard Spell, and I spent a week trying to make it work. She doesn't have a week._

"I can hear you," Ron replied as he opened the door, only to see a disheartened Ginny standing on the other side.

"I'm never going to get this…" she mumbled, and Ron decided that enough was enough. _I'll try this Muffliato myself first, and if it holds water, I'll teach it to Ginny._

"There's another Spell that we can try, but I haven't used it before," Ron started, and Ginny blinked at him.

"There's another Spell that will help me with my roommates?" Ginny asked.

"I haven't used it before, so don't get your hopes up," Ron replied. "Just stay there."

With that, Ron shut the door again and pulled out his wand.

"Point the wand at the door, and chant 'Muffliato'," Ravenclaw Ron instructed. "Your wand will vibrate when it starts working, and when that happens, 'paint' the door with your wand."

"This better not blow up the fucking door," Ron whispered, and Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes.

Ron aimed his wand at the door, and he chanted 'Muffliato'. Instantly, he felt his wand begin to vibrate. _It worked on my first try?_ Ron 'painted' the door with his wand, while Ravenclaw Ron watched him with a critical eye.

"You hold your wand too firmly," Ravenclaw Ron pointed out. "It's not a bloody sword. Ease up on the grip before you snap it in two."

"Ginny? Can you hear me?" Ron called, ignoring his past self.

There was no response, which was a good sign, but Ron wasn't convinced yet. He knocked on the door, and once again, there was no response.

"A simple Finite undoes this Charm," Ravenclaw Ron said. "Though I doubt that her roommates will undo this Charm just to hear her at night."

"Finite," Ron chanted, and a red light emanated from the tip of his wand.

"Have you cast the Spell yet?" came Ginny's voice from the other side, and Ron opened the door. _He gave me a legitimate Spell? Interesting._

"Did you hear anything?" Ron asked, and Ginny shook her head.

"There was this faint… buzzing sound…" Ginny said slowly. "But it was hardly noticeable."

"That sound grows louder if you try to listen in on the caster's conversation," Ravenclaw Ron said.

"The sound is there to stop eavesdroppers," Ron told Ginny. "Will your roommates try to listen in on you while you sleep?"

"I doubt that," Ginny replied. "The reason why I'm doing this is because they're sick of listening to me."

"Then let me show you how to cast this one," Ron gestured her to come over.

Once she was standing next to him, Ron closed the door and asked her to aim her wand at it.

"Is this one going to take me a week?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"You can do this, Ginny," Ron encouraged, and Ginny gave a weak nod. _Why is her therapy making her so timid? This isn't like her at all._ "Just chant 'Muffliato', and when you feel your wand vibrate, move the wand over the door's surface."

"Muffliato?" Ginny looked to him with a cocked eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like a real Spell."

"It sounds silly, but it works," Ron assured her, and Ginny looked back to the door.

"Muffliato," Ginny chanted clearly, and then, her eyes widened. "It's vibrating!"

"Finish the Spell," Ron smiled due to her excitement.

Ginny finished 'painting' the door's surface, and when she lowered her wand, Ron opened the door and stepped out of the room.

"Make some noise, and I'll let you know if I hear anything," Ron said as he closed the door.

Ron waited outside for nearly a minute, and although he could hear a faint buzzing sound whenever he tried to listen in on what Ginny was doing, no other sounds came from inside the classroom. Ron was about to enter the classroom again, but Ginny beat him to opening the door.

"Did you hear anything?" Ginny asked quickly. "I even knocked a couple of chairs over."

"I only heard faint buzzing," Ron replied, and Ginny beamed at him.

"It worked! And on my first try!" Ginny exclaimed.

Ron's eyes darted towards Ravenclaw Ron, who was standing behind Ginny now, and for a moment, Ron saw a faint smile on his past self's face. _He only helped because she was involved… He definitely cares about Ginny, even if he keeps insisting that 'nothing matters'. Whatever he turned into, he is still Ronald Weasley, and that means that he cares about his Family no matter what._

"Ron?! Are you listening?!" Ginny tugged at his sleeve excitedly, and Ron broke out of his thoughts.

"I am," Ron replied. "I was just enjoying your reaction."

"Ignoring people is rude," Ginny snorted, her fingers still attached to his sleeve. "I was thanking you."

"Then by all means, start again," Ron grinned, and Ginny poked her tongue out at him.

"I already said thank you," Ginny said. "It's not my fault that you zoned out."

"Fair enough," Ron ruffled her hair with his gloved hand, and oddly enough, she didn't bat his hand away.

Instead, she gave him a rather genuine smile. _Don't get carried away, Ron. A lot has happened between us, and you can't just forget about it because she's being a little more like her old self._

"Thank you, Ron," Ginny said as she let go of his sleeve. "This means a lot to me. I'm going to use this Spell every single night!"

"I'm glad that I could help," Ron said, he knew that things were going to start getting awkward again. _Now that her excitement is wearing off, she'll start remembering everything that's happened between us. Plus, I've given her what she wants, which means that she'll be on her way now._

"Ron? You zoned me out again," Ginny gave him a deadpan look.

"Sorry," Ron apologized. "What were you saying?"

"I was asking why you tried to teach me the harder Spell first," Ginny replied.

"Well, I use Silencio instead of Muffliato, and I figured that I'd stick to what I'm comfortable with," Ron lied. "I haven't really used Muffliato all that much, and I didn't want to teach you something that I haven't perfected myself."

"Oh… That makes sense," Ginny nodded to herself. _I'm getting way too good at lying to people._ "I'll keep practicing Silencio, and by the end of next week, I'll show you that I can cast it."

"Really?" Ron was rather surprised by this. _Ginny's a decent student, but she never really makes an effort when it comes to academics. Why is she still keen to learn the Silencing Charm even though she knows how to cast Muffliato now?_

"Yes, really," Ginny started. "I **can** study, even if it bores me to sleep most of the time. Just wait and see."

"All right, we'll see," Ron decided to go with it. "I reckon I'll head off now-"

"You're leaving?" Ginny cut in. "Why?"

"Um… It's getting close to curfew…" Ron replied slowly. _She doesn't want to be on her way?_

Ginny quickly started looking uncomfortable, and Ron knew her well enough to know that she wanted something from him.

"What is it, Ginny?" Ron asked.

"Can't we just talk for a bit?" Ginny asked. "It doesn't have to be about anything important… I really don't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower just yet…"

"Is someone in Gryffindor bothering you?" Ron asked, his temper spiking.

"No, Ron…" Ginny sighed out. "I don't have anyone to talk to, that's all. The twins are too busy with Lee, Percy always sends me away because he's too busy with his studies, and Neville has a Potions Report due tomorrow." Ginny then rubbed her left forearm again. "Actually… You can go back to Slytherin. I'll just go to sleep early tonight-"

"Nonsense," Ron had heard enough. _I can't help myself. She just looks so… demoralized…_ "I have nothing important to get back to."

"Really?" Ginny asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"You have got to be shitting me," Ravenclaw Ron groaned, and then he vanished from sight. _He left? Oh, well._

"Let's go sit over there," Ron pointed towards a windowsill. "We can talk about anything that you want."

* * *

 _ **Nearly One Hour Later**_

True to her words, Ginny hadn't broached a single important subject. There was no talk of brain damage. There was no talk of therapy. There was no talk of the Dark Lord. There was no talk of the war.

It was bliss.

For the first time in a long time, Ron felt like he had his little sister back. The more Ginny talked, the more relaxed the atmosphere became. She told him about her studies, and how boring she found most of the classes. She told him about her trying to recover her grades, but only because she didn't want their mother to scold her. She even told him about the bruise on her arse, which came from her crashing her broom into the Quidditch stands on a windy day.

Ron listened quietly for the most part; he was too busy enjoying her carefree voice. Ginny often stopped in the middle of her rants just to ask him about his daily life, and although Ron had things to say about his classes and friends, he honestly had nothing to say about his hobbies and passions. The truth was that Ron didn't have hobbies, nor did he have aspirations beyond winning the war and making the Weasley Name mean something again.

"And Matilda!" Ginny went on about her roommates. "Ugh! She leaves her hair everywhere! Everywhere, Ron! In the sink, in the shower, around the toilet, in the bathtub-"

"You have a bathtub?" Ron cut in.

"Oh, yeah," Ginny nodded. "Don't you have a bathtub in your bathroom?"

"No," Ron replied, and Ginny smiled smugly.

"Ten Points to Gryffindor," Ginny said, and Ron chuckled.

"You lot certainly need the Points," Ron remarked, and Ginny gave him a light shove.

"Sod off," Ginny laughed. "We can still win this year."

"You always did like fairytales, Gin," Ron grinned at her. "Tell me more about these bathtubs. Do only the girl dorms have them?"

"No, I think the boys have them too," Ginny replied. _What the fuck? Why don't we have bathtubs?_ "They're nothing special, of course. I still prefer to shower over taking a bath."

"Because there's hair everywhere," Ron figured.

"Exactly!" Ginny exclaimed. "She's going bald, I swear it! The other girls keep asking her to clean up, but she just ignores them! It's the worst!" _That does sound a little gross._

"The other girls ask her, but you don't?" Ron asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly popular," Ginny shrugged. "Everyone made friends in their first year, while I spent my time lurking about with that damn Diary." _Uh-oh. We're veering into 'important matters'. Quick, Ron, do something!_

"You can still make friends," Ron started. "What about Colin? He's a nice bloke, and I thought that you two were getting along at the start of the year." _Did I just suggest that she become friendly with a lad? Fuck._

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm hated by my year-mates," Ginny said a little defensively. "I just don't know how to approach them, mostly because they already have their little groups set up. Plus, the boys are being really weird lately."

"Weird?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"They stare at me whenever I'm around," Ginny frowned a little. _What?_ "They think that I don't notice it, but trust me, I do. Even some of the fourth years stare at me sometimes."

"Do you know why they stare at you?" Ron asked, though he had a pretty good idea. _I might have to geld some Lions very soon._

"Um… Because I'm gorgeous," Ginny replied like it was the most obvious thing in the World.

"Such humility," Ron gave her a deadpan look.

"You don't like the idea of me dating someone?" Ginny asked, and Ron turned and cracked his neck. "Ew, Ron! Stop doing that! It's disgusting! One of these days, you'll drop dead because you'll actually snap your neck!"

"You should focus on getting better instead of dating some scrawny little fuck," Ron said, and Ginny raised both eyebrows in shock.

"I was only joking," Ginny said, while Ron drew in a deep breath. "You're as bad as the twins… Did I tell you that they pranked any boy who talked to me last year? It ruined my chances with the boys in my year." _Good. I'll be sending Fred and George a fruit basket._ "Anyway… I don't plan to start dating, so you can rest easy. I don't even like anyone in that way." _Huh?_

"Really?" Ron asked, and she shrugged in response. _Should I go there? Fuck it._ "What about Harry?"

Ginny stared at Ron, and after a couple of seconds of dreadful silence, Ron realized his mistake. _Not wise, Ron, not wise…_

"I don't know," Ginny replied eventually, her eyes going back to the window. "I don't like to think about Harry and Hermione these days."

"Right," Ron said. "Then let's not talk about them, eh?"

"How are things between you and the Trio?" Ginny asked. _I really fucked up, didn't I?_

"Things are slowly getting better," Ron replied, and Ginny looked back to him with an odd expression. "What?"

"Why are things getting better?" Ginny asked.

"Pardon?"

"Harry and Hermione really crossed a line with you, Ron," Ginny said. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't forgive them, of course… I just want to know why you're doing it."

"I guess I'm trying to forgive them because it beats the alternative," Ron replied, and Ginny waited for him to go on. "Nothing good comes from fighting needlessly, Ginny. Whether I like it or not, the Trio are a part of my life. They attend the same classes as me, I work with Sirius and Lady Longbottom, and we'll be spending a lot more time together now that a war is coming. I just don't see the point of alienating them."

"You haven't forgiven them, have you?" Ginny realized. "You're just making peace so they don't pester you."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Ron shrugged. _I don't forget, and I certainly don't forgive. However, I have learned to compromise for the Greater Good._

"You're not angry with Neville, are you?" Ginny asked just to make sure. "Ron, he didn't even do anything wrong-"

"Neville is a good bloke," Ron gave his honest opinion. "I don't have any problems with him, especially after he apologized to me like a man. I think one of the main reasons why I'm all right with making peace with Harry and Hermione is simply because Neville has been kind and understanding with my friends."

"He has?" Ginny asked.

"It's a long story," Ron said, and Ginny nudged him again.

"I've been talking for an hour, Ron," she reminded him. "You've barely said a word in that time…"

"Are you trying to guilt me?" Ron asked, and she smiled at him.

"Is it working?" Ginny asked.

"A little," Ron smiled back. "Fine… Just promise me that you won't tell anyone about this."

"Oh, a secret?" Ginny looked quite intrigued. "I promise that I won't repeat what I hear."

"Neville got drunk with me and my mates," Ron told Ginny, and she blinked at him.

"Rubbish," Ginny blurted out. "Neville Longbottom got drunk with a bunch of Slytherins? Really?"

"It's true," Ron assured her. "It was at the Gala, and he helped us finish an entire bottle."

"Unbelievable…" Ginny muttered with a bewildered expression. "You're making this up, right?"

"You can ask him yourself," Ron replied. "We all got horribly drunk, and then, we played a game of tag. It was a really fun night."

"Why would Neville get drunk with you and your mates?" Ginny asked. "Wait… You got drunk, Ron?! You're still underage!"

"Ease up, 'mum'," Ron chuckled. "We ended up getting caught when we came back inside. The Headmaster didn't look too bothered, while the adults just looked disappointed. It was a one night thing." _But it was so much fun that I did it again not too long after, but she doesn't need to know that._

"That still doesn't explain why he participated in something like this," Ginny said. "Neville's not really a…" she trailed off.

"Not really a what, Gin?" Ron asked with a smirk.

"A rule-breaker," Ginny replied. _Nice save._

"Hermione wasn't there to preach about the rules, while you and Harry left early because you were bored," Ron said. "I guess he was feeling lonely, and so when I invited him to join us, he agreed. Sure, he put up a fight when Theo stole a bottle from the Minister-"

"Nott stole from the Minister?!" Ginny gasped, and Ron let out a genuine laugh.

"He's very proud of that," Ron said. "Anyway, one thing led to another, and before we knew it, we were all drunk."

"Even Greengrass?" Ginny asked slowly. "I mean, she doesn't really seem like the sort to behave that way. Actually, I can't see any of you doing that sort of thing."

"Why not?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know," Ginny shrugged. "I guess I can't imagine people from Slytherin being… normal…" _Wow. Really?_

Ginny seemed to realize that her comment was a bit uncalled for, and she quickly gave Ron a guilty look.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong…" Ginny apologized as she looked back to the window. _She averts her eyes a lot now._ "I'm not trying to start something, I just meant that I'm struggling to picture you and your friends getting drunk and having fun. Oh, and the fact that Neville joined you is even more jarring. He's never mentioned anything about this."

"Nor will he," Ron said. "I mean, how do you think Hermione would react?"

Ginny and Ron both shuddered a little. _Neville would be nagged to death on the spot._

"What's it like to be drunk?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"It's hard to describe," Ron replied. "I felt really lightheaded, but at the same time, it wasn't a problem. If anything, I felt really relaxed. Like I wasn't scared of doing anything."

"Is that why they call alcohol 'liquid courage'?" Ginny asked.

"Probably," Ron replied. "It was a fun experience, and even Neville ended up having a good time."

"I might try it, then," Ginny said, and Ron didn't like the sound of that. "What? You did it, so why can't I?"

"Don't do things just because I've done them," Ron said. "I don't always make the wisest decisions."

"But you said that it was fun," Ginny countered.

"As your big brother, it's my job to keep you away from such things," Ron said.

"That's not really fair," Ginny pointed out.

"It is what it is," Ron said. "If you do decide to do it behind my back, at least be careful, okay?" _I can't really justify my disapproval here._

"Okay," Ginny rolled her eyes, and when Ron poked her side, she let out a giggle.

"I reckon we should call it a night," Ron said, and Ginny stopped giggling.

"What? Why?" Ginny asked quickly.

"It's getting late, Gin," Ron explained. "We're well past curfew, and if either of us get caught, we'll get a detention for certain."

Ginny said nothing to that, but her disappointment was hard to miss. Ron felt the urge to stay for longer, but in the end, he knew that he had to get back to the Slytherin common room. His friends were no doubt worried about him, and due to training during his free periods today, Ron was genuinely exhausted. _Plus, I'm pretty sure that my past self will ambush me the moment I'm alone._

Ron moved off of the windowsill, and he offered Ginny his gloved hand. She let out a soft sigh, and then she took his hand as she followed suit. Ron knew that Ginny was really enjoying his company, especially because they had been at odds for so long, but despite knowing this, he still felt hesitant about all of this. He had missed his sister, of course, but she had said and done some really hurtful things over the last six months. _I think there's a part of me that doesn't want to forgive her. Is it wrong of me to feel like that? I mean, this is Ginny… Growing up, she was my only friend until Luna came along._

"This was really great, Ron," Ginny said, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "Right?"

"It was," Ron admitted. "Just like old times."

"You used to talk more," Ginny stated. "But still, this means a lot to me. Thanks for doing this." Ginny then fidgeted a little in her spot. "Look, I know that I've been really terrible to you, and I'm really sorry about that. Madam Pomfrey said that I was 'projecting' my anger over the whole Diary mess onto the Slytherins, which means you and your friends…" Ginny abruptly stopped her oncoming rant. "I'm really sorry is what I'm trying to say…"

"It's all right," Ron said, he really disliked seeing her act like this. _Ginny's not meant to be this soft-spoken and weak-willed little girl. Damn you, Lucius Malfoy._

"But it's not all right, is it?" Ginny asked. "You're just saying that because you don't want to hurt my feelings."

"You hit me, Ginny," Ron said calmly, and Ginny stared down at her feet. "I bought you a dress that cost more than my best suit, and you hit me so hard that I started bleeding." _Stop it, Ron; you're making her feel like shit._ "Let's not do this, yeah? I'm really happy that you're getting help, and I'm even happier to see you taking Madam Pomfrey's advice… But I can't just forget all the cruel comments so easily. I know that blokes aren't supposed to admit to such things, but you really hurt me by behaving the way you did. One minute, you and I were as close as ever, but then, out of nowhere, you started hating me-"

"I didn't hate you!" she said quickly. "Never, Ron! I was just…" she trailed off again. _Jealous? That doesn't change anything for me._

"You can't change the past," Ron spoke from experience. "But what happens going forward is on us. Let's just keep doing what we're doing, eh? There's no need to rush this."

"Do you still love me?" Ginny all but whispered.

"That'll never change," Ron replied honestly, and Ginny looked rather relieved. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

They made their way outside quietly, and that silence persisted all the way to the Moving Staircase, but when Ron was about to head towards the Dungeons, Ginny stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"I love you too," Ginny said. "Can we do this again soon? Please?"

"I'd like that," Ron replied. "Now, go on. Sneak up before some Prefect spots you."

Ginny gave him a searching look, but she honestly couldn't read him anymore. He was far too calm, and unlike when they were younger, there wasn't any mirth behind his eyes. He was cold, and that scared her a little.

"Can I have a hug?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Sure," Ron replied, and he let Ginny hug his middle tightly.

He rubbed her back out of habit, and he knew that he was forcing himself to do this for her sake. He did love his little sister, but he wasn't Ronnie anymore. He didn't forgive people, nor did he forget any slights. And yet, this was Ginny… For her sake, maybe he needed to try harder? _Why am I so conflicted about this? Ginny's trying to get back what she lost, and my feelings aren't more important than that._ After a bit of hesitation, Ron kissed the top of Ginny's head like he used to when they were little. Once again, she didn't try to bat him away, but instead, she seemed to relax a bit more due to his gesture.

"Goodnight, Ron," Ginny pulled back and gave a half-smile.

"Goodnight, Ginny," Ron said coolly.

Ginny left at that, and Ron watched her disappear up the Moving Staircase. _For now, I should just keep being there for her. She can't rely on the twins or Percy, and Luna isn't talking to her anymore._ Ron drew in a deep breath. _My feelings aren't as important as Ginny's wellbeing._

* * *

 _ **Friday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Library – After Classes)**_

"At this rate, you'll need to move this study group of yours to the Great Hall," Madam Pince said, and Ron couldn't help but smirk.

"It is getting rather large, isn't it?" Ron asked, unable to hide his pride.

"And loud," Madam Pince shot a dark look towards the first and second years. "Try to keep it down, and I'll get you more tables by next week."

"Thank you," Ron shot her a grateful smile, but she walked away without even looking at him. _Why does she work at a school if she doesn't like children? Odd._

Ron walked back over to his study group, who were all studying and socializing at the same time. The first and second years were taking full advantage of the older members, and much to Ron's relief, the Silver Triumvirate was currently teaching a handful of girls from each House. There was no denying that Ron was initially worried about bringing older Slytherin students into the study group, mostly thanks to Slytherin's terrible reputation, so it was especially gratifying to see that the younger students were growing ever more tolerant. Watching everyone speak freely with one another regardless of House genuinely made Ron happy, and he was now planning to invite more people.

Cedric could help him convince some of the older Hufflepuffs to join up, while the Triumvirate could just order some of their year-mates to join. This left Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and although Ron was confident about doing something about the Ravenclaw numbers, the Gryffindors were a different story altogether. It was no secret that Ron was rather disliked within the older Gryffindor circles, especially after Fred had openly accused him of setting up the twins and Lee Jordan. Sadly, Ron being a Slytherin, and the twins being very popular, was proof enough to convince a lot of people of Ron's guilt.

"Do you often just stand there and stare at your study group?" came a voice from behind him, and Ron turned to see Patrick Wilson smiling at him.

"No, but sometimes, I like to see everyone getting along," Ron replied. "I'm glad that you came, Wilson. Are your friends with you?"

"They're grabbing some books from… around…" Patrick replied in an oddly suspicious manner. _His eyes are bloodshot. Why?_

"Are you all right?" Ron asked. "You look a little flushed."

"Oh, I'm great," Patrick laughed, much to Ron's surprise. _Why is he laughing?_ "Do I just pull up a seat, then?"

"Pretty much," Ron replied, his eyes scanning the grinning Ravenclaw. "Where are your books, mate?"

"My books?" Patrick blinked, and then he looked down at his empty hands. "Oh, shit… I must've forgotten them." _What. The. Fuck? How do you forget that you're not carrying books?_

"Are you sure that you're all right? I can take you to the Hospital Wing," Ron offered.

"I'll just grab something interesting from the shelves," Patrick waved a dismissive hand. "I'll be right back, mate."

With that, Patrick sauntered off with an ever-widening grin on his face. _That was really weird._ Ron shook his head clear, and then he looked back to the study group. One by one, Ron made sure that his friends were studying with someone from a different House. _Where's Malfoy? He was just here a few minutes ago._ Ron walked over to Daphne, who was currently studying with Padma and Terry Boot.

"Hello," Ron greeted them.

"Hello to you too, stranger," Padma smiled at him. "Are you finally going to study as well? Or do you plan to keep staring at the rest of us?"

"Well, you can't blame me for staring at you instead of staring at my books," Ron replied, and Padma gave him a knowing smile. _She knows that I'm full of shit, doesn't she?_

"Did you prepare that line before you walked over here?" Padma asked in an amused tone.

"Yes, Ron… Did you prepare that line before you walked over here?" Daphne asked, she didn't sound very amused.

Padma and Terry sniggered amongst each other, while Ron gave Daphne a sheepish grin.

"Could I please borrow Daphne for a moment?" Ron asked Terry and Padma.

"It was nice knowing you, Weasley," Terry said, which earned more laughter from Padma.

Daphne got out of her seat, and they both walked over to a shelf dedicated solely to Wizarding Headwear. Once Daphne was sure that they were alone, she smacked Ron on the arm and scowled at him.

"Don't flirt with other girls, you prat," Daphne huffed in indignation.

"I was just complimenting her," Ron sniggered as he rubbed his stinging arm.

"I don't care," Daphne huffed again. "What do you want?" _She's so cute when she's grumpy._

"C'mon, don't be like that," Ron took a step forward, and Daphne narrowed her eyes on him. "Please? I was just being nice to her."

"I don't want you to be nice to girls who are prettier than me," Daphne whispered crossly.

"She's not prettier than you, Daph," Ron said.

"I'm not blind, Ron," Daphne gave him a deadpan look. "She doesn't even put in the effort, and she's still the prettiest girl in our year. I resent that."

"There's only one girl that I stare at," Ron reached over and took her hands.

"Really?" Daphne asked, making sure to keep her voice composed. "Who?"

"McGonagall," Ron replied, and Daphne just stared at him. "That stern look of hers really gets me-"

"I'm going back to my studies," Daphne let go of his hands, but before she could walk off, Ron pulled her into a hug from behind. "Go away, Ron. I've reached my limit-"

"I'm just teasing," Ron whispered, and then he kissed the back of her head. "In my eyes, there is no girl more beautiful than Daphne Greengrass."

"I don't believe you," Daphne said coldly, though Ron knew that she was only putting up an act for more compliments.

"Give me a chance to prove it tonight," Ron said.

"Why should I?" Daphne asked.

"Because I'll make it worth your while," Ron promised, and Daphne looked back over her shoulder.

"You better," she said in a challenging tone, and Ron gave her his lopsided grin. "What did you need from me, Ron?"

"Have you seen Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"He went to get a book from the Herbology Section," Daphne replied. "He asked Theo for help on the Stinksap essay, but Theo refused."

"Why would Theo do that?" Ron asked.

"Because Malfoy is a jerk unless he needs something," Daphne replied, and Ron let out a sigh. _They keep giving him the cold shoulder, and he's too stubborn to behave differently. What am I going to do with him? He was improving, but all of a sudden, he's regressing back to his old self. What the hell happened when he was staying with the Tonks Family?_

"I know that look," Daphne said, and Ron broke out of his thoughts. "He's not your responsibility, Ron… He's very capable of making his own decisions, and almost every single time, he chooses to act selfishly. That's just who he is." _I've seen him give his own life for Muggle-Born children, so I can't believe that. He has the potential to be a hero, and although I hate to admit this, I do like him enough to keep trying._

"I'll let you get back to your studies," Ron let go of her.

"One of these days, you're going to tell me why you keep trying with him," Daphne said, and then she left to rejoin her group.

Ron made his way over to the Herbology Section, and it wasn't long before he spotted the platinum blonde looking over a handful of books. _He looks like he's in a foul mood. I should try to keep my teasing to a limit._

"Hello, Malfoy," Ron greeted as he walked over to his year-mate.

Malfoy spared Ron a quick glance, but he didn't greet Ron back. _Not off to a good start, eh?_

"What are you looking for?" Ron asked.

"Don't bother, Weasley," Malfoy said coldly. "You already know what I'm looking for, and you know exactly why I'm looking for it. If there is one thing that I've learned about you, it's that you don't do anything without a reason. You always have some scheme brewing in that large head of yours."

"Oi, my head's not that large," Ron clicked his tongue. _First the Hat, and now Malfoy? Is my head really that big?_

"What do you want?" Malfoy looked to Ron. "I'm busy, and you're disturbing me."

"I just wanted to see if you're doing all right," Ron replied. "You've been really quiet lately, and I want to know if I can do something to change that."

"Oh, is that what you want?" Malfoy sneered. "Save the preplanned speech, Weasley, I don't want to hear it. I'm not in the mood to hear you preach about the 'right path' right now."

"Why not?" Ron asked, ignoring Malfoy's harsh tone.

"What?"

"Why aren't you in the mood to hear one of my speeches?" Ron clarified. "I work hard on those, mate, and it hurts my feelings when people don't listen to me."

Malfoy's jaw clenched, while Ron held back a cheeky grin.

"Fuck off," Malfoy looked back to his books. "Damn Blood-Traitor." _Woah! What the fuck?!_

"What did you just say?" Ron took a step forward, his mirth completely gone.

"Are you going to hit me?" Malfoy moved right into Ron's face. "Go on, then! Hit me! I'm not scared of you anymore, Weasley!"

For a brief moment, Ron felt the urge to claw off Malfoy's face, but as he stared at Malfoy's defiant glare, he slowly realized that something had really gotten under Malfoy's skin. _He's scared for sure, which is why he wants me to hit him. What has him so scared that he's willing to use pain as a distraction?_

"Malfoy… What's wrong?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow, he was unable to hide his concern. "Tell me, please."

"Why should I?" Malfoy snarled. "So you can laugh at me? So you can tell me to move on?"

"Move on? Move on from what?" Ron asked.

"Just sod off, Weasley," Malfoy went back to collecting his books, but Ron had reached his limit.

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you," Ron said. "Now, I don't know what's crawled into your arse, but the rest of us are getting tired of it. You don't talk, and whenever you do, you're rude and snappish. You're pushing everyone away from you, and in doing so; you're just making yourself more miserable. I want to know what the fuck happened when you left to stay with the Tonks Family. What did they do? You were starting to get better, but all of a sudden, you're being a massive cunt again. What did they do, Malfoy? Tell me. I'll fucking sort them out for you."

"Sort them out for me?" Malfoy blinked, he was a little surprised by Ron's sudden rant.

"Tracey and I are trying to help you, but you're making it impossible for us to convince the others to give you a chance," Ron added. "Tell me what's wrong, and I'll fix it so you can go back to being how you were before you turned into a prick again."

"You can't help me with this, Weasley," Malfoy regained his composure. "You don't even have any power in the matter to begin with-"

"Tell me what's wrong," Ron said firmly. "If you don't tell me now, then don't bother coming back to me later. Last chance."

Malfoy began to turn away, but in the last few moments, he stopped himself. A perplexed look crossed his face, his mind clearly thinking Ron's offer over. Ron waited patiently, and after nearly thirty seconds of silence, Malfoy swallowed his pride.

"It's my mother, Weasley…" Malfoy whispered so lowly that Ron barely heard him. "I can't stop thinking about her…"

"Why? Is she all right?" Ron asked. _I doubt that the Order would mistreat her._

"That's the problem," Malfoy said shortly. "I don't know. I don't know anything about her current state. Everyone keeps telling me that she's fine, but they don't let me see her." Malfoy then let out a defeated chuckle. "They don't even let me write to her."

"The Order won't mistreat her," Ron whispered. "They're not like that-"

"You don't understand how it feels, all right?" Malfoy cut him off. "How would you feel if your mother was taken away from you? How would you feel if Pandora Lovegood was taken away from you?" _Pandora?_ "I saw you with her, Weasley. You hung off of her every word, and you even sat at her feet like some bloody dog. How would you feel if she was taken from you?"

Ron honestly didn't know what to say to that. He only knew that if someone took Pandora away from him, then that someone was going to die very painfully. _I did nearly lose her once, and now, I can't think of my life without her. She's my mum._

"Have you tried talking to your Godfather about this?" Ron asked.

"I've tried everything," Malfoy replied bitterly. "I went to Dumbledore, I went to Snape, I even went Sirius fucking Black… But none of them want me talking to her. They think that she'll fill try to influence me, or something… Like they're not doing the same. Fucking hypocrites!"

"Relax," Ron whispered as he looked around.

"You see this ring, Weasley?" Malfoy went on, his left hand nearly hitting Ron's face as he showed Ron the Black Signet Ring. "Andromeda Tonks gave it to me because I'm half Black. She told me that I needed to remember my heritage and Family, but even she told me to stay away from my mother. How bizarre is that. She claims that her Family means everything to her, and yet, she's written her sister off already."

"What do you mean by 'written her sister off'?" Ron asked for clarification.

"My mother is rotting away alone, and my aunt kept telling me that 'she brought this on herself' whenever I brought up my mother," Malfoy spat out. "I just want to talk to her, that's it. It doesn't have to be a long conversation, but if I could just see her for a few minutes, I'd sleep easier."

Malfoy then sealed his mouth shut, a shaky breath coming out of his nose. After composing himself a little, he looked Ron right in the eyes.

"I've lost both of my parents, Weasley," Malfoy said. "You can't do anything for me. Just… Just leave me alone."

Malfoy grabbed his books and left without another word, while Ron didn't move an inch. He was processing Malfoy's words, and truth be told, he did feel sorry for Malfoy. Not only was Malfoy a victim of physical and emotional abuse this school year, but he had completely lost his way of life as well. This would be enough to turn anyone hopeless, and it had happened to Malfoy in the span of six months.

A part of Ron was feeling the urge to help Malfoy smuggle a letter to his mother, but another part of Ron didn't want Narcissa Malfoy talking to her son. She would fill his head with her vile beliefs again, which would result in Malfoy running away from the Order. _He'll go to his father, and then one day, he'll run into an Auror or an Order member. Not even Professor Snape will be able to protect him at that point._

Ron drew in a deep breath, and he cleared his mind of all unnecessary thoughts. Maybe there was a way that Ron could help Malfoy, but also keep Narcissa Malfoy in check? _Judging by his tone, he's already starting to turn against the Order. They all keep thinking that he'll see the right path himself, but they don't know him like I do. He's extremely proud of his heritage, and that'll never change. He'll always put his Family first, and if the Order gets in the way of that, then he'll join the Dark Lord's camp just to get revenge. I need to step in now, or I'll regret it later._

* * *

 _ **Friday 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Slytherin Common Room – After Dinner)**_

He was going to regret this, and he already fucking knew it.

Despite the study group's success today, Ron found himself fixated on Draco Malfoy's problems. He felt bad for the Malfoy heir, and although he had tried to ignore his sympathy for Malfoy's plight due to his own hatred for Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Ron failed to forget Malfoy's words. What would Ron do if someone tore Pandora away from him? What would he do if his loved ones were unable to contact him? _I think I would go insane. I know that I would definitely kill the people behind my misery. Is that how Malfoy's starting to feel? Is he beginning to hate the Order? Is he beginning to hate his own Godfather?_

Ron had to do something about this, or Malfoy would be lost to them. It hadn't taken Ron long to come up with a plan, but it was extremely risky. He knew that Professor Snape and the Headmaster would not approve of it, and truth be told, he wasn't so sure himself. _But something needs to be done. I can't just sit around with my thumb up my arse. Tonight, I'll go visit Narcissa Malfoy. I'll give her a letter from her son, and I'll bring a response back._

"Ron?" Daphne nudged him, and Ron shook his head clear. "Are you all right? You're frowning at Pansy." _I am?_

Ron looked at Pansy's face, and she gave him an uncomfortable smile.

"Sorry, Pans," Ron apologized. "I was thinking about… stuff… I didn't mean to stare at you."

"Oh, you can stare at me all you want," Pansy said as she relaxed a bit. _Huh?_ "Wait… That didn't come out right…"

"Yeah, I'm sure it didn't," Daphne shot Pansy a deadpan look, while Millie sniggered to herself.

While the girls started talking to each other, Ron looked around for Malfoy. _He's still not back from his 'bathroom break'?_ Ron's eyes lingered on Blaise, who was reading a book on Runes by himself. _He's ignoring me, I think. I'm reaching the end of my patience here, but Merlin help me, I will not yell at my friends again. I just need to show him that I'll always have his back, and hopefully, that'll make him come back around._ Ron then looked to Theo and Tracey; they were both listening to her Walkman and talking about Muggle music again. _Theo still wants to 'save' his father… Shit. What am I going to do about that? Cornelius Nott is completely loyal to the Dark Lord, but Theo truly believes that he can save the man. I have to protect Theo somehow. If something happens to him, I think I'll die from heartbreak._

Ron felt a ball of anxiety in his stomach, but he didn't show it. He was far too used to his stress moments by now. They always snuck up on him, and every single time, they left him feeling weak and lonely. Ron drew in a deep breath, and he felt his Occlumency clear out his mind. One by one, Ron pushed his worries into a tiny little box, and then he tossed the box into the darkness. He needed to remain focused, or he would most certainly fail at everything.

Ron suddenly felt Daphne shift a bit more into his side, and he quickly looked to her. She was just watching him, and Ron got the feeling that his girlfriend had noticed his stress moment. _How? I didn't show a single sign of my stress._

"Feeling better?" Daphne whispered, and Ron's lips quirked upwards for a moment. _She knows me too well._

"I am," Ron whispered back.

"Good," she smiled a little, and then she shifted even close. _Ow! Her elbow just tore into my ribs._ "You remember what we talked about in the Library? About you wanting to make it up to me?" _Oh._

"Of course," Ron immediately felt a little giddy.

"I'm free right now," Daphne winked, and that was all Ron needed. _Best girlfriend ever!_

"Sanctuary?" Ron whispered, his eyes darting towards the others. _I should talk to Malfoy first. I'll tell Daphne that I need to use the loo first, and then I'll tell the others the same so they think that I'm trying to be sneaky. This way, I can convince both parties that I'm only going to my room first so I can 'freshen up' instead of making plans with Malfoy._

"Let's go to my room instead," Daphne replied. "My running gear just came in, and I want to show it to you." _So that's what that package at dinner was._

"I'll be there in five minutes," Ron said, and then he stood up and looked to the others. "I'm going to the loo."

"That's not a suspicious thing to announce at all," Millie smirked at him. _Merlin, that was way too easy. What happened to me? When did I learn to lie so damn well?_

Feeling a little proud of himself, Ron shot Daphne a quick look before leaving for his room. Judging by her look, she was too busy thinking about how poor Ron's excuse was to really see the reason behind it. The trip to his room was short, but in Ron's mind, it took ages. He was taking a really massive risk by doing this, but something in his gut compelled him forward. He didn't want to see Malfoy being so miserable, and he certainly didn't want Malfoy to make any rash decisions. _Pesky emotions… I bet Lord Greengrass doesn't go out of his way to take such big risks for other people's feelings. I know that this is stupid, but I'm still doing it. Bloody hell, maybe I need to toughen up a little?_

Ron entered without knocking, and it took him a mere second to spot Malfoy sitting on his bed.

"Shouldn't you be in the loo?" Ron asked, and Malfoy looked up from his Herbology book. "You told everyone that you'd be in the loo."

"I wanted privacy," Malfoy replied coldly. "Guess it was bliss while it lasted… What do you want?"

"I'm going to help you," Ron replied, and Malfoy cocked an eyebrow.

"Help me?" Malfoy asked with a hint of disgust, but Ron chose to ignore the blonde's tone. _He's cornered, and he's scared. You've been there, Ron, so don't lose your temper._

"I'm going to help you with your mother," Ron clarified as he walked over.

"Save it, Weasley-"

"I want you to write a letter to her in the next hour, and before we go to sleep, I want you to hand me said letter," Ron said firmly. "I will give it to her, and I'll bring you back a response. This is a one time deal, so think carefully before you reply."

Malfoy just stared at him, he was clearly jarred by Ron's offer. _I bet he's wondering how I'll be able to do that._

"Weasley, she's locked away-" Malfoy started.

"That sort of shit doesn't stop people like me," Ron said. "I always find a way, and you know that. Just write the letter, and don't ask any questions. All right?"

Malfoy looked utterly dazed, but after a few seconds, he gave a weak nod.

"And stop worrying over that Herbology essay," Ron added. "Theo gave me his essay, and I plan to use it tomorrow to write my own. You can study with me in order to use Theo's work."

"Okay…"

Ron gave a nod, and then he turned to leave.

"Wait," Malfoy called, and Ron turned back around. "Weasley… Why are you doing this?" _Because I'm an idiot._

"What you said about Pandora got to me," Ron admitted. "I don't like seeing you unhappy, Malfoy, and I'm past the point of denying it." Malfoy looked a little uncomfortable, but Ron decided to push on. "I don't have a lot of time left, and I need to make sure that my friends are on the right path before I die. I want **you** to be on the right path." _Wow, that was sappy._

Malfoy said nothing to that, and Ron figured that he was feeling way too uncomfortable to talk right now. _I've said what I wanted to say. Time to go to Daphne._ Ron turned around and walked over to the door. He thought about glancing back at Malfoy, but in the end, he chose to end the uncomfortable situation. _He'll write the letter. I know I would._

As he walked over to Daphne's room, Ron couldn't help but scold himself for giving into his emotions like this. If Malfoy ever told anyone about this, so many questions would be raised. If Narcissa Malfoy ever told Sirius that Ron had come to her in the middle of the night, then the entire Order would wonder how Ron even knew where to find her. _They've kept her imprisonment very quiet, but without their knowledge, they were just carrying out my orders. I'm leaving a trail for them to follow, and I'm doing it just to make Malfoy happy._

Ron knocked on Daphne's door, and he heard her run up to the door. Slowly, she peaked her head through, carefully hiding her body from sight. Seeing her face alone was enough to pull Ron out of his thoughts.

"May I come in?" Ron smiled widely.

"There's a small problem," Daphne said nervously, and Ron's smile faltered.

"Is everything all right? You sound worried," Ron said.

"It's…" Daphne started, but she quickly stopped herself. "Just… Just come in."

She opened the door just a little, and Ron had to squeeze himself through. _What's she hiding in here? A dead body? Open the door, woman._

"Daph, what's happen-" Ron's jaw dropped open. _Circe's bare-arse! What is this?!_

Daphne was wearing her running gear, but it was an extremely tight fit. Her 'leggings' hugged her legs so tightly that they left nothing to the imagination, and her crop top was pushing up her breasts in an effort to make them look even bigger. Ron's felt his knees nearly give out, and judging from her fidgeting, she knew that he was scanning her thoroughly. _Did I have a stroke on the way here? Did I die? Is this Heaven?_

"I got the size right, I'm sure of it," Daphne muttered after a few seconds.

"Yeah, you did," Ron grinned without hesitation. "Nice!" _I can die happy, now._

"Ron, this is serious," she looked mildly annoyed. "I'm not going out there wearing this. You can even see the shape of my arse!"

"Really?" Ron asked, and Daphne let out a sigh. _Turn around at once!_

"Why are you so perverted?" she asked under her breath.

"In my defense, my girlfriend looks amazing," Ron quickly tried to salvage the situation. _I can't let her throw these clothes away. The Gods themselves made these clothes just for her, I'm sure of it._ "Daphne, you look brilliant!" _How did I get so damn lucky?!_

"I don't want the others seeing me in these," she told him. "I don't want Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy staring at my arse when I come running with you."

"Oh," Ron realized why she was so against these clothes. _I can't let those cunts ogle her. Only I get to ogle her._ "Pansy could help you with these, couldn't she? She told me that she shortened all of her skirts on Monday."

"She's the last person who I need to ask about this," Daphne huffed. "She's gone mental thanks to Witch Weekly and her erotica collection." _Pansy has an erotica collection. What the fuck?_ "She'll probably make these clothes even more revealing."

"Just tell her what you want done with them, and she'll listen," Ron said calmingly.

"Why do Muggles wear such skimpy clothes when they exercise?" Daphne asked out of nowhere. "Are all Muggle women slags?" _Slags? Harsh word… I guess Daphne wasn't raised to wear such revealing clothes given that she's an heiress. That's a bit of a shame, but if it makes her uncomfortable to wear these, then I need to help her find a solution. She'd do the same for me._

"I think that we have different values from the Muggles, so we can't really understand them," Ron put his hands on her shoulders, his long fingers giving her a massage. "Don't spiral, Daph, we'll have this fixed up in no time."

Daphne nodded as she drew in a calming breath, and then, she hugged his middle and pressed her head against his chest.

"You're right," Daphne sighed out. "I'm just being crazy again."

"Rubbish," Ron rubbed her back. _This material is so soft. What's it made out of?_ "If Pansy can't help you, then we'll buy something else. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do."

Daphne squeezed him tightly, and Ron did his best to ignore her bust pushing into him. _Don't make her feel more uncomfortable, old boy. Be strong. Resist the tits!_

"Your shoes came in with my package," Daphne spoke into his chest. "At least we've got a matching pair now."

"I'm sure the lads will take the piss out of me for that," Ron chuckled.

"Does it bother you that I made you buy the same pair as mine?" Daphne looked up at him. _The shit I deal with daily makes a few mean jokes sound pleasant._

"Not at all," Ron smiled at her. "They're just jealous that I scored a witch out of my league, while they're stuck cuddling their pillows."

"I'm not out of your league," Daphne said.

"You are a little bit," Ron said. "I mean, look at you! My tongue became numb when I saw you just before!" _But something else didn't become numb. Hehe._ "That's never happened to me before."

Daphne slowly started to smile; she loved his compliments a little too much.

"I think you've earned a few kisses, Ron," Daphne said as her arms moved closer to his arse.

"Really?" Ron grinned.

"Really," she hummed.

"I'll let you get changed first-" Ron started, but he stopped when she pinched his arse. _Woah! What was that for?_

"I don't mind **you** seeing me in these clothes," Daphne whispered, and then she stood on her toes and kissed him. _Really? Thank you, Merlin!_

* * *

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Training Area – Past Midnight)**_

While the entire House slept, Ron sat wide-awake within the Training Room. Malfoy had given Ron the letter he needed to deliver, and after Ron had fully read through said letter right in front of Malfoy, Ron had promised to deliver it.

His plan was quite simple. He was going to ask Kreacher to take him straight to Narcissa, he was going to tell Kreacher to silence the room upon entry, and then he was going to ask Kreacher to leave. Hopefully, Narcissa would be asleep, or Ron was going to have to explain his actions to a very suspicious Order. _I bet she'll scream straight away if she's awake. Bloody hell, I can't even blame this mess on anyone but myself. I literally volunteered for this._

"Kreacher," Ron called, and after a little delay, the old Elf cracked into the room.

"Lord Weasley called Kreacher?" Kreacher croaked, his tired face made him look even more unsightly. _Shit, I woke him up. Wait… He's still calling me Lord Weasley? Why? I told him to stop that rubbish._

"Did I wake you up, Kreacher?" Ron asked.

"Kreacher is always ready for Lord Weasley's call," Kreacher kneeled, not really answering the question. _He actually kneeled?! With his old and skinny legs?!_

"Mate, you don't need to do that," Ron said quickly. "Just stay upright, all right?" _As upright as you can manage, at least._ "Please?"

"If that is Lord Weasley's command," Kreacher stood back up. _For fuck's sake…_

"Just… You don't have to bow or kneel to me," Ron tried once again. "I'm not your Master, Kreacher, so we can talk as equals."

"But Lord Weasley is a God," Kreacher looked baffled. _A God?_ "Kreacher cannot speak to Lord Weasley as an equal, for Lord Weasley is equal to none." _What. In. The. Actual. Fuck?_

Ron went to say something, but he stopped at the last second. He knew better than to force something onto the Elves. It was futile simply because Elves thought differently from humans. Ron's suggestions would only be falling on deaf ears.

"I need a favor from you, Kreacher," Ron said, deciding to move forward.

"Kreacher is here to serve," Kreacher looked ready for duty.

"I need you to take me into Narcissa Malfoy's room," Ron said. _I can't believe that Malfoy had to be the one to tell me that we're now keeping our prisoners in rooms. Should've left her in the damn attic. Even that's far better than what she deserves._

"Lord Weasley wishes to see Lady Malfoy?" Kreacher asked. "Does Lord Weasley intend to end another enemy tonight?" _Huh?_

"What? No, Kreacher," Ron said defensively. "I have to talk to her about something important, that's all." _I don't just go around killing people. Yet._

"Kreacher did not intend to cause offense," Kreacher bowed a little. _He's bowing again…_ "Kreacher will take Lord Weasley to the House of Black."

"Thank you," Ron said. "Never mention this to anyone, all right?"

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher agreed, and Ron walked up to the Elf's side.

"Silence the entire room once we're in," Ron ordered. "Oh, and try to keep the Apparition noise-free as well."

Kreacher gave a nod, and then he took Ron's left hand. Ron immediately felt the terrible, nauseating feeling that came from Apparition, and by the time his feet hit solid ground, Ron's head was spinning. _Fucking hell, that was way worse than usual. I feel really… lightheaded…_ Ron barely stopped himself from falling over, but Kreacher missed it because he was already silencing the pitch-black room. As Ron gathered his wits, he began to look around for Narcissa Malfoy. He could barely see her outline; she was sound asleep on her bed. _I won't lie, this is the creepiest thing that I've ever done._

"Once you're done, leave the room," Ron whispered to Kreacher.

"Kreacher is finished," Kreacher croaked, and just like that, he was gone. _I'm glad that he isn't one to ask questions._

Ron drew in a deep breath, and then he walked over to the side of her bed. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, Ron pulled out his wand and aimed it at Narcissa's throat.

"Silencio," Ron chanted. _Let's just hope the Spell worked, not that it really matters._

Ron then aimed his wand at the night lamp on the side table, and with a flick of his wrist, he turned it on Non-Verbally. Narcissa Malfoy's eyes scrunched and she opened her mouth to groan, but no sound came out. _The Spell worked, but she's not waking up._

Ron frowned at her dimly lit face, his stomach turning in disgust. _Not so high and mighty in your sleep, are you? I should just fucking throttle you right here and now._ _ **It would serve Lucius Malfoy right to lose his most cherished ones!**_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, and then, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Wake up," Ron said, and then he shoved the sleeping witch harshly.

She woke up with a start, fear flashing in her eyes as she looked around with blurry vision. She tried to speak, but when no sound came out, she stopped looking around the room. Slowly, her eyes settled on Ron, and once she could clearly see him, her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. She mouthed something, and then she quickly pulled up her covers in order to hide her loosely covered body.

"I have no interest in staring at your nightgown," Ron said coldly. "And yes, you can't talk because I've silenced you. Now, you're going to sit there, and you're going to listen to me. If you try to run, or do anything else besides sit there quietly, I'm going to hurt you. **Very badly**. Is that clear? Nod if you understand."

She just stared at him, her mouth and eyes wide open. _She's petrified, and probably really confused. Whatever._

"I'm here to give you something from your son," Ron said as he pulled out the letter, and she mouthed 'Draco'. "Yes, Draco… He's been worried about you, so much so that he's losing his health. I'm doing this for his sake, not yours. You will read this letter, you will write a response, I will check said response, and then I'll be gone. You'll never mention this to anyone, because if you do, I'll never bring you another letter from him. Is that clear?"

After a little bit, she gave a shaky nod.

"Here," Ron offered her the letter, and when she grabbed it, Ron tugged it to himself and came face to face with her. "Try any funny business, and I'll break your bones. You will die in this room. **Alone and in excruciating pain**. Is that clear?"

She swallowed thickly before giving a short nod, and Ron let go of the letter. He watched her open it a little frantically, her eyes quickly becoming glued to the words. It was a long letter, with Malfoy mostly asking her questions about her health and treatment, but Ron kept his eyes fixed on her. He didn't trust this woman to behave herself, and he knew that the moment she tried to pull something, he was going to start hurting her. A part of him was even looking forward to it.

She read, and she read, and she read. Her fear slowly left her, and by the end, she even looked happy to gaze at her son's handwriting.

"I don't have all fucking day," Ron snapped, breaking her out of her stupor. "Have you finished reading it?"

She glared at him, and Ron raised his hand. _Keep glaring, bitch. Give me a reason to knock something out._ She seemed to understand his message, and so she quickly schooled her features. She then gave him a curt nod.

"Do you have a quill and some ink?" Ron asked, and she pointed towards the study table. "Let's go, then. I'll watch you write him a response."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"It looks good," Ron said as he finished reading her response letter. _No mentions of the Dark Lord, or Blood-Supremacy. She only asks motherly questions, and assures him that she's not hurt._

She pointed at her neck, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"You want me to undo the Charm?" Ron asked, and she gave a curt nod.

Ron pulled out his wand, and after shooting her a warning look; he planted the tip of the wand on her throat.

"Finite," Ron chanted, and she immediately cleared her throat.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice fully composed now. "How did you even know where to find me? How did you get into this room?"

"And what makes you think that I'm going to tell you anything?" Ron asked coldly as he pocketed the letter.

"What do you get out of helping my son?" she asked. "I'm his mother, and I have a right to know at least that much."

"Is that so?" Ron asked, his eyes flashing. "You think you deserve something from me?" _Please, say yes. I want to show you what you deserve._

"Yes-" she started, but her voice died when Ron punched her in the sternum.

She grunted and keeled over, and by the time she was on her knees, she was coughing painfully. Her breathing soon became wheezy, and when she looked up at him as she struggled to get some air into her lungs, he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"That's what you deserve," Ron sneered down at her. "Don't make demands of me, it won't end well for you." Ron then pulled out his wand and aimed it at her chest. "Stupefy."

The red light of the Spell shattered against her chest, and she crumpled onto her back. _Enjoy the eight-hour nap._ Once her breathing became steady, Ron used the Locomotion Charm to levitate her onto her bed. He dropped her rather unceremoniously, not caring if she woke up sore the next morning. One by one, Ron turned off the lamps, and when he was ready to leave, he called for Kreacher. The Elf appeared immediately this time, he was clearly not affected by his own Magic. _He can still hear me despite his Silencing Charms. Could Marty hear me too? Do Elves hear through all Warding Spells whenever they're called?_

"Kreacher, how did you hear me?" Ron asked.

"Kreacher used Wizard Magic for the Silencing Charms," Kreacher replied. "Elf Magic is older. More personal." _More personal?_

"It has different Laws to abide by?" Ron asked for clarification.

"Indeed," Kreacher nodded.

"So I could call any Elf in here?" Ron asked.

"If the Elf is listening, then yes," Kreacher replied. _Neat. I should remember this._

"I'm ready to go home now," Ron said, and Kreacher extended his boney hand.

Ron took it, and the Elf Apparated them back into the Slytherin Training Room. Ron's entire head spun once again, and this time, even his vision began to blur. Ron stumbled to the side, the right side of his body feeling completely numb. _Oh, no…_ Ron fell onto his right arm, but he felt nothing. _Fuck me._

"Lord Weasley?" Kreacher turned him onto his back. "Lord Weasley? What is wrong?" _Feelings of numbness, nausea, blurry vision, and lightheadedness. My symptoms. I can't Apparate without feeling them? Why?_

"I'm okay," Ron sat up using his left arm. "Just tired."

Kreacher didn't look convinced, but he didn't fret like Marty would have. Instead, the old Elf just waited for Ron to recover, which took nearly two minutes. Unsteadily, Ron get back up to his feet with Kreacher's help, he was feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.

"Is Lord Weasley unwell?" Kreacher asked eventually.

"Something like that," Ron replied. "Thank you for your help tonight, Kreacher. I'll be fine from here, so go back home. Oh, and I'm sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night."

"Kreacher lives to serve," Kreacher bowed, and then he cracked out of the room without further questions. _Do all Elves love that saying? Even Marty claims that he 'lives to serve'. Is this saying a part of Elf culture?_

Ron shook his head clear; there was no point in thinking about this right now. He needed to get back to his room before he started feeling other symptoms. _If I pass out, I'll have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow morning. That is if no one smothers me in my sleep._ Slowly, but surely, Ron made his way towards his room. His vision was returning, and his lightheadedness was leaving, but Ron still felt a little numb. As a result of this, his right foot dragged behind him, making him look like a cripple.

Ron opened the door to his room, and ever so quietly, he smuggled himself inside before closing and locking the door. His eyes adjusted to the dark more quickly than last time, and carefully, Ron made his way towards Malfoy's bed. _I'll leave the letter on his nightstand. That way, he can read it first thing in the morning._ Ron slid the curtains open, and he walked over to Malfoy's nightstand. As he dropped the letter off, Ron looked towards a sleeping Malfoy.

Curiously, Malfoy was sleeping on top of his covers in nothing but his boxers. _Isn't he cold?_ That's when Ron noticed the Warming Charm, and so he nodded to himself in understanding. _I do the same thing sometimes. Small World._ His eyes lingered on Malfoy's abnormally pale skin, and for some reason, he suddenly began feeling a little hot in the face. Malfoy was a little skinny, but years of flying his broom and the morning runs had done him a lot of good. _He looks like a porcelain doll. Merlin, there's not a single mark on his body. No moles, no freckles, no scars. He's… kind of pretty…_

Ron shook his head clear as he took a step back. What the fuck was he doing? _Pretty? What the fuck?_ Without wasting another second, Ron left Malfoy's bedside and shut the curtains behind himself. _I need another fucking scan, I reckon._

* * *

 _ **Emilia Travers' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (King Solomon's Bakery – Midday)**_

"And who let you in here, eh?" came Solomon's voice, and Emilia turned to see him enter his Office. "Can't even take a bloody piss without some broad breaking into me Offices… Fuckin' ridiculous."

"Your creature let me in here," Emilia said calmly, and Solomon eyed her skeptically.

"Don't remember owning a creature," Solomon said after a few moments.

"That thing you call a secretary," Emilia clarified. "The mutant."

"There are no mutants here," Solomon appeared genuinely confused. "You been drinking again?"

"Why did you send me this?" Emilia pulled out a pamphlet for King Solomon's Bakery; she was in no mood to play his games. "And why a damn bakery?"

"Everyone loves bread," Solomon shrugged as he walked over to his massive chair. "We bake all sorts here. We bake the brown bread. We bake the white bread. Any type of bread you want, we make it." Solomon then grunted as he shifted in his chair. "You've been very busy, haven't you? Yeah… Very busy."

"If this is about the Abadie Family, I had my reasons," Emilia stated. _If left unchecked, that woman's greed would have destroyed us all._

"You had your reasons," Solomon nodded slowly, his good eye fixed on her. "I see… Who made you do it?"

"Pardon?"

"Who made you poison the birds in their cages?" Solomon asked.

"No one-"

"Don't start that shite, yeah?" Solomon's eye twitched. "You went to one of my bakeries, you lied to my bakers, and they fuckin' killed two very generous patrons of mine. I don't remember giving any orders to kill the Abadies, so imagine my bloody surprise when one of my own told me that they were only fuckin' me over 'cause I asked for it."

"I was in a rush," Emilia showed no remorse. "The Abadies knew too much, and they would have dragged us all down to Hell with them if given the chance. They needed to be silenced."

"Yeah… I don't know how they do 'things' wherever the hell you're from, but here, we're **civilized** people," Solomon said, his thumbs cracking his fingers. "We don't lie to our business partners, we walk up and talk to them. If you wanted the birds gone, you should've come to me. Got it?" _I should just play along. It's better than listening to his rants._

"I get it," Emilia said calmly.

"If you do, then you'll tell me who ordered the hits," Solomon leaned back in his chair. "And before you start lying again, just remember that you need me a lot more than I need you, yeah? Without me, your fuckin' Order will starve halfway through this war of yours."

"It's **our** war, Solomon," Emilia said. "You've picked a side."

"Picked a side, have I?" Solomon whispered lowly. "I don't remember that."

"You gave me the poison-"

"You can forget the fuckin' poison," Solomon cut her off. "That poison was just a gift. Nothing more." Solomon's gaze deepened suddenly, and Emilia cocked an eyebrow. "Who told you to kill the birds?"

"Why do you assume that I was told to do it?" Emilia asked.

"Because I know you," Solomon replied, and Emilia couldn't help but scoff. "Well, I know your sort, that is."

"Is that so?" Emilia asked.

"Poison isn't your weapon," Solomon said, his eye darting towards her Blade. "No… You're not subtle. You don't like sitting back in the shadows. You love the fight. There's no fight when there's poison involved." Solomon then tilted his head a little. "Now, I know it wasn't Dumbledore. He's not the sort to risk everything over such a shoddy ploy. He's too smart, and not bold enough, for that. No… Whoever made you do it; they're nothing like Dumbledore." _No,_ _ **he**_ _really isn't._ "Who was it?"

"If I tell you, what do you plan to do about it?" Emilia asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Solomon whispered dangerously. "I plan to become their friend." _What?_

Emilia just stared at Solomon, and he stared right back. Silence fell between them, and honestly, Emilia couldn't read the Half-Troll to save her own life. She knew that Solomon often said one thing, but meant another. She thought that she had him figured out, but in this instance, she couldn't figure out his plans whatsoever.

"You want to befriend someone who killed two of your patrons?" Emilia broke the silence.

"It's the business, girl," Solomon replied. "All I know is that I'm losing money, so the bastards who've lightened my pouch need to fill it back up again. That includes you, of course."

"Of course," Emilia drawled.

"Bakeries are not cheap," Solomon stated. "So, who was it?"

"I'm not in a sharing mood today," Emilia replied. "I'll pass on your message, and they can decide if they want to meet you."

"They scare you," Solomon realized, his burly body leaning forward a little.

"They do," Emilia admitted, she saw no point in lying. _Whatever he is, he's not from our World._

Solomon scanned her face, and then he let out a grunt as he looked towards his card collection. _Having second thoughts about meeting him? You really should._

"What have you gotten yourself into, Emilia?" Solomon suddenly looked back to her.

"My path to fulfilling my Blood Oath was never going to be easy," Emilia replied. "I have made my choice, and I will not be deterred." _I've waited too long to be denied now._

"Revenge won't bring you peace," Solomon said with disturbing clarity.

"I don't want peace," Emilia said coldly. "I want to even the scales."

"Only God can do that," Solomon said, and then he looked back to his collection. "Pass on my invite to your friend, won't you?"

Emilia gave a nod, and then she turned to leave. As she neared the door, she almost felt the urge to warn Solomon against meeting Ronald Weasley. Solomon was scum, but even he didn't deserve to get tangled up with a Demon. Even to this day, she could sometimes feel the cold emptiness that she had felt inside the Demon's mind. She could still hear his voice echoing through her head whenever she thought about him.

" _ **Emilia Travers…**_ "

Emilia tensed immediately, and for a moment, she felt as though **he** was standing right behind her. Coldness washed over her, and Emilia found it hard to open the door right in front of her. He was here. He was inside this room. His monstrous eyes were fixed on the back of her head, and if she didn't move, he was going to kill her. He was going to devour her soul.

"Are you going to stand there all fuckin' day?" came Solomon's voice, and Emilia was pulled out of her trance. _It happened again… Gods, that voice…_

Emilia said nothing, opting instead to keep moving forward. She opened the door, steeled her mind, and moved forward. Her path was laid out before her, and she wasn't going to falter now. Not after everything that she had endured to get this far.

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – Afternoon)**_

"Why didn't you go to the study group, Ginny?" Madam Pomfrey asked again, and Ginny tensed a little. _She's really bringing everything back to me not attending the study group yesterday, isn't she?_

"I didn't feel like going," Ginny lied poorly.

"Last week, you were excited at the prospect of branching out again," Madam Pomfrey reminded her. "What changed?"

"Nothing," Ginny lied again.

"Ginny, I can't help you if you keep hiding from me," Madam Pomfrey said gently, and Ginny couldn't help but feel a little guilty for wasting the Head-Nurse's time.

After a bit of thinking, Ginny forced herself to speak.

"I **did** go to the study group…" Ginny confessed, and Madam Pomfrey leaned forward. "I just… I hid behind a shelf…" _Even I know how pathetic that was. I don't deserve to be in Gryffindor._

"Why did you hide?" Madam Pomfrey asked, and Ginny clamped down on her left forearm.

"I don't really know," Ginny replied. "I went there with my books and homework, but when I saw everyone else who was attending, I just couldn't do it… I wanted to join in, but I just couldn't. Do you know why I would do that?" _Because I really can't figure it out._

"Did you feel overwhelmed by the crowd?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I hear that the study group has grown quite large, and you did tell me that you struggle to breathe whenever you're surrounded."

"There were a lot of people there," Ginny started slowly. "But I don't think that bothered me too much… I actually planned to sit by myself for most of it."

"So you didn't plan to branch out?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I did…" Ginny said a little defensively. "I figured that if I studied by myself for a bit, someone would approach me."

"You mean your brother, don't you?" Madam Pomfrey asked. _How did she know that?!_

"He knows everyone there," Ginny said. "I know that I'm not supposed to rely on him completely, but he could really help me with this… Is that bad?"

"If he has no issues with it, then no," Madam Pomfrey replied, and Ginny felt a little relieved.

She knew that she had no right to rely on Ron for help, but she really couldn't think of an alternative. Luna wasn't talking to her, Percy was far too busy with his studies, the twins turned everything into a joke, Harry and Hermione were difficult to even look at, and Neville was trying his best to keep the Trio together. Ginny had no one, and she felt lonelier than ever. Hogwarts was a very large castle, but it had no place for her.

"I don't even know where to start," Ginny told Madam Pomfrey. "My House-mates don't really talk to me, I don't have any friends outside of Gryffindor, and my brothers are all busy with their own lives. I tried talking to Colin today at breakfast, but his mates weren't too happy with my intrusion… Colin was just too nice to turn me away, but I could tell that he wanted to talk to his friends instead." _I wasted his morning making a fool out of myself._

"There's nothing wrong with asking for help," Madam Pomfrey said. "You may feel like you don't deserve your brother's help, but he might think very differently. Tell me, did he not bring you here?"

"He did…"

"And did he not give up his own session for you?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "Did he not stay behind for an hour just to make sure that your first session went well?"

"He did," Ginny nodded a little. "And he spent a lot of time with me on Thursday."

"And how was that?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"It was really fun," Ginny couldn't help but smile a little. "He taught me some Magic, and then he listened to me vent about everything. It felt like old times, and I think I really needed that."

"It sounds like you still do," Madam Pomfrey said.

"As amazing as it was, I couldn't help but feel his… reluctance," Ginny lost her smile. "It was like he didn't want to be there, but at the same time, he refused to leave… I don't know… It just felt a bit off. Not to mention that I didn't like wasting his time for my own sake…"

"You are not a waste of time, Ginny," Madam Pomfrey said, but Ginny wasn't convinced. "Did you speak to him about this?"

"Merlin, no," Ginny replied quickly. "I didn't want to say anything that might upset him. We're finally talking again, and I don't want to ruin that."

"What if opening up doesn't ruin anything?" Madam Pomfrey asked. _What does she even know about it?_

"But what if it does?" Ginny countered petulantly. "What if he gets sick of dealing with me all the time? I don't want to lose him again! I'm finally starting to get him back!"

"Ginny, Ron never left," Madam Pomfrey said calmly. "He's always been here. You never lost him-"

"I **did** lose him!" Ginny couldn't help but feel angry. "I lost an entire year!"

Madam Pomfrey just stared at her, and Ginny matched her gaze defiantly. _Go on! Tell me that I'm wrong! I dare you!_

"I am not making light of what happened to you-" Madam Pomfrey started.

"But you are!" Ginny snapped. "You keep talking like you know everything! I **did** lose an entire year, and when I finally came back, Ron wasn't Ron anymore! He's changed so much! I can barely recognize him anymore!"

"No one can stay the same forever," Madam Pomfrey said gently. "Everyone changes over time, Ginny. You've changed too, haven't you?"

"I don't like who I've turned into! And I don't like who he's turned into!" Ginny shot out of her seat. "We were so close! We did every single thing together! But now… Ever since I came to this horrible school, I've lost everything! Luna barely even looks at me, Ron's as cold as a corpse, Harry Potter is a petty coward, and I'm a horrible bitch! I hate it here! I just want to go home!" _I want to go back in time! I want Ron and Luna to love me again!_

Madam Pomfrey tried to calm Ginny down, but it was too late. Ginny was far too overwhelmed, and by the time Madam Pomfrey had gotten out of her seat, Ginny had barged out of the Office in tears. _I wish I never found that Diary! I wish I never met Tom!_

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Afternoon)**_

The Potion burned as it traveled down his throat, and within seconds, the Dark Lord felt his entire body seize up painfully. His bones cracked and reformed, while his very soul vibrated from the sudden influx of power.

Despite the overwhelming agony, Lord Voldemort laughed.

The Basilisk Venom had transformed his Rudimentary Body Potion into something else entirely… Something that even he hadn't anticipated. His power was returning at an extraordinary rate, and the Dark Lord was starting to wonder if he really needed to create a new vessel.

Slowly, the Dark Lord rose from the ground. His body had developed once again, and as a result, it felt almost alien to him. With a focused mind, the Dark Lord commanded his longer legs to carry him towards the only mirror in the room. Each step brought pain, and yet, the Dark Lord reveled in this feeling. For too long he had felt no earthly sensations. His spirit form had taken away everything from him in exchange for his survival, but now, he could **feel**. _I am on the right path to restoring myself, and this only proves it._

Lord Voldemort came to a halt in front of the mirror, his blazing red eyes admiring his visage. He no longer looked like a child, but rather, a teenager. He was taller, broader, and surprisingly, almost muscular. _The Basilisk Venom has caused extreme cellular regeneration… Amazing! Such potency! To think that the World's deadliest venom could potentially be the most powerful healing agent is staggering. I must study this phenomenon further._

The Dark Lord used his long fingers to feel his body, making sure that none of his muscles were damaged or deteriorating. His translucent skin was covered with black veins, which the Dark Lord attributed to the Rudimentary Body Potion. In an oddly pleasing way, Lord Voldemort looked even less human than before. He looked… **divine**.

He drew in a deep breath, his mind reaching out to feel his own Magical Core. It felt steadier than it had in over a decade, and truth be told, the Dark Lord could feel his Magic like never before. It was everywhere. It was in his bones, it was in his organs, and it was in his veins. He was Magic.

A lipless smile graced his face; he had once again outwitted Death. Even after being pushed to the very limit of what was humanly possible, the Dark Lord had succeeded. He had created life with nothing but his own knowledge and power, and in the process, he had acquired even more knowledge. The Basilisk Venom was the key to his victory, he could see it clearly now. In his current state, he was still not as powerful as he once was, but if he continued the treatments, then it was only a matter of time before he overshadowed his past self.

"And yet, it is not enough," the Dark Lord whispered coldly, his eyes burning brighter than ever before.

As amazing as his new body felt, the Dark Lord knew that it was only temporary. He couldn't win the war against Dumbledore until he destroyed Harry Potter, and he couldn't destroy Harry Potter until he broke the Mud-Blood's Sacrificial Protection. Lily Potter's sacrifice had triggered something that not even Lord Voldemort could shatter: Old Magic. The only way around such a Primordial Power was to find a loophole, which, as it happened, the Dark Lord had already thought of.

He had to create another vessel, one that was infused with Harry Potter's blood. If they shared the same blood, then the Old Magic would consider Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter to be the same person. _I will finally be able to move against him. Until I create my new body, I must keep my distance from the boy. What he did to Quirrell is nothing compared to what he could do to me if he touches me._

The Dark Lord turned his head and cracked his neck; even the mere thought of Harry Potter was enough to fill him with murderous rage. _He will die slowly, I swear it._

Lord Voldemort finished inspecting his body, and once he was satisfied, he glided towards the door. It was time to put this body to the test. Lord Voldemort would not be caught unawares again, and the next time he faced the Order, he would devastate their ranks.

As he glided through the Manor, he couldn't help but appreciate the feeling of wind on his face. Unlike Peter's limiting form, this new body did not place unnecessary barriers on the Dark Lord. It wasn't going to fall apart, or begin rotting, if the Dark Lord pushed himself in combat. He was already more powerful than he had been in over a decade, and he **needed** to prove this to himself. He had to see his own power once again, and only then would he move forward.

"My Lord?" came a voice from behind him, and Lord Voldemort stopped.

"Corban," the Dark Lord turned to face the man responsible for the Dark Lord's new body. _I must reward him, even if he lied to me about the origins of the Basilisk Venom. Without him, I'd still be trapped inside a toddler's body._ "Come to me, my friend."

Without hesitation, Corban walked up to his Lord and kneeled. _He's too smart to comment on my visage. I expect nothing less from him._ The Dark Lord reached forward and placed his hand on Corban's head, and although the Death-Eater tensed at first, he soon relaxed due to his Lord's rare tenderness. In this moment, Lord Voldemort cared very little about Corban's past failures. If anything, he wanted to give Corban more chances to prove himself.

"Rise, Corban," Lord Voldemort whispered, and Corban did as he was told without delay. "You have proven very useful to me, and I cannot help but think of our first meeting. Do you remember?"

"Of course," Corban stood up straighter. "You gave me purpose that night, my Lord. **Real** purpose."

"And together, we will fulfill our shared goals," Lord Voldemort promised. "From today onwards, you will always sit at my side."

Corban's eyes widened for a mere second, he knew exactly what this meant. _He possesses strength that Lucius lacks, and he possesses the intelligence that Cornelius lacks. Not to mention that he is more loyal than the both of them combined. He will be the perfect second in command. That is, until Ronald comes to my side._

"It would be an honor, my Lord," Corban bowed. "I will not fail you as Lucius did, I swear this on my Magic."

"Your loyalty will be rewarded," Lord Voldemort's eyes blazed red. "Come, I wish to show you something."

Without another word, the Dark Lord began gliding towards the exit. Corban followed quickly, no doubt reveling in his victory. Lord Voldemort, for the most part, ignored Corban's elated mood. It didn't take them long to reach the exit, and once outside, the Dark Lord glided onto the grass.

It was cold and wet under his feet, and yet, the Dark Lord felt pleased. The air smelled fresh, and he filled his new lungs to the brim. He was no longer trapped inside a dead man, and he planned to stay that way. From today onwards, the Dark Lord would not be forced to hold back, and once he had made a body with the Basilisk Venom and Harry Potter's blood, he would conquer the World. Nothing, and no one, would stand in his way.

Slowly, the Dark Lord kneeled down and placed his hands on the grass. He opened himself up to the Magic around him, and within seconds, he could feel the Earth's heartbeat. The ground underneath him was alive. The air around him was alive. **He was alive**. He drew in a deep breath, and ever so slowly, he allowed his Magic to seep into the Earth. They became one, and the Earth shook beneath his palms. It wanted to reject his foreign Magic, but the Dark Lord's will could not be denied.

He choked out any resistance that he felt, making the ground vibrate even harder. Behind him, Corban seemed to tense, no doubt feeling his Master's overwhelming presence. Lord Voldemort ignored the man; instead he focused on everything else around him. Magic ran far deeper than most wizards realized, but Lord Voldemort knew better. He knew that Magic was everywhere. It connected and held the Universe together, and if one could become one with it, they could manipulate reality itself.

It had been such a long time since he had tried tapping into Earth's Magic, and so he felt genuinely excited for a change. In his weakened state, he would have been destroyed by the powers that he was tapping into, but now… Now, the Earth trembled because of his presence. It tried to flee from him, but Lord Voldemort pinned it down and forced it to serve him. With one more deep breath, Lord Voldemort merged his Magic with the Earth's.

The grass began to dry up and die around him, and the ground trembled so hard that it began to crack. Even the air began to heat up, and by the time the Dark Lord stood back up, the smell of electricity surrounded him. With relative ease, the Dark Lord began to levitate. There was so much Magic around him, and it was all bending to his will. He was in control, and nothing could change that now. It was finally time for a little show.

The Dark Lord smiled a lipless smile, his eyes blazing bright. He could sense his followers leaving the Manor in order to find the source of this disturbance. Ever so slowly, they all found their way to him. Most of them were shocked by his change in appearance, while others watched with fear and awe as the Dark Lord flew ever higher.

Once he was well above the Manor, the Dark Lord gazed down at all of his followers. Corban, Cornelius, Lucius, Fenrir, Natalia, and over a dozen Vampires were gazing up at him, no doubt trembling due to his power. _This is nothing for Lord Voldemort. Watch what your Lord is capable of._

With sheer brutality, the Dark Lord crushed the Earth's resistance completely, which released a shockwave of Magic from his body. The wind began to howl as it converged on him from all directions, and within seconds, the Dark Lord could see his followers struggling to stay on their feet. The windows of Nott Manor shattered, the Gardens began to wilt away, and the clouds above roared in agony.

Lightning sliced through the skies, hitting the Dark Lord's body from all directions. _Futile_ _._ The Earth wanted to resist his will, but it didn't have the strength to muster up a tangible threat. Instead, it had unwittingly empowered the Dark Lord with its own Magic. With the added power coursing through his veins, the Dark Lord let out a roar that summoned an electrical storm unlike any other.

Red lighting poured out his body, crashing down around the Manor. The wind picked up even more, and before long, the Dark Lord was hidden away inside a small tornado. Chunks of the Earth, and the Manor, were ripped out completely, and screams of panic and fear could be heard from below. The Dark Lord laughed as he pushed his abilities to their limits, causing the tornado around him to ignite. A storm of fire and lightning hovered above Nott Manor, and inside of it was the Dark Lord. _One final test, and then I shall end this._

Concentrating as hard as he could, the Dark Lord began to Transfigure his body into shadow and mist. He willingly became a part of the firestorm, which quickly began to resemble the Abyss itself. A gaping black hole that spewed lightning and fire, and caused such terror that all those who were witnessing it fell to their knees in worship. Shadow and mist washed over Nott Manor, trapping all those below in pitch-black darkness. The only source of light came from the fire and lightning, and occasionally, whenever the Dark Lord's burning eyes manifested within the storm.

And then, the darkness began to reconvene where it had started. The violent winds nearly pulled the people below into the vortex, threatening to suffocate them in a sea of fire and lightning. As the Dark Lord regained his form, the storm began to weaken. Lord Voldemort detached himself from the Earth's battered and bruised Magic, causing the debris around him to fall back down. Once he had rematerialized, he glided down towards his followers. All of them were on their knees, trembling and worshiping him, all except for Natalia. The foreign Vampire had clearly seen such power before, and yet, there was fear in her eyes. She now clearly understood why the Dark Lord's name inspired such terror throughout the World.

The Dark Lord gazed into her eyes, and when she averted her gaze, he smiled cruelly. She was afraid now, and that would never change. _Your father is an insect compared to me. Don't ever forget that._

"Come to me," the Dark Lord beckoned her, and without delay, she walked over to him. "Who has shown you such power before?"

"I have walked this Earth for over one hundred and fifty years," Natalia replied. "There isn't much that can catch me off-guard."

The Dark Lord peered into her mind, and he found that she was telling the truth. Her fear was completely gone, which genuinely impressed him. _She has learned to not blink in the face of Death. This is no doubt Gaspard's doing. Despite my dislike of the Blood-Lord, his past truly fascinates me._

"Find your father, and send him to me," the Dark Lord ordered. "My most loyal followers have suffered long enough. It is past time that they rejoined my side."

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Behind the Owlery – Late Afternoon)**_

His scar was murdering him, and because of that, he could hardly concentrate. He was constantly making errors, he kept zoning out his teammates, and he was getting ever more irritable. The smallest of things were setting him off, and he literally had no idea why. One thing was clear to him though; Lord Voldemort was on the move. Why else would his scar be hurting so much?

"Harry, you're getting in the way!" Hermione called, and Harry broke out of his thoughts. "One of us will hit you by mistake!"

"You're all going too fast!" Harry snapped, which earned him annoyed looks.

"You're as slow as a slug, mate," Seamus frowned. "Thank Merlin for Granger's good aim, or you'd be out of commission by now."

"We don't stand a chance at this rate," Fay sighed out. "I'm pretty sure Ron will take you both out before we can take down his teammates."

"Maybe Hermione and I should face him?" Dean suggested. "I could keep up with-"

"Oh, you think you'd survive longer than me, is that it?" Harry asked. "Why don't we see who the better Duelist is, Dean? C'mon, then."

"Harry!" Hermione sounded slightly aghast. "There's no need to start fights! We're just sharing ideas! Nothing's set in stone yet!"

"Yeah, calm down," Fay frowned at him. "It's your plan that we're following, but you're the one messing it up. Don't take your anger out on us."

"Harry, can I talk to you?" Hermione asked, her eyes fixed on his flushed face.

Harry begrudgingly agreed, his scar still throbbing painfully. They walked away from the others, who were now talking in hushed whispers. _Dean wouldn't last a second against Ron. He did horribly in the Rank-Placement matches. He just thinks that we've forgotten._

"Harry, what's the matter?" Hermione asked, a hint of concern in her voice. "You barely ever get like this. Is it your scar again? Is it hurting?"

"I'm fine," Harry said crossly, his left hand itching his scar. _It's never been this bad before. Something's gone horribly wrong, I just know it._

"Do you need to see Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked. "Didn't he ask you to keep him updated about the pain in your scar?"

"He did," Harry replied. "But I can't just leave without actual proof, Hermione. My scar's been hurting a lot lately, but nothing has happened so far. I think it's just hurting because **he** might be on the move."

"Then you need to tell Professor Dumbledore, Harry," Hermione urged. _Why are you so keen to send me away?_

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Harry half-asked and half-accused.

Hermione just stared at him, and then, she puffed up a little.

"Listen to yourself, Harry," Hermione whispered heatedly. "You're a member of the team, so why would I want to get rid of you? I wasn't even asking to replace you. I was only worried that I would hit you whenever you didn't move out of my way. If I'm to defend, while you attack, then you need to let me see what's happening in front of me. **This** was your plan, and I've agreed to do it simply because you kept insisting on it."

"It wasn't completely my plan," Harry frowned. "Remus is the-"

"I know you asked him to come find us," Hermione said with narrowed eyes. "You wanted the others to listen to you, and so you asked the Defense Professor to give your idea credibility. I never bought the fact that he just happened upon us, all right?"

Harry's lips tightened into a lipless frown, who was she to talk to him this way? Her idea was idiotic, and it was driven by her need to show off. _As if she could hold off Ron all on her own. She lost to him in five seconds. _

"You need to go see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione scolded. "You're not being yourself, Harry."

"Whatever," Harry hissed as he turned to leave. "You lot want to practice on your own? You go right ahead. I'm going to go practice by myself."

"Harry!" Hermione called as he began to walk away. "You're going to ruin our chances tomorrow! What's the matter with you?!"

Harry turned his head and cracked his neck; he was going to make sure that they won tomorrow. _They'll see. I'll keep up with Ron tomorrow, and I'll even beat him._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Just as he finished hitting his target, he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. _Hermione… She really followed me here?_ Harry turned around with a slight frown, but his face quickly fixed itself when he saw the Headmaster smiling at him. _Professor Dumbledore? What's he doing here?_

"Practicing hard, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, his voice calm and kind.

"Oh… um… Yes, Professor," Harry replied. "I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow. Gryffindor really needs the wins."

"Will you be Dueling alone?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling. "I must admit, I'd like to see that spectacle."

"I don't think there'd be much of a 'spectacle', Professor," Harry tried to joke. "I'm not Dueling alone."

"Then where are your teammates?" Dumbledore asked.

"We um… We got into an argument," Harry admitted, he didn't know why he felt ashamed of that now. "They're probably still practicing behind the Owlery."

"Is something bothering you, Harry?" Dumbledore looked right into his eyes.

Harry slowly realized that this meeting didn't happen by chance. _Hermione must've gone to him after I left. When does he ever roam so far out here?_

"Hermione told you," Harry said. "That's why you're here, right?"

"You promised to come to me whenever your scar caused you pain, Harry," Dumbledore reminded him, though he didn't sound very disappointed. "Is it still hurting?"

"A little," Harry sighed out. "It's not as bad as before. It was probably nothing."

"But we don't know that for certain," Dumbledore said. "We cannot underestimate the meaning behind your scar. It could, after all, help us save many potential lives."

Harry couldn't help but feel a little guilt at that, maybe he should've just listened to Hermione? _I don't even know why I got so angry with her. I just… snapped._

"I'll come to you immediately next time," Harry promised. "I think my scar's affecting my mood, Professor."

"What makes you say that?" Dumbledore asked keenly.

"I just got so angry all of a sudden," Harry confessed. "And I couldn't think straight before that. I kept making mistakes, which started annoying the others, and when they asked me to shape up, I started going off on them. I don't even know why I was so angry to begin with."

"Weren't you in pain?" Dumbledore asked. "Could your temperament be blamed on that?"

"It was bad, but it wasn't **that** bad," Harry replied. "I just got fed up with them for no reason."

Dumbledore seemed to be thinking his words over, and Harry figured that he needed to go apologize to the others. _Especially Hermione. I accused her of wanting to get rid off me. That's mental!_

"You should rejoin the others, Harry," Dumbledore finally spoke.

"What about my scar?" Harry asked.

"I will try to find out why it's hurting," Dumbledore replied. "I wish you the best of luck for tomorrow."

"Will you be there, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Dumbledore chuckled as he began to leave. "I wouldn't miss this for anything, my boy."

Harry watched Dumbledore leave, and once the old Sorcerer was gone, Harry let out a tired breath. His scar wasn't really hurting anymore, which meant that he could now see how unreasonable he'd been. _My anger's getting the better of me time and time again. What's the matter with me? Hermione was only trying to help._

Feeling regretful, Harry decided to go own up to his mistake. It didn't take him long to get there, and he certainly wasted no time in approaching his teammates. They were still practicing Harry's idea, but Hermione didn't have a partner. _I'm such a git._

"Guys, can you stop for a minute?" Harry asked, and one by one, they all stopped what they were doing.

"Are you feeling better now?" Fay asked haughtily. "Or are you going to tell us off again."

"There's no need for that," Hermione shot Fay a frown, and then she gave Harry a sorry look. "Are you feeling better, Harry?" _She really takes my scar seriously, doesn't she?_

"I am," Harry replied. "And I'm really sorry for going off on you guys like that. I was the one messing it all up, but I blamed you guys for everything going wrong. I'm sorry."

Dean and Seamus exchanged looks before shrugging, while Fay gave him bored look. Hermione was the only one who seemed to fully accept his apology, and he figured that she was blaming his scar for his poor behavior.

He didn't try to change that.

"I'll try harder this time, I promise," Harry said, and then he rejoined Hermione's side. "Let me know if I start getting slow again. I'll shape up."

"Don't worry, we've got this," Hermione shot Harry a weak smile. _Apologizing was definitely the right idea. I just need to calm down here, and we'll be fine._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Greengrass Manor – Late Afternoon)**_

Once again, Lord Greengrass was maintaining his silence. He barely spoke, he corrected Ron's mistakes for him instead of scolding him, and he kept giving Ron one-worded answers whenever Ron asked a question.

At first, Ron couldn't help but feel miserable due to his Mentor's cold-shoulder treatment, but as time had gone on, Ron had quickly gotten fed up with it. This had happened so very suddenly that even Ron understood that he was having a mood swing. But then, his chest had started hurting, and that's when Ron knew that the Dark Lord was involved somehow. His scar was connected to Harry's, which he had learned during the Break, and that only left one conclusion. All three of them were connected somehow, and whenever the Dark Lord was emotional, Ron and Harry felt the affects. This was, of course, only a guess, but Ron couldn't think of any other explanation.

"It's getting late in the day, my Lord," Ron finally broke the silence. _I'm sick of sitting here in silence. I'd rather go do something productive for a change._ "I think I should get going."

"If that is what you want," Lord Greengrass didn't seem bothered. _Really? Even last month, you would have torn me to shreds for asking to leave early._

Enough was enough. Ron's chest was burning up, and he was too fed up with the man's childish behavior. He didn't want to start a fight because of his mood swing, and so he decided to be on his way. _There's no point in trying to appease him right now._

"I'll be on my way, then," Ron said as he stood up. "I won't be here next Saturday because it's Hogsmeade Weekend. Is that all right?"

"Enjoy yourself," Lord Greengrass looked back to his work. _Right…_

Ron stared at his mentor for a bit, and then, he let out a sigh as he walked towards the door. _What am I going to do about him? I don't want to tell him about my true self, but at this rate, he'll just cut me off._ Ron left the study behind, and headed straight for the Greeting Room. He really wanted a break from thinking about Lord Greengrass' silence. _I still need to train with my team after this. Merlin, I'm so tired. Maybe I can sneak a nap before training? Yeah, I'll do that. I'll pass out at dinner otherwise._

The Greeting Room was empty, which meant that Mary wasn't in the Manor. She was either shopping, or visiting Pandora in order to support the very pregnant woman. _I'm a little grateful that she's not here. I don't want to stick around for another moment._ Ron grabbed a pinch of floo-powder, and he opened a floo-jump to Professor Snape's Office.

As he walked into the Office, he came nearly slammed into Carey's back. _Bloody hell._ Ron barely missed her, and she shot him a surprised look. _Why are you blocking the floo?! Huh?!_

"Please don't block the entrance," Ron did his best not to be rude. _Why am I feeling so agitated? Fuck these symptoms!_

"Sorry, Ron," Carey took a step aside.

"Ron, it's good that you've just arrived," Snape said. "Carey, tell him what you just told me."

"What's wrong?" Ron asked Carey.

"Your sister's gone missing," Carey replied, and Ron blinked at her.

"What? What are you on about?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.

"Madam Pomfrey asked the Professors and Prefects to keep an eye out for your sister," Carey explained. "She had an episode, or something like that, Madam Pomfrey wasn't too clear on the details. I was just telling Professor Snape that Professor McGonagall wanted him to have the Dungeons searched."

"So no one can find her?" Ron nearly lashed out. "Not even the Headmaster?"

"He went for a walk, so we're waiting for him to come back," Carey told him. _A walk? What fucking walk? He's a million years old!_

"I'll find her," Ron sighed out. "She won't be in the Dungeons, I assure you."

"Good," Snape said indifferently. "That saves us a lot of time-"

"That's my sister," Ron shot the man a frown. _Git._ "At least pretend to care about your students."

He was just not catching any breaks today, was he? _I swear that everyone once a week, the Universe decides to shit on me. I must be the unluckiest cunt on this planet._ He made his way towards the Slytherin Dungeons, where his Marauder's Map was, and before he knew it, Carey was walking by his side.

"Are you going to use that Map of yours to find her?" Carey asked.

"Yes," Ron replied. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Carey asked.

"No, I'm all right on my own," Ron refused. "Ginny doesn't really like Slytherin House much, and she'd never listen to you."

"Oh, yes, she accused me of making her brother cheat on his girlfriend," Carey remembered. "My face is the last she'd want to see right now."

"Just keep your focus on the House's training," Ron said. "I know how to take care of my sister."

"Only Pure," Carey gave the password, and Ron physically cringed a little.

"Can we do something about this password?" Ron asked heatedly. "Who in the hell comes up with these fucked-up phrases?"

"I don't know," Carey replied as they stepped inside.

"Really?" Ron asked. _Is she lying to me?_

"Your brother Percy and I get a list of passwords every week, and we let the Heads of Houses know," Carey told him.

"The Heads of Houses don't set these?" Ron asked. "Then who does?"

"I don't know," Carey repeated. "Never looked into it. It's just how things are done around here." _The Headmaster will know where the passwords come from. I need to do something about our entrance as soon as possible._

"I'll see you after I help my sister," Ron parted from Carey, feeling agitated at everything. _I just wanted a nap, but now, I'll be running about Hogwarts. This fucking day just won't end…_ Once again, Ron was fully aware about the fact that his agitation was coming from a mood swing. That, and the scar on his chest was causing him a lot of discomfort.

As he neared his room, Ron decided to drink some Calming Draught before his mood worsened. He didn't want to fight with his friends, nor did he want to upset Ginny unintentionally. _Just a couple of drops to get me through this day._ Ron entered his room without knocking, and he found his mates loitering about. Blaise was reading some culinary book, Theo was tending to a pot plant by his bed, and Malfoy was hidden behind his curtains. _I wonder how he's doing today? I hope that letter helped him a little._

"Welcome back," Theo gave him a quick glance.

"Hello," Ron greeted back.

Malfoy's curtains opened slightly, and the blonde peeked through to look at Ron. Noticing that he couldn't talk to Ron just yet, Malfoy gave him a quick nod before his head disappeared again. _That's a good sign, I reckon. Thank Merlin._

"Theo, can I have some Calming Draught?" Ron asked, and Theo looked him over. "Just a couple of drops."

"Are you having a rough day?" Theo asked.

"Yes, I really am," Ron rubbed his face. "I'm in a hurry here, mate. Please just give me a vial."

Theo reluctantly grabbed one from his trunk, and before he handed it to Ron, he gave the redhead a meaningful look.

"Just a little," Theo said, and Ron nodded. _Hurry up, I have shit to do._

Theo handed Ron the vial, and Ron quickly took a small sip. _This'll help me keep my agitation in control. The last thing I need to be doing is to be stirring up trouble. I'll go find Ginny, and after I've helped her feel better, I'll come back and run the training session. Tonight, I'll be sleeping right after dinner._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Of all the places Ginny could have chosen to hide out in, why did she have to pick the Northern Wing? It had taken Ron nearly twenty minutes to walk up here, which meant that he wouldn't be back at the Slytherin common room for another thirty to forty minutes. _I still have to do my essay, and I still need to train with my team. Merlin, I'm really out of it already._ Ron shook his head clear, he needed to focus and stay on task. _One thing at a time, Ron._

Once he was outside the room in which Ginny was hiding, he pocketed the Marauder's Map before straightening up his clothes. _Ready or not, here I come._ With a fluid motion, Ron slid inside and shut the door before Ginny could even look up. She was sitting on a desk in the middle of the room, and judging from her flushed features, she had been crying.

"A lot of people are looking for you, Ginny," Ron said as he began walking over to her.

"But you're the one who found me?" Ginny was quite surprised, and then she sniffled. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I was tired so I decided to come home early today," Ron admitted. "But as soon as I got back, Professor Snape told me to keep an eye out for you. He said that Madam Pomfrey was the one who issued the search party."

"She shouldn't have done that," Ginny wiped her eyes. "I just needed a break, that's it."

"You needed more than just a break from where I'm standing," Ron said. "What happened, Ginny? Why did you run away from your session in tears?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Ginny replied, and Ron drew in a deep breath. _How do I get her to open up? I can't just leave her here._

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Ron asked, and Ginny shook her head.

"No," Ginny replied.

"Then you need to give me something, Ginny," Ron said. "I want to help you, but I don't have the time to chase after you. Tell me what's wrong." _Was that too cold? Oh, well. I_ _ **do**_ _have other tasks to do, and if she doesn't want to open up, then I might as well concentrate my efforts on something else._

Ginny tried to read his features again, but she just couldn't figure him out. Why was he suddenly being so cold?

"Are you upset with me?" Ginny asked, opting to ask outright.

"No," Ron replied. "I am, however, on a Calming Draught. So if I sound cold towards you, it's because of the Potion." _Leave no chance for misunderstandings, Ron. That's what comes back to bite you in the arse quite often._

"Why are you on a Calming Draught?" Ginny asked, a hint of concern seeping into her voice. "Did you get more bad news?"

"No, I just had a really long day," Ron replied. _My Mentor mostly ignored me, and my mood swings are driving me mental. Oh, and my scar is hurting because the Dark Lord is up to something._

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked.

"Are you really trying to turn this around?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she gave a weak smile. "I'm fine, Ron, I promise. I just had to get some of my anger out, and I did that. I feel better-"

"That's not really how it works in my experience," Ron knew that she was lying. "Trust me, Ginny, I've done all of that, and none of it helps. It just makes it worse. The only way to move past something is to confront it, not run away from it in tears."

"Not everyone's the same, Ron," Ginny tried.

"I know you, little sister," Ron said calmly. "You're not the sort to run away crying, and the fact that you did that really bothers you It's why you haven't left this room. It's why you didn't want to be found."

Ginny fidgeted uncomfortably, and Ron waited for her to say something.

"I really hate it here…" Ginny mumbled after a few seconds. "I want to go back home…" _Really? You just want to run away?_

"Who do you have waiting back at home?" Ron asked. "Mum and dad? Do you really want to live alone with them? Do you want to do all the chores, and constantly get lectured?"

"No…" Ginny spoke to the floor. "But at least I wouldn't be… lonely… I'd have mum to talk to during the day, and I could spend my nights talking to dad and Bill."

"Ginny, that's not the right way to deal with this," Ron leaned back against a nearby desk.

"I know," Ginny sighed out.

"It might take a while, but eventually, things will start feeling normal again," Ron promised. "You'll make friends, you'll get Luna back, and you'll start feeling like your old self. The only condition is that you have to put in the effort."

"I've been trying," Ginny said weakly. "You know I have…"

"And you need to keep trying," Ron said. "You're doing well, Ginny, so don't stop now."

Ginny nodded lightly, a distant look on her face. Ron wasn't really satisfied with her answer, so he decided to try something unorthodox. Maybe Ginny needed a starting point? Maybe she needed someone to show her the right way?

"I have an idea," Ron said, and Ginny looked to him. "From now on, why don't you come to my morning runs?"

"Your morning runs?" Ginny blinked. "You want me to go running with you?" _Was that too sudden?_

"My friends will be there as well," Ron said, and Ginny immediately looked reluctant. "I'll talk to them for you, and you can try to have a fresh start with them. This might help you see that we Slytherins are also 'normal people', and it'll give my friends the chance to get to know you."

"Ron, they don't like me much-" Ginny started.

"So change that," Ron cut in. "Stop giving up so quickly, Ginny. Just start working on something already, because at this rate, you're only making empty promises. I'm not trying to corner you, and I definitely don't want to upset you, but I also don't want to coddle you. I'm giving you a chance to learn more about the House that scares you, but until you agree to take that chance, I can't do much for you."

Ginny looked back down at her dangling feet, she was definitely mulling his words over.

"Okay…" Ginny finally agreed. "Please talk to them…" _She agreed? That went far more quickly than I anticipated. Is she really feeling that lonely?_

"I'll talk to them tomorrow, and you can start joining us on Monday," Ron said. "We start running at half past six, but be there by quarter past six. We all stretch and freshen up for about fifteen minutes before we start running."

Ron pushed himself off of the desk; he needed to take her back to Pomfrey before this turned into a manhunt.

"Are you going to leave now?" Ginny asked. _I really should. I've got a lot of work to get done tonight._

"I can stay for a little bit," Ron decided to prioritize his sister once again. _Ginny's worth far more than House Points, and she needs someone to keep being there for her._ "Scoot over, and I'll come and sit next to you."

Ginny smiled a little, and then she quickly scooted over.

* * *

 _ **Saturday 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Slytherin Training Room – After Dinner)**_

The Training Room was relatively empty right now, and the only students around were the perfectionists who didn't plan to make a single mistake tomorrow. This included the seventh years, the fourth years, and Ron's friends. _Well, my friends are only here because I forced their hands. It's important that they_ _ **all**_ _train, even if some of them aren't competing tomorrow._

His bizarre feelings of random agitation were long gone, but this had resulted in the Calming Draught somewhat numbing him. He wasn't being anti-social, and yet, he really couldn't be bothered with listening to other people. _I'm still surprised that things went so well with Ginny. She's clearly trying her best not to start any fights with me. I just hope that she extends that courtesy to my friends._

Ron finished signing his name to his Herbology essay, and just as he looked back up, he saw Malfoy walking over to him. _He went and did the essay by himself, despite me offering him Theo's work. He's really stubborn._ Ron's semi-cold gaze examined the Malfoy heir, and much to his own confusion, he still thought that Malfoy was quite easy on the eyes. _Something is definitely wrong here. I need to speak to Madam Pomfrey about this. Just before, I spent over twenty minutes staring at Pansy's arse. Is sexual deviance a symptom of brain damage? I fucking hope not._

"The others are wondering if you want to join us," Malfoy said as he stopped in front of Ron.

"And they sent you?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. _Unlikely._

"They couldn't decide on who should approach you, so I decided to put an end to their debate," Malfoy replied with an equally cold tone.

"The Calming Draught," Ron nodded to himself. "They're worried that I'll snap at them." _I'm too sleepy to snap at anyone, I reckon. Now that I've finished my homework, I plan to go to sleep immediately._

"Something like that," Malfoy said. "So? Do you want to join us?"

"Not particularly," Ron replied. "Our plan for tomorrow is simple, and you don't need me for it."

"Are you really sure that Potter and Granger will try to keep you occupied?" Malfoy asked. _I saw them training away from their teammates on the Map, so I can safely assume that they plan to keep me busy. It's a terrible plan, especially because I could level them both within seconds._

"I'm sure," Ron told Malfoy. "Do you need anything else? I've noticed that you keep looking in my direction." _Though I'm the one who's eyeballing all of his friends… I'll ask Pomfrey for a special session tomorrow. Something is not right up there, I can feel it._

Malfoy shot a quick look back, and then he focused only on Ron. His gaze was intense, and Ron found himself staring into the other boy's eyes. _He has nice eyes. They're grey, just like Sirius'. Must be a Black Family trait._

"Can we talk?" Malfoy asked. "Alone?"

Ron drew in a deep breath; he really couldn't be fucked right now. _Just do it, Ron, or he'll be distracted tomorrow._ Ron packed up his essay, collected his books and Theo's work, and then he stood up to his full height.

"I need to go put these away," Ron said. "Let's go."

Without another word, Ron began making his way towards the boys' dorms. Malfoy followed after him, though he didn't say a single word. Ron figured that Malfoy was waiting until they were alone before he brought up his mother, which actually gave Ron time to think about his potential answers. _I can't tell him how I did it, and I can't promise him that I'll do it again. I took a huge risk for his sake, and I need to make sure that he understands that. I can't fuck up everything for one person's benefit._

Once they were both in their room, Ron went about putting everything in its proper place. Malfoy said nothing, probably because he was building up the courage to speak his mind. In full honesty, Ron found this sort of meek behavior pathetic, and he was seeing it increasingly from the people around him. _Just say what's on your mind, or stop being such a coward about it. What's the worst that will happen?_

"Are you going to speak? Or do you plan to keep staring at me?" Ron asked as he tucked his essay away.

"How did you do it?" Malfoy asked. "That letter… It had **her** handwriting."

"Well, I hope so, considering that she wrote it," Ron turned to face Malfoy. "As for how I did it, that doesn't matter."

"That doesn't matter?" Malfoy blinked. "You broke into her cell somehow, completely evading the Order to boot. It doesn't make any sense." _It does if you don't discount the Elves. And 'cell'? Her room is nicer than mine._

"We agreed that you wouldn't ask any questions," Ron reminded Malfoy.

"That was before you pulled this off," Malfoy said. "I didn't think that you could… But you somehow did it… I just want to know how you managed this, Weasley."

"So you can do it yourself?" Ron asked calmly.

Malfoy said nothing, but Ron had his answer. _I get where he's coming from, but it's a really terrible idea. He'll ruin his chances with the Order, and they'll definitely lock her away in the attic again._

"You wanted some peace of mind, and I've given you that," Ron said. "Don't ruin it by reaching for more."

"So you're really not going to tell me?" Malfoy frowned deeply. _Is he really frowning at me right now? After what I just did for him?_

"You know… Maybe you should thank me for risking my arse for your sake instead of getting upset because I'm not doing you **one more** favor," Ron said, and Malfoy quickly fixed his expression. "She's safe and sound, and if that letter doesn't prove it, then you can take my word for it. I saw her myself, and she didn't have a scratch on her. She has a decent sized room, she has a comfortable bed, and judging by how she was dressed, I'd say that she wants for nothing."

"How she was dressed?" Malfoy repeated, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"She was wearing a nightgown," Ron shrugged, and Malfoy looked ready to jump him. "Relax, Malfoy, I didn't spy on her." _I find your mother far too repulsive to do that._

Malfoy slowly calmed himself down, and after a few seconds, he looked into Ron's eyes.

"Thank you, Weasley," Malfoy said, he clearly wasn't happy about thanking Ron. _It's better than nothing, at least._

"I've upheld my end of the bargain," Ron said. "It's time for you to do the same. No more hostile behavior, no more blaming others for your problems, and no more moping about. Do you remember our chat back at the start of the Break?"

"I do," Malfoy replied curtly.

"Gain some control over your own life, Malfoy," Ron said. "And don't be such a stubborn bastard all the time… If you need help, then just ask for it. There are still people around who want to help you, but we'll lose our patience eventually."

Malfoy drew in another deep breath, and then he gave a quick nod. _He really doesn't like listening to me, does he? Whatever. I did my part, and that's all that I can do for now. Now, it's up to him to try and be better._

"I'm going to bed," Ron turned around. "Goodni-"

"Wait," Malfoy said, and Ron turned back around. _Now what?_ "I have one more letter for her…"

"You have got to be joking," Ron frowned a little. "Really, Malfoy? You're going to pull this on me?"

"Please, Weasley," Malfoy all but whispered, vulnerability flashing across his face.

Sadly for Ron, he hadn't consumed enough of the Calming Draught to be completely detached, and so he felt a small amount of sympathy for Malfoy. The look on Malfoy's face was all too familiar to Ron; it was the look of desperation and shame. It was obvious that Malfoy hated relying on Ron for anything, but he loved his mother enough to swallow his pride. _He's a regular 'son of the year', isn't he?_

Ron wanted to refuse so badly, but he also couldn't ignore that bloody look.

"Fine," Ron said sharply. "Give it to me, and I'll deliver it to her." _I'm such an idiot for taking this risk again._

Malfoy didn't hesitate for a second, making sure that Ron didn't have the chance to change his mind. _This is the last time I'm doing this. After this, I'm putting my foot down._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – Past Midnight)**_

"Lord Weasley," came a voice from his side.

"Hmm?" Ron groaned in a half-asleep fashion.

"Lord Weasley must wake up," Kreacher croaked, and Ron slowly opened his eyes. _What's going on? It's pitch-black in here._

"Kreacher?" Ron whispered. "Is that you? What time is it?"

"It is well past midnight, Lord Weasley," Kreacher croaked. "Forgive Kreacher's interruption, but Kreacher was told that this was urgent."

"Who told you what was urgent?" Ron sat up. "Is everything all right?" _No one's hurt, are they?_

"Lady Travers sent Kreacher here," Kreacher began explaining. "She wishes to speak to Lord Weasley about important matters. Matters related to the Dark Lord."

"She's back in England? Since when?" Ron asked.

"Lady Travers arrived on Monday, and she has been staying at the House of Black," Kreacher replied. "Come, Lord Weasley, Kreacher must take you to the cliff."

" **The** cliff?" Ron asked, remembering Victor's fate. "Why there?"

"Kreacher did not ask," Kreacher croaked.

"Right," Ron rubbed his face tiredly. "Give me a couple of minutes to wash my face, Kreacher. I'll be right back." _I'll grab Malfoy's letter too. Might as well deliver it tonight now that Kreacher's here._

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"You stole my trick," Ron said as he approached the cliff, Kreacher had opted to stay far back.

Emilia turned to face him; she was wearing her usual uniform-like clothes. _And she's got her sword. I should keep some distance between us._

"At least I didn't have you kidnapped in your sleep," Emilia said coolly.

"Would you be that petty?" Ron asked.

"The thought did cross my mind," Emilia replied. _At least she's honest._

"Why did you want to see me?" Ron asked. "Kreacher mentioned that this was urgent."

"An acquaintance of mine wants to meet you," Emilia replied. "Do you remember the name Solomon? I once told you about him." _This Solomon character again?_

"He was the smuggler, right?" Ron asked. _He died in the future because of Victor gave him up to the Death-Eaters._

"The very same," Emilia said. "He's currently operating out of King Solomon's Bakery in Diagon Alley."

"That place?" Ron frowned. "My brothers and I nearly got into a fight with a bunch of thugs who were helping build that dump."

"He owns a lot of these 'bakeries'," Emilia told Ron. "To the outside World, they are a successful chain of bakeries all over Magical Europe, but selling bread isn't their main business. These places are fronts for the criminal underworld. Smugglers, Wands-for-hire, spies, assassins, and dealers of illicit goods work out of these bakeries, and they all pay Solomon a hefty cut."

"He keeps them hidden from the Aurors," Ron said. "He's clearly not just a smuggler." _Should I really meet this man? He sounds like a terrible human being._

"The majority of his money comes from his smuggling rings," Emilia told him. "These bakeries are a lucrative side-business."

"And how do you know this criminal?" Ron asked.

"He was helping my Great Aunt and Cornelius Nott usurp my rightful place as the Head of my Family," Emilia replied. "He was the middle man of their negotiations, and he smuggled their illegal documents."

"And you let him live?" Ron asked.

"He was only doing his job," Emilia replied. "I chose to cut the head of the snake instead, which put Solomon out of a job. But saying that, I still gave him a reminder that I'm not to be crossed." _A reminder?_

"But now we're working with him," Ron said. "Can we even trust someone like him?"

"He is very resourceful, and quite intelligent for a Half-Troll," Emilia said. _Half-Troll? Someone fucked a Troll? Why? How horny do you have to be to fuck a Troll? Wait… Maybe some Troll forced itself onto a witch? Merlin, that's a disturbing thought._ "We definitely can't trust him, but we need him. We can't let our enemies control the entire underworld, and with Solomon on our side, we'll have influence in a large portion of it." _Bloody hell, I really don't like the sound of this guy._

"And why does he want to meet me? You didn't tell him anything about me, did you?" Ron asked. _The last thing I need to be seen doing is associating with criminals._

"I didn't even mention you," Emilia replied. "He asked after my 'partner' in Lord and Lady Abadie's murders."

"It wasn't 'murder'," Ron rolled his eyes. "What they were planning was murder. You and I simply stopped them from starting a damn war."

"Whatever you want to call it, it attracted Solomon's attention," Emilia said. "As it turns out, Lord and Lady Abadie were one of Solomon's patrons. He isn't too happy about the fact that we've inadvertently lightened his pouch, and he wants us to become his patrons as a way of paying him back."

"I don't owe this criminal anything," Ron said.

"Don't be a fool," Emilia said bluntly. "A man like Solomon is an extremely dangerous enemy to have. Just pay him what he wants, and then use what he gives you. Why make another enemy for the sake of pride?"

"I'm surprised to hear you, of all people, say that," Ron stated. "Doesn't your 'honor' forbid you from associating with criminals?"

"Do not speak of things that you don't understand," Emilia said, a challenging glint in her eyes. "We Ronin use whatever means available to us in order to fulfill our pledges. Solomon is not my enemy, the Death-Eaters are." _Yeesh, there's no need to be so irritable. I won't mention your honor again._

"So if I don't become his patron, he'll move against me?" Ron asked.

"That is how their World works," Emilia regained her composure.

"Great," Ron looked off of the cliff. "Is there a way I can keep my identity a secret? I don't want to be seen associating with a criminal. It'll jeopardize my other plans." _Plus, the last criminal I worked with ended up at the bottom of this very cliff._

"Use an alias and a disguise," Emilia shrugged. "I plan to become his patron simply to avoid making him my enemy, and I can only advise you to do the same." _I don't need another enemy, and having some influence within the criminal underworld would be rather handy. But this guy sounds like horrible news, and if I'm seen doing business with him, I'll probably get into trouble with the Aurors. That would seriously fuck up my plans going forward._

"How long are you staying for?" Ron asked.

"I'm in no rush to leave," Emilia replied.

"Then let's meet back here on Wednesday night," Ron said. "I'll get a disguise ready, while you ask Solomon to join us." _He better be worth it._ "Is there anything else that you need to tell me?"

"When will Daphne Greengrass help me establish my business within Magical Germany?" Emilia asked. "I am only dealing with her because you asked me to, but she is starting to waste my time. I could've handled all of this on my own ten times over by now." _Daphne still hasn't prepared her side of things? I should talk to her about this tomorrow._

"I will let her know that you're growing impatient," Ron said, and Emilia gave him a curt nod.

"Kreacher!" she looked towards the Elf, who quickly cracked to her side. "Our business here is finished, so take Mr. Weasley home."

"Actually, take her home first," Ron said. "I still need you for something."

Emilia cocked an eyebrow, but she didn't ask any unnecessary questions. Instead, she offered Kreacher her arm, and the Elf took it without hesitation. _He acts pretty fast whenever she wants something. Is he scared of her? She hasn't hurt him, has she?_ Kreacher Apparated them both away, leaving Ron alone on the Cliffside.

Just as Ron decided to enjoy the view, Kreacher cracked back to his side.

"What does Lord Weasley require of Kreacher?" Kreacher asked.

"Has Emilia done anything to you?" Ron asked. "Anything cruel?"

"Lady Travers lacks manners," Kreacher croaked. "But she has not mistreated Kreacher." _Really?_ "Lady Travers does not see Kreacher as something to be noticed." _Wow._

"Let me guess," Ron frowned a bit. "She thinks that you're not worth her time."

"Lady Travers has made that very clear, Lord Weasley," Kreacher replied.

"Don't let her walk all over you, Kreacher," Ron said. "She's not your Master, nor is she 'superior' to you. And if she ever hurts you, I want you to tell me. All right?"

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher croaked, a hint of a smile on his wrinkled old face. "Is this what Lord Weasley wanted from Kreacher?"

"Actually, I need you to take me back to Narcissa Malfoy," Ron said. "I need to talk to her again."

"Kreacher understands," Kreacher said as he offered Ron his hand, which Ron took before he could second-guess himself. _Damn Malfoy's really effective puppy-eyed look. Ever since I started working on my anger, I've been stuck doing grunt work for other people._

Ron suddenly felt himself being sucked into a vortex, his body being crushed and uncrushed as Kreacher Apparated them into Narcissa Malfoy's room. Ron looked to Kreacher in order to ask him to Silence the room, but Kreacher was already a step ahead.

"Thank you," Ron whispered, and Kreacher shot him a quick glance as he worked his Magic.

Ron navigated his way towards the bed in the dark; he couldn't believe that he was back here again. _This is going to be a heavy letter for her. I can't believe that she tried to have her own sister killed just so she could join the Dark Lord. I won't lie; I want to see her answers to Malfoy's questions._

"Kreacher is finished Silencing the room, Lord Weasley," Kreacher said, and then he cracked out of the room.

Ron sat down on the edge of her bed again, but this time, he didn't bother Silencing her. Instead, he gave her shoulder a firm shake. Within a heartbeat, she was sitting up, her blankets covering her body. Even in the dark, Ron could see her hateful sneer aimed at him.

"Hello," Ron greeted, coldness seeping into his voice.

She just glared at him, and Ron figured that she didn't know that she could talk.

"I didn't use the Silencing Charm on you this time around," Ron told her. "The room, however, is completely soundproof."

"Why are you here again?" Narcissa demanded. "Has my son sent you with another letter? Or do you plan to beat a defenseless woman again?" _It was one punch, and I held back considerably. Stop whining._

"You're anything but defenseless," Ron said icily. "How many people have you watched die in your dungeons? Huh? Hundreds? Thousands? I mean, the Malfoys offered their home to the Dark Lord during the Great War, right? I bet you enjoyed enslaving and torturing people."

"I've never once gotten my hands bloody-"

"Just because you had others do your dirty work for you doesn't mean that you're innocent," Ron cut in. "You enjoyed what went on in your home, which is why you followed that mad fuck. You, your husband, and everyone like you two are a disease on this World." _**And We're the cure.**_

"Don't speak like you know what you're talking about, boy," Narcissa said. "My husband and I were trying to save Wizarding Britain-"

"Save Wizarding Britain?" Ron 'chuckled'. "Is that what you were doing? Oh, I'm so sorry, then. I had no idea that you two were so selfless and heroic. Let me get your autograph, please." _Delusional bitch._ "Were you trying to save Wizarding Britain when you tried to assassinate your own sister?"

Ron's question was met with silence, but he waited patiently for Narcissa to talk her way out of this one. _I really want to hear her excuse for this._

"Andromeda told Draco about that?" Narcissa finally spoke, her tone abrupt and angry. "Does she think that she can turn my own son against me?" _If only…_

"I think he'll do that on his own," Ron replied. "He's not like you, and he's definitely not like your husband. He tried to be, and for a long time, he was well on his way, but he doesn't have the stomach needed to be as cold as you two. Now, some people might call him weak for that, but personally, I like that he has a limit for cruelty. It makes him… salvageable."

"You will not have my son," Narcissa hissed. " **None** of you will have him."

"So you want the Dark Lord to have him?" Ron asked. "Really? You think he'd survive for long in the ranks of the Death-Eaters. I don't think he would."

"The Dark Lord… Dumbledore… They're both the same-"

Ron moved across the bed, his eyes flashing red as his face twisted with genuine hatred.

"Don't you dare disrespect the Headmaster near me," Ron whispered dangerously, his blazing red eyes causing Narcissa's heart to stop beating. "I'll cut you into little pieces, and then I'll feed said pieces to your husband."

He glared right into her terrified eyes, and for a moment, Ron genuinely thought about carrying out his threat. _Relax, Ron… Calm down before you do something that you later regret. Malfoy still needs this bitch, and I don't want to be the one who pushes him into the Dark Lord's embrace._ Ron drew in a deep breath as he moved back to his original spot, his eyes returning to normal. Silence filled the room, and Ron was dead certain that Narcissa Malfoy was no longer breathing. Even in the darkness, her fear was very easy to see.

After a few more seconds of Ron calming himself back down, he decided to get on with his task. Why was he even debating with a woman like her? She literally believed that genocide was good for the Wizarding World, and if given the chance, she'd have killed her own sister just to further herself in the World.

Ron reached into his robes, pulled out Draco's letter, and then he tossed it over to her.

"Read it, and then write a response," Ron ordered. "The sooner I can be on my way, the better."

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron finished reading through the letter, and then he gave Narcissa a dull look.

"So you tried to have your own sister killed because she chose a life for herself?" Ron asked. "Do you really think that Draco's going to agree with this?"

"Andromeda chose her life, which in turn condemned ours," Narcissa replied coldly. "The Dark Lord wanted us to clean up after her, and if we had dared to disobey him, he would have killed us. Andromeda knew this, and she **still** chose to pursue her own happiness. She condemned the rest of us for her happy ending."

"So turnaround was fair play?" Ron asked.

"The **Family** is more important than any one individual," Narcissa replied. "Didn't your Blood-Traitor mother teach you that?" _Do you want to get hit again?_

"So if Draco chose a life for himself, but endangered yours in the process, you'd betray him too?" Ron asked.

"What?" Narcissa's gaze turned sharp.

"The **Family** would have to come before any one individual, right?" Ron asked. "Yeah… That's where your line of thinking leads you. At least I save my cruelty for my enemies, but people like you are cruel to **everyone**. You think the World belongs to you, and that if you don't like something about it, you have the right to correct it. You've known nothing but privilege your entire life, and you don't want to lose that. That's what your beliefs boil down to in the end."

Ron pocketed the letter, why was he debating with her again? Judging from the look on her face, she didn't want to listen to a single word that was coming out of his mouth.

"This letter is fine," Ron said. "We won't be seeing each other again for a long time."

"If you hurt my son, I swear to the Gods-" Narcissa started, but Ron Non-Verbally stunned her.

The Spell was strong enough to knock her unconscious, but not strong enough to send her reeling through the air. She simply dropped in her spot, a tranquil look on her face.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Ron asked her unconscious form, and then he aimed his wand at her. "Locomotor."

Narcissa's body floated into the air, and Ron once again dropped it unceremoniously onto the bed. _Something needs to be done about her eventually. I'll talk to Professor Snape about her, and see what he thinks._

"Kreacher," Ron called, and the old Elf cracked into the room. "I'm ready to go back to Hogwarts, mate. Can you help me?"

"Certainly, Lord Weasley," Kreacher walked up and held out his hand.

Ron drew in a deep breath before taking Kreacher's hand, and he prayed that his symptoms didn't start playing up again. Kreacher Apparated them into Ron's room, both of them landing behind the curtains of Ron's four-poster bed. Ron quickly began to feel lightheaded, his right leg becoming as structurally stable as jelly. _Shit, not again._ He quickly sat down on the bed, mostly hoping that Kreacher didn't notice his symptoms. _Is this going to happen every other time I Apparate? If so, then I'm not going to be Apparating often._

"Thank you, Kreacher," Ron said, and the Elf bowed deeply.

"Does Lord Weasley require anything else?" Kreacher asked, and Ron shook his head.

"No, you can go back home, mate," Ron replied, and Kreacher popped out of the room. _He knows when to be quiet. Marty could learn a thing or two from him._

Ron massaged his face, patiently waiting for his lightheadedness to leave. His right leg still felt numb, and when he tried to move it around, it was lethargic and heavy. _I need to tell Madam Pomfrey about this. I'm feeling these symptoms more and more often for some reason. Is the Entity not healing me anymore? Ugh… I hate this feeling of uncertainty wherever the Entity is concerned._

After nearly ten minutes of just sitting in the dark, Ron began making an effort to stand back up. Very slowly, he moved through the room and towards Malfoy's bed. _My leg feels like it's made out of metal. It's heavy, and it's barely responding to me._ He slid past the curtains of Malfoy's four-poster bed, making sure to shoot Malfoy a quick glance. _He's asleep. Good._ Ron limped to Malfoy's side table, dropped off the letter, and then turned around to leave. _No need to linger, Ron. Let him sleep in peace._

Ron quietly made his way past the curtains, closing them behind himself before limping towards his own bed. Just as he neared his bed, a sharp pang of pain shot up the back of his skull. Ron had to grit his teeth in order to not start cussing. _What the fuck was that?!_

"Hello, handsome," came a very familiar voice from behind him, and Ron immediately adorned an annoyed look. _Fuck me dead, the king of cunts is back to annoy me._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"So you're finally back," Ron broke his silence; he hadn't said a word until he had reached Sanctuary. "You were gone for a while there, and so abruptly to boot."

"Did you miss me?" Ravenclaw Ron smirked, while Ron walked over and sat down in his favorite chair.

"No, I was just wondering about what you get up to when you're not annoying me," Ron shrugged, and Ravenclaw Ron eyed him critically.

"Something's different about you," Ravenclaw Ron said _._ "Let me guess, you've got cold feet about our plan."

"There is no plan," Ron said. "There is no 'us'. I'm not looking for another partner, especially one that is mentally unhinged."

"Ouch," Ravenclaw Ron drawled. "Do I really have to talk some sense into you again? Your stubbornness is becoming tedious to deal with." _I'm like a red-furred goat, mate. Stubbornness is all I'm capable of._

"Then how about you shut up and listen for a change?" Ron asked. "I don't care about starting a new Universe, and I don't want to destroy the current ones. I think that you're completely delusional about everything, but at the same time, I don't blame you for what you are. It's obvious to me that you're weaker than I am, at least when it comes to pushing back against the Entity's influence."

Ravenclaw Ron cocked an eyebrow, and Ron decided to get all of his thoughts out.

"I saw that smile on your face when you helped Ginny," Ron said, and Ravenclaw Ron's left eye twitched. "You can't even hear her name without reacting, can you? This just proves my theory." _You're still human, despite trying to come across as some God._

"You have a theory?" Ravenclaw Ron whispered dangerously.

"I think I'm still in there somewhere," Ron pointed to his past self's heart. "Deep down, Ronald Weasley is still there. He's just buried under your delusions and the Entity's lies."

"And you get this impression because I helped your sister with a pathetic little Spell?" Ravenclaw Ron asked, he sounded quite bored.

"Basically," Ron replied. "Oh, and your disappearance also helped me come up with this theory. I think that for a brief moment, you were really happy to help her, but then you remembered 'what' you're supposed to be, and instead of facing your conflicting emotions, you packed up your shit and left. Don't worry; I do that as well sometimes. You probably wanted some time with the Entity in order to remind yourself of what you want to be: 'A God'."

"You should write a novel," Ravenclaw Ron rolled his eyes. "Are you done now? Can we get to work?"

"You really think that I'm going to help you kill all life in Creation?" Ron asked. "Why? Because I was feeling lonely and vulnerable, and for a brief moment, you got to me? Yeah… That's not happening. I found my way back from your crazy delusions, and now that I think about it, I'm ashamed that I even listened to you. I'm ashamed that I almost betrayed everything that I hold dear because you got under my skin." _I've learned my lesson, cunt, and I won't be so easy to get to now._

"Do you really want to play this game again?" Ravenclaw Ron asked.

"I won't give in this time," Ron promised. "You are wrong about everything, and I'm done listening to your advice. Your Cycle ended in failure, and I don't idolize losers. Oh, and before you start ranting about how powerful you were, just remember that you're a bodiless soul now. You lost. Period. Your Cycle is finished-"

"I'm not defeated yet," Ravenclaw Ron said coldly.

"You're just a pawn now," Ron said with equal coldness. "Do you really believe that the Entity lets you run free because it's your 'friend'? Are you really that insane? The Entity doesn't care about you; it simply wants you to tempt me with your old powers. It wants to show me that I can be a 'God' under its tutelage, but at the same time, it lacks the humanity needed to understand that I don't care about Godhood. I care about my Family. I care about my friends. I care about my schoolmates. I care about Priscilla and her friends. I care about the Werewolves. I care about justice. No amount of power will change my mind. I've lost way too much to just abandon them all now. I will fulfill my duty to my loved ones, even if it ends with my bloody death. That's how committed I am to my cause."

"A public servant?" Ravenclaw Ron sneered. "That's all the ambition that you can muster?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Ron shrugged. "You don't even see people as people anymore. You had the chance to connect with other human beings, but instead you chose the monster in your head. It twisted and warped you in order to get what it wants, which is endless death and destruction. It even managed to convince you that you wanted the same thing, and yet, when you stopped being useful, it cast you aside for the next Ronald Weasley. How long did it keep you locked away? You know, before you all got set loose in my Cycle? Why are you walking around free only now?"

Ravenclaw Ron said nothing, which was a welcome change in Ron's eyes.

"It's just using you," Ron said as he shook his head. "And you're too weak to face that truth. You don't have the balls to stand up to it, and you never will."

"I'm too weak to face the truth?" Ravenclaw Ron repeated Ron's words, and then, he began smiling like a lunatic. "How about I tell you a truth? Hmmm? It's only fair considering that you've said your piece."

"Go on," Ron said. _This should be good._

"I'm the only Ron who knows how our story ends," Ravenclaw Ron said. "I know what awaits **all** of us Ronald Weasleys at the end of this war."

"And what awaits us?" Ron asked. "Death?"

"Worse," Ravenclaw Ron replied gravely. "We will be locked away within the Star of Madness."

"The what?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. _Is he making shit up?_

"What you call the Entity is simply just a **very small** part of a Solar System sized mass of maddening chaos," Ravenclaw Ron said, and Ron blinked at him. " **The One Being**. **The Void**. **The Faceless God. The Apex Predator**. **The World Eater**. **The Star of Madness**. These are just some of its many names, and it existed long before the Elders came into being. It wasn't pleased by their arrival, mostly because they had brought the Multiverse with them, and so it set about wiping them out of existence. Countless Universes were destroyed, but in the end, through sheer ingenuity, the Elders trapped the World Eater inside a **Star** at the far edges of the Multiverse."

"They didn't think to destroy this thing somehow?" Ron asked.

"The World Eater existed before Death, and so, Death has no power over it," Ravenclaw Ron explained. "In the end, even Death will be consumed by the World Eater. That is how everything ends, but you shouldn't worry about that. You should worry about what happens to us Ronald Weasleys. You see, whenever the World Eater restarts a Cycle, it makes sure to keep the soul of the previous Ron. It has been collecting us, and storing us deep within itself, from the very start. We're not completely dead, but we're definitely not alive."

"And why is it doing this? Just to torture us?" Ron asked.

"Pretty much," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "Now, this wasn't such a bad thing at first, because let's face it, eventually one of these Cycles will work out."

"What happens when **I** finish the Cycles?" Ron asked.

"Originally, Fate would have torn the Entity out of you, and then she would have trapped it back inside the Star of Madness," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "This was going to set us free. Our souls are nothing like the Entity's essence, and so, we can't be hurt by the Magic used against it. It would have lost its grip on us because Creation's Laws would protect us mortals from being subjected to such a horrible end. We would have all moved into the Afterlife, our souls finally at peace."

"But now that's not going to happen?" Ron asked. _Peace would be nice, I can't deny that._

"No, and it's your entire fucking fault," Ravenclaw Ron said, losing all of his mirth. " **You** are the only Ronald Weasley whose soul resembles the World Eater's essence."

"It bled into me…" Ron slowly began forming a picture.

"When you succeed, Fate's not going to tear the Entity out of you," Ravenclaw Ron said. "She's going to toss you into the Star of Madness, and the rest of us will be coming with you."

"The Hourglasses…" Ron whispered under his breath. "We'll be the Entity's chew toy for all of eternity." _Oh, fuck me…_

"Which is exactly what it fucking wants," Ravenclaw Ron said. "Oh, and this won't just be the World Eater that we're trapped with. It'll be the **complete** World Eater. All of its power will be at its disposal, and we'll be the only distraction around for billions of years. That's what's waiting for us at the end of all of this."

"Are you telling me that it bled into me on purpose?" Ron asked, he couldn't really hide his shock. _If what he's saying is true, then I'm fucked beyond imagination._

"For all I know, yes," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "It clearly believes in this Cycle unlike any before it, so I wouldn't put it past the World Eater to set this up. It probably knew that escaping Fate's trap would injure it, which in turn would change your soul. It also knew that you would start seeing your past lives, as they got set loose in your mind. It conveniently trapped the others inside your mind instead of keeping them inside itself. Now, when you get shipped off to hell, we'll all be coming with you. You are literally acting as our coffin."

"Fuck me…" Ron sighed out, and then, a thought occurred to him. "Wait… What about Fate? What if I ask her to save us from the Star of Madness?"

"She couldn't care less about us," Ravenclaw Ron replied. "She knows that the Entity is denying all past Rons their chance in the Afterlife, but she does nothing about it. To the Elders, you're just a pawn. **Everyone** is their pawn." Ravenclaw Ron then drew in a calming breath. "Listen to me, you stubborn idiot… I am offering you a way out. I am giving you a method to help save us all. Join me, and together, we can create a new Universe. We will recreate your loved ones in the new Universe-"

"The Entity offered you this deal, didn't it?" Ron asked, seeing through Ravenclaw Ron's 'altruistic' reasons. "It wants you to set it loose on all of Creation, and as a reward for your loyalty, you'll be given a Universe of your own."

"And we don't spend all of Eternity being tortured by it," Ravenclaw Ron added.

"So there is no 'Godhood', is there?" Ron asked coldly. _Coward. He'd sell out all of Creation just to save his own skin?_

"We will rule the new Universe, while the Star of Madness will simply move on," Ravenclaw Ron replied.

"You can't be this naïve," Ron said bluntly. "It's not going to give you shit, and you fucking know it. After it's done fucking all of Creation in the arse, it'll come for us."

"We can make a deal with the World Eater," Ravenclaw Ron insisted. "You've met it, haven't you? It isn't beyond negotiating. After all, it taught me quite a lot-"

"It turned you into its bitch," Ron spat out. "You disgusting little cunt… You would destroy countless lives just to save your own skin? You really think that that's not fucked up. I mean, the other day, you were going on about how clever and powerful you are, but in the end, you're just scared shitless of a bigger threat than you."

And that's when it hit Ron… Why else would Ravenclaw Ron create a Horcrux? He was scared of dying and being trapped with the Entity, despite being 'friends' with it. _He's not a friend to the Entity; he simply serves it and deludes himself otherwise. And now, because of me, he's going to end up being trapped in the Star of Madness. Just like all the other Rons._

"Even in its weakened form, it's still trying to pull my strings," Ron hissed harshly, his claws slowly coming out. " _ **We never stood a chance against Our Father, did We?**_ "

"Father?" Ravenclaw Ron cocked an eyebrow, but Ron was too livid to hear anything.

" _ **Leave Us,**_ " Ron waved a dismissive hand, and Ravenclaw Ron let out a pained howl as he caught fire.

Ron tilted his head as he watched his past self be banished in a vortex of fire, and once he was alone, Ron slowly looked down at his monstrous left hand. His fingers were twice as long as his palms, and instead of having pale, freckled skin, Ron's hand was grey with thick, black, visible veins. _**We can banish him?**_ Oddly, this didn't surprise Ron as much as it should have. Now that he knew about his ability to banish his past self, Ron felt like he had always known about it. _**It is just another part of Our nature.**_

Ron looked to his gloved hand, and he saw that his glove was torn beyond repair. Ron's monstrous fingers had ripped through the fine leather, and his claws were currently scraping pieces of the armrest away. With ease, Ron tore the glove off of his right hand and tossed it aside. _**That's better.**_ Ron shifted and cracked his bones in his chair, his ribcage and spine growing abnormally without his knowledge. _**Eternal damnation is what awaits Us even if We succeed? Must be a Sunday.**_

His lips stretched to the edges of his ears, his maw of needle-sharp teeth on full display. He couldn't deny that he was terrified of his future as the Entity's personal doll for all of Eternity, but at the same time, he found all of this highly amusing. Just how much bad luck could one person be born with?

High-pitched laughter echoed throughout the Room of Requirement, and Ron's out of control Magic caused the fireplace to blaze as brightly as a small sun. His thin, abnormal, cackling shadow danced around the room, while the chairs burst into flames and the walls cracked. _**Father and We will be playing another game of Chess, then. How exciting!**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Once again, sorry for the delay on this one. Also, I'm sorry for not including the Dueling Tournament and Remus' lesson in this one. I plan to write those into the next chapter.**

 **Once again, thank you to all of my reviewers! I really appreciate it, you guys! And even if you don't review, thanks for taking the time to come here. Without all of you here to read my mad ravings, I'd be horribly bored during this Pandemic. Take care, and please be safe.**

 **I'll see you guys in a week, or so.**


	118. Chapter 118 - Guardian

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 118 is finished!**

 **Yeah, I took ages on this one... I'm sorry, but real life is getting really hectic for me. I'm looking for work, for further study, for some time to myself, and a million other things. I'm swamped as hell, and the story ended up taking a back seat as a result.**

 **I'm still busy as hell, but I made this chapter super long as an apology for the long delay. I think it's the largest chapter so far!**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

 ** **There's also another Ron story out that's really good so far! It's called 'There and Back Again', and it's written by Chuchi Otaku. Please, go check it out! I've certainly enjoyed reading it!****

* * *

 _'Death waits, for the slightest lapse in concentration' - The Ancestor from Darkest Dungeon_

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 118 - Guardian**

 _ **Hermione Granger's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Quidditch Pitch– Nearly Midday)**_

"I don't think he's coming," Fay whispered in their direction. "We're totally going to win if he doesn't show up."

Hermione and Harry exchanged quick looks, was Ron sick again? _Why else wouldn't he be here? It's not like he'd miss the chance to make one hundred House Points._ Hermione slowly looked towards Ron's friends, and they looked just as perplexed. _Wait… Where's Greengrass? She was there just a few minutes ago._

"He's probably slept in," Seamus said. "What bloody luck, eh?"

"I think Greengrass just left to go find him," Hermione said. "Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, all right?"

Dean and Harry nodded their agreement, while Seamus and Fay gave her quizzical looks.

"Chickens?" Fay asked slowly.

"It's a Muggle saying," Dean told them. "It means that you shouldn't be boastful until you win."

"Even if Ron doesn't show up, don't underestimate his friends," Harry said. "They all got far in the Tournaments, and he's probably taught them some of his tricks."

Hermione looked back to the second years' match, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. Something was definitely off here. Ron would never miss this, not unless he was feeling sick again. _Maybe Professor Snape knows something?_ Hermione looked towards the Potions Master, who was sitting at the edge of the makeshift arena, and she couldn't help but stare at him. _I can't believe that he lost an eye in that accident. He must have been working with Boomslang Skin. It must have become unstable, and then-_

The sound of loud cheering broke Hermione out of her thoughts, the Gryffindor second years had just won their match against the Hufflepuffs. _Yes! Now they only need to defeat the Slytherin second years, and Gryffindor will have a hundred Points secured!_ Her eyes found Ginny, who was dusting off her clothes by herself while her teammates cheered and congratulated each other. _She's still keeping her distance from everyone._

"She did most of the work," Harry whispered to Hermione. "And not even one of them has congratulated her yet."

"We really need to do something about her," Hermione whispered back. "Why don't we ask her to eat with us tonight?"

"I don't know about that," Harry whispered. "She only talks to Neville out of us three, and she doesn't exactly look comfortable being near you and me."

"Which is exactly why we need to try harder," Hermione urged, she missed having a female friend. "If we can show her that we're still willing to be friends with her, she might change her mind about us."

"I think she knows that we're sorry," Harry sighed out. "She just doesn't want to forgive us yet, Hermione, so pushing her is the last thing that we should be doing. I'm with Neville on this, we just need to give her some time." _We've given her over two weeks already! At this point, things aren't getting better because of us!_

Harry suddenly nudged her, and she looked to see him giving her a very serious look.

"Hermione, don't push her," Harry warned.

"I wasn't going to," Hermione lied.

"Yeah, you were," Harry said. "I know that look of yours, Hermione, and so far, it's only made things worse for you. Let's just leave it for once, yeah?" _No. Doing nothing is worse than making a mess of things. I don't want to regret not reaching out later on._

"Fine, I'll leave it," Hermione lied again. _I won't approach her until our lesson with Professor Lupin. He's teaching us a really hard Spell, and Ginny might need help with it. She's not exactly studious, so this is bound to work out._

With her mind made up, Hermione focused on the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match. Professors McGonagall and Sprout had turned the Quidditch Pitch into a gladiator arena of sorts, one that was filled with large boulders and sand. It was obvious to everyone that the boulders would provide decent cover, and with the Explosive Curses banned, no one had to worry about these boulders being blown up. _Harry and I just need to pull Ron away from his team, and because of these boulders, he won't be able to help them. Let's just hope that Dean, Fay, and Seamus can last long enough for us to join them._

"She's doing really well down there," Harry whispered, and Hermione looked towards Ginny.

The red-haired witch was currently keeping Suzie Ninkovich and Boris Grimm occupied, and Hermione couldn't help but be impressed by Ginny's athleticism. Ginny was incredibly fast, and she had no qualms about risking her own safety if it got her the win. Sadly, however, Ginny's team didn't share her ferocity. Even though they had the advantage of numbers on the Slytherins, the Gryffindors were still struggling.

The Slytherin second years imitated Ron's tricks rather blatantly, and it was obvious to everyone that he had trained them. They used cheap tricks like sending gusts of sand at the Gryffindors in order to blind them, while Lilliana Flowers hid in the background, only revealing herself whenever she got the chance to get in a cheap shot. The Gryffindors fought back with honor, trying their best to help each other as the Slytherins used every dirty trick in the book to find an advantage.

Colin was the first Gryffindor to go down, he was stunned from the side by Flowers. Matilda quickly found herself cornered and disarmed, which wasn't surprising because the girl barely ever left the cover of her boulder. This left Ginny, Pious, and Samuel horribly disadvantaged, and Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for her Housemates as they were taken down one by one. Pious was hit with two separate stunners, while Samuel was left hogtied by Mathias.

Ginny was the last Gryffindor left standing, and Hermione could barely watch as five eager Slytherins overpowered her friend. Some of the Gryffindors tried to cheer Ginny on, but the Slytherins drowned their voices out with their howls and whistles. Of all the people who could have disarmed Ginny, it was Suzie Ninkovich who had to be the one to take Ginny out of the fight. The smug looking Slytherin girl had disarmed Ginny from the side, while Ginny was trying to defend herself against Mathias and Boris. Although Hermione was glad that Ginny hadn't gotten hurt during her disarming, she couldn't help but feel terrible for the redhead. _The look on her face just then… She's lost to Ninkovich twice now._

"Like they need more Points," Dean whispered crossly, while the Slytherins cheered and yelled at the top of their lungs.

Even from the Gryffindor stands, Hermione could hear their taunts and arrogant remarks. Most of them were cheering for the second years, but a fair few of them were insulting Ginny and her team. Hermione eyed Flint's gang, all of whom were laughing and pointing fingers at the Gryffindors. _Crabbe and Goyle look especially happy… Oafs._

The Gryffindor second years slowly made their way towards Madam Pomfrey in order to have their injuries tended, while the Slytherin second years waited for Professor Lupin to announce their win. _We should be up next, and Ron still isn't here._

"Well done to the Slytherin second years!" Professor Lupin announced, his voice amplified by the Amplifying Charm. "A truly remarkable use of terrain! Well done!"

The Slytherins cheered loudly, while most of the Gryffindors rolled their eyes. _They did use the terrain really well, even if it was a bit cheap to blow sand into people's eyes._ Hermione clapped for the sake of clapping, but even that was enough to earn her some annoyed looks from her Housemates. _What? I can't even clap for them? They clearly worked harder than our second years._

"We should start making our way down," Fay suggested. "The third years are up next."

Hermione quietly followed her team down the stands, though her mind was somewhere else. Deep in the back of her mind, she was hoping that Ron didn't show up. Slytherin had already made another one hundred Points, and if he showed up, then they'd probably make another one hundred. _The Headmaster might as well hand Slytherin the House Cup. No House has a chance of catching up anymore._

Hermione shook her head clear, what was she thinking? _Of course we still stand a chance. If we win the Quidditch Cup and the Ranked Tournaments, we could level the playing field. I can't just give up yet._

"You okay?" Dean asked Hermione.

"Oh, yes," she replied quickly. "I was just thinking about Slytherin's lead, and how we can try to overcome it."

"We break their Hourglass," Dean chuckled. _What? No._

"The Professors would fix it within seconds, and we'd lose Gryffindor what little Points it has left," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"I was only joking," Dean said, he looked a bit put off.

"Oh…" Hermione looked ahead. _Am I an alien? Is that why I'm so terrible with people?_ "I get it now. That was funny, Dean."

Dean gave a slow nod, and then he sped up his pace in order to catch up to Seamus. _Way to go, Hermione._ She noticed Harry giving her a knowing smile, which only further convinced Hermione that she didn't need any more friends. _I have Harry and Neville, and soon, I'll have Ginny and Ron as well. Four friends are more than enough._ Still, she figured that she needed to work on her social skills a bit more. _I just need to find some spare time, which seems impossible these days._

As they exited the stands, Hermione quickly looked towards the Slytherin team. _He's here. Damn._ Ron stood with Bulstrode, Nott, Zabini, and Malfoy, but while they talked to each other as they sized up the competition, Ron stared blankly up at the sky. His skin was as pale as moonlight, and the dark bags under his eyes stood out from a mile away. He looked… bored.

"Bloody hell," Seamus shot a look at the others. "I guess we won't be getting lucky, then."

"We can still win," Harry spoke with conviction. "Just stick to the plan, all right? We've got this."

Hermione could tell that the others somewhat doubted Harry's words, but that was only because she too doubted them. Logically speaking, Ron's friends were going to overpower Seamus, Fay, and Dean well before Ron was taken down. _The only way that we win this is if Harry and I take Ron out in less than a minute._ Hermione let out a sigh; they didn't stand a chance. _Even Harry knows this, but he's trying his best to keep everyone's morale up. It's the only reason why I haven't said anything. He's trying his best, and Harry rarely tries at anything that isn't Quidditch._

They all took their seats on the outskirts of the arena, and Hermione finally looked towards the other teams. _Terry Boot, Padma Patil, Anthony Goldstein, Lisa Turpin, and Michael Corner. Other than Padma, the Ravenclaw team is rather… lackluster. Didn't Ron beat Michael Corner within a second? No one gave Michael a stupid nickname…_

"Hufflepuff really brought out their best, didn't they?" Seamus sniggered, and Hermione followed his gaze. _Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Wayne Hopkins, and Ernest Macmillan. They all did rather poorly in the last tournament._ "I don't even know why Hufflepuff is even competing. Pretty much all of them were dreadful during the last tournament."

"Don't be a prat, Seamus," Fay said. "I happen to be friends with Hannah and Susan."

"Oh… Sorry," Seamus said sheepishly, and Fay narrowed her eyes on him.

"They might have practiced this time around," Harry said. "Let's still take them seriously, yeah?"

"Could the Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams please enter the arena?!" Remus' voice soared.

"All right, remember to watch your designated opponent," Harry whispered, but Hermione was already watching Ron.

He dragged himself out of his chair, and he was the last person to enter the arena. Ravenclaws and Slytherins cheered from above, but Ron didn't seem to register their voices. He was just staring off into space, completely ignoring **everyone** around him.

"Is Weasley sick? He looks like shit," Seamus whispered.

"You're supposed to be watching Zabini," Harry sighed out. "Leave Ron to Hermione, Seamus. Just watch your own opponent. We need to figure out their weakest link."

"Bulstrode is obviously their weakest link," Seamus muttered under his breath.

"Why would you say that?" Fay asked haughtily. "She lasted longer than Malfoy and Zabini in the last tournament."

"Yeah, but she's…" Seamus trailed off. _She's what? A little overweight? A girl? Go on._

"Go on," Hermione looked towards Seamus, both Fay and Hermione's eyes digging into Seamus' soul.

"Dug your own grave there, mate," Dean smirked. _Seamus is really rude, and vulgar. And clearly, he's also a sexist. I hope he gets Hexed right in the face-_

"Hermione, focus," Harry nudged her side. "Just leave it for now, please."

"Fine," Hermione looked back to Ron, who was yawning while his teammates prepared to Duel. "Harry, I think Ron might be off his game today. He looks exhausted."

"Or maybe, he's putting on an act," Harry suggested.

"An act?" Hermione looked to Harry with a quizzical look. "Harry, he looks like he just came here from his death-bed."

"Hermione, he beat an Auror Trainer," Harry said. "Don't let his appearance fool you. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this." _Harry does have really good instincts. I mean, he's rarely wrong when it comes down to it._

"Let's go over the rules in case any of you missed them," Remus said, his eyes darting towards Ron. "No Explosive Curses, no physical contact, and no life-threatening Spells. Let's make sure to think of each other's safety first-"

"Just start the match, Lupin," Snape hissed from his chair. "You're wasting everyone's time."

"Git," Harry muttered sourly. "He's the waste of time-"

"Ignore him," Hermione said, but the irritated look on Harry's face told her that he wasn't going to ignore anything. _I'm surprised that Harry isn't investigating Professor Snape's injuries. Usually, he just needs a reason to look into anything suspicious. Is it because of what happened with Ron?_

"Are both teams ready?" Remus asked, and Hermione focused on the match.

The Slytherins were sticking to a loose formation, while the Ravenclaws were practically hugging each other. It was obvious that the Slytherins planned to be on the offensive, which was probably the reason why the Ravenclaws looked ready to defend each other. _If they're too busy defending, then who's going to keep Ron in check? Padma?_

"Begin!" Remus announced, and the crowds began cheering loudly once again.

The Ravenclaws immediately put up shields, while the Slytherins began running for cover as they launched their assault. _Wait… Why isn't Ron moving from his spot?_ Her question was answered when Ron started throwing a barrage of Spells at the Ravenclaws, though the look on his face suggested that he was already bored with the Dueling Tournament. _He's only using three basic Spells on a loop? Why?_ Hermione quickly eyed the other Slytherins, and she realized that they were trying to surround the Ravenclaws.

"Ron's a distraction," Hermione whispered to her teammates.

"Yeah, the others are only throwing Spells in order to cover themselves," Harry added. "Look at Nott for a second… He's trying his best to go unnoticed."

"Same with Zabini," Seamus said. "They're both veering off somewhere…"

Hermione refocused on Ron, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot. _What are the Ravenclaws doing? They're just standing there! Ron's distracted, and they can take him out if they catch him mid-cast._ As if she had divined the future, Terry Boot suddenly lowered his shield and fired a stunner at Ron. Hermione's breath hitched as Ron made no move to avoid it, but much to everyone's shock, Terry's stunner shattered into pieces with a swift backhand from Ron. _How does he do that?! He should've gotten stunned right there! His skin can't be stronger than a Stunning Charm! He's not a Magical Creature!_

The crowd suddenly roared, and Hermione realized that Bulstrode had stunned Terry the moment he had lowered his shield.

"Bloody hell, she was so quick on that," Seamus said.

"Guess she's not the weakest link," Fay said, a hint of superiority in her voice.

Hermione ignored her teammates, opting instead to keep her focus on the match. Ron still remained in his spot, firing the same three Spells over and over again. Malfoy and Bulstrode had settled behind a couple of large boulders, both of them syncing their Spells with Ron's in order to not give the Ravenclaws a chance to fight back. As for Nott and Zabini…

"Um… Where are Nott and Zabini?" Hermione asked, and the others quickly tried to search for the missing boys.

"I lost him…" Seamus said guiltily.

"And I lost Nott," Harry clicked his tongue. "He was right there a few seconds ago. Where did he go?"

"They both went invisible," Hermione realized. _Oh, this is not good. No one saw them vanish, which means that the Ravenclaws haven't even realized that they're only fighting three opponents._

"Invisible?" Fay asked. "Oh, right… We've seen them do that."

"Ron taught them that trick," Harry said. "He showed it to Hermione and me back in first year."

"So you can do it too?" Dean asked.

"No… We didn't learn that one," Harry replied, while Hermione scolded herself for not asking Ron to teach her.

Just as Hermione looked back towards the match, she saw two bright red sparks smash into the Ravenclaws' shields. _Where did those come from?_

"Nott and Zabini are behind them!" Fay gasped.

"They should've moved," Harry said, a slightly worried look on his face.

The whole school watched in silence as Nott and Zabini started throwing stunners at the Ravenclaws' backs, and in the pandemonium, Malfoy and Bulstrode jumped out of their covers in order to start picking people off. Surprisingly enough, Padma was the first one to go down. Malfoy disarmed her mid-cast, and just as Michael Corner tried to retaliate; Bulstrode hit him with a Hex that encased his head inside a pumpkin. The Slytherins within the stands burst into laughter, all of them cheering wildly as the Ravenclaw team was decimated.

During all of this, Hermione noticed that Ron had stopped fighting the moment Nott and Zabini had flanked the Ravenclaws. He had just stood there with a tired look on his face, and if Hermione was being honest, she felt like Ron didn't really care enough to be here. _He barely put in any effort… His teammates did everything while he pretended to be a threat._ Slowly, Hermione realized that her own team had a very similar strategy to the Ravenclaws. _We're planning to focus on Ron ourselves… Oh, no. What if…? What if that's his plan? He's using his reputation to his advantage, while his friends go unnoticed._

"We shouldn't focus on Ron," Hermione told the others, which earned her mixed reactions.

Seamus and Dean were looking at her like she was an idiot, Fay was giving her a dull look, and Harry looked a little annoyed.

"Not this again," Harry said. "Hermione, he's too-"

"He didn't even do anything during that Duel," Hermione said as she looked back to Ron. "Look at him, you guys. He doesn't even want to be here. The Ravenclaws kept defending themselves against him, but his teammates did all the work. Ron is relying on us to make the same mistake-"

"If we ignore him, he'll start picking us off one by one," Harry countered. "Hermione, we can't ignore their best Duelist just because he looks tired."

"I'm not saying that we ignore him," Hermione argued. "I'm saying that we have one person focus on him instead of two. He's clearly not in any shape to Duel, so I really think that one person could be enough."

"And let me guess," Fay started. "That person should be you?"

"Why not?" Hermione asked a little defensively. "I've proven myself to be the strongest Duelist in our team-"

"Here we go," Fay rolled her eyes, which annoyed Hermione to no end.

"At least I'm not stupid enough to put on make-up when I'm competing in a Dueling Tournament," Hermione said harshly.

"I'm not stupid, you cow," Fay shot back.

"Stop fighting each other," Harry intervened, while Seamus and Dean decided to ignore the girls. "Hermione, we already have a plan, and changing it now is only going to cause confusion. If Ron really is as out of it as you believe, then we can try and take him out sooner than planned."

Hermione felt the urge to argue some more, but Remus' voice cut through her thoughts.

"Will the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams please come down?" Remus asked, and they all stood up.

Hermione looked towards the Slytherin team as she made her way towards the arena entrance, her eyes finding Ron again. Much to her bewilderment, Ron was already taking a nap. _He's not going to watch us? Is he that sure of himself? Or is he feeling too tired to focus? God, something is really off here._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Quidditch Pitch – Midday)**_

Harry looked out of the arena, his eyes landing on the staff stands. _He's here._

Albus Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair, his twinkling eyes fixed on Harry. Determined to show Dumbledore what he was made of, Harry focused back on the Hufflepuff team. _I have to win this._

The plan against the Hufflepuff team was quite simple. According to Hermione, the Hufflepuff team wasn't exactly talented in Dueling, and so if they could be lured into single combat, they'd go down pretty easily. Harry's target was Justin, which is why Harry had made sure to position himself in front of the smiling Muggle-Born. _None of them look nervous, but none of them look alert either. Are they not here to win?_

"Are both teams ready?" Remus asked.

"Ready," the Hufflepuffs replied, while the Gryffindors nodded.

"Begin!" Remus said loudly.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry fired the first Spell.

Justin dodged it rather poorly, but he managed to recover his footing just in time to find some cover. Harry and his team quickly ran away from each other, all of them finding cover at various places within the arena. Harry was quite surprised that the Hufflepuffs hadn't attacked them during their flight, and when he looked back to where the Hufflepuffs were all holed up, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. _What is that?!_

Unlike the Ravenclaws, the Hufflepuffs had somehow combined their shields into one, domelike structure. It was unlike anything Harry had ever seen, and judging from the awed voices coming from the stands, a lot of other students were just as amazed as Harry. _Wait… Is that Susan? What is she doing?_ Susan Bones was standing in the middle of her teammates, and she was holding her wand with both hands as she aimed it at the sky. From her wand, a bright blue light was pouring forth into the structure's ceiling. _They're completely safe from all sides… Who taught them this Spell? Professor Sprout?_

Harry looked up at the staff stands, and he saw that Professor Sprout was looking quite astonished by what she was seeing. _She didn't teach them, did she? It must've been the older Hufflepuff students. Did they all practice together as a House?_ Harry was ripped from his thoughts when a stunner hit the boulder he was hiding behind. Shooting a quick glance back, Harry saw that the shield had opened a window for Wayne Hopkins. Harry aimed his wand at the exposed Hufflepuff, but the shield quickly closed up again. _What the hell?!_

The loud cheering and exalted comments made it hard for Harry to think, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed. _We asked our older students to teach us, but they laughed us off. Is Hermione right about Gryffindor being too 'macho' for its own good? Why am I even thinking about this right now?!_ Deciding to come up with a solution with the help of his teammates, Harry quickly sprinted behind another boulder. No one shot any Spells at him, which was rather odd. _I was out in the open for nearly five seconds._

"Oi, you lot!" came Dean's voice from ahead of him. "Let's meet up in the middle again!"

Harry peeked out of cover, and he saw that the Hufflepuffs were looking to wherever Dean's voice had come from. _They're not watching me._ Trusting his gut, Harry did a runner for the middle. When he was halfway there, he saw the Hufflepuff shield open up in front of Justin and Hannah. _This is my chance!_ Stopping dead in his tracks, Harry aimed his wand at Justin. There was a lot of distance between him and the Hufflepuffs, and the boulders and shield were also in the way. This was going to be a difficult shot to make. _I can do this. I just need to remember to breathe like Remus taught me._

"Stupefy," Harry chanted, and his stunner found its mark.

Justin had just finished firing his own stunner at someone when he got hit, and he was sent tumbling into Hannah. _I got him!_ Not planning to stick around for the retaliation, Harry sprinted for the closest boulder. By the time he reached it, he saw Hermione's bushy hair duck beneath the boulder to his left.

"Hermione," Harry called. "Is that you?"

"The older Hufflepuffs must've taught them how to cast that variation of the Shield Charm," came Hermione's voice. "Even I don't know what that Spell is, Harry."

"They got Dean!" Seamus barked as he quickly joined Harry behind his boulder. "Where are the others?"

"Hermione's behind that boulder," Harry pointed out Hermione's hiding place. "I don't know where Fay is. I thought she was with you and Dean."

"Dean and I went a little further than her," Seamus said. "She should've gotten back here before me."

A stunner suddenly hit Harry and Seamus' boulder, and Seamus cussed loudly as he dug himself into Harry's side. _Oi! Don't shove me! I'll fall into their line of sight!_

"They nearly got me shoulder!" Seamus snapped. "Harry, move over!"

"They'll get my shoulder if I move," Harry said. "Just calm down, Seamus."

"Merlin… We're cornered by bloody Hufflepuffs," Seamus sounded rather jumpy and vexed. "They probably got Fay-"

"I see her!" Hermione cut in. "She's not far from me! Dunbar! Over here!"

"Don't yell," Harry said quickly. "They can still hear us. The reason why they got Dean was because he gave himself away."

"What do we do?" Seamus asked. "We can't even hit them."

"Yes, we can," Harry said. "I got Justin just before-"

"You took one of them down?" Hermione asked, while Seamus looked a little proud of Harry.

"Good on you, mate," Seamus said.

"Their shield opens up for them whenever they want to attack someone," Harry told his teammates. "It's how I got Justin."

"So basically, if they want to hit us with any Spells, they have to expose themselves?" Hermione asked. "Harry, I've never heard of Shield Charms being used like this-"

"Well, you can see it for yourself right now, can't you?" came Fay's voice. "Harry, what do we do?"

"I think we should use Finite to break their shield," Hermione answered before Harry could.

Harry didn't really mind that, but it seemed to annoy Seamus a little. _Move past it, Harry. Don't let your team get distracted, that's what Oliver always does. We need to stay focused until the very end._

"Does anyone have a shot?" Harry asked. "Seamus and I can't move properly."

"I can see them pretty clearly from here," came Fay's voice. "Do you want me to take the shot?"

"Give Seamus and I ten seconds," Harry replied, and then he looked to Seamus. "Seamus, we'll move a little closer towards the Hufflepuffs when Fay gives us an opening. If you have a shot, take it."

"Got it," Seamus nodded.

"Fay, now!" Harry ordered, and then both boys bolted in different directions. _I didn't specify which way we were going! I'm an idiot!_

Harry saw Fay's Finite hit the shield, but instead of breaking the shield completely, the General Counter-Spell only managed to 'dissolve' a small portion of it. Wayne Hopkins used the small opening to try and Hex Harry, but Harry easily dodged the bright pink Spell as he found some cover. _Susan was still standing in the same spot?_ Harry stuck his head out for a moment, but it was long enough for him to see the shield slowly become hole once again. _She's clearly the one keeping this shield going. I know what we have to do._

"Can you lot hear me?!" Harry asked, and all three of his teammates responded at once. _Good, none of us got hit with anything, and we all managed to move up a little._

"The shield healed itself, Harry," came Hermione's voice. "A head-on assault won't work."

"I know," Harry said. "Can you guys all use Finite this time? I know what we have to do." _I have to get Susan this time. I'm certain that that will bring the shield down._

"What do you we have to do?" Hermione asked. _I don't want the Hufflepuffs to overhear me._

"Please, just do it," Harry replied.

"Seamus and I can see them from where we are," came Fay's voice. _She met up with him?_

"Just tell us when, mate," came Seamus' voice.

Harry drew in a sharp breath, and then he peeked over the corner again. _She's still just standing there in the same pose… Yeah, she's definitely the person keeping this shield going, and by the look of it, she won't be able to hold on for much longer. I guess Shield Charms do take a lot of focus to keep up._ Harry could now see the flaw in their strategy, which gave him insight into defeating them. _We can just wait until she gets too tired to keep going, or we can catch her while she's focusing on her Spell._

"Do it now," Harry said as he jumped out of cover.

The Hufflepuffs aimed their wands at him, while his teammates fired their General Counter-Spells at the Hufflepuff shield.

"Stupefy!" Harry chanted, timing his own Spell perfectly.

The shield had opened up just enough for Harry's stunner to go through, and once again, Harry's Spell found its mark. Susan went reeling through the air, her wand flying out of her hands. Without the caster, the wand stopped emitting the bright blue light, and the shield simply vanished from sight. _I was right!_

The Gryffindors roared with excitement, but Harry zoned them out completely. Wayne and Ernest had retaliated before Harry could celebrate his victory, but through sheer luck, they both missed Harry. Not wanting to tempt fate, he dived behind cover again. _I can't believe that they missed me! I was out in the open! Did they not work on their aims?_

"The shield's down!" came Hermione's voice. "Attack!"

The sound of Spells going off forced Harry to sit up quickly, he didn't have any time to waste. With another sharp breath, Harry buried any fear of getting hurt. He charged out of his cover, his wand already aimed at the scrambling Hufflepuffs. Ernest, Hannah, and Wayne were clearly panicking as they each ran for new cover, which only made the cleanup easier for the Gryffindors. Harry stunned Ernest just in time to see Hermione use the Full Body-Bind Curse on Hannah. Wayne managed to at least get behind cover, but Fay disarmed him the moment he tried to attack Harry.

"Match!" came Remus' voice, and the Gryffindors exploded in cheer and applause.

Harry let out a long breath, the feeling of victory warming him to the core. He managed to look up at Dumbledore applauding Gryffindor's win, but before he could enjoy it, his teammates rushed him.

"That was a wicked shot, mate!" Seamus patted Harry's back, while Fay beamed at him as she nodded her agreement. "They never saw it coming!"

"How did you know that it was Susan?!" Fay asked.

"I just had a feeling in my gut," Harry admitted. "I mean, she was clearly playing an important role, right?"

"I wonder who taught her that Spell," Hermione said, she was watching Remus and Madam Pomfrey tend to the injured. "That was clearly a very advanced Spell, and I don't think that she was cut out for it."

"What are you on about?" Fay asked. "She held it for ages!" _Uh-oh._

"She was getting tired," Harry said. "I saw it." _We just won, and I don't want us to start arguing again._ "Let's go get Dean, yeah? We need to stay focused until we defeat Slytherin."

"Speaking of which… He's awake," Seamus nudged Harry, and Harry looked towards the Slytherin team.

Ron was staring at the Hufflepuffs with a dull look on his face; he didn't seem too impressed by them. _Knowing him, he probably knows how to cast that Spell as well. I should motivate the others before we face the Slytherins. I feel like we really came through, despite having a rough start._

"Should he really be competing?" Fay asked, a hint of genuine worry in her voice. "I can see sleep wrinkles on his face from here… He probably just woke up." _Good, that'll make him slow._

"We'll be taking a small break before the next match!" Remus announced. "Third years, remember to stay hydrated!"

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"Harry, please listen to me this time," Hermione urged, and Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's completely out of it, which means that I can hold him off on my own. You should help the others in order to even the odds. Fay, Seamus, and Dean don't stand a chance against Ron's friends."

Harry shot a quick look towards the others; they seemed too busy to overhear his conversation with Hermione. _We should've moved even further._

"Hermione, don't say that so loudly," Harry scolded. "What if they had heard you?"

"I'm not trying to be mean," Hermione said defensively. "I'm just stating facts. You know that I'm right about Ron's friends, but you're ignoring me-"

"I'm ignoring you because I want to keep this team together," Harry cut in, enough was enough. "You keep discouraging them for no reason, Hermione."

"I'm not discouraging them," Hermione blinked, she looked genuinely baffled. "Am I?"

"You are," Harry replied. "You keep calling Fay stupid, you keep telling Seamus to focus so that his wand doesn't act up-"

"Seamus could hurt someone, though," Hermione said.

"He's insecure about his wand, and even I know that," Harry whispered crossly. "And you just keep bringing it up. It was funny at first, but now everyone cringes when you do it." _Stop attacking people's self-esteems!_

Hermione looked a little hurt because of his tone, and Harry immediately felt guilty. _And now, I'm being a prat. Bloody hell, I should try and be gentler._

"Look, I know that you're trying to help," Harry started, his tone much softer. "But, Hermione… You've said some really harsh things to us over the last few days, and the others wanted to have a go at you-"

"Have a go at me?" Hermione asked slowly.

"You openly wondered if Fay could be replaced, and that set everyone off," Harry replied.

"I was joking about that," Hermione defended herself.

"Not even I could tell if you were joking or not," Harry told the truth. "I asked them to just bear with it, because I know that you want us to win. I want the same thing, but not at the cost of hurting other people."

"They'd rather lose than hear some facts?" Hermione asked, and Harry started feeling annoyed again. _I'll give her some facts, then._

"When I brought up the 'fifteen seconds' argument, didn't I hurt your feelings?" Harry asked, and Hermione visibly tensed. "I remember this because I didn't realize it at the time. Remus was the one who told me that I took things too far, which made me feel horrible enough that I begged the others to not go after you. We need you, and you're using that 'fact' to get away with being mean to everyone."

"Oh…" Hermione muttered.

"Winning isn't worth hurting people," Harry said. "Remember what happened after we blew up Snape's lab? Everything with Ron went downhill from there, and it was because we didn't care about other people." _I'm surprised that I learned this lesson before she did; but then again, Neville helped me a lot along the way._ "Let's just stick with the plan we have, and trust that our **teammates** can hold off Ron's friends. Okay?"

Hermione looked both guilty and hesitant at the same time, but in the end, she gave him a quick nod.

"Are you guys coming?" Dean called. "Professor Lupin's called us out."

"Let's go," Harry said, and they both rejoined the others. "Guys, we're going with the original plan. Hermione and I will try to take Ron down, while you three keep Ron's friends busy. Nott and Bulstrode are especially strong, so watch out for them."

"Is she on board with this?" Seamus asked.

"She is," Harry replied for Hermione. "Stay focused, and keep moving. We can do this."

"We beat Hufflepuff, didn't we?" Dean tried to lighten the mood.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" Fay giggled, and Harry himself felt a bit relieved. _Good. We're all on the same page again._

They made their way into the arena, and eventually, they met the Slytherins in the middle. Nott, Bulstrode, Malfoy, and Zabini looked ready for action, while Ron was staring off into space again. _He looks so much worse from up close. His hair is a mess, he has sleep marks on his face, and his eyes are baggy and bloodshot. Did he not sleep last night? Or is he feeling sick?_ Without thinking, Harry quickly walked over to Ron before Remus could start the match.

"Ron, are you all right?" Harry asked, and Ron lazily looked to Harry.

"Oh, just tired," Ron yawned. "Don't worry about me, mate. There's no need to hold back."

"I wasn't thinking of holding back," Harry said without thinking, but Ron seemed pleased with that answer.

"Good," Ron smiled a bit. "Never do half-measures, Harry."

"I was thinking that you shouldn't compete if you're sick," Harry clarified.

"Are you trying to suggest that I quit?" Ron chuckled. "Not very subtle there, Harry."

"What? No," Harry said quickly. "Ron, you could get hurt really badly, right? I know that your condition is none of my business, but I don't want to see things become worse for you."

Ron just stared at Harry, and then, he put his gloved hand on Harry's left shoulder. _Is he wearing a different glove today?_

"I'm not sick, I promise," Ron said, and then he shot a quick look back at his friends. "If I were sick, they wouldn't let me come here. I just didn't sleep last night, and because of that, I'm knackered."

Harry looked to Ron's friends, and he saw that they were all staring back at him. _I think he's right. Greengrass definitely wouldn't have gone looking for him, nor would she allow him to compete if he were sick._

"If you're sure," Harry sighed out. "I'll tell the others not to aim for your head."

"They shouldn't be doing that in the first place," Ron sniggered. "Always aim for the torso, Harry. It's a bigger target." _He's a bit weird, isn't he? He openly just gave his opponent advice. I mean, Remus taught me this already, but Ron doesn't know that._

"Good luck," Harry said as he turned to leave.

"Same to you," Ron said, and Harry left to go rejoin his team.

"What was that about?" Seamus asked immediately.

"I was making sure if he was fit to compete," Harry replied.

"Why? Him being tired is good for us," Seamus said.

"He could get hurt if he's unwell," Hermione said.

"Harry, you did the right thing," Fay smiled at him, which made Harry slightly tense. _No, I need to focus. Don't get distracted right now because of a pretty girl._

"Just don't aim for his head," Harry said, which earned him a couple of confused looks. "If he's really that tired, it could seriously hurt him." _That was terrible reasoning, Harry._

"Are both teams ready?!" Remus suddenly asked, and Harry quickly turned to face the Slytherins. "Slytherins?"

"We're ready," Nott replied, while Ron yawned again. _His stance looks really sloppy. Yeah, he's totally out of it._

"We got this, guys," Harry said, and then he looked to Remus. "We're ready, Professor."

"Then… Begin!" Remus announced.

"Expellia-" Harry tried to cast the first Spell, but a bright golden stream of light fired out of Ron's face before he could finish his incantation.

Harry had half a second to go wide-eyed at Ron's speed before he saw Hermione's shield go up in front of him. Sadly, Hermione's shield was eviscerated, and Harry was sent barreling through the sand. He was left utterly dazed; his ears were ringing due to the loud humming sound of the 'face laser'. Unsteadily, Harry looked around to gauge his surroundings, and he saw that Hermione was lying unconscious not too far from him. There was blood all over her mouth, and when Harry saw one of her front teeth lying by her head, his brain turned off. He didn't even feel the stunner that smashed into his side a second later.

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Quidditch Pitch – Midday)**_

Ron Non-Verbally stunned Thomas, who was the only Gryffindor who had managed to get back on his feet after Ron's Wandless Lumos Solem. _What was that? Five seconds for five people? Hermione's Non-Verbal shield never stood a chance against a Progenitor Spell. Especially a Progenitor Spell that was strengthened by Cutis Terra. Even Madam Roberts struggled to stop that combination._

Ron rubbed his left eye with his knuckles, and then he yawned once again. _My fucking bones hurt because of how tired I am. Fuck this, I'm going back to sleep._ Ron turned around and walked past his frozen-solid friends, maybe he could ask Marty to meet him halfway? _Actually, I'd rather not Apparate right now. I'll probably have a seizure, or something._ By the time he reached the exit, the Slytherins had started cheering for him. _So loud… My delicate, damaged brain…_

He made his way out of the arena, and instead of walking towards the stands; he headed straight for the exit.

"Ron, wait!" Millie called out, and Ron turned around rather lazily. _Please don't yell near me. I'll shatter into a million pieces._

"Yes, Mills?" Ron asked as his friends caught up to him.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Malfoy asked, he sounded more shocked than upset.

"Yeah… I didn't feel like fighting an actual Duel," Ron rubbed the back of his sore neck. "Sorry, you lot… I know the plan was to show off Slytherin's skill, but I'm just fucked. I need to go to sleep." _I spent all night thinking about my upcoming damnation, and then, I fell asleep whilst repairing the Sanctuary. I've earned my beauty sleep._

"Why wasn't **this** always the plan?" Theo asked.

"Because I wanted you all to practice Dueling," Ron shrugged. "This Dueling Tournament is made to train the students in self-defense, and I didn't want to ruin that by just doing everything myself." _Oh, well…_ "I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys at dinner."

"You're sleeping through the whole day?" Millie asked.

"No, I've got stuff to do," Ron began walking away. "I'll be leaving Hogwarts in a couple of hours. Enjoy the Tournament, and make sure that you pick up some neat tricks." _I need to ask Susan about her Shield Charm myself. That was fucking brilliant._

* * *

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – Afternoon)**_

"Ron, wake up," came Daphne's voice, and Ron groaned petulantly as he turned on his side.

"Go 'way…" Ron grumbled. "I'm trying to sleep here…"

"But it's already half past three," Daphne shook him lightly. "Didn't you have errands to run today?"

Ron's eyes slowly opened, and he looked over his shoulder with a slight frown. Daphne was sitting on the edge of his bed, a bright smile on her face. _Why would she wake me up? Usually, she'd just let me sleep if I was tired. Does she want something?_

"You need something from Diagon Alley," Ron figured, his head dropping back on his pillow.

"What? No, Ron," Daphne feigned innocence, but he knew her playful voice too well. "I'm just here to wake you up like you asked. Remember?" _I do remember… Fuck my errands; I just want to keep sleeping._

"What do you want, Daph?" Ron groaned into his pillow. "I'm too tired to play your games."

"You're so grouchy today," Daphne reached over and pinched his cheek. _Unhand me, deviant!_

"No…" Ron whined as he tried to hide his face. "Stop it."

"I'll stop when you wake up," Daphne giggled, her free hand tickling his side.

A jolt of electricity ran through his side, and Ron wiggled about in order to get away from her hands. She definitely had no intention of letting him sleep through the day, and in the end, Ron decided to just wake up and get on with his day.

"Ugh… I feel sick…" Ron muttered as he rubbed his face.

"Really?" Daphne lost most of her mirth. _I shouldn't make her worry needlessly._

"It's because I'm tired," Ron assured her. "Not because of my conditions."

"Are you sure?" she asked, and Ron nodded. "All right… If you're certain, then I won't push you."

"Thank you," Ron yawned. "Merlin… I'm so tired."

"If you sleep through the day, you'll ruin your sleeping pattern," Daphne said.

"Yes, and you won't get what you want," Ron smirked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Ronald," Daphne smirked back.

"Right…" Ron shook his head clear. "What do you want, Daph?"

Daphne's smirk turned into a bright smile again, and she scooted closer to him.

"Blaise's birthday is tomorrow," Daphne started. _I know… What should I get him? Maybe he'll start talking to me again if I get him something that he likes?_ "Pansy and I ordered the cake, but we waited a little too long… I need you to go pick it up from Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor because they can't deliver it in time."

"Did you order it this morning?" Ron asked. "They usually deliver within two days."

"Getting a cake for Blaise isn't easy," Daphne replied. "You know how he is, right? He won't eat it if it doesn't meet his standards." _He's such a food snob._ "It's a pistachio chocolate chip ice-cream cake."

"A what?" Ron blinked. "Pistachios? On a cake? And what's an ice-cream cake?"

"A cake made from ice-cream," Daphne replied, and Ron just stared at her. _Is this a Pure-Blood thing that I'm too much of a Blood-Traitor to understand?_ "You've never had one? They're amazing!" _A cake made from ice-cream… Bloody hell, I should tell my siblings about this. They'd be just as shocked as I am._

"I'll pick it up on my way back," Ron promised, he had to see this cake for himself. "Anything else?"

"I haven't bought him a present yet," Daphne replied. "Honestly, I don't know what to get him, and I wanted some help."

"Actually, I haven't gotten him anything either," Ron told her. "Maybe we can split a gift?" _It'd definitely help my pouch._

"That's perfect," she sounded quite relieved. "So? What did you plan to get him?"

"I was just going to look around until I found something," Ron admitted.

"Ron, this is Blaise that we're talking about…" Daphne was a little surprised by Ron's lack of preparation. "We can't just get him something random… He has specific tastes."

"A gift's a gift, right? It's the thought that counts," Ron said.

"People who say that clearly don't know how to give gifts," Daphne said.

"What's your idea, then?" Ron asked.

"Oh! Why don't you get him something from Sugarplum's Sweets Shop?" Daphne suggested. "He loves Ice Mice, right?"

"Shouldn't we get him something more lasting?" Ron asked. "Like a Tome, or something?"

"A Tome?" Daphne asked. "Ron, that's something that you would like." _True._

"Eh, I'll figure something out when I'm there," Ron said "I'll bring back a receipt, and you can pay me back."

"All right," Daphne agreed. "I'll have Marty prepare you something to eat while you shower. Don't take too long, okay? Fortescue's closes early on Sundays."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Marty has prepared Master's clothes," Marty greeted Ron with a bow. _Bloody hell… Thank Merlin that I'm wearing my towel._

"Thanks, Marty," Ron said tensely, he didn't like being on full display like this. "I'll get ready immediately."

With that, Ron quickly moved to his bed and closed the curtains. His fresh, beige suit was waiting for him on his bed, and Ron began dressing without hesitation. _It's a bit too flashy, but it's better than nothing._ Once he was fully dressed, Ron fixed his hair back into place before he came back out of hiding. Marty was giving him a friendly smile, which convinced Ron that Marty was trying to not bother him. _What am I thinking? This is Marty! He doesn't care about my scars._

"Sorry about that, Marty," Ron apologized. "I was just caught off-guard, and acted stupidly."

"Master has nothing to apologize for," Marty said. "Is Master hungry? Mistress asked Marty to bring Master a plate full of crispy bacon." _Huh?_

"Really?" Ron asked, his mouth almost salivating.

"Indeed, Master," Marty snapped his fingers, and a plate full of bacon was Conjured onto Ron's desk. _Bacon and Conjuration Magic? Am I sure that it's not my birthday tomorrow?_

Ron walked over and leaned against his desk, his left hand quickly plucking up a sizzling piece. _It smells so good!_ Ron bit into it, and he relished the taste. _Daphne is the best!_

"Master seems to be in a jolly mood today," Marty noted. "Has there been some good news?" _Quite the opposite, mate. I'll be damned for all of eternity even if I succeed. That's how little my life means._

"I'm just trying to savor everything," Ron shrugged. "It's not every day that I get bacon delivered to my bedroom." _I don't think the Entity knows what 'breakfast in bed' is. I might as well enjoy this while I can._

"Would that please Master?" Marty asked. "Marty can do this every day!" _Tempting, but too selfish. I shouldn't treat Marty like some slave. It's not right._

"I'd lose my physique if you did that, mate," Ron smiled at his tiny friend. _Change the subject._ "Do you have some time to spare?"

"Always for Master," Marty walked over, his huge eyes glinting with excitement. _Ignore his look of worship, Ron. That's just how Elves are._

"Right," Ron cleared his throat. "Can you teach me a little about Conjuration Magic? That's what you used to bring this plate here, right?"

"Master wants another lesson from Marty?" Marty blinked, and Ron nodded.

"If you've got time, yeah," Ron replied.

"Does it not bother Master to learn from Elves?" Marty asked slowly. "Marty does not wish to offend, but he is very curious about this."

"I don't mind learning from Elves," Ron admitted easily enough. "You taught me some really great Spells the last time, and you've been using Magic long before I was born. I trust you."

Marty thought about Ron's words, and then he smiled a toothy smile.

"Marty will live up to that trust, Master!" Marty promised happily. _He's so excitable._

"So you'll teach me?"

"Certainly," Marty nodded. "How much does Master know about Conjuration Magic?"

Ron spent the next five minutes explaining his lesson with Dumbledore; he had memorized the five Principle Exceptions to Gamp's Law. He also talked about his own attempts at Conjuration Magic, making sure to tell Marty that he could now summon a couple of living birds.

"They chirp and fly around like they're supposed," Ron finished. _It took me a bloody month to master such a basic Spell, though…_

"Master clearly knows the basics," Marty started. "Marty can teach Master Wizard Spells used for conjuring many animals."

"What about conjuring whatever I want?" Ron asked.

"That is very advanced Magic, Master," Marty replied. "Marty believes that Master should hone his basics first. Otherwise, Master could get hurt."

"Hurt?" Ron asked.

"Magic must be respected, or it seeks vengeance," Marty said, he almost sounded a little ominous.

"Um… Okay," Ron said, and then he bit into another piece. "Teaching me Spells is great, but maybe you could offer me some tips too? Please?"

"Oh, of course!" Marty said quickly, going back to his cheery self. "Master would do well to understand whatever he is conjuring. Master must be able to visualize whatever he needs without needing to create his own details."

"So I should know exactly what these animals look like?" Ron asked for clarification. "I've conjured a snake before, but I didn't really know what it would look like."

"Master lives within the Slytherin common room," Marty pointed out. "Marty is certain that that helped Master greatly." _Oh. I guess there are snakes everywhere._

"How do I learn about these animals? Should I go to a zoo, or something?" Ron asked.

"Master can just buy some Magizoologist Magazines," Marty replied. "Newt Scamander's works are very detailed! He's even done some work on Non-Magical Creatures!" _I can do that today, actually._

"Thanks, Marty," Ron smiled widely. "Hey… Are you free today?"

"Marty has already finished his work within the Kitchens," Marty replied.

"Really?" Ron asked, and Marty nodded. "Then why don't we go to Diagon Alley together? We haven't spent much time together lately, right?"

"Marty would be honored!" Marty beamed. "Shall we go now?!"

"Let me just grab a few more pieces," Ron said.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Madam Malkin's – Late Afternoon)**_

"My Master will be attending a masquerade soon," Marty lied to Madam Malkin. "He requires a complete outfit made from your best materials, Madam." _Huh? We just need a disguise, Marty. It doesn't have to be extravagant._

"A masquerade?" Madam Malkin looked towards Ron, who gave her a pleasant smile. _I remember when she fitted me for my school robes._ "I haven't heard of any upcoming masquerades."

"This is more of a party instead of a full-blown ball," Ron lied.

"I see," Madam Malkin said. "Very well, follow me please."

Madam Malkin led them to the back of her shop, and Ron couldn't help but notice that the clothes were getting flashier the further they went. _Is she taking us to some secret room?_ Ron shot Marty a quick glance, and he saw that his friend was completely calm. _He's clearly done this before. I'll just follow his lead on this, I reckon._

"Here we are," Madam Malkin came to a stop. "These are my very best."

She pointed towards the wall to Ron's right, and Ron looked to see a wall covered with colorful and imaginative masks. _Woah… Some of these are really eye-catching. Look at that jester one! It has three faces!_

"Do you know which character you wish to play?" Madam Malkin asked. _Character?_

"My Master must look opulent and imperial," Marty replied for Ron. _What?! It's supposed to be a disguise, Marty._

"I can see that," Madam Malkin looked Ron over with a critical eye. "Tall. Broad shouldered. Excellent posture. And the early signs of a strong chin. Yes… I have just the mask for him."

Madam Malkin flicked her wand at the wall, and a shiny black mask with gold ornate patterns around the eyes floated over to her. She handed Ron the mask, and Ron studied it with a hint of awe. _It'll cover my whole face except for my chin, and the upper half of it looks like a crown. I like it, though it is a bit gaudy._

"This is a bit too much, right?" Ron showed Marty the mask. "It's got a crown on top of it-"

"A masquerade mask must show your inner persona," Madam Malkin said. _You don't want to see my inner persona, trust me._ "However, if you are not comfortable with it, then we should find you something else. Your mask must represent your inner self, and no one knows that side of you better than you do." _Should I really waste my time with this? Maybe I should just buy this one and be on my way?_

Ron looked back to the wall, his eyes looking for a mask that spoke to his 'inner persona'. _My inner persona… My_ _ **true**_ _self._ Ron's eyes landed on a silver mask, one that would cover his entire face. It was simply a silver mask, though it did have black smudges around the eyes. _What did my past self call the Entity? The Faceless God? Well, I don't really feel like I have a 'real face'. I'm always pretending to be someone else._

"Can I see that silver one?" Ron asked, and Madam Malkin followed his gaze.

"The Stranger?" Madam Malkin cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that what it's called?" Ron asked. _Sounds perfect._

"Yes," Madam Malkin gave Ron an odd look. "Very well… Let me get it for you."

She retrieved the handsome mask and handed it to Ron, who immediately noticed that it was heavier than the old mask. _Odd, considering how plain this one is._

"This is made from actual metal?" Ron asked, his thumbs caressing the hard surface.

"It's pure silver," Madam Malkin replied. "Made by a Goblin blacksmith I know."

"It's so… simple," Ron smiled a little. "It's just a face. No fancy patterns, no crowns, and no gold."

"The Stranger represents the unknown," Madam Malkin told him. "He revels in the comfort that comes from being hidden in the shadows." _It's just a mask… She's making me cringe with this sort of talk._

"Is Master sure about this one?" Marty asked, and Ron nodded.

"Can I try it on?" Ron asked Madam Malkin.

"Of course," Madam Malkin replied. "Though I must admit, no one has touched that mask for the last four years. I think this is the first time that anyone's taken an interest in it."

Ron placed the mask onto his face, and he felt it stick immediately. _Sticking Charms? That's quite clever._

"How do I look?" Ron asked them, his voice slightly muffled due to the mask.

"Marty cannot even see Master's eyes," Marty said.

"That's what the black smudges around the eyes are for," Madam Malkin told the Elf. "The Stranger is meant to be unrecognizable, after all." _I'm getting this one for sure._

"I'll take it," Ron said, and Madam Malkin gave him a nod.

"Do you also need dress robes?" Madam Malkin asked, and then she looked him over again. "Muggle suits clearly agree with you, and I have a wide range of stylish new suits. The latest Muggle fashion, I promise."

"Master will look at these new suits," Marty said. _I will? But I already have a lot of suits._

"Come," Madam Malkin began making her way towards the other end of the shop.

"Marty, I've got suits," Ron whispered as they followed her.

"Master wishes to be disguised, does he not?" Marty whispered back. "If Master dresses up as a stylish Muggle, no one will suspect him. Marty can even turn Master's hair a different color." _Oh._ "No one will ever be able to recognize Master in his disguise, Marty will make sure of it."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I have to admit," Ron started; they were walking towards Martin's Jewelry Shop. "My new 'tuxedo' looks really fucking dapper. Doesn't it?" _Muggles really know what they're about. I reckon I should talk to Tracey and Hermione about Muggle culture. I might learn something important._

"Most definitely, Master," Marty nodded excitedly. "And are these clothes for Mistress?"

Ron looked to the floating bag that Marty was looking to, and he shook his head.

"No, Daphne's already got running gear," Ron replied. "These are for my sister. It just occurred to me that she only has Quidditch gear, and I can't expect her to go running in that."

"Master's sister will be joining him from now?" Marty asked.

"Yeah," Ron couldn't help but smile a little. _I made a good decision whilst being on the Calming Draught. Ginny will benefit from this, I'm sure of it._ "Now, let me tell you why I need to go see Martin."

"Marty is listening," Marty put on a serious, yet adorable, expression.

"I found a room within Hogwarts," Ron started. "It's like a treasure room, or something. It's filled with all manner of things, including trunks full of jewels. As far as I'm concerned, all of that stuff is right for the taking."

"Is Master referring to the Room of Hidden Things?" Marty asked, making Ron stop abruptly.

"You know about it?" Ron asked.

"The Hogwarts Elves help fill it," Marty replied. "Marty has dropped off many unwanted objects within the Room of Hidden Things."

"Really? Why?" Ron asked.

"It is Hogwarts' bin," Marty replied with a smile.

"Bin? As in trash?" Ron was a little more amused now. _I've been promoted to trash-picker? Mum and dad would be so proud._ "Would the Elves be upset if I steal from it?"

"Not at all," Marty assured him. _Good, then it's free game._ "Personally, Marty thinks that this is a brilliant idea. Master should focus on filling his coffers for his plans." _I love this Elf. He can be delightfully devious every now and then._

"Do you want to help me?" Ron smirked, and Marty nodded enthusiastically.

"Marty would be honored," Marty beamed.

"My free periods are on Thursday," Ron's smirk turned into a smile. "After lunch."

"Marty will fulfill his duties early, then," Marty promised.

They finally reached their destination, and without wasting a second, Ron led the way inside. Once Marty was inside, Ron shut the door behind him. Martin was standing behind his counter, and he was looking at Ron with an odd look. _What? You know who I am. I sold you shady emeralds not even a month ago._

"Master, please do not hold the door open for Marty," Marty whispered, and Ron cocked an eyebrow. "It is not proper…" _Ah, now it makes sense._

"Good manners aren't proper?" Ron asked. "C'mon, Marty… It's just a door, mate. Let's go."

Ron began moving towards the counter, and by the time he reached it, Martin was smiling faintly at him. _Now he looks pleased._

"Mr. Weasley," Martin greeted in his shy, but pleasant, voice. "That was nice of you. Not many people treat Elves with respect."

"Oh," Ron muttered, and then he smiled back. "I know, right? I take it that you like Elves."

"They are kind and friendly, unlike most of the wizards I've known," Martin shot Marty a wider smile. _Is it just me? Or is Martin really odd? He doesn't make eye contact, and his posture makes him look much smaller than he really is._

"You've known many terrible wizards, then?" Ron asked.

"It is the price for working in the Upper District," Martin all but whispered. "Um… Are you here to purchase a gift for Lady Greengrass? I have a sale on my diamond pieces." _Really? Maybe I should get Daphne something special? She's been through a lot lately because of me, and without her, I would have gone crazy._

With his mind made up, Ron decided that he was going to thank Daphne properly. _I'll arrange a dinner date with her tonight! Marty can help me set it up!_

"Before I go and do that, I want to talk to you about something," Ron said.

"You do?" Martin asked slowly.

"You remember how I sold you those emeralds?" Ron asked, and Martin gave a weak nod.

"Were the cufflinks deficient?" Martin asked.

"Oh, no," Ron replied. "My brother loved them, trust me. Anyway… I want to sell you more gems." _A bit too forward, but that shouldn't bother him too much. He's definitely done shady deals before I came along._

"Pardon?" Martin blinked. "Mr. Weasley, I am not sure what to make of this…"

"You need gems for your work, right?" Ron asked. "I'll just act as another jewel seller."

"These jewels that you wish to sell me…" Martin started softly. "Are… Are they stolen?" _Merlin, why is he so timid?_ "I don't wish to offend, but your Family's-"

"The gems are not stolen," Ron said. "They haven't belonged to anyone for a very long time."

Martin seemed to relax a bit at that.

"Master is no thief, good Sir," Marty added, and Martin shot Ron an apologetic smile.

"Do you have a sample, then?" Martin asked. _Damn, I didn't even think of that._

"Marty," Ron looked to the Elf, who cracked away in an instant. "While he brings the sample, can you please show me your diamond pieces?"

"Um… Of course," Martin gestured towards the display case to Ron's right.

Ron looked to the shiny jewelry, and he wondered which of these would please Daphne most. _I've given her earrings, a tennis bracelet, and a hairpin. Maybe I should get her a necklace this time?_

"Which of these necklaces do you think she would like?" Ron asked Martin, who quickly walked over.

"She has always gravitated towards the latest fashion fads," Martin started. "I recommend the diamond studded choker. The chokers are a new addition to my designs, and they are quickly becoming a favorite."

"Choker, you say?" Ron nodded slowly. "It won't choke her, will it?"

"Pardon?" Martin blinked at his stupidity.

"Never mind," Ron looked back to the pieces. "So which one is the choker?"

"That one," Martin pointed towards it.

The diamond studded choker looked rather small for a necklace, but it was most definitely beautiful. The diamond studs sparkled as if they were Magical, and the drop-shaped diamond that was attached at the bottom made the whole piece look regal.

"That's really nice," Ron smiled to himself. "Is it supposed to be that small, though?"

"It is meant to hug the neck," Martin replied.

"Then I'll take it," Ron said, and Martin unlocked the case before taking out the choker.

They walked over to the counter, and while Ron pulled out his Pouch, Martin packed the choker inside an elegant looking box.

"That'll be two-hundred and twenty Galleons, Mr. Weasley," Martin said. _Wasn't that piece on sale? Merlin, what was the original price? The buyer's soul?_

Marty suddenly cracked into the shop, something that made Martin jump from fright.

"Marty has brought a sample," Marty beamed, a sizable ruby sitting in his hands. _That's a big fucking gem!_

"By the Gods…" Martin walked around the counter, a baffled look on his face. "Is that real?"

"Have a look at it," Ron said. _If it is, then I'm going to be a very rich man._

Martin carefully took the gem from Marty, and then he disappeared into the back of his shop. This left Marty and Ron alone in the shop, and Ron figured that he'd ask for Marty's help with his dating plans.

"Marty, can I ask for another favor from you?" Ron asked.

"Does Master wish for another sample?" Marty asked.

"No, the one you brought was brilliant," Ron replied. "I wanted some help with setting up a date with Daphne, and I was wondering if I could count on you."

"A date with Mistress?!" Marty looked rather excited. _Too excited…_ "Master can always count on Marty in these matters!"

"Thanks," Ron chuckled. "I was thinking about a romantic dinner tonight. You know, table cloths and candles… Something fancy. What do you think?"

"Mistress must be treated as an honored Lady," Marty nodded his agreement. _Yeah, that's what I totally meant._ "Marty can arrange all of that! Would Master like to order food from a restaurant, or should Marty cook?"

"Um…" Ron started.

"Marty will cook," Marty volunteered. "Marty knows what Mistress and Master like to eat! A beef dish for Master, and a pork dish for Mistress!" _Slow down, mate…_ "Oh! Marty will set up everything in the Astronomy Tower! There are no classes today, and with a few Charms, Marty can make the Astronomy Tower look heavenly!" _Shit, he's got all the good ideas. Is Marty better at dating than me? I don't know how I feel about that._

"That sounds brilliant," Ron said, and Marty beamed once again. "Thank you, Marty." _Don't look a gift griffon in the mouth, Ron._

Marty went back to planning the perfect date in his mind, while Ron waited around for Martin to return. After nearly five minutes, Martin rushed out of the back of his shop.

"This is a legitimate uncut ruby," Martin told Ron. _Fuck, yes!_ "I could make several pieces with this big a gem!" _He's definitely excited now._

"So you're in?" Ron asked. "I'll make it worth your while, mate. I promise."

"I'll count this gem as your payment for the choker, then," Martin said. _My gem looks way more expensive than your choker. Wait… I should let him keep it. It'll serve as a kind gesture of goodwill._

"Then I'll be seeing you again soon," Ron put his hand forward, and Martin examined it before shaking it.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"Could I also please grab a tub of Honey Macadamia to go?" Ron asked.

"Certainly," the young witch said as she went about her task.

"All right, this is Daphne's favorite ice cream," Ron told Marty. "Can you serve it as the dessert?"

"A brilliant idea, Master," Marty nodded. _I finally pitched a good idea! I'm back in the game!_

"That'll be seven sickles," the witch said, and Ron promptly paid her.

After Ron Charmed the cake and the ice cream to float after him, Ron started making his way out of the shop. _What else do I need to get done? Should I go see Gornuk about Robert Bulstrode? No, I'll give him another week to keep looking. I guess I just need to buy Blaise a present, and after that, I can go home._

"Marty, let's head to Cronus' Clockworks," Ron said, he had an idea brewing in his head. "I want to get a new pocket watch." _Would he appreciate that? I mean, he broke the one his stepfather gave him. I'm not Blaise's father figure, but I do see him as my brother. That should make this fine, right?_

Marty led the way towards the Wizarding watch shop, while Ron silently struggled with inner turmoil. He didn't want to cross any lines with Blaise right now, and Blaise really wasn't the sentimental sort. _He might not see this as a kind gesture, but rather me trying to pressure him again. I'm totally overthinking this, aren't I? If Blaise takes offence, I'll just tell him that it was Daphne's idea. He has no reason to be mad with her._

Once they were inside the shop, Ron made his way towards the counter while Marty remained by the door.

"Hello," Ron greeted the old shopkeeper.

"Oh, you're that famous young lad from the papers," the old man smiled at him rather affectionately. _Um… There's love in those eyes… Why?_ "Ronald Weasley, right? My wife is always harping on about you! Hogwarts' new prodigy!"

"Um… Yeah, that's me," Ron chuckled nervously. "It's nice to meet you, Sir. What's your name?"

"Ha, 'Sir'?" the old man laughed. "Call me Thomas, please! 'Sir' just reminds me of how old I am!"

"Okay, Thomas," Ron started. "Can you please show me some pocket watches? It's my friend's fourteenth birthday tomorrow, and it's his Family's tradition to give him a pocket watch when he starts becoming a man."

"Is your friend from Wizarding Italy?" Thomas asked.

"Sort of," Ron replied. "His mother grew up in Italy, though she studied at Hogwarts. My friend spent a lot of time in Italy whilst growing up."

"And he doesn't have a father who can give him a watch?" Thomas asked. _Is this guy from Italy too? He seems to know an awful lot._

"Um… No, he doesn't," Ron replied. "I don't want to play some fatherly role for him, but I just figured that this would be a nice gesture."

"Your friend sounds like a lucky young man," Thomas said in a grandfatherly manner. "Come, come… I'll show you some really beautiful little pieces."

The shop door suddenly swung open, and Ron looked back to see an elderly witch barge into the shop. She had a bag of groceries floating behind her, and a rather cheery smile on her face.

"Love, I'm back," the witch announced herself. "I'll go make you your lunch first-"

"Marge, look who it is," Thomas gestured towards Ron. _Wait; is she the wife who 'harps on' about me?_

"Oh, my stars!" the elderly witch gasped. "It's **you**!"

"Hello, Ma'am," Ron greeted; he didn't know why he felt a little nervous right now. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, and he's polite!" the witch beamed. "Hold on, shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" _Busted._

"He's here to buy his friend a gift," Thomas told his wife. "His friend is from Italy, but he doesn't have a father who can give him a pocket watch."

"And you've decided to fill that role?" the witch asked.

"Not quite-" Ron started.

"You're just like I imagined!" the witch said. _What?_ "Are you hungry, dear? I can make you and your little friend some sandwiches while my husband shows you his collection."

"Oh… Please, there's no need for that-"

"Nonsense!" the witch quickly made her way towards the back of the shop. "I'll be right back out!" _What just happened?!_

* * *

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Diagon Alley – Nearly Evening)**_

"Merlin, that was weird," Ron muttered as he finished his sandwich.

"They were very kind," Marty said, he was still munching on his sandwich. _I know, which is why I didn't refuse them. Usually, I'm a lot more careful. Oh, well… They were a kind pair, and I'm glad that I ran into them._ "Does Master have any more business within Diagon Alley?"

"No, I reckon we're done here," Ron replied.

"Does Master wish to return to Hogwarts?" Marty asked.

"Drop me off on the seventh floor broom closet," Ron requested, and Marty gave him a nod.

They grabbed all the floating items, and then Marty Apparated them to Hogwarts. As soon as Ron's feet touched the ground, his blood pressure dropped. He suffered a head rush unlike any before it, and it took all of his agility to keep him on his feet. _Bloody hell… My brain… I feel so dizzy…_ He tried to shake his head clear, but that only made things worse.

"Master?" Marty tugged at his sleeve.

"I'm okay," Ron muttered. "Just give me a second, please." _Why is this happening?_

Marty stood by quietly, though Ron could feel his gaze even in the dark. After a few seconds, Ron felt blood slowly rush back into his face. His dizziness began to leave him, which made it easier for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

"I'm feeling better," Ron told Marty. "It's okay, Marty."

"Master should go and rest inside the Sanctuary," Marty suggested.

"My plan exactly," Ron chuckled weakly. "Can you take everything but Ginny's running gear and the presents?"

"Marty will store the food inside the Kitchens," Marty replied. "As for the disguise, Marty will take it to the Chamber."

"Store it near the Basilisk skin," Ron said. _We need to do something about that skin, actually._ "Marty, do you remember our plan to line my suits with the Basilisk skin?"

"Marty remembers," Marty replied quickly.

"Let's look into that, yeah?" Ron asked.

"Certainly, Master," Marty agreed. "Does Master need anything else?"

"No, mate, I'll see you later," Ron replied, his free hand patting Marty's thin shoulder. _I'm going to go take a nap._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

The Group Tournaments had finished earlier than Ron had expected, which resulted in Ron running into a bunch of Gryffindors near the Gryffindor Tower entrance. They didn't look to be in a good mood, and when they saw him, they immediately began to eyeball him. _Are these guys sixth years?_

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" one of the boys asked.

"Do you know if my sister is inside?" Ron asked. "I need to talk to her."

"Why don't you wait until dinner, huh?" the raven-haired boy scoffed. "Get out of here, snake." _Don't. Make. A. Scene. Ron._

Somehow, Ron managed to keep himself calm. _It's not worth it. You've had a good day, and you have a really important date with Daphne coming up. Just ignore this twat._

"Kenneth, don't be a prick," the other boy spoke up. "He just wants to see his sister."

"What's the matter with you, Kenneth?" the only girl rolled her eyes. "Oi, I'll go look for your sister, yeah? Just wait here." _See, it worked out._

"Thank you," Ron said politely, while 'Kenneth' glared at him.

"Good stuff in the Tournament, Weasley," the brown haired boy said. "You showed off some really flashy Magic. It didn't beat your performance at the last Tournament, but it was still pretty neat." _Wow! A real compliment from a Gryffindor?!_

"Tim!" Kenneth snapped. "Stop entertaining him-"

"Thanks, Tim," Ron cut in. "How did Gryffindor go today?"

"Yeah, you left, didn't you?" Tim remembered. "Pretty bold move there, by the way. I'm shocked that the Professors didn't tell you off." _They could tell that I needed my rest._

"Got lucky," Ron shrugged with a smile. _I like this 'Tim' bloke._

"Yeah, you definitely get lucky often, don't you?" Kenneth said bitterly. "Is it nice to have everything handed to you on a platter?"

"Give it a rest," Tim sighed. "Ignore him, Weasley. He's just bitter because Gryffindor got demolished today. Only our fifth year team won… The rest didn't even stand a chance." _The fifth years?_

"The twins won?" Ron asked, though he wasn't surprised.

"The twins and Lee Jordan did some really hilarious Magic during their Duel against Cedric's lot," Tim said. "Shame you missed it." _Yeah, that is a shame. Damn. I'd have loved to see Cedric running around. What a handsome lad!_

"Which year are you in?" Ron asked Tim.

"Sixth," Tim replied.

"Did you take part in the Duels today?" Ron asked.

"No, but Kenneth did," Tim replied. "How'd that turn out, mate?"

"Sod off," Kenneth spat out, and then he left for Gryffindor Tower. "Red-haired tosser." _Yeesh… What a ponce._

"How are you friends with him?" Ron asked.

"Oh, he's all right," Tim replied lazily. "He's just really competitive, and he got disarmed immediately. It was rather pathetic."

"Did he lose to Slytherin?" Ron asked.

"Everyone lost to Slytherin," Tim replied. _Fuck, yes! Now we're completely unbeatable._ "Well, except for our fifth years."

"Ron?" came Ginny's voice, and Ron looked to see her walking over to him.

"I'll be off," Tim walked off towards his female friend. "See you around, Weasley." _Oh, you definitely will. You're perfect for my study group._

"Hello, Ginny," Ron greeted his sister.

"Hi… What's that?" Ginny pointed to the floating bag behind him.

"I got you something," Ron grabbed the bag. "It's running gear for tomorrow."

"Running gear?" Ginny blinked. "So… Your friends said yes to me joining you lot?" _Not yet._

"They have," Ron lied. "Here, take it."

Ginny slowly took the bag from Ron, and then she peered inside it. _I hope she likes it. It's a bit unflattering, but it'll keep her nice and warm._

"Um… Thank you, Ron," Ginny looked back up with a surprised smile. "I was just going to run in my Quidditch gear…"

"That's too heavy to run in," Ron said. "This is closer to what I wear. It'll keep you really warm, I promise." _And covered, which is the most important part._

"And you got me new shoes?" Ginny looked back inside the bag.

"Runners," Ron replied. "They've got a Fitting Charm on them, so they'll never fall off."

"This is really sweet, Ron," Ginny said, and Ron smiled without realizing. "I'll definitely come tomorrow."

"Brilliant," Ron gave an approving nod. "I'll see you there, then."

"Wait," Ginny stopped him before he could turn around. "About your Duel with Harry and Hermione… Ron, you should apologize to Hermione."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"You knocked one of her teeth out," Ginny replied. _I did?_

"Seriously?" Ron felt guilt creep up on him. _Shit. Did I use too much power? I was really fucking out of it, so I might've overdone it a bit._

"It was pretty scary," Ginny admitted. "After you just walked off, Remus started calling for help. Madam Pomfrey had to tend to her on the spot. Oh, and Seamus sprained his wrist as well. Fay landed right on top of it."

"Fucking hell," Ron sighed out.

"Hermione's in the Hospital Wing right now," Ginny told him. "Neville and Harry are there with her. She's on a Pain Relief Potion, and so she's not allowed to leave Madam Pomfrey's sight."

"I'll go and talk to her," Ron said. "And apologize… I definitely overdid it today."

"Yeah… What kind of Magic was that, Ron?" Ginny asked curiously. "It was so bright… A lot of us had to shield our eyes."

"It's a Progenitor Spell," Ron replied.

"A what?" Ginny blinked.

"A Spell made before wands came into being," Ron clarified, and Ginny's eyes widened a little. "It's Old Magic, and in order to cast it, I've had to train constantly without fail."

"Is this how you spend your spare time?" Ginny asked. "Just learning powerful Spells?"

"Pretty much," Ron replied. "Anyway, I'll go see Hermione. Don't forget that we are meeting up at six in the morning tomorrow. Don't be late."

"You're not coming to dinner?" Ginny asked.

"I've got plans," Ron replied as he began to leave. "Bye, Ginny."

"Bye, Ron," Ginny waved him off. _That went really well, I think. Now, I just need to talk to my friends about this._

Ron wasn't too worried about convincing them. They had a tendency to go along with his ideas, and they definitely knew how important Ginny was to Ron. _Things will be awkward at first, especially between Ginny and Tracey, but they'll all get over it. Exercise is supposed to open people up, right? If Ginny can see my friends at their most normal, she'll definitely learn to ignore her worst ideas about us._

Ron entered the Hospital Wing, which was quite packed due to the Dueling Tournament. _Madam Pomfrey must have her work cut out for her. Let's just go find Hermione._ Ron figured that she'd be somewhere in the back where the other patients couldn't interact with her. _She's probably feeling the Pain Relief Potion's side effects right now._ Ron popped his head through some closed curtains, and quite luckily, he had found the Trio in his first attempt.

"Hello," Ron made his way inside.

"Ron?" Neville stood up, while Harry just stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that Hermione got hurt because of me," Ron replied. "I came to apologize."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione waved a dismissive hand, she had a loopy look on her face. "Look at these!"

She smiled with all of her teeth, giving Ron a full view of her pearly whites. _Um… What the fuck?_ Ron barely held back a laugh, and he could see that Neville was just as entertained. _Harry looks a bit mopey, though._

"Well?" Hermione fixed her face. "Do you like them?"

"Your teeth?" Ron asked. "Yeah, they're nice. Very white."

"Didn't you notice my front teeth?" Hermione asked, suddenly sounding a little wounded. _Front teeth? Oh! They're not as large anymore!_

"Of course I did," Ron replied pleasantly. "I think you look brilliant! This look really suits you, Hermione!" _Was that enough? Should I flatter her more?_

"Brilliant?" Hermione began smiling, and then she snorted. "I look brilliant, he says…" _Wow. She's lost all of her wits._

"I suppose she'll be spending the entire night in here?" Ron asked Neville.

"Looks like it," Neville smiled at Hermione. "Seeing her like this is pretty funny, right?"

"Definitely," Ron moved further in. "Hermione?"

"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione matched his tone.

"I'm really sorry about hurting you like that," Ron apologized. "I was really tired, but that's no excuse. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said casually. "They gave me the Pain Relief Potion, and that gave me the courage to have my teeth changed. My parents are dentists, you know? They wanted me to use braces, but I didn't like the idea of coming to Hogwarts in such a contraption. I read that witches and wizards can just shrink teeth-"

"Hermione, you're ranting again," Neville gently patted her shoulder. "Madam Pomfrey asked you to stay calm, remember?"

"Of course I remember," Hermione said defensively. "I was just telling Ron that I'm keeping my new 'look'."

"Good on you," Ron chuckled, and then he looked to Harry. "You all right, Harry?"

"Yeah…" Harry replied. _Liar._ "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I just needed some sleep," Ron replied. "I didn't hurt you as well, did I? If I did, I'm sorry." _I think the only part of him I hurt was his pride._

"No, I came out all right," Harry said. "Don't worry about me."

"Ron, you prepared your Spell before Professor Lupin started the match, right?" Hermione cut into their conversation. "There's no way that someone could do Non-Verbal Magic that quickly." _I did prepare Cutis Terra and Lumos Solem before the ready mark. I didn't want to give any of you time to move apart._

"There's no rule against it," Ron smiled at her.

"See? I told you," Hermione smirked at Harry, who just gave her a dull look. "Harry didn't believe me when I told him my theory. We never stood a chance. What was even the point in entering?" _What?_

Neville and Harry exchanged slow looks, both of them looking slightly put off. _This is getting really awkward really fast._

"Oh… Um… I wouldn't say that," Ron said awkwardly. "If the Duel had gotten dragged out, you guys could've won."

"Not with Fay on our team," Hermione said. _Wow._

"Don't blame Fay, Hermione," Harry said a little sternly. "It was no one's fault, so let's just leave it at that."

"Well, it certainly wasn't **my** fault," Hermione muttered under her breath. "You froze up, and I had to jump in with a weaker shield-"

"Maybe I should go?" Ron suggested, he didn't want to be here for this.

"Yeah, Hermione needs her rest," Neville gave him an out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" Ron asked as he began to leave.

"See you tomorrow," Neville said, while Harry and Hermione ignored each other.

The moment Ron was past the curtains, he made a beeline for the exit. _Hermione's in a really weird mood. She really doesn't like losing, does she? You know, I really like that about her. She's determined to be the best._ Ron sped down to the Dungeons, which were oddly devoid of any Slytherins. _No one is loitering about?_

"Fork-tongued," Ron gave the password, and the entrance slid open.

Loud music immediately bombarded his ears, causing Ron to flinch. _What the…?_ He made his way inside, his wide-eyes finding a jolly party. The Slytherins were celebrating their victory at the Group Tournaments, and judging by the state of some of them, alcohol was being passed around again. _Why are they partying so early? What about dinner?_ Ron made his way past some enthusiastic dancers, his eyes peeled for his friends. Eventually, a hand found him and pulled him aside.

"Ron!" Tracey hugged him. "You're here!"

"Hello," Ron greeted his friends, they all looked to be having a great time.

"Finally!" Theo laughed. "Pansy, give him a cup!"

"Here," Pansy handed him her own cup full of punch. "Drink it!" _Bloody hell, that is a_ _ **really**_ _short dress, Pans._

"Um… Sure," Ron said, and then he downed the cup. _Ugh… I don't like this punch. It's too citrusy._ "Daphne, can I talk to you for a bit? It's important."

"Oh, okay," Daphne handed her cup to Millie. "I'll be right back, Millie."

Ron followed Daphne towards the Training Room, making sure to get a good look at Malfoy and Blaise along the way. They both seemed to be at ease, no doubt enjoying their victory. _Malfoy's doing much better now. I think hearing back from Narcissa really helped him. I made the right choice._

"What took you so long?" Daphne smiled properly now that they were alone.

"I met this old couple, and they offered to make me food," Ron replied.

"What?" Daphne blinked.

"Yeah… It was weird, but I couldn't say no to them," Ron said. "Anyway, I got the cake and the present."

"Ohhh, what did you get him?" Daphne asked. "Show me."

Ron reached into his right pocket, and he pulled out a small brown box. Daphne moved over to his side, and Ron opened it in front of her.

"It's a 'Double Half Hunter' pocket watch," Ron remembered. "You can see the gears and everything."

"It's beautiful," Daphne smiled at the golden watch. "Why a pocket watch, though?"

"Oh, it's because Blaise is from an Italian Family," Ron replied. "They have a tradition where the father gives his son a pocket watch when the son starts becoming a man."

"That's a really thoughtful gift, Ron," Daphne said.

"I know, right?" Ron grinned. "Here, look at this inscription."

Ron closed the golden watch, showing Daphne the inscription on the cover.

"Fratello?" Daphne read. "It's Italian, right?"

"It means 'Brother' according to Thomas," Ron replied.

"Who's Thomas?"

"The shopkeeper who sold me this piece," Ron clarified. "He did the inscription for me."

"I think Blaise will love this," Daphne hummed, she was swaying just enough for Ron to notice. "How much did it cost? I'll pay my half tomorrow."

"Forty Galleons," Ron replied, his eyes scanning her knee-length purple dress. _She's not dressed half as provocatively as Pansy. Good. I don't want the other blokes eyeballing her._

"So I owe you twenty," Daphne made a mental note, and then, she gave him a knowing smile. "Do you like my dress, Ron? It's nothing fancy, but I think I look amazing!"

"You do," Ron smiled goofily. _I'm so lucky!_

"Here," Daphne laughed as she did a twirl, showing him her dress from every angle. "So… Do you want to fool around in here?" _Huh?_

"Daph…" Ron shot a look towards the exit. "That's a little sudden, isn't it? What if someone comes in here?"

"That's their problem," Daphne took a step forward, her hands fiddling with his suit. "You look so handsome in this suit!"

Ron took a whiff, and his questions were answered.

"You're drunk," Ron said, and Daphne smiled widely.

"Guilty!" Daphne pretended to surrender. _What about our date? Oh, wait… She doesn't know about that yet._

"Um… Would it be fine if I asked you to stop drinking for the rest of the night?" Ron asked, and Daphne cocked her head.

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"I've arranged a date for us-"

"Really?!" Daphne asked excitedly, nearing rupturing Ron's eardrums. "We're going on a date **tonight**?!"

"I've asked Marty to arrange something for us in the Astronomy Tower," Ron smiled due to her excitement. _Is she really that excited to go on a date with me?_ "It'll be during dinner, and since there are no classes tonight, we won't be disturbed."

"A romantic dinner at the Astronomy Tower," Daphne smiled giddily. "What's brought this on, Ron?"

"I don't know," Ron shrugged. "I guess I just want to thank you."

"Thank me?" Daphne asked.

"Things have been really rough lately, but you stuck by me throughout the whole thing," Ron replied a little awkwardly. _Don't be afraid of saying sappy things every once in a while, Ron. This is Daphne, and you know that she'll never tell anyone about this._ "I couldn't have gotten through it all without you, is what I'm trying to say…" _Terrible landing._

Daphne's excitement turned to genuine warmth, and she just smiled at him in an equally goofy manner. _I said the right thing for sure! Nice landing, Ron._

"You're the sweetest," Daphne walked up and hugged him, her head slumping against his chest. "And you're giving me far too much credit."

"No, I'm not," Ron said. "You're the best, and nothing can convince me otherwise." Ron then put his arms around her, his hands rubbing circles on her back. "I'll come pick you up at eight?"

"What?" Daphne looked up at him. "You're leaving?"

"I'll just be in my room," Ron replied. "I need to practice some Conjuration-"

"Noooo…" Daphne whined and pouted. "Please join the party, Ron… It's just one night." _It's loud in there, and I'm a little too tired for that much noise._

"I'm not really in the mood, Daph-" Ron started.

"But you have to protect us girls," Daphne said hastily. _Protect the girls?_

"Protect you from what?" Ron asked slowly. "Alcohol?"

"No, Ron, you have to protect us from the other boys," Daphne replied like it was the most obvious thing in the World.

"Is someone giving you girls trouble?" Ron's brow furrowed. "What's his fucking name? Tell me, and I'll break his fucking legs." _Is some cunt harassing them? Why?_

"Well, no one's giving us any trouble yet, but they **might** ," Daphne said. _What?_

"Okay… I'm confused," Ron sighed out. "Tell me everything."

"Okay, but you can't repeat this to anyone," Daphne said. "Promise?"

"I promise," Ron replied, and Daphne put her pinky in his face.

"Swear it," Daphne wiggled her pinky. _That's cute._

"I swear," Ron tangled his pinky with hers, an amused smile on his face.

"So lately, Pansy's been thinking of getting a boyfriend," Daphne started. "But so far, she's had no luck whatsoever."

"I find that hard to believe," Ron said.

"I know, right?!" Daphne giggled. "She's definitely got the looks, but for some reason, most boys are afraid to approach her."

Daphne then stared right into Ron's eyes, but he didn't get the message.

"Why would people be scared of approaching her?" Ron asked. "She doesn't bully anyone anymore, and she even gets along with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws."

"There's this red-haired monster who intimidates everyone around him, and Pansy's really close with this monster," Daphne hinted playfully.

"Oh…" Ron muttered. "Does… Does she blame me?" _I hope not._

"Ron, you could kill someone, and Pansy would help you hide the body," Daphne chuckled. "Anyway, she's come up with a scheme to get noticed by more boys-"

"Her dress…" Ron realized.

"Now he's catching on," Daphne poked his side. "She and Tracey are both wearing really short dresses in order to let the older boys know that they're looking for some romance. Isn't that great?!"

"Tracey is joining Pansy's scheme?" Ron asked. "What about Theo? I thought he and Tracey were getting along really well lately." _I didn't even notice Tracey's dress… Wait, why am I disappointed?_

"If Theo likes her, then he should do something about it," Daphne replied. "Tracey shouldn't be forced to wait while Theo tries to figure out what he wants. She's her own person."

"Still… It could make things awkward…" Ron said, he felt rather gutted on his friend's behalf.

"Things between them are already too complicated," Daphne said. "If it weren't for Theo's father, I'm sure that he'd be dating Tracey already… I know for a fact that she'd accept if he asked her tonight-"

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Ron, don't tell him," Daphne warned quickly. "You promised me. This isn't our business, and we shouldn't stick our noses in it. Meddling could hurt our friends."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Ron lied. _I was totally going to give Theo a heads-up. Oh, well… Daphne's right. This isn't my business._ "So you're telling me that Pansy and Tracey are dressed skimpily because they want the older boys to notice them?" _That's really…_ _ **stupid**_ _._

"They're not dressed that 'skimpily'," Daphne said, and Ron just stared at her. "Okay, maybe Pansy took things too far…"

"I don't think that this is a smart idea, Daph," Ron admitted.

"Why not?"

"Because dressing like that won't get the right sort of attention," Ron replied. "Plus, aren't they a bit too young to dress like that? I could see the outline of Pansy's bra, Daph…"

"Oh, they've both flowered," Daphne assured him, and Ron cringed visibly. "They're women now, Ron."

"First of all… Ew!" Ron pulled a face, making Daphne giggle. "Secondly, there are better ways to go about this. Why don't they just talk to some lads around Hogwarts? In full clothing, that is."

"Don't ask me," Daphne replied. "I opted to sit this scheme out as soon as I heard it."

"Was it because you're already dating me?" Ron asked. _Wow… That was a really needy question._

"Of course," she didn't seem to mind his neediness. _If anything, she looks even happier than before._ "I don't want some random trying to chat me up while I wait for you to come back from your errands."

"Thanks," Ron felt rather relieved to hear that, while Daphne gave him pleasant smile.

"So? Are you joining the party?" Daphne asked. "You never know what might happen, Ron… What if some fourth year puts his hands on Pansy? Or Tracey?" _Then he will lose that hand, I assure you._

"I'll join the party," Ron agreed, and Daphne beamed at him. _Why not, eh? It's not like I have an afterlife to look forward to. I only have a few years before eternal damnation…_

"Yay! Let's go!" Daphne took him by the hand, and then she all but dragged him back to their friends. "The others will be so glad that you're joining us!"

The music was deafeningly loud now, and even Daphne seemed to be bothered by it. As for Ron, he could feel his brain trembling within his skull. _Fuck me… Are they planning to get caught, or something? Turn that racket down a little._ By the time they reached the others, Ron was slightly regretting his choice to socialize. _I really should go work on my Conjuration skills. I want to be ready for when Marty teaches me those Spells of his._

"Ron is joining us tonight!" Daphne announced to the others.

"YES!" Tracey clapped her hands excitedly, while the others smiled widely or gave him nods.

"I'll get him something to drink!" Millie said excitedly. "I'll be right back! Don't let him go anywhere!" _Why are they so excited all of a sudden? I spend every waking moment with them._

Millie quickly left for the drinks table, while Pansy and Tracey pulled Ron into an empty seat. _Woah… Don't be so rough, please._ Ron tried not to stare at Tracey and Pansy, but he failed miserably. _Merlin… I can see all of Tracey's legs. Don't stare, Ron. It will definitely upset them._

"Here! Finish this!" Pansy hovered in front of him with a wide smile. "You've got loads of catching up to do!"

"How was your day, Ron?!" Tracey sat down to his right, her free arm tangling up with his.

Ron took Pansy's cup, his eyes darting towards Daphne. She gestured him to drink up, which helped Ron loosen up a little. _I have to make sure that I don't get drunk. I want this date to work out._ He gulped the citrusy punch down, making sure not to pull a face. _So tangy… I prefer the sweet stuff. I wonder if there's juice-_

"Here, drink this next!" Tracey offered him her cup.

"Um… Aren't you drinking from that?" Ron couldn't help but ask.

"I'll just get another!" Tracey beamed, and Ron saw that the lads were giving him dull looks. _Jealous?_ "You drank Pansy's, Ron! Are you trying to hurt my feelings?!"

"What? No! Never!" Ron replied quickly, and then he took the cup and downed it in one go. _Merlin's beard… That burns._

"You're so cute," Tracey giggled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "And you smell so nice. We were worried that you wouldn't come down for this." _Really?_

Ron didn't miss the death grip Tracey had on his arm, nor did he miss the fact that Pansy and Daphne were blocking his path. The girls were clearly planning to make sure that Ron didn't slink away, and judging by the tray full of drinks that Millie rushed over, they planned to make sure that he had a good time.

* * *

 _ **Sunday 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Astronomy Tower – Dinnertime)**_

Marty had truly outdone himself.

The top of the Astronomy Tower had been redecorated completely; it looked more like a restaurant than a tower of study. Marty had left scented candles everywhere, he had cleaned everything spotless, and he had delivered a covered table with fine kitchenware. Personally, Ron thought that it was a bit too much, but Daphne seemed to love it. She even loved the tacky heart shaped balloons that littered the ceiling.

They hadn't spoken about anything of importance during dinner, and Ron figured that Daphne didn't want anything to dampen the date. He felt the exact same way, and so, he was careful to avoid any sensitive subjects. They were both still a little tipsy from the party, which helped keep the conversation going without fail, not that they needed that.

"So I have to ask…" Daphne started. "What's going on between you and Ginevra?"

Ron stopped mid-drink; he needed to tell her about Ginny joining the morning runs. _If Daphne has my back, then the other girls will play nice. I don't want Tracey going off on Ginny again._

"We're just trying to sort out our dynamic," Ron replied. "It's a little awkward, I won't lie…"

"Why is it awkward?" Daphne asked. "My sister and I fight all the time, but we always make up."

"Well, Ginny and I don't usually fight," Ron explained. "Sure, she used to get mad at me all the time, but that's just how she is. She's quick to anger, but unlike me, she calms right back down again."

"Only this time, she didn't calm down," Daphne nodded to herself. "Do you want to go back to being how you two were?"

"Of course," Ron replied. _What a weird question…_ "Wait, do you want me to get back to being normal with her?" Ron asked.

"I don't really have a say in the matter," Daphne avoided the question.

"C'mon, Daph," Ron said. "Why'd you bring this up?"

Daphne smiled her usual smile, but Ron wasn't so easily distracted.

"I just think that you have a chance to reshape your relationship with Ginevra," Daphne finally broke her silence.

"Reshape?" Ron asked.

"I know that you two were really close as children, but from what you've told me, she didn't seem to respect you all that much," Daphne clarified. "Instead of going back to granting her every whim, you could make sure that Ginny shows you the respect you deserve. You're her elder, and you've been there for her unlike anyone else. It's only fair that she respects you going forward, Ron."

"So I should choose between respect, or love?" Ron asked.

"Love and respect aren't exclusive," Daphne replied. "You can have both in your new relationship with Ginevra." _Maybe I should hear out what she has to say?_

"Not in my experience," Ron sighed out. "What would you do in my shoes?"

"I would start by showing Ginevra the cold shoulder for a little longer," Daphne started. _Hold on, I already invited her to the morning runs._

"I invited Ginny to come running with us tomorrow morning," Ron blurted out.

"Pardon?"

"I invited Ginny to come running with us," Ron repeated. "I bought her brand new running gear today, and she believes that you've all agreed to this."

"Oh… Ron…" Daphne gave him pitiful look. "Please tell me that you're pulling my leg."

"She's miserable right now, and I **need** to do something," Ron tried to explain himself. "I'm not falling back into old habits, I promise. It's just that she doesn't have anyone there for her, and if I don't do something, she'll start getting worse."

"You can't just let her get away with everything," Daphne said. "If you do, then you'll be right back here again in a couple of years."

"I can't just rescind her invitation," Ron said.

"Yes, that would just hurt her," Daphne agreed, though she sounded quite reluctant. "Wait… You told her that we all agreed? You lied to her?"

"It wasn't a lie, exactly," Ron replied. "I planned to convince you all in the morning."

"So right before we met up with her?" Daphne gave him a deadpan look. "Smooth, Ron…"

"She's my little sister," Ron said with a hint of vulnerability. _I'm not changing my decision._ "I have to help her."

Daphne studied his face, and then, she gave him a sorry smile.

"I'll back you up, but you have to promise me that you won't let her walk all over you," Daphne said. "I'm serious, Ron."

"I promise," Ron agreed. "Thank you, Daph."

Marty suddenly cracked into the room; he was holding a tray with two glass bowls of Honey Macadamia.

"Dessert is served," Marty bowed, while the bowls floated into place.

"Is that Honey Macadamia from Fortescue's?" Daphne asked excitedly.

"Master picked it out himself," Marty replied.

"You still remember that it's my favorite?" Daphne sounded genuinely touched.

"Of course," Ron replied. "I remember everything that we talk about." _My memory is really strong._

"That's really sweet, Ron," Daphne felt a little flushed. _It is?_

"I'm getting better at this dating thing, eh?" Ron grinned.

"And he ruined it…"

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"I have something for you," Ron whispered, and Daphne looked up at him from his lap.

They were still tipsy from the party, and now that they had eaten large meals, they were both struggling to stay awake. But instead of leaving for their dorms, they had set up a blanket in order to stare up at the stars.

"You **still** have something left up your sleeve?" Daphne laughed lightly. "Ron, you're raising the bar too high for me." _I know, right? This has been the perfect date so far. I guess the Universe owed me a break._

"Move here," Ron said as he readjusted her a little, and then he reached into his left pocket and pulled out the elegant looking box.

"This is from Martin's," Daphne's eyes lit up. "I could recognize that box anywhere!"

"Here," Ron smiled widely as he opened the box, presenting the diamond studded choker to Daphne.

Daphne made some odd sort of squeal, one that elicited a laugh out of Ron. _What was that sound?!_

"Is that really the diamond studded choker?!" Daphne looked to Ron.

"You've seen it before?" Ron asked.

"I have Martin's Owl-Post brochure," Daphne replied. "I've had my eye on this piece for almost two weeks!" _I'm guessing that's a long time in the fashion world._

"Martin actually suggested it," Ron said. _Why am I being humble here? Damn, I should've told her that it was all my idea._

"I figured as much," Daphne giggled. "That still doesn't change how much I love this!" _Oh._

"Do you want to try it on?" Ron asked. "You're not wearing a necklace right now, so it should be fine."

"I'd love that," Daphne shifted in her spot, her back now facing Ron. "Can you put it on?" _I don't know how to put on necklaces… Why is she making me do it?_

"Like in those cliché romance novels?" Ron asked, he felt slightly embarrassed by that.

"Please?" Daphne shot him a quick pout. "This is important to us girls."

"Okay," Ron relented, and Daphne quickly began pulling her hair up. _She's a bit weird, I can't deny that._

Ron took the choker out of the box, and then he carefully wrapped it around Daphne's neck. _And there's the clasp. Go in, you little fucker._ Ron fidgeted a little more, and when he finally got it, he let out a relieved breath. _The embarrassment continues._

"How do I look?" Daphne turned to face him with her best smile.

"Like you're way out of my league," Ron replied, and Daphne snorted. "Oink, oink to you as well, Ma'am."

"Stop it," Daphne laughed. "I want a serious answer, Ron."

"That **was** a serious answer," Ron smirked. "You look way out of my league. Even more so than usual, if you can believe it."

"Honestly, even after this date, youstill think that **I'm** out of **your** league?" Daphne asked before she kissed his nose.

"I'm really glad that you enjoyed it," Ron said, deciding to thank her again. "Thank you for being the best friend that anyone could ask for, Daph. I really don't know where I'd be without you. If I were to guess, I'd say that I'd have been really miserable and lonely." _That's hard to admit, but I want her to know how I feel._

"Um… Thanks…" Daphne swallowed thickly, suddenly looking a bit jarred. "You um… You really feel that way?"

"I do," Ron promised.

"Wow…" Daphne looked lost for words.

"You okay?" Ron asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm being… emotional…" Daphne said, she was clearly trying to keep some of her composure. _I should give her an out._

"I'm that sweet, am I?" Ron grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up," Daphne poked him, a wide smile gracing her face. "Don't ruin your good deeds with arrogance, Ron. That's **my** thing."

"Oh, is it?" Ron laughed.

"Yes, it is," Daphne leaned back against his chest. "Now, tell me how I look, or I won't get off."

"You look really beautiful," Ron told her as he wrapped his arms around her stomach. _Now she can never leave._

"That's it?" Daphne hummed. "You're not going to compare me to the stars?"

"You've been reading your father's romance novels, haven't you?" Ron asked.

"Actually, I've been reading Pansy's erotica collection," Daphne admitted, making Ron freeze in his spot. "I thought I'd see what the fuss was about, and now, I can't put them down. Some of them are really entertaining." _She just openly admitted to such a thing?_

"Um… I don't know what to say," Ron muttered.

"What? You've never looked into those 'Witch Seeker' magazines?" Daphne asked. _Theo has a couple of copies under his bed. We've all had a look. Multiple times._

"Touché," Ron said, a hint of shame on his face.

"Don't worry about it, Ron," Daphne kissed his chin. "It's just a part of growing up, I think. We don't have to make it weird."

"You're right," Ron seized the opportunity to absolve himself. "Just a part of growing up."

"When I think about it, Pansy's erotica collection has nothing on this," Daphne said as she relaxed completely. "This really has been the best night ever, Ron."

"You definitely deserve it," Ron rested his chin on her head.

"And so do you," Daphne added quickly. "You're also the best friend that anyone could ask for, Ron, and don't you ever forget it."

* * *

 _ **Ginny Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Courtyard – Early Morning)**_

Ginny now knew why Ron had bought her such unflattering, thick clothes. _He knew that it would be freezing! Merlin, I can't feel the tips of my fingers!_ Ginny shivered in her spot, Ron and his friends still hadn't shown up. _Seriously? Where are they? I'll be icicle by the time they show up._

Just as she finished her thought, Ron and his friends stepped out into the Courtyard. _Thank Merlin!_ Ginny began walking over to them, her eyes quickly scanning the Slytherins. _Nott, Zabini, Malfoy, Bulstrode, Greengrass, and Davis. Parkinson doesn't join them?_

"Did you wait long?" Ron asked. "I'm sorry, Ginny, but we all had a late night."

"I only just got here," Ginny lied on instinct. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, good," Ron sounded a bit relieved. "Well… Let's go, then. The sooner we start running, the better."

Ron's friends began heading for the wooden bridge, and Ginny took the chance the gauge their moods. _None of them look pleased, but none of them look bothered either. They're definitely not thrilled about this. I hope Ron didn't have to fight with them because of me._

"You coming?" Ron nudged her, and Ginny quickly began walking with him. "You're not wearing gloves?"

"I forgot mine at home," Ginny rubbed her hands together. "Mum still hasn't gotten around to owling them to me."

"Here," Ron began taking off his gloves.

"Ron, you don't have to-"

"Your hands are almost blue," Ron said, and then he handed her his gloves.

She caught a quick glance at the scar on his right hand, and it caused her to tense up a little. _I nearly forgot about that. Is he sure about this?_

"What about your hand?" Ginny whispered.

"Oh… Um… Everyone here has already seen it," Ron said a little awkwardly. "It's fine. Just get your hands warm before your fingers fall off, yeah?"

Ginny didn't feel right about taking his gloves, but her fingers were starting to hurt from the cold. The moment her fingers were tucked away, she felt an immense sense of relief. _Wow… Does he have the Warming Charm cast on these?_

"They're nice, right?" Ron asked, and Ginny nodded.

"Thanks, Ron," Ginny replied sheepishly. "I'll send mum another owl about my gloves after this. I promise."

"If you want, I can buy you a pair like mine," Ron offered. "They're stylish enough, and you can wear them everywhere." _That's a really tempting offer._

"You've already spent enough on me," Ginny refused. "I already have gloves that work, so buying new ones isn't smart."

"All right," Ron didn't try to persuade her. "Wait… You didn't bring your wand with you?"

"Oh, no, I didn't," Ginny replied. "I sort of forgot about it… I'm not used to waking up so early, you know?"

"You shouldn't forget your wand," Ron said, he almost sounded disappointed. "You **need** to have it on your person at all times."

"Okay…" Ginny looked ahead. _What suddenly got into him?_

"I'm not trying to scold you," Ron said calmly. "Just giving you some handy advice." _It sounded like a scolding to me._

"I won't forget it again," Ginny didn't plan on making a scene. _Just go with it, Ginny. This is supposed to help you learn more about Ron and his friends._

* * *

 _ **Forty Minutes Later**_

She had always been the athletic type; so keeping up with Ron's friends wasn't all that difficult. Greengrass and Davis were clearly newcomers, while Nott and Zabini had been doing this for a long time. Ginny had matched her pace with Malfoy and Bulstrode, both of whom genuinely surprised her by doing ten laps.

"Here," Bulstrode handed Ginny her wand; they were finally punching in the clock.

"Why are you giving me your wand?" Ginny blurted out.

"Use Aguamenti to have a drink," Bulstrode instructed. _Oh._

"Thanks," Ginny couldn't refuse the offer. "Aguamenti."

The wand didn't really resist her for some reason, and before long, water was shooting out of the tip of Bulstrode's wand. _I put too much power into it!_

"Easy with that," Bulstrode said. "Relax your grip a little, and take in a deep breath."

Ginny did as she was told, and slowly, the pressure of the water weakened considerably.

"Sorry," Ginny muttered awkwardly.

"It's all right," Bulstrode didn't seem too bothered.

Ginny didn't waste another second before drinking her fill; running eight laps had definitely parched her. Once she was done, she cancelled the Spell and handed Bulstrode her wand back.

"Thanks," Ginny repeated.

"Have you gone running with Ron before?" Bulstrode asked, taking Ginny a little by surprise. _She's not leaving? She's actually trying to make conversation with me?_

"Not really," Ginny replied. "We did used to run around with each other when we were little, but then Ron started taking running too seriously. Not that there's anything wrong with that…" she finished lamely.

"No, I get it," Bulstrode looked towards Ron, who was still running his laps. _He overtook everyone twice… How many laps is he on?_ "Your brother definitely loves pushing himself to his limits, and so do you from the looks of it." _Huh?_

"What makes you say that?" Ginny asked.

"Eight laps on your first run is pretty outstanding," Bulstrode replied, though she sounded a little indifferent. "You looked ready to fall over in your last lap, but you still finished it."

"You did pretty good yourself," Ginny moved the conversation away from herself. "I had no idea that you could run so much. It was really impressive."

"You just get used to it," Bulstrode replied. _Is she being humble? Or is she being sarcastic? I can't tell._ "Will you be coming tomorrow?"

"Um… I don't know," Ginny tensed a bit. "I haven't really thought about that yet…"

"You should," Bulstrode whispered, her eyes darting towards the other Slytherins. "It would mean a lot to Ron if you did." _Oh… She's doing this for Ron._

"Okay…" Ginny agreed. _If it helps me spend more time with him, then I don't care about her reasoning._

"Good," Bulstrode turned to leave. "Oh, and if you try to take advantage of him, you'll have to deal with us this time. You have a habit of making him feel wretched, and so we'll be watching you very carefully. You've been warned."

Ginny didn't say anything to that, mostly because she didn't see the point in defending her past behavior. She knew that whatever reasoning she gave them, they would still put Ron first. _They're just looking out for him, and they're right to do so…_

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

She had been lingering behind Ron's friends; carefully observing them interact with each other. _They're all so different, but they seem to click together perfectly. Even Malfoy fits in somehow._ Ginny looked towards Davis, who was laughing and telling some joke to the rest. _She doesn't strike me as a mean person, which is what Hermione and I thought of her. If anything, she seems to be the most normal one in this group-_

"Do you feel refreshed?" Ron asked as he caught up to her. _He's finally done with his laps?_

"Refreshed?" Ginny asked. "Ron, my thighs are killing me, and we're walking uphill… This is hell on Earth."

"It gets easier," Ron chuckled. _He's in a good mood now._ "And hey, you did better than Daphne and Tracey on your first go. That's pretty amazing if you ask me."

"Don't say that," Ginny whispered. "What if they hear you?"

"Oh, it's their first time as well," Ron clarified. "Trust me, they won't be too bothered.

"Really?" Ginny asked, her eyes darting towards Greengrass. _She's wearing some sort of Muggle-styled running gear._ "Davis and Greengrass have never joined you before today?"

"Now, I just need to convince Pansy," Ron smirked as he nudged her side. _He wants them all to go running with him?_

"You're a bit weird, Ron," Ginny said. "No offence."

"Everyone's weird," Ron shrugged without a care. "Anyway… I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

"I saw Millie talking to you before," Ron started. "What was that about? Did she say something to you?"

"She offered me her wand so I could have a drink," Ginny replied. "That's all."

"Really?" Ron asked; he seemed pleased.

"Yeah," Ginny decided to keep the warning to herself. "It was really thoughtful of her."

"Millie's a really nice person," Ron said. "She has a cat named Misty-"

"She has a cat?" Ginny asked quickly. _I've always wanted a cat!_

"If you ask her, she might introduce you to Misty," Ron smiled at her excitement. _Oh, I don't know about that._

"I should get to know her first," Ginny said as she regained some of her composure.

"Of course," Ron said. "Are you coming tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am," Ginny replied, and Ron's smile widened.

It was enough to put a smile on Ginny's face as well.

"I expect to see nine laps tomorrow," Ron suddenly grinned.

"Piss off," Ginny snorted. "Nine laps, he says."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Monday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Madam Pomfrey's Office – After Classes)**_

"So my recent thoughts… They could be caused by my new brain damage?" Ron asked again.

"If what you've told me is true, then yes," Madam Pomfrey replied. "Hormonal imbalances can cause a major shift in one's perspective. How long have you been feeling this way?"

"Not long," Ron replied. "It's a bit weird, though… Right now, I don't feel any different from normal. It just happens randomly. I see something that catches my eye, and I start feeling weird." Ron then cleared his throat. "Is there some cure for this?"

"I'm sorry, Ron, there's no cure," Madam Pomfrey replied. _Figures._ "But we can teach you to live with this symptom. It doesn't have to define you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Ron said. "I'm more worried about making my friends uncomfortable."

"Then you should talk to them before there's a misunderstanding," Madam Pomfrey advised.

"Great…" Ron sighed out. _I'll save this fucked up conversation until after Hogsmeade Weekend._ "What's the time, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Nearly half past five," Madam Pomfrey looked to the clock. _Shit! I'm going to be late._

"Um… Could we cut this session a little short, please?" Ron asked. "It's Blaise's birthday today, and we're all throwing him a 'surprise' birthday party."

"Very well," Madam Pomfrey closed her notes. "Make sure that you enjoy yourself."

"I will," Ron waved his goodbye, and then he left the Office. _I need to get up to the seventh floor immediately._

Ron cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and then he began sprinting towards the Moving Staircase. He definitely spooked a few people along the way, but no one really caught him. It wasn't long before he was standing in front of the Sanctuary's entrance, and without hesitation, Ron barged into the room.

"Ron?" Daphne called from the chairs. "You made it!"

"Where's Blaise?" Ron looked around. _Woah… There's a lot of food on that table. I probably shouldn't touch that until Blaise is here, though._

"Theo's gone to get him," Tracey replied. "They should be here any second now."

"We've got everything ready," Millie said as Ron walked over to Daphne. "Right, Pansy?"

"Right…" Pansy said, she still looked a bit out of it from last night. _Is she tired? Or is she upset about something? I can't tell._

"Do you have the watch?" Daphne whispered, her arm already tangled with his.

"Yeah, I've got it," Ron patted his robe pocket.

"I've transferred the money," Daphne kissed his cheek. "Blaise will love this gift, Ron, I'm sure of it." _Merlin, I hope you're right. Otherwise, he may never talk to me again._

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **Monday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Sanctuary – Evening)**_

The last few weeks had been absolutely soul crushing for Blaise. He had spent his Break getting to know his new stepfather, and unfortunately, Blaise had come to enjoy the mild-mannered wizard's company, which had only served to make Blaise extremely uncomfortable. Despite his mother's many relationships, Blaise had never once taken a liking to her any of her would-be suitors. Most of them had been like her, cruel and self-absorbed, but Lord Michelangelo De Luca was different.

Blaise's new stepfather had noticed Blaise's cold demeanor rather quickly, but instead of writing Blaise off, the old wizard had started 'running into' Blaise at every opportunity. At first, it was polite conversation whenever Blaise left his room. Then, it had been a quick trip to Lord De Luca's favorite café. With one small step at a time, Lord De Luca had earned a hint of Blaise's respect. Blaise, of course, was still suspicious of the old wizard, but that was mostly because Blaise didn't trust his own mother. After all, no man in his right mind would ever approach Clementine Zabini.

The mere thought of his mother was enough to churn Blaise's stomach… He was terrified of her, now more than ever. Lord De Luca wasn't like her other suitors, and Blaise knew with absolute certainty that his mother was quickly getting bored of her latest husband. Several times during his Break, Blaise had caught his mother rolling her eyes whenever Lord De Luca wasn't watching. It was like a big game to her… She'd openly tell Blaise about how bored she was, and sometimes, she even tried to get a laugh out of him by mocking Lord De Luca behind his back.

But Blaise never laughed… If anything, he found it hard to breathe whenever his mother referred to Lord De Luca as a 'walking corpse'. It was all just a fucking game to her, and that terrified Blaise more than anything else. She was hunting for her next victim, and this time, Blaise happened to like the target.

A shudder passed through him, and Blaise stared intently into his cup. _At least the punch is delicious. Maybe if I drink enough of it, I'll stop thinking about my wretched mother for a minute._ Blaise shot a quick look towards Pansy, who had secured a lot of last night's punch just because Blaise happened to like it. As usual, his friends had gone overboard with everything. Personally, Blaise would have preferred a quiet dinner for his birthday, but he also understood that his friends weren't a quiet lot behind closed doors.

Tracey's Walkman was blasting Muggle music throughout the Sanctuary, while Tracey herself was dancing with Theo near the sandpit. Daphne, Millie, and Pansy were currently doting on Marty, who had come around just to wish Blaise a 'Happy Birthday'. _Poor bugger… They'll feed him until he bursts._ Blaise's eyes moved towards Ron and Malfoy, both of whom were having a conversation near Ron's favorite spot. Once again, Blaise felt jealousy run through his blood. _He's always talking to Malfoy… Why won't Ron just get rid of him already? We don't need him around anymore._

Blaise downed his cup, and it made his head fill up with that pleasant 'buzzing' feeling. It was just enough to make him forget about his mother, but try as he might, he couldn't stop staring at Ron. Their fight weighed heavily on Blaise's conscious, and by now, Blaise had realized that Ron wasn't trying to fight. _Which just makes me feel worse…_ Maybe he could approach Ron tonight? He had planned to do it yesterday with the help of some liquid courage, but Ron and Daphne had left so suddenly for their date that Blaise hadn't gotten a chance.

"Why are you staring at Ron like that?" came Tracey's voice, and Blaise turned around to see her pouring herself a drink.

"You're sweating," Blaise pointed out.

"I know, right?" she laughed. "Theo's completely knackered as well."

Blaise shot a quick look at Theo, and he saw the weedy boy pretending to be a star on the sandpit. _He's definitely playing with fire-_

"So? Why were you staring at Ron?" Tracey asked.

"I wasn't staring at anyone," Blaise lied calmly.

"No, I'm pretty sure you were," Tracey smiled playfully, her cup close to her lips. "What's going on between you two? We've all noticed that you don't talk to each other as often."

"Nothing's going on," Blaise lied again.

"Are you jealous that he's spending a lot of time with Draco?" Tracey went on.

"Draco?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow. _Why is she so intent on being friends with that leech?_

"And he bites," Tracey giggled. "You've got nothing to be jealous of, Blaise. Ron is just a softie who can't help himself. Draco's been through a lot, and Ron feels the need to show his support."

"Malfoy must need a lot of support, then," Blaise muttered under his breath.

"You know, you're not as handsome when you're jealous," Tracey grinned, and Blaise rolled his eyes. _There's no convincing her, is there?_ "I reckon you should just talk to Ron. I can call him over-"

"Don't," Blaise warned, and Tracey cocked an eyebrow. _Keep your tone in check, Blaise. She's not like the others._ "Tracey… Don't meddle this time. Please?"

"Someone needs to," Tracey said, and then, she started smiling again. "Friends fight, Blaise… I don't know what happened between you two, but someone has to take the first step in moving forward." Tracey then drew in a deep breath. "Ron's juggling a lot right now, so could you just take the first step? Please? None of us like seeing this weird tension between you two. You're meant to be best friends."

Blaise shot a look back at Ron, and then he let out a tired huff.

"I need another drink-" Blaise started.

"Nope," Tracey cut in. "Theo asked me to keep you away from the drinks. You've had plenty, Blaise." _Theo would never do that._

"It's my birthday," Blaise frowned at her.

"Sober up a little, and I'll pour you a cup myself," Tracey kept smiling. "Now, go and talk to Ron. Fix your relationship." _Relationship?_

Blaise tossed his empty cup away, gave Tracey a semi-annoyed look, and then he began heading towards Ron. Blaise figured that riling him up a little was Tracey's idea of giving him some courage, but right now, he didn't want to give her any credit. _Why are the girls in our group so meddlesome? It's annoying as-_

"Blaise?" Ron's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Can I please talk to you?" Blaise asked, ignoring the fact that he had nearly run into Ron. _Why did I ask that so formally?_

"Of course," Ron smiled a little, which only made Blaise feel worse. _Why is he so polite and emotional lately? This wouldn't be so hard if he was cold and calculating again._

"I'll go try that cake," Malfoy said to Ron, and then he left without making a sound.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Ron asked once Malfoy was out of earshot.

"I am," Blaise replied. _Just don't sound awkward, Blaise. Keep your tone even and polite._ "Can we go outside for this? I don't want anyone to overhear us."

"Oh… Sure," Ron agreed. "Lead the way, mate."

* * *

 _ **Five Minutes Later**_

"I reckon we should be able to talk now," Ron joked; Blaise had led them to an abandoned classroom on the seventh floor. _I didn't know when to stop, so I just kept going. Well, there's no running away now._

"Can you Silence that door?" Blaise asked.

"Blaise… Mate… C'mon," Ron looked a bit baffled. "Are you taking the piss?" _I've missed that vulgarity. I should just say it, and get it over with._

"I was wrong to call you a beggar," Blaise said suddenly, but Ron didn't seem surprised. "It was an extremely stupid thing to say, and I can see how it might have hurt your feelings. I'm sorry if I offended you." _That was a good apology._

"That was a terrible apology," Ron chuckled. _Huh?_ "But I'll accept it anyway."

"How was that terrible?" Blaise couldn't help but ask.

"You said 'it might have hurt your feelings'… I assure you, Blaise, it definitely did," Ron explained with a hint of amusement. "Oh, and you didn't apologize for calling my home a pigsty. That one definitely left a bad taste in my mouth."

"Now, you're taking the piss," Blaise said bluntly. "You're not upset?" _I know you, Ron. You take the smallest things to heart. How could you not be upset?_

"I was upset, but then I got over it," Ron shrugged as he walked over. "I was being a little too pushy with my ideals. I know that now." _Oh…_ "I'm sorry for not reading your mood, Blaise. I didn't mean to make you feel cornered." _Fuck, his apology was better than mine._

"It's fine," Blaise said aloofly. "You were worried about me."

"I still am," Ron leaned against a desk.

"But you're not going to pressure me anymore?" Blaise asked.

"No," Ron replied. "I don't have the right to meddle in your affairs without your consent." _Ugh… I miss the colder Ron. He's become gentler ever since his brain damage got worse._ "What is it? You're just staring at me."

"You've changed a little," Blaise replied. "Why?"

"Don't have any time left to fight on everything," Ron replied casually. "And lately, I've been trying to enjoy myself a bit more. It's given me patience."

"Right…" Blaise said slowly. "Is that why you spend so much time with Malfoy? You want to practice patience?"

"Tracey and I are the only ones who talk to him," Ron replied. "If you lot would just let go of the past, then I'd spend less time with Malfoy."

"Have you forgotten how he got into this group?" Blaise asked. _He dragged me down the river with him._

"Didn't the rest of you approach me because you wanted to take advantage of me?" Ron asked with a half-smile. _Damn, he's got a point._ "Malfoy's changing, Blaise, I promise. He hasn't insulted me once all week!"

"That's your standard for success?" Blaise asked.

"I'm desperate like that," Ron smirked, and Blaise held back any signs of enjoyment. _It does feel great to talk to him again._

They were both silent for a few moments, and Blaise knew why. _We're both thinking about my mother, but neither of us is broaching the subject._ He thought about Tracey's words, he knew that she was right about Ron being a bit overwhelmed lately. _Just take the first step, huh?_

"I still don't know what to do about my mother," Blaise broke the silence. "Can you give me some advice?"

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, something glinting behind his eyes.

"I'm sure," Blaise replied. "Let's not beat around the bush as well… We both know what my mother is capable of, and we both know that Lord De Luca's life is in danger." _I'm the heir of a serial killer… She probably killed my real father as well._

"How long does she usually wait?" Ron asked. _Bloody hell, it's unnerving that he's so calm about this sort of talk._

"It varies…" Blaise replied, he couldn't keep the shame out of his voice. "Sometimes she waits a year, and sometimes she waits a few months. There's no way of knowing when she'll…" he trailed off.

"It's all right, Blaise," Ron said softly. "We've got time. I assume that you want to warn your stepfather?"

"I don't know," Blaise replied, his fingers massaging his forehead. _What did I do to deserve this? I wish I never found that bottle in her drawers._ "I don't want to cross my mother, but I also don't want to see Lord De Luca dead… I'm so fucked… Just tell me what you'd do in my shoes, please?" _I've tried coming up with a solution, but I just can't do it._

"I'd warn Lord De Luca," Ron said. "It's the right thing to do."

"But it's not right for me," Blaise said. "If I get caught trying to warn him, I'll lose everything. You don't know my mother, Ron… She'll kick me into the streets without hesitation."

"But if you don't warn Lord De Luca, then an innocent man will die because you only thought about yourself," Ron countered. "Can you live with that, Blaise? Because from what I'm seeing right now, I don't think you can. You're nothing like your mother, so becoming her accomplice will haunt you forever."

Blaise rubbed his face harshly; the alcohol wasn't helping him anymore. _I feel really sick all of a sudden… What am I going to do? I can't just let her kill whomever she pleases, but without her, I'm nothing._

"Right now, I wish I was never born," Blaise sighed out. "Or at least, not birthed by Clementine Zabini… Why did it have to be me, Ron? What did I do to deserve such a mother?"

"Come here," Ron beckoned him, and Blaise walked over with slump shoulders.

"I can't even sleep anymore…" Blaise muttered, while Ron put his left arm around Blaise's shoulders.

Usually, he didn't like being touched by other people, but right now, he felt comforted and safe.

"You got dealt a shitty hand, Blaise," Ron started, his arm giving Blaise a squeeze. "It's not fair that you have to make such a decision, and it's definitely not fair that your own mother put you in this position. But, mate… You can't just bury your head in the sand. That's not how you deal with problems. Sometimes, the right thing to do is also the hardest thing to do."

"So I just send him an Owl?" Blaise asked. "It's not that simple, Ron…"

"It is," Ron said. "I've been thinking about what you said before… You are never going to end up homeless, Blaise, and you know that. You have friends who would do anything for you, you have more money in your trust account than most working wizards have ever seen, and you're intelligent enough to get a really good job after graduation. Are you really scared of being poor? Or are you just scared of your mother?"

"You are not making this easy…" Blaise shrunk a little. "Of course I'm scared of her… You should be scared too…"

"Trust me, I've seen far worse than your mother," Ron said, there was too much certainty in his voice for Blaise's liking. _He's faced the Dark Lord himself._ "Is there a chance that she would hurt you if you defied her will?"

"She's killed six people…" Blaise muttered. "I have no reason to think otherwise."

"Then if you do warn Lord De Luca, you need to start sticking with me like glue," Ron said. "I won't let her do anything to you, Blaise."

Hearing that was quite calming, though Blaise cursed himself for indulging in such sappy behavior. _Ron's always been the sentimental sort, but I hate this sort of interaction._ He made no moves to distance himself from Ron; he didn't want to go back to ignoring his red-haired friend. _The sappy tripe is the price for being his friend._

"Can I have more time to think about this?" Blaise asked.

"Don't take too long," Ron replied. "And if you need to talk to someone about this, I'm always here." _Of course he would say that… Damn him for being so understanding._

"Let's go back to the others," Blaise cleared his throat.

"Wait… I still need to give you something," Ron said, his free hand searching his pockets. "Here it is!"

Blaise stared at the small box in Ron's gloved hand, and then he looked right into Ron's eyes.

"Looks a bit small for a present," Blaise said.

"Fuck you too, bitch," Ron laughed. "Just open it, you git."

Blaise took the box from Ron, not failing to notice that Ron's left arm was still on his shoulder. _Classic Ron… He won't stop until he sees me smiling like some clown._ Blaise opened the box, and his eyes widened a little. Inside was a beautiful, golden Double Half Hunter pocket watch, and Blaise could easily make out the inscription on the watch's cover. _Fratello… Brother…_

He felt his throat close up a little, the pocket watch had elicited various emotions from him. For the most part, he was just stunned that Ron of all people could think of such a meaningful gift. But saying that, a part of Blaise didn't feel right with the fact that Ron was giving him such a gift. _My father is supposed to give this to me…_ Hollowness filled him when he remembered that his father was already dead, just another victim of his mother's favorite pastime. _I don't even know my father's name, though. Did mother even marry my father? Or did she just sleep with some stranger and forgot to drink a Contraception Potion the next day-_

"You don't like it?" Ron asked, he sounded unsure and worried. "Um… I'm not trying to take on a fatherly role for you, or anything… I just wanted to show you that you have Family outside of your mother."

"Oh…" Blaise broke out of his thoughts. _Family outside of my mother?_

He kept staring at the watch, mostly focusing on the inscription. _Brother… I_ _ **do**_ _like the sound of that. We've called each other that a few times, and every time, it felt like it was true._ Blaise carefully plucked the watch out of its container, both boys marveling at the gears inside. _He picked a really stylish watch to boot._

"This is very…" Blaise started, but he had forgotten about his dry throat. "This is a really nice gift, Ron… Thank you."

"It's not weird?" Ron looked quite relieved.

"No," Blaise smiled a little. "It's just the sort of sappy thing I'd expect from you."

Ron blinked, and then he grinned his usual lopsided grin.

"I'm not becoming predictable, am I?" Ron sniggered. _No, you really aren't._

"Just a little," Blaise lied, his hand tightening around the watch. "Oh, and um… I share your sentiment…" _Don't cringe, Blaise._

"You share my sentiment?" Ron repeated. "You know, you can just say that we're like brothers now. I won't judge-"

"You're such a prat," Blaise couldn't hold back a small chuckle.

He placed the watch back inside the box; he was going to start wearing this every day. _I do have Family outside of my mother… That thought definitely gives me some hope. I don't have to be like her. I can be better._

"Can I say that I love you?" Ron asked merrily.

"I think you just did," Blaise lost some of his mirth. _I've reached my limit with this sort of talk, I reckon._

"Don't you 'share my sentiment'?" Ron teased.

"All right, now you're making me regret this," Blaise huffed. "You can take your arm off my shoulders now-"

"But I missed you," Ron 'whined'. "We have so much time to make up for." _Fuck that!_

"Get off," Blaise tried to flee, but Ron was a little too strong to push away. "This is uncalled for, Ron… Stop that!"

"I missed you so much, **brother** ," Ron hummed, his long arms wrapping around Blaise. _Morgana, save me! He's squeezing the life out of me!_

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Monday 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Headmaster's Office – After Dinner)**_

"I think I've lost," Severus frowned at the board.

"Not quite," Albus chuckled, his face a little flushed from the wine. "I still see one path that can lead you out of the fray."

"I'm sure you do," Severus said, a hint of petulance in his voice. "I surrender this match."

Severus knocked over his king, putting an end to the slaughter.

"Another?" Albus asked, and Severus gave a nod.

Albus flicked his wand at the board, and it began to set itself up for another match. Severus filled their cups with more wine; he had a resolute look on his face. _Ah, the fire of youth. He's quickly regaining his old self. I just hope that some lessons don't leave him as a result._

"Are you going to make a move in this century?" Severus asked icily.

"You shouldn't rush the elderly, my boy," Albus smiled at his friend.

"Elderly?" Severus repeated dully. "Just make a move."

Albus was about to move a pawn forward, but a sudden knock on the door stopped him. _Who could that be?_ Albus reached out to sense the Magic coming from behind the door, and a very familiar coldness gripped him. There was bitterness and rage, but also a strong sense of duty and love.

"Come in, Ronald," Albus said, and the door swung open.

Ronald sauntered in with a happy smile, closing the door a little too loudly.

"Shit, sorry about that!" Ronald laughed. "I think there's a draft in here!"

"Why are you here?" Severus asked. "And why are you being so loud?"

"Severus…" Albus whispered, this was too amusing to stop. _I wonder what's got him in such a merry mood._

"I have something to tell you both," Ronald walked over and dropped into his chair. "I went to your Office first, Sir, but you weren't there. I figured that I'd floo up here, but then I wondered if I would be intruding on-"

"Get to the point," Severus said sharply.

"Please don't rush me," Ronald clicked his tongue. "I'm trying to tell a tale here." _Trying to tell a tale? Does he normally talk like this?_

"He's drunk," Severus suddenly growled, while Albus noticed Ronald's flushed cheeks. "That's why he wasn't at dinner, Albus."

"Bloody hell…" Ronald muttered sheepishly. "I thought I was being subtle, but it took you less than a minute to figure me out."

"Ronald, explain yourself," Albus said, he was both concerned and intrigued.

"It's Blaise's birthday today, and we got a hold of some punch," Ronald replied. "I'm just a bit tipsy, that's all."

"Have you eaten dinner?" Albus couldn't help but ask, his voice becoming a little stern.

"Yeah, I've eaten…" Ronald gave Albus an odd look. _Is that guilt?_ "It's not that big a deal… Yeesh…"

"Not that big a deal?" Severus sneered, and Ronald's lips twitched downwards. _I should step in._

"Severus and I can't judge you," Albus smiled at Ronald, his tone becoming much lighter. "We're both quite drunk ourselves."

"Really?" Ronald's eyes flashed, while Severus shot Albus an annoyed glare. _Let the boy live a little, Severus. He's earned that much, at least._ "You totally are! Where was my invite?!"

"Your invite?" Severus' eye twitched.

"Had you attended dinner, I would have invited you," Albus chuckled. "Now, was there any cake left behind from your friend's birthday?"

"Oh, loads," Ronald replied. "I'll bring you some tomorrow morning."

"Lovely," Albus said. "I look forward to it." _I suppose my breakfast is sorted-_

"What did you want to tell us, boy?" Severus asked in a cold whisper.

"You're no fun," Ronald 'sighed'. "Fine… I just wanted to ask you two for some help."

"Help?" Albus leaned forward.

"I've learned something rather fucked up," Ronald started. "As it turns out, the Entity bleeding into me has caused me to become vulnerable to the very Magic used to bind it." _Is that even possible?_

"Wait… Start again," Severus ordered with a furrowed brow.

"Look, all you need to know is that when I die, I'll be locked away with the Entity for all of Eternity," Ronald said, his mirth mostly vanishing.

Albus and Severus exchanged slow looks; both of them were a little jarred by this. _Locked away for all of eternity?_

"Tell me everything," Albus said. "From the very start, Ronald. Don't leave out a single detail, however small."

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

It was a testament to the Higher Beings' power that whenever Albus spoke of them, he was always filled with a gnawing mixture of fear and fascination. Unfortunately, this time, Albus had felt mostly fear. If what Ronald was saying was true, then his very soul had to have been changed. This knowledge left a very disturbing question in Albus' mind… How much of Ronald Weasley was sitting in front of them right now?

"Do either of you know of something that could help me?" Ronald asked, he was starting to sound weaker by the minute. _He's definitely scared, but at the same time, he looks almost resigned. This is not good. I must do something about the Entity, or it will drive Ronald mad before long._

"Albus?" Severus was somehow hiding his shock better than Albus was.

"I never learned to manipulate souls," Albus told them. "This kind of Magic… It is beyond mortal skill. We don't even have an understanding of what a human soul truly is."

"The Dark Lord split his soul, didn't he?" Severus asked. "It's clearly possible to manipulate souls-"

"Lord Voldemort **split** his soul, he didn't manipulate it," Albus said. "From what Ronald has told us, the Entity hasn't split Ronald's soul. It is somehow merging itself with it. That is unheard of, I assure you."

"So… There's nothing to be done?" Ronald asked, fear flashing behind his eyes. "I see… That's… Um… Great… Just brilliant…"

He stood up and fixed up his robes.

"Sit back down," Severus said. "We're not done just yet. We can still come up with an idea on how to help you."

"I'm actually really tired," Ronald exhaled. "I'm just going to go back to my room. I'll figure something out down the line." _He's too smart to lie to, and he's not one to accept false hope._

"I will look for answers, Ronald, but I cannot promise anything," Albus said truthfully. "I am sorry."

"Nah," Ronald put on a smile as he waved a dismissive hand. "If you find something, that'd be great, but don't stress about it. We've got enough problems already."

With that, Ronald headed for the door. Severus shot another annoyed glare at Albus, but Albus didn't say anything. _There's no point. He was struggling to go on, not that I blame him._

"First, you let him stay," Severus started once Ronald was gone. "And then, you just let him leave. Are you trying to do whatever annoys me most?"

"He clearly doesn't want to talk about it, but he's scared enough that he still brought it up," Albus explained his reasoning. "Now that we know what's on his mind, we can help him without stressing him about it."

Severus didn't look entirely convinced, but at least he stopped frowning.

"Well? What's the plan?" Severus asked. "Do you know of someone who can help us?"

"No, but I intend to start searching," Albus replied. "We can't let this happen to him. An eternity with that **demon** … That's his reward for enduring so much? No… We will find something. We **must**."

Albus had completely lost his mood for drink and games, and he was sure that Severus felt the same way.

"I'll reach out to some of my old contacts from Knockturn Alley," Severus got out of his chair. "If there are any Tomes on souls, then they might be considered Dark enough to be peddled in that cesspool."

"Go," Albus gave a nod. "I will reach out to an Unspeakable friend of mine. He might be able to give us a lead to follow." _Ronald will not meet this fate, I will make sure of it._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Defense Classroom – After Classes)**_

"So…" Remus took out his wand, and then gestured them to do the same. "The Spell I am going to try and teach you all is highly advanced Magic. It's called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work, Sir?" Millie asked.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus," Remus explained. "The Patronus is a spiritual guardian, and is often seen as an Anti-Dementor. The Patronus can act as your shield, or, it can act as your sword. It is, after all, an extension of your will."

"Why is it seen as an Anti-Dementor?" Hermione asked, she and Percy were taking notes.

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon: hope, happiness, the desire to survive," Remus said. "However, the Patronus is not a living being, and as such, it cannot feel despair as a real living being would. The Dementor can't harm it, and if a Patronus is strong enough, the Dementor can be banished." _This Spell sounds brilliant! I can't wait to cast it!_

"Wicked," Fred and George grinned.

"I must warn you all not to get too excited," Remus said. "This is very advanced Magic, and many qualified wizards struggle to produce a Patronus."

"What does a Patronus look like?" Luna asked.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it," Remus replied.

"So mine could look like a hare?" Luna smiled airily.

"It's possible," Remus chuckled.

"How do we conjure it?" Hermione asked.

"With an incantation," Remus replied. "But this incantation will only work if you are focusing, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

"What?" Daphne whispered. "A happy memory?"

"Magic works in weird ways," Ron shrugged. "This could be a really old Spell, and those are always hard to pull off."

"You should all take some time to find that special memory," Remus said. "The Spell won't work if your memory isn't joyous enough." _A happy memory, eh?_

The whole class went dead quiet, all of them trying to find a suitable memory. _What should I think about? When was the last time that I was really happy? My date with Daphne, I reckon._ Ron tried to recreate his date with the help of his Occlumency; it was surprisingly easy to remember the whole night. _Definitely my best idea in recent memory!_ Ron shot a subtle smile at Daphne, who was currently staring ahead with a furrowed brow. _Hehe, she's got her nose all scrunched up._

"Everyone got a memory?" Remus asked, and he received multiple nods. "All right, then… Repeat after me. Expecto Patronum."

"Expecto Patronum," they all repeated.

"Again."

"Expecto Patronum."

"You're all focusing on your happy memory?" Remus asked. _I know I am._

Ron still felt butterflies in the stomach from his date, and thanks to his Occlumency, he was even able to relive the feel of the room. _Cool, the smell of fresh air, and an amazing view._

"Now, just aim your wands ahead, and say the incantation," Remus instructed. "Remember to focus on your happy memory."

"Expecto Patronum," Ron chanted, focusing hard on his happy memory.

Something whooshed suddenly out of the tip of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. _It worked? No… It only partially worked. That silvery gas was pathetic._ Ron looked around the room, and he saw that he wasn't the only one who had found success. Even Ginny was shooting him a proud smile from his left, clearly pleased with her little victory. _Shame that Luna's not sitting with us. I want her and Ginny to make up already._ Ron's eyes darted towards Hermione, and he saw that she was no longer shooting glances at Ginny. _I guess learning new Magic distracted her. She definitely wants to approach Ginny, though. I can see it._

"Was that it?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, we were expecting something grander," Fred said.

"For something grander, you all need to find stronger memories," Remus said. _Stronger memories?_

"My memory's the best one I have, Sir," Theo said.

"If that's the case, then dig deeper into the memory," Remus advised. "If it's your best one, then it's no doubt filled with a lot of sentimental value. Remember how you truly felt at the time."

Maybe his date with Daphne wasn't enough? _I mean, it was really amazing, but I definitely have stronger memories._ Ron started going through his fondest moments. The twins buying him a Chudley Cannons Badge. _Not enough._ Lord Greengrass offering him an Apprenticeship. _I've had better moments with him since then._ What about Pandora? What of the night he had saved her life? _I remember that… Dad was there, and he told me that he'd never been prouder than he was at that moment._ Ron smiled to himself, this one could work. _I think that was the night that my mission became clear to me. My first real victory._

"Let's all try again," Remus said. "Does everyone have a new memory?"

Everyone nodded.

"Say it with some gusto," Remus suggested.

"Expecto Patronum!" Ron chanted, his mind fixed on his memory.

His wand vibrated a little, and a stronger, more visible gust of silvery gas poured forth. _It didn't work…_ It had been enough to impress Ginny and Daphne, but Ron was left thoroughly underwhelmed. _It's supposed to be a spiritual guardian, right? Is mine supposed to be a fart? Would the Universe really fuck me over like this?_

"You don't look happy," Ginny nudged him. "I thought that was good, Ron. It was certainly better than mine."

"I just thought that I had the perfect memory," Ron said. "Damn…" _Where did it go wrong? That was pretty much the night that I was reborn._

"Is there some way to pinpoint the memory needed for this Charm?" Hermione asked, and everyone listened intently.

"It has to come from the heart," Remus chuckled. _What? What kind of lame answer is that?_

The others looked just as bored as Ron; this was definitely going to take longer than planned. _I should get a conversation going. It'll help everyone in mending some bridges. Maybe I should ask Percy for some advice, and make sure that everyone sees me doing it? That might inspire them._

"Expecto Patronum," Ginny chanted, her wand aimed forward.

A thin silvery gas poured out in spurts, making Ron snigger.

"Ginny, your wand shit itself," Ron laughed.

From somewhere in the back, he heard Tracey and Theo laugh.

"It did look like that, didn't it?" Ginny grimaced. "Ugh… That was a great memory, I'm sure of it."

"What was it?" Ron asked.

"I'm not telling you that," Ginny said defensively.

"Ron, respect her privacy," Daphne whispered, she was clearly listening in. _What? I didn't mean anything by it._

"I wasn't trying to pry," Ron told Ginny. "I was just curious, that's all."

"No… I'm being weird," Ginny sighed out, surprising both Daphne and Ron. "I was thinking of the time I flew on Harry's Firebolt. That's one wicked broom, and I've never felt like that before." _That's her best memory?_

"Maybe you should look for another one?" Ron suggested.

"I could say the same for you," Ginny said. _Point well made._

"I'm going to go talk to Perce," Ron decided to get the inter-House conversation going. "I bet he has some good idea on where to start."

"Your brother might know where to start?" Millie asked from behind him. _I should have become a fisherman. Look at all these bites I'm getting._

"Want to come with?" Ron smiled at Millie and Pansy. "It can't hurt, right?"

"I'm game," Millie agreed.

"Sure," Pansy gave a weak smile. _She's feeling down again? Why? I need to get Daphne on this._

* * *

 _ **Harry Potter's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Defense Classroom – Almost Evening)**_

This last memory was definitely going to work.

This was Harry's single most cherished moment, after all.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry chanted, his mind fixed on the memory of Sirius gaining custody of him.

That was the day that Harry had escaped the Dursleys. That was the day that Harry had finally felt like he had a Family. He had gone from being an orphan to having two excellent guardians, both of whom loved him unconditionally. _That was pretty much the night that I was reborn._

His wand vibrated intensely, and then, a huge, silver shadow came out of the tip of his wand, hovering between him and his startled classmates. Harry tried to hold the shadow in place, but the moment he thought he saw the shape of antlers; the silver shadow began to diminish.

"Well done, Harry!" Remus clapped from across the classroom. "Well done!" _It really worked?_

Harry felt quite drained all of a sudden, and he quickly plopped down onto the seat behind him. Within seconds, he was surrounded.

"That was wicked, mate," Fred clapped him on the back.

"Bloody brilliant," George added.

"Good on you, mate," Neville beamed.

"I thought I saw antlers," Luna smiled and cocked her head. "You must have a Reindeer for a spiritual guardian, Harry." _I really hope that that's not true._

"How'd you do it?" Hermione asked.

"I just thought of my best memory, and it worked," Harry replied, he wasn't too sure about his success either.

"But which memory?" Hermione asked.

"Um… It's private," Harry replied.

"Oh… Okay," Hermione backtracked. "What did it feel like?"

"Let me through, please," came Remus' voice, and Harry's friends moved aside. "That really was brilliant, Harry! It's hard to believe that you got it so quickly! I've never seen anything like it!"

"So that was the whole Spell?" Harry asked, unable to hide his disbelief.

"Well, no…" Remus replied. "But you got **extremely** close. Here, eat this chocolate. It will give you the fuel you need to try again."

Harry took the chocolate bar from Remus, he felt slightly uncomfortable with all of these people crowding him.

"We're all trying to figure out how to do it over there," Hermione pointed towards the Slytherins, Ginny, and Percy. "Can you come and show us how you did it?"

"It'd be really helpful," Fred said.

"We're not making any progress here," George added.

Harry looked towards Neville, who gave him a subtle nod. _Really? Fine…_

"I can try again," Harry said to Hermione. "But I can't guarantee that it'll work."

"I'm sure it'll work," Hermione said. "Now, come along."

They all made their way towards the others, and Harry noticed the stares immediately. Most of them looked intrigued enough, but a couple of them looked annoyed. _Malfoy and Percy… Wait, why's Percy giving me that stare?_ It suddenly occurred to Harry that Percy had never forgiven him for stalking Ron. _I shouldn't have come here._

"Are you going to show us how you did it?" Ron asked, he was looking at Harry with a furrowed brow. _He looks a bit frustrated, and if I'm being honest, it still feels weird to look at him after what he did to our team during the Tournament. It took him five seconds to take us all out… He's miles ahead of everyone. Is that why Professor Dumbledore keeps approaching him?_

"I'm going to try again, but I'm not sure if it will work," Harry said, and everyone made some space for him.

Harry cleared his mind first, making sure to remove any and all thoughts. Then, he focused on Sirius, and the conversation that they had had before Sirius had given him everything he ever wanted. _It really was the best day of my life._

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry chanted powerfully.

His wand vibrated again, and just like before, a huge, silver shadow poured out of Harry's wand. Harry heard gasps and other sounds of awe, but he kept his focus on his memory. This shadow wasn't as large as the last one, but maintaining it took more out of Harry than he had anticipated. His knees buckled before he could make out any shapes, and he fell forward on all fours. The shadow dispersed, leaving behind a weakened Harry.

"Harry! Are you all right?!" Hermione rushed over, while Neville came from the other end.

"Help me," Neville said as he pulled Harry up.

"I'm okay…" Harry panted, but Neville and Hermione helped him into a chair nonetheless. _God, I'm completely tuckered out._

His head felt woozy, and Harry struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Help him onto the ground before he falls over," came Remus' voice, and Harry's vision completely darkened.

* * *

 _ **An Unknown Time Later**_

"Harry! Wake up!" came Remus' voice, and Harry felt horribly cold. _What's going on…?_

"Not Harry!" a woman screamed in the back of his mind, making Harry flinch a bit. "Not Harry! **Please**! I'll do anything!"

The woman suddenly screamed loudly, and in the background, Harry heard high-pitched laughter. _Mum!_

"Where am I?" Harry shot up, a cold sweat on his brow. _Where's mum?!_

"Hey… Relax," Remus said gently, he was kneeling beside Harry.

"I heard my mum, Remus!" Harry blurted out. "She was screaming for me-"

"Harry," Remus stopped him, and when Harry realized why, his face almost dropped.

The Slytherins, the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, and Luna were still here, and they were all pretending to have missed what Harry was saying. All of them except for Ron, who was staring at Harry with… understanding? Harry met Ron's gaze, but he couldn't match it for long. _Why is he giving me that look? He has no idea what it feels like to be an orphan. He doesn't know what it feels like to grow up without anyone caring about you._

Awkwardly, Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes, his head was still spinning terribly. _I feel a bit sick… Why did I just hear mum?_ He suddenly realized how terrified she sounded, and that twisted something in his chest. _That was the night_ _ **he**_ _killed them._

"Harry, eat this," Remus rubbed his back, his free hand offering Harry some more chocolate. "It'll help you get your senses back."

Harry took the chocolate and bit into it, but his mind was somewhere else now. He was trying to hear her voice again, despite the state that it was in. He knew what his parents looked like, thanks to Hagrid, but he had no idea what they sounded like. It was a hollowing experience, and Harry hated being forced to live through it. _They must've really loved me if they chose to die for me… I just wish I could spend a day with them. Even an hour would be enough._

"We'll be right outside, Harry," Neville said, and Harry looked up.

"You're leaving?" Harry asked.

"I've cut the lesson short," Remus said, and Harry looked to see people leaving the classroom. _Oh…_

"Just get better, okay?" Hermione smiled weakly, her concern clearly written on her face.

"He'll catch up with you in a moment," Remus promised. "Go on, you two… I'll make sure that he's all right."

Hermione and Neville waved goodbye, and then they both left the room hesitantly. Harry let out a muffled groan; he didn't want the lesson to end because of him.

"I wish you hadn't ended the lesson, Remus… I feel fine," Harry tried to stand up.

"Here," Remus moved in to help him. "Sit here."

"Thanks," Harry said as Remus helped him into a chair.

"Keep eating the chocolate," Remus said, and Harry nodded before biting into it. "You mentioned Lily before… Did you really hear her?"

Harry tensed a bit; he could still hear her screaming in the background.

"Um… She was calling out for me," Harry all but whispered. "Remus… I think I heard her moments before she was murdered by Voldemort."

Remus shuddered a little.

"How strange…" Remus rubbed the stubble on his chin.

"How is this even possible?" Harry asked. "I was thinking about the day you and Sirius took me in."

"It could be that you dug up a repressed memory from your early childhood," Remus said, though he sounded unsure. "The Patronus Charm demands a lot from a person's body and mind, and that can have different effects on different people." Remus then smiled a little. "You definitely surprised everyone, including me. That was a brilliant start, Harry. No one else even came close today, but you nearly pulled it off."

"No one came close?" Harry asked, he was definitely surprised by that. "Not even Hermione?"

"The twins and Luna showed promise," Remus replied. "Tracey, Daphne, and Percy also showed some promise. The rest have a long way to go. I must admit that I didn't see this coming, but it's always nice to be humbled."

"Why did I manage to do so well?" Harry couldn't help but ask. "I don't have all that many happy memories…"

"The quality of one's experiences far exceeds the quantity," Remus replied. "And not everyone is capable of feeling joy to the same extent as others."

"So my memory just means a lot to me?" Harry asked.

"It could just be that simple," Remus replied. "I've definitely noticed, however, that you have an affinity for casting Charms. Just like your mother."

"An affinity for casting Charms?" Harry blinked. "You really think so?"

"You always get the Spells right in my classes, and Professor Flitwick speaks highly of you as well," Remus smiled at him. "He's actually pointed this out to me on several occasions."

"So I'm just naturally good at this sort of Magic?" Harry found that hard to believe.

"Having an affinity for certain types of Magic doesn't defeat the skill gained by practicing," Remus said. "Always keep practicing, Harry."

"I know that," Harry said quickly.

"Good," Remus stood up to his full height. "I reckon you need to go and rest-"

"What about my mum?" Harry asked. "If I could try the Spell again, I might hear something else-"

"Harry, you are risking injury if you do this," Remus said. "I think you've done all you can for today. Promise me that you won't push yourself needlessly."

Harry wanted to argue, but he was too tired to carry on. Plus, he knew that there was no point in doing this. His parents were dead, and no matter how hard he tried, he was never going to be with them. _They're dead… They're dead, and listening to echoes of them won't bring them back._

"I promise."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Boys' Room – Night)**_

"I'm a bit too tired for this," Pansy finally said something. "You guys can go on, I'm heading to bed."

She folded her cards, which made Ron cock an eyebrow. _She's really leaving?_

"Are you sure?" Daphne asked. "It's only half past nine."

"Don't really feel like playing Wizards Poker," Pansy shrugged, and then she stood up to leave. "Good night."

"Good night," some of them said back.

Once Pansy was gone, Ron shifted closer to Daphne. _Something is definitely bothering Pansy._

"Daphne," Ron whispered. "Do you know what's bothering Pansy?"

"I do," Daphne replied. "But I can't tell you." _What?_

"Why not?" Ron asked.

"Are you two cheating?" Millie cut in.

"They're definitely cheating," Tracey frowned. "Oi! Knock that off!"

"We're not cheating," Ron started. "I was just asking Daphne about-"

"We'll forfeit this round," Daphne said. _What?! No! My Chocolate Frogs are on the line!_ _I won't get as good a hand as this again!_ "Ron, fold your cards. I want to talk to you outside."

"Fold, Weasley," Malfoy said crossly, and Ron shot him the bird. _Fine._

"I fold," Ron clicked his tongue.

"Now go away," Theo gestured them towards the door. "Some of us are trying to win here."

"Let's go," Daphne said, and then she headed for the door.

Ron followed after her with a slightly vexed look, why did she make him fold? They could have waited a round before discussing Pansy.

"Why'd you make me forfeit?" Ron asked after he shut the door behind them. "I had a really brilliant hand."

"You nearly blurted out Pansy's business in front of everyone," Daphne replied calmly.

"Pansy's business?" Ron asked. "I don't even know what that is. I was trying to ask you about it."

"The other boys haven't noticed that she's upset, and she was hoping to keep it that way," Daphne explained. "Honestly, she definitely didn't want you to notice either…"

"So she's upset, but she doesn't want us boys to know?" Ron asked. "Why?"

"Because you lot wouldn't get it," Daphne replied. "It's a girl thing."

"Yeah… I don't care about this gender based lingo, so just tell me what's wrong," Ron said. _Girl thing? A friend of ours is upset, and they're thinking about gender?_

"Why should I?" Daphne asked. "You boys didn't tell us girls about your fight with Blaise, remember?"

"Um… I do remember," Ron started. "I told you all about it when you dried my hair for me."

Daphne blinked at that.

"That's right," Ron smirked. "I've been opening up a lot lately, so you can't make me see my own hypocrisy as often." _I win!_

"Damn…" Daphne muttered under her breath.

"Now, tell me what's wrong with Pansy," Ron said, making sure to lose his smirk. "I want to help, Daph."

Daphne bit her bottom lip as she contemplated on what to do, and after a few long seconds, she let out a sigh.

"Fine…" Daphne said, and Ron listened intently. "You remember her scheme to get more attention from the older boys?"

"It didn't work?" Ron asked. _How?_

"Oh, no, it worked perfectly," Daphne said. "Some of the fourth year boys are all over Tracey and Pansy, and in all honesty, even Millie and I are getting a few glances."

Ron felt a strong pang of jealousy, but he decided to keep his composure. For now…

"I haven't seen any fourth years lurking around us," Ron said, his voice too controlled.

"They're around," Daphne assured him. "They shoot subtle glances, winks, little waves, or their best smiles at us."

"Isn't that just the cutest fucking thing I've ever heard," Ron faked a laugh. "Adorable. Now, get to the point."

"Some of them are pretty cute," Daphne smirked. "You're totally right."

"Just tell me about Pansy," Ron said blandly. _She'd never pay those tossers any mind. She's just trying to mess with me._

"You're cute when you're jealous," Daphne giggled. "Anyway… Pansy's scheme worked wonderfully, but then she started overthinking things."

"Overthinking things?" Ron was getting lost already. _Girls…_

"It's partly our fault," Daphne started. "After we came back from our date, I ran into Pansy in the dorms. She was trying to sneak Bartholomew Greene into our room-"

"Pansy hooked up with Bartholomew Greene?" Ron cut in.

"They were about to, but when she saw me, something changed in her," Daphne replied. "She looked right at my choker, and she just went really quiet. It was kind of scary."

"What happened after?"

"She sent Greene away, put on a smile, and asked me about our date," Daphne replied. "At the time, I just went ahead and told her everything."

"Everything?" Ron asked slowly.

"I washed over the snogging part," Daphne replied quickly. _Oh, good._ "After I was done, she gushed about everything for a full hour. I ended up falling asleep before her, and the next day, she started acting weird. Now, she just reads her Witch Weekly magazines all day long."

"Weird…" Ron said, he didn't know what to make of this. "Do you have any idea about what's going on in her mind?"

"Kind of…" Daphne replied, though she looked a bit unsure. "I think she wants some sort of special connection with another person. I mean, she spends all her free time reading erotica and romance for a reason, right? I know that she wants to be adventurous, and I know that she's slowly becoming more comfortable with her body image-" _What is she talking about?_

"So Pansy wants a really nice boyfriend?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Daphne nodded. "But not just any boyfriend… She wants someone who'll take her on amazing dates, and who'll treat her with love and respect." _Considering what's coming, shouldn't Pansy focus on more important matters? Like, I don't know,_ _ **surviving the Dark Lord**_ _!_ "I think she realized that the other night when she saw me come back from our date… I should've noticed, Ron, but I was feeling far too happy to notice anyone's discomfort."

"Should we get her a boyfriend?" Ron asked. "That'd make her feel better, right?"

"Are you going to hold auditions, or will you use a poll-system?" Daphne asked. "Ron, it's not our job to get her a boyfriend. She wants a relationship that can only exist in stories and fairytales. Pansy's only thinking about how amazing our date was, but she's not thinking about the reason behind it."

"We've been through some really fucked up rubbish lately," Ron nodded slowly.

"Exactly… This date was your idea of us moving on," Daphne couldn't help but smile. "And although it was perfect, we had to go through a lot to get there. Pansy's not thinking straight."

"But why now?" Ron asked. "It can't just be the choker, right?"

"This is probably coming from a bigger issue," Daphne said. "I think Pansy is scared of what's in store for her."

"The war?" Ron whispered.

"Her mother," Daphne corrected. _Huh?_ "Think about it, Ron… What's Pansy's future if she remains with her parents?" _Death._ "They'll marry her off to some stranger who believes in **their** values. Pansy won't even get a say…"

"If Pansy doesn't want to marry some stranger, then she can just say no," Ron said.

"That's not how it works for us Pure-Blood girls," Daphne said resignedly. "Tori and I are really lucky that we have such 'modern' parents, but Millie and Pansy… Their parents have certain expectations and traditions to uphold. And now that You-Know-Who's back, it's only a matter of time before a lot of the Old Families get riled up."

"I thought Pansy's parents weren't exactly Death-Eaters in the last war," Ron said. "Though her mother is definitely a Blood-Supremacist…"

"Pansy's father is just a lazy Lord, I think," Daphne said. "Pansy's mother, however, is an adamant follower of the Old Ways. But since she's a woman, I doubt she was given any attention within the Dark Lord's camp." _The Dark Lord would never rely on a lazy Lord, and he'd definitely never listen to a bitter hag like Violet… Did he just brand Egbert Parkinson because he was a wealthy Pure-Blood? You-Know-Who must have needed all the allies he could get early on… Maybe that's why the Parkinsons escaped being sentenced to Azkaban? Egbert Parkinson was a Death-Eater simply because he was terrified of the Dark Lord? He probably used the Imperius excuse as well._

"Ron?" Daphne called out, her hand finding his left cheek. "Are you okay? You zoned out completely."

"Sorry… It just occurred to me that I don't know much about Pansy's parents," Ron said, his face leaning into her touch. _I need to change that._

"I think it's best that we give Pansy some space," Daphne suggested. "She just needs time to figure out what she wants more. Her parents' money and security, or a life of her own."

"Maybe we should help her choose instead of doing nothing," Ron countered. "Do you want to see Pansy choose her parents? Especially with what's coming?"

Daphne shook her head, a hint of conflict flickering across her face.

"As her friend, I want her to be happy," Daphne said. "And logically speaking, her parents' wealth and security is the safer option. They won't make her fight in the war, and she'll probably never want for anything-"

"She'll be sent to Azkaban after the Dark Lord loses the war," Ron cut in. "There is no future with the Death-Eaters, Daphne, I can promise you that."

"Ron… Relax," Daphne was a little taken aback by his outburst. "I'm not saying that they'll win… I'm just saying that we don't know what the future holds." _I know_ _ **exactly**_ _what it holds. Every cunt that fights on the side of the Dark Lord is a walking corpse._

"We will win," Ron said firmly. "I think we need to show Pansy that she doesn't need her terrible parents to survive."

"Ron, we really shouldn't meddle in this," Daphne said. "What if we make a mistake?" _We're trying to save her life here. Taking risks comes with the job._

"I'm willing to take that risk," Ron said. "Look, I don't plan on letting Pansy join her parents. They are cruel and abusive, and they'll drag her down to hell with them."

"That decision isn't for you to make," Daphne said with a furrowed brow. "Pansy needs to choose **her own** life, Ron. You can't choose for her." _**We do whatever We must to protect what's Ours. **_

"Do you want to see her dead?" Ron asked. "Butchered by Aurors because she still struggles with the Shield Charm?"

Daphne went dead quiet at that, a slightly wary look on her face.

"Do you want the Dark Lord to torture her?" Ron asked. "You want to see a future where she's treated like nothing because she's a woman? Will she ever be happy living with her parents' rule? They'll probably find her a husband who is just as terrible as them, and Pansy will spend the rest of her life being pushed around. Does that sound safer to you?"

"No…" Daphne muttered.

"Then we need to do something," Ron said, his tone less cold now. "Pansy's a part of **our** Family, Daph… If we don't show her that, then she'll choose the terrible Family that she was born with." _I'm the only one of us who'll suffer through eternal damnation, I'll make damn sure of that._

"… You're right…" Daphne whispered to herself. "Maybe I'm being too cautious…"

"You are," Ron smiled a little. "Let's come up with a plan, eh?"

* * *

 _ **Pansy Parkinson's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Girls' Room – After Classes)**_

Ron had left for his Potions Club, so the rest of them were just unwinding from their day. Daphne was taking a long shower, Tracey was listening to her Muggle music, and Millie was trying to practice the Patronus Charm. This left Pansy to peruse her Witch Weekly magazines in peace, but that peace was disturbed by a loud knock on the door.

Pansy shifted out of her bed, walked past a dancing Tracey, and opened the door.

"Hi, Pansy," Clara Martyris greeted Pansy with a smile. _Clara?_

"Hi…" Pansy replied slowly. "Um… Do you need to talk to the third year delegates? Daphne's in the shower right now, and Millie's in the Training Room."

"I'm here to see you," Clara said pleasantly. "Do you have a minute?"

"I do…" Pansy replied, and Clara quickly pulled Pansy along. "Where are we going?"

"There's a window at the end of the Girls' dorms," Clara replied. "It's a really ambient section, and I like to go there when I need to think."

"What are we going to think about?" Pansy asked. _Why is she dragging me away from other people?_

"I want to know if the rumors are true," Clara replied. "Did you really give Bartholomew Greene a handy?" _What?!_

"I didn't do anything like that," Pansy stopped walking, effectively stopping Clara as well. "Who told you something like that? We didn't even touch hands, Clara."

"Oh… Really?" Clara looked a bit surprised.

"Are people saying that I gave Greene a handy?" Pansy asked, she was both repulsed and annoyed.

"I heard it from a fifth year," Clara said. "It's not true, then?"

"Of course not!" Pansy said sharply. "Gross! Who's spreading this about me?"

"Probably Greene's mates," Clara replied with a perplexed look. "Oh… This is not good."

"Why would they do that?" Pansy asked.

"They like the attention," Clara sighed out. "Don't worry, Pansy, I'll shut these rumors down immediately."

"Ugh…" Pansy felt sick. "Why are all the boys in Slytherin such pigs?"

"Every teenage boy is a pig," Clara shrugged. "Just try to learn from this."

"Learn what?" Pansy asked.

"That you need to know if someone is talking about you," Clara replied. "Be a bit more connected to Hogwarts' gossip spreaders. They can often help you avoid trouble." _Right…_

"I'll do that," Pansy said, calming down a little. "And thanks… I don't want people to think I'm easy, or something…" _I don't want to end up being like my mother._

"Don't worry about it," Clara smiled and winked, making Pansy feel a little soothed. "So if you didn't even touch hands, why was he seen near your room?"

"Oh… I planned to snog him," Pansy admitted. "He was super polite, and he was interested in everything that I talked about. I thought we had a connection."

"Yeah… He was just trying to get lucky," Clara chuckled sweetly. "If a random boy is a perfect match for you, then that's your first red-flag."

"You don't believe in true love?" Pansy asked. "I'm not being naïve, it's a proven fact that it exists."

"Love isn't true, Pansy," Clara said. "It's complicated, and very hard to define. That's why people like Greene take advantage of it. You're a smart girl, so you should learn this lesson early. Don't always believe what you see on someone's face, they could just be wearing a pretty mask."

Clara then let go of Pansy's arm.

"I'll go do something about those rumors," Clara said sweetly, and then she was gone. _This day is wretched…_

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Girls' Room – Evening)**_

Pansy tossed another magazine aside; her eyes were starting to hurt from all this reading. _Maybe I should date outside of Slytherin? Maybe a Hufflepuff? Justin and Wayne are pretty handsome, and they're both really polite. Wait… Justin's a Muggle-Born…_

Pansy's eyes darted towards the latest letter from her mother; it was filled with the usual threats and insults about Pansy's choices in life. Her mother was particularly cruel this time, referring to Pansy as a 'Blood-Traitor's bootlicker' multiple times. All in all, it had been enough to destroy Pansy's already crippled self-esteem.

And now, she had learned that people were spreading disgusting rumors about her. If it weren't for Clara, Pansy would have lost her mind for certain. _I'm definitely never talking to Greene again… I bet he started the rumors to boost his popularity. I should ask Ron and Blaise to kick his arse for me._

Pansy massaged her slightly puffy face, her foot smacking her mother's letter off of the bed. _Fuck her too. She's a cruel and coldhearted monster. I wish I was just rid of her forever._ A sudden knock on the door caught her attention, and Pansy crawled out of her bed. _Who's knocking on our door this time? The others aren't even here._

"Who is it?" Pansy asked as she unlocked the door.

"Hello, Pansy," came Ron's voice. "It's me. Can I come in?" _Ron?_

"Um… Sure," Pansy replied as she opened the door. "Daphne's not here, Ron."

"I know," Ron smiled widely. "She's spending time with Tori. I'm actually here to see you. Can I please come in?"

"Am I your exit strategy?" Pansy teased, though she did feel a bit bothered by her own joke. _He wouldn't be here if Daphne wasn't spending time with Tori._

"No, I planned to see you anyway," Ron chuckled, and then he showed her the container he was holding. "It's from Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor. Vanilla with glazed strawberries. Your favorite, right?" _It is, but I've never told Ron that. I think…_

"You bought me ice cream from Fortescue's?" Pansy muttered, she was definitely surprised.

"I did the same for Daphne during our date," Ron admitted out of the gate. "It worked wonders with her, so I was hoping to try it on you as well." _Me? Why would he try out a pickup tactic with me?_

Her face flushed a little, what was Ron hinting at?

"Um…" Pansy's throat tightened. _I need to think about this… Would it make things weird between Daphne and me? Wait… What if she-_

"I know that something's bothering you, Pans," Ron whispered with an understanding smile. "I just want to cheer you up a little, that's all."

"Oh…" Pansy blinked. _He's not making a pass at me, is he? Honestly, I'm a little disappointed…_ "Come on in, Ron."

Pansy moved out of the way, and Ron walked into the room with a merry smile. After Pansy shut the door, she turned to face Ron with a weak smile. _Daphne's really lucky… She has all the perfect relationships. Her parents love her. She has an adorable little sister. She's got Tracey's undying support. She even has Ron as a boyfriend._

"Pansy, what's wrong?" Ron walked over, his free hand patting her arm. "You look like you've been crying." _Oh, no! My face is all puffy, isn't it?!_

"I'm just not wearing any makeup," Pansy shrugged. _Don't worry… Ron doesn't understand anything about makeup and such._

"I can see mascara marks, Pansy," Ron said gently. "And your nose is really red as well." _This day…_ "Look, I'm not going to pry, but can we just talk a little? Everyone's worried about you."

"Everyone?" Pansy asked. "Do the other boys know that I'm upset?"

"No, but they'll notice soon enough," Ron replied. "I mean, I managed to notice it, and I'm pretty clueless about these sorts of thing." _He is, isn't he?_

Pansy's lips twitched upwards for a second, she preferred it when Ron spoke gently and smoothly like right now.

"I'll have the ice-cream first, and then I'll talk," Pansy negotiated.

"I guess that's fair," Ron agreed with an easy smile.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"I'm going to go wash up," Pansy hummed as she hopped out of the bed. "I'll be right back, Ron."

"I'll be here," Ron said.

Pansy made her way to the bathroom; she was feeling better than she ever had since the party. Ron was in a good mood, and he was directing all of that jolly energy in her direction. _He even bought me my favorite. I bet Daphne told him what to get. Or maybe it was Millie?_ Once again, her friends were her source of comfort. _I should get back to Ron before he gets bored._ She quickly washed her hands, and hummed all the way back to her bed.

"I guess we can really start talking now," Pansy walked past the curtains with a smile.

"What is this?" Ron asked, he was holding a letter in his hands.

Pansy's eyes almost popped out of her head… Ron was holding the letter from her mother. _He must have found it on the floor and picked it up! Merlin, what if he read the horrid things my mother said about him?_ Shame and embarrassment filled Pansy; so much so that she feared that she'd explode on the very spot.

"This is…" Ron shook his head at the letter. "What the fuck, Pansy?"

"Why did you read it…?" Pansy managed a whimper; she never could handle her negative emotions. "Don't pay any mind to what she says, Ron… Please…"

"How can I not pay this any mind?" Ron asked, his voice becoming harsh. "Look at how she talks about you here!" _Me?_

Ron looked back to the letter, picking out a passage to read back to Pansy.

"Stop thinking with that tiny brain of yours, and do as I command," Ron read. "You will not associate with filth like Weasley, and if I hear that you're **whoring** yourself-"

"Stop reading it!" Pansy heard herself snap. "Put it away! Please!"

She ran over and tried to snatch the letter away from Ron, but he quickly stood up and held it above her reach. _NO! Don't read it!_

"Give it back!" Pansy's shame and embarrassment fueled her anger. "You shouldn't read other people's letters!"

"I'm sorry, but a word like 'whore' catches a person's attention," Ron said, making Pansy flinch a bit. "How can she say these things to you, Pansy? This is disgusting!"

"You think I don't know that!" Pansy bit out. "Give me back what's mine!"

"Here," Ron lowered the letter, and she snatched it out of his hands. "Pans… This is not all right-"

"Why don't you mind your own business, Ron?" Pansy felt her face heat up, and her eyes began to sting. "Why did you read my letter? That's a gross invasion of privacy!" _Now I feel worse than ever, and it's your fault!_

"I'm sorry…" Ron apologized. "I didn't mean to read it, but like I said, some words caught my attention. I'm sorry."

"Leave," Pansy croaked, her nose scrunching up.

"No," Ron said softly. "I'm not just going to leave after seeing you like this."

"What?"

"Please don't cry," Ron pleaded, but that only made her feel worse. "Just sit down with me, please?"

"This is why I didn't want you boys to know…" Pansy sniffled, her hands fidgeting with the letter. "None of you have any tact…"

"I know," Ron sat down, and then he offered her his left hand. "I can forget about the letter, if that's what you want, but honestly, we should talk about it." _What's there to talk about? My life is the worst…_

She reluctantly took his hand, mostly because she couldn't stand his sorry look. She knew that he was upset on her behalf, but her earlier feelings of shame and embarrassment were still lingering about. Her mother was a plague, one that was intent on sucking the life out of Pansy's life.

"Does she always talk to you like this?" Ron wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, causing Pansy to shrink a little. "I won't repeat what you tell me to anyone, I promise."

"The others already know more than you…" Pansy muttered, her eyes fixed on her lap. "And no, she doesn't always talk to me like this… Most of the time, she doesn't talk to me at all…" _That's when I'm happiest._

"Why is she talking to you like this now?" Ron asked as he gently squeezed her, making her feel a little stronger than before.

"I don't know…" Pansy admitted. "Around halfway through second year, she just started singling you out. It was after she learned that I had completely turned my back on Malfoy…" Pansy then shuddered. "I was supposed to be seducing him… A Malfoy child would finally make my mother happy…"

Ron tensed a bit, and Pansy didn't miss it. _It's all right… He didn't grow up in our World. Not really. There's no point in wishing that he could sympathize with me._

"But you're still so young," Ron whispered.

"She wanted me to have a head start in life…" Pansy laughed mirthlessly, her eyes stinging again. "Something that she never got because her parents married her off to my father the year she graduated."

"Does your father know about this?" Ron asked. "Doesn't he care?"

"He doesn't care one bit…" Pansy rubbed eyes, though a couple of tears managed to escape to her cheeks. "My mother… She hit me at the end of the Break… And he didn't say a thing… I even hit my head on the table because I was wearing heels… I never told anyone…"

And just like that, Pansy couldn't hold back the tide anymore. The dam burst, and before either of them knew it, Pansy was bawling her eyes out. All of her frustrations and uncertainties bubbled to the surface, and they threatened to leave her a tear-soaked mess by the time they were done torturing her.

"It's okay, Pans," Ron's voice cut through the sobs and sniffles. "Just let it out. Everything will be just fine."

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Evening)**_

"She has gone to one of our villas in Italy, my Lord," Egbert said, his voice filled with terror. _Felix's information was correct, then. Corban's boy shows great promise._

"You do not know of where she's staying?" Lord Voldemort asked, his eyes fixed on the idiot who had worn his old uniform to this meeting.

All of Lord Voldemort's Pure-Blood allies were in the room, but only Egbert Parkinson had come dressed for the part. _Imbecile! If it weren't for his Unicorns, I would have never reached out to him again._

"She didn't inform me before leaving, my Lord," Egbert said, and the Dark Lord noticed the dull look on Corban's face.

"Do you have something to say, Corban?" the Dark Lord hissed. "If so, give voice to thought."

"My Lord, Violet has given up her plans on Ronald Weasley's life," Corban started.

"Your Ward thinks otherwise," the Dark Lord cut in. "Isn't that so, Felix?"

"I simply believe that Violet Parkinson is not an easily deterred individual," Felix said, and Lord Voldemort smiled at the sudden tension between Corban and Felix. _Perhaps I will take Felix, and use him to train myself in raising an Heir. Once I have Ronald, Corban can have his brat back._

"She is one of us, my Lord," Corban said calmly. "She deserves the right to defend her reputation." _She deserves nothing… You are all here to serve me. Nothing more._

"Very well," the Dark Lord said. "Egbert will reach out to his wife, and she can come back and speak to me herself."

"Thank you, my Lord," Egbert bowed his head. "I will Owl her immediately."

"Yes, you will…" Lord Voldemort sneered. "Leave us."

Egbert bowed his head again, and then he waddled out of the room. _Pathetic._

"My Lord, might I offer assistance?" Lucius spoke up. "I have much sway in Italy, and I believe that I can root her out. Egbert is a fool, and his wife runs his House."

"Why the sudden interest, Lucius?" the Dark Lord demanded. "Are you perhaps placing your petty squabble with the Weasleys over my will? Would you do such a thing, my slippery friend?"

"I would never dream of it, my Lord," Lucius bowed his head. "I simply seek to prove myself to you."

"Ah… Some honesty," Lord Voldemort smiled a lipless smile, his minions mimicking his amusement. "Very well, Lucius. Find her for me. I am, after all, in a charitable mood today."

"I will not fail you," Lucius promised. _You can't afford to fail me. Not anymore._

The dining room door was suddenly pushed open, and Gaspard marched in with his daughter in tow. _The Blood Lord returns from his mourning. About time._

"Gaspard," the Dark Lord greeted, and Gaspard eyed the Dark Lord's young form.

"They grow up so fast," Gaspard smirked. "I bring news, Dread Lord." _His sharp tongue will be his undoing._

"Come, sit by my left," Lord Voldemort ordered, he could see that his followers were surprised and vexed.

Gaspard walked over and sat down, not paying any mind to the Death-Eaters.

"The Aurors are planning an attack on us Vampires," Gaspard started. "They want to restore Knockturn Alley to what it was, and they plan to come in numbers. I've heard that the Russian and French Aurors volunteered to come help in this operation."

"Russian Aurors?" Lord Voldemort hissed. _Samara? Does she still need time establishing herself as the sole leader of the Russian Ministry? The years have turned her incompetent!_

"Luka Yahontov himself is coming down," Gaspard smiled in anticipation. "It's going to turn into a bloodbath-"

"Is that wise, my Lord?" Corban asked. "British Blood will be spilled. Many Aurors come from proper stock, and their lines would end if they died in this assault."

"Corban speaks sense," George Selwyn said. "We must do everything in our power to keep the Old Blood alive." _This again… The Old Blood is nothing. I tire of granting these pointless wishes._

"Gaspard's forces will take caution not to spill too much blood," the Dark Lord said.

"That was not our deal," Gaspard reminded the Dark Lord. "I will have blood to honor Michael."

"That you will," the Dark Lord's eyes blazed red. "You will not be in Knockturn Alley when this assault is carried out. You will be breaking into Azkaban, and freeing my most loyal."

The whole table tensed, no doubt terrified of the returning loyalists. _Every Death-Eater in this room was disloyal when it really mattered. The loyalists will teach them all a much-needed lesson in loyalty._

"Is this wise, my Lord?" Cornelius asked.

"You would question me?" Lord Voldemort glared at Cornelius. "Speak your mind, then, Cornelius… Before I spill it all over this table."

"This would attract far too much attention," Cornelius tried. "My Lord, the Ministry will unleash the Dementors. We would all suffer suspicion from the Aurors, which will lead to investigations and warrants."

"Then it is a good thing that none of you have anything to hide," the Dark Lord said. "I plan to return to my own Manor. My most loyal will join me there, while the others wait by for orders."

"The Carrows are ever your loyal subjects, my Lord," Alecto Carrow said from the end of the table. _Your older brother would suit my needs better. I don't need more bloodhounds._

"We all serve at your pleasure, my Lord," Cornelius said. "I merely wished to share my mind."

"And I have listened," Lord Voldemort said. "You are all dismissed. Await for my words, and do not fail me."

They all rose up, and Lord Voldemort gestured Gaspard to sit back down. _I have grown bored in this Manor. Perhaps the Blood Lord can alleviate my boredom._ Lord Voldemort and Gaspard watched the others leave, and once they were completely alone, Gaspard looked to the Dark Lord.

"Attacking Azkaban is not very smart," Gaspard said. "That place is a fortress filled with soul-sucking wraiths. Even if my forces engage the Aurors at the perfect moment, I would still not be able to complete my mission."

"Natalia will focus on keeping the Aurors alive and **trapped** ," the Dark Lord said. "You will carry out my will, and you will not fail. I have grown tired of failure, Gaspard. I will turn your kind to ash if I am disobeyed."

"You're very dramatic," Gaspard said as he fixed his round shades into place. "I will need funding for this endeavor."

"What of your own funds?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"My accountant was murdered," Gaspard said with a hint of amusement. "The funds aren't coming in, and I haven't gotten around to finding another source. If you want the impossible, then you need to pay for it."

"Speak to Felix Rosier," the Dark Lord said. "He will fill your pockets discreetly."

"Then I shall go and present myself to this boy," Gaspard said. "I think that we will be fast friends."

"Before you leave, answer me this," Lord Voldemort said. "What did you see tonight?"

"I saw far too much to describe," Gaspard smirked. "Perhaps another time, Dark One."

"You are not bothered by their stares?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"The lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep," Gaspard replied. "To me, they are food. Nothing more, and nothing less." Gaspard then leaned forward a little. "You see them just as I do. They are the stepping-stones that lead to loftier heights. You do not believe in their cause, but you pretend like you do."

"And why would I lower myself so?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"They have wealth and power," Gaspard replied. "You tolerate their demands and inner politics, but most of them are unaware of who they're dealing with. They want to manipulate you into carrying out their agendas, but that'll never happen. You don't serve anyone but yourself."

"I sense that we are kindred spirits, then," Lord Voldemort said.

"No…" Gaspard smiled in a haunting manner. "No one is like me, Voldemort. Not a single soul. I simply know what you're like because I've served under a Muggle who was very much like you."

"You've served under a Muggle?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"Adolf Hitler," Gaspard replied calmly. "You'd know of him, wouldn't you? You were, after all, raised in a Muggle Orphanage, right?"

The Dark Lord's eyes bore into the Blood Lord's, but Gaspard showed no signs of fear or hostility. _Wretch. If only I could be rid of him. Soon…_

"I do not know of this 'Adolf Hitler'," the Dark Lord lied.

"Well, he was a Muggle leader," Gaspard said. "He led the Nazi Party of Muggle Germany during their Second World War. I found myself acting as one of his captains. Hitler knew of my appetite for carnage, and so he gave me my own camp. My very own endless supply of blood."

"What is your point?" Lord Voldemort asked. "How does this relate to Lord Voldemort?"

"He was a force of nature," Gaspard said. "Every so often, the World seeks to correct itself through a purge. Men like you are born, and they plunge the World into war and chaos. No matter who wins, the end result is always the same. Everything is balanced. Hitler too couldn't stand his generals, nor did he bother with their demands. He despised me, much like you do, but he still elevated me above all others because he only wanted to bring death and destruction."

Gaspard then stood up, a calm smile on his fair face.

"You are this World's reset button," Gaspard said. "No matter what happens next, everything will be balanced. Death will wash the slate clean. **That** … is Hecate's Will."

Gaspard left at that, leaving behind a slightly puzzled Dark Lord. _Hecate? He's mentioned her before. Who is this woman? And why does a beast like Gaspard follow her 'Will'?_

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 20**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Cliffside – Near Midnight)**_

"Expecto Patronum," Ron chanted from behind his silver mask, and his wand produced a weak silver gas. _Fuck sake! None of my memories are working! This fucking Spell is going to take a long time to master, I already know it._

Ron pocketed his wand and looked off of the cliff, he was too distracted to make any progress anyway. Pansy had cried herself to sleep, and Ron could do little to help. _Violet fucking Parkinson… She could have killed Pansy. What if her head had split open on the table?_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, his hands fixing up his black bowtie. He was definitely going to make Violet Parkinson bleed. _I just need to wait for an opportunity._

"You're here," came Emilia's voice from behind him, and Ron quickly turned to face her. "What. The. Fuck?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"What are you wearing?" Emilia looked him over with a grimace.

"A disguise," Ron replied.

"Are you a child?" Emilia asked. _Um…_ "Wait, you actually fucking are. Morgana's mercy, this is what I've been reduced to." _You know what?_

" _ **Save your mewling**_ ," Ron growled, his crimson, toad-like eyes gleamed from behind his mask's windows. " _ **Where is your Half-Troll? We have been waiting for too long.**_ "

"Kreacher is picking him up…" Emilia replied, her right hand resting on the hilt of her Blade. "Relax… All right. I spoke out of turn."

Ron sneered from behind his mask, though he was glad that his embarrassed blush was hidden. _A disguise is a smart move… This guy's is a criminal, right? I don't want him to see my face._

"Smart choice with the hair," Emilia said, as if trying to make it up to Ron. "Did you do that yourself?"

"A friend helped," Ron replied coldly.

There was a sudden crack, and the sound of a loud groan.

"Fuckin' hell, ya little bastard," the burly man swayed from side-to-side. "I told ya that I'm not fit to travel, didn't I? My head's swimming in the stars…"

"Solomon," Emilia called, and the Half-Troll looked away from Kreacher. _Bloody hell, that is a big man._

Solomon was a mountain of muscle, his true form hidden poorly behind a religious garment of some sort. The Half-Troll had a thick, black, bushy beard, and a deep scar run diagonally through his face.

"God have mercy, mate…" Solomon eyeballed Ron. "What the fuck are you supposed to be?" _What should I say?_

"A friend of Emilia's," Ron deepened his voice, and Solomon let out a bark of laughter. _Fuck…_

"Are you taking the piss, love?" Solomon suddenly rounded on Emilia, getting right into her face. "Is this a funny little joke to you?" _This is not going well._

"This is no joke," Emilia said calmly. "He is the one who asked me to get rid of the Abadies."

Solomon looked critically at Ron, his face twitching in amusement. _I'm a little scared here… This bastard looks unstable._

"An eccentric fellow, eh?" Solomon finally spoke. "Well, I have nothing against hedonism. We must all answer to our own God one day, right?" _Hedonism? Do I look like some weirdo? Damn… Maybe the disguise was stupid after all…_

"You wanted to see me?" Ron asked, trying to get this over with.

"This one even sounds like a virgin," Solomon shot a quick look at Emilia. "Have your balls dropped yet, boy? Was it a rush of testosterone that led you to murder my patrons? Puberty has you feeling murderous, does it?" _He's a fucking prick._

"They were in my way," Ron said. "And they threatened my efforts. My feud with them had nothing to do with you."

"You used my assassins, chum," Solomon stepped up to Ron, his large build making Ron look tiny. "Fucking chum… You used my assassins. You hurt my pouch with my own assets." _I should just throw Emilia under the bus… Why did she lie to this maniac's people?_

"I didn't know that I needed your permission," Ron said, he couldn't let Emilia deal with this giant on her own. _We both need each other._ "Next time, I'll ask you in person."

"You'll feel my boot against your throat the next time," Solomon warned in an oddly soft voice.

"Solomon, drop this act of yours before he kills you," Emilia spoke up, while Ron glared into Solomon's good eye. "I'm the one who approached your 'bakers', not him. He is my partner in my Blood Oath, and I need you both to enact my vengeance."

"Are we to become some unholy Trinity, then?" Solomon asked Emilia, his thumbs cracking his fingers. "All of us working together to bring your bloody goals to fruition? Yeah… Fuck that. I've got my own to worry about. You two owe me gold, that's it."

"We all share a common goal," Emilia said. "Surviving the Dark Lord, and destroying his forces."

"This kid knows about the Dark One?" Solomon looked to Ron. "Hmm… Let me guess… You're connected to the Order because of a parent." _Huh?_ "I'm going to say that your name is… Ronald Weasley? The Slytherin Prodigy." _What the fuck?!_ "Surprised? You shouldn't be. I saw a photo of you two talking to each other during the Gala for the restoration of St. Mungo's. It was in an old paper, but I was stalking Emilia at the time, so I came across it."

"Great…" Emilia sighed out. _What. Just. Happened?_

"Take that fuckin' thing off," Solomon grunted at Ron. "Absolutely ridiculous…"

Ron drew in a deep breath; he had half a mind to drag Solomon down the cliff with himself. _He's clearly smarter than me. I should be a bit more careful going forward. He knows my name, which gives him genuine power over me._ Ron pulled his mask off, and Solomon took a good look at his face.

"The boy wonder…" Solomon walked up and sniffed him, causing Ron to step back with a wary look. "Perfumed little shit… I should squeeze the life out of you for the shit you pulled. A man's reputation can be seen on the smiles of his patrons. You hurt something sacred, and now you need to pay for it."

"He's already agreed to pay," Emilia said.

"But only if you show me your worth," Ron said, what did he have to fear? _Nothing. If I die here, the Cycle restarts. I wonder what happens to me, though. Does the Entity claim me?_

Solomon took a step up to Ron, his eye burrowing a hole through Ron's forehead. His face twitched, and then he grimaced before grunting.

"The fuckin' youth these days," Solomon shook his head. "The fuck happened to you lot? You'd never catch me pulling this crazy shit when I was your age. No, you wouldn't… Complete nutters."

Solomon limped away from Ron, putting some distance between himself and his new patrons.

"I want five hundred a month from both of you," Solomon said, his left hand scratching his beard. "It's a fair sum, I think, and you ought to bloody take it. Yes?" _If Scrimgeour has stopped looking into me, then I can ask Gornuk to transfer my bribe money towards Solomon instead._

"And what will we get in return?" Ron asked.

"You'll get to live," Solomon smiled.

"Not good enough," Emilia said. "Do not cheat me, Solomon." _Me? We're a team here, remember?_

"What do you want?" Solomon asked. "Ask, and you shall receive." _Is he drunk, or something?_

"We want eyes and ears," Emilia said. "We want wands and men to wield them. We're preparing for a war, and it's past time that you started contributing. You did choose us, after all."

"Two virgins… That's not what I had in me mind," Solomon grimaced. _Virgins? What?_ "But I suppose God works in mysterious ways… Fuck it, then. Give me a few days, and you'll have your demands. Just don't forget to pay the bill."

"Send them to my villa in France," Emilia said. "The Order does not have the means to contain them in England." _Horse shit._

"Done," Solomon began walking towards Kreacher. "Give the kid my details, yeah? It's fuckin' freezing out here. What the fuck…?"

Ron watched quietly as Kreacher Apparated Solomon away. _What a weird cunt… I don't know what to make of him. Yet._

"That went well," Emilia said.

"Did it?" Ron asked. "You just moved the Order's troops into your own home. Why?" _Since when does the bishop hoard all the pawns?_

"The Order is too soft to wield a sharpened blade," Emilia replied without hesitation. "Should they ever need the help, I will hand the troops over. But until then… We will control the troops' movements. We have a goal to reach, remember?"

"Your Blood Oath comes second to my wishes," Ron reminded her. "Don't ever forget that."

"If you get what you want, then I get what I want," Emilia said. "So yes, I will put your wishes first." _Horseshit._

"Good."

"Just send the money to me, and I will pass it on to Solomon on your behalf," Emilia said.

"Before you leave, I have one question," Ron said. "Egbert Parkinson? Is he on your list?"

"No," Emilia replied. _Fuck._ "What has Egbert Parkinson done to incur your wrath?"

"He's done nothing," Ron replied. _Nothing at all. His wife beats his daughter right in front of him, and he does nothing._ "I might need some of our newly acquired wands very soon."

"Just don't waste them," Emilia said, deciding not to pry. "One thousand a month doesn't afford many wands, and Solomon does not believe in giving friendly discounts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return to France. My little cousin has her dance recital tomorrow, and I promised to attend."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Room of Hidden Things – Free Periods)**_

"Fuuuuuuckkkkk…." Ron groaned as he levitated the heavy chest towards the gem pile. "Why didn't I use a wand…?"

The chest slipped out of his hold, and it crashed onto the ground. Its contents were scattered everywhere, making the ground look like a colorful crystal painting.

"Master?!" came Marty's voice from behind a large set of armor.

"I'm okay!" Ron called back. "I'm just stupid as all fuck…"

He pulled out his wand, and cast 'Reparo' on the chest. He then levitated each spilled piece back into the chest. _That should make me_ _ **a lot**_ _of money. I wonder if Martin has the money to buy all of this. I doubt he does, which means that I might need to bring Gornuk into this. He'll want a cut, though._ He jotted down what they had found so far as he schemed away in his head.

"Master is distracted," Marty said as he brought over some fancy looking swords.

"I guess I am," Ron said. "Where'd you find those, Marty?"

"Behind the Merman statue," Marty replied. "What has Master so distracted?"

"His long nose…" Ron sighed out. "I'm worried about a friend of mine."

"It's not Mistress, is it?" Marty asked attentively.

"No… It's Pansy," Ron replied. "She's struggling with some personal stuff right now, and I don't know what to do. I want to help, but I can't think of anything." _Well, I can think of_ _ **one particular**_ _thing._ "I want my friends to be safe during this war, Marty… But they're not making it easy on me. None of them are taking this war very seriously."

"Mistress and her friends have never seen hardship," Marty gave his opinion. "Marty still remembers the bloody streets… Wizards are capable of much evil when put to task."

"I've given them almost three weeks to think on their futures, but none of them have gotten back to me except for Theo," Ron sat down, his hands rubbing his neck. "We're in such deep shit… And I'm the only prick who's looking for a shovel. The rest of them are just miring themselves in the shit."

"Perhaps Master should shatter their illusions?" Marty asked.

"How?" Ron asked.

"Master must show them what they can't imagine for themselves," Marty replied. _Okay…_

"What they can't imagine for themselves?" Ron clicked his tongue. "Death?"

"The mention of Death will surely stir them into action," Marty smiled. _Evil little bugger._

"Well, Death and I are on a break," Ron sighed out. _If that cunt is responsible for this mess, then my boot will find his arse._

"Marty does not understand Master sometimes," Marty chuckled. "Master says some very odd things." _Figures…_

"By the way, Marty," Ron started. "Remember that Basilisk skin? We had like thirty feet of it, right?"

"Yes, Master," Marty beamed.

"I want a new glove made out of the Basilisk skin," Ron said. "Oh, and let's pad my suits with it too."

"A most excellent choice, Master!" Marty nodded his agreement. "Marty tested out dozens of Spells against the Basilisk skin, and no Spell left a scratch! It is the perfect armor!" _We should've done this ages ago._

"All right," Ron smiled as he stood up. "You go and get started on that, and I'll keep building up our pile. I want this done as soon as possible."

"Should Marty pad the tuxedo as well?" Marty asked. "Master's disguise must be strengthened at once." _Ugh… He really like that disguise, doesn't he?_

"Sure, Marty…" Ron said. "If there's skin left over…"

* * *

 _ **Tracey Davis' POV**_

 _ **Thursday 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Common Room – Evening)**_

"Hello," Ron sat down to her right, and Tracey pulled out her earphones.

"Hi, Ron," she smiled widely. "You're back from your session… How was it?"

"Oh, it was fine," Ron shrugged, a smile on his face. "I whined about everything, and Madam Pomfrey pretended to listen. Very therapeutic."

"You should take it seriously," Tracey chuckled. "I wish I had someone to whine to."

"I can put in a good word for you," Ron scooted closer to her. _What's he up to?_

"Trying to cuddle?" Tracey smirked. "Is Daphne too busy to pay you any attention?"

"Ouch," Ron feigned hurt, a rogue smirk on his face. "You cut too deep… But yes… Daphne is studying with the second years. Her delegate duties are more important than me."

"Poor little Ron," Tracey teased. "What can Tracey do to make you feel better?"

"A few favors," Ron replied. _Saw that coming a mile away._

"What do I get in return?" Tracey leaned against his shoulder.

"My gratitude, for one," Ron started.

"I can't buy anything with gratitude," Tracey sniggered. "Next?"

"I need help, Trace," Ron said rather seriously, and Tracey shifted in order to see his face. _Oh… He got serious._ "Look, I'll pay you back with an equal amount of favors. Is that fair?"

"What's the matter?" Tracey asked.

"I'm trying to bring a lot of people together," Ron explained. "And I'm a bit overwhelmed… You remember what we talked about at the end of the Break?"

Tracey shot quick looks around herself. _Is he referring to the war?_ Tracey gave a nod, and Ron leaned closer to her ear.

"I want us to stick together, but I feel like a lot of you aren't really taking this threat seriously," Ron whispered.

"Ron, that's not true…" Tracey said.

"Really? When was the last time you gave this any real thought?" Ron asked. _Um… I suppose it's been a while…_ "I don't need much, Trace. Just some support every now and then."

"Support with what?" Tracey asked.

"Malfoy, Pansy, Millie, Blaise, and Theo," Ron replied. "Malfoy is still feeling like an outsider, Pansy's parents are scum, Millie's parents are scum in pretty disguises, Blaise's mother is something else entirely, and Theo plans to follow his father down the shitter." _Woah…_

"Um… Ron… This is a lot," Tracey muttered. "Shouldn't you take this to Daphne? Or Blaise? They usually help you with this stuff, right?"

"Trace… I can't count on Daphne for this," Ron pleaded, making Tracey's stomach tighten from guilt. "You and I grew up normal, you know? We didn't grow up in Mansions and Ballrooms… Plus, I remember your reaction at the Burrow. You were terrified for your parents. They actually taught you a little about the war, didn't they?"

"They did…" Tracey whispered. _But I hate thinking about it. I don't want to imagine my father living in a dungeon cell._

"Just help me reach out to them," Ron requested. "You get along with everyone, including **Malfoy**. I could really use that right now." _Oh…_

"Ron, why don't we just let the parents handle this?" Tracey asked.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing," Ron replied. "Do you honestly think that your father cares about Pansy Parkinson like you do?"

"Of course not," Tracey replied.

"Then you see my point?" Ron asked, a hopeful spark in his eyes.

"I do," Tracey sighed out. "So what? You just want me to try and urge the others along?"

"That, or you can just help me make sure that they're all happy," Ron smiled gratefully. "Right now, Pansy could definitely use her friends."

"Then I'll get onto it," Tracey smiled at him. "Because you asked so nicely."

"Thanks, Tracey," Ron chuckled weakly, and then he kissed her cheek. "You're the best, and I'll definitely pay you back."

Ron then got out of the seat.

"Oh… Can you also reach out to Ginny?" Ron suddenly asked.

"What?" Tracey blinked. "Ron… I don't know about that. I don't really like your sister-"

"I know…" Ron said. "You two have a bit of a past, and neither of you seem to like each other. However, I reckon that you two can become fast friends. Remember how quickly you and I clicked? You're not like the others. You're different, like Ginny and me."

"And you want me to show her that side of me," Tracey figured. _Daphne mentioned that Ron wanted to show his sister a better side of us. Well, maybe she needs to show us her better side first._

"Please?" Ron asked. _Agh! Don't give me that look!_

"Fine…" Tracey agreed. "But only because **you're** the person asking, Ron… I'm doing this for you, not Ginevra Weasley." _Theo's right… I'm way too soft._

* * *

 _ **Friday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Black Lake – Early Morning)**_

Maybe it was because she couldn't really say no to Ron, or maybe it was the fact that Ron could really use a break, but Tracey had decided to approach Ginevra the very next day.

"You're in better shape than me," Tracey said in a friendly tone, and Ginevra turned around tensely. "You never do less than eight laps. It kind of reminds me of Ron."

"Reminds you of Ron?" Ginevra asked, a hint of awkwardness in her voice. "I thought that you only recently joined."

"Every now and then, I'd sneak down here to watch him go," Tracey shrugged. "He sure can run, huh?"

"Right…" Ginevra was definitely feeling awkward now. "I'm finished for the day, so I'm going to head off-"

"Do a lap with me," Tracey said.

"Why?" Ginevra asked. "I've already done nine-"

"I want to get to know you," Tracey came out and said it. "You were really sweet when we first met, and I want to see if that's still the case."

Ginevra was the picture of awkward reluctance, but after a little waiting, Tracey got what she wanted.

"We can walk it," Tracey offered. "I ran almost seven today."

"Greengrass stopped after five," Ginevra said. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't have massive tits weighing me down," Tracey replied. _Let's see how she took that._

Ginevra didn't seem phased in the slightest, and if anything, she had taken Tracey quite seriously. _Haha, yes! I like that! Time for the next test._

"Do you like music?" Tracey asked.

"Um… Sure," Ginevra replied. "Do you listen to the Weird Sisters?"

"No, they're too sappy for my taste," Tracey replied. "I prefer AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd… Muggle musicians, I mean."

"Oh, you're Half-Blood," Ginevra remembered. "Your mum showed you Muggle music?"

"She did," Tracey replied. "Want to have a listen?"

"Um… Right now?" Ginevra blinked. "We're out in the middle of nowhere."

"Watch out!" Ron ran past them, making them both jump a little.

"Ugh! Stop that!" Ginevra snapped, and Ron shot a smug smirk back before running off. _They seem to be getting along well._

"Here," Tracey pulled out her Walkman.

"Is that a Muggle device?" Ginevra asked. "It plays music?"

"It's called a Walkman," Tracey said, and then she showed the younger witch her earphones. "And these are earphones. The sound comes out of these after you plug them in."

Tracey showed Ginevra the steps slowly, and for the most part, Ginevra looked just as awed as her friends had been.

"Dad would love this," Ginevra muttered under her breath.

"Your brother said the same thing," Tracey remembered. "Here, put this in your ear, and I'll blow your mind."

Ginevra put the earphone in her right ear, and Tracey put the other one in her left ear. _Now, let's find her taste in music. After that, she and I can have an honest conversation without any awkwardness getting in the way._

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

"So? What did you think?" Tracey asked.

"How does the sound come out of **this**?" Ginevra asked, eyeballing her earphone with a suspicious look. _That's her reaction to AC/DC?_

"I have no idea," Tracey replied. "Technology isn't really an interest of mine. I just enjoy using it." _I wish I had a robot… Maybe something like R2-D2. He could spend all day doing my chores, and I could just relax by a fire._

"This is like Magic," Ginevra muttered. "A wizard would need a Spell for something like this."

"Muggle technology has come a very long way," Tracey said. _The others refuse to believe that Muggles have reached the moon. It's pretty funny, but also pretty sad. I think that being able to use Magic has made wizards and witches a little too complacent._

"My dad would like you," Ginevra handed her earphone over. "If he saw this 'Walkman', he'd blast music all day long." _Mr. Weasley is kind of adorable._

"Well, since I've obviously won your father's approval, I think it's time that we talked," Tracey said.

"What do we need to talk about?" Ginevra kept her eyes forward.

"I yelled at you," Tracey replied calmly, she wasn't ashamed of snapping at the younger witch. "You were being horrible to your brother, and I couldn't stand it. So, I said something hurtful to shut the exchange down, but I was a little too overzealous. I will admit fault for that. I'm sorry."

Ginevra said nothing, but it was clear that she didn't want to be here. _She doesn't look angry anymore… She's just really quiet and miserable. Maybe she's really learned her lesson?_

"Did I really hurt Ron's feelings?" Ginevra asked after a bit of silence.

"You did more than that," Tracey replied, her eyes following Ron as he finished up his laps. _Magnificent! I need to get Pansy out here._ "After you were finished, he started spiraling… He had to be given a Calming Draught, which turned him cold and cruel for the rest of the day. He tortured Draco that day, did you know that?"

"Tortured?" Ginevra went a bit pale.

"Draco used to have longer hair, remember?" Tracey asked. "Well, Ron had it cut off because Draco looked like his father. And then, he forced Draco to eat until he physically couldn't anymore. Now, Draco can be a massive tosser, but even he was near tears by the end of the night. Ron only stopped because we decided to distract him, but he just ended up torturing us as well."

"This doesn't sound like Ron…" Ginevra said, and then she finally looked at Tracey. "Are you lying about my brother?" _Oh, she's defensive? Good. She shouldn't just buy this about her brother without putting up a fight._

"I'm showing you another side of us," Tracey stopped them, her left hand gently wrapped around Ginevra's elbow. "Look, I'm not exactly like my friends. I'm not going to use overwhelming cunning to drive a lesson into your head… I'm just going to tell you the truth, because personally, that's what **I** think you need."

"And the truth is that Ron is a bully?" Ginevra looked a bit lost.

"The truth is that your brother is a terrifying individual, and when people cross him, they get hurt," Tracey replied. "But he is also **kind**. He is noble, hardworking, fair, intelligent, funny, and best of all, **loyal**. If you weren't his sister, you'd already be regretting everything you did to him. Instead, Ron excuses all of your shortcomings and blames himself for not being 'good enough'. I hate seeing him like that… We all do."

Tracey then drew in a deep breath.

"I know you hit him," Tracey said, and Ginevra went a little wide-eyed. "I know that you hit him so hard that you broke skin. I know that after you had satisfied yourself, it was my friend, Theo, who had to try and comfort Ron."

"Comfort…?"

"His beloved little sister hit him," Tracey said calmly. "And on the same day that he bought her a **forty** Galleon dress. He was completely gutted, and once again, he had to be given the damn Calming Draught by his friends. While you went about with your day, pleased with making your own brother bleed, Daphne had to deal with Ron who wasn't acting like Ron… She didn't deserve that."

"Sorry…" Ginevra muttered, a subdued look on her face. _Damn, she looks like a smaller, cuter version of Ron… I should wrap this up before I end up forgiving her outright as well._

"What you do affects other people, Ginevra," Tracey said. "What happened to you last year… I'm really sorry. No one deserves that, especially not a first year. I can't even fully imagine just how horrible it was, but saying that, your trauma doesn't give you a free pass. Everyone has problems, but the way you deal with those problems is what defines you. Your big brother is the one who taught me that." _Ron does love his speeches, and sometimes, he makes really grand ones._

Tracey let go of Ginevra's elbow, her eyes darting towards Ron again. _He's watching… Damn, that makes me kind of nervous._

"If you can promise me that you won't hurt Ron again, then I'll give you a fair chance," Tracey gave her terms. "He's told us so many stories about you, and I'd love to be **that** Ginevra's friend. The Ginevra who started sneaking out at the age of six just to fly her brothers' brooms-"

"They never let me play with them," Ginevra blurted out. "Sorry… I interrupted you…" _Don't worry; I'm finished with my 'tough love'. I just need to say one more thing._

"Ron thinks the World of you," Tracey said, her eyes scanning Ginevra's slump shoulders. "Don't use that to hurt him."

"I won't…" Ginevra promised, and Tracey gave a nod.

"Then let's stop this serious talk before I start sounding like Daphne," Tracey said. "I'm supposed to be the witty, eccentric one, after all."

"What?" Ginevra blinked.

"Doesn't matter," Tracey smiled. "I was just trying to be funny… Anyway, since I've given my thoughts, I'd like to have some of yours."

"Mine?" Ginevra asked nervously.

"Don't you have something to say about all of this?" Tracey asked. "About Ron?"

"Um… No…" Ginevra replied. _No?_

"Why not?" Tracey asked, and Ginevra kicked a pebble away.

"I just want to my brother back…" Ginevra spoke to the floor. _My heart! It'll explode at this rate!_

"He's not perfect," Tracey reminded Ginevra.

"Neither am I," Ginevra shrugged, her eyes fixed on the ground. "Everyone's got problems, right…?" _Is she even talking to me now?_ "I won't blame him for mine again."

"If you're there for him, then we'll be there for you," Tracey promised. " **All of us**."

"Do… Do you all love my brother?" Ginevra asked weakly. _What?_

"I can't really deny that, so yeah… I do love him," Tracey replied, and Ginevra shot her an odd look. "Do you love your brother?"

"Of course," Ginevra replied.

"He's not as tough as he looks, so sometimes, you need to show him that you love him," Tracey shot another look at Ron, and he gave her a little wave. _No matter what happens, he'll never stop looking out for her. Even a blind person could see that._ "Let's go back to the others, yeah? You look like you're starting to get cold."

Ginevra gave a nod, and then she began heading back. Tracey followed after Ginevra quietly; she still planned to keep an eye on the younger witch. _I don't want to see Ron hurt again, but I reckon that he'll be safe when it comes to Ginevra. From what I've seen, she looks terribly guilty about everything that's gone wrong in her life. Even the things that weren't her fault. I should try and be softer around her. At least for now._

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Friday 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Malfoy Manor – Evening)**_

"She is staying in the outskirts of Rome," Tanner reported.

"Did you see her?" Lucius looked up from his paper.

"I never lost her, my Lord," Tanner replied. "I have thirty wands placed near her villa already. As soon as you give the word, I will join my men and carry out the hit."

"Tell me more about her," Lucius said.

"She seemed calm," Tanner replied. "She failed to notice that she was being followed, and my men have seen her spending her nights with various lovers."

"Her guard is down," Lucius smiled a little. "Foolish hag." _She longs to sit on the Dark Lord's table, but this is what she is capable of?_ _Did the Dark Lord foresee how foolish she really is? Is that why he never acknowledged her?_ "Everything is in place, then… Tomorrow, everything changes."

"Shall I return to Rome, my Lord?" Tanner asked.

"Not yet," Lucius stood up. "I need you to order your men to find this 'Talbot' already. Make them search the whole night if that's what it takes." _How can one man continue to elude a group of trained assassins?_

"Very well," Tanner said, he had never been one to refuse his clients. "You will, however, be charged extra for this."

"Yes, I know how your 'brotherhood' works," Lucius said coldly. "Go. Get your men to turn over every rock. If anything happens to Ronald Weasley, I will have **your** head first."

Tanner gave a bow, and then he was gone. _Why do all the best killers act like the cheapest of whores?_ Lucius shook his head clear; he couldn't afford to be distracted right now. The Dark Lord was drawn away because of his plans to bring the loyalists back, and that had put a lot of stress on Lucius' mind. The loyalists hated him above all the rest, especially after Bellatrix had accused him of trying to usurp the Dark Lord's throne. _I must secure my position before the loyalists come back. My life depends on it. My Family's lives depend on it. There can be no more mistakes from here on._

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: And there it is! Again, sorry for the long wait... I can't promise that it won't happen again, but I'll try to limit that shit.**

 **Now, about the subreddit and discord idea... I like it! Give me a few days, and I'll try and set it all up! For now, though, I'm keen for the Weekend!**


	119. Chapter 119 - Goodbye

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 119 is here!**

 **Now, let me say I'm sorry again, but yeah... It took a while. I've become busy in life again, so from now on, I'll be releasing two chapters a month until further notice. Sorry, guys, but life didn't offer me a safe word.**

 **Also, this is a 'heavy' chapter, so procede with caution.**

 **Please, Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.  
**

 **I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.**

 ** **There's also another Ron story out that's really good so far! It's called 'There and Back Again', and it's written by Chuchi Otaku. Please, go check it out! I've certainly enjoyed reading it!****

* * *

 _ **Fate**_

 **Chapter 119 - Goodbye**

 _ **Ajax Chloros' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogsmeade – Morning)**_

Ajax had killed children before… It was an ugly, but necessary, part of his job. The only wizards who hired assassins these days were rich Pure-Bloods, and they often ordered hits on their enemies for petty reasons. So occasionally, if the pay was high enough, Ajax accepted contracts on children. He wasn't proud of this, but gold was gold, and Ajax had debts to pay.

This is how he had ended up in this vipers' den. Violet Parkinson had offered him a king's ransom in exchange for Ronald Weasley's death, and Ajax had seized the opportunity to wipe the slate clean. This was going to be his final job. After this, he would give his sister's son, Julian, a new life. A **better** life.

And yet…

From the moment he had arrived, things had started going wrong. Four men had been asking the locals about a 'Talbot' a day before Ajax had arrived. Through sheer dumb luck, he was given an advantage over the men seeking him. He had quickly rented out a room, after which he had sent a warning to Violet Parkinson. She had mentioned that she had a partner in her murderous scheme, and that partner had clearly betrayed her. This was nothing new, of course… Ajax had dealt with the Pure-Bloods enough to know that they hated each other just as much as they hated the 'lesser witches and wizards'.

Driven forward by necessity, Ajax had elected to finish the job despite the fresh dangers. He had survived worse ambushes in the past, and the bounty was too large to turn down. Violet Parkinson would hopefully survive long enough to pay him, and in doing so, set him and Julian free.

That hope filled thought was quickly dashed to pieces when Ajax had spotted Alastor fucking Moody limping around during the students' arrival. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ronald Weasley hadn't even come down for Hogsmeade Weekend. All of the boy's friends were here, including Violet Parkinson's own daughter, but Weasley was nowhere to be seen. _This job is over… The fucking target isn't even here. Damn you, Violet Parkinson._

Ajax kept his eyes fixed on the Slytherin carriages, his eyes peeled for red hair. Where was Ronald Weasley? Why wasn't he here with the rest of his schoolmates? Why the fuck was Alastor Moody here? And why was the greatest Auror in British History watching the Gryffindor carriages? Ajax was careful not to stare at Moody, everyone had heard about Moody's 'all-seeing' eye. After a bit of searching, Ajax suddenly spotted a young Gryffindor, one with round glasses and wild black hair. _Is that Harry Potter? Sweet Circe… It's really him._

For a moment, Ajax watched in awe as the Boy-Who-Lived laughed and joked around with his friends. _Mad-Eye Moody is here to protect the Boy-Who-Lived? I suppose that could be the case… But Moody doesn't work for his Ministry anymore. Does he?_ Ajax decided to stay clear of the Gryffindors as much as possible; he didn't need Mad-Eye Moody tearing him to pieces. _What should I do about Weasley?_

Ajax subtly looked around the carriages; he could see his pursuers mixing in with the large crowds. _One last job, Ajax… Then Julian can have a normal childhood. You owe Sophia much more than that._ Ajax began moving towards the Three Broomsticks Inn, he needed to wait until Ronald Weasley showed his face. _There's still hope. I just have to be patient._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (British Ministry of Magic – Morning)**_

The Basilisk skin lining made his suit feel a little heavy, but it did nothing to hinder his movements. _I suppose comfort is a small price to pay for safety. Marty and I couldn't damage any of the other suits last night, which already proves that this was the right move._

"Mr. Weasley?" the secretary popped her head around the corner. "Mr. Crouch will see you now."

"Thanks," Ron stood up and smiled, but the secretary was already gone. _Merlin, it's really busy here today. I wonder why._

Ron made his way towards Crouch's office, knocking on the door with his new Basilisk skin glove.

"Come in," came a stern voice from behind the door.

"Good morning, Sir," Ron greeted Crouch as he moved into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Yes… Good morning," Crouch kept his eyes on his work. "Sit."

Ron did as he was told, his eyes scanning the massive workload on Crouch's desk.

"What's going on, Sir?" Ron asked. "You sent me an emergency owl this morning-"

"This Department can no longer afford to keep you as the Diplomat to the French," Crouch looked up. _Huh?_ "I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley, but this post requires knowledge and experience. You have neither." _I earned this position, though!_

"The Minister-" Ron started.

"He had no right to hire you," Crouch said, he didn't sound upset despite the sacking. "You are a student of Hogwarts, and you cannot work in this Department while attending to your studies. The Ministry is grateful for your help with the French, but that's not enough to justify hiring a child."

"But I've proven myself," Ron said, his brow furrowed. "I handled the French after they-"

"I have been told of how you 'handled' that situation," Crouch cut in again. "Threats and ultimatums are not diplomacy, Mr. Weasley. The British Ministry does not handle its foreign relations in such a manner."

" **They** were threatening **me** ," Ron argued. "They were threatening this Ministry!"

"Because you brought them over, and then left them to their own devices," Crouch said. "Look… I am not an unreasonable man. You have promise, and I've seen it for myself now, but saying that, this job is beyond your years."

"Then you can train me, can't you?" Ron asked. "I'm a quick-study, and if you give me the chance, I can prove it."

"Mr. Weasley, I already have trained Diplomats," Crouch said. "They finished their studies, and were then trained for over two years in our training programs. They were taught to speak foreign languages, they were taught about the different cultures of Magical Communities throughout the world, and they were taught **not** to threaten their potential allies." Crouch then leaned back in his chair, his eyes meeting Ron's. "Come back after you finish Hogwarts, and do things by the book. I will give you a chance when that day comes, I promise." _I'll be dead by then!_

"I want to talk to the Minister," Ron stood up.

"Sit back down," Crouch ordered, but Ron chose to ignore that command. "Ronald, he has already signed off on this. Sit back down." _He has?_

"I want to talk to him-"

"He's not here," Crouch said. "He's in France, but you don't know that because you live at Hogwarts. I have a fully trained Diplomat within this Department, and despite not being on assignment, he comes here every single day asking for work. You send one letter a week, and only arrive when I summon you. You are damaging my Department's efficiency, and I have reached my limit."

"So I'm just fired?" Ron asked, his temper spiking. _Fuck, I need this position!_ "After everything I worked to achieve? I brought so many French Families to the table. Didn't that help you in putting together the Triwizard Tournament?"

Crouch just stared at Ron, and after a few silent moments, he gestured Ron to sit down. This time, Ron did as he was told, but only because he planned to try and change Crouch's mind.

"Minister Fudge might have let you walk all over him, but I promise you, that won't work with me," Crouch started. "In my years, I've seen a lot of ambitious young wizards, and they all have one thing in common. They don't **listen**. They do as they please, and they don't work well with others. You've treated this Department as your personal playground, and from what Madam Bones has told me, you did the same with her Department." Crouch then frowned a little. "I've often heard that Slytherin House has its own political hierarchy, and because of that, none of you seem to understand how a **professional** workplace operates. There are rules, and they must be followed to the letter."

"Hiring minors is against the rules," Crouch went on. "Hiring people who are not qualified for the job is against the rules. Throwing tantrums and demanding to see the Minister during every crisis is against the rules. You, Mr. Weasley, have no reason to be working here, and I will not punish someone who has put in the work to be here just to keep you entertained. Now, please leave my office. We don't have anything else to discuss." _Fuck me dead. This is the part where everything starts going wrong again, isn't it? Think, Ron… C'mon! Think of something!_

"You can't justify hiring me…" Ron started; a plan had suddenly hatched in his mind. "The Minister offered me a different position before I was hired as an International Diplomat…"

"I know," Crouch said. "A Special Diplomatic Consultant… Minister Fudge made that position in the hopes of saving the Ministry some bad press. You, however, chose to decline his offer."

"I have strong connections with the French," Ron said. "I can still prove myself useful to you. You need the French to cooperate during the Triwizard Tournament, don't you? I can help with that. Madam Maxime is a very good friend of mine. Your waiting Diplomat doesn't have my connections."

"Why is this so important to you?" Crouch asked suddenly. "What is your goal here, Mr. Weasley?" _I'm trying to win a damn war here. That's why this position is so important to me._

"I want to help, and I can only do that if I have some semblance of power," Ron admitted. "This position gives me that power. Without it, I'm limited to working on a much smaller scale."

"You want to help?" Crouch cocked an eyebrow. "Help who, exactly?"

"Anyone who isn't given a fair chance at life," Ron replied. _Just speak from the heart, Ron, and pray that Crouch isn't as cold as they say._ "The Ministry can do a better job than it currently is, and I think you know that. I don't have your experience or knowledge, but I do have a lot passion and determination. Let me help you with the Triwizard Tournament to prove it. You can give my job to your man, but don't just fire me. Hire me as the Special Diplomatic Consultant."

Crouch seemed to be mulling his words over, and Ron decided to wait instead of droning on. _I think I'm all out of begging for the day._

"You will be paid a quarter of your current salary," Crouch finally broke his silence. "You will only work on the tasks I give you, and you will not throw your weight around this Department anymore. You will follow the rules just like everyone else." _I don't have any leverage right now… Fuck. That whole Abadie scandal fucked everything up for me._

"What sort of work will I be given?" Ron asked.

"Here," Crouch handed him a couple of folders from the top of the stack. "In there are the names of the French Families who are helping us fund this extravagant tournament. You will study their history, their hobbies, their favorite foods, and everything in between. After that, you will hold a small gathering for these Families in order to ask for more funding. I expect this done by the end of January."

Ron looked at the thick folders, and then he gave a nod.

"And if I run into any obstacles?" Ron asked.

"Then you will follow the proper protocols," Crouch replied. _What are the proper protocols?_

"So… I just contact you?" Ron asked.

"No, you will contact Anthony Dubois," Crouch corrected Ron. "He will be taking your current position, and he'll do most of the work. Your job is to help him." _Ah… I'm his assistant, then?_

His pride was telling him to reject this demotion, but his common sense was telling him that something was better than nothing. _If I don't accept this, Crouch won't let me set foot in this Department until I'm of age. Which, as it happens, is not a feat that I'll achieve._

"I'll get started on this as soon as I get back to Hogwarts," Ron accepted his new position.

"Keep Anthony in the loop, and go to him if you need help," Crouch looked back to his work. "You may leave."

"Um… What about my other benefits?" Ron asked, and Crouch looked back up. "The Minister offered me the same perks as the International Diplomats-"

"We will pay for your work related endeavors, and you will be given a Portkey whenever you require one," Crouch said. "Nothing more." _So no paid Holidays? Oh, well, I still got the important perks._

"I'll be in touch, Sir," Ron stood up, making sure to hold his head high. _Demoted first thing in the morning… Just another shit day in the life of Ronald Weasley._

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Three Broomsticks Inn – Morning)**_

"Did he tell you when he'd join us?" Tracey whispered.

"He said he'd be there as fast as he could," Daphne whispered back. "If he's not here in ten minutes, we'll go ahead with our plan."

"Pansy won't just leave with us if Ron's not around," Tracey whispered.

"We'll ask the boys to wait here for him," Daphne whispered.

"Why are you two whispering?" Pansy asked.

"Daphne was just telling me about her business plans," Tracey lied. _What business plans? My grandparents are ignoring my letters. How am I supposed to start searching for warehouses in Magical Germany without their help?_

"Have your grandparents sent you an owl yet?" Theo jumped in.

"Just one," Daphne sighed out. "They told me that they needed time to mull over my proposal. I've been waiting ever since." _Ron wouldn't take this long, that's for certain. What am I doing wrong?_

Once again, she felt a pang of doubt about her entire plan. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this yet? Maybe she was rushing to prove herself in an attempt to get her father's attention? _I was raised for this, and if I can't do it right, then what am I supposed to do? Father has done so much for our Family's future, and I don't want to be known as the heir who ruined everything._

"Do your grandparents not like you, Greengrass?" Malfoy asked from behind his Butterbeer.

The others all looked to Daphne, some were amused while others were annoyed on her behalf.

"No… They don't," Daphne replied curtly. _All of a sudden, he's becoming comfortable around us again. Seriously, why is Ron spending so much energy on Malfoy? Ron never does anything pointless. He must have some plan, right?_

"That was rude, Malfoy," came Ron's voice, and Daphne looked over her shoulder. _He's here!_ "You already know that she's been waiting for them to reply to her."

"Here, Ron, take my seat," Tracey moved over to Theo's side, leaving Ron the chair to Daphne's right.

Ron sat down, a vexed look on his face. _Did the meeting go badly? I really hope not._

"So? What are we doing today?" Ron asked, his voice almost stern. _Oh, no…_

The others waited for Daphne to say something, as they usually did whenever Ron was in a mood. _Just be calm and collected, and he'll slowly start responding._

"We didn't really make a schedule this time," Daphne replied almost pleasantly, and Ron nodded a little. "Is everyone fine with just walking around? If any shop catches our eye, we'll go in and have a look."

"That sounds good," Blaise said, his eyes fixed on Ron. _Now that they've made up, I can start asking Blaise for some help again._

"How did the meeting go?" Millie asked. _Why, Millicent?_

"I got demoted…" Ron said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Demoted?" Daphne blinked. "Why?"

"It doesn't matter," Ron replied. "This is just another obstacle to climb over." _Wow, I wish I had that attitude… Hopefully, he won't be grouchy for the whole day. I need his help with getting rid of the boys for a bit. Millie, Tracey, and I need to take Pansy on a 'girls only' shopping trip._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogsmeade – Nearly Midday)**_

"Maybe this is good for me," Ron sighed out as he rubbed his neck. "I'll still be involved, but I won't be as liable. That whole French debacle was genuinely my fault… This way, I reckon I can learn a lot more about Ministry workings."

"This new job gives you more spare time," Daphne said. "You could use that extra bit of time on other matters." _Matters like me!_

"You're right," Ron said thoughtfully. "I could train more, work on the Werewolf Sanctuary, work on the Quibbler, and finally start bringing like-minded Families together."

"I meant me, Ron," Daphne said with a disappointed look.

"I'd do that too," Ron smiled a little nervously.

"You'd better," Daphne huffed, and then she shot a look at the other boys. _I reckon it's time for that shopping trip._ "I need a favor from you, Ron."

"A favor?" Ron whispered.

"Millie, Tracey, and I want to take Pansy shopping, so could you take the boys somewhere else?" Daphne asked. "It'll only be for an hour or so, I promise."

"Um… We should really stick together, Daph," Ron replied. "We're not in Hogwarts right now, which means that we're not safe." _Safe? Who is going to attack us in Hogsmeade?_

"Ron… The village is filled with potential witnesses," Daphne started. "Plus, who'd attack us? We're just teenagers."

"I don't know about this," Ron said.

"Please?" Daphne urged. "You've seen how she's been, haven't you? She won't let her walls down near the boys."

"Her walls?" Ron asked. "Daph… I promised your father that I'd keep my eyes on you. I can't do that if you're on the other side of the village."

"I can take care of myself, Ron," Daphne felt rather patronized. "I'd appreciate your help on this, but even if you refuse, I'm still going to do it. Pansy doesn't want Theo and Blaise to know about her situation-"

"Why is that?" Ron cut in. "They wouldn't make fun of her. She has to know that, right?"

"It's just an embarrassing thing to own up to," Daphne said. "I don't know why she's being this way, and I don't really care. She needs our help, and I'm stepping up." _That'll definitely work on him. He loves that sort of talk._

Ron suddenly looked a bit perplexed, and then he shot a quick look at Pansy.

"Fine…" Ron relented. _Yes!_ "But only for an hour, Daph."

"Only for an hour," Daphne promised.

"When should I take the boys away?" Ron asked.

"Right now," Daphne replied, and Ron blinked at her. "We're just walking around right now, right? The sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can all get together for an activity."

"Fair enough," Ron said, and then he moved quickly to catch up to the others. "Oi! Can we please stop for a second?"

"Why?" Pansy asked. "Are you feeling tired?"

"No… I have a surprise for the lads," Ron started.

"A surprise?" Millie cocked an eyebrow, while the boys looked a bit intrigued. "What sort of surprise?" _He's trying to help us, Millie… Don't ask for details._

"I can't really say," Ron replied. "It would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"

"It would," Daphne added.

"Look, we'll be gone for an hour at most," Ron said. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Theo asked. "We're not in Hogwarts right now." _Ron's paranoia is rubbing off on Theo._

"It'll be fine," Ron promised. "We'll meet back here in an hour, and we won't break up again."

"I need to head to the Hogsmeade Post Office," Blaise spoke up. "Ron, can we go there first?" _A post office? Doesn't Blaise have his own owl? Oh, is he sending an untraceable letter to someone?_

"Sure," Ron replied a little too quickly. "Let's go there first."

"Are you girls all right with this?" Theo looked to Daphne.

"It's just an hour," Daphne replied calmly.

"We'll meet back up in no time," Tracey added. "Pansy? What do you think?"

"Um… Sure," Pansy shrugged. "I'm not too fussed…"

"See?" Ron smiled a bit. "C'mon, lads, we're going on an adventure."

"How thrilling," Malfoy said coldly. "Since we're splitting up, can I be on my own for an hour-"

"Nope," Ron refused. "Sorry, Malfoy, but I need to keep my eyes on you. You know that already, don't you?" _Did someone ask him to do that? What's so special about Malfoy? Merlin, I wish I could peer into Ron's mind. So many questions would be answered._

* * *

 _ **Blaise Zabini's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogsmeade – Midday)**_

Blaise fiddled with the letter in his robe pocket, there was still time to turn back.

Subtlety, Blaise shot a look towards Ron, who was still lost in his own thoughts. _If I turn back now, what would he think of me? I shouldn't have said anything about needing the post office. I took the choice out of my own hands. Why did I do that? I'm usually more in control over what comes out of my mouth._

"There it is," Theo gestured towards their destination.

Blaise tensed at the sight of the old building, was he really ready to stand against his mother? _No… I'm not… But I also can't just stand by and let her kill Lord De Luca. His blood will be on my hands just as much as it will be on hers. I'm not a little boy anymore… I'm on the path to becoming a_ _ **man**_ _. And I have to choose what kind of man I want to be. This is the one thing that I can't let her take from me. My choice._

"Blaise, are you all right?" Theo asked. "You're looking a little tense, mate."

"I'm fine," Blaise lied. "You lot can wait outside. This won't take long."

"All right," Theo said as he stopped walking. "We'll just be waiting by the door, yeah?"

"Sure…" Blaise said, his eyes darting towards Ron again.

This time, Ron was looking back at Blaise with a meaningful look, something that made Blaise's stomach grumble from nervousness. _No backing out now, Blaise…_ Mimicking Ron's breathing technique, Blaise decided to get this over with. Without wasting another second, Blaise made his way inside the post office.

"Good afternoon!" a cheerful old wizard greeted Blaise from behind the counter. _Ugh… What is that stench? It smells worse than the Owlery in here._

"Good afternoon, Sir," Blaise greeted.

"Sir? No need to be so polite, young man," the old wizard smiled brightly. "Come on in. What can I do for you?"

"Um… I need an owl…" Blaise felt his throat tighten. _I think I'm sweating a bit._ "A **discrete** owl… Oh, and it needs to be fast."

"Discrete and fast," the old man nodded to himself. "I have just the one! Let me go fetch him for you!"

The old wizard gestured Blaise towards an empty chair, and then he vanished into the back of his shop. Blaise, however, didn't move from his spot, he was suddenly feeling too scared to even breathe. _What am I doing here?! I can't do this… I need more time._ Blaise's body turned to leave on its own accord, only to come face-to-face with Ron.

"Hello," Ron smiled faintly. _What's he doing in here?_ "Were you about to run away?"

Shame filled Blaise almost instantly, forcing his head to lower itself. _He wasn't supposed to come in after me…_

"Why are you here?" Blaise managed to ask.

"I didn't want you to do this alone," Ron whispered.

"Or you didn't want me to back out…" Blaise muttered under his breath. "I don't think I'm ready for this-"

"That's just your fear talking," Ron cut in. "Blaise, look at me."

Slowly, Blaise raised his gaze. He didn't know why, but he expected to see judgment in Ron's eyes, but when their eyes finally met, Blaise only saw understanding and concern. It soothed something in his chest, and for a brief moment, Blaise wasn't afraid of his mother. _I have Ron on my side, and unlike her, he won't abandon me._

"When did you write the letter?" Ron asked, his gentle voice sounded almost alien to Blaise.

"Last night…" Blaise replied. "I don't know why, but I just wrote it… One minute I was studying, and the next, I was openly planning to defy my mother…"

"I know why you wrote it," Ron smiled more fully. "You're a good person, Blaise."

Again, Blaise felt something in his chest being soothed. _Get a hold of yourself, Blaise._

"Ron, I'm not really in the mood for this sort of talk," Blaise forcefully regained some of his composure.

"Figures," Ron chuckled a bit. "But I mean it, Blaise. You're a good person, even if you don't like other people to see that side of you. You care about Lord De Luca, and deep down, you hate what your mother does to her husbands." _Of course I do… What sane person would agree with her murderous ways?_

"If I send this… I can't take it back," Blaise swallowed thickly; there was a painful lump in his throat. "What if she gets a hold of it first? What if my letter speeds up her plan?"

"What does the letter say?" Ron asked. "You didn't leave your name on it, did you?"

"Of course not," Blaise replied. "There's nothing in this letter that incriminates me… It just warns Lord De Luca about his 'beautiful' new bride."

"Is there a high chance that she'll get it before he does?" Ron asked.

"I'm sending it to his company," Blaise replied.

"You've clearly thought this through," Ron said. "You just have to take the plunge now, that's all."

"Take the plunge?" Blaise repeated. "Ron, my life is on the line here-"

"As is Lord De Luca's," Ron said. "Look… If you decide to wait for a bit longer, I won't judge you. Just…" Ron then clicked his tongue; he looked like he wanted to say something rather sappy. _Don't do it, Ron._ "No matter what happens, brother, you'll always have me in your corner. You're not alone anymore." _He went and did it…_ "The clerk is coming back. Time to decide, mate."

Blaise reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter, it was time to decide what kind of man Blaise wanted to be.

* * *

 _ **Ajax Chloros' POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogsmeade – Midday)**_

Ronald Weasley stepped out of the Hogsmeade Post Office with his mate; there was a faint smile on Weasley's face. _His guard is down, and there's no crowd around him. Now would be the perfect opportunity to strike if it weren't for the bastards who were looking for me._

Ajax shifted further into the narrow alleyway, though his eyes travelled towards his pursuers. All four of them had started following Weasley everywhere; they no doubt planned to protect the boy from Ajax's assault. _This fucking job just keeps getting harder and harder._

Ajax had once again started doubting his own willingness to carry out the hit, but in the end, he knew that there was only one way forward. He needed the money in order to give Julian a better life, and he was going to get that money even if it got him killed in the process. _I've done harder jobs than this. I need to take care of his protectors first, and then I can take Ronald Weasley's head as instructed._

Carefully, Ajax moved out of the alleyway with his bag of groceries cradled in his left arm. Moving unnoticed through Hogsmeade was rather easy, especially because of the loud children who were eagerly exploring the village, and so, step-by-step, Ajax neared the closest of his pursuers. The burly wizard didn't notice Ajax approaching from behind; he was too busy looking around for 'Talbot'.

"Oh, no," Ajax said as he 'accidently' bumped into the man, his bag of groceries almost falling over. "Sorry, good Sir. The ice is slippery-"

"Don't worry about it," the man grunted, a mild look of annoyance on his face. "Just take your groceries and move on, all right?"

"Let me just fix this," Ajax chuckled nervously as he fiddled with his bag of groceries. "I don't even know why I'm carrying this bag… I can just make it float behind me, can't I?"

The burly wizard frowned a bit more, while Ajax reached into his bag of groceries.

"I think I broke the eggs…" Ajax sighed out. "Do you mind holding onto this for me for a second?"

"I do, now sod off," the man growled.

"I'm about to drop it," Ajax all but shoved his bag of groceries into the man's arms. "I'm just going to have a look inside really fast. Thanks for this."

"You fucking-"

"Imperio," Ajax whispered, he had been hiding his secondary wand within the bag.

The yellow mist flooded the burly wizard's senses, and Ajax easily bound the man's mind to his own. _A simpleton, eh? Good. I can use him to gain control of his friends. That'll turn this job into a cakewalk._

"Drop my groceries, and then help me collect them," Ajax whispered sternly, and his puppet did as he was told.

The bag fell with a thud, and both master and slave crouched to recover its contents. Carefully, Ajax looked towards one of his puppet's friends. _They're watching us. I should hide my face as we talk._

"Why are you here?" Ajax whispered as he looked down. "Keep your head down as you answer."

"I'm here to protect Ronald Weasley," the puppet replied.

"Who do you work for?" Ajax asked.

"Lucius… Malfoy…" the puppet grit out. _Lucius Malfoy? Why did it have to be him of all people? Damn that stupid bitch. She'd better pay extra for this._

"Don't fight," Ajax ordered. "Submit to me."

"Yes…" the puppet muttered.

"You will help me collect your friends, won't you?" Ajax asked. "I need your help."

"I will help," the puppet gave in completely. "Please, follow me."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Honeydukes – Midday)**_

At least the day had taken a better turn after his untimely demotion. Blaise had finally decided to do the right thing, and in doing so, he had uplifted Ron's spirit a bit. With the letter delivered, Ron had brought the lads to Honeydukes for their 'surprise'. Hoping to buy Daphne some more time, Ron had decided to offer to pay for everything. _I'll manage… Right now, Pansy needs the help._

"Do you like 'Ice-Mice'?" came a soft voice from beside him.

"Sorry, am I in your way?" Ron broke out of his daydreams.

"No, I was just watching you," the older student replied with a weird smile. _Creepy… His eyes didn't change a bit when his mouth did. A smile that doesn't reach his eyes… That's something out of a murder mystery novel._ "You cut quite the figure, Ronald Weasley, especially for someone as young as you." _Pardon?_

"Um… Thanks, mate," Ron felt a bit uncomfortable. "But I… I'm not into **that** … Sorry." _I think…_

The fair, and somewhat androgynous, blonde looked a bit amused, and Ron suddenly felt a small pang of pain jolt up his spine. _Ow! Fucking Veela bastard!_

"You might look like a girl, but that won't stop me from kicking your arse," Ron hissed, his temper spiking immediately. "Knock that off right now."

"Interesting way to start a conversation," the young man 'smiled'. "So, the rumors are true. You have a certain boldness about you that hasn't been seen for a long time." _You're the prick who started the conversation by using his damn allure._

"You're not from Hogwarts," Ron figured. "And you're not some French Lord either."

"What makes you say that?" the young man asked.

"I know the French Lords," Ron replied. "You're not one of them."

"I am now, thanks to you," the young man almost looked genuine for a moment. _Really?_

"Is that so? Then, please, enlighten me," Ron said, forcing his temper down. _I need to be polite… If he's telling the truth, then I need to be on his good side. I should apologize and then humor him._

"I am Johan Abadie," the young man introduced himself. _Oh, shit._

"Abadie?" Ron looked the man over. _He's definitely Veela. A bloody handsome Veela._ "The son of Lord and Lady Abadie?"

"The only," Johan said pleasantly. "Once again, gratitude for what you did for me. My banishment was starting to unravel my mind." _What is he fucking talking about? He was banished? Why?_

"I am not following you," Ron said. "Can you please elaborate?" _I'm getting a weird feeling from this bloke._

"Do you really wish to discuss the details here?" Johan asked. "What if someone overhears us?"

"I don't know what you've been told, but I've never heard of you until today," Ron said. "No offence, my Lord." _Didn't Emilia mention that this bastard was in Australia, or something?_

"None taken," Johan said. "I became the victim of secrecy after my parents sent me away to Australia. I never dreamed of becoming Lord Abadie so soon, but you've rescued me from my isolation. So, I thought I'd thank you in person."

"I haven't done anything to earn your gratitude," Ron said. _Is he seriously thanking me for killing his parents? What the fuck?_

"Of course," Johan winked lazily. _There's something not right with this fuck. He looks like he's wearing a mask instead of having a face._ "I must admit, the stories made you out to be a giant."

"I'm still growing," Ron put on a polite smile. "I don't know why you're thanking me, but let's move past that. What are you doing in Hogsmeade, my Lord?"

"I wished to see you," Johan said in his soft voice. "I owe you a debt of gratitude."

"A debt of gratitude?" Ron repeated.

"Can you just catch up already?" Johan's voice suddenly turned bland. "I know that you were behind their untimely demises, not to mention that half of France still thinks that it was you. Word might not have reached you here, but in France, you're still suspect number one." _Fuck, am I really? Is that why I was demoted? Crouch obviously needs a popular delegate, so it would go to explain my sudden demotion. This also explains Solomon seeing through my disguise… He must be in the know in France. Fucking hell, how many things did I bungle up?_

"Then half of France is wrong," Ron said calmly. "I had nothing to do with what happened to your parents. I can prove that I was undergoing surgery-"

"For the stomach ulcer, no?" Johan 'smiled' again. "I know your story quite well. I just don't buy it." Johan then adorned an even more relaxed demeanor. "Look, we're getting off on the wrong foot here. I come as a friend, nothing more and nothing less. My parents were horrible people, and I didn't agree with their methods. I was sent away for speaking out against them, I was no older than fourteen at the time." _Boohoo. You just thanked a 'murderer' for doing your dirty work; so don't play the sob story card now. You're a fucking creepy cunt._

"I am sorry to hear about your troubles," Ron said. "But that doesn't change the truth. I had nothing to do with what happened to them. They had many enemies, as I'm sure you already know." _Where the fuck are Blaise, Theo, and Malfoy?_

"However you look at it, a debt of gratitude is owed," Johan said. "After all, it was you who made them vulnerable in the first place. Please, if you ever need anything in France, seek me out at my Manor."

"Why are you so grateful for such a thing?" Ron asked. "If, hypothetically, someone killed my parents, I'd be filled with rage and sorrow. I certainly wouldn't go around handing out debts of gratitude to the supposed murderer."

"Then I envy you for having such good parents," Johan said. "I wasn't so lucky."

"Because you're not like them," Ron said. "That's why you were banished, right?" _I'm not buying his act. Something's really off about him._

"Exactly," Johan 'smiled'. "Have a pleasant day, Mr. Weasley, and remember my offer. I think we could achieve a lot together."

"You came down just to say that, my Lord?" Ron asked.

"Matters like this should be done face-to-face," Johan replied. "That is how you can see the depths of your friends and enemies." _Which one am I?_

"Then I hope that we will be friends," Ron smiled. "I will remember your offer."

Johan 'smiled', gave a respectful nod, and then walked away quietly. _What in the fuck was that? How did he know that I was in here? Was he following me?_ Ron rubbed his face harshly; things were suddenly going to shit again. At this rate, he was going to lose his hard-earned sense of peace and revert back to his colder, usual self. _It's so much easier that way. I miss being able to just push everything, and everyone, away without a care._

"Who was that?" came Tracey's voice, and Ron quickly turned to face her. "He didn't look like any student from Hogwarts."

"Tracey?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing here? Where's Pansy?"

"Oh… Um… That's a bit awkward," Tracey pulled a sorry face. "Pansy's pouch… It's not working for some reason. She reached in to pay for her things, but there were no coins inside."

"Can that even happen?" Ron asked. "Did she damage the Runes on the pouch?"

"Daphne says that her parents must've closed off her trust fund," Tracey sighed out. "Pansy was in tears, Ron… Millie and Daphne took her back to the castle. I figured that I'd come find you and let you know." _Bloody hell…_

"Poor Pansy," Ron felt even worse. "Why is Violet Parkinson such a cunt?"

"For once, I agree with the use of that word," Tracey said. "She wants to hurt Pansy, Ron. It's some sick, twisted hobby of hers, and we need to do something about it. This can't go on."

"You're right," Ron agreed. "Have you told the other lads about this?"

"No, and promise me that you won't either," Tracey said. "Pansy doesn't need more stress in her life right now." _I reckon she'd feel better if there were more people in her corner, but the girls know her better._

"All right, I'll keep this to myself for now," Ron promised. "But let's come up with a plan between ourselves while we walk around Hogsmeade, yeah? Theo and Blaise can spend some time keeping Malfoy distracted."

"Sounds good to me, Ron," Tracey gave a relieved smile. "Thanks for being so understanding about this. I know that you always want us to do everything together. Pansy will really appreciate this."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogsmeade – Afternoon)**_

"Honestly, I'm all out of ideas," Tracey sighed out.

"Me too," Ron admitted, his eyes fixed ahead. "What the hell are we supposed to do? Until Pansy renounces her parents, we can't move in to help her."

"How do we even start that conversation?" Tracey asked. "The mere mention of her mother makes Pansy shrink to half her actual height."

"Well, you'd better figure that out," Ron said. "You, Daphne, and Millie are the only ones who she'll talk to about this."

"Ugh…" Tracey groaned. "You remember first year? When things weren't so complicated?" _Maybe for you, but 'complicated' is my middle fucking name._

"First year was the best," Ron humored her. "Everything went to shit during second year."

"Truer words were never spoken," Tracey said longingly. "We barely got any homework, we didn't have garbage electives, and we didn't have to deal with the dreadful House politics. It was just we seven, and it was perfect. Now… Now, we could lose Pansy…"

"Hey…" Ron was a bit surprised to hear that. "That's not going to happen."

"How do you know?" Tracey asked, her worry more than evident.

"I'll keep us together," Ron replied. "No matter what happens… I won't let this group be separated."

"What are you going to do when Theo's father takes him away?" Tracey asked. _Merlin, where is this suddenly coming from?_ "What about Millie's parents? My father told me what they're really like, Ron… Millie will definitely want to be with her parents."

"We don't know that," Ron whispered as he moved a bit closer, his left hand rubbing her back. "You know Millie, Trace… Do you think she'd ever side with people like her parents?"

"She loves them, doesn't she?" Tracey asked weakly.

"She does, but Millie is her own person," Ron replied. "She's strong enough to choose the right path, I know it. I've never seen her bully, torment, or show hatred towards the Muggle-Borns. She hates bullies. When she learns the full truth, she'll know which side is the right one."

"You reckon she'll join the Order," Tracey sounded a little hopeful.

"I have no idea about that," Ron smiled comfortingly. "But she'll definitely stand with her friends. She might even try to save her parents, which is what Theo wants to do."

"Theo wants to save his father?" Tracey asked, her eyes darting forward towards Theo's back.

"He doesn't want to join the Death-Eaters," Ron whispered. _I reckon she'll be really happy to hear that._

"Really?" Tracey's face started to light up. "He told you this?"

"He did," Ron replied. "He also told Blaise, so you can go and ask him if you don't believe me." Ron then put his left arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "This group is important to all of us, and I reckon we'll all fight to keep it together. It won't be easy, but if we stay together, I think we'll **all** make it out of this." _Well, not all, but I can't say that to her right now._

"I… Thanks, Ron," Tracey smiled optimistically. "I really needed to hear that."

"I'll need your help, of course," Ron smiled back.

"You can count on it," Tracey promised, resisting the urge to make a joke.

Tracey then drew in a sharp breath, something resolute shifting behind her eyes.

"About the Order…" Tracey started. "I'm going to join it as soon as I can." _What?_

"You want to join the Order?" Ron blinked.

"Do you know what happened to my parents during the last war?" Tracey asked, and Ron gave a nod. "They were the lucky ones, Ron… How many people do you think the Death-Eaters killed?" _Is she planning to become one of those people?_

"Thousands," Ron replied. "Tracey-"

"Tens of thousands," Tracey corrected him. "The whole Wizarding World was engulfed in this war… So many innocent people were tortured and killed, and all for an idea as stupid as Blood-Supremacy. I have to fight against something that horrible, Ron." _Bloody hell, Tracey..._ "My parents are already planning to fight, remember? Well, I'm going to stand by them."

"You're too young to fight in a war," Ron said. "Your parents will say the same."

"Then I'll wait a couple of years," Tracey said with fierce determination. "In that time, I'm going to devote myself to becoming a stronger witch. I've already started running with you-"

"Is that why you started joining us?" Ron asked. "It wasn't because Daphne asked you to?"

"I haven't told anybody about my real reasons," Tracey smiled a bit. "But I've been meaning to do it, and I picked you."

"Over Daphne?" Ron asked dumbly. "Why?"

"I've always felt like we were similar," Tracey shrugged. "Maybe it's because you hate the idea of Blood-Supremacy like I do, but whatever the reasoning, I've always known that I could trust you."

Ron was genuinely touched by her words, but instead of thanking her, he just stared at her with an astonished look.

"What?" Tracey asked. "I'm capable of saying nice things, you know? When I feel like it, that is."

"I've felt it too," Ron forced his voice out. "The connection you were referring to… I don't know if this makes sense, but you and I get each other."

"We do," Tracey smiled brightly. "You'll be joining the Order too, right? What am I saying? Of course you'll join the Order."

"I do plan on joining eventually," Ron said. _Is it really fair of me to discourage her from fighting for her beliefs? Aren't I doing the same? Damn, it is a bit hypocritical of me to be so against her decision. A good friend doesn't behave so selfishly-_

"Ron? Where did you go?" Tracey called him back from his thoughts. "Did you just zone out on me? I thought that we were having a moment…"

"We were," Ron smiled apologetically. "Sorry… Bad habit." _Is she really set on this path?_

"It's a good thing that I'll be watching your back out there, then," Tracey smirked. "Can't have you getting hurt because you were dozing off in the middle of a battle."

"A battle?" Ron chuckled. "You plan on joining the vanguard?"

"I plan to be wherever people need help," Tracey replied. _That was a really good answer._ "Same as you, Ron."

A small part of Ron still feared for her life, but she had mostly won him over with her resolution alone. _I think she might be the best of us. With bravery like that, how did she ever end up in Slytherin?_ Ron's thoughts, and movement, were suddenly interrupted when he felt someone poke a pointy object into his side. _What was that?_ Slowly, Ron looked to his right, only to come face-to-face with a burly wizard. _His eyes… They're milky white._

"Did you just…?" Ron looked down, and he saw a knife trying to penetrate his augmented suit. _What. The. Fuck?_

The brutish wizard tried to jam the knife in again, and that's when it all hit Ron. Someone was trying to knife him in the middle of Hogsmeade! _Cutis Terra!_

"You fuck…" Ron snarled, his face twisting in anger.

The wizard raised the knife above his head, no doubt planning to stick the blade into Ron's eye. From behind Ron, Tracey screamed at the top of her lungs, while the people around them jumped from fright. _Get away from her!_ Ron shoved himself forward, his left hand grabbing onto the attacker's dominant wrist. The two began to tussle for power, and Ron felt his own heart thudding in his ears as people around them started yelling for help. _Use your fucking wands! Get him off me! Fuck it! I'll do it myself, then!_

"Incendio," Ron grit out as he began to overpower the attacker thanks to his enhanced strength.

His left hand felt as hot as a furnace before it began to glow orange, the searing heat causing the attacker to scream in agony. Within a second, the larger man was on his knees, his screams mixing in with the panicking crowd of students and villagers. Ron quickly removed his glowing hand off of the scorched wrist; melted skin clinging to Ron's hand, and without hesitation, Ron grabbed the attackers face. _Burn, you fuck! Trying to kill me?! In public?! In front of my fucking friends?!_

"RON! LOOK OUT!" Tracey screamed again from behind him, but before Ron could react, he felt a body slam into his back.

Ron's legs became tangled with his attacker's writhing body, causing the large teenager to fall forward. From the corner of his vision, Ron saw flowing brown hair and a spray of red. The snow didn't make the landing softer, the sudden thud distracted Ron from what was going on. It pulled him out of the situation completely. _Who just hit me in the back?_

"TRACEY!" Theo cried, and Ron heard rushed footsteps from behind him.

He turned around with a dazed look, his mind slowly catching up. _I've heard that kind of gurgling before… What the fuck just happened?_ Before Ron stood a jarred man, his wand aimed forward though his eyes were vacant. He was staring down at Tracey's trembling form, which was being cradled by a terrified Theo. _TRACEY!_

"NO!" Ron roared, his worst fears had come true. "What did you do to her?!"

The man seemed to break out of his thought at that, his wand quickly moving towards Ron. _Lumos Solem!_

"Avada Ked-" the man started, but the golden beam of light caught him dead in his chest.

The tanned man with the scar across his nose was sent flying through the air, as were the people behind him. _Tracey!_ Ron shot up to his feet, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Help me!" Theo was yelling, and from the look of it, people were starting to wake up. "Please! Do something!"

Dozens rushed over to help, a few of them smashing into Ron and cutting him off from his friends. _Tracey!_

"Get out of the fucking way!" Ron bellowed as he tossed people aside without a damn, and before long, he was on his knees beside Tracey. "Tracey! Gods! No!" _This is not happening to her!_ _ **NO!**_

The horrified look on her face… It was enough to tear Ron's heart out of his chest. She was shaking like a leaf, her body seizing from the shock and pain. And when Ron finally saw the gash around her neck, something in his brain just turned off. The entire world stopped moving, and Ron felt like he was trapped in this moment forever.

There was so much blood… The bottom half of her face was covered with it. More was leaking out, despite Theo trying his best to stop the bleeding with his hands.

"Please… Not you too…" Theo was whispering hysterically over and over again.

Bile rose up in the back of Ron's throat, but he quickly swallowed it. _What the fuck am I doing?! Do something, Ron!_ Ron yanked out his wand as he shifted closer to Tracey, her gurgling causing his hands to shake. For a brief moment, Ron had felt like he was waiting behind Pandora's lab entrance again. That day, he had heard her gurgling as she nearly drowned in her own blood, and today, he was watching the same thing unfold before his very eyes. _Save her like you saved Pandora!_

"Episkey!" Ron chanted, his wand aimed at the squirting wound.

Tracey let out a strangled scream, and blood shot out of her mouth and onto Theo's face. She suddenly jerked in a terrifying manner, as if her soul was trying to escape her body, and Ron could only watch as the light began to dim behind her eyes. Her movements became weaker and weaker, eventually stopping altogether.

"No… No, no, no, no, no," Ron began panicking, why wasn't the Spell working?!

"Tracey…" Theo whimpered, thick tears running down his face. "Trace…"

"Out of my way!" came a loud growl. "Auror coming through! MOVE!"

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Twelve Grimmauld Place – Afternoon)**_

"Find the whereabouts of this man for me, Mungdungus, and I will consider all debts paid," Albus said, handing Mungdungus a cutout from an old magazine.

"Alexander Argo," Mungdungus studied the cutout. "Master of Soul Transfiguration?"

"He was a notorious merchant in my youth, and his wares were often displayed within Transfiguration Today," Albus explained.

"And why would you want to meet this fella?" Mungdungus asked, and Albus just smiled at him.

It took Mungdungus awhile to get a hint, and when he finally did, he gave a grunt and a nod.

"Right… I'm onto it, boss," Mungdungus said before leaving the kitchen. _Soul Transfiguration… Is such a thing even possible? For Ronald's sake, I certainly hope so._

"Dumbledore?" came Sirius' voice. "Why are you here?"

"I had business with Mungdungus," Albus replied, watching Sirius scrape his feet as he entered the kitchen. "Is something bothering you, Sirius?"

"A lot of things are bothering me," Sirius shrugged, leaning against a cupboard.

"I always have time to talk to a former student," Albus offered.

Sirius clicked his tongue, a slight frown crossing his face. _He's in a mood._

"I was supposed to go meet Harry today," Sirius said. "He was really looking forward to it, and now, he's probably let down."

"Why didn't you go?" Albus asked.

"Alastor fucking Moody," Sirius replied bitterly. " **Moody** is a damn accurate description of the man… Stupid prick."

"Sirius," Albus said, guiding Sirius back to the conversation.

"Right…" Sirius sighed out. "He forbid me from going… Told me that I'd get in the way of his job."

"He's watching Harry for the day?" Albus asked. "I remember asking Emmeline and Hestia to take watch."

"They're there with Moody," Sirius said. "He took over the whole operation, and then forbid me from seeing my Godson. I should start charging him for rent… He grows nice and fat in my home, eating my food and dirtying my sheets-"

"Ignore what he says just this once," Albus smiled. "I think you should go and see Harry. If Alastor gives you any trouble, tell him that I gave you my blessing." _Harry must forge the best of memories. They will give him the strength he needs to defeat Tom._

"Really?" Sirius straightened up a bit.

"Joy should never be delayed," Albus chuckled. "Go on-"

"Albus! There you are!" Minerva stormed into the room. "Oh, Albus! Something horrible has happened!"

"Minerva?" Albus studied her clothes; there were splatters of blood on her black robes.

"Are you bleeding?" Sirius went wide-eyed.

"There was an attack in Hogsmeade…" Minerva panted. _Harry!_

"An attack?" Sirius paled.

"Fawkes," Albus called, and his Phoenix flew onto his shoulder from the sink.

"Take him to the Hospital Wing," Minerva said, and Albus was suddenly engulfed in bright orange flames.

The first thing he heard was loud gasps as people jumped out of the way, not aware that the flames wouldn't harm them. The Hospital Wing was flooded with chattering students, all of them stuffing themselves into the room in order to gaze at some spectacle.

"Silence!" Albus ordered, making everyone in the room stop in their tracks. "All students are to leave at once! Madam Pomfrey needs the floor!"

"Headmaster," Pomona called him over, while the students slowly began to depart. "Thank Merlin that you've arrived… I can't believe that this is happening…" _She's crying? No…_

"Was it Harry?" Albus asked. "Was he injured?"

"The Boy-Who-Lived is unharmed," Severus hissed from behind a curtain. "Come in here, we need your help."

Albus made his way into the curtained off section, where he was confronted by a very jarring sight. _What has happened?_ Severus and Poppy were leaning over a female student; her bloody clothes gave even a man like Albus reason to stop. _By the Gods…_

"Bastard got her with some sort of slashing Curse," Alastor growled from behind him, and Albus turned to face the man.

"Her?" Albus asked, his heart clenching painfully.

"Tracey Davis," Filius approached them, a haunted look on his face. _Ronald's friend?_ "We're still unsure of the details, but there was an attack on Ronald Weasley-"

"Ronald was attacked?" Albus cut in. "Was he also harmed in the attempt?"

"No, he wasn't," Alastor told him. "Davis pushed him out of the way, but the Curse caught her throat. Albus, whoever was attacking Weasley, he was driven by Blood-Supremacy."

"What makes you say that?" Albus asked.

"The killer tried to take Weasley's head," Alastor explained. "He could've shot the boy down with the Killing Curse, but instead chose to behead him. It's a bloody tradition of the Old Ways… The boy's own uncles, Fabian and Gideon, lost their heads in the last war."

"Morgana's mercy," Pomona looked dizzy. "A beheading…"

"Then Tracey Davis…?" Albus feared to say the words. _One of my students…_

"She's circling the drain," Alastor said bluntly, making Pomona and Filius flinch. "I had one of your Elves bring her here, and Snape managed to find a Counter-Curse for her wound-"

"It will scar, though…" Pomona muttered.

"Better than dying," Alastor said. "He had a tear from your Phoenix stored away, which is the only reason why she's still clinging on. She's lost most of her blood, I reckon."

"Thank the Gods for Severus," Filius said, and Albus shared the man's sentiment. "Poppy is working to keep Tracey alive, but… It's not looking good, Headmaster."

"Poppy, do you need more tears from Fawkes?" Albus asked, and Fawkes let out a voluntary cry.

"The tears won't be as effective as before," Poppy replied without stopping her task. "She needs her blood restored, and Severus needs to break the Curse's effects."

"She is still under its effects?" Albus asked.

"It's something new," Alastor replied. "Even I haven't seen it before. The Curse is sapping her life out, despite the caster not being nearby."

"But you mentioned that Severus had found a Counter-Curse," Albus said.

"I'm making it up as I go along," Severus whispered coldly. _Truly?_ "But it is becoming a difficult task with you all running your mouths near me. If you can't help, get out."

"I am inclined to agree," Poppy said.

"Albus, I need to talk to you," Alastor whispered. "Let Snape and Pomfrey do their work. This is important."

"Where are her friends?" Albus asked. "I must see them immediately." _Ronald must be in a state._

"I'll take you to them," Alastor gestured for them to walk.

"Tell me everything from the start, Alastor," Albus ordered as they began heading for Poppy's office.

"From what I've gathered, an attacker attempted to stab Weasley," Alastor started. "It was a diversion, but much to the Weasley boy's credit, he overpowered his first attacker. That's when another attacker snuck up behind Weasley and attempted to behead him. The Davis girl threw herself between them, and was rewarded a slashed throat." _Gods… Whoever did this will answer directly to me._ "Brave girl… Not many could have acted so boldly under such circumstances."

"Severus and Poppy will keep her alive, I'm certain of it," Pomona said.

"What of the second attacker?" Albus asked.

"Weasley took care of him as well," Alastor replied. "That's about the time I arrived. The Davis girl was dying, and I managed to get her to Snape in his lab." _He went directly to Severus instead of taking Tracey to Poppy? He must respect Severus' knowledge of the Dark Arts quiet a bit._ "I'm sorry, Albus, but the attackers got away."

"Except for one," Filius quickly added. "Rubeus dragged the initial attacker back to Hogwarts, and the Elves have bound and gagged him in the Kitchens."

"I will speak to this man-" Albus started.

"You should let the Aurors deal with this," Alastor cut in. "That's what I needed to tell you… I dispatched Emmeline and Hestia to the Ministry. They'll be bringing Aurors back with them. You should let them handle this, and instead tend to your students. Let's show them a gesture of goodwill, and start off on the right path. The Order needs to work with the Ministry if we're to win this war."

"I will let the Aurors do their jobs," Albus said, and Alastor gave a nod. "Under my supervision." _They attacked one of my students. I will not let this stand._

"Albus…" Alastor blinked.

"I want to talk to the students alone," Albus said as they neared the door. "Wait out here."

"Poppy gave them Calming Draughts for their nerves," Filius said as Albus opened the door. "They've not taken this well, Headmaster." _What friend could?_

Albus entered the office and shut the door behind himself, whilst also wandlessly silencing the entire room. It was a heart wrenching sight; six of them were clinging to each other, protecting a bloodied Theodore Nott. Draco sat not far from them, a look of disbelief on his face. _Where is Ronald?_ The boy in question stood between the window and the desk, his back pressed against the wall. There was no emotion on his face, which was slightly alarming for some reason.

"Are any of you injured?" Albus approached the others first.

"No, Headmaster…" Daphne spoke for the group.

"Theodore?" Albus called gently.

"It's not my blood," Theodore said distantly. "Is she going to die as well?" _As well?_

"Nothing has been decided yet," Albus told them all. "But I have faith that she will survive."

"Did Madam Pomfrey tell you this?" Blaise asked.

"She and Professor Snape are attempting to restore her even as we speak," Albus said. "The Aurors are on their way, and they will have questions for all of you-"

"We will wait until my father is here," Daphne said, her eyes were bloodshot from crying. _And yet, she still has her wits about her._

"I will contact him at once," Albus said, and then he looked to Ronald. "Ronald? Are you injured?"

"No…" Ronald replied, his eyes fixed on the floor. "Can I speak to you? I have information on the attackers."

"Come with me, then," Albus said.

"I'd rather not leave the room," Ronald said. "Can you please just come here?" _He sounds far too calm. The Calming Draught isn't known to dull such trauma so well._

Albus walked over to the tall boy, a paternal look of worry crossing his features for a moment.

"Are you hurt, dear boy?" Albus whispered. "Do not hide a wound for foolish reasons."

"I'm not hurt," Ronald whispered, his lifeless eyes meeting Albus'. "The attacker had very tanned skin, and a long scar across his nose."

"This is the one who tried to behead you?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Ronald replied. "The one who got away."

"The Aurors will find him," Albus promised.

"No… I'll find him," Ronald said ominously. "He'll answer to me."

"Don't say such things," Albus warned in a gentle voice. "Ronald, the Aurors will be working under my supervision. We will find the attacker, and we will do it the right way."

"Headmaster," came Filius' voice, and Albus turned around. "Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour is here, and he's not alone."

"Is he in there?" came a familiar voice, and then a stern looking witch stepped into the Office. _Jane Roberts. Rufus brought a Hit-Wizard with him?_

Jane walked right past everyone and grabbed Ronald by the shoulders, her eyes scanning him for injuries.

"How are you, Ron?" Jane asked almost gently.

"I lost my friend…" Ronald replied. "All that training, and none of it mattered…"

"She's not gone yet," Jane said firmly. "You have to be strong during times like these. Show me the strength that I witnessed in our Duels."

"I… You're right," Ronald looked back up. "Madam Roberts, I have information on the attackers." _She got through to him so easily?_

"Then you're coming with me," Jane said. "Headmaster, can you please escort the others to Rufus?"

"After I contact their parents," Albus replied. _I must speak with Ronald tonight. His grief will surely turn into vengeance if I don't talk him out of it._

* * *

 _ **Rufus Scrimgeour's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hogwarts – Late Afternoon)**_

This was going to be a disaster for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Even right now, news of this debacle was spreading like wildfire. Parents had started showing up at Hogwarts, all of them demanding to see their children. The Professors were barely managing to hold down the fort, and as such, Rufus and Jane had been set up behind the Hospital Wing.

Some cowardly predator had tried to behead Ronald Weasley in public, only to be overpowered by his 'prey'. The boy had fought off the assassination attempt, but at the cost of a girl's life. Tracey Davis was no longer responding to any outside stimuli, and was in the process of being moved to St. Mungo's. The Healers there would no doubt be able to keep her alive through potions, but her chances of waking back up were truly slim.

The severity of the attack had completely robbed Rufus of the chance to contain the situation. Upset parents were constantly getting in the way, Poppy Pomfrey refused to let him push anyone for information, and the Slytherins were hiding things from him.

"So you saw nothing?" Rufus asked Draco Malfoy.

"It all happened really fast…" Draco replied distantly. "By the time I realized what was happening behind me, most of it was already over."

"Did you see Ronald Weasley fight off his attackers?" Rufus asked.

"I… didn't see much," Draco 'subtly' lowered his gaze. _He fears Legilimency? Is he hiding something?_

"You did not see Mr. Weasley overpower a grown wizard?" Rufus asked.

"I was too distracted to take much notice of anything," Draco replied. _Apparently, Ronald Weasley is invisible to his own friends. All the witnesses surrounding the attack claim that Ronald Weasley peeled the flesh off of someone's face without hesitation. That is certainly odd behavior for a teenager, isn't it?_

"Am I free to go?" Draco asked. "I've shared everything that I could remember." _Liar._

"You may leave," Rufus gestured the boy to leave the classroom. "Send in Mr. Weasley."

Draco Malfoy left without making a sound, and Rufus wondered why the boy's father hadn't arrived to see him. _He's probably licking the Dark Lord's feet right now. Still... Who would dare put Lucius Malfoy's heir in danger? Which Lord wants to see Weasley dead, and is also not intimidated by the Malfoys? Corban Yaxley? He did go after the boy and his French allies… But Corban Yaxley is not an amateur. He would never order a public killing. No, whoever ordered this attack was ruled by their emotions. They wanted to put on a grand spectacle: the beheading of the rising Blood-Traitor._

"You wished to see me?" came Ronald Weasley's voice, and Rufus gestured him to a chair.

"Sit, Mr. Weasley," Rufus said. "I have some questions for you."

"Of course," Weasley walked over and sat down, his glassy eyes looking through Rufus. "I've already given Madam Roberts all the details. Do you want me to repeat them to you as well?" _He's very cooperative. Surprising._

"Please," Rufus gave a nod. "Tell me everything."

"We were walking towards the town center, and nothing was out of place," Weasley started. "But then, someone attacked me with a knife."

"He stabbed you?" Rufus asked.

"No, he missed," Weasley replied.

"Strange… The surrounding witnesses claim that the blade couldn't pierce your skin," Rufus said. "They told me that the attacker tried again and again, but failed to wound you."

"Well, obviously they're mistaken," Weasley displayed his undamaged suit. "See? No stab wounds." _A dozen people made the same error? Unlikely._

"Keep going," Rufus said, his eyes scanning Weasley's face.

"I managed to grab his arm, and we got into a wrestling match of sorts," Weasley went on. "I overpowered him-"

"He was twice your size," Rufus cut in. "I've seen what's left of him for myself… How did you overpower such a man?"

"Adrenaline," Weasley shrugged. "Anyway… I managed to take him down, but then Tracey…" the boy trailed off.

"She pushed you out of the way?" Rufus provided, and Weasley gave a slow nod. "What can you tell me about the second attacker? What did he look like?"

"He had very tanned skin," Weasley replied in a distracted manner. _Are they too sedated to focus? All of them have been the same so far._ "There was a long scar across his nose. Oh, and he looked like a foreigner. Someone not from England, that's for sure." _That's not much to go on. I'll have my Aurors start searching for anyone with similar scars._

"You also overpowered this attacker," Rufus said. "Isn't that right?"

"It is," Weasley replied. "He hurt Tracey… And so I attacked him without thinking of the people behind him. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to hurt anyone but him."

"There were no serious injuries," Rufus said, and the boy looked a little relieved. _He definitely has empathy, and judging by the tear marks on his face, he also cares deeply about his friends. This side of him doesn't line up with the side of him that I've looked into._

"My first attacker…" the boy said suddenly. "His eyes were milky white." _Really?_

"Are you sure?" Rufus asked, and Weasley gave a nod. _The stabber was under the Imperius Curse? Was he also a victim, then? The second attacker must have been the real assassin._ "Mr. Weasley, do you have any enemies who would dare to cause you injury?"

"Clearly, I do," Weasley said distantly. _Smart-arse._

"Care to elaborate on that?" Rufus asked, and Weasley looked Rufus over. _What is it, boy? Spit it out._ "Well?"

"Corban Yaxley, Felix Rosier, Violet Parkinson, and Dolores Umbridge attempted to humiliate me recently," Weasley said. "You should look into them."

"Dolores Umbridge is a Ministry Official," Rufus reminded the boy. "Are you willing to make such an accusation?"

"I'm just giving you my thoughts as you requested," Weasley said. "I don't recall making any accusations." _Is he trying to give me a trail to follow? Then he must know far more than he's letting on._

"Hiding information from an Auror is enough to land you in Azkaban for a week," Rufus lied.

"That was a terrible lie," Weasley said calmly. "Use my information if you want, I couldn't care less. Best of luck to you."

Weasley stood up, fixed his coat, and left without hesitation. _I need to keep my eyes on him._ Just as Weasley left the room, Jane marched in with a furrowed brow.

"We have a problem," Jane said, her eyes darting towards Weasley. "Ron, your parents are waiting to take you home."

"Home?" Weasley asked.

"You're all being excused from your studies," Jane clarified. "It's not compulsory, but I personally recommend it. Now, go on. Don't keep them waiting."

Weasley did as he was told, and once he was gone, Jane shut the door.

"What problem?" Rufus asked.

"The first attacker is dead," Jane said. _What?_

"How?" Rufus demanded.

"Pomfrey had him moved to the Hospital Wing for treatment, and he seized the opportunity to drink poison from his ring," Jane reported. "The poison burned right through him, killing him instantly."

"That's not something that an innocent man would do," Rufus grimaced.

"Innocent?" Jane asked.

"Weasley didn't tell you about the first attacker's eyes?" Rufus asked, and Jane shook her head. "The man was under the Imperius Curse."

"He was a puppet for the second attacker?" Jane asked. _This is why she needs to remain in the field. She's got the perfect mind for it._ "And he wasn't a civilian… We need to identify this man. His identity could lead us to the second killer."

"Go back to the Ministry and get started, I'll join you briefly," Rufus began limping towards the exit. "I have an important errand to run."

* * *

 _ **Alastor Moody's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Entrance Hall – Late Afternoon)**_

Alastor searched the crowd of worried parents with a keen interest; the attacker could still be here. _If they were bold enough to attack the boy in public, they might be mad enough to try to break into Hogwarts._

All the first signs of war were there, just like they had been before the first war, but once again, people were blind to the coming threat. People often labeled Alastor as 'Mad' and 'Paranoid', but they were the mad ones. Alastor was vigilant, and that had saved his life countless times. _If Amelia does run for Office, I want her to out the Dark Lord. The public will listen to her, and they will finally start thinking again._

Alastor's Magical-Eye suddenly darted towards the left, automatically seeking the sudden spike in Magic. _Rufus._ The Head Auror was limping down towards Alastor, a displeased frown on his face. _He must have heard about the first attacker's death._

"Does anyone stand out?" Rufus asked as he came to a stop.

"No," Alastor replied. "Just loud, annoying parents."

"I feel like I'm back in time," Rufus said. "Just before the first war started."

Alastor smirked a little to himself, at least Rufus Scrimgeour wasn't so easily mislead. _His eyes never miss a thing, as he always says._

"Did you learn anything from the children?" Alastor asked.

"Only Weasley had something of note to share," Rufus frowned. "The first attacker was under the Imperius Curse." _Then why would he poison himself? He was clearly a criminal._

"There were two parties there," Alastor deduced.

"Exactly," Rufus said. "Jane's gone to identify the first attacker, which will hopefully give us a promising lead."

"Keep me in the loop," Alastor said, his eyes travelling back to the crowd of parents in the Courtyard.

"Did you look through the file I gave you?" Rufus asked. _Not this again…_

"I did," Alastor replied. "The boy is certainly odd, but not enough to warrant such an investigation. We need to focus on the war, Rufus, not on the affairs of a child."

"He is no ordinary child," Rufus countered. "He knows a lot more about this attack than we do, and yet, he refuses to share that information with us. And don't even get me started on what he did to his first attacker."

"It was self-defense," Alastor said. "I've seen people do much worse."

"You've seen other thirteen year olds capable of such brutality?" Rufus cocked an eyebrow.

"He's almost fourteen," Alastor said, earning a dark frown from his old friend.

"Just ask around about him," Rufus said with forced control. "I want to know what the adults in his life think of him."

"I don't need to ask around," Alastor said. "They respect him, and they all love him as their own."

"And this doesn't strike you as odd?" Rufus asked. _It does, but knowing what he's going through, I think it's rather natural that they all dote on him._

"What strikes me as odd is how you came across his private medical records," Alastor looked into Rufus' yellow eyes. "How does the British Head Auror come across medical scans taken in **France**? You have no authority there."

"I did what was necessary," Rufus said coldly.

"You broke the law," Alastor growled. "The Rufus I remember fighting beside would never shame himself by throwing his ideals into the dirt. He was a man who served a higher cause than his own selfish vindication."

"The war changed us all," Rufus maintained his coldness.

"It did, but the rest of us focused on rebuilding the world, while you chose to stay in the fight," Alastor said.

"Someone had to hunt down the filth, and my superiors bestowed that duty upon me," Rufus reminded Alastor. _You could've refused them, brother…_

"Leave the boy alone, and focus on the coming battles," Alastor advised. "The Dark Lord has been quiet for too long, which doesn't bode well for us."

"Don't let his illness blind you, Alastor," Rufus said as he turned to leave. "That boy is not what he seems."

Rufus left at that, the sound of his cane echoing through the empty hallways of Hogwarts. Alastor remained in his spot, his eyes returning to the crowd of parents. A part of him wanted to investigate Weasley, of course, but too many other important matters were on his mind. The Order's progress was slowing down again, which wasn't a good sign considering the state of things.

The promised soldiers were no where to be seen, the French had yet to send any sort of aid, the Dark Lord had once again vanished, Amelia's camp was not happy about being forced to work with the Order, the Order had lost its best, and only, spy, and Albus was beginning to resemble his old self much more often. There was an air of decisiveness around him that Alastor had not seen since the final few years of the first war. Personally, Alastor preferred this Albus Dumbledore over the wacky old fool everyone had become so used to, but the rest of the world didn't share his opinion. The Order certainly didn't, and that was causing issues.

Every single member of the Old Guard followed Albus because he shared their ideals and beliefs, and this included Alastor himself. Albus had inspired them to fight against the Dark Lord, and he had done it without force. He had **earned** their respect instead of **demanding** it. _But something's changed… Recently, he's becoming more and more authoritative._ _ **And**_ _he continues to fill our ranks with questionable people. The Greengrasses, those three new Slytherin recruits that he mentioned, the French… The Davis Family was the only choice that I could agree with. Is Snape behind this change? They do spend a lot of time together. No… Snape has no love for these people, and he wouldn't go out of his way to secure them a place on the boat. So many things don't make sense… It's like someone is orchestrating everything, bringing all of us together to fight against the Dark Lord._

"Wotcher!" Tonks walked into the Entrance Hall from the Courtyard. "See anything suspicious?!"

"Lower your damn voice," Alastor snarled.

"Relax, no one can hear me," Tonks placed herself to his right, a bright smile on her face.

"Get rid off that smile," Alastor frowned. "A girl is dead, Tonks…"

"I know," Tonks sniffled, making Alastor blink. "If I don't smile right now, I'm going to start crying again…" _The British Aurors Department is doomed._ "I overheard Arthur and Molly telling the Slytherins that their friend was still fighting… I wish I could believe that. With her current state, she'll probably never recover… Poor Mr. and Mrs. Davis… I hate seeing the victim's Family after, it's always so hard to keep a strong face, you know?" _I know._

"Snape managed to break the Curse, so maybe there's still hope," Alastor said, though he didn't believe his own words.

"Professor Snape…" Tonks shook her head in disbelief. "I used to hate everything about him, but I guess I just made assumptions like everyone else. He **actually** managed to withstand torture from the Dark Lord… He must be as powerful as the Headmaster." _I highly doubt that, but his mental fortitude certainly rivals Albus'. Perhaps that's why they are drawn to each other?_

"Why did you leave your post?" Alastor asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, I'm heading home," Tonks replied. "Apparently, this case is far too interesting to leave in the hands of a rookie. Madam Bones sent a messenger who dismissed anyone who isn't a veteran." _Ugh… The red tape. I certainly don't miss that._

"Go back to headquarters instead," Alastor said. "I need you to pull Mungdungus aside, and then order him to find out more about this attack. We need to know if it's related to the Order or not."

"I'll get onto it."

* * *

 _ **Arthur Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Hospital Wing – Late Afternoon)**_

Someone had tried to behead his youngest son, a fact that Arthur was still struggling to accept. Ron, a thirteen year old, was nearly beheaded. _Just like his uncles._ Molly had taken this news with anger instead of shock, and unlike her husband, she was making sure that all the children were looked after. _Theodore in particular. Poor boy… He's still covered in his friend's blood. Where is his father?_

"Arthur?" Molly shook him out of his thoughts. "Arthur? Are you there?" _I need to focus. My son needs me right now._

"Did you ask them?" Arthur looked to her. "What did they say?"

"Draco already agreed to go back with Andromeda, she's not let go of him since she arrived," Molly started. "Theodore keeps insisting that his father will come to save him-"

"Save him?" Arthur blinked.

"Something is terribly wrong with him, Arthur," Molly said with a strained voice. "I'm going to ask him to come with us again, and I need you to help me this time. We can't leave him alone."

"I'll come with you," Arthur promised her. "Tell me about the rest."

"Daphne is refusing to leave Tracey's side, the poor girl…" Molly restarted. "Millicent is leaving with her parents, and they're taking Pansy with them."

"The Parkinsons aren't here?" Arthur asked.

"Does that even surprise you?" Molly asked in response. "You should keep helping Ronnie free Pansy from her parents."

"Molly, it's a bit more complicated-" Arthur started.

"Ask your Ministry friends," Molly said quickly. "Put your connections to use and show Ronnie that you can be trusted. He needs to put more faith in his father, Arthur." _No one can help Pansy escape her parents. Only she can do that._

"What about Blaise?" Arthur asked. "I don't know much about him, but I don't see any parents here for him."

"Oh," Molly made an odd sound, her eyes watering up a little. "He said that he'd go wherever Ronnie was going… It was the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

"Then we need to convince Ron to come home with us," Arthur said, and Molly nodded her agreement.

"Hello," came a voice from behind him, and Arthur nearly jumped due to how cold it was.

"Ronnie? I thought you were resting," Molly immediately looked fretful. _He didn't overhear us, did he?_

"I couldn't sleep," Ron said, his eyes fixed on Arthur's. "I've been thinking, and I've decided that I want to stay at Hogwarts."

"What? Why?" Molly asked, her brow furrowing.

"I might need the Astronomy Tower soon," Ron replied.

"Astronomy Tower?" Arthur asked slowly. "Whatever for?"

"I have an Astronomy assignment coming up," Ron explained. "If the weather is good, I need to go up there and chart the stars. I can't do that at the Burrow."

"Ron, you've been through something terrible today," Arthur started. "You need to come home and rest-"

"I want to keep busy, dad," Ron cut in. "If I sit down and start thinking about Tracey… I'll go crazy. I'm already starting to panic, despite being on the Calming Draught. I need to keep busy. Please."

"Arthur… Say no…" Molly whispered. "He **has** to come home."

"I'll be visiting Tracey, so we'll still see each other everyday," Ron said. "Just do me this one favor, dad. Please." _Merlin… What he's saying is making sense, but I want him to come home. What do I do?_

"Your friend, Blaise, wants to stay with you," Arthur started. "If you come home, then we can look after him as well. Don't you want to stay with your friends? They need you right now. I'm sure that you can convince Theodore to come as well."

Something flickered behind Ron's eyes, and he suddenly looked a little uncertain.

"I can work from home…" Ron said, nodding to himself. "You're right, dad. I shouldn't leave my friends…" _I got through to him?! Yes!_ "I'll go grab Theo and Blaise, and then we'll start packing up our trunks."

Ron wandered off without wasting a moment, while Arthur turned to his wife with a slightly triumphant look.

"He listened to you," Molly was beaming at him. "Oh, Arthur! He's coming back to us!"

Arthur struggled to keep his smile from taking over his face, a feat he only managed to accomplish when he thought about James and Susana's situation. _I should ask Sebastian to let Daphne stay with us. That way, most of them will be together under one roof. It's sure to do them some good, and Molly can keep her eyes on all of them._

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Late Evening)**_

"Crucio!" the Dark Lord screamed, and Corban howled in agony as his battered form writhed upon the bloody, wooden floor.

"Depulso!" the Dark Lord sent Amycus Carrow through a window.

"Maledictus flagella," the Dark Lord left a permanent black lash across Thorfinn Rowle's back.

From the corner of his vision, Lord Voldemort spotted Bartholomew Goyle trying to crawl away. _Wretch!_

"Incendio!" Lord Voldemort burned the flesh from the man's back, causing Goyle to bellow and weep for the Gods' mercy. "All of you are **worthless** fools! And I should see you all burned at the stake!"

"We could not have known… my Lord…" Nott coughed out, his trembling hands covering the bloody cut on his leg. "Please… Mercy, my Lord…"

"Beg for mercy again, and I will tear your tongue out of your skull!" Lord Voldemort sent old fool flying into a chair, not caring an ounce for his life. "Is my will to be defied at every turn?! Is Lord Voldemort not your **Master**?!"

"We serve… at your pleasure, my Lord…" Lucius tried to stand on his broken leg, something that caused him to wince in agony.

"And yet, you all put your own schemes ahead of my orders!" the Dark Lord Non-Verbally shattered Lucius' other leg.

Lucius' screams echoed throughout the empty receiving room. The Dark Lord had set upon his minions as soon as they had come through the fireplaces. There would be no escape from punishment, not this time. _My Heir was ordered to be beheaded?! Like some common Blood-Traitor?! Which one of these fools was behind this?! I will see their flesh from their bones!_

The fireplace right in front of Lord Voldemort came to life, and a sweaty Egbert Parkinson wobbled into the dark greeting room in his uniform.

"Useless cur!" the Dark Lord shrieked, his body flying towards the man.

"My Lord, please!" Egbert screamed, his hands going up in surrender.

The Dark Lord slashed his wand against Egbert's chubby fingers, severing most of them with the precision of a sharp blade. The fat man screamed at the top of his lungs, fat tears rolling down his puffy cheeks.

"You worthless, **fat** degenerate!" the Dark Lord showered Egbert with electricity, forcing Egbert's body to twitch in unnatural ways. "I will feed your heart to Fenrir… When he is able to chew again, that is!"

The Dark Lord looked away from a smoking Egbert, his blazing red eyes falling on Fenrir's broken form.

"The great revolutionist!" the Dark Lord mocked cruelly. "The Werewolf King! Fenrir Greyback!"

"I beg… for mercy…" Fenrir managed to mumble through his bloody mouth.

"Crucio!" Lord Voldemort hissed, and Fenrir howled like a wounded pup. "Who else would plot against my will?! Speak! Lord Voldemort will not stop until one of you comes forth!"

"Ask the idiot in the uniform about his wife," came Gaspard's voice, the Vampire was casually leaning against a bloodied wall. "He told us that he would find his wife, but he arrived alone."

"Egbert, come to me!" the Dark Lord turned in the man's direction.

Egbert heaved like a newborn babe as he stood up, his weeping could be heard over everyone else's. The man limped over, a rough sob tearing its way out of his mouth.

"Stop your mewling," the Dark Lord hissed as he slapped the man. "Where is your wife, Egbert? Speak, or see your tongue forever silenced by your Master's hand!"

"I could… could not… find her…" Egbert sobbed, trying to hide his carved hands in his stomach like a little child.

"Could not find her…" the Dark Lord shook with wrath. "Gaspard, you may eat this one…"

"Please!" Egbert dropped onto his knees. "Please, my Lord… She hides things from me… I am not to blame for her actions. Take her life, not mine!"

"Then present her to me!" the Dark Lord sent the fool flying across the room.  
"Find Violet Parkinson, or I will have all of your heads! The first to find her may continue to serve me! The rest… Well, your Lord will not forgive you a second time."

"Use the smart lad for this," Gaspard advised, he sounded amused. "Oi! Felix! Are you up for another chance to prove yourself?!"

The Dark Lord looked around, and when he finally found Felix, he grimaced in disgust. The bloodied boy was unconscious in his own piss and shit.

"Natalia, start healing them," Gaspard ordered. "At this rate, we'll be serving our Dark Majesty alone."

"You play with fire, beast," the Dark Lord eyed Gaspard with ill intent. "Hold your tongue near me, or I'll make you swallow it."

Gaspard just smiled; if this was his day to die, then so be it. _Centuries of carnage gave birth to this beast, and I'm no longer sure that I can control it._

"You have a break-in to prepare for, don't you?" the Dark Lord hissed.

"Almost had me there," Gaspard's smile turned into a smirk. "I'll be on my way, then. Natalia will let you know when all of your minions are in one piece again."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (St. Mungo's Critical Ward – Late Evening)**_

Everything felt hazy, as if he were in a vivid dream. Maybe it was the Calming Draught's fault? Or maybe it was due to Ron turning off his brain willingly for a change? Somehow, with the help of his Occlumency and the Calming Draught, Ron had managed to turn all noise into distant whispers. He was all alone, safely hidden on his own island to plot his next move.

There remained only two courses before him.

If Tracey came out of her shock-induced coma, Ron was going to stay by her side while she recovered from her injury. He'd let the Aurors take care of everything, while he focused on repaying her for saving his life.

But if she didn't wake up… If she died because she chose to save **his** life…

Ron would start by reaching out to Solomon and Emilia; the Headmaster no doubt planned to ask Solomon to look into this, which Ron would use to his advantage. Instead of working for the Headmaster, Solomon would hand Ron the information that he would recover. Step by step, Ron would catch up to his executioner. From there, Ron would find the Lord, or Lady, behind this, and they would feel his wrath. _And once I've had my vengeance… I will restart the Cycles. Tracey will live in the Cycle that succeeds, I'm sure of it._

His eyes moved towards his mother, who was holding onto Theo and whispering words of comfort in his ears. Actually, all the children had an adult with them… All of them except for Ron, who stood alone by the window. His mind was too occupied, and so no adult could reach out to him. Not even Pandora, whose presence frightened him a little. _How could I not save Tracey? Why wasn't I ready?_

Why hadn't the Entity warned him?

"They wanted me to die, Ron…" came a familiar voice, and Ron looked around with a suddenly alert gaze. _Tracey? Is that you?_

No response came, and Ron slowly lost his alertness. _No… Tracey's gone… I fucking failed her._

"Kid? Do you want something to eat?" Sirius cut into Ron's thoughts. "I'm heading out to get us all some food while we wait. Do you want to come with me?"

"I want to wait for Tracey," Ron looked back to the window.

"I see…" Sirius smiled apologetically. "Can I get you something, though? You should eat."

"Get me whatever you're having," Ron said distantly. _Would starving to death hurt less than jumping off of the Astronomy Tower? No… I hate feeling hungry. Astronomy Tower it is, then._

Sirius waited for a bit, but when Ron didn't say anything, the man left to get everyone some food. _Did I reach too far too quickly? Is that why this happened? Will the Entity teach the next Ron to be more prudent? What happens to me? Where do I end up?_ Ron rested his forehead against the cold glass, his eyes tearing up. _Why was I distracted…? I wasn't supposed to lose…_

"Ron," came Lord Greengrass' voice, and Ron felt the man's hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, son?" _Son?_

"It's son now, is it?" Ron spoke to the glass. "If an assassination attempt was what was needed to pull you out of your foul mood with me, I'd have arranged one sooner."

"I will ignore that because you are distressed and under the influence of a potion," Lord Greengrass sighed out. "Why aren't you with the others? Why are you standing here alone?"

"Why aren't you with Daphne?" Ron asked in response. "If she's not with you, then where is she?"

"She fell asleep…" Lord Greengrass said, a hint of sorrow in his voice. "She always falls asleep after she lets her emotions out."

"After she lets her emotions out?" Ron repeated. "Is having a mental breakdown about your dying best friend 'letting one's emotions out' in your mind?"

"Why are you trying to start a fight with me?" Lord Greengrass asked calmly. "Do you somehow hold me responsible for this?"

"People like you," Ron snarled, softly banging his head against the glass. "Followers of the Old Ways…" _**We'll kill them all.**_

Lord Greengrass shook his head, and then left without another word. _I hope he survives the next Cycle… I'll beg the Entity to make him a part of its plans._

* * *

 _ **Neville Longbottom's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Great Hall – Dinnertime)**_

Every student was discussing the attack in Hogsmeade, including the Golden Trio. Most people were speaking about Tracey Davis' bravery in the face of danger, especially Hermione, who was genuinely awed for a change. Only a few spoke about someone wanting to behead Ron, and all the implications that came from such a barbaric act.

Neville was currently talking to Harry, Seamus, and Dean about Tracey being sorted into the wrong House, an opinion that he and Harry didn't share with Dean and Seamus.

"It's true that she's a bit different from her friends," Harry started. "But trust me, she's more clever than brave." _Wait… Is he questioning her bravery?_

"More clever than brave?" Dean scoffed. "She dove in front of a Curse to save her friend's life! That is the definition of **brave**!"

"I wasn't trying to say that she isn't brave," Harry frowned a bit. "She's clearly braver than most. I'm just saying that she's more Slytherin than Gryffindor. People from other Houses can be brave too, Dean. That's what I'm really saying." _Oh… That's a bit unexpected._

Neville couldn't help but smile at Harry, something that made Harry visibly uncomfortable.

"Are you boys talking about Tracey?" Lavender cut into their conversation, her friends also leaning in. "She never looked it, but she must be quite the witch, huh? I don't think I'd have been able to move, let alone dive in front of a friend who's in danger of losing his head!"

"Quiet down, you idiot," Seamus hissed, his eyes darting towards the ever-watchful Professors. "Don't talk about the beheading-"

"Don't call me an idiot," Lavender looked vexed.

"Why are you always so rude?" Parvati asked Seamus.

"I'll be as polite as you need me to be once you lot start using your heads," Seamus remarked, and an argument broke out on the table. _Seriously?_

"You reckon Ron's all right?" Hermione asked worriedly, and Neville turned his attention to her.

"I have no idea," he said apologetically. "We can all write to him tomorrow, if you want."

"That's a good idea," Harry agreed. "We can also go and see him, I reckon. I'll ask Remus to talk to Dumbledore for us."

"I think we should visit Tracey instead," Hermione suggested. _Tracey? Not 'Davis'?_ "Ron will probably be with her while she recovers, and it's **her** that we need to show support to right now."

"Can't we just show support to them both?" Harry asked.

"Ron doesn't strike me as the sort to need support from others," Neville said. "I agree with Hermione, Harry. We'll keep an eye on Ron, but it's Tracey who needs to be attended to. We should go and talk to her once she's allowed visitors."

"All right," Harry nodded. "Should we get her something?"

"We can't bring food into a hospital," Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Oh, doesn't she have a Walkman? She's always listening to music, isn't she?" _A Walkman? What's that?_

"You're right," Harry suddenly flinched, his fingers scratching his scar again. "We'll get her more cassette tapes."

"That way, she'll have something to listen to as she gets better," Hermione quickly made a note of it on her journal.

"Um… I'm not following…" Neville spoke up.

"I'll explain it later," Harry promised. "By the way, Nev, where's Ginny?"

"I think all the Weasleys were sent home," Neville replied. "None of them are here."

"I hear that they'll be back tomorrow," Hermione said. "Poor Ginny… She was spending more time with Ron and his friends, wasn't she? I wonder how she's taken this…"

Harry and Hermione continued on about Ginny and Tracey, while Neville found his thoughts overtaking his mind. _Who would want to behead Ron? It has to be Lord Yaxley, right? Wasn't he going after Ron during the Holidays? I wonder what Gran makes of all of this. I think I'll send her an owl, and learn from what she has to say._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Saturday 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 1994 (St. Mungo's Critical Ward – Late Evening)**_

"I'm sorry, but she's just not responding to any of our treatments," the Healer said, and Susana Davis let out a strangled sob. "We can keep her alive until you've all said your goodbyes."

"We will wait," James Davis spoke up, his voice shaking. "Don't take her off the potions until we say so."

"Of course," the Healer gave a nod. "She will be well looked after here, I promise."

The world began to spin around Ron, everything becoming murky and distorted. There was but one path left now.

Vengeance, and then, eternal torment.

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Felix's Apartment - Midday)**_

Corban had elected to sleep on Felix's couch, neither of them felt safe going back home. Their Master's wrath had left them both too wounded to show their faces, and Corban was personally tasked with making sure that Felix went through Egbert's ledgers in the hopes of finding Violet Parkinson's hiding hole. Sadly, Felix was failing to live up to the task.

The boy had always been damaged, losing his entire Family when he was barely out of diapers. When Corban had first laid eyes on the boy, Felix wasn't even able to address adults without hiding his gaze. Due to owing Evan Rosier his life, Corban had gone to great lengths to show Felix that he had a place in this world. But now, the Dark Lord's punishment had undone years of work on Corban's part, and the poor boy was quickly becoming unwound.

Limping was all Corban could manage these days; the Vampire hadn't healed anyone but Felix properly, another thing that was eating away at Corban's mind. _Does she fancy him as her next meal? If so, I will have her thrown to my dogs._ One wobbly step at a time, Corban pushed himself into Felix's room.

"Felix…" Corban rasped. "Are you looking through the ledgers?"

No response came, and Corban focused his eyes to look around the room. Slowly, his eyes found Felix sitting in a corner, huddled up in a blanket. The sight took Corban back many years, and he found himself staring at a recently bullied Felix from the boy's Hogwarts years. _Focus, Corban! Stay on the task at hand, or he'll kill us both!_

"Felix? What are you doing?" Corban limped over to his ward, all but falling on one knee in front of the young wizard. "The ledger… Why aren't you going through it?"

"I don't want this…" Felix muttered shamefully.

"What?" Corban began feeling lightheaded. _The Cruciatus Curse's aftereffects are catching up to me. I can't stay awake for much longer._

"He was different in the stories…" Felix spoke in a shaky voice. "Evan used to tell me all these tales… The Dark Lord was a hero…"

"There are no heroes in this world, Felix…" Corban put his hands on the young man's shoulders, mostly just to steady himself. "The Dark Lord cannot be controlled… He can only be appeased."

"Appeased?" Felix sniffled, his bottom lip trembling.

"Without him, our beliefs can never be made reality," Corban said gravely, Felix needed to hear this. "I'm certain that when he first came into power, his 'Knights of Walpurgis' secretly planned to control him as their puppet leader. His might would see their dreams come to reality, after all… But the Dark One… We lesser men cannot control him… We must appease him, and gratefully receive the rewards that he offers for **success**. Now that he's back… Our only way to rise, and survive, is to serve him better than all the rest. Do you understand?"

"We… We can leave…" Felix trembled. "I can get us Portkeys, while you collect Lysandra and Lady Yaxley… We can run away together as a Family…"

"Rip that thought from your head," Corban struggled to keep his vision clear. "You listen to me, all right? Don't think like that. He will see your thoughts, and we'll both pay with our lives. He'll even kill Lysandra and Anastasia…" Corban then drew in a sharp, but raspy, breath. "Please, Felix… I need you to find that **bitch** … I am in no shape to help you this time. My fate now rests… in your hands…"

Corban fell forward, but Felix caught him in time. _I can't die here… Who will protect Magical England once I'm gone? I have so much work left to do…_

* * *

 _ **Lucius Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Evening)**_

 _Another_ _ **epic disaster**_ _in the long line of recent failures by our Ministry!_

 _A young witch, only thirteen years of age, now lies lifeless within St. Mungo's Hospital, and our country's Aurors are still clueless on how to do their jobs. Not a single promising lead has been found according to this Journalist's reliable sources, despite the entire country's call to arms._

 _Many of us seek justice for this poor girl, and her grieving parents, but we are denied our righteous retribution due to the Head Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour, being late to the scene. The murderers were long gone by the time Rufus Scrimgeour arrived at Hogwarts, and then, as if to rub salt into mortal wound, the Aurors mishandled the only captured attacker._

 _The assassin took his own life before he was questioned, taking his secrets with him to the afterlife. All we know for certain now is that Ronald Weasley was the target, and that the attackers were attempting to_ _ **behead**_ _the rising star._

 _In a heroic act of self-defense; the young wizard fought off his attackers, even badly injuring one of them. Ronald Weasley was not injured in the attack, however, which was only thanks to Tracey Davis; a brave girl who threw herself between an Unknown Curse and her unsuspecting friend._

 _Two children attacked within Hogsmeade, one of them now in critical condition…_

 _And what have our Aurors done about it?_

 _Nothing._

 _Our country is still reeling from the Ministry's previous failings, and now, we are mourning the loss of an innocent child._

 _We here, at the Daily Prophet, send our prayers and love to the Davis Family, and we hope to one-day write an exclusive on Tracey Davis' speedy recovery._

 _Rita Skeeter_

Lucius tossed aside the paper, his fingers digging into his skull. His men had restored his memories after the Dark Lord was done torturing him, and Lucius had nearly lost all hope as a result.

He had played a part in the attack… He was the one who had goaded Violet Parkinson into action, showing her letters that drove her into a rage. It was all a part of his plan, even his temporary Obliviation. His men in Hogsmeade were supposed to stop the attack, but Violet's man had outwitted them. His men in Italy were supposed to move in and capture Violet, but her man had Apparated onto the grounds… 'Talbot', or whatever his real name was, had fought his way inside and rescued Violet Parkinson from Lucius' men.

Violet Parkinson was now in the wind.

Lucius was supposed to come out victorious, and yet, the Gods had turned from him again. If they had favored him for a change, no one except for Violet Parkinson would have been harmed. Lucius would have presented her corpse by now, and since he'd have saved Weasley's life in Hogsmeade, he'd be rewarded with his wife and son's freedom. He could have held his Family to his breast again, and felt the warmth of a loving wife and heir.

"Nott!" came boisterous voice, and Lucius slowly looked towards the door. _I know that voice…_ "Are you here?! Come out of the shadows, coward!" _Coward?_

The door to the dining room smashed open, and Robert Bulstrode marched in with a deadly look about him. _Finally, Robert arrives to meet our Lord._ Lucius thought about warning Robert against raising his voice, but opted to stay quiet in the end. Maybe if Robert earned the Dark Lord's ire, Lucius could find time to sneak away and find Violet Parkinson before Felix Rosier divined her whereabouts. _That fucking boy will get me killed if I don't hurry things along. Violet will point her finger right at me, and both Narcissa and Draco will pay for my botched plans._

"Lucius?" Robert stopped his march when he saw the faded man. "Merlin's beard… What's happened to you, good man? I haven't seen you-"

"Why are you here, Robert?" Lucius whispered coldly. "And why are you yelling for Cornelius?"

Robert studied Lucius' gaunt cheeks and sunken eyes, and then he looked around the dark dining room.

"Why are you sitting around in Cornelius' dining room?" Robert finally asked. "And why are the candles not lit?"

"Our Lord does not favor the light," Lucius smirked, his eyes darting towards the growing shadow behind Robert. _**He**_ _is here._

"Our Lord?" Robert blinked.

"My favored General…" came a cold hiss, it echoed throughout the dining room unnaturally.

Lucius quickly fell to his knees, kneeling subserviently while a paling Robert turned around to face the spreading shadows. _Forgive me, old friend… But my entire life hangs in the balance._

"My… My Lord?" Robert muttered, his tongue had turned to lead. "You live…?"

"Am I still your 'Lord'?" the Dark Lord hissed, and the shadows suddenly surrounded Robert and Lucius completely.

The entire world became pitch-black, save for two blazing red eyes right in front of them. Lucius felt his body break out in a cold sweat, the horrors of the last few days flashing before his eyes. _Gods… No… Not again…_

"My Lord… I have errands to run…" Lucius spoke before thinking, his body was seizing up. "My home is still a ruin-"

"Get out," the Dark Lord hissed. "I wish to share words with Robert alone."

Lucius didn't waste a second; his body carried him towards the exit as fast as it could. He didn't care that he tripped over his own feet, or that he smashed into furniture due to the pitch-black darkness… He just had to get away from the demon behind him.

He had to fix his mistake before it got his Family killed.

* * *

 _ **Lord Voldemort's POV**_

 _ **Tuesday 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Evening)**_

"Why do you stay silent, my friend?" the Dark Lord walked around the kneeling man, his blazing red eyes fixed on his latest victim. _Did he play a part in endangering my heir?! If so, I will tear him apart in front of his Family! None can be allowed to strike against Lord Voldemort!_

"I am lost for words, my Lord…" Robert kept his eyes fixed on the floor. "I had thought you dead…"

"Liar!" the Dark Lord hissed, making Robert flinch a bit. "A man of your means could have easily found me, but you instead claimed to be under my Spell. You turned on me, despite how high I elevated you. You broke your oath to me, Robert."

"I thought you dead, my Lord, I swear it!" Robert said quickly, a hint of panic in his voice. "If there was even a hint of your-"

"Silence!" the Dark Lord hissed, the cloth of his robes moved in to strangle Robert. "Spare me your deceit!"

"Please… My Lord…" Robert choked, his chubby face become redder by the second. "I… am loyal…"

"We shall most definitely see," the Dark Lord spat out, and then he tossed Robert aside.

The large man coughed violently, his neck was already bruising from the Dark Lord's harsh treatment. Lord Voldemort waved his free hand, and Robert's body twisted up into a kneeling position against his will. Robert let out a pained grunt, which he quickly stiffened by gritting his teeth.

"Start by explaining your intrusion," the Dark Lord towered above Robert. _You disturbed my work, you fat Neanderthal._

"I was seeking Cornelius, my Lord…" Robert half-panted out.

"Why?"

"The attack in Hogsmeade…" Robert started, and the Dark Lord's eyes blazed even brighter. "My daughter and her friends were attacked… I was trying to find out who was responsible for it..."

"Were you?" the Dark Lord calmed down a little. _I can use him._ "Go on, Robert."

"My daughter was lucky enough to be out of Hogsmeade at the time, but her friend…" Robert went on, his jaw suddenly clenching in anger. "I wished to avenge my daughter's wounded heart." _A doting father? Is this what he's been reduced to? Where is my commander at arms?_

"You wished to sooth your daughter's suffering?" the Dark Lord asked, and Robert's blood turned to ice.

He had shown his weakness, hadn't he?

The Dark Lord smiled a lipless smile, his demeanor changing completely.

"I share your pain, Robert," the Dark Lord gestured Robert to rise, which the man promptly did. "I too nearly lost an heir because of that attack."

Robert blinked at that, but he didn't dare question his Master.

"Even as we speak, I have Felix and Corban looking into the whereabouts of Violet Parkinson," the Dark Lord said.

"Felix and Corban know that you're alive, my Lord?" Robert couldn't help but ask.

"They do, and they both kept it from you on my orders," Lord Voldemort replied.

"You… You did not wish me at your side?" Robert looked genuinely bothered by that. _His loyalty still remains… This is welcome news._

"I have no army for you to lead, Robert," the Dark Lord said. "Thanks to that fool, Fenrir…" _I'm done placing my faith in the dog. I need a_ _ **man**_ _to build my forces._

"You put too much faith in the dog, my Lord," Robert said.

"I put faith in his brutality," Lord Voldemort corrected. "But you might be right, my friend… Fenrir is no recruiter of warriors. He is an animal, and can only muster a force formed in his base image."

"Let me prove my loyalty, my Lord," Robert took the bait. "I will muster you an army that will rival our old one, I swear it."

"And if you fail?" the Dark Lord asked.

"Then you may claim my life, my Lord," Robert bowed his head. _Oh, I will._

"Very well, Lord Voldemort accepts," the Dark Lord 'smiled', Robert would prove most useful in the coming days. "But before you start building my forces, I would have you help Felix and Corban. They are searching for Violet Parkinson, and Egbert is aiding them by providing his ledgers."

"Violet was behind the attack?" Robert asked, something shifting behind his eyes. "So it wasn't Cornelius…"

"Cornelius is loyal," the Dark Lord said. "He has not left my side since the attack."

"Which explains why Theodore is living with the Weasleys," Robert nodded to himself. _Which also works in my favor. Ronald seems to be fond of his friends, and I would have them at his side. They will protect what is Lord Voldemort's, but once I have Ronald by my side, I will remove all of his past connections. Lord Voldemort does not need such burdens clinging to him._

"Find Violet Parkinson for me, Robert," Lord Voldemort ordered. "And I will allow you to reclaim your old position within my army."

"If Violet is indeed behind this attack, I will kill her with my bare hands, my Lord," Robert promised. "If you allow it, of course."

"I may, **after** I am done with her," the Dark Lord said. "You-"

The door suddenly creaked open, and Gaspard slid into the room with a happy expression. _Why is he constantly showing his face here?_

"What is it?" the Dark Lord sneered at Gaspard.

"I've done as you asked," Gaspard reported. "Didn't you read the papers? Rita Skeeter painted Ronald Weasley as some hero to be worshiped."

"And the Aurors?" Lord Voldemort asked.

"They have become the lightning rods for the public's displeasure," Gaspard smirked. "Natalia is keeping her eyes on the situation, but I don't think the Aurors stand a chance of finding Violet before us. Not anymore." _Good. Now I just need to cripple the Order's search. Those fools no doubt seek to avenge the Half-Blood girl. Wasn't her father my prisoner? Yes… James… Antonin's living test subject. How many Curses did Antonin perfect using James' body? At least a dozen, I believe._

"Order your Vampires to stay on alert for Order members," Lord Voldemort said. "They will no doubt come looking in Knockturn Alley for leads to follow."

"My Lord, may I speak freely?" Robert spoke up.

"Go on," the Dark Lord allowed, while Gaspard studied Robert from head to toe.

"Do you truly believe that Violet is behind this attack?" Robert asked. _You would question my will?_

"She is the prime suspect," Gaspard replied. "She suddenly left for a vacation, and ever since the attack, we have been unable to locate her. We found some dead bodies in the Parkinson Villa within Italy, but she wasn't amongst the dead. She has either been captured, or she fled to a safe house because someone attacked her."

"She was also attacked?" Robert looked visibly confused. _Someone is clearly plotting to undermine me. They must have helped her attack Ronald, and then moved in to silence her. Which one of these 'Lords' was behind it, though? None of their memories gave away the true culprit's identity._

"This is what comes of schemers working together," Gaspard smiled. "Nobody is able to figure out what the fuck is really going on."

Robert nodded slowly, and then he looked down at the ground. _What is it?_

"You have something to say, Robert?" the Dark Lord asked.

"Pansy Parkinson… She is staying at my Manor…" Robert replied reluctantly.

" **Her** spawn lives under your roof, and you wait till now to tell me?" the Dark Lord felt his temper spike.

"She is only a girl, my Lord," Robert said. "I thought it wrong to hide this from you, but I assure you, she knows nothing of such matters."

"That is for Lord Voldemort to decide," the Dark Lord hissed. "Bring her to me."

Robert visibly tensed, something that caused the Dark Lord's eyes to blaze up. _I will remold you into the soldier that you once were, even if it means ordering you to take the girl's life! You will not defy me!_

"If you bring that girl here, I'll kill you," Gaspard said, and both Lord Voldemort and Robert slowly looked to the tall Vampire.

"What did you-?" the Dark Lord started.

"If you bring that girl here, I'll kill you," Gaspard repeated with a smile. "And then, I'll eat this fat fuck for dinner."

"You… Who are you?!" Robert demanded, his wand already brandished. "You would dare speak to our Lord in this manner?!"

"Put that stick away," Gaspard chuckled, his round shades were still fixed on the Dark Lord. "I told you at the start, Voldemort… You don't hurt children. Not near me."

"Then leave," the Dark Lord turned his head and cracked his neck.

"Well, I can't now, can I?" Gaspard said. "Not when I know what you're up to." _This damn Vampire!_

The Dark Lord suddenly aimed his wand at Gaspard's face, a faint green light glowing at the tip of the wand. Gaspard didn't even flinch, though he did adorn a twisted grin.

"Please, make my century," Gaspard laughed, causing Robert's jaw to drop open. _What kind of fool welcomes Death with such open arms?_

"Go back to your creatures," Lord Voldemort lowered his wand. "A foolish little girl won't make any difference in our search. Robert will keep her as a hostage."

"I believe that to be the wisest course of action, my Lord," Robert seized the opportunity to save the girl's life. "I will not let her out of my sight."

* * *

 _ **Charlie Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow - Morning)**_

"Charlie?" his father jumped from fright. "What are you doing here, son?"

"I'm here for Ronnie," Charlie patted the ash off of his jacket. "Sorry for being so late, dad… My cunt boss wouldn't let me go, despite this being a Family emergency. Kirsten had to cover my shifts, so I can only stay for a couple of days."

"Slow down, Charlie," Arthur walked up and hugged his son. "It's really good to see you here. Your mother will be over the moon."

"She'll mostly be glad that I left Kirsten behind," Charlie sighed out.

"In her defence, she did almost catch you both…" Arthur trailed off. "Anyway, it doesn't matter… Come in, Bill's eating his breakfast right now." _Thank Merlin that I didn't miss him._

Father and son entered the Kitchen together, and Charlie's eyes immediately went towards Bill.

"Molly, look over here for a second," Arthur called out, and Molly quickly turned to face them.

"Charlie!" his mother gasped, and then she barreled right for him and pulled him into a tight hug. "You're home! Did you come for Ronnie?!"

"I did, mum," Charlie kissed the top of her head.

"You're such a good brother," Molly beamed. "Go and sit down, I'll fix you up a proper breakfast." _Has she not noticed that Kirsten isn't here?_

"I'll be off, then," Arthur looked Charlie over with a proud smile. "When I come back, we'll talk about some training regimens for me, eh? I've gained a bit of weight."

"We'll have you looking fit again before long, dad," Charlie chuckled.

"Your father's stamina would surprise you," Molly giggled, and both Charlie and Bill visibly cringed.

"Ugh, mum," came Bill's voice.

"Seriously?" Charlie grimaced.

"What? We were your age once, you know?" Molly huffed. "How do you think you two came into this world?" _I'm going back to the fucking Dragons._

"I'm going to go sit with Bill," Charlie excused himself, while Arthur and Molly smirked at their eldest sons. _Mental abuse is what greets you in this house. Fucking gross…_

"Where's Kirsten?" Bill smirked as Charlie sat down to his left. "Did you lose her on the way here, you goat?"

"Fuck you," Charlie clicked his tongue. "Where's Ron? Didn't he go for his morning run today?"

"I wish he'd do that," Bill immediately looked down. "He hasn't left his room since he came home. He didn't even say goodbye to the others… Ginny waited by his door for nearly two hours."

"That doesn't sound like Ron," Charlie said. "He made Ginny wait two hours?"

"She wanted to catch him before his morning run, but in the end, she went back to Hogwarts empty handed," Bill put down his utensils, pushing the remaining bacon in Charlie's direction. "I've tried everything, Charlie… Nothing works. He just sits in the dark all day long." _Fucking hell…_

"What about his friends?" Charlie asked, grabbing a handful of bacon. "You mentioned them in your letter."

"Theo and Blaise aren't doing so well, but Ron lets them into his room," Bill started. "Theo is just so bloody miserable, the poor kid… He was the one who tried to stop the bleeding, but by the time Moody showed up, he was painted red."

"Enough of this talk!" Molly said harshly, slamming Charlie's plate onto the table. "Theo doesn't need to be reminded of what happened to his friend."

"Sorry…" Bill apologized. _She called him 'Theo'? I take it that mum has adopted Ron's friends into her own flock._

"That poor girl…" Molly walked away with a slightly haunted look. _Tracey Davis… I think I spoke to her only once or twice in passing during their Break. If I had known that she'd take a Curse for Ron, I'd have treated her like my own flesh and blood._

"How is she, by the way?" Charlie asked Bill, he didn't know why he dreaded the answer so much.

"Unresponsive," Bill whispered. "There's barely any 'brain activity'… That's what the Healers keep telling us. They have her on a dozen different potions, and even then, she's barely alive. It's so fucked up…"

"And she was attacked right in the middle of Hogsmeade," Charlie grit out, shaking his head. "Attacking a child… Utter cunts."

"Yeah," Bill agreed. "Anyway, it's good to have you back, brother. I need to get to work, but we'll talk when I come back."

"Sure thing," Charlie started his second breakfast. "I'll try and get Ron out of his room while you're gone."

"Good fucking luck…" Bill muttered under his breath, but Charlie heard him with perfect clarity.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Midday)**_

"You boys feeling better after some eggs?" Charlie smiled at Theo and Blaise.

"Are they your specialty?" Theo asked.

"You should use more salt," Blaise said. "But thank you for making breakfast." _They are such weird kids._

"Where is Mrs. Weasley?" Theo asked. _I thought my eggs were good… Kirsten likes them._

"She needed a bit of rest," Charlie said. "She'll take you to St. Mungo's when she wakes up."

"Right," Theo nodded. "I'll be in the Garden, then."

"I'll join you for some fresh air," Blaise said aloofly. _Guess I'll do the dishes…_

Charlie let the boys go for now, choosing instead to clean up the mess before his tired mother saw it. _I hope the Order finds this would-be assassin. I'd like some fucking words with him._ For some bizarre reason, Charlie did the dishes by hand. After the table was wiped down, Charlie headed for the back door.

Theo was in the Garden, his apron and gloves protecting him from getting dirty. _What's he planting? He's really digging into the earth there._ Blaise stood by the fence, his eyes set on the clouds beyond the hills. _I'll try to talk to him first._ Charlie walked over and leaned against the fence, a friendly smile on his face.

"So? What do you think?" Charlie asked. "It has its own charm, right?"

"It's very… cozy," Blaise said, his eyes scanning Charlie. "Can I do something for you, Charlie Weasley?"

"We haven't really met, have we?" Charlie started.

"You're the brother who beat Ron to a pulp," Blaise cut in. "I know you quite well already." _Oh…_

"It was just a scuffle," Charlie cleared his throat.

"Maybe for you," Blaise said coldly. _Give me a break… That little bastard almost robbed me of my future children._

"You seem like a solid friend," Charlie backtracked. "My brother's lucky to have you."

"He is," Blaise said with certainty. "Now, can I ask you why you're here? I wanted to be left alone."

"I want to know about Ron," Charlie came clean. "How is he? Why isn't he coming out of his room?"

"He's in his happy place," Blaise said almost bitterly. "He says and listens to nothing… Just stays focused on his training."

"Training?" Charlie cocked an eyebrow.

"He's always levitating things around the room," Blaise said. "He says that Wandless Magic strengthens the body, which in turn makes him a stronger wizard." _He knows about the link between a wizard's body and his Magical Core? That's some advanced information._ "It feels like he's preparing for something."

"Preparing for what?" Charlie asked.

"I have no idea, nor do I have cause to prod into his business," Blaise looked back to the clouds. "I need to buy some paints… I want to create a landscape of this scenery."

"You paint?" Charlie asked.

"I paint my fondest memories," Blaise shrugged. "And then I lock them away in my vault." _That's a bit creepy… Fucking Slytherins, eh? A truly grim lot._

"I can ask Pandora to get you some," Charlie offered. "She loves painting, so you should go over to the Rookery and have a chat with her."

"And that would be allowed?" Blaise asked with genuine interest, making Charlie blink. "I could just floo away to wherever I please?"

"You're not a prisoner here, if that's what you're getting at," Charlie said. "Floo wherever you want, mate, but just be home by dinner. Don't stress my mother, that's all I ask."

"Then we have a deal," Blaise smiled a little. "Thank you, Charlie."

"No worries, mate," Charlie patted Blaise's shoulder, rocking the lean boy. "Sorry…"

"Please don't forget about the paints," Blaise rubbed his arm, he looked slightly annoyed. _Oh, yeah… I can't treat little Lords that way._

Charlie gave Blaise a parting nod, and then he walked over to Theo. The weedy boy was tackling the earth like a champion, expertly digging out unnecessary roots and weeds.

"You really love gardening, eh?" Charlie patted Theo on his shoulder, and the boy turned around with a furrowed brow.

"Please don't step there," Theo sighed out. "I just planted fresh fertilizer there." _Fuck me!_

"I'm always stepping on shit," Charlie clicked his tongue as he moved off of his spot. "This is why I never took to Herbology."

"Well, you can't expect a brute to understand concepts such as love and nurture," Theo said smugly, and Charlie nodded to himself. _He hates me too… Fucking figures._

"Your friend, Blaise, has already given me his seal of approval," Charlie said bluntly. "Go on, ask him."

Theo looked between Charlie and Blaise, and then he shook his head.

"Blaise is a wounded puppy," Theo said. _Huh?_ "If you show him an ounce of kindness, he'll start showing you a hint of respect. I, on the other hand, keep scores. In my books, you're still a twat who beats on his little brother."

"He almost broke my testicles," Charlie said defensively, and Theo grimaced. "I apologized to him, didn't I? Look…" Charlie drew in a deep breath. "I'm just worried for him, all right? I want to make sure that he's eating well. I want to know if he sleeps on time. That sort of stuff…"

"He's not a baby," Theo said. "He takes care of himself, so don't worry on that front. The real worrisome thing is his constant practicing. There are chairs always flying the fuck about. I don't feel safe sleeping that room… What if he drops one on my face?" _Pent up little bugger._

"So he's staying healthy?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, he is," Theo looked back to his work. "Just don't push him, all right? He's blaming himself for the whole thing… Says that he reached too high too quickly, and that this is his punishment. It's disturbing…"

Theo went back to his work, and Charlie quickly moved out of his way. _I reckon I'll go up and try to chat with him. He hasn't eaten anything, has he? I'll add some salt in my eggs this time._

* * *

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow - Midday)**_

The door partly opened, and Ron stuck his head through the gap. His hair was unkempt, he had dark bags under his eyes, and he was so pale that Charlie couldn't even see his freckles anymore. _Fucking hell…_

"It's good to see you, Vlad the Impaler," Charlie smirked.

"Do I look like a Vampire?" Ron smiled weakly, and then he opened the door. "Come in, Charlie… When did you come home?"

"In time for breakfast," Charlie replied as he walked in and placed the steaming plate of eggs and bacon on the desk. "You'd know that if you went on your morning run."

"I don't see the point of going out," Ron closed the door. "I can just do my circuit training in here. I'm even considering raising my number of sets." _He does look strong, I can't deny that. But why the fuck is he so pale? Is it a lack of sunlight?_

"I'm opening the curtains," Charlie said, and before Ron could protest, Charlie flicked his wand and parted the curtains.

Bright golden light filled the room from the chipped window, no had thought to fix it after the twins had shot 'Moody' through it. _I can't believe Ron named his Puffskein after Alastor Moody. Dad really loved telling tales of the greatest Auror in British history, didn't he?_

"Are you going to see Tracey today?" Charlie asked, turning to face Ron. "Your friends are leaving soon."

"Being there changes nothing," Ron said, a troubled look on his face. "I need to stay busy, or I'll go crazy."

"Is that why you're constantly 'training'?" Charlie asked. "You're keeping busy?"

"Training keeps my mind occupied," Ron walked over to his breakfast. "Did you make this? Mum makes my bacon crispier. Even somewhat burnt."

"I'm the older brother here, you should be making me breakfast," Charlie ruffled Ron's hair, a sudden swell of affection overtaking his worries. "I was really scared for you, Ronnie… I'm glad that you're doing better."

"The same can't be said of Tracey," Ron took a bite of his bacon. "Thanks for the food, Charlie… I'm glad that you're home. I wanted to see you."

"You did?" Charlie asked. "Really?"

"I am who I am today because of you," Ron gave a genuine smile. "Thanks for that… You're a really great big brother."

Charlie was lost for words, so he instead gave Ron a firm nod and patted him on the shoulder. _He'll be taller than me soon. Oh, if only I had Bill's height. I'd be a mountain._

"Good man," Charlie said approvingly. "Never forget your roots, Ronnie."

"I won't," Ron promised. "I…" he trailed off.

"Pardon?" Charlie leaned in.

"I… love you very much…" Ron gave Charlie an almost tragic smile.

Charlie could only stare at Ron dumbly, and but then his mind caught up with his situation. _What do I say?!_

"I love you too, little brother," Charlie patted Ron's cheek lightly. "I'm only here for a couple of days, so please come out occasionally. I'd also love to go running with you while I'm here. Just like old times, eh?"

"Sure…" Ron looked a bit nostalgic. "I'd really like that."

"Then it's settled," Charlie laughed. _Take that, Bill! I can't wait to show him what a capable big brother can achieve! I'm the fucking Ron-whisperer!_

* * *

 _ **Daphne Greengrass' POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (St. Mungo's Hospital – Evening)**_

Tracey's cheeks had started to sink in, and the skin around her eyes had begun to turn black. She looked like a corpse, slowly decaying in a pure white hospital gown. Daphne had never fully noticed how bright Tracey was until now, how often she pulled funny faces in order to make Daphne's sides ache with laughter.

Once again, they were all crammed into Tracey's room. Mr. and Mrs. Davis slept on the couch in the corner; neither of them had gone home since the attack. Theo and Blaise just sat by Tracey's feet, both of them reading their schoolbooks. Mrs. Weasley was braiding Pansy's hair in the bathroom, while Millie occupied herself with practicing her wand movements near the window. And as for Daphne… She sat right beside Tracey, her hands always tending to her friend's every need.

Ron had never returned after Saturday, and quite frankly, Daphne didn't blame him. Ron had his own way of dealing with grief, she knew that quite well by now. She had decided to let Ron find his way back to his friends, which in turn helped her focus solely on Tracey. Daphne had even offered to aid the Medi-Witches during their rounds, but was denied in a rather patronizing manner. _I can still help in other ways._

Gently, Daphne cleaned the sweat from Tracey's brow, a sorry smile on her face. Daphne wasn't a complete fool… She knew that by the end of the week, Mr. and Mrs. Davis would take Tracey off of her potions. The Healers had all given up, all of them stating that forcefully waking her up could cause even more damage.

Soon, Tracey would be gone forever…

All Daphne could do was to cherish small things like keeping her friend in a presentable state, hoping to forge just a couple more memories with her best friend before they were ripped apart by the Three Fates.

"Um… Daphne, you might want to look at this," came Millie's voice, and Daphne looked towards the entrance. _The Golden Trio is here?_

"May we come in?" Longbottom took a step inside. "Or is this a bad time?"

"Please, come in," Daphne said, she didn't mind Longbottom's company. _He is clearly capable of having fun, especially when he's drunk. Plus, he doesn't judge people by their Houses, and I like that. It reminds me of Ron._

Longbottom led the way inside, and Granger and Potter quietly followed. All three of them immediately looked to Tracey, all of their faces visibly dropping. For some reason, that stung Daphne really painfully.

"Um…" Granger swallowed thickly, her eyes tearing up. _I'm guessing that Granger's the weepy sort… Who'd have figured that? Who am I to judge, though? I've done nothing but cry for the last few days…_ "What do the doctors say about her condition…?"

"The Healers can't do anything for her anymore," Theo replied bluntly. "It's over…"

"Don't say that," Millie said from the window, but Theo just kept his eyes on his book. _First his mother, and now Tracey… Theo must be in hell right now._

"Really?" Potter muttered, his emerald eyes fixed on Tracey. "What about Phoenix Tears? Professor Dumbledore would surely help you guys."

"She's not hurt anymore, Potter," Blaise said. "She's not even here… She's gone…"

Daphne flinched a bit, but she didn't say anything. _She can still come back. I can't let them get to me._ Daphne looked back to Tracey's bloodless face, and her heart sank. _I can't lose Tracey as well… That's not fair…_

"Are you okay?" Granger asked Daphne.

"Why are you here?" Daphne asked in response, somehow managing to keep her voice even. "Why is Potter carrying that big box?"

"Oh… The Gryffindors all pitched in for a get-well present," Longbottom said, and all the Slytherins looked to him. _They did?_ "They gave Hermione the money, and she went with Professor McGonagall to Muggle London."

"I bought cassette tapes from all the best artists right now," Granger said. "She's always listening to her Walkman, so we figured that we'd give her plenty of music to listen to while she recovered…"

"While she **recovers** ," Potter corrected.

"Oh, of course…" Granger looked guilty immediately. "Sorry…"

"That's a really thoughtful gift," Millie spoke up for the group. "Thank you. We'll give it to her when she wakes up."

"Not all of you are here," Longbottom noticed, and then he looked to Theo. "Where's Ron? And I don't see Malfoy and Parkinson either."

"Pansy's in the bathroom with Mrs. Weasley," Theo started. "Malfoy is… I don't know… At his aunt's house, or something. And as for Ron…" Theo looked to Daphne.

"He doesn't do well sitting in one spot," Daphne said. "If he was here, he'd just be in stressing himself into becoming sick. He doesn't need that." _If they force him to come here, I will start Hexing people._

"Shouldn't he be here with all of you?" Longbottom asked. "For his own sake?"

"Blaise and Theo are staying at the Burrow, and they've kept their eyes on him," Daphne replied. "He's grieving in his own way, and we need to leave it at that. He doesn't need this kind of stress." _It could take weeks off of his life._

Longbottom exchanged a look with Theo, who simply shrugged at him. Daphne went back to taking care of Tracey, why was she letting herself be distracted? From what Daphne could overhear, though, she learned that the Trio planned to stay here for the entire day. It didn't really bother her… School rivalry seemed like an idiotic concept right now. _Maybe people like Tracey, Ron, and Longbottom are ahead of the curve, and_ _ **we're**_ _the ones who are slacking behind._

Daphne smiled a little at Tracey, she really was the best sort of person… _I wish I hadn't taken her for granted. I wish I had been there to protect her. I wish I had listened to Ron's warnings._

* * *

 _ **Draco Malfoy's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (St. Mungo's Hospital – Late Evening)**_

Why was he here?

Why was he waiting just outside the door?

He had barely slept a wink over the past few days; he couldn't get the image of Theo holding Tracey's dying form out of his head. Whenever he closed his eyes, it was there to haunt him.

Merlin, it had all happened so fucking fast. One minute, Draco was eyeballing Spintwitches Sporting Needs, and the next; he was surrounded by screams. By the time he had realized what had happened, his friend had slipped into a permanent sleep.

Yeah… That's what she was, wasn't she? She was his friend… One of only two…

Maybe that's why he found himself crying at unexpected intervals. He was mourning Tracey Davis, a girl who he had shown nothing but contempt to in life. Other than Weasley, Tracey was the only one who ever spoke to him willingly, and Draco had only ever rewarded her kindness with scorn and bitterness.

And why did he do this?

Because she was a Half-Blood… He was still trying to follow his Family's legacy, wasn't he? He had thrown his lot in with his Godfather, and yet, he was still holding onto his father's beliefs… Why?

What were **his** beliefs? What did Draco Malfoy stand for?

Whatever he did believe in, it didn't allow for the murdering of children.

What had happened to Tracey was wrong, plain and simple. Draco hadn't even bothered to think of a reason that would validate the murder of an innocent girl, one who was kinder than most of the Hogwarts student population. Tracey didn't gossip, she didn't spread rumors, she didn't cause anyone any pain, and she didn't even ignore her childhood bully. Sure, she was insecure and had a habit of feeling ostracized for no reason, but she was also the sort of person who saw the best in people. _Even someone like me… She didn't deserve this. Whoever did this to her deserves to rot in Azkaban forever._

He drew in a sharp breath, and then he pushed himself through the door. He hadn't just come here to see Tracey; he had information about the attack to share with the others. _Perks of living with a chatty Auror._

The first thing Draco noticed was that there were too many people in the room, and that not all of them were from Slytherin. The bloody Golden Trio was here, all three of them staring at him as if **he** was the intruder. _Are they here to check up on Tracey? Or are they here to check up on Weasley?_ Draco walked further into the room, ignoring the surprised looks on Bulstrode and Pansy's faces. Instead, he mustered the courage to shoot a quick glance at Tracey.

For some odd reason, she looked much better than Draco had envisioned… Her brown hair was almost styled, her white hospital gown was wrinkle-free, and all of her many gifts were neatly packed around her bed. And yet, her lifeless skin and sinking face reminded Draco of the truth… She was only breathing because the Healers were feeding her dozens of potions a day. _The day they stop, she'll slowly slip into the afterlife…_

"I didn't expect you to come," Greengrass said, voicing everyone's opinions. "You haven't been here since Saturday." _I couldn't see her… I needed to forget what had happened._

"Me being here would have changed nothing," Draco said calmly, shooting another glance at Tracey. _Gods…_

"But now it does?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you lot," Draco looked to each Slytherin. _Wait… Where's Weasley?_

"Ron's not here," Pansy said, her face falling once again. "He also hasn't been here since Saturday…"

"Pansy, we talked about this," Greengrass shot a meaningful look at Pansy, and the raven-haired witch gave an understanding nod. _Greengrass doesn't want to put Weasley under any stress? I guess that's fair… He'd get sick again, wouldn't he?_

"Do you want us to leave the room?" Longbottom asked.

"Yes," Draco replied immediately.

"The adults will be back with some food from the cafeteria soon," Bulstrode spoke up. "You can come back inside when they get here." _I have no idea about what's going on here, but that doesn't matter right now. I should just tell them what I came to share, and then meet up with Aunt Andromeda near the fireplaces._

"Actually, I'll be heading back to Hogwarts…" Granger said. "I've got a lot of homework left to do."

"Thank you for coming," Greengrass said politely, her eyes drifting back to Tracey.

"Let Ron know that we stopped by," Potter said to Blaise, and then he left for the exit.

Longbottom and Granger quickly followed after the Boy-Who-Lived, leaving the Slytherins free to discuss whatever they wished.

"Why are you here, Malfoy?" Theo asked. "What did you learn at your aunt's house?"

"The Aurors having nothing," Draco replied.

All of their eyes fell a little, and Draco felt guilt creep up on him for some reason.

"How's this possible?" Bulstrode asked. "Didn't they manage to capture one of the attackers?"

"He drank poison, remember?" Blaise said.

"But they couldn't even identify the body?!" Bulstrode began looking angry.

"It hasn't even been a week yet," Theo said. "Give them some time…"

"They're not doing good enough!" Pansy's voice cracked.

"All of that is out of our hands," Greengrass said. "Malfoy, how did you come by this?"

"My aunt's daughter, Nymphadora Tonks, is training to become an Auror," Draco replied. "She was prematurely booted from the case due to her low ranking, and she's been a little sore about it ever since. I've overheard her whining to Aunt Andromeda when they think that I'm asleep."

"You creep around in their house at night?" Blaise cocked an eyebrow. _What? No!_

"No, I keep my ears open for information," Draco said a little coldly. "I went back with my aunt because I knew about Nymphadora's position within the Ministry… I figured that I'd keep my eyes on things while you all…" he trailed off.

"While we mourned?" Greengrass finished for him, and he gave a curt nod. "You did the right thing, Malfoy… Thank you." _Good, she knows that I'm telling the truth._ "What else have you overheard?"

"The Order is just as clueless as the Aurors Department," Draco said, and all of them leaned in instinctively. _I should speak in a softer voice. If someone overhears us…_ "A woman named Emmeline dropped by yesterday, she was frustrated about a lack of results. She and my aunt talked about the Order's failed attempts to pry information out of low-level scum. Anyway, listen to this, the Headmaster has some plan brewing, but only the higher ups know about it. Godfather dropped by to see me today, and he told me that I'd 'have my answers soon'. I think he and the Headmaster have some hidden trick up their sleeve."

"Maybe they know who's behind this," Pansy suggested. "Don't you all want to know who it was? Because I do."

"What difference would that make?" Blaise asked. "We're not exactly capable of doing anything about all of this. Just let the Order take care of the culprit."

"What about revenge?" Bulstrode frowned.

"What? You'll have the culprit assassinated?" Theo rolled his eyes.

"No, but when I become Lady Bulstrode, I'll get my closure," Bulstrode said dangerously. "I can be patient, I promise you." _Sweet Merlin…_

"Has it occurred to you that the real mastermind could be one of our parents?" Theo asked, his eyes fixed on Bulstrode.

"Theo…" Pansy muttered. "Don't say that…"

"Why aren't we discussing this?" Theo asked the others. "We all know who the real target was, don't we?" _I hate to think it, but my father was probably the fool behind this. His hatred for the Weasleys is legendary._ "One of our damn parents wants Ron dead, and we need to figure out who it is before they strike again."

"Well, it can't be my parents," Greengrass started the conversation. "And it's definitely not Tracey's parents."

"My mother prefers to do her own killing…" Blaise said grimly.

"It could be my father…" Theo said a little bitterly. "I haven't heard a word from him since the attack."

"It's definitely my mother…" Pansy squeaked, and everyone looked to her. "She hates all Blood-Traitors, Ron most of all…"

"When was the last time that you heard from your mother?" Blaise asked.

"A few days before the attack," Pansy swallowed thickly, she looked quite ashamed. "She wrote her usual… abuse… in the letter, so nothing seemed off at the time… But now, she hasn't sent me a single letter since the attack. Even father won't return my letters…"

"Why would she do this?" Draco asked. "There's no political advantage in doing something like this. Half the country is calling for justice, and the moment her name becomes connected to this, she'll be neck deep in shit."

"My mother isn't really…" Pansy trailed off. "She um… She's not very smart…" _She's getting jittery._

"It's all right, Pansy," Bulstrode rubbed the girl's back. "No one here would ever blame you for this. Right, you lot?"

"Of course."

"You're one of us."

"Pansy, you're not your mother," Greengrass finished.

"Thanks…" Pansy looked a little overwhelmed by their support, she always was the emotional type.

"If it really is Pansy's mother who's behind this attack…" Theo started. "What do we do about it?"

"I can tell Tonks that Violet Parkinson has always made threats of beheading Weasley to my father," Draco said. "Behind closed doors, of course."

"You'd lie to an Auror?" Greengrass asked.

"It's nothing major, and she can't prove that I'm lying without invading my mind," Draco shrugged. "Regardless of what happens to me, she'll be able to put the Aurors onto Lady Parkinson's trail."

"They'll take her alive…" Theo said darkly.

"And lock her away in Azkaban," Draco said. "We really shouldn't interfere beyond letting Tonks know about Lady Parkinson… We could put ourselves in serious danger if we try to place ourselves between the Aurors and their job."

"Plus, this could be related to You-Know-Who…" Greengrass said. "Malfoy's right about this, Theo… We can't afford to lose another person from this group." _Another?_

Draco chose to say nothing, he was just glad that he had Greengrass' support in this. Everyone was clearly looking to her for leadership.

"Do we tell Ron, then?" Blaise asked.

"I'm certain that he already knows far more than we do," Greengrass said. "But either way, don't broach the subject with him. When he's finally ready to come back to us, we'll tell him everything." _Good to see that we don't need Weasley to function. Greengrass is tougher than she looks._

"Do you want me to talk to Tonks tonight?" Draco asked Greengrass, who looked towards Bulstrode.

"Fine… Azkaban will have to do…" Bulstrode agreed.

"Pansy, are you on board with this?" Greengrass asked.

"If she really did this to Trace… Then, yes," Pansy gave a shaky nod.

"Be careful, and don't get us more involved in this by mistake," Greengrass looked back to Draco, and Draco gave her a nod.

"I'll see you all back at Hogwarts, then."

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Wednesday 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Stoatshead Hill)**_

He couldn't reach her.

Every time he got close, she'd shoot her usual grin back at him before vanishing.

It was an endless loop, and yet, every single time he spotted her, he tried to chase her down. He just wanted to talk to her again… He just wanted to know why she would throw herself between him and that Curse. She had her entire life ahead of her, but she had thrown it all away for someone who was already on his way out.

Why would she do that?

If she had played her cards right, she could've lived a long life of no worries.

"Over here…" Tracey's voice echoed, and Ron broke out of his daze.

"Where are you?" Ron looked around; he couldn't see her anywhere on the hills.

No response came, and after waiting around for a minute, Ron restarted his search for her. Step by step, he hiked the hills without rest. Occasionally, he'd hear her best jokes being carried by the directionless winds, or he would hear her boisterous laughter in the back of his mind. In some fucked up way, Ron knew that this wasn't the real world. Somehow, he just got the feeling that this was all a dream.

"She wouldn't be here with me if I were awake," Ron told himself. "She's gone forever, and I'll never get to see her again."

"I'm still here…" came Tracey's voice, and Ron stopped walking immediately.

"Where?!" Ron called out.

"Up…" Tracey's voice echoed. "I want to show you something, Ron… Come up…" _Up?_

Ron looked around, and when he spotted the highest hill, he made a break for it. _I'm coming! Just don't fucking run off again!_ As he made his way up, stumbling and panting due to his long search, Ron realized where he was. _Stoatshead hill… This is where it all began, right? That fucking coward left his friends to die, and I got fucked for it. If I ever see that prick, I'll slap the bitch out of him._ Ron finally reached the top of the hill, his entire body burning from the strenuous exercise.

She was there, her back facing him as she gazed into the woods on top of Stoatshead Hill.

"Finally…" Ron panted as he limped towards her. "Stop running, Trace… I just want to talk to you."

"And what would you like to talk about?" Tracey asked, her back still facing him.

"The fucking flowers…" Ron said sarcastically. "I want to talk about what happened, Tracey… I want to talk about what you did for me."

"You'd have done the same," Tracey spoke to the woods. _Why isn't she turning around?_

"I would have… But unlike you, I don't have a future to look forward to," Ron countered. "Why did you have to do that? Why did you throw away your life?"

"You're not the only one who has free will, Ron," Tracey said calmly. "I chose to save my friend, just as he would've done for me had the situation been different."

"It's not the same," Ron said. "Trace… There's something about me that you don't know…" _Am I really going to tell her? C'mon, Ron, she's not even real… Just say it._

"You have a great destiny, Ron," Tracey cut in.

"Pardon?" Ron blinked.

"You serve Fate," Tracey said, and Ron's blood froze. "I'm just glad that I got to help you along the way."

"Help me along the way…" Ron repeated dumbly, and then his temper flared up.

What the fuck was she on about? He was supposed to help her, not the other way around.

"Don't make my life sound more important than yours!" Ron snapped. "I serve Fate?! Who told you that shite, Trace?! I don't serve **anyone**! Least of all some Celestial cunt who thinks herself a Goddess!"

"You don't serve Fate?" Tracey asked, she sounded a bit annoyed for some reason.

"No!" Ron replied sternly. "I use my gifts to help **people** , not serve her!"

Ron then drew in a deep breath, what was he yelling at her for? She wasn't even real. Was she? Ron shook his head harshly, his mind had been feeling so heavy as of late.

"I'm sorry for yelling…" Ron sighed out as he rubbed his face. "The last few days… They've been emotional…"

"You're very selfish, Ron," Tracey turned to face, and Ron's eyes nearly popped out of his head. _Merlin's beard…_

Her throat was completely cut open, and her protruding, dead eyes were facing different directions.

"Tracey…" Ron muttered as he took a step back, his eyes stinging immediately.

"I died for you, Ron… I died for your destiny," Tracey said, thick blood oozing past her cracked, colorless lips.

It all hit him once again… The demotion, the attack on his life, Tracey's death, and his long and lonely days within his dark room… There was just no escape from the pain in his heart.

"No…" Ron hid his face behind his hands, trying his best to hide his gaze. "No, please…"

"Don't let my death be in vain, Ron…" Tracey said, and Ron let out a weak sob before falling on his knees.

"You weren't supposed to die…" Ron coughed out, his hands still covering his face. "You were supposed to have a wonderful life after the war… I'm so sorry, Tracey… This is all my fucking fault…"

"You can still redeem yourself, Ron," Tracey put her cold hand on top of his head.

"Re… Redeem?" Ron sniffled, finally looking back at her.

"Kill them all, Ron," Tracey ordered coldly.

For a moment, Ron could only stare up at the corpse ordering him to kill people. But then, something just clicked… He already had a plan, didn't he? He had put things into motion before he had thrown himself into his grief. _I've been preparing for something, haven't I? Counting the days before I could have my vengeance…_

His memories came back to him, and Ron's weeping ceased immediately. _This isn't me… I don't fucking cry like some little bitch!_ Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, whining and crying was beneath him. He was a man of action, wasn't he?

"I'll kill them," Ron rose up to his feet; he was now towering over Tracey. "For you, Trace… For what they did to you."

"It's time you left your room," Tracey whispered coldly, and then she vanished from sight.

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

Ron woke up angry.

He slid out of his bed with a sneer plastered across his face, his eyes gleaming with deadly purpose. He had given the Aurors their shot by reminding Rufus Scrimgeour of Corban Yaxley and his flock. _Now, it's my fucking turn. Solomon has no doubt found something by now, and he won't keep his silence to the Headmaster forever. I need to get to Emilia, and then she and Solomon can help me find the person behind the attack._

Everything was finally ready.

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

Ron finished buttoning up his suit, he felt a bit more familiar with the Basilisk skin lining now. _I would've gotten completely used to its extra weight some day. What a shame._ Ron walked over to Theo's trunk, ignoring the sleeping owner, and he quickly pulled out three vials of Calming Draught. _I'll take two now, and save one for later. Here's hoping that I don't overdose before I get my revenge._

Ron downed two vials back to back; he could feel the cool liquid moving through his body. _Here it comes._ Ron closed his eyes and waited, savoring the feeling of clarity pushing away his grief. When Ron finally opened his eyes again, his constricted pupils gave him the resemblance to a focused shark. There were no pointless thoughts in his head anymore.

Ron was focused on the task at hand, nothing more and nothing less.

He grabbed his finished paperwork for Crouch, something that he had only finished because even he needed the occasional break from honing his Magic. His quiet movements ensured that Blaise and Theo wouldn't be waking up any time soon, and when Ron was finally out of the room, he wasted no time in heading down towards the Kitchen.

It was still too early for anyone to be awake, so Ron settled for a fresh apple as he scribbled down a note for his mother. _'Gone to work, Ron'. Perfect._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Ministry – Early Morning)**_

"I just… I didn't expect you to be here," Crouch said from his chair, while Ron just stared at him. "Especially after what happened to you."

"Nothing happened to me," Ron spoke in a monotone voice. "Tracey Davis, on the other hand, nearly lost her head."

"Yes…" Crouch said, he sounded a bit uncomfortable. "Terrible business. Don't worry, the Aurors will find out who was behind this." _If they get in my way, I'll kill them too._

"I wish them a successful hunt, then," Ron 'smiled'. "What do you think of my work?"

"It could be better," Crouch started, and Ron's left eye twitched. "But given your inexperience, it'll have to suffice. I'll pass this onto Anthony, and if he needs anything more, he'll contact you by owl."

"Understood," Ron stood up. "Oh, before I forget, I need a Portkey to the French Ministry."

"Why?" Crouch looked up from his work again.

"Lady Travers asked me to come to her Manor in France," Ron started his lie. "All the other Families that you wanted me to contact have agreed to pay a portion of the Tournament's fees, but Lady Travers wants to negotiate something."

"Don't make her any promises," Crouch warned, and Ron gave a nod. "If she starts acting difficult, politely ask to leave. You've already met the quota, and we don't need any more trouble."

"I'll bring her around," Ron said as he began to leave. "Thank you for the Portkey." _And thank you for giving me a 'legitimate' reason for going to France._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Travers Manor – Morning)**_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, and into the marble greeting room, his eyes scanning the golden tapestries that illustrated glorious battles fought by the Travers Family in the past. _She makes sure that her visitors know of her Family's war-ridden history? Some of these are really impressive. Wait… That one's from the 'Great War'._ Slightly intrigued, Ron walked up and studied the tapestry.

Images of various battles were stitched onto the tapestry, the final image showing the Travers Family being cast out by their own allies. _They lost two-thirds of their household fighting against the Dark Lord, but were rewarded with banishment due to backroom politics._

"En garde, paysan!" came a firm, but very girly, voice from behind him.

Ron calmly turned to face whoever had 'greeted' him, only to see a little girl with short, black hair aiming a fruit knife at him. _What is this?_

"En garde!" the girl huffed, and Ron cocked an eyebrow.

His pale blue eyes bore into the girl's black ones, and she quickly began looking confused and scared by Ron's silence.

"En garde…" she muttered, her fruit knife still aimed at him. _What should I do? She's clearly harmless, but if she makes a silly mistake, she could end up hurting herself. I should take the knife from her without hurting her._

"How old are you?" Ron asked in a dead tone.

The girl just stared at him; her chubby cheeks were starting to get redder by the moment. _Guess I'll try my shitty French, then._

"Um… Quel âge as-tu?" Ron asked.

"J'ai six ans," the girl eventually replied, mistrust clear in her eyes. _Six, and she's already mugging people… What's the word for fourteen again?_

"Quatorze," Ron kneeled down and smiled properly. "Je m'appelle Ronald Weasley. Quel est ton nom?"

"Audrey Travers…" the girl narrowed her eyes on him, her little fingers tightening around the hit of the fruit knife. "En garde!" _She wants to fight me? What has Emilia done to this little girl?_

He wasn't really in the mood to babysit some knife-wielding little girl, so without a word, Ron summoned her fruit knife into his own hand. _There… I win. Learn some Wandless Magic, and then you can try again._ The girl's face morphed into an exaggerated look of disbelief, and then she 'roared' before running at him. _What the fuck?_ She kicked his shins and threw soft-knuckled punches at his stomach, huffing and yelling like any fearsome warrior would. _I can't feel a damn thing because of the suit, but she hasn't noticed that yet. Let's see how long she can go on for._

After nearly a minute of being assaulted by the child, Ron flicked her on the forehead. _There, I threw one back._ The girl jumped back and rubbed her forehead, a truly cross look on her face. Her eyes darted towards the fruit knife in Ron's right hand, and she quickly dove for it. Ron moved it behind his back, and she ran face first into his stomach. _Ha._

"Non!" she suddenly squealed, her eyes were starting to well up. _Oh, I'm supposed to lose, am I?_ "C'est mon épée!"

"Do you want this back?" Ron held the knife just out of her reach, a smirk flashing across his face as he watched her struggle to reach it. "This is not a toy, young Lady, and girls your age shouldn't-"

"Hya!" she suddenly punched him in the groin, but Ron barely even flinched. _Now that was just uncalled for._

Audrey just stared at him in confusion, no doubt curious as to why nothing was hurting him. _She went right for my balls. Smart girl._

"Here," Ron offered her the fruit knife, and she greedily snatched it from his hand.

She smirked keenly, her little black eyes looking for a chink in his 'impenetrable' armor. Sadly, their battle was interrupted prematurely…

"Audrey!" came a familiar voice, and the girl squealed as she ran behind Ron.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Ron asked, feeling slightly annoyed with the girl for tugging at his clothes.

"Ronald?" Emilia stopped at the entrance, her furrowed brow fixed on him.

"The child is hiding behind me," Ron said dully, he could hear Audrey giggling from behind him.

"Audrey, viens ici." Emilia ordered, and Audrey hopped into view.

"Bonjour," Audrey said innocently, hiding the fruit knife behind her tiny back.

Emilia began scolding Audrey about something, but Ron couldn't keep up due to his lack of talent in French. _I think Audrey missed her breakfast. Or rather, ran away from it._ Emilia suddenly put her hand forward, and Audrey reluctantly handed the fruit knife over.

"Allez manger votre petit déjeuner," Emilia pointed towards the exit, and Audrey began to skulk off.

But just before she disappeared from sight, she shot back a deadly look in Ron's direction. _Huh?_ The tiny girl narrowed her eyes, and then she traced her index finger across her own throat. _Is she threatening to kill me? Is it my face? Is it the reason why people become so hostile around me? The life of an ugly duckling…_

"Sorry about her," Emilia sighed out. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"Why is your child so violent?" Ron drawled.

"She's not my child," Emilia corrected. "She's my first cousin."

"Why is your first cousin so violent?" Ron asked immediately.

"I've told her a couple of stories about my adventures," Emilia replied. "A decision that I deeply regret." _So that fruit knife was the girl's Oni-Blade?_

"You've had adventures?" Ron asked. "What sort?"

"The haunting sort," Emilia muttered under her breath. "Moving on… Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your Family right now?"

"I gave you a job, didn't I?" Ron reminded her. "I'm here to collect what I'm due."

"I see," Emilia gave a nod, and then she gestured him to follow her. "The Headmaster did just as you predicted, he went to Solomon for information." _He simply did what the Aurors wouldn't._

"And did Solomon find anything?" Ron asked.

"He found your man," Emilia replied. _Good._ "I managed to talk him out of telling Dumbledore, something that cost me another five hundred Galleons."

"I will reimburse you," Ron assured her. "Does the Headmaster know, or not?"

"He thinks that Solomon is still searching," Emilia replied.

"Then we need to get to Solomon-"

"He has already told me everything," Emilia cut in. "He doesn't want to be seen with you if it can be helped."

"Fair enough," Ron said. _I won't be around for long, anyway._ "Tell me about the man who tried to take my head."

"His name is Ajax Chloros," Emilia started. "He often frequents Solomon's bakeries in Greece, hiring himself out as an assassin. From what Solomon could find out, this man knows his craft well."

"I don't give a shit about his craft, or how well he knows it," Ron said. "Where does he live?"

"Athens," Emilia replied. _Shit, I still need to come home on time._

"We'll need a Portkey-" Ron started.

"Already prepared," Emilia led him into her study. "That ring on my table will see us there and back."

"Do you want to avenge Tracey as well?" Ron asked, why had Emilia taken so much initiative in this? "If so, why? You didn't know her."

"I don't need to know a child to want to avenge their murder," Emilia said bluntly. "When a Ronin sees injustice, he draws his blade." _Right…_

"I'm sure he does," Ron said. "I'm ready to leave if you are."

"Stay behind me, and keep your eyes open," Emilia instructed.

" _ **Oh, Our eyes never close.**_ "

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Muggle Athens – Midday)**_

"For fuck's sake," Ron finally broke his silence. "How long are we going to wait out here? Let's just go into that shitty looking building."

"We'll go in **after** he leaves," Emilia said. "We need to be the ones who spring the trap, not him."

"We can easily take him," Ron said in a bored tone. "I could level that building alone."

"And how many bystanders in this block would die because of your impatience?" Emilia demanded sternly. "You taint our mission with your own selfish desires." _What the fuck?_

"No normal person talks like you," Ron said, and then he shook his head. "Fine, we'll keep waiting… Just speak some fucking English, please."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Muggle Athens – Afternoon)**_

"That's him," Ron recognized the man's scar. "He's leaving his apartment."

"Keep waiting," Emilia said. "Once he's gone, we'll break in and wait for him."

Ron nodded his agreement, but then, something caught his eye. Emilia was wearing her ceremonial armor, and she was carrying her Oni-Blade. _Aren't we in Muggle Athens?_

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Ron asked as he pulled her behind a close corner. "We're in Muggle Athens, you clown. **Muggle** being the operative word."

"No one could see us back there," Emilia clicked her tongue.

"Horseshit," Ron frowned. "Let's just wait here, please." _What a clueless thing to miss… Is she a bit daft, or something? Imagine if a Muggle saw her… She'd end up on their newspapers._

"I get that you're angry about your friend, but you need to calm down," Emilia said as she pulled her arm free. "I need a man watching my back, not a fucking boy."

"I'm as calm as they come right now," Ron said. "I'm trying to save the Statute of Secrecy over here, aren't I?" Ron then shot a look at the assassin's apartment. "He's gone, and I don't see him anywhere."

"Let's move, then," Emilia said. "Just keep your nerves, understand?"

"I understand," Ron said, he couldn't be fucked arguing right now.

They made their way up the many stairs, eventually reaching Ajax Chloros' apartment.

"Hand me your wand," Emilia ordered.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"So I can check for Wards," Emilia replied. "Using my Blade would take too long."

"Right," Ron handed his wand over. _If she betrays me, so what? What do I have to lose?_

Emilia began her task quickly, and Ron moved down to act as a watchman. Now that he was here, his mind was racing with a million thoughts. Even the Calming Draught wasn't enough to calm his excitement. Oh, how he had dreamed of this moment. Ron had a checklist of things that he wanted to try on this man. So many Curses that he had read about, but never dared to try. _I'll yank this cunt's entrails out of his arsehole._

After nearly five minutes of waiting, Ron was relieved of his duty by Emilia.

"Get in," came her voice, and Ron thanked the Gods as he ran into the apartment.

"Merlin… What were you doing back here?" Ron asked, while Emilia carefully closed the door.

"It's been a while since I used a wand," Emilia said, and then she tossed him his wand.

Ron caught it, and aimed it down the hallway. _Empty… There's nothing in here._

"Stay on my left," Emilia said as she began moving into the apartment. "If we get attacked, go on the defensive. Don't make me worry about you in a fight."

"Sure thing," Ron said distantly. _I'll stay on the defensive, but only because I can't die just yet. I'm so close to the fuckers behind this._

"He must be moving houses," Emilia said.

"Or, he's a missing Weasley…" Ron muttered as he stopped inside the kitchen.

Emilia cocked an eyebrow at him, her demeanor relaxing a little.

"A poor cunt," Ron explained his joke.

Emilia didn't look amused, which wasn't really surprising given her personality.

"You should go and set up the wards again," Ron tossed his wand back to her. "I'll check the house."

"We'll ambush him in here," Emilia gave a nod. "Be careful."

"You too," Ron said as he began walking towards the back door. _Where do you lead?_

He made his way through the door, which led him into a thin corridor with three rooms at the end. _Please be empty._ Ron made his way down the corridor calmly and quietly, making sure to mind his footing. Once he was in front of the three doors, Ron opted to try the middle one first. _Of course it's a toilet… The Universe is taking the piss, isn't it?_

Ron tried the left door next, opening it as slowly as he could. The lights were off and the curtains were closed, so Ron had to focus his eyes as he scanned the dark room. It seemed to be a child's room, filled with toys and puzzles.

"Oh, fuck…" Ron muttered under his breath, his eyes landing on a sleeping child.

The little blonde boy was sucking his thumb, a coloring book serving as his pillow. Ron closed the door, turned around, and then headed straight for Emilia.

"Fuck," Ron hissed to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck!"

Just as he entered the kitchen and closed the door behind him, Emilia tiptoed in through the other exit.

"It's done," Emilia reported. "You surprise him, and I'll come from around that counter and disarm him."

"There's a fucking kid back there," Ron said, and Emilia just stared at him. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Gods…" Emilia looked annoyed beyond belief.

"This changes everything," Ron said.

"Does it?" Emilia asked.

"I'm not going to orphan a child," Ron frowned. "We have to go about this in a different way."

"Ajax Chloros was just the wand," Emilia suggested. "We get him to lead us to whoever hired him, and he promises to never show his face around us again."

"Fine… But I'm taking his fucking hand," Ron promised.

* * *

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later**_

Ajax Chloros stepped into his kitchen with a bag of groceries, only to come face-to-face with a 'smiling' Ron.

"Good afternoon, old boy," Ron toasted Ajax with his teacup. "Greeting from England."

"You…" Ajax blinked, and then he quickly reached for his wand.

Emilia dashed around the corner and put Ajax into an arm lock, and before the man could even grunt, Emilia swiped his legs out from under him. Ajax fell face first onto the ground, his wand getting kicked under a chair.

"Stop squirming, you fuck," Ron walked over and kicked the man in the nose. "I'll dash your fucking brains all over this floor."

The message got through to him, and Ajax tried to relax a little. _I fucked his nose up, that's for sure._ Ajax just stared at Ron, and then he spat some blood out onto the floor.

"I'm sorry about your friend…" Ajax grunted, Emilia was resting her knee on his spine. "I didn't mean to hurt her…"

"Shut your fucking mouth," Ron grabbed the man by his hair. "If you even speak a word that I don't want to hear, I'll bring your boy out here."

Ajax yelled a little in frustration, trying to shake Emilia off to no avail.

"If you want to live, then you need to answer his questions," Emilia advised. "Try to pull any funny business, and I'll snap this arm in four different places."

"I want the bastard who hired you," Ron started. "Your life means shit to me, understand? You tell me what I want, and I'll leave you to live out your days far from me."

"I can't…" Ajax grit out. "It would mean my own life! And the life of my boy!"

"What does that mean?" Ron asked, but Ajax looked away. "Huh? What does that mean?"

Ajax clenched his mouth shut, his gaze fixed on the ground.

"Answer me, you fuck," Ron slapped the man across his face. "Wake up!"

"I am owed money!" Ajax hissed angrily. "If I betray the client now, then who will pay me?! You?!"

"You want your life? Or do you want your money?" Ron asked. "Pick one, and I'll fucking pass judgment right here."

Ajax let out another yell, jerking hard in his place. _Emotional little fuck, isn't he?_

"I was so close…" Ajax grit out, spit running down his mouth. "So close, Julian…"

"Julian? Is that the boy's name?" Ron asked, and Ajax froze in his spot. "You tell me what I want, or I go and paint your son's room red. Huh? How's that for an offer?" _Please tell me what I want. If he calls my bluff, I'll lose any chance of making him talk._

"I'll talk…" Ajax's head dropped, his forehead resting on the floor. _Thank you, Merlin._

"Who hired you?" Ron asked. "And what was their purpose? What did they get from murdering a child in public?"

"A child?" Ajax scoffed. "You are no child… She was right to fear you, I can see that now." _She?_

"Flattery will not save you," Ron rested his left palm on Ajax's face. "Keep talking, or I'll take your face."

"It was Violet Parkinson…" Ajax gave up for Julian's sake. "She wanted you to be beheaded… She wished to honor her ancestors with your blood." _Mad cunt. I was right to put the Head Auror onto her trail. He must have blocked her vaults using a warrant that not even the Goblins could refuse. That's why she wasn't able to pay her assassin._

"Didn't she fight to push the French out of England?" Emilia asked.

"She hates my guts," Ron said dully. "I just never expected her to do something so bizarre." _I underestimated her hatred, and it cost me my Cycle._

"She's a mad dog…" Tracey's voice echoed around him. "Kill her."

Ron turned his head and cracked his neck, his eyes blazing red for a moment.

"Fuck me…" Ajax muttered, his wide eyes fixed on Ron. "What are you?!"

"Something that you should not have fucked with," Ron said coldly, and fear flashed across Ajax's face. "Where is she?"

"I left her in her secret villa near Mt. Vesuvius…" Ajax replied.

"Where is Mt. Vesuvius?" Ron asked. _It sounds very foreign._

"It's in Italy," Emilia replied. "We'll need another Portkey."

"What did you mean by 'I left her'?" Ron asked.

"She was working with Lucius Malfoy," Ajax started. _That fucking cunt! Always scheming against my Family!_

"Lucius Malfoy is not a fool," Emilia dug her knee into Ajax's back. "He could be lying to us."

"He betrayed her," Ajax coughed out. "He sent men to find me and kill me before I could attack you-"

"Why?" Ron blinked.

"I don't know," Ajax replied. "Pure-Bloods love their games… I stopped asking questions a long time ago." _A long time ago? Been doing this for long, then, haven't you?_

"How many people have you killed?" Ron hissed. "You fucking cunt…"

"Not all of us are born as prodigies," Ajax spat out. "Some of us have to mire ourselves in the shit and piss just to make a living."

"I'm not here to debate with you," Ron leaned in. "Tell me more about what I want, or I'll remove your tongue out of your head."

"After I botched the attempt on you… I took my Portkey back to her main villa within Italy," Ajax started. "But by the time I got there, Lucius Malfoy's men were trying to capture her. Her House-Elves were dying in an attempt to defend her, but with my added might, we managed to scatter the attackers. She ordered me to take her and her Elves to her hidden villa, she even offered to pay me twice as much despite my failure…"

"Why were you, an assassin, carrying a Portkey which would lead directly to your client's house?" Emilia asked. "Are you an idiot?"

"It was her idea…" Ajax grit out as Emilia twisted his arm. "She… She wanted me…" _What?_

"Make fucking sense," Ron snarled.

"She wanted me with your blood hot upon me," Ajax said tiredly. "It was a part of the original bargain…" _What in the actual fuck?_

"You sick fucks," Emilia grimaced.

"It was to be my final job-" Ajax started.

"We don't care," Emilia pushed her knee down, cutting off his oxygen for a moment. "Have you been inside this 'secret villa' of hers?"

"I have," Ajax replied quickly. "I can guide you through it."

"You will draw us a map, and if it isn't accurate, we'll be back here very soon," Ron warned. _I'm not letting you out of my sights._

* * *

 _ **Thirty Minutes Later**_

"Kill him, Ron," Tracey whispered, she was standing right behind him. "He took my life from me, so it's only fair that you take his life from him."

"He has a child," Ron whispered, his eyes fixed on Emilia and Ajax. "They don't look like they have any outside Family-"

"He **murdered** me…" Tracey gurgled, sending a cold shiver up Ron's spine. "Kill him…"

Ron drew in a deep breath, his mind focusing on Stoatshead Hill.

"No," Ron refused. "Chloros is scum, but his son isn't… Without his father, the little boy won't survive."

"Then take his hand," Tracey limply pointed towards Ajax's right hand. "You said that you would…"

"I did, didn't I?" Ron whispered, his eyes moving towards some sharp kitchen knives. _I can't just let him walk away… He's a professional killer for hire._

Ron quietly moved over to the knives, picking up the largest one he could find. _Incendio._ Ron's left hand began to glow orange, and he used it to begin heating the blade.

"A clean swing," Tracey whispered in his ear. "He can have it mended later, but for now, he has to suffer for what he did to me."

"He does…" Ron whispered to himself.

For the next five minutes, Ron continued heating the knife while Ajax drew the map for Emilia. His back was turned to them, but that hardly mattered because Emilia was keeping Ajax focused on his task. Neither of them were looking at him, they had no way of knowing what was going through his head.

"Is that it?" came Emilia's voice, and Ron's ears perked up. "Two floors?"

"It's a small villa," Ajax replied.

"Could she have reinforced it?" Emilia asked.

"Her pouch wouldn't work… She's absent any coin," Ajax replied. "She should only have a handful of Elves tending to her. Four, or five, at most."

"Rufus Scrimgeour finally comes through for me," Ron said, his back still facing them. "Are you done with the map?"

"I am," Ajax said. "You will let me live now? Yes?"

"Emilia, take the map," Ron said, and he heard her pocket it. _Cutis Terra!_

"I've done as you asked," Ajax said, and then he looked to Emilia. "You have your map, and-"

Before he could go on, Ron turned around and marched up to Ajax's side. The man's right hand was resting on the table, and Ron brought the hot cleaver down with all of his enhanced strength. He felt the blade shatter through bones, sticking firmly into the table. Ajax seemed stunned for a moment, his mouth closing as he looked to his severed hand. But then, he began screaming. Even Emilia jerked away from the table, an alarmed expression crossing her face as blood squirted upwards out of Ajax's new stump.

"Now, we're even," Ron stepped over Ajax's screaming face, his heel slicing open the man's cheek. "Emilia, let's go. We're done here."

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Afternoon)**_

Tomorrow night, Violet Parkinson would meet her end. Emilia was going to pick him up and take him to Mt. Vesuvius after midnight. All Ron needed to do was to be at her Manor, a place that Kreacher could easily help him get to from Hogwarts.

He was so close; he could almost picture getting his hands on the hateful tart.

Solomon had provided the Order with plenty of wands, and they were all barracking on Emilia's grounds. Ron would use this force to squash any resistance in his way, and then, he would have his revenge. Emilia would see to all the details, while Ron could think of all the ways he could torment 'Lady' Parkinson.

There was just one problem… He needed to say his goodbyes to some people before he could have his revenge.

His mum and dad came to mind, as did Pandora and Xenophilius. He owed them each a goodbye, didn't he? He was certainly never going to see them again after he left for Hogwarts. _Wait… Would they even exist anymore? They'd be wiped away from history, right?_

Ron stepped through the fireplace, his mind heavy with dark thoughts. _It has to be the Astronomy Tower… I don't want to die painfully. I don't care if Filch has to spend a month scraping bits of me out of the Courtyard; the Astronomy Tower is my ticket out._

"Ron! You're back!" Charlie greeted him, looking rather relieved.

"Hello," Ron said. "Were you waiting for me, Charlie?"

"Yeah… Mum was beside herself with worry when she found your note," Charlie replied. "Woke up the whole bloody house… Dad calmed her down, and then he went to look for you at the Ministry. Crouch told him that you had gone to France on Ministry business, and then he wouldn't say another word."

"Sorry for the fuss," Ron said distractedly. "So… Who's home?"

"You, me, mum, and Theo," Charlie replied.

"Theo?" Ron cocked an eyebrow. "He didn't go see Tracey?"

"He said that he needed a break," Charlie shrugged. "You hungry?" _You hungry?_

"You're being awfully polite," Ron pointed out. "Usually, when I cause a fuss, people crawl into my arse for days on end. They don't ask me if I'm hungry."

"I'm not upset with you, Ron," Charlie blinked.

"I never said that you were," Ron said. "Are you upset?"

"Stop that shit," Charlie warned, and Ron raised his hands in surrender. "We were supposed to go running today, that's all… But it's all right… I'm just glad that you finally left your room."

"Oh… I'm sorry for forgetting," Ron apologized. _I only agreed at the time because I was missing the 'good old days'._

"We can still go tomorrow," Charlie smiled.

"Sure," Ron agreed. _One last morning run._ "I won't forget this time."

"You better not," Charlie chuckled, guiding Ron towards the Kitchen. "Come, mum's been waiting for you."

"Is she upset too?" Ron asked aloofly.

"Nah, she was just worried," Charlie said. "She's also really glad that you're out of that room of yours."

They both entered the Kitchen together, and Ron spotted Theo eating his lunch while Molly poured more stew into his empty bowl.

"Ron's back," Charlie said as they moved further into the room.

"Oh, Ron!" Molly looked ready to pass out, but then she suddenly tried to reach in for a hug.

"Hot pan, mum," Ron said he hopped back. "Careful, please."

Molly quickly discarded the saucepan onto the table, and then she cleaned her hands with her aprons before pulling Ron into a hug.

"You're okay…" Molly said, as if telling herself that she wasn't dreaming.

"It was a bit of an emergency, mum," Ron said. "Sorry for leaving so early in the morning. I just couldn't afford to miss out on meeting Mr. Crouch today."

"It's okay, dear," Molly patted his cheek. _It is? Where's my second arsehole? Where's the savage tongue lashing?_ "Why don't you sit down next to Theo? You can help him in the Garden after. You could certainly use some sun." _Has my Family been swapped by doppelgangers?_

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later**_

"Theo, could you pass the tiny shovel?" Ron wiped his brow; he didn't mind pulling up his sleeves for a change. _Only three people are here, and they've all seen my scars. What's the point of hiding them?_

No tiny shovel came, and Ron shot a look back at Theo. The weedy boy was staring at him, his brow furrowed.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"You took three Calming Draughts from my trunk," Theo said. _Shit._ "Urgent Ministry business? I don't think so."

"Theo, I just went to work, but I needed something for my nerves," Ron started.

"Don't lie to me," Theo said quickly, a hint of frustration in his voice. "You're going after the person who hurt Tracey, aren't you?"

"No," Ron lied. "Theo, what's this-"

"I can help you," Theo said, and Ron, despite being on the Calming Draught, was a little taken aback. "I'm good at figuring out other people's intentions, you know that, Ron… Let me help you, please."

"You want to avenge Tracey?" Ron asked. "Really?"

"Yes," Theo said resolutely. "Whoever did this to Tracey has to pay…" _And she will, but not with your help._

Ron straightened his back, and after fixing up his shirt, he walked over to Theo.

"I cut off a man's hand today," Ron 'smiled', and Theo paled immediately. "And there it is…"

"What… What are you on about?" Theo muttered, his wide eyes fixed on Ron's.

"You're scared shitless," Ron explained. "I didn't cut off anyone's hand, Theo… What's the matter with you? I went to France on Ministry business…"

"But why did you take **three** Calming Draughts?" Theo asked. "Why not just one?"

"In case I needed them," Ron said. "Here, I still have one in my pocket."

Ron reached into his pants, and he pulled out the last vial.

"You used two, then?" Theo took the vial. _Fuck._

"Yes," Ron replied. "Now… Stop thinking about putting yourself in danger, all right? The last thing we need is you getting hurt as well." _And I certainly don't need you getting in my way._

"I… You're right…" Theo looked down shamefully. "I… I just really miss her…"

"I know," Ron said with forced gentleness. "Come here, mate… Everything's going to be just fine." _You won't be in pain for much longer._

* * *

 _ **Thursday 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Dinnertime)**_

He had thought about it, and he had decided that he wasn't going to say any goodbyes.

This wasn't the fabled moment where the hero thanked everyone who helped him along the way… This was just someone throwing in the towel after a life so horrible that he was genuinely looking forward to being free of it. It was pathetic, but it was also all Ron ever wanted now. _No more Entity. No more Fate. No more war. The next Ron can worry about that shite… I'm done._

"More potatoes, Ron?" Molly smiled at him; she was so happy that he was eating dinner with them tonight.

"Thanks, mum," Ron smiled a little in return, but that was all she needed.

Ron took the mashed potatoes, planting three more scoops onto his plate.

"Woah, Ron… You're eating a lot tonight," Charlie nudged him. _It's my final dinner… I have to make it worth remembering._

"He's starting to get his appetite back," Arthur smiled at his Family.

"You two should keep up," Molly said to Theo and Blaise, both of whom looked filled to exploding.

Ron found himself simply enjoying the taste of Shepard's Pie, his mother just had to cook his favorite tonight. _No Elf can rival mum's cooking. I'm glad that I came home one last time._

"Sorry I'm late," Bill burst into the Kitchen. "The Goblins wouldn't let me go-"

He stopped abruptly, his eyes fixed on Ron.

"Ronnie's eating with us tonight," Molly said, as if it was some small victory.

"Hello, Bill," Ron greeted, and Bill walked over with a smile.

"Good to see you again, Ron," Bill patted Ron's shoulder before he sat down to his father's left.

"Likewise," Ron said, going back to his dinner.

From then on, Ron simply listened to everyone else's conversations, storing the memory of his Family's idle chatter deep in his mind. _I will definitely miss this._ It wasn't long he joined the conversation, talking to Bill about his day within a nearby tomb. This was as good a goodbye as anyway, wasn't it?

* * *

 _ **Friday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Early Morning)**_

"Ron?!" Charlie called from on top the hill. "What are you still doing down there? Come up here."

"Sorry," Ron looked back to his brother. _I swear I saw Tracey again._

Ron made his way up the hill, using Charlie's help in finding surer footing.

"Where's your head, little brother?" Charlie ruffled his hair. "You keep looking off into space." _Oh, it's just the usual, only this time, my dead friend is haunting me._

"I miss my room," Ron lied.

"You can't stay up there forever," Charlie said gently. "And… And you can't keep avoiding Tracey." _I'm not avoiding her. She's fucking haunting me._ "Ron, I know that it's not my place, but you need to say goodbye to her. Her parents won't keep her on the potions forever. You'll live to regret it if you don't do this now." _He's right…_

"I will see Tracey soon," Ron promised. _Actually, I'll be going to hell… Fuck._

"Good man," Charlie smiled proudly. "Now, let's get up those hills, eh? Show me what you've got."

They raced up the hills one last time, and Ron was just at Charlie's heels as the race finished.

It was just like old times.

* * *

 _ **Corban Yaxley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Nott Manor – Afternoon)**_

"Felix has managed to find her, my Lord," Corban bowed deeply.

"And where is she?" the Dark Lord hissed from his chair, a dark sneer on his serpentine face.

"Within the Parkinson ledgers, there was a purchase for a villa in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius," Corban started. "Felix noticed that nothing was ever done with the villa other than it being purchased, and when we questioned Egbert about it, the man had no knowledge of buying any such villa. It has to be her, my Lord." _How she bought a villa without him noticing is beyond me… Damn fool._

"And why has it taken you so long so find her?" the Dark Lord asked. "Are you all once again scheming behind my back?" _What? This again?_

"Never, my Lord," Corban said resolutely. "You may peer into my mind if you do not believe me."

"Then tell me what delayed you," the Dark Lord hissed.

"The Aurors… They have taken a special interest in Felix and me," Corban explained. "They block our vaults with the Minister's authority, and they regularly drop by to interview us. For a while, Lucius had to step in to fill my role-"

"Lucius stepped in to aid you?" the Dark Lord asked.

"It was… odd, but he has been trying to prove himself to you, my Lord," Corban said. _I can't let there be too much Pure blood spilled… After all, there are so few of us left. Lucius might be a slippery, little backstabber, but he's also a Pure-Blood, and his bloodline must go on for England's sake._

"And he proved useful?" the Dark Lord asked.

"He did, my Lord," Corban lied, bracing himself for Legilimency.

But it never came… Instead, the Dark Lord glided out of his chair, landing just in front of Corban. His Lord's close presence made him tense with fear, something that he felt genuinely ashamed of.

"You have earned my favor over the last few weeks, Corban," the Dark Lord said dangerously. "Do not lose it so quickly… For your Family's sake, if not your own."

"I will not fail you again, my Lord," Corban vowed.

"I will remember your words," the Dark Lord whispered. "Bring the others here tomorrow… Tell them to come dressed for a hunt."

"I will see to it, my Lord," Corban bowed his head.

"Do not forget Felix," the Dark Lord said, his eyes maliciously fixed on Corban. _Felix?_ "I wish to see what the boy is capable of in battle."

"I understand, my Lord" Corban maintained his composure. _Felix is no fighter… The Dark Lord must already know that after having met the boy._

"You may leave," the Dark Lord glided back to his chair; his gaze sent a cold shiver up Corban's spine. _He is still angry… I cannot give him any reason to harm my Family._

Corban headed for the exit, giving his Lord one final bow before he left the Nott study behind. The moment the door was sealed behind him, Corban let out a shaky breath. His ribs were still hurting, despite Robert tending to him and Egbert during their search for Violet.

As he hurried back to the fireplaces, he almost ran into Cornelius as they both rounded the corner in a hurry.

"Corban," Cornelius greeted as they both stopped in time.

"Cornelius…" Corban looked the man over; there were fresh bruises and cuts all over his face. "You have not been healed yet?"

"The Dark Lord's displeasure is endless…" Cornelius rubbed his neck. "I fear that I will not live to see the end of it… I made the mistake of asking after Theodore during this crisis-"

"You are the boy's father, are you not?" Corban asked, he knew that he'd ask after Lysandra despite their cold relationship. _It's his duty to protect his child. As a Lord, and as a man._ "Where were you off to in such a hurry?"

"I seek to stay out of sight… Within my own Manor," Cornelius replied, his wounded pride was far too easy to see.

Corban couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the once proud Lord, the Dark Lord had stripped them all of their self-importance in his anger, and had once again reminded them why he was feared above all others.

"Whatever you're up to, Corban… Just be careful…" Cornelius looked ahead, and then he began to leave.

"Cornelius… Wait," Corban stopped the man. "The Dark Lord has ordered me to prepare his Death-Eaters, and I'd like your help."

Cornelius just stared at him; no doubt trying to figure out what scheme Corban was trying to hatch.

"You would rescue me from the Dark Lord's ire?" Cornelius finally asked. "And what will this kindness cost me, I wonder?"

"Enough of **our** blood has been spilled, Cornelius," Corban said firmly. "I expect nothing from you, but I also know that the Dark Lord will begin punishing Theodore for your mistakes before long… I do not wish to see our youngest suffer our Master's wrath. Come, Robert will heal you as he healed me, and we can start redeeming ourselves in our Lord's eyes."

Cornelius looked more than suspicious, but he gave a curt nod in the end. _Good, pride has not overtaken his common sense._

* * *

 _ **Ronald Weasley's POV**_

 _ **Friday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Evening)**_

He had missed sitting at Pandora's feet, her free hand scratching his scalp as she spoke to him in a motherly voice. _Just like mum talks to Ginny… It's very soothing. I can tell just how much she loves me from her voice alone._

"You can come and do your assignment at the Rookery, Ron," Pandora said gently. "The stars are just as visible from the Rookery as they are from the Astronomy Tower." _Yes, but the fall wouldn't kill me, I think._

"I just need a little break from all of this, Pandora," Ron rested his head against her leg, his eyes closing. _I could sleep here forever._

"And you'll come home tomorrow morning?" Pandora asked.

"Yes," Ron lied, his eyes opening again. _Don't fall asleep, Ron. You have work to do._

"If it's just one night…" Pandora said to herself, he was starting to convince her.

"Please, Pandora?" Ron turned his head up to look at her. "I really need this."

"I…" Pandora stopped, conflict dancing across her face. "Just one night, Ron…"

"Thank you," Ron smiled genuinely.

"I will talk to your father for you," Pandora promised. "But only if you promise me that you'll go see your friend tomorrow." _We'll meet again soon enough._

"I promise," Ron looked back ahead.

Pandora smiled at the top of his head, she was so glad that he would get to say goodbye to his friend. She honestly couldn't even imagine what he was going through right now, and it had taken all of her friends to convince her to put her own needs above Ron's right now. The baby would be here very soon, something that she was aware of because of how uncomfortable her pregnancy had recently become. Her child was always kicking her, or putting immense pressure on her lower back. She missed how calm her last pregnancy was, her newborn was bound to be a ruffian of some sort.

"Have you seen Daphne?" Ron suddenly asked. "At St. Mungo's, that is."

"I have," Pandora replied. "She sits beside Tracey every single day."

"How is she?" Ron asked.

"In a great amount of pain," Pandora replied, and she felt him tense up immediately.

It was sweet enough to put a small smile on her face.

"You should go and see her, Ron," Pandora said softly. "She's being strong for everyone, but even she has her limits. She needs you to be there for her." _What she needs is for me to stay far away from her. Being around me leads people to their deaths._

"I'll see her tomorrow," Ron said, his eyes welling with tears. _I'm sorry, Daph…_

* * *

 _ **Friday 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Burrow – Before Dinner)**_

Ron placed his trunk by the fireplace, and then he turned to face his parents. They both looked beyond worried for him, but Pandora had managed to convince them that Ron needed a break from his room.

"I don't see why you're taking your trunk with you, Ronnie," his mother fretted over him. "You are coming back tomorrow, aren't you?" _No, I'm not. As for the trunk, I need my augmented disguise for tonight's mission._

"I'll be back in time for breakfast," Ron lied with a soft smile. "Stop worrying so much, mum… You'll get wrinkles."

"No, I won't," Molly clicked her tongue, and then she hugged him tightly.

Ron ignored his bones being shattered; he couldn't resist the need to hug his mother one last time.

"I love you, mum," Ron blurted out, and Molly squeezed him more tightly.

"I love you too," she released a half-stifled sob. "I'll make you extra bacon tomorrow, all right? Just come home."

"I will…" Ron felt a great wave of shame and self-hatred. _I'm sorry that you didn't get a better son… Maybe if Bill had my power, he'd have succeeded already._

"He can't leave if you don't let him go, Molly," Arthur whispered, and Molly let go of Ron very reluctantly.

He hid his gaze from her, opting instead to keep his eyes on his father.

"Take care, dad," Ron managed, his throat tightening painfully. "I'll see you tomorrow…"

"I don't get a 'I love you' from you?" Arthur tried to lighten the situation, much to Ron's relief.

"I love you, dad," Ron said, and Arthur smiled more genuinely. _I don't deserve you two…_

"I love you too, son," Arthur gave Ron's shoulder a squeeze.

"Is he heading out?" Charlie popped his head around the corner, and then both he and Bill walked in with their eyes fixed on Ron.

"I probably won't get to see you tomorrow," Charlie started, while Molly and Arthur moved away a little. _Yes… You're right…_ "I'm heading back to Romania really early in the morning… I have a shift to get to, after all."

"Your boss is giving you trouble again?" Ron asked, hoping that no one noticed his resigned behavior.

"He's a twat-" Charlie started.

"Charlie," Molly huffed. "Stop that, and give your brother a hug."

"Fair enough," Charlie chuckled, pulling Ron into a one armed hug. "Take care, little brother. I'll come back to see you soon, I promise." _Thank you for everything, Charlie. Sincerely._

"Goodbye… Charlie…" Ron muttered, his eyes filling up with tears again. _Not now!_

"Ron… Are you all right?" Bill asked gently.

"I'm just… Um… I didn't think Charlie was leaving so soon…" Ron pinched his eyes, clearing away the tears.

Their mother made some strange cooing noise, while Arthur just smiled at his boys.

"Tears of joy, then?" Bill smirked, earning a wet chuckle out of Ron. "Come over here, Ronnie."

Ron rested his head on his eldest brother's shoulder, shamefully remembering all the hugs Bill had given him whenever he was upset. _Too many to count… Bill was the one who fully explained to me why I always got the secondhand clothes, and then he hugged me just like this._

"Have you said goodbye to Blaise and Theo?" Bill asked. _Not really… We just gave each other parting nods._

"I did," Ron lied as he pulled back. "Um… I reckon I should be on my way…" _If I keep staying here, they'll convince me to keep going… And I just don't want that. Not anymore. I'm fucking done with all of this fighting._

Ron stepped back and picked up his trunk, his focus turning towards the fireplace. _Just prepare the floo and go. Don't stay here for another second._

"We'll be here when you get back," Molly said, and Ron began tearing up again. _Bye, mum…_

"Make sure you eat dinner tonight," Arthur added.

"Severus Snape's office, Hogwarts…" Ron said as he tossed some floo-powder into the fire.

The fire roared to life, and Ron walked through it without looking back at any of them. He had never felt more ashamed of himself in his entire life.

"Ron?" came Snape's voice, and Ron jerked to a stop. _Of course he's here._

"Um… Hello…" Ron said without looking up.

"You are returning to Hogwarts?" Snape asked. "And alone?"

"Theo and Blaise are still not ready to come back," Ron cleared his throat and sniffled. "I… I um… I needed a break from my room." _Fucked it. I wish Theo hadn't taken that vial of Calming Draught from me._

"You needed a break from your room?" Snape whispered in his low voice.

"Please… I've had a long day," Ron sighed out. "I just want to sleep in my school bed for one night. I'll be going back home tomorrow."

Snape just stared at him, his black eye searching Ron for the truth.

"Then why do you have your entire trunk-" Snape started.

"Just leave me alone!" Ron snapped. "Why are you fucking interrogating me?! I'll fucking smack the bloody piss out of you if you don't sod off!" _**Fucking prick!**_

"Interrogation was not my intent," Snape said calmly. "I am simply surprised to see you back so soon." _I need to relax._

Ron drew in a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Snape's. _I need to leave before he figures out what I'm up to._

"I'm only here to sleep…" Ron turned to leave. "I'll probably see you in the morning before I leave."

"You have no questions for me?" Snape asked, and Ron stopped at the door.

"Questions?" Ron asked, turning to face the Potions Master.

"Albus and I have been looking into the identity of the attacker," Snape clarified. "Don't you want to know who's behind this?" _Don't tell me that they figured it out._

"Who's behind this?" Ron asked. _Please be wrong._

"All fingers are pointing towards Violet Parkinson," Snape replied. _Fuck me dead…_ "She has mysteriously vanished from sight, and not even the Aurors can find her."

"Have **you** found her?" Ron asked, and Snape leaned back in his chair.

"Not yet," Snape replied. _Thank Merlin… I'll get to her first, then._ "But Albus is looking into it right now. Hopefully, he'll be back with useful information."

"Where has he gone to look?" Ron asked.

"Italy," Snape replied. _If we run into him tonight, we're all fucked!_

"Italy is a big country," Ron started. "Which part of Italy is he in?"

"I didn't bother to ask," Snape replied. _Horseshit! Of course you asked him, you're as much of a control freak as I am._

"Will he be back by morning?" Ron asked. "I'd like to see him."

"I'll let you know if he's back," Snape said, his face expressionless. _Why do I get the feeling that he's seen through my plans?_

"Goodnight, then," Ron turned around.

"Ron…" Snape said, and Ron froze in his spot. "If you need anything tonight, you may come straight to my quarters. Even if you just want to talk."

"I'll… keep that in mind, Sir," Ron said slowly, his heart pounding in his throat. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Snape said, and Ron left the office without delay. _I need to get the fuck out of here._

Ron headed straight for the Dungeons, only stopping when he saw a group of fourth year girls giggling near the entrance. _Shit!_ He didn't want to run into any of his Housemates tonight, he just didn't have the patience for it. Most of them would be sympathetic, of course, especially the Sliver Triumvirate, but there would be one cunt who would smirk at him, and Ron would lose his temper immediately. _And my plans will get ruined._

Ron slid into a nearby classroom, just one of many that littered the Dungeons. He didn't actually need a bed, did he? He could just change into his disguise here, and then simply wait for the appointed hour. _Yeah, that'll work. I'll call Kreacher near midnight._

* * *

 _ **Saturday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Travers Manor – Past Midnight)**_

Ron and Kreacher cracked into Emilia's study, and Ron nearly vomited inside his mask. _Five fucking Apparitions back to back… Merlin, I'm going to be sick._ Ron managed to calm his stomach, but his left leg gave out, sending him tumbling into some books. _Ow… Why did they have to be hardcover?_

"Lord Weasley," Kreacher croaked, his old hands trying to grab at Ron's tuxedo.

"I'm okay…" Ron groaned, his vision darkening for a moment. "Just give me a minute…"

"Lord Weasley should return to Hogwarts," Kreacher advised, he wasn't on board with this plan from the start. "Lord Weasley is ill, and he must not push himself like this."

"Get up…" Tracey whispered in the back of his mind. "Kill her, Ron… Avenge me."

Ron grit his teeth, and he pushed himself onto his feet. His knees wobbled, but he used his hands to find a steadying shelf. He wasn't going down so easily. He would power through his symptoms, and in doing so, he would claim victory in Tracey's memory.

"I'm all right, Kreacher," Ron panted, and then he shook his head clear.

A strong pang of pain jolted across his brain, and Ron visibly flinched. _Fuck me! Ow!_

"Kreacher will stay by Lord Weasley's side tonight," Kreacher promised.

"You can't do that, mate," Ron said. "Those men will eventually work for the Order, and you can't afford to be identified by them somewhere down the line. Emilia was clear on this, wasn't she?" _Personally, I don't really care. After the Entity restarts the Cycle, the slate will be wiped clear._

"Lady Travers does not trust Kreacher," Kreacher croaked.

"Then she's a fool," Ron said. "You're one of the most loyal people that I've ever come across, Kreacher. If she can't see that, then it's her loss."

Kreacher looked overly humbled by Ron's words, bowing his head as far as he could. _Seriously?_

"Kreacher feels truly honored, Lord Weasley," Kreacher said.

"No worries, mate," Ron finally regained his footing. "Right… I'll see you back here once I'm done."

"Be safe, Lord Weasley, and do not hesitate to summon Kreacher," Kreacher croaked.

"I'll see you soon," Ron gave a parting nod, and then he made his way outside.

It was dreadfully dark inside the manor, and Ron had to use 'Lumos' in order to navigate the unfamiliar house. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to see a bright orange light coming from the grounds below. _There are people down there._ Ron made sure that his mask was still on his face, after which he made his way towards the lights. Emilia stood just outside the nearest exit, her back turned to him.

"Emilia," Ron greeted, and she calmly turned to face him.

"This again…" she drawled. _I bought this mask, and I'm using it at least once!_

"I don't want them to see my face," Ron said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I suppose that makes sense," Emilia decided to let it go. "The men are all ready, as are the Portkeys. How was your journey here?"

"Fucked," Ron replied bluntly. "But that doesn't matter now… If we're ready, I'd like to get this over with."

"Come," Emilia led the way towards the grounds. "I've put together a team of eight men. They'll be joining us in taking the villa."

"And they won't talk?" Ron asked.

"They know better than to gossip," Emilia replied. "Their work often requires discretion, and if word gets out that they aren't discrete, they lose their livelihoods." _Why am I even worried? I don't have to deal with this shit in the future._

"Let's just hope that she didn't manage to hire help," Ron said. _Death in battle… That doesn't sound so bad. It's certainly less cowardly._

"Stick by my side," Emilia said. "I have already prepared a strategy for this battle."

They approached the eight men, all of them burly and scarred. They all looked Ron over and sneered, no doubt annoyed by his disguise.

"What the fuck is he supposed to be?" one of the men suddenly laughed, and Ron cocked an eyebrow behind his mask.

"You will treat him as a shadow," Emilia said sternly, and the men immediately straightened up. "If he's in the room, you don't look in his direction. If he talks to you, you do as he says. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," one of the men gave a nod. _They either really respect her, or they're scared shitless of her. Perhaps it's both?_

"They listen to you," Ron whispered.

"I have spent the last few days sparring with all of them," Emilia replied.

"And?" Ron asked.

"And they know better than to fool around in my presence," Emilia said, and then she took a step forward. "Listen up! The villa that we're attacking has two floors, three fireplaces, and three exits. Donar, you'll keep the Wards up at all times. I don't want any men, or Elves, escaping."

"Yes, Ma'am," Donar repeated.

"Jack and Tom," Emilia looked to the men on the left. "You two will split off into two teams, each of you will be breaking in through the back exits. I will go in through the front, and we will all meet up at the stairs in the center of the villa. From there, we go up as one squad. Everyone understand the plan?"

The men gave a nod, and Emilia pointed to a large barrel behind the men.

"Inside that barrel is the Portkey," Emilia said.

"We don't get individual Portkeys?" Tom asked.

"We're not expecting heavy resistance," Emilia replied. "Maybe a handful of Elves at most."

"And if not?" Jack asked.

"Then we take our Portkey home," Emilia replied. "And return with even greater numbers."

* * *

 _ **Saturday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (Shadow of Mt. Vesuvius – Dead of Night)**_

"I hate to bring this up," Ron whispered as he peered over the hedge, the villa was quite far from here. "But why isn't the Fidelius Charm being used on this villa? This could be a trap."

"She's no doubt been using this villa as her own personal paradise," Emilia replied, she was lying down to his right. "If so, then she'd want to share that paradise with the men and women who catch her eyes."

"Of course…" Ron drawled. _Why are all adults so fucked in the head?_

"Get ready, I'll be giving the signal soon," Emilia said. "The moment Donar traps them all, we need to rush in."

"Will we feel it-" Ron started, but he suddenly felt like he was being squeezed into place by an unseen force. _That was weird._

"Let's move!" Emilia ordered as she bolted onto the open clearing, her men following after her.

Ron chased after them, his wand already brandished. _This is it!_ His boredom was completely gone now, pushed away by slight dread and genuine excitement. This could turn into a bloody battle, one which would finally put him down, or Emilia's plan would work effortlessly, granting Ron the chance to end Violet Parkinson. _It's a win-win situation!_

"Almost there," Emilia said as they neared the front entrance. "Jack and Tom… Go around the sides. Donar, you're with Tom's team."

The wands for hire broke off to carry out their mission, leaving Ron and Emilia alone at front of the entrance.

"Stay behind that column and cover me, I'll open the door," Emilia said, giving Ron a meaningful look.

Ron did as he was told, keeping his eyes open for any signs of trouble. So far, however, everything seemed to be going according to plan. The villa was almost abandoned, though the freshly trimmed grass gave away Violet's hiding hole. She was here, and she was low on manpower. _**Finally!**_

"She doesn't deserve your Magic, Ron," Tracey was suddenly behind him, her cold, dead hands holding Ron's left one. "She deserves nothing but savagery for what she did to me."

"Ron!" Emilia hissed, and Ron jerked back to life. "Wake up! I've got the door open, let's go!"

Ron shook his head clear, and then he followed Emilia in.

There was nothing but pitch-black darkness in sight, which meant that no one was on watch.

"Don't light up your wand," Emilia whispered. "Keep your hand on my left shoulder, and move with me."

"Got it," Ron whispered, moving right behind Emilia.

They made their way through the large entrance hall, their eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. The villa seemed to be recently cleaned up, with not a dust particle in sight. Someone was definitely living in here.

"The stairs should be close by," Emilia whispered.

"She's probably keeping her Elves close to her on the second floor," Ron whispered back. "They'll be serving as her body shields."

Ron then drew in a deep breath.

"Look," he started. "If the Elves don't fight back, just knock them out. Don't kill them unless they give you no choice."

"Sorry, but I won't be doing that," Emilia said coldly. "Mercy in battle can lead to your death. Tonight, we are not beings of compassion."

"Speak normally," Ron sighed out. "Just don't make them suffer, at least."

Emilia said nothing, but she did give him a nod.

"The entire floor is empty," Jack reported as Emilia and Ron turned the corner. _Merlin!_

"Send Tom and his team outside, they'll make sure that no one runs off," Emilia ordered. "Your team will be taking the vanguard."

"Thanks," Jack smirked.

"Get that smirk off your face," Emilia said bluntly. "Fall to formation, now."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jack gave a nod, and then he walked over to the other teams.

"You're very hostile to your own men," Ron whispered.

"I am not their friend, I am their commander," Emilia said calmly. "Becoming familiar with them… It leads to impaired judgment." _Really?_

"Speaking from experience?" Ron asked.

"Just focus on the mission," Emilia said, and Ron decided to let it go. "Let's move in behind Jack's team."

"Want me to stick by your side again?" Ron smirked from behind his mask.

"Yes," Emilia replied. "Let's move." _Wow… Whatever._

They made their way up the stairs, all of them being as quiet and careful as possible. Once they were at the top, Emilia stopped them abruptly.

"Jack, take your team and go left from here," Emilia ordered. "I will go right."

"You want to split off?" Jack asked.

"I want us to surprise **everyone** up here," Emilia replied. "Not just half of them."

"And if we see the target first?" Jack asked.

"Capture her alive," Emilia replied. _Why are we splitting up? We should stay together. We've nearly halved our numbers by sending four men outside._

Ron decided to keep his mouth shut, Emilia had more experience in this sort of thing, and he needed to learn from her tactics. They spilt up once again, with Ron and Emilia moving towards their goal side-by-side.

"The main bedroom is this way," Emilia whispered. "You'll get to her first."

"You didn't tell the others about this?" Ron asked.

"I tell them all they needed to know," Emilia replied. "You have to keep your men at arms length, especially if they're wands for hire." _Right._ "Stop."

They both stopped abruptly, both of them brandishing their weapons.

"What is it?" Ron whispered.

"Listen," Emilia instructed, and Ron did as he was told. _I don't hear anything-_

A wooden beam creaked to Emilia's left, and they both looked in time to see a small Elf open the door. _Shit!_ The Elf looked in their direction, his big eyes fixed on their shadowy forms.

"HE-!" the Elf started, but Emilia dashed forward and sliced his throat open. _Fuck me!_

"The bedroom is at the end of the hallway!" Emilia roared as she barged into the room, kicking the kneeling Elf out of her way. "GO! She has a fireplace in there!"

Spells began going off as Emilia vanished into the side bedroom, and Ron decided to heed her orders. He bolted towards the end of the hallway, ignoring the sounds of doors opening and Elves yelling. _There's so much noise! How many Elves are in this house?!_ A door to his right suddenly opened, and Ron slid as he came to a stop. An Elf had coming running through the door, and was now staring at Ron in utter shock.

"Reducto!" Ron fired the Reductor Curse at its tiny chest, and it shrieked before being blown apart.

The stench wasted no time in invading his nostrils, turning his stomach with its foulness. _Merlin… What is that? Smells like blood, shit, and cooked meat…_ Ron got back onto his feet, his eyes fixed on where the Elf was standing mere moments ago. _I can see the legs, but where's the torso?_ Ron took a step back, and then another, and another, and before long, he was sprinting towards Violet Parkinson.

"Cutis Terra!" Ron yelled as he spotted the last bedroom, and then he heaved himself at the door.

The door shattered into a thousand splinters, and Ron heard a woman scream at the top of her lungs as he rolled onto his feet. _Surprise, motherfucker!_ Violet stood in front of the fireplace, a terrified look on her face, her wand trembling in her hands.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron fired the Disarming Charm at Violet's head, but she managed to erect a Non-Verbal shield in time.

"Avada-"

Ron Wandlessly summoned the fire poker behind her, and it pierced her through the right thigh, no doubt shattering her femur. She screamed murder, and Ron took the chance to Non-Verbally disarm her. She fell onto her side, screaming away like the world had just ended. If Ron were a better person, he would have stopped at the gruesome sight.

But he had seen too many of his friends and Family die similar deaths. _And all of them at the hands of people like her!_ Ron reached forward and grabbed her by the neck, tossing her away from the fireplace with relative ease. She landed with a dull thud, another scream tearing its way out of her throat.

"Gods!" she howled. "Gods! SAVE ME! Please!"

" _ **Your Gods are not here,**_ " Ron growled, his bones shifting unnaturally. " _ **But We are! Come, pray to Us!**_ "

Violet froze in her spot, her head slowly trembling back in his direction. The Basilisk skin lining wouldn't give way, so Ron's bones grew only in length. Soon, he was craning over the pale woman, as if he was a spider and she was a fly.

"Night… mare…" she prayed, tears soaking her face.

" _ **Made manifest**_ ," Ron grinned behind his mask, his spin cracking and gaining a slight arc: giving him the appearance of a large, boney shadow, which was too long for its impenetrable armor. " _ **Justice has found you, Violet Parkinson!**_ "

"Jus… Justice…?" the woman trembled in a curled up form. "I have sinned… against the Gods? And… they send a demon after… me?"

" _ **The Gods have nothing to do with this**_ ," Ron hissed, his gleaming eyes shining from behind his mask. " _ **You have brought this upon yourself!**_ "

Ron used his abnormally long left arm to hold his weight, while his right hand removed his mask. Violet fainted at the sight of his face, her eyes rolling into the back of her skull. Ron began laughing maniacally at her reaction, stopping only when he heard footsteps. Emilia stood at the door, her skin and armor slick with blood, and a look of utter disbelief on her face.

" _ **Leave!**_ " Ron roared, his jaw splitting open down the middle, revealing a maw of monstrous teeth.

Emilia tumbled back onto her arse before she bolted out of sight, muttering incoherent nonsense as she sped towards her men.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Later**_

He had calmed down considerably, and once again resembled a human being. He had even taken some pity, and numbed the woman's leg with 'Torpor'. Now all that remained was to remove the fire poker. _Here I go._

Ron drew in a deep breath, sneered at her face, and then yanked out the fire poker. She let out a throaty groan; some pain was to be expected. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around as if she was in a daze. Ron waited for her to find him, and when she did, she just stared at him. _Did I drive her insane? I hope not._

"Who are you…?" Violet asked droopily. "Come into the light…"

Ron took a step forward, his pale face now illuminated by the moon's light.

"Weasley…?" Violet muttered.

"I always knew that we'd end up here," Ron said calmly. "Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew that I was going to kill you one day."

"Kill me…? Why…?" she asked, her head falling back onto the ground.

"You dare ask that?" Ron asked. "You have taken everything from me. My friend. My Cycle. My life… This is justice. This is exactly what you deserve."

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're at the end of the line," Ron took another step forward, the fire poker clutched tightly in his right hand. "Why did you do it, you bitch? Why did you do something so stupid?!"

"Did what?" she muttered.

"Why did you send someone to behead me?" Ron snarled, his foot crushing her fingers.

She whined and shifted, her eyes opening up again.

"Stay awake," Ron ordered. "Now, answer me. Why did you send someone to behead me? And why in public? What was your goal?" _Why did Tracey have to die?!_

"There was no goal…" Violet rambled in her half-conscious state. "You… are filth… And filth must be cleaned away…"

Ron just stared at her; he didn't know why he felt so jarred by her words.

"You hate me that much?" Ron blurted out. "Why?"

"Traitorous dogs…" Violet spat out, almost looking awake for a moment. "Blood-Traitors… The scum of Magic…"

"My friend wasn't a Blood-Traitor," Ron said, his blood was beginning to boil. "She was a Half-Blood-"

"Spawn of tainted cunt…" Violet tried to sit up, only to fail miserably.

Ron felt his hands tremble with anger, and his breathing became more and more erratic.

"What of a Pure girl like Pansy? Why torment her?" Ron asked, his voice shaking. "What did **she** do to **you**? Huh? Explain that to me."

"She drained all the joy… out of my life…" Violet said, her bitterness was slowly returning. "From the moment she was born… I was trapped… Forever burdened with a stupid daughter, and a fat husband."

"She is your daughter!" Ron snapped. "Does that mean nothing to you?!"

"She is a reminder… of everything that I've lost…" Violet hissed. "Everything that **she** took from **me** …"

"She didn't take a damn thing," Ron kneeled down, his left hand grabbing her jaw. "You chose to have a child-"

"The Gods chose my fate, Blood-Traitor…" Violet said.

"Fuck off with that," Ron tightened his hold. "You chose to have a child, and instead of protecting said child, you call her a whore and put your hands on her. Is it any wonder that she's so attached to people like me? People who treat her with love and respect? You are the reason why she's not like you, and you mindlessly punish her for it."

Ron then stood back up, a pissed off look on his face.

"Enough is enough," Ron grit out, raising the fire poker above his head. _Cutis Terra!_

"Wait!" Violet begged. "I can be a better moth-"

Ron jammed the fire poker through her parted lips, and he relished the sound of it breaking through the wooden floor. Violet's body began to spasm as she felt her throat fill up with blood, her wide eyes fixed on the fire poker's hilt in shock and horror. Ron smashed his heel down into her forehead, feeling it crack her head open like an egg. She continued to spasm, blood pooling around her at an alarming rate.

Ron felt relief wash over him, and he threw his head back and let out a long breath. When he finally looked back forward, he saw Tracey staring back at him. She looked healthier than ever, and she had her usual grin on her face. Ron smiled at her; it was so fucking good to see her again.

"Goodbye, Tracey…"

* * *

 _ **Saturday 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, 1994 (The Astronomy Tower – Dead of Night)**_

Emilia hadn't said a single word on the way back, but quite often, Ron caught her staring at him with wariness and fear. Even the men had noticed her staring, but they were too smart to bring it up.

The entire villa had been wiped out, and Ron had made sure that no one disposed of the corpses. The Aurors, or the Order, would eventually find the villa, and they would bring the news to Pansy.

She was finally going to be free of her mother. _A small comfort, before the Entity restarts the Cycle._

Ron drew in a deep breath; he had never felt so scared before. This was it… He was at the end of his journey, a failed knight who had lost before the war had even started. _A fool…_ His head was filled with negative thoughts, most of them aimed at his worst insecurities.

He was the weakest Weasley, and yet, he had been forced to go through so much shit. He was the least wanted one, but it was his duty to protect everyone. He had given up all hobbies for the sake of becoming a stronger wizard, but his friend had died saving his life.

He was just a fuck up… An idiot who stumbled from one mess to another, constantly struggling to keep his fucking head above the water.

This was no way to live… He couldn't take it anymore! There was no fucking justice in this! It was an unfair game, and he was tired of losing at it!

Ron grabbed the cold railing, his hands shaking due to his nerves.

"She'll get to live in the next one…" Ron muttered, his eyes stinging painfully. "They'll all get to live..."

Carefully, he climbed over the railing, one of his feet dangling off of the edge. The Courtyard was directly down below; he would no doubt land on the fountain if he aimed well. His vision soon began to blur, and he wiped at his eyes with his free arm.

"Daph…" Ron closed his eyes, thinking of his best friend as he leaned forward. "I'm sorry…"

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: The fucking cliffhangers! Literally!**

 **Haha, enjoy waiting another two weeks, suckas! But seriously though, I love you and I'm sorry I took so long.**

 **By the way, there's a discord server up and running now.**

 **FATE DISCORD SERVER: : / / discord. gg/ T7vMWau (Remove Spaces)**

 **Acnelli was kind enough to set it up, so get on there! There are some good Fate! discussions happening over there, and I can keep people posted more easily.**

 **See you guys soon.**


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